Closing Cairo factory declines severance pay

CAIRO, Ill. -- A foam factory set to close Oct. 1 does not plan to give its workers severance pay or any other parting benefit, an employee said Friday.

Burkart Foam Inc., expected to distribute work done at the Cairo plant among its other nine factories nationwide, told its 30 workers Friday that they will get nothing when it shuts down, said Gwen Agnew, who has work-ed at the plant for 30 years.

Burkart General Manager John Current did not immediately return a telephone call to respond on Friday.

No one at the company's headquarters answered the telephone Friday afternoon.

Federal law requires companies with at least 50 employees to give workers 60 days notice when they plan to shut but does not require severance payments.

Man given five years for prostituting 12-year-old

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis man was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Friday for taking a 12-year-old girl across state lines to prostitute her.

Eugene L. Shavers, 41, was sentenced to four years, nine months in prison by U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry. Shavers pleaded guilty in June to violating the Mann Act, also known as the White Slave Traffic Act.

Shavers met the 12-year-old runaway in north St. Louis and persuaded her to come with him to East St. Louis, Ill., where the two allegedly had sex, U.S. Attorney Raymond Gruender said.

Shavers persuading her to accompany him to California and then to Las Vegas, where he allegedly had sex with her and prostituted her for money, Gruender said.

Peoria man accused of running charity scam

PEORIA, Ill. -- A Peoria man is accused of collecting "tens of thousands of dollars" to prevent child abuse, cure cancer and help homeless animals, and then keeping the money for himself, authorities said Friday.

Michael B. Sally, Sr. was in jail on $500,000 bond for what prosecutors called an "elaborate" and "multi-county scheme" at shopping malls in 30 Illinois cities and some towns in Missouri. Sally was arrested Thursday.

Authorities said Sally and six cohorts would set up stands outside malls under the banner of "Parents Against Child Abuse," and other names.

Veterans nursing home is losing its operators

ANNA, Ill. -- Operators of the state's only privately run veterans home have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and notified state officials that they will break their management contract in December.

Staff members at Anna Veterans Home worry how the 60 or so elderly residents will handle the management change, said physical therapist Bonnie Brimm.

BEP management, which has operated the home since 2000, told staff members this week that the Memphis, Tenn.-based company filed for bankruptcy.

--From wire reports