Stories from Thursday, February 1, 2007

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Ballpark Village project in St. Louis could be delayed for more than two months, the result of a stall in negotiations between the city and the developer. A City Hall hearing scheduled for Wednesday was canceled. The mayor's office attributed the holdup to haggling over legal language. But an alderman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the delay was the result of significant changes sought by Baltimore-based Cordish Co....

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A snowsuit may have saved a 3-year-old St. Louis boy thrown from his mother's SUV after it was struck by a stolen Jeep. Juanesea Logan's Chevy Blazer was stopped Wednesday evening at an intersection on the city's north side when it was struck by a stolen Jeep Cherokee that was being chased by police. The impact knocked Logan's son, Keith Falker Jr., from the vehicle...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt has organized a group, largely made up of state employees, to continue efforts to improve the state's mental health system. The Mental Health Transformation Working Group will use a $14.2 million federal grant to create a comprehensive state mental health plan, with efforts at work force development, improving technology and training, among other things, the governor's office said Wednesday...

CAIRO, Ill. -- A city board overstepped its authority when it removed a convicted felon from the Feb. 27 city primary ballot without requiring the candidate's accuser to present evidence, Associate Judge Rodney Clutts said in an order reinstating Charles Koen's candidacy for city council...

Feb. 1, 2007 Dear David, A book I'm reading claims to contain the secret of life. I'm a sucker for claims like that. I have books on the secrets of golf in general, putting, the swing plane and the swing tempo, along with books on the secrets of relationships, sex, meditation, martial arts, yoga, the harmonica, the guitar, Venice, Paris and more...

Cape Girardeau school board members have yet to see the audit report of the school district's finances for the past fiscal year, even though board policy required them to approve it three months ago. Brenda McCowan, finance director for the school system, has a draft copy of the audit for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, which ended June 30, but she's holding onto it for now...

While water skiing with her friends at Lake Wappapello in the summer of 1970, Judy McMullin lost her brand-new high school class ring. "I had only had it a month," said McMullin, a graduate of Central High School who now lives in Chaffee, Mo. "I was so disappointed that I'd lost it so soon."...

Historic parts of Cape Girardeau will have a little more light shed on them beginning Monday. At 8 a.m. today, crews from Cotner Electric Co. will begin installing nine 13-foot street lamps in areas leading from the new Southeast Missouri State University River Campus to downtown...

Cape Girardeau public works crews hit the streets Wednesday afternoon to put down a protective layer of salt in anticipation of the city's first measurable snowfall this winter. Clouds that moved over early in the afternoon spit only a few flakes by dark, but forecasters stood by a prediction that up to an inch of snow would fall overnight...

More than 16,000 alumni of Southeast Missouri State University live in the St. Louis area, ranking the Cape Girardeau school seventh among the largest college and university alumni groups in the metropolitan area. The St. Louis Business Journal recently ranked the top 25 colleges in terms of alumni living in the St. Louis area...

About 40 members of the Cape Girardeau Lions Club got a sneak peek at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus for the Visual and Performing Arts Wednesday. Site manager Carl Cooper said work is on schedule for a fall semester opening. Separate sections of the campus, though, will be substantially complete at different times...

Southeast Missourian The Missouri Senate on Wednesday confirmed James P. "Jim" Limbaugh as the newest member of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents. Limbaugh, 52, of Cape Girardeau, is regional president of Montgomery Bank. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in teaching from Southeast...

Cape Girardeau police found a man wanted for murder when officers arrested him late Tuesday night on suspicion for drug and weapons charges. Deniquay T. Jefferson, 23, address unknown, is wanted for murder in Flint, Mich., police said. Jefferson was arrested near the intersection of Broadview Street and Spartech Drive at about 11:22 p.m. after a struggle with police, Cpl. Jason Selzer said...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- In the last two days in Sikeston, two search warrants have been served, three people have been arrested, three guns recovered, crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a runaway juvenile from Memphis, Tenn., have been found. According to a news release issued Wednesday by Sikeston Department of Public Safety director Drew Juden, police officers arrested Travis Williams, 25, Tuesday. He had been sought during Operation Jack Frost in December...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Southwest Missouri may be getting the state's first major natural history museum, thanks in part to an Ice Age cave that is drawing national attention for its treasure trove of fossils from an era when giant animals roamed the earth...

9 a.m. today County Administration Building 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n Payroll change form Action items n Pulaski County order regarding State of Missouri v. Justin Brown Discussion items and appointments n 10 a.m., Jack Green and Kara Clark regarding health reimbursement accounts...

Two planned Cape Girardeau seminars on building codes have attracted 30 to register so far. The seminars to be held at the Osage Community Centre will focus on residential and commercial building codes, respectively. The seminars are being sponsored by five area cities and Southeast Missouri State University...

Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson and Chamber of Commerce president and CEO John Mehner will lead the annual "State of the City" town hall meeting Friday. The forum will take place at 8 a.m. Friday at the First Friday Coffee program held every month at the Show Me Center...

Bootheel man arrested for statutory rape CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- A Pemiscot County man was arrested for the alleged statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl, Pemiscot County Sheriff's Department Lt. Ryan Holder said Tuesday. Johnnie R. Greenway, 22, of Caruthersville confessed to the alleged crimes and was charged with two counts of second-degree statutory rape as the result of an investigation by the Caruthersville Police Department and the Pemiscot County Sheriff's Department, Holder said. ...

ST. LOUIS -- The investigation of child kidnapping suspect Michael Devlin has expanded, with authorities searching one of his previous homes and investigators in Illinois looking into a possible connection to the 2003 murder of a 7-year-old boy. Devlin, a 41-year-old pizzeria manager, faces kidnapping charges in two rural Missouri counties for the abductions of Shawn Hornbeck and 13-year-old Ben Ownby. ...

Arrests; Arrest

NEW YORK -- The United States lags far behind virtually all wealthy countries with regard to family-oriented workplace policies such as maternity leave, paid sick days and support for breast-feeding, a new study by Harvard and McGill University researchers says...

BOSTON -- Several illuminated electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. Most if not all of the devices depict a character giving the finger...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Best-selling author and columnist Molly Ivins, the sharp-witted liberal who skewered the political establishment and referred to President Bush as "Shrub," died Wednesday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 62. Ivins died at her home while in hospice care, said David Pasztor, managing editor of the Texas Observer, where Ivins had once been co-editor...

WASHINGTON -- Thousands of the nation's richest farmers would lose their government subsidies under a Bush administration plan to curb farm spending. Proposals released Wednesday would reduce federal agriculture spending by $18 billion over the next five years. They represent President Bush's vision of a new farm bill: a system of supports that would protect farm income and crop prices and keep food prices stable...

n At 6:31 p.m., medical assist in the 1400 block of Water Street. n At 9:35 p.m., medical assist in the 200 block of South Lorimier Street. n At 6:40 a.m., fuel spill in the southbound lanes at the 92 mile marker of Interstate 55. n At 7:25 p.m. emergency medical service in the 700 block of New Madrid Street...

Maddox; Simelton; Patterson-Pratt; Meyer; Palmer; Hawn

Elizabeth "Betty" Bahn Reese died Tuesday Jan. 23, 2007, in Little Rock, Ark. She was born Nov. 9, 1917, to Emil L. and Viola E. Taylor Bahn in the house they built at 428 Themis Street in Cape Girardeau. She descended from her father's German stock traced back to the 1500s and her mother's German and British stock -- some of the latter were in the U.S. by colonial times...

Jane Ellen Poston, 69, of Omaha, Neb., passed away peacefully Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007, at Mercy Medical Center in Merced, Calif. She was born Jan. 5, 1938, at Lilbourn, Mo., daughter of Joseph and Lola Mae Ward McAllister. She and Norman Poston were united in marriage Aug. 18, 1956...

MORLEY, Mo. -- Candius Eugina "Candy" Rose, 44, of Morley died Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007, at her home. She was born Sept. 28, 1962, in Sikeston, Mo., daughter of Bob and Betty Ingram Wallace. She and Allan Rose were married May 15, 1990, at Benton, Mo...

The Lord answered all of our prayers throughout his illness. When we asked the Lord if he could stay, He said "No, I want my son home." Billy Ray "B.R." Johnson went home to be with the Lord Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007, while surrounded by his wife, daughters and nephew, Mike...

Nelson Brunke, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 29, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. He was born March 2, 1917. Friends may call from noon to service time Friday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Donny Ford officiating. Burial will be in Lorimier Cemetery...

William Dale "Billy" Holder, 52, of Scott City died Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 5, 1954, in Cape Girardeau, son of Ardell Anthony and Margaret Bridgett Johnston Holder Sr. Holder worked 25 years at VIP Industries, where he was a packer. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Scott City...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Lela Sarah Ellen Trentham, 91, of Marble Hill died Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born July 4, 1915, at Bessville, Mo., daughter of Jacob and Sarah Caroline Pulliam Sitzes. She and Harold Trentham were married Oct. 11, 1931. He died April 15, 1980...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Grace Helen Weinkein, 84, of Perryville died Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007, at The Cedars at the Jewish Center for the Aged in Chesterfield, Mo. She was born Dec. 9, 1922, in Perryville, daughter of Rudolph and Flora Cissell Huber. She and Alvin J. Weinkein were married Sept. 5, 1942. He died Sept. 5, 1978...

Robert Clyde Miller, 54, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007, at his home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

BOSTON -- Lavender and tea tree oils found in some shampoos, soaps and lotions can temporarily leave boys with enlarged breasts in rare cases, apparently by disrupting their hormonal balance, a preliminary study suggests. While advising parents to consider the possible risk, several hormone experts emphasized that the problem appears to happen infrequently and clears up when the oils are no longer used. None of those interviewed called for a ban on sales...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez was granted free rein Wednesday to accelerate changes in broad areas of society by presidential decree -- a move critics said propels Venezuela toward dictatorship. Convening in a downtown plaza in a session that resembled a political rally, lawmakers unanimously gave Chavez sweeping powers to legislate by decree and impose his radical vision of a more egalitarian socialist state...

BIRMINGHAM, England -- Police foiled a major kidnapping plot, the first of its kind in Britain, with the arrests Wednesday of nine terror suspects who reportedly planned to torture and behead a British Muslim soldier and broadcast the killing on the Internet...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq indefinitely halted all flights to and from Syria and closed a border crossing with Iran as the government prepares for a new security crackdown aimed at crushing violence in the capital and surrounding regions, a member of parliament and an airport official said Wednesday...

PARIS -- Blacks in France are standing up to be counted, aspiring to become a political factor in presidential and legislative elections later this year. A small but groundbreaking new poll suggests that blacks face widespread discrimination in France, raising questions about a country long proud of its official colorblindness -- and where collecting racial data is banned...

NEW YORK -- Miss USA Tara Conner, who nearly lost her crown for hard-partying in New York nightclubs, says in the upcoming issue of People magazine that her recent stint in rehab was a wake-up call. "I didn't think I had an issue -- but I was willing to do anything to save my job. ... I've realized that I suffer from the disease of alcoholism and addiction," says Conner, who logged in 31 days at the Caron Foundation rehab center in Wernersville, Pa...

The Southeast Missouri State women's tennis team, featuring a new coach and plenty of returning talent, hopes to build on its breakthrough season from a year ago. Southeast posted its first winning record since 1997 last season, going 12-11 and finishing on a four-match winning streak...

West Park Lanes Submitted Jan. 29 Men High games: Rod Davis 277, Sam Bell 277, Michael McGuire 276, Don Dunn 269, Loy Shrum 268, Dan Atkinson 266, Mike Freeman 265, Roy Davis 264, Albert Zoellner 259, Bob James 258, David Barberis 257, Jerry Campbell 256, Rick Lewis 256, Shawn Barker 255, Pacer Schaupert 254, Earl James 253, Mike Ireland 253, Craig Dillman 252, Zel Evans 249, Matt Bass 248, Tom Siebert 248, Duane Statler 247, Ryan Nabe 246, Tom James 246, Lamar Houston 245...

A total of 135 individuals were honored Wednesday during the annual Southeast Missouri State Scholar-Athlete Luncheon at the Show Me Center. Those recognized have a 3.0 or higher cumulative grade-point average, and they represent 52 percent of all the athletes at Southeast. Twenty athletes have perfect 4.0 GPAs...

Baseball n Southeast winter camps: The Southeast Missouri State baseball program will offer its annual winter camps at Houck Field House. A high school select camp is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday for boys in grades 9 through 12 (8 a.m. to noon each day); and a high school select camp is scheduled for Feb. 10 and 11 for boys in grades 9 through 12 (1 to 5 p.m. each day). The cost for each camp is $95. Southeast coaches and players will instruct. Info: (573) 986-6002...

Church music; No ATV license; All about money; Dog warning; Use blinkers; Rousing performance; Time for raises; No confidence; Railroad nostalgia; Need competition; Band memories; Gospel church

When the federal No Child Left Behind Act established periodic testing as a measure of a school's success or failure in delivering instruction to elementary and high school students, one of the aims was to set some benchmarks for achievement by students and, it was presumed, measure the quality of public education in general...

Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois residents begin assessing the damage from a weekend of rain, snow and ice storms that washed out roads and flooded highways in the southern portions of the area and buried northern portions under a blanket of white; and if that isn't enough, the National Weather Service warns of another winter storm moving toward the region that may bring heavy snow tonight or Tuesday...

St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee, Mo,. will serve breakfast from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Sunday in the parish hall. The menu includes whole-hog sausage, biscuits and gravy. For more information, call (573) 204-0441...

Cape Girardeau County Republican Women meet; Dance to be held at the Christ Episcopal Church; Civil rights videos shown at Cape Public library; Doctors and lawyers to play basketball Feb. 24; Outstanding Older Worker nominees wanted; Bank of Missouri donates to nutrition center

The United Way of Southeast Missouri and the Volunteer Intergenerational Center are currently seeking nominations to recognize outstanding community volunteers at the 20th annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon to be held April 17. This program was developed to recognize the array of efforts contributed from numerous individuals and organizations that have significantly impacted our community in the past year...

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Cape Girardeau and Scott counties is expanding the Volunteer Intergenerational Center into the Scott County area, effective now. VIC previously existed only in Cape Girardeau County. RSVP and VIC recruits volunteers of all ages in order to help expand services in not-for-profit agencies who are struggling with today's social issues and problems. ...

CHICAGO -- Mark Smithe admits to a moment of doubt before shelling out $10,000 for a 65-inch high-definition, flat-panel, plasma TV and related gear last week. The hesitation was brief. He's a Bears fan, after all, and what better way to experience the Super Bowl than to see and hear every Brian Urlacher glare and crunching hit through a system with 2 million pixels and theater-quality speakers?...

To the editor:My brother and I were raised to vote the Democratic ticket, and we grew up hearing that the Democratic Party was the poor man's party. It's not that way anymore. It is the liberal party under the controlling thumbs of Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and the Clintons...

NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds' contract with the San Francisco Giants isn't final just yet. After the commissioner's office rejected Bonds' $15.8 million, one-year deal because it contained a personal-appearance provision, the team sent revised documents to his agent, Jeff Borris...

Health center continues to provide WIC services The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center announced it signed a contract with the Missouri Department of Health to continue to provide WIC services for 2007. Under the contract, the health center will be able to serve 1,420 people eligible for WIC each month. ...

Recently, someone said they saw me walking down the street, looking "very lord of the manor." If only. But it did get me to notice how I and other vintage folks carry ourselves. What I started seeing were certain themes: Older women who look like stiffened ballerinas. ...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- David Hoskins had 25 points and Cartier Martin had 22 points and 11 rebounds, leading Kansas State to an 80-73 victory over Missouri on Wednesday night. Akeem Wright added 12 points for the Wildcats (16-6, 5-2 Big 12), who have won six straight and own their first five-game conference winning streak since the Big 12 began play in 1996-97. The string started with an 85-81 victory over the Tigers on Jan. 13 in Columbia, Mo...

Sonya Daugherty ranks among the most prolific scorers in the history of Missouri high school girls basketball. People who have watched Southeast Missouri State play over the past few weeks now know why. After seeing little action as a freshman last year and getting off to a slow start this season, Daugherty has all of a sudden turned into one of the Ohio Valley Conference's top offensive players...

I was reading the Jan. 25 article by TJ Greaney in the Southeast Missourian, "Residents discuss their ideas for improving Cape Girardeau," and the one idea that made complete sense to me was expressed by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Giebler: Broadway needs to be improved since it is the corridor to downtown where so many wonderful improvements have been made by merchants in terms of improving storefronts and opening businesses that attract visitors as well as local residents...

Southeast Missouri State's football recruiting class picked up two more committed players recently, with an offensive lineman from Florida and a running back from Columbia Rock Bridge announcing their intentions to sign with the Redhawks on Feb. 7...

NEW YORK -- Balancing on one leg with his upper body and opposite leg parallel to the floor, dumbbells in each hand, Bryan West instructs his class to extend straight arms forward and then row back with bent elbows to strengthen the upper back. Challenging more than multiple muscles, Buff Yoga turns traditional practice on its head...

NEW YORK -- President Bush challenged corporate America Wednesday on the lavish salaries and bonuses paid to chief executives, saying their pay should be tied to how much they help their companies' shareholders. "America's corporate boardrooms must step up to their responsibilities," Bush said in a speech on Wall Street addressing the state of the U.S. ...

MIAMI -- LaJuan Moore was smiling Wednesday, and it wasn't just because he was going to the Super Bowl. "He's always like this," his mother said. "Been that way since he was a little baby." The smile wasn't what Colts running back Joseph Addai noticed when the two first met in the ninth grade at their Houston high school...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A state lawmaker indicted for bank and credit card fraud said Thursday that he will remain in the Legislature while fighting the charges in court. Democratic Rep. John Bowman, of north St. Louis County, and 16 others are accused of fraudulently applying for business credit cards at Bank of America, then using those cards to rack up more than $1.2 million in charges...