St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

Fired Up SPORTS Cards' Rally Rocks Colorado 5-4 id LOCAL Stamping Out Postal Problems ib All Decked Out On The River Choosing uniforms for riverboat casino employees can be more complicated than it appears. BUSINESS PLUS 12 or Grilling Marinades, dry rubs and beefed-up barbecue sauces can broaden grilling horizons well beyond the norm. Five varieties of each can be found inside. FOOD EVERYDAY Sweat Trivia To Pore Over ie I VOL. 115, NO.

207 MONDAY, JULY 26, 1993 5-STAR Copyright 1993 (1) 50C 76 i int. int. J. IIMIiwlwu i Jf -1 4" Thousands Flee Homes In 2 States By Donald Berns, Robert Manor and William Allen 01 the Post-Dispatch Staff Levee breaks, both real and threatened, sent thousands of people fleeing their homes Sunday along both the Missouri and Illinois sides of the Mississippi River. The most dramatic break was in Perry County, where the Mississippi River charged through a levee break near Menfro, forcing the predawn evacuation of about two dozen families.

In Illinois, authorities warned residents living in towns from Valmeyer south to Prairie du Rocher a distance of more than 20 miles that a levee protecting their homes and fields was about to fail. The levee is just north of Prairie du Rocher. If the levee gives way, the Mississippi River will cover 37,000 acres and threaten hundreds of homes. The roughly 900 residents of Valmeyer loaded up their cars and pickups with furniture, clothing and toys. Many began heading east toward higher ground.

Residents took the warnings seriously and without panic. At the last house in Valmeyer, and the closest to the water if the levee fails, Lisa Schwarze carried a food processor from the kitchen to her car, already packed with kitchen utensils and household goods. See LEVEES, Page 7 70,000 Acres Lost; 57,000 About To Be By Virgil Tipton Of the Post-Dispatch Staff After a day of relative peace, the Missouri and Mississippi rivers lashed out on Sunday, crashing through levees in Perry County, and Pike County, III, choking the water supply to almost 100,000 people in northwestern Missouri and forcing thousands in Southern Illinois to flee. Pounded by the rivers and soaked by rain, levees and sandbags are losing their power to hold back the flood. North and south of St.

Louis, levees protecting 70,000 acres yielded to floodwater on Sunday. Emergency workers urged people to flee before other levees collapsed. A total of 57,000 acres was in danger of innundation on Sunday, the Corps of Engineers said. One of the spots in trouble was north of St. Louis in Greene County, 111.

Residents there packed up as the levee protecting 10,500 acres of farmland and homes began to deteriorate. "It's very doubtful it'll be able to make it," said Gary Dyhouse, a hy-drologist with the Army Corps of Engineers. The story was the same in Monroe and Randolph counties in Illinois, south of St. Louis, where authorities gave up on a levee on Sunday and urged almost 2,000 people to leave. Sand oozed through holes on the landward side of the levee, an indication that the river was reaching through weak spots underneath.

North of East Hannibal, III, in Pike County, the Mississippi brushed aside a section of the Sny Island levee, opening a hole big enough to flood 44,000 acres. The water roared into the area so quickly that six people were stranded until National Guard rescuers in helicopters plucked them out of trees and off a bulldozer. In Perry County, the Mississippi punched through a levee protecting 26,000 acres of farmland and about 60 homes. Harold Smith, 52, a maintenance worker with the corps, was nearby in his truck when a 300-foot section of the levee collapsed. See FLOODING, Page 4 t-t" at jaarf'iafle.

BillWaughAP The Mississippi River swamping a farm Sunday after breaking through the Sny Island levee in Illinois. The farm is south of Quincy, III. The levee break stranded six people and flooded 44,000 acres. St. Joseph, Residents Line Up For Water By Terry Ganey Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau Chief ST.

JOSEPH, Mo. Thousands of people carrying containers lined up for water Sunday in St. Joseph, after the flooded Missouri River knocked out water service to the city's 77,000 residents. The rain-swollen river poured into the Missouri-American Water Company plant late Saturday night, damaging seven electric pumps. Four feet of water stood in the city's only pumphouse Sunday afternoon.

Kristi M. Sinn, a spokeswoman for the water company, said it might take two to four days to repair the pumps, once the river subsides enough for workers to get back into the water plant to Town By Town: Damage detailed in Missouri and Illinois 6A River Crest: Crests at sites on the rivers 6 A River Ride: Levee break carries away worker. 7A Sunday Service: Portage des Sioux church holds Mass IB Jesse Jackson: He views flooding, asks people to come together IB House Vote: Speaker says aid-vote delay unfair to victims 2B remove the damaged electric motors. That whole process could take a week. The National Guard set up five water-distribution points around the city.

Portable toilets were also established there and at six other locations. People armed with empty plastic milk jugs, Coleman coolers and buckets waited in line to be served. Each family is limited to 10 gallons of water a day. The water must be boiled at least three minutes to be considered safe. "It seems kind of ironic to have so much water, and yet there's nothing to drink," said Bob Randle-man, 46, who stood in line with his wife, each holding five one-gallon plastic jugs.

"My personal concern is that we were no better prepared for it," Randleman said. "I appreciate everything that everybody is doing. Everybody is working together really well. But there was really little preparation for it. Hopefully, we can learn from this and do something about it better next time." Asked how he was coping, he said: "You don't flush the toilet very often.

"We've been buying bottled water at the store to drink," Randleman said. Referring to the amounts he accepted from the Guard, he said: "This will be for whatever bathing we can do, or for cooking." Jerry Ungles, a senior master sergeant in the See WATER, Page 7 Cave Flood's Survivor Goes Home As 6 Families Mourn By Peter Hernon and Tim Bryant Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Gary Mahr, the lone survivor of a flash flood that killed six people in a cave, got his pepperoni pizza Sunday and went home. "He's in good condition and very good spirits," said Peggy Schneider, a nursing supervisor at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. But the day was grim for the relatives of those who perished when a wall of muddy water swept through Cliff Cave. They spent much of the day planning funerals and asking themselves if the drownings could have been avoided.

At the same time, St. Louis County's top park official said he had yet to decide whether to close the cave, for years a popular attraction in South County. Jerry Schober, director of the county's Department of Parks and Recreation, says he's not sure closing the cave is a good idea. "Half the things people enjoy have some risk," he said. "At some point, we as citizens have to accept some risk, and I think we've got to weigh that" in deciding the fate of Cliff Cave.

Schober said he planned to discuss the issue today with his staff. was one of the counselors who died. Funeral arrangements remained incomplete for many of the victims. In addition to Redmond, those killed were: Tarrell P. Battle, 10, of the 3800 block of North 22nd Street, St.

Louis. Melvin E. Bell, 10, of the 800 block of Minnie Avenue, Kirkwood. Terrill A. Vincent, 12, of the 4500 block of Durant Avenue, St.

Louis. Emmett L. Terry, 9, of the 3800 block of St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis.

Jennifer Metherd, 21, a counselor, of the 3500 block of Wintergreen Lane in Mehlville. Authorities pressed ahead with several in Done properly, cave exploring safer than driving on highway 8A Four boys and two adult counselors from St. Joseph's Home for Boys died in Friday's outing to Cliff Cave Park. As he planned his son's funeral Wednesday, the Rev. Harold Redmond of Richmond Heights called for county officials to close the cave.

"It seems that everyone is passing the buck, as far as what happened," he said. "They should have closed that cave, and they should have done it a long time ago." Redmond's son, Darnell E. Redmond, 31, vestigations into the drownings, which happened Friday afternoon when 16 boys and four counselors from the boys' home visited the cave on a field trip. A heavy rainstorm sent water pouring through sinkholes above the cave, filling many passageways to the ceiling and trapping seven members of the party. Four bodies were recovered Friday.

Saturday morning, searchers recovered two more bodies 3fd found Gary alive, thanks to an air pocket. Three county police officers are investigating the Police Superintendent Ronald See CLIFF CAVE, Page 8 WEATHER INDEX PARTLY CLOUDY v. Business Plus 1-24BP Classified Israeli Planes Strike Bases In Lebanon At Least 18 Killed In Heaviest Fighting Since '82 Editorials 6B I1 Everyday 1-8E Bain OfTeeeoe Food 1-6 Food Movie Timetable 7E FORECAST Today Partly cloudy, isolated storms. High of 95. Storms tonight.

Low of 75. Tuesday Partly cloudy, chance of NationWorld 3A Obituaries 4B 2A People 1-8D Sports Television 6E storms. High of 94. Other Weather, 12B Compiled From News Services MASHGHARA, Lebanon Israeli fighter-bombers and helicopter gunships pounded Palestinian and pro-Iranian guerrilla targets across Lebanon on Sunday in the heaviest air strikes there since Israel's invasion in 1982. Arabs responded with rocket barrages, and at least 18 people were killed on both sides of the border.

The Israeli aircraft hit bases used by Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim group financed by Iran, and by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a Syrian-supported Palestinian group. Both groups have claimed sibility for attacks on the Israeli security zone that have killed seven Israeli soldiers and wounded seven in the last month. In northern Lebanon, security sources said Israeli gunboats fired missiles at a Palestinian base late Sunday. The sources said the Israeli vessels attacked the base at Baddawi camp, north of Tripoli. There was no word on casualties.

Israeli aircraft bombarded targets in southern Lebanon again early today, security sources said. In Washington and other capitals, officials denounced the growing Arab-Israeli violence, which has seriously strained the Middle East peace See LEBANON, Page 3 HZ POST DISPATCH Weather 12B EDITORIAL PAGE More Banks For Cities Fenton Says No WEATMfcHBIHD wto oil PAI.orr. if" k. I AP To Tax Reform 6B Smoke and debris shooting Into the air Sunday during an Israeli air attack qn a Palestinian guerrilla base in southern Lebanon. 091891100.