Region/state digest 02/09/06

MoDOT to inspect child safety seats next week

The Missouri Department of Transportation will inspect child safety seats and offer installation tips at the agency's district office at 2675 N. Main St. in Sikeston next Wednesday. The free safety check will be offered to parents from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., officials said. For more information, call (573) 472-5310.

Optometrist waives hearing in sodomy case

A Scott City optometrist charged with sodomy of a 16-year-old boy waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday. Scott County Associate Circuit Judge David Mann scheduled Dr. Sean de Jager for arraignment Feb. 23. De Jager, who is being held in lieu of a $250,000 bond, is charged with 12 counts of statutory sodomy. The alleged victim in the case claims that during the extended sexual relationship, as many as 50 incidents occured, some in which the boy was paid for sexual acts.

Cape home burglarized; electronics stolen

More than $550 worth of electronics and other goods was reported stolen from a Cape Girardeau home. Sometime between Feb. 1 and Tuesday, a person broke into a rear door at 1006 S. Ellis St. and burglarized the home, Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Barry Hovis said. A tool set, pool table, RCA CD changer/ stereo and speakers, clothing, PlayStation game and bicycles were taken from the home. The thief caused about $50 worth of damage to the rear door when breaking into it, according to Hovis. The victim, who is staying at another residence while working on the Ellis Street home, contacted police Tuesday when he discovered the burglary.

Driver in fatal crash taken to psychiatric facility

ST. LOUIS -- A dump truck driver charged with manslaughter for a July crash that killed five people on Interstate 44 near Six Flags St. Louis has been admitted to a psychiatric facility. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday that Thomas Miskel, 43, of Imperial, was admitted to the Hyland Behavioral Health center at St. Anthony's Medical Center after telling officers he might hurt himself. Miskel was arrested at his home Monday and charged with five counts of felony involuntary manslaughter. He was taken to the hospital that same day.

More disabled stay on Medicaid than expected

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- More disabled people than expected have stayed on the state's Medicaid rolls after tighter eligibility requirements were enacted last year by Gov. Matt Blunt and the Republican-led legislature. The result is that the departments of Mental Health and Social Services are asking the legislature for an additional $45 million to cover people they had projected would be cut. The Social Services Department has 10,579 more people than had been projected who are still enrolled in a spend down program while the Mental Health Department has only saved half of what it had expected to.

Jackson Co. lawmakers make up after slugfest

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A week after a fistfight broke out at a meeting of Jackson County's governing body, the two principal lawmakers involved in the scuffle offered an apology to the public and exchanged hugs. The brawl ended with Jackson County legislator Bob Stringfield taken away in handcuffs. Some witnesses reported that Stringfield, increasingly at odds with fellow lawmakers after alleging an open meeting violation, threw the first punch when he struck Dan Tarwater. But the rancor that marked last week's meeting wasn't evident Monday when Tarwater told Stringfield he wanted to shake his hand and pledge to work together. The handshake turned into a hug.

-- From staff, wire reports