Stories from Sunday, January 27, 2002

WASHINGTON -- He's not quite Cinderella, but when Hamid Karzai comes to town this week, Afghanistan's interim leader will have made a remarkable transformation from a largely ignored tribal representative into a crucial player in one of the world's hottest hot spots...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Since the legislative session opened Jan. 9, the activity that often accompanies the arrival of lawmakers at the Capitol has been as feverish as ever. Legislators rush from hearing to hearing with mounds of paper in their hands. Lobbyists troll the hallways with cell phones glued to their ears. Special interest groups hold rallies in the Capitol Rotunda...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Her companion leans over and gently ushers Mary through the dynasties of ancient China and down the Silk Road, occasionally offering guidance -- but always careful to let her find her own way. Mary, a pretty 12-year-old with warm eyes and a quick smile, picks up on the history lesson and clearly knows most of the answers to the questions on her worksheet...

BOONVILLE, Mo. -- Gamblers at the Isle of Capris riverboat here say they have a pretty good idea who would end up paying the higher gambling taxes proposed by Gov. Bob Holden. "Somebody's going to pay for it, and it's not going to be the casino bigwigs," said Joyce Szemplenski, shaking her head while she paused for a cigarette break...

ST. LOUIS -- The University of Missouri-Rolla has agreed to sponsor four new charter schools in St. Louis. The university's tentative approval of the schools could signal a decreasing reluctance among sponsors toward opening new charter schools in Missouri...

SPANISH LAKE, Mo. -- A Greenville, Ill., woman was killed in an accident on Interstate 270 in St. Louis County, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. Peggy Purdy, 40, died Friday evening when the car she was driving was hit by a semitrailer after she crossed all three lanes of traffic and hit the concrete median on eastbound I-270 near Missouri 367, the patrol said...

WICHITA, Kan. -- Teaching the first group of students in North High's AVID program to get organized and study has been like convincing a couch potato to exercise daily, their teachers said. Before this school year, the 29 freshmen had never been expected -- by family, friends, teachers, counselors or even themselves -- to take honors courses or do hours of homework daily...

You either like the look of a tree that has been pollarded, or you do not. It's not a natural look. This time of year, a pollarded tree presents a trunk capped by a clubbed head, or a trunk with short limbs that are capped by clubbed heads. In summer, a mass of vigorous shoots wildly bursts forth from that head or heads. Pollarding is useful for lending a formal appearance to a tree, and for controlling the size of an otherwise large-growing tree...

NEW YORK -- It's teddy bear's birthday. He's 100 and he's an icon who deserves a big party. But who gets to blow out the candles? According to "A Tale of Two Teddies: The First Teddy Bears Tell Their True Stories" (Portfolio Press), two bears, one born in New York City, the other in a small town in Germany, claim to be the original...

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Irish voters are split over proposed legal changes that would ease the country's constitutional ban on abortion, according to an opinion poll published Saturday. Thirty-nine percent of respondents to the Irish Times/Market Research Bureau of Ireland study supported the proposals, while 34 percent were opposed...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Facing mounting pressure from Israel and the United States, the Palestinian Authority on Saturday again called for an end to all bombing and shooting attacks against Israelis. However, with the violence escalating in recent days, it was not clear whether militant Palestinian groups would heed the message. Several recent shooting attacks have been carried out by gunmen linked to the Fatah movement of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The Taliban fighters who wouldn't allow women to study in Afghanistan and punished them if a veil slipped or ankle showed now are getting orders from women guards and care from female doctors at this U.S. detention camp...

This one is pretty simple: QB Donovan McNabb (5) must be very creative. The one positive thing Brett Favre did last week against the speedy, aggressive Rams was escape the pass rush. But he didn't do much afterward, while McNabb is the most dangerous scrambler in the league. Look for McNabb to roll out often and for several designed runs, particularly quarterback draws...

PITTSBURGH -- A year ago, Tom Brady was a rookie, fourth on New England's depth chart at quarterback. Kordell Stewart was a once promising quarterback who had regressed while two Pittsburgh offensive coordinators tried to make him something he wasn't...

ROCKPORT, Mass. -- There's an old adage in the newspaper business that's meant to keep journalists humble: "Today's newspaper is tomorrow's fish wrapper." That saying doesn't hold true at The Paper House. The house proves that today's newspaper can become something far more enduring -- a two-room cottage, a lamp, even a grandfather clock. The house and almost everything in it is made of old newspapers...

Think about taking your next European vacation in Wales, where the scenery ranges from rugged mountains to picturesque seashore, where the hills harbor ancient castles and the people have a famous talent for singing. It takes just a few Web sites to get the lay of the land and make some plans...

Ever dream of sleeping under the sea? Or reliving your childhood up in a tree? How about a fantastical winter wedding in an elaborate igloo? Or spending a week as lighthouse keepers? These unusual lodging establishments offer something special for travelers in search of a little whimsy:...

Digs at Athens airport unearth antiquity trove ATHENS, Greece -- Enough antiquities and relics to fill 4,000 crates have been unearthed by archaeologists excavating land at Athens' new airport and tracts destined to be covered by a highway, reports say...

GETTING THERE: You can fly to Lyon or Marseille in France and take a bus, or you can land at Turin airport about 70 miles away in Italy. You can also take the high-speed TGV train from Paris for 4 1/2 hours to Oulx just over the border in Italy, and take local transportation to Briancon from there. Perhaps the simplest way is to take the overnight train from Paris, for a trip of about 10 hours to Briancon...

SERRE CHEVALIER, France As the world awaits the Feb. 8 start of the Olympic games in Salt Lake City, Utah, talk is of winter sports like hockey, ice skating, curling and skiing. Serre Chevalier, a series of French ski towns linked by a hefty 77 lifts and 155 miles of runs, has plenty of proud tradition, great skiing, fine atmosphere, friendly people and lots of variety...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- On a day of swift changes in the lead and more wild cheers for John Daly, Duffy Waldorf made birdie on two of the last four holes Saturday for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-stroke lead in the Phoenix Open. Getting up-and-down for birdie from about 140 feet on No. 17 gave Waldorf breathing room, but not much...

ST. LOUIS -- Brett Hull scored three goals and added two assists, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-2 victory Saturday night over the St. Louis Blues. Pavel Datsyuk and Boyd Devereaux each scored a goal and two assists for the Red Wings, who are 4-0-1 in their last five games...

ST. LOUIS -- Donovan McNabb carries the perfect resume for the modern NFL quarterback: great athlete, college star at a big program, first-round pick. For Kurt Warner, the dossier sounds more like a Hollywood creation: unknown entity from an obscure school, unwanted in the draft. And now a two-time MVP...

ST. LOUIS hough Mike Martz fears no NFL defense, the St. Louis Rams coach doesn't always get the genius treatment. Just look at Buddy, the fickle family dachshund. All season, Martz complained that his wife and daughter were the only ones who could get any love from Buddy -- until the Rams clinched the NFC West in late December. Only then did the dog hop into Martz's lap...

NEW ORLEANS Bob and Betty Washington, decked out in long strings of Mardi Gras beads, happily sipped bloody marys on Pat O'Brien's courtyard, lulled by the warm sun and the sound of the fountain at the famous French Quarter bar. "It's the perfect way to treat a hangover," Bob Washington said. "We're gathering strength for the weekend."...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The guns and ammunition were expected. The poster of New York's Twin Towers set against Afghan mountains was not. U.S. Marines who joined elite Navy SEALS in searching al-Qaida caves said Saturday they made some unsettling discoveries: a photo of President Bush with blood running down his face and another of Osama bin Laden holding a Kalashnikov rifle and marked with the words "Leader of Peace."...

TARIN KOT, Afghanistan -- Afghans accused U.S. forces Saturday of attacking a school and killing people sheltering there in a raid the Pentagon said targeted Taliban fighters. According to Pentagon accounts, special forces attacked two enemy compounds Wednesday night at Hazar Qadam, about 60 miles north of Kandahar, and killed about 15 people in a firefight. One U.S. soldier was wounded in the ankle. Twenty-seven prisoners were taken...

SINGAPORE -- An Indonesian explosives expert who was arrested recently in the Philippines helped suspected members of an al-Qaida-linked cell plot to blow up buildings in Singapore, the government said Saturday. Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi came to Singapore in October and helped suspected militants conduct surveillance of the American embassies and other buildings, the Ministry of Home Affairs said...

Two of the seven Marines killed in the crash of a KC-130 in Pakistan were remembered Saturday as heroes who died for their country. About 700 people attended the funeral of Capt. Daniel McCollum at Union United Methodist Church in Irmo, S.C. McCollum and the former Jennifer Harkey were married in May. The woman's parents, Bill and Jenny Harkey, live in Cape Girardeau...

Customers were watching CNN on a Burger King television when news scrolled across the screen that police were searching for a missing school bus. "That's weird," thought 13-year-old Josh Pletscher, "another bus is missing." Pletscher's own school bus had left its route four hours earlier with him and a dozen other religious-school students aboard. In what authorities call a kidnapping, their driver, with a loaded rifle behind his seat, said he wanted to show them the nation's capital...

PASADENA, Calif. -- More than a half-billion years ago, thousands of jellyfish were washed up in a small lagoon, stranded by a freak tide or storm and buried by sand just hours later. Fossilized impressions of those jellyfish, some up to 3 feet in diameter, have now been discovered in a Wisconsin quarry, in what scientists say is one of the largest finds of its kind in the world...

NEW YORK -- Just as it failed to heed the warning signs of Adolf Hitler's aggression in the 1930s, the United States did not do enough to prepare for terrorist attacks in the 1990s, Rudolph Giuliani told his former colleagues Saturday. "This is going to stand as a reminder to us to never let our guard down again," Giuliani said of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...

PHILADELPHIA -- A department-wide ban prohibiting police from smoking while on duty or in uniform has been rescinded by Interim Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson. In October, Johnson's predecessor ordered officers to stub out their cigarettes after a newspaper photograph showed an officer smoking as he helped lift a man in a wheelchair outside a burning building...

LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge has ruled in favor of 16 members of Congress who filed a lawsuit seeking the release of statistically adjusted census figures. U.S. District Court Judge Lourdes G. Baird said in the ruling that the Department of Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau, should release the adjusted data that has been compiled as part of the 2000 census...

HOUSTON -- She was Texas' best: homegrown, church-schooled, smart, the next hope of an influential family in a small town outside Houston. But she wanted to be somebody beyond the oil wells and scrubby plains. Today, she is. Sherron Smith Watkins, has emerged as the most prescient and principled voice yet in the financing morass that swamped energy dealer Enron Corp...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Oakland Raiders lawyers have revived claims that accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLC destroyed evidence that could prove it lied in 1995 when it assured the team of sellouts at the Oakland Coliseum. Revelations that Andersen destroyed documents of bankrupt client Enron Corp., and Congressional investigations into the company, have "refocused us on this issue," Raiders attorney Ken Hausman told the Contra Costa Times...

Certain bone marrow cells found in adults can be coaxed into forming a variety of specialized cells, says research that gives new hope for growing replacement body parts for treating disease. It's not the only indication that certain cells from adults can form an array of cells for other parts of the body, but one expert called the new work promising. Another cautioned it's too soon to tell how useful it will be...

In 13,000 words on research priorities, the National Institutes of Health spanned the medical alphabet from arthritis to xeroderma pigmentosum. There was no mention of anthrax or bioterrorism. That was in a booklet just four years ago. Today, the words are on everyone's lips, it seems. Federal agencies are pursuing research to counter bioterrorism with the same urgency -- even abandon -- that propelled the wars on cancer and AIDS...

NEW YORK -- Many firefighters who raced to save victims of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack now are facing their own health problems because of the contaminated air at the disaster site. Some have asthma. Others have troubles ranging from a persistent cough to diminished lung capacity that can interfere with their physically demanding jobs. A few hundred are on medical leave or working light duty because of respiratory illness...

LOWELL, Mass. -- When curator Nancy Rexford began assembling an exhibit of uniforms for the American Textile History Museum, she appealed to the New York City Fire Museum to lend its modern firefighting gear. But the fire museum didn't have any. On Sept. 11, an off-duty firefighter ripped the exhibit down from the wall and wore it to the World Trade Center, where he was injured by falling debris...

LOS ANGELES -- No one is quite sure what came to the river town of Point Pleasant, W.Va., in the 1960s. Was it an alien? An angel? The devil? Or merely an instance of group hysteria? Whatever the answer, it was called Mothman. And now that Hollywood has produced a movie about "The Mothman Prophecies," mystery investigator John A. Keel expects skepticism about the bizarre phenomena he chronicled in his 1975 book...

OSLO, Norway -- On a chilly January night a year ago, 15-year-old Benjamin Hermansen left his mother's apartment to go swap cell phone covers with his best friend. If Benjamin had been white, he would have made it home that night. Instead, the Oslo-born son of a West African father and Norwegian mother was stabbed to death...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Citizen anger over a government banking freeze erupted into fresh unrest early Saturday as President Eduardo Duhalde confronted the first nationwide protest against his rule. The banking curbs, imposed Dec. 1 by the previous president, were tightened by Duhalde after he said drastic steps were needed to keep the teetering financial system afloat. ...

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- For Hungarians, who take their politics seriously, the latest news from the election front is something of a shocker: Cicciolina says she's in the race. The former porn star and one-time Italian legislator, famous for baring her left breast in public to highlight her left-wing politics, is quite a contrast to the slate of lawyers, doctors and teachers vying for seats in the legislature...

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Security forces went on high alert in the capital of Bogota after a downtown bomb killed four police officers and a 5-year-old girl. Two other devices were deactivated. Mayor Antanas Mockus blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, for Friday's attacks...

ROME -- Police seized parts cannibalized from six Airbus A300 jets in a warehouse at Rome's main airport Saturday as investigators probed an international market in used airline parts suspected of being falsely certified as new or as properly inspected...

MOSCOW -- Power was cut to a key Russian space tracking station in the Far East on Saturday because its bill had not been paid, according to news reports. The Russian Space Forces facility monitors satellites and is part of the Russian system controlling the International Space Station. The Kamchatka Peninsula unit switched to an emergency power system to stay online, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported...

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- A bust of Lenin with a bashed-in skull adorns the newly opened Museum of Communism, where visitors can imagine being interrogated by police beneath a single bulb in a bare-walled chamber. The museum in downtown Prague reflects a new trend: Twelve years after the Velvet Revolution brought down communism, many Czechs seem obsessed with re-examining the darker aspects of their totalitarian past...

WOOMERA, Australia -- Behind the razor wire at Woomera's detention center, illegal immigrants are referred to by number, not name. In the baking heat of the Australian Outback, they huddle under the few shady areas of the camp or under blankets strung between huts, lawyers who regularly visit the refugees said Saturday...

NEW YORK -- Chances are you've encountered "Othello" -- at least, the Cliffs Notes edition. You remember: That age-old drama about a noble black general; his wife, Desdemona; and his calculating crony, Iago, who makes good (if that's the word) on a pledge to twist Desdemona's virtue into "the net that shall enmesh them all."...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Based on the typical career path of a midlevel country singer, David Ball should be making his living by singing his 1994 smash hit, "Thinkin' Problem," to an ever-shrinking audience. That's the road he was on last year. Then his single "Riding With Private Malone" went all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard country charts in December. Ball released the record on independent label Dualtone, after being dropped by Warner Bros., and before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...

PHILADELPHIA -- Friends and literary critics wondered why Owen Wister, the author of "The Virginian" who helped create the heroic cowboy of the American Western, didn't write a novel about his native city. "The Philadelphian," perhaps. After all, Wister was the consummate blue blood. His ancestor, Dr. Edward Jones, arrived in the Philadelphia area two months before William Penn...

POUND RIDGE, N.Y. -- They may give you a start when you first see them. Colorful cabbages blooming under lampposts? A little research and you learn ornamental cabbages and kales have been bred to bring garden color to the wintry scene. These frost-resistant, varicolored members of the brassica family appear especially to have caught the fancy of municipal garden planners in big cities...

WASHINGTON -- Embattled Enron Corp. and the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, already being investigated by Congress and law enforcement agencies, now will have their $70 million in U.S. government contracts put under scrutiny. The White House on Friday ordered a government-wide review to determine whether the bankrupt energy trading company and its longtime auditors, both accused of massive destruction of documents in the face of federal subpoenas, are worthy of government business...

Dueling reports on the state budget disagree on many points. But the two reports converge on one key point: State government must cut spending to balance the budget, as required by the Missouri Constitution. The two reports are the Moody Report, written by former state budget director Jim Moody and commissioned by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, and a response to the Moody Report written by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce...

The state of Mississippi wants to take credit for the cuddly teddy bear by making it the Magnolia State's official toy. A state lawmaker has filed legislation to give the teddy bear such distinction. It's all because of retired librarian Sarah Doxey-Tate of Tupelo, Miss., who is pushing the idea...

Roughly halfway through the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball season, things are beginning to take shape -- and Tennessee Tech has clearly established itself as the league's dominant team. In fact, there has even been talk about the Golden Eagles becoming the first OVC squad since Western Kentucky in 1969-70 to go through the conference schedule without a defeat...

Editor's note: In the early weeks of each new year in America, the chief executive of our federal government and a vast majority of our state governors deliver what is known as a State of the Union or a State of the State message to their respective legislative bodies. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Tapping the state's rainy day fund to come up with $135 million for programs in his proposed state budget will prove a steep hill for Gov. Bob Holden to climb, and he knows it. Accessing the revenue will require two-thirds approval of members in each legislative chamber. That comes to 109 votes in the House of Representatives and 23 in the Senate...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Investigators say there was too much damage to determine the cause of a fire Thursday at Wheeler Truck Trailer Equipment Co. Firefighters were called out shortly after 5 a.m. to fight the fire, which destroyed one of the company's five buildings on U.S. 61 in Morley...

10 years ago: Jan. 27, 1992 Recent study by University of Missouri Extension's Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis show state's total income has more than doubled during past decade; according to report, total income in state during 1980s increased 101 percent from $42 billion to nearly $85 billion, and per capita income nearly doubled, growing 91 percent from $8,619 to $16,447...

Claris E. Schneider, 89, died Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are pending at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo.

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Dorothy Amna Duncan, 88, a former resident of Bloomfield, died Friday, Jan. 25, 2002, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo. She was born Oct. 22, 1913, at Hunterville, Mo., daughter of Cyrus and Lula Bradford Blevins. She and Ray S. Duncan were married Nov. 30, 1935, at Dexter. He died Feb. 2, 1971...

Mattie Jane Hawn, 90, of St. Louis died Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002, at Althenhelm Retirement Home. She was born Dec. 26, 1911, in Marble Hill, Mo., daughter of Epps Maben Hawn and Nellie Mary Lutes Hawn. She graduated from the former Southeast Missouri State Teachers College in Cape Girardeau. She had lived in St. Louis for 70 years and was a retired secretary for the Veterans Hospital in St. Louis...

Cyril Glastetter, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002, at his home. He was born Nov. 2, 1916, at New Hamburg, Mo., son of Martin Joseph and Bertha Gerst Glastetter. He and Hilda Winschel were married Sept. 1, 1947, at Apple Creek, Mo...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Robert Leroy "Roy" Hale, 67, of Dexter and formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. He was born Dec. 11, 1934, in Woodruff County, Ark., son of Duncan and Mary Myrtle Bailey Hale. He and Phyllis Stenger were married Aug. 20, 1956...

Nearly 40 bright-eyed children and half as many bleary-eyed adults were up Saturday after a sleepover at Victorian Inn, ready for a day of history lessons in New Madrid. To the casual onlooker, it might have seemed like a big birthday party or school celebration...

Southeast Missourian In a decade that saw a drop of 37 full-time teaching positions and minimal enrollment gains at Southeast Missouri State University, the Cape Girardeau school increased administrators at a rate of 29 percent. That statistic, plus a comparison of Southeast administrators with their colleagues at similarly sized state universities, have some professors questioning the school's priorities. ...

As with Gov. Bob Holden, we in the General Assembly face a constitutional mandate to balance the state budget. The budget process starts with the governor's proposal, unveiled this past week, for fiscal year 2003, which begins July 1. Holden says his budget is "balanced," that he "made the tough choices."...

SIKESTON, Mo. - Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Swiney of Sikeston announce the engagement of their daughter, Amy Marie Swiney, to Neil Gates Jr. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Gates Sr. of Sikeston. Swiney is a 1999 graduate of Thomas W. Kelly High School. She is pursuing a bachelor of science degree in finance at Southeast Missouri State University...

Jerry and Jacque Brotherton of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Erin Brotherton, to Shaun Craig, both of St. Louis. He is the son of Norman and Emma Craig of Cape Girardeau. Brotherton is a 1995 graduate of Central High School, and received an associate of arts degree from Meramec Community College. She is employed at Everything Pets Animal Hospital...

Linda Engelmann of Cape Girardeau announces the engagement of her daughter, Heather Brianna Engelmann-Farrow, to Matthew Todd Carey. She is also the daughter of the late Robert Engelmann. Carey is the son of Robert and Emily Carey of Chesterfield, Mo...

Megan Michelle Cady and Kevin Lee Graham exchanged vows June 16, 2001, at Enchanted Gardens in Jackson, Mo. Steven Palmer performed the double ring ceremony. Jerry and Cathy Cady of Freeport, Ill., are parents of the bride. The groom's parents are Steven Graham and Tammy Curtis of Cape Girardeau...

Nicole Marie Anderson and Craig S. Hess exchanged vows Sept. 15, 2001, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. The Rev. Daniel Schulte performed the double ring ceremony. Valerie Schaefer was vocalist and organist. The bride is the daughter of Sharon Anderson of Cape Girardeau and the late Loyal Anderson. The groom is the son of LeeRoy and Barbara Hess of Cape Girardeau...

Jennifer Kirsten Altenthal and Clayton John Havill were united in marriage Sept. 15, 2001, at St. John's Catholic Church in St. Louis. The Rev. Rickey Valleroy performed the double ring ceremony. Soloist was Jill Prince of Jackson, Mo. Brad and Karen Altenthal of Cape Girardeau are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Marv and Judy Havill of Jefferson, Wis...

THEBES, Ill. - Gayla Dawn Kirby and Jason Earl Warren were married Aug. 4, 2001, at Beech Grove Baptist Church near Thebes. The Rev. Robert Kirby performed the double ring ceremony. Pianist was Debbie Coffman of Anna, Ill. The bride's parents are Elvis and Kathryn Kirby of Thebes. The groom's parents are Link and Cathy Warren of Miller City, Ill...

KELSO, Mo. - Jennifer Joyce Glastetter and Gene "Rusty" Mayfield were married Nov. 3, 2001, at St. Augustine Catholic Church. The Rev. Oliver Clavin performed the double ring ceremony. Organist was Betty Ressel and vocalist was Bobby Ressel, both of Kelso...

Glenda J. Mize of Cape Girardeau and Michael L. Hamilton of Henderson, Ky., exchanged vows Dec. 28, 2001, in Henderson. Judge Sandy Watkins performed the double ring ceremony. Melvin and Dorothy Smith of Tamms, Ill., are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of the late Janie Lee Cobb...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- From one perspective, homeowners want to see the value of their properties rise so that when it comes time to sell they earn a profit on their investment. But increases in value -- particularly sharp spikes -- can carry a major downside when the taxman comes calling...

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- Wilford Waters, 74, of Morehouse died Friday, Jan. 25, 2002, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 11, 1927, at Center Ridge, Ark., son of George and Pearl Hill Waters. He was a farmer. Survivors include a brother, Jack Waters of Charter Oak, Mo...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Joyce Churchill, 76, of Dongola died Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. Funeral arrangements are pending at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola.

The owner of the house at 3803 Highway W comments that everyone who visits this house feels at home. That's understandable. With the warmth of wood throughout the house, it has a very comfortable and homey feel. The exterior has a brown brick and vinyl combination with mature trees dotting the lawn. Stone steps lead to the back yard. The home even has a tree house and a fenced-in area for the safety of children and pets...

WASHINGTON -- It's advice that's almost become gospel: Getting a mammogram could save your life. Now some scientists are challenging whether that's true -- and the controversy is serious enough that even the National Cancer Institute is reviewing its guidelines...

The A.D. Hoffman family is no stranger to Walt Disney World after four visits to the Orlando, Fla., theme park. A. D. Hoffman, his wife Judy and three children, Danielle, 13, Emily, 11 and Graham, 9, of Jackson, Mo., recently visited the park during the Christmas holidays...

In another twist in the long-running litigation over the issue of your tax money going to Planned Parenthood, the Missouri Supreme Court weighed in with a ruling last week. The high court didn't reach the merits of the issue. Instead, it sent the case back to Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder with a sharp admonition to Attorney General Jay Nixon...

Jackson Sunday, Jan. 27 Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:An emergency medical service on East Main Street. An emergency medical service on West Jackson Boulevard. A motor vehicle accident on Francis Drive. Cape Girardeau Sunday, Jan. 27...

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- A Bernie, Mo., woman sustained moderate injuries Friday in a two-vehicle accident near Greenville. Passenger Amanda Hill, 26, was taken to St. Francis Medical Center after the 11:35 a.m. accident on U.S. 67, six miles south of Greenville...

Cape Girardeau Sunday, Jan. 27 ArrestsLatoya Samara Miles, 22, of Thebes, Ill., was arrested Friday on an outstanding warrant. Luis Alberto Ruiz-Garcia, 22, was arrested Friday for trespassing. Jesus Diaz was arrested Friday for trespassing. Clarence Everett Smith, 34, of 230 S. Middle was arrested Friday on an outstanding warrant...

Bill Springer, English and social studies teacher at Cape Girardeau Central High School, will discuss the "United We Read" program today on KRCU's "Going Public" radio show. The show will air at 3 p.m. on 90.9 FM, the region's Public Radio affiliate station located at Southeast Missouri State University...

NEW YORK -- A new judge has been assigned to the case of two men accused of being involved in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy of Federal District Court in Manhattan will replace Judge Leonard Sand, The New York Times reported Saturday. It was unclear why the case was reassigned...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush will stand before Congress on Tuesday with his popularity at heroically high levels, his performance as a wartime commander in chief softening Americans' concerns about the weak economy. But his advisers fear the grace period won't last -- that voters will eventually grow impatient with Bush -- unless he builds on his success in Afghanistan with a State of the Union address that offers a bold blueprint for the next stage of his presidency...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. and international forces should remain in Afghanistan beyond the six-month life of the interim government and until all al-Qaida and Taliban resistance are gone, the foreign minister said ahead of Prime Minister Hamid Karzai's first meeting with President Bush...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A soybean-sunflower processing plant could mean millions to the economy of Southeast Missouri if plans go through. A feasibility study is being done to see if there is enough support from soybean farmers to put up, operate and maintain a plant, according to Ray Fowler, project coordinator. He said the plant would be a farmer-owned, farmer-controlled co-op...

Jackson all-state running back Mario Whitney is no longer a "Missouri Volunteer." After the speedy Indian gave Mizzou an oral commitment prior to his all-state senior season, Whitney wavered on his word when Tennessee, which vied for the national championship late in the college season, entered the picture. Whitney planned an official visit to Volunteer Country and said in November he was only 50 percent sure about signing with Missouri...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- The Notre Dame boys basketball team improved its SEMO Conference record to 4-2 and its overall mark to 13-6 with a 64-55 win over host Doniphan Saturday night. Five Bulldogs scored in double-figures, led by Nathan LeGrand with 15 points. He was followed by Tyler Cuba (12), Travis Siebert (10), Wayne Essner (10) and Scott Wittenborn (10)...

Richard I. Bowen, 67, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born April 3, 1934, in Van Buren, Mo., son of Ira and Elsie Shenks Bowen. He and Wanda Derrington were married in Cape Girardeau in 1981. He owned Bowen Engineering for 22 years and was an engineer for 45 years. He was a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis...

LAKELAND, Fla. -- James Martin Wright, a native of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Jan. 25, 2002, at his home in Lakeland from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was born June 22, 1918, in Cape Girardeau, son of James and Della Martin Wright. Wright, who had lived in Lakeland since 1983, was previously an aircraft mechanic and inspector in Springfield, Ill...

Drake Joseph Kambitch, age 54, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 25, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Aug. 23, 1947, in St. Louis, son of Joseph and Anita Lerch Kambitch. Drake graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1975. He and Jean Koeln were married May 28, 1982, in St. Louis...

Too many clocks EVERYWHERE I look nowadays, I see nothing but clocks. Everyone is so obsessed with keeping track of time that we have lost the true meaning of being alive: to have fun. If we would all just kick back and take a breath to enjoy life, this world would be a lot better off and with many fewer problems...

Have you ever seen a bald eagle outside of a zoo? Well, if you live in Southeast Missouri, there is a good chance you have. To the surprise of many people, Missouri is one of the leading bald eagle states. Each fall, thousands of these great birds migrate south from their nesting range in Canada and the Great Lakes states to hunt around the open water of our rivers and lakes...