Stories from Saturday, February 21, 2009

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Gary Forsee didn't expect to spend much of his first year as University of Missouri president digging out from what many consider the country's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But given that scenario, the former chairman and chief executive of Sprint Nextel Corp. ...

Twenty-four years ago, Darryl Burton was placed in a prison cell as an unbeliever. "I did not believe in heaven or hell until I ended up in a place that was hell on earth," Burton said. While reading from the Bible, Burton came upon the passage, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." That's when Burton said he found peace that surpassed all understanding...

April Carol Burger, 42, of Scott City died Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, in Scott City. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City is in charge of arrangements.

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team received solid pitching during Friday's season opener. But nationally ranked Alabama was just a bit better on the mound as the Crimson Tide pulled away late for a 5-1 victory in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama, ranked 16th and 21st in two of the major national polls, held Southeast to five hits, all singles...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI n A subject was in custody pending formal charges for driving while intoxicated, no valid operator's license, failure to provide financial responsibility of a motor vehicle, two counts of failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, improper turn, careless and imprudent driving and leaving the scene of an accident...

In the Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 stories "Kezer thanks judge on first day out of prison," and "Jsohua Kezer enjoys, reflects on first day of freedom in 15 years," Kezer was misquoted. The quote should have read, "I told him when I sat in that courtroom, I'd had no reason to believe he was going to treat me any different than he treated anyone," he said. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error...

Help us, O God, to find our strengths and to use our abilities to do good. Amen.

Scott County voters have given a strong endorsement to a sales tax plan to fund law enforcement, E-911 and other contingencies. In a special election Tuesday, the results were almost 3 to 1 in favor of the plan, which also eliminates the county property tax. Another feature of the plan is a sunset provision, which means the half-cent sales tax will expire at the end of 2016...

ST. PETERS, Mo. -- The wait must have seemed like forever for Jackson sophomore Allison Hobbs after she completed the 500-yard freestyle Friday at the state girls swimming and diving championships at the Rec-Plex in St. Peters. In reality, it was a short period of time as Hobbs swam in the sixth and final heat of the event and posted her best time in high school, 5 minutes, 22.67 seconds...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Anna Manson Miesner, 82, of Hillsboro, Mo., died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, in De Soto, Mo. She was born July 19, 1926, in Pittsburgh, Pa., daughter of Adam and Sophia Sienkiewicz Schultz. She first married William Frank Manson Jr. She later married Wilmer E. Miesner...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Mildred Wallhausen, 94, of East Prairie died Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, at her home. She was born April 3, 1914, in Brooklyn, N.Y., daughter of Gustav and Julia Herrle Knoop. She married Art L. Wallhausen Sr. He died in 1969. She graduated high school in Wachula, Fla., and lived in New York attending college and working as a secretary. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Virginia Lee Meister, 67, of Perryville died Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, at St. John's Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. She was born July 16, 1941, in Perry County, Mo., daughter of Russell A. and Gladys Bass Elder. Meister was a greeter at Wal-Mart. She had also worked at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Perryville. She had lived in many places from Australia to New York...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama on Friday rejected his transportation secretary's suggestion the administration consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive instead of how much gasoline they buy. "It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters when asked for the president's thoughts about Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's suggestion, raised in an interview with The Associated Press a day earlier...

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach John Ishee won't enjoy bidding farewell to his senior class. Not only does the group have quantity, there also is plenty of quality. The Redhawks' seven seniors will be recognized today when Southeast plays its final regular-season home game against Tennessee-Martin at 5:30 p.m...

Notre Dame's John Unterreiner lobbed a perfect pass toward the basket, and Austin Greer went up, got it and laid it in before landing during the third quarter. It was a fitting connection between two seniors playing their last game on their home court...

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team already has set a school record for most losses in a season and is carrying the nation's longest active losing streak. Don't blame the Redhawks' two seniors, who will be recognized before tonight's final home game, the BracketBuster contest against Northern Illinois...

The Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals presented best of show awards to four organization and honored a longtime newspaper executive during the 14th annual ADDY awards banquet Friday at Cape Girardeau's Drury Lodge. The Wright Group, Element 74, Southeast Missouri Hospital and a Southeast Missouri State University advertising campaign class were honored for their creative work in regional advertising and marketing in 2008...

BEIJING -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was pressing senior Chinese officials today to cooperate on climate change, the world financial crisis and security threats like North Korea -- ahead of long-standing concerns about human rights...

SPECIAL EVENTS Open mic night Red Star Baptist Church will have an open mic night and potluck dinner. When: 6 p.m. Saturday Where: 1301 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau Bluegrass concert A bluegrass gospel group from Doyle, Tenn., will present a concert at Harmony Congregational Methodist Church...

Leslie Cook, 83, of Jackson died Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Southeast Missouri's first group lobbying for a moratorium on the death penalty was formed in recent months, calling for a stop to executions in the state until reform can take place. Interfaith Southeast Moratorium on Executions, founded in October, focuses on contacting the legislature and trying to raise awareness of the issue, said Courtney Kennedy, director of the group...

Can't bear to look LADY Justice wears a blindfold because she cannot bear to look at the injustices that take place in our courtrooms across the country every day. Prepaying for fuel TO customers who complain about having to prepay for fuel at gas stations: Don't get smart with people working at these stations. ...

Blake Peiffer's dream of a state championship remains alive. The Jackson senior pinned Park Hills South's Ausin Baska in 3 minutes, 32 seconds to advance to the title match at 215 pounds at the Class 4 state wrestling meet Friday in Columbia. Peiffer beat Lebanon's Trevor Byrd 17-2 to reach the semifinals...

"Karl Marx was wrong. Religion isn't the opiate of the people; it's the placebo." -- Dr. Gregory House House is the lead character on the eponymously named TV drama "House" on Fox. He plays the brilliant chief of diagnostic medicine at a fictional New Jersey hospital. ...

My wife and I are obsessed with home improvement. What was once a hobby has become an addiction. We watch shows that instruct us how to decorate and in some cases destroy our house. We buy tools to fuel our addiction. We look at books, magazines and attend home and garden shows. ...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Federal water managers said Friday that they plan to cut off water, at least temporarily, to thousands of California farms as a result of the deepening drought gripping the state. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said parched reservoirs and patchy rainfall this year were forcing them to completely stop surface water deliveries for at least a two-week period beginning March 1. Authorities said they haven't had to take such a drastic move for more than 15 years...

ALLENSVILLE, Pa. -- Bookworms are always welcome at a central Pennsylvania library, but a different kind of critter has kept patrons away from the building for more than a week. The Allensville branch of the Mifflin County library has been closed since Feb. 10 because of the smell from a skunk...

25 years ago: Feb. 21, 1984 Construction begins on the new Venture store at West Park Mall by C. Rallo Contracting Co. Inc. of St. Louis; plans call for a building of 89,471 square feet that will adjoin the mall on the south center of the complex. A collection of military items has been donated to Southeast Missouri State University by Margery Roberts McLarty and Dorothy Roberts Rehak of Ann Arbor, Mich., the daughters of former Cape Girardeau resident Edward Roberts...

WASHINGTON -- The leaders of President Obama's auto industry task force said Friday the industry urgently needs an overhaul. The task force, led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic aide Larry Summers, met for the first time to review a multibillion-dollar bailout package given to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC and requests for billions in more funding...

BELL CITY -- Jeff Long was told by his coach and teammates to keep shooting against Kelly on Friday. He did. The result was Long poured in 25 points, including five 3-pointers. He combined with teammate Ronnie Gross for 23 points in the third quarter alone...

Perryville High School junior Lyndsey Weisbrod spent much of Friday away from the classroom and in Cape Girardeau serving as chief executive officer of Izumi Inc. Throughout the day her team of five decided how much to spend on research, development, marketing and charitable giving. By the end of the day Izumi had created what they called a Halo generator, but you won't find their product in a store...

Slipis Daughter to Adam Dale and Jennifer Michelle Slipis of Miner, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:40 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Name, Mia Joy. Weight, 6 pounds, 9 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Slipis is the former Jennifer Ponkoney, daughter of Joy Ponkoney of Taylor, Texas. Slipis is the son of Sammy and Taina Slipis of Morley, Mo. He is employed at Viking Cives in Morley...

Clann J. Proffer Sr., 87, of Jackson died Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, at his home. He was born Oct. 26, 1921, in Crump, son of George E. and Ruby B. Proffer. He and Dorothy L. Fellows were married Oct. 20, 1948, in Piggott, Ark. She died May 24, 2005. Proffer was a commercial bus driver with a route between Cape Girardeau and St. Louis. He then worked for the former Guth Brothers Block Co. in Cape Girardeau, and then drove a truck for Bollinger Farms, retiring in 1980 due to failing health...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: n At 4:50 p.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of South Spring Avenue. n At 6:45 p.m., emergency medical service in the 200 block of North Middle Street. n At 7:28 p.m., emergency medical service in the 700 block of North Spanish Street...

NEW YORK -- The California fertility doctor who implanted the octuplet mom with lots of embryos was no lone wolf: Fewer than 20 percent of U.S. clinics follow professional guidelines on how many embryos should be used for younger women. "Clearly, most programs are not adhering to the guidelines," said Dr. Bradley Van Voorhis, director of the fertility clinic at the University of Iowa...

Larry Loos, 62, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, at his home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.