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Gifts you can afford
(Column ~ 12/24/04)
The best gifts are all around us. Take a look. Whatever the occasion -- Christmas, birthday, anniversary -- there is an amazing selection. In case you've arrived at Christmas Eve with some names still not crossed off your list, don't fret. And don't worry about your checking account or your credit-card limits...
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Cape businessman Wicks first to file for council seat
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
Cape Girardeau businessman Stan Wicks filed this week as a candidate for the Ward 3 city council seat. Wicks, who operates a general maintenance company, said he wants to help his neighborhood, located in the central part of the city. He is the first person to file as a candidate for the election...
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School board members have unfinished business
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
After a week and a half of filing, the list of candidates in the 2005 races for local school boards is full of familiar faces. In Cape Girardeau, three incumbents and two candidates who ran for the board in 2004 have filed. Jackson's three incumbents have filed as well. Information from other Southeast Missouri districts was not available Thursday...
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District superintendent chosen by school board
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
The Cape Girardeau School Board voted in closed session Wednesday night to hire one of three finalists in their superintendent search, but hasn't announced its choice yet. Board vice president Sharon Mueller said the board will release the information by Monday, after the board has had time to contact the individual selected for the position. ...
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Roadways likely to remain slippery over Christmas
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
Even though the snow and ice stopped falling in Southeast Missouri early Thursday morning, the roads still aren't completely clear -- or completely safe. Officials stress that motorists traveling today and throughout the weekend should use extreme caution, as some roads may still be covered or have "black ice" for several days -- especially when night falls and temperatures near zero sweep in...
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Dangerous temperatures replace heavy snowfall
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
Forget Christmas bells and carols. The sounds of the season Thursday were those related to man's battle against the snow. All over Cape Girardeau, tires squealed as they tried to pull cars over small inclines. Horns beeped to the slow traffic pace along William Street...
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Cape man charged with assaulting police officers
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
A Cape Girardeau man was charged Wednesday with the class C felony of assault of a law enforcement officer after he allegedly flourished a pellet rifle at two Cape Girardeau police officers. Arthur R. Jones, 37, was taken to the Cape Girardeau County jail after Judge William Syler set a bond of $100,000. Jones also was charged with the class A misdemeanor of resisting arrest...
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The Santa business
(International News ~ 12/24/04)
SANTA'S VILLAGE ON THE ARCTIC CIRCLE -- Santa Claus takes a long look at two English children sitting on his knees. "Have you been good?" he asks gently. The question might well be thrown back in his bushy-bearded face, considering the fuss a British family caused this month by complaining that they spent a fortune to come to Santa's village on the Arctic Circle, only to be given the brushoff...
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Putin values Bush, fears expanding U.S. influence
(International News ~ 12/24/04)
MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he valued his partnership with President Bush but voiced suspicion that Washington might be behind what the Kremlin sees as efforts to isolate Russia -- and even destabilize it. With Russia already feeling hemmed in by U.S. ...
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Father pleads guilty to killing son outside school
(State News ~ 12/24/04)
LIBERTY, Mo. -- A 43-year-old man who shot his son while arguing with his wife in a school parking lot has pleaded guilty to killing the boy. The agreement spares him a possible death sentence. Jaswinder P. Singh, of Excelsior Springs, pulled out a revolver and fired several shots during the confrontation with his wife outside St. James Catholic School in the Kansas City suburb of Liberty on Nov. 7, 2002...
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Dogs rescued from alleged 'puppy mill'
(State News ~ 12/24/04)
ST. LOUIS -- Nearly 150 dogs, many of them purebred, were rescued Thursday from "deplorable" and frigid conditions at a breeder's home outside Macomb in southwest Missouri, authorities said. Working off a citizen complaint, rescuers said they found "row upon row of wire cages with dirt bottoms" and disintegrated tops that exposed the animals to the elements. They also found feces-covered food and bowls of frozen water...
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Red Sox keep Varitek with $40-million deal
(Professional Sports ~ 12/24/04)
NEW YORK -- Jason Varitek decided to stay with a winner on Thursday, agreeing to a $40 million, four-year contract with the World Series champion Red Sox, a deal that is to be announced today. Also Thursday, Andres Galarraga agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Mets. The 43-year-old first baseman, who has come back twice from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, needs one home run to reach 400...
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Cincinnati claims win in Fort Worth Bowl
(Professional Sports ~ 12/24/04)
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Gino Guidugli returned from a broken throwing hand and passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati's 32-14 win over Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl on Thursday night. Wearing a padded glove on his still very swollen right hand, which he injured on Nov. 20, Guidugli completed 24 of 36 passes on a bitterly cold night...
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Vick gets new contract, record signing bonus
(Professional Sports ~ 12/24/04)
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Michael Vick couldn't be happier. The Atlanta Falcons offered him the ultimate show of respect with a 10-year contract that guarantees the star quarterback an NFL-record $37 million in bonuses and is worth more than $100 million...
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Christmas story
(Editorial ~ 12/24/04)
It is a simple story, but the birth in a stable some 2,000 years ago changed the world. On this Christmas Eve, the story is told again from the Holy Bible (the Gospel according to St. Luke, Chapter 2): And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one unto his own city...
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Cancer research yields clues to why hair becomes gray
(National News ~ 12/24/04)
WASHINGTON -- Those annoying gray hairs that increasingly leer back from the bathroom mirror may have some value after all. Cancer researchers have developed a new explanation for graying hair that they hope will also shed light on the most dangerous type of skin cancer...
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Zalma resident injured in accident
(Police/Fire Report ~ 12/24/04)
A Zalma man received minor injuries in a one-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon on Highway 51 in Bollinger County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Ryan McCleary, 26, was traveling northbound eight miles north of Zalma when his 1998 Jeep ran off the roadway and overturned in a water-filled ditch. He was taken by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...
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Judge upholds decision on Pacers' O'Neal
(Professional Sports ~ 12/24/04)
NEW YORK -- Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal can play against Detroit on Christmas after a federal judge upheld an arbitrator's decision to reduce the forward's suspension for fighting with fans during the Nov. 19 Pacers-Pistons brawl. Judge George B. Daniels ruled from the bench Thursday after listening to arguments by lawyers for the NBA and the players' union and watching a brief videotape of O'Neal punching a fan during the brawl...
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Rapper shows her softer side on 'Eve'
(Entertainment ~ 12/24/04)
LOS ANGELES -- Starring in her own sitcom allows Eve to reveal a side not usually associated with the hard-core rapper image that made her famous. "The part that people know the least about her comes across most in this show: There's a seriously girlie girl side to her," says co-star Jason George...
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Indonesia court frees U.S. mining executives
(National News ~ 12/24/04)
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A court ruled Thursday that detaining five executives of Newmont Mining Corp. was illegal, and the head of the Denver-based mining giant said he was optimistic the company and its employees would be exonerated of pollution charges at its Indonesian gold mine. CEO Wayne Murdy acknowledged that the Indonesian mine released 17 tons of waste mercury into the air and 16 tons into the water over five years. But he said the emissions were within Indonesian government standards...
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Kleiza increases his contributions
(Professional Sports ~ 12/24/04)
ST. LOUIS -- Linas Kleiza says it after every game, but it was never more true than following a closer-than-expected 70-64 loss to top-ranked Illinois. Missouri's sophomore forward 25 points and added seven rebounds and three assists Wednesday in the annual "Braggin' Rights" game in St. Louis. Afterward, he again noted the youth of the team, which has just one scholarship senior and whose leading scorers, Kleiza and Thomas Gardner, are sophomores...
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Healthy Bulger will try to heal ailing offense
(Professional Sports ~ 12/24/04)
ST. LOUIS -- Marc Bulger said Thursday he's ready to return from a bruised shoulder -- good news for a suddenly feeble St. Louis Rams' offense that totaled one touchdown during the two games he missed. "When you've got your best players on the field, you feel a lot better, no question about it," defensive tackle Tyoka Jackson said. "He's a Pro Bowl quarterback in my opinion."...
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SCC adversity returns Beckwith to the bench
(High School Sports ~ 12/24/04)
Delane Beckwith thought he was done with coaching basketball when he accepted a position as principal of Scott County Central High School before the 2003-04 school year. But unusual circumstances have brought Beckwith back to the bench, temporarily leading a state-ranked team...
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Supplies run low at space station
(International News ~ 12/24/04)
MOSCOW -- A Russian cargo ship blasted off earlier today carrying badly needed food and equipment for the international space station, where supplies for the American and Russian crew have been dwindling rapidly. The Progress M-51 took off from the remote Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:19 a.m. ...
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Rumsfeld makes surprise visit to U.S. base in Iraq
(International News ~ 12/24/04)
MOSUL, Iraq -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, on a surprise Christmas Eve visit with the troops three days after the devastating attack on a U.S. military dining hall here, told soldiers he remained confident of defeating the insurgency and stabilizing Iraq, while noting that to some "it looks bleak."...
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Democrat wins race for governor by 130 votes
(National News ~ 12/24/04)
SEATTLE -- Democrat Christine Gregoire won the Washington governor's race by 130 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast, according to final recount results announced Thursday from Seattle's King County, the last of the state's 39 counties to report...
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Cat burglar with finicky tastes receives sentence
(National News ~ 12/24/04)
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- If he had lived up to his reputation, cat burglar Blane Nordahl would have simply slipped away at his sentencing, shimmied through a courthouse window and disappeared. Instead, Nordahl's eight-year prison sentence Tuesday ended -- or at least interrupted -- a criminal career encompassing two decades, a dozen states and uncounted millions in silver loot still unaccounted for...
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Ex-Connecticut governor guilty in corruption case
(National News ~ 12/24/04)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Six months after being driven from office by scandal, former Gov. John G. Rowland pleaded guilty to a corruption charge Thursday, admitting he traded his office for more than $100,000 in flights to Las Vegas, Vermont vacations and repairs to his vacation cottage. ...
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Retired critic chronicles the rise of Chicago theater
(Entertainment ~ 12/24/04)
CHICAGO -- You don't have to live in Chicago to feel ripples from its theater scene. Just flick on the television, visit the local multiplex or plunk down the big bucks for a Broadway show. There's a good chance some of the actors, directors or scriptwriters learned their trade in a Chicago storefront or bus barn...
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A big thank you
(Editorial ~ 12/24/04)
It is traditional to make charitable gifts near the end of the year, especially in the weeks leading up to Christmas and before the Dec. 31 deadline for tax purposes. There is something about the spirit of the religious overtones of the season. And maybe the tax man spurs some of the generous giving...
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U2 returns in top form with release
(Entertainment ~ 12/24/04)
After securing its place among the planet's most popular and musically relevant bands more than a decade ago, U2 took a definite turn for the weird. With the albums "Zooropa" and "Pop," the Irish group set out to mock the excesses, overblown production and rampant commercialization that often befall bands once they achieve rock-legend status. It didn't take long, however, for U2 to devolve in both sound and presentation into unintentional -- and uninteresting -- self-parody...
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Speak Out 12/24/04
(Speak Out ~ 12/24/04)
Proud of service; Adopt a soldier; Generous gift; Behind the counter
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Religion calendar 12/24
(Community News ~ 12/24/04)
Christmas Eve Candlelight service at 11 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. at Hanover Lutheran Church. A children's Christmas program wil be at 6 p.m. Chapel at Centenary United Methodist Church open from noon to 1 p.m. for communion. A contemporary worship is at 5:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center and a traditional service at 7 p.m in the sanctuary...
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Fire reports 12/24/04
(Police/Fire Report ~ 12/24/04)
Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday: * At 5:09 p.m., a still alarm at Dunklin and North Missouri. * At 11 p.m., emergency medical service on the 1200 block of South Sprigg. Cape Girardeau firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:...
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Police reports 12/24
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
Cape Girardeau The following items were released Thursday by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI * Matthew T. Burlbaugh, 21, 516 Michael Anna St., Jackson, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and failure to maintain a single lane following an accident at Lexington Avenue and Cape LaCroix Road...
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Chicago's eBay auction raises $242,000
(State News ~ 12/24/04)
CHICAGO -- Going, going, gone! The opportunity to dye the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day goes to the highest bidder for $7,600. The city's eBay auction of Chicago-specific experiences and treasures ended Wednesday night after raising more than $242,000 for arts and cultural programs during a time of government spending cuts...
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The quick fix
(Local News ~ 12/24/04)
Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings never wants his program to get to the point where it relies on Division I-A and junior college transfers to fill a major portion of the roster. But a 3-8 record this past season has caused Billings to re-evaluate his recruiting process -- and you can expect more transfers playing for Southeast next year...
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Murder suspect waives preliminary hearing
(State News ~ 12/24/04)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A woman accused of killing an expectant mother and cutting the baby from her womb is being moved to federal custody in Missouri after waiving preliminary hearings Thursday morning in Kansas City, Kan. Federal prosecutors have charged Lisa Montgomery, 36, of Melvern, Kan., with kidnapping resulting in death. ...
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Cardinals sign Eckstein to fill shortstop vacancy
(Professional Sports ~ 12/24/04)
The popular former Angels player signed a three-year contract. The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- David Eckstein agreed Thursday to a three-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, completing a triangle of shortstop switches. Boston started it by luring Edgar Renteria from St. Louis with a $40 million, four-year contract. Anaheim then chose to cut loose Eckstein on Monday and give a $32 million, four-year deal to Orlando Cabrera, who finished last season with the Red Sox...
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Everybody's a critic - 'Lemony Snicket'
(Entertainment ~ 12/24/04)
Four stars (out of four) The events in "Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events" are rather, well ... unfortunate, yet woven with wry humor. This film follows the lives of the three Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, who have recently been orphaned...
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Celebrating signs of an illegal holiday in Saudi Arabia
(International News ~ 12/24/04)
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas in Saudi Arabia, where Islam is the only accepted religion and non-Muslim religious activities are banned in public. Turkeys lie in deep freezers under shelves loaded with pumpkin pie spices, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix and tinned sweet potatoes. ...
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Snowfall buries parts of Midwest, South
(National News ~ 12/24/04)
A sloppy storm dumped more than a year's worth of snow on parts of the Midwest and made a mess of holiday travel and last-minute Christmas shopping Thursday. More than a dozen traffic deaths were blamed on the storm. Four people were killed in weather-related traffic accidents in Oklahoma, three each in Ohio and Arkansas, and one each in New Mexico, Texas and western New York. ...
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Patricia Bendl
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
Patricia Y. Bendl, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Oct. 12, 1915, in Dolgeville, N.Y., daughter of Fancher and Ann Horrocks Youker. She married John Bendl May 25, 1935 at Dolgeville. He died May 19, 1979...
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Meta Brueckner
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
Meta Brueckner, 91, of St. Peters, Mo., formerly of Crosstown, Mo., died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004, at the Breeze Park Nursing Home in St. Peters. She was born Aug. 20, 1913, in Perry County, daughter of the late William and Hedwig Buettner Muench. She and Marvin H. Brueckner were married April 25, 1937. He preceded her in death on Aug. 15, 1999...
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James Daugherty
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
BENTON, Mo. -- James Nelson Daugherty, 38, died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004, at his residence in Benton. He was born May 22, 1966, in Jacksonville, Fla., son of Geraldine Maloney Wells and James Daugherty Sr. He and Regina Wheatley were married Oct. 30, 1993...
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Celebrating Christmas
(Community News ~ 12/24/04)
In simultaneous pre-Christmas cover stories, Time and Newsweek magazines sifted with skepticism the narratives of Jesus' birth in Matthew and Luke, the only accounts we have since no other chroniclers recorded this obscure peasant's nativity. It's far less important than those historical debates, but there's also a small disagreement about why the church later chose Dec. 25 for Christmas. Two main theories compete...
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Lena DeLaney
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Lena Frances Snow DeLaney, 82, a resident of Snow's Corner near Charleston died at 1:45 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004 at the Arbors Nursing Facility in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 11,1922 at Snow's Corner to the late Thad and Lila Simpson Snow. She had lived at Snow's Corner most of her life and was a member of the United Methodist Church in Charleston...
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Richard Esicar
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
Richard Lewis Esicar, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born on Sept. 1, 1928, at St. Louis, the son of Edgar A. and Bessie Ruth Sherman Esicar. He married Georgia Leigh Schatte on June 12, 1948, at Cape Girardeau...
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Dale Schumacher
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
Dale R. Schumacher, 58, of Evansville, Ind., formerly of Jackson died Sunday Dec. 19, 2004 at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. He was born Sept. 22, 1946, in Dayton, Ohio, son of Lloyd E. and Harriet Turner Schumacher. Dale was confirmed at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, Calif. He was a longtime resident of Jackson and had worked for years at Atlas Plastics and Resin Exchange in Cape Girardeau. He had been an active member of Cape Jaycees and Cape Chamber of Commerce...
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Karen Sullinger
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
ST. PETERS, Mo. -- Karen Faye Harper Sullinger, 57, of St. Peters and formerly of Benton, Mo., died Thursday, Dec, 23, 2004, at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital in St. Peters. Funeral arrangements are incomplete with Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton...
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Woodrow Wilson
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
SIKESTON, Mo. -- Woodrow "Woody" Wilson, 75, died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Dec. 31, 1928, at Kaiser, Ark., son of Raymond and Ethel Mae Powers Wilson. He and Loretta Rhodes were married Sept. 2, 1951, at Blytheville, Ark...
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Zettie Newman-Smith
(Obituary ~ 12/24/04)
Zettie Newman-Smith, 55, of Oak Ridge, Mo., died Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born April 16, 1949, at Manilla, Ark., daughter of Wilburn and Rose Keller Smith. Smith worked at Southeast Hospital as a nurse assistant and the former Deal Nursing Home in Jackson...
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Out of the past 12/24/04
(Out of the Past ~ 12/24/04)
25 years ago: Dec. 24, 1979 Mrs. Ouida Lee Vasterling is described as "excited" and a bit "flabbergasted" by all the attention she's been receiving lately; she will be 100 years old Christmas Day; some 200 people attended a party for Vasterling yesterday at the Howard Johnson's here...
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A green Christmas
(Entertainment ~ 12/24/04)
Christmas is the time of year to see old friends and family, to catch up on all that happened in the year past, and for many people, to spend two or three hours with their favorite Hollywood stars and starlets. With all the leisure time Americans have around Christmas, the motion-picture industry is banking on the fact they'll go visit their local movie theaters, as they have in the past, and share some of the Christmas green...
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Artifacts 12/24/04
(Entertainment ~ 12/24/04)
First Friday to feature Armenian, Bulgarian artists; Artists' reception to be held at Sikeston Depot; 'Treasures of Imperial Russia' in Sikeston ; Young acting troupes accepting new members
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Coming to theaters 12/24/04
(Entertainment ~ 12/24/04)
'The Aviator'; 'Darkness'; 'Fat Albert'; 'Finding Neverland'; 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
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Christmas is the story of miracles
(Column ~ 12/24/04)
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart...
Stories from Friday, December 24, 2004
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