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By REBEKAH HEIL  ¦   Second graders Ashwata Elangoran, left, Naimisa Balaji and Shreyas Sainivasan sing in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Thursday night at the Cherry Street Artisan on Ninth Street. Local youth read essays and performed music with the theme of "The Garden of Humanity" for the Youth Speak event.

By ALEX LEWIS  ¦   Michelle Trupiano, a lobbyist for Columbia’s Planned Parenthood Center, stands at the corner of Providence Road and Broadway Avenue on Tuesday. Trupiano, along with several other volunteers, took to the streets to publicly acknowledge the 35th anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case.

By ALEX LEWIS  ¦   Ellen Baker, left, and Michelle Trupiano wave to honking drivers.

By KELLEY MCCALL/The Associated Press  ¦   Gov. Matt Blunt answers reporters' questions during a news conference Wednesday morning in his office in Jefferson City. On Tuesday, Blunt announced he would not be seeking re-election to a second term.

Lana Jacobs, one of Columbia's best-known charitable service workers, has left the St. Francis House amid questions over the possible misuse of $20,000 to $40,000 or "possibly more" of donated money, according to a letter from her husband, Steve Jacobs, who is one of seven community members who run the charity.

By Tara Ballenger  ¦   A team of contractors from Chicago used a laser scanner Wednesday to gather information on the MU Columns’ exact positions – height, width, distance from other quadrangle landmarks – so the university can monitor any movement over time. Phil Shocklee, director of campus facilities, said the scans were part of a facilities maintenance plan to protect the columns. The measurements will also set reference points for future surveying. The laser scanner used gathers 120,000 reference points per second which can be used to create three dimensional data. The last significant work done to the columns was in 1996 when MU placed metal tops on the columns to prevent water from leaking inside.

By JOSHUA A. BICKEL  ¦   Customer service representatives Amanda Renner and Johanna Givens work in the recently renovated Utility Customer Service office in City Hall.

By JOSHUA A. BICKEL  ¦   The cashiers' office in City Hall was recently renovated along with a new Utility Customer Service office.

By CATALIN ABAGIU  ¦   Ed Warner watches the landing strip of the Columbia Regional Airport from the baggage claim room Wednesday afternoon.

Sal Nuccio

By ELI LOPATIN  ¦   Lana Jacobs

Lyndon Bode

By JOSHUA A. BICKEL/Missourian  ¦   Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey shouts instructions to her team during the second half of Baylor's 72-57 victory against Missouri on Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena. With the win, Mulkey became the sixth-fastest coach to reach the 200-win milestone.

By Joe Don Buckner/Associated Press  ¦   Missouri's Keon Lawrence drives the lane against Texas Tech's Martin Zeno in the second half of a basketball game on Wednesday in Lubbock, Texas.

By CATALIN ABAGIU/Missourian  ¦   Hickman Kewpies guard Yvonne Anderson, right, steals the ball from Rock Bridge Bruins guard Andrea Seabaugh on Wednesday evening at Rock Bridge High School.

By Courtesy of the Columbia Police Department  ¦   Columbia police released this photograph of a man suspected of robbing Stoney Creek Inn early Monday morning.

By Courtesy of the Columbia Police Department  ¦   Police released this photograph of a man suspected of robbing Stoney Creek Inn early Monday morning.

By David Friesen  ¦  

By Ryan Gibbons  ¦   Tim James, area manager for Eagle Bluffs conservation area, checks on his electric water pumps on Nov. 15. James uses the pumps to move water from the Missouri River into Eagle Bluffs during the winter months.

By Ryan Gibbons  ¦   Mallard ducks fly in to land at the main distribution channel of Eagle Bluffs conservation area at 7 a.m. Sept. 30. “If I have lots of ducks, the hunting is going to be good,” area manager Tim James said. “If I have lots of ducks, the wildlife viewing is going to be good.”