Stories from Sunday, September 2, 2001

It's bad enough that allergy sufferers have to cope with the great outdoors without people thinking that cars can be perfect gardens. Julie Gordon of Libertyville, Ill., cultivates a flower and herb garden on a ledge inside her two-seater Honda. The car has no air conditioning, so Gordon sprays the plants with a water bottle when it gets too hot...

To the editor: Regarding your story about an abortionist who stopped performing the most common surgical procedure in the United States: It is amazing to me that here in New York people are being hauled into federal court for leafleting outside the abortion clinics and trying to convert the abortionists from participating in a culture of death...

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia Tech found a replacement for Michael Vick. The ninth-ranked Hokies might need to find one for running back Lee Suggs. Grant Noel threw three touchdown passes in a near-perfect debut as Vick's replacement Saturday, but Virginia Tech lost Suggs to an injured left knee in a 52-10 win over Connecticut...

HERCULANEUM, Mo. -- "Extremely high" levels of lead and cadmium have been found on streets leading to the Doe Run Co. lead smelter, prompting federal warnings that residents avoid walking there until the contamination has been cleared. Hattie Thomas, the U.S. ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A huge steamboat will make Louisville a home port while cruising the Ohio River, and officials are trumpeting the economic gains long before passengers are whistled aboard. The Mississippi Queen will ply the river on seven-night cruises between Louisville and Pittsburgh next year, said a spokesman for the Delta Queen Steamboat Co., which operates the paddle-wheeler...

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Clouds of incense float through the crowded Hsingtien Temple as businessmen in grey suits mix with children in flip-flops and elderly women bowing and mumbling prayers. The temple is one of Taipei's most popular places to worship and a perfect example of why Taiwan is one of the world's best places to observe Chinese religious traditions...

OXFORD, Miss. -- Eli Manning was so good in his long-awaited first college start, he didn't need to finish. The sophomore broke school records with 18 straight completions and five touchdown passes as Mississippi had its way with Murray State 49-14 Saturday night...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Joe Alls scored on a 2-yard run with 3:40 to go as Bowling Green upset Missouri 20-13 Saturday night in the opener for two teams with new coaches. Missouri was flat in Gary Pinkel's debut, gaining only 71 yards in the first half and 234 overall. Pinkel spent the previous 10 years at Toledo, which beat Bowling Green 51-17 in his final game there before signing a five-year deal at Missouri...

QUINCY, Mass. -- The election of the second pair of father-son presidents, plus a new best-selling biography, are sparking renewed interest in a park dedicated to the first father and son to occupy the White House. The Adams National Historic Park that focuses on the life and times of John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, and their first ladies is a sightseeing bargain for history-minded tourists...

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Can Jeff Gordon be as aggressive as he wants at the Southern 500 and still hold his overwhelming Winston Cup points lead? "We'll see," Gordon's crew chief Robbie Loomis said with a smile. Gordon has made himself a Darlington dominator since joining the NASCAR circuit, winning five events in 17 trips here. ...

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Southeast Missouri freshman quarterback Jeromy McDowell did his best work out of the shotgun. So did Eastern Michigan's QB Troy Edwards, which left the Indians with a painful loss in their season opener Saturday. Edwards' long-snap heroics came late as EMU, a Div. I-A school, scored in the last two minutes to beat Southeast 16-12 in non-conference football action. Southeast, a Div. I-AA school, fell to 0-1 on the season...

BEAUMONT, Texas -- Southeast Missouri State's women's volleyball team dropped to 1-2 after a three-set loss to Lamar University in the Hilton Cardinal Classic. Lamar won 30-21, 31-29 and 30-20. Emily Johnson led the Otahkians with 13 kills, while Bobbi Carlile added nine kills and a team-high 12 digs. Emily Scannell had 28 assists and Emily Wahlman had four blocks...

NEW YORK -- Pete Sampras wasn't perfect: He double-faulted, blew two easy volleys and dumped an overhead into the net. And that was just in the first game. But for the most part on Saturday, Sampras played like the Pete of old, dominating with his serve and blanketing the net to beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and reach the fourth round at the U.S. Open...

A seminar on "brain smart discipline" will be held Oct. 6 at Southeast Missouri State University. The seminar will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Dempster Hall's Glenn Auditorium. Cheri Sheridan, who writes and speaks on child care and early childhood education, will present the seminar. She will discuss ways to deal with childhood behavior issues...

Entering the 2001 National Football League season that begins next Sunday, there appears to be at least two handfuls of fairly legitimate Super Bowl contenders, the St. Louis Rams among them. In fact, plenty of the so-called experts -- national media types -- already have the Rams repeating their world championship of two years ago...

ANNA, Ill. -- Hazel L. Sadler, 81, of Anna, died Friday, Aug. 31, 2001, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 1, 1919, in Dongola, Ill., daughter of Otto and Minnie Hoffner Casper. She married Ralph Sadler on March 24, 1940. He died on Oct. 25, 1980...

ORAN, Mo. -- Rosa Mae Curtis, 69, of Oran died Friday, Aug. 31, 2001, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Jan. 25, 1932, in Gideon, Mo., daughter of Henry and Ella Kellum Brown. She was married to Clyde Curtis Sr. Curtis was a licensed practical nurse at Chaffee Nursing Center before she retired. She was a member of Hooe Baptist Church...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Clem T. Schneider, 89, of East Prairie, died Friday Aug. 31, 2001, in the East Prairie Nursing Center. He was born Sept. 12, 1911, in the Sugartree community near East Prairie, son of Joseph and Lara Mae Wright Schneider. Schneider was a retired farmer and lived most his life in New Madrid and Mississippi counties. He was a member of the First Christian Church in East Prairie...

Southeast Missourian Cape Girardeau resident Elmer Westbrook answered the question with an incredulous query of his own: "Why would I know something like that?" The question: Which city ward do you live in? The answer, though indirect, was telling...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Aug. 31 ArrestsDavid Lee McElwrath, 59, 57 Green Acres, was arrested Friday on two warrants for failure to appear. AssaultAn assault was reported Friday on the 1200 block of Linden. A 16-year-old male was cited into juvenile court...

LOS ANGELES -- Leave it to Thomas Jefferson to craft a ringing and poetic endorsement of public schooling: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be." Jefferson is one of many weighing in on the past, present or future of education in PBS' "School: The Story of American Public Education," a four-hour documentary airing Monday at 8 p.m...

Ladies Auxiliary VFW Past National President Glenneta Vogelsang of Cape Girardeau, a member of Clippard, Wilson, Taylor Auxiliary #3838, participated in the 88th National Convention of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States held Aug. 18-24 at the Midwest Express Center in Milwaukee, Wis...

CHICAGO -- Catnip, the stuff that drives cats wild, also appears to drive mosquitoes away, research suggests. Laboratory experiments at Iowa State University suggest that the oil in the catnip plant is about 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET, the chemical in many commercial insect repellents...

SESSER, Ill. -- It's easy to tell a Gene Flowers drawing just by looking for the details. There are tiny screws in the hinges of the barn doors. The covered bridge is topped by 14 rows of intricate shingles. The 71-year-old from this town in Southern Illinois uses an architect's needle-thin pen to sketch his rural scenes, preserving with razor-sharp lines and pinprick-sized dots images of days gone by: an old-fashioned barn yard, a covered bridge, a corner gas station...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- When catastrophe struck the Nicaraguan mountains of Matagalpa, the Rainbow Network had to re-evaluate its priorities. The nondenominational Christian organization is not an emergency relief network, said founder Keith Jaspers. Normally, the Springfield-based ministry helps poor, rural residents of Nicaragua become self-sufficient, he said...

MONTREAL -- Montreal pitcher Hideki Irabu was suspended by the Expos for drinking himself into a stupor before a scheduled rehabilitation start, according to two news reports. Irabu was supposed to pitch for the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx last Sunday, but he was so drunk that he had to be taken to a hospital, The Canadian Press cited the Montreal La Presse and Kyodo News Service, a Japanese news agency, as reporting...

BOSTON -- Bernie Williams hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning to give Orlando Hernandez his first victory in nearly a year as the New York Yankees rallied for a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. The Red Sox lost their seventh straight game, their worst skid since late in the 1997 season, and dropped eight games behind New York in the AL East...

CHICAGO -- The Federal Aviation Administration has given its preliminary approval to Gov. George Ryan's proposal for a third Chicago-area airport at south suburb Peotone, according to a published report. The report was issued Friday by the FAA, the Chicago Tribune reported in Saturday's editions. ...

RANTOUL, Ill. -- Former crew members working on the old Willy Victor now grounded at Rantoul say the end of their mission is in sight. And they understand its public relevance when Lincoln's Challenge participants based at the former Chanute Technical Training Center come over to ask why they're working so hard on a dilapidated airplane...

LOS ANGELES -- Add Woody Williams to the long list of pitchers who look forward to playing in Los Angeles. Williams threw a four-hitter and Jim Edmonds homered Friday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers. "I just love Dodger Stadium, the atmosphere, the mound, that's what baseball is all about," he said...

An 8-year-old Cape Girardeau boy was hit by a car Friday after getting off a school bus. Cape Girardeau Police Officer Daryl Ferris said the child was playing with friends near the bus stop when he fell in front of an oncoming car, driven by Ricky R. Flye, 24, also of Cape Girardeau...

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, Australia -- New Zealand and the Pacific island state of Nauru agreed Saturday to accept more than 400 asylum seekers stranded on a cargo ship in the Indian Ocean, breaking a six-day diplomatic deadlock over the fate of the refugees...

Three area students have graduated from the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) camps recently. Cadets completed a five-week course of military leadership training and evaluation exercises in communications, management, and survival training...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. workers put in more hours on the job last year than the labor force of any other industrial nation, outpacing employees in Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, a study by a U.N. agency finds. The average American worked 1,978 hours in 2000, compared with 1,942 hours in 1990, according to Jeff Johnson, the economist who headed the study by the International Labor Organization...

10 years ago: Sept. 2, 1991 Labor Day. The 26th annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon over Labor Day weekend raises $233,495 in 38-county local region and record $45,071,857 nationwide; last year, telethon raised more than $44 million nationally and $218,193 in Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky district...

WASHINGTON -- The almost daily announcements of layoffs have created an uncertainty among America's workers that dampens this Labor Day for many. For Monica Hinojos, the headlines are more than just depressing news -- they are reality. Hinojos, 32, of Boston has been laid off twice this year, her jobs among the thousands of casualties of a softening economy...

DURBAN, South Africa -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned what he called Israel's racist practices Saturday but declined to label Israel a racist state, an apparent compromise in how Palestinians would criticize Israel at the World Conference Against Racism...

ATLANTA -- Sammy Sosa hit his 53rd homer, a 471-foot shot that was the longest ever at Turner Field, and the Chicago Cubs beat Atlanta 5-3 Saturday to give the Braves their third straight defeat. The Cubs won their fourth in a row. They lead San Francisco by 1 1/2 games for the NL wild card...

PERRYVILLE, Mo., -- Lenora M. Weibrecht, 84, of Perryville, died Saturday, Sept. 1, 2001 at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Sept. 4, 1916 in Friedenberg, Mo., daughter of Charles and Lydia Hoehn Lintner. On Nov. 17, 1943, she was married to Harry Weibrecht. He died June 12, 2001...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Cape Central's Kim Pancoast won the senior division of the 20-team Jackson Invitational Saturday, completing the 2.35-mile course in 14 minutes, 53 seconds, a Cape Central school record at the course at Jackson Park. Central freshman Jennifer Pancoast took second in the freshman race at 13:54 on the 1.95-mile course...

ORAN, Mo. -- Andrew V. Heisserer, 87, of Oran, died Saturday, Sept. 1, 2001, at the Chaffee Nursing Center. He was born July 29, 1914, son of Victor and Bertha Schott Heisserer. On Jan. 15, 1949, he was married to Louise Roloff. A retired farmer, Heisserer was a Army veteran of World War II and belonged to Morley VFW Post 5368...

The Cherokee Villager Journal, a weekly newspaper in Hardy, Ark., became a member of the Rust Communications chain on Friday. The Villager Journal has over 3,100 subscribers and is the legal newspaper in Sharp County, one of the fastest growing counties in Arkansas...

SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Bail was set at $7 million Saturday for a man accused of killing seven people, including his girlfriend and her five children who were bludgeoned to death in their sleep with a hammer. Adam Matthew Moss, 23, stared at the floor or his hands as he appeared before Woodbury County District Judge Frank B. Nelson...

CAMBRIDGE, Ohio -- A man was sentenced to listen to four hours of polka king Frankie Yankovic's greatest hits for driving through the city with his windows rolled down and his truck's stereo blaring. Municipal Judge John Nicholson found Alan Law guilty of disorderly conduct and ordered him to pay a $100 fine or listen to polka tunes...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Some came from Chicago and Atlanta. Some only walked across the street to Roberta Rowe Park for "Return to Sunset Day." More than 100 people attended Saturday's reunion meant to help restore a sense of pride to the troubled Sunset Addition community, which in recent years has gotten attention mostly as a magnet for drug dealing and violence...

SURREY, British Columbia -- Joel Edwards shot a 3-under-par 68 Saturday and held a three-shot lead in the Air Canada Championship, the first time the 11-year PGA Tour veteran has led a tournament after 54 holes. "It's a nice feeling, I could get used to this," said Edwards, who hasn't had a bogey since his 10th hole of Thursday's opening round and was at 13-under 200. "I feel good about what I'm doing, but I'm surprised I didn't get in the way of myself, which I have a tendency to do."...

Tara Beth Jones and David Michl McMullin were married Jan. 6, 2001, at New McKendree United Methodist Church in Jackson, Mo. The Rev. John Rice performed the double ring ceremony. Pianist and organist was Linda Thompson, harpist was Jo Ann Rhodes, vocalist was Bill Engel, all of Jackson, and violinist was Nicole Fulwider of Columbia, Mo...

Kimberly Kay Holshouser and William Brian Link were united in marriage June 16, 2001, at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. The Rev. Paul Short performed the double ring ceremony. Harpist was Emily Bertrand, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bertrand Jr. of Jackson, Mo. Organist was Dr. Gary Miller of Cape Girardeau, and soloist was Jennifer Davey of St. Louis...

Michelle Renee Huffman and Michael Wayne Laxton were married Aug. 11, 2001, at Locust Grove Chapel in Marble Hill, Mo. The Rev. Brad Long performed the ceremony. Pianist was Marie Morgan of Marble Hill. Gene and Suellen Penny of Cape Girardeau are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Kathleen Amos of Park Hills, Mo...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Misty Ellen Dannenmueller and Chad Michael Beussink were united in marriage May 26, 2001, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso, Mo. The Rev. M. Oliver Clavin performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Betty Ressel of Kelso. Vocalists were Renee Reinagel, Doug Moore, cousin of the bride, both of Kelso, and Brooke Burrows of Jackson, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Stephanie Lynn Schumer and John Orville Reed Vandeven exchanged vows June 9, 2001, at St. John's Catholic Church in Leopold, Mo. The Revs. Bill Huggins and Chase Shelby performed the double ring ceremony. Organist and pianist was Mary Jansen of Leopold. Vocalist was Andrea Chambers of Perryville, cousin of the bride...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Greg and Glenda Peters of Marble Hill announce the engagement of their daughter, Jennifer Lynnae Peters, to Joshua Lynn Turner. He is the son of Gary and Kathy Turner of Jackson, Mo. Peters is a 1996 graduate of Leopold High School at Leopold, Mo. She received a bachelor's degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University in 2000. She is a registered nurse in the Medical Progressive Care Unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau...

Rick Rusk of St. Joseph, Ill., and Terri Clark-Bauer of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Melanie Joy Rusk, to Shawn Alan Combs. He is the son of Gary and Patricia Combs of Mahomet, Ill. Rusk is a graduate of Bismarck-Henning High School, attended Southeast Missouri State University and Parkland College. She is employed at First School in Mahomet...

JACKSON, Mo. -- David and Connie Hoffman of Manchester, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Heather Dawn Hoffman of St. Louis, to Michael David Little. He is the son of David and Nancy Little of Florissant, Mo. Hoffman is a 1990 graduate of Jackson High School. ...

John R. and Jeaneen M. Craig of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Andrea Lorraine Craig, to Mark Josef Hornback. He is the son of Kimberly Hornback of Cape Girardeau and Joe D. Hornback of Jackson, Mo. Craig is a consumer banker at Wood and Huston Bank...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Wayne and Glenda Mayberry of Jonesboro will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with an open house reception Sept. 8 The event will be held from 4-6 p.m. at Cornerstone Church in Cape Girardeau. The Mayberrys were married Sept. 3, 1976, at Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Cape Girardeau, by the Rev. Charles Mayberry. Their attendants were Diana Cavaness and Rick Mayberry...

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Rodger J. Crites of Sedgewickville announce the engagement of their daughter, Christy Noel Crites, to Bryan Steven Way. He is the son of Everett Way and Rebecca McKinley of Cape Girardeau. Crites is employed at Branson Yacht Club in Branson, Mo...

PATTON, Mo. --Why does Cape Girardeau County only seem to consider projects for economic growth that are detrimental to the environment and private-property owners? The proposed Kinder Morgan Power Co. power plant would have a negative environmental impact on all, including farmers and local residents, and a depressing financial impact on county property values near the plant...

GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. -- The residence hall at Gwynedd-Mercy College is so new it doesn't yet have a name. What it does have wouldn't pass for the old definition of "college dorm": suites with air conditioning, Internet access, a full kitchen and a semi-private bathrooms shared by only four students...

NEW YORK -- Emeril the Underdog. That's how chef and TV personality Emeril Lagasse sees his role in the drama known as the fall television season. Believe it or not, the confident man behind the "Bam!" says it's a part he's used to playing. Lagasse, already the top draw on cable's Food Network with "Emeril Live" and "Essence of Emeril," is getting his own half-hour comedy on NBC. ...

Imagine a painkiller that could treat a variety of ailments, available without a prescription, whose only side effects are chuckles, giggles and maybe even guffaws. The cost? At most, the price of a video. UCLA researchers are hoping humor will prove to be a miracle pill in a study examining a tantalizing premise: What if something that makes you feel good can stop you from feeling bad?...

Monday is Labor Day, that holiday set aside for honoring honest toil in the earning of our bread. Honoring labor goes back to at least Biblical times. The Lord said in the New Testament, "Come unto me all who labor and are heavy laden." The rise of the trade union movement is one of the great chapters of the American experience. Free and independent labor unions are hallmarks of a free society, among the chief distinguishing features between free societies and totalitarian ones...

BRICK, N.J. -- Shoppers at the local Pathmark supermarket might have to wait a little longer for someone to ring up their purchases. Thirty-three of the store's 250 employees shared one of the two winning tickets for a Big Game lottery jackpot worth $115 million. The other half of the Friday jackpot in the multistate game goes to the holder of a ticket sold in Camden...

When was it ever but a treason, to go with the drift of things? -- Anonymous There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come. -- Victor Hugo That sunny, unseasonably breezy August afternoon, Sunday the 19th, was suggestive of good things to come. And indeed, the winds of change are blowing for St. Louis schoolchildren....

TOKYO -- An investigation into Japan's deadliest blaze in more than 20 years has uncovered a long list of safety violations, and Tokyo fire officials drew up plans Saturday to conduct emergency inspections of thousands of buildings in the city. The early morning fire killed 44 people as it swept through a crowded mahjong parlor and bar occupying the top half of a narrow four-story building in the city's most popular entertainment district. Only three people survived...

MUNICH, Germany -- Soccer fans fought near a train station and wrecked a downtown beer hall, smashing windows, table and chairs before Saturday's key World Cup qualifying game between Germany and England. Three fans were injured and 40 people were arrested. Another 35 were arrested in Frankfurt as police tried to prevent a confrontation there Friday night...

$$$Start A reader from Jackson, Mo., asks, "How do astronomers know the distances to the various objects they talk about?" The answer is that astronomers use a "boot strap" process to determine distances over ever larger distance scales. We first determine distances to nearby stars and then use that information to develop techniques for even further objects...

To the editor: I read with great interest your Aug. 20 article that dealt with more high school students taking college courses. It certainly is most impressive that all of our students are concerned about academic excellence. I too praise the administrations and staffs of both Central High School in Cape Girardeau and Jackson High School for their work in this area...

You go, Monroe! CONGRATULATIONS TO Monroe Hicks for the change in his life. Going to church has been a lifesaver for him. Thanks to the Yates family and the coaches and his grandmother for helping this young man. And thanks to Bob Miller for this wonderful article that I could not put down. You go, Monroe!...

Washington, D.C., is known as a malarial swamp from which the sane try to escape during the month of August. But even by Beltway standards, the current furor over the federal budget surplus is zany. Last year saw the largest budget surplus in history. The current fiscal year will see the second largest. Budget estimators in both the White House and Congress agree: The feds will this year run a surplus well in excess of $150 billion, unthinkable just a few short years ago...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Sept. 2 On Friday, firefighters responded to the following calls:At 3:27 p.m., emergency medical service at 2101 William, motor vehicle accident. At 3:55 p.m., emergency medical service on the 3000 block of Themis. At 4:38 p.m., motor vehicle accident cleanup at the 200 block of Farrar Drive...

Scientists have wiped out tumors in mice using a common virus that apparently tricks cancer cells into self-destructing. It is too early to know if the approach might work in humans. Many treatments that look promising in mice prove disappointing when they are tested on people...

FRIEDHEIM, Mo. -- With all the Labor Day sales, the Saturday newspaper was full of advertisements, but Michael Phipps wanted the girl he loved to read just one. It was just after 7 a.m., and 27-year-old nursing assistant LeeAnn Chronister had worked a long shift at Perry County Hospital. She wasn't all that interested in the newspaper. Phipps had picked her up from work, and she was freshening up for a videotaped message to his sister in Australia before she went to bed...

A collective feeling of discontent. That's how one Cape Girardeau city councilman described the mood in 1992 as residents overwhelmingly voted to change the way they elected city council representatives, scrapping the at-large system in favor of wards...

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. -- What draws scuba divers to the caves around Florida's freshwater springs, they say, is the "Star Trek Syndrome" -- discovering a majestic chamber where no man has gone before. Steve Berman knew the feeling. As an experienced diver, he helped map the famous Devil's Eye cave system, which runs for more than 30,000 feet underneath the Santa Fe River in north-central Florida. As an instructor, he knew the dangers and taught new divers that the caves can kill...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- With assets of well over half a billion dollars that could quickly grow to more than $1 billion, a new not-for profit foundation created under the direction of Missouri's attorney general could soon start having a significant impact on health care in the state...

SPRINGFIELD , Ore. -- In a back-to-school message accidentally sent to parents and students at Briggs Middle School, the principal described students as "snot-nosed" and "hormonally charged juvenile delinquents." Mike Riplinger, who says the letter was tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be publicly distributed, offered a letter of apology to the school, students and parents...

Friday night wasn't a good one for trains in Southeast Missouri. First, a broken rail caused a 117-car Union Pacific train to go off the tracks in Scott County, then another train struck a car in downtown Cape Girar-deau. No one was injured in either accident...

CRUMP, Mo. -- A proposed power plant in southwestern Cape Girardeau County would use more water daily than the entire city of Jackson, Mo. That's 2.69 million gallons of well water churning through the Kinder Morgan Power Co. plant each day, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources says. By comparison, Jackson -- with a population approaching 12,000 -- uses up to 1.5 million gallons of water daily...

I have lost my chicory patches. Why did they get up and go from their old familiar places? Did the heavy truck pulls and fair traffic pulverize the roots to extinction? My patch of chicory grew in the gravely roadside at the south end of the park. Every year, on my former daily walks, it caught my attention when the first blue blossoms presented themselves to the world. ...