Region/state digest 10/27/04

New Madrid Co. teacher faces rape, drug charge

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- A middle school teacher has been charged with rape, sodomy and giving prescription drugs to a minor, the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday. Rebecca Susan Sharp, 47, was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, one count of second-degree statutory rape and one count of giving a controlled substance, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, to a minor, the department said. Sharp was released on $25,000 bond. She is scheduled to be back in court Monday. The middle school teacher in New Madrid County has been employed with the district for 12 years. Superintendent Mike Barnes said none of the alleged incidents occurred during school hours or on school property and did not involve minors taught by Sharp.

Woman pleads guilty to distributing meth

A Texas woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court this week to a felony count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Kathleen Atkinson, 38, of Rhome, Texas, appeared before Judge Richard Webber in Cape Girardeau. She now faces a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine. With her plea, Atkinson admitted that between Jan. 7 and 10 she and Steven A. Lawrence worked together to distribute about a pound of methamphetamine in Tennessee and Missouri. The two were arrested, along with Connie Floyd of Sikeston, Mo., when police executed a search warrant at Floyd's home. Lawrence and Floyd previously entered guilty pleas and are scheduled for sentencing Dec. 20. Atkinson will be sentenced Jan. 24.

Blasting of piers delayed, canceled by rising river

Remaining concrete piers on the old Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau won't be blasted this week, Missouri Department of Transportation officials said Tuesday. An underwater blast to remove the rest of Pier 2 near the navigation channel, scheduled for Tuesday night, was canceled because of the rising river, MoDOT construction inspector Rick Lamb said. The piers must be drilled and packed with explosives. The pipes used in the drilling aren't long enough to handle a higher water level, Lamb said. The pier -- partially destroyed by a previous blast -- now will be demolished with a large excavator, he said. A blast scheduled for noon Friday on Pier 3, the remaining pier in the river, also has been canceled. It will be rescheduled at a later date, Lamb said.

Parking to be restricted because of SEMO parade

Parking in parts of the city will be restricted due to the Southeast Missouri State University homecoming parade at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The Cape Girardeau Police Department said that beginning at 2 a.m. Saturday, parking will be prohibited on Broadway from West End Boulevard to Main Street; on Main Street from Park Drive to William Street; on West End Boulevard, from Broadway to Parkview Drive, on the east side of Perry Avenue from Broadway to Parkview Drive; on Bellevue Street in front of Houck Stadium and on Houck Place. Vehicles parked after 2 a.m. Saturday will be towed. Parking will be restored immediately after the parade.

-- From staff, wire reports