Stories from Saturday, November 23, 2002

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Kansas State, Missouri's opponent in the regular-season finale today, perhaps has the blueprint for success the Tigers need. Bill Snyder turned around a doormat program in the 1990s with a strategy of avoiding top-notch competition until conference games began, then emphasizing the resulting improved records and bowl appearances during recruiting. The Wildcats (9-2, 5-2 Big 12) are one of the best teams in the Big 12 on a yearly basis now...

PARIS -- A Moroccan man was detained Friday as he arrived in Paris on an Air France flight from Montreal after authorities were told he had brought a bomb on board. A search of the plane turned up no explosives, and a top French transportation official described the incident as a "bad joke." The man was released Friday after questioning...

KUWAIT CITY -- A Kuwaiti police officer said to have a history of mental problems was arrested in Saudi Arabia on Friday, a day after he allegedly shot two American soldiers and fled across the border, a Kuwaiti official said. The suspect, Khaled al-Shimmiri, was picked up in eastern Saudi Arabia near the border, the state-run Kuwait News Agency reported. He was expected to be extradited to Kuwait, the agency said...

PUSHKIN, Russia -- Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush on Friday the United States should not wage war alone against Iraq, and he put Bush on the spot by questioning whether White House allies like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are doing enough to fight terrorism...

TORONTO -- A private comment that became public was the talk of Canada on Friday, with newspaper and broadcast reports detailing how an aide to Prime Minister Jean Chretien called President Bush a moron. Political foes demanded the ouster of Francoise Ducros for what she said Wednesday at the NATO summit in Prague. Ducros offered her resignation Friday, but Chretien refused to accept it...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Twenty people confined as sexual predators are still awaiting new civil commitment trials six months after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that jurors had been given flawed instructions in the original trials. The attorney general's office said Friday that the cases were being handled as expeditiously as possible...

BERTRAND, Mo. -- Paul Hulshof, father of U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, died early Friday after collapsing at his Southeast Missouri home. He was 68. The cause of his death was not immediately known, Hulshof's office said. But the elder Hulshof had battled lung cancer for several months and underwent radiation treatment earlier this year...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Advocates for Hispanics and other immigrants plan to seek legislative changes that would allow undocumented workers to drive legally in Missouri. Dozens of people gathered at nine sites across the state Friday to discuss how to bring immigrants who drive illegally into the state's system, ensuring they have insurance and know state driving laws...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Departing Democratic House Leader Wayne Crump was appointed Friday by Gov. Bob Holden to a position on the state Board of Probation and Parole. Crump, 52, is a cattle farmer and former deputy sheriff in Washington County who served 20 years in the House before term limits prevented him from seeking re-election this year...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A woman who won a $2.2 billion verdict against Robert Courtney and his pharmacy last month has sued Courtney's insurance company. The lawsuit was filed this week in Jackson County Circuit Court by Georgia Hayes, a woman whose cancer drugs Courtney diluted. The lawsuit seeks an order directing Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Co. to pay the sum into the court...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- A former nursing home operator and its president were found guilty Thursday of failing to report elderly abuse in a case where the 78-year-old patient later died. The jury recommended that Claywest nursing home president Charles B. ...

WELLSTON, Mo. -- A school bus driver has been suspended and the bus company was investigating after a 4-year-old girl was left on the bus and then wandered along a busy street. It happened Thursday afternoon. The girl is enrolled in a preschool program in the Wellston School District in St. Louis County...

WASHINGTON -- Congress adjourned for the year Friday without extending jobless benefits that will soon lapse for about 1 million people, but it did send President Bush the bill merging 22 agencies into a new Homeland Security Department. By a voice vote of the few lawmakers around, the House completed action on the homeland bill by approving technical changes the Senate had made. ...

WASHINGTON -- The American general who would run a war against Iraq is quietly assembling hundreds of battle planners in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar for a war game that will test their ability to command and coordinate land, sea and air forces throughout the region...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration on Friday eased clean air rules to allow utilities, refineries and manufacturers to avoid having to install expensive new anti-pollution equipment when they modernize their plants. The long-awaited regulation issued by the Environmental Protection agency was immediately attacked by environmentalists, state air quality regulators and attorneys general in several Northeast states who promised a lawsuit to try to reverse the action...

Vietnam vet to speak at war protest today Vietnam veteran Frank Ackles will speak at an anti-war gathering today at the Osage Community Centre in Cape Girardeau. Ackles doesn't want the United States to go to war against Iraq. The 7 p.m. event, hosted by the Southeast Missouri Coalition for Peace and Justice, is open to the public. Admission is free. The community center is at 1625 N. Kingshighway...

PARIS -- The managers of the Moulin Rouge, the French cabaret famous for its scantily clad dancers, was fined $10,000 Friday for refusing to hire a waiter because he is black. The cabaret must also pay $4,500 in compensation to Abdoulaye Marega, a waiter from Senegal, the court said...

SOMERSET, Pa. -- For the first time in nearly four months, Wendell Horner went to work as a shuttle car operator at the Quecreek mine. "It felt really good to be loading coal," Horner, 44, said after his shift ended Friday afternoon. "Everybody's fired up and ready to go to work, to put this behind us."...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Garrison Hearst made an emotional apology Friday for using a slur and saying he wouldn't want a gay player as a teammate with the San Francisco 49ers. Appearing visibly shaken by the controversy caused by his pointed remarks to the Fresno Bee three weeks earlier, the 49ers' Pro Bowl running back made a short statement at the team's training complex...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It wasn't the blowout Missouri was hoping for in its season opener. Then again, at least the Tigers know where they need to improve. Ricky Clemons scored 25 points and Rickey Paulding added 19 as No. 20 Missouri defeated American 72-57 Friday night in the opener for both teams...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame has had strong rushing games and strong passing games and games where neither worked. Coach Tyrone Willingham thinks it's about time all parts of the Irish offense came together. "It's going to happen. There's no question about that. I know that," Willingham said. "There are too many good things in place. Our system is good. The young men are good. They work hard. They're trying, they're giving us the effort. So at some point it's going to show."...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Terry Wick couldn't ask for a better place to cater to VIP golf fans than The Clubhouse, a banquet hall he manages across the street from the main entrance to Augusta National Golf Club. For the Masters tournament in April, big companies throw private parties and pay in the five figures for Wick's red-carpet treatment. They get duck with orange brandy sauce on the menu, leather couches facing three TVs in one dining room, and a putting green in the parking lot...

EVANSTON, Ill. -- There is no Big Ten championship on the line. No hope for a bowl game, not even a winning record. No, when Illinois and Northwestern meet today they'll be playing for little else than a chance to end disappointing seasons with a win -- something neither team did much of this year...

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Ken Dorsey has missed open receivers, Andre Johnson has dropped perfectly thrown balls, and Kellen Winslow Jr. has sometimes gotten lost in the mix. That talented trio gives No. 1 Miami plenty of scoring threats, but none has been as dependable or consistent as Willis McGahee...

JONESBORO, Ark. -- It didn't take long to determine the primary reason for Southeast Missouri State University's season-opening loss. Coach Gary Garner pointed directly at the rebounding numbers as he scanned the boxscore after Arkansas State's 83-71 victory Friday in front of 5,029 fans at the Convocation Center...

MARTIN, Tenn. -- Only one Ohio Valley Conference team managed to take two out of two regular-season matches from the Otahkians this season. On Friday, the Otahkians, the No. 3 seed in the OVC tournament, exacted their revenge by sweeping second-seeded Morehead State 30-28, 30-24, 30-24 to reach today's OVC final. The win marked Southeast's seventh straight OVC victory...

Southeast Missouri State University's Otahkians showed off a fast-paced pressure style of basketball Friday for their regular-season opener, an 85-55 win over Henderson State at the Show Me Center. Despite playing shorthanded after losing Miah Shelford to an injury in practice Thursday, the Otahkians applied pressure on the ball nearly every chance they got and wore the Reddies offense down in front of an announced crowd of 637...

With the regular season complete with an overall record of 8-4 and an Ohio Valley Conference record of 4-2, I have a lot of people to thank. It was a great turnaround season that included 28 school records and a number of firsts, including a victory over Division I-A Middle Tennessee and OVC power Eastern Kentucky...

ST. LOUIS -- The offense is clicking again and the defense has allowed only one touchdown per game during the Rams' five-game winning streak that's pulled the team back to .500. Now, if they can just do something about the special teams. "We've gone backwards in that category, and we've got to do something about that," coach Mike Martz said. "We're not pleased in any phase, and we need to get better."...

HAVANA -- The head of a powerful U.S. farm lobby said Friday his group will back renewed efforts in Congress to allow U.S. farmers to use financing to sell food to communist Cuba. Now all American food sales to the Caribbean island -- permitted under a special exception to the long-standing U.S. trade embargo -- must be paid for with cash. The Bush administration has argued against financing, saying Cuba doesn't pay its debts...

NEW YORK -- Seven architecture teams are putting finishing touches on innovative, distinct proposals for the World Trade Center site, the agency charged with rebuilding lower Manhattan said Friday. The plans will be formally submitted to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. in early December and unveiled later that month. Six earlier plans for the site were widely criticized as unimaginative...

PHILADELPHIA -- Marvel Comics is shaking up one of its iconic superheroes -- and some fans -- with a series that imagines the original "Captain America" as a black Army recruit. Since 1941, the series has followed the escapades of Steve Rogers, the scrawny, white Army reject who gained supernatural powers after drinking super-soldier serum...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The same storm system that sank an oil tanker off the coast of Spain grounded space shuttle Endeavour on Friday. NASA halted the countdown at the nine-minute mark after it became apparent that the weather would not improve at either of the two emergency landing strips in Spain. Conditions were ideal in Florida with a picture-perfect, nearly full moon shining over the launch pad...

Cape Girardeau residents will have an opportunity to voice their opinions Tuesday on a 20-year master plan for the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. A public information open house has been scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. at the Osage Community Centre. Airport personnel and consultants from a firm hired by the city to assist with the plans will be at the Osage Centre to answer questions...

Amy Louise DavisDaily American Republic POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff baby sitter was charged with involuntary manslaughter Friday after she allegedly shook a 6-month-old baby to death. Amy Louise Davis, 23, is being held on $25,000 bond in the Butler County jail after being arrested Thursday...

10 years ago: Nov. 23, 1992 Cape Girardeau officials have started comprehensive program to evaluate condition of every block of city street; City Manager J. Ronald Fischer says new "Payment Management Program" will enable city to set priorities for street repairs and replacements...

Bishop George Wayne Smith stood before the more than 200 Episcopalian delegates and clergy gathered in Old St. Vincent's Church Friday evening to outline his plan for the church's future. The plan included more practicalities than theories and a call to evangelism, revitalization and rebirth. Smith addressed the delegates during the opening Eucharist and worship celebration of the Diocese of Missouri's annual convention...

Williams Son to Jim L. and Julie D. Pierce Williams of Lexington, Ky., St. Joseph East Hospital in Lexington, 2:04 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002. Name, Wesley Brennon. Weight, 6 pounds 15 ounces. First child. Mrs. Williams is the former Julie Pierce, daughter of Bonnie Pierce of Cape Girardeau, and the late Wesley Pierce. ...

Slap in the face AFTER I read about Operation Christmas Child in the newspaper, I was going to help out with shipping costs until I read that the boxes cannot have used items or war-related toys like guns or knives. I think it's a slap in the face to Americans who are at war...

In Friday's edition, a McClure, Ill., woman who pleaded guilty to two counts of felony theft should have been identified as Sherry Rena Davis. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error. In the Tuesday edition, the victim of a second-degree assault should have been identified as the step-daughter of Christopher Meador. The error occurred due to inaccurate information provided to the Southeast Missourian by a court officer...

It's hard to break up a good sister act. Notre Dame basketball standout Ashley Millham will be reunited with her sister, Lisa, next year at Central Missouri State after recently signing a letter of intent. The two sharp-shooting sisters helped Notre Dame win its first girls' state championship last year. With Ashley scoring 17 points, the sisters combined for 36 points in Notre Dame's 63-57 victory over Elsberry in the Class 2 championship game...

Jackson children who walk to or from school should be a bit safer once the city completes installation of new fluorescent yellow-green warning signs on the 10 public and parochial school campuses in the city. Two dozen of the signs showing two silhouetted figures walking together are replacing the existing pedestrian warning signs. They are made of a more durable high-performance material designed to last 20 years and are supposed to help drivers react more quickly in school zones...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department will not appeal a ruling ordering the Census Bureau to release figures estimating how many people were missed in the 2000 population count, a decision that could affect how billions of federal dollars are distributed...

To the editor: I am so thankful that churches have gotten behind the peace coalition and are against this war in Iraq. I am ashamed at the many who say they are Christian yet despise the citizens of the Middle East, especially Iraq. I would like these people to read James 3:17-18. ...

The presents are stacked on the toy-sized merry-go-round. A swing set fit for elves stands nearby. But this isn't the North Pole. It's Cape Girardeau city's park maintenance shed at Arena Park where workers are putting the finishing touches on their first Holiday of Lights display. It depicts park playground equipment -- complete with a motorized, spinning merry-go-round and even a wooden profile of one of the old steam locomotives that grace city parks...

More space would mean blood donations could be taken on a more regular basis. By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian Southeast Missouri residents who give blood regularly won't have to wait for blood drives in the near future...

He says what he found out is that the biggest desire is clothing in a variety of sizes. By Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian For the 18 months, Goody's Family Clothing CEO Bob Goodfriend has been traveling around the country visiting stores as part of a bus tour in which he hopes to reconnect with female customers and help patch holes in his tattered company...

The university president will get nearly half a million dollars, reports show. By Scott Charton ~ The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- There was bipartisan legislative criticism Friday of pay and perks for the University of Missouri's new president, as The Associated Press calculated that Elson S. Floyd's annual taxpayer-funded compensation could be worth half a million dollars...

The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The results are in, and the winner in Missouri's great quarter election is a design that mixes Missouri's past with its present. The quarter design, unveiled Friday by first lady Lori Hauser Holden, features explorers from the Corps of Discovery expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark...

Thanksgiving 2002 is especially notable for America's Muslims. It will mark the last time until 2035 that the semi-secular harvest celebration will fall within Islam's holy month of Ramadan. Most Americans simply feast on Thanksgiving, with or without giving tableside prayers to the Giver, while Ramadan follows an alternating combination of feasting and fasting...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Graveside service for Robert Gene Harris Sr. of Sikeston will be at 2 p.m. today at IOOF Cemetery in Charleston, Mo., with full military honors. Friends may call at Ponder Funeral Home after noon today. Harris, 59, died Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

Judy Ann Trickey, 52, of Jackson died Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 10, 1950, at Uniontown, Mo., daughter of Raymond "Lefty" and Helen Pfeiffer Hecht. She and Stan Trickey were married Sept. 15, 1973...

A driver survived a potentially deadly crash Friday night on Kingsway Drive after his black Chevy Cavalier overturned multiple times, landed in a tree, fell out and then came to rest upside down. The driver was trapped in the car for nearly 20 minutes before emergency responders were able to pull him out to safety. As of late Friday night, police were unable to release the driver's name or what may have caused the crash...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Nov. 23 Firefighters responded Thursday to the following calls: At 5:13 p.m., emergency medical service at 607 William. At 6:58 p.m., emergency medical service at 430 N. Frederick. At 7:29 p.m., emergency medical service at 200 Morgan Oak...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Nov. 23 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Aaron P. Wolfe, 21, of 529 N. Broadview was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. A subject was placed in custody Friday pending the filing of formal charges for driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests William D. Perrot, 36, of Fenton, Mo., was arrested Nov. 15 on an Arnold, Mo., warrant for failure to appear...

Southeast Missouri sports fans can count on local athletics every year for some spine-tingling talent, edge-of-your-seat action and jump-up-and-down victories. But this fall has been even better than usual, with three teams taking their supporters on exceptional trips through the season...

A quick read through the list of hundreds of Retired Senior Volunteer Program participants yields many familiar names. They're our former teachers, government leaders and coworkers. But instead of retiring to a life of travel and leisure -- although we hope they're enjoying plenty of those things too -- these talented and energetic seniors have decided to use their newfound free time to keep making a contribution to their community...

Community Thanksgiving service scheduled The annual community Thanksgiving worship service will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bethel Assembly of God Church. The service includes a litany and hymns that focus on giving thanks and a part of the Lord's Prayer...

Today Cinnamon rolls and juice or coffee served from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in fellowship hall at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. Rolls are $2 each and are also sold by the half-dozen. The event is sponsored by the SEMO Lutheran Women's Missionary League...

To the editor: This is a letter of thanks to all of the good people who aided me after my fall down the hard concrete steps at the Show Me Center. I attended the very beautiful Moscow Ballet production. As I was leaving, I started down the steps. Somehow my foot slipped, and I fell head first down three hard steps, coming to rest on my hip and back. There were no broken bones...

To the editor: I'm the Colorado-based caller who was responded to in Speak Out. Let me remind you that I'm an American citizen. My family sought political asylum when I was 3 years old. The Speak Out caller mentioned racial profiling. I'm a proponent of racial profiling. What I'm not in favor of is being degraded and jeered at while jogging through the fine city of Cape Girardeau...

ANNA, Ill. -- Clara Purtle, 91, of Topeka, Kan., formerly of Anna, died Friday, Nov. 22, 2002, at Cypress Village Nursing Home in Jacksonville, Fla. Crain Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Graveside service for Brett Michael Campbell, 3 months, will be at 1 p.m. today at Union Park Cemetery in Chaffee. The Rev. Harry Floyd will officiate. Friends may call at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee from 12 to 12:45 p.m. today...

Marilyn Ellen Rinehart, 77, of Elkhart, Ind., died Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 26, 1925, in Elkhart, daughter of Earl P. and Cleo Wiltrout Russell. She and Glenn E. Rinehart were married in Elkhart. He died Jan. 31, 1969...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Robert E. "Bob" Martin, 83, of Perryville died Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002, at his home. He was born Dec. 17, 1918, in Worthington, Minn., son of Joseph N. and Rose S. Kunze Martin. He married Yvonne Marie Martin, who died in December 1987...

PATTON, Mo. -- Lancie Oliver Yamnitz, 86, of Patton died Friday, Nov. 22, 2002, at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville, Mo. He was born Sept. 19, 1916, at Patton, son of Henry and Clara Jane Johnson Yamnitz. He and Beulah Irene Smith were married Nov. 17, 1937, at Jackson...

Briefly Baseball The tentative trade to send Larry Walker from the Rockies to the Diamondbacks for Matt Williams and three others fell through Friday. The teams ceased talks after Williams vetoed the trade to remain with his family and the Diamondbacks failed to reach a financial agreement with Walker...