Stories from Saturday, February 28, 2004

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson made short work of a long day at the Match Play Championship, both needing only 28 holes to win two matches and reach the quarterfinals. Woods, who narrowly survived the first round, never trailed in both matches and never even made it to the 15th tee except for post-match interviews...

A credit card scam has targeted Citibank customers, including those in Cape Girardeau, asking them to e-mail their ATM/debit card numbers and personal identification numbers to a fraudulent computer link. Mark Rodgers, a Citibank spokesman in New York, said the scam is just one of many on the Internet that has targeted banking and credit card customers worldwide...

In Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, we think we're almost immune from the kind of seemingly random crimes that plague big cities. St. Louis is celebrating because the number of homicides dipped to 69 last year, the lowest total since 1962. Cape Girardeau had one killing in 2003, Jackson and Scott City none...

Life is extremely busy for almost everyone -- like running on a treadmill. The difference is one can step off a treadmill anytime he desires, unlike dismissing life's demands. One morning while lackadaisically sipping my usual cup of steaming black coffee, I tried to understand why I didn't feel as happy and fulfilled as usual. ...

Class 2 BOYS DISTRICT 2 AT POPLAR BLUFF, BLACK RIVER COLISEUM (CHAFFEE VS. GREENVILLE PLAY-IN GAME AT GREENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL) FEB. 28-MARCH 5 TEAMS: NO. 1 EAST CARTER COUNTY (20-4), NO. 2 ADVANCE (16-9), NO. 3 SOUTH IRON (13-7), NO. 4 SOUTHERN REYNOLDS (12-10), NO. 5 MEADOW HEIGHTS (14-11), NO. 6 VAN BUREN (13-10), NO. 7 PUXICO (5-14), NO. 8 GREENVILLE, NO. 9 CHAFFEE (1-21)...

DISTRICT BASKETBALL CAPSULES CLASS 1 BOYS District 1 at Clarkton March 1-4 Teams: No. 1 Scott County Central (13-12), No. 2 Gideon, No. 3 Clarkton (17-4), No. 4 Delta (Deering), No. 5 Risco, No. 6 Southland, No. 7 Naylor, No. 8 Cooter...

Class 3 BOYS DISTRICT 2 AT BLOOMFIELD FEB. 28-MARCH 4 TEAMS: NO. 1 CHARLESTON (20-3), NO. 2 SCOTT CITY (20-4), NO. 3 BLOOMFIELD (16-8), NO. 4 WOODLAND (13-11), NO. 5 EAST PRAIRIE (8-14), NO. 6 KELLY (11-13), NO. 7 CLEARWATER, NO. 8 ST. VINCENT (14-9)...

Southeast Missouri State University's track teams got off to a solid start Friday during the OVC indoor championships in Charleston, Ill. Heather Jenkins won the 20-pound weight throw for the second year in a row, this time with a distance of 61-1 1/2...

To the editor: This is in response to the column by Rebecca McDowell Cook. I can not speak to her other figures and conclusions, but I can speak to her offhand comment about "$20,000 television sets for the Senate." Apparently, at least in this instance, Cook did not check her facts...

To the editor: For years churches have lectured young people on the evils of Hollywood spectaculars featuring excessive violence and have blasted Hollywood's use of extravagant marketing to sell such material. Now the same churches embrace a massive marketing campaign promoting a movie that by its producer's own admission contains scenes intentionally fictionalized to produce maximum violence...

It's just a ploy IF THE Cape Girardeau City Council votes to do away with spring cleanup, the city is going to have more illegal dumping and junkier looking yards. I think it's a ploy by the city to start cutting things like that instead of other places where it is really needed and could make a difference in the finances of the city...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- G.E. "Bill" McFerron, 83, of Chaffee died Friday, Feb. 27, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 14, 1920, in Advance, Mo., son of Abner Foster and Grace Edith Bollinger McFerron. He and Elizabeth "Betty" Campbell were married July 3, 1946...

Kaile Elizabeth Hall was born into heaven Friday, Feb. 20, 2004, at 4:47 p.m. Her parents are Holly and Brian Hall of Scott City. Our heavenly father is now holding the 19 1/2-inch six-pound angel. Some babies are born as boys or girls, but ours was born with wings...

Opal M. Jaco, 88, of Jackson died Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004, at Jackson Manor. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

Stewart judge throws out most serious charge NEW YORK -- A federal judge Friday tossed out the most serious charge against Martha Stewart, a count alleging she deceived investors in her company when she publicly declared her innocence in an insider-trading scandal. ...

Cape resident pleads to federal gun charge Gary Lee Harris, 44, of Cape Girardeau, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He appeared before U.S. District Judge Henry E. ...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court declined a request by the state attorney general Friday to immediately shut down San Francisco's gay weddings and nullify the nearly 3,500 marriages already performed. The decision marked yet another setback to conservatives in their fight to block the rush to the altar by gay couples in San Francisco. More than 3,400 couples have tied the knot since the city began issuing marriage licenses two weeks ago, under the directive of Mayor Gavin Newsom...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It's the sort of mail most folks don't look forward to receiving: a notice from a credit card company that you haven't been paying your bills. But Discover Card has tried to soften the blow by using greeting cards created by Hallmark Cards Inc. for some customers who have missed payments...

As budget cuts continue to take a toll on Missouri school districts, local superintendents say they will not accept a pay increase next year if their teachers don't get raises. In Cape Girardeau, administrators say they will actually take a pay cut next year because all travel stipends have also been eliminated. For administrators at the central office, that will mean around $1,000 less in annual salary next year...

Denis Rigdon was surprised to learn that aside from physical appearance, there is no scientific way to distinguish people of different races. There are no DNA links, no blood type specific to a certain race, as Rigdon discovered while watching part one of a community film series sponsored by local churches and Southeast Missouri State University...

A 65-year-old man died Friday afternoon when the farm tractor he was operating flipped backward on a steep grade off County Road 657, north of Cape Girardeau. Cape Girardeau County Coroner Mike Hurst identified the victim as Dearl W. "Bud" Boyd of rural Cape Girardeau. He was pronounced dead at the scene...

U.S. pays most of reward for Saddam's two sons WASHINGTON -- The United States has paid the bulk of $30 million in reward money to the informant who led U.S. troops to the hideout of Saddam Hussein's two sons last July, the State Department said Friday. ...

SIRTE, Libya -- Libya on Friday welcomed the lifting of a long-standing ban on U.S. travel to the North African country and said it would start destroying bombs designed to carry chemical weapons. "Positive, positive," Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalqam said in response to a question about the lifting of the U.S. travel ban. "The wheel started to roll," he told The Associated Press outside a pan-African summit being held in the coastal city of Sirte...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi leaders were unable Friday to agree on an interim constitution as they tried to bridge wide differences over major issues, including the shape of the role of Islam and Kurdish autonomy, a day before the U.S.-set deadline for finishing...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Rebels seeking to oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide seized a strategic town Friday and said they will blockade the chaotic capital to "close the circle" around the embattled leader. Aristide said he wouldn't step down...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A Carthage, Mo., man who contends he developed a rare lung disease from breathing artificial butter flavoring vapors wafting from large vats while working at a southwest Missouri microwave popcorn plant will be the first to have his claims heard at trial...

WASHINGTON -- For the first time, the United States will be hit with trade sanctions approved by the World Trade Organization because of a fight in Congress over how to restructure $5 billion in corporate tax breaks. Starting Monday, a wide range of U.S. exports to Europe from roller skates to jewelry, steel, textiles and various farm products will be subject to a 5 percent penalty tariff that will ratchet higher by 1 percentage point each month over the next year unless Congress acts...

WASHINGTON -- The FBI ordered a review of some aspects of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing investigation Friday, reopening the question of whether Timothy McVeigh may have had more accomplices, government officials said. Reacting to an Associated Press story earlier this week, the FBI ordered agents to determine why some documents did not properly reach the bureau's Oklahoma City task force during the original investigation or get turned over to McVeigh's attorneys before he was executed in 2001, officials said.. ...

Seniors enrolling in the Missouri Senior Rx Prescription Drug Program must have applications postmarked by today. The program pays 60 percent of the cost of each eligible prescription drug once a deductible is met. An annual enrollment fee applies based on income. ...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Dennis Harvey Stevens, 84, of Advance died Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004, at Advance Nursing Center. He was born Nov. 8, 1919, at Bell City, Mo., son of Matthew and Melinda Nicholson Stevens. He and Cleo Proffer were married June 17, 1944, in Denton, Texas...

Helen Mildred Wessel, 86, of Gordonville died Friday, Feb. 27, 2004, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 21, 1917, in Jackson, daughter of John O. and Ida Hitt Statler. She and William H. Wessel were married Oct. 1, 1942. He died June 10, 1989...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Virginia Lee Lamb, 84, of Redlands, Calif., died Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004, at her home. She was born July 13, 1919, at Chaffee, daughter of Frank and Pearle Moore. She married Joy Mouser, who preceded her in death. She later married Toby Lamb. He also preceded her in death...

Definitions added or revised Combination sign -- definition added Fire-resistant wall -- definition added Home occupation -- now allows small amount of stock in trade to be kept Front lot line -- no longer restricts front lot line on a corner lot to narrowest side...

After 18 years on the south side of a building at 116 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau's first mural will be removed in order for the building's new owners to make renovations. The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri and the River Heritage Mural Association, however, plan for the mural to live on at a different downtown location yet to be decided...

The Jackson Board of Aldermen Monday night is expected to approve widespread changes in its zoning codes, culminating a process that has been ongoing for well over a year. The changes include topics ranging from billboards to cellular phone towers to temporary and permanent business signs...

A girl playing boys high school sports is not unprecedented, but there are few who have done it as successfully as Saxony Lutheran sophomore basketball player Lauren Lueders. Lueders, playing for Saxony's first-year varsity program, has averaged 10 points and seven assists per game while helping her team compile a 17-5 record. The Crusaders will begin Class 1 District 2 play at 5:30 p.m. Monday against Marquand, as other schools in classes 1-3 get under way today...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A Perryville man out on parole is back in law enforcement custody after authorities discovered a meth lab in his residence. The Perry County Sheriff's Department executed a search warrant Thursday afternoon at 1025 Old St. Mary's Road, Apt. 3 for drug manufacturing equipment and paraphernalia...

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- At one time, Sunday morning worshippers at Fellowship Church satisfied their spiritual hunger with God and the Bible -- and their physical appetite with Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Then pastor Ed Young preached a sermon series on the biblical principle of the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson on Friday filed for a fifth two-year term in Congress. Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, has represented Missouri's 8th Congressional District since 1996. The district spans 28 counties in the southern part of the state, including those in Southeast Missouri...

Q: How soon may I apply for a permit to carry a concealed gun? A: That depends upon the sheriff. After Thursday's ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court, which effectively upheld the legislature's power to pass last year's law allowing concealed guns, many sheriffs said they were waiting for more information from lawyers. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Confusion reigned Friday as sheriffs across Missouri struggled with when, whether and how to begin taking concealed gun applications from residents following a complex ruling by the state's highest court. Several rural sheriffs began signing people up for conceal-carry permits Friday, just one day after the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the legislature's right to legalize concealed guns...

JUPITER, Fla. -- After years of bench duty, Kerry Robinson is eager for his shot to become the starting left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Albert Pujols is moving to first base this season, now that Tino Martinez has been traded to Tampa Bay. That leaves a vacancy in the outfield. Robinson, 30, believes he's the man for the job and compares himself to the table-setter for the world champion Florida Marlins...

The New Salem Baptist Academy girls basketball team of Marble Hill will play for a second consecutive state title today in the Missouri Christian High School Athletic Association. New Salem (18-10) defeated Christian Outreach of Hillsboro 25-23 in Friday's Class 2A semifinals in Joplin, as MacKenzie Jones hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to break a 23-23 tie...

After an epic fourth quarter in the Class 4 District 1 girls basketball finals Friday night at Notre Dame Regional High School, the Bulldogs had the possession arrow fall their way and edged Dexter 50-49. Trailing 50-48, Dexter's Hanna Burleson went to the free-throw line with 10 seconds remaining to shoot a one-and-one. Burleson made the first but missed the second free throw. Sommer McCauley came down with the ball, but before she could put the ball on the floor she was tied up...

Southeast Missouri State University coach Gary Garner wasn't sure if the Indians could contend for the Ohio Valley Conference title this year. But never did Garner imagine that tonight's final regular-season game at Tennessee-Martin would also be the Indians' last contest period...

TRIPOLI, Libya -- The walls of the Advancement Primary School are decorated with cheerful murals of a bunny rabbit, a hatching chick -- and a wolf wrapped in an American flag, blood dripping from its fangs. This is a country where rioters drove out the United States by setting fire to its embassy a quarter-century ago. A nation that has suffered for decades under U.S. sanctions. A place that until Thursday, most Americans could not legally visit...

ST. LOUIS -- Roman Catholic clergy in the St. Louis archdiocese and Jefferson City diocese have been accused of sexual abuse of minors at a higher rate than the national average, officials said Friday. A national study of priest abuse cases from 1950 to 2002 showed that about 4 percent of priests were accused of sexual wrongdoing with minors...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Susie Aycock, 89, of East Prairie died Monday, Feb. 23, 2004, at Golden Years Homestead in Fort Wayne, Ind. She was born Feb. 13, 1915, in New Madrid County, Mo., daughter of Robert W. and Susie Mae Woodward Hunter. She and Eugene C. "Gene" Aycock were married Jan. 1, 1938. He died March 16, 1993...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Samantha Camille "Sammy" Thomann, 83, of Sikeston died Friday, Feb. 27, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. She was born March 7, 1920, in Portageville, Mo., daughter of Benjamin Arthur and Lillie Mae Bodi Tanner. She and Carl Irvin Thomann were married March 15, 1940...

Dearl "Bud" Boyd, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Feb. 27, 2004, in a tractor-related accident near his home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Wanda Louise Gibbar, 73, of Scott City died Friday, Feb. 27, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital, She was born Nov. 9, 1930, at Parma, Mo., daughter of Dee and Ruby Keller Cox. She and James "Lemie" Gibbar Jr. were married Oct. 12, 1946, in Piggott, Ark. He died May 29, 2003...

10 years ago: Feb. 28, 1992 Police chief Howard Boyd Jr. and city engineer J. Kinsey Russell are preparing preliminary study on impact riverboat gambling will have on Cape Girardeau traffic. Recent $1,500 donation by MidAmerica Hotels Corp. will allow commissioned work to begin on police memorial, remembering regional officers who have died in line of duty...

Marcum Daughter to Alvin L. and Casey E. Marcum of East Prairie, Mo., St. Francis Medical Center, 2:46 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004. Name, Taylor Elizabeth. Weight, 7 pounds 3 ounces. Third child, first daughter. Mrs. Marcum is the former Casey Hawkins, daughter of Colin and Pat Hawkins of Sikeston, Mo. She is a registered nurse. Marcum is the son of Charlie and Rhonda Marcum of Charleston, Mo., and Karen Holder of Sikeston. He is a Wrapp operator...

Teens selected for WMU recognition Holly Stockard and Toni Smith, both members of First Baptist Church in Jackson, were selected at the 2004 Top Teens by the national Woman's Missionary Union in Birmingham, Ala. Eight girls from across the nation were chosen to receive the award. ...

Today "In God's Family" leadership and discipleship training seminar at Westminster Presbyterian Church, with Ron Bennett as speaker. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. Both an afternoon and an evening seminar will be offered. Call 334-4344 for information...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Michael D. Pickard, 29, of 417 Marie, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Brian A. Mueller of 5653 Nantasket Court, St. Louis, Mo., was arrested Friday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau County The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Kyle G. Berry, 18, of Oak Ridge, was arrested Feb. 21 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Robert A. LaForest, 38, of Jackson was arrested Sunday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded Thursday to the following item: At 5:37 p.m., alarm at 2929 Bella Vista. Firefighters responded Friday to the following items: At 12:28 a.m., furnace motor at 1405 William. At 6:19 a.m., emergency medical service at 1620 N. Spanish...

Japanese cult guru given death sentence TOKYO -- Former doomsday cult guru Shoko Asahara was convicted Friday and sentenced to hang for masterminding the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway and other crimes that killed 27 people and alerted the world to the danger of high-tech terrorism. ...

Three of the four suspects in the Jan. 12 robbery of a Bank of America branch in Cape Girardeau appeared in federal court Friday morning for evidentiary hearings. Toria W. Lawrence, 20, of Cape Girardeau, Derek E. Riggs, 25, of Bloomington, Ill., and Dareme P. Tipler, 24, of Charleston, Mo., appeared waived pre-trial motions. The fourth suspect, Corey D. Lyons, 30, of Charleston, will have an evidentiary hearing March 12. No trial date has been set for the suspects...

Southeast Missouri State University's Otahkians won't be able to take a nine-game winning streak into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament -- but they want to at least make sure it's one in a row. The Otahkians (15-11, 11-5), who had their seven-game victory string snapped with Thursday's 64-59 upset loss at Murray State, close out the regular season today with a 4 p.m. contest at Tennessee-Martin (10-15, 7-8)...