Stories from Friday, June 2, 2006

Most of you know what a big fan I am of the Mississippi River. And most of you know I am not shy about expressing my concern that Cape Girardeau, a river town with deep historical roots, is too disconnected from the river. In the past dozen years or so, there have been some shifts that indicate a renewed interest in the river and its importance to our fair city...

A woman convicted of lying to police on the whereabouts of an accused murderer was sentenced to 20 days in jail and two year's probation Thursday. Erica N. Ward, 19, of 2218 Good Hope St., was convicted in April by Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp for misdemeanor attempting to hinder prosecution. According to prosecutors, she provided a false alibi for Bernard Richards, 19, who is charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 25 shooting death of Jacob Bowers, 17...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- A 68-year-old man was accused this week with molesting two minor teenage girls in a Bollinger County campground. Charles P. Davis, of Grassy, Mo., was charged Wednesday with felony first-degree statutory sodomy, first-degree child molestation and sexual misconduct with a child...

After several months without interaction with municipal and county governments in Scott County, a Union Pacific Railroad representative says the company will soon reopen its dialogue. Chris Peterson, head of government affairs with UP, visited Southeast Missouri on Thursday and said the company was ready to start talks again with local governments...

A Cape Girardeau-area lawyer was arrested in Cape Girardeau on suspicion of driving while intoxicated over the Memorial Day weekend. Derrick R. Williams, 47, was arrested Saturday morning by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on charges of driving while intoxicated, speeding and failure to provide valid proof of insurance, according to patrol Lt. Steve Niederkorn...

A Scott City resident awoke Thursday morning to find an intoxicated, nearly naked stranger sleeping on his couch. Police responded to a call of a burglary around 5 a.m. Thursday and found an underwear-clad man asleep on the couch inside an 11th Street home in which he did not live, police chief Don Cobb said...

Two men were arrested on drug-related charges after being found having illegal substances in Capaha Park, Cape Girardeau police said. Douglas W. Guyton Jr., 25, of 1143 S. Pacific St., was charged with felony first-degree drug trafficking and Brent S. ...

By Carol Daniel It's been almost a year since my husband quit his full-time job and started his own company. It's something he says he has always wanted to do. And to watch and listen as he talks to clients, draws up proposals and world around the clod is nothing short of inspiring and, yes, exhausting...

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Twice-convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad was sentenced Thursday to six consecutive life terms in prison with no possibility of parole, a sentence prosecutors consider insurance in case his Virginia death sentence is ever overturned...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's government launched an inquiry Thursday into allegations that U.S. Marines killed two dozen unarmed civilians in the western town of Haditha, with the prime minister calling the bloodshed "a horrible crime." The probe, which will also look into other incidents involving American troops, came as the U.S. military ordered coalition troops to undergo special training in ethics and "the values that separate us from our enemies."...

ATHENS, Greece -- The burnt remains of a 2,400-year-old scroll buried with an ancient Greek nobleman may help unlock the secrets of early monotheistic religion -- using new digital technology. A team of U.S., British and Greek experts is working on a new reading of the enigmatic Derveni papyrus, a philosophical treatise on ancient faith that is Europe's oldest surviving manuscript...

When disasters strike, rescue workers and aid providers aren't the only ones who step up their activity. Politicians also react to calamities that cause death and property destruction. In some instances, legislative remedies are indeed needed -- an unfortunate consequence of corporate strategies that cut corners and put the safety of workers at risk...

No difference; Bring back the roses; Arriving on time; It isn't broke; Tall grass; Need street lights; Other opinions; Enjoy life

Dr. William Thorpe likes to tell people that he came to Cape Girardeau for the weather but stayed because of Southeast Missouri State. On Saturday, Thorpe's nearly quarter of a century involvement with Southeast -- namely the university's athletic department -- will be recognized with his induction into the Missouri Athletic Trainers' Association Sports Medicine Hall of Fame...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The disappointment of Wednesday's semifinal loss had not left Oran's baseball team as it took the Taylor Stadium field for Thursday's Class 1 third-place game. Oran had never finished fourth in seven previous final four appearances, and the Eagles made sure Thursday would not be the first time with a 6-4 win over Silex...

ST. LOUIS -- Every successful outing seems to distance Jason Isringhausen from his spotty start to the season. The St. Louis Cardinals' closer has 11 saves in a row, leads the National League with 17 in 19 chances and showcased his workhorse mentality by working two strong innings in Wednesday's 11-inning victory over the Houston Astros...

WASHINGTON -- A 13-year-old New Jersey girl making her fifth straight appearance at the Scripps National Spelling Bee rattled off "ursprache" to claim the title of America's best speller on prime-time television Thursday night. Katharine Close, an eighth-grader at the H.W. Mountz School in Spring Lake, N.J., is the first girl since 1999 to win the national spelling title. She stepped back from the microphone and put her hands to her mouth upon being declared the winner...

Woodrow Lenual "Woody" Colyer, 81, of Jackson passed away Thursday, June 1, 2006, at the Monticello House in Jackson. He was born Nov. 28, 1924, in McClure, Ill., son of Jesse "J.A." and Jenny Murphy Colyer. He and Ruth Dockins were married June 16, 1946, at Burfordville...

Dr. Max Edward Cordonnier, 71, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, May 31, 2006, in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 19, 1934, at Carthage, Mo., son of Harold James and Edrie Marie Schopf Cordonnier. Mr. Cordonnier retired from Southeast Missouri State University in 1992, where he taught 30 years. He also taught a year at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and also taught at the University of Kansas while working on his doctorate in English language and literature...

The sixth annual Perry County Community Rodeo begins tonight and concludes Saturday at East Perry Fair Grounds in Altenburg, Mo. Pre-rodeo activities begin at 6:30 p.m. each evening and the competition starts at 7:30. Competition includes bareback bronc riding, barrel racing, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding and team roping...

Six Flags can be a thrilling place -- even when you're not on The Boss. Blake Driskell can attest to that fact. He recalls clearly the day of May 12, when he was standing in line waiting for the thrill of riding The Boss. Another burst of excitement came out of the blue when he received a call from his good friend, Todd Obergoenner...

Marble Hill woman publishes book; Oran holds 11th annual car show Saturday; River City Players hold auditions for Lorimier play; Bicentennial book discussion Tuesday; Family fun day at Wickliffe Mounds set for June 10; St. Louis Art Museum shows landscape films; Lewis and Clark perform at Wappapello; Muny single tickets go on sale Saturday

'Break Up'; 'The Omen'; STILL PLAYING; 'The Da Vinci Code'; 'Ice Age: The Meltdown'; 'Just My Luck'; 'Mission Impossible III'; 'Over the Hedge'; 'Poseidon'; 'RV'; 'See No Evil'; 'Stick It'; 'United 93'; 'The Wild'; 'X-Men: The Last Stand'

Koch; Dykes; Coomer

Dorothy G. Fehlings, 92, of Sun City Center, Fla., died Tuesday, May 16, 2006, in Sun City Center. She was born Aug. 14, 1913, in St. Louis, daughter of John C. and Rosalie Lewis George. She and Marvin John Fehlings were married July 3, 1934. He died Feb. 20, 2002...

Shirley T. Warren, 64, of Jackson died Wednesday, May 31, 2006, at Monticello House. She was born Feb. 9, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of John and Bertha Scherer Kirn. She and Jack Warren were married Feb. 16, 1972. He died June 27, 1993. Warren attended Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Urban L. Winschel, 81, of Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, May 31, 2006, at the veterans home. He was born May 17, 1925, in Perryville, son of August A. and Helen T. Ernst Winschel. Winschel had been a diesel mechanic. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church at Apple Creek, Mo., American Legion Post 133, and Western Catholic Union...

Steve Flesch was one of the few players who had no issues with the bunkers at the Memorial, and for good reason. He wasn't in any of them Thursday, which might explain why he was atop the leaderboard. Flesch made sure he kept his ball in the lush grass of Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, playing his best golf of the year to reach 6 under through 17 holes when the first round was suspended because of storms. He was in the 18th fairway, typical of his day...

25 years ago: June 2, 1981 Two Cape Girardeau County jail trusties who escaped from a County Farm Park detail yesterday are back in custody; the 17-year-old escapees are captured shortly after 10 a.m. by Cape Girardeau police at the home of a friend of one of the boys...

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. -- The funeral included a magician doing card tricks and an organist playing Broadway tunes. And the woman who was being remembered enjoyed it all. After she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in January, Rosemary Rhoades of Prairie Village decided to plan her own funeral -- and attend...

CALEDONIA, Mich. -- In one small Michigan town, they are talking excitedly about welcoming home a beloved friend they had thought they had buried. In another, the news is still sinking in that a young woman believed to have survived a horrific crash five weeks ago is dead...

A 30-day jail sentence was handed down Thursday for a woman who admitted to attacking a man charged with leaving his infant daughter home alone for nearly a day. Tiffany N. Wilkins, 25, of 824 Good Hope St., pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault for the May 4 attack, and Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp sentenced her to 30 days in jail...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A suburban Kansas City couple accused of the videotaped sex killing of an Independence woman have admitted that they videotaped and killed a second woman, court documents released Thursday show. Investigators say Richard D. Davis, 41, and Dena D. Riley, 39, admitted their involvement in the deaths of 41-year-old Marsha Spicer and Michelle Huff, also known as Michelle Ricci...

By Miki Gudermuth The Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative appearing on the November ballot has become a target for misinformed opponents leaning toward twisting the facts to defeat the measure. Some have gone so far as to incorrectly associate stem-cell research with the abortion of a fetus, conjuring up phony or confusing scientific data to frighten people about the initiative...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- It's been two years since Arkansas schools started sending letters home to parents with their children's report cards -- letters telling them if their children were fat. Plenty of parents weren't happy. But a lot of them did something about it...

ST. LOUIS -- Attorney General Jay Nixon is pressing two state agencies to estimate the total cost of damages from the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse, fueling speculation that he is in settlement talks with Ameren Corp. just more than a month after he said he would file criminal charges or a lawsuit against the utility...

WASHINGTON -- Women now earn the majority of diplomas in fields men used to dominate -- from biology to business -- and have caught up in pursuit of law, medicine and other advanced degrees. Even with such enormous gains over the past 25 years, women are paid less than men in comparable jobs and lag in landing top positions on college campuses...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

State of emergency in effect in Basra, Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Police set up roadblocks Thursday around the oil-rich southern city of Basra as a monthlong state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went into effect. Basra Gov. Mohammed al-Waeli said army troops and police fanned out around Iraq's second-largest city as part of a crackdown on rampant violence that has increased in recent weeks as rival Shiite militias fight each other for power. ...

VIENNA, Austria -- The United States and international partners are close to a deal that would offer Iran economic incentives if it suspends nuclear activities that could produce a bomb, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says. Iran's foreign minister welcomed the idea of direct talks, but rebuffed the U.S. condition that Tehran first must suspend uranium enrichment...

LAS VEGAS -- If you've ever wanted to dive into the Octopus's Garden or meet a psychedelic Sgt. Pepper, the creators of a new Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show are offering a little help from their friends. The theatrical interpretation, "Love," is based on 130 songs and song fragments. It debuts at The Mirage hotel-casino in June and takes audiences through a dreamlike journey that tracks the Fab Four's career...

PALM DESERT, Calif. -- Sounds like the plot of "The Princess Diaries III," but it's true. Jazmin Grace Grimaldi is the 14-year-old out-of-wedlock daughter of Monaco's Prince Albert II and a California woman who reportedly worked as a waitress. ...

NEW YORK -- Top-selling rappers Kanye West and Ludacris won a copyright infringement trial Thursday when a jury concluded their 2003 hit "Stand Up" did not copy a tune by New Jersey musicians. "I hope the plaintiffs enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame," Ludacris said after the verdict was announced. "This whole experience is proof to me of why I will always fight for what I believe in."...

NEW YORK -- The 24-hour BBC World news channel broke into the U.S. market on Thursday and is soon launching a one-hour morning newscast available to a wider audience that is being done with Americans in mind. The "World News Today" newscast will be broadcast live from London at 6 a.m. to compete with morning news programs in the United States., and will be simulcast on BBC America. That channel reaches nearly half of the 110 million U.S. homes with television...

Three stars (out of four) Great balls of fire! I thought one and two were good but not like this. "X Men III" starts with Magneto and Professor Xavier as friends going to Jean Grey's house to talk to her and her parents -- who seem to think that their daughter has an illness instead of a powerful gift...

Jess Bolen has a simple explanation as to why he has been a fixture on Cape Girardeau's summer baseball scene for so long. "I'd rather be doing this than sitting at home and watching TV," he said. So Bolen will begin his 40th season as the manager of the Plaza Tire Capahas tonight when the Valmeyer (Ill.) Lakers visit Capaha Field for a 7:30 p.m. first pitch. The squads also will have a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday in Cape Girardeau...

PARIS -- Gael Monfils hopped out of his changeover chair and stood with his back to the stands, raising his arms to join the French Open fans -- his fans -- as they did the wave. All of 19, Monfils is giving locals hope of a long-awaited homegrown champion, and he was part of a pack of youngsters who brought some exuberance to another dreary, rainy day at Roland Garros...

CHICAGO -- Warm winds blow across Wrigley Field and the ivy that covers the brick walls is a lush green. Summer baseball has finally arrived on the North Side, and the fans are turning out in big numbers. The Cubs, however, are hardly blossoming. May proved one tough month for a team that three years ago was five outs from the World Series...

It's only starting to make its way to showrooms, but the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 is already appreciating in value. Potential buyers at eBay are bidding more than $10,000 above the starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $42,975 to get the modern version of a Shelby Mustang, one of America's famous muscle cars of the 1960s...

As much as Mike Chavez enjoyed coaching football, he also relished the several years he spent in law enforcement during the late 1990s. When an opportunity to rejoin the latter field recently came up, Chavez took it, meaning his days in charge of the Southeast Missouri State offensive line are over...

Two Cape Girardeau County commissioners believe creating a plan for paving county roads will help encourage voters to pass a half-cent sales tax increase in August. But the other commissioner believes a road plan may cause long-term problems for the commission...

Forget McDonald's. This summer, a handful of area college students are getting a jump on their business careers by starting their own companies. Instead of flipping burgers for quick cash, the budding entrepreneurs say they want real-world training that will give them an edge once they enter the work force for real...

When Rep. Scott Lipke, R-Jackson, sponsored a tough new law aimed at sexual predators who target children and young teens, he included something extra that hasn't received much notice -- the bill repeals Missouri's law banning consensual gay sex. The law is unenforceable because of a 2003 U.S. ...

Jake Wells sat back in a chair inside the Fountain Street Gallery, glancing at several paintings and ceramics he created. He was wearing a brown Missouri Speleological Survey T-shirt, which is appropriate only considering more than half of the paintings he is glancing at are inspired by caves and cave formations...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state's unemployment rate edged up in April to 4.6 percent but remained below the national rate, state economic officials said Thursday. That seasonally adjusted rate compares with 4.5 percent in March and is below the 5.5 percent rate a year earlier. The national rate in April was 4.7 percent...