Stories from Thursday, September 20, 2007

VILLA RIDGE, Mo. (AP) -- Authorities in eastern Missouri are searching for a man -- or possibly two men -- who posed as a police officer to pull over a female motorist, then fondled her. Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke says the suspect wore a police uniform and even had police lights on the roof of his car. But his investigation shows that no one from his department was in the area where the woman was stopped...

FAIR PLAY, Mo. (AP) -- A 2-year-old boy is dead after his father's 18-wheeler went out of control and crashed near Fair Play in southwest Missouri. A Missouri State Highway Patrol report said Dustin Hoestetler of Halfway was pronounced dead at the scene of the 2:35 p.m. crash Tuesday...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Army Corps of Engineers is hoping rock formations placed strategically in the Mississippi River at St. Louis will force current toward the middle of the river and help eliminate the need for dredging. Three of the formations, called chevrons, are being built near the McKinley Bridge. Officials say the idea is that by forcing current toward the middle, silt will be scoured from a stretch of barge channel that regularly needs costly dredging...

Scott City is close to finalizing a deal with Union Pacific to purchase a parcel of land on Main Street where a city-owned historic caboose currently sits. The lot is across from the Scott City VFW hall and is used as a parking lot for area businesses, a church and the VFW and as a hang-out spot for local teenagers...

Cape Girardeau Republicans nominated 18-year legislative veteran Mary Kasten Thursday as their candidate in the Feb. 5 special election for the Missouri House seat in the 158th District. Kasten, 79, gave up her legislative seat in 2000 when her late husband, Dr. Melvin Kasten, became ill. The special election was forced by the resignation of Nathan Cooper, a close friend of Kasten, on Aug. 14 as a result of his guilty plea to two federal felonies...

Sept. 20, 2007 Dear Leslie, Late one night after a girlfriend and I moved to New Orleans a gunshot cracked near our apartment building. I ran outside. Big-city fear wasn't familiar to me yet. People were helping a young man through the door of an apartment. I followed them in. An ambulance had been called...

William M. White III, of Mechanics­ville, Md., knew he was doing something wrong when he committed a bank robbery in Cape Girardeau last year, a jury decided Wednesday. The jury of five men and seven women returned a guilty verdict after three hours of deliberation, declining to believe the defense's argument that White suffered a mental illness...

One of Mark Ruark's happiest days as an athletic director wasn't on the field. It was when he discovered Cape Girardeau school officials would no longer have to collect a participation fee from students to play sports or participate in extracurricular activities at the high school...

Cape Girardeau Republicans will reach back into their past for a nominee in the Feb. 5 special election to replace Nathan Cooper in the Missouri House. Former state representative Mary Kasten, 79, will ask the 158th District House Republican Committee for the GOP nomination this evening during a meeting at Dexter Bar-B-Que. Kasten, who first won the seat in 1982, stepped aside in 2000 when her late husband, Dr. Melvin Kasten, fell ill...

Linda Godwin, a Jackson High School and Southeast Missouri State University graduate, will be back on familiar turf for today's rededication of Cape Girardeau's "Missouri Wall of Fame." Godwin, a NASA astronaut, will speak, as will Carole Buck, widow of Hall of Fame Cardinal broadcaster Jack Buck...

To the editor:I spent this past weekend watching two stages of the Tour of Missouri professional bike race. Thanks to the untiring work of Peter Kinder, Missouri is only one of three states to host a world-class professional cycling classic. The race, which started in Kansas City and included other stages in Branson, Columbia, St. ...

When Steve Fossett disappeared into the Nevada landscape a couple of weeks ago, the Civil Air Patrol was called to duty, combing the air above the desert and searching for the millionaire adventurer. It is perhaps not a widely known fact that the Southeast Missouri region has a Civilian Air Patrol group called the Trail of Tears Composite Squadron MO-127. The Civil Air Patrol is a U.S. Air Force auxiliary...

Using the pool; Bronson is better; Deserve better pay; Which nations?; Waiting at stoplights; Safer to merge; Wonderful leader; Illegal parking; Blocking the view; Respect for flag; Thanks for concert; School bullying; Treatment of animals; Social reality; Manners in Chaffee

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed three sites in Missouri's Old Lead Belt for inclusion on the national Superfund cleanup list. The three are in eastern Missouri's Washington County in its lead district at Old Mines, Potosi and Richwoods near the eastern Ozark Mountains...

CHARLESTON, Mo. --Wednesday's court date for the Sikeston couple charged with supplying alcohol to minors has been moved to Oct. 17. In July, Mark Cheatham, 49, and his wife, Terry Brewer-Cheatham, 47, appeared in the Scott County courtroom of Circuit Judge Terry L. Brown and pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a May 20 party at their home...

'Instant Piano' class offered at Southeast Southeast Missouri State University will host a beginning piano course called "Instant Piano for Hopelessly Busy People" from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 3. The course is a beginning class where students will learn all the chords needed to play any pop song, any style, any key by reading chord symbols, not notes. David Haynes will instruct the class. For more information or to register, call (573) 986-6879...

A mechanical failure at Central Municipal Pool has three high school swim teams improvising practices. Some are practicing at Capaha Park's pool, some are using the pool at Saint Francis Medical Center's Fitness Plus or going as far as Perryville's municipal pool...

Spokesmen for the three railroads serving Cape Girardeau say some freight shipments of other-than-perishable and time-sensitive items likely will be delayed as a result of yesterday's strike by train engineers; on strike are the Missouri-Pacific, Burlington-Northern and Cottonbelt railroads...

Nationally, students are reading less and it's reflected in test scores. According to a National Assessment of Educational Progress test administered to eighth graders, reading scores decreased between 2003 and 2005. But at Central Junior High School on Wednesday, students were excited about reading...

The River City Players community theater group will hold open auditions for John Van Druten's "Bell, Book and Candle" -- the romantic comedy that inspired the TV series "Bewitched" -- at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Port Cape Girardeau. No preparation is necessary. Three men, two women and one cat are needed for the cast. For more information call 334-1194...

ST. LOUIS -- The family of a St. Louis firefighter who died battling a blaze in 2002 has been awarded $27 million in a suit against the maker of breathing equipment, and the jury on Wednesday was considering whether to award even more money. Jurors returned a partial verdict Tuesday, awarding $12 million after deciding the company, California-based Survivair, was at fault in the death of Derek Martin. ...

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan group of farm state senators on Wednesday called for permanent disaster aid to be part of the next farm bill, and the push appears to be gaining momentum with key lawmakers. The lawmakers say a fixed program is needed to provide more immediate help to farmers who suffer crop losses from droughts, floods and other unpredictable weather...

Central High School's swim team is used to dealing with delays. Several times over the years, storms have blown off the swimming pool's "bubble" roof. But in the course of a normal fall swim season, coach Dayna Powell said, there is a delay of about two weeks while the city transforms the outdoor pool into an indoor one. That includes draining the pool, refilling it and erecting the roof...

Edna Williams, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Nov. 21, 1913, in Stoddard County near Puxico, Mo., daughter of Lee and Fannie Rice Green. She was within two months of being 94 years old. Mrs. Williams graduated from Puxico High School in 1931. She and Eldon Williams were married Oct. 27, 1934, in Puxico...

Robert Olan Lancaster, 70, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of East Prairie, Mo., died Monday, Sept. 17, 2007, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Oct. 7, 1936, and raised by his late grandparents, Rolan and Gladys Lancaster of East Prairie...

Norman Andrew "Scobie" Robert Sr., 83, of Cape Girardeau died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, surrounded by his loving family. He was born Jan. 26, 1924, son of Alphonse and Clara Schlitt Robert. He and Virginia Lee Recker were married in 1943. She preceded him in death. He and Patsy Hurst Howard were married March 19, 1976...

KELSO, Mo. -- A memorial Mass for Margaret Berniece Dannenmueller of Kelso will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 5 at St. Augustine Catholic Church. The Rev. Oliver Clavin will officiate. Burial will be in St. Augustine Cemetery. Dannenmueller, 97, died Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007, at Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau...

Aaron Crigger, 47, of Jackson died Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, at his home. He was born Jan. 8, 1960, in Chicago, son of Robert and Loraine Adams Crigger. Survivors include three brothers, Eric Crigger of Jackson, Gary Crigger of Scott City, Steve Crigger of North Carolina; and a sister, Robin Pettit of Jackson...

Patsie J. Higgins, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Oct. 19, 1938, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Luther and Audrey Rhodes Welker. Higgins served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. She was a 1956 graduate of Central High School. She worked at Southeast Missouri Hospital many years and was a CNA at Missouri Veterans Home, retiring in 2000. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church...

ANNA, Ill. -- Dorothy C. Peterson, 84, of Anna died Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007, at Union County Hospital. She was born June 10, 1923, in Anna, daughter of Lawrence and Blanche Halterman Cline. She and Vance G. Peterson were married Nov. 29, 1946, in Anna. He died Feb. 22, 2000...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Terry D. Wilson, 70, of Cairo died Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 12, 1936, in Ullin, Ill., son of Clinton B. and Cleona A. Albright Wilson. He married the former Barbara Niestrath...

Arrests; Summons

n At 4:20 p.m., a motor vehicle accident at William Street and Silver Springs Road. n At 3:51 p.m., emergency medical service at East Rodney Drive and North Kingshighway. n At 4:40 p.m., an alarm sounding at 1000 Towers Circle. n At 5:12 p.m., emergency medical service in the 300 block of North Kingshighway...

WASHINGTON -- Come one, come all: After years of shortages and confusion, this fall promises plenty of flu vaccine to go around -- up to 132 million doses, more than the nation has ever produced. The ample supplies have the government urging vaccinations not just for people at highest risk of dying from influenza, but for anyone who wants to avoid a week of aching misery...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Before they leave for Iraq, thousands of troops with the 101st Airborne Division line up at laptop computers to take a test:~ Brain injuries caused by explosions have become some of the most common combat wounds suffered in Iraq...

LAS VEGAS -- O.J. Simpson was released from jail Wednesday after posting bail in connection with the armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors at a Las Vegas hotel. Simpson, wearing a light blue sport coat and dark blue pants, carried a black bag as he strolled to a gray sedan with his lawyer and drove away from the Clark County Detention Center...

JUNEAU, Alaska -- Nearly every Alaskan will soon be receiving a check for $1,654, their share of the state's oil riches, Gov. Sarah Palin announced Wednesday. The dividend checks are derived from the state's oil royalty investment program and distributed each year to eligible residents -- just for living here one full calendar year...

HAVANA -- Four Cuban soldiers and a civilian were spared the death penalty for killing a soldier and an officer in a crime spree that ended with a botched attempt to hijack a plane to the United States, a leading rights activist said Wednesday. It was the second recent case involving killings by soldiers that didn't end in capital punishment -- and that's "something positive," said Elizardo Sanchez of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation...

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A powerful bomb killed an anti-Syria lawmaker and six others Wednesday in a Christian neighborhood of Beirut, threatening to derail an effort by an already deeply divided Parliament to elect Lebanon's next president in voting to begin next week...

NEW YORK -- Dan Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS and his former bosses Wednesday, claiming they made him a "scapegoat" for a discredited story about President Bush's military service during the Vietnam War. The 75-year-old Rather said the actions of the defendants damaged his reputation and cost him significant financial loss...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran has drawn up plans to bomb Israel if the Jewish state should attack, the deputy air force commander said Wednesday, adding to tensions already heated up by an Israeli airstrike on Syria and Western calls for more U.N. sanctions against Tehran...

LIMA, Peru -- A fiery meteorite crashed into southern Peru over the weekend, experts confirmed Wednesday. But they were still puzzling over claims that it gave off fumes that sickened 200 people. Local residents told reporters a fiery ball fell from the sky and smashed into the desolate Andean plain near the Bolivian border Saturday morning...

BERLIN -- On Wednesday the German Cabinet approved a one-year extension to the country's increasingly unpopular role in the NATO mission in Afghanistan, a decision that must now be passed by parliament. Germany has nearly 3,000 troops serving in NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, largely in the relatively peaceful north. Earlier this year, Germany sent six Tornado fighter jets to Afghanistan to fly reconnaissance missions for NATO forces...

A message about brains will be sent via balloon Friday with inflation time as early as 6:30 a.m. The appearance of the hot-air brain balloon was postponed from Sept. 8. The balloon was supposed to be inflated at the SEMO District Fair but rescheduled because of scattered showers preventing proper inflation and possibly difficult conditions when it came time to dry out or roll up the balloon, which measures 100 feet wide by 90 feet long by 80 feet high...

Memorial fund-raiser being held Saturday; Cape Civil War Roundtable meets; Fruitland school reunion will be at Delmonico's ; Peace rally to be held at Freedom Corner; Sewing reunion will be at Trinity Lutheran hall; Qulin homecoming pageants set for Oct. 5 ; Community Caring Council meets

Shriners Kids from Cape Gir­ardeau, Perry, Bollinger and Scott counties will receive packages wrapped in ribbons and bows at their Christmas party this year. But first the Cape Shrine Club must hold its annual auction to defray the costs of the annual Christmas party for more than 450 crippled and burned children and their families from the area. The auction will be Oct. 26 at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau...

Three of the four players voted Southeast Missouri State's captains for this season started last year. The other rarely saw the field. And that, according to Southeast coach Tony Samuel, is a testament to how much Mike Williamson is liked and respected by his teammates...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson apologized to teammates Wednesday for his sideline rant during the end of the team's second straight loss. "I didn't want anything to get out of hand," Jackson said. "I didn't know how guys took it, so I didn't want them to read something and then think what they're reading is true...

ST. LOUIS -- The Philadelphia Phillies couldn't make it two extra-inning wins in a row. Yadier Molina singled home the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 victory Wednesday night that stopped Philadelphia's six-game winning streak and dropped the Phillies 21/2 games back of the NL East-leading New York Mets...

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder, who struggled in three September starts coming back from rotator cuff surgery, will undergo another operation that will end his already abbreviated season. Results of an MRI exam Tuesday revealed only partial healing of the rotator cuff, while the labrum was completely healed, the team said in a release late Wednesday night...

ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa had little to say Wednesday about reports speculating he would leave the St. Louis Cardinals after a dozen seasons to manage the Seattle Mariners next season. "No reaction," La Russa said. Nothing to it? "I don't think so."...

Last week: Blytheville 45, Central 6; Washington 56, St. Charles 6. Last year's meeting: Central 24, St. Charles 6. Notes: After the Tigers had a dismal first two weeks of the season in which they were outscored 117-23, Central coach Lawrence Brookins emphasized the need for quarterback Chase Johnson not to turn the ball over as much. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Police have arrested two reserve defenders on the Missouri football team in separate incidents. John Stull, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman, was arrested by Columbia police early Monday on a municipal assault charge, police said...

TORONTO -- Sean Penn is one of the great actors of his generation, yet he'd like to give it all up to remain behind the camera. "It's a good idea," Penn said at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Into the Wild," his fourth directing effort, played in advance of its Sept. 21 theatrical debut...

TRENTON, N.J. -- New data shows a vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer partially blocks infection by 10 strains of the virus on top of the four types the vaccine targets. That boosts protection, at least partially, to 90 percent of strains causing the deadly cancer, according to data presented Wednesday at a medical conference by Merck & Co., maker of Gardasil...

Bryant Steffens scored twice and added an assist to lead the Saxony Lutheran boys soccer team to a 6-2 victory over North County on Wednesday. The Crusaders improved to 6-1 with the win. Brett Rodewald, Mark Buerck, Casey Hemman and Ben Courtois all scored a goal in the win. Courtois added a pair of assists...

I entered the theater for "The Brave One" sharpening my pen; a remake of Charlie Bronson's "Death Wish," no matter how much softer or more complex or graphic, is just another remake. Yet after two hours I had scribbled only one note: "Mixed format -- tragic love story forced into 'Death Wish.'"...

Nobody knows how many pieces of music Alec Wilder wrote. That's one of the reasons so few people know his name. Wilder is credited with hundreds of compositions but often wrote music for friends and admired performers, giving them the sole manuscript as a gift...

As a country singer who's achieved success on television, on Broadway and as an author, Reba McEntire has arguably achieved the broadest-based success of any Nashville artist of her generation. So, naturally, an album pairing her with other singers would cover as wide a territory as the many mountains she's scaled...

Will Beall was on the staff of his college paper when he was conned by a suspected murderer into writing a story that suggested his innocence. When the suspect was swiftly convicted, an embarrassed Beall abandoned a planned journalism career and joined the Los Angeles Police Department...

"Chuck" What: A computer geek learns too much for his own good when he accidentally downloads the government's most sensitive secrets straight into his brain. Where: NBC When: Mondays at 7 p.m. Who: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster...

LIVE MUSIC Doug Rees and The Ginn Sisters The Ginn Sisters, veterans of the Tunes at Twilight concert series, join local favorite Doug Rees for a concert at Rees' home venue. When: 7 p.m. tonight Where: Stooges, Jackson Brother Bagman...

Classic Rock -- 100.7 KGMO 1. "La Grange" by ZZ Top 2. "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith 3. "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd 4. "Dream On" by Aerosmith 5. "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas College Rock -- Rage 103.7 1. "Walking Disaster" by Sum 41...

The Salvation Army, 701 Good Hope St., will serve Meals With Friends at no cost from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. Daily dessert is cake or pie. Monday's menu is chili or vegetable soup, crackers, apple sauce; Tuesday's is chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, bread and butter; Wednesday's is turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and butter; Thursday's is goulash, corn, applesauce, bread and butter; Friday's is bologna or ham sandwiches, chips and apple sauce.. ...

SHANGHAI, China -- Typhoon Wipha weakened Wednesday as it swept across China, bringing torrential rains that destroyed thousands of houses and triggered landslides, killing five people. Authorities in Shanghai and nearby provinces evacuated some 2.7 million people, mostly from coastal regions, boats and unsafe housing...

Neil Jordan, with deliberately slow pacing, directs "The Brave One" with artistic skill and a classy cast. This movie poses a question without answering it: "Does a crime happening to you justify you taking the law into your own hands?" Erica Bain (played brilliantly by Jodie Foster) softly intones her view of New York City through her nostalgic monologues as a radio show personality. ...

In a town of fewer than 600 people, you could most likely find a few homes and farms, a place or two of worship and maybe even a convenience store/laundromat/diner. Most fast-food giants wouldn't think to flame broil there. The closest thing to a shopping center would be a road trip away. ...

Seems like at some point in our lives, we who are from Missouri -- and particularly the Southeast section of the state -- bemoan our uninfluential existence stuck in flyover country. The national media always seem to ignore us. We're the butt of comedians' jokes, primarily comedians from either one of the coasts. And here we are, living our quaint little rural, backwoods lives in the cultural wastelands...

1. Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald ? "My Love is here to Stay" These two artists have had a tremendous influence on the history of jazz and when combined they have an incredible effect. 2. Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli ? "Canzon Septimi Toni #2" by the combined Brass Sections of Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago Symphonies...

By DAVID GERMAIN AP Movie Writer Selected home-video releases: "Death Proof" Quentin Tarantino's part of "Grindhouse," the double-feature he made with Robert Rodriguez, comes to DVD in a two-disc set, featuring an extended and unrated version of the film that runs about 30 minutes longer than the theatrical release. ...

Walk into the offices of Bill Anderson's station, Pure Country C106 in Cape Girardeau, and the old-school philosophy that defines the man and his station is clear. Old-time radios adorn the front waiting area of the Pure Country offices and deeper inside the station's confines, photos of traditional country artists line the walls...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Facing allegations they violated public meeting laws, Missouri ethics commissioners voted Wednesday to start from scratch in deciding how to implement a Supreme Court ruling reinstating campaign contribution limits. Commissioners cited a Sunshine Law lawsuit by the Missouri Republican Party while choosing to rescind a decision made Sept. 11 to notify candidates they may have violated the retroactively reimposed contribution limits...

Few places in Southeast Missouri are known more for their amazing natural resources than Bollinger County, a place of immense forests, hills, streams and clear-running rivers. From Sept. 27 to 30, the county seat, Marble Hill, will celebrate the Bollinger County country lifestyle with the Bollinger County Fall Festival and Heritage Days. ...