Stories from Saturday, April 19, 2003

It has occurred to Sandra Fritsche that her phone doesn't ring nearly as much anymore. The silence that follows a child's death sort of surprises you, she said. "There were always so many friends calling Nathan that I used to feel like an answering service," she said. "But that's the one thing I missed when he died -- the phone stopped ringing."...

P Agreement reached in principal on five-year contract. By Hal Bock ~ The Associated Press NEW YORK -- The WNBA and its players' association reached an agreement in principle for a new five-year contract Friday, the union said. The league said there were still issues to be negotiated over the weekend...

WASHINGTON -- The government ran up a deficit of $252.6 billion in the first six months of the 2003 budget year, nearly twice the total for the same period a year earlier. The latest figures, released Friday by the Treasury Department, highlighted the government's deteriorating fiscal situation. Record deficits are forecast this year and next...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is quietly reshaping environmental policy to enhance logging and other development by settling a series of lawsuits, many of them filed by industry groups. As a result of settlements, the administration has announced plans to remove wilderness protections for millions of acres in Utah, has agreed to review protections for endangered species such as salmon and the northern spotted owl, has reversed a Clinton-era ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and has softened rules on logging.. ...

A medical mission trip to Jamaica was nearly canceled three days before the volunteers were to arrive on the island. A team of 39 people, including doctors, a dentist, nurses and respiratory therapists, has been making plans for several months to operate a medical clinic in Carron Hall, Jamaica...

A 28-year-old Sikeston woman has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of her estranged boyfriend. Stephanie Miles is charged with killing Sherman Baker, 34, of Sikeston with a knife during an altercation early Friday. It occurred about 1:30 a.m. at 249 W. Kathleen...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, April 19 Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: At 8:07 p.m., emergency medical service at 1512 Briarcliff. At 10:08 p.m., pulled alarm at 2075 Corporate. Firefighters responded Friday to the following items:...

Cape man killed in Bollinger County crash Joshua C. Lemons, 22, of Cape Girardeau died early Friday morning as a result of injuries sustained in a one-car crash, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Lemons was driving westbound on Route C, one mile east of Arab, Mo., when his 2000 Chevrolet ran off the right side of the road, the patrol said. ...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department Saturday, April 19 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Estes K. Davis, 24, of Cape Girardeau was arrested April 12 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, April 19 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Timothy H. Ainley, 38, of 283 Graphite Lane, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Friday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, failure to yield, failure to obey a stop sign and fleeing lawful detention...

Cape Girardeau's Cable Television Advisory Committee used the wrong process to come to the right conclusion about a controversial program on the city's public access channel. The issue started at an April 7 city council meeting when Mayor Jay Knudtson said he'd had complaints about inappropriate language on Tony Heckemeyer's program on the cable-access channel, a rebroadcast of his weekly radio program that airs on KSIM in Sikeston, Mo...

Editor's note: Cape Girardeau resident Stratton Tingle is writing letters to the Southeast Missourian while spending a year as a missionary in Africa. Here's a little story of what we did last Sabbath: I met a zombie today. Her name is Emily, and she lives in Kafue, just about 10 miles from Riverside Farm. She's around 35 years old, has three children, and has been in the state of the living dead for the last year. ...

In small towns, high school sports are important. So the administrators in the Scott City School District faced a difficult decision when they learned that 25 athletes were at a post-prom party this month where alcohol flowed freely. Those athletes had signed an agreement that they would not drink. ...

Central's baseball squad struggled defensively Friday as the Tigers dropped two more games in the 20-team Trojan Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Tigers, who made two errors during a loss Thursday in their tournament opener, committed nine more errors Friday as they lost to Livingston (Tenn.) 10-0 in five innings and Boyd-Buchanan (Tenn.) 5-4 in eight innings...

Southeast Missouri State University's softball team disposed of visiting Morehead State twice Friday, sweeping the Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader 7-4 and 6-3. The Otahkians improved to 11-22 overall and 7-5 in OVC play as they solidified their hold on third place in the eight-team league. The Eagles fell to 6-26-1 and 3-8...

To the editor: I have seen a list on the Web site steveanddc.com of things the troops want us to send them. How about each business in Cape Girardeau and Jackson and surrounding areas make a challenge to each other, employees included, to gather things we can send to our troops to let them know we are behind them. Personal messages along with the other things are listed...

To the editor: This is for all the people who are celebrating over George Bush's call to attack Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein. So now what? This war is far from over. Maybe the big bombs have stopped dropping, but it is not over. Now the president and some members of his warmongers party may think about attacking Syria (which still has close ties with Israel). Wouldn't that cause major problems for the Jewish communities here in the United States?...

DETROIT -- Charles Rogers is used to clearing obstacles. So the record-breaking wide receiver from Michigan State figures there's no reason he won't get past the latest -- a drug test at the NFL combine that raised questions. His urine sample was diluted, and excess water is regarded as a masking agent under the league's drug policy...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Leo Mazzone had stopped rocking and sat up straight to make his point, so clearly he was serious. "Well, there's a little more stress going on," the Atlanta pitching coach said. "We're not used to this." That was a few days ago, when the Braves' staff found itself in unfamiliar territory -- dead last on the NL ERA chart...

For the Los Angeles Lakers to reach the NBA Finals and go for a fourth straight title, they might need to do something they didn't have to do in 2000, 2001 and 2002 -- begin each Western Conference series on the road. Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson and their supporting cast begin their quest for championship No. 4 Sunday in Minneapolis, the city the Lakers called home until 1960...

By Carter Fletcher To all the war protesters, Bush-haters, mainstream media folks, Democratic presidential candidates and liberals, I'm sorry to have to bring you all this bad news. We are winning stunningly in Iraq, the people not closely associated with the murderous Saddam Hussein regime are downright jubilant to see American troops and tanks where they used to see Gestapo-like secret police and torturers, and the economy here at home has excellent prospects. ...

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach B.J. Smith has landed his first recruit of the spring signing period after he received a national letter of intent from Brandi Russia on Friday. Russia, a 5-foot-7 guard, played for Smith at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College. She helped lead the Norse to a second-place finish in the national junior college tournament two years ago, which was Smith's final season at the school before he took over Southeast's program...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Two boys dip their hands in a reflecting pool, then press their palms on a sun-baked bronze gate framing the place where the Oklahoma City federal building was felled by a truck bomb. A couple standing near the lone tree that survived the blast pauses to stare across the calming acre dotted with evergreens and Oklahoma redbuds...

DALLAS -- After sharp criticism from angry employees, the head of American Airlines apologized Friday as the company dropped a plan to give bonuses to six top executives if they stay on until 2005. But American will keep a supplemental pension program for a broader group of executives that will be protected even if the world's largest airline files for bankruptcy...

MODESTO, Calif. -- Scott Peterson was arrested Friday in the death of his wife, Laci, who was eight months pregnant when she vanished on Christmas Eve. The arrest came as authorities confirmed that two bodies that washed ashore this week were those of Laci and her baby...

JERUSALEM -- Israel will consider pulling back troops only after the Palestinian prime minister takes office and the Palestinian leadership shows it is taking action to stop terrorism, an Israeli official said Friday. The measures were discussed with U.S officials during a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's top aide this week in Washington, said Raanan Gissin, a Sharon spokesman. The steps also could include releasing Palestinian prisoners...

DEBLIN, Poland -- Poland on Friday signed a deal to buy 48 U.S.-made F-16 jet fighters for $3.5 billion, the biggest defense contract by a former Soviet bloc country since the end of the Cold War. Prime Minister Leszek Miller, who attended the signing ceremony, said the package reflected "our partnership with the United States in political and military areas, but also in the economy."...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. Marines with machine guns and tanks stood watch Friday over what they estimated was $1 billion in gold -- safeguarding bank vaults that withstood direct rocket-propelled grenade hits by robbers determined to fight their way in...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Retired U.S. District Judge Russell G. Clark, who presided over the Kansas City School District's desegregation case, died Thursday night in a Springfield nursing home. He was 77. The desegregation case, which has spanned 26 years, has cost more than $2 billion, winning both praise and criticism. The district is seeking an end to the case, saying it has reduced the achievement gap between black and white students...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The number of smokers in Missouri hasn't dropped significantly in recent years, but state officials said an increase in the number of casual smokers may mean more people are cutting back. A recent report by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Missouri is one of seven states experiencing a significant rise in casual smokers...

How is it that black Georgians can accept a state flag based on the Confederate national banner when the rebel battle flag is unacceptable? For the same reasons Southern heritage supporters can't, says John Coski. Because hardly anybody recognizes the "Stars and Bars" as a Confederate symbol...

ST. LOUIS -- Kimberlie McCue is not a parent in the traditional sense. But the conservation biologist at Missouri Botanical Garden has nearly two dozen precious charges that require plenty of patience and attention. McCue is trying to conserve 22 species of native Midwestern plants and lift them from the brink of extinction for future generations' benefit and enjoyment...

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Stewart Cink got past more than a balky putter or wayward driver to take the second-round lead Friday at the MCI Heritage. Cink, the 2000 champion who moved to 10-under-par with a 65, had a two-round total of 132 and was a stroke in front of Hal Sutton (66), and two ahead of Chad Campbell (67) and 1997 winner Nick Price (66) at Harbour Town Golf Links...

KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- Twice having tried to take his own life, Jake Novak believes he has beaten back his depression. His quest now is to help his Kirkwood High School peers do the same. With his principal among his fans, the 18-year-old senior has made a cause of his Students Working Against Depression, a group bent on encouraging schoolmates to confront the illness and know there's effective treatment -- and sympathetic ears...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals cleanup hitter Albert Pujols has a sprained right elbow that could reduce him to pinch hitting duties for the next three weeks. Pujols, the NL rookie of the year in 2001 and the MVP runner-up last year, was batting .362 with two home runs and nine RBIs heading into a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night...

To the editor: Regarding the statement that anesthesiologist assistants are interchangeable with a certified registered nurse anesthetist: CRNAs provide 85 percent of anesthesia care to rural hospitals in Missouri and have an established safety record, which is evidenced by a 62 percent decrease in professional liability premiums over the last decade. AAs have no sufficient statistical data to support their safety in the operating room...

Bluebird builder SOMEONE COMMENTED in Speak Out thanking whoever was responsible for building the bluebird houses along the county roads. Richard Lewis, a retired citizen of our community, built many bluebird houses. He's up in his 90s now and a resident of the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. It would mean the world to him if you would send him a card or note thanking him for the bluebird houses...

BROCKTON, Mass. -- Two teenagers were charged with the arson deaths of two family members in an alleged plot to collect insurance money and gain freedom so that one of the suspects could move in with her boyfriend. At first, 17-year-old Frances Choy and her 16-year-old nephew Kenneth Choy drew praise for calmly reporting the fire and for waiting patiently to be rescued from second-floor windows...

Damon White set the tone and Eastern Illinois ran with it all the way to a doubleheader sweep of slumping Southeast Missouri State University Friday afternoon. White bested Southeast ace Tim Alvarez in an impressive duel between the Ohio Valley Conference's earned-run average leaders to win the nine-inning first game 5-1, then the Panthers squeezed out a 5-4, eight-inning victory in the finale that was scheduled for seven innings...

It's not Peter Cottontail hauling the Easter baskets at Emma Feiste's house. The two decorative deer in Feiste's lawn prove that while holidays may come and go, it's always deer season in Fruitland. On Good Friday, the deer boasted pastel ribbons and Easter baskets around their necks -- and a yellow ribbon on top of their heads to show support for the troops overseas...

ROME -- Four Iraqis shouldered a tall wooden cross for ailing Pope John Paul II during the Good Friday procession, marked by the pontiff's special prayer for "victims of hate, war and terrorism." Thousands of flickering candles held aloft by the faithful lighted the procession around the ancient Colosseum, a traditional Roman Catholic event symbolizing Christ's path to his crucifixion...

Iraqis exercised new freedoms and jockeyed for power in a new era Friday, marching in Baghdad to demand the quick withdrawal of the same American troops and tanks that toppled Saddam Hussein. "No to America, no to Saddam, our revolution is Islamic," chanted the demonstrators who spilled into the streets after prayers at one 1,300-year-old Sunni Muslim mosque...

DOHA, Qatar -- Iraqis have more to clear away than the rubble of war. Saddam Hussein's regime ran up billions of dollars in debts that must be settled before the country's shattered economy can fully recover. The United States is making debt relief a cornerstone of its postwar reconstruction plan. But many hurdles remain, including the lack of an Iraqi government and a cool reception from some creditor nations...

KUWAIT CITY -- The oil well fires are out, looted equipment is being recovered and damage was less than feared, leading U.S. officials to predict Iraq's southern oil fields could be producing 1.1 million barrels a day within seven weeks. Revenue from renewed oil sales would be a big boost for Iraq's 24 million people as they rebuild after the war and years of decline under Saddam Hussein. ...

TIKRIT, Iraq -- Supper time has become a double treat at a Marine base outside Saddam Hussein's hometown -- not only is there fresh meat, but it's from Saddam's personal hunting preserve. The Tikrit South airfield, where Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 set up base in this week's campaign to take the city, is on the edge of a preserve where Saddam and favored guests once hunted gazelle...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- U.S. and British "occupation forces" should quickly leave Iraq, and the United Nations should have a central role in the creation of a new Iraqi government, foreign ministers from the region said today. After an emergency meeting to discuss fallout from the war, the ministers also called on the U.S.-led coalition to fulfill obligations under international law for maintaining security and stability in Iraq while there and for protecting the rights of the Iraqi people and their cultural heritage.. ...

Employees of Blair Industries, which has operated plants in Cape Girardeau and Scott City for more than 20 years, were told Thursday evening that the company was shutting its doors immediately. The 165 employees then learned that new owners will reopen the doors Tuesday under a new name -- Blair Packaging -- and were invited to submit applications for employment...

Interstate 55 will be closed to traffic at the Diversion Channel south of Cape Girardeau for up to 15 minutes on Tuesday afternoon so old piers can be demolished, state highway officials said Friday. "We'll be using explosives to demolish the piers and must close the interstate for safety reasons," said Missouri Department of Transportation engineer Bob Wilson...

St. Louis falls 5-3 in Game 5, still leads series. The Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison both scored their first goal of the playoffs and the Vancouver Canucks avoided elimination with a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night...

St. Louis defeats Arizona 6-3 behind right-hander. By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Woody Williams pitched seven shutout innings to extend his scoreless streak this season to 19 2-3 innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3 Friday night for their fifth victory in six games...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea on Saturday renewed an offer to hold high-level talks with South Korea, a week after the North abruptly canceled such a meeting. The proposal came a day after the communist state appeared to announce steps that could yield six to eight bombs within months...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals have fired the group hired to corral private financing for the club's new downtown stadium, citing "concerns about some of the investors" who have included a man mentioned in a federal investigation of possible terrorism funding...

Easter is a day not only of hope, but discord -- at least among theologians. Throughout modern times, liberal scholars have challenged a central tenet of Christianity: that Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead after being crucified by the Romans on Good Friday...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Britain and Ireland may shelve plans to revive Northern Ireland's power-sharing government for months, negotiators said Friday, after the symbolically important Good Friday religious holiday passed without a deal. In an expression of the worsening atmosphere, the Protestant leader of the British province's mothballed power-sharing administration, David Trimble, called the Irish Republican Army "a couple of hundred hoods."...

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- Flooding caused by heavy rains killed two people and damaged hundreds of homes in eastern Puerto Rico, officials said Friday. Rescue crews searched for a man swept away by a swollen river in the Juncos area as forecasters warned of more showers to come. More than 16 inches of rain fell on some areas...

Oma Jean Mitchell, 70, of St. Louis, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, April 17, 2003, at Christian Hospital Northeast in St. Louis County. She was born June 24, 1932, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Omer Clarence and Dorothy Cross Trickey. She married Glenn Mitchell...

Ethel Velvie Stinson, 96, of Keokuk, Iowa, died Wednesday, March 16, 2003, at Keokuk Area Hospital. She was born April 6, 1907, at McGee, Mo., daughter of John Wilmer and Pearl Grace Woolard Robertson. She and Loren Stinson were married July 4, 1931, at Parma, Mo. He died March 4, 1975...

Joshua Curtis Lemons, 22, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 18, 2003, as a result of an automobile accident in Bollinger County. He was born Aug. 2, 1980, in Cape Girardeau, son of Curtis and Kim Hawn Lemons. Joshua was a 1998 graduate of Woodland High School. He was a senior at Southeast Missouri State University majoring in business, and was to graduate May 17...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Leondas "Doc" Allen, 89, of East Prairie died Thursday, April 17, 2003, at Clearview Nursing Center. He was born Sept. 28, 1913, in East Prairie, son the G.M. and Bessie Hockersmith Allen. He married Olivia Irene Allen on Dec. 3, 1932. She died Nov. 21, 2002...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Tina Lea Parker, 39, of East Prairie died Thursday, April 17, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 13, 1963, in St. Louis, daughter of Harvey Lee Noles of Sikeston, Mo., and Linda Lou Bailey of Anniston, Mo...

Vertis V. Mouser, 94, of Jackson died Thursday, April 17, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 12, 1908, at Marquand, Mo., daughter of Robert L. and Virginia "Jennie" Cloninger Sitzes. She and Glenn A. Mouser were married Dec. 9, 1929. He died July 22, 1962...

Leon B. Fassel, 77, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 17, 2003, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Jan. 16, 1926, in Cape Girardeau, son of Edgar Alfred August and Marie Magdalene Mueller Fassel. He and Peggy J. Hayden were married Sept. 6, 1952, in Piggott, Ark...

10 years ago: April 19, 1993 Cape Girardeau police last night responded to 911 call in 900 block of Bloomfield and found unidentified man lying dead in doorway of apartment house; shooting victim hasn't positively been identified and is believed to have been resident of city for short period of time...

Simmons Son to Marcus Jerry and Karla Rae Simmons of Olive Branch, Ill., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12:31 a.m. Monday, April 14, 2003. Name, Jacob Drew. Weight, 6 pounds 15 ounces. Mrs. Simmons is the former Karla Smothers, daughter of Tom and Gwen Smothers of Olive Branch. She is a registered nurse at Egyptian School in Tamms, Ill. Simmons is the son of Bill and Willa Simmons of McClure, Ill., and Jane Simmons of Tamms. He is employed at Miracle Supply Co. Inc. in Cape Girardeau...

WASHINGTON -- In the largest settlement ever with a utility under the nation's clean air laws, Dominion Virginia Power Co. is agreeing to spend $1.2 billion to reduce pollution at eight power plants in Virginia and West Virginia and to pay a $5.3 million federal fine...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- P.J. Allen wants more than anything to swim, to wrestle with his friends without worrying the tracheotomy in his throat will get dislodged. The 9-year-old, one of the youngest survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing, is hoping a specialist in Cincinnati can fix his scorched lungs so he can act more like a normal kid...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Health officials issued swim advisories for areas of Atlantic Beach and Jacksonville Beach on Friday because of high bacteria levels. The beaches remained opened, but signs were posted in a half-mile area around the Jacksonville Beach lifeguard station warning beachgoers about the unsafe condition...

HONG KONG -- While airlines around the world battled insolvency and fretted over the war in Iraq, Asian-based carriers rode out the industry's latest downturn a bit more smoothly. Then along came SARS. Asia's aviation industry has been pitched into what some are calling its worst crisis ever, with thousands of flights canceled, passengers scared to fly and delays in some airports as passengers are checked for fever or symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS...

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Thousands of police officers and soldiers deployed across Nigeria on Friday in a show of force to opposition leaders threatening violence if they believe this weekend's presidential elections are flawed. Saturday's elections for the presidency and 36 state governorships present the biggest test for Nigeria's struggling democracy since President Olusegun Obasanjo was first elected four years ago, ending 15 years of brutal military dictatorship. He is seeking a second term...

STAR CITY, Russia -- The American astronaut scheduled to fly to the International Space Station next week thanked Russia on Friday for continuing its space program after U.S. shuttle flights were suspended following the Columbia disaster. "The only reason we can continue this program is because Russia has the capacity to launch Progress and Soyuz modules," Edward Lu said at Russia's Star City cosmonaut training center outside Moscow. ...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- Romanian troops have found the biggest stash of weapons yet in Afghanistan -- two caves stuffed with thousands of rockets and more than 1.25 million rounds of ammunition. The weapons were found Wednesday and Thursday during searches outside the village of Hazarkhel, U.S. military spokesman Col. Roger King said Friday. The village is about 220 miles southwest of Kabul...

Dr. Robert Gifford believes in upholding traditions. Three John Philip Sousa marches will be played in Thursday's Olde-Tyme Band concert by the Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble. But at the last concert Gifford conducted he also employed percussion instruments that came from junkyards...