Stories from Monday, December 1, 2003

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After a dominating 45-7 win over Iowa State in the season finale, Missouri awaits its final destination. The Tigers (8-4, 4-4 Big 12) are likely headed for the Dec. 31 Independence Bowl as the conference's sixth-best bowl seed. Representatives from that bowl have watched Missouri, bowl-bound for the first time in five seasons, at least four times this season...

ELGIN, Ill. -- A high school fed up with students wearing hooded sweat shirts to get around a dress code banning headgear has banned the shirts. Gifford Street High School officials last week told students to leave the "hoodies" at home, Elgin School District U-46 spokesman Larry Ascough said. It's a hard stance that has angered some students and their parents, who say they shouldn't have to pay for new cold-weather clothing and that the rule is silly...

Limbaugh presented with Star Award Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. was awarded the Star Award at the Missouri Court Reporters Convention in October. The award was for the contributions he has made in support of the court reporting profession in Missouri. Limbaugh was in private practice and then served three years as the prosecuting attorney of Cape Girardeau County before being appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court in 1992...

Irrigation conference will be broadcast on Dec. 15 The University of Missouri Delta Research Center will host the annual Bootheel Irrigation Conference and Trade Show in Portageville, Mo., on Dec. 15. The event in Rone Hall, at the center's Lee Farm, begins with breakfast and registration from 6:30 to 8 a.m. Presentations and workshops with irrigation specialists and others continue until midafternoon, with opportunities to attend the trade show throughout the event...

Columbia Daily Tribune The recent decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court launched the public debate over gay marriage from fundamental philosophy toward semantics. The majority wrote: "Whether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family -- these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights. ...

No matter how Cape Girardeau residents felt about spending $42.000 in city funds for a tourism consultant to determine the city's biggest selling point, many of them will agree that the finished study provides an excellent launch pad for some new ideas. If used properly, the study will lend momentum to an effort to bring more visitors and their dollars to the city...

Jack W. "Pug" Russell, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 3, 1922, at Fruitland, son of Richard "Dick" and Carrie Shaner Russell. He was a member of St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church...

Noah Franklin "Frank" Eaton, 70, of Cape Girardeau, passed away Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003, at his home in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 23, 1933, in Hahn, Mo., son of Noah and Pearl Varvel Eaton. He and Lorraine Bertrand were married Feb. 1, 1953, in Piggott, Ark. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past February...

NEW WELLS, Mo. -- Erna Marie Rubel, 87, of New Wells, passed away Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003, at the Monticello House in Jackson. Mrs. Rubel was born Jan. 13, 1916, at Farrar, Mo., the daughter of Max and Gertrude Mue-nch Fritsche. She and Odis August Rubel were married May 11, 1941, at Farrar. He passed away July 1966...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Faye King, 83, of Anna, Ill., died Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003, at Hillview Health Care in Vienna, Ill. She was born Dec. 11, 1919, at Stonefort, Ill., daughter of Walter and Laura Wilkins Rose. She and Howard King were married July 17, 1943, in Harrisburg, Ill...

ANNA, Ill. -- Clyde T. Elliot, 80, of Dongola, Ill., died Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003, at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky. He was born June 12, 1923, at Patoka, Ind., son of John and Emma Slauterback Elliot. He and Elsie Rider were married on Nov. 30, 1946...

MATTHEWS, Mo. -- Lois Hooks, 83, died Nov. 29, 2003, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 14, 1920, in Humphries County, Tenn., daughter of the late Alvin R. and Ollie Winters Curtis. She and Joe Hooks were married June 3, 1950, in Senath, Mo...

7 p.m. today City Hall Study session at 5 p.m. Public Hearings A public hearing regarding a petition for voluntary annexation presented by Gwenn L. Freitag for property in Peaceable Acres Subdivision along Cape La Croix Road. A public hearing regarding the request of Eldon Nattier and James Coley for a special-use permit to convert a four-family building into a five-bed bed and breakfast at 627 S. Sprigg St...

Saudi Arabia, known for harsh criminal penalties such as beheadings, is trying a gentler approach to get information from some al-Qaida captives. Saudi interrogators often bring clerics and a Quran to their prison interviews to establish a religious connection, a technique that has proved successful in eliciting information from terrorist suspects and reorienting them to less violent religious beliefs...

WASHINGTON -- Eight of the nine midsize sport utility vehicles tested won the highest safety rating in new high-speed crash tests, according to results released Sunday by an insurer-funded safety group. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ranked vehicles based on their performances when the driver's side hit a barrier at 40 mph. When a vehicle earns the highest rating of good, it means a driver wearing a seat belt probably would not be seriously injured...

MISSOULA, Mont. -- Southeast Missouri State University straightened out its shooting Sunday night and picked up a big victory over a defending conference champion. The Indians, one night after shooting just 31 percent during a loss to host Montana, shot 52 percent and upset California-Santa Barbara 77-75 in the third-place game of the Double Tree Holiday Classic...

Another Thanksgiving has passed, and if you weren't one of those shopping Friday, maybe you were home putting up your holiday decorations. In my grandparents' case, it's a post-turkey tradition to set up the artificial Christmas trees. This year, it was my grandfather's idea to put one in every room of the house. I guess he was afraid when he walked into a room without a tree, he would begin to miss Christmas...

SAN DIEGO -- With deadlines fast approaching, the Department of Homeland Security is racing to work out details of a hugely ambitious effort to use biometric technology to track foreigners entering and leaving the country. Perhaps no place offers a better window into the challenge than the world's busiest border crossing...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- When it comes to Abraham Lincoln, some of the people are fooled all of the time. Remarks attributed to the quotable 16th president have popped up in everything from television commercials to speeches by famous generals, presidents and even recent anti-war protesters. Too often, they are phrases that Lincoln never uttered, experts at the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency say...

The Thanksgiving weekend gave the nation's retailers a solid start to the holiday season, but stores that expected shoppers to have less interest in bargain-hunting were disappointed. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other discounters had the strongest sales, attracting crowds with specials on TVs, DVD players and toys. Department stores and mall-based apparel retailers were discounting less than they did last year, and their business was uneven...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents killed two South Korean electricians Sunday, a day after seven Spaniards, two Japanese diplomats and a Colombian contractor were slain in roadside ambushes aimed at undermining international support for the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- More than 100 men and boys will be released in the next two months from the U.S. jail for terrorism suspects in Cuba, including a teenager who allegedly killed an American special operations soldier, a U.S. military official said...

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The United States would like NATO eventually to take over the military mission in Afghanistan, where an American-dominated force is still hunting down remnants of the Taliban rule that collapsed two years ago, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- What's in a name? If you're the former Raymond Allen Gray Jr., only one word -- Bubba. The 39-year-old Springfield native legally changed his name this month to reflect his childhood nickname. His new first name? Bubba. His new middle name? Bubba. One guess what his new last name is...

ST. LOUIS -- Leonard Little was making up for lost time. After missing four games with a torn chest muscle, the defensive end had a career-high four sacks and forced two fumbles in the Rams' 48-17 win Sunday against Minnesota. "I was away from the game for a whole month and I was hoping I would pick up where I left off," Little said. "Today was a good outing."...

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees have talked with free agent Gary Sheffield several times in the past week, but they haven't agreed to a contract and negotiations last several days. Sheffield met informally with Yankees' officials last Monday. New York offered a three-year contract but might wait to close any deal until after the Dec. 7 deadline for teams to offer salary arbitration to their former players who became free agents, a baseball official said late Sunday...

Ladona M. Dunlap, 75, of Cape Girardeau, died Nov. 27, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- James "Jim" C. Crow, 76, of Mounds, Ill., died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 19, 1927, at Mounds, son of the late Leonard Crow and the late Erma Daniels Crow Guy. He and Virginia Junkerman were married on Nov. 16, 1946, at Mounds...

10 years ago: Dec. 1, 1993 Cape Girardeau residents whose homes were damaged by this summer's flooding can have structures demolished at no cost through grant program approved by state. County officials now say that fire that burned down Hobbs Chapel United Methodist Church Friday wasn't caused by arson, as was first believed...

As Cape Girardeau broker Tom Kelsey puts it, this may be the year for demolition and redevelopment projects on the city's west side. We've already seen the Holiday Inn come down. (Isn't it strange to see that big, empty space?) There's also the 180-room Drury Inn & Suites blueprinted for Interstate 55 and Highway 74. Not to mention that those hotel projects also are promising at least eight new restaurants along the interstate...

Private finishes basic training at Fort Knox Pfc. Travis C. Johnston graduated from Fort Knox, Ky., basic training on Nov. 19. Johnston is the son of Henry T. and Kay Johnston of Jackson and husband of Mika Johnston of Morley, Mo. He will be stationed at Fort Riley, Kan...

Trinity Lutheran holding holiday luncheon Chicken and dumplings will be served from 11 to 1 p.m. Saturday at the annual Ladies' Junior Aid holiday bazaar held in Trinity Lutheran Fellowship Room, 100 N. Frederick St., Cape Girardeau. Men of St. Ambrose serving breakfast Sunday...

Newcomers Club plans to change its name The Newcomers Club, now no longer exclusive to newcomers, is going to have a new club name. Current activities include a book club meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at Barnes & Noble on "Bell Canto" by Ann Patchett; the Lunch Bunch will meet at 10 a.m. Dec. 8 at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park entrance before going to Suzie's for lunch in Sikeston; and a coffee meeting at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 15 at Panera Bread in Westfield Shoppingtown...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- Owners of businesses that rent equipment for floating on some of southern Missouri's rivers are keeping wary watch on a proposed change in a National Park Service rule. The revision would upgrade the lowly inner tube to "vessel" status, meaning those who go tubing on the Current and Jacks Fork rivers in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways would have to take along personal flotation devices, and children under 12 would have to wear them...

SONORA, Texas -- To folks in this hamlet on the western edge of the Texas Hill Country, redistricting seemed an issue for the big cities. That was until state lawmakers divided Sutton County between two U.S. congressmen, splitting a place where natural gas fuels the economy and where hunters fill the main drag each autumn...

The 2002-03 school year may live in infamy among local educators as the winter the snow never stopped falling. Schools missed as many as 15 days due to winter weather in 2002-03, prompting some districts to build more makeup days into this year's calendar...

Parents who don't pay child support risk losing more than just driving privileges, professional licenses and their child's respect. They may wind up behind bars. That's what happened to two men this year in Cape Girardeau County. Preston J. Bainter and Tavis M. Betts sit in prison because the courts lost faith these men would ever support their children. Both men were sentenced Nov. 3 to three years by Circuit Judge William Syler...

ATLANTA -- A man walked into an Atlanta office, made chitchat with two workers and sat down for lunch with them. Nobody noticed when he left with four stolen laptops. In another incident, police officers stopped a woman who was nearly nine months pregnant as she left an Atlanta-area workplace and found a laptop strapped to her belly. ...

BOSTON -- Ken Powers knew the potential dangers of having his stomach stapled, but to a man who had tipped the scales at 475 pounds, those risks didn't much matter. "I had this thought: If I die on the operating table, having the surgery to try to better my life, I thought it was a better thing to do than to live the way I was living, which, in my opinion, I was kind of waiting to die anyway," he said...

COLUMBIA, Conn. The world of Harry Potter, credited with inspiring millions of children to read, is now being used to get students excited about physical education. Justin vanGelder, a first-year gym teacher at Horace W. Porter School, is among those across the country incorporating the game "quidditch" into their curriculum...

Basketball Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson was fined $10,000 by the NBA for making an obscene gesture toward fans during a loss in Milwaukee. Colleges Iowa State quarterback Wayne Terry, who was carried off the field on a stretcher during the Cyclones' game at Missouri on Saturday, was released from the hospital and returned to Ames. ...

Syria repatriates suspects in Istanbul bombings ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Syria handed over 22 suspects to Turkey on Sunday in connection with four deadly suicide bombings in Istanbul, the semiofficial Anatolia news agency reported. The suspects, all Turks, reportedly fled the country after the attacks, which targeted two synagogues in near-simultaneous bombings Nov. ...

7:30 p.m. today City Hall Public Hearing Hearing to consider proposed amendments to Chapter 65 (zoning) of the Code of Ordinances. Action items Motion to approve the mayor's appointments to the Jackson Industrial Park Spec Building Committee. Motion to accept the engineer's final report on the South Old Orchard Road Improvement Project...

Soft on terrorism THERE ARE actually Americans who think our nation should appease terrorists and not go after them after they attacked America. What kind of wimps are these people? Do they think we should all lie down and say, "Hit me again"? Turn yourself in...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded Saturday to the following items: At 3:20 p.m., a request for medical assistance at 1216 Cousin. At 6:38 p.m., a smoke scare at 870 N. Kingshighway. At 11:22 p.m., a request for medical assistance at 2598 Saddlegate Court...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Daniel Patrick Turner, 21, 724 E. Main, Jackson, was arrested Saturday on a Cape city warrant for failure to appear. A suspect was taken into custody Saturday pending formal charges for driving while suspended, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia...

Actor Amos helps victims of wildfire LOS ANGELES -- Actor John Amos had to do something when he heard about a man driven out of his home so quickly by last month's wildfires that he didn't have time to grab his shoes. Amos has given the family $500 for food and gas, sent them clothes and sent a limousine to take them to a taping of television's "All About the Andersons" in which he co-stars. ...

McCain: Congress spends like a 'drunken sailor' WASHINGTON -- Congress is throwing away astonishing amounts, "spending money like a drunken sailor," and President Bush shares the blame because he is not using his veto power, Republican Sen. John McCain said Sunday. ...

When federal agents who swept into Wal-Marts across the country and arrested 245 floor cleaners, they were reviving an increasingly rare practice. Politics and economics weaned the federal government from workplace crackdowns of illegal employees years ago. The government has busted steadily fewer employers and arrested fewer illegal employees since the late 1990s, according to federal immigration data...

ROSWELL, Ga. -- UPS, FedEx and other delivery companies will be getting help from millions of customers this holiday season. Using the Internet, many holiday shoppers will take part in the shipping process, pointing and clicking to create their own shipping labels, or, if they're ordering online, supplying information that makes it easier for packages to be sent worldwide...

Sidewalks on Broadway were packed tight Sunday night as hundreds of spectators turned out to see the Cape Girardeau Christmas Parade of Lights. Some came a few hours early to get good spots to watch the parade, which started at 5:30 p.m. "I've been here since about three giving out free hot chocolate," said Brandelin Frazier of Cape Girardeau. "The temperature's not bad, it's just really windy. It's definitely worth it to see the parade. One year I even sat in the rain to watch it."...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska fired football coach Frank Solich because athletic director Steve Pederson believed the program was slipping in stature compared to its Big 12 rivals. "I refuse to let the program gravitate into mediocrity," Pederson said Sunday when he officially announced the firing. "We won't surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Texas."...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Staci Marie Hall is less concerned with how she came to be mistaken for Stacy M. Hall than with getting over the frightening episode. Having spent nearly three years rebuilding her life after a drug-related conviction, the 29-year-old Duenweg woman was astonished to be charged in southeast Kansas with 13 crimes including burglary, stealing and aiding and abetting in those crimes...

When it comes to billboards, two of Jackson's most important government bodies don't see eye to eye. At a recent study session, the Jackson Board of Aldermen came to a consensus that Jackson's billboard policy should not be changed as suggested by the Planning and Zoning Board...

ST. LOUIS -- Marshall Faulk still knows how to get into the end zone, zooming past Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Jim Brown on the career touchdown list. Faulk ran for three scores to help the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings 48-17 in a battle of division leaders Sunday...