Stories from Saturday, June 12, 2004

By Ted A. LeGrand Ronald Reagan, the nation's 40th president, recently lost his long and arduous battle with Alzheimer's disease. Reagan left the world a better place. Most of us set that goal sometime during our lives. He certainly succeeded...

Cape Girardeau's Ford & Sons American Legion team's struggles continued on Friday, when it dropped a 6-5 decision to Dunklin County at the Jonesboro, Ark., Riceland Ricemen Classic. Ford & Sons fell to 3-8 with the loss and 0-2 in pool play. It will finish up tournament play today against Sheridan, Ark...

Kirleis Daughter to Aaron James and Crystal Monique Kirleis of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:44 p.m. Monday, May 10, 2004. Name, Karly Ann. Weight, 6 pounds 10 ounces. Third daughter. Mrs. Kirleis is the former Crystal Blattel, daughter of Sam and JoAnn Blattel of Cape Girardeau. Kirleis is the son of Norman and Deborah Kirleis of Millstadt, Ill. He is an electrician with MMR Construction at Procter & Gamble...

New works program I BELIEVE the non-violent offenders in prison could be put to work planting trees where there have been fires out West or cleaning parks kind of like a WPA program. It would be beneficial to society and save money also. Admiring the home...

College Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins apologized to players, friends, his school and the community Friday night for his arrest this week on a drunken driving charge. "I made a very poor decision that's reflected negatively on the basketball program and the university," Huggins said, fighting tears. ...

Shultz records ace Jan Shultz of Jackson carded her first career hole in one Tuesday at Kimbeland Country Club. Shultz used an 8-iron on No. 4, a par-3 hole playing 135 yards. Witnesses were Ricky Shultz and Corey King. Jones fires hole in one Wayne Jones of Jackson sank his first career hole in one Tuesday at Kimbeland Country Club...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Greater Vision Apostolic Pentecostal Church will hold a revival Thursday through Sunday. Speaker is Wayne Stevens, pastor of the Apostolic Pentecostal church in Tucson, Ariz. He is a native of Marble Hill. Service times are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. At 4 p.m. Saturday, there will be a special song service and hot dog meal. For information, phone 243-3021...

A little boy was asked, "What's the difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day?" Without hesitation he responded: "The presents don't cost as much." President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in 1914 that the second Sunday in May be observed as Mother's Day. It wasn't until 1972 that Father's Day became a national holiday. Father's Day is June 20...

VATICAN CITY -- Dealing with bug infestations, normal wear and tear, and even the occasional thief, keepers of the 15th century Vatican Apostolic Library face an ever-challenging task. Their latest step to keep their invaluable collection intact has been to employ some 21st century technology...

Today Family Fun Day at 10 a.m. at First General Baptist Church in Jackson. Event includes a dunking booth. Benefit bake sale, barbecue and auction at Church of God in Cape Girardeau. Events begin at 4 p.m. with the auction at 6 p.m...

Cape Girardeau The following items have been released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Quincy R. Lucious, 44, of 513 William, was arrested Thursday on a Cape Girardeau city warrant for failure to appear in court on suspended operator's license charges and two Ste. Genevieve County warrants for failure to appear in court for speeding and no operator's license...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following items on Thursday: At 6:45 p.m., an emergency medical service at 1400 S. West End Blvd. At 10 p.m., a cleanup at North Kingshighway and Cape Rock Drive. Firefighters responded to the following items on Friday: At 1:42 a.m., an emergency medical service at 40 S. Sprigg St...

Players from area schools now in professional baseball; included is each player's local connection, last year as an amateur and major league affiliation (if applicable).TIM ALVAREZ, LHP Southeast 2003 San Francisco Giants Alvarez, in his second pro season and first with Class A Hagerstown (Md.), is 1-3 with 14 saves and a 2.89 ERA. In 28 innings spanning 23 appearances, he has allowed 23 hits, struck out 19 and walked 8. He leads the South Atlantic League in saves.JAMES BEEVER, RHP...

Some of the area's future track and field talent will be on display today when the annual Hershey Track and Field Youth Meet takes place at Central Junior High School. The meet is for girls and boys ages 9 to 14. The kids are divided into three age groups (9-10, 11-12 and 13-14), with the winner of each age group automatically qualifying for the state meet in Jefferson City...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Police are investigating a confrontation between Karl Malone and a fan who says the Lakers' forward poked him in the face before Game 3 of the NBA Finals. In a dispute shown repeatedly on national television, the man was at the edge of the court during Los Angeles' layup drill before Thursday night's game, won by the Detroit Pistons 88-68...

Jackson boy dies in Scott County accident A 12-year-old Jackson boy died Friday in an all-terrain vehicle accident in Scott County. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Ethan Thomas Reid Schott was driving his 2003 Honda ATV on Route E around 11 a.m., when he attempted to jump over a curb, causing him to lose control of the ATV and strike a tree. He was transported to St. Francis Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:29 a.m...

It took courage for Fay Beal to stand up publicly to her bad neighbors last week. Beal, a member of the Neighborhood Watch group on South Hanover Street in Cape Girardeau, and other residents who asked to remain anonymous talked to our reporter about troublemakers who block the street, curse other residents, deal drugs, hold pit-bull fights and play loud music...

In response to the "Personal decision" comment in Speak Out: It has taken me a long to time to "click it" because I couldn't get my seat belt around me. Now that I can, I consider it not just a privilege and a law. I want to live as long as God allows. ...

To the editor: Regarding "Mercury in drugs linked to autistic reactions" (or, See, I told you so years ago). This is not rocket science, folks: Mercury compounds have been treated as hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency almost since its inception. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jerry Rodney Jones, 73, of Boomer, W.Va., formerly of Sikeston, died Thursday, June 10, 2004, at Charleston Area Memorial Hospital in Charleston, W.Va. He was the son of Carmelita Jones. He and Leatha Landers were married June 24, 1956, at Canalou, Mo...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Venzill Slaughter, 67, of Sikeston died Thursday, June 10, 2004, at his home. He was born Dec. 13, 1936, in Flint, Mich., son of William and Clara Slaughter. He and Betty Bolden were married Oct. 25, 1993. Slaughter lived in Scott County most of his life...

Ethan Thomas Reid Schott, 12, of Jackson died Friday, June 11, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center as the result of an accident. Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Gordonvile...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Verman Bagbey, 97, of Advance died Friday, June 11, 2004, at Advance Nursing Center. He was born July 6, 1906, at Dongola, Mo., son of Floyd and Bertha Aldridge Bagbey. He and Esther Proffer were married March 1, 1932. She died April 6, 1988...

MATTHEWS, Mo. -- Jimmie Mays Gore, 73, of Matthews died Wednesday, June 9, 2004, at his home. He was born Aug. 28, 1930, at Matthews, son of Raymond R. and Bertha P. Mays Gore. He and Bertha Burrell were married Dec. 21, 1956. Gore moved to Matthews four years ago from East Prairie, Mo. He was a retired maintenance worker with Teamsters Local 688 in St. Louis...

10 years ago: June 12, 1994 Missouri has official flower, tree, instrument, song, even fossil, but no official animal; members of American Legion Post 63 of Cape Girardeau hope to change that; they are spearheading statewide campaign to get Missouri mule, a fellow veteran, named state's official animal...

WASHINGTON -- Alcohol abuse is up in America -- sharply for most groups -- a government study said Friday. At the same time alcoholism was down. Some 4.65 percent of the adult population reported alcohol abuse in 2001-2002, up from 3.03 percent a decade earlier, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported...

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Trustees of Southern Illinois University Carbondale have approved pay raises for the school's top athletic officials, saying that if the university wants an excellent sports program, it will have to put money into it. Athletic director Paul Kowalczyk's new salary is $152,400, up from $121,920 per year, and football coach Jerry Kill will see his annual earnings go from $93,600 to $140,004. The raises are retroactive to April 1...

There is a human urge to reach toward the flag-draped casket, but no clear protocol about how to do it. Nancy Reagan's gentle touch eased the awkwardness, and Americans in T-shirts and dress uniforms drew close to salute and pray and mourn on a scale the nation is unlikely to repeat soon...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- When Thomas Hart Benton's mural in the Missouri Capitol depicting a social history of the state was publicly unveiled in 1937, the reaction wasn't universally positive. Many critics felt Benton, who hailed from an old Missouri political family, should have focused on noble scenes of the state instead of emphasizing less pleasant aspects such as slavery and the violence of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston High School All-American Blake DeWitt officially became a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization on Friday afternoon, when he signed a contract with the storied franchise. DeWitt, who was drafted by the Dodgers with the 28th pick in the first round, received a signing bonus of $1.2 million and he will receive the base minor league salary set by Major League Baseball...

New jobs, more tax money, an even more dynamic shopping environment. These will be the results of a collaborative effort to bring two new stores to Cape Girardeau. The announcement by Mayor Jay Knudtson on Thursday also underscored how desirable this region is for the hottest retail concepts. The 150,000-square-foot Sears Grand to be built next to Goody's will be only the sixth in the nation. And Kohl's is one of the fastest-growing retail chains in the country...

HARRISON, N.Y. -- Dr. Snowball might be making house calls next week at Shinnecock Hills if Fred Couples keeps playing like this. After night and morning acupuncture sessions with Halina Snowball in Greenwich, Conn., the 44-year-old Couples shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Buick Classic...

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Albert Pujols returned from a hamstring injury and drove in a run, and John Mabry homered and had five RBIs in the Cardinals' 12-7 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. Reggie Sanders homered had three hits for the Cardinals, who have a major league-best 22-11 record on the road...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Los Angeles Lakers handed out compliments to the Detroit Pistons on Friday about as well as they've gotten the ball to Shaquille O'Neal -- grudgingly, or not at all. "It's all about us," O'Neal said. "They're not doing anything that's putting us out of character. We're putting our own selves out of character."...

Claire Bira knows rice. Well, sort of. She knows how to write about it anyway. The Cape Girardeau 15-year-old has never stepped foot on a rice paddy, but she's taken home first-place awards in the U.S. Rice Producers Association's multistate essay contest two years running...

NEW YORK -- St. Louis outfielder Roger Cedeno was suspended for four games and fined an undisclosed amount Friday for his animated run-in with an umpire. The suspension, imposed by Major League Baseball, had been set to start Friday night. Cedeno was not in the starting lineup as the Cardinals played at Texas...

The way Friday night's game started for Jason Chavez, he said he would have probably been pleased to hang on for any kind of a victory. Instead, Chavez finished with a flourish as the Plaza Tire Capahas knocked off the Riverdogs 8-3 in a battle of Cape Girardeau amateur baseball teams at Capaha Field...

A Republican candidate for Missouri attorney general says he won't take campaign contributions from lawyers even though he wants to be the state's top lawyer. Chris Byrd, a Kansas City lawyer, said he doesn't think the attorney general should take contributions from other lawyers because of a possible conflict of interest should they end up on opposite sides in future court cases...

WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. John McCain has personally rejected John Kerry's overtures to join the Democratic presidential ticket and forge a bipartisan alliance against President Bush, officials familiar with the conversations said Friday. Kerry asked McCain in the last two weeks to consider becoming his running mate, but the Arizona senator said he's not interested, according to a Democratic official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Kerry has insisted that his deliberations be kept private. ...

The runners involved in the Peace and Dignity Journey are not participating in an athletic event, but a spiritual one for American Indians. The journey takes place every four years and involves two main groups of runners: one that begins its journey in Alaska and one that begins in Argentina. Both groups started running on May 1 and will continue until they meet in October near Panama City, Panama...

From staff and wire reports Don Langston and his fellow farmers are feeling the pain at the gas pump just like everyone else, but for them it doesn't end there. Besides higher prices for diesel to run tractors and machinery, farmers are hit with increased costs for fertilizer and utilities to irrigate fields...

ATHENS, Greece -- A few months ago, a group of Russian rocket scientists announced an ambitious plan to send six people on a round-trip journey to Mars within a decade. It was estimated that the project would need up to $5 billion to get off the ground...

The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- While St. Louis officials believe a state law enacted in 2002 requires them to allow early voting in this November's election, lawmakers who wrote the bill disagree on whether they meant to allow the procedure...

SEOUL, South Korea -- Just two years ago, chants of "Murderous American GIs!" reverberated through the streets of Seoul at huge anti-U.S. rallies. But now that many U.S. soldiers may be leaving, the mood is far from celebratory. Lawmakers are worried about a possible security vacuum along the Cold War's last frontier and the need for bigger defense budgets as North Korea develops nuclear weapons. ...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A radical cleric whose uprising two months ago has left hundreds dead and threatened to inflame the Shiite heartland said Friday he would cooperate with the new government if it works to end the U.S. military presence. Gunmen blew up a police station south of Baghdad in the fourth such attack against Iraqi security installations in less than a week...

MANCHESTER, Tenn. -- A makeshift city of 90,000 sprung from a dusty farm field Friday on the opening of the three-day Bonnaroo music festival. Despite the stifling heat, women in peasant dresses danced and twirled to music that ranged from plinking mandolins to moody electric guitar solos...

As the nation eulogizes Ronald Reagan, proposals are multiplying to honor him by putting his name or image on important American institutions and symbols, including the Pentagon and the $10 bill. But for all the kind words that have been said about the 40th president, his eight years in office were sufficiently tumultuous -- and are sufficiently fresh in his critics' memories -- that most proposals will encounter serious opposition...

SAN FRANCISCO -- As Ronald Reagan's body was carried back to California for burial, Central American activists staged a protest Friday of Reagan's foreign policies, linking them to thousands of deaths in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua...

The morning after Ronald Reagan died, 82-year-old stone carver Nathen Blackwell got a wake-up call from the presidential library near Simi Valley, Calif. Library officials were scrambling to prepare the hilltop burial site personally chosen by the nation's 40th president as his final resting place. They wanted to know how to replace a discolored bronze presidential seal mounted on a limestone wall with a black granite one Blackwell had carved...

Providing security for former President Reagan's funeral is likely to cost government agencies several million dollars, but a far bigger expense is the loss of a day's labor by most of the federal government's 1.8 million employees. Under an executive order signed by President Bush, all federal workers except those needed to provide law enforcement, national security and other essential services were taking Friday off as part of a national day of mourning...

NEW YORK -- A bronze bust of Spencer Tracy sculpted by Katharine Hepburn sold for $316,000 on the second day of an auction of the late actress' estate. The bust, sitting on a green onyx and marble pedestal, was purchased Friday by an anonymous telephone bidder, said Patty Fox, a spokeswoman for Sotheby's...

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- In a final, majestic hail to the chief Friday, the nation bade a lingering goodbye to Ronald Reagan at a stately service in Washington under somber skies and at a hilltop burial ceremony beneath a setting sun in his beloved California...

A consultant will help Cape Girardeau city officials create a new pay plan designed to provide more competitive salaries to city employees. The city council voted at a special meeting Friday to hire Condrey & Associates Inc. of Athens, Ga., to develop the pay plan and also look at possible changes in salary and hourly jobs in city government to comply with the new federal regulations...