Stories from March 2007

CAULFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Tornadoes tore through sections of southern Missouri early Thursday, killing a 7-year-old child, destroying a gas station and damaging several mobile homes and houses. Sgt. Marty Elmore of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the child was believed to be a girl. Elmore also said there were unconfirmed reports that others in the Caulfield area were missing...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A St. Louis police officer was hospitalized Thursday after his police car was struck with gunfire. STLtoday.com, the Web site for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said the officer suffered wounds to the shoulder and chin in the incident that happened about 2:30 a.m. Thursday. His wounds were not considered life-threatening...

LEBANON, Mo. (AP) -- A startup radio company plans to purchase The Shepherd Group, which operates 16 small-market radio stations in Missouri, The Lebanon Daily Record reported. DeanRadio.TV LLC will pay a reported $30.6 million, the newspaper reported Wednesday. No staff changes are planned. The Federal Communications Commission must still approve...

Elementary school teacher Elizabeth Babchak has a passion for patriotism that carries over into the classroom. Her father was a veteran of World War II. She tells her students about the sacrifices made by America's veterans. One of her former students is an instructor at West Point...

Feb. 29, 2007 Dear Alvie, We buried you Saturday morning under the new red, purple, yellow and green birdhouse beyond the kitchen window. You loved listening to birds, often lying in the sun for hours in the room where DC keeps her parakeets and finches and love birds...

Wall Street rebounded fitfully Wednesday from the previous session's 416-point plunge in the Dow industrials as investors took comfort from comments by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke's remarks to Congress that he still expects moderate economic growth gave some investors confidence to look for bargains. ...

COBDEN, Ill. -- A native of Southern Illinois who happens upon the western Mexican town of Cheran might find some surprising reminders of home. If the visitor keeps his eyes open, he might spot someone wearing a Southern Illinois University Salukis sweat shirt or even a Cobden High School Appleknockers T-shirt. If the visitor walks into a bar and says he's from Illinois, he might be treated to a free drink and asked to pass on greetings to relatives working up north...

The U.S. Small Business Administration wants to increase the amount of loans being made in Southeast Missouri, says Sam Jones, regional administrator for the agency. Jones, based in Kansas City, Mo., visited the Bank of Missouri in Cape Girardeau on Wednesday to increase awareness of SBA programs...

The Missouri Housing Development Commission announced grants to six area service groups this week totaling $360,000. The Community Caring Council received $80,000 for homelessness prevention and the Community Counseling Center of Cape Girardeau received $75,000 for a Fredericktown, Mo., housing project that will include 14 single-bedroom apartments for disabled and mentally ill people. ...

Taxing question; Time to pay; Health costs; Messy testing; Deadly seat belts; Bring back meters; Cairo's image; Slavery apology; Unwise investment; Jail essentials; The price of corn; Smelly business; Ready to trade; Adults' mistakes

By Robert Fulton The Missouri House of Representatives recently approved House Bill 444, which would eliminate Missouri's income tax on Social Security benefits. Speaker Rod Jetton of Marble Hill, Mo., state Sen. Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau and state Rep. ...

Finding ways to give individuals the skills and tools they need to make a living and have good relationships has long been understood to be better than handouts. The effort to provide training and support is complex, because the most effective programs must recognize the varying needs of each person...

A report from the Cape Girardeau city manager indicates that one more heavy rain in this area could wipe out two bridges along Cape LaCroix Creek; the foundations of the bridges on East Rodney along Arena Park and on Wilson Road near Shawnee Park were battered by recent high water...

Eccentric and eclectic -- two words that have been used to describe George Winston. On Wednesday night Winston -- a solo guitar, piano and harmonic artist and producer of Hawaiian slack-key guitar recordings -- showed a crowd of about 180 people at Old St. Vincent's Church why those two terms precede him wherever he goes...

Dexter man charged in three car thefts DEXTER, Mo. -- A Dexter man is in jail on charges of stealing three motor vehicles. Michael Vincent Knight, 17, of Dexter was arrested by the Dexter Police Department, Stoddard County Sheriff's Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol at 1:30 p.m. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The last time Amanda Cooper saw her 9-month-old son alive was about 10 p.m. Dec. 7, the Perryville resident told Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp on Wednesday. Fourteen hours later the boy's father, Matthew M. Lindsey, telephoned her with the news that their son, Robert M. Lindsey, was dead, she said...

BROOKPORT, Ill. -- Thousands of gallons of a toxic chemical spilled into the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky after a barge hit a lock wall, though the substance did not appear to pose a serious hazard, authorities said Wednesday. Between 7,000-8,000 gallons of the petroleum-based chemical cumene poured into the water after the accident, between Brookport and Metropolis, said Lt. Wayne Chapman, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department reported a fire at the Q.C. Corp., 5566 Nash Road, at about 11 p.m. Tuesday. About 200 wooden pallets sitting next to the west side of the building were on fire, battalion chief Steve Niswonger said Wednesday. ...

9 a.m. today County Administration Building 1 Barton Square Jackson Routine business n Payroll change form. n Approval from DNR of nomination of Byrd, Abraham House to Missouri Council on Historic Preservation. Action items n None at this time. Discussion items and appointments...

John W. Sutterer, 67, of Perryville died Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, at St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights, Mo. He was born Oct. 16, 1939, in Perryville, son of Gilbert and Leona Lurk Sutterer. He and Doris M. Biehle were married Sept. 2, 1963, at Biehle, Mo...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Betty Rose Billingsley, 80, of Alvin, Texas, died Monday, Feb. 26, 2007, at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster, Texas. She was born Jan. 30, 1927, in Blaine, Wash., daughter of Bert and Laura Nichols Smith. She married Leo Billingsley, who died June 4, 1987...

Esther Corfiatis, 80, of Overland Park, Kan., died Friday, Feb. 23, 2007. She was born July 29, 1926, near Oak Ridge, daughter of August and Angeline Hopfer Mirly. She and Tony Corfiatis were married May 15, 1948. He died in 1991. Corfiatis was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Overland Park. She and her husband owned and operated a bowling business many years, retiring in 1986...

James Glendon "Sonny" Day, 95, of Scott City died Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. He was born Feb. 18, 1912, at Swinton, Mo., son of Lecil Alonzo and Ella Alice Lee Grayum Day. He and Ruby Marie Bruhl were married June 20, 1936, in Cape Girardeau. She died May 24, 1987...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Reda Ragains, 89, of Chaffee died Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007, at Chaffee Nursing Center. She was born Jan. 3, 1918, in Maynard, Ark., daughter of Alpha Elias and Gussie Norene Johnston Evans. She and Roy William Ragains were married April 22, 1944, in Blytheville, Ark. He died Feb. 17, 2004...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Virginia Ailine Sitzes, 74, of Marble Hill died Monday, Feb. 26, 2007, at her home. She was born Dec. 12, 1932, at Bessville, Mo., daughter of Earnest W.C. and Dora Mae Pulliam Patton. She and John Charles "J.C." Sitzes were married June 3, 1950. He died Oct. 6, 1990...

Julie Glastetter, 63, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Lillian M. Nenninger, 93, of Jackson died Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007, at her home. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Cathedral. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

JONESBORO, Ill. -- James Albert Tellor, 80, of Jonesboro died Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 17, 1926, in Alto Pass, Ill., son of the Rev. Louis H. and Grace Miller Tellor. He and Edna E. Baltzell were married Jan. 11, 1945, in Cobden, Ill...

PATTON, Mo. -- Bessie "Jane" Barnes, 77, of Las Cruces, N.M., died Friday, Feb. 16, 2007, at Trinity Haven Health Center in Midland, Texas. She was formerly of Marble Hill and Patton, Mo. She was born Sept. 26, 1929, daughter of the Rev. Charles R. and Mary Ethel Bell Baker. She married Otis Barnes...

Dale Willard Fronabarger, 92, of Oak Ridge died Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. He was born Jan. 18, 1915, in Oak Ridge, son of Albert Marion and Shrilda Catherine Sawyer Fronabarger. He and Verda Lou Phelps were married Dec. 24, 1939. She died Jan. 1, 2004...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Helen Irene Fiehler, 79, of St. Charles died Monday, Feb. 26, 2007, at St. Joseph Health Center. She was born Aug. 12, 1927, at Brazeau, Mo., daughter of George and Onida Fiehler. She married Ralph Henry "Bud" Fiehler. Fiehler was a secretary 25 years at McDonnell-Douglas in St. Louis. She was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in St. Charles, VFW Auxiliary Post 5077 and Cooties Pup Tent 5...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Edna Marie Smith Weeks, 71, of Bell City passed away Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007, at her home. She was born April 19, 1935, in St. Louis, daughter of Thomas and Lucretia Noles Smith McBride and John McBride. She and Ronnie Weeks were united in marriage Oct. 28, 1951, at Mesler, Mo...

n At 5:16 p.m., medical assist in the 200 block of North Sprigg Street. n At 5:29 p.m., alarm sounding at 2598 Saddlegate Court. n At 5:33 p.m., illegal burn at 508 Cape Meadows Circle. n At 5:47 p.m., medical assist at 3000 Wisteria Lane. n At 6:44 p.m., medical assist in the 100 block of North West End Boulevard...

Arrests

The Cape Girardeau area Chamber of Commerce will hold its First Friday Coffee starting with a continental breakfast at 7 a.m. Friday at the Show Me Center. This month's program will be about internship possibilities in business, presented by the internship subcommittee of the Chamber, sponsored by Contours Express and the UPS Store. The program begins at about 7:40 a.m...

Cape Girardeau police pursued a car at speeds of up to 80 mph early Wednesday before discontinuing the chase on Old Sprigg Street Road. Lt. Barry Hovis said an officer became suspicious of a vehicle leaving the Quality Car Wash driveway at 1354 Mount Auburn Road at a high rate of speed at about 4 a.m. ...

Spots are filling up fast for the upcoming Kansas City Barbeque Society Certified Judging School. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 24 at the Eagles Aerie 3775, 321 North Spring St. in Cape Girardeau. Registration deadline is March 9. Included in the cost are all class materials, food, a certified judge badge, a one-year membership in KCBS and a year subscription to the society's newsletter...

The Scott City First Assembly of God will hold all-you-can-eat fish fries throughout Lent. The next one will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at 312 Dearborn in Scott City. Every Friday during Lent there will be a dine-in or carryout plate lunch from 11 a.m. ...

n Great Decisions 2007 will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursdays in the Hirsch Community Room. Great Decisions, sponsored by the library and the Center for Regional History, encourages citizens to voice their opinions and concerns about current world issues at meetings held today (climate change and global warming), March 8 (Mexico), March 15 (international migration in a globalizing economy), March 29 (South Africa: Facing New Challenges). Free; open to the public...

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for American women, accounting for nearly one-third of women's deaths annually. Health officials are warning that women often experience different heart attack symptoms than men. Women can have subtle symptoms, said Dr. Wendi Carns, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Cape Care for Women...

As the days of our lives get shorter, I find myself seized by a strange new obsession -- simplicity. I really don't think I am alone. A landscaper told me that his older clients are always asking him to cut down their trees. Why? Because they want less to deal with. I notice more and more women, as they get older, looking like they get their flagrantly gray hair cut at a barber shop. I actually had the cheek to ask one such woman why the butch haircut. Her answer? It is simpler...

Hospital offers new breast cancer radiation therapy Women with early-stage breast cancer receiving radiation therapy at Southeast Missouri Hospital's Regional Cancer Center have a new treatment option -- the MammoSite Radiation Therapy System. The Regional Cancer Center is the only hospital in southern Missouri and one of a few across the nation to offer the therapy, which may be an option for women with small Stage I or Stage II tumors. ...

WASHINGTON -- The first question from jurors at the perjury trial of ex-White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby prompted a lot of head-scratching Wednesday but shed little light on their progress. The jury, now down to seven women and four men, stumbled briefly over legal language in one of the five counts against the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney...

NEW YORK -- Many states are distressingly lax in their regulation and oversight of child-care centers, according to a new nationwide survey that gives its lowest marks to Idaho and Louisiana and its highest grade to the far-flung system run by the U.S. military...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A Florida appeals court Wednesday upheld a judge's ruling that allowed Anna Nicole Smith to be buried in the Bahamas, agreeing evidence supports that's what the former Playboy Playmate wanted. The starlet's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, challenged last week's ruling by Judge Larry Seidlin, who gave control of the body to an advocate for Smith's 5-month-old daughter. Arthur wanted to bury the starlet in her native Texas...

Salvation Army auction to be held Friday Doors open at 6 p.m. Friday for the Salvation Army's Annual Men's Club Auction. Items on the auction block have been donated by local businesses. Examples include gift cards and/or certificates to local restaurants, household items, car maintenance certificates, T-shirts and flower arrangements. A concession stand will be available. Auctioneer is L.R. Brandes. Checks or cash accepted at the end of the session...

ADDO ELEPHANT PARK, South Africa -- The majestic male elephant ambled through the dense bush to the water hole, extending his trunk in greeting to two young females, April and Aqua, their mother Aran and grandmother Agatha. The captivating scene is repeated in parks throughout South Africa, where the elephant population has catapulted from near extinction to explosion -- prompting the government to reconsider its ban on killing the mighty beasts...

TOKYO -- Declassified documents reveal that Japanese ultranationalists with ties to U.S. military intelligence plotted to overthrow the Japanese government and assassinate the prime minister in 1952. The scheme -- which was abandoned -- was concocted by militarists and suspected war criminals who had worked for U.S. occupation authorities after World War II, according to CIA records reviewed by The Associated Press. The plotters wanted a right-wing government that would rearm Japan...

VIENNA, Austria -- Abuse of prescription drugs is about to exceed the use of illicit street narcotics worldwide, and the shift has spawned a lethal new trade in counterfeit painkillers, sedatives and other medicines potent enough to kill, a global watchdog warned Wednesday...

PARIS -- At least two Picasso paintings worth a total of nearly $66 million were stolen from the house of the artist's granddaughter in Paris, police said Wednesday. The paintings, "Maya and the Doll" and "Portrait of Jacqueline," disappeared overnight Monday to Tuesday from the chic 7th arrondissement, or district, a Paris police official said...

FARMINGTON -- After playing one of the best first halves of its season Friday in the Clas 5 district finals, the Jackson boys basketball team struggled out the gate Tuesday in a sectional game and fell to Lindbergh 44-37 at the Farmington Civic Center...

The Notre Dame boys basketball never trailed as it marched into the Class 4 quarterfinals Tuesday night with a 72-60 sectional victory over the Farmington Knights at Mineral Area College in Park Hills. The Bulldogs improved to 25-5 and will try to book their second trip in three years to the final four when they face St. Clair on Saturday night at the Farmington Civic Center...

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Lovie Smith got a contract extension and a raise, nearly a month after a Super Bowl appearance and a week after his agent said negotiations were so stalled the Chicago Bears coach would probably leave after the 2007 season. After meeting Wednesday with team president Ted Phillips, Smith signed a four-year contract extension through 2011. The deal was announced by the team Wednesday night as was an extension through 2013 for general manager Jerry Angelo...

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- NASCAR wants to speed up implementation of its Car of Tomorrow to have it in use full-time by 2008, officials said Wednesday. The COT will debut March 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first of 16 races this season for the car designed to improve racing, bolster safety and cut team costs. The car was scheduled to run 26 races in 2008, and the full Nextel Cup schedule in 2009...

Jamal Lewis, whose 2,066 yards rushing in 2003 were the second most in NFL history, was cut by the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday. Lewis was one of several players released as teams maneuvered to find salary cap space before the free-agent period started Friday. However, the Ravens said they are still attempting to re-sign Lewis...

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University officials approved a resolution Wednesday that allows the athletics program at its Edwardsville campus to seek a promotion to NCAA Division I. The reclassification would take five years. During that time, SIUE would have to seek a conference affiliation and raise money to cover the larger budget needed for staffing, recruiting and facilities...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Roger Federer showed off a circus shot while extending his career-best winning streak to 38 matches, defeating Daniele Bracciali 7-5, 6-3 Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open. The top-seeded Federer next will face seventh-seeded Novak Djokovic, who beat Rainer Schuettler 7-6 (5), 6-3...

ST. LOUIS -- The last eight regular-season Missouri Valley Conference champions have stumbled before the NCAA tournament. No. 11 Southern Illinois has the pedigree to end that trend when the conference's four-day tournament starts today. The top-seeded Salukis (25-5) have the highest ranking in school history, the conference player of the year, a 15-3 league record and an 11-game winning streak...

By Stephen Wallace Targeting the world-changing tenacity of youth, the Ad Council, in partnership with AAA (American Automobile Association) and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), has launched an impressive public-service advertising campaign designed to combat complacency and trigger an avalanche of adolescent activism to defeat distracted -- and dangerous -- driving...

NEW ORLEANS -- Mayor Ray Nagin announces a plan to rebuild the city with Legos. And the Army Corps of Engineers is thinking of a new slogan: "YOU try building things with government screwdrivers." Those are some of the parody news stories in the New Orleans Levee, a wickedly satirical newspaper about this woeful city...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Senior night turned out to be a huge night for Marcus Watkins. The seldom-used backup forward got his first start of the season in his home finale, largely as a ceremonial nod, and responded with career highs of 15 points and a team-leading six rebounds in Missouri's 91-82 victory over Colorado on Wednesday night...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The House voted to effectively ban illegal immigrants from the state's colleges and universities and require institutions to guarantee to lawmakers that they have "not knowingly admitted" anyone in the country illegally. The measure, endorsed by 122-35 vote Wednesday, would codify existing federal requirements. Universities that cannot certify that illegal immigrants are not enrolled could face financial penalties...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state senator proposed Wednesday to allow the death penalty for people who kidnap and sexually abuse children -- a response to a nationally watched case in which a St. Louis man is accused of kidnapping and abusing two boys...

The West Coast had BALCO. Now the East Coast could be in the midst of its own steroid scandal. An illicit steroid distribution network, which may be responsible for Internet sales of performance-enhancing drugs nationwide, has been targeted by an upstate New York prosecutor. Customers reportedly included Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and former baseball star Jose Canseco...

FARMINGTON -- The Jackson girls basketball team used its 3-point game along with another strong defensive effort to push its way into the state quarterfinal round with a 45-35 win Wednesday over Mehlville in the Class 5 sectionals at the Farmington Civic Center...

JUPITER, Fla. -- For Adam Wainwright, spring training is off to a nice start. The World Series closer, bidding for a place in the St. Louis Cardinals' rebuilt rotation, pitched three hitless innings Wednesday to help beat the Florida Marlins 6-3 in the exhibition opener for both teams...

Gordonville farmer John Lorberg sees the immediate future of farming in a more optimistic way than he did just a few years ago. Back then, planting many acres of corn was a risky proposition. The yellow crop just wasn't very profitable. "It's been slim for the last I don't know how many years," Lorberg said. "With $2 corn, you can't make any money."...

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- Health investigators probing two cases of tuberculosis at southwest Missouri packing plants say their efforts have been hampered by patient confidentiality laws. The cases were reported at the Smithfield Foods plant, formerly owned by ConAgra, in Carthage and at an undisclosed plant in Joplin...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. AP) -- A state legislator from St. Charles was involved in a two-car accident in Fulton. Fulton Chief of Police Steve Myers said Friday that Rep. Joe Smith was injured Thursday when his car collided with another car at the intersection of U.S. Highway 54 and a Callaway County road...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The state Public Defender Commission on Friday backed off a proposal that it refuse to accept new clients because of a heavy caseload. The commission narrowly rejected the idea last week, but it met again Friday with some members who did not attend the earlier session. However, after passionate debate among commissioners, they decided to let their earlier decision stand...

As much as I want spring to bust out all over, I dread the stormy weather that warmer temperatures bring. Tornadoes. There. I said it. I don't like tornadoes. I am, however, a fairly typical Midwesterner. When I hear that the weather watchers have spotted a tornado, I do not head for the basement. I go outside...

Wayne Smith didn't believe the figures. He was right. According to a national survey, the market value of Southeast Missouri University Foundation's endowments declined by 4.1 percent over the course of the past fiscal year, which ended June 30. But Smith, vice president of university advancement for Southeast and executive director of the fund-raising foundation, immediately questioned the survey results when contacted Thursday by a Southeast Missourian reporter. "I was puzzled," he said...

Air carriers hoping to provide service out of the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport made their final pitches Thursday night to the airport advisory board. At 8:30 p.m. after three hours of open session, the board went into closed session to select a carrier. The recommendation of the board will be presented to and voted on by Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday...

The American Red Cross of Southeast Missouri says its shelters are fully equipped to respond in the event of a disaster in Cape Girardeau County, but backup power and the ability to care for disabled people and pets are still question marks. The need is highlighted by last month's ice-storms in Southwest Missouri blamed for 21 deaths and power-outages in St. Louis within the last year that left hundreds of thousands in the dark...

Saying it has the appearance of being a "kangaroo court," Jackson Municipal Judge Kenneth C. McManaman contends city officials need to reform city court procedures. A field liaison engineer in the maintenance and traffic division of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department's main office in Jefferson City has been named to succeed Lionel T. ...

School choice; Unequal treatment; Duck, duck, goose; Immigrant consent; Widespread gambling; Skills testing; Time to help; Accepting donations; Waiting for a deal

Downtown Cape Girardeau continues to enjoy a sense of rejuvenation, thanks to committed business and property owners along with major investments such as Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, the soon-to-be-completed federal courthouse and a new office building. ...

By Gary Marshall It's amazing how people can read the same story and come away with opposite opinions. When I read the recent U.S. News & World Report article titled "Is Ethanol the Answer?" followed by the "Corn famine?" opinion piece of Jack Knowlan, my first thought was amazement that a national publication and now local newspapers would be focusing on something that until a few years ago was considered nothing more than a boutique fuel...

Cape Girardeau had its first Mardi Gras parade last week, adding to the fun for revelers who turn out each year for the pre-Lent party that fills the streets in downtown Cape Girardeau. The parade was small. No beads were thrown. As a matter of fact, the spur-of-the-moment effort may be what made walking on the sidewalk for a couple of blocks along Main Street all the more fun...

Tornadoes killed at least seven people in Alabama on Thursday, including five at a high school where students were trapped under a collapsed roof, state officials said. The burst of tornadoes was part of a larger line of thunderstorm and snowstorms that stretched from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. Authorities blamed a tornado for the death of a 7-year-old girl in Missouri, and twisters also were reported in Kansas...

ST. LOUIS -- A program launched Thursday is aimed at helping educate Missourians about ways to protect their children from online predators. Gov. Matt Blunt and federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway appeared at an event about the new INOBTR, or I Know Better, program, though it is privately funded. The name reflects the type of electronic shorthand often used in online communications...

A man convicted of two armed robberies in Cape Girardeau lost his bid for a new trial when his appeal was turned down by the Southern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals. James L. Woodson, 43, is serving two 30-year sentences for the Aug. 19, 1999, robbery of the Citgo convenience store at 263 Farrar Drive and a Pizza Hut, formerly at 703 Broadway, three days later. ...

Thursday County Administration Building, 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n Recieved and approved payroll change form. n Received and filed approval from Department of Natural Resources of nomination of Byrd, Abraham House to Missouri Council on Historic Preservation...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission will seek proposals from private engineering firms to write specifications for improving county roads that will apply to private contractors and county road crews. After initially rejecting the idea Monday, commissioners reversed that decision Thursday after hearing from Larry Payne, chairman of the county Road and Bridge Advisory Board...

ST. LOUIS -- A large piece of an overpass fell onto Interstate 55 in south St. Louis Thursday, hitting a car and leaving a woman injured. It happened around 8 p.m. when a concrete sidewalk and a railing along the edge of the Delor Street overpass fell. Only one car was struck, and reports said the woman's injuries were not life-threatening. Calls to the Missouri State Highway Patrol seeking information on the woman were not answered...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With up to $600 million at stake, wireless companies have filed suit against hundreds of Missouri cities in the past month, claiming they're paying taxes that they shouldn't be. At issue are local laws, created in the 1940s and 1950s, that allow cities to levy taxes and fees on telephone customers...

WASHINGTON -- Democrats rewarded organized labor Thursday for helping them retake control of Congress, passing a House bill that would make it easier for workers to start unions against companies' wishes. The legislation, passed 241-185 on a nearly party-line vote, would take away the right of employers to demand secret-ballot elections by workers before unions could be recognized...

NEW ORLEANS -- President Bush acknowledged Thursday that the people of the Gulf Coast are angered by the slow pace of recovery from Hurricane Katrina and he promised to help pick up the pace. "I fully understand that there are frustrations, and I want to know the frustrations," Bush said while sitting down to lunch with city leaders. "To the extent we can help, we'll help."...

LARGO, Fla. -- Steve Stanton professed his love for the city and asked the people of Largo to support his decision to undergo a sex change and allow him to keep his $140,000-a-year job as city manager. To his sorrow, the answer came back no. Almost 500 people packed City Hall on Tuesday night for a special meeting to decide if they would accept someone named Susan instead of Steve as their top official. And while many spoke eloquently in his defense, more called for his ouster...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration filed charges Thursday against David Hicks, an Australian suspected of aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan and the first terrorism-war era detainee to be charged under the new law for military commissions. The decision was made even though officials of Australia already had asked the United States not to bring such charges. Australia has been a steadfast ally to the Bush administration in its war on terrorism...

Lillian M. Hager Nenninger, 93, of Jackson died Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007, at her home. She was born April 29, 1913, in Gordonville, daughter of Phillip and Sophie Siemers Hager. She and Vernon "Babe" Nenninger were married Jan. 31, 1934, in Cape Girardeau. He died Feb. 28, 1970...

Julie Marie Glastetter, 63, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born April 15, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Henry and Gerda Marie Johnsen Phelps. She and Roy Glastetter were married April 20, 1963, in Cape Girardeau...

Anna Ella Berry, 82, of Florence, Ky., died Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007, at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood, Ky. She was born Aug. 22, 1924, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Robert Leonard Church and Iva Bernice Barnett. She married the Rev. Floyd James Berry, a Baptist minister, May 18, 1947, in Cape Girardeau...

Weldon L. Huffman, 80, passed away Sunday, Nov. 19, 2006. He resided in Pontiac, Mich. He was born Feb. 5, 1926, in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements entrusted to Pontiac Chapel of Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home.

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Ann L. Sichling, 69, of Las Vegas, Nev., died Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007, at her home. She was born Aug. 2, 1937, at Ullin, Ill., daughter of Ralph J. and Bertha Stringer Sichling. Sichling was formerly of Mounds. She was a retired licensed practical nurse, and had worked at Choate Mental Health Center and Addus Home Health Care in Anna...

Harold R. Meyr, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 1, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Verna M. Mouser, 76, of Ballwin, Mo., died Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007, at her home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Bill D. Nettleton, 75, of Perryville died Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2007, at his home. He was born Feb. 28, 1932, at Tallapoosa, Mo., son of Walter and Ella Mae Loree Nettleton. He and Juletta "Judy" Wood were married Nov. 13, 1954. Nettleton was a spacecraft technician 38 1/2 years at McDonnell Douglas. He was a member of First Baptist Church...

Clifford Leo Wheeler, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 1, 2007, at his home. He was born Sept. 6, 1928, in Bell City, Mo., son of William Claud and Lee Myra Harvey Wheeler. He and Mollie Horner were married in 1950 in Piggott, Ark. Wheeler served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from April 27, 1951, to April 18, 1953...

Pfaff; Dougherty; Kirkpatrick; Cook; Koishor; Schorey

NEW YORK -- Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and "court philosopher" of the Kennedy administration who remained a proud liberal even as others dared not use the word, has died. He was 89. Schlesinger was dining with family members in Manhattan on Wednesday when he suffered a heart attack, his son Stephen said. He died at New York Downtown Hospital...

The 2007 Mitsubishi Galant is a midsize sedan that is oddly reminiscent of domestic family cars. There's the long, wide body that's longer and wider than major Japanese sedans like the Toyota Camry. There's the Galant's styling, where block-sized headlamps draw attention to the hood in the fashion of old-style American cars. Even the rear on the new-for-2007 Galant Ralliart model reminds me of something that Chevrolet might design...

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith will be buried beside her son today in a custom-made gown after an extravagant, private and "very pink" memorial service bringing together the three people battling for custody of her baby daughter...

(DIANE L. WILSON ~ dlwilson@semissourian.com) Cheryl Braeuner of the American Red Cross drew blood from a client in their Cape Girardeau office Thursday. Supplies of O negative, the universal red cell donor, are low in the region because bad weather has forced cancellation of a number of drives. Gene Magnus, donor recruitment account manager, said the half-day supply of O negative is a serious state, though not yet urgent...

A half star (out of four) I could think of at least 23, or maybe 32 (because that's 23 backward) reasons not to see this movie. Walter leads his everyday, mundane, boring dog catcher life until he receives a book for his birthday about the number 23. Throw in the white boxer (wow, could they pick a scarier dog?), Ned, "guardian of the dead," and he is off and running into his own mathematical journey into insanity. ...

New at the theaters: 'Black Snake Moan'; 'Pan's Labryinth'; 'Wild Hogs'; 'Zodiac'; STILL PLAYING: 'Amazing Grace'; 'Astronaut Farmer'; 'Because I Said So'; 'Breach'; 'Bridge to Terabithia'; 'Ghost Rider'; 'Hannibal Rising'; 'Happy Feet'; 'Music and Lyrics'; 'Night at the Museum'; 'Norbit'; 'The Number 23'; 'Reno 911: Miami'; 'Stomp the Yard'

LONDON -- Jude Law said he was "speechless" after receiving a prestigious French award for his contribution to film. Law was named a knight in the Order of Arts and Letters by French ambassador Gerard Errera at a ceremony in London on Thursday. The ceremony was attended by Law's parents, Peter and Maggie, who divide their time between London and Saumur in western France, where they run a drama school, and director Anthony Minghella...

Shawnee Hills Wine Trail kicks off spring with art; Muny holds adult auditions March 10-11; Nature Center displays art of Kelly Hughes ; Fine Arts Education day slated for Tuesday; Doug Rees CD release party March 10; Lipizzaner Stallions to appear at SIU; Cup 'N' Cork enters the open mic arena; Red House opens season Saturday; -- From staff reports

This week I have one thing to say: Viva la Revolucion! Why, you might ask? I'll explain. If you're a regular reader of this column space, someone who takes some kind of joy from my crazy rants, then let me first say "thanks." Then I'll remind you of my baptism by fire...

The road that brought Mihail Tomescu (pronounced to-mes-co) to Cape Girar-deau was a long one. Ten years ago, the 36-year-old Tomescu was on the verge of getting his bachelor of fine arts degree in his native Romania. After that his travels would bring him to the United States, where he earned his master's degree at Pennsylvania State University and taught painting and drawing. ...

Today Discover magic Columbia, Mo.-based folkies Caulfield and the Magic are new to the Cape Girardeau music scene. But if you like mellow, acoustic music in a full-band format, you might take a chance on these guys. n When: 9 p.m. n Where: Buckner Brewing Co...

The stage at the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra's annual concert featuring Southeast Missouri State University music students is usually reserved for seniors. But this year, there's an oddity. When the symphony orchestra takes the stage Tuesday night at Academic Auditorium for its "Symphonic Splendors" concert, a sophomore -- Candice Summers -- will be one of the three featured student soloists...

n At 4:14 p.m., grass fire on Dugwood Street. n At 9:54 p.m., medical assist in the 100 block of Linden St. n At 1:05 a.m., medical assist in the 2700 block of Lynnwood Hills. n At 3:32 a.m., medical assist in the 400 block of Independence Street. n At 6:51 a.m., alarm sounding at 280 S. Mount Auburn Road...

Arrests; Theft

Considering the circumstances, many people figured it was a foregone conclusion that John Ishee would win the Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year award for women's basketball. But Ishee, Southeast Missouri State's acting head coach, didn't see it that way -- probably because he said he never really thought about the award to begin with...

In a season when most people outside the program did not expect it, Southeast Missouri State's women are two wins away from their second straight NCAA Division I tournament berth. A team that has been tough on the Redhawks in recent years awaits today in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament...

Scott County Central unleashed its relentless pressure on Oran, and the Braves complemented that with dominance on the boards. But Scott County Central added one other element in Thursday night's Class 1 District 1 championship game at Oran: Toby Heeb...

The Advance boys basketball team could not contain Puxico's sharp-shooting guard J Hon in the fourth quarter -- Hon hit four fourth-quarter 3-pointers -- as the Hornets let a nine-point second-half lead slip away and fell 58-52 on Thursday in the Class 2 District 3 finals at Chaffee...

The Scott City boys basketball team has continued its late-season surge, reaching the championship game of the Class 3 District 1 tournament. Second-seeded Scott City improved to 19-7 with a 79-70 win over third-seeded Portageville in Thursday night's semifinals at New Madrid County Central...

It looks like former Southeast Missouri State head men's basketball coach Gary Garner will return to the coaching ranks. The Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported this week that Garner likely will become an assistant coach for Des Moines' new minor-league basketball team...

Charlie Wi was playing in the John Deere Classic two years ago when some fans recognized him. That is, they thought they recognized him. "My caddie overheard one of the spectators saying, 'Oh, that's Michelle Wie's dad. He got a sponsor invite, too,"' said Wi, who -- like Wie -- missed the cut at the John Deere in July 2005. "I thought that was hilarious."...

Natalie Sago preserved Farmington's win against Notre Dame on Wednesday night with her block of Brooke Beussink's 3-point shot in the closing seconds. That play helped Farmington (25-3 and ranked No. 5 in the Class 4 state poll) post its first state playoff victory in school history...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Starter Tom Glavine tossed two hitless innings to lead the New York Mets to a 4-3 win over the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Glavine was nearly perfect except for hitting the Cardinals Scott Rolen on an 0-2 pitch to start the second inning...

The PGA Tour is returning to the nation's capital with a guy who carries more clout than anyone in golf: Tiger Woods. Woods will join Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus as hosts of a PGA Tour event, although still to be announced was a title sponsor and a golf course for the new tournament in the Washington, D.C., area during Fourth of July week...

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The Blues were less than perfect guests as the Islanders began the Ryan Smyth era. Lee Stempniak's power-play goal 25 seconds into overtime gave St. Louis a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over New York on Thursday night in Smyth's debut on Long Island...

As expected, the Dallas Cowboys cut Drew Bledsoe on Thursday. Bledsoe, who lost his quarterback job to Tony Romo after six turnover- and sack-plagued starts last season, was one of a number of aging players cut Thursday as teams adjusted their rosters to get more salary cap room for the free agent period that begins Friday...

By John L. Cook You printed a letter Feb. 23 from John Lichtenegger concerning Missouri Senate Bill 389, the so-called MOHELA bill. Lichtenegger's letter pointed out that the bill provides state grants in maximum amounts of $1,000 for students at two-year public institutions; $2,150 for students at four-year public institutions and $4,600 for students at four-year private schools...

ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri man accused of kidnapping and molesting two boys was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for allegedly taking pornographic pictures and videos of one of the boys and taking the child across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual assault...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- While Southeast Missouri suffered a few blustery hours Thursday, a small unincorporated area of Union County, Ill., sustained severe damage from storms. High winds ripped down Berryville Road west of Jonesboro, Ill., cutting a mile-long path of destruction through trailers and manufactured homes, said Dana Pearson, emergency service coordinator for Union County...

Due to high winds with strong gusts, Cape Girardeau Fire Department issued a no-burn order for residents until further notice. "We are requesting no open burning at all for the time being," said fire chief Rick Ennis, adding that residents have been helpful in these situations in the past...

The Show Me Center is reporting strong ticket sales for Friday's Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert concert. With less than a week to go, venue marketing director Shannon Buford said ticket sales are a little over 3,000 for the concert that will seat 4,430 people. Sales are still a long way from reaching sell-out level, but Buford said the numbers are positive...

A local grassroots group hopes to start a discussion on climate change and the ways people can address that change locally. The Southeast Missouri Climate Protection Initiative will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Hirsch Community Room of the Cape Girardeau Public Library. The group is being led by Alan Journet and Kathy Conway...

GREENVILLE -- The Delta girls basketball team remained perfect and set up yet another sectional matchup with rival Scott County Central by routing second-seeded Lesterville 56-35 on Friday in the finals of the Class 1 District 2 tournament. The Bobcats, ranked No. 1 in Class 1, improved to 26-0. Delta will face Scott County Central (19-7) in the sectional round Tuesday at Poplar Bluff High School. This will be the fourth straight sectional meeting between the teams...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team will look to build on its best start since 2001 this weekend. Southeast (4-2) and Cleveland State (2-4) square off in a two-game series at Capaha Field, with 1 p.m. contests today and Sunday. The Redhawks have won four of their first six games for the first time since 2001. The last time Southeast was 6-2 after eight games is 2000...

The Jackson girls basketball program under coach Sam Sides has emphasized depth and team play. The Indians, who have averaged more than 20 wins a season during Sides' four years at the helm, are in the state playoffs for the second straight year. Jackson will put its philosophy on the line today with a berth in the Class 5 quarterfinals against Normandy. Tip off is 2:45 p.m. at the University of Missouri-St. Louis...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ?--Southeast Missouri State's women are just one win away from their second straight NCAA tournament berth. But the Redhawks know they have one more major hurdle to climb, so they're not about to get overly excited just yet. "We can't," sophomore point guard Tarina Nixon said. "We know we haven't accomplished what we set out to do yet."...

Losing four starters is not typically a recipe for a final four team. But the Notre Dame boys basketball team is on the verge of doing just that, with one game standing between the Bulldogs and a second trip to the state final four in three years. The Bulldogs (25-4) will face St. Clair (20-9) at 6 tonight in a Class 4 quarterfinal at the Farmington Civic Center...

Southeast 57, Samford 51 By Marty mishow Southeast Missourian NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- This sensational season for the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team has been, among other things, marked by an ability to come through with games on the line...

n At 9:23 p.m., emergency medical service in the 900 block of Hackberry Street. n At 2:02 a.m., alarm sounding at 1000 Towers Circle. n At 8:14 a.m., sprinkler problems at 921 Clark Ave. n At 8:32 a.m., medical assist at 1440 Perry Ave. n At 11:17 a.m., medical assist at Interstate 55 at the 96 mile marker...

Harold R. Meyr, 76, of Cape Girardeau was called home Thursday, March 1, 2007. He was born March 23, 1930, in New Wells, son of Rudolph "Rudy" and Rose Haertling Meyr. He and Doloris Reisenbichler were married Sept. 23, 1950, at Pocahontas. Harold was baptized and confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. He was a graduate of Jackson High School and Metro Business College...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Clyde A. Hotop, 71, of Perryville, died Thursday, March 1, 2007, at Perry County Nursing Home. He was born June 23, 1935, in Perry County, son of Alphonse A. and Rose Welker Hotop. He and Janet Pott were married on Oct. 3, 1959. Hotop worked for 20 years as a barber in St. ...

Lester Green, 96, of Spring Hill, Fla., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, March 2, 2007, at the West Tasu Care Center in Port Richey, Fla. He was born Oct. 3, 1910, in Missouri. Arrangements are incomplete with Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Gary A. Dubar, 68, of Jackson died Friday, Feb. 23, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 14, 1938, at Cardwell, Mo., son of Enlis D. and Juanita Ross Dubar. Survivors include two sons, Danny Dubar of Doniphan, Mo., Deny Scott of Dexter, Mo.; a daughter, Melissa Dubar of Kennett, Mo.; a stepson, Ronnie Parsons of Jackson; five brothers, Eulis and Jerry Dubar of Millburg, Mich., Robert Dubar of Los Angeles, Burnell Dubar of Houston, and Sherman Dubar of Cuba, Mo.. ...

The following information was released by the office of federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway for defendants appearing in federal court before U.S. District Judge Jean C. Hamilton. FOUND GUILTY Age: 24 Residence: Jackson Charge: Conspiracy to distribute 5 or more grams of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting the possession of 5 or more grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute...

Teen arrested for carrying gun to school CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- A Caruthersville teen was arrested Monday and charged with unlawful use of a weapon by carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon on school premises during a school-sanctioned activity. ...

The snow goose was the most common species found in Missouri in the just-completed Great Backyard Birdcount, a research project involving birders from across the United States and Canada. The project allows researchers to plot the location of birds all over the continent and supports avian conservation...

Notre Dame Regional High School students buckled up last fall. As a result, their Cape Girardeau school had the highest seat belt usage among students in a competition with 19 other Southeast Missouri schools. The parochial school reported 96 percent seat belt usage by its students...

By C.M. SCHMIDLKOFER Southeast Missourian A 22-year-old Cape Girardeau man was injured Friday afternoon when his vehicle left Mount Auburn Road and overturned into Cape La Croix Creek, police said. Lynk A. Jenkins, of 616 Boxwood Drive, No. 4, was southbound on Mount Auburn Road at about 3:50 p.m. when, he told police, he lost consciousness...

Staff members with U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's 8th District congressional offices in Cape Girardeau, Farmington and Rolla will meet with constituents throughout Southeast Missouri this month as part of the lawmaker's "Congressional Connection" program...

By all appearances, Cody Wood, Corey Hart and Michael Boles are robust and healthy. Not at all what they looked like strung out on methamphetamine. The three are participating in a 10-month program at Teen Challenge of Mid-America in Cape Girardeau, the faith-based drug and alcohol recovery facility where they are learning how to overcome their addictions by putting their faith in Jesus Christ...

The Community Caring Council will hold its 18th Annual Community Caring Conference March 23 at Southeast Missouri State University's Glenn Auditorium in Dempster Hall. This year's topic is "Alcohol and Substance Abuse Awareness: What's going on in our communities? Do you really know?" The conference will include a keynote speaker, two panel discussions by local professionals and other information about issues such as drug and alcohol abuse in the local community and the media's impact on youth.. ...

WASHINGTON -- Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey abruptly stepped down Friday as the Bush administration struggled to cope with the fallout from a scandal over substandard conditions for war-wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Harvey's departure, announced on short notice by a visibly agitated Defense Secretary Robert Gates, was the most dramatic move in an escalating removal of officials with responsibilities over one of the military's highest-profile and busiest medical facilities.. ...

ROME -- Premier Romano Prodi won a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament Friday, formally ending Italy's political crisis, but questions lingered over his fractious Cabinet's ability to govern effectively. A government must resign if it loses a vote of confidence. But Prodi's center-left forces have a comfortable majority in the Chamber of Deputies, and got the win they needed with a 342-253 vote...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani security forces captured the former Taliban defense minister, Pakistani intelligence officials said Friday, in what would be the highest-ranking leader from the Afghan insurgency to be arrested since it lost power in 2001...

LONDON -- The moon will turn shades of amber and crimson Saturday night as it passes behind the Earth's shadow in the first total lunar eclipse in three years. The eclipse will be at least partly visible from Asia to the Americas, although those in Europe, Africa and the Middle East will have the best view...

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea added pressure on North Korea to comply with an international disarmament agreement on Friday, refusing the impoverished nation's demand to restore full aid shipments until after its main nuclear reactor is shut down...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The bodies of 14 policemen were found Friday northeast of Baghdad after an al-Qaida-affilated Sunni group said it abducted members of a government security force in retaliation for the rape of a Sunni woman by members of the Shiite-dominated police...

NEW YORK -- Stocks stumbled in the final session of a tumultuous week Friday as the yen rallied against the dollar and concerns about the U.S. economy still dogged investors after Tuesday's huge drop. The Dow Jones industrials logged their worst weekly performance in more than four years...

UPS cancels order for superjumbo plane PARIS -- Airbus was left with an empty order book for the cargo version of its much-delayed superjumbo plane after UPS Inc. said Friday it would cancel its order for 10 A380s. The move comes just a week after UPS, the world's largest shipping carrier, and Airbus announced a revised agreement that gave either party the right to terminate the order. ...

By GREG MILLER Columbia Daily Tribune COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Janice Wenger wants people to hear what Beethoven heard. The 54-year-old University of Missouri-Columbia piano professor traveled across the country and even to Europe to learn as much as she could about the fortepiano, an instrument used by some of the great composers...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state Public Defender Commission on Friday backed off a proposal that it refuse to accept new clients because of a heavy caseload. The commission narrowly rejected the idea last week, but it met again Friday with some members who did not attend the earlier session. However, after passionate debate among commissioners, they decided to let their earlier decision stand...

ENTERPRISE, Ala. -- Administrators at a high school where eight students died in a tornado were warned about severe weather nearly three hours before the twister struck, raising questions Friday about whether classes should have been dismissed earlier...

ATLANTA -- A small college in Ohio was thrown into mourning Friday after a bus carrying the baseball team tumbled over the side of a highway overpass and slammed onto the pavement 30 feet below, killing four students, the driver and his wife. The team from the close-knit, Mennonite-affiliated Bluffton University was making its annual spring training trip to Florida before daybreak when the charter bus crashed, scattering bags of baseball equipment across the road and splattering blood on the overpass. ...

The following items were reported by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A subject is in custody pending filing of formal charges on suspicion of stealing. n Kyle R. Tousdale, 61, of Jackson was arrested on suspicion of stealing...

White dropout rate; Money returned; Sheriff's probe; Can't hear sirens; Unsafe workload; Gun nonsense; Drop in the bucket; Inflated grades; Hollow promises; Individual choice; Ripe for abuse; Dumb idea; Off the streets; Divided culture; Thanks to bus driver; Making a profit; Care is available; Climate change; Timing the lights; No to socialized plan

A possible way to keep young people in the Cape Girardeau area after college is to offer them more internship opportunities. Robin Cole, chairman of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Internships Subcommittee and also president of the Rite Group, presented a program on internships to about 200 people at the First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center...

Central High School students, their parents and the school faculty and staff got the lowdown last week from a former law enforcement veteran who has become an expert on identity theft: If you aren't actively guarding your personal information, you're a target of the people who can make money from it...

Saying it was an idea whose time has come, Cape Girardeau Mayor Howard C. Tooke informed the city council last night he intends to appoint a committee to examine the feasibility of a multipurpose civic facility here. Cape Girardeau County Court 2nd District Judge J. Ronald Fisher has filed for re-election to a seventh term; the Cape Democrat has served on the court since he was appointed by former governor Warren E. Hearnes in 1968 to fill an unexpired term...

A group of four muscle-bound men breaking concrete blocks with their heads, ripping telephone books and license plates into shreds, and breaking baseball bats over their knees is bound to draw attention. And once they have their audience's attention, the athletes and body builders of Power Team relate how their physical feats of strength translate into feats of emotional strength that life can demand...

The quote sprang from the page! I read it again and again trying to apply it to my life. "It takes effort and although it grows in our hearts, we have to foster its growth," Peggy Cahn wrote, "because faith is like air in a balloon. If you've got it you're full, if you don't you're empty."...

To the editor:Jackson Mayor Paul Sander's recent veto has me and many others outraged. In my attendance at many Jackson Board of Aldermen and planning and zoning meetings, it has become obvious that Mayor Sander and a few of the aldermen have a vendetta against developer Ron Clark. They have taken this vendetta to the extreme by ignoring Jackson citizens' best interests and the welfare of our properties by forcing Clark to build an additional street in his subdivision that no one wants...

To the editor:As a Catholic lad in public school, I was taught about how the Catholic church in the past silenced any dissension from church doctrine. Newton, Galileo and mankind itself suffered because of the church's iron grip on European society...

No one should have to suffer the indignity of a moral lecture from Sen. John Kerry as did fellow Missourian Sam Fox at hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination for Belgium ambassador. Given Kerry's history of self-indulgence and hubris, it should come as no surprise that he would forget his proper role in the hearings -- as a senator considering the nominee's qualifications and fitness -- and turn the proceedings into an embarrassing spectacle about himself...

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- Brian Sims was sitting in traffic when a car with a booming stereo pulled up next to him. Feeling vibrations from the pulsating vehicle, the Baptist pastor who ministers to the deaf got an idea: creating a one-of-kind church exclusively for deaf people...

When one local club opens its doors, it does so with a bang. The Cape Girardeau County Gun Club welcomed visitors to the trap and skeet shooting range it maintains at the Apple Creek Conservation Area about 18 miles north of Jackson on Saturday. It was the first time the club, in partnership with the Missouri Conservation Department, opened the 4-month-old facility to the public...

Changing state law to allow unfettered competition for cable television viewers would result in a 15 percent to 17 percent decline in cable television rates, a University of Missouri economist said in a study released last week. But those savings could be years away for many consumers, said Joseph Haslag, director of the Economic and Policy Analysis Research Center on the university's Columbia campus...

RegionsAir Inc. grounded all of its aircraft Saturday after the Federal Aviation Administration requested a change to the carrier's pilot training policy. The sudden move affects nine cities in the Midwest, including Cape Girardeau, and three in West Virginia...

CHICAGO -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Saturday the Senate would pass legislation making it easier for workers to start unions against companies' wishes. Getting it past President Bush is another matter, he said. "We may have to wait for the next president to sign it, but we will pass it," the Illinois senator told a cheering crowd of more than 1,000 people at a labor rally. "We will get this thing done."...

DWIs

n At 3:50 p.m., medical assistance at the corner of Lexington Avenue and Kingshighway. n At 6:07 p.m., box alarm at 2700 Pioneer Drive. n At 5:59 p.m., medical assist in the unit block of Sprigg Street. n At 7:05 p.m. fuel leak at the corner of William Street and Saint Francis Drive...

CANALOU, Mo. -- David Jewel Chaney, 36, died at 4:01 a.m. March 3, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. Born Aug. 10, 1970, in Dexter, Mo., son of John L. and Gloria A. Drake Chaney of Canalou, he earned an associate degree in computer networking technology. ...

ATLANTA -- Tony Moore and his college baseball teammates were jolted awake when their bus slammed against a concrete barrier and dropped off an overpass. At least two students were trapped, one player had already died and diesel fuel was leaking, survivors and family members said...

ENTERPRISE, Ala. -- President Bush handed out hugs Saturday to people in the South who survived killer tornadoes and he mourned the score, including eight high school students, who died in the storms. "Out of this rubble will emerge a better tomorrow," Bush said...

Julia Ann "Jan" Lengefeld, 76, formerly of Cape Girardeau, and for the last 18 years a resident of Fort Myers, Fla., died Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007, at her home. A celebration of life was held Jan. 28 at Seven Lakes Auditorium in Fort Myers. The Lengefelds lived in Cape Girardeau from approximately 1975 to 1982. ...

SPRING HILL, Fla. -- Lester Green, 96, of Spring Hill, Fla., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, March 2, 2007, at the West Tasu Care Center in Port Richey, Fla. He was born Oct. 3, 1910, in Cape Girardeau County, son of James and Nora Limbaugh Green. He and Marie Webb were married in Missouri. She died May 16, 1990...

Douglas Pringle of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Audrey Elizabeth Middendorf, 86, of St. Louis died Friday, March 2, 2007, at Oak Park Care Center in St. Louis. She was born March 24, 1920, at Buford Mo., daughter of Martin Henry and Elizabeth Catherine Wildhaber. She and George Henry Middendorf were married June 24, 1944...

Tommy Egson, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at the Monticello House in Jackson. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Ellis Arnold Hutson, 90, of Marble Hill died Friday, March 2, 2007, at Eldercare of Marble Hill. He was born Jan. 26, 1917, at Oran, Mo., son of Columbus and Bertha Williams Hutson. He and Wilma Kathleen Underwood were married July 4, 1939...

Douglas Smith, 75, of Jackson died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Bonnie Lou Spurlock Maze, 72, of Jonesboro died Friday, March 2, 2007, at her home. She was born May 23, 1934, at Dongola, daughter of William and Ellen M. Aden Spurlock. Maze was a member of the Apostolic Faith Tabernacle Church in Jonesboro...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Essie "Jackie" Calvert, 93, of Chaffee died March 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

The Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence has been awarded $15,000 by AT&T to purchase laptop computers and Internet service to help investigators share information. NASV executive director and founder Tammy Gwaltney said the money is from AT&T's Excelerator Grant Program, which supported the agency last year as well...

7:30 p.m. Monday Jackson City Hall, 101 Court St., Jackson Public hearings n Hearing to consider the voluntary annexation of 1.9 acres of property addressed as 2869 Bainbridge Road, as submitted by PB Properties LLC. Action Items Power and light committee...

Patches were the big item at the 12th annual Trade-O-Ree held Friday and Saturday at the VFW in Cape Girardeau. Parker Brown, a 12-year-old Boy Scout from Troop 5, likes to come to these Boy Scout memorabilia trading events so he can upgrade and expand his patch collection. "It's about having the best collection," he said...

Jackson fourth-grader Austin Clark doesn't see himself in a reading slump. Neither does his teacher. Austin, 10, says reading is fun in his class at West Lane Elementary School. Reading games are part of the curriculum, and students have a choice of classroom books to read...

9 a.m. Monday County Administration Building, 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n None at this time. Action items n None at this time. Discussion items and appointments n 10 a.m., discussion and possible action on Road and Bridge Proposition 1 funds...

WASHINGTON -- By 2020, the United States will emit almost one-fifth more gases that lead to global warming than it did in 2000, increasing the risks of drought and scarce water supplies. That projection comes from an internal draft report from the Bush administration that is more than a year overdue at the United Nations. The Associated Press obtained a copy Saturday...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Anarchists from across northern Europe flocked to join protesters in the Danish capital on Saturday after two nights of riots sparked by the eviction of squatters from an abandoned building that had been a center for young leftists and punk rockers...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Police clubbed protesters and dragged them into waiting buses on Saturday in response to a defiant demonstration against the Kremlin in the heart of President Vladimir Putin's hometown. Several thousand members of liberal and leftist groups chanted "Shame!" as they marched down St. ...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Gunmen rounded up a Sunni family that had received death threats for joining U.S.-organized talks with local Shiites, hauling away the men and boys and killing all six Saturday as suspected insurgents expanded a campaign of fear against opponents...

LONDON -- Scientists want to exhume the body of a British diplomat who died of Spanish flu during the 1919 pandemic in hopes of discovering clues to fight a possible future global outbreak sparked by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. Sir Mark Sykes, best known for his work dismantling the Ottoman Empire, was buried in a lead-lined coffin, which may have preserved enough human tissue to yield useful information on how he died and the nature of the avian flu that killed him...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Following their first official talks in Saudi Arabia, the Iranian and Saudi leaders on Saturday pledged to fight the spread of sectarian strife in the Middle East, which they said was the biggest danger facing the region. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and King Abdullah also stressed the importance of maintaining Palestinian unity and bringing security to Iraq, the official Saudi Press Agency said...

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Just 18 days into the job, new state Democratic Party chairman John Temporiti already is planning to celebrate on his 635th day. In a pep talk to hundreds of party faithful Saturday, Temporiti predicted that Missouri Democrats could build upon their gains made in last year's election to become the dominant party in November 2008...

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Former U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who briefly was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 1972, was in critical condition at a St. Louis hospital Saturday, the state Democratic Party chairman said. Eagleton, 77, has suffered from various ailments and illnesses in recent years. Party chairman John Temporiti announced Eagleton's condition to hundreds of Democrats gathered at their annual conference in Hannibal and asked them to keep Eagleton in their prayers...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The FBI has been asked to investigate the disappearance nearly 70 years ago of Lloyd Gaines, who vanished shortly after winning a legal fight to become the first black man admitted to the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law...

ST. LOUIS -- A federal judge has ordered the state to restore Medicaid coverage for medical equipment for a month and to submit a new plan for what will be covered. The state cut the program in 2005, dropping coverage for such things as feeding tubes, crutches and hospital beds for low-income Missourians...

EAGLE ROCK, Mo. -- The state has issued a permit for the first large-scale chicken farm in the Roaring River watershed, but opponents vow to appeal the decision. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources on Friday approved the permit for a 65,000-chicken farm planned by Michelle and Rodney Ozbun a half-mile from the Roaring River in southwest Missouri...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A bookmark distributed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services not only teaches youths about HIV and AIDS, it provides a phone number that patches them into a hardcore sex hot line. St. Joseph resident Lori Felzien said she found out about the hot line when her sixth-grade son dialed the number printed on a bookmark he received at Bessie Ellison Elementary School...

FOSTORIA, Ohio -- The city's police chief and police dog have degrees from the same online school, according to a defense lawyer challenging the chief's authority. The issue gives "one pause, if not paws, for concern" about what it takes to get a degree from the school, based in the Caribbean, Gene Murray wrote Monday in a motion seeking to have the dog introduced as evidence...

LOS ANGELES -- Norman Rockwell paintings often resonate because of their depictions of everyday life, but the life of one of his paintings has been anything but mundane. "Russian Schoolroom," a Rockwell painting stolen from a gallery in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton, Mo., more than three decades ago, was found in Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg's art collection, the FBI announced Friday...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Eighty-two teams and about 1,000 howling dogs lined up Saturday in downtown Anchorage for the ceremonial start of the 35th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race -- the longest sled dog race in the world. Defending champion and four-time winner Jeff King looked relaxed, sending his daughter to the coffee shop around the corner to get him a latte as he waited for his turn to let his dogs loose on the Iditarod trail...

ENTERPRISE, Ala. -- In the science wing at Enterprise High School, students huddled in the protection of an interior hallway, joking around, thinking about how hungry they were and hoping they would get a half-day off. "We'll get out of school early. We'll go home," Marisa Younanian, 17, remembers thinking. "It didn't quite turn out that way."...

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- Cherokee Nation citizenship was at stake Saturday in an election to determine whether descendants of people the Cherokee once owned as slaves should be counted as members of the tribe. An estimated 45,000 Cherokee were registered to vote in the election, with 30 polling places opened across northeastern Oklahoma...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Amazing. That one word pretty well sums up the 2006-07 Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team. Who in their right mind would have guessed that the Redhawks would repeat as Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champions to reach their second consecutive NCAA tournament?...

ST. LOUIS -- The Jackson girls basketball team has lived and died with their outside shooting during the 2006-07 season. The Indians did a lot of living during a successful regular season, a district tournament run and sectional victory. But Jackson's campaign died with some miserable shooting Saturday, as the Indians fell one game short of making it to the MSHSAA Class 5 final four with a 46-41 loss to Normandy on Saturday at the University of Missouri-St. Louis...

Junior Dustin Renfrow allowed four hits and one unearned run Saturday as Southeast Missouri State defeated Cleveland State 3-1 in the first of a two-game set. The teams meet again today at 1 p.m. as the Redhawks (5-2) try to get off to their best start since 2000...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- While there is still no guarantee John Ishee will become Southeast Missouri State's permanent head women's basketball coach, comments the university's athletic director made Saturday at least appear to indicate that could happen...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Sonya Daugherty was a freshman member of last year's Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team that advanced to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time. But Daugherty was certainly not a key member of the senior-dominated squad as she averaged just 1.5 points and 4.1 minutes of playing time per game. She scored only 29 points all season...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Notre Dame boys basketball team needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to get out of district play. The Bulldogs (26-4) barely needed 8 minutes on Saturday to stamp their ticket into the state final four. Notre Dame crushed St. Clair 60-28 in a Class 4 quarterfinal at the Farmington Civic Center...

Jay and Nancy Propst of St. Louis announce the engagement of their daughter, Sarah Propst, to Steven Worthley. He is the son of Amy Zapata and Steven Worthley Sr. of Staten Island, N.Y. Propst is a graduate of Jackson High School, and received a degree in environmental studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2005. She is an environmental health specialist for Williamsburg, Va...

Elizabeth "Kibby" Rau and Nathan Kennon were married July 29, 2006, at St. Therese Catholic Church in Mooresville, N.C. John Sims performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Robert and Mary Rau of Lake Isabella, Mich., and Jeanette Rau of Mount Pleasant, Mich. The groom is the son of Patricia Maevers of Cape Girardeau and Gary and Linda Kennon of Perryville, Mo...

Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Whitener of Jackson recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Whitener and LaVerne Maze were married Jan. 26, 1957, at Fredericktown, Mo. Their sons and spouses are David and Mary Whitener of Ellington, Mo., and Dewayne and Carolyn Whitener of Jackson. They have three granddaughters, Sarah, Jordan and Molly of Jackson...

Mr. and Mrs. Dale Holland of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a dinner Feb. 26, 2007, at Celebrations. Hosts were family members. Holland and Helen Lee were married Feb. 26, 1947, at Dexter, Mo., by the Rev. R.B. Leavell...

Robert and Kim Hodo of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Larissa Kristine Hodo, to Nicholas Anthony Barber, both of St. Louis. He is the son of Tom and Kathy Barber of Cleveland, Ohio. Hodo is a 2001 graduate of Jackson High School. ...

Barry and Janet Nickelson of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Sarah Nickelson, to Bennett Forrest. He is the son of John and Cheryl Forrest of Tulsa, Okla. Nickelson is a 2002 graduate of Jackson High School, and received a bachelor's degree in allied health from Westminster College at Fulton, Mo., in 2006. She plans to attend Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry this fall. She is a paraoptometric technician at Vision Source in Tulsa...

@sco:25 years ago: March 4, 1982 Final arrangements were completed yesterday for the acquisition of the 125-year-old Reynolds House, 623 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, by the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau; the house will be renovated in much the same fashion as the Glenn House has been...

Erwin and Liz Clements of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Amber Elizabeth Clements, to Christopher Ray Odom. He is the son of Carol Odom of Jackson and John and Sena Odom of Scott City. Clements is a 2004 graduate of Jackson High School, and is pursuing a degree in nursing at Southeast Missouri State University. She is a nurse assistant at Saint Francis Medical Center...

Chuck and Kim Crowden of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Courtney Rae Crowden, to Stuart Ellis Knowlan. He is the son of Jack and Bonnie Knowlan of Jackson. Crowden is a 2003 graduate of Jackson High School, and expects to receive a degree in choral music education from Webster University in December...

BENTON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Essner of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Sara Michelle Essner, to Nicholas John Hussman. He is the son of John and Jan Hussman of House Springs, Mo. Essner is a 2003 graduate of Kelly High School, and expects to receive a degree in dietetics from Southeast Missouri State University in May. She is employed at Logan's Roadhouse...

David and Phillis McLain of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Kristy Ann McLain, to Elmer Lee Sides. He is the son of Kristl Bowles of Carbondale, Ill., and the late David E. Sides. McLain is a senior at Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed at Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service...

John and Teri Schoen of Oak Ridge announce the engagement of their daughter, Melinda Emilie Schoen, to Chad Benjamin Morrison. He is the son of Rodney Morrison of Uniontown, Mo., and Susun Turner of Altenburg, Mo. Schoen is a 2004 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, and received a degree in agriculture business from Mineral Area College in 2006. She is employed by Schoen Dairy Farms and Shawneetown Feed Store...

Larry and Tana McLaird of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their son, Dane McLaird, to Kelli Gravemann. She is the daughter of Randy and Nancy Gravemann of St. Charles, Mo. Gravemann received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Missouri State University in Springfield. She is an elementary teacher with St. Charles School District...

Bethany Dietiker and Grant Adams have reset their wedding date to May 26. The ceremony will be at North Cape County Park. She is the daughter of Perry and Veronica Dietiker of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Charles Adams and Royce Kessel of Cape Girardeau...

Randy and Lucy Meyer of Perryville, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Leah Dixon Meyer, to Steven Wayne Ford. He is the son of Larry and Patsy Ford of Oak Ridge. Meyer is a 2006 graduate of Oak Ridge High School. She is employed at Oak Ridge Market...

Straddles, twisters, double under, egg beater and mad dog. Name any one of these terms to a group of about 30 local children, and they know what you're talking about. The terms describe tricks the group can perform using a jump rope. Eleven-year-old Iliana Arevalo of Cape Girardeau has mastered most of the basic jump rope skills. Now she's trying to figure out how to do a push-up on the ground as two people swing two jump ropes around her...

Trying to find a mate online? New data suggests that it's harder for women than for men. To wit: eHarmony's visitors are 69 percent women, on Catholic Match it's 72 percent, and on LoveAccess.com a whopping 87 percent are of the distaff sex, according to the data firm Hitwise...

Catherine Marie Lewis and Zachariah Stephen Kesterson were married Oct. 14, 2006, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Waterloo, Ill. Monsignor Thomas Flach performed the ceremony. Organist/pianist was Linda Mueller, cantor and flutist was Kim Straub, and trumpeter was Joe Glessner, all of Waterloo. Soloist was Dr. Joe Goeke of Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Leslie Elizabeth Stephens and Daniel Aaron Boatman were married Dec. 2, 2006, at First Baptist Church. The Rev. Jason "J.D." Davis performed the ceremony. Soloist was Bradley Stephens of Liberty, Mo., brother of the bride. The bride is the daughter of Ted and Sue Stephens of Perryville. The groom is the son of Billy and Kim Boatman of Perryville...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Holding a 16-point second-half lead in Saturday's championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, things seemed to be going -- almost eerily -- too easy for the Southeast Missouri State. "Nothing has come easy for this team all season," Southeast acting head coach John Ishee said...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Lorenzo Gilyard, a former trash company supervisor described by neighbors as mild-mannered and friendly, went on trial Monday in the serial killings of women and girls in the Kansas City area, most of them prostitutes. Gilyard had been charged with 13 killings between 1977 and 1993, but six of those charges were dropped Monday, as expected. ...

After spending more than a year in Iraq, readjusting to civilian life hasn't been easy for National Guard specialist Aaron Wilson. Since the 23-year-old Cape Girardeau man returned home in November, he's had to learn how to be a father to his three children all over again. His job drilling for natural gas around the country isn't as exciting as his 15-month tour of duty in Iraq. Even the simple tasks, such as running errands to Wal-Mart, haven't been easy...

RegionsAir Inc. resumed operating in and out of Cape Girardeau Sunday, a day after the airline canceled flights following Federal Aviation Administration concerns about the carrier's pilot training policy. The regional air carrier released a statement late Saturday night announcing it intended to resume most flights in the St. Louis system Sunday, with Cleveland services resuming early this week...

ST. LOUIS -- Former U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who resigned as George McGovern's vice presidential nominee in 1972 after it was revealed he had been hospitalized for depression, died Sunday. Eagleton, 77, considered the patriarch of the Missouri Democratic Party, had suffered from a variety of illnesses and ailments in recent years. The family said the cause of death was a combination of heart, respiratory and other problems...

Last week's Business as Usual got me tangled in a controversy because of information I included on a hair and nail salon called All About You. I discovered the business by chance when I reported on the new plaza on North Kingshighway. I interviewed the employees who were present. The comments I reported were, "we live by our name" and "we're not just teasing."...

A proposed mobile home park development near Klaus Park is running into a wall of opposition from Cape Girardeau city officials, and the project's future may ultimately rest on a decision by the County Court; the court yesterday received a letter from the Cape Girardeau city manager expressing the city's opposition to the mobile home park being planned by Donald Kuntze of St. Louis...

With area high school proms still many weeks away, the females aren't wasting any time. The past few Saturdays, local formal dress shops have been filled with customers. The customers -- mostly teenage girls -- are on a mission to find the perfect prom dress...

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Museum of the Confederacy may be lacking for visitors, but it has plenty of suitors. This year, more than a dozen sites have contacted museum officials with hopes of enticing the trove of Civil War history to their town. Some are outside Virginia...

401 Independence St. Monday 7 p.m., Study Session at 5 p.m. Invocation: Rev. Paul Kabo, First Presbyterian Church Public hearings n A public hearing regarding the request of Greater Missouri Builders Inc. to create a community improvement district, to be known as the Town Plaza Community Improvement District...

A key leader in the Missouri House wants school districts to report the total compensation for their top administrators. State Rep. Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles, has proposed legislation that would require school districts to report salaries, benefits and other compensation received by each school administrator, from superintendant to assistant principal, as well as to the highest paid teaching position and the average for all classroom teachers...

The Scott City Council will vote on an ordinance today that may produce a rare split vote on the council. Tonight council members will vote on whether to relax restrictions for a period of two years on the age of mobile homes brought into the city. Under current city ordinance, mobile homes must be 10 years old or newer to be brought into city limits. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- No one will be playing to the jury when the trial of a man charged with killing 13 women during a 16-year span gets under way Monday in Jackson County Court. Prosecutors agreed in January not seek the death penalty against Lorenzo Gilyard, as long as Gilyard's attorneys agreed to a trial before a judge without a jury. His attorneys also agreed to give up nearly all of their client's appeal rights...

BLUFFTON, Ohio -- Players on Bluffton University's baseball team and their parents returned home Sunday, two days after a bus plunged off a roadway in Georgia and claimed the lives of four of their teammates and two others. The father of deceased player David Betts wore the baseball cap his son had on the morning of the crash when he stepped off a charter flight at Toledo Express Airport. ...

Museums, universities and civic groups in St. Louis are holding events over several months to mark the 150th anniversary of the Dred Scott case. Here are some highlights. At St. Louis' Old Courthouse at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, a new Dred Scott exhibit called "A Legacy of Courage: Dred Scott and the Quest for Freedom," opened Saturday. It will run for a year...

ST. LOUIS -- On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court denied slave Dred Scott his freedom, a decision that helped push a nation inflamed over slavery closer to Civil War. Throughout St. Louis, events have been and will be held to mark the 150th anniversary of the ruling in the court case that began in this city, and to foster new discussions about race and equality in America...

HODGENVILLE, Ky. -- The town square in this small central Kentucky city is being transformed into a circle to accommodate as many as a million visitors during Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial birthday celebration next year. The nation's 16th president was born in 1809 in a one-room log cabin near what is now Hodgenville, and that's where the national bicentennial celebration will begin Feb. 12, 2008. President Bush has been invited...

ATLANTA -- The Civil War brought hard times to Georgia, with Union troops torching Atlanta and cutting a swath of destruction through the state before delivering Savannah to President Abraham Lincoln as an early Christmas gift Dec. 22, 1864. Nearly a century and a half later, state leaders are hoping Georgia's role in the epic conflict will have a much different impact -- drawing in millions of tourism dollars by promoting its Civil War-era sites...

Raymond A. Unterreiner, 87, of Brewer, Mo., died Sunday, March 4, 2007, at his residence in Brewer. He was born Aug. 29, 1919, in St. Louis, son of Frank and Theresa Kirn Unterreiner. He and Dorothea M. Layton were married Oct. 22, 1945. Unterreiner was a greenskeeper at the Perryville Country Club. He was a member of Christ the Savior Church in Brewer. He was a United States Army Veteran and served during World War II. He was also a member of American Legion Post 133...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Clifford J. Betts, 94, of Tamms died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at the Jonesboro Health Care Center. He was born Jan. 16, 1913, in Alexander County, Ill., son of Lark Jackson and Mary Dillman Betts. He and Lilly E. Dickerson were married Aug. 23, 1938...

Charles Avery Minter, 81, of Glen Allen, Mo., died Sunday, March 4, 2007, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 26, 1926, near Glen Allen, son of Henry C. and Sarah E. Hill Minter. He and Alice J. Ivie were married May 29, 1948, in Troy, Mo. She died Nov. 30, 2004...

Douglas Morris Smith, 75, of Jackson died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 24, 1931, in Pueblo, Colo., son of Vincent James and Mary Fern Childs Smith. He and Verona Boehm were married Dec. 31, 1963, in Duluth, Minn. She died March 15, 1993...

Eileen Crowe, 77, of Bloomfield, Mo., died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 25, 1929, in Bloomfield, daughter of Harvey and Martha Jennings McRoy. She and Noel Crowe were married May 16, 1946. He died April 9, 1975...

Denny J. Palmer, 59, of McClure, Ill., died Sunday, March 4, 2007, at his home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Funeral Home.

Effie "Jackie" Calvert, 93, of Chaffee, Mo., died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 30, 1913, in Greenbriar, Mo., daughter of Robert Oscar and Minta Graves Fowler. She and William C. Calvert were married Feb. 14, 1940. He died July 6, 1948...

DWI; Arrests; Summonses; Assault; Theft; Property damage; Miscellaneous

Doing their job; Keep your money; Using the gym; Damaged parks; No apology; Organizing workers; Better safe than sorry; Self-made troubles; Not a pretty picture; Support is needed; Help one another; Thanks for the help; Picking up trash; Trash sources

Putting his faith and family first was the secret to his incredible journey from grocery-store clerk to quarterback of the 1999 Superbowl champion St. Louis Rams, Kurt Warner has always said. In fact, the name of his charitable foundation is First Things First...

To the editor:The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard a case on whether a Georgia police officer used excessive force when he ended a high-speed chase by ramming a suspect's car with his police cruiser. The suspect's vehicle went down an embankment and crashed, leaving the driver paralyzed from the neck down...

To the editor:Our paper reprinted an Associated Press story about House Democrats passing a bill making it easier for workers to unionize. The law would allow union membership just by signing cards and eliminating secret-ballot voting. What a strange presentation of the facts...

n At 3:26 p.m., emergency medical service at the 2600 block of Independence Street. n At 4:17 p.m., emergency medical service at the 500 block of North Second Street. n At 6:10 p.m., emergency medical service at the 800 block of South Ellis Street. n At 7:42 p.m., emergency medical service at the 200 block of Franks Lane...

LEESBURG, Va. -- William Robert Anderson, a former U.S. congressman and captain of the Nautilus on its historic under-the-ice trips to the North Pole, died Feb. 25. He was 85. Anderson died in Leesburg, Va., following a brief illness, his family said...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- A charter bus returning to Illinois with 13 passengers struck a tractor-trailer truck in western Kentucky early Sunday, authorities said. Bus driver Billy E. White, 71, of Ozark, Ill., was flown to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Ind., McCracken County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Kevin Lynn said in a statement. Five passengers were treated for minor injuries at local hospitals...

ENTERPRISE, Ala. -- Residents of this city devastated by a tornado that killed eight high school students paused in recovery efforts today to mourn at church services, where some lined up to hug and offer words of encouragement for the school superintendent...

To the editor:Once again I find myself disagreeing with an article in the paper, specifically, the Feb. 27 article by Karen Matthews of The Associated Press, "Scholars, clergy criticize new film on possible tomb of Jesus." The article states the caskets found in 1980 may have held the remains of Jesus and his family. There were no remains. There was no body to decompose...

NEW YORK -- Lee Drew had a chat with some cousins the other day. He was sitting in his home office in Orem, Utah. Four of the cousins were in England. One was in Australia, another in South Africa. A few more joined in from other parts of North America...

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. -- Yugoslavia's last monarch, exiled from his homeland during World War II, ended up in a tomb inside an ornately decorated church outside Chicago, a place that still attracts his loyal followers. But while King Peter II personally chose St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery as his final resting place, his son, Crown Prince Alexander, is upsetting some Serbian-Americans by planning to take his father's remains back to the land of his birth...

LOS ANGELES -- Four purebred Yorkshire terriers stolen at gunpoint during a home invasion robbery more than a week ago were returned to their owners after a man turned himself in to police. Three puppies, valued at $2,500 each, and a full-grown family pet named Tan-ja were reunited with their owners at the Wilshire Division police station Saturday night...

WASHINGTON -- New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici acknowledged Sunday that he called a federal prosecutor to ask about a criminal investigation several months after calling for his replacement, but insisted he never pressured nor threatened his state's U.S. attorney...

BUENA PARK, Calif. -- The white supremacist gang Public Enemy No. 1 began two decades ago as a group of teenage punk-rock fans from upper-middle class bedroom communities in Southern California. Now, the violent gang that deals in drugs, guns and identity theft is gaining clout across the West after forging an alliance with the notorious Aryan Brotherhood, authorities say...

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Just an hour's drive outside this traffic-choked metropolis where President Bush kicks off a Latin American tour Thursday, sugar cane fields stretch for hundreds of miles, providing the ethanol that fuels eight out of every 10 new Brazilian cars...

YATA, West Bank -- One slip, and Issa Abu Shakr's 5-year-old nephew plunged into the fetid stream of sewage that flows outside the family's West Bank home. The contact with the filthy water required multiple blood transfusions and a 10-day hospital stay, Abu Shakr says...

CAIRO, Egypt -- Arabs will relaunch a 2002 land-for-peace offer in an effort to end the decades-long conflict with Israel at a summit later this month, but without changes Israel has been pushing, the Arab League's Secretary-General said Sunday. Amr Moussa's remarks to a meeting of Arab foreign ministers came as Saudi Arabia announced that hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered support for the initiative during talks with Saudi officials, though Iran later denied the two discussed the peace plan.. ...

Suspect in wife's murder arrested in state park HARBOR SPRINGS, Mich. -- Wearing neither coat nor shoes, a fugitive suspected of killing and dismembering his wife was found hiding under a fallen tree Sunday in a snowbound state park after a bitterly cold night on the run, authorities said. ...

One of the larger buildings in the Cape Girardeau area has been sold. Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place Ltd., said Thursday the 278,000-square-foot facility at 4680-4780 Nash Road, west of Interstate 55, near the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, has been sold to Moriah Logistics LLC. The company is owned by the Kermit Meystedt family, which also operates Genesis Transportation Inc., a Cape Girardeau-based trucking company...

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Agriculture has granted preliminary approval for a large-scale plan to grow genetically altered rice in Kansas, prompting some critics to raise safety concerns. Sacramento, Calif.-based Ventria Bioscience wants to grow rice modified to produce human proteins on more than 3,000 acres of farmland near Junction City, Kan...

Local photographer wins award Tom Neumeyer, owner of Neumeyer Photography in Cape Girardeau, earned a Juror's Award in the current Art for the Health of It Show. The juried show is sponsored by Southeast Missouri Hospital and the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. ...

QUITMAN, Ark. -- Thousands of feet below Arkansas hay fields and cow pastures, a newly tapped reservoir of natural gas is quietly giving up its bounty. After 300 million years trapped in hard, black shale, gas now flows into pipelines headed for market to ultimately warm homes and businesses...

Mid-South Wire gets state bond package The Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved $3 million in tax-exempt bonds to assist the Mid-South Wire Co. in establishing a major manufacturing presence in Southeast Missouri. Mid-South converts raw low-carbon steel to wire for a variety of uses, including appliance-making, material-handling and the automotive industry. ...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Ramush Haradinaj, who was once a nightclub bouncer and martial arts expert and rose to become a guerrilla chieftain and Kosovo's prime minister, faces trial in which he is accused of mounting an ethnic cleansing campaign against Serbs...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Copenhagen police arrested dozens of people early Sunday in a third straight day of unrest triggered by the eviction of squatters from a disputed youth center. Small groups of protesters threw rocks at police and set fire to trash bins and barricades, but the violence did not escalate into the full-scale riots of the two previous nights. ...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. and Iraqi troops poured into Baghdad's main Shiite militia stronghold Sunday, encountering no resistance in the one-time Sadr City combat zones but testing the Shiites' commitment to the U.S.-promoted campaign to drive militants from the capital...

BARIKAW, Afghanistan -- An explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said also came under fire from militant gunmen Sunday. As many as 10 people were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made a frenzied escape, and injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away...

BEIJING -- A top U.S. envoy on Sunday urged China to be more open about its military spending, hours after the government announced a 17.8 percent increase in its defense budget -- the biggest in more than a decade. The $44.9 billion budget for 2007 would mainly be spent on higher wages and living allowances for members of the armed forces and on upgrading armaments "in order to enhance the military's ability to conduct defensive operations," Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for China's national legislature, said at a news conference. ...

WINCHCOMBE, England -- Elizabeth Hurley married an Indian businessman in a private civil ceremony at a 15th-century castle, and photographers and spectators descended Saturday on this quiet town in western England to catch a glimpse of their lavish wedding party...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- When proprietor Natasha Linhardt was finished ringing them up, Karasseva reached into her bag, retrieved both bottles and placed them back on the counter. "Happy New Year," she said in Russian, offering the wine as a present. Linhardt declined, saying she couldn't possibly accept the gift. Back and forth they went until they finally reached a compromise: they would meet one evening soon and drink the wine together to celebrate the new year...

Cape Girardeau County Chapter of AARP meets The Cape Girardeau County Chapter of AARP will meet at 1:30 p.m. today at Grace United Methodist Church, Broadway and Caruthers Avenue. The program, "Dulcimer Music and More," will be presented by Jack Smoot from the Missouri Department of Conservation. There will be a drawing for a door prize...

K of C ladies auxiliary serves fried chicken The Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary's Relay for Life team will serve a fried chicken dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Immaculate Conception Parish Center in Jackson. The Relay for Life will be held June 15 to 16 at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society...

BENTON. Mo. -- According to Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter, two area merchants have recently shown support to the department with donations of a 2007 four-wheel-drive four-wheeler and a trailer. The four-wheeler, valued at $6,899, was donated by Minor Harley Davidson, off Nash Road in Scott City...

The Cape Girardeau Lions Club will hold its 69th annual pancake day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 21 at the Arena Building. A stack of hot pancakes and beverage are included in the price. Sausages are extra. Proceeds from the charity event enable the Lions Club to generously contribute to many organizations at the state and local level...

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder believes there are thousands of Missourians whose lives are touched by the unselfish work and caring hands of volunteering seniors. That is why he created the Lieutenant Governor's Senior Service award two years ago. As Missouri's official elderly advocate, his goal is to make the public aware of the time and labor seniors give to the community...

The 140th Infantry Regiment, Missouri Army National Guard will hold a biannual reunion at 6 p.m. March 23 at the Knights of Columbus Hall north of Jackson. The program and meal begin at 7 p.m. CSM Billy J. Adams (Ret.) will speak about his experiences assisting in the training of the Iraqi police forces...

Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Ryan P. Fornkohl has graduated from the Aircraft Electrical and Environmental Systems Apprentice Course at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas. He is the son of Pat S. and Eldon D. Fornkohl of Cape Girardeau County. Fornkohl is a 2002 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School...

Scott City graduate Loren Groves continued her sensational sophomore indoor track and field campaign at Kansas State by capturing the Big 12 crown in the weight throw at the Big 12 indoor championship held Feb. 23 and 24 in Ames, Iowa. Groves captured the title with a throw of 67 feet, 10 3/4 inches. It was her third-best throw of the indoor season. Groves' top throw is 68-3 3/4, which is good enough for fourth in the nation...

ST. LOUIS -- Creighton knows how to ramp it up in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Anthony Tolliver had 15 points and 13 rebounds to help Creighton upset No. 11 Southern Illinois 67-61 Sunday in the conference championship, earning the Bluejays their sixth title in nine years...

IRVING, Texas -- Texas forward Kevin Durant was named the Big 12 Conference's player of the year by league coaches Sunday, making him the first freshman to receive that honor. Durant, who has averaged 28.9 points per game in league play, also received the freshman of the year award, while Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie was chosen as the Big 12 coach of the year...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Don't put away those scissors just yet. Keep the stepladder handy. Maybe Kansas isn't through trimming twine. "Cutting down the nets is great and all that stuff," coach Bill Self said Saturday after watching his Big 12 champion Jayhawks perform the joyous ritual...

Only 3 feet separated Boo Weekley from everything he's spent the last decade chasing. A PGA Tour victory, the big winner's check, a two-year exemption, all of them a mere short putt away. He pulled his putter back in the fading light on the 72nd hole of the Honda Classic, struck the ball and waited for the cheers to rain down...

SELMA, Ala. -- Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton crossed campaign paths for the first time Sunday as they paid homage to civil rights activists who they said helped give them the chance to break barriers to the White House. The two candidates and former President Clinton, making his first appearance with his wife since her campaign began, linked arms with activists who 42 years ago were attacked by police with billyclubs during a peaceful voting rights march. ...

JUPITER, Fla. -- The defending Grapefruit League champion Florida Marlins are not only having a tough time winning, they're having a tough time getting hits. Two days after being one-hit in a loss to Baltimore, the Marlins had just one hit through the first eight innings Sunday before scoring two runs in the ninth in a 12-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals...

CHICAGO -- Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for children with broken bones, bruises and sprains. Available generically and under the brand names Advil and Motrin, ibuprofen beat generic acetaminophen and codeine in an emergency room study of 300 children treated at a Canadian hospital...

Granted, Southeast Missouri State has not exactly played a killer early-season baseball schedule. But the Redhawks have taken care of business for the most part, and they continued their best start since 2000 Sunday afternoon with a 5-1 home win over Cleveland State...

A familiar face was on the sidelines Thursday night when the Scott County Central girls basketball team was in action in the Class 1 district championship match at Oran. David Heeb, the school's athetlic director, assisted Semona Penrod during the game but he didn't stay around for the trophy ceremony...

The Southeast Missouri State women's tennis team handed first-year coach Mark Elliott his initial Ohio Valley Conference victory Sunday as the Redhawks beat host Jacksonville State 4-3. Southeast (3-4, 1-1 OVC) had dropped its conference opener the day before, falling 5-2 at defending league tournament champion Samford...

Cape Girardeau City Council has a busy night ahead with both tax breaks and flight service on the agenda for Monday's 7 p.m. meeting. Council members will vote to endorse or change recommendations from the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport Advisory Board on which carrier the Department of Transportation should select to provide air service out of Cape Girardeau...

About five years ago, Lynette Strange, originally from Redlands, Calif., moved to Cape Girardeau when her husband, Cedric Strange, took a job here as a physician. One day she noticed a Jackson gift shop she enjoyed shopping in -- High Street Station -- was for sale...

The search for a new president of the University of Missouri took to the road Tuesday with a public forum at the Delta Research Center in Portageville, Mo. The meeting, which will feature Judith Haggard, UM curator from the Eighth Congressional District, is designed to give interested Missourians a chance to say what they want from the leader of the state's largest public university, said Scott Charton, director of communications for the four-campus system...

Long-vacant Plaza Galleria at 2001 Independence St. may soon have a new owner. Greater Missouri Builders recently signed a purchase contract agreement on the 6.85-acre property. The property has been on the market since May 2004. The asking price on the building and its surrounding area is $2.2 million, but Tom Foote of GMB's commercial division said the final price will likely be "a little less than that."...

Purses are a lot like potato chips. You can't have just one of them. My wife, Joni, and our two daughters prove the point. They all have their share of handbags. Even our 11-year-old daughter, Bailey, has several purses. Our teenager, Becca, never seems to have enough purses...

Public hearings for proposed tax incentives to renovate the 40-year-old Sears building in the Town Plaza drew only positive comments Monday night. The tax maneuvers would collect an estimated $2.5 million for improvements over the next 25 years if approved by the city council. ...

The Jackson Board of Aldermen won't decide whether to override a veto by Mayor Paul Sander until after his successor takes office. At Monday's board meeting, aldermen voted 4-3 to delay the decision by more than two months. Sander rejected an ordinance Feb. ...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- Clarence Greeno doesn't fit the Hollywood image of a casino mogul. With his close-cropped hair and gray suit, observers might peg him as an ex-cop. And they'd be right, but he's also in charge of the Casino Aztar, a Missouri gambling boat in limbo as the owners look for a buyer who can qualify for a state operating license...

Travelers through Cape Girardeau Regional Airport soon could be commuting to Cincinnati to catch flights elsewhere. Before a standing-room-only crowd Monday the Cape Gir-ardeau City Council voted unanimously to endorse the recommendation of the Airport Advisory Board to replace the current commuter service of RegionsAir to St. ...

Paying taxes; High-speed chase; Thinking of Alvie; A good life; Neighborhood lights; Library planning; Costly generators; Get rich driving; Fountain is an asset; Black-white ratio; ACT is the answer; Paying for coverage; What should be done; Trash talk; Judicial system; Getting attention; More adept crooks

Whenever individuals who hold positions of public trust are accused of committing crimes, the constitutional standard of "innocent until proven guilty" often falls by the wayside. That has been the case in recent weeks in Southeast Missouri. Dozens of individuals have taken the time to make Speak Out comments and write letters to the editor making all sorts of accusations in some of these cases. ...

To the editor:I wonder how many will obey the no-burn warning today and go right ahead and burn at will. They shouldn't even need a warning with this strong wind, but it was just as windy yesterday, and when I opened my windows for fresh air I had to hurry and close them because of smoke. ...

To the editor:My recent veto of the abandonment of Shawn Drive simply supported and upheld an ordinance that is in place in Jackson. The ordinance says that through development, subdivisions should be interconnected. City staff recommended that this street extension not be abandoned, because doing so would be a violation of our city codes...

To the editor:My father, Jack H. Knowlan Sr., recently wrote an op-ed article entitled "Corn Famine" that apparently hit a raw nerve with Gary Marshall of the Missouri Farm Growers Association. My father is 84 years old and has spent most of his adult life in agriculture-related employment. Although he certainly has enough knowledge and experience to offer his opinion in our local newspaper, he is not an expert who should require such an aggressive response...

25 years ago: March 6, 1982 Final negotiations are in process for acquisition by Lone Star Industries Inc., the world's largest producer of cement, of the Marquette Cement Mfg. Co., from Gulf and Western Industries Inc.; the sale price has been placed at $245 million...

Southeast Missouri State University plans to remove the dirty, cotton-like material from the ceilings of the Dearmont residence hall this summer as part of a half-million-dollar project to spruce up the building, school officials said Monday. Once the material is removed, the ceilings will be painted. ...

The 18-year-old victim of an Oct. 12 assault at the Dairy Queen where she worked said the crime has left her fearful and insecure. "I have heard that once you are the victim of a crime, that nothing in your world is ever the same," she said Monday at her attacker's sentence hearing in Cape Girardeau court...

LEBANON, Mo. -- Several dozen workers escaped unharmed Monday when fire consumed a southwest Missouri manufacturing plant. The blaze at the Marine Electrical Products plant in rural Laclede County sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky over Lebanon. The company makes plastic and fiberglass products...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Three of the top five winners of Missouri Lottery's "Design-A- Ticket" contest have Southeast Missouri ties. Designs by Terry Boyers of Morley, Mo., Allen Thompson of Dexter, Mo., and former Matthews, Mo., resident Angie Roberts Cain of Desloge, Mo., were selected as winners in the online voting contest. The other two winners were from Lesterville, Mo., and Columbia, Mo...

401 Independence St. Invocation: Rev. Paul Kabo, First Presbyterian Church Public hearings n Held a public hearing regarding the request of Greater Missouri Builders Inc. to create a community improvement district, to be known as the Town Plaza Community Improvement District...

Monday County Administration Building, 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n None. Action items n None. Discussion items and appointments n Discussed distribution of Road and Bridge Proposition 1 funds. Items not on agenda n Received and filed Archive Center report...

Monday Jackson City Hall, 101 Court St., Jackson Public hearings n Held a public hearing to consider the voluntary annexation of 1.9 acres of property addressed as 2869 Bainbridge Road, as submitted by PB Properties LLC. Action Items Power and light committee...

ST. LOUIS -- George McGovern was still fighting for the presidential nomination, even as the 1972 Democratic National Convention was under way. Picking a running mate was not high among his priorities. When several higher profile candidates, including Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, either turned him down or were ruled out, he chose Missouri's 42-year-old first-term senator, Thomas Eagleton...

In a 5-3 vote the Scott City Council approved an ordinance Monday that will allow owners of mobile homes manufactured before 1984 to replace their buildings with newer mobile homes. Prior to the vote only mobile homes 10 years old or newer could be brought in to replace mobile homes currently installed inside the city limits. But under provisions enacted Monday night, those who currently own mobile homes inside the city limits constructed before 1984 can replace those homes with newer homes...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Although Gov. Matt Blunt says there was no effort to be secretive, a proposed settlement of sexual harassment and discrimination allegations against a Cabinet official would have required that the details remain confidential. The Department of Agriculture released a series of e-mails, letters and settlement proposals Monday revealing the unsuccessful efforts to quietly resolve complaints against director Fred Ferrell. ...

By Bill Ferrell Since I first ran for elective office in Scott County in 1972, 1 have been especially blessed in many ways, not the least of which is the enduring friendships that I have developed all across the county. As most of my friends are now aware, I was recently indicted by a Scott County grand jury. ...

Douglas R. Pringle, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. He was born Oct. 7, 1922, in rural Greeley County, Kan., the son of Earl and Maude Tefft Pringle. He married Ruhe Rudd Pringle Dec. 7, 1943, in Tribune, Kan. She preceded him in death Feb. 2, 2001...

BENTON, Mo. -- Leslie Plain, 89, of Brimfield, Ill., died Sunday, March 4, 2007, at his home. He was born Jan. 23, 1918, in Cameron, Mo., to William and Nettie Woods Plain. He married Nina Tippen July 10, 1954, in Alton, Ill. Surviving is his wife; a daughter, Sandra (Butch) Coulter of Ipava, Ill.; five sons, Harvey Mims of Atlanta, , Leslie Jr. ...

Marie W. Exler, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 4, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 11, 1914, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Theodore and Laura "Lollie" Exler Gerlach. She and Paul Webber were married Oct. 17, 1942, in Cape Girardeau. He died Dec. 6, 1957. She later married Ralph B. Exler Nov. 11, 1973, in Paris, Tenn. He died June 7, 1999...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Kathryn E. Ross, 88, of Chaffee died Monday, March 5, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 18, 1918, in Banner, Ky., daughter of Barley and Polly Ann Crumb Jones. She and William Ross were married May 16, 1955. He died Nov. 18, 1967...

Leta Bahn, 82, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, March 5, 2007, at Chateau Girardeau. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be Thursday at First Presbyterian Church.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Philip A. Kirn, 65, of Perryville died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at his home. He was born Oct. 12, 1941, in Perry County, Mo., son of Edwin and Mary LaVerne Grass Kirn. Kirn was a retired teacher and a member of AmVets. Survivors include two daughters, Tracie Barry of Huntington Beach, Calif., Dawn Cunningham of St. ...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Denny Joe Palmer, 59, of McClure died Sunday, March 4, 2007, at his home. He was born Sept. 6, 1947, at McClure, son of Denny and Ruby Alice Kirk Palmer. He and Pat Seals Dickerson were married June 24, 2002, at Wickliffe, Ky. Palmer worked for Florsheim Shoe Co. ...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Clara Byrd Scott, 91, of Pitman, N.J., died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at JFK Hospital in Washington Township, N.J. She was born March 10, 1915, in East Prairie, daughter of Bird and Iva Allen Hubbard. She married Vernon E. Scott...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Lillie M. Steinbecker, 91, of Perryville died Monday, March 5, 2007, at her home. She was born Sept. 30, 1915, in Perry County, Mo., daughter of Emil and Natalie Devenyns Steinbecker. Steinbecker retired from Florsheim Shoe Co. in Chicago. She was a former member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church...

UNIONTOWN, Mo. -- Theophil Oberndorfer, 91, of Uniontown died Saturday, March 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 15,1915, at Uniontown, son of Benjamin and Bertha Kramer Oberndorfer. He and Lunette Popp were married Dec. 25, 1939, at Friedenburg, Mo. She died Nov. 26, 1969. He later married Erma Kranawetter...

BEDFORD, Ind. -- A pilot and his 8-year-old daughter were killed Monday when their small plane crashed into an in-law's house near a southern Indiana airport, authorities said. The crash killed Eric Johnson, 47, of Bedford, and his daughter, Emily, officials said. The plane crashed into the residence of one of Johnson's in-laws, Vivian Pace, a police spokesman said...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Assaults; DWI; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Southeast Missouri State University: Theft; Jackson: Arrest; Assaults; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous

n At 7:46 p.m., alarm sounding at 1112 Linden St. n At 1:20 a.m., emergency medical service in the 400 block of South Benton Street. n At 5:57 a.m., emergency medical service in the block of 700 Ellis Street. n At 6:55 a.m., alarm sounding at 280 S. Mount Auburn Road...

Four months into his job, a police officer in Mississippi holds a gun to the head of an unarmed teenager and puts him in a chokehold. A rookie officer in Illinois gets into a car chase that kills a driver. And a new campus policeman in Indiana shoots an unarmed student to death...

CHICAGO -- The first national study to interview teenagers about on-the-job dangers found many violations of federal laws, including sizable numbers performing risky tasks or working too late on a school night. Many teens said they operated hazardous equipment, received no safety training and worked alone after dark, making them potential targets for burglary and homicide...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide car bomber turned a venerable book market into a deadly inferno and gunmen targeted Shiite pilgrims Monday as suspected Sunni insurgents brought major bloodshed back into the lap of their main Shiite rivals. At least 38 people died in the blast and seven pilgrims were killed...

The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The White House is ready to ask Congress for more money for President Bush's plan -- already hotly debated -- to send 21,500 new combat troops into Iraq. The move would pay for support personnel and otherwise update last month's request for the Iraq war. ...

JABAR, Afghanistan -- A coalition airstrike destroyed a mud-brick home after a rocket attack on a U.S. base, killing nine people from four generations of an Afghan family including a 6-month-old, officials and relatives said Monday -- one of the latest in a string of civilian deaths that threaten to undermine the government...

WASHINGTON -- Substandard living conditions found at the Army's flagship veterans hospital likely exist throughout the military health care system, the head of a House panel investigating Walter Reed Army Medical Center said Monday. "We need a sustained focus here, and much more needs to be done," Rep. John Tierney said of a scandal enveloping Walter Reed. Charges of bureaucratic delays and poor treatment there have produced calls in Congress for quick reform...

Broadway, West End Blvd. intersection closed Beginning at 6 a.m. today, the intersection at West End Boulevard and Broadway will be closed for two weeks. Cape Girardeau city engineer Jay Stencel said the closure is due to the reconstruction of Broadway from Perry Avenue to Park Avenue and the Broadway and Clark Street intersection. ...

WASHINGTON -- Radio listeners weary of hearing the same songs over and over may have something to cheer about: Broadcasters have tentatively agreed to anti-payola settlements that could shake up music playlists at some of the nation's largest radio chains...

Paige Clark believes sleep is overrated. On any given weekday, the Jackson High School junior wakes up at 7 a.m. for school, where she is enrolled in advanced placement and required courses. When the final bell rings, Clark is only halfway through her day. Most weekdays you can find her working on service projects or upcoming activities for the school's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter. The organization focuses on projects to benefit families in the community...

Babers; Harris; Kyle; Taylor; Faulk; Stevens; King; Conrad; Harris; Johnson; Baldwin; Hotop

It had been more than 48 hours since Southeast Missouri State's women won their second straight Ohio Valley Conference tournament title. But the Redhawks and their fans weren't ready to stop celebrating. Approximately 225 mostly red-clad people -- along with the university's band, cheerleaders and dance team -- turned out to the Show Me Center Monday night to officially celebrate Southeast's latest feat...

MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade will try to come back this season. The Miami Heat guard said Monday he has decided to delay surgery and rehabilitate his dislocated left shoulder with the goal of returning for the playoffs. "My decision for the next two to three weeks is to rehab with the possibility of coming back, but with no guarantee," Wade said. "I'll find out after therapy and rehab how my body responds to things."...

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears reached a preliminary agreement to trade running back Thomas Jones to the New York Jets on Monday for a second-round draft pick. A person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press the Jets will give up a second-round draft pick, 37th overall, for Jones, who rushed for 1,210 yards and six touchdowns in helping the Bears make the Super Bowl. The person did not wish to be identified because the trade has not been officially announced...

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Mark Wilson was a math major at North Carolina and confesses that one of his favorite things is crossing off items on his to-do lists. He can now erase the top entry on that sheet of goals. Wilson made a birdie to beat Jose Coceres on the third playoff hole and win the Honda Classic at PGA National on Monday, the 32-year-old player's first PGA Tour victory in 111 career tries. ...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Tyler Hansbrough will probably play in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament despite breaking his nose during the blood-filled final seconds of No. 8 North Carolina's victory over 14th-ranked Duke on Sunday. Hansbrough suffered what coach Roy Williams said Monday was a small nondisplaced fracture when Duke's Gerald Henderson flagrantly fouled him with 14.5 seconds left in the Tar Heels' 86-72 win...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Juan Pablo Montoya is an aggressive, fearless driver -- always has been, always will be. If that wasn't clear before he came to NASCAR late last season, it certainly is now. Montoya lived up to his reputation in Mexico City, making a risky pass and spinning teammate Scott Pruett to take the lead with eight laps to go Sunday before pulling away for his first NASCAR victory...

PITTSBURGH -- The Penguins moved a step closer to leaving Pittsburgh, declaring an impasse Monday in their new arena negotiations with state and local leaders and saying they will actively pursue relocation. The breakdown in arena talks came only three days after Gov. Ed Rendell said he felt an agreement was close. It also increases the possibility the Penguins will be playing in Kansas City next season...

Scholarships n Christine Sturms of Jackson, Stacy Estes of Gordonville, Kelly Randolph and Elizabeth Kluesner, both of Altenburg, Mo., and Kory Kluesner and Victoria Senciboy, both of Oran, Mo., have been awarded Missouri Leadership scholarships to attend Southeast Missouri State University for the 2007 to 2008 academic year. ...

When John Ishee moved to Cape Girardeau in June, he could never have envisioned what took place early Monday evening in a Show Me Center meeting room. Back in June, Ishee was hired as an assistant coach for the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team...

It was one of the most anticipated matchups in Southeast Missouri heading into the season. Now heading into the fourth meeting this season, Bell City and Scott County's Class 1 sectional 6 p.m. game today at Poplar Bluff High School should still draw plenty of interest...

Southeast Missouri State junior right-hander Dustin Renfrow was on Monday named the Ohio Valley Conference pitcher of the week. Renfrow, a transfer from Jefferson College in his first season with the Redhawks, was the winning pitcher during Saturday's 3-1 triumph over Cleveland State...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Fernando Nieve pitched two hitless innings and didn't show any signs of the forearm and elbow soreness that bothered him last year, helping the Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 Monday Nieve threw 22 of 37 pitches for strikes, walked two and struck out one...

Can you smell that smell? No, it's not the smell of death surrounding you. It's the flowers. Hear that sound? It's not the sound of impending doom, it's the sound of birds. Yes, my friends, spring is upon us. Well, almost. Every year when March rolls around, I start to get a little bit excited. ...

Lessons learned from a trip through Europe

It's Saturday, a rainy night in Cape Girardeau. Main Street, usually crowded with college kids or drunken townies, is empty. No one wants to come downtown tonight. I'm sitting at the bar in Broussard's, one of the only places with any life at all. I'm nursing a progressively warmer beer and watching the kids in Sweet Tooth. They're playing a good set, and I start thinking back to the last time I'd heard them...

Imagine it ... a music venue in Cape Girardeau resembling The Pageant or The Blue Note. Phil Brinson, owner of Buckner Brewing Co., has not only imagined it, but is about to turn this dream into a reality. Brinson, while warning that his plans are very "liquid" at the moment, says that the Broadway Theatre (not to be confused with the Esquire, which he also owns) is the target of the project...

Until a few weeks ago I had not heard of the Wiggles, not once; but on that mild evening after Fat Tuesday in late February, I would wish that I never had. For the uninitiated, the Wiggles are a band from Australia that specializes in children's entertainment. ...

Last semester, high school English teacher Sara Goodman was correcting essays on "To Kill A Mockingbird." One student wrote about plot developments that happened "b4 Bob Ewell died." Jeff Stanton, an associate professor at Syracuse University remembers one student text messaging him to find out his Christmas grade. The message read simply: "Hi prof how are u -- culd u tell me my xm grade."...

The date has changed but the fest remains the same. Show Me Digital Film Festival organizers Pat Bond and Michael Huntington pushed the date of their festival back a month. Originally scheduled for late February, the festival has bee changed to March 24 at Port Cape Girardeau due to a scheduling conflict (the River City Players needed the space last month)...

Nothing ruins a joke so surely as being told in advance how funny it is. God forbid I ruin this book for you. So this is not a prediction that you will love it, but it's a suggestion that you try. For the sake of your time, we'll do a quick test. Listed below are actual contents of "Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans." If you find no curiosity tugs at you, then feel free to move on in Off. Please begin...

Rock Solid, the crew famous for melting faces, is back from their self-imposed break. Thursday, March 8 at 10 p.m., the Solid, along with new drummer Andy Whelan from Pizzasaurus Rex, will play Ragsdale's with Destroy Destroy Destroy from Kentucky. ...

The CDC estimates that some 5,000 people die each year from foodborne diseases.

Some of Southeast Missouri State University's best athletes are probably people you've never heard of. They don't get the play that basketball, football and even baseball get. Instead, they compete with little fanfare, but lots of passion. We're talking about the women of Southeast gymnastics. In recent years the team has been a perennial contender, recruiting quality gymnasts from throughout the country...

COMMUNITY EVERY SATURDAY Red House Interpretive Center: The Red House Interpretive Center opens its doors for spring and summer starting March 3. For more information call Jane Randol Jackson at 204-2331. MARCH 7 A.C. Brase Arena Building: The Cape Girardeau Noon Optimist Club hosts its annual fundraiser, Noon Optimist Chili Day, at the A.C. Brase Arena Building. The event lasts from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information call the Arena Building at 334-5421...

This month we reviewed the freshman effort from Flyleaf, a Texas-based heavy rock quintet who's been tearing up the charts lately. The opening track, "I'm So Sick", is clearly the right choice to begin the album. Fronted by female lead vocalist Lacey Mosley, "I'm So Sick" kicks off with searing vocals set to a languid bass line. Twenty seconds into the track, Lacey belts out a rage-filled scream, and you know immediately, this isn't the same old female-fronted rock band filling the airwaves...

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (AP) -- Springfield hotel developer John Q. Hammons is bringing his vision of luxury lodging to the Lake of the Ozarks, on a peninsula where the 15-story hotel is sure to stand out. Hammons expects his 14th Missouri property -- a European-style hotel to be called Chateau on Lake of the Ozarks, Osage Beach -- will cost an estimated $80 million to $90 million. The hotel will have 320 rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri State University's board of governors will consider a 3.5 percent increase in student tuition at a meeting Friday. The proposed hike for the 2007-2008 year starting this fall would raise the cost of an undergraduate credit hour to $179 from $173, a total increase of $72 for a student taking 12 hours a semester...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A check of Missouri bridges following the partial collapse of one last week in St. Louis found 60 that need reinforcement, the Missouri Department of Transportation said. MoDOT reinspected 119 bridges statewide in the wake of the collapse at the Delor Street overpass onto Interstate 55 last Thursday. One driver was injured when a 25-ton slab of concrete collapsed onto the interstate...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Scott County corrections officer's alleged attempt to tamper with witnesses was discovered March 1 in the Scott County Jail. Sarina R. Watkins, 29, of Sikeston, Mo., was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of attempting to tamper with a witness. She is out on a $10,000 bond...

Congratulations, Scooter. You can take your place in the "fall guy" hall of fame now. That's all right, don't be shy. We know it was an honor just to be nominated. But today, as you stand convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice and face up to 25 years in jail, you've made it...

THEBES, Ill. -- Hundreds of people gathered Tuesday in St. Louis to mark the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Dred Scott case, which was heard in the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis and brought the nation closer to civil war. But one place Scott is advertised to have been housed, one of the holding cells in the Thebes courthouse, has no events recognizing the anniversary...

Last month a hepatitis scare broke out when a prep cook could have exposed singer Beyonce Knowles and others to the virus at a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition party. No illnesses have been reported. Local health officials recommend vaccines for people in food service because someone with hepatitis can appear without symptoms and the virus can be transmitted through food...

The long-vacant Plaza Galleria at 2001 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau may soon have a new owner. Greater Missouri Builders has signed a purchase contract on the 6.85-acre property. The site has been on the market since May 2004. Mayor Jay Knudtson said the city asked GMB to buy the property during last year's negotiations that put National Asset Recovery Service in the old Sears building owned by GMB nearby...

Southeast Missouri State University will increase room and board fees by just over 5 percent on average for the next academic year to cover increased housing and food service costs. The school's board of regents unanimously approved the fee increases Wednesday...

No pellet guns; Natural phenomenon; Veto was proper; Special-interest votes; Paying for waste; High electricity costs; Gala was fun; War support; Expensive Congress; Hiring is questioned; Short-staffing nurses

By Kathy Conwayand Alan Journet Authoritative analysis of climate science comes from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (World Meteorological Organization-United Nations Environment Program). Analyzing reports of thousands of scientific experts from the peer-reviewed scientific literature, it summarizes the consensus...

In October 2005, an outside consulting firm pronounced the Missouri State Public Defender System on the "verge of collapse." The caseload had increased to 88,000 a year, a number that has risen by more than 2,000 cases a year over the past five years. Each year during that period, 20 percent of the corps of public defenders turned over...

Former Southeast Missouri State University basketball standout Arvin Haynes and his wife, Cathy, conduct a special service at the Bethel Assembly of God Church in Cape Girardeau; Haynes graduated from Southeast in 1976 and traveled two years with a semiprofessional "Athletes for Christ" basketball team from Illinois...

To the editor:While the Cape Girardeau County public defender office may not be overloaded, Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle neglected to mention that there are five other counties covered by this office, including Scott and Mississippi counties in the 33rd Circuit, which has the largest number of cases in the state...

To the editor:"Impeach Bush." That was one of the many stickers I recently saw on a truck in Jackson. Among some others were "How can you be pro-life and pro-war"? Another read "Thanks for the money, sorry about the kids" with a caricature of Dick Cheney in the background. Another read "Had enough"?...

Scott City's K&R Estates isn't visible to the casual motorist passing through. The view of the mobile home park off the south side of Main Street is commonly obscured by trains rumbling down the tracks that run the length of the city. But venturing off Main Street and into the mobile home park will reveal a plethora of eyesores -- mobile homes with busted windows and trashed underpinnings, couches and other debris sitting on porches and other sights any visitor would find unattractive...

Gov. Matt Blunt wants Missouri's elementary and secondary schools to hold tornado drills over the next two weeks to teach students how best to protect themselves from the dangers of powerful spring storms. Area school officials and a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education say schools hold several emergency drills during the course of a school year and that a March tornado drill is common...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Circuit Judge Mark M. Boie agreed Monday to combine the burglary and murder trials of a Union County, Ill., man, siding with the state's attorney. Attorneys argued before Boie at the Union County courthouse Monday over joining two cases in which 23-year-old Robert Pitts Jr. is accused...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Valorie A. Spurlock of Cobden appeared in Union County, Ill., court Monday for pretrial hearings. She is charged of solicitation of murder for hire, possession of methamphetamine precursors, child endangerment and participation in methamphetamine production. Spurlock is out on a $250,000 bond. Spurlock's trial hearing is scheduled for April 9...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- While the University of Missouri Board of Curators is looking nationally for a new system president, many who attended a public forum here Tuesday afternoon urged the board not to overlook candidates who can be found closer to home...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Concerns and suggestions were plentiful Tuesday as a Republican plan to revamp government health care for the poor made its debut in a Senate committee. The plan backed by Gov. Matt Blunt and legislative leaders would rename Medicaid "Mo HealthNet," while placing a greater emphasis on managed care, rewarding people for healthy habits and paying some medical providers based on their performance...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Two suicide bombers turned a procession of Shiite pilgrims into a blood-drenched stampede Tuesday, killing scores with a first blast and then claiming more lives among fleeing crowds. At least 106 were killed amid a wave of deadly strikes against Shiites heading for a solemn religious ritual...

BEDFORD, Ind. -- The cracks in Eric and Beth Johnson's marriage first appeared after their daughter's birth. They deepened last summer as Beth Johnson sought a divorce and a restraining order amid allegations her husband had held her at gunpoint in an effort to change her mind...

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that reached into the highest levels of the Bush administration. Libby is the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a felony since the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s. ...

NEW YORK -- Lottery players lined up at ticket machines across the nation Tuesday, dreaming about the fat bank accounts and permanent vacations that winning the record $370 million Mega Millions jackpot would bring. The winning numbers were 42-39-29-22-16; Mega Ball number 20. It wasn't immediately known how many tickets were sold nationwide or who, if anyone, held the winning ticket...

Martha Leta Lewis Bahn died peacefully Monday, March 5, 2007, at Chateau Girardeau. Born Jan. 2, 1925, in Des Arc, Mo., Leta was the fifth of six children born into the loving family of Fred and Ethel Lewis. Her siblings include Frank, Francis, Frieda, Freeman and Bill...

Maj. Franklin D. Neal, 72, of Fairview Heights, Ill., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007, at his home. Franklin earned a B.S. cum laude degree in physics and math from Southeast Missouri State University in 1973. He lived in Cape Girardeau 12 years and was a former member of Lynwood Baptist Church...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Denny Joe Palmer, 59, of McClure died Sunday, March 4, 2007, at his home. He was born Sept. 6, 1947, at McClure, son of Denny and Ruby Alice Kirk Palmer. He and Pat Seals Dickerson were married June 24, 2002, at Wickliffe, Ky. Palmer worked for Florsheim Shoe Co. ...

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- H. Lorraine Whertwine, 83, of Sedgewickville died Monday, March 5, 2007, at her home. She was born Aug. 13, 1923, at Warsaw, Mo., daughter of John Henry and Effie Frances Moore Waggoner. She and Leonard Whertwine were married Dec. 24, 1945, in St. Louis...

Susan Elizabeth Long Higgerson, 47, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Robert Michael Fann, 32, of Scott City died Monday, March 5, 2007, at his home. He was born April 13, 1974, at Chaffee, Mo., son of Bruce and Paula Kay McGuire White. Fann was a welder with CSX in Sikeston, Mo. Survivors include a son, Zachary Fann of Scott City; his parents of Perryville, Mo.; a brother, B.J. White of Lewisburg, Tenn.; a sister, Jennifer Sanders of Paoli, Ind.; and maternal grandmother, Wilma McGuire of Chaffee...

Jones; DeProw; Miller; Barr

DWIs; Summons

n At 5:47 p.m., an illegal burn at 1903 Big Bend Road. n At 9:06 p.m., emergency medical service in the 500 block of South Benton Street. n At 9:10 p.m., a fire alarm at 1000 Towers Circle. n At 10:06 p.m., a citizen assist at 416 Elm St. n At 10:25 p.m., a citizen assist at 416 Elm St...

You may currently be engaged in a most gardeners' spring ritual. You purchase bare-root plants, whether they be strawberries, seedling trees from the Conservation Commission or bare-root trees and shrubs. When the plants arrive, you unwrap them, inspect them, plant them and think of how you are going keep them alive during the hot, dry summer months ahead...

Have you ever seen weather so topsy-turvy around here? Every morning I don't know how to dress for work because it's 30 degrees when I leave the house and 60 degrees when I go home. It also makes it hard to plan meals. Soup sounds great in the morning, and then by the afternoon, it's perfect for a barbecue. The weather keeps us on our toes...

Gardening This week Delay planting if the garden soil is too wet. When a ball of soil crumbles easily after being squeezed together in your hand, it is dry enough to be safely worked. Plant peas, lettuce, radishes, kohlrabi, mustard greens, collards, turnips, Irish potatoes, spinach and onions (seeds and sets) outdoors. -- www.mobot.org...

CHICAGO -- The low-carb, high-fat Atkins diet gets high marks in one of the biggest, longest head-to-head studies of popular weight-loss plans, beating the Zone, the Ornish diet and even U.S. guidelines. Even so, critics say the results show how hard it is to lose weight and keep it off...

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- France's storied Louvre museum, home to priceless art works like the Mona Lisa, said Tuesday it will open a new Louvre in this Persian Gulf boomtown, prompting outcries from some who accuse the museum of shilling France's patrimony for $1.3 billion in oil money...

POPLAR BLUFF -- Scott County Central exorcised some sectional demons on Tuesday and ended Delta's perfect season with a 44-40 win in a Class 1 girls sectional. The Bravettes had lost to Delta (26-1) three times this season, and had lost the past two sectional meetings with the Bobcats...

POPLAR BLUFF -- The Bell City boys basketball team is not ready to turn over its title as the region's premiere Class 1 squad just yet, as the Cubs escaped a huge comeback Tuesday to win 65-63 against rival Scott County Central in the state sectional...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Steve Trachsel didn't care about the improvement he showed from the previous time he faced the St. Louis Cardinals. He was far more pleased with the progress he made from his first spring training start. Trachsel allowed one run and three hits in three innings Tuesday in his second appearance with the Baltimore Orioles. In his first outing, he yielded three runs and four hits in a loss to Florida...

The Missouri Department of Conservation is offering a hands-on turkey hunting program for youths 11 to 15. Twenty students will be selected to participate in the Spring Youth Turkey Hunting Clinic on March 24 at the Apple Creek Conservation Area. The program is part of the Hunting Skills University curriculum...

PEORIA, Ariz. -- One by one, more than 80 players seated on a back field of the Padres' spring training complex stood and gave their names and where they were last season. "Jesus Lopez. Fort Wayne. Eugene." Class-A teammates laughed and teased. "Michael Johnson. Pittsburgh Pirates. Indianapolis."...

ST. LOUIS -- The Calgary Flames erased a two-goal deficit by ignoring it. Jarome Iginla had three assists, including Wayne Primeau's go-ahead score on a short-handed breakaway early in the third period, in a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night...

Archery club hastwo events on tap The Four Corners Archery Club in Bollinger County is hosting a coon shoot on March 31 and the IBO state championships on June 2. The second annual coon shoot will include three classes -- compound, women's and traditional. Registration will be 6 to 8 p.m. and shooting begins at dark. Each shooter will need to bring a flashlight that uses two D-cell batteries or less, and hunter orange is required...

JUPITER, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen struggled to throw strikes Tuesday in his first live batting practice of the spring as he continues to come back from hip surgery that sidelined him during the 2006 postseason. Isringhausen threw on a back field at Roger Dean Stadium while the Cardinals traveled to play the Orioles. He looked sharp and threw strikes while warming up...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Texas women's coach Jody Conradt picked up her 900th career win as the Longhorns routed Missouri 70-57 Tuesday night in the first round of the Big 12 Conference women's tournament. Freshman Earnesia Williams -- playing in her home state of Oklahoma -- scored 17 points to lead seventh-seeded Texas (18-13) into a quarterfinal contest Wednesday against second-seeded and 11th-ranked Oklahoma, a team with which the Longhorns split a pair of regular-season games...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kevin Durant of Texas, lauded by many as perhaps the finest freshman in NCAA history, and Texas A&M point guard Acie Law are unanimous first-team selections to The Associated Press All-Big 12 team for 2006-07. Joining them on the first team are Texas Tech senior Jarrius Jackson, Oklahoma State senior Mario Boggan, and sophomore Julian Wright of regular-season champion Kansas...

The SEAL swimming team participated in the Ozark Championship meet in February at the St. Peters Rec Plex with 700 swimmers from eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois. Thirteen of the 22 SEALS swimmers had top-16 finishes. n Ryan Gibson was the high-point winner for boys ages 13 and 14, while Connor McGinnis won that honor for boys ages 11 and 12.Members of the team with their age groups and their finishes:...

Late-inning rallies and heroics have played a big role in the Southeast Missouri State-Arkansas State baseball series lately. In Tuesday night's clash in Jonesboro, Ark., the Indians' walkoff home run trumped Southeast's pinch-hit three-run homer that tied the game in the eighth inning...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Some state senators are vowing to block a bill that critics claim would essentially legalize sexual harassment in Missouri by making it more difficult to prove discrimination. The legislation is a response to recent court rulings involving discrimination lawsuits against public schools. But it comes shortly after state agriculture director Fred Ferrell was forced to resign following claims he sexually harassed and discriminated against an employee...

UNION, Mo. -- Prosecutors from three Missouri counties and the federal government are considering an offer of a plea deal that would put kidnapping suspect Michael Devlin in prison for the rest of his life, Franklin County prosecutor Robert Parks said Tuesday...

Dustin Renfrow picked up another honor following his first pitching victory at the NCAA Division I level over the weekend. Renfrow, a junior who came to Southeast from Jefferson College, pitched 7 innings Saturday and allowed just one unearned run in Southeast's 3-1 victory against Cleveland State...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri would have a new alert for missing adults under a measure passed Wednesday by the state Senate, while Amber Alerts would only be issued for children. The bill passed 32-0. Supporters said that the federal government has asked states to be more uniform in issuing alerts for missing children. The measure would also expand Amber Alerts to cover situations where authorities believe an abductor does not intend to harm the child...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's college loan authority would gain new powers to make loans to families of K-12 students under legislation passed by the Senate on Wednesday night. The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority already can make loans to the families of high school juniors and seniors enrolled in college credit courses, though the agency has not been doing so, said Quentin Wilson, the agency's associate director for access and success...

Three lawyers seeking to stop a proposed constitutional amendment restricting the role of judges in disputes over taxes and spending took their case Thursday to the court of public opinion. Ron Baird, president of the Missouri Bar, former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ann Covington and University of Missouri Law School professor Douglas Abrams held a news conference questioning the wisdom of the amendment, which supporters said will block the courts from imposing tax increases...

Construction of a new parking structure at Southeast Missouri State University's New Madrid Street lot will force some students to find elsewhere to park on campus for the next several months. About 500 student parking spaces in so-called "Pig Lot" will be fenced off for the next several months while a contractor constructs a new, two-story parking structure...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Michael Devlin's attorney has dismissed a plea deal being drafted by county and federal prosecutors, saying the broad outlines of the package already make it a nonstarter. Devlin, a former pizzeria manager, is accused of kidnapping two boys and faces 81 state and federal counts of kidnapping, sexual assault and producing child pornography. In addition to the federal case, Devlin, 41, is charged in Franklin, Washington and St. Louis counties...

TAMMS, Ill.--A 33-year-old Tamms, Ill., woman died in a house fire Tuesday afternoon. Lisa Smith died of asphyxiation probably from smoke inhalation, said Alexander County Coroner Harold McNelly Thursday. McNelly pronounced Smith's death at 5:55 p.m. Tuesday...

Oran, Mo., native and reigning Miss Missouri USA Amber Seyer will appear on an episode of the NBC TV game show "Identity," an NBC representative said Thursday. The date of Seyer's appearance is still undetermined, but she will not be on the show until after March 16, the representative said...

Southeast Missouri State University would receive more than $24 million for construction projects, including a center to diagnose and treat autism, officials said Thursday. The plan, backed by Gov. Matt Blunt and House and Senate leaders, would use money from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to fund $350 million for campus construction projects across the state...

March 8, 2007 Dear Patty, Some blame static electricity. Some say they slip into a black hole between universes. They've been disappearing for centuries now. No one knows why or how. Missing socks are one of life's unfathomable mysteries...

A local group is hoping a lot of brainstorming will be the first step toward making a dent in global climate change. "In a nutshell the problem is: 'We are the problem,'" said Dr. Alan Journet, a biology professor at Southeast Missouri State University who helped organize the group. "The problem starts with us, and the solution must also start with us."...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- An employee at the Scott County Jail was charged this week with two counts of attempting to tamper with a witness. Sarina R. Watkins, 29, of Sikeston was arrested Monday. She is out on a $10,000 bond. According to the probable-cause statement and chief deputy Tom Beardslee, Watkins tried to influence witnesses in a case involving a jail inmate she had a relationship with...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- A Chaffee police officer involved in a controversial police pursuit Sept. 23 left the department Feb. 23, chief Martin Keys said Tuesday. Chaffee patrolman Jim Backfisch pursued a vehicle that crashed on Route U in Cape Girardeau County following a high-speed police chase that began in Chaffee...

By Jason Crowell I respectfully disagree with Robert Fulton's March 1 op-ed article on the tax-relief measure I and many of my colleagues in the Missouri House and Senate are advancing this session. Shielding Social Security benefits from state income taxation creates a number of positive results for all Missourians...

It has been more than a year since Gov. Matt Blunt first proposed using assets from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to raise funds for needed constructions projects at the state's tax-supported colleges and universities. Now there is a plan that appears to satisfy nearly everyone and gives legislators some control over how the money is spent...

Grade-level reading; Big cleanup job; Big-city schmoozer; Deplorable conditions; Same caseload; Living in a bubble; Expensive fares; Turning on Bush; Speeding litterers; Wrong direction; Requested music; City of fountains

To the editor:How do you like to see tattoos on women? No? Well, neither do I. Fads come and go, but that does not include tattoos. A popular magazine, Oklahoma Today, questioned a number of men, and guess what it found? The majority least preferred girls with tattoos or body piercings. Doesn't that give you a different slant on a fad that strips a girl of her femininity and shows a tendency to cheapen her? Of course, it does. Others think the same...

State Sen. Harriet Woods, announcing her candidacy for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate, targets her remarks at Reagan administration economic policies during a stopover at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport. An overwhelming majority of Cape Girardeau County voters questioned in a survey favor a state lottery, and more than half of them want the Blue Law prohibiting Sunday sales in the county repealed; they are almost evenly split on whether parimutual betting should be allowed on horse racing.. ...

To the editor:The campaign for apology for slavery, without substance, is well-intentioned but meaningless. Our nation and the American people have been apologizing for slavery for almost a century and a half. Hundreds of thousands of lives were sacrificed in the Civil War to free slaves. ...

The VHS format for movies is almost dead. At Hastings Books Music & Videos at the Town Plaza in Cape Girardeau, a display has about 150 videocassettes with the sign: "Clearance sale. All videocassette tapes -- $2.99. Buy two, get one for a penny."...

The Southeast Missourian building will be honored today with a "Preserve Missouri Award" from the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation, a not-for-profit, volunteer-led organization based in Columbia. The 81-year-old building was restored in 2005 using historic preservation tax credits from the state...

New legislation requiring stricter oversight of military medical facilities and swifter action to correct problems will be a good first step toward guaranteeing quality care for wounded soldiers, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said Wednesday. But those steps won't be enough, Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said as she announced she is the first Republican to join Democrats in sponsoring the proposal. ...

Michaela Whitaker, left, and Beth Lincoln shared warm fuzzies as they played with a Yorkshire terrier that Elizabeth Johnson brought to a playground at Jackson City Park on Wednesday. (FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Four associates of a Missouri-based Islamic charity and a fifth man in the Middle East have been indicted on charges that they illegally sent money to Iraq and lied about an affiliate of Osama bin Laden's having worked with the charity, the federal prosecutor's office announced Wednesday...

Sikeston mayor wants crack down on litterbugs SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston's mayor called on residents and law enforcement to join in the fight against litterbugs. Mayor Mike Marshall said during the regular city council meeting Monday that he has received comments from residents about litter in the city. ...

Trinity Lutheran School in Cape Girardeau will hold an open house and enrollment from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m Tuesday. Student work will be on display and teachers will be available to answer questions. Parents interested in enrolling their children should bring copies of their children's birth certificates, Social Security numbers, immunization records, baptismal certificates and $30 toward the registration fee...

9 a.m. Thursday County Administration Building, 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n Payroll change form. n County no burn order. n Bonds for Juvenile Department employees. Action items n Request for computer update, prosecuting attorney's office...

By C.M. Schmidlkofer Southeast Missourian Police arrested a man Monday night on charges of possession of drugs and drug paraphernailia after a two-block pursuit. Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Barry Hovis said that shortly before 10 p.m., an officer observed Mark E. Brazel, 35, whose last known address was Charleston, Mo., failing to signal when turning from North Street onto Frederick Street...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A man convicted of second-degree domestic assault for shoving a cell phone down his girlfriend's throat was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison. Marlon Brando Gill, 25, faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison after a jury convicted him last month of the second-degree assault for the December 2005 incident, but his attorney says he will appeal the conviction...

Southeast Missouri State University students will pay about 5 percent more in room and board charges on average next school year. They'll also pay more to park on campus. The school's board of regents unanimously approved the fee increases Wednesday to cover increased costs for campus housing and food service...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Hundreds of opponents of embryonic stem-cell research crammed the Capitol halls Wednesday urging a statewide election on whether to overturn a voter-approved constitutional protection for such research. Legislative proposals to put a stem-cell research amendment back on the 2008 ballot have stalled in divided House and Senate committees...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed the biggest tax increase in Illinois history Wednesday, portraying it as both a matter of fairness to average Illinoisans and the key to meeting the state's moral obligations. In his fifth State of the State address, Blagojevich said the $7 billion in new business taxes should be used to provide health care to the uninsured and pump more money into public schools...

By Kerry Wynn In his forward to "The Jesus Family Tomb," James Cameron writes, "I have come to realize that history is a consensus hallucination." Clearly, Simcha Jacobovici, Charles Pellegrino and Cameron (the Three Amigos) are trying to create a consensus around a new hallucination in claiming to have found Jesus' family tomb. Does their evidence stands up to examination?...

PHILADELPHIA -- An unknown number of new George Washington dollar coins were mistakenly struck without their edge inscriptions, including "In God We Trust," and are fetching around $50 apiece online. The properly struck dollar coins, bearing the likeness of the nation's first president, are inscribed along the edge with "In God We Trust," "E Pluribus Unum" and the year and mint mark. The flawed coins made it past inspectors and went into circulation Feb. 15...

Susan Elizabeth Long Higgerson, 47, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Dec. 26, 1959, at Cape Girardeau, daughter of Carl William and Joanna Drum Long. She and Steven Higgerson were married in 1984...

Mildred Marie McQuaid, 88, of Fort Myers, Fla., formerly of Pinckneyville, Ill., passed away Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at 3 a.m. in Southwest Memorial Hospital at Fort Myers. Mildred was born Dec. 30, 1918, in Tamaroa, Ill., daughter to Henry and Elizabeth Lynch Kothe. She married Howard Lyle McQuaid March 23, 1940, in Perryville, Mo. He preceded her in death Sept. 14, 1967...

Fred R. Lewallen, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Charles Clemons, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, March 7, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

ANNA, Ill. -- Gerritt Edward Mears, 33, of West Frankfort, Ill., formerly of Anna, died Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at his home. He was born Nov. 12, 1973, in Cape Girardeau, son of Paul Edward and Janice York Mears. Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Janice and Danny Ferguson of Anna; two sisters, Lisa Taylor of Anna, Nicki Mears of Dayton, Ohio; and paternal grandmother, Mary Mears of New Haven, Ill...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Lisa Smith, 33, of Tamms died Tuesday, March 6, 2007, in a house fire. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to service time Friday at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Danny Jones officiating...

Sex offender gets 10 days for not registering Another of nine men wanted for failing to register as sex offenders in December has been sentenced for his crime. Norman Copeland, 27, of Jackson was sentenced Tuesday to 10 days in Cape Girardeau County Jail, said Cape Girardeau County prosecutor Morley Swingle. ...

TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- A jury found a man guilty Wednesday in the 1996 carjacking and killing of a special education teacher who secretly tape-recorded the conversation that took place during the crime. Michael LaSane, 27, was convicted of murder, kidnapping, robbery and carjacking. He faces life in prison...

Terbrak; Kilburn; Craft; Hall; Lemons ; Sanders; Snider; Parker

Arrests; Theft; Thefts

n At 6:18 p.m., illegal burn at 2807 Gordonville Road. n At 8:28 p.m., emergency medical service at Center Junction. n At 8:46 p.m., emergency medical service in the 500 block of North Kingshighway. n At 12:46 a.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of South Silver Springs Road...

When Linda Tewis' grandson was diagnosed three years ago with tuberous sclerosis complex, a genetic disorder characterized by seizures and tumor growth in vital organs, she turned to the Monday Ladies Bridge Group for support. Their solution: raising funds for research...

Rotarians flip pancakes Tuesday The 58th annual Rotary Club Pancake Day will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Jackson Armory. Pancakes, sausage and beverage are included in the price. Carry out service will be available. Children's meals are discounted, and all proceeds benefit local projects...

Jonathan Doberenz, formerly of Jackson, has graduated from basic Navy recruit training at Great Lakes, Ill. He is attending training to be an operation specialist and quartermaster. Doberenz is the son of Randy and Edie Kagy of Milton, Fla., and Kenneth Doberenz of Perryville, Mo. He is a graduate of Milson High School...

Two hundred teachers at Central High School, Notre Dame Regional High School and the Alternative School will receive a token of appreciation with yellow roses today from the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau Area, marking International Women's Day. "We are very appreciative of the special contributions these teachers make to the education and development of the youth in our community," said Maria Childress, Zonta Club president. ...

The Missouri Department of Conservation and Cape Girar-deau County Master Gardeners have partnered to bring a native plant seminar to the Nature Center from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Registration, for ages 15 to adult, starts at 8 a.m. There is no registration fee...

Bernie Community Center holds pageant Registration for the second annual "Shining Star Pageant" to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at Bernie Community Center in Bernie, Mo. Categories range from infant to age 20 and up. ...

Cholesterol and glucose screenings for seniors at the First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge, 8 to 10:30 a.m. To schedule an appointment, call 651-5825. Infant massage at HealthPoint Plaza, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. To register, call 651-5825. Asthma education program for children and adults who deal with asthma at Southeast Missouri Hospital's Generations Center, 6:30 p.m. To register, call 651-5825...

More than a year ago, Tony Koeller's snoring kept his pregnant wife from getting a good night's rest. Koeller, of Jackson, never thought much about his noisy nighttime habit until he went to Saint Francis Sleep Disorders Center, where he was diagnosed with sleep apnea...

Editor's note: This column was originally published March 2, 2006. I was once referred a 17-year-old boy whose parents were concerned because he slept all the time. I asked him straight out: "Why do you sleep so much?" "Because I can," was his straight-out response...

VINELAND, Colo. -- Farmer Phil Prutch isn't sure about putting Colorado convicts to work in his fields this summer. But then again, he says, he doesn't have much of a choice. Somebody has to pick the crops. Prutch has 15 acres of rotting peppers to show what happens if someone doesn't...

DALTON, Ga. -- A Georgia truck driver stepped forward Wednesday to claim half of a $390 million jackpot, the richest lottery prize in U.S. history. "I'm going to do a lot of fishing," Ed Nabors, 52, of Rocky Face, Ga., about 90 miles north of Atlanta, said in a deep Southern drawl...

MIAMI -- A sex offender was found guilty Wednesday of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old girl and burying her alive, a case that led to a crackdown around the country on people convicted of sex crimes. Jurors deliberated about four hours before returning the verdict against John Evander Couey in the slaying of Jessica Lunsford, who was snatched from her bedroom in 2005 about 150 yards from the trailer where Couey had been living...