Region/state digest 04/24/05

Grassy woman dies in Glennallen accident

GLENALLEN, Mo. -- A Grassy, Mo., woman died following an accident Friday on Highway 34 in Glenallen. Dorothy Dickerson, 78, was taken to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, where she died. Both Kyle Ward, 25, of St. Louis and his passenger, Theresa Rosener, 23, of Cape Girardeau, were taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. The accident occurred when Ward lost control of the westbound vehicle he was driving on wet pavement. The vehicle slide into the path of Dickerson's vehicle.

Perryville teen hurt when vehicle hits tree

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Allen Hunt, 16, of Perryville was taken to Perry County Hospital following an accident at 10:25 p.m. Friday, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The accident occurred on Perry County Road 712 near Highway 51 when Hunt's eastbound vehicle rounded a curve, left the road and struck a tree.

Recycling center worker spots tax refund check

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Proof that it does pay to recycle, a man who inadvertently cast his $4,296 federal income tax refund check into his home's recycling bin got lucky when a worker at a nearby recycling center happened upon it and returned it. "I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least," Charles Kulage of this St. Louis suburb said of being reunited with the refund check he didn't know ever came. Kulage, 28, a towboat pilot on the Mississippi River, mistakenly had believed the check merely had been delayed. In fact, it got mixed in with junk mail and wound up in Kulage's home recycling bin, then was picked up by trash collectors and taken to a recycling center in nearby St. Peters. After finally getting the check last week, Kulage took no chances. He deposited it immediately.

-- From staff, wire reports