Stories from Monday, November 17, 2003

The AssociatedPress ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Steve Rucchin can't get back all the games he missed the last few seasons because of injuries. Instead of complaining about it, he's making up for lost time. Rucchin scored in the first period for his 400th NHL point, then got the go-ahead goal on a power play early in the third to give the Anaheim Mighty Ducks a 4-3 victory over the Blues on Sunday...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson of Cape Girardeau recently visited the Middle East. She kept a daily journal. Here is the third installment. By Jo Ann Emerson Sunday, Nov. 9: At Saddam's palace, we met with Paul Bremer, who leads the Coalition Provisional Authority; General Sanchez; and David Kay, who is in charge of the search for weapons...

A chance meeting between Chuck Martin and the visiting captain of an excursion boat that docked here a few months ago has culminated in what the Convention and Visitors Bureau director believes is a Cape Girardeau first -- a seasonal opportunity for the public to take in breathtaking views of the Mississippi River from the deck of a luxury yacht...

ATLANTA -- Rita Sapp looked relieved as she dropped her 3-year-old son off at a play center in a Rich's department store. Andrew Sapp was grinning too, eyeing the toys inside the center where the department store babysits children while parents shop...

Berry over broken arm, broken marriage LOS ANGELES -- Halle Berry says she's over the broken arm she suffered while filming "Gothika" and is recovering from the pain of recently separating from husband Eric Benet. "I'm getting used to it," the Oscar-winner said of her split from her second husband...

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Southern drawls have thwarted voice recognition equipment used by the Shreveport Police Department to route non-emergency calls. A switchover to a lower-tech, touch-tone system -- in which callers hear a voice recording they can respond to by pressing a different number for each division -- is scheduled for Monday, said spokeswoman Kaycee Hargrave...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In stark contrast to his Hollywood image and the usual inauguration festivities, Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger planned to take office Monday with a quick, low-key ceremony and then get to work. Mindful of the bitterness that still surrounds California's first gubernatorial recall election, not to mention the state's fiscal troubles, the Republican has shied away from black-tie celebrations that normally enliven the beginning of new administrations...

LOS ANGELES -- Soul singer Luther Vandross, who is recovering from a debilitating stroke that threatened to end not only his career but his life, won a leading two American Music Awards on Sunday. The 52-year-old singer can speak and walk with assistance, but representatives recently said he remains far from fully recovered. ...

NAHA, Okinawa -- Okinawa's governor pleaded with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Sunday to remove some of the 28,000 U.S. forces stationed on this Japanese island and ease the environmental impact of military facilities. In a meeting at his offices, Gov. ...

Skin cancer often linked with more serious cancers CHICAGO -- Women with common, usually nonfatal forms of skin cancer face double the risk of developing unrelated cancers, according to the study's lead author Dr. Carol Rosenberg of Evanston-Northwestern Healthcare, part of Northwestern University's medical schoo, suggesting that the initial diagnosis may be more worrisome than previously thought...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An audio tape purportedly by Saddam Hussein urged Iraqis to escalate attacks against the occupation and "agents brought by foreign armies" -- Iraqis who support the coalition. Meanwhile, the U.S. military tried to determine Sunday whether insurgent gunfire caused the crash of two Black Hawk helicopters, killing 17 soldiers in the worst single loss of American life since the war in Iraq began...

NEW YORK -- Code-makers could be on the verge of winning their ancient arms race with code-breakers. After 20 years of research, an encryption process is emerging that is considered unbreakable because it employs the mind-blowing laws of quantum physics...

While the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge's dedication ceremony is still scheduled for Dec. 13, project officials aren't offering any guarantees when the final work will be complete, said MoDOT area engineer Scott Meyer. "We've had some good weather and some good progress," Meyer said. "But we can't say unequivocally just when we're going to be ready."...

A near-capacity crowd of almost 300 turned out at Old St. Vincent's Church on Sunday for the Southeast Missouri Chamber Orchestra's second Subscription Series concert. The "Mostly Mozart" program featured the orchestra performing some of the composer's most famous works, along with numbers from Antonio Vivaldi. The concert's main attraction was Mark Sparks, principal flutist of the St. Louis Symphony, who was praised by audience members for his virtuosity...

CHICAGO -- Women with common, usually nonfatal forms of skin cancer face double the risk of developing unrelated cancers, according to a large study, suggesting that the initial diagnosis may be more worrisome that previously thought. The skin cancer link was found for several malignancies, including cancer of the brain, breasts, ovaries and uterus. It was even stronger for liver cancer, which had a five times higher risk, and lung cancer, which had triple the risk...

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Following dominating Bill Elliott into the last lap of Sunday's era-ending Winston Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Bobby Labonte was resigned to a runner-up finish. "He was really motoring, and I knew I wasn't going to win unless something happened," Labonte said. "Then something happened."...

CHICAGO -- Mike Martz's gamble and Marshall Faulk's gallop gave the struggling Rams the boost they needed. Trailing the Chicago Bears 14-3 in the third quarter Sunday, Martz signaled his offense to go for it on a fourth-and-1 from its own 40. And Faulk made the decision click...

CINCINNATI -- Now the 1972 Dolphins can pop the corks and make the toast all over again. The perfect record is safe for one more season. With a punt return and a long touchdown catch, Peter Warrick eclipsed Kansas City's playmakers and let the Cincinnati Bengals back up their boast Sunday with a 24-19 victory over the Chiefs...

Turner picked as week's top OVC defensive player O.J. Turner, a junior defensive back at Southeast Missouri State University, was chosen Sunday as the Ohio Valley Conference's defensive player of the week. Turner had 12 tackles -- two for loss -- in Southeast's 24-20 win Saturday at Tennessee Tech. He also had an interception and broke up another pass...

Colleges University presidents and chancellors from each of the 11 Division I-A football conferences came up with a process for their commissioners to devise plans to change the current bowl system. After a four-hour meeting Sunday, the two sides agreed that Division I-A won't go to a 16-team NFL-style playoff like the one used in Division I-AA and each came up with plans at least loosely based on the current BCS system...

WASHINGTON -- Political battle lines began to form Sunday on a tentative agreement to give older Americans a new prescription drug benefit and overhaul the Medicare program. President Bush gave the legislation his enthusiastic backing. "I will be actively pushing the bill" in the coming days to ensure passage, Bush said, leading the Republican effort to overcome anticipated resistance from Democrats and objections from some Republicans...

WASHINGTON -- Energy industries that have invested millions of dollars in lawmakers' campaigns would reap billions in tax breaks and potential new business from compromise Republican legislation. President Bush took office promising to develop a new energy policy. ...

Voters may have no choice in Cape Girardeau's April municipal election to fill three council seats. With the candidate filing deadline a day away, only incumbent councilmen Jay Purcell in Ward 3 and Hugh White in Ward 4 have filed. The third incumbent whose term is set to expire next spring, Ward 5 councilman Matt Hopkins, said Friday he will file for re-election today. ...

During a whirlwind year of budget cuts, the Cape Girardeau School Board is having trouble getting all of its members in the same room at the same time. Of the 24 meetings held since January, all seven school board members have been present at only three...

The Iraqi scientist who headed Saddam Hussein's long-range missile program has fled to neighboring Iran, a country identified as a state sponsor of terrorism with a successful missile program and nuclear ambitions, U.S. officers involved in the weapons hunt told The Associated Press...

ST. LOUIS -- Joyce Meyer, a well-known preacher with an international ministry, says her wealth is a blessing from God, but some tax experts question whether the way she spends money violates the law, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in a Sunday copyright story...

McClure native chosen Murray State marshal Kristi Phillips Rowan, a McClure, Ill., native and graduate of University High School in Cape Girardeau, was selected grand marshal of Murray State University's Homecoming Parade in October...

It's unfortunate that some improvements are born of terrible situations. That's the case with a new firearms release form introduced by the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office last week. It began with the Nov. 1 shooting death of Terry Lynn, 26. Gregory McNeely, 24, is charged with Lynn's death. The very Cape Girardeau Police Department report used to justify his incarceration in the case was the same document that revealed McNeely never should have had the gun...

Local businesses win SIU-Edwardsville awards Lutesville Motor Company won the 2003 Mississippi Valley Family Business of the Year Award from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville School of Business. The ceremony was held Nov. 7. At the same event, Ford and Sons Funeral Home of Cape Girardeau was recognized as a finalist for the award...

The Richard G. Wilson Processing and Distribution Facility has a nice ring to it. More importantly, it brings honor to a deceased Cape Girardeau resident who deserves it. Some local veterans and other folks employed by the U.S. Postal Service at the Cape Girardeau postal distribution center are petitioning Congress to rename the processing plant after Wilson, who served in the Korean War and posthumously received the Medal of Honor...

Hadley W. Hartman, 89, of Jackson passed away Saturday, Nov. 15, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 12, 1913, in Whitewater, Mo., son of Charles W. and Rosie T. A. Baker Hartman. He and Emma Cook were married March 23, 1940. She passed away on Aug. 31, 1977. He and Marie Gartung-Green were married Jan. 2, 1982. She passed away on July 20, 1999...

Delineating rights MORLEY SWINGLE'S column is refreshing in its honesty and good grace. I would note, however, that I was trained that a constitution does not grant rights to the citizenry, but rather delineates those rights which the citizenry has not given up by virtue of its grant of powers to the government through that constitution. ...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Helen Smith, 97, of Jonesboro, Ill., died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2003, at the Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. She was born Aug. 21, 1906, at Jonesboro, daughter of Allen and Ellen Miles Crowell. She married E. H. "Eppie" Smith on April 5, 1925, at Jonesboro. He died on May 22, 1980...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Carl A. "Tony" Wohlwend, 40, of Carbondale, Ill., died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2003, in Anna, Ill. He was born Feb. 24, 1963, in Anna, son of Carl and Andrea Benner Wohlwend. Survivors include one son, Anthony Wohlwend of Jonesboro; his father, Carl Wohlwend of Creal Springs, Ill.; his mother, Andrea Pearl of Dongola, Ill.; two brothers, Wesley Lish of Carbondale and Ashley Lish; and a sister, Sherry Tellor of Anna...

Norman H. Sebastian, 81, of Jackson, died Sunday, Nov. 16, 2003, at the Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

Eddie W. Jackson, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2003, at her residence. She was born April 21, 1910, in Fulton County, Ky. She and Claude L. Jackson were married; he preceded her in death. Survivors include three children, Jean Kelley of Cape Girardeau, T.J. Jackson of Jackson and Jackie Dehler of Blue Springs, Mo.; 31 grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Mary Katlyn Clara "Katie" Parr, 8 weeks, of Benton, Mo., died Saturday, Nov. 15, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 18, 2003, in Sikeston, daughter of George Arthur Parr III and Darlla Jean Eschman Jines of Benton...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded Saturday to the following items: At 6:32 p.m., a lock-out at 222 N. Middle. Firefighters responded Sunday to the following items: At 1:33 a.m., a medical assist at 2835 Whitener. At 4:51 p.m., a medical assist at 1325 Butler St.Jackson...

10 years ago: Nov. 17, 1993 Members of Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board berate preliminary plans for multi-purpose building in city's new Osage Park. New section of divided four-lane highway through south edge of Cape Girardeau could be completed in 1995; work will start on new Mississippi bridge route between Sprigg and Kingshighway next year...

CINCINNATI -- Those 1972 Dolphins can pop the corks and make the toast now. The NFL's only perfect record is safe for one more season. Cincinnati's Peter Warrick eclipsed Kansas City's playmakers with a 68-yard punt return and a 77-yard touchdown catch, setting up a 24-19 victory Sunday...

MIAMI -- In keeping with their annual ritual, Nick Buoniconti and former teammate Dick Anderson will share a champagne celebration at a Coral Gables country club this week. Here's to the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and here's to the 2003 Cincinnati Bengals...

WASHINGTON -- One of the largest U.S. accounting firms promoted dubious charitable deductions and complicated transactions to generate phony paper losses for clients, say Senate investigators who spent a year unwinding four tax products that KPMG sold to more than 350 individuals in the late 1990s and early 2000s...

WASHINGTON -- Sex offenders are less likely to be rearrested after their release from prison than other criminals, a government study released Sunday finds. The Justice Department study of 9,691 men convicted of rape, sexual assault and child molestation who were released in 1994 found 43 percent were arrested for any type of crime within three years, compared with 68 percent for all other former inmates...

7 p.m. today City Hall Study session at 5 p.m. Public Hearings A hearing regarding the request of Carol and Curtis Greer for a special-use permit to operate a retail grocery-related consignment business from their home at 329 Edgewood Drive in an R-1 residential zone...

6 p.m. today, 301 N. Clark On the agenda Approval of health program rates Approval of dental insurance rates Approval of school calendar for 2004-05 Presentation of MAP results 2004 election information

7:30 p.m. today, City Hall Public Hearing Hearing to consider the rezoning of Lot 1 and Lots 34-42 of Pioneer Orchard Subdivision from R-2 (single-family residential) to R-4 (one- and two-family residential) district, as submitted by Missouri Lakes...

The Area Wide United Way has has raised 80 percent of its 2003 campaign goal of $935,000. The following campaign totals have been reported: DANA Corp., $12,930; AmerenUE, $25,379; Best Buy, $4,300; J.C. Penney, $15,525; Commerce Bank, $1,730. Several companies have experienced significant increases in their employee campaigns including:...

Name: Mary Stuart. Lives in: Cape Girardeau. Family: Husband, two dogs. Job: Events director for the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri. What do you like most about the area? Having moved from an overcrowded suburb of Denver, what I like most about Cape Girardeau is its size. I am a small-town girl at heart...

MADD kicking off holiday campaign today The Cape Girardeau chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving will kick off its annual Red Ribbon Campaign for the holidays at 1:30 p.m. today at First Missouri State Bank, 2 S. Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau. Red ribbons will be distributed through the drive-up facility. To participate, call MADD at 335-7908...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Francine Annie Pierce, 56, 2 N. Fountain, No. 4, Cape Girardeau, was issued a summons Saturday for suspicion of driving while intoxicated, driving while suspended and failing to use a turn signal...

Like many famous people, Jared Fogle rarely gets through a meal in a restaurant without being interrupted by well-meaning people introducing themselves. Fogle is "Jared the Subway Guy," famous because he lost 245 pounds a few years ago by eating Subway subs and not much else. ...