Stories from Friday, January 13, 2006

On a short stop in Cape Girardeau Gov. Matt Blunt said that despite a possible surplus of $245 million, he will not ask legislators to restore Medicaid cuts. Instead, he will add $167 million to education. The day after outlining his proposal for the state's 2006 budget in Jefferson City, Blunt stopped at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport on Thursday to tout the plan. He is on a two-day tour that will take him to eight cities in the state...

MCCLURE, Ill. -- McClure residents vented frustrations at a meeting Thursday and learned what they could do about acts of violence and harassment caused by juveniles. About 25 residents attended the meeting, complaining about a variety of juvenile crimes, including harassing residents by knocking on windows and slashing tires...

This winter has been short on sunshine. Have you noticed? There have been so many cloudy days in recent weeks that when the sun comes out it's an event. Just ask Miss Kitty, the resident feline and sunshine connoisseur at the Sullivan household. Saturday, for example, was a day much like cat heaven...

Local students got an early start celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with vocal and instrumental performances at the Osage Community Centre Thursday night. Organizer Debra Mitchell-Braxton said the music-filled Martin Luther King Birthday Extravaganza is tied to local school's official recognition of King's birthday. ...

As relations between China and the United States continue to become more open, the Asian government is turning to the United States for economic and development advice. On Thursday several Chinese government officials and researchers came to Southeast Missouri seeking some of that advice...

Tickets still available for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration dinner Tickets are on sale for Southeast Missouri State University's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration dinner on January 24 at the Show Me Center. Martin Luther King III, King's oldest son, will be the keynote speaker...

The Southeast Missouri State gymnastics season hasn't even started yet, and already the Redhawks are fighting an uphill battled due to injuries. But eternally optimistic coach Tom Farden is not about to throw in the towel. "Never. You never do that," a smiling Farden said Thursday. "I don't want to make any predictions, but we have the potential to have a strong team."...

It took a little longer than Jackson girls basketball coach Sam Sides would have liked, but the unbeaten Indians finally showed their form in the second quarter of Thursday's game at Central. Jackson outscored Central 14-4 in that period and followed with a 18-6 advantage in the third quarter on the way to a 63-21 victory...

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers needed about 10 minutes to shake off the rust of a few days off. After being outshot 9-1 over the first half of the opening period, the Panthers took a 2-0 lead on goals by Olli Jokinen and Joe Nieuwendyk on their way to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night...

LOS ANGELES -- Reggie Bush is skipping his senior season at Southern California to enter the NFL draft. The Heisman Trophy winner made the expected announcement Thursday, a day after running mate LenDale White made his decision to leave early and turn pro...

HONOLULU -- Michelle Wie signed for her highest score on the PGA Tour, one that sent her to the bottom of the leaderboard Thursday at the Sony Open, and struggled to keep her voice steady while explaining what went wrong. Three double bogeys. Two three-putts. And late in a blustery round at Waialae, one shot was so off-line that her agent held up his leather-bound notebook to keep the ball from hitting him in the head, leaving a dent in the cover...

Chevrolet has freshened the 2006 Monte Carlo's styling with new front-end and taillight treatments, but the venerable body shape is still instantly identifiable as one of racing's most popular nameplates. Debuting in 1970 at the height of the muscle-car era, the Monte Carlo was an immediate success at a time when GM claimed almost half of the North American car market. ...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Andy Roddick was seeded second at the Australian Open on Thursday, avoiding heavy favorite Roger Federer unless both make the final. With No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal sidelined because of a foot injury, most interest focused on which man would be seeded second and assured of playing on the opposite side of the draw from Federer. Roddick is ranked No. 3 and moved up a spot in the seeding...

DENVER -- Mike Shanahan takes no offense to the notion that Bill Belichick has surpassed him as the NFL's best coach. In fact, Shanahan says, he kind of saw it coming. The Denver coach, one of the few who has a winning record against Belichick since he started with New England, has a chance to climb back on top -- or at least closer to the top -- when they meet in the playoffs Saturday night...

MINA, Saudi Arabia -- Despite all the safety precautions, all it took was some dropped baggage in the midst of a jostling crowd of thousands of pilgrims to cause a deadly crush at Islam's annual hajj. At least 345 people were killed and 289 injured Thursday when pilgrims tripped over their belongings and each other, pressed by hundreds behind them and smothering those screaming beneath them...

PLEASANT HILL, Ore. -- Zane Kesey picks at clumps of moss and swirls of brightly colored paint and patches of rust covering the school bus that his father, the late author Ken Kesey, rode cross-country with a refrigerator stocked with LSD-laced drinks in pursuit of a new art form...

NORWALK, Conn. -- The state's highest court upheld Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction, the mother of the victim said. A prosecutor and defense attorney declined to speak publicly about the case. Skakel was convicted in 2002 of bludgeoning his neighbor, Martha Moxley, to death with a golf club in 1975 in wealthy Greenwich. Skakel, who along with the victim was 15 at the time. He's serving 20 years to life in prison...

NEW YORK -- Ted Koppel is keeping busy. The former host of "Nightline" added NPR to his growing list of post-ABC jobs. Beginning in June, the 65-year-old Koppel will provide commentary about 50 times a year to NPR's programs "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" as well as "Day to Day," its new midday newsmagazine. He also will serve as an analyst during breaking news and special events...

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers hired Mike McCarthy as their coach Thursday, giving the former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator a three-year deal. "We feel very good about our future going forward," general manager Ted Thompson said at a news conference...

To the editor; I was certainly ecstatic to see the Jackson School District administration and board forced to focus on an important issue like a near-adult man wearing a skirt to a dance. Seeing the superintendent withdraw support for his administrators, all to avoid a frivolous lawsuit, should certainly bolster employee morale. ...

To the editor: In reference to a Jan. 10 article ("Emotional sentencing takes place in pair of child sex abuse cases"): What is wrong with our judicial system? Several of my friends and I served 3 to 11 years on a meth-cooking charge, but a 23-year-old guy who forced a 7-year-old boy into oral sex may serve only 120 days. ...

To the editor: Gov. Matt Blunt's proposal to increase the budget for higher education by $17.1 million is a significant and positive step in the right direction for Missouri's colleges and universities. As former members of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents and members of the Regent Emeriti Society, we understand the budget concerns that colleges and universities have across the state. Schools lost more than $100 million when then-governor Bob Holden withheld funds...

To the editor: I have to agree with the VanMatres' letter, "Release Sparkman during appeal." Greg Sparkman is a good person and has done many great things for our communities in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. He is a person who has a great outlook on life no matter what. His conscience is clear, and it reflects as such in his "happy-go-lucky, doing-good-things-for-others" actions. If you knew him, you would understand what I mean...

To the editor: The front page of Tuesday's Missourian shamelessly submitted to Hollywood fever while its Opinion page remained ever faithful to the far right. The paper chose to glorify and idolize the C-rate actor Johnny Knoxville (whose rise to fame on MTV featured a stunt in which he was locked inside a portable toilet which was then tipped over by a crane, allowing the contents of the toilet to be spilled on him) while at the same time featuring Cape Girardeau's second most popular neo-con, David Limbaugh.. ...

Destroying traditions; Not enough gore; Suits the mascot; Path of blasphemy; Truly blessed; Feeding young minds

Bobby R. Bollinger, 72, of Jackson peacefully passed away Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, at his home, with his loving wife, Thelma, at his side. He was born April 27, 1933, in Mayfield, Mo., son of the late Truman D. and Mildred Mayfield Bollinger. He and Thelma Cook were married Oct. 14, 1953, at Little Whitewater...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Loren Adam Revell, 79, of Leopold died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 2, 1926, at Whitewater, son of John L. and Flora Mae Spivey Revell. He married Dorothy L. Huffman Sept. 6, 1946, at Jackson...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Lowell R. "Red" Carter, 82, of Eldorado, Ill., formerly of Cairo, died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, at Southgate Health Care Center in Metropolis, Ill. He was born July 4, 1923, in Burnt Prairie, Ill., son of Silas and Hattie Marie Phillips Carter. He married Dolores Carter, who preceded him in death...

Mary Elizabeth Davis, 57, of Scott City died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 11, 1948, in Caruthersville, Mo., daughter of Richard A. and Mary E. Hoover Kurtz. She and Cletis Davis Jr. were married June 15, 1965...

ANNA, Ill. -- Jon Mark Golightly, 50, of Anna died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006, at Union County Hospital. He was born July 7, 1955, in Cairo, Ill., son of Glenn and Lillian Johnson Golightly. He and Donna Eddleman were married Sept. 17, 1982, in Dongola, Ill...

Elmer Charles Rubel, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006, at Heartland Care and Rehab. He was born Nov. 17, 1929, at Egypt Mills, son of Sherman William and Hulda Amelia Borchelt Rubel. Survivors include a brother, Roy Lee Rubel of Mount Vernon, Ill.; and two sisters, Mabel Rubel of Cape Girardeau, and Meta Borgfield of Millersville...

Hockey...

Perryville moved into the championship game of the Chester, Ill., boys basketball tournament with a victory Thursday night, while Saxony Lutheran captured its tournament opener. Perryville posted its second win in the six-team, pool play event and extended its winning streak to four games by easing past Christ Our Savior 57-49...

The prospects for turning around the fortunes of Cairo, Ill., are bleak. But it's almost a guarantee that little positive change will occur as long as the city's elected officials continue to feud instead of finding ways to conduct city business in spite of their differences...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

A $5,000 reward for information leading authorities to the killer of an Anna, Ill., man will be available for only a few days at most, Pulaski County State's Attorney Grayson Gile said Thursday. Trea Hannah, 23, was found Jan. 4 in his burned-out Mercury Tracer. A large amount of physical evidence was collected at the scene and sent to a state crime lab for analysis, Gile said...

TRCC presents artist lecture, musician; Woodpecker-watching opportunities available; Martin Luther King Jr. events planned this week; Sundays at Three returns Jan. 22 at Old St. Vincent's; Cheech Marin's 'Chicano' to display in St. Louis

Billie Lois O'Neal, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006, at Chateau Girardeau. She was born March 7, 1924, in Rainbow, Texas, daughter of Tom and Frances Boggs O'Neal. O'Neal was a retired teacher from Southeast Missouri State University. She was a member of First Baptist Church...

25 years ago: Jan. 13, 1981 The Mississippi River, where record low water levels were recorded after four rainless months, is blocked to traffic in Memphis, Tenn., as the Army Corps of Engineers dredges the channel so a growing fleet of idled towboats can get back to work; shipping is also blocked about 150 miles to the north on the Ohio River at Mound City, Ill...

'Glory Road'; 'Hoodwinked'; 'Last Holiday'; 'The Producers'; 'Tristan and Isolde'; Still in theaters; 'BloodRayne'; 'Casanova'; 'Cheaper by the Dozen 2'; 'Chicken Little'; 'The Chronicles of Narnia'; 'The Family Stone'; 'Fun with Dick and Jane'; 'Grandma's Boy'; 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'; 'Hostel'; 'King Kong'; 'Memoirs of a Geisha'; 'Munich'; 'The Ringer'; 'Rumor Has It'; 'Walk the Line'; 'Yours, Mine and Ours'

While the big shots are in Cape Girardeau filming "Killshot," local man Dave Walton sits quietly in his own home, taking part in his own little slice of the world of movies. Of course, as Walton puts it, "I'm in the minor leagues." Walton, a former software engineer and touring rocker in his younger days, now has a new kind of business that incorporates his experiences in technology and music. Using a computer, he creates scores for independent film projects and TV shows...

ST. LOUIS -- A Southeast Missouri State University graduate is making a big name for himself in the world of documentary filmmaking. Scott Huegerich, a St. Louis native with family in Southeast Missouri, graduated from Southeast in 1990 with a mass communications degree in radio and video and worked briefly for KFVS12...

Angie E. Crader, 79, of Fenton, Mo., died Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, at her home. She was the daughter of Bryan and Ethel Moss Young. Crader was a former bookkeeper. Survivors include two daughters, Patricia and Pamela Crader of St. Louis; a son, Robert L. Crader Jr. of Cape Girardeau; siblings; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren...

WASHINGTON -- Samuel Alito coasted toward probable confirmation as the 110th Supreme Court justice Thursday, with the only question after 18 hours of grueling Senate interrogation being how many Democrats would support him. Alito said nothing to undermine his solid support by the Senate's majority Republicans during three days of aggressive questioning by Democrats who challenged his credibility, judicial philosophy and independence...

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Committee awarded contracts Tuesday for new traffic signals in Jackson and improvements to Highway 72 in Patton. In a cost-share project with the city of Jackson, traffic signals will be built at the Route D and Farmington Road intersection. The $92,181 contract was awarded to Cotner Electric Co. in Cape Girardeau...

LANSING, Mich. -- A man has been jailed on assault charges after a prosecutor, police officer and courtroom bailiff became seriously ill after shaking hands with him. During a Dec. 21 court appearance on a traffic charge, John Ridgeway pulled out a vial of an unknown liquid, rubbed his hands with the contents and insisted on shaking hands with the three people, authorities said...

Scott City boys basketball coach Lance Amick won't be as active on the sidelines for a while, but the third-year coach still will be on the bench. Amick, 25, confirmed that he will take a different role temporarily due to health concerns, which he did not wish to disclose...

The spectacle of watching a movie in production has area residents slipping out of work and taking their children out of school to stand outside for hours. Others staked out restaurants, bars and hotels for a glimpse of their favorites from the cast of "Killshot."...

Several money bags filled with small bills and assorted coins were stolen from a vending machine supply truck in Cape Girardeau. A Burch Food Services truck was broken into around 8:36 a.m. Wednesday at J.C. Penny at Westfield West Park, while its driver had gone to make a delivery...

SCOTT CITY -- Kelly sophomore Kayla Cissell scored eight of her team-high 13 points in overtime to lead the Hawks girls basketball past Oran 58-48 on Thursday in the semifinals of the Scott-Mississippi Conference tournament. The second-seeded Hawks (8-4) will play No. 1 Delta at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in the finals...

FRESNO, Calif. -- Fresno State coach Pat Hill formally announced his intention Wednesday to interview for NFL head coaching vacancies. The St. Louis Rams are among teams reportedly interested. After receiving requests from several teams he didn't name, the former NFL assistant coach said he will interview for new jobs for the first time since taking over the Fresno State program in 1997...

Stephen Spielberg gives moviegoers a gritty and graphic movie based on the real life events that occurred at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. The theme of vengeance is so substantial that is seems to intentionally leave a bad taste in the audience's mouth in order to make the film more of a piece of art and not a lesson in history. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state Education Board lowered the grading guidelines for some of Missouri's standardized achievement tests Thursday, meaning some students should be able to achieve better scores on mathematics and communication arts tests given this spring...

DENVER (AP) -- They say there are two sides to every story. The folks at Biblically Correct Tours say they just want to make sure you get both. The three main guides of B.C. Tours, based in Littleton, Colo., have been giving Christian-based commentary to school groups who book them for tours at public attractions like the state Capitol and Denver Zoo...

Bands often write songs about where they're from. That's why the Beach Boys wrote about California and Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi wrote about New Jersey; it's what they're familiar with. In the same way, the dirty rock of The Dirty 30s often looks at life in and around Southeast Missouri...

The Rich Fabec Band hasn't been playing shows in Cape Girardeau for long, just a few months, but the gigs keep coming. Already they've played Broussard's and the Rude Dog Pub, bringing the classic blues-rock style to Cape Girardeau's music lovers. Now they're set to return on Jan. ...

This New Year I didn't have any plans, other than visiting one or two local bars. Low and behold everything changed with just one phone call. I was offered $10 an hour, plus tips, to tend bar at a private party back home (home being Dexter, Mo., native lands of the barbecue)...

KETA, Ghana (AP) -- It's hard not to find traveling through Ghana a pleasant experience. The people, the culture, the environment -- they're all very inviting. But the mood changes when you arrive at one of the castles along the country's Atlantic shore that were once stopping points in the African slave trade...

Blissfully silent since 2003, The Strokes are back, ringing in the new year and with Pavlovian effect, shaking the gatekeepers of hipster hell from their holiday slumber. These originators of the unoriginal who made it fashionable to pretend not to care about fashion (or music or nepotism or ...) while leading the way in fashion (and music and nepotism) have been lying low since their second LP, "Room on Fire," hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200...

Anyone familiar with Cape Girardeau nightlife probably knows Tim Duffy's van, and everyone who drinks should know about his service. "It's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy," said Duffy. The "insurance" Duffy offers with his Designated Driver shuttle can be measured in peace of mind, the assurance that a night out will be a safe night...

In less than a month Americans will celebrate a day which has taken on more importance than many of our entrenched holidays, Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl is a day for friends and families to get together for snacks, drinks, commercials and maybe even a little football...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used the Civil Rights movement as a vehicle to deliver a message of hope based on Christian principles. The members of the Church Boys are doing the same thing with rap music. The group's founder and frontman Stafford Moore (Staff-D) describes their sound as a Gospel ministry with rap thrown into it. ...

In just a moment talking to NaTika Rowles, executive director for the Cape Girardeau chapter of the Boys and Girls Club of America, it becomes clear that she spends all her time accomplishing things and no time at all thinking about her accomplishments...

Jarred Harris is in the business of the bass clef, but he's a high note for local music. The 19-year-old bassist will have been with the band Fists of Phoenix for two years in March. He's also majoring in instrumental performance at Southeast and is passionate and driven when it comes to performing music in front of people...

If you're anything like me, you rolled out of bed New Year's Day feeling a heavy weight in your stomach: the regret from consuming about a thousand pizza rolls and other snacks. My resolution to read more novels was gone. I knew I had to eat healthy...

Making a record can be tough, requiring many hours by both the band members and the producer as they all strive for studio perfection. For Cape Girardeau-based band The Dirty 30s this process was made even more difficult because their producer, Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, and his studio were hundreds of miles away in New York City...

This month Cape Girardeau prepares to celebrate the life and legacy of a man who changed the nation and the world, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Throughout the month several events are planned both in the community-at-large and at Southeast Missouri State University to honor King. Southeast will host the late Civil Rights leader's son, Martin Luther King III,...

Sikeston native Neal Boyd is no stranger to be singled out for his race. Growing up as a racially mixed child in Southeast Missouri Boyd looked to find his own identity. He had to strive to be accepted at first, but grew up with a large group of friends, both black and white...

I would like to voice my concerns about areas I feel that we are still falling short in racial equality as well as point out improvements that have been made in this area. Is there racial injustice in Cape Girardeau? My answer to that question is yes...

Dear Tom and Ray: Well, it happened again. When I took my 2000 Honda CR-V into the local quick-oil-change place, they extolled the virtues of their "Power Drain Plug" and said I really should get it. The literature that they handed me states: "... ...