Stories from Sunday, December 5, 1999

Visitors will be taken back in time Dec. 9-11 at the Jackson high School Choral Department's annual Madrigal Feaste. Held at the Bavarian Halle in Fruitland, the feaste includes a 16th century-style dinner, including wassail and kafe. Jugglers, wizards, magicians and others will entertain between courses of the five-course meal."This is our ninth year," said Jean Schweain, JHS choral director. ...

Today I stand before you, fellow Missourians, to declare myself a candidate for public office, one who is dedicated to the promise, prosperity and progress of our great state government, and one who stands ready to make every sacrifice known to man (and woman). As the late, great Barry Goldwater so eloquently noted nearly four score years ago, "Extremism in the defense of the common man is rare these days and moderation in the pursuit of justice is ever rarer still." Or something like that...

The 22nd annual Cape County Firefighter's Association Regional Fire School was held recently in Jackson. This two-day annual school keyed on auto rescue, how to lower ISO ratings, vehicle firefighting and fire streams and hose practices. Over 160 firefighters from all over southern Missouri attended the school. ...

As we bask in the afterglow of Thanksgiving, we have only to open the newspaper or turn on the TV to be reminded that for many, it seems Thanksgiving is but a brief interruption (for shopping, food, and football) in the Christmas season. And when we think of December, we automatically think of Christmas...

The morning after Thanksgiving there was the first ice of the season in the bird bath. New, deeper bath bowl, too. All ruffled around the edges like a fancy concrete pond lily. Bob and Doris helped with seeing that it wouldn't be turned over and broken so easily. ...

25 years ago: 1974Jackson man is among eight purchasing managers in St. Louis Chapter of National Association of Purchasing Management who have received certification awards from New York-based organization; Max K. Prill, vice president and controller of Lenco, Inc., was among St. Louis Chapter members who were honored at banquet Tuesday in St. Louis...

Horst Pharmacy, 2705 E. Jackson Blvd., provides a Prescription Assistance Program to low income families or individuals that qualify, and can not afford to purchase needed prescription drug medication. Each drug manufacturing company has individual policies and procedures and patient eligibility requirements. ...

Santa and his elves will be on hand at the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway the next two Saturdays. Children may give their wish list and have their picture made in Santa's lap. The Polar Bear Express will be read and Christmas goodies from "Friends of Steam Railroading' will be shared. Santa Express will take off at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., Dec. 11 and 18...

Several new titles have arrived at the main Jackson facility of the Riverside Regional Library. Adult titles include The ACT for Dummies, by Suzee Vik; Brookman US, UN and Canada Stamps & Postal Collectibles 2000, Century of Flight, Mary Engelbreit's Sweet Treats, by Mary Engelbreit; The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair, Faded Coat of Blue, by Owen Parry; The Donovan Legacy, by Nora Roberts and The Twisted Root, by Anne Perry...

American Legion Post 158 of Jackson has selected three students as Music Student of the Month for September, October, and November. This is a program of the Americanism Committee of the Legion Post and recognizes outstanding music students of Jackson High School. This is funded by the American Legion Bingo Account. Each of the students will receive a $100 savings bond in honor of their accomplishments...

The Miss Jackson Scholarship Pageant was held Nov. 13, in conjunction with 5 other local Christmas pageants for girls ages 4-24. Meridith McDowell, 18, Sikeston, was crowned Miss Jackson, Jennifer Hover, 21, Springfield, was the first runner up and Jackson's Chrissie Icaza, 18, was the second runner up. ...

Some people get up Monday through Friday mornings, dreading the day's work. Some people enjoy what they do to earn a living. Then there are people who don't work. Some have inherited wealth or have made enough money to be able to retire. We see people on the news who have won a fortune, but I personally don't know them. We envy people who don't work for a living, unless they receive what is called government assistance...

Linda Wilson had no idea how active the Jackson Chamber of Commerce was until she started work as the chamber's executive secretary Monday. Now she hopes to help get the word out about the chamber to rank and file Jackson citizens."From my perception as a private citizen, I had no idea the chamber was as busy as it is," she said. ...

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." When one is a leader, one must constantly learn and in learning one becomes a leader. Thus is the essence of the National Honor Society in Jackson High School. Though not the largest, nor the most active of clubs it is comprised of the best, most active students. ...

A huge crowd of Girl Scouts braved the first true night of winter chill and packed the front steps of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse Monday for the annual Festival of lights. Although an exact head count was not taken, Shirley Stevens of the Otahki Girl Scout office called it "one of the largest I've seen."Each year the girls in the Jackson /Oak Ridge area blanket the courthouse yard with luminaries and sing carols on the steps. They also offered free cocoa and cookies to the public...

To the editor: World trade in itself is a good idea. This is not what the protesters are angry about. What angers this nation's people and people from all over the world is the way they plan to implement it. I was in a store the other day, and I complained about something being made in China. ...

Most of Sara Davie's resume would seem to be in keeping with an average up-and-coming sophomore girl. A member of the Silver Arrow yearbook staff and Future Business Leaders of America at Jackson High School, Davie has picked out physical therapy as a career goal. While commendable, this is nothing truly out of the ordinary, either...

Chapter TwoIn person, in the flesh, we had arrived. Strangely, yet decisively so, my soul could not release Jeff's past to the present. He looked normal at birth, in every way. A robust little guy with slight blond hair, blue-blue eyes, and boyish features--God made him absolutely beautiful. In the hospital I would always greet him with, "Come here, pork chop!" when brought by the nurses for his feedings. His big, fat cheeks reminded me of just that--pork chops...

A view in the evening, from a hill.Lights sparkling in Cape Girardeau,City of Roses.I spy a Christmas tree in ahouse.And holiday greenery on a churchrailingon Cape Rock Road.Winter has come late,and roses still bloom at some doors.Santa waves in front of UnionPlanters Bank,to tell all their customersthanksLighted reindeer on a small mallbrings good cheer...

The Oliver House, located at 224 E. Adams, will be open to the public for guided tours, 1-4:30 p.m., today and Dec. 12 and 19.The home has been decorated for a traditional Victorian Christmas. Various antique holiday items will be displayed each week. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children.The Oliver House is a pre-Civil War brick Federal style home, which has been restored and furnished by the Jackson Heritage Association...

Preregistration is now being accepted for the second annual women's retreat at the Bavarian Halle in Fruitland. This year's theme will be "In the Potter's Hands, Completely His, Body, soul, Spirit."The retreat will e Feb. 4-5 at the Halle, with an overnight stay at Drury Suites and Inn. Christians from all denominations are welcome to experience a spiritual renewal.For more information, call Hanover Lutheran Church at 335-8583 or Pat Renner at 334-1673...

FRUITLAND -- What type of gift to give their pastor(s) is a traditional quandary for church congregations. The membership of Covenant Christian Center found a unique way to honor and show oppression to their pastors recently. The congregation sent pastors Terry and Janice Culberson on an all expenses-paid 11-day trip to Israel last month. ...

Few people feel like singing as they prepare to decorate the family Christmas tree. Maybe they dislike putting the tree together, or perhaps they get dizzy as they put on the lights. For others, a lack of decorative flair makes them dislike the task because they know their tree won't look like the ones in the stores, even if they buy all the same ornamentation."We get a lot of questions on how to do it right," said Matt Seabaugh, seasonal department manager at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. ...

Editor's Note: A retired Cape Girardeau businessman and prostate cancer survivor, Cliff Rudesill is a vocal advocate of PSA tests. This is his first-person story of why he feels the screenings are essential for men. You have cancer. Those three words are probably the most dreaded in our society. If my doctor was trying to get my attention, he succeeded. Yes, I had prostate cancer. This was early 1997...

Going to work every day for the Federal Bureau of Investigation was never a chore for Pat Gorham. But after 30 years, he'd rather spend his days now with a dog."He keeps me company," said Gorham, who got an 11-month old German Shepherd named Major shortly after he retired from his career as a special agent this fall...

When patients ask family physician Dr. Michael Wulfers about having an annual prostate screening, he gives them a fact sheet that explains the pros and cons of the test. It's important for people to know that making a decision on a prostate cancer screening is not cut and dry, said Wulfers, a doctor with Physician Associated in Cape Girardeau. ...

There's nothing like thousands of Christmas tree lights twinkling in the dark to make you feel all warm and cuddly inside. Christmas is the time of year when whole neighborhoods glow in the dark. No, it's not the work of strange space aliens. It's the work of our friends and neighbors, people who regularly go to work and act like normal people...

MARSHALL -- If a decision reached by the Missouri Court of Appeals of the Western District last week stands, confined animal feeding operations would, for the first time, face potential regulation from county governments. In a recent decision stemming from a lawsuit filed by Jeremy and Janice Barron over hog farm regulations adopted by Linn County last August, the court upheld an earlier decision by Linn County Judge Kenneth Lewis in favor of the county...

Southeast Missouri State University's Board of Regents could be asked as early as January to approve plans for an addition to the campus' Wildwood home to house offices for the university foundation and alumni services. Wildwood, which served as the official residence for Southeast's presidents for more than 70 years, would continue to be used for receptions and meetings. It also would house guests of the university...

The good news is, astronomers correctly predicted that last month's meteor storm would peak over Europe. Reports from Israel estimate 71,000 meteors per hour (20 per second!) were seen. Many were caught on video tape and looked very much like the fireball which the region saw on the 16th of November. ...

Southeast Missouri State University's Alpha Delta Pi chapter is currently participating in a national clothing drive sponsored by Dryel, the dry-clean-only fabric care. The new product is being introduced by Procter & Gamble. The Dryel clothing drive is being done on 30 college campuses across the country, with only sororities participating. ...

Three faculty members and 25 students from Southeast Missouri State University gathered for class outdoors Tuesday to plant trees along the Cape LaCroix Recreational Trail in Cape Girardeau. Rachel Finch, a part-time instructor of English; Larry Hamilton, assistant professor of sociology; Glen Williams, assistant professor of speech communication and theatre; and students in the "Be All You Can Be" Freshmen Learning Team, a course that Williams supervises; planted a grove of Bald Cypress along a portion of the trail. ...

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri suffered a tough 85-81 overtime loss to Middle Tennessee Saturday night, the sixth straight defeat suffered by the Otahkians. Southeast after winning its first game of the season, is now 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference...

Oakland City proved to be a small obstacle as Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team set out in search of the program's best-ever Division I start Saturday night. Southeast used two major runs at the start of each half to flick aside the Division II Mighty Oaks 79-45 in front of 4,576 fans at the Show Me Center...

Eight softball players from the Southeast Missouri region were recently named all-state performers. Amber Voerg and Ashley Foutch both made the list for Cape Central in Class 4A, as did Jackson's Amanda Bollinger and Megan Kuntze. In Class 3A, Perryville's Amanda Schumer and Stacy Baer each made all-state for the second straight year, and Audrey Burford and Megan Beggs were both named all-state in Class 2A from Kelly High School, which made it to the state semifinals this past season...

Marie A. Vincel, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Dec. 3, 1999, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 26, 1916, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of A. F. and Irene Blank Maurer. She married Frank L. Vincel Jan. 15, 1939, at Cape Girardeau. He preceded her in death Feb. 11, 1969...

EAST PRAIRIE -- Jerry Blain Secoy, 68, of East Prairie died Friday, Dec. 3, 1999 at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Nov. 21, 1931, in Tiptonville, Tenn., son of Tom and Lula Mae Darnell Secoy. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Korean War. ...

POCAHONTAS -- Norma Amanda Pfeiffer, age 77, of Pocahontas, died Saturday, Dec. 4, 1999, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau where she had been a resident since 1990. She was born Oct. 15, 1922, at Uniontown, the daughter of Gottfried J. and Emma (Franke) Hemmann. On October 15, 1944, she married Victor Pfeiffer, who survives...

Ingredients. 2 pounds deer cut into bite-size pieces 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks 12 cherry tomatoes 1 can (16 ounces) ripe black olives 12 strips of bacon 1 onion, cut into chunks 1 can whole green chiles, rinsed 12 fresh mushrooms, cleaned 1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks...

PERRYVILLE -- James B. Watts, 80, of Perryville, died Saturday, Dec. 4, 1999, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born Sept. 2, 1919, at Portia, Ark., son of Charles "Buster" and Maud Anderson Watts. He and Viola E. Sutton were married Jan. 18, 1939...

A Whitewater woman received serious injuries in a car accident on Saturday. Ann M. Gooch, 26, was airlifted to Southeast Missouri Hospital after an accident that occurred about 11 a.m. Gooch was a passenger in a 1986 Ford driven by Mark A. Gooch, 29, also of Whitewater. ...

Wilda Corrine Rudert, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Dec. 3, 1999, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Sept. 22, 1920, at Paragould, Ark., daughter of Dr. George and Genevieve Doll Yallaly. She and Jean Albert Rudert were married on July 17, 1947, in Cape Girardeau. ...

Hazel M. Kiefer Crader, 67, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Dec. 3, 1999, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Jan. 15, 1932, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of Wilson James and Ella Mae Fisher Crader. She and Rudolph Christian Kiefer were married July 4, 1953, at Piggott, Ark. He preceded her in death Aug. 26, 1973. She was a member of the Salvation Army 10 years...

PUXICO -- Brandalyn Michelle Pruitt, 22, of Puxico, died Saturday, Dec. 4, 1999, at Miner. Pruitt was born June 24, 1977, at Danville, Ill. Pruitt was a student at Mingo Job Corps Center in Puxico. She attended the Nazarene Church at Olivet, Ill. Survivors include her mother, Michaela Cole Borum, and stepfather, David B. Borum, of Jackson; two daughters, Savannah Dawn Pruitt and Caitlin Nicole Pruitt, both of Jackson; and one sister, Kimberly Nicole Sills of Terre Haute, Ind...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Irene Chappell, 88, of Cairo, Ill., died Saturday, Dec. 4, 1999, at the Daystar Care Center in Cairo. She was born on April 13, 1911, at Cairo, daughter of John H. and Mettie Barnes Lee. Chappell was a member of Cairo Baptist Church, where she was a deaconess and mission treasurer. She was a member of the Xi Beta Beta chapter of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority. Chappell worked as a stenographer for the L.J. Kleb and Newton-Satterfield Insurance Agency...

DEXTER -- Edith King, 78, of Essex died Friday, Dec. 3, 1999, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born April 3, 1921, at Campbell, daughter of Herbert and Bessie Hardy Byrd. She and Orville King were married at St. Louis in July of 1955...

Steve and Mary Beth Denton of Austin, Texas, and Bill Harrelson of San Rafael, Calif., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Deana Michelle Harrelson of Cape Girardeau, to Charles David Todt of Jackson. He is the son of Rita Todt of Oran.Harrelson received an associate degree in digital imaging from Texas State Technical College. ...

Jim and Sue Derwort of Marissa, Ill., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Jackie Derwort, to Talley Haines. He is the son of Joey and Jane Haines of Cape Girardeau.Derwort is a 1996 graduate of Marissa High School, and is a student at Southeast Missouri State University.Haines is a 1995 graduate of Central High School. He is a professional baseball player with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.A Dec. 17 wedding is planned...

Judging for the Cape Girardeau Holiday of Lights contest will be 6-8 p.m. Monday. Only homes and businesses nominated will be judged. Judges will select winners from each of seven sections within the city.To make nominations, get forms from the Convention & Visitors Bureau office or at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.Also, a bus tour of winning entries will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 17-18 to view the Holiday of Lights.Call 335-1631 for more information...

The house has a wraparound porch on two sides that gives access to the back patio and hot tub. Just off the kitchen is the elegant dining room with plenty of space for entertaining guests. The master bedroom is large, but so are the other three bedrooms in this house.The kitchen is a great place to sit and enjoy your morning coffee with its hard wood floor and view of the back yard...