Stories from Wednesday, January 30, 2008

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Emergency rooms around St. Louis are filled with patients seeking relief from the flu. Some went into diversion mode Tuesday night, where ambulances are asked to avoid certain hospitals unless they have a patient who is critically ill...

KENNETT, Mo. (AP) -- A Southeast Missouri man has been charged in the weekend stabbing death of a Sullivan man. Max Arnold, 26, of Caruthersville, was being held without bond Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder and armed-criminal action in the death of Phillip Jarvas, 32...

Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton stepped away from a potential race for governor this morning, instead putting his support behind Ninth District U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof. Jetton, a Marble Hill Republican who held office as a county commissioner prior to his election to the House in 2000, must leave office after this year because of term limits. ...

A winter storm that could bring as much as 8 inches of snow to parts of Southeast Missouri caused the National Weather Service to issue a winter storm wach for most of the region. The exact track of the storm is uncertain, but accumulating snow is likely along and north of a line from Poplar Bluff through Cape Girardeau to Marion, Ill. beginning sometime Thursday afternoon, the weather service said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Charlie Shields says he will not run for governor. Shields considered a gubernatorial bid after Republican Gov. Matt Blunt announced last week that he will not seek a second term. But Shields said Wednesday that he will instead seek to become Senate president pro tem...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Opponents of Missouri's judicial selection process have formed a new group to push for change. The organization calling itself "Better Courts for Missouri" says it wants to make the selection of judges more open and accountable to Missourians...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Tour of Missouri cycling race is returning with an extra day of racing and four new host cities. The tour begins Sept. 8 with a 90-mile road race from St. Joseph to Kansas City. Rolla, St. James and Hermann join St. Joseph as the other new stops...

A Sikeston, Mo., couple previously facing multiple counts of supplying alcohol to minors pleaded guilty today to charges of permitting consumption by minors on property they controlled, their attorney said. The charges against Mark Cheatham, 49, and Terry Brewer Cheatham, 47, of Sikeston stemmed from a Notre Dame Regional High School party they threw for their son's graduating class at their residence last May...

Southeast Missourian Former state Rep. Nathan Cooper began his 15-month federal prison sentence for immigration fraud this week at the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Ill. The former lawmaker is confined to the minimum-security camp adjacent to the main prison in keeping with his request when sentenced in December. ...

Trees, power lines and vehicles appear to have suffered the brunt of a brief but intense storm Tuesday afternoon. The Scott County Sheriff's Department confirmed three injured people were taken to area hospitals after seven accidents on Interstate 55 but gave no further details...

James Carville and Mary Matalin made a splash as strategists in the 1992 presidential election. Since then, they married, had two children and cranked out a number of books, including the best-selling "All's Fair: Love, War, and Running for President."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof announced his candidacy for governor Tuesday, the third Republican to jump into the race following Gov. Matt Blunt's surprise exit. To run for governor, Hulshof will have to forgo a re-election bid for his congressional seat...

Parents might have the option of sending their preschoolers to Alma Schrader or Clippard elementary schools next year to learn their shapes and colors. A program could be added at either school with a setup cost of $75,000, Deena Ring, director of special services, said at a school board meeting Monday night...

McCain plans campaign stop in St. Louis area ST. LOUIS -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain will make a campaign stop Friday in suburban St. Louis. The Arizona senator will appear at Spirit of St. Louis Airport at 2 p.m. That's according to state Rep. Jason Brown, who is vice chairman of McCain's Missouri campaign.Brown said the St. Louis-area stop is the only one currently scheduled in Missouri before Super Tuesday next week. But Brown said that could change...

Last summer, the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center opened a 12,000-square-foot annex that allowed the school to bring more training to the area's students, young and old. The building includes new work spaces, classrooms and computer labs...

Rebate questions; Delta grade school; Shaky economy; Rebates for disabled?; Avoid slick paint; Wait for walkers; Pump prices; Country music; Rough road; Spend it all; Daily issues; Protecting children; Thanks to officer; Made elsewhere

Lutheran Chapel of Hope on the Southeast Missouri State University campus has been awarded a $2,000 grant from Aid Association for Lutherans. After serving nearly 40 years as a missionary with the Board of Global Missions for the Methodist Church and as an executive for the American Bible Society, Dr. Ivan H. Northdurft found retirement in 1982 to be dull; he has returned to Cape Girardeau, where he is serving as associate pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church...

DENVER -- A powerful storm system pounded a large swath of the nation's midsection on Tuesday, spawning everything from heavy snow and numbing cold to hail and possible tornadoes, and forecasters warned more could be on the way. Thousands of people lost power, and some government offices, schools and highways closed because of snow. Avalanche warnings were issued for some Western mountainous regions...

NEW YORK -- Don't lick the walls. An all-chocolate room was unveiled Tuesday in Manhattan -- a pre-Valentine's Day creation complete with furniture and artwork made of the sweet stuff. "It's the perfect bit of sin," said Ali Larter, star of TV's "Heroes," of the Godiva chocolate "pearls" that are her private daily indulgence...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Meth lab busts are rising again in Missouri, causing lawmakers to look for new ways to discourage the illegal drug. The number of methamphetamine busts declined after a 2005 Missouri law limited access to the drug's main ingredient -- cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Jack Bridges thinks the documentary he commissioned chronicling his son's eventual death from years of methamphetamine abuse dissuaded others from using the powerful stimulant. Now, Bridges and the former TV cameraman in Southern Illinois behind that effort, "No More Sunsets," are planning a sequel...

Five-year education plan outlined at forum The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education hosted a forum at the Career and Technology Center on Tuesday to highlight the draft of a five-year state plan for career and technical education. The draft, available at dese.mo.gov/divcareered, outlines professional development options for teachers, establishes accountability standards, and lists ways funding will be determined. ...

ST. LOUIS -- The homicide rate among blacks is higher in Missouri than any other state, according to a report released Tuesday by a not-for-profit research group. The Violence Policy Center report said 32.79 deaths per 100,000 blacks in Missouri were the result of homicides. The report said the overwhelming majority of the deaths were caused by firearms, especially handguns. The Washington-based organization supports gun-control efforts...

MIAMI -- Sen. John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination ahead of next week's contests across 21 states and lining up a quick endorsement from soon-to-be dropout Rudy Giuliani...

CHICAGO -- Tammy Hsu is one of those 20-something voters who can drive a presidential candidate crazy. She registered to vote during the recent Illinois "grace period" and cast an early vote in her state's Super Tuesday primary. But she's still not completely sold on any candidate, not even Barack Obama, the home-state Democrat widely depicted as the choice of young voters...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Majority Republicans turned back a Democratic attempt Tuesday to make it harder to shut off filibusters in the Missouri Senate. Under Senate rules, it takes only a simple majority to halt debate and immediately force a vote on legislation. That means the majority party, if its members stick together, can essentially force a vote on a bill whenever it desires...

Edwards touts health care, economic policies JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards says he wants universal health care, a quick end to the Iraq war and economic policies geared toward helping the working and middle classes. The health care plan proposed by the former senator from North Carolina would cost $90 billion to $120 billion per year. He proposed funding that by rolling back tax cuts for those earning more than $200,000...

ST. LOUIS -- The U.S. Department of Energy, frustrated by ballooning costs of an ambitious quest to build a virtually emissions-free power plant, told federal lawmakers Tuesday it plans to pull its support for a $1.8 billion project in Illinois, lawmakers said...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Myrtle E. Sutterer, 93, of Perryville died Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Dec. 21, 1914, in Bollinger County, Mo., daughter of William and Mary Ellen York Farris. She and Joseph A. Sutterer were married Nov. 12, 1932. He died Nov. 15, 1969...

ANNA, Ill. -- Logreta Hinkle, 88, of Anna died Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, at Union County Nursing Home in Anna. She was born Jan. 17, 1920, in Johnson County, Ill., daughter of Irvin and Bertha Anderson Merriman. She and Harry Hinkle were married March 27, 1948. He died March 5, 2006...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Pamela Weber Turlington, 66, of Dexter, formerly of Kennett, Mo., died Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 17, 1942, at Dexter, daughter of Capt. Edmund Weber and Mae Weber Lynch...

Julia Sanford Vandivort Stein, 98, of St. Louis, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Alma C. Schnurbusch, 85, of Perryville died Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008, at Perry Oaks Nursing Center. She was born Feb. 15, 1922, in Apple Creek, Mo., daughter of Frank and Anna Schonhoff Buchheit. She and Everett Schnurbusch were married Aug. 17, 1946, in Perryville...

Will Roy Bollinger, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008, at Progress West Hospital in O'Fallon, Mo. He was born Jan. 16, 1932, in Bell City, Mo., son of James Elonzo "Lon" and "Grace" Earl Loftin Bollinger. He was a truck driver with Jerry Lipps Trucking for 60 years...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- James Ray DeVault, 83, of Marble Hill died Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, at his home. He was born April 30, 1924, at Leon, W.Va., son of Pinkney Ray and Oma May Hernman DeVault. He and Carolyn Sue Nance were married Aug. 10, 1975. He had worked as a welder at Marette Shipyards in Point Pleasant, W.Va. He moved to this area in 1980 from Kingston, Ill., and was a member of the Patton Church of God...

PATTON, Mo. -- Graveside service for Jackie Lynn Hammontree, 49, of Patton will be at noon today at Bollinger County Memorial Park Cemetery, with the Rev. Fred Ritter officiating. She died Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, at her home. She was born May 10, 1958, in Tucson, Ariz., daughter of Thomas and Jetta Toddy Hammontree...

Arrests

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Margaret Truman, the only child of President Harry S. Truman who became a concert singer, actress, radio and TV personality and mystery writer, died Tuesday. She was 83. Truman, known as Margaret Truman Daniel in private life, died at a Chicago assisted living facility following a brief illness, according to Susan Medler, a spokeswoman for the Harry S. ...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Two Branson men who stopped paying federal income tax have received probation after helping the government by speaking out against tax protests. A federal judge in Springfield handed down sentences Tuesday of three years probation each for Martin R. Dingman and Shane O. Grady...

n At 5:38 p.m., a box alarm at 3825 Valley View Lane. n At 10:05 p.m., an alarm at 5422 Nash Road. n At 10:50 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1300 block of West Cape Rock Drive. n At 2:46 a.m., an alarm at 1025 N. Sprigg St. n At 3:22 p.m., carbon monoxide detection in the 1500 block of Sloan Creek...

STOCKTON, Calif. -- The house was ravaged -- its floors ripped, walls busted and lights smashed by owners who trashed their home before a bank foreclosed on it. Hidden in the wreckage was an abandoned member of the family:~ anecdotal evidence suggests forsaken animals are becoming a problem wherever foreclosures are climbing...

ALTAGRACIA DE ORITUCO, Venezuela -- Gunmen who held more than 30 hostages inside a Venezuelan bank for more than 24 hours fled in an ambulance and were caught Tuesday along a roadside, where they surrendered and freed their last five captives. The gunmen first let three hostages go and then negotiated with police while holding on to the last two, Guarico state Gov. Eduardo Manuitt said...

LONDON -- More than 40 years after it barred the iconic British band from playing there, Israel said it wants the surviving members of the Beatles to participate in a concert celebrating the country's 60th birthday. But the Israeli embassy in London denied a report that the Jewish state had apologized for its original refusal to let the Beatles perform in the country. ...

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Tuesday he will refuse to publicly say whether the interrogation tactic known as waterboarding is illegal, digging in against critics who want the Bush administration to define it as torture. In a letter to Senate Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy, Mukasey said he has finished a review of Justice Department memos about the CIA's current methods of interrogating terror suspects and finds them to be lawful. ...

I'm not much on giving Christmas presents to my friends. (Christmas. Remember that? Seems like forever ago.) Right before the holiday I'm always so busy trying to tie up loose ends for my students and get my house ready to head back home for vacation. There's just no time to buy presents and hardly any to make something for everyone...

Over the weekend I was asked about a recipe for a simple jambalaya that required little time and effort to prepare. This reader was going to be short on time on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, but wanted to prepare a dish for the occasion. She also did not want to fix pancakes, as many of us do on Fat Tuesday. I went through a couple of books and found this recipe that I think will fit the bill for what she is looking for. I also included a good corn stick recipe to serve along with it...

WASHINGTON -- The House, seizing a rare moment of bipartisanship to respond to the economy's slump, passed a $146 billion aid package Tuesday that would speed rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most taxpayers. The plan, approved 385-35 after little debate, would send at least some rebate to anyone with at least $3,000 in income, with more going to families with children and less going to wealthier taxpayers...

WASHINGTON -- Individuals and businesses are likely to see their borrowing costs drop further as the Federal Reserve weighs another interest-rate reduction to bolster a sagging economy. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues opened a two-day meeting Tuesday afternoon to plot their next move on interest rates. ...

LOS ANGELES -- Life just got a lot easier for the head of the Recording Academy. Last month, Neil Portnow vowed to stage a full-scale Grammy Awards show with or without support from the striking writers guild. He should have little trouble delivering on that pledge after the Writers Guild of America agreed Monday to let its members work on the show, set for Feb. 10...

Southeast Missouri State's basketball players said they were enjoying themselves so much, they hardly seemed flustered when the game dragged on past the three-hour mark. Three overtimes? So what. "It's probably the most exciting game I've ever been in," junior wing Jaycen Herring said...

The white salt from dried sweat highlighted Hank Harris' face after Southeast Missouri State's thrilling 121-116 victory against Austin Peay on Tuesday night. Harris backs up Roderick Pearson at point guard, but Harris was called upon to play the vast majority of the game after Pearson spent most of the game on the bench in foul trouble...

The Southeast Missouri State University football team finally will have game-day lockers at Houck Stadium. In a presentation to the Southeast booster club before Tuesday's men's basketball game, university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins announced that the new 300-bed dormitory on campus will house an athletic facility with 85 lockers, training rooms and rooms for coaches on the ground floor...

The Jackson wrestling team remained perfect in dual matches and gained a measure of revenge by edging SEMO Conference tournament champion Farmington 37-34 on Tuesday night in Jackson. "It seems like we always have some great matchups with Farmington," Jackson coach Steve Wachter said. "It was a great effort by us, it was a great effort by them. Just a typical match with Farmington."...

CHARLESTON -- In its climb to the top of the SEMO Conference and superiority in Southeast Missouri, the Jackson boys basketball team has beaten Notre Dame twice, Sikeston twice and Cape Central three times. But the Indians don't have the answer for Charleston, the Class 3 defending state champion that has ridden a roller coaster to a 13-7 record...

CLEVELAND -- Willie McGinest always believed Romeo Crennel would turn the Cleveland Browns into winners. For a long time, though, it seemed like the 36-year-old linebacker was about the only who did. "There was a lot of prejudgment about Romeo," said McGinest, who played for Crennel in New England. "And it was really unfair. It takes time. It takes players, and it takes a coach to do that."...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It turns out Tony Temple's career at Missouri is, in fact, over. Temple announced Tuesday he will give up on any further appeals for an extra year of eligibility and focus on readying himself for the NFL draft. "It's time to move on and focus on doing what I need to do to make a positive impression for the next level," Temple said in a statement released through the university...

TORONTO -- Keith Tkachuk scored on his team's first two shots Tuesday night and the St. Louis Blues ended a seven-game winless streak with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. David Backes had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who had gone 0-5-2 before the All-Star break, but improved to 5-1-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season...

NEW YORK -- Johan Santana is a contract extension and physical from going to the New York Mets. After months of deliberation, the Twins reached a tentative agreement Tuesday to part with the two-time Cy Young Award winner for outfielder Carlos Gomez, and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey, two people familiar with the deal said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri coach Mike Anderson suspended five players indefinitely Tuesday after a weekend altercation left his top scorer with a broken jaw. In a statement from the university, Anderson declined to indicate the reason for the discipline, calling the infractions a violation of team rules. ...

The Super Bowl matchup between New England and New York has played itself out on dinner tables for years. The contest doesn't involve touchdowns or a halftime show, but it can get pretty contentious, as the two sides go head-to-head over one question: Who can claim the best namesake chowder?...

KITCHEN HOME Q. We hear what we believe are squirrels pouncing on our roof and fear that they may get into our home. Any suggestions on how we might keep them out? A. This is the time of year when little wild critters who didn't head south for the winter are looking for shelter -- and your house will do just fine, if you let them in. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof announced his candidacy for governor Tuesday, the third Republican to jump into the race following Gov. Matt Blunt's surprise exit. To run for governor, Hulshof will have to forgo a re-election bid for his congressional seat...

Super Tuesday is days away, but election workers are already super busy. On Monday and Tuesday, Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark trained more than 100 people gathered for training at the American Legion hall in Jackson. Next week will be Clark's first major election. She and her staff sent more than 40,000 cards to voters in December to make sure as many people as possible would be properly registered...

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) -- A town petition making President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney subject to arrest for crimes against the Constitution has triggered a barrage of criticism from people who say residents are "wackjobs" and "nuts." In e-mail messages, voicemail messages and telephone calls, outraged people are calling the measure the equivalent of treason and vowing never to visit Vermont...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Convicted kidnapper and child molester Michael Devlin is moved to a prison in the northwest Missouri town of Cameron, where he is expected to serve his 74 life sentences. Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Hauswirth says Devlin was moved to the Crossroads Correctional Center Wednesday morning. He had been under evaluation at a diagnostic center in St. Joseph since pleading guilty in October in three Missouri counties and in federal court...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A House committee is proposing to ban teachers from allowing students to see their private Web pages. The effort is part of a broader bill designed to close cracks in the reporting of teacher sex abuse and the discipline for those who are caught...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A bipartisan House committee is seeking to block Gov. Matt Blunt's Insure Missouri program from taking effect as scheduled. Blunt's plan would expand government-subsidized health insurance to thousands of low-income working parents. The Department of Social Services has filed an emergency rule that would start the program in mid-March...

Perryville senior Kendra Schilli said she was not on a hot streak entering Saturday's Mayor's Cup showdown with St. Vincent. And the series with the city rival had not been a source of much personal success, with four total points in the three previous meetings...