News

Two years after the tragedy and devastation of September 11, 2001, American citizens gathered across the nation to pause for reflection and bow their heads in prayer.

About 300 people joined at the Boone County Courthouse this morning for a small but poignant ceremony to remember those who lost their lives and to praise those who fought to save them. Mayor Darwin Hindman spoke, and representatives of many local emergency agencies attended.

A graduation portrait stared back at rescue workers Thursday afternoon as they cleaned up the wreckage of an I-70 accident near Rocheport in which two senior citizens from Illinois were injured.

Driver Donald Clark, 71, sustained moderate injuries and was driven to University Hospital, Missouri State Highway Patrol reported. Enedina Clark sustained serious injuries and was flown to University Hospital in a medical helicopter.

Every gym has its culture: its soundtrack, its clients, its sweat. But Columbia’s 9-month-old Activity and Recreation Center is not just a gym.

Driver exams in Columbia have entered the 21st century.

People applying for a state license can now take their exams on a touch-screen computer rather than the traditional written test.

A formal settlement that ends a lawsuit by CenturyTel against the city of Columbia should ease tension between the two over whether the city should provide fiber-optics service to local businesses.

The settlement, approved last week by the Columbia City Council, will suspend the issue until the U.S. Supreme Court reaches a decision on a larger, but similar case in its 2003-2004 session. The high court’s decision could affect the way many businesses nationwide choose their fiber-optics service and could decide whether cities would be able to compete as service providers.

Wes Stricker is in the final stages of an effort to establish his new company, Flying Tigers, at Columbia Regional Airport.

Nearly a year after the former co-owner of Ozark Air Lines won approval of his proposal for a new fixed-base operation at the airport, Stricker is preparing for takeoff. Fixed-base operations provide services such as flight instruction, aircraft maintenance, charter flights, sales and refueling. Flying Tigers would become the second such operation at the airport.

After Sept. 11, Vincent Rotundo pictured a license plate that would unite Americans in their hatred of terrorism and remembrance of the victims.

Officials in his home state of Virginia thought he was onto something, and in July 2002 Virginia unveiled the first “fight terrorism” license plate.

On Thursday, there will be a Sept. 11 memorial service at the state Capitol. Rotundo plans to be there, alongside Gov. Bob Holden, when Missouri publicly announces the release of its own “fight terrorism” plate.

The University of Missouri is considering merging or closing programs on its four campuses — including seven degree programs at MU — because they cost too much or they graduate too few students.

In addition to the seven programs, two MU departments are targeted for evaluation. Lori Franz, MU vice provost for undergraduate studies, said a committee is developing criteria to use in evaluating the programs.

Fall TV season is here, but MU communications professor Bill Benoit is tuning in for the new season of political advertisements — and handing down judgment.

Benoit, nationally known for his research on political campaign ads, analyzes and records information about what candidates target in their ads, and how they go about it. He then compares candidates’ strategies.

A group of cyclists riding in the MS 150 Bike Tour on Saturday discovered several discarded items that were stolen from a Boone County deputy’s home near Hallsville Friday, according to Boone County Sheriff’s Capt. Kevin Merritt.

Merritt declined to provide details about which of the stolen items the cyclists found in a ditch alongside the road in the 11200 block of Route Z southeast of Hallsville.

JEFFERSON CITY — Its namesake may be cute and lovable, but the “Geoffrey Loophole” has elicited sharp opinions.

The non-Missouri source income and intangibles tax, better known for the nickname derived from the Toys“R”Us giraffe mascot, exempts some large Missouri corporations from paying state income taxes.

Thomas Hutchinson has been on a mission since his grandson Tommy Hutchinson and friend Brandon Wright-Hyler were killed June 11 when they pulled into the path of a tractor-trailer on U.S. Highway 63 at Ponderosa Street. The quest: pushing for ways to make the intersection safer.

“How many kids have to die there before they change it?” Hutchinson asked.

When Phyllis Chase arrived in July to lead the Columbia Public School District as superintendent, she turned to citizens to find out how public education plays out in Columbia.

On Monday night, Chase told the Columbia Board of Education what she learned through a survey of about 80 people, including parents, staff, community and business members.

Mediacom, Columbia’s largest cable television provider, will send a proposal to the Columbia City Council this week that would establish studio access and equipment for a new public-access channel.

If the city approvesthe proposal, the studio could be set up pretty quickly, said Gary Baugh, director of operations for Mediacom.

Columbia Street in Rocheport is slowly caving in and breaking apart, but a stormwater grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources should soon change that.

Rocheport is one of 74 communities to benefit from $10 million in grants awarded last week by the DNR.

James Mahood did not battle the recent Blaster computer worm. He settled in at Baker residence hall equipped with the necessary anti-virus software and stayed clear of trouble.

Other students are following in his steps as the worm — which crippled network services at MU and worldwide last month — is slowly becoming computer history.

JEFFERSON CITY — On the same day Missouri lawmakers returned for a special session to raise taxes for education, the state Education Department sent a memo to school districts across the state asking for information to support the governor’s claims about cuts in public schools.

In his special session call last week, Democratic Gov. Bob Holden said that schools throughout Missouri have had to layoff teachers and raise taxes as a result of what he called “the legislature’s failure to fulfill its constitutional duty to provide adequate funding.”

Conversations between the developer and neighbors of the 53-acre Grindstone Plaza project proposed for south Columbia are moving at a snail’s pace, although neighbors have discussed requesting money from the developer to protect the area.

Members of the Grindstone/ Rock Quarry Road Neighborhood Association and representatives of Aspen Acquisitions, Inc., asked the Columbia City Council last week to table a public hearing and vote on the project so the developer could have more time to discuss neighbors’ problems with the plan. The neighborhood association initially supported the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter and accompanying development along Grindstone Parkway but had second thoughts after plans were presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission in early August.

At the end of each season, the Columbia Art League changes the works in its Ninth Street gallery. This fall, there’s a new executive director as well.

Jill Stedem, 37, started her new job Aug. 25 and says she’s trying to get to know the groups and artists she works with. She said she has already noticed enthusiasm and support from the art community in Columbia.