Stories from Sunday, January 7, 2007

IRONTON, Mo. -- An Ironton man may be the one who holds a Missouri Lotto ticket worth $3.7 million. Someone purchased the winning ticket at the Jackson BP gas station before the Dec. 23 Lotto drawing. Justin Holder, a manager at the Town and Country supermarket in Ironton, said Saturday a local man came in the store Wednesday to check the numbers on the ticket, and it was in fact the winning ticket. Holder did not have the man's name but said he was a resident of Ironton...

Chaffee hasn't had a female mayor since the 1970s, when Sally Wehmeyer held the town's top elected post. After the April election, Chaffee could have a female mayor again. Two of the four candidates who have filed to run for mayor in Chaffee are women -- Hope Huey and Loretta Mohorc...

McCLURE, Ill. -- A stabbing and shooting incident at the Hush Puppy Saloon in McClure in the early hours of New Year's Eve didn't deter customers from returning to the popular nightclub, said owner Jamie Thompson. Thompson cited the unusual circumstances surrounding the incident and the club's visible security as the reasons people weren't afraid to return...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Joe and Cindy Cobb of Chaffee announce the engagement of their daughter, Mary Ann Cobb, to Jason D. Keller. He is the son of Larry and Deanna Keller of Jackson. Cobb is a 2000 graduate of Oran High School in Oran, Mo. She is pursuing a bachelor's degree in education at Southeast Missouri State University. She is office manager at D&L Pest Control in Cape Girardeau...

An early-morning blaze turns a Cape Girardeau business into what Fire Chief Charles Mills terms "a ball of fire," leaving two men injured and a substantial portion of the facility destroyed; origin of the fire at Mid-South Steel Products Co., 1500 Riverview Dr., has not been determined...

Lacie Rae Wyatt and James David Griffaw were married July 15, 2006, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso, Mo. The Rev. Oliver Clavin performed the ceremony. Music was by Hope Essner and Renee Reinagel of Kelso. The bride is the daughter of John and Karla Wyatt of Scott City. The groom is the son of Roy and Debbie Griffaw of Jackson and Pam and John Myers of Cape Girardeau...

Alexis Brittany Nussbaum and Robert Michael Arnzen were married June 17, 2006, at Zion Lutheran Church. The Rev. Wayne Schwiesow performed the ceremony. Organist was Pat Palisch and flutist was Jacqueline Heath, both of Jackson. The bride is the daughter of Truman "T.L." and Lisa Nussbaum of Whitewater. The groom is the son of Robert and Terry Arnzen of Leopold, Mo...

Holly Black and Robert Phillips exchanged vows Oct. 7, 2006, at Cape Bible Chapel in Cape Girardeau. The ceremony was performed by the fathers of the couple. Musicians were Ralph and Judy Sharp and Debbie Young, all of Jackson; Jay Moore, David Stagner and Kevin Alexander, all of Cape Girardeau. Soloists were Wendy Petzoldt and Debbie Leoni of Jackson, and Penny McCord of Lawrenceville, Ga., sister of the groom...

Andrea Lynn Benton and Jeffrey Allen Lawrence were united in marriage Oct. 14, 2006, at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville, Tenn. Ralph Griggs performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Timothy and Joy Benton of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Terry and Michelle Lawrence of Brentwood, Tenn...

Stefanie Renee Seavey and Jonathan Winn Martin were united in marriage Nov. 4, 2006, at Memorial Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Mo. Ken Lumley performed the ceremony. Recorded music was played. Parents of the couple are Mr. and Mrs. Tom Seavey of Olathe, Kan., and Dr. and Mrs. Richard Martin of Cape Girardeau...

STURDIVANT, Mo. -- Amy Ikerman and Michael Nilsen were married Dec. 5, 2006, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Ambrose Hind performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Terri Hubbert of Sturdivant and Larry Ikerman of Chaffee, Mo. The groom is the son of Gerald and Judith Nilsen of Sturdivant...

For the past three years, Americans have followed the lives of five women on the ABC television show "Desperate Housewives." The show's drama and mystery unfold in a suburban neighborhood along the fictitious Wisteria Lane. We decided to take a look at the neighbors who live on Cape Girardeau's Wisteria Drive -- to find out if there's any mystery and drama in this suburban neighborhood...

To the editor:Once again Chad Craft's creative imagination has the better of his common sense. The significance of the two Senate independents agreeing to caucus with the Democrats and provide that party control of the Senate seems to have escaped him. The Democratic position clearly reflects the majority view (51-49) in that body...

To the editor:In response to the story "Crowell seeks Bill of Rights change": The Missouri Legislature needs to be extremely cautious about state Sen. Jason Crowell's proposal to change the Missouri Constitution so that sex offenders convicted before January 1995 would have to register. While well-intentioned, the measure could have dramatic consequences that need to be carefully evaluated...

When Cape Girardeau officials recently announced that their interpretation of last year's overwhelming approval of Missouri's minimum wage meant city workers making less than $6.50 an hour wouldn't be getting any increase in pay, the public responded quickly...

The issue of the city's interpretation of whether it falls under Missouri's new minimum-wage law is one thing. The law itself is another. In short, it is a bad law, not because it raises the pay of some hourly workers, but because of provisions in the law that automatically increase the state's minimum wage based on annual cost-of-living reviews...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Two forces kept Cheryl Mouser of Marble Hill from undergoing a double root canal before Christmas. The first: The 21-year-old Medicaid patient lives in a rural area with little dental care. The second: For the last two years Medicaid in Missouri has not covered dental care for most adult patients...

Southeast Missourian Police were looking Saturday night for a man who robbed a Cape Girardeau Dollar General Store. Cape Girardeau police responded to a call of an armed robbery at 8:15 p.m. at the Dollar General at 64 N. Plaza Way. Police say a man used a handgun to intimidate two female employees and force them into the rear of the store, where he bound them. The suspect then left with an undetermined amount of money...

NEW ORLEANS -- Michigan State horticulture professor Art Cameron couldn't believe what he saw when he visited New Orleans last summer. He was shocked to find much of the city still in ruins a year after Hurricane Katrina and he wanted to help. He and Tom Fernandez, an associate professor of horticulture and faculty adviser for the Michigan State Horticulture Club, organized and raised funds for 46 people from the school to travel to New Orleans during the school's winter break to help clean up City Park.. ...

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- An aviary has opened at Coral World Ocean Park in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The new attraction is called Lorikeet Garden. It's a 1,600-square-foot walkthrough aviary with 20 birds, including 17 brilliantly colored lorikeet parrots. Guests may buy a cup of nectar to feed the birds, which are known for being people-friendly...

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. -- January is a slow month in many national recreation areas, but it's a great time to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during its annual Wilderness Wildlife Week, scheduled for Jan. 13-21. The event is sponsored by the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, and includes an array of nature photography classes, wildlife seminars, cultural history programs, hikes, excursions, children's programs and musical events...

Arrests

n At 6:36 p.m., emergency medical service in the unit block of Pindwood Lane. n At 8:14 p.m., emergency medical service in the 3200 block of William Street. n At 8:40 p.m., a still alarm at South Sprigg Street and Highway 74. n At 9:11 p.m., emergency medical service in the 200 block of South Hanover Street...

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- Riots erupted in a maximum-security prison in western El Salvador, leaving at least 20 inmates dead, officials said Saturday. The first wave of rioting was sparked late Friday at the prison in Apanteos, 40 miles west of San Salvador, when a jailed gang member got into an argument with a guard as inmates were going into their cells to go to sleep, authorities said...

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Federal and state police manned checkpoints within city limits as local police suspended their patrols because soldiers sent to crack down on drug gangs and corruption seized most of their guns on suspicion they aided traffickers...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Ethel Honey, 81, of Tamms died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 10, 1925, daughter of Harley and Pansy McKee McCrite. She and Gerald Honey were married March 26, 1949. He died Jan. 20, 1999...

COMMERCE, Mo. -- Clyde E. Reed, 94, of Commerce died Friday, Jan. 5, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

Margaret "Margie" Seyer, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007, at her home. She was born Feb. 25, 1925, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Ray and Clara Glaus Stehr. She and Marcus "Pickle" Seyer were married Sept. 30, 1947, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Cape Girardeau. He died Sept. 3, 2004...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Mully E. Strong, 77, of Marble Hill died Friday, Jan. 5, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 23, 1929, in Scopus, Mo., son of Louie and Annie Elizabeth Sutherland Strong. He and Ernestine Douglas were united in marriage Jan. 10, 1953, in Piggott, Ark...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Snowzilla may be a smash hit with shutterbugs, but the towering snowman has detractors closer to home. Some neighbors of the two-story snowman say they're fed up with the hordes of gawkers clogging their street. "When you get 20 people out there in their cars, now the whole street comes to a stop and nobody can get through," said Anthony Bahler, who can see Snowzilla from his front window. "They just stand out there, in the middle of road, talking about a snowman."...

9 a.m. Monday County Administration Building 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n December Archive Center report. n Letter from Missouri Department of Transportation regarding signs for unincorporated town of Millersville. n Nordenia USA verification to auditors regarding notes payable...

7:30 p.m. Monday Jackson City Hall 101 Court St. Jackson Action Items Power and light committee n Consider changing the Board of Aldermen regular meeting from Feb. 19 to Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in observance of the President's Day holiday. n Consider confirming the extension of the contractual agreement with the Cape Girardeau Area Magnet for a period of one year, ending Dec. 31...

GIDEON, Mo. -- Charles "Chuck" Wayne White, 67, of Gideon died Friday, Jan. 5, 2007, at his home. He was born on Feb. 17, 1939, at Fredericktown, Mo., son of the late Charles and Cecelia Harris White. White served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War...

WAUSAU, Wis. -- Who is that mysterious, elegant man? And why is he sitting on a dead horse? Such are some of the questions sparked by a black-and-white photograph taken in Sheboygan, Wis., between 1876 and 1884 that has led to nationwide curiosity, speculation and jokes...

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. City Wide Celebration Committee has a slate of events planned for Jan. 11 to 15 to celebrate King's memory. The first event, the fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Extravaganza will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Osage Community Centre. Area performers will provide musical and oratorical tributes to King on his 78th birthday...

WASHINGTON -- In this new era of divided government, the congressional hearing room is where the executive and legislative branches will clash. Over the next few weeks, Senate Democrats plan to hold at least 11 hearings just on Iraq. In the House, one of the Democrats' most dogged investigators is waiting to spring his committee on a different mission -- suspected government fraud...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. criminal investigators found no evidence to support the claim of Marines charged in the deaths of unarmed Iraqi civilians that five were shot after trying to flee the scene of a roadside bombing that killed one Marine, a senior defense official said Saturday...

ST. LOUIS -- Priscilla Garrett, 50 years old and blind since birth, has had her handicap parking place restored and received an apology from the mayor for the treatment she received from city hall. Garrett relies on relatives to drive her to work at the downtown courthouse, where she is a clerk, and to appointments and errands. Having a reserved parking space on the street in front of her home lets her walk a short, familiar route to a waiting car without crossing the street...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- City officials have no plans to plug an expanding sinkhole near a Sequiota Cave outside of Springfield -- at least for now. "From the park's point of view, we want to see its impact on Sequiota Cave and figure out what's best for the community," said Bob Belote, assistant director of the Springfield-Greene County parks system. "We'll want to observe it for a while and maybe see what else we've got out there."...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- In the opening battle of a major drive to tame the violent capital, the Iraqi army reported it killed 30 militants Saturday in a firefight in a Sunni insurgent stronghold just north of the heavily fortified Green Zone. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, speaking only hours earlier at a ceremony marking the 85th anniversary of the Iraqi army, announced his intention for the open-ended attempt to crush the militant fighters who have left Baghdad in the grip of sectarian violence...

CHICAGO -- A man has been charged with trying to extort $1.5 million from Oprah Winfrey by threatening to release recorded telephone conversations he claimed would hurt her reputation, according to the FBI and published reports. Keifer Bonvillain, 36, targeted a person identified only as "a public figure and the owner of a Chicago-based company," according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. ...

NEW ORLEANS -- With at least eight slayings in the city in the first week of the new year, officials are considering a curfew to help stem the violence, the police superintendent said Saturday. "It's something we're just sort of talking about, to see if that will make a difference," police superintendent Warren Riley said...

DENVER -- A huge avalanche knocked two cars off a mountain pass Saturday on the main highway to one of the state's largest ski areas, shortly after crowds headed through on the way to the lifts, authorities said. Eight people were rescued from the buried vehicles and all were taken to area hospitals, said state Patrolman Eric Wynn. Details of their conditions were not available...

HONOLULU -- Shortly after arriving in the islands to head U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. William Fallon asked a former world surfing champion for lessons on riding the waves. "I was awfully impressed that a man that's in his 60s, as I am, would have the wisdom and the youthful spirit to take up surfing," said surfer Fred Hemmings, who also is a state senator...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Barb Hikade and her teenage daughter had to arrive about an hour early Saturday to be first in line when the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum reopened for the first time since the former president's death last month. Hikade and daughter, Michelle, stood with about 100 people when the doors opened at 9 a.m., and then the duo made a beeline for the lobby's gift shop, where they picked out more than 40 Ford campaign buttons...

NEW YORK -- After tripling over the past 15 years, the number of foreign children adopted by Americans dropped sharply in 2006, the result of multiple factors which have jolted adoption advocates and prompted many would-be adoptive parents to reconsider their options...

NEW YORK -- Daniel Santos became an instant hero in 1996 when he jumped 130 feet off a bridge into the Hudson River to rescue a young woman trying to commit suicide. Then came the national TV interviews, the fan mail from strangers, the offers to do commercials, the free trip to Disney World...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jason Arnott scored a power-play goal and assisted on another in the Nashville Predators' 3-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Nashville beat St. Louis for the 13th straight time, including fifth this season. The previous three games went into overtime and two were decided by shootouts...

The Notre Dame defense has been torched at times this season, allowing 65 or more points six times. Of the nine boys basketball teams Notre Dame had held below 65 points, five were Class 3 or lower. The Class 4 Bulldogs had allowed 83 points in two of their previous three games, both losses...

TORONTO -- Kevin Lovell's 33-yard, fourth-quarter field goal lifted Cincinnati to a 27-24 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday in the International Bowl -- the first college bowl played in Canada and first outside the United States since 1937...

What a difference a week has made for the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team. The Redhawks took the court at Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday night mired in a six-game losing streak, which included four straight Ohio Valley Conference defeats -- three by a total of seven points...

DEARBORN, Mich. -- CD players in automobiles could go the way of eight-track tapes with in-dash systems like one Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. are jointly producing to link cars with cell phones and personal music players. The "Sync" system being unveiled today at the North American International Auto Show connects popular iPods and all other digital music players -- including Microsoft's nascent Zune -- to in-dash software through a USB port. ...

ST. LOUIS -- In an sport utility vehicle crammed with high-tech gear, Dan Donovan and Ben Woodley trolled last week through a new and virtually treeless subdivision in Troy, Ill, outside St. Louis. A green arrow on a dashboard monitor connected to a roof-mounted Global Positioning System satellite tracked their progress as Donovan called out addresses: "Corner right, 536. Corner left, 535."...

Oran gave favored Delta quite a battle in Saturday's championship game of the Delta New Year's Tournament. But Kaci Menz made sure the undefeated Bobcats would not fall victim to an upset. Menz, a senior guard, scored 24 points and answered virtually every Oran run as the top-seeded Bobcats slipped past the third-seeded Eagles 43-40...