Stories from Monday, June 20, 2005

Q. Is it true that you can get electrocuted taking a shower during a thunderstorm? A. Yes. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, current may travel through plumbing and damage everything in its path. While the installation of PVC pipes -- instead of metal -- has lowered the odds of being struck, water itself is an excellent conductor of electricity. So, stay out of the shower during a storm...

San Antonio took a 3-2 series lead with a 96-95 victory over Detroit. AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Big Shot Bob did it again. Robert Horry, the veteran player whose clutch postseason 3-pointers have defined his career, knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds remaining in overtime Sunday night to give the San Antonio Spurs a 96-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the NBA Finals...

PINEHURST, N.C. -- Even with the shiny silver trophy at his side, Michael Campbell had a hard time grasping how far he had come to win the U.S. Open. The last 10 years were filled with unlimited potential and shattered confidence. The last 10 holes Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2 were packed with pressure during an intense duel with Tiger Woods...

The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. -- Arizona State responded again when a loss would have sent the Sun Devils home. Seth Dhaenens hit a go-ahead double in a three-run, eighth-inning rally and Arizona State eliminated Tennessee from the College World Series with a 4-2 victory Sunday...

SENATH, Mo. -- A crop dusting plane crashed into a tower in Dunklin County on Saturday, killing the pilot. Howard Joshlin, 45, of Dallas, Texas, was killed after his crop duster struck a cable used to support a 1,080 foot tower west of Senath. The tower collapsed and the plane burst into flames upon impact. The crash occurred at about 7 p.m. Saturday near Route P in Dunklin County...

From today until July 10, it is legal to use fireworks to mark Independence Day in Missouri, except in cities like Cape Girardeau and Jackson where the period is shorter. Rick Hoffman said that makes it a good time to let fans of sparklers, cannonballs and -- yes, even bottle rockets -- know that the construction of his fireworks retail outlet is complete and his business has opened with a bang...

WASHINGTON -- A subtle change in a memory-making brain region seems to predict who will get Alzheimer's disease nine years before symptoms appear, scientists reported Sunday. The finding is part of a wave of research aimed at early detection of the deadly dementia -- and one day perhaps even preventing it...

NEW YORK -- Already a device of multiple disguises, from camera to music player and mini-TV, the cell phone's next trick may be the disappearing wallet. After all, since more than a quarter of the people on the planet already carry around cell phones, and hundreds of millions are joining them every year, why should they bring along credit and debit cards when a mobile device can make payments just as well?...

Many see info tech jobs as monotonous, uncreative and easily farmed out -- the equivalent of 1980s manufacturing jobs. STANFORD, Calif. -- As an eager freshman in the fall of 2001, Andrew Mo's career trajectory seemed preordained: He'd learn C++ and Java languages while earning a computer science degree at Stanford University, then land a Silicon Valley technology job...

Proposed changes would increase the number of dogs allowed, though with restrictions. Cape Girardeau residents whose homes sit on at least five acres would be able to keep up to six dogs, under proposed revisions to the city's pet law. But most pet owners will be able to keep only as many as four dogs or as many as eight cats, city officials said...

Springfield News-Leader A jury found Michael Jackson not guilty of molesting an adolescent boy. The verdict, after a four-month trial, is a stunning loss for a prosecutor. The circus-like atmosphere that led to it is a greater loss for child abuse victims everywhere...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Parents of about 5,800 adopted children in Missouri are getting bad news: State adoption subsidies on which many families depend to make ends meet will stop. Gov. Matt Blunt initiated the cuts. He came to office promising not to raise taxes under any circumstances and looking at a deficit. So he whacked the subsidies -- about $12 million a year -- to balance the budget...

There's nothing more depressing to business and industrial recruitment types than a viable business building that sits lifeless and empty for years at a time. Empty buildings like that mean lost job opportunities, missed sales-tax revenue and less reason for optimism about the local economy...

WASHINGTON -- The G-men who fashioned the FBI's war on terrorism since Sept. 11 have a pointed message for agents looking to rise to the top: no Middle East or terrorism expertise required. "I wish that I had it. It would be nice," executive assistant director Gary Bald said when asked recently about his grasp of Middle East culture and history as the FBI's top official in the war on terror...

The third-round leader and two-time champion disappeared with an 81 on Sunday. PINEHURST, N.C. -- Last year, the stoic walk up the final fairway was a victory march for Retief Goosen. This time, the 18th hole felt more like an escape route. The U.S. Open finally caught up to Retief The Robot on Sunday, turning what was supposed to be a coronation for one of the best players in the game into an out-and-out embarrassment...

Insurgent violence claimed at least 45 lives across the country. BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The Ibn Zanbour kebab restaurant sat in a relatively safe place, just a couple of minutes' walk to one of the most heavily guarded compounds in Baghdad. But safety is relative in the Iraqi capital...

LYKENS, Pa. -- A man and a teenager face criminal charges for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping that recreated a scene from a movie that celebrated stunts and gross-out gags. A store clerk reported the apparent kidnapping Wednesday, saying that while a customer was paying for gasoline a teenager jumped from the trunk of the man's car with his hands bound and his eyes blindfolded. The man chased the teen, caught him, threw him back into the trunk and drove off, police said...

Cape Girardeau ...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: * At 9:23 p.m., emergency medical service at 3000 William St. * At 10:00 p.m., emergency medical service at 1900 N. Kingshighway. Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:...

Big River hires customer service representative Elizabeth Mikow of Mount Vernon, Ill., has joined Big River Telephone Co. as a customer service representative. Mikow graduated from Southeast Missouri State University this year with a bachelor's degree in anthropology...

Residents on the south side of the city are getting fresh vegetables thanks to the cooperation of Robert Harris, his mother Bernice, the East Missouri Action Agency, area master gardeners, Southeast Missouri State University and the city of Cape Girardeau...

College funding; Dangerous cats; Spending money; Major issues; Different party now; Think for yourself; Judging others; Smoother pavement

Jeanne Kathryn Hudgings Jenkins, 62, of Jackson died on Sunday, June 19, 2005, at her residence in Jackson. She was born June 19, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, the daughter of the late Clay Thomas and Dorothy Schlue Hudgings. She and Donald Jenkins were married on Nov. 10, 1967, in Logansport, Ind. He survives. She was of the Methodist faith. She had been a member of the Artist Guild of Texas...

Daryl Wright, 54, of Jackson died Sunday, June 19, 2005 at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Caroline E. Long, 88, formerly of Perryville, died June 14, 2005, at Bayside Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was born Jan. 12, 1917, in Perry County, Mo., daughter of Peter and Louise Kohm. She and Densel L. Long were married, and he preceded her in death...

Tommie Stubenrauch, 78, of Scott City died Sunday, June 19, 2005, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

Leo Edward Bethards, 82, of Cape Girardeau died on Saturday, June 18, 2005, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Sept. 5, 1922, in Vandalia, Ill., son of Ohmer and Mary Ethel Hibbetts Bethards. He and Mary Agnes Smith were married Sept. 26, 1942, in Old Monroe, Mo...

25 years ago: June 20, 1980 A community mental health center mill tax proposal will be on the Aug. 5 primary ballot; Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller this week certified 1,853 signatures on petitions, six more than necessary to place the issue on the ballot; the tax of 10 cents per $100 assessed valuation would bring in about $200,000 in annual revenue...

Archie C. Maglone, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, June 18, 2005, at his home. He was born Oct. 18, 1925, in Indiana, son of James and Agnes Felty Maglone. He and Loyce Andrean Fisher were married in 1958 in Scott City. She died July 13, 2003. Maglone was an automotive mechanic for Kelley Cab Co. for many years...

Both Cape Girardeau and Jackson are putting the focus on family for this year's Fourth of July celebrations. Jackson has a full schedule of events, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and running throughout the day. Cape Girardeau's Libertyfest 2005 kicks off with a parade at 6 p.m...

Members of a Cape Girardeau church found out Sunday morning that one little box can contain a big piece of history. Wearing protective white gloves, members of Centenary United Methodist Church and historical preservationists from Southeast Missouri State University opened an almost 100-year-old time capsule in front of a packed congregation. The box was placed in the church's cornerstone when it was laid in 1907...

The Jackson Senior Babe Ruth baseball team swept Sikeston in a pair of games Sunday at Jackson Legion Field. Jackson won the opener 17-2, then used the shutout pitching of Kyle Brown to post a 3-0 victory in the second game. Jackson (16-4) pounded out 11 hits in the opener, including a three-run home run by Trevor Thompson, who also had a two-run double to finish with five RBIs. Sam Sander added three hits and two RBIs...

Plaza Tire posted a pair of shutouts that included a no-hitter. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Plaza Tire Capahas responded to their first loss of the season with a dominating shutout sweep on Sunday of the Springfield Tallies that included a no-hitter by right-hander Jamie McAlister...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Schumacher climbed from his car to a chorus of boos, the die-hard Formula One fans unable to accept his first victory of the season after more than two-thirds of the field quit in protest over tire safety. Sparking a fiasco for a series desperate to capture the American audience, Michelin advised the 14 cars it supplies that its tires were unsafe for the final banked turn at Indianapolis Motor Speedway...

The United Way of Southeast Missouri recently held its 18th annual golf tournament at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. The tourney's proceeds kick off the organization's 2005 campaign drive, which helps support over 40 programs in the community. Golfers making a hole-in-one at designated holes had an opportunity to win a donated vehicle or cash. ...

Child with XP will have a better quality of life thanks to caring individuals. People in the community are genuinely concerned for Graycen Beardslee, a 2-year-old girl from Blodgett diagnosed almost a year ago with xeroderma pigmentosum. The genetic disorder, with no known cure, means she is extremely sensitive to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Exposure to the sun can result in skin cancer, hearing loss, eye cancer, damage to the corneas and loss of motor skills...

CHICAGO -- Tariq Weaver has spent the last ten months getting up at dawn so he could get a better education. The 14-year-old, who just finished his freshman year, lives in Rogers Park, about 30 miles away from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences he attends on the city's far southwest side. All year he has gotten up at 4 a.m. to catch the first of three buses and two elevated trains on a commute that took two hours each way...

NEW YORK -- The director of the CIA says he has an "excellent idea" where Osama bin Laden is hiding, but that the United States' respect for sovereign nations makes it more difficult to capture the al-Qaida chief. In an interview with Time for the magazine's June 27 issue, Porter Goss was asked about the progress of the hunt for bin Laden...

I have been a member of Laborers International Union of North America for 37 years, and I am proud of it. I am in total disagreement with the author of the Speak Out comment that said the United Auto Workers union, not foreign cars, is to blame for the problems of General Motors...

By now, Barry and Kimberly Robinson were hoping to be toasting the fact that crowds of wine-ophiles and coffee junkies were lined up at Cup & Cork, their new downtown Cape Girardeau cafe. Instead, their building at 46 N. Main St. looks a wreck. Portions of the floor have been pulled up. ...

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave new momentum to Middle East cooperation. JERUSALEM -- Palestinian militants ambushed Israeli soldiers near the Gaza-Egypt border Sunday as the soldiers worked to reinforce a wall meant to stop smuggling, the army said. One soldier and one attacker were killed in the latest violation of a shaky 4-month-old cease-fire...

In costume or not, guests will enjoy dining and dancing at the upcoming Red House Ball on Saturday at the Arena Building. Decorations will bring to mind the simplicity of pioneer days with punched tin lanterns aglow with candlelight and displays of wildflowers atop mirrored tiles. An array of activities are planned...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Cardinals aren't impressed with their steadily growing lead in the NL Central. The defending National League champions increased their cushion over second-place Chicago to a season-high 9 1/2 games with Sunday's 8-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but say it's important to keep the club's fastest start in more than 60 years in perspective...

More local people are beating a path to lawyers' offices to file for bankruptcy prior to the Oct. 17 enactment of a new law that will make it harder for some consumers to wipe the slate clean of credit card bills and other obligations. Paul Berens, a Cape Girardeau attorney who was named Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year two years ago by the Missouri Bar Association, said more people are filing before the deadline, and fewer lawyers will handle future bankruptcy cases because of a liability issue...

School's out for most area students, and children like to take full advantage of the recreational activities that come with summer sunshine. But that can mean parents are catering their day to a busy schedule, shuffling children from camps to Little League games after work...

In today's business world, people find themselves in need of legal advice more frequently than ever before. But finding answers to questions and locating an attorney who can handle your matter is sometimes difficult. The Missouri Bar Association offers information on how to get started:...

At the conclusion of the legislative session in mid-May, some suggested that Missouri had hit a business bonanza. That may be a bit of hyperbole, but Gov. Matt Blunt and state lawmakers certainly have made giant strides toward righting the ship when it comes to making Missouri a more business-friendly state...