Stories from Saturday, September 22, 2001

TALLAHASSSEE, Fla. -- Former ambassador Pete Peterson dropped out of the race for governor Friday, saying the terrorist attacks had a profound impact on him and he felt he could not participate in a partisan race. At a news conference Friday afternoon, the former three-term congressman said that he believes in the wake of terrorist attacks last week that he may have more to offer the country with his experience in international diplomacy...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo School Board plans an investigation to decide if Superintendent Robert Isom should keep his job. Isom, 54, was suspended last week after police investigated a domestic violence dispute at his home. A Cairo police report said Isom was detained on allegations that he committed domestic battery...

ST. LOUIS -- A former securities broker has been indicted for defrauding an elderly client of about $750,000, U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender said Friday. Curtis Paulsen, 39, of St. Louis County, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on one felony count of bank fraud...

P Glenn leads Scott City to 33-14 victory over Grandview. By Larry Lewis Southeast Missourian SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Scott City ended a three-game slide with a 33-14 victory over winless Brentwood Friday night. Ram tailback Brad Glenn had a big night, galloping for three touchdowns to lead Scott City (1-3) to its first win of the season...

ST. LOUIS It's probably safe to say Ernie Conwell isn't taking his starting spot for granted. The St. Louis Rams tight end is a first-stringer for the first time since he wrecked his right knee in the middle of the 1998 season. It took three years of recuperation, with slow progress, to get him back in the lineup...

PITTSBURGH -- Albert Pujols had done just about everything possible as a rookie, except win a game with a grand slam. He has now. Pujols hit his first grand slam -- a go-ahead shot in the ninth that also gave him the NL record for extra base hits by a rookie -- and drove in five runs for the second time this week as St. Louis won its eighth in a row, beating Pittsburgh 9-5 Friday night...

BALTIMORE -- Jerry Hairston singled in two runs in the bottom of the ninth as the Baltimore Orioles stalled the New York Yankees' drive to another division crown with a 7-6 victory Friday night. The loss, combined with Boston's 5-2 win over Detroit, left New York's magic number for clinching a fourth straight AL East title at five...

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress urged an overhaul of the Medicare drug pricing system after the release of an audit showing $1.9 billion in overpayments. "It's crazy to be wasting hundreds of millions in over-reimbursement for these drugs. We need to tackle the problem this year and change the system," said Rep. Jim Greenwood, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight...

WASHINGTON -- Six state attorneys general not involved in the Microsoft antitrust case sent a letter to Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer this week expressing concern about the upcoming Windows XP operating system. The letter was originally drafted by a lobbyist for Microsoft's competitors...

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon intelligence analyst who attended war games conducted by the U.S. Atlantic Command in 1996 was charged Friday with spying for Cuba. Ana Belen Montes, an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency, transmitted a substantial amount of classified information to the Cuban intelligence service, an FBI affidavit alleged...

Osama bin Laden's presence brings Afghanistan's ruling Taliban a trove of donations from a global network that has helped keep the cash-starved militia in power, intelligence experts say. While a U.S. attack would be costly for Afghanistan, the ruling Taliban would likely lose an important source of income if it forces bin Laden out...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Britain used a legal loophole Friday to temporarily rescue Northern Ireland's crumbling government and give politicians six more weeks to resolve their arguments over Irish Republican Army disarmament. Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid signed an order to suspend the government's powers at midnight and return authority to local hands Sunday. It is the second time the loophole has been invoked to stave off the government's collapse...

DETROIT -- A man carrying a handgun in a paper bag fatally shot a federal officer at a security checkpoint Friday when he was told he could not take the gun into the building housing the FBI, authorities said. The gunman then was shot and wounded, FBI spokeswoman Dawn Clenney said. His condition was not immediately known...

GORDONVILLE, Mo. -- Firefighters avoided disaster Friday when they extinguished a blaze in a storage unit before it reached 15 pallets of fireworks on the second floor of the building at Greenbrier and Route K near Gordonville. Roy DaVault of DaVault Landscaping said he was cutting a bolt for a ramp he was making when a spark hit one of more than 20 bales of hay in the storage unit below the fireworks...

MARCELINE, Mo. -- For three years, Walt Disney's boyhood hometown -- the idyllic inspiration for Main Street USA at Disney theme parks -- has been spruced up for a celebration this weekend of his 100th birthday. Then came the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- No Missouri forces are among the 29 National Guard and Air Force Reserve units mobilized for America's war on terrorism. Lt. Tamara Spicer of the Missouri National Guard said all information regarding activation of Guard and reserve units will come from the U.S. Department of Defense...

NEW YORK -- Attorney General John Ashcroft brought the Bush administration's defiant optimism to New York on Friday, vowing to rebuild after getting his first look at the ruins of the World Trade Center. "It is our nature," Ashcroft said after shaking hands with rescue workers at ground zero of the worst terrorist attack in American history. "It is our spirit. It is dedication, it is our commitment."...

MALINOVKA, Kazakstan -- When Pope John Paul II looks out over the crowds at his two open-air Masses in Astana Sunday and Monday, he'll see people from a sea of nationalities -- many with roots in the Stalin-era prison camps that dotted the bleak steppes of northern Kazakstan...

KUWAIT -- The emir of Kuwait suffered a brain hemorrhage Friday and was flown to London for treatment. While the illness struck at a crucial time, his Persian Gulf nation's support for the United States in building a coalition against terrorism seemed sure to stand...

MOSCOW -- The barge that is to haul the sunken Kursk nuclear submarine to shore departed Friday from the Norwegian port of Kirkenes for the disaster site, a top official in the salvage effort said. An international team of divers has been preparing the Kursk to be lifted from the bottom of the Barents Sea, where it has laid since it sank in August 2000, killing all 118 men on board...

TOULOUSE, France -- When they heard the huge blast, many people thought it was a terror attack. But the explosion that ripped through a chemical fertilizer plant on Friday, killing 18 people and injuring 200, was most likely an accident, officials said...

WASHINGTON -- As the terror investigation proceeded with arrests overseas, federal prosecutors on Friday said they had charged a man with trying to fly into Chicago with an illegal passport and airline uniforms on the day of the hijacking attacks. In a criminal complaint filed in Illinois, prosecutors said Nageeb Abdul Jabar Mohamed Al-Hadi was flying aboard a German airliner on Sept. 11 when it was grounded in Toronto as a result of the attacks...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has decided to use $5.1 billion to increase military spending, put federal marshals on some airline flights and give rewards for information about terrorists -- the government's initial round of spending to counter last week's attacks...

Today Pagan Pride Day at 10 a.m. at Cherokee Park in Cape Girardeau. Admission is nonperishable food or household supplies to be donated to Safe House for Women. Autumn Equinox Ritual will be observed at 11 a.m. followed by a potluck lunch. ...

sk any church choir member what their favorite hymn is, and they'll have a hard time choosing. There are so many good ones to choose from, said Dottie Meyr, choir director for the Trinity Singers at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau. "To the Cross," "An Almighty Fortress," "Amazing Grace," "The Old Rugged Cross," "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "How Great Thou Art" are just a few of the nation's favorite hymns, according to a poll by Christian Reader magazine...

Ten churches in Anna, Ill., and Jonesboro, Ill., will host the Ten Commandments hike Sept. 29. All Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorer Posts and Venture Crews are invited to participate. The troops will stop at each church to learn about one of the commandments...

MAYFIELD, Ky. -- Mario Whitney scored on three first-half runs as undefeated Jackson cruised to a 41-20 victory Friday night over Graves County. Whitney, who has now scored 14 touchdowns on the season, scored on runs of 16, 37 and 30 yards to stake the Indians to a 20-6 halftime lead...

NORMAL, Ill. -- Illinois State entered the season ranked among the nation's top 20 NCAA Division I-AA football teams, but the Redbirds are -- by coach Denver Johnson's own admission -- reeling heading into today's 1:30 p.m. contest against Southeast Missouri State University at Hancock Stadium...

To the editor: In the light of the recent tragedy in our country, there are two sharp contrasts in humanity's actions. On the one side, one views the heroics and self-sacrifice of the passengers on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania and the police, firemen, rescue workers, government workers and ordinary citizens who lined up for hours to give blood. These people represent the heart and soul of what this great nation, America, is!...

TO THE lowlife who ran over my kitten and kept going in Scott City, I have children who had a pet. You could have at least stopped and said I'm sorry. What goes around does come around. What a hypocrite I JUST heard a young gentleman on the 5 p.m. news state that, due to his religious beliefs, he could not go to war for the country. ...

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10495 in Jackson and its auxiliary will conduct a POW-MIA memorial walk at 9 a.m. today at Brookside Park in Jackson, Mo. The walk is one mile and will be dedicated not only to prisoners of war and those who went missing in action but also to those lost in the recent terrorist attacks...

10 years ago: Sept. 22, 1991 Paul R. Lueders, professional photographer in Cape Girardeau since 1933, has donated series of 12 large photographs to Concordia Historical Institute in St. Louis; photos were prepared in 1976 to commemorate Saxon heritage of Perry County for display to accompany Saxon Hills Heritage program presented by Southeast Missouri State University to highlight cultural heritage of area...

PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Evangelist Rick Gage fills football stadiums just as full as the Rev. Billy Graham does. It's just that the stadiums are much smaller. Gage takes his crusades to the small towns other preachers see only from the air -- as they fly over en route to appearances in big cities...

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is looking a little different these days. Instead of just trusting people not to leave their unattended cars parked near the front of the terminal, a solid barrier keeps them 300 feet from the entrance. An armed officer is there to greet flights that come and go...

WASHINGTON -- Whether it would begin with cruise missiles from Navy ships, bombs from Air Force jets or quick strikes by Army special forces, an American attack on Afghanistan's Taliban probably would aim to knock out airfields, communications links and other targets that sustain the religious militia...

WASHINGTON -- Congress approved a $15 billion relief package for the airline industry Friday, taking swift action to restore vitality to a sector of the economy that has taken a direct hit from the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon...

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon committed more aircraft to the Persian Gulf and the gathering war on terrorism Friday as Afghanistan snubbed a demand from President Bush to turn over Osama bin Laden and others blamed for last week's death and awesome destruction...

WASHINGTON -- Massive airline layoffs. Empty hotels and restaurants. Wall Street's biggest weekly point decline ever. The economic damage from the terrorist attacks has virtually guaranteed a recession this year, many economists said Friday. The only questions remaining: How long and how deep?...

WASHINGTON -- Security at the capitol was so tight Thursday night that U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's daughter, Victoria, couldn't take her purse into the gallery to watch the president's speech. "Nobody could take anything with them," Emerson told reporters in a telephone conference call on Friday. "It was a little bit eerie."...

Southeast Missourian HILLSBORO, Mo. -- After less than three hours of deliberation, a Jefferson County jury Friday found a Cape Girardeau man guilty of severely beating his son. Eric Schwepker, 30, was found guilty of three counts of felony child abuse and misdemeanor assault for beating his then 11-year-old son with his hands, a belt and a baseball bat. Perhaps the most harsh injuries occurred Jan. 28 -- Super Bowl Sunday -- when his toes were struck with a hammer...

A Cape Girardeau man pleaded guilty Friday to distributing cocaine base, after being caught in a federal Drug Enforcement Agency sting. Abdul Kareem Sides, 23, of 413 S. Benton St., pleaded guilty to three felony counts of distribution of cocaine base, an ingredient used in making the highly addictive crack cocaine...

Since suicide jets struck New York and Washington, Dexter Daily Statesman reporter Jonathon Dawe has been on the front lines of helping his Missouri Bootheel newspaper's readers understand it all. Now, the 25-year-old with a wife and young son is ready to serve on the front lines of America's war on terrorism, if need be...

It's odd to be shocked to hear a 102-year-old man has died, but that's how many reacted to news that the Rev. Walter J. Keisker died Tuesday. It's because he remained such a figure in community life in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo., where he served as pastor and then as pastoral assistant of St. Paul Lutheran Church for more than 50 years. Just last month, he attended his daughter's 50th anniversary party -- he'd performed the wedding ceremony...

A concert by The Association will highlight Southeast Missouri State University's Family Weekend celebration next month. The 24th annual celebration is scheduled for Oct. 5-7. The Association, one of the most popular and successful bands from the 1960s, will perform at Houck Stadium following Southeast's football game against the University of Tennessee-Martin...