Stories from Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Content: Dear Sam: I am 49 years of age and for the past 7 years I was a senior plant manager of a small food processing plant. Recently, I had the pleasure of being replaced. My focus now is to find a new job and I haven't had any success to this point. I think that there are two major issues confronting my quest: I am near 50 in age, and perhaps the biggest drawback, I don't possess a degree...

25 years ago: Dec. 3, 1983 Roger F. Rhodes, a retired Gideon, Mo., farmer and businessman, and his wife, Ella, are guests of honor at the dedication of Southeast Missouri State University's new Rhodes Science Building; Rhodes donated $300,000 to the university to outfit the building with the latest scientific equipment...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- William H. "Bill" Adcock, 85, died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 4, 1923, in Portageville, Mo., to the late John Anderson and Fannie Elizabeth Harrelson Adcock. Adcock was a member of Illinois Avenue General Baptist Church. He was a production manager with Coca-Cola Bottling in Sikeston more than 20 years, and later for Royal Crown Bottling in Illinois...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- The luxury American cruise ship steaming across the Gulf of Aden with hundreds of tourists just might have been too much for Somali pirates to resist. But the six bandits, riding in two skiffs and firing rifle shots at the gleaming ship, were outrun in minutes when the captain of M/S Nautica gunned the engine and sped away, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday...

Cape Girardeau police remain puzzled by the origin of a bullet that struck a woman Nov. 25 in the parking lot of Chinatown Buffet. The woman, from Oran, Mo., was sitting with her 12-year-old daughter in a Mazda Miata convertible when the .22-caliber bullet came through the top of her car, struck her in the stomach and came to rest on the floor of the vehicle...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis alderman who says he is frustrated with police response to crime in his neighborhood is calling on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property. Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said Tuesday he is telling his north St. Louis constituents to acquire guns and learn how to use them...

CHICAGO -- Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law was charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of three of her family members. Prosecutors handed down formal charges against William Balfour in the deaths of Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, said Tandra Simonton, spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office...

By JOSH MOSLEY The Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Chase Coffman's toe injury still lingers, but Missouri coaches say a hobbled Coffman is still a plus as the Tigers prepare for Oklahoma and the Big 12 championship game. Coffman suffered turf toe during a 31-28 win over Baylor on Nov. 1. He still managed six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns in last weekend's 40-37 upset loss to Kansas, even after immediately aggravating the injury on the game's first play...

FARRAR, Mo. -- Helen I. Lorenz, 84, of Farrar died Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008, at her home. She was born May 28, 1924, at New Wells, Mo., daughter of Martin and Johanna Petzoldt Koch Jr. She and Edgar B. "Ex" Lorenz were married May 5, 1946. He died Nov. 12, 1989...

Smiley Son to Daniel Justin and Amy McClain Smiley of Paducah, Ky., Lourdes Hospital, 12:58 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. Name, Liam Garrett. Weight, 7 pounds, 6 ounces. First child. Mrs. Smiley is the daughter of Dave and Georgia Carman of Kelso, Mo. Smiley is the son of Rondell and Sharon Smiley of Bernie, Mo...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Dorothy Botsch, 88, of Bernie died Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008, at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter, Mo. She was born Jan. 10, 1920, at Parma, Mo., daughter of Walter and Lelia Smith Howell. She and Ernest Botsch were married Dec. 24, 1939. He died Feb. 23, 2007...

Christmas tree ornaments tend to reflect styles in the year's home furnishings, as well as what's on the fashion runway. We like to dress our tree as we dress our rooms and ourselves. This season, inspiration trotted the globe, from Morocco to Moscow, Punjab to Pyongyang. Stools and step chests grace the living room, while ethnic fabrics and motifs adorn wall art and clothing. So it's no surprise many holiday ornaments evoke these graphic prints and international sensibilities...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Chase Coffman's toe injury still lingers, but Missouri coaches say a hobbled Coffman is still a plus as the Tigers prepare for Oklahoma and the Big 12 championship game. Coffman suffered turf toe during a 31-28 win over Baylor on Nov. 1. He still managed six catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns in last weekend's 40-37 upset loss to Kansas, even after immediately aggravating the injury on the game's first play...

WASHINGTON -- Detroit's automakers appealed to Congress with a retooled case for a bailout Tuesday, pledging to slash workers, car lines and executive pay in return for a federal lifeline. GM said it wouldn't last until New Year's without an immediate $4 billion and could drag the entire industry down if it fails...

Two letters may open a door to ending Cape Girardeau County's Sunshine lawsuit, though for the moment 2nd District commissioner Jay Purcell's appeal of the October court decision against him will continue. Tom Ludwig, representing the county, sent the first letter, dated Nov. 21, to Purcell's attorney, J.P. Clubb...

ANNA, Ill. -- Etoile Theresa Casper, 93, of Anna died Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 11, 1914, in Memphis, Tenn., daughter of Curtis Walton and Rebecca Ann Chandler Winston. She and George Earl Casper were married June 3, 1939, at Speedway Baptist Church in Memphis...

Taylor Smith scored 20 points as the Delta girls basketball team opened the season by hammering St. Vincent 57-32 on Tuesday. The Bobcats, a Class 1 state runner-up a year ago in the last of Randy White's seven seasons, were playing their first game under new coach Mark Verticchio...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday: n At 7:49 p.m., a report of power lines down at 247 Siemers Drive. n At 8:36 p.m., a first alarm at Marilyn Drive and North Kings­highway. n At 10:19 p.m., a fire alarm at 1000 Towers Circle...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Zatron R. Twiggs, 23, 2819 Mimosa Drive, Apt. 6C, was arrested on nine Cape Girardeau warrants for contempt of court for failure to appear. ...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Shaking hands with yourself is an amusing out-of-body experience. The illusion of having your stomach slashed with a kitchen knife, not so much. Both sensations, however, felt real to most participants in a Swedish science project exploring how people can be tricked into the false perception of owning another body...

The question flashes on the screen: "What is the meaning of estimate?" Students hunch over their "clickers" and debate the options. A. is to make a guess, B. is a number changed to the nearest 10, and C. is the amount of money given back when too much is paid...

ATLANTA -- Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss won a runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight. Chambliss' victory thwarted Democrats' hopes of winning a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It came after a monthlong runoff against Democrat Jim Martin that drew political luminaries from both parties to the state and flooded the airwaves with fresh attack ads weeks after campaigns elsewhere had ended...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Next season, San Francisco Giants fans buying single-game tickets for an April game against Milwaukee might pay half as much as they would for a weekend game with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers later in the year. The club is trying something new with ticket sales in a few tough-to-sell upper-deck outfield sections of its waterfront ballpark for 2009: cost based on demand...

Following a study of earthquake consequences in the central United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has began planning catastrophic event response assessments, particularly in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). The study, which was conducted by the Mid-America Earthquake Center at the University of Illinois and the Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management at George Washington University in Washington D.C., was contracted by FEMA through the U.S. ...

Opal N. Collins, 80, of Swansea, Ill., died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Belleville, Ill. She was born March 18, 1928, in St. Louis, daughter of Earl and Viola Brees Johnson. She and James E. Collins were married July 17, 1948. He died Jan. 6, 2008...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A document discovered last week by the Missouri attorney general's office could have saved Joshua Kezer from his 1994 murder conviction, Kezer's former defense attorney said Tuesday. The document in question is a statement by key prosecution witness Shawn Mangus to Bill Stokes, then an investigator for the Scott County prosecuting attorney. ...

Children shop at thrift store Dad's income barely pays the bills – rent, utilities, car for work, food. But Mom makes sure there is about $10 left each month to share with her daughters. They go shopping at the Safe House for Women Thrift Store, where there are a variety of things the children can buy. ...

SCOTT COUNTY, Mo. - A Scott City woman was injured in a single-vehicle accident Tuesday evening off County Road 311.According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred at around 10:45 p.m. four miles south of Scott City. Justin E. Ledermann, 25, of Scott City was driving his 2001 Ford Escort southbound on County Road 311 when he failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the roadway. The Escort sustained extensive damage...

The ninth annual Brazeau Old-Fashioned Christmas Walk is scheduled for 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Brazeau is about 30 miles north of Cape Girardeau. Walkers will see historic buildings decorated for the holidays, hear carolers and see a live Nativity scene...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Thelma Mae Francis, 67, of Marble Hill died Friday, Nov. 28, 2008, in Ashland, Ore. She was born March 6, 1941, at Lutesville, Mo., daughter of William M. and Winifred June Cavaness Francis. Francis was a member of Marble Hill United Methodist Church. She retired as a cataloger with St. Louis Public Library...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Midyear spending cuts likely will be needed to counter a newly projected $342 million state shortfall, the budget adviser for Gov.-elect Jay Nixon warned Tuesday. The projected shortfall marks a reversal for Missouri, which as recently as this summer touted an $833 million surplus. But the national economic recession has resulted in lower-than-expected tax revenues, even as state spending pressures have continued to rise...

Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau County will be reduced to one lane through Friday while Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform shoulder repairs on the northbound and southbound lanes. This section of road is north of the Route E overpass. Work is scheduled to take place from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Florida's Tim Tebow, and four Big 12 players are finalists for the Walter Camp Football Foundation's player of the year award. Three quarterbacks -- Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell -- and Harrell's teammate Michael Crabtree are the other finalists...

Connell wins Gateway PGA junior award Jack Connell, the director of golf at Dalhousie Golf Club since 2000, has been selected Gateway PGA's Junior Leader of the Year for 2008. It is the second such recognition for Connell, who has been the director of the Southeast Missouri Junior Series since 1988...

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. It is the McClanahan family tradition to have shrimp, crab legs and tenderloin with all of the sides for our Thanksgiving meal. It is always delicious, and our children look forward to this meal at Nana and Pop's house. ...

NEW YORK -- Six players, including the heart of the Minnesota Vikings' stout defensive line, were suspended for four games without pay by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league's anti-doping policy. All six were punished for using a diuretic, which can serve as a masking agent for steroids...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Charlie Weis will return for a fifth season at Notre Dame despite another disappointing year, several media outlets reported Tuesday night. WNDU-TV in South Bend, The South Bend Tribune and several other media outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported Weis will be back next year...

Southeast Missouri State remains on track to complete its search for a new athletic director by the end of this year. Kathy Mangels, Southeast's vice president of finance and administration and the chair of the search committee, said Tuesday night the committee is in the process of telephone interviews with select candidates...

Three churches in south Cape Girardeau -- True Vine Ministries, Freedom Road Ministries, New Horizons Missionary Church -- are organizing a march through neighborhoods to reclaim the streets that have become hot spots for crime ranging from drug deals to arson to prostitution. The march is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ranney Park...

NEW YORK -- Britney Spears is taking her "Circus" act on the road. In an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," the pop star announced that her North American arena tour will open March 3 in New Orleans. Her new album, "Circus," arrived Tuesday, on her 27th birthday...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Mike Leach can look back on this season and know he led Texas Tech to its best one yet. The pirate-loving coach and his No. 8 Red Raiders did it by getting their first win over a top-ranked team, garnering their highest national ranking and capturing their first Big 12 South trophy -- the latter a shared prize due to a three-way tie...

When you venture out and about this holiday shopping season, you can pick up all kinds of things. In my case, I picked up the flu bug. Or maybe it's just some associated crud. Regardless of the medical name attached to this malady, it stinks! For the life of me I can't imagine why this holiday bug picked me as a victim. I skipped the annual flu shot this year. I have lousy eating habits. I still smoke far too much. I manage limited sleep. And did I mention I still smoke too much?...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri has officially lost its status as the prognosticator of presidential winners. Election returns certified Tuesday by the secretary of state's office show that Republican John McCain won the state Nov. 4 in Missouri's closest presidential election in a century...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Matt Lawrence scored 15 points to lead five Missouri players in double figures as the Tigers beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 95-41 on Tuesday night. DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons added 13 each for the Tigers (6-1) before going to the bench early in the second half as Missouri built a comfortable lead. Kim English also scored 13 and Marcus Denmon added 11...

Praise for columnist COMMON-SENSE conservative columnist Paul Greenberg is a cut above the ideological conservatives whose columns often cover most of the Southeast Missourian's Opinion page. For example, Greenberg recently praised president-elect Obama for his "determination to govern rather than continue campaigning." And, further, "In the spirit of Lincoln in his critical times, he's proceeding to form a team of rivals." You'd never hear this from the ideologues who invade the Opinion page on regular basis.. ...

Over the past 10 years, Jackson has issued 985 building permits for new homes and 127 permits for multifamily residences such as duplexes or apartment buildings. That growth spurt through Dec. 31, 2007, has cooled somewhat this year and it didn't occur in quite the way the city's current comprehensive plan predicted it would, said Janet Sanders, building and planning superintendent. There was more movement west along highways 34 and 72 and less to the south along Highway 25, she said...

Neal E. Boyd, a tenor from Sikeston, Mo., who won this year's season of the popular NBC competition show "America's Got Talent," will be one of the featured performers on NBC's Christmas special "Christmas in Rockefeller Center." The show airs at 7 p.m. Central time today...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress is done for the year. The New York Giants fined and suspended Burress on Tuesday for four games -- the rest of the regular season -- after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub. The team also placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which means the wide receiver couldn't come back for playoffs, either...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- New Wyoming coach Dave Christensen plans to do all the usual tasks associated with taking over a program -- deciding which assistants to keep, which recruits to pursue, meeting with reporters. First, though, he's got this small bit of unfinished business before him in the form of a Big 12 title game and a bowl to be determined...

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported two fatalities in Southeast Missouri over the holiday weekend, though none were from Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry or Scott counties. During its Thanksgiving weekend traffic crash counting period, which was from 6 p.m. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. — A community food basket drive made such a strong debut last year that organizers are expanding its coverage area from two counties to four and are aiming to serve 150 more families this Christmas. Last year through "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" Christmas campaign, about 5,500 pounds of food were delivered to 101 families in Scott and Mississippi counties, and 138 children up to age 16 received toys...

Since Katelyn Dannenmueller was admitted to the hospital, she's celebrated her third birthday, announced she wants to become a doctor and started a love of princesses phase. "She tells everyone her blood is sick. But she's happy all the time and has never asked to come home. She knows she has to stay down here until she's better," said her mother, Pam Dannenmueller...

Children from the Jackson, Mo., day care center, Tender Care Playhouse, stopped in to discover nature at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center Wednesday morning.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man is in critical condition at a Cape Girardeau hospital after he was run over Monday night by a vehicle apparently spinning its tires on top of him. Authorities believe Gary Eugene Lawrence was seriously injured by a man who he earlier had told to leave a downtown bar after the man had created a disturbance there...

Joshua C. Kezer testified today in the hearing challenging his own murder conviction for the 1992 killing of college student Angela Mischelle Lawless, saying he never met the woman while she was still alive.Click here to read more of this story, and look for video of Kezer's testimony later today on seMissourian.com...

"No holds barred," Richard Nixon urges to David Frost as the two prepare to sit down for a series of interviews in 1977. As "Frost/Nixon" powerfully reveals, that statement contains equal parts promise and threat from both the disgraced figure on screen and the actor playing him...

Four and five year-old students from Tender Care Playhouse day care center in Jackson, Mo., were able to see a two-headed black rat snake at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center Wednesday morning. The children learned from nature center staff member Mary-Jane Fieser, that the snake is actually a set of twins, born connected instead of seperate...

The Internal Revenue Service is warning the public about an identity theft e-mail scam. The e-mail has a cover letter from a person identifying herself as IRS public relations employee Laura Stevens, who instructs recipients to fill out the attached W-4100B2 form...

Tuesday evening, December 2, the city council of Perryville Missouri, voted to drop the breed specific ordinance they had proposed. They ruled in favor of enacting tougher dangerous animal ordinances. This decision was based on independent research done by the members of the council...

Remember the big freeze in February '08....thought we would never thaw out .

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A year after a freak spring freeze nearly derailed the Missouri wine industry, the grape gods have been kind to vineyard owners like Sarah Schmidt — perhaps too kind. A cool, wet spring and summer produced enough grapes to fill the storage tanks at Schmidt's Baltimore Bend Winery with juice, fulfill all of her contracts to supply fruit to other wineries and still leave grapes hanging in her 7-acre vineyard...

An old fashioned Christmas is taking place Saturday, December 6 fom 3-8pm in Brazeau, MO. Brazeau is located in eastern Perry County just 30 miles north of Cape Girardeau on Hwy. C. Tickest are $5.00 per adult available at the Community Hall. The entire historic village is decorated and on tour. ...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — The layoff of 89 hourly employees, effective at the end of their work shift today, was announced to Noranda Aluminum workers on Monday. "The lay-offs result from the economic challenges facing the aluminum industry and specifically, Noranda, as we continuously look for ways to reduce our operating costs, improve our productivity and conserve our liquidity," Keith Gregston, president and general manager wrote in an e-mail. ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — Details were released Tuesday morning regarding a standoff Friday afternoon and evening about four miles northeast of Bloomfield. According to Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner, at approximately 3:15 p.m. on Friday, the department received several calls stating that Danny Wayne Pullum of rural Bloomfield was shooting off assault rifles into trees and over houses...

A Jackson wedding planner is in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on charges that he used customer credit cards to make personal purchases, Lt. David James of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday. Mike Erzfeld of Jackson operated Custom Events out of his home at 1384 Greenleaf Ave. ...

February '08 left us with some very frozen memories.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The first time Joshua C. Kezer laid eyes on the 19-year-old girl he was convicted of killing 14 years ago was when his attorney sent him an obituary with her picture while he was awaiting trial for her murder, Kezer told a courtroom Wednesday morning...

A Jackson businessman with a taste for expensive wine, home furnishings and art is in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on a credit card fraud charge. Michael J. Erzfeld, owner of the wedding planning firm Custom Events, faces one felony charge and investigators with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department intend to ask for at least five more counts to be added to the list. Erzfeld has been held with a $5,000 cash-only bond since being charged Nov. 26...