Region/state briefs 02/14/03

Jury trial set for Scott City murder suspect

A jury trial has been scheduled for murder suspect Christopher L. Jones, 19, of Scott City. Jones is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the August stabbing death of his stepfather, John Mayabb, 48, who was stabbed numerous times at his home in Scott City. Police arrested Jones not long afterward about five blocks from the house.

The trial will be held at 9 a.m., July 17 and 18 in Mississippi County on a change of venue from Scott County.

Two MoDOT workers hurt in separate accidents

ST. LOUIS -- Two highway workers were injured Thursday in separate accidents in the St. Louis area. Neither injury was considered life-threatening, but police blamed both on inattentive drivers traveling too fast through work zones.

A Missouri Department of Transportation contractor was clipped by a car as he put out safety barrels to close travel lanes on westbound Interstate 70 near Mid-Rivers Mall Drive in St. Charles County. The worker, William McGhee, 27, of Cedar Hill, suffered minor injuries.

The car then struck another vehicle. Two people in that vehicle were hospitalized with moderate injuries.

The second accident happened on Interstate 44 in Eureka, where state highway worker Jeffrey Hillis was in a truck that was fixing potholes in the center lane when it was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer, MoDOT spokesman Megan McEntee said.

Police say the tractor-trailer careened off the road and down an embankment. The MoDOT worker was in stable condition with broken bones. The semi rig's driver suffered minor injuries.

Former KC mayor joins Gephardt campaign

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Former Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver will serve as a national adviser for the presidential campaign of U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt.

Cleaver, a past president of the National Conference of Black Mayors, is expected to help the Missouri Democrat attract black voters. He is a minister who has a weekly public affairs radio show, and is known for his oratorical gifts.

Cleaver is a prominent figure in Missouri Democratic circles who also helped with the campaigns of Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

"I think we're going to need to create in Missouri an awareness of him and his work," Cleaver said of Gephardt. "The thing I certainly don't want to ever see again is one of our candidates losing his or her own state. One of the greatest points of embarrassment for the Gore campaign was losing Tennessee. I think we've got to win Missouri or we don't win anything."

-- From staff, wire reports