Out of the past: Jan. 28

1999

Plans to reclaim the former beauty of the Jackson High School auditorium could be put into action as early as this summer; the oak paneling and golden-veined Ste. Genevieve marble in the lobby of the 563-seat auditorium will be restored, as will a seldom-used ticket booth that contains marble and oak accents; ornate bas-relief designs and decorative vent coverings found throughout the auditorium will also be preserved.

Daniel North, 24, has been named executive director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, a position he says he basically has been training for since becoming assistant to the director a year and a half ago; the appointment followed the resignation earlier this month of Greg Jones, who had been the Arts Council's executive director since August 1997.

1974

Weekend precipitation and a slight drop in temperature brought more speculation as to whether winter weather was over and whether the area should prepare for spring flooding comparable to that in 1973; most areas of the state received some form of precipitation over the weekend, ranging from freezing rain mixed with some snow to just rain; Cape Girardeau received .32 of an inch of rain Saturday and by 8 a.m. today had recorded another .52 of an inch since midnight; the river at Cape Girardeau is at 32.51 feet and rising.

A Cape Girardeau teacher is back home apparently unharmed by an armed man and woman who she said kidnapped her from the Del-Farms parking lot, 121 S. Sprigg St., about 7:45 Saturday night; her abductors forced the woman to drive them in her car to Owensboro, Kentucky, where they got out and fled on foot.

1949

Surface water in low districts along the Mississippi River continues to cause trouble as the river itself, after a small drop at Cape Girardeau, is again on the rise; the rise is apparent all along the stretch of the river in Southeast Missouri, but chief concern exists in the districts south of Bird's Point and Cairo, Illinois; rainfall in Cape Girardeau in the past 24 hours amounted to 1.2 inches, bringing the total for this week to 6.46 inches and for the month of January to 12.56 inches.

Preliminary plans for the construction of a permanent building for showing Future Farmer exhibits at the District Fair were drafted last night at a meeting of a committee representing the District Vocational Agriculture Association; the plans will be presented to the entire association at a district meeting in late February at Dexter.

1924

In regard to the condition of the West End streets in Cape Girardeau, which have come in for considerable criticism in recent days, Street Commissioner Louis Wittmor says it is impossible to put them into proper condition for vehicular traffic until after the spring thaw; any rock and gravel put on the streets now, he says, will be immediately buried in the mud.

Joseph A. Serena, president of the Cape Girardeau Teachers College, is vindicated; Circuit Court Judge Frank Kelly at Jackson rules he was justified in making and enforcing any "reasonable rule" in the conduct of the institution; the ruling stems from a suit brought by George D. Englehart, a former student; Englehart had asked $6,000 damages for alleged ejection from the college dormitory last summer.

-- Sharon K. Sanders