Stories from Friday, May 2, 2003

Dear Tom and Ray: I, along with about 20 friends, am determined to go to the Burning Man festival in Nevada this summer. We would like to purchase or rent a school bus capable of making the round trip from Seattle. Is this feasible? Where should we go to find an affordable school bus? If the bus is not used for commercial purposes, do we still need a special license to drive it? Are we running a HUGE risk of breaking down, with no mechanic for miles, in the middle of the desert? How can we resell the thing after we buy it? Thanks. ...

Flipping through the TV channels the other night, I saw a commercial for Spam. For those of you who are computerized, I must explain that there are two kinds of Spam. There's Spam. And there's spam. If your eyes haven't been wasted by endless glaring at the screen of a computer monitor, you will see that one Spam has a big S and the other spam has a little s...

Fox Sports Net show hit with harassment lawsuitLOS ANGELES -- A hairstylist on Fox Sports Network's "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against co-host and former NBA player John Salley and others involved with the show...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The family of a liquor store worker who was shot and killed during an apparent robbery filed a wrongful death lawsuit against sniper suspects John Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. Muhammad, 42, and Malvo, 18, face capital murder charges for the Sept. ...

HOUSTON -- The probe into the collapse of energy trading giant Enron Corp. broadened Thursday with 31 new charges against former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow and indictments of fraud and insider trading against his wife and nine other former executives...

This week is National Volunteer Week as proclaimed by President Bush. It is the 30th year for this special recognition of volunteers. Even though a special week has been set aside for volunteer recognition on local, state and national levels, the millions of Americans who find ways to make volunteer contributions in ways small and large are busy all year long...

MADRID -- Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday against letting violence "immediately contaminate the road map" toward peace that President Bush has offered. Opening a three-day trip built around Middle East peace efforts, Powell said much work remains before Bush's goal of a Palestinian state by 2005 can be met. That work includes ending suicide bomb attacks and harsh defensive actions by Israel, he said...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli troops stormed a Hamas stronghold on Thursday, setting off the most intense gunbattle in the Gaza Strip in 2 1/2 years of fighting, just a day after mediators presented a Mideast peace plan. Twelve Palestinians were killed, including two children and a top bombmaker...

LONDON -- Local and regional elections caused British Prime Minister Tony Blair some nervousness Thursday, but it was the leader of the opposition who was sweating the vote count. Iain Duncan Smith, leader of the Conservative Party, likely would face yet another round of internal carping and even plotting if his once-mighty party failed to make significant gains against Blair's Labor Party...

CELTIKSUYU, Turkey -- Listening for small voices, rescuers early Friday searched for dozens of children buried in the rubble of their dormitory after an earthquake struck southeastern Turkey. At least 100 people were killed and 1,000 injured. Search teams working all day Thursday and into the early hours Friday were in contact with four of the children, state-owned TRT television reported from the scene. But there was little sign of 80 other children trapped in the collapsed four-story building...

JIEZISHI, China -- Zhang Qiulian usually welcomes tourists to her bed-and-breakfast in the Lianhua mountains, an hour's drive north of Beijing. But with SARS spreading in China's capital, she sat beside a makeshift roadblock Thursday with a hand-lettered sign saying, "Terribly sorry, no access to outsiders."...

There is just one week left before the Missouri Legislature's deadline to complete work on the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Legislative leaders had hoped to send a budget to the governor earlier than the May 9 deadline, but that now appears unlikely...

SAULSPOORT DAM, South Africa -- A bus packed with passengers headed to a May Day celebration plunged into a reservoir Thursday, killing at least 52 people on board, police said. The bus was pulled ashore hours after it plunged into the reservoir near the town of Bethlehem with 90 people inside. Some bodies were found on the bus; others were pulled from the water...

HAVANA -- Fidel Castro accused the United States of wanting to attack Cuba, speaking at a May Day celebration on Thursday that aimed to defend the island's socialist system against criticism from abroad. "In Miami and Washington they are now discussing where, how and when Cuba will be attacked," the Cuban president told a crowd of thousands gathered for the celebration in Havana's Plaza of the Revolution...

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Ahead of a new round of negotiations, Nigerian navy ships and private helicopters prepared Thursday for a possible evacuation of 97 foreigners and 170 Nigerians being held hostage on oil rigs by striking workers. The rigs' owners were to meet today with Nigerian labor leaders, including representatives chosen by the hostage-takers, in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, according to Peter Akpatason, president of the country's largest oil union...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair canceled Northern Ireland's elections Thursday, saying deepening divisions among Catholic and Protestant voters threatened to bring "complete and total chaos." Blair said he planned to move the May 29 election for Northern Ireland's dissolved legislature to the autumn. ...

If Larry Eustachy is forced out at Iowa State, his real sin won't be that he was photographed like the star of some "Coaches Gone Wild" video, with a beer in one hand and a student half his age in the other. It will be that he lost. In the tournament, in the conference, on the road -- just enough losses to embolden his critics to call for his job...

Whether it's the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or the threat of terrorism, the signs are obvious: prayer is essential. Or is it? asked Pastor Gary Brothers of Cape First Assembly of God in Cape Girardeau. Brothers spoke during the noon "prayer on the square" service for the National Day of Prayer on Thursday...

ST. LOUIS -- Jim Edmonds was tired and eager to end the game. Edmonds homered off Scott Strickland with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning as the St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 6-5 victory on Thursday...

By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Steve Kline, who used to be Mr. Reliable out of the St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen, can't seem to buy an out right now. The left-hander has allowed at least one run in three of his past four outings, and six runs overall in 6 1-3 innings. During that span he has two losses, a victory and a blown save, his second in five chances as the stand-in closer for injured Jason Isringhausen...

After coming ever so close to winning the Ohio Valley Conference indoor track and field meet, Southeast Missouri State University's women have their sights set on capturing the OVC outdoor title this weekend. Host Tennessee State, which captured the indoor championship and has also won the past two outdoor titles, figures to battle Southeast and Eastern Kentucky for the top spot when action is held today and Saturday in Nashville...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The strongest Kentucky Derby favorite in 11 years might have an Achilles' heel. Empire Maker's bruised foot was again the focus at Churchill Downs, two days before the race. Trainer Bobby Frankel proclaimed his 6-5 favorite "100 percent" after a jog Thursday morning, but opposing trainer Ron Ellis said, "It's not an ideal situation."...

By Susan Skiles Luke ~ The Associated Press CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University on Thursday named assistant men's basketball coach Matt Painter to the head coaching job. Painter will replace Bruce Weber, who was named head coach Wednesday at the University of Illinois...

UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. international staff returned to Iraq's capital Thursday for the first time since the war and will immediately begin to assess emergency humanitarian needs. The 21-member team was led by the humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, and included representatives of the World Health Organization, the World Food Program, the U.N. Children's Fund and the U.N. Development Program...

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN -- President Bush, aboard an aircraft carrier homebound from war, said Thursday night "the United States and our allies have prevailed" against Saddam Hussein's Iraq and will confront any other threatening nation suspected of terrorist ties...

Turning soil on the River Campus grounds means that Southeast Missouri State University and the city of Cape Girardeau aren't turning back on the visual and performing arts center. Though the project has been stalled by lawsuits in the past, the city and university are ready to move ahead. ...

Charges of theft and paying for sex with crack cocaine and city dollars were filed Thursday against a former Cape Girardeau narcotics detective. Paul E. Tipler, 35, of Cape Girardeau became the subject of an internal investigation that indicated he stole department money and evidence, said police chief Steve Strong. Tipler was fired in December after being placed on suspension in November. An arrest warrant was issued Thursday...

Though the construction phase of Cape Girardeau's $17.5 million Cape Rock water plant expansion project is nearly finished, the work of supplying the future water needs of the city is far from over. The 10 new wells drilled on the banks of the Mississippi River don't have the capacity to adequately supply the city in a hard drought without continuing to supplement the system with water directly pulled from the river, say public works officials. ...

If it had gone unnoticed at Tipton Linen & Uniform Service, it could easily have become laundered money. Or if people less honest than Mary Sample or Roberta Brown had found $3,500, it could have become pocketed money. Instead, in the two recent instances when Brown and Sample found $2,000 and $1,500 respectively, they turned it in and the money found its way back into the hands of the rightful owners...

Missouri Gov. Bob Holden says he won't enact the Missouri Senate's "doomsday budget" because it would drastically cut state services. In a visit to the Cape Girardeau Senior Center on Thursday, Holden urged the GOP-led Missouri Legislature to put his tax plan before the voters in August rather than cut millions of dollars out of school district, university and state agency budgets...

A section of North Sprigg Street will serve as a race track Saturday for the fourth annual All-American Soap Box Derby in Cape Girardeau. Thirty cars and drivers are scheduled to take part in the competition in front of Blanchard Elementary School that will take place on both lanes of the roadway. ...

The songs she writes and sings sometimes are concerned with peace and social justice, but Amy Martin takes care not to step over the line into self-righteousness. "It's annoying to listen to somebody preach," she says. If she writes an anti-war song she examines the war and aggression in herself...

Procter & Gamble Co.'s local plant is getting a manager. Rick McLeod, who has been working for P&G in Venezuela since 2000, will take over effective June 1, replacing Kathy Brown, who is transferring to a different position within the company. The company would not provide any details about where Brown is going, saying that is company policy, said human relations manager Mike Jennewein...

MOSCOW -- Anxiety is high for this weekend's return of three international space station residents who will be making the first spacecraft landing since the Columbia disaster and NASA's first touchdown on foreign soil. "I think we are all going to be paying a little bit more attention to landing operations," said Dr. Terry Taddeo, a NASA flight surgeon who will monitor the event from Houston...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a bill creating a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions. The measure now goes to Democratic Gov. Bob Holden. He has threatened to veto any "anti-choice" legislation, specifically citing the bill requiring pregnant women to wait 24 hours between a first consultation with a doctor and performance of an abortion...

Cape Girardeau Friday, May 2 Firefighters responded to the following item Wednesday: At 5:45 p.m., a medical assist at North Sprigg Street and Lafayette Place.Firefighters responded to the following items Thursday: At 2:07 a.m., a citizen assist at 611 S. West End Blvd...

Missouri is over 30 percent forested, and oaks are among our most important and abundant trees. Oaks provide food for wild animals in the form of acorns, especially for deer, wild turkeys and squirrels. Oaks belong to the so-called hardwood trees, in contrast to the cone-bearing needle trees, and are a most important source for lumber. The lumber we cut from oak trees is important to Missouri's economy; it is used for making barrels, furniture, cabinets and flooring....

Hobert Deon Hanners, 62, of Jackson passed away Thursday, May 1, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 9, 1941, in Cape Girardeau County, son of John D. and Maude A. Moore Hanners. He and Mary Slinkard were married Jan. 22, 1965...

ANNA, Ill. -- William E. "Bill" Keller, 70, of Anna died Thursday, May 1, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 17, 1932, in Jonesboro, Ill., son of Floyd E. and T. Alice Halterman Keller. Keller received a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1954, master's degree from the university in 1956, attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and received a doctorate in history from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.. ...

Joseph R. Burciaga, 75, of Plano, Texas, died Monday, April 28, 2003, in Dallas, Texas. Survivors include his wife, Georgianna; two daughters, Julie Burciaga of Plano, Toni Chalfant of Sugarland, Texas; a son and daughter-in-law, Joe and Carol Burciaga of Sunrise, Fla.; a brother, the Rev. John Burciaga of Phoenix, Ariz.; a sister and brother-in-law, Mary and John Miller of Cape Girardeau; and two granddaughters, Brandi and Nikki Chalfant of Sugarland...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Roy Gorden Drum, 49, of Fenton, Mo., formerly of Marble Hill, died Saturday, April 12, 2003. Graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bollinger County Memorial Park Cemetery. The Rev. Slade Johnson will officiate. Liley Funeral Home at Marble Hill is in charge of arrangements...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Genevia Norris, 95, of Jonesboro died Thursday, May 1, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 2, 1908, in Union County, daughter of Everett D. and Flora Miller. She and Jesse Norris were married Oct. 24, 1940, at Benton, Mo. He died Sept. 12, 1966...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Leonard John Lee, 85, of Villa Ridge, formerly of Barlow, Ky., died Thursday, May 1, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 2, 1917, in Middleton, Tenn., the son of John and Emma Etta Everett Lee. He and Berdie Carlisle were married. She preceded him in death...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Willie "Shortie" Johnson, 54, of Des Moines, Iowa, died Thursday, April 24, 2003. He was born Feb. 28, 1949, in Charleston, son of Cam Willie and Mable Lee Johnson. Johnson served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Survivors include three daughters, Dorothy Kee of Columbia, Mo., Rashawn Lovejoy and Lisa Lee of Des Moines; five sons, William Johnson of Columbia, Ronald Moore, Willie Dawson, James Gonzales and Tanzell Johnson, all of Des Moines; two stepsons, Shawn Moore and James Dawson of Des Moines; two brothers, Floyd Johnson of Newton, Iowa, Joseph Johnson of Columbia; three sisters, Virginia Johnson of Cairo, Ill., Teola Wright and Martha Dobbins of Columbia; and numerous grandchildren.. ...

Price Son to Anthony and Vanessa Price of Owensville, Mo., St. John's Mercy Hospital, Saturday, March 29, 2003. Name, Blaine Anthony. Weight, 7 pounds 12 ounces. First child. Mrs. Price is the daughter of Dennis and Susan Lowe of Benton, Mo. Price is the son of Andrew Price of Bland, Mo., and Mary Price of Owensville...

10 years ago: May 2, 1993 Area's two state representatives -- Mary Kasten of Cape Girardeau and David Schwab of Jackson -- anticipate long hours and headaches as legislative session heads into its final two weeks. City Council agrees to appoint 10-member task force to examine issue of public housing in city and whether to appoint housing authority; action comes after officials with local chapter of National Association for Advancement of Colored People decried shortage of available low-income housing and publicly funded rental assistance.. ...

One star (out of four) If you are a fan of the Douglas family, don't go see "It Runs in the Family." You will surely be disappointed. My husband said it should have been entitled, "Life and Times with a Dysfunctional Family." I agree. The drama, based in New York City, traces the trials and tribulations of an extended family (The Grombergs). ...

We love pizza. We have always loved pizza. Case in point. I have had kosher pizza, pizza Margherita (made with tomatoes, olive oil, basil, and garlic), East Coast thin crust, deep dish Chicago style, West Coast Wolfgang Puck's Nuevo pizza (made with just about anything you can think of), ice cream pizza, sushi pizza and the kind where the crust is so thick you eat it almost like a sandwich...

Julie Bricknell is an occupational therapist who treats people with hand problems. When she began making pottery, her hands discovered a form of therapy that helps Bricknell. "Because I'm a service-oriented professional, this is how I renew myself," she says...

OS ANGELES -- If America's looking for heroes in these times, Hollywood aims to deliver. The summer season always is loaded with movies about gallant warriors beating the tar out of bad guys. And the Sept. 11 attacks and the war against terrorism that led to conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq may have audiences more primed than ever for big-screen heroes...

Department of Conservation Thousands of Missouri families are enjoying turkey dinners, compliments of hunters age 15 and younger. The harvest during Missouri's third youth spring turkey season April 12 and 13 totaled 3,660 birds. The youth harvest topped last year's figure by 558 and was 1,130 more than the first year the youth hunt was offered. As in the two previous years, youth hunters got the job done without a single hunting accident...

Cape Girardeau Friday, May 2 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests A suspect was taken into custody Wednesday pending filing of formal charges on suspicion of possession of crack/cocaine and drug paraphernalia...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- As soon as Cassie Bigham got her drivers license, she began driving carloads of friends around town. Bigham insists she can concentrate on safe driving, even with four other teenagers in the car. "You should know not to act stupid," said the 17-year-old Northlake resident...

By Josh Dubow ~ The Associated Press NEW YORK -- Baseball players agreed to a two-year experiment Thursday to give home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the All-Star game. Owners approved the proposal Jan. 17, and union lawyers have discussed it with players since then before agreeing to it on a trial basis...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Almost all of Missouri's major rivers and lakes are labeled "impaired" by pollutants on a list released Thursday by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The pollutants run the gamut -- from insecticides in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers to low water-oxygen levels in the Lake of the Ozarks, fecal contamination in the Jack's Fork River and high mercury levels in other lakes and rivers...

By Ralph D. Russo ~ The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS -- After shooting a 29 on the front nine, rookie Akio Sadakata started thinking about making history. "I was thinking about the 59, but I didn't go that deep," he said...

WASHINGTON -- The House on Thursday passed a $15 billion bill that would more than double U.S. contributions to the worldwide fight against AIDS. Supporters, led by President Bush, said the money could bring relief to millions of people with AIDS and prevent the deadly disease from infecting millions more...

The Associated Press MIAMI -- Alonzo Mourning expects doctors to soon clear him to play next season after missing the past year because of kidney disease, his agent said Thursday. The approval for the Miami Heat star should come in the next few weeks, agent Jeffrey Wechsler said...

WASHINGTON -- New claims for jobless benefits clocked in at the second-highest level of the year and manufacturing shrank, fresh signs that the postwar economy is still struggling. The stagnant job market and the battered manufacturing sector are sore spots for the fragile recovery...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush emerged from the war with Iraq with higher poll ratings, especially in areas such as handling the war, terrorism and homeland security, a new poll suggests. He appears, however, to have significant vulnerability on domestic issues, including the economy...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans suffered a second loss Thursday in their push to confirm a contested judicial nominee when Democrats blocked a Texas Supreme Court justice picked by President Bush for a federal appeals court. Democrats already have thwarted majority Republicans by stalling the nomination of Hispanic lawyer Miguel Estrada and now are also delaying a vote on Priscilla Owen...

To the editor: I think the Southeast Missourian does a very good job in all the diverse sections of the paper. It has something of interest for all ages, young and old. The Missourian tells you about what a reader would be interested in, such as church, school, real estate, grocery ads, sports, world news, TV, comics, theater, history, crossword puzzle, bridge column, horoscope and "Dear Abby."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Although annual tuition at Southeast Missouri State University increased by nearly one-third over the past five years, it is among the most affordable of Missouri's 13 four-year public colleges and universities, according to a state audit released Thursday...

Failed to cut spending REPUBLICANS WERE put in control of both houses of the Missouri Legislature in large part to cut spending. In that endeavor they have failed so miserably it makes the Democrats seem miserly. Spending priorities IT'S IRONIC that when you ask the managers of Duck Creek Wildlife Area why they didn't plant crops for the ducks, they tell you they don't have the money, but they can spend millions on a nature center at North County Park...

Five Fruitland-area churches are planning a prayer service to honor their heroes. Though the event is being held after the National Day of Prayer, observed Thursday, it is tied to that event. The churches will hold the service at 6 p.m. Sunday at Fruitland Community Church...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Two Malden women died as a result of injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash Thursday morning in New Madrid County on Interstate 55, said the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Driver Christine Mitchell, 83, and her passenger, Pamela Harrison, 42, were southbound in a 2002 Buick Century on the roadway. Mitchell attempted to turn left from the right-hand lane and pulled into the path of a southbound 2001 Volvo tractor trailer driven by William Gibbs, 62, of Desoto, Mo...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For nearly 10 years, I served as a Missouri Supreme Court judge, including two years as the chief justice. During that time, I signed death warrants for three individuals who were convicted of murder and ultimately executed. I also worked as a special assistant to the Missouri attorney general and argued for the death penalty in 15 cases prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1983 by then-governor Christopher Bond...

Three new exhibits open today at arts council Oil paintings and watercolors are represented in three new exhibits opening today at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. Oil paintings by Cape Girardeau native David Gross and by Barbara B. Cleary will be exhibited in the Lorimier Gallery, while watercolors by another Cape Girardeau native, Patricia Harris Leavell, will be shown in Gallery 100...