Stories from Saturday, March 27, 2004

WEST COVINA, Calif. -- Nearly 200 women who applied for jobs at a Hooters restaurant were secretly videotaped in a trailer while they undressed to put on a Hooters uniform, police said. Authorities raided the trailer last month and seized a computer that held 180 digital videos of the women, ages 17-25, Lt. Mark Dettor said...

Edna E. Hardman, 96, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 26, 2004, at the Lutheran Home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

10 years ago: March 27, 1994 Cape Girardeau County Commission has hired law firm to clarify legal issues regarding Scott City's attempts to annex part of Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority in order to bring in gambling boat. Three Democrats and one Libertarian filed to challenge Republican U.S. ...

CHICAGO -- A federal appeals court Friday upheld a lower court decision that blocks the government from obtaining abortion records from a Chicago hospital. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that while the administrative cost to Northwestern Memorial Hospital to produce the approximate 45 records would be modest, the hospital would pay a high cost in the long run by losing the trust of its patients...

Tlapek Son to Steve and Cheryl Tlapek of Austin, Texas, Seton Hospital, 11:34 p.m. Sunday, March 14, 2004. Name, Thomas Blanton. Weight, 7 pounds 13 ounces. Third child, first son. Mrs. Tlapek is the former Cheryl Baumann, daughter of Leonard and Doris Baumann of San Antonio, Texas. Tlapek is the son of Pat and Anna Tlapek of Cape Girardeau...

Lower doctor fees? OUR COURTS offer the only avenue of redress for real victims of egregious medical malpractice. Anyone can see it's horse-phooey thinking to expect reducing malpractice tort ceilings to do anything but protect incompetent doctors. No doctors or hospitals promise lower fees in return...

Baseball The Atlanta Braves traded two pitching prospects Friday for Cincinnati Reds right-hander Chris Reitsma. The Reds obtained left-hander Jung Keun Bong and right-hander Bubba Nelson. Both are younger than Reitsma, 26, and are considered starters primarily...

Southeast Missouri State University's track and field program, coming off an impressive indoor season, will begin the outdoor campaign today by hosting a four-team meet at the Abe Stuber Complex. The April Fool's Invitational -- so named because it happened to be contested on April 1 a couple of times in the past -- will, according to coach Joey Haines, be a low-key meet with no team scores kept...

Central's girls soccer team controlled play for much of the game, but it took more than 70 minutes for the Tigers to get on the board in a 1-0 win over Perryville on Friday at the Noon Optimist Spring Classic at Notre Dame Regional High School. Central will face Jackson in the semifinals at noon today. In the other semifinal, also at noon, Notre Dame will face Poplar Bluff...

Africa missionary to speak at Cape Bible Chapel Dale Hamilton, a missionary to Tanzania, Africa, with Africa Inland Mission, will be the guest speaker at a Missions Conference Sunday and Monday at Cape Bible Chapel in Cape Girardeau. Hamilton and his wife, Chris, a nurse, work on the islands of Lake Victoria, Tanzania, implementing community health evangelism programs and operating a medical program directed at maternal and child health with an emphasis on sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. ...

Michael T. Williams, 29, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 25, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born March 24, 1975, at Fredericktown, Mo., son of James O. and Linda L. Hodge Williams. Williams was a construction worker and attended Christ Church of the Heartland...

Floy M. Wills, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 25, 2004, at the Lutheran Home. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

LOS ANGELES -- Long before Jay Leno entertains the adults on "The Tonight Show," the comedian can put the kids to bed with his new storybook. Leno has written a new picture book called "If Roast Beef Could Fly," based on a real family cookout from his childhood in which mischief led to a ruined rotisserie of meat...

University of Missouri considers tuition increase JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Tuition rates at the University of Missouri may be on the rise again. University of Missouri president Elson Floyd on Friday recommended a 7.5 percent increase in tuition for the 2004-2005 academic year. ...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Tamara Renee Criddle, 24, of 3002 Themis, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Friday on a Cape Girardeau warrant for contempt of court...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following items Thursday: At 4:45 p.m., elevator rescue at 975 Normal. At 10:33 p.m., alarm sounding at 1000 N. Sprigg. Firefighters responded to the following items Friday: At 12:19 a.m., medical assist at 3043 William...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Alexander Rondel, 41, of Cape Girardeau was arrested Saturday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

(Sikeston, Mo.) Standard Democrat The issue of toll roads in Missouri is taking the spotlight in Jefferson City though it appears likely the subject will see no action this year. And given the ups and downs of the toll road discussion it appears that the subject should be shelved until much more information is available...

Virginia Lorene "Jenny" Seabaugh, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 25, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Jan. 23, 1925, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of John and Ethel Kitchen Bolen. She and Tommy Seabaugh were married March 7, 1947, in Cape Girardeau...

Norma H. Hurt, 84, of St. Louis, formerly of Jackson, died Thursday, March 25, 2004, at the home of a daughter in St. Louis. She was born Feb. 5, 1920, in Old Appleton, Mo., daughter of William P. and Martha R. Bodenschatz Bingenheimer. Hurt attended the former Apple Creek Valley Grade School in Old Appleton. She moved to St. Louis in 1942 and worked at the J.C. Penney warehouse and as a PBX operator at Hadley Dean Glass Co. She was a member of Ascension Lutheran Church...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Ada Alma Lydia Stueve, 85, of Altenburg died Thursday, March 25, 2004, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 16, 1918, at Farrar, Mo., daughter of Henry J. and Anna Meier Lohmann. She and Edwin H. Stueve Sr. were married Oct. 18, 1942. He died July 30, 1983...

Many people believe they're too old to accomplish their heart's desires or set new goals. Imagined obstacles of all kinds worm their way into their minds. People say, "It's too late to begin again and I'm too old to start something new." I've always been angered by phrases like, "I'll never get hired anywhere else if I quit this job. ...

Christians have been telling the story of Jesus Christ's trial, crucifixion and resurrection for thousands of years. Each year around Easter, many area churches take that story to the stage as part of a Passion Play -- a drama that represents the suffering or "passion" of Jesus and includes the period of his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection...

Today Informational meeting for people considering membership at Centenary United Methodist Church. Meeting is from 9 a.m. to noon at the church's administrative center. For information, call 334-2869. "Men-in-praise" concert at 7 p.m. at Greater Dimension Ministries in Cape Girardeau. Speaker for the Men's Conference is the Rev. John Black. The Rev. Alonzo Johnson will speak during a morning brunch. For information, call 334-0616...

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- A National Guardsman who criticized the "oil-driven war" in Iraq was charged with desertion for refusing to rejoin his unit after a two-week furlough. Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia of the Florida National Guard was charged after traveling to Fort Stewart from his home in Miami Beach, Fla., Fort Stewart spokesman Richard Olson said Friday. "He's taking it in stride," said Mejia's attorney, Louis Font. "He is strong and intelligent and will defend against these charges."...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- A man restrained by police after he ran naked on a downtown street suffocated after officers wrestled him to the ground, an autopsy report released Friday said. The Hamilton County medical examiner's report has prompted the man's mother to question whether officers used excessive force when they tried to arrest 37-year-old Leslie Vaughn Prater...

ST. LOUIS -- Wayne Simien, Aaron Miles and Kansas put Alabama-Birmingham through its own version of "40 Minutes of Hell." Simien had 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists and the Jayhawks had few problems handling UAB's frenetic defense Friday night, moving a step closer to their third straight Final Four with a 100-74 victory in the St. Louis Regional semifinals...

ATLANTA -- Chris Duhon may be hurting, but he's doing just fine. So are the Duke Blue Devils. Dragging himself off the floor time and time again, Duhon steered Duke into an all-too-familiar position -- one win from the Final Four -- with a 72-62 victory over Illinois in the Atlanta Regional semifinals Friday night...

KIEV, Ukraine -- Several hundred decommissioned Soviet-built surface-to-air missiles are unaccounted for in Ukraine's military arsenal, the defense minister told a newspaper. Defense Minister Yevhen Marchuk, in an interview published in the newspaper Den, appeared to suggest the missiles may have been dismantled without proper accounting, rather than stolen or sold...

Thursday, Scott County will join Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties in the business of issuing permits to carry a concealed weapon. The counties have gone ahead with the process of issuing the permits despite a plea by Attorney General Jay Nixon to wait until the legislature amends the conceal-carry law to bring it in line with the Hancock Amendment...

To promote locally owned restaurants, Old Town Cape is organizing an all-you-care-to-try event called A Taste of Old Town, to be held from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. April 29. "The restaurants of downtown Cape are already well-known for the quality of their food and service," organizer Catherine Dunlap said. "This will be a chance for them to put out their finest foods for people to try."...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Tony Womack made the most of his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals. Womack, acquired Sunday from Boston, had two hits and reached base four times Friday in the Cardinals' 3-0 win over the Detroit Tigers. Womack, 34, is among a group of players competing for the starting job at second base. In addition to a pair of singles, he reached twice on errors, scored a run and stole two bases...

Beginning today, things will really start to count for Southeast Missouri State University. The Indians (8-11) open their Ohio Valley Conference schedule with a 1 p.m. home doubleheader against Murray State (5-14). The squads will close out the three-game series at 1 p.m. Sunday...

The Wall Street Journal It was always a terrible idea for the Sept. 11 commission to drop its report in the middle of a presidential election campaign, and we are now seeing why. That body is turning into a fiasco of partisanship and political score-settling...

NEW YORK -- Remember the scene from "When Harry Met Sally ..." when Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are sitting at the diner? Or when Jack Nicholson exclaims "You can't handle the truth!" to Tom Cruise in "A Few Good Men"? Or how about the dance number in "Flashdance" when Jennifer Beals gyrates around in leg warmers to the song "Maniac"?...

Law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Department of Justice got together Friday morning at the Show Me Center to discuss how each can work together in the apprehension and prosecution of criminals, crime prevention, and how best to pay for it. Tracy Henke, a Missouri native who oversees the Bureau of Justice Assistance, said she was there to listen to what local law enforcement agencies need from her department...

WASHINGTON -- Leading congressional Republicans announced plans Friday to seek declassification of 2-year-old testimony from Richard Clarke, hoping to show discrepancies between his recent criticisms of the Bush administration's terrorism policies with flattering statements he made as a White House aide...

To the editor: The recent series of articles on the history of the Area Wide United Way has been very good and certainly show the importance of this organization to the area. Unfortunately, I must clear up a mis-characterization of a statement attributed to me...

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Tiger Woods needed only three holes to take the suspense out of making his 120th consecutive cut Friday at The Players Championship. He'll need all 36 holes the final two days to catch up to Kevin Sutherland and Jerry Kelly...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A man who said Jesus told him to run down a woman because she was black was found innocent of assault after a judge ruled the incident was caused by diabetic-induced psychosis. St. Louis County Circuit Judge Mark Seigel ruled Thursday that Steven Johnson, 48, of St. Peters, was innocent by reason of insanity, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday...

The Associated Press CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A Southern Illinois University effort to turn more of its professors' research into money-making businesses is growing. On Friday, BioInsite LCC took up residence near the university campus in a building constructed 14 years ago with the intent of becoming a research park. It has gained tenants over the years, but BioInsite is the most significant so far...

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Ireland is about to ban tobacco from workplaces, but rebellion hangs heavy in the air -- particularly in that smokiest of places, the pub. "I won't be enforcing it and I won't be telling my staff to enforce it, simple as that," pub owner Danny Healy-Rae said of the ban, which takes effect Monday and applies to any enclosed work space -- more than 10,000 pubs, as well as billiard halls, private clubs, home offices, even a lone trucker's cab...

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan by another year Friday, and urged it to speed up voter registration so historic elections set for this summer are not delayed. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has been helping the country rebuild since the U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban in late 2001. Its main focus recently has been preparing for national elections set for June...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops and guerrillas armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades battled for hours in the alleyways of Fallujah on Friday, killing a Marine and at least five Iraqis, including an ABC News cameraman. Near Tikrit on Friday, four members of the U.S.-trained Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and three suspected rebels died during a raid by Iraqi security forces and U.S. soldiers, the U.S. military said. Twenty-one suspected guerrillas were captured in the raid north of Baghdad...

Southeast Missouri State University's new coordinators will get their first chance at on-the-field work with the Indians when spring practice begins today -- and they can't wait to begin making their mark. The Indians will hit the artificial surface of Houck Stadium at 1:30 p.m., the first of 15 spring workouts allowed by the NCAA. Included among those 15 practices are three scrimmages, capped by the annual spring game on April 24...