Region/state digest 09/01/05

Blunt seeks seat belts for all new school buses

ST. LOUIS -- Gov. Matt Blunt announced plans Wednesday to pass a lap-shoulder seat belt requirement in newly purchased school buses in the state. Blunt said he'd also work with state legislators to devise a funding mechanism so that school districts and taxpayers wouldn't bear the cost. A bill sponsored last year by Rep. Sam Page, D-Creve Coeur, proposed paying for installing seat belts with a one-dollar fee on moving violations. He said he'd work with Blunt to help craft a bill for next session.

Driver strikes business, then eight other vehicles

HAYTI, Mo. -- A mental patient believed to have been off her medications drove her vehicle into a business on the Hayti city square, police said Wednesday. After striking Quick Cleaners, the 49-year-old Hayti woman left the scene and hit eight vehicles in the process, including a Hayti police Crown Victoria, according to police chief Paul R. Sheckell. The woman was forcibly removed from her vehicle after officers were able to put her car in park and switch off the vehicle's ignition. Officers James Beaver and Blaise Duggings were injured during the arrest; Duggings was treated and released from Pemiscot Memorial Hospital, Sheckell said. The suspect was taken to the Farmington State Hospital for evaluation.

Health care will be topic of First Friday Coffee

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its monthly First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center this week. This month's featured speakers will be Stuart Campbell, president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin and Missouri. The topic will be "challenges facing today's health care." The program will begin at 7:40 a.m. Friday, after a continental breakfast at 7 a.m.

Flags flown at half-staff in memory of judge

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt today announced that all flags at state facilities will be flown at half-staff to honor the memory of Judge Lawrence "Larry" G. Crahan of the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District, who died Monday. Flags will remain at half-staff until dusk on Sept. 7.

Cheney to attend Talent fund raiser in St. Louis

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney will be the host of a major fund raiser for Sen. Jim Talent in September, as the Missouri Republican gears up for a challenge from Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill. Talent spokesman Rich Chrismer confirmed Wednesday that Cheney would host the event in St. Louis on Sept. 19, less than three weeks after McCaskill launched her bid to unseat the first term senator. Chrismer declined to state how much the event would raise. Talent already holds a sizable advantage over McCaskill with about $3.4 million in his war chest.

Inmate executed for killing his wife

BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- Arguments, sometimes violent, were nothing new between Timothy Johnston and his wife, Nancy. But on June 30, 1989, he beat his wife so severely that she died. Early Wednesday, he was put to death for the crime, becoming the fourth Missouri inmate to be executed this year and the 65th since the death penalty was reinstated in 1989. "I hope Nancy's mom forgives me. I hope everyone I've ever hurt forgives me. I am ready to go to heaven," Johnston, 44, said in his final statement.

Audit: Health agency not protecting data enough

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state audit found the state's health agency is not properly protecting sensitive health information. But the Department of Health and Senior Services disputed the findings, saying it has had security plans for information in place for years and that they are working. The audit concluded that the agency lacks an overall system of managing security and doesn't have proper policies for classifying what data is sensitive, for handling security violations and for rechecking the backgrounds of workers handling sensitive information.

-- From staff, wire reports