Stories from Saturday, August 1, 2009

ST. LOUIS -- Thanks to Matt Holliday, the St. Louis Cardinals are surviving quite nicely during Albert Pujols' post-All-Star break slump. Holliday had four hits for the second time in his eight games with his new team, one of them foiling an intentional walk to Pujols, and scored the go-ahead run on Rick Ankiel's eighth-inning single in a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night...

For shade trees and cool breezes on August afternoons, we give thanks, O God. Amen.

Southeast Missourian A drifting boat found on the Mississippi River by the Cape Girardeau Fire Department was set loose by two people trying to exact revenge, the Chester, Ill., Police Department reported. Cape Girardeau firefighters were asked to help look for the boat around 2:15 a.m. ...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A jury was unable to decide Friday the case of a Jackson man charged with exposing himself to two adolescent girls. Lester T. Sladek Jr., 49, was charged with two counts of sexual misconduct involving a child younger than 14, felonies that carry possible sentences of four years in prison on each count...

U.S. 61 will be reduced to one lane Monday while the Missouri Department of Transportation performs bridge repairs. Crews will be working on the section of road two miles north of Route CC from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The bridge is between County Road 507 and Achillea Lane...

In an effort to be more visible in the community, the Cape Girardeau Jobs Corps office is sponsoring an information event today. Its second annual Day in the Park will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Arena Park in the main shelter. Job Corps, a program through the U.S. ...

Cape Girardeau's Riverwalk could be in line for another extension thanks to U.S. Sen. Kit Bond. There's money in the federal budget for other communities as well, Bond announced this week, including $1 million to move ahead with plans for a new Scott City interchange on Interstate 55 and $1.15 million for improvements to Highway 34 in Bollinger County...

WASHINGTON -- The economy sank at a pace of just 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, a new government report shows. It was a better-than-expected showing that provided the strongest signal yet that the longest recession since World War II is finally winding down...

WASHINGTON -- Government subsidies for flights in and out of rural communities can reach up to thousands of dollars per passenger, and Congress is moving to increase the budget by almost 30 percent to keep those flights going next year. Some of the subsidies, to places like Ely, Nev., Cape Girardeau and Havre, Mont., are substantial...

We are blessed to live in an area that is striving to remove itself from the national perception that Missouri is a haven for puppy mills and ineffective companion animal laws. The southeast Missouri area is home to many truly dedicated facilities that go above the requirements to provide exceptional care to companion animals that are being abandoned or surrendered in record numbers...

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Canoeists Lexi Smith, left, and Cassie Essner paddle on Capaha Park lagoon Friday with three youngsters, from left, Emily Kirby, Lexi Jansen and Christopher Krewson, during a weeklong day camp sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department. ...

BAGHDAD -- A string of bombings targeted Shiite worshippers in the Baghdad area during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 people in an apparently coordinated attack against followers of an anti-U.S. cleric who were blamed for some of Iraq's worst sectarian violence...

KABUL -- Civilian deaths in the escalating Afghan war soared by 24 percent during the first half of 2009 compared with the same period last year, the United Nations said Friday, blaming most of the casualties on Taliban attacks launched with little regard for civilian lives...

SALZBURG, Austria -- The huge musical puzzle that is Mozart is about to be expanded by two potentially important pieces. More than two centuries after his death, two additional works have recently been identified as being composed by the Austrian master. While the pieces might have been played before, Sunday will be the first time they will be performed as compositions of the popular prodigy...

MANILA, Philippines -- Former president Corazon Aquino, who swept away a dictator with a "people power" revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years, died on Saturday, her son said. She was 76. The uprising she led in 1986 ended the repressive 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos and inspired nonviolent protests across the globe, including those that ended Communist rule in eastern Europe...

ST. LOUIS -- A Festus man accused of breaking into a home gave police most of what they needed to catch him -- his name. Spelled out. Nineteen-year-old Robert Gabler allegedly forced his way into a home in Arnold on July 22. He has been charged with first-degree burglary...

CAIRO -- An official at Cairo airport said a foot-long baby crocodile wriggled out of a passenger's hand luggage and caused panic on a flight from the United Arab Emirates. A crew member on the EgyptAir flight from Abu Dhabi rounded up the wayward reptile and calmed passengers. The airport security official said the animal was seized and given to the Cairo Zoo...

ST. LOUIS -- The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a Missouri mining company to make changes as it cleans up toxic mine tailings at a shuttered mine operation in Leadwood, the federal agency said Friday. The EPA is overseeing work at the Leadwood Mine Tailings Superfund Site, which is owned by The Doe Run Co. ...

7 p.m. Monday Cape Girardeau City Hall Public hearings Consent ordinances New ordinances...

Arrests; Summonses; Thefts; Burglary; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Jackson: Summons; Thefts; Miscellaneous; Cape Girardeau County: DWIs; Arrests

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday: Jackson Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:...

Motorists who regularly drive from Highway 3 in Illinois through East Cape Girardeau on Highway 146 to the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge have seen earth-moving equipment at work in recent weeks. For most of them, this is a welcome sight. The grading and drainage work is the start of a two-year project to widen the 2.6-mile stretch of Highway 146 to four lanes. The highway through East Cape Girardeau was widened to coincide with the completion of the new bridge...

Higher bills; Health care message; Beer diplomacy; Perception, reality; Bill's impact; Legislative process; Check the 'facts'; MD test scores; Privatize trash; Good idea; Need shelter

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Larry William Patrick, 71, of Marble Hill died Friday, July 31, 2009, at his home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau...

Billy G. Fletcher, 75, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, July 30, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to service time Monday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. Graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Lorimier Cemetery...

Jerry Raymond Finley, 71, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Scott City, died Thursday, July 30, 2009. He was born Jan. 20, 1938, in Scott City, to Oliver Thomas and Myrtle "Fern" Stephens Finley. He and Julie Ann Ivester were married Oct. 20, 1984, in Commerce, Mo...

Ramanayake; McClard; Bollinger

25 years ago: Aug. 1, 1984 Because of the improved docking facilities at Cape Girardeau, two luxury paddle wheelers which travel the Mississippi River will make the city a port of call next year; the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. is scheduling regular stops here for both the Delta Queen and the Mississippi Queen...

Young soccer, flag football and cheerleading enthusiasts can practice their passions with Upward, a not-for-profit league that has teams at Cape Bible Chapel, Lynwood Baptist Church and Fruitland Community Church. Scott Horrell is Cape Bible Chapel's Upward League director. ...

DALLAS -- A federal appeals court reversed Friday a lower court's ruling that barred a Santeria priest from sacrificing goats in his Texas home, saying a city's decision to prohibit the ritual violated the man's religious rights. Jose Merced, 46, accuses the city of Euless, Texas, of trampling on his constitutional right to religious exercise. The city claims the sacrifices violate its slaughterhouse and animal cruelty ordinances...

We have all been influenced by other people -- either for the good, inspiring us to say "I really want to be like that guy," or for the worse, causing us to distastefully say "I don't want to be that guy." People of influence come in all shapes and sizes -- the coach who pushed you further and harder than you thought you could go, the teacher who took the extra time to invest in you, the more experienced tradesman who showed you how to avoid making some simple and embarrassing mistakes.. ...

WASHINGTON -- Attention car buyers: There's still time to get in on the "cash for clunkers" rebate rush. The House hastened to refuel the program Friday, voting to pour in $2 billion to prop up the trade-in deals that have all but overwhelmed suddenly booming car dealers and exhausted the $1 billion the government had set aside. The Senate has yet to act, but the White House said weekend deals would count, no matter what...

WASHINGTON -- Bowing to populist anger, the House voted Friday to prohibit pay and bonus packages that encourage bankers and traders to take risks so big they could bring down the entire economy. Passage of the bill on a 237-185 vote followed the disclosure a day earlier that nine of the nation's biggest banks, which are receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout aid, paid individual bonuses of $1 million or more to nearly 5,000 employees...

WASHINGTON -- After a bruising struggle, Democrats pushed sweeping health-care legislation to the brink of passage in a key congressional committee Friday, clearing the way for a September showdown in the House on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority...

A parent tells a child, "You can't take swimming lessons, you might drown." So the child never learns to swim. He fails to enjoy the sport and he is unable to save himself if the need arises. Disallowing someone the opportunity to learn to swim is merely one example of how people keep others from genuinely living. ...

Tiger Woods had the best five-hole start of his career, chipping in for an eagle and making four birdies. Woods finished with a season-low 9-under 63 on Friday in the Buick Open in Grand Blanc Township, Mich., to shoot up the leaderboard. The round was his best round in relation to par in four years...

RIVER FALLS, Wis. -- The Kansas City Chiefs didn't get a leisurely day of meetings and meals to kick off training camp. They ran. Not just a shake-out-the-cobwebs run. A timed run, the last part of their pre-camp physicals. Don't make time, don't practice Saturday...

Padres send Peavy to White Sox, and Indians ship Martinez to Red Sox By MIKE FITZPATRICK The Associated Press Jake Peavy said yes to the Chicago White Sox, and Victor Martinez will take aim at the Green Monster. Roy Halladay, however, stayed put in Toronto...

ST. LOUIS -- A day after the St. Louis Rams took Jason Smith with the second pick of the draft, the offensive tackle vowed to be in training camp on time. On Friday, he wore No. 77 as he took the field for the first full-squad workout under new coach Steve Spagnuolo. Smith made it just under the wire, signing a five-year contract Thursday...

Jackson is the only squad in the Senior Babe Ruth Midwest Plains Regional that did not win a state title. But Jackson is confident of being able to prove it belongs in the eight-team tournament that begins today at Hillhouse Park in Charleston. Jackson plays the Colorado state champion at 1:30 p.m. in the second of four opening-round games...

A story in Friday's edition said Team Type 1 was the only team in which all the members are diabetic. The Team Type 1 group has multiple teams under the heading Team Type 1. It had two teams compete in the Race Across America: Team Type 1, where all eight riders have type 1 diabetes, and a sister team, Team Type 2, where all eight riders have type 2 diabetes...