Stories from Saturday, November 2, 2002

She was an environmental policy analyst, closing in on a master's degree and navigating Washington's turbulent political waters. But two years ago, Carly Reiter walked away to become a part-time canoe saleswoman and world traveler. And these days her immediate concern is the turbulent Mississippi River waters and not sinking her canoe in them...

NEW YORK -- The World Trade Center death toll has dropped by two to 2,795 after a New York City woman and a Florida man who had been reported missing were found alive, city officials said Friday. Police located Tina Spicer of Manhattan and Peter Montoulieu of Miami more than a year after they were listed as terrorism victims, and seven weeks after their names were read during the anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center site...

SAN FRANCISCO -- West Coast longshoremen and shipping companies reached a tentative agreement Friday on computer technology that would make hundreds of union jobs obsolete, the major sticking point in their bitter contract talks. Both sides hailed the deal to track waterfront cargo more efficiently as the first tangible progress since a 10-day lockout of dockworkers last month shut down 29 major Pacific ports...

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Authorities linked yet another shooting to the sniper suspects Friday, the wounding of a Maryland store clerk more than two weeks before the string of Washington-area snipings began terrorizing the region. The number of shootings linked to the suspects now stands at 16, including 12 killed and five wounded in the Washington area, Alabama and Louisiana...

DETROIT -- A Roman Catholic priest who admitted molesting at least a dozen boys going as far back as the 1940s pleaded no contest Friday to sexual conduct with a 13-year-old boy. Robert Burkholder, 83, who lives in Leeward Oahu, Hawaii, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years probation. He also must register as a sex offender...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- A disgruntled former employee of Saks Fifth Avenue testified Friday in Winona Ryder's defense, accusing the security chief of Saks' Beverly Hills store of saying he would invent evidence to prove the actress shoplifted. Michael Shoar was one of four witnesses called by attorney Mark Geragos, who indicated Ryder was unlikely to testify before the defense rests on Monday...

Soldier missing from base in Cuba declared dead LOGAN, Ohio -- A soldier missing from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba was declared dead, but his family still hopes to find him alive, his mother said Friday. "We just don't feel that the Army is looking hard enough. ... As far as we're concerned, he's been taken by somebody," said Ann Foraker, mother of Staff Sgt. Ryan Foraker...

UNITED NATIONS -- The latest U.S. quest for Security Council action on Iraq is based on previous Gulf War resolutions that it believes still authorize attacks on Baghdad. The references to the two older resolutions continue to hold back support from allies fearful of triggering another war...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- If Tuesday's U.S. elections are again mired in technical mishaps, officials may want to draw some lessons from Brazil, where 90 million citizens recently voted with ease in the world's largest electronic election. Since 1996, Latin America's largest and most populous democracy has gradually moved toward electronic voting. ...

RABAT, Morocco -- A fire erupted early Friday at an overcrowded prison, killing at least 49 inmates and injuring dozens of other people, authorities said. The fire started about 1:30 a.m. at the Sidi Moussa jail in coastal El Jadida, about 110 miles south of the capital city Rabat, the official MAP news agency said...

MUTLA, Kuwait -- Kuwait's government is sealing off nearly a quarter of the country -- including the area near the Iraqi border -- to the public as U.S. and Kuwaiti soldiers train ahead of a possible showdown with President Saddam Hussein. Kuwaiti authorities say the move, which takes effect today, is intended to safeguard the public during ongoing military exercises in the country's northwestern desert...

TOKYO -- Japanese lawmakers received a parliamentary report Friday that raised the traditionally taboo issue of scrapping a clause in the constitution that renounces war. The supreme law, written by U.S. occupation forces after World War II, is a cornerstone of Japanese democracy and has not been amended since its 1947 adoption...

Sharon, Netanyahu talk about possible alliance JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Friday with former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, a sometimes ally and sometimes rival, and offered him the job of foreign minister in the fragile minority government...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The challenge of defending himself against scores of war crimes charges took its toll on Slobodan Milosevic, who was too exhausted to appear in court Friday. The former Yugoslav president, who is 61, required medical attention at the U.N. detention center outside The Hague, and his trial was adjourned until Monday...

MOSCOW -- Every three months, the Rev. Emile Dumas goes through the same, unsettling routine -- applying to the Russian government for an extension of his entry visa. It's by no means a formality for Dumas, an American priest who leads a small Roman Catholic parish on Russia's Far Eastern Sakhalin Island...

ST. LOUIS -- More than 55,000 Missourians who were charged extra for life insurance because they were minorities could receive $4.8 million as part of a national settlement with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Gov. Bob Holden said Friday. The settlement, which received preliminary approval from the U.S. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Following the lead of a federal appeals court, the Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a law limiting political party contributions to candidates. The unanimous decision late Friday came after the Missouri Libertarian Party challenged the limits, claiming they violate the state constitution's free speech provisions...

CHICAGO -- Gov. George Ryan plans to meet with at least some families of murder victims regarding clemency requests for 142 death row inmates, the governor said Friday. He said he has not decided how the meetings would be held, when they would be held or which families he would meet...

Thousands of guests at Holiday Inns and their sister hotels were billed amounts that even room service, pay-per-view movies and a few stolen towels couldn't explain: $6,500 to $21,000 per night. A credit processing error dropped the decimal point in bills for about 26,000 people staying at Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza hotels last week. The guests were charged 100 times what they owed...

Omer bin Abdullah won't be leaving a paper trail this year when he makes his traditional donation to the poor during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He will fulfill his religious duty by handing cash directly to a needy family, as will many other American Muslims at a time when federal investigators are targeting U.S.-based Islamic charities in the hunt for terrorists...

Students have occupied the new high school. Local ACT scores are higher than state and national averages. Thirteen percent of students go directly into the local workforce, providing skilled labor for employers. Public school students are being prepared for the real world in top-rate facilities -- that was the message administrators shared with area business leaders at the monthly First Friday Coffee meeting at the Show Me Center...

It may not be Christmas yet, but the Cape Girardeau Public School Foundation figures it's never too early to turn in a wish list. "This fund raiser is primarily to raise funds to help complete a wish list for the new Cape senior high school," said D.D. Buerkle, chairperson of a foundation fund raiser to be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Cape Girardeau Country Club...

MEXICO CITY -- Maria Ajas normally would be kneeling at the graves of her relatives, lighting candles and laying out their favorite food. Instead, she watched her 6-year-old daughter bob between cars, begging drivers at a stoplight to toss a few coins into a plastic pumpkin...

For thousands of people charged with crimes in Southeast Missouri, getting the assistance of a free defense lawyer to represent them in court is priceless. But they might not realize it until after a case is done. Whereas prosecuting attorneys are often ennobled, glamorized and even depicted as sexy by movies and television, public defenders are painted as uncaring, disheveled and far from attractive...

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Friday accepted nearly all the provisions of an antitrust settlement between Microsoft Corp. and the Justice Department, but warned top company executives that she will hold them individually responsible for complying with her instructions...

After eight games and 28 minutes of offensive futility that saw the Scott City Rams average only eight points per game, the second half and overtime of Friday's game at Scott City seemed like an offensive renaissance when the Rams scored four touchdowns in rout to a 29-22 win...

When you have as much talent as the Central Tigers, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. Central senior receiver Chris Daniel, who came into Friday's game with just eight catches this season, used that to his advantage against the Perryville Pirates...

District champions will converge today when the Missouri volleyball state playoffs open with sectional and quarterfinal rounds in all four classes. In Class 4, Jackson will (24-9-2) square off against Nerinx Hall (29-4-1) at 3 p.m. at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis. The winner will face Rosati-Kain (19-12-2) or Cor Jesu (24-10-1) in the quarterfinals at 6...

This year at least, Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri State University are football teams heading in opposite directions. After floundering for much of the 1990s, coach Mike Hennigan led a Tech resurgence and directed the Golden Eagles to winning records the past two seasons when they went a combined 15-6. But the Eagles have taken a step backward this year with a 2-6 overall record and an 0-3 Ohio Valley Conference mark...

The Southeast Missouri State University volleyball team bounced back after its loss to the nationally ranked Missouri Tigers on Thursday night, beating Tennessee State 30-19, 30-27, 30-25 on Friday. After opening the match with a convincing first set victory 30-19, the second and third sets were a bit different. Southeast held Tennessee State off in the second set, winning 30-27. The Otahkians kept the momentum into the third set, again barely squezzing by 30-25...

Fourteen former athletes and coaches and three national championship teams will be honored today as the first class of inductees for Southeast Missouri State University's new Athletic Hall of Fame. There will be a private induction ceremony at the Show Me Center in the afternoon and the inductees also will be honored at halftime of tonight's Southeast vs. Tennessee Tech football game at Houck Stadium...

Southeast Missouri State University's cross country teams seem to be peaking at the right time, which could mean good things at today's Ohio Valley Conference Championships in Morehead, Ky. "We've been running well lately," Southeast distance coach Tammy Wenkel said. "Hopefully we'll have a good meet."...

ST. LOUIS -- The closer to the action, the better for Adam Archuleta. The Rams' safety, an outside linebacker in college, has thrived since essentially moving into that spot in the team's stingy new 4-1-6 defense. Already the team's leading tackler, two weeks ago he had a quarterback pressure and a fumble recovery in a 37-20 victory over the Seahawks...

The Hammer is back in the Rams' attack. Fullback James Hodgins on Friday passed his final test -- a full work load to test the broken foot that sidelined him since the preseason -- and coach Mike Martz named the man with the imposing nickname the starter for Sunday's game at Arizona...

WASHINGTON -- He drove around defenders with ease and did a little high-step when he made his jump shots. He scored a point for every minute he played. Michael Jordan may be 39, but who could tell on this night? His game had all the compelling elements of years past -- flow, rhythm, aggression, confidence...

AMES, Iowa -- Dan McCarney has a telephone that doesn't ring. He can't call anyone on it; no one can call him. Yet the Iowa State football coach is doing everything he can this week to keep it. It's the Telephone Trophy, which goes to the winner of the Iowa State-Missouri game each year. Missouri plays at No. 22 Iowa State today and McCarney has displayed the trophy at every team gathering...

From The Wall Street Journal We keep reading that all across America this election year Republicans are running away from Social Security reform like scalded dogs. Well, politicians lacking courage isn't news. The bigger story is that some candidates are tackling the issue head on, rebutting the usual demagoguery and so far surviving to tell about it...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Democratic state Rep. O.L. Shelton of St. Louis has resigned from the legislature to take a job at the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Shelton, who lost in the August primary for a state Senate seat, will work in the department's Division of Workplace Development in St. Louis...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After a two-year hiatus, rock-country diva Shania Twain returns to the national stage Wednesday when she opens the Country Music Association Awards live on CBS from the Grand Ole Opry House. But it's Alan Jackson who may steal the show. Jackson is up for a record 10 awards, including the top honor of best entertainer. Last year, he stopped the show with the performance of his Sept. 11-themed hit "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)."...

WICHITA, Kan. -- Three warrant officers suffered minor injuries Friday when a handgun discharged as one of the officers returned the firearm to his holster, authorities said. The gun went off around 2:30 p.m. Friday as the Wichita warrant officer prepared to leave the Sedgwick County Adult Detention Center after booking a prisoner, said deputy chief Robert Lee...

Shirley E. Boswell, 61, passed away Friday, Oct. 25, 2002, at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Calif., after a long illness. She and H. Wayne Boswell, formerly of Cape Girardeau and Phoenix, Ariz., were married Sept. 17, 1979. Shirley was born in Tallahassee, Fla., Feb. 16, 1941, daughter of Jean and Hazel Carter...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Mary L. Kline, 94, died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2002, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born March 8, 1908, in Perry County, daughter of Joe and Susan Layton Mattingly. She married Henry J. Kline. He died Dec. 13, 1958. Kline had worked in the laundry at St. Mary's Seminary. She was a member of Christ the Savior Catholic Church at Brewer, Mo., and the Blessed Sacrament Sodality...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- The funeral for Della Brown of Jonesboro will be held at 11 a.m. today at Crain Funeral Home in Anna, Ill. The Rev. Mark Kirk will officiate. Burial will be in Meisenheimer Cemetery at Dongola, Ill. Brown, 104, died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2002, at Select Specialty Hospital in St. Louis...

Mike B. Miller, 54, of Scott City died Thursday, Oct. 31, 2002, at his home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Louise M. Cole, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Nov. 1, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

10 years ago: Nov. 2, 1992 Nineteen-year-old man and two 13-year-old boys were arrested Sunday in bizarre vandalism incident at Old Lorimier Cemetery; black spray paint was used to design cross and pentagram on grave marker located in eastern section of 184-year-old cemetery; in addition, small pumpkin was placed atop marker with snake inside, and pumpkin was burned...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Neelyville, Mo., man was in critical condition at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau Thursday morning, after he was hit by a tree Wednesday when he and his son were logging near Qulin, Mo. Donald W. Miller, whose age was not available, was conscious but bleeding from the ears, nose and mouth when deputies arrived at the scene along Highway HH near Qulin, according to Butler County Sheriff's Department reports...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush never seems to tire of the line in his speech. It always brings a hush at his boisterous political rallies -- and then a burst of laughter. "See, I don't know what got in the enemy's mind. They must have thought our national religion was materialism -- that we were so selfish, so self-absorbed, so interested only in ourselves, that after 9/11/2001, oh, we might have filed a lawsuit or two."...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Driver fatigue was suspected in a truck crash that killed two Ohio teenagers and critically injured a girl on Interstate 44. Ivan Mikhalyuk, 17, was driving west early Friday when the truck swerved off the road and slammed into a bridge abutment in north Springfield...

WEST PLAINS, Mo. -- A suspect was shot in the face when he knocked a Howell County sheriff's deputy off balance while allegedly attempting to flee, discharging the deputy's service gun, authorities said. The male suspect, who was not immediately identified, was undergoing surgery Friday, Sheriff Bill Shephard said...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Special Olympics organizers like Columbia so much, they're coming back next year. A meningitis outbreak at the games' longtime home at Fort Leonard Wood forced last year's games to move to Columbia. Special Olympics Missouri president Mark Musso said the University of Missouri at Columbia and the community responded so well, that the games will return to Columbia for 2003. About 2,500 athletes and families are expected to attend...

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. -- Two people died Friday in a collision involving a vehicle traveling against traffic on Interstate 70, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. The crash killed 21-year-olds Justin W. Dyer of Oak Grove, Mo., and Amy A. Bibley of Kansas City, Mo. Both were passengers in a vehicle that was headed east on I-70 and was struck by a vehicle that was westbound in their lane, according to the patrol...

WASHINGTON -- Despite tough rhetoric, the Bush administration has yet to suspend free shipments of oil to North Korea that were provided for under a 1994 agreement. Officials are concerned that an abrupt cancellation could prompt Pyongyang to renege on other aspects of the agreement, possibly triggering a full blown crisis on the Korean Peninsula...

To the editor: In response to the article "Kinder Morgan kills power plant project": This is the kind of thing that hurts economic development for Cape Girardeau County and its neighbors. This will probably send a signal to other companies as what to expect when trying to build industry in this area -- or the state, for that matter...

ST. LOUIS -- Jim Talent and Sen. Jean Carnahan hustled Friday to energize their core constituencies and lure crucial undecided voters, as a new poll showed Talent with an apparent lead. The Democrat Carnahan spoke to about 200 gatherers who greeted her during a St. Louis union hall rally with a standing ovation...

SAN GIULIANO DI PUGLIA, Italy -- Wails of grief gave way to howls of panic Friday when aftershocks jolted this village as it recovered the last of 26 children -- including all the first-graders except one -- killed when an earthquake destroyed their school...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Seismic tests conducted this week along the New Madrid Fault zone gave scientists a better idea of how loose soil in the area would affect damage during a major earthquake, researchers said. The earth moved and geysers of water shot hundreds of feet in the air Monday and Tuesday as scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Memphis Center for Earthquake Research and Information conducted underground blasts near Marked Tree, Ark., and Mooring, Tenn...

Not a utopia yet EVERY DAY in Speak Out people promote their religion or their church. I find it ironic that Cape Girardeau seems to be so religious. If Cape Girardeau were truly as religious as it appears, it would be a utopia. And while there are places in the world worse than Cape Girardeau, it is nowhere near a utopia. The sad thing is it could be. Practice what you preach, Cape...

To the editor: I attended Lynwood Baptist Church from the early 1960s, when it was known as the Third Baptist Church with barely 50 or 60 members, until I moved to St. Louis in 1982. Cape Girardeau is a fast-growing city. If that guy wants to build a bar, he should build it somewhere else. Do not tell me that is the only parcel of land available...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Liberty, Mo., woman was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for bank fraud, authorities said Friday. Barbara Frazier, 38, also was ordered to pay about $117,000 in restitution to Bank of America, U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said...

OLATHE, Kan. -- Jurors considering a punishment for John E. Robinson Sr., who faces the death penalty for murdering two women and prison for the slaying of a third whose body was never found, finished their first day of deliberations late Friday without reaching a verdict...

WASHINGTON -- From a Rolling Stones concert to a Spike Lee movie screening and personal calls from former President Clinton, campaigns are pulling out the stops to keep donors giving in the final days before the election. But whatever creative techniques candidates try to solicit checks at the end of this two-year fund-raising season, they seldom matter more than who's doing the asking, said Robert Farmer, a veteran Democrat working with Sen. John Kerry's campaign...

WASHINGTON -- The federal government has truckloads of medicine and vaccines ready to deploy should bioterrorism strike, but only one state is fully prepared to receive and distribute those treatments. Federal officials say that while states have made considerable progress in preparing for bioterrorism, much work remains...

WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department is studying ways to revamp the tax system, perhaps by taxing spending instead of earnings. Republicans say the exercise is aimed at enhancing fairness and simplicity; Democrats say it's driven largely by politics...

1. File cabinets 2. Portable stage 3. Wrestling mats (floor) 4. Sound system equipment, dance 5. Sound system equipment, wrestling 6. Music storage cabinets 7. Sound system equipment, music rooms 8. Main concession stand foundation and utilities (track and soccer)...

Opera singer scheduled to perform at church LEBANON, Ill. -- Christine Brewer will present a recital at 3 p.m. Nov. 10 at the First United Methodist Church in Lebanon. She grew up in Grand Tower, Ill., and attended Shawnee High School. Her father, Donald Burchyett, still lives in Grand Tower, and her mother, the late Deloris Burchyett, was a member of the Shawnee Trio...

Today St. Ann's Sodality Craft Fair, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Immaculate Conception Parish Center, Jackson. Sunday Dr. Walter Schroeder will speak during worship at 10:45 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church on the topic "The Search For Pure Truth." Schroeder is an otolaryngologist in Cape Girardeau and an elder at the church. The public is invited to attend...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Nov. 2 Firefighters responded Thursday to the following item: At 6:40 p.m., emergency medical service at 291 S. Sprigg. Firefighters responded Friday to the following items: At 5:39 a.m., truck fire at 1934 Delwin. At 7:57 a.m., truck fire at 1610 N. Kingshighway...

Jackson Saturday, Nov. 2 Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: A motor vehicle accident on East Jackson Boulevard. An emergency medical service on Clark Street. A controlled fire on Ridge Road. An illegal burn on Ridge Road.

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Nov. 2 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Jeffrey M. Dye, 32, of 2547 State Highway FF, Jackson, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

With two years of a sluggish economy and the nation at war, there probably isn't a city in the United States whose leaders could stand up and give a completely positive assessment of community progress. But leaders in Cape Girardeau came darn close...

For many of Jackson's senior citizens, a good part of life revolves around the senior center. Their friends are there. Activities are scheduled. Most importantly, there's nutritious, delicious food -- and lots of it. Check out the mouthwatering menu sometime...

OK, so anybody who has seen HBO's hit series "The Sopranos" knows that mob boss Tony Soprano has what you could call a bad temper. You might even call him a lying, cheating, gutter-mouthed killer who would gun down his best friend in cold blood. But we've all got our flaws, right? And God still loves us...

Fear filled Bruce Feiler as he walked into Hebron, epicenter of Muslim-Jewish warfare and the site of the tomb of Abraham, father of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. "I wanted to see if in the bloodiest part of the conflict, people could agree on anything," says the bestselling author of "Walking the Bible" and other books...

To the editor: I enjoyed reading the article on estate planning and the death-tax laws at a recently held seminar. I couldn't help wondering what politician came up with the brilliant idea to tax death. I wonder what his estate was worth at the time of his death and if he had the proper estate planning to avoid this tax or at least minimize it...

To the editor: May I offer my congratulations and thanks for your printing of Russ Kullberg's guest column, "Liberals, conservatives revisited." I have been a resident of the area and a subscriber to your paper for nearly three years. I was beginning to believe that your editorial staff could not even spell "liberal" except in a pejorative manner. What a refreshing change...

Baseball Mets owner Fred Wilpon set a clear message to Mo Vaughn: Lose weight or else. The Mets owner threatened to terminate the first baseman's remaining two-year, $32 million contract if Vaughn does not drop pounds before spring training...