Stories from Saturday, April 9, 2005

Southeast Missouri State University will have a new director of facilities management starting May 1. Scott Meyer, currently district engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation's Sikeston office, will be taking over the position. Meyer is replacing Al Stoverink, who resigned in September to work for Arkansas State University...

A new city committee will review Cape Girardeau's city charter and recommend possible revisions to the city council. Ultimately, voters would have to approve any changes before they could take effect. The council at its daylong retreat Friday said it wants the committee to look at the entire city charter, including how vacancies are filled on the council and whether limitations on raising user fees should be scrapped...

With one flick, Dustin discards his largely unsmoked cigarette onto the ground in front of Kmart's entrance. He does not look down to see if it has been extinguished. He continues to walk as if he has done nothing wrong, nothing criminal. His excuse: "I just do it. I didn't think."...

Southeast Missouri State University on Friday filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against the school that was filed by Three Rivers Community College in March. The motion for dismissal was filed on the grounds that Three Rivers hasn't given the administrative mediation process with the Coordinating Board of Higher Education the chance to be completed before filing the lawsuit...

The Arena Building will play host to an antique show Sunday, but Friday night it was a place to rock. The venue, provided by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, was the site of the first OFF!-n-Rage concert put on by OFF! Magazine and Rage 103.7 FM...

WASHINGTON -- The public's dissatisfaction with President Bush and the Republican-led Congress is growing, with ratings dropping amid record high gas prices, war in Iraq, the Social Security debate and the emotional Terri Schiavo case. The Republican president's job approval is at 44 percent, with 54 percent disapproving. Only 37 percent have a favorable opinion of the work being done by Congress, according to an AP-Ipsos poll...

That sausage pizza you had the other night -- what did it mean to you? Well, maybe it reminded you of your youth, and Saturday night treats with your family. Or maybe, if you are Italian, it struck a cultural chord. Or maybe it was just ... food. Sometimes, after all, a pizza is just a pizza -- although you wouldn't know it from watching "The Meaning of Food," a three-part series airing Thursday nights starting this week on PBS...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Eric Rudolph has agreed to plead guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and setting off three other blasts in a deal that allows the anti-government extremist to escape the death penalty, the Justice Department said Friday...

Armed militiamen destroy Darfur village in Sudan...

WASHINGTON -- Consumer confidence held fairly steady over the past month despite surging energy prices and more cautious hiring by America's employers. The AP-Ipsos consumer confidence index clocked in at 84.5 in April, compared with a reading of 84.2 in March, according to figures released Friday. A year ago, the index stood at 84.8...

ST. LOUIS -- The National League's top-hitting lineup won its final home opener at Busch Stadium without any big hits. Larry Walker tied the game with a four-pitch walk from Aaron Fultz in the eighth inning, and Albert Pujols followed with another walk that forced in the go-ahead run Friday in the Cardinals' 6-5 win over Philadelphia...

Delegates from the Kentucky Division of Youth Services and Department of Social Services learned a lesson or two Friday as they toured the Girardot Center. The center, which is to help court-committed juveniles become more self-reliant, responsible and productive, is about the same size as Kentucky's facilities. Small facilities mean personal attention for each of the children, and a focus on vocational training and the importance of education...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Austin Peay announced Friday it will give scholarships and return to the Ohio Valley Conference in 2007 after scrapping the awards and leaving the league nine years ago as a cost-saving measure. "This is their dream, and I just bought into their dream and wanted to make a way to turn it into reality," said school president Sherry Hoppe...

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Scott Riggs watched 30 cars run their laps at Martinsville Speedway on Friday, got a talking to from his father and then won the first pole of his career in NASCAR's premier series. Riggs toured the shortest, slowest track in Nextel Cup racing at 96.671 mph, relegating Martinsville master Ryan Newman to the outside of the front row. Newman, the track record-holder, qualified at 96.657...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following call Thursday: <li> At 5:20 p.m., emergency medical service at 40 S. Sprigg St. <li> At 7:48 p.m., emergency medical service at 1800 Greenbrier Drive. Firefighters responded to the following call Friday:...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams said Friday they no longer would hold summer training camps at Western Illinois University, opting instead to stage workouts in the convenience of their home turf. The pullout from Macomb, Ill., ends the Rams' nine-year run in that 20,000-resident community about a three-hour drive from St. Louis...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Stormy weather wreaked another day of havoc at the Masters, halting the second round shortly after the first was finally completed. When Friday's play was suspended about 11:40 a.m., three players -- Chris DiMarco, Luke Donald and David Howell -- shared the top spot on the leaderboard at 5-under par...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items on Friday. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests <li> Joe Willie Brand, 21, 616 Boxwood Drive, was arrested for domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon. <li> David L. Griffin, 23, of Wappapello, Mo., was arrested for domestic assault...

Cape Girardeau is expected to hire a new city engineer within a few days. Mayor Jay Knudtson has promised the new engineer will be someone who will run a department that emphasizes customer service. The city has been without a city engineer since Mark Lester resigned Feb. 18. Lester and two engineers from his former staff have started their own engineering company...

The Central club lacrosse team attacked early and often in blitzing Wentzville at Southeast Missouri State's intramural field Friday night. Playing its only home match of the year, Central dominated the first quarter, and senior midfielder Devon Edmonds provided enough late offense to ease Central to a 7-3 win...

MoDOT awards contracts for I-55, I-57 resurfacing...

Post office seeks higher stamp prices...

To the editor: Many thanks to everyone, including religious leaders, who expressed sympathy to us Catholics and promised prayers at this time of the death of Pope John Paul II. We also took notice of the flags flown at half-mast, and for that too we are deeply grateful. Your many gestures of kindness we shall always remember...

To the editor: Concerning your article on gasoline prices: I live in Texas where many refineries are located. We are paying $2.15-plus per gallon. We like to make four or five trips a summer to Missouri, especially the Ozarks. Gasoline prices may curtail that this year...

To the editor: In two weeks, the Missouri Legislature is scheduled to vote on House Bill 36, a bill to clarify the rights of a woman to choose the place of birth and her caregivers. Families choose to birth at home for various reasons: safety, comfort, family togetherness and to make the entry gentler for the newborn. They are aware that the medical literature supports this choice, indicating that it is at least as safe to birth at home as in a hospital...

To the editor: During National Library Month, the League of Women Voters of Missouri would like to remind us of the role that free public libraries play in the development of an informed and democratic society. They offer access to knowledge for everyone regardless of income. As research sites, as gathering places and as lenders of new and old books, books-on-tape, movies and free Internet access, libraries better our lives...

Smoking etiquette...

ANNA, Ill. -- Timothy William Cesewski, 53, of Anna died Wednesday, April 6, 2005, at his home. He was born Aug. 3, 1951, in Chicago, son of John and Cecelia Rose Flahive Cesewski. He and Sandalee Bolinger were married April 4, 1991, in Chicago. Cesewski was employed at Bethany Village in Anna...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- John David Vaught, 44, of Twin Falls, Idaho, died Tuesday, April 5, 2005, at Latter Day Saints Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was born June 9, 1960, in Sikeston, son of Paul and Veda James Vaught. He and Kathy Crosby were married March 24, 1984, in Dallas, Texas...

Ceja...

25 years ago: April 9, 1980 The Cape Girardeau Board of Education has approved submission of a preschool handicapped discretionary grant request that would, if successful, establish a preschool program for handicapped 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children next fall...

To the editor: Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for the fine article on the appearance of our daughter, Jane DeBoe, on HGTV. The article was well-crafted and delightfully written by Linda Redeffer. Thanks a bunch. BILL and BIRDIE RADER, Cape Girardeau...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team finally will play some Ohio Valley Conference games at home. After having their first three OVC series on the road -- and going 5-4 -- the Redhawks (16-15) welcome perennial league powerhouse Eastern Kentucky to town for a 1 p.m. doubleheader today and a 1 p.m. single contest Sunday...

Watching Bo Jenkins swing from the left side, you would never guess that he only began switch-hitting in the fall. That's how impressive a transformation Southeast Missouri State's senior second baseman has made from being purely a right-handed hitter --and it has helped ignite a marked improvement in his batting average...

Notre Dame, Central and St. Vincent all picked up first-round victories Friday in the Noon Optimist Spring Classic girls soccer tournament at Central. Notre Dame (4-2-1) defeated Marion, Ill., 2-0 behind a goal and an assist from Meridith Medlin. Medlin scored an unassisted goal early in the first half and fed Lauren Mehner for another early in the second. Sophomore Claudia Brauss recorded the shutout in her first varsity start in goal...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Joe Walter Allison, 84, of Advance died Friday, April 8, 2005, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 1, 1920, at Kennett, Mo., son of Arthur and Ethel Clay Allison. Allison was a heavy equipment operator. He was a member of American Legion...

A year ago, most local families were forced to drive to Columbia, St. Louis and even other states regularly for diagnosis and treatment of an autistic child. The therapies that parents were able to implement in Southeast Missouri didn't always seem effective or practical...

A story in Thursday's edition misspelled the name of Laura Wibbenmeyer's grandmother. Her grandmother is Louise Flood of Cape Girardeau....

You know the old saying about No. 2 trying harder. Well, the staff and membership of Dalhousie Golf Club promises to get around to that. But give them a little time to bask in being ranked the second-best golf course in the state of Missouri. The ranking will be published in the May edition of Golf Digest magazine, one of the most well-known publications dedicated to covering the game. The club this week received an advance copy of the magazine, which will hit newsstands soon...

When Amy Holmes applied to Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing last year, she had every reason to believe she would be accepted. She was a straight-A student in high school, graduating salutatorian of her class. In fact, she said she never made a grade below an A from grade school on. Then one of her friends with similar credentials was accepted to the nursing school...

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- In the most sweeping re-examination of the U.S.-Japan security alliance in years, Japan and the United States are negotiating a military realignment that could move some or all of the nearly 20,000 Marines off the crowded island of Okinawa, close underused bases and meld an Army command in Washington state with a camp just south of Tokyo...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Images of jubilant Iraqis toppling a 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein and pelting it with garbage and shoes in Firdos Square defined the moment Baghdad fell to U.S. troops two years ago, a prelude to what many hoped would be democracy and freedom in a new Iraq...

BOSTON -- To Alice Letteney, the community college she oversees 30 miles south of Albuquerque, N.M., has little in common with the big chains of profit-making schools whose radio and TV ads blanket the airwaves over much of the country. As Letteney sees it, her mission is providing essential skills to students in Valencia County, where per capita income is two-thirds the national average. The for-profits' mission is earning money for shareholders...

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Reserve Laurie will leave Mizzou COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Backup Missouri point guard Spencer Laurie announced Thursday that he is transferring at the end of the current academic year. Laurie, who played in only seven games as a sophomore because of knee and ankle injuries, and coach Quin Snyder issued brief statements Thursday about the 6-foot-1 guard's decision to leave...

VATICAN CITY -- The avenue leading to St. Peter's Square was crammed with pilgrims as far as the eye could see, yet the cool morning air was silent as the homily began. Suddenly, a cry rose up and spread quickly through the hundreds of thousands of faithful:...

Offering time. Hurry, because the collection plate's coming down the row. Time to dig through the pockets and purse. Let's see, here's some lint, a twenty, some fives, and ones. But church is about to get out and I'm starved. I need the twenty and a couple of fives to buy lunch for me and the family. I'll keep the other fives for the children's school lunch money. So here are a couple of ones and the lint, God...