Stories from Sunday, November 20, 2005

John vividly remembers the day about 16 years ago when he went from being a recreational cocaine user to a crack addict. "It was at a party, and we were snorting cocaine, and that had a lot of appeal to me. I was a speeder, I was into moving fast and feeling brilliant, and that's what the drug does to you, it makes you feel powerful."...

The area craft shows this weekend are a family affair -- for buyers and sellers alike. "We look forward to it every year," said Karen Lacewell of Cape Girardeau. She and her daughter, Kerry, began shopping Friday night at the Bavarian Halle in Fruitland. On Saturday, they arrived at the Osage Community Centre as soon as it opened. Around noon, they left with a polished wooden rocking horse with a cotton mane...

The federal No Child Left Behind Act demands proof that all children are learning and raises the bar for schools, especially in teaching students on the low end of the public schools' academic scale. However, some say gifted students aren't learning as much as they could...

Historic preservation enthusiasts anxious to avoid a repeat of the October vandalism at Old Lorimier Cemetery want elaborate security measures. More lights, taller fences and video surveillance top the list. The cost, which is unknown, would be paid through a fund-raising campaign and city funds, they said...

The Joplin (Mo.) Globe Those individuals who are weary of setting and resetting their timepieces and their internal clocks twice every year can blame Benjamin Franklin and Congress. But if you enjoy daylight-saving time, you'll find 2007 to your liking. It will be extended by four weeks...

The Sedalia (Mo.) Democrat The Kansas State Board of Education has taken another whack at science with its revision of the state science curriculum standards. The new standards cast doubt on the validity of scientific explanations for the origin of life on Earth and the theory of evolution. Students should be taught that these scientific ex-planations are "controversial," the standards say...

NEW YORK -- Literacy is a life lesson -- beginning at the first cry or coo, and basically never ending -- so to get people psyched up for something that can seem daunting, it's best to get them hooked young. Reading aloud to infants, toddlers, preschoolers and then schoolchildren and beyond might be the best bait, says Dawnene D. Hassett, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the department of curriculum and instruction...

NEW YORK -- It's nice to have the whole family together at the Thanksgiving table -- and that includes the youngest members. But it wouldn't be nice to expect those celebrating their first Thanksgiving to just sit and coo while everyone else chows. James Boyce, the executive chef at Studio at Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach, Calif., developed a recipe that gives the flavor of the season in a form even infants can enjoy...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Nurses trying to provide the compassionate care expected of them sometimes confront patients who ask for more -- like sex, or at least a little sexual stimulation. While nursing advocates acknowledge that most of the sexual harassment nurses encounter comes from co-workers, doctors or other parties, they say such harassment from patients is common...

TEETHWAL, India -- For the first time in 58 years, Indians legally walked into Pakistan on Saturday after a landmark decision to open divided Kashmir's heavily militarized border. The temporary measure -- aimed at reuniting families after the earthquake that devastated the region -- may go a long way toward easing tensions between the two nuclear rivals...

CAIRO, Egypt -- A surprise showing in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections has given the Muslim Brotherhood its strongest political foothold ever heading into Sunday's vote, hinting at what democracy might look like in the Arab world's largest country...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Three Illinois residents driving to a family funeral in Texas were killed late Friday when the car they were riding in was struck and tore in half by a tractor trailer. Springfield Police Lt. Jay Huff said Ruby G. Espino, 64, of South Chicago Heights, Ill., was heading to a brother's funeral in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the 1990 Cadillac she was driving crossed the median and was hit by the truck...

ST. LOUIS -- Kurt Warner led the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls and won a pair of MVP awards, and legions of fans still have not come to grips with his departure. Dial up sports talk radio any day during the football season, and invariably the perceived shoddy treatment regarding Warner losing the starting job to Marc Bulger in 2003 -- and his ultimate release before the 2004 season -- will come up. ...

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Carl Edwards keeps doing things nobody expects. Edwards, nearing the end of his first full season in NASCAR Nextel Cup with a mathematical chance to overtake veterans Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson for the championship, won the pole for today's season-ending Ford 400...

Annika Sorenstam survived gusty conditions Saturday to barely stay in the lead at the season-ending ADT Championship in West Palm Beach, Fla. Sorenstam played cautious on the final hole and settled for a bogey, giving her a 2-over 74 to end her streak of nine consecutive rounds at par or better at Trump International. The only good news was her one-shot lead over Marisa Baena and Liselotte Neumann as she tries to win for the 10th time this year...

OVC football EIU captures league crown JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- Chip Keys scored on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter to give Eastern Illinois a 10-6 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday. Eastern Illinois (9-2, 8-0) finished with a perfect Ohio Valley Conference record after the come-from-behind win and claimed the league's NCAA tournament berth...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The first thing you'll probably notice is the shark. At 17 feet long, it's the biggest ever caught on rod and reel. What's left of its two terrifying tons now hangs preserved above a dull warehouse floor. There are also medieval torture devices, human skull drinking glasses, a Coke bottle-shaped coffin and curious mix of embalmed livestock born with too many heads or limbs. These items and many more are stored in a central Florida warehouse -- all without an audience...

WASHINGTON -- The House late on Friday overwhelmingly rejected calls for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, a vote engineered by Republicans that was intended to fail. Democrats derided the vote as a political stunt. "Our troops have become the enemy. We need to change direction in Iraq," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a Democratic hawk whose call a day earlier for pulling out troops sparked a nasty, personal debate over the war...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

Neatly trimmed shrubs line the front of this ranch-style, multi-colored tan brick home with dark green shutters. A short walk down the road leads to the start of the Cape LaCroix recreation trail. The white front door opens to small foyer that leads to the white walls and carpet of the living room with a lighted ceiling fan hanging from a cathedral ceiling. The living room, at the center of the house, provides direct access to the kitchen, basement, dining room and bedrooms...

Plans for creating a metropolitan planning organization for Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City and Cape Girardeau County are back on the front burner. An MPO is considered important to the area mainly because it gives more local control over transportation planning: highways, interchanges, bridges, airports. And an MPO would be able to integrate transit operations that currently are segmented among several funding sources and responsible agencies...

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...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Angry that a student didn't get a longer suspension for bringing a Taser stun gun to school in October, nearly half of the teachers at a Kansas City high school called in sick Friday. Students at Central High School started the day in the gymnasium after 32 of the school's 70 teachers didn't show up, district spokesman Edwin Birch said. Eventually, substitutes and other staff were used to fill the vacancies...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The owners and an employee of a now-defunct Florida company have been charged with falsifying test records for metal that was to be made into nuclear missile components. A two-count fraud indictment returned Wednesday accuses Timothy J. Muldoon, 53, and Tina A. Muldoon, 46, and sales manager Russell B. Cohen, 47, of forging test documents to show they had performed required quality testing on 48 metal bars...

Difference of opinion I READ with interest the article on Lauren Lueders signing with Vanderbilt. Congratulations to her. She's certainly a great player. But I must take issue with Saxony Lutheran coach John Daniels' outrageous statement that he's seen every girls basketball player in Southeast Missouri since 1974 and that Lauren Lueders is by far the best player that he has seen. ...

WARE, Ill. -- Dora "Tiny" Hancock, 53, of Ware died Friday, Nov. 18, 2005, in Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born May 14, 1952, in Anna, Ill., daughter of Everett Lee and Flora L. Connell Davis. Hancock was a member of the First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Ill...

Emma Dean Bomar, 26 days, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005, at her home. She was born Oct. 24, 2005, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Richard H. and Becky J. Wagganer Bomar. Bomar is survived by her parents of Cape Girardeau; a sister, Bethany Bomar of Cape Girardeau; a maternal grandmother, Ann Wagganer of Cape Girardeau; a paternal grandfather, Craig Bomar of Cape Girardeau; and her great-grandparents, Richard and Dora Bomar of Cape Girardeau...

Jo Ella Mae Ryan, 77, of Naperville, Ill., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Nov. 18, 2005, in Naperville. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Chapel. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Old Hanover Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Robert Azinger officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Ruth Ellen Pell-Crites-Cox, 87, of Alexandria, Va., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005, at her home. She was born April 7, 1918, in Commerce, Mo., and grew up in Cape Girardeau. She and Joe M. Crites were married in 1942; he died in 1969. She married Bruce Cox in 1980, and he survives...

BENTON, Mo. -- Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Glaus, 65, of Benton died Friday, Nov. 18, 2005, at his home. He was born Nov. 8, 1940, at Cape Girardeau, son of Lawrence and Virginia M. LeGrand Glaus. He and Suzi Eachus were married Jan. 29, 1968, at Benton...

ARNOLD, Mo. -- Carl A. Meyer, 57, of Arnold died Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005. He was born Dec. 5, 1947, at Conway, Ark., son of August and Mildred Maxey Meyer. He was a manager in the trucking industry and a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Vietnam era. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Strite Meyer; two sons, Chris (Amanda Loesing) Meyer, Matt Meyer; two brothers, Robert (Rebecca) Meyer, Lee (Barb) Meyer; a sister, Becky (Lance) Aldridge; his in-laws, Robert and Melba Strite...

Jean Seay, 82, of Cape Girardeau died at Ratliff Care Center Nov. 16, 2005, on the anniversary of the death of her husband, John Gray Seay Sr., who died Nov. 16, 1999. She and Mr. Seay were married Oct. 17, 1942, in Clayton, Mo. She was born Jan. 16, 1923, in St. Louis, the only child of Frank and Florence Snadden Ruehl...

Enough bickering; Honoring veterans; Knowing when to stop; Awesome, amazing; Time to change; Magical evening; Wonderful art; More pork

KELSO, Mo. -- Clarence Arthur "Butch" Job, 72, of Kelso died Friday, Nov. 18, 2005, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 22, 1933, in Cape Girardeau, son of Arthur and Ella Schwabb Job. He and Mary Kathlyn Ressel were married July 11, 1959, in Kelso...

Grace Bible Church was the setting Oct. 22, 2005, for the wedding of Alisha Renee Walther and James Michael Curtis. Fred Burgard performed the ceremony. Vocalists were Fred Burgard and the bride. Richard and Carolyn Walther of Fruitland are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Freda and Dennis Savat of McClure, Ill., and Clyde Curtis of Morley, Mo...

Sheila Jean Madden and Matthew Zachary Miller exchanged vows Aug. 6, 2005, at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Evergreen Park, Ill. The Rev. Michael Foley performed the ceremony. Lectors were Jennifer Miller of Schaumburg, Ill., sister-in-law of the groom, and Bill Springer of Cape Girardeau. Organist and soloist was Christine Rojek of Evergreen Park...

25 years ago: Nov. 20, 1980 Calling his decision primarily one of economic necessity, Cape Girardeau Mayor Paul W. Stehr announced yesterday he won't seek a new term on the city council; Stehr, who has served three terms on the board, will leave office at the end of his present term in April...

Morgan; Shemonic; Nabors; Carter; Masters

ORAN, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Herman Joe Ressel of Oran will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a family dinner at their home Thanksgiving Day. Hosts will be their children. Ressel and Doris Evelyn Wills were married Nov. 24, 1955, at Guardian Angel Catholic Church by Monsignor Charles Schmidt...

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Seyer of Cape Girardeau recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Following Mass Oct. 22, 2005, officiated by the Rev. James A. Seyer, a dinner and dance was held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Scott City. Hosts were their children, Beverly Essner, Walter and Chris Seyer of Kelso, Jeff Seyer of Edwardsville, Ill., Ken Seyer of Jefferson City, Mo., Roger Seyer of New York, N.Y., Steve Seyer of Germantown, Tenn., and Teresa Givens of Cape Girardeau...

Marcos Barcelos and Carmen Barcelos of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, announce the engagement of their daughter, Laize Ferras Dias Barcelos, to Gary Ray Corse Jr. He is the son of Steve and Kathy Williams of Cape Girardeau. Barcelos is a 1998 graduate of a high school in Brazil, and is doing graduate work in speech language pathology and audiology at Towson University in Towson, Md...

Paul and Nancy Doza of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Holly Michelle Doza, to Joseph Thomas Ruggeri, both of St. Louis. He is the son of John and Cindy Ruggeri of Katy, Texas. Doza is a 1999 graduate of Central High School, and received a bachelor's degree in health sciences from Maryville University in St. Louis in 2003. She is an admissions representative at Missouri College in St. Louis...

Linda and David Boren of Cape Girardeau and Darrel and Charlotte Wunderlich of San Antonio, Texas, announce the engagement of their daughter, Leslie Wunderlich, to Greg Hellwege. He is the son of Don and Sue Hellwege of Cape Girardeau. Wunderlich expects to receive a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University in December. She is employed at Saint Francis Medical Center...

Kumiko Nakayama and Greg William Macke exchanged wedding vows May 3, 2005, in Karatsu, Japan. The bride is the daughter of Takako Nakayama of Karatsu, and the late Naotaka Nakayama. Parents of the groom are Ray and Jo Ann Knoll and Paul and Sharon Macke, all of Jackson...

To the editor: On Nov. 12, my friend and I went to see the Veterans Day parade that was to come up Broadway in Cape Girardeau. There was an anticipation of seeing the veterans proudly marching. The veterans were there. Where was the public support? It was a beautiful day. ...

To the editor; I -- like my acquaintance of many years, Roger Hays -- had the privilege of serving our great nation as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War. But that's where our commonality ends. Once again, Roger has his facts wrong. The truth is the American veteran has no better friend in the U.S. Senate than Kit Bond. Senator Bond's record of sponsoring bills supporting Veterans speaks volumes...

Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Kluesner of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 24, 2005, with a reception, dinner and dance held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Jackson. Kluesner and Dorothy Morie were married Oct. 1, 1955, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson...

Milford Allen, 73, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

NEW YORK -- The last time conductor David Robertson led the St. Louis Symphony in a performance of Claude Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun," he had only 30 minutes of rehearsal to devote to it. Called at the last minute to fill in for the orchestra's then-ailing music director, Hans Vonk, he accepted the challenge and saved the night back in February 2002...

If Fort D in Cape Girardeau hasn't gotten much public attention, Scott House doesn't think it's because people don't care. He thinks it's because they don't know. They don't know, for example, that it's one of only three surviving Civil War earthwork fortifications in Missouri. Or that Union soldiers dug shelters into the hillside to escape the cold or passed the time bowling on the grounds in south Cape Girardeau with homemade wooden pins and 32-pound cannon balls...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Northwestern's offense rolled up three dozen first downs and 596 yards, but a third-quarter interception by a defensive tackle was Randy Walker's pick for play of the day in the Wildcats' 38-21 win over Illinois on Saturday. "It was that spark, that catalyst. We gave our offense another possession," said Walker, the Wildcats coach. "It was huge, probably the play of the game."...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- In a political universe unaccustomed to single-name celebrities there are "Hillary" and "Rudy." Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the only former first lady ever elected to public office. Republican Rudolph Giuliani is the man dubbed "America's Mayor" for his leadership after terrorists struck his city, New York, on Sept. 11, 2001...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Daniel Alvarado said he was kidnapped by government agents in El Salvador, hung blindfolded from a ceiling, shocked with electrical wires and repeatedly beaten. More than two decades later, a federal jury in Tennessee has held a former Salvadoran Army colonel responsible for the torture. ...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Southeast Missouri State football team prepared to board a bus Friday morning when the news came. "It was really surprising," senior defensive end Justin Komondoreas said following Saturday's 31-24 loss at Tennessee Tech in the Redhawks' season finale...

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The National Baseball Hall of Fame is open year-round, but Cooperstown's "Candlelight Evening" takes place just once a year. This year, the holiday tradition -- which includes a visit from Santa, wagon and sleigh rides, caroling and children's activities -- is scheduled for Dec. 18. The centerpiece of the event is the illumination by candlelight of the 19th-century homes and shops in the Farmers' Museum...

DETROIT -- Mike Sillinger and Doug Weight scored in the third period to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. Jamal Mayers also scored to help the Blues win their second straight after losing 11 in a row. Curtis Sanford made 33 saves in the victory, St. Louis' first over Detroit in nine games (0-7-1) since Oct. 29, 2003...

CHICAGO -- In 1955 in a small, nondescript church, the mutilated body of 14-year-old Emmett Till was put on display in an open casket because his mother wanted the nation to see what racism looked like. Historians and activists call that one of the most significant early statements about civil rights and now, a half-century later, there is a movement to turn that church, the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, into a historic city landmark...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide bomber detonated his car in a crowd of Shiite mourners north of Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 36 people and raising the death toll in two days of attacks against Shiites to more than 120. Five American soldiers died in roadside bombings...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Tropical Storm Gamma deluged the coast of Central America on Saturday, killing at least six people -- three in flooding in Honduras and three in the crash of a small plane belonging to a Belize lodge owned by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola...

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team struggled mightily with its hitting on Saturday and fell in three games to top-seeded Eastern Kentucky in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Charleston, Ill. Eastern Kentucky ended Southeast's season with a 30-23, 30-24, 30-22 win...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Southeast Missouri State's football team sent its departing coach out with an exciting game if not a victory. The Redhawks rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and scored the tying touchdown with 34 seconds remaining Saturday afternoon...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Bill Snyder stood at the podium with a smile and a confession. "If there was any good coaching today," he said, "it wasn't by me. The assistants did a great job. ... I was just there." Snyder joked and choked up by turns, at one point stopping to say, "OK, now I'm just rambling," after Kansas State's 36-28 victory over Missouri on Saturday, his last game as the Wildcats' coach...

ST. LOUIS -- Living in the moment is not uncommon when a family has a child struggling with cancer: family members need to get the facts, commit to sometimes grueling treatment and hold their lives together. But as the numbers of childhood cancer survivors increases nationwide, so too has the understanding that cancer, and the treatments used to fight it, can result in medical, educational or personal complications years later...

By Dr. Carter D. Ward The 65 percent solution for school funding being proposed by Gov. Matt Blunt is simply a shell game that will do nothing to improve student achievement in Missouri's public schools. The proposal, which is the creation of Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, would require school districts to spend at least 65 percent of their budgets on what the proposal defines as "classroom instruction."...

By Dr. Arnold E. Bell This is a letter I sent to state Sen. Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau, who represents the 27th District in the Missouri Senate: Dear Senator Crowell: Thank you for the information on the 65 percent mandate. I was aware of the possible push by the governor's office a couple of months ago. I was not then, nor am I now, supportive of such a mandate...

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A magnitude-6.5 quake struck an island off the coast of Sumatra on Saturday, triggering a tsunami alert, officials said. The quake's epicenter was located on Simeulue Island, about 160 miles southwest of Medan on Sumatra's west coast, according to the U.S. ...

Three thousand. That's how many calories the average Thanksgiving meal contains. To burn off 3000 calories, the average person would have to jog for nearly four hours. Four hours of jogging in exchange for one meal? The math doesn't add up to an enjoyable holiday...

I have to say I was pretty stunned when I heard the news Friday that Tim Billings will no longer be Southeast Missouri State's football coach. While Billings officially resigned -- he coached his final game Saturday when the Redhawks ended the season at Tennessee Tech -- he was basically ushered out by the administration with two years remaining on his contract...