Stories from Saturday, October 2, 2004

The intersection improvement at Route D and Farmington Road is one of Jackson's biggest street projects this year. But just north of the intersection, the concrete gives way to a cheap hybrid surface, one that is splotched with patches and potholes...

Exactly what is the fastest way to consume five saltine crackers? T.J. Crowden figured the answer was stacking the crackers and shoving them all in at once -- a technique that inevitably caused the Eagle Ridge Christian School 12th-grader's gums to gum up and his lips to spray crumbs across the floor...

nce the leaves start falling and the temperatures start to drop, area churches start cooking. Whether it's a sausage supper at a Lutheran church, a chicken and dumplings dinner or apple butter from Evangelical United Church of Christ, food sales help area churches fund mission projects...

When it came time to raise money for the United Way of Southeast Missouri, Central High School students asked themselves this question: What would Andrew Jackson do? He would, the students decided, change their arch rival's mascot from the Indians to the Jackson Red Hawks...

Four of the five men known as the "slingshot vandals" were sentenced recently while the fifth goes to trial next week. Chad Burton of Cape Girardeau pleaded guilty Aug. 23 and was sentenced to two years in jail. That sentence was suspended. Lawrence F. ...

There are your traditional and time-honored Christmas productions like "The Nutcracker" and "A Christmas Carol," and then there is Trans-Siberian Orchestra's holiday offering coming to Cape Girardeau next month. "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" is co-sponsored by the Southeast Missourian, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and by KFVS12, celebrating its 50th anniversary...

Renaissance Aircraft and the city of Cape Girardeau remain at odds over lease payments surrounding the financially troubled airplane manufacturer after the company paid out far less than the amount city officials said was owed by the Friday deadline...

Hermina Reiker, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Aug. 2, 1911, at Gordonville, daughter of Henry and Katy Ressel Millering. She married Clarence E. Reiker, who died in 1973. Mrs. Reiker was a telephone operator 35 years at Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. She was a member of St. Mary's Cathedral, Telephone Pioneers, Saint Francis Medical Center Auxiliary, Friends of Saint Francis and Council of Catholic Women...

Anderson L. Hayden, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 1, 2004, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Feb. 14, 1913, in Sikeston, Mo., son of James and Emma Krone Hayden. He and Mildred V. Hayden were married in 1937. She died April 21, 2002. Hayden was assistant superintendent at Marquette Cement. He was a member of First Baptist Church, Lions Club, and a volunteer at Saint Francis Medical Center...

Cape man leading state career, tech group Dean Whitlow, assistant director of the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, has been chosen to serve as president of the Missouri Council of Career and Technical Administrators for the 2004-2005 school year. ...

The leaner version of the City of Roses Music Festival that transpired last weekend in downtown Cape Girardeau was a success. The size of the crowd was difficult to gauge, but organizers estimate there were 1,500 people at the three outdoor stages at the peak of the festival Saturday night in addition to those listening to music in the downtown nightclubs at the same time...

"Once you've said 'It is enough,' you're lost. Keep adding, keep advancing, and keep walking: Do not stop, do not turn back, do not turn from the straight road.'" (St. Augustine) I thought about that quote and found it made an enormous amount of sense -- containing timeless wisdom we can all learn from...

Two Ohio Valley Conference volleyball teams headed in totally opposite directions hooked up Friday night -- and the squads kept going that way. Eastern Illinois continued its strong start as the Panthers continued Southeast Missouri State University's struggles with a 31-29, 28-30, 30-23, 30-24 victory in front of more than 200 fans at Houck Field House...

To the editor: Here is my answer to the question as to whether Dan Rather should be fired or retired. I say fired. In the event that the network cannot bring itself to part with Rather, I hope pressure will be put upon him through public opinion in such force that he will retire, although I think he will have to be carried out shouting all the way...

To the editor: We are safe in assuming, after reading Alan Journet's latest letter condemning President Bush, that he will vote for John Kerry. This is his right. I read with interest as he bashed Bush on an array of issues, which also is his right. When Journet stated Bush was not in line with mainstream values, giving the impression that he and Kerry are, I felt compelled to speak out...

Calvin G. Walter, 79, of Jackson died Friday, Oct. 1, 2004, at Jackson Manor. He was born Feb. 13, 1925, at Campbell, Mo., son of Gilbert and Eva Fleming Walter. He and Lorene Lincoln were married June 13, 1947. Calvin was inducted into the U.S. Navy July 9, 1942. He was a signalman second class and received a Purple Heart due to injuries sustained in World War II. He was honorably discharged Nov. 2, 1945...

To the editor: Those of us who spoke against the changes in Cape Girardeau's animal ordinance have failed to communicate the fundamental principles involved. The point is not how many pets one may have, but how to treat other creatures in our community with compassion. ...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released Friday by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Scott A. Reichert, 21, 303 Briarcliff St., Waterloo, Ill., was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and driving without headlights...

The Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center operates a "boot camp for the unemployed" that has helped participants land jobs, center director Rich Payne said Friday. "Most of these individuals are unemployed, underemployed or laid off," Payne told a crowd of about 150 people at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Police have arrested a salvage-yard worker from suburban Detroit in the death 23 years ago of Southern Illinois University student Susan Schumake, whose strangled body was found in a thicket of bushes and trees near the campus. Daniel Woloson, 45, of Brownstown Township, Mich., appeared Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court where Judge Thomas Jones told him he would be formally charged with Schumake's murder at an arraignment Oct. 20, State's Attorney Mike Wepsiec said...

SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki set the major league record for hits in a season with 258, breaking George Sisler's 84-year-old mark with a pair of singles Friday night. The Seattle star chopped a leadoff single in the first inning, then made history with a grounder up the middle in the third...

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. -- Mount St. Helens, the volcano that blew its top with cataclysmic force in 1980, erupted for the first time in 18 years Friday, belching a huge column of white steam and ash after days of rumblings under the mountain. Small earthquakes resumed within hours of the blast, suggesting pressure inside the mountain was rebuilding. Scientists said there could be more steam eruptions soon...

PHILADELPHIA -- Two of the biggest forces in rock music over the last 20 years were plugging in their amplifiers Friday to kick off a high-volume effort to oust President Bush on Nov. 2. Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M. will bring a dose of music and politics to the Wachovia Center, starting a 10-day series of "Vote for Change" shows in battleground states. ...

The Associated Press BASRA, Iraq -- Three southern Iraqi provinces, which lie atop more than 80 percent of Iraq's huge oil reserves, are considering setting up an autonomous region, claiming the area is being marginalized by the central government, officials said Friday...

The Associated Press SIALKOT, Pakistan -- A suicide attacker carrying a bomb in a briefcase struck a Shiite mosque crammed with hundreds of worshippers in eastern Pakistan, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 50 during Friday prayers. Shortly after the attack, experts defused a second bomb outside the mosque, where hundreds of angry Shiites had gathered to protest the attack...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- An audiotape that surfaced Friday purportedly by al-Qaida's second-in-command urged Muslim youths to carry out pre-emptive strikes against the United States and its allies. The tape aired by Al-Jazeera television identified the speaker as Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian-born confidante of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. ...

CHICAGO -- U.S. Senate candidates Barack Obama and Alan Keyes took part in a wide-ranging candidates forum Friday night, discussing everything from immigration and health care to the war in Iraq. The two candidates did not appear on stage together during the two-hour forum organized by the Community Renewal Society, a social justice not-for-profit organization affiliated with the United Church of Christ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A new-look Missouri defense will try to slow a surging Colorado offense when both teams open Big 12 play today in Columbia. After switching to a 4-3 defense in the offseason, Missouri (2-1) is tied for second in the conference in scoring average, allowing 14.7 points per game. ...

Playing some of his best golf in the worst conditions, Ernie Els breezed through a wacky day of weather at the American Express Championship on Friday by starting with four straight birdies and finishing with an 8-under 64 at Thomastown, Ireland. Els was at 11-under 133. ...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- It takes serious cash and some shrewd politics to make it to the White House -- and not just for the people who want to be president. Every member of the U.S. Olympic team will get the opportunity to make the traditional trip to Washington this month, but only after a good amount of wrangling over finances and the size of the invitation list...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Wilbert E. Yates, 91, of Carbondale, Ill., formerly of Jonesboro, died Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004, at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill. He was born Dec. 7, 1912, in Terre Haute, Ind., son of William D. and Margaret Louise Neuman. He and Margaret M. Isgrig were married Nov. 24, 1938, in Terre Haute...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Alma Loar Mashek, 83, of Advance died Friday, Oct. 1, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 18, 1921, in Advance, daughter of Jacob and Loar Jenkins Tropf. She and Raymond "Bud" Mashek were married June 15, 1947, at Marquand, Mo. He died Aug. 31, 2003...

HOUSTON -- NASA's spaceflight leadership council decided Friday to delay the spring 2005 launch date for the first shuttle scheduled to return to space since last year's Columbia tragedy, citing hurricane damage and more work needed to meet a panel's recommendations...

ST. LOUIS -- Rick Ankiel won his first game in 3 1/2 years with a four-inning relief stint marred only by an errant curveball that beaned a batter, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 Friday night. Ankiel (1-0), activated from the disabled list Sept. 1, gave up two hits in his 50-pitching outing, including a home run by Keith Ginter. Ankiel struck out two and walked none his first victory since April 8, 2000, when he beat Arizona's Randy Johnson...

NEW YORK -- With an estimated 62.5 million viewers, the first Bush-Kerry debate was a television hit that demonstrated Americans' intense interest in the presidential campaign. The viewership was up 34 percent from the 46.6 million people who watched the first debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, according to Nielsen Media Research. That 2000 debate also had competition from a baseball playoff game...

CAIRO, Egypt -- Arab viewers, many suspicious of U.S. intentions in their region, watched the U.S. presidential debate with wariness, some dismissing the event as a trivial "American show" long on rhetoric and short on specifics. While some viewers said Democrat John Kerry appeared to best President Bush in the debate itself, analysts suggested Friday that Bush still appeals to many in the Middle East -- to governments looking for continuity, to reformers looking for pressure on their countries, and to militants who see Bush's policies spreading support for their anti-American rage.. ...

SEATTLE -- Three laptop computers containing campaign plans were stolen overnight from the Bush-Cheney state headquarters office, Republican officials said Friday. Between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., after the last campaign worker had gone home from the office in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, someone threw a rock through the office window of Jon Seaton, executive director for President Bush's state campaign, said Chris Vance, state GOP chairman...

WASHINGTON -- John Kerry used suspect accounting in sizing up the cost of the Iraq war and President Bush got his opponent's position wrong on withdrawing troops as the two men rushed to knock each other down as many pegs as possible in their first debate...

Demolition work will continue on the old Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau on Monday with a small blast scheduled to raze a concrete pier in the river near the Illinois shore. The blast is scheduled for noon. It will be small compared to the recent blasts that took down the metal spans, said Missouri Department of Transportation construction inspector Rick Lamb...

It's hard to gauge which team has the emotional edge entering today's Ohio Valley Conference football game between Southeast Missouri State University and Eastern Illinois. That's because the Indians and Panthers are both coming off dramatic wins that marked their first victories of the season...

Notre Dame's soccer team dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to visiting Lafayette on Friday night. The Bulldogs (7-7) posted their only goal when Bryce Willen scored with 4:30 left in the second half to send the game to overtime. Chris Bartelsmeyer scored for Lafayette, located in west St. Louis County, to end the game in overtime...

Scott City football coach Terry Flannigan said his offensive line is still a bit of a work in progress. The Chaffee Red Devils are probably happy enough without seeing the finished product. Scott City rolled up a 34-point halftime lead and posted a 47-20 victory in its homecoming game Friday night...

The Indians suffered their first loss in convincing fashion, falling 48-21. By Jeremy Joffray ~ Southeast Missourian If Jackson football's first real test of the season came Friday night in a home matchup with Jefferson City, then the Indians failed miserably...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following item on Wednesday: At 4:24 p.m., emergency medical service in the 900 block of Hackberry Street. Firefighters responded to the following item on Thursday: At 1:08 a.m., emergency medical service in the 300 block of Granite Street...

This is in response to the letter writer who said a headline in the Southeast Missourian about autism was "absolutely irresponsible." She said the fact of the matter is beyond any doubt that vaccines containing thimerosal, a preservative, do not cause autism...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- James C. Simpson Jr., 58, of Sikeston died Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born March 26, 1946, at Diehlstadt, Mo., son of James C. and Beulah D. Poley Simpson. He and Ruth A. Jones were married Feb. 10, 1968, at Charleston, Mo...

Myrtle Hilpert Kuntze, 97, of Tulsa, Okla., died Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004, at Mayfair Nursing Home in Tulsa. She was born Aug. 22, 1907, in Burfordville, daughter of Joseph and Arza Howard Meyer. She and Albert G. Hilpert were married Sept. 29, 1928, in Cape Girardeau. He died Dec. 8, 1963. She and Alvin Kuntze were married Nov. 18, 1978, in Cape Girardeau. He died in July 1979...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- E.H. "Sonny" Pullen, 86, formerly of Diehlstadt, Mo., died Friday, Oct. 1, 2004, at Clearview Nursing Center in Sikeston. He was born Sept. 1, 1918, in Mississippi County, son of Alfred Edwin and Arto Oakley Pullen. He had lived in Mississippi County his entire life. He was a member of Southside Baptist Church in Charleston, Mo., and was a self-employed truck driver...

Dr. William F. Ansberry, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 18, 1926, at Logansport, Ind., son of Michael C. and Mary Elizabeth Frecking Ansberry. He and Ruth Elizabeth Baynes were married April 17, 1954, at North Vernon, Ind...

10 years ago: Oct. 2, 1994 The Rev. Hays Rockwell of St. Louis, bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, visits at Christ Episcopal Church in morning. First official function is held in morning at new, $17,000-square-foot Salvation Army headquarters at 701 Good Hope St.; Capt. Elmer Trapp is making plans for upgrading Army's services to community, including help for disaster victims and a midnight basketball league for youths...

Briefly Ugly quilt weekend planned at DePaul Center St. Vincent DePaul's Christian Service group and the Council of Catholic Women will sponsor an "ugly quilt" weekend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 16 and from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 17 at the DePaul Center gym. Lunch is provided on Oct. 16. Participants will be making sleeping bags for the homeless. No sewing skills are required for volunteers to help. To participate, call Alma Heisserer at 335-9275 or Sue Iten at 335-0372...

Baseball n WGN-TV analyst Steve Stone met Friday with Chicago Cubs president Andy MacPhail, general manager Jim Hendry and manager Dusty Baker after the broadcaster questioned managerial strategy and criticized the team's approach. During a postgame TV show Thursday, Stone wondered about Baker's moves in the 12th inning of a 2-1 loss to the Reds. ...

Ranchito drag strip I'VE NOTICED in the last couple of weeks that the police department has been running radar at Mount Auburn Road and a few other roads. I'm sure it will help the city make more money. But believe me, if they'd like to make a ton of money, they need to run radar on Ranchito Drive. My mother lives on that street. It's a drag strip. And maybe my mother would be able to get out of her driveway without having accidents...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's top law enforcer sued an online ticket broker Thursday, accusing the business of illegally reselling St. Louis Cardinals playoffs tickets for far more than face value. Attorney General Jay Nixon asked a judge to bar Show-Me Tickets Inc. from further "scalping" any of the more than 2,800 tickets he alleges the broker "hijacked" to profit off of Cardinals fans...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Police found Lori Hacking's body in a landfill Friday after picking through the trash for weeks in a search for the young Utah woman allegedly murdered by her husband. The state medical examiner's office used dental records to identify the remains about six hours after they were discovered...

SAMARRA, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi forces battled their way into the heart of this Sunni stronghold Friday and moved house to house in search of militants in what appeared to be the first major offensive to regain control of areas lost to insurgents before the January elections...

Central's football team completed the first half of its regular-season schedule Thursday at home with a 21-13 loss to St. Louis University High School, one of the St. Louis area's top teams. Despite the Tigers' 1-4 record after five games, Central's encouraging play against the Jr. Billikens should give it momentum as it heads towards district play and a shot at a fifth straight district title...