Stories from Sunday, January 20, 2002

As Crystal Jones begins the Wednesday evening class, the 17 students are seated lotus-style on thin mats spread across the floor. As Jones speaks to students about where they felt discomfort last week, she reminds them of a few practical tips: stop when you feel pain, go barefoot so as not to slip on the mats and don't eat a big meal before class...

Feb. 6-12 -- Ponce, Puerto Rico Feb. 9-10 -- Aruba Feb. 7-13 -- St. Martin Feb. 10-13 -- Guadeloupe, Martinique Feb. 11-12 -- Trinidad, Dominica, Carriacou, Grenada Feb. 23 -- Georgetown, Guyana April 13 -- Cayman Islands April 22-30 -- Barbados April 18-28 -- St. Maarten...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A riotous cacophony is exploding across the Caribbean -- cowbells and conch shell calls, enticing rhythms from steel and goatskin drums, calypsos with lewd lyrics and derisive jabs at politicians. It's carnival time in the islands, time to don costumes and masks, to escape the world of order and wallow in chaos, time to expurgate the past year's sins and frustrations in an ancient rite of spiritual renewal and social invigoration...

ST. LOUIS -- This matchup is hard to beat: The zest of Favre versus the calm of Kurt. The NFL's best quarterback for much of the 1990s against the No. 1 passer of today. So why weren't these guys sure shots from the very beginning of their professional careers?...

Dick Jauron showed the world how to handle being on the hot seat: win 13 games, a division title and The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year award. Jauron, who needed a winning season to impress new general manager Jerry Angelo and keep his job, led the Chicago Bears to the NFC Central crown and a first-round playoff bye. The Bears, 5-11 in 2000, had the stingiest defense in the league, allowing 203 points...

CHICAGO -- Donovan McNabb scrambled, ducked and used his quick feet to elude the Chicago Bears, turning his homecoming into a celebration for the Philadelphia Eagles. "This is a feeling right now I somewhat can't explain," McNabb said Saturday after maneuvering the Eagles past the Bears 33-19, earning Philadelphia a trip to the NFC championship game...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Keen shooting in the first half paved the way for an easy victory for No. 21 Missouri. But to coach Quin Snyder, the Tigers' 62.5-percent accuracy was a byproduct of the way they moved the ball around in a 92-77 victory over Colorado on Saturday...

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Jay Haas is trying to turn back the clock in the Bob Hope Desert Classic. The 48-year-old Haas, the Hope champion 14 years ago, knocked an 8-iron out of a divot in the rough and into the hole from 150 yards out for an eagle to begin his round Saturday. He went on to shoot a 9-under 63, good for a one-shot lead over Kenny Perry and Cameron Beckman...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- A federal judge has ordered a psychiatric evaluation for an accused drug dealer who claims that his name is copyrighted and wants to be paid $500,000 each time his name is used by court personnel. Frederick R. James, of Washington Park, is charged with intent to deal less than 50 kilograms of marijuana as well as several firearms counts. The 41-year-old defendant is also known as Nkosi Niyahuma-Dey, according to court documents he has filed...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The boxes on the table represent the last chapter of lives played out on society's margins. Made of white cardboard, bearing identification labels from Parker Funeral Service, they've been sitting on a bookshelf at the St. Francis House, waiting for either a fortuitous phone call or a sufficient thawing of the ground...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Three years ago, Planned Parenthood halted abortions at its Columbia clinic to avoid questions about whether it could legally receive state money for family planning services. That's because the state budget prohibited abortions and state-funded family planning under the same roof...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Developers of a multimillion-dollar space attraction on the Mississippi Gulf Coast hope they can lure 500,000 visitors a year with a little "shake, rattle and roar." The yet-unnamed, $50 million-plus attraction will be a marriage of Disney style and NASA know-how, featuring hands-on exhibits and simulations that highlight Mississippi's contributions to the U.S. space program, organizers say...

WASHINGTON -- Clearly, in the pinched language of damage control, "mistakes were made." Now comes the time for Enron's executives and the accounting firm that allowed its creative bookkeeping to explain sudden bankruptcy, wiped-out retirement savings, shredded documents. Meanwhile, the politicians who loved the energy giant's campaign money -- and will investigate its collapse -- are scrambling for cover...

It has been an outrageous saga. We speak, of course, of the four dozen favored lawyer-contributors hired by Attorney General Jay Nixon to pursue Missouri's case against Big Tobacco. That case has now reached its ignominious conclusion. An arbitration panel stacked in favor of the plaintiffs' lawyers has awarded fees to Nixon's hand-picked cronies. They are to receive a total of $111 million to be paid out to the five law firms at the rate of $3.8 million a year for 29 years...

Missouri's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is the fund that pays out unemployment benefits to jobless workers. A recent state auditor's report suggests that the fund could be insolvent by next year. State Auditor Claire McCaskill's report says the fund is expected to pay out $414 million more than it receives next year. She recommends higher taxes on employers and other reforms...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Jan. 20 TheftClothes and two cell phones were reported stolen Friday at 1819 Niemann. A wallet was reported stolen Friday at 121 S. Sprigg. Prescription medication was reported stolen Friday at 19 S. Kingshighway. Money was reported stolen Friday at 3303 Campster...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Jan. 20 Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:At 8:12 p.m., an emergency medical service at 1021 S. Ellis. At 9:18 p.m., an emergency medical service at 3017 Mimosa. At 11:57 p.m., an alarm sounding at Towers East...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A special Senate committee recommended reforms to Missouri elections laws last week that attempt to address problems reported during the 2000 general elections. The proposals include instituting provisional voting procedures, granting the secretary of state subpoena power to investigate election irregularities and authorizing the attorney general to prosecute voter fraud...

Perryville Road has been closed and detoured between Sherwood Drive and Briarwood Drive due to construction on the Lexington Avenue and Perryville Road water main. The $412,140.27 project involves installation of more than 1.6 miles of pipe and will serve the Meadowbrook water storage tank...

The civil rights movement and Southeast Missouri State University's celebration of the Martin Luther King national holiday will be the topics of discussion today on KRCU's "Going Public" radio show. Dr. Irene Ferguson, dean of students at Southeast Missouri State University, will be the featured guest. She's involved in putting on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, which will be held at 8 a.m. Monday at the Student Recreation Center...

WASHINGTON -- Women wishing to become pregnant are about to get a new way to predict when they are fertile: The government has approved the sale of the nation's first saliva ovulation test. Women's estrogen levels gradually rise each month, peaking with ovulation, the time each month that they can conceive...

WASHINGTON -- The reported bugging of China's new presidential aircraft, a specially fitted Boeing 767, is unlikely to cause a rupture in relations with the United States, U.S. experts said Saturday. The White House and State Department were publicly silent on the subject, declining to comment on the disclosure or say whether Beijing had protested or otherwise contacted Washington about it...

WASHINGTON -- Friends notice more gray in his hair and more confidence in his voice. Few people call him an isolationist anymore. Fewer still question whether he's up to the job. War and recession transformed the Bush presidency -- and some say George W. Bush himself -- since he swore the oath of office Jan. 20, 2001...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a percent in December, the Missouri Department of Economic Development reported Friday. The rate went from 4.7 percent in November to 4.4 percent in December. The overall unemployment rate remained at 4.3 percent...

ST. LOUIS -- Hoping to create a more manageable and generous board, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra board of trustees cut itself down from 88 to 49 members. The symphony's former board was among the nation's largest, spokesman Carter Dunkin said...

OXFORD, Ohio -- "DragonflyTV," a science series for children debuting on PBS this weekend, is going to look a lot like an MTV video to some adults. "This stuff moves fast, and it has incessant music," said executive producer Richard Hudson. "DragonflyTV" comes from Twin Cities Public Television, producer of the long-running "Newton's Apple," and is based on a children's magazine developed at Miami (of Ohio) University. ...

LOS ANGELES -- Charles Durning appears to be asleep. His character, Supreme Court Justice Henry Hoskins, is seated on the bench, his Humpty Dumpty figure slumped, his face resting in his cupped hand. "He may pretend like he's asleep, but he's using it as a device to cut out a lot of stuff except what he really needs to listen to," says Durning, explaining his character's sometimes snoozing demeanor...

CHICAGO -- Chef Art Smith has cooked for the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart, but names he prefers to drop include Grandmother Georgia, Aunt Evelyn and Grandmother Mabel. Smith credits these family members with creating some of his most cherished memories, the food and traditions from the family dinner table in rural Florida where he grew up...

BALTIMORE -- A small crowd gathered at the old church where Edgar Allan Poe lies buried, waiting, as they do every year, for the arrival of a stranger. A black-clad man arrived at 2:59 a.m. Friday, marking the poet's birthday with the traditional graveside tribute: three red roses and a half bottle of cognac. Only this and nothing more...

PRICE, Utah -- In this blue-collar mining town, the past meets the future in a 100 million-year-old layer of rock. For the last century, central Utah has staked its fortune on coal mining. But buried within the coal are fossils -- dinosaur tracks, fish, bone fragments -- that could be the building blocks for a thriving tourist industry...

WASHINGTON -- Exercise by young athletes -- especially by those who train in one sport -- can cause stress fractures of the back, doctors say. Spondylolysis, often-painful tiny cracks in spinal bones, may account for almost half of low back pain cases among active teen-agers who seek medical attention for their pain, according to a report in the January issue of the medical journal The Physician and Sports Medicine...

While post offices, many schools and the New York Stock Exchange will close for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday, it will be business as usual for most companies. Just a quarter of workplaces offer a paid holiday on Monday, according to a survey of 448 employers by the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., a Washington-based publishing company that researches business trends...

PASADENA, Calif. -- The Galileo spacecraft recovered from a computer glitch, allowing it to take at least some of the last planned images of its 13-year mission to Jupiter, NASA said Friday. The aging robotic probe was expected to acquire images of Jupiter's moons Amalthea and Europa, as well as of the planet itself, through today...

PARIS -- The swaying palm trees and thatched-roof bungalows of Club Med villages from Ixtapa to Bora Bora create an air of tranquility that's not being felt at the French vacation company's headquarters. Club Mediterranee has shuttered 17 resorts and earlier this month announced its worst results in years: a loss of $62.3 million for the fiscal year ended in October...

NEW YORK -- The accounting practices that brought down Enron Corp. and also cast doubt on the credibility and future of auditor Arthur Andersen have come as a great shock to the energy trader's employees and shareholders and plenty of other people who have watched Enron unravel...

GIBRALTAR -- The Rock isn't as steady as it used to be. After nearly three centuries under British rule, the Rock of Gibraltar -- a synonym for dependability and a symbol of the British empire's former invincibility -- is tipping back into Spanish hands, to the alarm of many of its residents...

U-JAE, Thailand -- Schooling is finally reaching the isolated tribes of northern Thailand's hill country, thanks to idealistic new teachers, satellite TV dishes -- and sure-footed elephants. Working on a shoestring budget, Thailand's Non-Formal Education Department is using elephants to pack in teachers along with books and other educational materials, including television sets...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Southwest Missouri State University has made a change that could spare employees from a universal pay cut if a faltering economy prompts belt tightening. State lawmakers are expected to make millions of dollars in budget cuts this year because the recession has reduced tax revenue...

BEARDSTOWN, Ill. -- Julio Flores knocked on the door of a trailer, and a sleepy-looking Mexican man with disheveled black hair opened it, looking as if he had just awakened. Inside, blankets and a pillow on the sofa revealed that the man indeed had been napping...

BERTRAM, Iowa -- The Census Bureau admits it made a mistake -- there's no college dorm in Bertram, or even a college, for that matter. Census 2000 figures had included a dorm with hundreds of students across from Town Hall, where an empty house actually stands. The bureau has released a corrected count, reducing Bertram's official population from 681 to 263...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Bent under the weight of backpacks, M-16s and rocket launchers, U.S. Marines on Saturday took flights out of Afghanistan, after handing over to the Army the military base they set up in the Taliban heartland. The Marines looked forward to TV, soft beds and meals "that didn't come out of a bag," said Cpl. ...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israel troops lit up the night sky with a powerful explosion that gutted the official Palestinian broadcasting building Saturday, dealing another retaliatory blow to Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. Israel said its latest strike against the Palestinians was in response to a deadly attack by militants two days earlier. ...

GOMA, Congo -- Bright red lava shot into the air from what appeared to be a new volcanic cone in eastern Congo Saturday, sending a new wave of molten rock into the devastated center of Goma, slicing the city in half, killing at least 40 and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes...

MOSCOW -- Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov missed a chance to take a dominating two-game lead over his countryman Vassily Ivanchuk and had to settle for a draw in the fourth game of the finals of the FIDE world chess championship on Saturday. Ponomariov, who won the first game, now leads the match at the halfway point 2.5-1.5...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- New tents are popping up like mushrooms after a rain. Pool tables at a bar next to the airstrip in the low-lying hills of eastern Cuba are crowded. Stucco houses empty for years are filling with troops. U.S. troops have been pouring in over the last three weeks, changing the landscape and quickening the pace of life on the base, the oldest on foreign soil...

LONDON -- A trans-Atlantic passenger jet flying from Britain to Florida in the United States was diverted to Iceland Saturday after a bomb hoax, airline officials said. The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 took off from London's Gatwick airport at 6 a.m. EST bound for Orlando, Fla. It landed safely at Keflavik airport, 30 miles southwest of the capital Reykjavik at 12:26 p.m. EST...

GUANAJUATO, Mexico -- With the economy sluggish and the budget tight, President Vicente Fox wants entrepreneurs on both sides of the border to invest in poor communities with high migration rates to the United States. Dining on chicken and strawberry tarts, representatives of companies including Tyson Foods, and even NBA basketball player Eduardo Najera of the Dallas Mavericks were asked late Friday to become "godfathers" to poor communities across Mexico...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Instead of buying lunch, Justin Jones eats the sandwich his wife packs for him. Instead of spending $14 to see a movie, they cuddle up to watch one at home. The intent is to save money, a subject on Jones' mind a lot these days. He's an employee of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, which will dissolve two months after the 2002 Winter Olympics ends...

Universal Health and FitnessCape Girardeau 335-3355 Monday12:30 p.m. -- Pilates mat work* Tuesday9:30 a.m. -- Mom and Me yoga** 10 a.m. -- Power yoga 7 p.m. -- Pilates mat work Wednesday9 a.m. -- Stott pilates Noon -- Pilates mat work 7 p.m. -- yoga...

Victoria Geldmacher, 77, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. She was born April 26, 1924, at Seattle, Wash. She married Louis Geldmacher Nov. 25, 1954, at St. Louis. She previously worked as a housekeeper at Southeast Missouri State University. She was a member of Evangelical United Church of Christ in Cape Girardeau as well as the church's Friendship Circle and Mary Martha Circle...

BIEHLE, Mo. - Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Buchheit of Biehle announce the engagement of their daughter, Amy Louise Buchheit, of Louiseville, Ky., to Paul Robert McCabe of Minneapolis, Minn. He is the son of Marg McCabe of McCall, Idaho, and Robert McCabe of Lincoln, Neb...

Mr. and Mrs. Gary Lossing of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Kristy Lossing, to Shane Murdock, son of Jeff and Mary Ann Snedden of Phoenix, Ariz. Lossing is a 1992 graduate of Central High School in Cape Girardeau. She is the manager of a restaurant in Chandler, Ariz...

Kara Michelle Beltz and Keith Michael Cantwell exchanged vows Oct. 20, 2001, at Christ Church of the Heartland in Cape Girardeau. Zack Strong performed the double ring ceremony. Pianists were Nancy Blattner of Cape Girardeau and Terry and Janet Robison of Advance, Mo. Soloists were Ashley Beltz of Jackson, Mo., and the Robisons...

Beverly Louise Brown and Wayne Lewis Boehme, both of Cape Girardeau, exchanged vows Oct. 20, 2001, at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Rick J. Valleroy performed the double-ring ceremony. Organist was Jeff Overby of Cape Girardeau; and flutist was Carol McDowell of Cape Girardeau. Vocalists were Alan Bruns of Cape Girardeau and Brittany Moore of Pocahontas, Mo...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A year ago at his inauguration, Gov. Bob Holden set the theme of his administration as "One Bright Future, One Missouri." Weeks later, he delivered a State of the State address titled "Missouri: A New Century of Opportunities."...

Jackson wrestlers combine work, wins, dedication to build program's legacy JACKSON, Mo. In the basement of the Jackson Multi-Purpose Building, one of the state's premier wrestling programs holds another relentless practice. There's no shortage of sweat, weary muscles and gasping breath. There's plenty of barking instruction from the coaching staff spiced with critique, exhortation and praise:...

$$$Start MURRAY, Ky. -- The 30 or 40 Southeast Missouri State University basketball fans who made their way to Murray, Ky., through the snow and cold to watch the Indians face arch-rival Murray State Saturday night are to be commended for their loyalty...

For the New Year's holiday I was in Russia again, this time in a tiny village just inside the border with Ukraine. It was a fairy-tale place where transportation was as much by horse and sled as automobile. At night the full moon bathed the air in silver light, stars sparkled like cold diamonds and the snow glowed blue upon the hills...

10 years ago: Jan. 20, 1992 Benton - Scott County commissioners hope to replace 60-year-old sheriff's office this year, either with new building or purchase of existing structure; Lynn Ingram, First District commissioner from Sikeston, says existing office, adjacent to jail in Benton, is in poor shape...

Mrs. Wynne G. Avritt of Killeen, Texas, announces the engagement of her daughter, Gail L. Avritt of Cape Girardeau, to Todd W. Knaup of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of John and Ann Knaup of Jackson, Mo. Avritt is a 1987 graduate of Great Falls High in Great Falls, Mt., and graduated in 1994 with an A.A.S. as an physical therapy assistant. She is wellness coordinator at Saxony Villege in Cape Girardeau...

Paul and Diana Annable of Washington, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Crystal Diane Annable of Washington, to Brian Anthony Hite of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Judy Hite of Cape Girardeau and the late Anthony Hite. Annable is a 1997 graduate of Washington High School and a 2000 graduate of East Central College. She is attending Central Methodist College, where she is majoring in elementary education. She is employed by the Washington School District...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Ray Langford of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Jaclyn Rae Langford, to Brian Taylor Dameron. He is the son of Tom and Cheryl Dameron of Jackson. Langford is a 1997 graduate of Jackson High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. She is employed by the city of Cape Girardeau in the engineering department...

DUDLEY, Mo. -- Raymond Orr, 81, of Dudley died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at the Missouri Southern Healthcare Facility in Dexter, Mo. He was born Oct. 10, 1920, to Nicholas Cleveland and Ida M. Majors Orr. On May 25, 1940, he married Hazel Iola Stephens in Dudley. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife on Nov. 21, 1994...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Frank Edward Godwin, 98, of Jackson died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. He was born Oct. 1, 1903, at Jackson, the son of Thomas Edward and Stella Mae Ramsey Godwin. He was an assembly line worker at Florsheim Shoe in Cape Girardeau, retiring in the late 1970s. Prior to his shoe factory career, he worked for Goodwin Poultry, riding the chicken cars from Jackson to New York and Canada...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Robert Glenwood Aubuchon, 86, of Jackson died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at the Monticello House in Jackson. He was born Aug. 16, 1915, at Bonne Terre, Mo., the son of Dr. Shelby D. and Gertrude Wigger Aubuchon. He married Gladys Miller on Dec. 24, 1946, at Cape Girardeau...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Linda Younette Pettit, 59, of Scott City died Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

William Kissiar DONGOLA, Ill. -- William Ray Kissiar, 65, of Dongola, Ill., died on Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at the John Cochran Hospital in St. Louis. He was born on Dec. 24, 1936, in Texas County, Mo. He worked as a butcher. Survivors include a son, James Ray Kissiar; a daughter, Cynthia Anna Kissiar; three brothers, Wilburt Kissiar of Valparaso, Ill., Earnest Kissiar of Wingo, Ky., and Larry Kissiar of Tamms, Ill.; three sisters, Tressie Long of Anna, Ill., Brenda Stover of De Funiak Springs, Fla., and Lynda Palmer of Dongola.. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Cape Girardeau County commissioners say the budget isn't big enough to build even a 20-bed juvenile detention center. The numbers don't add up, says Gerald Jones, the county presiding commissioner, who late last month had vowed to build a new center if the price were right...

It was "the best speech I've ever heard," personable Democratic state Rep. Ralph Monaco of Raytown told this newspaper. Monaco was speaking of the annual State of the Judiciary address given by the chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. This year that role is filled ably by Stephen N. ...

Even in the middle of our nation's heightened security, it's great to see that the National Football League hasn't barred cheeseheads from our nation's stadiums. There was concern that Green Bay Packers fans might be banned from wearing their trademark foam cheese hats at today's playoff game with the Rams in St. Louis...

Kelsey and Freida Clark Kelley of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 1, 2002. A reception and dinner was hosted by their children at Delmonico's Restaurant in Jackson. An invocation was given by the Rev. Charles Lance, a longtime friend of the family...

Jan. 21-25MONDAY - Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. TUESDAY - Meatloaf or Polish sausage, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, kraut, hot roll, cherry cobbler. WEDNESDAY - Ham & beans or mushroom steak, potatoes, creamed spinach, stewed apples, cornbread, iced cake...

Lewis Son to Matthew Edward and Kimberly Ann Lewis of Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah Valley Medical Center in Provo, Utah, 1:56 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2002. Name, Joshua Matthew. Weight, 7 pounds 15 ounces. Fifth child, second son. Mrs. Lewis is the former Kimberly Criddle, daughter of Danny and Donna Criddle of Jackson, Mo. Lewis is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lewis of Salt Lake City, Utah. He is a computer programmer for Novel Corp...

Associated Press Many people from the Congolese town of Goma lined the road in Rwanda's northwestern province of Gisenyi Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in Goma after the nearby volcano erupted on Thursday.JONESBORO, Ill. -- Bonnie Lee Land, 58, of Jonesboro, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at the Union County Hospital...

NAIA standings are welcomed Thanks for the NAIA basketball standings in the Thursday, Jan. 17 paper. My son plays at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. Hope to see more on NAIA schools in the future. ROSS CONNER via e-mail Appreciates local...

MURRAY, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University and Murray State have hooked up in some memorable basketball games over the past several seasons and often battled for Ohio Valley Conference supremacy. Even though the Indians and Racers both are down now, the two still put on an entertaining show Saturday...

MURRAY, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team was able to enjoy a rare Ohio Valley Conference road romp Saturday. The Otahkians used a surge late in the first half to pull ahead of host Murray State and Southeast went on to win 71-55...

Jackson wrestlers combine work, wins, dedication to build program's legacy JACKSON, Mo. In the basement of the Jackson Multi-Purpose Building, one of the state's premier wrestling programs holds another relentless practice. There's no shortage of sweat, weary muscles and gasping breath. There's plenty of barking instruction from the coaching staff spiced with critique, exhortation and praise:...

TOP TO BOTTOM The Jackson High School varsity wrestling lineup and how they've fared this season through Friday:NAME YEAR LBS W-L Paul Feiner Fr. 103 14-15 Brock Howard So. 112 26-1 Ben Wachter So. 125 12-13 Cody Rouse Fr. 130 22-6...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The host Indians rode a one-point first-half lead to the wire to nip Kelly 57-56 in boys basketball Saturday. Seth McDowell led Jackson with 14 points, while Lance Bollinger and Tyler McNeely chipped in with 12 and 10, respectively. Barry Ziegler scored a game-high 15 to pace the Hawks...

The Notre Dame girls take these shootouts seriously. With all 12 barrels blazing, the Lady Bulldogs hit their Markers -- the Nerinx Hall Markers. Shooting over 50 percent from the field and with all 12 players on the roster finding the scoring column, Notre Dame remained perfect in its own Notre Dame Shootout with a 74-42 victory Saturday...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Anastasia Becker had a craving for fresh produce. "Fresher than the big groceries sell," she emphasized. "REALLY fresh, so you can taste it." The Root Cellar came to her appetite's rescue. In operation since late last summer, the store offers a showcase for Missouri-raised products that are sometimes so fresh their growers unpack the goods while eager customers wait and watch...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Cotton, rice and potato yields in Missouri set new records in 2001, while soybean production matched previous highs, the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service reported. Cotton production was estimated at 720,000 bales, 33 percent more than in 2000. The state's rice production reached a 12.3 million hundredweight, up 28 percent from a year earlier. And commercial potato production totaled 1.90 million hundredweight, 13 percent above the 2000 production...

Design offers open, airy feel to Ashland Hills home By Tammy Raddle ~ Southeast Missourian Two half-moon windows greet you as you enter the home at 3909 Fawn Drive in the Ashland Hills Subdivison. Like their celestial counterparts, these moons accompany wide open spaces...

Southeast soccer coach accepts Austin Peay job Southeast Missouri State assistant soccer coach Kelley Poole has resigned to accept the head coaching position at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Tenn. Poole spent two seasons as the main assistant and chief recruiter for head coach Heather Nelson. In her two seasons on the staff, the Otahkians were 26-8-1 and won their first Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship...

To the editor: In response to the "Biblical proof" comment in Speak Out: The caller said, "Seriously, folks, sometimes I wonder. If the Bible said the sky was green, would you believe that too?" If the Bible said the sky was green, it would be. I believe that God has and continues to protect the integrity of his Word...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Virginia May Beatty, 75, of Jackson and formerly of Leopold, Mo., died Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born on Oct. 7, 1926, at Lowndes, Mo., the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Barrett Boyet...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Estella M. Grindstaff, 91, of Perryville died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at Perry Oaks Manor. Born Nov. 5, 1910, in Bollinger County, she was the daughter of Ferdinand and Anna Belle Barks Ruessler. Grindstaff was a retired nurse's aide for the American Care Nursing Home...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Marilyn Pender, 70, of St. Charles, died Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002, at St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles. Born June 19, 1931, in Annapolis, Mo., she was the daughter of John and Ida Bud Funk Loness. She married Nelson R. Pender, who preceded her in death. She was a homemaker...

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- David Wilder, 48, of Minneapolis, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at his home. Born Feb. 10, 1953 in Suporo, Japan, he was the son of Shigeko Kabaki Wilder and the late John Robert Wilder. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, he was employed as a civil engineer with Professional Service Incorporated and worked on construction projects all over the country...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Katharina Preisig, 92, of Jackson, passed away Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at the Jackson Manor Nursing Home. Friends may call between 4 and 8 today at the McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, with parish prayers at 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, with Monsignor Edward Eftink officiating...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Paul J. Bishop, 77, of Jackson died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Born Nov. 2, 1924, in Cape Girardeau, he was the son of Lester A. And Lucinda Smith Bishop. On Aug. 26, 1949, in Portageville, Mo., he married Betty L. Schwach...

Mary L. Travis, 66, of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at her home after an 11-year struggle with failing health. Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the funeral home with the Rev. Roy Jones officiating. Burial will follow in Cape County Memorial Park...

Medicare woes MY HUSBAND and I had good medical insurance. When we reached age 65, the government made us take Medicare. But we still have our good insurance. What Medicare won't pay, our insurance won't pay either. When people hear about this, they think we're poor people and don't pay for insurance. ...

Editor's note: Ten students -- Jessica Huff, Jake Culver, Lori Wolfe, Brian Meredith, Jackson Greene, Matt Holshouser, Tiffany Henderson, Sarah Hale, Tiffany Ashby and Darren J. Henderson -- at the Alternative Education Center in Cape Girardeau wrote letters to the editor after they read the Jan. ...

While yoga stresses proper breathing and posture, Pilates emphasizes flexibility and strength in its exercises. The series of 34 exercises were developed by Joseph Pilates and never takes a participant off the mat. While it sounds simple to stretch your legs and arms, the movements build upon each other and are much harder than they might appear. And for each movement, there is a challenge step for the advanced student...

Dear Heather, Crystal, Jade, Barbie, Brittany, Chase, Caleb, Dustin, Melissa, Amanda, Michael, Alex, Tyler, Laura, Marissa, and Courtney: I enjoyed receiving and reading your notes to me, and learning you had been reading the serialization of my book, "Wide Meadows," in the Southeast Missourian. Many of you asked the same question: When did I start writing for publication and what inspired me?...