Stories from Tuesday, November 4, 2003

CHICAGO -- Ozzie Guillen was certain he was the right person to be the new manager of the Chicago White Sox, regardless of what his resume did or didn't say. Two hours into his first interview, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams agreed. "The passion, the commitment, the energy, the game knowledge, the aggressive attitude," Williams said Monday in introducing Guillen as manager of the team where he spent 13 years of his 16-year career...

To the editor: The Knights of Columbus would like to take this opportunity to thank the Southeast Missourian for its part in making this year's Knights of Columbus Mental Retardation Drive a success. Public information is one of our best resources. By running our news releases each year in the Southeast Missourian, the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled benefit greatly...

To the editor: Thanks to Mike Wells for the article on our Cape Girardeau County Emergency Management Action Committee and plans for strategically placed disaster first-aid supplies. However, an extremely important piece of information we wanted to share with the public was left out, that being the cooperation between first-responding agencies in our county and how closely we work together...

Lanny Allen Walker, 64, of Jackson died Friday, Oct. 31, 2003, at his home. He was born Oct. 4, 1939, in Owensboro, Ky., son of Joseph Allen and Hazel Sanders Walker. He and Nancy Dorner were married Feb. 11, 1962. He was formerly of Livingston, Texas...

Dorothy Tod Cox, 78, passed away Friday, Oct. 31, 2003, at FJ Davey Nursing Home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. She was born Jan. 17, 1925, near Advance, Mo., daughter of Mayo and Naomi Tilley Strong. She and James C. Cox were married in 1942. He passed away March 18, 1996...

Lora Mae Lemonds Dean, 78, of Sacramento, Calif., died Monday, Oct. 27, 2003, at Kaiser South Hospital in Sacramento. She was born Sept. 25, 1925, in St. Louis, daughter of Chester A. and Addie Mae Watkins Lemonds. Mrs. Dean was a member of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Sacramento...

Olga Mungle, 86, of Jackson passed away Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Mrs. Mungle was born Oct. 3, 1917, in Oak Ridge, daughter of Arthur and Anna Ludwig Loos. She and Gilbert Mungle were married Sept. 17, 1938. He died Jan. 11, 1990...

Betty J. Drace, 75, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Sept. 15, 1928, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Les and Neldha Irene Sander Segraves. She and Dr. James A. Drace were married in 1948. He died April 28, 1975...

Terry Vernon Lynn II, 26, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Nov. 1, 2003, in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 26, 1977, at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, son of Terry Vernon Lynn and Theresa Gaye Harris Steagall. Terry attended high school in Conyers, Ga., where he excelled in baseball, pitching a no-hit complete game. Terry also pitched for the Conyers American Legion baseball team...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Juanita Faye Britt, 70, of East Prairie died Saturday, Nov. 1, 2003, at East Prairie Nursing Center. She was born May 8, 1933, near East Prairie, daughter of Harve and Cleo Lindsay Ivie. She and C.B. "Berl" Britt were married Dec. 20, 1947...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Novella Cornelison, 72, of Bernie died Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo. She was born March 31, 1931, in LaValle, Mo., daughter of Scott and Carrie Trammell Craft. She and Alva Elvis Cornelison were married Jan. 16, 1959, at Bernie. He died Aug. 1, 2001...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Elmo Westmoland, 86, of East Prairie, formerly of Sikeston, Mo., died Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, at East Prairie Nursing Center. Shelby Funeral Home in East Prairie is in charge of arrangements.

Becky Lu Glueck, 48, of Oran, Mo., died Monday, Nov. 3, 2003. She was born Aug. 10, 1955, in Franklin, Neb., the daughter of Ralph and Jacqueline Netz McAtee Sr. She married Marvin L. Glueck on Sept. 20, 1980. She was a secretary for Guardian Angel Catholic Church and for the Guardian Angel Catholic Credit Union in Oran...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Donna M. Ruessler, 55, of Perryville died Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, in Perryville. She was born Nov. 12, 1947, in St. Louis, daughter of Thomas Joseph and Bernice Virginia Behrens Hosty. Ruessler was a home health-care worker with Tri County Pyramid Group in Fredericktown, Mo. She was a member of Eagles Auxiliary in Perryville...

To the editor: I'm glad we have knowledgeable people to set the record straight when someone like Alan Journet mixes opinion with fact. However, those of us who have been reading Journet's essays over these many months are aware that he is a true academic. ...

Public hearings Held a public hearing regarding the request of Stan and Kay Thompson for a special-use permit to operate an RV and camping park at 1900 N. Kingshighway in a C-2, general commercial district. Held a public hearing regarding the request of Shiloh, L.L.C., for a special-use permit to convert an existing single-family dwelling into a boarding house at 226 N. Ellis, in a C-1 local commercial district...

Notre Dame set up a rematch of last year's Class 2, District 1 soccer final by defeating Sikeston 4-0 Monday at Notre Dame. Top-seeded Notre Dame will face No. 3 St. Pius in the final at 6 p.m. today at Notre Dame. St. Pius defeated No. 2 Hillsboro 1-0 in triple overtime...

Miami's first regular season loss in more than three years cleared a path for Southern California to get to the Sugar Bowl. USC was in second place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Monday, trailing only unanimous No. 1 Oklahoma. "I suspect that this ranking shows the respect people have for our program and the way we're playing," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. "We hope to continue to play like we have. If we do, good things will happen."...

Scott Lynn Bragg, 33, a resident of Patton, Mo., was sentenced Monday to three prison terms of seven years each to run consecutively, the result of his guilty plea last month to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault. It was the maximum for the charges, which is what Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, asked Circuit Judge William Syler to issue...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston police subdued a man they say tried to rob a convenience store but got nothing but a used wig. Investigators on Monday released the following account: Robert Peaks Jr. of St. Louis tried to rob the U-Pump-It around 1:45 p.m. Saturday, threatening the clerk with a knife. Peaks grabbed the clerk's hair -- which turned out to be a wig and came off in his hand -- and then tried to walk behind the counter...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A Springfield, Ill., man sustained moderate injuries Sunday night when his vehicle overturned on Interstate 55. James Ratliff, 64, was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau by helicopter after the 6:20 p.m. accident. It occurred 7 miles north of Perryville. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred when Ratliff lost control of the northbound vehicle and it ran off the left side of the roadway before overturning...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A month after dropping out of the White House race, Sen. Bob Graham announced Monday he will retire when his term is up next year, dealing a blow to the Democrats' bid to take back the Senate. Democrats had high hopes that Graham, one of Florida's most popular politicians, would win a fourth term in 2004. But in the end, Graham said he had to make the decision that was best for him and his family, including his wife, four daughters and 10 grandchildren...

Anglican leaders moved closer Monday to a permanent break with the U.S. Episcopal Church over its first openly gay bishop, but the anticipated split within the U.S. denomination will evolve more slowly as conservatives create a network of like-minded dioceses and parishes...

CUYAMACA, Calif. -- Volunteer firefighter Carolina Finch was trying to save a convalescent home when she glimpsed the angry orange glow in the sky over her own neighborhood. Rounding the corner, she saw what used to be her two-story redwood house. As the sun rose the next morning, it became clear that she was not the only firefighter whose home was destroyed...

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. nuclear chief called Monday for the United Nations to consider putting all production of weapons-usable uranium and plutonium around the world under international control to limit "the increasing threat" posed by countries and terrorists...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A blast near a holy Shiite Muslim shrine in the city of Karbala on Monday killed three people and injured 12, witnesses said. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, a string of mortar blasts struck near downtown after sunset. The violence came a day after insurgents shot down a U.S. transport helicopter west of Baghdad, killing 16 Americans and wounding 21 in a dramatic show of increasing sophistication in their attacks...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Warm, dry conditions last week allowed the state's corn harvest to nearly catch up to last year's rapid pace and get slightly ahead of the five-year average, the Missouri Agriculture Statistics Service said Monday. The soybean, sorghum and cotton harvests made gains but remained largely behind schedule as farmers were able to get into the fields an average of 5.6 days last week. The corn harvest is 94 percent complete...

The goals of the life sciences -- coming soon to Southeast Missouri -- are lofty. The objectives have as much in common with charity as with anything found inside a beaker: feeding the hungry, curing the sick and improving the environment. But science it is...

On May 6, a tornado ripped through Jackson. In addition to destroying several homes, it ripped apart the complex that served as the headquarters for the police and fire departments. Now the station has been rebuilt. Both departments have been back in their rebuilt quarters since August. The departments recently held an open house to show their appreciation for the help and donations that came pouring in after the tornado...

Jerald Womack of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Nov. 3, 2003, at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford & Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

10 years ago: Nov. 4, 1993 Parents from across city spoke against closing May Greene as elementary school as part of any change in Cape Girardeau School District; first public forum of school board was held last night at May Greene; 85 people attended and 21 of them spoke...

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Lawyers for Zimbabwe's opposition party submitted 200 pages of allegations of vote rigging and intimidation Monday as the High Court began hearing a long-delayed challenge to President Robert Mugabe's re-election last year. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was present for Monday's session, alleges ruling party supporters obstructed voters in opposition strongholds and stuffed ballot boxes with "ghost" votes...

While serving overseas in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, letters from schoolchildren back in the United States became important to Capt. Elizabeth Sparkes. She didn't know the children, but reading their words gave her a sense a purpose. "You know why you're there," she said...

Meyr earns law degree from Stetson University Trae D. Meyr recently earned a juris doctor degree at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla. Meyr passed the Missouri Bar Exam in July and is now employed by Greensfelder, Hemker & Gayle, Attorneys at Law, in St. Louis...

ST. LOUIS -- At the end of the Rams' four-game winning streak, Marshall Faulk was encouraged to recuperate from injuries at his own pace. The team sure needs him now after third-stringer Arlen Harris was held to 9 yards rushing and, perhaps worse, struggled on blitz pickup in Sunday's 20-point loss to the 49ers. Harris was responsible for two of the five sacks on Marc Bulger, and that's always been one of Faulk's fortes...

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals declined to exercise a $4.5 million club option on second baseman Fernando Vina on Monday, continuing an offseason shakeup after a third-place finish in the NL Central. The Cardinals bought out Vina's contract for $1 million, spokesman Brian Bartow said...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Monday it will use the case of a Texas woman whose HMO gave her only one day in the hospital to recover from a hysterectomy to clarify when patients can sue health insurers for denying treatment that a doctor recommends...

Though they aren't certain about all the specifics of Lewis and Clark's journey west, the students at St. Mary Cathedral School know it took them plenty of steps to get to their destination. As part of a school-wide lesson on Lewis and Clark's exploration, the students are trying to walk as many miles as the explorers. ...

DALLAS -- Unusual fatigue and sleeplessness might be early warning signs of a heart attack in women, a study suggests. The study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, surveyed 515 women who had heart attacks and found that 95 percent had such symptoms as much as a month before they were stricken...

War is anything but a game. However, it's a subject that game makers frequently focus on, from re-creations of the Civil War to the latest conflicts around the globe. Now comes "Conflict: Desert Storm II -- Back to Baghdad," an update of last year's "Desert Storm" title from Gotham Games. I played the Xbox version, which supports the console's excellent Xbox Live online gaming operation...

LOS ANGELES -- A year has passed since Frodo and Sam continued their ominous trek to Mordor. It's been six months since Neo lay comatose alongside his nemesis. And three more months will pass before the vengeful Bride gets a chance to kill Bill. Hollywood is in tease mode these days, breaking with the convention that each movie must have a clear beginning, middle and end. ...

PARENTS ACROSS America, you love your children, so help them to counteract the destructive tactics that the liberal enemies within our country are blatantly and insidiously indoctrinating our young people. Wake up, parents, and save your children before it's too late. These conniving leaders are in a desperate struggle to take over America and are using destructive tactics on our country. Don't allow them to conquer your children...

Sheppard Daughter to Travis W. Sheppard and Deana Marie Story of Thebes, Ill., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:47 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, 2003. Name, Faith Marie. Weight, 2 pounds 7 ounces. Second daughter. Ms. Story is the daughter of Donna Story of Thebes, and the late Bill Story. Sheppard is the son of Don and Barb Jacobs of Fruitland. He is employed at Airborne Express...

Dressed in a prison orange jumpsuit, Gregory Allen McNeely of Cape Girardeau said little during his initial court appearance Monday as a judge told him he could face the death penalty. McNeely, 24, is accused of fatally shooting Terry Vernon Lynn, 26, of Cape Girardeau shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday behind Players Lounge, located at 632 Broadway...

Defense Department settles with Linda Tripp WASHINGTON -- Linda Tripp will get more than $595,000 from the Defense Department to settle a lawsuit over the release of confidential personal information about her to a magazine, her lawyers said Monday...

Even good luck comes with a price. The Jackson Board of Aldermen voted Monday night to spend an extra $47,000 on a well on the north side of town. City officials say the extra funding was necessary because the contractor hired to drill the well made a Jed Clampett-like discovery. Subcontractor Midwest Hydro didn't find bubblin' crude, but it found almost twice the amount of water volume than expected, based on estimates from other wells in the city...

Silver Springs Road will get orange paw prints, but it won't be renamed Tiger Pride Drive in honor of Central High School's mascot as student leaders wanted. The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night voted down the request from the school's student senate, citing opposition from the police department and three owners of property near the school. The vote was 6-0. Councilman Hugh White was absent due to illness...

Baseball All-Star closer Billy Wagner was traded Monday from the Houston Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia sent Houston right-hander Brandon Duckworth, and minor league right-handers Taylor Buchholz and Ezequiel Astacio. ...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Nov. 4 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Depart-ment. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Anthony Wayne Jackson, 111 N. Clark St., Apt. 3, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Sunday for driving while intoxicated, driving while suspended and leaving the scene of an accident...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Nov. 4 Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday: A fire alarm at 3102 Lexington. A trash fire at 1300 Dunklin. A medical assist at 1534 W. Cape Rock Drive. Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday: A gas odor at 301 N. Lorimier St., Apt. 1...

Afghanistan unveils draft constitution KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan unveiled a post-Taliban draft constitution Monday, a historic milestone on what has been a bloody, bumpy and often tragic path to recovery after decades of war. The draft starts by declaring that "Afghanistan is an Islamic Republic," then later creates the posts of president and vice president, as well as envisioning two houses of congress...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- People from two local school districts in south central Missouri will vote next spring on whether they want a community college serving their area, one that officials say could provide a new approach to post-secondary education...

Associated Press WriterLINN, Mo. (AP) -- According to his foster mother, Dominic James was "a really sweet boy" who liked to run, play with cars and especially to splash in a blowup swimming pool outside. But within two months of arriving at her house, Dominic became ill, frequently vomiting before ultimately losing consciousness and dying...

For the first time in three years, Southeast Missouri State University women's soccer team begins the Ohio Valley Conference postseason tournament as an underdog. But entering today's 2 p.m. tournament play-in game at Tennessee-Martin, Southeast coach Heather Nelson figures maybe that's not such a bad thing...

Central's boys soccer team scored less than two minutes into the game and held off a pesky Jackson squad to move on to the Class 3, District 1 finals with a 4-1 win Monday night at Jackson. The teams had hardly taken the field before Central (23-0) striker Heath Orr buried his 29th goal in the back of the net. Orr's goal tied his school single-season goal record and broke the career goal record of 63...

Losing never gets old for some guys, just harder and harder to deal with. Great coaches are like great athletes that way. They don't always know when to say when. It's why one old friend doesn't know what to say to Joe Paterno. "We haven't talked at all," Bobby Bowden said, "probably because Joe's like me. It's one of those things where you're almost so embarrassed, you just wouldn't know what to talk about."...

Deadlines. Why does everything have to have deadlines? Do this by Friday, have that done by Wednesday. Don't put it off. Life seems to be an unending cycle of rushing to get things done. This year, as a senior at Notre Dame Regional High School, my life seems to be flying by. ...

Approved the disposition of certain city records which have met their retention schedule under RSMo 109.230. Approved Nov. 28 as an authorized leave day for city employees. Approved change order No. 3 to Robinson Mechanical Contractors Inc. to increase the contract amount by $38,899.55, regarding the water supply well No. 7 project...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Baptists should seize the opportunities before them to rebuild broken families, strengthen dying churches and start new congregations, said the Jackson native who leads the Missouri Baptist Convention. David Clippard, executive director of the convention, addressed an audience of 1,500 people Monday in the first night of the annual meeting in downtown St. Louis...

The new $49.3 million courthouse in Cape Girardeau will be more than a bigger and better home for the federal judicial system in Southeast Missouri. It will also "strengthen the foundation of justice" in the area, said U.S. Sen Kit Bond, by providing citizens a better avenue to the courts, which is the U.S. Constitution's recourse for people to protect their life, liberty and property...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Donna R. Hartmann of Cairo and formerly of Carbondale, Ill., died Monday, Nov. 3, 2003, at her home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo.