Stories from Saturday, September 7, 2002

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson High couldn't have asked for more. With less then a minute left and the game on the line, the Indians had a fourth-and-goal situation at the 6-yard line with a chance to tie the game. But Friday wasn't the night. "We wore out and Sikeston beat us," Jackson coach Carl Gross said after his team's 21-14 season-opening loss. "They outcoached us and outplayed us."...

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico -- With the global economy still sluggish a year after the Sept. 11 attacks, finance leaders are looking for ways to jump-start economic growth while expanding their fight to halt the flow of money used for terrorism. In closed meetings Friday at this Pacific coast resort, finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum considered whether to adopt a U.S.-proposed action plan to fight terrorism financing...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis pharmacist was arrested Friday and charged with 12 felony counts of Medicaid fraud, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said. Charges against Bruce Greenwald, 45, were contained in an indictment returned by a grand jury at Nixon's request...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A recently retired judge is mounting a campaign to oust a Supreme Court judge and four state appeals judges up for retention elections this November. Former Judge Ralph Voss says he has nothing against the sitting judges. His complaint is against Missouri's judicial system...

ST. LOUIS -- Preliminary tests show that 15 new human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Missouri, health officials said Friday. That brings the state's number of human cases of the mosquito-borne disease to 67. All but one of the new cases were from the St. Louis area -- six from St. Louis County, eight from St. Louis city. One case was from Pulaski County...

ST. LOUIS -- Suddenly, Marc Bulger is back to carrying a clipboard and wearing a baseball cap instead of leading the St. Louis Rams' offense. The lion's share of the playing time in the preseason went to the third-string quarterback, with Kurt Warner getting saved for the regular season and backup Jamie Martin out much of the time with an injured collarbone. He threw nearly twice as many passes as Warner, 85-46, in the games that don't count, with three touchdowns and three interceptions...

NEW YORK -- The streak of Sister Slams was under siege Friday. In one U.S. Open semifinal, Venus Williams, hampered by a blister on her hand, trailed 0-40 in the 10th game of the third set. In the other, Serena Williams was down 5-2 in the second set, and later faced three set points...

ST. LOUIS -- This sibling rivalry was no contest. Andy Benes came within one out of a shutout and contributed to younger brother Alan's early exit with two hits during an 11-run third inning as the Cardinals beat Chicago 11-2 Friday night. "We were hoping for a 1-0 game," Andy Benes said. "I'll tell you what, the third inning just killed me watching it and I had to kind of regroup...

WASHINGTON -- Every day the Supreme Court receives formal legal briefs that cost thousands of dollars just to print. Then there's the larger group of homemade appeals, sometimes scrawled on torn-out notebook paper or held together with duct tape, making pleas that range from touching to odd...

WASHINGTON -- A half dozen of the largest federal agencies squandered $19 billion in erroneous payments last year, and the total amount wasted is probably far greater, according to a report released Friday. Improper Medicare payments accounted for more than half the money, according to the study by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The government also paid out more than it should in housing subsidies and tax refunds...

WASHINGTON -- Easing fears of a dip back into recession, the nation's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a five-month low in August as companies added jobs for a fourth straight month. The jobless rate dropped to 5.7 percent last month, down from July's 5.9 percent and the lowest since March, the Labor Department reported Friday. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged or edge up slightly...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is considering creation of a fund that would combine tax dollars and money from the technology industry to pay for Internet security enhancements, according to internal documents from the government's effort to develop a national cyberprotection plan...

WASHINGTON -- Thanks to an aggressive campaign of cost-cutting, including a major cut in staff, the Postal Service is finishing the fiscal year in better financial condition than anticipated. Postmaster General John E. Potter said Friday the agency expects to finish the fiscal year this month with a 1.2 billion loss...

Cape Girardeau Fire Department Saturday, Sept. 7 Firefighters responded to the following items Friday: At 2:49 p.m., emergency medical service at 3020 Boutin. At 3:35 p.m., emergency medical service at 2849 Vista Lane. At 6:52 p.m., citizen assistance at 1705 David....

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Sept. 7 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Gregory I. Campbell, 39, of 1732 Northwood Court, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of burglary and assault...

Classes in the Cape Girardeau School District began Tuesday. If only construction on the road leading up to the new Central High School had gone as smoothly as construction on the school itself. But it didn't, so on the first day of classes an unfinished Silver Springs Road was off limits to cars, and parents and students sat in vehicles backed up more than a mile from the school. Students still poured into the parking lot a half-hour after the first bell...

It's natural for a teacher to think that September, and not Jan. 1, is the right time to mark the start of the year. So Harvey Cox, author and Harvard Divinity School professor, finds it fitting that this is the season when Jews begin their New Year (Rosh Hashana)...

JERUSALEM -- It's supposed to be a time of deep reflection -- of leaving behind past rancor, asking forgiveness, starting anew. But there's a decidedly unapologetic feeling in Israel this year on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year that began at sundown Friday, exactly two years on the Jewish calendar since fighting erupted and torpedoed Mideast peace...

GAN YOSHIYA, Israel -- Few animals can match the donkey for its biblical reputation. In the Old Testament, a talking ass saved the prophet Balaam from doom as they plodded down a road toward the angel of the Lord. In the New Testament, Jesus made his final entry into Jerusalem seated on a young donkey as residents strewed palm fronds in their path...

When a ship is listing, nothing can be more important than the wise direction of a captain. A struggling Cape Girardeau Central football team heeded the words of their newly appointed captains Friday night at Houck Stadium and survived some turbulent waters...

tboswell When boys build a neat treehouse, "Members Only" is the first sign that goes up. Though, at the age when such things matter, the "s" in "members" may be printed backwards. You need a special handshake, maybe give a drop of blood. As for icky girls, they can't come in at all...

TACOMA, Wash. The first hate-crime at Temple Beth El happened right after Sept. 11 and just before the Jewish High Holy Days. Someone spray-painted "Zionism plus U.S. equals 5,000 dead" on the parking lot. The second occurred the following weekend. Two flaming, fire-starting logs were placed at the back of the synagogue -- one beneath a natural-gas line. No one was hurt...

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian Whether they're standing in the checkout line at their local grocery store or waiting -- sometimes impatiently -- at a stoplight, people are praying. Everybody prays, whether they know it or not...

It's a longtime tradition that has book lovers lining up year after year. The annual Cape Girardeau Public Library Book Sale opened at 5 p.m. Friday to dozens of literary enthusiasts, eager to take advantage of the bargains. Many visitors who weren't already members of the Friends of the Library Foundation paid $15 to join and be allowed to peruse books during the exclusive, members-only first hour of the sale...

TIMELY DONATION By Mark Bliss ~ Southeast Missourian Southeast Missouri State University has received a $750,000 charitable gift to its Harrison College of Business, the largest scholarship endowment ever made to the business school...

Nate Johnston once hoped to play for Southern Illinois. Tonight he will try to help Southeast Missouri State University knock off that same team. Johnston isn't scheduled to start in today's game, but figures to play quite a bit. Either way, the sophomore safety says he's excited about facing the Salukis in Carbondale, about 10 miles from his hometown of Carterville...

NEW YORK -- Congress paid homage Friday to the victims and heroes of last Sept. 11, convening blocks from where the World Trade Center towers once loomed and pledging the nation's determination to vanquish terrorism. Meeting outside Washington for only the second time since moving there in 1800, more than 300 lawmakers held a solemn 50-minute session that was a collage of speeches, poetry and music. ...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A judge lost her patience with Zacarias Moussaoui's inflammatory rhetoric. Moussaoui's handwritten motions will no longer be released to the public unless he stops putting in political diatribes, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema says...

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- A jury convicted 13- and 14-year-old brothers Friday of murdering their sleeping father with a baseball bat and then setting fire to their home in hopes of covering up the crime. A short time later, a second jury in the unusual case acquitted a 40-year-old family friend,Ricky Chavis, of the slaying. Prosecutors had argued at his trial that he wielded the bat, then argued at the boys' trial that they struck the fatal blows to escape their controlling father...

Frank Ochoa, imprisoned on an attempted carjacking conviction, thought he had the guards fooled. The inmate at a minimum-security prison in the California desert slipped his electronic bracelet around a hot cup of coffee and made a run for it. Ochoa apparently didn't know that by tampering with the tracking device, he had triggered an alarm at the Calipatria prison's security control center. Guards caught Ochoa less than a mile away...

Separatist violence kills six in Kashmir SRINAGAR, India -- Suspected Islamic militants killed six people in attacks in disputed Kashmir on Friday, and separatists said four of their leaders were placed under house arrest to stop them from campaigning for a boycott of upcoming elections...

West Nile virus may have reached California LOS ANGELES -- A California woman has tested positive for the West Nile virus in what could be the first human case contracted in the western United States, health officials said Friday in announcing preliminary test results...

MUNICH, Germany -- Thirty years after the massacre of 11 Israelis by Palestinian gunmen at the Olympic Games, Germany announced Friday that relatives had accepted $2.98 million in compensation -- far less than the $29 million they demanded and without an apology...

STUTTGART, Germany -- Tipped by U.S. authorities, German police arrested a Turkish man and his American fiancee for allegedly plotting to attack U.S. military bases in Heidelberg on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, German authorities said Friday...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai asserted Friday that Afghanistan is not descending into chaos and lawlessness even as police rounded up 17 people for questioning in the assassination attempt on his life. Karzai said the attempt on his life and a bombing at a crowded market place on Thursday were "done by terrorists in an isolated manner. This means they are no longer capable of mobilizing as groups so they act as individuals."...

WASA World Series today at Shawnee The WASA World Softball Tournament will kick off today at 9 a.m. at the Shawnee Sports Complex. The class D and E softball tournament will host teams from several states in the Midwest. Teams involved in the tournament had to qualify through state tournaments to participate...

Baseball The Cardinals said Friday they have agreed to buy the Rangers' Single-A Florida State League minor-league franchise. Terms were not disclosed. The Cardinals said they plan to move the Charlotte Rangers franchise from Port Charlotte, Fla., to Palm Beach County, Fla., where the team would play at St. ...

Local Muslims to hold open house on Sept. 29 The Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau will hold an open house for the community later this month. The center, at 298 N. West End Blvd., will be open for visitors from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 29. The event will feature discussions about Islamic beliefs, the role Muslims play in American society and displays of books and posters. Foods from the Islamic world also will be available as samples...

MOSCOW -- Deep within a Russian television advertisement for a local beer, Klinskoye, lurked a split-second message for another thirst-quencher: Pepsi. An image of Palmolive Fruit Essentials soap was there and gone in a blink on the NTV television network. Young viewers of Russian MTV unconsciously absorbed marketing messages for Secret deodorant, the New Musical Express newspaper and the Red Hot Chili Peppers album, "By the Way."...

LAKE OZARK, Mo. -- The city of Lake Ozarks does not have the right to strictly regulate what dancers at a strip club are required to wear, the Missouri Court of Appeals has ruled. The appeals court last week overturned a Miller County judge's ruling upholding a Lake Ozark ordinance requiring the dancers at Gentlemen's Quarterly to wear opaque coverings over the lower half of their breasts...

Lynch Son to Timothy Shawn and Kirsten Ann Lynch of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12:08 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2002. Name, Maxwell Ruger. Weight, 8 pounds 5 ounces. Third child, second son. Mrs. Lynch is the former Kirsten Benson-Adams, daughter of Dr. Riley and Connie Adams of Scopus, Mo. She is operations manager at Dominion Land Title. Lynch is the son of Robert and Gina Lynch of Mountain Home, Ark. He is a loan officer at Principal Residential Mortgage...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Transportation commissioners need to re-evaulate leadership within the Missouri Department of Transportation and become more accountable to the public, Gov. Bob Holden said Friday. Commissioners and department director Henry Hungerbeeler said they were unclear what the governor hoped to accomplish. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Department of Public Health reported seven newly confirmed cases of West Nile virus in the state Friday, bringing the total to 224. So far the state has confirmed nine deaths attributed to the mosquito-borne illness. The nonfatal cases announced Friday were all from suburban Cook County...

A thrilling new ride and many familiar favorites start running today as the 147th SEMO District Fair gets underway By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian It's 135 feet tall, requires a crane to assemble and those who attempt to conquer it will endure 4.5 g's and speeds of up to 60 mph as part of a two-second free fall that could transform stomach contents into airborne projectiles...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department will implement special traffic arrangements for the 2002 SEMO District Fair to assure the smooth and safe flow of vehicles entering and exiting the Arena Park area. "No Parking" signs were placed around the Arena Park area on Friday to restrict parking. The signs will be enforced today at 10 a.m. Any vehicles parked in the area will be towed away at the owner's expense and a ticket will be issued...

The SEMO District Fair starts today. This annual event has tremendous impact on the region. The fair, which goes through Sept. 14, is almost as much a part of Cape Girardeau as the Mississippi River or Cape Rock. Thousands from the Bootheel to near St. Louis count it among their earliest memories. Countless new memories will be made for the thousands who attend this year. Maybe it will be the booths inside and outside of the A.C. Brase Arena Building. The food. The rides...

Carbondale (Ill.) outlasted Cape Girardeau Central 4-3 in double overtime and Notre Dame rolled past Jackson 4-0 in Friday's semifinals of the eight-team Notre Dame Soccerfest. Central (2-1) got a goal and two assists from Heath Orr. Grant Hengst and Aaron Bornstein also scored goals while Calen Wills had an assist...

This is the last in a series of fall sports previews for area high schools. Information provided by the coaches of each school.Advance Coach: Nancy Lanpher Boys' returning runners: Levi Lanpher, sr.;Joseph Moroni, jr. Boys' key additions: Cody Roper, fresh.; Cory Roper, fresh.; Bobby Ranschburg, fresh.; Darrell Wade, fresh.; Garrett Jansen, soph.; Matt Ward, sr.; Eric Georger, fresh.; Garron Lewis, sr.; Kevin Adkins, fresh...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq on Friday accused U.S. and British planes of striking civilian targets during an air raid southwest of Baghdad, and it claimed its anti-aircraft batteries chased off the attacking jets. The U.S. military said Thursday that American and British planes attacked an air defense command and control facility at a military airfield 240 miles southwest of Baghdad...

By Karen DeYoung and Mike Allen ~ The Washington Post WASHINGTON - President Bush plans to tell world leaders at the United Nations next week that unless they take quick, unequivocally strong action to disarm Iraq, the United States will be forced to act on its own, senior administration officials said Friday...

HOUSTON -- Tropical Storm Fay gathered strength Friday, shutting down schools and prompting evacuations, while the Texas coast braced for a weak but soggy hurricane that could dump 15 inches of rain. By early Friday evening, Fay was about 105 miles south of Galveston and stationary. Sustained wind approached 60 mph and prompted a hurricane watch for a 150-mile stretch of coastline...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan and her challenger, Republican Jim Talent, may have the opportunity to debate before a national audience. NBC's "Meet the Press" has invited them to square off on the weekly news show. Talent said Wednesday he accepted the offer. Carnahan's campaign spokesman said she was considering the invitation...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Two former state officials have lent their names to a campaign for a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would give city utilities the ability to cooperate in the construction of power plants. Supporters of proposed Amendment 4 announced a campaign committee Friday that is headed by former Republican State Auditor Margaret Kelly of Springfield and former Democratic Secretary of State Bekki Cook of Cape Girardeau...

Saturday Women's retreat from 9:30 to noon at Father's Arms Fellowship in Scott City. Speakers are Ruth and Opal Eaker. Dinner at Bald Knob Cross at Alto Pass, Ill. The event is a fund-raising effort for the cross. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3.50 for children under age 10. Serving is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Carryouts are available...

CALDWELL, Mo. -- No charges have been filed as yet against Harvey Beasley of Cardwell, who authorities said was arrested Sunday afternoon for numerous game and other violations. "We're still sorting out which citations against Harvey will be federal and which will be state," Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Sokoloff said Friday morning...

Like most readers of your paper, I breeze through the Speak Out feature of the Southeast Missourian to see what the topic of the day is. Lately I have found that my name has been mentioned by callers in reference to the 1 percent cost-of-living raise that was approved by the Cape Girardeau City Council on June 17 for all city employees, not just the police department. ...

To the editor: In response to the editorial "Conclusions of teacher audit remain unclear": I find it disingenuous you think the results of the audit by State Auditor Claire McCaskill are due to our mobile society. Do you really think 80 percent of all people who graduate with a teaching degree quit after seven years because they moved? Or chose not to move? Or even had the wrong area of expertise? Why do you ignore the facts as they are laid before you?...

Tackling mosquitoes THE ATTEMPT to rid Cape of mosquitoes is about as useless as me throwing a rock at a million starlings. Can you believe anyone would say they are fighting the problem with one little sprayer, putting out a puff of smoke every month in the neighborhood? Saving just one person from getting a serious disease would be worth the effort to have a more serious and vigilant attitude to eliminate most of these pests. ...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Charles Joseph Keltner, 57, of Villa Ridge died Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002, at the VA Medical Center in Marion, Ill. He was born July 19, 1945, at New Burnside, Ill., son of Lewis Clayton and Elsie Gertrude Watson Keltner. Keltner was a truck driver for Rex Wilburn Farms of Pulaski, Ill. He attended Boaz Pentecostal Church...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Anna Bidewell, 93, of Advance died Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002, at Advance Nursing Center. She was born March 21, 1909, near Advance, daughter of William and Maude Helderman Jenkins. She and Glen Bidewell were married April 12, 1928, near Bloomfield, Mo. He died Nov. 30, 1971...

Joe F. Crader, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born March 12, 1934, in Cape Girardeau, son of Wilson J. and Ella Amanda Fischer Crader. He and Edna M. Noel were married Sept. 24, 1966, in Jackson, Mo...

ST. MARY'S, Mo. -- Ira J. Franklin, 88, of St. Mary's died Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002, at his home. He was born Aug. 28, 1914, at Sereno, Mo., son of Charles William "Jack" and Elizabeth Cissell Franklin. He and Rose Emma Bruckerhoff were married July 25, 1936, at Sereno...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- George Edmond Shinn Jr., 77, of Farmington died Thursday, Sept. 5, 2002, at Parkland Hospital. He was born Sept. 6, 1924, in St. Francois County, son of George and Edna Mearl Thomas Shinn. He married Bernice Marie Mell. Shinn had worked at St. Joseph Lead Co. and later at Meramec Mining Co. He was involved in the construction of Taum Sauk electric generating facility in Iron County. He also raised livestock...

Anna "Virginia" Eachus, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Sept. 6, 2002, at Riverview Manor Nursing Home in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. She was born June 1, 1915, at Hayti, Mo., daughter of Arthur Virgil and Amanda Polk McDonough Eachus. Eachus was a clerical worker with U.S. Civil Service in St. Louis. She was a member of Morley Baptist Church at Morley, Mo...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Bobby Dean Ables, 73, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002, at the home of a daughter in Memphis, Tenn. She was born April 25, 1929, in St. Louis, daughter of George and Mary Bell Woolford. She and Clennis Ables were married Sept. 23, 1945. He died Dec. 23, 1966...

10 years ago: Sept. 7, 1992 Labor Day. Supporters in Missouri and Illinois pledge more than $281,000 through this year's Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, helping boost national total raised to nearly $46 million; local segments of telethon, annual event that is responsible for close to half of local MDA's yearly budget, are broadcast from West Park Mall...

Country singer Rimes will try movie role LOS ANGELES -- Country star LeAnn Rimes is pitching herself as an actress. The 20-year-old Grammy-winner plans to star in the family-oriented baseball film "The Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth," The Hollywood Reporter reported Thursday...

MOSCOW -- A day after acrid smoke from forest and peat fires blanketed Moscow, a light rain Friday cleared the air -- and the government claimed the credit. The Emergency Situations Ministry said it drew rain clouds to the smog-shrouded capital and created showers by switching on a cubical piece of equipment, 3 feet on each side, that sits atop a ministry building in western Moscow...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Being proactive, not reactive, Stoddard County chief deputy Rick Cook Thursday expressed his concern for the fate of 50-year-old Bernie resident Claudia Sneed, who was reported missing by her family late Monday night. Wednesday afternoon a technical rescue team from St. ...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- In a brief court appearance Thursday afternoon a Poplar Bluff woman accused of covering up an alleged murder was bound over to stand trial. Laura Lee Hawkins, 39, of the 900 block of Cedar Street, appeared before Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth and told the court she wanted to waive her preliminary hearing...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A proposed new 50-bed hospital in Poplar Bluff is another step closer to reality. "We have had a great deal of community support and physician support and encouragement," said Steven C. Bjelich, president of Saint Francis Healthcare System...

STATE CONSTITUTION By Marc Powers ~ Southeast Missourian JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri voters are being asked to make three changes to the state constitution on Nov. 5...