Stories from Wednesday, December 21, 2005

A woman who admitted entering the homes of several Cape Girardeau senior citizens to steal drugs could face more charges. The Cape Girardeau police arrested Cynthia L. Koerner, 23, Monday morning as she dropped her child off at a day-care center on Independence Street. She was wanted on a warrant revoking her bond and was due in court for sentencing later in the morning...

Area residents can expect a wet, though not necessarily a white Christmas this year. Meteorologists say there is a chance for a mixture of rain and snow flurries starting Saturday, and possibly carrying over into Sunday. "But we're not expecting any snow depth at this time," said Jim Packett, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky...

Jolly laughter rang through neighborhoods all over Cape Girardeau Tuesday night as children ran to windows to get a glimpse of the bearded man in red. For families who participated in the Toybox charity, Christmas came early and children got a surprise visit from one of 22 volunteer Santas...

Cape Girardeau police removed a white KKK sign from a city soccer park Tuesday morning after a motorist spotted the racist sign. The 10-foot-tall letters, created out of toilet paper, were laid out on a field at Shawnee Park. The letters were visible to motorists on nearby West End Boulevard, said police Sgt. Barry Hovis...

Child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children appear to be increasing in Southeast Missouri, federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday. U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway visited Cape Girardeau to highlight the problem and report that her office is prosecuting four area men, including one Cape Girardeau resident, on charges of transporting child pornography via computers and possessing images of children engaging in sexual acts...

A group of a dozen House members led by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson want Missouri and five other states to better coordinate disaster response efforts in the event of a major earthquake along the New Madrid Fault. "It will be of little consolation if the local responders in Missouri are ready for a disaster but those in our neighboring states are not," Emerson said Tuesday...

CAIRO, Ill. -- City Councilman Joseph Thurston said Tuesday that he stands by Mayor Paul Farris' decision to suspend five police officers who were working the morning jail inmate Demetrius Flowers was found dead. Flowers was arrested by the Cairo Police Department at 4:04 a.m. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Recruiting in St. Louis last week, Bruce Weber paused to reflect on Illinois' Final Four appearance just a few months earlier. It was the pinnacle for one of the nation's storied programs. "You see the Arch and the dome and it's great memories, there's no doubt," Illinois' coach said. "I'll always remember looking out and seeing orange everywhere...

The (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Journal Gazette Members of the Sept. 11 Commission took an extraordinary and responsible step by conducting a privately financed follow-up to their historic 2004 report. The results were frightening: The federal government earned F grades in implementing a number of the commission's recommendations...

The (Toledo, Ohio) Blade Perhaps it shouldn't surprise anyone, but the idea that the United States is paying Iraqi journalists to plant stories in the Iraqi media reflecting the U.S. government's view of the war may be an all-new low. ... The Pentagon's project is at odds with the liberty that the Bush Administration claims it is trying to introduce in Iraq. .....

SAN FRANCISCO -- America Online on Tuesday agreed to sell a 5 percent stake to Google Inc. in a $1 billion deal that deepens the ties binding two of the Web's most popular sites while thwarting Microsoft Corp.'s efforts to grab a larger piece of the booming Internet advertising market...

ROME -- A passenger train rammed into another at a station south of Rome on Tuesday, injuring about 50 people -- some critically -- and temporarily trapping others in the wreckage, officials said. A train traveling from Rome to Cassino stopped at the station in Roccasecca, about 80 miles south of the capital, said Luigi Irdi, a Trenitalia spokesman. Another train, headed from Rome to Campobasso on the same track, slammed into the first train from behind at 3:20 p.m., he said...

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Bolivia's soon-to-be president, Evo Morales, a coca farmer under pressure to crack down on cocaine, pledged Tuesday to keep controls on coca but said he will study expanding the area where it can be legally grown. Morales also called on the United States to work with him to develop better ways of ending drug trafficking while preserving the traditional market for coca in his Andean nation, where people have chewed the plant to stave off hunger and used it as a medicine for thousands of years.. ...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- More than 100 pilot whales have beached on New Zealand's South Island, and at least 19 have died, officials said. Conservation workers and volunteers rushed to keep the surviving members of the pod covered with moisture today...

Here is the worst possible scenario for the Indianapolis Colts: The New England Patriots, getting healthier, win their first-round playoff game and arrive at the RCA Dome primed to do just what they've done for the past two seasons -- bounce the Colts out of the playoffs...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Former Kansas coach Terry Allen was chosen Tuesday to resurrect the Missouri State University football program. Allen, currently associate head coach at Iowa State, will replace Randy Ball, who was fired in November. Before going to Kansas in 1996, Allen was a big winner at Northern Iowa, which is in the Gateway Conference along with Missouri State...

NEW YORK -- Joe Paterno doesn't have to say "I told you so." JoePa, who turns 79 today, got an early birthday present Tuesday when he was an overwhelming choice as The Associated Press college football coach of the year. So much for critics who said the game had passed him by...

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- A majority of high schools in Illinois that responded to a survey would like to see the two-class system for athletic teams replaced by three- and four-class systems that would allow schools to play other schools closer to their size...

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Southern Mississippi's win in the New Orleans Bowl was a lot like the rest of the Golden Eagles' season -- a struggle. Shawn Nelson caught a pair of second-half touchdowns, and Cody Hull added 161 yards rushing to lead Southern Mississippi over Arkansas State 31-19 Tuesday night in the first of the season's 28 bowl games...

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Mike Sillinger had a pair of power-play goals, and Jamal Mayers scored the game-winner in the third period to help the St. Louis Blues rally for a 5-4 victory over the slumping Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night. The loss was the fourth straight for Phoenix, the second since coach Wayne Gretzky took a leave of absence. Gretzky left to be with his ailing mother, who died Monday night in Brantford, Ontario...

BOULDER, Colo. -- A week after a state audit criticized spending on sports, Colorado has outlined plans to spend about $36,000 on iPods to reward its football players for making it to the Champs Sports Bowl. The university filed a request for bids Monday for 103 of the hand-held music players for up to $350 each...

More than 11 million of Iraq's 15 million registered voters went to the polls last week to vote in a parliamentary election remarkable for its peacefulness. In contrast to the violence that early this year accompanied voting on the interim government that has been running Iraq, the contest for these 275 seats was conducted in relative calm...

Recipes for a trio of colorful, quickly made pasta dishes could be a boon for the cook to grab during the holiday season, as options for Christmas or party buffets, or even to use up some day-after ingredients, such as cooked turkey. These recipes are from Mark Prece, Kansas City-based corporate executive chef for Mueller's and Golden Grain Pasta. He says they are traditional family favorites, dishes he grew up with...

WASHINGTON -- Those annoying "spam" e-mails for Viagra or low-rate mortgages that clog computer users' mailboxes appear to be on the decline, federal regulators said Tuesday. In a report to Congress, the Federal Trade Commission said the anti-spam law that took effect two years ago has helped curb unsolicited e-mail. The report also credits advances in technology, such as better spam filters that weed out junk e-mail...

The former Red Sox outfielder has agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract. The New York Yankees grabbed center fielder Johnny Damon away from the rival Boston Red Sox, reaching a preliminary agreement Tuesday night on a $52 million, four-year contract...

Marian Pauline Mitchell passed peacefully from this earthly life Saturday, Dec. 17, 2005, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Ms. Mitchell was born in Ellinwood, Kan., March 22, 1919, daughter of Peter William and Alice Thomas Kimpler. She was raised in Sandoval, Ill., and lived most of her life in Harrisburg, Ill., and Ocala, Fla. She had resided at the Lutheran Home the past three years...

25 years ago: Dec. 21, 1980 The "Singing Christmas Tree," a first for First Assembly of God Church, is held in the sanctuary of the church in the evening; the cast performs a cantata while standing on a platform built in the shape of a Christmas tree; the singers are under the direction of Mrs. Phil Breithaupt...

To the editor: Why does the upper reservoir at the Taum Sauk power plant no have an overflow spillway? Nobody seems to have noticed that an overflow spillway on the upper reservoir would be an effective safety feature that would protect the power-generating station and the neighbors from a spillover caused by pumps that were supposed to shut off but did not do so when the upper reservoir was already full...

Fruitland 4-H; Cape County AARP; Kage FCE; New Salem UMW; Nancy Hunter Chapter; Church Women United

Frymire; Robertson; Polmateer; Kilhafner; Yarbro; Southard; Farrow

Father government; Take our poachers; Pickup confusion; Guns in school; Closed on Christmas; Dumbing down; Park memorials

Donald Robert Crowe, 51, of Advance died Monday, Dec. 12, 2005, at his home. He was born April 27, 1954, in St. Louis, son of George Delbert and Eva Irene Abernathy Crowe. Crowe was a troop truck driver with the U.S. Army Reserve in St. Louis. He served in the U.S. Army...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Bert J. Pouyer, 90, of Perryville died Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, at Brewer, Mo., son of Albert Joseph and Matilda Layton Pouyer. He and Blanche Ellen Canter were married May 30, 1941. She died Dec. 20, 1960. Pouyer had been a farmer. He was a member of Christ the Savior Catholic Church, Holy Name Society, and Knights of Columbus. He co-founded and served 23 years on the Brewer Water District Board...

CUBA, Mo. -- John Barton Lloyd Jr., 81, of Cuba died Saturday, Dec. 17, 2005, at his home. He was born April 10, 1924, in Greenbrier, Mo., son of John Barton and Nellie Virginia Dixon Lloyd Sr. He and Wanda Maxine Lloyd were married in St. Louis. Lloyd worked at Steel Weld Equipment in St. Clair, Mo., 36 years, retiring as plant manager. He was an ordained minister with the Assembly of God Church 50 years...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Monroe J. Gagnepain, 98, of Perryville died Monday, Dec. 19, 2005, at Perry County Nursing Home. He was born March 4, 1907, in Perry County, Mo., son of Emmett J. and Mary A. Cissell Gagnepain. He and Patricia Reiss were married April 6, 1931...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The funeral for Demetrius Tyrone Flowers, 38, of Cairo will be held at noon Friday at First Missionary Baptist Church. Burial will be in Spencer Heights Cemetery at Mounds, Ill. Friends may call at the church from 10 a.m. until time of service...

James S. Bone, 88, of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Marjorie H. Lingle, 83, of Jonesboro died Monday, Dec. 19, 2005, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. She was born Aug. 3, 1922, in Jonesboro, daughter of Will and Stella Barron Lingle. Lingle was a first grade teacher with Shawnee School District more than 30 years. She was a member of First Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Anna, and the Carbondale Chapter of American Guild of Organists...

Bernice E. Steiner, 86, of Jackson, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, after a short residence at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 27, 1919, in Pocahontas, daughter of Roland and Mamie Exler Starzinger. She and Gilbert Steiner were married April 13, 1941, at Zion Lutheran Church in Pocahontas where she was a life-long member. Gilbert passed away Oct. 27, 1981...

MCCLURE, Ill. -- Robert Stanley Smithey Sr., 87, of McClure died Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 9, 1918, in Tamms, Ill., son of Joseph and Stella Durham Smithey. He and Rose L. "Biddle" Randol were married Dec. 23, 1939, in Jackson. She preceded him in death Dec. 27, 2002...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The funeral for Pauline Johnson, 81, of Cairo will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Heavenly Gates Funeral Home. Burial will be in Spencer Heights Cemetery at Mounds, Ill. There is no visitation.

Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of the year. I start playing Christmas music in September and put my Christmas tree up early in November so we can enjoy it for as long as possible. We have some special traditions that we enjoy as a family; for which I am very thankful for and cherish each one of them...

Nathan Mendenhall read about the atrocities and gazed at grisly photographs of the genocide that devastated Rwanda 11 years ago. A graduate student in criminal justice at Southeast Missouri State University, he plans to begin learning much more about the African nation's deadly past next month when he starts a six-month internship with a United Nations criminal tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

DENVER -- A federal grand jury indicted former Qwest Communications chief executive Joseph Nacchio Tuesday on 42 counts of insider trading accusing him of illegally selling $101 million in company shares after privately learning that Qwest might not meet its financial goals...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- While others spend Christmas Eve wrapping gifts or preparing eggnog, Jack Chiaro will be frying smelts, eel and squid. Like many Italian families in New England and elsewhere, Chiaro and his family gather the night before Christmas for La Vigilia -- the Feast of Seven Fishes. Celebrated by Italian Catholics, the dinner traditionally includes seven fish dishes, with salt cod, smelts, eel and squid (calamari) among the most common...

NEW YORK -- Commuters trudged through the freezing cold, rode bicycles and shared cabs Tuesday as New York's bus and subway workers went on strike for the first time in more than 25 years and stranded millions of riders at the height of the Christmas rush. A judge slapped the union with a $1 million-a-day fine...

Throng gathers in L.A. for gang leader's funeral LOS ANGELES -- Hundreds of people attended a star-studded funeral Tuesday for executed killer Stanley Tookie Williams in the violence-wracked South Los Angeles section where he founded the murderous Crips gang three decades ago. ...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Salvage crews Tuesday began raising the wreckage of a seaplane in hopes of finding out why the aircraft burst into flames and plunged into the ocean within sight of the beach. All 20 people aboard were killed. The 1940s-era propeller-driven plane went down Monday just after takeoff from Miami for the Bahamas...

WASHINGTON -- Some Democrats say they never approved a domestic wiretapping program, undermining suggestions by President Bush and his senior advisers that the plan was fully vetted in a series of congressional briefings. "I feel unable to fully evaluate, much less endorse, these activities," West Virginia Sen. ...

MEXICO CITY -- The Mexican government, angered by a U.S. proposal to extend a wall along the border to keep out migrants, has struck back with radio ads urging Mexican workers to denounce rights violations in the United States. Facing a growing tide of anti-immigrant sentiment north of the border, the Mexican government is also hiring an American public relations firm to improve its image...

Cape Girardeau city advisory boards Airport Board Nine members Members serve three-year terms. Board meets second Tuesday at 5 p.m. at airport restaurant. Board makes recommendations regarding airport operations. Board of Adjustment Five members and three alternates...

West Park Lanes Submitted Dec. 19 Men High game: Scott Grupas 278, Cline Myers 273, Tim Sadler 269, Bill Masterson 269, Bruce Turner 267, Ricky Pecaut 267, Ed Earnhart 267, Thor Welker 265, Mike Pagel 264, Jeff Drury 255, Tim Kistner 254, Darryl James 253, Steve Webb 252, Mike Edgar 249, Terry Pearson 247, Chris Rellergert 247, Jim Simpson 246, Dennis Turner 246, Dan James 246, Sam Bell 245, Don Spear 245, Glen Hupp 245, Chuck Bertrand 244, Jason Brothers 244, Robert Forester 242, Mike Sample 242. ...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- In one of the biggest courtroom clashes between faith and evolution since the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, a federal judge barred a Pennsylvania public school district Tuesday from teaching "intelligent design" in biology class, saying the concept is creationism in disguise...

Scott City middle school educators are pleased with the results of a school board-mandated change in homework policy which, as an added benefit, has boosted parental involvement. In October the Scott City school board voted to change the middle school homework policy from a consequence-based system to an incentive-based system. The new system began at the beginning of the second quarter, which ended Monday, and principal Paul Sharp said he thinks the program was a great success...

LESTERVILLE, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources plans to issue an order to AmerenUE on Wednesday to clean up damage from a reservoir breach at its Southeast Missouri power plant. DNR deputy director Mike Wells said the order came after his agency met Tuesday with AmerenUE representatives and members of the public in Lesterville, near the reservoir...

Southeast Missouri State has scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. today in the Show Me Center meeting rooms to introduce the university's new head football coach. Although Southeast officials are keeping the identify of that person under wraps, it appears that Purdue assistant Tony Samuel will become the university's first black head coach in any sport...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- First came the campus parking ticket. Then a littering charge for tossing the ticket to the ground. Now Missouri football captain Jason Simpson will miss the final game of his college career after a weekend arrest for marijuana possession -- an arrest police made after Simpson's name popped up in a criminal database for failing to appear in court on the littering charge...

The Notre Dame girls basketball team used a 10-0 run over the final few minutes of the third quarter to open a 15-point lead and held on for a 77-63 victory over fifth-seeded Sparta on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic at the Show Me Center...

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team was at least able to stop the bleeding Tuesday night. Southeast, which had dropped two straight Ohio Valley Conference games for the first time since the 2003-04 season, got back on the winning track by beating host Jacksonville State 83-76...

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- Southeast Missouri State senior guard Roy Booker believes the Redhawks are considerably better than what their play has suggested. But Booker also knows that the Redhawks need to start showing it in a hurry. "We're underachieving so bad. We're better than this," Booker said. "We really need this game."...

The Notre Dame boys basketball team scored 27 first-quarter points and pounded visiting district rival Fredericktown 86-51 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs (6-1) led by just eight at halftime but held Fredericktown to 16 points in the second half, including only one in the fourth quarter...

WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency proposed stricter daily limits Tuesday for how many microscopic particles of air pollution, or soot, are safe for all Americans to breathe from the nation's smokestacks and tailpipes. The proposed new health-based air standards represent one of government's most far-reaching decisions. ...

Being a few days before Christmas, I came up with all kinds of wonderful ideas to share with you. I thought about talking wrapping ideas or tips on table decorating. I considered last-minute gift ideas or easy, make-at-home holiday cards. But, being the person that I am, I was afraid more than one relative would read my column and the surprise of my gifts would be given away. ...

When longtime resident Debra Mitchell-Braxton was appointed to the Vision 2020 Community Relations Council recently, she became only the third black and 26th woman among the more than 140 community residents serving on the various boards that advise the Cape Girardeau City Council...