Stories from Tuesday, April 24, 2007

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Drury University is looking for a new president after John Sellars resigned for what he said were personal reasons less than two years after taking over the job. Sellars did not elaborate on the reasons for his departure. John Beuerlein, president of Drury's Board of Trustees, said Sellars was not forced to quit or fired...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- More than a month after the Missouri Supreme Court declared the state's method of registering known and suspected child abusers as unconstitutional, only a few names are being removed from the list. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday that only about one in a thousand people initially will be taken off Missouri's child abuse registry under an interpretation of the ruling by the state Department of Social Services. ...

KNOX CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A homemade airplane crashed in a northeast Missouri field Monday, killing one person and injuring two others, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. A trooper found the wreckage shortly after 3:30 p.m. after spotting smoke coming from the field, the patrol said. The plane had been en route from Florida to Spicer, Minn., according to the patrol's preliminary investigation...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park will not be open this summer because of damage from the Taum Sauk Reservoir collapse, a move that could hurt a region economically dependent on tourists drawn to the popular park. Johnson's Shut-Ins was devastated in December 2005 when Ameren Corp.'s reservoir failed and sent one billion gallons of water rushing through the area, injuring a family of five and burying much of the park under five feet of soil...

Cape Girardeau County Public Water Supply District No. 5 won a $500,000 grant Tuesday to complete financing for a waterworks project that will replace the wells for about 200 residents near Egypt Mills and the Nell Holcomb School District. The Community Development Block Grant award was announced by the Department of Economic Developmnent. ...

The Missouri job market remains strong, adding 10,800 jobs in March, Gov. Matt Blunt said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters from Southeast Missouri. In the news conference, Blunt acknowledged Missouri has lost manufacturing jobs since he took office in January 2005 but said overall job growth has been strong with 93,000 jobs added to payrolls...

A 13-year-old Pennsylvania girl was crowned national texting champion Saturday after she typed "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from "Mary Poppins" in 15 seconds. Before you dismiss such teenage skill, I must tell you that the girl won the $25,000 prize. "I'm going to go shopping and buy lots of clothes," Morgan Pozgar told the Associated Press after winning the prize from an electronics company. No kidding. What else would a teenage girl say?...

With the help of donations from the Kasten family and Charles and Shirley Drury, the Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri will break ground on the new 6,500-square-foot Vernon L. Kasten Center today. The ceremony will be at 11 a.m. at the site of the center, 3178 Blattner Drive in Cape Girardeau. Among those attending will be Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson...

During a scheduled joint meeting between Cape Girardeau City Council and the Cape Girardeau County Commission, county officials made one thing clear: They're determined to get possession of the old federal building. The county hopes to make an offer to the General Services Administration soon and avoid watching the building at 339 Broadway be put up for auction online...

Certain attractions in Cape Girardeau are tough to miss, like the downtown floodwall and the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. But other treasures are often ignored, especially by longtime residents. To correct that problem, the city will hold its second Rediscover Your Cape weekend Saturday and Sunday...

Southeast Missouri State University's production of "42nd Street" is on track to become the university's best-selling theater production in 33 years. But the university theater and dance department's marketing manager is concerned that rumors circulating about the remaining shows being sold out could jeopardize sales in the coming week...

State park officials and state Rep. Jerry Ford gather at Trail of Tears State Park north of Cape Girardeau to take an aerial look at possible sites for a proposed half-million-dollar interpretive complex; construction of the center, amphitheater and other improvements depend upon the availability of a capital improvements bond issue to be voted on by the legislature next month...

Fourth-graders find the jar of tobacco tar disgusting. The Cape Girardeau Central High School students who show off the substance are looking for just that reaction. It's all part of an anti-tobacco presentation to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders in the Cape Girardeau school system...

Two men suspected of burglarizing the Medicine Shoppe, 864 N. Kingshighway, on April 7 are now thought to be responsible for a drug store burglary early Friday in Hayti, Mo., police say. Hayti police chief Paul Sheckell said Monday the Prescription Drug Store, across the street from the Hayti police station, was burglarized at 1:07 a.m. Friday in the same manner the Medicine Shoppe had been...

Legislator, 911 board discuss cell phone issue Officials again are looking at taxing cell phone users -- only this time a proposal to place a tariff on 911 calls for cell customers is being considered. Sen. Bob Mayer and the Stoddard County 911 Services Board of Directors discussed the tax Thursday night. Mayer said he thought Missourians do not realize the extent of the problem 911 services are facing...

Seniors' artwork shown at annual exhibition The work of seven Southeast Missouri State University graduating seniors will be showcased starting Friday with the university's annual Department of Art Senior Exhibition. An opening reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. ...

A Jackson man pleaded guilty Monday to making a terroristic threat. Leotis Silvester Allen, 22, entered the plea before Circuit Judge Benjamin F. Lewis in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court. Allen and Duane H. Haffner, 23, were charged with threatening to bomb the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson in February...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Saying Missouri casinos face new competition from Kansas, a Senate leader tried again Monday to pass legislation that would repeal loss limits and raise taxes on casinos. Senate Majority Leader Charlie Shields proposed repealing a state law that limits what casino patrons can lose in a two-hour period to $500...

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Thousands of Virginia Tech students and faculty filled the center of campus Monday to pay solemn tribute to the victims of last week's massacre -- listening quietly as a bell tolled for the dead on the day classes resumed at the grief-stricken school...

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA released the first three-dimensional images of the sun Monday, saying the photos taken from twin spacecraft may lead to better predictions of solar eruptions that can affect communications and power lines on Earth. "The first reaction was 'Great, the instruments work,' but beyond that the first reaction was 'Wow!"' scientist Simon Plunkett said as he explained the images to a room full of journalists and scientists wearing 3D glasses...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Three colleges agreed Monday to change how they recommend lenders on campus and one of them will reimburse students $88,000 to settle a probe into the student loan industry. Washington University in St. Louis, DeVry University in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., and Career Education Corp. of Hoffman Estates, Ill., agreed to a code of conduct to protect students from kickbacks paid to colleges by lenders in exchange for steering students their way...

To the editor:I would like to invite residents to attend the last two Cape Girardeau County road committee meetings to be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Fruitland sale barn and Thursday at the Burfordville Baptist church. These folks have formulated a plan to improve the county's roads within the funds available, and they have done a great job. ...

By Kathy Swan Owning a small business has great rewards: providing a needed product or service at a fair price, growing the company by building a solid base of customers, giving a chance for employees to earn a good salary that supports their families and contributing to the community...

To the editor:The March 23 column by Michael Jensen state that activist journalists are possibly more dangerous than activist judges. He is correct. Activist journalists' biases are far more destructive because of their insidious ability to slowly and subtly change opinions on any given issue. The most effective way is through omission. They omit facts that could give readers the ability to see the issue from any perspective other than their own...

Voters in Cairo, Ill., have spoken. They have chosen a new mayor, selected city council members and chosen school board members. The election provides a dividing point, one that residents can embrace or ignore. The rancor that bedeviled this struggling city before last week's balloting doesn't have to continue. ...

Horrell; Merritt; Pfeiffer

To the editor:The opening night performance of "42nd Street" in the Rose Theatre was outstanding. What an opportunity to have great entertainment at such a low price and a seat that can be as close as you want it to be. "42nd Street" is funny, well-acted and filled with ensemble numbers that will have you tapping your feet to a wonderful musical. Who knows? You might see me there again...

Arrests; Arrests; Summons

Glenn Virgil Wooten, 83, of Jackson died Sunday, April 22, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 1, 1923, in Cloverdale, Ala., son of Lawrence and Edna Dixon Wooten. He and Lavon T. Linville were married Jan. 29, 1946, in Florence, Ala. She died Sept. 9, 1992...

Dorothy J. Wescott, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, April 20, 2007, at her home. She was born March 16, 1917, in Carroll County, Mo., daughter of King A. and Mary M. Perry Lightfoot. She and Frank Wescott were married July 8, 1937, in Carrollton, Mo. He preceded her in death...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Lorraine Sue Sides, 60, of Perryville died Friday, April 20, 2007, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born Nov. 3, 1946, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Chester W. and Lenora Mauberine Allen Sarff. She and Larry Sides were married Feb. 7, 1970, in Cape Girardeau...

James Lehmann, 50, of Jackson died Monday, April 23, 2007, at his home. He was born May 5, 1956, in Cape Girardeau, son of John R. and Wilma E. Gohn Lehmann. Lehmann graduated from Jackson High School in 1974. He had worked at the former Jackson Oil Co., Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and the former LeeRowan Co., all in Jackson...

Terry Leon Obermann, 53, of Dutchtown died Saturday, April 21, 2007, at his home. He was born March 28, 1954, in Cape Girardeau, son of Earl Leon and Virginia Marie Estes Obermann Sr. Obermann was a foreman with Columbia Construction in Cape Girardeau...

PATTON, Mo. -- Phyllis G. Maynard, 61, of Patton died Saturday, April 21, 2007, at her home. She was born Feb. 21, 1946, in Houston, Texas, daughter of Albert and Bernice Styles Pike. She and Robert L. Maynard were married Aug. 3, 2001. Maynard was a quality control specialist at Versa Tech Co. until becoming ill. She was a member of Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church...

Jack Latimer, 82 of Jackson passed away Sunday, April 22, 2007, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Feb. 2, 1925. in Marston, Mo., son of the late Howard J. and Verba A. Bodine Latimer. He and Jean Pardon were married Nov. 16, 1943. She preceded him in death Aug. 20, 1998...

Clara Goeddel Feldmeier, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, April 22, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born April 7, 1914, in St. Louis, daughter of Louis H. and Ida W. Nobbe Goeddel. She and Robert L. Feldmeier were married Nov. 11, 1939, in Waterloo, Ill...

NEW YORK -- Teens generally don't think twice about including their first names and photos on their personal online profiles, but most refrain from using full names or making their profiles fully public, a new survey finds. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reported last week that two-thirds of teens with profiles on blogs or social-networking sites have restricted access to their profiles in some fashion, such as by requiring passwords or making them available only to friends on an approved list.. ...

Two local high school students take a look at the most common "sins" among teens. This week, Delta High School senior Amanda Obermann focuses on cheating, cliques and laziness. Next week, Nicholle Hinkle, a Jackson High School senior, will discuss four additional sins high school students are guilty of committing.

Conservatory announces Gold Cup recipients Keyboards and Kindermusik Conservatory recently announced the 2007 Gold Cup recipients in the National Music Federation of Music Clubs contest, pictured above. Winners of the first gold cup require at least three years of participation. ...

NEW YORK -- Self-proclaimed "citizen journalist" Bill Moyers, who tore himself away from the TV grind a little more than two years ago with the explanation "maybe finally I've broken the habit," is returning to weekly television. "Bill Moyers Journal" premieres at 8 p.m. Friday with the first of a scheduled 99 hours airing through February 2009, by which time Moyers will be within sight of his 75th birthday...

MOSCOW -- Former president Boris Yeltsin, who hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union by scrambling atop a tank to rally opposition against a hard-line coup and later pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy, died Monday at age 76. Russia's first freely elected leader, Yeltsin initially was admired Communist system. But many Russians will remember him mostly for presiding over the steep decline of their nation...

BANGKOK, Thailand -- U.N.-sponsored scientists who warned of the dangers of a warming Earth will issue a new study next month describing how to avert the worst: Everyone must embrace technologies ranging from nuclear power to manure control. Under a best-case scenario for heading off severe damage, the global economy might lose as little as 3 percentage points of growth by 2030 in deploying technologies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, says the panel's draft report, obtained by The Associated Press.. ...

BAGHDAD -- Nine U.S. soldiers were killed and 20 wounded Monday in a suicide car bombing against a patrol base northeast of the capital in Diyala province, a volatile area that has been the site of fierce fighting, the military said. The attack came on a day when insurgents struck across Iraq, carrying out seven other bombings that killed at least 48 people...

SAN FRANCISCO -- David Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who chronicled the Washington press corps, the Vietnam War generation and baseball, was killed in a car crash Monday, a coroner said. He was 73. Halberstam, who lived in New York and Nantucket, Mass., was a passenger in a car that was broadsided by another vehicle in Menlo Park, south of San Francisco, San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said. ...

Adults dressed in suits and sports coats converged on Dalhousie Gold Club on Monday. It was the first sure sign that an army of youth golfers, approximately 200 strong, are not far behind. Representatives of the American Junior Golf Association conducted a news conference along with the Dalhousie adminstration and Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson to unveil the sponsors and details of the first AJGA event to be played in Missouri...

It's difficult to feel sympathy for successful ventures. Especially those that center around golf, a sport that can't shake its upper-class association. And especially country club golf, which conjures images of stuffed-shirt elitism harpooned in "Caddyshack."...

Central edged Francis Howell 7-6 on Monday in a makeup game from the Jeffco Showcase, as Tigers coach Steve Williams recorded his 250th career victory. Blake Slattery, Matt Hester and Alex Shell had three hits apiece for the Tigers (10-6), who ended a two-game losing streak...

Bicycle lanes; Trash cans; Deer in the street; Tax perspective; Focus on friendly; Uptown Homecomers; Getting a bad name; Illinois voting; Government programs; Loss of decency; Best location; Cuts favor the rich; What's in a boundary?; Great experience; No vendettas; Wonderful person; A good officer

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Tiger Woods finally visited the famous "Church Pew" bunkers at Oakmont, but only to pose for a picture. Birdies were rare, but the greens were still bumpy from being covered in snow only a week ago. And with a 15 mph gust in his face as he stood on the 288-yard eighth hole, he was resigned to breaking his self-imposed rule never to hit driver on a par 3. Stubborn as always, he stuck with a 3-wood that he hit as hard as he could, satisfied when it stopped 25 feet from the hole...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Taking control of DEI, his late father's company, might come at too high a price for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Last week, ESPN reported DEI offered Dale Earnhardt Jr. 51-percent ownership, which NASCAR's most popular driver quickly denied. That's not to say there weren't informal discussions, rather it could be Junior simply stopped listening once he heard the asking price...

NEW YORK -- Metal bats will be banned from high school baseball in the nation's largest school system starting this September after the City Council on Monday overrode a mayoral veto of the bill. The measure outlawed metal bats under the theory that they produce balls with greater velocity and raise the risk of injury because of less reaction time. Opponents, including Little League Baseball and equipment suppliers, say there is no evidence metal bats are more dangerous...

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Seattle Mariners placed ace right-hander Felix Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list on Monday, shelving their hard-throwing 21-year-old until at least May 4. Hernandez left his start Wednesday night against Minnesota after getting just one out. ...

PHOENIX -- Leandro Barbosa, among the fastest players in the NBA, ran away with the league's Sixth Man Award on Monday. The "Brazilian Blur" received 101 of a possible 127 first-place votes from a media panel. The honor came one day after Barbosa matched his career playoff high with 26 points in the Phoenix Suns' 95-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in Game 1 of their opening series...

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Luol Deng expects the adjustments to be as subtle as some of the hard fouls the teams have exchanged in recent seasons. He knows the Miami Heat have to do something. The defending champions had two days to digest what happened in Game 1 on Saturday, when Deng scored 33 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 96-91 victory. ...

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers put closer Eric Gagne on the 15-day disabled list Monday, a day after the oft-injured right-hander left the game in the middle of just his second save situation for his new team. Gagne, the 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner for Los Angeles, was appearing in consecutive games for the Rangers for the first time Sunday when he started favoring his right leg after his 11th pitch. He was diagnosed with a hip injury...

WASHINGTON -- The research could give you whiplash: Aspirin prevents cancer, one study says. Oops, maybe not, says another. Now comes word that aspirin may fend off cancer only if people take much more than is used to fight heart disease, suggesting some of the earlier back-and-forth may have been because of confusion over the right dose...

Chaffee's baseball team has hit a road block in its season with its third loss in four games, a 16-1 rout Monday at the hands of SEMO Conference-leading Sikeston. The Red Devils were riding a five-game winning streak and carried a 9-3 record into Friday's tournament opener in the Red Devils Classic. Chaffee dropped two of three in its own tournament and now sits at 10-6 and 3-3 in the conference after Monday's loss...

Coming off perhaps as amazing a win as Mark Hogan has had in his 13 seasons as Southeast Missouri State's baseball coach, the Redhawks will now get ready for five home games this week. First up is a two-game nonconference series with Memphis, featuring a 6 p.m. contest today and a 4 p.m. start Wednesday...

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the next KFVS12 Heartland Science Lab, science reporter Jason Lindsey will show you how to have a "blast" with science. Ingredients n String n Balloon n Straw n Tape n Scissors Instructions...

Southeast Missouri State University will host two end-of-season concerts during the next two weeks, showcasing a symphony orchestra, the university band and the university choir. The first will be tonight, when the University Band takes the stage at Academic Auditorium, teaming up with the university Wind Symphony and Southeast Brass Quintet. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state House passed legislation Monday that would subject abortion clinics to more stringent regulations, a move critics claim would make it harder for women to get abortions in Missouri. The overwhelming 101-48 House vote came on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court delivered another victory for abortion opponents, overturning appeals court decisions that had struck down Missouri and Virginia laws banning a certain late-term abortion procedure...

Due to the crop loss from this month's freezing weather, the acting director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Matt Boatright, is allowing Missouri wine producers to purchase up to 95 percent of grapes and juices from outside of the state to be used for making wine...