Stories from Thursday, November 17, 2005

Finding ways to replenish the country's dwindling energy supply is perhaps the most pressing concern in agriculture today, according to Missouri Farm Bureau president Charles Kruse. "We've backed ourselves into a corner," Kruse said Thursday, speaking to students at Southeast Missouri State University. "And it's not just a problem in the agricultural community. It's the whole country."...

A former Cape Girardeau man was found in the trunk of a burning car in southwest Missouri Saturday. Two people have been charged in his death, authorities said. The body of Ricky L. Fischer, 41, of Springfield, Mo., was found by the Willard Fire Department on Interstate 44 east of Springfield...

At 13, Jessica tried her first cigarette. Todd was 15 when he lit up. Nadine was 12. Up until that time, they all led different lives. They came from different types of families. After that, their stories of addiction are pretty much the same: peer pressure led to their first cigarettes, which led to trouble at home and school...

Nov. 17, 2005 Dear Leslie, Vacations are a necessity, not a luxury. A week alone on the Gulf Coast taught me that. It had been almost a year since DC and I went to Orlando to see Mickey. I was starting to feel like a wind-up toy wound too tight...

A Tamms, Ill., man pleaded guilty on Monday to the Oct. 14, 2004, robbery of a Cape Girardeau bank. James E. Cusick, 31, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing was set for Feb. 27. At his plea, Cusick admitted handing a teller a note demanding cash and tapping his gun on the counter. He fled from the Bank of America on foot with $1,514...

A father accused of keeping his two children in an unsanitary home waived a preliminary hearing on the charges Wednesday, sending the case to circuit court. The case began June 22, when Cape Girardeau police and workers from the Missouri Children's Division visited the home of Denver M. ...

More than 175 parents of students at Jefferson Elementary filled the gym and cafeteria Wednesday during Take Your Parent to School Day. "It's our best turnout ever," principal Mark Cook said. "It's a tradition, part of the culture of the school."...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Dee Brown would rather be with his friends Luther Head and Deron Williams making millions in the NBA. His backup plan isn't bad, though. He's the big man on campus, even starring in a commercial touting Illinois' academic ideals. His foot, broken during the NBA's predraft camp, has healed and he's a preseason All-America heading into his senior season with the Illini...

BUSAN, South Korea -- Counseling resolve and patience, President Bush sought a show of unity today with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on demands that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program. Among those gathering here for a 21-nation summit were the leaders of the five countries -- the United States, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan -- negotiating with North Korea for its nuclear disarmament...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams coach Joe Vitt had little to say Wednesday about a Sports Illustrated article critical of his defensive tackles. In Michael Silver's story in this week's edition, an overview of the Rams' troubles and front-office squabbles, an anonymous player ripped the team's trio of first-round picks at defensive tackle...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- NFL owners voted Wednesday to tentatively award Kansas City a Super Bowl, largely as a tribute to owner Lamar Hunt, who gave the game its name. The award comes with one giant string attached: improvements to Arrowhead Stadium, including a rolling roof to keep out the February cold. The team estimates the cost of the roof alone at $100 million to $200 million -- and that's not counting $300 million or so the Chiefs say they need in stadium upgrades...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The St. Louis Blues' lost month is finally over. Lee Stempniak had a goal and an assist in the third period, and Curtis Sanford posted his second career shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night that ended the Blues' franchise-record, 11-game losing skid...

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles couldn't win without Terrell Owens. Now they won't have Donovan McNabb. The five-time Pro Bowl quarterback will miss Philadelphia's game against the New York Giants on Sunday with a groin injury. Mike McMahon, who had been the third-string quarterback, will get the start over backup Koy Detmer...

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Despite having no seniors on scholarship, Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery doesn't expect his Salukis to have trouble adjusting from young apprentices to a group capable of grabbing the regular-season conference title and NCAA tournament berth for a fifth year in a row...

Abused Iraqi prisoners of all Muslim sects BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A top Interior Ministry official said Wednesday the 173 malnourished prisoners found by U.S. forces included all Iraqi sects, playing down allegations of a campaign by Shiite-led security forces to suppress Sunni Arabs ahead of next month's election. ...

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- A delay in state funding for a project that would bring a biopharming company to northwest Missouri does not mean the state no longer supports the plan, a state official said Wednesday. However, House Budget Committee chairman Brad Lager, R-Maryville, said his suggestion that the state freeze funding for new or proposed projects could include the much-touted plan to bring Ventria Bioscience from California to the Northwest Missouri State University campus in Maryville...

Inflation slows down; natural gas prices rise WASHINGTON -- Helped by a retreat in gasoline prices, consumer inflation slowed last month after racing ahead in September at the fastest clip in a quarter-century. But natural gas prices rose sharply, a troubling sign for the upcoming home heating season. ...

EDMOND, Okla. -- Tasha Henderson got tired of her 14-year-old daughter's poor grades, her chronic lateness to class and her talking back to her teachers, so she decided to teach the girl a lesson. She made Coretha stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection Nov. 4 with a cardboard sign that read: "I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food."...

25 years ago: Nov. 17, 1980 Cape Girardeau County Court approves a new one-year contract with Cape County Private Ambulance Service Inc. calling for payment of a $119,500 subsidy; the new agreement amounts to a $14,500 increase in the subsidy. About 100 people, representing scores of local businesses, are afforded one of the first on-site looks at the progress in West Park Mall during a guided tour conducted by the mall's developers; work on the 510,000-square-foot shopping center is progressing on schedule toward a target completion date of March 1981.. ...

Ricky Lynn Fischer, 41, of Springfield, Mo., died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005, as the result of a homicide on Interstate 44 east of Springfield. He was born Dec. 15, 1963, in Cape Girardeau, son of Delbert Ray and Linda Long Fischer. Fischer was a car detailer in the Springfield area...

Koerner; Sorbello; McGuire; Towe; Robins; Brown; Ford; Wessel; Campbell

Norris Ray Grissom, 63, of Benton, Ky., died Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005, at Murray-Calloway County Hospital in Murray, Ky. He was the son of Lois and Gollie Grissom. He married the former Patsy Phelps. Grissom was a former sheriff of Mississippi County, Mo. He was with Missouri State Highway Patrol 15 years, was an insurance salesman and a radio vendor...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Jose "Texas Joe" Dominguez, 50, of Jonesboro died Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. He was born April 22, 1955, in Corpus Christi, Texas, son of Domingo and Celia Castillo Dominguez. Dominguez was a radio disc jockey 30 years, and had worked at WIBH in Anna and also in Austin and Houston, Texas...

To the editor; I cannot believe my country is even discussing that the CIA should have the legal right to torture prisoners. Have we become our enemy? To rid Iraq of a dictator who used torture rooms was one justification given for going to war. My husband sent the following e-mail to U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, who is one of nine senators (out of 99 who voted) opposing the first McCain amendment, which bars torture by our military personnel:...

To the editor: I cannot believe how two-faced Republican leaders have become. Veterans Day is a day for real veterans. U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, who has a son who is a Marine Corps officer, put a letter in my local newspaper thanking veterans for their service. But he has voted five times against VA funding to take care of veterans who have been hurt in the defense of their country...

Enforce the code; Liberal changes; Strong response; Socio-economic issues; Freedom to speak out; Magic solution; Quick learners; Faith in America

Habitat for Humanity is recognized as a success story everywhere. It pulls volunteers and families in need of affordable housing together. "Affordable housing" for Habitat means prospective homeowners who provide a minimum of 350 hours of sweat equity and no-interest mortgages that put monthly payments well within reach and usually lower than rent...

WASHINGTON -- Hoping to reverse the deterioration of pension plans covering 44 million Americans, the Senate voted Wednesday to force companies to make up underfunding estimated at $450 billion and live up to promises made to employees. The action came a day after the federal agency that insures such plans reported massive liabilities and predicted a troubled future...

WASHINGTON -- Even after Richard Nixon's secret war in Cambodia became known, he persisted in deception. "Publicly, we say one thing," he told aides. "Actually, we do another." Newly declassified documents from the Nixon years shed light on the Vietnam War, the struggle with the Soviet Union for global influence and a president who tried not to let public and congressional opinion get in his way...

SBC group gives $26,000 to two area groups The SBC Corporation Foundation gave $26,000 in grants for technology upgrades to two area groups on Wednesday. The $20,000 upgrade will allow the faith-based Project HOPE to aid people in job training and match them with mentors. ...

The federal government plans to spend millions to repair Clearwater Lake dam, repair the Cape Girardeau floodwall, among other water projects in Southeast Missouri. Congress late last week passed spending bills that include more than $39 million for 15 programs and projects in the region...

LOS ANGELES -- Ralph Edwards got a small town in New Mexico to change its name to Truth or Consequences, after his big hit 1940 radio show. He consistently tricked famous people and everyday citizens alike on his popular 1950s show "This Is Your Life."...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

Meeting date slated for neighborhood group The Neighborhood Connection group will meet at 6 p.m. today at 101 N. Fountain St. Guest speakers include Charles Horn and Melinda Salvator with the East Missouri Action Agency. The presentation is on affordable housing...

With 19 newly sworn-in Court Appointed Special Advocates, this year's 2005 CASA graduating class was the largest since 1994. Recruitment for the volunteers, who must invest 30 hours in pre-service training and an additional 12 hours of training per year, began in July. ...

Tentative Patriot Act deal would curb FBI power WASHINGTON -- House and Senate negotiators have struck a tentative deal on the expiring Patriot Act that would curb the FBI's investigative power and require the Justice Department to more fully report its secret requests for information about ordinary people. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- While thrilled to be entrusted with creating a memorial to Lewis and Clark's brief visit two centuries ago to this outpost near where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet, Evertt Beidler found the work itself to be a bit of an adventure...

One of the most awesome sights, and rarest, in the world is a guy in a tuxedo with a long, metal-inspired headbanging haircut. A whole band of those guys on the same stage is even better. And it's this sight that probably best sums up the Trans-Siberian Orchestra -- a large assortment of musicians schooled in heavy rock with a touch of high class...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams hates to admit it, but he entered the season with a few fears. It's different now, though. The sophomore is gaining confidence and adjusting well to a position he had not played until this past spring...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson has accepted the inevitable. Unless Tony Stewart makes his first major mistake in the Chase for the Championship, the best Johnson can do is finish second in the race for the Nextel Cup title. "He is in control of the championship in my mind, and I hate to admit that," Johnson lamented. "If I go out and do all that I can and lead the race and lead the most laps, then it's just in his hands from there as to where he finishes and what happens."...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams offensive guard Tom Nutten, who nearly retired last year due to injuries, is hurt again. Nutten, who started six games this season, was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday with a neck injury that's gotten progressively worse in recent weeks. Rookie Claude Terrell has started three of the last four games...

Southeast Missouri State volleyball coach Renata Nowacki was elated that two of her players made the all-Ohio Valley Conference teams released on Wednesday. She's also hoping Jessica Koeper and Jamie Baumstark will continue with their high standards of play as the six-team OVC Tournament begins Friday in Charleston, Ill...

BEIJING -- China reported its first human cases of bird flu on the mainland Wednesday, including at least one fatality, as health workers armed with vaccine and disinfectant raced to inoculate billions of chickens and other poultry in a massive campaign to contain the virus...

It seems as if all the area high schools holding fall plays decided upon a single theme -- let's make a comedy in which the plot revolves around a dead person. The Jackson High School Thespians were the first, with "The Butler Did It," and Notre Dame Regional High School soon followed with "Blithe Spirit."...

We can wax poetic all we want about the benefits of getting older; we can even convince ourselves that gray is the new black and square dancing is not so square after all. But let's get real...

Jill Kennedy has stood on a podium in Athens to receive a medal. She has competed among the best in the world in powerlifting competitions in the Middle East and Australia. She has thrown the discus and the shot put in Finland. She has won national championships and ranks among the best athletes in the world in her events, in her divisions...