Stories from February 2006

Movie lovers will soon get the chance to see some of the Oscar nominated pictures that haven't yet been screened locally. Cape West 14 Cine will be showing "Brokeback Mountain" starting Friday with three shows daily on weekdays and four on weekends...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Scott City woman accused of leading her daughter under a train that severed the girl's arm will remain free until trial, a Butler County judge ruled Tuesday. Scott County assistant prosecutor Dana Weis had sought to return Glenda Ross, 35, to jail for violating the conditions set when she was released in December. In Tuesday's hearing, Weis withdrew the request, and Circuit Judge Mark Richardson ordered Ross to have no unsupervised contact with children...

The accused killer of a 17-year-old Cape Girardeau boy was ordered to proceed to trial in an unrelated drug case Tuesday. Following the preliminary hearing for Bernard Richards, 19, Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp found sufficient evidence against the defendant to continue the case...

A Jackson police officer responding to a call of a dog nuisance testified he forced his way into a woman's home and Tasered her because of threats she had made and her erratic behavior. During a preliminary hearing for Tracy Mayfield, 37, of 611 W. Washington St. in Jackson, police officer Ed Moore testified that the defendant was shouting obscenities from her apartment and threatened him with her own Taser...

The word has been out on Cape Girardeau's 2006 United We Read books for months, now it's time for the discussions to begin. Thursday will kick off two months of discussions about this year's selections -- Morley Swingle's "The Gold of Cape Girardeau" and Robert Hicks' "The Widow of the South."...

Cape Girardeau has touched the lives of millions. That's what Buz Sutherland told a group of community members at a breakfast Tuesday where the civic group, Vision 2020 Community Relations Council, honored the volunteer efforts of six organizations and individuals...

Representatives from CLAIM, a Missouri Medicare and Insurance Counseling Program, will be available from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Southeast Missouri Hospital to help people sign up for a Medicare Part D plan. CLAIM provides free, confidential and unbiased health insurance counseling to Medicare recipients. Counseling sessions, which will be in Southeast's Harrison Room, are by appointment only and may be made by calling Southeast's Generations Family Resource Center at 651-5825...

My father says that when you're 60 years old you get the face you deserved when you were 20. Some may call that fate -- or maybe it's genetics -- either way it's a kind of cosmic irony. I got to thinking about fate and faces when my parents and I went to see the Rolling Stones play in St. ...

Notre Dame's girls basketball team has had to fight to get back to the .500 mark for much of the past month, but with a win over rival Central on Tuesday at the Show Me Center the Bulldogs finally made the mark. The Bulldogs defeated Central 67-28 to improve to 10-10...

ST. LOUIS -- No offense to the Carolina Hurricanes, but just a few hours after joining them in a trade former St. Louis Blues forward Doug Weight was plotting how he might boomerang back to his old team by next season. Right now, the fire sale is in full swing for the Blues, formerly a model of consistency with 25 consecutive playoff appearances but presently saddled with the NHL's worst record. ...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- The cowboy love story "Brokeback Mountain" led the Academy Awards field Tuesday with eight nominations, among them best picture and honors for actor Heath Ledger and director Ang Lee. Also nominated for best picture were the Truman Capote story "Capote"; the ensemble drama "Crash"; the Edward R. Murrow chronicle "Good Night, and Good Luck"; and the assassination thriller "Munich."...

TOKYO -- Japan will begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq in March and complete the pullout by May, ending its largest military mission since the end of World War II, a news report said Tuesday. Japan, which extended its noncombat mission to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah for another year in December, will pull its 600 troops out at about the same time that British and Australian forces leave the area, Kyodo News agency said...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The hoopla has died down a bit. The state can breathe easy. Mitch Mustain decided to stay home for school. Mustain, one of the nation's top high school quarterbacks, plans to attend Arkansas. Now, of course, comes the hard part for the Razorbacks' would-be savior -- handling the pressure from thousands of success-starved fans...

AUSTIN, Texas -- A national championship pays huge dividends in recruiting, right? Well, the Texas Longhorns will have to wait and see. While recruits officially sign with colleges today, coach Mack Brown already had non-binding oral commitments from nearly every player he expects to sign long before Texas beat Southern California in the Rose Bowl...

MADISON, Wis. -- Dee Brown and Rich McBride scored 16 points each and No. 6 Illinois beat Wisconsin 66-51 Tuesday night. It was Illinois' fourth straight victory over the Badgers -- including two victories at the Kohl Center, where Illinois is the only Big Ten team to beat the Badgers in five years under coach Bo Ryan...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve, in the last major piece of business for retiring chairman Alan Greenspan, pushed borrowing costs to the highest point in nearly five years Tuesday and hinted that another rate increase was possible. Shortly after the Fed's rate announcement, the Senate -- showing broad bipartisan support -- approved on a voice vote Ben Bernanke's nomination to be the 14th chairman of the central bank. ...

After 174 years, the Congregation of the Mission, a Roman Catholic order better known as the Vincentians in honor of founder St. Vincent de Paul, is leaving Cape Girardeau. By summer, the Rev. Charlie Prost and associate pastor the Rev. Derek Swanson at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church on Ritter Drive in Cape Girardeau will depart for new assignments. The Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau will begin administering the parish and will assign replacement priests...

Colleges; Golf

To the editor: I was under the impression that the money provided for the Missouri student-loan agency was taxpayer money. It seems that the money from the sale should first be returned to the taxpayers. It seems that everyone has a way to spend the money instead of returning it...

To the editor: I was pleased to read about Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton's bill to supplement food-assistance programs. Our country has been blessed with great wealth and financial resources. As Christians, we have an obligation to meet the fundamental needs of the most vulnerable members of our society. Mr. Jetton's bill is a step in the right direction by providing food to the elderly and encouraging donations to local food pantries...

To the editor: It appears that Cape Girardeau is going to use the police power of government to take away the property of one of its citizens. Let there be no mistake about it, there is much more at stake than a 2,160-square-foot gravel lot. At stake is the right of individual citizens to be secure in their private property. ...

To the editor: In a matter of days the U.S. House of Representatives will be considering some changes in Medicaid that could hurt many people here in Missouri. If five years ago you helped your family by paying for a grandchild's first year of college or your daughter's down payment for a house, you could be denied needed long-term care. ...

To the editor: Crime does pay. That's the opposite of what we're all supposed to think, but the reality of that should strike home when a young woman who embezzled $48,000 from her physician employer and called in more than 60 illegal prescriptions for herself was only sentenced to probation by Judge Ben Lewis. ...

Blame high wages; No cable choice; Hanging from a tree?; Better use of money; Keep it quiet; Who would be hurt?

Janie M. VanGennip, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born July 26, 1927, at Glennon, Mo., daughter of Joseph and Mary Laurentius. Janie was married to Martin F. "Junior" VanGennip Feb. 23, 1952. He survives...

Danny R. Kight of Jackson entered heaven Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, following a lengthy illness. Dan was born Oct. 27, 1947, in Delta, son of the late John and Pauline Croy Kight. He was the fifth of eight boys. He and Karen Crawford Kight were married Aug. 9, 1969...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Terry G. Robinson, 57, of Tamms died Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born March 11, 1948, in Cape Girardeau, son of Gilbert and Betty Farrow Robinson. He and Janie Hazelwood were married July 15, 1978, in Cape Girardeau...

Maxine Hahn, 82, of Jackson died Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 19, 1923, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Roy Clark and Georgia Marie Lanpher Welker. She and Arthur Hahn were married June 8, 1968, in Jackson...

Marilynn Ruth Hails, 82, of Jackson entered the gates of heaven Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, at the Lutheran Home. She was born April 30, 1923, in Elvins, Mo. daughter of Joseph R. and Tennessee O. Politte Bayless. Mrs. Hails attended Elvins High School and Flat River Junior College...

Esther Harter, 92, of Thornton, Colo., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at her home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Harlan Leon Fuller, 62, of Orlando, Fla., died Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006, at his home. He was born April 21, 1943, in Anna, son of Duane and Glenna Marietta Bragg Fuller. Fuller worked with his father in the masonry business many years. He moved to Florida and retired from Florida Department of Corrections. He was a member of Anna Heights Baptist Church...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Marcella Sissom, 78, of Olive Branch died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 8, 1927, in St. Mary, Mo., daughter of Robert and Ethel Mansfield Pearman. She and John D. Sissom Jr. were married Nov. 28, 1945. He died Feb. 5, 2001...

Alpha Mu Master; St. Mary CCW

25 years ago: Feb. 1, 1981 A Lutheran minister who is director of Lutheran Family and Children's Services has become the fourth individual to file for one of two seats on the Cape Girardeau Board of Education; Dr. Erwin Brese has been director of Lutheran Family and Children's Services since 1975...

Last week I asked for recipes that you might be serving at your Super Bowl gathering. A few recipes did come in, and all of them sound really good. In planning your menu, maybe these recipes will help. When we think of a Super Bowl party, snacks, finger foods, dips and chips come to mind. However, in addition to those, the area's Soup Queen thinks of a pot of soup simmering on the stove for guests to help themselves. She sent in this recipe for you to try...

WASHINGTON -- A politically weakened President Bush declared Tuesday night that America must break its long dependence on Mideast oil and rebuked critics of his stay-the-course strategy for the war in Iraq. "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world," Bush said as he sought to drive the election-year agenda in his annual State of the Union address...

A Southeast Missouri State University basketball starter was arrested at the Show Me Center Tuesday morning for a Kansas rape that allegedly occurred more than two years ago. A $100,000 arrest warrant was issued for Andrais Thorton on felony charges of rape and sexual battery for the 2003 rape in Colby, Kan...

Approximaely 150 residents living in the area west of Dearmore Court off of Hopper Road have been issued a "boil water order" which will go into effect at 8:30 a.m. today. The precautionary order is expected to last until 3 p.m. Thursday. Water service will be interrupted during the morning and early afternoon while workers seek to repair a gasket failure...

Cape Girardeau residents mourned the passing of Coretta Scott King Tuesday. "Now that she is gone I can only be saddened. Tears have come to my eyes very often today," said Debra Mitchell-Braxton, founder of the city's annual King memorial breakfast...

A Cape Girardeau man accused of killing a cat faces an April trial on felony animal abuse charges. Eric L. Ford, 45, appeared Thursday before New Madrid County Circuit Judge Fred Copeland, who ordered a one-day trial on April 13. Ford withdrew a guilty plea in October after Circuit Judge David Dolan rejected probation in the case and said he would impose prison time for the Aug. 14, 2004, incident...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

The Charleston boys basketball team got it going early and the Jackson Indians never got untracked in a SEMO Conference matchup Tuesday at Charleston, Mo. Charleston (15-5) played a near-perfect first quarter on both ends of the court to set up a 64-46 thumping of the Indians...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Sooner state will be the New Orleans Hornets' home away from home for another season. The Hornets will play most of their home games next season in Oklahoma City, with plans to return to New Orleans full-time in the 2007-08 season...

The University of Illinois on Tuesday chastised the NCAA for being "arbitrary and capricious" when it created a policy requiring that the university drop its Chief Illiniwek mascot and logo before it could be host to future postseason competition...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The board of Missouri's college loan authority voted Tuesday to sell about half of its roughly $5 billion in loan assets to generate money for Gov. Matt Blunt's college construction and endowment plan. Blunt quickly embraced the new plan, which would keep intact the nonprofit Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, or MOHELA, while generating slightly more than Blunt's original proposal to sell MOHELA outright for a projected $425 million...

In school after school across the nation, boys lag behind girls in academic success. For many boys, school is an uphill climb. Too often they are hanging from the academic ledge, in danger of dropping out of school entirely. The statistics are staggering...

PITTSBURGH -- They wore knee-length skirts, bobby sox and hard hats, and they couldn't fraternize with the players. Their pay? One ticket per game. The Steelerettes were the first females of the football field, long before Seattle's Sea Gals, Oakland's Raiderettes and the Buffalo Jills. And get this: Pittsburgh had guy cheerleaders, too -- the Ingots...

Notre Dame's pressure defense forced one turnover after another in a rout of Central at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament. The Central boys made the necessary adjustments in the rematch Tuesday at the Show Me Center, going nearly turnover free...

Murray State got a major monkey off its back -- and in the process took over sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference. The perennial powerhouse Racers, who had not defeated Samford since the Bulldogs joined the OVC, rolled to a 59-38 victory Monday night in Murray, Ky...

The missing opponent on Southeast Missouri State's schedule was filled in Tuesday morning when the entire field for the ESPN BracketBusters series was announced. And it will involve considerable travel for the Redhawks -- not that coach Gary Garner minds...

WASHINGTON -- Samuel Alito took his place on the Supreme Court Tuesday after winning Senate confirmation, a personal triumph for the son of an Italian immigrant and a political milestone in President Bush's campaign to give the judiciary a more conservative cast...

One of the most excruciating images of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is the sight of a man who was trapped in one of the World Trade Center towers. Stripped of his suit jacket and tie and hanging on to what appears to be his office curtains, he is seen trying to lower himself outside a window to the floor immediately below. Frantically kicking his legs in an effort to find a purchase, he loses his grip, and falls...

The 10th Annual Junior High String Orchestral Festival will take place at Academic Hall Auditorium on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University at 4 p.m. Thursday. The festival will include more than 160 participants from Cape Central Junior High School, Sikeston, Fort Zumwalt and Parkway schools...

A smart layout, decorated by tasteful touches, leaves visitors to this home, plan DD-2096 by the Homestore Plans and Publications Designers' Network, with a memorable first impression. The floor plan covers 2,088 square feet of living space. The entry is flanked by a quiet study and a formal dining room. Just ahead lies the expansive great room, featuring a corner fireplace and three large windows overlooking a large covered patio...

VIENNA, Austria -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed Tuesday to hold crude production steady, and its president said Iran had pledged not to withhold any oil because of its standoff with the West over its nuclear program. OPEC President Edmund Daukoru of Nigeria said Iran, one of the cartel's founders, had assured him and other members that it would not curtail its oil production. ...

The Ragin' Cajun James Carville (you might know him from "Old School") is coming to SIU in Carbondale this month. Carville is a widely-known political consultant and commentator who used to get his kicks fighting with Tucker Carlson on CNN's "Crossfire." Carlson is the guy Jon Stewart called an a--hole on live TV, by the way...

The dysfunctoinal nature of families makes for some good comic material in the River City Players' newest production, "It Runs in the Family," showing Feb. 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18 at Port Cape's River City Yacht Club. Co-director and constant RCP'er Bart Elfrink tells OFF "It Runs in the Family" is a comedy, by a British guy, Ray Cooney, that uses a lot of slapstick. If you like the BBC, you'll dig it...

Ah, Valentine's Day. A time to show affection for the one you love because you have to. One day out of the year when we are pelted with red and pink hearts, and puns such as "Bee mine" (with a picture of a bee, get it?). Fact: Valentine's is the tackiest of all holidays, beating out GREEN St. Patty's Day and the Bedazzler of holidays, New Year's Eve...

Often in art, it is as though the abstract holds its hand over our eyes to hide the real. In her paintings, Megan Thrower forces open its fingers, giving us a peek of where the two are joined. "I'm into mechanical stuff," Thrower said. "I'm interested in how things are made, how things work. I draw diagrams in my pieces and use them to show how we interact with each other and how that translates."...

There's a good chance you've seen the members of Rock Solid around before. Maybe not when they were performing with Rock Solid, but maybe with one of the three other bands who have a Rock Solid player -- and sometimes several -- as a part of its cast.  ...

For three years the Grace Cafe has enjoyed its roomy digs at 835 Broadway. But now the coffee/tea/lunch/free wi-fi shop is ditching that location for something a bit more cozy. Starting this month Grace has set up shop just down the road at 818 Broadway, the former home of the Weber TV and appliance store...

Crack open a PBR and put on your sleeveless shirt -- the Monster Truck Winternationals are coming! On Feb. 10 and 11 the Show Me Center will be abuzz with good ole boys whooping it up for their favorite Monster make. Show Me Center marketing director Brad Gentry said the annual tradition is one of the venue's most popular events. Last year both nights of the show sold out and more seats had to be brought in to accommodate the overflow...

This year my resolution was to NOT date just anybody. I happen to get lonely so I am susceptible to settling for someone who shows a little interest. Since most girls lose interest in me after two or three weeks, I decided a change was in order. I resolved to limit myself to a woman who has to be a lot, and I do mean a lot, like me...

As if there aren't enough holidays already, here's one for the people losing out on the love on Valentine's Day. It's called Satisfied Staying Single Day, it takes place on Feb. 11, and as the same implies it's a day to celebrate being single. If this message applies to you, it's likely you'll be at home watching "Sex and the City" in syndication on V-Day, but that's okay. You can buy yourself some chocolate, right?...

In Southeast Missouri, Christianity is king. But most rockers shuns the piety for hard partying and hedonism. OFF Magazine found that's not always the case. A vibrant community of Christian rock musicians live and play in the area, delivering a spiritual message through song. We took four of them and asked them to open up for a quick interview...

OFF Magazine asked some of those involved with the filming of "Killshot" in Cape Girardeau to submit their memories and photos. Here's what we got...

Saxony Lutheran gave visiting Meadow Heights a taste of its own medicine in the first 3 minutes of the boys basketball grudge match Thursday night. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, the magic from beyond the arc didn't last long as the visiting Panthers pulled out a 63-62 victory that avenged a loss to Saxony on Feb. 4 in the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament championship game...

Sonya Daugherty played the role of unexpected star Thursday night as Southeast Missouri State set a school record for consecutive wins on the Division I level. Daugherty, a little-used freshman guard, kick-started Southeast's stagnant offense with 13 first-half points as the Redhawks beat visiting Eastern Illinois 84-76...

Other than being hit with a loss, Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Mark Hogan found little fault with his team's effort and performance during Wednesday's season opener at Arkansas State. The inexperienced Redhawks played errorless ball and received strong starting pitching, but the host Indians rallied with three eighth-inning runs to win 4-3...

Feb. 2, 2006 Dear Leslie, A boy I'll call Carson has endured and seen abominations in his short life. I can't tell you about them because of school confidentiality rules. It's enough to know that Carson came to Blanchard Elementary School a very angry boy, and the turmoil in his life had put his education on hold...

A 23-year-old man found carrying a rifle on a Cape Girardeau street while drunk has been charged, police said. Ronald S. Roark, 23, of 329 Estate Drive in Cape Girardeau County, was charged with one count of felony unlawful use of a weapon; bond was $3,500...

The city of Cape Girardeau recently acquired 1.12 acres of land at the corner of Lexington Avenue and a future extension of Flad Avenue to serve as the future site of fire station No. 4. Fire chief Rick Ennis said the fire department is slowly outgrowing the current station No. 4 on Kurre Lane, but construction will probably not begin for another 10 years on the acquired land...

If you see oddly dressed men walking around downtown Cape Girardeau speaking in strange tongues Friday, don't worry. The territory hasn't been sold back to the French. This trip back in time is a celebration of an event that helped transform Cape Girardeau from four acres of private property into surveyed, mapped public land suitable for wider settlement...

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans cleaned a leftover from their fall agenda on Wednesday as they passed a major budget-cut bill for President Bush's signature. They said it cemented the GOP's status as the party of smaller, more efficient government...

GOLETA, Calif. -- A woman wounded in a rampage by a former postal worker died Wednesday, and investigators said the assailant also killed a former neighbor just before the attack, bringing the death toll to eight. A former postal worker said the attacker had spewed racist comments in the past, and six of the victims were minorities, but investigators have refused to discuss a motive in the slayings...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Joe Manchin called for all coal companies in West Virginia to shut down for safety checks after two more mine workers were killed Wednesday in separate accidents. While Manchin's call was voluntary, he also ordered the state's mine inspection schedule speeded up so that all 229 surface and 315 underground mines are examined by regulators as soon as possible...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri will have to wait at least another day to execute Michael Anthony Taylor after the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday night refused to lift a stay granted earlier in the day by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Taylor had been scheduled to be executed Wednesday after a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court in St. Louis denied his request for a stay, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected another appeal...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt created a new department to regulate finances on Wednesday, merging duties previously performed by the Economic Development Department with those of the state Insurance Department. Blunt's executive order for the merger followed the recommendation of a government review commission he created last year, except on one contested point...

DETROIT -- Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios will captain the U.S. hockey team at the Turin Olympics, the third straight Winter Games he has been accorded the honor. The 44-year-old Chelios will be the oldest American hockey player to compete in an Olympics, USA Hockey said Wednesday...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs are "somewhat interested" in Terrell Owens, the receiver suspended in November by the Philadelphia Eagles, president and general manager Carl Peterson said Tuesday. Peterson pointed to the track record of his new head coach, Herman Edwards, in dealing successfully with difficult players. Owens was suspended by the Eagles for the rest of the season after repeatedly criticizing the team and quarterback Donovan McNabb...

DETROIT -- They're the guys in black and white. No names needed. Unless they make a bad call. Then, everyone finds out who these NFL officials are. Criticized and vilified, their eyesight and sanity are called into question. And a lot of them are making names for themselves lately...

DETROIT -- Jerramy Stevens grew up an hour outside of Seattle. He played his college ball in Seattle. And, like some Seattle-ites, he never bothered to root for the Seahawks. That is, until they drafted him in 2002. "I was always a Raiders fan -- silver and black," the tight end said. "I didn't become a Seahawks fan until four years ago."...

Knights of Columbus hold fish and chicken fry...

Since 1976, the Missouri Century Farm program has been honoring area farms that have been in the family for 100 years or more. Thousands of farms are already listed by Century Farms, but the organization hopes to add more by the end of 2006. "We want to recognize farmers who have played a vital agricultural role in Missouri," said coordinator Andy Emerson...

We've commented before about the whiplash effect of news reports regarding health issues. One day you read chocolate is bad, and the next day you read that chocolate is good. Many medical researchers, asked which report is correct, will answer with an honest "Yes." Sound confusing? That's because you've just developed a case of health-reporting whiplash...

To the editor: When I read about what our troops in Iraq have to do to increase their safety, I wonder why. Our defense budget seems to be a favorite target for pork-barrel projects. In the 1990s, the Air Force requested five C-130 planes that cost $50 million each. Through political pork-barrel spending, it received 262 of them. The Navy got a $1.5 billion ship it didn't need or want. Certainly our defense budget could supply vehicles with better armor for our troops in Iraq...

To the editor: It is quite refreshing to see the University of Illinois fight to keep its Indian mascot, especially in light of Southeast Missouri State University's decision to abandon its traditions because it felt it damaged the school's ability to promote the school and grow...

Learn to pray; A country of fear; Taking the increase; Drug tests for all; Learning about cultures; Need water park; Don't show me the money; Harsh reality; Culture and history; More sweets; Legal commandments; What to honor?; No conspiracy; Stop double parking; Biting back

TAMMS, Ill. -- Terry G. Robinson, 57, of Tamms died Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born March 11, 1948, in Cape Girardeau, son of Gilbert and Betty Farrow Robinson. He and Janifer Hazelwood were married July 15, 1978, in Cape Girardeau...

Mavis M. Huey, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Feb. 15, 1929, at Chaffee, Mo., daughter of Walter L. and Pearl I. Gobble Carter. She and Dorris Allen Huey were married March 6, 1948, in Chaffee...

George E. Hartle, 91, of Jackson died Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 4, 1914, in Scopus, Mo. son of John and Bertha Schrock Hartle. He married Irene Hahs April 25, 1934, in Jackson. She passed away Jan. 16, 2002...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Richard Lee Welker, 58, of Chaffee, formerly of Jackson, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 5, 1947, in Cape Girardeau, son of Lyman L. and Norma Randol Welker. He and Alice Green were married May 22, 1987, in Jackson...

Esther J. Moe Harter, 92, of Thornton, Colo., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at her home. She was born Sept. 7, 1913, in Bayfield, Wis., daughter of Elias Heitman and Jacobia Emilie Jacobaen Moe. Mrs. Harter was a graduate of Bayfield High School and St. Barnabus Nursing School in Minneapolis, Minn. She served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from January 1941 to June 1942. She and Austin G. Harter were married in April 1942...

Thomas F. Ponder, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Dec. 17, 1913, in Perry County, Mo., son of the late Charles and Victoria Julie Winkler Ponder. He and Ruth Bock were married Oct. 25, 1947, in Sikeston, Mo...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Doyle Wayne Shrull, 40, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at his home. He was born May 9, 1965, in Russellville, Ky., son of Randall Doyle Shrull and Betty Rust Staples. Shrull worked at Service and Material Co. in Fenton, Mo. He was a member of Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Billie L. Moore, 78, of Bell City died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006 at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Jonathan "Kirk" Bollinger, 48, of Marble Hill died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 30, 1958, in Cape Girardeau, son of Jimmy G. and Patricia Ann Beussink Bollinger. Bollinger was a former inspector of offshore oil rigs with East Texas Oil. He was a member of St. John Catholic Church...

Charles Lavelle Lynxwiler, 66, of Paducah, Ky., died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006. He was born Nov. 18, 1939, in New Madrid County, Mo., son of Herbert S. and Mattie Auvine Lynxwiler. He moved to Sikeston, Mo., in 1945 and attended Sikeston public schools. He received a degree in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University in 1961...

Marilyn Louise Scholz, 64, of Scott City died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. She was born Sept. 6, 1941, at Dutchtown, daughter of Floyd H. and Mary Del Harmon Rhyne. She and Jerry Lee Scholz were married Sept. 7, 1957, at Whitewater. He died March 19, 1998...

25 years ago: Feb. 2, 1981 Plans for expansion of the Cape Girardeau County jail are still in limbo, says County Presiding Judge Gene Huckstep; he traveled to Jefferson City last week to meet with Larry Linke, assistant director of the Missouri Council on Criminal Justice, about the possibility of the county receiving some recycled money which the MCCJ staff must dispose of prior to closing out the program...

Briefly "Grant Writing: Strategies for Success" is the title of a workshop, sponsored by the Missouri League for Nursing, to be held at various locations across the state. One workshop will be held Feb. 14 at Southeast Missouri Hospital in the Harrison Room. ...

From staff and wire reports There's a largely hidden epidemic of birth defects running through the world's infants and children, striking about 8 million every year, about 6 percent of those born, according to a new study. An estimated 3.3 million children under age 5 die from a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin, while another 3.2 million of those who survive are mentally or physically disabled for life, researchers from the March of Dimes reported Monday...

The morning sunlight barely broke through the night sky behind Willard Smith as he stood on the eastern bank of Rotary Lake in Jackson's City Park on Wednesday. Dressed in a heavy camouflage coat, Smith placed his hands in his pockets while he intently watched two fishing poles propped against a couple of rocks. He was eagerly waiting for a bite...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt has softened his call that school districts be required to spend a certain percentage of their money on student instruction, saying Wednesday that he could support the threshold as a mere goal. Blunt encountered heavy criticism from school officials and reluctance from some legislators after proposing in November that school districts be required to spend at least 65 percent of their operating budgets on student instruction...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

Dozens rescued after Indonesian ferry sinks JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Naval vessels picked up 114 survivors from a passenger ferry that went down in rough seas in eastern Indonesia, but there was no sign late Wednesday of dozens of others still missing, rescuers said. ...

PARIS -- French and German newspapers republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad on Wednesday in what they called a defense of freedom of expression, sparking fresh anger from Muslims. The drawings have divided opinion within Europe and the Middle East since a Danish newspaper printed them in September. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet to prevent idolatry...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A female witness, testifying Wednesday at Saddam Hussein's trial, said she was stripped naked in prison, hung by her feet and kicked in the chest by the former Iraqi leader's half brother. The woman provided some of the most gripping testimony so far in the trial, which went ahead despite a boycott by Saddam and four other defendants, who demanded the removal of the chief judge...

Enthusiasm and eagerness had nothing to do with Waylon Richardet's decision to complete his letter of intent when the college football signing period opened at 7 a.m. Wednesday. Practicality did. "That's when it starts, and that's what worked best for my parents before they went to work," Richardet said...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Each spring, the Kentucky Derby conjures images of powerful thoroughbreds, mint juleps and -- fast food? Yum Brands Inc. -- the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut -- became the first named sponsor of the Derby at Churchill Downs on Wednesday, striking a five year-deal with the Triple Crown race. The deal begins with this year's race on May 6...

SEATTLE -- As if the Terrible Towel-twirling faithful of the Pittsburgh Steelers weren't enough, now Seattle Seahawks fans have to ward off another set of rabid football partisans: the Aggies of Texas A&M. Ever since the university launched a trademark dispute this week over who is allowed to refer to their fans as the "12th Man," David Israel has attracted plenty of abuse...

Republican Women's Club to meet in Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's Club will hold its monthly meeting at 11:45 a.m. Friday at Dexter Bar-B-Que in Cape Girardeau. State Rep. Peter Myers of Sikeston will be the guest speaker. Members are invited to bring a guest, and visitors are always welcome to attend...

Perryville captures dartball tournament title Perryville captured the Cape-Perry Lutheran Laymen's League of Dartball tournament championship on Tuesday night. Crosstown finished second, Altenburg Immanuel was third and New Wells finished fourth. Perryville was shut out of the individual awards. ...

Micah LaVanchy, a 17-year-old resident of rural Jackson, recently obtained his private pilot license from the FAA. LaVanchy took a test issued by the Civil Air Patrol and is now an officially recognized CAP pilot. He is a cadet/lt. colonel, Missouri Wing's Cadet of the Year 2005, and a past cadet commander of the local Civil Air Patrol Squadron, the Trail of Tears Composite Squadron, located in Cape Girardeau...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Craig S. Gatzemeyer was recently promoted to the rank of major at the Columbia Armory by Missouri National Guard chief of staff Col. Dwight D. Lusk. As a clerk at the 1140th Engineer Battalion in Cape Girardeau, Gatzemeyer was encouraged to go to Officer Candidate School. He attended OCS at Fort Benning, Ga. After receiving his commission, he served in various officer positions with several units...

Former Jackson resident Kris Springer served as one of 15 committee members on the 2006 John Newberry Medal award selection committee. Springer is the daughter of Bernice and John Springer of Jackson. Only one book receives the Newberry Medal award of distinction made annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. The books judged by the committee were published in 2005...

He's 82 years old now, but Thornton Jenkins' mind is still sharp. The Advance native, former University of Missouri all-conference basketball player and longtime basketball referee recalls dates and scores faster than a Google computer search. Take the night of March 19, 1966. Jenkins remembers it well. It was his 23rd wedding anniversary...

Demetrius Flowers accidentally killed himself in a Cairo, Ill., holding cell as he sought to inflict an injury serious enough to force police to take him to a hospital, Mayor Paul Farris said Wednesday. Farris, speaking to the Associated Press, said Flowers was found sitting, having "leaned forward and depriving himself of oxygen." He had wrapped a shoelace around his neck and tied it to an object above him, Farris said...

When the Jackson wrestling team left its gymnasium late Tuesday night, the Indians believed they had suffered their first dual meet loss of the season. But upon further review, it appears as if the Indians won the meet instead. Jackson and visiting Farmington battled to a 31-31 tie, and after several potential tiebreakers could not determine the outcome, Farmington was deemed the victor by the officials because Jackson had been penalized for stalling in one match...

Not only will Southeast Missouri State be down to just seven scholarship players for Saturday night's home game with Tennessee-Martin, the Redhawks will also be without their head coach. The Ohio Valley Conference determined Wednesday that under OVC policy Garner will be suspended for Saturday's contest because he was ejected late in Monday's 73-62 loss at Austin Peay...

The Sikeston girls basketball team won a 46-44 thriller against visiting Oran on Wednesday. It was a tale of two halves for both clubs. In the first half, Sikeston used a 13-0 run in the second quarter to enjoy a 32-16 halftime lead. In the second half, Oran caught fire from the 3-point line, as the Lady Eagles hit on five treys to have a chance to win at the end...

Patrick Lalime, who was sent to the minor leagues after struggling in his first season in goal in St. Louis, is returning to the Blues. St. Louis on Wednesday recalled Lalime from Peoria of the American Hockey League, where Lalime was 6-6-1 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage...

Last Friday was a big day for recognition of achievement by business, industry and retailers in the Cape Girardeau area. It started with the annual Magnet luncheon. The group's mission is to solicit and recruit new business, industry and commerce to Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City and Cape Girardeau County...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri's stirring Independence Bowl victory came too late to impact this year's recruiting class. The Tigers got one national-caliber recruit, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin of Kirkwood. But they ended up with only four players on rivals.com's list of top 20 players in the state, and only two of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's list of the city's top 30 prospects...

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings overcame a slow start and got a break on the winning goal. Henrik Zetterberg scored the tiebreaking goal with 3 minutes, 55 seconds remaining and Detroit rallied for a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- P.J. Tucker's big second half helped No. 7 Texas overcome off games from its other top scorers. Tucker scored 18 of his 20 points after the break and added 11 rebounds in a 66-53 victory over Missouri on Wednesday night. Many of the points came after the 6-foot-5 Tucker moved from the perimeter to inside...

Forget the highlight-reel offensive move in the post. Southeast Missouri State junior center Lachelle Lyles would rather get attention at frustrating opponents by grabbing jaw-dropping rebounds -- especially on the offensive end. "She'll go get them," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "Sometimes you wonder how in the heck she got that one."...

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel leaned on two of his former stomping grounds to construct part of his first recruiting class with the Redhawks. Samuel announced 16 signings on Wednesday when the national letter of intent period began...

Southeast Missouri State coach Gary Garner said he and his program stand firmly behind Andrais Thornton, and Garner believes his starting junior forward will be exonerated. Thornton was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of rape and sexual battery for an incident that allegedly took place more than two years ago in Colby, Kan., where Thornton was attending Colby Community College...

Twenty-four-hundred dollars can go a long way toward helping children read. Last September, Clippard Elementary teacher Jill Wittenborn was awarded a $2,400 Public Teachers Grant from the Cape Girardeau Public School Foundation to start a monthly family reading night. On that night, teachers and parents read with their second-grade students. She also gave out books to each student who participated...

I recently received an e-mail from someone asking if I knew of or had any information on the problem of "Winter Weight Gain." Vanity had always been enough to keep me in line when it came to my weight. But those extra 10 pounds no longer seem to care what the mirror is saying...

Estrogen. If one word can sum up the newest production by Central High School's Red Dagger drama team, the moniker of the famous female hormone is it. Over the next three nights the auditorium at Central Junior High will be drenched in it. Red Dagger's theatrical choice for this spring was "Steel Magnolias" -- the same "Steel Magnolias" as the 1989 movie starring Dolly Parton, Sally Field and Julia Roberts...

ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the nation's biggest brewer, said Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit fell 39.5 percent as the increasing popularity of cocktails and wine kept beer sales flat. St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers, earned $201 million, or 26 cents per share, for the period ending Dec. 31, compared with $332 million, or 42 cents per share, during the same quarter the previous year...

Meteorologists are in disagreement with Punxsutawney Phil's weather prediction. Thursday Phil saw his shadow -- meaning six more weeks of winter -- as he emerged from his burrow in Pennsylvania. Every Feb. 2, on Groundhog's Day, thousands of people flock to the small town of Punxsutawney to discover Phil's prediction...

Darryl Pannier felt right at home as a young student at Nell Holcomb School decades ago. This summer, he'll return to head up the small rural school district north of Cape Girardeau as superintendent. The Nell Holcomb school board hired Pannier at a starting salary of $83,300, school officials said Thursday. He will begin the job on July 1...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Hoping to increase enrollment in long-term care plans and perhaps reduce the state's Medicaid burden, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing for a 100 percent state income tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums...

I can't believe it's February. One reason is that it was just November a couple of days ago. And then a blur. Does February come right after the blur? Another reason is that January is supposed to be winter. Cold. Ice. Snow. Wind. And what did we have?...

NEW YORK -- For thousands of years, rabbis performed a simple procedure to cleanse the wound during a ritual circumcision: Like outdoorsmen treating a snake bite, they sucked blood from the cut and spit it out. That age-old procedure is now the subject of a clash between religion and science in modern-day New York...

Worker efficiency rises at slowest pace since '01 WASHINGTON -- The efficiency of American workers rose in 2005 at the slowest pace since the recession year of 2001 while a key gauge of wage pressures rose at the fastest pace in five years, the government reported Thursday. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri businesses have avoided tax penalties because the state has successfully gone three months without borrowing from the federal government to pay out unemployment benefits. When the economy soured several years ago, the state's unemployment trust fund began running out of money, and the state had to borrow from the federal government to continue paying jobless benefits. The borrowing occurred periodically from 2003 to April 2005...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A federal judge has ended nearly three decades of oversight of Jackson County's foster care system. A case filed 29 years ago on behalf of five children sought to change a system that allowed youngsters to spend years wondering whether they would return to their parents or be adopted...

ST. LOUIS -- A group that says its goal is to preserve the white race is suing the organization that runs St. Louis' light rail system over the removal of advertising placards. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit this week on behalf of the National Alliance, which had placed ads on MetroLink trains. Metro, which operates MetroLink for the Bi-State Development Agency, removed the ads in January 2005...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- For most of his life, Tennessee Tech basketball coach Mike Sutton has counted wins and losses. Now he measures success in smaller increments. Raising an arm one week, both the next. Breathing without a ventilator, then having his tracheotomy tube removed a day later. Lying on his stomach for the first time in eight months -- even if someone has to roll him over...

NEW YORK -- Never heard of Epiphanny Prince? That's about to change. On Wednesday, the prep star scored 113 points in a game, breaking the national girls' record of 105 by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller and stirring debate about whether it was poor sportsmanship or good shooting...

DETROIT -- Everything about Troy Polamalu is a contradiction. He is one of the NFL's most violent players, a whirlwind of speed, high-flying hits and wildly flowing hair who forces offenses to alter their game plans. His defensive coach says the league has never seen anything like him...

ST. LOUIS -- Rookie Lee Stempniak is taking advantage of the St. Louis Blues' salary purge. The 22-year-old right wing had his second big game since the trades earlier this week of Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger, scoring two goals and getting the game-winner in the shootout of a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night...

OMAHA, Neb. -- Myles Brand says the NCAA will hold firm on its ban of American Indian mascots and images in postseason competition despite resistance from institutions deemed to be offenders. The NCAA president, who spoke at a Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, said part of the NCAA's mission is to protect values...

ST. LOUIS -- Mike Martz backed out of the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator position on Thursday, and the ex-St. Louis Rams coach appears content to sit out next season. "Obviously, I took the job," Martz said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "It just didn't work out with the money...

WASHINGTON -- South Korean cars, cell phones and other consumer goods should drop in price if the United States and its Asian partner complete the biggest free trade deal since America tore down barriers with Mexico and Canada. The start of talks to link the United States with its seventh-largest trading partner were announced Thursday in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Boehner of Ohio won election Thursday as House majority leader, promising a steady hand and a helping of reform for Republicans staggered by election-year scandal. Boehner, who replaces indicted Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, said the GOP "must act swiftly to restore the trust between Congress and the American people."...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said Thursday it will ask Congress for $120 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $18 billion more for hurricane relief this year. The White House acknowledges the upcoming requests would cause total spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001, to soar well past the $400 billion mark, while spending for hurricane relief would top $100 billion...

Telephone scam attempted in Scott Co. Scott County residents were being warned of a possible telephone scam. Thursday afternoon, a woman in rural Chaffee received a telephone call from a man stating her checking account number was "all over" the Internet, a news release from the Scott County sheriff's department stated. ...

In many counties in rural Missouri -- that's most of the state's 114 counties -- the addition of a few thousand dollars of expense can put cash-strapped county governments in a bind. At a meeting last week of county commissioners from several Southeast Missouri counties, that was a major topic...

To the editor: My company extends to international business opportunities, and I can tell you that technology flourishes in countries where government regulations are less restrictive. In countries where the regulations are burdensome, economic develop and quality of life suffers. ...

To the editor: Mark Bliss should write a second part to his report on the achievement gap between boys and girls. One strong theme in Michael Gurian's "The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Failing in School and Life" is the role parents -- not just educators -- play in saving our sons. ...

Safety first; Taking a stand; Lack of punishment; Experiencing racism; Train barriers; Just do it; Where's the coroner?; No diploma needed; Paying for babies; Too much taxes; Distinctive canopies; Lawyer's fault

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Clyde Hudson, 91, of Perryville died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 16, 1914, at Silver Lake, Mo., son of Prince C. and Ida M. Reddick Hudson. He and Emma Irene Coffelt were married Oct. 20, 1941...

John Mack Sanders, 91, of St. Louis died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at Alexian Brothers Shearbrook Village Nursing Home in St. Louis. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City is in charge of arrangements.

Edith Geraldine "Gerry" Friedrich, 66, of Jackson died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at her home. She was born July 22, 1939, daughter of Jasper McKinley and Maude Pearl Conrad Myers. She first married Shelby E. Mayfield Dec. 31, 1966. He died July 6, 1977. She and Roy Friedrich were married Dec. 31, 1985...

Billie L. Moore, 78, of Bell City died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at his home. He was born March 31, 1927, in Cape Girardeau, son of Henry and Elizabeth Clark Moore. He and Alma Tackett were married in 1960 in Cape Girardeau. She died in 2002. Moore worked in several factories, and was a cab driver several years in Cape Girardeau...

William Aaron Gerhardt, 87, of Asheville, N.C., died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006. Born in Cape Girardeau, he was the son of J.W. and Rosalia Woeltje Gerhardt. He married Jean Haynes, who died in 2003. Gerhardt worked for Gerhardt Construction Co., and later owned a printing business, Teleforms. He had lived in Asheville since 1988...

Phyllis Ann Swift, 54, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Oct. 3, 1951, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., daughter of James Rush and Mary Rayburn Fortner. She and Jack Swift were married May 26, 1978, in Cape Girardeau...

Zolan Dale Barnett was stillborn Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Survivors include his parents, Jason and Brandi Stokes Barnett of Cape Girardeau; a sister, Brieanna Barnett of the home; grandparents, Barbara Bailey and Richard Adams of Olive Branch, Ill., and Alvin and Pat Barnett of Albany, Ga...

Everett "Ray" Crowden, 75, of House Springs, Mo., formerly of Delta, died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006. He was born June 24, 1930, son of John and Mildred Davis Crowden. He married Mary Acheson. Survivors include his wife; two sons, Terry Crowden of Waco, Texas, Nathan Crowden of Jackson; four daughters, Marilyn Trankle and Robbin Easley of Chaffee, Mo., Phyllis Broshuis of Whitewater, Gail Nanney of Marble Hill, Mo.; his mother; four stepchildren, Jim, Danny, Bruce and Kim, all of St. ...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Christopher A. Davis, 29, of Ullin formerly of Cobden, Ill., died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006. He was born Jan. 12, 1977, in Carbondale, Ill., son of Jessie and Shela Arnold Davis. Davis was a member of Apostolic Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Cobden. He was employed at Waterfront Barge Services in Cairo, Ill...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Theodore Steele, 79, of Ullin died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 12, 1926, in Tamms, Ill., son of Charlie and Leora Porter Steele. He married Pauline Ferrell, who preceded him in death. He later married Rosemary Modicue, who died Jan. 5, 2006...

Ruby Lee Keesee, 92, of Scott City died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 4, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Ark., daughter of Louis and Bertha Baker Carlton. She and Vester Keesee were married Jan. 6, 1931, in Cairo, Ill. He died Oct. 27, 1970...

Thomas "Tom" Held, 74, of Ferguson, Mo., formerly of Scott City, died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, at his home. He was born Nov. 24, 1931, at Illmo, son of Alvin and Vera McGhee Held. Held served with the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea. Survivors include his wife, Deanna; five children, four stepchildren, two brothers, six sisters, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren...

ANNA, Ill. -- Betty Jane Menton, 74, of Anna died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, at her home. She was born May 18, 1931, in Cobden, Ill., daughter of Donald and Opal Afton Ryan Lingle. She married J.D. Gould in June 1959. He preceded her in death. She later married Dr. Harry Menton, who also preceded her in death...

Zahner; Schoen; Powers; Willey; Griggs; Grindstaff; Gilbertson

25 years ago: Feb. 3, 1981 A special election will be held in Jackson June 2 on an $8 million bond issue to upgrade the municipal electric plant; city officials say the bond issue is needed to help pay for the purchase of two additional diesel engine generators and construction of an addition to the plant, which is over 50 years old...

'Brokeback Mountain'; 'Capote'; 'Eight Below'; 'Good Night Good Luck'; 'Something New'; 'When a Stranger Calls'; Still in theaters; 'Annapolis'; 'Big Momma's House 2'; 'The Chronicles of Narnia'; 'End of the Spear'; 'Fun with Dick and Jane'; 'Glory Road'; 'Hoodwinked'; 'King Kong'; 'Last Holiday'; 'Munich'; 'Nanny McPhee'; 'The Ringer'; 'Underworld: Evolution'; 'Walk the Line'

DETROIT -- Looking for the Temptations on Super Bowl Sunday? They'll be in Charlottesville, Va. Smokey Robinson? He's playing down the block from Ford Field the night before. Diana Ross? Nothing on her schedule. America's biggest sporting event is in Detroit this year, but there won't be any corresponding celebration of the Motown sound that has long defined the city...

'Art for the Health of It' deadline approaches; 'Rajun' Cajun' to discuss politics at SIU campus; Edgerton, Thompson to perform recital Feb. 12; 'The Vagina Monologues' hits Southeast campus; 'Louis Comfort Tiffany' opens today at museum; Lincoln library and museum celebrate president's birthday; African American heritage celebrated in Poplar Bluff

For months the pundits have debated its moral ramifications while the Hollywood establishment has sang its praises. If any movie in recent memory has caused as much of a stir as "Brokeback Mountain," anyone would be hard-pressed to name it. The film has been nominated for eight Oscars and cleaned house at the Golden Globe Awards...

Everyone can experience it. That blah feeling on an overcast, rainy winter day like Thursday when just getting out of bed can be a chore. But medical experts warn that when that feeling is more than occasional lethargy, it could be symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, a wintertime depression that usually goes away once the days lengthen in late spring...

Half a year before the next City of Roses Music Festival, organizers are already thinking of ways to increase the event's appeal. One possibility may be to do away with the name City of Roses altogether. Don Ganim, one of the festival organizers and owner of Jeremiah's, said the idea has been kicked around. Now it will be up to the people...

To the editor: I have been reading with interest the stories in the Southeast Missourian regarding Charter Cable and legislation that would spur competition in the cable industry. It is time for lawmakers to turn their attention to bringing competition to cable, especially with the recent announcement that cable rates are going up again...

Cape Girardeau...

Jackson Firefighters responded to the following call Wednesday: * A first alarm on East Jackson Boulevard. Firefighters responded to the following call Thursday: * Emergency medical service on South Union.

King to receive public viewing at Ga. Capitol ATLANTA -- Coretta Scott King will be given a public viewing in the rotunda of the Georgia Capitol at the governor's invitation, her family announced Thursday in a measure of how far the South has come since the civil rights era. ...

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Meet Heroina, the latest -- and surely cuddliest -- crusader in the U.S.-backed war on drugs. The purebred Rottweiler was one of six black-and-beige puppies found in a raid on a clandestine veterinary clinic in Colombia, each with about a pound of heroin implanted in their bellies...

Yao Ming edged Kobe Bryant as the top votegetter in fan balloting for the 55th NBA All-Star game, and Shaquille O'Neal became the fifth player in league history to earn 13 consecutive selections for the midseason showcase. Yao and Tracy McGrady give the host Houston Rockets two starters in the Feb. 19 game. They were joined on the Western Conference squad by Bryant, San Antonio's Tim Duncan and reigning MVP Steve Nash of Phoenix -- who will be a first-time All-Star starter...

My enthusiasm for the new RAV4 surged when the salesman pulled a handle recessed into the rear cargo area and the left half of the second row seat instantly flipped forward, creating a flat loading floor. He pulled a duplicate handle on the right side and the other half of the seat folded flat. No removing headrests or flipping up seat cushions required!...

State Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, testified at the capitol proposing drastic changes to Missouri's health-care system. Crowell's proposal would allow small businesses to form alliances for the sole purpose of purchasing health coverage for their employees, it would also create a "health-care financing authority" state trust fund for individuals without coverage...

Top-seeded Meadow Heights and No. 2 Saxony Lutheran advanced to tonight's championship game in the Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball tournament at Chaffee by posting victories Thursday night. Meadow Heights pulled away from Zalma in the second period en route to a 65-38 win over the No. 5 seed...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Almost five months after Hurricane Katrina chased Yolonda Prevost from her East New Orleans neighborhood to her sister's place in Kansas City, she spends her days trying to get back home -- searching for apartments and arranging for repairs to her drowned house...

Watching Central boys swimming coach Dayna Powell during the Show Me Conference swimming meet Thursday, it was not hard to figure out how the Tigers' day was going. Powell spent much of the meet at the Central Municipal Pool in one celebratory mode or another, as the Tigers claimed their third straight conference title and -- more importantly -- picked up four more state-qualifying cuts...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The football games between archrivals Kansas and Missouri have been moved to Thanksgiving weekend for the next two seasons, both schools said Thursday. The Big 12 Conference had requested the switch to guarantee the games would be televised...

Steve Lowery shot a 6-under-par 65 in the morning and Alex Cejka matched it at nightfall to share the first-round lead at the FBR Open on Thursday. Lowery, winner of two PGA events but none since 2000, ran off four straight birdies on holes 14-17 on a par-71, 7,216-yard Tournament Players Championship course in Scottsdale, Ariz., hardened by a record 106 days without rain...

Football coaches across the state checked the Internet with keen interest Thursday when new district assignments for the 2006 and 2007 seasons were posted by the Missouri State High School Activities Association. Four of the six area football teams were affected by the district announcements, although none of the schools changed classifications...

Three Rivers sophomore point guard Dominitrix Johnson is sidelined indefinitely with a broken nose that will require surgery. Johnson, who suffered the injury when he caught an elbow across the face from teammate Abayomi Ajasin during the first half of Wednesday's game at Meramec, was initially told that he didn't need surgery. But a specialist Thursday morning disagreed...

H (out of four) "Annapolis" is a combination of "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Rocky." During the entire movie, I kept feeling like I had seen this plot before. The film seemed to use a formula of clichZ and sappy sentiment. "Annapolis" is not a powerful film depicting the armed forces, and it sometimes seemed sugar-coated. The commanding officers are tough, but they don't seem realistic or gritty enough...

For February's First Friday, one gallery will whip out a romantic Valentine's Day theme, while the others just rely on good old art. Here's a guide to the First Friday receptions happening throughout town tonight. Edward Bernard Gallery, 107 West Drive...

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a new 2005 Chevy Tahoe LS that I just purchased, and the entire time that I'm driving -- and even after the car has been shut off and I'm no longer in the vehicle -- there are very loud bangs that come from somewhere under the car. ...

For Schnucks, Super Bowl Sunday effectively started Friday. Instead of waiting until Sunday, the organized Super Bowl partyers have already started coming in, stocking up on snacks, sodas and beer. Store manager Dennis Marchi isn't surprised by the buying spree. He said this Sunday is the biggest day of the year for per-capita food consumption...

A longtime symbol of American military strength will adorn to entrance to the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport following the delivery of a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk on Friday. The inoperative jet, which had been sitting at the Sabreliner plant at Perryville Municipal Airport, will become a showpiece at the entrance to Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, manager Bruce Loy said...

For 17-month-old Ella Kinder, five hours a week has been life-changing. That's how long the Cape Girardeau infant, who has Down syndrome, spends in physical, occupational, speech and developmental therapy each week. But a year ago, Ella's mom, Julia Kinder, was among thousands of Missouri parents unsure whether their disabled children would continue to receive those therapies through the state's First Steps program...

DETROIT -- For a decade, the people of Pittsburgh have embraced a Detroiter and called him one of their own. This week, Detroit is returning the favor -- on an even larger scale. Detroit is not just the hometown of Jerome Bettis. It has become Steeler Country...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- More than four years ago, Zacarias Moussaoui was arrested by the FBI while taking pilot training in Minnesota. He was still in custody when al-Qaida hijackers attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. After a torturous trip through the legal system, the 37-year-old Frenchman admitted last April that Osama bin Laden ordered him to train to fly a jetliner into the White House. He pleaded guilty to conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers but claimed not to know their plans...

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon defense review Friday forecast shutting down C-17 production after the completion of the 180 planes currently planned, despite congressional objections to such a move when it became public several months ago. The C-17 is manufactured by Chicago-based Boeing Co. at a California plant. The Long Beach plant employs more than 6,000 workers...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Intuit Inc. is defending advertising of its TurboTax software against rival H&R Block Inc., which claimed its smaller competitor's campaign was misleading. Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit filed court documents Thursday claiming H&R Block has made inconsistent statements on the number of tax returns it prepares. H&R Block says Intuit has muddled the numbers released by its Kansas City-based rival...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Tens of thousands of angry Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance Friday against European countries where caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were published. Early Friday, Palestinian militants threw a bomb at a French cultural center in Gaza City, and many Palestinians began boycotting European goods, especially those from Denmark...

SAFAGA, Egypt -- Spotlights probed the darkness as rescue boats mounted an increasingly desperate search for hundreds of people feared dead in the chilly Red Sea waters a day after the sinking of the aging ferry Al-Salaam Boccaccio 98. Of the 1,400 aboard -- mainly Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia -- only 324 had been rescued by Friday night, plucked from inflatable lifeboats dropped by helicopters or pulled directly from the water in lifejackets...

DETROIT -- NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue is not expecting any sudden breakthroughs with the players' union on a contract extension. "We're not making the kind of progress we need to be making," he said Friday during his annual state of the league address. "I don't think negotiations are going very well."...

J.J. Henry birdied a tournament-record seven holes in a row en route to a 10-under-par 61 Friday and a four-stroke lead halfway through the FBR Open. The 30-year-old from Fairfield, Conn., was one stroke off the tournament-record round of 60, and he bettered his previous career-best round by three strokes. His string of birdies on the ninth through 15th holes fell one shy of the PGA Tour record of eight in a row...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow have split, the couple announced in a joint statement Friday night. The seven-time Tour de France champion and the rock star announced their engagement in September. It would have been her first marriage and his second. He has three children from a previous marriage...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

Since founding the community-wide literacy program United We Read five years ago, Central High School librarian Julia Jorgensen has invited the authors of the books being read to Cape Girardeau. Until this year all either declined or had scheduling problems that prevented them from being here. This year two books were chosen, and both authors will give readings over the two-month course of the program...

Basketball; Colleges; Tennis

To the editor: The following paragraph is taken from www.fallenheroesfund.org: "The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund supports American military personnel who have been severely wounded in the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fund is constructing a world-class, state-of-the-art advanced training skills center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, to aid in their treatment and recovery."...

To the editor: Samuel Alito has endured the tough questions and political abuse of the confirmation process. U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, however, was as wrong as he always thinks he is right in his remarks. But that is politics. Did you ever see it run smoothly? I have not...

To the editor: The American Cancer Society has been an active member of Cape Girardeau County for many years, offering a number of patient and family services, cancer support groups, tobacco-control programs and lifesaving research. The society continues its mission thanks to the help of generous volunteers and dedicated staff...

Limited testing; Support for Israel; Student's concerns; Satellite option; Foreign domination; Looking for concerts; Blame feminists; Riverfront trails; Juvenile rehab; Church issues; Distorted reporting

John Mack Sanders, 91, an old-time country fiddler born Nov. 28, 1914, on the family farm near Commerce, Mo., died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at Alexian Brothers-Sherbrooke Village Skilled Nursing Facility in St. Louis. He had lived in the Illmo-Scott City area all of his life, until just two years ago. ...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- John Clendenin, 66, of Wolf Lake died Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 24, 1939, at Wolf Lake, son of Dallas B. and Nancy Hamel Clendenin. He and Ada Craft were married May 16, 1959, in Anna, Ill...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Ruth Allen, 82, of Tamms died Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, at her home. She was born Jan. 22, 1924, in Elco, Ill., daughter of John P. and Ethel Hammonds Brown. She and Donald C. Allen were married Feb. 7, 1941. Allen was employed 30 years at the U. S. post office in Tamms. She was a member of Tamms Methodist Church...

Geraldine "Hi-Ho" Medlin, 89, of Bradenton, Fla., died Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton. She was born June 18, 1916, in Dyer County, Tenn., daughter of William Bostic and Bennie Stephenson Chitwood. She married Joseph "Daddy Joe" Medlin Aug. 18, 1935. He died Oct. 16, 1997...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Helen R. Zahner, 74, of Perryville died Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Aug. 5, 1931, in Perry County, daughter of Sylvester and Ada E. Grass Moll. She married Raymond Zahner in September 1972. Zahner was a certified nurse aide. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church at Highland, Mo...

Beussink; Sticht; Bloodworth; Altenthal; Osborne

25 years ago: Feb. 4, 1981 Loretta Schneider and John M. Isbell, both of whom have made unsuccessful attempts in the past to be elected to the Cape Girardeau City Council, won Tuesday's primary election, thus advancing them to the April 7 general election; one of the two will be elected to the seat now held by Mayor Paul W. Stehr, who is completing his third term as a councilman and isn't seeking re-election...

VIENNA, Austria -- Iran warned Friday it no longer would consider a Kremlin proposal to move its uranium enrichment program to Russia if it is referred to the U.N. Security Council over suspicions it might be seeking nuclear weapons. If Iran's nuclear file goes to the Security Council, "there will be no way we can continue with the Russian proposal," said Javad Vaeidi, deputy head of the powerful National Security Council and a top nuclear negotiator...

A man who admitted to robbing another man at gunpoint was sentenced Friday to six months in the county jail. Dameon W. Oakley, 22, of 43 N. Henderson Ave., received the sentenced during an appearance at the Perry County Courthouse before Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis. ...

CHICAGO -- Comedian Dave Chappelle told Oprah Winfrey he was stressed out and not crazy or on drugs when he abruptly left his hit Comedy Central show last spring during production. In his first television interview since ditching "Chappelle's Show" in May, Chappelle said that after he signed a $50 million deal for the third and fourth seasons in August 2004, too many people were trying to control him and his show...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- A judge has imprisoned a man who remained behind the wheel despite at least 12 alcohol-related driving convictions, a stint in a prison treatment program and a fatal crash. Robert J. Pinson, 52, had his probation revoked on Thursday by Jefferson County Judge M. ...

A file-destroying computer worm set to activate Friday caused relatively little damage in Asia and Europe, although one Italian city shut down computers as a precaution. Hundreds of thousands of computers were believed to be infected, but many companies and individuals had time to clean up their machines this week after security vendors and media outlets warned of the "Kama Sutra" worm. ...

The leading rusher for the 2005 Southeast Missouri State football team is back in school and back on the squad. Southeast officials confirmed Friday that freshman Timmy Holloman was reinstated to the university for the second semester. Holloman and two other Southeast football players -- starting safety D'Eldrick Taylor and reserve linebacker Frederick Williams, along with former player Gerald Breedlove -- were barred from campus in mid-December after they were charged with misdemeanors for assaulting two students during an off-campus fraternity party on Dec. ...

Well past the midway point of the Ohio Valley Conference season, it's unusual that Southeast Missouri State still has not played every OVC team. But that is the case for the Redhawks (13-7, 10-3) entering today's 5 p.m. contest against Tennessee-Martin (6-14, 4-9) at the Show Me Center...

WASHINGTON -- Employers stepped up hiring in January, boosting payrolls by 193,000 and lowering the nation's unemployment rate to 4.7 percent, the lowest since July 2001. The fresh snapshot of the jobs climate, released by the Labor Department on Friday, suggested that the economy started the new year on fairly good footing. ...

DENVER -- For more than 150 years, messages of joy, sorrow and success came in signature yellow envelopes hand delivered by a courier. Now the Western Union telegram is officially a thing of the past. The company formed in April 1856 to exploit the hot technology of the telegraph to send cross-country messages in less than a day. It is now focusing its attention on money transfers and other financial services, and delivered its final telegram on Friday...

Southeast Missouri State's depleted Redhawks face a virtual must-win situation tonight if they are to maintain realistic hopes of making the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. The Redhawks (6-14, 3-11) hope their seven available scholarship players can pull off the trick against Tennessee-Martin (9-12, 6-9) in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at the Show Me Center...

As used by the media, "global warming" refers to the theory not only that the earth is warming, but doing so because of human industrial activity. How can a reasonably diligent citizen assess this claim? Measuring average global temperature is not an easy matter. ...

The Central boys basketball team outscored Wentzville Holt by eight points in the fourth quarter and pulled out a 72-65 road victory Friday night. The Tigers (11-9) had a 20-12 advantage in the final period, thanks in large part to hitting 12 of 15 free throws...

Poplar Bluff's 19-game SEMO Conference winning streak ended Friday night when the Mules lost for the first time since 2003. Sikeston posted a 67-62 victory at home. Poplar Bluff, the two-time defending state champion in Class 5, last lost a SEMO Conference game Feb. 21, 2003, at Charleston, when the Bluejays won 86-82 overtime...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Since his 40-point performance against Kansas last month, Missouri's Thomas Gardner is learning the frustration of being the guy everybody wants to stop. The open looks have been hard to come by since Gardner starred in Missouri's overtime upset of the Jayhawks on Jan. 16, and the Tigers have struggled along with him...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- In any game which comes down to the wire, the hope is always that a call will not be the deciding factor in the outcome. Unfortunately, that was the case at the finals of the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament on Friday night. Saxony Lutheran senior Lauren Lueders hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to break a tie and give the second-seeded Crusaders a 78-76 win...

While water clarity in the Black River has improved following a breach at the Taum Sauk reservoir last year, officials Friday were uncertain how long until it would return to the crystal clarity it is known for. AmerenUE has been working to improve the damage done to the river and surrounding area since a Dec. 14 breach at the Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant...

ST. LOUIS -- Tony Ponturo will watch the Super Bowl on Sunday from a luxury suite in Detroit's Ford Field. Yes, he insists, it will be work. "It's always difficult to convince people of that," Ponturo joked. But a quick description of his time in Detroit conveys why it's no ordinary trip the ball game. Ponturo will be stationed next to the "red phone," a hot line he will use to monitor the game for his employer, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc...

The United Way of Southeast Missouri has grown from a fund-raising organization into one that seeks to tackle community issues, its director said Friday. "We now define ourselves as a community impact organization," director Nancy Jernigan told a crowd of more than 200 people at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center...

He came in wearing leather moccasins, his hair was tied back in a ponytail hanging down to his knees, and he wore an Indian-bead necklace. Louis Lorimier came to donate four acres of land to form a new city. Local history buffs gathered at the Common Pleas Courthouse Friday to celebrate the bicentennial of an event that Mayor Jay Knudtson said "began our history as a city."...

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- In an ancient neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt, in the Coptic Museum, April DeConick's academic pursuit reached a zenith. A professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, DeConick had been fascinated with the Gospel of Thomas since her undergraduate days in Michigan...

"What a morbid sentence to place on an automobile license plate!" I murmured to myself. My husband reluctantly slowed our van, allowing space ahead for a speeding vehicle. The other car swerved dangerously, passing us on the highway. As we inched closer, the writing on the license plate -- "Born to die" --stared back at me. Although I was stunned to see such words on the back of a car, I was forced to examine the reality of such a claim...

When was last time someone in your community thanked God for your church? That question -- posed at a conference a few years ago -- sparked the Rev. Derek Staples' interest. "If there's something that a church ought to be able to say, it's that it wants to have a godly influence in its community," said Staples, pastor at Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau...

Vincentian Marian Youth to meet Feb. 12 and 16; Sunday; Tuesday; Wednesday; -- From staff reports

Rolling fields of countryside create privacy for this week's showcase home, yet the open layout of the ranch house allows for a versatile lifestyle. Centered on more than one acre of land, a wooden fence encloses an orchard-like cluster of trees in the front yard. A gravel driveway leads up to the attached two-car garage that opens on the side of the L-shaped brick home with a walk-out basement...

Women of Southeast Missouri, do you know where your husband will be this evening? Probably in the same place thousands of men have been for the past 24 Sundays -- slouched in front of the television watching 200-plus-pound guys run a ball up and down 100-yards' worth of grass...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Attorney General Jay Nixon said the public needs more opportunities to weigh in before the state student loan authority sells some of its loans. Nixon, a Democrat, said Friday he would hold public hearings about the proposed sale. In a written statement, he said the hearings were needed because of a "troubling lack of transparency" that "has only led to more questions."...

Two accidents injured four people in Cape Girardeau County over the weekend, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. An accident at 12:45 p.m. Saturday on County Road 335 west of Jackson injured Britanie Randol, 21, of Jackson, her 2-year-old daughter Addison and 1-year-old son Isaiah...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The investigation into missing money from the Chaffee municipal court coffers has ended, but the uproar hasn't. Some city council members and citizens still have questions. At Monday night's city council meeting they will try to get some answers...

BRIERFIELD, Ala. -- Rewards totaling $10,000 were offered Saturday in the investigation of the fires that damaged or destroyed five rural churches along winding country roads south of Birmingham. Gov. Bob Riley said a $5,000 reward was being offered by the state, and a $5,000 reward was posted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives...

ATLANTA -- Thousands of mourners poured into the Georgia Capitol Rotunda on Saturday to pay tribute to Coretta Scott King, the first woman and the first black person to lie in honor in what once was once a seat of segregation. The bronze casket carrying the widow of the Rev. ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An unmanned spacesuit tossed out of the international space station was supposed to float through space, talking to radio operators around the globe. The suit, stuffed with old clothes and a radio transmitter, orbited Earth twice Friday, giving off faint signals to Japan. But then the suit, dubbed "Ivan Ivanovich," was apparently silent...

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- He didn't have to go, it wasn't his job and nobody paid him to do it. But Michael Yon says he went to Iraq because he wanted to see for himself what was happening in the war zone. The 41-year-old former Green Beret and author was embedded as a freelance journalist with troops last year and used an Internet blog to report on car bombs, firefights and fallen soldiers. ...

PITTSBURGH -- It can get kind of annoying, you know, this constant characterization of Pittsburgh as a blue-collar town. Someone always says it on broadcasts of Steelers football. But the image is too easy. It trivializes the meaning of blue-collar life. And it leaves out the rest of what we are...

SEATTLE -- In view from the window of Mayor Greg Nickels' office is one of two flags bearing the number "12," flown in tribute to the city's Super Bowl-bound team. It doesn't make too much of a fuss. It blends in. It's Seattle. Not exactly a city awash in team colors, or a place possessed by football mania, Seattle has embraced its first Super Bowl with what some would call controlled dignity, and others would describe as charming indifference...

NEW YORK -- Al Lewis, the cigar-chomping patriarch of "The Munsters" whose work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate never eclipsed his role as Grandpa from the television sitcom, died after years of failing health. He was 95...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Fighting raged across southern Afghanistan on Saturday with attacks on government offices and a police convoy killing a district chief and 15 others -- raising the death toll from two days of battles to 37, officials said. Government officials said more than 200 rebels were fighting 250 police and Afghan soldiers, as well as U.S. forces...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The bullet-riddled bodies of 14 Sunni Arab men purportedly seized by police a week ago were found dumped in Baghdad in the latest bout of Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence in the capital, a top Sunni group said Saturday. The discovery threatens to further polarize Iraq's ethnic and religious groups at the same time as Iraqi officials are trying to form a national unity government, which the United States hopes will lead to a curbing of this country's rampant bloodshed...

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- The U.S. military is shutting down its last MASH, the mobile hospital made famous by the long-running TV show about martini-sipping, wisecracking Army doctors. This month, the Army will donate the last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to Pakistan where it has been caring for survivors of last year's massive earthquake, Rear Admiral Michael LeFever said Saturday at an air base outside the capital Islamabad...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli aircraft fired three missiles at a building used by militants in Gaza City late Sunday local time, killing three people and wounding five, Palestinian hospital officials said. The three killed were senior field operatives of Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the hospital said. Field operatives plan and carry out rocket attacks and other assaults on Israeli targets...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- After four months and 26 witnesses, prosecutors in the Saddam Hussein trial have offered little credible testimony directly linking the former leader to the killings and torture for which he's charged. But legal experts familiar with the case say the best may be yet to come -- documents allegedly tying Saddam to the crackdown that followed an assassination attempt against him 23 years ago in Dujail, a mainly Shiite town north of Baghdad...

VIENNA, Austria -- The International Atomic Energy Agency enlisted high-power help on Saturday in its efforts to crack Iran's nuclear defiance, calling on the U.N. Security Council to get involved in dispelling fears Tehran might be seeking to make the bomb...

What's a prettier color in winter: brown or green? Green, of course! And that's a good reason to blanket the ground with evergreen plants. Seas and islands of low growing greenery knit the scene together in informal and formal gardens. The big three of evergreen groundcovers are vinca, pachysandra, and English ivy. But also consider other shapes and shades of green with which to paint the ground...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For Diane and David Petersohn, seven was not enough. One of their seven children has Down syndrome, and when the couple from Liberty, Mo., decided to adopt an eighth child, they wanted another one with the syndrome. The Petersohns placed their names on national lists of people seeking to adopt children with Down syndrome...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Republican Party's elected leaders stressed the fight against terror and the war in Iraq. They touted the economy, renewable energy sources and the need for ethics reforms. But no one talked about one underlying concern at the GOP's annual Lincoln Days conference -- no one, that is, until Republican Stella Sowers publicly broached the issue of embryonic stem-cell research during a question-and-answer session Saturday with politicians...

PEORIA, Ill. -- J.R. Friedrich is a successful big game hunter, but his most useful weapon is a cotton swab -- considering the bulk of his business deals with paternity testing. "It's not all Maury Povich," say Friedrich, 51, referring to the daytime talk show host's parodied, and pilloried, paternity testing segments...

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Peter Warrick arrived in Cincinnati in the spring of 2000 as the league's fourth overall draft choice, a two-time All-America and a touchdown dynamo from Florida State. A catch-me-if-you-can savior for a Bengals franchise that desperately needed saving...

DETROIT -- Something you might not know about Ben Roethlisberger: Football's not his favorite sport. Never was as a kid. Still isn't today. "Basketball's my first love," the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback said. "I grew up playing basketball. But I thought I could go further playing football."...

DETROIT -- Troy Aikman made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's biggest class in years. The guy he threw to -- Michael Irvin -- will have to wait once again. Reggie White, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, John Madden and Rayfield Wright also were elected Saturday. Not since 2001 had the maximum number of candidates been chosen...

DETROIT -- Oh, yeah, football. All the tributes to Jerome Bettis are done. The war of words between Joey Porter and Jerramy Stevens is over. The Rolling Stones and Motown greats will sing in harmony, and the purveyors of doom -- dangerous streets, a bleak setting, traffic jams -- have been silenced by good vibes from the locals...

MISSOURI SUMMARY TEXAS TECH 73, MISSOURI 55 MISSOURI (10-10) Grimes 1-1 0-0 2, Young 5-10 2-2 12, McKinney 6-17 2-2 17, Gardner 0-5 2-2 2, Horton 1-6 1-2 3, Douglas 1-2 0-1 2, Brown 3-12 1-2 7, Watkins 1-1 0-0 2, Dandridge 2-4 0-0 5, Lawrence 0-2 3-4 3. Totals 20-60 11-15 55...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Rich McBride thought he had saved Illinois' home-winning streak. He was just a split-second too late. McBride's shot came just after the buzzer and Penn State held off No. 6 Illinois 66-65 on Saturday night, ending the Illini's home winning streak at 33 games...

CHICAGO -- How does this sound for your next vacation: Shoveling mud, painting a wall, rocking an infant. No, this is not about using your precious time off from work for home-improvement projects or baby-sitting. These are some of the tasks you might do on a volunteer vacation...

Got an itch for palm trees, beaches, warm sunshine and clear ocean water? And you don't want to go very far? The islands of the Bahamas are just a short hop from Florida, and they offer lots of easy relaxation and fun activities. Your excuses for not going to the islands will fade away after you see the videos and 360-degree photos from Islands of the Bahamas -- www.bahamas.com/bahamas/ -- the official government Web site. ...

JACKSON, Miss. -- The concerts must go on. Hurricane Katrina destroyed Catherine Barnes' home in Biloxi and the accounting firm where she worked. But Barnes decided that the annual concert series she oversees in Gulfport would continue. "I thought it would be good to focus on something else instead of my own disaster," she said...

MOBILE, Ala. -- A scaled-down Mardi Gras in New Orleans could boost turnout for the rollicking festivities in Mobile, where carnival was first celebrated in the United States in the 1700s. "It's going to be nuts. We're preparing for the insane, just in case," says bartender Danielle Hamilton at Hayley's on Dauphin Street, the city's downtown entertainment strip...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- If you're planning a cruise to Alaska this summer, chances are you're booking it this winter. Most Alaska cruise tickets are purchased in January and February, with some earlybirds booking as far in advance as the previous October, according to the Cruise Lines International Association...

WASHINGTON -- A Pentagon plan to restructure the Army National Guard has sparked bipartisan outcries in Congress even before President Bush's formal proposal, showing the clout of a force that draws members from communities across America. Lawmakers' pre-emptive objections also point out the hurdles facing the administration as it seeks to persuade Congress to accept any defense changes that might hurt people back home...

WASHINGTON -- Betty Friedan, whose manifesto "The Feminine Mystique" became a best seller in the 1960s and laid the groundwork for the modern feminist movement, died Saturday, her birthday. She was 85. Friedan died at her home of congestive heart failure, according to a cousin, Emily Bazelon...

Cape Girardeau officials will unveil an earthquake awareness exhibit today in the J.C. Penney court at the Westfield West Park. The display will include videos, brochures and literature created by the Cape Community Emergency Response Team on earthquake awareness...

PHILADELPHIA -- A 22-year-old man ate 173 chicken wings in 30 minutes, setting a record at the annual Wing Bowl. Joey Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., bested a field of 27 eaters Friday to take the title and top prize, a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara. The 14th annual Wing Bowl was open only to competitors who had never before participated in the event. That meant 100-pound Sonya Thomas, who set the previous record of 167 wings in 2004, was excluded...

Dr. Michael Wulfers, general practitioner, will be the guest at 3 p.m. today on KRCU Radio's "Going Public" program. The panel will discuss the Creighton Natural Fertility Program, stem-cell research and other health issues and trends.

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City and Cape Girardeau County are taking another important step in efforts to reduce litter and improve beautification. Starting this month, the area will be completing two surveys for the Keep America Beautiful organization. Once the surveys are finished, this area will be an officially recognized KAB participant...

BELL CITY -- William Bogan has came a long way as a basketball player in a short amount of time. In his first season of high school basketball, Bogan is averaging 18.2 points per game for Bell City (16-3) and often cracking double figures in rebounding...

Heather Jenkins had a pair of top-six finishes Saturday to pace the Southeast Missouri State track and field team at the Hoosier Relays hosted by the University of Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. The event attracted about 30 schools, according to Southeast coach Joey Haines...

Southeast Missouri State freshman gymnast Sandra Blake won her third straight all-around title Saturday, and the Redhawks won their second straight dual in a win over visiting Texas Women's University at Houck Field House. Blake, named the Midwest Independent Conference Gymnast of the Week for her performance in a dual win over Winona State last week, finished with an all-around score of 38.975, her top score in her short Redhawks career...

Very last option; Wise words; Talking tough; Good show, tough issues; Taxing burden; Business fundamentals

Henry Thomas Conary Jr., 70, of Jackson passed away Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 20, 1935, at Bar Harbor, Maine, son of the late Henry T. and Rosalie Thompson Conary. He and Martha Hanscom were married Sept. 6, 1958, at Bar Harbor...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Lloyd Earl Friedman, 81, of Ullin, formerly of Unity and Anna, Ill., died Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 10, 1924, at Cairo, Ill., son of Arthur and Bessie Giles Friedman. Friedman was a retired mechanic and an Army veteran of World War II, and a former member of the Carroll P. Foster VFW Post 3455 of Anna...

DEMOTTE, Ind. -- Sandra Kay Ackerman, 57, of DeMotte died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006. She was born Oct. 5, 1948, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of Ernest and Beatrice Crites Mayfield. Ackerman was employed at Lewis and Clark College as a custodian. She was a member of the DeMotte Christian Church...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Dennis L. Scherer, 52, formerly of Dexter, Mo., and Bell City, Mo., died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Nov. 17, 1953, in Amarillo, Texas, son of Robert and Mona Jones Scherer. He was a self-employed business owner of Big D's restaurants in Doniphan and Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was a member of the St. Benedict Catholic Church in Doniphan and the Knights of Columbus in Poplar Bluff...

Edna Alvina Steimle, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at Ratcliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 31, 1917, at Cape Girardeau County, daughter of Louis Emil and Ella Alvina Haertling Graden. She and Arthur F. Steimle were married May 2, 1952, at Cape Girardeau. He died July 20, 1992...

Amber Di'Anne Swanson and Timothy Wilson Bockhorst were married Jan. 21, 2006, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Cape Girardeau. Rocky Good performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Padi Bradley of Cape Girardeau, and the late Charles Bradley. The groom is the son of George and Patricia Bockhorst of Cape Girardeau...

Robin Mary Logsdon and Derek Shawn Ogborn exchanged vows Jan. 2, 2006, at Alpine Wedding Chapel in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The Rev. Ray Morris performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of the late Eddie and Sarah Ann Logsdon of Western Kentucky. The groom is the son of Gary Ogborn and Barbra Treece of Cape Girardeau, and Kay Lynn Ogborn of Alabama...

ORAN, Mo. -- Heather Shirrell and Justin Jones were united in marriage Dec. 3, 2005, at Little Log Wedding Chapel in Gatlinburg, Tenn. The Rev. Travis Tatum performed the ceremony. Recorded music was played. Parents of the couple are Kenny and Tina Shirrell of Poplar Bluff, Mo., and John and Faye Jones of Oran...

FROHNA, Mo. -- Melody Lynn Burroughs and Jason Michael Hamm were married Sept. 20, 2005, in Gatlinburg, Tenn. The Rev. Bill Champaux performed the ceremony. Parents of the bride are Ilmer and Connie Burroughs of Frohna. The groom is the son of Vicki and Ray Spears of Oran, Mo., and Michael Hamm of Benton, Mo...

Christine Elaine Meulebrocek and Douglas Albert Gross were married July 23, 2005, at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Dubuque, Iowa. The Rev. G. Netland performed the ceremony. Scriptures were read by David Gross of Paola, Kan., uncle of the groom. Music was provided by Bill Tinker. Soloists were Jill Cordes and Pete Magnuson of Rosemount, Minn., aunt and uncle of the bride...

Norman and Debby Kendrick of Ewing, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Jocelyn Vanessa Kendrick, to Ross Andrew Bennett. He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Michael Bennett of Cape Girardeau. Kendrick is a 1999 graduate of Highland High School in Ewing. She received a bachelor of arts degree from Western Illinois University in 2003. She is pursuing a teaching certificate in elementary education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City...

Robbie and Judy Roberts of Gordonville announce the engagement of their daughter, Laura Ashleigh Hodge, to Douglas Nathaniel Jones, both of Jackson. He is the son of Tim Jones of Sedgewickville, Mo. Hodge is a 2002 graduate of Jackson High School. She is a photo specialist at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Jackson...

Jim and Kathie Woeltje of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Molly Nicole Woeltje, to David Wesley Leek. He is the son of Bill and Teresa Thompson and Bob and Jan Leek, all of Dallas, Texas. Woeltje is a 2002 graduate of Jackson High School, and attended Missouri State University. She is a crisis advocate at the Hays-Caldwell Women's Center in San Marcos, Texas...

Michael and Pamela Lauderback of St. Peters, Mo., and Jeffrey Jackson of Owatonna, Minn., announce the engagement of their daughter, Meredith Brooke Jackson, to Corey Lee Adkisson, both of East Prairie. He is the son of Gary and Jeanne Adkisson of East Prairie...

Mr. and Mrs. John R. Smith of Jackson were surprised by family and friends Jan. 8, 2006, at Delmonico's, in honor of their 70th wedding anniversary. The event was hosted by their sons and daughters-in-law, Mike and Martha Smith of Jackson and Tim and Sue Smith of Ellisville, Mo...

Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Englehart of Jackson celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary with a party June 18, 2005, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Hosts were their children, Jerry Englehart of Las Vegas, Nev., Wayne and Ryan Englehart of Jackson, and Gwyn Devenport of Marble Hill, Mo...

Mr. and Mrs. Cliff F. Rudesill of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Jan. 20, 2006. Rudesill and Mary Kathryn "Ki" Litzelfelner were married Jan. 20, 1946, at Centenary United Methodist Church. He was a flight instructor at Cape Girardeau Air Corps Flight School in 1943, before joining the Air Transport Command. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater in 1944 and 1945, returning to Cape Girardeau in 1946...

25 years ago: Feb. 5, 1981 The city council appeared receptive last night to a contingency plan presented by the head of the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Laboratory whereby the city would increase the subsidy it contributes annually to the lab; but councilmen told Dr. Robert C. Briner they won't consider approval of the increase until more definite word is received on whether the state will substantially cut its appropriation to the crime lab...

Road Runners club doles out annual honors Ron Duff and Susan Richmond captured runner of the year honors at the Cape Girardeau Road Runners annual awards banquet. About 50 members of the Road Runners club, which promotes running in Southeast Missouri, attended the event Jan. 28 at Buckner Brewing Co. in downtown Cape Girardeau...

Change needed COULD IT be that the Southeast Missouri State athletic department needs a change? What kind of basketball program does Southeast expect to have when the coaches have no money to recruit, no money for staff, no money for summer school? Men's coach Garner is a great guy and a great coach. ...

Correction * An Associated Press story in Friday's edition of the Southeast Missourian listed an incorrect record for Tennessee Tech basketball coach Mike Sutton in his first three years at the school. He was 51-38 in his first three seasons.

Four groups from the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts converged on the Nature Center on Saturday to make discoveries about the environment that could earn a merit badge or complete requirements toward one. A total of 320 Scouts in first to sixth grade, representing Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger, Union, Scott and Madison counties, attended throughout the day...

CAIRO, Ill. -- City council members fighting with Mayor Paul Farris will go another month without paychecks. Council members Bobby Whitaker and Elbert "Bo" Purchase said Saturday that they have been told they will not be paid their $600 monthly salary for February...

I don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to the Super Bowl -- and not just because it generally results in one of the biggest party days of the entire year. No, I'm particularly excited about today's matchup in Detroit because -- and I hope I don't jinx things -- it has all the makings of a tremendous game...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An alleged burglar was rescued Thursday after he got stuck overnight in the oven vent of the convenience store he was trying to rob, the fire department said. Investigators said Lonnie Shields, 37, climbed into a small vent on the roof of the New City Mart at about 2 a.m. ...

State Rep. Nathan Cooper, R-Cape Girardeau, received two new committee assignments last week. The first-term lawmaker will take a spot on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and he will also have a seat on the Special Committee on Urban Affairs. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The family of Demetrius Flowers questioned Saturday whether he would deliberately hurt himself, even to get out of a jail cell. Arby Davis, Flowers' father, and Cassandra Jones, his stepmother, said they don't believe Mayor Paul Farris' description of how Flowers died Dec. 14 in a Cairo Police Department holding cell...

Gov. Matt Blunt's plan to fund construction projects at Missouri's public colleges provides less money for Southeast Missouri State University than it deserves, local lawmakers say. They want to add $17.2 million for Southeast's River Campus arts school...

WASHINGTON -- The White House was eager to protect its ability to gather foreign intelligence. Congress was eager to rein in executive power. What sounds like a new debate over the president's ability to eavesdrop without warrants occurred 30 years ago...

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- A man who videotaped a sheriff's deputy shooting an unarmed Air Force security officer was arrested Friday for an alleged assault in Florida, officials said. Jose Luis Valdes was taken into custody by Pomona police on a warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm from Miami-Dade County, Fla. ...

SAFAGA, Egypt -- The series of tragic errors that apparently claimed more than 1,000 lives on an Egyptian ferry escalated when the crew decided to push across the Red Sea despite the fire burning in the aging vessel's parking bay, survivors said Saturday...

MANILA, Philippines -- Thousands of people lined up outside a stadium near Manila to watch a TV game show surged toward the gates Saturday in the mistaken belief they were open, and at least 74 people were trampled to death, officials said. About 500 people were injured...

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Thousands of Syrians enraged by caricatures of Islam's revered prophet torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus on Saturday -- the most violent in days of furious protests by Muslims in Asia, Europe and the Middle East...

Natalie Purcell finally got the record she had been chasing. And even better was that it helped Southeast Missouri State extend its long winning streak. Purcell, a senior forward, set a Southeast single-game record with seven 3-point baskets Saturday night as the host Redhawks held off pesky Tennessee-Martin 67-52...

Gender inequality To the editor: The Southeast Missourian sports page on Jan. 29 contained headlines of Southeast Missouri State's men's and women's basketball games. The typeface was larger and in bold for the men's game -- the sixth straight loss -- than for the women's game, which was the Redhawks' sixth consecutive win...

2005--New England (AFC) 24, Philadelphia (NFC) 21 2003--Tampa Bay (NFC) 48, Oakland (AFC) 21 2002--New England (AFC) 20, St. Louis (NFC) 17 2001--Baltimore (AFC) 34, N.Y. Giants (NFC) 7 2000--St. Louis (NFC) 23, Tennessee (AFC) 16 1999--Denver (AFC) 34, Atlanta (NFC) 19...

A poor first half doomed the Jackson boys basketball team Friday, as the Indians fell to visiting Farmington 55-45. The Indians (16-6) fell to 0-2 against district opponents in nontournament play. Jackson had previously beaten Farmington in the season-opening Farmington Invitational...

The Notre Dame boys basketball team hit 23 of 26 free throws en route to a 61-41 road win at Anna-Jonesboro on Saturday. The Bulldogs improved to 19-2. "I thought we played pretty good," Notre Dame coach Paul Hale said. "The first half we held them to 15 points. We disrupted them quite a bit the first half. We shot free throws good the whole night."...

Tiger Woods moved into position for his second straight victory, birdieing the 18th hole for a 5-under 67 and a share of the third-round lead Saturday in the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates. Anders Hansen had a 69 to match Woods at 16-under 200...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues are on a bit of a roll. Barret Jackman scored at 2:16 of overtime to lift the Blues to a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday. St. Louis has won two straight and three of four. The two-game winning streak is its longest since it took back-to-back games at Columbus and Detroit in November...

Southeast Missouri State finally slowed down Tennessee-Martin enough to get back in the game. But the depleted Redhawks didn't have enough in their tank to finish off the job. The result was Saturday night's 66-55 loss at the Show Me Center, as the Redhawks suffered their eighth consecutive defeat and saw their hopes of making the Ohio Valley Conference tournament diminish greatly...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Even though Texas Tech won by 18 points, Bob Knight wants to see his team finish off opponents and not squander leads the way the Red Raiders did Saturday. Tech never trailed and led by as much as 21 before Missouri used a 15-2 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Jimmy McKinney, to pull within 59-51 with 5:08 remaining...

SHE SAID: We had an unfortunate incident last week. In our supposedly in-control parental-type role as 8-year-old Drew's part-time keepers, one would assume that Bob and I are capable of handling in a calm and reasonable manner nearly any situation that should arise on a playground...

The not-for-profit Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority will sell some $5 billion in student loans over the next three and a half years to generate $450 million in profits to fund higher education projects and programs in the state, the authority's interim director says...

A Seattle Seahawks fan was hard to come by in Cape Girardeau on Sunday evening as football fans gathered in front of television screens to watch Super Bowl XL. About 60 students watched the game between the Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers at Southeast Missouri State University's Student Recreation Center. A variety of organizations at the university offered students free food, beverages and prizes at the first-ever "Sober Bowl Party."...

Three Poplar Bluff, Mo., residents were fatally injured in a three-car accident Sunday afternoon in Butler County. Christian Limpert, 31, Jerry Payne, 65, and Giles Simpson, 68, all of Poplar Bluff, died as a result of injuries received from the accident. ...

For most people, being led into a police department's booking room may not seem like a fun way to spend an evening. But for one small group last week, it was a rare experience. Last Thursday was the first night of the Cape Girardeau Police Department Citizens Police Academy. For the next six weeks, civilians will meet at the police station every Thursday for two hours, getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse at police operations...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Speaker Rod Jetton has remodeled a fireproof vault on the Capitol's second floor into a private office, which he says he uses as a retreat from his main office. The oblong room, which is behind heavy metal doors on an interior hallway, was transformed last month into an unmarked office, known only to the speaker and his closest allies, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday...

DETROIT -- Paint this Super Bowl black and gold. With a whole lot of satisfaction for Bill Cowher and his Pittsburgh Steelers. Throw in a little trickery featuring MVP Hines Ward, a bunch of help from the Seattle Seahawks, and a huge boost from the Terrible Towels, and the Steelers won the Super Bowl 21-10 Sunday...

DETROIT -- A record-setting run. A game-turning interception. A trick play that no one saw coming -- until the ball landed in Hines Ward's hands, making him the Super Bowl MVP. The Pittsburgh Steelers needed every little shred of history they could get their fingers on to craft a one-for-the-books ending on Sunday, beating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in the Super Bowl...

When J.B. Holmes reached the third grade, he was good enough to play on the high school golf team. Four tournaments into his PGA Tour career, he again showed he can play with the big boys. The rookie gained five shots on his nearest competitor on the 15th hole and walked away with a seven-stroke victory Sunday in the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz...

DETROIT -- As grand exits go, it wasn't much. The Bus didn't win the Super Bowl for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final game of his career. Didn't even have a lot to do with it, until he was given the ball to grind up some yards and run down the clock toward the end...

If you were in the stock market in the late 1990s, you felt the thrill of the technology boom and probably still have the scars from the sector's collapse. But tech funds and stocks are becoming attractive once again to investing contrarians. Last year wasn't particularly inspiring for tech funds, as they returned just 5.52 percent, barely besting the 4.9 percent gain of the Standard & Poor's 500. ...

LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- The city wants Anna DeFaria's home, and if she doesn't sell willingly, officials are going to take it from the 80-year-old retired pre-school teacher. In place of her "tiny slip of a bungalow" -- and two dozen other weathered, working-class beachfront homes -- city officials want private developers to build upscale townhouses...

CASTAIC, Calif. -- A maximum-security jail was in a lockdown Sunday, a day after a race-related riot left one inmate dead and more than 100 injured. Investigators were interviewing hundreds of inmates and witnesses to the fighting that erupted between black and Hispanic prisoners Saturday at the North County Correctional Facility, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles...

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. -- A teenager suspected in a brutal rampage at a Massachusetts gay bar died Sunday from wounds suffered in a shootout with Arkansas police after he fatally shot an officer and a woman acquaintance, authorities said. The slain officer, Jim Sell, 63, did not know the 18-year-old he had stopped for a traffic violation in the small northern Arkansas town of Gassville was Jacob D. ...

NEW YORK -- Cartoonish violence ruled the day at the annual knockdown competition among advertisers Sunday, as Bud Light, Diet Pepsi, Michelob and Sprint all used physical gags to hawk their wares at the Super Bowl, the most-watched television broadcast of the year...

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Muslim rage over caricatures of the prophet Muhammad grew increasingly violent Sunday as thousands of rampaging protesters -- undaunted by tear gas and water cannons -- torched the Danish mission and ransacked a Christian neighborhood. At least one person reportedly died and about 200 were detained, officials said...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Stray bullets whizzing through slums, kidnappings, suffocating poverty and a dying economy -- Haitians have no shortage of things they would like to change about their troubled country. They will have their say on Tuesday in long-delayed elections aimed at restoring elusive democracy, two years after a bloody revolt ousted elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide...

UNITED NATIONS -- The campaign to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon has now moved to the U.N. Security Council, but countries there have vastly different ideas of what the council should do. The five permanent council members are split, with the United States, Britain and France hoping to pressure Iran into backing down with the ultimate threat of sanctions...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq will deploy thousands of police to prevent Sunni militants bombing a major Shiite ceremony next week, while the bullet-riddled bodies of two Shiites were found Sunday in the latest round of killings between rival Sunni and Shiite groups...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Florence Holloway's doorbell rings on a cool, cloudy Saturday morning. "C'mon in," the 93-year-old says softly. Her blue eyes peer through her glasses as she walks to the door, but Holloway feels more than sees where she's going these days...

MINNEAPOLIS, Kan. -- Three to four times a week, 98-year-old Clyde Sample puts on his best suit, adjusts his string tie and polishes his black shoes. Then it's off to polka, ballroom and country dances across the state. The retired Minneapolis farmer said he doesn't mind being the oldest dancer on the floor...

NEWTON, Kan. -- When she was younger, Tasha Garnica would go visit her grandparents and sneak into their bedroom. It was in there Lidio Jaso kept his musical instruments when the grandkids came over. "The guitars would be on the bed," Garnica said. "We'd sneak in and play with them, and grandpa would catch us."...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Halfway through one of the Big 12's wackiest seasons, it's time for predictions, reflections and midterm grades. Nothing yet is written in stone. In fact, enough time remains for just about everybody to turn things around, except for Baylor's making a late charge for a regular-season title. That will not happen...

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints will play the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 24 in the first event scheduled for the Louisiana Superdome since it was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. A mural with the news was completed on the outside of the Superdome just before the start of Sunday's Super Bowl in Detroit. The mural contains the date of the game, helmet logos of both teams and a "Go Saints" slogan...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, trying to regain momentum after a tough political year, is sending Congress a budget that seeks to address the public's anxieties about global competition, energy prices and health care. Missing from the spending blueprint Bush was sending to Congress today is his signature issue from last year -- a sweeping overhaul of Social Security that would have introduced private accounts for younger workers...

Sikeston Standard-Democrat CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston, Mo., man was found guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action during a jury trial Friday. After deliberating for about 50 minutes, the seven men and five women of the jury found Randy Lamon McKeller, 24, guilty for the shooting death of Trevor Neal on May 24, 2003, at the corner of Dixie and Osage streets on Sikeston's west end...

New Cape restaurant hires general manager Olive Garden has appointed Jackson resident Troy Mool as general manager of the new restaurant at 3259 William St. in Cape Girardeau. The restaurant will open March 13. Mool brings 15 years of restaurant experience to the position. He has been with Olive Garden for more than four years, most recently serving as the culinary manager of an Olive Garden in Bloomington, Ill...

NEW YORK -- While one-quarter of the nation's music fans say they've downloaded songs onto their computers -- legally or otherwise -- a new nationwide poll suggests music executives should look elsewhere to explain their business woes. Three in every four fans complain that compact discs are too expensive, and 58 percent complain that music in general is getting worse, according to the poll conducted for The Associated Press and Rolling Stone magazine...

By FRAZIER MOORE The Associated Press NEW YORK -- Maybe it's best to just say no. Avoid temptation. Avert your eyes in the electronics store. Dangerous? One glance, and you're seized by desire. That's the threat of high-definition TV, however determined a viewer may be to stick with his old TV set a while longer...

Basketball; Tennis

Taking land is legal; Skating on probation; Unfunded program ; Superb performance; Expensive property; Invasion of privacy; Covering war deaths; FDA approval; Change the boundaries

John Wiley Rodgers, 81, of Cape Girardeau passed away Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at his home in Cape Girardeau. Born Sept. 28, 1924, in New Madrid County, son of Thurman Leroy and Sue Beatrice Haynes Rodgers. He married Geraldine Masterson on Aug. 22, 1946 in New Madrid, Mo., who survives...

BENTON, Mo. -- Bobby Gene Sexton, 69, died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born in Portageville on Feb. 4, 1937. He lived in Benton for 36 years and had been employed by Missouri Dry Dock until retirement seven years ago. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Francis Eugene (Gene) Crenshaw, 83, died Saturday Feb. 4, 2006, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born May 21, 1922, in Hannibal, Mo., to the late Oscar Benjamin and Effie Williams Crenshaw. He served in the Army Air Corp. during WW II and Korean War as a medic. He was a self employed real estate broker...

ULLIN, Ill. -- Lloyd Earl Friedman, 81, of Ullin, formerly of Unity and Anna, Ill., died Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 10, 1924, at Cairo, Ill., son of Arthur and Bessie Giles Friedman. He and Mary Louise Everett were married on July 10, 1946, in Cairo. She preceded him in death on May 30, 2003...

Buncombe, Ill. -- Donald Lee "John" Mowery Sr., 70, of Buncombe, died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born March 14, 1935, in Mill Creek, Ill., son of Lee and Edith Ward Mowery. He was a member of the United Missionary Baptist Church in Lick Creek, Ill. ...

Dale B. Poynor, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born on June 17, 1912, in Kansas City, Kan., daughter of Charles and Amy Bullock. She and James A. Poynor were married in 1945 in Kansas City, Mo. He preceded her in death in 1988...

Dongola, Ill. -- Gerald William Downey, 69, of Dongola, died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at the V.A. Medical Center in Marion. He was born Sept. 11, 1936, in St. Louis, son of Thomas Frances and Genevieve Gertrude Jewett Downey. He and Shirley Brown were married in San Diego...

Ernest V. Gibbons, 92, of Cobden, died Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at the Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. He was born July 20, 1913, in Alto Pass, Ill., son of Thomas Frederick and Olive Jane McMillan Gibbons. He and Mildred Louis Newberry were married on Aug. 2, 1945, in Jonesboro...

Sue Kinder, 64, of Delta, Mo., died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at the family home at Delta. Arrangements are incomplete at the Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

Perryville, Mo. -- Caitlynn Nicole Prevallet, of Perryville died Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at St. Mary's Health Center in St. Louis. She was born Feb. 2, 2006 at St. Mary's Health Center in St. Louis, daughter of Jerry Bieser of Farmington, Mo., and Joy Prevallet of Perryville...

Murphysboro, Ill. -- Ann Elizabeth Smoot, 73, of Murphysboro, formerly of Anna, died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006. She was born on Aug. 9, 1932, in Cobden, daughter of George and Florence Claxton. She and Paul Johnson of Chicago were married. He preceded her in death. Later, she and Carroll Smoot of Anna were married. He also preceded her in death...

25 years ago: Feb. 6, 1981 A new lease on life may have been given the Marquette Hotel; Paducah, Ky., businessman Walter Parr announces plans to buy the 53-year-old building, along with plans for the construction of a high-rise condominium on the hotel property; the condominium will be built first, and the second phase of the project will include renovation of the hotel within the next three years...

Gordonville, Pocahontas insurance firms merge Community Mutual Insurance Co. of Pocahontas recently merged with Gordonville Mutual Insurance Co. The two have become Missouri Heritage Mutual Insurance Co. of Gordonville. Kathryn Miller is the manager...

Not wanting to lower their prices, home builders across the nation are offering creative incentives to make a sale. A survey by the National Association of Home Builders found 62 percent of 406 builders are offering buyers incentives such as televisions or free heat for six months. Thirty-three percent are paying closing costs or fees. Twenty-five percent of builders say they are cutting prices, a move area builders try to avoid because it angers previous buyers...

City hall, 401 Independence St. Presentations Public Hearings Consent Ordinances (second and third readings) New Ordinances (first readings) Resolutions Appointments Liquor Licenses Other...

7:30 p.m. today Public Hearings Action Items Power and Light Committee Street Committee...

CHICAGO -- Forget counting carbs and calories. Obesity researcher Dr. David Katz says the way to lose weight is to limit flavors. Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, says people stop eating when the brain's appetite center registers "full." But eating lots of flavors promotes overeating because different sensors must register full for appetite to subside, Katz says...

WASHINGTON -- They are the Pentagon's new "rules of engagement" -- the diamond ring kind. U.S. Army chaplains are trying to teach troops how to pick the right spouse, through a program called "How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk." The matchmaking advice comes as military family life is being stressed by two tough wars. Defense Department records show more than 56,000 in the Army -- active, National Guard and Reserve -- have divorced since the campaign in Afghanistan started in 2001...

ATLANTA -- Hundreds mourned the loss of Coretta Scott King at the Sunday services of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her late husband preached in the 1960s and the civil rights matriarch remained a member until her death. "Praise God for Coretta Scott King; let the heavens rejoice for the witness of our sister," the Rev. Raphael Warnock said after a rousing rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" stirred the congregation...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

MIAMI -- The U.S. government claims alleged terror operative Jose Padilla admitted attending an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan and acknowledged plotting to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" inside the United States or destroy apartment buildings with natural gas explosions in major U.S. cities...

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has not adequately justified why the Bush administration failed to seek court approval for domestic surveillance, said the senator in charge of a hearing today on the program. Sen. Arlen Specter said Sunday he believes that President Bush violated a 1978 law specifically calling for a secret court to consider and approve such monitoring. The Pennsylvania Republican branded Gonzales' explanations to date as "strained and unrealistic."...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A spacesuit that was tossed out of the international space station after being stuffed with old clothes and a radio transmitter was again sending weak signals as it circled the globe, ham radio operators reported Sunday. "Death reports were premature," said Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the American Radio Relay League, a Connecticut-based association for amateur radio operators. He said the signals were "weak, cold and really hard to copy, but alive."...

SAFAGA, Egypt -- It was a story told over and over by survivors of the sunken ferry. A fire in the hold raged out of control and smoke engulfed the ship during an unusually rough Red Sea crossing. Passengers gathered on deck looking for life jackets and lifeboats but found no help from the crew...

Israel agrees to transfer money to Palestinians...

The Southeast Chapter of the American Red Cross celebrated and honored hurricane relief efforts of its volunteers, donors and supporters at the VFW Hall recently. The Winter Wonderland Celebration and Appreciation Event's selection of speakers included Benton shelter manager Saundra Blankenship, who spoke of her volunteer experiences; disaster relief worker Cindy Underwood; and Connie Ponder, case worker for both hurricanes. ...

The United Way of Southeast Missouri and the Volunteer Intergenerational Center are seeking nominations for the 19th annual community volunteer recognition awards. Recipients should demonstrate outstanding and innovative volunteer efforts in the Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City, Perryville and other Cape County communities. Nominees for this prestigious award include exemplary individuals or groups who volunteer in the community...

AARP meeting topic is Cape's 200th birthday The Cape Girardeau County Chapter of AARP No. 4041 will meet at 1:30 p.m. today at Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. The program will be presented by Southeast Missouri State University professor Robert Hamblin...

The United Way of Southeast Missouri is offering grant opportunities targeted at youth substance abuse and teen pregnancy prevention. A total of $18,459 was raised during the 2005 student campaigns at Central and Jackson high schools. Grants are limited to a $2,500 request...

St. Joseph holds 17th annual breakfast...

Swimmers from several different states and 17 squads visited Cape Girardeau for the weekend to compete in the Cape Gators swim team Great Times Invitational held Friday through Sunday at the Central Municipal Pool. The event attracted 386 swimmers, from youngsters to grown men, to one of the three USA Swimming competitions that the Gators host...

The term "high-definition" was almost a curse five years ago, when politicians, broadcasters and TV makers were reluctant to hoist massive changes upon the nation's television landscape. And now, as the United States marches from analog TV toward the full glory of digital TV, consumers have to wade through hype, linguistic imprecision and a new foreign language. ...

Students begin streaming into the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center at 7 o'clock most mornings and keep the campus busy until 10 p.m. The CTC is training students to become skilled workers and is creating well-qualified applicants for the area's available jobs. In the process, the CTC is upgrading the workforce...

To the editor: As a consumer, I would like to respond to the Jan. 31 letter submitted by a spokesperson for the cable-TV industry. It should come as no surprise that the cable companies want to delay competition and are using scare tactics to hold on to their captive video customers. ...

Becca celebrated turning 14 years of age on Saturday by looking forward to yet another birthday. When you are early in your teenage years, celebrating birthdays has less to do with the immediate one and more to do with the next birthday and the one after that...

In a $20 million budget, exceeding specific funding appropriations by $140,000 isn't too bad, say Jackson city officials. The board of aldermen voted to amend the 2005 budget at Monday night's regular meeting. "This is something done every year," said Larry Koenig, assistant city administrator. "It's basically a formality we do at the first of the year."...

The Cape Girardeau City Council made several moves meant to increase the city's profile at Monday's city council meeting. Cape Girardeau will soon make its pitch to become an "All American City," as voted on by the National Civic Board. The city last received this designation, which is given to 10 cities annually, in 1967. ...

ANNA, Ill. -- Illinois State Police "have some good solid leads" into the death of a man found in a burned-out car in Pulaski County, but troopers don't have enough to make an arrest, a police official said Monday. The $5,000 reward offered by Pulaski County government for information in the death of Trea Hannah of Anna has yielded hundreds of calls, said Master Sgt. ...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Charges of felony stealing have been filed against former Chaffee municipal court clerk Robin Dannenmueller, two weeks after the Scott County prosecuting attorney announced an investigation into missing court funds had been dropped. On Monday, Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd filed class C felony stealing charges against Dannenmueller. ...

Red Sanders and his wife, Beverly, operate Pom-Hut Kennels in Scott City. They sell their purebred puppies to brokers who ship the dogs all over the country. The Sanderses have been in business for 25 years, breeding seven types of small dogs including poodles, cairn terriers and Chihuahuas...

Southeast Missouri State University signed an agreement Monday with a South Korean college that will establish a dual-degree program between the two schools. A delegation from Soonchunhyang University traveled to Cape Girardeau to meet with Southeast officials and sign the formal agreement...

Moussaoui tossed from sentencing trial ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Proclaiming "I am al-Qaida," terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui disrupted the opening of his sentencing trial Monday and was tossed out of court as selection began for the jurors. He disavowed his attorneys and pledged to testify on his own behalf in the trial that is to begin March 6. ...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- In the days when Villy Soevndal was traveling the world, the Danish flag on his backpack attracted friendly attention. Today, in much of the world, it would mark him as a target for violence. Denmark long was regarded as an exemplar of tolerance and charity. Now, enraged protesters in many countries portray it as a locus of evil. Its embassies have been torched, its companies are losing millions in a boycott -- and Denmark is reeling with dismay...

HEALY, Kan. -- Ian Youvan, 14, doesn't have to worry about his boss getting mad if he's a little late getting to his after-school work at Wood on Wheels. That's because he is the boss. An eighth grader at Pittsburg Community Middle School, Youvan is probably Pittsburg's youngest entrepreneur...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A new federal program designed to provide more seniors with affordable prescription drugs is instead a costly and illegal drain on the state treasury, Missouri's attorney general said Monday in announcing plans to sue the federal government...

DETROIT -- The Pittsburgh Steelers owned the easy road to the Super Bowl all those years they squandered home-field advantage, all those years coach Bill Cowher's teams couldn't stand up to the pressure, the moment, the challenge. Maybe this is what was needed to bring out the best in a team that often was among the NFL's top teams, but never played like it when it counted most: the toughest road to a Super Bowl championship...

ST. LOUIS -- Idaho coach Nick Holt is one of nine new coaches announced by the St. Louis Rams on Monday. Holt, 43, will be defensive line coach. He was a colleague in the early 1990s with new Rams head coach Scott Linehan at Idaho, where Linehan also played. Holt was 5-18 in two seasons as head coach of the Vandals...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Jackson County jury ruled Monday that the Raytown school district discriminated against former Missouri basketball star Jevon Crudup when firing him from a coaching job. Crudup was fired in 2003 after swearing at his sophomore basketball players in a tape-recorded tirade. An attorney for the district also maintained that Crudup ignored a principal's instruction to "walk away" from a confrontation with a parent...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Wins and losses are not all that separate the haves and have-nots in the Big 12. It's also how many fans show every game up to root, root, root for the home team. Five Big 12 programs are averaging more than 11,000 fans, led as always by the perpetual sellout of 16,300 who jam Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush sent his GOP allies in Congress a budget for next year that calls for increasing defense spending, cutting Medicare and education spending as well as local law enforcement grants, and forecasts a record deficit. "It's a heavy lift," said Senate Budget Committee chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H. "There's no question it's going to be a challenge."...

Southeast Missouri State junior Miles Smith, a gold medalist at the last summer's World Track and Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland, will be honored with a 2005 Missouri Sports Achievement Award from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Smith will be introduced at the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony at 6 p.m. Sunday at the University Plaza Convention Center in Springfield, Mo. He will also be on hand that afternoon for a reception at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame...

Golf; Horse racing

Gary Lomax, 78, of Zalma, Mo., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 4, 1927, in Hornersville, Mo., son of J.W. and Prudie Riggs Lomax. He was the fourth of five children. During his life he wore many hats; farmer, soldier, cotton ginner, salesman, carpet layer, auto repairman, and jack of all trades...

On Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, Wanda "Sue'' Kinder, 64, of Delta was called home to be with our Lord and Savior, after fighting a valiant fight against cancer. Her family and friends surrounded her at her home at the time of her passing. She was born June 3, 1941, in Flat River, Mo., daughter of the late Elvis "Red" and Neva Marie Shelton Dunning. She and Joe Kinder were married Aug. 10, 1964, in Chaffee. He survives of the home...

Ralph Wayne Short, 79, passed away Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, surrounded by his wife and family at his home in Jackson. Born in Puxico, Mo., Aug. 21, 1926, Ralph was the son of Gilbert and Lillian Jennings Short. He is survived by his wife, Hazel L. Maples Short, whom he married Aug. ...

Stella Welker, 85, of Jackson died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at her home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Betty Lou Wright, 81, died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at Miner Nursing Center. She was born Jan. 1, 1925, in Sikeston, daughter of John T. and Mae Trent Gray. She and Charles Raymond Wright were married Aug. 8, 1944. He died Jan. 6, 2004...

Matthew J. "Matt" Peters, 69, of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete with Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

MALDEN, Mo. -- Danny O. Crews, 48, of Malden died Friday, Feb. 3, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 15, 1957, at Kennett, Mo., son of Glen E. and Dorothy Bounds Crews. He and Betty Frazier were married April 17, 1997, in Blytheville, Ark...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Adrel M. Roy, 88, of Marble Hill died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 27, 1917, near Lutesville, daughter of Charles U. and Lillie Bell Eaker. She and Wilburn Willard Roy were married Sept. 28, 1939. He died Oct. 26, 2005...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Beulah B. Younger, 85, of Advance died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at Cypress Point Health Care in Dexter, Mo. She was born Sept. 9, 1920, at Zalma, Mo., daughter of Earl and Susan Stephens Fish. She and Elmer Younger were married Sept. 9, 1938, at Zalma. He died April 17, 1983...

OLMSTED, Ill. -- Debbie Daniels, 45, of Olmsted died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, on arrival at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. She was born Sept. 23, 1960, at Anna, daughter of James "Sonny" and Rose Marie Endicott Blanchard. Daniels was a 1978 graduate of Meridian High School in Mounds, Ill. She was employed 13 years at the Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam No. 53 in Olmsted...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- George Victor Bucher Sr., 80, of Evansville, Ind., formerly of Mounds, died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at the VNA Hospice Center in Evansville. He was born Sept. 30, 1925, in Mounds, son of Louie Bucher and Lena Biessingert Bucher. He first married Elsie Smoot. He later married Mae Winters...

MALDEN, Mo. -- William K. "Bill" Shuffler, 50, of Malden died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 7, 1955, in Baltimore, Md., son of Bill Eugene and Enid Upton Shuffler. He and Janice Elaine Moore were married July 29, 1979, at Malden...

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- Betty F. Dodd, 50, of Sedgewickville died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at her home. She was born Nov. 23, 1955, in Perry County, daughter of Everett F. and Pauline Coomer Upchurch. She and Paul L. Dodd were married June 16, 1990. Dodd was a member of New Salem Baptist Church...

Etherton; Braswell; Schuessler; Tapley

25 years ago: Feb. 7, 1981 A battle is brewing between Cape Girardeau County officials and a group of Jackson residents and lawyerss over a Missouri House bill which critics say would radically alter the present circuit court system; the bill would require Circuit Judge Division I Stanley A. ...

SCHOLARSHIPS; Local students receive college scholarships; HONORS LISTS; Hyslop, Schroeder make Evansville's dean's list; graduations; Baker graduates from Purdue with Ph.D.

Public hearings Consent Ordinances (second and third readings) New Ordinances (first readings) Resolutions Appointments Liquor Licenses Other...

n Held a hearing to consider the voluntary annexation request from the city of Jackson for 4.27 acres of property known as a portion of the South Farmington Road right of way, owned by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Power and Light Committee...

KMOX radio news anchor Carol Daniel will deliver the 11th annual Michael Davis Lecture Sunday at Southeast Missouri State University. The 7 p.m. lecture in the University Center Ballroom is free and open to the public. It is part of the school's Black History Month activities...

There is considerable consensus that a plan to sell a portion of a valuable state asset -- student loans -- and use the proceeds to fund building projects at state universities while protecting the needs of students is a good one. Missouri has what is generally regarded as one of the largest and best-run state-sponsored student-loan programs in the nation, with currently $5 billion in loans. ...

To the editor: Surely Southeast Missourian readers possess enough critical acumen to cross-examine David Limbaugh on feminism. Women might remind him that feminists won voting rights for women and that feminists have been at the forefront of the equal work-equal pay movement. Actual radical feminists will laugh at his assertions about Hillary Clinton. Men and women might ask, "Aside from reading one right-leaning book, what are Limbaugh's qualifications as feminist critic?...

To the editor: In reply to the recent Speak Out comment, "Where's the coroner?": The comment asks some questions that bring up good points and demand an answer. We will not address the mayor's actions with the police officers, because that is not under our jurisdiction. ...

To the editor: As I was reading about the new superintendent coming to the Nell Holcomb School District, a flood of childhood memories came rushing over me. I attended the old Juden School from 1953 to 1957 and had the pleasure of knowing Miss Holcomb, as we all affectionately and respectfully called her...

Writing bad checks; Saving lives; Network was right; We're like sheep; Act of decency; Punishing a child; Housing for visitors; Paying the dues; Airport addition; Making a mess; Seeds of destruction; Uncomfortable churches; At least get a job; Humane treatment; Not all the same; Riverfest music

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

WASHINGTON -- Senators raised doubts about the legal rationale for the Bush administration's eavesdropping program Monday, forcing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to provide a lengthy defense of the operations he called a vital "early warning system" for terrorists...

DETROIT -- No appreciation or consolation in Seattle for the Seahawks, at least not yet. Nope, they were still stuck in frustration. The post-Super Bowl parties went into early Monday morning as the Seahawks at least tried to celebrate their season, instead of their somber Sunday. Later, coach Mike Holmgren tried to refocus the team, momentarily, on what it had done and what it still may do...

TURIN, Italy -- Snowboarding -- and the U.S. Olympic team -- may owe a debt to a bossy soccer mom in Southern California. Shaun White, the free-spirited U.S. snowboarder favored to win gold, says he was a pretty good soccer player but gave up the sport mostly "because of the soccer moms. ... It was just intense to me."...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Jackson County jury ruled Monday that the Raytown school district discriminated against former Missouri basketball star Jevon Crudup when firing him from a coaching job. Crudup was fired in 2003 after swearing at his sophomore basketball players in a tape-recorded tirade. An attorney for the district also maintained that Crudup ignored a principal's instruction to "walk away" from a confrontation with a parent...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The bitter fight paralyzing city government in Cairo now threatens the town's financial health as a bank last week declared it in default on its debts and froze city accounts. A letter dated Feb. 1 from First National Bank in Cairo, signed by bank president Jay Manus, calls for city leaders to work to solve the problems or face costly legal action...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The review of the strangulation death of Demetrius Flowers while in Cairo, Ill., police custody reached a new stage Monday when Illinois State Police investigators turned their files over to the Alexander County prosecutor. A written report and physical evidence -- including a videotape that shows part of the holding cell where Flowers died -- were among the items given to State's Attorney Jeff Farris. ...

The surging Notre Dame's girls basketball team knocked off defending Class 4 District 1 champion Dexter 48-39 at home on Monday. The Bulldogs won their seventh game in eight tries to move to 12-10. Dexter fell to 16-5. "We're happy with where we're going," Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim said...

James Frey, author of "A Million Little Pieces," has done something no one in their right mind would dare do -- anger Oprah. Yes, Oprah Winfrey. THE Oprah. The woman whose big toe will one day create a cure for cancer. The woman who could wipe the giraffe population off the face of the planet if she were to wake up one day and decide giraffes no longer amused her. Yeah, that Oprah...

AMIENS, France -- She spoke resolutely and with pride about her newly transplanted features, although she struggled to pronounce her b's and p's. She drank from a plastic cup -- showing that the mouth that once belonged to someone else works just fine...

First team Bell City, so., outside hitter Notes: Spears gave the Cubs a force at the net with her height and hitting ability, and picked up her game late in the season as Bell City made the state final four. Spears made all-region and first-team all-district as she finished with 184 kills, 79 blocks and 320 digs...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. When Fernando Lucero drops a piece of food on the ground, he picks it up. And eats it. Five-second rule, guys -- totally makes it OK. Still, Lucero is no fool. He inspects it before he eats it, of course. ...

B.J. Smith is, by winning percentage, the most successful women's basketball coach in Southeast Missouri State history. Yet plenty of Redhawks fans are wondering about Smith's future with the program, since he is in the last year of his contract. Many of those same fans also wonder why, given Smith's impressive record in his three-plus seasons at Southeast, the university has not already taken steps to work out a new contract with him...

Basketball dominates the high school sports landscape during the winter, but for many high school girls, this time of year provides ample time to work on volleyball skills. Nearly every weekend from January through April, there is a USA Volleyball club tournament taking place in Southeast Missouri. ...

Turning the volume of your IPod even one-quarter of the way up means your music may reach 85 decibels -- loud enough to cause hearing damage...

A six-month investigation into illegal prescription drug sales in Perry County ended Tuesday, resulting in charges against five people. Four Perryville, Mo., residents were arrested and a fifth person was being sought as a result of the Perry County sheriff's department and Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force's operation, according to a news release from the sheriff's office...

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce has hired Old Town Cape executive director Tim Arbeiter to fill the new position of vice president of community development. Arbeiter will begin his new job in 90 days. Meanwhile, Old Town Cape's board of directors has begun a national search to hire a new executive director...

Steve Baldwin, a Cape Girardeau native and engineer for Union Pacific railroad said safety is his passion. "It all boils down to safety, and if we can save one life, then I think we've done our job," he said. That is why Baldwin uses his free time to educate people about railway safety and the importance of what he calls the three Ls, "Look, Listen and Live."...

I've been experiencing some modern angst lately. Some digital discomfit. A case of high-tech hypertension. A fit of E-Unease. OK, I'll stop and try to explain myself. First, let me explain the problem. I graduated from college in 2004 and took a job that required me to spend more than a year in Africa. I came home in October and was lucky enough to land this job reporting for the Southeast Missourian not long after...

PITTSBURGH -- Some fans waited 26 years for this Super Bowl celebratory parade. Others were too young to remember the Pittsburgh Steelers' last championship. Some weren't even born. It didn't matter Tuesday as fans of all ages jammed a mile-long parade route -- 10 or more people deep in many spots -- to thank the team for securing the long-sought fifth Super Bowl win...

The Notre Dame boys basketball team recorded its 20th victory Tuesday night, improving to 20-2 with an 81-50 victory at Kennett. Notre Dame, ranked No. 5 in the state's Class 4 poll this week, sprinted to a 24-12 lead after one period and stretched the advantage to 71-40 after three quarters...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- New Year's resolutions to slim down and eat more healthfully might seem to preclude the idea of fine dining. Far from it: There are dishes within reach whose eye-appeal and rich flavor qualify them for entertaining, let alone healthful, everyday meals...

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. is offering buyouts of $100,000 each to workers who lose their jobs to plant closures if they agree to give up all benefits except their pensions. The severance option is among five being proposed to workers as Ford moves ahead with its plan to close 14 plants by 2012, a move that will affect roughly 30,000 employees...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Valley Authority says it will reduce its long-term debt by $7.8 billion over the next decade, indicating a more aggressive attempt than last year to get its finances in order. That forecast objective, contained in President Bush's $2.77 trillion budget proposal released Monday, is "to position TVA for a more competitive electricity market and achieve a more sound business risk profile," TVA officials said...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- International peacekeepers clashed Tuesday with Afghans protesting drawings of the Prophet Muhammad, leaving three demonstrators dead and prompting NATO to send reinforcements to a remote northern city. Senior Afghan officials said al-Qaida and the Taliban could be exploiting anger over the cartoons to incite violence, which spread to at least six cities in a second day of bloody unrest in Afghanistan...

NEW YORK -- Nobody turns off the microphone on Mick Jagger without a fight. Censorship of their songs during the Super Bowl halftime show was "absolutely ridiculous and completely unnecessary," the Rolling Stones said through a spokeswoman on Tuesday...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The convicted ringleader in the BALCO doping scandal settled a defamation lawsuit brought by track star Marion Jones over allegations that she used banned performance-enhancing drugs, a lawyer in the case said Tuesday. Jones settled her $25 million suit in U.S. District Court here Monday against Victor Conte, who's serving a four-month prison term for his role in the steroid scandal...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- J.J. Redick banished a career full of poor individual efforts against Duke's biggest rival with a virtuoso performance that's becoming all too familiar. The shooting star had 22 of his 35 points in the second half, freshman Josh McRoberts added a season-high 17 points and the second-ranked Blue Devils held off No. 23 North Carolina 87-83 Tuesday night...

The NFL defended the officiating in the Super Bowl, and Joe Montana defended himself. Two days after the Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-10 in the NFL title game, the league said Tuesday that the game was "properly officiated." "Including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement...

Two years ago, planning to build an arterial road to connect Center Junction with a proposed I-55 interchange to the north would have sounded preposterous. The East Main Street interchange between Jackson and Cape Girardeau was not much more than a gleam in the eyes of Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau County and Southeast Missouri State University until last August, when federal legislators put $10.8 million for the project into a the federal highway bill...

To the editor: The cover page of the recent Washington Post national weekly edition depicts a caricature of Alan Greenspan with the headline "The Greenspan Paradox: On His Watch at the Fed, Americans Prospered But Fell Deeper in Debt." The equation is simple. Prosperity has been funded by a virtually insurmountable mountain of debt. Who signed the note?...

To the editor: Wages are so bad. They need to be at least $10 an hour, but employers resist wage increases with every trick they can think of and every ounce of strength they can summon. I grew up hearing over and over that hard work was the secret of success, work hard and you'll get ahead or it's hard work that got us where we are. No one ever said you could work harder than you ever thought possible and still find yourself sinking deeper into poverty and debt...

To the editor: Senate Bill 823, sponsored by state Sen. David Klindt, Bethany, would extend attorney-client privilege to insurance companies. I believe it is wrong to bestow upon insurance companies the same privilege Missouri law gives our physicians and clergy...

Cultural morass; Volunteers in Iraq; Not a rosy city; Doesn't sound true; Speech reaction; Fountain improvements; Simple answer; Alternative fuels

George W. Eaker Sr., 91, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Nov. 21, 1914, in Dunklin County, Mo., son of the late Noah Adam and Ollie Shelton Eaker. He and Lora Lee Eaker were married July 25, 1935, in Bloomfield, Mo...

Stella Marie Welker, 85, of Jackson passed away Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at her home. She was born March 3, 1920, at Leopold, Mo., daughter of the late John and Bernadine Brauer Brands. When she was a young girl, her family relocated to Portageville, Mo., where she attended the former St. Eustachius Catholic School. She worked at the old Saint Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau from 1940 to 1947...

Matthew J. "Matt" Peters of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at his home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 24, 1936, in Leopold, Mo., a son of the late Theodore and Catherine Hinkebein Peters. He and Mary M. "Maggie" Dohogne were married Sept. 27, 1969, in Chaffee, Mo...

ZALMA, Mo. -- Noel Merit Glenn, 87, of Zalma died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at his home. He was born Sept. 7, 1918, at Leora, Mo., son of Frank and Bertha Williamson Glenn. He and Violet Stroup were married in 1930 at Kinder, Mo. She died in 1991. He later married Lorene Lemons June 28, 1993, at Duck Creek...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Kevin M. Casey, 58, of Cairo died Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006, at Daystar Care Center. He was born July 22, 1947, in Chicago, son of Eugene and Theresa Sima Casey. Casey was a commercial photographer. Survivors include a sister, Grace LeVander of Stamford, Conn...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Burlin L. Payne, 69, of Cairo died Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at his home. He was born June 28, 1936, in Cairo, son of Willis and Violet Sturgeon Payne. He was a retired painter. Survivors include four sons, Clinton Payne of Mound City, Ill., John and Troy Payne and Jeff Harrell, all of Paducah, Ky.; a sister, Jane Fye of Gainesville, Fla.; a brother, Robert Payne of Henderson, Ky.; and several grandchildren...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Roger Kirk, 86, of New Madrid died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. He was born April 19, 1919, in Decatur, Tenn., son of James and Tinnie Mae Jennings Kirk. He was raised by his uncle and aunt, Jim and Sallie Belle Bowman. He and Mary Jane Woolridge were married Oct. 27, 1944, in Fontmell Magna, England...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- Richard Lee Mullins, 51, of Portageville died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at his home. He was born March 21, 1955, in Cape Girardeau, son of Richard and Dorothy Lenora Hardin Mullins. He and Sandra Silman were married Aug. 28, 1981, at Portageville...

Virginia J. Rumfet, 81, of Jackson died Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006 at the Kindred Hospital in St. Louis. Arrangements are incomplete with McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

Dora L. Smith, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Carl E. Phillips, 88, of Anna died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at Union County Hospital. He was born Jan. 31, 1917, in Union County, Ill., son of George Henry and Molly McNew Phillips. He married Aleen "Flo" Phillips, who preceded him in death...

Burton...

Progressive Club; Lamplighters FCE; Westview Lodge 103

25 years ago: Feb. 8, 1981 Central High School Appreciation Day is observed at First Assembly of God Church; members of Cape Girardeau Central High School Chamber Choir, directed by Judy Williams, are honored guests; recognition is also given to the faculty, staff and administration of Central High...

After a few weeks of no mail, this week I have several pieces to share with you and a couple of recipe requests. This column is so much more fun and interesting when you, the readers, send in recipes to pass along to other recipe collectors and readers. It is easy to get recipes to us. Regular mail or e-mail gets them to us and we would love to hear from you...

When gardeners grow roses, they fertilize with a rose food that is specifically designed to produce vigorous bushes with lots of blooms. Azalea gardeners not only want a fertilizer that produces vigorous bushes with lots of blooms, but they also want a fertilizer that keeps the soil "pH" acidic. In both cases these gardeners look for a special rose food or an azalea food on the market...

ORAN, Mo. -- A group of business owners in Oran says Police Chief Marc Tragesser is ruining the small town's economy. Representatives of the Oran Business Betterment Association, made up of 28 business owners, attended Tuesday night's city council meeting. The group requested the council go into closed session to discuss the chief, talking behind closed doors for about an hour...

BENTON, Mo. -- Former Chaffee city court clerk Robin Dannenmueller turned herself in to the Scott County Sheriff's Department Tuesday, one day after charges were filed against her for felony stealing. Dannenmueller was released on $4,000 bond. The 35-year-old daughter of city council member Bob Sullivan is accused of stealing $1,000 in city court funds...

Southeast Missouri State University will keep its current food service. The university awarded a new, 10-year, $3.7 million contract to Chartwells Educational Dining Services, school officials said Tuesday. The company has operated the food service at Southeast since June 1999. The old contract expires on May 31...

Last night the Missouri State Government Review Commission met in Jefferson City for a dinner with Gov. Matt Blunt and a discussion of implementation of the commission's recommendations. Blunt has executed a number of the recommendations by executive order, but to date there has been little legislative activity on the 84 proposals...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...