Stories from Monday, February 2, 2009

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon presented his proposed budget last week in Jefferson City. With the state facing a revenue shortfall approaching $350 million, there will have to be some hard choices as the budget makes its way through the legislative process...

Economic sacrifices THE Great Depression was brought on by President Hoover's raising taxes in a mild recession. Then in the 1930 election, he got a Democratic Congress, just like President Bush did. Then the country locked up. It took millions of men dying to give us the economy we have. President Roosevelt may have got the economy going with the war, but a lot of men died to give us this economy in World War II...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Local concealed-carry firearms safety courses are booming. Missouri's concealed weapons law became effective Feb. 26, 2004. Among the requirements to apply for a concealed-carry endorsement is completion of an eight-hour firearms safety course...

After more than eight years of legal skirmishing, a trial is scheduled to open Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by animal welfare groups alleging Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus routinely abuses its performing elephants. The plaintiffs -- including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute -- allege that trainers' use of sharp tools called bullhooks and the prolonged use of chains on the Asian elephants add up to an egregious violation of the federal Endangered Species Act.. ...

By the end of today AmerenUE expects power will be fully restored to customers in 19 Southeast Missouri towns affected by last week's winter storm. Customers in another 11 towns can expect to have electricity by the end of Tuesday, a press release from the St. ...

Some area schools are still dealing with poor road conditions and power outages from last week's ice storm, forcing closings or delayed openings. In Jackson and at the Kelly school district in Benton, school will be out of session not for weather related reasons, but due to a professional development day. ...

Another prediction down the tubes. In last week's column, I called for Southeast Missouri State's first Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball win of the season against visiting Jacksonville State on Thursday. Instead the Redhawks were dealt a 78-68 defeat, and they suffered another home loss two nights later, 91-75 to Tennessee Tech...

LEITCHFIELD, Ky. -- National Guard troops swinging chain saws made their way into isolated Kentucky communities Sunday to check on residents walloped by a winter storm that Gov. Steve Beshear called the biggest natural disaster ever to hit the state...

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico City shut down a main water pipeline under a new conservation program, cutting service to more than 2 million residents Sunday after some reservoirs dropped to their lowest levels in 16 years. The Mexico City government and the National Water Commission will interrupt service for three days every month until May, when the rainy season begins...

Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Paul Koeper promised during his first-district campaign to stay in touch with voters. On Friday, he announced plans for four town hall meetings. He originally planned to start them today, but he said the ice storm pushed everything back a week...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Roger Federer had nowhere to hide. Rod Laver was about to present the cup to Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal. Federer stood on the court, having just missed his first chance to equal Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam singles titles...

Repair crews took advantage of the relatively mild temperatures Sunday to speed ahead with repairs of electric lines damaged during the ice storm. But in some areas, it could be more than two weeks before power is restored. As of 4 p.m. Sunday, AmerenUE's website listed 5,467 without power in Pemiscot County, 4,485 in New Madrid County, 2,698 in Stoddard County, 1,455 in Scott County, 1,081 in Dunklin County and 590 in Mississippi County...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Thelma Lee Niswonger Worley, 86, of Poplar Bluff died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home of Jackson.

WASHINGTON -- White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Obama will sign a bill to give consumers more time to get ready for the switch from analog to digital television broadcasts. The switch is set for Feb. 17 under current law. Last week, the Senate passed a bill to delay that until June, but it failed in the House under a procedure that required a two-thirds vote for passage...

TOKYO -- A volcano erupted near Tokyo early Monday, spewing a plume of smoke more than a mile high and raining ash down on parts of the city. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Mount Asama, about 90 miles northwest of Tokyo, erupted at 1:51 a.m. today, according to Japan's Meteorological Agency. Chunks of rock from the explosion were found about 3,300 feet away from the volcano...

Johnnie Darroll Carter, 69, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009, at the home of his daughter in Oak Ridge. He was born Sept. 30, 1940, at Parma, Mo., son of Paul Daniel and Lucille Beatrice Ivie Carter. He and Judy Kimbel were married in 1959. He later married Jerry S. Pender in 1963. Carter has been unmarried since 1975...

Fallen trees and power lines have caused the following state roads to close: Mississippi County Route AB from Route N to Route J Highway 77, between Highway 80 and Route DD; between Route D and the north end of Wayatt. Route Y from Highway 60 to Alfalfa Center...

BENTON, Mo. — Flossie Juanita Kirsch, 90, of Benton died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 20, 1918, in Blodgett, Mo., daughter of Joel and Earsy Simmons Hopper. On May 24, 1946, she married Karl John Kirsch in Benton...

Faught Daughter to James L. and Sheena C. Faught of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Name, Carsyn Graye. Weight, 8 pounds, 5 ounces. First child. Mrs. Faught is the former Sheena Atherton, daughter of Chuck and Robin Tinnon of Sikeston, Mo., and Yaqui and Tammy Atherton of Whitewater. Faught is the son of Don and Lois Faught of Sikeston. He is self-employed...

Authorities say the men believed to be responsible for a beating and robbery two years ago in Kansas City may be hiding in Southeast Missouri. Kansas City Crime Stoppers has offered a $50,000 reward for information that could lead to a conviction in the cold case, according to Jerry Barham, the victim of the assault...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: n At 6:07 p.m., emergency medical service in the unit block of South Sprigg Street. n At 6:10 p.m., gas odor at County Road 205. n At 6:22 p.m., gas odor at 2554 Independence St...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- As stocks and real estate values tumbled, the assets of Missouri's biggest public employee pension funds plunged by more than $11 billion last year, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported Sunday. The Tribune interviewed executives of the state and local governments' biggest pension funds, which are guaranteed to provide benefits to more than 317,000 current and retired public school teachers, state workers, university professors and local government employees...

Redevelopment of downtown Cape Girardeau is a hot topic these days. One organization seeking to foster revitalization in the 130-block historic district is Old Town Cape. Leading the group is its executive director, Marla Mills, who assumed her role on Sept. 18, 2006...

MOLO, Kenya -- The explosion of an overturned tanker could be felt for miles, and the moments that followed haunted survivors: People ablaze, their clothes burned off, running to the bush in a futile effort to escape the pain and begging for help. More than 100 people were killed and another 200 injured in the inferno that overwhelmed hospitals Sunday, where victims lined the floors, hooked to drips and moaning in pain. ...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The national wave of auto dealership closures has come crashing down on thousands of people who are on the hook for used-car loans that dealers were supposed to absolve. When a car buyer still owes money on a vehicle he is trading in, the dealer promises to pay off the outstanding loan, then resells the vehicle. ...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Major U.S. banks sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers into the country for high-paying jobs even as the system was melting down last year and Americans were getting laid off, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications...

25 years ago: Feb. 2, 1984 The Cape Girardeau City Council last night pulled the plug on Cape Cable TV's proposed $3 rate increase, rejecting it by a vote of 6-1; Mayor Howard C. Tooke maintained the cable company could afford to expand programming without increasing the basic monthly charge from $7.50 to $10.50...

SIKESTON -- Sikeston's Emergency Operational Command continues to receive reports of carbon monoxide poisoning around the city, according to a statement issued Sunday. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include dizziness, headaches, nausea and tiredness...

Remove the shadows from our thoughts, O God, and send us heavenly light. Amen.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Arizona Cardinals were achingly close. They needed to hang on for just 2 minutes to complete a stunner of a Super Bowl comeback. It wasn't to be. This miracle of a season would have no perfect ending. Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald, the pass-and-catch combination that was so spectacular in the playoffs, connected for two touchdowns in less than five minutes against the fierce Pittsburgh defense to give the Cardinals a 23-20 lead Sunday night...

For the record: Jimmi's Restaurant in Cape Girardeau is open for business. I wrote an article a few weeks ago about the building that houses Jimmi's being up for sale. Some readers thought that meant the restaurant was closing. In fact, the owners plan to continue operating the restaurant as usual...

CINCINNATI -- An 82-year-old steamboat that's been designated as a National Historic Landmark is poised to make a final trip to its new position as a riverfront hotel. The Delta Queen, which once ran up and down the Mississippi River but docked in Cincinnati, will leave its winter home in New Orleans on Wednesday for Chattanooga, Tenn. In October, the mostly wooden boat -- the last of its kind -- lost its exemption to operate overnight river cruises for up to 176 passengers...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Inside the gates of the White House grounds, the closing months of then-president Bush's second term were bittersweet for one Poplar Bluff resident. Whitney Hampton joined the White House staff in mid-August for a four-month internship she describes as both exciting and sad. She was one of more than 3,000 to apply for 100 positions...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After the first two playoff holes, neither Kenny Perry nor Charley Hoffman looked capable of winning the FBR Open. They were 1 over, and it looked as if they might have to play until dark. "The playoff was ugly," Perry said. "We were hitting it everywhere, having to scramble from all over the place."...

While many teachers and students had a bad-weather hiatus for the better part of last week, Christina Green never missed a beat with her students. First, she had them shovel the driveway Wednesday — part chore, part physical education — followed by lunch and a series of assessment tests...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Santonio Holmes sat on the grass alongside the end zone -- legs outstretched, head bowed, arms wrapped tightly around the ball. He'd come too far to let go. The kid who once sold drugs on a street corner had grown up to become MVP of a most remarkable Super Bowl...

TAMPA, Fla. — The winning play of the Super Bowl was right out of a schoolyard. Scamble right, scramble left, find someone open. The perfect unscripted ending to a game of improbable swings. Their Steel Curtain shredded, Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes improvised the 6-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a record-setting sixth Super Bowl victory, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night...

Local surgeon inducted into American College of Surgeons Dr. W. Ray Silliman was among 1,189 people who recently became fellows of the American College of Surgeons during convocation ceremonies at the college's recent annual Clinical Congress in San Francisco. ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Geologists monitoring Alaska's Mount Redoubt say the volcano is rumbling and emitting steam but has shown no dramatic burst of energy in the last 24 hours. Geologist Tina Neal at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said no flyovers were planned for Sunday unless activity increased significantly...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Administrators at Three Rivers Community College have announced the college will be closed today through Friday in response to massive power outages throughout Southeast Missouri as a result of last week's ice and snow storm. College president Joe Rozman made the announcement in a written statement issued Sunday afternoon. The closure affects the main Three Rivers campus in Poplar Bluff and all sites, including Campbell, Kennett, Malden, Portageville and Sikeston...

PULASKI, Ill. — Lloyd "Pete" Pullett, 85, of Pulaski died Monday, Jan. 26, 2009, at his home. He was born Jan. 12, 1924, at Pulaski, son of Toby and Catherine McDaniel Pullett. Pullett worked for the Pulaski County Highway Department until his retirement in 1989. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Kayran Andora Smith, 35, 1221 S. Pacific St., was arrested on suspicion of harrassment. Burglaries n A burglary and the theft of jewelry was reported at 1445 Pemiscot St...

The United Way's traveling gnome, How-We Live United, has recently gone missing while promoting Live United around Cape County. "Everyone at the office is upset with the thought that How-We may never turn up," said Marketing Specialist Nicolette Brennan. "We have checked every location we can think of to find our little buddy and we haven't had any luck."...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — After a man of the cloth was recently attacked, area clergymen decided it was time to fight back against crime in Poplar Bluff. Pastor John McCain of Conley Grove and New Life Missionary Baptist churches and a U.S. postal worker by profession, was picking up his teenage daughters from a birthday party at Operation Off Street on the corner of 5th and West Harper streets on Jan. ...

This little Bunny sits here every morning, regardless of the weather!

The Jackson wrestling team had nine finalists in the SEMO Conference wrestling tournament Saturday, but only one of them had no idea he would even be wrestling last weekend. Junior Mitchell Hazelwood, a member of Jackson's powerhouse junior varsity team, stepped into the varsity lineup for the conference tourney due to an illness. He went on to win six matches and claimed the championship at 135 pounds...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Tens of thousands of people are still displaced from their southern Missouri homes after last week's ice storm. But hundreds of animals were also left with no place to go. Many shelters won't take dogs and cats. The Humane Society of Missouri recently took 60 animals from the Caruthersville shelter...

I managed to capture this photo as the sun was shining and the ice was melting. I think the vividness of the red berries and the crystal quality of the ice against the whiteness of the snow is beautiful!

The Miracle King Air. Arrow points to buckling in the aircraft's rear fuselage.

A car wreck during rush hour Monday left one child dead and three others injured, said Sgt. Jason Selzer, spokesman for Cape Girardeau Police Department. The accident occurred when a minivan traveling westbound on Highway 74, near the entrance of Shawnee Sports Complex at Minnesota Avenue, struck a parked vehicle, Selzer said...

Emergency personnel are responding to a major accident at Minnesota Avenue and Highway 74 in Cape Girardeau, according to police scanner traffic. Radio communication indicates there are serious injuries and the accident is affecting traffic.Look for more information later on seMissourian.com...

A car wreck during rush hour Monday left one child dead and three others injured, said Sgt. Jason Selzer, spokesman for Cape Girardeau Police Department. The accident occurred when a minivan traveling westbound on Highway 74 near the entrance to the Shawnee Sports Complex at Minnesota Avenue struck a parked vehicle, Selzer said...

VDAY of Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University are proud to announce auditions for "The Vagina Monologues," to be held Thursday, February 5 at 6 pm in the Ervin Resource Room. The Ervin Resource Room is located on campus, in room 113 in the Grauel Building on Pacific Street...

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) crews and heavy equipment were deployed by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on Saturday to assist Southeast Missouri and Ozark communities with the clearing of debris from Winter Storm 2009. According to SEMA, about 54,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity as of Sunday evening and AmerenUE estimated the ice storm downed at least 16,000 power poles and hundreds of lines in the Bootheel region...

Last week's ice storm was a big hassle. It still is for some people, especially the thousands still without power in areas south of Cape Girardeau. ...

The winter storm that left much of the Bootheel, Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois without electricity brought an economic boon to Cape Girardeau. Hotels and hardware stores in Cape Girardeau and Jackson saw a surge in business as early as Jan. ...

We took some time out from shoveling the recent storm and played with our german shepherds. Who needs a frisbee? They love to chase down a snowball thrown into the air and catch it.

By now, everyone knows about "The Miracle on the Hudson", the fantastic emergency landing that occured on January 15th, when Captain "Sulley" Sullenburger glided his powerless Airbus 320 airliner to a safe ditching in the Hudson River, saving all on board after a total, double engine failure. The entire event was a study in pilot discipline, and quickly making the right choices as events tick off your options...

Lonely snow bird sitting on frozen branches.

Taken in the morning on the new Main St extension in Jackson, Mo