Stories from Monday, June 4, 2007

The Cape Girardeau County Commission on Monday named former Jackson police Lt. Richard "Dick" Knaup as the county's new emergency management director. Knaup, who currently works for USIS, a private investigative company, replaces David Hitt, who retired in April after 11 years in the job. Knaup will be paid $34,694 annually, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said...

VAN BUREN, Mo. (AP) -- Democratic House member Sam Page entered the race for lieutenant governor Monday. Page, 42, a doctor from Creve Coeur, was first elected to the Legislature in 2002. He officially announced his candidacy Monday from the auditorium of Van Buren High School, his alma mater, and had other stops planned around the state Monday and Tuesday...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Monday opened the way for Missouri to resume executing condemned inmates, ruling the state's lethal injection procedure is not cruel and unusual punishment. The case filed on behalf of condemned killer Michael Taylor had effectively halted Missouri executions since early last year. A judge said he wanted to be sure that the three-drug injection method did not cause risk of pain and suffering...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A backup warning system did not prevent the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse because Ameren Corp. employees effectively disabled a set of alarms by readjusting them to keep the hydroelectric plant running at full capacity, according to a newly released report...

The county transit authority wants a bigger subsidy from the city of Cape Girardeau. Transit officials are requesting the city council increase the subsidy by $40,000. That would bring the total subsidy from the city to $110,000 for the fiscal year that begins July 1...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Now playing: "Collective Bargaining," the latest release from the Missouri Supreme Court. Already available online. Coming soon to a community near you. Pundits, critics and experts agree: There will be change. How much so? "Monumental," declares a leading lawmaker. "Very radical," proclaims a longtime labor law professor. "Profound," asserts a top education group...

Gov. Matt Blunt signed legislation Friday that started out expanding health insurance options and ended up, unbeknownst to most lawmakers, legalizing midwifery. Under previous Missouri law, midwifery was a felony crime -- punishable by up to seven years in prison -- when practiced by anyone other than certified nurse midwives working in collaboration with physicians...

Plaza Tire Service opened its 45th location in Scott City on Memorial Day. The new five-bay facility is at the corner of Main and Crites streets next to Burger King. Ground was broken for the Scott City store in January. Plaza Tire Service president, Mark Rhodes, said the company had been looking forward to serving Scott City long before that time...

ST. LOUIS -- The McKinley bridge between St. Louis and southern Illinois is scheduled to reopen this fall, and communities are hoping increased traffic will bring new economic opportunities. The rebuilt span is slated to open Sept. 25, after it closed in 2001. The bridge will have two lanes for vehicles and additional outside lanes to carry bicycles and pedestrians. It will not have tolls, as it had in the past...

One of Cape Girardeau's numerous flood-prone intersections will be rebuilt in the coming weeks as the city starts one of two street drainage improvement projects slated for work this year. Construction easements have been acquired and bids will be considered tonight for drainage improvement work at the intersection of Themis Street and Silver Springs Road, city engineer Jay Stencel said...

Think water park; Muslin connection?; Time to pull out; Exit gracefully; With strings attached; Improper penalty; Immigration laws; Seeking understanding; Spreading TB; Casual attire; Nothing worthwhile; Irresponsible attitude

The new Missouri Virtual Instruction Program has enrolled 1,700 students so far and has extended enrollment through June 13. Twenty of the students enrolled are from Cape Girardeau County, 10 from Scott County and nine from Bollinger County. No students have yet enrolled from Perry County...

LYNWOOD, Calif. -- Many women at the Los Angeles County jail where Paris Hilton is expected to arrive any day are already angry at the socialite, a former inmate said. Susannah Johnson, who was released Saturday after a one-day stay at the jail, said inmates were angry at Hilton, believing officials were making room for the starlet at the expense of other inmates already coping with crowded conditions in the 2,200-bed jail...

401 Independence St. Today, 7 p.m. Study session at 5 p.m. Invocation: The Rev. Sam Ramdial, First General Baptist Church Communications from city staff n Appearance by Dick Tuttle and Kevin Priester of Alliance Water Resources. n Appearance by Tom Mogelnicki of the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority...

ST. LOUIS -- Several weeks ago, Ron Cresong's son asked him to play on his dodgeball team, the Mean DB Machines, at First Baptist Church of Lake St. Louis. Now, he's hooked. "It's a blast," Cresong, 45, of Lake St. Louis, said between matches. "I used to play baseball a lot, and this is fun because you can be old and effective if you have a strong [throwing] arm and the ability to catch."...

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- A package containing an explosive device and addressed to the town's police department was discovered in the post office and rendered safe, according to U.S. postal inspector Dan Taylor. West Plains is in Howell County in the south central part of the state...

ST. LOUIS -- A woman killed by a tractor-trailer after she crawled into traffic on Interstate 44 to escape an attacker was identified this weekend as Janine Lifritz, 45, of House Springs, Mo. Detectives continued to look Sunday for the driver of the tractor-trailer and the man who was allegedly beating Lifritz, police said...

MOLINE ACRES, Mo. -- The Riverview Gardens public school district spent about $1.7 million on travel costs over four years, more than districts double its size. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch analyzed the suburban district's records and found that since 2003, Riverview has sent almost 600 teachers, administrators and board members on more than 100 trips to at least 60 cities, from Lake of the Ozarks to Cape Town, South Africa...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bradley Schlozman, former U.S. attorney in Kansas City for more than a year, faces questions this week from the Senate Judiciary Committee about his role in prosecutions and hiring decisions at the U.S. Justice Department. Schlozman, who was appointed in March 2006 when his predecessor, former U.S. attorney Todd Graves, resigned. Graves and Schlozman go before the committee Tuesday...

The question of whether a mobile home park should be built on Lampe Road near Klaus Park, west of Cape Girardeau, was aired at a public hearing yesterday before the County Court; controversy has surrounded the proposal because residents in the area have petitioned against it and the city of Cape Girardeau has objected to it; the county Planning Commission, however, has approved the plan...

Jean Mayhew, age 53, of Jackson passed away Saturday, June 2, 2007, at her home in Jackson. She was born Dec. 15, 1953, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of the late Stanley C. and Ruby I. McCain Hunsaker. She and Jim Mayhew were married March 26, 2005, in Jackson. He survives...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Bob C. Hanners, age 65, of Marble Hill passed away Saturday, June 2, 2007, at his residence. He was born June 4, 1941, at Bessville, Mo., son of John Henry and Ruby Eva Cook Hanners. He and Audrey James were united in marriage on Dec. 24, 1960, near Lutesville...

CAIRO, Ill. --Marian D. Hurley, 78, of Mounds, Ill., died Saturday, June 2, 2007, at Daystar Care Center in Cairo, Ill. She was born Aug. 28, 1928, at Cairo, Mo., daughter of George J. and Doris Bucher Klein. Hurley was a receptionist for Dr. Gillespie's dental office for many years before her retirement. She was a member of St. Marys Catholic Church in Mound City, Ill., a former member of St. Patricks Church in Cairo, Ill., and was also a member of St. Marys Sodality...

Jeffrey J. Moore, 46, of Jackson died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home in Jackson.

Virginia L. Sides Smith, 44, of Alto Pass, Ill., died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at her home near Alto Pass, Ill. She was born Jan. 6, 1963, at Carrollton, Ill., daughter of Ezra and Mary Lewis Sides. She and Kenny A. Smith were married Sept. 7, 1999, at Paducah, Ky...

Doyle W. Strop, 61, of Cape Gir­ar­deau died Sunday, June 3, 2007, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Assault; Summonses; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Jackson: Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous

n At 5:20 p.m., motor vehicle accident in the 800 block of North Kingshighway. n At 5:41 p.m., alarm sounding in the 2900 block of Beavercreek Drive. n At 5:43 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1700 block of Cecilia Street. n At 6:38 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1700 block of Cecilia Street...

OMAHA, Neb. -- Bob Baker has seen the worst of the worst in his 27 years as an animal cruelty investigator. There was the Missouri breeder who would skimp on food by skinning dead dogs and feeding them to other dogs in his kennel. There was the South Dakota breeder who used a handsaw to amputate the leg of a pregnant Rottweiler, injured in an attack by another dog, in hopes that the Rottweiler would survive long enough to give birth to another litter...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Democratic presidential candidates clashed Sunday on Iraq and over the security of the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, trailing both New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in national polls, criticized their cautious approach in forcing President Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq...

NEW YORK -- A convicted drug dealer who agreed to pose as a wannabe terrorist among a shadowy group plotting to blow up John F. Kennedy International Airport secretly fed information to federal investigators in exchange for a lighter sentence. His surveillance trips to the airport with the suspects, travels abroad to meet with supporters and assurances he wanted to die as a martyr in the attack on an underground jet fuel pipeline gave counterterrorism agents insight and evidence that was otherwise unattainable.. ...

WASHINGTON -- Neighbors and rescue personnel threw children out of the path of a speeding car that plowed through a crowded street festival, preventing more serious injuries than the 40 people struck, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said Sunday. A 4-year-old boy with a broken leg was the only person still hospitalized a day after a woman's car sent people and strollers flying, leaving debris and injured bodies strewn in her wake...

AURORA, Ill. -- A high school senior accused of starting a massive food fight that left a police officer injured was among three students arrested in the prank. At least 200 students were in West Aurora High School's cafeteria when french fries, milk, sandwiches and pizza slices were hurled in a free-for-all, authorities said...

BEIJING -- A strong earthquake shook a hilly southwestern Chinese region near the border with Laos early Sunday, killing at least three people -- including a child who was crushed by debris -- injuring hundreds and forcing 120,000 people from their homes, state media reported...

BAGHDAD -- Fourteen American soldiers were killed in three deadly days in Iraq, the U.S. military said Sunday, including four in a single roadside bombing and one who was struck by a suicide bomber while on a foot patrol southwest of the capital. The blast that killed the four soldiers occurred Sunday as the troops were conducting a cordon and search operation northwest of the Iraqi capital, according to a statement. ...

LONDON -- The widow of poisoned former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko denies that he was working for British intelligence as the man charged with killing him has claimed. Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB man sought on a murder charge in Britain, has said Litvinenko was working for MI6, the British foreign intelligence agency, and that British intelligence may have had a hand in the slaying...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A suicide car bomber drove through a roadblock guarding the home of the Somali prime minister Sunday and rammed the vehicle into a wall. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi was whisked to safety, officials said, but at least five people were killed in the explosion...

Sharen Karraker has been baby-sitting since she was a teenager, and now, at 38, she has a teenager of her own. She's been called a taxi mom from time to time, having done her share of escorting children around the community. Now she is ready to make the title official...

Local trucking firm gives out five service awards; Area bank promotes four management team members

LeeAnna Reagan, 14, of Patton, Mo., recently was recognized for her grade-point average at Meadow Heights School to compete in Miss Teen of Missouri pageant. After filling out an application, she was chosen to compete in the Miss Teen pageant in August in Warrensburg, Mo. This is a pageant of intelligence and poise with several categories of competition...

In June, Red House Interpretive Center activities celebrate African-American month. Contact Jane Randol Jackson at 651-0028 or 204-2331 for further information. n The Red House Kids' Club will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday. The topic is "African-Americans in the Old Cape Girardeau District." From 11 a.m. ...

Six-year-old Kristen Shrum recently donated her hair to Locks of Love at Great Clips in Jackson. Kristen is the daughter of Chris and Sherri Shrum. Stylist Kim Rollet cut her hair for the donation. Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization that uses donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics for financially disadvantaged children younger than 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss. ...

Recycling seems to come naturally for Cape Girardeau's Huff family. They've been recycling since Cape Girardeau started its program in 1991, putting their plastics and paper on the curb each week for city workers to pick up. The family takes its aluminum cans themselves in order to get the small amount of cash that comes with turning in aluminum...

The Blue Star Memorial Marker Program of the National Garden Clubs Inc. in 1945 began to honor men and women serving in the Armed Forces during World War II. In 1951 it was expanded to honor all men and women who had served, were serving or would serve in the armed forces of the United States...

Army Spc. Adam L. Schafer has been mobilized and activated for a future deployment to an undisclosed overseas location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Schafer normally is assigned to the 735th Combat Support Company out of De Soto, Mo...

Annual Anna flea market canceled after 31 years The annual Anna flea market, sponsored by the Union County Historical and Genealogy Society, is being canceled after a run of 31 years. The Historical Society did not get enough response from their dealer base to make this year's market worthwhile...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Over the years, winning NCAA regionals and appearing in the College World Series has become the norm at Miami. This year, for the first time in coach Jim Morris' 14 seasons, the heralded program made an early exit. The Hurricanes' string of 13 consecutive regional titles ended Sunday with an 8-7 loss to Louisville, their second loss to that school in three days. Players appeared at the post-game news conference dabbing their eyes...

By R.B. FALLSTROM The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Chris Dominguez' bat kept underdog Louisville alive in the NCAA tournament. His mouth was a much more popular subject. Dominguez hit a pair of two-run home runs in two victories, and angered host Missouri when he lingered at the plate to admire his go-ahead shot in a 4-3 victory Sunday night that forced a deciding game today. He and catcher Trevor Coleman were engaged in a shouting match before and after Dominguez rounded the bases...

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella was suspended indefinitely and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Sunday for his latest dirt-kicking tirade against an umpire. Piniella was ejected in the eighth inning of Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves...

LOS ANGELES -- Being the mother of Tom Cruise's baby daughter has been so much fun that Katie Holmes tells "Entertainment Tonight" she's ready to have more children. "We're having the best time; it's so amazing," Holmes, 28, said of the year she and Cruise have spent largely out of the spotlight. She gave birth to the couple's first child, Suri, in April 2006...

K.J. Choi figured the best way to learn to play golf was to study books by Jack Nicklaus and spend hours watching video of golf's greatest champion. It was only fitting Choi celebrate the biggest victory of his career at the Memorial on Sunday with a handshake from Nicklaus that was as meaningful as the trophy...

HOUSTON -- Albert Pujols homered twice Sunday and nearly had two more, an encouraging sign for the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols and So Taguchi hit 10th-inning home runs off Dan Wheeler, lifting the Cardinals to an 8-6 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday...

After opening the season with three home victories on Friday and Saturday, the Plaza Tire Capahas capped a perfect weekend with two resounding road victories Sunday in Evansville, Ind. In a pair of seven-inning games, the Capahas first defeated the Evansville Outlaws 12-2, then pounded Columbia, Tenn. 12-0...

OTTAWA -- Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger received a one-game suspension Sunday for his hit to the head of Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. Pronger, also given a one-game ban during the Western Conference finals, leveled McAmmond with a forearm Saturday night in the Ducks' 5-3 loss to the Senators. He will miss tonight's Game 4 of the series, that Anaheim leads 2-1. He is eligible to return for Game 5 back in Anaheim on Wednesday...

DOVER, Del. -- Joe Gibbs Racing is negotiating to bring Chevrolet back next season and might be talking with Dale Earnhardt Jr. to come along for the ride. No doubt, there's been plenty going on behind the scenes at Joe Gibbs Racing over the past week, and team officials have stayed tightlipped on all the swirling speculation...

PARIS -- Maria Sharapova saved two match points Sunday and advanced to the quarterfinals at the French Open by beating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 3-6, 6-4, 9-7. Schnyder served for the match three times, at 5-4, 6-5 and 7-6 in the third set. She was one point away from ending the match in the 10th game and again in the 14th -- and she also was two points away from victory on 11 occasions...

The Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team suffered its first loss of the season in the championship game of the Dyersburg (Tenn.) tournament Sunday, as Memphis escaped with a 3-2 victory in eight innings. After battling to a 1-1 tie through seven innings, Memphis scored two runs in the top of the eighth, while Cape (4-1) managed just a single run in the bottom of the inning, stranding the tying and winning runs on base...

DOVER, Del. -- The NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Dover International Speedway as postponed until today due to rain. Heavy rain Sunday forced NASCAR to push back a Nextel Cup race for the third time in the last four points races. The Autism Speaks 400 will start at 11 a.m. today...

CHICAGO -- For the first time, doctors say they have found a pill that improves survival in liver cancer, a notoriously hard to treat disease diagnosed in more than half a million people globally each year. The results in a multinational study of 602 patients with advanced liver cancer are impressive and likely will change the way patients are treated, cancer specialists including the study authors say...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. bills the latest twist on its online maps as "Street View," but it looks a bit like "Candid Camera" as you cruise through the panorama of pictures that captured fleeting moments in neighborhoods scattered across the country...

WASHINGTON -- Sun block. Beach umbrella. Laptop. One in five people toted laptop computers on their most recent vacations, an AP-Ipsos poll released Friday said. Along with the 80 percent who said they brought along their cell phones, the survey shows going on vacation no longer means being out of the electronic loop...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Owners of Missouri orchards hit hard by an Easter freeze are looking to other states to provide peaches, blackberries and blueberries for their customers. David Murphy knows customers will be hankering for fresh peaches this summer, so he has vowed to provide a harvest. But with the peach crop at his Marionville orchard non-existent because of the freeze, Murphy is looking for affordable peaches in South Carolina, Georgia and Michigan so he can resell them...