Stories from Saturday, December 4, 2004

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republican Peter Kinder and Democrat Bekki Cook spent nearly $2.15 million combined in the general election race for lieutenant governor. Kinder, the Senate president pro tem, spent $1,114,510 in his successful bid for the office, according to postelection campaign finance disclosure reports filed Thursday with the Missouri Ethics Commission. Cook, a former Missouri secretary of state, spent $1,034,975...

It's difficult to determine just what makes Blanchard Elementary School special because the spotlight is constantly shifting from one person to the next. Principal Dr. Barb Kohlfeld says it's her staff that makes the school unique. Teachers say it's Kohlfeld. Parents say it's both. Everyone can agree a big part of it lies with the students...

The Route Z and Highway 25 food and fuel shop in Gordonville was destroyed by an arsonist, a fire investigator said Friday. Butch Amann, a state fire marshal, would not release any details about why he thinks so but said the evidence points to criminal activity...

Construction superintendent Gene Schreckengost depends on drawings, even when it comes to putting up Christmas lights. Schreckengost drew up plans for where to string the lights on the unfinished federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau and then turned the task over to two members of his construction crew...

For those who feel like their holiday activities lately are limited to shopping, it might be a good idea to head to Jackson today where something old and something new in holiday festivities are being held. At 1:30 p.m. the city's annual Christmas parade gets underway on High Street by Jackson Frozen Foods Lockers at 400 S. High St., continues to Main Street and ends on Farmington Road...

NEW YORK -- Kurt Busch's busy week of celebration was capped Friday night with his acceptance of NASCAR's Nextel Cup championship trophy. A day earlier, he walked out of a midtown hotel and into a crowd of people calling his name and asking for autographs...

LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers long have been the NBA's doormat. Now they might be the best team in a town that has come to expect championships from the Lakers. The Clippers are coming off their best November in 30 years, and that's going back to their Buffalo Braves days. Instead of thinking ahead to yet another lottery pick, they look like a playoff contender in the rugged Western Conference...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- At a recent task force meeting on the epidemic of methamphetamine use in Appalachia, Gov. Phil Bredesen winced when a federal prosecutor described the illegal drug as an aphrodisiac. Doctors and government officials don't like to talk much about it, but there is an obvious reason people get hooked on methamphetamine: sex...

SEVILLE, Spain -- With drums pounding and a brass band playing, Andy Roddick and his U.S. teammates were reduced to silence Friday in the Davis Cup final. The Americans lost the opening two singles matches, falling into a big hole while Spain moved into commanding position to win the title for the second time...

Back when the conference was known as the Big Eight and guys like Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Billy Sims made the headlines, a trip to the Orange Bowl was always the goal for Oklahoma. It is again this year, but for a slightly different reason. This year, that's where the Bowl Championship Series national champ will be crowned, and the Sooners need a win over Colorado in the Big 12 title game today to get there...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It looks like Florida is going to get its first choice this time. Turned down by Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan three years ago before settling on Ron Zook, the Gators lured Utah coach Urban Meyer away from his "dream job" Friday, according to several media reports...

Baseball's steroid scandal could be seen coming six years ago. The Olympics have feared the one unfolding now for two decades. A series of federal grand jury testimony leaks, confessions and new accusations link the San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds, the New York Yankees' Jason Giambi and Olympic star Marion Jones to steroids distributed by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative...

ATLANTA -- Who could have imagined Tommy Tuberville in this position? Yet there he was Friday, standing alongside the Southeastern Conference championship trophy, posing for pictures and undoubtedly chuckling a bit on the inside. "You could make a movie script out of this," Tuberville said, trying to suppress a grin, "and no one would believe it."...

WASHINGTON -- At the current pace of cleanup work, it could take up to 35 years and $280 billion to fix most of the nation's existing and yet-to-be-discovered hazardous waste sites, the government said Friday. A report by the Environmental Protection Agency described what taxpayers and private industry will be spending to fix sites contaminated with hazardous waste and petroleum products...

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld -- scarred by postwar violence and prison scandal in Iraq -- accepted President Bush's request that he remain for the second-term Cabinet. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned Friday, warning as he left of a possible terror attack on the nation's food supply...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. and Austrian authorities have arrested two Iranian men on charges of attempting to illegally export thousands of sophisticated American night-vision systems for Iran's military, U.S. officials said Friday. The alleged transactions were eventually expected to involved about 3,000 of the advanced helmet-mounted Generation III systems, which can amplify even faint starlight so that soldiers can see to fight in the dark...

The Associated Press RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The militant group Hamas will accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a long-term truce with Israel, a leader said Friday, apparently softening Hamas' hard-line stance and boosting hopes for renewed peace efforts after Yasser Arafat's death...

REAL, Philippines -- Helicopters delivered food to survivors and picked up casualties Friday as flash floods began to recede in the northern Philippines, revealing the magnitude of a disaster triggered by back-to-back storms that killed more than 650 people and left nearly 400 missing...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- In the deadliest insurgent violence in weeks, militants stormed two police stations and a mosque in Baghdad on Friday, killing 30 people. In the northern city of Mosul, 11 militants died in street battles with American and Iraqi forces...

KIEV, Ukraine -- The Supreme Court ordered a rerun of the head-to-head presidential contest between Western-leaning Viktor Yushchenko and the Kremlin-backed candidate on Dec. 26, setting off rejoicing Friday by opposition supporters who waved orange flags and ignited fireworks as they chanted "Yushchenko! Yushchenko!"...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds testified to a grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer who was indicted in a steroid-distribution ring, but said he didn't know they were steroids, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday...

ST. LOUIS -- More than a season-and-a-half after the St. Louis Rams drafted Jimmy Kennedy in the first round, he's starting to return on the investment. There's a good chance the defensive tackle will get his first career start on Sunday. It's been a long wait for the 12th pick of the 2003 draft, who was a seldom-used backup as a rookie and then broke his right foot early in training camp this year...

If you like fast-paced back-and-forth action, then Friday's championship game at the Woodland Invitational between top-seeded Advance and No. 3 Meadow Heights was for you. The whistles were nearly silent, as the two teams went one shot and out nearly the entire game. In the end, Advance was able to make more of its opportunities en route to an 89-68 win...

Scott City senior Mark Dannenmueller scored 30 points Friday night, but it was not enough to lift the Rams to the championship of the Oran Tournament. Second-seeded Twin Rivers slipped past the top-seeded Rams 71-67 in the title contest, despite Dannenmueller reaching 30 points or more in all three tournament games...

A 1-3 start to the basketball season is not exactly what Southeast Missouri State University coach Gary Garner hoped for, but it also was not really unexpected. Southeast was an underdog in its three road games so far -- against Bradley, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Western Kentucky -- and lost all three contests, including two by four points...

Kweisi Mfume is leaving his job as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and his resignation should be a source of rejoicing for not only the membership of that civil rights organization, but for all Americans, black and white...

LOS ANGELES -- A record-breaking, $100-million clergy sex abuse settlement between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and 87 plaintiffs brought some measure of relief to long-suffering families Friday. The agreement, reached late Thursday and expected to be finalized as soon as Monday, surpasses the previous record of $85 million awarded to 552 victims in Boston in 2003, a participant in settlement negotiations said...

TOLEDO, Ohio -- President Bush's victory over John Kerry in Ohio was closer than the unofficial election night totals showed, but the change is not enough to trigger an automatic recount, according to county-by-county results provided to The Associated Press on Friday...

LOS ANGELES -- It's come to this: Even Frosty has a DVD out. "Frosty the Snowman" is among the cartoons included in the newly released "The Original Television Christmas Classics." So is the TV tradition of packing December with hours of holiday nostalgia over?...

** Scott City Christmas parade to be held today Scott City's annual Christmas parade will take place at 2 p.m. today, starting on Main Street near Bob's Foodliner at 2100 Main St. and heading to the Scott City Park, where Santa Claus, who will be riding on a firetruck, will meet with children and hand out treats at the pool parking lot. There will be about 15 participants in the parade, including the Scott City fire department and local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts...

Individual contributors who gave the maximum donation of $1,200 to candidates for lieutenant governor for the reporting period of Oct. 22 through Nov. 27. Listed are donor and city of residence: BEKKI COOK, D-CAPE GIRARDEAU Linda Aboussie, St. Louis; Armstrong Teasdale, St. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Willie Mae Wiggins, 73, of Sikeston died Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born May 8, 1931, at Famous, Mo., daughter of William and Bertha Mae Decker Nicholson. She was a member of Greer's Chapel Baptist Church. She was co-owner and operator of Wiggins Cafe in Sikeston for 30 years before retiring...

KARNAK, Ill. -- Aaron Lee Basham, 80, of Karnak died Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, at Massac Memorial Hospital in Metropolis, Ill. He was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Brackenridge County, Ky., son of David and Eva Basham. He married Alice Stone, who preceded him in death...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Eugene E. Bohnert, 91, of Perryville died Friday, Dec. 3, 2004, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born May 4, 1913, at Longtown, Mo., son of Andrew and Anna Muench Bohnert. He and Edith E. Cox were married March 22, 1937. She died Nov. 12, 2004...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- William "Garner" Dunlap, 90, of Advance died Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, at Beverly Healthcare in Bloomfield, Mo. He was born Sept. 23, 1914, at Bell City, Mo., son of William W. and Myrtle Garner Dunlap. He and Virginia Wealand were married Dec. 25, 1939, at Bell City. She died in 1984...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Michelle Lynn Welty, 35, of Perryville died Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004, at her home. She was born Oct. 6, 1969, in Perryville, daughter of Mike Welty and Karen Sue Rodewald. Survivors include a daughter, Megan Elder of Perryville; her mother of St. Mary, Mo.; her father of Perryville; a brother, Travis Welty of Perryville; maternal grandmother, Ruby Rodewald of St. Mary; and paternal grandmother, Ruby Welty of Perryville...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Dwayne Alan Hill Jr., 31, of Perryville died Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2004, in Perryville. He was born Sept. 7, 1973, in Cape Girardeau, son of Dwayne A. and Ruth A. Niswonger Hill Sr. He was formerly of Jackson. Hill was a veteran of the U.S. Army...

Lucetra May Sperry, 83, of Florissant, Mo., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Dec. 3, 2004, at DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton, Mo. She was born May 3, 1921, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Claude O. and Grace Noland Devenport. She and Frank Sperry were married June 27, 1943, in Olathe, Kan. He died in 1970...

Elvine "Misty" Flannigan, 45, of Dahlgren, Ill., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, at Good Samaritan Regional Hospital in Mount Vernon, Ill. She was born Dec. 25, 1958, in Chicago, daughter of Elvin Earl and Ruth Adams Ladd. She and Donald Flannigan were married Aug. 23, 1981...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Lester Walter Crader Jr., 55, of Marble Hill died Friday, Dec. 3, 2004, at his home. Funeral arrangements are pending with Hutchings Funeral Chapel of Marble Hill.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Steve L. Chandler, 55, of Marble Hill died Friday, Dec. 3, 2004, at his home, following an illness. He was born July 12, 1949, in Cape Girardeau, son of Lynn and Wanda Ricketts Chandler. He and Julia Johnson were married April 18, 1992, in Marble Hill...

** Nelson Daughter to Paul Nils and Heather Marie Nelson of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 10:19 a.m. Friday, Nov. 26, 2004. Name, Justi Marie. Weight, 6 pounds 13 ounces. Third daughter. Mrs. Nelson is the former Heather Kerby. She is employed at Southeast Missouri State University. Nelson is employed at K-N Soccer Inc...

** 25 years ago: Dec. 4, 1979 A new $104,000 "bubble" air-supported structure is inflated on the Southeast Missouri State University campus, replacing a bubble damaged in last winter's blizzard. State Department of Transportation officials are meeting with members of the Cape Girardeau City Council to discuss various mass-transit programs and how they might relate to the city should Southeast Missouri State University get involved in busing or van-pooling operations...

** No free lunch REGARDING the commercials on DVDs: There is no such thing as a free lunch. I would imagine the revenue stream produced by those commercials helps keep the cost of movies down. ** Some fine tuning BELIEVE IT or not, I think local drivers will appreciate the new intersections at Route K and Farrar Drive in Cape Girardeau. ...

Missouri state Sen. Jon Dolan has said tougher legislation requiring seat belt usage will pass or other bills will die. I believe seat belts can save your life in the right accident. But how do I know which accident I will be in? What about people with special needs like me? I have advanced cirrhosis of the liver with portal hypertension. I know this is a death sentence, but wearing a seat belt in my condition is even more of a death sentence...

To the editor: In reporting that the academic community contains many individuals who identify themselves as liberal rather than conservative, George Will once again reveals the right-wing triumph of ideology over critical thought. Instead of attempting a thoughtful exploration of why this might be, he jumps to the standard mindless right-wing conclusion that it reflects bias and indicates hypocrisy...

A song, a smile and a Santa hat. That's all it took for Scott Meyer to inject a festive spirit into the Show Me Center gathering at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee. The Missouri Department of Transportation engineer donned a red and white cap, cracked some jokes and regaled the crowd with a customized Christmas carol as he gave his report on what MoDOT has done for Cape Girardeau over the past year...

** Toybox A single mother with two toddlers wants to give them the best holiday ever, but needs help financially. She's asked Toybox to deliver presents to her children. The children, Michael, 3, and Daniel, 2, both like books and games and Disney movies. Michael is interested in SpongeBob SquarePants toys and Dora the Explorer toys. He also wants a LeapFrog Pad...

Every December, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires each school district in the state to publish a school report card. The report cards include a variety of data indicators, from attendance rates and salary information to dropout rates, test scores and disciplinary action, all intended to give the public a standard to measure success within every individual school...

** Cape Girardeau The following items were released Friday by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Joshua Kevin Moore, 21, 2816 Themis St., was arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia...

** Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following items Thursday: At 10:11 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1400 block of North Main Street. At 11:30 p.m., emergency medical service in the 100 block of North Ellis Street. At 11:53 p.m., emergency medical service in the 700 block of South West End Boulevard...

People who live in small towns stick together like families when the time comes. When St. Vincent's of Perryville played in the Class 1 state football championship last weekend, Perryville High School students and alumni were in the stands rooting hard for their crosstown rivals...

"I can't wait until I graduate from college." "My life will be wonderful when I get married." "I'll be in heaven if we can buy that house overlooking the river." "If I write an impressive resume I'll hopefully land that coveted job." Everyone believes he'll eventually find the decisive factor that will bring him happiness, a point at which he believes he has arrived. I, too, bought into that mindset until I found there's no such thing as "having arrived."...

Calendar Today Holiday Bazaar at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, sponsored by the Ladies' Junior Aid. Sale is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and includes craft items, jewelry and collectibles and white elephant gifts. A chicken and dumplings lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and carry-outs are available...

Sharing traditions is part of the holiday season but learning the meaning of traditional symbols associated with religious holidays can be tough for outsiders. Rhon Abraham remembers thinking that the menorah candles she saw as a child were like birthday candles...

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. Frustration with public education seems to be growing among the nation's Southern Baptists, with supporters of Christian schools and homeschooling arguing that if God is absent from the classroom then their children should leave, too...

The Southeast Missouri State University track and field program opens its indoor season today with the Arkansas State Invitational -- and the teams are more than ready for action. "We've been training since August. Nobody else practices this long without a game or a competition. They're really ready to go," Southeast coach Joey Haines said...

To the editor: We would like to thank everyone who donated food, paper goods and plastic ware and who cooked turkeys, assisted in the kitchen preparing the turkeys or donated their time the night before and on Thanksgiving Day by setting up, cooking, serving, being a hostess, delivering meals or cleaning up while providing a holiday meal for more than 500 people. Without the support of the community, a meal of this magnitude would not have been possible...

ST. LOUIS -- The price of admission to see the St. Louis Cardinals, the reigning National League champions, is going up in the final season at the current Busch Stadium. The Cardinals will charge $1 to $3 more per game for most seats in 2005, an increase common to both season and individual tickets. Single-game tickets go on sale in March...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Dean Allen Novack Jr., 19, of Perryville died Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004, at his home. He was born Sept. 23, 1985, in Chester, Ill., son of Dean and Kathy Novack. Novack was a student. He was a member of the United Methodist Church and choir...