Out of the past: July 14

1992

The National Weather Service says some relief from the weeklong string of hot, dry days may be near. There's a slight chance of thunderstorms late today, and that chance should increase by midweek as a frontal boundary that has stalled for over a week across Missouri, Iowa and northern Illinois begins to sag southward into central and southern Missouri.

Southeast Missouri State University has received a $541,185, three-year federal grant to train elementary- and secondary-school educators on teaching English skills to students who lack proficiency in the language.

1967

BENTON, Mo. -- The plummeting crash of a twin-engine Piper Aztec airplane owned by Sen. Edward V. Long on the Charles Punch farm at the outskirts of Benton killed the pilot and a woman companion last night. Those who viewed the wreckage say the plane entered the ground almost straight down at a high rate of speed.

The temperature plunges to 59 degrees early in the morning, causing residents to turn off their air-conditioners and reach for covers. The resort weather isn't a record, however; at Jackson, the lowest July temperature for the date was 50 degrees in 1950.

1942

Faced with the prospect of declining revenues and with the necessity of borrowing money to operate during the next three lean months when tax collections are poor, the Cape Girardeau City Council yesterday ordered a strict program of retrenchment, including the dropping of one member of the police department and the decision not to fill a vacancy on the fire department.

Cape Girardeau, seeking escape last night from the offensive heat, which followed a top afternoon temperature of 95 degrees, literally closed its doors as almost every available automobile was used for rides on the street and highways. Scores spent most of the first half of the night in parks in and around the city, and some came home only for breakfast.

1917

A.L. Bays of Cape Girardeau, a lumber inspector for a local sawmill, has received a letter from his son, Jessie A. Bays, 25, which states he is in the engineering corps of the Army and located at Fort McDowell, West Garrison, Angel Island, California. Young Bays left here three years ago to seek his fortune in the West.

That grand soaker that starts shortly after 2 p.m. is the first rain the city has enjoyed since June 8. A violent electrical storm accompanies the heavy rain that nourishes thirsty gardens.

-- Sharon K. Sanders