Stories from Saturday, September 28, 2002

Presbyterian project brings Muslims, Christians together By Bruce Schreiner ~ The Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Muslims and Christians sat near one another, crossed-legged in their stocking feet, listening to a sermon that stressed connections binding people otherwise separated by faith and custom...

What started as a bunch of friends getting together to play wiffleball in Jeff Augustine's backyard has turned into the 10-team double-elimination Wiffle Ball World Series that begins today. This year's is the sixth edition of the event and will feature teams from Benton, Ill., Carbondale, Ill., Potosi, Mo., Farmington, Mo., and Cape Girardeau...

What's left of Isidore dumps rain in Northeast PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- The remnants of Tropical Storm Isidore swept into the Northeast on Friday after leaving thousands of people without power in swamped communities across the South. The storm left nearly 10 inches of rain in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee but largely spared the region's flood-prone mountains. By late afternoon, it was dumping rain on Pennsylvania, New York and parts of New England...

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Ivory Coast -- French forces withdrew Friday from the besieged rebel-held city of Bouake, declaring their evacuation over after helicopters and convoys bore hundreds of Americans and other Westerners to safety. "It's finished," Lt. Col. Ange-Antoine Leccia said of the operation in Bouake, which was under threat of imminent government attack. "All French soldiers have gone."...

DAKAR, Senegal -- An ocean ferry sank off the coast of West Africa so fast that one survivor said Friday he could hear the screams of hundreds trapped inside as the ship capsized. Some 760 people were believed dead. "The boat went down so fast. It was so unbelievable -- in just three minutes, the boat went down," Moussa Ndong said of Thursday night's disaster...

MOSCOW -- Boris Yefimov remembers his telephone call from Josef Stalin as if it were yesterday -- the dictator's stern tone, the quick beating of his own heart. Yefimov, the Soviet Union's most celebrated political cartoonist, had a front seat on the roller-coaster of the 20th century. No wonder he plans to thank God when he opens his eyes on his 102nd birthday Saturday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A lawsuit was filed against the state on Friday over changes to Missouri's Medicaid program that goes into effect Tuesday. Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services filed the lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court against the state Department of Social Services and the state Division of Medical Services...

LAKE OZARK, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden acknowledged Friday discussing the University of Missouri's presidential search with members of the system's constitutionally independent governing board. But Holden said he didn't "lean on" members of the Board of Curators in favor of any presidential prospect, including two fellow Democratic politicians -- former Gov. Roger Wilson and incumbent Attorney General Jay Nixon...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After opening the season with a loss at Nebraska, Troy State continued its "tour" of the Big 12 last week against Iowa State and quarterback Seneca Wallace, who threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, running for a fourth. Today the Trojans (1-3) conclude their Big 12 journey against Missouri. One week after facing a Heisman Trophy hopeful in Wallace, how does Troy State coach Larry Blakeney assess Brad Smith, the 18-year-old redshirt freshman under center for the Tigers?...

WASHINGTON -- World finance leaders, seeking to project confidence in the face of a slumping global economy and a worsening economic crisis in Latin America, pledged greater coordination Friday to take on problems including a prime U.S. goal: more action to choke off terrorist finances...

WASHINGTON -- Protesters opposed to war, capitalism and global trade policies clashed with police Friday as finance ministers from around the world began a weekend of meetings. About 600 protesters were arrested and one was slightly injured. The protesters had threatened to shut down the nation's capital, but caused only minimal disruptions to the morning rush as they snaked through the city on foot and on bicycles, waving signs that said "End Corporate Greed" and "Drop Bush not bombs."...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said Friday it will consider developing fetuses as "unborn children" under a government-funded health program, brushing aside complaints that the move is an effort to undercut abortion rights. The administration said it is making the change to enable more low-income pregnant women to obtain prenatal care. ...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy led Democrats Friday in a spirited attack on President Bush's Iraq policy, reflecting growing frustration about their inability to restrain the president's drive toward military confrontation with Saddam Hussein...

Jackson POW-MIA walk set for today The POW-MIA Remembrance Walk will begin at Jackson City Park at 9 a.m. today and continue to the veterans memorial at Brookside Park. The half-mile long walk is conducted annually to remember the men and women who suffered at the hands of our nation's enemies while protecting freedom...

Cuba shows it's hungry for American food HAVANA -- Their appetites whetted after the first day of a major U.S. agribusiness show, Cuban officials on Friday signed another $1 million in contracts for American food. With the $500,000 contract with PS International of North Carolina for dried peas and another $500,000 contract with Boston Agrex of Massachusetts for frozen chicken, Cuba has signed to buy about $18.5 million of U.S. food since the fair opened Thursday morning...

BENTON, Mo.--At least for a night, Auto Tire and Parts Racepark was transformed into a Milwaukee tribute. Race fans donned in Miller Lite No. 2 jerseys began lining up as early as 3 p.m. Friday to get a glimpse of Missouri's most famous racing brothers, who appeared on the first day of the two-day Motorsports Fall Classic that continues today...

MADISON, Neb. -- The holdup men in one of the nation's deadliest bank robberies walked in with guns blazing, and within 40 seconds all five victims had been shot in the head, a police officer testified Friday. Capt. Steve Hecker's dramatic description of the chaos inside the U.S. ...

SEVEN DAYS BY BARRY SCHWEID AND DAFNA LINZER ~ The Associated Press The United States and Britain are proposing that the United Nations set a seven-day deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to agree to disarm and open his palaces for searches of hidden weapons, a Bush administration official and U.N. diplomats said Friday...

LATE FASHION Want to go? What: City of Roses Music Festival When: Music begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at the arts and crafts fair on Themis Street downtown and begins at 1 p.m. on the main stage. Headliner Dave Mason begins playing at 9 p.m...

BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- There's no truth to the rumor that a possible Central-North County III will be played on pay-per-view. If the two teams meet again this season in a Class 4 sectional, there's little doubt It would be a big seller. On Friday night, the two teams that played to double-overtime in last year's sectional round, again stood toe-to-toe for two overtimes...

Jackson, after an 0-3 start, captured its first win Friday on its home field, handling Graves Co., Ky., 34-12. Jackson (1-3) scored on its opening drive with 6:28 left in the first quarter. Tyler Profilet connected with Jason Meystedt for a 30-yard gain to get Jackson into the Eagles territory. Nine carries later, Meystedt finished the drive with a 2-yard toucdown run...

Only 13 seconds stood between Perryville and its first win of the season, but unfortunately 13 seconds was all the time Farmington needed. Farmington won 8-7 on Friday. The Pirates, who scored their first touchdown of the season, could not keep Farmington out of the end zone on a last second two-point conversion, and fell by one...

Portageville (3-0) allowed its first points of the season but remained unbeaten and kept host Chaffee (0-4) winless. The Red Devils trailed 20-6 at halftime and the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half. ""We played a pretty good first half but in the second half it came apart on us," Chaffee coach Allan Horrell said...

Notre Dame (12-3) took advantage of five Delta errors and cruised to a shutout victory at home, 7-0. Lindsay Reinagel picked up the victory, striking out four and allowing four hits in five innings. Ramona Blankenship fanned four and allowed four hits over the final two innings. Alana Weismueller went 2-4 and drove in two runs as the Bulldogs had nine hits...

ST. LOUIS -- The worst team in the National League slowed the Cardinals' drive for home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Ben Sheets wrapped up a late-season surge with seven sharp innings and Matt Stairs homered and had three highlight-reel catches in left field as the Milwaukee Brewers beat St. Louis 2-1 Friday night...

Region North County 35, Central 28, OT Jackson 34, Graves County, Ky., 12 Sikeston 27, Kennett 7 Poplar Bluff 32, Francis Howell North 28 Charleston 35, New Madrid Co. Central 32 Hayti 60, Caruthersville 27 Dexter 26, Malden 6 Valle 50, Scott City 13...

KENNETT, Mo. -- Perhaps the leading cause of dissatisfaction with today's American political system is not a fundamental flaw in how our nation is governed, but rather the commingling of two phases of the matrix. Put as succinctly as possible, we seem to have a problem separating governing and politics. In turn, this confusion leads not only to a distrust of governments at all levels but, perhaps worse, an indifference to the efficacy of our form of a constitutional republic...

The frustration Tarik Simpson felt for several weeks has given way to satisfaction of again being a key component of Southeast Missouri State University's offense. Simpson, a senior wide receiver, has battled back from a nagging hamstring injury to catch seven passes in the last two games and he's likely to again be heavily involved in the action tonight when the Indians (2-2) play at Division I-A Middle Tennessee State (0-3)...

Roxette singer will undergo brain surgery STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson will undergo surgery to remove a brain tumor next week, forcing the Swedish duo to cancel its European tour, a spokeswoman said Friday. Doctors found the small tumor after Fredriksson fainted and hit her head against a sink two weeks ago at her Stockholm home...

Baseball Baseball's labor settlement is likely to become official next week. Lawyers for players and owners, who agreed to the deal just hours before the scheduled start of a strike on Aug. 30, are hoping to sign a memorandum Monday that outlines the terms, union lawyer Michael Weiner and management lawyer Frank Coonelly said...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, September 28 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: At 6:19 p.m., an emergency medical service at 505 N. Kingshighway. At 10:32 p.m., an alarm sounding at 1025 N. Sprigg. Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Sept. 28 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI A subject was placed in custody Thursday pending the filing of formal charges for driving while intoxicated...

Today Harvest festival at Reagan's Chapel United Methodist church north of Patton, Mo. Dinner is served from 3 to 6:15 p.m. An auction of handmade items, quilts and produce begins at 7 p.m. Special service of healing and deliverance at 7 p.m. ...

Islamic Center prepares for Sunday open house The Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau will host an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The event will highlight the role Muslims play in American society and will feature discussions about Islamic beliefs. There will be displays of Islamic books and a sampling of ethnic foods representing the fare from six different nations...

Fund raisers keep paying the way at schools By Callie Chitwood ~ Southeast Missourian Armed with a colorful brochure and a sparkling smile, 7-year-old Aldan Phillips goes door-to-door, visiting his neighbors' homes on Illinois Avenue in Cape Girardeau while trying to sell flower bulbs for Franklin Elementary...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush says he is going after Saddam Hussein to make the world safer, but he also has an intensely personal reason to target the Iraqi leader. "After all," he told a Texas audience Thursday night, "this is a guy that tried to kill my dad." Bush has plenty of other reasons to seek Saddam's ouster. ...

ROOM TO GROW By Mike Wells ~ Southeast Missourian Firearm and knife vendors from throughout Missouri and nearby states showcased their wares Friday afternoon at the Missouri Gun and Knife Show at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau...

Judges were impressed with the originality, workmanship and embellishments displayed in the entries at the River Heritage Quilt Show in Cape Girardeau. More than 93 quilts were entered, and several dozen more are part of traveling exhibits that include quilts from around the world and quilts with patriotic themes...

WASHINGTON -- In making the case for war, the Bush administration has delivered a bill of particulars against Saddam Hussein that includes al-Qaida terrorist links yet to be demonstrated and weapons he may or may not have within reach. Publicly, President Bush's officials are touting reports that al-Qaida operatives have found refuge in Baghdad and that Iraq once helped them develop chemical weapons. ...

WASHINGTON -- The average size of the nation's 100 most populated cities is about 168 square miles, more than triple the size in 1950, Census 2000 figures show. Cities in the South and West led the land grab. "Most growth in cities has not been in the building of big apartment blocks, but cities capturing a new subdivision" on their outskirts, said Robert Lang, director of the Alexandria, Va.-based Institute for Metropolitan Research of Virginia Tech. ...

To the editor: President Bush has yet to demonstrate the urgency for invading Iraq. He should follow his father's example and wait till after the November elections before pressing his case to the Congress. That way he could prevent his critics from claiming that pushing this issue now, while neglecting all others, is merely an insidiously cynical maneuver to distract the voters from the failing economy represented by the Enron and WorldCom scandals, Vice President Cheney's term at Halliburton and Bush's insider trading as CEO of Harken Oil, which left him wealthy while the company went bankrupt.. ...

To the editor: I have been reading with great interest the news coverage of Proposition A, the tobacco excise-tax proposal. This initiative on the November ballot is critical. This proposal will address many of Missouri's most pressing health-care needs...

By Paul Sloca ~ The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A group opposed to a measure boosting Missouri's cigarette tax by 55 cents a pack says it's gotten little financial help from big tobacco companies. Ronald J. Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said Friday that only R.J. Reynolds has pledged $10,000 for the campaign against the increase...

LAKE OZARK, Mo. -- State Auditor Claire McCaskill is running against a relative unknown with a criminal record. But she isn't taking the race for granted, expressing fear of "almost a sympathy factor" that could help challenger Al Hanson. Hanson is a convicted felon whose lopsided upset of the state GOP's favored but unknown candidate in the August primary stunned the party and political observers...

Kidding or not, Tiger Woods said last week there were a million reasons why he'd rather win a tournament than the Ryder Cup. On Friday, he added two more. Back-to-back losses in opening-day matches dropped the best player in the world to 3-8-1 for the Ryder Cup. It's the kind of record that defies spin. U.S. captain Curtis Strange didn't even try...

Goldie Duty ANNA, Ill. -- Goldie Williams Duty, 86, of Anna died Friday, Sept. 27, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 10, 1915, in Saratoga to Silas Alonzo and Rita Ann Rose Williams. She and Elbert James Duty were married Sept. 13, 1931, in Union County, Ill. He died Oct. 25, 1991...

Grojean Daughter to Cory Don and Carrie Ann Grojean of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 6:38 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, 2002. Name, Alexis Reece. Weight, 7 pounds 2 ounces. Mrs. Grojean is the former Carrie Miller, daughter of Cathy Miller and Michael Miller of Jackson. She is employed at Marcy's Planet Shoes. Grojean is the son of Joel and Sheila Crutchley of New Hamburg, Mo., and Randall Grojean of San Antonio, Texas. He is employed at Babbage's...

10 years ago: Sept. 28, 1992 Concern over lack of available rental units in Cape Girardeau has prompted debate over whether housing authority and public housing are needed; last week City Councilman Doug Richards suggested city again examine whether public housing is needed for low-income residents...

Cape Girardeau County Saturday, Sept. 28 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Marco W. Ester, 31, of Cape Girardeau, was arrested Sept. 20 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Getting an annual flu shot is a ritual many Southeast Missouri residents, especially the elderly, aren't interested in changing. They line up every year, money or Medicare cards in hand, and wait for the little stick in the arm aimed at protecting them from a week or two of severe illness, a hospital stay or even death...

It was appropriate that American schoolchildren shouted "Vive la France!" as French soldiers conducted them to safety through the rebel-held Ivory Coast city of Bouake. No doubt Jillian Arnett, 16, whose grandmother lives in Charleston, Mo., raised her voice with the others...

Who can identify the true nature of any religion? It's a question that's been addressed about Islam with particular urgency in the past year by people in and outside that faith. Muslims in the United States and around the world have offered a spectrum of answers. Non-Muslims such as President Bush and the Rev. Franklin Graham have offered their own wildly varying responses...

The extension of East Main Street to Interstate 55 and construction of an interchange at the interstate should be the city's top long-range transportation priority, say members of a committee advising Jackson on its traffic study. The stakeholders committee rates the extension of Shawnee Boulevard from Ridge Road to Greensferry Road as the second priority. ...

To the editor: Please do not show any more pictures of rusted portions of the old bridge being held together by chains. My confidence in the old bridge is at an all-time low anyway, and showing it being held together by chains just blows my mind. VIRGINIA B. HECKROTTE...

To the editor: For years, the government wanted to raise taxes on tobacco to allegedly encourage smokers to quit. Missouri now wants a new tax, anticipating $342 million a year in income and planning new programs to spend that money. Think about this: If all the smokers quit because they can't afford cigarettes, guess who is going to be paying for programs that, once instituted, will never be eliminated from the budget?...

Don't take the child WE HAVE a country that's turning into a police state. I couldn't go to my kids' high school meet for parent-teacher night without a cop standing right next to the principal. Now we have surveillance cameras that show a mom spanking her child. ...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Marion Eugene "Gene" Wheeler, 83, of Bell City died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 16, 1919, at Bell City, son of Claude and Myra Harvey Wheeler. He and Imogene Patrick were married April 3, 1947, in Greenwood, Ind...

ORAN, Mo. -- Christine Ann Miller-Kincaid, 50, of Oran died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002, in a single-car accident on Scott County Road 413 near Oran. She was born June 29, 1952, in Topeka, Kan., daughter of Max Robert and Colleen L. Alsup Miller. She and Donald Kincaid were married Oct. 2, 1981, in Sikeston, Mo...

Jewell Mae Kemp, 82, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Sept. 27, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

COBDEN, Ill. -- The funeral for Robert Stone of Cobden will be held at 3 p.m. today at Lutz and Rendleman Funeral Home in Cobden. The Rev. Gene Hart will officiate. Burial will be in Alto Pass Cemetery, with military honors by Carroll P. Foster VFW Post 3455 in Anna, Ill...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Glenn Edward Nicholson, 89, of Sikeston died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002, at his home. He was born June 1, 1913, at Sikeston. He and Mildred Chartrau were married April 19, 1987, in Sikeston. Nicholson was a 1932 graduate of Sikeston High School. He owned and operated Nicholson Tire Service 51 years, retiring in 1985. He was a member of First Baptist Church and taught Sunday School, and was a member of Sikeston Masonic Lodge 310 AF&AM, and Order of Eastern Star 137...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Sept. 28 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: At 6:19 p.m., an emergency medical service at 505 N. Kingshighway. At 10:32 p.m., an alarm sounding at 1025 N. Sprigg. Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday: At 6:27 a.m., an emergency medical service at 1000 Towers Circle, Towers North...