Stories from Tuesday, May 6, 2003

Searchers using dogs and heavy equipment went from one crumbled home to another Monday after tornado-packed storms flattened communities in three states and killed at least 38 people. Ten people were missing, including eight in the southwest Missouri town of Pierce City...

WASHINGTON -- Two wars in a row, the second-guessers were out early: The military's plan for Afghanistan was not innovative enough. The Americans did not put enough ground troops in Iraq. It did not take long for commanding Gen. Tommy Franks to quiet the talk with military victory...

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Monday he will draft a bill to reduce taxes on dividends paid to corporate shareholders. The decision by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, moves the GOP-led Senate a step closer to supporting the centerpiece of President Bush's tax cut, although the president's position would eliminate taxes on dividends altogether...

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon released 22 prisoners Monday from the high-security compound for terrorist suspects in Cuba, possibly including some teenagers. Before the releases, some 660 prisoners from 42 countries were being held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, many captured during the war against al-Qaida in Afghanistan. U.S. officials have declined to identify them or their countries or even say exactly how many are held...

WASHINGTON -- A top Iraqi scientist has been taken into custody, according to U.S. officials who say they suspect she has information about a banned biological weapons program. Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, who has advanced degrees from two U.S. universities, was taken into custody on Sunday, a Defense Department official said. He had no other details about her detention...

WASHINGTON -- It won't stop those annoying phone calls at dinnertime, but the Supreme Court set new limits Monday for telemarketers who solicit money for charities. If the telemarketer lies or misleads about where the contributions go, states can take them to court...

DYERSBURG, Tenn. -- Two tornadoes destroyed a mobile home park before cutting a swath of destruction through Dyersburg Sunday night. A third vortex swept across the west side of the city, uprooting trees and downing power lines. No one was killed, but several were injured...

WASHINGTON -- Federal officials received requests Monday to declare large parts of Missouri and Kansas disaster areas, which would clear the way for government aid to people and places hurt by the deadly Midwestern tornadoes. In Kansas City, Mo., the regional Federal Emergency Management Agency office set up a command center Sunday evening to track damage reports from both states. ...

Monday, May 5 Public Hearings Heard the request of Agan Alkan for a special use permit to operate a motorcycle business at 2605-2607 Themis Street. Heard a public hearing on an application for funding to operate the city's taxi coupon public transit program...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, May 6 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Michael G. Lix, 44, of 1324 Carolyn, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and failure to use headlights...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, May 6 Firefighters responded Sunday to the following items: At 6:47 p.m., emergency medical service at 1122 Landgraf. At 7:22 p.m., emergency medical service at 316 Independence. At 8:54 p.m., alarm at 900 Broadway. At 9 p.m., fire alarm at 1701 Lacey...

PIERCE CITY, Mo. -- Staring at the rubble of her tornado-ravaged hometown, Janice Flehmer lifted up her eyes and couldn't believe it: the old metal cross on the steeple of First United Methodist Church was crazily twisted. But it wasn't broken. Flehmer had to wipe away a tear...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Four years after voters narrowly rejected the idea, the legislature gave final approval Monday to a bill letting qualified Missourians carry concealed guns -- without putting the issue on a statewide ballot. The legislature's action, however, may not be the end of the matter...

ROME -- Silvio Berlusconi, the first sitting Italian premier ever to stand trial, told a Milan court trying him on bribery charges Monday that he intervened in a contested business deal only to serve the nation's interests. The billionaire media mogul is accused of bribing judges in Rome to influence a ruling on the sale of former state-controlled food company SME in the 1980s, before he was a politician. ...

Students from three Cape Girardeau high schools were honored at the John L. Blue Academic Excellence Dinner on Monday at the Southeast Missouri State University Center. The dinner is sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club to honor the late Blue, editor of the Southeast Missourian for 20 years and a leader in church and charitable organizations. He began the academic excellence program in 1959...

Natural gas offers relief from long, blustery winters and air conditioners offer relief from stifling summer heat. Using both has caused many low-income Southeast Missouri families to fall behind on their utility bills. AmerenUE is now offering a different kind of relief -- financial, in the form of a one-time program that will pay past-due bills for customers who have trouble paying and fall below the poverty line...

Matt Tygett thought he was just another victim of two-time defending Iron Chef champ John Jenkins. Losing by less than a point, he would pack up his cutlery set and go back to Mollie's. But in a turn of events that will forever be remembered in local Iron Chef lore, Tygett learned several hours later that he won the event...

The city of Jackson will collect extra garbage next week as part of its spring cleanup program. From May 12-6, the sanitation department will pick up all refuse placed at the curb on the regularly scheduled trash pick-up day. The three-bag limit will not be enforced, so additional bag stickers will not be required for household waste...

'Friends' star, fiancee wed on Hawaiian island LOS ANGELES -- "Friends" star Matt LeBlanc has said "How you doin'?" to marriage. The 35-year-old actor, whose dimwitted character on the popular NBC sitcom purrs that catch phrase to woo women, married fiancee Melissa McKnight on the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Saturday...

DAVENPORT, Wash. -- Monday is Divorce Day in the Lincoln County Courthouse. In the morning, a clerk brings bins and mailbags from the post office full of new filings for dissolution of marriage. In his office one floor up, Superior Court Judge Philip Borst gets writer's cramp signing final decrees in marathons that can last six hours or more...

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, Utah -- Thirteen park rangers lugged equipment into this southeastern Utah park and lifted an 800-pound boulder that trapped a mountain climber and forced him to amputate his arm to escape. After hiking 3 miles to the remote canyon Sunday, the crew was able to lift the egg-shaped boulder and push it into a space where it fit securely. ...

Strong quake jolts China; one death reported BEIJING -- A strong earthquake jolted a northwestern region of China still recovering from a temblor earlier this year, flattening houses, killing livestock and causing a 72-year-old man to die of heart failure, officials said Monday...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II tried only a few feeble steps during his weekend trip to Spain, sat in a hydraulic chair and was wheeled on a trolley down a red carpet. But his clear voice and animated expression delighted crowds that reached 1 million, and the frail pontiff passed the physical test posed by foreign travel. Now he's preparing for a trip to Croatia -- the 100th international visit of his long papacy -- and, later, a summer pilgrimage to faraway Mongolia...

PARIS -- The al-Qaida terror network remains a serious threat, with sleeper cells and agents who "are always ready to act," the world's top justice and interior ministers said Monday. "Terrorism continues to present both a pervasive and global threat to our societies," ministers from the Group of Eight nations said in a statement...

Rappers wrestling. Wrestlers rapping. It's the strange world of "Def Jam Vendetta," a new title for PlayStation 2 and GameCube from AKI and EA Sports Big that's an excellent example of what can come of some novel thinking. Instead of making "Wrestle-O-Rama 27," developers came up with a great idea -- putting some of Def Jam Records' biggest stars in the ring...

10 years ago: May 6, 1993 For those living along Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, this week must seem like deja vu; 20 years ago, on May 1, 1973, river at Cape Girardeau crested at all-time high of 45.6 feet, causing widespread flooding and property damage along both sides of river; 10 years later, river stood at 45.1 feet, and now, river is expected to crest Saturday at 38.5 feet; it will be fourth crest since March...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Edward Brice Gates, 81, of Sikeston died Saturday, May 3, 2003, at his home. He was born Sept. 22, 1921, in Peach Orchard, Ark., son of John William David and Margarete Whitson Gates. He and Marguerite I. Tucker were married June 9, 1940, in Peach Orchard. She died Sept. 25, 1998. He and Ramona Williams were married Jan. 6, 2001, in Sikeston...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Deytan White, 1 week, of Chaffee died Sunday, May 4, 2003, at Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Emily S. Hale, 86, of Sikeston died Saturday, May 3, 2003, at Clearview Nursing Center. She was born March 19, 1917, at Kennett, Mo., daughter of Irvin D. and Lula Hutchens Smith. She and George Loy Hale Jr. were married Jan. 21, 1940, in Bruceton, Tenn. He died May 31, 1989...

ST. MARY, Mo. -- Mary H. Klobe, 75, of St. Louis died Sunday, May 4, 2003, at Green Park Nursing Home in Affton, Mo. She was born May 22, 1927, at St. Mary, daughter of Emil J. and Louise Schroeder Klobe. Klobe had been an administrative assistant with the Aircraft Project Office for the U.S. Army Aviation and Systems Command 45 years. She was a member of St. George Catholic Church and National Association of Retired Federal Employees in St. Louis...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Charles Wade Husher, 80, of Sikeston died Saturday, May 3, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 13, 1922, at Crowder, Mo., son of Charlie and Alice Page Husher. He married Virginia LaRue, who died Jan. 21, 1995...

Henry E. Deimund, 76, of Jackson died Monday, May 5, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 30, 1926, at Lixville, Mo., son of Christian and Hester Seabaugh Deimund. He and Ida Barbee were married June 13, 1951. She died April 18, 1997...

Jane Seyer, 46, of Jackson died Monday, May 5, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Renada White, 94, of Chaffee died Sunday, May 4, 2003, at Chaffee Nursing Center. She was born Aug. 8, 1908, in Stoddard County, daughter of Alfred Henry and Julia Dunn Browning. She married Clark White, who preceded her in death. White lived in St. Louis many years, and retired as a floor supervisor at Wagner Electric Corp. She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jarrell D. Griffin, 73, of Sikeston died Friday, May 2, 2003, at Mesa General Hospital in Mesa, Ariz. He was born July 1, 1929, in Enola, Ark., son of William Henry and Gladys Matthews Griffin. He and Lilly Faye Sitzes were married Dec. 22, 1951, in Sikeston...

White Son to Nicole LuAnne White of Chaffee, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:04 p.m. Sunday, April 27, 2003. Name, Deytan Mark Paul. Weight, 3 pounds 15 ounces. Second child, first son. Miss White is the daughter of Tonya Harrell and Danny White of Chaffee. She is a student at Stage One the Hair School...

Doris DeBoe, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, May 4, 2003, at Monticello House in Jackson. She was born Sept. 30, 1926, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of L. Milton and Willie Harris Cobb. She and Zack DeBoe were married March 30, 1946, in Cape Girardeau. He died April 19, 1976...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Elta Liley, 87, of Marble Hill died Sunday, May 4, 2003, at her home. She was born Sept. 16, 1915, near Lutesville, Mo., daughter of Charles U. and Lillie B. Eaker. She and Orville B. Liley were married Sept. 16, 1933. He died Jan. 7, 1993...

Dr. Joseph Nicholas Jaeger, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, May 5, 2003, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Nov. 30, 1916, in Jackson, son of Charles Boniface and Floy Dean Howard Jaeger. Jaeger was a graduate of Jackson High School and a 1949 graduate of Washington University...

As the weather becomes more and more bearable (even, dare I say, likable), my life in France is becoming more fulfilling and busy. Opportunities such as municipal band concerts, as well as jazz concerts and a trip to England with my host Rotary Club are upcoming, so my time during the weekend is quickly filling up...

NEW YORK -- Sure, teenagers might prefer to read about a fantasy world like Harry Potter lives in, but when these youngsters write, they write about reality: their families. Shannon Burke, 18, used a journalism class assignment to write a personal narrative as a cathartic experience to remember and honor her father, who died of cancer a few months earlier...

Student presents research project Rashida Wilson of Cape Girardeau was among students presenting undergraduate research projects recently at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Wilson is the daughter of Richard and Patricia Wilson. She is a 2000 graduate of Central High School and is studying biology...

Southeast Missouri State University will graduate a record number of students at the spring commencement ceremony on May 17, school officials said. In all, 1,024 students are scheduled to graduate in commencement exercises at 2 p.m. in the Show Me Center, including 881 undergraduates and 143 graduate students...

Some civic and business leaders who have waited for years for Nash Road to be extended west to Highway 25 could easily have come to the conclusion that it would never happen. They are mistaken. State and local authorities say the extension project it is still a priority and are working to make sure that the new road -- which would extend Nash Road 3.5 miles west to Highway 25 -- is finished by the scheduled completion date of 2006...

New business The city council accepted bid of Hurst Jaws of Life for fire department rescue equipment. Members of the city council designated a design by Councilman Norman Brant as the city flag.

One more daily round-trip flight out of Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to St. Louis may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Economic-development recruiters will tell you transportation is one of the first things businesses look at when deciding to locate or relocate to a community. Business people who are already here will also tell you that getting to St. Louis and back -- often in one day -- is sometimes crucial...

To the editor: A hidden tax can be one placed on the manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services. What Gov. Bob Holden fails to mention is that this tax is eventually passed on to the consumers. The additional cost of the tax is passed along to all consumers regardless of their income. Taxes on goods and services generally impact the low-income earner's standard of living more than it impacts the wealthy...

To the editor: State legislators recently passed a bill in both houses creating a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions. It is understood our elected representatives in Jefferson City represent the will of the people who elected them. Yet here is another Democrat deciding he is going to bypass the people's desire and force his will and that of his abortion friends down our throats. Gov. Bob Holden has decided he is going to veto this bill...

To the editor: I want to thank principal Frank Ellis for the wonderful leadership at the new Central Middle School. I also want to thank Pam Dumey, director of the CMS Panthera Tigris fifth- and sixth-grade choir. Dumey teaches at CMS full-time and also teaches music before and after school every day, gratis, so students have the opportunity to learn performing arts. ...

Not at my cabin SOME LOCAL teenagers asked me if they could borrow my cabin in the woods for a party after the prom. The first thing they started talking about was a safe place to drink alcohol. That is illegal. If you think I'm going to supply a place for you to drink illegal liquor, you're wrong. So this is a public notice. If anybody sees teenagers at my cabin after the prom, call the sheriff. I will call the sheriff. We don't need illegal activities...

AMES, Iowa --Larry Eustachy insisted he would never resign as basketball coach at Iowa State. On Monday, he and the school agreed to sever ties and avoid a costly, drawn-out legal fight. Eustachy resigned one week after the publication of embarrassing photos of him drinking and partying with students...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Miami Dolphins assistant coach Mike Shula and Carolina Panthers assistant Richard Williamson have emerged as top candidates to replace fired coach Mike Price at Alabama. Alabama athletic director Mal Moore and president Robert Witt met Sunday with Shula in Miami, and with Williamson in Atlanta on Monday, according to newspaper reports...

Fans of the Central Tigers are well versed in the skills of junior Mitch Craft's arm after Craft quarterbacked the Tigers to the state football quarterfinals in the fall. Craft showed fans what his legs could do Monday when he stole two bases and scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the second-seeded Tigers a 7-6 win over sixth-seeded Jackson in the semifinals of the SEMO Conference baseball tournament at Capaha Park...

Perryville scored first, but visiting Notre Dame responded with four straight goals to prevail 4-1 Monday in girls soccer. The Bulldogs, who tied Perryville early in the season, claimed their 11th straight victory and improved to 13-1-1. "We've been playing really good," Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley said...

ST. LOUIS -- Rams running back Marshall Faulk had beaten the mother of three of his children on several occasions, the woman's lawyers told a jury Monday in opening statements of a civil case. They said testimony this week would come from emergency room doctors and other witnesses, according to stltoday.com, the Web site for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch...

CINCINNATI -- For whatever reason, the Cincinnati Reds are at their best at the end of close games. That's when Aaron Boone shines. Boone led off the bottom of the ninth with a homer off Dustin Hermanson for a 5-4 victory Monday night that stopped the Cardinals' winning streak at seven games...

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rafael Palmeiro leaves the struts and home run poses to others. He does quite nicely without all the bluster. The Texas Rangers' first baseman simply goes out and plays. And few have done it with such proficiency and consistency...

Brian Hopkins has been impressive virtually all season, but Southeast Missouri State University's senior left fielder has been particularly potent in the past month or so. And Hopkins' recent play caught the country's attention after Collegiate Baseball Newspaper selected him its Louisville Slugger national player of the week Monday. Hopkins also won Southeast's first Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week award this season, also announced on Monday...

Briefly Baseball Closer Antonio Alfonseca was activated from the disabled list Monday by the Cubs, who designated pitcher Alan Benes for assignment. Alfonseca began the season on the DL with a strained right hamstring, which he injured in spring training. He made three appearances for Triple-A Iowa in a minor league rehab assignment, allowing two runs in 3 2-3 innings...

Somebody always pays. The latest somebody turned out to be Paul Silas, who was fired Sunday, less than 48 hours after the New Orleans Hornets failed to reach the second round of the NBA playoffs. He wasn't the first or last man in the league to get stuck with the tab for a collective flop -- remember, there's several rounds and more than a few disappointments left -- and Silas was even further from being the most famous...

Cape Girardeau residents who live near schools and churches won't have to worry about breaking the law if they shoot off fireworks this Fourth of July. The city council Monday night gave initial approval to an ordinance that lifts the current ban on the sale or discharge of fireworks within 600 feet of a church or school...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In order to change how gambling proceeds are distributed to fund education, supporters might have to agree to repeal the legal limit on how much gamblers can lose in Missouri casinos. Since taking a chamber majority in January, House Republicans have pushed for the creation of the Classroom Trust Fund, under which gambling revenue would be distributed equally to local school districts on a per pupil basis. ...

A Cape Girardeau man admiring the late-night boat traffic floating down the Mississippi River Saturday night perhaps wasn't paying attention to his car when it began making its way down to the water's edge. John Kelly had gotten out of his white 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix at Honker's Boat Dock on North Main Street to watch the barge traffic, police said. Before long, he noticed his car was quickly rolling down the boat ramp. It floated for a moment and then sank...

Nearly five months after a Cape Girardeau woman reported being the victim of road rage, a French native living in Cape Girardeau has pleaded guilty to grabbing her. Nicolas Raudin, 33, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault May 1 in Jackson, admitting he reached into another driver's car Dec. 10, jerked her seat belt and grabbed her face in an effort to force her to look at him as he spoke to her...

Residents of Scott City whose property flooded during Sunday night's thunderstorms are being asked to submit damage estimates to city administrator Ron Eskew. About 10 residents came to Monday night's city council meeting to complain about the high water that flowed into a number of houses, businesses and at least one church, resulting in cars floating in garages and three feet of water in some basements. ...

Two female students at Southeast Missouri State University reported being raped at a Cape Girardeau apartment during the weekend. The women, aged 19 and 20, first contacted the campus Department of Public Safety, but because attacks are alleged to have happened off campus the matter was referred to the city police department, said patrolman Jason Selzer...

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian More and more students entering college today are searching for extra money to help pay for their education. With rising tuition costs, textbook fees and room and board, a college education can eat up a quarter of a low-income family's annual budget. And tuition is rising faster than parents can keep up...