Stories from Saturday, January 12, 2002

Political respect SPEAK OUT callers, both Democrat and Republican, insult each other's political parties. You say the other party's members don't think, and you condemn each other. You say we should think for ourselves. But you don't believe in that. Show respect for people who have made a choice between your party and the other...

DALLAS The durable All-Star is on the injured list for the first time in his career. The leading scorer has missed games because of problems with both ankles. Ineffectiveness, not injuries, forced several highly paid big men to the bench. The coach went from celebrating a major career milestone to learning his wife has breast cancer. And the owner just racked up the biggest individual fine in NBA history, doubling the record he set last season...

Cape Girardeau police are still seeking clues in the shooting of windows and glass doors at Alma Schrader and Clippard elementary schools, and at A.C. Brase Arena New Year's Eve. No one was injured in any of shootings. Patrolman Jason Selzer said police are continuing to provide a stronger presence, but vandalism is suspected...

Central High School assistant principal Mark Ruark was pleased with the results of a routine drug check in and around the school and at Central Junior High School Friday. Working with the Cape Girardeau Police Department, drug dogs visited the campuses. No drugs were found...

PROGRAMS OFFERED Here are some of the different types of programs, classes, activities and leagues offered by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department: Monthly dances Youth bowling Cheerleading Baton twirling...

WASHINGTON -- Like Attorney General John Ashcroft, several Missouri lawmakers who have received campaign money from Enron Corp. find themselves in positions to investigate the politically connected company as well. Enron and its executives in 2000 contributed at least $57,000 to Ashcroft, who then was running for re-election in one of the country's most-contested Senate races. ...

ARTICLE XII, SECTION 3(A) The portion of Article XII, Section 3(a) of the Missouri Constitution requiring an election every 20 years to determine if a constitutional convention should be called: "At the general election on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November 1962, and every twenty years thereafter, the secretary of state shall, and at any general or special election the general assembly by law may, submit to the electors of the state the question 'Shall there be a convention to revise and amend the constitution?' The question shall be submitted on a separate ballot without party designation, and if a majority of the votes cast thereon is for the affirmative, the governor shall call an election of delegates to the convention on a day not less than three nor more than six months after the election in question. ...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Jan. 12 ArrestsDaniel Thomas Essner, 42, of 2065 Steven Drive was arrested Thursday for possession of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia and meth paraphernalia. Amy Dawn Obermann, 20, of New Orleans was arrested Thursday for leaving the scene of an accident...

Cape Girardeau Saturday, Jan. 12 Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:At 6:15 p.m, an emergency medical service at 341 N. Main St. At 9:59 p.m., an emergency medical service at 507 S. Ellis. Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:At 12:14 a.m., an emergency medical service at 32 N. Ellis...

President Bush signed his landmark education bill this week, taking the first step toward an overhaul of public education in this country. With some inner-city schools on the brink of chaos and little learning going on in others, a change is appropriate. The new law holds schools accountable by threatening a withdrawal of federal funding...

By taking the Junior Chefs cooking class, children can learn how to whip up a little something to eat. Or, for the more aggressive types, children can take Taekwondo and learn to whip something else. Either way, the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department has them covered...

Mark Steiner's job as a chaplain with the U.S. Navy has become more crucial as the war on terrorism goes on. Steiner, a native of Pocahontas, Mo., was at the Pentagon in the minutes prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and immediately began evacuating the building and working with recovery efforts...

NEW YORK -- A second baseball owner admitted Friday that one of his companies accepted a loan from a business controlled by Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad. Colorado Rockies owner Jerry McMorris said baseball commissioner Bud Selig gave advance approval for the loan to McMorris' Timnath Farms Inc. Earlier this week, Selig admitted he arranged for his Milwaukee Brewers to take a loan from a Pohlad company in 1995...

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers know enough about each other. Now, it's time to play a game that really matters. After spending two weeks preparing, and even playing a meaningless game last weekend, the Eagles and Bucs meet again in an NFC wild-card playoff game today...

Moral righteousness By Paul Shepard ~ The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- From bloodshed in the Bible and the combat of the Crusades to today's terrorist attacks in the United States and suicide bombings in the Mideast, violence in the name of religion has a long history...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The father of a young hockey player was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Friday for beating another man to death at their sons' practice as onlookers begged him to stop. Thomas Junta, 44, bowed his head as the jury forewoman haltingly read the verdict. He said nothing and showed little reaction before he was led away as several of his brothers sobbed in the courtroom...

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. -- In a new memoir, former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee says the nuclear "crown jewels" he was accused of mishandling were really the "crown junk" and were not vital to national security. The files he downloaded were old, with much of the information already public and very little of it classified, Lee says in "My Country Versus Me," published by Hyperion. ...

NEW YORK -- A statue based on the famous photograph of the flag-raising at the World Trade Center site is being criticized because the three white firefighters in the picture have been transformed into one white, one black and one Hispanic. Some firefighters and their families say the 19-foot bronze is political correctness run amok and an attempt to rewrite history...

DEARBORN, Mich. -- With an apology to the employees from Henry Ford's great-grandson, Ford Motor Co. announced Friday it is eliminating 35,000 jobs, closing five plants and dropping four models in an effort to start making money again as the world's second-biggest automaker...

High court will review Kansas City ADA case WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide if cities can face big-dollar punitive damage verdicts for not accommodating the disabled. The eventual ruling could have implications for cities nationwide that have tried, some more successfully than others, to make their buildings and services friendly to the disabled in compliance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act...

CAMBRIDGE, England -- Stephen Hawking, the star physicist who has survived a remarkable 38 years with motor neuron disease, almost didn't make it to a week of festivities marking his 60th birthday. "I had an argument with a wall a few days after Christmas and the wall won," he explained Friday to an audience of about 400 scientists and friends gathered for a day of lectures celebrating his contribution to theoretical physics and cosmology...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL STATION, Cuba -- A U.S. Air Force plane carrying 20 prisoners from Afghan-istan touched down at this remote U.S. military outpost Friday, bringing the first of hundreds who are to be detained here for questioning. In Washington, Gen. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Four months after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Missouri lawmakers are responding with an array of proposed laws. Legislators are considering new terrorism-related crimes, penalties for price gouging during emergencies and provisions allowing secret meetings to discuss the security of water supplies...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Thousands of shipments of nuclear waste could pass through Missouri and Kansas under a recommendation made by federal officials Thursday. If affirmed by President Bush, the shipments of highly radioactive waste, possibly as many as one or two a day, would be expected through this region to Yucca Mountain in Nevada, where it would be permanently buried...

SALT LAKE CITY -- The hotel tab for the IOC is $1.3 million. Salt Lake Olympic organizers will shell out another $640,050 for Olympic family perks. Olympic ceremonies will cost $37.6 million. After all that, there's $32.8 million for sports. The Olympics have grown into an expensive extravaganza, where sporting events cost less than the pomp, pageantry and the elaborate technology, according to a budget released to The Associated Press by organizers of the 2002 Winter Games...

It's unlikely that you could enter the back doors at First Baptist Church on Sunday morning and Bill Askew wouldn't be there to shake your hand and say hello. But acting as the unofficial greeter for the church isn't Askew's only job. He serves as a deacon, collects the money for the fellowship meal each Wednesday night, unlocks the doors each Sunday morning and until recently served on the church's property and space committee...

Sunday New Creations men's choir will perform at 9 a.m. at Hanover Lutheran Church. The Teen Challenge choir will sing a selection of contemporary and gospel music and is directed by Philip Breithaupt. Monday Women's Abundant Life Prayer Group meets at 9 a.m. at Christ Church of the Heartland. Speaker will be Zack Strong, pastor of the church and an emcee on TCT in Marion, Ill. ...

New youth pastor at Cape Bible Chapel Chad Hughes is the new youth pastor for Cape Bible Chapel. He has served in youth ministry for eight years, primarily around Dallas. He holds a degree in music composition and has studied at Criswell Bible College in Dallas...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Mary Helen Jones, 93, of Sikeston died Friday, Jan. 11, 2002, at her home. She was born June 23, 1908, daughter of George and Eva Mae Lile Sr. She and Barney Jones were married Nov. 7, 1925, at Sikeston. He died June 3, 1972. Jones was affiliated with Sikeston Community Baptist Church and a member of its Ladies Sunday School Class...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Funeral for Lottie B. Brooksher of Sikeston will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel. The Rev. John R. Goss will officiate. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Brooksher, 81, died Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002, at Missouri Delta Medical Center...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Dorothy M. Brown, 76, of Jackson died Friday, Jan. 11, 2002, at her home. McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Ethel G. Davis, 96, of Advance died Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002, at Advance Nursing Center. She was born Oct. 14, 1905, at Mountain Home, Ark., daughter of Jasper L. and Nancy Smith Eddings. She and Louis B. Davis were married Oct. 8, 1921, in Monett, Ark. He died Jan. 9, 1982...

Maddeline Sullivan, 75, of Carrier Mills, Ill., died Friday, Jan. 11, 2002, at Carrier Mills Nursing Home. She was born Jan. 24, 1926, in Eldorado, Ill., daughter of Jess and Stella Trusty Long. She and Charles H. Sullivan were married Nov. 7, 1942. He died Aug. 30, 1987...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Russell J. Leimbach, 58, of Altenburg died Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 at Perry County Memorial Hospital. He was born Oct. 7, 1943, in Altenburg, son of Oswald F. and Flora Lueders Leimbach and stepmother Concordia Lorenz Leimbach. He and Claudine "Lucy" Wright were married Sept. 17, 1966...

Lawrence Daughter to Shawna Kay Lawrence of Cape Girardeau, St. Francis Medical Center, 9:42 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002. Name, Kaylynn Renee. Weight, 7 pounds 5 ounces. First child. Ms. Lawrence is the daughter of Michael Lawrence of Illinois. Kelly...

10 years ago: Jan. 12, 1992 Congregation of Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel observes its 25th anniversary during 10 a.m. worship service; reception for members and friends follows; Good Shepherd is result of study and action of Joint Lutheran Council of Cape Girardeau, working with delegates from Trinity, St. Andrew and Hanover Lutheran congregations...

Southeast Missourian One of the central figures in a 1999 riot on Good Hope Street has had his vehicle seized as part of a drug bust and is headed back to court, charged with dealing cocaine and marijuana. Greg Campbell, who was acquitted of assaulting police in the June 1999 confrontation, has been accused of delivering cocaine to a confidential informant in October that same year...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri voters will decide this November if a constitutional convention should be held to revise and amend the state charter. The current state Constitution, adopted in 1945, requires that the question be put to voters every 20 years, starting in 1962...

Students picked up textbooks Friday and Southeast Missouri State University readied its new shuttle transit pathway as the campus geared up for the start of the spring 2002 semester. The university's shuttle vans will be operating for the first time on the new $750,000 shuttle roadway that's designed to keep the buses off busy Henderson Street and provide a faster commute across the Cape Girardeau campus...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Thedamay Cleek, 85, of Sikeston died Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002, at Sikeston Convalescent Center. She was born Feb. 14, 1916, at Puxico, Mo., daughter of Eldon and Viola Kitchen. She and Lawrence C. Cleek were married Nov. 25, 1940, at Herculaneum, Mo. He died in April 1996...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Raymond Jones, 65, of Jonesboro died Friday, Jan. 11, 2002, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. He was born April 13, 1936, in Brookport, Ill., son of Troy R. and Nellie Wall Jones. Formerly of Olmsted, Ill., Jones was a painter. He was a member of Caledonia Lodge 47 AF&AM and Pulaski-Alexander County Farm Bureau...

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- The Notre Dame Bulldogs' boys basketball team got balanced scoring up and down the lineup and posted a wire-to-wire x72-49 victory Friday over Scott City. Travis Siebert, Scott Wittenborn and Doug Schaefer shared individual scoring honors for Notre Dame (11-4) with 12 points apiece. Seven Bulldogs had seven or more points...

With their first Ohio Valley Conference victory under their belts, Southeast Missouri State University's basketball Indians enter tonight's game against Morehead State at the Show Me Center with renewed confidence. "There's no question," Southeast coach Gary Garner said of the Indians' 95-75 triumph over visiting Eastern Kentucky Thursday night. "You can work and work in practice, but there's nothing like winning to get the players believing in what they're doing."...

Associated Press file St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Kerry Robinson will be at the Show Me Center from 6:15-7:30 p.m. today to sign autographs. Robinson is a Southeast graduate.By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian Kerry Robinson, one of Southeast Missouri State University's most familiar graduates from recent years, said he's excited about being back in Cape Girardeau today...

A pair of Southeast Missouri State University football players who put together sensational seasons have been honored nationally. Senior running back Curtis Cooper and junior wide receiver Willie Ponder have both been given NCAA Division I-AA honorable mention All-Americans by Don Hansen's Football Gazette...

A highly anticipated week for Southeast Missouri State University's women's basketball team has not gone well. Today, the Otahkians (8-5, 1-2 Ohio Valley Conference) will try to salvage it as Morehead State (11-3, 1-2) visits the Show Me Center for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff...

To the editor: To the person who believes God cannot exist because there are so many bad things in this world: God did not create all these problems. God designed this world as a paradise. We destroyed this world. We fight. We cause crime. The problem is not God. He loves us and cares for us. He hates to see us in pain. He gave us a way out of our own trap. He sent Jesus Christ to save us. God is not the problem. We are...

Charlotte Anderson, 63, of Dallas, Texas, passed away Sunday, Dec. 23, 2001, at Medical Center of Plano. Charlotte was a loving wife, mother and friend. She was born May 26, 1938, to Charles Frances and Lady May Allen Moore, in Cape Girardeau. She married Ron Anderson June 2, 1974, in Durant, Okla...

Carlston "Gene" Friese, 77, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born Nov. 22, 1924, at Sedge-wickville, Mo., son of Burnie and Lillie Crites Friese. He and Ella M. Bucher were married Oct. 1, 1949, at Fornfelt, Mo...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Longtime newsman Barney Miller, 81, of Dexter died Friday, Jan. 11, 2002, at his home. He was born July 14, 1920, in Lutesville, Mo., son of Robert and Elizabeth Trotter Miller. He and Marie Braidlow were married June 6, 1942, in Rolla, Mo. She died Dec. 26, 1994...

Paula C. Duncan, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Jan. 24, 1918, in Perry County, Mo., daughter of Ernest J. and Concordia Boehme Kuehnert. Duncan was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- John Leslie Cash, 39, of Albuquerque, N.M., died Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002. He was born July 2, 1962, in Blytheville, Ark., son of George L. and Judith A. Cash. He married Babette Cash. Cash served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force as a master sergeant/first sergeant, retiring in August 2000. He served in the Desert Storm conflict and was in charge of maintenance of two squadrons of FB-111's...

Assessment is a vital part of the learning process. Used correctly, it provides educators a way to track the progress of individual students and guidance on teaching to students' strengths and weaknesses. Testing also allows school administrators to determine which teachers are effective in the classroom and which need professional development...