Stories from Friday, June 15, 2007

Gov. Matt Blunt will sign a spending bill for Missouri's public schools at a ceremony at Cape Girardeau Central High School this morning. Blunt is scheduled to visit the high school at 11 a.m. The bill includes a 5.5 percent increase in state funding for elementary and secondary schools. In the 27th state Senate district of Southeast Missouri, school districts will receive a total of $72.5 million, state Sen. Jason Crowell said...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A legal question concerning the bidding process is threatening to derail the state's efforts to repair and maintain 800 of its worst bridges. Concern over the size of performance bonds required from potential contractors may cost the state one of its two bidders on the massive project, under which the state would fix or replace nearly 80 percent of its substandard bridges by 2012...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Members of the state-appointed board now overseeing St. Louis schools used their first meeting Friday to send a message to the community -- we need your help. Amid only mild protests and a few catcalls, the board met for about 25 minutes at the St. Louis Science Center, with all three members pledging to seek input from residents as they move forward in trying to improve the state's largest school district...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Just in time for Father's Day, 63 people have been given a reminder of their parental obligations. Kansas City police officers and Clay County sheriff's deputies arrested 63 people, including four women, who owe a total of more than $760,000 in missed child support payments...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Lights, cameras, doughnuts. This Ozarks city wants hundreds of residents to turn out Saturday to film a mass scene for its entry in a national contest to host next month's premiere of the movie version of long-running TV cartoon "The Simpsons."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's unemployment rate inched up last month, but so did the number of Missourians with jobs, according to figures released Friday by the state. The state's unemployment rate rose from 4.5 percent in April to 4.6 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis. But the state added 4,100 jobs during the time, Gov. Matt Blunt's office said...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- The state Public Defenders Commission voted Friday to ask the Missouri Supreme Court for help easing its workload. The panel approved a proposal asking the court to adopt a rule to address what it says is a burdened public defender system. If the court agrees, it would direct lower courts not to assign new cases to public defenders in a region that has been certified as overloaded...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The state Mental Health Commission said Friday that it had selected a former superintendent at a St. Joseph psychiatric center as its chairman. The commission voted at its Thursday meeting to select Ron Dittemore as its chairman. Dittemore was first appointed to the commission in 2005 but had to resign when he was tapped to be the Mental Health Department's interim director July 2006 through January 2007...

I watched the first episode of "The Sopranos" a few years ago. I did not watch the finale this week. In between, I watched bits of a few shows. So, you can see how eminently qualified I am to comment on the blackout ending that has enraged or intrigued so many "Sopranos" fans...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Starting today, towns around Southern Illinois will host concerts as part of a three-week music festival. The third annual Southern Illinois Music Festival begins at 10 a.m. with a free jazz concert for children at the Eurma Hayes Center in Carbondale. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Seated at rows of computers, a group of teachers quietly graded some of the answers given by Missouri seventh-graders on the state's communication arts exam. The task was a lesson in scoring parts of the standardized Missouri Assessment Program test under the supervision of grading experts...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University wants a state appellate court to block public access to taxpayer-funded employment contracts of the system's president and other officials, citing privacy concerns. Lawyers for the university system asked a Springfield appeals court Wednesday to block the Anna Gazette-Democrat from accessing the contracts of SIU president Glenn Poshard and other school officials...

A 46-year-old Cape Girardeau man convicted of second-degree murder in 1986 was arrested Thursday on suspicion of two counts of forcible sodomy and one count of domestic assault. Colbert L. Fairley, 2802 Independence St., Apt. 10, faces the three felony counts and a parole violation from the murder charge he was convicted of in St. Louis County in October 1986. At that time, Fairley was given a life sentence, but he was paroled Aug. 8, 2003...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Hot purple lava exploded from a fiery volcano and dinosaurs formed on the library floor as artist Craig Thomas worked with area youths to paint a mural for the outside wall of the Bollinger County Library facing Plutarch Street. Thomas lives in Cape Girardeau and is the president of the Visual Arts Co-Op located at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau. He is a freelance artist well known for his fine art, murals, drawings and street painting...

When the father of Cape Girardeau, Louis Lorimier, established a trading post here hundreds of years ago, some of his friends may have made the decision to just read about it later and that's why their name wasn't written down in history books. Southeast Missourian editor Joe Sullivan -- also a founder -- doesn't want the same thing to happen come 1:30 p.m. June 24...

Two Cape Girardeau residents were arrested Thursday in what Cape Girardeau police spokesman Jason Selzer called a continuation of the department's crackdown on drugs. Romeo Smith, 19, of 601 N. Sprigg St., Apt. 3, was arrested on suspicion of felony trafficking of cocaine base. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- That cell phone on your hip or in your purse isn't just for talking anymore, and criminals looking to steal your information know it. But the bad guys aren't the only ones taking advantage of the ever-changing technology. Crime investigators are increasingly using cell phones, surveillance video cameras and other devices to nab suspects and solve cases...

The ski shows and boat regatta set for this weekend as part of Cape Girardeau's fourth annual Riverfest will be held as scheduled; there had been speculation they might be called off. The Missouri attorney general's office says it will file a motion to stay a mandate granting convicted murderer Douglas W. ...

Slaughterhouse to stay open a few more days CHICAGO -- A federal judge on Thursday extended an order allowing the nation's last operating horse slaughterhouse to remain in business while it challenges a state law that would force it to close. Cavel International Inc.'s site in DeKalb slaughters horses for human consumption by overseas diners, except for a portion sold to U.S. ...

Southeast Missourian The Jackson Municipal Band will appear in concert at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Jackson City Park band shell. Special guest performers will be the acoustic duo Flood Plain playing songs in a variety of genres by artists like John Mayer, Dave Matthews, Incubus, the Doobie Brothers, the Bee Gees and the Eagles. The municipal band will feature its tuba section...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats, eager for a vote on energy legislation, ran into staunch Republican resistance Thursday to requiring that utilities use more wind, solar and other renewable sources to produce electricity. The impasse over renewable fuels came as Democrats said they would seek nearly $13.7 billion in tax breaks to promote clean energy, biofuels, more fuel efficient vehicles and conservation...

The Missouri Legislature this year passed and sent to Gov. Matt Blunt a bill that appears to fly in the face of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. House Bill 820 does three things, two of which are needed for Missouri to resume executions of death-row prisoners. ...

By Will Richardson and Miki Gudermuth Mike Smythe, vice president and general manager at KFVS12 television, recently blasted insurance companies for their inequitable use of credit ratings as criteria for determining insurance premiums. As advocates for the disabled, we agree and would like to offer the following...

By John Fund The Wall Street Journal Americans overwhelmingly support voter ID. Are they are all racists? Appointments to the Federal Election Commission rarely draw attention. But at a confirmation hearing today, there's likely to be some fireworks over Hans von Spakovsky...

Games on radio; Moral religion; Too many signs; On death row; Religious intolerance; Low-cost alternative; Thanks for purse; No water park; Avoiding the shock; Promises not kept; Not up to taxpayers; Seaman's plight; Enough taxes

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Hamas-led unity government after the Islamic militant group vanquished its Fatah rivals and effectively took control of the Gaza Strip on Thursday...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members...

Bertha Wells, 87, of Scott City passed away Thursday, June 14, 2007, in her loving home. She was born March 14, 1920, on a farm near Kelso, Mo., daughter of William and Anna Georger Dohogne. She married Albert David Wells Feb. 18, 1952. He passed away Jan. 29, 1979...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Steven C. Dotson, 44, of Advance passed away Wednesday, June 13, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 13, 1962, in Kansas City, Kan., son of the late Willard "Bud" and Arline J. Veitenthawl Dotson...

Norma Gentry, 71, of Scott City died Thursday, June 14, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Marietta L. Gilmer, 87, of Chaffee died Wednesday, June 13, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 17, 1920, daughter of Carl William and Laura Lena Webb Mantel. She and Louis O. Gilmer were married Dec. 23, 1936. He died Oct. 23, 1993...

Aliene Gladys Gibbar, 75, of Scott City died Tuesday, June 12, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 29, 1932, at Catron, Mo., daughter of Albert L. and Gladys I. Jones Vincent. She and Ray G. Gibbar were married Feb. 12, 1958, at Benton, Mo...

Hazel Ethel Crader, 72, of Scott City died Thursday, June 14, 2007, at her home. She was born May 5, 1935, in Cherryville, Mo., daughter of Floyd and Edith Pyatt Harvey. She and Billy Gene Crader were married Jan. 29, 1969, in Cape Girardeau. He died June 21, 1993...

Jayden Ross Williams, 7 days, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, June 13, 2007, at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He was born June 6, 2007, in Cape Girardeau, son of Chad Williams and Rebecca Beaman. Survivors include his parents; a brother, Christian Williams of Cape Girardeau; maternal grandparents, Debbie and Andy Beaman of Cape Girardeau; paternal grandmother, Evelyn Marie Williams of Cape Girardeau; and stepgrandmother, Bambi Chatman...

Arrests; Jackson: Thefts

n At 6:47 p.m., boat rescue on the Mississippi River. n At 1:30 a.m., citizen assist at 611 S. West End Blvd. n At 4:39 a.m., emergency medical service at 100 E. Cape Rock Drive. n At 10:48 a.m., emergency medical service at 1049 N. Kingshighway. n At 11:23 a.m., an illegal burn at 720 Bertling St...

Dear Tom and Ray: We all know you should have a competent, trustworthy mechanic check out a used car before you buy it. This works fine when you, the used car and your mechanic are all in the same city. But how can you check out a used car in a city far from home, where you don't know anyone?...

Five area fire departments responded Thursday to a fire in unit 118 of the Illmo Housing Authority in Scott City. The Cape Girardeau, New Hamburg-Benton-Commerce, Chaffee, Oran and Scott City fire departments responded to the scene. Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout said the fire started in Deloma Pace's kitchen after she left a pan unattended briefly...

DANANG, Vietnam -- More than 30 years after the Vietnam War ended, the poisonous legacy of Agent Orange has emerged anew with a scientific study that has found extraordinarily high levels of health-threatening contamination at the former U.S. air base at Danang...

RICHMOND, Va. -- A panel investigating the Virginia Tech massacre obtained university mental-health records of the student gunman after weeks of negotiation with his family, officials said Thursday. Federal privacy laws governing health and student information had prevented the panel from reviewing Seung-Hui Cho's records. Panel chairman W. Gerald Massengill had said he would go to court if necessary to obtain them...

BOSTON -- Massachusetts lawmakers blocked a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gay marriage in the only state that allows it. "In Massachusetts today, the freedom to marry is secure," said a victorious Gov. Deval Patrick, who had lobbied lawmakers up until the final hours Thursday to kill the measure...

PALATINE, Ill. -- An elementary school science teacher in this Chicago suburb doesn't have to turn on the news for an update on NASA's space mission. She just turns on her video baby monitor. Since Sunday, one of the two channels on Natalie Meilinger's baby monitor has been picking up black-and-white video from inside the space shuttle Atlantis. The other still lets her keep an eye on her baby...

ABBEVILLE, La. -- Sammy Kershaw announced Wednesday that he's running for lieutenant governor as a Republican, challenging incumbent Democrat Mitch Landrieu. The 49-year-old country singer lives part time in Nashville, Tenn., but has rented a home in Duson, near Lafayette, since 2005. Before that, he had a home in Kaplan, said campaign spokeswoman Amy Jones...

Southeast Missouri State coach Mark Hogan does not require his non-seniors to play summer baseball. But Hogan sure hopes they choose that path. In that regard, Hogan is a happy man these days. All 19 of Southeast's freshmen, sophomores and juniors from this year's team who plan to return next season are playing summer ball, many of them in traditional collegiate leagues that span the nation...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mark Teahen had two triples and five RBIs and Tony Pena Jr. had four hits, leading Kansas City past St. Louis 17-8 Thursday night for the Royals' first series win at home against the Cardinals in six years. Thirteen batters went to the plate in the eight-run second inning and 10 batted in the six-run fourth for Kansas City's feast-or-famine offense...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams' Steven Jackson always sets goals for himself. This year, he's setting the bar no lower than the NFL record. Jackson forecasts he can reach 2,500 yards from scrimmage this season. Last year, he set a goal of 1,600 yards rushing and fell just short with 1,528 yards...

The Cape Girardeau Senior Babe Ruth team held visiting Dexter to one hit in Thursday's doubleheader opener, but Cape was held to just two hits in the second game and settled for a split at Capaha Field. Cape routed Dexter 15-0 in the opening game thanks to a one-hit shutout from Brett Heischmidt...

TORONTO -- Sidney Crosby skated away with the Hart Trophy on Thursday night, becoming the NHL's youngest MVP since Wayne Gretzky. The vote wasn't even close. The 19-year-old Pittsburgh superstar -- who received his trophy from six-time Hart winner Gordie Howe -- got 91 first-place votes and 1,225 points in a poll of Professional Hockey Writers' Association members...

Long before George H.W. Bush stepped foot in the Oval Office, he strolled to the plate at the first College World Series. Bush was a slick-fielding first baseman for Yale 60 years ago, when college baseball's national championship was played at Hyames Field on the campus of Western Michigan. It was a small ballpark on a picturesque hillside in Kalamazoo, Mich. -- a real-life field of dreams for college players in 1947...

A capsule look at the eight teams competing in the College World Series, which starts today at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.:1. OREGON STATE (44-18) n Coach: Pat Casey n Road To Omaha: Won Charlottesville Regional: beat Rutgers 5-1; lost to Virginia 7-4 in 13 innings; beat Rutgers 5-2; beat Virginia 5-3; beat Virginia 7-3. Won Corvallis Super Regional: beat Michigan 1-0; beat Michigan 8-2...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic are offering refunds to fans who bought season tickets just after Billy Donovan's hiring. More than 200 packages sold within 24 hours of the announcement that the Magic had lured Donovan away from Florida, where he won two straight NCAA titles. Donovan changed his mind a day after his May 31 introduction, deciding to return to the Gators...

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Tiger Woods flipped an iron toward his bag in disgust. As another tee shot sailed right, he grumbled "Tiger!" And when a putt that would be a gimme anywhere else rolled several feet past the hole, he stared at it, stunned. So, Tiger, how did that round go for you?...

OAKMONT, Pa. -- The wrist brace came off. The wrist brace went back on. Phil Mickelson fidgeted with it on a rare visit to the fairway, examined it while waiting for yet another shot from the rough. Around the green, it was on to begin the round and then off later when things started getting good...

Vernon shoots low round at Kennett Carr Vernon shot an 83 to win the 12- and 13-year-old division at the Gateway PGA Junior Series with the low 18-hole round of the day Thursday at the Kennett Country Club. Jonathan Rogers won the 16-19 tour division with an 84. Jack Connell Jr. was second with a 90, and Alex Reid shot 91...

CALGARY, Alberta -- Mike Keenan is making another stop in the NHL. He was hired to his eighth head coaching job Thursday by the Calgary Flames. Keenan agreed to a three-year deal to replace Jim Playfair, who will remain as an assistant after leading the Flames to the playoffs...

SPURS 83, CAVALIERS 82 The Associated Press CLEVELAND -- True roundball royalty, the San Antonio Spurs are once again wearing the crown. LeBron James, Cleveland's preordained king, isn't quite ready for his. MVP Tony Parker scored 24 points, Manu Ginobili had 27 -- 13 in the fourth quarter -- and the Spurs moved in among the NBA's greatest franchises with an 83-82 victory Thursday night for a sweep of the Cavaliers -- court jesters through much of their first finals...

German automaker BMW is at it again, changing the name of its six-cylinder-powered, midsize, luxury, 5-Series cars for 2008 to reflect larger, more powerful engines. So, the 525i becomes the 528i, now with 230 horsepower, while the old 530i becomes the 535i with 300 horsepower...

ST. LOUIS -- Attorneys representing Major League Baseball argued Thursday that online fantasy baseball companies cannot operate without paying license fees to MLB to compensate players for the use of their names. A panel of three judges at the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed skeptical that MLB could take financial control of a game that uses publicly available statistics and widely known names of players...

OAKMONT, Pa. -- This was not the Oakmont anyone expected to see at the U.S. Open. Firm and fast became soft and slightly slower. Sunshine that hardened the course yielded to morning cloud cover that made it feel friendly. Thursday might have been the one day the course reputed to be the toughest in America was a pushover...

Traffic diversion onto the ramps on the east side of Interstate 55 in the East Main Street/LaSalle Avenue project area will start later than MoDOT had originally planned. Diversion of traffic from the interstate onto the ramps that will service northbound I-55 was set to begin as early as Monday, but construction of the ramps has gone slightly slower than originally planned. Traffic diversion is now set to begin June 27, said MoDOT project manager Andrew Meyer...

The organizing committee of the City of Roses Music Festival -- the City of Roses Music Heritage Association, or CORMHA -- has tossed around the idea of changing the festival's name for the past few years now. This year they've taken action. No longer will the festival be known as the City of Roses, but the River City Music Festival instead. ...

In the summer of 2004, President Bush announced tough new restrictions on travel to Cuba, limiting who could go to the communist island, how much money they could carry and how long they could stay. But before those changes were announced, Cape Girardeau orthodontist and photographer David Crowe visited, and his collection of 44 photos is on display this month at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri gallery and offices at 32 N. Main St...

Maynard and his crew might be in town as you read this. (For those not familiar, this is a reference to prog-metal four-piece Tool, playing the Show Me Center Saturday night). Can you feel the excitement? To tell you the truth, it's not really excitement that I'm feeling, but an anxious kind of unease, a feeling of waiting for the ball to drop. Well, maybe there's some excitement to see Melt Banana, too...

Local band Drivin' Rain gets new member; Budweiser Clydesdales coming to SEMO fair; Former weatherman makes splash on XM; Danzig returns for Tunes at Twilight; Nickel Creek coming to Carson Center; -- From staff reports

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge took the unusual step Thursday of rejecting a plea deal for an attorney who admitted leaking the grand jury testimony of elite athletes to two newspaper reporters. Troy Ellerman's lawyer argued in court papers for a 15-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to allowing two San Francisco Chronicle reporters to view transcripts of grand jury testimony from Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and other athletes embroiled in the government's steroids investigation. ...