Stories from Monday, September 9, 2002

dwilson What does it take to be No. 1? No, I haven't been listening to Nelly. I'm talking about the great American sport of football. For starters: a defense. I've said it before and I'll say it again and again: Defense wins championships. On the subject of defense, a key ingredient for any offense is protection. With big and experienced hog-mollies up front a team can do anything. Just ask Clinton Portis and Ken Dorsey. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a talented backfield, too...

CHICAGO -- More than 40 potentially harmful drug errors daily were found on average in hospitals in a new study, yet another report on a worrisome problem regulators are working to remedy. The most common errors were giving hospitalized patients medication at the wrong time or not at all, researchers found in a study of 36 hospitals and nursing homes in Colorado and Georgia...

LOS ANGELES -- The guard at the entrance to this location shoot wouldn't let Martin Sheen in. It's not often that the actor who plays the president of the United States on television isn't recognized. "You need a dose of that now and then," said a laughing Sheen, who eventually was cleared to enter the abandoned airport for the filming of a promotional spot for "The West Wing."...

The AssociatedPress MANTI, Utah -- An apparent tornado took roofs off houses, brought down power lines and uprooted trees Sunday, officials said. No injuries were immediately reported. Manti residents reported seeing a funnel cloud touch down at 1:50 p.m., said a dispatcher for the Sanpete County sheriff's office...

NEW YORK -- CBS executive Kelly Kahl feels a little like a football player, all taped up and wearing pads, anxiously waiting in the locker room for the start of a new season. Before he can charge onto the field, it might be worth a look back at the summer -- broadcast television's long offseason -- to see what lessons it might offer...

NEW YORK -- Wall Street generally looks forward, not back. These days it's doing both as it prepares for Wednesday's anniversary of the airliner hijack attacks. A year after the attacks destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, investors are still scared about the possibility of more terrorism. Some worry that new attacks may be attempted on the anniversary...

VIENNA, Austria -- A nation still reeling from ethnic warfare threatens to re-ignite at the ballot box. A president accused of making time stand still struggles to cling to power. A rebel candidate is targeted with bombs and a warrant for his arrest as a terrorist...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran chided the United States for what it sees as its failure to recognize Iran's counterterrorism efforts and accused Washington of using terrorist tactics itself. "America's approach since Sept. 11 has been to fight terrorism through the use of force and violence, the same language used by terrorists," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said at a news conference on Sunday...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Al-Qaida considered striking U.S. nuclear facilities in the Sept. 11 attacks and hasn't ruled out nuclear attacks in the future, an Arab television reporter who interviewed two plotters of the terror attacks said Sunday...

NHWALI, Zimbabwe -- As the girls talk about their hunger, they giggle nervously, as girls often do when they talk about themselves. Their grades have plummeted. They fall asleep in class from exhaustion. Often, when they have nothing at all to eat, they don't even bother coming to school...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai left Sunday for the United States to attend the opening of the U.N. General Assembly and ceremonies marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He will meet President Bush to discuss the ongoing campaign against al-Qaida and Taliban holdouts and international efforts to rebuild his shattered country...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- There will be a different atmosphere at the Capitol when lawmakers return for their annual veto session on Wednesday -- the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lawmakers plan to open the veto session shortly before noon, then recess to attend a memorial service on the steps of the Capitol in honor of the Sept. 11 victims...

ST. LOUIS -- At first Lynnda Gebel wanted to hide her 13-year-old daughter's identity. But Gebel, of Barnhart, said she changed her mind after two suspects in an alleged murder plot against Tiffany Van Nostrand were charged with conspiracy to commit murder...

DeGRAFF, Ohio -- A fiery collision between a train and pickup truck killed four people and injured another Sunday afternoon at a railroad crossing near this western Ohio village. The injured victim was thrown from the back of the pickup, and the dead were trapped in the wreckage, Logan County Sheriff Michael Henry said...

Basketball Yugoslavia came back from an eight-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes to beat Argentina 84-77 in overtime for the gold medal in the World Championships in Indianapolis. Dejan Bodiroga scored 27 points, including nine straight points late in the fourth quarter when Yugoslavia rallied to tie it, and Peja Stojakovic had 26...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf reiterated his support Sunday for an international anti-terrorism effort and said Islamic radicals must be held in check in his nation and elsewhere. Musharraf also said his country's relations with India were "at their lowest ebb" as the two nuclear rivals continued to trade artillery fire over the contested province of Kashmir...

RICHLAND, Texas -- A truck driver whose rig crashed into an interstate overpass Sunday was freed almost eight hours after the structure collapsed on top of him. The man's 19-month-old son died. Rescuers cut away at the cab to get to the driver. Cleaster Broadway, 41, of Moro, Ark., had been communicating with sheriff's and Department of Public Safety officials since the collapse, said Lt. Gary Myles...

By John Marshall The Associated Press DENVER -- The Denver Broncos were a field goal away from replacing Brian Griese with Steve Beuerlein in the fourth quarter. It's a good thing for the Broncos that St. Louis kicker Jeff Wilkins missed. Griese threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and led Denver on a 71-yard drive for the deciding score as the Broncos beat the Rams 23-16 Sunday...

By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press NEW YORK -- Pete Sampras was right all along: He did have a 14th Grand Slam title in him. And just like the first, all those years ago, it came in a U.S. Open final against his old rival Andre Agassi. His serve clicking, his volleys on target, his forehand as fluid as ever, Sampras beat Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 Sunday to win America's major for the fifth time. At 31, Sampras is the Open's oldest champion since 1970...

By Jim Suhr The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Moments after Missouri turned a tight game against Ball State into a 41-6 blowout, second-year Tiger coach Gary Pinkel shook his head at his team's 2-0 start and the history behind it. To the guy looking to improve on Missouri's 4-7 finish last season, the fact that the Tigers were unbeaten after two games for just the fourth time since 1983 defied belief...

NEW YORK -- Undeterred by the qualms of many experts, a New York psychoanalyst is trying to create a dating service in which men and women would be matched up by people who know them intimately -- their therapists. The service, which is signing up clients but not yet pairing them, is open only to people undergoing psychotherapy. ...

CLEVELAND -- Wild finishes are becoming routine -- and embarrassing -- for the Cleveland Browns. This time, Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory after drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing his helmet in celebration. That set up Morten Andersen's 30-yard field goal with no time showing Sunday, giving the Kansas City Chiefs a 40-39 win over the Browns...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- One year ago, Tom Christerson's life was ebbing away when he made the decision to let doctors take out his failing heart and put in a revolutionary mechanical pump. Now, as he prepares to mark the first anniversary of his operation this week, the retired tire dealer has become a silver-haired symbol for the AbioCor artificial heart and its potential as a replacement for diseased hearts...

WASHINGTON -- As he begins his 16th year in America's toughest economic policy post, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has seen better days. He is beset by second-guessers who blame him for a range of economic woes, from last year's recession to the $7 trillion meltdown on Wall Street...

The Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) recently received a $99,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development division to help fund the development of a statewide system that will help farmers track their products from farm to market...

Unless they're careful, students at Southeast Missouri State University this semester stand to lose a few items to sticky fingers. According to Doug Richards, director of Southeast's Department of Public Safety, most campus theft is not committed by students, but rather by outsiders seeking to take advantage of easy loot...

College sophomore Nick Barnes spent last weekend hanging out with friends. But that isn't all he spent. That's because "hanging out" with friends called for shelling out cash to catch the latest Adam Sandler flick at the cineplex, forking over green to grab a bite to eat afterward, and laying down moolah to get into a local dance club...

When I was a kid, entertainment was a video arcade about three blocks from my house. It had low-tech games like pinball and pool and high-tech games like Pac-Man and Pong. My friend Billy O'Kelly and I rode those three blocks on our bikes and spent hours feeding quarters to those machines, trying to beat high scores that mirrored the national debt...

Stage role reminds actress of humble start NEW YORK -- Edie Falco's latest role on Broadway is bringing back some old memories. In the revival of "Frankie and Johnny" she plays a waitress -- and an aspiring actress -- having trouble catching a break. It's a bit like her own life, years ago, when her acting prospects were decidedly grim...

SCRANTON, Pa. -- A man has been convicted for the third time in the 1983 slayings of three elderly siblings during a robbery. The jury, which has been sequestered, returns Monday to decide whether David Chmiel, 47, should again be sentenced to death. The panel deliberated for 10 hours before returning with its guilty verdict Saturday evening...

LOS ANGELES -- Only 10 percent of 300,000 former Los Angeles county jail inmates eligible to share a $27 million judgment for wrongful incarceration and illegal searches have filed claims. The remaining 270,000 have until Sept. 20 to make a claim or else they will lose their portion of the settlement, said attorney Barry Litt, who represented the plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit...

RICHMOND, Va. -- Not even 10 laps into the Monte Carlo 400 on Saturday night, a crash that ended Winston Cup points leader Sterling Marlin's night created an opportunity for his pursuers. Many of them capitalized, and with 10 races remaining, stock car racing's premier series now has its closest championship race in history...

ST. LOUIS -- Jason Simontacchi, emerging from a short stint in the minors, showed the St. Louis Cardinals he belongs in their pitching mix. The 28-year-old rookie outdueled Kerry Wood and added two hits as the Cardinals wrapped up a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 3-1 victory Sunday...

Preparing scholars CAPE GIRARDEAU schools could put out National Merit Scholars. We have plenty of doctors, lawyers, college professors and Speak Out readers here in Cape Girardeau. We have a lot of genetic knowledge. What we need here is knowledge from our students. They need to learn the things they're tested on the SAT exam like English, math and science. If all our students learned English, math and science, we'd have more National Merit Scholars...

NEW WELLS, Mo. -- Mildred Frieda Bodenschatz, 85, passed away Saturday, Sept. 8, 2002, at the Jackson Manor Nursing Home. Friends may call today between 4-8 p.m. at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Funeral service will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by interment in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery at New Wells. The Rev. Walter Patzwitz will officiate...

GRAND TOWER, Ill. - Jennifer J. Hecht, 26, of Chester, Ill., died Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 in St. Louis University Hospital. She was born Aug. 19, 1976 in Cape Girardeau to Jeffery Lee and Betty Jean Runkle Pennington. She married Gene Hecht Aug. 13, 1998, in Chester...

CAIRO, Ill. -- C.W. "Slick" Stevens, 80, of Cairo died Saturday, Sept. 7, 2002, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo. He was born June 29, 1922, in Miller City, Ill., son of the late Americus and Fleecy Bauer Stevens. He married Mary M. Stevens. She preceded him in death September 2001...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Evelyn Rollins, of Jackson died Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson in charge of arrangements.

10 years ago: Sept. 9, 1992 Rebuilding after Hurricane Andrew has created instant construction industry boom in Florida and Louisiana that is creating some far-reaching effects; rebuilding in hurricane areas will take lot of plywood, sheeting materials, lumber and shingles, say area building supply spokesmen...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- A Ripley County deputy was injured Friday night during a routine traffic stop that ended with a Doniphan man facing multiple felonies. Deputy Calvin Simmons was released from Ripley County Memorial Hospital after he received 12 stitches to re-attach a fingertip on his right hand, said Ripley County Sheriff Mike Cochran...

Just because Cape Girardeau hasn't approved any tax increment financing projects doesn't mean the city hasn't already been affected by them. Jackson, Mo., and Sikeston, Mo., have used tax increment financing to develop commercial areas. Those areas have taken potential tax dollars away from Cape Girardeau, which depends heavily on out-of-town shoppers...

It was just the type of situation Liberty the llama likes best -- lots of people giving her lots of attention. The four-and-a-half-foot-tall llama was just one of many pets strutting their stuff Sunday afternoon during the annual pet parade at the SEMO District Fair...

Two years ago, Norman and Marie Sebastian of Jackson, Mo., were still eating out at the Jackson Senior Citizens Center, going to church at the Good News Christian Center in Jackson and volunteering at the Missouri Veterans' Home in Cape Girar-deau...

LONDON -- Fresh from talks with President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday he believed those opposed to war against Iraq would change their minds when they saw evidence of Baghdad's threat. Blair, who has been Bush's strongest backer in Europe for action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, returned to Britain from a hastily prepared meeting Saturday with Bush at Camp David to discuss Iraq policy...

WASHINGTON -- Iraq's military is much weaker and less capable today than the force that confronted a U.S.-led coalition a decade ago in the Persian Gulf War, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday. At the same time, however, Gen. Richard Myers and other Bush administration officials said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is exploring ways to use chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons to terrorize his neighbors or hit targets in the United States...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq denied reports it is trying to collect material for nuclear weapons and building up sites once targeted by U.N. inspectors, saying Sunday the claims were lies spread by the United States and Britain to justify an attack. The denial came as President Bush has begun taking his case for possible military action against Iraq to his allies, meeting the day before with British Prime Minister Blair at Camp David and preparing to deliver a key speech at the United Nations this week.. ...

WASHINGTON -- In a media blitz to rally support for toughened action against Iraq, the Bush administration charged Sunday that Baghdad's intensifying efforts to develop a nuclear weapon increase the urgency of ousting the regime of President Saddam Hussein...

Not many people may realize this fact, but charitable giving (adjusted for inflation) in the United States actually dropped last year for the first time in more than 15 years. As a result of responding to the challenges posed by the attacks of Sept. 11 and the sluggish economy, America's charities actually have less money to provide services. The need for charitable services has increased dramatically, yet too many charitable organizations have been forced to lay off staff and cut programs...

Southeast Missouri State University has by no means been perfect in its first two games. Far from it. And the Indians have certainly not beaten any powerhouses. Arkansas-Monticello, which Southeast defeated 42-41 in double-overtime in the opener, is a Division II team that went 5-6 last year. Southern Illinois, which fell to the Indians 21-14 Saturday in Carbondale, was 1-10 a year ago...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people who were victims of all violent crimes except murder fell by 9 percent in 2001, sending the crime rate to its lowest level since it was first tracked in 1973, the government reported Sunday. The decline was due primarily to a record low number of reported assaults, the most common form of violent crime...

Bailey McCormick, daughter of Jerry and Nancy Bledsoe of Kelso, Mo., and Ron and Mindy McCormick of Sikeston, Mo., recently decided to cut off 12 inches of her hair and donate it to an organization called Locks of Love. McCormick is a sixth-grade student at St. Augustine Catholic School in Kelso. Through Locks of Love, McCormick's contribution will help provide hairpieces for children with medical hair loss. Her hair was cut by Suzy Gosche, owner and operator of Kelso Kut and Curl in Kelso...

Book discussion group to meet every other month Beginning Friday, a morning book discussion group will meet every other month in the Hirsch Community Room of the Cape Girardeau Public Library. For the first meeting, the book is "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. Journey with missionary Nathan Pierce, his wife and four daughters to the Belgian Congo of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and see how this change in their lives affects each person...

Two students attend Naval summer program Alisa Uzoaru, daughter of Nancy Uzoaru and Benjamin Uzoaru, both of Cape Girardeau, and Caitlin Hoeh, daughter of Sharon and Thomas Hoeh of Perryville, Mo., recently participated in the United States Naval Academy's week-long seminar program in Annapolis, Md...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Sept. 9 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Kimberly Davidson, 39, of 1303 Dunklin was issued a summons for driving while intoxicated Sunday. Lindsey Hagerty, 20, of 102 Group F 1000 Towers Circle was arrested for driving while intoxicated at the intersection of Main and Independence Friday...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Sept. 9 Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: At 4:03 p.m., an emergency medical service at1432 Themis At 6:54 p.m., an elevator rescue at 45 S. West End Blvd. At 7:31 p.m., an alarm sounding at 1000 N. Sprigg...

Nearly a year after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the nation's major airlines have gone financially from bad to worse to not much better, and the New York region's aviation industry still hasn't recovered. In a word, the airlines are reeling. The major carriers lost a staggering $9 billion last year and another $3.9 billion in the first half of 2002 -- even after layoffs that have claimed 10 percent of the industry's work force. ...

Chamber prepares for appreciation week Industry Appreciation Week will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 26, with a customer service seminar titled "A Passion for Service." The seminar will be conducted by Bill Drury. Drury has delivered more than 1,000 seminars, instructing 20,000 people a year...

NEW YORK -- Don't say you've never heard of the Xcam2 wireless camera. If you're online at all you've likely seen its pop-up ads. They scroll languorously up and down, over a shapely model or across a furnished living room. Turns out that, advertising inundation notwithstanding, this Web-based product was not what I expected. Instead, it was well-built, easy to use and fairly priced...

Grocer inducted into association hall of fame Lester Maevers has been inducted into the Missouri Grocers Association Hall of Fame during the group's annual convention on Aug. 24 at Osage Beach. Maevers was selected for the distinction by a committee of his peers from across the state, representing all aspects of the grocery industry. He was chosen based on his long record of contributions to the grocery industry in Missouri...

Dutchtown, Mo., in May was a very different place than Dutchtown today. It was well worth a trip to the town of 250 residents to see their flood-fighting efforts back then. Dutchtown sits perilously close to the Diversion Channel, which diverts the flow of several streams from flat cropland south of Cape Girardeau to the Mississippi River...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. Close to the Mississippi River and boasting the state's richest soil, the Bootheel produces a bounty of rice, soybeans and corn to feed the world plus cotton to clothe it. For more than four decades the University of Missouri's Delta Research Center has advised Bootheel farmers about boosting harvests and battling pests, while overseeing research with global implications, including developing six kinds of cotton and a dozen new soybean varieties...

Lance Bass, a member of the popular singing group 'N Sync, should have stuck to entertainment. Instead, he ventured into the unfamiliar world of cosmonauts, training to be the youngest space traveler and take a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station...

The official college golf season is held in the spring, but Southeast Missouri State University coach Carroll Williams puts plenty of stock in his team's fall schedule. "You try to get in the habit of playing well and it gives everybody a chance to play," Williams said. "I think it's important to kind of set the tone for the spring."...

MIAMI -- Subtropical Storm Gustav formed Sunday in the Atlantic off North Carolina, with its outer bands of wind and rain expected to reach the coast Monday, forecasters said. A tropical storm watch was ordered from Cape Fear, N.C., to the Virginia border. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami expected the storm to strengthen by midweek...