Stories from Thursday, March 13, 2003

March 13, 2003 Dear Julie, The jazz ballad "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" is one of my favorite songs. Some of the lyrics are as pseudo-hip awful as the title, but the tune is melancholy and stunning at the same time. It is the sound of longing aching to be fulfilled...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In a sharp break from tradition, House Republican leaders proposed Wednesday to give government bureaucrats the power to decide which programs should be funded and which should be cut. Republican leaders said they were doing away with the usual budgeting process, which involves specific dollar appropriations for the state's thousands of programs...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- To state Rep. Lanie Black, seats on the powerful Missouri State Highways and Transportation Commission are almost patronage positions. Although the six-member panel is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, the governor appoints all its members. Seats reserved for the opposite party tend to go to those who lean toward the party of the governor, said Black, R-Charleston...

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States claimed progress Wednesday in its campaign for support for a March 17 ultimatum threatening war against Iraq but refused to rule out delaying or abandoning the Security Council vote if necessary. Britain, a key ally, proposed a "to-do" list for Saddam Hussein -- six steps to avert war -- in hopes of gaining votes for the resolution, which faces the threat of French and Russian vetoes. ...

Paul Schock settled in Scott City when he moved from Arizona to begin teaching art at Southeast Missouri State University in the summer of 2001. The blue-collar, railroad town of 5,000 does not suit many college professors, but neither do Schock's long hair and motorcycle jacket...

An investigation into a Cape Girardeau shooting that took place in January has led to the arrest of two men suspected of shooting a 40-year-old man in August. Police say Ivory Alexander, 19, and Cornelius Johnson, 20, both of Cape Girardeau, broke into the home of John Murphy on Aug. 5 and shot him in the upper arm before fleeing. Police believe Johnson fired the gun...

Maintenance crews are unscrewing light bulbs in government buildings. Governors are asking agencies to cut back on color printing. Some state officials are even rationing paper clips and Post-It notes. One penny at a time, cash-strapped state governments are trying to save hundreds, thousands or even millions of dollars by cutting back on common, everyday expenditures...

Briefly Baseball Phillies pitcher Jose Mesa is being investigated by the commissioner's office for his threats against Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel. Close friends as teammates in Cleveland from 1992 to 1998, Mesa and Vizquel have had tense relations since the shortstop's autobiography was published last year...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch In the late 1990s, all the world looked rosy, and the crowd in Jefferson City had a bash. Money rolled in from income tax collections inflated by the stock market bubble. When people asked for tax cuts, they got them. Missouri cut sales and corporate franchise taxes to the tune of $600 million annually...

Tiegs settles lawsuit with former husband LOS ANGELES -- Cheryl Tiegs has settled a lawsuit filed by ex- husband Rod Stryker, who accused her of not placing $20,000 the couple's twin sons earned for posing in a magazine cover photo in the boys' college fund...

BOISE, Idaho -- They'd planned just a three-hour snowmobile trip, bringing only a small package of sausage, a candy bar and a few supplies. But in the deep snow and treacherous terrain, Jim and Suzanne Shemwell got stranded, then lost, on a freezing mountaintop. After four days, the conditions were so bad that rescuers halted the search, fearful of risking more lives...

FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Soldiers lowered the flag for 11 fallen comrades and returned to preparing for a possible war with Iraq as investigators Wednesday tried to determine what caused the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter during a training exercise. The UH-60 went down Tuesday afternoon in a remote part of the rugged, 167-square-mile post in northern New York...

WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors charged two Enron Corp. executives on Wednesday with a scheme to generate false earnings through an Internet movie-on-demand service that flopped. In a separate action Wednesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged Enron and a former vice president with manipulating natural gas and agricultural commodity prices...

NEW YORK -- The city council in the place hit hardest by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks approved a resolution Wednesday opposing war with Iraq except as a last resort. The 31-17 vote came after months of debate over whether New York should stake out a position...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- As the search intensifies for Osama bin Laden, debate is building about what to do with the world's most wanted man if he is found: Taking him alive raises the risks of a trial, but his death could make him a martyr. Since the March 1 arrest of key al-Qaida leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a manhunt has been under way in a remote 350-mile corridor near where the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran meet, and officials believe they may be closer than ever to capturing bin Laden.. ...

ATHENS, Greece -- The suspected chief assassin from Greece's deadliest terrorist group told a court Wednesday that November 17 considered all U.S. military personnel, including those on vacation, to be legitimate targets. Dimitris Koufodinas is on trial with 18 other suspected members of the group, blamed for 23 killings and more than 100 bombings since 1975. ...

VIENNA, Austria -- A surge in world oil output last month has left producer countries with too little spare capacity to fully offset a wartime halt in supplies from Iraq, the International Energy Agency warned Wednesday. Output increased 2.5 percent worldwide in February and oil inventories tightened in major importing nations, the agency said. Fears of a U.S.-led attack on Iraq propelled prices to their highest levels since the 1991 Gulf War...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom nine months ago, was found Wednesday walking down a suburban street with a drifter who had briefly worked at the family's home. The man was taken into custody, and the teenager was whisked away for a reunion with her jubilant family...

Robbie Sanders is known throughout his sport. He's conquered courts across the U.S. and Europe, earning him a reputation as a smart tennis player with good court coverage. All the while, he never lifted a foot to get to a ball. For Sanders, who is paralyzed, the wheels of his sports chair do the moving...

NEW YORK Lisa Skinner, a chief resident at UCLA School of Medicine, thought about specializing in the treatment of old people, and even got a master's degree in geriatric social work. In the end, she opted to pursue general internal medicine. "I hated to give up the younger patients, even though I enjoy the older patients," she said...

Two Sikeston, Mo., men are being held in the Scott County Jail on drug charges stemming from an ongoing investigation. John A. Chadd, 42, and Donald Williams, 49, are charged with attempting to manufacture a controlled substance and possession of chemicals, ephedrine and drug paraphernalia. Bond has been set at $250,000 each...

As a preschool-aged girl stepped into 3 1/2 feet of water at the city pool, Tim Powers didn't hesitate to react. Fully clothed, Powers jumped in the water, grabbed the bobbing girl and pulled her to safety. The girl had stepped off a teaching platform March 4 used in swimming lessons for preschool-aged children, said Doug Gannon, who manages the city's two public swimming pools...

An Arkansas man is in the Scott County Jail on charges of stealing anhydrous ammonia from a local business. John K. Ellington, 28, of Paragould, is charged with stealing anhydrous ammonia, possession of ammonia in an unapproved container and possession of chemicals with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance. His bond is set at $250,000...

Plans for a new Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau won approval from the city's Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday. The commission voted for a special use permit for MidAmerica Hotels Corp. for a four-story hotel at 3257 William which would replace the existing Holiday Inn. The recommendation now goes to the city council for final action...

The Mississippi River bridge in Cape Girardeau received a clean bill of health Wednesday. Crews from Jefferson City were scheduled to continue their inspections until today but finished early. The bridge was restricted to one lane for three days while the inspection was going on, but the traffic should return to normal today...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo.-- With three of its top five starters on the bench after fouling out, Kelly's girls basketball team looked to be in trouble in overtime of their Class 3 sectional game Wednesday against Twin Rivers. But with the help of an inspired performance by several reserve players and a last-second basket by Mindy Robert, the Hawks (23-5) pulled out a 53-51 overtime win to advance to Saturday's state quarterfinal round against John Burroughs (13-14) at the Farmington Civic Center...

Tim Alvarez continued his masterful pitching to help Southeast Missouri State University's baseball Indians pick up a much-needed victory. Alvarez improved his record to 4-0 -- he has all of Southeast's wins -- as the Indians defeated St. Louis University 9-4 Wednesday in front of nearly 850 fans on a spring-like afternoon at Capaha Field...

Now that it's tournament time, Missouri needs Arthur Johnson to return to the double-double machine he's been most of the season. The 6-9, 265-pound center led the Big 12 with 15 double doubles (double figures in scoring and rebounds), but has been a curious non-factor lately. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- This may not be the best team Roy Williams ever coached. But it may be the best he ever coached. So voters had no trouble making him The Associated Press Big 12 coach of the year for the second season in a row and the third time in the seven-year history of the league...

DALLAS -- In setting the field for the NCAA tournament, the selection committee has gone double-dipping lately. Each of the past three years, two of the four No. 1 seeds have gone to teams from the same conference. The Pac-10 started the trend, then the Big 10 and ACC kept it going...

Martha Burk's request to protest at Augusta National's front gate was denied Wednesday, but she plans to sue the city to get permission. Burk rejected a compromise from Sheriff Ronald Strength that would have allowed her to use another nearby location to protest during the third round of the Masters on April 12 in Augusta, Ga...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Things couldn't be going much better for Cal Eldred in his quest to make the Cardinals' rotation. The right-hander, who sat out last season rehabbing from elbow surgery, worked four scoreless innings in a 7-2 victory over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday. He has allowed one earned run in 10 2/3 innings this spring...

The state fire marshal's office expects to have an official cause by Friday to Tuesday's deadly house fire in Cape Girardeau that killed Southeast Missouri State University student Katrina Krumrie. The property, 1751 Dunklin, was turned back over to its owners, the parents of two of the men who lived in the house, and investigators were no longer on the scene...

ATLANTA -- An arbitration hearing to decide if BellSouth's No. 2 executive can leave to take the top job at rival Sprint wound down Wednesday as the state Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of a ruling limiting the scope of the proceeding. At issue is the fate of Gary Forsee, vice chairman of BellSouth and chairman of Cingular Wireless, a joint venture with SBC Communications. He joined BellSouth in 1999 after nearly a decade in various positions at Sprint...

At 22 and already a veteran in his sport, Graig Kimtz is focusing his time on two tasks right now. First, Kimtz is involved with helping the Southeast Missouri State University lacrosse club get its feet wet in its first year of being recognized in an organized division. Second, Kimtz is donating time to a first-year high school team organized by students at Central High School...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Afghan refugees began returning to their homeland from neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday after waiting more than four months for snow to clear from mountain roads, officials said. The families were the first of about 600,000 refugees expected to return to Afghanistan this year, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees...

10 years ago: March 13, 1993 Strong winds, rushing up to 39 miles per hour, cause portion of back porch roof of historic Glenn House to collapse; there have been problems with porch for some time, according to Glenn House director, Beverly Daniel; porch had sustained water damage, causing some of the wood to rot and timbers to weaken...

Continuing in the spirit of hope for seriously ill children and to be a part of Country Cares for St. Jude, the stations of the Zimmer Radio Group will host a celebrity benefit basketball game. "Hoop-It-Up for St. Jude Kids" will get under way when the doors open at 6 p.m. ...

Army Spec. Michael J. Griffin Sr., a 1995 graduate of Jackson High School, is a U.S. Army watercraft operator aboard the Charles P. Gross. Home port is in the heart of the military's most hallowed harbor -- Pearl Harbor. The crew lives at sea six months each year. ...

A photo appearing in Tuesday's edition showed the incorrect side of a duplex where Cape Girardeau police served a search warrant for drugs. The photo should have shown the other side of the dwelling at 59 N. Park Ave. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error...

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- Snipers assassinated Serbia's prime minister as he walked into government headquarters at midday Wednesday, silencing a pro-Western leader who helped topple Slobodan Milosevic and declared war on organized crime. The slaying of Zoran Djindjic in downtown Belgrade prompted the government to impose a nationwide state of emergency amid fears the Balkan nation could plunge into a violent power struggle. The Cabinet declared three days of mourning...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, March 13 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Daniel R. Rainey, 17, of 610 Red Bud Circle, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of forgery...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, March 13 Firefighters responded Monday to the following items: At 4:45 p.m., emergency medical service at 2139 Belle-ridge Pike. At 7:23 p.m., carbon monoxide detector sounding at 324 Barberry. At 7:31 p.m., emergency medical service at 1229 Sailer Circle...

Thirteen years ago, Amtrak president W. Graham Clayton Jr. made a promise that he wouldn't come close to keeping: the rail system would operate without governmental subsidies by 2000. He was way off. Last year, Amtrak lost a record $1.1 billion. This year, Amtrak has asked Congress for a $1.2 billion subsidy for the next fiscal year, which is a 130 percent increase over the previous year's $521 million...

Today Preparation for childbirth class 2 meets from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in conference room at Healing Arts Center. For information, call 331-5107. La Leche League (Breast-feeding) Support Group meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Friends Lounge at St. Francis Medical Center. For information, call Carol at 334-2705...

To the editor: In response to a Speak Out comment Tuesday regarding my support for the disarmament of Iraq: There is no point in yet another detailed recitation of the overwhelming case for removing Saddam Hussein. The short of it is this: Saddam cannot be disarmed without being removed. ...

To the editor: Tonight, Eagle Ridge Christian School will hold its annual sports banquet, and we have much to celebrate. The girls basketball team, ably coached by Donna Powell, took second place at the Class 2 state tournament in Joplin. Cara Ervin, center, took a first state award, and Rachael Carbaugh, point guard, took a second state award. ...

Firefighting inspectors If the city wants to save so much money, why doesn't it follow the lead of other towns and have firefighters fulfill the duties of a building inspector? Not only does it gain skills for the firemen, but it also saves the city a salary...

Katrina M. "Trina" Krumrie, age 23, died Tuesday, March 11, 2003, in Cape Girardeau, in a tragic house fire. Friends may call Thursday 4 to 8 p.m. at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. Funeral service will be Friday at 10 a.m., at the funeral home, followed by interment in Russell Heights Cemetery. The Rev. Rob Mehner will officiate...

IMPERIAL, Mo. -- Matthew Edwin Thompson, 21, of Imperial, died Monday, March 10, 2003, at St. Louis. He was born Oct. 8, 1981, in Kirkwood, Mo., son of Ronald L. Sr. and Janet G. Gummels Thompson. Survivors include his parents of Imperial; a brother, Ronald L. Thompson Jr., of Antonia, Mo.; two sisters, Jennifer B. Thompson of Arnold, Mo., and Amy L Huth of Ballwin, Mo.; and maternal grandmother, Evelyn Gummels of Florissant, Mo...

Margaret Lorraine Coyle Newsom, 83, of Cape Girardeau, passed away Wednesday, March 12, 2003. She was born Jan. 12, 1920, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Albert and Josephine Huttmann Coyle. She married Dr. Alexander G. Juden in 1942 in California. He preceded her in death Dec. 31, 1966. She later married Harold Newsom in 1973 in Washington, D.C., where she made her home for many years. He preceded her in death Oct. 26, 1995...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Leonard Harris, 66, of Cairo, died Saturday, March 8, 2003, at his home. He was born on Nov. 3, 1936, son of Chester and Lucell Harris. He was married to Marilyn Joyce Harris. She preceded him in death. He was a lifelong resident of Cairo. He was an auto mechanic, employed with Pete Thomas Ford and Calvin Watson car dealership for several years...

Haury Daughter to Chris and Michelle Haury, Sparta, Ill., Memorial Hospital, Belleville, Ill., 3:16 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28, 2003. Name, Maggie Michelle. Weight, 8 pounds 7 ounces. First child. Mrs. Haury is the former Michelle Gohn, daughter of Joan Gohn and the late Lyman Gohn of Cape Girardeau and Larry and Pearl Senn of Scott City. She is a student. Haury is the son of James and Carol Haury of Sparta. He is a plumber and volunteer fireman...

Submitted photo A unique scale model of the Lewis and Clark keelboat is one of the new exhibits now on display at the Cape River Heritage Museum. The exhibit opens Friday. The six-foot model was built by Jim Blakemore, left, and David Atkins.Southeast Missourian...

PET PICS 3-13 Two year old Sharona, a perpetual kitten, likes the sound of the printer and will come running from anywhere in the house once it's turned on. Owner of a coveted remote controlled car, Sharona enjoys the interaction of family members and friends when they choose to give it a whirl. Dog reputations are threatened when Sharona takes to chasing the car...

Turkish leader holds talks on new government ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey's prime minister-designate worked Wednesday to form a new government that the United States hopes will quickly authorize the deployment of U.S. combat troops for a war against Iraq...

BUSHEHR, Iran -- Iran on Wednesday rejected U.S. accusations that it would use its nuclear program to secretly produce atomic weapons, saying all facilities are open to international inspectors. The burgeoning nuclear program intends to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020, the deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Assadollah Sabori, told The Associated Press...

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops raided a suspected militant group's hideout Wednesday, sparking a gunbattle that killed an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian, while Yasser Arafat met with top officials to map out leadership changes in the Palestinian Authority...

CHI LANG, Vietnam -- Mickey Olmstead and his sister, Dixie, dug their crude walking sticks into the water buffalo path and plowed forward, determined to reach the top of a mountain in Vietnam that has been the source of 37 years worth of tears and questions...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Sen. Kit Bond has helped get federal dollars for a University of Missouri research center, and officials there have helped plant chestnut trees on Bond's Mexico, Mo., property. Under the arrangement with the university, the senator was to keep the trees when the research was completed...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A retired high school teacher was crushed to death Tuesday when a small farm tractor flipped over while he was pulling out a fence post. Carl MacDonald, 60, of Independence, had attached a chain from the tractor to a 9-inch-diameter fence post that stood about four feet high, police said. The chain yanked the tractor backward until it flipped, end over end...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Promising "daring solutions" to the state's problems, Gov. Rod Blagojevich delivered a State of the State Address Wednesday that called for universal access to preschool, reopening a shuttered prison and new efforts to cut the cost of prescription drugs...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration will oppose any legislation that would make meat companies tell consumers which stores received meat that was recalled because of possible contamination, an Agriculture Department official said Wednesday. Elsa Murano, the department's undersecretary for food safety, told a House subcommittee that consumers wouldn't benefit because companies send meat to places other than grocery stores and restaurants...

WASHINGTON -- Unmarried couples -- whether same-sex or opposite-sex -- are far more likely than married couples to mix race or ethnicity, Census Bureau data shows. About 7 percent of the nation's 54.5 million married couples are mixed racially or ethnically, compared to about 15 percent of the 4.9 million unmarried heterosexual couples. The percentage is only slightly lower for the nation's nearly 600,000 same-sex couples...

WASHINGTON -- There is no evidence of a link between crib death -- known as sudden infant death syndrome -- and multiple vaccines given in infancy, a study concludes. Many parents became concerned about vaccines after an Australian researcher in the 1980s argued that there was a connection. But an Institute of Medicine report Wednesday reinforces previous studies that found no relationship between the vaccines and SIDS...

WASHINGTON -- Iraq could try to jam U.S. military satellite signals during a possible invasion, but the United States has defenses against such attempts, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. Indonesia reportedly jammed signals from a commercial satellite leased by the Pacific nation of Tonga in 1997, and Iraq could try to do the same thing, said the Air Force's space operations director, Maj. ...

Name: Leann Walther Lives in: Jackson Family: My dad, Ralph, my mom, Mary, my brother, Ryan and my sister, Jana. Job: Jackson High School FACS (Family and Consumer Science) student secretary...

Chili, stew dinner at Fruitland church Serving from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Wesley United Methodist Church in Fruitland will hold a chili and mulligan stew dinner. Tickets purchase an all-you-can eat meal. Millersville Lodge to hold spaghetti dinner The Millersville Lodge #103 will hold a spaghetti dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday. All proceeds will be contributed to the Multiple Sclerosis Society to help fight this devastating disease...

WASHINGTON -- A deeply divided Senate went on record Wednesday in support of a landmark 1973 Supreme Court case on abortion, then worked methodically on legislation limiting the rights established in the ruling. "We're finally here debating the most difficult, contentious social issue of our day," Sen. Sam Brownback R-Kan. said. "...What is the legal right of a child in utero?"...

WASHINGTON -- A battle for Iraq would pit 21st century weaponry against Cold War firepower. The U.S. and British forces massed on Iraq's borders are armed with missiles and bombs guided with satellites and lasers, while Iraqi defenders rely on decades-old mortars, bazookas and machine guns -- and far less sophisticated missiles...

WASHINGTON -- After crunching more numbers, the Census Bureau now says it overcounted by 1.3 million people in 2000 instead of missing more than 3 million. The findings released Wednesday show an overcount of whites, Asians, American Indians on reservations and young children, while many blacks and Hispanics were missed during the once-a-decade count...

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force prepared Wednesday to resume reconnaissance flights off the coast of North Korea, 10 days after Korean fighter jets intercepted an Air Force plane equipped to monitor missile tests, a senior U.S. official said. It was not immediately clear whether the Air Force planned to use fighter jets to escort the reconnaissance flights, but officials said earlier this week that escorting was unlikely. ...

BANKRUPTCIES Bankruptcies filed through March 10 for the Southeastern Division of the Eastern District of Missouri's U.S. Bankruptcy Court are listed below with their corresponding case number. The Southeastern Division includes the counties of Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscott, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard and Wayne. Court is held in Cape Girardeau...

Business Today Infants, an outdoorsy info-mercial and a recruitment brochure were the big winners at the seventh annual ADDY awards Feb. 13. The three "Best in Show" awards for advertising in print, electronic and mixed mediums went to Southeast Missouri Hospital, Red Letter Communications and the Perryville-based Wright Group...

Business Today Big River Telephone has announced the continuing expansion of its sales team and the opening of another office in Paducah, Ky. Tony Osbron has joined the Cape Girardeau based company as an account executive based in Paducah, Ky. Osbron is a native of western Kentucky and brings over 20 years of experience in the high technology sector. He has worked with customers throughout the region solving business issues with information technology solutions...

Cape Girardeau County tax liens and lien discharges recorded at the office of Janet Robert, Cape Girardeau County recorder of deeds, during the month of February are filed by the Missouri Department of Revenue except as indicated by IRS designation. For information concerning the dollar amount of the liens, contact the recorder's office at 243-8123.TAX LIENS AGAINST:...

SCOTT CITY -- A state grant will facilitate infrastructure improvements in Scott County that are needed for the location of a new business. Cape Milling L.L.C., a corn mill, is moving to the area, creating 31 jobs and $1.5 million in investment. The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) has awarded a $299,364 Industrial Infrastructure Grant through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to Scott County. ...

Darrell Wolf has been named radiation oncology director at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Larry Dauer has joined Bank of Missouri in Cape Girardeau as a registered representative. Meredith Pobst has joined 96/KYLS Radio in Farmington as a marketing consultant...

Scott County tax liens and lien discharges recorded at the office of Tom Dirnberger, Scott County recorder of deeds, during the month of February are filed by the Missouri Department of Revenue except as indicated by IRS designation. For information concerning the dollar amount of the liens, contact the recorder's office at 545-3551...

Business Today A long line of traffic rumbles along Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau, which often looks more like a freeway than the obscure rural route it once was. Work began last week to widen four-lane Mount Auburn to provide a left turn lane in the road's center that extends from William to Independence streets. The work will ultimately place traffic lights at the Mount Auburn-Independence intersection...

Poplar Bluff manager moving Business Today POPLAR BLUFF -- Briggs and Stratton plant manager Jim Marceau left Poplar Bluff for Chongqing, China, on March 3 to open a new Briggs and Stratton plant there. Marceau, who has spent the past 13 years working as plant manager in Poplar Bluff, said the company's plant in China will produce engines of the same size being built in Poplar Bluff...

Business Today The Sikeston-based First National Bank, which has a branch in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its charter's 100th birthday with a reception at the Cape branch on Feb. 26. More than 200 area business owners attended the event held at 2027 Broadway...

Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau won an award and high praise from the 2002 Medicine on the Net Web Excellence Awards. In the category of Best Site Design, Saint Francis received an honorable mention for www.sfmc.net. The Roberts Group Inc., Waukesha, Wis., created www.sfmc.net for Saint Francis. ...

Stoddard County tax liens and lien discharges recorded at the office of Kay Asbell, recorder of deeds, during the month of February are filed by the Missouri Department of Revenue except as indicated by IRS designation. For information concerning the dollar amount of the liens, contact the recorder's office at 568-3444...

Red Letter Communications helped produce products video By Jim Obert Business Today The national marketing director and the national communications director for Stihl Inc. of Virginia Beach, Va., were in Cape Girardeau on Feb. 27-28 to put the "frosting" on a 30-minute promotional video that has been many months in the making...

$2.5 million press expands color, speed capabilities Business Today Readers of the Southeast Missourian, Business Today, TBY and a host of other publications are noticing increasingly crisper photos, more vivid colors and, in the daily newspaper, more color pages as Rust Communications continues exploring the capabilities of its new press...

By Jim Obert Business Today Lance Armstrong, the four-time winner of the grueling Tour de France bicycle race, averages 20.5 mph during the 21-day, 1,484-mile annual event. That's slightly faster than the 20 mph legal speed of electric bicycles -- or e-bikes...

By Valerie Bollman NFIB regional communications manager Washington, D.C. An NFIB national study examining how state spending has dramatically increased in the past two decades has added fuel to the argument against tax hikes. NFIB/Missouri, the state's largest small-business advocacy group, vows to fight any state tax increase proposals...

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI CAPE GIRARDEAU LaCroix Village, a trendy strip mall on Route W, has opened. The developer is Trish Lafoe. Renaissance, a home and garden gift shop, is expanding at Broadway and Main St. The owner is Sherry Yaeger. Cape Cuts, a barbershop, has opened at 1930 Broadway. The owner is Mille Yates...

To the editor: Tax forms, rules and regulations are purposefully made complicated. This frustrates most Americans. We rely on news and talk shows to tell us what has changed and what it can mean for us, and we rely on our tax consultants to prepare our tax forms correctly. We tend to accept what we don't understand without question. Anyone who does question is often portrayed as selfish and unpatriotic...

Business Today Poplar Bluff -- Jim Ferguson, manager of the Country Mart supermarket on North Westwood, is probably one of the few people in the area not complaining about the winter weather. When snow is forecast, people rush out to stock up on milk and bread and other items...

An encouraging labor market is projected for Southeast Missouri this spring, based on the latest poll of quarterly staffing plans. After polling local employers, the employment outlook survey results found that 23 percent are intending to add personnel during the spring months, none foresees labor cutbacks and 77 percent will stay with current payrolls...

By Larry Kudlow consulting chief economist for American Skandia WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Every time some genius says the stock market bubble "had to burst," the following comes to mind: Between 1996 and 2002 commodity prices dropped by an incredible 30 percent. This is powerful deflation. Once it took effect, businesses were robbed of any pricing power whatsoever, profits shrank, and the stock market walls came tumbling down...

The Small Business Development Center of Southeast Missouri State University will be conducting counseling sessions for area small business people planning business ventures. The counselor, Gil Degenhardt, will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 19 at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, 1267 N. Mount Auburn in Cape Girardeau. Call 335-3312 for an appointment. The sessions are free...

Southeast Missouri businesses will have the opportunity to promote their companies by becoming corporate sponsors of the Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association. Corporate sponsorship is available at no cost to businesses that agree to provide discounts on their products or services to Southeast alumni presenting a valid Alumni Association membership card...

by Michael Wells communications director Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Chamber Board Votes to Support Recommendations of Citizens Finance Task Force At its March 4 meeting, the board of directors of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce voted to support the recommendations of the Citizens Finance Task Force...

By T. Ronald Hahs Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Charitable organizations, and those who support these organizations, are becoming aware that the government may not continue its current level of support, and that the burden of support is being shifted to the private sector. The charitably-inclined individual's support helps to maintain a consistent cash flow to carry out both day-to-day commitments and long-term goals...

Which one are you? As a business owner, you have unique financial, retirement, and estate-planning needs. But, with all the work of running your company, you may have put off doing anything about them. If you don't have a plan in place for continuing your business once you step down, you may be placing the future of your business -- and your family's well-being -- in jeopardy...

Business Today POPLAR BLUFF -- When you have hundreds of different items to sell, sometimes it's hard to get the word out. "People know we carry office supplies," said Office Depot manager Ryan Doyel. "But I don't think they are aware of everything we carry. We have digital cameras, home networking, home computers, photo printers, furniture and lots of school supplies."...

The high cost of long-term care makes paying for it a challenge. What makes it even more challenging is that the alternatives most people are drawn to have serious limitations. Personal savings For most people, it will be difficult to accumulate sufficient personal assets to meet both retirement income and long-term care needs. ...