Stories from Friday, November 7, 2003

LOS ANGELES -- That big, square jaw is finally paying off for Lyndall Grant. The 49-year-old landscaping designer from San Mateo found sporadic work in recent years impersonating Arnold Schwarzenegger, but business is booming now that "The Terminator" star has been elected governor of California...

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Bobby Hatfield, who with partner Bill Medley pioneered "blue-eyed soul" as the Righteous Brothers with hits like "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," died Wednesday night of undetermined causes at a hotel, his manager said. He was 63...

DIXON, Ky. -- Webster County High senior Zach Cato spends his Mondays mowing lawns and watching football game films. He is not cutting class -- he is taking advantage of his school district's move to a four-day week. "The only ones who are complaining are the ones who don't want to be here at all," the 17-year-old Cato says...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger will hire a private investigator to look into allegations that he groped women, but he may keep the results from the state attorney general, a spokesman said Thursday. Schwarzenegger's reluctance to turn over the results of the investigation stem from remarks Attorney General Bill Lockyer made earlier Thursday. ...

JUBARA, West Bank -- The Palestinians of Jubara were alarmed when Israeli soldiers began posting notices on telephone poles and at checkpoints around their small West Bank village. The military had already trapped them in a tiny pocket of land between Israel and its West Bank security barrier, giving them only sporadic access to their schools, clinics and fields across the fence...

Bertelsmann, Sony Corp. plan music merger FRANKFURT, Germany -- Bertelsmann AG and Sony Corp. announced a preliminary plan to merge their music businesses Thursday, setting the stage for a music company that would vie for world primacy with Universal Music Group...

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Negotiators for Saddam Hussein tried to strike a last-minute deal with the Bush administration to avoid an invasion after realizing "the threat was real," a Lebanese-American businessman who tried to serve as a go-between said Thursday...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Poland suffered its first combat death since the aftermath of World War II when a Polish major was fatally wounded Thursday in an ambush south of Baghdad. Two American soldiers died in attacks near the capital and along the Syrian border...

VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia -- Attacks by Chechen insurgents left nine Russian soldiers and policemen dead, an official in the Chechen administration said Thursday. Four soldiers were killed and nine others wounded in 18 rebel attacks on military outposts during the last 24 hours, the official said on condition of anonymity. Two rebels and one serviceman died and five others were wounded in a clash near the village of Avtury, he said...

ATLANTA -- Traffic and sprawl in metro Atlanta need to be fixed. Think smart growth. Think mass transit and mixed-use development. Think live, work and play centers. Sound familiar? The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has set up a growth task force -- a group of politicians, businessmen and environmentalists charged with finding solutions for metro-area sprawl...

PALESTINE, W.Va. -- Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch was raped by her Iraqi captors, a new authorized biography of the Army supply clerk says. The 20-year-old private who was hailed as a hero after her capture and rescue has no memory of the sexual assault, but medical records cited in the book -- "I am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story" -- indicate it occurred...

WASHINGTON -- Male sex is important even for the lowly nematode, a soil worm that can reproduce without the masculine gender. A new study shows that keeping guys around may be essential to survival of the species. Researchers long have wondered why the male nematode continues to exist since the simple worm reproduces so well without a partner. ...

Program to help security agencies with translation PHOENIX -- The government critically needs translators and interpreters to plow through an overflow of documents and audiotapes that could contain information on terrorist plots and other security threats, the director of a new federal translation program said Thursday...

WASHINGTON -- Military and civilian defense officials improperly used government credit cards to buy 68,000 first-class or business-class airline seats when they were supposed to fly coach, congressional investigators concluded Thursday. Several high-ranking political appointees were among the 44,000 people who bought premium tickets that cost $124 million over two years. ...

To be perfectly honest, I thought I would never again write the following words: World Famous Downtown Golf Course. But that just goes to show you how things you thought were belly-up can be resurrected with an emergency infusion of the miracle elixir that counts the most when you're down and out: money...

Saturday's game with Tennessee State at Houck Stadium will be our first playoff game. We have to win to stay in the hunt for the OVC championship and a berth in the NCAA playoffs. It will be a playoff atmosphere, and we need your help to create the home-field advantage that we need to beat an outstanding team like Tennessee State...

srobertson On Oct. 31, I had two things on my mind: Halloween and this week's test car, a Toyota Camry Solara. Soskin Toyota provided the vehicle, painted in Absolute Red, just in time for a Halloween cruise, so I pointed the sleek 220-horsepower four-seater toward the rolling hills north of here. But within minutes I noticed something spooky about this vehicle, which I will tell you about in a minute...

Dr. George Suggs will sign copies of his new book, "Rush Hudson Limbaugh and His Times: Reflections on a Life Well Lived," at 7 tonight at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Cape Girardeau.

While Jackson school officials breathe sighs of relief over the $1.9 million in additional funding voters approved this week, officials in Cape Girardeau still search for solutions to their own financial problems. They won't be looking to their western neighbor...

Area students will have a chance to express their gratitude to past and present military personnel Tuesday during Veterans Day programs in local schools. While past programs have focused on veterans only, this year school officials say they also plan to emphasize the men and women involved in the war on terrorism...

A Cape Girardeau murder suspect took the stand in his own defense Thursday during his trial in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Defendant Jibril Walton, 26, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Aug. 18, 2002, shooting death of Billy Jones Jr...

Jackson's K-9 police officer, Sgt. Kevin Harris, resigned Thursday after an internal investigation into his conduct. Harris had worked for the department for nearly eight years, police chief James Humphreys said. Harris' wife, Christina Randol-Harris, was charged Oct. 9 with 11 class C felonies for forgery by the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney. A preliminary hearing in her case is set for Nov. 19...

A Perryville, Mo., man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court on charges of unlawfully possessing firearms. Shawn Galeski, 26, received 39 months in prison for being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He agreed to forfeit seven guns...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department will conduct sobriety checkpoints this weekend. The department is concerned with preventing crashes during increased holiday traffic. Chief Steve Strong said, "These checkpoints are being conducted at high accident locations where alcohol has been a significant factor. We want to increase public awareness about the serious problem of drinking and driving and make the drinking driver aware that he or she stands an ever-increasing chance of being caught."...

s Les Eagle sits at a small table in the living room of his house, a dim overhead light warmly reveals the many character lines on his face, the result of 83 years of a good, hard-working life. Life is slowing down for Eagle. He sold his business, Eagle Oil Co., and retired. The widower appears to be in good health for a man his age, but he rarely uses his fishing boat anymore. It's harder to get out than it used to be...

On a day when a number of its soldiers finished up a war games training mission in the Mojave Desert, the troops of the 1140th Engineer Battalion were notified that they may soon be deployed to participate in the real thing. The U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday announced the next rotation of U.S. ...

State final four tournaments begin today. By Jeremy Joffray ~ Southeast Missourian The Bell City and Notre Dame volleyball teams have taken different routes but have arrived at the same destination, Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Mo., for this weekend's state final four...

Junior forward makes immediate impact in 93-66 exhibition victory over Truman State. By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian Dainmon Gonner is being counted on to have a major impact for Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team...

Not that it would have counted on their record, but Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach B.J. Smith thought there was a chance the Otahkians could lose Thursday's exhibition opener. Shows you what Smith knows. The Otahkians' defense smothered NAIA powerhouse Union (Tenn.) University in the first half and Southeast rolled to an 84-66 victory at the Show Me Center...

By Walt W. Lilly To the editor: I read with interest the statistics cited by Don Kaverman, Southeast Missouri State University's athletic director. What strikes me about the comparisons made between expenditures for Southeast's athletic programs and others in comparable institutions is just how much money is actually spent on athletics in colleges and universities like Southeast nationwide...

WASHINGTON -- After 65 years with hardly a change, the nickel is getting two new looks next year -- one design will feature clasped hands of friendship between the U.S. government and American Indians and the second will show Lewis and Clark on a keelboat...

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon announced plans Thursday to send 85,000 Army and Marine combat forces to Iraq early next year to relieve troops completing one-year tours -- a rotation that when combined with another switchout of troops in Afghanistan will be the Army's largest sequence of troop movements since World War II...

WASHINGTON -- Regulators disclosed a new legal campaign Thursday against an annoying method for delivering unwanted "pop-up" Internet advertisements, accusing a California company of "high-tech extortion" in its offers for software to block the very ads it was sending...

Charles T. Wilson, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003, at Ratliff Care Center. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Gibson Son to Greg and Belinda Gibson of Dongola, Ill., Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill., 3:23 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2003. Name, Austin Ray. Weight, 6 pounds 5 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Gibson is the former Belinda Foster, daughter of Harold and Sharon Foster of Olive Branch, Ill. Gibson is the son of Paul and Shirley Gibson of Dongola. He is employed at Unimin in Tamms, Ill...

10 years ago: Nov. 7, 1993 Donald L. Harrison, president of Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents, has been named "Friend of the University"; annual award is highest honor bestowed by Southeast Missouri State University Foundation; it recognizes those who support and who are closely associated with mission of university...

Four stars (out of four) I was surprised that, as a 61-year-old male, I would really enjoy another Walt Disney cartoon feature -- but I did. Brother Bear is a typical Disney cartoon fantasy feature about a prehistoric Eskimo tribe, mainly about one of the young boys who is soon to enter manhood. ...

'Afterglow' Why, Sarah, why? You have a beautiful voice, a way with a melody. So why is this album just so, well, boring? It's been six years since McLachlan, she of the soaring vocals and the Lilith Fair-organizing, released a studio album. "Afterglow," her latest, wasn't worth the wait...

LOS ANGELES At last, a holiday-movie season with real tinsel. n Amid the blockbuster big guns of "The Matrix Revolutions" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Hollywood serves up a wealth of warmhearted fare to put audiences in the holiday spirit, including three very different Christmas-themed comedies:...

JACKSON, Miss. -- The Mississippi Supreme Court has ended a legal battle over the photographs and songs of bluesman Robert Johnson, saying his son is the sole heir to the royalties. Johnson, a traveling musician who recorded "Crossroad Blues," "Rambling on My Mind" and "Hellhound on My Trail," is considered the first modern bluesman, linking the country blues of the Mississippi Delta with the city blues of post-World War II. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986...

Kristopher Naeger exhibition opens today An exhibition of paintings by Cape Girardeau artist Kristopher Naeger opens today at the Schock Community Arts Center in Scott City. The show will include more than five years' worth of Naeger's colorful and bold abstract paintings...

As a vocal teacher, Judith Farris has a reputation for helping actors not known for their voices get up on a Broadway stage and sing. She coached Anthony Quinn ("Zorba the Greek") and Matthew Broderick ("How to Succeed in Business"). As an accomplished opera singer herself, Farris could give them hints to develop the stamina it takes to work eight shows a week...

The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- A playoff matchup and further success in the early going has given birth to quite a rivalry between the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. Keith Tkachuk scored his second consecutive game-winning goal and the Blues beat the Canucks 3-2 Thursday night in the matchup between division leaders...

Photographs of the construction of the Cape Girardeau Mississippi River bridge taken more than 75 years ago contrast with video of work on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge in a new exhibit titled "Bridge to Our Past and Future." The free exhibition of memorabilia from both projects opens Saturday afternoon on the bottom floor of the H&H Building, 400 Broadway in Cape Girardeau. It will continue the following two weekends...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- For at least a night, it was all Brandon Twiggs all the time. Twiggs carried the ball 45 times for 210 yards -- both career highs -- to lead Central to a 49-28 win and hand Poplar Bluff its first loss Thursday in the Class 4, District 1 championship game...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea on Thursday angrily reacted to a U.S.-led move to suspend construction of two nuclear power plants in the impoverished country, saying it will seize all equipment and technical data for the $4.6 billion project. Pyongyang, however, did not revoke its earlier promise to return to six-nation talks aimed at resolving a standoff over its nuclear weapons program -- a scenario some U.S. ...

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- Billy Joe Doughty, 63, of Alto Pass died Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2003, at his home. He was born March 2, 1940, in Alto Pass, son of Elmer Otis and Mamie Dale Smith Doughty. He and Betty Lou Sivia were married Nov. 11, 1962, in Anna, Ill...

Euen Grant "E.G." Andrews Jr., 80, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born March 27, 1923, at Morley, Mo., son of Euen Grant and Nettie May Riley Andrews Sr. He and Betty Brockett were married July 10, 1941, at Morley...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Thomas Larry "Tom" Crawford, 59, of Rock Hill, S.C., died Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003, at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill. He was born Jan. 18, 1944, in Point Pleasant, Mo., son of Landreth Lee and Ida Mae Renfro Crawford. He married the former Martha Foster...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Nov. 7 Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following items: At 6:07 p.m., vehicle fire at 1120 N. Kingshighway. At 8:30 p.m., alarm sounding at 3026 William. At 11:02 p.m., citizen assist at 414 Washington. Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: At 3:12 a.m., alarm sounding at Towers Complex...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Nov. 7 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Melissa A. Winchester, 32, of 234 N. Lorimier, No. 9, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Wednesday on a Scott County warrant for bad checks...

(Minneapolis) Star Tribune When President Bush called a news conference last Wednesday and asked congressional leaders to speed up their glacial negotiations on Medicare reform, he sounded like the anxious homeowner who asked his contractors to install one simple appliance and now finds that they are remodeling the whole house -- with incessant quarrels...

The news about the nation's economic growth during the third quarter of 2003 was heartening, to say the least. The Commerce Department said the gross domestic product grew at a 7.2 percent annual pace from July through September, the fastest rate of growth in more than two decades...

For decades, trout fishing in Missouri meant finding a cold, spring-fed stream somewhere in the Ozarks and standing elbow to elbow with other enthusiasts on a chilly March 1 opening day for trout season. That's all changed. For the first time, there's no need to drive long distances to test those hand-tied flies and other trout-attracting lures. ...

Cindy Gannon has worked with numerous standout setters during her 15 years as Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball coach -- and she rates Emily Scannell among the best. "We've been fortunate to have had some great setters. I consider that a strength of our program," Gannon said. "Emily ranks right up there with all of them. She's had a fantastic career."...

Jackson (4-4) at Francis Howell (6-3) Last week: Parkway West 28, Jackson 26; Parkway Central 41, Francis Howell 6 Last year: Francis Howell 16, Jackson 13 Notes: Despite missing several chances to complete their second straight comeback, the Indians can clinch the district title with a win and a Parkway West loss. ...

Sikeston closes with a win over Perryville Sikeston quarterback Stephen Miller threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Bulldogs closed their season with a 41-20 district win over visiting Perryville on Thursday night. Sikeston (4-5, 1-2 district), also received three touchdowns from Travis Hudson. ...

On their trek across the Louisiana Purchase, each member of the Corps of Discovery consumed at least seven pounds of meat every day. The expedition had to live off the land to survive. Wildlife provided protein and fat reserves, but not all wildlife provide these in equal portions. Examining this can give you new insight to the conditions the corps of discovery tolerated as well as nutrition for us in the 21st century...

To the editor: Was there a study done to determine the need for a new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau? I'm sure there wasn't. The federal courthouse we have is under-utilized and fits our needs just fine. Oh, but it's not opulent and flashy. ...

To the Editor: I have never been so proud to be an American. President Bush's signing of the ban on partial-birth abortion has restored my hope for America. I am proud to be pro-life, and I'm proud of my country. There is still a long road ahead, but it was nice to see a politician make a difference in so many lives. ...

To the editor: As a relatively new resident of Cape Girardeau, I found the article about the city ruling on the proposed street renaming at Central High School interesting. I do not disagree with the decision. However, many cities including Chicago use a different method. They do not change the actual street name, but rather honor specific people or events by declaring a one-block segment as Honorary "Special Name" Way...

To the editor: I was appalled to see a Speak Out comment saying Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., is "nothing to be proud of." As a first-year student, my experience thus far has been quite to the contrary. In conversation, all but one of my current first-year peers have expressed how ecstatic they are about their choice of university. In addition, most if not all of the upper-classmen I've met also share the same sentiment...

Proposal is crushed CENTRAL HIGH School students were shot down in their attempt to rename a portion of Silver Springs Road in honor of their school. The city fathers came up with all kinds of crazy reasons to crush the proposal. And we wonder why youths are turned off by government...