Stories from Wednesday, January 9, 2002

COMMENTS ON LUMINA FOUNDATION STUDY OF DISPARITY IN ACCESS TO POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION January 7, 2002 Southeast Missouri State University Attribute to Art Wallhausen, associate to the president 1. We did not see the study until this morning, so it will require more careful analysis than we have been able to give it in a couple of hours, but here are some preliminary comments...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- A bridge on Route V in Bollinger County is scheduled to be closed for repairs on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. A Missouri Department of Transportation bridge crew will make routine repairs, weather permitting. The bridge is on Route V between routes C and K. MoDOT officials said motorists should take alternate routes while repairs are being made...

WASHINGTON -- In a victory for employers, the Supreme Court made it more difficult for workers to demand special treatment when they suffer partial physical disabilities such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Tuesday's unanimous decision in the case of a former assembly line worker narrows the scope of the landmark civil rights law that protects the disabled. ...

WASHINGTON -- NASA's new administrator, Sean O'Keefe, said Tuesday the billions of dollars in cost overruns facing the space station program are manageable -- and not at the expense of everything else. On the job for just five days, O'Keefe said he doesn't know yet whether some of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's field centers will need to be closed or whether the number of shuttle flights to the international space station will need to be reduced to save money...

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force is sending a review team to a Missouri company to look into allegations it knowingly produced faulty batteries used to power missiles and "smart" bombs. The batteries, made by Joplin, Mo.-based Eagle-Picher Technologies, are the subject of a federal whistle-blower lawsuit by a former employee. The company denies that it made defective batteries...

P Payment could be a violation of rules, former commissioners say. NEW YORK -- Bud Selig and a company controlled by Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad arranged for a $3 million loan to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1995, a deal being called a possible violation of baseball rules...

PARAPARAUMU BEACH, New Zealand -- Tiger Woods didn't have to have a club in his hand to attract applause on his first trip to New Zealand. Woods received a rousing welcome for his practice round Tuesday at the New Zealand Open. His 4-iron off the 10th tee was cheered by about 3,000 spectators, and a throng applauded after he raked out a bunker...

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Since the road to the Super Bowl probably won't pass through Baltimore, the Ravens will have to travel a more demanding path to repeat as champions. The Ravens earned a wild-card berth by beating the Minnesota Vikings 19-3 Monday night. Baltimore will open the playoffs on the road Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, 7-1 at Pro Player Stadium this season...

ST. LOUIS -- Marshall Faulk is the St. Louis Rams' most valuable player, at least in his teammates' eyes. The running back was honored over quarterback Kurt Warner, the team's other candidate for league MVP, in voting announced Tuesday. Faulk has been chosen team MVP the last three years, although that's not necessarily a barometer of what will happen when league MVP voting is announced today. ...

Seven Southeast Missouri residents were sentenced in federal court Monday to prison terms after pleading guilty to methamphetamine-related charges. The longest sentence went to a Kennett, Mo., man who was caught with more than 10 grams of meth. Appearing before U.S. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Whether a Sikeston, Mo., man badly burned by molten aluminum will collect $4 million in damages is in the hands of the Missouri Supreme Court following oral arguments Tuesday in an appeal of the judgment. The court is expected to issue a ruling in March...

With all the detour signs and orange barrels and with the East Rodney Drive bridge out, Cape Girardeau seemed more like the set of a fast-paced action movie in 2001 than a progressive city. And residents understandably struggled with finding new routes around town and complained about the inconvenience...

Lose weight; quit smoking; exercise regularly; test the smoke detector. What have you resolved to do in 2002? If you're like most Americans, along with ringing in the New Year, you've made a host of resolutions intended to improve your lifestyle and well-being...

Good interior lighting important during winter months By Carol McGarvey ~ Better Homes and Gardens Books This time of year, when sunlight is at a premium, it's important to have good interior lighting. While meeting special situations, such as highlighting an art collection, it's wise to be savvy in covering the basics, too...

Three, three-year positions on the Jackson, Mo., Board of Education and a one-year and three, three-year positions on the Cape Girardeau Board of Education will be filed by voters April 2. The deadline for registering for school board positions around the state is Tuesday...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Jan. 9 ArrestsBilly Gene Todd Jr., 30, 1313 Monticello, was arrested Monday for unlawful use of a weapon. Donna Jo Anderson, 39, 1216 N. Spanish, was arrested Monday for stealing. SummonsesAshley Jean Evans, 17, 419 S. Sprigg, was issued a summons Monday for assault...

Cape Girardeau Wednesday, Jan. 9 Firefighters responded to the following call Monday:At 6:35 p.m., an emergency medical service at 221 S. Spanish. At 6:36 p.m., an emergency medical service at 2124 Merriwether. At 6:44 p.m., a natural gas smell at 1075 Dorothy...

The Thin Mints are back after a year's absence. Last year's hot seller, Animal Treasures, return, and Friendship Circles will debut on the Girl Scouts cookie sales list for 2002. The Friendship Circles have been designed to celebrate the 90th birthday of Girl Scouting. The cookies are made by sandwiching a chocolate filling between two crisp, vanilla cookies embossed with the word "Friend" in one of 18 languages."...

The Southeast Missouri Area on Aging, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Revenue, will conduct training for volunteers who help fill out senior citizen tax credit forms for the Circuit Breaker program. The program offers eligible individuals a rebate for property tax or rent paid. Eligibility includes having income less than $25,000, being 65 or older or 100 percent disabled, and being a resident of Missouri for the entire filing year...

NEW YORK -- Ozzie Smith had it all the way. The Wizard of Oz, who made a career out of turning difficult plays into dazzling ones, was easily elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday in his first year of eligibility. Smith, regarded as the finest-fielding shortstop ever, was the lone player picked. Gary Carter fell just short of election...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri will run out of money to pay unemployment benefits by 2003 unless lawmakers address the problem, a new state audit says. Auditor Claire McCaskill's office says the state's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund is expected to pay out $414 million more than it receives in 2001 and 2002, which will lead to the fund's insolvency...

HYDE PARK, N.Y. -- Shopping for cheese can be as much fun as serving it to guests. First, some basics. Cheese is defined as a food product made from the pressed curd of milk. Like wine, natural cheese is thought of as a living food because of the friendly, living bacteria that are continually changing it...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Dave Thomas, the pudgy founder of the Wendy's hamburger chain whose homespun commercials helped turn it into one of the world's top fast-food enterprises, died Tuesday of liver cancer. He was 69. Thomas, who died at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., had been undergoing kidney dialysis for nearly a year and had quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1996...

Asteroid passes Earth days after discovery LOS ANGELES -- An asteroid large enough to wipe out France hurtled past the Earth at a distance of a half-million miles just days after scientists spotted it. The asteroid, dubbed 2001 YB5, came within 520,000 miles of Earth on Monday...

PIKESVILLE, Md. -- A videotape of one of the Sept. 11 hijackers being pulled over for speeding two days before the attacks was released Tuesday by Maryland State Police, who said there were "no red flags" to justify detaining the man. Ziad S. Jarrah was "extremely calm and cooperative" during the stop, and Trooper Joseph Catalano saw no reason to keep him, said Col. David B. Mitchell, the superintendent of state police...

Administrators in the Olentangy school district in Lewis Center, Ohio, spent the summer debating whether to require lockdown drills in their nine schools. The Sept. 11 attacks helped them make up their minds. The drills are now as regular as test runs for fires or tornadoes, with teachers keeping students in secured classrooms with the shades drawn...

HAMILTON, Ohio -- President Bush sat at a school desk Tuesday and signed the most far-reaching federal education bill in nearly four decades, a $26 billion plan to broaden academic testing, triple spending for literacy programs and help children escape America's worst public schools...

The Rev. Richard Magnus looks at the mountain of data gleaned by the Census Bureau and thinks about churches -- where to build them, whether they need bilingual pastors, if they should offer day care. Magnus runs the national outreach office for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is among many religious leaders who are using the 2000 census to expand their denominations...

New mayor's mother elected to council seat MOUNT CARBON, Pa. -- Jeffrey Dunkel isn't old enough to pop open a bottle of champagne yet, but that didn't stop the 18-year-old mayor -- or his councilwoman mother -- from celebrating his inauguration Monday...

LONDON -- In the past week, Prime Minister Tony Blair has helped ease tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and paid a risky midnight visit to the new leaders of Afghanistan. That was the easy part. As he returned home Tuesday, Blair was accused of taking to the world stage while ignoring crippling domestic problems, including a failing railway network and an overstretched health care system...

LONDON -- The Archbishop of Canterbury announced his retirement Tuesday as spiritual leader of the world's 70 million Anglicans. The Most Rev. George Carey, 66, will retire Oct. 31 after a term marked by controversy over women priests, gay clergy and the church's mounting financial problems...

Missouri lawmakers, during their session that starts Wednesday, will consider whether to ask voters to approve a transportation funding increase. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2001, here is how the nearly $1.2 billion in state transportation revenues were collected and distributed. The totals do not include federal money...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The chairman of the Missouri Senate Transportation Committee is proposing increases in the state gas and sales taxes -- a stance that could bode well for a transportation plan in the legislative session that starts today. Sen. Morris Westfall, R-Halfway, says he will introduce legislation Thursday asking voters to raise the state's 17-cent-a-gallon motor fuel tax and 4.225 percent sales tax to benefit transportation...

POTOSI, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden late Tuesday decided not to halt the scheduled execution at 12:01 a.m. today of a man convicted in a sniper-style shooting rampage a decade ago that left four dead and terrorized California, Mo. "The governor has decided not to grant clemency or otherwise intervene" in the scheduled execution of James R. Johnson, Holden spokesman Jerry Nachtigal said late Tuesday...

Palestinians to probe links to weapons ship JERUSALEM -- The Palestinian Authority said Tuesday it will question government officials accused by Israel of trying to smuggle Iranian arms to the Gaza Strip. Israel has accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of being directly involved in the operation, saying he had to have known of the attempt to smuggle tens of millions of dollars worth of Iranian-made rockets and anti-tank missiles...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A wounded al-Qaida fighter blew himself up during an escape attempt Tuesday after leaping from the second story of a hospital where he and six armed comrades have been holed up for a month. The escape attempt underscored the difficulty of capturing hard-core members of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. It came as Afghan officials considered a reported surrender offer from several top Taliban figures, including their former defense and justice ministers...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- At the Pamir Hotel, in the heart of Kandahar, it was talent night for young musicians. Crammed into a cement-walled room, sitting cross-legged in the glow of a kerosene lamp, dozens of men wrapped in traditional woolen shawls swayed gently to music. Men played the harmonium, beat drums and sang in deep baritones of love, life and religion...

ROME -- One week later, the photo shop on Paris's swank Rue du Faubourg Saint Honore had a sign in its window begging customers to use checks and credit cards because it had run out of euros. So eager were Parisians to get their hands on the new currency that the Photo Service became a de facto currency exchange and couldn't keep enough of the euro in stock...

JULLUNDUR, India -- Thousands of men from Punjab villages near the tense border with Pakistan streamed into an army recruitment center Tuesday to volunteer for the Indian army. The seven-day recruitment drive is aimed at Sikhs, who are famous for their bravery in wartime and have historically made up a large proportion of the 1.2 million force. Sikhs typically wear turbans over their uncut hair and beards as part of their religion...

The Southeast Missourian runs the Pet of the Week photograph 52 times a year. Because of the exposure, those 52 animals are the focus of concern for many in the community and often receive warm, happy homes. But that doesn't do much for the hundreds of other animals that go under the needle, put to death because there is no room or money to keep them alive...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Scott City High School officials say they're moving quickly in their search for a new head football coach to replace Stephen O'Brien, who resigned in December. Athletic director Fred Graham said the school has received about 10 applications and several phone calls inquiring about the job. A new coach is expected by April, he said...

JACKSON, Mo. -- It didn't take long to figure that the Woodland Cardinals had gotten into the wrong gymnasium on the wrong night against the wrong team. A Jackson Indian team, playing its 14th game of the season but having a homecoming of sorts with just its second home game, was in a festive mood and more than willing to deliver a first-round knockout blow to their Class 2A visitors...

Southeast Missouri State University officials are at odds with a national study that says the school and most others in the nation aren't affordable for low-income students. The findings of the year-old Lumina Foundation for Education have sparked sharp criticism from higher education groups...

Teens gathered in the basement of the Cape Family Resource Center Tuesday giggled and jostled each other as they sat watching a video. At first it looks like any other after-school program, but most of these teens have been referred here by the juvenile court system...

There's a distinct difference between men and women when it comes to seeing color. Never mind the fact that one in 10 men have some degree of colorblindness, which means they don't perceive colors in the same shades and intensities as people without the condition. That's why women are forced to repeat the phrase, "You're wearing THAT?"...

$$$Start ggarner It has been a tough week. We played our best 32 minutes of basketball of the season Saturday at Eastern Illinois but fell apart down the stretch to lose what could have been a huge win for us. It was a devastating loss that might have carried over to Monday night's game at the Show Me Center...

$$$Start jkoch By John Koch, DVM ~ Question: Lately my cat has been giving me fits with her eating. We leave dry food out for her all the time and give canned food a couple of times each day. She normally eats the canned food immediately. ...

$$$Start smcclanahan Last weekend I was so hopeful that we might get some snow. Our children have been praying we would get enough snow to play in. As we left my parents house Sunday evening, the snow was beautiful as it fell. Large fluffy flakes falling down like feathers. We quickly grabbed pieces of black paper to catch the beauty of each falling snowflake...

The addition to the Seabaugh Polytechnic Building isn't the only growth project at Southeast Missouri State University. Construction is expected to begin within the next few weeks on a $1.5 million expansion of the Show Me Center. The project will inconvenience some drivers seeking to park at university basketball games and other Show Me Center events, said David Ross, the arena's director...

Tickets are on sale for the 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, scheduled for 8 a.m. Jan. 21 at the Show Me Center. Dr. Henry Shannon, chancellor of the St. Louis Community College system, will be the featured speaker. Tickets must be purchased in advance, Southeast Missouri State University officials said...

They're still building at Southeast Missouri State University's Otto and Della Seabaugh Polytechnic Building, which had barely opened before construction crews showed up in September to expand the $9 million structure. Work on the 6,000-square-foot, $850,000 brick-and-steel addition at the northeast end of the Seabaugh Polytechnic Building is being financed with university money and salary savings from unfilled positions...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For nearly half of the members of the Missouri General Assembly, the 2002 legislative session will be their last because of term limits. Everyone agrees term limits, approved by Missouri voters in 1992 but taking full effect for this year's elections, will have a dramatic impact on the legislative process. Exactly what that impact will be on the session, which starts today, remains unclear...

Associated Press Writer JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Legislature starts its 2002 session Wednesday with money matters on the minds of many lawmakers. Faced with a tight state budget, legislators will be looking for ways to cut costs yet still expand spending for education, health care and new security steps taken after the Sept. 11 attacks...

Associated Press WriterKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The government has ordered armed men to get off the streets of the Afghan capital within three days or be thrown in jail, Interior Minister Younus Qanooni said Wednesday. The order would allow only uniformed police on Kabul's streets to carry arms, in an attempt to bolster the new government's authority in the capital, where armed men from various factions bristling with rocket launchers and automatic weapons have moved freely since the departure of Taliban on Nov. ...

Associated Press WriterJERUSALEM (AP) -- In the first deadly Palestinian attack on Israelis in nearly a month, two Palestinians stormed an Israeli army post near the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, killing four soldiers before being shot dead in a gunbattle, the military said...

Associated Press WriterKANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Taliban defense and justice ministers and several other high-ranking figures of the ousted ruling militia surrendered to the new Afghan government but were allowed to go free, a Kandahar commander said Wednesday, despite U.S. requests for the handover of top Taliban leaders...

Associated Press WriterJERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel decided Wednesday to halt construction of a mosque next to a major Christian shrine in Jesus' birthplace of Nazareth, an Israeli official said, a project that had caused friction between Christians and Muslims...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. military plane carrying seven Marines crashed Wednesday in Pakistan. In a brief statement, U.S. Central Command did not say whether there were survivors. It said the names of the service members were being withheld until their relatives had been informed of the crash...

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. government, in its latest effort to choke off money to Osama bin Laden, on Wednesday blocked the financial assets of two organizations and two individuals suspected of financing terrorism...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Investors dogged by lingering worries about the economy backtracked from a solid rally on Wall Street Wednesday and sold stocks sharply lower in late trading. Analysts said investors were worried that stocks, which had healthy gains in the first three trading days of the new year, are now priced too high given the uncertainty about when a recovery will begin...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- School officials suspect that an 18-year-old Poplar Bluff High School student who was hospitalized Thursday may have taken someone else's prescription medications. "His teacher called us. He was agitated and lethargic," said Sheldon Tyler, assistant principal at Poplar Bluff High School. "It got to the point where we had to call the ambulance."...

DEXTER, Mo. -- For three years he has been working to protect Dexter residents. Soon he will be working to protect an entire nation. Since high school, Dexter policeman Mark Trout has dreamed of joining the Secret Service. He believes he was born to be in law enforcement...

Donna P. Cooper, daughter of Weldon L. and Violet L. Bryant Davis, was born July 22, 1919, in Anna, Ill., and passed away Monday, Jan. 7, 2002, at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill., at the age of 52. Survivors include her husband, Bill Cooper of Springfield; a son, Warren Masters of Cape Girardeau; her mother and father of Cape Girardeau; two stepdaughters, Tina Lipps of Cameron, Wis., Tracy Schieffer of Rice Lake, Wis.; five stepgrandchildren; a brother and sister-in-law, Weldon Jr. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Irene J. Bohnert, 87, of Perryville died Monday, Jan. 7, 2002, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born March 14, 1914, in Perryville, daughter of Joseph and Agnes Baudendistel Gebhardt. She and Lloyd H. "Beck" Bohnert were married May 5, 1937. He died Oct. 10, 1993...

It's the voters' fault EVERYONE COMPLAINS about politicians. Where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They come from American homes, American families, American schools, American churches and American businesses. ...

To the editor: A Speak Out caller said 90 percent of other callers are "a bunch of mental degenerates." If there is to be no debate on any subject, then what do we say about our American patriots at the time of the Revolution who had heated debates in the Continental Congress as to what kind of government to adopt?...

To the editor: We would like to thank the Scott County Sheriff's Department for once again providing the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program to the Kelso sixth-grade class. DARE classes were offered by Deputy Todd Irwin. He did an outstanding job of teaching, motivating and offering real-life scenarios to these students. ...

Basketball Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined $500,000 on Tuesday for his repeated criticism of referees, the largest fine for an individual in NBA history. Cuban's most recent public comments came after the Mavericks lost to San Antonio 105-103 on Saturday...

The well-oiled machine that is Tennessee Tech women's basketball has dominated the Ohio Valley Conference over the years with a disciplined, fundamentally sound style. Southeast Missouri State University tried its best to break through the Golden Eaglettes' armor Tuesday night at the Show Me Center -- and the Otahkians administered plenty of dents on the way to an 80-77 loss...

The Notre Dame High boys basketball team (10-4)had little trouble knocking off visiting Fredericktown 64-46 Tuesday night. Co-captains Scott Wittenborn and Doug Schaefer led Notre Dame with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Wayne Essner added 12 for the Bulldogs. Nathan Huckaba paced Fredericktown (1-10)with 10 points...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Ferrell A. Gossett, 90, of Sikeston, died Monday, Jan. 7, 2002 at the Clearview Nursing Center. Born Nov. 16, 1911, in Hartman, Ark., she was the daughter of Frank and Winnie Hardin Bennett. On Feb. 6, 1934, in New Madrid, Mo., she was married to Phillip T. Gossett. He died Sept. 16, 1957...

THEBES, Ill. -- Monroe Norris, 83, of Thebes died Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are pending at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill.

10 years ago: Jan. 9, 1992 Convention and Visitors Bureau will continue operations in Cape Girardeau if bureau's advisory board has its way; board voted unanimously yesterday to continue bureau's operations as it trimmed list of more than 30 funding proposals to eight...

Eifert Son to Senior Chief Sean Tyler and Jennifer Lynn Eifert of Yokosuka, Japan, Yokosuka Naval Hospital, 10:36 p.m. Monday, Dec. 24, 2001. Name, Dylan Tyler. Weight, 6 pounds 14 1/2 ounces. First child. Mrs. Eifert is the former Jennifer Hardy, daughter of Phillip and Dee Hardy of Montgomery, Ala. She is on staff at Naval College Learning Center in Yokosuka. Eifert is the son of Raymond and Shirley Eifert of Scott City, Mo. He is stationed with the U.S. Navy in Yokosuka...

PATTON, Mo. -- Eugene Thomas Hart, 79, of Patton died Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002, at Jackson Manor in Jackson, Mo. He was born Jan. 1, 1923, at Perryville, Mo., son of Alvie and Elizabeth Macke Hart. He and Pearl Irene Teaford were married Jan. 19, 1943...

MATTHEWS, Mo. -- Ottis Wiley Howard, 80, of Matthews died Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 1, 1921, at Lexon, Mo., son of Clarence and Bertha Howard. He and Dorothy Flint were married Dec. 16, 1959, at Sikeston, Mo. She died in 1995...

Geneva Lou Heins, 77, of Las Vegas, Nev., died Sunday, Dec. 16, 2001, at Nathan Adelson Hospice. She was born June 9, 1924, in Cape Girardeau, and was a graduate of Central High School. She married Walter Heins. Heins had lived in Las Vegas 25 years...

Roscoe Oliver King, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002, at Jackson Manor in Jackson, Mo. He was born Oct. 8, 1911, at Fruitland, Mo., son of Abraham L. and Stella E. Trickey King. He and Ethel E. Sample were married March 19, 1933, at Perryville, Mo. She died Jan. 16, 1995...

JACKSON, Mo. -- John O. Statler, 91, of Jackson died Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 3, 1910, in Jackson, son of John H. and Ida V. Hitt Statler. He and Willie Marie Minton were married July 28, 1934. She died June 25, 2001...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Harold Junior Warren, 44, of Sikeston died Sunday, Jan. 6, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Sept. 12, 1957, in Sikeston, son of Harold and Teresa Wells Warren. He and Gaila Kirk were married Nov. 19, 1983, in Charleston, Mo...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Judges launched a heavy barrage of questions at attorneys arguing the River Campus dispute before the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court is being asked to decide the validity of a tax increase approved by Cape Girardeau voters in 1998 to help fund construction of a fine arts center for Southeast Missouri State University. A ruling is expected in March...