Stories from Sunday, January 15, 2006

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- There's a different color carpet in every room of Sabine Sternhauer's home . There is floral and plaid wallpaper throughout. The decor was so bad, the Fredericktown woman wrote about it in an essay to Lennox Industries, saying "Whoever picked out the paper, carpet and cabinets was blind and challenged in the taste department."...

TURIN, Italy -- Can't find a hotel room in Turin for the Olympics? Worried about getting stuck in traffic on the single-lane road that leads to the games' Alpine hub? Don't want a repeat of the nightmare at the Salt Lake City airport the day after the 2002 Winter Games ended?...

I met Little Red when I was 20 years old. She was a sexy little thing, red, hot and smooth. She liked to play loud music and dance for me as we zipped down the road. She rocked...

MURPHYSBORO, Ill. -- The exhibition currently on display at the John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro, Ill., isn't the typical small-town museum offering. The exhibition, called "Between Fences," is a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., telling the social history of the United States through photos and stories involving fences and their ramifications...

As night fell Saturday, spectators strained their eyes and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of a celebrity -- Mickey Rourke or Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The crowd was ushered to a curb on Morgan Oak Street, and traffic was blocked off to clear the road for extras who drove vehicles past Brenda's Place. Inside the restaurant, cast and crew shuffled around. Rourke and Gordon-Levitt rehearsed the scene several times before filming began later in the evening...

The region will soon send another resident to Iraq, but this time to serve in a much different capacity. Larry Ferrell, assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, is one of eight U.S. prosecutors being sent to Baghdad to help try former Baathist leaders before the Iraqi High Tribunal...

The lists of candidates for county offices in Union and Alexander counties of Southern Illinois point clearly to the dominant role of the Democratic Party in local politics. In the primary contests on the March 21 ballot, only Democrats have a choice of potential nominees and candidates for every office. That doesn't mean Republicans can't win, but they must often wait for a chance provided by primary contests that leave losers feeling bitter, longtime observers say...

By Patrick McMenamin It is a new year in Jefferson City and time for our valiant legislators to come forth with their most erudite ideas for improving the lot of Missouri residents. It is time for them to address the most pressing issues facing Missouri. It is time for them to propose legislation adding new laws to the books...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Dee Brown scored 26 points and James Augustine added 23 and No. 7 Illinois withstood a second-half charge from Michigan to beat the Wolverines for the 11th straight time, 79-74 on Saturday. The win was Illinois' 31st in a row at the Assembly Hall, tying the school record set between Jan. 15, 1984 and Jan. 4, 1986...

SEATTLE -- His head pounding and his day over, Shaun Alexander walked off the field at halftime and flashed the "OK" sign. He was right. The Seattle Seahawks, despite losing the NFL MVP to an early concussion, ended their 21-year playoff drought Saturday by beating the Washington Redskins 20-10 behind Matt Hasselbeck and a stout defense...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Roger Federer, who handles his status and his racket with equal composure, again is an overwhelming favorite at the injury depleted Australian Open that starts Monday. "I'm used to it," the 24-year-old Swiss star said this week. "Red hot or hot favorite -- it really doesn't matter."...

ST. LOUIS -- Welcome to Turin, Olympic strangers. For the first time since 1976, the United States will send three newcomers to figure skating's biggest event: Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek and Matt Savoie. After winning his third straight U.S. Figure Skating Championship men's title, the 21-year-old Weir took notice...

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- All along, the Chicago Bears claimed they would reach this point. They said they would make the playoffs, stuck together through a tough start and proved their preseason predictions were more than just hollow training camp chatter...

DENVER -- It took a Champ to knock off the champs, a crazy 100-yard sprint by Denver's star cornerback that helped the Broncos stop their long streak of playoff futility and bring the New England dynasty to an end. Huffing, puffing, dashing down the sideline, Champ Bailey got caught and knocked down at the 1-yard line Saturday night. But his interception of Tom Brady did the damage, setting up the game-changing touchdown in Denver's 27-13 victory over the defending Super Bowl champions...

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- The season of the snowbirds -- retirees from northern states who flock to warmer climes in winter months -- has begun on the Alabama coast. Officials are optimistic that many snowbirds who couldn't find condominiums or houses last year after Hurricane Ivan will be back this winter...

MOBILE, Ala. -- Battleship Memorial Park, which includes the USS Alabama and the submarine USS Drum, is reopening after being closed more than four months due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. The storm left the battleship listing in port, destroyed the concrete gangway to the ship, and damaged the aircraft pavilion and gift shop...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- If your idea of a vacation in Florida has more to do with mangroves than Mickey Mouse or Miami, check out the "Hiker's Guide to the Sunshine State." The new book, by Sandra Friend, is one of a series of guides about outdoor adventures published by the University of Florida...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Last summer, Tricia Ware and Shannon Papin spent eight weeks driving around New Mexico, eating in small-town cafes, hunting for collectibles and visiting unusual attractions. The result of their road trips is a new Web site -- offtheroadNM.com -- which takes travelers to places like Alien Zone, a store in Roswell full of UFO memorabilia; Sunland Peanuts in Portales, where you can tour a peanut farm, and the Uranium Cafe in Grants, which boasts the motto "Our Food will Blow Your Mine.". ...

SILVERTON, Colo. -- As avalanche-control blasts echoed in a narrow valley walled off by towering, jagged whitecaps, a guide stretched one hand high above her head while cupping the other around her nose and mouth, creating an air pocket. Skiers and snowboarders -- already required to strap on homing beacons and backpacks containing small shovels and extendable probes -- looked on quietly as the guide demonstrated how to survive in a cascading mass of snow...

ATLANTA -- The St. Louis Blues' scoring slump continued Friday night, and they were left raving about Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen posted his first shutout of the season and the second of his career by making a career-best 37 saves in the Thrashers' 2-0 victory...

DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah -- The last time NASA scientists hunkered down at this remote desert Army base, they stared wide-eyed as a space probe carrying solar wind atoms crashed into the salt flats and split open like a giant clamshell. Flash forward two years...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Shelley Winters, the forceful, outspoken star who graduated from blond bombshell parts to dramas, winning Academy Awards as supporting actress in "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "A Patch of Blue," has died. She was 85. Winters died of heart failure early Saturday at The Rehabilitation Centre of Beverly Hills, her publicist Dale Olson said. She had been hospitalized in October after suffering a heart attack...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man who claimed he was a Zulu ruler and that was the reason he shot another man to death during a road-rage altercation has been sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years. In imposing the sentence Friday, Jackson County Circuit Judge John Torrence said James L. Peterson was among the dangerous few who never developed empathy...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi and U.S. officials said Saturday they were working to free an American journalist kidnapped off a Baghdad street a week ago but had not yet made contact with her captors. Jill Carroll, a 28-year-old freelance reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, has not been heard from since she was grabbed Jan. 7 in one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods. Gunmen ambushed her car and killed her translator shortly after she left the offices of a Sunni Arab politician...

DAMADOLA, Pakistan -- Pakistani officials on Saturday angrily condemned a purported CIA airstrike meant to target al-Qaida's No. 2 man, saying he wasn't there and "innocent civilians" were among at least 17 men, women and children killed in a village near the Afghan border...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A new federal courthouse is planned on the former grounds of the Missouri State Penitentiary. Federal officials announced their plans this week to sign a "memorandum of understanding" with the Missouri State Penitentiary Commission on Tuesday morning during an event at the Missouri State Capitol...

ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch Co.'s massive complex of brick buildings in south St. Louis can produce up to 14.9 million barrels a year. But it isn't the only A-B brewery near Pestalozzi Street. The Research Pilot Brewery has an annual capacity of 3,300 barrels -- a drop in the beer bottle by comparison with A-B's St. Louis brewery...

LONGWOOD, Fla. -- The parents of a 15-year-old boy accused of terrorizing classmates with a pistol warned authorities the weapon likely was fake before police shot him in a middle school bathroom, a family attorney said Saturday. Christopher Penley, of Winter Springs, was accused of pulling a pellet gun in a classroom Friday and pointing it at other students. When he later raised the weapon at a deputy, a SWAT team member shot him, authorities said...

First United Methodist Church in Bourbon, Mo., was the setting Aug. 6, 2005, for the wedding of Sarah Elizabeth Peterson and Jeffery Paul Lappe. The Rev. Daniel Kriefall performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Gary and Bonnie Peterson of Bourbon. The groom is the son of Paul and Debbie Lappe of Cape Girardeau...

Sara Jane Nothdurft and Brandon Parker Pylate exchanged vows July 16, 2005, at Zion United Methodist Church in Gordonville. The Revs. Don Kuehle, Paul Currie and Ann Mowery performed the ceremony. Organist was Susan Hatley, and vocalists were Jamie and Chip Sepulvado and Robyn Hosp...

Jessica Leigh Waddle and Christopher Glenn Moore were married June 4, 2005, at Cape First. The Rev. Gary Brothers performed the ceremony. Music was by Shanna Crosier of Cape Girardeau. Parents of the couple are Randy and Gleni Waddle and Garry and Grace Moore, all of Whitewater...

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church was the setting Aug. 27, 2005, for the wedding of Nichole Sheree Thiele and Chad Andrew Clippard. The Rev. Charlie Prost performed the ceremony. Organist was Lenny Kuper, trumpeter was Matt Martin, and vocalists were Blake Fisher and Tracey Haggerty of Cape Girardeau...

Don and Vertaree Magee of Oak Ridge observed their 50th wedding anniversary with a celebration Dec. 10, 2005. Hosts were their daughter and son-in-law, Melissa and Jeffrey Mangels of Jackson. The Magees were married Jan. 13, 1956, at Bloomfield, Mo.

Jeanette K. Edgington and Johnnie D. Haupt were married Oct. 8, 2005, aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship in Miami, Fla. Lissette Duarte performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Donna and Gary Shelangoski of Yellville, Ark., and Wendell and Connie Edgington of Fort Madison, Iowa. The groom is the son of Johnnie and Kathie Haupt of Fruitland...

Alana Renee Hobeck and Justin David Borgfield were united in marriage Nov. 5, 2005, at Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Scott Moon performed the ceremony. Pianist was Judy Sharp, and soloists were April Hemmann and David DeRousse...

Doyle J. Sander, 72, of Millersville died Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, at his home. He was born Oct. 9, 1933, near Millersville, son of Jesse J. and Desdia Stroder Sander. He and Carol Harper were married July 16, 1962. Sander served in the U.S. Armed Forces. ...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Wilma C. Matlock, 82, of McClure died Friday, Jan. 12, 2006, at home. She was born Oct. 23, 1923, at McClure, daughter of Moses and Dona Johnson Colyer. She and Edward "Domer" Matlock were married Oct. 5, 1940, in Jackson, Mo. He died Aug. 12, 1993...

Mitch and Karen Shelby of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Jodie Lynn Shelby, to Eric Norman Ticer. He is the son of Carol and Dewaine Smith of Cape Girardeau and Norman and Connie Ticer of Kelso, Mo. Shelby is a 1997 graduate of Central High School. ...

Pat and Jim Tilley of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Lauri Swallow, to Jon Hammontree, both of Hartselle, Ala. He is the son of Cecil and Judy Hammontree of East Prairie, Mo. Swallow is a 1999 graduate of Central High School. She received a master's degree in physical therapy from Maryville University in St. Louis...

THEBES, Ill. -- Mr. and Mrs. Earl Benefield of Thebes were honored with a 50th wedding anniversary dinner and reception hosted by their daughters and grandchildren. The event was held Dec. 10, 2005, at the National Guard Armory in Cape Girardeau. Benefield and Laverne Kaufman were married Dec. 10, 1955, at the courthouse in Cairo, Ill. Their attendants were Clara Benefield Tucker and T.D. Kaufman...

25 years ago: Jan. 15, 1981 A fiscal squeeze is apparently about to hit Southeast Missouri State University in a manner the school's president, Bill W. Stacy, characterizes as "drastic and painful"; Gov. Kit Bond yesterday flexed his newly acquired gubernatorial muscle with a twofold economic punch at virtually all state agencies including Southeast...

The Racers' example I FOLLOWED the Southeast Missouri State basketball teams to Murray State on Jan. 7 and was treated to two good college basketball games. I happened to notice a couple of things at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray. First, the atmosphere in general was much better than what it always is at the Show Me Center, regardless of the crowd size. ...

Southeast Missouri will get a preseason glimpse of the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals today when the Cardinals Caravan makes the annual stop at the Osage Community Centre in Cape Girardeau. The visit to Cape will be the fourth and final stop for the Redbirds, who traveled to Marion, Ill., and Memphis on Saturday before stopping by Ripley, Tenn., today...

Mr. and Mrs. Hansel Robinson of Jackson celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Dec. 28, 2005, at the home of a daughter. The reception was hosted by their children, James Robinson and wife Rita of Traverse City, Mich., Joanna Clifton and husband David of Branson, Mo., and Ellen Robinson of Jackson...

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cole Sr. of Fenton, Mo., and Suzanne Cole of Shelbyville, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Julia Marie Cole, to Brandon Kyle Streiler. He is the son of Gary and Joyce Streiler of Jackson. Cole is a graduate of Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves, Mo. She received a bachelor's degree in studio art from Drury University in Springfield, Mo. She is an assistant creative director at Ladue News in Ladue, Mo...

Johnny and Brenda Chapin of Kennett, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Mendy Sue Chapin, to Steven Harold Kirk. He is the son of Roger and Kay Kirk of Jackson. Chapin is a 1999 graduate of Kennett High School. She received a bachelor's degree in general studies from Southeast Missouri State University in May 2005. She is employed at Saint Francis Medical Center...

Chris and Sandy Torbet of Oak Ridge and Ray Warner of Millersville announce the engagement of their daughter, Chauntel Nicole Warner, to Johnathon Michael Knudson of Jackson. He is the son of the late Susan Glueck and the late Michael Knudson. Warner is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School. ...

MARQUAND, Mo. -- Juanita Mae Frymire, 51, of Marquand died Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, at her home. She was born Nov. 14, 1954, at Grassy, Mo., daughter of Albert and Opal Robbins Frymire. Survivors include a son, David Lee Schmick of Perryville, Mo.; her mother of Marquand; two sisters, Marie Green of Hiram, Mo., Shirley Watts of Cascade, Mo.; three brothers, Darrell, Harold and Jack Frymire, all of Cascade; a special friend, Bill Poindexter of Marquand; two grandchildren; and two stepgrandchildren...

DOUGLAS, Ga. -- Robert Brooks Blankenbeker Jr., 62, of Douglas, formerly of Morley, Mo., died Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, at Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas. He was born Sept. 24, 1943, at Cape Girardeau, son of Elizabeth Ann May and Robert Brooks Blankenbeker Sr...

Paul L. Freed, 87, of Sikeston, Mo., died Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Feb. 15, 1918, in Hagarville, Ark., son of Arch Monroe and Nettie Lou Stone Freed. He and Mary Ranzle Manning were married Oct. 1, 1946, in Charleston, Mo...

Boehner's past colors bid for House leader's spot; Poll: Blacks skeptical of progress on King's dream; CDC: Flu virus resistant to two common antivirals

Scott City...

Based on new information, the top 10 contributors to the United Way of Southeast Missouri's 2005 fundraising campaign are as follows: 1. Procter & Gamble $228,013 2. Saint Francis Medical Center $151,784 3. Southeast Missouri Hospital $80,997 4. Southeast Missouri State University $52,001...

Iran's president shrugs off sanctions threat; Tests show activity on both sides of Sharon's brain; Emir of Kuwait, ruler for 27 years, dies at age 79

Cape Girardeau...

As with the recent coal-mine deaths in West Virginia, tragedy has a way of focusing the spotlight on shortcomings that, in hindsight, were ignored too long. As more and more information becomes available about the Taum Sauk reservoir near Ironton, Mo., it appears there were plenty of indications that something was amiss long before last month's devastating rupture and flood damage...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Phillip "Phil" Wayne McCuiston, 60, a resident of Charleston, died at 7:21 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 28, 1945, in Cairo, Ill., to the late Robert Carroll McCuiston and Norma Rose McCuiston Bagavich. ...

The Southeast Missouri State University gymnastics team opened its season on Saturday in front of a packed house at the University of Kentucky. The Redhawks finished second in the tri-meet with 185.200 points. Kentucky, ranked No. 13 nationally, won the meet with 194.150 points. Illinois State had 181.525 points...

Women's rights; Highway cleanup; Reward in heaven; Construction zones; Pictures show shut-ins; Costly council members

Mary Catherine Mills, 76, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of St. Charles, Mo., died Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born Feb. 27, 1929, in New Hamburg, Mo., daughter of Louis and Leona Scherer Essner. She and Ivan Clifford Mills were married Sept. 9, 1950, in Kelso, Mo. He died Feb. 10, 2003...

ST. LOUIS -- A special education teacher faces 19 counts of statutory sodomy after she allegedly told friends that she had performed oral sex on middle school students in recent months. Cathy Heminghaus, 46, of Ferguson, was charged with the felonies Friday...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's trial has submitted his resignation after becoming fed up with criticism that he had let the proceedings spin out of control, a court official said Saturday. But it wasn't clear if Rizgar Mohammed Amin's resignation had been accepted amid behind-the-scenes efforts to change his mind...

The Crusaders posted a 62-58 victory. The Saxony Lutheran boys basketball team overcame a slow start to defeat Perryville 62-58 in the championship of the Chester (Ill.) Invitational on Saturday. The Crusaders (12-3) fell behind 19-12 after one quarter and trailed 30-29 at halftime...

Tony Samuel has not lacked for things to do since being named Southeast Missouri State's head football coach a little more than three weeks ago. "It has been fairly hectic," Samuel said with a smile. "Any time you start over, there are a lot of things you have to find out and do, hiring a staff, budgets, recruiting, fundraising, watching recruiting tapes, looking back at the roster, medical situations, scholarships we have available...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Richard Roby hit most of Colorado's big shots before Chris Copeland hit the biggest. Roby scored a career-best 33 points and Copeland hit the last of the Buffaloes' season-high 13 3-pointers with two-tenths of a second to go in a 74-71 victory at Missouri on Saturday night...

I planned to write about college football's national championship game in last week's column, but ran out of space. But, even a week late, that contest was simply too good for me not to talk about. Wow! That's the first thing I have to say about what transpired when Texas met USC in the Rose Bowl...

The Delta girls basketball team has played in three varsity tournaments this season and has made the finals in each one. The Bobcats (12-1) picked up their second championship of the season, defeating Kelly 59-36 on Saturday in the final of the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament at Scott City...

Southeast Missouri State has had plenty of miserable offensive performances this season -- but Saturday night's might have topped them all. The Redhawks were a picture of ineptitude for 35 minutes, and not even a rally over the final 5 minutes could pull them out of their abyss...

Winter is when oranges, tangerines and grapefruits are harvested in Northern California. The end result becomes glazed oranges, dried oranges, orange juice, orange soda, lemonade, grapefruit juice and more. But best of all, we end up with a whole line of cleaning and deodorizing tools as a byproduct of good eats...

With the stars of both teams rendered largely ineffective, it was left up to the supporting cast to decide Saturday's game between Southeast Missouri State and visiting Austin Peay. Major advantage, Redhawks. Southeast, receiving balanced scoring and continued strong defense, pulled away from a one-point halftime lead to romp 72-54...