Stories from Thursday, November 6, 2003

In the first of two days of district championship showdowns between Central and Poplar Bluff, the Tigers' boys soccer team remained undefeated with a 5-1 win Wednesday night at Jackson. Central improved to 24-0 and will play in the sectional round Tuesday at Houck Stadium against the winner of today's District 2 final. The schools' football teams play today at Poplar Bluff...

Lona Pearl Crader, 80, of Jackson passed away Sunday, Nov. 2, 2003, at Monticello House in Jackson. She was born Oct. 25, 1923, in Randles, Mo., daughter of William and Minnie Sheets Darby. She and Linder Ray Crader were married April 12, 1941. He died March 30, 1981...

A memorial service for John R. "Jack" Wilhite Jr. of Cape Girardeau will be held at 2:30 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. Vicar Fred Gerlach will officiate. Entombment will be in Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum, with military rites by VFW Post 3838...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Ruth T. Berkbuegler, 86, of Perryville died Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Dec. 30, 1916, in Perry County, daughter of Gilbert and Cecelia Gibbar Henderson. She and Herbert Berkbuegler were married Feb. 17, 1936. He died May 24, 1968...

UNIONTOWN, Mo. -- Raymond W. Schilling, 83, of Uniontown died Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born Jan. 3, 1920, at Frohna, Mo., son of Frederick and Bertha Wunderlich Schilling. He and Alma Kasten were married Sept. 21, 1946...

Mary Ann Davis, 35, of Benton, Mo., formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003, near Commerce, Mo. She was born Nov. 6, 1967, at Tullahoma, Tenn., to Carl and Fran Crosno Rose of East Prairie. She and Bennie E. Davis Jr. were married Sept. 8, 1987...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Louis P. "Lum" Ralls, 72, of Jonesboro died Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 14, 1930, in Jonesboro, son of Richard Herman and Marie Tucker Ralls. He and Frances Lehmann were married Sept. 30, 1952, in Erlangen, Germany...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Roy G. Colliflower, 101, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2003, at Miner Nursing Center. He was born Oct. 5, 1902, in Hutsonville, Ill., son of John S. and Eliza Johnson Colliflower. He and Lillian V. "Tinch" Michael were married Sept. 16, 1934, at Commerce, Mo. She died June 20, 1998...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Edna P. Bohnert, 90, of Perryville died Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2003, at Perry County Memorial Hospital. She was born July 3, 1913, in Perry County, daughter of Theodore B. and Anna Dambach Tanz. She and Otto G. Bohnert were married Nov. 5, 1939. He died Dec. 26, 1991...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Donna R. Hartmann, 72, of Cairo died Monday, Nov. 3, 2003, at her home. She was born Sept. 25, 1931, in Cairo, daughter of Louis E. and Martha Ross Sackberger. She married James B. Hartmann. Hartmann was a former accountant at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. She was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church and its Altar Guild...

Bruch "Greg" Latimer, 49, of Collinsville, Ill., formerly of Jackson, died Friday, Oct. 31, 2003, in Wood River, Ill. He was born June 9, 1954, in Newport, Ark., son of Jack and Jean Pardon Latimer. Survivors include his father of Jackson; a brother, Stan Latimer of Jackson; and a sister, Sheila Garland of Ocean Springs, Miss...

10 years ago: Nov. 6, 1993 New, 72,000-square-foot federal courthouse is planned for Cape Girardeau along with renovations to existing Federal Building, officials announced yesterday; 1994 federal budget approved by Congress includes $3.9 million for site acquisition and design of courthouse in Cape Girardeau, along with $1.7 million for design and renovation of Federal Building at 339 Broadway...

To the editor: For the earnest students of Central High School, the Students in Government program suddenly became very real. Every year the Optimists sponsor the program where students take the places of various members of city and county government with the hope they will better appreciate and understand the political process...

To the editor: This letter is intended for all individuals contemplating retirement from Southeast Missouri State University. In case you were not aware of the discrimination, retirees from the university are assessed a higher monthly health-insurance premium than Southeast pays for its current employees...

When 11-year-old Andrew Tyler of Jackson came home recently after a four-month stay at a St. Louis hospital, it was no doubt among the sweetest of all for him and his family. Andrew nearly drowned in the Jackson pool on June 6. While swimming for the Barracuda swim team, Andrew jumped into the water and went into cardiac arrest due to an electrical disorder in his heart...

Louie Been started lifting weights three years ago, and now he says he won't stop until his body gives out on him. The 23-year-old Southeast Missouri State University student from Imperial, Mo., became interested in weightlifting when his friend Ron MacCubbin approached him with the idea and offered to be Been's personal trainer. And at 22, after seeing MacCubbin participate in body- building competitions, Been and roommate Kyle Kuba began competing...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Johnny Cash won the Country Music Association's single of the year and video of the year awards Wednesday for his rendition of the rock song "Hurt." The announcements drew a standing ovation at the CMA's 37th Annual Country Music Awards...

The murder trial for a Cape Girardeau man charged with the shooting death of 31-year-old Billy Jones Jr. began Wednesday in Poplar Bluff in Butler County. Jibril Walton, 26, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Aug. 18 killing...

A Chaffee woman was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to five years probation and ordered to pay $48,197.63 in restitution for defrauding an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease through fraudulent credit-card purchases. Linda Gale Moore, 57, pleaded guilty in July. In doing so, she admitted that during 2000 she befriended June Stubbs, 72, of Chaffee, and used several of the woman's credit cards for personal purchases...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Lawyers for Gov. Bob Holden and a group public school districts clashed Wednesday over whether the Missouri Constitution empowers a governor to reduce education spending when the state budget is out of balance. The districts are seeking the immediate release of $190 million Holden, a Democrat, withheld from the $4.55 billion education budget in July. The governor's attorneys are asking Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan to dismiss the case...

Racine Ghiz just knew. The moment a doctor mentioned that the best thing he ever did for his own special-needs child was to get a trained dog, Racine's maternal instincts kicked in. She knew, she just knows, that a trained dog will improve the quality of life of her 9-year-old son, Josh, a victim of his abnormal and rare genetic makeup. ...

SEATTLE -- Uttering the word "guilty" 48 times with chilling calm, Gary Leon Ridgway admitted Wednesday he is the Green River Killer and confessed to strangling four dozen women over two decades -- "so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight."...

Playwright A. R. Gurney is best known for the romantic "Love Letters," a play that follows the friendship and sometime romance between a man and woman from childhood to middle age and does so entirely through their correspondence. The conceit works superbly...

By Gene Peterman Avelina Lichtenegger, Raj Marasini and Carol Keen -- three recent guest columnists regarding the new math curriculum in the Jackson School District -- are all arguing about who has the best tree. If they would look around at all the religious and private schools with growing enrollments and building programs, they would see that the forest is burning...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- In lawless Mogadishu, where U.S. officials fear al-Qaida members are plotting their next attack, the word is out: catch a terrorist, collect rewards as high as $5 million. At least four al-Qaida terrorist suspects are in Somalia, Kenyan officials and U.N. experts say, and Americans are trying to capture them in a country without an effective central government for more than a decade, officials and gunmen told The Associated Press...

WASHINGTON -- A year before the 2004 elections, the news is grim for Democrats, losers of statehouses in Kentucky and Mississippi in off-year balloting, victims of a wave of retirements by Senate Southerners and petitioners in court hoping to block a Texas House redistricting massacre...

For most people within the city limits of Cape Girardeau, dealing with sewage is as simple as a quick flush. That's because almost everyone enjoys, without even thinking about it, a connection to the city's sewer lines. Almost everyone. City officials recently looked into the matter, knowing there were still some septic systems being used. ...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Nov. 6 The following items were released by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Azizi U. Ray, 22, of 721 N. Middle, Cape Girardeau, was arrested Tuesday on a Cape Girardeau warrant for failure to appear...

Cape Girardeau Thursday, Nov. 6 Firefighters responded Tuesday to the following item: At 9:16 p.m., citizen assist at 1908 Brink. Firefighter responded Wednesday to the following items: At 3:28 a.m., gasoline leak at 353 S. Kingshighway. At 12:52 p.m., medical assist at 229 S. Plaza Way....

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Department of Transportation officials say tort reform is needed to reduce the agency's litigation costs for savings that could be shifted to road construction. Chief operating officer Pat Goff said MoDOT settles claims when it is legitimately at fault, but it is often targeted in litigation as the party with the deepest pockets...

NEW YORK -- Cardinals outfielder Albert Pujols, who last season led the major leagues in hitting and finished among the leaders in most offensive categories, was voted player of the year by his peers in balloting conducted by the Major League Baseball Players Association...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams defensive end Leonard Little will be held out until the end of the week because of a torn chest muscle, but hasn't been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens. An MRI exam on Tuesday showed the injury, which kept the Rams' best lineman out of last week's loss at San Francisco, was healing faster than had been anticipated. Little, among the league leaders with seven sacks, was listed as doubtful...

The city of Cape Girardeau could find itself saddled with a risky investment if it issues bonds to help fund construction of streets, sewers and water lines to serve the proposed, pricey Prestwick Plantation residential development, some developers say...

A high-powered showdown between SEMO Conference North squads Central and Poplar Bluff highlights the final week of football district playoffs. Three area teams are in the hunt for a district title with St. Vincent all but assured of its first district title since 2000. The area's main event, though, will be tonight in Poplar Bluff, where the 8-0 Mules square off with the 7-2 Tigers for the Class 4, District 1 title. Both teams are 2-0 in the district...

Southeast Missouri State University's basketball teams will get their first taste of outside competition today when the men and women play exhibition games at the Show Me Center. The men take on Division II Truman State University at 7:30 p.m., following the women's contest against NAIA power Union University at 5 p.m...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Two top politicians from Missouri's political past -- Warren Hearnes and Tom Eagleton -- have added their names to the list of Democrats backing the re-election of Gov. Bob Holden, his campaign announced Tuesday. Holden's camp said Hearnes, a former governor, and Eagleton, a former U.S. senator, sent a letter this week to more than 80,000 state Democrats supporting Holden's re-election bid...

Whether Americans opt for Nexium or Prevacid to treat their heartburn, they could have bought the drugs in Canada for less than half the price. As Congress debates whether to allow foreign pharmacies to fill prescriptions, The Associated Press surveyed comparable U.S. and Canadian prices for 10 popular drugs and found the Canadian prices were 33 percent to 80 percent cheaper...

Two weeks after a revolutionary eye surgery that restored his vision once marred by glaucoma, Ronnie Everly still can't lift heavy objects or rake leaves since the dust could carry bacteria and bring on an infection. But those are minor inconveniences compared with the prospect of losing his sight...

Bismarck graduate completes training Marine Corps Pvt. Craig A. Cummings, son of Patricia A. and William A. Cummings of Fredericktown, Mo., recently completed 12 weeks of basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, designed to challenge new Marine recruits both physically and mentally...

Charles W. Guenther of Jackson was recently awarded the 2003 Caller Hall of Fame plaque for his promotion and support of square dancing Approximately 850 square dancers attended the 44th Annual Missouri Federation of Square 'N Round Dance Clubs held in Lebanon, Mo...

Annual open house offered at high school Notre Dame Regional High School will begin with a welcoming assembly at 6:30 p.m. Monday for the annual grade school/junior high student open house. Individuals interested in making Notre Dame their high school for the 2004-05 school year should come by for a tour and an evening of fun...

Al-Qaida tried to bring more hijackers to U.S. WASHINGTON -- Al-Qaida was attempting to bring additional hijackers into the United States just a few weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, U.S. officials now believe. It is unclear from court documents that outline the theory whether these unidentified individuals were intended to provide additional manpower aboard the four jets that were commandeered or if the plot was to include the hijackings of more aircraft on that day...

Central (7-2) at Poplar Bluff (8-0) Last week: Central 42, Perryville 0; Poplar Bluff 42, Sikeston 3 Last year: Central 47, Poplar Bluff 7 Notes: Central has come on at just the right time and will play for its fourth straight district title. ...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush signed legislation Wednesday banning a certain type of abortion, handing the disputed procedure's opponents a long-sought victory even as a federal judge at least partially blocked the new law from taking effect. "For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth while the law looked the other way," Bush said as he signed the ban on a procedure called partial-birth abortion by its critics. ...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israel's Defense Ministry announced Wednesday it is easing travel restrictions in the West Bank in an effort to strengthen Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, who remains stuck in a power struggle with Yasser Arafat. But Palestinians said the changes were largely cosmetic and brought no real relief...

Evanescence guitarist sitting out current tour Evanescence lead guitarist Ben Moody has abandoned the group's world tour, and planned to meet informally Wednesday with representatives of his record label in Los Angeles. "Ben is not on the current dates," Steve Karas, a spokesman for Wind-up Records and one of Evanescence's producers, told The Associated Press Tuesday...

Southeast Missouri State University faculty members made their case Wednesday for cutting athletics at the same rate as teaching jobs, objecting to the cost-cutting figures presented by the administration. At a Faculty Senate meeting, a majority of senators said they also oppose an athletics department proposal to cut $35,000 to $40,000 out of the $3.8 million the school spends fielding sports teams...

Southeast Missouri State University's money crunch has created a new competition on campus. Academics is battling with athletics in a cost-cutting tug of war. "There are folks around here, and maybe the board of regents, who think this is an athletics club," said Dr. Alan Journet, a biology professor. He and some others believe university officials appear to be protecting sports during the budget crisis...

A day of live music has been organized to raise donations for the surviving family of murder victim Terry Vernon Lynn. On Saturday, bands will perform at Players at 632 Broadway. The concert begins at noon and will last until closing time. There will be a $3 cover charge. The bands include Drivin' Rain and Frontal Nudity...

In a story in Tuesday's edition, it should have been reported that Iona Baptist Church collected $1,100 for its mission offering last year. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Stay the course CALLIE CLARK'S stark but brutally accurate portrayal of schoolteacher Jason Bandermann's initiation into a classroom populated in part by confrontational and disinterested students deserves an A-plus. I hope the still idealistic young teacher stays the course...

Today Blood drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Notre Dame Regional High School. Donors should be at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds. Blood pressure screening from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Cape Girardeau Senior Center. The screening is sponsored by the Generations Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital...

The Kansas City Star The American public took another slap in the face from Congress as senators once again jacked up their own salaries. ... After years of embarrassing increases, congressional salaries are already too high relative to average American incomes. The latest hike will put the annual congressional salary next year at $158,100...

Parents Without Partners has announced plans for several activities to take place during the month of November. They include: Coping: From 7 to 9 p.m. tonight, Nov. 13 and 20 the group will attend "Coping by Beginning Experience" at Divine Homes Realty, Cape Girardeau. There is a fee...

Nov. 6, 2003 Dear Ken, One of the two photographs on my desk at home is a picture of two of my heroes. They are sitting on a wooden step behind the Jambalaya, my old hangout in Northern California. On the left, inhaling deeply from the dregs of a cigarette he rolled himself, is John Ross, trouble-seeking journalist and poet. His poems talked about "The Revolution" and the joy of being able to buy a can of Dinty Moore stew because your government check just arrived...

Salvation Army plans Thanksgiving dinner Keeping a tradition for more than 14 years, the Salvation Army is accepting donations of turkeys and other items to complete its annual Thanksgiving dinner at 701 Good Hope St., Cape Girardeau. The meal is served from noon to 2 p.m. Nov. 27. Everyone is invited...