Stories from Saturday, March 2, 2002

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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."...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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."...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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 -- 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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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'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...

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...

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...

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...

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."...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...