Stories from Friday, June 9, 2006

The Cape Girardeau County Commission promised Thursday to back a loan for the expanded county transit system, but a board controlling tax money set aside for senior services declined a request for a large financial commitment. The commission voted unanimously to guarantee a loan of up to $660,000 for the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority. The guarantee covers the $360,000 cost to purchase Kelley Transportation Co. Inc. and a $300,000 line of credit for startup costs...

History is only worth what you make of it. I'd like to think that's a famous quote. But as far as I can tell, I'm the only one who has ever said it. Almost every week I read about another history-related book that's been published setting the record straight or adding elements that weren't even considered relevant when previous books on the same topic were published...

A proposal for an accelerated county road-paving program states that Cape Girardeau County could blacktop an extra 19 miles of gravel roads during the first six years of a half-cent sales-tax increase. The detailed program, presented to the Cape Girardeau County Commission by county highway administrator Scott Bechtold, is subject to change and will be discussed at a public hearing June 19...

The Cape Girardeau Public Library is seeking to garner good will for a proposed multimillion-dollar expansion project and a tax initiative by showing taxpayers what they get for their library buck. "We want to demonstrate to the public how responsible we are with their tax money," director Betty Martin said. "So if we raised taxes in order to add on to the building they would know that we will be very responsible with that money."...

Bell City school officials have filed an appeal with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education over the agency's findings that the district illegally secured more than $19,000 in state aid this school year. Education commissioner D. Kent King is expected to rule on the matter before the end of the month. The State Board of Education could ratify the commissioner's decision at its meeting on June 22, DESE spokesman Jim Morris said Friday...

Police were warning about a new scam in Cape Girardeau after a local resident was bilked out of $500. Two men showed up at the home of Billy Tate around 3 p.m. Thursday offering to spray a chemical into his gutters to supposedly fight mildew, said Tate, 85, of 2506 Ford Drive...

A wild bear was the only thing Eva James worried about Thursday morning as she prepared to camp for the next 24 hours on the front lawn of the Missouri Veterans Home. James, an activities therapist at the veterans home, used a vacation day from work to camp for 24 hours to raise awareness for Alzheimer's disease, which attacks the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking and behavior. ...

Local police were searching for an area lawyer after he failed to show up at least two court appearances for his clients. Michael Lawrence Sr., a Sikeston, Mo.-based lawyer, was issued two body attachments by two different judges last month. A body attachment is not a warrant, but allows officers to take Lawrence into custody and jail him until the next available court hearing, according to Scott County Sheriff's chief deputy Tom Beardslee...

BENTON, Mo. -- Now that Scott County has a design concept for its updated war memorial on the county courthouse grounds, organizers plan to proceed with fund-raising efforts. The first donation toward the project's completion came not from Scott County, but from Cape Girardeau...

A string of birdies over the closing holes at Bulle Rock paid off in different ways for Michelle Wie and Nicole Castrale. It spared Wie a shaky start, and it sparked the hard-luck Castrale to a career-low round of 64 and a two-shot lead Thursday in the LPGA Championship at Havre de Grace, Md...

PARIS -- Once again, Justine Henin-Hardenne rose to the occasion on her favorite stage. The two-time French Open champion earned another berth in the final, taking advantage of Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters' erratic play to win 6-3, 6-2 Thursday...

DURHAM, N.C. -- A second stripper in the Duke University rape case told police early in their investigation that the accuser was out of her sight for only five minutes that night and that her allegations were a "crock," according to a court papers filed Thursday...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

Thanks for purse; School funding; Yard-sign policing; No higher taxes; No to sales tax; Office hours; Different story; Great painter; Stem-cell research; No answers; Money mystery; Which is it?; No signs, no sale; Spending money; Phenomenal concert; History lesson; Close scrutiny

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gay rights and children's advocates on Thursday praised the attorney general's decision to drop a legal fight over gay foster parents, but the state agency said the battle isn't over. Attorney General Jay Nixon officially dropped the state's appeal of a judge's decision that a lesbian was wrongly denied the opportunity to become a foster parent...

When Union Pacific Railroad announced last year that it planned to acquire a segment of track from Rockview to Sikeston through Scott County, officials and residents along the affected area expressed concern, much of it over the additional noise and inconvenience of adding 10 or more trains a day to the route...

Mark D. Reynolds, 56, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at Heartland Care and Rehab. He was born April 21, 1950, in Cape Girardeau, son of Thomas J. and Ruth I. Reynolds. Reynolds attended Cape Girardeau Schools, and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1972...

ANNA, Ill. -- Dr. Gale A. McMahan, 59, of Anna died Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Oct. 19, 1946, in Anna, daughter of George O. and Jessie L. Johnson Scivally. She and Joe H. McMahan were married Dec. 14, 1963...

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

25 years ago: June 9, 1981 Three years after its initial planning stages, Cape Girardeau's traffic signal replacement and curb reconstruction program is now 94 percent complete, according to city engineer Guy A. Lowes. The county court has reached an agreement allowing Bob Flannery to farm approximately 20 acres on the south part of the County Farm Park surrounding Memorial Park Cemetery...

Hill; Rainey; Whitfield; Navarro; Sneed; Stephens; Watson; Keith; Latham

CAIRO, Ill. -- Edward S. Hill Jr., 80, of Dallas, Texas, formerly of Cairo, died Thursday, June 8, 2006, at Walnut Place Long Term Care Facility in Dallas. Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo is in charge of arrangements.

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Elmer L. Koen, 88, of Mound City died Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at his home. He was born Nov. 21, 1917, in Mound City, son of James and Alice Parrot Koen. He married Wilma Marie Flannigan, who preceded him in death. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II...

Geoff Enders kicked off the Jackson American Legion team's participation in the Jonesboro, Ark., tournament by throwing a no-hitter at the host team on Thursday. Jackson posted a 2-0 win to begin pool play in the 24-team event. Enders walked four and struck out five over seven innings to improve his record to 1-1...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Tips from within Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's own terror network helped the United States locate and bomb a secret meeting among the al-Qaida leader and top associates at a safe house north of Baghdad, military officials said Thursday. Iraqis celebrated with gunfire as the battered face of the country's most feared terrorist was broadcast around the world. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon will return more than $19,000 in donations to his gubernatorial campaign that came indirectly from Ameren Corp., the utility he is investigating over the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. Nixon's campaign treasurer Craig Hosmer said returning the money doesn't mean Nixon was wrong to accept it. He said Nixon wants to eliminate any appearance of a conflict of interest as he investigates Ameren...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A former state senator was convicted Thursday of extortion for taking payoffs from a fake company set up by the FBI to catch corrupt lawmakers. Roscoe Dixon, a Memphis Democrat, was the first of five lawmakers charged in the case to go to trial. He had been charged with seeking and accepting payoffs from E-Cycle Management, which offered bribes to state and local officials across Tennessee...

BENTON, Mo. -- A woman accused of slamming her daughter's head on a doorway when the child would not sleep pleaded innocent to the charges Thursday. Susan Cabiness, 34, of Chaffee, Mo., entered her plea to two felony counts of child abuse during an appearance before Circuit Judge David Dolan. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Yadier Molina's impeccable defense behind the plate made it easy for the St. Louis Cardinals to wait out his early season stupor with the bat. The Cardinals were the last team in the major leagues without a home run from their catchers until Molina connected on Monday. He finally inched his average above .200 two days before that, beginning to provide at least a little pop at the bottom end of the order...

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki sputtered and struggled in his first NBA finals game, so the Dallas Mavericks hitched a ride on the Jet to claim the opener. Jason Terry grabbed the spotlight from the three big stars in this championship series, scoring a playoff-high 32 points with a soaring grace befitting his nickname -- even though he missed an open layup that nearly erased all his achievements...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The second day of the NCAA outdoor track and field championships did not go as well for Southeast Missouri State as the opening day. After All-American Miles Smith had the second-fastest time in Wednesday's first round of the 400 meters, Southeast's two other national meet entries fell well short of advancing Thursday night...

Robyn Mainor's job falls somewhere between that of an elementary school educator and a short-haul trucker. Her classroom's bright pink, orange, green, red and every-other-color-known-to-man exterior catches the eyes of people on area roads every day...

The Toyota Camry, the car that's bought new by more Americans than any other, year in and year out, is even better now. The best-selling auto in the United States, the Camry sedan is an early-introduction, new-generation vehicle for 2007 with sleeker styling than its predecessors, new features and interior, the best Camry safety rating ever and the most powerful Camry V-6 ever...

Baseball n Federal agents tried to pressure Jason Grimsley into wearing a wire during private conversations with other players to gather incriminating evidence against Barry Bonds, an attorney for the former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher said. "It was a specific effort to target Bonds," Edward Novak told the Arizona Republic for a Thursday story. "We were told that Jason's cooperation was necessary to their case."...

Michael Johnathon performs in coffee house; Scott City holds annual summer festival; University to hold All-State Lions Band; French veillee at Ste. Genevieve Saturday; BRAG announces juried art show winners; Art Museum announces jewelry trunk show

The Southeast Explorer mobile museum is only one part of the Southeast Missouri Regional Museum's Family Fun Day activities Saturday. In addition to seeing the explorer, those who show up for Fun Day will get to participate in a variety of activities based around museum exhibits...

Three stars (out of four) This is not the usual Jennifer Aniston character, and if you are thinking that this is a really funny movie, you're in for a surprise. It's a dark comedy that will hit close to home. As the movie begins, Vince Vaughn uses an unusual pick-up line that involves hot dogs. From there on it's life as we know it...

WASHINGTON -- Women for the first time have a vaccine to protect themselves against cervical cancer. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday licensed the vaccine, Gardasil, for use in girls and women ages 9 to 26. The vaccine works by preventing infection by four of the dozens of strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Steve McNair is the new starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens. McNair passed his physical Thursday and immediately jumped to the top of the depth chart ahead of Kyle Boller. The Ravens called a late afternoon press conference to announce McNair's long-awaited arrival via a trade with the Tennessee Titans...

It could almost be called an act of fate that led to the formation of the Southern rock jam band Shady Deal. Future lead singer Jesse Hammock drove into a telephone pole on Broadway. That same telephone pole would fall onto a nearby transformer, which would in turn explode and shatter numerous nearby storefront windows, ultimately causing $25,000 worth of damage...

MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia -- Mount Merapi spewed a column of gas and sent clouds of hot ash tumbling down its slopes Thursday, causing 15,000 villagers to flee. Some jumped into rivers to escape the searing heat, and others sped off in trucks. No injuries or deaths were reported...

Dear Tom and Ray: Please define "driving a car into the ground." I realize I'm on the downside of my '93 Toyota 4Runner's lifetime. I crossed 200,000 miles a month ago but would like to keep it for at least a year more. But in the meantime, little things are starting to go wrong. ...