Stories from Friday, May 26, 2006

For some of you, this cool, wet spring has been the bane of itchy green thumbs. I understand some farmers have been delayed from getting into their fields to plant. With all the vagaries of making a living from agriculture and having grown up on a farm in Killough Valley over yonder in the Ozarks, I sympathize with the plight of the farmer...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A couple accused of videotaping the rape of an Independence woman and killing her had a 5-year-old girl with them when they turned themselves in Thursday evening, the FBI said. Richard Davis and Dena Riley were taken into custody about 6 p.m. in the southwest Missouri town of Lamar, Jackson County prosecutors said...

The signs along Route K in Scott City say the street will be paved by winter. But MoDOT assures that the city's Main Street will be resurfaced before the end of summer. City leaders and residents of Scott City have noticed the signs at the edge of town -- MoDOT blue signs with a "winter 2006" completion date for resurfacing the city's primary east-west traffic corridor...

LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- On Dec. 14, Kimberly Burfield's dream job became a nightmare. But Burfield, who at the time was assistant superintendent of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, didn't take much time for personal disappointment. She dived into the job of rebuilding the park after 1.3 billion gallons of water crashed from nearby Proffit Mountain, devastating the park and wiping out the home of her boss, Jerry Toops, and his family...

BENTON, Mo. -- Shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, an 88-year-old woman named Rosie Young of Senatobia, Miss., was traveling down Interstate 55 near Benton in her 2006 Dodge Stratus when she noticed that she missed a turnoff for fresh strawberries. She spotted a place where she could cross over the median, and she started slowing down in the northbound passing lane, as did her brother, James Chapuis, who was following her...

The Cape Girardeau City Council plans to revisit its vote to opt out of the state sales-tax holiday at the next council meeting June 5. "I can say it's under review," said Councilman Matt Hopkins, who cited public comments in the Southeast Missourian's Speak Out column. "I anticipate some more discussion on the issue."...

Black motorists in Missouri are more likely to be pulled over by police than white drivers, with the odds in the Cape Girardeau area even greater than the state average, according to an analysis of more than 1.5 million traffic stops last year. The annual report released Thursday by Attorney General Jay Nixon shows black drivers were 46 percent more likely to be stopped than either white or Hispanic drivers. ...

Central junior jumper Tyler Terry thinks he knows what it will take to win a state title in his main event, the triple jump. Terry figures it will take a jump of more than 48 feet, a distance he has yet to hit in a meet. The returning all-state triple jumper is hoping the big jump comes this weekend when the Class 3 and 4 state track and field championship gets underway today at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Jefferson City...

The upstart versus the old hand. Saxony Lutheran and Oran reside on opposite spectrums in terms of baseball playoff experience heading into today's 4 p.m. Class 1 quarterfinal at Perryville City Park. Fitting in with the immense success the Crusaders' infant athletics program has experienced over the past three years, the two-year-old baseball team won its first district title and first sectional game this season...

The Southeast Missouri State track and field program has already had an impressive year, with the men and women both recently winning Ohio Valley Conference outdoor championships after the women also claimed the league's indoor title. But the season is far from over for nine Southeast athletes who will participate in the NCAA Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tenn. Competition is set for today and Saturday on the University of Tennessee campus...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The start, story line and result were different. Tayshaun Prince scored 24 points, Richard Hamilton had 22 and the Detroit Pistons bounced back -- as usual -- and held on to beat the Miami Heat 92-88 Thursday night in Game 2, evening the Eastern Conference finals...

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Dustin Penner and Joffrey Lupul scored twice for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, who stayed alive in the Western Conference finals with a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. Jean-Sebastien Giguere returned to the Anaheim goal for his first start since April 29 -- a span of nine games -- and made 20 saves as the Mighty Ducks extended the series and snapped the Oilers' seven-game winning streak...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A lawyer for Johnny Johnson, sentenced to die for the murder of a 6-year-old girl, urged the state Supreme Court on Thursday to grant him a new trial because of claims that race was a factor in selecting the St. Louis County jury that sentenced him...

Playing on his home course, Gil Morgan shot a 5-under-par 66 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over playing partner Peter Jacobsen after the first round of the Senior PGA Championship at Oak Tree Golf Club in Edmond, Okla. The 59-year-old Morgan, whose home is within walking distance of the Oak Tree clubhouse, had six birdies on the 7,107-yard layout. It was the first full round he had played on his home course since October and his best competitive round there ever...

WASHINGTON -- Citing the public outcry over $3-a-gallon gasoline and America's heavy reliance on foreign oil, the House on Thursday voted to open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, knowing the prospects for Senate approval were slim. Drilling proponents argued that the refuge on Alaska's North Slope would provide 1 million barrels a day of additional domestic oil at peak production and reduce the need for imports...

The road to Brad Gentry's office at the Show Me Center is paved with celebrity. Several feet before coming to the plaque that says "marketing director" and the door next to it, those visiting Gentry are greeted by the images of famous performers -- Styx, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Harlem Globetrotters, Nickelback...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

High school and college seniors have, for the most part, tossed their mortarboards into the air this spring and face new prospects. What lies ahead is less familiar territory than that offered by high school and college classrooms. Some graduates are looking for jobs. Others seek more job training. And many high school graduates are looking forward to college this fall...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday he may soon be ready to name the two men who will be charged with carrying out his pledge to take over security for Iraq within 18 months. The initial focus of the effort will be restoring order for the capital's more than 5 million residents, who have suffered the most from suicidal killers, roadside bombs and sectarian death squads...

The Cadillac Escalade, the full-size sport utility vehicle with the reputation as the "king of bling" on America's roads, won't be losing its crown anytime soon. An early introduction 2007 model that's in showrooms now, the new Escalade is even more bold and expressive than its predecessor. It's a tad longer and wider and a good deal heavier than the 2006 model, though new, streamlined styling doesn't make the new Escalade appear any larger...

HOUSTON -- Former Enron Corp. chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were convicted Thursday of conspiracy and securities and wire fraud in one of the biggest business scandals in U.S. history. The verdict put the blame for the 2001 demise of the high-profile energy trader, once the nation's seventh-largest company, squarely on its top two executives. It came in the sixth day of deliberations following a federal criminal trial that lasted nearly four months...

To the editor: The 2006 Missouri Legislature appropriated $3.52 million for a supplemental food-stamp program to help Missouri's low-income seniors who receive only $10 a month in food stamps. House Bill 1905, sponsored by House Speaker Rod Jetton, would increase the minimum monthly food-stamp benefit for seniors to $30 a month. ...

Barbara Treece Ogborn, 57, died Wednesday, May 24, 2006, at her home in Cape Girardeau, after a long tenacious battle with cancer. She attended Caruthersville High School and Southeast Missouri State University, moving to Cape Girardeau in 1976. She was an accountant 30 years at Ogborn Accounting and Tax Service...

Sally Gayle Delgado, 70, of Dover, Tenn., died Monday, May 22, 2006, in Dover. She was born May 1, 1936, in Clarksville, Tenn., daughter of Terrice and Ghoram Odell Mickle Williams. Mrs. Delgado contributed her time to Helping Hands of Dover. Survivors include her husband, Mike Delgado; two daughters, Teresa Lynn Delgado of Clarksville, Michele Ann (Charles) Burgess of Whiteville, Tenn.; two sons, Michael Anthony (Laura) Delgado of Cape Girardeau, Terry Lee Delgado of Antioch, Tenn.; and two grandchildren, Jason and Amanda Delgado.. ...

Who better to lead the Saxony Lutheran baseball team into its first Class 1 state sectional game Wednesday than three freshmen players? The Crusaders (14-6) won 14-6 at Thayer on Wednesday and advanced to today's state quarterfinal game against Oran, which is bidding for its eighth final four trip and first state title...

Intelligent readers; School policing; Birds in stores; Crossing is smooth; Lack of jobs; Better ethanol; Fighting for rights; Holiday handout; Bit of chivalry; Federal spending; Missing musketeers; Skimpy landscaping; Iraq statistics; Musical editing; Time for U.N. to go; Hope after cancer; Saving seats; Loving pets; Return the favor

To the editor: I would like to thank the Southeast Missourian for its support of the annual law enforcement memorial held each May and sponsored by Seniors and Lawmen Together. The contributions made by Cheryl Ellis through the Southeast Missourian Jr. have made for a more meaningful ceremony for those officers who have died in the line of duty...

Colleges...

To the editor: I want to thank the Southeast Missourian for the article on "Local Guard soldiers return to U.S." What was noted by the wife of a Cape Girardeau soldier is true. There were interviews, updates, fanfares and TV coverage at each stop when the area troops came home 1 1/2 years ago. ...

COBDEN, Ill. -- John Carroll Pitts, 73, of Cobden, Ill., died Thursday, May 25, 2006, at his home. He was born Aug. 4, 1932, in Union County, son of Cecil and Sadie Cooper Pitts. Pitts was a truck weight inspector for the state of Illinois for more than 30 years...

Probst; Flath; Prince; Northern; Umfleet; Champlin; Jones; Guth

Tunes at Twilight has strong opening week; Jones to be guest speaker on 'Going Public'; Bell City native releases first book; Local author publishes humor book about outdoors; 'Tide Table' installation opens at St. Louis Art Museum; B.B. King to perform in Paducah; Arts council offers 30 summer arts camps; Spring folk concerts scheduled at DNR sites; Theater closes season with "Jesus Christ Superstar"; Missouri Arts Council seeking entries for exhibition

25 years ago: May 26, 1981 Clean-up operations are still underway today, two days after a tornado ripped through southern Cape Girardeau County, narrowly missing Cape Girardeau; the tornado, spawned by a line of heavy thunderstorms, caused an estimated $1 million worth of damage; at least eight mobile homes, six businesses, several houses and a church were reported destroyed or damaged...

'X-Men 3'; STILL PLAYING; 'An American Haunting'; 'The Da Vinci Code'; 'Hoot'; 'Ice Age: The Meltdown'; 'Just My Luck'; 'Mission Impossible III'; 'Over the Hedge'; 'Poseidon'; 'RV'; 'See No Evil'; 'Stick It'; 'United 93'; 'The Wild'

A story in Thursday's newspaper about a proposed half-cent sales tax increase proposed by the Cape Girardeau County Commission contained an incorrect figure about the number of patrolmen working for the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. The correct number of total patrolmen is 13, one of whom is a supervisor...

REPUBLIC, Mo. -- Three construction workers in a southwest Missouri subdivision used their bare hands to dig out a fourth man buried when the sides of a 9-foot deep trench collapsed Wednesday. Patrick Coen, 54, of Ozark, was pulled out injured but alive...

Old Town Cape has been awarded a $1,000 grant from the Sam's Club of Cape Girardeau for downtown beautification. The money will be used as part of the design committee's streetscape project along Broadway. Over the next several years the committee will add trash receptacles, outdoor seating and new street lighting as funds allow...

Bush orders documents sealed for 45 days WASHINGTON -- President Bush stepped into the Justice Department's constitutional confrontation with Congress on Thursday and ordered that documents seized in an FBI raid on a lawmaker's office be sealed for 45 days. ...

NEWARK, N.J. -- A massive power outage on Amtrak's busiest corridor Thursday stranded tens of thousands of passengers for hours in hot, smelly cars -- some in tunnels under the Hudson River -- in the latest of several recent embarrassments for the perpetually money-losing railroad...

FESTUS, Mo. -- Glenda F. Schuh, 69, of Cordova Tenn., formerly of Festus, died Tuesday, May 23, 2006, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. She was born March 7, 1937, at Delta, daughter of Leonard Dalton and Nell Rhodes Dalton. She and Eugene Edward Schuh Jr. were married...

Arrest warrants were issued this week for six defendants who failed to appear for court to face charges of breaking into and spray painting a Southeast Missouri State University fraternity house. On Tuesday, Steven Taylor, 20, and Nathaniel W. Mathes, 19, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing for the Oct. 24 incident in which the Pi Kappa Alpha house was broken into and profanity and lewd drawings were sprayed on the walls...

SIKESTON, MO -- A 29-year-old man was charged Thursday with stabbing a woman outside a Sikeston Wal-Mart during an apparent robbery. Alex Hamilton, of Howardville, Mo., was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, according to a Sikeston Department of Public Safety news release. ...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Under a banner showing coffins draped with American, British and Israeli flags, more than 100 Iranian men and women pledged Thursday to become suicide bombers -- if necessary -- to defend their country and Islam. The event, held in a burial area for war dead and martyrs, was similar to others in recent years, with Islamic chants and songs and volunteers donning white coverings to symbolize their willingness to die...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Islamic and secular militias battled in Somalia's capital Thursday, the most widespread and some of the deadliest fighting in Mogadishu in 14 years. Dozens of people were killed and thousands fled their homes on foot. The fighting spread from northern Mogadishu, scene of fierce battles in recent weeks, into the southern and eastern parts of the city, where the Islamic Courts Union militia made a rare foray, witnesses said...

LOS ANGELES -- As the third and supposedly last chapter in the "X-Men" films hits theaters this week, many a fanboy is struggling to temper excitement and anticipation with dread over that ubiquitous trilogy killer: The Ewok Syndrome. A perfectly good film, packed with action, interesting characters, maybe even breakthrough special effects, becomes a hit. The sequel follows, upping the ante as the plot thickens, action is amped up and characters get meatier...

I've just finished the best-selling book, "The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS*," by Neal Boortz (radio talk-show host at 9 a.m. on 960 KZIM) and U.S. Rep. John Linder. The asterisk in the title, by the way, is explained: "*Not to mention the Social Security tax, the Medicare tax, corporate income taxes, the death tax, the self-employment tax, the alternative minimum tax, the gift tax, capital gains taxes, tax audits and some major headaches every April 15."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Two proposed constitutional amendments have been barred from the November ballot, because Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said Thursday their petitions were not submitted in the proper format. Carnahan rejected initiatives proposing new restrictions on the use of eminent domain and an annual spending cap for state government...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri has signed point guard Stefhon Hannah, a second-team junior college all-American, to a national letter of intent. Hannah committed to Missouri late last week, a day after Kansas State announced he was the fourth member of new coach Bob Huggins' recruiting class...

CONCORD, N.C. -- Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield made it an all-Evernham Motorsports front row Thursday by taking the top two qualifying spots for the Coca-Cola 600. Riggs, who went out midway through qualifying, put himself on the pole with a lap of 187.865 mph. He then had to wait out the competition, which included Jimmie Johnson, winner of seven of the last 10 races at Lowe's Motor Speedway...

It's no secret Barry Bonds doesn't have a lot of friends in baseball. Ask him the names of his teammates on the San Francisco Giants, and he might be lucky to guess half of them. He does know who Albert Pujols is, though. He even seems to like the guy...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State scored as many runs in the first inning off Josh Ehmke as any Ohio Valley Conference team had reached the Samford ace for in an entire game this season. But that 4-0 advantage the Redhawks racked up against the OVC pitcher of the year was gone by the time Thursday night's second inning rolled around...

Four stars (out of four) If I had to describe this movie in one word, I would choose enthralling. For avid moviegoers and book-worms, the mystery may be slightly predictable, especially if you already know the typical role choices of the pertinent actors...

Some public officials say they need more information about a proposed countywide sales-tax increase that would generate funds for roads and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. The Cape Girardeau County commissioners will vote Tuesday whether to place a half-cent increase on the August ballot. Commissioners estimate the increase would generate nearly $6 million per year...

North Sprigg Street between Bertling Street and Lexington Avenue will be closed to through traffic for utility construction Friday. The street will reopen Friday evening and remain open for the holiday weekend. The street will close again to through traffic Tuesday through the end of the week. Motorists not living in the area are encouraged to use alternate routes...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- First came "40 Minutes of Hell." Then "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball." Now it's cease and desist. New Missouri basketball coach Mike Anderson has promised to mold the Tigers in the trademark run-and-gun, full-court-press style he honed at Alabama-Birmingham and as an Arkansas assistant under Nolan Richardson...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An attempt to gather public opinion on whether to make high school students take a college entrance exam like the ACT brought strong reaction by school administrators but little comment by parents or students who actually take the test...