Stories from Saturday, December 13, 2003

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The United Nations -- already forced out of Iraq by suicide bombers -- may have to abandon its two-year effort to stabilize Afghanistan because of rising violence blamed on the Taliban, its top official here warned Friday in an interview with The Associated Press...

Just over a week remains for the families of Sept. 11 attack victims and injured survivors to apply for money from the government's compensation fund. So far, 4,443 claims have been filed by relatives of those who died and by people injured in the attacks. The average payout is $1.77 million. The deadline to apply is Dec. 22...

Tyrus Bingham, 41, of Cairo, Ill., was charged Friday with stabbing 27-year-old Joseph Jones Jr. of Cairo, who was killed at about 9:15 p.m. Thursday. Bingham was arrested in the early morning hours of Friday by Cairo police officers with the assistance of the Alexander County Sheriff's Department. He is being held at the TriCounty Detention Center in Ullin, Ill., on charges of first-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated battery, with a bond set at $500,000...

Hannibal Courier-Post Ever have a job where no matter how hard you tried and how well you did, you were still the target of criticism from all sides? Welcome to Henry Hungerbeeler's world. ... Hungerbeeler, who announced ... that he is resigning as the state transportation department director, has had his hands full since taking over those duties in March 1999. .....

Columbia Daily Tribune State Rep. Jeff Harris of Columbia is introducing a resolution allowing toll road authority in Missouri. A public vote to amend the state constitution would be required. Toll roads consistently have been rejected in the past, but some think more support might exist now because transportation funds are short. ...

The Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau was one of the wonders of the Midwestern world when it opened in 1928. At the time, it was the only vehicular bridge across the river between St. Louis and Memphis. People previously crossed the river at Cape Girardeau on ferries with names like the Effie Buffington, the City of Cairo and the Pawpaw. ...

Millions of people stand in line for hours to see the latest dramas on the Broadway stage or on the movie screen. Yet these same people miss the greatest drama of all: The story of Christmas. Perhaps we miss the drama of Christmas because the story has become too familiar. We know the lines by heart. Perhaps we see the people in the Christmas story as merely characters and not real people at all. The Christmas story is a nice story, but it's not real-life, so it doesn't mean much to us today...

hristmas is a favorite holiday for Doug Breite, and this year he's sharing his enthusiasm --and a bit of the Christmas story -- with the community. Breite, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, turned his lawn into the town of Bethlehem using lights and wooden cutouts...

Nativity scenes of Jesus' birth are visible this month -- though rarely on government property. But many other much-beloved Christmas folkways have secular or pre-Christian origins rather than biblical ones. Consider the date itself. The Bible doesn't give Jesus' actual birthday and implies it was in the springtime. In A.D. 320, Pope Julius I arbitrarily set Dec. 25 and the Emperor Constantine, a recent convert, soon made the feast permanent...

To the editor: Looking at my Thursday morning Southeast Missourian, there was a good picture of the snow falling on Wednesday. It looked like a Christmas card picture. Looking at the picture again before reading the article, I thought, "That looks like my mailbox, which I decorated for Christmas, in the picture." Then I said to myself, "That is my mailbox."...

To the editor: On behalf of the entire board of directors, 2003 campaign cabinet members, family of funded programs and thousands of program clients, the Area Wide United Way extends its heartfelt thanks to all those who contributed to our 2003 campaign...

To the editor: I would just like to know why Gov. Bob Holden feels he must cut education spending at every possible opportunity. At this point I wonder if it gets much worse. School districts are losing outstanding teachers, programs and the ability to give students a quality education. I'm sick and tired of reading in the paper everyday that Holden threatens to cut the education budget. Who does he think this is helping? I can't think of anyone...

LaVern J. Bangert, 79, of Jackson passed away Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 25, 1924, in Jackson, daughter of Charles and Erna Lowes Meyer. She and Wilbur "Wib" Bangert were married July 5, 1946, in Osceola, Ark. He passed away Oct. 30, 1998...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, trying to calm a political storm, said Friday that Vice President Dick Cheney's former company should repay the government if it overcharged for gasoline delivered in Iraq under a controversial prewar contract. "If there's an overcharge, like we think there is, we expect that money be repaid," the president told reporters when asked about the Halliburton contract controversy...

DETROIT -- How big will the crowd be at the game they're calling "Basketbowl?" Well, there will be so many fans that most will have trouble figuring out whether the game starts with a jump ball or a coin toss. When Michigan State hosts Kentucky on Saturday, a world-record crowd of close to 80,000 is expected to pack into indoor Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions...

Students at Notre Dame Regional High School received a first-person account Friday of what things are like in Iraq right now. U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, shared photos and stories from her recent trip to the Middle East with members of the freshman class at the Cape Girardeau parochial school...

Americans' demand for imported goods -- everything from cars and clothing to those hot toys for Christmas -- climbed to an all-time high in October, in the process creating a record U.S. trade deficit with China. In a more hopeful sign for battered manufacturers, American exports also rose, to the highest level in 2 1/2 years...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Doug Weight scored with 8.7 seconds left in overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. Weight rammed in a pass from Pavol Demitra seconds after Keith Tkachuk leveled Columbus defenseman Darryl Sydor in open ice. When officials did not signal an obstruction call on Tkachuk, a crowd of 17,892 booed and threw cups on the ice...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- No wonder they call this the silly season. In a topsy-turvy day at the Target World Challenge, Padraig Harrington made four birdies from off the green on the final six holes for a 5-under 67 that gave him a one-stroke lead Friday over Tiger Woods, Davis Love III and Chris DiMarco...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Even as the University of Missouri system Board of Curators gave Elson Floyd, university system president, a glowing review Friday, newly released jailhouse recordings give more examples of Floyd's wife engaging in racist talks with former basketball player Ricky Clemons...

The early-season struggles for Notre Dame's boys basketball team continued Friday night as visiting Fredericktown opened up a big early lead and held off the Bulldogs for a 61-54 victory. Notre Dame fell to 1-4 while Fredericktown improved to 4-1. D.J. Hinkle poured in a game-high 24 points for Fredericktown, which led 19-5 after one quarter. Josh Collier and Kyle Tesreau each added 12 points...

Jackson's boys basketball team came into Friday night's home opener against Dexter riding a two-game winning streak and unranked in the SEMO Top 15 poll. But the Indians (3-1) pulled ahead by as many as 10 points against the sixth-ranked Bearcats, then withstood a second-half comeback for a 60-52 win Friday...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Charleston's boys basketball team lived up to its No. 1 state ranking in Class 3 Friday night by routing Cape Girardeau Central 75-57 in the championship game of the Sikeston Invitational Tournament. The Bluejays improved to 5-0 and dropped the Tigers to 4-2. It was Central's second consecutive second-place showing, coming on the heels of last weekend's performance in the Farmington Tournament...

Terrick Willoughby entered his freshman year at Southeast Missouri State University hoping to earn a little playing time. Instead, he's been the Indians' regular point guard since the beginning of the season and will make his eighth straight start tonight when Southeast (4-3) welcomes Division II Oakland City (5-5) to the Show Me Center in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff...

EL PASO, Texas -- Shoshana Johnson, who spent 22 days as a prisoner of war in Iraq after being shot during an ambush, was discharged from the Army on Friday. Johnson was a cook for the 507th Maintenance Company when it was ambushed in March. She was shot in both ankles and captured with five other soldiers, including Jessica Lynch. Nine soldiers died in the ambush...

WASHINGTON -- Wholesale prices retreated by 0.3 percent in November, pulled down by falling costs for gasoline, beef and cars, suggesting that the economy's resurgence isn't fanning inflation. The decline in the Producer Price Index, which measures prices before they reach store shelves, came after prices rose by 0.8 percent in October, the Labor Department reported Friday...

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union scaled down plans for its own military command Friday to ease U.S. concerns about NATO unity, as leaders of 25 countries haggled over a first-ever EU constitution intended to boost their global clout. The defense deal aims to end months of bickering over a French-German proposal, put forth at the height of trans-Atlantic tensions over the Iraq war last spring, for an independent EU military headquarters...

Joe Thomas Nelson, 94, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003, at his home. He was born April 17, 1909, in Henning, Tenn., the son of Louis Grant and Lubertha Shanks Nelson. Rosie Lee Nelson was his first wife. He then married Lessie Foster in 1942. She preceded him in death in 1995...

Rosella Green, 84, of Bradenton, Fla., died Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, at her home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Connie Kay McDaniel, 51, of Sikeston died suddenly Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003, at her home. She was born Aug. 3, 1952, in Independence, Iowa, daughter of Morris and Zoe Vande Voorde. She married Lester McDaniel. McDaniel was a 1970 graduate of East Buchanan High School in Winthrop, Iowa. She had worked at Wal-Mart, and was currently employed at Good Humor-Breyers...

Baseball Kevin Brown gave his tentative approval Friday to the proposed trade that would send him from Los Angeles to the Yankees for Jeff Weaver. New York also closed in on signing free-agent outfielder Kenny Lofton to a two-year contract for about $6 million. For the trade to become final, Brown had to waive his right to block it, both players had to pass physicals and the Yankees had to review Brown's $105 million, seven-year contract...

TodayCookie walk from 9 a.m. to noon at Grace United Methodist Church. Annual concert, titled "Christmas with family and friends: Celebrating the gift of eternal life" at 6 p.m. at Greater Dimension Church. Community children's Christmas pageant "Tonight the King is Born" performed at 6:30 p.m. at Fruitland Community Church....

Church surprises Teen Challenge with cookies Volunteers at Christ Presbyterian Church gathered Wednesday morning in the church kitchen to bake dozens of cookies for the Teen Challenge Mid-America residents. With assembly-line precision, the volunteers donned aprons, lined up cookie sheets and went into action under the direction of Glenda Crosno, who also arranged delivery of 30 gallons of donated milk to accompany the cookies...

Cape Girardeau County The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Clyde A. Wallace, 34, of Tamms, Ill., was arrested Dec. 5 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Jesse L. Southern, 28, of Cape Girardeau, was arrested Dec. 7 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: At 5:27 p.m., medical assist at 210 Franks Lane. At 7:53 p.m., alarm at 1050 Greek Drive. At 9:37 p.m., medical assist at 531 Boxwood Drive, No. 7. At 9:53 p.m., Dumpster fire at 1721 Cape Meadows Circle...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Dewayne A. Hill, 30, of 5384 Highway 525, Jackson, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of stealing and property damage. Timothy G. Little, 41, of 3622 Old Hopper, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Thursday on Cape Girardeau warrants for failure to appear...

LEXINGTON, Mo. -- A man whose pickup crashed into a Missouri State Highway Patrol vehicle stopped along Interstate 70, killing a state trooper and seriously injuring the motorist he had pulled over, was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail. Paul Daniel, 30, of New Hampton, pleaded guilty in October to four traffic misdemeanors -- failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, failure to operate in a single lane, having no valid commercial license and careless and imprudent driving...

OSLO, Norway -- Keiko, the killer whale made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, has died in Norwegian coastal waters where he remained after millions of dollars and a decade of work failed to coax him back to the open sea, his caretakers said early Saturday...

Cape Girardeau voters may get a second chance to vote on a proposed quarter-cent fire sales tax. Mayor Jay Knudtson said Friday such a tax could provide needed funding for fire and police operations hampered by equipment breakdowns and salaries that aren't competitive with other cities' public safety departments...

DENVER -- Hours after Dave Stellick arrived on a flight from Atlanta, he was in a drug store looking for cold and flu medication. "I was sitting next to a guy on the plane that was sneezing and I was just thinking, 'I know I'm going to get sick in a week,"' said Stellick, 36, of Atlanta. "Too much traveling, too much flying sitting next to sick people."...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The U.S. 61 and Main Street intersection was reopened Friday evening. The intersection had been closed so the Missouri Department of Transportation could reduce the inside radius of the roundabout to accommodate the largest trucks. The island also was modified to help farm machinery negotiate the roundabout...

ST. LOUIS -- More than 30 years after its mention in a regional master plan, a new Missouri River bridge and 8-mile extension connecting St. Louis and St. Charles counties opens this weekend to both fanfare and concern. Commuters anxious to cut their driving time, as well as developers and area politicians who pressed for the new corridor, are touting its completion. ...

Not under God THINGS ARE going downhill for America. We have so much filth on TV that those who have values have to monitor it for their children. Many others couldn't care less. The most popular music is filthy rap. And all this plus pornography is protected by free speech. I don't think our Founding Fathers had this in mind for one nation under God...

The first time Ike Hammonds saw the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses was 13 years ago during tour of the beer-maker's brewery in St. Louis. Their enormity amazed him. "You've got to be impressed by something that makes the ground shake when it walks by," the Cape Girardeau police corporal said...

10 years ago: Dec. 13, 1993 William T. Drury, 38, and his son, Brandon, 13, escaped unharmed yesterday afternoon after making an emergency landing in an alfalfa field near Jackson. Until recently, when someone on campus of Southeast Missouri State University dialed 911, the call went to the Cape Girardeau Police Department; but now that Cape Girardeau, Jackson and county are on line with new or improved 911 systems, the university has followed suit, and emergency calls go directly to the university police.. ...

PANMUNJOM, Korea -- Hopes faded Friday for a quick breakthrough in the North Korean nuclear crisis, with European diplomats saying the North shows no sign of compromise, and South Korea indicating new six-nation talks won't happen until next year. The developments came amid a flurry of attempts to breathe life into a new round of negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs...

LONDON -- Ozzy Osbourne stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating for more than a minute after a crash on an all-terrain vehicle, a newspaper quoted his wife as saying Friday. Sharon Osbourne said a security guard who was with the rock star resuscitated him, the Daily Mirror tabloid reported. Osbourne, 55, fractured his left collarbone, eight ribs and a neck vertebra in Monday's accident at his estate in Buckinghamshire, southern England...

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- National Guardsmen lowered cameras through river ice and scoured abandoned buildings and roads in North Dakota and neighboring Minnesota on Friday in a search for Dru Sjodin, the college student apparently kidnapped from a mall parking lot. ...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents detonated a bomb alongside a U.S. military convoy west of Baghdad on Friday, killing one soldier and wounding two others, the military said. Separately, another soldier died in Baghdad from what was described as a "non hostile" gunshot wound. ...

JERUSALEM -- The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in an interview published Friday that he believes Israel has nuclear weapons and suggested Israel rid itself of the stockpile to promote Mideast peace. Mohamed ElBaradei also revealed that he has toured some of Israel's nuclear plants, although not the reactor in the southern town of Dimona, where it is believed Israel produces arms. ...

Many gaps had to be leapt to build the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge: 4,000 feet across the Mississippi River, Illinois' initial reluctance to join in the project, different political allegiances on each side of the river, and technical problems with the bedrock that stopped construction for a time. When dedicated today, the $100 million bridge will symbolize the region's commitment to progress...

On a bright September day in 1928, 5-year-old Virginia Kimbel strapped on new patent leather shoes her mother had purchased especially for the occasion and was among the first to look down at the mighty Mississippi from atop Cape Girardeau's new bridge...

Building the project around breathtaking photos of the Mississippi River bridges -- old and new -- the Southeast Missourian has produced a keepsake book today's Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge dedication. The commemorative limited edition showcases 60 pages of full-color, professional-quality photographs combined with commentary from local dignitaries as well as many sponsors' congratulatory expressions and reflections...

Two years ago, Sherry Yaeger carefully picked the name of her home decor gift shop based on what she believed eventually would overtake downtown Cape Girardeau. Renaissance. "I wonder why I thought of that?" she said coyly. "It's a rebirth of the old, mixing of the old with the new. It's renewal. It's exactly what's happening in downtown."...

When the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is dedicated today, Cape Girardeau residents will experience a similar historical moment in time that people in two other Mississippi River towns have shared in the last decade. The Clark Bridge at Alton, Ill., and the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge in Hannibal, Mo., are the two most recently built bridges spanning the great river between Illinois and Missouri...

Unless foul weather changes the plans, three flatbed trailers positioned midspan in the eastbound lanes of the bridge will serve as the stage for an array of dignitaries, including both Missouri senators and the late congressman's widow, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, and their family. Five-hundred-seventy-five chairs will be available for the audience. The public is asked to bring lawn chairs. Standing room will be available...

Boxes of canned goods and food, fleece blankets, toys, dolls and games filled a 16-foot trailer and a pickup truck bed Friday afternoon when volunteers from the Cape Girardeau Jaycees picked up items for Toybox and Christmas for the Elderly. But the boxes and bags represented more than gifts for children and senior citizens who might otherwise have empty stockings this Christmas...