Stories from Friday, August 8, 2003

STEVE ROBERTSON * photos@semissourian.com An innovative interior in the new Grand Prix offers such features as fold down rear seats and a folding front passenger seat. The new Grand Prix, with its supercharged engine, can outrun the competition "Get your motor runnin'. Head out on the highway. Lookin' for adventure and whatever comes our way É"...

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General John Ashcroft wants prosecutors to closely monitor which judges impose more lenient sentences than federal guidelines recommend, a step some critics say could limit judicial independence. Ashcroft directed U.S. attorneys nationwide to promptly report to Justice Department headquarters when a sentence is a "downward departure" from guidelines and not part of a plea agreement in exchange for cooperation...

MOBERLY, Mo. -- Cape Girardeau's Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team defeated Jefferson City 16-8 Thursday night in the opening round of the state tournament. Cape (29-14) will play Blue Springs (53-12) at 5:30 p.m. today in the winner's bracket final of the four-team, double-elimination event...

The Craftsman Union Capahas hope they fare better during their second trip to Wichita, Kan., in less than a week. The Capahas began their 18th straight appearance in the National Baseball Congress World Series by losing 5-0 to the Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftains on Saturday...

By Bill Ransdall JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In his recent guest column, state Rep. Carl Bearden, chairman of the House Budget Committee, states, "Protecting elementary and secondary education is our state's highest priority." Unfortunately, Bearden and Speaker Catherine Hanaway have chosen to protect education by appropriating funds that don't exist...

All that for seven minutes in court? That was must-see TV -- Kobe in a cream suit walking in and out of court? At one point Wednesday in Kobe Bryant's much-hyped court appearance, the judge actually said something to the effect of, "This is moving pretty fast for something that's getting so much attention."...

Spears admits breakup was for the best LONDON -- Britney Spears, casting off the remnants of her sweet-as-pie image along with most of her clothes, says she's relieved she didn't settle down with fellow pop star Justin Timberlake. Spears tells British Elle magazine for its September issue that the breakup made her a better artist. She also says she hated seeing Timberlake talk about their relationship and that she's actually quite shy...

By Rachel Konrad ~ The Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Patrick Dennehy, the former Baylor University basketball player missing for weeks before his body was found, became a Christian one night when a friend invited him to Bible study at a newfangled Silicon Valley church...

Marine gets 20 years for parachute tampering CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- A Marine who admitted cutting parachute lines before a training jump was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison by a military judge who told him he can still become a productive citizen...

NEW YORK -- Conventional wisdom says the Internet gives consumers more power than ever. After all, the Web is full of sites with product details and price comparisons that shed light on purchasing the previously inscrutable: mortgages, cars, insurance, airline tickets and the like. Priceline and eBay even let consumers proclaim the prices they want to pay...

Only a month ago in Iraq, Latifa Hussein was desperately trying to help her 10-month-old son, Karam, who needed open-heart surgery. Today, in New Hyde Park, N.Y., she checks on Karam every few minutes -- displaying the mixed emotions of a mother worried but relieved...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Episcopal leaders said Thursday they rejected a proposal to draft standard language for blessing same-sex couples partly out of concern for church unity following the contentious confirmation of their first openly gay bishop. The House of Bishops overwhelmingly approved a watered-down statement recognizing that same-sex unions are being blessed in local dioceses. ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- They have missed important family birthdays, time with new babies and the hospitalization of parents, but Democratic state senators who fled to New Mexico to boycott congressional redistricting say they are resolved in their protest...

SOLOMONS, Md. -- As the sun rose on the Chesapeake Bay, waterman Larry "Boo" Powley was still on the docks, repairing holes in the nets he had strung near the shore. Long strands of anthozoan, a plant that looks like seaweed and thrives in polluted waters, had tangled the nets and weighed them down so much that they tore...

CRAWFORD, Texas -- President Bush and top military leaders are gathering at his ranch today to talk over their efforts to make the U.S. military more mobile and responsive. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Texas on Thursday, ahead of today's meeting with Bush, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other military leaders, including Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It's touted as the high-tech world's best hope against Microsoft Corp. domination. Built largely by thousands of volunteer programmers worldwide, the Linux operating system is cheap, reliable and doesn't pad Bill Gates' wallet...

NEW YORK -- Retailers finally got a break in July as warm weather and heavy discounting helped lift sales above expectations for many merchants, even the struggling department store sector. As retailers reported their sales results Thursday, all industry segments appeared to benefit from an improved selling environment. Wal-Mart Stores, the industry leader, boosted its profit outlook for the second quarter...

Laverne Smith Laverne Smith remembers well the deluge of summer rains north of Cape Girardeau in 1993. She remembers the ever-rising waters of the Mississippi River, the crushed levies, and then, when the water finally receded, the mud that caked many buildings in the area...

ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols reached 100 RBIs, scored his 100th run and extended his hitting streak to 21 games as the Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins 3-0 Thursday night. Brett Tomko pitched shutout ball into the ninth inning as the Cardinals ended a three-game losing streak and avoided a three-game sweep...

LOS ANGELES -- Arnold Schwarzenegger took even his political advisers by surprise when he said he was running for governor, and his candidacy dramatically reshaped the California recall election. But what does he stand for? While the Austrian-born actor's accent and trademark quips are familiar to millions, he has offered few clues about how he would handle California's knotty problems, from a staggering budget deficit to an affordable housing shortage to traffic gridlock...

ATLANTA -- West Nile virus cases have tripled since last week, a top U.S. health official said Thursday, warning that this year may surpass last year's record numbers. "The numbers are starting to change very, very quickly," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "That is very concerning."...

BALTIMORE -- His face may be battle-weary, but the 1963 G.I. Joe prototype is no longer an auction-block refugee, an auction house said Thursday. The handmade 11 1/2-inch figure ended up capturing $200,000 in a private sale to comic book distributor Stephen Geppi, despite Joe's failure to bring a minimum $250,000 bid at auction last month...

Seven Perryville, Mo., residents were seriously injured in three separate accidents Wednesday and Thursday. In the first accident Wednesday morning, five members of the same family were seriously injured when their passenger car went out of control on fresh asphalt in a construction zone and ran off the road, hitting a tree...

Central High School will hold a makeup orientation at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Students who missed the regular orientation this week can pick up schedules, textbooks, have school photos and identification photos taken, and complete health screenings. For more information, call 335-8228...

On Aug. 8, 1993, more than four months after the Mississippi River began laying siege to the Midwest, the river finally began to relent. The record 48-foot crest at Cape Girardeau came in the middle of the night, a night the exhausted LeGrand family on North Water Street lost a house they had fought all summer to save...

A murdered Jackson man's relatives stared with tearful eyes at one of his suspected killers as a videotaped confession played in a New Madrid County courtroom. "We tied him up, his hands." The defendant's muffled voice came from the television speakers. "Taped his legs, taped his feet together."...

Maybe the price of a gallon of paint. That's how much it would cost Southeast Missouri State University to change its nickname from Indians to something else, according to athletic director Don Kaverman. "It wouldn't cost much of anything," Kaverman said. "You don't see our nicknames on our uniforms, not on our media guides, not on our tennis courts, our baseball diamond, nowhere."...

Ryan Roth, one of Southeast Missouri State University's defensive leaders, has changed numbers this year -- and it wasn't simply some random switch based on a whim. For Roth, a senior defensive end who now wears No. 32 instead of the No. 95 he sported last season, the change comes with a heavy heart as he honors the memory of a high school teammate who was killed in the collapse of a Chicago apartment deck in late June...

100 years, that's no bologna Sam Dana, the oldest living former NFL player, turns 100 today. "I played the old game. I loved it," Dana told AP during a visit to Buffalo Bills training camp this week. "But I wasn't such a big shot like Red Grange and people like that, you know."...

Jack Tomco simply smiles when he hears the way Southeast Missouri State University coach Tim Billings talks about competition for the starting quarterback position. The soft-spoken Tomco plans to let his play on the practice field do all his talking -- just as he did last year when he set nine school records during a sensational rookie season with the Indians...

When it comes down to deciding Kobe Bryant's innocence or guilt, the court of public opinion may be the most important court of all. If that's the case, Bryant could be well on his way to acquittal. Bryant's once pristine image may be taking a beating over a charge that he sexually assaulted a young hotel worker, but he's got two things going for him as the case plays out over upcoming months...

ST. LOUIS -- Pavol Demitra will stay with the Blues after the team agreed on Thursday to re-sign him to the one-year $6.5 million salary an arbitrator set earlier this week. Following the arbitrator's ruling Monday, the Blues had until Thursday to decide whether to keep Demitra, their top scorer with 36 goals and 93 points, trade him or allow him to become a free agent...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders are taking a break from suing the Coliseum long enough to play an exhibition game there. The defending AFC champions host the Rams tonight in the preseason opener for both teams. There are big stars on both rosters, but none will play more than a few series, according to the coaches...

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Tony Stewart's spirits were about as low as they could get the last time he arrived at Watkins Glen International. But he left on a high last August after the most emotional of his 16 career victories, and rode the momentum to the Winston Cup championship...

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers are considering changing the way they deal with the media this season because of the circuslike atmosphere the Kobe Bryant case figures to create. Team spokesman John Black said Thursday the team might make adjustments, including the possibility of traveling with two public relations representatives on road trips rather than one...

NEW YORK -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement that he was running for governor of California drew the second-highest rating of the year for NBC's "Tonight" show, Nielsen Media Research said Thursday. The "Tonight" show had a 6.9 rating, according to preliminary estimates. One rating point roughly corresponds to just over 1 million households...

BALI, Indonesia -- To the wild applause of onlookers, an Indonesian court handed down its first verdict in last year's deadly Bali bombings, sentencing an Islamic militant to die by firing squad for his role in the attacks that killed 202 people. As a judge read the verdict, the defendant, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, smiled broadly and thrust out both hands in a thumbs-up sign. ...

To the editor: David Limbaugh complains about what he perceives to be anti-Catholic bias on the part of Democratic U.S. senators against various Catholic federal appointees whom the senators are vetting, mostly on the issue of abortion. Everyone knows that opposition to abortion is an official position of the Roman Catholic Church. On the other hand, not everyone knows that opposition to capital punishment too is an official Catholic position...

Floyd Wayne Niswonger, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2003, at the Lutheran Home. He was born Aug. 4, 1912, at Oran, Mo., son of Peter Cephas and Sudie F. Stoffel Niswonger. He first married Dorothy Austin in 1929. He and Laura Propst were married March 9, 1963, at Scott City...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Harry Leon "Sonny" Dover, 75, of Jonesboro died Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2003, at his home. He was born Jan. 11, 1928, in Anna, Ill., son of Lee Andrew and Mae Mariah Brown Dover. He and Audrey Deloris Sims were married July 9, 1946, in Jonesboro...

Nancy Ann Webb, 59, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Aug. 4, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center. She was born May 3, 1944, in Leonard, Ark., daughter of John William "Bill" and Flora Jesse Elrod Boyd. She and James Kenneth Webb were married June 2, 1962, in Leonard...

Bernice C. "Aunt Bernie" Bruning 79, of Maryland Heights, Mo., died Sunday, Aug. 3, 2003, at St. Anthony's Hospital in St. Louis County. She was born Nov. 7, 1923, in Perry County, Mo., daughter of Carl and Dora Kohlfeld. Bruning was a retired manicurist and a member of St. Blaise Catholic Church in Maryland Heights...

Teresa Kay Seery, 40, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born Oct. 3, 1962, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Larry Franklin and Helen LaVerne Park Pender. She and Robert Seery were married Sept. 10, 1992...

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- James W. Berry, 89, of Greenville died Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 19, 1914, at Kime, Mo., son of William Andrew "Bud" and Nora Jane Clark Berry. He first married Anna Jane Clay Jan. 3, 1942. She died May 11, 1988. He and Ellie Price were married March 9, 1991...

Schrum Daughter to Kenny Wayne Schrum and LaDawn Sue Whitworth of Scott City, St. Francis Medical Center, 12:09 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, 2003. Name, Catelynn Rose. Weight, 5 pounds 2 ounces. Second daughter. Ms. Whitworth is the daughter of Randy and Sue Whitworth of Scott City. Schrum is the son of Ollie Schrum of Chaffee, Mo., and Linda Schrum of Scott City. He is a deckhand with Mays Towing...

10 years ago: Aug. 8, 1993 Mississippi River crests at 48 feet at Cape Girardeau; at final hour, Tom LeGrand, family members and others lose battle to save LeGrand's Transmission and attached family home at 1237 N. Water; they lose, 10 1/2 hours after water begins seeping up beneath triple row of sandbags protecting house, and family gives up fight...

NEW YORK -- Stigma seems like a natural subject for two people who star in a hit musical that features an Internet porn pirate, a closeted homosexual and a song entitled "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." But during a recent afternoon break from Broadway's "Avenue Q," it isn't talk of any social taboo that elicits the "s" word. ...

Three stars (out of four) This film rises above most other films in its genre. It follows Jess Bhamra's struggle to overcome not only gender restrictions in English soccer but to break through cultural barriers. The English cricket players had previously shunned her father due to his Indian cultural background, leaving him with concerns about her trying to become a pro soccer player...

Moodminder hasn't played a gig in Cape Girardeau in months, but that's not stopping them from rehearsing. The only living entities that Moodminder plays for these days are the crickets, frogs and cattle that live on lead guitarist Ryan Thomas' parents' farm on Route KK in Bollinger County, about five miles from Oak Ridge...

'The Original'Sarai, the newest face on the rap scene, may have more working against her than most fledgling artists. Her problem? While she's young and drop-dead gorgeous, she's also white. Fortunately for this 20-year-old upstart from Kingston, N.Y., she's got great lyrical skills and should be able to thwart superficial detractors...

Jour de Fete at Ste. Genevieve this weekend STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- The annual Jour de Fete will be presented Saturday and Sunday in historic Ste. Genevieve. Main Street will offer more than a mile of arts and craft exhibitions. The event will offer roaming musicians, re-enactors, classic vehicles, an exhibit from the World Bird Sanctuary and more...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Recall Gov. Bob Holden? Not without changing the Missouri Constitution. Unlike in California, where there is an effort to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, state officeholders in Missouri can only be removed before the end of their terms through the impeachment process. That is the case in most states...

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 2003 Nissan Maxima that my wife took to the dealer for a 7,500-mile checkup. The mechanic changed the oil, rotated the tires and balanced the wheels. My question is: Is it necessary to rebalance the wheels each time you rotate the tires? His explanation to my wife was that the tires would be in new locations on the car, and should therefore be rebalanced, since customers have complained of shimmying at high speed. ...

Masking the truth AS A left-winger, I find myself offended by the definitions of political correctness that derogate right-wingers. I'm an old-fashioned liberal who, as was once the liberal tradition, supports free speech. When people are allowed to speak freely, the content of their hearts are revealed. Political correctness has not changed people. It simply has made it much more difficult to read what is really in their hearts and minds...

To the editor: Marketing has its place in our society as much as products themselves, but there are times when promotions discredit the intelligence of consumers to the point of being annoying and insulting. Respectable marketing informs consumers of discounts, new products or changes in existing products. Businesses, however, often overstep respectable boundaries...

LONE JACK, Mo. -- Residents of a mobile home park where sewer bills have gone unpaid won't have to leave yet, although this eastern Jackson County town still wants them out. After the Summits Edge mobile home park fell $20,000 behind on its sewer bill, the city cut off sewer service to the 22 trailers there Monday. Officials ordered residents to leave by Wednesday morning to avoid sanitation problems...

LADUE, Mo. -- The St. Louis Area Major Case Squad is investigating after a jogger discovered the body of a teenager in a posh area of suburban St. Louis. The victim was identified Thursday as Rodney Rankins Jr., 16, of north St. Louis County. His body was discovered at around 7 p.m. Wednesday along an abandoned railroad right of way often used by joggers and bikers near Old Warson Country Club in Ladue, west of St. Louis...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Adam Graven came all the way from Texas for Thursday's opening of the Missouri State Fair. He didn't come for the funnel cakes or carnival rides or the Extreme Canines Stunt Dog Show. He came to make money -- as much as $75,000 annually -- if people take a liking to the Angus bull he calls "Homer."...

GRANVILLE, N.D. -- North Dakota has its second rare albino bison. The bull calf was found May 5 on the Big Sky Buffalo Ranch near Granville. Owner Duane Woodall held off on a birth announcement until he was sure the calf would survive. "He's very healthy," said Angie Bachmeier, Woodall's granddaughter and a ranch spokeswoman. "Our vet looked him over. He's sensitive to sunlight, being an albino. But otherwise, he's doing very well."...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A quarrel between two men after one of them took issue with the way the other was talking to three women led to a fatal attack with a hatchet and knife, prosecutors say. George Hillmon, 48, was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of another Kansas City man, Ezell Craft Jr., 48. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Four environmental groups filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Army Corps of Engineers and the company it has authorized to build the nation's largest cement plant on the Mississippi River. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, challenges a permit for Swiss-based Holcim (U.S.) Inc. to build the proposed plant 45 miles south of St. Louis in Ste. Genevieve County...

WASHINGTON -- Fewer than 100 pilots were certified to carry guns on commercial flights in the eight months after Congress approved the idea, and pilots are blaming the slow pace on the Transportation Security Administration. The pilots say that with the TSA freezing hiring in the air marshal program and the government warning al-Qaida may try more suicide hijackings, it's more important than ever to get weapons in the cockpit...

WASHINGTON -- Rates on benchmark 30-year mortgages climbed this week to the highest level seen in a year, something that is chilling -- but not freezing -- refinancing activity. The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for the week ending Aug. 8 was 6.34 percent, up sharply from last week's rate of 6.14 percent, Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, reported Thursday in its weekly nationwide survey...

WASHINGTON -- America's business productivity soared, new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a six-month low and retailers reported strong sales, a triple dose of good news as the economy tries to get back to full throttle. Productivity -- the amount that an employee produces per hour of work -- grew at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the April to June quarter, the best showing since the third quarter of 2002, the Labor Department reported Thursday. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- A lot of people apparently didn't think Tuesday's elections were so special -- at least not special enough to cast a ballot. Turn-out was light, election officials reported Wednesday. In Scott County, Morley voters renewed the city sales tax and the Chaffee School District approved a $500,000 general obligation bond issue...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Aug. 8 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Scarlett N. Smith, 39, of 264 1/2 N Ninth St., Nobleville, Ind., was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Cape Girardeau Friday, Aug. 8 Firefighters responded Wednesday to the following items: At 5:18 p.m., emergency medical service at 902 Jefferson. At 5:23 p.m., emergency medical service at 900 Normal. Firefighters responded Thursday to the following items: At 6:51 a.m., emergency medical service at 1252 Linden...

The only topic likely to generate more debate than raising the price of a postage stamp is the suggestion that small post offices should be closed as an economic move. Never mind that, at the current 37 cents for a first-class letter, U.S. postage is a bargain. But current postage rates and the expense of U.S. Postal Service operations have created a whopping $11 billion debt...

Killing innocent people is the stock in trade of terrorists. The aim is not only to inflict death and injury, but also to spread fear. Terrorists seek to have others bow to their demands in the belief that doing so will keep more innocent people from being killed or hurt...

Birmingham News NEW ORLEANS -- State game and fish directors from across the United States gathered here in New Orleans last week to address a variety of concerns that affect the nation's fish populations. The largemouth bass virus was a topic of conversation. Luckily, that potential disaster seems to be in check...

Teal season longer, dove season same as last year Missouri's early teal season will last 16 days, and hunters will have 70 days to pursue doves, the Missouri Department of Conservation announced. Missouri's dove season remains unchanged from last year, but hunters have an extra seven days for teal hunting. The 2003 teal season will run for 16 days and dove season for 70...

Cape Girardeau County Treasurer Bill Reynolds announced Thursday that he will not run for re-election in 2004. Reynolds, 74, has served as the treasurer for the last 24 years. "I think 24 years is long enough," he said. His announcement came along with his endorsement of Republican Dean Sawyer for the next treasurer...