Stories from March 2002

DEXTER, Mo. -- Dexter's chief of police and a top officer have had an adjustment in assignments following an executive session of the Dexter Board of Aldermen on Wednesday night. City administrator Mark Stidham said Thursday that aldermen voted unanimously to reassign police chief Ken Rinehart and Sgt. ...

By Mark Bliss ~ Southeast Missourian JACKSON, Mo. -- Developers of a proposed power plant in southwest Cape Girardeau County have promised millions of dollars in payments to a small school district and a rural fire district if the plant is built...

Here it is: Everything you wanted to know about the Block Hole. Or at least enough to get you to go look at it, if you've never seen it. Larry Dowdy, executive vice president of the Little River Drainage District, is like an encyclopedia of information about the Block Hole, even when he has a busy schedule but still takes a few minutes to answer a lot of questions...

JACKSON, Mo. -- A year after the Missouri Department of Transportation announced a change of plans for widening Highway 34/72 through Jackson, some residents remain unconvinced that four lanes are better than five. They had the most to say to MoDOT officials Thursday at a public meeting on the project held at the Jackson Middle School. Some businessmen said the inability to make left turns along parts of the 3 1/2-mile stretch may make it impossible for them to continue doing business...

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- The International Olympic Committee is investigating two more positive drug tests from the Salt Lake City Games. One case involves the steroid nandrolone, and the other involves the stimulant methamphetamine, the IOC said Friday. It didn't identify the athletes or sports involved pending a hearing...

Associated Press WriterLaFAYETTE, Ga. (AP) -- Investigators, politicians and the media have created a "carnival atmosphere" around the search for bodies at a Georgia crematory, preventing its operator from getting a fair trial, an attorney told a judge Friday...

Associated Press WriterBOSTON (AP) -- Under pressure from the state's attorney general, the Boston Archdiocese on Friday agreed to turn over to prosecutors the names of alleged victims of priest abuse and details of the reported assaults...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Encouraged by news that the manufacturing sector has begun its recovery and that consumers are spending solidly, investors sent stocks surging higher Friday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials up more than 260 points for their best day in five months. The Nasdaq composite index, meanwhile, scored its best point gain in nearly three months...

Growing up in Northern Illinois, Mary Strong spent her summers surrounded by nature at her parents' summer home in Wisconsin. Before moving to Cape Girardeau, she and her husband, Robert, lived in Southwest Missouri on 120 acres filled with wildlife. When Strong decided to begin painting, the furred and feathered naturally became her primary subjects...

By Ken Newton ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- During the last moments of Sunday's closing ceremony, an NBC camera caught a rare moment of reality in the fairy-tale script used for the Olympics. An American athlete, on the stadium floor dancing to Bon Jovi, looked in the lens and, in a message that contradicted his physical joy, said, "I need a job."...

'Bryn Terfel Sings Wagner' Ever since Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel burst onto the international opera scene in the early '90s, it was clear he possessed the penetrating power, tonal beauty and musical expressiveness to be a memorable interpreter of Wagner. So his fans have been counting the years until his voice would ripen sufficiently for him to take on the demanding roles without risking early vocal decline...

These are the 10 songs Michael Maguire of Cape Girardeau wouldn't want to live without: 1. "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- The Who The anthem from my youth has become a rallying cry against the darkness of terrorism (see concert in NYC)...

MISSOULA, Mont. -- Judy Blunt needed to find meaning in her life as a prairie ranch wife. So she took money she had saved for three years and bought a Sears Roebuck typewriter. Each night, she would spool strips of freezer paper into the machine and write, "emptying myself onto the paper until I could lie down." Later, she began writing during the day, while the menfolk worked in the fields...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston police are searching for a man suspected of repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl over the past six months. Drew Juden, director of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, said the girl was raped at knifepoint at her home in Sikeston...

Standard Democrat SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston Jaycees are tuning up and singing the praises of this year's rodeo entertainers. It is a lineup they say will appeal to all rodeo and country music fans. Opening the four days of rodeo in Sikeston will be Alabama on Aug. 7. Next will be Lonestar on Aug. 8 followed by Gary Allen on Aug. 9 with newcomer Trace Adkins taking the stage for the final performance on Aug. 10...

Daily American Republic GREENVILLE, Mo. -- The murder trials for a Patterson couple accused of killing the man's first wife will not be held in Wayne County. During court appearances this week, the defense attorneys for Ronald Joe Nunnery, 45, and Eunnona Faye Starkey, 43, asked for change of venues, which Circuit Judge William C. Seay granted, according to Jon Kiser, Wayne County prosecuting attorney...

10 years ago: March 1, 1992 Centenary United Methodist Church observes its annual Mission Education Weekend, which helps educate congregation about variety of mission projects supported by church; guest missionary is the Rev. Lee Whiteside of Columbia, director of Office of Creative Ministries for United Methodist Church in Missouri...

Sievers Daughter to Stanley Melbert and Lisa Ann Sievers of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 11:31 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, 2002. Name, Melody Ann. Weight, 7 pounds 12 ounces. Third child, first daughter. Mrs. Sievers is the former Lisa Kumming, daughter of Anna and Russel Keeling of Lowry City, Mo. She is employed at Missouri Veterans Home. Sievers is the son of Hulda Sievers of Jackson, and the late Melbert Sievers. He is a self-employed farmer...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Russell Keith Jackson, 67, of Dexter died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Aug. 17, 1934, at Kennett, Mo., the son of John F. and Grace Davis Jackson. He married Vaudine Goodrich on June 19, 1956, at Hernando, Miss. She survives...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Emma Lou Cobb, 77, of Mountain Home, Ark., formerly of Chaffee, died Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002, at home. Born Oct. 21, 1924, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., she was the daughter of Alonzo S. and Garnett Still Perdue. On May 6, 1940, in Oran, she was married to Gilbert Cobb. He preceded her in death. She was a homemaker...

BENTON, Mo. -- Patrick Conrad, 62, of Benton died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton.

Fred Fritzinger, 74, of Kirksville, Mo., and formerly of Anna, Ill., died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, in Kirksville, Mo. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at the Crain Funeral Home in Anna.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Robert Paul Johnson, 53, of Sikeston died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at Clearview Nursing Center. He was born Sept. 3, 1948, in Mississippi County, son of Tom and Clara Loretta Hale Johnson. He and Paula Thurman Meeks were married March 13, 1968...

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Ann Forbes, 88, of Lakeside, Calif., formerly of New Hamburg, died Friday, Jan. 18, 2002, at her home. She was born in 1914, daughter of Louis and Mary Schwartz Gosche. She first married Muriel Wright. She later married Darryl Forbes, who died July 26, 1999...

BENTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Marie Maxine Prewett of Benton will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton. The Rev. Normand Varone will officiate. Burial will be in Forest Hills Memorial Gardens at Morley, Mo. Friends may call at the chapel from 5 to 8 p.m. today...

THEBES, Ill. -- Graveside service for Bonnie Jean Lindgren of Brownsburg, Ind., formerly of Thebes, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Rose Hill Cemetery in Thebes. The Rev. Carl Fisher will officiate. Crain Funeral Home of Tamms, Ill., is in charge of arrangements...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Ida Lou Wimberley, 64, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born March 27, 1937, in Prairie, Miss., daughter of William and Isa Bell Coplin Dodds. She and Oneal Wimberley Sr. were married Jan. 14, 1965, in Wickliffe, Ky...

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- May B. Henry, 95, formerly of Sedgewickville, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002, at Bloomington Hospital in Bloomington, Ind. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo., from 6 to 8 p.m. today. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Sedgewickville United Methodist Church. The Rev. Jimmie Corbin and the Rev. James N. Brice Jr. will officiate. Interment will be in Sedgewickville Cemetery...

NEW WELLS, Mo. -- Frieda E. Fiedler, 85, passed away Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. The Rev. Walter Patzwitz will officiate. Interment will be in Trinity Lutheran Cemetery at Egypt Mills, Mo...

Point of disagreement THERE'S BEEN a lot of Speak Out space given to Jerry Falwell and his religious beliefs. It seems if you disagree with him, you feel he is preaching hate. I find there is a fine line between judging a person's conduct and condemning the person. ...

Private grant ups ante for turkey poachers Illegal turkey hunting, already a risky proposition for game law violators, is about to get even riskier. Angered by outlaws who kill turkeys illegally, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) has put up cash to help the Missouri Department of Conservation catch turkey poachers...

COACHES: Lana Richmond, 609-330-2 in 19 seasons at Southeast. Assistants are Billy Underwood (first year); Renee Enos (first year). 2001 RECORD: 25-25, 16-5 OVC (2nd place). 2001 HONORS: Jenny Doehring (OVC Player of the Year); Renee Enos (All-OVC); Courtney Eklund (second-team All-OVC); Brooke Nett (second-team All-OVC); Kemi Rampi (second-team All-OVC)...

Every year the Missouri Department of Conservation issues a new code book containing the regulations dealing with a wide range of outdoor activities. Every year I get hundreds of questions concerning these regulations. I think many people are intimidated by the size of the code book, but it is very easy to understand...

Kristen King didn't think much of her rookie softball season at Southeast Missouri State University. "Last year was a big disappointment," King said. "My pitching was horrible. I just didn't have my game." But King is confident things will be a lot different this season, which begins today with a noon doubleheader at home against Mississippi (9-4). The three-day Southeast Softball Classic that was scheduled for this weekend has been canceled because of expected bad weather...

New Madrid County Central High School boys' basketball coach Joby Holland said Thursday that Eagles' star Dereke Tipler could very well be headed for Southeast Missouri State University. "Dereke hasn't committed any place yet, but SEMO is definitely at the top of his list," Holland said. "Right now he wants to keep his options open and concentrate on the season, but he's impressed with SEMO."...

DELTA, Mo. -- When the bell rang, it was all Bell City. Playing Oran for the Class 1A, District 2 championship Thursday night, the Cubs of Bell City led wire-to-wire to claim their first district title since 1981. The trio of Eric Henry, C.J. Hadley and Dominitrix Johnson led the charge as the top-seeded Cubs posted a surprisingly easy 73-49 victory over No. 2 Oran...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Wayne Essner provided a much-needed spark off the bench to lead top-seeded Notre Dame (20-7) past No. 5 Kelly 62-59 and into the final of the Class 2A, District 2 tournament. "Wayne's (Essner) scoring off the bench was real big for us," Notre Dame coach Darrin Scott said, "and Scott Wittenborn gave us a lot of senior leadership when we had trouble scoring."...

A candidates forum for the April 2 Cape Girardeau city election will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Glenn Auditorium of Dempster Hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. The forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Departments of Political Science and Mass Communication, will allow voters to question Cape Girardeau mayoral candidates as well as Cape Girardeau City Council candidates for Wards 1 and 6...

If many U.S. economists and others who make financial forecasts are correct, we may already be out of the recession of 2001. The problem is we probably won't know for sure for another few months, by which time we could be well on the road to full economic recovery...

As an experiment, the Cape Girardeau: United We Read projects has proven that there is enormous interest in reading and in coming together in small groups to talk about a book. In this case, it was John Grisham's "A Painted House," which resonated with so many readers here because of its rural setting and its familiar patterns of farm work, Saturdays in town, church and the amazing events that made our childhoods memorable and exciting...

Cape Girardeau Friday, March 1 ArrestsElizabeth Ann Albritton, 32, 205, S. Middle, was arrested Wednesday for receiving stolen property and possession of a controlled substance. Donald Leroy Mier, 29, 3125 Themis, was arrested Wednesday for non-payment of child support...

Cape Girardeau Friday, March 1 Firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday:At 6 p.m., an emergency medical service at 615 Boxwood. At 8:21 p.m., a still alarm at Southeast Missouri State University Towers. At 10:44 p.m., an emergency medical service at 148 S. Lorimier...

Dr. Robert Weise thinks that seeing is believing. He wishes more people could see an actual embryo inside a petri dish because he believes it would change their perspective on issues of cloning and stem cell research. Seeing the embryo would be similar to the reaction people have when they see an ultrasound of a baby, said Weise, a professor of life sciences and pastoral ministry at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo...

The changing of the guard at Firstar Bank is almost complete. As of March 15, Firstar will become U.S. Bank, more than a year after the two corporations merged. The change of Firstar Bank to U.S. Bank is happening region by region across the country, said Cathy Bertrand, senior vice president of the Cape Girardeau branch. The changeover is expected to be completed nationwide by August...

NEW YORK -- Boom! Just like that, there's a change on the NFL broadcasting scene. John Madden is carrying his inimitable mix of enthusiasm, opinions, quirks and analysis to "Monday Night Football," leaving Fox Sports and agreeing to a four-year, $20 million deal with ABC Sports to pair with Al Michaels in a two-man booth...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Andy Benes, trying to win back a spot in the St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation after a dismal 2001, pitched three shutout innings Thursday in a 5-2 win over the New York Mets in the exhibition opener for both teams. "It's the first time I've come to spring training in 12 years that I knew I wasn't one of the starting pitchers," Benes said after allowing just a pair of two-out hits, a first-inning single by Jeromy Burnitz and Roger Cedeno's third-inning double. ...

Southern Illinois believes it's already made its case for an NCAA berth. But the Salukis, the No. 1 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament that begins today, don't want to leave anything to chance. Coach Bruce Weber doesn't want to be watching anxiously on selection Sunday, hoping his school will appear on the bracket...

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Dan Duquette was fired Thursday as general manager of the Boston Red Sox, less than 24 hours after the historic, hard-luck franchise was bought by new owners. His former assistant, Mike Port, will be the interim general manager. In his eight-year tenure, Duquette grew to be one of the most polarizing figures in Boston sports, guiding the team with a robotic style that never quite clicked with fans who are among the most passionate in baseball...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The drama surrounding Nolan Richardson deepened Thursday when he met with Arkansas' chancellor and athletic director, canceled a news conference and skipped practice. The basketball coach had a 90-minute meeting with chancellor John White and athletic director Frank Broyles that ended without resolution of Richardson's status...

The NFL free-agent period that starts today could be a strange one. With the notable exception of expansion Houston, many teams have had to release players to get under the $71.1 million salary cap. And with many of the league's best already signed to long-term deals, there will be relatively few prime players available...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's top senator is preparing an economic development package offering state aid for stadiums in St. Louis and Kansas City -- and for projects elsewhere in the state. The plan by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, to be announced today, is intended to be acceptable to urban and rural lawmakers alike. But he acknowledges he still is a vote or two short of Senate passage, according to his own informal tally...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Although most rape victims are women, legislation allowing an unlimited time to prosecute rape cases was negotiated by an all-male panel of Missouri legislators. Female senators expressed frustration Thursday that they had no say in drafting the final version of the legislation, which is expected to come to a vote next week...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state lawmaker who pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in 1997 filed Thursday as a candidate for a circuit judgeship in Southeast Missouri. Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, has served in the House for 12 years and is barred by term limits from seeking re-election...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Attorney General Jay Nixon wants to know if the Missouri offices of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen played a role in the financial collapse of Enron Corp. Nixon said Thursday he was asking the State Board of Accountancy to look into the practices of Chicago-based Andersen's St. Louis and Kansas City offices...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Democratic leaders spent Thursday trying to salvage pieces of Gov. Bob Holden's plan for balancing the budget. Holden's strategy depends on passage of several bills that would raise additional revenue and allow existing funds to be applied in untraditional ways...

AHMADABAD, India -- Angry Hindus set fire to homes in a Muslim neighborhood Thursday and then kept firefighters away for hours, dragging out one former lawmaker and burning him alive. At least 76 people died in revenge attacks triggered by a Muslim assault on a train...

BALATA REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank -- The Israeli military attacked two West Bank refugee camps with helicopter gunships, tanks and paratroopers Thursday in a high-stakes attempt to break strongholds of Palestinian militants. An Israeli soldier and 12 Palestinians were killed -- pushing the Palestinian toll past 1,000 in 17 months of fighting...

HAVANA -- Twenty-one Cubans remained holed up in the Mexican Embassy on Thursday after plowing through the gates with a stolen bus. Cuba's government blamed an exile-run U.S. government radio station for repeatedly quoting a Mexican official as saying the embassy's doors "are open."...

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Two American scientists lost in a mountainous park for a week were rescued by a Dominican search team and were recuperating Thursday from exhaustion, officials said. Patrick Martin and Olivia Duren got lost on Feb. 21 in Armando Bermudez National Park...

The AssociatedPress LAHORE, Pakistan -- The pro-Taliban leader of a top radical Islamic party was freed from jail Thursday after four months. After his release on the order of a Lahore court, Qazi Hussain Ahmad spoke with supporters and charged that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had given away Pakistan's military bases to the United States...

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican urged Roman Catholics to use the Internet to spread the faith while warning them about pitfalls such as online pornography in two documents released Thursday. The Holy See touted the Internet's potential and pointed out its problems, including "hate sites, the dissemination of rumor and character assassination under the guise of news."...

LONDON -- Police in the western English county where Prince Harry reportedly experimented with alcohol and marijuana said Thursday he would not face any police action. Wiltshire police said they had finished an inquiry into events at the Rattlebone Inn, where Harry, then 16, drank with friends...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Incensed that guards stripped a detainee of his turban during prayer, nearly two-thirds of the prisoners captured in the Afghan war refused lunch Thursday and chanted "God is great" in Arabic in their first mass protest since arriving at the base...

NEWARK, N.J. -- The son of Philadelphia's former mob boss pleaded guilty to bookmaking charges Thursday in a landmark case in which FBI agents tapped into his computer with a surveillance system that has national-security uses. Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., 36, relented after losing court battles to suppress the gambling records that the FBI secretly obtained from his computer through the "key-logger" system...

WAURIKA, Okla. -- The mother of a convicted killer who escaped last month from a Texas jail was arrested for allegedly sneaking hacksaw blades to her son and another inmate for a second escape, officials said. Officers took Cherese Smith, who is also known as Cherese Bagwell, into custody late Wednesday in Jefferson County in southern Oklahoma. The alleged escape plan was never carried out...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Thinking big, President Nixon raised the idea of using a nuclear bomb against North Vietnam in 1972, but Henry Kissinger quickly dismissed the notion. "I'd rather use the nuclear bomb," Nixon told Kissinger, his national security adviser, a few weeks before he ordered a major escalation of the Vietnam War...

LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors in the dog-mauling trial of a San Francisco couple said Thursday they will not bring the skull of one of the animals into court after the judge suggested it would be "ghoulish." The jury was sent out of the courtroom while the issue was argued. But before Judge James Warren could make a ruling, prosecutor Kimberly Guilfoyle-Newsom decided "on further consideration, we will not be introducing the skull of Bane."...

NEW YORK -- In a stunning turn in one of the nation's most shocking police brutality scandals, a federal appeals court Thursday threw out the convictions of three of the four white officers sent to prison in the torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Responding to the post-Sept. 11 burst of patriotism, state lawmakers around the country want to put the Pledge of Allegiance into more public schools. Half the states now require the pledge as part of the school day, and half a dozen more recommend it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This year, bills to make the oath mandatory have been brought up in Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado, Mississippi and Indiana...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- In a movement that gained momentum with the after-Sept. 11 surge in patriotism, several states have passed or are considering legislation to post the motto "In God We Trust" in schools. "With things that are facing us today, like terrorism, I think we need a pulling-together of this country," said Clay County School Superintendent David Owens, who is already putting up the motto in schools near Jacksonville without waiting for Florida to pass a law...

A Cape Girardeau man is facing charges of false imprisonment, domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon after he held his family hostage at gunpoint, police said. Cleties Allen Ford, 39, of 1825 Dumais Dr., held police at bay with a handgun late Wednesday, threatening to kill himself and others in the home, officers said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- With today's roster change on the Missouri Supreme Court, judges appointed by Democratic governors will hold the majority for the first time since the mid-1980s. The tilt has garnered much attention, but in light of Missouri's nonpartisan process for picking judges and the court's traditional lack of ideological division, it hasn't been considered particularly significant...

Possible meal cuts by state prompt elderly action By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian Joyce Kowal, 63, is in constant pain. She had back surgery a couple years ago and it gives her fits. She deals with diabetes and endures arthritis...

10 years ago: March 2, 1992 For 43 years, Vince Seyer has had his hands on nuts and bolts of Southeast Missouri State University; 62-year-old Seyer retired in December, but he's still going to work directing operations of physical plant under contract with university until new director can be hired, probably this spring...

Dr. Patty Jo Watson will be featured speaker at the 2002 Thomas Beckwith Archaeological Lecture, sponsored by the Southeast Missouri State University Museum and the university's Department of Sociology and Anthropology at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 3, in the University Center's Indian Room. An incorrect date was listed in the Missourian...

WYATT, Mo. -- Vera Jeff Brown, 90, of Wyatt died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. She was born July 3, 1911, in Tupelo, Miss., daughter of William and Leona Jones Houston. She and Wallace Brown were married Oct. 28, 1929. He died May 10, 1991...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Virginia Tanner, 82, formerly of Sikeston, died Friday, March 1, 2002, at Bertrand Retirement Center in Bertrand, Mo. She was born April 19, 1919, at Sikeston, daughter of Harrison William and Lila N. Holder Darter. She and Hurshel W. Tanner were married Sept. 21, 1937, in Sikeston. He died July 1, 1968...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Fred R. Brown, 90, of Bernie died Friday, March 1, 2002, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo. He was born Aug. 26, 1911, at Dexter, son of Charles B. and Carrie Blankenship Brown. He and Daisy Pyle were married July 26, 1994, at Dexter...

Ruth W. Morrison, 89, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, March 1, 2002, at South Point Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Louise Propst, 72, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 1, 2002, at Ratliff Care Center. McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

JACKSON, Mo. -- Hazel L. Duhaime, 82, of Jackson died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at Jackson Manor. She was born Aug. 30, 1919, at Neelys Landing, Mo., daughter of Edward and Mae A. Littleton Gohn. She and Arthur T. Duhaime were married in 1951. He died Jan. 26, 1986...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Phyllis Colley, 80, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002, at her home. She was born March 2, 1921, in Sanford, Maine, daughter of Harold Woodman and Iris Mace Treadwell. She and Leonard Colley were married June 27, 1944, in New York City...

BENTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Patrick Kendall "Pat" Conrad of Benton will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Unity Baptist Church. The Rev. Dennis Lowe will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton from 4-8 p.m. Sunday, and after 9 a.m. Monday at the church...

Ella Irma Hightower, 71, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born May 15, 1930, in Cape Girardeau to Coley and Effie Walker Squires. She married Charles Hightower, who preceded her in death in 1982...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Dessie White, 78, of Chaffee died Friday, March 1, 2002, at her home. She was born in Clarksville, Ark., the daughter of Marion and Isandria Gilliam Jones. She married William "Ed" White on June 21, 1941. He survivies. She was a homemaker and member of the General Baptist Church in Chaffee...

Norman Wesley McElreath, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. He was born July 3, 1917, at Whitewater, Mo., son of Gerald Clyde and Catherine Elizabeth Andrews McElreath. He and Marie E. Exler were married Nov. 20, 1945, in Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Gerald B. Bahr, 45, of Perryville died Friday, March 1, 2002, at Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital. He was born March 30, 1956, in Perryville, the son of Bernard E. and Rose Mary Manning Bahr. He was a carpenter. He is survived by four brothers, Joseph Bahr of Perryville, William Bahr of Cape Girardeau, Emil Bahr of St. ...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- William "Bill" Hull Sr., 72, of Wolf Lake died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at his home. He was born July 17, 1929, in Mitchell, Ill., son of William Henry and Alma Blanche Beacock Hull. He and Barbara Pearson were married July 17, 1984...

Norman Eugene Cook, 67, of Troy, Tenn., died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at his home. He was born Oct. 7, 1934, in Cape Girardeau, son of Melvin Clarence and Clara Mae Wilder Cook. He and Pat Hammonds were married March 17, 1990. Cook was a riverboat captain with Midland Enterprises...

BENTON, Mo. -- Hess Porter, 88, of Benton died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 25, 1913, in Morley, Mo., the son of W.C. Porter Sr. and Floy Elizabeth Randol Porter. He married Margaret Adams on Nov. 15, 1939, at Benton United Methodist Church in Benton...

Dorothy Seabaugh Knehans, 90, died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2002, at the Country Club Care Center in Warrensburg, Mo. She grew up in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. O.L. Seabaugh, and sister of Dr. William O.L. Seabaugh and Annabelle Watkins, all deceased...

Do as I say, not ... "ENOUGH ON George Bush," bellowed a Speak Out caller who then proceeded to give an extraordinarily lengthy pro-Bush propaganda spiel. Another plea bargain AMEN TO the Speak Out caller criticizing Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle for allowing a child molester to plead to reduced charges. ...

To the editor: Alan Journet has launched another environmentalist tirade. He proceeds as if there were unanimity in the scientific community on global warming; ignoring over a hundred climate scientists who signed the 1996 Leipzig Declaration, which stated "there does not exist today a general scientific consensus about the importance of greenhouse warming from rising levels of carbon dioxide." He further ignores the fact many scientists are pretty sure the earth was warmer 4,000 to 7,000 years ago than it is now. ...

To the editor: On behalf of the people of St. Louis, may I be first to extend our heartfelt thanks to the citizens of Cape Girardeau and their elected representatives for helping build a stadium for the Cardinals. Although the legislative process will certainly spread favors and consideration to every corner of this great state, most of the cash will be spent right here, enabling St. ...

CALGARY, Alberta -- With two of their top players injured, the St. Louis Blues might be stuck in this slump at least for another game. The Blues, already missing leading goal scorer Keith Tkachuk, lost center Doug Weight to a bruised right knee in Thursday night's 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. He will be out indefinitely with a ligament sprain and a sprained pelvis, the team said Friday...

Southeast Missouri State University's gymnasts won the battle but lost the war Friday night. The Otahkians captured two of the top three all-around positions and posted a team score of 192.85, but Ball State sizzled with a 194.375 to win the triangular meet in front of 425 fans at Houck Field House. Illinois State was third with 190.875...

With slightly more than a month until the Hope for America crusade comes to Cape Girardeau, "everything is falling together," said the Rev. David Griesemer, who is working to organize the event. The crusade, sponsored by the Horizon Foundation, includes the Rev. Jerry Falwell as keynote speaker, and well-known authors and pastors Tim LaHaye and John Hagee. Ed Hindson, an associate of Falwell's, also will speak...

During the years Jeanine Hager has been a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, she's done just about everything from teaching Sunday school to singing in the choir. The church has been a vital part of Hager's life for the past 45 years. It's the place she met her husband, Harold. It's also where she began a teaching career in a first-grade classroom at the school...

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS What: HOPE FOR AMERICA CRUSADE WHEN: April 8-12 Where: SHOW ME CENTER, CAPE GIRARDEAU WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday The Rev. Jerry Falwell will speak...

New class begins at Bethel Assembly church Bethel Assembly of God is beginning a new course on "Making Peace with Your Past." The course will be taught by a professional counselor and lasts for 12 weeks. It is open to the public. The course will discuss the dynamics of growing up in a family with emotionally-needy members and offer guidance to understanding problems. ...

Ruth Smith of Cape Girardeau submitted her favorite Scripture. The verse has particular meaning for her because she is a teacher. "There are so many wonderful teachers in Cape Girardeau who care for God's children every day. It is an awesome task."...

Today Gospel singing at 7 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church in Villa Ridge, Ill. The Sisters Four Gospel Quartet of Keyesport, Ill., and the Gloryroad Travelers of Mounds, lll., will perform. Sunday Celebration service at Second Missionary Baptist Church to honor the Rev. Wiley Reed on his seventh anniversary as pastor. Service is at 11 a.m., followed at noon by guest speaker, the Rev. J.R. Dowell and the choir of First Baptist Church of Mound City, Ill. Lunch will be served...

FRANKLINTON, La. Civil libertarians won a battle over public religious displays in this small Louisiana town. But residents feel they're victors, too. More than 1,000 signs proclaiming that "God Is Lord Over All" now dot lawns and store fronts around the town of 4,000...

It could have been a horrible year. On Wall Street, the bulls turned to bears in 2001. And then there were the evil acts of Sept. 11, when terrorists ripped our world apart. So, to an outsider, it might seem odd to even think about a Progress Edition...

Cape Girardeau's fire and police chiefs are about six months into their respective new jobs, but the progress in each department has been considerably different. Part of that certainly is police chief Steve Strong's 25 years of experience on the force, including more than one stint as interim chief. He already was doing the job when he formally was appointed in September...

During the last five years, Cape Girardeau native Richard Kinder has built a small energy empire out of the sleepy business of natural-gas pipelines and fuel terminals, creating some of the fastest-growing companies and hottest stocks in the oil patch...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, March 2 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 4:27 p.m., illegal burning at 1440 rear Spanish. At 5:17 p.m., illegal burning at 101 rear S. Ellis. At 5:45 p.m., a structure fire at 605 N. Main. At 8:39 p.m., a request for emergency medical services at 224 S. Ellis...

Cape Girardeau mayoral hopefuls Jay Knudtson and Melvin Gateley addressed business leaders at the Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee gathering at the Show Me Center. Knudtson, 39, and Gateley, 75, both survived the four-candidate primary on Feb. 5 and one of them will succeed Al Spradling III, who has reached his term limit...

In June the Heartland Writers Conference will bring together New York agents and editors, Midwestern publishers, and published and unpublished authors to talk about the business and art of writing. It will present basic information about plotting, characterization and the hard job of selling writing, but some workshops will be more specialized. A former sheriff will talk about processing crime scenes, and a former librarian will discuss her erotic fiction...

WASHINGTON -- A "shadow government" consisting of 75 or more senior officials has been living and working secretly outside Washington since Sept. 11 in case the nation's capital is crippled by terrorist attack. "This is serious business," President Bush said of plans to ensure the continuity of government...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Friday he is "not concerned at all" that the Energy Department is being forced to release some documents related to Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force -- work that the White House is fighting in court to keep secret...

WASHINGTON -- Some were mortified, others tickled, when a bare-chested statue of George Washington sat on Capitol Hill long ago, one arm outstretched, the other raised. People joked that he was lunging for his clothes, on display at the Patent Office several blocks away...

MIAMI -- Even with 25 mph gusts making the Blue Monster play two strokes harder, the Big Easy made it look like a breeze Friday in the Genuity Championship. Ernie Els saved par from thick rough behind the 18th green to polish off a 5-under 67 and take a two-stroke lead over Briny Baird going into the weekend, with Tiger Woods lurking four strokes back and in contention for the first time this year...

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Because Roy Williams once blew a 4-foot putt, No. 1 Kansas may be perfect in the Big 12 this year. While fans and media have been buzzing for weeks about the possibility the Jayhawks could go 16-0 and be the first Big 12 team to run the table, coaches and players have kept mum...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Eric Crouch's sweatshirt didn't look quite right Friday afternoon at the opening of the NFL scouting combine. His back was branded with this: RB 13. To Crouch, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from Nebraska, it's a strange label but one he doesn't seem to mind...

Like many of Baltimore's starters from last season, Elvis Grbac is no longer a Raven. But Jessie Armstead has a new team a day after being released by the Giants -- the Washington Redskins Friday was the first day of free agency in the NFL and there were more cuts than signings -- other than by Washington, which also signed wide receiver Redial Anthony from Tampa Bay...

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- While Barry Bonds was breaking Mark McGwire's home run record and Sammy Sosa was chasing him last year, Shawn Green quietly put together one of the best offensive seasons in the history of the Dodgers. But Green has found comfort in staying out of the spotlight...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Playing in the dirt right outside the New York Mets' dugout, Brittney and Caitlyn Roy acted as if they didn't have a care in the world. They were completely oblivious to Mo Vaughn, Mike Piazza and Rey Ordonez walking to the batting rack behind them before Friday's game...

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Grand American series driver Jeff Clinton was killed during practice Friday when his open-wheel, open-cockpit race car veered off course, flipped repeatedly and landed upside down. The 38-year-old St. Louis driver died at the scene, officials at Homestead-Miami Speedway said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For the second time in recent months, the state has double-issued a batch of child support checks and is trying to reclaim the money from custodial parents. The latest mistake occurred as the state was trying to route checks to people through the St. Louis circuit court clerk's office. A total of 133 checks, accounting for about $63,000, were errantly sent twice to recipients, state and local officials confirmed Friday...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- A man who said he bailed out of his pickup truck before a crash took his wife's life has been ordered tried on charges that he killed her and staged the accident. A Ste. Genevieve County judge ordered Jeffry Kimmel, 44, to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and tampering with evidence...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- An electrical crew worker from Iowa was electrocuted while repairing damage from the late January ice storm. Chad Miller, 27, of Winterset, Iowa, had accidental contact Thursday afternoon with a primary power line that carries about 13,800 volts of electricity, said Independence Power and Light director George Morrow...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A picture might be worth a thousand words, but if one Missouri lawmaker has his way, a picture might be worth $250 from the pockets of motorists who run red lights. Legislation pending in the Senate would let police install cameras that would snap pictures of vehicles that proceed through red lights. Fifteen other state already have similar laws...

LEBANON, Mo. -- While hundreds of anglers cast their lines to open Missouri's trout season Friday, the absence of one avid fisherman -- a state trooper killed in the line of duty -- was emotionally noted with honors from his young sons. Kaleb Poynter, 11, was to have accompanied his father, Trooper Kelly Poynter, for the boy's first season opening at Bennett Spring State Park near Lebanon. Kaleb's Christmas presents included his first fishing vest and hip waders...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Students walked out of a Kansas City high school in protest of the superintendent's decision to replace their popular principal. Kansas City schools superintendent Bernard Taylor Jr. said quick action was needed because the state deemed Southeast High School academically deficient last fall and gave it three years to turn around...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A study of improvements to Interstate 70 is entering its second phase -- a two-year, $16 million effort to gather more detailed information about widening the highway. Although no money is in sight for the proposed $3 billion project, Department of Transportation officials say it is important to keep studying the option...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A pediatrician who prosecutors said told police she had killed her children and wanted to be killed herself was ordered held without bond Friday in the death of one son and wounding of another. Dr. Ellen Feinberg, 43, was ordered held without bond in a state mental health facility Friday by Judge J.G. Townsend, who agreed with her defense attorney that the woman was unfit to stand trial...

OMAHA, Neb. -- More than 55,000 comments have been submitted on the six alternatives for managing the Missouri River system, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. The six-month comment period ended Thursday for the options presented for a new master manual to operate the six dams on the Missouri River. Development of the plan has involved nearly a decade of studies, workshops and hearings from Helena, Mont., to New Orleans, La...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Conservation Department Director Jerry Conley said Friday that he is retiring and will move back to Idaho to spend time with his grandchildren. Conley, 60, who will retire in July, had directed Missouri's agency since 1996 and previously was head of Kansas' conservation agency and Idaho's fish and game agency...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Members of a school board who intervened after a teacher gave failing grades for plagiarism are accused of violating the Kansas Open Meetings Law. Wyandotte County District Attorney Nick Tomasic filed a civil petition Thursday against all seven members of the Piper School Board, accusing each of five counts of violating the law by discussing the plagiarism incident behind closed doors...

The Associated PressJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Republican legislator and two former GOP candidates have returned political party campaign contributions that exceeded Missouri's limits in the 1998 elections. Rep. Mike Reid, R-Hazelwood, returned $7,100 to the Missouri Republican Party in February. David Broach of Jefferson County, who ran for state Senate, paid back $5,125, while Greta Forester of St. Louis, who ran for the House, returned $50...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A high school freshman's Web site has become a popular place for people to post their opinions since the Piper School Board's intervention in a plagiarism dispute drew national attention. That freshman, Ryan Wall, created his Web site ( http://www.geocities.com/phs66109/) for students a few months ago. It provides information about the school, including events, a schedule and the lunch menu...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Leona Sigwing is certain of one thing: Students in the Piper school district know what plagiarism is and that it's wrong. In December, Christine Pelton failed 28 of the 118 students in her sophomore botany classes after she determined they had plagiarized a semester project worth 50 percent of their grade. ...

KARACHI, Pakistan -- The suspected mastermind of the abduction and slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl could be handed over to the United States to stand trial, Pakistan's foreign secretary said Friday. Pakistan is considering the U.S. request to hand over Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who is currently in custody in Pakistan and under questioning for Pearl's murder, Inamul Haq, the No. 2 man in the Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Tokyo...

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters are regrouping in the mountains of eastern Paktia province and just over the border in Pakistan, urging the faithful to wage holy war against U.S. forces, Afghan officials say. U.S. officials and Afghan sources estimate 4,000 to 5,000 foreigners who fought for the Taliban and al-Qaida remain inside Afghanistan. Many of them are believed to be in Paktia and other provinces along the Pakistan border...

NATO forces search for war criminal CELEBICI, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- NATO trucks and helicopters rumbled into a rugged corner of Bosnia in search of Radovan Karadzic, but the world's No. 1 war crimes fugitive eluded capture again Friday in a manhunt that uncovered only more Bosnian Serb defiance...

TORKHAM, Pakistan -- Excited Afghans crowded the first U.N. convoys taking Afghanistan's 5 million refugees home Friday to a war-ruined land some have not seen in decades, some never. In cold and rain, refugees loaded everything from fans to bicycles to infants in their embroidered best -- for journeys over the Khyber Pass...

Calm conditions over Northeast, Northwest Mostly dry conditions and mostly clear skies dominated the eastern United States Friday, while rain and some thunderstorms hit lower Mississippi Valley states and widespread snow fell over much of the central Plains...

Bush coming to boost Talent campaign ST. LOUIS -- President Bush will visit St. Louis on March 18 to raise money for Republican Jim Talent, who is campaigning to unseat Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan. Talent announced the visit on Friday, saying: "I'm honored the president is taking the time to travel to Missouri to campaign with me."...

The family police said were held hostage Wednesday night are saying they didn't feel endangered until an officer fired a shotgun into their home. On Friday, Penny Ford told how she had asked her son's girlfriend to call police Wednesday because she was afraid her husband, Cleties, also known as Pete, was going to kill himself...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Although they opted to skip Tuesday's opening day crowds, three more incumbent state representatives from Southeast Missouri filed for re-election later in the week. A fourth incumbent who is being forced out of the General Assembly by term limits has opted to run for circuit court judge...

JACKSON, Mo. Between classes Patti Miinch quickly maneuvers her traveling teacher cart through the crowded halls at R. O. Hawkins Junior High School, trying not to bump into any students or get stuck in a corner. The daily ritual of toting her laptop computer, pens and pencils, 30 reading books for her students and other classroom supplies from one room to the next began two years ago when the school ran out of empty classrooms...

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- More than two months after he disappeared and was presumed dead, Walter Gibbs will finally be laid to rest. The body of the 74-year-old Alto Pass man was found Friday in Mississippi County, Mo. "I hope the family can have some peace of mind now," said chief deputy Keith Moore of the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department...

BOSTON -- Under pressure from prosecutors, the Archdiocese of Boston agreed Friday to turn over the names of people allegedly molested by priests and details of the incidents. The agreement -- reached in the middle of the biggest child-molestation scandal to rock the nation's Roman Catholic Church -- moves prosecutors a step closer to bringing criminal charges, in least in cases where the statute of limitations has not run out...

RENO, Nev.-- A federal agency withdrew its approval Friday for a clay mine proposed by the world's largest manufacturer of cat litter, but said the company could submit a revised plan. The Bureau of Land Management said the mine, planned for federal land north of Reno, is no longer feasible after Washoe County rejected a permit this week for an accompanying processing plant on neighboring private land...

EL CAJON, Calif. -- Laura Davis said she felt drawn to the quiet patch of shade under an oak tree where searchers this week found the body of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. "The memory of her soul compelled me to come down here and say a last goodbye," Davis said Friday, cradling her 7-month-old daughter and wiping away tears. "To actually see the place where her innocent sweetness was lying under a tree."...

Keys back to work after Grammy night After her big Grammy night, it was back to work for Alicia Keys. The soul singer spent Thursday evening performing for fans at the Wiltern Theatre, a night after winning five Grammy Awards, including song of the year for "Fallin'," and best new artist...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A pediatrician stabbed her 10-year-old son to death and wounded his younger brother, then called police to tell them what she had done, police said Friday. Dr. Ellen Feinberg, 43, was charged with murder and attempted murder. She appeared in court via video camera from a mental health facility, and a judge ordered her held without bail...

If you had kept your car covered with Ajax Insurance for 10 years, had no accidents and had made no claims but the insurance company steadily raised your rates, wouldn't you be upset? If Ajax agreed that your record was spotless but it had to assess against all policyholders because some of them, a minority, had extreme losses, wouldn't you be upset? You'd expect those responsible to pay for that cost...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Keith Haynes of Jackson celebrated their 50th anniversary with a dinner and reception Jan. 26, 2002, at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Guests attended from Maryland Heights, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Troy, Perryville, Advance, Millersville, Cape Girardeau and Jackson, Mo.; Anna and Cobden, Ill.; and Morganfield, Ky...

Susan Clarke and Dr. Paul Clarke of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Lesley Anne Clarke, to Porya Mansorian Fard. He is the son of Mohammad and Afsar Mansorian Fard of Hamburg, Germany. Clarke is a 1997 graduate of Central High School. She expects to receive degrees in finance and information systems from St. Louis University this spring. She is a data analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis...

Max and Charlotte Sue Jauch of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Jayne Marie Jauch, to Richard Forrest Hollensbe. He is the son of Joseph and Margaret Hollensbe of St. Ann, Mo. Jauch is a 1992 graduate of Central High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in English education from Southeast Missouri State University in 1996. She is employed by Jackson R-2 School District...

JACKSON, Mo. -- John and Sarah Ryan of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Stacie Dawn Ryan, to Jason Todd Coleman. He is the son of Donnie and Linda Whitmore of Cape Girardeau. Ryan attended Jackson High School and Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She is a registered nurse at Southeast Hospital...

Charlie Slinkard of St. Charles, Mo., and Karla B. Ragge of Van Buren, Ark., announce the engagement of their daughter, Stephanie J. Slinkard, to Edward A. McGee, both of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Daisy McGee of Cape Girardeau, and the late Claud McGee. Slinkard is also the daughter of the late E.K. "Ken" Ragge...

Thomas and Jeanette Hartlieb of St. Louis announce the engagement of their daughter, Julie Hartlieb, to Michael Sneller, both of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Donald and Melody Sneller of Pella, Iowa. Hartlieb is a 1999 graduate of Mehlville High School, and is pursuing a degree in elementary education at Southeast Missouri State University...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Cynthia Meadows of St. Louis and Bill Petitt of Scott City announce the engagement of their daughter, Dana Elizabeth Petitt, to Timothy Scott Lowery, both of Scott City. He is the son of Michael Lowery of Scott City. Petitt received a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University in 2001. She is employed by Jackson R-2 School District...

APPLE CREEK, Mo. -- Lawrence and Shirley Buchheit of Apple Creek announce the engagement of their daughter, Tonya Lynn Buchheit of Pocahontas, Mo., to Philip Eric Schwartz of Scott City, Mo. He is the son of John and Neisha Schwartz of Thebes, Ill. Buchheit is a 1989 graduate of St. Vincent's High School in Perryville, and 1993 graduate of Maryville University in St. Louis. She is a physical therapist at St. Francis Medical Center...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Mary Ferrenburg of Morley and Cloyce and Dorothy Leigh Poore of New Madrid, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Leslie Poore Walton, to David Bradley Kenedy. He is the son of Jannie and Ron Davis of Sikeston, Mo., and David and Gwen Kenedy of East Prairie, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Stephanie Beth Krauss and Craig Michael Brown were married July 7, 2001, at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The Rev. Matthew T. Marks performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Allyn Steffens. Soloist was Spencer Prevallet, cousin of the bride...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Sara Elizabeth Whistler and Corey Lee Alexander were married Sept. 1, 2001, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. The Rev. Ralph Duffner performed the double ring ceremony. Scripture readers were Michelle Whistler and Angela Schaefer. Music was provided by Trio Girardeaux. Soloist was Neal Boyd of Sikeston, Mo...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Julie Ann Stroup and Adam Ray Esterline were married Oct. 6, 2001, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. The Rev. Ralph Duffner performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Emily Siebert of Chaffee, cousin of the bride. Parents of the bride are Jerry and Carol Stroup of Chaffee. The groom is the son of Rhonda Lowery of Dexter, Mo., and Ray Esterline of Dixon, Mo...

ST. MARY, Mo. -- Shannon Breig and Randy Clifton exchanged vows Oct. 20, 2001, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. The Rev. Richard Kasznel performed the double ring ceremony. Eucharistic ministers were Don and Martha Schwent. The offertory was presented by Buddy and Carol Breig and Art and Carol Miserocchi...

Robin Canoy and Jack Page were married Feb. 14, 2002. The Rev. Ray Greenlee of Advance, Mo., brother of the groom, performed the ceremony. Musician and soloist was Elizabeth Greenley. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry L. Canoy of Sturdivant, Mo. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Coy Vickery of Pensacola, Fla...

Andrea Lorraine Craig and Mark Josef Hornback were married Oct. 13, 2001, at First General Baptist Church in Jackson, Mo. Mike Huffman performed the double ring ceremony. Pianist was Betty Fadler of Patton, Mo., and soloist was Lori Siebert of Cape Girardeau...

Trinity Lutheran Church was the setting Dec. 8, 2001, for the wedding of Brandy Lynn Haman and Jarrod Scott Thomas. The Rev. Douglas C. Breite performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Madelyn Rasche, flutist was Beth Stevens, and soloist was Megan Edmonds...

The reasons have been well-documented, but any way you slice it, Southeast Missouri State University had a disastrous men's basketball season this year. Now the daunting challenge for coach Gary Garner and his staff is to climb out of the hole left by a 6-22 record. It certainly won't be easy, but it definitely can be done...

KENNETT, Mo. -- Some elected officials believe the way to conduct official state business is through enhancement of their own careers, and too often Missourians are treated to nothing more than a replay of the theater of professional wrestling. Others who have sought office believe the best method of advancing citizens' concerns over mind-numbing governmental mediocrity is to become as separated from it as possible, showing up only to collect their salaries and expense-voucher requests...

The Big Dipper is climbing higher in the northeast sky while the mighty winter constellation Orion and his familiar cohorts begin their western plunge. Once again we enter a phase where we are looking out of the plane of our galaxy and so have lesser stars and constellations to look at for a while. But since sunset occurs later and later, it seems the next cycle of stars spring up from the eastern horizon faster and faster. Leo the lion, in particular, appears to lunge westward...

The temptation for cyber cheating is just a click away at college campuses nationwide for students with Internet access who would rather download term papers and essays for a fee than write their own. But Southeast Missouri State University educators and students say it isn't a big problem at the Cape Girardeau school. Few students cheat online, they say...

10 years ago: March 3, 1992 Storey's Food Giant began task of moving out of its facility at 201 S. Broadview Monday; Joel Kaye, Storey's district manager at Sikeston, says store closed permanently because of "a breach of contract" by owners of Cape Centre, shopping development in which store is located...

Ashworth Daughter to the Rev. Tony and Marla Ashworth of St. Robert, Mo., Phelps County Medical Center at Rolla, Mo., 8:11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002. Name, Gabrielle Elizabeth. Weight, 8 pounds 14 1/2 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Ashworth is the daughter of Charles and Loretta Ditto of Chaffee, Mo. Ashworth is the son of Ann Willis of Miller City, Ill. He is pastor of First Assembly of God Church in St. Robert...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Carl F. "Jim" Westbrook, 87, of Jonesboro died Friday, March 1, 2002, at the Jonesboro Health Care Center. He was born April 7, 1914, in Union County, son of Francis and Cora Ann Lowery Westbrook. He and Ruby Mae Benson were married Jan. 18, 1935. She died April 2, 1999...

Fred Fritzinger, 74, of Kirksville, Mo., and formerly of Anna, Ill., died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at Northeast Regional Medical Center in Kirksville. He was born Oct. 6, 1927, at Anna, son of Fred and Vernetta Medlin Fritzinger. He was a member of the First Methodist Church in Anna and the Methodist Men's Club. ...

FORISTELL, Mo. -- Dorothy C. Scott, 90, of Foristell, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, March 1, 2002, at Cross Roads Regional Hospital in Wentzville, Mo. She was born April 26, 1911, in Springfield, Mo., daughter of William Edward and Grace Williams Crone...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Andrew John Enderle, 88, of Chaffee died Friday, March 1, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 9, 1913, in Chaffee, son of Peter and Katie Gosche Enderle. He and Christine Backfisch were married Aug. 13, 1938. She died Aug. 21, 1999...

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- Walter I. Gibbs, 74, of Alto Pass, missing since Dec. 11, 2001, was pronounced dead Friday, March 1, 2002, in Mississippi County near Charleston, Mo. He was born Jan. 31, 1928, in Jonesboro, son of Arthur E. and Fannie Day Gibbs. He and Linda Bradley were married Nov. 29, 1968, in Granite City, Ill. She survives...

ANNA, Ill. -- Irene Bailey, 87, of Anna died Friday, March 1, 2002, at the Sarah Busch Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon, Ill. She was born Dec. 14, 1914, in Pope County, Illinois, daughter of John Ross and Elizabeth King Conley. She and Harry Bailey were married Dec. 28, 1932, in Eddyville, Ill. He died April 4, 1992...

James Randy Black, 76, of Granite City, Ill., died Friday, March 1, 2002, at a daughter's residence in Charleston, Mo. He was born Aug. 8, 1925, in Bear Springs, Tenn., son of Homer and Edna Watts Black. He and Mildred Geraldine Jones were married Oct. 29, 1949. She died March 27, 1993...

Norman Wesley McElreath, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. He was born July 3, 1917, at Whitewater, Mo., son of Gerald Clyde and Catherine Elizabeth Andrews McElreath. He and Marie E. Exler were married Nov. 20, 1945, in Cape Girardeau...

Sarah Kathleen "Dickie" Wachter, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 1, 2002, at Heartland Care and Rehabilitation. She was born Oct. 3, 1914, in Gravel Mill, Mo., the daughter of Grover Daniel and Cornellia Elizabeth Lessley Slinkard. On Jan. 19, 1935, in Cape Girardeau, she was married to R.M. "Mutt" Wachter. He died Jan. 31, 2001...

Florence "Louise" Propst, age 72, passed away Friday, March 1, 2002, at the Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call today between 4 and 8 p.m. at the McCombs Funeral Home in Cape. Funeral service will be Monday, March 4, at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by interment in Snyder Cemetery near Millersville. Dr. Derek Staples will officiate...

Blasphemy and pride HOW CAN someone try to make a point regarding being a Christian and a member of a particular political party, then in the same breath say that someone who is a member of the opposite party isn't a Christian just because his political ideas don't mesh? Who are they to judge? Only God knows my heart, and only God knows the hearts of everyone else, so we don't have the authority to say whether or not someone else is a Christian, unless you think you're on the same level as God. ...

The Cape Challengers won a gold medal in the Show-Me State Games youth basketball tournament Feb. 22-24 in Columbia, Mo. More than 120 teams competed in the tournament that features teams in grades 4-6. Teams in the tournament could compete in one of two divisions. The recreational division required no pressing and no zone defense. The competitive division played by state high school rules...

Items ranging from an autographed picture of Bozo the Clown to Southeast Missouri State University football and basketball season tickets were up for grabs at the 25th annual Craftsman Union Capahas benefit auction. More than 50 friends, fans and bargain hunters turned out at the Osage Community Centre to show their support for the amateur baseball team's fundraiser Saturday...

FanSpeak comments should be attributed To the editor: I agree with coach Burk (Letters, Feb. 24) that some of the recent comments in the FanSpeak column have been offensive. Personal attacks from an anonymous source should not be published. Yet, a fair and lively debate about the local sports scene could be informative as well as entertaining...

Richardson helped make race irrelevant In one of his farewell addresses, Nolan Richardson told a gathering of assembled media, "I see no one [who] looks like me." He was speaking of race, as Richardson often does when he's angry. But what was it another man famously said? That he looked forward to the day when he was judged not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character? What Richardson failed to grasp was that he'd lived to see that day...

Who will it benefit? AFTER READING about the contract with the Cardinals, it is clear that the owners have a sweetheart deal. They only pay 4 percent while the taxpayers pay 96 percent. But if passed by the legislators, Holden and Kinder will get their luxury seats and campaign money from the rich owners. I wonder how many low income workers they will share their seats with?...

Members of the Southeast roller hockey team are, from left, Joe Gissy, Ben Stienburger, Matt Stravalli, Derek Donjon, James Riggle, Mike Assinger, Mike Studt, Jake Senart and Ryan Wargel. The team finished its season third in the Great Plains Region of the Collegiate Roller Hockey League.By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian...

The Notre Dame Regional High School gymnasium isn't just for basketball anymore. When spring practices began Monday and spring weather didn't, the facility became a true multi-purpose building. A cold snap has left many teams turning inward, but the Notre Dame gymnasium has been more congested than most...

One look at the trophy in the lobby at St. Charles Community College and James Riggle was sold. "They told me it was for their roller hockey team," said Riggle, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University. "Then they mentioned they'd played Southeast, and I was looking for a school to go to anyway. That helped me make up my mind."...

Bad weather across the state Saturday led to the postponement of several basketball games involving Southeast Missouri high school teams. Among the games called off was the Class 3A boys' game at Farmington, where two-time defending state champion New Madrid County Central was to play St. Francis Borgia for the third straight year in the quarterfinal round. That game will be at 8:15 p.m. Monday. Fredericktown and DeSoto will play in the girls' game at 6:30 Monday...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Competing against round-the-clock chatter on the nation's airwaves, the AgriTalk radio show reaches listeners in unusual places -- such as the cab of Jason Shellabarger's tractor in an Audrain County field. "When I'm out working, I tune in AgriTalk over KRES radio in Moberly because I want to stay on top of what's happening in agriculture and get an honest presentation, pro and con," says Shellabarger, a sophomore in agricultural journalism at the University of Missouri at Columbia.. ...

If you long for the past, or want to build a future, the house at 1909 Marietta in Cape Girardeau could be the house for you. This house has the interesting ability to take you back to the past. It has been owned by an apparently neat and meticulous couple who carefully kept the house's 1970s roots intact...

No one knows for sure how the politics of state government will be affected when Missouri's legislative term limits take full effect this year. November's elections will see dozens of new faces vying for House and Senate seats being vacated by seasoned officeholders...

While presidential election years attract a lot of attention and generally spark higher voter turnouts, this year's balloting for county, state and federal officials is just as important. In addition, this year's election will have more candidates likely to be known to voters simply because they are our friends and neighbors...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, March 3 Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:At 6:19 p.m., an alarm sounding at 1112 Linden. At 6:57 p.m., an emergency medical service at 1098 Linden. Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday:At 4:02 a.m., a smoke detector sounding at 8 Village Drive...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, March 3 ArrestsA 14-year-old male was cited into juvenile court Friday for assault. Jason Miller, 21, of 1 North Sunset, was arrested Friday for failure to appear. Linda Miller, 17, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., was arrested Saturday for failure to appear...

Doctors can send dozens of X-rays to nearby hospitals. Producers can transport videos the day they're due rather than ship them overnight. Large real estate companies can make hundreds -- or thousands -- of pictures available for would-be home buyers to peruse at their leisure...

WASHINGTON -- A Tomcat fighter jet crashed Saturday during a training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, killing one of the two crew members, the Navy said. The F-14 went into the water immediately after launch from the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier, which is on its way to deployment in the war in Afghanistan, said the statement from the U.S. Sixth Fleet, based in Gaeta, Italy...

WASHINGTON -- Despite miles of new concrete barriers, towering walls, bomb-residue tests, metal detectors, gas masks and tight restrictions on diplomats' travel, a recent tunnel found near the U.S. Embassy in Rome makes clear that America's overseas missions remain strikingly vulnerable...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. authorities have been taking samples from suspected terrorists captured in Afghanistan that could produce DNA profiles, but it remains unclear what use they will be able to make of the material. Including an analysis of the samples in a federal DNA database apparently would require congressional approval because of existing limits on what can be placed in the database...

WASHINGTON -- A former CIA case officer who is black contends in a lawsuit against the agency that his supervisors discriminated against him for much of his career. Jeffrey Sterling, the first black case officer to file such a suit, claims his managers threw up hurdles that prevented him from succeeding...

WASHINGTON -- Less than a year ago, federal judges Charles Pickering of Mississippi and D. Brooks Smith of Pennsylvania looked like shoo-ins for elevation to the U.S. Court of Appeals. No longer. Today, Smith's nomination to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia is in trouble and Pickering's nomination for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans could be all but dead in the Democratic-controlled Senate...

WASHINGTON -- A fake meat that is made from fungus, but looks and tastes like chicken has arrived in U.S. supermarkets. In Europe, the meat substitute rivals soyburgers and similar products in popularity. Known as mycoprotein, it is marketed under the trade name Quorn (pronounced kworn) and made into a variety of products, including chicken-like nuggets, lasagna and fettuccine Alfredo -- even an alternative to ground beef, called "grounds."...

WASHINGTON -- In President Nixon's Oval Office, Rev. Billy Graham didn't mince words in describing his feelings about Jewish people and the media: "This stranglehold has got to be broken or this country's going down the drain." On Friday, the 83-year-old evangelist apologized for his words spoken 30 years ago and captured on an audio tape. The conversation was among 500 hours of Nixon tapes released this week by the National Archives. Most were recorded between January and June 1972...

BENSON, Ariz. -- For those amazed by the beauty of what they've seen already at Kartchner Caverns, said by some to rival that of New Mexico's much larger Carlsbad Caverns, the best is yet to come. Crystalline formations etched by dripping water for 200,000 years have awed almost a half-million visitors going through the caverns' upper complex, the Throne and Rotunda rooms, for more than two years...

TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. -- For 10-year-old Lucas Fulbright and his pals, the trivia about making the turkey a national symbol was a real knee-slapper. Along with two busloads of other fourth graders, the boys had just taken part in the annual "eagle tours" at Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee near the Missouri and Kentucky borders...

HERSHEY, Pa. -- Wilt Chamberlain had some time to waste before the Philadelphia Warriors played the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, so he went to the arcade in the Hershey Sports Arena. Ken Berman, the Warriors' shot-clock operator was already there, playing one of the rifle games, when Chamberlain tapped on his shoulder...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Howard Battle hit a two-run double in the eighth inning Saturday to give Frank Robinson his second win as the Montreal Expos' manager, a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. With the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Battle's drive off Les Walrond bounced over the center-field fence to make it 4-2...

From staff, wire reports It's beginning to look like March Madness. Murray State, Florida Atlantic and Winthrop were among the men's basketball teams that secured bids to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, eight days before the tournament's selection committee announces first-round pairings...

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Unlike some high-profile players in recent years, former Fresno State quarterback David Carr -- expected to be the Houston Texans' first pick in the NFL draft -- plans to participate in drills during the NFL scouting combine. "I've had some people tell me that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to go through all the workouts here. But I can't do that. I can't be around a football field without wanting to get out there and play," Carr said Saturday...

Five years ago, the major professional, amateur and scholastic sports organizations in America formed the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance, a concentrated effort to promote civility and sportsmanship. Ray Warren, CEO and president of Raycom Sports and newly elected chairman of the Alliance's corporate advisory board, would like to report progress. Unfortunately, he can't...

P After his first two races, Stewart is losing ground to the Winston Cup points leaders. LAS VEGAS -- As unlikely as it is to consider the third race of a very long season as crucial, the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 might be just that for Tony Stewart if he hopes to be a title contender...

Nomar Garciaparra made an emphatic return from his injured wrist. Jeff Kent broke a bone in his. Kent injured himself while washing his truck and will miss 4-6 weeks. Kent, the 2000 NL MVP, revealed the injury to Giants trainer Stan Conte on Saturday after swelling and soreness set in overnight...

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Adrian Beltre is a happy man these days, as evidenced by his ever-present smile. Considering the condition the Los Angeles Dodgers' third baseman found himself in at this time a year ago, it's understandable. "I wake up every day happy," said Beltre, who missed the first 36 games last season because of complications following an emergency appendectomy. "It was a nightmare, all I went through last year...

LOS ANGELES -- There's rarely a dull moment with Shaq, Kobe & Crew, who have a knack for creating excitement when the regular season grind grows tedious. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, now best buddies, feuded last season. Then there was Shaq miffed at coach Phil Jackson for a time, Jackson taking some subtle potshots at O'Neal, then O'Neal taking a roundhouse shot at then-Chicago Bulls center Brad Miller about 1 1/2 months ago...

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Sen. Jean Carnahan revisited an old theme for the Democratic Party on Saturday night, telling a gathering of party faithful that they must be the friend of the common man. "Our challenge as public servants and as a party is to reconnect with those working Americans, those middle Americans who feel like no one is standing up for them," Carnahan said at the annual Democrat Days gathering for the state party in Hannibal...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- At the Independence home of Harry and Bess Truman, Vietta Garr prepared dinner and served it. Over decades of such service at the Truman home and the White House, however, she would do much more. She would help raise Margaret, the Trumans' daughter. She also would be a companion to Madge Gates Wallace, the president's mother-in-law. That was important because Wallace in the 1940s agreed to move to the White House if Garr went, too...

WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. -- A state administrative panel has found that a former police officer from this St. Louis suburb committed gross misconduct for participating in nude hot-tub parties involving three fellow officers and two teen-age girls. The Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission in Jefferson City ruled Friday against Paul Ponder. Ponder, 43, now faces a hearing meant to determine whether he permanently surrenders his police officer's certification, KSDK-TV of St. Louis has reported...

PEORIA, Ill. -- The Parkway Tavern on Farmington Road is not a point of interest for most out-of-town visitors, but it is for author Taylor Pensoneau of New Berlin. "Right there is where an assassin hiding in the underbrush shot Bernie Shelton as he was about to get into his car in July of 1948," said Pensoneau, standing in the bar's parking lot and pointing to a spot on the asphalt...

CASSVILLE, Mo. -- Three Missourians died in a traffic accident in Barry County when one vehicle hit another head-on, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. The accident happened about 1 p.m. Friday on Missouri 37 about four miles north of Cassville, the patrol said. The vehicle driven by 16-year-old Erik Boman of Pierce City crossed the center line and struck the car driven by Edith Pollick of Cassville, the patrol said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Staff for state utility regulators said calculations show that AmerenUE earned up to $285 million more than it should have, tens of millions of dollars more than first suggested. Using a base year ending last June 30 at the St. Louis-based utility's request, the Missouri Public Service Commission staff said Friday the company serving much of eastern Missouri had earned between $246 million and $285 million more than it should have...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis Fire Department paramedic convicted of fondling two women, including an ambulance patient, has been sentenced to six years behind bars. In sentencing Joseph Greco, 29, on Friday, St. Louis Circuit Judge Robert H. Dierker Jr. said he would review the case after 90 days to see whether Greco could be eligible for parole...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Delia Chelston believes diluted chemotherapy drugs from Robert R. Courtney's pharmacy hurt her chances of recovering from ovarian cancer. Courtney has agreed that much of his wealth should compensate victims like Chelston. But she doesn't expect much, not after his more than $8 million is divided between hundreds of potential victims...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- When it comes to struggling with lead pollution in Missouri, good news is rare. The state's ranking as the nation's top lead producer has left scars in places like Herculaneum and the "Old Lead Belt." So it was a welcome sight when state health officials smiled at a recent announcement in Southwest Missouri's Jasper County, which along with the corners of northeast Oklahoma and southeast Kansas once formed the lead-mining capital of the world...

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- After a seven-year hiatus, artist Lowell Davis is painting once again. He's also dotting the Southwest Missouri area near Carthage with signs that carry his trademark flair. They hawk everything from restaurants to dentists' offices, but to call them signs hardly does them justice...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- As far as neighbors were concerned, Dr. Ellen Feinberg was an exemplary mother, the wife of a surgeon who gave up her own medical practice to spend time with her two sons. So when police invaded their upscale neighborhood and Feinberg was accused of stabbing her eldest to death and wounding her youngest, they had no explanation...

CHICAGO -- U.S. military personnel have been exposed to the toxic metal beryllium at dozens of military bases and the government has failed to follow its own guidelines in testing for the substance, according to a published report. The Chicago Tribune reports in its Sunday editions that the Department of Defense has failed to follow federal health guidelines by not providing blood tests to determine if workers have been harmed...

ENERGY, Ill. -- Denise Cripps said she knew she wanted to be an artist ever since she was a little girl. "My father, who died of cancer when I was in the second grade, was an artist," Cripps said. "I grew up having access to art supplies and believe I have kept a part of him with me every day through my work."...

ST. LOUIS -- The Archdiocese of St. Louis has removed a second priest over an allegation of past child sexual abuse, citing a tougher local standard imposed after revelations the Boston diocese failed to remove 80 priests accused of sexually molesting children...

CHESTERVILLE, Ill. -- A pre-owned Amish buggy lot offers free test drives, but the only stumbling block is that interested buyers have to provide their own horsepower. Currently, six buggies are lined up near Illinois Route 133, which meanders through this quiet town of about 68 people, many of them Amish. The row of buggies resembles a car dealership where people can wander around viewing the models...

TIPTONVILLE, Tenn. -- Dale Calhoun shapes and bends the long cypress planks the same way his family has done for four generations. Sanded and planed to blueprints that exist only in his head, the planks will form the hull of a genuine "stumpjumper," a small sporting boat as unique to northwest Tennessee as a pirogue is to south Louisiana...

THE DALLES, Ore. Much as Lewis and Clark were obsessed with reaching the Pacific two centuries ago, Ken Karsmizki has an obsession of his own: To find and preserve as many of their campsites as possible. He has identified one major campsite, the Lower Portage, near Great Falls, Mont., and is on the trail of others...

Book leads man on quest to retrace route of Lewis and Clark By Melissa Merli ~ The Champaign News-Gazette HEYWORTH, Ill. Six years ago, artist Ken Holder's wife gave him a copy of Stephen Ambrose's book, "Undaunted Courage," about the historic Lewis and Clark expedition of 200 years ago. As he read it, Holder became captivated...

GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- In the biggest U.S.-led ground operation this year, U.S. and Afghan troops backed by U.S. jets Saturday attacked Taliban and al-Qaida forces regrouping in eastern Afghanistan. One American was killed and a number were injured, the Pentagon said...

MADRID, Spain -- The priest in a tiny farming village near the Portuguese border surfed the Web and found love in South America. Now his flock is passing around the collection plate so he can bring the woman to Spain. Revelations of the Rev. Alfonso Vegas Ramajo's yearlong Internet love affair come during a troubling time for the Roman Catholic church in deeply religious Spain...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- About 75 captives of the war on terrorism held to a hunger strike for a fourth day Saturday in a protest rooted in uncertainty over their indefinite detention and their fate, a U.S. military commander said. Six detainees have been given liquids with an intravenous drip, one against his wishes, officials said...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- When Starbucks opened coffee shops in this conservative, Muslim kingdom where women go out covered from head to toe, it removed the trademark siren from its logo, keeping only her crown. The customization of the logo -- which in the original depicts a crowned, stylized woman with long hair covering her breasts -- could stand as a symbol for the complex relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States...

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Police said they killed seven men who opened fire at a patrol near the capital Saturday and described them as foreigners -- probably Pakistanis -- suspected of planning terrorist attacks on Western embassies and Macedonian officials...

TBILISI, Georgia -- A vacation paradise in communist times, Georgia has spent much of its post-Soviet life in hell. Separatists in two regions defeated the army, leaving the areas essentially independent. A coup laid waste to the capital. And police failure to stem banditry in the Pankisi Gorge has purportedly made that area a terrorist haven, raising alarm from Washington to Moscow...

LONDON -- Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, who both were criticized for their behavior as private sector executives, announced Saturday they will quit their jobs to spend more time fulfilling their royal responsibilities, including Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations...

JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated a powerful explosive Saturday in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 30. The attack targeted worshippers pouring into streets following sundown prayers at the end of the Jewish Sabbath...

ROME -- Tens of thousands of opposition supporters -- some sporting Pinocchio noses to mock conservative Premier Silvio Berlusconi -- marched through central Rome on Saturday to denounce the government and assert the unity of the center-left. More than 100,000 demonstrators came from around the nation...

AHMADABAD, India -- Mob burnings, shootings and other violence between Hindus and Muslims spread through villages in India's Gujarat state Saturday even as soldiers enforced a fearful peace in larger cities. The death toll in India's worst religious strife in a decade stood at 415 after police said Hindus stormed the village of Sardarpura and set houses and shops ablaze by lighting fires near cooking gas containers. Twenty-seven Muslims died, police officials said...

LONDON -- Two prominent Britons received packages believed similar to parcels containing dangerous chemicals disguised as aromatherapy samples that were mailed to Prime Minister Tony Blair's home and a Scottish lawmaker's assistant, police said Saturday...

HANOI, Vietnam -- Researchers at the first U.S.-Vietnamese conference on Agent Orange, a defoliant used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, said they will report "extraordinarily" high levels of cancer-causing dioxin in people living in heavily sprayed areas...

HAVANA -- A playful Fidel Castro entertained hundreds of foreign cigar aficionados at a black-tie dinner and auction, joking with his guests and modeling a popular Cuban musician's little white sombrero before it was sold to the highest bidder. "I'm not going to give a speech -- which is lucky for you!" Castro told the 600 guests, including some 60 Americans, who traveled to Cuba for the annual Habanos Festival celebrating the communist island's tobacco. ...

At least since the film "Mad Max," the post-apocalyptic world has had a strange appeal. Now comes Showtime's new series "Jeremiah: The Long Road," with its version of the world after the Big Death, a mysterious pandemic that claimed the lives of everyone above the age of puberty. The show is a visual treat with an intriguing tale. Co-starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner, it premieres Sunday at 7 p.m...

LOS ANGELES -- Saddle up the donkey, Sancho, and sharpen the pencils. We're going tilting at TV windmills. ABC's "Once and Again," one of television's best and most distinctive series, is in mortal danger and we are compelled to try to rescue it...

AUSTIN, Texas -- A retired Texas oilman has pledged his estate -- worth an estimated $150 million -- to the University of Texas, which school officials said was the largest gift ever made to a single public university. The donation by John "Jack" Jackson, who graduated from UT in 1940, is a testament to the role the school played in his life, university president Larry Faulkner said in announcing the gift on Saturday...

DENVER -- A mother whose son scored 298 on an IQ test at age 6 now admits she rigged the results and falsified other records that helped him gain renown as a boy genius. Elizabeth Chapman, 29, hospitalized her son Justin in November after what she feared was a suicide attempt. She said she decided to tell the truth because her lies were hurting the boy, who is now 8, and that she wants to be reunited with him...

ARLINGTON, Va. -- "ZIP!" The Bulgarian actress, her manicured nails painted a deep red, points to the fourth-grader with the long pony tail. "Woodrow Wilson," the girl responds, looking at a picture held by her neighbor. "ZAP!" The actress moves to the next student. "William Henry Harrison."...

At least 82 death row inmates are seeking reprieves in states that recently banned executing the mentally retarded, an inkling of the hundreds that would likely challenge their sentences if the U.S. Supreme Court finds such executions are unconstitutional...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA gave the shuttle Columbia astronauts permission Saturday to proceed with their full mission to renovate the Hubble Space Telescope despite clogged plumbing in their ship. Optimism had been growing throughout the day, aboard Columbia and inside Mission Control, that the 11-day Hubble servicing mission would remain on track despite a problem with a radiator line used to shed heat from shuttle electronics. The trouble had threatened to cut short the flight...

A huge storm spread snow and ice across the middle of the nation on Saturday, canceling or delaying some flights at Dallas and Chicago and sending cars sliding into ditches and each other. Up to 2 feet of snow was possible by this morning on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the National Weather Service said. Amounts by midday Saturday ranged from 1 to 2 inches in Texas to 4 to 8 inches in Oklahoma and 8 1/2 at Grand Rapids, Mich...

FORT MILL, S.C. -- Travelers driving into South Carolina Saturday were met by protesters waving bright yellow signs telling them to take their money elsewhere as the battle over the Confederate battle flag hit the state's borders. The NAACP launched a boycott of South Carolina two years ago over a Confederate flag that had flown atop the Statehouse for 38 years...

Drought has engulfed nearly a third of the United States, threatening to confront some places this summer with what experts say could be their worst water shortages in years. "This is a sleeping giant," says climatologist Mark Svoboda, at the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb. "The impact is still to come."...

The Associated Press FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- An Alaska man accused of blasting a gunshot hole in the trans-Alaska pipeline, causing a leak that gushed 285,000 gallons of crude oil, was convicted of a federal weapons charge. Daniel Carson Lewis, 37, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conviction Friday of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sentencing was set for May 6...

LOS ANGELES -- Shirley Jones, the Oscar-winning actress and former matriarch of "The Partridge Family" television show, has filed for divorce from her husband of 25 years, comedian Marty Ingels. Jones cited irreconcilable differences in her petition, according to court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court...

PITTSBURGH -- Call it the "Little Bo Peep" ploy. A dairy farmer has admitted he tried to hide his assets, including 200 head of cattle, from creditors and federal agents by claiming he couldn't find them. Vern E. Over has pleaded guilty to concealment of assets and bankruptcy fraud for selling livestock and equipment from his Clarion County dairy farm and then telling a bankruptcy trustee and FBI agents he didn't know where they went, according to court documents...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After losing a lawsuit challenging the attorney general's hiring of outside counsel to represent the state in suing tobacco companies, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder is pushing legislation to put controls on the retention of private lawyers by state agencies...

It's been little more than a week since the firm where Larry Young works switched from its dial-up Internet service to a broadband provider, but the Cape Girardeau certified public accountant is already a convert. "It's a phenomenal difference," said Young, whose office recently got broadband Internet access known as DSL, or digital subscriber line...

Motorists in a four-state area doubled their displeasure when it comes to their opinions of highway conditions, according to a poll conducted by the American Automobile Association. AAA members from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Indiana responded to the poll, which showed that 24 percent of motorists rated highway conditions in the region as poor. That's up 13 percent from an identical poll that was conducted two years ago, said Mike Wright, vice president of public affairs for AAA...

"On your mark. Set. Blow!" Each heat of Saturday morning's Rain Gutter Regatta began with those words from starter Donnie Phillips of Scott City, Mo., as 28 Cub Scouts from around the region competed to see who could blow homemade sailboats down the length of a 25-foot trough fastest...

Southeast Missourian A spokesman for the Cape Girardeau Police Department refuses to second-guess an officer who fired a shot when responding to a domestic disturbance Wednesday. The family in question said police intervention only made things worse...

It's clearly crisis time in our house. Our 6-year-old's bed is becoming too small. It's really not the-incredible-shrinking bed, it just seems that way. That's because Bailey insists on sleeping with every conceivable stuffed animal known to man including a giant fluffy blue-and-black snake...

Perhaps it took me a little longer than most people to read John Grisham's "A Painted House." I carry some slow-down baggage with me as I read. Not only do I follow the narrative, I study the techniques of the author. When I ventured into short story and novel writing I meticulously studied how the author put the story together. ...

As the Cape Girardeau County Commission and local juvenile officers and judges debate the issue of whether to build a new juvenile detention center here, the local public school district is weighing in. Educators say teaching children elsewhere would cost too much. Figure it out by the numbers in Tuesday's Southeast Missourian...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A man who said he was depressed shot himself in the head Wednesday in the rectory of St. Patrick's Cathedral while talking with a priest, authorities and church officials said. The man, covered in blood, was taken away by ambulance and reported in extremely critical condition at a hospital. His name was not released...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The seven Americans who died in the bloodiest operation of the war in Afghanistan were killed as troops were being taken into the battle area on two different missions, the Pentagon said Tuesday. One incident happened early Monday morning south of the town of Gardez when a two-helicopter team was ferrying in reconnaissance troops and one was hit by enemy fire, said Brig Gen. ...

The new Central High School will be ready to open in the fall, but school leaders have a "wish list" of things they believe will make the school better. At the top is a $180,000 concession stand/restroom/press box for the stadium. At the bottom is $1,250 in furniture for the school resource officer. Find out how you can help in Tuesday's Southeast Missourian...

There's a new advocate for victims of crimes committed by juveniles in the 32nd Judicial Circuit. Her salary is being paid by a government grant, and she says her job is to guide victims through the judicial system and let them know there's someone on their side. Find out who she is and how she can help you in Tuesday's Southeast Missourian...

The public is invited to attend a meeting at 6 p.m. today at the Career Technology Center to discuss what is included in the contract for the new Central High School. Principal Mike Cowan, Rich Payne, assistant director of the CTC, and Terry Kitchen, athletic director, will answer questions and take suggestions and comments...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Nine American soldiers have died in a U.S.-led assault in Afghanistan, including at least eight killed when two helicopters took enemy fire in the largest offensive of the five-month war against terrorists, Pentagon officials said Monday...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- President Bush said Monday he was saddened by the loss of American lives in the battle in Afghanistan, but promised to keep the pressure on al-Qaida until the terror organization is finally routed. "History has called us to defend freedom," Bush said, responding to reporters' questions on the latest casualties in Afghanistan...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Showing a determination to buy not seen in months, investors bid stocks sharply higher Monday in a broad rally that propelled the Dow Jones industrials up more than 200 points for the second straight session...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- At least six Americans were killed and an unknown number wounded when their helicopter was shot down over eastern Afghanistan in intense fighting that caused the worst casualties of the 5-month-old war, Pentagon officials said Monday...

The Southeast Missouri State University Concert Band will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Academic Auditorium. Tickets are available at the door. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children and free for students with university IDs. Barry Bernhardt, director of Southeast's bands, will conduct the concert. Selections will include "Ozark Overture," "Shepherd's Hey," "Irish Tune From County Derry," "Crystals," "The Boys of the Old Brigade March" and "Cajun Folk."...

smoyers Talk around here before the recession ended -- has it really ended? -- was how Cape Girardeau is somewhat insulated from the ebbs and flows of the national economy. The argument, and it's a good one, is that the area is diversified because it's a regional hub for shopping, health care and education. ...

Daily American Republic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man was sentenced to prison Friday morning after he had earlier pleaded guilty to an amended sodomy charge involving a young girl. Mark Bryan Lohman was sentenced to five years in prison, said Wade Pierce, Butler County assistant prosecuting attorney...

10 years ago: March 4, 1992 Public next month can have its first look at Cape Girardeau's mail processing facility; April 5 has been set for open house at new facility, situated at Cape West Business Park; when center opened in November, it sorted all incoming and outgoing mail for two zip codes - Cape Girardeau and Sikeston...

Wilson Daughter to Brian Lee and Susan Raye Wilson of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, 2002. Name, Taylor Raye. Weight, 7 pounds 2 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Wilson is the former Susan Hoffmeister, daughter of Larry and Dixie Hoffmeister of Jackson. Wilson is the son of Roger and Barbara Simpson of Wittenberg, Mo. He is a towboat pilot with B&H Towing in Paducah, Ky...

Mildred "Louise" Friese, 70, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 2, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born March 7, 1931, in Ancell, Mo., daughter of Homer Charles and Ida Adeline Kern Davis. She and Norval Melford Friese were married Dec. 24, 1949, in Illmo, Mo...

ANNA, Ill. -- Annie Marie Penninger Hileman, 88, of Anna died Saturday, March 2, 2002, at Jonesboro Health Care Center. She was born Jan. 7, 1914, in Lick Creek, Ill., daughter of Charles L. and Bertha Ann Corbit Penninger. She and Fred G. Hileman were married Sept. 23, 1933, in Lick Creek. He died Feb. 20, 1998...

Herman McIntyre, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 3, 2002, at Jackson Manor in Jackson, Mo. He was born June 12, 1918, at Chaffee, Mo., son of Marvin Franklin and Della Mae McNeal McIntyre. He and M. Maxine Goehman were married Dec. 23, 1941, at Jackson. She died Dec. 16, 1997...

Meryl Dyer Dunn, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 2, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Dec. 9, 1927, at Moscow Mills, Mo., daughter of Luther and Mary Hill Dyer. She was married to Harry F. Dunn. Dunn was a member of Bethany Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- June Linder, 61, of Dongola died Sunday, March 3, 2002, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola.

DUMAS, Ark. -- Mary L. Griffaw, 70, of Dumas died Saturday, March 2, 2002, at Dumas. She was born April 16, 1931, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Joe and Beulah Koelzer. She was married to Lindy P. Griffaw. He preceded her in death. Griffaw was a beautician at Daisy's Beauty Shop in Cape Girardeau before moving to Dumas in the early 1980s. She was employed by the Dumas School Cafeteria and a member of the Holy Child Catholic Church...

Clara Matney Neader, 72, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 3, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. Full obituary to follow on Tuesday. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Mrs. Alpha Alfonda Brune, 93, passed away March 1, 2002, at Southbrook Skilled Nursing Center in Farmington. She was born Jan. 15, 1909, in Daisy, Mo., daughter of Arnold and Bertie "Brown" Drum. Also preceding in death were her husband, Roscoe Paul Brune; son, Roscoe Donald Brune; sister, Alma Doggett; brothers, Wilson Drum, J.R. Drum and one in infancy; son-in-law, Gary Giles; and great-grandson Joshua Brune...

Arvella P. Steimle, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 2, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Nov. 2, 1912, at Kelso, Mo., daughter of John and Bertha Bles Dumey. She and the late Edward Steimle were married April 28, 1936, at Cape Girardeau. He preceded her in death Oct. 14, 1982...

Sarah Kathleen "Dickie" Wachter, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 1, 2002, at Heartland Care and Rehabilitation. She was born Oct. 3, 1914, in Gravel Mill, Mo., the daughter of Grover Daniel and Cornellia Elizabeth Lessley Slinkard. On Jan. 19, 1935, in Cape Girardeau, she was married to R.M. "Mutt" Wachter. He died Jan. 31, 2001...

Schools or baseball BEFORE BOB Holden was governor, he was the treasurer of Missouri. All during the election, he knew we were about to run out of money, but he never told us. Now he's telling us the state is out of money, yet he says we need to spend extra money to build a new baseball stadium for the Cardinals. ...

Southeast Missouri State University quarterback Jeff East was misidentified in the photo caption on Page 1B in Sunday's Southeast Missourian. The Missourian regrets the error.

John Daniel said he thoroughly enjoyed his first season as an assistant men's basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University. But an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up means Daniel's first season with the Indians will also be his last...

Class 1A regionals Bell City (24-5) vs. Delta C-7 (14-10) When/Where: 8:15 p.m., Sikeston High School Up next: Thayer (25-3) or South Iron (22-4) Key players: Bell City, G Eric Henry (6-1, jr., 20.5 ppg), C C.J. Hadley (6-4, sr., 16 ppg, 12.2 rpg), PG Dominitrix Johnson (15.3 ppg); Delta C-7, F Derrick Dye (6-1, jr., 19 ppg), F Josh Driskill (6-0, sr., 12 ppg), PG Damion Trawick (5-8, sr., 10 ppg)...

That Bell City will represent District 2 in tonight's 1A boys regional game at Sikeston High School is no surprise. But its opponent, Delta C-7 of District 1, is proof of what can happen this time of year. The teams will meet at 8:15 p.m. with the winner going to Wednesday's sectional round at Poplar Bluff, Mo...

7:30 p.m. Monday, March 4 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Consider motion to begin the process of implementing GASB 34 and to set the minimum amount of $1,000 for any property to be included in the fixed asset accounting records. Consider bill proposing an ordinance authorizing a contractual agreement with K-Bar-K, L.L.C., relative to the upgrade of an existing sanitary sewer lift station to serve the Parkview Terrace Subdivision...

7 p.m. Monday, March 4 Public Hearings A public hearing regarding the proposed Capital Improvements Program for fiscal years 2002-2007. A public hearing regarding amendments to the zoning ordinance to establish definitions and standards for telecommunication towers...

CHICAGO -- A study that had children draw images of their headache pain showed pictures sometimes do speak louder than words after the drawings helped doctors better diagnose and treat migraines, researchers say. A 10-year-old boy drew a frowning person playing the drums inside a big head, and a 9-year-old boy drew a hammer and chisel pounding crevices into the top of his head. Both were among pictures by 226 children complaining of headaches...

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about an Arab newspaper's story purporting to outline a Mideast peace plan made by Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. As reported, the deal would be for all the Arab nations of the region to "make peace" with Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem...

If current estimates are correct, there is enough loose change lying around our homes or offices or under the seats of our cars for each of us to rent a dozen videos, see five movies (matinee tickets) or have one really good meal at one of our fine restaurants...

Baby boomer skin care adding up to big dollars for industry By Lisa Singhania ~ The Associated Press NEW YORK -- When lotions failed to smooth the crow's feet around Cheryl Hoover's eyes and restore the firmness to her skin, she turned to Botox, collagen and laser treatments to ease the effects of aging...

NEW YORK -- There seems to be a "disconnect" in American thinking when it comes to retirement savings. Some 70 percent of people say they are confident they'll have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, according to a national survey released Wednesday. But half of workers have saved less than $50,000, and 15 percent say they've saved nothing...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hallmark Cards has reported its first significant revenue decline in at least a decade, with the greeting card company's family entertainment unit chiefly responsible for the drop because it held back on film production. Privately held Hallmark, which does not report detailed financial results required of publicly owned companies, said in mid-February that consolidated net revenues for 2001 dropped 8 percent to about $4 billion. ...

Cape Girardeau Monday, March 4 ArrestsJodie Rose McCulloch, 19, of Ballwin, Mo., was arrested Saturday for driving while intoxicated and failing to use headlights. Anthony Odoms, 20, of 418 S. Ellis was arrested Saturday on a Cape Girardeau County warrant...

Cape Girardeau Monday, March 4 On Saturday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 4:06 p.m., an emergency medical service at 300 N. Ellis. At 5:30 p.m., an emergency medical service at 341 N. Main. At 6:57 p.m., an ambulance assist at 521 Broadway...

Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Haskel E. Rooker is one of more than 5,000 active duty and reserve U.S. armed forces troops who served as a member of Joint Task Force-Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines and coast guardsmen helped to support the 2002 XIX Winter Olympic Games in February. ...

The search is on again for Missouri farms that have been in the same family 100 years or more. Fifty-six Cape Girardeau County farms have been recognized as Century Farms since the program was launched in 1976. The farm must be owned by the same family for 100 years or more. The family must consist of direct descendants only: sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters and so on...

Noon Optimists gear up for annual Chili Day Cape Girardeau's Noon Optimists will be serving chili at the group's annual Chili Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the A.C. Brase Arena Building in Arena Park. Cost for tickets is $5 for adults and $3 for children...

It was an anchor in pre-mall downtowns across the nation. It was where generations went to buy a needle and thread, men's handkerchiefs, Evening in Paris cologne, birthday gifts and Christmas gifts, penny candy and parakeets. It was the F.W. Woolworth Co., and according to the more than 200 readers who correctly identified last week's "Where is this?" photo, clearly Woolworth's was a special kind of place for many people...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Sunday he wants President Bush to keep congressional leaders better informed about the war on terrorism and a "shadow government" that has been operated outside Washington since Sept. 11. Daschle, D-S.D., said, "Not knowing things as basic as that is a pretty profound illustration of the chasm that exists sometimes with information."...

WASHINGTON -- The John Hancock insurance company and big farming operations from Georgia to Texas stand to make millions of dollars from a plan in Congress to buy out their special licenses the government has used for decades to inflate the price of peanuts...

WASHINGTON -- St. Louis-based Anheuser Busch Companies has given more than $528,000 for the 2002 elections, more than half of it to the national Republican and Democratic parties. The national party contributions are unregulated "soft money," which is the target of a bitterly contested effort to curb the influence of money on American politics. The measure would forbid "soft money" contributions such as Anheuser Busch's...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's plan to drill for oil in a remote Alaska wildlife refuge is all but dead for now, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Sunday. Debate on the administration's energy plan is expected to begin in the Senate this week...

WASHINGTON -- In a videotaped deathbed interview, Helen Love sat with a metal band pinned to her skull and described a beating she said was delivered by a caretaker at her Sacramento, Calif., nursing home after she soiled herself. "He started beating me all along the bed," the elderly women said. "He choked me and he went and broke my neck. He broke my wrist bones, my hand. He put his hand over my mouth."...

WASHINGTON -- The expected rejection by a Senate committee of one of President Bush's picks for the U.S. Court of Appeals would kill the nomination, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Sunday. Bush wants to elevate U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering of Mississippi to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. But Democrats are expected to defeat the nomination 10-9 on a party-line vote this week in the Senate Judiciary Committee...

ST. LOUIS -- Marcus Belcher scored 19 points and Kent Williams added 15, leading Southern Illinois to an 86-63 victory over Southwest Missouri State in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Sunday. Top-seeded Southern Illinois (26-6) advances to tonight's title game against second-seeded Creighton (21-8), a 90-63 winner over Illinois State in Sunday's other semifinal game. Southern Illinois and Creighton were the conference co-champions...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Frank Williams made a driving layup with 2.9 seconds left to cap a 10-0 game-closing run and No. 15 Illinois beat Minnesota 67-66 Sunday, giving the Fighting Illini a share of the four-way tie for the Big Ten title. Williams' layup were his first points since the 2:20 mark of the first half, extended the Illini's winning streak to eight games and put them in a tie for the regular season championship with Wisconsin, Ohio State and Indiana, all with 11-5 records...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Not since Wimp Sanderson glowered courtside in the "Plaid Palace" has Alabama basketball seen such high times. The sixth-ranked Crimson Tide, despite a loss to Mississippi on Sunday, have captured their first Southeastern Conference title in 15 years and locked up a return to the NCAA tournament after a seven-year absence...

Colleges Sophomore Gerlonda Hardin tied a career high with 30 points and Brooke Armistead added 25 as Austin Peay held on for an 85-83 win over Tennessee Tech in the championship of the Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament in Louisville, Ky...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Defensive end Leonard Little will be back in St. Louis next season. Linebacker London Fletcher apparently will not. Rams coach Mike Martz said the Rams signed Little, an unrestricted free agent, to a five-year contract Sunday, one day after they also signed linebacker Jamie Duncan to replace Fletcher...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Rick Ankiel had a shaky start to his spring, allowing six runs in two innings of St. Louis' 12-1 loss to the Montreal Expos on Sunday. Ankiel walked the first two batters on nine pitches, allowed five runs and six hits, including a grand slam to Lee Stevens in the first inning...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Top-ranked Kansas finished the first unbeaten Big 12 season by beating the team that gives the Jayhawks fits. Five of the previous six times they played at Missouri with a top-five ranking, they lost. In both 1997 and '98, the Missouri game was their only loss in conference play...

MIAMI -- An eight-stroke lead suddenly became Ernie Els' worst nightmare. It was bad enough that the Big Easy was having a difficult time in the Genuity Championship on Sunday. Worse yet, Els had to watch Tiger Woods in the group ahead put on a dazzling display of big drives and crucial putts, working the gallery into a frenzy...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Joey Harrington isn't thinking about being the No. 1 pick in April's NFL draft. He just wants to play. Harrington is battling Fresno State's David Carr to be the first quarterback selected in the draft and possibly the first overall pick, but he played down the battle at the NFL scouting combine...

The Associated press LAS VEGAS -- Sterling Marlin got the break this time, and took full advantage. Marlin pulled away to victory Sunday in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 after NASCAR rescinded a 15-second penalty for speeding in the pits because officials did not notify the team in time...

The Associated Press EDMONTON, Alberta -- Mike Comrie may be young, but he fully understands how much each point means to the Edmonton Oilers. Comrie's goal at 14:13 of the third period Saturday night lifted the Oilers into a 1-1 tie with the St. Louis Blues, giving them a crucial point in the Western Conference standings...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Several Americans were killed and wounded when a helicopter was shot down over eastern Afghanistan in intense fighting against al-Qaida forces that caused the worst casualties of the 5-month-old war, Pentagon officials said Monday...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Archdiocese for years has tried to keep sexual abuse allegations against Roman Catholic priests under wraps, secretly paying people who made claims against priests or quietly reassigning accused clergy, according to a newspaper report...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- On a portable dry-erase board, the type you might see in a school, House Budget chairman Tim Green has displayed an intentionally startling chart. In red numbers with blue headings are the amounts of money -- broken down by state departments -- that the state expects to spend this year and that Gov. Bob Holden has proposed to spend next year...

Associated Press/Portland State University, Julie Schablitsky University of Nevada, Reno archaeology students worked at a site on the outskirts of Virginia City, Nev. The dig marks the first time DNA residue has been extracted from historic artifacts other than human remains, in this case, a 125-year-old glass hypodermic syringe. The students are unidentified.By Scott Charton ~ The Associated Press...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The official report about a Jasper County deputy's death in January contradicts suggestions by law enforcement officers at the time of the drowning. The Missouri Water Patrol report, obtained by The Joplin Globe, indicated that Sgt. Scott Arner was alone in the water, out of air and under a sheet of ice at the time of the accident. Authorities had said Arner was accompanied in the water by other divers at the time of the accident...

SURMAD, Afghanistan -- U.S. bombers pounded al-Qaida and Taliban positions in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan on Sunday after a 1,500-strong coalition ground attack the day before failed to dislodge the well-armed fighters. U.S. and Afghan forces backed by the airstrikes engaged in more "heavy" fighting Sunday against "several hundred" opposition fighters, said Maj. Ralph Mills, spokesman for Central Command in Tampa, Fla...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- Scores of captives from the Afghan war refused meals Sunday in a protest that has lasted five days, but the U.S. military said only 13 of them had kept to the hunger strike since its start. The military revealed the new tally after officials finished a cell-by-cell count of those who had refused food since the start of the protest on Wednesday...

CORDOBA, Spain -- A conference of Muslim women ended Sunday with a call to end what it called negative stereotypes in the West. Security guards scuffled with some participants who tried to pray in a nearby church that was once an ancient mosque. A final statement at the end of the two-day conference attended by about 200 women and men, defended Islam as a religion of tolerance and condemned domestic violence. ...

FLORENCIA, Colombia -- Car bombs. Blown bridges. Felled power lines. Explosions at water reservoirs. Since the sudden collapse of peace talks last month, Colombia's long guerrilla war has been veering toward terrorism -- testing the resolve of the country's 40 million citizens and the ability of its U.S.-backed military to defend it from the rebels...

GENEVA -- Swiss voters approved joining the United Nations on Sunday, finding the prospect of a greater role in today's interlinked world more compelling than fears it would threaten the nation's centuries-old tradition of neutrality. The country, which has been formally neutral for almost 200 years, will become the United Nations' 190th member. Only the Vatican remains outside the world body...

ZIPACON, Colombia -- A Colombian senator and two companions who were trying to negotiate the release of rebel hostages were shot in the head and killed, apparently by the rebels, police said Sunday. The bodies of Sen. Martha Catalina Daniels, her driver, Carlos Lozano, and Ana Maria Medina were found Saturday in a deep ravine outside Zipacon, 35 miles north of Bogota, town mayor Bernardo Gonzalez said...

JERUSALEM -- Taking aim from a hilltop, a sniper killed 10 soldiers and civilians at a checkpoint Sunday in the deadliest of a two-day string of Palestinian attacks that killed 21 Israelis. Israel sent tanks and helicopters on retaliatory raids that hit several Palestinian Authority security targets, killing four Palestinian policemen, while Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Cabinet weighed additional military action...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A strong quake shook a wide area of South and Central Asia on Sunday, killing at least one person, injuring several more, damaging buildings in the Afghan capital and sending people scrambling into the streets in five countries...

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is causing a rift among Arabs ahead of a key summit, and an Israeli official said Sunday that its main provision was an unacceptable precondition for talks. The proposal floated by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah two weeks ago envisions full Arab political, economic and cultural relations with Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from Arab lands it captured in the 1967 Mideast war. ...

WESTERLAND, Germany -- New York firefighters who helped in the Sept. 11 rescue efforts were welcomed by this town's mayor and chatted with volunteer firefighters Sunday. Everett Wabst, a New York Fire Department chaplain leading the group of 20 firefighters on the North Sea island of Sylt, presented mementos to Mayor Petra Reiber at a city hall reception. One was a T-shirt with a well-publicized picture of two firemen who retrieved a U.S. flag from the ruins of the World Trade Center...

SAN FRANCISCO -- High school history teacher Suzanne Maxson is fed up with U.S. television coverage of the war on terrorism and what she believes is its lack of a global view. "The more interested you are in what's going on in the world, the more frustrating it is," complained Maxson, who lived in Iran for two years as a child. "When it's not shrill, it's sentimental, and it's a very narrow view."...

NEW YORK -- The boxes are stacked outside the Beverly Hills home, ready to be carried in. Each is neatly labeled: "pots and pans," "linens," "devil heads," "dead things." Plainly, Ozzie and Harriet aren't moving in. This Ozzy is Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal rock star, and his family. Their arrival in the neighborhood heralds a hilarious new MTV series, "The Osbournes," that premieres 9:30 p.m. Tuesday...

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. -- Archaeologists combing through artifacts beneath the burned floorboards of this 19th century mining town are using DNA testing in a way never used before to learn new secrets about the Old West. Some of the tests just down the hill from the Bucket of Blood Saloon might tell a story of the frontier rarely seen in Westerns or on the old "Bonanza" television series that helped make Virginia City famous...

Reagans to mark golden wedding anniversary LOS ANGELES -- Ronald and Nancy Reagan will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary today, still inseparable after years together in Hollywood, the White House and finally, in the shadows of Alzheimer's disease...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts latched onto the Hubble Space Telescope on Sunday and watched in relief as its 40-foot-long solar wings neatly rolled up like window shades. The crew will replace the electricity-producing wings with a smaller yet stronger pair beginning today with the first of five demanding spacewalks to enhance Hubble...

Actor's breakup with wife no laughing matter LOS ANGELES -- Comic actor Tom Green isn't laughing much these days as he tries to get over his breakup with estranged wife Drew Barrymore. The two no longer are speaking, Green told the syndicated TV show "Inside Edition."...

PASADENA, Md. -- A 20-year-old man riding in a car with his girlfriend was mistakenly shot in the face by an FBI agent who was seeking a bank robber. Joseph Charles Schultz was in serious but stable condition Sunday at a Baltimore hospital. He suffered a gunshot wound to the cheek, said Charles Ravenell of the Anne Arundel County police...

MODESTO, Calif. -- The 10-month saga of the missing intern and the embattled congressman reaches a turning point Tuesday as voters decide what is in store for Rep. Gary Condit. It's the toughest race Condit has faced in a 30-year career that has carried him from City Hall, to the state Capitol to Congress...

PITTSBURGH -- The bar code of the future includes a little bit of the World War II dogfighter. Researchers, financed by some major retailers, are refining radio identification technology developed for U.S. fighter pilots in the 1940s to make "smart labels" -- tiny computerized tags embedded in everyday items that could tell consumers when eggs or milk have turned...

A simple blood test may be able to identify ovarian cancer at its earliest stage, when it's hardest to spot but at its most curable, a preliminary study suggests. Currently, around three-quarters of women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease, when they have only about a 20 percent chance of surviving five years. But if the disease is caught early, the five-year survival is around 95 percent...

LOS ANGELES -- NASA successfully bridged 7.4 billion miles of space to contact the Pioneer 10 spacecraft on the 30th anniversary of its launch, mission managers said over the weekend. Scientists beamed a message to the craft Friday from a radio telescope in the desert east of Los Angeles. A radio telescope in Spain received the response 22 hours and six minutes later, said Larry Lasher, the mission's project manager...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Both supporters and opponents of taxpayer funding to help build a new St. Louis Cardinals ballpark agree that if the General Assembly voted on the plan today, it would fail. However, this game is only in the second inning. In the legislative process, as is baseball, anything can happen...

It towers over the landscape, a giant, H-shaped concrete pier that can be seen from miles away. With a crane perched on top of the 300-foot-tall structure, it's the most visible sign of construction work on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge on the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau...

Over the next several weeks 181 school districts throughout the state, including five in the Cape Girardeau area, will receive distinction in performance awards from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The awards are based on Missouri Assessment Program scores, ACT scores, attendance and dropout rates and other academic performance measures...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Both supporters and opponents of taxpayer funding to help build a new St. Louis Cardinals ballpark agree that if the General Assembly voted on the plan today, it would fail. However, this game is only in the second inning. In the legislative process, as is baseball, anything can happen...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden declared an "economic emergency" in Missouri on Monday, the first step toward drawing from a state savings fund to finance government services facing likely cuts. Holden's declaration seeks to use $135 million from the state reserve fund -- commonly called the Rainy Day Fund -- as part of his fiscal 2003 budget, which starts July 1...

Sega and Nintendo once were archrivals, their platforms battling like the characters in their games to dominate the videogame console market. Times have changed. After the unfortunate Dreamcast passed away last year, Sega has become strictly a maker of games. Nintendo, meanwhile, is besieged by muscular rivals -- Sony with its hugely popular PlayStation 2, and Microsoft's new Xbox...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Dissatisfaction with the Missouri Department of Transportation plan for improving Highway 34/72 in Jackson has prompted Jackson Alderman Joe Bob Baker to begin organizing a public meeting intended to air the concerns before area legislators...

JACKSON, Mo. -- An April 12 trial date has been set for a Jackson man accused of collecting child pornography. Darin G. Walker, 37, was charged Feb. 1, 2001, after Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputies seized his computer. Walker faces three misdemeanor charges of possession of child pornography...

Victims' services specialist Tammy Adams works with people who are victims of juvenile crimes. Juvenile crimes against people have doubled in last 10 years.On the Net www.victims-services.org By Andrea L. Buchanan ~ Southeast Missourian...

Associated Press WriterJERUSALEM (AP) -- Palestinian militants struck at Israeli civilians Tuesday with a suicide bombing on a bus, a roadside ambush in the West Bank and a restaurant shooting in Israel's largest city, leaving five Israelis and two Palestinian assailants dead...

Associated Press WriterLaFAYETTE, Ga. (AP) -- Authorities filed 56 additional charges Tuesday against a crematory operator accused of discarding hundreds of corpses he was paid to cremate. The new charges bring to 174 the number of theft by deception counts against Ray Brent Marsh, who remains in Walker County Jail. A magistrate denied Marsh bond on Monday, noting that investigators were likely to file further charges...

AP White House CorrespondentWASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush will impose tariffs of 8 percent to 30 percent on several types of imported steel under a three-year plan to aid the ailing U.S. steel industry, The Associated Press learned Tuesday...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street retreated Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrials falling more than 150 points as investors cashed in their winnings from the market's spectacular two-session rally. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite index proved steadier, its losses mitigated by optimism about earnings prospects at bellwether Intel. Analysts said the market's overall mood was cautious, but still showing signs of bullishness...

Associated Press WriterGARDEZ, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. and coalition forces inched up the snow-covered mountains of eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, trying to reach hideouts believed to contain hundreds of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters. Some forces entered at least one cave complex, uncovering weapons caches...

10 years ago: March 5, 1992 Cape Girardeau Citizens Advisory Commission on Education attempted yesterday to sort through school district's finance, facilities and education program needs and begin cohesive long-range planning effort. Cape Girardeau Public Library will discontinue its Sunday hours on April 26; over summer, library officials will discuss whether to reopen Sundays in fall; Bettye Black, assistant director, says response to experimental Sunday hours has been tremendous, with more patrons than any other day at library.. ...

Altenburg 48 school district in Perry County and Kelso C-7 school district in Scott County received Distinction in Performance awards for the 2000-01 school year from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. They were inadvertently left out of an article in Monday's issue...

Case Daughter to Derek and Kelly Case of St. Louis, St. John's Mercy Medical Center, 9:03 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002. Name, Emily Kathryn. Weight, 8 pounds. First child. Mrs. Case is the former Kelly Jones, daughter of John and Paul Jones of St. Louis, formerly of Cape Girardeau. She is court administrator for the city of Richmond Heights, Mo. Case is the son of Stuart and Beverly Riley of Waterloo, Ill. He is employed at Schneithorst's...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Claudine M. Lorch, 81, of Advance died Sunday, March 3, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 4, 1920, in Advance, daughter of Oscar and Nelle Cawthon Tippett. She and Leonard J. Lorch were married May 14, 1940. He died Feb. 20, 2001...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Eureda May Hendershott, 52, of Jackson died Sunday, March 3, 2002, at her home. She was born Nov. 19, 1949, at Sikeston, Mo., daughter of Warren and Eureda Robinett Powers. She and Marshall Hendershott were married Sept. 15, 1969, at Sikeston. He died May 16, 2001...

Clara Neader, 72, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 3, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born March 25, 1929, at Commerce, Mo., daughter of William T. and Della Miskell Matney. She married Boyd Neader, who preceded her in death. Survivors include her mother of Cape Girardeau; and a brother, Lawrence Matney of Advance, Mo...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Gladys F. Pearson, 89, of Cobden died Sunday, March 3, 2002, at City Care Center. She was born Nov. 25, 1912, in Union County, daughter of Monroe and Melissa Skinner Tucker. She and Willard F. Pearson were married May 1, 1961, in Anna, Ill. He died Sept. 14, 1998...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Jennie Thompson, 98, of Cairo died Saturday, March 2, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Massie Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

OAK RIDGE, Mo. -- Clinton Ray Fulton, 71, of Oak Ridge died Monday, March 4, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 29, 1931, at Sedgewickville, Mo., son of Louis Ray and Ona Caroline Yount Fulton. He and Patsy Sue Hartle were married Oct. 10, 1964, at Patton, Mo...

BROWNWOOD, Mo. -- Augie H. Talley, 78, of Brownwood died Monday, March 4, 2002, at his home. He was born Aug. 22, 1923, at Zalma, Mo., son of Benjamin and Stella Deckard Talley. He and Betty Jo Lemons were married March 21, 1981, at Gipsy, Mo. Talley was a retired self-employed mechanic. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Funeral for Marilyn June Linder of Dongola will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola. Stan Chism will officiate. Burial will be in Christian Chapel Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, and Thursday until time of service...

Warren H. Strack, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, March 4, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. He was born April 20, 1921, in Cape Girardeau, son of Henry A. and Louise M. Bertling Strack. He and Margaret P. Welker were married Aug. 22, 1943, in Cape Girardeau...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- David Lee McSwain, 54, of St. Louis died Monday, March 4, 2002, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Jan. 13, 1948, in Cape Girardeau, son of James Lee and Mary Magdalen Burger McSwain. He married Cheri Lynn McKee Jan 1, 2002, at Commerce, Mo...

KELSO, Mo. -- Thelma Ward Moore, 85, of Kelso died Monday, March 4, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 26, 1916, in Randles, Mo., daughter of William A. and Hattie Paralee Harmon Sledge. She married Ralph S. Ward on March 25, 1935. He preceded her in death Jan. 27, 1970. She later married Alvin Moore on Feb. 10, 1973. He preceded her in death March 7, 1996...

Firearms in plays I FIND it strange that students are expelled or given suspension for bringing so-called weapons to school, yet the administration condones the use of rifles and blank cartridges on school property for play productions. Teaching theory, religion...

To the editor: I get the heebie-jeebies every time I am told that, in this time of crisis, the strategies and policies of the Bush administration are not to be subject to scrutiny, that the president is to be given carte blanche in anything he does or will do -- just as long as he can point to the existence of a terrorist somewhere, anywhere, in the world. ...

LITTLE ROCK -- Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson intends to appeal the university's decision to buy out his contract, his attorney said Monday. Arkansas bought out the remaining six years of Richardson's contract on Friday. The announcement came six days after Richardson had publicly said: "If they go ahead and pay me my money, they can take the job tomorrow."...

ST. LOUIS -- Terrell Taylor scored 20 points and Kyle Korver added 18, pacing Creighton to an 84-76 victory Monday night over Southern Illinois for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament that begins next week...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Drew Gooden and Kirk Hinrich, the key performers in No. 1 Kansas' unbeaten conference season, are unanimous first-team selections to The Associated Press All-Big 12 team for 2001-2002. A panel of sports writers and broadcasters also named Texas Tech's Andre Emmett, Oklahoma's Hollis Price and Missouri's Kareem Rush to the first team...

The Eagle Ridge girls basketball team will compete in the National Association of Christian Athletes National Tournament this week in Dayton, Tenn. Eagle Ridge received the invitation after recently winning the Class 2A Missouri State Christian Athletic Association Tournament...

Both Cape Girardeau Central and Notre Dame Regional High School return state qualifiers for the girls swimming season that begins today. Central coach Dayna Powell opened practice with a turnout of 40 girls, including one returning state qualifier, senior Terra Herzberger...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Bell City coach David Heeb didn't use a conventional timeout to address his Cubs in their Class 1A regional game against Delta C-7, but it was effective nonetheless. Displeased with his team's play in the second quarter, Heeb set his entire starting five on the bench. They returned to deliver an early knockout blow as Bell City advanced with a 78-42 victory...

WASHINGTON -- Economists who analyze agricultural policy for Congress said Monday that a Senate-passed farm bill will provide a quicker boost to growers' income than the House version. But the House legislation will provide slightly higher income after 2003 as its higher price supports begin to kick in, the economists said. An analysis of the impact of the bills on typical farms scattered around the country also favored the House bill...

The war on terrorism is being fought on many fronts. One successful military deployment deserves considerably more recognition than it is getting for the success of its assignment: the men and women of the National Guard who provided security at the Winter Olympics in Utah for a month. As a result, athletes, coaches and spectators were kept safe. More than that, any effort to mount a terrorist attack was thwarted...

The Lou Hobbs story is full of hardship, persistence, grit and now a battle with a disease that would challenge even the strongest among us. The themes of this real-life story sound familiar -- like the lyrics of many of the hundreds of rockabilly songs Hobbs has written and performed over the 40 years of his professional career...

St. Vincent students to compete at state level Students from St. Vincent de Paul grade school will participate in the state MathCounts competition Saturday at the University of Missouri-Rolla. Students in sixth through eighth grades are invited to participate in the MathCounts program. Winners at the chapter level are eligible to compete at the state level...

While the cast's shoot-outs and resounding tunes entertain the audience during performances, there's another production backstage at "Annie Get Your Gun" that rarely gets seen by an audience. Until now. The Southeast Missourian took a look backstage last week during a dress rehearsal of the Central High School performance. The play by Irving Berlin was presented Thursday through Saturday at the high school auditorium...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, March 5 ArrestsByron Allen Brown, 20, 909 Hackberry, was arrested Sunday for possession of marijuana and careless driving. William Eldridge Zolper, Mendota, Ill., was arrested Sunday for failure to appear. TheftA blue motorcycle was reported stolen Sunday at 1325 N. West End Blvd...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, March 5 Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:At 9:47 p.m., a small weed fire at 613 Morgan Oak. Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday:At 1:34 a.m., an alarm sounding at Greek housing on Southeast Missouri State University campus...

Public Hearings A public hearing was held regarding the proposed Capital Improvements Program for fiscal years 2002-2007. A public hearing was held regarding amendments to the zoning ordinance to establish definitions and standards for telecommunication towers...

WASHINGTON -- Seven American soldiers were killed and 11 were wounded Monday when two U.S. helicopters took enemy fire during the most deadly allied air and ground offensive of the war in Afghanistan. The U.S. assault, code-named Operation Anaconda, marked a new approach. Instead of relying on Afghan forces to take the fight to the al-Qaida, with U.S. troops in support, the Americans took the lead. Afghan, Canadian, Australian, German, Danish, Norwegian and French forces were supporting...

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon review team found no problems with thermal batteries used to power missiles and "smart" bombs, the Air Force said Monday. Built by Joplin, Mo.-based Eagle-Picher Technologies, the batteries are the subject of a former employee's federal whistle-blower lawsuit. Eagle-Picher has denied claims in the lawsuit that the company made defective batteries...

WASHINGTON -- Homeland security chief Tom Ridge is turning down a bipartisan request from a Senate committee that he testify, his spokeswoman said Monday, the latest White House-Congress difference over the war on terror. The two top members of the Senate Appropriations Committee -- Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., and senior Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska -- wrote to Ridge on Monday asking that he appear before their panel...

WASHINGTON -- In a tabletop experiment, researchers created a reaction like nuclear fusion -- the energy source of the sun. Using a device described as the size of three stacked coffee cups, they zapped tiny dissolved bubbles with sound waves, triggering a flash of light and super-high temperatures...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to be drawn into a dispute between Congress and the nation's judges over judicial pay -- but not without some angst. The court declined to hear an appeal from a group of judges that claims Congress reneged on a promise of annual cost-of-living increases. The case could have meant 9 percent pay increases for thousands of judges, including the Supreme Court members...

PORTLAND, Maine -- Peter Carlisle cheered until he lost his voice when Ross Powers and Kelly Clark won snowboarding gold medals at the Winter Olympics. Carlisle was more than just a fan. He's also a sports agent who counts Powers and Clark among the 10 athletes he represented at last month's games in Salt Lake City...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Bud Smith, who threw a no-hitter for St. Louis late last season, made his first start Monday and gave up just one run as the Cardinals beat Baltimore 13-4. Smith faced the minimum of seven batters through 2 2/3 innings before giving up a run on Jerry Hairston's single to left that scored Geronimo Gil...

BALTIMORE -- Elvis Grbac will retire from the NFL instead of attempt to play for another team, the quarterback's agent said. Released by the Baltimore Ravens last week after rejecting a restructured contract, Grbac turned down a proposal from the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend. He told his agent, Jim Steiner, he was ready to quit football...

CHICAGO -- The CART race in Chicago is back on. Nearly a month after Chicago Motor Speedway suspended its auto racing schedule, CART said Monday it will lease the track and hold the Grand Prix of Chicago on June 30 as originally scheduled. "The announcement the race was going to go away was disappointing for me because Chicago is such a great town and such a great racing town," driver Jimmy Vasser said. "It's great to have it back on the schedule."...

The AssociatedPress FLEMINGTON, N.J. -- Former NBA star Jayson Williams offered "heartfelt condolences" Monday to the family of a limousine driver who he is accused of killing with a shotgun blast at his rural estate. The former New Jersey Net spoke briefly before leaving the Hunterdon County courthouse, where he appeared for a five-minute hearing on the case. Williams is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the Feb. 14 shooting death of Costas Christofi...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- A teen-ager convicted of fatally shooting an escaped chimpanzee was sentenced Monday to 30 days in jail for felony animal abuse. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Gary Kramer ordered Jason Coats, 18, to serve the jail time June 1, after he completes the school year. ...

The Asociated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Right now it's just an idea: to develop a partnership for life sciences research between universities, research institutes and government entities from St. Louis to Kansas City. But if the idea is realized, a so-called "Life Sciences Corridor" would be advantageous to the state, officials said Monday at the University of Missouri-Columbia...

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- On a bitterly cold day, hundreds of people in this northeast Missouri town braved sub-zero wind chills and went out ... to buy gasoline. And why not? On Sunday, Parsons Texaco sold regular unleaded for 77 cents a gallon. The service station rolled back prices to mark its 25th anniversary -- it opened in 1977...

POTOSI, Mo. -- Condemned killer Jeffrey Tokar awaited word from the U.S. Supreme Court and Gov. Bob Holden Monday as his scheduled execution drew near. Tokar, 37, was scheduled to die by injection at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday at the Potosi Correctional Center. He would be the third Missouri prisoner put to death this year...

ST. LOUIS -- Campaigning in the nation's heartland for President Bush's energy plan, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Monday the administration's push to open up Alaska's remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling is key to national defense...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Legislation clarifying that there is no statute of limitations on prosecuting rape or sodomy won final approval in the Legislature on Monday. Gov. Bob Holden has said he will sign the legislation, which would take effect immediately...

ST. LOUIS -- Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce has charged three people with 17 counts of vote fraud in connection with the March 2001 mayoral primary, and said additional charges were possible. But Joyce, the city's prosecutor, stressed that no one was able to cast a ballot using the fraudulent voter registration cards she said were illegally filed with the city's Board of Election Commissioners...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt filed for re-election Monday with a prediction Democrats would regain a majority and make him speaker of the House. Gephardt's filing in Jefferson City was sandwiched between those of two Republican colleagues -- Reps. Kenny Hulshof of Missouri's 9th District and Todd Akin of the 2nd District...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State Auditor Claire McCaskill warned traditionally Democratic union members Monday they must use strategy rather than political muscle to prevent Republican gains in the Legislature. McCaskill, running for a second term this November, told about 300 people attending the AFL-CIO's legislative conference that this year's political races are some of the most critical in recent memory...

SURMAD, Afghanistan -- Two months ago, Arab and Chechen fighters showed up at the village of Shah-e-Kot and warned residents to leave or risk being caught up in fighting. Village elders accepted the advice. Now the village is the scene of some of the heaviest clashes of the Afghan war...

BEIJING -- A 33-year-old woman from northern China gave birth Monday to quintuplets and a dairy products manufacturer promised them free milk powder up to age 7, state media reported. Doctors at Beijing Maternity Hospital delivered Wang Cuiying's three girls and two boys by Caesarean section, two months premature, the Xinhua News Agency reported...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A former Pakistani nuclear scientist suspected of links to Islamic extremists met Osama bin Laden twice in Afghanistan but did not reveal any nuclear secrets, the scientist's son said Monday. Sultan Bashiruddin Mehmood, who retired from Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission in 1999, did not tell his family that he had met with bin Laden in 2000 and 2001, his son, Dr. ...

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Ireland slapped a 13-cent-per-bag surcharge on plastic shopping bags Monday, a measure lauded by environmentalists but decried as a rip-off by many struggling Dublin residents. "They'll be taxing my underpants next because they're not white enough," grumbled Brendan Quinn, departing the Moore Street market with a bagful of eggs and sausages...

HAVANA -- The Cuban government has signed a new round of contracts to buy $32 million of food from American agricultural firms, a trade group said Monday -- a move sure to whet the appetites of U.S. food companies eager to increase their sales to the island...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israel sent warplanes and tanks against Palestinian targets Monday, killing the wife and three children of a Hamas militant in what the military said was a mistake. In all, 16 Palestinians died in retaliatory raids. The multiple strikes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip followed a Cabinet decision Sunday to intensify military action after Israel was left reeling from Palestinian bombing and shooting attacks that killed 25 Israelis over the weekend...

LONDON -- Yoko Ono has rented a Picadilly Circus billboard to deliver a message of peace to the thousands who pass through the busy London intersection every day. The simple poster bears just one line from her late husband John Lennon's song "Imagine": "Imagine all the people living life in peace."...

AHMADABAD, India -- Police fired at a mob trying to set fire to Muslim buildings early Monday, killing two people in the latest Hindu-Muslim violence in the western Gujarat state, where 544 people have died in six days. Six other people reportedly were killed overnight in other towns, but no details were available. ...

JAMMU, India -- Separatist violence in India's region of Kashmir has left at least 17 people dead, Indian security officials said Monday. Indian soldiers killed eight Islamic militants trying to sneak in from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir along the remote frontier...

AHMADABAD, India -- Horrified by the screams of his Muslim neighbors being beaten and burned alive, Virsing Rathod put aside fear and did what many other Hindus could not get up the courage to do. The burly Hindu and his two sons jumped in a truck, rammed their way through frenzied Hindu rioters and began pulling Muslims from the flames just before midnight Thursday...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- U.S. officials pledged Monday that none of the Afghan war prisoners is "going to starve" in a hunger strike, which has been spurred on by uncertainty hanging over their cases. With the protest reaching its sixth day, 83 al-Qaida and Taliban detainees were refusing some or all food, down from a high of 194 on Thursday...

LONDON -- Historian David Irving, who questioned the extent of the Holocaust, was declared bankrupt Monday after failing to pay legal costs to an American professor and her publisher. Irving sued American academic Deborah Lipstadt and publisher Penguin in April 2000 over her 1994 book, "Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory." Irving said the book destroyed his livelihood and fueled hatred against him...

Governor displays humor over rapper cartoon LEBANON, Mo. -- He may not know how to bust a rhyme, but Gov. Bob Holden still can have a good time. Holden dropped in at The Lebanon Daily Record recently to chat with the newspaper's cartoonist who portrayed him, in not so flattering fashion, as "Rappin' Robert Holden."...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A man whose past association with Sept. 11 ringleader Mohammed Atta has troubled federal authorities pleaded guilty Monday to one count of document fraud. At a plea hearing, Agus Budiman, 31, of Alexandria, Va., admitted that in November 2000 he helped a man who has been linked to Osama bin Laden, Mohammad bin Nasser Belfas, obtain an ID card from Virginia by falsely certifying that Belfas was a Virginia resident...

LOS ANGELES -- A coroner testified Monday that one of the dogs that killed Diane Whipple in her San Francisco apartment building last year attacked like a wild animal. Dr. Boyd Stephens, the chief medical examiner in San Francisco, said the dog seized and crushed Whipple's larynx to asphyxiate her...

CONCORD, N.H. -- The Arab card has been thrown down on the table in the race for Senate in New Hampshire. Rep. John E. Sununu has been the subject of accusations -- some of them made anonymously, some of them made openly by his GOP rival's campaign -- that the Arab-American congressman is anti-Israel and soft on terrorism. The allegations could be just the start of a dirty, expensive and high-stakes campaign for the historically Republican Senate seat, now held by Bob Smith...

LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of travelers were evacuated from Los Angeles International airport terminals Monday after baggage screeners spotted the outline of a hand grenade on a security scanner. The object turned out to be an inert replica of a military hand grenade but it had the potential of being turned into an explosive device, police Commander Gary Brennan said...

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Authorities began draining a three-acre lake Monday in their search for bodies near a crematory where more than 300 corpses have already been discovered. Pipes drew enough water out to drop the lake level by 6 inches, authorities said. They estimate the lake outside Tri-State Crematory is 8 feet deep at its deepest point...

ggarner I was disappointed with our 6-22 record this season, but I was not disappointed with our players. There are a lot of teams with bad records that had players quit or had a lot of internal bickering and fighting. This year's Southeast team hung together as a family despite the record and as a result we were a lot better at the end of the season than at the beginning. I appreciate the attitude and hard work put in by this year's team...

hkronmueller Laundry owners around town must love to see my car pull into their parking lots. It only happens about once every two months, but when it does, it means business -- lots of it! You see, I have a lot of clothes. I don't have an excess of one item and not another, like a lot of jeans but not as many sweaters. I have plenty of everything...

Editor's note: Ann Ostendorf of Cape Girardeau is taking a year to travel abroad. This is one in a series of articles about her journey. By Ann Ostendorf ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian After seven months wandering around Asia I needed a vacation. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Claiming a Cape Girardeau County judge committed 122 errors during his trial, Terrance L. Anderson is asking the Missouri Supreme Court to overturn his conviction and death sentence for the 1997 slaying of a Poplar Bluff, Mo., couple...

Due to what most on the Cape Girardeau City Council considered "poor timing," the board defeated a new ordinance Monday night that would have given councilmen and the mayor a $100-a-month raise. Ward 6 councilman Butch Eggimann, who will see his tenure end next month because his term limit has expired, said he wanted to introduce the idea because the council has not received a salary boost since 1981...

Students in Cape Girardeau could be playing in an athletic complex with brand new scoreboards, outdoor concessions and well-lighted fields next fall when the new Central High School opens. That is, if the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation is successful in raising $600,000 -- more than 12 times the $51,000 it raised last year...

Several Southeast Missouri high school basketball teams meet on the courts tonight, another step toward the Class 1A and 2A state championships. For results on these games and playoff scores from across the state, see Tuesday's Southeast Missourian...

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in a debate over whether a man accused of leaving his 3-year-old daughter alone with his dead wife should be charged with abandonment of a corpse. In October, Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp dismissed a criminal charge against the first person in Cape Girardeau County to be charged under a statute that makes it a crime to abandon a corpse...

A man who led police on a high-speed chase after stealing a purse, then stealing a car, admitted Monday he was probably guilty, but couldn't remember the crimes. Robert Wiley, 24, of Liberty, Ill., entered an Alford plea to two counts of second-degree robbery in exchange for the prosecutor's agreement to drop two lesser felony charges of resisting arrest and leaving the scene of an accident...

Local public school officials picked sides in the debate over whether juvenile criminals should be housed in Cape Girardeau or elsewhere in Southeast Missouri. They say closing the local detention center would mean added costs to the Cape Girardeau School District and asked commissioners to build a larger center in the district...

Cape Girardeau County residents have grown accustomed to a mostly calm and orderly leadership, thanks to several years of relative harmony among various governmental entities. We laugh at a St. Louis alderwoman who makes a public spectacle of herself when she needed to go to the restroom rather than risk losing ground on a political position. And we wonder about councils, boards and commissions elsewhere that meet until the wee hours fighting over seemingly clear-cut issues...

DEXTER, Mo. -- A Dexter alderman has accused the mayor and city administrator of making decisions behind the backs of aldermen. Those alleged decisions included placing the city's police chief, Ken Rinehart, and police Sgt. Sammy Stone on administrative duty at the police station after their January indictments by a Stoddard County grand jury...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Advocates of a statewide vote on subsidies for stadiums received a chilly reception Tuesday from a House committee where stadium-aid proposals are pending. Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis, has proposed a constitutional amendment requiring a statewide vote before the Legislature could appropriate money to pay off bonds for a major league sports facility...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The bloody U.S.-led assault on al-Qaida fighters holed up in eastern Afghanistan is turning into a tougher and longer battle than the Pentagon had hoped. But Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said Wednesday he has no doubt it will succeed...

AP Diplomatic WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's declaration of war against the Palestinians will not work and should be reconsidered. "If you declare war against the Palestinians and think you can solve the problem by seeing how many Palestinians can be killed -- I don't know if that leads you anywhere," Powell said...

EDITOR'S NOTE -- Associated Press Writer Jonathan Ewing spent nine days in the battle zone of eastern Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Anaconda. Here is his account of one confrontation. By JONATHAN EWING Associated Press WriterSIRKANKEL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Capt. Kevin Butler couldn't believe his eyes...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's appetite for blue chips returned Wednesday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials sharply higher on new economic data showing business is improving. The tech sector stalled, however, reflecting lingering concerns that the sector has become overpriced...

The days are getting longer. The air is getting warmer. The daffodils will bloom, the birds of spring will chirp. And, along with all the other astonishing harbingers of spring, Heidi Hall's winter thighs will emerge into the light. Apparently this event, equal in magnitude to a solar eclipse, is going to happen in sunny Florida on a long weekend later this month -- during shorts weather. ...

Easter was a very important day when I was growing up. I can remember my parents usually purchasing a new suit for me with shirt and tie to match. The first time I wore the new outfit would be on Easter morning. Our own children sported a new outfit each Easter morning. My wife has already purchased that new dress and suit for our grandchildren for this Easter. The tradition continues...

jkoch By Dr. John Koch Question: My dog seems to always have a lot of ear wax. It doesn't seem to bother him, but I am afraid it will lead to infection. What is the proper way to clean his ears? Answer: Ideas about the best technique for cleaning ears changes from time to time. ...

smcclanahan During this season of Lent, many people practice eating fish on Friday. At the Senior Center we are careful to serve fish on every Friday during Lent. For those who do practice this tradition, you might enjoy a change from fried fish. If you can't find the black grouper filets, almost any kind of firm, textured filet will do fine...

By Debbie Naeter If you are on anyone's mailing list anywhere, by now you have probably received your spring 2002 seed and nursery catalogs. Aren't they fun? You can sit and dream up the most beautiful garden; it's filled with all your favorite blooms and overflowing with perfect fruit and vegetables. There's not a weed, bug or disease in sight...

10 years ago: March 6, 1992 Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents has discontinued 1987 fee stabilization plan that permitted students to "lock in" incidental fee charges for eight semesters; board action came Thursday on recommendation of university administration...

An article Tuesday featuring victims' advocate Tammy Adams incorrectly reported her hometown. Adams is from Ware, Mo. Another article incorrectly reported that Darin G. Walker was charged by summons on Feb. 1. He was charged on Feb. 1, 2001. The Southeast Missourian regrets the errors...

Uhrhan Son to Chad Eric and Kristen Rae Uhrhan of Jackson, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 1:50 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2002. Name, Noah Tyler. Weight, 7 pounds 13.2 ounces. Mrs. Uhrhan is the former Kristen Martin, daughter of Larry and Janice Martin of Chaffee, Mo. She is an intern architect with Robert Stearnes and Associates, Architects. Uhrhan is the son of Mark and Peggy Uhrhan of Jackson. He is a union sheet metal worker with Drury Co...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Louis E. Sackberger, 74, of Cairo died Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at his home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo.

ST. LOUIS -- Chester Simmons Jr., 74, of Pasadena Hills, Mo., died Monday, March 4, 2002. He was born Dec. 14, 1927, in Fornfelt, Mo., son of Alene Bollinger and Chester Simmons Sr. He was awarded 17 citations during his 20-year career in the U.S. Army...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Gilbert J. LeClere, 55, of Scott City died Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

TAMMS, Ill. -- Marilyn Jean Bennett, 57, of Tamms died Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 16, 1945, in Thebes, Ill., daughter of Richard and Zelva Dunning Bennett. Bennett was a member of Freewill Baptist Church at Olive Branch and Wetaug Homemakers Extension Club...

BENTON, Mo. -- Brian W. Rickman, 25, of Benton died Monday, March 4, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. He was born Nov. 11, 1976, at Dexter, Mo., son of Charles Edward and Peggy Darlene Williams Rickman. Rickman had been a welder at Wheeler's Trailer Co. at Morley, Mo...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Margaret Francis Cope, 60, of Scott City died Monday, March 4, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 30, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Alvin Ray and M. Madeline Bader Stoffregen. She and Daniel Jessie Cope were married July 25, 1957, in Cape Girardeau...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Marie Rinehart, 98, of Jonesboro died Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at Union County Nursing Home in Anna, Ill. Hileman and Parr Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Lloyd L. Sichling, 76, of Olive Branch died Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at his home. He was born Oct. 31, 1925, at Grand Chain, Ill., son of Irving Earl and Martha Ellen File Sichling. He and Violet Hofer were married July 1, 1949...

Edna Young, 82, of Springfield, Ill., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, March 1, 2002, in Springfield. She was born Dec. 9, 1919, in Issaquena County, Miss., daughter of Jimmy and Grace Bradford. Young moved from Cape Girardeau to Springfield about a year ago...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Hester D. Hendrix, 97, of Perryville died Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Jan. 21, 1905, at Yount, Mo., daughter of Ruben and Effie Kennon Edmond. She and Andrew Hendrix were married Aug. 7, 1922. He died June 27, 1978...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Mary Lucille Fritzen, 80, of Bisbee, Ariz., died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, at Sierra Vista Regional Health Center in Sierra Vista, Ariz., following a brief illness. She was born Oct. 10, 1921, at Lutesville, Mo., daughter of the Rev. Charles E. and Mildred G. Corbin. She and Richard W. Schroeder were married April 1, 1945, at Lutesville. He died Oct. 11, 1962. She later married Henry Fritzen in 1975, who died in 2000...

Peace and closure GOD BE with the Walter Gibbs family. May you have the peace and closure you need at this time. Proper scheduling THE NEXT time you make a doctor's appointment, please tell the doctor's office what you need to be seen for, and the person scheduling you will tell how much time will be allotted to you. ...

To the editor: On Feb. 26, the Jackson School District got it exactly right. Before the board of education meeting, a presentation at the high school auditorium took place. Entitled "Operation: Recognition," this ceremony grants an honorary diploma to those men or women who left high school before graduating to serve their country in the armed forces...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas' Drew Gooden, an All-Big 12 first-team member on the nation's top-ranked team, is the unanimous choice as The Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year. It would be a scandal if he weren't. The 6-10 junior -- widely expected to depart Kansas a year early for the NBA -- topped all other Big 12 players in points (20.6 per game) and rebounds (11.1)...

It didn't take long for the coaching vacancy signs to go up. Pat Kennedy of DePaul and Mack MaCarthy of Virginia Commonwealth resigned on Tuesday, while Jim Molinari of Bradley and Mel Hankinson of Liberty were fired. Massachusetts women's coach Joanie O'Brien also was dismissed...

CLEVELAND -- Cedrick Banks walked over and greeted Loyola coach Larry Farmer after the game just as he almost always does -- with a hug and kiss. "I love the kid," Farmer said. "I just wish he would have missed that shot." Banks made a turnaround jumper with four seconds left in overtime Tuesday night, giving Illinois-Chicago a 76-75 win over Loyola of Chicago in the championship game of the Horizon tournament...

OMAHA, Neb. -- Selection Sunday won't hold quite as much suspense for Creighton's basketball team this year. The Bluejays are waiting only to find out who and where they will play in the NCAA tournament. They already know they will be invited. "It feels nice. We can sit back, relax and have fun with it," said Kyle Korver, who had 18 points and nine rebounds Monday night when Creighton beat Southern Illinois 84-76 in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game...

SAN DIEGO -- For 30 minutes, Dan Dickau looked all too average and the automatic NCAA berth that Gonzaga has grown used to was slipping away. Then Dickau hit a 3-pointer. And another. Then two more in a bang-bang sequence. He hit from the corner, from the wing, from way beyond the top of the key...

ST. LOUIS -- Notre Dame Regional High School opened its girls' swim season with a win over Incarnate Word. In the process, Lindsay Kuper's four wins included state cut times in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle. Kuper also won the 100-meter butterfly and anchored the winning 200-meter freestlye relay...

CLASS 2A GIRLS SECTIONAL Notre Dame (25-2) vs. Twin Rivers (25-3) WHEN/WHERE: 6:30 p.m., Cape Girardeau Central High School UP NEXT: John Burroughs (16-11) or Arcadia Valley (14-11) KEY PLAYERS: Twin Rivers, G Amanda Lance (5-5, so., 20 ppg), C Racheal Baker (6-0, sr., 10.5 ppg), G Nickey Clark (5-5, sr., 9.5 ppg); Notre Dame, C Deana McCormick (6-0, sr., 14 ppg, 7.2 rpg), F Lisa Millham (5-10, sr., 16 ppg), F Ashley Millham (5-10, so., 14 ppg). ...

Notre Dame's days of easy victories are likely a thing of the past. Tonight, Notre Dame's girls quest to return to the Class 2A state championship game gets serious when the Bulldogs encounter Twin Rivers in the sectional round at Cape Girardeau Central High School. It will be a meeting of two 25-win teams...

CHICAGO -- Long-term exposure to the air pollution in some of America's biggest metropolitan areas significantly raises the risk of dying from lung cancer and is about as dangerous as living with a smoker, a study of a half-million people found. The study echoes previous research and provides the strongest evidence yet of the health dangers of the pollution levels found in many big cities and even some smaller ones, according to the researchers from Brigham Young University and New York University.. ...

Residents know Cape Girardeau is a great place to live and do business. Now many business investors and plant-site specialists around the nation are likely to get a positive view of our city, thanks to a survey by KPMG, one of the world's largest accounting and consulting firms...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, March 6 Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday:At 6:36 p.m., a Dumpster fire at 2008 N. Kingshighway. At 9:55 p.m., an emergency medical service at 823 N. Clark. At 10:25 p.m., an emergency medical service at 436 Louis...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, March 6 ArrestsJames Howard Douglas, 21, of 301 N. Lorimier was arrested Monday for contempt of court. Dallas Edward Dover, 37, of Scott City, Mo., was arrested Monday for failure to appear. Tina Marie Roberts, 39, of 621 Themis was arrested Monday on an outstanding warrant for stealing...

WASHINGTON -- It doesn't take much these days to draw a pair of jet fighters off your wingtips -- an unruly airline passenger, a wrong turn into restricted airspace or deviation from a flight plan. Since Sept. 11, concerns about more terrorism in North America's skies have drawn investigating U.S. and Canadian fighters 292 times, military officials say...

WASHINGTON -- Key Senate Democrats said Tuesday that President Bush's welfare plan fails to give poor Americans support needed to move out of poverty, does not spend enough on child care and wrongly fails to restore benefits for legal immigrants. The president is also wrong to call for $300 million to promote marriage among welfare recipients, said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, which will write legislation this year renewing the 1996 welfare overhaul...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush slapped hefty tariffs of up to 30 percent on a range of steel imports Tuesday, suggesting it would help ailing U.S. steelmakers get back on their feet. The action could raise prices on products including cars and appliances and drew sharp criticism from U.S. trading partners...

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- The last-place New York Knicks extended the contract of coach Don Chaney, who has an 11-27 record since taking over in November following the resignation of Jeff Van Gundy. "Yeah, it's true," Chaney said as he left practice at SUNY-Purchase...

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Eli Marrero became the fifth different starting left fielder in six games for the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. The defending NL Central champions are set everywhere else. But in left field, it appears to be a wide-open derby. "All we've said to these guys is if you play left, center or right, they all count," manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday. ...

ANKIEL WILL SKIP NEXT START BECAUSE OF SORE ELBOW VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Rick Ankiel's spring training comeback is on temporary hold due to elbow pain that will force the St. Louis Cardinals left-hander to skip a start...

Luke Allen singled in the tying run with two outs in the eighth inning, rallying the Dodgers into a 4-4 tie with the Cardinals on Tuesday. Omar Daal, trying to become the Dodgers' fifth starter, allowed two first-inning homers and six hits in three innings. Five days ago, he allowed five runs in just one inning...

Parents of Army Sgt. Philip J. Svitak, the second Missouri soldier killed in the latest assault in Afghanistan, on Tuesday called their son a good father and husband who proudly served in the war on terrorism. Svitak, 31, of Joplin, Mo., was among seven U.S. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The guilty plea by the pharmacist who diluted cancer medication is likely to bolster drug companies' defense that Robert R. Courtney is solely responsible, a legal scholar said. Pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb are defendants in roughly 200 lawsuits filed in Jackson County by the druggist's former patients...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- With statewide elections just a few months off, legislators are debating whether to revise voting procedures to avert problems like those that occurred in Missouri and elsewhere in 2000. The Senate and House spent most of Tuesday debating their respective bills but made little headway toward first-round approval...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis couple has been awarded $10.5 million in a lawsuit against the maker of a car safety seat for injuries their 2-year-old son suffered when a drunk driver struck their car. A jury ruled Friday that the Cosco safety seat had a faulty design that was partly responsible for severe injuries suffered by Benjamin Uxa. The toddler was in a Cosco high-back booster seat on Sept. 27, 1999, when his mother's car was struck...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Trucks, school buses and firetrucks lined up as the state's first biodiesel pump opened for business at a capital city gas station. The diesel fuel composed of a 20 percent soybean mix can be used by any diesel engine, much like a corn-based ethanol mix can be used by gasoline-powered vehicles...

LaFAYETTE, Ga. -- Authorities filed 56 additional charges Tuesday against the operator of a northwest Georgia crematory where hundreds of discarded corpses have been found and an official said the recovery of bodies was ending. "Hopefully we have found all of them," said Walker County Emergency Management Agency Director David Ashburn. "We are scaling back now."...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Amid growing pressure on the Catholic Church to rid itself of pedophiles, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said Monday it paid $25,000 in 1996 to settle a sexual abuse claim against a priest. The alleged abuse occurred in the early 1980s, when the accuser was in grade school and the accused was his parish priest, the Rev. Patrick Rush, vicar general of the diocese, told The Kansas City Star...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Despite an attempt at compromise, a state Senate panel defeated legislation Tuesday that would have let police use cameras to catch motorists running red lights. The Senate Transportation Committee voted 5-2 against the measure after members raised concerns about invading personal privacy and allowing machines to do a human's work...