Stories from Tuesday, February 5, 2002

Air traffic is climbing at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Boardings for Cape Girardeau-to-St. Louis flights have been increasing strongly during the past two months, said airport manager Bruce Loy. "We were up 24 percent in November and 17 percent in December," said Loy, speaking at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Payday lenders would face a fresh set of restrictions, including a ceiling on interest rates, under legislation considered Monday by a Senate committee. A state law enacted last year requires such lenders to post their annual interest rates and limits the fee on a given loan to $50 or 5 percent, whichever is less. But that legislation did not cap interest rates...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House Republicans are pushing legislation to require state universities and flight schools to track student visas. On Monday, the party also urged passage of tougher anti-terrorism measures and stronger homeland security laws. The measures were part of a GOP crime package that would also make it a felony to dilute drugs or ignore law enforcement road directions...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Bob Holden on Monday formally asked President Bush for a disaster declaration for Missouri counties hit hard by last week's ice storm. Meanwhile, the patience of some 70,000 Missouri utility customers was still being tried Monday as they remained without power after tree branches coated with ice took down power lines...

Apparently, a tight game, thrilling finish and major upset don't guarantee a Super Bowl ratings bonanza. Not that Fox is complaining. The network's telecast of the New England Patriots' 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday night registered exactly the same numbers as last year's game: a 40.4 national rating and 61 share...

NEW ORLEANS -- Tom Brady might as well rev up that luxury SUV he won as the Super Bowl's MVP and drive Drew Bledsoe out of town in style. Brady's latest success in football's biggest game left little doubt that Bledsoe, the best quarterback in New England Patriots history, will be playing elsewhere next season...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota's Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal of an injunction that forces the Twins to fulfill their Metrodome lease, all but killing baseball's contraction plan for this season. The high court's action Monday means an injunction issued by a Hennepin County judge in November will stand -- barring intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is unlikely...

NEW ORLEANS -- In the aftermath of their Super Bowl disappointment, St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz had a message for his team. "I told them never to forget this feeling, how painful this is," he said. "And that we'll be back." That is the goal of the Rams, stunned 20-17 by New England in the NFL championship game, humbled by their mistakes after going into the game as 14-point favorites...

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Don Mischer remembers attending the opening ceremony at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles and leaving with the feeling he had seen something very special. It wasn't until a dozen years later, when the Emmy Award-winning producer became involved with the Olympics, that a high-ranking foreign official told him the California ceremony was "second only to Hitler's in 1936" for jingoism...

WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel prepared to subpoena former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay after he refused to appear Monday, and an investigator into Enron's collapse said virtually everyone from top management down knew Enron was hiding financial losses...

WASHINGTON -- Allies who strongly support the war on terror are squirming as the Bush administration debates whether Iraq should be the next target. Russia, the Europeans and Arabs -- even NATO -- have made clear they won't necessarily back military attacks on Iraq...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush is seeking millions more dollars to restore fish and wildlife habitat along the Missouri River, but he also wants to cut flood control funding along the nation's waterways. That is the story of a wartime budget proposal pinched by soaring defense costs, a budget deficit and tax cuts. Unveiled on Monday, Bush's budget proposal is a starting point for Congress, which actually spends the government's money...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush proposed a $2.13 trillion budget on Monday that pumps billions into the war on terrorism but challenges Congress by reining in resurgent deficits through cuts to job training, highways and scores of other programs. Foreshadowing tactics sure to echo until November's elections for control of Congress, Democrats embraced Bush's national security plans. ...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Feb. 5 Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:At 3:49 p.m., an alarm at Town Plaza. At 5:38 p.m., an emergency medical service at 1105 Linden. At 7:17 p.m., a structure fire at Ellis and Morgan Oak. At 9:50 p.m., an emergency medical service at 189 Cobblestone Court...

Cape Girardeau Tuesday, Feb. 5 ArrestsLawrence Andrew Agnew, 52, Mounds, Ill., was arrested Sunday for contempt of court. Sean Kevin Poole, 17, 1459 Rand, was arrested Monday for contempt of court. Mary Jane Pierce, 38, Sikeston, Mo., was arrested Monday on an outstanding warrant...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- A Jackson, Mo., driver sustained moderate injuries Monday when her vehicle overturned on Highway 77, two miles north of Chaffee. Tracy Allen, 30, was taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital after the 12:05 p.m. accident. The driver of the other vehicle, James Wagoner of Blodgett, Mo., was not injured...

KARACHI, Pakistan -- After a series of hoax e-mails, the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal issued an open letter Monday to the group he believes responsible for the kidnapping of reporter Daniel Pearl, asking for a private dialogue to "address your concerns."...

BALKH, Afghanistan -- Most of the guns are older than the boys. But those in need of an AK-47 repair don't seem to mind that the oldest gunsmith in the shop doesn't yet shave and the most junior partner still has his baby teeth. Warlords, militiamen and average gun-toting Afghans keep business brisk for the four young brothers, who are expanding their reputation as the place to turn for repairing or rebuilding the AK-47 rifle that is the cornerstone of the Afghan arsenal...

It took three crumpled cars and 15 minutes to catch a knife-wielding fugitive who left a wake of automobile destruction and angry victims across town Friday. What started as a purse-snatching in a mall parking lot developed into a carjacking and high-speed chase that ended in a crash with a taxi near Southeast Missouri State University...

Two of Cape Girardeau County's three commissioners say there aren't enough juveniles being detained to warrant building a new detention center, and the entire commission dismisses a recent increase in jailed offenders as a ploy by juvenile authorities to get a new building...

Cape Girardeau police have arrested two people thought to be responsible for at least two of three recent burglaries. Steven B. Garner and Jason K. Hollowell, both 17, were arrested early Monday when police found them hiding in a car on West Cape Rock Drive, reports say...

Police and firefighters are investigating the cause of a suspicious fire Sunday at 344 S. Ellis. Cape Girardeau firefighters were called to the scene at 7:19 p.m. after passers-by saw the blaze and reported it using a cell phone. The house was vacant and no one was injured, battalion chief Steve Niswonger said...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A computer failure temporarily knocked out the international space station's guidance system Monday and prevented the power-generating solar wings from pointing toward the sun. The problem -- common aboard Russia's Mir space station but a first at the international outpost -- lasted just four hours. But it was expected to keep the three occupants unusually busy for at least another day...

$$$Start hkronmueller Last week I finally heard the words my father has told me at least hundred times per year since I was 16 years old: If you leave your CDs in your car for everyone to see, someone's going to break in and take them. At 8 a.m. Tuesday I woke to find a police officer standing next to pile of glass which had at once been my car's passenger-side window...

His defense attorney questioned the credibility of the witnesses who testified against him, but a judge still found enough probable cause to bind Gregory Campbell over for trial Monday. Appearing Monday before associate circuit judge Gary Kamp, Campbell faced charges in two separate cases. The first alleges Campbell delivered cocaine to a confidential informant in 1999...

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night tabled the request of a special-use permit by Charlie Roberts and Sprint to erect a 150-foot cellular phone tower at 2215 Broadway because it wants to hear from a cellular tower subcommittee created by the planning and zoning board...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Construction of a sewer project designed to eliminate seven high-maintenance lift stations could start this summer if the acquisition of rights of way goes well. Monday night, the Jackson Board of Aldermen authorized the city attorney to initiate condemnation proceedings to obtain easements required for the Phase I-Stage 2 sewer projects. ...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M University's nearly century-old bonfire tradition -- on hold since a deadly collapse in 1999 -- will not be resurrected next fall, the school's president said Monday. The 90-year-old bonfire tradition was suspended after 12 students were killed and 27 others injured on Nov. ...

Three hurt in blast at chemical-testing site KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Authorities evacuated an industrial area on Kansas City's east side Monday morning after a chemical-testing building exploded and caught fire, injuring three people. Those injured in the 9:11 a.m. blast were taken to hospitals with first and second-degree burns, officials said. Emergency crews evacuated the area as a precaution, authorities said...

HOSUN AL-JALAL, Yemen -- Yemenis say the task is huge: hunting down two al-Qaida suspects wanted by the United States and last seen in a region where gun-toting tribesmen rule and government forces don't enter without permission. To further complicate the search, Qaed Salim Sunian al-Harethi, a suspected top al-Qaida official, and Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, wanted by the United States for the attack on the USS Cole, could have escaped into the Empty Quarter -- a desert patch the size of France...

TANEGASHIMA, Japan -- Japan's struggling space program suffered a setback Mondays when ground controllers lost contact with one of two satellites launched aboard the country's biggest rocket. Scientists said it appeared the module never separated from the rocket...

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Gangs of youths armed with machetes, swords, and bows and arrows took to the streets of Lagos Monday in a third day of ethnic bloodletting in Nigeria's commercial capital. At least 55 people have been killed. Grabbing what possessions they could, thousands fled as plumes of black smoke rose from the city's slums. The violence was the latest blow to a city shaken by explosions at an army munitions depot that killed at least 1,000 people last week...

OSLO, Norway -- President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been nominated for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting terrorism and securing world peace, a Norwegian lawmaker announced Monday. Harald Tom Nesvik, a member of parliament from the right-wing Party of Progress, said he has nominated the two leaders who have been at the forefront of the war in Afghanistan...

CHERRY HILL, N.J. -- So the name needed work. "Right In Your Own Backyard" just didn't roll off the tongue, no matter how fitting it was for a New Jersey children's museum celebrating diners, the boardwalk and road construction. By the time the museum opened, the unwieldy name was gone. But the concept behind it never changed...

RIVER EDGE, N.J. -- It began when some cash-strapped art students started looking for a low-cost alternative to paint. The search led Harry and Patricia Kislevitz to colorful, paper-thin vinyl that stuck to shiny surfaces. But the vinyl failed as an artistic medium, and the Kislevitzes left it in their bathroom with a pair of scissors to entertain houseguests...

Among the first casualties of the spending shifts Gov. Bob Holden proposes for the state budget in the fiscal year beginning July 1 are poor Missourians who rely on Medicaid to pay for essential health care. Thousands of Medicaid recipients will lose dental and eye coverage and over-the-counter medicines and will have to use their own money when medical services are provided -- cash most Medicaid recipients simply don't have...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Thomas James Charles Neeley, 74, of Marble Hill died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, at his home. He was born June 10, 1927, in McDougal, Ark., son of Homer Lonzo and Nellie Davis Neeley. He and Geneva Birchett were married Jan. 4, 1947, in Corning, Ark...

Marjorie Melba Foister, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at her home. She was born Aug. 14, 1922, at Jackson, Mo., daughter of Charles E. and Ruby A. Scheper Stone. She and Lyman R. "R.L." Foister were married Sept. 28, 1945, in Cape Girardeau. He died Aug. 26, 1980...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Phyllis J. Reynolds, 56, of Mill Creek died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at her home. She was born March 3, 1945, in Anna, Ill., daughter of Elbert Owen Hileman and Claire Verneal Jordan Hileman. She and Albert Reynolds were married April 9, 1964, in Dongola, Ill...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Dora Mae Acup, 86, of Malden died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, at Three Rivers Health Care North Campus in Poplar Bluff, Mo. She was born Oct. 13, 1915, in Halliday, Ark., daughter of Charley Marion and Lizzy Pearl Steele Carrel. She and Charley Leroy Acup were married Dec. 25, 1933. He died April 5, 1987...

Funeral for Therman "Doc" Schwach of Eastpointe, Mich., was held Monday at Arthur J. VanLerberghe Funeral Home in St. Clair Shores, Mich. Burial was in Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township, Mich. Schwach, 89, died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at his home...

Hoffman Son to James Brian Hoffman and Katherine Lucille Ulrich of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:12 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002. Name, Sebastian James. Weight, 8 pounds 6 ounces. Third child, first son. Ms. Ulrich is the daughter of Candace Ulrich of Cape Girardeau and Ronald Ulrich of Belleville, Ill. Hoffman is the son of James and Cheryl Hoffman of Arnold, Mo...

10 years ago: Feb. 5, 1992 Hundreds of gallons of concentrated chlorine spilling from drain at Capaha Park swimming pool was responsible for killing hundreds of fish last week in park's lagoon; after workers collecting dead fish from lagoon's banks reported chlorine smell, water drain was checked for leaks...

Standard Democrat DEXTER, Mo. -- Dexter police are investigating a telephone scam. A person had received a telephone call saying he had won a cash prize. The caller told the victim to wire $1,000 to insure the prize. After the money transfer was made, no further contact was made...

AP Sports WriterSALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The tattered flag from the World Trade Center will fly over the Winter Olympics, but U.S. athletes won't carry it into the opening ceremony as planned. The IOC rejected the U.S. Olympic Committee's request to have five athletes and an official carry the flag that was recovered after the Sept. 11 attacks...

AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's hope for a rebound fizzled Tuesday, with investors drawn to the stock market's relatively cheap prices but hesitant amid continuing questions about accounting practices. Stocks fluctuated throughout the session before closing modestly lower...

Associated Press WriterALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A federal grand jury indicted John Walker Lindh on Tuesday, accusing the American Taliban fighter of conspiring to kill fellow U.S. citizens in Afghanistan. The 10-count indictment also accused Lindh of conspiring to provide support to terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, and supplying services to the Taliban. Lindh could face several life terms in prison if convicted...

AP Tax WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The economic stimulus bill that President Bush says will hasten recovery from recession appears dead in the Senate and will probably be shelved, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Tuesday. Daschle, D-S.D., said neither Republicans nor Democrats will have the 60 votes necessary to win approval of their competing measures -- and that the Senate will take up other business on Wednesday...

Associated Press WriterSELMA, Calif. (AP) -- About 90 vehicles piled up in two chain-reaction accidents in dense fog Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens of others. Joe Galba, 43, of Visalia, said he slowed down just before he saw brake lights signaling the crash. He even remarked at how fast some drivers were traveling given the conditions...

Associated Press WriterALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Attorneys for John Walker Lindh, the American who fought with the Taliban, asked a federal court Tuesday to release him pending trial on charges that he conspired to kill U.S. forces in Afghanistan...

Kaelyn McGill loved singing in the choir, roller skating with friends, playing outside and reading. And when news of the 8-year-old's death made its way around Alma Schrader Elementary Monday morning, the school came to a virtual standstill, with children and staff crying and comforting one another...

PARK HILLS, Mo. -- Funeral for Floyd Lee Hoff of Park Hills was held Monday at Caldwell Funeral Home. The Rev. Davey Welker officiated. Burial was in Adams Cemetery at Frankclay, Mo. Hoff, 63, died Friday, Feb. 1, 2002, at his home. He was born July 27, 1938, in St. Francois County, son of Otis and Frances Miller Hoff. He married Marietta Snead...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Thomas Hilton Grady will be held at 11 a.m. today at Ponder Funeral Home. The Rev. Rick Lasley will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery, with full military honors by the New Madrid American Legion Post...

Missouri's legislators have debated for two years how to best spend the state's tobacco settlement, currently estimated at $4.5 billion over 25 years. Thanks to expected partisanship and unexpected mushiness from all sides over how the money could do the most good, the legislators haven't been able to come up with a plan...

WASHINGTON -- You can be walking around normally when your heart suddenly stops beating. It takes a mere five seconds to lose consciousness. In 20 seconds, your brain shows it's losing oxygen -- your eyes roll back and your arms and legs twitch. In 10 minutes, you'll be dead...

7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4 City Hall Action Items Power and Light Committee Accepted the dedication of sanitary sewer easement deed from Michael and Kathleen McMillan. Vacated an existing utility easement across Lot No. 1 in Sunset Hills Subdivision, Unit No. 1...

Monday, Feb. 4 A public hearing was held regarding the past performance in carrying out a 1997 Neighborhood Development Grant under the Community Development Block Grant Program, the grant project being as follows: Approximately 23 housing units rehabilitated, approximately 1,000 lineal feet of street paved, approximately 2175 lineal feet of waterline, approximately 980 lineal feet of curb and gutter and approximately 70 lineal feet of sidewalk improvements completed under the Jefferson-Shawnee Parkway Neighborhood Restoration Project No. ...

FRUITLAND, Mo. -- Fruitland Livestock Auction Tuesday. Receipts, 653; last week, 445; last year, 476. Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to 1.00 higher, bulls 1.00 higher; Demand moderate and supply light. Cows made up approximately 16 percent of the run, feeders 84 percent. Steers made up approximately 63 percent of the offering and 37 percent heifers. Offerings over 600 lbs totaled around 35 percent...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Randy White left Scott City High School last year after a long career as head coach of the girls' basketball program. He returned triumphantly Monday as the head chef of the Delta program. With three Cooks in his starting lineup who combined to burn Scott City for 38 points, White and his Lady Bobcats emerged with a 65-52 victory...

The Tiger Field House will host its final Cape Central basketball game Friday. The gymnasium at Central High School will feature the Tigers andSikeston in a SEMOConference matchup. It's the final game in the facility before the Tigers begin playing in the new high school later this year...

To the editor: The Bush administration's announcement that from now on the definition of a fetus would be that of an unborn child and that there would be federal funding for prenatal care for low-income pregnant women and their babies cannot be seen as a pro-life victory, For one thing, the program would only be used by women who already have rejected abortion as a option...

To the editor: I'm beginning to believe that those who want an art and culture center at the River Campus in Cape Girardeau can't do math. Here in Dallas, there are art and culture centers because I live among 5 million people. Chicago has art and culture centers because the Chicago metro area has about 5 million people...

To the editor: The story about the increase of administrators at Southeast Missouri State University was informative. There were a mass of statistics, but the number of registered students at each college seems to be missing. Without that information, the chart is meaningless unless the intent is to rouse the rabble into thinking the state universities are squandering our money. And who could possibly think or even dream they would do such a thing?...

Going even lower BELIEVE ME, one can get much lower than Dick Gephardt. Have you checked the GOP roster lately? Non-essential projects JACK STAPLETON'S column about our flea-infested state government was very timely. I suspect few of our state executives and legislators read his column. ...

Ida Frieda Sander departed this life Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She lived 88 years, 7 months and 29 days. Serving as pallbearers will be Mark Wessell, Michael "Mick" Wessel, Brian Wessell, Joe Nussbaum, Bob Wachter and Steve Wessell...

Kaelyn Marie McGill, 8, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center from injuries received in an automobile accident. Kaelyn was born June 12, 1993, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of James and Shelia Small McGill. She was a third-grade student at Alma Schrader School, sang in the choir, was a member of Girl Scout Troop 44 and La Croix United Methodist Church, was active in gymnastics and was a student at Patty Simmons Dance School...

Retired Lt. Col. Arthur W. Barr of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, in Colorado Springs. Formerly of Cape Girardeau, Barr was in the U.S. Army during World War II, having served in Italy, Japan, Panama, and at NORAD. Survivors include his wife, Grace V. Parker Barr; a son, Arthur Barr Jr. of Minnesota; a daughter, Joan Johnson of Georgia; a sister, Helen Metzer of Texas; two grandsons; and three great-grandchildren...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Laddie Price of Jonesboro, Ill., will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. Johnny Hester will officiate. Burial will be in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from 9 a.m. until time of service...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state higher education commissioner said on Monday that from a funding standpoint public institutions will lose six years worth of ground with the deep budget cuts recommended by the governor. "We are under tremendous pressure with our state budget," said Dr. Kala Stroup. "But this funding recommendation, when you account for inflation, will take colleges and universities back to fiscal year 1997 funding levels."...