Stories from Friday, October 16, 2009

A dog named Cowgirl has become an issue of dispute between her former owner and animal rescue activists in the two months since she was brought to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri. Cowgirl, a 4-year-old American pit bull terrier, was picked up Aug. 11 in East Cape Girardeau, Ill., and that's where the story gets dicey...

Central Middle School principal Mark Kiehne takes a direct hit from a whipped cream pie thrown by a fifth-grader Thursday during a lunch-time activity that raised $373 for the United Way. ...

Cape Girardeau police have arrested the man being sought in connection with a burglary on Woodlawn Avenue.

When the lights came on in Julie Brandmeyer's classroom at West Lane Elementary School, waves of shock and amusement spread throughout the students. Attempts at drawing objects like a jet, rainbow and lake had turned into a page full of meandering lines and scribbles for some students...

We miss you Eli...Happy Holloween

NEW HAMBURG -- For years, the Kelso school district in New Hamburg has worked to keep its students on the cutting edge and provide the best education possible. Now, school officials say to continue that, a new school building is needed, the Sikeston Standard Democrat reported...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- The stereotype that many National Guard Soldiers have flabby physiques has never been an accurate one, but Sgt. 1st Class Michael Halter has tolerated the unfair myth his entire military career. "My whole life I've heard it; that we're beer-bellied, fat boys who are out of shape," said Halter, the noncommissioned officer in charge of Missouri's Second Medical Detachment. "It's never been true, overall, but it's certainly not true now."...

A Three Rivers Community College trustee questioned the recent Drury Southwest donation of the Pear Tree Inn and adjacent restaurant building, but found himself in the minority, apart from the college foundation which initially turned down the large gift...

The Mississippi River has always been a corridor of commerce. That has been true whether American Indians or European settlers lived along its banks. But for most of U.S. history, commercial exploitation of the valley focused on its ability to move goods or trying to keep the river off adjoining land during floods. ...

This year, as Jackson Public Schools celebrated DisAbility Awareness Week (October 12-16), Immaculate Conception School and St. Paul also joined. Attending a Christian school always includes learning how treat others with kindness, but this week the teachers and students took that to a new level. ...

While Linda Bohnsack claims it was a hard task, the co-director of the Empty Bowls Project managed to choose 30 bowls from the hundreds that have been made to be included in a silent auction at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in October. The bowls on display were made by area artists and laymen and chosen specially for the silent auction to raise additional funds for Empty Bowls...

Eureka's first-quarter touchdown was the difference in its 7-0 victory.

LOS ANGELES -- "Where the Wild Things Are," the book, is just 339 words long. But in turning it into "Where the Wild Things Are," the movie, director Spike Jonze has expanded the basic story with a breathtaking visual scheme and stirring emotional impact...

Bowling for Soup makes no apologies for crassness on its latest album, "Sorry for Partyin'." From the lyrics right down to the album cover, which depicts the foursome frolicking in a giant toilet bowl, it's apparent that lead singer Jaret Reddick and the boys clearly channel the perspective of the average 14-year-old boy...

Art and entertainment briefs

Heating costs will be lower this winter, according to a nationwide forecast. Users of propane and natural gas -- both widely used in Southeast Missouri -- will see the biggest drop in fuel costs. Also affecting fuel expenses this year are predictions of a mild winter...

On Saturday the Cape Girardeau West Rotary Club will host its 44th annual radio auction at the Show Me Center. The auction, which will be broadcast all day on KZIM 960 and KSIM 1400, includes vacation packages to Florida, the Riverwalk in San Antonio and Keystone, Colo. The auction also features a semester's tuition to Southeast Missouri State University, tickets to Cardinals and Blues games, gift certificates to numerous restaurants and other businesses and many more items...

JJHS winners; Stop the burning; Low-life neighbors; Proud of prize; Dining disruptions; Restoration expense; Unruly children

Where there is darkness, send light. Where there is confusion, send truth. Amen.

There are plenty of folks who are smarter than I am. Any sixth-grader who can do his math homework without help from a parent or the Internet already has me beat. Heck, even Miss Kitty is, in so many ways, more cunning than her lap-provider. She has even taken to barking at me when I don't do what she expects. I think she learned that from the dog next door...

Many people shy away from talking about art. Some can be discounted because they simply don't evaluate it beyond "pretty" or "not," but many others don't talk about it because they don't feel they know enough about it. Perhaps you're afraid someone will disagree. ...

Southeast Missouri State University has an outstanding schedule of outside speakers for the year. Aron Ralston spoke Tuesday night. He's the motivational and courageous mountain climber who was trapped when an 800-pound boulder pinned his right hand and wrist. After "six days of hell" he amputated his own arm to survive...

DES MOINES -- The maximum contribution limits for your 401(k) and other retirement plans will stay the same next year, the IRS says. The agency released a statement Thursday keeping the maximum contribution rate at $16,500 instead of lowering it, as some had feared...

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers are trying to extend and expand an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, a stimulus-package tax break that many regard as a significant prop for the still-tottering economy. The latest Senate proposal would drop the requirement that the credit be available only to first-time buyers, broadening the reach of the program but also adding to its cost, estimated by congressional analysts at $16.7 billion...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: Jackson Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Summonses; Burglary; Property damage; Miscellaneous

Tonja L. Thompson, 58, of Jackson died Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, at her home. She was born May 19, 1951, in Sikeston, Mo., to Lynn and Betty Nowell Thompson. Thompson was a member of Lynwood Baptist Church. She was a receptionist at Saint Francis Fitness Plus. She was an avid horsewoman...

PERKINS, Mo. -- Paul Wayne Menz, 56, of Perkins died Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 10, 1953, at Kankakee, Ill., son of Paul Allen and Imogene Howell Menz. He married JoAnn Freeman on June 15, 1972. She survives...

25 years ago: Oct. 16, 1984 It is reported that Vice President George Bush will visit Cape Girardeau on Monday and Mrs. Walter Mondale might be here Saturday; U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp of New York is also scheduled to be in Cape Girardeau Oct. 31 for a fundraising dinner on behalf of U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson...

Sheppard; King

n An item in Tuesday's police report should have identified James C. Waller III as being 17. The Southeast Missourian regrets the errors...

A two-car accident Thursday in Jackson sent three people to the hospital. According to Jackson Police Department Lt. ...

Southeast Missouri State University will hold meetings at its regional campuses about the fall 2010 criminal justice cohort. Last fall, the university launched its first cohort, which allows about 50 students to complete the last two years of the corrections option in criminal justice without traveling to the main campus. The regional campuses offer classes via interactive television for the program...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A Tuesday shooting that injured a Cape Girardeau man is under investigation in Charleston. According to Charleston Department of Public Safety, Travis Scales, 28, of Cape Girardeau drove to the back door of the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department seeking medical attention about 11:55 a.m. Tuesday. Scales had been shot several times and was transported to a local hospital for treatment...

BENTON, Mo. -- Two area men were arrested Tuesday in connection with an alleged meth lab, said Brenda Cone of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force. Nicholaus Minor, 40, and Scott E. Peetz, 50, face charges of manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and endangering the welfare of a child. Bond for Peetz was set at $50,000 cash only. Bond for Minor was set at $35,000 cash only...

The Associated Press FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A 6-year-old Colorado boy feared to have floated off in a helium balloon was found safe at his home Thursday, hiding in a cardboard box in the garage attic. Sheriff Jim Alderman turned to reporters during a news conference and gave a thumbs up and said, "He's at the house." Alderden said an investigator on the scene saw the boy and he was fine, and had apparently been in the attic the whole time...

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Archaeologists have discovered two Crusader-era murals depicting heaven and hell in a medieval church on Syria's coast -- a rare find that could reveal new information about the Christian knights who battled Muslims for control of the Holy Land hundreds of years ago...

WARSAW, Poland -- To try to reach young people around the world, the memorial museum at Auschwitz has launched a page on Facebook, the social networking site usually home to news and photos about friends, funny videos and the minutiae of modern life...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- A woman caring for six grandchildren can no longer afford milk. A bricklayer who used to work six days a week now is lucky to get two. A shop manager has seen his earnings evaporate. Nearly four months after the military ousted President Manuel Zelaya, Hondurans are feeling the sting of a political crisis that has eroded an already fragile economy and increased hunger in one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries...

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Islamist militants launched coordinated assaults on three police compounds in Pakistan's second largest city Thursday, the latest in a wave of attacks by insurgents bringing the war to the country's heartland ahead of an expected offensive against their Afghan border sanctuary...

ST. LOUIS -- Drivers on interstates 44 and 70 throughout Missouri better buckle up, slow down and stay sober this weekend. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Thursday it is joining with other agencies in cracking down on violators this weekend...

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had cancer surgery earlier this year, was kept at a hospital overnight after she became drowsy and fell from her seat aboard an airplane. Court officials blamed a reaction to medicine...

WASHINGTON -- The Midwest and Northern United States are likely to get a warmer winter, while the Southeast can expect just the opposite: cooler and wetter conditions. In Thursday's winter outlook, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says an El Nino weather event -- warming in parts of the Pacific that affects weather worldwide -- will be a major player in America's winter temperatures...

WASHINGTON -- A major report confirms what health officials long have believed: Bans on smoking in restaurants, bars and other gathering spots reduce the risk of heart attacks among nonsmokers. "If you have heart disease, you really need to stay away from secondhand smoke. It's an immediate threat to your life," declared Dr. Neal Benowitz of the University of California, San Francisco, who co-wrote Thursday's report from the prestigious Institute of Medicine...

WASHINGTON -- Scientists have grown a piece of heart muscle -- and then watched it beat -- by using stem cells from a mouse embryo, a big step toward one day repairing damage from heart attacks. "We're making a heart part, and [eventually] we're going to put the part in," is how Dr. Kenneth Chien describes the work by his team of Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers...

WASHINGTON -- New jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since January and the prices of many household goods stayed low last month, positive signs of stability for the fledgling economic recovery. The decline in jobless claims shows companies are cutting fewer workers, though the drop isn't yet steep enough to signal new hiring, economists said. ...

WASHINGTON -- The announcement that Social Security recipients won't get a cost-of-living increase next year could boost President Barack Obama's plan to send seniors another round of $250 payments before the congressional elections. Democratic leaders in Congress have signed onto the plan, greatly improving its chances, even as some budget hawks say the payments are unwarranted and could add to the federal budget deficit. ...

The Class Act Family Fitness Tennis Facility in Jackson boasts the only indoor tennis courts between St. Louis and Memphis. The facility, which is owned by Shawn McNally, is deeply appreciated by Donna Ryan and other members of the Cape Area Tennis Association who play during the winter months, so they have organized a fund raiser for today and Saturday...

ESSEX, Mo. -- Bell City got 21 kills from Jasmine Johnson and overcame a slow start to defeat Dexter in three games, 16-25, 25-21, 25-13, and advance to the championship match at the Stoddard County Activities Association's annual tournament Thursday at Richland High School...

Central hoped to revive its football season by winning Thursday night's Class 5 District 1 opener. A big, strong Rockwood Summit team made sure the Tigers didn't come close to making that happen. The Falcons dominated both lines of scrimmage and pounded out a 31-10 victory at Houck Stadium...

Eureka (2-4) at Jackson (0-7) Last week: Parkway Central 21, Eureka 7; Poplar Bluff 25, Jackson 6 Last year: (District) Eureka 17, Jackson 10; (quarterfinals) Jackson 10, Eureka 7 Outlook: Jackson is 0-7 for the second time in school history -- the Indians went 0-7 in 1942 -- but the Indians have a legitimate shot of advancing from a district that features four teams with a combined 3-24 record entering district play. ...

Jajuan Maxwell acknowledges that the 2008-2009 Southeast Missouri State men's basketball season was a nightmare. But as the 2009-2010 Redhawks prepare to begin official practice today, Maxwell believes what he and Southeast's other three returning players had to endure last year has served to make them stronger...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Central won the SEMO North Conference cross country boys championship in a close race Thursday, but Jackson's girls ended the Tigers' decade-long title run. Notre Dame's Wynn McClellan won the meet for the second straight year, running the 3.08-mile course at Ozark Ridge Golf Course in 15 minutes, 40 seconds. The Bulldogs, however, fell four points shy of Central in the team standings...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Torry Holt expects to feel all sorts of emotions when he sees former teammates and coaches Sunday. He won't rule out tears, either. Holt, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection during his 10 seasons in St. Louis, will face his former team for the first time when the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) host the Rams (0-5)...

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Slugger Albert Pujols said the St. Louis Cardinals are interested in extending his contract during the winter. Pujols told a Dominican radio station Wednesday he is in no rush to make a decision. He still has a year left on his contract for 2010 and a club option for 2011...

ST. LOUIS -- Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh lashed out at NFL union leader DeMaurice Smith, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the media a day after being dropped from a group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams. On his syndicated show Thursday, Limbaugh said he was approached by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts earlier this year about participating in a Rams bid. Checketts assured him his involvement as a minority investor had been vetted by the NFL, he said...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Country superstar Garth Brooks announced Thursday that he's coming out of retirement. Brooks, 47, talked about the long-rumored move at a news conference in Nashville. "We're going to take the retirement roof off over our head, and I already feel taller," Brooks said Thursday...

NEW YORK -- About the hoopla surrounding the film adaptation of "Where the Wild Things Are," Maurice Sendak is characteristically gruff. "I kind of want it over," he said. "I'm not used to this invasion." But that speaks more to the 81-year-old author's fondness for privacy and quiet than his feelings about Spike Jonze's film, co-written by David Eggers. ...

The local high school action from Thursday that was reported to the Southeast Missourian.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri couple wants to see the state become a hub for turning out world-class fine arts composers. Retired investment company executives, Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, have contributed $1 million toward the effort through their charitable foundation...

Emerson Bridge reduced to one lane The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge will be reduced to one lane of traffic Tuesday while Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform bridge repairs. Weather permitting, the work will take place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The work zone will be marked with signs...

Janet Woods, owner of Broadway Books and Roasting Co., has wanted to raise money for the Discovery Playhouse ever since she heard about the building of the children's museum on Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau. She hopes Saturday's benefit folk festival at her coffeehouse and used book store, 605 Broadway, appeals to people because of its purpose. ...

Local choir director, performer and worship leader Mike Dumey will be honored with the Dingeldein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's annual meeting Monday, Oct. 26. The program, to be held at the RiverView Room at Buckner's Brewing Company, will begin with a social hour at 5 p.m. ...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The DeSoto batters didn't come close to touching Lauren Reinagel in the early going. Reinagel was so dominant that the Dragons fans and bench cheered when Chelsey King popped out to second base to end the third. Other than a bunt back to Reinagel to end the second, every other DeSoto at-bat ended in a Reinagel strikeout during Thursday's Class 3 sectional softball game...