Stories from Sunday, November 13, 2005

Everybody wants to be a star. Or at least take a shot at having their faces appear in the background of a movie. That's what prompted 18-year-old Melissa Miller to apply to be an extra in "Killshot," which is scheduled to be filmed in Cape Girardeau in December...

Is putting on a wool dress coat or down ski jacket an invitation for Old Man Winter to knock at the door? Some people seem to think so. They're the ones you see walking down the street with their shoulders drawn up and in, teeth chattering, but still wearing their flip-flops...

In the organization of state government, most lines of communication stretch down vertically through departments from the governor's office. The Missouri State Government Review Commission wants to cross those lines with 11 committees made up of high-level officials who will meet regularly on issues of common interest. Called "interdepartmental coordinating councils" in the commission's report, they would be responsible for crafting integrated answers to those issues...

Without the help from the Vincentian Marian Youth, the Cape Girardeau Regional Family Resource Center's winter looked cold, expensive and bleak. The Cape Girardeau Regional Family Resource Center at 1202 S. Sprigg St., looks like any other run-down building. It was a church before it became the resource center, and pews still line some of the walls upstairs. A closer look reveals tired, worn-out floors, leaky windows and ceilings in desperate need of repair...

No helmet, no ride. Rod Torbert spends many weekends teaching new ATV riders at St. Joe State Park in Park Hills, Mo., how to operate the vehicles safely. Helmets are just part of the required uniform of a safe rider, the 52-year-old Perryville man said...

Zach Dover nearly died, his face crushed when the four-wheeled ATV he was riding flipped over in a ditch. The all-terrain vehicle accident four years ago in his hometown of Matthews, Mo., cracked his skull and broke nearly every bone in his face. Airlifted to Southeast Missouri Hospital, the 12-year-old boy was in a coma for a week...

As Ernest Corbin Jr. of 2053 Big Bend Road in Cape Girardeau was digging Saturday afternoon in his yard to fix a water line, he accidentally hit the gas line. Last Saturday, Dig Rite marked the water and gas lines, but as Corbin dug, he realized the marks were off by a few feet...

TRENTON, N.J. -- Normally fodder for anglers and early birds, worms are now getting attention at NASA -- particularly a little-known species that lives in freezing temperatures and can survive two years without food. Researchers hope the hardy wigglers can unlock the secrets of how life might survive on distant ice worlds such as Jupiter's moon Europa, as well as provide answers to more earthbound problems such as preserving transplant organs kept on ice...

The Joplin (Mo.) Globe The use of tax-increment financing for commercial developments won't come to an end soon, but the tool may be reined in considerably because of the impact of these tax incentives on public school budgets. Our concern with tax-increment financing is that the incentives have been used for projects in sections of communities that stretch the imagination as blighted areas. .....

The Kansas City Star Next year the federal agency in charge of airport security intends to offer a special deal for travelers. Those willing to pay a fee, submit to a background check and provide "biometric" identification such as a fingerprint or retina scan would be able to move faster through security lines...

HONOLULU -- Rusti the orangutan is getting a bigger pad and putting his bachelor days behind him. The 25-year-old primate will soon be moving into a new enclosure at the Honolulu Zoo that's about 20 times longer than the tiny cage that has been the 350-pound orangutan's home since 1997...

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- While Jacob Hall pronounces the words on his flashcards, Neha Gulrajani works with a numbers board nearby and Jillian Sommerauer talks to her teacher about a picture book. It sounds like kindergarten, but these children gathered at a Kansas City strip mall to get extra help that some say is placing increasing pressure on youngsters...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A Web site run by former top Baath Party members reported Saturday that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest-ranking figure from Saddam Hussein's regime still at large, has died. The posting appeared to confirm an e-mail announcing the death circulated a day earlier...

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Denny Hamlin quickly is going from virtual unknown to potential NASCAR Nextel Cup star. The driver, who turns 25 on Friday, grabbed his first Cup pole Saturday in only his sixth try, topping the field at Phoenix International Raceway with a lap of 134.173 mph and beating out a trio of contenders in the Chase for the Championship...

WASHINGTON -- Abortion was the first question out of the box at John Roberts' Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Hand-wringing over the same issue was rife during Harriet Miers' short-lived nomination to the court. Now abortion again is central to the debate over Samuel Alito, the latest nominee for the high court...

Tiger Woods shot a 5-under 67 Saturday and was tied for second place, one stroke behind David Howell after three rounds of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China. Howell missed a birdie putt on the last hole and had a 68 to move to 16-under 200. Woods had four birdies and an eagle over his first 14 holes, getting to 15 under when he holed a 25-foot putt for a 3 at the par-5 14th. He bogeyed the next hole, but birdied the 18th to finish tied with Australia's Nick O'Hern (67)...

SEATTLE -- For the rest of the world, Joe Vitt may be an anonymous football coach. Seattle knows better. Vitt, for the last month the St. Louis Rams' interim coach in place of the recuperating Mike Martz, spent 10 of his 27 NFL coaching seasons in Seattle. It's where he cultivated a personality that Rams running back Steven Jackson this week called "scrappy."...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Jerod Void ran for 102 yards and a touchdown to lead Purdue to a 37-3 win over Illinois on Saturday, the second straight victory for the Boilermakers after six consecutive losses. Purdue (4-6, 2-5 Big Ten) won't play in a bowl game, but they saved themselves from finishing at the bottom of the league standings after starting the season ranked 15th in the country...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Scott Hartnell scored twice in the second period to help the Nashville Predators beat the slumping St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Saturday night for their third straight victory. The Blues are winless in their last 11 games. Hartnell tied it on a power play 58 seconds into the second period, and gave the Predators the lead with a short-handed goal at 7:59. The goal came 3 seconds after a St. Louis penalty expired, putting the Blues on the power play...

NEW ORLEANS -- The Audubon Zoo, which has been closed since Hurricane Katrina, will reopen on Nov. 25. "Reopening the zoo is a symbol that the heart and soul of New Orleans survives," said Ron Forman, Audubon Nature Institute president. Officials said all Audubon-operated facilities will reopen within the next few months, beginning with the zoo and the Audubon Golf Course...

HYTOP, Ala. -- After waiting nearly three decades to visit the jagged rock formation known as the Walls of Jericho, Olivia Howard was stunned by the view. Howard, a member of the Birmingham Sierra Club, gazed up at the semicircle of limestone walls towering around her. The bluffs resemble an ancient Greek theater smack in the wilderness of northeast Alabama on the Tennessee state line...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The relationship between this city and native son Muhammad Ali always comes back to a story, of the brash Olympic boxing champ then known as Cassius Clay tossing his 1960 gold medal into the Ohio River in disgust over entrenched racism...

Cape Girardeau...

The laughter of children is heard at noon from the playground at Jackson Middle School. Rough red pebbles cluster near the curved concrete walk to the porch, and evergreen branches point to the bay window. Forest green shutters set off earth-colored brick and muted light green siding...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Larry Brown's arms flapped at once, his right signaling to point guard Stephon Marbury and the left pointing a big man to his spot. It's amazing he didn't throw both hands up in frustration instead. The Knicks (0-5) were in the middle of another late-game collapse...

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan -- Health authorities Saturday launched a two-week campaign to immunize 800,000 children in divided Kashmir to prevent infectious disease from thriving in the crowded and sometimes squalid tent camps for earthquake survivors. Meanwhile, Pakistan and India opened a third crossing through their disputed Kashmir frontier as part of limited cooperation be-tween the nuclear rivals since the Oct. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Former President Jimmy Carter questioned the direction of the country and sharply criticized the Bush administration in a book tour stop here. "Everywhere you go, you hear, 'What has happened to the United States of America? We thought you used to be the champion of human rights. ...

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri principal has received one of the top teaching awards in the nation. He is the second educator in the state to do so. Bolivar Middle School principal Kevin Lowery was given the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award on Friday and a $25,000 check that goes with it...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When Hurricane Katrina flooded the basements and records rooms of New Orleans hospitals this summer, desperately ill patients faced rebuilding their medical histories from scratch. For 3,500 HIV-positive patients at the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans, the possibilities were even more dire as physicians treating them in shelters and hospitals across the nation couldn't prescribe treatment until they knew what medicines they had taken in the past to avoid combinations to which the virus had grown resistant.. ...

AMMAN, Jordan -- King Abdullah II called for a global fight against terrorism Saturday as Jordan acknowledged for the first time that al-Qaida in Iraq used three foreign suicide bombers to attack Amman hotels, killing 57 others. The devastating strike was masterminded by Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, signaling his group is able to launch terror attacks outside war-ravaged Iraq. ...

Loyalist Web sites report differing information. By Robert H. Reid The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Conflicting claims emerged Saturday over the reported death of Saddam Hussein's chief lieutenant -- believed by the United States to have played the key role in organizing the insurgency and the highest-ranking fugitive at large from the former regime...

PARIS -- Thousands of Parisian police guarded the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Elysees and train stations on Saturday, as part of emergency measures enacted in response to text messages and Internet postings that called for "violent actions" in the capital...

ORAN, Mo. -- Leslie Kluesner and Chris Harmon were married May 14, 2005, at Guardian Angel Catholic Church. The Rev. Gary Vollmer performed the ceremony. Music was provided by Dana Lynch of Oran and Craig Sutton of St. Louis. Soloist was Sutton. Parents of the couple are Mark and Janet Kluesner of Oran, and Jim and Judy Harmon of Imperial, Mo...

BUNCOMBE, Ill. -- Keith Martin, 52, of Buncombe died Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005, at his home. He was born Jan. 19, 1953, in Stonefort, Ill., son of Ernest and Myrtle Lambert Martin. Martin was a carpenter. Survivors include a daughter; Melanie Martin of Casselberry, Fla., his mother, Myrtle Martin of Jonesboro, Ill.; a brother, Red Martin of Jonesboro; four sisters, Marti Martin of Jonesboro, Judy Martin of Owensboro, Ky., Theresie Kinchius of Memphis, Tenn. and Maggie Kline of Ballwin, Mo...

ANNA, Ill. -- Charlene Elam Dillow, 81, of Anna died Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, at Jonesboro Rehab and Healthcare Center. She was born June 6, 1924, in Anna, daughter of Charles and Grace B. Allen. She and Harold D. Dillow Sr. were married May 15, 1954, in Corinth, Miss...

David Gerald Emmons, 63, of Scott City died Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 1, 1942, in Doniphan, Mo., son of William Robert Emmons and Mona Ester Nesbit. He and Lillian Helen Kielhofner were married Sept. 14, 1968, at Kelso, Mo...

Lola Mae Allen, 85, of Millersville passed away Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, at her daughter's home. She was born May 14, 1920, in Grassy, Mo., daughter of Elizabeth Guinn. She and Lloyd Allen were married March 30, 1946, in Jackson. He passed away March 20, 1993...

John A. Ing, 50, of Cape Girardeau died Nov. 10, 2005, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born on Oct. 21, 1955, in Cape Girardeau, son of Norman E. and Mary Cotner Ing. He and Nancy Rains were married on Dec. 30, 1996, in Wickliffe, Ky...

Cleo M. Leaming Long, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 1, 1915, in Forgan, Okla., daughter of Lester James and Myrtle Alice LeCrone Leaming. She and Vester "Dick" Long were married March 14, 1936, in Guyman, Okla. He preceded her in death May 31, 2003...

Emily Dorothy Gordon and Ryan Christopher Strickland exchanged vows March 5, 2005, at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Tucson, Ariz. The Rev. Susan Sauerberg performed the ceremony. Music was provided by the choir, under the direction of Helen Thoenes. Flutist was Steven Thoenes...

ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- Joe Harris McNeely, 75, of Alpharetta died Monday, Oct. 31, 2005, after a long battle with cancer. He was born April 28, 1930, in Cape Girardeau, son of Archie and Mildred McNeely. He and Nancy Lewis McNeely were married. McNeely attended Southeast Missouri State College and lived in St. ...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Thomas R. Wilson Jr., 38, of Sedalia died Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia. He was born March 20, 1967, in St. Louis County, Mo., son of Thomas R. and Lorene A. Kowalski Wilson. He graduated from Holcomb High School in 1984. Wilson was a horse groomer in St. Louis County and Sedalia, Mo...

SENATH, Mo. -- Nelson Robb "Bud" Fultz, 78, of Senath died Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, at Senath Nursing Home. He was born Sept. 25, 1927, in Wellston, Mo., son of Clarence N. and Nancy Haggin Fultz. Fultz graduated from Loyola University. He served in the Army and was a veteran of the Korean War. Fultz was an aircraft engineer, retiring in 1985. He was a member of 32nd Degree Masons, Scottish Rite, St. Mark Lodge, Toast Master, VFW Post 3838 and Eagles Lodge...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Ruby C. Hoffman, 93, of Perryville died Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, at Perry County Nursing Home. She was born Jan. 3, 1912, in Faulkton, S.D. She and Lucius J. Hoffman were married Nov. 23, 1938. He died in 1982. Hoffman worked at International Shoe Co. She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and its Ladies Sodality...

Brenda Rae Cronk and James Curtis Rutherford were united in marriage April 9, 2005, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Elkhart, Iowa. The Rev. Michael Amadeo performed the candlelight ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Leslie and Diane Cronk of Elkhart. The groom is the son of Jess and Jackie Rutherford of Oak Ridge...

Melissa Ann Knight and Bradley Dewayne Rohan exchanged vows Oct. 22, 2005, at Crossroads General Baptist Church in Greenville, Mo. Dale Rogers of Dexter, Mo., cousin of the bride, performed the ceremony. Music was by Cindy Reutzel of Lowndes, Mo. The bride is the daughter of Bill and Sandra Knight of Lowndes. The groom is the son of John Rohan of Puxico, Mo., and the late Yvonne Hopkins of Smithland, Ky...

ANNA, Ill. -- Ronnie Quick, 63, of Anna died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005, at Union County Hospital. He was born Sept. 6, 1942, in Lindy, Mo., son of Urias and Nellene McIntosh Quick. He and Eloise Plummer were married Oct. 21, 1961. Quick was a farmer and also in the masonry business with his brother...

Charlie Propst, 79, of Jackson died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005, at the Missouri Veterans Home. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

Can't afford it; Recycling schedule; Resume advice; Unfair criticism; Consider your future; Cemetery learning; Jackson transportation; Something positive; Wake-up call; Fantastic talent; Immigrant analogy; Wasting fuel

Not only did Southeast Missouri State's football team end its home schedule successfully, the Redhawks were also able to welcome back their defensive coordinator with a victory. Damon Bradford, who returned to Cape Girardeau only a few days ago after spending nearly the past 18 months serving in Iraq, was on the sidelines Saturday afternoon when the Redhawks beat Tennessee State 32-24...

Missouri's Hancock Amendment is a constitutional requirement, adopted by voters, that establishes caps on the growth in state revenue, with some exceptions for revenue generated by voter-approved taxes. Mainly, the amendment is aimed at preventing the legislature from increasing taxes on its own that would produce more revenue -- and more spending. Because state government is required to spend only what it takes in, it also tends to spend everything it gets...

FENTON, Mo. -- The Central boys soccer team had the wind on its side and a Class 3 quarterfinal opponent which hadn't scored a goal in 120 minutes of play in the sectional round as the Tigers headed into Saturday's matchup with Vianney at the Anheuser-Busch Center...

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce is basking in both state and national recognition as a major force promoting the best interests of the community it serves. During the chamber's annual appreciation dinner last month, the organization was informed that it would be recognized as the 2005 Chamber of Commerce of the Year by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- Sheila Beggs and Cameron Beggs of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Megan Summer Beggs, to Robert "Billy" Van Pelt. He is the son of Edward and Tanya Sadler of Chaffee, Mo. Beggs is a 2001 graduate of Kelly High School, and received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Southeast Missouri State University in 2004. She is an adult community support worker at Bootheel Counseling Services...

Ray and Barb Beel of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Olivia Marie Beel, to Stanley Keith Hancock, both of Pacific, Mo. He is the son of Bobbie and Rick Ruebsam of Florissant, Mo., and Stan and Lisa Hancock of Sunset Hills, Mo. Beel received a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri in St. Louis...

Wayne and Kathy Mattes of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Rebecca Ann Mattes, to Kerry Timothy White. He is the son of Kathleen White of Fairfield, Conn., and the late Thomas White. Mattes is a 1999 graduate of Notre Dame High School, and received a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Southeast Missouri State University in 2003. She is a second grade teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Jackson...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. William Darrell Dollins celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Oct. 29, 2005, with a surprise dinner and reception at the VFW Hall in Morley. Hosts were their daughters and sons-in-law, Vicki and Kenny Newell of Patton, Mo., and Donna and Brian McMillan of Jackson...

25 years ago: Nov. 13, 1980 Shoot high and take what the legislature offers was the advice several Southeast Missouri legislators had Wednesday for Southeast Missouri State University president Bill Stacy, when he asked them how much money the school should request from the state for its upcoming fiscal year budget...

Good job, Bulldogs Congratulations to coach Bill Davis and the state champion cross country team at Notre Dame. I'm not sure how many coaches have won state championships at more than one school in any sport but I'm sure it's not many. I have seen first-hand the winning style coach Davis uses to get the most out of his athletes. Not only do they excel but they genuinely like him as well. It's great to see that nice guys don't always finish last...

Coad records ace at Dalhousie Golf Club Tim Coad made his second career hole in one -- and his second in two months -- at Dalhousie Golf Club on Thursday. Coad used a 7-iron to ace the 160-yard, par-3 11th hole. Witnesses were Forrest Kidd, Adam Kidd and Brevin Giebler...

Saturday's Veterans Day parade didn't have its usual complement of bands. By Monday, no high school or college bands had agreed to join Saturday's parade, according to Deborah Griffen, president of the local VFW Ladies Auxiliary. The bands were either busy or had conflicting schedules, she said...

The Missouri State Government Review Commission wants Gov. Matt Blunt to create 11 interdepartmental coordination councils so state services handled by several departments can be delivered more efficiently. The councils would use existing staff and resources...

Husband-and-wife journalists Bob Miller and Callie Clark Miller share the same small house, tiny bathroom and even the same office. But not always the same opinion. The Southeast Missourian sweethearts offer their views on every-day issues, told from two different perspectives...

SHELBY, Miss. -- A restaurant owner is under investigation after he apparently tried to sell the meat of a cottonmouth moccasin to customers, police said. Eddie Boone, a city worker, said he sold the owner of James Quality Market the venomous snake, which he had killed with a pipe while he was cleaning streets...

Calif. city uses nonlethal means to control squirrels DEL MAR, Calif. -- One Southern California city just got a little safer for squirrels. City officials in Del Mar, north of San Diego, agreed to stop using poison to control the squirrel population, to the delight of animal rights activists. ...

Muslim crowd burns two churches in Pakistan LAHORE, Pakistan -- Hundreds of Muslims attacked and burned two churches in Pakistan on Saturday after reports that a Christian man had desecrated Islam's holy book. No one was injured in the blazes. A school, student hostel and the home of a priest were also torched by the crowd of about 1,500 Muslims near the town of Sangla Hill, about 80 miles northeast of Lahore, said police official Ali Asghar Dogar. ...

WASHINGTON -- The Democrats have enlisted a retired Marine general to attack the Bush administration on Veterans Day over its care for the nation's vets. Retired Marine General Joseph Hoar used the Democrats' weekly radio address to say President Bush consistently refuses to provide enough money for veterans' health care...

The Rev. Fred Daley, a gay Roman Catholic priest, had grown increasingly disturbed by Vatican pronouncements over the years that homosexuals were unfit for the clergy. Then the situation escalated -- some church leaders suggested that gays were responsible for the clergy sex abuse crisis. ...

NEW YORK -- Scores of families gathered in a seaside neighborhood Saturday to observe the fourth anniversary of one of the nation's deadliest airline disasters. The crash of American Airlines Flight 587 on a quiet residential block in the Belle Harbor section of Queens killed 265 people -- including five on the ground -- on Nov. 12, 2001, at a time when the city was still reeling from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center...

The Southeast Missouri State women wrapped up their two-game exhibition schedule with another blowout. Now it's on to Texas Tech. The Redhawks had their final tuneup for the nationally ranked Red Raiders, routing Division II Christian Brothers University 85-41 Saturday night at the Show Me Center...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri's once-commanding 24-point lead had been whittled to only eight when coach Gary Pinkel took a risk and put the game in Brad Smith's hands. Maybe it wasn't such a big gamble after all. Smith's 56-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 late in the game was the decisive score that helped the Tigers beat Baylor 31-16 Saturday and become bowl eligible for the second time in three seasons...

Southeast Missouri State basketball fans who have been licking their chops for the season to start won't have much longer to wait. Both Southeast teams tip off what figure to be interesting campaigns Friday night, although with much different opening challenges...

It wasn't the kind of emphatic victory Southeast Missouri State was looking for to finish off its two-game exhibition schedule. But the Redhawks, despite sputtering much of the way, did just enough to hold off Division II Arkansas Tech 59-55 at the Show Me Center Saturday night...

Southeast Missouri State won't receive any style points for Saturday's performance. But as hard as wins have been to come by for the Redhawks this year, they couldn't care less about being stylish. Southeast's offense struggled much of the game, but the Redhawks' defense and special teams came up big to spark a 32-24 victory over Tennessee State...