Stories from Friday, May 16, 2003

Dear Tom and Ray: Here's a burning question that I have wanted to ask: Can a car be used as an emergency source of electricity for a short period? Here's the deal: You can purchase "converters" that turn 12-volt power into 110-volt AC boxes. ...

A former Jackson firefighter was charged Thursday with eight misdemeanors of tampering with computer data for allegedly obtaining a topless photo of a female co-worker from her computer and e-mailing it to several friends and himself. Joel A. Bockelman, 30, of Jackson, faces up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines for each of the charges...

An early morning robbery of a Cape Girardeau convenience store Thursday has landed two men behind bars as suspects, police said. A clerk at Huck's at 353 S. Kingshighway told police a man entered the store and demanded cash shortly before 2:30 a.m. The man had his right hand in a jacket pocket and pointed it at the clerk, James Harris, as if he had a gun...

Jim Probst has delivered meals for the last 10 days to residents in the windtorn neighborhoods of Jackson since the tornado struck May 6. He drives the American Red Cross' emergency relief vehicle up and down hilly streets still littered with small branches, bits of insulation and roof tiles...

The Internal Revenue Service granted a series of tax relief measures Thursday for Missouri residents whose communities were struck by severe storms and tornadoes beginning May 4. The measures includes extension of tax filing and payment deadlines, and abatement of interest and penalties. Taxpayers can make appointments to get free assistance from an IRS specialist on how to file an amended tax return. A subsequent tax refund from an amended return could arrive in a few weeks...

Let's play a little word game. How many SUVs can you name in a single sentence? For example: Envoy, I need you and Pathfinder to fly with our Pilot and Navigator out to Durango and pick up an Explorer and a Trailblazer and deliver this Element to a place in the Outback where a Wrangler is having a Rendezvous with a Cherokee and an Aztec. That was fun, wasn't it?...

LOS ANGELES -- Veteran actor Robert Stack, who earned an Emmy as the tough-guy hero of TV's "Untouchables" and an Oscar nomination at the height of his movie fame in the 1950s, has died. He was 84. Stack, 84, was found dead of a heart attack Wednesday evening at his home by his wife, Rosemarie...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- June Carter Cash, the Grammy-winning scion of one of country music's pioneering families and the wife of country giant Johnny Cash, died Thursday of complications from heart surgery. She was 73. She died at a hospital with her husband of 35 years and family members at her bedside, manager Lou Robin said. She had been critically ill after May 7 surgery to replace a heart valve...

NEW YORK -- The Associated Press announced Thursday it has signed agreements with five television networks to provide special vote tabulation services for them starting with next year's presidential primaries. The AP will provide continuous running election-night returns on presidential, gubernatorial and congressional races for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News Channel under contracts that run through 2008...

HOUSTON -- The driver of the tractor-trailer that became a sweltering deathtrap for 18 people was charged Thursday with transporting and harboring illegal immigrants, and authorities searched for three more suspects in one of the deadliest smuggling schemes in U.S. history...

CHICAGO -- Emergency officials rushed to a series of mock catastrophes in the Chicago area Thursday, the busiest day of a national weeklong exercise that gave everyone from emergency workers to Illinois' governor training to respond to simultaneous terrorist attacks...

DE MEERN, Netherlands -- Archaeologists unveiled the oldest shipwreck ever recovered in the Netherlands on Thursday, an astonishingly well-preserved Roman military transport that sank along the banks of the Rhine 18 centuries ago. Although other ships have been found in what was the sprawling Roman Empire, the flat-bottomed barge is one of the few found north of the Alps. It was built about 180 A.D., when Marcus Aurelius passed the throne to the emperor Commodus...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- The deadly car bombings of residential compounds in Riyadh could be followed by more attacks on Americans, U.S. officials warned Thursday. A six-member FBI team came to the kingdom Thursday to determine what is needed to help in the investigation into Monday's attacks, which killed 34 people, including eight Americans...

AD-DAWR, Iraq -- Heavily armed U.S. Army forces stormed into a village near the northern city of Tikrit before dawn Thursday, seizing more than 260 prisoners, including one man on the most-wanted list of former Iraqi officials. U.S. troops encountered no resistance during the five-hour sweep, officers said. About 230 of those detained were being released later in the day, the military said...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Raising both hands in a frantic plea, a woman in a scarf and leopard-print housecoat begged the American soldiers: Don't take away her family's two battered Kalashnikovs. "Every night we are surrounded by people with guns," Im Shab wailed. "These weapons are to protect ourselves."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State and local governments would have to meet the highest legal standard to enforce laws and regulations that impinge on the free exercise of religion under a bill lawmakers sent to the governor on Thursday. The bill, dubbed the Religion Freedom Restoration Act, would require demonstration of a "compelling state interest" for restrictions affecting religion to be valid. A "rational basis" is all that is needed to be proved under current law...

Nine days after the tornado, businessmen and women are working to get their damaged operations running again. For some, the doors are already open -- burgers are being served and antiques are being sold again. For others, it'll be a long road back...

Late musician's guitar collection auctioned off LONDON -- Guitars and other memorabilia once owned by John Entwistle, the late bass guitarist of The Who, sold for more than $1.6 million at auction. The total paid for the 350 lots offered was more than twice what had been expected, Sotheby's auction house said Tuesday. The collection included 150 guitars, drawings, clothing, rare posters, paintings, guitar cases and jewelry...

ST. LOUIS -- Garrett Stephenson wouldn't let the Cincinnati Reds sweep the Cardinals again. Stephenson pitched two-hit ball for seven innings and Edgar Renteria's RBI double woke up St. Louis' slumbering offense in a 6-3 victory Thursday. The Cardinals had lost six straight to Cincinnati the last two weeks, getting outscored 34-19...

Central's baseball team continued its late-season roll Thursday after scoring nine runs in the first inning and cruising 11-0 over visiting Scott City. The regular-season finale ended after the top of the fifth inning on the 10-run rule. The Tigers improved to 17-9 heading into next week's district tournament.The Rams fell to 1-15...

If there's such a thing as dress rehearsal for district play, one was held Thursday at Notre Dame Regional High School. Two of the area's top Class 3 programs, North County and Notre Dame, paired off and made one last dry run before district tournaments open Monday...

Megan Kuntze and her Columbia College teammates faced a tall task in their quest for a second straight berth in the NAIA National Softball Championships. Columbia, the top seed in the Region V tournament in Springfield, Mo., dropped its opening-round game to William Woods College. The Cougars beat William Woods four times during the season but with the 2-1 loss Columbia fell into the loser's bracket...

Southeast Missouri State University has been eliminated from repeating its Ohio Valley Conference regular-season baseball championship, but coach Mark Hogan insists the Indians still have plenty to play for this weekend. The Indians (27-18, 11-6 OVC) close out the regular season with a three-game series at Murray State (20-25, 9-8). There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader today and a 2 p.m. contest Saturday...

Briefly Baseball Rick Ankiel lasted less than two innings Thursday in his second start for the Cardinals' Double-A Tennessee farm team. The left-hander allowed four earned runs, four hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings, striking out two as Chattanooga won 8-7...

During a fishing trip on the Mississippi, my daughter and I were having a conversation about a movie ("Jurassic Park 3") we watched the night before. My daughter asked me, "Daddy, are there still animals as big as the dinosaurs?" I started to laugh because I knew she imagined herself running down the street being chased by Godzilla. But I told her that dinosaurs are extinct, but there are some types of fish from the same era that still exist in the Mississippi River...

If you're a fan of watching hummingbirds, it's time to hang out the feeders. Feeders are available at most chain stores and many garden centers and can cost from $3 to $30 or more, but the cheaper ones work just as well. The more expensive ones are just pretty to look at -- for us, not the birds...

The best things in life are free (at least two days a year) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Free fishing days have been scheduled for June 7 and 8 that will allow Missourians to fish without a permit. The Missouri Department of Conservation designates two days each June as free fishing days to encourage anglers to fish in the state's thousands of lakes, streams and rivers...

After 16 teams withdrew due to lack of hotel space, the three-day Spring Classic will consist of 73 teams. Because of a scheduling conflict with spring graduation at Southeast Missouri State University, hotels filled quickly this weekend, Kaplan said....

BEIJING -- China on Thursday threatened execution for people who knowingly spread the SARS virus and cause death or serious injury, as the government attempted to force compliance with quarantines and other measures to stop the disease. The warning from the country's Supreme Court came as the Health Ministry reported 52 new cases of SARS infection on the mainland -- the lowest daily increase since April. ...

A chance to increase much-needed funding through a lawsuit against the state has divided Southeast Missouri school districts. All local school officials agree that additional funding is imperative, but reluctance to seek a remedy through the courts is keeping some districts from joining a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's current funding method. It's a complicated math equation known as the foundation formula...

Developers of a proposed upscale 900-acre residential subdivision near a golf course want tax increment financing to pay for approximately $9 million in water, sewer, electric and road improvements. The scaled-down plan for tax-funded improvements includes widening of a section of Bloomfield Road from Stonebridge subdivision to Highway 74 at a cost of $4.8 million, several 12-inch water lines, hydrants, a sewer lift station, two main sewer lines including one through the development and approximately half a million dollars in electrical distribution improvements.. ...

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip -- Israeli troops seized a Gaza town on Thursday and five Palestinians were killed, as Palestinians marked the 55th anniversary of the "naqba," or catastrophe, their term for their displacement during the 1948 creation of Israel...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A bill that would have expanded Missouri's college tuition savings program appears to have died in a House-Senate dispute. The House and Senate sponsors of the bill agreed Thursday night that the bill was dead after negotiations between the chambers fell apart. The legislative session ends at 6 p.m. Friday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state House on Thursday passed a sweeping revision to the way Missouri handles child abuse and neglect cases -- a response to the death last year of a 2-year-old foster child. The legislation makes changes from the moment a hot line tip is received by the state to time when a court decides whether a child should be returned home or left in foster care...

Merle Price, 93, of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, May 15, 2003, at Chateau Health Center. Merle was born Feb. 25, 1910, near Crosstown, Mo., daughter of Robert H. and Beulah Young Dempster. She and Irl Price were married Dec. 7, 1926. He passed away Dec. 28, 1961...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Lottie L. Byrd, 84, of Sikeston died Wednesday, May 14, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 4, 1918, at Fornfelt, Mo., daughter of Harrison and Allie Taylor Spradlin. She and Edgar Moril Byrd were married Aug. 20, 1938. He died July 18, 1986...

Darrell W. Crawford, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, May 15, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

THEBES, Ill. -- Harold Masterson of Thebes died Thursday, May 15, 2003, at Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

Brian K. Kreher, 38, of Jackson died Wednesday, May 14, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Mary C. Kirn, 86, of Jackson died Wednesday, May 14, 2003, at her home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Wilson Son to Tiffany Marie Wilson of Cape Girardeau, St. Francis Medical Center, 8:42 p.m. Wednesday, May 7, 2003. Name, Keaton Dantel. Weight, 6 pounds 13 ounces. First child. Ms. Wilson is the daughter of Donna Wilson and Donald Wilson of Cape Girardeau...

The Civil War Roundtable group will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. in the picnic shelter behind the Hanover Lutheran Church for its annual cookout. Members will cook meals over an open fire using Civil War era recipes. The public is welcome to attend.

10 years ago: May 16, 1993 Annual spring mission festival is held at Hanover Lutheran Church; the Rev. Jarold Rux is guest presenter for adult Bible class and guest preacher for morning worship service; Rux has been associate director of development with LCMS World Relieve since March...

Three stars (out of four) Coming into this movie, I thought it sounded rather sophomoric. From what I had seen from the advertisements, it sounded like a bunch of children gone berserk. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of humor that only an older audience would get...

Ring, ring É (Groggy) Hello?ÉHi Rhonnie! Happy Mother's Day, sleepyhead. Hi mom. (Sigh) I click into automatic daughter response: 1. How are you? 2. Really? 3. That's sounds interesting. 4. Yes, I am still seeing the same guy. 5. No, he hasn't asked me the question. 6. Now what question would that be mother? (Just kidding)...

'Out of the Vein' On their third CD, "Out of the Vein," Third Eye Blind produces the same solid middle-of the road rock as on their previous discs. But they take their formula one step further for what is the San Francisco-based group's most personal creation to date...

Charlie Daniels Band to play in Benton BENTON, Mo. -- The Charlie Daniels Band will perform June 1 at the Auto Tire and Parts Race Park. The band is best-known for the hits "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," "The South's Gonna Do It" and "In America."...

For decades, patrons of the legendary New Orleans nightclub Pat O'Brien's have been singing along to Dixieland tunes played by two pianists while imbibing the potent cocktail called a Hurricane. Howl at the Moon, a nightclub chain that started in Cincinnati in 1990, has franchised the dueling pianos sing-along concept, building their show around TV theme songs and raunchy jokes. ...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Rosemary Hitt, 76, of Advance died Wednesday, May 14, 2003. She was born March 28, 1927, at Allenville, daughter of Robert and Mary Louise Deimund Eakin. She and Thomas Hitt were married June 21, 1946, at Marble Hill, Mo. Hitt was a library assistant at Advance Public Schools many years. She also worked at Bell City Schools four years. She was of the Jehovah's Witnesses belief and attended Cape South Kingdom Hall...

Evelyn Natalia Hagans, 98, of Jackson died Monday, May 12, 2003, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 27, 1905, in Buffalo, N.Y., daughter of Fred C. and Christine Reinhold Dau. She and John M. Hagans were married Dec. 23, 1932. He died Oct. 22, 1959...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Katie Autry was learning to live on her own as a college freshman. She had started proceedings to leave a foster care program, was about to buy her first car and was holding down two jobs, one as a dancer at a strip club. But her life on her own would end violently. Autry, 18, was found beaten, stabbed and burned in her smoldering dorm room at Western Kentucky University after an evening of drinking at a fraternity party. She died three days later...

Southeast Missouri State University will be a step closer to securing financing for its River Campus development under a proposal that will be considered by the board of regents today. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- As a group, public school districts will have more money to spend in the upcoming school year despite a $184 million cut in direct state financial aid, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder said Thursday. Largely due to increased property values, Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said Missouri's 524 school districts are expected to generate an additional $280 million in local tax revenue, offsetting the state funding reduction for a net increase of $94 million...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For the third time in five years, lawmakers gave final approval to legislation that would allow judges to impose fees on criminal defendants that would supplement the budgets of county sheriff's departments. Twice before when the bill championed by Southeast Missouri lawmakers was sent to the governor it failed to become law. It was vetoed in 1999 and passage was nullified in 2001 because of a technical problem...

ABC's "Good Morning America" may put the spotlight on Southeast Missouri State University graduating seniors Jon and Megan Thrower of Cape Girardeau. The show's staff contacted the Throwers after reading about the high-school dropouts turned college graduates in an Associated Press wire story that originated from an article published in the Southeast Missourian on Monday...

Cape Girardeau Friday, May 16 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Tyrone Edward Taylor, 45, of 1122 S. Ellis, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, driving while revoked and a stop sign violation...

Cape Girardeau Friday, May 16 Firefighters responded to the following items Wednesday: At 7:37 p.m., a citizen assist at 117 S. Louisiana. At 10:23 p.m., a citizen assist at 606 Silver Springs Road, Apt. 22.Firefighters responded to the following items Thursday:...

Anyone who has been paying attention to deliberations in the Missouri Legislature these past few weeks knows that most of that time and effort have been devoted to crafting a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Like all other states except Vermont, Missouri is constitutionally required to have a balanced budget. ...

Give Massachusetts legislators the prize for creative thinking. They've seen what's happened as corporate sponsors get their name on sports stadiums and other public facilities. So why not let Coke and Microsoft put their names on the state's parks and forests? You know, like the Verizon Pond, where Henry David Thoreau did his daydreaming?...

Dear Jesse, Your father sent an announcement of your graduation this weekend from the state university in North Carolina. It does not seem possible. But when I do the math, I see that you, indeed, have been on this planet long enough to earn a sheepskin...

To the editor: In response to the article "Jackson mayor enacts curfew to curb looting, gawkers": I am not a writer, but I liked this article a lot. My family has been lucky with all the storms that we have had in the past 10 years. I agree that people who do not belong in the damaged areas should stay away. ...

To the editor: In response to the article "Going public: Wall in Scott City displays local art": Hooray for Paul Schock and what he's doing for the Illmo side of Scott City. I grew up in Illmo. It was a beautiful, thriving little town. Over the years, businesses closed or moved to the Scott City side of the tracks, and Illmo began to decay. How sad that was for me when I would come back home to visit...

To the editor: According to facts from the Internet and other sources, we have found that our school district is under a huge budget cut. We have been directly affected through sports activities, business projects and homework, as well as through cuts of extra teachers and coaches. When Gov. Bob Holden stated that nearly $260 million statewide would be cut from public schools, our local school district took action which has hindered our education and extracurricular activities...

We need River Campus THIS IS directed to the SEMO student who wasn't sure how the River Campus would benefit the school. It is pretty obvious. The River Campus would allow the expansion of all the performing arts programs and attract students who plan on majoring in these fields since state of the art facilities will be available to them. ...

The brothers who created 'The Matrix' do their best to stay out of sight. By Anthony Breznican ~ The Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- The realm of "The Matrix" is full of question marks, but here's a brain-twister from reality: Who are the elusive brothers behind the computer-phobic fantasy?...