Stories from Saturday, January 19, 2002

LONDON -- British director Ridley Scott wants his new film about U.S. intervention in Somalia, "Black Hawk Down," to encourage public debate about Afghanistan. As the film opened in British theaters Friday, Scott said the release date had been moved forward following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks because studio bosses believed it would resonate with both American and British audiences. The movie is now in wide release in the United States...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Two state retirement funds are reporting that they have lost nearly $32 million because of investments in utility company Enron, officials said Friday. The Public School and the Non-Teacher School Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri said it lost $22.8 million, a total loss that represented 0.10 percent of the systems' assets. The combined assets of the school's systems were $21.4 billion as of Dec. 31, 2001...

HOUSTON, Mo. -- A state trooper working on a dark, foggy highway in Texas County was hit and killed Friday morning by a motorist who authorities believe was driving drunk. The trooper, Kelly L. Poynter, 27, was directing traffic at the scene of a multi-car crash on U.S. 63 about two miles south of Houston around 1:05 a.m. when he was hit, according to the patrol. Poynter was pronounced dead at the scene...

URBANA, Ill. -- Last week, the scene at some University of Illinois livestock barns was straight out of an Alfred Hitchcock flick. "It was like the movie 'The Birds' out there," university spokeswoman Robin Kaler said. "The starling problem on campus is huge."...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- The second man accused in the 1999 stranglings of a pregnant mother and her three children was convicted Friday on five first-degree murder counts, each carrying life behind bars without parole. Harold "Bobby" Lingle, a mentally impaired man who during the five-day trial dozed off at the defense table and winked at onlookers, showed no reaction to the verdict jurors reached in little more than three hours...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a white supremacist pastor accused of kidnapping six of his grandchildren and bringing them to the Ozarks. In an unsigned opinion, a three-judge panel of the court's Southern District on Thursday ruled that there was no validity to an appeals attorney's argument that a judge's comments and rulings biased the jury against the Rev. Gordon Winrod during his trial...

ST. LOUIS -- A would-be bank robber, frightened by a passing fire department car, took a hostage Friday in Jefferson County and ordered her to drive him away in a chase that crossed into Illinois. The pursuit ended peacefully back in Missouri, but not before the man put a gun to the woman's head, according to a report...

ST. LOUIS -- Boeing Co. said it will continue to compete for a contract to build 40 fighter jets for South Korea's air force, despite the country's decision to delay its purchase because initial bids for the planes were higher than expected. Boeing is offering a version of its F-15 Eagle, built in St. Louis by the company's Military Aircraft and Missile Systems division. The contract with South Korea is estimated at $4 billion...

ST. LOUIS -- The mother of the so-called "Internet twins" will spend the next three years on probation and must pay more than $21,000 in restitution, a federal district judge ruled Friday. Wecker, 29, of St. Louis had originally pleaded innocent to lying to get rent subsidies, food stamps and unemployment benefits. She changed her plea to guilty in October...

ST. LOUIS -- Though Aeneas Williams is heading to his seventh Pro Bowl, his career has been short on team glory. Until now. The St. Louis Rams' cornerback is in the playoffs for only the second time and the first with a team that won its division. He's never before entered the postseason with such possibilities...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Blue Heaven hasn't been this gray in more than 60 years. The North Carolina basketball empire built and fostered by Dean Smith has taken a major detour five seasons after he retired as the winningest coach in Division I-A history...

P A partnership between the city and a developer resulted in a major street-widening project that was done quickly and far less expensively than planned. The project stood out in contrast to most other road improvements in Cape Girardeau. Siemers Drive is a busy stretch of road that runs between Bloomfield Road and William Street. ...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Jan. 19 ArrestsChristopher Shaun Scott, 20, of 416 S. Benton was arrested Thursday for robbery. Shawn Michael Bareiter, 40, of 422 Oglala was arrested Thursday for failure to appear. Marshall Wayne Harding, 44, of 316 Mason was arrested Thursday for sodomy...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Jan. 19 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 6:57 p.m., an emergency medical service at 2000 Cape La Croix. At 11:17 p.m., an emergency medical service at 1305 Broadway. Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:At 12:39 a.m., an emergency medical service at 1805 Lawanda...

In a dusty warehouse that planners envision housing the new Southeast Missouri Crime Lab, Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., spoke about her efforts to bring federal money to the fight against methamphetamine. Carnahan spoke to news media, law enforcement officials and university personnel Friday morning about $220 000 set aside for Southeast Missouri through her Missouri Drug Eradication Initiative...

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday the government of Saudi Arabia has never suggested that America should pull its military from a Saudi base that plays a key role in Afghanistan and is vital to deterring Iraq. But the royal family has privately discussed the possibility of asking America to leave, said both Saudi dissidents and U.S. ...

WASHINGTON -- The government should ban cloning aimed at making new human beings because it's unsafe for both mother and child, a scientific advisory panel said Friday. Cloning to produce cells that promise to treat disease should be allowed, it said...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $27.9 billion in November as oil imports fell to the lowest level in more than two years, the government said Friday. The Commerce Department reported that the deficit in goods and services narrowed by 4.9 percent from an October imbalance of $29.3 billion...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner gave his voice more of a test in practice Friday, and the team expects no problems in Sunday's playoff game. Warner suffered bruised vocal cords in the regular-season finale Jan. 6 when he took a blow to the throat. He hasn't talked to reporters since then, but has been speaking softly in the huddle and on the line of scrimmage...

VIENNA, Ill. -- The former warden of the Shawnee Correctional Center was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for driving drunk and causing a car wreck that left a fellow prison employee dead. Johnson County Circuit Court Chief Judge Michael Henshaw also ordered William Barham, 47, to pay the state more than $19,000 for the state-owned car that was wrecked in the October 2000 crash...

CHICAGO -- State officials are demanding that a former secretary of Secretary of State Jesse White return money given her to train welfare mothers because there is no evidence any were trained. However, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs may have trouble getting the money -- at least $100,000 -- from Donna Lumpkins Floyd because she is nowhere to be found, according to a report in Friday's Chicago Sun-Times. ...

NEW YORK -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that she would donate nearly $8,000 in campaign contributions from Enron and its accounting firm to a charitable fund to help employees of the failed energy giant. She joins a growing list of lawmakers unloading Enron Corp. contributions as questions arise about the company's collapse...

Airlines began new baggage screening techniques at the nation's airports Friday morning, but passengers who showed up fearing the worst encountered few delays. A law went into effect Friday requiring airlines to check bags for explosives -- either by machine, hand or bomb-sniffing dog, or by matching each piece of checked luggage to a passenger on board. As the travel day got into full swing, there were no reports of major problems...

MINOT, N.D. -- A train derailed west of this North Dakota city early Friday, sending a cloud of anhydrous ammonia gas over the area. One person died and more than a dozen were hospitalized. "It was like something just grabbed your lungs," said state Sen. Randy Schobinger, who lives about 500 feet from the tracks...

AUSTIN, Texas -- A former Enron executive resigned Friday as the top utility regulator in Texas amid questions about his appointment by Gov. Rick Perry and his ties to the bankrupt energy trader. In his resignation letter, Mario Max Yzaguirre said he and his family have been "subjected to a series of negative attacks which have nothing to do with my job performance and which seemed to be politically inspired."...

CLEVELAND -- A helicopter crashed just after taking off from the roof of a Cleveland hospital early Friday, killing the pilot and a nurse and seriously injuring a medic, officials said. The helicopter slammed into an unoccupied car at University Hospitals of Cleveland and broke into pieces, with only the tail recognizable in the twisted wreckage. Witnesses reported loud explosions and large flames shooting into the air after the crash...

LOS ANGELES -- With friends and family sobbing in the courtroom, former Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive Sara Jane Olson was sentenced Friday to 20 years to life in prison for conspiring to blow up police cars in 1975. In her first statement of contrition, Olson told a judge and those who were affected by the actions of the violent 1970s group, "Forgive me for the pain I've brought you."...

With the Enron collapse wiping out at least $1 billion from the retirement funds of teachers, firefighters and other public employees, states are joining a class-action suit to win back some money from the once-giant energy trading company. Several other states are examining their ties to accounting firm Arthur Andersen, or weighing legal action against it. Florida has already filed subpoenas for a potential civil suit...

CHICAGO -- Less than a year ago, the boards of large U.S. corporations were singing the praises of Arthur Andersen LLP as they carried out the annual rite of renewing multimillion-dollar auditing commitments. Andersen, wrote the directors of International Paper Co. in a typical proxy statement, performed well in prior years and carried "a reputation for integrity and competence in the fields of auditing and accounting."...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Two Israeli tanks and an armored personnel carrier parked outside Yasser Arafat's headquarters on Friday, confining the Palestinian leader to his office complex a day after a Palestinian gunman burst into a banquet hall and gunned down six Israelis...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The United States raised the specter of renewed foreign meddling in Afghanistan on Friday and said Iran may be sending pro-Iranian Afghan fighters to destabilize the newly installed U.S.-backed government. U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad stopped short of directly accusing Iran of interference but cited unspecified reports that Afghan fighters and money were being sent from Iran into the extremely volatile country to build opposition to Prime Minister Hamid Karzai...

JOHNSTON CITY, Ill. -- School officials in this Southern Illinois town suspended their boys' varsity basketball coach for the rest of the season after the team turned in their uniforms to protest his methods. Keil Peebles, a former basketball star at Southern Illinois University at Edwards-ville, was told his services were no longer required after a contentious emergency school board meeting Thursday night, when members of the team and several parents told officials he was verbally abusive...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Barbara Wingo doesn't know much about the complex problems plaguing the Mississippi Delta, an impoverished strip along the river from the Gulf of Mexico to Southern Illinois. But she does know about domestic violence, a problem the 64-year-old has tackled for more than 20 years at the sprawling women's shelter and assistance center she started near here...

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- The sight of roadkill is not uncommon. Driving along Illinois 159, there may be a dead fox north of Interstate 64, a dead dog farther south. As the road becomes more rural, south of Belleville, there may be the occasional deer, skunk or bird that did not dodge a car quickly enough. So if pet owners don't come to claim their furry friends, and the deer is not hoisted off for fresh venison, who cleans up the mess?...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Republican Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to block enforcement of the state's limits on political party contributions to candidates. GOP officials want enforcement of the voter-approved limits stayed while the party seeks to have the nation's highest court hear the case...

GOMA, Congo -- Thick lava streamed through the abandoned city of Goma on Friday, burning everything in its path, and steam rose above Lake Kivu after a volcano spewed rivers of molten fire that destroyed at least half the city. Hundreds of thousands of people fled the devastation, many into Gisenyi in neighboring Rwanda. Exhausted men, women and children carrying rolled up mattresses and cooking pots slumped together on the road clogged with vehicles heading to Gisenyi...

LONDON -- Terror attacks, sluggish economies and mild winter weather limited growth in global demand for oil last year, and crude prices are likely to stay weak for the next few months as a result, a respected survey said Friday. However, a coordinated cut in oil output by OPEC and non-OPEC producers that took effect this month could help nudge prices higher later in 2002, the International Energy Agency said...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Red Cross workers began questioning al-Qaida and Taliban prisoners Friday about their treatment at the hands of the U.S. military, while rights groups insisted they should be classified as POWs for their own protection...

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Six Arab men with suspected ties to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and other terrorist groups were turned over to U.S. forces Friday and could become the first prisoners sent from outside Afghanistan to the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...

Some of us remember well facing our first typing keyboards as high school sophomores. Not very long ago, those keyboards came attached to manual typewriters. Not so for today's Cape Girardeau County students. Many of them outperform their parents in personal computing while still in elementary school. However, there's no need for them to hunt and peck on the family computer keyboard...

Roman Catholic bishops are trying to regain the momentum in the long fight over abortion rights, and it is Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua who will lead their charge. Elected chairman of the Pro Life Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops last November, the 78-year-old prelate says he will expand an anti-abortion advertising campaign that ran last year in his city and bring an aggressive lobbying effort to elected officials...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Paul J. Bishop, 77, of Jackson died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are pending at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

Mary L. Travis, 66, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at her home. Arrangements are pending at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Katharina Preisig, 92, of Jackson died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at Jackson Manor. Arrangements are pending at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Rev. Thomas Clifford Gargus, 76, of Charleston died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at the Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. He was born March 1, 1925, in Crouth, Mo., son of Jesse C. and Cynthia Poe Gargus. A retired minister, he had lived in Sikeston for the past five years...

John Henry "Bud" Kester, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born June 6, 1910, in Oak Ridge, Mo., son of Bennett and Carrie Suhr Kester. A member of Mapel United Methodist Church, Kester was an avid fisherman...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Bonnie Land, 58, of Jonesboro died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at the Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. Funeral arrangements are pending at Hileman & Parr Funeral Services in Jonesboro.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Bernard C. Robinson, 71, of Perryville died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Jan. 27, 1930, in Biehle, Mo., son of Henry and Clotilda Balsman Robinson. A farmer, Robinson was also a 22-year employee of Saberliner Corporation...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Irene G. Hartle, 83, of Jackson died Wednesday, January 16, 2002, at her home. She was born June 26, 1918 at Oak Ridge, Mo., daughter of David A. and Josephine Godwin Hahs. She and George E. Hartle were married April 25, 1934, at Jackson...

ANNA, Ill. -- Helen Griffith Ownes, 91, of Anna died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at City Care Center in Anna. She was born Jan. 26, 1910, in Anna, daughter of W. Davie and Floy Halstead Wiley. A member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Anna, she operated Wiley's Book Store from 1946-1975...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- James Willard Sexton, 93, of Sikeston died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at Miner Nursing Center. He was born Jan. 5, 1909, son of Alfred and Lucretia Sexton. He had been a shoe cutter for the International Shoe Company. Sexton was married to Geneva Evans, who died June 11, 1993...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- County governments are lining up to request more money from the state Legislature, but none of the officers of the local governments' lobbying organization predicts passage of some long-ignored requests. This year's Missouri Association of Counties' legislative package includes new and earlier-requested programs that include a share of any increased highway revenue as well as payment for unfunded mandates on the state's 114 counties...

The wintry weather that swept the region this week may be short-lived. The National Weather Service says temperatures today will be only in the 30s, but they'll climb into the 40s Sunday and reach 50 early next week as the unusually warm winter continues...

KENNETT, Mo. -- Missourians will spend some $40 million this year for a General Assembly that, at first glance, appears to be alive, kicking and even promising to remove some of the obstacles facing the citizens of our great state. But, as has happened so often in past years, appearances can be deceiving...

Southeast Missouri State University recently filled two posts. Trudy Lee, planned giving manager for the University of New Mexico, recently began her new job as director of planned giving at Southeast. Lee was planned giving manager at the University of New Mexico for the past five years. During her tenure at the University of New Mexico, Lee helped land more than 100 new planned financial gifts and completed bequests totaling over $20 million...

10 years ago: Jan. 19, 1992 Cape Girardeau Community Counseling Center celebrates its opening with open house; center provides individual, group and family counseling, rehabilitation services, crisis intervention and emergency services at its new building at 402 S. Silver Springs Road...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Helen A. Schrumpf, 88, of Perryville died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at the Perry County Nursing Home in Perryville. She was born April 24, 1913, in St. Louis, daughter of Ferd and Mary E. Huseman Fuist. She and Walter Schrumpf were married June 28, 1947, in St. Louis...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Robert G. Aubuchon, 86, of Jackson died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at the Monticello House. Funeral arrangements are pending at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Chapel.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- LaVerne M. Barber, 77, of Perryville died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at Briar Cliff Nursing Home in Alabaster, Ala. She was born March 24, 1924, at Daisy, Mo., daughter of Edgar and Ida Dickman Klaus. She and Zeno Barber were married July 22, 1943. He died Oct. 13, 2000...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Beatrice Hagy, 76, of Dexter died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at Three Rivers Healthcare South Campus in Poplar Bluff, Mo. She was born Feb. 16, 1925, at Poplar Bluff, daughter of Ernest and Nancy Jones Scott. She lived at Dudley, Mo., many years before moving to Dexter three years ago. She attended the Church of God in Dudley...

ST. PETERS, Mo. -- Rick Little, 51, of St. Peters died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at St. Louis University Hospital. He was born July 30, 1950, in Evening Shade, Ark., son of Nathaniel and Faye Stafford Little. Survivors include his mother of St. Peters; a son, Robert Tucci of Cedar Hill, Mo.; two daughters, Sonya Hardebeck of Fenton, Mo., and Stacey Little of Valles Mines, Mo.; three brothers, Jimmy Little of Barnhart, Mo., Buddy Little of Florissant, Mo., and Dale Little of Overland, Mo.; two sisters, Wanda Blankenship of Park Hills, Mo., and Janie Sullivan of St. ...

Nathan LeGrand's high school basketball career is just beginning. It's also winding down. Notre Dame's 6-foot-3 center didn't go out for basketball until his senior year, but on Friday night he was making up for lost time at the expense of the Jackson Indians...

Today Seminar on gifts and graces of the holy spirit at 10 a.m. at Livingway Foursquare Church. Gary Crawford of Fresh Heart Foursquare Church in Springfield, Mo., will lead the class. Mass celebration at 5:15 p.m. at St. Mary's Cathedral with the Rev. John J. Leibrecht, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. Nine teen-age candidates and four adult candidates will be presented for confirmation...

Just as John the Baptist made the way for Jesus Christ, the congregation at Old St. Vincent's Church in Cape Girardeau is preparing for its future with the addition of a Schantz pipe organ. The historic Roman Catholic church is currently without a pipe organ but will install a new instrument later this month. In the meantime, parishioners are leveling the floor. The old instrument was bought by a church in Arcadia, Mo...

While the annual observance of the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" brings churches together for prayer and worship, this year's service may be more meaningful in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In the weeks just after the attacks, area churches gathered for worship services, prayer and counseling...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- They have a common faith and express it in much the same way, but nine Protestant denominations still struggle after 40 years to become one. Now, they hope an effort to combat racism will pull them closer together in working for Christian causes that go beyond individual churches...

ST. LOUIS -- More than 100 Baptist churches sent representatives to Sedalia on Thursday to start planning a new statewide Baptist group. Many of those congregations are expected to withdraw from the 168-year-old Missouri Baptist Convention. The new organization, for now using the working name Baptist Convention of Missouri, will meet for the first time April 18 at the Fee Fee Baptist Church in Bridgeton, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday...

New disciple class begins at church Abundant Life Church is beginning a new disciple class at 6 p.m. Sunday. David Butler, pastor, will lead the class. Anyone is welcome to attend. Contest seeks spiritual poems The Texas Poetry Alliance is offering a $1,000 grand prize in a spiritual poetry contest...

Between holiday bazaars and decorations, fellowship dinners and weekly Bible studies, the ladies at Third Street United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau stay busy beyond the Sunday worship time. Though the church is small, its membership remains active, said Darlene Williams, who handles publicity for the United Methodist Women, a group that meets on the third Tuesday of each month...

The Cape Girardeau Central boys basketball team, after recently losing two of its key players, used a fantastic finish to avoid another loss on the court Friday night. Central's Matt Cardin hit a short bank shot at the buzzer to lift the Tigers (4-11)to a thrilling 52-51 victory over visiting Mehlville (6-9). Central snapped a four-game losing streak...

Four of the area's premier girls high school basketball teams will face some of the best talent from St. Louis in the second annual Notre Dame Shootout today. Cape Central, Poplar Bluff, Jackson and host Notre Dame return from last year's event and will attempt to build on winning records against a beefed-up field in the four-game event...

Brief glimpse ALAN JOURNET'S observation that the temperature record keeping we have been doing for the last 140 years is a good indication of what is going on. When you consider that the earth has been around for tens of thousands of years, this is like watching the first 15 seconds of a three-hour movie and then giving a report on the movie...

To the editor: I just wanted to comment on the United States Postal Service. I received a package in the mail that was opened with the contents removed and then resealed. All I received was an empty box. What kind of Postal Service workers do we have working for our government that they feel the need to steal their customers' mail?...

To the editor: It is apparent Alan Journet has not read the entire National Academy of Science's report. The NAS reviewed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. There was no discussion as to the validity of the report. The one climatologist on the panel wasn't permitted to discuss his concerns. The scientific community is laughing at this report...

To the editor: Thanks for the front-page article about bingo in Monday's paper. Your reporter, Ray Owen, accurately described why people play bingo and the attractions of the new hall in Cape Girardeau. Stephan Frazier's picture showing a view from the smokers' side through the glass wall into the nonsmoking area illustrates the biggest attraction of Bingo World. ...

To the editor: I was at Country Mart in Jackson, Mo., on Dec. 31. I was having trouble with my car door. Three men came by to help me. I didn't get their names. I sure want to thank them. DESSIE REID Jackson, Mo.

Southeast Missouri State University's gymnasts found home to be sweet, indeed. Southeast, after dropping two on the road, captured its first win of the season in a triangular meet Friday against Northern Illinois and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at Houck Field House...

Trying times have led to a lack of confidence among Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians -- hardly an ideal scenario as the team heads to Murray State today for an Ohio Valley Conference rivalry. "We're really down right now," said Southeast coach Gary Garner Friday morning, a little more than 12 hours after the Indians were spanked 89-73 at Tennessee-Martin on Thursday. "I'm hoping playing a big rivalry game like this will help get us back up."...

Pam Iversen has had ups and downs in her basketball career, but her accomplishments speak for themselves. "Any time you score 1,000 points ... that's quite an achievement," Southeast Missouri State University coach Ed Arnzen said. Iversen has not scored 1,000 points yet, but she could reach that career milestone today when the Otahkians (10-6, 3-3 Ohio Valley Conference) face Murray State (7-8, 2-3) at 4:30 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky...

Dan Steska, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau School District, has accepted a job as superintendent of a Normal, Ill., school district. The move will allow him to earn $75,000 a year in retirement benefits while drawing a salary of more than $100,000 a year in his new position...