Stories from Wednesday, March 22, 2000

The extremely mild weather of the last few weeks has given gardeners "The Fever." They want to get their hands in the soil and plant something. You can tell they have "The Fever" by the questions they ask. "Can I plant my tomatoes now? Is it too late for potatoes? Is it too late to seed my lawn?" All of these questions can be handled by my granddaughter's answer to everything. ...

Some lawmakers are proposing that a federal gasoline tax of 4.3 cents a gallon, dating back to 1993, be lifted temporarily as gas prices at service-station pumps continue to soar. No doubt those filling up their tanks would appreciate the reduction, however small, in gasoline prices. Some experts predict the price could reach a record $2 a gallon by summer...

A proposal making its way through the Missouri Legislature would allow the St. Louis Cardinals to keep the state's portion of sales-tax revenue generated at Busch Stadium. The money -- about $6 million a year -- would be earmarked to replace the 34-year-old Busch Stadium...

To the editor: I am a retired Cape Girardeau schoolteacher. Having lived in Cape for 31 years and having taught here for 21 years, I felt I must write. I had the opportunity to teach in several buildings during my years. My last eight years were spent at Schultz School...

It all started at midnight on Oct. 16. About 2,000 Southeast Missouri State University basketball fans showed up at the Show Me Center to officially kick off the season, a season that was filled with optimism. On Friday, fans will have an opportunity to thank the Indians for turning optimism into reality...

Riverfest has been canceled for this year. It's time to step back, take stock and plan for next year, said the Riverfest Board of Directors. "Everyone needs a vacation, including the Riverfest Board of Directors," board secretary Melinda Dodd said in a press release announcing the event's cancellation...

An eight-acre tract of land situated in an industrial area of Cape Girardeau has been selected as the site for a new county juvenile justice center. The Cape Girardeau County Commission announced Tuesday that land at the south intersection of Progress and Enterprise streets had been chosen for the center, which would house juvenile criminal offenders from Cape Girardeau and surrounding counties. The commission has been considering the site for months...

Damages of $500,000 have been awarded the family of a Zalma man in a wrongful death lawsuit brought against a Texas-based toolmaker. But the family of the man, David L. Myers, will get no more than $125,000, since the jury found Myers 75 percent liable for his death...

Continuation of the Cape Girardeau School District's master plan, continued fiscal planning and the possible need for increased funding on the local and state levels were issues identified by Board of Education candidates during a community forum Tuesday night...

Steven Nation sometimes feels jealous of the attention given his 7-year-old sister, Rebecca, who has cerebral palsy. As the sibling of a special needs child, he sometimes feels his needs get pushed aside. Such feelings may be natural, but they can also be difficult for a 12-year-old to understand...

Candidates for three Cape Girardeau City Council seats stated their positions at a public forum Tuesday night. About 20 people attended the forum to inform voters of issues prior to the April 4 elections. Only two of the three wards have contested races. Ward 3 Councilman Jay Purcell is running uncontested for a four-year term. He was first elected in 1998 to fill an unexpired term...

Radio listeners across the region helped raise $66,000 for St. Jude's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., during a 12-hour radiothon Tuesday. Last year's radiothon raised about $70,000. Listeners to KEZS/K103 participated in the "Country Cares for St. Jude's Kids" fund-raising event for the children's hospital. Callers from throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois offered donations ranging from $5 to hundreds of dollars, said Kent Crider, program director at KEZS...

A Cape Girardeau man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a robbery last weekend at a Dollar General store, police said. Robert J. Harper, 29, of 915 Ranney St., was charged with second-degree robbery, a class B felony. Police had reported a man had attempted to steal money from a cash register Saturday morning at Dollar General at 724 Broadway. When the cashier tried to stop him, the man threatened her and took the money...

ANNA, Ill. -- Voters in Dongola Unit School District approved funds of $285,000 for classroom additions and improvements but turned down a bond issue for $850,000 to construct a school gymnasium. The school bond issues at Dongola were two of three on the Union County ballot Tuesday. Voters approved a $1.7 million bond issue for a new school at Cobden. The Cobden school received a 74 percent approval vote, 863 to 312...

Chris Neff has coached his last basketball game at Notre Dame High School. After just one year as head coach, Neff recently resigned his position. Notre Dame, which went 16-11 this past season, was generally regarded as one of the top three or four Class 2A teams in the region...

We've just completed a very successful and exciting basketball season. A group of young men banded together as a family and attained their goals. We wanted to win the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship and we gained a co-championship. We wanted to win the OVC Tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in school history, and we did...

After nearly three months of trying to get settled into his new position as Southeast Missouri State University's head football coach, Tim Billings will finally get to see his players on the field. The Indians begin spring practice today. Under NCAA guidelines, Southeast is allowed to hold 15 spring workouts, 12 of them in pads. Spring drills will culminate with a public scrimmage on April 15...

Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team plays its final home game of the month today when Westminster College comes to Capaha Park for a 2 p.m. non-conference contest. The Indians are 13-5 overall and 1-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Westminster is 13-2 and ranked 19th in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III poll...

Southeast Missouri State University gymnasts Malia Roberts and Stephanie Furman have qualified for the NCAA Regionals to be held April 1 at the University of Arizona. Roberts, a senior, qualified in bars while Furman, a sophomore, qualified in vaulting...

In their first home game under lights, the Notre Dame Lady Bulldogs suffered a blackout in the scoring column. The Lady Bulldogs suffered a 4-0 loss to St. Louis-Notre Dame Tuesday night. St. Louis-Notre Dame, which finished third in Class 1A-3A last year, led just 1-0 at halftime, but a fluke goal three minutes into the second half took the air out of the Lady Bulldogs (0-1)...

PERRYVILLE -- Cecelia L. Erwin, 92, of Perryville died Tuesday, March 21, 2000, at Perry County Nursing home. She was born Oct. 24, 1907, in Ste. Genevieve County, daughter of Henry and Julia Taylor Grass. She and Andrew Erwin were married June 5, 1925. He died Oct 21, 1966...

KARNAK, Ill. -- Antoinette Summers, 57, of Karnak died Monday, March 20, 2000, at Massac Memorial Hospital in Metropolis. Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak is in charge of arrangements.

INDIO, Calif. -- Vernon D. Smithers, 69, formerly of Mississippi County, died Monday, March 20, 2000, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete with the McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston.

MARBLE HILL -- Celesta P. Fisher, 84, of Marion, Ill., died Monday, March 20, 2000, at Marymount Manor in Eureka. She was born Feb. 17, 1916, near Glen Allen, daughter of George F. and Ida Mae McGregor Eaker. She and Bryce R. Fisher were married July 14, 1940, near Lutesville. He died Sept. 7, 1994...

CHARLESTON -- Zan Noisworthy, 78, of Charleston died Tuesday, March 21, 2000, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 7, 1922, at Gideon, son of Fred and Cannie Bell Miller Noisworthy. He and Thelma R. Griffin were married Feb. 14, 1970. She died Sept. 16, 1991...

Glenn F. Amelunke, 67, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 21, 2000, at his home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Andrew McMurray, 81, of Anna died Monday, March 20, 2000, at Mullberry Manor Nursing Home in Anna. Graveside service will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Anna Cemetery, with the Rev. Jimmy Keller officiating. Hileman and Parr Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

Iola Marie Kinnison, 73, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 21, 2000, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation Services. She was born May 21, 1926, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Joseph David and Ida A. Gross Fischer. She and Andrew Eldridge Kinnison were married June 27, 1953, in Cape Girardeau...

LEOPOLD -- Funeral Mass for Louis J. Hinkebein of Benton, Ky., was held Tuesday at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Aurora, Ky. The Rev. Richard Cash officiated, with burial in Marshall County Memory Gardens in Benton. Collier Funeral Home in Benton was in charge of arrangements...

Daughter to Todd Michael and Christina Marie Kester of Millersville, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 8:46 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2000. Name, Casey Lee. Weight, 6 pounds 14 ounces. First child. Mrs. Kester is the former Christina Bunch, daughter of Odell and Brenda Bunch of Marble Hill. Kester is the son of Mike and Joyce Kester of Sedgewickville. He is a maintenance technician at Dana Corp...

PERRYVILLE -- Verna G. Coffman Smith, 93, of Perryville died Tuesday, March 21, 2000, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Nov. 8, 1906, in Ste. Genevieve County, daughter of Edward Leon and Ella Kennon Roper. She first married Ralph Coffman Jr. Nov. 8, 1924, at St. Mary's. He preceded her in death. She later married Hubert Smith Dec. 4, 1949. He also preceded her in death...

BLOOMFIELD -- Hattie H. Atteberry, 96, of Bloomfield died Tuesday, March 21, 2000, at Beverly Healthcare Center. She was born Dec. 15, 1903, at Marquand, daughter of W.R. and Bertie Smith Hawn. She and Gene Atteberry were married April 27, 1927. Atteberry was retired from General Motors Corp...

Have you bought a better and newer model of computer lately and don't know what to do with your old computer? Sikeston Regional Center for Developmental Disabilities is seeking donations of good used PCs for kids and adults who have developmental disabilities...

Mother and Daddy were like two peas in a pod except on very rare occasions. One of these occasions came to my mind as I pondered how much I wanted pruned from my front yard shrubs this spring. In the spring of 1969 Daddy was getting his master's degree, and he was doing his thesis on the benefits of pruning shrubs for landscaping purposes (how much or how little seeming to be the question). ...

Over the past few weeks there have been more recipes to share than I have had space to put them. You have been so good about sharing your culinary findings with all of us, so now I need to clean off my desk and get caught up on back pieces of mail. So, like everyone else, I will be doing some spring cleaning. But the nice part about that is, we will have a nice variety of recipes for you...