Stories from Saturday, October 13, 2001

BOSTON -- In a ruling aimed at bringing the law in line with advances in science, Massachusetts' highest court unanimously declared Friday that a couple whose twins were born to a surrogate mother were the children's legal parents from the moment of birth...

EL PASO, Ill. -- A school bus driver accused of drunken driving while transporting a basketball team resigned and said he "let a lot of people down." Alan L. Cline, 54, was charged with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, at twice the legal blood-alcohol limit, after shuttling a 22-member high school girls basketball team and two coaches from El Paso to Eureka on Oct. 2...

EAST ST. LOUIS -- East St. Louis police say they would accept help in investigating the murders of nine women whose bodies have been dumped there over the past two years, despite spurning an offer from the FBI last year. "The FBI has lots of expertise that can lend credence to any investigation," said East St. Louis Police Chief Delbert Marion, who was promoted to the top job last month. "We're not too proud to accept assistance from anyone."...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Six-year-old Eileen Vinton was ready when the governor came calling at her elementary school Friday as part of a national effort to get students to simultaneously recite the Pledge of Allegiance. As the clock struck 1 p.m., Eileen proudly put her right hand across her heart and began saying the words she had said every morning since beginning the first grade this fall at Rountree Elementary School in Springfield...

CRAB ORCHARD, Ill. -- Teachers in this small Southern Illinois town picketed again Friday, heading into a second week of their walkout with no contract and no new talks to come up with one. Meanwhile, the state's other two teachers strikes showed mixed results Friday...

ST. LOUIS -- Calling for an investigation, two St. Louis County Council members have accused the county assessor of perhaps illegally raising property values -- and tax bills -- for 46,000 homeowners through questioned home inspections, according to a newspaper report...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The mother of a youth football player involved in the fatal tackle of another player may have altered a document to make him appear younger than he really was, a national Pop Warner official said. "From what we have heard we believe that his mother may have altered his birth certificate," said Jon Butler, director of the national Pop Warner office in Langhorne, Pa...

LAS VEGAS -- For two days, golf seemed an easy game for Tom Lehman. Then the wind started blowing and his chances of running away with the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas went with it. Lehman's three-shot lead evaporated in the wind Friday, allowing Craig Parry to pass him by and take a one-shot advantage through three rounds of the 90-hole tournament...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Mike Tyson says he's as sharp and as strong as he's been in six years. The big unknown is how he will fare after so much time outside the ring. The former undisputed heavyweight champion has fought only 26 1/2 minutes (fewer than nine full rounds) since 1999...

ATLANTA -- The NL championship series just didn't seem right without the Atlanta Braves. Well, they're back. After struggling just to make the playoffs, the Braves cruised into the NLCS for the ninth time in 10 years, beating the Houston Astros 6-2 Friday to complete a sweep of their first-round series...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tom Kelly retired Friday after 15 seasons managing the Minnesota Twins, the longest current tenure in major pro sports. The 51-year-old Kelly led the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. "It's just been a fantastic ride for me," Kelly said after meeting with Twins owner Carl Pohlad, "and I just feel that right now it's a good time for me to step aside and let somebody else take over."...

ST. LOUIS -- Craig Counsell had another big October moment, moving the Arizona Diamondbacks one win from their first NL championship series. Counsell hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the seventh inning and Arizona rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round NL playoff...

Southeast Missouri State University's women's soccer team will entertain Tennessee Tech tonight in a game that should go a long way toward determining the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion. The 7 p.m. contest at Houck Stadium will feature the top two squads in the current OVC standings. Tech (9-3 overall) is 2-0 while Southeast (9-1) is 1-0...

WASHINGTON -- The House on Friday quickly approved anti-terrorist legislation pushed by the Senate and White House to increase the government's power to spy on, detain and punish suspected terrorists. Before passage, however, the House insisted on changing the Senate package to put a five-year expiration deadline on the most intrusive of the new measures, including roving wiretaps, because of misgivings about civil liberties. ...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration widened its financial assault on terrorism Friday, naming an additional 39 individuals and organizations to have their assets frozen. The Treasury Department released a new list of entities suspected of conducting or financing terrorist activities. The latest move to choke off terrorists' funding is considered by President Bush to be a key part of the U.S. government's broader anti-terrorism campaign...

NABLUS, West Bank -- Thousands of Palestinians protested Friday against U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan, holding two marches in the West Bank and chanting "Bush is the father of terrorism." In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met with two senior Palestinian negotiators for talks on how to implement a Sept. 26 truce deal -- despite mutual complaints of serious violations, officials from both sides said...

Bill Cobb, counselor for Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, will be the guest on the "Independently Speaking" public affairs show that will air at 5:30 a.m. Sunday on WDKA, Channel 49. Sunday's show will be rebroadcast on Tuesday and Thursday on access channel 5...

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Environmentalists are concerned about the speed with which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is resuming its navigation study on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The corps restarted the controversial study Aug. 2 after keeping in the "pause" mode for five months. An interim report on the study is due in July. A draft of that report has a Feb. 2 deadline...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University President James E. Walker got a $50,000 raise, then donated most of it to his new scholarship fund. In a move that caught the Southern Illinois University trustees off guard Thursday, Walker said he will earmark $30,000 of the salary increase for scholarships...

UNITED NATIONS -- In an era of spreading global terrorism and widening conflict, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday for their roles at the "forefront of efforts to achieve peace and security in the world."...

BOSTON -- Polaroid Corp., which revolutionized photography with its instant cameras, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday after failing to catch the latest wave in picture-taking technology -- digital imaging. The widely expected move comes three months after Polaroid said it would miss payments to bondholders and would explore such options as a sale of the company. But no buyer stepped forward, and business slowed further after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...

Larry E. Nicholson was either a jailer doing his job, conducting a routine patdown of a female prisoner, or was a sexual predator using his badge as a license to sexually assault her. Nicholson, a jailer with the Cape Girardeau Police Department, was charged Wednesday with the sexual misconduct and assault of a 20-year-old Cape Girardeau woman...

NORFOLK, Va. -- With a promise never to forget, the Navy dedicated a monument Friday to the 17 sailors killed in the bombing of the USS Cole exactly one year ago. "Today, we honor 17 American heroes at this beautiful site that will forever carry their names," Rear Adm. John B. Foley III, commander of the Atlantic Fleet's surface forces, told about 1,000 Cole crew members and relatives who gathered at the Norfolk Naval Station...

An assistant to NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw contracted the skin form of anthrax after opening a "threatening" letter to her boss that contained a suspicious powder, authorities and the network said Friday. Officials quickly said there was no known link to either the Sept. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- An autopsy performed Friday on an inmate who died in the Scott County Jail didn't immediately reveal a cause of death, but county coroner Scott Amick said toxicology reports could contain the answer. A fellow inmate discovered Ernest L. ...

Being in charge has its rewards, whether it's receiving advice from President Ronald Reagan or special parking privileges, say those who have served as Student Government president at Southeast Missouri State University. In Alison Sorenson Staggs' case, the leadership post allowed her to meet and greet President Ronald Reagan when he visited Cape Girardeau on Sept. ...

JERUSALEM -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has won new assurances that the United States is going ahead with a Mideast peace initiative that calls for establishing a Palestinian state with a foothold in Jerusalem, a Palestinian Cabinet minister said Friday...

TOKYO -- A cow suspected of being Japan's second case of mad cow disease tested negative for the illness, the government said Friday, quelling concerns for now that the brain-wasting illness was spreading. Samples taken from the slaughtered animal revealed that it was not infected as feared after a preliminary examination, said Health Ministry spokesman Yoshifumi Kachi...

SEOUL, South Korea -- Citing a "warlike situation" in South Korea, North Korea on Friday abruptly postponed a scheduled reunion of 200 separated family members in the two Korean states, officials said. In a statement broadcast on its radio, North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland, a powerful party organization, also called off a plan to send a taekwondo demonstration team to South Korea. Both the reunion and the demonstration had been scheduled for next week...

MOSCOW -- The chief investigator in the crash of a Russian airliner said Friday the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile, and a Ukrainian official said his nation's forces could have been responsible. The Tu-154 airliner went down Oct. 4 off the Black Sea coast near the Russian city of Sochi after an explosion on board. All 78 people on the plane, most of them recent Russian immigrants to Israel, were killed...

LONDON -- British officials said Friday they believe Afghanistan's Taliban government has exaggerated the number of civilian casualties in U.S.-led raids. "It's widely understood among Afghanistan refugees that there have not been so many civilian casualties," International Development Secretary Clare Short told a news conference...

HONG KONG -- Beijing authorities have instructed Chinese airlines in Hong Kong to halt ticket sales to nationals of 19 countries, mainly those in the Middle East. China National Aviation Corp., the sole agent of 10 mainland airlines in Hong Kong, told travel agents in an Oct. 3 memo to stop selling tickets to China to holders of certain passports and to refund tickets already bought...

MEDINA, Saudi Arabia -- Prayers rang out for Afghans Friday at the main weekly service in Medina, Islam's second holiest city, and at other mosques across the Middle East. Leading prayers at the Prophet's Mosque, Sheik Hussein al-Sheik implored God to "protect all the Muslims in Afghanistan and Palestine." He repeated the call several times, and each time the crowd of worshippers echoed his words in a vast murmur, then chanted "amen."...

NEW YORK -- A detailed FBI list of people being sought for questioning about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks includes Florida residents who shared a post office box in Saudi Arabia, a man with a "LAST--DAY--11," e-mail address and the German girlfriend of one of the hijackers...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A Taliban report that 200 villagers were killed in a missile strike this week opened a contentious exchange of claims and counter-claims Friday over civilian casualties from the U.S.-led air campaign against Afghanistan. Later, the air campaign apparently resumed early Saturday when several planes streaked over Kabul and large explosions were heard in northern areas of the city, rattling buildings in the heart of the capital...

MAHMUD-E-RAQI, Afghan-istan -- Afghan opposition commanders are waiting for the order to move on the capital, but exiled Afghan leaders and a Pakistani official say the northern alliance has agreed not to seize Kabul until major factions can establish a government to replace the ruling Taliban...

SEATTLE -- Boeing Co. will cut about 12,000 employees from its commercial airplanes and shared services divisions by Dec. 14 in the first round of layoffs prompted by the terrorist attacks, the company said Friday. About 9,000 of those employees were scheduled to receive 60-day layoff notices Friday, Boeing spokesman Tom Ryan said, including about 7,000 in the Puget Sound region where the majority of Boeing's commercial jets are built...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Oct. 13 On Thursday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 8:30 p.m., a house fire at 647 S. Henderson. At 10:14 p.m., an alarm sounding at the Holiday Inn. On Friday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 2:17 a.m., a medical assist at 2576 Meadow...

In the wake of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, perhaps Make a Difference Day is more pertinent to our lives than ever before. Instead of dividing us, the attacks brought us closer together as a nation and took volunteerism and charitable giving to new heights...

High school pride I MUST certainly agree with the caller who said Cape businesses should take pride in their local high school. However, pride has to start from within. It was quite apparent in the Cape-Jackson football game which team and coaching staff takes more pride in preparing their team to compete. ...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Annabell Hagar, 88, of Morley died Friday, Oct. 12, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 5, 1913, in Biggers, Ark., daughter of Thomas Newton "T.N." and Lydia Davidson Hagar. Hagar had been a waitress at Morley Cafe and had been a bookkeeper at Hagar-Holland Bookkeeping...

ANNA, Ill. -- Edith Rhodes Johnson, 84, of Anna died Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001, at Union County Hospital. She was born March 11, 1917, in Grand Tower, Ill., daughter of Robert and Emma Foster Gregory. She and Aaron Rhodes were married in 1934 in Granite City. He died in 1978. She and John Johnson were married in 1982 in Anna. He died in 1994...

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- James W. Sides, 63, of Alto Pass died Friday, Oct. 12, 2001, at his home. He was born Jan. 21, 1938, in Alto Pass, son of George Paul and Mable Bryant Sides. Sides owned and operated Sides Service Station many years. He was a member of the Congregational Church and Alto Pass Cemetery Board...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Agnes Alida Trankle of Leopold died Friday, Oct. 12, 2001, at Leopold. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Hutchings Funeral Chapel in Marble Hill, Mo.

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Funeral for Charles L. Wilson of Villa Ridge will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at First Freewill Baptist Church in Olive Branch, Ill. The Rev. Curtis Alderson will officiate. Burial will be in Olive Branch Cemetery, with full military honors by VFW Post 8891 of Mounds, Ill...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Guy Theodore Bush, 46, of Bonner Springs, Kan., died Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001, at Providence Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. He was born March 25, 1955, at Wyatt, Mo., son of Guy Theodore and Janie Mae Carlyle Bush. Bush served in the U.S. Army...

ANNA, Ill. -- Mary Stokes, 89, of Anna died Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001, at City Care Center. She was born March 12, 1912, daughter of Joe and Mary Smith. She married Raymond Stokes, who died May 16, 1973. Survivors include two sons, Elmer Stokes of Anna, Raymond Stokes of Dongola, Ill.; a daughter, Juanita Stokes; and a brother, Claudia Smith of Winston, Mass...

Funeral for Joann M. "Peggy" Taylor of Cape Girardeau will be held at 1 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Funeral Home. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery. There is no visitation. Taylor, 70, died Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001, at her home. She was born July 18, 1931, in Cloquet, Minn., daughter of Vaino and Lydia Juntunen Hella. She and Herbert Taylor were married Aug. 28, 1952, in Cloquet...

ANNA, Ill. -- Geneva D. Sherrill, 89, of Anna died Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001, at Union County Hospital. She was born Jan. 4, 1912, at Caruthersville, Mo., daughter of Arthur and Georgia Waller Ritter. She and Kenneth Sherrill were married July 9, 1947, in Anna. He died April 15, 1999...

Coatney Son to Mark Shawn and Dannett Lynn Coatney of Sikeston, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 11:45 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, 2001. Name, Connor Shawn. Weight, 9 pounds 12 ounces. Mrs. Coatney is the former Dannett Poyner, daughter of Dewayne and Vera Poyner of East Prairie, Mo. She is employed at Good Humor-Breyers. Coatney is the son of Raymond and Louise Coatney of Sikeston. He is employed at Duckett Truck Center...

10 years ago: Oct. 13, 1991 Wayne Harding of Cape Girardeau has assumed duties as interim youth and activity minister at First Baptist Church; he will coordinate youth and other activity programs of church until full-time replacement is found; 1990 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, Harding is employed at Ford Motor Co...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Women learn only two-thirds of what men learn during college, according to a study by a University of Florida professor and colleagues at the universities of Missouri and Iowa. That finding was based on results of an achievement test given just once to 19,000 college students at 56 four-year colleges and universities in 13 states. The study appears in the current issue of The Journal of Higher Education, a peer-reviewed journal at Ohio State University...

Southeast Missouri State University has secured federal approval to establish study programs in Cuba. Dr. Peter Gordon, professor of marketing and director of international business programs at Southeast, said the programs could prepare students for job opportunities with companies who are anxious to do business with Cuba if the trade embargo is lifted...

The $123 billion federal spending bill that funds education, health and labor programs includes more than a half-dozen Missouri programs. And among those is two programs for Southeast Missouri State University: the River Campus and money for math and science resources...

BETHESDA, Md. -- Researchers are beginning a large new study to see if they can dilute the nation's small stockpile of smallpox vaccine to make it stretch further in case of a bioterrorist attack. Fresh batches of vaccine are on order, but experts hope that adding more liquid to the existing supply will be a temporary solution at least until those begin to arrive next summer...

To the editor: When I opened my Oct. 5 Southeast Missourian, I was appalled at the front-page picture of the Central High School cheerleader preparing to throw an effigy of a Jackson cheerleader into a bonfire. My next reaction was sadness, especially in light of the recent terrorist attacks on our nation...

To the editor: As a statewide elected officeholder as well as a Navy reservist called to active duty, Secretary of State Matt Blunt realizes his situation is unique. The Missouri Constitution requires Blunt to hold his office unless he resigns or is impeached. Case law holds that the secretary of state is entitled to a salary even when absent from Missouri. While Blunt continues to be responsible for the office, he is sensitive to concerns that may arise as a result of his mobilization...

To the editor: I still see clips of the World Trade Center bombing on the news, and it still makes me shudder just as much as it did the first time I saw it on our news channel at Notre Dame Regional High School. I, like the rest of America, mourn for our loss, but I do think this was one of God's acts to get our attention and once again turn to him. He has reunited America and, in his own way, has shown us how valuable life really is. That is a beautiful thing whether or not we realize it...

Transition is never easy, particularly when it involves shuffling several hundred students among one new and two old school buildings. But that is what Cape Girardeau school district faces next fall L.J. Schultz School, the current seventh-grade center housed in an aging building on Pacific Street, will close. ...

Despite all the current talk, many Muslims say the Arabic word "jihad" doesn't mean "holy war" but simply "struggle" and refers to all efforts for personal righteousness or social justice. War-making is only a minor aspect. A war edict from one low-ranking cleric (Osama bin Laden) or a single regime (Afghanistan's Taliban) is a far different matter from the considered consensus among Islam's recognized authorities. ...

From Mecca to Jakarta BY ERIC TALMADGE ~ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Islam in the grinding poverty of Afghanistan is harsh, its justice unforgiving. For a woman found guilty of adultery, the punishment is death -- which turbaned religious leaders carry out with stones. For ancient Buddhist statues deemed by the ruling Taliban to inspire idolatry, explosives did an equally thorough job...

DENVER -- Charmaine Anderson stepped to the microphone, beads of sweat gathering on her face as her powerful voice filled the hotel ballroom. "I wanna be ready," she crooned as the Spirituals Project choir hummed softly in the background. "I wanna be ready to put on my long white robe."...

ANKARA, Turkey Islamic warriors burst out of Arabia in the 7th century, conquering the great Persian Empire and lands stretching from the Middle East to Spain and Central Asia. With them, they brought a new religion. Islamic influence spread across Asia, carried as well by merchants, artisans and preachers. Muslim empires began to dominate the world's trade routes, and poetry and the sciences flourished. Craftsmanship reached fantastic heights...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Give the Perryville Lady Pirates an inch and they'll take the sectional. Perryville, trailing by one run with its No. 8 and 9 batters coming up in the bottom of the seventh inning, took advantage of some mistakes and rallied past St. Pius X 5-4 Friday at Perryville City Park to advance to the Class 3A quarterfinals...

HAYTI, Mo. -- Hayti, the state's fourth-ranked Class 1A football team, remained undefeated as the Indians crushed Scott City 41-0 Friday night. The Indians, who improved to 7-0, piled up 341 yards of offense while limiting the Rams (2-5) to just 107 yards, many of those coming late in the contest...

Three area softball teams remain alive in the hunt for a state championship. Notre Dame, Perryville and Delta know when and where they're going for the quarterfinal round today. Notre Dame and Perryville just don't know who yet. Their opponents were unknown as the Southeast Missourian went to press. Rain throughout the week caused game postponements. All quarterfinal and any undecided sectional games are scheduled to be played today...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- Mario Whitney once again ran wild -- and Jackson's Indians once again rolled past an overmatched opponent. Whitney scored four touchdowns and rushed for nearly 250 yards -- all in the first half -- as the undefeated Indians crushed host Hillsboro 35-0 Friday night. All the scoring came in the opening half...

The last three years have been a psychological roller coaster for Cape Central. Down, then up, down, then up. After an impressive offseason and a stellar jamboree, the Tigers were confident heading into the season. And now, after a disappointing 2-4 start, they're wondering where the momentum went...

PATTON, Mo. -- The Leopold High School volleyball team, seeded second, won the championship of the Meadow Heights Tournament with a thrilling victory over the top-seeded, host squad Friday night. Leopold slipped past Meadow Heights 10-15, 15-10, 16-14. The Lady Wildcats are now 18-3-1 while the Lady Panthers fell to 21-4...

The stakes are simple when No. 2 Miami visits No. 14 Florida State -- the loser is all but out of the national championship race. One of four matchups of Top 25 teams today, the Hurricanes-Seminoles rivalry stands out because each team has so much riding on the outcome...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- There's been little consistent about Gary Pinkel's season so far as a first-year coach at Missouri. He's watched the Tigers open with a loss, come back the next week and win, then repeat the process. At 2-2, he's used two quarterbacks and three running backs, switched offensive styles for a loss to Nebraska, and marveled at a defense that at first couldn't hold a lead but blocked a field goal to seal a 41-38 triple-overtime win against Oklahoma State...

Southeast Missouri State University's football team nearly upset nationally ranked Tennessee State earlier this season despite playing a less than stellar game. Today, Southeast coach Tim Billings believes it will take nothing less than a nearly flawless performance to knock off another nationally ranked squad...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team picked up a hard-fought Ohio Valley Conference victory over host Tennessee Tech Friday night. The Otahkians (8-8 overall, 5-2 OVC) knocked off the Eaglettes (4-9, 1-6) 30-27, 21-30, 35-33, 31-29...

The 16th annual SEMO Cup Golf Tournament tees off at the Cape Girardeau Country Club this morning. Eight teams of 12 players each representing area golf clubs will compete for the coveted cup in the one-day, 36-hole event. Westwood Hills Country Club of Poplar Bluff, winners in 1999 and 2000, comes in as the favorite, but Cape Girardeau Country Club's first-year head professional David Cantrell boldly predicted an upset...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Oct. 13 ArrestsJason C. Harris, 20, of 6 S. Henderson was arrested Thursday for traffic violations. Johnny Pollard, 29, of 1601 N. Clark was arrested Thursday for domestic assault. Roger Andrew Smith, 37, of 713 Oak St. was arrested Thursday for no operators license, improper turn, no proof of insurance and unlicensed vehicle and on a Marble Hill warrant for failure to appear...