Region/state digest 01/08/05

Driver hurt in explosion at fuel storage site

MARSHALL, Mo. -- A tanker-truck driver was badly burned in a Friday morning explosion and fire at a fuel storage station just north of Marshall, officials said. The explosion happened at about 8 a.m. at a MFA Oil Co. facility, where gasoline and diesel fuel are stored for local delivery. The fire at the site, about 70 miles east of Kansas City, was under control by 11 a.m. Driver Arcie Sapp, of Ashland, Mo., was burned over 90 percent of his body and was taken to a hospital in Columbia. An MFA spokesman didn't immediately know Sapp's condition.

Inauguration to be carried on television

The inauguration of Matt Blunt as governor of Missouri will be televised between 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Monday through Charter Communications public access television. Viewers throughout Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Marble Hill and Sikeston can see the inauguration on Channel 11. Perryville viewers can see it on Channel 7.

HIV-positive man gets 10 years for biting cop

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An HIV-positive man who bit a police officer after being stopped for drunken driving was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison. Gregory Simmons, 38, pleaded guilty in November to recklessly exposing another person to HIV, driving while intoxicated and driving with a revoked license. He was sentenced Friday. The officer who was bitten has not tested positive for HIV.

-- From staff, wire reports