Stories from October 2003

Recently Carbondale, Ill., home of Southern Illinois University, was named by Sports Illustrated as the worst college sports town in America. While we here in Cape Girardeau, home of Southeast Missouri State University, a perennial rival of SIUC, might take some satisfaction from such a ranking, I, for one, think our adversaries across the river have been given a bad rap...

Capaha Scottish Rite Women's Club The Capaha Scottish Rite Women's Club met Sept. 8 at the Country Kettle Restaurant in Biehle, Mo. There were 12 members present with husbands as guests. Luella Armstrong presided over the meeting. Harold Corse was guest speaker...

Snider Son to Jeffrey Paul Snider and Christa Kay Clark of Chaffee, Mo., St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis, 4:06 p.m. Sunday, July 20, 2003. Name, Landry Robert Amos. Weight, 3 pounds 14 ounces. First child. Ms. Clark is the daughter of Judith Clark of Cape Girardeau, and the late Robert Clark. Snider is the son of Oliver and Rita Snider of Chaffee, and the late Paula Noack of O'Fallon, Mo. He is employed at Jackson Drywall...

ORAN, Mo. -- Hershal Ray Wagoner, 83, of Oran died Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003, at the family home in Oran. He was born in Blodgett, Mo., on Aug. 3, 1920, to the late Allen and Agnes Patton Wagoner. Hershal was a farmer and drove a bus for the Oran School District. He was retired from the Scott County Highway Department...

Inez N. Rainwater, 96, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Sept. 28, 2003, at Lifecare Center. She was born Dec. 2, 1906, in Wayne County, Mo., daughter of William and Mollie Belle Eads Ward. She and Herbert G. Rainwater were married April 20, 1924, in Wayne County. He preceded her in death in September 1974...

Helen Louise Corvick, 74, of Scott City died Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 13, 1929, at Illmo, Mo., daughter of Roscoe and Vesta Rendleman Webb. She and Lloyd John Corvick Sr. were married March 15, 1948, in Scott City. He died June 15, 2002...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- LaVonne Bess, 71, of Poplar Bluff died Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, at her home, surrounded by her loving family. Mrs. Bess, the daughter of the late Russell Wayman and Lillie Belle Azbill Lewis, was born Nov. 28, 1931, in Wildersville, Tenn...

Cecelia McBride, 93, passed away Saturday, Sept. 27, 2003, in Bangor, Maine. Survivors include two daughters, Ces Wittmer of Cape Girardeau, Martha Loveless of Reno, Nev.; a son, Marv Toleson of Old Town, Maine; 12 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-granddaughter...

Don't change THIS IS a reply to the Sept. 16 Speak Out titled "Disrespectful headdress." Jackson public schools all teach history and are very good at it. Jackson is the best school around here. I was born and raised here in Jackson and have my daughters in the school. ...

To the editor: While I am all for murals on our floodwall, I must say one panel of this up-and-coming historical scenery is totally out of kilter. The picture portraying Lorimier at his famous horse race is the one I dare to take umbrage with. Certainly the artist, Cameron Pfiffner, is very well gifted. But very little research on Don Louis' outfit seems to have been done...

To the editor: This is in response to Mr. Knowlan's opinion of our local Humane Society. I am not an employee, but I have been a volunteer for about four years. Mr. Knowlan said he had to fill out a three-page application. This is to ensure the animal is getting a good home. I believe the questions of unaltered or unvaccinated pets at home are on the application. The call to the veterinarian's office is a routine reference check...

To the editor: From the family of Dr. Robert Briner, thank you for the tribute to my father. "Doc" has forged positive and productive relationships with all of the law enforcement agencies within the Southeast Missouri region, the state of Missouri, nationally and even internationally. Dr. Bob Briner exemplifies the type of care, desire, effort and quality that we strive to pass down to our own children...

If their first games are any indication, maybe Samford and Jacksonville State won't have a tough transition to the Ohio Valley Conference after all. Playing their first-ever OVC games Saturday, the league's new members from Alabama put a home-field whipping on two of the conference's preseason favorites...

As Attorney General John Ashcroft continues to strengthen his case for the Patriot Act to protect Americans from terrorism, there's one portion of the law that stands out as an obvious improvement. Beginning today, banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, securities brokers, mutual funds and futures merchants must comply with Section 326 of the Patriot Act, drafted in the weeks after the terrorist attacks of Sept. ...

A Spanish judge gave the world pause last month when he filed the first indictments against Osama bin Laden in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Spain wasn't the first country that came to mind for most newswatchers when thinking of the attacks. ...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Oct. 1 Firefighters responded Monday to the following items: At 4:36 p.m., motor vehicle accident at South Hanover and Bloomfield. At 4:41 p.m., citizen assist at 2123 Brink. At 4:48 p.m., alarm at 200 West Park Mall. At 5:41 p.m., motor vehicle accident at 907 S. Ellis...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Oct. 1 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Travis S. Turner, 22, of 535 Boxwood, No. 1, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Monday on a Cape Girardeau warrant for property damage...

and Bryce Chapman ~ Dyersburg State Gazette DYERSBURG, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed Monday that bullets fired from the semiautomatic handgun of Harold Kilpatrick Jr., not weapons used by police, wounded three people during a hostage standoff at Dyersburg State Community College on Sept. 17...

The city of Jackson will seek bids on a project next week that is intended to improve safety for children walking to and from the middle school. And that's good news for school officials and students like Blake Hicks, who walks home from school every day...

WASHINGTON -- It's a troubling story: Public school students get so loaded with homework that they stress out and lose out on chances to be playful kids. But that story is largely wrong, two new studies contend. Most students actually have less than an hour of homework a night, said Tom Loveless, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at The Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. ...

Daily Dunklin Democrat KENNETT, Mo. -- An Arbyrd man remains in the hospital as the result of injuries sustained when he attempted to rescue his uncle from a burning home Friday night. Douglas Wayne Dotson II, suffered severe lacerations and other injuries to an arm when he broke a window in the back of the home of his uncle in an unsuccessful attempt to enter the burning home and rescue the man. ...

WASHINGTON -- The government on Tuesday announced the arrest of a second translator at the U.S. prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, bringing total detentions there to three and raising new concern about the extent of possible espionage...

WASHINGTON -- The millions of people who signed up for the government's do-not-call list should get fewer sales pitches from telemarketers starting today, but for how long is anybody's guess. A confusing legal fight has thrown the list into disarray, forcing federal officials to rework the system to handle complaints and enforce penalties...

WASHINGTON -- The United States should move more quickly to establish Iraqi civil defense forces to keep order throughout the country, a process which could be finished in just a few weeks if it were given priority, the interim president of the Iraqi governing council said Tuesday...

WASHINGTON -- Rapper LL Cool J joined entertainment executives Tuesday in defending the music industry's lawsuits against hundreds of Internet users who illegally distribute music online. "My question is, if a contractor builds a building, should people be allowed to move into the building for free?" the rapper asked senators. "That's how I feel if I record a song or make a movie, and it zooms around the world for free."...

ST. LOUIS -- The regular season may be over, but the war of words between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals continues with St. Louis reliever Steve Kline saying he hopes Cubs right-hander Mark Prior "takes a line drive to the forehead and we never have to see him again."...

DULUTH, Ga. -- Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley was charged Tuesday with reckless driving after his sportscar swerved off a road and careened into a wall at about 80 mph, breaking his jaw and critically injuring a teammate. Dan Snyder, a backup center, underwent a two-hour surgery for a skull fracture. Heatley, the MVP of the 2003 All-Star game, was hospitalized in stable condition...

When Callaway Golf decided five years ago to get into the golf ball business, its primary options were to build a plant or buy another company. It wound up doing both, although at a steep cost. With its golf ball operations losing more than $20 million a year, shareholders getting antsy and rumors swirling that the plant would be shut down, Callaway went back to Plan B this month by purchasing the assets of Top-Flite Golf Co. for $174.4 million...

ST. LOUIS -- Days from Archbishop Justin Rigali's farewell Mass and his leaving town to lead the Philadelphia area's Roman Catholics, there's plenty of hushed buzz about who might take his place in one of the nation's oldest archdioceses. Yet such speculation seldom hits the mark, as history has shown time and again in a Catholic power structure where decisions about key vacancies often are cloaked in impenetrable secrecy...

Sorbello sentenced for child sex crime After pleading guilty to second degree child molestation Tuesday in a Cape Girardeau County courtroom, a Farmington man was placed on two years probation. Within 10 days, Gerald A. Sorbello, 36, must register as a sex offender, said assistant prosecuting attorney Julie Hunter. With his plea, Sorbello avoided a jury trial for the class A misdemeanor that had been set for Oct. 7...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents killed an American soldier and wounded two others in a fierce gunbattle, the military said Tuesday, violence that underscored the stiffening resistance nearly two years after a U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban from power...

MOSCOW -- Chechnya's prime minister checked out of the hospital Tuesday despite doctor's advice, three days after first complaining of stomach pains that a member of his security said were caused by deliberate poisoning, news agencies reported. Anatoly Popov was expected to be back at work in Chechnya today, his administration in the Chechen capital was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency...

BOURNEMOUTH, England -- A defiant Prime Minister Tony Blair, bruised by dissent over the war in Iraq, faced down his critics Tuesday and defended the U.S.-led campaign to topple Saddam Hussein. In an often somber address to his restless Labor Party, Blair said 6 1/2 years in office and growing unease over his policies had left him battered. But he defended his government's record, said it was ready for a historic third term in office and insisted his forthright leadership was best for Britain...

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wants to shield several large Jewish settlements by extending Israel's security barrier deep into the West Bank, but he would leave gaps in the section in hopes of defusing U.S. objections that the fence could mark a permanent border, a Sharon adviser and a settler leader said Tuesday...

MOSCOW -- Thanks to Russia's Labor Ministry, ballerina Anastasia Volochkova may be back at the Bolshoi for an encore. Labor officials on Tuesday ordered the Bolshoi Theater to reinstate Volochkova, who was fired two weeks ago amid allegations from other dancers that she was too heavy to lift...

MOSCOW -- In a Kremlin library thousands of miles from home, Laura Bush chided U.S. parents for letting their children watch too much television and pleaded with them to spend more time reading with and to their kids. "American children, I'm afraid, are addicted to television," she told the first ladies of Russia, Armenia and Bulgaria on Tuesday, citing studies that place average TV consumption in the United States at several hours a day...

UNITED NATIONS -- A top North Korean official said Tuesday that Pyongyang would not return to talks on the nuclear crisis unless Washington takes "simultaneous action" to meet its demands, saying it makes no sense for the communist country to "put down the guns first." North Korea has repeatedly said it is not interested in further negotiations, but Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon used his address to the U.N. General Assembly to present his government's case in detail...

GEERTRUIDENBERG, Netherlands -- Rescuers using dogs strapped with cameras and heat-seeking devices Tuesday found one of four missing workers buried under scaffolding that collapsed inside a towering industrial boiler. Teams were breaking through the boiler wall to remove debris and try to pull the man out. But Mayor Matthieu Mejier was quoted by a TV station as saying that the man showed no sign of life...

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed a mayoral contender in a Caribbean coast city Tuesday in the 15th assassination of a candidate in Colombia's upcoming state and municipal elections. Liberal Party candidate Jose Castillo was shot at by two gunmen as he left his home in Soledad, a city near the provincial capital of Barranquilla, police reported...

VATICAN CITY -- Ailing Pope John Paul II is "in a bad way," one of his closest advisers said in remarks published Tuesday, calling on the faithful to pray for him. But the Vatican said the pope is sticking to a heavy schedule of public appearances and travel...

Toddler recovering after spending weeks alone JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 2-year-old girl survived on ketchup, mustard and dried pasta for nearly three weeks after she was left home alone while her mother served time in jail. The child was recovering from malnutrition Tuesday and was listed in good condition at Wolfson Children's Hospital...

LOS ANGELES -- Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean poked fun at his fund-raising success Tuesday in his first appearance on the Jay Leno show. In a film clip, Dean was shown playing a guitar on a street next to signs reading, "Your change for real change" and "We'll strum for presidency." People were shown placing money in an open guitar case...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A week before the election, independent candidate Arianna Huffington dropped out of the California recall race Tuesday, saying she aimed to prevent Arnold Schwarzenegger from becoming governor. Huffington's exit, announced on CNN's "Larry King Live," removes a similar voice to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's from the race, and leaves Bustamante as the Democrats' best hope of thwarting Schwarzenegger should Gov. Gray Davis lose the recall vote...

NEW YORK -- Tienes e-mail. America Online is launching a service today for the burgeoning number of U.S. households where Spanish is the main or the only language spoken. The AOL Latino service is wholly in Spanish, from the familiar "You've got mail" greeting down to the instructions on the installation CDs...

NEW YORK -- Dragged down by a still-sluggish job market, consumer confidence in the economy dropped more sharply than expected in September. The sour report and a disappointing reading on business activity in the Midwest helped send stocks lower on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average was down nearly 70 points in afternoon trading...

Should I be embarrassed that the news about Christopher Cross coming to the City of Roses Music Festival made me giddy? After finding out last month, I rushed to www.christopher cross.com, which has a neat little Flash introduction with "Sailing" playing in the background. ...

Finding jogger no Dutch treat A Dutch jogger got lost during an evening run in Woudenberg, Netherlands, and police -- 40 of them, armed with a helicopter and canine units -- didn't find him until he'd been gone for 14 hours, Ananova.com reported. Don't know which is the most impressive:...

Cooking and recipe contests are always fun to enter, observe and judge; whatever your level of participation may be, they are usually a great learning experience. The Midwest Food and Poultry Chicken Recipe Contest proved to be just that during the contest at the SEMO District Fair...

In what was supposed to be a meeting of two Southeast Missouri volleyball heavyweights, Notre Dame Regional High School showed visiting Advance why they're the No. 1 team in the SEMO top 10 volleyball poll, sweeping the Hornets 25-15, 25-14 Tuesday night...

ATLANTA -- They came by the thousands, intent on helping their beloved Cubbies break a 58-year losing streak in postseason road games by transforming Turner Field into Wrigley Field South. It worked. Kerry Wood allowed only two hits and drove in the go-ahead runs with a double in the sixth inning off Russ Ortiz, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of their NL division series...

After an eventful summer, the Los Angeles Lakers opened training camp and await the media storm. Shaquille O'Neal worked himself into good physical shape, coach Phil Jackson recovered from heart surgery and Karl Malone and Gary Payton became Lakers during the offseason...

NEW YORK -- Instead of getting tight when Johan Santana cramped up, the Minnesota Twins stayed loose. Playing a postseason game in Yankee Stadium for the first time, the Twins were guarding a one-run lead in the fourth inning when their pitcher suddenly couldn't go to the mound for the bottom half...

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Norway has all kinds of respect for the U.S. women's soccer team. What the Norwegians do not have is fear. Nor should they. After all, only one nation holds an all-time winning record against the United States, and it's Norway at 18-16-2...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to accept a case that sought to invalidate the $111.25 million payday awarded to the private legal team that represented the state in the national lawsuit against the tobacco industry...

For firefighter Kevin Gramlisch of Randles, Mo., a small investment in safety paid off immeasurably. The volunteer Delta Fire Protection District captain escaped a house fire early Tuesday morning, along with his pregnant wife, Penny, and their children, when smoke detectors alerted them to an attic fire. The fire started sometime after midnight at 125 N. Mentz...

Southeast Missouri State University may map out an academic future without geography ... or philosophy, physics and other programs that attract few majors. Faculty and administrators are scrutinizing 18 academic programs this fall, with department chairmen being asked to explain why their programs should be kept in a time of state budget cuts...

Matchbox twenty, a rock 'n' roll band that has had numerous No. 1 hits, will headline a concert Dec. 7 at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. Signing the band, long sought-after for a concert here, signals a change in the concert business that could bring many more well-known acts to the Show Me Center, manager David Ross said...

After a summer of surging gas prices, area residents are getting a little relief at the pumps as they enjoy some of the lowest gas prices of the year. Local gas prices dropped 10 cents in the last week to lower the average price of regular unleaded self-serve gasoline in Cape Girardeau to $1.29 and to $1.26 in Jackson...

WASHINGTON -- The FBI began a full-scale criminal investigation Tuesday into whether White House officials illegally leaked the identity of an undercover CIA officer, and President Bush ordered his staff to cooperate with the first major probe of his administration...

MONROVIA, Liberia -- U.S. military planes and helicopters carried the last few U.S. ground forces out of war-ruined Liberia on Tuesday -- leaving Liberians thankful for their help, but dismayed at their silent withdrawal. About 30 members of a U.S. military liaison team flew out of Liberia's main airport, ending their work with a West African-led peace mission...

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Spared death by stoning for adultery, 32-year-old Amina Lawal told The Associated Press on Tuesday she hopes to return to her Muslim village in northern Nigeria and remarry. "Whoever God chooses to be my husband will be all right with me," said the divorced, single mother in her first extended comments since an Islamic appeals court granted her clemency from her death sentence for bearing a child out of wedlock. "Everything is within the knowledge of God."...

Do-it-yourself fortune cookies Preheat the oven to 300F.INGREDIENTS 8 oz . flour 2 tablespoons cornstarch 4 ounces sugar 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 egg whites 4 ounces vegetable oil 1 teaspoon water 2 teaspoons vanilla extract You Will Need: Cotton gloves, thin-edged muffin pan, fortune slips...

First place Little Hick Town Snot,snot,bugers & rot Kick the can and tie the knot Livin in the ol country Tippin cows & peein on trees Shoppin at the big wal-marts Eatin wings and lightin farts Drinkin beer & cruzin around This is life in a little hick town. -- by Chari Rothrock...

by Regina Yoast It's not often you get a story that combines heavy metal music with puppies and kittens. So when OFF! heard about Metal Mayhem II, a two-day metal music festival to benefit The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, our curiosity was piqued. The event will be held October 17 and 18 at Our House Bar and Grill, and all the proceeds from the $5 cover charge ($7 for minors) and other capital will be donated to help local cats, dogs and other critters...

10/02/03; "Seagrams Gin Live"; Ambassador Entertainment Center 10/02/03; Carl Thomas; Ambassador Entertainment Center 10/02/03; Dante Carter; Ambassador Entertainment Center 10/02/03; L.O.C. (Lost On The Corner); Ambassador Entertainment Center 10/02/03; Lit' Mo; Ambassador Entertainment Center...

by Alexandra R. Yaremko "In the Bag." It's a mystery to some. You don't leave home without it. It contains not just your identification, but your identity. The things you know you will need and things you think you might need on the miniature adventure called your day. You've got one of everything and duplicates of really important things like keys and lipstick. Your purse is your lifeline...

Leroy Grey Each month, we'll bring you an inside look at the music you hear on The Zone @ 107.1 and the artists that make it. Insider here, for what looks to be a big news month for Zone listeners. Hope you're saving your pennies, because some big shows are coming to your front door!...

by Sam DeReign Please solve the following problem: xcy7=32+H/Y+12S=? Couldn't solve it? Bet not! Looks made up? It is! Isn't what I just did the method that thousands of other mathematicians have done in their lives? Here's my theory: they got bored one day and decided to create text books that would eat at the minds of helpless teens around the country...

by Greg Levrault Our regular movie critics have gone into hiding after an ill-conceived wager over who could outlast the other through a Gigli/ Marci X double bill. While the authorities continue their search, let's share with you some of the features playing in Cape Girardeau this October:...

Many of my married acquaintances think I'm the luckiest guy on Earth since I'm single. They like to lament how big of a pain their nagging wife is, how fat she got after the wedding, how their sex life sucks, how they never get to have any fun anymore, and so on...

Well, as I sit here watching the season premier of Will and Grace I'm quickly reminded that it's that time again to write a new article for all of my beloveds deep in the heart of ... well, Missouri. Today's topic of self realization is that there is little consistancy in this world. ...

Notre Dame's softball team showed why it is the No. 1 seed in Class 3, District 2 with a mercy-rule 13-3 win over district foe Perryville Wednesday in five innings at home. The Pirates jumped in front with three runs off Bulldog starter Robyn Beel in the top of the first inning. After Beel recorded a pair of outs in the second Notre Dame turned the game over to ace Lindsay Reinagel and the Pirates' bats went silent from there...

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team fell below .500 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a four-game loss Wednesday at Eastern Illinois. Southeast fell to 2-13 overall and 1-2 in the OVC. The Otahkians won the first game 30-19 but dropped the next three 30-24, 30-24, 30-20...

Collier Son to David Jordan and Dawn Mechelle Collier of Charleston, Mo., St. Francis Medical Center, 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, 2003. Name, Layne David. Weight, 6 pounds 13 ounces. Second child, first son. Mrs. Collier is the former Dawn Buchanan, daughter of Joe and Sondra Buchanan of Benton, Mo. ...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Mignon Grace Sivcovich Boge, 87, of Marble Hill died Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003, at El-Nathan Home in Marble Hill. She was born Feb. 24, 1915. She was the wife of the late Joseph Boge. Survivors include two stepdaughters, Nancy Ketterer of California and Gweneth Schwab of Bolivia; four brothers, Miran Sivcovich of California, Dave Sivcovich and Paul Sivcovich of St. Louis and Oliver Sivcovich of North Carolina...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Elnora M. Grah, 92, of Jonesboro died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 28, 1911, in Jackson County, daughter of Harry and Elizabeth Kraft Lindsey. Grah was a cook more than 15 years with Nilo Boat Co. She was a member of Anna Moose Lodge, and VFW Auxiliary to Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Edward Earl Shumaker Sr., 80, of Villa Ridge died Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003, at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky. He was born May 14, 1923, in Villa Ridge, son of Dr. W.E. and Floy Bour Shumaker. He and Emma Francine East were married June 6, 1944, in Osceola, Ark. She died May 22, 2003...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Oct. 2 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Christopher L. Grindstaff, 25, of 10543 Chapparal Park, Dexter, Mo., was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, possession of a controlled substance, operating a vehicle without expired plates, no insurance and possession of drug paraphernalia...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Oct. 2 Firefighters responded Tuesday to the following items: At 4:40 p.m., structure fire at 1015 Bloomfield. At 5:31 p.m., emergency medical service at 2123 Brink. At 6:02 p.m., emergency medical service at 430 N. Frederick...

U.S. must pay SINCE A gullible U.S. Congress and population allowed our president to attack Iraq largely alone, regrettably, it is assuredly the responsibility of the U.S. to rebuild that nation. If I crash into your car, I don't expect my neighbors to foot the bill. The pity is that the cost does not fall upon those who supported this immoral and illegal war rather than those opposing it all along...

CHICAGO -- Estrogen-progestin pills do not reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and might even increase it, according to a study that raises more red flags about a once widely accepted treatment for women going through menopause. "It's more bad news" for hormones, said American Cancer Society epidemiologist Dr. Carmen Rodriguez...

Today Flu vaccine clinic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Delta Community Center, sponsored by the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Department. Blood Pressure Screening from 10 to 11:30 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center, sponsored by the staff at Southeast Missouri Hospital's Generations Center. For information, call 651-5825...

335-6611, extension 126

Failing to get a license or a permit when septic systems are installed could soon land homeowners and system installers in jail. Under a proposed set of Cape Girardeau County septic systems rules, those who install septic tanks without a state license and homeowners who fail to obtain a permit could be facing a year in county jail or up to $1,000 fine...

Steve Strong recently celebrated his two-year anniversary as Cape Girardeau's police chief, which nearly coincided with an astounding tribute: He was named Police Chief of the Year by Missouri Police Chiefs' Association. But things weren't always so delightful for Strong. ...

CHICAGO -- The Chicago City Council passed a resolution Wednesday asking Congress to reconsider parts of the USA Patriot Act that critics say violate Americans' constitutional rights. The resolution, which passed 37-7, was a compromise; the original called for the repeal of the federal law put in place after Sept. 11, 2001, to help the government's war on terrorism...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch RED BUD, Ill. -- A Jackson woman died Monday afternoon in an automobile crash on Illinois Route 159 less than a mile north of Red Bud. Stephanie Jo Camp, 44, of Jackson, Mo., was in the front passenger seat of a minivan, a 1995 Mercury Villager, driven southbound by Christine G. Trierweiler, 43, also of Jackson...

The second annual Oktoberfest held at Bavarian Halle Saturday was attended by almost 500 people. The event was made successful through the hard work and generosity of all sponsors, partners and dedicated volunteers, according to organizers. The celebration originatedwhen the Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, later King Ludwig I, celebrated his marriage to Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810. The festivities were open to Munich residents...

Members of Xi Delta Alpha Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi are planting flamingoes in yards this month to focus attention on breast cancer awareness month. The large flamingoes represent that breast cancer is the most common cancer a woman may face in her lifetime, excluding skin cancer. ...

The Southeast Missouri Youth Substance Abuse Coalition, formed by the Area Wide United Way, has been awarded $5,000 by the Missouri Department of Mental Health's Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program...

Enderle stationed at Camp Pendleton Joseph B. Enderle, a Marine who has just completed basic training, is now stationed in Camp Pendleton, Paris Island, South Carolina. He is the son of Kenny and Lisa Enderle of Scott City; Johnny Johnson of Fla.; Wanda Johnson of Walnut Cove, NC; grandson of Glendola Shell and brother of Casey Enderle, both of Scott City...

Walk to help defeat ALS Saturday at Arena Park The walk to raise money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Arena Park. Money raised will be used to improve the quality of life for those affected by the disease commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease and to support further research. To sign up or sponsor a walker call Bonnie Chaudoir at 335-5015...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials believe they have identified a young former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden as al-Qaida's new chief of terror operations in the Persian Gulf. Abu Hazim al-Sha'ir, a 29-year-old Yemeni now believed to be living in Saudi Arabia, is one of a new crop of al-Qaida operatives who are trying to fill the roles of senior bin Laden lieutenants who have been captured or killed since Sept. 11, 2001, according to U.S. officials...

WASHINGTON -- White House officials began combing telephone logs and other records Wednesday while the FBI assembled senior agents for the politically delicate task of questioning senior members of President Bush's staff about the leak of a CIA undercover officer's identity...

ATLANTA -- The Braves were so desperate for a win they called on John Smoltz in the eighth inning. That didn't work. Instead, it took a little-known infielder with football running through his blood to keep Atlanta from the brink of another postseason meltdown...

SAN FRANCISCO --The Florida Marlins got the split they so desperately needed at Pacific Bell Park, and did it by getting away from the small ball that sent them on this improbable playoff journey. Juan Encarnacion homered and Juan Pierre wound up with a bases-loaded double on a misplay by Jose Cruz Jr. in a decisive three-run sixth as the Marlins defeated the sloppy San Francisco Giants 9-5 in Game 2 Wednesday...

PHILADELPHIA --Donovan McNabb doesn't mind criticism of his performance. He's upset that Rush Limbaugh made his race an issue. And the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback says it's too late for an apology from the conservative commentator, who said the media has overrated McNabb because they want to see a black quarterback succeed...

Food aid in North Korea sold on black market SEOUL, South Korea -- International food aid sent to ease the suffering of North Koreans is being sold on the black market for high prices, according to video footage released Wednesday by Japanese and South Korean human rights activists...

JERUSALEM -- Israel's Cabinet on Wednesday approved an extension of a security barrier that would sweep around Jewish settlements deep in the West Bank but also have large gaps -- for now -- to address U.S. concerns. One stretch would be built east of Ariel -- the second-largest settlement in the West Bank, with 18,000 residents -- although it won't immediately be connected to the main security fence running further west, closer to Israel, said Zalman Shoval, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.. ...

MONROVIA, Liberia -- Gunfire and explosions erupted in Liberia's capital Wednesday even as a new U.N. peace mission took control, with insurgents and government forces opening fire as the top rebel leader tried to make his way into Monrovia. Associated Press journalists saw three bodies -- two civilians shot in the crossfire, and a rebel killed by civilians outraged at the return to fighting. Defense Minister Daniel Chea put the death toll at five...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran wants to prevent its nuclear program from facing scrutiny before the U.N. Security Council, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Wednesday -- the strongest indication yet that his government intends to meet an Oct. 31 deadline to prove it is not building atomic weapons...

BEIJING -- Marriage in China used to be a matter for a man, a woman -- and the couple's employers. No longer. On Wednesday, China eliminated a much-resented requirement for couples to obtain their bosses' approval before tying the knot, prompting thousands of couples to wed in what, for some, was also a celebration of the retreat of outside interference in their private lives...

MANASSAS, Va. -- Lee Boyd Malvo took the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday at a hearing for John Allen Muhammad that brought the sniper suspects together for the first time since their arrests 11 months ago. Malvo spent about five minutes on the witness stand and took the Fifth when he was asked about his relationship with Muhammad, who appeared to stare at Malvo throughout the questioning...

LOS ANGELES -- Robert Kardashian, a businessman and lawyer who was a key figure in the O.J. Simpson saga and part of his legal "dream team," has died. He was 59. Kardashian died Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home eight weeks after being diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, said his former wife, Kris Jenner...

NEW KNOXVILLE, Ohio -- An explosion blew the top off a burning silo at a lumber company Wednesday, killing two firefighters who were atop the structure. Nine people on the ground -- seven firefighters and two of the plant's owners -- were injured in the explosion, which sent chunks of the 75-foot-high concrete structure flying into a cemetery 100 yards away. Most were treated at hospitals and released...

Michael Caine takes pleasure in small things LONDON -- You can keep your Oscars and your Hollywood Walk of Fame -- Michael Caine is more impressed with the blue plaque that now marks his birthplace. The commemorative plaque is attached to the gatehouse which is all that remains of St. Olave's Hospital in south London...

JERUSALEM -- Ever felt your prayers went unanswered? Try sending a letter to God and chances are it will end up -- as many do each year -- at an Israeli post office in Jerusalem, where they are read and sent on to the holy Western Wall. The letters come from all over the world in a host of languages. ...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Buoyed by a new poll that has him leading all recall candidates less than a week before the election, Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday outlined what the first 100 days of a Schwarzenegger administration would look like. "We are ready to take office," he told a crowd of about 400 supporters. "We are ready to take action. We are ready to return California to the people."...

In terms of water, the city of Jackson has struck gold on the north side of town. The drilling is complete on well No. 7 on Industrial Park property along U.S. 61. Preliminary tests show that Midwest Hydro Drilling hit a sweet spot. The new well could yield almost twice the water output that was originally estimated by engineers, meaning the city is getting two wells for the price of one...

In a first for a wholesale distributor, the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce has awarded its Commitment to Excellence Award to Auto Tire and Parts, an area business that has been putting quality auto parts into the hands of satisfied customers since 1909...

Some Cape Girardeau students may not be able to spell homecoming, but they can cheer and shout about it. At Franklin Elementary School in Cape Girardeau on Wednesday afternoon, 175 children from first through fourth grades cheered loudly for Southeast Missouri State University's homecoming celebration at a pep rally led by 18 of the university's cheerleaders and football players...

WASHINGTON -- The national do-not-call list went into effect Wednesday, but a complex legal fight has made it impossible for the government to judge its ability to stop unwanted calls from telemarketers. Reacting to court decisions that threatened to derail the free service, the government scrambled to rework the system a day before it went into effect, turning the public away from a dedicated do-not-call Web site and phone number that had been promoted for months. ...

Gov. Bob Holden and legislative leaders are trying to forge a consensus on the state's projected revenue and budget shortfall for next year. The Democratic governor met for two hours Wednesday behind closed doors with top Republican and key Democratic lawmakers. All emerged reporting progress, though few specifics...

Homecoming 2003! It should be a great weekend on the Southeast campus, and we are excited to have national television coverage for our football game on The Football Network with the telecast available locally on UPN station WQWQ. I still receive phone calls about the great television coverage by Fox Sports Net for the SIU game. This is great exposure for our university. Dress in red and black and make signs -- you may end up on national television...

Oct. 2, 2003 Dear David, When Missouri's concealed-weapons law goes into effect next week, we men will be faced with a fashion predicament. The law obviously will end crime as we know it. Everyone will be too scared of each other to leave their houses. But that heavenly state will have to wait until we men figure out where to conceal our weapons...

If Rush Limbaugh and his enablers over at ESPN were really keen to smash NFL stereotypes, there's no better place to begin than by making sure "Playmakers" gets canceled before the next episode hits the airwaves. That would make Limbaugh a hero to football fans across the political spectrum. Unfortunately, it also would require work, something Limbaugh has been loath to do, judging by his "Sunday Rush" segments so far for the all-sports network...

Kim Crosby, a rookie on the ARCA stock-car circuit, probably spent less time driving at Talladega Superspeedway last Saturday than she did explaining her new sponsor. That would be Boudreaux's Butt Paste, a budding diaper-rash product well-known in Louisiana, and Crosby swears by the stuff...

The Cape Girardeau City Council decided to make it official again, voting for a second time in six weeks to hire Teresa Bright-Pearson as municipal judge. The council action came in a special closed-door meeting Tuesday night. The vote was 6-0 to hire the East Prairie, Mo., lawyer for the part-time, $49,000-a-year job. Councilwoman Marcia Ritter was absent...

FRED LYNCH * flynch@semissourian.com Louise Bodenheimer has created 236 drawings for "Guardians, Mothers and Birth of a Woman," her show at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.By Sam Blackwell ~ Southeast Missourian...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The gross earnings of Casino Aztar in Caruthersville during the last fiscal year slipped 6 percent from the previous year, according to the Missouri Gaming Commission's latest annual report on the industry. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, Aztar generated $22.2 million before expenses, nearly $1.4 million less than the preceding year...

OId Lorimier Cemetery caretaker Bobby Gene Banfield says he won't go to work alone anymore. "I'm half afraid to," he said. When Banfield locked the gates of the cemetery June 8, he became the victim of a violent robbery for the second time while on the job. The 63-year-old was struck twice in the head with a brick and robbed of his wallet...

By JamieHall ~ Southeast Missourian Jeff Brightwell introduced Cape Girardeau radio listeners to boys soccer, a new women's college basketball coach and --according to his Missouri Broadcasters Association peers -- award-winning coverage of sports at Southeast Missouri State University and area high schools...

It's all about the Cubs, baby. Cape Girardeau's most-watched toddler -- the nameless, diaper-wearing baby on the billboard on Route K in front of St. Francis Medical Center -- has a new favorite team this week and has the cap to back it up. A Cubs hat went atop the gender-neutral tot on Tuesday, just days after the Cubs clinched the NL Central Division title and eliminated the Cardinals from playoff contention. ...

KRCU 90.90 FM gets 'The Blues' "The Blues," a 13-part documentary series by Public Radio International, will begin airing at 8 p.m. Saturday on KRCU 90.9 FM. The series will chronicle the music from its West African originals to today. The series is hosted by two-time Grammy winner Keb' Mo'. It includes interview with B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bonnie Raitt along with performances by Taj Mahal, the Mississippi All-Stars, Shemekia Copeland and Rory Block...

Southeast Missourian Joey Mack of Benton placed 11th in the final standings for the Mid America Racing Series, a late model tour based in Batesville, Ark. Mack, a former rookie of the years on the MARS circuit, finished ninth in the tour's final event of the season Saturday at Wheatland, Mo. He followed the tour for 30 events through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Oklahoma...

LOS ANGELES -- The Russell family likes comfort: their three-bedroom, three-bathroom suburban home in Birmingham, Ala.; a packed refrigerator with an automatic ice machine; central air conditioning, and, when mom doesn't feel like cooking, fast food restaurants...

Vyron and Lillian Harmon sat under a freshly painted Victorian tin ceiling in a room that once displayed their kitchen appliances and furniture. Now dinner tables replace the springless cotton and felt couches the Harmons sold after World War II, and there is a women's basketball uniform from 1924, a detective kit featuring disappearing ink, and a moveable block printing press where they used to sell refrigerators...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Nine more school districts have joined a lawsuit claiming Gov. Bob Holden unconstitutionally withheld $190 million in approved spending for Missouri public schools, while several state officials and agencies have been dropped as defendants...

Louise Bodenheimer did not begin creating the drawings in her new exhibit "Guardians, Mothers and Birth of a Woman," for public consumption. They began as simple line drawings that expressed thoughts and feelings she was having during a painful passage in her life, a coming to terms with her own womanhood...

'My Baby Don't Tolerate' With "My Baby Don't Tolerate," Lyle Lovett creates a lush musical and lyrical world that proves that he hasn't lost the songwriting touch that made him famous. The disc is his first of all original songs in seven years -- and his best release since 1992's "Joshua Judges Ruth."...

Two stars (out of four) In "Duplex," Ben Stiller has his usual comedic timing, and Drew Barrymore is pleasant as usual (she was even pleasant during her bad girl phase in the early 1990s), but the movie is a little light on content. ...

Weber Son to Daniel P. and Faye M. Weber of Perryville, Mo., Perry County Memorial Hospital, 7:28 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003. Name, Ethan Nathaniel. Weight, 8 pounds 5 3/4 ounces. First child. Mrs. Weber is the former Faye Braeuner, daughter of Robert and Linda Braeuner of Frohna, Mo. She is employed at Perry County Nursing Home. Weber is the son of Richard P. and Margaret Weber of Perryville. He is employed at Perryville Machine Shop...

Stephanie Camp, 44, of Jackson died Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, in an automobile accident in Red Bud, Ill. She was born July 8, 1959, in Belleville, Ill., daughter of Lynn E. and Helen V. Friess Morrison. Camp was a graduate of Jackson High School. Survivors include a son, David Camp of state of Oklahoma; a daughter, Erica Camp of Jackson; her parents of Fruitland; two brothers, Charlie Morrison of Jackson, Bill Morrison of state of Texas; and a sister, Chris Trierweiler of Jackson...

Adria Anne Meyr, 23, of Chaffee, Mo., died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 at Loudoun County Hospital in Leesburg, Va. Arrangements are incomplete with the Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

TAMMS, Ill. -- Ralph Newell, 58, of Tamms died suddenly Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at his home. Friends may call at Jones Funeral Home in Tamms from 5 to 8 p.m. today, and Saturday at Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Wickliffe, Ky., from noon to service time...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Mary Marjorie Beatrice McMillion, 88, of Bloomfield died Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at Advance Nursing Center in Advance, Mo. She was born April 11, 1915, in Aquilla, Mo., daughter of Edgar and Eady Scism Harper. He and Reble Aaron McMillion were married in 1933. He died Dec. 2, 1980...

Bernhardt H. "Bern" Lang, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born July 20, 1927, in Cape Girardeau, son of Hugo and Anna Mae Fischer Lang. He and Marjorie Gohn were married Nov. 19, 1948, in Hernando, Miss. She died March 29, 1991...

Amazing men THE DEMOCRATIC candidates running for presidents never fail to amaze me. They are blaming Bush for all these jobs being lost. I would like to ask these people, what administration was it that signed the NAFTA deal? If I'm not mistaken, it was the Clinton administration. ...

An annual skeet shoot sponsored by State Rep. Rod Jetton of Marble Hill is scheduled for Saturday at the Holliday Farm in Clubb, Mo. There is a $100 entry fee for the event, and prizes include a Remington 1187 shotgun, Beneli Nova 12 gauge and a framed print of a WW II battle scene signed by the artist and Col. Ollie North, as well as lots of door prizes. There will be 10 Remington 870 Express shotguns given to every 10th-place finisher through the 100th-place in the shoot...

The magnolia tree is a popular ornamental tree in Cape Girardeau County, in part because their gorgeous blooms and glossy foliage make them a landscape favorite. If you like these trees, would it surprise you to find Missouri has its own magnolia? It's the cucumber magnolia, a longtime resident that shares many features with its southern U.S. relatives...

Can you ever get too much J. Lo? If Boston doesn't end its World Series drought this year, chalk it up to the theory of same song, second curse. "Do you know who narrated 'The Curse of the Bambino'?" wrote Mike Penner of the Los Angeles Times. "Ben Affleck. That's right. 'The Curse of Gigli' does 'The Curse of the Bambino'. Now the Red Sox curse has been doubly cursed...

Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team is focused on the coming season, but the Indians apparently will soon land a new player for the 2004-2005 campaign. Paul Paradoski, a senior point guard at Vianney High School in St. Louis, recently gave Southeast an oral commitment. The early signing period for college basketball begins in November, and Parodoski said he plans to make it official then...

Briefly Baseball Braves second baseman Marcus Giles took ground balls Thursday and said he expects to be back in the lineup for Game 3 tonight. Giles was out of the starting lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the playoffs against the Cubs because of a bruised thigh. He pinch-hit in the sixth inning and he had RBI single...

Fort Zumwalt West (1-3) at Jackson (1-2) Last week: Jackson idle; Fort Zumwalt West 13, Troy 7 Last year: Fort Zumwalt West 33, Jackson 7 Notes: Jackson was idle last week and is coming off a tough loss to Pattonville in week three. ...

All that separates Scott City and Chaffee is a short car ride down Route M. But for two towns so close together, their high school football programs have been miles apart until recently. The Rams have not lost to Chaffee since 1985 and during that span Chaffee has been within a touchdown only four times...

The Wall Street Journal We've been knocking our heads trying to figure out how a minor and well-known story about an alleged CIA "outing" has suddenly blossomed into a Beltway scandal-ette. The light bulb went off reading Monday's White House press briefing...

Notre Dame's volleyball team continued to show why it is ranked first in Southeast Missouri and cruised past visiting Jackson 25-13, 25-21 Thursday night. The Bulldogs improved to 23-3-1. Jackson, tied for fourth in the area poll, fell to 16-3-1. Sommer McCauley had an impressive all-around match for Notre Dame with seven kills, seven assists, four digs, 12 service points and four aces...

The battle over the no-call list -- which has been waged from courts to Congress to the office watercooler -- has demonstrated the strengths and the follies of American democracy. In one of the simplest displays of democratic choice, over 50 million people signed their names to the list that would make telemarketing companies subject to stiff fines for calling their homes. That's nearly one-third of all people who have residential numbers and a loud cry for the right to privacy...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Oct. 3 Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following items: At 1:39 p.m., medical assist at 217 Marlin. At 3:55 p.m., medical assist at 820 Merriwether. At 6:32 p.m., citizen assist at 1105 Linden, No. 605. At 7:29 p.m., kitchen fire at 801 Good Hope...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Oct. 3 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Lonnie D. Fisher Jr., 25, of 714 Vine, Charleston, Mo., was arrested Wednesday on a Mississippi County warrant for distribution of a controlled substance...

BENTON, Mo. -- After being alerted by a concerned parent, the Scott County Sheriff's Department is investigating allegations that a Kelly Middle School seventh-grader made death threats to himself and others last week while using a computer chatroom...

First Friday topic is emergency management Cape Girardeau's emergency preparedness will be the topic of this month's First Friday Coffee, scheduled for 7:30 a.m. today at the Show Me Center. For more information, contact the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the monthly event, at 335-3312...

WASHINGTON -- Diamonds in America are associated with the heat of romance, but the famed and feared Hope Diamond feels cool, almost chilly as it draws warmth away from the palm of the hand. Museum security guards stood by nervously Thursday as curators -- joking they hoped the gem's storied curse wouldn't rub off -- allowed a reporter and photographer to hold the diamond briefly after it was removed from its case for scientific study...

WASHINGTON -- An aide to Missouri Republican Sen. Kit Bond left the senator's staff after it was discovered he had been running a political Web site named for the tail number of a plane that crashed in 2000, killing the Democratic Missouri governor...

WASHINGTON -- At least twice a week, the military practices what two years ago would have been nearly unthinkable: shooting down a civilian airliner hijacked by terrorists. Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, head of U.S. Northern Command, said Thursday that strong safeguards are in place to prevent an accidental or unwarranted shootdown of a commercial airplane. Commanders, pilots and air defense crews are drilled on those procedures at least twice and as many as four times each week, Eberhart said...

WASHINGTON -- The House voted decisively Thursday for the first ban of an abortion procedure since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling that women have a right to end their pregnancies. Strongly supported by President Bush, the bill could be on his desk for signature in days...

WASHINGTON -- Doubts are growing about President Bush's ability to deal with international crises and the economy, says a poll released Thursday night. The CBS-New York Times poll found that 45 percent say they have confidence in Bush's ability on international crises and 50 percent said they do not. On the economy, four in 10 said they have confidence in his ability to handle it, while 56 percent did not...

WASHINGTON -- The federal investigation into the leak of a CIA officer's name expanded Thursday beyond the White House and the spy agency to other parts of the government with access to the officer's classified identity. The Justice Department sent "do not destroy" letters to the Defense and State departments requesting preservation of phone logs, e-mails and other documents that could become evidence in the inquiry, senior law enforcement officials said...

WASHINGTON -- The government on Thursday proposed the second-biggest fine ever for indecency: $357,000 against Infinity Broadcasting for a radio segment in which a couple was said to be having sex in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Federal Communications Commission responded to an outpouring of complaints following an August 2002 broadcast of the "Opie and Anthony" show over New York's WNEW-FM and 12 other Infinity radio stations. ...

WASHINGTON -- Chief U.S. weapons searcher David Kay reported Thursday he has uncovered no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and only limited evidence of secret programs to develop weapons, drawing fresh congressional complaints about the Bush administration's prewar assertions of a serious threat from Saddam Hussein...

MIAMI -- The first two games of the playoffs have shown the San Francisco Giants how to beat the Florida Marlins: Keep Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo off base. It's easier said than done. San Francisco succeeded in Game 1, when Pierre and Castillo went a combined 0-for-8 as Jason Schmidt shut out Florida 2-0...

CHICAGO -- Mark Prior was more worried about Little League hitters back when Greg Maddux won his first Cy Young Award in 1992 with the Chicago Cubs. "I don't remember a whole lot at 12. Obviously I know what he's done with the Braves, and I hear about what he did with the Cubs," Prior said...

WOODSTOCK, Ga. -- Sergio Garcia shot a 5-under 65, one of only 12 sub-par scores Thursday at the American Express Championship, and he held a one-stroke lead over Rocco Mediate and Tim Herron. Defending champion Tiger Woods made two long birdie putts and five good par saves and was another stroke back at 67 on the Crabapple course at Capital City Club...

The Associated Press FOXBORO, Mass. -- Karl Malone has nothing on Abby Wambach. Kevin McHale has nothing on Cindy Parlow. If ever a women's soccer team has presented two power forwards for opponents to deal with, it's the current American squad that has reached the semifinals of the World Cup. Wambach and Parlow both are 5-foot-11, both excel in the air and both have played huge roles in the tournament...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two former Goodyear workers who are Hispanic allege in separate lawsuits that they were retaliated against after they complained about a hostile work environment. Michael Mesa, 53, of Kansas City, filed suit late last month in Jackson County Circuit Court. Andy Gutierrez, 29, also of Kansas City, filed suit earlier this year in U.S. District Court in Kansas City...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- About 120,000 application forms for concealed gun permits have been printed and are being mailed this week to county sheriffs, meaning all the paperwork should be in place when Missouri's concealed gun law takes effect Oct. 11...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Officials overseeing Missouri's prescription drug program for senior citizens are revamping their promotional efforts after two years of lower-than-expected participation rates. The Missouri SenioRx Program was projected by a professional actuary to attract as many as 55,000 seniors for its July 2002 debut...

ST. LOUIS -- Fans of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin may soon feel like raising their cocktail glasses to toast the Rat Pack: they'll be able to see rare footage of the legends at work, filmed in St. Louis. A new DVD and CD collection, called "Live & Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection," is scheduled for release by Reprise Oct. 14. The label says it's the only known Rat Pack concert footage from the 1960s...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Chief Justice Ronnie White, noting his status as Missouri's first black court leader, urged lawyers and judges to increase the diversity in a legal justice system that historically has been dominated by white men. Speaking Thursday at the annual meeting of The Missouri Bar, White said a diverse legal system -- from attorneys to court clerks to judges -- is essential for people to feel they are treated equally under the law...

ST. LOUIS -- While calling their workers "the best at what they do," the St. Louis area's three largest supermarket chains on Thursday began looking for temporary replacements in case of a walkout early next week. Schnuck Markets Inc., Dierbergs Markets Inc. and Shop 'n Save Warehouse Foods Inc. -- which make up The Greater St. Louis Food Employers Council -- placed a full page ad in the main section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Thursday editions seeking temporary cashiers and clerks...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The wreckage of a Black Hawk helicopter lies tangled in a big prickly pear cactus. It's the only remaining evidence of the fierce battle on a dusty side street a decade ago that killed 18 U.S. soldiers and spurred the exit of American peacekeepers...

BALI, Indonesia -- The last of four main suspects in the deadly nightclub bombings on Indonesia's Bali island was convicted Thursday and sentenced to death by firing squad. The verdict is the latest sign that Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, is serious about confronting Islamic militancy. Death sentences in Indonesia are rare, but are allowed under an anti-terror law adopted after last year's bombings on Bali, which killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists...

ANGORE ADDA, Pakistan -- Pakistani soldiers swooped down on an al-Qaida mountain hideout in the country's forbidding tribal region Thursday, killing 12 suspected terrorists and capturing 18 others in the military's largest-ever offensive against Osama bin Laden's network...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A land mine hidden in a sandy track in the Afghan capital exploded Thursday, killing two Canadian peacekeepers and wounding three others. The blast came 24 hours after engineers checked the road for explosives and found nothing. However, officials said it was too early to determine whether the explosion was caused by an old land mine or one laid recently in an effort to target international peacekeepers...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea said Thursday it was using plutonium extracted from some 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods to make atomic bombs, alarming South Korea and other Asian countries that feared the assertion would jeopardize efforts to resolve the nuclear dispute peacefully...

JERUSALEM -- Israel announced Thursday it would build 565 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, violating a U.S.-backed peace plan and angering Palestinians already seething over plans to build a security barrier deep into the West Bank...

JERUSALEM -- A bus destroyed in one of the deadliest Palestinian suicide bombings will be displayed at a New York fair alongside booths promoting Jewish culture and tourism to Israel. Relatives of the bombing's victims are outraged, and Israeli government officials have quietly questioned the wisdom of the plans by ZAKA Rescue and Recovery, an Israeli disaster response group...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Each week in Iraq, an average of three to six Americans are dying and another 40 are wounded by a foe that has become more lethal and sophisticated since the fall of Baghdad in April, the commander of coalition forces said Thursday...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- South Africa's J.M. Coetzee, whose stories tell of innocents and outcasts oppressed by the cruel weight of history, won the 2003 Nobel Prize for literature Thursday. The 63-year-old writer, long a favorite for the book world's most prestigious prize, was cited as a "scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of Western civilization."...

TOKYO -- Stunned by the kidnapping of a teenage girl, a rural Japanese city plans to use a satellite-linked tracking system to help parents find their children. The northern city of Murakami has asked two security companies to provide the service for the families of 2,700 elementary and junior high school students, said Kenkichi Kimura, an official on the city's Board of Education...

UNITED NATIONS -- France, Russia and Germany signaled Thursday that a new U.S. draft resolution on Iraq did not meet their demands, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan said it did not follow his recommendation for a quick transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government...

VATICAN CITY -- One of Europe's top cardinals said Thursday that Pope John Paul II was nearing "the last days and months of his life," the first ranking prelate to say the 83-year-old pontiff is dying. With John Paul visibly weaker in recent weeks, concern over his health has been growing. Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn was the second leading prelate this week to express alarm over the pope's health...

BENIDORM, Spain -- Crime knows no borders, not even Tonga's. The Pacific island kingdom with a population of 120,000 has seen its first murder in a decade. But wee as Tonga is, Interpol says, it's one of 78 countries now hooked up to a new, high-tech, global database to track terrorists and other criminals...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Two U.N. atomic watchdog officials began talks here Thursday to clear up questions about Iran's nuclear program before an Oct. 31 deadline for Tehran to prove its aims are peaceful. The meetings between officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, based in Vienna, Austria, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran began about 10 a.m. "under an atmosphere of understanding," said Saber Zaimian, a spokesman for the Iranian group...

LIMA, Peru -- Lori Berenson, an American serving a 20-year sentence for aiding leftist rebels, married a former inmate Thursday in a prison ceremony the groom was barred from attending because he is on parole. Anibal Apari confirmed his marriage to Berenson, 33, after receiving a phone call from his bride. His father stood in for him during the nuptials in the Andean town of Cajamarca, 350 miles north of Lima...

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Azerbaijan's ailing leader Geidar Aliev on Thursday announced his withdrawal from the presidential election, passing the ruling party's mantle to his son in what could result in the first family succession in a former Soviet republic...

YANGON, Myanmar -- A U.N. envoy sent to Myanmar to promote free elections ended his two-day mission Thursday without securing the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Razali Ismail said Myanmar's military rulers did not indicate whether Suu Kyi will be included in their so-called "road map" to democracy, a diplomat who attended a private briefing by Razali said on condition of anonymity...

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators surged into Ivory Coast's commercial center Thursday for the largest pro-government rally in months, a sign of increasing tensions over a stalled power-sharing agreement with rebels. Authorities closed highways leading into the skyscraper-lined downtown, allowing a crowd of apparently more than 70,000 to flow into a central square for a rally against rebels, who have divided the West African country...

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Westward expansion of the West Nile virus has prompted the government to look to California as the possible epicenter of next year's virus season. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the mosquito-borne illness will hit the West Coast hard next year, particularly California, said Dr. Lyle Petersen, acting director of the CDC's division of vector-borne diseases...

MONROVIA, Liberia -- Terrorized civilians demanded Thursday that Liberia's new U.N. force protect them from systematic looting and rapes occurring in the aftermath of a deadly firefight in the capital between rebels and the government. Officials with the U.N. mission, which took over peacekeeping responsibilities Wednesday from the 3,500-strong West African force, declined immediate comment on the unrest...

ATLANTA -- A sweeping federal review of the nation's gun control laws -- including mandatory waiting periods and bans on certain weapons -- found no proof such measures reduce firearm violence. The review, released Thursday, was conducted by a task force of scientists appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

NEW YORK -- Carleigh Krubiner is helping to usher in a new era for Avon Products Inc. Since August, the University of Pennsylvania sophomore has become part of a new generation of "Avon ladies" peddling a new line called mark., featuring such products as blue liquid eyeliner and hot pink lip gloss in funky packaging aimed at her peers...

NASA wants to find out if the nose cap of the space shuttle Atlantis was inspected properly for corrosion, an action that could further delay the first shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster, an agency official said Thursday. Officials planning the return to space next year have questioned the inspection of the metal framework inside the nose cap, which can corrode. ...

WASHINGTON -- Democrat Bob Graham told a Senate colleague Thursday that he would abandon his struggling presidential bid, a Democratic source said, but in a day filled with mixed signals, aides said he will continue to campaign. The Florida senator's future in the crowded Democratic field remained in doubt as the campaign made several staff changes and held a series of high-level meetings...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Philip Morris USA has agreed to pay more than $2 million in the case of a toddler severely burned in a fire blamed on a cigarette left in a car -- the first time the nation's No. 1 tobacco company has ever settled a personal injury suit...

Late-night talk host suiting up with Wolves MINNEAPOLIS -- Late-night wisecracker Craig Kilborn, a native Minnesotan, will suit up with the Minnesota Timberwolves next week when the team meets for training camp. The host of CBS' "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn," who played basketball for Hastings High School and Montana State, is an unabashed Wolves fan...

The 2004 Saturn Ion Quad has smart, eye-catching lines. Although it looks like a traditional coupe, it actually has four doors and a spacious interior and trunk. The Ion Quad Coupe is actually a four-door hot rod "Watch out for the torque steer," I told my brother as he slid into the driver's seat of my new '89 Ford Probe GT...

In a football game that had more turnovers than touchdowns, the Central Tigers came away with a 27-14 win over Dexter Thursday at Houck Stadium. Playing in its homecoming game, Central got off to an inauspicious start. On the first play of the game, the defense had a pass interference call. After stopping Dexter, Central's first offensive play was a botched shotgun snap which ended up in a Bearcat touchdown and a 7-0 Dexter lead...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Barry Zito got plenty of rest and no relaxation on the night before he dominated the Boston Red Sox. While his Oakland teammates worked late for a 12-inning victory in the division series opener, Zito was wide awake in bed. He turned the radio on and off, called his parents -- anything to stay occupied until the Athletics were finished...

NEW YORK -- Now that's more like what New York fans expect from a postseason game at Yankee Stadium. Andy Pettitte pitched another gem under pressure, Jason Giambi turned the boos to cheers and the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 Thursday night to even their best-of-five AL playoff series at a game apiece...

PHILADELPHIA -- Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh said Thursday he resigned as an ESPN sports analyst to protect network employees from the uproar over critical comments he made about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Limbaugh stepped down from the sports network's "Sunday NFL Countdown" late Wednesday, three days after saying on the show that McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed...

Organizers of Old Town Cape, a 3-year-old group organized to revitalize the downtown area, say creating new and better defined districts will help attract new businesses as well as offer a new promotional tool for businesses that are already there. "The question kept coming up: 'What are the real boundaries?'" said Skip Smallwood, co-chairman of the group's economic development committee. "So we went in and defined them."...

Cape Girardeau residents threw out 22,095 pounds of hazardous household waste last year. That was fine with city officials since the trash -- everything from paint to used motor oil -- was dealt with during a hazardous waste collection day and not buried in the regular garbage...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission told a stormwater committee Thursday morning that it was in favor of regulating stormwater runoff within the county. Currently, there are no local regulatory measures being taken regarding stormwater. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has regulations in place, but some local officials say DNR does not have enough resources to enforce the regulations...

A buzz in the soles may keep elderly people on their toes and reduce the risk of debilitating falls, preliminary research suggests. The experiment, outlined this week in The Lancet medical journal in Great Britian, found that elderly people showed signs of better balance when they stood on a pair of battery-operated randomly vibrating insoles...

SAN DIEGO -- Confronted with fresh allegations that he groped women, Arnold Schwarzenegger apologized Thursday for having "behaved badly sometimes" and pleaded with voters just days before California's recall election for the chance to show that he has changed...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A federal judge dealt a severe setback to the only U.S. prosecution arising from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, ruling Thursday that the government cannot seek to execute Zacarias Moussaoui or introduce trial evidence linking the al-Qaida loyalist to the suicide hijackings...

Loretta Maud Clippard, 103, of Jackson died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003, at Jackson Manor. She was born Jan. 3, 1900, at Oak Ridge, daughter of Emory and Martha Elizabeth Davenport Delph. She and Seibert Hartle Clippard were married Sept. 2,1924, at Marble Hill, Mo. He died Nov. 17, 1970...

HONOLULU -- Kobe Bryant was not on the private plane that brought Los Angeles Lakers veterans to training camp on Thursday and team officials refused to be more specific than saying the star guard was "under the weather." "That's all we have to say," said general manager Mitch Kupchak, refusing to answer any other questions about Bryant, who faces felony sexual assault charges in Colorado...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is targeting next fall for its next space shuttle launch, saying there are too many post-Columbia repairs to fly any sooner. Senior space agency officials decided Friday to aim for a launch in September 2004 for Atlantis. That date could slip even further into next year or even into 2005, depending on the progress of the shuttle repair work...

The Missouri Supreme Court has appointed New Madrid County Circuit Judge Fred Copeland to hear Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury's latest lawsuit against the River Campus project. Drury, a motel and restaurant owner, has fought a running legal battle with the city of Cape Girardeau over its involvement with Southeast Missouri State University's development of an arts school on the grounds of a former Catholic seminary overlooking the Mississippi River...

Lil' Kim's name removed from wanted fugitive list TEANECK, N.J. -- Lil' Kim is no longer a fugitive in New Jersey. Her real name, Kimberly Jones, was removed from Teaneck's wanted list Tuesday after someone posted $350 bail on her behalf, The Record of Bergen County reported in Friday's editions...

WORCESTER, Mass. -- A judge Friday ordered a preliminary psychiatric evaluation for the prison inmate accused of killing of a priest at the center of the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. Joseph Druce is accused of beating and strangling defrocked priest John Geoghan in his cell on Aug. 23...

REDLANDS, Calif. -- A firefighting air tanker crashed Friday in the San Bernardino National Forest, bursting into flames and killing both people aboard, authorities said. The plane, contracted to the U.S. Forest Service, was flying to San Bernardino when it went down late Friday morning about four miles outside Redlands, Donn Walker of the Federal Aviation Administration said...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A presidential forum at the South Carolina NAACP's annual convention will be missing several candidates, a prospect that has upset leaders of the civil rights group. Only three of the 10 Democratic hopefuls -- Carol Moseley Braun, Al Sharpton and John Edwards -- have accepted invitations to attend a round-table discussion on minority issues in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 10...

Likes Speak Out YOUR SPEAK Out comments from your readers are particularly interesting. I am impressed. I'm a longtime newspaper reader, and I think Speak Out is quite telling about the city of Cape Girardeau and the people who live here. I like the straightforward comments, whether I am in agreement with the particular comment or not. Aren't we blessed to live in a country that still has a free press?...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Oct. 4 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Bradley R. Miller, 27, of Advance, Mo., was arrested Thursday for possession of drug paraphernalia...

Short Daughter to David Edward and Wendy Ann Short of Jonesboro, Ill., St. Francis Medical Center, 5:01 a.m. Friday, Sept. 26, 2003. Name, Halle Breann. Weight, 6 pounds 2 ounces. First child. Mrs. Short is the former Wendy Johnson, daughter of Leona Bone of Dongola, Ill. Short is the son of the Rev. Clark Short and Debra Short of Sandusky, Ill. He is employed at Unimin Specialty Minerals in Elco, Ill...

Retired Army Maj. Orville L. Grim, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Chapel. Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church with the Rev. Janet Hopkins officiating...

PERKINS, Mo. -- Albert Michael Brucker, 93, of Perkins died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003, at his home. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel at Oran, Mo., is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Delbert D. Lingle, 90, of Anna died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 23, 1912, in Dongola, Ill., the son of Charles and Eva McIntosh Lingle. He married Violet Sheffer on Feb. 8, 1933. She survives...

Helen Dodds, 88, of Waterford, Mich., died Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003. She was born Nov. 19, 1914, in Franklin, Tenn., daughter of John Adam and Alvina Bleckwendt Inman. She first married Rudolph Sebastian in Missouri. He preceded her in death. She later married John Dodds in Michigan. He also preceded her in death...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Leonard N. Carroll, 84, of Chaffee died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at his home. He was born June 14, 1919, at Vanduser, Mo., son of William and Loretta Miller Carroll. He and Ruth B. Nations were married Oct. 12, 1946, in Mayfield, Ky. Carroll was a retired farmer, and retired from Carpenters Local 1770 in Cape Girar-deau. He was a member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, Mo., and its St. Joseph Sodality, DAV Chapter 16 in Cape Girardeau, and Morley VFW Post 5368...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Leroy Edward Wunderlich, 86, of Altenburg died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Jan. 22, 1917, in Cape Girardeau, son of Leo and Lydia Hunt Wunderlich. He and Eleonora Palisch were married Jan. 23, 1945. Wunderlich was a farmer, and a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg...

Helen Meyer, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at the Lutheran Home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Jerald "Jerry" Washer, 55, of Charleston died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. He was born March 22, 1948, in Wyatt, Mo., son of Charles Pope and Mattie Lou Barber Washer. Washer had lived in Mississippi County most of his life, and was a deckhand...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Ralph "Newly" Newell, 58, of Tamms died suddenly Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at his home. He was born Dec. 11, 1944, in Cairo, Ill., son of Henry Lee and Virtie May Warren Newell. He married Brenda Hazelwood. Newell retired as a foreman with Illinois Department of Transportation, where he worked 32 years. He was a member of Wickliffe Gospel Tabernacle Church in Wickliffe, Ky., Missionary Navajo Indians, and Teamsters Union...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Jerry Lynn Bone, 67, of Charleston died Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at his home. He was born Dec. 19, 1935, in Charleston, son of Jack and Helen Brown Bone. He and Judith Ann Mohundro were married April 21, 1962. Bone was a carrier with U.S. Postal Service. He was a member of St. Henry Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, VFW Post 4294, and the former Charleston Jaycees...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Essie Leah Cooper, 95, of Marble Hill died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at Elder Care. She was born Feb. 16, 1908, at Lutesville, daughter of Andrew and Eva Ann Settle Englehart. She and Robert E. Cooper were married March 29, 1930. He died April 16, 1983...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Mary E. Pittman, 89, of Perryville died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born March 28, 1914, at Ste. Genevieve, Mo., daughter of David and Cora Hahn Holmes. She and Ivroy J. Pittman were married July 21, 1930. He died July 7, 2002...

Roma M. Merritt, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at her home. She was born Jan. 11, 1910, in Providence, Ky., daughter of Charlie and Katherine McNeely Winstead. She and George "Bob" Merritt were married Dec. 24, 1926, in Dixon, Ky. He died June 1, 1995...

Bess Kohrumel, a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, departed this life Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003, at the age of 96. She was born Nov. 5, 1906, in St. Louis, daughter of Fred and Blanche Elworthy. She and Eugene Kohrumel were married Aug. 20, 1924, in St. Louis...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Adria Anne Meyr, 23, of Chaffee died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003, at Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, Va. She was born April 27, 1980, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Glen M. and Corliss Grossheider Meyr. As a youth she was active in scouting, 4-H, school activities and community sports. She was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chaffee and church youth group...

To the editor: The Missouri Public Service Commission thanks all of those who attended the recent natural gas town hall meetings in Cape Girardeau. We believe it is very important to bring our message to communities across the state in an effort to help prepare consumers for the upcoming winter heating season and the potential of higher natural gas bills. We appreciate those who attended and the excellent questions that were asked...

Cape Girardeau's Transportation Trust Fund, which keeps Cape's streets paved and in good shape, has to be one of the most successful tax issues ever taken up in Southeast Missouri. Twice, voters have given the nod for a half-cent sales tax. Thus, there's no reason for the city's planning and zoning commission to delay discussing some possible projects to be funded by the next round...

The painted windows along Broadway. The quiet rustle of crepe paper. A morning chill in the air. All can mean only one thing: It's Homecoming for Southeast Missouri State University. It's an annual event that is exciting for everyone in Cape Girardeau, Southeast alumni and non-alumni alike. Themed floats glide down Broadway, thousands crowd the sidewalks to look and children scamper around, hoping for candy treats to be tossed...

A 17-year-old Chaffee, Mo., youth sustained moderate injuries Thursday night when the vehicle he was a passenger in ran off the road and overturned three times near Scott City. Michael Bayer was taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau after the 8 p.m. accident. It occurred on County Road 323, three miles south of Scott City...

A tax dispute that could involve several hundred thousand dollars is stuck in neutral as Cape Girardeau County and Jackson city officials wait to hear from an independent lawyer hired by the county. Almost two months after Jackson's mayor and the county presiding commissioner met privately, and about three months after the state attorney general ruled in favor of Jackson, the commission is waiting to hear back from William McCullah, a Forsyth, Mo., lawyer, before agreeing that it does, indeed, owe the city about $80,000 per year from the county's road and bridge tax fund.. ...

Standard Democrat NEW MADRID, Mo. -- A suspect was taken into custody early Friday in connection with a bomb threat which emptied the schools in the New Madrid County School District Thursday morning. Acting on a tip at about 1 a.m. Friday, New Madrid County Sheriff Terry Stevens said officers arrested a New Madrid resident in connection with the anonymous bomb threat called in to 911 just after 10 a.m. Thursday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Planned Parenthood affiliates asked a federal court Friday to block a new Missouri law that would require women seeking abortions to wait 24 hours after consulting a physician. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against enforcing the so-called "informed consent" law, which is set to take effect Oct. 11, on claims it contains unconstitutionally vague and broad language...

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission will appeal a federal judge's decision allowing a Ku Klux Klan group to participate in the state's Adopt-A-Highway Program, the commission announced Friday. The KKK group had applied to participate in the highway cleanup plan in April 2001, but the commission denied its request to pick up litter along Highway 21 north of Potosi. ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An attorney representing the jailed mother accused of letting her 2-year-old stay alone for 19 days said Friday that she is innocent and urged a complete investigation. Rodney Gregory, representing Dakeysha Lee, said at a news conference that both sides of the story have not come out, although he refused to elaborate on his client's side of the story...

LONDON -- About 2,000 more people than normal died during August's heat wave in England and Wales, the government reported Friday. Experts said the soaring temperatures most likely accelerated deaths that would have happened soon anyway. The estimates released Friday by the Office for National Statistics do not prove that the extra deaths were caused by the unusually hot weather; they identify a suspicious correlation...

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico -- Residents in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz braced for floods, high tides and punishing rains Friday as a strengthened Tropical Storm Larry edged closer to land. Tropical Storm Nora, hovering far south of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, was predicted to strengthen to a hurricane by today as it moved slowly out to sea, and a third tropical storm, Olaf, developed well south of Mexico's Pacific coastline...

HAVANA -- A leading democracy activist delivered more than 14,000 signatures to Cuba's parliament Friday demanding a referendum for sweeping political changes, just six months after the Fidel Castro government's major crackdown on dissenters. This is the second straight year activist Oswaldo Paya delivered thousands of signatures to the government as part of the Varela Project -- considered the biggest homegrown, nonviolent effort to push for reforms in Cuba's one-party system...

MULAHIMAH, Iraq -- Pigeons have taken over the rust-encrusted pipes and tanks of Fallujah II, where guards idle away hours stalking the birds with slingshots. Once the CIA's "best example" of a disguised weapons program, the derelict chemical plant stands today more as a symbol of the gap between fears and reality in the Iraq crisis...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Maria Shriver gave a spirited defense of Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday, extolling her husband's qualifications for governor as she brushed aside allegations of misbehavior. "I wouldn't be standing here if this man weren't an A-plus human being," the journalist and Kennedy family member told a lunch meeting of the California Women's Leadership Association...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Women's groups and religious leaders worked feverishly Friday to galvanize opposition to Arnold Schwarzenegger after he acknowledged treating women badly and responded to reports that he told an interviewer he admired Adolf Hitler...

NEW YORK -- Twelve years have passed and more than $25 million has been spent since the discovery of a colonial-era burial ground for slaves and free blacks in lower Manhattan triggered a controversial preservation project. When the remains of more than 400 people are reinterred today in an elaborate ceremony that follows a five-city procession, it will be a high point for the federally sponsored effort to commemorate the site...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Scientists from two rival companies announced Thursday they had succeeded in placing vital bits of man's 30,000 genes on a chip the size of a dime, bringing so-called personalized medicine one step closer to reality. Affymetrix Inc. and Agilent Technologies produced so-called gene chips -- small pieces of glass infused with genetic material. Until Thursday, Affymetrix and Agilent needed two chips to hold the same genetic material...

PORT SULPHUR, La. -- For the past decade, something eerie has taken place here. The ground is getting saltier and saltier. Patty Vogt, a sturdy 49-year-old farm owner who's herded cattle and lived off planting oranges all her working life, looks at her citrus trees and sees what an untrained eye doesn't: Death...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Authorities questioned 18 al-Qaida suspects Friday, trying to determine the identities and loyalties of the men captured in Pakistan's largest raid against Osama bin Laden's terror network. It was not yet known if any top-ranking al-Qaida figures were among the captured, three of whom were wounded in Thursday's battle at a compound in the dusty hills of South Waziristan, a rugged tribal area on the Afghan border...

NEW ORLEANS -- The federal government is evaluating technology that would put video cameras on commercial flights so people on the ground could monitor pilots and passengers and get an early warning of hijackings or other trouble on board. The Boeing Co. ...

DENVER -- The Forest Service has given the nation's ski resorts the OK to sell some advertising space on their chairlifts, drawing complaints that the messages will clutter up the great outdoors. The ads will be only a few inches in size and will consist of logos of companies that sponsor programs at resorts; they will not contain slogans or special offers...

MADISON, Wis. -- A Wisconsin appeals court refused to delay a recall election against a state senator who angered some constituents when he sided with Republicans on a vote. The 4th District Court of Appeals rejected Democratic Sen. Gary George's request late Thursday to put off the election while he appeals an earlier ruling. ...

WASHINGTON -- Businesses added jobs in September for the first time in eight months and the nation's unemployment rate stayed at 6.1 percent, indicating better days may lie ahead for frustrated job seekers. Payrolls grew by 57,000 last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, and there was even new hope for the slumping manufacturing sector. Some 29,000 factory jobs were lost, considerably fewer than in previous months...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Jimmie Johnson broke the track qualifying record Friday at Kansas Speedway to take the pole for Sunday's Banquet 400. Winston Cup points leader Matt Kenseth, meanwhile, continued his recent struggles and had to rely on a provisional starting position for a second straight week...

PHILADELPHIA -- Rush Limbaugh told his radio audience Friday that he is amazed at the controversy over his comments about a black quarterback, but did not comment on reports that he's being investigated for illegally buying prescription drugs. The conservative commentator gave up his job as an ESPN sports analyst after saying Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed...

CHICAGO -- Mark Prior was more than ready for his first playoff start. He went out and pitched one of the best games of his life. Prior threw a two-hitter and outpitched Greg Maddux as the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five NL playoff series...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Pavol Demitra and Mark Rycroft each had a goal and an assist as the St. Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 Friday night. Christian Backman had two assists for the Blues who dominated the second period, scoring twice while holding the Blue Jackets without a shot...

LAS VEGAS -- In the two decades he has toiled in the ring, Evander Holyfield has fought brilliant fights, known great moments, and captured the hearts of millions of boxing fans. He's won pieces of the heavyweight title four times, stopped Mike Tyson when no one gave him a chance and earned the label of warrior he wears so proudly on his boxing trunks...

WOODSTOCK, Ga. -- Baked greens and thick rough were troubling enough Friday at the American Express Championship. Even more daunting was Tiger Woods pulling away from a world-class field without breaking a sweat. In one of his best rounds of a roller-coaster year, Woods made seven birdies and finished with a 4-under 66 to take a five-stroke lead into the weekend at Capital City Club...

MINNEAPOLIS -- The New York Yankees will turn to Roger Clemens in a big game, possibly for the final time. It would be hard to imagine a better choice -- the Rocket doesn't figure to get rattled by the deafening din at the Metrodome, where the Twins are 13-3 in the postseason...

BOSTON -- There are nine guys in the Boston clubhouse who know firsthand how to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the opening round of the playoffs. Johnny Damon's memories of a big lead aren't quite as pleasant. The Red Sox center fielder was with the Oakland Athletics when they blew a 2-0 lead to the New York Yankees in the first round of the 2001 playoffs. It's one of just three times that a team has lost three straight games after winning the first two...

MINNEAPOLIS -- New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner insists Joe Torre will be back to manage the team next season, no matter what the founder of USA Today thinks. Responding to a column in the newspaper by Al Neuharth, Steinbrenner gave Torre a vote of confidence Friday and said the manager will keep his job regardless of how the Yankees do this postseason...

MIAMI -- Ivan Rodriguez circled the bases pumping his fist, then pointed at the jubilant, towel-twirling crowd before he crossed the plate. That was in the first inning after Rodriguez's two-run homer. Nearly four hours later, he found himself in the middle of an even bigger celebration...

LONDON -- Why does a cookie crumble? Using a laser beam to closely monitor the fault lines of cookies emerging from an oven, a doctoral student appears to have figured out how bakers can stop disappointing their customers by shipping crumbled ones. In fact, the discovery could result in the perfect cookie, or "biscuit," as it is called in Britain. ...

PACE, Fla. -- Two Florida National Guard soldiers who married Iraqi women against their commander's wishes are being investigated for allegedly defying an order, their families said. The men, both Christians who converted to Islam so they could be married under Iraqi law, had expected to return to Florida this month, but a new Army policy that requires troops to remain in Iraq for 12 continuous months may keep them there until April...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- For three years, B.J. Symons swallowed hard and paced the Texas Tech sidelines. There was never a competition or debate over who would start at quarterback for the Red Raiders. Kliff Kingsbury was it. Case closed. Maybe it shouldn't have been...

Even in these struggling times for Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team, the Otahkians can still count on at least one thing -- beating Tennessee State. Southeast extended its all-time record against TSU to 28-0 Friday night by rolling to a 30-19, 30-11, 30-14 victory in front of about 200 fans at Houck Field House...

The Eastern Illinois football team that will visit Houck Stadium today for Southeast Missouri State University's homecoming game is a far cry from Panthers squads of recent seasons -- and not just because of a subpar record. Entering a matchup of two struggling clubs that were expected to be among the Ohio Valley Conference's top units, EIU's normally explosive offense has been ground to a virtual standstill...

For a brief moment Friday at Chaffee, Red Devils fans had something to cheer about, and the players had reason for hope. But a penalty erased Chaffee freshman Zach McDaniel's 90-yard interception return for a touchdown, which would have made the score 28-13 late in the second quarter. Scott City scored on the following play en route to a 55-14 win on Chaffee's homecoming...

Notre Dame Regional High School's cross country team is enjoying one of its most successful years since its inception 10 years ago. Today the Notre Dame boys and girls will be able to show off their skills to the home crowd when they host the 11-school Notre Dame Invitational...

With backup quarterback Marc Lumsden throwing three touchdown passes, the Jackson Indians broke a two-game losing skid with a 32-3 homecoming victory over visiting Fort Zumwalt West. Lumsden, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior, started in place of senior Tyler Profilet, who missed the game with the flu. Lumsden threw touchdown passes of 12, 34 and 93 yards in his first varsity start as Jackson (2-2) scored 32 unanswered points against the Jaguars (1-4)...

Matt Unterreiner ran wild Friday night to lead Perryville's football team to its first win under first-year coach Rick Chastain. Unterreiner rushed for 166 yards and scored five touchdowns as the Pirates defeated host Windsor 48-35. Perryville improved to 1-4 while Windsor fell to 2-3...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- More than a year ago, the Southeast Missouri Health Network had on its wish list two projects that aimed to deliver health-care services that its clients might not otherwise receive. One proposal was to develop a video conference system through which patients at the network's Bootheel clinics could consult with medical specialists in other cities. ...

Southeast Missouri State University was still Southeast Missouri State Teachers College when Helen Harrelson enrolled in the early 1940s. The school had no theater department, though she recalls acting in "something by Noel Coward." Since then she has studied theater in Rome and London and has appeared on and off-Broadway, in regional theater and in the TV shows "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Right now she can be seen in a Kodak commercial as a grandmother whose grandson enlarges a photo taken when she was a young ballplayer.. ...

Thirty-five Jackson business owners found out the hard way what a tornado can do to business on May 6. On Friday morning, Cape Girardeau's business community found out the easy way -- sitting around tables, sipping coffee at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee event at the Show Me Center...

By Daniel P. Mehan The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the University of Missouri joined forces last week to host the Missouri Job Summit, an attempt to bring together employers and policymakers to find solutions to Missouri's staggering job loss. ...

No one disagrees that the basic concept is admirable: Expect all children to learn, and hold schools accountable if they don't. But the widespread confusion and disappointment following the first year of President Bush's sweeping education reform, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, has left Missouri educators facing some tough realities...

Over the past five years, school districts in Southeast Missouri have seen little improvement on their annual state assessments. Districtwide scores from 1999, when the communication arts, math, science and social studies tests were first administered through the Missouri Assessment Program, show little variation from this year's scores...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Something will be concealed besides pistols when Missouri sheriffs begin issuing permits this month to pack hidden handguns: the names of a projected 60,000 gun licensees. Missouri's new law, enacted when the Legislature overrode Gov. Bob Holden's veto last month, bars identification of concealed weapons permit holders -- even though separate applications to sheriffs to purchase guns have been open records for years, and remain so...

MERCED, Calif. -- Arnold Schwarzenegger went on the attack Saturday, denouncing the latest sexual harassment allegations made against him as untrue and charging that all of the 11th-hour accusations were intended to wreck his campaign for governor. The Austrian-born candidate, also accused of expressing admiration for Adolf Hitler nearly 30 years ago, received support from a leader of a Jewish human rights organization and the man who trained the teenage Schwarzenegger as a bodybuilder, both of whom said the actor has championed tolerance.. ...

GRAZ, Austria -- In a gym plastered with photographs of his protege, Arnold Schwarzenegger's former trainer described Saturday how the California gubernatorial candidate helped break up neo-Nazi gatherings as a teenager. Trainer Kurt Marnul told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that Schwarzenegger was "filled with rage against the Nazi regime" and took part at least twice in organized disruptions of neo-Nazi gatherings in the southern Austrian city of Graz during the 1960s...

It takes more than a quick tongue to be an auctioneer. You have to have some serious selling savvy to peddle a homemade jar of pickles for $24. Eighty-five auctioneers from all over the state were in Cape Girardeau Saturday, the second of the three-day Missouri Professional Auctioneers Association annual conference...

Diana Ross' trial date moved back again TUCSON, Ariz. -- The drunken driving trial of singer Diana Ross has been postponed again. The trial, originally set for Sept. 9 and then Dec. 9, has now been moved to January 14. The December date was a court calendar mistake, since the Tucson city court isn't holding trials that week...

NEW YORK -- They're stealth commercials within a television show: a soft drink can in front of an "American Idol" judge, a bag of chips offered to a starving "Survivor" contestant. A watchdog group says these embedded ads are getting out of control, and asked federal authorities Tuesday to enact stricter rules regarding their use...

ST. LOUIS -- For the past two years, Missouri budget-makers have said dental and prescription eyeglass care for poor adults is expendable, an optional health benefit the state Medicaid program could no longer afford. But Betty Brent and other poor Missourians maintain it's a service they can't do without. They successfully sued the state to win back the services they say they're entitled to...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- On the advice of his doctors, Mike Cochran informed the Ripley County Commission last week of his intention to step down as sheriff. "I am going to resign officially between now and the end of the year," explained Cochran, who has served as sheriff for six years. "I don't have an exact date picked." Cochran said he met with the county commission Wednesday and "verbally told them I would be gone by the end of the year...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Oct. 4 Firefighters responded Friday to the following items: At 7:08 p.m., a dumpster fire at 329 N. Middle. At 7:49 p.m., a medical assist at 20 S. Sprigg. At 10:04 p.m., a medical assist at Independence and Broadview. Firefighters responded Saturday to the following items: At 1:21 a.m., a medical assist at 169 N. Lake...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Oct. 4 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Roger A. Poe, 55, of 507 Cape Meadows, No. 10, was arrested Thursday on a Dunklin County warrant for probation violation...

Stay over there BEING A World War II wife, I have empathy with the families wanting to bring the loved ones home. I don't understand, however, why they want them to come back when the job is undone in Iraq. Maybe I was young at that time, but I do not remember anyone criticizing President Roosevelt sending troops anywhere to defend our freedom. ...

Mr. and Mrs. Loomis Brown of Jackson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary July 26, 2003, at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Hosts were their children and spouses, Steven and Nancy Brown of Kerrville, Texas, Gordon and Nancy Brown and Cheryl and Todd Wasilewski of Franklin, Tenn...

Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Brown of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Heather Sue Brown, to Wade H. Bartels of Farmington, Mo. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Bartels of Oak Ridge. Brown is a 1999 graduate of Jackson High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University in May 2003. She is a registered nurse at Southeast Missouri Hospital...

Henry and Pam Cordia of Phoenix, Ariz., and Colleen Willis of Birmingham, Ala., announce the engagement of their daughter, Margaret Lillian Cordia, to Steven Doyle Kain, both of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Dean and Iris Kain of Cape Girardeau. Cordia is a 1995 graduate of Central High School...

Robert and Barbara Ward of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennefer Ragan Ward, to Kerry Matthew Neilson. He is the son of James and Carol Neilson of St. Joseph, Ill. Ward is a graduate of Central High School, Indiana University, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and expects to receive a Ph.D from Colorado State University in May 2004...

Francesca Rehagen and Eric Abernathy announce their engagement. She is the daughter of Donald and Diana Rehagen of St. Louis. He is the son of Randy and Kelly Abernathy of Advance, Mo. Rehagen is a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, pursuing a degree in advertising/creative writing. She is employed at the Southeast Missourian Newspaper and at Bella Italia...

Ken and Carole Wright Ludwig of Doylestown, Pa., announce the engagement of their daughter, Christi Michelle Ludwig, to Kevin Daniel Kuntz. He is the son of Richard and Suzanne Kuntz of Pittsburgh, Pa. Carole Ludwig is formerly of Jackson. Ludwig is a graduate of Central Bucks West High School and Penn State University in State College, Pa. She received a master's degree from Boston University in Boston, Mass. She is a biology teacher with Pennridge, Pa., School District...

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lewandowski of Fenton, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Angela Marie Lewandowski, to Dustin Joshua Wright. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Daryl Wright of Jackson. Lewandowski is a graduate of Eureka High School, attended Central Missouri State University, and is a graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is a photographer with LifeTouch Studios...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Eugene and Jerralee Eftink of Chaffee, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Paula Jo Eftink, to Brian Charles Meier, both of Jackson. He is the son of Paul "Butch" and Eileen Meier of Jackson. Eftink is a graduate of Delta High School, and received a bachelor's degree in agribusiness from Southeast Missouri State University in 2001. She is employed by Cape Girardeau County Soil and Water District in Jackson...

ORAN, Mo. -- Lyndsey Renee Hollingsworth and Justin Steven Glueck were married July 12, 2003, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in St. Joseph, Mo. The Rev. Michael Volkmer performed the ceremony. Lector was Nathan Witt. Vocalist was Steve Glueck, father of the groom; guitarist was Brett Spader, and organist was Bill McMurray...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- LeAnn Maria Eftink and Christopher James Hans were married May 17, 2003, at St. Bridget of Kildare Catholic Church in Pacific, Mo. The Rev. Rich Coerver performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Eugene and Jerralee Eftink of Chaffee. The groom is the son of Frank and Carol Calandrino and Jim and Becky Hans of Louisville, Ky...

Kathryn Therese Wencewicz and Robert Artie Michael were united in marriage June 21, 2003, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. The Rev. J. Friedel performed the ceremony. Pianist was Lenny Kuper and vocalist was Alan Bruns. Parents of the couple are Thomas and Dorothy Wencewicz of Cape Girardeau, and Max and Sally Michael of Charleston, Mo...

Donald Lee Kielhofner, 52, of Advance died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at the family home. He was born Nov. 8, 1950 at Cape Girardeau, son to Albert Leo and Georgia Anna Bucher Kielhofner. He and Donna Gleuck were married on Nov. 11, 1995. Kielhofner was a farmer and co-owner of Ever Ready Electric in Malden, Mo...

Major Orville L. Grim, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother, 78, of Cape Girardeau, died Oct. 3, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. The cause of death was injuries sustained in a fall. He was born Feb. 27, 1925, in Leora, Mo., son of James and Mary Ona Grim. He was married to Wanda Hopper on January 10, 1944, in Cape Girardeau. He was a member and Sunday School teacher at Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church, a life member of VFW Post 3838 and a member of American Legion Post 63...

Helen A. Meyer, 92, of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at The Lutheran Home. She was born March 14, 1911, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of Julius Henry and Lulu Windeknecht Meyer. Meyer was a homemaker and a lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau. She was a member of Hanover Lutheran Church and a former member of the drama club there...

Madge Abernathy, 90, of Bethany Lutheran Village in Centerville, Ohio, died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003, at Kettering Memorial Hospital. She was born Feb. 28, 1913, in Oran, Mo., daughter of Theodore and Ethel Davis Obermiller. She and Sterling H. Abernathy were married July 26, 1945, in Little Rock, Ark...

To the editor: U.S. District Judge Lee R. West, who attempted to block the national no-call list, is only the latest of appointed and elected officials who choose their own agenda over the will of the American people. I don't know Judge West's political affiliation, nor do I care...

To the editor: I don't know where people get the idea that God is opposed to war. Obviously, they must have not read of the times in the Bible that God led Israel into war and conquest. And if war is one big sin, then we are an illegitimate nation. We should surrender ourselves back to Britain, because, evidently, we committed an abominable act when we defended our freedom and livelihood...

To the editor: Over the years, you could find many things to say about Rush Limbaugh, but I never expected one day to add this one: Stupid. For him to claim some working knowledge of sports, and claim on the playing field the media is still trying to prop up black quarterbacks, is stupid...

There is something about autumn that makes you appreciate the order of nature. Though nature may seem extremely unpredictable, it is actually soothingly steadfast in its predictability. The house at 3502 Julie in Cape Girardeau is one that makes you appreciate order...

Just a year ago, the Southeast Missourian Jr.'s Pay for the Pup fund-raising campaign netted more than $18,000 for two police dogs for the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Now those dogs are garnering statewide honors for their talents. During a recent Missouri Canine Association drug search competition held in Moberly, Mo., Cape Girardeau canine Bolo, a German shepherd imported from the Czech Republic, and his handler, Roy Rahn Jr., took first place. ...

With last year's state budget fiasco behind them, Missouri lawmakers are starting early to stamp out the possibility of another long-drawn-out struggle next year. With the ink of Gov. Bob Holden's signature barely dry on this year's budget, he and top lawmakers met Wednesday to discuss finances for the coming year. Such bipartisan action is prudent, because next year's budget threatens to be no less complicated...

Albert M. Brucker, 91, of Perkins, Mo. died Wednesday, Oct. 1, at his home. He was born Sept. 13, 1912, at Perkins, son of Martin and Anna Vetter Brucker. Brucker was a retired farmer and member of Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Oran. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Oran at from 4 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 6:30 p.m...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Traveling short distances has never been easier than with an electric scooter. Anyone is able to glide along, using a simple battery for power, with no worries about finding a parking spot or stopping for fuel. There's one problem; Legally the scooters can't be used on city streets or sidewalks in Sikeston...

WASHINGTON -- The White House projected a business-as-usual air Saturday, though a Tuesday deadline to turn over documents in a leak investigation hung over nearly 2,000 staff members. Interviews with nearly a dozen White House officials found no sense of urgency among the few workers in the office on a weekend...

WASHINGTON -- Faced with the prospect of having to write Medicare prescriptions electronically, the nation's doctors protested the expense, with one group warning that the burden could "tip many practices into financial ruin." The result? Lawmakers working on a Medicare drug bill tentatively agreed to create a federal grant program to cut costs for physicians, who rank among the country's highest-paid individuals...

WASHINGTON -- Already powerful on Capitol Hill, the ethanol industry is trying to popularize the corn-based fuel by getting it into auto racing cars. Ethanol's backers are asking the Indy Racing League to make the switch to ethanol, replacing the natural gas-made methanol used by the league since the 1970s...

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinal-designate Justin Rigali says he will not be able to meet with a group of clergy abuse victims because of a busy schedule before his departure Monday from St. Louis. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests sent a letter to Rigali on Thursday requesting he meet with the group today, a day before he is scheduled to leave and become archbishop of Philadelphia. Rigali will then be installed as a cardinal on Oct. 21...

RAWLINS, Wyo. -- Two Missouri men have entered pleas to charges they illegally shot bighorn sheep in the Platte Valley Wilderness south of Riverside. Gary Klemp, 51, of Doe Run, Mo., pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting a bighorn sheep without a license and hunting as a nonresident without a professional guide. He pleaded innocent to a charge of allowing the sheep to go to waste...

Appeal sought on KKK's part in highway program ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission will appeal a federal judge's decision allowing a Ku Klux Klan group to participate in the state's Adopt-A-Highway Program, the commission announced Friday...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Allison Arnn's solar-powered home has already proved valuable. The University of Missouri-Rolla student has paid her last electric bill, which averaged about $175 for a while in the winter. And when the city of Rolla had a blackout last month, Arnn's house wasn't affected...

NEW YORK -- The fine line that separates fashion and art is more like a seam on a garment: When it's done well, it shouldn't be noticeable at all. "Michelangelo was, in fact, in the handicraft of cutting stones," says Parisian embroiderer Francois Lesage. "So, I ask, where's the line between art and handicraft?"...

WHAT'S HOT FOR FALL Classic glamour returns for fall, and new makeup offerings provide the tools to create a dramatic but elegant look. Warm autumn colors are in the mix as always, such as plum, taupe and gold. But more fanciful choices abound, including iridescent lip glosses, coppery lash tints and pale blue nail polish. Some of the new colors and products from cosmetics manufacturers include:...

NEW YORK -- Consider these the last days of disco. Again. Strong, sultry eyes are still the big story in the world of cosmetics this fall, but glitter addicts beware: The smoky eyes are now part of a more matte face. Eyes, cheeks and lips can still have a little shimmer, but put away the gold flecks and high gloss that have been popular the past few years...

As cooler weather and shorter days sap the flamboyance from most annuals, pot marigolds are more conspicuous, still chugging along and blooming as happily as ever. With dabs of orange and brown in their petals, pot marigolds look as at home among the rich colors of autumn as they did among the bright colors of summer...

Recently, while I was teaching a wildlife photography workshop, I saw an unusual sight. It was not a close-up of an animal exhibiting interesting behavior. It was not an animal silhouetted against a brilliant setting sun. It was the sight of one of the photographer's gear on the ground. The camera was resting on the dirty, dusty ground, and the photographer's two gear bags were open, getting a dusting as workshop participants walked by...

HAIFA, Israel -- A Palestinian woman wrapped in explosives blew herself up Saturday inside a seaside restaurant popular with both Arabs and Jews, killing 19 bystanders, including four children. The bombing prompted new calls for Israel to act on threats to expel Yasser Arafat...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Former Iraqi soldiers angry over rumors their pay would be cut off clashed Saturday with coalition troops in Baghdad and in the southern city of Basra in riots that left two Iraqis dead and dozens injured. Coalition officials said Saddam Hussein supporters fomented the violence...

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea will spend $3 billion to buy land and move a sprawling U.S. military base from the capital, officials said Saturday. The United States and South Korea agreed in June to relocate the 8th U.S. Army's 800-acre Yongsan Garrison, which now occupies prime real estate in central Seoul...

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico -- Mexico rushed relief supplies to the coast and put thousands of relief personnel on alert Saturday as Tropical Storm Larry churned toward land, Nora became a hurricane in the Pacific and Tropical Storm Olaf gathered force south of Acapulco...

MAKHACHKALA, Russia -- Battered by a decade of war and chaos, residents of Chechnya vote for a president today in an election that the Kremlin bills as a significant step toward stability but that even the likely winner says won't bring peace for years...

NEW YORK -- On May 23, 1903, one hundred years after Meriwether Lewis got his marching orders from President Thomas Jefferson, another historic American journey began -- the first coast-to-coast automobile trip. Now, another hundred years later, master filmmaker Ken Burns and writer David Duncan have brought the little-known adventure of Horatio Nelson Jackson to life. "Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip" premieres at 8 p.m. Monday on PBS...

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. -- Mildred Robbins Leet is an unusual philanthropist. She's not wealthy. And for 25 years, she's given away just $50 at a time. But her "micro grants" have helped transform tens of thousands of lives around the globe. They buy fishing rods or frying pans, a farm animal, a sewing machine or a barrel of seeds, enabling "the poorest of the poor" to launch their own businesses...

MINNEAPOLIS -- The cameras opened on a shaved head and panned around. Then, dressed in a black suit and Jimi Hendrix T-shirt, Jesse Ventura struck into a monologue in his unmistakable baritone. "This is 'Jesse Ventura's America,' where you're going to hear a lot of things that are going to make you think. You may not always want to hear it, but you will get honesty," he said...

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- As the last school year wound down, Fran Tankovich dreaded the thought that she would no longer be teaching her high school art students, who ranged from natural talents to diamonds in the rough. At 60, she faced mandatory retirement because she had signed up for a deferred retirement program five years ago. At the time she enrolled, it meant more than $100,000 in extra pension money, an offer she called "too good to refuse."...

NEW ORLEANS -- An Indian immigrant's son running as a conservative Republican finished first in an open primary for Louisiana governor Saturday, leaving three veteran Democratic politicians scrambling for the second spot in a runoff. With 47 percent of the precincts reporting, Bobby Jindal had 35 percent, or 231,901 votes. ...

NEW YORK -- In a ceremony somber and celebratory, the remains of 419 colonial-era blacks were reburied Saturday at a Manhattan site a short distance from a former slave market. "Now we've come to the time when mother earth receives again the remains of our departed ancestors," the Rev. James Forbes Jr. said as some in the crowd hugged and wept on the gray, rainy day...

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Federal health officials said this year's West Nile season has revealed weaknesses in a test used to screen the nation's blood supply for the disease, and that the illness has caused nearly two dozen cases of paralysis among previously healthy adults...

Fixing up your house is like camping out with a hurricane. You just hope you can ride out the storm and that one day your house will really look like that Better-Homes-and-Gardens image that pops up daily in your thoughts. Joni and I have embarked on a plan to upgrade our house...

It was far from a masterpiece with three turnovers, seven penalties and having to settle for short field goals twice after taking the ball inside the 1-yard line. But Southeast Missouri State University's football Indians couldn't have cared less how their performance Saturday rated artistically...

We'll miss him I SAW where Jeff Brightwell was leaving. We will miss Jeff calling the Central soccer games. I am really appreciative of Jeff for serving the local sports scene beyond football and basketball. Good luck in Memphis, Jeff. It's Rush with the ball...

Rush's comments shouldn't have surprisedESPN To the editor: If Rush Limbaugh didn't know exactly what he was doing (igniting controversy) he's not as smart as I think he is. Surely he expected the media firestorm his comments about Donovan McNabb created; if not, he should have...

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian There were finally plenty of hugs and smiles all across Southeast Missouri State University's sideline at the end of a football game. For the first time this season, the Indians were able to bask in the glow of victory, courtesy of Saturday's 30-17 homecoming triumph over Eastern Illinois in front of an announced crowd of 8,600 at Houck Stadium...

With Southeast Missouri State University's offense having to settle for short field goals in the first half, it took a defensive play to finally get the Indians into the end zone. And that touchdown early in the second half against Eastern Illinois Saturday was part of a stout Southeast defensive effort that helped pave the way for the Indians' first win of the season, a 30-17 triumph that broke a three-year losing streak to the Panthers...

Bulldogs occupied four of the top seven spots Saturday as Notre Dame's boys won their own Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational. Senior Sam Montgomery led the Bulldog finishers by placing third with a time of 17:06.6 on the 3.1-mile layout at Notre Dame Regional High School...

Florida wins game, series on dramatic play at the plate. By Steven Wine ~ The Associated Press MIAMI -- Ivan Rodriguez caught the throw from left field on one hop, stepped in front of the plate and braced for a collision...

Chipper Jones belts pair of two-run home runs against Cubs. By Nancy Armour ~ The Associated Press CHICAGO -- Turns out Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves still had some big hits left. And Sammy Sosa didn't have quite enough...

New York takes 2-1 series lead with 3-1 victory. By Dave Campbell ~ The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS -- Warming up in the bullpen, Roger Clemens heard the taunts from Twins fans: This was it for the Rocket. "You just want to try and be defiant," Clemens said. "You just don't want that to be the case."...

The Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- David Legwand and Andreas Johansson each had a goal and an assist to lead the Nashville Predators over the St. Louis Blues 5-1 Saturday night in preseason action. Legwand opened the scoring at 5:07 of the first period with a one-timer from the right circle. Jordin Tootoo scored on the power play at 9:34 when he put back a rebound from in front of the goal over a sprawling Osgood...

Trot Nixon kept Boston alive with two-run homer as Red Sox win 3-1. By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press BOSTON -- The Red Sox may have found an opponent more unlucky in the playoffs than they are. Pinch-hitter Trot Nixon hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and the Red Sox took advantage of Oakland's disastrous fielding and baserunning to beat the Athletics 3-1 Saturday night and avoid elimination in their best-of-five postseason series...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's Central Bank introduced the country's new currency on Saturday, eliminating Saddam Hussein from yet another aspect of life. Months after his fall, Saddam is still a pervasive presence in Iraq, if only because his picture is on every banknote. Not so with the new Iraqi dinars, which will go into circulation Oct. 15...

LAS VEGAS -- Roy Horn, one half of the illusionist team of Siegfried & Roy, was hospitalized in critical condition Saturday, a day after one of his tigers mauled him during their nightly show, biting him in the neck and dragging him off stage. Horn remained in critical condition Saturday night at University Medical Center after suffering a serious injury to the left side of his neck and undergoing surgery late Friday...

Patriotism, the theme of Saturday's homecoming parade for Southeast Missouri State University, showed up in red, white and blue mums on floats, some historical costumes and even Old Glory draped over a cross. Seasonal temperatures put most parade-goers, clad in sweatshirts and jeans, on the sunny side of Broadway. The parade, which started at 9 a.m., wound its way from Capaha Park down Broadway and then south on Main Street...

WESTON, Fla. -- Almost anywhere else, the ambulance crew would have gathered up Buddy LaRosa in mid-heart attack and roared off to the closest emergency room. They arrived that hot summer afternoon to find a classic cardiac emergency, the kind suffered by more than 1 million Americans a year. LaRosa had just climbed out of his pool from swimming laps, and he had an awful pain in his chest. His left arm was numb...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Elma Chandler Smith, 81, of Ullin, Ill., died Saturday, Oct. 4, 2003, at City Care Center in Anna. She was born Jan. 16, 1922, in Wheeling, W. Va., daughter of Daniel and Creasie Amos Starcher. She married Oscar Chandler, who preceded her in death on Nov. 25, 1975. She later married Herbert Smith, who preceded her in death in Jan. 1989...

Bad dresser I SAW the rendition of what's supposed to be Lorimier on the new mural panel, but I'm sorry, they have him dressed wrong. It's doubtful he wore buckskins decorated as a Plains Indian would have decorated such clothing. I do believe that he would have dressed more in breaches, shirts and waistcoats. ...

The applause that exploded from those gathered at the annual Industry Appreciation Dinner last week showed how excited this community is about a local business success story. It had just been announced that Auto Tire and Parts won the Commitment to Excellence Award, and company president Greg Stroup strode to the stage to accept it...

The Missouri Supreme Court's failure to hear the case on lawyers' fees in the state's settlement with Big Tobacco wasn't only disappointing, it may have lost the court its chance to set important precedents regarding who should be given the responsibility in matters of state government...

Former Southeast Missouri State University students Josh Barsch and John Pozzoli are heading a Phoenix-based company that is cashing in on a relatively new and innovative kind of marketing strategy -- it's called "online keyword advertising" and it's expected to be a $7 billion industry by 2007...

Hunched with his troops in a dusty, wind-swept courtyard, the squad leader signals the soldiers to line up against a wall. Clasping automatic weapons, they inch single-file toward a sandy road lined with swaying palm trees. The squad leader orders a point man to peer around the corner, his quick glance revealing several foes lying in wait behind a smoldering car. A few hand signals, a quick flash of gunfire, and it's over...

SAN JOSE, Calif. Just as Prohibition drove drinkers underground in the roaring '20s, the music industry's crackdown is pushing many song swappers away from the open Internet and into what amount to cyberspace speakeasies. These high-tech Cotton Clubs usually require users to be trusted or at least know someone inside. The files being traded, instead of out in the open, are encrypted -- the 21st century equivalent of hiding bathtub gin under a fake floorboard...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Oct. 6 Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday: At 12:28 a.m., a request for medical assistance at 2533 Greenway. At 2:22 a.m., a request for medical assistance at 3916 Hopper Road. At 2:28 a.m., an alarm sounding at 280 S. Mount Auburn...

Cape Girardeau Monday, Oct. 5 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Judy K. Gaines, 42, 808 S. Sprigg, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of stealing from Wal-Mart, 3439 William...

Monday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. City Hall, 401 Independence Study session at 5 p.m. Public hearings Request of St. Francis Medical Center for a special use permit to place a temporary mobile office at 150 S. Mount Auburn Rd. for pre-sale memberships to its new Health and Wellness Center...

Donations sought for victim of rare cancer Cape Girardeau resident Paul Morard, suffering from a rare form of tongue and neck cancer, must soon travel to Seattle, Wash., for a new kind of neutron radiation treatment. Morard, on a limited income due to his disability, must stay near Seattle University Hospital, the only hospital in the United States to offer this treatment, for four to six weeks. Transportation and lodging are costly...

Western High Point Trophy won by Seve Maintz of Oak Ridge. Gaited High Point Trophy tied by Jeff Heuer, Jackson and Debbie Birk, Gordonville. Open Pony Halter1st place Black Beauty owned by Olivia East, Oak Ridge...

The family reunion of the descendants of Sophia and Wentzel Nitsch was held at Jackson City Park recently. Guests in attendance included Mitzie and Bill Abbott and Mary and Weldon Valleroy from Perryville, Mo.; Donna and Erin Stovall and friend, Kalab from Jefferson City, Mo.; Bill and Pauline and William, Kristi and Luke Nitsch from Sedgewickville, Mo.; Daisy Koch, Scott Koch; Robert and Delores Koch and Jewell Moore from Cape Girardeau; Randy, Jennifer, Ashton and Lindsay Elfrink from Scott City, Mo.; Bob and Gladys Nitsch; Elda and Kenny Siebert; Edwin Jr. ...

WASHINGTON -- The former diplomat whose wife's identity as a CIA officer was disclosed by the Bush administration said Sunday that the leak has put her life in danger, and the government is not protecting her. "There have been a number of other people who've come out and suggested that perhaps this does make her a target," Joseph Wilson said...

WASHINGTON -- After years of using a dry, mathematical formula to predict rollover risk, the government is adding a wheel-squealing road test intended to give consumers more information about a vehicle's handling capabilities. Automakers say the road test will reward the best-handling vehicles in each class by highlighting performance measures the formula could not assess. ...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A Roman Catholic priest who was caught in a Kansas City area prostitution sting apologized to parishioners at the first service he presided over since being reinstated as pastor of a St. Joseph church. "I am guilty of causing this scandal, which I brought upon the church," the Rev. Vincent Rogers said during Mass on Saturday at St. James Catholic Church. "There is no one to blame but me -- regardless of my intentions. I was there. I placed myself near provocation of sin."...

ST. LOUIS -- Faced with planning an expensive wedding on short notice, Troy Kloha and Geneen Pazur were worried if they could say "I do" without going broke. Expecting to pay about $20,000 for the large but not extravagant celebration, the couple did what many businesses would do -- they found sponsors...

ST. LOUIS -- A consultants group hired to help run St. Louis Public Schools is seeking $420,000 more than it initially told the school board it would need, citing a workload larger than it expected. McConnell, Jones, Lanier & Murphy, based in Houston, told the St. Louis School Board in June it would charge the district $500,000. Now, the company is seeking $920,000 for six months of work, plus $138,000 in expenses, which were not capped in the contract...

PITHAVE, Afghanistan -- A Soviet bullet entered his skull behind the left ear and exited via the nearest eye socket, leaving nothing but lid. Two decades later, a permanently winking Maj. Mulla Naimatullah beams with pride when his commanding general tells this story...

SANCHEZ MAGALLANES, Mexico -- Tropical Storm Larry hit the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, forcing hundreds of people to flee to shelters, while a second storm strengthened to a hurricane and threatened Mexico's Pacific coast. Mexico has been bracing for three storms along its coasts this weekend...

UNITED NATIONS -- About a sixth of the world's population live in slums, and that number could double by 2030 if developed nations don't begin giving the issue serious attention, according to a United Nations report. The U.N. Human Settlements Program's report is the first ever to assess how widespread slums are. Its main finding is stark: Almost half the world's urban population lives in slums...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Nine months after being swept into office by Kenyans desperate to reverse decades of misrule, President Mwai Kibaki is coming to Washington facing a challenge at least as great as those that bedevil him at home. His task is to persuade the White House that he is serious about tackling the terrorism that has struck his country twice in the past five years...

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- One pro-democracy leader is dead, several others have been disgraced by scandals, and the rest are locked in a bitter power struggle. Three years after the dramatic ouster of Slobodan Milosevic -- the anniversary was Sunday -- Serbia's grim picture includes nationalists trying to mount a comeback, a shaky economy, widespread strikes, two failed presidential elections and ordinary people wondering if their republic will ever get on the right track...

VATICAN CITY -- Days after some cardinals gave dire descriptions of his health, Pope John Paul II led a long and lively ceremony Sunday to give the Church three new saints, capping the appearance with a spin in a "popemobile" around St. Peter's Square to wave to tens of thousands of cheering well-wishers...

JERUSALEM -- Israel's surprising strike at an alleged Islamic Jihad base in Syria -- in response to a suicide bombing by the group -- threatens to widen the conflict with the Palestinians and draw in an old enemy, whose frontier with Israel has been quiet for 30 years...

YAOUNDE, Cameroon -- The first tanker set off from a Cameroon port with crude from a massive $3.7 billion pipeline, officials said Sunday, launching an ambitious World Bank project aimed at developing West African oil as an alternative to Mideast supplies...

UNITED NATIONS -- Syria urged the U.N. Security Council to condemn an Israeli airstrike on a purported terrorist camp near Damascus on Sunday, while Israel defended the attack and accused its neighbor of harboring terrorists. Syria's United Nations ambassador, Fayssal Mekdad, said the strike was blatant military aggression, telling an emergency meeting of the 15-member council that "Arabs and many people across the globe feel that Israel is above the law."...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The plight of many Afghan women has barely improved in the two years since the ouster of the Taliban regime, with forced marriages, rapes and domestic violence still occurring frequently, Amnesty International said. In a report to be released today, the London-based human rights group accused the international community of failing to do enough in this wartorn country, where most women are still cloistered at home and wear body-shrouding burkas in public...

Television networks are sending their big guns to California for Tuesday's recall vote, eager to tap into the political circus that could make Arnold Schwarzenegger the state's next governor. Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather will be heading West, and cable news networks CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC have put special election-night plans in place to cover a race that has shoved other political news to the side...

The Russell family likes comfort: their three-bedroom, three-bathroom suburban home in Birmingham, Ala.; a packed refrigerator with an automatic ice machine; central air conditioning, and, when mom doesn't feel like cooking, fast food restaurants. So why would they trade all these middle-class amenities for a sweltering mud hut in Lungu, Ghana, with no electricity, no plumbing, and no golden arches for thousands of miles?...

CHICAGO -- Striking garbage workers have overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer from Chicago-area private waste haulers, union officials announced Sunday. Some 3,300 Teamsters who handle garbage for private waste haulers in the suburbs and in Chicago's high-rise dwellings have been on strike since Wednesday...

SALT LAKE CITY -- The president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday told members of the faith that they must "hold back the world" by resisting the everyday evil embodied in popular entertainment and the Internet...

NEW ORLEANS -- The conservative Republican son of Indian immigrants and the Cajun woman who is his opponent in the race for Louisiana governor thanked voters Sunday for upending decades of Southern custom. Bobby Jindal, a political neophyte, easily topped a field of veteran politicians Saturday, advancing to a Nov. 15 runoff for the state's highest office in a commanding position...

AUSTIN, Texas -- The role of Texas in Democratic presidential politics could be damaged by bitter Republican infighting over congressional redistricting. As the clock ticked Sunday without a deal on redistricting, a delay in the March 2 Texas primary became increasingly likely...

PHOENIX -- He sat behind the glass partition in the county jail, his years on the run finished. Craig Pritchert leaned forward in his black-and-white striped uniform and rubbed his eyes. They were weary and damp with tears, the eyes of a man who could see the end...

BRADFORD, Ark. -- The mayor, police chief and school librarian are all leaving for military duty Monday that is expected to take them to Iraq, and the residents left behind in this tiny town of 800 are scrambling to fill their roles. At the local cafe and in school hallways, the callup and what to do about the loss of city leaders is the talk of the town. ...

LOS ANGELES -- Sitting aboard a plane as he flew between four cities to try to save his job, Gov. Gray Davis closed his eyes and reflected on why he may be out of a job Tuesday. "People are not interested in my problems -- my job is to solve their problems," Davis said Saturday, betraying a hint of fatigue. "If they give me the opportunity to complete my term, I'm going to work my tail off to leave this state better off than I found it."...

DES MOINES, Iowa -- For all his high-wattage candidacy, Wesley Clark lags far behind his Democratic presidential rivals in the months of organizing and hours of handshaking that it takes to win the Iowa caucuses. The state's Jan. 19 caucuses, the first test for Democrats in the hunt for the nomination, present a formidable challenge for any candidate, let alone a political neophyte such as Clark who entered the race only last month...

Tiger and alligator found in Manhattan apartment NEW YORK -- A tiger and an alligator found in a Manhattan apartment were sent to an Ohio wildlife preserve Sunday while their owner recovered from bite wounds inflicted by the more than 400-pound cat...

LOS ANGELES -- A rock 'n' roll animal has displaced The Rock as box-office champion. "The School of Rock," with Jack Black as a rocker posing as a substitute teacher to coach fifth graders for a battle-of-the-bands contest, earned top grades from audiences with a $20.2 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday...

Getting the 'West Wing' Lowe-down from Rob RADNOR, Pa. -- Rob Lowe says he quit "The West Wing" because he felt slighted by the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin, over the size of his role and the money he was making. Lowe was irked when his part as a White House staffer was cut back and he continued to take home $70,000 an episode, while co-star Martin Sheen, playing the president, got a raise to $300,000 a show...

A retired Cape Girardeau banker is proposing a $1 million RV and camping park on North Kingshighway that would feature 100 pull-through spots, five log cabins, a swimming pool, miniature golf and an outdoor pavilion. Stan Thompson and his wife, Kay, along with business partners Ronnie and Pam Wesbecher, are applying for a special-use permit from the city to build Cape Camping and RV Park on 15 acres of land that used to house Southeast Discount Golf...

Cape Girardeau police Capt. Carl Kinnison is now among the nation's most highly trained police officers. He spent the summer with nearly 250 officers from across the nation and 25 foreign countries, taking a semester's worth of college-level courses at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Hundreds of men claiming to be former Iraqi soldiers converged at a U.S. base in central Baghdad and in the southern city of Basra on Sunday, demanding financial assistance in a second day of violent protests. The unrest reflected growing tension over the high unemployment rate in Iraq after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's military, formerly a major employer...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As the number of women claiming they were groped by Arnold Schwarzenegger grew to 15 Sunday, the actor headed for a campaign march in Sacramento, while Gov. Gray Davis signed a law making California the largest state to require employer-paid health care...

The idea of Kobe Bryant playing for the Los Angeles Lakers this season is getting dumber by the minute. He's coming to training camp, then he's not, then he is, showing up for Saturday's practice after missing the first full-squad drills. His teammates want him, but only if he's committed to them. Some days he'll be on court, some days in court...

Cute. Real cute. I hope you're all satisfied. Did you make all of those Cubs fans proud? I'm usually a quiet baby, and I try to keep to myself way up here on top of my lonely billboard on one of Cape Girardeau's busiest streets, but now I'm on the verge of tears. I won't take it anymore...

Southeast volleyball team falls to visiting Memphis Memphis won its 14th consecutive game Sunday by beating Southeast 30-28, 30-26, 25-30, 30-27. Suzanne Gundlach had 13 kills and 12 digs for Southeast (3-14). Sarah Frost added 10 kills, and Emily Scannell had 42 assists and 14 digs. The Otahkians finished with 16 blocks...

AUSTIN, Texas -- The chest thumping lasted less than 24 hours. By Sunday, the Texas Longhorns had to forget about their 24-20 win over Kansas State and start thinking about facing No. 1 Oklahoma next Saturday in Dallas. The tough victory behind inspirational freshman quarterback Vince Young will be just a footnote in another season of "what ifs?" should No. 11 Texas (4-1, 1-0 Big 12) drop a fourth consecutive game to the Sooners...

Since 1987, the nonprofit Southeast Missouri Music Academy has been instructing thousands of area people, especially children, in the art of classical musicianship. Sunday at St. Vincent's Church, the academy got a chance to show the community the results of its work with the seventh annual Standing Ovation concert...

Those packing concealed weapons won't be able to do so legally in Cape Girardeau's city hall or any other city-owned or operated buildings under a proposal that the council will vote on tonight. The city council is scheduled to vote Monday night on the first reading of an ordinance that would place city buildings off limits to those carrying concealed weapons. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at city hall...

As an investigator, deputy sheriff and sheriff in Southern Illinois for 16 years, Harry Spiller worked many difficult murder cases. Perhaps the most trying was the killing of a man whose skeletal remains were found four months after he was reported missing...

WASHINGTON -- Malcolm Buckey would be 97 years old when the 30-year mortgage on his dream home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is paid up. Walter Molony of Annandale, Va., would be 84 when the last payment comes due on his 30-year loan. For many middle-age homeowners, taking advantage of low mortgage rates will have an unintended consequence: As retirees living on reduced incomes, they will still have mortgages to contend with...

WASHINGTON -- Weapons hunters in Iraq are following leads that point to the presence of anthrax and Scud missiles still hidden in the country, the chief searcher said Sunday. David Kay told Congress last week that his survey team had not found nuclear, biological or chemical weapons so far. But he argued against drawing conclusions, saying he expects to provide a full picture on Iraq's weapons programs in six months to nine months...

ATLANTA -- Ninety-five years of frustration. Ninety-five years of ridicule. Put it all to rest. The Chicago Cubs are postseason winners. Kerry Wood pitched another dominating game and Aramis Ramirez began the celebration with a mammoth home run, pushing the Cubs past Atlanta 5-1 Sunday night for their first postseason victory since the 1908 World Series...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Ryan Newman's latest Winston Cup victory has opponents wondering how the No. 12 Dodge can go so far on a tank of gas. Those opponents who were talking, that is, after Newman's display of fuel conservation at Kansas Speedway on Sunday...

MINNEAPOLIS -- The New York Yankees sure got back to their postseason best in a hurry. The Yankees hit four doubles in a six-run fourth inning Sunday, giving David Wells a big lead and breezing into the AL championship series with an 8-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- There will be no World Cup repeat for the American women, no triumph before a raucous home crowd. Spectacular goalkeeping by Silke Rottenberg, a brilliantly executed corner kick and two late goals gave Germany a 3-0 semifinal victory over the defending World Cup champion United States on Sunday...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- From Kansas City's point of view, the best thing about a 5-0 start is the fact the Chiefs still have not had a great game from their quarterback. Trent Green threw two touchdown passes in Sunday's 24-23 victory over Denver, a game that will be remembered only for Dante Hall's go-ahead touchdown on a 93-yard punt return...

Arizona running back Emmitt Smith hardly had a chance to play against his former Dallas Cowboys teammates Sunday. The NFL's career rushing leader left early in the second quarter with a sprained left shoulder and finished with the least productive game of his career. X-rays were negative, but he did not return after halftime...

AP Sports WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- ESPN's NFL pregame show returned Sunday with an apology -- and without Rush Limbaugh -- a week after the commentator's race-tinged comments about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Panelists Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Steve Young and Michael Irvin took criticism from the media, as well as McNabb, for not responding when Limbaugh suggested on the Sept. ...

The Central Marching Tigers won first place at the Washington Marching Competition Oct. 4, in the high school band's third contest of the year. The band also won best percussion and best color guard out of seven bands in their division. The band, under the direction of Neil Casey with assistant directors Billy Keys and Josh LaMar, travels to five competitions each year in addition to performing parades and home football games. ...

Sides Daughter to Brooks Joseph Sides and Maranda Helene Meyer of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 1:57 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003. Name, Britain Jayla. Weight, 7 pounds 5 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Ms. Meyer is the daughter of Ken Boyd and Madonna Boyd of Las Cruces, N.M. Sides is the son of Sylvia Sides of Cape Girardeau...

Nelson Patrick, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 6, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- William Arnold Jackson Sr., 83, of Sikeston died Saturday, Oct. 4, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Jan. 31, 1920, in Paducah, Ky., son of Ewen Owen and Edith Mitchell Jackson. Jackson was a welder with Pipefitters Local 203 in Denver, Colo., 45 years, retiring in 1982...

Georgia Dorothy Conner, 87, of Jackson died Sunday, Oct. 5, 2003, at Potosi Manor Nursing Home. She was born Aug. 22, 1916, in Chester, Ill., daughter of George and Dora Ebers Hoffman. She and Patrick Conner were married May 14, 1940. He died Sept. 22, 1994...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Nelbert H. Geringer, 86, of Perryville died Monday, Oct. 6, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 31, 1917, at Biehle, Mo., son of August and Mary Werth Geringer. He and Alma B. Wingerter were married May 17, 1945. She died Nov. 5, 2002...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Olga Ruth "Babe" Casper, 88, of Mesquite, Texas, died Monday, Oct. 6, 2003, at Lake Point Hospital in Rowlett, Texas. She was born Feb. 16, 1915, in Mounds, daughter of Clyde and Flossie Chance Titus. She married Wesley Casper, who preceded her in death in 1964...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jesse D. "Pete" Castleberry, 92, of Sikeston died Sunday, Oct. 5, 2003, at Miner Nursing Center in Miner, Mo. He was born Feb. 7, 1911, in Pangburn, Ark., son of Clayton Carroll and Viola King Castleberry. He and Letha Geraldine Andres were married Oct. 11, 1930, in Sikeston. She died Jan. 20, 1989...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Lois Lavern Horn, 73, of Sikeston died Saturday, Oct. 4, 2003, at Clearview Nursing Center. She was born July 6, 1930, in Risco, Mo., daughter of Benjamin and Linda Mae Blevins Sanders. She and Wesley A.D. Horn were married in 1947. He died in May 1986...

Thelma Juanita Chron Kies, 82, passed away Sunday, Oct. 5, 2003, at the Lutheran Home, where she had resided for several years. She was born Sept. 2, 1921, in Charleston, Mo., daughter of William and Dessie Sitzes Chron. She was married to William J. Kies Jr. Dec. 11, 1942. To them were born two sons, Joseph and Jim. They made their home in Cape Girardeau...

Ethel V. Goines, 86, of Jonesboro, Ill., formerly of Dongola, Ill., died Monday, Oct. 6, 2003, at Jonesboro Health Care Center. She was born Jan. 9, 1917, the daughter of Robie and Minnie Ramage Dunn. She married A.C. Goines and he preceded her in death on March 27, 1967...

James Frederick "Fred" Rich, 81, of Cobden died at 2 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6, 2003, at his home. He was born May 1, 1922, in Cobden, son of Lyman and Rose Kendall Rich. He and Louise Tripp were married Aug. 24, 1942, in Cape Girar-deau. Rich is survived by his wife; four children, Kay and husband Lloyd Kimmich-Choate of Cape Girardeau, Judy and husband Ron Casper of Cobden, Leta Rose and husband Blayne Smith of Cobden, Becky and husband John Oakley of Draffenville, Ky. ...

LET ME say I have no racial bias. I think all people are created equal and should have equal rights. But the recent fury about Rush Limbaugh's comments is absolutely ridiculous. He is not the first sports announcer or public figure who has gotten into some kind of trouble for making a comment about a black person. ...

To the editor: Years ago, when I was growing up during World War II, my mother gave blood to the Red Cross almost every time the doors were open. She had cards attesting to gallons donated. When I was older, I started giving blood whenever I could and my active work permitted. I too made the gallon club-plus until I could give no more for health reasons...

To the editor: "Cozy cottage -- Charming house is full of delightful surprises" by Tammy Raddle Sept. 7 describes the house at 1451 Pemiscot as "most likely built in the 1940s." It was built in 1936, the year my grandparents, Lonnie Wilson Temple and Irene Bradley Temple, purchased it, and where they lived for the rest of their lives...

To the editor: I'm glad to hear you guys are discussing concealed weapons with calm and common sense. My wife is a native of St. Louis, and I resided there for seven years. We are both NRA pistol and home safety instructors. Florida was the first state to pass concealed-carry in 1987. ...

Lindsay Reinagel overcame two walks and three errors to pick up her 12th win as Notre Dame won 4-3 against St. Louis NotreDame on Monday. Reinagel pitched a complete-game seven-hitter. Whitney Ostendorf's two-run home run gave the Bulldogs (16-3) an early 2-1 lead, and two runs in the third sealed the win...

Southeast Missouri residents don't have to go to St. Louis to see top acts anymore. Several performers who have No. 1 hits on the charts are coming here to perform at the Show Me Center. Matchbox Twenty, a rock 'n' roll band that has had several top hits, is headlining a concert Dec. 7 at the Show Me Center. Currently, it has five songs that are in the rotation at a local radio station. Even the band's opening act, Fountains of Wayne, has a song on the charts right now...

For many years, when people talked about the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge that would span the Mississippi River, it was prefaced with the word "someday." Now look at it, nearly finished and ready to be used on an everyday basis. The same wistful tone has often been used in Jackson when people talked about the interchange that would connect Interstate 55 with an extended East Main Street...

Conner gets scholarship to Murray State University Stephanie Conner, a 2003 graduate of Central High School, has been awarded a recognition scholarship to Murray State University in Kentucky. She is the daughter of Ross and Marlena Conner of Cape Girardeau and is majoring in nursing...

And now, the winner in the "Worst Name for a Videogame" category -- Capcom, for "P.N. 03." "P.N. 03" stands for Product Number 03, presumably our heroine, the svelte, sunglasses-wearing mercenary Vanessa Schneider. She's sent to some unnamed planet, where a computerized weapons system has snapped and turned the world into a battle zone...

hen Josalynn Smith and Sable Van Meter showed up for their first chess club meeting, neither knew how to play the game. But 45 minutes later, the 7-year-old pair of second-graders were learning how to solve chess problems, move pieces across the board and understand the basics of the game...

I've noticed a couple of Speak Out items in the paper that deal with overweight kids these days. Can you really blame us, though? I mean is there anything greater out there than fast food? You order into a little box, drive around, pay and get your food. Now wouldn't you say that's convenient? Unfortunately, fast food shows its evil side in most college students...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Oct. 7 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest Scott E. Peetz, 44, of 3655 State Highway F, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Monday on a Scott City warrant for failure to appear...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Oct. 7 Firefighters responded Sunday to the following items: At 8:48 p.m., medical assist at 1330 Broadway. At 8:49 p.m., fire alarm at 701 Broadway. Firefighters responded Monday to the following items: At 8:03 a.m., electrical short at 843 N. Main...

WASHINGTON -- Bob Graham, a political veteran whose low-key style failed to gain traction in the crowded Democratic presidential race, said Monday night he was ending his campaign. "I'm leaving because I have made the judgment that I can not be elected president of the United States," Graham said in announcing his exit from the race on CNN's "Larry King Live."...

Public hearings Heard request of St. Francis Medical Center for a special use permit to place a temporary mobile office at 150 S. Mount Auburn Road for pre-sale memberships to its new Health and Wellness Center. Heard request of Robert Cox for a special use permit to construct an addition to his home at 825 Independence St. in a C-1, local commercial district...

WASHINGTON -- Pharmacist Stephen Setter regularly asks families of Alzheimer's sufferers what drug they use to help the often-agitated patients sleep better. Tylenol PM, many respond -- not knowing, Setter says, that it contains an ingredient that can further confuse someone with dementia...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush declined to criticize Israel Monday for its air strike deep inside Syria, saying Israel "has got a right to defend herself." But Bush also said he had cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to try to avoid escalating tensions in the region...

WASHINGTON -- While President Clinton was trying to broker an elusive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the FBI was secretly funneling money to suspected Hamas figures to see if the militant group would use it for terrorist attacks, according to interviews and court documents...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- It has a "Hey, let's put on a show" ring. A youth group in Kansas City, Kan., is reopening a multiplex movie theater at the Indian Springs shopping center. But there's nothing amateur about the plan: Members of the Ravens Youth Organization, with help, will screen first-run movies, put on professional smiles and offer a clean, comfortable movie experience so lacking in the central city...

ST. LOUIS -- Gov. Bob Holden said Monday he will draft emergency rules to ban concealed weapons in all state-owned or operated buildings to ensure the safety of state employees and the public. Holden, speaking at a news conference in St. Louis, said guns have no place on state property...

WASHINGTON -- Protesters seeking the return of a Ten Commandments monument to an Alabama courthouse concluded their East Coast caravan Monday on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, where a mural of the tablets is displayed inside. Several hundred people knelt during a musical rendition of the Lord's Prayer as organizers combined religious meditation with a call for legislative and judicial action...

ATLANTA -- Friends and family of the Atlanta minister fatally shot at his church say they hold no bitterness for the woman who opened fire shortly before Sunday service, killing him and her mother before committing suicide. Church members said Shelia W. ...

STANWELL PARK, Australia -- Nathan Johnston says he surfs just for fun. Friends and family see it as an act of extraordinary courage and perseverance over adversity. Shrugging off the fact that he is blind, the 18-year-old dismisses the idea he's showing any special courage in learning to ride the waves at Stanwell Park, a picturesque town 12 miles south of Sydney...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- An Italian aid worker who dedicated 33 years of her life to helping Somalis was shot and killed outside the hospital she founded to treat tuberculosis patients, a Somali official said Monday. Annalena Tonelli, 60, was shot about 8 p.m. Sunday by a man who had been hiding in the shadow of a tree, waiting for her to emerge from the hospital in Borama, the official said...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S.-led coalition forces killed a Taliban commander and 19 other militants in fighting in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Monday. Mullah Abdul Razzaq Hafees, one of several Taliban commanders in the country's south, was killed about 10 days ago in Dai Chupan district, about 60 miles north of Kandahar, said Khan Mohammed, the city's military commander...

GROZNY, Russia -- The Kremlin's hand-picked man to lead Chechnya was declared the winner Monday in the region's presidential vote, a widely expected outcome praised by President Vladimir Putin as a sign of hope to end the bloody insurgency here borne of nearly a decade of war...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- In a brazen daylight attack, gunmen assassinated a hardline Sunni Muslim politician and four other people Monday, spraying their car with automatic weapon-fire before fleeing. The motive was not immediately known, but the politician, Maulana Azam Tariq, had made many enemies as head of the outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba group, blamed for the killings of hundreds of minority Shiite Muslims...

BEIJING -- The launch could happen as early as this weekend from a remote base in the Gobi Desert. China's first manned space flight could carry one "taikonaut" -- or as many three. It could last from hours to several days. Other than that, the Chinese government isn't really saying...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to maintain his momentum amid sexual-misconduct allegations while Gov. Gray Davis pleaded to keep his job Monday as the California recall candidates barnstormed the state in the final hours of the historic campaign...

'Newlyweds' tale good for second season NEW YORK -- Television's guiltiest pleasure, "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica," is coming back for a second season. MTV announced Monday that it has renewed the reality series, which follows pop singers Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson as they muddle through married life...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- An American and a Briton won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for discoveries that led to MRI, the body-scanning technique that has revolutionized the detection of disease by painlessly revealing internal organs in exquisite 3-D detail...

YAZOO CITY, Miss. -- A fire roared through a single-story house early Monday, killing five of six young children who were left home alone while their mothers were out at a nightclub, authorities said. The two mothers were charged with manslaughter. The children ranged in age from 1 1/2 to 10, County Coroner Ricky Shivers said. A 9-year-old boy was rescued after trying to punch out a window to escape the flames...

The Scott City Fire Department is one of 19 Missouri emergency response crews to receive a helping hand from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. More than $1.1 million in federal dollars from the 2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program is destined for disbursement across the state in an effort to bolster emergency preparedness. Scott City was selected to receive $41,355...

A contingency of 110 area National Guardsmen will be participating in military war games at Fort Irwin, Calif., as part of its annual training, according to Capt. Kevin Compas of the 1140th Engineer Battalion's Bravo Company. The troops, mainly from Jackson and Perryville, will be traveling to the National Training Center, the only training facility in the world that is suitable for force-on-force and live fire training of heavy brigade-sized military forces. ...

A proposed convenience store will be built at Sprigg and Highway 74 despite opposition from some neighbors who said it would create traffic, crime and alcohol problems. The Cape Girardeau City Council voted 6-1 Monday night to approve plans by Clila LP to build a Bi-State Southern convenience store and gas station on the southeast corner of the intersection near the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. ...

They can be spotted in local stores around the start of every school year, pushing carts piled high with stickers, bookmarks and popsicle sticks. What they don't have are requisition forms from school districts. Each year, local teachers spend thousands of dollars out of their own pockets, stocking their classrooms with everyday supplies schools can't afford to buy for them...

Scott City is searching for a home for the Head School, a historic one-room schoolhouse donated to the city earlier this year. At Monday night's Scott City City Council meeting, Carolyn Pendergrass, chairwoman of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, said her preference is to place the 20-by-30-foot building on the city street that runs in front of the park. The Scott City Park Board has denied an application to locate the schoolhouse within Hawthorne Park...

Friday is the last day to reserve tickets for the Southeast Missouri Symphony Subscription Series. The orchestra will perform five concerts during the series. The cost of subscription tickets ranges from $27 to $54. The cost for students is $23...

The Jackson Board of Aldermen approved a motion Monday night to set the fall clean-up, fix-up week for Oct. 13 to 17. During this week, residents do not have to purchase trash bag stickers for more than three bags. Trash routes will run on their regularly scheduled days and all refuse must be placed at the curb by 8 a.m...

By Ed Williams Those involved in solving the financial plight at Southeast Missouri State University, which was described in the Oct. 1 Southeast Missourian, need to direct their attention toward hidden costs as well as the obvious direct costs...

The memories of special times long since past brought the crowd at Texas Stadium to its feet. On the Las Vegas Strip they cheered for the warrior they once knew. Emmitt Smith is a football player -- perhaps the best ever to play his position. Evander Holyfield might be one of the five greatest heavyweight fighters ever...

Huskies fill the role of sad sacks Things got so bad in the second half for Washington on Saturday, when UCLA outscored the Huskies 39-0 en route to a 46-16 rout, that Bruins defensive end Dave Ball recorded sacks on three consecutive plays. On the second one, Ball and his twin brother, Mat, arrived at quarterback Cody Pickett simultaneously, each getting credit for half a sack...

Southeast cross country teams finish 12th, 17th Southeast Missouri State University's women's cross country team was 12th and the men 17th in Sunday's Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in Chicago. Kaci Pilcher led the women's team in 27th among 560 starters. ...

TEMPE, Ariz. -- NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith has a broken left shoulder blade and will be sidelined indefinitely. The injury occurred early in the second quarter of Arizona's 24-7 loss to Dallas on Sunday in Smith's first game against the team he played his first 13 seasons with and helped lead to three Super Bowl victories...

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees were back home Monday, resting up for the AL championship series while their next opponent crisscrossed the country and scrambled to advance. The imposing rotation is all lined up, and the first two games of the ALCS will be played at intimidating Yankee Stadium...

CHICAGO -- On a gorgeous October Monday, Chicago Cubs fans gathered outside Wrigley Field to do a couple of things virtually unheard of in their lifetime. They took pictures of the message on the old park's marquee: "Cubs Win!" And they picked up tickets to the National League Championship Series -- the one featuring the Cubs, the franchise with a nearly unmatched record of futility...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The numbing semifinal loss to Germany ended the U.S. women's impressive World Cup run. There's still a game to play, but it's not the one they had hoped for. The defending champions will face Canada on Saturday in Carson, Calif., for third place. Germany and Sweden play in the title game on Sunday...

CHICAGO -- Count Jack McKeon among all those people who counted out the Chicago Cubs when it came to the postseason. Then again, the Florida manager hardly expected his team to make it, either. No matter. Barry Bonds is gone. So is Chipper Jones. Albert Pujols, Jim Thome and Jeff Bagwell never even got a chance to play...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A clip could have been called on Dante Hall's spectacular, record-breaking punt return against Denver, Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil agreed Monday. But whether Julian Battle hit his man on the back or on the shoulder as Hall scampered about and slipped a swarm of would-be tacklers depends on the angle the play is viewed from, Vermeil added...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez and even that maligned Boston bullpen -- they all were tougher than any curse. Martinez pitched seven gritty innings, and Ramirez broke his slump with a decisive three-run homer as the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game playoff comeback, beating the Oakland Athletics 4-3 Monday night in Game 5 of their AL division series...

The bottom where the railroad tracks cross County Road 204 in Scott County gets so foggy sometimes that Kay Glastetter used to turn off her radio and listen to hear if a train was coming...

Occasionally you hear talk about the monstrous plants in such-and-such a person's garden. Their soil, it seems, possesses mystical properties or is home to green-thumbed gnomes who labor by moonlight. It's true that some soils are naturally better than others, but anybody's back yard can be home to exuberant plants, no matter the soil...

Eastside Homemakers The Eastside Homemakers met Sept. 17 at Golden Gate Restaurant in Jackson. After lunch, a short business meeting was held. Each member brought a short article to share. Also, everyone brought food to donate to the food pantry. The next meeting will be at 11 a.m. Oct. 15 at Mazzio's Pizza. There will be an election of officers for the next two years...

Stevens Son to James Michael and Claudia Leia Stevens of Marble Hill, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 12:45 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, 2003. Name, Daniel Scott. Weight, 7 pounds 15 ounces. Mrs. Stevens is the former Claudia Simedru, daughter of Petra and Mariana Simedru of Portland, Ore. She is employed at Southeast Hospital. Stevens is the son of Don and Freida Stevens of Marble Hill. He is employed at Cape Girardeau Printing Co...

Ernestine Davis Lence, 83, of Anna, Ill., died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, at her home. She was born March 18, 1920, in Cobden, Ill., to the late Ernest Davis and Cecil Vespa Casper Davis. She married Albert "Barney" Lence Jan. 17, 1945, in Coronado, Calif. He preceded her in death Jan. 11, 2000...

Paul F. Jones, 95, of Cape Girardeau, and formerly of Alto Pass, Ill., died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are pending at Lutz & Rendleman Funeral Home in Alto Pass.

Henry Franklin Wolfe, 80, of Allenville died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, at Jefferson Barracks VA Medical Center in St. Louis. He was born Aug. 28, 1923, at Portageville, Mo., son of Charles Ernest and Mary Ann Ourth Wolfe. He and Wanda Jewell Bishop were married Feb. 20, 1946. She died Aug. 24, 2003...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Henry Mitchell "Beaver" Mathis, 38, of Sikeston died Sunday, Oct. 5, 2003. He was born July 31, 1965, in Turrell, Ark., son of Elbert Lee and Jodie Freeman Mathis. Survivors include two sons, Scotty and DeCoda Mathis of Lilbourn, Mo.; his mother and stepfather, Jodie and Bill Sprous of Sikeston; two brothers, John and Hollis Mathis of Sikeston...

MARSTON, Mo. -- Robert McKinney, 88, of Marston died Friday, Oct. 3, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Oct. 6, 1914, in Como, Miss. McKinney had lived in Missouri 43 years. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. Survivors include two daughters, Lora Thomas of Lilbourn, Mo., Carol Triblett of Sikeston; two stepdaughters, Delores Burton of St. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jacob Rance "J.R." James Jr., 85, of Sikeston died Monday, Oct. 6, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 24, 1918, at Kennett, Mo., son of Jacob Rance and Ella Mae Davis James Sr. He and Velma Ruth Hinton were married May 16, 1941, at Flat River, Mo...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Delmar H. Alcorn Sr., 82, of Sikeston died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Sept. 18, 1921, in Pyletown, Mo., son of Ellis K. and Wrista Fulkerson Alcorn. He and Helen Marie Wyman were married Dec. 30, 1939. She died Nov. 19, 1981...

Minnie Bush, 93, of Jackson died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Lois W. Hedrick, 85, of Leawood, Kan., formerly of Sikeston, died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, in Overland Park, Kan. She was born June 5, 1918, at her home in Ocean, Md., daughter of Thomas and Isabella Williams. She and Walter Hedrick were married Oct. 10, 1942...

Mary Louise Young, 82, of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was formerly of Dexter, Mo. Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home at Dexter is in charge of arrangements.

Nelson D. Patrick, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 6, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born April 8, 1923, in Cape Girardeau, son of William and Lorene Scherf Patrick. He and Geraldine "Jerry" Froemsdorf were married Nov. 15, 1941, in Cape Girardeau...

THE DOUBLE standard at SEMO reeks to high heaven. A well-known businessman can smoke a cigar in the stands at the football game, and a SEMO board member can also puff away. But when a SEMO coed lights up, security guards immediately douse the offender...

To the editor: I would like to propose a much-needed bill for the Missouri Legislators, and I would like to ask Gov. Bob Holden to support it and sign it when it reaches his desk. I would like to see a law passed that bans the burning of cornfield stubble...

To the editor: If for the last 300 years Christianity and the moral ideals it teaches have been the ultimate guide for our rule of law, then who is fighting to strip away the Christian basis of our constitutional government? If our rule of law for 227 years had its basis in the Ten Commandments, who broke the rule of law in Georgia?...

To the editor: I am very tired of hearing how great the economy was when Bill Clinton was president. It appears that money is the only thing that matters to the liberals. The economy was good, but Clinton was dragging the morals of our country through the mud. Our country was founded on "In God We Trust," not "In Bill Clinton We Trust. Where has American decency gone?...

Otahkian gymnastics gets assistant coach Former Oregon State All-American Lara Degenhardt has been hired as Southeast Missouri State University's assistant women's gymnastics coach. Degenhardt was a first-team All-American in 2001 and made the second team in 2000...

By Adam Hughes ~ The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- So far, Missouri quarterback Brad Smith is having a tough time finding a go-to receiver. Last year, Smith had Justin Gage. But since Gage graduated, no one has stepped forward to fill the void as the Tigers (4-1, 0-1 Big 12) host No. 10 Nebraska (5-0, 0-0) Saturday at Faurot Field...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Despite the controversy swirling around his program, Missouri coach Quin Snyder said he has no qualms about attending a National Association of Basketball Coaches summit on ethical concerns next week. In response to several scandals in the past six months, the NABC is requiring NCAA Division I men's head basketball coaches to attend a summit Oct. 15 in Chicago. The summit will focus on accountability and ethical conduct of all NCAA coaches...