Stories from Friday, November 8, 2002

NEW YORK -- The arrival of cold weather sent consumers on a buying spree in October, giving retailers some hope that the holiday season might be better than expected. As the nation's largest retailers reported their monthly sales on Thursday, discounters and moderate-priced stores fared the best. Wal-Mart Stores and Kohl's Corp. announced results that exceeded Wall Street expectations...

CHICAGO -- If Dusty Baker needs an enormous challenge after his successful 10-year run in San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs can certainly provide it. No World Series championships since 1908, no World Series appearances since 1945, no back-to-back winning seasons since 1972. Need more?...

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. No quarterback ever started his NFL career as accurately as Chad Pennington. Not Kurt Warner. Not Brett Favre. Not Joe Montana. No one. Pennington is just 2-2 in his four starts with the New York Jets, but that record is more the result of a disappearing defense than any failings on his part. Indeed, Pennington has been on-target as a passer, completing a phenomenal 76.9 percent and compiling a 108.5 rating in those games...

College football's final four unbeatens hit the road Saturday, and don't be surprised if there's another wave of upsets. Notre Dame, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech lost for the first time last week -- and they played at home. Georgia, the fourth fallen unbeaten a week ago, lost at a neutral site...

I'm not sure what to make of the photograph of the huge animal described as a wild boar in the weekly newspaper from my favorite hometown in the Ozarks west of here. It's not that I don't think there are some strange critters in the hills and dales around Killough Valley where I grew up. It's just that the huge hog felled by a hunter didn't have some of the customary features of a wild boar...

Lopez, Affleck mum about wedding plans NEW YORK -- Are they or aren't they? Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck won't say, but it sure looks like they're engaged. The couple, who've been photographed kissing everywhere over the past few months, have been coy about whether they're getting married...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal mediator has called for a one-week break in contract talks between shipping lines and West Coast dockworkers after the two sides failed to agree on a pension package. Mediator Peter Hurtgen called for the break Tuesday, saying that the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the shipping lines and terminal operators, needed time to review the union's pension package demands...

With Tuesday's elections, Southeast Missouri legislators have taken a bigger grasp on legislative leadership in Jefferson City. Leadership will be a critical factor in the years to come aas Missouri faces some of the biggest challenges of its 181-year history. ...

A majority of Missouri voters displayed common sense Tuesday in the way they voted on constitutional amendments, Proposition A and the question regarding a new state constitution. It wasn't just a matter of voting no or yes on everything. The outcomes of those ballot issues show voters read the ballot language and cast their votes based on informed opinions...

Not compatible I AM responding to the caller who suggested that being pro-life is consistent with being pro-war because innocent babies do not choose to be killed, but soldiers do. I agree with the basic premise, but the problem is that the United States has a horrible reputation around the world for killing non-combatants during our police operations. ...

This fall the Department of Conservation will test more than 6,000 deer for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This disease has never been found in Missouri, but hunters across the region are asking questions about the safety of eating venison. The answer to this question requires looking at how CWD affects deer and what we know about its spread...

A story in Saturday's edition should have reported that a bazaar at Maple United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

LOS ANGELES -- Ask filmmaker Michael Moore how long the ideas in "Bowling for Columbine" have percolated and he recites a poem he wrote as a boy in Flint, Mich., amid the 1960s race riots and Vietnam: "Oh, what a wonderful world this would be, "If we all loved one another,...

10 years ago: Nov. 8, 1992 With recent news that Florsheim Shoe Co. will close its Anna, Ill., plant, comes word that Interco's restructuring plan also affects shoe workers in Cape Girardeau; Interco plans to close small Florsheim facility on Nash Road in Cape Girardeau; however, second Florsheim plant in Cape Girardeau will expand its work force...

An international student group started a campaign that urges shoppers to avoid Gap clothing stores this holiday season by placing ads Thursday in newspapers at several leading universities. The United Students Against Sweatshops said it is acting in response to anti-union activity at factories manufacturing Gap products in El Salvador and South Africa...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Democratic Gov. Bob Holden blamed the national economy for Republican victories in the Missouri Legislature, adding he shares voters' concerns and is willing to work with the new GOP leadership. But Holden on Thursday rejected suggestions that the Republicans' first full legislative majority since 1948 was an indication that voters were upset with him...

Four stars This movie starring Tim Allen is great for any age group. The extra makeup and padding for this role certainly change Tim's features. While preparing for Christmas, Santa is told that his son is in trouble again at school. Before leaving for the school, another Santa is cloned so the elves won't know the real Santa is gone...

NEW YORK -- Three British exports from rock's "new wave" of the late 1970s -- The Police, The Clash and Elvis Costello and the Attractions -- will join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. They'll be inducted along with the Righteous Brothers, blue-eyed soul singers of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," and Australian hard rockers AC/DC...

ST. LOUIS -- Blues coach Joel Quenneville sensed St. Louis was vulnerable before the team played the Columbus Blue Jackets. Riding the crest of a nine-game winning streak and returning home following a three-game road trip, Quenneville said he suspected his team would have a tough time...

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Mark Martin is keeping his focus on winning his first Winston Cup championship despite a penalty and 112-point deficit in the standings. He was stunned earlier this week when NASCAR docked him 25 points for an illegal spring on his No. 6 Ford after he finished second in last Sunday's race in Rockingham, N.C...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A Southeast Missouri basketball referee was found guilty of third-degree assault Thursday and will be sentenced Dec. 18. Michael Clark of Puxico could be sentenced to up to a year in jail or fined $1,000 after he and Cape Girardeau referee Tim Heuring had a physical altercation on Jan. 10 between junior varsity and varsity games of the Scott-Mississippi Tournament at Scott County Central High near Morley...

Missourians began picking the design of their state quarter on Thursday, with Missouri first lady Lori Hauser Holden touring the state to show off five designs approved by the U.S. Mint. The state will collect votes for the quarters at the governor's Web site and on paper ballots that can be cast at the governor's office. Mrs. Holden appeared at a library in Kansas City to unveil the final designs and promote the Web site voting...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, charting an agenda for the new Republican Congress, said Thursday that homeland security comes first and an economic-recovery plan with new tax cuts will wait until next year. "There's going to be a huge laundry list of things people want to get done and my job is to set priorities and get them done," the president said in a jovial 45-minute news conference. ...

The perception of the Cape Girardeau city inspection services department over the years has not been a good one. Numerous complaints have been issued by residents and builders to the city council and on to city management. It took too long for the department to review plans and issue permits, residents said. Former city councilman Butch Eggimann calls an inability to stop the complaints one of his few regrets in eight years of public service...

The embattled Dexter, Mo., police chief may have resigned that job only to lose another -- this one as a federal screener at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Ken Rinehart, indicted in January on a charge that he hindered prosecution of sex crimes committed by one of his officers, submitted his resignation to the Dexter mayor this week and told his local newspaper he was taking a job with the federal government...

Their short film is probably more embarrassing than award-winning, but two Jackson girls are living in the limelight for a little while. A videotape of friends Chelby Chezem and Morgan Peters, both 12, will be shown today on the television show "America's Funniest Home Videos." The program airs at 7 p.m. on ABC...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri voters again opposed a massive tax increase at a much higher rate than the statewide average in helping to defeat Proposition A on Tuesday. The measure, which would have generated an additional $342 million a year for the state by quadrupling the excise tax on cigarettes, barely failed to become law with just 50.9 percent of the electorate rejecting it...

In the first act of the French farce "Don't Dress for Dinner," two male characters assist an actress with a daring on-stage costume change. Two of the female characters spend most of the second act in negligees. The French insist on being different. Vive la difference...

Chaffee wrapped up a 1-9 football season Thursday night with a 43-13 loss to visiting Hayti. The Indians (8-1), who had already clinched the Class 1, District 1 title, piled up more than 500 yards of offense and led 43-0 after three quarters. Brandon Davis led Chaffee on the ground with 91 yards on 16 carries and he scored a touchdown. James Reischman caught five passes for 91 yards and one TD. Sam Burnett completed 11 of 33 passes for 112 yards...

Tonight's season-ending district game tonight against Francis Howell is not the variety the Indians have played much in recent years. For the first time in more than 10 years, Jackson enters the final game of the season with no hope of playing in the postseason...

Winning your district is one thing. Being primed for a deep playoff run is an entirely different matter. The Central Tigers, ranked fifth in Class 4, lived up to their district billing with a textbook and clinical rout of visiting Poplar Bluff Thursday night at Houck Stadium...

The Notre Dame Bulldogs, overcoming cold temperatures and a muddy field, collared the Class 2 District 1 boys' soccer championship Thursday with a 3-0 win at home over St. Pius. The game was delayed a day because of a wet field. The effects lingered Thursday as the teams battled slick conditions...

TODAY'S AREA GAMESCLASS 5, DISTRICT 1 Francis Howell (7-2, 1-1) at Jackson (2-7, 0-2) Other district game: Parkway West (6-3, 1-1) at Parkway Central (9-0, 2-0) Last week: Parkway Central 28, Francis Howell 7; Parkway West 22, Jackson 7...

Southeast Missouri State University soccer players won the Ohio Valley Conference's top two individual awards Thursday night -- but a major team accomplishment this weekend is what they're really shooting for. Valerie Henderson and Jenny Hamilton, honored as the OVC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year during Thursday's awards banquet at Southeast's University Center, hope to lead the Otahkians to their first NCAA Tournament berth...

Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball coach B.J. Smith has created plenty of hype surrounding his first Otahkian team. While the game won't count on the record, tonight Smith gets to take a look at his new squad against outside competition for the first time when St. Louis Goldstar visits the Show Me Center for a 7 p.m. exhibition contest. There is no admission charge...

Baseball Edgar Martinez will end his career with the Mariners, and both sides couldn't be happier. The Mariners signed Martinez to a one-year contract Thursday, a day after declining a $10 million option on their veteran designated hitter. Martinez will make about $4 million next season, plus the $1 million buyout from his previous deal...

Southeast volleyball rolls past Austin Peay CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State University's volleyball team solidified its hold on third place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 30-24, 30-25, 26-30, 30-23 win over host Austin Peay Thursday night...

At least they avoided the "philosophical differences" excuse. Credit Dusty Baker and San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan with having that much sense -- but not much more. Too often, when a manager and his boss part company, the only reason given is a disagreement over philosophy, as though they split up after repeated arguments over Plato's "Republic." Not these two...

Native American events scheduled Native American artifacts, clothing, arts and crafts are on display in the University Museum lobby through November. The display was organized by Paul White Eagle, chief of the Ah-Ni-Wvi-Wi-Ya tribe. Another display along with Native American demonstrations of flintknapping, basket weaving, flute music and the use of the blow gun will be presented from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the University Center lobby...

DURHAM, N.C. -- The stone gargoyles perched atop the doors to Duke University's new Gothic dormitory were meant to surprise and honor two wealthy donors. The university succeeded at surprise: Aubrey and Kathleen McClendon, who gave $5.5 million to build the dorm, were shocked to find their own likenesses staring down from the hall that bears their name...

PITTSBURGH -- A report released Thursday on the Pennsylvania mine accident that trapped nine workers for three days found two likely violations of state law regarding inaccurate maps. It is unclear, however, whether the state will be able to pursue charges against anyone, said David Hess, environmental secretary...

WILDWOOD, Mo. -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil action in federal court to seize a suburban St. Louis company it claims has obtained $16 million from investors through the sale of illegal securities. The SEC wants to take control of JAWSH Corp. of Wildwood, which lost money after investing in an equestrian arena in St. Charles County and in golf courses and fitness clubs in Missouri and other states...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Nov. 8 Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following items: At 9:06 p.m., emergency medical service at 29 S. Sprigg. At 9:47 p.m., fire alarm at 117 S. Broadview. At 10:27 p.m., emergency medical service at 2310 Big Bend Road...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Nov. 8 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Chad D. Valenti, 24, of 921 Hackberry was arrested Wednesday on a Cape Girardeau warrant for failure to appear...

Luttrull Daughter to Donnie Luttrull and Jennifer Rhymer of McClure, Ill., Memorial Hospital of Carbondale in Carbondale, Ill., 7:44 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002. Name, Madisen Chevelle. Weight, 7 pounds. First child. Ms. Rhymer is the daughter of Patricia Rhymer of McClure. ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Susan and Jerry Wortley decided to visit the Alaska Experience Theatre for a tour of its earthquake simulation auditorium. So when a magnitude 7.9 earthquake shook Alaska on Sunday, they simply marveled at how authentic it felt...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Four former members of the Symbionese Liberation Army pleaded guilty to murder Thursday in the shotgun slaying of a bank customer during a 1975 holdup and will get six to eight years each in prison. The four are William Harris; his ex-wife, Emily Montague; Michael Bortin; and Sara Jane Olson, who is already serving 14 years behind bars for a 1975 attempt to blow up two Los Angeles police cars...

TEHRAN, Iran -- In the latest setback for reformists in Iran, a hard-line court has sentenced to death a prominent scholar and close ally of President Mohammad Khatami for insulting Islam's prophet, his lawyer said Thursday. Hashem Aghajari was found guilty of insulting the prophet Muhammad and questioning the hard-line clergy's interpretation of Islam in a speech he made in June in the western city of Hamedan, his lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, said...

TOKYO -- Japan is launching a five-month expedition to kill about 400 whales in Antarctic waters, the government said Thursday, an announcement likely to draw fire from nations opposed to whale hunting, including the United States. Five Japanese whaling ships will set out Friday from the port of Shimonoseki, 525 miles southwest of Tokyo, the Fisheries Agency announced on its Web site...

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- In the first major break in the inquiry into the Bali nightclub bombings, Indonesia's police chief said Thursday that a suspect in custody has admitted to taking part in the attack that killed nearly 200 people. Police said they were looking into possible connections between the suspect and a regional terror group with links to al-Qaida...

BENTON, Mo. -- Ray Graham, 75, of Benton died Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Benton is in charge of arrangements.

Graveside service for Alonzo W. Rumfelt Sr. of Middletown, Calif., will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at High Hill Cemetery at Neelys Landing, Mo. The Rev. Mike Huffman will officiate. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Walter W. Raby, 87, of Tamms died Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 1, 1915, at Tamms, son of Charlie Clarence and Rana Ruth Walters Raby. He and Naomi Vancil were married Oct. 17, 1936, in Jonesboro, Ill...

Marie E. Kinder, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Nov. 5, 1909, at Kelso, Mo., daughter of Henry and Mary Roth Peetz. She and Ross Kinder were married Sept. 1, 1940, in St. Louis. He died May 17, 1980...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- The funeral for Loyd Wayne Shaffer Sr. of Caruthersville will be held at 1 p.m. today at Temple Baptist Church. Dr. James Adams will officiate. Burial will be in Maple Cemetery. H.S. Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

Imogene Archer, 68, of Jackson died Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 14, 1934, at Wardell, Mo., daughter of Herbert L. and Annie R. Havener Turner. She and Joseph Earl Archer were married Feb. 24, 1951...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Letha Irene Livingston, 91, of Bell City died Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 22, 1911, in Datto, Ark., daughter of Joseph and Bertha Miller Kearby. She and Albert F. Livingston were married Dec. 11, 1929, at Sikeston, Mo. He died Feb. 18, 1995...

Vicki Sue LaPlante, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born Dec. 17, 1941, daughter of Pat A. and Twyla B. Krause Lenz. She and Gary LaPlante were married March 3, 1968. Survivors include her husband; two sons, Rond Bland of Sycamore, Ohio, Jeff Morrison of Cape Girardeau; four daughters, Saunder O'Conner of Phoenix, Ariz., Kathy Tinnoco of Utica, N.Y., Sylvia Higgins and Charlene Ponnce of Fostoria, Ohio; and five grandchildren...

Chinese Communist Party Congress begins BEIJING -- China's Communist Party Congress convened amid tight security today, drawing 2,000 delegates together on fabled Tiananmen Square to steer the nation through breakneck changes and introduce a new generation of leaders who inherit a society in the throes of change...

JERUSALEM -- Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized his new boss on his first full day on the job, saying Israel has fallen into "dire straits" under the leadership of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Netanyahu and Sharon are engaged in a complex political battle -- they are working together in a caretaker government, yet they are also rivals, with each man seeking to lead the Likud Party into national elections in January...

MANILA, Philippines -- Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah established hubs in three countries as part of its campaign to form a pan-Islamic state across southeast Asia, a confidential Philippine military report said Thursday. The report, seen by The Associated Press, said the hubs -- called "mantiqis" -- were set up in Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines. It said the hubs run networks of terrorist cells and are linked with other terrorist groups, including al-Qaida...

NEW YORK -- Disease investigators tried Thursday to track down the source of bubonic plague bacteria that apparently caused a New Mexico couple to become sick while visiting New York City. Health officials believe the couple became infected near their home in Santa Fe, N.M., before they arrived in New York on Nov. 1, said Llelwyn Grant, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

ST. LOUIS -- A northeast Missouri sheriff twice accused of illegally hunting deer was freed on bond Thursday after his federal court appearance on charges he lied to an FBI agent and tampered with a witness in a sexual-misconduct investigation. An indictment Tuesday accused one-time trucker Douglas Jones, 37, of one felony count of making a false statement and two felony counts of witness tampering. ...

LIBERTY, Mo. -- A man waiting outside his son's school shot the fourth-grader to death and wounded the boy's mother after a domestic dispute Thursday, police said. Jaswinder Singh, 41, was charged Thursday night with first-degree murder, assault and two counts of armed criminal action, a Clay County dispatcher said. Singh was being held without bond...

ST. LOUIS -- A suburban St. Louis man sued a defrocked priest and the Archdiocese of St. Louis on Thursday, alleging he was sexually abused by the ex-priest for two years in the 1970s. Matt Layton, 39, of Webster Groves, alleged that repressed memories preventing him from recalling until March that the Rev. Joseph Ross molested him, beginning in 1975, when Layton was an altar boy at St. William Church in Woodson Terrace...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- As a high school junior in Iowa, Catherine Hanaway had the choice of either writing a paper on politics or volunteering for a political campaign. She chose the latter. "It was a way to getting out of writing the paper," said Hanaway, who worked on George Bush's unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1980...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Republican who unsuccessfully challenged then-State Treasurer Bob Holden is to be the next House budget chairman -- a post that gives him say over the proposed spending plan of the Democratic governor. Rep. Carl Bearden of St. Charles is to take over the Budget Committee chairmanship in January, when the Republicans newly won House majority is effective. House Speaker-nominee Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, tapped Bearden for the job months ago, pending a GOP victory...

WASHINGTON -- Productivity, a crucial ingredient in the economy's long-term vitality, grew at a brisk annual rate of 4 percent in the summer. It was the strongest showing since the beginning of this year. Productivity -- the amount of output per hour of work -- bounced back in the third quarter, after growing by a sluggish 1.7 percent pace in the second quarter of this year, the Labor Department reported Thursday...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve, at its September meeting, discussed a possible U.S.-led war with Iraq and decided that military action would not necessarily compel the central bank to cut interest rates to bolster the economy, it was disclosed Thursday...

SAN FRANCISCO -- She's strong-willed and had a taste for Twinkies and KFC dinners well past her 110th birthday. Meet 113-year-old Mary Christian, a California woman now believed to be the oldest American. Christian received the title last week from the Gerontology Research Group, a nonprofit collection of volunteer demographers who study aging and chronicle those who age long and gracefully. ...

RICHMOND, Va. -- A day after the government warned that the execution of a Pakistani could result in attacks against Americans, the condemned man said he does not support any retaliation by his fellow Muslims. "I'm against attacks on civilian Americans. They are not responsible for my execution," Aimal Khan Kasi said in a telephone interview Thursday from death row at a state prison in Waverly. "I'm not encouraging attacks against anybody."...

WASHINGTON -- Democrats lost more than power Tuesday. They lost their sense of direction. Tuesday's election exiled the country's oldest political party from power in the national government, aggravated a deep fault line in its ranks and started what could be a long struggle over what direction to take now...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The polls opened on time and the new voting machines worked properly, but Broward County election officials couldn't get the results right in Tuesday's election. Between 1 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday, the elections office found it had left 103,222 votes out of the total ballots cast, including 34,136 votes for the governor's race, even though the total announced at 1 a.m. was given as a 100 percent count...

MOSCOW -- Russian prosecutors said that 128 hostages died during last month's theater siege in Moscow by Chechen militants, eight more than previously revealed, Russian news agencies reported Thursday. In addition, 41 attackers were killed. The Moscow city prosecutor's office published a list containing the names of 120 Russians and eight foreigners -- from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Austria, the United States and the Netherlands. ...

UNITED NATIONS --The United States and France reached agreement Thursday on a new Security Council resolution on Iraq, removing a key hurdle toward passage of the U.S.-drafted plan for tough new weapons inspections. Confident of winning approval, the UnitedStates revised its final document to get Russia and others on board and send a united message to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein...

TUNJA, Colombia -- Stunned by a court order to release a former drug kingpin from prison after serving only half his sentence, U.S. investigators hurried to find evidence Thursday to support more charges -- and possibly his extradition to the United States...

SAN'A, Yemen -- An American was believed to be among the six militants killed in a CIA missile strike this weekend, a security source said Thursday. The six men, including Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, al-Qaida's top man in Yemen, were killed Sunday when a Hellfire missile fired from a pilotless CIA spy plane destroyed the car they were riding in...

HALSA, Norway -- From his new home in a tranquil Norwegian bay, Keiko the killer whale has what his friends say is an ideal place to live: peace and quiet, human care and ample opportunity to meet wild orcas. The six-ton orca, who gained fame in the "Free Willy" movies, was led Thursday from the Skaalvik fjord, where he turned up in early September, to the nearby but quieter Taknes Bay...

LONDON -- With a gleaming smile and a graceful bow, Miss Turkey won the Miss World contest Saturday, bringing to a close an international pageant that incited deadly rioting in Nigeria. Azra Akin stood proudly to attention while her national anthem was played, after she accepted the glittering tiara and $156,000 prize from last year's winner, Nigeria's Agbani Darego...