Stories from Sunday, December 9, 2001

FONTAINEBLEAU, France -- Down past the sprawling southern suburbs of Paris, far from the urban hordes, lie the picturesque towns of Fontainebleau and Barbizon. The names of those towns, just a little more than an hour from the French capital, may well be remembered from history and art classes...

ST. LOUIS -- The wife of an elementary school teacher received five years of probation for sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy. Becky Williams, 31, of Lake Saint Louis, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and two counts of first-degree statutory rape in St. Charles County Circuit Court. She had previously agreed to testify against her husband in exchange for probation, then he pleaded guilty last month...

Dee Stephenson was grateful when she received an extra child-support payment -- finally, at least for one month, she could pay her bills on time. But what seemed like a holiday gift was actually a mistake by state government -- a mistake compounded when the state reclaimed the money electronically, causing Stephenson's utility bill check to bounce...

BURBANK, Ill. -- Every night before she goes to bed, Michele Metych writes down her next day's to-do list. She always starts the list with the same three morning rituals -- a reminder to get dressed, eat and grab her backpack for school -- just in case she may forget. Metych has a larger list as well, a "life's to-do list" of things she wants to accomplish...

BURLINGTON, Vt. In a world changed with time and technology, only a boor would ask other diners in a restaurant to keep the noise down so he can hear the person on the other end of his cell phone. Nearly 80 years after Emily Post first wrote "Etiquette," her great grandchildren are carrying her legacy of consideration, respect and honesty into the 21st century...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Armed with photographs of wanted terrorists, U.S. Marines scoured the roads of southern Afghanistan on Saturday for Taliban and al-Qaida leaders who might have slipped out of Kandahar as the former ruling militia abandoned its last stronghold...

Tips from "Emily Post's Etiquette" by Peggy Post: Cellular and portable telephones It is ludicrous to ask those around you to hush so that you can hear on the telephone when you're standing on the street or are in a restaurant or on a train, considering that a telephone conversation is not an expected part of the gathering or environment...

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Police said Saturday they were hunting for two men suspected in the slaying of Peter Blake, a yachting champion from New Zealand, in Brazil's remote northern Amazon after four others in custody confessed to their roles. According to federal police, masked pirates boarded Blake's yacht near the mouth of the Amazon River near Macapa on Wednesday night, intending to rob it. ...

OSLO, Norway -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived Saturday to accept his Nobel Peace Prize, as several laureates from previous years ended a peace symposium marking the 100-year anniversary of the award. The three-day gathering, which drew 28 Nobel Peace Prize winners to discuss global conflict in the 21st century, was held amid increased violence in the Middle East and the U.S.-led war against terrorism...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israel struck Palestinian security buildings for the second straight day Saturday, firing missiles from helicopters in a pre-dawn raid in retaliation for mortar attacks on Jewish settlements. The strike badly damaged three buildings inside the Rafah refugee camp, witnesses said, but no injuries were reported...

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- A bridge that is a crucial supply route into Afghanistan will reopen within days, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Uzbek President Islam Karimov announced Saturday. Powell said he understood that the "Friendship Bridge" would open today, but Karimov indicated it might take a little longer...

TARKIO, Mo. -- The state has taught thousands of Missourians how to hunt safely in the past 44 years and will teach thousands more in the future. But in the Tarkio district in far northwest Missouri, the training won't take place any more in elementary or secondary classrooms -- not after volunteers for the Missouri Conservation Department's Hunter Education Class left two handguns behind early last month...

NIXA, Mo. -- If you're going to serve the public, it helps to speak the public's language. And in the Ozarks, that language increasingly is Spanish -- as many law officers have learned. Soon, many southwest Missouri officers will also be learning Spanish, through courses tailored for law enforcement by two colleges, one based in Springfield and the other in Columbia...

A recent survey by Travel Business Roundtable shows that one in five travelers still has not decided how they feel about traveling over the holidays. In the meantime, the Travel Industry Association of America's latest forecast projects a nearly $43 billion loss in spending by domestic and international travelers during 2001. Total domestic travel volume by Americans is expected to decrease 3.5 percent and total inbound arrivals are projected to decline nearly 13 percent for all of 2001...

Ski season is here and you might be thinking about Aspen or Breckenridge or one of the other resorts in northwest Colorado. But that's not the only thing to do in the region. Link up to the Internet to see how much else there is to do in Colorado's northwest corner, where depending on the season you can go whitewater rafting, hunting, fishing, hiking and camping, visit a dude ranch or chase dinosaurs...

ST. LOUIS -- Al MacInnis and Dallas Drake scored and goalie Fred Brathwaite stopped 17 shots leading the St. Louis Blues to a 2-0 victory Saturday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Brathwaite, who sat out Thursday night's 1-1 tie in Los Angeles, recorded his first shutout with the Blues...

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Jeff Van Gundy resigned unexpectedly as head coach of the New York Knicks on Saturday, saying he had lost his focus and thought about quitting since the summer. The stunning decision came as the Knicks were playing their best basketball of the season, winning five of six games to get above .500 after a poor start...

VAL D'ISERE, France -- Swiss skier Silvano Beltrametti's legs were permanently paralyzed Saturday in a high-speed crash on an icy course in the opening downhill of the World Cup season. Beltrametti's life was not in danger but he has a fractured spine and bleeding in his lungs, Swiss team spokesman Marc Waelti said...

ST. LOUIS -- "Dome Sweet Dome," a full-page fixture in the St. Louis Rams' weekly release all season chronicling the team's dominance at home, has vanished. It figures, the way the Rams' home-field advantage also has gone bye-bye. The Rams (9-2) have lost two straight and are a mediocre 4-5 in their last nine games at the Dome at America's Center entering today's game against the San Francisco 49ers (9-2)...

WASHINGTON -- Enter Rep. Ray LaHood's Capitol Hill office and there is no mistaking he is from the central Illinois territory that Abraham Lincoln once represented in Congress. There's the Lincoln bust, the Lincoln portrait, the Lincoln books. The Peoria Republican also proudly displays the Lebanese flag as another symbol of his heritage...

CHICAGO -- An air traffic controller erred in clearing a plane for takeoff last year and nearly caused a jetliner collision at O'Hare International Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. A controller who had just relieved a co-worker a minute earlier cleared an American Eagle commuter plane with 49 passengers to take off while a United Airlines Boeing 747 bound for Hong Kong with 314 passengers was taking off from another runway, the board reported of the Aug. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- As if lawmakers and lobbyists were not enough, the state Capitol faces a new kind of infestation -- crows. Thousands of them. A flock has taken to visiting the Statehouse grounds every day around sunset. They caw and flap noisily at first but then settle into an eerie silence after dark...

DEKALB, Ill. -- Public health officials have confirmed that a 21-year-old Northern Illinois University student has died after contracting a blood-borne strain of the bacterium that causes bacterial meningitis. Mabruk Hussain Khandaker, 21, was pronounced dead Thursday at Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Test results showed he died of meningococcemia, a form of meningococcal disease...

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Hearing faint pounding and moaning, an Irish trucker discovered the bodies of eight would-be refugees and five people clinging to life in his cargo Saturday. Police said they would mount a Europe-wide hunt for the human traffickers believed responsible...

Now you see him. Now you don't. Jackson coach Carl Gross once said tackling Mario Whitney was like tackling smoke. Indeed, Whitney was magical. With his cat-like jukes, he'd vanish from the grasp of one, two, maybe three defenders, and with a slide of the feet, he'd re-appear in the end zone...

PHILADELPHIA -- Great expectations surround the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the glittering new home of the Philadelphia Orchestra that opens Friday with a $5,000-per-ticket gala featuring Elton John. The city is counting on the $265 million Kimmel Center to create thousands of jobs, spur business and residential development, and attract a whole new audience to the theater district known as the Avenue of the Arts...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- What's in a name? Big money, according to the Nebraska Cattlemen association. Three years after the group launched a program to sell meat under a "Nebraska Corn-Fed Beef" label, the product is gaining a foothold in the restaurant industry...

NEW YORK -- Every year, Randy Pope makes his annual trip to New York from his hometown of Hattiesburg, Miss. Seeing New York in December is a memorable experience and Pope expects this year, despite the terrorist attacks, to be no different. "There's nothing like it," said Pope, 50, who, along with his wife and daughter, will spend several hundred dollars shopping during his visit the last week of December...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- There is an uncivil war brewing within the nation's largest Confederate heritage group. In one camp are those who discreetly honor their rebel ancestors while working to assure others that racists have no place in their midst. The other is represented by Kirk Lyons, a Texas lawyer who has defended members of the Ku Klux Klan, has been quoted as declaring himself a white separatist and takes every opportunity to battle what he calls "Southern ethnic cleansing."...

CHICAGO -- Defying the stereotype of the defiant teen-ager, new research suggests teens are much less likely to smoke if they think their parents disapprove of the habit. Parental disapproval works even if the parents are smokers, and it can also blunt the effect of peer pressure, shown previously to be a strong influence on whether teens take up smoking, the study found...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A teen-ager suspected of holding up a convenience store for about $60 was arrested when he appeared as a customer a week later to buy some beef jerky and peanuts. "He didn't wear a mask," Albuquerque police Detective Terre Molander said. He added that the clerk was "amazed ... that the guy who'd stuck a gun in his face would show up a week later."...

NEW YORK -- Economists say small businesses can indeed look forward to better times in 2002 -- and might even get a sales pickup sooner than larger companies do. But the analysts are unable to agree on the timing of an upturn. The dimmest forecasts are for a continuation of the recession into next year...

The Rams have shown time and again this season just how good they are when they don't turn the ball over. And based on the rapid rise of the 49ers, it appears as if St. Louis can ill afford many giveaways when the 9-2 teams hook up today in one of the marquee matchups of the NFL season so far. On the line will be first place in the NFC West and a leg up on possible home-field advantage throughout the playoffs...

State of gun rights in America: How goes the battle for gun rights since Sept. 11? Wall Street Journal columnist and former Delaware Gov. Pete DuPont, writing for the Journal's Web site, OpinionJournal.com, supplies the answer:...

$$$Start The sidewalks may never be safe again now that some genius has reinvented the wheel. Dean Kamen recently unveiled his battery powered, self-balancing, two-wheel "human transporter" which rolls quietly along at 5-17 mph. At this rate, you could get to work by noon...

$$$Start ST. LOUIS -- The president, understandably, has been focusing on foreign affairs. He has designated to his attorney general the authority to deal with all potential domestic acts of terrorism. The attorney general has taken charge and has rounded up hundreds of aliens and foreigners, sometimes with warrants and sometimes without. He has held hundreds of them incommunicado and has not released their names...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Gov. Jesse Ventura is facing a budget deficit, slumping approval ratings and the potential shutdown of the Minnesota Twins on his hands. But for constituents who take pride in cold, he's tapped a new issue. "I'm outraged that the state of Minnesota is not getting the Olympic torch," Ventura declared Thursday. "There should be an outcry from the public. Minnesota is known for its winters."...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For years, anonymous e-mail has been a choice tool for whistle-blowers, human rights activists and undercover sources looking to protect themselves while imparting vital information. Anonymous online communication could just as easily be used by terrorists to plot attacks or send threats...

LOS ANGELES -- Want the whole of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" at your fingertips? Feel like shutting yourself in for a private marathon of "The X-Files"? Care to relive an entire season of America's favorite wiseguy family, "The Sopranos"?...

LOS ANGELES -- Sometimes the baby steps taken by television can represent leaps and bounds. Consider the case of "Rugrats," "The Proud Family" and Kwaanza. While diversity comes hard to much of TV, the two children's animated shows are gracefully showcasing the African-American holiday...

NEW YORK -- Sure he came from planet Krypton. But where besides America could Superman have come into his own? The same goes for a fellow superhero, the Tick, as we learn on his new Fox comedy. The Tick, too, embodies the American ideal of rugged individualism tempered by allegiance to a higher cause. He, too, thrives in this land of opportunity where every superhero -- even a thickheaded chap in a blue wetsuit -- is guaranteed a chance to fight for truth, justice and the American way...

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- Bra burning is making a comeback in Johnstown, but feminists aren't behind the act. A sign of feminine independence in the 1960s, the act was carried out Thursday by two women who will soon be laid off by a company that makes women's undergarments...

LOS ANGELES -- G.I. Joe will have some competition from the Los Angeles Police Department this holiday shopping season: The department's union is releasing its own action figures. Male Patrol Officer West and female Patrol Officer Sommers each stand 12 inches tall and come with such accessories as a baton, service revolver, flashlight, pepper spray, handcuffs and patrol radio, all made to 1/16 scale...

TRENTON, N.J. -- The anthrax scare has held up the PSAT answer sheets of about 75,000 students nationwide, but officials with the College Board said the delay won't affect students' chances at a scholarship. The answer sheets have been quarantined along with anthrax-tainted mail, the College Board said Friday...

NEW YORK -- The glow of a Christmas tree trimmed with angels and flags is bringing more than just holiday cheer to workers at the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center -- it's making life bearable again. "If you work down here everyday, you need something like this to bring a smile back to your face," said 35-year-old construction worker Don Foley...

One worked for Enron, another served fast food for Taco Bell. The third was a United Airlines flight attendant. Three mothers head anxiously toward Christmas with faint hope of getting the present they most need -- a new job. They are among more than 800,000 Americans laid off since Sept. 11, struggling to keep their families' spirits up as the season of celebration coincides jarringly with recession...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut moved into the international space station on Saturday, settling in for a half-year stay. The three men arrived aboard space shuttle Endeavour the day before, but did not have time to trade places with station crew who have been on board since August...

KIDRON, Ohio -- When the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 occurred, the first thing that came to mind for Galen Lehman was, "Thank God I'm here." "Here" meant the relative safety of this tiny farming community in the heart of central Ohio's Amish country. Lehman is vice president of a vast hardware store that his father started 45 years ago and still bears the family name...

$$$Start For those who missed the meteor storm on Nov. 18, you may have to wait a long time to get as good a show. Right at 3 a.m., a large hole in the clouds opened up right over our heads and we began to see a meteor every few tens of seconds. The peak for us was near 4:30 a.m. and just before sunrise when we saw about one per second. This was very good considering the cloudy conditions...

WASHINGTON -- Astronomers have made the first measurement of a chemical in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a distant star, using a technique that could help them find Earth-like bodies around other suns. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers analyzed light shining through a planet's atmosphere as it orbited a star 150 light-years away. The changes in the color of the light proved the planet's atmosphere contained sodium...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Blattel Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Blattel Jr., all of Chaffee, celebrated their 50th and 25th anniversaries, respectively, Oct. 20, 2001. The Rev. Fred Lutz celebrated the mass with the renewal of vows at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Advance, Mo...

10 years ago: Dec. 9, 1991 Jackson - After 18 months of preparation, proposed zoning ordinance for Cape Girardeau County is ready for public review; 79-page document, drafted by staff of Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission, was tentatively approved by county planning commission; to take effect zoning plan ultimately must be approved by County Commission after it conducts public hearings in each of county's 10 townships...

Valentine Daughter to Chris and Kerri Valentine of St. Charles, Mo., St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, 3:28 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2001. Name, Olivia Renee. Weight, 7 pounds 5 ounces. First child. Mrs. Valentine is the former Kerri Seabaugh, daughter of Mike and Renee Seabaugh of Jackson, Mo. She is a flight attendant. Valentine is the son of David and Sandy Valentine of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. He is a pilot...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Victor Henry Heise, 67, of Scott City died Friday, Dec. 7, 2001, at his home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

Gladys H. Crites, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Dec. 8, 2001, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 7, 1917, at Benton, Mo., daughter of Oscar Louis and Chlola May McCullough Ervin. She and Loy E. Crites were married Jan. 20, 1938, at Cape Girardeau. He died March 20, 1976...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Jessie Mae Butler of Mound City died Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born in Ullin, Ill., daughter of Martha Curd and Jesse Meals. She was a member of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Cairo, Ill., where she once sang in the choir and served on the board...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Nathalie Margaret Hipes, 89, of Chaffee died Saturday, Dec. 8, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born May 3, 1912, in Harrisburg, Ill., daughter of Joseph and Florence Wilhelm Bolton. She was the owner and operator of Chaffee Floral Shop until she retired in December 1962...

PULASKI, Ill. -- Zelma Harris, 75, of rural Pulaski died Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, Ill. She was born Aug. 17, 1926, at Colts, Ark., daughter of Willie Ray and Estella Gowder Pettigrew. She was a member of Cypress Grove Baptist Church in Perks, Ill...

Message to justices THE RECESSION we're in started the very time the U.S. Supreme Court put George W. Bush in as president. The people quit buying to show their disapproval and are still showing it. Naturally, when people quit buying, the manufacturers have to quit making things. After cutting interest rates 10 times since Bush took office, things are not any better. What do you think the people are trying to tell the Supreme Court? They're saying they made the wrong choice...

To the editor: The aftermath of Sept. 11 echoes throughout the nation and world. Among its effects are an economic downturn that has turned into a recession and unemployment that is at its highest in a decade. Economic incentive is clearly needed. Congress should act in a manner that will help those who bear the brunt: low-income workers, unemployed workers, immigrants and seniors in poverty. ...

To the editor: I am writing to concerned parents in Ste. Genevieve County as someone who has worked with Holnam Inc. For 12 years, my family has lived about 10 miles from Holnam's cement plant in Clarksville, Mo. The plant has been part of our community for more than 30 years...

There's a new urgency to the familiar chimes from Salvation Army bell ringers outside various stores in town. More people are asking for help this year than ever before. So far, the organization has had 1,008 applications for Christmas food baskets, up by 158 over last year. And volunteers always pack at least 100 extra baskets for needy people who didn't fill out an application...

RUSH H. LIMBAUGH SR. The longtime Cape Girardeau lawyer was the first recipient and the only one to be honored posthumously. The honorary doctor of laws degree was bestowed at the spring commencement in May 1996. Limbaugh died a month earlier at the age of 104...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Bob Klaproth of Jackson recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a dinner. Hosts were their daughter and son-in-law, Judy and Keith Gentry of Cape Girardeau. Klaproth and Opal Lange were married Dec. 2, 1951, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Jackson, by the Rev. H.J. Strickard...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Jack and Linda McIntosh of East Prairie announce the engagement of their daughter, Tamara McIntosh, to Jason Deno, both of New York. He is the son of Steve and Cathy Deno of Brasher Falls, N.Y. McIntosh is a 1998 graduate of East Prairie High School, and attended Southeast Missouri State University...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Darvin and Rita Rubel of Perryville announce the engagement of their daughter, Tammy Rubel, to Kent Grayum. He is the son of Kenneth and Diane Grayum of Cape Girardeau. Rubel is a 1991 graduate of Perryville High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in dietetics from Southeast Missouri State University, and is a 1996 graduate of the VA Dietetic Internship in St. Louis. She is a registered dietitian at Integrated Health Services in St. Louis...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Shannon Marie Hunter and Christopher Todd Graff were united in marriage Sept. 15, 2001, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Madrid, Mo. The Rev. Mike Swalina performed the double ring ceremony. Soloist was Lydia Holton, cousin of the bride, and organist was Bob Donze of Sikeston...

Trinity Lutheran Church was the setting July 14, 2001, for the wedding of Carlen Allene Keller and Jason Dean Mulholland. The Rev. Douglas Breite performed the double ring ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Ronald Keller and the late Vicky Keller. The groom is the son of Leonard Mulholland and Mary Mulholland...

Claire Jane Ross and Michael Aaron O'Neal were married July 21, 2001, in a garden ceremony at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indiana. The Rev. David Clayton performed the double ring ceremony. Parents of the bride are Walter and Jane Ross of Carmel, Ind., formerly of the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area. The groom is the son of Larry and Carolyn O'Neal of New Palestine, Ind...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Christy LeAnn Thorne and Shannon Lynn Hardy were married Sept. 29, 2001, at the Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nev. The Rev. Alvin Green performed the double ring ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Margaret Thorne of Hudson, Fla., and the late Jerry Thorne. The groom is the son of Nancy Hardy and Bob Hardy of Jackson...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Lauren E. Young and Joseph J. Thomas were married Oct. 12, 2001, at Cape Bible Chapel in Cape Girardeau. Hal Greene performed the double ring ceremony. Pianists were Karen Miller of Cape Girardeau and Jonathan Young of Jackson. Flutists were Judy Sharp and Jill Roddy of Cape Girardeau, and Marlene Rothenberger of Jackson. Vocalists were Wendy Taliaferro of Cape Girardeau and Brad Berry of Jackson...

Southeast Missouri State University's most prestigious degree doesn't depend on faculty, course work, grades or even class attendance. It's an honorary degree and a relatively new concept at Southeast, which awarded its first five years ago -- posthumously in May 1996 to Rush H. Limbaugh Sr., a longtime Cape Girardeau lawyer who died that April at the age of 104...

DELTA, Mo. -- Adam and Eve looked chilly as she offered him an apple. Noah's wife quietly scolded the animals to get back on the boat. Baby Jesus was a little fussy. And as dusk melted into darkness Saturday, members of the First Baptist Church of Delta took their places for their second annual living nativity scene...

To the editor: Clearly, the threat of anthrax in the mail still exists. The letters in question apparently have no traceable postmark. I would recommend that an infrared-reactive and scannable ink be introduced in the postmark on all U.S. Postal Service mail. This would be a means to scan the mail to ensure that each piece bears a valid, traceable postmark...

A victory at last -- although it definitely didn't come easily. Southeast Missouri State University's Indians, who had lost their first five games of the season, finally broke into the win column Saturday night as they fought off Division II North Alabama 75-68 in front of 4,949 fans at the Show Me Center...

NEW YORK -- Eric Crouch almost quit the team, now the Nebraska quarterback is the Heisman Trophy winner in one of the most unpredictable races in the history of the award. Crouch, who briefly left the team three years ago when he lost the starting job, capped a sensational career by keeping the Huskers in the national title race all season. A 62-36 loss to Colorado two weeks ago ended Nebraska's run at a perfect season...

Things have been rough lately for Adrian, 11, and Daniel, 5, as they adjust to life without their father around. The boys' mother is trying to do the best she can, "but I'm afraid we won't have a good Christmas," she wrote on an application for Toybox, a program that provides gifts to needy children...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Dec. 9 Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:At 6:58 p.m., an emergency medical service at 325 N. Sprigg. At 8:34 p.m., an emergency medical service, motor vehicle accident on Interstate 55. At 10:31 p.m., an emergency medical service at 55 N. Pacific...

Mrs. N. has been living alone for nine years now that her husband died. A son lives out of town and offers little support because he has health problems of his own. Mrs. N. uses a walker to get around her house and must receive oxygen to help her breathe...

Perhaps the economic recession is to blame, but the Cape Girardeau Jaycees have received more applications than ever for the Toybox program this year. In all, 513 families asked for help this Christmas in filling their children's toy requests. The Toybox program, which has been operating in Cape Girardeau for more than 25 years, provides gifts and toys to needy children up to age 12 who live in the city. It is sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian...

Southeast Missourian Historian Frank Nickell and World War II veteran Melvin Bacon will discuss the attack on Pearl Harbor on KRCU's "Going Public" radio show. The show will air at 3 p.m. today on 90.9 FM. Nickell will discuss the impact of the attack on the American psyche. Bacon will discuss his experiences on the USS Utah...

The local Mothers Against Drunk Driving Chapter will hold the Candlelight Vigil of Remembrance and Hope at 5 p.m. today at the Cape Girar-deau Police Station. Ornaments with names of victims of drunk driving crashes will be placed on a Christmas tree in the lobby of the police station and will remain on display throughout the holiday season. MADD members hold the annual vigil to commemorate those killed or injured by drunken drivers and to serve as a reminder to others not to drink and drive...

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress are on their way to a $4,900 pay raise in January as the Senate used a midnight vote to thwart lawmakers who tried to block it. After a debate that lasted five minutes late Friday night, the Senate used a 65-33 procedural vote to defeat an effort by Sens. ...

WASHINGTON -- High-tech companies, old-line manufacturers and commercial property owners could get generous new tax breaks as part of an economic stimulus bill heading into final negotiations. It appears less and less likely that Congress will go along with President Bush's wish to repeal the corporate alternative minimum tax and immediately refund billions of dollars to dozens of companies, at a cost of $24 billion over 10 years...

The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The American captured along with Taliban fighters is being held by Marines in Afghan-istan and will be handed over to U.S. civilian authorities as soon as possible, the Pentagon said Saturday. How John Walker's case will be handled has not been decided, spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said...

WASHINGTON -- The rules for a cave assault: Strike fast and hard, keep the enemy off balance, use four-man teams and advance quickly from room to room. A U.S. military expert said those are the type of tactics likely to be used by American commandos and anti-Taliban Afghan rebels advancing on the Tora Bora and other cave and tunnel complexes where Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders are suspected of hiding...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Dec. 9 ArrestsDennis Everett Banks, Jr., 27, of 2432 Glenridge was arrested Friday on a warrant. Paul Scott Simpson, 17, of 518 S. Ellis was arrested Friday for stealing and contempt of court. Donna K. Taylor, 37, of 510 S. Middle was arrested Friday on a warrant...

With news that the Missouri Farm Bureau is adopting a position somewhat friendlier to new taxes for transportation, the state's transportation-funding discussion clearly is entering a new phase. Last year, the Farm Bureau's implacable opposition helped to doom Gov. Bob Holden's transportation funding package -- the largest proposed tax increase in state history -- in the General Assembly...

CHICAGO -- Frank Williams scored 25 points, hitting 18-of-24 from the free throw line, and made a last-second steal Saturday as No. 5 Illinois rallied to beat Arkansas 94-91. Arkansas, which led by 12 early in the second half, failed to get coach Nolan Richardson his 500th career victory. But it was not because of a lack of hustle from the swarming Razorbacks, who forced 22 turnovers, 17 in the first half...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- For the next week or so, there are no games on No. 2 Missouri's schedule, giving Wesley Stokes and his mates a well deserved break, right? "Yeah, a day off will be good," Stokes said. "But it's not really time off. I wouldn't necessarily call it time off because you don't want to take time off."...

Home was indeed sweet for Southeast Missouri State University's women Saturday night. The Otahkians, who had been on the road or at neutral sites for four straight games and had not played a home contest since Nov. 24, celebrated their return to the Show Me Center with a 90-41 blowout of Samford...

ST. LOUIS -- Lisa Millham scored a school-record 29 points as Notre Dame's girls basketball team overcame St. Joseph's Academy and its towering freshman center 60-57 Saturday. Millham, a senior forward, sank seven 3-pointers for the second straight game, including five in the first half on just seven attempts...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson's Jenna Leet is the unquestioned leader of the Lady Indians and sometimes she simply puts the team on her back and carries it to victory. "I've played on this team since I was a freshman," said Leet, "so I kind of have a feel for things and I take that role."...

If you want the freedom of country-living, but also want the convenience of being only minutes from town, this home at 144 Mystery Rock Road could be the home you've been wanting. This tri-level brick and vinyl siding home is located in Crystal Springs Estates on a wooded lot that brings nature literally to your back door. ...

WASHINGTON -- Specially trained cardiologists can soon begin repairing holes in some children's hearts without resorting to grueling open-heart surgery. The Food and Drug Administration approved two patches last week -- CardioSeal and Amplatzer -- that can be threaded into the heart through tiny incisions in the groin to heal this birth defect...

LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- A pizzeria manager has been accused of trying to increase her store's sales by ordering 400 large pizzas and then leaving them to rot in her garage. Kimberly Hericks, 36, wanted to increase sales at the Donato's Pizza shop so she could get her name in a company newsletter, said Kim Kowalski, a spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office...

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. -- What seemed to be a routine test drive from a Pennsylvania dealership quickly turned into a bizarre theft case. George Bussinger, 25, gave the Fred Beans Dodge dealership in Plumstead Township a photocopy of his driver's license and left with salesman Joe Borowski to test drive a 2002 Dodge Durango, police said...

Missouri Department of Transportation director Henry Hungerbeeler continues to say MoDOT needs $1 billion annually in more revenue. Few lawmakers believe the number is one that can realistically gain required public approval. The facts are tough. Raise the fuel tax by a penny and you produce about $28 million annually. The real money is in a sales tax. By increasing the sales tax a penny you produce about $620 million a year...

WASHINGTON -- Vast fields of carbon dioxide ice are eroding from the poles of Mars, suggesting that the climate of the Red Planet is warming and the atmosphere is becoming slightly more dense. Experts say that over time such changes could allow water to return to the Martian surface and turn the frigid planet into a "shirt-sleeve environment."...

A published article about how to deal with stress gives a lot of pointers. One that caught my attention is, watch a sunset. I agree. We are coming from the season of beautiful sunsets. It is not just that the leaves are off and we can see better; winter sunsets are altogether different. ...