Stories from Friday, April 20, 2007

Southeast Missouri State University officials announced Friday that an alleged hazing incident involving members of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority has been referred to Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle to determine if criminal charges will be filed...

High average incomes and plenty of doctors make Cape Girardeau County one of the most livable rural counties in Missouri, a Southeast Missouri State University economics professor said Friday.A quality of life survey written by Dr. Bruce Domazlicky rated Cape Girardeau County third out of 81 rural counties. "Cape Girardeau's crime rate brought it down, otherwise it would have ranked number one," Domazlicky said...

The former Chaffee police officer cleared of charges of patronizing prostitution Wednesday said the ordeal has left his family financially strapped but has strengthened their love and commitment to each other. "We had to endure a lot of stress, heartache and financial problems," Daniel Ayers said Friday. "My family is tight with each other, and we're going strong."...

Parents of college-age children -- or children who have been through college -- have been universally vocal this week about campus safety in the wake of the killings at Virginia Tech. As I look back on the college days of our two sons, I don't recall worrying about their personal safety...

A 2005 state law that keeps one of the main ingredients of methamphetamine behind the pharmacy counter has greatly reduced the number of meth labs in Southeast Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said 14 labs were reported in Cape Girardeau County last year, down from 20 in 2005. Scott County reported eight labs in 2005 and six last year...

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has called for a statewide day of mourning today to remember those who died at Virginia Tech earlier this week. Blunt asked that churches and communities hold their own ceremonies and to ring bells at 11 a.m. today in remembrance of those who died...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- Still picking up the pieces after being hit by an F3 tornado more than a year ago, Caruthersville will receive an additional half a million dollars in state aid for repairing its infrastructure. Gov. Matt Blunt made the announcement Thursday. The money comes from the state's Community Block Development Program administered by the Department of Economic Development. State assistance to the area now has totaled more than $900,000 since the storm...

Scott County tax; Baking soda plan; Common-sense testing; Staying the same; Great teachers; Taxing bicycles; Irrational laws; Flawed system; Helping veterans; Tax and spend; Provide support; Murder auctions; Powell for president; Stealing gas; Apology needed; School not destroyed; Ask for utensils; No taxi service; Walk the walk; Racial agitation; Protecting students; Cruelest month; Better spokesmen; Blame the NRA; Great production; It was a vendetta; Not surprised; Pay the taxes

Along with improved traffic flow, the latest Broadway widening project in Cape Girardeau has given motorists and pedestrians a new perspective of Freedom Corner, the memorial to Cape Girardeau Countians who have died in the service of their country. The memorial, at the corner of Broadway and West End Boulevard, includes a replica of the Statue of Liberty and four columns with bronze plaques listing the names...

Doyle Wood, the superintendent of schools in Iberia, Mo., near the Lake of the Ozarks, has been selected to replace Dr. Jerry L. Waddle as superintendent of the Delta School District; Waddle resigned his post at Delta effective at the end of the school year to become the superintendent of the Kelly School District in Benton, Mo...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- A former Chaffee police officer was cleared of charges of patronizing prostitution this week after witnesses recanted their testimony. Daniel Ayers, 31, of Cape Girardeau was charged with four misdemeanor counts of patronizing prostitution in February after two Chaffee women told police he offered them cigarettes and cash if they would expose themselves to him or carry out sexual acts while he watched...

The school counselor at Clippard and Franklin elementary schools was incorrectly identified in an article on Missouri Assessment Program testing in Tuesday's edition. The counselor's name is Sue Cook. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Kennett man arraigned on robbery charges A Kennett, Mo., man accused of two armed robberies and a theft in February was arraigned Monday in Cape Girardeau County court. Damarius A. Wells, 17, is charged with first-degree robbery, attempted first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. ...

The lingering legal battle between Three Rivers Community College and Southeast Missouri State University over operation of Bootheel higher education centers could play out in a courtroom next year. Circuit Judge William Seay of Salem, Mo., has set the 2-year-old case for trial Feb. 25 through 29 in Franklin County Circuit Court in Union, Mo...

Richard Penney, a painter of dinosaurs, will speak and display his art Saturday at the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History in Marble Hill, Mo. Penney, of Ironton, Mo., is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. He is known as a "paleoartist" and will display original oil paintings and overhead transparencies of his work...

Thursday County Administration Building 1 Barton Square, Jackson Routine business n Received and filed report on erroneous assessments. n Approved payroll change forms. n Received and filed statement of monthly collections from the county collector...

One of the owners of a Cape Girardeau fixture has died, but many remember the legacy he helped create. Frank Lewis, who died Thursday at age 90, worked with his brothers for nearly 30 years at Wimpy's Drive-In, their restaurant/grocery store at 800 N. Kingshighway...

MOSCOW -- A leading Moscow university ordered its foreign students Thursday to stay in their dormitories for the next three days due to fears of ethnic violence before and after Adolf Hitler's birthday. The move by Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy underscores the failure of Russian authorities to stem xenophobia and racism that is feeding a marked rise in hate crimes...

SELMER, Tenn. -- A preacher's wife who claimed her husband abused her was convicted of voluntary manslaughter Thursday for killing him with a shotgun she said fired accidentally as she aimed at him. Mary Winkler showed no emotion as the verdict was read...

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Long before he boiled over, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was pushed around and laughed at as a schoolboy in suburban Washington because of his shyness and the strange, mumbly way he talked, former classmates say. Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior who graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., with Cho in 2003, recalled that the South Korean immigrant hardly ever opened his mouth and would ignore attempts to strike up a conversation...

DALLAS -- Faced with complaints that his donkey was too loud, attorney Gregory Shamoun decided to bring his case directly to the court: He had the donkey testify. Buddy the donkey appeared in court Wednesday. He walked to the bench and stared at the jury, the picture of a gentle, well-mannered creature and not the loud, aggressive animal he had been accused of being...

McIntyre; Stout

Virginia L. Amelunke, 84, of Jackson passed away Wednesday, April 18, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 23, 1922, in Cape Girardeau County, daughter of the late Ollie P. and Alice Lucille Johnson Eaton. She and Herman Amelunke were married March 4, 1942, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tilsit. They were married 37 years when Herman died June 3, 1979...

Frank Miller Lewis, 90, of Cape Girardeau died April 19, 2007, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born in Des Arc, Mo., March 11, 1917, son of Fred and Ethel Miller Lewis. Frank graduated from high school in Annapolis, Mo. In 1942 he graduated from the U.S. ...

ANNA, Ill. -- George Morber, 96, of Anna died Wednesday, April 18, 2007, at City Care Center. He was born May 12, 1910, son of Albert and Minnie Mezo Morber. He and Bernice Campbell were married June 30, 1981. Morber was an operating engineer drilling dynamite many years. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Ullin, Ill., and a past governor and lifetime member of Anna Moose Lodge...

Inez A. Graham, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 19, 2007, at Landmark Hospital. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Jackie Lockridge, 50, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 19, 2007, at his home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Lorene Emma Kinsey, 84, of Chaffee died Wednesday, April 18, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 4, 1923, in Chaffee, daughter of Grover Cleveland and Ada Dunning White. She and James Washington Kinsey were married July 25, 1942. He died Feb. 14, 1988...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Virginia Alta Marie Brown, 80, of Marble Hill died Thursday, April 19, 2007, at her home. She was born March 18, 1927, at Glenallen, Mo., daughter of William H. and Virgie May Sample Crites. She and Floyd E. Brown were married Sept. 28, 1944, in Paragould, Ark. He died Oct. 15, 2004...

n At 6:51 p.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of Napa Circle. n At 7:11 p.m., emergency medical service in the 900 block of Rodney Vista Boulevard. n At 9:02 p.m., emergency medical service in the 3000 block of Aspen Drive. n At 9:03 p.m., emergency medical service in the 400 block of Frederick Street...

Arrests; Thefts

I didn't know Thomas Faron Johnson all that well, but if you're reading this, there's a chance you might have. You would probably know him best at Tommy DeWolf. For the purposes of this column, I'll just call him Tommy. If you've been keeping up with the local arts and entertainment news lately, then you're probably aware that Tommy's guitar will no longer wail over the pummeling, old-school hard rock that is Drivin' Rain. ...

Southeast Band teams with winds and brass; Missouri Arts Council stops in Cape Girardeau; Hmong writer and editor to speak at Southeast; Irish Festival scheduled for next weekend; Tickets on sale now for junior high musical; Southern Illinois Bird Fest starts April 27; Jackson schools to hold two arts events; New theater company holds open auditions; -- From staff reports

Today Wine time Wine lover? If so you won't want to miss the Community Counseling Center Foundation's sixth annual Community Benefit Wine Festival, with wines from 12 Missouri wineries. n When: 6 p.m. n Where: Deerfield Lodge n Info: 334-1100, extension 219...

New at the theaters: 'Fracture'; 'The Hoax'; 'In the Land of Women'; 'Vacancy'; STILL PLAYING: '300'; 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon'; 'Are We Done Yet?'; 'Blades of Glory'; 'Disturbia'; 'Firehouse Dog'; 'Grindhouse'; 'The Last Mimzy'; 'Meet the Robinsons'; 'Pathfinder'; 'Perfect Stranger'; 'The Reaping'; 'Redline'; 'Slow Burn'; 'TMNT'; 'Wild Hogs'

LOS ANGELES -- The festering bad blood between movie-star exes Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger erupted Thursday when an angry phone message from Baldwin to his daughter was made public. On the recording, Baldwin can be heard admonishing his 11-year-old, Ireland, "You are a rude, thoughtless little pig."...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- When white masquerades as yellow and green might actually be blue, a call goes out to Henry DePhillips. DePhillips, a Trinity College chemistry professor, is among a cadre of specialists using cutting-edge science to solve the color mysteries of paintings and other cultural treasures often several centuries old...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Assistant superintendent Kevin Dunn will succeed his boss as superintendent of the Perryville public schools. The school board voted in closed session Wednesday to promote Dunn. School officials announced the hiring Thursday. Dunn will replace Beverly Schonhoff, who resigned to take a job as superintendent of the Hillsboro, Mo., public schools...

The injury-plagued season of Southeast Missouri State track All-American and World Champion gold medalist Miles Smith is over. But Southeast coach Joey Haines expects his senior star to receive a medical hardship from the NCAA and come back stronger than ever next year as he chases an Olympic berth...

For a high school golfer, playing that first shot at Dalhousie Golf Club can be fun. Somewhere around the 100th shot, frustration can set in. More than half the field crossed the century mark Thursday in the first Saxony Lutheran Invitational Tournament, played at the course recently ranked No. 1 in Missouri by Golf Digest and hosted by a school with a first-year golf program...

A district title should mean something. That seems to be the sentiment among area football coaches regarding a Missouri State High School Activities Association football playoff proposal that would double the number of playoff teams. The proposal adds a new tier to the playoffs, sending the second-place team from each district into a new playoff round...

The last time Southeast Missouri State qualified for the Ohio Valley Conference women's tennis tournament, in 2003, all but one OVC team made the field. Things are much more difficult these days, with only six of the league's 11 squads getting in...

ST. LOUIS -- Defenseman Erik Johnson, the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry draft, told the St. Louis Blues a couple of weeks ago that he wasn't ready to sign a professional contract. Now he's ready, signing the documents while seated at a podium at a news conference before donning a No. 6 jersey...

Diane L. Wilson ~ dlwilson@semissourian.com Paving of the parking lot for Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus started this week. In the background, construction continued on the new building of the River Campus that will include a 200-seat theater with flexible seating and a dance studio scheduled to open in the fall...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds watched Albert Pujols hit a spectacular home run, then one-upped him with No. 738. And Bonds watched from the on-deck circle as Rich Aurilia lined a game-winning single to left-center in the bottom of the 12th inning to send the San Francisco Giants to a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rich Aurilia spent his first nine big league seasons as a fan favorite in San Francisco. Now, in his second stint with the Giants after three years away, he is as beloved as ever. Aurilia provided the key hit for the second time in 15 1/2 hours. His two-run, sixth-inning double broke a tie and helped Noah Lowry to his first win of the season, a 6-2 victory over the struggling St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday...

From its opening song-and-dance number to the time the curtain falls at the end, Southeast Missouri State University's production of "42nd Street" never fails to live up to its billing as a "song and dance extravaganza." And singing and dancing is almost all you'll see at this show...

The Kelly Hawks capitalized on Notre Dame mistakes to defeat the Bulldogs 7-5 in SEMO Conference baseball action Thursday. "It was one of our better all-round performances," Kelly coach Cory Johnson said. "We still had some holes, but anytime you can come out with a win at Notre Dame, playing against a traditionally good, well-coached team, that's always a big win for any program."...

Three and a half stars (out of four) Let me just start by saying that, the only word I could say at the end of this movie was, "Wow!" This was one of the best films I have seen in quite a long time. The acting was excellent, and the story, although not original, was exceptionally good. ...

After competing convertibles arrived in showrooms in the past year with hardtops, rather than fabric roofs, it's easy to see why Chrysler's 2008 Sebring Convertible is the first Sebring to offer a hardtop. But thankfully, Chrysler doesn't limit shoppers to the hardtop, which pushes Sebring Convertible prices above $30,000...

Megan Wengert stopped eight shots to earn the shutout victory as St. Vincent defeated St. Pius 2-0 in a girls soccer game Thursday. Liz Brueckner got the Indians on the board, with Jessica Welker and Courtney Besand earning assists. Megan Sutterer added an insurance goal for the Indians (11-2, 3-0). Liz Rozier assisted on the goal...

ST. LOUIS -- After a half-century of declining population, St. Louis gained residents for the fourth straight year in 2006, city officials said Thursday. The U.S. Census Bureau's original 2006 estimate for the city showed a slight decline in population -- to 347,181 from 352,572 in 2005. But for the sixth straight year, Mayor Francis Slay's office challenged the estimate...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of additional college students could get scholarships. Some of them could end up studying in new buildings. And their tuition could be prohibited from skyrocketing. Gov. Matt Blunt's self-described "historic education package" won a Senate endorsement early Thursday after fellow Republicans shut off a prolonged Democratic debate, then penalized the plan's two most vocal opponents...

The Southeast Missouri Hospital Association honored two community leaders who have "worked diligently to bring quality and medical services to the region" at its annual dinner Thursday night. More than 800 association members and guests attended the dinner at the Show Me Center...

The 17th annual Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive begins Saturday and continues Sunday at locations in towns and cities throughout Southeast Missouri: Altenburg, Brazeau, Burfordville, Cape Girardeau, Commerce, Frohna, Jackson, Marble Hill, Marquand, Patton, Pocahontas and Scott City...