Stories from Thursday, April 17, 2003

When area residents gather for the Way of the Cross walk through downtown Cape Girardeau Friday, they will be remembering Jesus Christ's death and renewing their commitment to faith, event organizers said. The walk lets people reconnect with "Jesus' great acts of love," said Bob Towner, rector at Christ Episcopal Church...

Briefly Baseball A man who ran onto the field and attacked an umpire during a game between the Royals and the White Sox was charged with felony aggravated battery Wednesday. Eric Dybas also was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing for attacking first base umpire Laz Diaz at the end of the eighth inning in Tuesday night's game at Comiskey Park...

Students will pay more to live in Southeast Missouri State University housing next school year, but regents said they hope to rein in room fee increases once the school has completed major repairs and renovations to aging residence halls at a cost of $11.3 million...

Southeast Missouri State University will present its first Jack Buck Scholar Leadership Award and recognize six St. Louis area alumni at an awards luncheon today. The Southeast Salutes awards luncheon will be held at the Royal New Orleans in St. Louis...

CINCINNATI -- A judge declared a mistrial after a juror fell asleep during the trial of a man facing cocaine charges. "You have a right to 12 jurors who are awake," Judge Robert Ruehlman of Common Pleas Court told James Toran, 27. At the request of the defense, Ruehlman dismissed the jurors Tuesday and scheduled a new trial for June 5. Toran could be sentenced up to 21 years in prison if convicted of all charges, including cocaine possession and trafficking...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- In Taliban times, it would have been unimaginable: a fully stocked Irish pub serving whiskey and cold beer in the heart of Afghanistan's ultra-Islamic capital. In the post-Taliban era, Kabul's new Irish Club -- the country's only bar -- is still unthinkable, at least for Afghans. But it's a huge success with the many foreigners who are desperate for a little bit of nightlife...

April 17, 2003 Dear Patty, The Great Cape Girardeau Scavenger Hunt is under way. Once a year, the city relieves its residents of the burden of ridding themselves of broken-down appliances and couches and almost anything else no longer wanted hanging around the house. The mountains of once-treasured junk bring out scavengers, many in pickup trucks just like DC drives. They roam the city far into the night, some curbside shopping for themselves and others for resale...

NEW YORK -- The government brought new bank fraud charges against former WorldCom chief financial officer Scott Sullivan on Wednesday, accusing him of lying on financial statements to secure $4.25 billion in credit for the company. Sullivan has already pleaded innocent to securities fraud and other charges alleging he ordered accountants to move operating expenses off the books, making the telecommunications giant appear profitable when it was losing money...

UNITED NATIONS -- Syria asked the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to approve an Arab-backed resolution calling for the Middle East to be free of weapons of mass destruction. The United States said it supports the idea of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, but accused Syria of having such weapons itself...

Bob Hope named 'Citizen of the Century' LOS ANGELES -- Bob Hope, whose 100th birthday is next month, was too frail to attend the rededication of one of his stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But comedian Dennis Miller said Hope probably wouldn't have come anyway. "I know if he was up-and-about he would have made a beeline for Iraq to entertain our brave men and women over there," said Miller, one of several celebrities at the gathering Tuesday...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- American Airlines flight attendants reversed themselves and approved $340 million in labor concessions Wednesday, pulling the world's largest carrier back from the brink of bankruptcy. American welcomed the reprieve but warned its troubles may not be over...

BOSTON -- In the largest-ever settlement involving Medicaid fraud, drug giants Bayer AG and GlaxoSmithKline agreed Wednesday to pay nearly $345 million to settle claims they used a labeling scheme to overcharge the government insurance program for the poor...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's formula for distributing aid to public schools is less equitable than a system found unconstitutional a decade ago, a state audit released Wednesday said. State Auditor Claire McCaskill found that the state aid disparity between wealthy and poor school districts has widened since lawmakers rewrote the funding formula in 1993...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State agriculture officials are asking Missourians not to bring live birds from Texas and New Mexico into this state. The request issued Wednesday by the state Agriculture Department comes on the heels of a confirmed case of Exotic Newcastle Disease in a backyard flock of chickens near El Paso, Texas. It follows a warning in February against bringing in birds from California and Nevada, the two other states known to have the disease...

WASHINGTON -- Five newly designed cars and SUVs performed well in high-speed crash tests by the insurance industry, including a Cadillac sedan that was redesigned after it failed to win the highest rating. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which released the test results Wednesday, tested three SUVs and three luxury sedans by crashing each vehicle into a barrier at 40 miles per hour. The vehicles were angled so the driver's side got the brunt of the force...

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team just can't shake the error bug. The Indians committed three errors to bring their three-game total to 14, and that led to eight unearned runs in an 11-9 non-conference loss to Middle Tennessee State. With the loss Southeast drops to 18-11, while Middle Tennessee improves to 18-19...

Southeast Missouri State University's track and field teams will attempt to build on last weekend's strong performances by competing in an even tougher meet this week. On Saturday, Southeast's women finished first in the Mississippi State Invitational while the men placed second...

BOSTON -- Once a true medical oddity, children with adult diabetes are becoming commonplace. Doctors blame the twin evils of too much food and too little exercise and fear a tragic upswing in disastrous diabetic complications as this overweight generation reaches adulthood...

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- A smiling Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson was carried out on a stretcher from a plane and taken for medical examinations at a military hospital Wednesday along with six other American POWs rescued in Iraq. The seven were brought on a C-141 transport aircraft from Kuwait to this U.S. base, the latest stop on their return home after three weeks in Iraqi captivity...

ST. LOUIS -- President Bush urged the United Nations Wednesday to lift sanctions that have choked Iraq's economy for nearly 13 years as he toured a fighter jet factory that he said helped defeat "a ruthless enemy." Bush was careful not to declare the war over, and he cautioned that coalition forces still face serious risks. ...

The top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq briefed President Bush on the war from inside one of Saddam Hussein's ornate palaces on Wednesday, underscoring the death of the old regime. Four weeks after the war began, American troops raided the Baghdad home of the mastermind of Iraq's biological weapons laboratory and also discovered a recently abandoned Palestinian terrorist training camp on the outskirts of the capital...

PHILADELPHIA -- Michael Jordan's coach pleaded with him to go back in the game, and the opposing coach made sure Jordan had the chance to end his career with a basket. Jordan's last shot was a free throw, and like his final appearance in an NBA uniform, it was good...

ST. LOUIS -- Trailing early is no big deal for the Blues, even in the playoffs. Martin Rucinsky had two goals and an assist as the Blues, the best comeback team in the NHL during the regular season, did it again to take a commanding lead in their first-round playoff series. St. Louis rallied from a flat start to beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 Wednesday night...

MILWAUKEE -- Matt Morris' arm always has been tough on the Milwaukee Brewers. On Wednesday, his bat hurt them, too. Morris pitched six solid innings and hit his first major league home run, and Scott Rolen hit a pair of two-run homers as the Cardinals posted a 15-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court will decide if a former Poplar Bluff, Mo., man twice convicted of double murder deserves a third trial on the charges that landed him on death row. In December 2000, the high court overturned Cecil Barriner's first convictions for the 1996 stabbing deaths of Irene Sisk and her granddaughter Candy Sisk in New Madrid County. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State and local governments would have to meet the highest legal standard to enforce laws or regulations that impinge on religious freedom under legislation that won preliminary Senate approval Wednesday. The bill, dubbed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, would require proof of a "compelling state interest" for such restrictions. The measure, which passed on a voice vote, requires another vote to send it to the House of Representatives...

Gusting winds Wednesday afternoon knocked down trees and power lines in Cape Girardeau County, causing outages primarily in the city of Cape Girardeau. Weather forecasters were calling for a slight risk of severe thunderstorms in the area late Wednesday, but winds were expected to diminish...

Students trapped in schools labeled "persistently dangerous" by the state will have the option of learning in a safer environment under a proposal approved Wednesday by the Missouri Board of Education. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in 2002 by President Bush, labeled schools must pay for students to attend a safe school within the district or provide home schooling...

A night of heavy drinking and meeting strangers on the street ended with a bullet piercing a Cape Girardeau man's body four times -- entering his upper left arm, puncturing his lung and stopping in his right wrist. John Murphy, 41, testified Wednesday at a preliminary hearing in Jackson, saying he'd had a lot to drink the night of Aug. 5, when he was shot fleeing from two men invading his home on South Spanish Street...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Kansas received permission Wednesday to speak with Illinois basketball coach Bill Self about the coaching vacancy opened when Roy Williams left for North Carolina earlier this week. "Kansas has contacted us, and apparently will be contacting Bill," said Kent Brown, Illinois sports information director...

Patty Stotzheim resigned Wednesday as Southeast Missouri State University's gymnastics coach after four years with the program. Stotzheim, 34, said she made the decision to leave so she could spend more time with family and to pursue a law degree at her alma mater, Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn...

WASHINGTON -- Environmental pollution in North America dropped 5 percent between 1995 and 2000, according to a new study by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The study released Thursday said two of the most notable trends reflected in the overall decline are a 28 percent drop in the amount of chemicals emitted into the air and a 41 percent increase in the amount of chemicals sent largely to off-premise landfills...

WASHINGTON -- The nation's inflation picture -- other than a war-related run-up in energy prices -- looked good in March, and housing construction rebounded, offering a dose of decent news for the struggling economy. The Consumer Price Index, the government's most closely watched inflation barometer, rose a modest 0.3 percent in March-- half the size of the 0.6 percent advance posted in February, the Labor Department reported Wednesday...

Notre Dame's girls soccer team picked up a waterlogged 1-0 victory over Central Wednesday night at Shawnee Soccer Park. Playing in a steady wind-blown rain throughout, which was interrupted only by occasional torrential downpours, Brittney Little scored the game's lone goal six minutes into the second half...

To the editor: The fighting continues, but victory has been declared in Iraq. Don't expect the troops to be coming home soon. If Iraq is anything like Afghanistan, the job has just started. Victory was declared in Afghanistan, but U.S. troops are still fighting and dying there. ...

To the editor: We received a letter from our son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq. He asked us to share a portion of his letter: "I was not sure what this war was all about until I went into Iraq. Now I realize that our commander-in-chief is not oil hungry or power happy. ...

Time for thank you I'D JUST like to leave a message to all those who protested the war against Iraq. They may want to call President Bush and thank him for liberating the people of Iraq. It's breaking the law I AM concerned about some of the comments made about the situation with the students at Scott City High School who were caught drinking. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Virginia Marchildon, 89, of Cairo died Wednesday, April 16, 2003, at Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Ga. She was born March 31, 1914, in Nashville, Tenn., daughter of Walter and Cora Crocker Wood. She married L.C. "Polly" Marchildon, who died in 1996...

Dorothy M. Bayer, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, April 13, 2003, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born June 21, 1921, in DeSoto, Mo., daughter of Ernest R. and Adeline McCabe DiFani. She and John P. Bayer were married April 28, 1945, in Grand Island, Neb. He died Oct. 3, 1999...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- William R. Reiss, 73, formerly of Perryville, died Friday, April 11, 2003, at Christian Northeast Hospital in St. Louis. He was born April 22, 1929, in Perry County, son of William John and Sarah Enna Sanford Reiss. Reiss was a former inspector with General Motors. He was a member of Perryville Masonic Lodge 670, Eagles Aerie, and life member of VFW and Amvets...

Gladys Moore, 79, of Fruitland died Wednesday, April 16, 2003, at her home. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City is in charge of arrangements.

Trejo Daughter to Antonio and Delia Trejo of Jackson, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 9:34 a.m. Friday, April 11, 2003. Name, Esmeralda Lizeth. Weight, 6 pounds 5 ounces. Third daughter. Trejo is employed at El Torero Inc. Clemons Son to Brad and Angie Clemons of Wildwood, Mo., St. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Verna May Hiller, 69, of Perryville died Tuesday, April 15, 2003, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born Feb. 25, 1934, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Roy Wallace and Viola Josephine Leonard Hamilton. She and Robert B. Hiller were married Nov. 1, 1953, in Corinth, Miss...

ATHENS, Greece -- Key European leaders proclaimed a leap forward for continental unity Wednesday, welcoming 10 members to the European Union and teaming up to urge a central United Nations role in postwar Iraq. Seeking to end months of acrimony, Britain, France, Spain and Germany drafted a joint statement on the U.N. role in reconstructing Iraq and urged Washington to maintain law and order in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's ouster...

GENEVA -- For the second year running, Russia on Wednesday escaped censure by the top United Nations human rights body for alleged violations by its forces in Chechnya. In a separate action, the 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission postponed a vote on Cuba's treatment of political dissidents for 24 hours after a politically charged debate collapsed into procedural wrangling...

SEOUL, South Korea -- The United States and North Korea will try to resolve their six-month standoff over Pyongyang's suspected nuclear weapons program in talks arranged by China, the communist North's closest ally, U.S. and South Korean officials said Wednesday...

Central Middle School A Honor roll 6th Grade -- Marisa Andrews, Rachel Berry, Matt Biershwal, Megan Brandt, Jaron Brennecke, Chantel Brooks, Brittany Burnett, Kaley Childers, Sylvia Christy, Hannah Cox, Olivia Crain, Sara Diemer, Halie Dunn, Christan Edmonds, Josh Egbuka, Kristen Fondren, Brenna Frederick, Nicole Gaither, Alex Gammon, Jason Glastetter, Cat Goeke, Mick Grace, Joey Graham, Jared Green, Sami Gross, Tess Heisserer, Jamie Hillier, Amanda Kaverman, Paige Kinder, Taylor Kim, Jesse Lawrence, Heather Leible, Timothy Lester, Natalie Metzger, Olivia Metzger, Brittany Moreland, Angela Morton, Christian Murakarni, Nate Nall, Amanda Nichols, Colleen Otte, Tyler Payne, Stormy Peeler, Robert Penny, Jamie Popp, Mallory Rhodes, Preston Rhodes, Chelsey Sample, Hilary Schulman, Kris Seib, Toni Seyer, Jonathan Siemers, Trey Simpson, Blake Smith, Brett Smith, Sing-Sing Starrett, Jimmy Stuckey, Erica Swindle, Kelsey Tiechman, Sarah Uptmor, Cole Viers, Rita Walter, Cassandra Weisenberger, Adam Wendel, Tara Volkerding, Alexis Williams, Ali Yuen, Zach Zaruba.. ...

Matt Litzenfelner and Chad Reiminger each shot 37, the lowest score of the day, and Jackson (8-1) won at Sikeston's Bootheel Golf Club Wednesday. Jackson finished with a 155, followed by Sikeston (162) and Notre Dame (178). E.C. Atchison of Sikeston finished third individually with a 38...

If Scott City baseball coach Mike Umfleet could erase the events of the last two weeks, he would do it in an instant. Umfleet went into prom weekend April 5 with his baseball team at 0-3. Little did he know his team would fall to 0-8 without playing another game...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration lowered the terror alert level from orange to yellow Wednesday, saying the end of heavy fighting in Iraq has diminished the threat of terrorism in the United States. It was unclear whether the heightened alert had prevented any terrorist attacks, officials said...

TIKRIT, Iraq -- In a biblical landscape of green pastures and adobe villages, Saddam Hussein turned his hometown into a city of ornate palaces, six-lane highways and blue-domed mosques. Through the centuries, life has changed little for the tribespeople in rich-colored robes who tend sheep, wheat fields and grape orchards on Tikrit's outskirts. ...

PWP roller skating event set for Saturday Parents Without Partners will take the children roller skating at Cape Skate from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Call 334-0797 for more information. Riverside Library to hold story time Tuesday Preschool story time is at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The theme is baby birds...

Arbor Day Celebrated at Indian Park Members of the Cape Girardeau Tree Board are from left, Tom Harold, Daniel D. Muser, Rocky Hayes and participated in the annual Arbor Day Observance held April 4 at Indian Park. They planted a Willow Oak tree at Indian Park, located at Lorimier and William Streets, Cape Girardeau. The tree was one of of five trees donated by AmerenUE.By Chris Pagano ~ Southeast Missourian...

BioKyowa kicked off the Area Wide United Way's 2003 campaign, raising over $8,500 for the local community in their recent employee campaign. With over 150 employees, the average gift was $97.32 and the corporate contribution was $3,000. "These numbers are remarkable in light of the economy," stated Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way...

Marcia Southard-Ritter, center, accepts The Woman of Achievement Award from Kathy Swan, left, Zonta Status of Women Subcommitee Chairperson and Cheryl Mothes, right, Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau Area President. The award recipient must exem plify the Zonta ideals of dedication to career, family,self-improvement and service to the community, youth, women and church. By Chris Pagano ~ Southeast Missourian...

Junior and Cadette Girl Scouts of Troop 268 gathered food for distribution to needy families in the area for distribution before the Easter holiday. Pictured from left, are, Amy Hanebrink, Kayla Espinoza, Kristin Shirrell and Melissa Espinoza.Southeast Missourian...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, April 17 Firefighters responded Monday to the following items: At 5:32 p.m., motor vehicle accident and emergency medical service at Themis and Louisiana. At 11:30 p.m., emergency medical service at the 700 block of Broadway...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, April 17 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Racheal S. Kitchen, 24, of 601 Ruth, Scott City, was arrested Tuesday on a Cape Girardeau warrant for contempt of court...

Columbia, Mo., residents who care about potential drug abuse, especially by that city's children, should be pleased that they and their like-minded peers went to the polls last week. They defeated a proposal that practically would have legalized marijuana...

Today American Red Cross blood drive from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Southeast Missouri Hospital. All donors will receive a recognition item for donating. Woman to Woman luncheon from noon to 1 p.m. in the Franciscan Center at St. Francis Medical Center. Cost is $10 at the door. For information, call 331-5107...

At least two Southeast Missouri families praying for their sons in Iraq received a welcome answer last week: They're OK. An Associated Press photographer traveling with the U.S. Army's A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines took two pictures in two days of Southeast Missouri soldiers, and the AP sent those pictures around the world...

Raising hopes of a treatment for multiple sclerosis, researchers have found that stem cells injected into mice can repair damage and sharply reduce symptoms from an experimental form of MS. Seven of 26 mice recovered completely from hind-leg paralysis and others showed substantial improvement after the stem cells were injected into their spinal cords or blood...

PHOENIX -- A proposal to rename an Arizona mountain after an American Indian killed in Iraq has led to a surprisingly nasty fight between the Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers. Gov. Janet Napolitano says she wants to honor Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, a Hopi from northeastern Arizona who was the first military servicewoman to die in the war. The plan would also settle complaints about Phoenix's Squaw Peak, a name many Indians find offensive...

10 years ago: April 17, 1993 Rising Mississippi River forces closing of six Cape Girardeau streets; revised National Weather Service report predicts river will crest Tuesday at 40.1 feet, eight feet above flood stage; residents in Red Star, South Cape and other areas close to river are being alerted to threat of flooding...