Stories from Thursday, December 20, 2007

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Governor Matt Blunt is seeking a federal disaster declaration for 42 counties as a result of winter storms that hit Missouri this month. Blunt says preliminary inspections have found more than $28 million in damage to public infrastructure in those 42 counties...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A top official in City Manager Wayne Cauthen's office is under investigation following accusations that she kept and sent sexually explicit e-mails. Kansas City's internal auditor is looking into e-mail records of Assistant City Manager LaTrisha Underhill...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- State highway officials have picked a preferred contracting team for a long-term plan to repair and maintain 802 of Missouri's worst bridges. The Highways and Transportation Commission on Wednesday selected a group called Missouri Bridge Partners as its apparent "best-value" to carry out the work. But the contract has not been finalized, and negotiations continue on costs, risks and responsibilities...

Plaza Tire Service Inc. submitted the winning bid to purchase the industrial building that formerly housed the Dana Corp. production facility in Cape Girardeau, company vice president Scott Rhodes said this morning. The Plaza Tire bid edged out an offer from Schaefer's Electrical Enclosures of Advance, Mo., which had strong support from city and economic development leaders. ...

After three full days of filing for the April municipal elections, some cities have races developing for mayor, while others report no one, or almost no one, filing for any offices. In Scott City, Mayor Tim Porch has already filed for re-election, something he had announced his plans to do several days before the filing period for offices began Monday. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- An early investigation found an 18-year-old accidentally shot himself in the leg Thursday near a school when he took out a weapon to show his friends. The teen was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital for treatment. His injuries are not considered life threatening...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Veterans groups are proposing a tax increase to fund new nursing homes and better services for people who served in the military. The proposed one-eighth cent sales tax is being considered for the November ballot. The concept has been endorsed by the Missouri Veterans Commission and is being studied by the House Interim Committee for Veterans Services. Legislation proposing the tax increase is expected to be filed during the 2008 session...

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced late Thursday afternoon that it will order Big Sky Airlines to continue commercial passenger service to Cape Girardeau and other airports until a replacement carrier can be found.

Cape Girardeau police arrested a suspect in connection with an early morning robbery Wednesday at the Rhodes 101 Stop convenience store at 1126 N. Sprigg St. A 16-year-old boy was cited into juvenile court on Thursday, according to Sgt. Barry Hovis, spokesman for the police department, who declined to release further details because of the age of the suspect...

Dec. 20, 2007 Dear friends and family, Some years seem all about growth and some about settling in. Some years only rehabilitation will do. We intended to go to Venice this year but replaced the decrepit furnace in our nearly 100-year-old house instead...

Three suspected graffiti artists who allegedly defaced walls and buildings throughout Cape Girardeau calling themselves "Ninja," "Kite" and "Renegade" were busted Nov. 26 and charged with property damage. Cody J. Jones, 18, of 336 N. Sprigg St., allegedly "Renegade," Justin L. Nelson, 17, of 314 N. Fountain St., allegedly "Ninja," and Timothy M. Barak-Barani, 17, of 1327 Bloomfield St., allegedly "Kite," are each charged with five counts of property damage...

Barry Bernhardt only assisted when USC band director Art Bartner surrounded Chubby Checker and the Rockettes with 88 grand pianos at halftime during the 1987 Super Bowl. Bernhardt was beginning his teaching career at California State University at Long Beach. Bartner had conducted the bands at the Olympic Games in 1984 and did similar work for Disney World. "He was the guy in the 1980s," Bernhardt said...

A majority of Southeast Missouri school districts were marked for "Distinction in Performance" by the state's education department Wednesday. Eleven out of 16 local districts met enough performance standards to qualify. Altenburg, Cape Girardeau, Delta, Jackson, Kelso, Leopold, Nell Holcomb, Oran, Kelly, Woodland and Zalma were honored...

Cape Girardeau police, with the help of police dog Tobin, continue to search for an armed robbery suspect who stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the Rhodes 101 convenience store early Wednesday morning. Police were alerted to the robbery around 3:40 a.m., and responded to the store and gas station at 1126 N. Sprigg St...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Again providing details only the killer would know, Timothy Krajcir convinced Paducah police he committed the murder of Joyce Tharp, a 29-year-old woman kidnapped from her home in 1979. A flower deliveryman found Tharp's naked body lying beside some garbage cans behind Park Avenue Baptist Church in Paducah on the cool, rainy morning of March 23, 1979...

On Saturday, Mike Kepner joined the ranks of dozens of other drivers involved in accidents where Broadway and Kingshighway meet. A rented 2007 Mustang failed to negotiate a turn from Kingshighway and slammed into Kepner's 1996 Chrysler Town and Country van. No one was injured, though Kepner is wrangling with the rental company over insurance for the van, which he says is totaled...

Tow truck drivers from around Southeast Missouri paid tribute to the late Gary Sperling of Sperling's Garage and Wrecker Service in Cape Girardeau by driving in his funeral procession Thursday morning.

The Cape Girardeau School District has wrestled with the vagaries of financial issues for years. The district has a history of anticipating shortfalls or windfalls only to learn that just the opposite was true. While it would be easy to point fingers and say these ups and downs were the fault of board members or administrators -- or both, the key to preventing these sometimes embarrassing episodes is for board members to get a better handle on the district's money and to make sure administrators are in place who have a real understanding of how complex school finances can be.. ...

Ethanol economics; Taxing inflation; Don't blame the food; Postal Santa; Confused; Police heroes

By Cheryl Klueppel While Cape Girardeau has not received as much ice as northern portions of the state, we have been a part of the relief effort. Six people from the local Red Cross chapter are serving in northern Missouri. We are also seeing the effects closer to home...

n In Wednesday's story on the city of Cape Girardeau's first-quarter budget figures, a graphic inaccurately referred to expected revenue figures as balances. The numbers, some of them negative, reflected the difference between expected and actual income between July and September. A negative $11,287.75 for the city's general fund was incorrectly attributed to the city's softball complex. The softball fund's first-quarter revenue was a positive $3,483...

State Rep. Billy Pat Wright, R-Dexter, will return $3,925 in campaign contributions received during a seven-month period when legislation repealing donation limits was in effect, he said Wednesday. Wright, a second-term lawmaker, said he never solicited donations larger than the $325 maximum that the law allows. From Jan. 1 until July 19, when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled the repeal of the limits was invalid, politicians across the state accepted donations in unlimited amounts...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon proposed Wednesday to penalize businesses that hire illegal workers and permanently shut down those that repeatedly do so. The attorney general said he is seeking new powers that would allow him to ask a judge to impose an injunction barring a business that employs an illegal immigrant from operating for a certain period of time. ...

Gov. Matt Blunt appointed three Southeast Missouri residents to positions on state boards. Julie A. Robinson, 33, of Cape Girardeau will be the medical representative on the Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board. Robinson is a registered nurse at Southeast Missouri State University and Saint Francis Medical Center who holds a bachelor's degree in nursing and general studies from Southeast Missouri State University. ...

Cape Girardeau police say a significant reduction in the number of burglaries here this year can be attributed to the establishment of neighborhood crime watch areas; the groups began forming in March. Citing strong sentiment against the proposal, C.F. Rudesill, president of Riverside Home Builders Inc., has withdrawn his request to rezone eight lots in Westfield Third Subdivision from R-1 to R-2; the reclassification would have permitted the lots to be redivided into 11 smaller sections...

Taveon Harris smiled shyly as he carefully examined a table full of gifts. Many choices lay before the Jefferson Elementary School fourth-grader. A miniature Christmas tree for his mom? Perhaps a pair of slippers for his dad? What about the package of ornaments grabbing his attention?...

A handful of heroes donated their time and Christmas spirit this holiday season to participate in the annual "Shop with a hero" program last week at Wal-Mart in Cape Girardeau. Local law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel all participated in the program...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Former Sprint Nextel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee is the next University of Missouri president, sources familiar with the search process have told The Associated Press...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Lula Mae Perkins Fisher, 87, of Dongola died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 17, 1920, to Willace and Ruby Bolen Perkins. She and the Rev. Carl Fisher were married July 14, 1935. He died July 29, 1997...

Buford Roscoe Yeager, 91, of Oak Ridge died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. He was born Oct. 20, 1916, at Daisy, son of John C. and Carrie O. Crites Yeager. He and Mayme Walker were married in 1949. She died April 13, 1961. He and Ella Jean Friese were married March 31, 1962...

Julie Johnson, 34, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007, at her home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Maxine Farrow, 84, of Jackson died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home...

n At 7:21 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1500 block of Briarcliff Drive. n At 2:51 a.m., emergency medical service in the 1200 block of Kingsway Drive. n At 4:23 a.m., a fire alarm at 325 N. Sprigg St. n At 8:50 a.m., emergency medical service in the 3200 block of Themis Street...

Arrests

Tiehes; Maloney; Faisal; Whitfield; Solak; Hastings

By Roy N. Gerdel The Missouri Wilderness Coalition has proposed asking Congress to designate 50,000 acres, mostly within the Mark Twain National Forest, as protected wilderness. A wilderness area allows the land to remain unspoiled by development and preserved for future generations. ...

LOMBARD, Ill. -- The mother of a NASA astronaut who is on board the international space station died Wednesday when a train struck her vehicle at a crossing in this western Chicago suburb, police said. A preliminary investigation showed Rose Tani, 90, of Lombard stopped behind a school bus that had halted at the crossing for a train, Lombard police chief Raymond Byrne said in a statement...

Millersville firefighters were joined by those from Gordonville to quell a two-alarm blaze Wednesday afternoon at a home on Lakeview Drive in Millersville. Millersville fire chief Jerry Aufdenberg said no one was injured. The two fire departments responded to a call at 2:55 p.m., and Jackson's fire department was put on standby. He said the fire appears to have started from some gas-soaked rags the homeowner has been using to clean his car motor...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A senator who was stripped of his leadership position after sneaking a midwives law past colleagues has been restored to power and is now proposing to undo the law. Sen. John Loudon angered many fellow lawmakers in May when he inserted obscure language into a health insurance bill during a night session and didn't acknowledge that it had legalized an expansion of midwifery until after the bill had passed...

Regional Title holds campaign for soldiers; Big Brothers Big Sisters holds drawing for bike

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Gateway Area Chapter will honor leaders at its upcoming annual Night of 1,000 Stars at Sheraton Westport Chalet hotel in St. Louis. Walt Wildman of Cape Gir-ardeau was selected as Unsung Hero of the Year. He was recognized by the chapter for his dependability, inspiration and efficiency...

Submitted photo Christmas Beautification Award certificates for the 2007 Lights of the Season were distributed at a recent Jackson Business After Hours. Best overall winner for classic Christmas decoration in Jackson went to Mr. and Mrs. Don Niswonger, 222 Florence St. ...

WASHINGTON -- Congress approved $70 billion Wednesday for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bitter finish for majority Democrats who tried to force a change in President Bush's war policy. The House's 272-142 vote also sent the president a $555 billion catchall spending bill that combines the war money with money for 14 Cabinet departments...

WASHINGTON -- Congress acted in its final hours Wednesday to block growth of the alternative minimum tax, putting off an economic hardship affecting more than 20 million taxpayers and avoiding what would have been a political black mark for both parties...

WASHINGTON -- The gigantic ocean-dwelling whale may have evolved from a land animal the size of a small raccoon, new research suggests. What might be the missing evolutionary link between whales and land animals is an odd animal that looks like a long-tailed deer without antlers or an overgrown long-legged rat, fossils indicate...

Time names Putin 'Person of the Year' NEW YORK -- Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" on Wednesday for imposing stability that restored Russia as a world power. The magazine recognized Putin's "extraordinary feat of leadership in taking a country that was in chaos and bringing it stability," said Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor. ...

CAIRO, Egypt -- Al-Qaida has invited journalists to send questions to its No. 2 figure, Ayman al-Zawahri, in the first such offer by the increasingly media-savvy terror network to "interview" one of its leaders since the Sept. 11 attacks. The invitation is a new twist in al-Qaida's campaign to reach a broader audience, and represents an attempt by al-Zawahri to present himself as a sophisticated leader rather than a mass murderer...

MEHRABPUR, Pakistan -- Plunged into darkness and chaos, Shahid Khan used the light from his cell phone Wednesday to escape the wreckage of an express train that had been taking holiday travelers home. It was 2 a.m., and what was left of the train, crowded with 900 people heading from Karachi to near Lahore in southern Pakistan, lay scattered about a waterlogged field, with cries from the trapped and injured ringing out...

GAZA CITY, Gaza City -- On Islam's most important holiday, the leader of Gaza's Hamas government appealed Wednesday for a cease-fire with Israel and said his people -- battered by Israeli military strikes and international sanctions -- are greeting this year's feast with "tears in our eyes."...

CHICAGO -- Tribune Co. set the stage Wednesday for turning over the reins to real estate mogul Sam Zell, announcing that Dennis FitzSimons will step down after five years as CEO as soon as its $8.2 billion buyout is completed. The deal was expected to close today barring last-minute delays, putting Zell in charge of an ailing media conglomerate at a time when the newspaper industry is in its worst fix ever...

WASHINGTON -- Gas guzzlers could become relics of the past and farmers may rival oil companies in producing motor fuels under a new energy law. Consumers also will save electricity -- and money -- from more efficient refrigerators, furnaces and dishwashers...

Central's Sadie Pittman and Wendi Zickfield could not be stopped in the second half Wednesday against Perryville -- period. Their effort helped No. 5 seeded Central secure a 54-47 upset of No. 4 seeded Perryville in the first round of the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic at the Show Me Center...

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- At 5-feet-6 -- and that listed height might be generous -- DeAndre Bray is the Ohio Valley Conference's shortest men's basketball player. But Bray, who also is among the smallest players across the nation, has not let that lack of size hold him back...

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- Jacksonville State has been the biggest surprise so far during the early stages of the Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball race. Southeast Missouri State's mission in today's 5:30 p.m. game at JSU is to keep the Gamecocks from continuing that trend...

Former Southeast Missouri State women's basketball player Tiffanne Ryan was recently named a winner of the eighth annual John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award. Ryan is one of six recipients nationally for the award. Each receives a $10,000 grant to be used toward postgraduate studies in athletics administration...

Top seeded Farmington led 50-0 at halftime and won 64-6 as they made easy work of a young Saxony Lutheran team in the first round of the Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic. Brooke Valleroy, Emma Meraz and Kara Verseman each had two points for the Crusaders...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams will retire Marshall Faulk's No. 28 jersey at halftime of tonight's game against Pittsburgh. But Faulk said Wednesday he might have given up the jersey much earlier if the outcome of Super Bowl 36 had been different...

GENEVA, Ill. -- Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry began his football career with a famous gap-tooth grin. Then he spent two decades avoiding the dental chair, eventually losing half his teeth as they fell out, got knocked out or were pulled out by Perry...

IRVING, Texas -- Terrell Owens has a message for Jessica Simpson:~ The Dallas QB struggled Sunday with girlfriend Jessica Simpson in the audience. Stay away. The 27-year-old singer-actress has become Public Enemy No. 1 among Dallas Cowboys fans because of a link being made between her appearance at Sunday's game and the poor performance of her new boyfriend, quarterback Tony Romo...

Federal administrative offices will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; the same is true for state offices. But among cities, office hours vary for the upcoming holidays. Here's a roundup: n Cape Girardeau: Closed Christmas and New Year's days. ...

"The Simpsons Movie" The first family of Springfield leaps to the big screen with this hit adaptation of the long-running animated TV comedy. Lovable moron Homer does what he does best -- cause an uproar for his family and fellow townsfolk, this time creating a pollution hazard that results in "President Schwarzenegger" quarantining Springfield behind glass, with the Simpsons going into exile in Alaska...

LOS ANGELES -- Deborah Chesher was culling through her old boxes of negatives one day when a random thought crossed the photographer's mind about how young and alive all of the guitar gods of her youth had been. It was quickly followed by the realization that many of those rockers were also dead, and most had died young...

Every week we give you information on books by authors with local ties. John H. Pratt, "Walking the Camino in an Age of Anxiety" John H. Pratt, a graduate of Central High School and Southeast Missouri State Univeristy, has published a book called "Walking the Camino in an Age of Anxiety: The Search for the Medieval Pilgrim." The book looks at historical pilgrimage roads in Europe and a personal journey over that road in modern times...

"I Am Legend" is just plain fun. It's one of those extremely enjoyable big-studio movies that you come to expect from the likes of Will Smith. It's well done, quite scary, and it sucks you in with one of the fastest setups I think I've ever seen...

Jackson native to screen films; 'High School Musical' coming to Fox Theatre; Drivin' Rain plays New Year's Eve gig; Thomas, Royal to play at Executive Inn ; -- From staff reports

LOS ANGELES -- There's no Helen Mirren this time around, no Forest Whitaker. Unlike last year, when clear front-runners already had emerged in key categories, this awards season looks wide open. About a dozen films could be considered viable nominees for best picture at the Academy Awards, and the recent selection of "No Country for Old Men" as the year's best by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures doesn't make the outlook much clearer. ...

A Western swing band and a vintage rock 'n' roll group will unite Saturday to help keep people from going hungry for the holidays. Wes Potts and Jackpot Country will open the show at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau, followed by the Uncle Bob Camp Band. The bands will alternate playing, and an auction will be held during breaks...

The Dirty 30s' Jason Riley, 33, is one of Cape Girardeau's more recognizable musicians. The singer/guitarist, well-known for his barroom antics, has matured considerably since leaving Cape Girardeau for St. Louis, and is preparing himself to get back into the recording studio this month. SE Live caught Riley at Broussard's, where the 30s were playing last weekend...

Imagine having a limo pick you up at home, deliver you to a beautiful Victorian house and gardens where you are served a gourmet meal and then whisk you away to the theater. After the theatrical production, you are again taken back to the Victorian home for cordials and homemade dessert...

Dirty 30s singer/guitarist Jason Riley gives us his fave songs the top five live shows he's seen this year. Scott H. Biram -- "Blood Sweat & Murder" Scott H. Biram is a one-man band from Austin, Texas. Bottle Rockets -- "1,000 Dollar Car"...

Hey, opera fans. I've got a little secret I bet you didn't know: You can get your fix for live opera in Cape Girardeau, sort of. I'm pretty sure you don't know about this, because if you did you'd probably have checked it out last weekend. But I know you didn't, because the few who did have told me so...

NEW YORK -- Bilbo lives! After publicly feuding for more than a year, "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," a planned two-film prequel to the blockbuster trilogy...

As a kid, I remember the song "Christmas, Don't Be Late" by Alvin and the Chipmunks on the radio. It was singable, cute and different from the usual Christmas fare with Dave screaming "Alvin!!!" on cue (creator Ross Bagdasarian, who died in 1972, did all the voices, including Dave, the short-tempered father figure)...

Two years ago the musical "Wicked" set attendance records at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Now the "Wizard of Oz" prequel and winner of multiple Tony awards is back, playing through Jan. 6. "Wicked" tells the story of two girls in Oz, one born with emerald green skin, who later become the iconic characters the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch...

Less than one hour Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum, Altenburg, Mo. The Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum highlights Christmas with its 3rd Annual Luther's Walk in the Woods, a display of more than 30 themed Christmas trees, through Jan. 15. For more information, call the museum at 573-824-6070 or visit www.altenburgmuseum.org...

With the hundreds of albums released this year, finding ten that rose to the top was surprisingly difficult -- few were special enough to merit repeat listens, let alone remain in your brain long after the CD stops playing. Here are the rare records with a permanent place on our playlists in 2007:...

Thursday, Dec. 20 Space: Dare to Dream: Memorial Hall, Southeast Missouri State University, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saint Francis Medical Center Holiday Classic: Show Me Center, games begin at 4 p.m. College Night: Muddy Waters, Egypt Mills, 7 p.m...

NEW YORK -- It's a blizzard of reruns through December. But thanks to the writers strike, there won't be much relief for your favorite fall shows even when January arrives. END IN SIGHT n There's just one more new episode of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (yet to be scheduled)...

The annual Christmas Hoot fundraiser for Cottonwood Treatment Center will be Sunday night at Broussard's and Port Cape Girardeau. Bands on the bill include Bruce Zimmerman and the Water Street Band, DBA Manard, Mike Renick Band and Blues Gone Awry at Port Cape Girardeau and Strange Brew, Mark Weber and Friends, the Marlene Glenn Christmas Band and Bob Camp's Internationale Harvester Playboy House of Pancakes (Not the Beatles) Blues Band, with a special performance by Drivin' Rain singer Timexx Nasty, at Broussard's.. ...

The selection of Gary Forsee, the Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate and former CEO of Sprint/Nextel Corp., to lead the University of Missouri system is winning strong praise from longtime friends and a former curator. Forsee moved to Cape Girardeau with his family in 1966, graduated from high school and returned during summer breaks from the University of Missouri-Rolla to work for Procter & Gamble. ...