Stories from Monday, April 10, 2006

Cape Girardeau County residents are taking advantage of a free prescription drug discount card since it was issued by the county in November. During January and February, more than 150 residents used the National Association of Counties-sponsored card, said Andrew Goldschmidt, NACo director of membership marketing. The first two months it was available in Cape Girardeau County, almost 100 residents used the cards...

From the state's east side to its west side, Girl Scouts in southern Missouri will be governed by a new Scout council that will replace five existing councils as part of a nationwide restructuring of the Scouting organization. The reorganization will eliminate the eight-county Otahki Girl Scout Council, headquartered in Cape Girardeau as well as four other existing councils in southern and central Missouri...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- As worshipers placed palm branches on the altar Sunday evening at Miraculous Medal Shrine Church, their thoughts and prayers were with a missing Ste. Genevieve teenager and his family. Wade M. Lurk, 17, was last seen sleeping in his car during the early morning hours of April 1 at Goose Creek, a campsite near the border of Ste. Genevieve and St. Francois counties...

In his 30-year career, Dr. Mike Cowan has seen the BEST test come and go. He's seen the MMAT tests rise and fall. "And I maintain that, essentially, we're getting ready to fail again," said Cowan, principal at Central High School. Cowan was among 22 members of the Missouri High School Graduation and Assessment Task Force that met over the past seven months to revamp the state's standardized tests for high school students...

(Minneapolis) Star Tribune Better late than never. Missing from Bud Selig's launch last week of an investigation into baseball's troubling involvement with steroids was an apology from the commissioner about the game's painfully late attempt at self-examination. ...

CHICAGO -- Michael Barrett couldn't conceal his joy, or his pain and relief. Barrett hit a grand slam off Jason Isringhausen in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-4 Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep. That concluded arguably his best weekend on the diamond and one of his worst away from it...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- There was no reason to leap, no reason to look utterly stunned. Phil Mickelson simply smiled as he fished the ball out the cup, waved to the gallery and made his way to the scoring trailer with his three kids draped around his neck. There was no need for a nail-biting birdie to win this Masters...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI blessed palm fronds and olive branches Sunday in the Vatican, opening a ritual-filled Holy Week that pilgrims in Jerusalem celebrated in a procession retracing Jesus' triumphant return to the holy city some 2,000 years ago...

WILLIAMSVILLE, Ill. -- Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire at a central Illinois coal mine over the weekend in which no injuries were reported. The Saturday fire at the Viper Mine facility began in the morning around a belt system that lifts coal up a 300-foot-long coal production shaft, said Elkhart Fire chief Mason Boyer...

KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. -- Opponents of a plan to sell two dozen tracts of the Mark Twain National Forest in Stone County say it would be as much an economic loss as an environmental one. "They're right on the same page," said Ray Jones, former director of Stone County's economic development program. "The environment is the economy."...

ST. LOUIS -- Airport and city officials will gather Thursday to open Lambert Airport's new runway, a 9,000-foot-long ribbon of concrete that cost $1.1 billion to build and was the most expensive improvement project in St. Louis history. But few, if any, passengers will notice, airport director Kevin Dolliole said. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Near the end of his term, then-Gov. Bob Holden made a big deal about taking a step to help senior citizens find cheaper prescription drugs. He held a news conference with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in Chicago to announce Missouri was joining an Illinois program that enables residents to buy prescription drugs from other countries over the Internet...

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan CARBONDALE, Ill. -- In the 1700s, the teeming beaver population in the Illinois territory drew trappers and explorers to the region. Business boomed to the point that beaver were essentially extirpated from the state in the late 1800s. But now, beaver numbers are at a historic high...

WASHINGTON -- The White House on Sunday sought to dampen the idea of a U.S. military strike on Iran, saying the United States is conducting "normal defense and intelligence planning" as President Bush seeks a diplomatic solution to Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons program...

WASHINGTON -- A screaming intruder made it onto the front lawn of the White House Sunday while President Bush was at home before being apprehended by Secret Service officers. Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren identified the man as 40-year-old Brian Lee Patterson, whose last known address was in Albuquerque, N.M. Patterson has been caught trying to get onto the White House grounds at least three times before, Zahren said...

The E-911 system was devised to enable police, firefighters and ambulances to respond to an emergency quickly. Finding an address quickly could be as important as anything else the emergency workers do. A decade ago, Scott County switched to an enhanced 911 address system that assigned numbers and street names to addresses instead of the old rural route numbers. ...

To the editor: What a great time to live in Cape Girardeau. The residents of Cape Girardeau have shown their faith in our city leadership when they overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to approve the three proposed amendments to the city charter. The Charter Review Committee is to be commended for its hard work and dedication to these important issues. ...

KARACHI, Pakistan -- Thousands of women stampeded as they left a religious gathering in southern Pakistan on Sunday, and at least 29 people, including children, were killed, police and doctors said. More than 70 other people were injured. The stampede occurred as thousands of women were leaving the Sunni Muslim Faizan-e-Medina center in downtown Karachi, said Hanees Billu, a spokesman for the center...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Shiite lawmakers met on Sunday, the third anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces, in the first formal step to break the deadlock over Sunni and Kurdish opposition to their choice for a prime minister to head the next government...

BOSTON -- The family of the American journalist held captive in Iraq for 82 days issued a public thank-you Sunday to everyone who helped win her release. In a statement released by The Christian Science Monitor, Jill Carroll's parents, Jim and Mary Beth, and sister, Katie, thanked the U.S. military, American officials in Baghdad and Jordan, and "security consultants" who worked with the paper in Iraq, among others...

To the editor: Haven't we had enough? Our elected officials in Jefferson City are at it again, playing politics while hardworking Missourians lose out. This time they are preventing Missouri from getting state-of-the-art technology and preventing effective competition from entering the cable TV market...

To the editor: It is troubling to me that the Senate had an opportunity to increase competition in the cable industry and chose instead to maintain the status quo of higher cable rates and fewer choices. Missouri could have been a leader in bringing new video technology, better choices and more competition for our cable dollar but chose the special interests of the cable monopoly instead of the consumer...

Buses in the way; Doors are closing; Best musical ever; Parrot's plight; Show was fantastic; Dispatcher recognition; Ethanol and coal; Poor defense; Old control freaks; Round and round

25 years ago: April 10, 1981 The three commissioners of the Cape Girardeau County Drainage Ditch No. 1, who, it has been learned, never had any statutory authority to manage the ditch, resigned yesterday, ending efforts by some Delta-area residents to oust them from office; resigning were Wesley Bock, Truman Niswonger and Cecil Veale...

To the editor: The Southeast Missourian ran an Associated Press story on the front page Friday that is a great example of the news we're fed today. The headline reads, "Court papers: Bush, Cheney behind CIA leak." This isn't at all critical of our local paper that many of us rely on for great local news and sports, although the grocery coupon program could use a lift. ...

ARKALYK, Kazakhstan -- American, Russian and Brazilian astronauts endured a bone-jarring, 3 1/2-hour ride from the international space station back to Earth on Sunday, landing on target in the freezing Kazakh steppe. The Russian TMA-7 capsule carried American commander Bill McArthur and Russian flight engineer Valery Tokarev, who each spent six months on the space station, as well as Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes. ...

Southeast remained in the hunt for a spot in the OVC tourney with a victory over Jacksonville State. The Southeast Missouri State women's tennis team stayed alive for a berth in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Sunday with a 4-3 win over Jacksonville State in Murray, Ky...

The Asian tsunami happened more than a year ago, but the tourism industry in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives is still being stalled by a lack of infrastructure. And that wasn't the only recent natural disaster. In 2005, hurricanes Rita, Katrina and Wilma cut incredible swaths of destruction up and down the American Gulf Coast and Mexico's Mayan Riviera...

LIMA, Peru -- Three candidates were locked in a tight presidential election Sunday, with Peruvians so polarized over the candidacy of a nationalistic former army officer that he was taunted by hundreds of opponents as he cast his ballot. Exit polls showed a race too close to call with a runoff between the two top finishers expected in May or early June...

KATMANDU, Nepal -- The crisis in this Himalayan nation deepened Sunday as angry crowds demanding the restoration of democracy took to the streets across Nepal in defiance of a daytime curfew, throwing stones at security forces and burning government offices...

The Associated Press RYE, N.H. -- Now that a copyright-infringement claim against his publisher has been dismissed, Dan Brown can get on with his private life -- or at least, try to. Brown, best-selling author of "The Da Vinci Code," is working to put up a wrought-iron fence around his home to keep out uninvited guests. It would sit atop a 2-foot-high stone wall and rise up no more than 6 feet, according to a letter his attorney presented to Rye selectmen recently...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Atlanta's Chipper Jones went down with a sprained right ankle and twisted right knee Sunday when the third baseman charged in on Mike Matheny's slow roller in the eighth inning of the Braves' 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants...

ST. LOUIS -- Al MacInnis got a big sendoff to match the big shot that defined his career. The St. Louis Blues retired his No. 2 jersey on Sunday night in a ceremony that included dozens of former and current Blues players and featured 10 video testimonials from the likes of Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman, that likely was the highlight of the season for the team. ...

What started out as a friendly game of bridge between friends developed into nearly $10,000 raised to benefit research of a rare genetic condition -- tuberous sclerosis complex. Nearly 1 million people worldwide are known to have tuberous sclerosis, with about 50,000 in the United States. There are many undiagnosed cases due to the obscurity of the disease and the mild form symptoms may take in some people...

Hairstylist joins Botannicals in Cape Nicole White has joined Botannicals at 208 Independence St. as a hairstylist. White offers colorings, perms, hair cuts and styles for prom. White has been a stylist for three years and has worked at Great Clips. White attended Stage One Hair School in Cape Girardeau and Chasing Rainbows Hair Replacement School for Continuing Education in California...

TOKYO -- They are some of the most legendary names in photography. Minolta scored the world's first successful auto-focus, single-lens reflex camera. Fuji invented 1600-speed film, once the industry's fastest. Nikon's fabled F-series made the 35 mm camera the picture-taking workhorse for the last half-century...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Most obese people refuse to recognize the severity of their weight problem, a new study says. The study of 104 adults, ages 45 to 64, showed that only 15 percent of people who fit the body type for obese correctly classified themselves that way. In contrast, 71 percent of normal-weight people and 73 percent of people classified as overweight were accurate in their self-assessments...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Springtime arrives with much to do for a high school senior. Finish class work. Prepare for graduation. Fire a cannon. Scott Easter holds a wooden handle on the thin rope that leads to an igniter of the light field six-pounder, an artillery piece common during the Civil War. On orders, he pulls hard, down and away, using his hips for leverage. Smoke follows fire out the muzzle, and the concussion pushes air from your chest...

NOME, Alaska -- Last Christmas, residents of the Yupik Eskimo village of Savoonga added a special dish to their everyday fare of whale, walrus, reindeer and berries -- fresh pizza flown in from Nome, 170 miles away. A tiny delivery joint, Airport Pizza, had opened several months earlier just steps from Nome's busy runways, and many of Savoonga's 700 residents were eager to try more than conventional pepperoni and plain cheese...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should speak publicly about their involvement in the CIA leak case so people can understand what happened, a leading Republican senator said Sunday. "We ought to get to the bottom of it so it can be evaluated, again, by the American people," said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee...

WASHINGTON -- People are now about as likely to mention immigration as the economy when they are asked to name the most important problem facing the United States, though both rank behind war in Iraq and elsewhere, an AP-Ipsos poll found. Immigration's rise in the latest survey about the nation's top problems suggests the public is keeping close watch on the immigration debate in Congress and reaction around the country...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

POCAHONTAS, Mo. --Sonita J. Runnels, 57, of Pocahontas died Saturday, April 8, 2006, at her home. She was born Nov. 1, 1948, in Delavan, Ill., daughter of Roy E. and Zelma A. Gibson Detmers. She and Jeffery S. Runnels were married Aug. 1, 1981...

MADISON, Tenn. -- The Metro Baptist Church congregation gathered under a basketball scoreboard and state championship banners in a school gymnasium Sunday, a temporary place to worship after a twister ripped the church building's stucco and concrete blocks from its steel frame two days earlier...

Cairo's Riverlore mansion tour season begins Riverlore Mansion, 2723 Washington Ave., Cairo, Ill., is now open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Tours are given by volunteers and funding for maintenance of the home is made possible by the Cairo Public Library Board of Trustees, who hold fund-raising events throughout the year. There is a nominal admission fee for the tour. For more information, or to arrange group tours or luncheons of 25 or more, call (618) 734-1840...

TORONTO -- Canadian police investigating the deaths of eight men found stuffed inside abandoned vehicles in a wooded field descended on a farmhouse a few miles down the road on Sunday. A former motorcycle gang member said there were strong indications of a link with the Bandidos gang...

St. John's Lutheran to hold buffet dinner...

AMMAN, Jordan -- Saddam Hussein's lawyers are denied the same rights and resources as the prosecutors in his trial, a U.S.-based legal adviser to the deposed Iraqi leader said Sunday. Curtis Doebbler said Saddam's legal team is at a disadvantage compared with the prosecution, which he said has spent $300 million and has "hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops and dozens of American lawyers to assist them."...

JERUSALEM -- Top Israeli security officials on Sunday recommended cutting all ties with the Hamas-led Palestinian government and ruled out peace talks with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as long as the Islamic militant group refuses to renounce violence...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Fred Couples was tied for the lead and chasing Masters history when he stood above a little 4-foot birdie putt at the second hole. He drew the club back, then propelled it forward. The blade tilted ever so slightly before striking the ball. It never had a chance, skidding past the cup on the right side by a good inch or two -- a push, they call it, and a bad one at that...

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Andy Roddick relishes playing Davis Cup for his country, and likes his role as the team's "closer." Roddick beat Chile's Fernando Gonzalez in four sets Sunday to clinch the Davis Cup quarterfinal, the seventh time Roddick has locked up a round for the United States...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Kasey Kahne couldn't believe his rearview mirror when he crossed the finish line Sunday in Texas. There was nobody there. Not Matt Kenseth, not Tony Stewart. "I definitely thought I had my hands full with those guys," said Kahne, as shocked as anybody about his five-second victory...

Southeast Missouri State's normally explosive offense was held down by Tennessee State Saturday, although the Redhawks still swept an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader with two narrow victories. Once the Redhawks' bats came alive Sunday, the Tigers had virtually no chance as Southeast completed the series sweep with a 15-2 romp...

CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Retail gas prices across the country soared an average of nearly 17 cents in the past two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday. The weighted average for all three grades increased to $2.69 a gallon by Friday, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations in the country...

NEW ORLEANS -- The ancient cypress doors were propped wide in the bright sunshine, palm fronds stacked high, pews filled and joyous music poured from St. Augustine as the historically black Catholic church celebrated Palm Sunday. The service came two weeks after the church was closed amid protests over post-Hurricane Katrina budget cutbacks that would have merged it with a larger neighboring parish...

NEW ORLEANS -- Ray Heisser misses the surprise visits. The doorbell on Camberley Drive would chime and there'd be an old friend on Heisser's porch mopping the humidity off his forehead, stopping by for no good reason. "What y'all gettin' into? Come on, take a drive with me."...

I popped in on downtown Cape Girardeau's newest restaurant and bar last week to find that interior work is well underway and looks nearly complete. 2 North Bistro -- named for its address on Main Street -- could open as soon as early next month, owner Ed Radetic said...

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- Defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion Jacksonville State left no doubt in Sunday's rubber match of a three-game series against visiting Southeast Missouri State. The Gamecocks knocked out Derek Herbig in the second inning, built an early seven-run lead, withstood a Southeast comeback and went on to destroy the Redhawks 21-7...

Gold recently touched a 25-year high, and while it has backed off its peak, experts say a major decline is unlikely. Still, with money pouring into exchange-traded funds pegged to gold, investors might wonder whether their portfolios could use a bit more sparkle...

ST. LOUIS -- Rookie Jason Bacashihua carried a shutout into the final minute and the St. Louis Blues, inspired after Al MacInnis' jersey was retired, beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Sunday night to end a franchise-record 13-game losing streak. Jamal Mayers and Mark Rycroft scored for the Blues, who won hours after the Blues retired MacInnis' No. 2 jersey. In the process, they put a dent in the Oilers' playoff hopes...