Out of the past: June 17

1995

Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III has changed his mind on the golf and recreation fee hikes; on Monday he plans to ask the City Council to scale back the fee hikes to bring them in line with the city's 5% annual cap on tax and fee increases; originally, golf and recreation fees were set to increase by as much as 8% in the city budget.

Saint Francis Medical Center honored achievement at its annual banquet yesterday; retired Circuit Court Judge Marybelle Mueller received the hospital's first Community Achievement Award, and Dan Niswonger, a Cape Girardeau police officer injured while on duty, received the first Courageous Patient Award.

1970

The anticipated proposal of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department for increased job benefits was officially presented to the City Council last night; it calls for a salary increase of $100 per month across the board, health, welfare and retirement benefits, revision of holiday, "Kelly Day" and vacation schedules, and proposes starting pay for a fireman be boosted an additional $25 to compare with the beginning salary of a patrolman on the police department.

CAIRO, Ill. -- The first stage of construction of the Interstate 57 bridge across the Mississippi River north of here is nearing completion; the construction project is in the form of a landfill, which will provide an approach to the four-lane structure that will connect the Illinois and Missouri portions of the nationwide interstate highway system.

1945

Delores Alford, Martha Stuber, Nancy Mosley, Leila Reid, Joyce Erlbacher, Jeanne Godwin, Gertrude Alexander and Mary Jane Johns depart for Arcadia, Missouri, where they will represent Centenary Methodist Church at the Young People's Assembly.

The Rev. Gail Norman of Sikeston, Missouri, is the guest speaker at the morning worship service at the Church of God Mission; his subject is "The Importance of Work."

1920

Madame Ernest Schumann-Heink sang before a crowd of 1,600 at the State College auditorium last night, the largest audience ever gathered there; her performance confirmed the admiration of music lovers the world over that she is the world's greatest contralto, a title she has held undisputed the last 20 years.

Construction on the new Frisco passenger station on South Main Street is being carried on rapidly under the management of contractor J.W. Gerhardt; nearly all building material is on the site, the only thing lacking being brick for the wainscoting in the main waiting room, which is being shipped in.

-- Sharon K. Sanders