Stories from Saturday, October 19, 2002

Jesse Whistler rushed for 133 yards and scored all three Perryville touchdowns, leading the Pirates to a 19-14 football victory over visiting De Soto Friday night. Whistler, who carried 14 times, was part of a Perryville rushing attack that piled up 300 yards. Joel Kurre gained 100 yards on 18 carries and Matt Unterreiner added 51 yards on nine attempts. The Pirates attempted just three passes, completing none...

PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- A jury awarded $270 million to a man who was seriously injured when his well house exploded two years ago. Fairon Johnson of Dema claimed that explosive gas traveled through an underground water aquifer and seeped into his water well from a nearby natural gas well. A jury Thursday ordered Equitable Resources and Kentucky West Virginia Gas to pay the huge award...

Two F-18s crash off West Coast; four missing POINT SUR, Calif. -- Two Navy fighter jets crashed into the Pacific off the California coast during a training mission Friday, military officials said. All four crew members were missing. The F/A-18-F Super Hornets crashed 80 miles southwest of Monterey during an exercise with six other aircraft, the Navy said. Military aircraft and a commercial fishing vessel were at the site searching for the aviators...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams on Friday rejected Britain's call for the outlawed Irish Republican Army to cease all activities. "This is not a time for ultimatums. This is not a time for deadlines. That has never worked in the past," Adams said from his power base of Roman Catholic west Belfast...

MOSCOW -- The governor of a gold-rich Russian region was assassinated Friday morning on the busy central Moscow street that President Vladimir Putin takes to work at the Kremlin. Valentin Tsvetkov, 54, the governor of the Magadan region in Russia's Far East, was shot and killed on a sidewalk near the region's Moscow office on Novy Arbat street during early morning rush hour, according to Moscow police. It was the first time a governor has been killed in post-Soviet Russia...

PSKOV, Russia -- A conference on expanding NATO ended Friday with Russian officials continuing to resist a plan to bring the former enemy alliance to their doorstep. "NATO has not yet answered the question of what benefits Russia will have from expansion," Russian lawmaker Mikhail Margelov said in this northwestern city after a two-day debate on adding seven nations to the alliance...

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops withdrew Friday from Jenin, a stronghold for militants, after digging a six-foot trench around part of the West Bank town to keep would-be bombers from slipping out in cars. Since rolling into seven Palestinian cities and towns in June, Israeli forces have now pulled back to the outskirts of Jenin and Bethlehem, but remain in the other five...

UNITED NATIONS -- France cautiously welcomed elements of a new U.S. compromise offer on Iraq Friday, but diplomats said sticking points remain over language that could trigger U.S. military action if Baghdad obstructs weapons inspectors. French President Jacques Chirac said negotiations for a new Security Council resolution were moving "in the right direction" after the United States dropped a demand for an explicit authorization of military force in the face of non-cooperation with the inspectors.. ...

QUEZON CITY, Philippines -- A bomb tore through a passenger bus in a Manila suburb Friday night, killing at least three people and injuring 23 -- the latest in a series of bombings this month in a jittery country where U.S.-trained troops are battling a Muslim rebel group linked to al-Qaida...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- It was Bobbie Harper's 25th wedding anniversary and he had begun fixing himself a bowl of ice cream when a sniper's bullet passed through a kitchen window and slammed into the Missouri state trooper's body. Harper survived the attack on Sept. 16, 1994, but died two years later during heart surgery. Meanwhile, the man authorities believe shot Harper remains at large...

WAIBLINGEN, Germany -- A teenager brandishing a pistol seized four youngsters Friday at a school in southwestern Germany and demanded $1 million ransom. Hours later, he surrendered after freeing the hostages unharmed, police said. After the standoff at the school in Waiblingen, near Stuttgart, ended at about 9:20 p.m., police said that the weapon turned out to be an air pistol, which fires pellets that can cause serious injury or kill at close range...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Republicans in southwest Missouri gathered the party faithful, and President Bush whipped them into a frenzy. Bush told the crowd of some 6,500 people during a rally Friday that Republican Senator nominee Jim Talent was just like him -- "a family man who has got his values straight."...

CHICAGO -- One by one, they forged their own trail of tears this week, relatives of murder victims testifying in clemency hearings being held for nearly all of Illinois' death row inmates. Many of the family members said they have faith in the justice system despite the seemingly never-ending process of trials and appeals -- but that faith may have met its toughest test this week...

WASHINGTON -- A federal court threw out rules requiring drug companies to test adult medicines commonly given to children, saying Congress never intended to give the Food and Drug Administration power to require these tests. The ruling, issued late Thursday by the U.S. ...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Animal-rights activism is colliding head-on with rural tradition in Oklahoma, where voters will decide Nov. 5 whether to ban cockfighting in one of the last three states to allow the bloody spectacle. Supporters of the proposed ban say cockfighting is inhumane and gives the state a bad name. Opponents say the sport, also legal in Louisiana and New Mexico, is a livelihood for people who raise the birds and is no crueler than the way chickens are raised and slaughtered...

MADISON, Wis. -- The top two Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly were charged with felony misconduct Friday, the latest fallout in a scandal that has shaken the legislature's power structure and put another dent in the state's long-cherished reputation of clean government...

LONDON -- Prince William will be the first member of the royal family to have stamps issued to celebrate his 21st birthday. Royal Mail officials said Friday they'd reached an agreement with Buckingham Palace for the commemorative stamps to go on sale next year in time for William's 21st birthday on June 21...

Malden scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions and rolled over host Chaffee 41-0 Friday night. Malden (3-4) used the speed of tailback Jamall Kilgore and quarterback Scott Matthews to roll up more than 200 yards rushing in the first quarter. And when Kilgore and Scott weren't turning the corner on defenders, senior fullback John Sutton was using his 240-pound body to run over Red Devil linemen up the middle...

Hayti and Scott City played a compatible game of control Friday night. Hayti, which entered at 4-1 and as the highest scoring team in the area, was seeking to temper its quick-strike approach with ball control. Scott City, entering at 2-4, was on a mission of damage control...

Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team continued to roll Friday night by beating Murray State in four games, but the Otahkians know they need to keep their winning streak going today. That's because Ohio Valley Conference leader Tennessee-Martin comes to Houck Field House for a 7 p.m. match. If the Otahkians have any realistic hopes of winning the OVC title and hosting the league tournament, they need to beat the Skyhawks, who they trail by two games in the loss column...

Despite Southeast Missouri State University's resurgence this season, it was suggested to Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo that his Panthers might still have problems taking the Indians all that seriously today. To which Spoo had a quick two-word response: no way...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Ethics Commission has cleared Republican Senate candidate Jim Talent of some ethics charges brought by Democrats but is pursuing a potential violation related to his 2000 governor's race. Talent's campaign claimed exoneration by the Ethics Commission, which released its findings Friday. A Talent attorney described the complaint related to the 2000 governor's race as a technical accounting issue that likely can be settled...

Missouri's deer season officially has begun, but several animals have died in the region without the use of hunting weapons. During the last two weeks, at least nine deer-related accidents were reported in Southeast Missouri to law enforcement. Six of those crashes occurred Wednesday and Thursday, said officials with Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E headquarters in Poplar Bluff, Mo. A deer was struck Thursday night in Perryville, Mo., and another was hit last week in Jackson, police said...

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- He's the little guy in the backfield, the one who keeps faking out defenders and leading Air Force to victories. If Chance Harridge keeps this up, he just might run his team into the national title picture. Not bad for a scrawny high school quarterback no one wanted a few years ago...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury and Missouri's Brad Smith, the Big 12's top two offensive producers, go about their craft in distinctively different ways. Kingsbury passes a lot and Smith runs more than he throws, though he has a favorite aerial target in wide receiver Justin Gage. Gage leads the conference in receptions with 49...

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Barry Bonds tugged on his new black-and-orange Giants cap, the one with a World Series logo stitched on the side. After all those at-bats, all those games, all those near-misses, at last it was a perfect fit. No one in baseball history ever played more before finally reaching the World Series. And now, the moment he'd wanted his entire career was almost at hand...

Construction work still continues on Cape Girardeau's Cape Rock water treatment plant, an expansion project that is about eight months behind schedule. The work is part of a major $17.5 million water plant upgrade that will allow for the plant's water capacity to increase from 4.5 million gallons a day to 7.6 million gallons. The plant, by using recently built wells instead of drawing water directly from the Mississippi River, also will supply softer water to Cape Girardeau residents...

Friday morning, Jefferson Elementary principal Mark Cook was hoping that the results of his school's latest fund-raising effort would all come out in the wash. As an incentive for students to sell more Parent Teacher Association fund-raising coupon books, Cook agreed to dye his hair tiger orange to match the Cape Girardeau school's mascot if this year's fund raising exceeded last year's total...

When Dr. Jean and Nona Chapman talk about art, their love for it is palpable. The retired allergist contends he received more personal benefit from a college art history class than some of his medical courses. His wife beams as she describes seeing new faces at local gallery openings, especially those of young people just discovering their passions...

BALTIMORE -- The house fire that killed an anti-drug crusading mother and her five children was set by a man with a "drug history" who kicked in her door, poured gasoline on the floor and sparked the blaze, according to court documents released Friday...

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's decision to enrich uranium rather than Pyongyang's first choice, plutonium, means it is pursuing a nuclear weapons technology that's easier to hide and more reliable, but harder to mount on a missile. Still, North Korea can put a nuclear warhead on any of its missiles, including those under development that may be able to reach U.S. territory...

The 46 million Social Security recipients will get the smallest increase in their benefit checks in four years come January, a 1.4 percent rise that translates to just $13 a month more for the typical retiree. About one-third of that will be eaten up by an increase in monthly Medicare premiums...

More than 1,400 Cape Girar-deau residents participated in the recent fall cleanup and free dumping week, said Cape Girardeau solid waste coordinator Pam Sander. The city saw a 78 percent increase in the number of loads in an average week and 95 percent more appliances...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Jerry Dale Cooper, 58, of Dexter died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2002, at Missouri Southern Healthcare. He was born Dec. 19, 1943, in Tiptonville, Tenn., son of Dub and Mary Cooper. He and Janis Pugh were married Feb. 1, 1978. Cooper had lived in Dexter 25 years, and attended Ark of Hope Church. He was a minister and a retired dispatcher, safety man and broker for truck lines...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Alvis Haynes, 85, of Dexter died Friday, Oct. 18, 2002, at Missouri Southern Healthcare. He was born July 14, 1917, in Double Springs, Ala., son of William and Alma Tidwell Haynes. He and Esther Lou Winters were married Feb. 1, 1939, in Lynn, Ala...

ANNA, Ill. -- Louise K. Bradley, 87, of Anna died Friday, Oct. 18, 2002, at Union County Hospital. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

10 years ago: Oct. 19, 1992 Environmental Protection Agency has completed first phase of $2 million project to clean up Kem-Pest Superfund site near Cape Girardeau; plans for second phase of cleanup - which will include on-going plan to monitor ground water and determine how best to remove contaminates from Kem-Pest Laboratories building - should be completed soon...

Thursday's Game Central 43, Sumner 16 Friday's Games Jackson 27, Poplar Bluff 7 Dyersburg, Tenn., 38, New Madrid Co. Central 20 Charleston 48, East Prairie 15 Dexter 42, Caruthersville 7 Bruceton, Tenn., 28, Portageville 7...

In the Southeast Missourian's wedding listings, Sydney Stein, the flower girl in the wedding of Gail Lynn Avritt and Todd William Knaup, should have been listed as the daughter of Natalie Stein Newsome of Jackson and Todd William Knaup of Cape Girardeau. The Missourian regrets the error...

Editor's note: This is the third in a three-part series on the declining fiscal fortunes of Missouri's state government and their effect on delivery of services. By Jack Stapleton Jr. ~ Southeast Missourian JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- To understand why Missouri is experiencing pains in the pocketbook, look no further than the increases in spending since John Ashcroft unveiled the first budget in his second term as governor...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri's second and final U.S. Senate debate next Thursday will be nationally televised. C-SPAN, which reaches about 82 million households with cable TV, will show the 90-minute debate live on its primary channel at 2:30 p.m. and will rerun it that evening in prime time, Steve Scully, the cable network's political editor, said Friday...

The board of regents unanimously approved a faculty promotion pay plan on Friday even as it cut nearly $450,000 from its operating budget as part of $5.26 million in fee increases and spending cuts implemented by the board this year. Part of the budget-balancing plan includes closing Parker Pool even though student leaders had argued against it. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Incumbent state Rep. Peter Myers reported more than double the campaign cash on-hand than Democrat Donnie Kiefer in their race for the 160th District House seat. The latest campaign finance disclosure reports cover activity from Sept. 1 through Sept. 30...

Bergantz Daughter to Eric and Tanya Bergantz of Ballwin, Mo., St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo., 2:38 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, 2002. Name, Sarah Elizabeth. Weight, 6 pounds 14 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Bergantz is the former Tanya Matzat, daughter of Bill and Bonnie Matzat of Cape Girardeau. Bergantz is the son of Joseph and Helen Bergantz of Redstone Arsenal, Ala. He is employed at Home Depot...

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Virginia authorities on Friday arrested a man accused of misleading investigators in the Washington-area sniper shootings by falsely describing an olive-skinned man and a cream-colored Chevrolet Astro van with a burned-out taillight at the scene of one killing...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Beating Poplar Bluff is always nice for the Jackson Indians, but never more sweet than after a 1-5 start. The Indians scored four touchdowns from at least 40 yards out to beat the Mules 27-7 Friday night. "I think you can take winning for granted sometimes if you've been lucky and successful," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "Things have obviously not been rosy for us."...

UNITY, Ill. -- Graveside service for Beondred K. Lathan of Unity will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at National Cemetery in Mounds, Ill., with full military honors. Heavenly Gates Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill., is in charge of arrangements. He was born Sept. 23, 1931, son of Otis and Alice Lathan...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Marie L. Pearson, 67, of Cobden died Friday, Oct. 18, 2002, at her home. She was born May 23, 1935, in Cobden, daughter of Andrew and Eva Acklin. She and Kenneth L. Pearson were married Nov. 4, 1960, in Anna, Ill. Pearson was a retired nurse's aide, and member of Water Valley Christian Church...

ANNA, Ill. -- Mary Harper, 103, of Murphysboro, Ill., formerly of Anna, died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2002, at the home of a daughter. She was born Feb. 25, 1899, in West Frankfort, Ill., daughter of John A. and Sara Peek Baker. She and Walter Preston Harper Jr. were married Jan. 5, 1924. He died in July 1944...

Cape Girardeau's wastewater treatment coordinator, Dennis Hale, was recognized for his devotion and service to the water and wastewater industry as the 2002 recipient of the Robert S. Miller Award presented by the Missouri Water and Wastewater Conference (MWWC)...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Oct. 19 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Stephen C. McDaniel, 17, of Lorimer Street, Apt. 5, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of stealing. Sharon K. Johnson, 26, of 131 S. Louisiana, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of sale of a controlled substance...

Jackson Saturday, Oct. 19 Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following item: Emergency medical service at North Best. Firefighters responded Thursday to the following item: Power line down at Old Cape Road East. Firefighters responded Friday to the following items:...

Cape Girardeau County Saturday, Oct. 19 The jail population as of Friday was 169 inmates. The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Bradley A. Crowden, 22, of Chaffee, Mo., was arrested Oct. 12 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Homecoming in Cape Girardeau is like no other time of the year. There's a crispness to the air. People are excited to celebrate the presence of a four-year state university in their hometown. Others return to share memories of their years at Southeast Missouri State University and catch up on their old friends' lives...

DETROIT -- Catholic leaders across the United States tried their best Friday to recast a Vatican rejection of their zero-tolerance policy on the sexual abuse of minors as merely a monthlong delay to fine-tune the guidelines. But in Detroit, Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan warned the bishops against abandoning the policy they set in Dallas in June...

When the Cape Girardeau City Council opens the floor at its regular meetings to residents' comments, it seldom hears praise. So what a pleasant surprise when Dwight and Sharon Armour -- south-side residents, parents and business owners -- attended a council meeting this month to say thank you...

The Notre Dame Bulldogs go up against the essence of their sport today when they face Lutheran South in a Class 3 quarterfinal game. Notre Dame (21-6) will be playing fast-pitch softball against one of the fastest pitchers around in Kamin Hawkins. Hawkins is a senior fire-baller familiar with the quarterfinals. Last year she struck out 14 batters in a perfect game against Perryville, sending the Lancers into the state semifinals where they lost to Helias...

To the editor: Regarding the story "50th reunion renews old ties -- but not for the last time": I also attended Central High School's Class of 1952 reunion last month. I share Gene Munger's display of appreciation for the great job the committee did in planning our 50-year reunion. I try never to miss a reunion to meet and greet old friends from my childhood...

To the editor: We want to thank the Southeast Missourian for the nice write-up of the U.S. Army 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion. We won't forget what you did for us. All the Rangers and POWs said what nice coverage of the Rangers it was. There is a movie being made in Australia that will be released in January. It is called "The Great Raid."...

To the editor: Rush Limbaugh, commenting Oct. 16 on a statistic to the effect that 94 percent of the African American vote rebounds to the benefit of the Democratic Party, tried to make a connection to the result of the recent election in Iraq. Limbaugh correctly attributed the lopsidedness of both results to fear on the part of both sets of voters. Where Limbaugh went wrong was in assuming that the fear of the GOP on the part of African American voters was unjustified...

WHITEWATER, Mo. -- Carla Renee McCrea, 45, of Maryland Heights, Mo., passed away unexpectedly, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2002, at her home. Friends may call between 4 and 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19, at the McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Funeral service will be at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 20, at the funeral home, followed by internment in Proffer Cemetery in Crump. The Rev. Tom Zych will officiate...

Changed focus SO WHATEVER happened to Osama bin Laden? About this time last year, wasn't President Bush telling us we wouldn't stop until he was dead? Recently Bush commented that he didn't know where bin Laden was and said he didn't care. So now that we've lost bin Laden, we have to shift focus to Iraq to keep Americans interested...

He came up through the old Dodgers' organization, a tough Italian catcher from Upper Darby, Pa., playing for a loud Italian manager from nearby Norristown. And the temptation was to immediately label him a Tommy Lasorda clone. It turns out Mike Scioscia is anything but...