Stories from Saturday, March 18, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Missouri officials are lining up against a Bush administration plan to sell thousands of acres of Mark Twain National Forest, saying too much of the proceeds would go to rural schools outside the state. Gov. Matt Blunt said Friday he could not support a proposal to sell more than 21,000 acres of forest land in Missouri when state schools would receive only a small percentage of the revenue...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- A Chaffee woman was arrested and charged with striking her 2-month-old daughter so severely it caused two skull fractures. Susan Cabiness, 34, was charged Thursday with abuse of a child and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a Scott County Sheriff's Department news release...

In the tiny Risco School District, champions aren't made on the football field or the basketball court. They're made at the annual regional History Day contest at Southeast Missouri State University. On Friday, Risco students took home the sweepstakes award for the 15th consecutive year. The award recognizes the school district with the most winners in the district competition...

Elementary exhibit Individual First place, Gideon, Morgin Marcus, "Harriet Tubman: Standing Tall for Freedom." Second place, Risco, Kassidy Murphy, "Liberty Enlightening the World." Third place, Cape Middle School, Alex Bess-Rhodes, "Patton and the Battle of the Bulge."...

Three Jackson men were arrested and charged this week with drug paraphernalia in separate incidents. Christopher Locklear, 42, of the 200 block of Tracy Street, Joshua P. Jones, 21, of the 1400 block of Woodland Drive and Norman Baird, 21, of the 700 block of West Washington Street, were all charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia...

One youth was arrested and another was being sought Friday for carrying suspected stolen weapons near a Cape Girardeau school. Police received a call around 12:50 p.m. of two individuals seen carrying guns behind Alma Schrader Elementary School, according to police spokesman Jason Selzer...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A day after looking shell-shocked in the opening quarter of the Class 2 semifinals, the Advance boys basketball team looked poised and calm as it played for third place Friday at Mizzou Arena. The Hornets played the uptempo style they prefer in a 70-60 win over West Platte...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A life dedicated to athletics was altered more than 14 years ago when Brian Brandtner fell more than 120 feet from a cliff, exploding his left femur bone and nearly ending his life. In fact, Brandtner technically died three times after that fateful fall. ...

"We ran into something we've never seen before," Southern Illinois forward Randal Falker said. "It was all confusing. I've never seen a team that can all hit the 3s. We just couldn't match up with them." Kevin Pittsnogle scored 18 points and the sixth-seeded Mountaineers made 11 3-pointers in an easy 64-46 victory over 11th-seeded Southern Illinois in the Atlanta Regional on Friday...

DENVER -- It might have simply been window dressing, but Stanford coach Tara VanderVeer said Friday she doesn't expect an easy time with Southeast Missouri State tonight. Asked Friday what specific concerns she had regarding the underdog Redhawks, VanderVeer said, "Everything concerns me about them. They rebound, they defend, they score. We know we'll have to play well."...

Cape Girardeau...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks benefited from offensive surges from two unlikely sources as they moved closer to a Western Conference playoff spot. Tom Preissing and rookie Steve Bernier each scored twice as the San Jose Sharks stretched their winning streak to four games with a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Jeff Suppan was happy to welcome back Yadier Molina from the World Baseball Classic. Suppan allowed two runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings with Molina catching and the Cardinals' top catcher also went 2-for-3 in St. Louis' 5-2 win over the New York Yankees on Friday...

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Bill Lester stole the show from pole-winner Kasey Kahne on Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, earning a spot in the Golden Corral 500 to become the the first black driver to qualify for a race in NASCAR's top series in nearly 20 years...

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Carl Edwards is a victim of expectations -- including his own. After a sensational Nextel Cup season in 2005 -- his first full year in NASCAR's top series -- Edwards has stumbled off the starting line this year. He crashed out of the season-opening Daytona 500 and finished last, bounced back with a third-place finish at California and then suffered through a very frustrating 26th-place run last Sunday in Las Vegas...

Win or lose tonight, the Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball team has had a groundbreaking year. The Redhawks have a 22-8 record and won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament to earn their first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. They also shared first place in the OVC...

DAYTON, Ohio -- A whole new Carolina cast looked nothing like defending champs the first time out in the NCAA tournament. Murray State, a team with all of one NCAA victory in its history, took third-seeded North Carolina down to the closing seconds Friday night before the Tar Heels pulled out a 69-65 first-round victory...

Jackson...

FULTON, Mo. -- A high school drama teacher whose spring play was canceled after church members complained to her superintendent about tawdry content in a previous production will resign rather than face a possible firing. "It became too much to not be able to speak my mind or defend my students without fear of retribution," said Fulton High School teacher Wendy DeVore...

HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- A convicted rapist charged with abducting two teenage girls and assaulting them in a hidden underground room behind his home was captured Friday about a mile away, authorities said. Kenneth G. Hinson, 47, fled on foot after the girls escaped and called police. After a four-day manhunt, an exhausted and thirsty Hinson walked to a relative's home, and someone called 911...

To the editor: The March 12 "His and hers" column ("All hail Wilson, conqueror of snot monsters") by Callie Clark Miller and Bob Miller was a full column of total disgust. Bob Miller's body fluids are of no interest to any of your readers, I'm sure...

To the editor: How interesting that Greg Harrison, president of the Missouri Cable Television Association, is trying to convince consumers that Senate Bill 816, the bill to bring real competition to Missouri's cable industry, is a bad idea. This bill would not give any new competitor an unfair advantage. It simply would open the market to real competition that consumers everywhere are demanding. If the competition which Mr. Harrison stated exists, why have cable rates been increasing over time?...

There has been no racing at the Auto Tire and Parts RacePark in Benton since May 2004. And with the start of the new auto racing season approaching in April, it looks as though the trend may continue. The investors in the RacePark have been in touch with a handful of people interested in purchasing the facility, the price of which is listed at $595,000, or leasing it...

Correction The Southeast Missourian regrets the error...

25 years ago: March 18, 1981 The city of Cape Girardeau recently forgot not to pay a bill; as a result, the city forwarded a payment of approximately $45,000 to the consulting firm that designed the city's secondary sewage treatment plant, a payment the city council disputed earlier this month and decided not to pay...

Dogs deserve burial; Trashy 25; Right to choose; Wasted focus; Ready for change; More demagoguery; Having to choose; Reconciled viewpoints

Juanita Lorene Slinkard, 90, formerly of Scott City, passed away Monday, March 13, 2006, at Pine Acres Care Center in DeKalb, Ill., where she had resided since May 1999. She was born April 16, 1915, at Diehlstadt, Mo., to William Harvey and Stella May Jennings Griffith. She married Ora A. Slinkard Aug. 13, 1932...

Warner; Ford; Allen; Gamel; Grissom; Campbell; Smith; Denman; Lowery; McLard; Ayers

COBDEN, Ill. -- Milton J. Kubicka, 89, of Cobden, formerly of Anna, Ill., died Thursday, March 16, 2006, at City Care Center in Cobden. He was born Oct. 21, 1916, in Chicago, son of Joseph and Elbi Kassa Kubicka. Kubicka was a locomotive engineer many years with Illinois Central Railroad. He was a member of Carroll P. Foster VFW Post 3455 in Anna, Cobden American Legion Post 344 and Anna Moose Lodge 1346...

Russell Hester, 65, of Delta died Friday, March 17, 2006, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 2, 1941, at Delta, son of Watson Russell and Mary Immogene Sanford Hester. Hester was a retired millwright. He was a member of Arbor General Baptist Church and Eagles Aerie in Advance, Mo...

Henry B. Creighton, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 17, 2006, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born Dec. 8, 1919, in Venice, Ill., son of Dewey and Myrtle Hudson Creighton. He and Marie Clemons were married March 31,1946, in Madison, Ill. Mr. ...

John M. Finney Jr., 60, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 17, 2006, at his home. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Lorimier Cemetery...

Henry C. Krone, 83, of Lee's Summit, Mo., died Tuesday, March 7, 2006, at Lee's Summit Hospital. He was born April 8, 1922, in Independence, Kan. He and Dorothy Melton were married June 12, 1943. Krone was a B-25 pilot in the China/Burma/India Theater during World War II...

ANNA, Ill. -- Mark David Rife, 48, of Orlando, Fla., died Saturday, March 11, 2006, in Orlando. He was born June 20, 1957, in Anna, son of James V. and Barbara Hamm Rife. He married Pamela Neff. Survivors include his wife; his parents of Spartanburg, S.C.; two stepchildren, Colene Cannarella and Kyle Korthals of Orlando; a brother, Scott Rife of Jeffersonville, Ind.; and three stepgrandchildren...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Lola M. Villarreal, 76, of Barlow, Ky., formerly of Cairo, died Thursday, March 16, 2006, at Metropolis Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Metropolis, Ill. She was born Aug. 6, 1929, at Parma, Mo., daughter of William and Rose Timmons Parker...

The Southeast Missouri State gymnastics team turned in a respectable road performance, but it wasn't enough against host Missouri, ranked No. 12 in the nation. Missouri posted a 195.250 total, while Southeast finished at 192.575. "We didn't win, but we had a great performance despite the loss," said Southeast coach Tom Farden...

Paul J. Duffield, 76, of Benton, Mo., formerly of Scott City, died Friday, March 17, 2006. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Had Tonya Dixon realized the man living across the street was a convicted sex offender, she says she would never have moved with her family to a mobile home in a quiet, isolated neighborhood. Officers, bloodhounds and helicopters continued searching Friday for 47-year-old Kenneth Glenn Hinson, who is wanted in the rape of two teenage girls in an underground room behind his home here in northeastern South Carolina...

LONDON -- A lawyer for the publisher of "The Da Vinci Code" wrapped up the defense's case Friday by telling London's High Court that two authors' claim for copyright infringement was "in tatters." Setting out closing arguments as the three-week trial nears its end, defense attorney John Baldwin said it was clear that Dan Brown's best-selling thriller had not copied from work by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A federal appeals court sided with 14 states Friday and blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from going forward with new regulations activists say would lead to more air pollution from the nation's power plants and factories. ...

DENVER -- No current Southeast Missouri State player has ever participated in an NCAA tournament game. Ditto for head coach B.J. Smith. But that doesn't mean the 14th-seeded Redhawks (22-8) are totally devoid of NCAA playoff experience entering tonight's first-round game against third-seeded Stanford (23-7)...

MEMPHIS -- Three Memphis University pitchers limited Southeast Missouri State to eight singles, as the Tigers claimed the opener of a two-game series 5-1 Friday afternoon. The Tigers were not in a generous mood: The pitching trio issued just one walk and was backed by errorless defense...

SAN DIEGO -- The stage for the World Baseball Classic semifinals is a picturesque new major league ballpark, where a sign in left-center field reads "America's Pastime" and high rises typical of so many U.S. cities serve as a backdrop. Animated flags representing all 16 countries that took part in the inaugural tournament waved on the main video board above the bleachers -- and that's as close as the United States came to participating in the WBC on Friday at Petco Park...

Like corporations in many other industries, casinos are merging to stay competitive. Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. announced earlier this week its intention to purchase Aztar Corp. for approximately $1.45 billion. Based in Las Vegas, Aztar owns five casinos nationwide and employs 12,000 people. Its highest profile assets are the Tropicana hotel-casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. These properties annually account for more than half of Aztar's revenue...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Winning the Class 1 state semifinal on Thursday accomplished one goal for the Bell City Cubs. Jefferson's victory in the other semifinal helped set up another. The Cubs (28-4) meet unbeaten Jefferson (31-0) at 1:45 p.m. today at the Mizzou Arena. Bell City is ranked third in the state; Jefferson, from Conception Junction in northwest Missouri, is No. 1...

Five months after a stunning victory down the road at Disney, Lucas Glover surged into the lead Friday at the Bay Hill Invitational with birdies on two of his last three holes for his second straight 5-under 67. He has a one-shot lead over Robert Allenby and Rod Pampling...

When the Missouri Senate was working on a bill this week revising campaign and lobbyist reporting rules, Sen. Jason Crowell was excused from voting on the measure. Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, invoked a Senate rule that allows a member to refrain from voting for "special reasons." His reason for seeking permission to refrain, Crowell said in an interview, was because his financial relationship with House Speaker Rod Jetton had become a part of the debate...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- An autopsy and tests on Slobodan Milosevic's blood found no evidence of poison or drugs in concentrations that could have killed him, the U.N. war crimes tribunal said Friday. Tribunal president Judge Fausto Pocar said an outside investigation will be conducted on the running of the U.N. ...

Atlanta Regional Jermaine Wallace hit a fadeaway 3-pointer with a split second left, and little Northwestern State pulled off a shocker with a furious rally, beating Iowa in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Down by 17 with 8 1/2 minutes left, the 14th-seeded Demons from Natchitoches, La., stormed back to down the Big Ten tournament champions...

Renee Shandy and her husband, Dan, are self-described "vidiots." The Jackson couple loves everything to do with the high-tech world of home entertainment -- whether it's their flat-screen, high-def TV, their satellite dish or their TiVo-like digital video recorder...

WASHINGTON -- Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern gave President Bush a bowl of shamrocks on Friday and then asked the president for more "transparency" about CIA flights over Europe. After his St. Patrick's Day meeting with Bush, which lasted for more than two hours, Ahern renewed his commitment to seeing the implementation of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord and its central goal: power-sharing between the province's British Protestant majority and Irish Catholic minority...

State and federal crews have found about 1,500 damaged or destroyed homes in Missouri and about 1,000 in Illinois as a result of storms that tore through both states last weekend. The storms, which produced dozens of tornadoes across the two states, killed nine people while injuring 100 in Missouri...

While watching a former professional wrestler on TV, Marc Harris believes God sent him a message. The message prompted Harris to ask Steve "Sting" Borden to come to Cape Girardeau to speak at today's Promise Keepers Unleashed event. "I felt that's who God said should speak. When I looked into his life, it really fit in a positive way," said Harris. "What he's been through, his message of change and determination. It's a pretty profound statement of what can happen through Christ."...

Oak Ridge First Baptist celebrates 100 years; Hoff joins staff at First Baptist Church in Cape; Sunday; Thursday; Friday

Jenny and I sat in my office discussing various spiritual matters. Since this is the season of Lent and the approaching cross and resurrection is uppermost in the minds of most Christians, Jenny and I were discussing the "The Passion of the Christ." I couldn't watch Mel Gibson's movie of that horrific ordeal again. I couldn't stand to re-view the dire beatings Christ endured...

Landing in Nairobi, Kenya, after 40 hours of travel, we stay overnight before heading to the Sudanese interior. The bishop greets us and shuffles us into small cars for our night journey. I get to know our driver, Ngumbai, at breakfast. I ask, "When did you become a Christian?"...