Stories from Saturday, June 29, 2002

FRONTERA, Calif. -- A parole board refused Friday to grant freedom to former Manson disciple Leslie Van Houten after a lengthy hearing at which she said she would always bear the sorrow of the cult killings that landed her in prison 33 years ago. The ruling came after a prosecutor and the family of the victims urged the Board of Prison Terms never to grant parole to the now 52-year-old woman who was described as a model prisoner...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture is criticizing an animal rights group for erecting a billboard that uses the images of Jesus and Mary to promote an anti-milk campaign. Lowell Mohler said in a column released to the media Friday through his department that he is outraged by the billboard along Interstate 29 in St. Joseph...

ST. LOUIS -- Steve Fossett's Mission Control hopes to dismiss any doubt about whether the millionaire's balloon trip around the Southern Hemisphere's midsection counts as a true flight around the world. "A lot of people have had questions about whether a flight would count if you just flew in a circle around the North or South Pole," said Jeremy Raphael, a Mission Control spokesman. "It appears as if everything Steve has done is completely within the rules." Rules?...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri gave final approval Friday to state financing for a downtown exposition center in Springfield, a $12.5 million facility seen as key to the city's economic hopes. The agreement calls for the state to devote about $715,000 annually for 23 years to retire bonds for the project, with the city financing the rest...

WIMBLEDON, England -- Add Andy Roddick to the list of early losers at Wimbledon. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, too. On Friday, halfway through the third round, there were two ways to look at the men's tournament: Either there's impressive depth ... or no one wants to win...

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Facing humiliation, Germany and Brazil began winning soccer games. They haven't stopped since. On Sunday, the two most successful nations in World Cup history meet for the title. The Brazilians own an unprecedented four, the Germans have three. Both are in the championship game for a record seventh time. Yet both struggled just to qualify for the tournament...

AREA RIVERDOGS POST VICTORY OVER SALINE COUNTY SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau Riverdogs broke open a close game with a six-run eighth inning and defeated the Saline County Monarchs 8-1 Friday night. Billy Puckett picked up the win for the Riverdogs (9-10), allowing four hits over seven innings. He struck out five and walked two. Bobby Landers relieved Puckett and gave up just one hit over the final two innings...

NEW YORK -- Jorge Posada homered from both sides of the plate to drive in five runs Friday night and Robin Ventura knocked in four against his former team as the New York Yankees beat the New York Mets 11-5. Mo Vaughn hit a cannon shot and Roger Cedeno and Timo Perez also connected for the Mets. But those homers produced only four runs, and Posada bettered that...

ST. LOUIS -- Jason Simontacchi pitched seven impressive innings, and Placido Polanco hit a tiebreaking RBI double as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Friday night in a showdown for first place in the NL Central. Albert Pujols drove in two runs for the Cardinals, who had lost three of four after the death of pitcher Darryl Kile last Saturday. St. Louis is 7-3 against Cincinnati and two games ahead in the division after snapping the Reds' three-game winning streak...

WASHINGTON -- A colonoscopy has been called by some doctors the "save your life screening test" because the procedure is so successful in finding precancerous polyps, removing them and preventing cancer from getting started. "Virtually all colon cancer starts as polyps," said Dr. Christy A. Russell, a medical oncologist at the University of Southern California Medical Center. "The purpose of a colonoscopy is not to look for cancer, but to remove those polyps...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said he will briefly transfer the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday while under sedation for a colon screening. For only the second time, the 25th Amendment of the Constitution will be invoked and Cheney will be acting president for "a matter of hours," White House counsel Al Gonzales said after the surprise announcement...

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak and Bush administration officials closed a deal late Friday to help Amtrak get the $200 million it needs to keep passenger trains running through September. The deal helps Amtrak avert the first systemwide shutdown in its 31-year history, which had been threatened to begin next week...

WASHINGTON -- The gathering scandals in big business brought harsh words from President Bush for a third straight day Friday, even as Democrats accused Republicans of creating "anything goes" corporate standards ripe for fraud. In a stern, scolding tone, the president pledged that his Justice Department would prosecute miscreant executives...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether immigrant criminals can be kept jailed without bail to make sure they don't flee before deportation, a case with added resonance since the detentions of foreigners in terrorism investigations...

VATICAN CITY -- The pope doesn't smoke, but some eminent monsignors have been known to light up. Tough times are ahead for them as the Vatican is about to end its status as a heaven for smokers. As of July 1, the Vatican announced Thursday, smoking will be banned on premises open to the public, in offices and in vehicles used by the public. Those caught smoking will be fined nearly $30...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, June 28 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 2:23 p.m., a fuel leak at 3069 William St. At 3:42 p.m., an emergency medical situation at 200 West Park Mall. At 4:41 p.m., an emergency medical situation at 1423 Perryville Road...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Citing a larger than expected cash balance as the state's fiscal year nears its end, House Republican leader Catherine Hanaway on Friday called upon Gov. Bob Holden to release $100 million he withheld from colleges and nursing homes...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A Southwest Missouri firefighter has pleaded innocent to arson and burglary charges. James Justice and Terry L. McConnell are each charged with second-degree arson and second-degree burglary, both felonies. Justice, 20, of Republic, pleaded innocent Friday and is scheduled for trial Nov. 4...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- When she arrived in Afghanistan in December, Marie, 21, had never interrogated a prisoner. The only indication that she might have some aptitude for it, she said, was her success in extracting secrets from her sisters while growing up in Michigan...

Glover named Marian Anderson Award winner PHILADELPHIA -- Actor and human rights activist Danny Glover will be the fifth recipient of the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity. Glover is this year's recipient because of his work as an artist and a humanitarian, Mayor John F. Street announced Thursday...

Editorial from The Wall Street Journal God -- or the Supreme Court -- should save the honorable 9th Circuit Court of Appeals from itself. Last month that court ruled that Rastafarians could smoke marijuana on federal lands because pot is sacred to their religion...

Emma Lee Berry, 78, could drag out her walker. She could gingerly climb into a taxi cab and risk falling or slipping, an incident that would no doubt send her to the hospital. But she'd rather not have to take that risk for a little fast-food fried chicken. By using her Cape Girardeau taxi coupons, she doesn't have to. Berry has her KFC delivered...

CRUNCHING NUMBERS BY MARC POWERS ~ SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- With a majority of Missouri's people -- and voters -- it's no surprise that the St. Louis and Kansas City areas would enjoy more road improvements than other regions if the Proposition B transportation tax package on the Aug. 6 ballot wins statewide approval...

Editorial from The Wall Street Journal Walking through the New Orleans French Quarter the morning after Mardi Gras is never pretty: Men sleeping off the night before, lots of bottles and discarded masks, and here and there the police investigating a fresh felony. This is the equivalent of what we're watching now as the U.S. economy and culture recover from the late 1990s boom...

By Michael H. Maguire As one who is to the left of David Limbaugh, I must respond to his latest column. Limbaugh focused on two issues that consumed the 1960s and 1970s: Watergate and Vietnam. I do not think you can separate the two, particularly with regard to Watergate, because the division over that war had so much to do with it...

SALT LAKE CITY -- For more than a week, investigators looking into the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart urgently wanted to talk to a drifter they said might have information about the mysterious abduction. But once Bret Edmunds was found, recovering from a drug overdose in a hospital 1,800 miles away, police appeared to lose interest. And Richard Ricci, an ex-convict who once worked as a handyman in the Smart home, went to the top of the list of potential suspects...

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. -- Under billboards pointing tourists toward Amish souvenirs, an ornate, sandstone Hindu temple carves a corner of India into the middle of Pennsylvania's rolling farmland. Haveli at Vraj opened this spring -- the first temple in the Western Hemisphere consecrated as a principal shrine of the Pushti Marg sect. It is an official pilgrimage destination for Hindus in North America...

SEATTLE -- Islamic terrorists consider Seattle an "easy target" because of its relatively high crime rate and a perception that police staffing levels are low, the FBI warned area officials. Charles Mandigo, FBI special agent in charge of the Seattle office, told the King County Council that terrorists consider the area an "easy target" and an undisclosed number of potential local collaborators are "willing and able" to help commit terrorism...

SHOW LOW, Ariz. -- Firefighter Darin Whiting was protecting someone else's house from a raging wildfire when flames swept into his neighborhood and swallowed his own home. The Pinedale Fire Department was battling the same blaze when it ripped through town and destroyed its firehouse...

SAN DIEGO -- Four teen-agers who severely beat five elderly Mexican farm workers were sentenced Friday to terms ranging from four months in a youth detention camp to time in adult prisons. In sentencing the teen-agers, Judge James Milliken cited the severity of the attack on the men -- all in their 60s and 70s -- in a remote canyon in July 2000...

Indian prime minister sees no possibility of war LUCKNOW, India -- India's prime minister ruled out the possibility of war with Pakistan, but expressed doubts Friday that the Pakistani leader would permanently stop incursions by Islamic militants. "There is no possibility of war with Pakistan," Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told reporters in Lucknow, the capital of northern Uttar Pradesh state...

Consumer spending down slightly in May WASHINGTON -- Consumers, key players in the economic recovery, trimmed their spending in May for the first time in six months, buying fewer cars and other big-ticket items. The Commerce Department reported Friday that spending edged down by 0.1 percent in May, after rising by a solid 0.6 percent in April...

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli army distributed a photograph of a wide-eyed Palestinian baby dressed like a suicide bomber -- complete with a Hamas headband and what appeared to be an explosives belt -- stirring anger Friday among Israelis, who accused Palestinians of arming their children with hatred...

SPINBOLDAK, Afghan-istan -- Rockets, bullets and flaming munitions ripped through a dusty border town Friday after a large ammunition dump blew up, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens of others. The local Afghan commander blamed a rocket attack for triggering the blast...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, June 29 ArrestsLisa Elaine Cruz, 36, 2560 Lisa Drive, Apt. 1, was arrested Thursday on a Lexington County warrant for fraud. Robert J. Luttrell, 24, 419 Louis, was arrested Friday on a Cape Girardeau city warrant for failure to appear for a seat belt violation...

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Xerox Corp. said Friday that it had overstated revenue by $6.4 billion over the past five years, the latest blow to corporate America in what has become a dizzying parade of accounting missteps. The copier company said it had overhauled its books but still had $1.9 billion to report as revenue in the future...

MILLERSVILLE, Mo. -- Clyde Perry Jaco, 80, of Millersville died Thursday, June 27, 2002, at Jackson Manor in Jackson, Mo. He was born April 14, 1922, in New Madrid, Mo., son of Marion E. and Stella Statler Essner. He and Iva Hahn were married May 23, 1944...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Dathal Sams, 89, of Olive Branch died Friday, June 28, 2002, at his home. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill., from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday and 8 to 11 a.m. Monday. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Trinity Assembly of God Church in Olive Branch. Burial will be in Olive Branch Cemetery...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Ann Dorrough, 81, of Cahokia died Friday, June 28, 2002, at Memorial Hospital in Belleville, Ill. She was born March 27, 1921, at Jonesboro, Ill., daughter of Raymond and Edith Eddleman Kelley. Dorrough was formerly of Dongola, Ill. She was a member of the Church of God in Cahokia...

Funeral for Karen Sue York of Bonne Terre, Mo., will be held at 11 a.m. today at Boyer Funeral Home in Desloge, Mo. Private burial will be in Lorimier Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. There is no visitation. York, 58, died Thursday, June 27, 2002, at her home...

MATTHEWS, Mo. -- Inell Rhodes, 83, of Matthews died Friday, June 28, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. She was born Dec. 19, 1918, in Parsons, Tenn., daughter of Albert and Eva Bailey Moore. She and Charles F. Rhodes were married Oct. 4, 1937, at Kewanee, Mo. He died April 23, 1983...

Grace L. Hoffer, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, June 27, 2002, at her home. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Funeral for Ada Catherin Mays of Anna will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Anna Heights Baptist Church. The Rev. Scott Harner will officiate. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery. Friends may call at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna after 6 p.m. Saturday, and after 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the church. An Eastern Star service will be held at 7 tonight at the funeral home...

Johnson Daughter to Joshua Joseph Johnson and Hanna Lynn Jansen of Marble Hill, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 1:42 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, 2002. Name, Haley Lorraine. Weight, 7 pounds. First child. Ms. Jansen is the daughter of Gerald and Leeann Jansen of Leopold, Mo. She is employed at Crader Distributing Co. Johnson is the son of John and Beverly Johnson of Marble Hill. He is serving in the U.S. Navy...

10 years ago: June 29, 1992 President of Northeast Missouri State University at Kirksville, along with three other university officials, visit Cape Girardeau to publicize school; they meet with members of editorial board of Southeast Missourian and then make presentation at meeting of Cape Girardeau Rotary Club; Warren stresses that Northeast isn't trying to compete with regional institutions such as Southeast Missouri State in recruiting students...

PIEDMONT, Mo. -- The sight of a trail leading from a Piedmont home landed one man in jail after authorities saw suspected marijuana plants growing at the end of it. Rickey W. Durbin, 40, of Piedmont was charged with the Class B felony of production of marijuana by Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Jon Kiser. He is being held in the Wayne County Jail on $25,000 cash/surety bond...

Museum's new annex to open today Museum's annex to open for public today POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Margaret Harwell Art Museum will take part in the Fourth of July festivities, with the opening of the museum's new annex and a holiday brunch today...

Ferry towboat bids sought a second time By Scott Welton Standard Democrat CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Mississippi County Port Authority will seek bids for a new ferry towboat for the second time. Leon Steinbrueck, administrator for the Mississippi County Port Authority, updated county commissioners during their meeting Thursday on the port authority's efforts to buy a new tow boat for the Hickman-Dorena Ferry...

Bingo jackpot climbs to $4,000 By Callie Chitwood Daily American Republic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- What better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than winning $4,000? Area residents will have an opportunity to do just that Sunday during a special Community Development Bingo game at the Black River Coliseum...

Standard Democrat SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce members had the chance to look over the four proposals for ward boundaries at their monthly luncheon on Thursday. Doug Friend, Sikeston city administrator, presented the versions, one of which will be selected Monday as Sikeston changes to ward representation...

Museum's annex to open for public activities today POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Margaret Harwell Art Museum will take part in July 4 festivities early, with the opening of the museum's new annex and a holiday brunch today. "We've scheduled this event every year for when the parade goes by," said Nancy Buttry, president of the Friends of the Museum...

UNIONTOWN, Mo. -- Wilma A. Kramer, 77, of Uniontown died Friday, June 28, 2002, at Uniontown. She was born July 20, 1924, at Pocahontas, Mo., daughter of Rudolph and Lena Danz Reisenbichler. She and Herbert A. Kramer were married Aug. 17, 1947. Kramer was a dairy farmer. She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Roxie Penrod, 97, of Dongola died Friday, June 28, 2002, at Memorial City Hospital in Houston, Texas. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola.

Myron "Boomer" Carter, 70, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, June 27, 2002, at his home. He was born July 27, 1931, at Hornersville, Mo., son of Luther and Carrie Kinsall Carter. He and Carol E. Boston were married May 17, 1980, at Chaffee, Mo. Mr. Carter worked on the Frisco and Burlington Northern Railroads 42 years, retiring in 1993 as a conductor. He was of the Baptist belief...

The Jackson School District is in an enviable position. Its enrollment has grown about 3 percent a year for the past 10 years, prompting the construction of new schools and classroom additions throughout the district. Jackson High School has seen part of that expansion and improvement with the addition of a math and science building in 1998. Still, much of it remains the same. Spread over seven buildings on acres of lush green campus, its buildings represent tradition as much as education...

The pop-pop-pop of firecrackers already is ringing in the ears of area residents as everyone gears up for an extra-special Fourth of July celebration. Fireworks vendors are predicting brisk sales this year as the nation recovers from the hurt of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and honors the men and women fighting a war overseas...

Life has been bad for Blenda Baty since Colorado's wildfires began. A severe and chronic asthma sufferer, the 46-year-old Denver resident first noticed smoke on June 9, a day when it hung thick over the city. She fought for breath on the short walk home from church...

If Americans take stock of their nation religiously as well as politically and militarily this first Fourth of July after Sept. 11, they might ponder the claim that "America is still in many ways a Protestant nation." So we're advised by Randall Balmer, Barnard College historian, and Lauren Winner, a Columbia University doctoral student, in their popular history "Protestantism in America." It's the latest volume in Columbia University Press' notable "Contemporary American Religion" series. ...

Today Jerome Green and the Voices of Triumph will perform a gospel concert at 7 p.m. at Anna Heights Baptist Church in Anna, Ill. St. John's United Church of Christ will host the Singing C's at 7 p.m. for a concert. The group is from Camden, Tenn...

Helping young children understand Bible lessons and Scripture isn't an easy task for any Sunday school teacher or parent but storytelling can bring those lessons alive through colorful images and characters. While most children learn Bible stories about creation, Noah and the ark, Moses and the Ten Commandments, Joseph and his coat of many colors, David and Goliath and even Samson, few get lessons about Exodus or Leviticus. Some lessons in the Old Testament are overlooked...

To make their books more interactive, the Meyers added CDs of the work. The entire book can be read on computer. To make their books more interactive, the Meyers added CDs of the work. The entire book can be read on computer.

As Martha Maxton continues in a leadership role at her Methodist church, she ends up attending many conferences. But she tries to never lose sight of the deeper reason for the meetings. "The days are chock full but it's a joy and if you think of it as worship and doing things for your church then it is a joy and not work," she said...

Martha Maxton stood beside a favorite painting in her home that she purchased on a trip to Israel. Maxton recently served as a delegate to the annual United Methodist Church conference in Columbia, Mo. 'Trumpets of fire' show at Cornerstone The congregation of Cornerstone Church in Cape Girardeau will be the site for "Trumpets of Fire" with Larry Herron at 6 p.m. Sunday...

Several area congregations will celebrate freedom and patriotism during worship services Sunday. Many will include special recognition of veterans and military personnel. The following churches are planning services: Cape First Assembly will hold a "Heartland Freedom Celebration" at 6:30 p.m. ...

Whether it's excelling in the Olympics or working with youngsters, the sport of gymnastics has always been near and dear to the hearts of Svetlana Boguinskaia and Tatiana Lysenko. "We've been involved in gymnastics the biggest part of our lives," Lysenko said. "Most of the things we have achieved have been through gymnastics."...

Tom Bolen was an unlikely hero Friday night. Bolen, the Cape Girardeau Craftsman Union Capahas right fielder, had struck out in his first four at-bats as he came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning of a tie game at Capaha Field. And it looked like Bolen might make it a perfect night in strikeouts when he fell behind in the count 1-2...

To the editor: I think we should use less wood. Maybe people could build houses that aren't so big. Instead of building houses out of wood, we could use steel frames, then cover the outside with siding. If people really knew how many animal homes they were destroying, maybe they would use less wood. ...

To the editor: In response to a recent Speak Out caller referring to the rate increase in his homeowner's insurance and that it was still a good deal: You are in a minority who think so objectively about insurance and how rates are determined. Whenever your insurance company pays out more in claims than it receives in premiums, two things have to happen. ...

Opportunity to vent EVERYONE NEEDS to vent somehow. I thank God for everything I have, but this isn't a perfect world. Speak Out is an easy way to get things off your mind and see what other people think. Affordable advice I WOULD like to ask Jackson officials where they get all this money to pay out-of-towners to come up with ridiculous ideas about things everybody else already knows. ...

Southeast Missouri State University is gambling on a lottery to make it fairer for students who want preferred parking permits that allow them to park in lots adjacent to residence halls and other campus buildings. School officials announced Friday that permits will be handed out through a random lottery rather than the first-come, first-serve method of past years...