Stories from Friday, August 11, 2006

CARTERVILLE, Ill. -- Some things in the world can't be measured only in dollars. The internationally recognized Cache River wetlands in Southern Illinois is one of those, said Michael Jeffords, a senior scientist with the Illinois Natural History Survey. Jeffords, who returned recently from a trip to the diverse cloud forests of Ecuador, said the Cache River watershed matches anything he saw on that trip...

A controversy surrounding the hiring of Dr. Jim Garrow as principal at Eagle Ridge Christian School in Cape Girardeau has ended with Garrow leaving his post and the parent who made accusations against him being asked by the school to remove her children because her actions were not in line with Scripture...

The computer system of the Cape Girardeau County circuit clerk was back online Thursday following a partial ceiling collapse in the county courthouse in Jackson. A technician from the Missouri Office of State Court Administrator worked Thursday setting up a computer system for the court clerk's office, which came online around 1 p.m., according to Circuit Clerk Charles Hutson...

Maybe it's the heat and humidity that are making me cranky these days. There must be something in the air, because folks all over the world are doing stuff that doesn't make much sense. And I'm tired of it. I'm tired of Lebanese officials who cry in public over casualties of bombings they could have prevented. ...

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded a construction contract Wednesday for the new Interstate 55 interchange in Cape Girardeau County. Commissioners awarded the $8.1 million contract to Dumey Contracting Inc. of Benton, Mo. The East Main Street extension project includes grading, paving and bridge construction for the interchange located about two and a half miles north of Center Junction...

Motorists traveling on U.S. 61 through Cape Girardeau and Jackson can expect a road free of potholes and brighter striping by the end of the year. Next week the Missouri Department of Transportation will begin a 10-mile long resurfacing project from south Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau to the Highway 25 in Jackson. Work is expected to begin at 6 p.m. Monday below the Interchange 55 overpass at Center Junction...

BENTON, Mo. -- With the election over in Scott County, an uncertainty remains -- who will be the next commissioner to represent the county's northern half? Current 2nd District Commissioner Jamie Burger won the Democratic party nomination for presiding commissioner Tuesday, all but guaranteeing him the seat since no Republican is challenging him...

Officials advised local travelers Thursday about more extreme airport security measures imposed after an alleged terrorist plot was foiled in Britain. The three flights departing Cape Girardeau Regional Airport by Thursday afternoon had no major problems. Most passengers were aware of the security changes, airport manager Bruce Loy said...

First there was the heat. Then came the storm. Neither one helped firefighters from six local departments battle a massive blaze that engulfed the second story of a 94-year-old farmhouse Thursday just outside the city limits of Scott City. Only a dog was at home at the time of the fire...

The New England Patriots are getting used to not having Tedy Bruschi in training camp. The star linebacker underwent surgery Wednesday for a broken wrist, and will miss the entire exhibition season. He was also out last summer, while he recovered from a stroke...

PITTSBURGH -- Two months after his motorcycle accident, Ben Roethlisberger is ready to take his first hit in a football game. Roethlisberger will start the Steelers' exhibition game at Arizona on Saturday, two months to the day that he broke his jaw and nose and sustained other facial injuries in a serious accident in Pittsburgh...

Mathias Gronberg can't think of a better setting than Castle Pines Golf Course in Castle Rock, Colo., to chase his first PGA Tour triumph. The majestic mountain layout and high elevation remind him of the Alpine Course at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland, where he registered his first win as a pro at the 1995 Canon European Masters...

NEW YORK -- Since BetOnSports PLC started accepting wagers online, gamblers played the odds on plenty of sporting events. But they also gambled on whether U.S. prosecutors would one day target the Costa Rica-based company for possibly violating federal law...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration posted an unprecedented code-red alert for passenger flights from Britain to the United States and banned liquids from all carry-on bags Thursday, clamping down quickly after British authorities disrupted a frightening terror plot...

Thursday's rainfall was recorded at 0.23 inches downtown and 0.41 inches at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, according to the KFVS12 Weather Center. The Cape Girardeau Police Department did not report any damage or a higher than normal occurrence of motor vehicle accidents. Jackson and Scott City gave the same report...

There was a fine party last Friday in Caruthersville, Mo. About 3,000 people -- the population of the Mississippi River town is 6,700 -- showed up. They also had good reason to celebrate. Caruthersville is still working past the devastation of the April 2 tornado that destroyed about 60 percent of the town. Fifty families are still living in FEMA-provided housing. Storm debris is still waiting to be cleaned up in some areas of town...

To the editor: Joel Ostun, regular Sunday morning speaker at Lakewood Church in Houston, recently spoke on memories. I am sure many of the thoughts included the global warming that has been plaguing the nation, claiming lives and causing destruction...

Hidden tattoo; History repeats; Try cooperating; Sick part of Islam; Buying supplies; Teaching English; Reasons to leave; Oil is corrosive?; Starting at the bottom; Time for action; Not representative

Eddie Johnson is still getting over what he calls the worst day of his life. He scratched his way out of the Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago, fashioned a long and successful NBA career, turned that into an opportunity on TV and built a reputation as an all-around good guy who loves to work with kids...

ST. LOUIS -- The death of an 87-year-old St. Louis woman is being blamed on the heat. The woman's body was found Monday afternoon in her backyard. Her name was not released. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the woman's body temperature was 108 degrees. She was the sixth person to die as a result of the heat this summer in St. Louis city...

LONDON -- Chilling accounts leaked by investigators Thursday described a plan on the scale of 9-11 that would use common electronic devices to detonate liquid explosives concealed in sports drink bottles to bring down as many as 10 planes in a nearly simultaneous strike...

IBL EL-SAQI, Lebanon -- Israel grabbed strategic high ground in south Lebanon on Thursday but delayed a major push northward, as diplomats cited progress toward agreement on a U.N. cease-fire resolution that could soon go to a vote. With Israeli troops closer to Beirut than at any time since the war began, diplomats said they were close to unlocking the stalemate over a U.N. effort toward a cease-fire. The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, said a vote was possible today...

WASHINGTON -- Strong indications of an al-Qaida link to the alleged airline bomb plot uncovered in London Thursday suggest that the terrorist network has survived and adapted despite heavy blows to its leadership and organizational structure over the past five years, U.S. intelligence officials said...

Gerald N. "Jerry" Kissel, 67, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006, at his home. He was born Sept. 12, 1938, in St. Louis, son of Julius F. and Dora C. Spathelf Kissel. He married Joan Eye. Kissel had been an office manager for a retail department store in St. Louis...

BENTON, Mo. -- James LeDure, 71, of Benton died Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006, at Washington County Memorial Hospital in Potosi, Mo. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel at Benton is in charge of arrangements.

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- Larry Lee Anders, 46, of Sedgewickville died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006, at his home. He was born July 20, 1960, in Detroit, Mich., son of Daniel L. and Carol Ann Henning Anders. He and Kandy Sue Murray were married May 19, 1982...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Lydia Wheaton, 81, of Jonesboro died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006, at Union County Hospital. She was born June 16, 1925, in Grand Tower, Ill., daughter of Lee Mason and Lillie Grace Smith. She and Alfred "Medad" Wheaton were married April 25, 1942, in Cape Girardeau. He died Jan. 5, 1986...

Huckstep...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Patrick Scheffer, 54, of Chaffee died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006, in Belleville, Ill. He was born Sept. 11, 1951, at Charleston, Mo., son of Lawrence Edward and Adella Marie Heisserer Scheffer. Patrick was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee and St. Ambrose Men's Club. He was an avid card player and was the family informer...

25 years ago: Aug. 11, 1981 An anonymous tip leads Cape Girardeau police to a plot of large marijuana plants growing in the heart of the city and to the arrest of a Cape Girardeau man suspected of cultivating them; police seize 30 plants, some as tall as nine feet, from a vegetable garden behind an apartment house in the 500 block of Washington Avenue...

Pulaski County Fair kicks off 47th year; Youth music festival in Cairo on Saturday; Cape BBQ festival coming Aug. 25 and 26; Mingo Auto Tour open through Sunday; Wickliffe Mounds offers pottery workshops; Southeast Public Radio holds benefit chocolate tasting; Shawnee Cave holds music festival Aug. 19; St. Louis Art Museum holds concert Aug. 25

Susan Beth Scott's first day of competition at the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday landed the 14-year-old Gator Swim Team member the second-fastest time world-wide this year in the 400 freestyle in her classification...

A 12-year-old boy has accused an 18-year-old woman of forcing him to have sex with her in a Cape Girardeau hotel room. The alleged statutory rape occurred on two different occasions on Tuesday and Wednesday on the city's north side, police spokesman Jason Selzer said. ...

Attorney: Seattle shooter wants to plead guilty SEATTLE -- A Muslim man accused of killing a woman and wounding five other people in a shooting rampage at Seattle's Jewish Federation offices wants to plead guilty, his attorney told a judge Thursday. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Democratic leaders unveiled a new plan Thursday to educate low-income and disabled voters on ways to get proper photo identification so they can vote in November's election. The plan comes in response to a new law signed by Republican Gov. Matt Blunt in June requiring all voters to present a federal- or Missouri-issued photo ID, starting in November...

Cape Girardeau...

Cape Girardeau...

The thwarted terrorism plot that emerged on Thursday is an unpleasant reminder: Air travel will have to change to meet the ever-increasing demands of aviation security -- while keeping comfort-seeking passengers happy. Here are five ways experts expect air travel to evolve...

NEW YORK -- Most of the action in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," Hollywood's first look at the terrorist attacks that destroyed two of the world's tallest buildings, takes place far below the surface. The film, which opened nationwide Wednesday, meticulously recounts the hours that two police officers spent trapped under the concrete and twisted steel of the collapsed towers, talking to each other to stay conscious until their rescue...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams ran more than they passed Thursday, didn't challenge a play and didn't even use a timeout -- much less waste one. Scott Linehan's head coaching debut, a 19-17 win over Indianapolis, lacked the razzle-dazzle of Mike Martz's six seasons...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Maurice Clarett closed his eyes and softly shook his head. Wearing the same type of tan, jail-issue jumpsuit he'd sported here once before, the former Ohio State star running back reacted with quiet disbelief as the judge announced his bond on a gun charge: $5 million, an amount that will almost certainly keep him in jail through the weekend...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois coach Ron Zook considers middle linebacker J Leman a cerebral guy. "He's smart. He's tough. He's strong," the coach said. But Zook missed one adjective when describing Leman: ambitious. Leman received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois this week, and is working on a master's degree he plans to have by the time his two remaining seasons of eligibility with the Illini are through...

Two stars (out of four) Many times an Oscar Award-winning movie has left me wondering what all the hoopla was about. I must admit, I set the expectation bar low for "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." In this movie Will Ferrell takes a satirical, if not over-the-top, approach to an ego-driven NASCAR driver. The fiercely competitive Bobby goes from rags to riches and back as he and his best bud (John C. Reilly) face the trials and tribulations of friendship and fame...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- BP said Thursday it had signed two major deals to supply new pipe for approximately 10 of the 16 miles of an Alaskan oil pipeline it was forced to begin shutting down early this week. The discovery of leaks and severe corrosion in the pipeline prompted the company to say it planned a gradual shutdown of the entire Prudhoe Bay oil field, the nation's largest...

BEIJING -- The most powerful typhoon to hit China in five decades raged across its southeastern coast Thursday, claiming at least 111 lives as it capsized ships, destroyed buildings and forced 1.5 million people from their homes. Typhoon Saomai, with winds up to 135 mph, made landfall at the town of Mazhan in coastal Zhejiang province, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing weather officials...

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Time is running out in the race to make NASCAR's Chase for the championship, and Greg Biffle is feeling the squeeze as much as anybody. The top 10 drivers in the Nextel Cup standings -- and any others within 400 points of the leader after the first 26 races -- qualify for the 10-race Chase. Biffle sits 12th in points with only five races remaining before the Chase begins...

Don't let the unassuming looks and tidy, 13-foot length of Honda's new, small car fool you. From the innovative fold-up/fold-down rear seats to its government fuel economy rating averaging 35.5 combined city and highway miles per gallon, the 2007 Honda Fit is a very practical vehicle. Indeed, the Environmental Protection Agency's fuel economy rating for the Fit is the third best for a gasoline-powered, nonhybrid, new car sold in the United States...

Over a year has passed since Boston bassist and co-songwriter, solo recording artist, multipurpose songwriter and mother Kimberley Dahme set the Tunes at Twilight attendance record. Since that time, the Tunes series has continued to grow and cemented itself as an entertainment destination in Cape Girardeau. But today, Dahme returns to the city with a new bag of songs and a yearning to see old friends...

CINCINNATI -- Bronson Arroyo got braids in his hair, hoping to end a long slump and a big series in style. The new hairdo didn't do a thing. Scott Spiezio hit the last of the Cardinals' three homers off Arroyo on Thursday, and St. Louis gained a soothing series split with a 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that left the NL Central rivals right where they started...

Dear Tom and Ray: My wife and I own a 1996 Ford Explorer with 101,000 miles on it. We found out yesterday that the freeze plugs are corroded, on both sides and the back side of the block. We do not know if there is corrosion throughout. It was like the doctor telling us that our child has a disease. ...

By day, Freeman Williams manages a small dental practice in suburban Houston. But on any given night, he's prowling crime-ridden streets and battling ne'er-do-wells in the video game "City of Heroes" as his virtual alter-ego: a female superhero named Robotrixie...