Stories from Saturday, June 10, 2006

ORAN, Mo. -- Things seemed to have calmed down for police chief Marc Tragesser since he started his job in Oran last summer. For months after Tragesser took the post, he had to battle fierce opposition to his style of law enforcement -- one that is much more aggressive than that of former chief Howard Stevens...

Bell City school officials have appealed a finding by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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 appeal 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...

By the start of the 2007 academic year, the Southeast Missouri State University departments of music and theater and dance hope to have their new performance spaces on the River Campus ready to go. So for both departments, the 2006-2007 season of concerts and productions will serve as a prelude to what audiences can expect in new facilities...

Miles Smith's run at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships ended painfully. The Southeast Missouri State junior pulled a hamstring during Friday's semifinal and failed to qualify for today's final in the 400-meter dash. He still managed to finish sixth in his heat and had the ninth-best time overall...

"Anchors" away: In 1970, 6 percent of all births in the United States were to illegal aliens. In 2002, that figure was 23 percent. In 1994, 36 percent of the births paid for by Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid, were to illegals. That figure has doubtless increased in the intervening 12 years as the rate of illegal immigration has risen...

PARIS -- Awful at the start, masterful enough later to produce shots that must be seen to be believed, Roger Federer leaned back in his sideline seat and exhaled. His opponent Friday had just quit with an injury, and a smile slowly crept across Federer's face as he realized that a berth in his first French Open final...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk is not attending the team's final minicamp this weekend while contemplating retirement because of knees that have been slow to recover from offseason cleanup surgery. New coach Scott Linehan said Friday that two weeks ago Faulk, who has undergone numerous such surgeries on both knees, expressed his concerns. Linehan said Faulk's agent, Rocky Arceneaux, told him again on Thursday that Faulk "wasn't physically ready to go."...

MILWAUKEE -- Scott Spiezio drove in three runs in a six-run fourth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals overcame a 6-0 deficit to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 10-6 on Friday night, snapping a three-game losing streak. The Cardinals, swept in a three-game series at home this week by Cincinnati, had lost three of four since first baseman Albert Pujols was sidelined with a strained muscle in his side. ...

Plenty of goals, no major security issues and a win for the hosts -- the World Cup got off to a feel-good start Friday. Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 in the tournament opener while Ecuador beat Poland 2-0 in the day's other Group A game. Despite thousands of Poland fans crossing the border to get to their team's game in Gelsenkirchen, there were no major security problems reported on the World Cup's first day...

BENTON, Mo. -- Bond was reduced Thursday for two Scott City men accused of beating another man. Trent Tancheck, 27, and David A. Turner, 21, originally had bonds set at $150,000 each for felony robbery, assault and tampering with a victim. During a court appearance before Circuit Judge David Dolan on Thursday, Tancheck's bond was lowered to $25,000 and Turner's to $100,000...

Project HOPE of Woodlawn Avenue in Cape Girardeau will soon be part of a new statewide database of career, social service and job training resources. The Internet database, to be called the SHARE Network, is funded by the federal Department of Labor...

More than a hundred Cape Girardeau residents visited the first-ever Senior Expo at Osage Community Centre Friday. Attendees could visit more than 20 booths dedicated to various aspects of senior life. Booths included medical supply companies, assisted living facilities, medical treatment centers, chiropractors and organizations that assist seniors...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

The municipal band tradition happily is alive and well in Jackson and Cape Girardeau. Both cities support thriving muny bands, legacies from the days when a city was as proud of its band as its sports teams. Hundreds of people in lawn chairs attend both bands' free concerts each week. As fireflies twinkle in the sky, marches, tunes from Broadway musicals and big-band music pour forth from the bandshells...

LONG POND, Pa. -- Denny Hamlin had never seen Pocono Raceway until he arrived at the triangle track Friday morning. The rookie proved to be a fast learner, turning a lap of 169.638 mph only hours later to take the pole for Sunday's Pocono 500. It was the first pole of the season for the No. 11 Ford...

NEW YORK -- The Kentucky Derby winner is recovering from a life-threatening injury at a hospital in Pennsylvania, and the Preakness winner will remain in his barn for today's 138th Belmont Stakes. Without Barbaro and Bernardini, the final leg of the Triple Crown will be anything but a "Test of the Champion."...

DETROIT -- A 16-year-old honor student from Michigan tricked her parents into getting her a passport and then flew off to the Mideast to be with a West Bank man she met on MySpace.com, authorities say. U.S. officials in Jordan persuaded her to turn around and go home before she reached the West Bank. She was on her way home Friday...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Operators of the nation's coal mines will spend up to $128 million to comply with the new federal mine safety legislation, with nearly half going to equip and train 260 new rescue teams, according to the Congressional Budget Office...

ATLANTA -- The long, steady decline in teen smoking in the United States since the late 1990s appears to have come to a standstill, health officials said Friday. A survey released this week showed that smoking among high school students held steady at around one in four teenagers between 2003 and 2005. Two other surveys in the past year or so found that teen smoking has apparently plateaued since 2002...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- H&R Block Inc. is no stranger to making controversial offers to get tax clients through its doors. The nation's largest tax preparer has spent tens of millions of dollars settling lawsuits claiming its refund-anticipation loans take advantage of low-income taxpayers by charging high fees...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- A soldier was killed exiting a helicopter during an emergency landing Friday near Fort Campbell, and four others were taken to a hospital, an Army spokeswoman said. Cathy Gramling, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell, said the UH60 Blackhawk helicopter made a "precautionary landing" at 10:30 a.m. CDT after a warning light came on in the cockpit...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Danny Bowman, 60, of Dongola died Thursday, June 8, 2006, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. He was born Feb. 20, 1946, in Cairo, Ill., son of Lee and Helen Derotha Poole Bowman. He and Virginia Riti were married July 24, 1965, in Granite City, Ill...

Charles Lynn Smith, 65, of Marceline, Mo., died Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Mo. He was born April 12, 1941, in Jackson, son of George and Nellie Schreiner Smith. He and the Rev. Nancy Jane Butler were married Oct. 11, 2003...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Ray Cavaness, 88, formerly of Jonesboro, died Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at Pinckneyville Healthcare Center. He was born May 19, 1918, in Jonesboro, son of Ed and Ester Penrod Cavaness. He and Lois Irene Bridges were married in 1941 in Jackson. She preceded him in death...

Elvis R. Koon, 77, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, June 8, 2006, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Sept. 21, 1928, in Grand Rivers, Ky., son of Elgie and Reba M. Collins Koon. He and Anna Jean Kyle were married Dec. 30, 1947, in Piggott, Ark. Koon moved to Cape Girardeau in August 1979 from Flat River, Mo. He was an auto service manager many years, retiring from Wieser Motor Co. He was a member of First Baptist Church...

Learning English; City signs; Pigskin religion; Lack of response; School nutrition; Wind spinning; Bold official; Top-heavy layer; Real Democrats; Less wear and tear; Unholy lesson; First, teach

John W. "Jack" Fuerth passed away Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Jack was born in Cape Girardeau July 3, 1923, the son of Ralph Thomas Fuerth and Fay Adell Ringer. He attended St. Mary's Grade School and High School. He also attended Southeast Missouri State University...

Geraldine Norma "Jerri" Starzinger Godwin Kassel, 79, of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, June 8, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Jan. 28, 1927, in Egypt Mills, daughter of the late Fred and Alma Steinhoff Starzinger. She and Lyman Godwin were married Sept. 2, 1950, at First Baptist Church in Jackson. He passed away May 22, 1963. On June 10, 1978, she and Lawrence Kassel were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Egypt Mills. He passed away March 3, 1996...

25 years ago: June 10, 1981 Expenditures which will amount to about $20,000 and which will cover both routine maintenance and the addition of classroom space at Jefferson School were approved by the Cape Girardeau Board of Education at its meeting last night; additional space for special programs has been needed at Jefferson for some time; the school was built in 1957...

Vacal Irene Henson, 95, died Thursday, June 8, 2006, at Capetown Assisted Living. She was born Sept. 28, 1910, in Hamilton County, Ill., daughter of Nimrod and Emma Jane Dailey Estes. She grew up on a farm near Bell City, Ill. On Nov. 13, 1932, she married her beloved John Arthur Henson in Centralia, Ill. He passed away April 3, 1985...

The Texas Stars won their debut in the 22nd annual Kelso Klassic men's fast-pitch softball tournament, beating co-host Kelso Fast-pitch 9-6 on Friday night in the opening round. Stars pitcher Billy Montana went the distance to record the win, striking out nine and allowing nine hits...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Reva M. Miller, 83, of Perryville died Thursday, June 8, 2006, at her home. She was born Dec. 28, 1922, at Silver Lake, Mo., daughter of Joseph W. and Eva V. Haney DeClue. She and Lloyd Miller were married April 13, 1938. He preceded her in death...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A drug bust in Perry County last week netted 15 marijuana plants and three arrests. Kathy L. Cavins, 45, Paul M. Cavins, 43, and Danielle L. Velders, 18, were arrested June 1 when Perry County officers searched the Cavins' home at 1944 N. ...

BARROW, Alaska -- Nearly 350 miles above the Arctic Circle, a traditional Eskimo feast to celebrate a successful whale hunt is in the making. On the table, chopped-up chunks of wild fowl are ready for the pot -- all except for a lovely king eider duck...

MADRID, Spain -- They rose up quickly to take up Osama bin Laden's call for jihad, ruthless men in their 20s and 30s heralded as the next generation of global terror. Two years later, 40 percent are dead, targets of a worldwide crackdown that claimed its biggest victory with the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida's front man in Iraq...

CAIRO, Egypt -- Al-Qaida's No. 2 praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a videotape broadcast Friday but did not mention his death in a U.S. airstrike, suggesting the tape was made earlier. Ayman al-Zawahri focused on political developments in the Palestinian territories, Sudan and Egypt in the tape broadcast by the Al-Jazeera network.The video is the sixth al-Zawahri has issued this year. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- It's now a little easier for Missourians to see how much their elected officials are receiving from lobbyists. A new search function on the Missouri Ethics Commission Web site allows lobbyists' monthly expense reports to be cross-referenced with the gift recipients -- be they individuals, small groups of lawmakers, official committees or the entire legislature...

Caleb Daughhetee had three hits and Jon Simpher pitched a complete-game shutout Friday to lead the Scott County American Legion team past Fulton, Ky., American Legion 3-0 in the first round of the wooden bat tournament in Charleston, Mo. Scott County (5-3) advances to today's 2:30 p.m. semifinal round game against the Charleston Senior Babe Ruth team...

Vijay Singh shot a 7-under 64 on Friday and shares the second-round lead of the Barclays Classic with David Howell. Singh, a two-time champion in the event, is winless in 21 starts since the Buick Open last July. The three-time major champion made a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth on the Westchester Country Club course in Harrison, N.Y....

The Plaza Tire Capahas managed to string back-to-back hits together just twice against the Waterloo (Ill.) Buds on Friday night at Capaha Field. The second of those occasions came with the Capahas down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Chris Gibson and Dustin Pritchett led off the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back triples to tie the game at 4-4, and Bryan Kurt brought home the win with a one-out sacrifice fly for a 5-4 victory...

ST. LOUIS -- Lucinda Santiago has fond childhood memories of the milkman dressed in his white uniform and white cap when he brought milk to her home. He talked to her as he put the glass milk bottles in the refrigerator. Santiago, 39, of University City, thought the amenity of home-delivered milk was lost to modern life. Then she learned that Oberweis Dairy delivered in the St. Louis area...

Today; Sunday; Thursday; Friday; Local churches holding vacation Bible schools; Local churches celebrate in Caruthersville; First Christian youth on a mission to South Dakota

Throughout Cape Girardeau, people are praying each time they hear an emergency siren. About 200 people from Centenary United Methodist Church have formed an emergency prayer system, pledging to pray each time they hear an ambulance, firetruck, police car siren or other form of emergency siren...

Wow! What an awesome mission we Christians possess. Matthew 5:14-16 states: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." He goes on to say "men do not light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all that are in the house. "...

WASHINGTON -- After Sunday dinner at Joe Rodgers' Rockville, Md., home, guests adjourn to the living room for church. In his makeshift chapel, wooden kitchen stools and a floral print couch act as pews, a portable keyboard substitutes for an organ and the host, an electronics technician by day, serves as pastor...

A frozen-over North Atlantic Ocean, glacier-filled valleys and a surreal stretch across Greenland's ice caps. Eating whale steak at an arctic outpost, being met by armed soldiers in Croatia and posing for pictures next to the Parthenon. And one scary moment at 16,000 feet...