Stories from Saturday, January 24, 2004

Willing to pay extra THE DAY they put religion back into public schools I will return my children to the public school sector. Until then I will continue to pay my taxes plus the tuition to send my children to a religious school. Jackson's mufflers...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Thefts Trichloric acid was reported stolen Thursday by East Missouri Action Agency at 1111 Linden. A checkbook, a wallet and its contents were reported stolen Thursday at 820 N. Sprigg...

"Beards? Bandannas? What next? This exercise has become absurd. Totally absurd." -- Daniel Robin, national secretary of France's largest union for high school teachers, reacting to a government minister's call to ban beards and bandannas from classrooms along with Islamic head scarves, Jewish skullcaps and Christian crosses...

The admirable goal of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation is for 100 percent of the students in America to be proficient in English and math by 2014. Not as admirable is the unfairness of the way the performance of each state's students is determined under NCLB...

hina, already the world's most populous country, could someday rival the United States in global economic, military and diplomatic influence as well. But will the emerging China be stable, open-minded and constructive, or inward-looking and dangerously nationalistic?...

Asian flu, Russian flu, virus A, virus B -- the air is full of bad bugs. There is no escape. All of us will get bit sooner or later. Life is fragile. We receive life from God as a gift, breath by breath. We take our breathing for granted. It's when we get the flu that we become aware of how hard it is to "get our breath." We suffer from a raspy throat; we feel achy. ...

Scott City senior Tyler Ward posted a triple-double to lead the Rams in a 64-55 victory against Scott County Central in the championship game of the Scott-Mississippi Conference tournament on Friday night at Kelly High School. Ward, a 6-foot-9 center, scored 17 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked 12 shots...

With the help of a senior-dominated lineup and a team-first attitude, Jackson's girls basketball team has racked up a 12-2 start heading into today's Notre Dame Shootout. "Since I've been coaching it seems to just happen," Jackson coach Sam Sides said. "Most of my teams are balanced. Everyone contributes."...

Southeast Missouri State University's gymnastics team remained perfect with a home win over Bowling Green 194.175-191.425 at Houck Field House on Friday. The Otahkians (4-0) won three of four events. Katie Bloom won the vault (9.8), Tara Boldt won the balance beam (9.85) and Alexis Traylor won the floor exercise (9.875). Ashley Godwin was Southeast's top scorer on the bars with a 9.825...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's women won't have a chance to break Austin Peay's long Ohio Valley Conference winning streak today. But the Otahkians will have an opportunity to propel themselves right back into the thick of the OVC race...

To the editor: A Speak Out comment criticized President Bush for appointing Charles Pickering to the federal court when Congress is not in session. This is a common practice allowed originally when Congress took longer recesses, which many wish was still the norm. ...

To the editor: On behalf of the core members of the SEMO Coalition for Peace and Justice, I would like to thank the committee that chose our organization for one of this year's Martin Luther King Jr. community service awards. This is an unexpected honor beyond description, and we are truly overwhelmed. I would also like to thank the hundreds of individuals who, during the last year and a half, contributed to the coalition's efforts to make this a better and safer place for everyone...

To the editor: On Martin Luther King Day I listened to his oration of "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" delivered April 4, 1967. It is his least well-known speech. I would like to share a few quotes (somewhat paraphrased) that are quite relevant today. Although the circumstances today differ from those in the speech, his wisdom and advice are just as important now...

Judge Edward Eugene Calvin, 73, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Jan. 13, 1931, in Burlington, Colo., son of Asa Everett and Helen Marguerite Evans Calvin. He and Barbara Nichols were married June 14, 1953, in Sidney, Iowa...

ORAN, Mo. -- Theresia Louisa Pobst, 93, of Oran died Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, at Lincoln Plaza Nursing Center in Lonoke, Ark. She was born March 7, 1910, at Kelso, Mo., daughter of Jacob and Louisa Caroline Burger Leible. She and Leo Wendlon Pobst were married March 29, 1932. He died March 16, 1986...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following items: At 8:32 p.m., alarm at 1050 Greek Drive. At 11:50 a.m., alarm at 1000 N. Sprigg. Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: At 12:34 p.m., medical assist at 1400 S. West End Blvd...

The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Steven W. Hente, 40, of McClure, Ill., was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Arrests Jason M. Amelunke, 22, of Jackson was arrested Jan. 17 on a Cape Girardeau County warrant for probation violation...

Jackson man gets three years for stabbing wife A Jackson man pleaded guilty Friday in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court to stabbing his wife five times. Derrick R. Williams Jr., 22, of Jackson appeared before Circuit Judge John Heisserer to make his plea to second-degree domestic assault. ...

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Phil Mickelson was eager to put his poor 2003 season behind him. Through three days of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, he's well on his way. Mickelson shot an 8-under 64 Friday to go to 21-under and take the third-round lead. He had a 68 in his first round of the season, followed by a 63 the second day of the 90-hole Hope...

WASHINGTON -- Halliburton will pay the Pentagon $6.3 million for possible overcharges by a subcontractor accused of giving kickbacks to supply U.S. soldiers in Iraq, a spokeswoman said Friday in new trouble for Vice President Dick Cheney's former company...

Southeast Missourians may be in for the most frigid weather of the year during the next two weeks, as forecasters call for snow and temperatures 20 degrees below normal. AccuWeather.com meteorologists said Friday that snow expected in the Plains this weekend is just the beginning of a wintry two-week period for areas east of the Rockies...

The men gathered in small circles, their hunger swelling from a smoky aroma of cooked meat. Fingers greased from the fleshy feast reached out for another slab of deer ribs, another hunk of wild boar and another piece of elk. The mood was positively primal...

By Peter Kinder We believe the people of Missouri want state government to put first things first, show progress, achieve goals and move Missouri forward. While there are several elements of the governor's agenda that Republicans in the legislature do not agree with, we are certainly open to discussing them. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Friday that former Gov. George Ryan had the power to commute the sentences of everyone on the state's death row before he left office last year. The justices found that a governor's pardon power is essentially unreviewable...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Despite a Pentagon project criticized this week as dangerously vulnerable to hackers and terrorists, reliable Internet voting from overseas still could be workable, computer scientists agree. But a secure system would not be ready for this year's presidential election, they say...

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. outsold Ford Motor Co. last year to become the world's No. 2 automaker behind General Motors Corp., preliminary sales data released by the Japanese company showed Friday. A Toyota spokesman said estimated unit sales for 2003 reached 6.78 million vehicles, up 9.9 percent from 6.17 million the previous year...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S.-backed plan for handing over power to Iraqis is unacceptable as it stands, according to a top Shiite Muslim leader who met with President Bush this week. However, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim said Friday that the Americans, as well as others, are slowly coming around to the need for elections to choose a new legislature rather than have the members named by 18 regional caucuses...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Dolls and stuffed toys belonging to children who suffered through the Nazi siege of Leningrad sixty years ago are on view in the Russian city, now called St. Petersburg. The exhibit opened Thursday, timed to coincide with Jan. 27 events marking 60 years since the end of the siege -- a powerful symbol of Soviet suffering and survival during World War II, which killed millions of Russians and remains the landmark event in the lives of many others...

ST. LOUIS -- A United Auto Workers official said he has been notified that Ford Motor Co. will announce layoffs at its Hazelwood assembly plant. The UAW has no details except that layoffs will be announced Monday and could start as early as April 26, said UAW Local 325 president Ken Dearing...

ST. LOUIS -- A Columbia man accused of snapping photographs of a couple having sex in a St. Louis County hotel room said Friday he is no Peeping Tom -- he's a private investigator. Timothy L. Chancellor, 36, of Columbia, sent the photographs to the couple and four other people with the same last name. He was charged Wednesday with three counts of invasion of privacy, a felony...

WASHINGTON -- Dick Gephardt, who abandoned his bid for the presidency, has freed his Democratic convention delegates to back another candidate but isn't ready to signal his choice. After a poor fourth-place showing in the Iowa caucuses, Gephardt quit the race on Tuesday, leaving a field of seven candidates. He indicated that he would not endorse any of his rivals before Feb. 3, when Missouri and six other states hold early contests...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. forces in Iraq captured a leader of the insurgency who is believed to be a close associate of Abu Musab Zarqawi, described by some as a key link between the al-Qaida terrorist network and toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, a senior American official said Friday...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Carl Eugene Vaughn, 74, of Rural Route 1, Mounds, died very suddenly at 10:50 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, upon arrival at the Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. Mr. Vaughn was born Aug. 9, 1929, in Cairo, Ill., son of the late James H. Vaughn and Sarah (Bauer) Vaughn...

ANNA, Ill. -- Maymie E. Taylor, 80, of Anna died Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at Jonesboro Healthcare Center in Jonesboro, Ill. She was born Sept. 17, 1923, in Riverton, Ill., daughter of Grover C. and Ida May DeWeese Harris. She and Wid C. Taylor were married March 8, 1964, in Anna. He died May 15, 2001...

MADRAS, India -- Panicked guests tried to fight their way through flames and stampeded down a narrow hallway after fire struck a makeshift wedding hall Friday in southern India, killing 45 people -- including the groom. The bride, one of about 60 people injured, was hospitalized in serious condition. ...

WICHITA, Kan. -- The Boeing Co. and the union that represents technical and professional workers at its Wichita plant have reached an impasse on whether they should even sit down to negotiate a contract until after an upcoming union decertification vote. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace told reporters at a news conference Friday it is postponing contract talks until after an upcoming union decertification vote...

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Bob Keeshan, who gently entertained generations of youngsters as TV's walrus-mustachioed Captain Kangaroo and became an outspoken advocate of less violence and more intelligence on children's television, died Friday at 76. Keeshan, who lived in Hartford, Vt., died of a long illness at a hospital in Windsor, his family said...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Prosecutors rejected a proposed deal offered by Rush Limbaugh's attorney that would have seen the radio commentator enter a court-sponsored drug intervention program rather than face charges, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Friday...

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Spirit rover lay in critical condition Friday on Mars, coughing up only a few gasps of data, as engineers struggled to diagnose the ailment and also deal with the impending arrival of its twin spacecraft on the Red Planet. ...

Magazine ordered to help pay court costs LONDON -- A High Court judge ruled Friday that a celebrity magazine that published unauthorized wedding photos of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones must pay the bulk of the couple's legal costs. On Friday, Lindsay said Hello! also must pay 75 percent of the costs of the first hearing and 85 percent of the costs of the damages hearing. ...

NEW YORK -- Three names have been removed from the list of those killed in the World Trade Center attack, bringing the death toll to 2,749, which could stand as the final count, the medical examiner's office said Friday. The official list of those missing for the first time now matches the number of death certificates the city has issued for attack victims, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner...

ROME -- Soccer hooligans -- not exactly known for well-mannered behavior -- committed a memorably despicable act at a Rome stadium a few years back, holding up a vast banner at opposing Jewish fans: "Auschwitz Is Your Country; the Ovens Are Your Homes."...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's Indians had arguably their worst performance of the season when they opened Ohio Valley Conference play on Jan. 8 with a 52-48 home loss to Austin Peay. The Indians (9-7, 2-3) hope to make amends when they take on the first-place Governors (9-7, 6-0) today in a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Dunn Center...

Heading into Friday's home game against Mehlville, Central's boys basketball team had not played a game since beating New Madrid County Central a week earlier. The Tigers' rust was apparent in a sloppy 62-46 homecoming victory. The win improved Central's record to 14-3...

DALLAS -- Marty Turco stopped 33 shots for his 16th career shutout to help the Dallas Stars open a key stretch of the season with a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. Aaron Downey scored his first goal of the season late in the opening period, and Phillippe Boucher added a power-play goal with 3:35 remaining...

Supporters of Cape Girardeau's Cottonwood Treatment Center refuse to let the children's psychiatric residential facility close without a fight. Nearly 100 staff members, parents and concerned residents packed a meeting room at the Cape Girardeau Public Library Friday afternoon and pleaded with Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder and House Majority Floor Leader Jason Crowell to somehow find enough money to keep Cottonwood open...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Teachers in 95 percent of Missouri's public school classes were "highly qualified" by federal standards to teach their subject matter last year, state officials say, and plans are being made for raising the percentage. But at least one education advocacy group questions the usefulness of such a measurement, which all states were required to provide late last year under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2002...

Lengthy legal battles that have stymied Cape Girardeau's Renaissance Aircraft manufacturing venture soon could be over, but company president John Dearden admits serious financial problems remain. Ultimately, those problems could affect city government finances, Cape Girardeau officials say...

VIENNA, Austria -- Libya gave U.N. inspectors drawings of a nuclear weapon, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday, the clearest sign yet that Libya was at some point serious about building such arms. "We have put those drawings under our seal, and they are secure," Mark Gwozdecky, chief spokesman for the U.N. ...

DAVOS, Switzerland -- Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced a partnership Friday with the United Nations to bring computer technology and literacy to developing countries. Drawing on a $1 billion Microsoft fund, the U.S. software giant will work with the U.N. ...

MILAN, Mo. -- A poultry processing plant whose closing gutted a small town's economy will reopen in the next two weeks. Premier Foods Inc., a group of local and other investors, bought the former ConAgra poultry processing plant in Milan and will reopen it Feb. 25, said Gary Christy, president of Premier Foods. When it reopens, it will have about 70 employees and one multi year contract, but investors hope to employ at least 150 people by the end of the year...

Lars Meredith Stevenson, 93, of Jackson died Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at Monticello House. He was born Oct. 20, 1910, in Shawneetown, son of Hugh Roy and Lula Emma Gladish Stevenson. He and Wanda Garrett were married March 14, 1943. Stevenson served 15 years active duty with the U.S. Army Air Corps, and later served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was an operating engineer with Franklin Earth Moving in Albuquerque, N.M., retiring in 1970. He moved to Jackson in 1987...

GRAND TOWER, Ill. -- Mildred E. Snell, 92, of Grand Tower died Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. She was born June 17, 1911, in Villa Ridge, Ill., daughter of R.C. and Cordelia Book Prewitt. She and Elmer A. Snell were married Sept. 21, 1928, in Cairo, Ill. He died Feb. 20, 1972...

BENTON, Mo. -- Virginia May Lemmink, 72, of Benton died Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, in Scott City. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel at Benton is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Wanda May Singletery, 87, of Sikeston died Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 15, 1916, in Dayton, Ohio, daughter of Frank P. and Augusta Koch Woodward. She and Balus Singletery were married Sept. 2, 1955, in Galesburg, Mich...

Margaret A. Greene, 64, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born March 24, 1939, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Willie and Ethel Lincoln Mecham. She and Clyde E. Greene were married Feb. 26, 1982, in Cape Girardeau...

Elmer Crippen, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at Cape Life Care Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

10 years ago: Jan. 24, 1994 For past four years number of criminal cases filed by Cape Girardeau County prosecutor's office has leveled off, increasing only by few dozen every year; in 1992 office filed 1,434 charges against people committing crimes within county; in 1993, that number rose to 1,453...

Hawkins Son to Lauren Elizabeth Hawkins and Benjamin Tyler Bertrand of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 5:24 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004. Name, Caleb Dylan. Weight, 5 pounds 10 ounces. Ms. Hawkins is the daughter of Teresa and Mike Carmody of Cape Girardeau and Michael Hawkins of Memphis, Tenn. Bertrand is the son of David and Kathy Bertrand of Cape Girardeau...

No reason for audit THE PEOPLE who want an audit of our Cape Girardeau schools must be out of their minds. Why have us taxpayers pay this kind of money to audit the books when, according to superintendent Mark Bowles, they're audited ever year anyway? Our schools are way behind on funds. I'm against the audit...

Basketball The sale of the New Jersey Nets to a Brooklyn developer was approved Friday by the team's current owners, the first step in returning major professional sports to the borough for the first time since 1957. The YankeeNets board approved the purchase agreement with Brooklyn Basketball LLC, a group headed by Bruce Ratner. ...

First Tuesday noon prayer to be held Southeast Missouri Hospital will be the site for the Feb. 3 First Tuesday Noon Prayer service. The informal gathering begins at noon and will be held in the Harrison Room near the main lobby. Church changes name to Wesleyan Cornerstone...

Union Planters Corp. and Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Financial Corp. have signed a merger agreement that will create the nation's 12th largest bank holding company. The new bank will be called Regions Financial Corp. Union Planters has 16 banks in Southeast Missouri, ranging from Ste. ...

WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. Kit Bond raised $634,702 for his re-election as last year drew to a close, while his Democratic challenger, state Treasurer Nancy Farmer, collected $506,693, their campaigns said Friday. Their money-raising totals from October through December are contained in reports they will submit to the Federal Election Commission. ...

Parmalat aide plunges to death from river bridge ROME -- A Parmalat employee who had been questioned in the company's fraud scandal died in an apparent suicide, officials said Friday, as investigators searched another bank office and again questioned the company's jailed founder. ...

The calendar says it's 2004, but if you attend worship services Sunday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, you might believe it was really 1854. Trinity will step back in time for its worship services to recall the days when the church would have adhered to its German roots and traditions. All the men will sit on the right side of the church and the women and children on the left...