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FRONT PAGE
IDOT BUDGET: Members of a House committee heard about a supplemental budget that would help IDOT get through the rest of this budget year. Meanwhile top IDOT officials say they’ve followed through with plans to idle non-essential use of vehicles.
RIVER LEVEES: Across America, earthen flood levees protect big cities and small towns, wealthy suburbs and rich farmland. And while the Army Corps of Engineers has recently completed an inventory of levees it maintains or helps fund, it has no such inventory of the nation’s thousands of private levees — no idea how many there are, where they sit, what they protect, or how sturdy they are. Congress has authorized an inventory of private levees, but so far hasn’t provided any money for the project.
MOSQUITOES: The city of Quincy is getting ready to launch its annual war against mosquitoes. The first battle will be waged next week when city crews begin spraying in neighborhoods across the city.
THE SCOOP
HUSAR COLUMN: Moms seem to have a knack for doing their part to change the world. Just in time for Mother’s Day, here’s a few examples along with how they inspire efforts by today’s grandmothers, mothers and daughters.
AROUND THE WORLD
WEST QUINCY: Travelers through this outpost in a Mississippi River flood plain won’t find much beyond the array of gas stations, used-car lots, convenience stores or the smattering of homes. But Norman Haerr knows it has a golden asset. And this small northeast Missouri community, across the river from picturesque Quincy, Ill., has its levee, though Haerr isn’t confident it’ll save them from another flood like the great one of 1993.
FARM BILL: Married couples with joint incomes of up to $1.5 million from their farm operation could still qualify for crop subsidies under a five-year, $300 billion farm bill compromise that would boost the Agriculture Department’s food and farm programs.
MYANMAR-CYCLONE: The United Nations blasted Myanmar’s military junta on Friday, calling its refusal to let in foreign aid workers “unprecedented” as survivors of a devastating cyclone waited for food, shelter and medicine.
TEEN DRUGS: Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.
TEXAS SINKHOLE: Geologists said a 260-foot-deep sinkhole that grew to the length of three football fields over just two days seemed to be slowing down Thursday, but that it could take months before it’s clear whether surrounding areas are stable.
POWERBALL WINNER: A construction company owner who lost two homes in Hurricane Katrina claimed a $97 million Powerball prize, a jackpot won off a ticket he bought at a convenience store where he stopped to buy his wife a gallon of milk.
DISSOLVING BODIES: Since they first walked the planet, humans have either buried or burned their dead. Now a new option is generating interest — dissolving bodies in lye and flushing the brownish, syrupy residue down the drain. The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses.
BRIEFLY: Iraqi defense ministry says leader of al-Qaida in Iraq arrested in Mosul; Obama gets front-runner’s welcome back at the Capitol, wins superdelegate support; Sectarian clashes in Beirut boil up into gunbattles after Hezbollah warning to US-allied foes; Medical know-how puts doctors at greater suicide risk; new campaign aims to ease stigma; Country music superstar Eddy Arnold dies at 89.
LOCAL
PRESERVATION COMMISSION: St. John’s Episcopal Church was a fitting backdrop for the program surrounding Thursday night’s 19th annual Quincy Preservation Commission dinner. Keynote speaker Walker Johnson of Chicago was one of the principal architects responsible for the rebirth of St. John’s at 701 Hampshire following an August 2002 fire.
YMCA CAMPAIGN: The Quincy Family YMCA raised $82,500 in its annual Strong Kids campaign, well above the $60,000 goal. Funds raised provide financial assistance to needy families who couldn’t otherwise afford YMCA program and membership services.
PACT: Carla Kimber has lived in Quincy long enough to know that there are strong feelings both for and against the School District. When she learned the district was starting PACT — Parents and Community Team — she volunteered to join. “My biggest reason for wanting to do it was to … educate myself more about where the School Board was going,” Kimber said. “I realize there are myths out there in the community about where the School Board or School District is going,” she said. “It makes me feel like my kids are in good hands, to be honest.”
BONE MARROW DRIVE: The James E. Cary Cancer Center in Hannibal, Mo., will participate in a free bone marrow drive May 13 as part of the National Marrow Donor Program’s national campaign, “Thanks Mom.” The drive involves completing a medical application and taking a swab of the mouth, which will allow a person to be on the national bone marrow registry. Thousands of Missourians search the registry every day looking for a possible match.
REGION
PAY TO PLAY: Legislation to combat “pay to play” politics in Illinois advanced to the Senate floor Thursday, where it faces an uncertain future because of what the Senate president calls a “gaping loophole.”
DRUGS AND NURSES: With a single bill, Missouri lawmakers have boosted the state’s ability to track down illegal methamphetamine makers while expanding the power of specially trained nurses to write prescription drugs.
MISSOURI-FLUSTERED: A palpable sense of angst was on display at the University of Missouri’s flagship campus Thursday afternoon — and the anxiety stemmed from a lecture hall full of professors, not students stressing over final exams. Roughly 200 professors crammed into a business school auditorium to raise concerns about a plan that boosts faculty salaries by making financial cuts on campus, including a hiring freeze on most vacant teaching jobs.
DISABILITY FUNDING: Missouri House members rejected efforts Thursday to put new limits on a financially troubled state fund for injured workers.
MO-VOTER ID: As lawmakers advanced a proposal Thursday that could lead to photo ID requirements for voters, Lillie Lewis expressed fears that a chain reaction of circumstances could make it difficult for her to vote in Missouri.
TRANSPORTATION AUDIT: State auditors scold the Illinois Department of Transportation for poor oversight of government money.
LINCOLN HERITAGE: President Bush signs legislation that designates a massive swath of Illinois as the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.
BUSINESS
LOWE’S UPDATE: The first of the cement brick walls for the new Lowe’s home improvement store is rising out of the mud at the corner of Stardust Drive and Munger Lane in Hannibal. The store is right on track to open sometime at the end of the year in spite of the wet start to construction season.
FUTURE GEN: Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Thursday he scrapped a plan to build a $1.8 billion clean-coal power plant in central Illinois when its projected price tag ballooned, but he couldn’t explain the cost increase.
CONGRESS-HOUSING: Democrats’ plans to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners struggling with rising subprime mortgage rates and plummeting house values could be sidetracked by President Bush’s threatened veto and the backing of many congressional Republicans.
CASINO LOSSES: St. Louis’ newest casino took a slight loss in its first full quarter of operation, a loss the company blamed on startup costs. Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment opened the $507 million Lumiere Place on the St. Louis riverfront on Dec. 19. For the period of January through March, Pinnacle said the casino lost $760,000 on revenue of $47.2 million.
OIL PRICES: Oil prices surged past $125 per barrel Friday on the eve of the U.S. driving season as a weakening U.S. dollar drove investors to snap up commodities.
AMERICAN AXLE: General Motors Corp. has agreed to kick in up to $200 million to help bring an end to a bitter 10-week strike at parts supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
POLICE
RALLS DEVELOPER: Authorities say Ralls County developer Ken Jaeger is on the run. Jaeger was given until April 1 to fix sewage problems in the Lost Valley subdivision or face jail time. Authorities said the problem has not been fixed and the whereabouts of the Texas man are unknown.
INTERPOL MANHUNT: A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children’s parties and performed as “the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen.”
BLUNT LAWSUIT: A Jackson County judge has split a defamation and wrongful firing lawsuit against Gov. Matt Blunt among four separate state courts.
MOB TRIAL: Alleged mobster Frank “The German” Schweihs has eluded law enforcement officials twice but prosecutors said Thursday they are not through trying to bring him to trial.
PERSPECTIVES
THAT’S LIFE: Jim Burns wasn’t worried when he couldn’t make contact with his son, Pete, last weekend. The 1992 Quincy High School graduate is a teacher at the Yangon International Educare Centre near Yangon, Burma, an area of the world that was crippled by Cyclone Nargis one week ago today. “Interestingly enough it was very different than when he first left those first few years on some of these excursions, and you’d sit and you’d worry and wonder,” said Jim.
ANSWERS: We provide answers to readers’ questions. RH
SPORTS
C-SC BASKETBALL: The Wildcats announced the hiring of John Windham to lead the men’s basketball program following the resignation of Brad Hoyt. Windham compiled a 96-57 record in six seasons at a college prep school in Virginia.
SCHUCKMAN: Former Quincy High School football player Max Shimp has become hooked to the dynamics of rugby, which he has played at the club level at Augustana College for one year.
ST. LOUIS RAMS: Head coach Scott Linehan is getting down to business following a 3-13 campaign, beginning with this weekend’s mandatory minicamp — he eliminated the separate rookie minicamps that he has run in the past.
Created: 4/28/2008 | Updated: 5/9/2008
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