Stories from Saturday, June 24, 2006

The Missouri attorney general's office or the Scott County prosecuting attorney could investigate whether to go to court to disqualify a Scott County farmer from serving on a local school board for apparently not meeting the state residency requirement...

Attorney General Jay Nixon retains the authority to file criminal charges against AmerenUE for the December collapse of a mountaintop reservoir despite being dismissed from his role as attorney for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. In an interview with the Southeast Missourian, DNR director Doyle Childers said that "heavy hammer" leaves Nixon a large role in determining the outcome of negotiations with the utility...

Drivers know they're paying at the pump, but they might be surprised to know they're also paying where the rubber hits the road. That's because the cost of asphalt -- the most common substance used for surfacing roads -- has recently spiked. The key ingredient in asphalt is petroleum, so as the price of crude oil goes up, the cost of roadwork follows...

Unlike the names of Teddy Roosevelt, George Washington Carver and even John James Audubon, it's probable that most students today haven't heard of Fred Harvey or his Harvey Girls. Oran, Mo., siblings Christina and John Fox, 17 and 14, and their 14-year-old Cape Girardeau cousin, Peter Ansberry, hadn't before Chautauqua came to the area...

Wall Street Journal The Pentagon Wednesday announced the names of seven Marines and a Navy corpsman charged with the April 26 kidnapping and murder of a 52-year-old Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania. The accusations are grave and, if proved, will almost certainly lead to severe sentences. We suspect no parallel process is taking place among Iraqi insurgents for the weekend murders near Yusufiya of U.S. soldiers Thomas L. Tucker and Kristian Menchaca...

HAMBURG, Germany -- The United States is going to have to find a new "Captain America." Claudio Reyna bid farewell to the U.S. national team on Friday, retiring from international competition after a dozen years in which he helped boost soccer to prominence in America...

HOMER GLEN, Ill. -- Dan Tully directs visitors to his Homer Glen home with some simple instructions; it's the one with three tractors on the front lawn. The retired Lockport cop collects everything from farm implements to the belt buckles he digs up on his frequent metal-detector forays...

SEOUL, South Korea -- The United States and Japan agreed Friday to strengthen cooperation on missile defense amid concerns of a possible long-range rocket launch by North Korea. The accord came as U.S. forces ended five days of Pacific war games -- the largest in the region since the Vietnam War. The exercise brought together three aircraft carriers along with 22,000 troops and 280 warplanes off the island of Guam...

MIAMI -- Seven men accused of trying to blow up the Sears Tower with help from al-Qaida never actually made contact with the terrorist network and were instead caught in an FBI sting involving an informant who posed as an al-Qaida operative, authorities said Friday...

AUSTIN, Texas -- As the daughter and granddaughter of Presbyterian preachers, Laura Elly Hudson knew plenty about the ministry growing up -- mostly that she didn't want any part of it. The low pay was one reason. And the long hours. Not to mention she was terrified of having to answer the most vexing spiritual questions at the toughest times in people's lives...

25 years ago: June 24,1981 The budget ax that came slashing out of the governor's office this week is chopping at Southeast Missouri State University's payroll; Dr. Bill W. Stacy, president of the university, says there will be a number of layoffs and dismissals of the school's faculty and staff; university administrators are continuing meetings which began yesterday in an attempt to find $2.2 million in planned expenditures that can be eliminated from the school's operating budget for Fiscal Year 1982.. ...

John William Webb, 82, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, June 23, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born Aug. 2, 1923, in Jackson, son of Charles and Grace Howard Webb. He and Mary Marie Van Matre were married Jan. 18, 1946, in Jackson. Webb served in the Army during World War ll...

Student perspective; Good about Bush; Doctor shopping; Ugly disease; Mercury is poison; Redraw boundaries; Go Cards; Defending the PD; Sex goddess; Concerned citizen; Not overpaid

Michele Jett of Southeast Missouri State has been named to the second team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America track and field team. Jett, who recently completed her eligibility at Southeast, was the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference indoor and outdoor pole vault champion. She also won OVC indoor and outdoor pole vault titles in 2004 and was an NCAA regional qualifier in both 2004 and 2006...

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Methodist! Looks like this will be the summer of blockheadbusters -- movies that entertain as they incite sectarian conflict. First came "The Da Vinci Code," the movie based on the novel based on one writer's belief that truth is less profitable than fiction...

The Missouri School Boards Association and the Scott County Central School District appear to have little concern over whether Scott County Central School Board member Eric Kesler actually lives within the boundaries of the school district. The school district superintendent, Joby Holland, says the issue of whether Kesler's house lies within the district lines arose before Kesler's election to the board in April. ...

Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Katherine R. Monterusso Schumer, 90, of Perryville died Thursday, June 22, 2006, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Feb. 13, 1916, in St. Louis, daughter of Paul and Bridget E. Macken Schliemann. She and Anthony Monterusso were married Oct. 3, 1932. He died Oct. 5, 1975. She and Ivo Schumer were married Oct. 7, 1978. He died Feb. 20, 1997...

Don J. Brooks Sr., 76, of Jackson died Thursday, June 22, 2006, at his home. He was born June 7, 1930, in Cape Girardeau, son of Leo and Mary Whitaker Brooks. He and Mary C. Allison were married Dec. 30, 1950. She died Sept. 28, 1979. He married Patty Hawkins June 6, 1981...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Jesse Harold Hale, 76, of Marble Hill died Thursday, June 22, 2006, at Marble Hill. He was born April 15, 1930, at Mayfield, Mo., son of Cleveland E. and Ida Mae Hanners Hale. He married Wilma Elizabeth Fulbright, who died Feb. 26, 1987...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Sandow Myers, 79, of Cairo died Friday, June 23, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 10, 1926, in Cairo, son of Barney F. and LaVona Blackburn Myers. Myers was a retired buyer for Elias True Value in Cairo. He was a member of the Church of the Redeemer Episcopal Church, where he served as bishops warden and was active with altar duty. He was a member of Cairo Chamber of Commerce and Cairo Retail Merchants Association...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Bobby L. "Fibber" McGee, 70, of Perryville died Thursday, June 22, 2006, at Perry Oaks Manor. He was born April 30, 1936, in Clay, Kan., son of William and Velda Dallen McGee. He and Connie M. Lint were married May 9, 1991, at Perryville...

Thomas Hopper, 77, of Scott City died Friday, June 23, 2006, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

The Scott County American Legion baseball team handed the host squad its first loss of the season Friday during the Paducah, Ky., tournament. Scott County scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to stun Paducah 6-5. Scott County, which had lost its tournament opener 9-3 to Ballwin, Mo., on Thursday, will end pool play today with an 11 a.m. game against Harrisburg, Ill...

Nettie Fisher, 96, of Scott City died Friday, June 23, 2006, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

Dunham; Hoffman; Hansen; Munroe; Hedge; Allred

Sailors' personal data found on Internet; Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta resigns; NRC grants license to N.M. uranium plant

Jack McDonough, who was an owner of McDonough Motors Inc., Buyers Choice Auto Sales Inc. and Buyers Choice Finance Co. Inc., has pleaded guilty to bank fraud in federal court. McDonough, 61, of Cape Girardeau pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud Friday before U.S. District Judge Charles A. Shaw. Sentencing has been set for Sept. 12. McDonough faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine...

BENTON, Mo. -- One of three men accused of beating up a Scott City man was released from custody Friday. Kelly Church, of Chaffee, Mo., was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and tampering with a witness in the March 4 attack. He had been held in lieu of a $150,000 bond, but during an appearance in Scott County Court before Circuit Judge David Dolan, Church was released on personal recognizance...

MIAMI -- Shaquille O'Neal had the microphone, which meant the public address announcer had little chance of getting a word in edgewise. This was Shaq's moment, the one he promised two years ago. He rapped. He led cheers. He chanted "one more year" to Alonzo Mourning, who'll contemplate retirement. And he wasn't done, either...

OMAHA, Neb. -- North Carolina is known more for its basketball tradition, while Oregon State has made its mark on the football field. Playing for a national title in baseball? That's something entirely new for both schools. "I think it's neat that these two programs are here, and it speaks to where college baseball is going," Tar Heels coach Mike Fox said Friday, a day before his team was scheduled to take on the Beavers in the best-of-three championship round of the College World Series...

ST. LOUIS -- Barring a trade or some other unexpected development, St. Louis Blues general manager Larry Pleau said the team will take 18-year-old defenseman Erik Johnson with the first overall pick in today's NHL entry draft in Vancouver. "As we sit right now, it sure looks like the defenseman," Pleau said of Johnson, a Bloomington, Minn., native, who played for the U.S. ...

DETROIT -- Jim Leyland doesn't expect his Detroit Tigers to be able to stop Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen. He just hopes that they can continue to limit the damage done by the Cardinals' pair of All-Stars. Pujols and Rolen combined for seven hits, but only one RBI, and the Tigers went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-6 on Friday night...

Ben Curtis made a 5-foot birdie putt Friday on his final hole, giving him a one-stroke edge over Jose Coceres at the midway point of the Booz Allen Classic. Curtis followed his first-round 62 with a 65 at the TPC at Avenel in Potomac, Md., putting him at 15-under-par and setting a tournament record for best score after 36 holes. The 2003 British Open champion saved par from greenside traps on back-to-back holes before his final birdie...

Spain and Ukraine did exactly as expected Friday, each winning its match to eliminate Saudi Arabia and Tunisia from the World Cup. France also won and advanced to the second round, beating Togo 2-0 to win for its first time in six World Cup matches. Switzerland won Group G by beating South Korea 2-0...

WASHINGTON -- An unheralded Belgian company that handles much of the world's financial message traffic is suddenly getting a lot of attention. Known by its acronym, Swift, the financial-industry owned cooperative has for nearly five years been making its immense international data base available to help the Bush administration track down terrorists...

PATTON, Mo. --The death of a 78-year-old man found at the scene of an auto accident in Bollinger County was likely not the result of the crash. Jesse Hale, 78, of Marble, Hill, Mo., was driving a 2001 Saturn on County Road 376 just east of Patton when it ran into a ditch and overturned around 4 p.m. Thursday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol stated...

Cape Girardeau...

Marilyn Nussbaum has been a driver for the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority for 10 years, but the simulated streets and fabricated conditions were so real to her Friday, she had to get out. "I got a little dizzy," said Nussbaum of Tilsit. "It looked pretty real."...

BENTON, Mo. -- A 10-year prison sentence was handed down Friday for a "career criminal" who admitted to robbing a Scott County gas station. Robert L. Bom, 44, of Benton, pleaded guilty Friday to the amended charge of class B felony first-degree robbery. He admitted to stealing at least $330 from Express Fuel, on Highway 77 in Scott County near Benton...

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's missile defense chief predicted on Friday that interceptor rockets would hit and destroy a North Korean missile in flight if President Bush gave the order to attack it on a path to U.S. territory. Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. ...

SYDNEY, Australia -- Nicole Kidman returned to her native Australia this week to marry country star Keith Urban. Despite trying to keep the wedding low-key, her every move has been followed by a pack of photographers, TV crews and fans. The fine points of the ceremony -- expected Sunday night -- remain secret. ...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- One of America's closest allies says the war on terrorism fails to address its root causes. Experts agreed with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, saying Friday the major military offensive against the Taliban will not fix Afghanistan's larger crises -- a lack of reconstruction and jobs, a booming drug trade, and a weak government...

At least three Christian denominations recently have gone on record acknowledging the government's position on national security and labor concerns. At the same time they also affirmed the need for Christians to look upon the illegal immigrants not as statistics but as people who need help and compassion...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's government clamped a state of emergency on Baghdad and ordered everyone off the streets Friday after U.S. and Iraqi forces battled insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and rifles near the heavily fortified Green Zone...

I watched a chicken break its shell the other day. I heard the steady pecking and witnessed the gradual cracking of the hard surface. A tiny head peeked out. The infant bird feebly -- then excitedly -- attempted to lift its head and see the its new world. It experienced such difficulty, and I realized that was only a beginning...

The Plaza Tire Capahas continued their 2006 domination of the Riverdogs Friday night. But this time the Riverdogs put up quite a battle. The Capahas posted their fourth and fifth wins over the Riverdogs in the past two weeks with a 1-0, 5-1 doubleheader sweep at Capaha Field. Both games were seven innings...

Southeast Missouri State basketball coach Scott Edgar spoke at the Coaches' Caravan at the Perry Park Center in Perryville, Mo., on Friday. Edgar, as well as baseball coach Mark Hogan and football coach Tony Samuel, took questions and discussed the upcoming...