Stories from August 2007

Illinois State Police announced Wednesday that a crash in Johnson County killed one and injured four Tuesday evening. According to a press release, at approximately 6:48 p.m. on July 31, a fatal crash occurred on Interstate 24 eastbound. Involved in the crash was a Penske rental truck towing a van. There were two occupants in the cab of the truck, and three in the cargo area of the truck. The truck experienced a blow-out and ran off the road...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Sen. Chris Koster announced Wednesday that he was switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party, as he prepares for a likely run for attorney general. Koster said he has determined that he is more aligned with Democrats than Republicans on several issues, including stem cell research, workers' rights, minimum wage and leaving intact Missouri's current judiciary system...

Police arrested a suspect in the deadly armed robbery that took place early Tuesday morning at the Brown Bag Video II Store in McClure, Ill. Michael Fencil, 25, of Mounds, Ill., was arrested Tuesday night in Ottawa, Ill. Alexander County State District Attorney Jeff Ferris charged Fencil with aggravated assault with a firearm, armed robbery, and first-degree murder for the shooting of Charles A. Caldwell, a Brown Bag Video Store customer who was killed in the robbery...

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) -- Police on Wednesday asked prosecutors to charge a 52-year-old Little Rock, Ark., man with the July 19 stabbing death of another Arkansas man at a Branson motel. Dewayne Anthony Lynn, 48, of Harrison, Ark., was found outside the office of the Crescent Court Motel with a stab wound to his shoulder that severed a main artery. He died of the wound after being taken to a hospital...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A state appeals court has thrown out a $20 million jury award against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. but narrowly agreed there was enough evidence that the company had tried to hide the dangers of smoking from the public...

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Radio City Rockettes returned to their roots Wednesday, honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Before the Rockettes were a New York City sensation, they were the Missouri Rockets, a 16-member dance line created by Russell Markert in 1925 that performed at a St. Louis theater before movies...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A bill signed in June by Gov. Matt Blunt was supposed to eliminate the cost of replacing a stolen vehicle registration sticker. But the measure only got rid of part of the $12 fee. Replacing a stolen sticker will still cost $3.50...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) -- A man killed in a shootout with police was a suspect in several jewelry store thefts in the Kansas City area, authorities said. The man was shot around noon Tuesday outside a Plantasia store at a busy shopping center. He died at a nearby hospital of multiple gunshot wounds...

The Bollinger County Sheriff's Department arrested Lisa Barlow in connection with the killing of her boyfriend, Michael Strong, who was found shot to death in his Bollinger County home Friday. Barlow is charged with armed criminal action and first-degree murder...

Friendly dog; County marketing; Class schedules; Good for the country; Brain power; Government handout; Private club; Living on the street; Super performance; DeMolay ice cream; Bumpy roads; Faster and faster; Truck traffic

n At 8:15 p.m., illegal burn in the unit block of West Benton Sttreet. n At 8:35 p.m. a fire alarm in the 800 block of Beaudean Street. n At 8 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1100 block of South Kingshighway. n At 9:34 p.m., emergency medical service in the unit block of South Sprigg Street...

Arrests; Summons

Miller; Brand; Jansen; Hoggard; Kluesner; Wallis; McBride; Phillips; Raffety

NEW YORK -- Star Jones Reynolds skirted questions about her dramatic weight loss for years, saying only that she had undergone a medical intervention. That intervention, it turns out, was gastric bypass surgery. Reynolds, 45, says she was "intentionally evasive" when people asked how she'd dropped 160 pounds in three years. She had gastric bypass surgery in August 2003...

NEW YORK -- Dave Legeret silently fumed as the man seated beside him on the plane blasted techno music on his iPod at full volume. "It was kind of rude," recalled Legeret, 38, a jewelry designer from Sandy Hook, Conn., who was forced to listen while flying from New York City to Disney World with his wife and 8-year-old son. "Listen to it at a level that just you can hear it and everyone else doesn't have to be subject to it."...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The thousands of Elvis Presley fans descending on Memphis for the 30th anniversary of his death Aug. 16 won't see much sign of it, but plans are moving along for big-time changes at Graceland. Managers of Presley's famous home want to overhaul its tourist complex -- with a new visitors center bigger than a football field, a convention hotel and high-tech museum displays that can give a new, digital life to the King himself...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Anna Maria Martinez-Loza, 61, of Advance passed away Monday, July 30, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 4, 1946, in McAllen, Texas, daughter of the late Jesus and Manuela Guajardo Martinez. She and Patricio Loza were married July 22, 1962, in Sterling, Ill...

Ethel R. West Bess, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, July 30, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Feb. 16, 1918, to Jacob Eugene and Frances M. Settle West in St. Clair County, Mo. She married Earl C. Bess in 1953 and moved to the St. Louis area...

Joseph B. Stephens, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born April 23, 1922, in Bell City, Mo., son of Matt and Jennie Nichelson Stephens. He and Rosybell Steward were married Nov. 11, 1939, in Benton, Mo...

ANNA, Ill. -- Edith Wells, 101, of Little Rock, Ark., formerly of Anna, died Monday, July 30, 2007, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Little Rock. Crain Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Kierstie LeeAnn Williamson, 21, of Sikeston died Sunday, July 29, 2007, near Morley, Mo. She was born July 30, 1985, at Fort Walton Beach, Fla., daughter of Kenneth and Janet Watkins. She married Kenneth Williamson. Survivors include her husband of Orlando, Fla.; a son, Daryinn Williamson; her father, Kenneth Watkins of Morley; her mother, Janet DuCoeur of Sikeston; a brother, DaKoda Watkins of Sikeston; six sisters, Angel Watkins and Amber Stallings of Sikeston, Heather Watkins of Missouri, Samantha Watkins of Cape Girardeau, Ashley Cook of Paducah, Ky., and Kaitlin Jolley of Morley.. ...

Ruby "Vi" Bono, 97, of St. Louis died Thursday, July 26, 2007, in St. Louis. She was born Nov. 27, 1909, in Whitewater, daughter of George W. and Emma Hahn Gloth. She first married George W. Yount, who died Nov. 5, 1993. She then married Vito Bono, who died June 11, 1997...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Charles Allen Caldwell, 30, of Cairo died Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 6, 1977, in Cairo, son of Charles and Vickie Hodges Caldwell. Caldwell was a florist at McGinness Flower Shop. He was a member of Mighty Rivers Regional Worship Center...

Ida J. Watkins, 96, of Jackson, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, July 30, 2007, at Jackson Manor. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to service time Friday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home...

Martha L. Smith, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, July 29, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born May 20, 1929, in Charleston, Mo., daughter of Edward and Pearl Crawford Chappell. She and James Smith were married Feb. 25, 1950. He died April 17, 1992...

THEBES, Ill. -- Juanita Maxine Cox, 87, of Thebes died Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Jones Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

PATTON, Mo. -- An electrical problem sparked the fire that gutted a vocational education building on the Meadow Heights School District campus, superintendent Rob Huff said late Tuesday afternoon. Investigators from the Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office ruled the blaze, which destroyed the interior of the classroom portions of the stand-alone metal building, an accident, Huff said...

The 18-year-old Cape Girardeau man stabbed Sunday night was released Tuesday afternoon from Saint Francis Medical Center. He suffered a 4-inch gash in his left shoulder blade, one in the center of his back that doctors told him missed vital veins by a half a centimeter, and a 4-inch-deep, 6-inch-long stab wound down the nape of his neck...

The developer of a $2.2 million hotel project near Center Junction hopes to be open for business by the spring. Pete Patel, a Carbondale, Ill.-based hotel developer and operator, said he's waiting for the final approval for his building permit application from Jackson city officials before breaking ground. The application needs just a single additional piece of paperwork from Patel's architect to be complete and win approval, city planning director Janet Sanders said last week...

A 19-year-old Cape Girardeau man was in custody Tuesday evening on charges of statutory rape and sodomy of a 12-year-old girl. Levon D. Nunley of 807 Ranney Ave. was charged with a single count each of statutory rape and statutory sodomy. If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence...

Woman reports man attacked her Sunday A Cape Girardeau woman reported that her boyfriend attacked her Sunday after the two had been drinking, Cape Girardeau police spokesman Cpl. Jason Selzer said. Devin L. Baugher, 41, East Cape Trailer Park Lot 58 in Cape Girardeau, was charged by Cape Girardeau County prosecutors with felony domestic assault as a result of the complaint. ...

Low-performing schools need more computers and technology trained teachers to bring up student test scores, an education technology expert said Tuesday. "I would send as much technology to these schools as I could," said technology expert Tony Brewer, a former teacher...

The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band will hold its final concert of the season this week, while the Jackson Municipal Band will hold its final concert of the season at its regular venue, the Jackson City Park band shell. Ron Nall will direct the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band at 8 p.m. ...

MCCLURE, Ill. -- The Illinois State Police continued to hunt for the suspect in a deadly armed robbery and shooting that occurred at Brown Bag Video in McClure early Tuesday. Around 1:30 a.m., police received a 911 call alerting them someone had been shot. They responded to the call to find Charles A. Caldwell, 30, of Cairo, Ill., had been shot twice with what police say was a long-barreled handgun...

WASHINGTON -- Waving and smiling, Chief Justice John Roberts walked briskly out of a hospital in Maine on Tuesday and resumed his vacation, returning to normalcy a day after he suffered his second seizure in 14 years. The Supreme Court was mum on whether Roberts would need anti-seizure medication. But specialists say his doctor would have raised that possibility because someone who has had two seizures is at high risk of having another...

Over the last few years, composite building materials such as roofing, siding and decking have evolved as popular alternatives for people wanting to reduce or eliminate maintenance problems associated with traditional wood building materials. Bonus point: Composite building materials are a "green" alternative because they are composed of recycled materials...

CHANGPOOL, India -- The farmer, a quiet man with an easy smile, has spent a lifetime eating a chili pepper with a strange name and a vicious bite. His mother stirred them into sauces. His wife puts them out for dinner raw, blood-red morsels of pain to be nibbled -- carefully, very carefully -- with whatever she's serving...

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Some 16,000 Cambodians passed through the S-21 torture center on their way to the killings fields. Only a dozen are thought to have survived. Three decades after the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror, S-21 is now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. And a former school teacher known as Duch, who presided over the chamber of horrors in Phnom Penh, has finally been charged with crimes against humanity...

JERUSALEM -- An Israeli government offer of a new $20 monthly stipend for Holocaust survivors provoked outrage Tuesday, with survivors charging the meager allowance will do nothing to make up for years of neglect of the 240,000 Israelis who lived through Nazi horrors...

HAVANA -- Cuba passed the one-year anniversary of Fidel Castro's withdrawal from power without official mention of the fact Tuesday -- but Castro published an essay proclaiming Cuba's victories at the Pan American Games were a triumph for the revolution...

ROME -- Archaeologists excavating an ancient tannery believed to be the largest ever found in Rome said Tuesday they might need to move the entire work site, which is being threatened by railroad construction. The 1,255-square-yard complex includes a tannery dating to the second or third century, as well as burial sites and part of a Roman road...

Most of the works of literary master William Faulkner chronicle a troubled, tortured South. But an original handwritten manuscript being donated to Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Faulkner Studies shows his generous, funny side. The university announced the acquisition to its world-class collection of Faulkner letters, manuscripts and artifacts Tuesday. The six-paragraph, one-page manuscript, titled "Sorority," is not a serious, literary work...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Republican Party suggested Tuesday that the state Supreme Court's decision reinstating campaign contribution limits should apply only to donations made after the ruling. If the court agrees, that would mean candidates could keep any money raised above the contribution limits from January until the court ruled earlier this month...

ST. LOUIS -- Monsanto Co. is set to release its first new strain of genetically engineered soybeans in more than a decade. The world's largest biotech seed producer won regulatory approval for its new strain of Roundup Ready beans in the United States and Canada, the company announced Tuesday...

A new Cape Girardeau postmaster was sworn in recently, and so far Robert Fleming is saying what postal patrons want to hear. If you noticed that mail moved slowly in Cape Girardeau not so long ago, you might also be seeing some improvement now. To speed things up, postal employees have been pushing to get the mail sorted earlier each evening, Fleming said, meaning mail carriers can begin delivering at 6:30 a.m. instead of 8 a.m...

HANAHAN, S.C. -- Two young children who had been left in a hot car while their mother was at work were later found dead, their bodies wrapped in trash bags under an apartment sink, authorities said Tuesday. Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday to determine what killed 1-year-old Triniti Campbell and her 4-year-old brother, Shawn Campbell Jr., Berkeley County Deputy Coroner George Oliver said...

NEW YORK -- Rupert Murdoch is poised to win control of Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. after the company's board approved his $5 billion buyout offer late Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter said. Murdoch will be clinching one of the great trophies of U.S. journalism and a newspaper that is considered required daily reading among the business and power elite...

I have a cookbook on my shelves "The Four Ingredient Cookbook" that is so much fun to look through. The book has more than 1,500 recipes, all using four ingredients or less. I pulled it from the shelf and thought the possibilities are endless by just changing a few ingredients here and there. Many of the recipes use soups and items you already have in your pantry...

To the editor:I enjoyed reading Darin Stageberg's op-ed column in Sunday's Southeast Missourian. I appreciated his inclusion of my agency, Rehabilitation Services for the Blind. Unfortunately, the name and phone number given to contact are not the correct ones...

Mark Lewis is just happy his Jackson American Legion baseball team is playing this week. "Right now, were're one of 20 teams left in Missouri playing Legion baseball. To me, that's exciting," Lewis said. "It's a great opportunity for our program and our players."...

Oberle, Loeffelmancapture scramble title Chris Oberle and Nick Loeffelman won the championship flight in the Cape Jaycees Two-Man Scramble golf tournament Saturday and Sunday at Cape Jaycees Municipal Golf Course. The tournament raised money for Toybox, Christmas for the Elderly and Catch and Release Day...

Dr. and Mrs. Gary Miller of Cape Girardeau present a joint organ recital at Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson; the recital includes compositions by J.S. Bach, Franck, Saint-Saens, Vierne and Gigout. Officials from Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties have formed a steering committee to study the feasibility of establishing a regional port authority; one possible site for a port would be near the Chester, Ill., bridge in Perry County; other sites are in Ste. Genevieve County...

Between the summer party season and being introduced to a slew of friends and kin connected to my banjo player, I'm right in the middle of a mess of impressing. And every good Southern girl worth her weight in grits knows two things: 1. Never arrive to a house unless you've been specifically invited; and 2. Never arrive to a house empty-handed...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A supermarket chain is pulling its brand of French style green beans from the shelves of more than 100 stores because of concerns about possible contamination. Schnucks, with stores primarily in the St. Louis area and across the Midwest, said Wednesday it was recalling Schnucks Blue Lake French Style Green Beans from all Schnucks and Logli stores...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Missouri will begin immediately inspecting any bridges that have a similar design as the one that collapsed Wednesday in Minnesota, a Transportation Department spokesman said Thursday. Missouri has 10,000 bridges in its state highway system. Officials are now identifying which of them are deck arch truss bridges, which is the type that collapsed in Minnesota, Department of Transportation spokesman Jeff Briggs said...

Federal officials are unhappy with the condition of the roof on the new $50 million U.S. courthouse in Cape Girardeau and say they are working to address the issue amid lengthening delays in opening the massive structure on Independence Street. General Services Administration regional administrator said the agency would be providing more details about the roof problem later today. Check back for more on this story later...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The National World War I Museum plans to remove a series of recordings from its exhibits after failing to reach an agreement with the recordings' owner. Edward Golterman, of St. Louis, claims his family owns the rights to a number of recording produced by his grandfather decades ago that are now featured in the audio alcoves of the National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- State regulators have at least temporarily stopped a large indoor chicken farm near Roaring River State Park from continuing with construction. Officials said Wednesday that the owners will need to win further approvals to start any operations...

Dust, pollen and ground-level ozone adding to the distress of people with asthma or other breathing difficulties is likely to get worse over the next week to 10 days, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Thursday. A stagnant air mass allowing the build up of pollutants covers the Midwest from southern Wisconsin to the Gulf Coast, said Robin Smith, a meteorologist in the Paducah forecast office. ...

Schnuck's Markets recalled all cans of its store brand of French-style green beans in response to a notice from the manufacturer that some lots of its product are potentially contaminated, a spokeswoman said Thursday. A check of the inventories at the more than 100 Schnuck's stores showed that the grocery chain only received two cases of the beans from lots identified as possibly undercooked by the manufacturer, Lakeside Foods, Inc. ...

KFVS12 has dropped its 9 p.m. newscast on The Heartland's CW -- a show that was in production for several years and had lately shifted its focus to covering primarily Southeast Missouri news. The last episode of Heartland News at 9:00 aired July 29, according to a press release sent out by KFVS12. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" has now taken the 9 p.m. time slot on the KFVS12-owned station, followed by the same newscast that airs on KFVS12 itself at 10 p.m...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) A former manager of the Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant told the Missouri Public Service Commission Thursday that Ameren Corp.'s energy trading unit asked him in 2000 to run the reservoir outside of what he considered safe operating limits, soon after industry deregulation allowed the company to sell more power on the open market...

Aug. 2, 2007 Dear Leslie, I can't dance. I think I might know why. When I was a boy a laughing cousin revealed that she'd looked through the window of my Granny's spare bedroom and seen me dancing in front of a mirror. I was mortified...

During a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning, a Cape Girardeau man testified that during an altercation July 3, Brandon Mackins shot him in the arm as he turned to run. After hearing the testimony of John L. Tate, 26, Circuit Judge Gary Kamp decided sufficient evidence existed to uphold the charges against Mackins and set the arraignment for 9 a.m. Aug. 13...

Christine Aide carries an emergency backpack in the trunk of her car. She keeps enough food in her house for months. Aide vividly recalls being in St. Louis during the Nov. 9, 1968, earthquake that was centered near Dale, Ill., and made her home's brick mortar crumble...

To resolve his dispute with Cape Girardeau over a banner sign for his mattress store, Dennis McDonald on Wednesday agreed to pay $750 in fines. The agreement, which closed the books on three convictions for violating the city's sign ordinance, also ended city attempts to prosecute McDonald on six additional violations...

It turns out police were looking for more than just some guy with a dark complexion and a gray baseball cap. They were looking for a man with a name. And they found him Tuesday night. Michael Fencil, 25, of Mounds, Ill. -- the man police allege robbed Brown Bag Video II, shot and killed a customer while also wounding a clerk early Tuesday morning -- was arrested by Ottawa, Ill., police in north-central Illinois...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Bollinger County Sheriff's Department arrested Lisa A. Barlow Wednesday night in the killing of her boyfriend, Michael E. Strong, who was found shot to death Friday in his Scopus home. Barlow, who was living with Strong at the time of the killing, is charged with armed criminal action and first-degree murder...

Federal goodies; Highway safety; Memorials at Capaha; Table for 10; Writing tickets; Need term limits; Report from Iraq; Working late; Getting gray; Staying late; First-hand info; Test scores; Paying for pollution

MINNEAPOLIS -- An interstate bridge jammed with rush-hour traffic suddenly broke into huge sections and collapsed into the Mississippi River on Wednesday, pitching dozens of cars 60 feet into the water and killing at least seven people. The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of being repaired and had several lanes closed when it crumbled...

The monthly First Friday Coffee presented by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will feature a presentation by Chuck Martin and the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau on tourist attractions that are making a difference bringing visitors to the city...

BRANSON, Mo. -- A 52-year-old man from Little Rock, Ark., was charged Wednesday in the stabbing death of another Arkansas man last month at a Branson motel in a fight over money. Taney County prosecutor Jeff Merrell said Terry Lynn Huey, 52, faces a possible maximum term of life in prison on three felony counts of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- As colleagues and political strategists digested news of a state Senate leader switching parties, Sen. Chris Koster stepped back from spelling out his political ambitions and focused on why he left. Koster announced Wednesday that he was switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party...

A Cape Girardeau resident starts serving a one-year term as a board member of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation on Monday. Jane Randol Jackson joins a 15-member board and will meet with fellow members three times during her one-year term. The foundation's annual meeting will be Monday in Charlottesville, Va...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama warned Pakistan on Wednesday that he would use military force if necessary to root out terrorists, the second time in two weeks that he's staked out a dramatically different road for U.S. foreign policy...

WASHINGTON -- Republican efforts to scale back expansion of a popular children's health insurance program failed in the Senate on Wednesday, as a bitter partisan battle unfolded in the House over a more generous version that includes broad Medicare changes...

Faced with estimated $400-a-month water bills, the Cape Girardeau County Court has turned off the water to the Common Pleas Courthouse fountain in Cape Girardeau; the water was turned off last Thursday, after Missouri Utilities Co. installed a water meter for the fountain, and the county was notified it would be billed for water usage...

NEW YORK -- The widening fallout in the U.S. mortgage industry has reminded investors of a risk they had forgotten: the fear of risk itself. As unpaid mortgages and bankrupt lenders bring the weakest segments of the mortgage industry to its knees, investors have begun dumping debt and other investments that would seem to have nothing to do with home loans...

When the Missouri Legislature removed limits on campaign contributions at the start of 2007, the bill included other provisions as well, including one that banned fund-raising during legislative sessions. A circuit judge ruled that the ban on contributions when the legislature was in session was wrong, but he left in place the part of the bill removing caps on contributions...

Ida J. Watkins, 96, of Jackson, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, July 30, 2007, at Jackson Manor. She was born Nov. 2, 1910, at Dutchtown, daughter of Theodore and Martha Schrader Floyd. She and Sloan A. Watkins were married May 19, 1928, in Jackson. He died May 23, 1995...

ANNA, Ill. -- Anita June Robertson, 72, of Anna died Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at City Care Center in Anna. She was born June 13, 1935, in Anna, daughter of Arthur R. and Helen Messamore Verble. Robertson was a member of Anna Church of the Nazarene. Survivors include two daughters, Paula Shankel of Fredericktown, Mo., Vicky Rendleman of Anna; two sons, David Housman of Colorado, Larry Negrete of Anna; a sister, Helen Gurley of Elgin, Ill.; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Harry Eugene "Gene" Coleman, 76, of Tamms died Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, at Jonesboro Rehab and Health Care Center. He was born Oct. 28, 1930, in Tamms, son of James Joshua and Minnie Estella Hargis Coleman. Coleman was a farmer and a member of Tamms United Methodist Church...

Colleen Weisenborn, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Joletta Allen, 67, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Helen M. Campbell, 75, of Perryville died Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born April 20, 1932, at Milheim, Mo., daughter of Louis H. and Frances Hennemann Behrle. Campbell was a retired restaurant dishwasher. She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Juanita Wilfong, 92, of Bloomfield died Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo. She was born Oct. 26, 1914, at Bell City, Mo., daughter of John W. and Lydia Jane Masters McCulley. She first married Raymond Davie, who preceded her in death. She then married Truman Elledge, who died in 1972, and later married Clay Wilfong, who died in 1991...

THEBES, Ill. -- Juanita Maxine Cox, 87, of Thebes died Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 15, 1919, in Benton, Ill., daughter of Elic and Nellie Etta Dillow Miller. She and Huie Cox were married Oct. 31, 1939, in Jackson. He died July 1, 1993...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Eileen Brown, 91, of Tamms, formerly of Albuquerque, N.M., died Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at the home of a son in Tamms. She was born April 7, 1916, in Michigan City, Ind., to Starr Leroy and Gladys Burnett Gephardt. She married Gene Brown in 1954. He died May 20, 2002...

Brotherton; Wilburn; Bray; Hahn

n At 6:15 p.m., emergency medical service in the 100 block of North Lake Drive. n At 6:17 p.m., illegal burning in the 600 block of Perry Avenue. n At 8:52 p.m., fire alarm in the 1200 block of Big Bend Road. n At 11:14 p.m. fire alarm in the 2500 block of Boutin Drive...

Arrests; Arrests

Southeast Area Twirlers competed in their first America's Youth on Parade national competition recently and exceeded the goal of placing in the top 30 in at least one division. Director Kandi Staples said, "With this being our first time at nationals, we needed to get our routines on the floor, see how they matched with twirlers from around the country and get adjusted to competing on this large of a scale."...

Nature Center hosts events this weekend; Salvation Army holds back-to-school Fair; Andrew and Canzada Moore reunion set; Friedrich family reunion planned for Aug. 19; Farrow reunion will be at Cape County Park

Submitted photo Sara Johnson was named Little Miss Queen Elk at a family picnic held at Elks Lodge no. 639. The 9-year-old Alma Schrader student is the daughter of Ken and Tarolyn Johnson of Cape Girardeau; granddaughter of Jack and Joan Johnson of Cape Girardeau, Ed and Ann Gerler of Gordonville. She is a member of Cape/Jackson Southeast Twirlers...

Lt. Col. Andrew Rogers and his son, Spc. Thomas Rogers of Jackson were both recently promoted during a mobilization training period in Fort McCoy, Wis. The elder Rogers was pinned by Brig. Gen. Michael Pace in a ceremony in June. ...

Rick Farmer has been planning the first Cars for Kids Southern Style open car show since December. He will have five of his own cars at the show. Since February he's distributed fliers at the weekly car shows he attends and to all his customers at Farmers Sales & Service in Cape Girardeau...

NEW YORK -- Rupert Murdoch has sealed a deal to buy Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion, ending a century of family ownership and adding a crown jewel to his global media empire, News Corp. The companies said early Wednesday morning that they signed a definitive agreement after the deal won sufficient support to pass from a deeply divided Bancroft family, which has controlled the storied newspaper publisher for generations...

BAGHDAD -- Baghdad shook with bombings and political upheaval Wednesday as the largest Sunni Arab bloc quit the government and a suicide attacker blew up a fuel tanker in one of several attacks that claimed 142 lives nationwide. The Iraqi Accordance Front's withdrawal from the Cabinet leaves only two Sunnis in the 40-member body, undermining Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to pull together rival factions and pass reconciliation laws the U.S. ...

MOSCOW -- A Russian expedition aiming to claim vast swaths of the Arctic Ocean seabed reached the North Pole on Wednesday, and scientists immediately began preparing to send two mini-submarines under the ice to mark the sea floor with a Russian flag...

JERUSALEM -- Top U.S. and Israeli diplomats said Wednesday they would push quickly for a political settlement with the moderate-led West Bank in spite of the bitter internal split among Palestinians there and in Gaza. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said they would not squander what each called a rare chance for progress in the 60-year-old conflict between the Jewish state and the Palestinians...

KUWAIT CITY -- Bright flashing lights signal the next convoy of flatbed trucks, poised to move U.S. military equipment into Iraq. But to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, riding in a helicopter over the U.S. base in Kuwait's capital, the more relevant sight is the broad expanse of surrounding vacant land. It is capable of holding the tens of thousands of vehicles and other equipment that would come out of Iraq when U.S. troops begin to leave in large numbers...

PARIS -- France, Denmark and Indonesia offered Wednesday to contribute to a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur, while Sudan praised the U.N. resolution, which was watered down to drop the threat of sanctions. Acceptance of the new 26,000-strong force marked a major turnaround for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's government, which had resisted for months a push to send U.N. ...

CHICAGO -- For someone who can't talk, film critic Roger Ebert is making a lot of noise -- at times in a British accent. Open a newspaper and his reviews are in there. He's published three books since last fall and has two more on the way. All the while, he's recuperating from cancer surgery and a subsequent operation that left him unable to speak...

My first move as an "adult" was when I packed all of my earthly belongings into my 1969 Toyota and headed west from Missouri to UCLA. How I crammed everything I wore and everything I had for setting up house into that square little Japanese car that looked like a shoe box on wheels is really beyond my comprehension. I even had a futon bed crammed in the back seat...

Free hospice trainings offered this month The Visiting Nurse Association is offering free Hospice volunteer trainings in August. Those interested can attend any one session or the whole series of four sessions. Each person attending receives a manual containing information about volunteering and providing hospice care. ...

Missouri reports 2 cases of West Nile in humans The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services confirmed the first two human West Nile virus case in Missouri for 2007. These reports add to the national number, which is nearly four times higher than the amount reported this time last year. ...

For some members of the Heartland Nationals softball team, today's flight to North Carolina will be their first big trip. And the location for the Babe Ruth League World Series for 12-and-under softball -- Wilson, N.C. -- will be tantalizingly close to the Atlantic Ocean...

The Southeast Missouri State men's cross country team captured the Ohio Valley Conference's Team Academic Achievement Award for having the highest percentage of its student-athletes named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll in 2006-07. That was among the honors released Wednesday by the conference in its annual academic awards...

Twelve-year-old Kristian Troxel out touched his opponent at the finish of the 100-meter breaststroke to capture the gold medal Tuesday in the opening day of the four-day AAU Junior Olympic Games in Knoxville, Tenn...

PITTSBURGH -- Tony Armas waited all season for a night like this. Ronny Paulino could barely wait 24 hours to make up for a forgettable game that turned some of his own fans against him. Paulino quieted some loud booing with a grand slam during a five-run Pittsburgh first inning, and Armas won as a starter for the first time in more than 10 months to carry the Pirates past St. Louis 15-1 on Wednesday night...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An Ameren Corp. engineer said Wednesday a manager told him to remove critical safety probes from their casing at the Taum Sauk reservoir and test them just hours after the structure collapsed. "We wanted to find out what happened -- why the thing didn't work," Tom Pierie said during sworn testimony at a Public Service Commission inquiry into one of the worst man-made disasters in Missouri history...

The Plaza Tire Capahas head into this year's National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan., with greater expectations than last year. But the 2006 Capahas will be a hard act to follow with three straight wins that led to a 13th-place finish in the amateur wood bat baseball tournament that traces its roots back to the 1930s...

Lasers are often used in health care for surgery, but less potent versions of light therapy can be used by chiropractors or physical therapists in pain management. These small battery-operated cold lasers could someday even be used at home by chronic pain sufferers...

PALMYRA, Mo. (AP) -- A "brazen" attempt to sell drugs in a Missouri jail lobby results in a 10-year prison sentence. Jerry Lynn Brooks Jr., 25, of Lake Village, Ark., pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge and was sentenced Wednesday. Brooks was at the Marion County jail in northeast Missouri on June 13 to post bond for a relative...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Major crime in Springfield was up 13 percent in the first half of 2007, a slower rise than in the first three months but on track for a new annual record in Missouri's third-largest city. The increase was led by robberies, up 55 percent. Motor vehicle thefts were up 37 percent, and there was a 16 percent increase in aggravated assaults. The overall rise was 16 percent in the first quarter...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Back-to-school shoppers, now is the time to stock up. Friday marked the beginning of the state's sales tax holiday weekend. No state sales tax will be collected statewide on back-to-school items, from clothing to notebooks and pencils to computers, up to a certain amount...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- As the spacecraft Phoenix heads for Mars, the success of the mission rests in part on the work of a 21-year-old St. Louis college student. Weather permitting, NASA on Saturday will launch its Phoenix Mission, the first project of the space agency's Scout program, a lower-cost complement to more expensive Mars missions. ...

Prospective Southeast Missouri State University students applying for campus housing won't be admitted until spring because there's no more room to house them this fall, school officials said Friday. To date, the university has more than 2,600 students signed up for campus housing this fall, said Bruce Skinner, residence life director at Southeast. That exceeds the record 2,494 students who lived on campus during the 2003-2004 academic year, officials said...

Local homes won't have to worry about interruptions in electric service as the current heat wave continues, say local electricity suppliers. The National Weather Service is forecasting temperatures in the mid- to upper 90s for the next week -- conditions guaranteed to create a spike in demand for electricity...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The administration of Poplar Bluff-based Three Rivers Community College announced plans Friday afternoon to open an education center in Cape Girardeau County, with the goal of opening the facility in fall 2008. In a news release, Three Rivers executive vice president Dr. Larry Kimbrow said the plans are in response to strong demand for a community college's services in Cape Girardeau County...

One of the pleasures I get from writing a column is the feedback you give me. Your thoughts, reactions, suggestions and disagreements come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Like a kid at a birthday party, I like them all. Here are some recent examples:...

The roof on Cape Girardeau's new and still unoccupied $50 million U.S. courthouse doesn't meet the government's quality standards and needs to be replaced, federal building officials said Thursday. The news comes amid lingering delays in opening the four-story, 154,000-square-foot Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse on Independence Street...

For several months, Cape Gir-ardeau police have been investigating a series of petty thefts in the area of West Mount Drive. About 6:20 Wednesday morning, they got their man, though he may been shorter than they expected. He's 11 years old. The alleged thief was discovered by Matthew Christopher, a neighbor, who says he woke up to find the juvenile in his house trying to unhook his XBox 360...

The Missouri Department of Transportation on Thursday ordered inspections of the 11 bridges, including one on U.S. 60 near Poplar Bluff, built using designs similar to the Interstate 35 bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued similar orders to the Illinois Department of Transportation, directing the agency to inspect all "critical" bridges, including those spanning the Mississippi River and other waterways...

The bridge collapse in Minnesota kept people in Southeast Missouri with ties to the Minneapolis area glued to their televisions and close to telephones to learn whether anyone they knew was injured or killed in the tragedy. Linda Tilsen, who moved to the area recently with husband Scott, said in an e-mail to the Southeast Missourian that she was "stunned and deeply saddened" by the catastrophe. ...

A sworn statement by police gives a mountain of circumstantial evidence as to why they think Lisa Barlow is guilty of murder. What's less clear is why they think she did it. The probable-cause statement offers a number of incriminating pieces of information that contradicted the story she told police shortly after Michael Strong was killed July 27 at his Scopus, Mo., home. The statement, however, only hints at a motive...

Dear readers, Some of you may have read where Lisa Barlow, the suspect in the alleged shooting death of Michael Strong, was employed with the Southeast Missourian. The newspaper is not releasing any work-related information to the public. The Southeast Missourian has worked with police in providing requested information to law enforcement in accordance with the law. ...

Itching for a fight; What's the cost?; Funding source; Restaurant hours; Keep children safe; Good comedy; Camp gratitude; No shining example; Looking for taffy; Ban the bars too; Fountain on Fountain; This president acts; Yard thieves; Buying supplies; Thanks for help; Thanks, volunteers

A Southeast Missouri tradition, the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, kicks off this year's event on Wednesday with the first of four nights of rodeo and concerts by popular country acts. Wednesday -- Sugarland Sugarland's rise to the top of the country world has been nothing less than meteoric -- in just three years they've become one of the hottest acts in country music, with hits like "Baby Girl" and "Something More" from their 2004 major-label debut "Twice the Speed of Life" and a 2006 tour with Kenny Chesney.. ...

Area health workers are cautioning people with asthma and other breathing difficulties to stay indoors if deteriorating air quality predicted for the coming week causes respiratory distress. A stagnant air mass allowing the buildup of pollutants covers the Midwest from southern Wisconsin to the Gulf Coast, said Robin Smith, a meteorologist in the Paducah, Ky., forecast office. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A divided state panel of utility regulators voted Thursday to move forward with a proposal that would require companies to credit electric customers whose power goes out regularly or for an extended time. But the issue is far from resolved. The proposal still needs another round of approval, then undergoes a public comment period, and more changes are expected before the measure becomes final...

By a unanimous 5-0 decision, with two councilmen absent, the Cape Girardeau City Council approved the passage yesterday of a five-paragraph resolution affirming the existence of state laws dealing with abortion and pledging the city's "full cooperation and support" in the enforcement of those laws...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state senator who secretly added new legal protections for lay midwives to another bill did nothing unconstitutional, even if his colleagues find the tactic unfair, an attorney defending the measure argued to a court Thursday...

KFVS12's 9 p.m. newscast experiment lasted nearly four years, but in the end the program couldn't stand up to the power of Oprah Winfrey. Last week the station aired its last episode of "Heartland News at 9" on its station The Heartland's CW -- a program that started as the first 9 p.m. ...

Schnucks Markets recalled all cans of its store brand of French-style green beans in response to a notice from the manufacturer that some lots of its product are potentially contaminated, a spokeswoman said Thursday. A check of the inventories of Schnucks' more than 100 stores showed that the grocery chain only received two cases of the beans from lots identified as possibly undercooked by the manufacturer, Lakeside Foods Inc. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Tom Selleck had one. Burt Reynolds and Reggie Jackson, too. Time was, all the hip guys wore mustaches. Those days went by the wayside with disco and mood rings. The mustache, the epitome of macho cool in the '70s, is now often the subject of scorn and ridicule. Few athletes or celebrities wear them unless they're attached to beards. Mustache-wearing TV and movie characters tend to be evil or goofy. And corporate America?...

Many health-conscious Americans are applauding a new Illinois law that bans smoking in public places starting next Jan. 1. They don't like to be around smokers because of the risks of second-hand smoke, the smell tobacco smoke leaves in their clothing and hair and the effect smoke has on their breathing. With a statewide ban, they will no longer have to rely on local ordinances to enjoy smoke-free restaurants and other public venues...

Ida J. Watkins, 96, of Jackson, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, July 30, 2007, at Jackson Manor. She was born Nov. 2, 1910, at Dutchtown, daughter of Theodore and Martha Schrader Floyd. She and Sloan A. Watkins were married May 19, 1928, in Jackson. He died May 23, 1995...

Raymond M. Smith, 84, of Bacliff, Texas, passed away Sunday, July 29, 2007. He was born Sept. 25, 1922, in Cape Girardeau, son of Charles H. and Rhoda V. Cox Smith. He grew up and lived in Cape Girardeau all his life until enlisting in the service. A retired major with the U.S. ...

Colleen A. Weisenborn, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Jan. 31, 1929, at Whitewater, daughter of Leo E. and Freida A. Maag Nussbaum. She and Charles R. Weisenborn were married April 5, 1975, at Gordonville. He died April 19, 1984...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Wilma Joletta Allen, 67, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, at her home. She was born Dec. 22, 1939, at Sedgewickville, Mo., daughter of Ruthford and Lucille Cook. She and Clarence Martin Allen were married Aug. 1, 1958. Allen had worked at the Boy Scout office in Cape Girardeau, at Sikeston Middle School, and was an Avon representative many years. She was a member of Miner Baptist Church, its Ruth Sunday School Class, and was a nursery worker many years...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Mary "Cindy" Prost, 52, of Perryville died Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, at her home. She was born Jan. 30, 1955, in Perryville, daughter of Chalmer and Rita Hagan Wood. She and Roger F. Prost were married Oct. 20, 1973. Prost was office manager at Zahner and Associates Inc. She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and past member of Rotary Club...

ANNA, Ill. -- Edith Mildred Wells, 101, of Little Rock, Ark., died Monday, July 30, 2007, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Little Rock. She was born March 12, 1906, in Anna, daughter of Clay R. and Ella Kiest Walser. She and Fred Rayburn Wells were married July 10, 1925. He died March 26, 1953...

Anna E. Leimer, 93, of Jackson, Mo., passed away Thursday at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Funeral services will be Sunday afternoon at the St. John Lutheran Church at Pocahontas, Mo...

A memorial service for Mary Janice Marlin, her husband, Charles Lester Marlin, and his brother, Gilbert L. Marlin, will be held Sunday at the gravesite of Lester B. and Tommie Marlin at Hobbs Chapel Cemetery. Mrs. Marlin, 82, died Jan. 19, 2006, in Rock Falls, Ill...

Thefts; Arrests

n At 3:38 p.m., emergency medical service in the 2300 block of Jane Drive. n At 6:02 p.m., public assist at 1 First St. n At 1:48 a.m., emergency medical service at Broadway and Clark Street. n At 1:54 a.m., emergency medical service at 14 S. Kingshighway...

Yamnitz; Butrum; Lincoln; Ward; Shands

BAGHDAD -- Much of the Iraqi capital was without running water Thursday and had been for at least 24 hours, compounding the urban misery in a war zone and the blistering heat at the height of the Baghdad summer. Residents and city officials said large sections in the west of the capital had been virtually dry for six days because the already strained electricity grid cannot provide sufficient power to run water purification and pumping stations...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota officials were warned as early as 1990 that the bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River was "structurally deficient," yet they relied on patchwork repairs and stepped-up inspections that unraveled Wednesday amid a thunderous plunge of concrete and automobiles...

MOSCOW -- Two small Russian submarines completed a risky voyage deep below the North Pole Thursday, planting their country's flag in a titanium capsule on the Arctic Ocean floor to symbolically claim what could be vast energy reserves beneath the seabed...

NEW YORK -- Remember the spectacular South Korean stem-cell fraud of a few years ago? A new analysis says the disgraced scientist actually did reach a long-sought scientific goal. It's just not the one he claimed. The new study suggests Hwang Woo-suk and his team produced stem cells -- not through cloning as they contended -- but through a different process called parthenogenesis...

The five artists bringing their work together tonight at Gallery 1.2.5 might be considered a group, just don't call them one. Instead, try calling them by their names: Nathan Pierce, Rochelle Steffen, Jonathan Seyer, Ashley Sites and Jim "Woody" Woodward...

The Artist Studio The Artist Studio will featuring jewelry made by studio owner Judy Barks-Westrich: necklaces made from materials like wood, bone, glass, clay, polymer, acrylic, mother of pearl, turquoise, amethyst, lapis, feathers and more. Sign-ups for watercolor and acrylic painting workshops and weaving will be taken. The studio will be open from non to 9 p.m. For more information, call 651-4464...

New at the theaters 'Bourne Ultimatum' Starring Matt Damon, Julia Stiles and David Strathairn. Jason Bourne is hunted by the people who made him what he is. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, he is undeterred by the barrage of bullets and a new generation of highly trained killers. ...

Music Festival seeks volunteers, sponsors; River City Players group invites participation; Illinois vineyard wins wine best-of-show medal; Illinois Arts Council issues calls for artists; Local band Drivin' Rain adds new member; -- From staff reports

Southeast Missouri State University began demolishing the building to make room for overflow parking for the River Campus, school officials said Thursday. The university's fund-raising foundation acquired the building in 2003 from Ann Ritter of Cape Girardeau. At the time, the former service station housed Bettie's Restaurant and a satellite dish dealer...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Calling 2007 a "difficult year for the newspaper industry," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Thursday it will offer employees early retirement packages...

WICHITA, Kan. -- Phillip Riley answered any lingering questions about the health of his elbow Thursday at the NBC World Series. The Plaza Tire Capahas pitcher had thrown just two inning since being struck on his throwing arm by a line drive during the NBC Mid-South Regional...

Williams claims firstin Chip-A-Ways event JoAnn Williams won A flight at the Cape Chip-A-Ways' weekly event at Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. Dottie Gill claimed B flight and Cathy Kapfer finished first in C flight. Jo Ellen Haas posted the low-putt total and Deanna Peterman and Phoebe Moore tied for play of the day...

It has reached the point where everyone expects to see his name atop the leaderboard, and he got there Thursday at the Bridgestone Invitational with five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on a course that felt like a major. Indeed, Hunter Mahan is on a roll...

PITTSBURGH -- Adam Kennedy had played in 1,103 major league games heading into Thursday -- just never in the outfield. Sure enough, with the potential winning run on second and two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, Jose Castillo singled to Kennedy in right field. Ryan Doumit had no trouble beating a weak and off line throw, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals...

ST. LOUIS -- If St. Louis rookie running back Brian Leonard ever needs a favor, he knows where to turn. While finishing a stellar college career at Rutgers University, Leonard became acquainted with actor James Gondolfi, a Rutgers graduate who attends three or four games a year...

Except for the occasional holding penalty that negates a big play, offensive linemen are the anonymous creatures on NFL teams. That makes Bruce Matthews' immediate election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame somewhat remarkable. It can take years, even decades, for blockers to get noticed by the Hall voters. Not Matthews, whose versatility and reliability for 19 seasons made him an easy choice in his first year of eligibility...

Four stars (out of four) "The Simpsons" has been a staple of my TV viewing since I was a child, so I was thrilled when this show finally came to the big screen. In reality, the movie was just like a supersized episode of the show, but it was exciting to see these characters on the big screen and for longer than 30 minutes. ...

The 90-plus degree temperatures might not indicate it, but college football season has arrived. The Southeast Missouri State players arrived for the start of fall camp Thursday and will begin the process of preparing for the season today. "This is where we earn our keep," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said. "This is what we do. The kids get excited, the coaches, everybody gets excited this time of year."...

I'll be the first to admit my acquaintance with the City of Roses Music Festival, known for the first time this year as the River City Music Festival, has been rather limited and brief. In my time here as the resident "arts and fun" guy, I've only seen two of the festivals first-hand, 2005 and 2006. ...

NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane Katrina victims whose homes and businesses were destroyed when floodwaters breached levees in the 2005 storm cannot recover money from their insurance companies for the damages, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The case could affect tens of thousands of rebuilding residents and business owners in Louisiana, said Daniel E. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A former manager of the Taum Sauk hydroelectric plant told the Missouri Public Service Commission on Thursday that Ameren Corp.'s energy trading unit asked him in 2000 to run the reservoir outside of what he considered safe operating limits, soon after industry deregulation allowed the company to sell more power on the open market...

Jackson proved to be no pushover Thursday night in a first-round game at the American Legion zone tournament at Legion Field. In a field of district champions, the sub-.500 host team battled Rock Memorial before succumbing 11-7. The loss sends Jackson (23-28) into an elimination bracket game with Manchester (31-5). That game will start at 10 a.m., just 11 hours after Jackson's surprising rally fell short in the bottom of the ninth inning...

The new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau won't be available for occupancy until the spring, the General Services Administration announced today as it cited numerous problems uncovered during the agency's inspection of the building. Design, construction and "contract execution deficiencies" forced the delay, the GSA said in a prepared statement. ...

Local electricity suppliers say they can meet the spike in demand that will coincide with the current heat wave. But those who have problems paying their utility bills may have few avenues remaining for assistance, local service agencies say. Forecasts from the National Weather Service say highs are expected to stay in the mid- to upper 90s through the coming week, conditions that cause large spikes in electricity demands...

Three Rivers Community College plans to open an education center in Cape Girardeau by fall 2008, subject to approval from the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education, school officials said Friday. The late-afternoon announcement caught state and local education officials by surprise...

Prospective Southeast Missouri State University students applying for campus housing won't be admitted until spring because there's no more room to house them this fall, school officials said Friday. To date, the university has more than 2,600 students signed up for campus housing this fall, said Bruce Skinner, residence life director at Southeast. That exceeds the record 2,494 students who lived on campus during the 2003-2004 academic year, officials said...

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri hopes to measure interest in art and culture among local people by administering a survey. The council's board of directors discussed the idea at a recent retreat, said executive director Delilah Tayloe. "We're always seeking feedback to really check the pulse of what is needed in the area," Tayloe said...

Scott City's much anticipated interchange to Interstate 55 may end up on the back burner indefinitely. "That would not be good for Scott City. It would be detrimental to our growth," said Tim Porch, Scott City's mayor. But that's the indication after Missouri's Department of Transportation announced a huge drop in funding starting in 2010...

Former Southeast Missouri State kicker and Perryville, Mo., native Derek Kutz has been named the United Indoor Football's Man of the Year. Kutz, who played his final season at Southeast in 2004, is the place-kicker for the River City Rage. Just the third recipient of the award, Kutz was acknowledged for his fund-raising golf tournament Touchdown 4 A Cure, which raised $10,164 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...

Southeast Missouri State starting place-kicker Colin Schermann is in the hospital after falling off a ladder around noon Tuesday. Schermann, a Cape Central graduate, has a skull fracture and is in the intensive care unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital, his father Paul Schermann said...

It was two and out for the Jackson American Legion team in the Zone 4 tournament, making Post 158 the first team eliminated. No surprise there, as host Jackson was the only team to come into the tournament with a losing record. And the zone schedule called for the loser of Thursday's late game to turn right back around and play again Friday at 10 a.m...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:n At 2:52 p.m., citizen assist at 611 S. West End Blvd. n At 4:32 p.m., an alarm sounding at 331 S. Lorimier St. n At 4:41 p.m., a car fire on Interstate 55 South. n At 5:12 p.m., a citizen assist at 400 S. Pacific St...

Arrests; Thefts; DWI

Anna E. Leimer, 93, of Jackson passed away Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 14, 1913, at Silver Lake, Mo., daughter of Andrew and Anna Stortz Biri. She and Elmer Leimer were married April 17, 1932, in Pocahontas. He died June 14, 1988...

FRIENDSHIP, Tenn. -- Margie Hopkins Privett, 84, of Friendship, died Saturday, July 28, 2007, at her home. She was born July 22, 1923, daughter of Clarence "Slim" and Maddie Alice "Lee" May. She first married Edwin "Hop" Hopkins, who preceded her in death. She then married Thomas Privett, who also preceded her in death...

Thanks for purse; Gravel hazard; Buckled street; Reporting the facts; Will is lacking; Regional view; Doing the job; From Baghdad

By Nathan Cooper Recently, I discussed efforts that have been made during the last few years to eliminate waste in government spending. In particular, I pointed out the changes that have been made in state facilities management. Today, I want to focus on several of the energy-efficiency initiatives that have been implemented. These measures have involved reducing the state's energy bill through a combination of energy consumption reduction, cost savings and on-site energy projects...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Art historians had known of the Van Gogh landscape drawing stored at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. But they had always wondered whether it was a copy of a completed painting. Now, at last, the painting itself has been discovered -- concealed under another painting in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Van Gogh Museum said Friday...

Over the past five years, drawing visitors to Cape Girardeau has become easier as a result of nearly a dozen new or upgraded attractions and better transportation, Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau director Chuck Martin told a group of business leaders Friday...

Missouri's sales-tax holiday doesn't compare to the Christmas season when it comes to shopping. But local retailers say the first weekend in August ranks high in sales. Local shoppers say they like the tax holiday because of the savings. The tax holiday began at 12:01 a.m. Friday and continues through midnight Sunday...

Margaret Ann Fisher, 73, of St. Peters, Mo., died Monday, July 23, 2007, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis. She was born April 7, 1934, at Chaffee, Mo., daughter of George and Grace Pryor Griffin. She and Carl Gene Fisher were married Feb. 4, 1956, at Chaffee...

Donald D. Wolfenkoehler, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Charles Marlin Gilbert Marlin A memorial service for Mary Janice Marlin, Charles Lester Marlin and Gilbert L. Marlin will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at Hobbs Chapel Cemetery. The service will be at the gravesite of Lester B. and Tommie Marlin.

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Velma M. Sivia, 78, of Dongola died Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007, at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill. She was born June 20, 1929, daughter of John and Edna Speck Dillow. Sivia was a member of Mount Olive Baptist Church. Survivors include a son, Bobby Sivia of Dongola...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department announced a fistful of donations last week that will improve the Shawnee Park Sports Complex. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the biggest of them came from the late B.W. Harrison. His estate left $40,000 for soccer fields and a shelter. ...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department trampled on congressional independence when raiding U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's office last year, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, siding with Congress in a constitutional showdown. In a rare textbook case involving all three branches of government, the court held that investigators violated the Constitution by reviewing legislative documents as part of a corruption investigation...

By LARA JAKES JORDAN The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The White House and Congress were deadlocked Friday and up against a deadline to expand the government's power to eavesdrop on suspected foreign terrorists. President Bush implored lawmakers to update a 1978 surveillance law before leaving Washington for a monthlong summer break -- a potentially vulnerable time for attacks because of the high-travel season...

LUCKNOW, India -- Torrents of water washed away homes, crops and cows, leaving hungry and frightened villagers perched in treetops or on roofs as the death toll rose Friday from monsoon rains across northern India and Bangladesh. Vital to farmers, the annual rains are a blessing and a curse for the subcontinent -- a fact highlighted by official tallies: At least 186 people have been killed and 19 million driven from their homes in recent days...

BEIJING -- Beijing and Washington have wrapped up their first meeting aimed at resolving safety problems with Chinese products, a step that one expert said Friday was crucial if China wanted to protect its image abroad and preserve stability at home...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani officials called Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama irresponsible for saying that, if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes in Pakistan against al-Qaida. Hundreds chanted anti-U.S. slogans and burned an American flag in the street to protest the remark...

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar have detected underground chambers they believe contain the remains of Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs when Columbus landed in the New World. It would be the first tomb of an Aztec ruler ever found...

GREENSBURG, Kan. -- Randy and Kathy Kelley walked through the carpeted rooms of their "new" house, listening to workers explain issues with roofing, Sheetrock and siding. They stepped around boards of carpet samples to inspect brand new windows that sparkled in the sunlight...

ST. LOUIS -- As the spacecraft Phoenix heads for Mars, the success of the mission rests in part on the work of a 21-year-old St. Louis college student. Weather permitting, NASA will launch its Phoenix Mission today, the first project of the space agency's Scout program, a lower-cost complement to more expensive Mars missions...

There are no crosses in Makoto Fujimura's paintings. No images of Jesus gazing into the distance, or serene scenes of churches in a snow-cloaked wood. Fujimura's abstract works speak to his evangelical Christian faith. But to find it takes some digging...

MILWAUKEE -- Should laser printers come with a surgeon general's warning? An Australian research team has found that some printers give off invisible particles as they operate, with the worst culprit emitting concentrations similar to those of secondhand tobacco smoke...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bottled water is fighting back. The industry's reputation took a hit this summer as restaurants, church associations and cities led by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom extolled the virtues of the tap and swore off the bottle, denouncing it as an expensive and environmentally unsound extravagance that leaves millions of empty plastic shells in its wake...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Fears that the death toll would rise dramatically as workers searched through the wreckage of a bridge that plunged into the Mississippi River eased Friday when authorities lowered the number of missing from as many as 30 to just eight...

When did shopping become a holiday? Don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful for the sales tax incentives that we are able to take advantage of this weekend. I just wonder when shopping was declared a holiday. (I do realize that my gender is causing me to be biased to some degree about shopping). ...

Youth revivals in Cape Girardeau, Scott City n Faith Tabernacle, 351 Country Club Drive, will hold a two-day youth revival for ages 12 to 25 at 7 p.m. Aug. 31 and 6 p.m. Sept. 1. The speaker will be recording artist the Rev. Tom Trimble, who will appear with his wife. Everyone is welcome...

To the editor:I would like to take this time to tell you a little about the National Alliance on Mental Health support group in Cape Girardeau. As I understand it, this group tried to start several years ago without success. Today we have four trained facilitators waiting to give free support where needed. The meetings are the first and third Tuesdays of each month...

State Rep. Jerry Ford of Cape Girardeau swept yesterday's primary contest for the Democratic nomination to Congress, earning the right to face incumbent Republican Bill Emerson of Cape Girardeau in a race for 8th District congressman in November. Mary Kasten defeated Calvin R. Wells and Gail D. "Woody" Woodfin yesterday to claim the Republican nomination for the 159th District seat in Missouri's General Assembly; she will take on Thomas M. Meyer in the November general election...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Community of Christ filed a federal trademark infringement suit against a small church in suburban Kansas City for what the larger church says is an improper use of its former name and initials. The Community of Christ, which has about 250,000 members worldwide, is suing the South Restoration Branch of Raytown. The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court...

Glenda Eason belongs to a praise team and the choir at Greater Dimension Church of God in Christ in Cape Girardeau. But the soprano is not interested in singing solo. "Oh no," she laughs, "Nooooo. I don't do solos." Eason prefers working as part of a group, whether that's shepherding her five grandchildren when they visit or directing the Pastor's Aid Society of Greater Dimension Ministries, which works to raise money for church expenses...

By ERIC GORSKI The Associated Press There are no crosses in Makoto Fujimura's paintings. No images of Jesus gazing into the distance, or serene scenes of churches in a snow-cloaked wood. Fujimura's abstract works speak to his evangelical Christian faith. But to find it takes some digging...

Prosecutors have not yet decided they will seek the death penalty if the Scopus, Mo., woman charged with Michael Strong's murder is found guilty. Strong was found shot to death in his Bollinger County home July 27 after his girlfriend, Lisa Barlow, 41, called 911 and indicated intruders may have shot him...

The new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau won't be available for occupancy until spring because of numerous problems with the construction project, the General Services Administration said Friday. The GSA said design, construction and "contract execution" deficiencies were uncovered during the agency's inspections of the new building...

"This is a good place to work, but I'm about ready to go back into nursing," Joy recently declared. She was giving her best to the present job but wasn't satisfied with it. "But it's hard to get a position in nursing nowadays," she added. I said I thought nurses were always in demand. ...

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Hurricane researcher William Gray lowered his 2007 forecast slightly Friday, calling for 15 named storms, with eight becoming hurricanes and four becoming intense. On May 31, at the outset of hurricane season, Gray had called for 17 named storms and nine hurricanes, five of them intense...

Southeast Missourian MoDOT will begin work on a number of road projects in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties starting Monday. n Crews will repair the shoulders on Highway 72 in Cape Gir-ardeau County from Highway 72/34 to Route B near Millersville, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday...

Some members of the Rock Memorial American Legion baseball team take dugout chatter to a new level. Instead of the usual, among the things you're likely to hear yelled from the Rock dugout while its team is at-bat: "Moulin Rouge." "Little Rascals."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The head of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources confirmed Friday that he has met with federal prosecutors and the Environmental Protection Agency, who asked him to provide information for a criminal investigation into the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse...

Residents of a Cape Girardeau neighborhood and the pastor of Christ Church of the Heartland have yet to speak about a proposed day care that caused a dustup between them. Four weeks ago, the church formally withdrew a request for a permit to start the day care. Neighbors had complained about the effects of construction and a day-care center's potential for noise and traffic problems...

Three years ago, the Cape Girardeau School District was plagued with financial woes that forced the school board to make tough budget cuts. But today the school system is enjoying rosy finances that have the district putting more money in reserve. So much so that school board members are looking how to spend some of the surplus. Board president Steven Trautwein and board member Kyle McDonald have suggested that some of the money be spent on building improvements...

Three people were injured in a one-vehicle accident Friday night in Cape Girardeau County, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. Injured were Allison Bueter, 17, and Larry Nussbaum, 16, both of Leopold, Mo.; and Marissa Vangennip, 17, of Marble Hill, Mo. All three suffered moderate injuries, the patrol said...

The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is getting a facelift. The areas of the general aviation terminal destined for a makeover include refueling, aircraft repair, the main flight terminal and the rental and sales areas. Independent architect Phillip B. Smith of Cape Girardeau, who designed the renovation, said his initial cost estimate for the work is $300,000 to $350,000. Bids are being accepted until 2 p.m. Aug. 21...

May be too late; Subsidizing the dead; Fighting governor; Computer learning; Bad to worse; Thanks for help; Smoking issues; Packing the court; High utility bill; Safety warning; Deer not so cute; Protect yourself; Wasting money; A good thing; Time assessment

Mr. and Mrs. John Popp of Jackson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with an open house reception May 27, 2007, at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Jackson. Their family hosted the event. Following the reception, a dinner honoring family members was held in the fellowship hall. Pianist was Tim Smith...

Joe Lynn and Vesta Mae Meyer of Jackson observed their 71st wedding anniversary July 13, 2007. They were married July 13, 1936, in Illinois. They have lived in Jackson most of their lives. The couple has three daughters, Marilyn Harrellson of St. Charles, Mo., Darlene (John) Derr of St. Joseph, Mo., and Diana Meyer of Cape Girardeau. They have six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and a great-great-grandson...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Phillips of Morley celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a reception July 8, 2007, at Morley Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. Hosts were their children, Kathy (Jim) Blevins of Chaffee, Mo., and Delbert (Sondra) Phillips of Scott City...

Mr. and Mrs. Billy Sullivan of Jackson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their family in July 2007. A reunion was held at Table Rock Lake, and a party was held at Sullivan's Steak House in Branson, Mo. Their children were hosts. Sullivan and Doris Hecht were married Aug. 17, 1957, in St. Louis...

Rick Reinwald and Linda Pickup of Perryville, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Dana Reinwald, to Greg Ben Proffer, both of Jackson. He is the son of Ben and Helen Proffer of Jackson. Reinwald is a 2001 graduate of Perryville High School, and 2005 graduate of College of the Ozarks. She is employed at Blue Cross Blue Shield...

BENTON, Mo. -- Kristina Dorward and James Essner announce their engagement. She is the daughter of Don and Darla Dorward of Columbia, Mo. Essner is the son of Stan and Shirley Essner of Benton. Dorward is a 2002 graduate of Rock Bridge High School. She received a degree in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006, and is pursuing a master's degree in business administration from Columbia College. She is employed in the psychiatric department at University Hospital...

Bryan and Darlene Pogue of Fredericktown, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Shaen Layle Pogue, to Gregory Reid Miller. He is the son of Hershel and Barbara Miller of Cape Girardeau. Pogue is a 2000 graduate of Fredericktown High School. ...

Brad and Brenda Smith of Jackson announce the engagement of their son, Ryan Travis Smith, to Ellen Leanne O'Brien. She is the daughter of Mike and Debbie O'Brien of St. Louis. O'Brien is a 1999 graduate of Oakville Senior High School. She received bachelor of science and master of arts degrees from Southeast Missouri State University. She is a speech/language pathologist with the Special School District of St. Louis County...

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Young of Unionville, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Megan Leann Young, to Benjamin Hahs. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hahs of Friedheim, Mo. Young is a 2004 graduate of Putnam County Schools in Unionville. She received an associate of arts degree from Moberly Area Community College in 2006, and is a senior at Southeast Missouri State University majoring in elementary education...

John and Diana Carkin of Topeka, Kan., announce the engagement of their daughter, Jaime Carkin, to Brett Wise, both of Raytown, Mo. He is the son of Michael and Linda Wise of St. Joseph, Mo., and Judy and Keith Beussink of Cape Girardeau. Carkin is a graduate of Blue Springs High School. ...

With U.S. military personnel engaged in the deadly strife of Iraq and Afghanistan, more and more wounded soldiers are returning to the U.S. in need of medical care and support. But the overwhelmed Department of Veterans Affairs has, in several well-publicized instances, failed to deliver, more out of bureaucratic red tape than a lack of competent medical resources...

A tradition of autumn, the 32nd Missourian Art Exhibition, will offer its visual treat for area residents Oct. 16-23; the exhibition is being held in conjunction with the re-opening of the Cape River Heritage Museum in its new location in the former fire department headquarters on Independence Street...

Amber S. Eifert and Jason M. Dorlac were married March 7, 2007, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The bride is the daughter of Kris and Darla Eifert of Festus, Mo., formerly of Scott City. The groom is the son of Donald and Andra Dorlac of Herculaneum, Mo...

To the editor:As recent transplants to Southeastern Missouri from Minnesota, my husband and I were stunned and deeply saddened to hear of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse over the Mississippi River Wednesday in Minneapolis. After frantic telephone calls to our former hometown -- many of which failed because of cell-phone problems following the bridge's collapse -- we were fortunate to determine that our family members who still reside there were all safe...

To the editor:This writer has been an admirer of Mikhail Gorbachev since he less the USSR surrender to the U.S. in the decades-old Cold War. He was certainly deserving of the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize and will be remembered as one of the world's great leaders of the 20th century...

To the editor:Thank you for printing the informative article in the July 29 paper regarding Angel Flight. As the article stated, Angel Flight is made up of over 1,000 volunteer professional and amateur pilots who give their time and the use of their personal aircraft to fly passengers who cannot afford airline tickets or need immediate attention to get medical treatment...

To the editor:I continue to hear criticism of President Bush and the Iraq war from individuals, news media and politicians. I have a standard reply to such: "What would you be saying if President Bush had done nothing and we had had another 9-11?" I've not yet had one reply. Why? Haven't they put that much though into their thinking, or are they just following their thought leader? No one should enjoy what is occurring, but it may be very necessary...

Happy to host Bard; To the Editor:; MARK BROWNING; Fairbanks, Alaska

Nuts for Squirrels; Ditto; Name caller; Weaver dreamin'; Run-around; Longer season

Veteran Francisco Perez smacked into a lot of new faces during drills Saturday afternoon. The offensive lineman doesn't plan on his fellow Southeast Missouri State offensive linemen remaining unknowns for long. "I have the most experience on the offensive line now," Perez said. "I kind of take these young guys under my wing and just kind of show them the ways and how to play, how to practice."...

Heartland team drops World Series opener The Heartland Nationals 12-and-under softball team dropped its opening game at the Babe Ruth League World Series in Wilson, N.C., on Friday. The Nationals allowed five runs in the first inning and Johnson County, N.C., held on for the 6-3 victory...

n At 7:27 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1100 block of Ranney Avenue. n At 12:03 a.m., emergency medical service in the unit block of South West End Boulevard. n At 1:32 a.m., emergency medical service in the 500 block of South Sprigg Street...

DWI; Jackson: Summons

BLODGETT, Mo. -- Earl Rice "Junior" Wade, 76, of Sikeston, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Sept. 23, 1930, at Luxora, Ark., son of Rice William and Anna Lucille Reynolds Wade. He married Anne Turney Nov. 22, 1957, at Blodgett...

Linda C. Snead, 51, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 28, 1955, at Cape Girardeau, the daughter of Carroll and Edna Nelson Snead. She was a member of LaCroix United Methodist Church. She had worked at Kmart and Lowes in Cape Girardeau...

WANBOROUGH, England -- Britain raced to avert economic disaster Saturday by halting meat and dairy exports and the movement of livestock around the country after foot-and-mouth disease was found on a southern English farm. Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed to work "night and day" to avoid a repeat of a 2001 outbreak, when millions of dead animals were burned on pyres, swaths of the countryside were closed, rural tourism was badly hurt and British meat was shut out of international markets...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran and the United States will meet in Baghdad on Monday to discuss ways to ease Iraq's security problems, Tehran's ambassador to Baghdad said. The meeting -- to discuss a committee Iran and the United States agreed to set up last month to deal with security issues -- would be the third between the two countries in recent months over Iraq. The first round in May broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran...

HONG KONG -- Playing the popular Chinese tile game mahjong can lead to seizures, Hong Kong researchers say, calling the phenomenon "mahjong epilepsy." In a study published in the Hong Kong Medical Journal's August edition, researchers reviewed 23 cases of mahjong players who suffered seizures. They concluded that mahjong-induced epilepsy is a specific condition -- not the result of the stress or exhaustion associated with the game...

LAHORE, Pakistan -- One of Pakistan's most outspoken opposition leaders emerged from prison to a cheering crowd Saturday and vowed to press his campaign against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who is already struggling with rising dissent and militant violence...

ANNA, Ill. -- Trevor Dawson Benefield, 4, of Anna died Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at the Union County Hospital in Anna due to injuries from an automobile accident near Cobden, Ill. He was born Feb. 16, 2003, in Marion, Ill., son of Stephen and Tonia Miller Benefield...

Mildred B. Ford, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 2, 1922, at Advance, Mo., daughter of Maple and Tracy Simmers Ramsey. She and Paul O. Ford were married April 13, 1942, at Jackson...

Norman A. Keller, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Charles E. McCowen, 63, of Mound City died Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, at his home. He was born March 15, 1944, at Cairo, Ill., son of Lee Roy and Dorothy Peddie McCowen. He worked as a pilot for Waterfront Services and later was employed by CGB Co. of Mound City...

Denis Rigdon started coordinating faith-based mentoring programs with congregations through Project Hope in 2000. Most of the people being helped have some kind of physical or mental disability or addiction. More than 60 churches throughout the region are part of the network, although not all have active mentoring programs operating. ...

In Cape Girardeau County, people in desperate circumstances can find temporary housing at the Revival Center in Jackson and both Vision House and the Safe House for Women in Cape Girardeau. Although the 43-room Revival Center does not limit how long someone can stay, little else exists to help people in this situation make the transition into owning or even renting a house...

The numbering of the mailboxes at the entrance to Jackson's hard-scrabble Barks Mobile Home Park is as unpredictable as some of the lives inside. Just so there's no mistake, "DePew Family" is written in glitter and glue on a piece of construction paper pasted next to the front door of trailer No. 57...

WASHINGTON -- The House handed President Bush a victory Saturday, voting to expand the government's abilities to eavesdrop without warrants on foreign suspects whose communications pass through the United States. The 227-183 vote, which followed the Senate's approval Friday, sends the bill to Bush for his signature. He had urged Congress to approve it, saying Saturday, "Protecting America is our most solemn obligation."...

BASEL, Switzerland -- When tremors started cracking walls and bathroom tiles in this Swiss city on the Rhine, the engineers knew they had a problem. "The glass vases on the shelf rattled, and there was a loud bang," Catherine Wueest, a teashop owner, recalls. "I thought a truck had crashed into the building."...

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's power grid is on the brink of collapse because of insurgent sabotage of infrastructure, rising demand, fuel shortages and provinces that are unplugging local power stations from the national grid, officials said Saturday. Electricity Ministry spokesman Aziz al-Shimari said power generation nationally is only meeting half the demand, and there had been four nationwide blackouts over the past two days. ...

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi lawmakers clapped and cheered for the country's Asian Cup soccer champs at a rare gathering Saturday during parliament's summer recess. Politicians posed for photos with the players at a hotel in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, but the celebration was closed to all but Iraq's political elite, with tight security preventing regular citizens from welcoming their soccer heroes home in person...

ST. LOUIS -- One of the nation's largest retail grocery chains has announced plans to switch to milk free of synthetic hormones. The announcement earlier this month from Kroger Co. is another blow to suburban St. Louis-based Monsanto Co., which already had been reducing inventory of its milk production-boosting hormone as Starbucks Coffee Co. and other retailers rejected it...

ST. LOUIS -- Thirteen years ago this summer, Jovan Hansman -- then Jovan Simpson -- was walking around his neighborhood in the city's Clinton-Peabody public housing complex when he spotted a white guy in a parking lot. "You never saw white people down at Peabody," he recalled. "If you saw a white person, it was for drugs or undercover police."...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- With so many four-year schools in the state taking on new names, the University of Missouri-Columbia wants to go back to its old one. Chancellor Brady Deaton and other leaders would like to drop the hyphen -- and everything after it -- and return to the name by which the school was known before the four-campus University of Missouri system was formed in 1963...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A candidate who successfully challenged the repeal of contribution limits said Friday that politicians should have to return excess donations, while a Republican Senate leader said the opposite. The Missouri Supreme Court had asked interested parties to offer written arguments by Friday on whether its July ruling restoring campaign contribution limits should apply going forward only or date back to January, when the challenged law removing limits took effect...

RICHMOND, Va. -- For years, Toinetta Jones played the dating game by her mom's strict rule. "Mom always told me, 'Don't you ever bring a white man home,"' recalled Jones, echoing an edict issued by many Southern, black mothers. But at 37, the Alexandria divorcee has shifted to dating "anyone who asks me out," regardless of race...

DENVER -- A library patron suspected of selling hundreds of books, tapes and DVDs he had borrowed has cost Denver-area libraries tens of thousands of dollars, officials said. Thomas Pilaar, 33, was suspected of using different names to obtain seven library cards from the Denver Public Library, then checking out 300 items per card and selling at least some of the items, KCNC-TV in Denver reported...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- A soldier convicted of rape and murder in the death of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the slayings of her family was sentenced Saturday to 110 years in prison. Pfc. Jesse Spielman was convicted late Friday of rape, conspiracy to commit rape, housebreaking with intent to rape and four counts of felony murder...

NEW YORK -- Duke Riley: Artist. Patriot. Moron? On the morning after his arrest in New York Harbor, the skipper of a ramshackle replica of a Revolutionary War-era, wooden hulled submarine found himself splashed across the city's front pages Saturday in less than flattering terms...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- When former schoolteacher Barbara Morgan leaves Earth on a space shuttle this week, she hopes her students back in Idaho learn a lesson from her 22-year wait to get into orbit: perseverance and patience. That's what defines teachers, said the astronaut, who is achieving her dream at age 55...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Mohamed Sahal is in seclusion, praying through tears for his missing pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter. The teenage stepchildren of a red-haired construction worker called "Jolly" are huddled at home, thinking about the man who helped raise them and imagining the horror he must have experienced as he plunged into the river...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A robotic dirt and ice digger rocketed toward Mars on Saturday, beginning a 422 million-mile journey that NASA hopes will culminate next spring in the first-ever landing within the red planet's Arctic Circle. The Phoenix Mars Lander blasted off before dawn, precisely on time, hurtling through the clear moonlit sky aboard an unmanned Delta rocket. The rocket looked as though it was heading straight for Mars, a bright reddish dot in the eastern sky...

MINNEAPOLIS -- President Bush pledged Saturday to cut red tape that could delay rebuilding a highway bridge that once arched over the Mississippi River but now lies crumbled in muddy water concealing some victims. Bush, still dogged by his administration's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, toured the site of Wednesday's collapse, which sent dozens of cars sliding into the river from the Minneapolis span. At least five people died and about 100 others were injured...

SPRINGVILLE, Utah -- The cemetery headstone for a teenager who died in a car wreck was repossessed after a $750 bill went unpaid. "That's just business," said Linda Anderson of Memorial Art Monument. "If we give every stone to everybody, we'd be out of business. They'd repossess your car if you didn't make payments."...

TACOMA, Wash. -- City authorities, fed up with gang activity in public places, are taking Bach their bus stop. Transit workers are installing speakers this week to pump classical music from Seattle's KING-FM into the Tacoma Mall Transit Center. The tactic is designed to disperse young criminals who make drug deals at the bus stop or use public transportation to circulate between the mall and other trouble-prone places...

NEW YORK -- Members of a 1980s funk and disco group hit a sour note in their attempt to break the world record for the largest kazoo ensemble, falling short of the some 2,600 impromptu musicians needed. Organizers were hoping to sign up 3,000 impromptu players for the evening attempt in Harlem, which was led by the female vocalists of Skyy. Their 1980 song "Skyyzoo" featured the sound of kazoos being played for some gentle backup...

Mazda's "zoom-zoom" spirit is alive and well in the performance version of its smallest car. Drivers better keep a close eye on the speedometer, because the 2007 Mazdaspeed3 zoom-zooms so readily, it can get way above speed limits all too quickly...

Throw away that pen and paper, the days of stationary are long gone. Replaced first by the cell phone, then by e-mail, now by an online social utility that will connect you with people from all over the world. In the single blink of an eye, the world is literally at your fingertips...

Dunklin County will take on Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis at 1 p.m. today in the deciding game of the American Legion Zone 4 baseball tournament at Jackson. Dunklin County came back through the losers bracket and forced a winner-take-all game in the double-elimination tournament with two extra-inning victories Saturday...

Husband-and-wife journalists Bob Miller and Callie Clark Miller share the same small house (still), work in the same office (again) and somehow manage to cling to their sanity (barely). Older and wiser (she's wiser, he's just older), the Southeast Missourian sweethearts offer their views on everyday issues, told from two different perspectives....

The National Weather Service today extended a heat issued for Southeast Missouri and parts of Illinois through 7 p.m. Tuesday. The National Weather Service first issued the advisory Sunday morning.

POTOSI, Mo. (AP) -- The Michael Devlin kidnapping trial in the Shawn Hornbeck case will be heard in Washington County -- but with an imported jury. Lawyers for both sides agreed during a court hearing Monday to allow for a jury to be brought in. A date for the trial has not been set. A judge is expected to decide Sept. 10 what county the jury will come from...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- As sweltering heat and humidity remained settled over Missouri with no relief in sight, health experts and forecasters on Monday urged residents to stay in the air conditioning and take it easy. The hot weather of the past several days is getting hotter. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- A 48-year-old self-employed pizza vendor was electrocuted Monday morning as he was packing his trailer at the Ozarks Empire Fairgrounds. Christopher Peavey, of Springfield, apparently grabbed a live wire as he was unhooking his trailer from the electrical service at the fairgrounds in north Springfield, investigators said...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Chaffee Police Department is getting some help from the Scott County Sheriff's Department as the city tries to find new officers to fill several vacancies. Four Scott County deputies -- Paul Dirden, Jeff Schmitt, Roy Moore and Branden Cald -- will help the city in the interim, according to a report in the Scott County Signal weekly newspaper printed Sunday. ...

Jackson officials say a rezoning hearing Wednesday aimed at restoring single-family zoning in some neighborhoods will not affect the status of the Revival Center, a church that houses homeless people. In a comprehensive rezoning affecting two neighborhoods, the city proposes changing from the current R-4 zoning that allows multiple family dwellings to a R-1 zoning that only allows single-family housing...

The end is coming sooner than first projected for the Dana Corp. plant on Corporate Circle. On July 19, employees at the plant approved a plant closing agreement between the company and United Auto Workers Local 282 that will pay each worker approximately one week's pay for each year they have been employed by Dana. ...

Final figures are in and the total assessed value of property in Cape Girardeau County is officially $1.032 billion. The final figures were compiled by the assessor's office after the close of action last month by the Board of Equalization, a panel that includes the county commission, the assessor and the county clerk. The board received 18 appeals and lowered the assessments on three properties...

No drug testing; Be considerate; Late hours; Mail is late again; Lightweight nabob; Hiring decisions; Probation, parole; It's civil war; Do what you can ; Hurry up; Narrow viewpoint; Loose dogs; More fun places

Talk about a depressing assignment. Southern Illinois University architecture professor Bob Swenson will be sending some of his students to Cairo, Ill., with digital cameras. Their charge? To detail the vacant building inventory of the downtrodden town...

Gov. Kit Bond's withholding of $520,365 in anticipated revenue from Southeast Missouri State University for the 1983 fiscal year has forced school administrators to increase the University School's tuition from $100 to $300. Cape Girardeau's Multipurpose Advisory Committee chooses the St. Louis firm of Booker Associates Inc. to perform a study looking at the feasibility of building and operating a multipurpose sports and convention facility here...

NEW YORK -- Artists' studios in the two red-brick towers that rise above Carnegie Hall were once home to Marlon Brando and Leonard Bernstein. Marilyn Monroe took acting lessons there, and Lucille Ball had voice coaching. Between the towers, which have sheltered musicians and other artists for more than a century, are studios with double-height ceilings and huge skylights that catch the northern light artists consider ideal...

After two years of transferring rooms and walking down one-way hallways, residents at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau no longer have to cope with construction and renovations in their 18-year-old facility. The ceilings are back intact, the floors are re-tiled and the walls and lighting are both a little brighter, but staff and residents are still waiting on certain finishing touches. ...

The total value of commercial real estate in Cape Girardeau County is about $740 million, according to final figures from the biennial reassessment required by state law. Five of the top 10 valued commercial properties are related to manufacturing, according to county figures, with parcels at the Procter & Gamble plant on Highway 177 taking two of the top five spots. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A few years ago, as prescription drug costs continued to soar and lawmakers heard concerns from voters, the Missouri Legislature created a new program to help redirect extra, unused prescription drugs to the needy. But today, the state is aware of only one organization that offers to collect medications and share them with others who struggle to afford their cost -- and the phone number listed on the program Web site has been disconnected...

HEMATITE, Mo. -- A web of lawsuits is the only thing that keeps a defunct Westinghouse factory standing in this rural eastern Missouri town. But for some nearby residents, demolition can't come soon enough. The plant used to make nuclear fuel rods and has been linked to chemical contamination in nearby well water, prompting anxiety among residents and triggering the lawsuits...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Allergy sufferers in southwest Missouri may need to stock up on tissues as experts are predicting a worse-than-usual ragweed season. "We've had so much rainfall this year, and with the abundance of moisture not only does the grass grow well but so do the weeds," said Gaylord Moore, horticulture specialist with the University of Missouri Extension Service. "I can see a good crop of ragweed."...

HAMPTONBURGH, N.Y. -- An artist has mowed an 850,000-square-foot rendering of a Purple Heart medal into a park field to honor the 75th anniversary of the medal that commends servicemembers killed or wounded in action. The rendering, unveiled Sunday in Thomas Bull Memorial Park in this city 55 miles northwest of New York City, was done by field artist and painter Roger Baker, whose past works include the Statue of Liberty and Elvis Presley...

CAMP DAVID, Md. -- President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday began a search for answers to the deteriorating security and sporadic rule of law in Afghanistan. Karzai's two-day visit to Bush's mountain retreat comes as he faces competing troubles at home -- a hostage crisis, civilian killings, drug trafficking and a resurgent Taliban...

HELENA, Mont. -- A state of emergency was declared in Montana on Sunday because of wildfires, including one that more than doubled in size and crept to within a mile of some of the 200 nearby homes that were evacuated. Lighter wind and higher humidity were expected at the fire northeast of Missoula, Mont., on Sunday, and the wind was now largely blowing the blaze back onto itself, said Pat Cross, fire information officer...

BOSTON -- State lawmakers are increasingly stepping into the void created by the failure of Congress to approve sweeping changes to immigration policy, a new report finds. Legislatures have passed bills dealing with a range of immigration issues, from employment and health care to driver's licenses and human trafficking -- creating a sometimes uneven patchwork quilt of immigration law across the country...

BLODGETT, Mo. -- Earl Rice "Junior" Wade, 76, of Sikeston, Mo., died Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Sept. 23, 1930, at Luxora, Ark., son of Rice William and Anna Lucille Reynolds Wade. He married Anne Turney Nov. 22, 1957, at Blodgett...

Donald D. Wolfenkoehler, 74, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Gir­ar­deau. He was born Nov. 16, 1932, son of Albert C. and Irene Friedrich Wolfenkoehler. He was married to Lola McNeely...

Randy Brant, 54, of Gulfport, Miss., formerly of Scott City, died Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, in Scott City. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott city.

Jimmy E. Peeler, 68, of Mound City, Ill., died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill.

Da'Ryis Demond Burnell Woods, infant son of Brianna Puckett of Cairo, Ill., died at birth Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, Ill. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Oliver W. Hill, a civil rights lawyer who was at the front of the legal effort that desegregated public schools, has died at age 100, a family friend said. Hill died peacefully Sunday at his home during breakfast, said Joseph Morrissey, a friend of the Hill family...

n At 9:32 p.m., an emergency medical service in the 900 block of South Pacific Street. n At 9:33 p.m., an illegal burn at 607 Terry Lane. n At 9:34 p.m., an emergency medical service in the 500 block of Broadway. n At 9:35 p.m., a river rescue in the Mississippi River...

Cape Girardeau: Assaults; Thefts; Summons

NEW YORK -- An ice cream truck parked in front of a junior high school was offering up cocaine and marijuana along with the soft serve, police said. A police search of the vehicle uncovered a loaded pistol along with the drugs, police said Friday after arresting 26-year-old Jermaine Jordan on charges including criminal possession of a weapon near a school and criminal sale of a controlled substance near a school...

A fire Sunday night burned a first floor apartment at 234 North Park in Cape Gir­ar­deau, but left the rest of the eight-apartment building intact. Only two of the apartments were occupied, one upstairs and one downstairs, said building owner Michael Blaylock...

At colleges around the country this summer, one topic has vaulted to the top of the agenda at freshman orientation: campus safety. The nation's first incoming freshmen since last spring's shootings at Virginia Tech are heading to class soon, and colleges have been fielding more questions from parents and students about security and mental health issues...

SAN FRANCISCO -- In open court and legal filings it's referred to simply as "the Document." Described by those who have seen it as a National Security Administration log of calls intercepted between an Islamic charity and its American attorneys, it is at the heart of what legal experts say may be the strongest case against the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program...

DETROIT -- As bargainers for the United Auto Workers and the domestic automakers try to reach a new contract, Kenneth Cooksey is one of many workers who doesn't understand why the companies are so focused on the cost of labor. By most accounts, labor expenses for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC amount to about 10 percent of the price of a new vehicle, including wages, benefits and "legacy" costs for retiree pensions and health care...

MINNEAPOLIS -- A helicopter with a camera similar to those used in Hollywood movies will soon peer into the wreckage of last week's collapse of a bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Laser-guided surveying equipment has helped produce an in-depth map of the debris. Software re-creating the disaster on a computer screen may even be able to pinpoint the exact piece of bridge that gave way...

CHICAGO -- Do bloggers need their own Norma Rae? In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers are trying to band together to form a labor union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards...

Financial representative wins planning award; Sales director earns diamond, amethyst ring; Two SEMO grads join mentoring partnership; Woodmen of America name top rookie; Two join Sensations salon in Fruitland; Rural Development staff attend training

Program acts as early warning system A new program available in Southeast Missouri will combine business retention efforts and work force development, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson announced. The Early Warning Network will cooperate with the Workforce Investment Board to identify at-risk companies and marshal state and local resources to prevent business closings and layoffs. ...

BAGHDAD -- Rogue Shiite militiamen with Iranian weapons and training launched three-quarters of the attacks that killed or wounded American forces last month in Baghdad, stepping into the void left as Sunni insurgents have been dislodged, a top U.S commander said Sunday...

BARABANKI, India -- Seasonal flooding eased Sunday after driving millions of South Asians from their homes and killing at least 289 people in the past week, officials said Sunday. Major rivers were receding in the worst-hit districts in India after a day without rain, and doctors and paramedics started handing out medicines to prevent diarrhea and other waterborne diseases, said S.K. Gupta, an Indian army officer who is commanding a unit involved in relief operations...

BEIJING -- China has banned crude and insensitive slogans promoting the country's "one-child" family planning policy, such as "Raise fewer babies but more piggies," which have stoked anger in rural areas, state media said Sunday. China's 28-year-old family planning policy limits most urban couples to just one child and allows some families in the countryside to have a second child if their first is a girl...

PIRBRIGHT, England -- Biosafety experts scoured a high-security animal laboratory in rural England on Sunday to determine how a strain of the foot-and-mouth virus may have escaped from a facility dedicated to eliminating the devastating animal disease...

What do you get when you mix tomahawks, muskets and about 40 young boys? Life lessons on the thoughts of our forefathers, according to John Casebolt, director for the Cape Baptist Association Boys' Camp at Peaceful Valley, just north of Perryville, Mo...

Invocation by the Rev. Mark Martin, St. Andrew Lutheran Church. Communications n Recognition of the Noon Optimist Club for $25,000 donation to Shawnee Park Sports Complex. n Update by Charlotte Craig on pandemic influenza. n Report by Tom Mogelnicki on Cape County Transit bus route changes...

Bailee Lathum of Scott City donated her hair to Locks of Love recently. Stylist Lori Hafele at Hey Gorgeous Salon in Cape Girardeau cut her hair. Bailee, 7, has been growing her hair for several years with the goal of helping another child. Bailee hopes to encourage other girls to make the same choice to donate their hair...

Days of Caring will be held from Aug. 23 to 25. This opportunity for civic engagement is sponsored by the United Way of Southeast Missouri and the Volunteer Intergenerational Center, which pairs participants with volunteer projects at local not-for-profit organizations...

Third graders across the nation are competing to grow the largest cabbage. The lucky winners will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Bonnie Plants of Union Springs, Ala., is sponsoring this contest. Matthew Cundiff, a 10-year-old boy from Scott City, Mo., grew this 24 pound cabbage all by himself. The main cabbage head was 3 feet and 7 inches around. It also produced four smaller heads from the same cabbage. Matthew enjoyed tending to his cabbage and watching it grow...

AARP meeting features program on area arts The Cape Girardeau County AARP chapter 4041 will meet today at 1:30 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church on Broadway and Caruthers Avenue. The program will be "State of the Arts in Southeast Missouri," presented by Delilah Tayloe, director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri...

The Heartland Nationals 12-and-under softball team earned its first win at the Babe Ruth League World Series in Wilson, N.C., on Sunday. The Nationals defeated Wilson County, N.C., 6-1. They scored three runs in the first inning and played errorless defense the entire game...

WASHINGTON -- When the season began, the Washington Nationals appeared to be headed for at least 100 losses. When they were 9-25 on May 9, that looked like a safe bet. It no longer does. Sunday's 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals was the Nationals' sixth straight -- their best winning streak in more than a year...

LONG POND, Pa. -- Kurt Busch's winless drought is over. His absence from the Chase may not last much longer, either, not with the way crew chief Pat Tryson is calling all the right shots. Busch dominated Pocono Raceway from the opening lap Sunday and raced his way back into championship contention, giving himself a perfect belated birthday gift: a trip to Victory Lane...

Dunklin County had its top hitter at the plate with two outs and two on in the bottom of the 12th inning during the American Legion Zone 4 baseball tournament Sunday afternoon in Jackson. But unlike Saturday, when Jeremy Patton hit two game-winning extra-inning home runs to keep Dunklin County alive in the tourney, he hit a ground ball up the middle. ...

There's a reason baseball was invented and traditionally played during daylight hours.Baseball in the wee hours can be brutal. The Plaza Tire Capahas learned that lesson in the early morning hours Sunday at the NBC World Series at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita, Kan...

County Road 532, just east of Pocahontas, can sometimes present an odd problem for travelers. When heavy rains fall the road is submerged under water. That's not unusual in itself, but what is unusual is why: For much of its stretch through the northern Cape Girardeau County hills, County Road 532 shares its path with a creek bed, at some points looking much less like a road than a natural, rock-bed creek...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Police are investigating a shooting that occurred early today and injured two people in the 800 block of Ruth Street. Fredrick Cotton, 18, and Stacy Townsend, 34, suffered minor injuries. They were treated at Missouri Delta Medical Center and later released, Sikeston Department of Public Safety officials said...

NORMANDY, Mo. (AP) -- National Night Out events in the St. Louis suburb of Normandy will have a solemn mood tonight, when the community dedicates a playground to a murdered police officer. Normandy Police Chief Douglas Lebert says the playground at Hoelzel Park will be named for Normandy Officer Amanda Cates. It's to be called "Amandaland."...

BARNHART, Mo. (AP) -- Authorities in Jefferson County are searching for a green dump truck whose driver allegedly shot the driver of a car in an apparent road-rage incident. Sheriff Glenn Boyer told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Web site STLtoday.com that the incident happened this morning near Barnhart. The victim is believed to be a 29-year-old man who was grazed in the leg by the bullet. His injury is not considered life-threatening...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Another appeals court judge is leaving the bench. Judge Gary M. Gaertner Sr. is retiring Friday, the Appellate Judicial Commission said Tuesday, and it is accepting applications to fill his slot on the state Court of Appeals' Eastern District...

JASPER, Mo. (AP) -- Forty-three current or former workers at a southwest Missouri microwave-popcorn packaging plant have joined in the suit claiming they sustained lung damage by working with a butter flavoring. A man who lived near the Jasper Popcorn Co. plant also filed suit in the second round of legal action against International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. of New York and its subsidiary, New Jersey-based Bush Boake Allen Inc. The suits seek damages over use of diacetyl in the flavoring...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Authorities on Tuesday were investigating a fight at a southern Missouri prison that resulted in the death of a convicted sex offender. Pleasant J. Hurst, 48, was punched in the head and injured during an altercation Saturday in the gymnasium of the South Central Correctional Center in Licking. He was pronounced dead later that day at a hospital in Houston, Mo., said Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Hauswirth...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Just when this city's voters thought they had put the light-rail issue behind them, it may be returning. A petition committee plans to submit 6,000 signatures to repeal the city's light-rail plan, a multimillion dollar blueprint that voters approved in November after years of failed efforts by advocate Clay Chastain...

These are the dog days of summer when children often get bored with their lazy existence but are still in denial about the upcoming start of another school year. Thankfully, life's not boring when you have a teenager. Becca has spent the summer behind the wheel every chance possible. I can't even sneak out to the convenience store to gas up the car without her rushing ahead of me to get into the driver's seat...

More than a dozen nurses have joined a fledgling Cape Gir-ardeau County medical reserve corps unit. Charlotte Craig, Cape Girardeau County Health Department's director, hopes more people, with or without medical backgrounds, join the group. Craig made the statement during her report to members of Cape Girardeau City Council during their Monday meeting...

Viewers of Cape Girardeau's Channel 5 will start seeing new shows. Not that the city is trying to compete with the new network seasons. Michelle Hahn said the city is adding shows to meet a new state-required minimum 40 hours of programming as part of the Video Providers Act. The new law says cable companies can pull the plug on local access channels if they don't air enough programming...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Chaffee has received about 50 applications to fill its police department vacancies created by recent resignations, Mayor Loretta Mohorc said before Monday's city council meeting. "The prospects are very good," Mohorc said. "We've had a wonderful response."...

Three Rivers Community College will seek public input from local business leaders and area residents in its effort to open an education center in Cape Girardeau, a top official at the school said Monday. "We are going to hold public forums," said Dr. Larry Kimbrow, the school's executive vice president. The goal, he said, is to find out what students want in terms of academic programs and what employers need in terms of job training...

Making money; Junk from China; Unwanted litter; Lack of discipline; Lack of control; Dumping yard debris; Dubious honor; Bunker mentality; Stalking horses; Taxing tobacco; Dangerous stroller; School supplies; New list of R's; Bumper sticker; Apt metaphor; Fast and loose; Soldiers' comments

The recent installation of a "CrimeStoppers" telephone tip line has already shown results, says police chief D. Ray Johnson; although declining to give specifics, Johnson says detectives have started an investigation as a result of information forwarded by a caller to the line...

To the editor:I heard the most disturbing news report regarding our military. Apparently, in order to keep new recruits in the Army and other strained branches of our armed forces, the Pentagon has asked that drill sergeants, who have traditionally been in-your-face and tough-as-nails, to tone down their ferociousness and to be more likes coaches and mentors and less like drill sergeants...

For a number of years, Missouri experienced the same prison-building boom that was sweeping the nation. Tougher sentencing laws were passed. Drug enforcement was more strenuous. And states like Missouri were faced with the need to build a new prison every two years to keep up with the increased inmate population. Until just a couple of years ago, two additional prisoners were being added to the penitentiary population every day...

To the editor:Most people would agree that no child should be left behind. Call it a push-push situation. Imagine a kindergarten student on a scooter. The parent and teacher give a slight push, but the child keeps the scooter going, using whatever God-given abilities he or she possesses. That child is not left behind. That child is self-sufficient...

To the editor:The Bollinger County Sheriff's Department and the Bollinger County prosecuting attorney would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to the Cape Girardeau/Bollinger County Major Case Squad along with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, Cape Girardeau Police Department, Jackson Police Department, Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri State Water Patrol, the Bollinger County coroner and the officers of the sheriff's reserve unit for their long hours and hard work in the Michael Strong homicide investigation.. ...

The heat wave that pushed temperatures above 90 degrees in late July will challenge record temperatures in coming days. The American Red Cross opened a cooling center Monday at the Osage Community Centre on North Kingshighway after the National Weather Service office in Paducah, Ky., extended a heat advisory to Tuesday afternoon. ...

Communications n Presented members of the Parks and Recreation Cal Ripken all-star team of 10-year-old boys a resolution congratulating them for winning state and regional titles. The team competes for a World Series title Saturday in Vincennes, Ind...

WASHINGTON -- The daughter of Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani signaled she was supporting Democrat Barack Obama, then backed off when faced with questions. On her Facebook profile, 17-year-old Caroline Giuliani listed herself as a member of Obama's Facebook group, "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)." She left the group Monday morning after the online magazine Slate sent an inquiry and later in the day, a spokeswoman said she did not intend to comment on the 2008 race...

Fire damages apartment in Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded Sunday night to a call of a structure fire in a two-story apartment building. At 9:27 p.m., neighbors reported flames showing from the second floor of the 211 N. Park Ave. ...

WASHINGTON -- The daughter of Republican hopeful Rudy Giuliani has signaled she's backing Democrat Barack Obama for president. According to her Facebook profile, Giuliani's 17-year-old daughter, Caroline, belonged to Democrat Barack Obama's Facebook group "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)." She left the group Monday morning after the online magazine Slate sent an inquiry...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Martin Payne has a thick file folder on his desk stuffed with his staff's suggestions for opening Monmouth schools if there's no state budget agreement and state-aid payments don't arrive on time. The unpleasant options include using cash on hand, relying on local property tax receipts that haven't arrived yet and borrowing...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state's public safety director advocated Monday for imposing a 75-cent fee on cell phone customers to improve the state's 911 service for wireless calls. Public Safety director Mark James spoke to a special legislative committee looking into problems with 911 service in Missouri...

Staying cool n Stay inside in air conditioning as much as possible. Even a few hours in air conditioning will allow your body to cool. n If you have no air-conditioning, keep windows open to allow air to flow through your house. Heat builds up in a closed building...

HUNTINGTON, Utah -- Hundreds of rescuers struggled with falling rock and debris Monday in a desperate race to reach six coal miners trapped 1,500 feet below ground by a cave-in so powerful authorities initially thought it was an earthquake. As the rescue stretched into the night, workers were unable to make significant progress and the initial effort was declared a failure...

NEW YORK -- American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, the latest casualty of a mortgage industry that has plunged into distress. The Melville, N.Y.-based company's request for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection -- filed in bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del. -- caps a tumultuous 10 days for what had been the nation's 10th-biggest home lender...

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Nearly 7,500 business leaders and traders have been arrested for violating sweeping price controls since they were imposed six weeks ago, the government said Monday. President Robert Mugabe vowed not to back down from the clampdown...

JERICHO, West Bank -- In their first meeting on Palestinian soil, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday he hopes to launch negotiations "soon" on establishing a Palestinian state, his clearest promise yet to tackle a final peace deal...

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's political crisis worsened Monday as five more ministers announced a boycott of Cabinet meetings -- leaving the embattled prime minister's unity government with no members affiliated with Sunni political factions. The new cracks in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government appeared even as U.S. ...

Rhonda Cheri Shelton, 48, of Russellville, Ark., died Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center. She was born April 29, 1959, in Cape Girar­deau. Survivors include her husband of five years, Alvin L. Shelton of Russellville; a son; two daughters, including Amber Dawn Stone of Cape Girardeau; a stepdaughter, Heather Renee Shelton of Naples, Fla.; and two grandchildren, including Haley Elizabeth Stone of Cape Gir­ar­deau...

Donald D. Wolfenkoehler, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Nov. 16, 1932, in Cape Girardeau, son of Albert C. and Irene Friedrich Wolfenkoehler. He was married to Lola McNeely. Don was a syrup mixer with Coca-Cola Bottling Co. ...

GLADSTONE, Mo. -- Billy Bertran Rommel, 83, of Gladstone passed away peacefully Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, surrounded by his family, following a one-year battle with cancer. Bill was born Jan. 31, 1924, in Malden, Mo., son of Barney H. and Eva Cleo Baxter Rommel...

CANALOU, Mo. -- Karen Elaine Vaughn, 54, of Canalou died Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo. She was born Sept. 22, 1952, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., daughter of Charles and Margaret Creed Tucker. She and William Vaughn were married Sept. 14, 1989...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Donald Taylor, 71, of Sikeston died Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born June 18, 1936, in Reyno, Ark., son of Dempse and Lillie Ruth King Taylor. He married Norma Gordon. Taylor retired from Chambers Electric...

Randy Lynn Brant, 54, of Gulfport, Miss., died Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, in Scott City. He was born Jan. 3, 1953, in Cape Girardeau, son of Lester Woodson and Lela Idalene Payne Brant. He and Beryl Ann Hooper were married Nov. 26, 1997, in Belton, Texas...

PATTON, Mo.-- Dorothy Louise Reeves, 67, of Patton died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Gir­ar­deau. She was born Oct. 30, 1939, in Kirkwood, Mo., daughter of Leo and Anna Pinell Baremore. Reeves was a former machinist/inspector with Alco Valve...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Martha Alice Snowden, 80, of Charleston died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, at her home. She was born Dec. 14, 1926, near Charleston, daughter of Charles Dunning and Clara Bell Brawner Martin. She and James Edward Snowden were married June 11, 1950. He died Feb. 16, 1991...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- James E. Howell Jr., 55, of Marble Hill died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 26, 1951, in Cape Gir­ar­deau, son of James E. and Betty Jaco Howell Sr. He and Shawne C. Grisham were married July 1, 1995, at Marble Hill...

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- Jimmie E. Peeler, 68, of Mound City died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, at St. Louis University Hospital. He was born Feb. 25, 1939, in Cairo, Ill., son of Cletus and Vera Davault Peeler. Peeler had been a deckhand on a riverboat, and was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church...

Helen Pender, 63, of Jackson died Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, at her home. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Norman Short, 90, of Boulder, Colo., died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, at his home. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Clark; Kempfer; Lusk; Ross; Smith; Hazard; Ryan

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

Cape Girardeau Fire Department n At 7:33 p.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of South Benton St. n At 8:20 p.m., a motor vehicle accident at Highway 91 North and Interstate 55. n At 8:14 p.m., illegal burn at 315 Sheridan St. rear. n At 8:28 p.m., emergency medical service in the 3000 block of Themis Street...

Here's a look at children's school lunches abroad, as reported by Associated Press correspondents around the world:CHINA Children seldom bring lunch to school in Beijing. Their lunches are arranged by the school and they pay a monthly fee. Schools order boxed lunches -- usually rice, meat and vegetables in a takeaway box -- from food companies supervised by the local educational authority. The cost is usually about 5 yuan (66 cents) to 10 yuan ($1.32) a day...

GRADUATIONS, HONORS n Christopher Robertson, a 1993 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass. He is an attorney with the Scruggs Law Firm in Oxford, Miss. n Russell David Crader II, a 1995 graduate of Perryville High School in Perryville, Mo., graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., with a master's degree from the Graduate School of Design...

It's "The Talk" between teenagers and parents that makes both equally uneasy and both feel like they want to flee the room. But just because this is the most awkward talk on Earth, does it mean parents just simply shouldn't bring it up? According to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and YM magazine, more than 50 percent of teenagers have had sexual intercourse by age 18...

Commercials associated with a new campaign are aimed at helping parents talk to their children about waiting until marriage to have sex. The Department of Health and Human Services introduced the Parents Speak Up National Campaign in June and, in addition to a Web site with tips and information for parents, a public service announcement campaign will start in September...

Grain bin explosions are common out west, but they can happen right here in the Heartland. Here's a safe experiment that will demonstrate how one of these explosions occur. Make sure to have an adult present during this experiment. Ingredients Tin with a metal sealing lid...

CHICAGO -- Anything made by McDonald's tastes better, preschoolers said in a study that powerfully demonstrates how advertising can trick the taste buds of young children. Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids when they were wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches...

ST. LOUIS -- For one inning, the St. Louis Cardinals could do no wrong. The Cardinals tied a major league record with 10 straight hits in a 10-run fifth inning, with pitcher Braden Looper and Aaron Miles getting two apiece in a 10-5 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night...

Heartland Nationals drop to 1-2 at Series The Heartland Nationals 12-and-under softball team couldn't rally from an early deficit, as it fell to Angola, Ind., 7-4 at the Babe Ruth League World Series in Wilson, N.C., on Monday. The loss dropped the Nationals to 1-2 in the tournament...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones is ready to step into the wrestling ring. He signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and will appear in the ring Thursday, although it's not clear if he will wrestle. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, the company said Monday...

TULSA, Okla. -- Tiger Woods usually goes on vacation after winning at Firestone, but that changed this year when it was moved to the week before the PGA Championship. He was at Southern Hills on Monday morning getting ready for the final major of 2007...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds cooperated with Cy Philbrick and Will McGuire. When the two Bonds fans set off from Connecticut on a cross-country journey, they hoped to time their arrival in San Francisco with the slugger's record-breaking home run. So the two were quite pleased when Bonds went into Monday night's game against the Washington Nationals needing just one home run to break Hank Aaron's mark of 755. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Triple-digit temperatures have forced the St. Louis Rams inside for daytime workouts for the time being. "It's the hottest spot in the country right now," coach Scott Linehan said of St. Louis on Monday. "One of the precautions you take with extreme heat is to have an alternative plan."...

Two people involved in a two-vehicle accident at South Kingshighway and Highway 74 Monday were transported to Saint Francis Medical Center for treatment.

ST. LOUIS -- Mike Maroth, saddled with an 11.08 ERA since being acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals in June, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday because of tendinitis in his left elbow. The move was made a few hours after lefty reliever Tyler Johnson was activated from the DL. He'd been out since June 19 because of an injured left shoulder...

The Plaza Tire Capahas broke open a tied game with a five-run sixth and avoided elimination with a 10-2 victory over Moreno Valley (Calif.) on Monday at the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kan. Plaza Tire improved to 30-7 and will play the Nevada (Mo.) Griffons at 8 a.m. today...

POTOSI, Mo. -- The Michael Devlin kidnapping trial in the Shawn Hornbeck case will be heard in Washington County -- but with an imported jury. Attorneys for both sides agreed during a court hearing Monday to allow for a jury to be brought in. A date for the trial has not been set. A judge is expected to decide Sept. 10 what county the jury will come from...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A 3-year-old boy is apparently OK after being left in a van at the St. Louis Science Center for about an hour, but the 24-year-old woman who drove the van is under investigation. It happened yesterday, when the child was left behind in the Happy Go Lucky Child Care Center van, which transported children to the Science Center. The outdoor temperature at the time was about 97 degrees...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A week before a former Kansas City councilwoman goes on trial for mortgage fraud, one of her alleged accomplices has pleaded guilty and said he will help prosecutors. Ricky L. Hamilton, 53, of Grandview, pleaded guilty Tuesday to single counts of conspiracy and wire fraud. He also said he will testify against former Councilwoman Saundra McFadden-Weaver and contractor Emanuel M. Kind, who go on trial next week...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Two Kansas City police officers and two suspects were wounded Tuesday in separate gunbattles involving officers trying to stop vehicles and being fired on. The two veteran officers involved in the first shooting were taken to local hospitals where one was in critical condition and the other was treated and released, said Officer Darin Snapp, department spokesman. He said both officers were wearing protective vests...

SIKESTON, Mo. (AP) -- The mayor of Sikeston is calling for a "bridge summit" in September to discuss the need for a new Mississippi River bridge from near the southeast Missouri town into Kentucky. Mayor Mike Marshall said this week that the bridge failure in Minnesota was "a wake-up call to our area." He noted that bridges crossing the Mississippi and Ohio rivers at Cairo, Ill., are "twice as old, twice as long and twice as dangerous as the bridge that failed in Minneapolis."...

The Jackson Municipal Band will perform its final concert of the summer at 8 p.m. Thursday at the gazebo at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson. Special guest entertainment will be provided by folk singer/song writer Julie Walker. Band selection will include "Ozark Overture" and "Tribute," musical tributes to Carl Penzel written by Charles Smith...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A federal appeals court has dealt a major blow to a Missouri death penalty case that effectively had halted executions in the state. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request by condemned inmate Michael Taylor to consider whether Missouri's lethal injection method is constitutional...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A judge has struck down a new law that would have allowed certain lay midwives to deliver babies in Missouri without facing the threat of criminal charges. A Cole County judge declared the midwifery language unconstitutional, saying it went beyond the title and original purpose of the health insurance bill to which it was secretly attached in the final weeks of the legislative session...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A new plaza in downtown St. Louis -- scheduled to open next spring with an outdoor balcony, cascading water and sculpture -- will also be a new venue for lunchtime and evening music, film series and street performers. Community leaders, including St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, gathered outside the redeveloped Old Post Office building on Wednesday to describe features of the new outdoor plaza to be located just across the street...

Brian Kinder's dying wish was to spend his final days at home with family. Instead, the condemned killer died in prison. Kinder, 47, who suffered from throat cancer, died Wednesday morning in the hospital ward of the Potosi Correctional Center in southeast Missouri, prison superintendent Don Roper said...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Less than 48 hours after a shooting in Sikeston left one man badly injured, a second round of shots in the same block sent two victims to the hospital. Sikeston police have not received any information or unearthed any evidence leading them to believe the incidents were related, said Sikeston Department of Public Safety captain Dan Armor...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Southern Illinois leaders hoping to build state and federal support for a proposed $3 billion coal-to-diesel plant will turn to a time-honored grassroots technique -- a petition drive. Commissioners from Alexander and Pulaski counties met with Cairo Mayor Judson Childs and Stacy Thomas, Alexander County representative for the Southernmost Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone, to finalize the petition forms that will be distributed to city and town halls as well as retail and restaurant locations.. ...

Biblical scholars have long speculated about just what fruit Adam and Eve succumbed to when they ate themselves out of house and home in the Garden of Eden. Figs, pomegranates, apricots, bananas, and, of course, apples have been nominated. But according to Mark Twain, it couldn't have been a watermelon. Why? Because Adam and Eve repented, explained Twain, and no one would repent after eating a watermelon...

Every fall, land throughout extreme Southeast Missouri becomes white as the cotton bolls start to become visible, creating vistas no other crop can duplicate. From just north of Sikeston, west toward Poplar Bluff, east to the Mississippi River and all the way south to the Arkansas border, cotton is big, as it has been for decades. The crop isn't grown anywhere else in the state. Only Dunklin, Pemiscot, Scott, New Madrid and Stoddard counties support a cotton crop -- 500,000 acres in 2006...

The General Services Administration spent money budgeted for original artwork to help pay cost overruns in constructing the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, agency officials said. The agency plans to seek $255,000 to pay for original artwork such as sculptures and paintings to adorn the new courthouse at 555 Independence St., GSA officials said Tuesday...

Blogging Iraq; Obesity problem; Low ratings; Return the surplus; More concessions; Relying on handouts; Farm subsidies; Money lessons; Always welcome; Gone to seed; Federal flop; No last call; Part of growing up; Hiring teachers; Take some lessons

Not good enough for government work. Every major project has its snags, but the construction of the Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau has had too many. Construction on the courthouse started in 2002. The opening date has been put off repeatedly as contractors and the General Services Administration have dealt with a change in contractors, design changes, rising steel prices, bedrock problems and now a near-final inspection that has revealed even more "deficiencies," including the fact that the roof of the yet-to-be occupied building must be replaced. ...

The Rev. Louis L. Pabor, former pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, is guest preacher at services this weekend as members of Trinity continue to mark the dedication of their new church facilities. The Flaming Pit, 2121 William St. in Cape Girardeau, has changed hands; John Miller purchased the restaurant from Edward J. Radetic; the building, owned by James Tlapek of Cape Girardeau and Nick Bruckerhoff of St. Mary, Mo., is being leased by the new owner...

BENTON, Mo. -- A wrecker driver turned into the wrong driveway Saturday afternoon and found himself dodging the spray of a shotgun, police say. The driver was accompanied by two Scott County deputies. They were going to retrieve a stolen ATV. The alleged shooter, Lois R. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Hot, humid air is blanketing wide areas of the nation this week, and Missouri health experts have been urging people to stay in air-conditioned buildings and take it easy. Temperatures in much of Missouri are expected to reach well into the upper 90s -- and in many cases above 100 degrees -- through much of this week. The heat index, calculated from a combination of temperature and humidity, is predicted to climb above 105...

7 p.m. today City hall, 401 Independence St. Hearings n Request of B.A.C. Enterprises LLC for a special-use permit to construct a single-family residence and a duplex on an existing vacant lot at 1000 N. Fredrick St. within an R-4 multi-family residential district. (Ward 1)...

ANNA, Ill. -- The Illinois State Police are investigating a death that occurred Tuesday morning at the Canadian National Railroad track crossing on Main Street in Anna. State Troopers found the remains of an individual on the railroad tracks between Highway 146 and Davie Street in Anna, said trooper Bridget Rice in a prepared statement...

The Jackson Municipal Band will perform its final concert of the summer Thursday at 8 p.m. at the gazebo on the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse lawn, instead of its usual venue, the Jackson City Park band shell. Special guest entertainment will be provided by folk singer/songwriter Julie Walker...

Illinois State Police are investigating a fatal car accident which occurred Tuesday morning in Alexander County. The wreck occurred around 11:40 a.m., on Illinois State Route 127, half a mile south of Ullin Rd. A 2006 Chevrolet Impala had veered off the road and impacted with a tree. The driver, Melissa I. Jordan, 77, of Tamms, Ill., was killed and found in her vehicle at the scene. She was not wearing her seat belt...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sen. Claire McCaskill has introduced a bill that would require gas stations to adjust prices when fuel expands in hot weather and provides less energy per gallon. The Missouri Democrat's legislation would require installation of automatic equipment to account for temperature changes at all retail gas pumps within six years of enactment...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A special commission that picks candidates for Missouri's appellate courts defended itself Tuesday as a state lawmaker claimed its secretive process violated state open records laws. The seven-member Appellate Judicial Commission recently submitted three nominees to the governor to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court. ...

ST. LOUIS -- RegionsAir Inc. is suing the U.S. government, alleging the commuter airline was shut down illegally in a dispute over pilot training and certification procedures. RegionsAir seeks $11.6 million plus interest in the lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, claiming breach of contract and fair dealing, as well as an unconstitutional taking of property without compensation...

LOS ANGELES -- A U.S. citizen who was wrongly deported in May was found at a border crossing and could be reunited with his family soon, an American Civil Liberties Union spokesman said Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Carlos Chung ordered Pedro Guzman's release at a hearing Tuesday in Lancaster. Guzman, 29, was expected to rejoin his family later in the day, according to ACLU Southern California spokesman Michael Soller...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Isabel Jordan, 78, of Tamms died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, in an automobile accident north of Tamms. Crain Funeral Home in Tamms is in charge of arrangements.

GRASSY, Mo.-- Noah F. Kirkpatrick, 92, of Grassy died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 22, 1914, at Grassy, son of Charles M. and Mary E. Hill Kirkpatrick. He and Nona V. Barrett were married June 26, 1937. She died April 9, 2001...

Evelyn M. Walker, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Aug. 24, 1930, in Concordia, Kan., daughter of James E. and Doris Viola Kindel Green. She and William E. Walker Jr. were married Aug. 7, 1955, in Cape Girardeau. Her husband, William E. Walker Jr., preceded her in death March 7, 1985...

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. -- Anna Marie Layton Lawrence, 69, of Collinsville, Ill., died Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, at St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Dec. 25, 1937, in Boulder, Colo., daughter of Julius F. and Flossie Belle Mock Layton. She married William H. Lawrence, who preceded her in death...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Da'Ryis Demond Burnell Woods died at birth Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Ill. Survivors include his parents, Bre'Anna Puckett and Lafayette Woods of Cairo; maternal grandparents, Constance Puckett of Cairo and Robert and Doris Puckett of Metropolis, Ill.; paternal grandparents, Keesha and Jerome Carr of Cairo and Lafayette Woods of Indianapolis; maternal great-grandparents, Elihue and Crystal Whitaker and Freddie and Gloria Patton, all of Cairo...

Norman A. Keller, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born June 5, 1917, in Cape Girardeau, son of Arthur and Ida Suedekum Keller. He and Lillian Fornkohl were married Nov. 3, 1948, in Cape Gir-ardeau. She died Dec. 11, 1991...

Helen LaVern Pender, 63, of Jackson died Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, at her home. She was born March 13, 1944, in Cape Girar-deau, daughter of James Edward and Ruth Ann Kennedy Park. She and Larry Franklin Pender were married Oct. 3, 1959. He died Feb. 5, 2005...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Bill Mouser, 76, of Morley, Mo., died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete with Amick-Burnett Funeral Home in Chaffee, Mo.

Roddy; Essner

Cape Girardeau: Arrest; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Jackson: Summons

BERLIN -- A woman who had a pencil lodged in her head for 55 years after a childhood accident has finally had most of it removed, which should end her chronic headaches and nosebleeds, her doctor said Tuesday. Margaret Wegner was 4 when she fell while carrying the 3.15-inch pencil, which went through her cheek and into her brain...

A Southeast Missouri tradition, the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, kicks off tonight with the first of four nights of rodeo and concerts by popular country acts. For information or tickets call (800) 455-2855. Today -- Sugarland Sugarland's rise to the top of the country world has been nothing less than meteoric -- in just three years they've become one of the hottest acts in country music, with hits like "Baby Girl" and "Something More" from their 2004 major-label debut "Twice the Speed of Life" and a 2006 tour with Kenny Chesney.. ...

HUNTINGTON, Utah -- Seismic activity has "totally shut down" efforts to reach six miners trapped below ground and has wiped out all the work done in the past day, a mine executive said Tuesday. "We are back to square one underground," said Robert E. Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corp., owner of the Crandall Canyon mine...

WASHINGTON -- The Minneapolis bridge disaster that suddenly is the symbol of the nation's crumbling infrastructure could tip the scales in favor of billions of dollars in higher gasoline taxes for repairs coast to coast. There are 500 bridges around the country similar to the Minneapolis span, and "these are potential deathtraps," said Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, former chairman of the House Transportation Committee...

I was given a new cookbook that features recipes from all over the United States. The favorite recipes from community and church cookbooks have been compiled into one book, and it is a great cookbook. There are so many recipes I just can't wait to try. I have pulled a few for you to make and enjoy...

HOME Q. I got carried away cleaning a brass antique with lemon and salt, and now it's rusty. How can I clean off the rust? A. First, your antique is not solid brass -- it is brass-plated. Solid brass doesn't rust. What is rusting is the iron or steel below your brass plating. ...

Weight-conscious adults may be leery of snacking, but for active children a nibble here and a treat there can be vital parts of an overall healthy diet -- as long as the snacks themselves are healthy, of course. "With my kids, snacks are a regular part of their day," said Julie Robarts, a registered dietitian and mother of three from North Reading, Mass...

Florida and Georgia keep supermarket corn bins full year round, but August is when it finally comes from down the road. "Even in the most northern parts of the country, by now you'll have local growers bringing in corn," said Steve Reiners, associate professor of horticulture at Cornell University. "The dog days of summer, that's when corn is at its peak."...

Cape Girardeau n At 4:14 p.m., emergency medical service in the unit block of South Sprigg Street. n At 4:31 p.m., a motor vehicle accident at Highway 74 and Kings-highway. n At 6:46 p.m., emergency medical service at 1100 Linden St. n At 7:35 p.m., box alarm at 327 Main St...

WASHINGTON -- Wall Street turbulence, Main Street credit problems and a nationwide housing slump pose increasing risks to the economy, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday, even as it left interest rates unchanged. Although Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues acknowledged challenges that have intensified since their last meeting in late June, they nonetheless expressed hope that the economy will safely make its way...

NORMANDY, England -- Britain's health and safety agency said Tuesday there was a strong probability that a foot-and-mouth outbreak in southern England originated at a vaccine lab and was spread by human movement. The outbreak was discovered on a farm just four miles from the Pirbright vaccine laboratory, which is shared by the government's Institute for Animal Health, or IAH, and a private pharmaceutical company, Merial Animal Health, the British arm of Duluth, Ga.-based Merial Ltd...

LONDON -- Britain's new Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked the United States on Tuesday to free five British residents from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay -- a policy reversal that was welcomed by the Bush administration. The United States has been working to reduce the detainee population at Guantanamo with an eye toward closing the controversial detention center...

MOSCOW -- The United States and Canada have scoffed at a Russian submarine expedition that planted a Russian flag on the seabed under the North Pole. Coming home to a hero's welcome Tuesday, the famous polar scientist who led the risky voyage did not mince words in responding...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Country star Vince Gill, singer and humorist Mel Tillis and radio/TV personality Ralph Emery will become the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association's selections were announced Tuesday by Hall of Fame director Kyle Young and singers Barbara Mandrell and Brenda Lee...

Fundamentals and fun are the cornerstones of youth baseball. And when players can execute the former in a winning effort, that -- to use the words of Kenny Urhahn -- is a bonus. Urhahn coaches the Cape Girardeau Cal Ripken League 10-year-old baseball team, which will be leaving Thursday for the World Series in Vincennes, Ind...

The Scott County Cal Ripken 12-and-under all-star team made its way to the World Series the old-fashioned way: dominating pitching. "I think so far we've had the best pitching I've seen," said Patrick Young, one of the coaches for Scott County. "We have two or three kids who are better than any pitchers we've faced."...

TULSA, Okla. -- At times Tuesday, it was hard to tell if Phil Mickelson was a promoter for the PGA Tour or a contender for the PGA Championship. During his news conference in advance of the season's last major, Mickelson insisted he'd already won a major this year -- The Players Championship -- and talked more than once about how excited he was for the FedEx Cup playoffs, which debut in two weeks...

GREELEY, Colo. -- Prosecutors and the defense finished their closing statements Tuesday, sending the case of a former Northern Colorado backup punter accused of trying to kill the starter to the jury. Court recessed Tuesday before the jury had a chance to deliberate...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds hit No. 756 to the deepest part of the ballpark Tuesday night, and hammered home the point: Like him or not, legitimate or not, he is baseball's new home run king. Bonds broke Hank Aaron's storied record in the fifth inning, connecting on a 3-2 pitch from Washington's Mike Bacsik. Three days earlier, Bonds tied the Hammer with a shot to left-center in San Diego...

ST. LOUIS -- Once Jake Peavy broke an early sweat in 96-degree heat by surviving a 14-pitch at-bat against Scott Rolen in the first inning, it was clear sailing. Peavy extended his scoreless streak to 19 innings after prevailing in that confrontation with two men on, and the San Diego Padres got their major league-leading 16th shutout of the season, a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mike Bacsik walked behind the mound and was consoled by teammates when Barry Bonds rounded the bases after hitting his record 756th home run. The Washington Nationals pitcher then retreated to the dugout while Bonds was feted as baseball's Home Run King. Whether he was on the field or not during the celebration, Bacsik will always be linked with Bonds for allowing the record-breaking home run...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- As Missouri enters 2007 with high expectations, players and coaches know the defense will have to step up its performance from last season. The Tigers started 2006 6-0 but limped to a 2-5 record the rest of the way. The offense, ranked in the top 10 nationally, was strong throughout the season, but the defense struggled after Big 12 play began, especially against the run...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Tony Temple, Missouri's starting running back last season, was carted off the practice field Tuesday with an apparent right knee injury after colliding with another player. The injury happened shortly before the morning workout ended. Temple jumped to catch a pass during 11-on-11 drills when he was sandwiched between two defenders...

Heartland NationalU-12 ends play The Heartland Nationals 12-and-under softball team surrendered 10 runs over the first two innings and fell to 1-3 at the Babe Ruth Softball World Series with a 12-4 loss to host Luzerne County (Pa.). Heartland concluded play as it failed to qualify for the double-elimination portion of the tournament that begins today. The top three teams in both pools advanced to bracket play...

WICHITA -- Cape Girardeau's Jess Bolen has witnessed many a come-from-behind victories during his 41-year tenure as head coach of the Plaza Tire Capahas at the National Baseball Congress World Series. Bolen said he didn't remember the years precisely, but the Capahas rallied for 5-1 and 7-1 victories at the NBC World Series, along with coming back from a 10-0 deficit to beat Miami (Fla.). There was also the 12-3 deficit Cape rallied from to beat Nogales, Ariz., a few years ago...

An experiment conducted by the Cape Girardeau County office of the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service is capturing the power of sunlight to provide fuel for irrigation. So far, the results have exceeded expectations, a local NRCS engineer said...

A Co-op Service Center propane tanker caught fire after making a delivery on County Road 220 this morning. The fire started at a fatigued spot in the tanker's hose, scorching the 2,400-gallon tank. Firefighters from Chaffee, Whitewater, Gordonville and Delta responded and prevented the fire from rupturing the tank.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A violent line of thunderstorms rolled through northwest Missouri Wednesday night, blowing down trees and possibly spawning a small tornado. The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill said it had reports of 60-70 mph winds in southern Atchison County and Nodaway and Harrison counties, downing power lines and large branches...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A veterinarian who faces charges of cruelty to animals on her Illinois farm demonstrated "care and concern" for her patients at a St. Louis County animal hospital, the administrator said. Georgia Wilson's work at Webster Groves Animal Hospital earned praise...

Official observed temperatures hit 99 degrees Thursday afternoon, topping the official high from Wednesday, 98 degrees. The measurements were taken by the National Weather Service's official weather recording site at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport...

Aug. 9, 2007 Dear Julie, Our dogs Hank and Lucy are 13 years old now. They not only don't move nearly as fast as they used to, at times they hardly move at all. They have developed some of the quirks that seem to accompany old age...

A propane tanker caught fire Wednesday morning when a fill hose separated from the valve stem following a delivery on County Road 220. Firefighters responding to the call used a cautious approach to the blaze when initial reports said the tanker was engulfed. "We had announced we were going to stop a half-mile back and assess the situation," said John Sachen, the incident commander for the Delta Fire Protection District. "On the way in, we did not see evidence of a large fire."...

The next Cape Girardeau City Council election is more than six months away, but the groundwork for campaigning is about to begin. Terms for three city council members' seats will expire. One official can't run again. Another isn't sure. The third, Loretta Schneider, is already planning to compete...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A judge struck down a new law Wednesday that would have allowed certain trained midwives to deliver babies in Missouri without facing the threat of criminal charges. A Cole County judge declared the midwifery law unconstitutional because of the way it was passed by legislators. ...

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- When Missouri Department of Transportation begins work on the planned replacement of the Route A bridge in New Hamburg, the construction will cut Larry Gosche's farm in half. Because MoDOT has decided not to build a temporary bypass to accommodate the 700 to 800 cars that cross the bridge every day, Gosche said he expects he'll have to go 12 to 15 miles out of his way to tend to his crops...

All's well; Not soon enough; P&G tax goes to Jackson; Paying over and over; All in one paragraph; Farm subsidies; Spend money at home; Nature center; No forgetting; Clean highways; Use caution; Too complacent; Blame government; It's broken; Listen to soldiers; No soccer dogs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois officials missed the latest in a string of deadlines Wednesday in their battle over a new budget, and this time it threatens thousands of state employees and schools across Illinois. Without a budget, the state comptroller won't begin processing paychecks due to nearly 5,000 employees next week and $170 million in school aid payments scheduled to be mailed Friday...

The Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority's bus service in Cape Girardeau, offering rides on a fixed route, is serving 500 to 600 passengers a week, up 16 percent in the first half of 2007 from the last half of 2006. Plans are in the works to split the one long route taken by shuttle buses into two routes to better serve those passengers who often have to ride for up to an hour to reach their destinations...

To the editor:Last night at Bingo World hundreds players had a chance to spend and win thousands of dollars. After bingo, players ran to the exit to be one of the first to leave the parking lot. By the time I got inside my car, all vehicles parked behind me were gone. ...

To the editor:Joel Osteen, minister at Lakewood Church, recently urged people to keep moving and not be satisfied with just what you have or what knowledge you know, but to add to it. I like that. I am a strong believer in progress. Much of it has already been seen, and more will follow, I'm sure...

To the editor:One rainy night in a coffee shop in Knoxville I was chatting with a contractor whose business was repairing bridges along Interstate 70. He told me that many of the long beams that support bridges have developed long horizontal cracks the entire length of the girder. The contractor used massive jacks to squeeze the beams together and welded them in place. I recalled the Biblical traveler who decided to go home another way...

The Cape Girardeau County grand jury adjourns, issuing a two-page report to Presiding Circuit Judge A.J. Seier, who says he will study it before deciding whether to make the contents public; meanwhile, Prosecuting Attorney Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., who has advocated grand juries partially to eliminate the preliminary hearing process, says he will ask Seier to impanel another grand jury; the jury was impanelled July 7 to look into two unsolved murders in Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau Central High School's incoming freshmen arrived at orientation Wednesday hoping to learn the location of their lockers and classrooms. They left with a note of caution: Don't get left behind academically. Fifty-eight freshmen last school year failed to become sophomores, principal Dr. Mike Cowan told this year's incoming students...

Missouri's four-year public universities are a bargain for some out-of-state students when compared with nearby states, even while state residents continue to pay the highest tuition among Big 12 states, according to an audit released Wednesday. The report from Auditor Susan Montee also found that the state has no written policy for setting nonresident tuition. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State utility regulators have denied a request by Ameren Corp. to halt their investigation into the 2005 collapse of its Taum Sauk reservoir and instead plan to forge ahead with another round of hearings. The Missouri Public Service Commission scheduled more investigatory hearings beginning next Monday and continuing through Aug. 17 if necessary. The commission already has heard from several witnesses in hearings that have spanned parts of two weeks...

The Jackson Municipal Band will perform its final concert of the summer at 8 p.m. today at the gazebo on the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse lawn, instead of its usual venue, the Jackson City Park band shell. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston Department of Public Safety arrested Nicholas D. Gilbert, 27, Tuesday in connection with an early morning shooting in the 800 block of Ruth Street. Around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, Sikeston DPS received a call reporting gunshots fired around 824 Ruth St. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The mayor of Sikeston is calling for a "bridge summit" in September to discuss the need for a new Mississippi River bridge from near the Southeast Missouri town into Kentucky. Mayor Mike Marshall said this week that the bridge failure in Minnesota was "a wake-up call to our area." He noted that bridges crossing the Mississippi and Ohio rivers at Cairo, Ill., are "twice as old, twice as long and twice as dangerous as the bridge that failed in Minneapolis." At a meeting Monday, members of the city council unanimously approved inviting Missouri and Kentucky lawmakers for the bridge summit.. ...

Brian Kinder's dying wish was to spend his final days at home with family. Instead, the condemned killer died in prison. Kinder, 47, who suffered from throat cancer, died Wednesday morning in the hospital ward of the Potosi Correctional Center in Southeast Missouri, prison superintendent Don Roper said...

ST. LOUIS -- A federal appeals court has dealt a major blow to a Missouri death penalty case that effectively had halted executions in the state. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request by condemned inmate Michael Taylor to consider whether Missouri's lethal injection method is constitutional...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois officials missed the latest in a string of deadlines Wednesday in their battle over a new budget, and this time it threatens thousands of state employees and schools across Illinois. Without a budget, the state comptroller won't begin processing paychecks due to nearly 5,000 employees next week and $170 million in school aid payments scheduled to be mailed Friday...

Cape Girardeau fire chief Rick Ennis issued a citywide ban on outdoor burning late Wednesday. Cape Girardeau County commissioners are expected to order a similar ban today, according to Richard Knaup, Cape Girardeau County Emergency Management Agency director...

WASHINGTON -- Whites are now in the minority in nearly one in 10 U.S. counties. And that increased diversity, fueled by immigration and higher birth rates among blacks and Hispanics, is straining race relations and sparking a backlash against immigrants in many communities...

WASHINGTON -- Surprising research based on two African fossils suggests our family tree is more like a wayward bush with stubby branches, challenging what had been common thinking on how early humans evolved. The discovery by Meave Leakey, a member of a famous family of paleontologists, shows that two species of early human ancestors lived at the same time in Kenya. That pokes holes in the chief theory of man's early evolution -- that one of those species evolved from the other...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour blasted in orbit Wednesday carrying teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan, who after more than two decades is finally carrying out the dream of Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the fallen Challenger crew. Endeavour and its crew of seven rose from the seaside pad at 5:36 p.m., right on time, and pierced a solidly blue sky. They're expected to reach the international space station Friday...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Bill E. Mouser, 76, of Morley died Tuesday, Aug, 7, 2007, at his home. He was born Dec. 5, 1930, at Randles, son of Edward Oliver and Clara Frances Dees Mouser. He and Myra Jean Walton were married Jan. 15, 1949, at Arbor. Mouser was a retired heavy equipment operator with Operating Engineers 513. He was a member of Sikeston Gospel Assembly in Sikeston, Mo...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Mary Magdalene Slayden, 84, of Chaffee died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, in the Emergency Room at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 10, 1922, at Chaffee, daughter of Frank Stanley and Pearl Watson Moore. She and Dr. William H. Bagbey were married in February 1943. She and Patrick O'Mara were married March 17, 1961. He died Nov. 22, 1979. She and James F. Slayden were married May 3, 1981. He died Aug. 10, 1999...

Rose Marie Hill of Jackson and formerly of Cairo, Ill., died Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007, at Jackson Manor Nursing Home. Arrangements are incomplete with Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo, Ill.

Robert L. Haynes, 62, died Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007, at Bourbon, Mo. He was a former resident of Whitewater. He was born Oct. 1, 1944, in Florida, to James Rex and Lucille Thoma Haynes. He enjoyed his work as an over-the-road truck driver. Survivors include cousins, Elwood (Rosa) Ulrich of Whitewater, Linda Gilles of Bourbon, Sandra McDowell of Cape Gir-ardeau, Frances McCarty of Mount Vernon, Ind.; and close friends Greg Peak of Bourbon, Joe Berry of St. ...

Larry Lrea Reid, 64, of Oak Ridge died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, at his home. He was born Oct. 14, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, son of Lrea and Florence Marie Samuel Reid. He and Hazel A. Williams were married March 17, 1967. She died Sept. 24, 2000. Reid had worked at the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in Jackson. He then was a maintenance worker 20 years at Florsheim Shoe Co., retiring in 1987. He was a member of New Life Gospel Center in Scott City...

Joel L. Jones, 81, of Cape Gir-ardeau died Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

TAMMS, Ill. -- Isabel Jordan, 77, of Tamms died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, in an automobile accident north of Tamms. She was born Jan. 16, 1930, in McClure, Ill., daughter of Henry and Melissa Porter Lamb. She married Donald Jordan May 31, 1947. He preceded her in death Sept. 24, 2005...

Ringwald; DeBerry; Burns; Yarbro; Lamoureux

Cape Girardeau: Summons; Thefts; Assault; Property damage