Stories from April 2007

Cape Girardeau police had one man in custody and were searching for a gun in the area of Good Hope and Middle streets after responding to reports of two shots being fired in the area. More than half a dozen officers, under the direction of Sgt. R.F. Schmidt, were searching about 6:45 p.m. for a small caliber handgun behind an abandoned house near the corner of Good Hope and Middle streets...

Thousands of eggs. Hundreds of children. Three minutes. Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department held its 18th annual Easter egg hunt at Capaha Park on Saturday for children. Each age group was given 30 to 45 minutes to hunt, but the landscape was wiped clean in three minutes...

Southeast Missouri's economy is losing millions of dollars in income because of low high school graduation rates in many of the region's counties, says a university economist who has studied the issue. The region's total income is about $500 million a year less than it would be if the percentage of residents with high school degrees matched the statewide figure, said Dr. Bruce Domazlicky, director of the Center for Economic and Business Research at Southeast Missouri State University...

A woman reported she was robbed Friday by a woman armed with a handgun on the Schnucks parking lot at 19 S. Kingshighway. An undisclosed amount of money was taken, police said. The robbery occurred at 6:53 p.m. The robber had a gun tucked in a waistband, but never flourished it during the incident, the victim told police...

We love Roy; Channel outrage; Home run column; Pork is pork; Punishment required; Proud Heckler; A hot day in 1954; Pet care; Lap-Band surgeons?; Hitler and Tojo; Cardinal Nation; Let tax cuts expire; Gore propaganda; Whom to condemn?; Republican sheep; More the merrier; 'Cheap' has a cost

ADVANCE, Mo.-- Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Weir of Washington, Ill., announce the engagement of their daughter, Caleena Rai Weir, to Dustyn Colle Hazel. He is the son of Bill and Terri Hazel of Advance. Weir is also the daughter of the late Bonnie Weir-Thornkill...

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Lang of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Trina Nicole Lang, to Jake William Hindman. He is the son of Kim and Neva Hindman of Egypt Mills. Lang is a 2003 graduate of Jackson High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University in 2006. She is a substitute teacher long term with Jackson School District at Orchard Drive Elementary...

BENTON, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Stowell J. Hobbs of Charleston, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Theresa Catherine Hobbs, to Eric Michael Seiler. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Seiler of Benton. Hobbs is a 2002 graduate of Charleston High School. She received an associate's degree in education from Three Rivers Community College in 2004, and a bachelor of science degree in secondary education from Southeast Missouri State University in 2006...

John and Tina Kaufman of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their son, Staff Sgt. Travis Edward Kaufman, to Jamie Elaine Hovinetz. She is the daughter of David and Jennifer Hovinetz of LaGrange, Ohio. Hovinetz is a 2002 graduate of Keystone High School and Lorain County Joint Vocational School. She is employed at Dillard's Department Store in Newport News, Va...

Callie Denean Williams and Robert Dale Donley Jr. announce their engagement. She is the daughter of Jeff and Debbie Maevers of Cape Girardeau. Donley is the son of Robert Donley Sr. of Gideon, Mo., and Margaret Warren of Clarkton, Mo. Williams is a 2001 graduate of Jackson High School. ...

Chuck and Melissa Whitney of Jonesboro, Ill., announce the engagement of their daughter, Ana-Alicia Meldadean Succaw, to Jerry David Robison Jr. He is the son of Connie Robison of Benton, Mo., and Jerry Robison Sr. of Scott City. Succaw is a graduate of Jackson High School...

Amber Seyer "It was the most fabulous miserable experience of my life," Amber Seyer said, a few days after returning to her hometown of Oran from Los Angeles, where she competed in the Miss USA pageant. Seyer, the 20-year-old Miss Missouri, was referring to the chilly temperature maintained during the pageant, where contestants paraded about for most of the four hours in evening gowns and bikinis. Most memorable experiences are fabulous and miserable at the same time...

Park development on the Mississippi River wharf at Cape Girardeau could begin as early as this summer, pending approval by various agencies and the acquisition of funding for the project; final plans for the riverfront face-lift will probably be presented to the city council in May or June...

NEW YORK -- How hard is it to fall off a cruise ship? "It is so hard to fall overboard that when someone does go over the side, it's either because, sadly, it's a suicide attempt or it's because they're being incredibly foolish," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of the Web site CruiseCritic.com...

NEW YORK -- How hard is it to fall off a cruise ship? "It is so hard to fall overboard that when someone does go over the side, it's either because, sadly, it's a suicide attempt or it's because they're being incredibly foolish," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of the Web site CruiseCritic.com...

Tina Marie Bloodworth and Ryan Edward Walther were married Nov. 18, 2006, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson. The Rev. Robert Henrichs performed the ceremony. Organist was Orville Perr Jr. and soloist was Karla Kiesner, both of Jackson. The bride is the daughter of Doug Roberts of Oran, Mo., and Sue Roberts of Cape Girardeau. Ralph and Mary Walther of Gordonville are parents of the groom...

Joanne Kristen King and Christopher Sean Shaw were married Oct. 21, 2006, at the VFW Hall in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Ernest Jordan performed the ceremony. Parents of the bride are Larry and Tammy Popp of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Carol and Carol Shaw of Cape Girardeau...

ORAN, Mo. -- Jennifer L. Pearson and Jesse C. Rush were married June 24, 2006, at First Baptist Church. The Rev. Ed Carter performed the ceremony. Readers were Ashleigh Green of Oran, niece of the bride; and Chelsey and Morgan Laurentius, daughters of Paul and Susan Laurentius of Jackson. Soloist and guitarist was Larry Chasteen of Oran...

Ann Ostendorf and Richard Lambert exchanged vows Jan. 13, 2007, at St. Mary's Cathedral. The Rev. Tom Kiefer performed the ceremony. Music was provided by Bev Reece of Cape Girardeau. The bride is the daughter of Ken and Mary Ann Ostendorf of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Patricia Lambert of Guildford, England, and the late Tom Lambert...

Aimee Marie Sanders and Robert Wigfall III were married Feb. 16, 2007, at the Jackson County Courthouse in Murphysboro, Ill. Parents of the bride are Jerry and Margaret Sanders of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Robert Wigfall Jr. of Venice, Ill., and Marilyn Wigfall of Quincy, Ill...

Katie Ann Canfield and Jonathan Edward Vandrell were united in marriage Feb. 17, 2007, at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Kansas City, Mo. The Rev. Joe Sharbel performed the ceremony. Soloist was April Brinkoetter of Kansas City. The bride is the daughter of Tom and Kathy Buehrle of Hopkinsville, Ky., and the late Guy Harper of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Denise and Terry Rigdon of Tulsa, Okla., and Jim and Linda Vandrell of Blue Springs, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Amanda Beth Thomas and David Lynn Whitley were married Sept. 2, 2006, at Two Rivers Mansion in Nashville, Tenn. Parents of the couple are Roger and Pat Thomas of Perryville, and Gene and Frances Whitley of Ethridge, Tenn. Matron of honor was Lindsey Unterreiner, sister of the bride. Bridesmaids were Sandy White, aunt of the bride; Nicole Thieret and Kristal Friese...

To the editor:We have seen much commentary regarding the issues of difference between House Speaker Rod Jetton and Rep. Scott Lipke, and the final analysis seems to boil down to Rod Jetton's failure to sufficiently read the bill before the House vote, which he has admitted was a lack of professionalism on the part of he and his staff. ...

To the editor:The dedicated baseball fans known as the High Hill Hecklers not only enjoy the game, they need to be credited with going to a great deal of effort to keep Capaha Park cleared of trash left by others with postgame pick-up teams. They show that they are a thoughtful and responsible bunch. Through their efforts many bags of aluminum cans have been donated to the arts council for recycling, part of an ongoing drive to help us pay our electric bill...

Kelly High School A Honor Roll 12th grade -- Samantha Barber, Rachel Burnett, Arielle Carnell, Elizabeth Foster, Lauren Gean, Mary Beth Green, Cassie Jackson, Brittany Kern, Jennifer McDonough, Stephanie Payne, Brittany Ponder, Hannah Rolwing, Heath Rolwing, Dallas Tew, Kaitlin Vetter, Davina Watson...

ZALMA, Mo. -- Marilyn Olson Neville's got a big heart for finding pets a good home. Even if it means the good home is her own. Between teaching obedience courses for dog owners and serving on the board of directors for Safe Harbor, a "no-kill" animal shelter, the Zalma woman is caring for eight dogs and two cats at her Bollinger County home. ...

Jena Nguyen won the floor exercise and Southeast Missouri State's gymnastics team took third place Saturday at the Midwest Independent Conference Championship in Chicago. Southeast finished with a 193.3, behind Illinois-Chicago (193.9) and Illinois State (193.375)...

The annual B.A. Sports All-Star Extravaganza will take place April 13 and 14 this year at the Bess Activity Center in Poplar Bluff. The two-day event again will feature a volleyball game Friday, followed by two boys basketball games and a girls basketball game Saturday. In between the boys basketball games Saturday, players will take part in a skill competition with a slam-dunk contest and a 3-point shooting contest...

Considering that Mark Hogan had never posted fewer than 23 victories during his previous 12 seasons at Southeast Missouri State, it seemed fairly inevitable that he would become the baseball program's all-time winningest coach this year. Hogan needed just 19 wins to pass the late Joe Uhls, who fashioned a 373-257-5 record in 25 seasons from 1960 to 1984...

From the diamond to the cage. That's the transition for Justin Welker, a Cape Girardeau native who competed in his first mixed martial events Saturday night at the A.C. Brase Arena. In his debut, Welker defeated Steve Walden in 51 seconds at the 185-pound weight class...

Dalhousie Golf Club members wouldn't trade their golf course for any other in Missouri. To them, Dalhousie rates as the best course in the state. "We'd like to think so, but we're biased," said managing member Cord Dombrowski. An objective panel concurs. Dalhousie ranks No. 1 in the Golf Digest biennial poll of the best golf courses in Missouri, according to the results released Friday on the magazine's Web site...

n At 9:05 p.m., a motor vehicle accident in the 1000 block of North Kingshighway. n At 12:12 a.m., extrication at highways 77 and 25. n At 12:49 a.m., medical assist in the 1300 block of North Sprigg Street. n At 8:23 a.m., still alarm sounding at 3049 William St...

DWI

PHOENIX -- Actor Alec Baldwin is going to help pay for a U.S. soldier's college education after she leaves the military. Baldwin was so moved by a March 4 New York Times story about Pvt. Resha Kane's last day with family and friends before going for training to prepare for serving in Iraq that he -- not his people -- tracked down Kane's mother at a discount store where she works to offer his assistance, his spokesman said...

Earl Clayo Milam, 77, a resident of Diehlstadt, Mo., died Friday evening, March 30, 2007, at the Landmark Care Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 2, 1929, at Diehlstadt, son of the late Albert and Bonnie Watson Milam. On Nov. 17, 1956, he married Betty Jean Greer, who survives of the home in Diehlstadt...

CAMP DAVID, Md. -- President Bush and Brazil's leader plotted cooperation on freer global trade and increased use of alternative fuels in talks that brought the allies together for the second time in less than a month. Bush and first lady Laura Bush greeted President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the first Latin American head of state Bush has hosted at his presidential retreat...

CAMP DAVID, Md. -- President Bush on Saturday said Iran's capture of 15 British sailors and marines was "inexcusable" and called for Iran to "give back the hostages" immediately and unconditionally. Bush said Iran plucked the sailors out of Iraqi waters. Iran's president said Saturday they were in Iranian waters and called Britain and its allies "arrogant and selfish" for not apologizing for trespassing...

ORAN, Mo. -- Louie J. Hirschowitz, 89, of Oran died Friday, March 30, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 24, 1917, at Oran, son of Max and Margaret Ellman Hirschowitz. He was the beloved husband of Audrey Kaplan Hirschowitz. Mrs. Hirschowitz is formerly of St. Charles, Mo. They were married Feb. 16, 1944, and lifelong residents of Oran...

James Edward Young, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 21, 1918, in Crossno, Mo., son of John Sampson and Claudia O'Guin Young. He and Mary Elizabeth Caldwell Young were married Nov. 22, 1937, in Benton, Mo...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Elsie M. Tapley McKee, 77, of Tamms died Friday, March 30, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 1, 1930, in Alexander County, daughter of Floyd and Virgie King Tapley. McKee owned and operated Elsie Beauty shop for 40 years...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Clayton J. Bohnert, 89, of Perryville died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at his home. He was born Oct. 25, 1917, at Crosstown, Mo., son of Martin W. and Mary Corinne Petot Bohnert. He and Dorothy Guyott were married June 8, 1943. He had been employed with Pittsburg Plate Glass...

Oscar M. Hager, 69, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 30, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born on April 25, 1937, at Jackson, son of Thomas B. and Grace Pearl Verge Hager. He worked for Leming Lumber Co. for 22 years. He later owned and operated a lawn-care service. He was a member of Fellowship Baptist Church...

James D. Probst, 60 of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 30, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 31, 1946, in St. Louis, son of Pearl and Alma Riley Probst. Probst was a member of Circle City Pentecostal Church in Circle City, Mo. He was also a member of River City Blind Club...

David M. Dodd, 52, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at his home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Quentin Joseph Allen, son of William Joseph and Kristen Marie Lietzau Allen, died at birth on Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home...

Norman Brant's Scott County Highway Department personnel have their hands full just trying to keep the county's roads in drivable condition. Pavement that was put down on some roads just a few years ago is already starting to break up, peeling off in layers that expose the dirt underneath, leaving huge potholes...

Crews removing debris and trash along Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau last week are part of an effort to keep the city clean. The crews along the highway were Cape Girardeau city jail inmates, voluntarily working off their fines with trash removal, said Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Barry Hovis...

Two seats will be filled in each school board election Tuesday. Perryville Incumbent n Age: 48 n Residence: Rural Perryville, Mo. n Occupation: Ophthalmic technician n Education: Graduated from Perryville High School n Political experience: Served three years on the school board, seeking second term...

Missouri Department of Transportation crews will make concrete repairs on Interstate 55 in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties this week, weather permitting, highway officials said. Traffic will be reduced to one lane starting at 6:30 a.m. Monday. The work is expected to be completed by 5 p.m. Thursday, highway officials aid...

On the northwest side of Jackson, voters will decide Tuesday whether to retain the city's senior member of the Board of Aldermen or give a political newcomer a chance. The vote could help guide the board on a decision about whether voters are ready to accept higher taxes to support police and fire protection...

Southeast Missouri State University's Latin America scholar, Joseph Werne, will discuss U.S. foreign policy in that region at 3 p.m. today on Southeast Public Radio's "Going Public" radio program. Also on the program, Dale Haskell will recount his experience of moving to Cape Girardeau as a teenager...

WASHINGTON -- The real deadline for Congress to provide more money for the war in Iraq is well beyond the April 15 deadline cited by President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The Pentagon can take several penny-pinching steps without harming troop readiness or other dire consequences predicted by the Bush administration until Congress actually comes up with the money...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Artillery fire and mortar shells rained down on Somalia's capital Saturday, killing and wounding untold numbers of civilians as government and Ethiopian troops tried to wipe out Islamist insurgents. The offensive, which started Thursday, has sparked the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since the early 1990s. ...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted Saturday that 15 captured British sailors had been seized in Iranian waters, calling Britain and its allies "arrogant" for refusing to apologize, the country's official news agency reported...

BAGHDAD -- A parked car exploded near a hospital in Baghdad's main Shiite district Saturday -- the deadliest in a series of bombings that killed at least nine people and wounded dozens in Iraq, police said. The blast in Sadr City occurred about 10:30 a.m. and was targeting street vendors and pedestrians just outside the entrance to the al-Sadr General Hospital. Police said at least five people were killed and 15 wounded...

SYDNEY, Australia -- The Sydney Opera House's gleaming white-shelled roof was darkened Saturday night along with much of the rest of Australia's largest city, which switched off the lights to register concern about global warming. The arch of Sydney's other iconic structure, the harbor bridge, was also blacked out, along with dozens of skyscrapers and countless homes in the 4 million-strong city, in an hourlong gesture organizers said they hoped would be adopted as an annual event by cities around the world.. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A new version of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan to fund health-care coverage and education increases a proposed tax on businesses by $1 billion to provide property-tax relief. Blagojevich's revised plan, filed Friday night after legislators left the Capitol for a two-week break and forged in discussions with Senate President Emil Jones, includes a tax on business gross receipts that would bring in $7 billion annually, up from $6 billion in the original plan...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas woman accused of killing an expectant mother and cutting the baby from her womb has pleaded not guilty to a new version of her indictment. Lisa Montgomery, 37, of Melvern, Kan., appeared Friday in U.S. District Court for the first time in months. Shackled and dressed in orange jail clothes, she made no public statement other than to answer "yes" when asked by a magistrate judge to confirm she was pleading not guilty...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Auditor Susan Montee is threatening to sue the St. Louis area's transit agency if it doesn't increase its cooperation in a review of its operations. Montee said the investigation into Metro's operations, including a $126 million cost overrun for a light-rail extension, has dragged on for two years because the agency won't share detailed records on the MetroLink's construction...

CAMERON, Mo. -- Within four months of its opening in 1997, the maximum-security Crossroads Correctional Center reached full capacity with 1,450 inmates. Keeping the prison staffed with a full quota of correctional officers has been another matter. Crossroads is one of two state prisons in Cameron and five in northwest Missouri. ...

GRANBY, Mo. -- A man suspected of killing his girlfriend and her daughter in rural Granby in Newton County had a criminal history of sexual assault in Arizona. Michael J. Vincent, 40, was arrested Thursday in Delaware County, Okla., and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Tammy Mahan, 36, and her 18-month-old daughter, Faithanne Vincent...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A car going the wrong way on a divided highway collided head-on with a Greyhound bus early Saturday, killing the driver of the car and injuring 20 others, police said. Panicked passengers crawled out the bus' windows after the crash...

WASHINGTON -- A key element of the second major report on climate change will be released Friday in Belgium is a chart that maps out the effects of global warming, most of them bad, with every degree of temperature rise. There's one bright spot: A minimal heat rise means more food production in northern regions of the world...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- For weeks after his death, the Pentagon maintained that Pat Tillman was killed in an enemy ambush, even after a top general tried to warn President Bush that the NFL star-turned-soldier likely died by friendly fire, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press...

MURRAY, Ky. -- Josh Parham acknowledged that it would have been easy for Southeast Missouri State's baseball players to hang their heads when they coughed up a five-run, ninth-inning lead. But that's not the way the Redhawks have operated during this resurgent season -- and they weren't about to start Saturday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Suburban school districts claim they're being shortchanged by inaccurate property tax collection in rural areas, part of their overall push to rebuild Missouri's school funding system. Attorneys representing the school districts told Cole County Judge Richard Callahan Friday that they believe rural counties undervalue property and don't collect enough local taxes to support their schools. ...

The Delta softball team topped previously unbeaten Portageville 4-1 to claim the title in the Doniphan Tournament on Saturday. Kendra Burnett stuck out six and allowed two hits in the win. Kaci Menz had two hits for Delta (6-1), which avenged a loss from earlier this season...

When the contest to become the next mayor of Jackson officially began in December, the race quickly stacked up as a choice between two city hall insiders with modest differences on city issues against an outsider who wanted to shake up the status quo...

Kelly Middle School A Honor Roll 6th grade -- Hailey Alley, Sarah Arnold, Nicholas Bollinger, Daniel Cranfield, Brent Forck, Cody Landers, Adisynne Neumeyer, Jessica Schmidt, Amy Tew 7th grade -- Whitney Bramlett, Jacob Buell, Blake Carlyle, Bridgette Chandler, Morgan Kelsey, Stephanie Kerr, Stephanie McWhirter, Elizabeth Stanley...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A shelter in downtown St. Louis that is central to the city's efforts to end homelessness is undergoing a major renovation. About $130,000 in new investment will refurbish the Centenary Church Drop-in Center, which serves meals and provides other services to about 200 homeless people on any given day...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Air Midwest plans to ask federal officials to allow it to drop 12 weekly flights from Columbia to St. Louis, while increasing weekly flights to Kansas City from 12 to 24, airline and city officials said. Air Midwest, Columbia's only commercial airline service, is seeking the changes because of months of delayed flights and other problems...

The Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority named Tom Mogelnicki of Jackson as interim director during a closed meeting last week, board member Donna Oldham said. The authority board chose Mogelnicki as a temporary replacement for director Jeff Brune, who has resigned to take a job in a financial management firm. Brune, who has been director of the authority for five years, will be leaving his job on April 15...

CATAWISSA, Mo. (AP) -- Franklin County sheriff's deputies disarmed a pipe bomb Monday that was found beneath a highway bridge. Sheriff Gary Toelke said a local highway department worker found the bomb and reported it to authorities around noon. The pipe bomb was under a rural highway bridge near the town of Catawissa, about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis...

By this summer, information about health and human services and area volunteer opportunities will be three digits away. On July 1, Southeast Missouri residents can dial the nationwide 2-1-1 telephone number to reach First Call for Help -- a local information and referral hotline...

At one Minneapolis-area high school, the methamphetamine problem got so bad in recent years that staff members sometimes caught students trying to attend class while high. But this year's been notably different, says Deborah Mosby, a high school drug counselor in Spring Lake Park, Minn...

Despite delays in fund-raising, a mid-Missouri developer says his proposed ethanol plant along Nash Road is still in the works. Phil Danforth, general manager of Renewable Power of Missouri, based in Marshall, Mo., said the delay in constructing the plant comes from an expansion in the scope of the operation. ...

BURFORDVILLE, Mo. -- Jack Smoot has made it his life's work to ensure a two-century-old mill, the state's oldest covered bridge and a 43-acre park that make up one of Southeast Missouri's greatest treasures will be enjoyed by future generations. Now, after 24 years as director of the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site, he is retiring...

Jack and Christina Manderville have family in the Midwest, and when they discovered the low cost of real estate five months ago, they moved from California to Southeast Missouri. Now they are ready to start a small business. The business at 1325 Old Cape Road is called Divine Mercy and is set to open this week. It will sell Catholic books and gifts...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The newly created Cairo Terminal Railroad Co., which began operations here yesterday with three employees, has already achieved big things; chief among them is the retention of the city's largest employer: Burkart Foam Products. Kate Capshaw, daughter-in-law of Robert H. and Juanita C. Capshaw of Chaffee, Mo., stars in "A Little Sex," which opens in the evening at the Town Plaza Cinema in Cape Girardeau...

Paying for buildings; Enlistees; Hecklers were rude; The longest days; Highways' purpose; Kitty litter; Helping teachers; Revising history; Steering the Titanic; Hail the Hecklers; Questions about prices; Lake nonsense; Pudding as proof; Feeling unsafe; Is nowhere safe?

Caruthersville is still struggling exactly one year after an F3 tornado destroyed half the town of 6,000, but progress has been made. Some houses have been rebuilt. More than 50 building permits have been issued for new homes. More than 240 homes were destroyed...

401 Independence Street 7 p.m. today Study session at 5 p.m. Invocation: Rev. Bob Towner, Christ Episcopal Church Presentations n Proclamation for Pet Pals Day. n Presentation to graduates of the Citizens Police Academy. n Discussion by Mark Grimm on Economic Development Incentives...

WASHINGTON -- New federal rules giving the Bush administration authority for the first time to regulate and even shut down chemical plants will not overrule stricter state rules already in place, according to a letter sent Sunday to lawmakers by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff...

NEW YORK -- Bello Nock, the daredevil clown, was all smiles Sunday when he was reunited with his lost little bike. The star of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus thanked Ricky Robinson, who found Bello's shiny foot-high, 6-inch-wide contraption Friday night outside a restaurant on Manhattan's West Side...

WASHINGTON -- The White House scrambled Sunday to move up Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' planned testimony to Congress about his involvement in firing eight federal prosecutors, only to get a cold shoulder from majority Democrats. The effort reflected the frustration by Republican senators and the White House over how long it is taking the embattled attorney general to explain himself under oath. Congress has just begun a vacation -- one week for the Senate, two for the House...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Pet owners are not likely to get much compensation if they individually sue pet food-maker Menu Foods over the death of a dog or cat, although they might fare better if they joined forces in a class-action suit, legal experts say. Most state laws consider animals -- even beloved pets -- to be only personal property. ...

WASHINGTON -- A greater sensitivity of cats to a chemical found in plastics and pesticides could explain why they've died in larger numbers than have dogs after eating contaminated pet food, experts said Saturday. The small number of confirmed reports of pet deaths bolstered by a far larger number of unconfirmed anecdotal reports suggests cats were more susceptible to poisoning by the chemical melamine that tainted the now recalled pet food, officials with the Food and Drug Administration and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Saturday.. ...

David Michael Dodd, 52, of Cape Girardeau, died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at his residence in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 22, 1954, in Davenport, Iowa, the son of Robert Lorin Dodd and Marie Barry Hacke. He and Diane Crites Dodd were married on Oct. 16, 1993, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri...

Johnny Marie Sumpter, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 13, 1920, in Rock Island, Ill., daughter of John Thomas and Emma Harris Carlton. Sumpter had worked for Cape LaCroix Apartments and Mississippi Valley Barge Lines. She was a member of La Croix United Methodist Church, St. Mark's Chapter 167 Order of Eastern Star, Order of Amaranth and VFW Post 3838...

Richard Duncan, 86, of Glenallen, Mo., died Friday, March 30, 2007. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. today at Follis and Sons Funeral Home in Fredericktown, Mo. Interment will be at Linville-Barrett Cemetery in Coldwater, Mo.

Zook; Cooper; Wages; Cartwright; Sexton; Leonard; Sansone

Alvie L. Ellison, 57, of Advance, Mo., died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Morgan Funeral Home in Advance.

Dianna Lynne Jacobs, 46, of Scott City died Sunday, April 1, 2007, at her home. She was born Oct. 31, 1960, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Dallas Ray Kinder and Lillie LoVerene Webb. She and Bobby Sannan were married, and he survives. Survivors include her mother, LoVerene Kinder; a daughter, Rae Lynne Sannan; a brother, Glenn Kinder, all of Scott City, and a sister, Kimberly Wood of Perryville, Mo...

Walter J. Hotop, 92, of Biehle, Mo., died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Perry Oaks Nursing Home in Perryville, Mo. He was born March 19, 1915, in Biehle, son of Joseph and Julia Schemel Hotop. He and Leola T. Sauer were married Aug. 9, 1940. Hotop was a self-employed carpenter and a member of the St. Maurus Catholic Church...

DWIs; Arrests; Assault; Theft; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Jackson: Summonses; Miscellaneous

n At 5:36 p.m., alarm sounding at 1000 Towers Circle. n At 5:49 p.m., medical assist in the 1400 block of Kingshighway. n At 6:48 p.m., police assist at the intersection of Morgan Oak and Middle streets. n At 7:06 p.m., medical assist in the 800 block of Good Hope...

CHARLOTTE HALL, Md. -- Lloyd Brown, the last known surviving World War I Navy veteran, died Thursday. He was 105. Brown died at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home in St. Mary's County, according to family and the U.S. Naval District in Washington. Brown was born Oct. 7, 1901, in Lutie, Mo., a small farming town in the Ozarks. His family later moved to Chadwick, Mo. In 1918, at age 16, Brown lied about his age to join the Navy and was soon on the gun crew on the battleship USS New Hampshire...

BERLIN -- Every Friday evening, Conny Jarosch and her 6-year-old daughter, Alisa, each light two candles, raise their hands to their closed eyes and recite an ancient Hebrew prayer to welcome the Sabbath. Conny's husband, Siegfried, 42, blesses the wine and bread while his father, Gerhard, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, sings from his prayer book at the head of the table...

WASHINGTON -- Two Democratic presidential candidates broke previous fund-raising records during the first three months of the year, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton setting a high bar of $26 million in new contributions for the quarter. Former Sen. John Edwards' campaign said he had raised more than $14 million since the beginning of the year...

JERUSALEM -- In a dramatic response to an Arab peace initiative, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday invited Arab leaders to a regional peace conference to discuss their ideas for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Olmert's surprise call came amid a flurry of new international peace efforts. ...

JERUSALEM -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will tell Syrian leaders when she visits Damascus this week on a trip criticized by the Bush administration that Israel will only engage in peace talks if Syria stops supporting Palestinian militants, Israel said Sunday...

WASHINGTON -- More airline passengers bumped, more bags lost and fewer on-time flights. For the third year in a row, those problems grew worse for the industry, according to an annual study that rates airline quality. "They just don't get it yet," said Dean Headley, an associate professor at Wichita State University and co-author of the study being released today...

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Heavily armed paramilitary police raided a popular nightclub in an affluent, predominantly white part of Zimbabwe's capital, attacking teenagers with riot batons and detaining scores for hours, witnesses said Sunday. The raid came after police shut down bars and beer halls in impoverished black townships as part of its latest crackdown on dissent. It was the first time an upscale establishment patronized by the nation's dwindling white community has been targeted...

GOZ BEIDA, Chad -- The sultan of Silla looked worried: Arab-African violence spilling over from Darfur is threatening his region of eastern Chad in what is quickly growing into a regional conflict. "The picture is so bleak," Sultan Said Brahim told John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, during Holmes' visit here this past week. "I can't even tell you how bad things are getting."...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's state television aired new video Sunday showing two of the 15 captured British sailors pointing to a spot on a map of the Persian Gulf where they were seized and acknowledging it was in Iranian territorial waters. Britain's Foreign Office immediately denounced the video, saying it was "completely unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on TV."...

PEC, Serbia -- Dragica Besovic and her sister-in-law were back in Kosovo last week on a sad and macabre mission: to dig up their dead relatives and rebury them by her new home in Serbia. Dressed in black and deeply wrinkled, Besovic fled Kosovo in 1999. Fear drove the 77-year-old Serb away, but it also drew her back -- fear that if the mostly ethnic Albanian province gains independence as expected later this year, Serb-haters will unearth her relatives' remains and scatter the bones...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Only a few years ago, oil from palm trees was viewed as an ideal biofuel: a cheap, renewable alternative to petroleum that would fight global warming. Energy companies began converting generators and production soared. Now, it's increasingly seen as an example of how well-meaning efforts to limit climate-changing carbon emissions may backfire...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI, in his Palm Sunday Mass, opened the Roman Catholic Church's most solemn week by urging young people to live pure, innocent lives. This year, Holy Week also includes the second anniversary of the April 2, 2005, death of Pope John Paul II. On Monday, the Catholic Church will close one phase of its investigation into John Paul's saintliness as it keeps up the momentum to have the beloved pope beatified...

VATICAN CITY -- Catholic Church officials reach a key milestone in the drive to make Pope John Paul II a saint today, closing an investigation into his life and handing over a dossier detailing the purported miraculous cure of a nun who prayed to him...

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea and the United States were taking a hard look at a possible free-trade agreement today, a spokesman for the U.S. negotiators said, hoping to clinch the elusive deal after almost 10 months of contentious talks. "Basically, the deal's on the table," said Steve Norton, spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, three hours after a deadline to conclude negotiations had passed. "Both sides are huddling to see if they can accept it."...

The Jackson Heritage Association's recent 30th annual banquet at Bent Creek honored pillars of the community and elected new officers and board members. Kyle Mabuce and Jim Woeltje received the Unsung Hero award. Jack Litzelfelner Sr. received the Joyce Peerman award. ...

The Cape Girardeau Public Library will hold the following events this month:n Great Decisions 2007: 2 to 4 p.m. Thursdays. Sponsored by the library and the Center for Regional History, these programs are free and open to the public. April 5 is "War Crimes;" April 12 is "Central Asia: Three Power Resource Rivalry;" April 19 is "Helping the World's Endangered Children."...

David L. Byrd, formerly of Cape Girardeau, was recently presented the Department of Army Commander's Award for Civilian Service. The award recognizes outstanding educational assistance support to the soldiers, civilians and family members of the Darmstadt, Babenhausen, Rhein Main and United Kingdom communities. ...

LOS ANGELES -- Stars-on-ice Will Ferrell and Jon Heder took the box office gold for the weekend. Paramount and DreamWorks' "Blades of Glory," with Ferrell and Heder playing figure-skating rivals who become the sport's first men's pair, debuted as the No. 1 movie with $33 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday...

The Southeast Missouri State women's tennis team defeated host Tennessee Tech 4-3 Sunday afternoon. Southeast (10-9 overall, 4-3 OVC) matched its conference win total from last season. They have three league matches remaining. After losing the doubles point, Southeast was assured two singles victories because the Eaglettes (2-14, 2-4) have only four healthy players...

The Tsalagi Service unit of Girl Scouts of the Otahki Council, including the Jackson and Oak Ridge school districts, held its annual recognition banquet recently at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Jackson. Awards were presented to the top five product sellers in two categories...

Music gold cup winners announced recently Keyboards and Kindermusik Conservatory recently announced the 2007 Gold Cup recipients in the National Music Federation of Music Clubs contest. Winners of the first gold cup, which requires at least three years' participation, were Abby Breite, Megan Gates, Jenna Greene, Elizabeth Keene, William Keene, Claire Landewee, Reed Thomas, Landon Thomsen, Logan Thomsen, Bricela Trejo, Evan Unterreiner, Suzannah Weber and Ashlee Younghouse. ...

Morgan Pressel became the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history Sunday with a game well beyond her 18 years, closing with a 3-under 69 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship as everyone around her self-destructed. Pressel played her final 24 holes over Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., without a bogey, finishing the round with a 10-foot birdie putt that looked as though it would be only good enough for second place. ...

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Jimmie Johnson withstood teammate Jeff Gordon's bumping and banging for much of the last 53 laps Sunday and held him off by a front bumper to win for the third time in six NASCAR Nextel Cup races this year. The teammates with Hendrick Motorsports provided a stirring duel at the end of the second Car of Tomorrow race, one that was mostly devoid of the destructive physical driving that normally leaves several cars broken long before the checkered flag...

CLEVELAND -- Rutgers' improbable run isn't over. The Scarlet Knights earned their first trip to the national championship behind Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer with another unlikely scenario -- dominating the LSU Lady Tigers from the opening tip...

Chris Lowery will stay put at alma mater Southern Illinois University, agreeing to a seven-year contract extension that will pay him $750,000 a season, the university announced Sunday. The yearly income triples what Lowery made this season, when he guided the Salukis to a school record 29 wins, and the programs highest-ever ranking, No. 11, in the Associated Press men's basketball poll...

ATLANTA -- It's no accident that they are meeting again for a championship. Calling it pure coincidence might not be totally right, either. Florida and Ohio State are dominating marquee college sports like no two programs ever have. Their meeting tonight for the basketball title comes three months after they played for the football championship. The Gators already go down as the first program to hold the men's basketball and football titles at the same time...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Michael Phelps equaled the most hallowed mark in swimming, winning his seventh gold medal at the world championships Sunday night with his fifth world record. Phelps smashed his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley by 2.04 seconds, becoming the most successful swimmer ever at the worlds...

CHICAGO -- The names of people infected with HIV will be tracked in all 50 states by the end of 2007, marking a victory for federal health officials and a quiet defeat for AIDS advocates who wanted to keep patients' names out of state databases. Vermont, Maryland and Hawaii, the last states not tracking the names of HIV-positive people, are quickly moving toward adopting names-based surveillance. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Sen. Chuck Gross let out a mock cry as he cast a "no" vote against his own legislation. It was a painful act. But he felt he had to do it. Like Gross, numerous self-described pro-life senators joined with rival pro-choice supporters to defeat a pro-life amendment last week in the Senate...

ST. LOUIS -- Mets manager Willie Randolph said he wouldn't force his players to watch the Cardinals commemorate their 2006 World Series title with a pregame ceremony before this year's season opener. Many of them accepted his offer. During the nearly hourlong presentation hosted by actor Billy Bob Thornton on Sunday night, many Mets players paid more attention to stretching, outfield sprints and conversations with each other than the festivities on the field...

CHICAGO -- The American Academy of Pediatrics says more child-friendly HIV drugs are needed, including smaller pills and three-in-one tablets for children, to help address a crisis affecting more than 2 million youngsters globally. In a new policy statement endorsed by 19 international groups including the World Health Organization, the academy outlines barriers and solutions to an issue that is critical in developing regions...

An Illinois woman mourns her two young daughters, swept to their deaths in Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters. It's a tragic and terrifying story. It's also a lie. An Alabama woman applies for disaster aid for hurricane damage. She files 28 claims for addresses in four states. It's all a sham...

When construction of the 12,000-square-foot, $1.2 million structure on South Silver Springs Road is completed this fall, there may be enough wood left over for a small cabinet. Come August, students will learn how to build one. Groundwork is underway for the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center expansion project, which includes shop space to teach cabinet making. Those in Southeast Missouri's cabinetry industry say there's a place for graduating students...

ST. LOUIS -- The gentle, rocking motion of a horse is believed to help children with cerebral palsy by strengthening core muscles and neural connections. Researchers at Saint Louis University are trying to add to the scientific evidence with a new study that will quantify a child's disability before and after a 12-week course of weekly sessions...

Cape Girardeau branch receives Power Award Manpower Inc. announced the recipients of the Manpower Power Award, recognizing individuals and operations across the company's network of 4,400 offices in 73 countries for outstanding performance in 2006. The Cape Girardeau branch office received the Manpower Power Award for outstanding performance...

MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade is ready to begin his comeback. Nearly six weeks after dislocating his left shoulder, the reigning NBA finals MVP will attempt to practice with the Miami Heat on Monday, his first attempt at a full workout since suffering the injury...

MURRAY, Ky. -- The Southeast Missouri State baseball team has matched the program's best Ohio Valley Conference start by winning five of its first six league games. But the Redhawks had somewhat mixed emotions Sunday after they narrowly missed out on the program's first 6-0 OVC record since joining the conference in 1992...

NEW YORK -- The standard advice for how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy may need to changed, concludes a rigorous and provocative study suggesting that even accepted weight gains may raise the risk of having an overweight toddler. Women in the study who gained the recommended amount of weight ran four times the risk of having a child who was overweight at age 3, compared to women who gained less than the advised amount...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. rice industry wants the federal government to reject a plan to grow genetically modified rice in Kansas, saying the country's growers would suffer "financial devastation" if modified crops contaminate the commercial supply...

ST. LOUIS -- Tom Glavine patiently watched the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate the World Series title, a championship the New York Mets could have won themselves. Then the 41-year-old went out and set a good example for how the Mets might finish the job this season, beating the champions 6-1 in the major league opener on Sunday night...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands -- A powerful undersea earthquake Monday in the South Pacific sent a tsunami several yards high crashing into the Solomon Islands, devastating at least one village, officials and residents said. Police and residents said a wave about 10 feet high struck the western town of Gizo, inundating buildings and causing widespread destruction. ...

Southeast professor named to Who's Who Dr. David A. Smallwood of Cape Girardeau has been named to 2007 Marquis Who's Who in America and the 2007 Cambridge Who's Who Registry of Executives and Professionals. Smallwood is an assistant professor of Spanish and middle and secondary education at Southeast Missouri State University...

The moon rose Monday night, April 2, 2007 as seen through the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge at Cape Girardeau, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

VALLEY PARK, Mo. (AP) -- A St. Louis County town will continue to enforce an ordinance aimed at keeping illegal immigrants away, after members of the city council failed to override a mayoral veto. For months, Valley Park has been embroiled in a legal battle over sections of a housing code denying occupancy permits to landlords who rent to illegal aliens...

Jackson voters cited personal ties and friendships as some of the leading reasons for their choices Tuesday as they chose school board members, a mayor and an alderman in Ward 3. Turnout was good, with checks at three of four city precincts showing that by 2 p.m., 20 to 30 percent of voters had cast ballots. Two years ago during a contested mayoral race, 35 to 40 percent of Jackson's registered voters cast ballots, according to figures supplied by the Cape Girardeau County Clerk's office...

Beginning at 7 p.m. tonight, log on to www.semissourian.com for the latest breaking news from elections around Southeast Missouri. Post your opinions on our Election 2007 political forum and stay up-to-the-minute on tax issues and races. Here's a peek at a few stories we'll be following throughout the evening...

Two male prisoners at the Cape Girardeau County Jail spent four hours in the cell pods housing female prisoners on Monday morning, Sheriff John Jordan reported. The prisoners, being held on federal charges, were able to slip past jailers and security cameras and gained help from other inmates distracting the guards to move from their cells to the female area of the jail, Jordan said...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Circuit Judge Mark Boie on Tuesday granted prosecutors an additional 120 days to gather evidence for their murder case against Robert C. Pitts Jr. Union County State's Attorney Allen James presented evidence of a backlog of cases at the state crime lab that forced him to seek the delay...

Voters in Scott County are split in their stance on the law enforcement sales tax extension on today's ballot. In both Sikeston and Scott City, the county's two largest cities, some are voting against the extension because of a lack of a sunset provision, objections to how the money might be used or because of opposition to excess taxation...

Lohr leads mayoral race by 122 votes; Dambach wins Ward 3 Alderman race

Millersville, Burfordsville results in

Marc Harris is 193 votes behind Gerald Adams, with more results to come.

Scott County voters have defeated the county commission's bid to extend the half-cent law enforcement sales tax by a margin of nearly 300 votes. In all 1,658 yes votes and 1,923 no votes were recorded, with most precincts in Sikeston registering overwhelming opposition to the tax extension. Votes against the tax in most Sikeston precincts totaled between 70 and 80 percent of votes cast, while voters in most northern and rural precincts narrowly voted in favor of the tax...

***Final results for Scott County. Read Wednesday's Southeast Missourian for more details.

Incumbent Adams, newcomer Stover to serve on school board

Final vote was 107 yes; 190 no.

Final results for Nell Holcomb race are in

Final results for all Perry County elections. Perry County voters narrowly defeated a sales tax initiative intended to repair the county jail and improve the sheriff's department. Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said in a statement: The proposal to add a 3/8 cent sales tax for the purpose of repairing and remodeling the Perry County Sheriff's Office and Jail facility failed by a very narrow margin...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Chaffee mayoral race turned out to be a close contest between current city council members Jesse "Jack" Nordin and Loretta Mohorc, as many in Chaffee were anticipating. Mohorc edged out Nordin by a margin of just 39 votes, 314 to 275, in a race that saw four candidates, one running on a clean-up-the-police and open government platform. ...

With the exception of Delta's open alderman race, all final election results for the region are in. Log on to our Election '07 blogs {http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/election/entry/11343/ here} to weigh in on the results and read Wednesday's Southeast Missourian for more details

In California, frog jumping is serious business. At least that's the case with organizers of the Calaveras County Fair and the local boosters club in Angels Camp, Calif. So much so, that the two groups are hopping mad at each other. Citing losses due to low turnout at last year's fair, organizers said they couldn't pay the Angels Camp Boosters Club to oversee this year's frog-jumping contest. The club has judged the famed Jumping Frog Jubilee since its inception in 1928...

Election judge Loretta Schneider advised friends not to take the time to vote absentee in today's Cape Girardeau school board election; their votes wouldn't make a difference. Only two candidates -- incumbent Laura Sparkman and retired Secret Service agent Paul Nenninger -- are on the election ballot for the two available seats on the board...

The Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority named Tom Mogelnicki of Jackson as interim director during a closed meeting last week, board member Donna Oldham said. The board chose Mogelnicki as a temporary replacement for director Jeff Brune, who resigned to take a job in a financial management firm. Brune, who has been director of the authority for five years, will leave his job April 15...

For years patients who suffered a broken wrist were automatically fitted for a cast, waiting six weeks or more for bones to heal. A new procedure endorsed by a local orthopedic surgeon is changing that. Dr. Brian Schaefer of Orthopaedic Associates in Cape Girardeau discovered the Micronail Fixation system about two years ago when it first came on the medical market. The device is little more than a 1-to-2.5-inch metal bar with five screws that can be implanted in the wrist bone...

Supporters and opponents of a controversial bill dealing with local control of large animal feedlots will be working to win votes during a farm lobbying day at the state Capitol. The Coalition for Missouri Farm and Food Preservation will bus supporters to the Capitol Building for one-on-one visits with state legislators. The coalition supports the bill, which would set statewide standards for odors and other environmental issues involving the farms...

A Cardwell, Mo., high school senior for the third year in a row has won a trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair, and this year a classmate of his is eligible to make the trip also; John Phillips and Donna Duke, both students at Southland High School, are the principal winners in the 26th annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair...

Cape man gets four years for felony burglary A Cape Girardeau man who sold the possessions of a homeowner while the property was vacant was sentenced March 23 to four years in prison and six months in the county jail. Larry N. Bode, 34, of 103 N. Clark St., Apt. ...

Monday Jackson City Hall, 101 Court St., Jackson Public hearing n Held a public hearing to consider a special-use permit request for a temporary mobile office unit on Lot 44 of Nine Oaks Subdivision, in an R-2 (single-family residential) district, as submitted by B&R Developers Inc. Ron Clark spoke in favor of the permit; no opposition...

Residents living on Pindwood Lane told police Saturday a man forced his way into their home, assaulted two of them, and robbed them, police said. Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Jason Selzer said Monday police received a call at 8:14 p.m. from four residents, aged 53, 28, 19 and 15, in the 200 block of Pindwood Lane...

A St. Louis man and two St. Louis juveniles are in custody after a brief car pursuit Sunday night. Jermen J. Rudd, 20, is charged with felony receiving stolen property and misdemeanors resisting arrest, driving while license suspended and speeding. He is in Cape Girardeau County Jail on a $5,000 cash-only bond...

The Cape Girardeau County Road and Bridge Advisory Board has completed the first phase of its work and wants to bring the results to residents across the county. The board set the dates and times for four public meetings later this month to explain how their work is progressing. The board has examined county road paving policies, compared whether announced road construction plans conform to those policies and approved a program to correct any deficiencies...

The Scott City government will make an offer to Union Pacific Railroad soon to purchase a parcel of land on Main Street. The Scott City Council voted 7 to 1 at its regular meeting Monday to authorize Mayor Tim Porch and city administrator Ron Eskew to enter negotiations with UP for a parcel of land on Main Street. The land is currently occupied by a parking lot used by businesses, civic organizations and churches. A historical caboose owned by the city sits on the lot as well...

On the eve of an election that will select a new mayor, the Jackson Board of Aldermen voted to give extra job security to three appointed city officials. On a 6-0 vote, with two members absent, the board voted to eliminate the set two-year terms for the city clerk, the city attorney and the chief of police. In the future, all three offices will be held indefinitely. A vacancy would be created only by the death or resignation of the officeholder or a majority vote by the board...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Recover quickly from surgery and your doctor could get a bonus. Although somewhat simplified, that's one of the potential results from a proposed Missouri Medicaid overhaul that would subject physicians, hospitals and other medical providers to new pay-for-performance requirements...

A Cape Girardeau man is in custody charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon, all felonies. Percy Parrow Jr., 47, of 445 Jefferson Ave., is in Cape Girardeau County Jail on a $100,000 bond after reportedly beating and shooting at a woman Saturday outside a business on Morgan Oak Street, police said...

Johnny Marie Sumpter, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born May 13, 1920, in Rock Island, Ill., daughter of John Thomas and Emma Harris Carlton. Johnny had worked for Cape LaCroix Apartments and Mississippi Valley Barge Lines. She was a member of La Croix United Methodist Church, St. Mark's Chapter 167 Order of Eastern Star, Order of Amaranth and VFW Post 3838 Auxiliary...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Pearl Magdeline Durham, 79, of Marble Hill died Monday, April 2, 2007, at Eldercare of Marble Hill. She was born March 28, 1928, at Hiram, Mo., daughter of K.W. and Dorothy Drum Moyers. She and Henry Durham were married June 28, 1946...

James Lawrence "Jimmy" Newell went to be with God and his mommy and daddy Monday, April 2, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He had been residing at Jackson Manor. He was born March 6, 1945, in Nashville, Tenn., son of Lawrence "Larry" and Susie Mae Donelson Newell...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Florentina D. Hagan, 82, of Perryville died Sunday, April 1, 2007, at her home. She was born June 4, 1924, at Longtown, Mo., daughter of Christian H. and Theresia E. Schloss Buchheit. She and Henry L. Hagan were married Feb. 23, 1946, at Perryville. He died March 23, 1994...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Pretshie Ann "Sissy Ann" Ellsworth, 64, of Pensacola, Fla., formerly of Morley, died Monday, April 2, 2007, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. She was born June 5, 1942, near Oran, daughter of Henry William and Levadie Mae Hoxworth Abernathy. She and Frank D. Ellsworth were married Dec. 15, 1959, in Sikeston, Mo...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Alvie L. Ellison, 57, of Puxico passed away Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 28, 1949, at Kennett, Mo., son of Alva and Mary Harrison Ellison. He and Joanne Kennedy were married April 2, 1970, at Frisbee, Mo...

ORAN, Mo. -- Maybelle Blissett, 80, of Oran died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 10, 1926, in Tiplersville, Miss., daughter of Franklin and Mabrie Thomas Moore. She and Johnnie L. Blissett were married April 23, 1942, in Twist, Ark...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Quentin Joseph Allen died at birth Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. Survivors include his parents, William Joseph and Kristen Marie Lietzau Allen of Carbondale; maternal grandparents, Rudy Lietzau of Vienna, Ill., Donna Bridges of Cape Girardeau; paternal grandparents, Douglas and Cynthia Allen of Jonesboro, Ill.; maternal great-grandmother, Faye Holt of Grantsburg, Ill.; paternal great-grandparents, Don and Mitzi Allen of Yucca Valley, Calif., Sandy Bush of Palm Springs, Calif., and Tom Bush of Paducah, Ky.. ...

Charles Leroy Shelby, 87, of Matthews, Mo., died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born on March 19, 1920, in Matthews, son of Charlie Edward and Nellie Gray Rather Shelby. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was a self-employed carpenter. He attended Matthews Church of the Nazarene...

Lorene Taylor, 88, of Burfordville died Sunday, April 1, 2007, at Jackson Manor. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee, Mo., is in charge of arrangements.

JONESBORO, Ill. -- James C. Lee, 69, of Jonesboro died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Jonesboro Rehab and Care Center. He was born May 21, 1937, son of Arthur and Lorene Randolph Lee. Survivors include two daughters, Laura Long and Gayle Lynn; and a son, Jimmy Lee...

n At 5:43 p.m., stand by at 1 Airport Road. n At 9:24 p.m., medical assist in the 200 block of South Hanover Street. n At 10:47 p.m., medical asssit in the unit block of Village Drive. n At 9:50 a.m., emergency medical service in the 1200 block of Linden Street...

Pointless signal; Paying for campus; DUI's victims; Leave me alone; Vicious dogs; Fishbowl drinking; Watching a riot; Highway speeding; New patients; Wedding tension; Come clean; Taking the Fifth; Keep apologizing; Library policy; Air carrier concerns; Great production

The new four-lane stretch of Broadway between Perry and Park avenues, along with the upgraded Broadway-West End Boulevard intersection, is a welcome improvement for motorists and provides an attractive access to Southeast Missouri State University's new fountain-lined "front door" that was developed last year...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests

401 Independence Street 7 p.m. today Study session at 5 p.m. Invocation: Rev. Bob Towner, Christ Episcopal Church Presentations n Made proclamation for Pet Pals Day. n Presented diplomas to graduates of the Citizens Police Academy. n Heard discussion by Mark Grimm on economic development incentives...

Cape Girardeau City Council outlined and approved the third and final piece of the economic assistance package Monday to rehabilitate the old Sears building in Town Plaza. The package will combine to give developer Greater Missouri Builders a maximum of $3.6 million in tax incentives to rennovate the 40-year-old building...

To the editor:This is an open letter to those in the Cape Girardeau area who have recently relied on armed robbery as a way to make a living: Dear Criminal: Although most of you are not intelligent enough to read the newspaper, I do feel compelled to write a letter concerning your recent career choice. ...

To the editor:I have a neighbor I call Farmer Glen, who is the neighborhood's foremost authority on all things that grow. Last April I took the sage advice of this green thumb in the planting of my tomatoes. First, he had me prepare the soil by covering the entire patch with about a quarter-inch of newspapers. ...

To the editor:On March 24 the U.S. House voted to do what the people ordered them to do last November: Bring the troops home. The president dismissed the action as "political theater" and promised a veto. Through fraud and deceit, the president and vice president invaded Iraq for reasons that did not exist. Political theater?...

NICKEL MINES, Pa. -- Amish children carrying lunch pails arrived at a new one-room schoolhouse Monday morning, marking a fresh beginning for students who survived the shooting that killed five classmates last fall. The New Hope Amish School sits a few hundred yards from the spot where the killings took place. Built by the entire community, the school is protected by more sophisticated locks on its doors and is reachable only by a private drive...

Sturms selected as a high school scholar Jackson High School student Christine Sturms has been chosen for membership in the National Society of High School Scholars. The society recognizes the top scholars in the nation. Zimmer inducted into honor society...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court rebuked the Bush administration Monday for its inaction on global warming in a decision that could lead to more fuel-efficient cars as early as next year. The court, in a 5-4 ruling in its first case on climate change, declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act...

BOSTON -- Mitt Romney blew away the top-ranked Republican presidential candidates in fundraising during the first three months of the year, reporting he had raised an astonishing $23 million. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, favored in the polls, trailed far behind...

MONSEY, N.Y. -- A synagogue of ultra-Orthodox Jews was destroyed by fire on the eve of Passover, raising suspicions Monday that the blaze was deliberately set to target members who participated in an Iranian-led conference on the denial of the Holocaust...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is blocking imports of wheat gluten from a company in China, acting after an investigation implicated the contaminated ingredient in the recent pet-food deaths of cats and dogs. The Food and Drug Administration took action against wheat gluten from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. ...

White House singling out her Syria trip, Pelosi says BEIRUT, Lebanon -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday shrugged off White House criticism of her impending visit to Damascus, saying she had "great hope" for reviving U.S. relations with Syria and changing its behavior. ...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands -- Bodies floated out to sea and thousands of residents camped out overnight Tuesday on a hillside above a devastated town in the western Solomon Islands after a tsunami that struck without warning washed away coastal villages, killing at least 13 people. The death toll was expected to rise...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran and Britain signaled possible movement toward ending the standoff over 15 detained British sailors Monday, with Tehran promising to stop airing video confessions and London saying it's willing to discuss ways to avoid boundary confusion in the Persian Gulf...

CULVER CITY, Calif. -- "I'm not moving anything out of my dressing room just yet," said Leah Remini, still holding out hope for a 10th season of "King of Queens." The cast and crew of the stalwart CBS sitcom, along with network and studio executives and hundreds of others, had gathered earlier this year to celebrate the show's 200th episode -- only the seventh time a TV comedy has done that since 1990. And there have been hundreds of them...

ATLANTA -- A long, tough season ended with a Gator chomp again. Mission accomplished for Florida. The Gators were too much to handle once again Monday night, keeping their stranglehold on the college basketball world with an 84-75 victory over Ohio State for their second straight national championship...

Jackson's girls soccer team remained undefeated with a 2-0 win Monday at Notre Dame. The Indians grabbed a 1-0 lead midway through the opening half on a Randi Kraust goal off a corner from Chelsea Dale. The score remained 1-0 at halftime. Jackson put the game out of reach with a Bobbi Jo Schlick goal midway through the second half. The Indians outshot Notre Dame 11-5 as Lindsay Poole picked up the shutout...

ATLANTA -- Some 3-pointers are worth more than others. Florida specializes in those 3s, the ones that not only put three points on the scoreboard but steal momentum from an opponent. The Gators hit 10 3-pointers Monday night in the 84-75 victory over Ohio State that sealed their place in college basketball history as the first repeat champion in 15 years...

Pregame jitters, emotional tributes and packed stadiums. Baseball was back from coast-to-coast Monday, with Ben Sheets, Alex Rodriguez, and Adam Dunn giving enthusiastic home fans reasons to be optimistic about the new season. "Opening day," said Sheets, Milwaukee's ace right-hander. "I've got a sumo wrestler wrestling in my belly. I was nervous."...

NEW YORK -- The Yankees' pinstripes might as well be green. Four of the top seven players on baseball's salary list play in the Bronx, led by Alex Rodriguez at a record $27.7 million, according to a survey of contract terms by The Associated Press...

CHICAGO -- Tribune Co. said it plans to sell the Chicago Cubs at the end of the 2007 baseball season, putting one of its most valuable assets on the block as it simultaneously announced Monday that real estate magnate Sam Zell was acquiring the media conglomerate...

DALLAS -- Glen Metropolit and Doug Weight scored in a 17-second span in the second period to help the St. Louis Blues stop the Dallas Stars' four-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory on Monday night. With the game tied at 1, Metropolit put the Blues in front with his 14th goal from the right circle at 13:44 after a turnover by Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas. Weight's deflection for his 15th of the season at 14:01 extended St. Louis' lead to 3-1...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Claude Julien was fired as coach of the first-place New Jersey Devils on Monday and replaced by general manager Lou Lamoriello with less than a week to go in the regular season. Lamoriello will coach the final three regular-season games, starting on Tuesday night against Ottawa, and the playoffs. It marks the second straight season he has taken over behind the bench. Last year, he replaced Larry Robinson in December...

NEW YOR -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday he would veto a bill to ban metal bats from high school baseball in the nation's largest school system, a change that supporters say would make the game safer. "I don't know whether aluminum bats are more dangerous or less dangerous," Bloomberg said. "But I don't think it's the city's business to regulate that."...

LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan's high school sports seasons for girls will change next year after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal in a long-running legal case. The court let stand a lower court decision that the Michigan High School Athletic Association's scheduling discriminates against girls...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Longtime Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart is headed to the new National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Stewart, who compiled more than 600 wins in 32 seasons at Missouri, is among 12 inductees who will enter the hall of fame in November. The Kansas City-based hall announced its selections Sunday...

CLEVELAND -- They've been dear friends -- extended basketball family -- for nearly as long as they've been college coaches. For three decades, on separate trails that led both to the Hall of Fame, C. Vivian Stringer and Pat Summitt have consoled each other through hardships. They've even shared fashion tips...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Dana Altman was hired as Arkansas' basketball coach Monday, ending the Razorbacks' weeklong search to replace Stan Heath. Altman was previously the coach at Creighton. He went 260-141 in 13 seasons there. The Bluejays went 22-11 this season for their ninth straight 20-win season, a Missouri Valley Conference record...

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Athletic officials at the University of Toledo said Monday they don't know if any more players will be charged in what the FBI says was a point-shaving scheme. Federal authorities arrested running back Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr. on Friday, charging him with participating in a bribery scheme to influence sporting contests...

Scott City Senior High School prom was Saturday, March 31, 2007. The seniors voted Caitlan Hester and Luke Rayfield as their prom queen and king. Here's what Scott City students said about the prom:"My favorite part about prom this year was that everyone was dancing. Last year, not that many people danced but this year everyone did and we had fun...

SEMO District Fair officials formally announced the entertainment schedule for this year's fair Monday, ending weeks of speculation about the musicians who will be playing the fair in its 152nd year. Most of the speculation has centered around classic rock band REO Speedwagon. The band has now been confirmed to appear as the fair's grandstand entertainment Sept. 14...

I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress. -- Ronald Reagan --- The Missouri Legislature adjourns May 18, about seven weeks from the writing of this column. I've learned not to predict the outcome of the issues legislators are debating...

SCOTT CITY SCHOOL BOARD KELLY SCHOOL BOARD...

Alderwoman Barbara Lohr eked out a narrow victory Tuesday to become Jackson's first woman mayor, besting fellow Alderman David Reiminger by 81 votes. Lohr won despite a late charge from Reiminger's camp questioning her ethics on a recent controversial board vote...

The First Amendment. It's a beauty. You might want to take a minute to just read it for yourself. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."...

Two male prisoners at the Cape Girardeau County Jail spent four hours in the cell pods housing female prisoners Monday morning, Sheriff John Jordan reported. The prisoners, being held on federal charges, were able to slip past jailers and security cameras and gained help from other inmates distracting the guards to move from their cells to the female area of the jail, Jordan said...

A return to peace on the Jackson Board of Aldermen will be a top priority for mayor-elect Barbara Lohr, who said Tuesday night she was disappointed by opponent David Reiminger's campaign during the last week of the race. Lohr defeated Reiminger by 81 votes, winning three of Jackson's four wards. Reiminger won only in Ward 2, which he has represented on the Board of Aldermen for 14 years. Write-in candidate John Graham ran well behind the leaders...

BENTON, Mo. -- A half-cent sales tax extension for law enforcement in Scott County was defeated Tuesday in an election that saw only 14.84 percent of the county's 25,085 registered voters cast ballots. The vote was close and split largely along rural-urban and north-south lines. The tax extension was defeated 1,923 to 1,658, with most Sikeston-area precincts voting against the tax by large margins, according to unofficial vote totals...

Voters for the second time in five months rejected a proposed $3.36 million bond issue to improve the Perryville school campus, while school tax measures in the Delta and Altenburg school districts passed. In Jackson, voters elected retired teacher Dan Stover and re-elected Gerald Adams to the Jackson school board Tuesday. ...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A delegation of journalists from developing African countries say a free press is far from guaranteed in their homelands, where governments often use imprisonment and intimidation to silence criticism. The nine-member group visiting Southern Illinois University includes journalists, professors and government officials from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda...

Being accountable; School projections; Weather patterns; Fire-lane parking; Equal fines; Broken promises; Statistical question; Foul pudding; Smoking in Illinois; Stepping on toes; Making sacrifices; Foreign policy

By Phil Penzel I received a mailer from the John Graham campaign that was inundated with deception. This letter is to inform the public of the actual facts: 1. While I've been on the Jackson Board of Aldermen, the only lost suit was a condemnation suit that was ultimately settled. ...

Missouri is spending more than $50 million a year for leased office space for government agencies. An audit a couple of years ago uncovered some leases for buildings that were no longer being used by state agencies. Officials believe it would be more cost effective for the state to build and own its own office buildings rather than leasing...

The confirmation class of Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson is confirmed during the morning service by the Rev. Carl V. Hanser, pastor; class members are Robbie Friedrich, Billy King, Vade Mansker, Allen Peetz and Chris Penzel. A Mass of Chrism was conducted at St. Mary's Cathedral Thursday night by Bishop Bernard Law of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese; the oils of balsam, catechumens, the sick and chrism were blessed during the special service...

Perry County voters rejected a three-eighths-cent sales tax to fund a $3.5 million project to repair and remodel the county jail and sheriff's office. The final results were 1,230 no votes to 1,188 yes votes. "I am, of course, disappointed that it failed but encouraged by the slim margin," said Sheriff Gary Schaaf. "It almost made it."...

Chaffee voters selected their new mayor in Tuesday's election in a close vote between two sitting city council members, Loretta Mohorc and Jesse "Jack" Nordin, in a race that had no incumbent. Mohorc edged out Nordin 314 to 275, according to unofficial totals from the Scott County clerk's office. ...

Jackson voters retired the senior member of the board of aldermen Tuesday, giving newcomer Mark Dambach a narrow victory over 16-year Alderwoman Val Tuschhoff. Tuschhoff and her supporters seemed stunned when the results were posted that showed she had lost her Ward 3 seat by 33 votes. "I did 16 years for the people, and I guess they got somebody else to take a turn in the reins," she said...

Voters in Cape Girardeau County's Public Water Supply District No. 2 on Tuesday defeated a $1.5 million revenue bond that would have extended and improved the waterworks system. The measure lost 190-107. The district supplies water to about 700 customers from west of Burfordville to Oak Ridge, including the Millersville area, and that number is increasing...

A 60-year-old eastern Missouri man has been charged with sexually abusing two children at the day care center his wife operated. And police said Tuesday they suspect up to 40 children -- some as young as 6 months of age -- may have been molested over the past 30 years...

Marvin C. Kerr, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, April 2, 2007, at his home. He was born Feb. 6, 1914, in Buncombe, Ill., son of Orpheus and Pearl Evans Kerr. He and Louise S. Stevens were married Sept. 15, 1954, in Illmo. She died May 20, 2005. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 8 AF&AM of Decatur, Ill. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Mary Clayton Sullivan, 87, of Lewisville, Texas, passed away Sunday, April 1, 2007, following a long illness. Mary was born Nov. 24, 1919, in Mississippi County, Mo., to Arthur and Lula Clayton. After graduation from high school she moved to Cairo to attend nursing school. She worked as a registered nurse in the Tuberculosis Sanitarium and at St. Mary's Hospital in Cairo. Mary retired from nursing to devote her love and attention to her family...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Mary L. Beaver, 64, of Cairo died Sunday, April 1, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 21, 1942, in Barlow, Ky., daughter of Rube and Alice Evans Parker. She married James "Jim" Beaver. Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Melissa Abarca of Paducah, Ky.; a son, James Pierce of Paducah; four sisters, Brenda Butler of Cairo, Dean Parker and Alma Southard of Olive Branch, Ill., Helen Tindell of Brighton, Ill.; and a brother, Bill Parker of Olive Branch.. ...

Lorene Taylor, 88, of Burfordville died Sunday, April 1, 2007, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. She was born Dec. 9, 1918, in Macomb, Okla., daughter of Joseph and Minnie Collins Davis. She and Arthur S. Taylor were married Feb. 13, 1937. He died Sept. 18, 1994...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Clyde C. Dixon, 88, of Dexter died Saturday, March 31, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 9, 1918, at Grayridge, Mo., son of Fred C. and Canna Mae Myers Dixon. He and Ella Mae McKee were married Oct. 15, 1937, at Bloomfield, Mo...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Earl A. "Bud" Shepherd Jr., 86, of Cairo died Tuesday, April 3, 2007, at his home. He was born Jan. 12, 1921, in St. Louis, son of Earl A. and Vivian Dowdy Shepherd Sr. Shepherd was a U.S. Army veteran and saw combat in the Solomon Islands in 1942 and 1944. He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, Asiatic Medal, Victory Medal and Good Conduct Medal...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Thefts; Arrests

n At 11:40 a.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of North Mount Auburn Road. n At 11:49 a.m., emergency medical service in the 200 block of Siemers Drive. n At 1:25 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1200 block of Linden Street. n At 2:03 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1000 block of North Henderson Avenue...

There will be two new faces on the Delta Board of Aldermen following Tuesday's election, a contest that ended with voters rejecting leaders tainted by nepotism and city hall in-fighting. Harold Looney, seeking to win the remaining year of a term vacated by resignation, defeated Bonnie Bradshaw, the sitting mayor, by a 31-26 vote. Bradshaw was a Ward 2 alderwoman until she was selected mayor after the resignation of Carol Collins...

NEW ORLEANS -- Five fifth-grade students face criminal charges after authorities said four of them had sex in front of other students in an unsupervised classroom and kept a classmate posted as a lookout for teachers. The students were arrested Tuesday at the Spearsville school in rural north Louisiana, authorities said. Two 11-year-old girls, a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy were charged with obscenity, a felony. An 11-year-old boy, the alleged guard, was charged with being an accessory...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush denounced "irresponsible" Democrats on Tuesday for going on spring break without approving money for the Iraq war with no strings. He condemned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria, too, accusing her of encouraging a terrorism sponsor...

WASHINGTON -- Striking a blow for cell phone haters everywhere, a government agency said Tuesday it will keep a rule in place that requires the divisive devices to be turned off during airline flights. The reasoning behind the decision was technical. But the avalanche of comments the Federal Communications Commission has logged from airline travelers have been nothing short of visceral...

Easter is right around the corner, and as I visit with people, it's interesting to hear about Easter traditions. We usually do not serve lamb, but I would like to and maybe start a new tradition. I have seen lamb in the stores this week, so I might give it a try...

I enjoy eavesdropping on conversations of plant buyers at garden centers during the spring rush. They are always looking for a new plant variety that is shorter, taller, fatter, skinnier, less susceptible to disease, a different color, able to grow in both the shade or the sun, etc...

Zonta Club; Alpha Mu Master; FCE All Clubs Day; Lamplighters FCE; Nancy Hunter NSDAR

TOKYO -- After years of staying slim on a humble diet of fish, vegetables and rice, Japanese are developing a sweet tooth. That's proving to be a business opportunity for Krispy Kreme and other fast-food chains from the United States, home of the Big Gulp and supersized fries...

ABOARD TRAIN V150, France -- The speedometer climbed higher and higher -- and so did my heart rate. Inside the last of three double-decker cars sandwiched between two engines, those of us aboard the French bullet train trying to set the speed record on conventional rails watched the digital numbers flash on a screen in kilometers per hour: 400, 450, 500, 550...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- CIA and FBI agents hunting for al-Qaida militants in the Horn of Africa have been interrogating terrorism suspects from 19 countries held at secret prisons in Ethiopia, which is notorious for torture and abuse, according to an investigation by The Associated Press...

Gardening Things to do this week Shrubs and trees best planted or transplanted in spring, rather than fall include butterfly bush, dogwood, Rose of Sharon, Black gum (Nyssa), vitex, red bud, magnolia, tulip poplar, birch, ginkgo, hawthorn and most oaks. Winter mulches should be removed from roses. Complete pruning promptly. Remove only dead wood from climbers at this time. Cultivate lightly, working in some compost or other organic matter. -- www.mobot.org...

ROME -- Italian researchers have excavated the skeleton of a 4 million-year-old whale in the Tuscan countryside, a discovery that could help reconstruct the prehistoric environment of the sea that once covered the region, officials said Tuesday. The 33-foot skeleton, dating to the Pliocene epoch, was found in almost perfect order, with only the jaw bones out of place, said paleontologists with the Museum of Natural History in Florence...

Robert Vaughan usually isn't Robert Vaughan when he writes his books. At least not to his readers. The 69-year-old Sikeston, Mo., native has used 35 pen names in his 49-year career, some of them women's names on the front of romance novels. But he's also written a little of everything else -- Westerns, thrillers, historical fiction, the list goes on...

CHICAGO -- Roger Ebert's recovery from cancer surgery has been a "long and unexpected ordeal" but he plans to attend his annual festival for overlooked movies. "I think of the festival as the first step on my return to action," Ebert wrote in a column celebrating his 40th anniversary as film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times. The column was posted Tuesday on his Web site...

Although the Southeast Missouri State gymnastics team failed to repeat qualifying its entire squad for regional competition, the Redhawks were not shut out of the postseason. Four Southeast gymnasts made the cut for the NCAA South Central Regional on April 14 in Tucson, Ariz...

CLEVELAND -- Everyone is gazing up at good ol' Rocky Top again. After a nine-year title drought, Tennessee and coach Pat Summitt are NCAA champions. The Lady Vols captured an elusive seventh national title Tuesday night, beating Rutgers to the ball for second and third shots in a 59-46 win to reclaim their customary place above all other programs...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Nothing could drag Geoff Ogilvy out of bed before dawn when he was growing up. Nothing, that is, except the Masters. On one day each year, he would be awake and settled in front of the television at 4 a.m., a full hour before coverage of the Masters even began in Australia...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Daybreak at Augusta National brought together the two most prominent figures at the Masters, the first showdown of the week between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. OK, so it was only Tuesday. And it lasted only a split second. Woods showed up on the first tee and looked back toward the putting green in Mickelson's direction...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Dana Altman quit as Arkansas basketball coach Tuesday, a day after a news conference to announce his hiring. Altman apologized to Razorbacks fans "with deep regret" and said returning to Creighton was in his family's best interest...

ATLANTA -- Coach Billy Donovan spent several hours after the national championship game mingling with family and friends, and socializing with school officials. Sorry Florida fans, he didn't agree to a new contract. He didn't talk to Kentucky, either. But it could happen soon...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Bollinger County voters decided Tuesday to make permanent a nearly 4-year-old half-cent sales tax. "I'm just extremely pleased with the citizens of this county. They saw there was a need, and without it, I don't know what we would have done. Now we can go on from here," said Presiding Commissioner Wayne Johnson...

ST. LOUIS -- Orlando Hernandez's arm, and surprising bat, helped the New York Mets spoil another championship ceremony. The right-hander, who missed the 2006 postseason with a calf injury, threw seven innings of five-hit ball and hit a two-run double that matched his career RBI output in a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night...

ST. LOUIS -- Chris Carpenter will miss a turn in the St. Louis Cardinals' pitching rotation due to right elbow inflammation, though the team thinks its ace won't be out long. Carpenter complained of soreness Monday, the day after he struggled in the season opener against the New York Mets. An examination by team physician Dr. George Paletta on Tuesday did not include an MRI, and Carpenter said he thought his elbow already had improved...

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team was 292nd among 336 teams in the RPI rankings from March 12, according to the listing on NCAAsports.com Florida, which won its second straight NCAA tournament championship by beating Ohio State 84-75 on Monday night, was No. 6 in that final RPI after jumping over Southern Illinois in the last week of the season...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Senate Republicans defeated an attempt Tuesday to restore government health-care coverage to tens of thousands of low-income parents who were cut from Missouri's Medicaid rolls two years ago. The vote came as senators debated a proposed Medicaid overhaul that would change the program's name and the way health care is delivered, but would leave unchanged most of the 2005 cuts...

WASHINGTON -- The government proposed Tuesday relaxing its rules on labeling of irradiated foods and suggested it may allow some products zapped with radiation to be called "pasteurized." The Food and Drug Administration said the proposed rule would require companies to label irradiated food only when the radiation treatment causes a material change to the product. Examples includes changes to the taste, texture, smell or shelf life of a food...

Jeff Moll has become a series regular on the TV show "Pinks." He makes for good TV with his penchant for building winning cars and his personable style that leads him to say, "We're good guys. We don't drink, don't smoke, we just work on cars."...

Not that Missouri State necessarily needed help in breaking a three-game losing streak, but Southeast Missouri State did its part. The visiting Redhawks committed three errors and four pitchers combined for 11 walks. Missouri State gladly accepted the gifts on its way to a 16-3 nonconference baseball victory on a wind-chilled Tuesday night at Hammons Field...

Jackson's baseball team jumped out to a 4-0 lead and made it stick in a 4-1 win Tuesday at Chaffee. The Indians improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the SEMO Conference. Chaffee fell to 4-3 and 2-3 in conference play. Caleb Guilliams pitched five innings for the Indians for the win. ...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- A judge granted Union County State's Attorney Allen James additional time Tuesday to gather evidence in the murder case against Robert Pitts Jr. James had asked Circuit Judge Mark Boie for the extension, providing evidence of a backlog of cases at the state crime lab that forced him to seek the delay...

The work of 60 Southeast Missouri State University art students, totaling 120 pieces, will be on display starting this afternoon at the Southeast Missouri Regional Museum as part of the annual Student Juried Assessment Exhibition. The exhibit runs through April 22...

Here at OFF Magazine, we know we don't make everyone happy. What was it Abe Lincoln said ... I can't remember right now, but you get the picture. But sometimes we make people downright mad. I can tell you for sure, it's never intentional, but our writing can sometimes be misinterpreted as an attack...

With her senior show approaching, Stefanie Tooley has something to take her mind off graduation and that fine line between anticipation and anxiety. As a graphic design major at Southeast Missouri State University, her work culminates during the April senior art exhibition opening April 27. She has a lot of work to do before then...

Hi Friends, If you've been keeping up with the past few issues of OFF you are probably expecting ranting political vomit to run down this page. Well, sorry but I was falling asleep typing the junk so I thought I would spare you the pain. For now. So it's getting close to that time, right? The big G-Day. Let's see, those final projects, papers, portfolios ... it all has to be wrapped up in about, ohh, what, six weeks? You'd better light that fire under your rear...

Guitarists, long the target of our undying adoration and subject of some of our fondest musical memories, have always been (and always will be) the subject of some of our most intense musical discussions. That's why we decided to have a discussion of our own ... and settle (or not) who the guitar heroes of our scene are...

When I caught up with John D. Hale a week or so ago on the cell, the group was traveling down to Texas for a small stint. Our talk was short and the guys were busy but, eventually, I got a chance to conduct a short interview with John, and got to learn a whole lot about the band...

They run all the time but it is at night when they are needed most. Chances are, you have needed them yourself; you were ditched, you broke down, or you were simply too drunk to drive. If you know their number and are in good enough condition to use a phone, maybe you can hire Designated Driver...

COMMUNITY EVERY SATURDAY Red House Interpretive Center: The Red House Interpretive Center opens its doors for spring and summer starting March 3. Special events and Red House tours start at 10 a.m. every Saturday. For more information call Jane Randol Jackson at 204-2331...

Chances are that you've never heard of SONiA and Disappear Fear, so here's a little primer. SONiA (last name Rutstein) and her sister CiNDY formed the folk-pop duo back and signed with Rounder Records in 1994, as out-and-proud lesbians. They were immediately honored and embraced by the gay community and the independent music community, singing about love, tolerance, the evils of war and other social justice causes...

Monday March 19, 9:30 p.m. We (we, as in, Shannon, Party Nate, Jon Boy and I) are finally cruising south on 55 headed for Gulf Shores, Alabama after packing and re-packing my gray Mazda about three times. It's a little cramped with the coolers, sleeping bags and tent gear, but we're willing to make sacrifices for the beach. ...

April 5, 2007 Dear Patty, I don't know how it happened. In my 20s one pair of street shoes and a pair of tennis shoes took care of anything my feet wanted to do. Now I'm channeling Imelda Marcos. In the TV show "Sex and the City" Carrie Bradshaw was addicted to shoes. She claimed to have spent more than $40,000 to be shod by designers. The former Philippines first lady was believed to have owned 3,000 pairs of them and opened a museum to display the masterpieces...

Cape Girardeau County faces a loss of almost $1,000 a day because 19 federal prisoners were removed from the county jail after two male prisoners slipped into a cell block holding female inmates. The county uses the money for payments due on the $5.5 million outstanding debt on the 6-year-old jail. County officials said a temporary reduction in the payments won't cause any hardship but that a shortfall could develop if federal inmate numbers don't return to normal soon...

A proposal to give commercial developments along East Main Street a uniform appearance should move ahead of the effort to rezone the new area for commercial use, Jackson building and planning administrator Janet Sanders said Wednesday. During a study session of the Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission, Sanders said the proposed "overlay district" needs to be written into the city's ordinances prior to the rezoning. ...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- For Allen Gulley, a veteran returning home after 10 months in Iraq and suffering from incessant ringing in his ears, the two words he didn't expect to hear when he asked for treatment were "prove it." But Gulley, 35, who returned to his hometown of Poplar Bluff and was treated at John J. Pershing Veterans Hospital, says he was told just that by doctors. He's still fighting to have the connection between his hearing loss and combat acknowledged by Veterans Affairs...

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- With a stunning $25 million fund-raising haul for his presidential campaign, Democrat Barack Obama affirmed his status Wednesday as Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief rival. The freshman Illinois senator proved he could channel his appeal into significant financial muscle, and he dispelled, for now, questions about the durability of his anti-war, "hope"-driven candidacy...

n At 1:19 p.m., standby at 1 Airport Road. n At 4:32 p.m., medical assist in the 300 block of North Sprigg Street. n At 8:07 p.m., alarm sounding in the 900 block of Greek Drive. n At 8:07 p.m., medical assist in the 3000 block of Aspen Drive. n At 9:23 p.m., medical assist in the 1100 block of Linden Street...

Arrests

Porch; Huffman; Proctor; Purkey; Phillips; Bollinger; Thiele; Rosenquist; Rose; Cartwright; James; Sharp; Trost; Gardner; Painter; Flye; Wilhelm; Wright; Heisserer; Howard

The time of a public meeting in Delta with members of the Cape Girardeau County Road and Bridge Advisory Board has been changed because of a conflict with a community pancake breakfast, board chairman Larry Payne said Wednesday. The meeting will be at 11 a.m. April 14 at the Delta Community Center, Payne said. The meeting was originally scheduled for 8 a.m. to accommodate are farm families...

Funeral director dies following car wreck DEXTER, Mo. -- A well-known local funeral director and businessman was killed during the pre-dawn hours Saturday in Dexter. Richard "Rick" Watkins, a funeral director and co-owner of Watkins and Sons Funeral Service of Dexter, Parma, Puxico and Morehouse, was pronounced dead at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. ...

Baseball n Jackson Legion tryouts: The Jackson American Legion baseball team tryouts will be April 15. Tryouts will be 1 p.m. for the A team (eighth-graders); 3 p.m. for the AA team (freshmen and sophomores); and 5 p.m. for the AAA team (juniors and seniors). Info: Gerald Adams, 243-4199; or Mark Lewis, 334-9789...

John Thomas Bennett, 84, of Apex, N.C., died Monday, April 2, 2007. Mr. Bennett was born March 11, 1923, in Shingle, Calif., to William Wiley and Ella Walker Bennett. He served his country in the U.S. Army Air Force and Air Force during World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He retired from the Air Force in 1970 with 27 years of service...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Joel Grant Buchanan Sr., 82, died Tuesday, April 3, 2007, at Sells Rest Home in Matthews, Mo. He was born Oct. 4, 1924, at Caruthersville, Mo., son of Melvin Gilbert and Mattie Lula Little Buchanan. He and Betty Sue Roberts were married March 26, 1944. She died Sept. 19, 1997. He and Rosa Abernathy were married Dec. 19, 1998...

The Buckeyes won the team championship in the Jackson Optimist Wrestling Tournament, which took place March 22 through 24. The Buckeyes had four individual champions and nine runners-up. The Wolverines and the Sooners each had six individual champions among the 32 divisions...

The Jackson USA wrestling club sent a 21-wrestler contingent to the state tournament March 24 and 25 at the Hearnes Center in Columbia. Michael Riney came home with a state championship in the 14-and-under 175-pound division. Ryan Marble was a state runner-up among 150-pounders at 14-and-under...

Evelyn Strauser, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at Heartland Care and Rehabilitation. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

9 a.m. today County Administration Building 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n Letter from the County Commission to local legislators regarding House Bill 131. n Payroll change form. n Assessment maintenance budget approved. Action item n None at this time...

No dance to be held at Elks Lodge Friday night; Coalition for Peace and Justice meets tonight; Annual Spring Yard Sale benefits seniors' meals; Cape Girardeau County Republican Women meet; Missouri Job Corps to hold open house ; Cape County Women's Democrat Cub to meet ; Sigma Sigma Sigma celebrates anniversary

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is seeking artifacts that may be used in the exhibit about the USS Missouri. A detailed, large-scale model based on the battleship USS Missouri is on display in the Missouri State Museum within the State Capitol. ...

A marker of the Civil War Battle of Cape Girardeau, near to where it unfolded in 1863, was placed at the corner of Thilenius Street and Caruthers Avenue recently. Located near a stop sign, the marker can be easily read. It is on an angle suitable for reading height while standing. ...

Bryce Kristal won both her matches Wednesday, but Southeast Missouri State dropped a home tennis match 6-1 to St. Louis University. Kristal won at No. 1 singles 6-4, 6-3, and won the No. 1 doubles match with partner Drew Kristal 8-3. The Redhawks (10-10) are back in action today at home against Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay...

DAMASCUS, Syria -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held talks with Syria's leader Wednesday despite White House objections, saying she pressed President Bashar Assad over his country's support for militant groups and passed him a peace message from Israel...

TEHRAN, Iran -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defused a growing confrontation with Britain, announcing the surprise release of 15 captive British sailors Wednesday and then gleefully accepting the crew's thanks and handshakes in what he called an Easter gift...

ST. LOUIS -- Fifteen members of the St. Louis police department were disciplined Wednesday, after eight officers seized World Series tickets from scalpers and gave them to friends and family to use. St. Louis police chief Joe Mokwa suspended eight officers without pay for two weeks for giving away the seized Cardinals tickets, which should have been stored as evidence. He recommended that their rank be reduced for at least a year. They could lose up to $20,000 each in pay as a result...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State revenue was up 4.8 percent through the first three quarters of the state fiscal year, the Office of Administration said Wednesday. Missouri's net revenue of $5.18 billion through March were better than anticipated. State officials' revenue projection, updated in January, counted on Missouri revenue to grow by about 4 percent for the year ending June 30, compared with the previous fiscal year...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- For centuries, the church was the main patron of the arts in the Christian world. Artists such as Michelangelo were commissioned to create works that still amaze the world today, hundreds of years later. Then, for one reason or another, Biblical art fell out of the mainstream, and less and less of it was created on the same grand scale...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Motorcycle enthusiasts who have tried for years to repeal a Missouri law requiring them to wear helmets saw their effort move forward Wednesday, with a Senate panel's endorsement of the measure. The Senate Transportation Committee endorsed a bill to repeal the requirement for anyone 21 or older to wear a helmet. Younger riders still would need helmets. The measure cleared the House a couple of weeks ago...

ST. LOUIS -- The head of a Missouri business group says industry has had a "great life" with energy sources derived from fossil fuels. "They're abundant and easy to use. But they have risks," Roger Walker said Wednesday at the start of a two-day conference on climate change and energy policy his group is sponsoring...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State senators voted Wednesday to expand women's health care and family planning services to tens of thousands of Missourians as part of a plan to revamp the state's Medicaid program. The proposal, if enacted, could mark the most significant expansion of government-funded health care since the Republican-led legislature and Gov. Matt Blunt reduced or eliminated Medicaid services for hundreds of thousands of people two years ago...

PHILADELPHIA -- A 40-year-old intern with the National Archives pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing 164 Civil War documents, including an official announcement of President Lincoln's death, and putting most of them up for sale on eBay. Prosecutors said Denning McTague, who has master's degrees in history and library science, put about 150 of the documents online and had shipped about half of them...

As established in last week's column, relationships may be easy in the initial sprint, but difficult to go the marathon distance. (As if you need a column to establish that one!) So let's roll up our sleeves and get right to it. What are the perpetual problems that plague most long-term relationships? In my experience, it usually comes down to sex, money and "tone." These are what typically fuel the "marriage-go-rounds" in which couples become trapped...

Walk 'n Be Fit mall walking program, West Park Mall, 8 a.m. Blood pressure screening at the Cape Senior Center, 10 to 11:15 a.m. Ask Your Doctor, local health-care providers discuss medical issues and welcome questions from viewers who can call the show live at 334-3095, 8 to 9 p.m., cable Channel 5. This week's speaker is Dr. Franklin Hayward...

Their style of play on the court is about as similar as their body types, but the end results mirrored each other in the 2006-07 season for Bell City senior Will Bogan and junior Ryan Willen. Both players averaged more than 22 points and 10 rebounds a game -- Bogan was closer to 25 and 16. Both players led their teams to the state final four, eventually earning runner-up finishes...

WWE RAW comingto Cape on May 19 Tickets will go on sale 10 a.m. April 14 for WWE RAW live: WrestleMania Revenge. The card will include John Cena and Shawn Michaels taking on Edge and Randy Orton in a tag-team world championship match, Jeff Hardy facing Umaga in an intercontintental championship match and the team of Carlito and Torrie Wilson facing Nitro and Melina in a mixed tag-team match...

Bell City senior Will Bogan's most recent appearance at the Show Me Center saw the 6-foot-10 center scoring 42 points en route to a Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament title. Bogan's future in basketball will be tied to the Show Me Center after giving an oral commitment to Southeast Missouri State earlier this year. ...

Notre Dame junior Ryan Willen has come a long way from his front-yard battles with older brother Bryce. Ryan Willen just wrapped up a season where the 6-foot-8 forward averaged more than 22 points and 10 rebounds a game, surpassed the 1,000-point career scoring plateau, set a school record for points in a season and helped lead his team to a runner-up finish in Class 4...

Shameful approach; Safe at home; That's my park; Purse returned; Gas prices; Good, cheap service; A good day; Making money; Waitress is a hero; New trees, bench paint; Start writing tickets; Expensive well; Good work, officer; No pay for cleanup; Revolving climate

By Michael A. Wolff Accountability. This buzz word reflects the public's interest in holding public servants -- including judges -- responsible for their actions. The public's interest is well-founded. If opinion surveys about accountability are any guide, judges are doing fine. A national survey last year found that 64 percent of Americans trust the U.S. Supreme Court to operate in the best interests of the American people. Not as high as doctors, but very respectable...

An story in Wednesday's edition should have read that Jackson Alderman-elect Mark Dambach wants the city to begin a leaf collection service to discourage open burning but does not support a burning ban.

A bill in the Missouri Legislature proposed to spur economic development by eliminating sales taxes on utilities used by manufacturers. But the proposal is a two-edged sword that should be carefully considered before it is adopted. While state economic development officials say tax exemption would help Missouri regain some of the manufacturing jobs that have been lost in recent years, city and county officials worry about the loss of revenue...

Temperatures are expected to drop to around 30 degrees overnight in Southeast Missouri, threatening young vegetables and flower plants; tomatoes, peppers, egg plants, potatoes and flower bulbs will be particularly vulnerable. A Scott City police officer presents a petition to the city council requesting that police chief Ralph Hayes be retained as chief; however, Mayor William Dickey is expected to make an appointment replacing Hayes Wednesday night...

Three weeks are over and 16 remain for a group of about 10 area residents who hope to improve their health and lifestyles through the medically supervised weight loss program Starting Point. Participants have shed pounds, and insulin medications have been reduced for the diabetic patients during the first few weeks of the program. The average weight loss for each participant is about 12 pounds...

The captions on the photos on page 1A of Sunday's edition should have said that Ed Evans and Bobby Eskew were using cold mix to repair potholes along County Road 331. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Temperatures barely above 40 and a biting northwest wind made for perfect baseball conditions. At least for Missouri State's Kyle Paul. That's not so surprising when you consider Paul is from British Columbia, where such conditions are common in the spring...

The Notre Dame baseball team fell behind 6-2 after three innings and could not recover Wednesday in a 9-7 SEMO Conference loss to Dexter. The Bulldogs fell to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Dylan Drury allowed seven runs, six earned, in four innings for the loss. Notre Dame also committed five errors...

The Associated Press BERLIN -- Shareholders of DaimlerChrysler AG had hoped for a decision on the sale of the money-losing Chrysler unit, or at least news on when that might happen -- but got neither Wednesday at a meeting marked by simmering tension over the automaker's future...

By Clint E. Lacy On Feb. 28, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported that lawmakers met in to debate whether Missouri should officially apologize for slavery. According to the Tribune, "[State Rep. Yaphett] El-Amin's resolution, co-sponsored by House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, got a hearing yesterday before the House Special Committee on Urban Issues, which met at Lincoln University."...

An unusual weather pattern may put the squeeze on Missouri's grape growers. Vines have budded a few weeks ahead of schedule as a result of last month's warm weather, but low temperatures in the 20s this week may mean a smaller crop. Meteorologist Rachel Trevino with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said the beginning of April is 15 to 20 degrees colder than normal and that Cape Girardeau may see record lows...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Missouri education officials answered questions Friday about the side effects of a state takeover on the St. Louis public schools. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said that under state law, St. Louis students may be able to transfer to an accredited district in the county, at the expense of the city district...

The Scott City government is set to talk with the TEPPCO petroleum pipeline facility just outside the city limits in an attempt to limit tanker truck traffic through town. At Monday's regular city council meeting, a group of firefighters and Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout discussed the issue with the city council, spurred on by the recent crash of a tanker truck carrying diesel fuel on Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau...

The Cape County Transit Authority is like most businesses -- follow sound practices and keep people with specialized knowledge close and things should run smoothly, interim director Tom Mogelnicki said Friday. After a week on the job, Mogelnicki said he's unsure whether he will seek a permanent appointment to replace outgoing executive director Jeff Brune. But he said he's not going to sit back and be a caretaker, either...

A bill filed in the Missouri House seeks to regulate the Missouri State High School Activities Association through legislative scrutiny. It also opens the door for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide oversight at the discretion of the State Board of Education...

Cape Girardeau County commissioners gave Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle a cool reception Thursday when he asked them to give his investigator a raise. John L. Volkerding, a former sergeant in the Cape Girardeau Police Department, holds a deputy's commission from county Sheriff John Jordan. ...

The system that records the movement of inmates and guards at the Cape Girardeau County Jail will get a planned upgrade that was made more urgent by Monday's episode involving male prisoners slipping undetected into a women's cell block. Seven companies on Thursday submitted bids to the county, ranging from $17,855 to $45,907 to provide digital equipment that will keep far more extensive recordings of the images picked up by security cameras in the jail. ...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- A former Union County circuit court clerk was charged with stealing more than $16,000 in bond money this week. Michelle Sadler, 33, was indicted by a Union County grand jury Wednesday with 44 counts of felony forgery, 11 counts felony theft and five counts of misdemeanor theft under $300...

Never start a remodeling project during a full moon. I want that chiseled on my tombstone. After my wife and I survived remodeling our kitchen several years ago, we swore we would buy a new house before we would go through that again. When we built a house more than 20 years ago, we enjoyed the experience. So why is remodeling so bad?...

Cape Girardeau County emergency officials are onto another bargain. Three months after buying 200 cases of military Meals Ready to Eat for $15 each from the State Agency for Surplus Property, emergency operations director David Hitt was given permission to pursue the purchase of travel trailers being discarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency...

Southeast Missouri State University staff and students were without Internet access much the day and into the night Thursday after a computer network system trunk line in the St. Louis area was accidently cut. "It's annoying," said John Weber, assistant vice president of information technology at the Cape Girardeau school. "But that's part of technology."...

Thursday County Administration Building 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n Approved a letter from the county commission to local legislators regarding House Bill 131. n Approved payroll changes. n Received and filed notice that assessment maintenance budget was approved by the State Tax Commission...

When the final electric rate increase was implemented last month in Jackson, residents and business owners were faced with utility bills that jumped almost 40 percent within the past six months. City administrator Jim Roach said he doesn't expect any additional rate increases...

Cape man arraigned in drive-by shooting case A Cape Girardeau man on probation for selling drugs, burglary and theft was arraigned in Jackson court Monday on new charges in a drive-by shooting that resulted in a foot wound. Nathaniel C. Smith, 20, of 430 Sheridan Dr., Apt. ...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Al McDaniel waited nervously inside the Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff's Department Thursday as detectives interviewed his 6-year-old grandson. McDaniel hoped the interviews wouldn't confirm his worst suspicion -- that William Huck Sr. molested the boy at the in-home day care Huck's wife operated...

Record low temperatures for this time of year -- it is 27 degrees in the morning at the municipal airport -- threaten home vegetable and flower gardens as well as the area's apple crop. Cape Girardeau voters give four-year city council terms to the city's incumbent mayor and three councilmen, while granting two-year terms on the council to a former city administrative assistant, an university English instructor and a Procter & Gamble manager; Mayor Howard C. ...

WASHINGTON -- People make more 911 calls from cellular telephones than landlines these days, and police and firefighters increasingly worry about finding those callers in distress. Contrary to what is portrayed on television crime shows, the accuracy of the technology that guides rescuers to cell phone callers can range from a few yards to several miles, even though federal law requires providers to guarantee that their callers can be located in emergencies...

WASHINGTON -- The recall of pet foods and treats contaminated with an industrial chemical expanded Thursday to include dog biscuits made by an Alabama company and sold by Wal-Mart under the Ol'Roy brand. The Food and Drug Administration said the manufacturer, Sunshine Mills Inc., is recalling dog biscuits made with imported Chinese wheat gluten. Testing has revealed the wheat gluten, a protein source, was contaminated with melamine, used to make plastics and other industrial products...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Saudi Arabia's unelected advisory council Thursday, the closest thing in the kingdom to a legislature, where she tried out her counterpart's chair -- a privilege no Saudi woman can have because women cannot become legislators...

SANTORINI, Greece -- Scores of passengers climbed down rope ladders to rescue vessels after a Greek cruise ship struck a reef Thursday and started listing in the Mediterranean, forcing the evacuation of 1,600 people including North Carolina high school students...

BEIJING -- A Chinese company accused of selling chemical-tainted wheat gluten linked to the pet food deaths of cats and dogs in the United States said Thursday that most of its sales are domestic, raising the possibility that people or animals in China might have been exposed to the chemical...

LONDON -- Prosecutors filed charges Thursday against three people who allegedly conspired with suicide bombers in the attacks that killed 52 subway and bus passengers in London on July 7, 2005. For the first time, authorities alleged that the plot's targets may have included London tourist attractions...

Evelyn Mabel Loyd Strauser, 84, died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at Heartland Care and Rehab in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 20, 1922, near Zalma, Mo., daughter of Oscar and Julia Celestine Dennis Loyd. She and Donald Strauser were married June 3, 1943, in Jackson. He died March 1, 1999...

Martha F. Johnston, 73, of Scott City went to rest with her heavenly father Thursday, April 5, 2007, at the home of a son, Terry. She was born Dec. 26, 1933, in Illmo, daughter of Virgil G. and Ora Speck Watson. She worked as a cook many years, and retired from Blair Industries...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Elsie Armbrecht, 89, of Perryville died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at Perry Oaks Manor. She was born Oct. 22, 1917, in Perry County, daughter of Lewis H. and Katherine Baudendistel Kutz. Armbrecht retired from American Can Co. in St. Louis...

ANNA, Ill. -- M.J. "Red" Egner, 86, of Anna died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at Veterans Administration Medical Center in Marion, Ill. He was born Oct. 3, 1920, in Mound City, Ill., son of Walter E. and Clara Killius Egner. He and Adeline K. Bridewell were married Oct. 25, 1941, in Mound City...

Eska Hancock, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born June 24, 1919, at Dixon, Mo., daughter of Fred Guy and Nellie Mae Conner Decker. She and Rhea A. Hancock were married March 10, 1943, in Hot Springs, Ark. He died Dec. 19, 1988...

Unexplained dirt work; Changing weather; More trash containers; Campaign funding; Financing options; Scary thought; Which is it?; School sense; Shed some tears; Lagging wages; Military decision; Facts are real

Global warming. This is a letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from U.S. Sen. Kit Bond:The cavalier attitude of your recent editorial ("Sunspots and Sausage," March 26) toward the poor struggling to pay their home-heating bills is disappointing. Over 29 million American families cannot pay their heating bills. They suffer through the winters with many relying on inefficient but costly electric space heaters and poorly insulated homes...

One of the first things Barbara Lohr did after learning Tuesday night that she had been elected mayor of Jackson was to pledge to work cooperatively for the benefit of the city. Her call for reconciliation was echoed by her nearest rival, Alderman David Reiminger, who has one year left to serve on the Jackson Board of Alderman...

Hazel E. Allen, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at her home. She was born Feb. 15, 1915, in Marquand, Mo., daughter of Henry A. and Ollie E. Dudley Masters. Allen worked at the Dollar General Store many years. Survivors include two brothers, Homer Masters of St. Charles, Mo., Ora Masters of Gordonville; and a sister, Pauline Green of Florissant, Mo...

KELSO, Mo. -- Doris Smith, 86, of Kelso died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

n At 6:53 p.m., emergency medical service at the Emerson Bridge. n At 7:42 p.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of South West End Boulevard. n At 9:43 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1100 block of Linden Street. n At 11:40 p.m., box alarm in the 3000 block of William Street...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Summonses; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Southeast Missouri State University: Theft; Jackson: Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous

BENTON, Mo. -- The Scott County Commission hasn't yet decided whether to place the extension of the county's half-cent sales tax for law enforcement on a future ballot, but Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said the issue will be discussed extensively during the coming weeks...

VanMeter; Hastings; Wilhelm; McMillen; Wright; Heisserer; Howard

DALLAS -- Two diaries penned by Anna Nicole Smith in the early 1990s reveal a troubled young woman professing to be deeply in love with octogenarian oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, and often depressed and concerned about her weight and eating habits...

GENEVA -- Open a newspaper, look at a street sign, type an e-mail and chances are a Swiss design icon is staring you in the face, though you'd be hard-pressed to identify it. But peer closely at the shape of the letters: If they're easy to read and without unnecessary flourishes, then you might well be looking at an example of the Helvetica typeface, which turns 50 this year...

For a relatively small track and field meet like the Gatorade Classic, two pretty big names headline the individual field. World champion Miles Smith of host Southeast Missouri State and world record holder Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois add plenty of sizzle to the 26th annual event that will be held today and Saturday at the Abe Stuber Complex...

Notre Dame senior Kristain Burger's prowess on a softball diamond is evident by her three all-state selections and numerous school records. When it comes to the 5-foot-11 forward's game on the basketball court, the hype may not be as great, but the production is on par...

Bryce and Drew Kristal continued to earn victories for the Southeast Missouri State women's tennis team. The sisters teamed to win at No. 1 doubles after both earned a win in their singles matches Thursday. The Kristal sisters helped the Redhawks down Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay 6-1...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- After just one season at Kansas State, basketball coach Bob Huggins is leaving for West Virginia, his alma mater, Kansas State athletic director Tim Weiser announced Thursday. "This is a tough day for the entire K-State nation," Weiser said in a short news release announcing the news. ...

First team Kristain Burger, sr., Notre Dame n The 5-foot-11 senior helped Notre Dame capture its first district title in three years by scoring 19 points a game to go along with 12 rebounds. Burger's patented left hook was an unstoppable force down low...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The cheers broke the morning calm at Augusta National when Arnold Palmer took a mighty swing at his ceremonial tee shot. For the next 11 hours Thursday, the Masters went mute. Throw together a course that has grown 500 yards with brittle conditions, and there wasn't much to cheer...

Darryl Stingley spent more than half his life in a wheelchair, a symbol of the violence of the NFL, where large bodies collide at high speeds on every play. He was only 26 when he clashed head-on with the Raiders' Jack Tatum during an exhibition at the Oakland Coliseum as they leaped for a pass...

Chances are that you've never heard of SONiA and Disappear Fear, so here's a little primer. SONiA (last name Rutstein) and her sister, CiNDY, formed the folk-pop duo Disappear Fear and signed with Rounder Records in 1994, as out-and-proud lesbians. They were immediately honored and embraced by the gay community and the independent music community, singing about love, tolerance, the evils of war and other social justice causes...

Jackson artist Herb Wickham is fascinated by the ghosts of Southeast Missouri. Where others see decaying, abandoned barns and farmhouses, he sees a story that needs to be told in oil. "What attracts me about these farm scenes, the rusty roofs and broke-down boards ... I try to imagine who lived there," Wickham says, looking at one of his many landscapes of the old farms that dot the area. "There's a story in all of them. I try to get a feeling for what it was like to live there."...

19-mile Mingo Auto Tour route now open; Local bands play metalfest Saturday; Jazz ensembles to appear in concert; Alaska's 'fiddling poet' to perform at Wordsfair; Student art on display at Sikeston museum; Notre Dame's 'My Fair Lady' begins Thursday; Student-directed play starts April 13; Pro wrestling coming to Show Me Center; 'Hee Haw' star to perform at Tunnel Hill; -- From staff reports

The hype about the upcoming River Campus has been so thick you could paddle your canoe for days and still not reach the other side. You'd simply crawl at a snail's pace through the superdense anticipation that has manifested itself into physical reality...

Today Hip hop in Cape? Yes, a hip hop concert is coming to Cape. Tonight Grandaddy Souf, Cardell Evans and other rappers will descend upon the A.C. Brase Arena Building and add a little something different to your entertainment options. n When: 8 p.m...

Today Cape River Heritage Museum: open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Karaoke with T.J. Jackson: Cape Girardeau VFW Hall, 6:30 p.m. Classic Country Band featuring Webb Tripp: American Legion Hall, Jackson, 7 to 10:30 p.m. Granddaddy Souf with Cardell Evans with Hip Hop King Naughty or Nice and Promise: Arena Building, 8 p.m...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Billy Donovan wanted to stay. His star players knew it was time to go. Donovan spurned a chance to return to Kentucky and take over the tradition-rich program, saying Thursday he hopes to build the same in Gainesville...

Three stars (out of four) "Meet the Robinsons" is Disney's newest animated release. The story is of a young orphan who considers himself an inventor. As he's showing off his latest invention at a science fair, he meets a time traveler and goes to the future...

Now consumers in eight states can buy a fuel-thrifty, gasoline-electric hybrid car with Toyota's well-known hybrid technology, and it's not a Toyota. How can this be? Officials at Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, are licensing Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system and installing it in the new-for-2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid...

WASHINGTON -- Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas was to have surgery Thursday on his left knee and is essentially done for the season. Arenas was diagnosed with a lateral meniscus tear and was to have arthroscopic surgery later in the day at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington. The Wizards said the recovery time will be two to three months, meaning he might play again this season only if Washington manages to make the NBA finals without him...

A St. Louis legislator wants to require that baking soda be sold behind the pharmacy counter as part of an anti-drug effort aimed at a base ingredient in crack cocaine. The proposal by Democratic Rep. Talibdin El-Amin is modeled after a state law that already requires cold medicines with pseudoephedrine to be placed behind the pharmacy counter. That law is aimed at a key ingredient in the illegal drug methamphetamine...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- David Legwand scored two goals, Paul Kariya notched his 500th NHL assist, and the Nashville Predators snapped a three-game skid Thursday night by beating the St. Louis Blues 4-1. Nashville set franchise records with its 50th victory and 108 points. But the Predators had to wait and see how Detroit (110 points) fared against Chicago to know whether they had any hope of winning the Central Division...

Hannah Sedgwick struck out nine and walked two to lead Oak Ridge past Meadow Heights 8-6 in softball action Thursday. Sedgwick also went 3-for-3 at the plate and knocked in two runs in thewin at home. Meadow Heights opened a four-run lead in the first inning, but surrendered four in the second and two more in the third...

Nothing regarding the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season baseball championship will be decided in Cape Girardeau today and Saturday. But that doesn't diminish what shapes up as an early showdown between Southeast Missouri State and defending OVC tournament champion Jacksonville State...

The most infamous feud in American folklore, the long-running battle between the Hatfields and McCoys, may be partly explained by a rare, inherited disease that can lead to hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts. Dozens of McCoy descendants apparently have the disease, which causes high blood pressure, racing hearts, severe headaches and too much adrenaline and other "fight or flight" stress hormones...

The three-piece band Fill can usually be seen playing its unconventional form of jazz-rock at downtown bars on the weekends. But tonight Fill will play to a vastly different crowd. The band is turning into a two-piece (sans drummer Brandon Glenn) for a lighter gig tonight at the Edward Bernard Gallery. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Perry Progress Corp. has entered into a contract with the Edward J. Robinson Revocable Trust to buy 200 acres of land for a golf course, and the Bank of Missouri board of directors has approved a $7 million loan for the project last month, the corporation announced Wednesday...

The Cape County Transit Authority is like most businesses -- follow sound practices and keep people with specialized knowledge close and things should run smoothly, interim director Tom Mogelnicki said Friday. After a week on the job, Mogelnicki said he's unsure whether he will seek a permanent appointment to replace outgoing executive director Jeff Brune. But he said he's not going to sit back and be a caretaker, either...

For the second consecutive day Friday, much of Southeast Missouri endured temperatures near freezing. Flurries were spotted in Cape Girardeau in the afternoon, and temperatures dipped down to 33 degrees during the day. Overnight lows were predicted to plummet into the low 20s...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- The superintendent of Caruthersville schools won't take no for an answer when it comes to replacing the district's tornado-damaged high school. Voters on Tuesday rejected a $4.5 million bond issue proposal that would have helped finance construction of a new high school. Nearly 1,300 votes were cast. More than 56 percent of the voters said no to the measure. The measure needed a supermajority of just over 57 percent to pass...

During debate this week on legislation overhauling the state's Medicaid system, state Sen. Jason Crowell broke ranks with his fellow Republicans to support an attempt to reverse all the cuts since 2002 in the taxpayer-supported health-care program...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Assaults; Summonses; DWIs; Thefts; Property damage; Arrests; Summons; DWIs

n At 11:14 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1700 block of Crestwood Drive. n At 11:21 p.m., emergency medical service in the 300 block of Dearmore Street. n At 11:36 p.m., emergency medical service in the 2000 block of Big Bend Road. n At 12:42 a.m., emergency medical service in the 300 block of West Lorimier Street...

ENTERPRISE, Ala. -- Rachael Ray made sure the students who lost eight classmates and their school in a tornado got a senior prom. The celebrity chef planned the menu and helped prepare dinner at Enterprise High School's prom, according to a statement Thursday from publicist Georgianna Dente. The star of the syndicated "Rachael Ray" coordinated donations for the dance, which was shot for an episode to air April 30...

Jewel Cleo Gould, 94, died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Lakeland Nursing and Rehab Center in Jackson, Miss. Visitation will be 1 to 2:45 p.m. today at Ott and Lee Funeral Home in Brandon, Miss., with a 3 p.m. chapel service. Burial will follow in Line Creek Cemetery in Rankin County...

The Scott City government is set to talk with the TEPPCO petroleum pipeline facility just outside the city limits in an attempt to limit tanker truck traffic through town. At Monday's regular city council meeting, a group of firefighters and Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout discussed the issue with the city council, spurred by the recent crash of a tanker truck carrying diesel fuel on Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau...

Eska Hancock, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born June 24, 1919, at Dixon, Mo., daughter of Fred Guy and Nellie Mae Conner Decker. She and Rhea A. Hancock were married March 10, 1943, in Hot Springs, Ark. He died Dec. 19, 1988...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Robert William "Bob" Francis, 88, of Marble Hill died Monday, April 2, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 14, 1918, in Lutesville, Mo., son of Isaac David and Della Iretha Biffle Pulliam Francis...

KELSO, Mo. -- Doris Marie Welter Smith, 86, of Kelso died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Her final years were spent at Auburn Creek Residential Care Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 15, 1920, in Kelso, to Edward and Ella Pfefferkorn Welter. She married Jack Smith Jr. of Fornfelt Aug. 27, 1942. He preceded her in death March 28, 1981...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Juanita Isaacs, 81, of Morley died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at her home. She was born Dec. 29, 1925, in Riverside, Calif., daughter of Raymond and Florence Barker Emerson Sr. She and Fearl Isaacs were married Oct. 26, 1942. He died April 3, 1997...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Pearl Pair, 92, of Marble Hill died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Elder Care of Marble Hill. She was born Oct. 19, 1914, at Buchanan, Mo., daughter of Robert H. and Florence Estes Looney. She and Merrill Pair were married July 24, 1952. He died Aug. 15, 2006...

Edna Mae Ryan, 82, of Granite City, Ill., died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Stearns Nursing Home in Granite City. She was born Aug. 23, 1924, in Campbell, Mo., daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Linda Mae Blevins Sanders. She and Jack James were married Oct. 12, 1946. He preceded her in death. She and Harold Ryan were married Nov. 29, 1975, in Chicago. He also preceded her in death...

BUNCOMBE, Ill. -- Anna Elizabeth Allen, 95, of Buncombe died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill. She was born Jan. 29, 1912, in Goreville, Ill., daughter of Basil and Rhoda Stanley Billingsley. She and Charles Allen were married April 30, 1936. He died June 11, 1980...

Ronald Lee Schrum Sr., 54, of Delta died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at his home. He was born July 14, 1952, in St. Louis, son of Ollie Earl and Stella Irene Sadler Schrum. He and Kathleen Curneal were married Jan. 4, 2007. Schrum retired as a truck driver with Obie and Pete's Solid Waste...

William Ray Lincoln, 65, of Whitewater died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 9, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, son of William E. Ray and Dorris S. Neilson Lincoln. He and Shelba Grindstaff were married June 18, 1960, in Jackson...

Alvin Griswell, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 6, 2007, at Ratliff Care Center. He was born Sept. 16, 1914, in Dyersburg, Tenn., son of Archie and Sarah Patterson Griswell. He and Ocie Loraine Smith were married Dec. 5, 1932. She died Nov. 26, 1998...

Faberge eggs on display in Paducah today PADUCAH, Ky. -- Russian jewelry designer Ilya Abelsky will be in Paducah today with his handcrafted miniature Faberge eggs at Michelson Jewelers. The eggs are crafted in the tradition of Carl Faberge, the 19th-century jeweler to the Russian imperial family. ...

A company at the Southeast Missouri Port Authority is sinking big money into a project to reduce the amount of lead concentrate that can make its way into the environment. Workers with Girardeau Stevedores and Contractors Inc. are in the early stages of constructing a $4 million facility at the port to handle shipments of lead concentrate from the Doe Run Co...

Dexter school bond issue passes DEXTER, Mo. -- In Dexter, polling data to the contrary, the school bond issue passed convincingly by a vote of 959-643. An online poll conducted by the Daily Statesman ending Feb. 27 indicated a dead heat, with 47.5 percent of respondents in favor and 47.5 percent opposed. ...

WASHINGTON -- A top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales abruptly quit Friday, almost two weeks after telling Congress she would not testify about her role in the firings of federal prosecutors. There was no immediate reason given, but Monica M. Goodling's refusal to face Congress had intensified a controversy that threatens Gonzales' job...

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- As the world gets hotter by degrees, millions of poor people will suffer from hunger, thirst, floods and disease unless drastic action is taken, scientists and diplomats warned Friday in their bleakest report ever on global warming...

BAGHDAD -- A suspected al-Qaida in Iraq suicide bomber smashed a truck loaded with TNT and toxic chlorine gas into a police checkpoint in Ramadi on Friday, killing at least 27 people -- the ninth such attack since the group's first known use of a chemical weapon in January...

ROYAL MARINE BASE CHIVENOR, England -- British sailors and marines freed by Iran said Friday they were blindfolded, isolated in cold stone cells and tricked into fearing execution while being coerced into falsely saying they had entered Iranian waters...

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- A vehicle crossed the median on a busy stretch of Interstate 24 near the Illinois-Kentucky border Friday, killing three people and critically injuring two others, Illinois State Police said. The accident snarled Easter weekend traffic for hours, police said...

STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- Back in 1997, the six Boniello babies set a U.S. record for the longest sextuplet pregnancy -- 29 weeks and one day. Each weighed barely 2 pounds. A lot has changed in 10 years. The four sisters and two brothers are now healthy, thriving fourth-graders with their own unique personalities, from the soccer player to the knitter to the tomboy who loves to climb trees...

In an about-face by the U.S. government four years into the war in Iraq, America's fallen troops are being brought back to their families aboard charter jets instead of ordinary commercial flights, and the caskets are being met by honor guards in white gloves instead of baggage handlers with forklifts...

MIAMI -- Five convicted sex offenders are living under a noisy highway bridge with the state's grudging approval because an ordinance intended to keep predators away from children made it nearly impossible for them to find housing. Some of them sleep on cardboard raised slightly off the ground to avoid the rats. One of the men beds down on a pallet with a blanket and pillow. Some have been there for several weeks...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Three lawyers in the U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis resigned their management posts and will return to prosecuting case. U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose confirmed Friday that John Marti, a first assistant U.S. attorney, Erika Mozangue, head of the office's civil division, and James Lackner, who heads the office's criminal division, have "decided to go back to being prosecutors," spokeswoman Jeanne Cooney said...

King of the world; Fishbowl nonsense; Patched and plugged; Boxed-wine mentality; Where's the money?; Altenburg's got money; Use the ashtray; I'll second that; Jail money; Like a dictator; Plenty of pork; Widespread impact; Redraw the lines; Fleeced again; Fighting crime; Replacement taxes

If a teacher is good enough he someday will be surpassed by his pupils. That happened Sunday when Mark Hogan became the winningest baseball coach in the history of Southeast Missouri State University history. Hogan's mentor, the late Joe Uhls, compiled a 373-257-5 record in 25 seasons from 1960 to 1984. Before Friday's games against Jacksonville State, Hogan had a 374-308-1 record in 13 seasons at Southeast...

Every year, the Cape Girardeau and Jackson chambers of commerce honor public, private and parochial school teachers who excel in the classroom or as administrators. The educators of the year are chosen by business leaders and recognized for the important role teachers play in the health of the community...

"I believe we have two lives: The life we learn with... and the life we live with after that." (from "The Natural," a 1984 motion picture). I knew a delightful woman in south St. Louis who has gone on to her reward. Katie played the ukulele; she talked so loud during worship (because of poor hearing) that sometimes the volume of her voice competed with mine during sermons. She was firmly on O.J. Simpson's side during his infamous double murder trial more than a decade ago...

EL PASO, Texas -- For all the tough talk out of Washington on immigration, illegal immigrants caught along the Mexican border have almost no reason to fear they will be prosecuted. Ninety-eight percent of those arrested between Oct. 1, 2000, and Sept. ...

Briefly Mending Hearts conference scheduled Women are invited to the "Mending Hearts" Women's Conference Aug. 24 and 25 at the Kentucky Dam Village State Park in Gilbertsville, Ky. Escape for a time of teaching, workshops, testimonies, share groups and ministering to personal needs. For information on registration and reservations, call Foundational Truths Ministries at (618) 378-9100, or e-mail cccole@hamiltoncom.net...

Family tradition at Easter might mean new spring clothes to wear to church, a chocolate rabbit and colored eggs hidden in the grass. It often means family and friends gathered around the table for Easter dinner. For members of Jackson's First Baptist Church, family extends beyond genetics to include church family, community family and, ultimately, God's family in a lavish Easter pageant the church performs as a gift to the community...

Southeast Missouri State played its first home baseball game since coach Mark Hogan claimed the all-time win record Friday, and Hogan was honored with a ceremony before the opener of a doubleheader against Jacksonville State at Capaha Field. The son of legendary Southeast coach Joe Uhls, who previously held the record, threw out the first pitch of the game. ...

The Central baseball team bounced back to earn a split in its second game at the McCracken County tournament in Kentucky. Brad Labruyere pitched six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out four, in the first game against Lexington, Ky. Lexington squeaked out the 3-2 victory. Central managed four hits, all singles...

Southeast Missouri State was staring down a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Ohio Valley Conference-leading Jacksonville State, down 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth of a seven-inning game. The Redhawks rallied with four runs in the sixth and survived a scare in the seventh to pull out a 5-3 win and a split Friday at Capaha Field. ...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at Jacksonville State on Friday. The Redhawks dropped the first game 6-3 and the second game 9-4. They have lost five of their last six. Southeast jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning of game one, but surrendered five runs in the fourth and couldn't recover...

Mayor Howard C. Tooke, a member of the Cape Girardeau City Council since 1968, and mayor of the community for most of those years, says he will retire from city government at the end of his present term on the council; Tooke was re-elected mayor Tuesday...

Just as the sun was setting over Southeast Missouri on Saturday, worshippers at St. Mary's Cathedral were lighting candles and holding vigil for their savior. The traditional Easter vigil service celebrated by Catholics and other denominations all over the world is the first official celebration of the resurrection of Jesus during the Easter season. The service at St. Mary's on William Street in Cape Gir?ardeau began at 7:30 p.m. and stretched late into the evening...

Missouri's 911 centers receive more calls than ever from wireless systems, but few in the state can respond to a caller using a cell phone. Cape Girardeau County 911 director Dave Hitt is hoping a special legislative committee requested by Gov. Matt Blunt on Wednesday to investigate the state's 911 systems could bring some attention to the problem...

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder of Cape Girardeau announced today in an editorial (see Page 7A) that he will back former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson for the Republican presidential nomination. Thompson, 65, who retired from the Senate in 2002 after only one full term, has not formally announced his candidacy. ...

In rural Missouri, school boundary lines often are as crooked as a country road. Area administrators say the confusing boundaries can make it a tough task to tell whether students live in the district. Last month, school officials in the small, rural Leopold School District began investigating allegations that as many as 42 students -- nearly a fourth of the student population -- live outside the school district and are enrolled illegally. ...

Legislation in the Missouri House would establish open enrollment in school districts. Supporters say it would eliminate student residency issues that have plagued school districts and better serve students. The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, Mo., said the legislation would give families a choice on where to send their children to school and provide an option for families to move their children to better-performing schools...

Thanks for purse; Angel's dogs

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Curnell of Jackson recently observed their 50th wedding anniversary. Curnell and Jeanette Clingingsmith were married March 17, 1957, in Illmo, by the Rev. Charles Marshall. They have two children and five grandchildren.

Dean and Sue Jones of Jackson observed their 50th wedding anniversary by hosting a party March 10, 2007, at New McKendree United Methodist Church Celebration Center. Guests attended from Missouri, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Illinois. Jones and Sue Johnson were married March 8, 1957, in Hernando, Miss. He is the son of the late Spencer and Ethel Morton Jones of Jackson. Sue is the daughter of the late Dewey and Mattie Alfultis Johnson of Jackson...

Kelli Kasper and Joshua Shoulders announce their engagement. She is the daughter of Guy and Nancy Kasper of Freeburg, Ill. Shoulders is the son of Roger and Annette Shoulders of Cape Girardeau. Kasper is a 2003 graduate of Freeburg Community High School. She expects to receive a bachelor of science degree in sports management from Southeast Missouri State University in May...

Randall and Natasha Moore of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Nicole Marie Moore, to Neil Allen Randol. He is the son of Narvol and Amy Randol of Cape Girardeau. Moore is a 2005 graduate of Jackson High School, and is pursuing a degree in child development at Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed at Kids Korner and SEMO Center for Child Studies...

James and Sally Noon of Scott City announce the engagement of their daughter, Rachel Noon, to Scott Reinagel. He is the son of Tom and Susan Reinagel of Cape Girardeau. Noon is a 2002 graduate of Scott City High School. She received a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006...

KELSO, Mo. -- David and Donna Stamp of Kelso announce the engagement of their daughter, Alaina Gail Stamp, to Jeremy Alan Mabrey, both of Jackson. He is the son of Bill and Betty Mabrey of Scott City. Stamp is a 2001 graduate of Scott City High School, and received an associate's degree from Southeast Missouri State University. She is a secretary at Kluesner Concreters and Kelso Kwik Stop...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Patrick and Denise O'Hare of Advance announce the engagement of their daughter, Stacey Michelle O'Hare, to Jason Michael Van de Ven. He is the son of Roy and Sharon Van de Ven of Leopold, Mo. O'Hare is a 1998 graduate of Advance High School. ...

Robert J. Ahrens and Vita M. Ahrens of Florissant, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Angela M. Ahrens, to Brendon J. Wilder. He is the son of Melissa Huey of Marble Hill, Mo., and Tom Wilder of St. Louis. Ahrens is a 1998 graduate of Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis. She received bachelor degrees in public relations and Spanish from Southeast Missouri State University in 2003. She is administrative coordinator at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport...

Michael and Betty Meyer of Scott City announce the engagement of their daughter, Morgan Leigh Meyer, to John Loesel. He is the son of Fred and Sandy Loesel of Olivette, Mo. Meyer is a 2002 graduate of Jackson High School. She expects to receive a degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University in May. She will be working at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Va., this fall...

Operations at Marquette Mfg. Co., South Sprigg Street Road in Cape Girardeau, have been suspended until the end of the week as the result of an explosion Tuesday, which damaged the plant's cooling tower; the extent of the damage is still being evaluated; however, the plant is expected to be operating again by Saturday...

Erica A. Foust and Lance C. Wilson exchanged vows Sept. 9, 2006, at Francine's Gardens. The Rev. Bob Farr performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Alan and Janey Foust of Jackson and Ed and Katheia Corrigan of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Richard and Peggy Wilson of St. Charles, Mo...

Kari Marie Miinch and Tatum James Kitchen were married Dec. 30, 2006, at First Baptist Church in Jackson. The Rev. Zach Strong performed the ceremony. Organist and pianist was Laura Robinson, and vocalist was Robyn Hosp. Parents of the couple are Dwane and Diane Miinch of Millersville, and Terry and Barbara Kitchen of Cape Girardeau...

Winifred Roehm Hirsch and Byron Allen Ward were united in marriage March 31, 2007, at First Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Paul Kabo performed the ceremony. The bride's attendants were her daughters, Ellen Mantia of Overland Park, Kan., and Dr. Lucile Hirsch of Smithville, Mo...

Amy Chandler and Eric Niedbalski were married June 24, 2006, at St. Pius V Catholic Church in St. Louis. The Rev. John Vien performed the ceremony. Pianist was Ruth Ehrsman and vocalist was Chip Mettlach. The bride is the daughter of Patricia Chandler of Jackson, and the late John Chandler. The groom is the son of Richard and Sylvia Niedbalski of Jackson...

Tara Marie Allen and Matthew Ryan Wortmann were married Dec. 2, 2006, at Grace United Methodist Church. The Rev. Drew Dietz performed the ceremony. Reader was Stacy Elfrink. Pianist was Matt Yount and vocalist was Laurie Anderson, both of Jackson. Parents of the couple are Tom and Tandra Allen and Bruce and Jackie Wortmann, all of Jackson...

At least the sun was shining. That was about the only positive thing Southeast Missouri State track coach Joey Haines could say about the weather conditions Saturday following the 26th annual Gatorade Classic track and field meet at the Abe Stuber complex...

Player missing; Hall of Famer

The Southeast Missouri State women's track team that competed Saturday in the 26th annual Gatorade Classic was not the very best lineup that coach Joey Haines could field. The lineup he hopes to have May 4 at the Ohio Valley Conference championships most certainly will include senior Natasha Fortenberry, who wasn't available this weekend for personal matters...

Eighty-five percent of Miles Smith was much better than the rest of the 400-meters field Saturday at the Gatorade Classic. Smith, the Southeast senior who has earned all-America honors and a world championships gold medal, competed in an individual event for the first time since a Jan. 28 indoors meet...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Friday: n At 5:48 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1200 block of Meadowbrook Drive. n At 6:55 p.m., citizen assist in the 200 block of South Lorimier Street. n At 7:57 p.m., motor vehicle accident and emergency medical service at the corner of South Silver Springs Road and Professional Court...

DWI

HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. -- An audience expecting to watch a family film was stunned to get a glimpse of a horror movie, which left some parents shaken and the theater chain apologizing for the movie mix-up. The moviegoers were expecting to see "The Last Mimzy," the PG-rated tale of a brother and sister who discover a mysterious box of toys and become endowed with superhuman powers to help preserve humanity's future...

BEIJING -- Jackie Chan on Saturday launched a Chinese TV competition aimed at scouting out new action movie talent, saying more than 100,000 people have already signed up for a shot at kung fu stardom. "A lot of actors are good at fighting but [their style] is not beautiful," the Chinese star and stunt man, who turned 53 Saturday, said in Beijing...

The case has the unusual twist of putting prosecutors and the defendent on the same side arguing for the death sentence. By BRETT BARROUQUERE The Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Like scores of inmates in other states, Marco Allen Chapman wants to go ahead with his execution after admitting he brutally killed two children and left their sister and mother for dead...

William Ray Lincoln, 65, of Whitewater passed away Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 9, 1941, in Cape Girardeau, son of William E. Ray and Dorris S. Neilson Lincoln. He and Shelba Grindstaff were married June 18, 1960, in Jackson...

William David Horsley, 69, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 5, 2007, at home. He was born Jan. 3, 1938, in Breckenridge, Ky. son of Loe B. and Alian Board Horsley. He and Opal Marie Grah Bridges were married Sept. 7, 1979, in Scott City. Horsley worked more than 20 years as a captain/pilot for Inland Oil Co. and Tolen Barge Co. He retired in 1994 due to health reasons. He was a member of Moose Lodge...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Kenneth W. Fritz, 42, of Villa Ridge died Saturday, April 7, 2007, at the Jonesboro Rehab and Health Care Center. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with Rev. John Montgomery officiating. Interment will follow in Provo cemetery...

Everyone in our small village observed all the traditions and rituals of Holy Week. There were school recitations, hot cross buns, great bouquets of lilies, church dramas, songs, music and pantomimes. Each year I learned a little more: how Simon carried the cross, how darkness spread over the land in the afternoon of the Crucifixion. ...

Some worried pet owners are grinding up meat in their kitchens and making their own dog and cat food because of the contamination scare blamed for numerous animal deaths. Local veterinarians, employees at the Humane Society and a Jackson pet food maker all say they've gotten a lot of calls from pet owners since March 16, when nearly 100 store and major-brand pet foods were recalled by manufacturer Menu Foods Inc. ...

Despite temperatures in the 20s and a windchill factor that made it feel like 10, about 30 Boy Scouts and adults who belong to the Order of the Arrow Anpetu-We Lodge gathered at the Nature Center on Saturday to take part in community service. The Order of the Arrow is Boy Scouting's national honor society...

9 a.m. Monday County Administration Building 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n Public administrator's quarterly update. Action item n None at this time. and appointments n 9:30 a.m. Discussion regarding emergency management director's position...

ATHENS, Greece -- The captain of a cruise ship that sank in the Aegean Sea was charged Saturday with negligence, a government official said. A Merchant Marine Ministry spokeswoman confirmed that a prosecutor charged the captain but said she could not confirm a report on state NET TV that five other officers also were charged. ...

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan -- A Russian rocket carrying the American billionaire who helped develop Microsoft Word roared into the night skies over Kazakhstan Saturday, sending Charles Simonyi and two cosmonauts soaring into orbit on a two-day journey to the international space station...

LONDON -- Fifteen British sailors and marines freed from captivity in Tehran began two weeks' leave with their families Saturday, while Iran's ambassador to London urged Britain to help his nation mend relations with the international community. Ambassador Rasoul Movahedian told the Financial Times newspaper in an article published Saturday that Iran had "showed our goodwill" by freeing the Britons...

BAGHDAD -- U.S. warplanes blasted a militia team firing rocket-propelled grenades Saturday, the second day of heavy fighting in a major offensive to drive Shiite Mahdi Army militiamen out of Diwaniyah, a farm-belt city south of Baghdad. North of the capital, in the increasingly dangerous Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba, police reported finding 21 more bodies dumped in the streets, victims of the intense sectarian warfare. ...

CHICAGO -- Cardinal Francis George fractured a hip Saturday after he slipped and fell on the marble floor of a church while blessing Easter baskets, according to an archdiocese spokesman. George, 70, was hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he will remain for several days as a result of the mishap at Saint Ferdinand's Parish on Chicago's Northwest Side, said Archdiocese spokeswoman Colleen Dolan...

PEORIA, Ill. -- St. Patrick is not on the side walls of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. As revered as he is among Roman Catholics, there's one thing keeping his portrait from making the cut for display in the 100-year-old church -- he's not from the Americas...

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- Health officials in southern Missouri are looking for money to extend a program aimed at getting parents to stop smoking around their children. The ABCs of Secondhand Smoke program is currently paid for by a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. That money runs out at the end of April...

ROLLA, Mo. -- The job of interim president of the University of Missouri system comes with few guarantees -- and that's fine with Gordon Lamb. "The main thing is to make a good, smooth transition," said Lamb, introduced Friday as Elson Floyd's temporary successor. Floyd will remain in Columbia for the next month advising Lamb before he assumes the presidency of Washington State University...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Schools would not have to make up all the days lost to this year's ice storm, under a bill making its way through the Missouri Legislature. The House passed the bill, sponsored by Rep. B.J. Marsh, R-Springfield, by a 144-6 vote on March 5. It would allow districts to forgo making up days lost from Jan. 15 to 22...

PLATTE CITY, Mo. -- The relocation of five homestead cemeteries on Kansas City International Airport property must wait until a legal guardian for the cemeteries can be appointed, a judge has ruled. The city's Aviation Department wants to consolidate the cemeteries to clear the way for development...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A century and a half after the Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott decision that no black -- slave or free -- could ever become a U.S. citizen, the case's legacy is still being debated. The fallout from the 1857 decision, which helped spark the Civil War, was the subject of a mock hearing of the case before a 10-member court led by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at Harvard Law School on Saturday...

PAWHUSKA, Okla. -- National Guard Staff Sgt. Gabe Robinson knows he will be married only a matter of months before he's likely to redeploy to Iraq, but considers himself lucky he's been home since 2004. Still, he worries about being injured. "It's always in your mind," said Robinson, 32, who plans to marry in May. "Anyone who says they don't think about that, they are lying."...

BELLEVUE, Ohio -- Mike Bassett wants to give away a house. There's just one catch -- the recipient has to move it. Bassett says if he doesn't have a taker by July 1, he will raze the structure to make way for more parking for his supermarket and gas station next door...

NEWARK, N.J. -- The bank robbery investigation had gained intensity because of the increasingly brazen and violent nature of the crimes, with shots fired inside at least three of the institutions. But when three of the suspects were confronted by FBI agents Thursday, authorities say the armed men didn't fire a shot. Instead, the FBI says it appears that one of their own, a veteran of major investigations, was killed when a fellow agent's weapon accidentally discharged...

BEND, Ore. -- Mountaineers are bringing back firsthand accounts of vanishing glaciers, melting ice routes, crumbling rock formations and flood-prone lakes where glaciers once rose. The observations are transforming a growing number of alpine and ice climbers, some of whom have scientific training, into eyewitnesses of global warming. Increasingly, they are deciding not to leave it to scientists to tell the entire story...

First grade students in Martha Venable's class at Orchard Elementary School in Jackson share what the Easter holiday means to them. It means Jesus died on the cross. Every year I go to a pageant at my church and they show us about it. -- Landon Whitworth...

A second straight late-inning comeback by Southeast Missouri State on Saturday gave the Redhawks their first Ohio Valley Conference series victory against Jacksonville State and a share of first place in the conference. Southeast scored three runs in the eighth inning to rally for a 3-2 win at Capaha Field. The win moved the Redhawks to 7-2 in the OVC, tied atop the standings with the Gamecocks...

Southeast Missouri State remained winless in 14 all-time softball meetings with Jacksonville State after an 11-3 Ohio Valley Conference loss Saturday at Jacksonville State. The Redhawks were swept in the three-game OVC series and fell to 4-8 in the conference and 10-20 overall. The Gamecocks are 8-5 in the OVC and 21-14 overall...

For the second straight year, the Oran baseball team made an impression against a field of large schools in the St. Louis area by finishing 3-1 at the Midwest Classic hosted by Howell North. The Eagles, ranked No. 3 in the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association Class 1 state poll released last week, posted two wins Saturday in a pair of one-run games...

A Honor Roll 4th grade -- Tyler Allen, Amy Banda, Tyler Barks, Andrew Bell, Monica Foltz, Bobby Jansen, Olivia Jansen, Brock Kasten, Taylor Mayfield, Sydney Mike-Mayor, Carter Nenninger, Christina Niedbalski, Quinn Poythress, Jesse Raines, Devin Ziegler...

High Honors 3rd grade -- Megan Hammon, Indocin Murray, Jerrett Sims, Trevor Walker, Nigel Williams 4th grade -- Ariel Beard, Vanessa Fraction, Tiauna Holder, Rebecca Morgan, Georgiante Purdiman, Conner Schaal, Shaela Scott, Daryl Weldon 5th grade -- Austin Wilfong...

HIgh Honor Roll 3rd grade -- Harry Palmer, Olivia Khourie, Blake Mix, Dristin Rose, Kimber White. 4th grade -- Misti May, Cambria Bigham, Adam Poppen, Ashanti Wade, Cameron Masterson, Billy Smith. 5th grade -- Jeri McKee, Hannah McClarney, Kayde Wood, Danielle Carthell, Denise Carson, Aaron Bigham, Jessica Politte, Nathan-Wanya Price, Joshua Burton, Aleah Smith, Cameron Grueninger, Ashlee Green, Hunter Sissom...

A Honor Roll 9th grade -- Ava Andersson, Katie Berghoff, Steven Boos, Rachel Buchheit, Matthew Davis, Meghan Dohogne, Sean Doyle, Anna Essner, Ethan Essner, Kayla Essner, Taylor Essner, Grant Eudy, Brooke Glastetter, Alecia Glaus, Audrey Glover, Bradley Hughey, Nicholas Koeppel, Keith Legrand, Katherine Leonard, Liam Maher, Christopher Mccoy, John Mclain, Hilary Michelson, Jack Mocherman, Cody Moore, Hannah Nenninger, Su In Oh, Derek Parker, Brandon Peters, Danielle Robbins, Lauren Schade, Caitlin Simmons, Lindsay Strieker, Mariah Thompson, Jessica Triller. ...

A Honor Roll 4th grade -- Wyatt Eldridge, Meg Fridley, Tyler Howard, Grady Leimbach, Kourtney McClanahan, Maci McCucan, Erica Powell, Jacqlyn Sievers, Victor Scouten, Tayler Winick. 5th grade -- Matthew Gibson, Cheyenne Goss, Wyatt Mansell, Anna Miller, Emily Todt, Hayley Toft, Caroline Tousignant...

Police are searching for two men who stole thousands of dollars of narcotics and controlled substances early Saturday from the Medicine Shoppe, 864 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Officers responded to an alarm at the store at 12:47 a.m., Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Barry Hovis said Monday. Officers arrived minutes later to find the store's front door smashed in and no one inside...

A school district committee will review Cape Girardeau's current neighborhood elementary school system and consider if the district should switch to grade-level centers. School officials say the committee will look at how elementary grades are organized as part of a broader mission to study whether elementary school boundaries need to be redrawn...

A rural Scott City man is organizing resistance against Scott County's third proposed ethanol plant. Monty Keesee, who lives on County Road 307 near the Southeast Missouri Port Authority, has written to county officials and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson to oppose plans for a plant that may be built a quarter-mile from his home near the port. Keesee says he's worried about the environmental impact from the plant being so close to his and other homes...

Jackson planners developing zoning rules for the East Main Street commercial district want a subdued, landscaped area with well-regulated traffic. If approved as written, the regulations would ban tattoo parlors, pawn shops and itinerant retailers. Buildings would be made of stone, brick or stucco -- no wood or vinyl siding -- and no neon or banner signs would be allowed. ...