Stories from Saturday, February 1, 2003

Citing years of decreasing customers, Union Planters Bank officials have decided to shut down the branch at 325 Broadway. When it closes around May 2, there no longer will be a full-service bank in downtown Cape Girardeau. Letters were mailed to customers Friday notifying them of the closure, said Union Planters' regional president Charles Daniel...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Feb. 1 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Steven J. Lejeune, 22, of 1210 Duck Street, Eunice, La., was arrested Thursday on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident, improper passing and no proof of insurance...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department Saturday, Feb. 1 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Brian K. Jackson, 42, of Millersville, Mo., was arrested Jan. 25, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Feb. 1 Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: At 3:45 p.m., alarm at 2601 Independence. At 9:56 p.m., extrication at Independence and Kingshighway. Firefighters responded Friday to the following items: At 4:35 a.m., alarm at 2895 Bloomfield...

When filing for school board and other local government seats closed last week, the lists of candidates included the names of responsible people who want to serve their communities. It takes a lot of courage and community spirit to make a decision to be a candidate for local offices that are so accessible to the constituents being served...

In the midst of Missouri's foster care woes and concerns about the handling of 12,000 children by the Division of Family Services, a judge from Cape Girardeau has taken a stand that could lead to immediate and meaningful changes. Missouri Chief Justice Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. took the podium last week before a joint session of the Missouri Legislature and let state senators and representatives know that children without suitable parents are a class of Missourians he cares about deeply...

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James' season ended with the swiftness of one of his ferocious dunks. The nation's top high school player -- and projected NBA star -- was ruled ineligible as an amateur because he accepted free sports jerseys, ending the celebrated senior's high school career...

Improvement wasn't on the minds of the Central Tigers after a 71-59 home loss to Poplar Bluff Friday night. The pain of a game, unthinkable to win the past few years, was outweighing any consolation. "That was a hard loss we should have won," said Central junior Ryan Delph, who scored a team-high 18 points. "With three minutes left they only had us by two, and we should have capitalized."...

Dexter's Derek Demaree poured in 37 points Friday night as the top-seeded Bearcats won their fifth straight Stoddard County Conference Tournament championship, beating second-seeded Bell City 77-68 at Bloomfield High School. The 6-foot-4 Demaree entered the contest averaging about 12 points...

The University of Missouri's unofficial barnstorming tour reached Jackson High School on Friday. MU athletic director Mike Alden, with assistance from other athletic department representatives, gave a presentation to about 35 Jackson students in the school's library...

To help explain what's been going on with Title IX, look at George Washington University's cross country team. Athletic director Jack Kvancz designates the same number of roster spots -- usually about 13 -- for both men's and women's cross country. It's no problem getting enough men to fill all the spots. In fact, there are usually too many...

Bolstered by Thursday's rout of Tennessee State that broke a two-game losing streak, Southeast Missouri State University now looks to upset one of the Ohio Valley Conference heavyweights. Two-time defending OVC regular-season champion Tennessee Tech is not at the top of the league standings, but the Golden Eagles (12-8, 5-2 OVC) still figure to present quite a challenge for the Indians (8-11, 3-4) tonight at the Show Me Center...

Times are somewhat surprisingly tough for Tennessee Tech's women these days, but Southeast Missouri State University coach B.J. Smith knows one thing. The Otahkians (11-6, 5-2 Ohio Valley Conference) better not take the Golden Eaglettes (7-10, 2-4) lightly when the squads hook up at the Show Me Center today in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff...

To the editor: In your Jan. 30 article "Cost-cutting plan by SBC upsets frequent dialers," you reference a man who is complaining about the plan change. He states he is paying $100 a year for Internet service and $34.99 a month for the Local Plus plan. That comes to $519.88 a year...

To the editor: I am a 22-year-old liberal college student. As such, I often get the rap of being an anti-establishment, baby-killing nut. I have actually had people say this to me. I have no problem with people expressing their opinions. However, I believe these people are somewhat misinformed. In response to the Jan. 26 editorial on abortion, I believe the Southeast Missourian to be among the misinformed...

WASHINGTON -- Federal campaign regulators have cleared Missouri Republican Sen. Jim Talent of Democratic Party accusations that his earnings as a lobbyist amounted to improper contributions from GOP cronies. The Federal Election Commission said "there is no reason to believe" Talent violated the law, an FEC official wrote Talent and the Missouri Republican Party...

WASHINGTON -- Heeding the complaints of business, the Bush administration is revamping decades-old labor regulations in an overhaul that could force many higher-income Americans to work longer hours without overtime pay. The Labor Department argues that the pillars of American labor law, which established the 40-hour work week, a minimum wage and overtime pay, are antiquated...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea will negotiate only with the United States to end the standoff over its nuclear program, an envoy from the North said Friday, rejecting the idea of multilateral talks on the dispute. The new position came as U.S. officials said North Korea appeared to be gearing up at its nuclear facility at Yongbyon. American spy satellites detected substantial activity at the facility in January -- a sign the country may be getting ready to produce nuclear weapons...

To understand how much the typical American home has changed in 60 years, just look in the bathroom. It's hard to find one that doesn't have hot water, a toilet and a bathtub. In 1940, barely half of U.S. homes had all three features. Likewise, a telephone was a luxury item for many Americans when World War II began. Now they're ubiquitous, with some families placing them in every room, including the bathroom...

ATLANTA -- Americans have lower levels of lead and secondhand-smoke byproducts in their bodies than they did a decade ago, according to a government study that is being called the most extensive examination ever of exposure to environmental chemicals...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Two Los Alamos National Laboratory investigators who were forced out under armed guard last fall after they found financial laxity and abuses at the lab that built the atomic bomb are getting some vindication. The pair exposed a scandal that has since claimed five top managers at the lab entrusted with some of America's most sensitive defense secrets...

SHANGHAI, China -- China's business capital has long yearned for an architectural landmark to fit its world-size ambitions. After years of delay, Shanghai may finally get it. Defying unease about eye-catching skyscrapers since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, a developer said Friday it will resume work this month on a glass office tower that will be the world's tallest building...

MOSCOW -- What does the stern-faced commander in chief of a million-strong army have in common with a self-effacing elf from a popular children's film? Nothing -- except perhaps a longish nose, piercing eyes and a certain indefinable similarity. Russian President Vladimir Putin may not be green and wrinkly like Dobby, the house elf from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," but moviegoers have been struck by a certain resemblance...

MEXICO CITY -- Long lines of buses clogged main streets Friday in the heart of Mexico City as tens of thousands of farmers gathered to demand greater protection against U.S. imports and to seek more government aid. "The central objective is to show the nation that there is great discontent in the countryside that cannot be hidden," said Víctor Suarez, one of the organizers of the march, that has as its focus the North American Free Trade Agreement...

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico -- State police officials said Friday that a U.S. investigation of the busy U.S. consulate in this border town apparently is centered on a woman accused of selling U.S. visas for $1,900. State police said complaints were filed here last year against Margarita Martinez Ramirez, alleging she failed to deliver a visa after accepting payment...

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The foreign minister of Thailand on Friday welcomed Cambodia's apology and offer of compensation for mob violence against its embassy and Thai-owned businesses but stopped short of restoring full diplomatic relations. Thailand downgraded diplomatic relations and cut economic ties with its smaller neighbor after mob violence against its embassy and citizens in Phnom Penh earlier this week...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- The twisted wreckage of a U.S. helicopter lay on an Afghan plain Friday as troops searched for clues to a crash that killed four members of an elite unit that slips special forces commandos behind enemy lines. The hulk of helicopter lay near Bagram Air Base, with snow-covered mountains far in the distance. The military said it was unsure what caused Thursday's crash. There was no indication of enemy fire...

Rinehart, Stone trial delayed; witness in Haiti KENNETT, Mo. -- A Scott County judge has granted a continuance in the case of Dexter's ex-police chief Ken Rinehart and Sgt. Sammy Stone. Charged with hindering prosecution, Rinehart and Stone were supposed to stand trial Feb. 6 in Dunklin County before Associate Circuit Judge Douglas Mann of Scott County...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's Medicaid program has received more than $566,000 as a result of a national settlement state attorneys general reached with drug manufacturer Pfizer. Attorney General Jay Nixon said Missouri was part of a 47-state settlement related to rebates offered to Medicaid programs for the anti-cholesterol medication Lipitor...

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- After months of pondering the contract offer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided he needed advice. He didn't call a lawyer, an accountant or an agent. Instead, he took the paperwork to his sister, Kelley, and let her hash out a deal. If it's business, pleasure or personal, Earnhardt's 30-year-old sister is the first one the NASCAR superstar turns to...

ST. LOUIS -- A wrist injury that might cost captain Chris Pronger the entire season was supposed to shove the Blues to the back of the pack. Instead, without their best defenseman, they arrived at the All-Star break leading the Central Division and among the NHL's best with 66 points. They lead the Detroit Red Wings, a perennial Stanley Cup contender, by two points, and are fourth-best overall...

To the editor: Last month, in covering the plight of Rodney Yoder, references were made to the Church of Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, containing errors. Hubbard was a humanitarian. His discoveries and developments in drug-rehabilitation and criminal reform are renowned. ...

Highway resurfacing THIS IS in response to the comment about why Cape Girardeau County is scheduled for four miles of highway resurfacing when other counties are scheduled for more. The routes slated for new asphalt in Bollinger, Madison, Perry and St. ...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Edward "Cotton" Sadler, 75, of Chaffee died at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. Cotton was born Feb. 5, 1927, in Chaffee, son of Monroe Cecil and Ada Belle Roberts Sadler. He and Maureen Barlow were married Oct. 9, 1948...

Filmmaker Spike Lee takes BET to task HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Urging blacks to step into "gatekeeper" roles, Spike Lee criticized Black Entertainment Television, saying it lacks serious entertainment and that rap music promotes ignorance. The director and producer of such films as "Do the Right Thing," "Malcolm X" and "25th Hour" spoke Thursday to a crowd of about 500 people, including students and Bermuda Premier Jennifer Smith. The lecture was sponsored by Bermuda College...

In announcing the Area Wide United Way allocations for the coming year on Friday, director Nancy Jernigan praised the work of employee coordinators who helped overcome the challenge of a recession to help bring in the organization's most successful campaign...

A plan to have Cape County Transit Authority vans deliver meals to elderly shut-ins starting July 1 remains on the drawing board, but the executive director of the transit service says state and federal funding restrictions make it unlikely. "If the Missouri Department of Transportation won't allow us to do it, then we just can't do it," said Jeff Brune, executive director of the Jackson-based transit service...

SALAHUDDIN, Iraq -- Returning to his homeland for the first time in nearly five years, a prominent Iraqi opposition leader entered the Kurds' autonomous enclave with the help of Iran and declared Friday he would stay there to battle Saddam Hussein's government...

By Austin Bay Know your enemy. In 2003, America knows a lot more about al-Qaida than it did on Sept. 11, 2001. We've a clearer strategic picture of al-Qaida's goals and methods. Captured terror kingpins have spilled their guts. Videotapes found in Afghani caves have helped stop al-Qaida operations in Southeast Asia. Electronic eavesdroppers monitor al-Qaida chatter...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Friday he would welcome a second U.N. resolution on Iraq but only if it led to the prompt disarming of Saddam Hussein. Pushing for a new resolution, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called confronting Iraq "a test of the international community."...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Members of Southern Illinois University's faculty union will be at their jobs Monday morning, but that doesn't mean they won't call a strike later that day in a dispute over pay and working conditions, union officials said Friday...

The zigzag has been taken out of Main Street in Cape Girardeau. The concrete has been poured and the street is all but finished. All that needs to be completed is part of a sidewalk and the joints between the concrete slabs need to be sealed. But before the road can be opened to traffic at the Mill Street intersection, Mother Nature will have to cooperate...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Private fund-raising efforts have failed to come up with enough money to save a state-run juvenile boot camp from falling victim to government budget cuts. The Show-Me Challenge camp run by the Missouri National Guard initially was to close Jan. 15. But the state agreed to give supporters of the Nevada, Mo., camp a few weeks to try to raise private donations...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Top U.N. arms inspectors said Friday they would not agree to new talks in Baghdad unless Iraq demonstrated more cooperation and met unspecified conditions. One hinted it might be necessary to meet Saddam Hussein to resolve the crisis...

WASHINGTON -- Americans boosted their spending in December by the largest amount in five months as end-of-year financing deals and other incentives on cars and other big-ticket items proved too good to pass up. The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending jumped by 0.9 percent in December from November, when spending rose 0.4 percent. December's increase, the largest since July, provided a helping hand to the struggling economy...

An area beverage distributor who is said to be "unbelievably involved in the community" and a family funeral home that has compassionately dealt with grieving families for three generations were given the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's highest business awards Saturday night...

HURRICANE, W.Va. -- C&L Super Serve, the store that sold Jack Whittaker a $315 million Powerball ticket, has been especially lucky lately. The store also sold a ticket worth $100,000 in Wednesday's drawing. And now people from all over the country are trying to get a piece of the store's special magic...

PITTSBURGH -- Name the patron saint of lovers: easy, St. Valentine. The patron saint of travelers: not too hard, St. Christopher. How about a black saint? Stumped? So are many black Roman Catholics, but that's changing. "When I came up in the church, I thought all the saints were white because that is all I saw. ...

ATLANTA -- Hospitals in Georgia and northern Florida were warned Friday to temporarily stop using some blood from the American Red Cross because it was feared contaminated with mysterious white particles. The Red Cross reported that the particles are not infectious agents and that no harmful effects in patients have been reported...

TOKYO -- The last two families of the 35 people on a Japanese fishing boat that was accidentally hit and sunk by a U.S. submarine settled with the Navy on Friday. The settlement, signed at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, ends all negotiations over compensation from the accident, said Makoto Toyoda, a lawyer representing the two families...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Donald Shepard, 66, of Jonesboro died Friday, Jan. 31, 2003, at his home. Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

Irma Rose Schwepker, 94, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 31, 2003, at the Lutheran Home. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The funeral for Howard Franklin Barnes of Cape Girardeau will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. David E. Schaffner will officiate. Burial will be in St. John's United Church of Christ Cemetery at Fruitland...

Charles Norton Seabaugh, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Sept. 2, 1915, in Cape Girardeau, son of Barrett C. and Mary Alma Huttman Seabaugh. He and Ella B. Hinton were married April 28, 1946, in Hernando, Miss. She died May 6, 1991...

Marcella B. Layton, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 31, 2003, at the Lutheran Home. She was born May 26, 1919, in Morrisonville, Ill., daughter of Herman Elmer and Mary Brockamp Todt. She and John Anthony Layton were married June 1, 1939, at Sikeston, Mo. He died Aug. 17, 1987...

ANNA, Ill. -- The funeral for Robert Shelton of Anna will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. The Rev. Kenneth Mixen will officiate. Burial will be in Anna City Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, and Monday until time of service...

10 years ago: Feb. 1, 1993 Cape Girardeau Jaycees, in cooperation with Cape Girardeau Regional Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 33, is seeking donations to purchase bulletproof vests for officers of Cape Girardeau Police Department and other FOP members; Cape Girardeau has largest police force in area and is only regional department that doesn't provide vests for its officers; it is estimated at least $15,000 will be needed to outfit more than 60 officers on local force...

Daily American Republic PUXICO, Mo. -- Preliminary findings on the human remains found near Puxico are consistent with those of a missing Bernie, Mo., woman. According to Stoddard County Sheriff Steve Fish, the body was a white female, between the ages of 40 and 60 and probably between 5 foot to 5 foot 4 inches...

Atkins Son to Sidney Don and Lana Jean Atkins of Chaffee, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:01 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2003. Name, Peyton Cook. Weight, 8 pounds 2 ounces. First child. Mrs. Atkins is the former Lana Cook, daughter of Larry and Janet Cook of Whitewater. ...

MIAMI -- A botched robbery turned into a nationally televised five-hour police chase and hostage standoff Friday when a gunman forced a mail carrier to elude officers in her postal truck as he sometimes fired shots at them. Officers eventually used spikes to flatten the truck's tires after a 90-minute pursuit through city streets. Heavily armed SWAT team members surrounded the truck but the gunman held carrier Tanya Mitchell captive for two hours before releasing her unharmed...

BAUCAU, East Timor -- A cargo plane crashed while landing in fog near an airport on East Timor's north coast, killing all six people aboard, a U.N. official said Friday. The Russian-made IL-76 was carrying equipment for a Portuguese telephone company in East Timor, U.N. spokesman Wilton Fonseca said in the capital, Dili...

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- A 5,000-strong stone-throwing mob invaded Ivory Coast's main airport Friday, storming planes on the tarmac and taunting, slapping and spitting at terrorized French families in flight from their former West African colony. "Never come back!" one band of young men shouted, spewing profanities at a woman and three children who ran sobbing under a gauntlet of blows from parking lot to terminal...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Diplomats from the United States and five other countries met with President Hugo Chavez and opposition leaders Friday, seeking a deal for early elections and an end to a two-month strike. With indications the strike was dying down, opponents were hoping international pressure on Chavez to negotiate would help revive their drive for early balloting...

VERSAILLES, France -- A former nurse was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for giving lethal injections of morphine or potassium to six seriously ill patients at a suburban Paris hospital. Christine Malevre, 33, also was banned from her profession because of the deaths in 1997 and 1998. She was acquitted in the death of a seventh patient at a hospital in Mantes-la-Jolie, near Versailles, where she worked...

Defending Ohio Valley Conference baseball champion Southeast Missouri State University is expected to defend its title in 2003, according to a vote of the league's coaches. The Indians, also picked as the league's preseason champion by national publications Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, received five first-place votes in the conference poll released Friday...