Stories from February 2002

SEOUL, South Korea -- In its first public reaction to being called part of an "axis of evil," North Korea on Friday said President Bush's pronouncement was little short of a declaration or war. "The option to 'strike' impudently advocated by the U.S. is not its monopoly," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said. North Korea, it said, "will never tolerate the U.S. reckless attempt to stifle the (North) by force of arms but mercilessly wipe out the aggressors."...

Associated Press WriterISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A caller purporting to represent the kidnappers of reporter Daniel Pearl telephoned the U.S. Consulate in Karachi on Friday and demanded $2 million and the release of the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, senior police officials said...

Associated Press WriterZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) -- At least five Muslim guerrillas were killed Friday in a battle with Philippine troops on Basilan island, where two Americans and a Filipino nurse are being held hostage, a Philippine military commander said...

Southeast Missouri State University suspended the Phi Delta Theta fraternity for more than a year over an infraction of its zero-tolerance policy on hazing. Under the suspension, the fraternity can't operate on campus until the summer of 2003 at the earliest, and then only if the university reinstates the organization...

By Sam Blackwell ~ Southeast Missourian Like many high school students, Morgan Williams likes scary movies. When the time came to create a sculpture for the upcoming High School Art Symposium, she began looking for a horror story to base it on. She didn't have to look far...

I know how I'm going to make enough money to land on Easy Street. I'm going to sue the socks off John Grisham for stealing my life. At the end of 2001, my record was intact. I had never read a Grisham novel. I had watched the movies. His yarns about legal intrigue make good films...

Gail Lowrance of Cape Girardeau can't live without the following 10 songs: 1. "You Got It" -- Bonnie Raitt A great song to dance to in the kitchen and sing into a wood spoon if Bonnie sings it. And better yet if you feel sad and hear Whoopie Goldberg sing it on the "Boys on the Side" soundtrack...

NEW YORK -- "Now with Bill Moyers" is possibly the season's most important new series -- and an ambitious response to Sept. 11. Airing Fridays at 8 p.m. CST on PBS, "Now" marks the return by public television to quick-response journalism after decades of long-form, long-in-the-making documentaries...

Travis Wunderlich, a junior at Southeast, played Chopin and Prokofiev pieces to perfection Jan. 19 in Jefferson City, Mo. He won the McClure Award, a piano competition sponsored by the Missouri Federated Music Clubs. Wunderlich is a performance major from Altenburg, Mo., who attended Perryville High School. He is the son of Duane and Carol Wunderlich...

ORIOLE, Mo. -- A deaf woman used a telephone to get help when high waters swept her husband's car off a rural bridge late Thursday. William Purcell, driving alone in a vehicle, attempted to cross Flora Creek, not realizing how high the water had risen, the Missouri Highway Patrol said...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff woman charged with abusing her young daughter is free on bond following her arrest Tuesday. Amanda Walther, 24, was released after she posted a $25,000 bond. She is accused of inflicting "cruel and inhumane punishment" by holding the hot metal part of a lighter against her 3-year-old daughter...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Anthony Garrett has been accepting pats on the back and high-fives from teachers and students this week at Lake Road Elementary School. His quick-action recently helped prevent a fellow fourth-grade student from choking. "My man! Good job!" one teacher called to Anthony...

10 years ago: Feb. 1, 1992 Twenty-two Boy Scouts searched area north of Cape Girardeau Saturday morning to help rescue injured hunter after he failed to return home evening before; actually, rescue operation turned out to be simulation, although Scouts didn't initially know it was an exercise; when found, victim had fake blood on his hands and mock stake protruding from his leg...

McClard Daughter to Charles Ray and Jennifer Ann McClard of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:48 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002. Name, Alexis Paige. Weight, 7 pounds 11 1/2 ounces. Second daughter. Mrs. McClard is the former Jennifer Cole, daughter of Robert and Donna Cole of Ellis Grove, Ill. She is self-employed. McClard is the son of Wade and Judy Robert of Kelso, Mo., and Gary and Shirley McClard of Jackson. He is employed at Procter & Gamble...

MARION, Ill. -- Jesse M. Colyer, 79, of Marion died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at Marion Memorial Hospital. He was born April 7, 1922, in McClure, Ill., son of Jesse A. and Jennie Murphy Colyer. He and Wanda Rymer were married June 21, 1941, in Cape Girardeau...

GORDONVILLE, Mo. -- Barbara Allen McCormick, 65, of Gordonville died Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 17, 1936, at Jackson, Mo., daughter of Albert and Oma Herzog Goehman. She and Jim Eugene McCormick were married June 10, 1953, in Cape Girardeau...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Beulah Lingle, 83, of Dongola died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Verlee Eaker officiating. Burial will be in American Legion Cemetery...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Betty O. Pearson, 85, of Cobden died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, Ill. She was born Feb. 22, 1916, in Danville, Ark., daughter of Marshall and Anna McClure Mungle. She and Harvey S. Pearson were married July 9, 1932, in Cobden. He died April 3, 1994...

Betty M. Wampler, 85, of Paducah, Ky., died Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002, at her home. She was the daughter of John William and Amy Ann Whiting King. She married Weldon R. Wampler, who preceded her in death. Wampler attended Chicago School of Nursing. She was a registered nurse, retiring in 1977 from Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah. She was formerly head nurse of the hospital's nursery department...

Larry Wayne "Buzz" Henson, 48, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002, at his home. He was born July 16, 1953, in Anna, Ill., son of Boyd and Ruth Martin Henson. Henson was a construction laborer. He served in the U.S. Army. Survivors include his parents of Jonesboro, Ill., and a sister, Joanna Coles of Anna...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Gladys A. Boyd, 81, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002, at her home. She was born Sept. 25, 1920, in Clarksville, Ark., daughter of D.C. and Zella Vangilder Crone. She and Clyde Boyd were married Oct. 7, 1939, at Benton, Mo. He died April 30, 1991...

W.R. "Russell" Nelson, 91, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. Friends may call Friday, Feb. 1, from 4 to 8 p.m. at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo. A Masonic service will be held at 7. Funeral service will be Saturday, Feb. 2, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by interment in Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery. The Rev. Daniel Hale will officiate...

IF SEMO were someday exclusively populated with administrators (the trend is in that direction), there is no doubt there would be adequate attention given as well as a quick resolution to the parking problem. Translation needed "FOCUS ON business, accounting practices" screamed a Southeast Missourian editorial headline. Translation: Lay off Republican public officeholders...

Tax defense AS AN average taxpayer who can't afford to fight city hall, I'd like to say thank you to Jim Drury for taking his time and money to keep the city officials from taxing us to death. Questionable voting I'M A Cape Girardeau voter who voted against the River Campus taxes. Are we in Cape Girardeau or are we in Florida? Do valid votes mean nothing?...

To the editor: At the height of the Clinton impeachment brouhaha, when the moralistic right were rolling their eyes and drooling at every fresh revelation of Bill Clinton's debauchery, an Australian newspaper published a letter to the editor that contained the following memorable line: Thank God that we got the convicts and the United States got the Puritans...

He's been a world steer-wrestling champion 11 times. In his 18 years of competing full-time on the rodeo circuit, there aren't many titles Dale Yerigan hasn't won. And still, at 38, finding the motivation to stay competitive hasn't been a problem...

If you're looking for a Super Bowl party, several local sports bars and restaurants will offer food, drinks and TVs. But don't expect a Bourbon Street atmosphere. For most establishments, it will be business as usual with some added food and drink specials...

Spending Super Bowl Sunday in front of the TV? You'll have lots of company. Local travel agents say there have been a few inquiries, but even fewer actual purchases of pricey Super Bowl tickets and travel packages, leaving millions of fans at home watching the game...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The way Southeast Missouri State University's basketball season has gone, it seems like every game a different opposing hero emerges to take charge and hand the Indians a narrow defeat. It was Garrett Richardson's turn Thursday...

Good news and bad news for the Cape Central Lady Tigers. On the upside, rival Notre Dame will graduate a Millham among a strong senior class. On the down side, a Millham who has been a thorn in the side this year will return. On Thursday, junior guard Ashley Millham scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 63-40 victory over Cape Central at Notre Dame Regional High School...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Meadow Heights reached the championship game of the boys' basketball round-robin Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament with a 62-49 victory Thursday over Oak Ridge. Cody Thompson paced top-seeded Meadow Heights (11-6) with 21 points while Josh Mayfield tallied 19...

When it comes to music and band instruments in this part of the country, one name instantly comes to mind: Shivelbine's. When it comes to newspapers in this part of the country, one name instantly comes to mind: Gary Rust. Shivelbine's Music Store and Gary Rust were honored last week with the highest awards given at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner. ...

This is the first day of February. For hundreds of Cape Girardeans, the flip of the calendar means one thing: It's time to read. And discuss. Thanks to a citywide effort that has caught on like wildfire, readers young and old will be concentrating on one book during the monthlong United We Read project...

BIEHLE, Mo. -- A Perryville, Mo., man was seriously injured Thursday when his vehicle struck a tree near Biehle. Ricardo Berkbigler, 29, was taken to Perry County Memorial Hospital after the 5:10 p.m. accident on Route K. The Missouri Highway Patrol said Berkbigler's vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway, and when he overcorrected, the vehicle ran off the left side of the roadway and hit a tree...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Feb. 1 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 11:14 a.m., an emergency medical service at Broadway and North Kingshighway. At 3:27 p.m., an emergency medical service at 341 N. Main.Jackson Friday, Feb. 1...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Feb. 1 DWIKathy Marie Crader, 52, Delta, Mo., was arrested Wednesday for driving while intoxicated. Robert Waverly Skiles, 50, 15 S. Lorimier, was arrested Wednesday for driving while intoxicated. ArrestsRobert Dean Garrity, 24, 203 S. Pacific, was arrested Wednesday for probation violation...

Correction A headline in Wednesday's Southeast Missourian should have said that a GAO lawsuit will be filed to get papers from Vice President Dick Cheney. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Sales promotion, product or presentation, sales kit or product, St. Francis Medical Center for its childbirth and pregnancy Kit. Credits to Steven C. Bjelich, president and CEO and Barbara Thompson, vice president of marketing. Citations of Excellence, Red Letter Communications Inc., logo design and corporate identity for Red Letter and Sure Decisions sales kit. Credits to Silvia Kinder, art director, Mike Simmons, copy writer...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A man accused of threatening a woman with a knife, stealing her purse and leading police through the city on a high-speed chase is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 11. Robert W. Wiley, 24, of Liberty, Ill., waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday and was bound over for trial...

Prosecutors Thursday dismissed sexual misconduct charges against a former Cape Girardeau jailer. Trial for Larry E. Nicholson was scheduled for today on charges that he assaulted one of the female prisoners. Prosecutors said witnesses in the case changed their stories...

While police were responding to other emergencies in the city, they were also busy dealing with one of their own. Water was pouring into the police station's basement at 40 S. Sprigg. Among the many things stored in the basement are police reports and evidence, said Cape Girardeau police chief Steve Strong...

LOS ANGELES -- Russell Crowe, likely to earn a third straight Oscar nomination as best actor, also will make his third appearance as a presenter at this year's Academy Awards. Last year, Crowe won the best-actor Oscar for "Gladiator." The year before, the 37-year-old actor was nominated for "The Insider."...

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- U.S. troops began a six-month training exercise for Filipino soldiers on Thursday that an American diplomat said will "help eliminate the terrorist parasites" that threaten both countries. The target is the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network and is holding an American missionary couple and a Filipino nurse hostage in the dense tropical jungles of nearby Basilan island. ...

WASHINGTON -- States may classify a developing fetus as an "unborn child" eligible for government health care, the Bush administration said Thursday, giving low-income women access to prenatal care and bolstering the arguments of abortion opponents...

WASHINGTON -- The government cleared the nation's sole maker of the anthrax vaccine to begin shipping the shots Thursday after four years of factory violations that have stalled efforts to protect the military from the bioterrorism bacteria. Pressure to approve BioPort Corp.'s factory has grown since last fall's anthrax outbreak killed five people on the East Coast...

WASHINGTON -- The United States could face terrorist surprises "vastly more deadly" than the Sept. 11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday. On a day in which other administration officials said the nation is likely to remain on a high state of alert for some time, Rumsfeld said terrorists who managed to get unconventional weapons and deliver them great distances with ballistic missiles could kill hundreds of thousands of Americans...

WASHINGTON -- Debris that reached Earth from a falling satellite probably crashed somewhere in Egypt, NASA officials said Thursday. The agency announced that any pieces of the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer satellite that survived a fiery fall through the atmosphere would have hit central Egypt about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday. The announcement is based on an analysis of radar tracking by a military agency that monitors orbiting craft, NASA said in an announcement...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Facing problems frustratingly familiar and terrifyingly new, the Olympics enter a new era today when the IOC begins a week of meetings prior to the Salt Lake City Winter Games. For the first time, the full International Olympic Committee will convene its general assembly under the direction of Jacques Rogge, the Belgian surgeon elected the panel's eighth president last July...

The AssociatedPress LOS ANGELES -- Being a goaltender selected to play in the NHL All-Star game might be among the most thankless honors in professional sports. After being among hockey's top players by keeping opposing teams from scoring all season, a goaltender is rewarded with a berth in a game that has become notorious for its offense...

The AssociatedPress CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Bruce Weber serves sandwiches to his team on long bus rides, but a more important role for the Southern Illinois coach was convincing his players of the virtues of defense. The Salukis digested what he had to say and have become one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference with an 18-4 record headed into Sunday's showdown with first-place Creighton...

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Brent Schwarzrock played his final eight holes in 8-under par and finished with a 64, giving him a two-stroke lead Thursday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The 28 on the front nine tied the record at Pebble Beach, last set a year ago by tournament winner Davis Love III, Schwarzrock's mentor on the PGA Tour and his neighbor on Sea Island, Ga...

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky was hit hard by the NCAA on Thursday when it was placed on three years' probation for football recruiting violations in "one of the more serious cases heard by the committee in recent years." The Wildcats, cited by the NCAA for more than three dozen recruiting violations, were banned from a bowl game next season and must forfeit a total of 19 scholarships over the next three years...

NEW ORLEANS -- Every season, the Super Bowl brings together a collection of players and coaches with stories of heartbreak, comebacks, rejection and rejuvenation. Here are two: Making the leap Cool under pressure must run in the family with Adam Vinatieri...

Football's biggest bash is back in America's premier party town. New Orleans knows how to throw shindigs such as the Super Bowl, something it has done more often than any other city. Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams marks the ninth time the Super Bowl has been in The Big Easy. And just about every one of them have been memorable -- sometimes on the field, sometimes off...

NFL champions 1967 -- Green Bay (NFL) 35, Kansas City (AFL) 10 1968 -- Green Bay (NFL) 33, Oakland (AFL) 14 1969 -- N.Y. Jets (AFL) 16, Baltimore (NFL) 7 1970 -- Kansas City (AFL) 23, Minnesota (NFL) 7...

1967--Bart Starr, QB, Green Bay 1968--Bart Starr, QB, Green Bay 1969--Joe Namath, QB, N.Y. Jets 1970--Len Dawson, QB, Kansas City 1971--Chuck Howley, LB, Dallas 1972--Roger Staubach, QB, Dallas 1973--Jake Scott, S, Miami 1974--Larry Csonka, RB, Miami...

Rams-Patriots series Rams lead 5-3 (Home Team in CAPS) 1974 -- NEW ENGLAND 20, Los Angeles 14 1980 -- Los Angeles 17, NEW ENGLAND 14 1983 -- New England 21, LOS ANGELES 7 1986 -- New England 30, LOS ANGELES 28...

All about the game NETWORK COVERAGEBy FOX-TV to more than 200 stations throughout the United States plus Bermuda, and Guam. By CBS Radio to 290 stations within the United States. The Armed Forces Televison will also provide broadcast throughout the world...

Game results PATRIOTS (11-5) Regular Season17 at Cincinnati 23 3 New York Jets 10 44 Indianapolis 13 10 at Miami 30 29 San Diego, OT 26 38 at Indianapolis 17 20 at Denver 31 24 at Atlanta 10 21 Buffalo 11 17 St. Louis 24 34 New Orleans 17 17 at New York Jets 16...

NEW ORLEANS -- Sure, the Rams know winning Super Bowls is what pro football is all about. Then again, no matter how successful these LA transplants become, there are some things they'll just never experience in St. Louis. "One game, I ran an out route, I got pushed out of bounds and I knocked Telly Savalas on his butt," former LA Rams receiver Jack Snow said. "I got up. I said, 'Oh God, I just killed Kojak."'...

INDIVIDUAL RECORDS SCORING Most Points, Lifetime -- 42, Jerry Rice, San Francisco. Most Points, Game -- 18, Roger Craig, San Francisco vs. Miami, 1985; Jerry Rice, San Francisco vs. Denver, 1990 and vs. San Diego, 1995; Ricky Watters, San Francisco vs. San Diego, 1995; Terrell Davis, Denver vs. Green Bay, 1998...

The Associated Press NEW YORK -- An American flag that survived the collapse of the World Trade Center's twin towers will be featured during the singing of the national anthem at Sunday's Super Bowl. It was the only U.S. flag flying at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, authorities said, and it continued to fly at the complex even as the twin towers crumbled...

Matchups for Sunday's Super Bowl between the St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots. WHEN THE RAMS HAVE THE BALL For the past three seasons, the Rams have had one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history, led by quarterback Kurt Warner (13), the MVP in 1999 and this season; running back Marshall Faulk (28), the MVP in 2000; and wide receivers Isaac Bruce (80), Torry Holt (88), Az-Zahir Hakim (81) and Ricky Proehl (87). ...

NEW YORK -- The lineup of musical acts at the Super Bowl is so long that you might think the football game was the sideshow. The NFL says it will be the most entertainment-packed Super Bowl ever, with performances by U2, Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Marc Anthony and others -- not just on Super Bowl Sunday, but throughout the weekend...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state program to honor World War II veterans with medals cost just a fraction of what was expected but expired Jan. 1 before many veterans could submit applications. Now, lawmakers are proposing to use the extra money to restart the program...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A St. Louis County lawmaker is leading a ballot initiative proposing a constitutional amendment to limit the growth of Missourians' property taxes. Rep. Chuck Portwood, R-Ballwin, has filed a petition with the secretary of state's office. If his ballot language is approved, he could gather signatures to try to get the measure on the November ballot...

The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Attorney General Jay Nixon's request for a better explanation of why he must choose sides in a case involving family planning funding and abortions. Last week, the court ruled that Nixon had a conflict of interest because he had defended two different interpretations of the law -- one backed by lawmakers and the other by the state health director, Maureen Dempsey...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden declared a state of emergency Thursday for west-central and northern Missouri after a winter storm left tens of thousands of residents without electricity. The governor didn't specify all the counties included because the extent of the damage is not fully known, said Holden spokesman Jerry Nachtigal...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- A man accused of intentionally setting the house fire that killed his wife and stepdaughter will not face the death penalty, prosecutors said Thursday. The deadline passed for Jefferson County prosecutors to seek capital punishment for Eric Monroe, 38, of Fenton. Instead, Monroe faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole...

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- Terrified families huddled in basements or fled on foot Thursday as rival Afghan warlords waged artillery battles for control of this strategic town, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens of others. The fierce fighting gave new urgency to Afghan leader Hamid Karzai's appeal for an expanded international security force to be deployed outside the capital, Kabul, to stave off such factional battles...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A group claiming to hold kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl extended the deadline for killing him by one day in an e-mail sent Thursday and warned his abduction is just the beginning. In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said "we are doing everything we can" to win Pearl's release, but ruled out bending to demands made in previous e-mails to return of prisoners from the Afghan campaign. ...

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin made it clear Thursday Russia will not drop its demand that cuts in nuclear warheads must be outlined in a legally binding, irreversible and verifiable treaty with the United States. "The president once again confirmed the country's fundamental position that we can speak only of legally drafted obligations that will control the cuts," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said after a meeting with Putin, according to the ITAR-Tass agency...

JERUSALEM -- Israel should have killed Yasser Arafat 20 years ago, while he was under Israeli siege in Beirut, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview published Thursday. Sharon said he was "sorry we didn't liquidate him," but that Arafat could yet become a partner for peace if he cracked down on Palestinian militants...

MIAMI -- Janet Reno's fainting spell during a speech prompted concern Thursday among Democrats about her ability to run for governor and stirred fears her Parkinson's disease might become a campaign issue. The 63-year-old former attorney general is considered the front-runner among the Democrats vying to face Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. Reno has battled Parkinson's disease for seven years, and doctors have said repeatedly that it should not hamper her ability to campaign or serve as governor...

NEW YORK -- With signs the United States is emerging from recession, the 32nd annual World Economic Forum began Thursday with discussions on where the global economy is headed and how to deal with terrorism. Against a backdrop of generally peaceful demonstrations and scattered vandalism targeting symbols of corporate America, some 3,000 international business, political, academic and religious figures met at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel behind phalanxes of police...

Southeast Missourian/Don Frazier Superfans Marcus Wicks, left, and Ron Vervynk gave a preview of what to expect at the Vervynk home during Sunday's Super Bowl game between the St. Louis Rams and the New England Patriots. e is master of the grill...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Five years after suffering massive third-degree burns in an explosion at an aluminum processing plant, a Sikeston, Mo., man will soon collect more than $4 million in compensatory damages. A 2-1 decision handed down Wednesday by a panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District ends appeals challenging a Scott County jury's award to Ernest Bland...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Without dissent, the Senate on Thursday endorsed three recent appointments to the Missouri State Highways and Transportation Commission. Republican Duane Michie of Hayti, Mo., and Democrats Bill McKenna of Crystal City. Mo., and Jim Anderson of Springfield, Mo., won confirmation in unanimous voice votes...

Humor and sentiment were the winning ingredients at Thursday night's annual ADDY Awards, with the top two awards going to television spots featuring local television personalities getting bum-rushed by a squad of angry Jackson football players and a little boy asking his mother about the birds and the bees...

For most beauty queens, the most important part of the job is to look pretty and smile. Nobody cares if Miss America can ride a horse. They do if you're Miss Rodeo USA. Georgianne Abdo, crowned Miss Rodeo USA just two weeks ago in Oklahoma City, Okla., has been riding since age 9...

HOUSTON -- While Enron Corp.'s new leader envisions a return to its roots as a mover of electricity and natural gas, creditors will have to decide between a stake in his plan and getting just pennies on the dollar from liquidation, financial experts say...

Cape Girardeau city manager Michael Miller signed an emergency traffic regulation Thursday, acting upon a petition signed by 18 residents who live on Park Avenue, one block west of Dempster Hall on Southeast Missouri State University's campus. The regulation will allow police officers to immediately issue tickets for no parking on the west side of the street. ...

After more than 70 years, Lillian English of Gordonville, Mo., still vividly recalls her days as a bridge queen. They have been stirred again as the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge takes shape. English, formerly Lillian McAtee, had a central role in the dedication of Cape Girardeau's Mississippi River bridge that opened in 1928...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Bob Holden raised and spent $10 million to be elected governor. On Wednesday, he must have wondered why. He stood before a joint session of the General Assembly, ready to deliver his State of the State speech, and everyone in the building knew it would be nothing but bad news...

10 years ago: Feb. 2, 1992 Benton - Scott County will operate on $3.45 billion budget this year, up only slightly from last year; last year county operated on $3.41 million budget; there are no general pay raises in this year's budget, and county will have to dip into cash reserves to make ends meet...

Gentil Daughter to Cory Wayne and Tracy Nichole Gentil of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:02 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002. Name, Sarai Grace. Weight, 8 pounds 9 ounces. Fourth child, second daughter. Mrs. Gentil is the former Tracy Eaker, daughter of Mary Porter of Jackson and Danny Eaker of Cape Girardeau. She is a realtor at Century 21 Key Realty. Gentil is the son of William Gentil of Peoria, Ill., and the late Karen Rush. He is a deckhand with Ingram Barge Co...

ANNA, Ill. -- Hazel Mae Davis, 83, of Dongola, Ill., died Friday, Feb. 1, 2002, at the Rehab and Care Center of Jackson County in Murphysboro, Ill. She was born Dec. 17, 1918, in Granite City, Ill., daughter of Elbert H. and Iva Ury Dillow. She and Matthew Davis were married Dec. 24, 1940. He died Jan. 4, 1988...

Dorothy Marie Wiggins Norris, 44, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Sept. 13, 1957, in Sikeston, Mo., daughter of Dorothy Lee Thornton of Sikeston, Mo., and Percy Burgett of Clarksdale, Miss. She and Michael Norris were married Feb. 4, 1984...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Funeral for Beulah Lingle of Dongola will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola. The Rev. Verlee Eaker will officiate. Burial will be in American Legion Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-8 p.m. today...

ESSEX, Mo. -- Berneice Lane, 79, of Essex died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo. She was born April 23, 1922, at Grayridge, Mo., daughter of George and Lizzie Merritt McConnaughhay. She and Harold Otis Lane were married Dec. 31, 1938, at Bloomfield, Mo. He died April 2, 1996...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Alexis Nicole McCormick Dillman, 3, of Mill Creek died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, in a flood-related accident in rural Jonesboro, Ill. Alexis was born July 16, 1998, in Carbondale, Ill. She attended Apostolic Faith Church in Anna, Ill...

Katherine "Kitty" Collins Schumacher, 82, died Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002, in Bokelia, Fla. She was born Jan. 25, 1919, at Portageville, Mo. She and Francis H. Schumacher of Kelso, Mo., were married in 1937 at Kelso. The Schumachers lived near Cape Girardeau until moving to Florida in 1957...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Virginia M. Blaylock, 58, of Rocky Ridge, Mo., died Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002, at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Crystal City, Mo. She was born Jan. 20, 1943, in Cairo, daughter of Harry George and Flora Marie O'Donnell French. She married Richard D. Blaylock...

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- Lois Ella Burton, 77, of Henderson, Tenn., died Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2002, at the home of a daughter in Henderson. She was born Aug. 11, 1924, in Sweetlips, Tenn., daughter of William Patrick and Hallie Leeanna Hamm Flatt. She first married L.V. Hopper, who died July 6, 1972. She and Jack Burton were married July 5, 1973. He died July 28, 1993...

A valuable goose I SEE our good Cape Gir-ardeau Police Department playing hide-and-seek on Highway 74. They are hiding around the corner, hoping to catch a speeder. That's the goose that laid the golden egg for the city. Signal to wackos I REALIZE President Bush is under pressure at times, but his comment about "over his dead body" has to be the dumbest thing he could have ever said. There is probably some wacko out there who is thinking he can be the one who does it...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's Otahkians would have faced a daunting challenge tonight under any circumstances. But coming off Thursday's surprise loss at Tennessee State, the task for the Otahkians as they prepare to face Ohio Valley Conference powerhouse Tennessee Tech is perhaps even greater...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's Indians saw last week just what all the fuss surrounding Tennessee Tech is about. Tonight, the reeling Indians (3-17, 1-8 Ohio Valley Conference) will see the surging Golden Eagles (15-4, 8-0) again in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Eblen Center...

Cape Central and Jackson will participate in the Class 4A, District 1 wrestling meet today at Mehlville High School in St. Louis. Action begins at 11 a.m. with the championships at 6 p.m. In addition to the two local schools, the eight-team field includes defending champion Fox, Mehlville, Oakville, Northwest House Springs, Poplar Bluff and Seckman...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Bell City (18-4) continued to roll with a 52-44 win over Oran, the 10th-ranked team in Class 1A. "It's a big win for our kids, it just gives us an edge going into districts knowing that we can beat them," said Bell City coach David Heeb, whose team had fallen to Oran twice earlier...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- The Scott City Rams solved a recent problem just in time to salvage homecoming Friday. Scott City, which held halftime leads in its last two games before losing, watched another lead evaporate under the heat of East Prairie, but recovered for a 70-52 Scott-Mississippi Conference victory...

Dr. Gary Miller has been playing the pipe organ at First Presbyterian Church for about as long as the organ has been at the church. Miller, who was a consultant for the church when it installed the pipe organ in 1983, now directs the choir and plays the instrument each Sunday for worship at the downtown church...

SALT LAKE CITY -- When people talk about "The Church" in Utah, they're not talking about the Roman Catholic Church. Catholicism is America's largest denomination, but its No. 2 in Utah and represents only about 9 percent of the state's residents, or roughly 200,000 people. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims 70 percent of Utah's residents -- around 1.5 million people...

The Rev. Gary Brothers and his wife, Rose, have been invited to attend a national prayer breakfast in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. It is the second year that Brothers has received an invitation to the event with President Bush, Vice President Cheney and members of Congress...

Today Gospel singing at 7 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church in Villa Ridge, Ill., featuring Ron and Stacy Groves, Sisters by Heart, and the Gloryroad Travelers, all of Mounds. Sunday Vesper service at 4:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church followed by a Super Bowl party and viewing of the game in the Activities Center at 5 p.m...

ApologetiX to perform in Cape Girardeau A cross between Billy Graham and "Weird Al" Yankovic, the Christian rock band ApologetiX will perform a concert at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at First Baptist Church. The rock band does parodies of secular songs with Christian lyrics...

SALT LAKE CITY -- When the first Mormon settlers wandered into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, they were on the run from public scrutiny, seeking to be left alone with their religion and polygamous lifestyle. Now, with the Winter Games set to begin in Salt Lake City on Feb. 8, the Mormons are again being scrutinized...

Americans' fear of flying, prompted by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, seems to have dissipated for the most part. Once again, airports are packed with travelers, and the airline industry seems to be moving out of danger of collapse. But one issue continues to threaten that segment of the economy: security breaches...

The Cape Girardeau City Council had the opportunity last month to study an independent audit of city finances. The 123-page report is intimidating to those not accustomed to eyeballing financial statements and balance sheets. However, even the most amateur eye would consider it to be a thorough review of the city's coffers...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department Saturday, Feb. 2 DWIMark A. Pattillo, 30, of Swansea, Ill., was arrested Jan. 25 for driving while intoxicated. Joey B. Howard, 23, of Fredericktown, Mo., was arrested Jan. 26 for driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Feb. 2 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 4:34 p.m., an emergency medical service at the recreation center on Southeast Missouri State University campus. At 6:21 p.m., a gas odor at Magill Hall on Southeast Missouri State University campus...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Feb. 2 ArrestsGeorge Herman McBride, 38, of 219 N. Henderson was arrested Thursday for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and an outstanding warrant. Billy Ray McCasling, 43, of 219 N. Henderson was arrested Thursday on an outstanding warrant...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A law firm involved in the state's lawsuit against the tobacco industry is suing over the disbursement of $111.2 million earmarked for legal fees associated with the settlement. Humphrey Farrington McClain and Edgar PC has filed a lawsuit against lead attorney Thomas Strong, his Springfield law firm, and three other firms...

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak is threatening to eliminate train service to dozens of states in a dramatic maneuver aimed at pressuring Congress to double its support. The national passenger railroad said Friday it will discontinue long-distance, overnight train service in October if Congress doesn't give it $1.2 billion for the next budget year...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department, drawing the White House into its criminal investigation of Enron Corp., ordered President Bush's staff Friday to preserve documents relating to conversations with Enron executives about the energy company's financial interests...

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 1 million discouraged people suspended their job searches in January, producing an unexpected drop in the nation's unemployment rate. Even though there are mounting signs of an economic recovery, economists believe the rate will rise again as cautious companies delay rehiring laid-off workers...

Baseball Center fielder Kenny Lofton, a six-time All-Star, agreed to a $1.25 million, one-year contract with the White Sox. Lofton, 34, spent most of his 11-year major league career in Cleveland. The proposed sales of the Marlins and Expos were approved by baseball's ownership committee -- even through Jeffrey Loria had not yet signed his agreement to buy the Florida franchise from John Henry...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The NCAA placed Alabama on five years' probation Friday, jolting the program Bear Bryant built into a power with a two-year bowl ban and heavy scholarship reductions. The governing body said it considered giving the Crimson Tide the most severe punishment -- the death penalty -- under the repeat violator rules for a recruiting scandal in which boosters were accused of paying money for prep players...

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Pat Perez, so sick that he thought about pulling out of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, is starting to feel good about sticking around. With birdies on four his last five holes Friday at Pebble Beach, Perez polished off a 7-under-par 65 and quickly built a four-stroke lead over Lee Janzen heading into the weekend...

MIAMI -- Roy Jones Jr. can see the end of the road. The undisputed light heavyweight champion thinks 2003 might be his last year in boxing. He cites his age and injuries and says there's "not many" more big fights left in him. "The challenges are there, although I'm not as hungry as I used to be," the 33-year-old Jones said this week during his three-week training stint in Miami for his fight tonight against Glen Kelly. "Your body is a lot different, and injuries start showing up."...

NEW ORLEANS -- For St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz, the distractions of Super Bowl week have been largely non-existent. The increased security is no bother at all. In fact, he likes having an escort and being whisked away. "It's not been a problem," he said Friday. "In fact, it's helped. Our situation in the hotel is really better than two years ago. Actually, it's much appreciated because it's so much easier."...

NEW ORLEANS -- Something about the Big Easy seems too easy this Super Bowl week. As in, easy to make a dinner reservation, easy to hail a taxicab in a rainstorm, easy to push through the crowd on Bourbon Street at 1 in the morning. Perhaps there's something about soldiers trolling the streets in camouflage that doesn't really lend itself to carefree debauchery in the French Quarter...

By Ronald Blum ~ The Associated Press NEW YORK -- Jeffrey Loria doesn't have a signed agreement to buy the Florida Marlins from John Henry, but baseball's ownership committee already has recommended approval of the sale...

ST. LOUIS -- Here's the question: If the Gateway Arch suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, falls into the Mississippi River during Super Bowl week, does it make the evening news? This year -- with the St. Louis Rams in the biggest game of them all -- probably not...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- State officials say they're confident that private agencies, working with recruiters and trainers from the Division of Family Services, can find enough foster homes across Missouri to make up the current shortage. Child advocates aren't so sure...

CAHOKIA, Ill. -- A contingent of Missouri lawmakers and government leaders returned Friday after visiting with Ford Motor Co. executives, calling hope to keep open the suburban St. Louis assembly plant "a long shot," but one still worth pursuing. Gov. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency pledged his help Friday for areas of Missouri hardest hit by this week's ice and snow storm. FEMA director Joe Albaugh told Gov. Bob Holden -- who toured a north Kansas City neighborhood lacking electricity and littered by downed tree limbs -- that the agency would do what it could to aid the cleanup. Holden said he will formally apply for federal disaster aid on Monday...

ST. LOUIS -- In the company's effort to search for lead beneath the floor of Mark Twain National Forest, the Doe Run Co. on Friday released a list of 19 locations in eastern Missouri it has proposed for exploratory drilling. Attorney General Jay Nixon had requested the release of the locations from forest officials, but Doe Run resisted, citing federal laws that protect the "proprietary" business information. Friday's release of the locations was a voluntary shift in policy, Doe Run said...

ST. LOUIS -- The former office manager of a temporary employment business has been indicted by a federal grand jury for false billings amounting to $278,000, U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender said Friday. Linda Sykora, 40, of St. Louis County, could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Restitution is mandatory...

BLUE BOOK BLUES "I'm going to issue a press release to let people know that I'm a Democrat." -- Rep. Rick Johnson of High Ridge By Paul Sloca ~ The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri secretary of state's office has ordered more state manuals to keep up with demand -- and along the way is correcting some errors...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Conflicting reports emerged Friday about the fate of reporter Daniel Pearl, with Pakistani police saying U.S. officials had received a ransom demand and a new e-mail claiming he had been killed. A caller contacted the U.S. Consulate in Karachi and demanded $2 million and the release of the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, senior police officials said...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A training manual for members of Osama bin Laden's terror network lists skyscrapers, nuclear plants and crowded football stadiums as the best targets for spreading fear in the United States and Europe. The chapter on foreign operations in the 11-volume "Manual of Afghan Jihad" also recommends targeting sites of "sentimental value" such as the Statue of Libery, Big Ben in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. ...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- An influential Arab satellite station that chose not to air its own interview with Osama bin Laden cut ties with CNN because the cable network broadcast excerpts, in which bin Laden said that killing innocent civilians "is permissible in Islamic law."...

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil -- Ask three different people from three different countries at the World Social Forum what globalization means. The answer, in all three cases, is some sort of loss. Antonio Dias Abreu fears losing his job at a clothes shop in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia. Luis Candia believes his country, Chile, loses its natural resources...

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Calendars depicting death and destruction after explosions at an arms depot were selling briskly Friday in Lagos. Standing on a street corner outside the base where the explosions erupted Sunday night, Mohammed Fafunya sold dozens of the 25-cent calendars -- posters with a collage of fiery, gory photographs and the legend: Lagos State Bomb Disaster 27-01-2002...

NEW DELHI, India -- India's poorest souls crowd the banks of the Yamuna in an early morning mist, dumping waste, washing clothes and bathing in one of India's holiest -- and most polluted -- rivers. The Yamuna Pushta slum, a sprawling shantytown in the capital, New Delhi, has become a modern symbol of the economic and social ills that have plagued India for centuries...

JERUSALEM -- Ariel Sharon held secret talks with three senior members of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's inner circle this week, the first such meeting since he became Israeli prime minister a year ago, a Palestinian official said Friday. Sharon aides declined to comment...

LONDON -- The Iron Lady is set in stone. A lawmaker unveiled a two-ton, eight-foot-tall marble statue of Margaret Thatcher on Friday, giving Britain its first look at a work that has stirred up a partisan squabble reminiscent of her days as prime minister...

Priest in Florida pleads guilty to drug charges PENSACOLA, Fla. -- A Roman Catholic priest accused of dealing drugs from the rectory pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges. The Rev. Thomas Crandall, 47, could get five to 40 years in prison at sentencing April 17...

Milosevic to face one trial on three charges THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic will face only one trial to answer for three separate indictments for war crimes in Kosovo, Croatia and Bosnia, the U.N. tribunal said Friday...

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho became the first state Friday to repeal its term limits, undoing a voter-approved measure that was enacted during the Republican high tide of 1994. Overriding a veto by Republican Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, the GOP-controlled Legislature took the law off the books and cleared the way for more than 150 county officials and the attorney general to run for re-election this year...

LOS ANGELES -- Winona Ryder was charged Friday with four felony counts stemming from her shoplifting arrest at a Saks Fifth Avenue store in December. The Oscar-nominated actress was charged with theft, burglary, vandalism and possession of a controlled substance. Although she is free on $20,000 bond, prosecutors recommended raising the bail to $30,000...

Harold Russell, a disabled World War II veteran who won two Oscars for his role in "The Best Years of Our Lives" before becoming an advocate for the rights of the disabled, has died. He was 88. Russell, who lost both his hands in the war, rarely acted again. He died of a heart attack Tuesday at a nursing home in Needham, Mass., his family said Thursday...

PHILADELPHIA -- The foundation set up in the name of Sept. 11 hero Todd Beamer is racing to trademark his last known words -- "Let's roll" -- and ensure that any money made off the phrase goes to the victims' families. The foundation is competing against various companies and individuals who want to sell everything from T-shirts to mud flaps emblazoned with what has become a catch phrase for American courage...

NEW YORK -- Convinced that a look inside the womb will dissuade many pregnant women from abortion, anti-abortion activists hope to provide ultrasound equipment to hundreds of pregnancy centers that promote alternatives like adoption. Congressional allies are drafting a bill that would provide federal funding for the project, which abortion-rights groups bitterly oppose...

LOS ANGELES -- Phoenix Pictures has acquired the film rights for "Misconception," a legal thriller co-written by O.J. Simpson defense attorney Robert Shapiro. Shapiro co-authored "Misconception" with novelist, screenwriter and director Walt Becker...

Southeast Missouri State University is one of several Missouri institutions that is slated to lose out on federal funds if President George Bush gets his way. Just last month, Bush signed the money into law as part of the $123 billion labor, education and health bill that passed Congress in December. Now he plans to ask Congress to take back funding for the home-state projects to pay off a deficit in the Pell Grant college student loan program. Pell Grants aid the neediest students...

THEBES, Ill. -- When a local family was burned out of their uninsured house last year, Lisa Hale called out the Thebes Junior Volunteers. The 17 youths began knocking on doors and collected $368 to give the family. Through bake sales, selling tickets to win groceries they donated, and a Memorial Day picnic carnival where they operated booths and a bingo game, they raised $200 to help pay the insurance on the village fire truck...

Southeast Missourian JONESBORO, Ill. -- The rain that deluged Union County this week was over by Friday, and Green Creek returned to its banks. To an outsider, the only sign of flooding was damp, bent grass drying in the sun and grief encompassing the community...

SEOUL, South Korea -- Three days after President Bush said North Korea was part of an "axis of evil," leader Kim Jong Il said his regime may increase the capabilities of the world's fifth-largest army to prevent an invasion. While inspecting a unit of the communist state's People's Army Friday, Kim said the military was "weathering out the raging wind raised by imperialists."...

It seems like just about nobody is giving the Patriots much of a chance to win Super Bowl XXXVI. Don't count me among that group, but I do think the Rams will be mighty hard to beat. First of all, you've got to tip your hat to New England, which began the season picked to finish toward the bottom of the AFC East. Then, when quarterback Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury while the Patriots were 0-2, it looked like the Pats would be lucky to win even a couple of games...

KENNETT, Mo. -- Mark Twain once said that every dog needs a few fleas because they keep him from worrying so much about being a dog. Perhaps that is why so many officials welcome all the distractions created in Jefferson City: They divert them from worrying about the problems they have neglected for so long...

Coverage of ND swim feat was disappointing To the editor: As a parent of a Notre Dame swimmer, I am very upset about the poor coverage in the Friday edition of the paper on their last swim meet. Notre Dame took first place in every event at the meet against Principia on Jan. 31...

WHITEWATER, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Mike Clardy of Whitewater celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary Jan. 27, 2002. Clardy and Lynette Leadbetter were married Jan. 28, 1967, at Bethlehem General Baptist Church at Crump, Mo. Their attendants were Mary Deck Peters of Leopold, Mo., and Bill Glenn of Jackson, Mo...

Mr. and Mrs. Clement Birk of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a family dinner and reception Jan. 12 at Trinity Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. Hosts were their children and spouses, Gary and Sandy Birk of St. Louis and Saundra and Thomas Farrington of Cape Girardeau...

Tiffany Jill Biggerstaff and Jeffrey Lee Eye were married July 28, 2001, at First Baptist Church in Kimberling City, Mo. The Rev. Randy Johnson performed the double ring ceremony. Pianist was Raphael Thompson. The groom was soloist. Parents of the couple are William and Judy Biggerstaff of Cape Girardeau, and Bruce and Judy Eye of Kimberling City...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Concordia Lutheran Church was the setting Sept. 15, 2001, for the wedding of April Dawn Dugger and Daryl Alan Birk. The Rev. Alan Wollenberg performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Diane Wicker of Benton, Mo. Soloists were Jennifer Birk-Cook of Perryville, Mo., sister of the groom, and Harold Myrick of Sikeston...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jennifer Dianne Icaza and Josh Daniel Gast exchanged vows Oct. 6, 2001, at Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. Dr. Lee Strawhun performed the double ring ceremony. Music was presented by Robert Francois and orchestra. Soloists were Chrissie Icaza of Jackson and Paul Baum of Springfield, Mo...

Melody Ann Reed and Kenneth Ryan Wasson were united in marriage Dec. 29, 2001, at Schweitzer United Methodist Church in Springfield, Mo. The Rev. Bob Casady performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Cheryll Moll, and vocalists were Rachel Peacock and Barth Fraker of Springfield...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Bernard and Joyce Giesler of Ste. Genevieve, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Tiffany Giesler, to Scott Merriman, both of Jackson. He is the son of Loyd and Sheryl Merriman of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Giesler is a 1995 graduate of Ste. ...

ALLENVILLE, Mo. -- Phil and Darlene Thompson of Allenville announce the engagement of their daughter, Amanda Thompson, to Jason Deckard. He is the son of Gala Deckard of Advance, Mo., and the late Jon Deckard. Thompson is a 1998 graduate of Delta High School at Delta, Mo. She is employed at Marion Eye Centers and Optical in Cape Girardeau...

MILLERSVILLE, Mo. -- Mike and Jan Onderdonk of Millersville announce the engagement of their daughter, Sarah Jane Onderdonk, to Bradley Allen Jones of Liberal, Mo. He is the son of Allen and Wanda Jones of Lockwood, Mo. Onderdonk received a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University in December 2001. She is employed at Firstar Bank...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Lawson and Judi Burgfeld of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Jamie Beth Burgfeld, to Darren Ray Hefner. He is the son of Carl Hefner of Advance, Mo., and the late Deborah Hefner. Burgfeld is a 1995 graduate of Jackson High school, and 1998 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University Law Enforcement Academy. She is a police officer with Jackson Police Department...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Sheila and Randy Rhymer of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Jamie Lynn Popp, to Bryan Thomas Kiefer. He is the son of June McCrory of Cape Girardeau, Morris McCrory of Benton, Mo., and the late Jim Kiefer of Perryville, Mo...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Don Mayberry of Advance and Pat Stephens of Arab, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer D. Mayberry, to Lucas L. Hess. He is the son of Huey and Debby Hess of Advance. Mayberry is a 1999 graduate of Advance High School. She is employed at Cross Trails Medical Center...

Gary and Marsha Holloway of Mt. Vernon, Ill., announce the engagement of their daughter, Andrea Holloway, to Danny Wittenborn. He is the son of Brad and Michele Wittenborn of Cape Girardeau. Holloway is a graduate of Mt. Vernon High School, and received a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Southeast Missouri State University. She is a caseworker with Regency Management in Cape Girardeau...

Bob and Nita Sheets of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Laura Renae Sheets, to Randall Lee Graham. He is the son of Jerry and Jean Graham of Fredericktown, Mo. Sheets is a graduate of Central High School, and received a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University. She is a fourth grade teacher at West Lane Elementary in Jackson, Mo...

Ron and Darlene Wallis of Eugene, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Jenny Rebecca Wallis, to Dr. Stephen Destan Sides, both of St. Louis. He is the son of Dr. Stanley and Kay Sides of Cape Girardeau. Wallis received a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Truman State University at Kirksville, Mo. She is an IT technical recruiter with Sykes Enterprises...

Richard and Catherine Fehr of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Kimberly Ann Fehr, to Marvin Adams Jr. He is the son of Marvin and Sally Adams of Jackson, Mo. Fehr is a graduate of Notre Dame High School, and received a bachelor of science degree in mass communication/public relations from Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed at KFVS TV...

There's nothing like some shouting to get people in a good mood. I'm not talking about grumpy old men. I'm talking about cheerleading, that wonderful American tradition of arm raises, leg kicks and sock-it-to-them enthusiasm. It's gymnastics with a voice...

I saw some stars the other night. No really! At least I think they were stars. After a fabulous fall observing season that went on for many weeks it's time to get back to typical Midwest winter weather. Get out your planetarium software and simulate the stars rising and setting just so you don't forget which way they go...

Daily Statesman DEXTER, Mo. -- Rice from Stoddard County has arrived in Cuba, and the Cubans are buying more U.S. commodities. Eighth District U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said last week the Cubans "have actually made some second-round purchases from Tyson for chicken quarters." She added that some of the chicken quarters came from the Dexter Tyson plant...

10 years ago: Feb. 3, 1992 Cape Girardeau Public Works Department defends its solid-waste and recycling efforts against criticism launched against program since its inception last fall; Councilman Doug Richards questions whether state solid waste law actually mandates efforts to reduce wastes, or merely "suggests" them...

The name of Melva R. Lewis was misspelled in a Thursday article concerning the mural on the ceiling of the entrance to Hecht's store in downtown Cape Girardeau. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Allison M. Smith and Pfc. Jeffrey Steven Daniels were married Dec. 22, 2001, at Faith Tabernacle. The Rev. Doyle Randol performed the ceremony. Music was provided by Mindy Randol of St. Louis and Derek Teague of Cape Girardeau. The bride is the daughter of Ervin D. Smith of Cape Girardeau and Stephanie A. Smith of Oakland, Miss. Parents of the groom are Clark and Vicki Daniels of Cape Girardeau and Kenny and Laura Tierdo of West Palm Beach, Fla...

ANNA, Ill. -- Frederick Wayne Hill, 53, of Anna died Friday, Feb. 1, 2002, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, lll. He was born Sept. 5, 1948, in Carbondale, Ill., son of Gilbert F. and Helen Barnett Hill. Survivors include his mother and a sister, Bonnie Stearns of Alto Pass, Ill...

COBDEN, Ill. -- William Frederick Choate, 50, of Cobden died Saturday, Jan. 19, 2002, in Savlamer Hospital in Westmoreland, Jamaica. He was born Nov. 13, 1951, son of Floyd M. and Jewell Trainer Choate. A graduate of Wesleyan University, Choate held a master's degree in paralegal...

Sharla Rosana Pullen, 37, of Bellwood, Ill., formerly of Bell City and Cape Girardeau, died suddenly Jan. 23, 2002, at Maui Memorial Medical Center in Kahului Maui, Hawaii. She was born Oct. 23, 1964, in Bell City, daughter of Charles and Earnestine Jackson Pullen...

MURRAY, Ky. -- Margaret Louise Tarry Roper, 95, of Murray died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Aug. 10, 1906, in Fulton County, Ky., daughter of J.M. and Nina Maddox Linn. She was first married to Mack Thomas Tarry. He died March 15, 1978. She was then married to Melvin Roper, who died Jan. 27, 1993...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Harold Lee Wright, 70, of Jackson died Friday, Feb. 1, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center, after suffering an apparent massive heart attack at the Little Ole Opry near Burfordville, Mo. Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Monday at the McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Janet Hopkins officiating. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery with a Missouri military honors service...

Anna Marie Eddleman, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Feb. 1, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. Born June 14, 1920, in Cape Girardeau, she was the daughter of James L. and Gertrude Pearl Borneman Green. On March 25, 1941, she was married to Walter C. Eddleman. He died July 18, 1988...

Be more constructive I DON'T consider myself a Democrat or a Republican. I try and vote for the best person after doing proper research. I am dismayed by the negativity that Peter Kinder gives off. In all my years in Missouri I have never seen Kinder put forth a good idea. He just criticizes others. Maybe it would be better if he could be more constructive instead of putting down others...

Good work, team I WOULD like to congratulate the Cape Central wrestling team, which took some bumps and bruises this season but kept their heads held up the whole season. Hey, you'll get 'em next year Tigers! County all-stars CONGRATULATIONS TO Zack Kelley and Tyler Bowman from Advance for being chosen on the Stoddard County Junior Varsity All Tournament Team...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech has plenty of weapons -- so many, in fact, the Golden Eagles can thrive even when their star player is on the bench. That was the case Saturday when the Eagles remained undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 82-67 victory over Southeast Missouri State University...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- If only Janet Holt would have stayed in foul trouble, Southeast Missouri State University's women might have had a chance to pull off an upset Saturday. But Holt, who sat out much of the first half with two fouls, did not commit a foul in the second half and wound up with 35 points to lead Ohio Valley Conference power Tennessee Tech from a halftime deficit to an 87-69 victory...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Second-seeded Marquand knocked off No. 1 Meadow Heights 73-67 to win the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament. Heath Stephens scored 37 points for Marquand (9-10), while Ryan Stephens and Jared Kunz each had 10. Meadow Heights (11-7) was led by Joey Bell (13), Josh Mayfield (12), Josh Fulton (12) and Cody Thompson (10)...

The unwelcome prospect of going from rivals to bitter rivals has Cape Central and Notre Dame changing their basketball schedules. With Cape Central joining Notre Dame in the Farmington Tournament next year, the schools' boys and girls teams stood the chance of playing each other four times -- twice in the regular season and twice in tournaments...

Saying America "won't cut corners" in the war against terrorism, President Bush is proposing a $48 billion increase in defense spending. If approved by Congress, it would be the largest increase in spending for the Pentagon budget since Ronald Reagan was president...

Americans who watched President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night saw three speeches in one. And they saw a president who, in his first year in office, has achieved a level of dignity and trustworthiness that many doubters might not have thought possible a year ago...

Burglars hit a North Kingshighway storefont, making off with $2,000 worth of merchandise, police said. Cape Girardeau police said burglars made their way into the Dollar General Store at 1142 N. Kingshighway by breaking a window. The burglary occurred either late Friday or early Saturday and was discovered Saturday morning...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Feb. 3 Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday:At 12:35 a.m., an emergency medical service at 230 Mill. At 1:13 a.m., a motor vehicle accident at the 400 block of Country Club. At 1:16 a.m., an emergency medical service at 1336 N. Main...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Feb. 3 DWIDavid Janzen Ringo, 943 Bellevue, was arrested Friday for driving while intoxicated and striking parked vehicles. ArrestsJatu Cancer, 18, of Hazelwood, Mo., was arrested Friday for failure to appear. Amy Elizabeth Ryan, 17, of 3847 State Highway W was arrested Friday for stealing. In the same case, two 16-year-old females were cited into juvenile court Friday for stealing...

Stan Wicks doesn't mind rolling up his sleeves. His successful business on Independence Street started out as a way to make a little extra money about 10 years ago. All he had at that time was a few tools and a pickup truck. And most importantly, he says, a supportive wife...

When Melvin Gateley decided to leave the school system after 37 years, he didn't want to stop making a difference. After orchestrating and serving on the Vision 2000 board for 12 years, he felt there was more to do. And after serving eight years as a city council member, he still wasn't finished...

Walter White is running for mayor as a common-sense guy with some non-conventional ideas. While some of his stances concur with the other three candidates -- the idea of making the city more enticing for college graduates to stay here, for example -- many of his plans are unlike anything the other candidates have offered...

For many years, Cape Girardeau mayoral candidate Jay Knudtson made a living as a hockey referee. Knudtson enjoys riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He likes to play golf. He says his best friend is his 7-year-old son, Gunnar. And he's also a senior vice president with Bank of America...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Democratic House Speaker Jim Kreider prodded the Senate on Thursday to move swiftly on legislation to eliminate the statute of limitations on forcible rape and sodomy. A key Senate Republican apparently took umbrage at the suggestion the Senate is moving too slowly...

For those who know they won't be able to make it to the polls in Cape Girardeau County's April 2 election, county clerk Rodney Miller offers this reminder -- absentee voting. Absentee voting begins Feb. 19, six weeks before the April 2 election. "You vote absentee when you cannot get to the polls on election day," Miller said. "Because of sickness, out of town, work, military obligation, something like that. There has to be a reason."...

WASHINGTON -- Star witness and presidential friend Kenneth Lay. Enron employees' loss of their retirement savings. The company's intricate web of partnerships. All come under the glare of public scrutiny this week as Congress delves into a huge corporate failure heavy with political overtones...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's new budget will propose $591 billion in tax cuts over the next decade, even as he battles to turn federal deficits back into surpluses, documents show. Though a new round of tax reductions is not a major White House priority this year, the numbers show those cuts would claim a large share of dwindling federal surpluses...

GETTING THEREMost major airlines and a number of charter carriers service McCarran International Airport, just a mile east of the southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard, or the Strip, as it is also known. GETTING AROUND Although the Strip is too long to see on foot, a rental car isn't necessary unless you plan on taking in some of the sites elsewhere. ...

LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas. The city of lights, and for thousands, the city of love. Sure there's the kitsch: The drive-through wedding chapels and Elvis impersonators crooning "Love Me Tender." But there's also some class and true romance to be found, as many of the 200,000 people who get married here each year can attest...

The Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Large crowds of people are flocking to a Taiwan exhibit of dinosaur fossils from China, home to many of the world's oldest and largest specimens. The exhibit of 23 dinosaur fossils from the collections of three Chinese fossil museums is the largest of its kind in Asia, says Li Kui, curator of the Museum of Chengdu University of Technology...

NEW ORLEANS -- The St. Louis Rams are starting to hear the "D" word. As in dynasty. Kurt Warner talked this week of becoming the first quarterback to win five Super Bowls. It prompted a shudder from Jay Zygmunt, the team's president of football operations...

NEW ORLEANS -- The only thing standing between the St. Louis Rams and yet another Super Bowl blowout could be a 49-year-old coach with a reserved demeanor and a knowledge of defense that's in his genes. In other words, a Super Bowl between the Rams and Bill Belichick, with the coach maneuvering his New England Patriots like pawns into spots where they can shut down the NFL's best offense. ...

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.-- Pat Perez made three birdies on the back nine of a golf course he had never seen, giving him a 2-under-par 70 on Saturday and a four-stroke lead in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Perez posted his score at Spyglass Hill, the toughest course in the rotation where he got in only nine holes of practice earlier in the week because of a high fever...

By Jimmy Golen ~ The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS -- Even now, after the New England Patriots have turned last year's last-place finish into a trip to the Super Bowl, coach Bill Belichick winces when recounting the team's early season problems...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As some Kansas City area residents wait for power to be restored to their homes after this week's ice storm, authorities have issued warnings about the dangers of using generators to provide electricity to their homes. The warnings come after authorities found the body of a 66-year-old Kansas City woman on Friday. The woman, whose name had not been released, may have been the second generator-related fatality in the area during the storm...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Electricity workers, aided by hundreds of out-of-state crews, repaired more damaged lines Saturday while tree trimmers removed troublesome limbs that were thawing in the daylight. More than 100,000 homes and businesses were still without electricity Saturday afternoon after the ice storm that officials estimate has caused tens of millions of dollars damage in the Kansas City area alone...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- By law, public schools in Missouri are not supposed to open until after Sept. 1 each year. But that would be news to the thousands of children and teachers who fill classrooms each August. In fact, most of the state's public schools open before the legal date, under a loophole that allows the academic year to start earlier at schools with students who work in agriculture...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- "SOS" has dual meanings for Matt Blunt: It's the familiar ship-in-distress signal when he's serving as a U.S. Naval Reserve lieutenant, and it's the acronym for his elected civilian job -- Missouri's secretary of state. Blunt, 31, juggles both full-time jobs as the nation's only statewide elected official called to active military service -- overseas at that -- after the Sept. 11 terror attacks...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of files and documents about the plane crash that killed Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan have been released to the public. Carnahan, his son, Randy, and campaign aide Chris Sifford were killed Oct. 16, 2000, when the plane Randy Carnahan was flying crashed in stormy weather. The governor was running for the U.S. Senate at the time...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A church for the homeless that some neighbors had wanted shut down has met the city's building code requirements. David Casperson, pastor at River of Life Outreach, said Friday that he interprets that as confirmation that his outreach center fits within the city's definition of a church...

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- Donning a blindfold, Joey Waligorski, 10, did his best to pin a paper "hana" on the chalkboard during a Japanese lesson at Belleville's Governor French Academy. Hana means "nose" in Japanese, and Joey was relieved to have put it in the right place on the face drawn on the chalkboard by his teacher Shinya Kyugo...

NEW YORK -- They've got small bodies -- and even smaller allowances -- but children have big choices when it comes to clothes. There are both trendy togs adapted from the hottest adult runway styles and durable garments that can withstand some of the unusual tests a toddler or elementary school student might put them through. Designers and retailers are now aiming to blend the two together...

NEW YORK -- Forecasting is tricky -- just ask any meteorologist who has contended with a sudden weather system. Fashion designers have their own unknown variable: the fickle consumer. Style insiders can push this look or that, but what catches on as a trend is really up to the people who wear it...

The Wall Street Journal appealed Saturday to the kidnappers of reporter Daniel Pearl to show evidence that he is still alive after an all-night search of Karachi graveyards turned up nothing. Pearl's wife and an American Muslim group issued separate appeals for his release, and e-mails purportedly sent Saturday by the kidnappers gave conflicting accounts of his fate...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The crown prince of the Netherlands married a party-loving Argentine investment banker Saturday in twin ceremonies that combined Dutch simplicity with regal splendor. Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, 34, and bride Maxima Zorreguieta, 30, exchanged civil vows before the mayor of Amsterdam. Two hours later, they knelt before a Dutch Reformed minister and a Catholic priest to consecrate the union...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- On his first outing to the West as Afghanistan's leader, Hamid Karzai was feted and feasted, hailed for his chic and charm, praised for his political savvy. On Saturday, the fanfare ended abruptly -- with his return home. Karzai landed before dawn in this darkened capital, where the threat of lawlessness still dictates a strictly enforced overnight curfew. ...

PARIS -- When the cherry trees blossomed last week -- during what is usually Paris' coldest month -- it was somehow proof that this has been a weird, weird winter. It's not just that the weather has been unseasonably warm in parts of Europe lately. Two weeks ago it snowed in Saudi Arabia. Weather patterns have been turned on their heads...

HANOI, Vietnam -- The United States is interested in closer military ties with former enemy Vietnam, including visits by U.S. Navy ships, the commander of American forces in the Pacific said Saturday. Admiral Dennis Blair, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said military ties between the countries still focus on their past war, including attempts to account for personnel listed as missing in action...

LAGOS, Nigeria -- A week after massive explosions ripped though Lagos neighborhoods, officials on Saturday revealed the extent of the disaster: more than 1,000 people had died, mainly children who drowned in a canal as they fled in panic. The new death toll -- 400 more than previously estimated -- was announced as the Nigerian Red Cross suspended its aid operations after military officials ordered the organization to hand over its relief supplies...

NEW YORK -- The Piano Man is taking his act to Broadway. Billy Joel's songs are the basis for a new musical, "Movin' Out," that will hit the New York stage in October. While the pop music icon won't star in -- or even be part of -- the show, 26 of his songs and instrumental compositions will...

NEW YORK -- Elmo and the "Sesame Street" gang are getting a makeover. With the opening of its 33rd season on Monday, television's best-known children's show will unveil its most dramatic overhaul ever, one designed with competition and a changing audience in mind...

CHICAGO -- Things are changing down at the depot, and a new exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago aspires to show how the 19th-century world of trains and railroad stations is being transformed in the 21st. Train stations, in the old black-and-white movies, had a gloomy -- and sometimes gritty -- glamour. ...

NEW ORLEANS -- Several hours before Sunday's Super Bowl, federal inmate No. 24003-037 will sit down at a TV set in the day room at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta and scan the numbers on the jerseys of players going through pregame paces. As he did even when he was a fugitive from drug charges, Abdul Hakim will be looking for No. 81 -- his son...

HOUSTON -- An internal probe into Enron Corp.'s finances spread the blame for the company's downfall from greedy architects of questionable partnerships to executives, directors and auditors who failed to watch them. The probe, released late Saturday and led by University of Texas School of Law Dean William Powers Jr., said top members of Enron's financial team invested in or created partnerships that facilitated accounting abuses while earning them millions...

Thousands of people waited for their electricity to be restored Saturday in the aftermath of a snow and ice storm blamed for at least 22 deaths. The storm had blown far out to sea on Saturday, leaving a trail of broken tree limbs and snow banks from Oklahoma to Maine...

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. -- Six more weeks of winter. No Super Bowl pick. Punxsutawney Phil left his cozy tree stump for this? The furry forecaster sent groans through a record crowd of 40,000 humans as they shivered in the subfreezing temperatures early Saturday outside the groundhog's home on Gobbler's Knob...

Scientists have identified a stretchy protein they say is associated with the ravages of aging and chronic diseases such as emphysema. The protein, known as fibulin-5, is critical to the development of elastic fibers that stabilize the outside of cell walls, keeping skin tight and lungs and blood vessels pliable...

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- Cliff Browne huddles against the cold air, his camera lens pointed toward two distant dots on a hazy horizon. Daylight has broken, and the gray wolves are showing themselves. Browne's voice fills with excitement as he begins counting them, but rises to little more than a whisper as he angles his head for a better view. "I love it!" he says. "I love it!"...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Scientists at Hewlett-Packard Co. and UCLA said they have patented a means of getting around a significant hurdle in the race to build computer chips out of individual molecules. The breakthrough could give researchers an efficient way to control the flow of information on such minuscule circuits -- a requirement if tiny but enormously powerful molecular computers are ever to become a reality...

TERRAL, Okla. -- Police focused their search for four Texas jail escapees around this southern Oklahoma town after burglaries at several area homes aroused suspicion. About 100 law officers went from house to house in Terral and nearby Grady on Friday as police helicopters searched from above and authorities set up roadblocks near the Texas border...

LITTLETON, Colo. -- Sheriff's officials said they would test a bullet found in the backpack of one of the students killed in the Columbine High School massacre after acknowledging that it hadn't been matched to a specific weapon. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department initially said ballistics tests proved that officers who shot into the school library during the April 20, 1999, attack didn't fire the bullet found in a notebook in Corey DePooter's backpack...

NEW YORK -- For a gathering of the rich and powerful, the World Economic Forum is spending a lot of time focusing on the poor and weak. Presidents and kings, sultans and billionaires heard strong warnings in the World Economic Forum's first two days that wealthy nations must take responsibility to ease the suffering of the developing world...

Term limits, the weak economy and some unusual timing combine to make this election year the most competitive for governors in recent memory, with 36 of the states' top jobs coming up for a vote. It could be an especially challenging year for Republicans, if only because the GOP made such sweeping gains in the past decade that the party's staying power will now be tested...

LOS ANGELES -- Along with a state bird, butterfly, fish and tree, California boasts its own fossil, Smilodon californicus, or Californian saber-tooth cat. Problem is, there was no such species. Rather, there was once such an animal, skeletons of which have been found by the hundreds at the La Brea Tar Pits. But the name of the species was tossed out by scientists in the 1980s in favor of Smilodon fatalis...

A man with a partial spinal cord injury gained impressive walking ability with treadmill training plus an implanted device that stimulates his spinal cord, suggesting the combined therapy might help such patients, researchers report. About half of spinal cord injury patients have partial injury that allows some leg muscle movement but not useful walking. Prior studies have shown that with intensive training on a treadmill, however, some of these patients can learn to walk again...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Even if they have the millions of dollars needed for a space station vacation, delinquents, liars, drunks and the infamous need not apply. That's the word from NASA, which on Thursday released criteria for visitors to the international space station. The nine-page report wraps up two years of work on what's considered "a thorny topic" by at least one space station official...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. -- Gyms aren't just for muscleheads anymore. FitForever, a small health club in a strip mall, only allows women -- and the average age of the 450 members is 51. Some have that beat by decades. Unlike traditional health clubs, the walls aren't covered in mirrors from floor to ceiling. There aren't racks and racks of free weights. And the little bit of traditional weight equipment in the club wasn't there when it opened in December 2000...

LE ROY, N.Y. -- It wiggles, it jiggles, and next week Jell-O is going on the road. The Traveling Jell-O Museum is slated to be unveiled in Salt Lake City on Wednesday by curator Lynne Belluscio and company spokesman Bill Cosby. Utah is the museum's first stop in part because of international attention directed at Salt Lake City because of the Olympics. But the state also has the highest per capita consumption of the dessert, which is the official state snack...

Gov. Bob Holden's latest education initiative has teachers talking -- but not all of them have positive things to say. The initiative would force teachers in academically struggling districts to take tests if they want raises. Holden calls it an effort to ensure every student in Missouri's public schools receives the best education possible, but some teachers say they feel like they are being unnecessarily blamed for problems that involve everyone from parents to administrators...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A forthcoming state report is critical of the state Division of Family Services for contracting with Southeast Missouri State University to help launch the Bootheel Initiatives program, one of several efforts around the state aimed at reducing and preventing welfare dependency...

Submitted photo Macaroni Mayfield, a yellow Labrador retriever, is about 5 or 6 years old. She was abandoned at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri when she was 2 and was adopted by Jeff and Jamie Mayfield. Macaroni has passed the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen Test and has an independent listing with the AKC. She attended the Pindwood Kennel College of Hunting Dogs, but let's just say she doesn't enjoy getting her paws muddy, so the hunting thing never really worked out."...

Hundreds of area Girl Scouts got to dance the tango in the streets of Argentina, gather coffee beans from the fields of Colombia, get spiritual in India and celebrate independence in Ukraine. They did it in three hours, not counting the quick jaunt to a couple of Siberian prisons with a world-traveling clown...

First snowfall came in on tomcat feet rather than Sandburg's delightful description of fog coming on "little cat feet." My helper, Mary, and I lay down in separate places to window-watch its arrival. Predictions had been numerous. When, outside my window, the first flakes began to fall I began to recall my favorite snow poems. I pretended to be Robert Frost's character who stopped his little horse beside the "lovely woods, dark and deep" to watch them fill up with snow...

Associated Press WriterEGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Florida (AP) -- On the day he submitted his new budget to Congress, President Bush called on lawmakers to rally behind his $48 billion increase for the Pentagon just as they've supported him in the war on terrorists...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay canceled an appearance Monday before a Senate committee investigating the bankrupt energy giant, and lawmakers swiftly arranged to issue a subpoena to compel his testimony...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Monday blocked President Bush's appointment of a conservative lawyer to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Commissioners serve six-year terms and Bush had no vacancy to fill, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said...

$$$Start smoyers The Pendleton Round-Up in Pendleton, Ore., dubs itself the largest rodeo in the world and Cape Girardeau business woman Peggy Tinsley will be there. Tinsley and her husband Thomas will enjoy the week-long event in September, one filled with rodeos, parades, concerts and an Indian Pageant and Wild West Show...

Daily American Republic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- It's taken nearly a year, but some progress is being made on saving the old Union Pacific Railroad Depot in downtown Poplar Bluff. "We're beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel," said Dennis Glaze, chairman of the Committee to Save and Restore the Poplar Bluff Historic Train Depot...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State and federal economists are scratching their heads these days as they scramble to make sense of conflicting signals in Missouri's uncertain economy. A study by the St. Louis Federal Reserve suggests that the national economic downturn will affect Missouri's best-educated workers, not those who historically have borne the brunt of hard-times: the less-educated, teen-agers and blacks...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Refrigerators, washers, dryers, couches, mattresses, stoves, hammers, nails, groceries, ice boxes, satellite antennas, kitchen sinks and carpets. A one-stop shoppers dream store? Actually, it's the Black River. Along the banks of the river on County Road 607, there is trash in the road, on both sides of the river and floating in the river. Some people bag their garbage before pitching it out of their cars...

10 years ago: Feb. 4, 1992 Jackson - Two Jackson High School students were arrested and charged Sunday with Dec. 5 vandalism of 24 Jackson school buses and burglaries of Hardee's Restaurant on East Jackson Boulevard Jan. 2 and 10; pair, both 17 years old, are being held in lieu of $15,000 bonds each at county jail...

Victor Martin, 59, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at Southeast Memorial Hospital in Cape Girar-deau. McCombs Funeral Home of Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Harold Lee Wright, 70, of Jackson died Friday, Feb. 1, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 9, 1931, at Jackson, son of the late Elmer and "Anna" Lillian Nitsch Wright. He and Mollie Haupt were married Nov. 19, 1955...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Phyllis Reynolds, 57, of Mill Creek died at her home Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002. Funeral arrangements are pending at the Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna, Ill.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Clyde W. Aldred, 63, of Cairo died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 5, 1938, at Cairo, son of Carl and Vivian Davault Aldred. He was married to Rosalie Aldred of Cairo. Aldred attended Tigert Memorial United Methodist Church in Cairo and was a member of the Cairo Elks Lodge. He was a former member of the United Auto Workers Union and was retired from General Motors in Detroit, Mich., after 32 years of service...

Ida F. Sander, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo.

Get out and vote I WANT to encourage the voters in Cape Girardeau to please get out and vote, because our voices need to be heard if we want to elect the people in who are good for our city. We need to get out and vote. Why Gephardt? I THINK the most disgraceful event ever to take place for any party was the day Dick Gephardt led his party to the White House to show support for Bill Clinton, who had just been impeached. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri answered some of the questions that arose after a humbling loss to archrival Kansas. Kareem Rush rebounded from one of his worst games of the season to score 26 points as No. 22 Missouri handed No. 8 Virginia its third straight loss, 81-77 Sunday...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- So you thought brown and white rice were different varieties? There's not a kernel of truth to it. White rice is simply brown rice stripped of its branny outer coating, the result of the surprisingly high-tech processing that transforms unclean, "rough" rice to the cookable white grain on store shelves...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Gary Branum putters about his fields in his pickup truck and sees beauty in the barren -- acre after flat acre, most of them muddy and much of it marshy. Patches of flooding here, an occasional tree there. The sight brings joy to this rice farmer, whose Missouri's Bootheel region is enjoying a rice renaissance, challenging cotton as king in these parts...

7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Consider a bill proposing an ordinance accepting the dedication of sanitary sewer easement deed from Michael and Kathleen McMillan. Consider a bill proposing an ordinance vacating an existing utility easement across Lot No. 1 in Sunset Hills Subdivision, Unit No. 1...

Without a doubt, the displays of patriotism before the Super Bowl game in New Orleans and during the halftime show were stirring and emotional as well as entertaining. It must have rubbed off on the New England Patriots, the underdogs who were supposed to fall to the mighty Rams of St. Louis...

On the one hand, Gov. Bob Holden has painted such a gloomy financial picture for Missouri government that tax increases and other revenue boosts will be necessary just to make ends meet. On the other hand, there are proposals floating around the legislative hallways in Jefferson City to enact cuts in order to ease the burden on some taxpayers...

Three earn real estate designation Liz Abernathy, Patty Main and Linda Brown of Coldwell Banker Abernathy Realty in Jackson, Mo., have been awarded the Accredited Buyer Representation designation by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council, Inc., of the National Association of Realtors. ...

Key responsibilities: Medical management of hospitalized patients. How long have you lived in Cape Girardeau? Seven months. Original hometown: Coimbatore, India. Education: Medical degree, American Board of Internal Medicine. Community involvement: Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau, American MENSA Missouri chapter...

NEW YORK -- Wall Street plunged into despair this past week, agonizing over economic uncertainty and a seeming lack of honesty in corporate accounting. Then, like magic, the Federal Reserve's positive economic outlook gave the market reason to believe in a better future...

Despite what the barge industry, farmers, power companies and U.S. Sen. Kit Bond say, there's no proof that a plan that proposes major flow changes to the Missouri River would have a significant impact on the Missouri or adjoining Mississippi River...

Economy ekes out small increase The U.S. economy, jolted last fall by the terrorist attacks, managed to eke out a small increase in the final three months of the year in a surprising sign that the recession could be ending. A 0.2 percent growth rate for the gross domestic product, the country's total output of goods and services, and other positive developments were enough to persuade the Federal Reserve to call a cease-fire Wednesday in its yearlong campaign to lower interest rates...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Feb. 4 On Saturday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 6:17 p.m., an emergency medical service at 25 S. Sprigg. At 8:12 p.m., an emergency medical service at 31 N. Henderson. At 10:50 p.m., an emergency medical service at 515 Cape Meadows Circle...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Feb. 4 StealingA woman reported her telephone stolen Saturday at 2769 Adeline. A man reported a car stolen at 103 N. Clark on Sunday. AssaultTommy DeWolfe, 35, was issued a summons for assault of a police officer on Saturday. A domestic assault was reported Saturday...

Six Cape Girardeau houses have been added to the Cape's Original Treasures list. The city's Historic Preservation Commission sponsors a yard sign program that recognizes property owners for their efforts to maintain, preserve and restore the community's architectural gems...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Officials from the Missouri Department of Transportation will meet with the public Feb. 28 to detail their plan to expand Highway 34/72 in Jackson from two lanes to four lanes and a raised median. Though MoDOT's decision last year to narrow the highway expansion from five lanes to four has drawn criticism, local officials have limited influence over improvements in a state highway...

Cape Girardeau County Tax-Aide volunteers will be helping area citizens with 2001 tax returns at four sites in Cape Girardeau starting today. Laverne Nothdurft of Whitewater, AARP Tax-Aide Region 9 Coordinator, said 30 volunteers have completed training and are IRS certified working tax volunteers at sites in the Southeast Missouri area through April 15...

Verneda Glass' brick house is old and small. A few pieces of furniture crowd her cramped living room. But the 60-year-old Glass couldn't be happier with her home on Cape Girardeau's south side because she owns it. "I just wanted to have my own house," said Glass, who moved into the home at 912 Linden St. last August shortly after suffering a stroke. She lives in the two-bedroom, brick house with her 39-year-old son...

Submitted photo Ellyn Colyer, Miss New Mexico USA, is the granddaughter of Woodrow and Ruth Colyer of Jackson, Mo. Southeast Missourian Ellyn Colyer is looking forward to this year's Miss USA Pageant in Gary, Ind. Colyer was crowned Miss New Mexico USA last month at Las Cruces, N.M., at a pageant to determine that state's representative for the 2002 Miss USA Pageant...

As Leslie McCulloch watched the Patriots' final field goal pass through the uprights Sunday night, she sank back in her chair, placed her head in her hands and said, "Oh my God." For the next several minutes she sat in disbelief, watching the picture on large-screen television at Willy Jaks in downtown Cape Girardeau become clouded with confetti...

WalkAmerica 2002 kick-off marked The Cape Girardeau County kick-off celebration for WalkAmerica 2002 will be held Feb. 12 in the conference room of the Healing Arts Center, located next to St. Francis Medical Center. The conference room will be open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Team captains are invited to bring their co-captains or another team member with them to the celebration...

WASHINGTON -- For the first time, members of Congress have dipped directly into a pot of highway money destined for the states to help pay for local projects dear to lawmakers. In doing so, an Associated Press computer analysis found, Congress steered a large amount of the redirected money toward pet projects in the home states of lawmakers who crafted the final spending plan...

JACKSON, Mo. -- An 8-year-old girl was killed in Jackson in a Sunday afternoon automobile accident involving four vehicles. The Jackson Police Department reported the accident occurred at approximately 1:20 p.m. near the intersection of East Jackson Boulevard and Old Orchard Road...

WASHINGTON -- Former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay pulled out of this week's scheduled congressional testimony on Sunday as members of Congress suggested he and other company executives engaged in widespread criminality. Enron's chairman "cannot be expected to participate in a proceeding in which conclusions have been reached before Mr. Lay has been given an opportunity to be heard," his attorney, Earl Silbert, said in letters to the Senate and House panels that were to hear from him...

WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said Sunday that private security forces at nuclear power plants should not be replaced with federal guards. The federal role in guarding the nation's 103 nuclear reactors against terrorist attacks should be limited to setting standards on the level of security provided, Ridge said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission certifies security plans at each plant, and tightened requirements after Sept. 11...

WASHINGTON -- A Republican committee chairman said Sunday the Bush administration probably will end up revealing information about its energy meetings, amid reports of more contacts with Enron and power companies. "I suspect ... the president and the vice president are going to disclose more and more of this information simply as a political matter," Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."...

BY THE NUMBERS Some figures from President Bush's fiscal 2003 budget, which he sends Congress today, obtained by The Associated Press. Fiscal 2003 begins next Oct. 1: 2002: Proposed spending $2.05 trillion, $106 billion deficit...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush will send Congress a $2.12 trillion spending plan today that seeks to recognize the "new realities" confronting the nation since Sept. 11. It proposes the biggest jump in defense spending in two decades and a record increase in money devoted to making Americans more secure at home...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration intends to cancel a $12 million program that helped police in California build an information-sharing computer network the FBI used to identify a suspected terrorist within hours of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to people familiar with the decision...

WASHINGTON -- Some Taliban and al-Qaida members who escaped Afghan-istan have "found refuge" in Iran, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday. Rumsfeld and other Bush administration officials also charged that Iran was creating instability inside Afghan-istan by funneling arms to various factions within the country...

NEW ORLEANS -- Bobby Brady stood at attention outside the Superdome on Sunday, his hand raised to the brim of his New England Patriots baseball cap in a snappy salute for the soldiers standing on the street corner. "He loves football players, but now he says he wants to be a soldier," said the 5-year-old's mother, Carolyn Brady. "Isn't this great? He gets the best of both worlds today."...

NEW ORLEANS -- The "Greatest Show on Turf" got grounded. The St. Louis Rams are the only team in NFL history to score more than 500 points three straight seasons and are loaded with playmakers. They've grown accustomed to scoring touchdowns with ridiculous ease...

NEW ORLEANS -- The only thing spectacular about Tom Brady is his success. The sore-ankled former fourth-stringer completed an improbable season for himself and the Patriots on Sunday, guiding New England to its first NFL title with a 20-17 Super Bowl victory over the St. Louis Rams...

NEW ORLEANS -- The New England Patriots made this a Super Bowl to remember -- for all the right reasons. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired, capping a thrilling final two minutes and giving the Patriots a 20-17 upset over the St. Louis Rams on a red, white and blue Sunday...

NEW ORLEANS -- The one thing that slowed the St. Louis Rams' offense this season was turnovers. The New England Patriots turned those giveaways into 17 points Sunday to help win their first Super Bowl. Ty Law ran back an interception 47 yards for the Patriots' first points. Terrell Buckley went 15 yards with a fumble recovery to set up another touchdown. And Otis Smith ran another interception 30 yards, leading to a field goal in New England's 20-17 victory...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Anthony Molina batted .300 or better each season for Evansville before he was beaned while standing on-deck during a game at Wichita State three years ago. The second baseman's eyesight had been flawless and he had visions of a pro baseball career -- even if it was a longshot...

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Redemption for Matt Gogel came in the right place Sunday at Pebble Beach, and it was just as stunning as his setback. Two years after he was victimized by Tiger Woods' incredible comeback, Gogel holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am when Pat Perez took a triple bogey on the final hole...

LOS ANGELES -- There's no rest for the Red Wings and Avalanche. They renew one of the league's biggest rivalries in Denver tonight, two days after eight players from the teams, including both goalies, completed a busy All-Star weekend. The Red Wings will then send a league-high 10 players to the Salt Lake City Olympics in the middle of the month while the Avalanche send seven...

SALT LAKE CITY -- With pointed references to the Sept. 11 attacks and the Olympics' own corruption scandal, the new IOC leader opened his first general assembly Sunday as the Winter Games drew near. Jacques Rogge, elected as the eighth president of the International Olympic Committee last July in Moscow, said the multibillion-dollar industry that puts on the games was strong but faced many challenges, especially from world upheaval and the use of performance-enhancing drugs...

ST. LOUIS -- A history student at Washington University says a paper she wrote three years ago identified improper use of source material in "Undaunted Courage," one of historian Stephen Ambrose's most popular books. The accusation, reported Sunday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, adds to the list of books in which Ambrose is accused of failing to provide proper credit for the use of some material. At least six other books by Ambrose have been questioned...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- More than 90,000 Kansas City-area customers were still without power from last week's ice storm, power company officials said. "We continue to lower the numbers, but it's a long, slow process," said George Minter, a spokesman for the Missouri Public Service Co., which had almost 17,400 customers without power Sunday morning...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- It may be an honor, but it's one the state would happily do without: Missouri is the nation's leader in busting methamphetamine labs. Last year Missouri seized 1,599 labs, according to figures released last week by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The state passed California -- which tallied 1,472 -- for the first time...

SULTANDAGI, Turkey -- An earthquake shook a poppy-growing region in central Turkey on Sunday, toppling scores of buildings and killing at least 45 people, including an elderly couple crushed by falling rubble while having breakfast. At least 150 people were injured in the quake, which was far less powerful than the pair of earthquakes which killed 18,000 people in the northwest in 1999...

CABUNBATA RANGER CAMP, Philippines -- Twenty-six elite soldiers snake stealthily into a skirmish line, then open fire at three armed men approaching through chest-high ferns. The machine-gunner yells "rat-tat-tat" as riflemen grunt in staccato, aiming unloaded rifles at buddies posing as Muslim extremists for the exercise...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentina's government unveiled an ambitious plan to rescue its devastated economy Sunday, including the partial easement of a maligned banking freeze. The plan also calls for moving to a free-floating peso and slashing a bloated budget deficit...

HAVANA -- Mexican President Vicente Fox faced perhaps his most difficult foreign policy dilemma yet as he traveled to Cuba Sunday for trade talks under pressure to meet with internal opposition groups -- a move that could damage relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Some detainees from the war in Afghanistan are having second thoughts about their actions, and some have regrets, a Muslim Navy cleric said Sunday. Lt. Abuhena Saiful-Islam said many believe they are innocent and want to go home, but most of all they want a decision about their future...

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- Afghan and United Nations mediators, joined by American officials, on Sunday extracted a conditional cease-fire agreement from two rival tribal warlords in an eastern Afghan town that was rocked by two days of fighting last week...

LOS ANGELES -- Alexandre Dumas' legacy of swashbuckling tales endures in scores of film and TV adaptations, even in the name of a candy bar. Thirty-plus versions of "The Three Musketeers" have been made, about 20 of "The Count of Monte Cristo," and two in one year alone (1998) of "The Man in the Iron Mask."...

LOS ANGELES -- Ron Livingston has friendly brown eyes, but on ABC's "The Practice," his character is fierce looking, often with a tightly drawn upper lip. Livingston is Assistant District Attorney Alan Lowe, "a worthy opponent" to the team of Donnell, Young, Dole & Frutt. ...

LOS ANGELES -- A slow Super Bowl weekend at theaters helped lift "Black Hawk Down" to another box-office victory as the combat thriller took in $11.5 million to remain the No. 1 film for the third straight weekend. Only a couple of fresh movies were released, leaving the top 10 largely the same as last week, when studios dumped out a rush of new films...

Saudis may not back U.S. attack on Iraq WASHINGTON -- Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief suggested Sunday that his country might not support U.S. military attacks against Iraq even if Saddam Hussein were found to be developing a nuclear weapon...

MILFORD, Conn. -- There are now more places in this country to buy a B.M.T. than a Big Mac. Subway Restaurants, the privately held chain of sandwich shops, has eclipsed McDonald's as the largest restaurant chain in the country. The Milford-based chain operates 13,247 stores in the United States, 148 more than McDonald's as of Dec. 31. Subway, started by Fred DeLuca in 1965, opened 904 units last year, while McDonald's opened 295...

NEW YORK -- The Middle East and Northern Ireland took center stage at the World Economic Forum on Sunday, as key players in two of the globe's most intractable conflicts expressed hope that they could work toward peace. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said he saw "a ray of hope" for Mideast peace on the fourth day of the forum, while key players in the peace effort for Northern Ireland said they were pleased with the disarmament process...

HOUSTON -- Complex partnerships used to disguise Enron Corp.'s financial problems were run by company executives with conflicting interests, an internal probe into the company's collapse found. Enron employees who reported to Andrew Fastow, the company's former chief financial officer, negotiated deals on the energy giant's behalf with partnerships that Fastow ran. ...

NEW YORK -- If there is a ghost haunting the World Economic Forum, it belongs to Enron Corp. Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was among the business movers and shakers scheduled to participate at the event, but he was uninvited after the collapse of his energy trading company...

RAPID CITY, S.D. -- A small military cargo and passenger plane crashed in a field outside Ellsworth Air Force Base, killing both airmen on board. The cause of the crash Saturday was not yet determined, Air Force officials said Sunday. No one on the ground was injured...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state higher education commissioner said on Monday that from a funding standpoint public institutions will lose six years worth of ground with the deep budget cuts recommended by the governor. "We are under tremendous pressure with our state budget," said Dr. Kala Stroup. "But this funding recommendation, when you account for inflation, will take colleges and universities back to fiscal year 1997 funding levels."...

Kaelyn McGill loved singing in the choir, roller skating with friends, playing outside and reading. And when news of the 8-year-old's death made its way around Alma Schrader Elementary Monday morning, the school came to a virtual standstill, with children and staff crying and comforting one another...

Associated Press WriterALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Attorneys for John Walker Lindh, the American who fought with the Taliban, asked a federal court Tuesday to release him pending trial on charges that he conspired to kill U.S. forces in Afghanistan...

Associated Press WriterSELMA, Calif. (AP) -- About 90 vehicles piled up in two chain-reaction accidents in dense fog Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens of others. Joe Galba, 43, of Visalia, said he slowed down just before he saw brake lights signaling the crash. He even remarked at how fast some drivers were traveling given the conditions...

AP Tax WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The economic stimulus bill that President Bush says will hasten recovery from recession appears dead in the Senate and will probably be shelved, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Tuesday. Daschle, D-S.D., said neither Republicans nor Democrats will have the 60 votes necessary to win approval of their competing measures -- and that the Senate will take up other business on Wednesday...

Associated Press WriterALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A federal grand jury indicted John Walker Lindh on Tuesday, accusing the American Taliban fighter of conspiring to kill fellow U.S. citizens in Afghanistan. The 10-count indictment also accused Lindh of conspiring to provide support to terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, and supplying services to the Taliban. Lindh could face several life terms in prison if convicted...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's hope for a rebound fizzled Tuesday, with investors drawn to the stock market's relatively cheap prices but hesitant amid continuing questions about accounting practices. Stocks fluctuated throughout the session before closing modestly lower...

AP Sports WriterSALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The tattered flag from the World Trade Center will fly over the Winter Olympics, but U.S. athletes won't carry it into the opening ceremony as planned. The IOC rejected the U.S. Olympic Committee's request to have five athletes and an official carry the flag that was recovered after the Sept. 11 attacks...

Standard Democrat DEXTER, Mo. -- Dexter police are investigating a telephone scam. A person had received a telephone call saying he had won a cash prize. The caller told the victim to wire $1,000 to insure the prize. After the money transfer was made, no further contact was made...

10 years ago: Feb. 5, 1992 Hundreds of gallons of concentrated chlorine spilling from drain at Capaha Park swimming pool was responsible for killing hundreds of fish last week in park's lagoon; after workers collecting dead fish from lagoon's banks reported chlorine smell, water drain was checked for leaks...

Hoffman Son to James Brian Hoffman and Katherine Lucille Ulrich of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:12 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002. Name, Sebastian James. Weight, 8 pounds 6 ounces. Third child, first son. Ms. Ulrich is the daughter of Candace Ulrich of Cape Girardeau and Ronald Ulrich of Belleville, Ill. Hoffman is the son of James and Cheryl Hoffman of Arnold, Mo...

Funeral for Therman "Doc" Schwach of Eastpointe, Mich., was held Monday at Arthur J. VanLerberghe Funeral Home in St. Clair Shores, Mich. Burial was in Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township, Mich. Schwach, 89, died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at his home...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Dora Mae Acup, 86, of Malden died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, at Three Rivers Health Care North Campus in Poplar Bluff, Mo. She was born Oct. 13, 1915, in Halliday, Ark., daughter of Charley Marion and Lizzy Pearl Steele Carrel. She and Charley Leroy Acup were married Dec. 25, 1933. He died April 5, 1987...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Phyllis J. Reynolds, 56, of Mill Creek died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at her home. She was born March 3, 1945, in Anna, Ill., daughter of Elbert Owen Hileman and Claire Verneal Jordan Hileman. She and Albert Reynolds were married April 9, 1964, in Dongola, Ill...

Marjorie Melba Foister, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at her home. She was born Aug. 14, 1922, at Jackson, Mo., daughter of Charles E. and Ruby A. Scheper Stone. She and Lyman R. "R.L." Foister were married Sept. 28, 1945, in Cape Girardeau. He died Aug. 26, 1980...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Thomas James Charles Neeley, 74, of Marble Hill died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, at his home. He was born June 10, 1927, in McDougal, Ark., son of Homer Lonzo and Nellie Davis Neeley. He and Geneva Birchett were married Jan. 4, 1947, in Corning, Ark...

PARK HILLS, Mo. -- Funeral for Floyd Lee Hoff of Park Hills was held Monday at Caldwell Funeral Home. The Rev. Davey Welker officiated. Burial was in Adams Cemetery at Frankclay, Mo. Hoff, 63, died Friday, Feb. 1, 2002, at his home. He was born July 27, 1938, in St. Francois County, son of Otis and Frances Miller Hoff. He married Marietta Snead...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Thomas Hilton Grady will be held at 11 a.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. Rick Lasley will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery, with full military honors by the New Madrid American Legion Post...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Laddie Price of Jonesboro, Ill., will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. Johnny Hester will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from 9 a.m. until time of service...

Retired Lt. Col. Arthur W. Barr of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, in Colorado Springs. Formerly of Cape Girardeau, Barr was in the U.S. Army during World War II, having served in Italy, Japan, Panama, and at NORAD. Survivors include his wife, Grace V. Parker Barr; a son, Arthur Barr Jr. of Minnesota; a daughter, Joan Johnson of Georgia; a sister, Helen Metzer of Texas; two grandsons; and three great-grandchildren...

Kaelyn Marie McGill, 8, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center from injuries received in an automobile accident. Kaelyn was born June 12, 1993, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of James and Shelia Small McGill. She was a third-grade student at Alma Schrader School, sang in the choir, was a member of Girl Scout Troop 44 and La Croix United Methodist Church, was active in gymnastics and was a student at Patty Simmons Dance School...

Ida Frieda Sander departed this life Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She lived 88 years, 7 months and 29 days. Serving as pallbearers will be Mark Wessell, Michael "Mick" Wessel, Brian Wessell, Joe Nussbaum, Bob Wachter and Steve Wessell...

Going even lower BELIEVE ME, one can get much lower than Dick Gephardt. Have you checked the GOP roster lately? Non-essential projects JACK STAPLETON'S column about our flea-infested state government was very timely. I suspect few of our state executives and legislators read his column. ...

To the editor: The story about the increase of administrators at Southeast Missouri State University was informative. There were a mass of statistics, but the number of registered students at each college seems to be missing. Without that information, the chart is meaningless unless the intent is to rouse the rabble into thinking the state universities are squandering our money. And who could possibly think or even dream they would do such a thing?...

To the editor: I'm beginning to believe that those who want an art and culture center at the River Campus in Cape Girardeau can't do math. Here in Dallas, there are art and culture centers because I live among 5 million people. Chicago has art and culture centers because the Chicago metro area has about 5 million people...

To the editor: The Bush administration's announcement that from now on the definition of a fetus would be that of an unborn child and that there would be federal funding for prenatal care for low-income pregnant women and their babies cannot be seen as a pro-life victory, For one thing, the program would only be used by women who already have rejected abortion as a option...

The Tiger Field House will host its final Cape Central basketball game Friday. The gymnasium at Central High School will feature the Tigers andSikeston in a SEMOConference matchup. It's the final game in the facility before the Tigers begin playing in the new high school later this year...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Randy White left Scott City High School last year after a long career as head coach of the girls' basketball program. He returned triumphantly Monday as the head chef of the Delta program. With three Cooks in his starting lineup who combined to burn Scott City for 38 points, White and his Lady Bobcats emerged with a 65-52 victory...

FRUITLAND, Mo. -- Fruitland Livestock Auction Tuesday. Receipts, 653; last week, 445; last year, 476. Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to 1.00 higher, bulls 1.00 higher; Demand moderate and supply light. Cows made up approximately 16 percent of the run, feeders 84 percent. Steers made up approximately 63 percent of the offering and 37 percent heifers. Offerings over 600 lbs totaled around 35 percent...

Monday, Feb. 4 A public hearing was held regarding the past performance in carrying out a 1997 Neighborhood Development Grant under the Community Development Block Grant Program, the grant project being as follows: Approximately 23 housing units rehabilitated, approximately 1,000 lineal feet of street paved, approximately 2175 lineal feet of waterline, approximately 980 lineal feet of curb and gutter and approximately 70 lineal feet of sidewalk improvements completed under the Jefferson-Shawnee Parkway Neighborhood Restoration Project No. ...

7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Accepted the dedication of sanitary sewer easement deed from Michael and Kathleen McMillan. Vacated an existing utility easement across Lot No. 1 in Sunset Hills Subdivision, Unit No. 1...

WASHINGTON -- You can be walking around normally when your heart suddenly stops beating. It takes a mere five seconds to lose consciousness. In 20 seconds, your brain shows it's losing oxygen -- your eyes roll back and your arms and legs twitch. In 10 minutes, you'll be dead...

Missouri's legislators have debated for two years how to best spend the state's tobacco settlement, currently estimated at $4.5 billion over 25 years. Thanks to expected partisanship and unexpected mushiness from all sides over how the money could do the most good, the legislators haven't been able to come up with a plan...

Among the first casualties of the spending shifts Gov. Bob Holden proposes for the state budget in the fiscal year beginning July 1 are poor Missourians who rely on Medicaid to pay for essential health care. Thousands of Medicaid recipients will lose dental and eye coverage and over-the-counter medicines and will have to use their own money when medical services are provided -- cash most Medicaid recipients simply don't have...

RIVER EDGE, N.J. -- It began when some cash-strapped art students started looking for a low-cost alternative to paint. The search led Harry and Patricia Kislevitz to colorful, paper-thin vinyl that stuck to shiny surfaces. But the vinyl failed as an artistic medium, and the Kislevitzes left it in their bathroom with a pair of scissors to entertain houseguests...

CHERRY HILL, N.J. -- So the name needed work. "Right In Your Own Backyard" just didn't roll off the tongue, no matter how fitting it was for a New Jersey children's museum celebrating diners, the boardwalk and road construction. By the time the museum opened, the unwieldy name was gone. But the concept behind it never changed...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- A Jackson, Mo., driver sustained moderate injuries Monday when her vehicle overturned on Highway 77, two miles north of Chaffee. Tracy Allen, 30, was taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital after the 12:05 p.m. accident. The driver of the other vehicle, James Wagoner of Blodgett, Mo., was not injured...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Feb. 5 ArrestsLawrence Andrew Agnew, 52, Mounds, Ill., was arrested Sunday for contempt of court. Sean Kevin Poole, 17, 1459 Rand, was arrested Monday for contempt of court. Mary Jane Pierce, 38, Sikeston, Mo., was arrested Monday on an outstanding warrant...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Feb. 5 Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:At 3:49 p.m., an alarm at Town Plaza. At 5:38 p.m., an emergency medical service at 1105 Linden. At 7:17 p.m., a structure fire at Ellis and Morgan Oak. At 9:50 p.m., an emergency medical service at 189 Cobblestone Court...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush proposed a $2.13 trillion budget on Monday that pumps billions into the war on terrorism but challenges Congress by reining in resurgent deficits through cuts to job training, highways and scores of other programs. Foreshadowing tactics sure to echo until November's elections for control of Congress, Democrats embraced Bush's national security plans. ...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush is seeking millions more dollars to restore fish and wildlife habitat along the Missouri River, but he also wants to cut flood control funding along the nation's waterways. That is the story of a wartime budget proposal pinched by soaring defense costs, a budget deficit and tax cuts. Unveiled on Monday, Bush's budget proposal is a starting point for Congress, which actually spends the government's money...

WASHINGTON -- Allies who strongly support the war on terror are squirming as the Bush administration debates whether Iraq should be the next target. Russia, the Europeans and Arabs -- even NATO -- have made clear they won't necessarily back military attacks on Iraq...

WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel prepared to subpoena former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay after he refused to appear Monday, and an investigator into Enron's collapse said virtually everyone from top management down knew Enron was hiding financial losses...

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Don Mischer remembers attending the opening ceremony at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles and leaving with the feeling he had seen something very special. It wasn't until a dozen years later, when the Emmy Award-winning producer became involved with the Olympics, that a high-ranking foreign official told him the California ceremony was "second only to Hitler's in 1936" for jingoism...

NEW ORLEANS -- In the aftermath of their Super Bowl disappointment, St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz had a message for his team. "I told them never to forget this feeling, how painful this is," he said. "And that we'll be back." That is the goal of the Rams, stunned 20-17 by New England in the NFL championship game, humbled by their mistakes after going into the game as 14-point favorites...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota's Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal of an injunction that forces the Twins to fulfill their Metrodome lease, all but killing baseball's contraction plan for this season. The high court's action Monday means an injunction issued by a Hennepin County judge in November will stand -- barring intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is unlikely...

NEW ORLEANS -- Tom Brady might as well rev up that luxury SUV he won as the Super Bowl's MVP and drive Drew Bledsoe out of town in style. Brady's latest success in football's biggest game left little doubt that Bledsoe, the best quarterback in New England Patriots history, will be playing elsewhere next season...

Apparently, a tight game, thrilling finish and major upset don't guarantee a Super Bowl ratings bonanza. Not that Fox is complaining. The network's telecast of the New England Patriots' 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday night registered exactly the same numbers as last year's game: a 40.4 national rating and 61 share...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Bob Holden on Monday formally asked President Bush for a disaster declaration for Missouri counties hit hard by last week's ice storm. Meanwhile, the patience of some 70,000 Missouri utility customers was still being tried Monday as they remained without power after tree branches coated with ice took down power lines...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Republicans are pushing legislation to require state universities and flight schools to track student visas. On Monday, the party also urged passage of tougher anti-terrorism measures and stronger homeland security laws. The measures were part of a GOP crime package that would also make it a felony to dilute drugs or ignore law enforcement road directions...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Payday lenders would face a fresh set of restrictions, including a ceiling on interest rates, under legislation considered Monday by a Senate committee. A state law enacted last year requires such lenders to post their annual interest rates and limits the fee on a given loan to $50 or 5 percent, whichever is less. But that legislation did not cap interest rates...

KARACHI, Pakistan -- After a series of hoax e-mails, the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal issued an open letter Monday to the group he believes responsible for the kidnapping of reporter Daniel Pearl, asking for a private dialogue to "address your concerns."...

BALKH, Afghanistan -- Most of the guns are older than the boys. But those in need of an AK-47 repair don't seem to mind that the oldest gunsmith in the shop doesn't yet shave and the most junior partner still has his baby teeth. Warlords, militiamen and average gun-toting Afghans keep business brisk for the four young brothers, who are expanding their reputation as the place to turn for repairing or rebuilding the AK-47 rifle that is the cornerstone of the Afghan arsenal...

OSLO, Norway -- President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been nominated for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting terrorism and securing world peace, a Norwegian lawmaker announced Monday. Harald Tom Nesvik, a member of parliament from the right-wing Party of Progress, said he has nominated the two leaders who have been at the forefront of the war in Afghanistan...

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Gangs of youths armed with machetes, swords, and bows and arrows took to the streets of Lagos Monday in a third day of ethnic bloodletting in Nigeria's commercial capital. At least 55 people have been killed. Grabbing what possessions they could, thousands fled as plumes of black smoke rose from the city's slums. The violence was the latest blow to a city shaken by explosions at an army munitions depot that killed at least 1,000 people last week...

TANEGASHIMA, Japan -- Japan's struggling space program suffered a setback Mondays when ground controllers lost contact with one of two satellites launched aboard the country's biggest rocket. Scientists said it appeared the module never separated from the rocket...

HOSUN AL-JALAL, Yemen -- Yemenis say the task is huge: hunting down two al-Qaida suspects wanted by the United States and last seen in a region where gun-toting tribesmen rule and government forces don't enter without permission. To further complicate the search, Qaed Salim Sunian al-Harethi, a suspected top al-Qaida official, and Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, wanted by the United States for the attack on the USS Cole, could have escaped into the Empty Quarter -- a desert patch the size of France...

Three hurt in blast at chemical-testing site KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Authorities evacuated an industrial area on Kansas City's east side Monday morning after a chemical-testing building exploded and caught fire, injuring three people. Those injured in the 9:11 a.m. blast were taken to hospitals with first and second-degree burns, officials said. Emergency crews evacuated the area as a precaution, authorities said...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M University's nearly century-old bonfire tradition -- on hold since a deadly collapse in 1999 -- will not be resurrected next fall, the school's president said Monday. The 90-year-old bonfire tradition was suspended after 12 students were killed and 27 others injured on Nov. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Construction of a sewer project designed to eliminate seven high-maintenance lift stations could start this summer if the acquisition of rights of way goes well. Monday night, the Jackson Board of Aldermen authorized the city attorney to initiate condemnation proceedings to obtain easements required for the Phase I-Stage 2 sewer projects. ...

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night tabled the request of a special-use permit by Charlie Roberts and Sprint to erect a 150-foot cellular phone tower at 2215 Broadway because it wants to hear from a cellular tower subcommittee created by the planning and zoning board...

His defense attorney questioned the credibility of the witnesses who testified against him, but a judge still found enough probable cause to bind Gregory Campbell over for trial Monday. Appearing Monday before associate circuit judge Gary Kamp, Campbell faced charges in two separate cases. The first alleges Campbell delivered cocaine to a confidential informant in 1999...

$$$Start hkronmueller Last week I finally heard the words my father has told me at least hundred times per year since I was 16 years old: If you leave your CDs in your car for everyone to see, someone's going to break in and take them. At 8 a.m. Tuesday I woke to find a police officer standing next to pile of glass which had at once been my car's passenger-side window...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A computer failure temporarily knocked out the international space station's guidance system Monday and prevented the power-generating solar wings from pointing toward the sun. The problem -- common aboard Russia's Mir space station but a first at the international outpost -- lasted just four hours. But it was expected to keep the three occupants unusually busy for at least another day...

Police and firefighters are investigating the cause of a suspicious fire Sunday at 344 S. Ellis. Cape Girardeau firefighters were called to the scene at 7:19 p.m. after passers-by saw the blaze and reported it using a cell phone. The house was vacant and no one was injured, battalion chief Steve Niswonger said...

Cape Girardeau police have arrested two people thought to be responsible for at least two of three recent burglaries. Steven B. Garner and Jason K. Hollowell, both 17, were arrested early Monday when police found them hiding in a car on West Cape Rock Drive, reports say...

Two of Cape Girardeau County's three commissioners say there aren't enough juveniles being detained to warrant building a new detention center, and the entire commission dismisses a recent increase in jailed offenders as a ploy by juvenile authorities to get a new building...

It took three crumpled cars and 15 minutes to catch a knife-wielding fugitive who left a wake of automobile destruction and angry victims across town Friday. What started as a purse-snatching in a mall parking lot developed into a carjacking and high-speed chase that ended in a crash with a taxi near Southeast Missouri State University...

Air traffic is climbing at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Boardings for Cape Girardeau-to-St. Louis flights have been increasing strongly during the past two months, said airport manager Bruce Loy. "We were up 24 percent in November and 17 percent in December," said Loy, speaking at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden has proposed budget reductions totaling more than $100 million for programs in the Department of Mental Health. The executive downsizing for the state's mental health provider, submitted Jan. 23 to the General Assembly, represents the largest reductions ever made in a state agency's annual appropriations...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri State University's president on Tuesday asked lawmakers to cut spending for four-year institutions by less than the 10 percent amount recommended by the governor. Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee for Education, Dr. Ken Dobbins suggested only 5 percent cuts for Southeast and other public universities, with additional spending withheld if needed...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Just days before he appears in court on charges of hindering prosecution of a case, the police chief at Dexter, Ken Rinehart, got a vote of confidence at this week's meeting of the Board of Aldermen. Alderman Tim Crutchfield told the audience that until he had all the details on the indictments of Rinehart and police Sgt. Sammy Stone, he would not pass judgment...

Despite losing two road games last week, I could not have been more proud of our basketball team. Our players continue to practice hard and play hard and they continue to play with some good basketball teams. Tennessee State is really coming on right now and they jumped out on top in last Thursday's game, but our guys battled back and actually took a five-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. ...

AP Diplomatic WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell told members of Congress Wednesday that there must be a "regime change" in Iraq and he suggested that the United States "might have to do it alone." At a House hearing, Powell said President Bush was considering "the most serious set of options one might imagine" for dealing with President Saddam Hussein and his defiance of U.N. international weapons inspections...

Associated Press WriterBALTIMORE (AP) -- A Baltimore-based trader is suspected of defrauding Allied Irish Banks of $750 million, officials of Ireland's biggest company said Wednesday in an announcement that sent its shares tumbling on world markets...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street waded through another disappointing session Wednesday, dropping for the fourth straight day as investors looked in vain for firm indications that business is improving and corporate accounting can be trusted...

Associated Press WriterTAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A note left by a 15-year-old boy who crashed a stolen plane into a downtown skyscraper praised Osama bin Laden for the Sept. 11 attacks that "brought a mighty nation to its knees." But police, in a report released Wednesday, said they found no evidence to support Charles Bishop's claim in his two-page note that he resisted recruiting attempts by al-Qaida or that the crash was an act of terrorism...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Many lawmakers on Capitol Hill are challenging the administration's plan to cut back on shipbuilding even as the proposed Pentagon budget would zoom up by $48 billion to $379 billion. "The trend in shipbuilding worsens in this budget," Rep. Ike Skelton, top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld at a hearing Wednesday...

(Warning: This column contains spoilers for "A Beautiful Mind" and "The Mothman Prophecies.") Sometimes things happen in a woman's life that make her wonder whether her marriage is all it should be. I've experienced a series of them lately. You be the judge...

$$$Start jkoch By Dr. John Koch Question: I have two dogs. One is strictly an outdoor dog that we adopted a few years ago when he showed up half-starved on our doorstep. He is a mixed breed with maybe some collie and black lab in his background. ...

Southeast Missourian/Stephan Frazier "Better Than, Better Than Sex Cake" with Valentine's Day conversation hearts candy. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. It's a truth worth contemplating as Valentine's Day approaches. After all, as the poet Turgenev observed, "The genius of love and the genius of hunger... ...

$$$Start smcclanahan The marvelous smell of cinnamon baking in the oven is like no other. It's spicy-sweet aroma wafts through your kitchen and through the rest of your house, causing family members to come and ask "Whatcha makin'?" Our first recipe today starts with a master mix. The mix makes a large batch. It is to be kept on hand for future baking days, or can be jarred up and given as a gift. Read through the ingredients and the steps fully before starting to avoid any confusion...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- That state funding for transportation is a serious problem in immediate need of fixing brought forth no dissenters during a legislative hearing on Tuesday. However, consensus on how to pay for a solution remained elusive. The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony on six transportation funding bills. While all include provisions to raise revenue, the types of tax and fee hikes called for and the amount of revenue to be raised varied...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A pair of property tax reform bills cleared the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. One measure attempts to fix rollback procedures that are intended to protect property owners from higher taxes following the state's biennial property reassessment cycles. It would also cap assessment increases for all homeowners at 5 percent...

Following is the January permit status of new buildings, expansions and remodeling projects and the status of those projects in Jackson. Rodney Bollinger, Jackson Planning and Zoning superintendent, compiles this report monthly. New commercial buildings...

The following are Southeast Missouri State University's top priorities for further development as adopted by the Board of Regents in May 2001: PRIORITY 1: To provide top-quality academic programs with a liberal arts education core...

Art Wallhausen says Southeast Missouri State University is not the same university it was five years ago -- it's better. Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, said the proof is in the redesigned pages of the Results V Strategic Plan Progress Report, which was recently released...

Sikeston woman named Teacher of the Year SIKESTON, Mo. -- Gay French, orchestra teacher for the Sikeston School District, has been named 2002 Orchestra Teacher of the Year by the state's music educators group and the American String Teacher's Association...

Standard Democrat PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- A Portageville lumber company building was destroyed by fire early Tuesday morning. Portageville firefighters responded to the Woods Lumber Co. on U.S. 61 North at about 3:45 a.m. and were able to contain the fire to the building...

Daily Dunklin Democrat KENNETT, Mo. -- The Kennett Area Vocational Technical School of Practical Nursing opened its doors in 1973 with two determined registered nurses as faculty. Nurses Heraldine Garrett and Betty Poindexter set out to prepare students to become nurses...

10 years ago: Feb. 6, 1992 Public works committee of U.S. House of Representatives has directed General Services Administration to conduct study of space needs for all federal agencies based in Cape Girardeau; as result of study, decision could ultimately be made to proceed with expansion of present Federal Building, construction of new building, or acquisition of buildings to house federal offices...

Sterling Daughter to Jerry D. and Sheryl D. Sterling Jr. of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 8:35 a.m. Friday, Jan. 25, 2002. Name, Hailey Elizabeth. Weight, 9 pounds 10 ounces. First child. Mrs. Sterling is the former Sheryl Boehl, daughter of Robert and Flossie Boehl of Marble Hill, Mo. She is employed at the U.S. District Courts in Cape Girardeau. Sterling is the son of Linda Anderson of Rockport, Texas, and Jerry Sterling Sr. of Foristell, Mo. He is employed at Jim Wilson Co...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Leaston "Jack" Bledsoe, 79, of Sikeston died Monday, Feb. 4, 2002, at Miner Nursing Center. He was born Nov. 23, 1922, in Westport, Tenn., son of James Thomas and Era Baccum Bledsoe. Bledsoe had worked for Associated Natural Gas Co...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Herbert Haney, 72, of East Prairie died Monday, Feb. 4, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. He was born Dec. 27, 1929, at Commerce, Mo., son of Oliver and Gladys Hockersmith Haney. He and Genevieve Woods were married June 12, 1953...

John Billy Angle, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Calvin E. Glastetter, 54, of Peoria, Ill., died Monday, Feb. 4, 2002, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He was born Aug. 23, 1947, at New Hamburg, son of Bernard and Anna Westrich Glastetter. He and Jacqueline L. Crawford were married Aug. 2, 1969, in Peoria...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Ruben Earl Stacey of Cairo died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at Heavenly Gates Funeral Home.

Pinpointing problems I AM writing in reference to the front-page article concerning the Praxis II exam for teachers. I think the issue was presented a bit one-sided. I am currently in my first half of student teaching. I took the Praxis II and passed. ...

To the editor: To the Speak Out caller who commented about the Enron contributions: The Republicans and Democrats both took them. If I remember right, the large amounts went to the Republicans. Very small amounts went to the Democrats, and one very honest Democrat sent hers back...

To the editor: Normally I have a good sense of humor and a very upbeat attitude. Now, however, I am getting upset about what might be considered as the little things. Over the past year, Charter Communications has in-creased cable-TV prices by 41.67 percent, and I tend to think this is excessive. ...

Southeast Missouri State University football coach Tim Billings said he hopes to land as many as 15 players during the national signing period that begins today. The Indians, who have gone 7-15 in their first two seasons under Billings, lost just eight seniors from last year's 4-7 squad, including only three starters...

It looked early like records and past performances could be set aside when rivals Cape Central and Jackson tangled Tuesday. Cape Central controlled the early action to build a 12-2 lead in the first three minutes, but Jackson withstood the Central rush to hand the Tigers a 68-39 defeat in a SEMO Conference matchup at Tiger Field House...

KENNETT, Mo.-- Travis Siebert scored 20 points as Notre Dame posted an impressive SEMO Conference road victory Tuesday night, 58-46 over Kennett. Scott Wittenborn and Doug Schaefer each added 10 points for the Bulldogs, who improved to 16-6 overall and 5-2 in league play...

Following is the permit status of new buildings, expansions and remodeling projects and the status of those projects in Cape Girardeau: New buildings Alamosa PCS Tower, 2215 Broadway, new cell phone tower. Renaissance Aircraft, LLC, 3971 John E. Good Jr. Memorial Drive, commercial permit application...

WASHINGTON -- Tanning lamps can double the risk of some common types of skin cancer, particularly for the young, according to researchers who suggest that tanning salons should be closed to minors. In a study to appear today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers found that people who used tanning devices were 1.5 to 2.5 times more likely to have common kinds of skin cancer than were people who did not use the devices...

It's a big year for 4-H, and it is an appropriate time for all of us to think about what the long-lived organization has done for our communities. The first 4-H group was formed 100 years ago. By 1911, members had developed the 4-H symbol as we know it today: a four-leaf clover with the leaves standing for head, heart, hands and health. (The fourth H originally stood for hustle.)...

The USS Greeneville definitely has a problem. For the third time in a year, the mishap-prone submarine has been involved in a collision -- twice with another vessel. In February 2001, it collided with a Japanese fishing boat off Hawaii, killing nine men aboard the boat. In August, it ran aground trying to enter the Saipan seaport...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Feb. 6 ArrestsMary Jane Pierce, 37, of Sikeston, Mo., was arrested Monday on an outstanding warrant. Craig Ellis Harris, 35, of 800 W. Rodney was arrested Monday for probation violation. Alia Jeanine Shurn, 17, of 805 Ranney was arrested Monday for stealing...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Feb. 6 Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:At 4:54 a.m., a medical assist at the rear of 1212 S. Ellis. At 12:43 p.m., a still alarm at 2027 Broadway. At 3:11 p.m., a medical assist at 4210 Route K. Jackson...

Today's discussion of John Grisham's "A Painted House": LOCATION: Central High School Library TIME: 7-7:30 a.m. LEADERS: Felicia Jenkins and Katie Maginel

Disaster was averted recently in a house on South Sprigg Street when a little girl and her sister responded quickly to a fire in their bathroom. Thursday, 4-year-old Kaelyn Stinnett was upstairs with her two sisters and mother. It was about 7:30 p.m. and everyone was cleaning up before bed...

WASHINGTON -- Congress dug forcefully into the Enron debacle on Tuesday with a second subpoena for Kenneth Lay, the former chairman of the energy trading firm, and a sympathetic hearing for a laid-off employee whose retirement savings all but disappeared when the company failed...

WASHINGTON -- The unmanned RQ-1 Predator spy plane became a star of the war in Afghanistan in November when one operated by the CIA fired Hellfire missiles that helped destroy an al-Qaida leadership compound near Kabul. President Bush's 2003 budget plan calls for spending $158 million to buy 22 more Predators and upgrade existing ones...

WASHINGTON -- Democrats on Tuesday questioned whether President Bush's defense budget would give him too much room to expand the war on terrorism without consulting Congress. At one point, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers acknowledged it is "absolutely possible" American troops will come in harm's way in the Philippines, where the anti-terror effort is already widening...

WASHINGTON -- The disruptive El Nino weather system seems increasingly likely to develop anew, weather experts said Tuesday. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said they have observed a slow trend toward El Nino, as below-normal sea surface temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific have given way to above-normal readings...

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's unusual public declaration of independence from his Roman Catholic church on the death penalty reflects the vexing conflicts that justices confront as they wrestle with the law and their personal beliefs...

WASHINGTON -- The United States should withhold anti-drug aid to Colombia's military because it has failed to meet human rights conditions set by Congress, three leading rights groups said Tuesday. The criticism came a day after President Bush proposed expanding military aid to Colombia to help the country protect a major oil pipeline from guerrilla attacks. Military assistance to Colombia has been limited to the drug fight...

WASHINGTON -- The economic stimulus bill that President Bush says will hasten recovery from recession appears dead in the Senate and will probably be shelved, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Tuesday. Daschle, D-S.D., said neither Republicans nor Democrats will have the 60 votes necessary to win approval of their competing measures -- and that the Senate will take up other business today...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration wants Congress to approve a plan for "charter forests," a new category of federal forest land that would be managed locally. Some Democrats and conservationists worry it's an attempt to circumvent environmental protections. They already are upset that the Bush administration is revising Clinton-era forest policies, including the "roadless rule" protecting more than 58 million acres from most logging and road construction...

NEW YORK -- Faced with a string of legal losses, baseball commissioner Bud Selig finally decided Tuesday that the sport won't try to eliminate teams until 2003. Baseball had attempted to fold the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos but was thwarted by the Twins' landlord, which obtained an injunction that forced the team to honor its 2002 lease...

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Brad Isbister scored a tip-in goal midway through the third period as the New York Islanders completed a rally from three one-goal deficits and defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-3 Tuesday night. Standing 10-feet from the goal, Isbister tipped Mariusz Czerkawski's pass from the left boards past goalie Brent Johnson at 10:21 to give the Islanders a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1)...

DALLAS -- Not so long ago, the most sought-after high school recruits wouldn't make their college choice known until national signing day. Then they'd draw out the suspense even longer with their own news conferences. Many would even make their choice public by picking up that school's cap from three or more different caps in front of them...

As usual, the NFL's Pro Bowl rosters are a work in progress, changing as players weigh the benefits of a week in Hawaii against a week of healing from the long season. So far, well over a dozen have chosen healing. One chose marriage. Matt Birk's wedding is set for Friday, and the Minnesota Vikings center decided that would take precedence over playing in Saturday's game. His roster spot was turned over to Jeremy Newberry of the San Francisco 49ers...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Coach Bill Self's main concern is getting No. 21 Illinois to play its best heading into the NCAA tournament. That's just a month away, and the Illini have never looked worse. Illinois (15-7, 4-5) has lost three games in a row, is in danger of slipping out of the rankings for the first time this season and has yet to win a conference road game. Picked by many to contend for the Final Four, the Illini are not even a lock to make the tournament...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Two wins over Portland and a loss by Oklahoma State have put Gonzaga at No. 9 this week in The Associated Press college basketball poll, the first appearance in the Top 10 in the school's history. Gonzaga also became the first Washington state team since Washington was seventh in 1984-85 to reach such a high poll ranking...

BOSTON -- The New England Patriots were dismissed as mediocre, called lucky when they moved through the playoffs, and seen as sacrificial lambs in the Super Bowl. On Tuesday, the Patriots were simply Super Bowl champions to the estimated 1.2 million fans who packed the streets of Boston and City Hall Plaza...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Capitol was buzzing Tuesday when St. Louis rapper Nelly came to town to be recognized for his work with schools in his hometown and elsewhere. While Gov. Bob Holden and members of the House honored the rapper and his group the St. Lunatics, some questioned whether the state should praise a group that sings about illegal drug use and sexual promiscuity...

ST. LOUIS -- Former state Rep. Maida Coleman closed the gap in the state Senate for Democrats on Tuesday, beating Republican Roger Plackemeier in a special election that narrows the GOP majority in the body to two seats. Coleman, 47, resigned her state House seat earlier this year to run for the 5th District senate seat. She replaces Paula Carter, who died in November after a long battle with cancer...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Momentum has slowed for a bill giving prosecutors unlimited time to bring rape charges. The Senate had to take a legislative step backward on Tuesday to correct language that could have put a three-year statute of limitations on all major crimes -- including murder -- unless evidence was documented within that time span...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Local governments could earn better returns on their money if they could pool their funds in state-run investments, State Treasurer Nancy Farmer said. The idea promoted Tuesday by Farmer is not new -- 31 states already operate similar investment pools, most through their state treasurer's office...

MEXICO, Mo. -- A.P. Green said Tuesday it will close its brick-firing plant effective March 31, likely leaving between 80 and 110 people out of work. Though the announcement was disappointing to city leaders, it was no surprise, they said. Firebricks, or refractories, are heat-resistant materials that line high-temperature furnaces and reactors used to make products such as steel, aluminum or cement...

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's president accused India of "state terrorism" in Kashmir and called Tuesday for international mediation to resolve the crisis that has threatened war between the South Asian neighbors. In a televised address marking Kashmir Solidarity Day, President Pervez Musharraf accused the Indian army of "unprecedented suppression and human rights violations" in the part of Kashmir under India's control...

KARACHI, Pakistan -- Authorities know the identity of reporter Daniel Pearl's kidnappers and are "very close to resolving the case," a top police official said Tuesday. Sources said three men had been arrested for sending last week's e-mails that contained photographs of Pearl...

DURBAN, South Africa -- A commuter train collided with a freight train in South Africa on Tuesday, killing 18 people and injuring about 100 others, including several children traveling home from school. Six cars of commuter train's cars derailed when it crashed into the back of the freight train near the port city of Durban. Two of the dead were children, a Metrorail official said. Authorities said eight people were critically injured and 59 others were in serious condition...

JENIN, West Bank -- An enraged mob led by two dozen gunmen, including members of the Palestinian security forces, burst into a heavily guarded courtroom Tuesday and killed three men convicted in a vigilante killing -- highlighting a breakdown of law and order in the Palestinian territories...

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Heavily armed security forces clamped down Tuesday on several Lagos neighborhoods rocked by three days of ethnic rioting that destroyed homes, killed close to 100 people and sent thousands fleeing. Residents of the northern neighborhoods of Mushin and Idi Araba, where fighting between Yoruba and Hausa militants began Saturday, were ordered to walk with their hands above their heads as a precaution...

UNITED NATIONS -- Iraq is prepared to resume dialogue with the United Nations, but the world organization did not indicate whether Saddam Hussein's government is willing to discuss the return of U.N. weapons inspectors. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday there was nothing to talk about unless Iraq agrees to the inspectors' return...

ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch is teaming up with rum giant Bacardi USA on the latest entry into the "malternative" specialty alcohol market. Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers, will produce, market and distribute Bacardi Silver. Bacardi will provide the rum flavor, and the companies will have an equal stake, officials said...

ST. LOUIS -- Monsanto Co.'s losses widened in the fourth quarter as restructuring expenses offset modest sales gains, the St. Louis-based agricultural and biotech company said Tuesday. For the period ending Dec. 31, Monsanto lost $104 million, or 40 cents per share, compared with a loss of $52 million, or 20 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2000...

If you're looking for a Valentine's Day dessert, think red. Then think a little more. Consider a frozen dessert sweet enough to melt a heart -- or hearts, if the cook is generous, and sociable. A red raspberry ice cream cake with raspberry Amaretto sauce combines all these seductive qualities. Beyond the visual and romantic, this is a practical little number, too. It's a snap to make and you can prepare it up to a month ahead, then keep it frozen until you are ready to serve it...

DENVER -- A bullet found in the backpack of a student slain in the 1999 Columbine massacre was fired by one of the teen-age gunmen, according to test results released Tuesday. The student's mother asked for the new testing after the parents of another slain Columbine High School student alleged their son had been shot by a Denver police sergeant rather than one of the gunmen...

NEWARK, N.J. -- The FBI confirmed Tuesday that it has searched the headquarters of a New Jersey-based cheese company and removed manufacturing and financial documents. Suprema Specialties Inc., which makes cheeses under the Suprema di Avellino brand name, began its own investigation of its financial statements after its controller and chief financial officer resigned Dec. 21. Nasdaq officials halted trading of the company's stock the same day...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- When Elizabeth Dole entered the race to succeed Sen. Jesse Helms, Republicans couldn't have hoped for a better-known candidate than the former Cabinet secretary, Red Cross chief and presidential candidate. But the star power that has made Dole the prohibitive favorite for the GOP nomination has also made her a target of attacks from her rivals...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Actress Winona Ryder pleaded innocent Tuesday to four felony counts of theft, burglary, vandalism and possession of a controlled substance, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. Ryder was arrested Dec. 12 for allegedly stealing about $4,800 in clothing from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. Police said she also possessed the painkiller Oxycodone without a prescription...

LOS ANGELES -- Three children died in a fire Tuesday despite rescue efforts by members of a television crew that had been filming nearby and rushed in with buckets and garden hoses. The bodies of the 4-year-old girl and boys ages 3 and 5 were found in a first-floor bedroom, where the fire appeared to have started, said Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Franco...

DETROIT -- Two white men accused of beating a black state trooper for dancing with a white woman at a bar face a second trial Wednesday in an overwhelmingly white county that has long had a racist reputation. Local leaders say they would like nothing better than ridding themselves of the racist image that has clung to once-rural Livingston County, now a fast-growing part of suburban Detroit's outer fringe...

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- A member of a religious sect that rejects modern medicine had a miscarriage in November and is not hiding the baby from authorities, her lawyer told a judge Tuesday. Rebecca and David Corneau had previously refused to say whether a baby even exists. Attorney J.W. Carney said Rebecca Corneau now would be willing to testify about the miscarriage...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A federal grand jury indicted John Walker Lindh on 10 charges Tuesday, alleging he was trained by Osama bin Laden's network and then conspired with the Taliban to kill Americans. His lawyers, nonetheless, pleaded for his release until trial...

PHILADELPHIA -- The Enron case, with its allegations of shady financial deals and accounting cover-ups, could reopen a contentious issue for lawyers -- whether they have a greater duty to protect a client or to prevent a crime. The American Bar Association completed work Tuesday overhauling the code of ethics for lawyers, a five-year effort that included emotional debates over lawyers' competing loyalties...

Victor Martin, 59, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Oct. 2, 1942, at Neelyville, Mo., son of Victor and Melba Crume Martin. He and Shelia Young were married Dec. 27, 1987, in Chicago. Martin retired in 1997 from Chicago Transit Authority. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Chicago. The Martins moved to Cape Girardeau in 2001 from Chicago...

Jay Knudtson and Melvin Gateley both easily made the first cut in Tuesday's four-candidate primary election, garnering a combined 93 percent of the 2,624 ballots cast in the race for Cape Girardeau mayor. If the primary is any indication, Knudtson could run away with the race in the general election on April 2. He had more votes than the three other candidates combined. Stan Wicks and Walter White both were eliminated from the race, receiving 3.6 and 3.3 percent of the vote, respectively...

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- Two members of a religious sect that rejects modern medicine were jailed Tuesday after refusing to cooperate with authorities investigating their missing baby. Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Nasif said he was not convinced that Rebecca Corneau had a miscarriage, as she claimed. He ordered Corneau and husband David Corneau jailed pending a hearing next week. The two were led away in handcuffs...

CLEVELAND -- Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., the congressman known for his scorched-earth rhetoric and arm-waving theatrics, went on trial on corruption charges Tuesday, defending himself without the benefit of a law degree. "I'm like a mouse looking up at an elephant asking the elephant to surrender, quite frankly," the nine-term Democrat told ABC's "Good Morning America" before entering the federal courthouse...

Feb. 7, 2002 Dear Leslie, A new snow has fallen, a lighter one than a few weeks ago, when kids were tobogganing down the steep courthouse terrace that flows toward the Mississippi River. As a kid I often rode my sled down those hills with my brother and cousins on snow days. The trick was to overturn your sled before reaching the bottom and screaming out onto Spanish Street...

Long holiday EVERY YEAR we dread watching our neighbors put up their Christmas lights. Here it is February, and they still have their Christmas decorations up and the lights turned on. It's disgusting. Money returned I DON'T know the boy's name, but on New Year's Eve I lost $80 out of my pocket at Wal-Mart. A very nice young man returned it to me...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Enron chief executive officer Jeff Skilling told Congress on Thursday that he knew of nothing improper about the complex web of partnerships that brought the energy trading giant down. When he resigned his post in August, "I did not believe the company was in any financial peril," Skilling said in his first public testimony about the collapse...

AP White House CorrespondentWASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has determined that the Geneva Convention applies to the conflict in Afghanistan and Taliban soldiers, but not al-Qaida fighters and other terrorists, the White House announced Thursday...

$$$Start By Kathy Jensen KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- I invite the author of your Jan. 12 editorial, "Teaching the test: Some schools gear to MAP," to talk with the educators who developed the Kansas City Area Assessment Project. The editorial is misleading and inaccurate. At a minimum, it contains three major fallacies...

10 years ago: Feb. 7, 1992 Navigational project under way in Mississippi River near Cape Rock will reduce need for frequent dredging in that area and will allow for safer passage of barge tows around Cape Rock, says spokesman for Corps of Engineers...

Melvin Gateley had the most votes in the 12th Precinct in Cape Girardeau's mayoral primary. A story in Wednesday's edition stated otherwise. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Potts Son to Michael David and Janelle Leigh Potts of Winston-Salem, N.C., Forsyth Medical Center, 5:55 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, 2002. Name, Ethan Michael. Weight, 6 pounds 6 ounces. First child. Mrs. Potts is the former Janelle Johns, daughter of Beverly Johns of Marble Hill, Mo., and Harold Johns of Cape Girardeau. ...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Lilly Heyde Yount, 86, of Sikeston, Mo., formerly of Jackson died Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Friends may call from 5-8 p.m. Friday at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston. Funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the First United Methodist Church...

Helen M. Raines, 87, died Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2002, at Heritage Manor in Litchfield, Ill. She was born May 13, 1914, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Charles and Myrtle Smith Moore. She and Carl Raines were married Nov. 13, 1983, in Las Vegas, Nev. He died March 11, 1999...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- James William Tucker, 90, of Marble Hill died Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002, at Elder Care in Marble Hill. He was born Aug. 6, 1911, at Kennett, Mo., son of Elmer and Luvina Collins Tucker. He and Dorothy M. Baker were married Feb. 25, 1961...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Minnie M. Vinson, 91, of Charleston died Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002, at Bertrand Nursing Facility. She was born Nov. 9, 1910, at Marquand, Mo., daughter of Alfred Stokes and Dica Ellen Francis Green. She and Donald Wesley Vinson were married in 1938. He died in 1961...

ANNA, Ill. -- Betty Jane Wright, 71, died Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002, at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born June 7, 1930, in Anna, daughter of Howard and Florence Karraker Henderson. She and Carl R. Wright were married June 16, 1949, in Osceola, Ark. He died Aug. 27, 1991...

Graveside service for John Billy Angle of Cape Girardeau will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Pulliam Cemetery in Scopus, Mo. Major Robert Gauthier will officiate. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Funeral Home from noon to 1 p.m. Friday. Angle, 60, died Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center...

Southeast Missouri State University's women face a rugged challenge this week as they try to stop a three-game losing streak. The Otahkians (12-9 overall, 4-6 Ohio Valley Conference) will be on the road to face two of the OVC's top teams, playing Morehead State (15-5, 5-4) today and Eastern Kentucky (16-5, 8-2) Saturday in a pair of 4:30 p.m. tipoffs...

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. School StateCorey Andrade DB 6-1 220 Lake Brantley, H.S. Altamonte, Fla. Matt Boyack TE 6-4 215 South Lake H.S. Clermont, Fla. Ramon Feliciano FB 6-2 230 Coral Springs H.S. Coral Springs,Fla. Graham Goodfield TE 6-5 238 Palomar J.C. San Viarcos, Calif...

Southeast Missouri State University's football team tapped Florida for six players Wednesday as coached Tim Billings announced the signing of 11 recruits. Among the signees were Scottsdale, Ariz., 6-foot-5 quarterback Jack Tomco, who threw for over 2,100 yards and 16 touchdowns last season as a sophomore at Scottsdale Community College. ...

Southeast Missouri State University is winless on the road this season, which would not appear to bode well as the Indians prepare for two more games away from the Show Me Center this week. But coach Gary Garner, whose Indians are in last place in the nine-team Ohio Valley Conference, is hoping past success against Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky will give Southeast a dose of confidence...

Southeast Missouri State University's basketball team was struggling. Entering a two-game road trip to play Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech last week, the Indians had posted just one Ohio Valley Conference victory, were last in the standings and in danger of missing the league's postseason tournament for the first time since Gary Garner became coach five years ago...

The Jackson Indian running game officially received the Big 12 seal of approval on Wednesday. Star running back Mario Whitney and offensive tackle Travis Dambach became the first two Jackson football teammates to sign Division I scholarships in the same year...

Mario Whitney, RB, Jackson, (Missouri); Travis Dambach, OL, Jackson, (Kansas); Desmond Sims, TE/RB/DE, New Madrid County Central, (Arkansas); Brian Murph, QB, New Madrid County Central (Butler County C.C.); Charles Gaines, DT, Hayti, (Hutchison C.C.); Justin Lowes, DL, Sikeston, (Southern Illinois); Kevin Keller, OL, Sikeston (Rolla)...

Fruitland Livestock FRUITLAND, Mo. -- Fruitland Livestock Auction Tuesday. Receipts, 376; last week, 653; last year, 555; compared to last week steers and heifers sold steady to 1.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to 1.00 higher; Demand and supply light. Cows made up approximately 17 percent of the run, feeders 83 percent...

Today Heart smart screenings from 8 to 10 a.m. in Generations Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital. To make an appointment, call 651-5825. Blood pressure screening from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Cape Senior Center. Coumadin therapy seminar from 1 to 2 p.m. in Conference Room C of St. Francis Education Center...

The war on terrorism is being fought on several fronts, but the most important victory to date may be the humanitarian relief efforts that have sent tons of food to the people of Afghanistan. The World Food Program estimates 6 million Afghanis have been saved from starvation...

Ten years ago, there were high hopes for highways across Missouri. The Missouri Department of Transportation proposed its 15-year plan, the one that was supposed to result in massive highway improvements. To pay for the 15-year plan, the Missouri Legislature approved a 6-cent-a-gallon increase in the state fuel tax, raising the total state tax on fuel to 17 cents a gallon. ...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Feb. 7 ArrestsArlena Foote, 47, 101 Green Acres, was arrested Tuesday on an outstanding Scott County warrant. Valezia Knecht, 908 Penny, was arrested Wednesday for stealing. Matthew Hunter Besand, 18, 920 Penny, was arrested Wednesday for failure to appear and park curfew violation...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Feb. 7 Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:At 5:26 p.m., an illegal burn at 1401 Bessie. At 6:35 p.m. an emergency medical service at 409 McKenna. At 6:50 p.m., an alarm at 1050 Greek Drive. At 10:34 p.m., an emergency medical service at 200 S. Spanish...

UNITED WE READ Today's discussion of John Grisham's "A Painted House": Location: BLANCHARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TIME: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Leaders: CARLA TILLEY ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A month into the session, House Democrats on Wednesday outlined their legislative priorities beyond their previously announced support for full funding of public schools. The House Democratic Caucus package includes proposals on school accountability, seniors' issues, law enforcement and transportation...

ORAN, Mo. -- The icy roads apparently were a factor in a three-car accident that resulted in the death of an infant and injuries to two adults, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said Wednesday. Five-month-old Sydnea Rhodes of Oran was pronounced dead at Southeast Missouri Hospital Wednesday morning. The patrol said that the baby was in a car seat...

Sometimes, being a winner has very little to do with the score at the end of the game. Take the Naylor High School basketball team. On Monday, despite a 105-17 defeat that put their record at 1-18, the team went home winners, their coach said. "They put the needs of others before their own," said Naylor coach Andy Roberts. "You do something like that, you're a winner."...

Cape Girardeau artist and retired Southeast Missouri State University Museum director James Parker saw the king ready to feast on his blackbird pie almost daily when he attended Lorimier School, now City Hall. The tile art was Monday's "Faces and Places" puzzler...