Stories from Saturday, December 14, 2002

ON THE NET Samaritan's Purse: HTTP://WWW.SAMARITANSPURSE.ORG Franklin Graham remaking father's ministry with activist emphasis By Tim Whitmire ~ The Associated Press...

VIENNA, Austria -- Saddam Hussein's 2,400-page nuclear dossier contains scant new information that might help the U.N. atomic agency in its hunt for weaponry, the agency's chief disclosed Friday. Most important, a skeptical United States contends, is what's missing from the 12,000-page declaration Baghdad gave the United Nations...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- U.S. military authorities on Friday were investigating a helicopter crash that killed five American soldiers in the hills of central Honduras. Investigators from the U.S. Army Safety Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., traveled to Honduras as the bodies of the victims were flown back to the United States...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Attorney General Jay Nixon filed court papers Friday seeking to remove a central Missouri prosecutor for allegedly using his office telephone to solicit sex in return for legal services. Nixon is seeking to remove Stephen Concannon, of Morgan County, on claims he violated a state law by patronizing prostitution and by using county resources to make the solicitation...

ST. LOUIS -- A man lunged at a federal prosecutor in court Friday moments after he was convicted of charges he directed another man to kill a government witness in a drug and weapons case, the government said. Qusai Mahasin, 23, was quickly subdued after leaping toward assistant federal prosecutor Tom Mehan after the verdict was announced, U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jan Diltz said. Mehan was unharmed...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- An Oklahoma woman isn't just crying over spilled coffee. She is suing Burger King for third-degree burns suffered when the cup lid gave way and dumped the hot liquid in her lap. Donna Aslanis claims Burger King is negligent for injuries to her legs, thighs, buttocks and genitalia after she spilled coffee purchased in 1998 from a restaurant drive-through window in Rolla...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Officials at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library say they would love to offer a home for a notebook the late president used during his law school days. Sotheby's of New York had expected the notebook to fetch $40,000 to $60,000 at an auction Friday. That was a bit steep for the library or for the library's nonprofit support group, the Harry S. Truman Library Institute...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott apologized Friday for reopening old racial wounds with remarks on segregation, and asked "forbearance and forgiveness" as he struggled to quell a controversy that threatened his hold on power. Apologetic and defiant by turns, Lott emphatically rejected Democratic calls for his resignation. "I'm not about to resign for an accusation for something I'm not," he said, adding that none of his Senate GOP colleagues had suggested he do so...

WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger stepped down Friday as chairman of a panel investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, citing controversy over potential conflicts of interest with his business clients. "It is clear that, although specific potential conflicts can be resolved in this manner, the controversy would quickly move to the consulting firm I have built and own," Kissinger wrote in a letter to President Bush, who appointed him. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A trial judge didn't err in excluding second-hand testimony a former Sikeston, Mo., man said could have cleared him of murder, a state appeals panel has ruled. A Scott County jury convicted David Lee Robinson of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the Aug. 5, 2000, shooting death of Sheila Box of Sikeston. Robinson was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He never will be eligible for parole...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department Saturday, Dec. 14 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Darren M. Riegert, 23, of Cape Girardeau was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Dec. 14 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Albert H. Bartlett III, 29, of St. Louis was arrested Friday on a St. Louis County warrant for driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Dec. 14 Firefighters responded Thursday to the following calls: At 4:10 p.m., emergency medical service at 1019 S. Sprigg. At 4:57 p.m., emergency medical service at 1738 Themis. At 6:31 p.m., carbon detector alarm at 55 N. Benton...

"Is there anything we need to do tonight?" I heard the question coming from my husband in another room. "Yes, we have to go Christmas shopping," I answered. It seems as if all my days (after work hours) and nights are filled with preparations for Christmas now. But they are things I perceive are imposed on me by standards of the world. I asked myself how I could be available for God during Christmas -- I had too much to do!...

Editor's note: Cape Girardeau resident Stratton Tingle is writing letters for the Southeast Missourian on a periodic basis describing his mission trip while in Africa. Hello Southeast Missouri, We've been very, very busy lately with odd jobs around the place. The World Food Program didn't have any maize to give in November, so, after finishing up the paperwork, I didn't have much to do as far as maize distribution goes, but the student missionary coordinators found work for us....

FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- An Army helicopter on a training mission crashed while returning to Fort Rucker, killing two pilots, authorities said Friday. The U.S. Army Aviation Center said the AH-64D Longbow Apache crashed Thursday night about 12 miles from Fort Rucker's main post. An instructor and student pilot were on board...

SAN DIEGO -- A 19-year-old Marine recruit died after complaining of chest pains during a water-survival training exercise, officials said. Pvt. Samuel J. Bruss of Kenosha, Wis., had just left a pool at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Thursday when he told a duty corpsman he was having chest pains, the Marines said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy was planned...

NEW YORK -- Three people reported lost in the World Trade Center attack have been confirmed as alive and their names have been removed from the list of people missing on Sept. 11, city officials said Friday. The discovery drops the number of people killed in the terrorist attack or reported missing to 2,792, according to the city's tally...

STARTING FROM SCRATCH By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian Much like Moses and the Israelites wandered through the desert in search of the promised land, an area Jewish group has been trying to find itself a home...

Trinity Barge, one of the largest employers in economically depressed Pemiscot County in Southeast Missouri, plans to lay off about 500 of its 545 workers in February. Workers at the barge fabrication plant in Caruthersville, Mo., received notice of potential layoffs this week, just before the holidays. That's unless the plant, which is actively seeking new contracts, manages to bring in some new business, Trinity spokeswoman Nancy Farrar said Friday...

The resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law brought relief, prayers and some sadness from Roman Catholics who watched the priest sex abuse scandal mushroom over the past year. Area Catholics watched with interest as the stories of abuse unfolded, particularly since their former bishop was a central figure. Law served as bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Roman Catholic Diocese from 1973 to 1984 before being assigned to Boston...

An engineer working on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge project was summoned into court Friday, charged with punching another driver in the face in an apparent fit of road rage. A witness gave police the license plate number of a blue van driven by the man Cape Girardeau resident Marilyn Zeller said reached in her car window and struck her after she left the Hardee's parking lot on William Street Tuesday afternoon...

The key components to the Southeast Missourian's new $2.5 million printing press were delivered to the newspaper's printing plant Friday with the hopes that the first edition will roll off the state-of-the-art presses no later than the end of January...

Bothered by a sore left knee throughout the year, Tiger Woods had arthroscopic surgery this week and will miss the season-opening Mercedes Championships next month in Hawaii. "From what I've been told, the operation went well," Woods said Friday on his Web site, tigerwoods.com...

BOULDER, Colo. -- After a week of final exams and football practices, Jeremy Bloom is trading his cleats for skis -- at least temporarily. Bloom, Colorado's elusive kick returner and wide receiver, returns to his other love -- mogul skiing -- when he competes in a World Cup moguls event in Finland on Dec. 19...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The only swapping taking place on the opening day of baseball's winter meetings was of stories about inactivity. General managers wandered between lobbies at the vast Opryland Hotel asking each other if anything was going on. As of early Friday night, not a single trade and been made...

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama's search for a football coach took another frustrating turn Friday when New Orleans Saints assistant coach Mike Riley rejected the job offer. Riley said Alabama athletic director Mal Moore refused his request for more time to consider a similar position at UCLA. He plans to visit UCLA after the Saints' home game against Minnesota on Sunday...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Facing Larry Johnson one-on-one, Michigan State safety Jason Harmon stood the Penn State tailback up at the 4-yard line -- then felt himself being pushed back, step by step, into the end zone. Just another defender brushed aside...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Iowa quarterback Brad Banks used to strike the Heisman pose with friends while growing up in Florida. Now he's part of what could be one of the closest races in Heisman history. Banks put up impressive numbers this season, but so did USC's Carson Palmer, Penn State's Larry Johnson and Miami teammates Ken Dorsey and Willis McGahee...

Scott City remained unbeaten Friday night with a 70-62 boys' basketball road victory over Oran. Junior Jeremy Schlosser led with 20 points for the Rams, who improved to 3-0. D.J. Walton added 13 points and Mark Dannenmueller and Tyler Ward each finished with 11...

Southeast Missouri State University has four games left before starting its Ohio Valley Conference season. All four opponents appear tough to beat, but some less daunting than others -- especially tonight's contest at winless Missouri-Kansas City. Not that Southeast coach Gary Garner thinks his team will have an easy time in the 7 p.m. tipoff at Municipal Auditorium. But Garner says the Kangaroos (0-5) are an opponent the Indians (3-4) should be able to defeat...

KENNETT, Mo. -- I confess to God and my Republican relatives that I am a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, formerly of Independence -- and proud of it. This attachment to both a political friend and foe of my father started on a hot summer afternoon in July 1934, when HST arrived at our home for a pre-election strategy meeting with a handful of politicians gathered to give advice on how a county judge could win a first term in the U.S. Senate...

To the editor: In response to the article "Cape man recognized for dedication to Boy Scouts": We just read the very fine article on Joe Russell. We have known Mr. Russell for approximately 45 years and agree with the article. We became friends of Mr. ...

To the editor: I just moved here from St. Louis, and I would like to respond to the Speak Out comment that said noisy cars are, "stepping on my right to live in a quiet home, on a quiet street, in a quiet town." These are privileges that exist because we live in a good community. ...

INDIAN PASS WILDERNESS, Calif. -- A faint footpath threads through volcanic rock and glittering quartz near the Colorado River -- desolate land considered sacred by the Quechan Nation and profitable by a Nevada gold mining company. It marks a modern-day Indian battleground...

LOS ANGELES -- David Lee Roth has filed a lawsuit against his ex-Van Halen bandmates, accusing them of conspiring to keep money from him. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court alleges that Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony diverted royalties and breached their fiduciary duty to Roth...

LOS ANGELES -- A new President Bush doll is talking tough on terrorism, but like the real president, it occasionally misspeaks, too. "We're working hard to put food on your family," says the 12.5-inch-tall likeness, which features clips from Bush speeches and campaign stops. "I will not hold this nation hostile."...

News that NFL referees blew nine calls in one game was never news to the league office. There, it was just another reminder that nobody beats the law of averages. A day after two Minnesota newspapers reported getting hold of a confidential league memo to the Vikings, NFL officials confirmed the gory details: The officiating crew working Green Bay's 26-22 win Sunday over Minnesota committed more faux pas than you could spot in back-to-back episodes of "Elimidate."...

The second major snowfall of the season dropped a slushy, slippery mess on Cape Girardeau County roads Friday, causing several car accidents throughout the day and emptying area schools early. But the outlook for today indicates safer driving conditions, with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 40s, which should melt any snow left over from about half an inch of precipitation that fell in the area Friday...

Southeast Missouri State University's Board of Regents voted Friday to increase tuition by as much as $8 a credit hour for the spring and summer semesters if Gov. Bob Holden cuts state higher education funding later this month. But the regents capped the credit-hour surcharge at $8. University president Dr. Ken Dobbins will have to come back to the regents for approval should a larger increase be needed to balance the school's budget...

CINCINNATI -- Between bites of cheese-smothered chili, between sips from paper cups at the office water cooler, one name is on the tip of everyone's tongue. Pete. Pete. Pete. Word that Cincinnati's most famous -- some would say most infamous -- sports figure might be getting a second chance has enlivened a city dragged down by the Bengals' predictable losses and the Reds' unpleasant surprises...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.N. teams were held up for two hours on Friday at a newly declared site -- an infectious diseases center -- forcing inspectors to use their hot line to higher Iraqi authorities for the first time since returning to the country last month...

Over the years, the agendas for the joint meetings between the Jackson Board of Aldermen and Cape Girardeau City Council have included laundry lists of items that affect both communities. It's smart that leaders of cities whose boundaries touch meet once in awhile to be sure they're on the same page about progress...

It's an exciting time in Missouri transportation history -- or, at least, it has the potential to be. U.S. Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri will chair the Senate subcommittee charged with writing a bill to distribute up to $33 billion in federal transportation dollars over six years to the states. Ostensibly, his powerful role on the committee could swing a few more dollars Missouri's way...

Trinity Lutheran Church at Egypt Mills, off County Road 635, will host a live Nativity scene from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 21 at the church. The children's groups at the church are involved in the production. For information, call the church at 334-4549. Hanover Lutheran Church will hold a living Nativity pageant from 4 to 6 p.m. ...

Three Cape Girardeau sisters made some specific requests of Santa Claus this year, and their parents are hoping for a Christmas wish to come true. Rachel, 9, Kristy, 6, and Kelly, 4, each listed about 10 separate items on their wish lists for Santa. But because their family is having financial difficulties, the parents have turned to Toybox for help...

Mr. and Mrs. S have outlived their children and likely will spend Christmas Day without their grandchildren visiting. The couple live a distance from any relatives, and often are left to themselves during the holidays. They rent their home, so they do have some living expenses. Social Security and disability payments are their only sources of income...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Friday he will take the smallpox vaccine along with U.S. military forces, but he is not recommending the risky inoculation for most Americans. Vaccinations for a few dozen military personnel began Friday, and by late January states are expected to begin inoculating health care response teams and others who would respond to a smallpox attack. ...

UNITED NATIONS -- Over Syrian objections, the U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned last month's "acts of terror" against Israeli targets in Kenya and deplored the claims of responsibility by the al-Qaida terror network. By a vote of 14-1, the council urged all 191 U.N. members "to cooperate in efforts to find and bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of these terrorist attacks." It was a rare show of support for Israel from the U.N. Security Council...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The European Union invited 10 new members to join it Friday in a historic opening to the former communist east designed to reunite the continent after decades of Cold War division. The agreement was reached at the end of one of the most significant European meeting for decades. Years of intricate negotiations ended with warm embraces from leaders once separated by the Iron Curtain...

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. -- Public health officials were trying to determine Friday what sickened dozens of Jacksonville elementary school students who fell ill while rehearsing for a Christmas program. The 74 students complained of dizziness and nausea as they rehearsed at the Jacksonville High School Bowl on Thursday, police and school officials said. ...

To the editor: Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's recent public utterances -- he opined that the United States would have been better if the then-segregationist Dixiecrat presidential candidate Strom Thurmond had won back in 1948 -- put me in mind of Dr. Strangelove's involuntary reflex in times of stress: the spastic raising of his right hand in a salute and the hilarious attempt of his left hand to suppress the right's spasm...

The funeral for Cheryl M. Wallgren of Jackson will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Zion Lutheran Church. The Revs. Paul Short and Wayne Schwiesow will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday and at the church Monday after 8:30 a.m...

BENTON, Mo. -- Glenn Bollinger, 85, died at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at his home. Glenn was born Oct. 23, 1917, at Scopus, Mo., son of Bernie E. and Elsie Crader Bollinger. He and Alma Hooker were married Jan. 10, 1938. She preceded him in death Oct. 25, 1979...

Bonna Merle Hunt, 90, of Jackson died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at Perry Oaks Manor in Perryville, Mo. She was born Dec. 24, 1911, in Alton, Mo., daughter of William H. and Emma Test Braswell. She and the Rev. William Harry Hunt were married May 15, 1938. He died Jan. 4, 1989...

YOUNT, Mo. -- U. Sherman Hahn, 78, of Arnold, Mo., died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, in Arnold. He was born Nov. 7, 1924, at Yount, son of Joseph Franklin and Mattie Cones Hahn. He first married Wanda Fay French Dec. 16, 1944. She died Aug. 30, 1999. He later married Jackie...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Martin John Reiter, 90, of Puxico died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at Three Rivers Healthcare North Campus in Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was born May 6, 1912, at Puxico, son of John Adam and Emma Ida Meyer Reiter. He and Avis Mildred Potter were married June 16, 1928. She died Dec. 29, 1996...

Vergie Lipe-McRaven, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at Ratliff Care Center. She was born June 29, 1924, at Naylor, Mo., daughter of Joseph and Edith Foltz. She first married Claude Eugene Lipe, and later married Mac McRaven. Both preceded her in death...

ANNA, Ill. -- Joseph Larock, 73, died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at Union County Hospital. He was born Feb. 3, 1929, in Chicago, son of Ralph and Elizabeth Pfenning Larock. Survivors include friends at Mulberry Manor in Anna. Graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Anna Cemetery, with the Rev. Jimmy Keller officiating...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Rev. Wilbert E. Griesse, 85, of Fort Smith, Ark., died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at his home. He was born May 11, 1917, at Meinert, Mo. He married the former Doris Schamburg. Griesse was a 1936 graduate of St. Paul's Academy and College at Concordia, Mo., and a 1940 graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis...

10 years ago: Dec. 14, 1992 Cape Girardeau's Board of Education sacks Central High School football coach Gary Lynch and assistant coach Gary Garner; assistant football coach Larry Clemens resigns his coaching positions; school board president Ed Thompson says board is seeking new direction in football program, direction in which he felt Lynch and others weren't headed...

Daily Dunklin Democrat POPLAR BLUFF, Mo.-- About 35 students from two Southeast Missouri schools put together a kit house in about two hours Thursday at Three Rivers Community College as they kicked off a project called "If I Had a Hammer." Seventh-graders from Delta Junior High School in Deering, Mo., and students from Pemiscot County Vocational Technical School near Hayti, Mo., built the house, complete with windows, door, floor, siding, roof and front porch, as part of a special Missouri Tech Prep project overseen by TRCC.. ...

Daily American Republic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Do-it-yourselfers will soon have a new place to shop for supplies. Home Depot finalized a purchase Thursday of nearly 18 acres of land on Westwood Boulevard. "They already have equipment setting up on the site," said Robin Blackwell, a spokesman for former property owner Blackwell-Baldwin...

Too good a dealTHERE'S SOMETHING I'm not understanding about Cape Girardeau's proposed water park. If the water park would produce the revenue that the city council and the Southeast Missourian have reported, why hasn't some private investor not already built one? Since when is the city supposed to involve itself with collecting extra taxes to invest in a money-making venture?...

Today The Rev. John J. Leibrecht, bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Roman Catholic Diocese, will celebrate the 5 p.m. Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Jackson. During the service, 59 teenage candidates for confirmation will be presented...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. intelligence agencies believe any smallpox samples Iraq possesses came from the last domestic outbreak of the deadly disease in the 1970s, rather than from rogue Russian scientists or other external sources, U.S. officials said. Iraq is not believed capable of using smallpox as a weapon, and probably has only small amounts of the virus, the officials said. Indeed, U.N. inspectors, before leaving Iraq in 1998, made little mention of smallpox as a threat from Iraq...