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By SALLY MORROW/Missourian  ¦   City Manager Bill Watkins with the budget.

By Caty Smith/Missourian  ¦   Harry Besleme, a Special Olympics athlete, eyes his ball as it rolls toward the pallino during bocce practice at MU’s Stankowski Field. Besleme, his partner, Bob Stephens, and their coach, Frank La Mantia, are preparing for the Special Olympics World Games in China this fall.

By Caty Smith/Missourian  ¦   Bob Stephens and his partner, Harry Besleme, watch while their opponents bowl during their bocce practice on Monday.

By Photo courtesy of Chip Zike  ¦   Helicopter crash Tuesday, July 31, 2007, in north Columbia.

By J. Karl Miller  ¦  

By Tammy Ritterskamp  ¦  

By GENE J. PUSKAR/The Associated Press  ¦   Pittsburgh’s Ronny Paulino, right, drops the ball as Cardinals’ Scott Rolen scores on a sixth-inning double by Ryan Ludwick.

By ORLIN WAGNER/The Associated Press  ¦   Damon Huard, left, and Brodie Croyle are competing for the Chiefs’ starting quarterback job vacated by Trent Green, who was traded to the Miami Dolphins during the offseason.

By PAUL BATTAGLIA/The Associated Press  ¦   Twins outfielder Torii Hunter homered on this pitch, but later helped provide one of the Royals’ only highlights Tuesday when he was robbed of another homer by K.C. outfielder David DeJesus.

By CHARLES KRUPA/The Associated Press  ¦   Octavio Dotel, right, accepted congratulations July 18 for his 10th save of the season. It was his second-to-last save for the Royals, who traded away the closer to the Atlanta Braves for right-handed pitcher Kyle Davies. The Cardinals also made a minor deal, getting pitcher Joel Pineiro from Boston for a player to be named.

By TONY GUTIERREZ/The Associated Press  ¦   The Red Sox won the Eric Gagne sweepstakes, trading a package including starting pitcher Kason Gabbard for the Rangers’ closer. Gagne, who won the 2003 Cy Young Award while with the Dodgers, is expected to be the set-up man for Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon.

By SALLY MORROW/Missourian  ¦   From left, campers Mark Thompson, Chant’el Cooper, Rajaye Smith, Marifloyd Wright, Vincent Gillespie, Maddi Enzmann and volunteer Jana Porter search for the next item on their scavenger hunt lists. The groups used hand-held global positioning system devices to help them locate their items.

By SALLY MORROW/Missourian  ¦   Team Four, from left, Maddi Enzmann, Chris Allison, Vincent Gillespie and volunteer Jana Porter compare GPS readings in downtown Columbia on Monday.

Saverson

By PARKER MICHELS-BOYCE/Missourian  ¦   Jake Mingus is the evening coordinator for the chair removal effort this week. Mingus, a member of Troop 233, is volunteering for his Eagle Scout project.

By PARKER MICHELS-BOYCE/Missourian  ¦   A volunteer at the Missouri Theatre helps stack chair backs and seats as they are removed from the theater floor. The chairs in the best condition will be sold to the public.

By PARKER MICHELS-BOYCE/Missourian  ¦   Ann Wakeman unscrews upright armrests from the floor of the Missouri Theatre on Monday evening. Volunteers are needed all this week to help with various demolition tasks. This portion of the restoration project is expected to take over 300 man-hours.

By PARKER MICHELS-BOYCE/Missourian  ¦   John Young and Jared Wehmeyer head back to the boat landing on the Missouri River after a good night of catfishing. Upcoming meetings will discuss potential regulation changes to improve the quality of catfishing and its ability to remain as fruitful in the future.

By PARKER MICHELS-BOYCE/Missourian  ¦   John Young and Jared Wehmeyer hoist a 52.8-pound catfish into their boat on the Missouri River near the I-70 crossing. The shallow spot is a local favorite of Young's.

By PARKER MICHELS-BOYCE/Missourian  ¦   John Young holds up Jared Wehmeyer's 62.3-pound catfish, Wehmeyer's first catch to break the 50-pound mark.