Stories from Sunday, December 26, 2004

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Most Missourians, it seems, are still in the dark about the state's new law requiring them to turn on their headlights when using their windshield wipers. The law took effect Aug. 28, but the penalty for failure to comply -- a $10 fine -- didn't kick in until Dec. 1...

MANKATO, Minn. -- Donors bought a bus ticket and gave traveling money to a man who suffered a series of misadventures after illegally crossing the Mexican border. But what probably just needed a good map. Juan Rivera, 46, left his home in Juarez, Mexico, last week. He slipped into El Paso, Texas, and went to Riverside, Calif., to look for a temporary job...

PERTH, Australia -- Customs officials in Australia are serious about the country's quarantine laws -- and that's no baloney. A Swiss national discovered that when he was caught at Perth International Airport trying to smuggle a salami in his luggage. Dylan Pascal Graves was fined $3,057...

BECKLEY, W.Va. -- Jared Williams ruffled a few feathers while driving on Interstate 64. A wild turkey flew into the truck's windshield on Tuesday. Williams was traveling about 70 mph at the time, but managed to pull safely to the side of the road. "It looked like someone stuffed the turkey in the windshield," said Dave Creager of Creager Automotive Repair Service. "It didn't look real."...

SHAMOKIN, Pa. -- Santa definitely knew one boy was not nice this year. A 17-year-old is accused of firing a pellet gun from a second-story window, hitting a man dressed as Santa Claus on Monday night. Police said the boy confessed. Scott Slodysko, a volunteer fireman, was riding atop a fire truck when he heard a popping sound at an intersection...

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Grammy Award-winner John Mayer returned to his alma mater to be inducted into its Hall of Fame -- and wound up in the headmaster's office. The 27-year-old guitarist and singer, a 1995 graduate of Fairfield Warde High School, decided to attend the induction ceremony but was barred because of what school officials said were security concerns. They said they had not expected the pop star to attend...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. forces captured two senior figures in al-Qaida's branch in Iraq, the U.S. military said Saturday, and one of Turkey's richest businessmen was reported kidnapped, appearing in a video along with a weeping employee saying they were being held hostage...

NEW YORK -- Want to start the new year in style? Get yourself some sparkle and shine. A sequined top, glittery lips and metallic shoes are all festive party looks that will keep their luster through the next fashion cycle. "The glitter trend will move into spring," predicts Maryellen Gordon, deputy style editor of Glamour. "It's a perfect trend to buy into because it won't die five minutes before you're walking out the door."...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- After the Christmas presents are unwrapped, the new couch is in place and the holiday dinner is over, there is one more thing to do: recycle. The amount of waste generated during the Christmas season is the highest of any time during the year, said Barbara J. Lucks, public works materials recovery and education coordinator for the city of Springfield...

Kampwerth ~ Southern Illinoisan KASKASKIA, Ill. -- It seemed a little incongruous at first to see modern American women pretending to be French colonists joining an American Indian display of the Christian faith. However, as John White, chief at Ancient Lifeways Institute, Inc. and a cultural expert on the native history of the area, explained, there is historical continuity in Kaskaskia that reaches through the years...

Man shoots nurse at Calif. convalescent home; Nameless man doles out cash at Denver shelter; Letterman performs holiday show in Iraq

Ukraine judges throw out some anti-fraud changes; Palestinian leader vows to uphold Arafat's legacy; Russian cargo ship takes food to space station

Cape Girardeau The following items were released Saturday by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest * Todd L. Williams, 32, no address given, was arrested on warrants. Summons * Gwendolyn D. Agnew, 58, 2614 Elm St., Cairo, Ill, was issued a summons for stealing at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park...

Mother Nature delivered a bone-chilling Christmas to much of the nation Saturday, but holiday travelers made it out in droves despite record snow that shut down highways two days earlier in the central states. South Texas awoke to a rare blanket of snow, when up to 13 inches shattered records for the region. The deep freeze brought Victoria, Texas, its first white Christmas in 86 years and snarled holiday plans for thousands of travelers...

Maybe the 2004 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament will be wide open after all. When the basketball season started, most people around the area were pointing to a fairly easy road for Charleston, which has dominated the annual event in recent years with eight titles since 1991...

If Senate Republicans change the filibuster rule to permit closure on judicial nominations by a simple majority vote, they will be undermining their own president and their electoral fortunes for years to come. The simple truth is that the president needs the threat of a Democratic filibuster to save himself from his party's right wing. ...

A cold Christmas Day started off even colder for residents of Delta because of a five-hour power outage. For fire and police department personnel in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, it was another day at work. And for inmates at the Cape Girardeau County Jail, it was a time to visit with immediate family, but not because it was Christmas -- Saturday is the regular visiting day...

Broken-down firetrucks. A shorthanded police department. And not enough tax dollars to correct the problems. That's what the Cape Girardeau City Council faced only days into the start of 2004. Facing a growing public safety crisis, the council ended up convincing voters in June to pass a quarter-cent fire sales tax...

Mike Sciortino saw the pain and anguish autism was causing his grandson, Ethan. The Cape Girardeau man decided he had to do something. So, about a year ago, Sciortino started a group called Ethan and Friends for Autism and began holding weekly meetings for anyone interested in the disease...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- As the soon-to-be youngest member of the Missouri Senate, Jason Crowell believes he has a better perspective than most of his new colleagues on how expensive a college education can be. "I'm probably the only member of the Senate still paying student loans," said Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rasheed Wallace sauntered off the court and into the exit tunnel, pausing long enough to peel off his headband and hand it to a youngster wearing the rival's colors. "Just a kid that asked for a headband, wasn't nothing more than that," Wallace said...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Nick Saban finally turned pro Saturday, accepting an offer to coach the Miami Dolphins. The LSU coach, courted repeatedly by the NFL in recent years, mulled over the deal for three days before announcing his decision shortly after the Tigers arrived in Orlando for their Jan. 1 bowl game against Iowa...

Jim Mora (the elder) resigned from the Saints midway through the 1996 season after 10 1/2 years as by far the most successful coach in the team's 38-season history. "I probably should have gone before that," Mora said a couple of years later, after taking over the Colts. "In this league, eight years is about the longest a coach should stay with one team."...

LOS ANGELES -- The brick wall came tumbling down Saturday. But that didn't stop the Miami Heat from beating the Los Angeles Lakers in Shaq vs. Kobe I. With Shaquille O'Neal watching from the bench after fouling out late in the fourth quarter, Dwyane Wade and Eddie Jones scored four points each in overtime and the Heat beat the Lakers 104-102 to extend their winning streak to 11 games, equaling a franchise record...

MONTREAL -- The artificial turf is missing, leaving a concrete floor at barren Olympic Stadium and an even harder truth in Montreal: The Expos are long gone. Since the end of the season, Claude Delorme, the Expos' executive vice president for business affairs, has overseen the task of winding up the team's operations in Montreal...

NEW YORK -- Bob Davidson spent last season umpiring in the Class A Midwest League, where he made just $13,000. He was on the road from April 4 to Sept. 20 and missed daughter Andrea's graduation from Colorado State. "They would have given me the time off, but at the time I couldn't afford the plane ticket," he said...

On the eve of Christmas Eve, Tom Allen wasn't making last-minute holiday preparations. He wasn't even a bundle of nervous energy with the 60th Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament bearing down just days away. He was cooking dinner. "We'll see if it's edible," said Allen, the organizer of Southeast Missouri's longest-running basketball showcase...

I generally write political columns, and I have written a lot about the need for different kinds of people with different backgrounds to focus on what we have in common, not on what divides us. I think the following example, sent to me by Amos Kamil in Jerusalem, captures the true holiday spirit in all of us:...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following items on Thursday: * At 5:43 p.m., detector sounding at 1136 N. Fountain St. * At 6 p.m., emergency medical service in the 800 block of South Ellis Street. * At 6 p.m., emergency medical service in the 300 block of South Kingshighway...

In 1994, Missouri's voters approved a constitutional amendment that established the 22-member Missouri Citizens Commission on Compensation. The amendment mandated that the commission would meet every two years and recommend salaries for elected officials and judges. Unless the Missouri General Assembly, which used to set salaries through the budget process, rejected the recommendations, the pay plans devised by the commission would automatically take effect...

The house at 1110 Trail Ridge in Jackson is one of those places without any obvious flaws. There's a good interior design, a stately setting and even a downstairs mother-in-law suite. Those amenities are in addition to the five bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms...

THEBES, Ill. -- John Leon Howard, 81, of Thebes died Friday, Dec. 24, 2004, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 13, 1923, son of Jesse Lee and Ruby Mae Bryant Howard. He was a carpenter and electrician for Lawrence Ferrell Construction of Cape Girardeau. He had also worked for the Corps of Engineers...

St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson was the setting May 22, 2004, for the wedding of Kimberly Dawn Carter and Cory Wayne Brotherton. The Rev. Robert Henrichs performed the ceremony. Organist was Jill Peters, and soloist was Steve Meier. The bride is the daughter of Don and Judy Summers of Cape Girardeau and Bill and Ginger Carter of Beulaville, N.C. The groom is the son of Steve and Carolyn Brotherton of Millersville...

First General Baptist Church was the setting Sept. 18, 2004, for the wedding of Wendy Elizabeth Unsbee and Jason McKee. The Rev. Frank Bain performed the ceremony. Tracey Lohmeier and Mark and Lana Cook of Cape Girardeau were soloists. Violinist was Casey Cook...

Sarah Dawn Birkman and Tanner Carter Baggett were married Oct. 30, 2004, at First Baptist Church in Delta. Daniel Gene Baggett performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Kenneth and Evelyn Birkman of Advance, Mo. The groom is the son of Daniel and Cheryl Baggett of Delta...

Kelly Marbut and Joel Sander were united in marriage Oct. 23, 2004, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson. The Rev. David Johnson performed the ceremony. Organist was Lois Fehrman and soloist was Christy Shinn, both of Jackson, and trumpeter was Matt Martin of Cape Girardeau...

Melissa Anne Thomas and Joel Shane Thomas exchanged vows Oct. 2, 2004, at Francine's Gardens. David Phillips performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Betty Williams of Marble Hill, Mo., and Bob Williams of Fredericktown, Mo. The groom is the son of Carolyn Thomas of East Cape Girardeau, Ill., and Joe Nehrt of Chester, Ill...

Bobbi Jo Stewart and Luther Ridale Bonds were married Sept. 11, 2004, in Natchez, Miss., by the Rev. Luther Bonds Jr., father of the groom. The bride is the daughter of Robert Stewart and Pam and Nelson Butz of Fort Scott, Kan. The groom is the son of Luther and Bessie Bonds of Meadville, Miss...

Jesica Lori Calvert and Jonah Allen Woods were married July 10, 2004, at East Bonne Terre First Baptist Church in Bonne Terre, Mo. Randall Black performed the ceremony. Lloyd and Anna Calvert of Jackson are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Melba Johnston of Farmington, Mo., and James Woods of Apple Valley, Calif...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Mathilda Gallant La Farge and Mark Douglas Tippett were married Dec. 11, 2004, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Millbrook, N.Y. The Rev. Ed Johnston performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Ann La Farge of Millbrook, and the late W.E.R. La Farge. The groom is the son of J. Wright and Maxine Tippett of Advance...

BENTON, Mo. -- Daniel J. and Connie Glastetter of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Jody Glastetter, to Greg Lumsden. He is the son of Joe and Mary Ann Lumsden of Kelso, Mo. Glastetter expects to receive a bachelor of science degree in industrial technology technical graphics from Southeast Missouri State University in May 2005...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- The Rev. and Mrs. Gene Hart of Olive Branch will observe their 50th wedding anniversary with a celebration Jan. 2, 2005. The event will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Sunshine Inn Community Center in Anna, Ill. Hart and Maudie Lou Clinton were married Jan. 2, 1955, at Lake Milligan Baptist Church in Miller City, Ill., by the Rev. Verlee Eaker...

Mr. and Mrs. Jack V. Lawrence of Kansas City, Mo., recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Lawrence and Joan Stuckey were married Oct. 30, 1954, at First Baptist Church in Oran, Mo. He is a native of Cape Girardeau and she of Oran. A graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he was ordained to the ministry in 1971. He retired from the Kansas City Area Transit Authority in 1992...

25 years ago: Dec. 26, 1979 A former Bootheel resident who graduated from Southeast Missouri State University is one of seven American clergymen now in Tehran in hopes of opening up a dialogue in the name of God to bring an end to the hostage crisis; the Rev. John Tudor Walsh, a native of Risco, Mo., and a former Kennett, Mo., resident, expects to spend about two weeks in Iran...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Harold L. Fuhrmann, 62, of Perryville died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004, at Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital. He was born March 4, 1942, in Perryville, son of Leo and Ruby Tricky Fuhrmann. He was a firefighter with the Mississippi Lime Co. for 34 years...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Francis "Frank" Henry Wubker, 88, of Marble Hill died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 3, 1916, at Leopold, Mo., son of Herman Bernard and Mary Cecilia Nenninger Wubker...

January brings true winter to the bass in our area. Their food requirements are a fraction of what they were only a month ago, and they now have moved to deeper water to spend the next six to eight weeks. In this area, water temperatures will drop to between 38 to 44 degrees and stay there through mid-February...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Plentiful deer, plentiful permits and more days of hunting combined to produce a record harvest of 273,905 in Missouri's 2004 firearms deer hunting season. The figure is 19,538 more than the previous record, set last year, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation...

To the editor: To the commentator who said it's "Merry Christmas," not "Happy Holidays": What do you say to the Jews celebrating Hanukkah? Or to those celebrating Kwanzaa? Or to those who celebrate the winter solstice? The fact that you don't celebrate their holidays doesn't make your holiday more worthy of recognition in the vernacular. ...

To the editor: People don't seem to notice much that Jesus and his parents have disappeared from public display this season. Nobody has the courage to display a creche at a business or in federal buildings for fear that legal thugs will challenge them in court. So everyone is content with their politically correct pagan symbols -- just so long as the dollars roll in. Headlines crowed, "Last month's leading economic indicators were higher than expected."...

To the editor: Just an admiring word for the insight of Jennifer St.Clair in her Dec. 8 letter. She says it all in four sentences: "The family farmer is an endangered breed. ... Farmers who think the Bush administration and the Republican Congress represent their interests and share their values should think again. ...

No Christmas cheer; Out of order; Downtown spending; Better to be seen; Buying power; Degrading views; Interstate trash; Thanks, AmerenUE

Mary Wilmes, 85, beloved mother of Karen Smiley of Cape Girardeau, died Dec. 8, 2004, at Creve Coeur, Mo. She was born Dec. 30, 1918. A celebration of her life will be held in a memorial service at St. Vincent de Paul Church on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, at 7 p.m...

Doris Ann Tripp, 66, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Dec. 24, 2004, at the home of her daughter after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. She was born in Cape Girardeau June 7, 1938, daughter of Bud and Myrtle Edmundson Joyce. She first married Donald Lee Seabaugh in June of 1959. He passed away in May of 1985. She later married Webster Tripp in July of 1987...

Charles "Junior" Sides, 78, of Jackson died Friday Dec. 23, 2004, at the Missouri Veterans Home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

CAIRO, Ill. -- Paulette Vaughn, 52, of Cairo died Friday, Dec. 24, 2004, in Cairo. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo.

ANNA, Ill. -- Ada Galbraith, 87, of Anna died at Friday, Dec. 24, 2004, at Shawnee Christian Nursing Center in Herrin, Ill. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Anna.

BENTON, Mo. -- Karen Faye Harper Sullinger, 57, of St. Charles, Mo., formerly of Benton, died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004, at St. Peters, Mo. She was born Feb. 13, 1947, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Raymond Glenburn and Virginia Lee Bertrand Harper. She and Norman Mitchell Sullinger were married May 29, 1965, at Benton...

Role model?; Good job, Indians; Winning is everything; Good work, coach Garner; Scheduling snafu

LAS VEGAS -- OK, let's be clear about where you should be on New Year's Eve. New York City? Cold, possibly snowy. Times Square is like a stockyard before the clock turns midnight. Los Angeles? If you're not a movie star, a Hollywood player or simply beautiful, forget about getting into any of Tinseltown's hot parties...