Stories from Saturday, April 12, 2003

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Mike Hardesty has spent nearly $1,000 on tattoos, including a dragon on his right arm and a couple of Harley-Davidson designs. He doesn't like an Ohio plan to start taxing tattoos. "It just never has been in the past, so why start now?" said Hardesty, 47, who builds custom motorcycles. "We pay tax on everything else."...

ST. LOUIS -- The percentage of children living in Herculaneum with elevated blood-lead levels dropped substantially from 2001 to 2002, state and federal health officials said Friday. The lead-belt town 30 miles south of St. Louis is where St. Louis-based Doe Run Co. operates the nation's largest lead smelter...

WASHINGTON -- Congress approved a record $2.27 trillion federal budget Friday, winning a razor-thin Senate victory after Republican leaders promised to limit new tax cuts to half the amount President Bush has proposed. The deal that won just enough votes to approve the overall budget restricted new tax cuts over the next decade to $350 billion. ...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush reported $856,056 in adjusted gross income for last year and paid $268,719, or about 31 percent, in federal income taxes, the White House announced Friday Bush and his wife, Laura, listed as income his presidential salary and investment income from trusts that hold their assets. ...

Diane Moran will portray Lucy Lewis Marks, explorer Meriwether Lewis' mother, in "Soldiers in the Mist, a program to be presented this weekend. "Soldiers in the Mist" will be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Cape Girardeau Public Library, 711 N. Clark St...

Cape Girardeau needs prayer for economic growth and community unity, a local minister says. The Rev. Mike Woelk, pastor of the Livingway Foursquare Church, delivered that message at a prayer meeting of about a dozen business and civic leaders on Friday. The meeting was held in the community room at My Daddy's Cheesecake in the Lynwood Village shopping center on Route W...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, April 12 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Jason A. Hao, 26, of 3023 Aspen, Apt. 1, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and failure to stop...

The stories were almost too horrifying to read. They told about a woman who died of a blood infection caused by multiple bedsores. They included the tale of a man who had much of his lower abdomen removed due to gangrenous infections. In both cases, experts found that improper nursing-home care caused the painful deaths. In many other cases, government inspectors, law enforcement and medical examiners have allowed such nursing homes to continue unsafe practices unimpeded...

It would be tough to argue that teaching isn't a tough job. It's day after day of being on stage, trying to keep students' attention and impart to them the knowledge they will need to be successful adults. If teachers are successful, those students grow up to be productive members of the American workforce. If they aren't, those students are unprepared for college and the professional jobs that a university education allows...

During Holy Week, television often features biblical dramatizations. But this year, cable's History Channel offers four documentaries on what archaeology tells us about Jesus and his times. The carefully researched programs are enhanced by handsome visuals and well-paced scripts...

To the editor: Regarding political correctness and religious beliefs: I believe the Constitution allows me not only to express my Christian faith and beliefs (not to mention that this nation was founded on the premise of freedom to choose the religion I practice), but also to respect those practices as much as the memory of any civil rights leader...

To the editor: I read with surprise your editorial support of the smoking ban in New York. As a practicing conservative, the view of less government has always been the goal. As a smoker I am aware of the dangers and agree that in most public places smoking can and should be controlled. But it has been my experience that once bans are in place they do not allow for any variance from the goal...

Don't mess with history SNAKE HILL is history. Leave it alone. Do not straighten Snake Hill. It's been that way for years. My daughter agrees. If they are straightening it because of the wrecks, maybe it's good to keep it crooked. That's a good way to catch the drunks and the kids acting up. We want to leave tradition as it is. Do not straighten Snake Hill...

To the editor: On Tuesday, the River City Business and Professional Women's Club will join thousands of women across the United States in a national day of action against unfair pay called Equal Pay Day. Tuesday is symbolic of the point into the new week that a woman must work to earn the wages paid to a man in the previous week...

Linda L. Hines, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, April 8, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born April 10, 1942, at Ardeola, Mo., daughter of Elmer Clifton and Marie Grahm Watkins. She and John W. Hines were married Feb. 11, 1969, in Cairo, Ill. He died May 6, 1995...

ATLANTA -- It's a good time to be a flag maker in Georgia. Just when many residents got in the habit of displaying the current state flag -- approved in 2001 -- lawmakers have rolled out three possible replacements. The legislature is poised to pick a new flag in the next couple of weeks, but that might fly less than a year, when the state holds a referendum. ...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A 21-year-old British peace activist was shot Friday during fighting in the Gaza Strip, the second member of the Palestinian-backed International Solidarity Movement shot this month. Doctors declared him brain dead. The other, an American, was seriously injured...

Christians see prayer as both a comfort and a tool in war with Iraq ON THE NET Prayer sites: www.presidentialprayerteam.org/ www.prayforourpresident.com/ From staff and wire reports Though they are thousands of miles from the Iraqi desert, many area Christians are connected to the conflict through prayers...

A cement-truck driver was pinned under his rig for nearly two hours Friday afternoon as rescue workers tried to pull him out following an accident on Interstate 55 northbound between the Fruitland and Jackson exits. Gregory Smith, 32, of Cape Girardeau was conscious and talked to rescue workers as they cut away metal while wallowing in thick mud at the bottom of a hill many feet below the interstate...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Anyone who thought the Masters would return to normal Friday only had to see Tiger Woods lick his finger to chalk up his first birdie -- on his 22nd hole. Or take a look at the top of the leaderboard and find Mike Weir. The little lefty from Canada made short work of a long, soggy Augusta National course that was supposed to be a haven for big hitters...

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Blues were surprised and pleased with their one-sided playoff-opening win over Vancouver. They just aren't going to be satisfied with it. After dominating the Canucks and goalie Dan Cloutier 6-0 late Thursday night, the Blues are eager to take a 2-0 lead back home after tonight's game...

Southeast Missouri State University's football program wraps up what coach Tim Billings considers to be a successful spring practice period with an intrasquad game tonight. The annual Red vs. White spring game, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Houck Stadium, will feature local television news personalities as celebrity coaches. There is no admission charge...

Southeast Missouri State University gymnast Ashley Godwin hopes to finish off her best college season with a big regional performance. Godwin, a junior from Cape Coral, Fla., is the only Otahkian who qualified for today's NCAA South Central Regional meet at the University of Missouri in Columbia. She will compete in the all-around...

Briefly Baseball Right-hander Joey Hamilton agreed to a minor league deal Friday with the Reds. Hamilton went 4-10 with a 5.27 earned run average in 17 starts and 22 relief appearances for the Reds last year. He rejected an offer of salary arbitration after the season, leaving him a free agent...

After three nonleague victories this week allowed Southeast Missouri State University to extend its record winning streak, the Indians are ready to jump back into Ohio Valley Conference schedule with their first road action of the OVC schedule. The Indians (16-8, 2-0) and Eastern Kentucky (12-14, 1-1) will have a three-game weekend series in Richmond, Ky. There will be a noon doubleheader today and a noon single contest Sunday...

Lynn Dempster, a former Southeast Missouri State University regent who along with her husband was one of the school's major benefactors in the 1980s and 1990s, died Friday at a Sikeston hospital. She was 76. "I think we all feel a great sense of loss," said Don Dickerson, a friend and president of the board of regents. "I think they cared very much about the university."...

Know the difference between the pitch and the scrum? No? That's OK. Join the rest of us sports fans in the United States. Or you could ask Joey Hann. As the hard-playing, joke-cracking captain of the Kohlfeld Scorpions Rugby Club of Cape Girardeau, Hann, 27, knows a thing or two about the sport -- enough to help keep the team and its band of ruggers on course for a spot in the Western Rugby Football Union playoffs...

NEW YORK -- Diet guru Dr. Robert C. Atkins was in a coma and on life support Friday after falling on an icy sidewalk and hitting his head earlier this week. "While we are all hoping for a miracle, and every measure possible is being taken to save his life, his chances of a meaningful recovery are slim," said his spokesman, Richard Rothstein...

CASSOPOLIS, Mich. -- A girl whose disappearance with a convicted killer led to a nationwide search that ended with his arrest has been charged with stealing firearms from her parents' home. Cass County prosecutors charged Lindsey Ryan, 14, with receiving and concealing stolen property. An innocent plea was entered on her behalf. Her attorney, Dale Blunier, declined comment Friday...

HAVANA -- Three men convicted of hijacking a passenger ferry last week were executed by firing squad Friday, a swift response by Fidel Castro's government to a recent string of hijackings to the United States. The executions coincided with a crackdown and stiff prison sentences for scores of the government's most vocal critics -- both cases reflecting a new determination by Cuba to squash perceived threats to its socialist system...

SAN'A, Yemen -- Ten key suspects in the bombing of the USS Cole escaped from a Yemeni prison Friday, dealing a major blow to the investigation into the bombing blamed on the al-Qaida terror network. Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed in the Oct. 12, 2000, attack...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Ethelyn "Lynn" Matthews Dempster, 76, of Sikeston died Friday, April 11, 2003, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born Aug. 10, 1926, in Johnson County, Clarksville, Ark., eldest daughter of Herbert Spencer and Flora Ann Lee Matthews Sr. She and Robert A. Dempster were married in May 1979. He preceded her in death March 23, 1995...

Ellis R. Hecht, 73, of Shawneetown passed away Thursday, April 10, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Ellis was born Aug. 16, 1929, at New Wells, son of Rudolph T. and Aleida Wachter Hecht. He and Dorothy Ruehling were married March 31, 1951. She survives...

Dianna Lee Bollinger, 57, of Scott City died Friday, April 11, 2003, at her home. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City is in charge of arrangements.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- "Taps" is played here two dozen times a day, the notes as haunting and lonely as death, this hallowed ground's abiding presence. In Arlington National Cemetery, where the nation buries many of its war dead, horse-drawn caissons bear flag-draped coffins across a sea of white, military-issue tombstones. Buried here are those who served in Vietnam, Korea, the two World Wars, the Civil War, the American Revolution...

American troops took the northern city of Mosul without a fight and awaited surrender from holdout forces in western Iraq on Friday, dismantling the remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime. U.S. officials agreed to stem looting in Baghdad and other areas...

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar -- Odai Hussein is the ace of hearts. Qusai Hussein is the ace of clubs. The ace of spades, naturally, is their father, Saddam Hussein. The U.S. military has issued a most-wanted list in the form of a deck of cards, distributing them to thousands of U.S. troops in the field to help find senior members of the government...

ST.PETERSBURG, Russia -- President Vladimir Putin said Friday he welcomed the fall of Saddam Hussein, but called the U.S.-led war in Iraq illegitimate and a threat to international law. Speaking after a summit with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac, Putin signaled Russia was ready to cooperate with U.S.-led coalition forces on reconstruction, saying Moscow would consider writing off Baghdad's debts...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A dozen years after her son disappeared with Iraqi authorities, Mahadi Khmas Hatim heard the rumor: Hundreds of political prisoners were still alive, trapped in cells beneath Baghdad's military intelligence headquarters. "God, God, I ask you," cried the 70-year-old woman, raking her fingers down her face Friday outside the abandoned building. "Find our son!"...

Two members of the relief agency Doctors Without Borders, missing in the chaos of Baghdad since April 2, turned up safe Friday, the organization said. The two volunteers, head of mission Francois Calas, 44, of France, and Ibrahim Younis, a 31-year-old logistician from the Sudan, were part of a six-member team that had been working at al-Kindi hospital in northeast Baghdad...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops walked into a two-story house in an enclave of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party on Friday and discovered boxes of Italian pistols, Soviet-era Kalashnikovs and American-made rifles still wrapped in plastic, along with an inventory that said they belonged to the president's son, Odai...

MATTHEW APGAR * photos@semissourian.com Recipients of the Edna C. Kinder Excellence in Teaching Award stood with Dr. Jerry Kinder after receiving their awards. From left were Don Porter of Central Junior High, Julie Harrington of Franklin Elementary, Mary LeGrand of Central Junior High, Sharon Williams of Alma Schrader Elementary, Kinder, Dava Knotts of Jefferson Elementary, Cathy Cook of Clippard Elementary, Theresa Burke of Blanchard Elementary and Janet Wigfall of Central Middle School. ...

BEIJING -- He's a businessman in his 40s. He has four children and lives in the industrial town of Foshan in southern China. And, except for a small circle of doctors and Chinese officials, that's all the world knows about the man who is cited as the world's first known case -- and survivor -- of severe acute respiratory syndrome...

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong banned quarantined residents from leaving the city as the deadly SARS virus turned up Friday in two more Asian nations, in both cases among foreigners who had recently been to Hong Kong. Indonesia and the Philippines reported their first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, bringing to 20 the number of nations that have reported SARS cases...

HOUSTON -- Jeff Kent was only able to help the Houston Astros because the bullpen came through. Kent hit a two-run homer off Matt Morris with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night, giving Houston a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals. "I just put it into the wind," Kent said. "Morris pitched a great game. We just got to him late. Our bullpen gives us confidence by keeping it close so that we can come back."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden's office has understated its operating costs by billing state agencies for some of its personnel and travel expenditures, a state audit said Friday. The report by State Auditor Claire McCaskill comes as she is considering whether to challenge Holden in next year's Democratic Party primary for governor...

WASHINGTON -- Congress approved a package of payments for people injured by the smallpox vaccine, a move praised by health care unions and those hoping to move the stalled inoculation program forward. Under the bipartisan agreement, people disabled by the vaccine could get up to $50,000 per year in lost wages. That's significantly more than the Bush administration proposed...

Central's baseball team struck for eight runs in the second inning and defeated visiting Potosi 11-1 in five innings Friday. Mark Dunaway highlighted the inning with his first home run, a two-run blast. Seth Hudson and John Thies added two-run doubles in the inning...

At first, you may not notice the difference. But look closer, and you'll see double. When Missouri's first redesigned driver's licenses in six years are released next week, the design will be mostly the same. The biggest change will be the addition of a small "ghost portrait" next to the main photo...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A would-be kidnapper grabbed a 10-year-old girl on her way to school, and passers-by foiled the attempted abduction by trying to block his car and yelling for help. The girl, whom police did not identify, said the man pulled into a driveway Thursday, got out of the car and began cursing and demanding that she get in...

Kenneth Lloyd Ford, 43, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 10, 2003, at his home. He was born Nov. 11, 1959, in Cape Girardeau, son of Lloyd Newton and Mary Lee Smith Ford. Ford was a meat cutter. Survivors include two sons, Chris Ford of Cape Girardeau, Scott Ford of Bullhead City, Ariz.; mother and stepfather, Mary Lee and Joe Davis of Cape Girardeau; and a sister, Cheryl Welter of Benton, Mo...

WOLF LAKE, Ill. -- Roy Lee Turner, 35, of Wolf Lake died Friday, April 11, 2003, at Union County Hospital. He was born Aug. 23, 1967, in Kansas City, Mo., son of William Albert and Annie Turner. He and Jeannie Smith were married Sept. 17, 1990, in Jonesboro, Ill...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Arthur L. Hodges, 82, of Tamms died Friday, April 11, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 2, 1921, in Cairo, Ill., son of Liston and Ginnie Crippen Hodges. He and Viola Randolph were married Oct. 26, 1957, at Unity, Ill...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Hazel M. Tucker, 81, of Perryville died Thursday, April 10, 2003, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Dec. 14, 1921, in Randolph County, Ill., daughter of Pius and Marcella Brewer Moonier. She and LeRoy J. Tucker were married Feb. 18, 1939. He died Sept. 7, 1977...

WILSON CITY, Mo. -- Latriko Gant, 26, of Wilson City died unexpectedly Wednesday, April 9, 2003, in Charleston, Mo. He was born Dec. 17, 1976, in Sikeston, Mo., son of Dwight Rice and Varetta Gant. Gant was a 1995 graduate of Charleston High School...

Willard E. Newberry, 82, of Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 11, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born March 28, 1921, at Carthage, Mo., son of Byron O. and Lenna Maynard Newberry. He and Doris M. Erickson were married May 10, 1946, in Springfield, Mo...

KELSO, Mo. -- Coena Veronica Reinagel, 79, of Kelso died Friday, April 11, 2003, at her home. She was born March 15, 1924, at Kelso, daughter of Albert Joseph and Bertha Heuring Schwartz. She and Henry William Reinagel were married Oct. 12, 1943, at Kelso. He died April 25, 2000...

10 years ago: April 12, 1993 Strawberry growers in Cape Girardeau area say cloudy, cool and wet weather conditions this month are delaying development of strawberry plants and may push back first picking of berries until mid-to-late May. Judy Schott has been named development director of Notre Dame Education Fund Foundation; she will manage day-to-day activities of foundation and will coordinate fund-raising activities of variety of school organizations...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Dessie Mae Lincoln, 75, of Marble Hill died Thursday, April 10, 2003, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Nov. 18, 1927, at Marquand, Mo., daughter of Homer P. and Lula Jane Jordan Upchurch. She and Robert Jack Lincoln were married March 8, 1947. He died Jan. 20, 1992...

Daily American Republic DONIPHAN, Mo. -- An autopsy confirmed that the body authorities found in a wooded area of Ripley County Wednesday afternoon is that of a Doniphan man. Based on preliminary findings from the autopsy performed Thursday at Mineral Area Hospital in Farmington, William Joseph Wilkerson, 20, died of a gunshot wound to his head, according to Ripley County Coroner Mike Jackson...

Today Live video taping at 2 p.m. of concert by Eddie Crook and the Langleys, Christian gospel artists, at the A.C. Brase Arena Building. Admission to the taping is free. A concert will be at 7 p.m. with the Inspirations and the McKameys, Gabbards, Safe Harbor, Luther Rhodes and Crook. For information, call Good Life Promotions at 332-0146...

Fruitland church to be site for satellite seminar Fruitland Community Church will host "Did the resurrection of Jesus really happen?," a satellite seminar from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday. The seminar includes speaker Hank Hanegraaff and authors Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg. It will present historical evidence that supports the claims of Christianity and common challenges to the resurrection...

SALT LAKE CITY -- An atheist who sought to pray in city council meetings for deliverance "from weak and stupid politicians" got the blessing of the Utah Supreme Court on Friday. The court ruled that if officials in Murray, Utah, want to pray during government-sponsored events, the opportunity to pray must be equally accessible to all who ask...

MANASSAS, Va. -- Sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad may have been exposed to nerve or chemical agents during his military service in the Persian Gulf War, his attorney told a judge Friday. Jonathan Shapiro said after the court hearing that the defense has specific information that indicates possible exposure, but he declined to elaborate...

WASHINGTON -- Consumers snapped out of a funk in March and splurged on cars, garden supplies and furniture. The biggest increase in retail sales in 17 months occurred even as energy prices soared. After a string of mostly dismal economic reports, analysts were encouraged by Friday's sales figures and another report showing that consumers' confidence improved in April. Still, they weren't ready to declare the economy's trouble days over...