Stories from Monday, November 22, 2004

The sidewalks of downtown Cape Girardeau will soon be packed with people as the Christmas Parade of Lights makes a return for its 10th year and again helps kick off the Christmas season at dusk on Sunday. The parade begins at Capaha Park on Broadway and continues on Main Street in what should be about a two-hour event...

If you have a question, e-mail factorfiction@semissourian.com or call Speak Out (334-5111) and identify your call as a question for "Fact or fiction?" Q: I've heard about tunnels and secret hideaways in downtown Cape that were used to transport runaway slaves to freedom during the Civil War. But I'm not sure where these secret places were or if all the stories are just legend. What are the known facts about the Underground Railroad in this area?...

trehagen When Sandy and Gary Helwege and Gary and Jane Stanley first cleared the 15.5 acres in the 1700 block of North Kingshighway, they planned to erect an upscale commercial development called "North Pointe Center, a Destination." Now Sandy Helwege has announced that the developers have nailed down two new tenants in the complex, one of which is sure to make the development a prime destination for those with an on-the-go appetite...

Annette Umidon, Arline DeMuth and Kathleen Douckaert go to New York City for the theaters. They go to Las Vegas for the shows. And they come to Cape Girardeau for the craft fairs. The senior citizens from St. Louis have attended nearly every craft show they considered worthwhile for more than 10 years, most of them within St. Louis city limits...

Choosing toys for a child's Christmas gift can make anyone feel like a kid again. And some community members aren't truly ready to grow up. The Cape Girardeau Jaycees, a club of young professionals ages 21 to 40, organize Toybox, a program that gives holiday gifts to needy children in the city...

HOUSTON -- Top-seeded Roger Federer won a record 13th straight final Sunday, beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 in the title match of the ATP Masters Cup. Federer, who beat his 23rd straight top-10 opponent, dominated the final tournament of the season just as he dominated most of 2004. He won his second straight Masters Cup and broke the record of 12 straight finals victories shared by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Toby Keith didn't have to go to Nashville to become a country music superstar. Nashville came to Oklahoma. Keith has never strayed too far from his Sooner State roots, working long days in oil fields, playing semiprofessional football and raising racehorses...

NEW YORK -- Dapper Tom Wolfe likes everything just so. He has perfected the art of being a gentleman, wearing a pressed white suit, of course, with a light blue shirt that matches his eyes and white two-tone shoes. He looks impeccable with his perfectly coifed silver hair, white polka-dot socks and tie, and white handkerchief. Even his spectacles match...

LOS ANGELES -- Nicolas Cage's treasure hunt soaked up more box-office cash than a cartoon sponge. Cage's "National Treasure" debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $35.3 million, coming in just ahead of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," which opened in second with $33.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday...

He spent some of his time promoting a proposed guest worker initiative. By Terence Hunt ~ The Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile -- President Bush, trying to mend relations with Latin America, pledged Sunday to make a fresh push for stalled immigration reforms and defended the U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying that "history will prove it right."...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A U.S.-Iraqi raid on the Abu Hanifa mosque -- one of the most revered sites for Sunni Muslims -- spawned a weekend of street battles, assassinations and a rash of bombings that changed Baghdad. The capital, for months a city of unrelenting but sporadic violence, has taken on the look of a battlefield...

CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich has made 700 appointments to state boards in the past two years, and many of those appointees can be tied to about $1.9 million in contributions, according to a published report. Blagojevich insisted there is no connection between the appointees' donations and the appointment process. He also said the fact that the majority of appointees did not donate to his campaign proves there is no connection...

BOSTON -- A letter written by President Lincoln's assassin two months before the 1865 slaying sold at auction Sunday for a record $68,000. In the letter, dated Feb. 9, 1865, John Wilkes Booth asks a friend to send him a picture of himself "with cane & black cravat" -- the one later used in his wanted poster...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The St. Louis Rams' defensive backfield was depleted by injuries in a loss to Buffalo on Sunday, with the most serious to backup cornerback DeJuan Groce, who hurt his left knee. Coach Mike Martz said Groce could miss the next game, at Green Bay on Nov. 29, and he accused the Bills of taking cheap shots at his players during Buffalo's 37-17 victory...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Three coaches in three seasons usually indicates a college basketball program is in shambles. Not so at Southern Illinois, where the Salukis are picked to win their fourth straight Missouri Valley Conference championship under new coach Chris Lowery...

JERUSALEM -- Secretary of State Colin Powell embarked Sunday on a mission to revive the Middle East peace process after Yasser Arafat's death, saying he will ask Israel to help with the upcoming Palestinian election to pick a successor. Israel said it would consider pulling back troops from disputed areas in the West Bank...

Thirty-five years ago I spent three months as a student teacher at a middle school in New Haven, Conn. I learned many valuable lessons, including that teaching is very rewarding and much more challenging than most people think. I believe with adequate community support that public education is still the best way to a better future...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Gourmet jelly, organic soy nuts, honey and chili mix are among the gourmet items offered in a gift box from small Missouri specialty food producers who hope to woo customers from across the country. Eleven companies are part of "Taste the Best of Missouri," a box shaped like the Show-Me state and colored black and gold -- a nod to University of Missouri. The companies hope the gift box will bring exposure and marketing opportunities for their products...

Tiger Woods won his first stroke-play tournament in more than a year, capturing the Dunlop Phoenix by eight strokes after closing with a 3-under 67. Woods entered the final round with a 10-stroke lead and had five birdies to finish at 16-under 264 in the $1.89 million event in Miyazaki, Japan, the richest on the Japan tour...

NEW YORK -- Ron Artest was suspended for the rest of the season Sunday as the NBA came down hard on three members of the Indiana Pacers for fighting with fans when a melee broke out at the end of a game against the Detroit Pistons. Overall, nine players from the teams were banned for 143 games, including some of the harshest penalties the league ever issued. Artest is the first player to be suspended for nearly an entire season for a fight during a game...

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Nothing could stop Kurt Busch from winning the closest championship in NASCAR history. Not a broken wheel early in the race. Not four extra laps forced by a nerve-racking late restart. Not a double-barreled challenge by NASCAR's most successful team. Not all the pressure forged by a new playoff-style format...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- When all seemed bleak, Drew Bledsoe turned to the one person he thought might provide him perspective and help answer his critics: Jim Kelly. It worked. Recalling the advice he received earlier this week from Kelly, the Buffalo Bills' Hall of Fame quarterback, Bledsoe produced a convincing reply to those calling for his benching...

Everyone in Alan Williams' 6 p.m. tae kwon do class knows that Katie Van de Ven usually shows up late. So no one is surprised when at 10 minutes past, the class is suspended as the pint-sized 10-year-old wanders into the community room at the SEMO Alliance for Disability in Cape Girardeau...

An Advance, Mo., man died Saturday after he was struck while walking in the middle of the road. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred at 10:19 p.m. when driver Fred Lancaster, 35, of Chaffee, Mo., struck pedestrian Joey Stoffregen, 27, on Highway 74 a mile west of Cape Girardeau...

From staff and wire reports It's not every day that you're name gets mentioned in the same breath as legendary Missourians like Harry Truman, Walt Disney and Jack Buck. Sikeston's Richard Montgomery now knows this to be a humbling experience. That's because Montgomery, chairman of the board of Americare and Montgomery Bank, both headquartered in Sikeston, is the recipient of the Missourian Award, which recognizes outstanding and accomplished residents of the state. ...

After 46 years in the newspaper business, the Southeast Missourian's Irvin Landewee is retiring as the paper's national advertising accounts manager. His impending departure has set in motion a slight reshuffling of personnel at the Cape Girardeau newspaper office...

New Salem Baptist Academy boys basketball coach Ken Jones thinks his team may have a hard time extending the school's string of 20-win seasons. But he also thinks New Salem may be able to erase the heartache from last year's semifinal loss in the Missouri Christian Schools Activities Association Class 2A state tournament...

Are the media on our side, or are they rooting for a bunch of murderous thugs who enjoy lopping off innocent peoples' heads? We are getting the answer loud and clear: What the United States does in Iraq is always wrong, and the enemy is usually shown, not as a terrorist, but a victim of unwarranted U.S. aggression...

THE PROBLEM There are 371,000 fewer jobs since Bush took office in 2001. THE BRIGHT SIDE Employers hired 1.8 million new workers this year. BUSH'S PLAN Extend tax cuts, make health care more affordable by limiting jury awards in malpractice lawsuits, increase domestic energy production to create conditions favorable to job growth...

The Gamma Xi chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta has initiated two new members. They are Casie Janet, daughter of Chris and Jill Janet of Cape Girardeau, and Becky Payne, daughter of Gina and Terry Payne.

At Arena Park, 182 Cape Girardeau residents recently unloaded 14,935 pounds of materials during Household Hazardous Waste Dropoff Day held by the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department. The event was funded by a grant from the Southeast Missouri Solid Waste District...

Habitat for Humanity open house planned The Thrivent Lutheran Habitat Build is holding an open house and dedication for the Cape Girardeau area Habitat for Humanity from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at 1119 Cousin St. in Cape Girardeau. For more information, call 334-9728...

WASHINGTON -- Unwilling to concede defeat, congressional leaders expressed hope Sunday that lawmakers could return next month to resolve a turf battle that has blocked passage of an overhaul of the nation's intelligence agencies. Much depends on whether President Bush is more active in bringing his own troops in line, they said...

WASHINGTON -- Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's health is shrouded in mystery, the extent of his thyroid cancer a closely guarded secret. But several coming events could give the public an idea about the seriousness of his condition. Since announcing his illness in a statement on Oct. 25, the 80-year-old Rehnquist has run the nation's highest court from his home in suburban Virginia...

Steelers 19, Bengals 14 Jerome Bettis ran for 129 yards and Pittsburgh's blitzing defense created havoc in the second half, as the Steelers extended their winning streak to eight . Steelers rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has yet to lose as the team's starter, was sacked a season-high seven times.. With Duce Staley (hamstring) sidelined a third straight game, Bettis came through with his third straight 100-yard game...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The telegrams are photocopies, but the medals are real. So are the dog tags and the Third Reich currency and the knife and fork. The spoon is a replacement. These are the relics from George Copeland's 16 months, 10 days and four hours as a prisoner of war between 1944 and 1945. They rest inside a small glass-front case at the Air and Military Museum of the Ozarks, an all-volunteer not-for-profit tucked into a brick building on East Kearney Street...

Plane crashes into lake in China, killing 54 people BEIJING -- A passenger plane crashed in an ice-covered lake in northern China seconds after takeoff Sunday, killing all 53 people aboard and one person on the ground after an apparent midair explosion, the government said. There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash, which was the country's deadliest in more than two years...

Inspector: Congress must restructure Amtrak WASHINGTON -- Though Congress approved a $1.2 billion subsidy for Amtrak, the money-losing passenger railroad still is careening toward a major disruption in service. To save it, the Transportation Department's inspector general says, Congress must do more. Considering current Amtrak policies, says inspector general Kenneth Mead, it's up to lawmakers to determine what must go and what may stay to restructure Amtrak and stop the hemorrhaging...

NEW YORK -- "Protection of marriage" is now the watchword for many activists fighting to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying. Some conservatives, however, say marriage in America began unraveling long before the latest gay-rights push and are pleading for a fresh, soul-searching look at the institution...

NEW YORK -- Home on sick leave two years ago, Ammar Halloum says he watched the Enron Corp. investigation play out on television -- then decided he had to blow the whistle on his own employer. His former company, computer chip maker Intel Corp., says that's just a flimsy cover story. ...

WASHINGTON -- Hiring is picking up and President Bush is on track to preside over job growth in his second term, shedding the Herbert Hoover label of being the first president since the Great Depression to lose jobs under his watch. But don't expect a revival of the booming 1990s...

"They are the eyes and the ears for judges and the voice of the children," began Bonnie McCulley, Court Appointed Special Advocates president, as she welcomed the group attending a CASA swearing-in ceremony at Southeast Missouri Hospital recently...

n Name: Missy Buckner Lives in: Scott City Family: Wonderful husband, Roger; four beautiful children, Jared, 18, Jordan, 15, Levi, 7, and Tori, 6. Job: Full-time wife and mother, part-time property manager for Sprenger Properties LLC. Volunteer Cub Scout den leader, Girl Scout troop leader and Sunday school teacher...

Markus Rothweiler, 36, of Jackson received serious injuries Sunday from a single-car accident in Perry County at 12:23 a.m. on Route E, 2.5 miles east of U.S. 61. The accident occurred as Rothweiler's eastbound vehicle traveled off the roadway, striking a tree. He was flown to Saint Francis Medical Center...

Five area eye doctors attend academy Doctors Maqbool Ahmad, Ukeme Umana, Gorge Ortiz, Irfan Ansari and R. Joseph Olk of Marion Eye Centers and Optical in Cape Girardeau and Jackson recently attended the American Academy of Ophthalmology. They attended a joint meeting with the European Ophthalmic Society to discuss the latest technology and studies on cataracts, glaucoma, retinal and refractive treatment...

With the holiday season upon us, many people will begin making plans for celebrations and festivities. But it's important to remember that even in the festivity of Thanksgiving meals and the bustle of Christmas preparations, there are some among us who often do without...

Praying for Iraqis BELIEVE IT or not, many are praying for the Iraqi people. They need protection from the terrorists too. Outrage over killing THE OUTRAGE expressed over the murder of the innocent CARE worker still has not reached the eyes of those it should. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- John Foster Jr., 73, of Sikeston, formerly of Perryville, Mo., died Saturday, Nov. 20, 2004, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. He was born Aug. 6, 1931, at Menfro, Mo., son of John and Pearl Davis Foster. He and Julia "Billie" Palmer were married...

Crystal Michelle Mann, 27, of Jackson died Sunday, Nov. 21, 2004, at her home. She was born March 8, 1977, at Nashville, Mo., daughter of Randall and Sandra Prater Hibdon Sr. She and Michael Mann were married Jan. 11, 2000. Survivors include her husband; her parents of Chaffee, Mo.; a brother, Randall Hibdon Jr. of Chaffee; and two sisters, Misty Hibdon and Denice Jackson, both of Chaffee...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Joey Alan Stoffregen, 27, of Advance died Saturday, Nov. 20, 2004. He was born Oct. 12, 1977, at St. Louis, Mo., son of Alan and Leona Fisher Stoffregen. He and Bonnie Cowell were married Oct. 13, 2001. Stoffregen was a machine operator with the American Railcar Industries at Jackson...

25 years ago: Nov. 22, 1979 Special Thanksgiving Day services are held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. A man who took an active role in shaping both the future of Cape Girardeau and its schools, Oliver A. Hope, dies in the evening after an illness of some months; Hope, a current member of the city council, was 67 years old; he served a total of 20 years in elective office...

Syracuse point guard Billy Edelin returned to the team on Sunday for the first time in nine months. Edelin, who had not practiced this fall because of academic problems, went through drills at Manley Field House. There was no word when he might make his season debut...

Cape Girardeau The following items were released Sunday by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Robert Wayne Penrod, 24, of 502 N. Neal, Jackson, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, failure to signal, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. ...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: At 4:16 p.m., medical assist at the 600 block of Boxwood Drive. At 6:19 p.m., auto smoking at Broadway and Louisiana Street. At 8:28 p.m., medical assist at Highway 74 and South Kingshighway...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Don't miss this one-time-only opportunity! When advertisers use such promotions, they spark interest -- and often skepticism. So understandably, there was a mixture of wariness and willingness after Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon announced that he wants to give Missouri's new Republican governor and legislature the "opportunity" to fix the state's school funding formula...