Stories from Saturday, July 15, 2006

Ben Franklin has seen better days. Right now he's missing an arm, and his legs are in bad shape. But thanks to its creator, August Birk, the life-size Ben Franklin wood carving outside Cape Girardeau's Franklin Elementary is being replaced with a new one, something that Birk has been doing a lot over the approximately 20 years he's been making large carvings from tree trunks...

Concrete giant Buzzi Unicem USA, formerly Lone Star Industries, has petitioned to intervene and submit testimony in the upcoming case concerning AmerenUE's requested electric rate increase. Buzzi's plant at 2524 S. Sprigg St. is the largest consumer of electricity in Cape Girardeau, using up to 18,000 kilowatt-hours per month. Buzzi, an Italian-owned company, employs approximately 175 people locally and has one other Missouri plant in Festus...

Gov. Matt Blunt signed legislation Friday aimed at increasing access to affordable health insurance for employees of small businesses. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa, expands eligibility for association health plans by decreasing the mandatory number of members from 100 to 50. The Department of Insurance also would be allowed to exempt insurers that cover both small and large businesses from certain rate restrictions...

When Missouri's new booster-seat law takes effect next month, Jennifer Gray's 5-year-old daughter, Juliette, won't notice a difference in her ride. She already rides in a booster seat. Gray said her car's shoulder belt doesn't safely fit her daughter. "My biggest concern is the shoulder belt comes across the neck," the Cape Girardeau woman said...

NEW YORK -- Bruce Arena experienced unprecedented success as coach of the United States men's soccer team, including 71 victories during his eight-year tenure and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2002 World Cup. Now, three weeks after the Americans' disappointing first-round exit from the World Cup in Germany, Arena is out despite an apparent wish to return to the team...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech named offensive coordinator Doug Malone as interim head football coach on Friday, after head coach Mike Hennigan rescinded his resignation from earlier in the week in favor of medical leave. Hennigan, 54, had submitted his resignation to athletic officials last Thursday, citing health issues. But on Friday the university announced that Hennigan would instead take a medical leave of absence...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Mark Mulder missed his 20th game with a shoulder injury on Friday night and the team doesn't expect him back for perhaps another month. "I'd be very happy if he was pitching then," trainer Barry Weinberg said. "So far, he's progressing."...

ST. LOUIS -- The National League's best offense had no luck against Chris Carpenter. The St. Louis Cardinals' right-hander had stuff reminiscent of his 2005 Cy Young season. "It could have been any team," Carpenter said after throwing a two-hitter in a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. "If I make good pitches like I did against anybody, I'm going to get outs...

The teen was treated for heat exhaustion after nine holes. Missing yet another PGA Tour cut was the least of Michelle Wie's worries. The 16-year-old phenom was treated for heat exhaustion at a local hospital after withdrawing from the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., with nine holes left Friday. She struggled to keep herself from getting sick on a hot, steamy afternoon, and left in an ambulance...

LOUDON, N.H. -- Ryan Newman won the pole Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. No kidding. Newman winning NASCAR Nextel Cup poles used to be such a regular occurrence that it was surprising when he didn't get the job done in qualifying. He came into the 2006 season with 35 poles in his first five seasons -- far more than any other Cup driver during the same period. But NASCAR's "Rocketman" has fizzled most of this season, winning just one pole in the first 18 races...

WASHINGTON -- Former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, said Friday they decided to sue Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential adviser Karl Rove because they engaged in a "whispering campaign" to destroy her career...

BENTON, Mo. -- A Scott City man was sentenced to 120 days in jail for felony sexual assault. James A. Edger, 20, pleaded guilty to the charge in May and was sentenced Thursday by Judge David Dolan to seven years in prison, with 120 days of shock incarceration. At the end of the 120 days, Edger may be released from prison at Dolan's discretion. Edger was accused of a series of incidents between mid-2005 and October...

Two Cape Girardeau police officers were recognized this week for their work in law enforcement. Lt. Jack Wimp and Cpl. Kevin Eudy received the awards Wednesday during the Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Advisory Council annual state conference, according to a news release from the Cape Girardeau Police Department...

An Illinois State Police trooper was recognized recently for saving the life of a woman who overdosed on cocaine last year. Trooper Charles E. Bonifield Jr., of state police District 22, received the department's life saving medal for the March 6, 2005, incident...

Class B animal dealer C.C. Baird along with wife, Patsy, of Williford, Ark., were sentenced to probation and ordered to pay fines in federal court Friday for conspiracy to launder money. C.C. Baird was featured in the HBO documentary "Dealing Dogs," which first aired in February. ...

ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri congressman says the state should drop its plan to build a toll bridge across the Mississippi River and instead go with Illinois' less expensive plan that would let commuters cross for free. Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., whose district includes St. Louis, on Thursday became the first Missouri congressman to take a public stand on the bridge issue...

ST. LOUIS -- College Democrats of America will hold their annual convention in St. Louis next week, featuring speeches by party Chairman Howard Dean and retired general Wesley Clark. The event will be held on the campus of Saint Louis University. Dean will speak Thursday night and Clark will address the convention on July 21...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- One hundred injured birds -- many of them hawks, owls and even bald eagles -- were brought last year to the Raptor Rehabilitation Project at the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine. More than half of them were euthanized because they were too sick or injured to be returned to the wild...

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Hezbollah rammed an Israeli warship with an unmanned aircraft rigged with explosives Friday, setting it ablaze after Israeli warplanes smashed Lebanon's links to the world one by one and destroyed the headquarters of the Islamic guerrilla group's leader...

Baseball...

MCCLURE, Ill. -- Born Oct. 30, 1935, at the Colyer home in McClure, he was a son and youngest child of John and Lena Mainer Colyer. He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, John Lee Colyer; four sisters, Margarie Colyer, Lawana Burchyett, Mary C. Abercrombie, and Eugenia Hale...

25 years ago: July 15, 1981 During its study session last night, the Cape Girardeau City Council was presented a proposed lease agreement between the city and the local museum board, which would convert the old Cape Girardeau Fire Department headquarters at Frederick and Independence streets into a museum; the museum has been without a home since last summer, when it closed its doors at a Water Street location...

Heavy rain forced the postponement of Friday's scheduled opening two games in the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional at Capaha Field. Plaza Tire Capahas manager Jess Bolen, whose squad is hosting the three-team, double-elimination event, said the hope is to get three games in today and then finish Sunday...

"But I am like an olive tree growing in God's temple. I trust God's love forever and ever." Psalms 52:8 How can anyone doubt the goodness of God on a summer day? Smell the musky scent of greening corn as bumblebees buzz around the hosta stalks and orange lilies sway in a summer breeze. Pairs of purple martins twitter as they go about their housekeeping chores while others create diamond splashes on the lake, skimming low for a mosquito feast...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

The Red Cross has described the region's current supply of blood as "critically low." The long Fourth of July holiday weekend and the cancellation of blood drives on the East Coast due to flooding have contributed to the shortage, according to the Red Cross...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Lola M. Adcock, 79, of Sikeston died Friday, July 14, 2006, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born June 30, 1927, in Sikeston, daughter of Otto and Bertha Wagoner Rettig. She and William Adcock were married Sept. 4, 1944. Adcock had been supervisor of the alterations department for Famous-Barr in Collinsville, Ill., and Cape Girardeau. She was a member of Illinois Avenue General Baptist Church...

Mitchell E. Pitcock, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, July 13, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born June 12, 1938, in Tompkinsville, Ky., son of Boyd Thomas and Madie Sewell Pitcock. Pitcock was a line technician for Cummins Diesel Engines...

For various reasons, Matt Wulfers rarely got off the bench at the University of Missouri the past two years. The former Notre Dame High School standout hopes to revive his college baseball career in his hometown. Wulfers is transferring to Southeast Missouri State, where he will be a sophomore in eligibility and will join the program in the 2007 season...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Merlin A. "Mert" Kline, 61, of Perryville died Thursday, July 13, 2006, at his home. He was born Sept. 19, 1944, in Perry County, son of Henry J. and Mary Mattingly Kline. He and Wilma Lawrence were married May 6, 1967, at Perryville...

Thanks, Marc; Don't need money; Paying for a boost; Voting records; Teachers fund; Fertility clinics; Free day care?; Sounds like a bribe; Flamingoes, gnomes; Good stop sign; Freedom for all

To the editor: Regarding Dr. Michael Wulfer's comments opposing the Missouri Stem Cell Initiative: More than 40 Nobel laureates disagree with his position, not to mention the vast majority of medical researchers. I ask that Missourians please take the time to think about this. ...

To the editor: The announcement that Charter Communications will soon offer telephone service in Cape Girardeau and other communities is another example of how competition and technology are changing the ways we communicate. This opportunity for competition in the telephone industry would not have been possible without good public policy adopted on the national level...

The Cape Girardeau 12-year-old all-star team split a pair of games Friday at the Cal Ripken state tournament held in Kennett. Cape lost to host Kennett 8-0 in its opener Friday, but bounced back for a 5-2 win over Caseville after going into the loser's bracket. Cape beat Sikeston on Thursday in its opener...

Fund-raiser concert at New McKendree; Red Star to hold VBS July 23 through 28; APeX performs at Immaculate Conception; Sunday; Monday; Friday

The Cape Central boys basketball team won the Class 4 state championship over Hickman Mills in the 1979-1980 season under head coach Dan Milligan. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

ST. LOUIS -- The state's proposed procedures for executing condemned prisoners would use various medical personnel, but not a board-certified anesthesiologist as required by a federal judge because, Missouri says, it can't find one. Court documents filed late Friday by State Attorney General Jay Nixon said substituting medical personnel for a board-certified anesthesiologist in state executions is "reasonable under the circumstances."...

Claire McCaskill, state auditor and candidate for U.S. Senate, will deliver a national radio address Saturday at 10:07 a.m. McCaskill's speech will serve as the Democratic response to President George Bush's national radio address on stem-cell research...

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service cost the government $200 million to $300 million this year because a computer program that screens tax returns for fraudulent refunds wasn't operating. The tax agency said Friday that a contractor promised to deliver by January a new version of a program, used since 1996, that searches for signs of fraud in every tax return claiming a refund. ...

NEW YORK -- A wall that suspects in a terrorist plot hoped to destroy to unleash a catastrophic flood in lower Manhattan was quietly put under 24-hour protection in recent weeks once details of the plot began to emerge, two law enforcement officials said...

PHOENIX -- People aren't going out alone at night anymore. Co-workers are walking to their cars in pairs in the evenings. Parents aren't letting their children out of their sight. Fear and paranoia have gripped this sprawling city amid reports that not one, but two serial killers have been striking separately in recent months, killing as many as 11 people at random on the darkened streets...

LONDON -- An Italian magazine's decision to print a photo of a dying Princess Diana set off anger Friday in Britain, with tabloid newspapers leading the protests against the image and her sons expressing sadness. ...

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball program is in the market for an assistant coach again. The university had closed the process with the expected return of Katrina Colwell, who was on the staff last season when Southeast finished 22-9, won its first Ohio Valley Conference tournament title and gained its first NCAA Division I tournament berth...

CARCASSONNE, France -- American Floyd Landis retained the yellow jersey as the Tour de France's overall leader Friday, finishing well behind stage 12 winner Yaroslav Popovych. Landis' lead over second-place Cyril Dessel remained at 8 seconds. Russian Denis Menchov is third overall, 61 seconds off the lead...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds' legal team is preparing for the Giants slugger to be indicted as soon as next week and has begun plotting his defense. Attorney Laura Enos told The Associated Press on Friday that Bonds, second on the career home run list, could be charged with tax evasion and perjury. Enos, Bonds' personal attorney, also said the lawyers believe the grand jury investigating the star player will expire next Thursday...

BOMBAY, India -- India's prime minister said Friday the Bombay train bombers were "supported by elements across the border" and that Pakistan must rein in terrorists before a peace process can move ahead. The comments by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared to signal a reverse in warming India-Pakistan relations, and came as Indian authorities named a third suspect in Tuesday's attack and investigators cast a wide net in their hunt for assailants, scrutinizing a cross-border Islamic militant network along with smaller homegrown groups.. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- City officials hope a new ordinance requiring prepayment at gas stations will reduce drive-offs -- and drive down police costs. "It's a 100 percent preventable crime, and we're spending a lot of public resources" to combat it, said Councilwoman Deb Hermann, who sponsored the ordinance...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somalia's nearly powerless government said Friday it would boycott peace talks with an Islamic militia that has seized control of most of the country's south, noting the group wanted to topple the leadership and had massacred civilians...

ST. LOUIS -- Nearly a thousand mourners packed an inner-city church Friday to remember four siblings, who, along with a fifth child, drowned during a church picnic on the Meramec River in eastern Missouri as they tried to save a friend. Some schoolmates wailed their grief as they passed four coffins holding Damon Johnson, 17; Ryan Mason, 14; Dana Johnson, 13; and Bryant Barnes Jr., 10...

RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Militants forced open a border gate between Egypt and Gaza on Friday, wounding an Egyptian officer and letting hundreds of Palestinians who had been trapped on the Egyptian side of the border to get into Gaza. Armed militants stood by as people carrying suitcases crossed into Gaza. Some walked through on crutches while others walked or ran through the gate...

Here are a couple of insightful excerpts regarding recent trends in the U.S. financial situation that will help you understand the impact of government tax policy. The Big Bang story of U.S. private business: Did you know that just over the past 11 quarters, dating back to the June 2003 Bush tax cuts, America has increased the size of its entire economy by 20 percent? In less than three years, the U.S. ...

Playing for a small school like Advance, Trenton Moses' all-conference and all-state honors may not have carried much weight with his new teammates heading into this summer. He had been selected to the Class 1 all-state team after his junior season, when he hit better than .500. But making the jump to the Scott County American Legion team -- after playing Senior Babe Ruth baseball last year -- presented a new challenge...

Through a nationally active Southern Baptist group known as Acteens, sponsored locally by the First Baptist Church in Jackson, teenage girls are learning about involvement in missions on an everyday level. Women church leaders at First Baptist responded to what they saw as a need to help lead young women, said Avis Bollinger, whose daughter, Sierra, is active in Acteens. Bollinger leads a younger group called Girls in Action...