Stories from Tuesday, July 15, 2008

U.S. Coast Guard employees were dispatched to Cape Girardeau on Monday morning to investigate an incident in which a towboat from the Missouri Barge Line struck the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, slightly damaging the structure. The incident took place around 6:30 a.m., according to Lt. Brad Hannon, spokesman for the Coast Guard...

Cameron Heath has two primary goals regarding his baseball career. He's already taken care of one and still has time to accomplish the other. Heath, a 2006 Jackson High School graduate who is in his first year with the Plaza Tire Capahas, recently signed a letter of intent with Belmont University, a Division I program in Nashville, Tenn...

Calendar Wednesday n Grief support group: 1 to 3 p.m. at HealthPoint Plaza. Program will explore the topic, "Am I Feeling Sad or Am I Depressed, Understanding the Difference." For more information, call Pastoral Care at 651-5519 or Social Services at 651-5549...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Brandon Wayne Bentley, 24, of Blytheville, Ark., died Saturday, July 12, 2008, in Tomato, Ark. He was born July 4, 1984, in Blytheville, son of Timothy Wayne and Lisa Ann Barlow Bentley. He and Samantha Hinkebein were married Sept. 25, 2007...

You're at your desk, so stressed out that your shoulders are somewhere up around your ears. Your head is pounding, and no Botox in the world will smooth your furrowed brow. You can't yell at your boss, and happy hour is nowhere in sight. But if you've got a few minutes, relief could be just four simple stretches away. ...

Sport: Golf Age: 12 School: Cape Girardeau Public Schools Nickname: Fred Favorite thing about golf: It's not a team sport and you rely on yourself Least favorite thing about golf: When you have to stop playing it Most embarrassing moment on the course: When I shank one...

MILWAUKEE -- Brett Favre finally is speaking for himself: He wants to play but doesn't feel welcome in Green Bay, so he's asking to be released. The quarterback's first substantial comments on his latest retirement decision reversal come in an interview with Fox News on "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."...

Four local golfers will be in the field for the Dalhousie Junior Championship, an American Junior Golf Association tournament set for Aug. 12 through 14 at Dalhousie Golf Club. Tanner Werner of Jackson, Jordan Sheets of Central and Joe Wiggans of Notre Dame will compete in the boys field, while Emily Matthews, a Notre Dame graduate who is headed to Missouri State to play college golf, will be in the girls field...

Undergraduate tuition and fee amounts for Missouri's public universities and technical college for the 2008-2009 school year, the percentage increase over last year, and the maximum potential increase under a new state law that caps tuition. Figures from the Missouri Department of Higher Education...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Ruth E. Frenzel, 86, of Las Vegas, formerly of Perryville, died Sunday, June 15, 2008, in Las Vegas. She was born July 25, 1922, at Kennett, Mo., daughter of James and Bertha Holder. She and Paul Frenzel were married April 25, 1939. He died June 25, 1984...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. — Ralph Collier, 78, of Marble Hill died Saturday, July 12, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was a lifelong farmer. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until time of service today at Victory Baptist Temple in Piedmont, Mo...

An editorial in Sunday's paper incorrectly identified the mayor of Chaffee, Loretta Mohorc. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Bernice A. Weber, 86, of Perryville died Sunday, July 13, 2008, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. She was born May 21, 1922, in Columbia, Mo., daughter of Theodore A. and Flora H. Meyer Mecker. She and Harold J. Weber were married June 13, 1943. He died Jan. 26, 1985...

ST. LOUIS -- A poll shows U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof with an apparent lead over Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Missouri's Republican gubernatorial primary. But the poll shows both candidates trailing Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon in the November general election...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department's former top criminal prosecutor says the government's terror watch list likely has caused thousands of innocent Americans to be questioned, searched or otherwise hassled. Former assistant attorney general Jim Robinson would know: he's one of them...

NEW YORK -- Don't expect to see Barry Bonds showing up in a pennant race. Bonds has not received a single offer, agent Jeff Borris said Monday. He dismissed recent reports of interest from Arizona, the New York Mets and Boston. "I'm an optimistic guy by nature," Borris said, "and I've told Barry that the prospects look bleak."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Matt Blunt will be traveling in Europe until the end of this month. The governor's 18-day trade mission started Sunday and includes stops in Great Britain, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. A spokeswoman for the governor said Blunt will attend the Farnborough Air show with Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and defense industry leaders. Blunt also is to attend a London reception with governors from several states and hold a dinner for Missouri aerospace companies...

A 28-year-old Jackson man was hit by a car and killed while walking along U.S. 61 near Jackson late Sunday night, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Web site. Adrian L. Garcia was struck by a vehicle as he was walking in the roadway on U.S. 61 one mile north of Jackson about 9:42 p.m., the highway patrol reported. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:05 p.m. The driver who hit Garcia traveled off the roadway and struck an embankment, but was uninjured...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man sits in jail, charged with killing another man over what authorities believe was an apparent drug debt. Calvin L. "CC" Smith Jr., 32, of the 2200 block of Grand Avenue was charged Sunday with second-degree murder by Butler County assistant prosecuting attorney Bill Gresham...

In some Cape Girardeau neighborhoods, it seemed as though there were more problems with illegal fireworks this year than in years past. But the police department said it received 20 percent fewer complaints. In all, 17 people (including 11 juveniles) were cited for using fireworks improperly. No fireworks injuries were reported, city officials said...

Horky, Brawley, Sadler, Held win flight The team of Craig Horky, Mike Brawley, Tim Sadler and Kevin Held scored a 55 and won a scorecard playoff to win the championship flight of the SEMO Lady Redhawks Team Swish golf tournament Monday at Dalhousie Golf Club...

OLMSTED, Ill. — Brock Aden King, infant son of Brandon and Erin Taake King of Olmsted, died Monday, July 14, 2008, at St. Mary's Health Center in St. Louis. Wilson Funeral Home in Karnak, Ill., is in charge of arrangements.

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday: n At 11:13 p.m., still alarm in the 3200 block of William Street. n At 11:25 p.m., emergency medical service in the 200 block of North Park Street. Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday:...

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve has adopted rules to give home buyers more protection from the types of shady lending practices that have contributed to the housing crisis and propelled foreclosures to record highs. Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues approved a plan Monday that would crack down on dubious lending practices that have hurt many of the riskiest "subprime" borrowers — people with tarnished credit histories or low incomes...

WASHINGTON -- The American flag has many labels: Stars and stripes. Old Glory. And sometimes, made in China. Congress can't halt the flow of Chinese-made flags, but lawmakers can try to control where they are flown. The House declared Monday that any flag flown on federal property should be made in the U.S.A...

Cai Son to Jianping Cai and Wei Han of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:03 p.m. Sunday, July 6, 2008. Name, Kevin. Weight, 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Cai is owner of China Palace. Muehlfelt Son to Monica Bree Baker of Benton, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:29 p.m. ...

NEW YORK -- Josh Hamilton dreamed it. Now he's done it. With a dazzling display of power Monday night, the Texas Rangers slugger hit a record 28 homers in the first round of the All-Star Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium before he was beaten out by Minnesota's Justin Morneau in the finals...

NHA TRANG, Vietnam -- Miss Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe 2008 on Monday in a contest marked by the spectacle of Miss USA falling down during the evening gown competition for the second year in a row. An elated Dayana Mendoza received the crown from her predecessor, Riyo Mori of Japan, and then prepared to meet a gaggle of reporters. Miss Venezuela, 22, was once kidnapped in her homeland and said the experience taught her to remain poised under pressure...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis County judge set a trial date Friday for the case against 14-year-old Owen Welty. Judge John Ross blocked out the entire week of Nov. 10 for the trial in St. Louis. Welty is charged with the Nov. 14, 2006, murder of 64-year-old Don McCollough at his farm east of Bloomfield, Mo...

JONESBORO, Ill. — Genevieve D. Wiggs, 86, of Jonesboro died Sunday, July 13, 2008, at her home. Wiggs was born April 12, 1922, near Jonesboro, daughter of Peter Davis "P.D." and Zona Dillow. She and Virgil D. Wiggs were married Oct. 5, 1949. He died Aug. 7, 2001...

HAUTACAM, France -- A bruised and sore Cadel Evans of Australia took the yellow jersey Monday at the Tour de France after Leonardo Piepoli of Italy won a punishing climb through the Pyrenees to capture the 10th stage. Evans, the 31-year-old Silence Lotto leader and one of the favorites, seized the race lead from Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg and has a one-second lead over Frank Schleck, another Luxembourg rider...

SYDNEY, Australia -- Pilgrims bore a giant wooden cross through the streets of Australia's largest city Monday, as thousands of faithful crowded around the procession, some lunging for a chance to touch the symbol of the Roman Catholic Church's youth festival...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — A double committal service for Charles and Helen Knox of New Orleans will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Brazeau Presbyterian Cemetery in Brazeau, Mo. The Rev. Craig King will officiate. Knox, 88, died Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005, in Tulsa, Okla. Mrs. Knox, 101, died Saturday, March 22, 2008, in Tulsa...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In the first year of a law capping tuition increases, most Missouri universities are raising tuition by nearly the maximum amount allowed during the upcoming school year. A new state law limits tuition and fee increases to the rate of inflation, with an allowance for slightly higher increases at schools whose tuition is below the state average. The inflation rate from 2007 to 2008 was 4.1 percent, according the department...

NEW YORK -- Fired up about his first trip to Yankee Stadium, Ben Sheets had it all planned out. Arrive early and visit Monument Park, gaze up at that famous facade, drink in the entire experience the same way any fan would. One big difference, though: The Milwaukee Brewers ace also will get the ball to start tonight's All-Star game for the National League...

Fix the streets CITY COUNCIL, I bought a scooter a couple of months ago. Since then, I've seen more and more scooters on the road, as well as more and more people on bicycles and motorcycles. I don't know if you've noticed, but the streets of Cape Girardeau are full of potholes. It's bad on everybody's cars, and it's dangerous for us. So how about taking the money for that water park and using it to fix the streets instead?...

FLINT, Mich. -- Officials in Flint say they've had to replace hundreds of manhole covers and grates that were probably stolen and sold for scrap. The Flint Journal reported Monday that nearly 400 cast iron covers and grates have been taken from streets in the past year. A cover can fetch $20 from a scrap yard but can cost the city more than $200 to replace...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Starvation and gang rapes are Sudan's weapons of choice in Darfur's genocide, according to prosecutors at the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal. Filing charges Monday against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said the Sudanese leader had developed a new way of perpetrating humanity's ultimate crime...

Early Monday, Cape Girardeau police arrested three suspects believed to have been involved in a shooting Wednesday in which they allegedly fled from officers at the scene. Police acted on a tip that the three men were hiding out at the Pear Tree Inn and dispatched the special response team as a precaution, said Sgt. Barry Hovis, spokesman for the police department...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. — Sheila Lynn Harrison, 46, of St. Louis died Sunday, July 13, 2008, in a traffic accident in Perryville, Mo. She was born July 8, 1962, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., daughter of Leonard and Wilma Wilson Hendrix. She and Ronald F. Harrison were married Dec. 12, 1980, in Poplar Bluff...

ST. LOUIS — The King of Beers, the folks who spent lavishly to bring you the Bud Bowl, the Talking Frogs, the Whassup Guys and the Clydesdales, is being swallowed by a Belgian brewer known for its frugality. But InBev SA has an ambitious plan behind its $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch, hoping to tap into the U.S. company's massive marketing power and make the Budweiser and Bud Light brands into globally recognized products akin to Coca-Cola or Pepsi...

25 years ago: July 15, 1983 A pre-dawn, two-alarm fire, believed to be incendiary in nature, destroys a vacant, two-story apartment building at 207 S. Spanish St., which the owner has been trying to sell; authorities find five plastic containers of flammable liquid in the old brick building...

HONOLULU -- With sugar cane and pineapples fading, Hawaii's next big export to the U.S. mainland could be less sweet -- 100,000 tons of trash a year. In one of the most ambitious municipal disposal plans yet, Oahu, Hawaii's most populous island, is looking to send some of its garbage on a 2,600-mile voyage to the West Coast...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Cory L. Shannon, 29, 1004 N. Frederick St., was arrested on a Foristell, Mo., warrant for failure to appear for failure to appear for driving while suspended...

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- By day, the engineers work on NASA's new Ares moon rockets. By night, some go undercover to work on a competing design. These dissenting scientists and their backers insist they have created an alternative rocket that would be safer, cheaper and easier to build than the two Ares spacecraft that will replace the space shuttle...

The Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court scheduled a hearing to decide on a way to fill the two vacant positions on the East County Fire Protection District Board of Directors. Any individuals interested in the open positions can submit a letter of application to Circuit Judge William L. Syler explaining why they wish to serve on the board, according to J.P. Clubb, attorney for the fire district...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Monday lifted an executive ban on offshore oil drilling and challenged Congress to follow suit, aiming to turn the enormous public frustration about gasoline prices into political leverage. Democratic lawmakers rejected Bush's plan as a symbolic stunt...

August L. "Gus" Beine, 90, of Maryland Heights, Mo., died Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at his home. He was born March 7, 1918, in St. Louis, son of August and Lorine Uetrecht Beine. He and Lorraine Roberson were married June 15, 1942. She died March 1, 1995...

U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof on Monday used the presence of a picket paid by his opponent to create a light moment and call into question the wisdom of state Treasurer Sarah Steelman's economic proposals. While Hulshof was listening to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Cape Girardeau resident, endorse his candidacy for governor, a man in a bright red lobster suit walked silently around holding a sign that proclaimed "More money for Maine" on one side and "Thanks for the $200,000, Kenny" on the other...

The Mississippi River should drop below its 32 foot flood stage at Cape Girardeau by Thursday morning, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service.By Thursday morning the river at Cape Girardeau should reach 31.2 feet and continue to drop to 28.4 feet by Sunday, according to the forecast issued at 9:10 a.m. ...

Not as energetic as you used to be? Find yourself tired more and more often? Fatigue may be your enemy, and you (yawn) are not (yawn) alone. According to Harvard Medical School, fatigue is one of the most common complaints to bring adults to doctors' offices. Studies indicate that people who see their doctor about fatigue generally have experienced it for quite some time — anywhere from six months to several years...

Marla Mills, Executive Director of Old Town Cape, presented Christopher Buehrle, President of NARS, on behalf of Old Town Cape and Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival, a plaque in recognition of NARS’s sponsorship of the fireworks for the 2008 Libertyfest and Air Show...

The Missouri Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting Thursday to inform residents about a preferred route for the Ramsey Creek Bridge project in Scott City, according to a MoDOT news release. MoDOT's last public meeting on the project was in September, when the agency took input from Scott City residents about where the proposed Ramsey Creek Bridge and its connecting roads should go. ...

While the new Cape Girardeau Public Library is being built, the library's temporary location at 301 Broadview St. is seeing less public activity, according to statistics. The library has experienced a decrease in its average circulation rates for November through June compared to corresponding statistics for the same period from November 2006 to June 2007, according to the board of trustees' statistical reports for the Cape Girardeau Public Library...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Although the economy remains shaky, Missouri's new budget year is beginning with the largest surplus in at least two decades. Missouri began its 2009 fiscal year on July 1 with an operating fund balance of $833 million. The state Office of Administration says that's the largest amount in records dating back to 1988...

Candidates for 1st District Cape Girardeau County Commissioner and for the 158th District Missouri House of Representatives will appear at a candidate forum tonight at the Cape Girardeau County University of Missouri Extension offices, 684 W. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri probation and parole officers say they want back pay that the courts have said the state owes them. The workers rallied Tuesday in Kansas City and St. Louis, saying Corrections Department Director Larry Crawford has ignored the court orders...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The personal information of up to 2,000 members of the Missouri National Guard may have been compromised after a computer was stolen, officials said Tuesday. The Guard said the theft occurred Monday, but it would not provide details on the type of information, saying that could compromise the police investigation...

CAMDENTON, Mo. (AP) -- A 69-year-old Missouri man is the latest drowning victim at Lake of the Ozarks. The Missouri State Water Patrol said Max Moyer of Camdenton fell into the water from a dock in the Niangua (neye-AHN'-gwuh) Arm of the lake at 9:30 p.m. Monday. Officers said Moyer's body was found by neighbors and a sheriff's deputy just before 11 p.m...

The candidates for District 1 commissioner in Cape Girardeau County are backing up their words with cash. And in the other hotly contested primary in Cape Girardeau County, two of the three Republican candidates for the 158th Missouri House seat are in a virtual tie for financial support, while the third candidate is running close behind...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Citing a "deeply concerning increase in homicides," the St. Louis police department is announcing a new strategy to reduce the number slayings. The police department says that while overall crime in the city is down 14 percent compared with last year, homicides are up...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to pay Missouri more than $11 million to resolve claims of Medicaid fraud. The payment is part of a national settlement in which the drug-maker has agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to 44 states and the federal government. Missouri's portion of the settlement was announced Tuesday...

O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) -- A relative says soldier from suburban St. Louis who was serving in Afghanistan was among nine Army soldiers killed in an ambush last weekend. Twenty-year-old Gunnar Zwilling, of Florissant, died Sunday morning in an insurgent attack on an American outpost in eastern Afghanistan...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Stray Rescue has begun work on a donated warehouse that will become the first animal shelter in downtown St. Louis. The nonprofit animal rescue group in St. Louis competed nationally and won a $1 million prize in May from Zootoo.com to finance the project...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Lambert-St. Louis International Airport has begun $16.9 million in improvements, a first step in a larger renovation plan. That's along with a $16 million upgrade of Lambert's restaurants and bars as part of a separate campaign at Lambert...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A 23-year-old woman who climbed a University of Missouri smokestack tower now faces trespassing charges. Campus police charged Amy Hill with first-degree trespassing on Monday, four days after she scaled a 325-foot tower at the university's power plant. Hill climbed down from the tower without assistance as police and firefighters watched...

SALESVILLE, Ark. (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says two people are dead after a helicopter crashed near the Norfork Dam in northern Arkansas. Baxter County sheriff's deputies say they received the first call about the downed helicopter just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. FAA spokesman Roland Herwig says the Hughes Model 269B is owned by Ozark Mountain Helicopters LLC, a tour company based out of Branson, Mo...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri National Guard says the personal information of about 2,000 guardsmen may have been compromised. The Guard announced Tuesday that it had learned of the possible compromise the day before. The Guard is withholding details pending an investigation. But it insists that there's little reason to expect the information to be exploited...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Supreme Court has postponed what would have been the first execution in the state in nearly three years. The Supreme Court granted a stay of execution late Friday for 48-year-old John Middleton, who was scheduled to die by lethal injection on July 30...