Stories from Monday, April 21, 2008

Allen Ruth Allen R. Ruth, 58, of Scott City, died Saturday, April 19, 2008, at his home. He had been a patient in the St. Louis VA Medical Center for the past 2 months. Mr. Ruth was born in Irondale, Mo., on July 16, 1949, son of Raymond T. and Treva M. Terry Ruth. He married Belva J. Welch on July 2, 1976, in Cape Girardeau...

Mettie Penzel Mettie Jane Penzel, 100, of Jackson passed away Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. She was born May 18, 1907, in Cape Girardeau County, daughter of Marion N. and Minnie Mae Hahn Killian. She and Carl L. Penzel were married April 19, 1931. He passed away July 4, 2000...

Mary Weber Mary S. Weber, 88, of Cape Girardeau, died Saturday, April 19, 2008, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Sept. 7, 1919, in Tamms, Ill., daughter of Wilbert H. and Anna Mae McClanahan Schaefer. She and Harold S. Weber were married May 11, 1946, in Tamms. He died Feb. 21, 2000...

The Notre Dame High School baseball team had little trouble winning the Mississippi County Wood Bat tournament in Charleston. Notre Dame routed host Charleston 11-1 in five innings in Sunday's final, after the Bulldogs ripped East Prairie 10-0 in five innings the previous day...

Trenton Moses spent much of Sunday morning in a local hospital. He never expected to play in a baseball game later in the day. So much for those plans. Moses was more than happy to oblige when Southeast Missouri State coach Mark Hogan sent him up to pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and one out of a tie game with Samford...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team finished off an impressive weekend against one of the Ohio Valley Conference's top squads. Morehead State came to Cape Girardeau in second place in the 10-team OVC, but Southeast took two of three games from the Eagles...

Deadline near for chamber dinner tickets Members of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce who want to attend the 2008 Educator of the Year dinner must make their reservations by Wednesday. The event, set for May 1, will start with a cash bar at 5:45 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:15 p.m. and presentation of awards at 7 p.m. Tickets may be obtained by contacting the chamber offices at 335-3312...

WASHINGTON -- Republican John McCain said Sunday that cutting taxes and stimulating the economy are more important than balancing the budget, and accused both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama of supporting tax increases that would worsen the effect of a recession...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State Treasurer Sarah Steelman inflated the amount of money her campaign appears to have in comparison to others. U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof called for the elimination of funneled political money, though he accepted some himself...

MOTEGI, Japan -- Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. Patrick, an Illinois native, finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval after leader Scott Dixon pitted with five laps left and Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan came in a lap later...

@graphic_body_indent_bold leadin:Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department reported the following incidents. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI n Bradley M. Cygan, 26, 4915 Clayridge Drive, St. Louis, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

Lorena Ochoa became the first LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in consecutive weeks. Ochoa shot a 3-under 69 in the final round of the Ginn Open in Reunion, Fla., on Sunday and beat rookie Yani Tseng by three strokes for her fifth victory in six starts this year...

CHICAGO -- Parents in the mostly working class Dolton School District 149 in the southern suburbs of Chicago had to scramble for child care last week after school officials shut down six schools until Tuesday. The reason? Threats found on a bathroom wall that police said likely amounted to a prank...

The Cape Girardeau School Board will hold a regular meeting at 6 p.m. today in the administrative offices at 301 N. Clark Ave. Business items are approval of the summer school application, approval to adjust the school calendar for the 2007 to 2008 year and the 2008 to 2009 year, and approval of an auditing firm for the 2007 to 2008 year...

WASHINGTON — A heavier federal hand is reaching into American life as politicians in both parties demand an overhaul of government financial regulation and more protection for homeowners in the face of mortgage woes and a weakening economy. This rush to regulate also was apparent in the recent crackdown on the airlines, resulting in thousands of grounded flights for safety inspections as the government beefs up its enforcement of existing laws. ...

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. -- Federal investigators were on the scene Sunday after a small plane crashed in southwest Missouri, killing two skydivers and seriously injuring two other people, authorities said. Marnie Fuller, 36, and Jennifer Collins, 32, were killed in the crash, which occurred about 4 p.m. Saturday west of Mount Vernon. Lawrence County coroner Don Lakin confirmed the deaths Saturday night...

It's almost too weird, too Wild West-ish to be true. But cattle rustling seems to be a problem in Missouri. According to an Associated Press story, cattle experts say a trailer full of stolen calves can fetch $12,000, and a single calf can sell for $600...

IRVINGTON, N.J. -- A gunman shot a driver stopped at a traffic light and killed a pedestrian early Sunday, and the same man may be responsible for the shooting of a police sergeant in his patrol car, authorities said. The three shootings took place within minutes in the same general area of Irvington, in northern New Jersey, around 3 a.m. Sunday, said Paul Loriquet, Essex County prosecutor's office spokesman...

@graphic_body_indent_bold leadin:Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following call Saturday: n At 7:14 p.m., emergency medical service in the 3000 block of Boutin Drive. @graphic_body_indent_bold leadin:Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:...

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Simona De Silvestro, the only woman in the 23-car field for Sunday's Atlantics Championship season opener, earned her first win in the Champ Car developmental series. Less than 24 hours after Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race, the 19-year-old De Silvestro joined Katherine Legge as the only female winners in Atlantics...

25 years ago: April 21, 1983 Demolition work involved in the replacement of the heating and air conditioning systems at Common Pleas Courthouse and the Courthouse Annex could include removal of dangerous asbestos insulation from around old pipes; disposal of the asbestos could be problematic, since there are no EPA-approved disposal sites in Missouri...

The long-awaited opening of the new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau could take place in early June, a spokesman for the U.S. General Services Administration said last week. An official announcement won't come for a week or more, when evaluations of roof repairs made following the flooding rains of March 18 and 19 are complete, said Charlie Cook, spokesman for the GSA in Kansas City, Mo...

The Girl Scouts of Otahki Council Older Girl Recognition Ceremony, held recently at the Elks Lodge in Cape Girardeau, honored Gold and Silver Award recipients. Former Gold Award recipient and attorney Julie Turner Gibson of Kansas City, Mo., was the guest speaker...

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals left-hander Mark Mulder, trying to come back from two shoulder operations, pitched six scoreless innings for Class AA Springfield on Sunday in his second rehabilitation outing. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, while impressed with Mulder's outing from a numbers standpoint, said it's far too soon to discuss what to do about the rotation when he's ready. ...

BELGRADE, Mo. -- When 6-year-old Lydia Olmsted wakes up at her grandmother's home in Belgrade, she sits up in bed and tells her, "Daylight Granny, time to get up!" It's music to Joan Olmsted's ears. For the first time, Lydia is seeing light like the sun bursting through the windows at sunrise. She has septo-optic dysplasia. That means her eyes don't have enough nerve fibers for the brain to receive visual cues from the eyes...

A deal cooking in the Missouri Legislature to give $880 million in state tax credits to a Canadian company that wants to build an aircraft assembly plant near Kansas City has Sen. Jason Crowell asking questions. Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, hasn't been shy about seeking help for businesses in the form of state tax breaks. ...

Last year the Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil, the first human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, for girls and women ages 9 to 26. And thanks to more than $11 million in grants, Missouri can provide the vaccine to qualified females at no charge...

RINCON, Ga. -- Days after the deadly explosion at the sugar refinery where her father worked, 9-year-old Morgan Seckinger went back to school -- smiling, as usual. Her fourth-grade teacher couldn't believe it. "I said 'Morgan, was your daddy hurt in the explosion?"' said Stacie Ortiz, Morgan's teacher at Ebenezer Elementary School. "And she said 'Yes, ma'am, but they took him to the hospital and he's going to be fine.'"...

The Wall Street Journal The parsons of the press corps are furious with Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, which means the pair must have done a pretty good job moderating Wednesday's Democratic debate in Philadelphia. Barack Obama had an off-night, so his media choir wants to shoot the questioners...

Illinois obstacles THE SHAWNEE National Forest and the Cache River Wetlands area are both obstacles to building a four-lane interstate between Cape Girardeau and Paducah, Ky. Maybe an act of Congress can cut through these obstacles, but it has not happened in the last 10 years...

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — Before authorities raided their west Texas retreat, members of a secretive polygamous church spent decades holding as tightly to their intense privacy as the Scriptures guiding their way of life. Contact with outsiders was limited. Media inquiries were rejected with either stone-faced silence or a polite "no comment."...

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- "Happy is he who says: 'I am a Turk."' Turkey's motto is on display in schools, hospitals and military barracks. Schoolchildren recite it like the Pledge of Allegiance. It covers hillsides in southeast Turkey, where the military is fighting Kurdish separatists...

ST. LOUIS -- Olivia Merriwether and Inman Perkins met, fell in love and wed at the outset of World War II. But two things separated their short-lived romance from most. The couple had to hide their marriage from the bride's employer, the St. Louis School District. And, for nearly 60 years the story of their relationship remained stuffed in a suitcase...

Donald Martin ANNA, Ill. -- Donald Dean Martin, 73, of Anna died Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Union County Hospital in Anna. He was born Dec. 24, 1934, in Anna, son of Mack and Alice Lence Martin. He and Imogene Rogers Kelley were married Dec. 20, 2003, at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church...

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- An opposition leader said Sunday that 10 people have been killed in violence since last month's disputed presidential election and 3,000 families have been forced from their homes. Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic Change, also said key members of the opposition's administration had been arrested along with more than 400 supporters...

TORONTO -- Slumping designated hitter Frank Thomas was released Sunday by the Blue Jays, who cut the 19-year veteran one day after he became angry for being taken out of the lineup. General manager J.P. Ricciardi said he and Thomas came to "a mutual agreement" after meeting in the clubhouse early Sunday...

NEW YORK -- British comedian Eddie Izzard, who is gaining prominence as an actor, is considering yet another possible career -- politician. Izzard, who plays Wayne Malloy in FX's "The Riches" and who just finished shooting "Valkyrie," starring Tom Cruise, told Newsweek he sees himself getting into European politics at some point...

DAKAR, Senegal -- On the day he decided to run away, 9-year-old Coli awoke on a filthy mat. It was still dark as he set out for the mouth of a freeway with the other boys, a tribe of 7-, 8- and 9-year-old beggars. There are 1.2 million Colis in the world today, children trafficked to work for the benefit of others. Those who lure them into servitude make $15 billion annually, according to the International Labor Organization...

Salvation Army holds Meals with Friends The Salvation Army will serve Meals with Friends from 4:30 to 6 p.m. today to Friday at 701 Good Hope St. in Cape Girardeau. Supplies for this month's program, which can be dropped off at the Salvation Army, include large cans of fruit, egg noodles, spaghetti noodles, hot dogs, carryout trays, bowls, dessert plates, plasticware and napkins. ...

WASHINGTON -- Many of the Democratic superdelegates who are still undecided say the most important factor in their decision is simple -- they just want a winner in November. Problem is, after nearly four months of primaries and caucuses in 46 states, territories and the District of Columbia, they still aren't sure who that is, don't seem be in any hurry to make up their minds and aren't interested in any artificial process that might force them to choose between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.. ...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A high school senior collected enough supplies to carry out a bomb attack on his school and detailed the plot in a hate-filled diary that included maps of the building and admiring notations about the Columbine killers, authorities said Sunday...

PHILADELPHIA -- Could it be the "vast right wing conspiracy" is having second thoughts? Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton was endorsed Sunday by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, whose owner and publisher, billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, personally funded many of the investigations that led to President Clinton's impeachment in 1998...

READING, Pa. -- Democrat Barack Obama, who often argues that John McCain is the same as President Bush, said Sunday the Republican presidential candidate would be better for the country than Bush has been. "You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain," Obama said to cheers from a rowdy crowd in central Pennsylvania. Then he said: "And all three of us would be better than George Bush."...

Remember the DREAM Initiative survey of Cape Girardeau residents that kicked off in November? I do. Remember how it was leaked on an Internet forum and 851 people ended up answering questions? Ditto. Remember the results of the survey? No? Yeah, me neither. ...

NEW YORK -- Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass and American Catholicism in Yankee Stadium on Sunday, telling his massive U.S. flock to use its freedoms wisely as he closed out his first papal trip to the United States. Benedict beamed before a crowd of 57,000, hours after making a solemn stop to pray at the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center...

Sissy Donahue won A-flight at the Chip A Way's weekly event at Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course. Bea Mashek finished first in B flight and Liz Grimes claimed the play of the day. Deanna Peterman posted the low-putt total. — From staff reports...

This isn't just a playground game. To the Jackson-based team Alpha-Omega Jumpers, jump rope is a competitive, fast-paced and rewarding sport -- and their ticket to Disney World. Alpha-Omega formed in May 2006 with competitive jump rope in mind. The 10 members, ages 9 to 14, recently went to Texas for their first regional competition. Eight of the 10 members qualified to go to the National Jump Rope Tournament in Orlando, Fla...

HAVANA -- First comes the stink of diesel, then a metallic roar, and finally a tower of black smoke that tells you the "camello" -- the camel -- has reached your stop. These hulking 18-wheeled beasts, iron mutants made of Soviet-era buses welded together on a flatbed and pulled by a separate cab, have long been Havana's public transport nightmare -- bumpy, hot and jammed with up to 400 passengers at a time...

BAGHDAD -- Followers of hardline cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raised the stakes Sunday in the showdown with Iraq's government, refusing to disband their militia. The U.S. military said 40 Shiite militants were killed in fierce fighting in southern Iraq. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has demanded that al-Sadr disband his Mahdi Army, the country's biggest Shiite militia, or his followers will not be allowed to run in provincial elections this fall...

SAN DIEGO -- Precious Jackson has two years of teaching under her belt and two school teacher-of-the-year awards to show for it. She also has a pink slip. Now Jackson is a prime target for growing school districts across the country hoping to cherry-pick from thousands of California teachers who have been warned they could be laid off because of state budget woes...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The three Democrats vying to replace Attorney General Jay Nixon tried to distinguish themselves before a crowd of party activists and leaders at the start of Jackson Day 2008. State Reps. Margaret Donnelly and Jeff Harris and Sen. ...

A kettle-cooked beef dinner will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at St. John's Lutheran Church in Pocahontas. Beef will be available by the quart. Advance tickets are discounted. Children younger than 6 can eat free, and carryouts will be available. Matching funds for the event will be provided by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans...

BAGHDAD -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice mocked anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as a coward Sunday, hours after the radical leader threatened to declare war unless U.S. and Iraqi forces end a military crackdown on his followers. Rice, in the Iraqi capital to tout security gains and what she calls an emerging political consensus, said al-Sadr is content to issue threats and edicts from the safety of Iran, where he is studying. ...

WASHINGTON -- A heavier federal hand is reaching into American life as politicians in both parties demand an overhaul of government financial regulation and more protection for homeowners in the face of mortgage woes and a weakening economy. This rush to regulate also was apparent in the recent crackdown on the airlines, resulting in thousands of grounded flights for safety inspections as the government beefs up its enforcement of existing laws. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Now that Barry Bonds is long gone, San Francisco has a lineup that hardly scares anyone -- except maybe the St. Louis Cardinals' pitching staff, which has surrendered the Giants' three biggest offensive days. Bengie Molina hit three doubles and drove in three runs as the Giants reached season highs for runs, hits and winning margin in an 8-2 victory Sunday...

Monroe to supervise volunteers at vets home The Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau announced that Debbie Monroe has been named supervisor of volunteer services. Monroe, a native of Millersville, was the director of development for the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse in Tennessee. Since returning to Missouri, she has had various positions, including regional director of the American Heart Association...

Mitch Miller held a flower Tuesday in memory of his brother-in-law, Ralph Lape Jr., who was murdered in 2002, while also holding a photo of his grandson to show that life goes on during the Flower Ceremony for Victims of Crime at Cape Girardeau County Park. ...

Four students about to graduate from Southeast Missouri State University's Harrison College of Business recently earned a prize that should burnish their collective resumes. From April 6 to April 11, Nicole Gemoules and Jennifer Koenig, both accounting majors from Perryville, Mo., Callie Carter, an accounting major from Jonesboro, Ill., and Scott Price, a finance major from Sullivan, Mo., competed in the international case competition sponsored by the Network of International Business Schools...

Kelly High School in Benton, Mo., has been advertising for a high school math teacher for months. Despite ads being placed in the newspaper, on college Web sites and through the job search engine SuccessLink, they have seen few takers. So far, superintendent Don Moore has received one application...

Saxony Lutheran hurler Chris Roth tossed a complete game against Oak Ridge on Saturday, striking out eight batters to help the Crusaders capture the Oak Ridge Tournament. That was one of two wins he posted this past week to improve his record to 4-0...

Fourth graders in Ms. Schlief's elementary classroom celebrated Earth Day in a myriad of ways. Student teacher, Mrs. Emily Schmitz, created an Earth Day Unit. Our State Representative, Jo Ann Emerson, recognized them for their efforts to promote environmental awareness right here in Southeast Missouri. ...

It's not a surprise, but Southeast Missouri State's confirmation last week that tailback Timmy Holloman would miss the first five games of the football season does not bode well for the Redhawks' hopes of a turnaround campaign. Holloman was one of Southeast's few game-breakers last year, with the potential to go the distance virtually every time he touched the football...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A recent change in federal sentencing guidelines may be fair but the result for local communities is convicted drug dealers back out on the street. On March 3, the possibility of sentence reductions for certain crack cocaine offenders became effective due to a retroactive policy change by the U.S. Sentencing Commission...

DEXTER, Mo. -- If you had to guess how high up the list of train incidents Stoddard County ranks out of the entire state, what would you guess? Second. Stoddard County is second to only Jackson County in the entire state of Missouri. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Two men are dead after an early-morning shooting in St. Louis. The incident happened about 3:15 a.m. Monday near a bar on the city's south side. One victim is identified as 25-year-old Michael Aquilera Jr. of Chicago. The second victim's name is not yet released...

CARDWELL, Mo. -- Police Chief Anthony Parker and officer Jack Powell recently aided Ritter Communications and Cable Company of Jonesboro, Ark., in its effort to stop cable theft within the city. Powell said the department first learned about the theft of cable service when a resident moved to the Pecan Grove Apartments. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt names his Insurance Department director to a panel that hears appeals of state agency regulatory decisions. Insurance Department Director Doug Ommen (OH'-men) would replace June Doughty on the Administrative Hearing Commission. The appointment would run until 2014 if it is confirmed by the Senate...

MOKANE, Mo. (AP) -- Law officers are tightlipped about a body that was found along the Missouri River in Callaway County. A reserve deputy hunting mushrooms near the Mokane (moh-KAYN') access area of the Missouri River on Sunday found what is believed to be a woman's body. Investigators say the body has not been identified...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Plans for a new Mississippi River bridge in St. Louis are taking another step forward with the selection of a firm that'll design the span. The Missouri Department of Transportation says it has tapped HNTB Corp. from about a half dozen finalists...

FARMINGTON, Mo. (AP) -- Two people are dead after their motorcycle was hit by a vehicle passing a line of cars on an eastern Missouri highway. The highway patrol says a Honda Goldwing driven by 60-year-old Harry Propst was making a left turn on Missouri 32 near Farmington Sunday when it was struck by a pickup truck. Both vehicles were eastbound...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down the lethal injection appeal of convicted murderer Michael Taylor of Kansas City. Taylor was one of 10 death row inmates who lost their appeals Monday. The ruling came in the wake of the high court's decision last week upholding the constitutionality of lethal injection...

ALTO PASS, Ill. (AP) -- A southern Illinois landmark is getting a little fundraising help. A nonprofit group intent on restoring the eleven-story, 45-year-old Bald Knob Cross of Peace near Alto Pass will hold a fundraising walk on June 14th. The group is called Friends of the Cross. Organizers hope to raise $40,000 from the walk for the landmark about 130 miles southeast of St. Louis...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A lesser-known governor's candidate and a former state senator who was running for treasurer are among 14 people disqualified from the ballot by the Missouri Ethics Commission. The commission says the candidates failed to file personal financial disclosure statements, as required by law...

WEST SALEM, Ill. (AP) — One of the strongest aftershocks from last week's earthquake in Southern Illinois was recorded early Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Geologists say the temblor just before 12:40 a.m. Monday registered a 4.5 magnitude at its epicenter about 5 miles northwest of Mount Carmel. The quake was felt by some in Southeast Missouri...

PACIFIC, Mo. (AP) -- The mayor of Pacific says he wants to explore a federal buyout of flood-affected parts of his town. Mayor Herbert Adams is holding a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the town's options. Representatives from government agencies and the community's congressional delegation are invited...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A House committee will consider whether to repeal Missouri's four-month-old ethanol mandate. A 2006 law requires most Missouri gas to be blended with 10 percent ethanol whenever E-10 is cheaper than regular gas. That requirement kicked in Jan. 1...