Stories from April 2009

Advertisements for a new Cape Girardeau city manager drew 56 applications from 23 states, the councilman who is leading the search effort said today. Councilman John Voss, chairman of a three-member council committee in charge of the search, said he is pleased with the response...

Central junior Erik Allen talked with his teammates about the potential of Tuesday's baseball game being suspended because of darkness, and decided to do something about it. With the sun sinking lower in the sky and the shadows growing longer, Allen stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning. Both Central and Jackson had struggled to score all game, and there wouldn't be many more chances before the game was suspended...

Until Tuesday night, Linda Doerge of Patton, Mo., was sure she'd experienced a tornado while living in Cape Girardeau during the 1980s. After attending a National Weather Service class on spotting hazardous weather, she knows how to tell the difference between tornadoes and the straight-line winds she experienced...

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Gary Sheffield's next home run will be his 500th in the major leagues. The question is: What uniform will he be wearing when he hits it? The Detroit Tigers released the nine-time All-Star on Tuesday, leaving him without a team as he closes in on becoming the 25th player to reach the milestone. The World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, however, quickly called the slugger to see if there was a fit...

The number of government units in Missouri ranks the state high in the nation. There are 3,723 government entities around the Show Me State, the eighth-largest number of all states. And Missouri has one government unit for every 1,579 residents, the 12th highest in the nation...

ANNA, Ill. — Loren Eddleman, 81, of Anna died Sunday, March 29, 2009, at Life Care Hospital of Plano in Plano, Texas. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Crain Funeral Home in Anna. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday proposed cutting greenhouse gases by one-fifth over the next decade, a faster clip than requested by President Obama. Their plan, seen as the first step toward Congress enacting climate legislation this year, was crafted to attract broader support among centrist Democrats. It includes measures to spur energy efficiency and support technology to capture carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, from coal burning power plants...

A 42-year-old Jackson man was transported to an area hospital in serious condition after a Jeep rollover accident that occurred just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. The wreck occurred on US Highway 61 about nine miles north of Jackson, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol...

Tueday's story on managing asthma should have explained that some asthmatics use powdered corticosteroid-based medicine daily, with a device called an inhaler. This medicine reduces inflammation and irritability of the air passages and lungs. A bronchodilator is emergency medicine and works to relax the muscles that are squeezing the airways shut...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mary Elizabeth McElyea Clare, 90, of Kansas City, formerly of Oran, Mo., passed away Monday, March 30, 2009, at Windsor Estates in Camdenton, Mo. She was born July 23, 1918, in Piggott, Ark., daughter of Aaron and Bertha Williams Hollingsworth...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Five people have filed to run for one open position on the Perry County Memorial Hospital board. Incumbent Beth Guth has filed to retain her seat for her third five-year term. She works for the Bank of Missouri as a human resources director. Her challengers include Jo Jo Stuart, Ali Dibooglu, Larry J. Thieret and Direk L. Hunt. Thieret is also running for school board. All the candidates list Perryville addresses...

Betty Kluesner, 73, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at her home. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. — Margaret Nora Dorris, 63, died peacefully Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at home in Sikeston following a long and arduous battle with cancer. She was born Sept. 23, 1945, in Arcadia, Mo., to Robert Lee Lotz and Julia Alice Lotz. She was married to Glynn J. Dorris on July 15, 1961, and is the mother of Glenda K. Rodriquez of Temple, Texas, Jackie L. Gould of Cape Girardeau and William G. Dorris of East Prairie, Mo...

Route U closed for pipe replacement Route U in southwest Cape Girardeau County will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today for pipe replacement, the Missouri Department of Transportation announced Tuesday. The closure will be from Route A near Whitewater to Route RA near Crump. MoDOT crews will perform the work...

SIKESTON, Mo. --Three Scott County reserve deputies retire this week. Together the men's time as deputies adds up to nearly 100 years of voluntary service to local law enforcement, Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said. Don Shelton, Elbert Hubbard and Ed Boyd, each of Sikeston, Mo., started their reserve work for the Scott County Sheriff's Department in 1977. ...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Hayden Penn needed a solid outing Tuesday to avoid losing ground in the race to win a spot in the back end of the Baltimore Orioles' rotation. Instead, he was soon out of the game. Out of a spot, too. Penn gave up six runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings, including a three-run homer by Chris Duncan, and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Orioles 7-3...

Kluesner Son to Gary Wayne and Deidre Dawn Kluesner of New Hamburg, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 4:35 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Name, Colton Wayne. Weight, 6 pounds, 5 ounces. First child. Mrs. Kluesner is the former Deidre Friese, daughter of Jerry and Debby Friese of Scott City. She is employed at Regional Primary Care. Kluesner is the son of Gary and Sue Kluesner of New Hamburg. He is employed at Imperial Paint and Drywall...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrest do not imply guilt. DWI n Stephen R. Johnson, 26, of Ste. Genevieve, Mo., was arrested on a Cape Girardeau warrant for probation violation for driving while intoxicated...

Discontent with the federal government's role in business and other aspects of life will bring a group of "Tea Party" protesters to Capaha Park on April 15. Tom Young of Jackson, who is organizing the event, said that while the action is inspired by similar protests elsewhere, he is not affiliating the local protest with any national organization or political party. Anyone with grievances can come to the park and air them, he said...

25 years ago: April 1, 1984 The congregation of First Assembly of God Church, 750 Mount Auburn Road, celebrates the dedication of its new educational building; the Rev. George W. Westlake Jr., senior pastor of the Sheffield Assembly of God of Kansas City, Mo., and former pastor of First Assembly here, is the special guest speaker...

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday denied a research report's contention that a China-based computer spy ring stole sensitive information from thousands of hard drives worldwide, calling the accusation a lie meant to feed anxiety over Beijing's growing influence...

Rosellen Di Napoli, 90, of Jackson died Saturday, March 28, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to service time today at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. today at the funeral home, with the Rev. Tom Kiefer officiating...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The FBI is questioning Missouri lawmakers about alleged quid pro quo arrangements linking prestigious committee posts to campaign contributions, legislative sources said Tuesday. Two lawmakers who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said they specifically were asked about House Minority Leader Paul LeVota, a Democrat from Independence...

Man charged with bar stool drunken driving NEWARK, Ohio -- Authorities in Ohio say a man has been charged with drunken driving after crashing his motorized bar stool. Police in Newark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries March 4, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower. ...

By Adam Gohn There are a number of issues upon which intelligent people can disagree. For centuries, intellectuals have debated such issues as the existence of God, the origin of the universe and the meaning of life. In such cases, opposing viewpoints may be intelligible and rest largely on what the individual assumes to be factual evidence for their respective position...

Jackson freshman Erin Eakens made scoring look easy after she received a pass and split the Central defense, leading to a breakaway goal during the first half Tuesday. The Indians' offense looked sharp — scoring on three breakaways in the first half alone — while cruising to a 7-1 road victory over rival Central...

The idea of random drug testing for welfare recipients is nothing new. Discussions along these lines have played in the background for quite some time. But now at least eight states -- including Missouri -- are considering measures that would tie food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare to random drug testing...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Rosie P. Betts, 72, of Charleston died Sunday, March 29, 2009, at her home. She was born March 17, 1937, in Sikeston, Mo., daughter of Otis and Georgia Viola Fulton McAllister. She married Jimmy Betts. Survivors include her husband; five sons, Donald Betts of Pennsylvania, James Betts of Charleston, Dale Betts of Noblesville, Ind., Sherman and Bruce Betts of Cape Girardeau; six daughters, Flora Clemons of Cape Girardeau, Marilyn Brown of Merriam, Kan., Prisus Betts and Mary Bates of Logansport, Ind., Dinita Grady of Walton, Ind., Gloria Hayes of Germantown, Md.; a brother, James McAllister of Kansas City, Kan.; a sister, Edith Crawford of St. ...

Southeast Missourian ORAN, Mo. -- An undercover narcotics investigation led to the arrest of two people in Oran, according to Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter. Donald L. White, 38, of Oran, was charged Monday with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond was set at $50,000 cash...

Tuesday is municipal election day across Missouri, and the Southeast Missourian will be offering voters a new feature coming Thursday with the web publication of candidate questionnaires designed to give greater coverage to the smaller towns and special purpose districts in the area...

Protect us, O God, from fools and all others who would lead us astray. Amen.

Democrat holds tiny lead in N.Y. House race After a short campaign, the two candidates in a New York congressional special election that focused on President Obama's popularity and his economic policy were separated by 65 votes Tuesday, meaning the race will be decided by absentee ballots. ...

The faculty recital featuring tenor Chris Goeke on Thursday has been canceled. Goeke, voice instructor and chairman in the Department of Music at Southeast Missouri State University, was scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Shuck Recital Hall, but had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts...

Paul Page ANNA, Ill. -- Paul C. Page, 63, of Anna died Monday, March 30, 2009, at his home. He was born Oct. 1, 1945, in Anna, son of William C. and June D. Dillow Page. He and Shirley Lynn Cady were married March 21, 1984, in Holly Hill, Fla. Page was a member of Mount Moriah Lutheran Church and lifetime member of Carroll P. Foster VFW Post 3455...

Waiting for progress IN April 2008 Cape Girardeau voters approved the parks and recreation tax. Two main interests I have in that tax are the lengthening of the Osage Trail and the water park. I have seen progress on neither. Were these projects not supposed to have been started by now? Can someone point me to where I might find an update or more information on a timeline for these things or an explanation on why they are not being started?...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A mother and another woman face felony child-endangerment charges after a 14-year-old's birthday party ended with two young teens being taken to a hospital. Karen Christine Downs, 43, of Kansas City, and Kelsee Guest, 25, are accused of providing liquor and beer to six 13- and 14-year-olds at a February birthday party for Downs' daughter. Two girls, one 13 and the other 14, passed out and were later taken to a hospital, according to court documents...

Dustin Crowden broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field, and Ethan Lee added a three-run blast in the fifth as Kelly downed Poplar Bluff 7-4 on Tuesday. Ryan Essner threw a complete-game six-hitter for the win, striking out four and walking two...

Judy Latham, 51, of Farmington, Mo., died Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at her home. She was born June 15, 1957, in Farmington, daughter of Truman and Amylee Killian Huffman. She and Jeff Latham were married March 24, 2009, in Farmington. Latham was a trainer in the medical billing department for Centene Corp. in Farmington. She was a member of Open Door Tabernacle Church in Fredericktown, Mo...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri House endorsed legislation Tuesday that gives charities, school districts, local governments and veterans organizations first crack at contracts to run driver's license offices. Missouri has 183 local fee offices where residents renew driver's licenses and motor vehicle registrations. The offices add a fee to each transaction, which can make them profitable, particularly in high-traffic urban and suburban areas...

Steele, Mo., police chief Michael "Strawberry" Tomlinson Sr., was arrested and brought before a federal judge Tuesday on prescription drug charges following a lengthy narcotics investigation. The federal complaint alleges that Tomlinson, 43, possessed both hydrocodone and Xanax pills March 5 and March 9 and distributed them March 13...

My household is absolutely consumed with the NCAA basketball tournament. My husband and son check their brackets after every game and tease each other about wins and losses. My husband, Scott, is also celebrating his birthday right in the middle of all of this madness. The good Lord must have planned it this way, that he would celebrate his birthday during his favorite time of the year. So today you can enjoy all snack food and finger food recipes in honor of basketball games galore...

Whoever first called the hot dog a "poor man's steak" probably hadn't had the $7 chili cheese dog at a Mets game. But in truth, the humble frankfurter can make an inexpensive and fun meal. A great hot dog relies as much on the toppings as it does the dog itself. And while the traditional standbys of ketchup, mustard and relish have their place, there are plenty of more flavorful and creative options...

In my last column I discussed the steps needed to establish a new vegetable garden in an area that has not been used before. The activities included mixing organic matter, gypsum and possibly lime or sulfur into the soil to create the proper soil structure and pH...

RENTON, Wash. -- The childhood home where rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix is said to have first discovered music has been dismantled after eight years of preservation efforts failed. Barely a shell of the 900-square-foot house originally in Seattle's Central Area neighborhood remains on a lot across the street from where Hendrix was buried. Owner Pete Sikov told the Seattle Times for a story Tuesday that parts have been saved and may be sold later...

NEW YORK -- The first quarter on Wall Street was so extreme it included a bear market and a bull market all its own -- moves that sometimes take years or more. Now investors head for spring still unsure which side is in control. From the second week of the year to early March, the Dow Jones industrial average lost more than a quarter of its value, plunging from just above 9,000 to below 6,550. Retirement accounts were suddenly worth half what they were in 2007...

NEW YORK -- Consumer confidence stabilized in March after falling to an all-time low in February. But economists caution that shoppers are still gloomy and any improvement in sentiment is fragile. "There is a sense that consumers are now familiar [with] how bad things are," said Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group. "They have read the papers. They recognize that the job market is awful."...

LAS VEGAS — Walt Disney is going 3-D on a lot of future films — and some from its past. The studio announced Tuesday that 3-D versions of the computer-animated tales "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" will be released Oct. 2 for a two-week run as a double feature. Disney also is preparing a 3-D version of its hand-drawn animated musical "Beauty and the Beast" for release Feb. 12, 2010...

Content: The Problem: Claudia came to me with a one-page résumé void of any explanation of what she did in each of her roles. Her résumé was simply a listing of education, professional experience, and industry involvement. ...

Executive Director Karen Green is pleased to announce the addition of Kit Brewer to the staff of Southeast Missouri Food Bank, which has served Southeast Missouri since 1985, bringing together available food resources to assist those living in poverty...

Zeus & Zack are 8 week-old Beagle/Australian Shepherd mix puppies. There are six puppies in this litter! They are available for adoption at The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, 573-334-5837. See more pets available at www.semopets.org

When it comes to diving, there's no better high school athlete in the area than Cape Central senior Tara Volkerding. Volkerding placed first in the final competition of her high school career this winter at the Show Me Conference at Perry Park Center. ...

A very rare sight to see!! Pelicans seemed to be taking a spring break on a lake in Southern Illinois.

Meth lab bust in Scott County

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A search warrant executed at a Sikeston home Tuesday led to the arrest of four individuals and a dog attack on a Sikeston officer. At 8:54 a.m. Tuesday Sikeston's Special Operations Group Team served the warrant at 511 Matthews St. in Sikeston, according to the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. ...

A former director of the Current River Area Vocational Technical School at Doniphan, Mo., pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to nine felonies, including mail and wire fraud and theft of government funds. Michael R. Smock of Doniphan pleaded guilty to two felony counts of theft from an organization receiving federal funds, three felony counts of mail fraud, three felony counts of wire fraud and one felony count of false statement before U.S. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jamieon Q. Mosby, an 8-month-old child from Sikeston, died Wednesday night at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Now Kevin Dixon, once charged with abuse and assault in the March 24 incident that led to the child's death, is now charged with murder ...

The Marquette Tower and Marquette Centre in downtown Cape Girardeau has changed hands again. On March 20, a Springfield, Mo.,-based development company bought the two buildings and adjoining parking lot for "between $3 million and $4 million," said Trevor Gregg of G&S Holdings, LLC...

A Jackson man accused of sexually molesting an 11-year-old girl was sentenced to 15 years in state prison today after pleading guilty to a single felony count, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle announced. Ronald R. Davis, 38, had originally been charged with seven counts of statutory sodomy, but pleaded guilty to a single count in a plea bargain that Swingle said had the consent of the victim's family. ...

Two robberies of the same bank about three weeks apart were the work of a single bandit, federal prosecutors alleged Thursday. George R. Chesnut, 46, of Alton, Ill., was indicted on four felony counts tied to the Oct. 6, 2008, and Oct. 30, 2008, robberies at the Bank of Missouri branch at 372 N. Kingshighway, Federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway announced. In each of the robberies, the thief showed a weapon to tellers as he demanded cash...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, while those continuing to receive benefits hit a 10th straight record-high. Both figures show the labor market remains weak and is unlikely to recover anytime soon, despite some signs the economy's decline is moderating...

Cape Girardeau City Councilman John Voss is pleased with the responses received as the city seeks a new manager. By the March 20 application deadline, Voss said Wednesday, the city received 56 applications from 23 states from people hoping to take over from Doug Leslie, who retired March 1. While the city council conducts the search, assistant city manager Ken Eftink is filling in as interim city manager.

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A trial for a Cape Girardeau man charged in conjunction with a Stoddard County dogfighting ring busted in 2007 had his trial postponed again, according to the Daily Statesman.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Briggs & Stratton has announced a layoff will occur at its Poplar Bluff plant beginning April 17, according to the Daily American Republic.

After almost 10 months of operating without a contracted director, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri hopes to close the hiring process by Monday.

James Tilley, an engineer who was the city's chief construction inspector for more than 25 years, died Sunday at his home in Alabama. He was 66.

Central defeated the Bulldogs 7-4 in a Jamie Pickel win.

According to Jackson-based artist Roger Sanford, "Chalk is unforgiving. A lot of people don't realize how hard it is. You don't get a second chance when you lay it down."

Not included; Roaming dogs; Fish experiment; Clean up graffiti; Signs of improvement; No city raises; Sharing the blame; Legislative dullards; Union benefits; Religious stand; No common sense; The animals know; No lights; Proper compacting; Park trash; Local performers; County roads; Appeals limit; Not in the street; Talking adults; Twain was wrong

Foristal; Surface; Pobst

Some changes were made on the seMissourian.com website Wednesday. Most of the site has remained the same, with content and organization very similar to what was in place before the change. Major changes include the addition of drop down menus at the top of each page to make navigation easier...

Southeast Missouri State had its six-game baseball winning streak snapped in emphatic fashion.

The Division II Tritons stunned Southeast, sweeping Wednesday's twin bill 6-0 and 4-3. UMSL improved to 22-12 and dropped Southeast to 12-12.

The entire Scott County Central starting lineup earned Class 1 all-district honors on the teams picked by a panel of Southeast Missouri sportswriters that was released today.

Tyler Heuring went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs to help Oran escape with a 4-3 road win at Leopold on Wednesday.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, but Mike Sciortino is aware of autism every day because his 10-year-old grandson Ethan has a form of the disorder.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State senators have endorsed an expansion of government-funded health care for low-income Missourians, embracing the concept -- if not the form -- of a plan put forth by Gov. Jay Nixon.

"This is a scary movie," said one child during my showing of "Monsters vs. Aliens." After a quick consolation from a parent, that was the last peep from the entire audience. I don't know if the silence was due to the nonstop action on screen or due to a strange mixture of a more mature humor with Saturday morning cartoons.

NEW YORK -- After months in limbo, "Project Runway" has a new home at Lifetime. The popular series that aired for five seasons on the Bravo network had been mired in a legal struggle involving NBC Universal, which owns Bravo, the Weinstein Co. and the Lifetime channel.

Charles E. "Chuck" Moutell, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at Delmar Gardens in Chesterfield, Mo.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Charles Smith, 86, of Perryville died Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at Perry Oaks Manor in Perryville. Arrangements are incomplete with Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home.

ANNA, Ill.-- Loren Eddleman, 81, of Anna died Sunday, March 29, 2009, at Life Care Hospital of Plano in Plano, Texas. He was born Dec. 4, 1927, in Dongola, Ill., son of Grover C. and Emma Brown Eddleman. He and Linna Mae Harvick were married Dec. 8, 1945, in Mount Vernon, Ill.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Jacqueline Gertrude McAtee, 89, of Poplar Bluff died Monday, March 30, 2009, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center.

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- Maria Reyna Lopez, 68, of Alto Pass died Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at her home.

TROY, Mo. -- Alvin B. Pope, 66, of Troy died Monday, March 30, 2009, at Lincoln County Medical Center in Troy.

Robert Alan Lovelace, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

James Henry Tilley, 66, of Hartselle, Ala., died Sunday, March 22, 2009, at his home.

Dr. Daniel Preston McNair Jr., 78, of Daphne, Ala., died Saturday, March 28, 2009, after a lengthy illness.

Elizabeth L. "Betty" Kluesner, 73, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at her home.

Pansie D. Hunt Mehrle, 101, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at Ratliff Care Center.

25 years ago: April 2, 1984 Only about 12 percent of Cape Girardeau County's registered voters, or 3,720 residents, are expected to go to the polls tomorrow despite a crowded field of candidates in both the Cape Girardeau city and school board elections.

The 2009 Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival will have a three-day run Friday through Sunday, featuring eight professional storytellers who will entertain audiences in three tents downtown and in the park at the River Campus.

Dear Amy and Frank, I told DC I wish we could go to your house for dinner every night, Amy, because I know you eat healthily. You are one of the few vegetarians I know and introduced me to quinoa, the South American treat.

I have long been a fan of Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers and our third president. I recently ran across a statement he wrote that was so on target and timely that I wanted to share it with Southeast Missourian readers.

I was a member of the Cape Girardeau business community for more than 15 years. I bought half of Riverside Lumber Co. and turned it into a home center-type business. It was very successful.

Southeast Missouri State University is looking for ways to be more energy efficient. Over several years, the facilities management department has installed low-flow toilets and faucets to save water, higher-efficiency light fixtures and detectors that turn lights on and off when rooms are occupied or empty.

I've diagnosed myself with SAD. I am so tired of being cold. I hole up with a blanket as soon as the sun goes down. It's like I've organized a one-woman sit-in against Mother Nature.

FARGO, N.D. -- With floodwaters rising around them, Fargo officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency faced a decision: Should they order a mandatory evacuation of the entire city?

WASHINGTON -- Faced with revelations about withheld evidence, the Justice Department on Wednesday moved to reverse the conviction of former Alaska senator Ted Stevens, who lost his bid for re-election just days after a jury found that he had lied about gifts and home renovations.

MEXICO CITY -- Try to bring a refrigerator into Mexico in the back of your pickup, and you are almost certain to get stopped by Mexican customs officials.

WASHINGTON -- New economic reports on construction spending, manufacturing and pending home sales suggest the recession may be moving closer to a bottom. But most analysts think the low point is still months away, with more bad news likely before the economy stabilizes and begins to rebound.

TAMPA, Fla. -- For all the talk of an impending crisis in Social Security, one already exists: The system is clogged with hundreds of thousands of disputed disability claims, a backlog so big that some people wait years for a hearing. Social Security officials blame underfunding, understaffing, a dramatic rise in cases and an increasing number of claims involving hard-to-prove ailments such as back pain, depression and anxiety...

CINCINNATI (AP) -- "Bailout" was the magic word as Domino's had to give away thousands of free pizzas because someone stumbled on an online promotion the company scrapped. Domino's Pizza Inc. spokesman Tim McIntyre said Wednesday that the company prepared an Internet coupon for an ad campaign that was considered in December but not approved...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., March 30, 2009 -- Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson signed a proclamation today, declaring April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day in the City of Cape Girardeau. Others in attendance who helped make this possible were Connie Hebert, interim director of the Southeast Missouri State University Autism Center for Diagnosis and Treatment; Elaine Beussink, director of the Tailor Institute; Myra Bax, director of the Judevine Center for Autism- Southeast Missouri Project; Ethan and Friends for Autism parent organization representatives; and officials with the Cape Girardeau and Jackson public school districts.. ...

Much has been said and written about the US Auto Industry crisis, and whether or not the US Government should intervene to keep them afloat. Why these companies are in trouble has been extensively documented and been the subject of endless arguments. Here, in two words, is our opinion on how they got into this mess:...

Starting Friday, downtown Cape Girardeau may be filled with ghosts, lesbian cowgirl folk singers, 85-year-old medical school graduates and female serial killers, among other characters. The tales at the second annual Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival begin at 9 a.m. Friday. Four national and four Midwest storytellers will be featured.

CHICAGO -- Nikolai Khabibulin made 16 saves, and Jonathan Toews, Samuel Pahlsson and Colin Fraser scored for the Chicago Blackhawks, who beat St. Louis 3-1 on Wednesday night and snapped the Blues' five-game winning streak. The Blackhawks moved within one point of clinching their first playoff berth since 2001-02 and their second in 11 seasons. Chicago also jumped one point ahead of Calgary and into fourth place in the Western Conference...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- An Ellsinore man was in the Carter County Jail Wednesday, charged with assaulting his wife by shooting her during a dispute with his stepson. John William Moss, 55, was charged Tuesday with the Class C felony of second-degree assault by Carter County Prosecuting Attorney Ernie Richardson...

Mark your calendar for May 11, 2009 and register now for a great day of golf on a the beautiful Dalhousie Golf Course, ranked one of the top ten private courses in America. Be a part of the Hope For Families Golf Tournament that supports Lutheran Family and Children's Services (LFCS). It draws golfers from all over the country...

Starting today, Independence Street will be closed westbound between Kingshighway and Clark Avenue, according to a Cape Girardeau news release.

You have less than two weeks to get your records in order. As the April 15 deadline for filing taxes draws closer, a local accountant said keeping proper documentation is the best defense against an Internal Revenue Service audit.

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. (AP) -- A former county commissioner from eastern Missouri faces two felony charges for allegedly stealing from the county. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced a two-count indictment Thursday against 61-year-old Ronald Varvera of Fredericktown, a former commissioner for St. Francois (pronounced FRAN'-cis) County...

BENTON, Mo. -- A complaint of a suspicious package on Wednesday led to the seizure of an alleged mobile meth lab and the arrest of an East Prairie, Mo., man in Scott County, according to a Scott County Sheriff's Department news release. Deputy Jeremy Perrien responded to Route O on a report of a suspicious package found on the side of the road, which appeared to be intentionally placed, the news release said. ...

DEXTER, Mo. -- An Essex woman remained hospitalized this morning after the building in which she was working collapsed, trapping her under the rubble. Sixty-four-year-old Laura Heppe and her husband, Earl, had been working to dismantle a backyard shed this week; and while Earl Heppe was gone on an errand to Dexter, his wife proceeded by herself to remove more boards from the partially dismantled shed. ...

History came alive for more than 2,500 grade school students Friday afternoon at the second Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival. Storytellers from around the country enlightened students from Missouri and Illinois on such issues as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's travels in the United States and Missouri native Bertha Gifford, America's first female serial killer...

A Friday afternoon fire at 126 S. Hanover St. caused light to moderate smoke damage, said Cape Girardeau Fire Department Battalion Chief Fred Vincel. The fire started in the area of the clothes dryer of the two-story home, Vincel said, but was out in a matter of minutes. No one was home at the time, but a small dog was rescued from the house without injury...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jamieon Q. Mosby, an 8-month-old child from Sikeston, died Wednesday night at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Now Kevin Dixon, according to a Sikeston Department of Public Safety news release. On Thursday, Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd charged Dixon with first-degree murder ...

Two robberies of the same bank about three weeks apart were the work of a single bandit, federal prosecutors alleged Thursday. George R. Chesnut, 46, of Alton, Ill., was indicted on four felony counts tied to the Oct. 6 and Oct. 30 robberies at the Bank of Missouri branch at 372 N. Kingshighway, federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway announced. In each of the robberies, the thief showed a weapon to tellers as he demanded cash...

Former Southeast Missouri State pole vaulter Collin Sheridan, who won the Ohio Valley Conference outdoor championship in 2000, enjoys a different challenge these days as coach of the Central vaulters. Among Sheridan's athletes are two of the best local high school vaulters -- sophomore Matt Deisher and junior Ray Woldtvedt...

Firefighters from Jackson, Fruitland, East County, Perryville, Whitewater, Millersville, Black River, Cairo, and North County completed a special 12 hour program this past weekend on extinguishing fires involving the newest motor vehicle fuels that contain ethanol...

The Cape Girardeau County Master Gardeners have been spending the last few months preparing bedding and hanging plants for their 9th Annual Spring Plant Sale at the Conservation Department shelter in Arena Park. These plants, being raised with the gracious help of the folks at the SEMO Greenhouse, will be for sold on April 17, 3-7pm April 18, 7a-Noon...

The Cape Girardeau Social Security Office will be moving on April 10th from the Federal Building at 339 Broadway to its new location at 2445 Cape Centre Drive. The office will reopen on April 13th at the new location. The telephone number will remain the same, 866-931-7077. Office hours are 9am-4pm M-F. The office will be closed on April 10th for the move. Social Security services can also be accessed online at www.socialsecurity.gov or through the nationwide tollfree number 1-800-772-1213...

Small Town Boyz are in the running for the Van's Warped Tour which includes a stop off in St. Louis at the VERIZON WIRELESS AMPHITHEATER on 8/3/09. If you've already signed up for your FameCast account, and have been voting for Small Town Boyz in the Fender RoadWorn Competition, then you're ready for voting - no sign up requred...

Southeast Missourian A Jackson man accused of sexually molesting an 11-year-old girl was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to a single felony count, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle announced. Ronald R. ...

WASHINGTON -- The IRS inconsistently charges interest on penalties imposed on delinquent taxpayers, resulting in unequal treatment for some of them, the Treasury Department's inspector general for taxes said Thursday. The Internal Revenue Service acknowledged some delinquent taxpayers end up paying more interest on penalties than others, but said the Treasury IG report overstates the problem...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Summonses; Assault; Burglary; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Jackson: Arrest; Summons; Assault; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following call Wednesday: n At 9:11 p.m., an illegal burn at 2500 Masters Drive. Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: n At 5:56 a.m., a fire alarm in the 400 block of Normal Avenue. n At 6:25 a.m., emergency medical service in the 600 block of Maple Street...

Friday n Second annual Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival @ downtown Cape Girardeau, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. n Chapel Choir @ Grace United Methodist Church, 7 p.m. n "Ye Shall Be Witnesses" Easter pageant @ First Baptist Church, Jackson, 7 p.m. n "Angels in America" @Rust Flexible Theatre, 7:30 p.m...

For residents of towns along the Red River and the Missouri River in North Dakota, flooding is no stranger. Devastating inundations have become all too familiar, and this year's flooding has disrupted the lives of thousands whose homes, businesses, factories and schools have been affected in one way or another...

Early this year my wife slipped and broke her wrist. I called 911, and while my sense of time was off due to stress, it seemed as though I hung up the phone and three firefighters walked through the door. It was immediately obvious that the pros had arrived and everything was going to be OK. They used ice packs, concern and a professional sense of humor to care for us until the ambulance arrived...

People who think they can shut down Rush Limbaugh are a prime example of the miscalculating danger and arrogance of ignorance President Obama is instituting in America. Rush Limbaugh is exercising his First Amendment rights. When the radical left was advancing its agenda with outrageous propaganda to neutralize opposition, its demands for free speech were always accompanied with this admonishment to the rest of us: "I may not agree with what he says, but I'll defend to the death his right to say it!". ...

Educators' challenge; Inappropriate content; Waiting for the rest; Not so insignificant; City expenses; Deadly bailouts; Mailbox access; Look in the mirror; Offensive plays; Play money; Great performance; Hear the message; Study the Chinese; Don't go overboard; Adapt to change

Penny Suzanne Leirer, 48, of Jackson lost her battle with cancer at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. The Lord called her home Thursday, April 2, 2009. One of five daughters, Penny was born Aug. 29, 1960, in Cape Girardeau, to Paul and Marilyn Grossheider Priest. She and Gary Leirer were married Oct. 16, 1982, in Jackson...

James Morrell Godwin, 89, of Oak Ridge died Wednesday, April 1, 2009, in Tulsa, Okla. He was born Jan. 8, 1920, on a farm between Jackson and Oak Ridge, son of James Shelton and Daisy Cowan Godwin. Godwin grew up in a family of 10 children and attended a one-room school called Roberts School for his elementary schooling. After graduating from Jackson High School, Morrell began working at the Jackson Hosiery Mill...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Charles Clayton Smith, 86, of Perryville died Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at Perry Oaks Manor in Perryville. He was born April 1, 1923, in Whitewater, son of Arthur Vernon and Clola Idell Ramsey Smith. He and Pauline Virginia Birkman were married Sept. 19, 1945, in Arkansas...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Elva Townsend, daughter of the late Bill and Fannie Bright Stacy, was born in Leora, Mo., on Jan. 9, 1922, and passed away at the Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau on Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at the age of 87. Mrs. Townsend lived in the Bloomfield area all her life...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Loyd Huffman, 85, of Advance died April 2, 2009, at Advance Nursing Center. He was born May 19, 1923, in Cape Girardeau County, son of Lee and Ida Barks Huffman. He and Anna Lois Eaker were married Nov. 29, 1946, in Marble Hill, Mo...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Bill Garner, 70, of Dexter died April 2, 2009, at St. Louis University Hospital. He was born May 17, 1938, at Dexter, son of Bert and Goldie Dillingham Garner. He and Betty Sue LeBeau were married May 20, 1962, at Dexter. He was a member of the First Christian Church (Disciples Of Christ) in Dexter, the former co-owner of Garner Appliance in Dexter and a former maintenance employee for the Dexter School District...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Betty Jo Giesler, 74, of Perryville died Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at her home. She was born July 26, 1934, at Arab, Mo., daughter of Roy A. and Geneva Nichols Lingle. She and James Cato were married Dec. 23, 1950, in Piggott, Ark. He died Nov. 14, 1968. She later married Adrian Giesler June 23, 1980, in St. Louis. He also preceded her in death...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Another barrage of storms hit the Southeast on Thursday, spawning possible tornadoes, causing a passenger train to hit a fallen tree and sending at least one person to the hospital after lightning struck a home. Flood warnings as well as tornado watches and warnings were in effect around the region...

SYDNEY -- Australia adopted the U.N.'s declaration of indigenous rights Friday, reversing its earlier opposition in what officials said was an effort to "reset" relations between white Australians and Aborigines. The support for the nonbinding declaration is a largely symbolic step, but extends a dramatic shift in policy on Aborigines since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was elected 17 months ago...

SEOUL, South Korea -- World leaders sought a unified response Thursday to North Korea's latest provocation as the communist regime made final preparations for a controversial rocket launch and Japan braced for the possibility of falling debris...

RIO DE JANEIRO -- A Roman Catholic archbishop whose statements about the Holocaust have come under fire met with Jewish leaders this week to clarify his claim that Jewish domination of the media has obscured the toll of non-Jews killed by the Nazis...

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge ruled Thursday that some prisoners in the war on terror can use U.S. civilian courts to challenge their detention at a military air base in Afghanistan, for the first time extending rights given to Guantanamo Bay detainees elsewhere in the world...

Habitat for Humanity leaders are celebrating a victory in the Missouri House of Representatives after legislation passed Wednesday allowing most of its families to remain eligible for its home building program. Sponsored by Rep. Clint Tracy, House Bill 802 doubles the income limit for low-income people living in Habitat for Humanity and other taxpayer-supported homes. ...

Horrell; Ackman; Blyzes; McDonald; Shores; Pierce; Sansone

WASHINGTON -- The man who built insurance giant American International Group Inc. from a startup to a global behemoth said he didn't mismanage the company -- but the government did. Following weeks of public and congressional outrage over largest corporate failure in U.S. history, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, AIG's chief executive until March 2005, said taxpayers got a raw deal in the largest bailout of the financial crisis...

Using a few items from around the house you can make your own hot air balloon. Materials n Hair dryer n Trash bag n Tap Instructions STEP 1: Using the hair dryer fill the trash bag with hot air. NOTE: You will get the best results with this experiment if it's done outside on a cold morning...

25 years ago: April 3, 1984 The windows at the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau will be replaced with ones similar in appearance, following action taken by the County Court yesterday; the court voted to award a contract to E.R. Thompson and Co. of Cape Girardeau, low bidder for the base window project at $37,575...

Miss Kitty, our cat of unknown ancestry who now rules the Sullivan house as queen of all she surveys, has an annoying habit, one she is turning into a rebuke of those humans who fail to comply with her every command. Let's start at the beginning. Miss Kitty joined the Sullivan royal-free household a few years ago after being a stray. ...

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com The next phase of a widening project closed Independence Street on Thursday between Kingshighway and Clark Avenue in Cape Girardeau. Contractors estimate that the project will be finished in six weeks. Eastbound traffic will remain open....

LOS ANGELES -- Megan Joy says she was just being goofy and showing her love of birds when she flapped her way across the "American Idol" stage. "I love birds and bird noises," said Joy, who was eliminated from the TV show Wednesday. "I just decided that if I'm going out, I'm going out with a bang and I'm just going to be myself. So I ... flew the whole time."...

On March 20, reporters broke the astonishing news that a report from the Missouri Department of Public Safety was distributed to law enforcement agencies across our state that depicted Christians, anti-abortionists, advocates for protecting our borders and supporters of certain political candidates as potential "threats" to public safety...

Candidates in Tuesday's municipal elections are speaking directly to voters through the Southeast Missourian's online election page. The responses to the Southeast Missourian's candidate questionnaire are posted at http://semissourian.com/election. ...

CHICAGO -- Ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was indicted Thursday on charges of trying to auction off President Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat along with new corruption allegations that he tried to extort a congressman. A 19-count federal indictment alleges that Blagojevich discussed with aides the possibility of getting a Cabinet post in the new president's administration, substantial fundraising assistance or a high-paying job in exchange for the Senate seat...

LONDON -- Anxiously assembled at the most perilous moment for the global economy since the Great Depression, the world's financial powers pledged more than $1 trillion Thursday for emergency loans to contain the contagion. But they rebuffed President Obama's bid for new stimulus spending and made no guarantees of success...

WASHINGTON -- Fresh signs that factories are coming back to life and a bank chief executive officer's encouraging outlook fueled more hopes Thursday that the economy may soon emerge from the cellar, briefly lifting the Dow Jones industrials over 8,000 for the first time in two months...

PHILADELPHIA -- Though it looks like a cardboard tube that got left out in the rain, it's a priceless instrument whose owner changed the world. The mottled brown cylinder on display at The Franklin Institute science museum is a 400-year-old telescope used by Galileo Galilei, whose observations of the heavens ultimately changed the face of not only astronomy but all of science...

Chuck Goodale, who has served as a pole vaulting instructor at high schools including Kelly, Scott City, Central and now Notre Dame, said the athletes who become involved in the technical field event typically are the fearless ones. "To a lot of people, [pole vaulting] looks like fun, but at the same time they would say, 'I wouldn't do that in a million years,'" Goodale said. ...

Southeast Missouri State's annual outdoor track and field meet will feature some of the best overall competition it has seen in years. That's the opinion of Eric Crumpecker, Southeast's first-year coach who served as an assistant with the program since 1991...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Florida Marlins right-hander Josh Johnson finished his first healthy spring in three years with a strong start Thursday in a 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Johnson, who will start the second game of the season, allowed a run and five hits in four innings to finish with a 3.23 ERA in seven Grapefruit League games -- six starts...

DETROIT -- Not even David Backes could explain what happened. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound winger scored a career-high four goals, including the go-ahead score with 4:07 left, in the surging St. Louis Blues' 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night...

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears agreed to a three-year deal with free agent Orlando Pace on Thursday, adding a seven-time Pro Bowl tackle to their offensive line on the same day they acquired quarterback Jay Cutler in a trade with Denver. Released by the Rams three weeks ago in a move to clear $6 million in cap room, the 33-year-old Pace joins a team that suddenly has a different look on offense after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year...

NEW YORK -- Whitesnake. Cinderella. Flock of Seagulls. These did little to help the legacy of 1980s rock music. Did The Replacements, Husker Du and Crowded House do enough to save it? Two new works, the Broadway musical "Rock of Ages" and the new Greg Mottola film "Adventureland," present opposite soundtracks for the Reagan era: While the stage production revels in hair-band kitsch, the more indie-minded "Adventureland" is nostalgic for the sounds of `80s underground...

Dalhousie tourneyhonored by AJGA The Dalhousie Junior Championship has earned the American Junior Golf Association's Tournament of the Year award for the second straight year, the AJGA announced Thursday. The second edition of the tournament was held Aug. 11 to 14 at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau...

Oshie honored by NHL ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues center T.J. Oshie is the NHL's player of the month for March. The honor was announced Thursday. Oshie has played a big role in helping the Blues get back into the playoff hunt in the Western Conference. He had four goals and nine assists in 14 games in March, a stretch when the Blues went 9-4-1...

HONORS & ACHIEVEMENTS n Kathryn Mothershead of Cape Girardeau was a member of the national championship xTax team from Baylor University that competed Washington, D.C., to address tax policy issues. n Shaina Grigery of Sikeston, Mo., attended the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C...

Storytelling is not confined to the Storytelling Festival this weekend. Cape Girardeau is coming alive for spring, and many events are starting or continuing. At the Red House Interpretive Center, docents will be dressed in period clothes to tell stories about Cape Girardeau founder Louis Lorimier and his visit with Lewis and Clark...

The Marquette Tower and Marquette Centre in downtown Cape Girardeau has changed hands again. On March 20, a Springfield, Mo.-based development company bought the two buildings and adjoining parking lot for "between $3 million and $4 million," said Trevor Gregg of G&S Holdings LLC...

When the curtain goes up on Notre Dame Regional High School's production of "Anything Goes," Samantha Rellergert will be running the show backstage. Rellergert, a senior, has been constructing sets and helping backstage throughout high school. In all, she has worked on eight productions...

Southeast Missouri State University is considering a plan to increase the number of parking spaces on campus to ease demands on the south end of the university. The $1.4 million project goes in front of the board of regents for approval during their meeting today...

There is a need to make higher education more available locally, according to a study released today by a coalition of 11 business and education leaders. The 238-page report concluded that there are educational gaps in the Cape Girardeau area for nontraditional students who do not pursue a four-year degree...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Bloomfield man charged in connection with a standoff the day after Thanksgiving 2008 requested and was granted a pretrial psychiatric evaluation Wednesday in a Bloomfield courtroom. Danny W. Pullum, 50 of Bloomfield, was not in court Wednesday, but his attorney, Robin Phelan Northern, appeared and made the formal request...

Two rural fire districts hope Tuesday's election will signal the end of a tumultuous chapter for their fire boards, even as a campaign flier has raised new questions and concerns for current board members in one of the districts. On Tuesday, the Millersville Fire District board filed a complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission over a campaign flier included in the monthly bill sent to Public Water Supply District No. 2 customers, said board chairman Jim Roche...

Small Town Boyz have been named one of the TOP 50 bands in the 2009 Fender Road Worn Competion, but it's not over yet. Small Town Boyz are now competing for the TOP 25 ROUND in this competition that has spanned all across the U.S. One of the band members commented, "Hundreds have been cut from the competition, so we feel very fortunate to still be in this! We couldn't do this without our friends, family, and community support."...

More than 2,500 grade-school students got a new view of history Friday afternoon at the second annual Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival. Storytellers from around the country enlightened students from Missouri and Illinois on such topics as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's travels in the United States and Missouri native Bertha Gifford, America's first female serial killer...

Nearly every Good Friday since 2001, Jan Rigdon has gathered with fellow Christians for a stroll through downtown Cape Girardeau to commemorate Jesus' crucifixion. This Friday will be no different when Rigdon and about 100 other ministers and lay people are expected to participate in the Way of the Cross, a devotional journey sponsored by the Downtown Council of Churches. ...

Tuition rates will remain the same next year for Southeast Missouri State University students. As part of a proposal from Gov. Jay Nixon, state funding for higher education will continue at the same levels as last year, provided institutions do not raise fees...

When the residents of Dutchtown incorporated in 1998, the No. 1 reason was to use the status as an official village to secure money for a flood control project. When massive rains sent floodwaters surging through town last year, it not only damaged most of the homes in this town of 100, it also exposed conflicts among village leaders over a proposed levee...

Southeast Missourian Former Cape Girardeau city manager W. Gale Lawley died Friday at age 79 in Dallas. Lawley was the second city manager of Cape Girardeau. He was hired officially July 1, 1970, and resigned effective February 1981 after a decade on the job. ...

Southeast Missourian The Cape Girardeau Social Security office will close for a day Friday and reopen April 13 in new quarters at 2445 Cape Centre Drive. The offices will move from 339 Broadway as part of a general move by federal agencies from the building, once Cape Girardeau's federal courthouse, empty sometime this year. The telephone number will remain the same, 866-931-7077. Office hours at the new location will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday...

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce announced its educators of the year Friday morning at the First Friday Coffee. The recipients are Dr .Jeremy Barnes, Southeast Missouri State University; Shawn Brooks, Alma Schrader Elementary; Yvonne Campbell, Jefferson Elementary; Sue Cook, Franklin and Clippard elementaries; and Patricia Heisserer, St. Vincent de Paul School...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Southeast Missouri aluminum smelter has donated nearly $80,000 to fight efforts by AmerenUE to change how customers are billed for construction of electric power plants. State campaign finance records show Noranda Aluminum Inc. on Friday donated $78,570 to Missourians Against Higher Utility Rates. That committee is sponsoring ads critical of AmerenUE...

Junior Seth Stevens went hitless in Saxony Lutheran's first three games, but he delivered RBI singles each time he stepped to plate against Bell City on Friday. "First couple games I've just been a little off, but I've been working on it," Stevens said. "And this game I started hitting it and it feels really good."...

All signs point to Dickey Nutt's first hire as Southeast Missouri State's basketball coach being Jeremy Case. The Lawrence-Journal World reported this week that Case, a former Kansas University player, has landed a job as a Southeast assistant. Nutt, when contacted Friday, would neither confirm nor deny that Case will be joining the Redhawks...

The bar at Port Cape Girardeau will be open tonight after firefighters extinguished a lunchtime cooking fire, said owner Doc Cain. About 25 people evacuated the downtown restaurant around 1 p.m. today. The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire in about 15 minutes, battalion chief Brad Dillow said...

Marble Hill First Assembly of God will be hosting a very special Easter service on Sunday, April 12 at 11 AM. It will be unlike your traditional Easter Sunday service. It will feature ventriloquism, puppets, gospel illusions and special music. Pastor Dan and Carmen Montgomery have traveled professionally over the years conducting special family crusades, Kid's Camps, Public School Assemblies and Special Community Events. ...

NEW YORK -- Not even more job losses could get in the stock market's way Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average ended above 8,000 for the first time in nearly two months, and logged a fourth straight week of gains. The last time the Dow rose for four consecutive weeks was between September and October 2007 -- when the index reached its record above 14,000...

LOS ANGELES -- Paul McCartney may have a knighthood, but it's George Harrison who is receiving the royal treatment from the Hollywood Walk of Fame this month. Harrison will receive a star on the fabled walk April 14, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced Friday. His widow, Olivia Harrison, and his son, Dhani, are expected to attend the unveiling...

WINSTON, Mo. -- Authorities have located 92 dogs and puppies and are searching for 100 more they believe were living in a squalid, unlicensed northwest Missouri puppy mill. The 92 small-breed dogs, including Yorkshire terriers, Pekingese, Chihuahuas, Maltese and miniature pinschers and poodles, were transported Friday from the Kansas City area to the Humane Society of Missouri's St. Louis headquarters, where they will be cared for...

Counties across Missouri are in the midst of their every-other-year reassessment process. County assessors will be notifying owners by May of the values at which their property will be assessed for tax purposes. Under reassessment, property is supposed to be taxed based on current market values. ...

It has become increasingly evident that the agenda of our new president, Barack Obama, is aggressive. But there is a good reason for this, as there is much that desperately needs to be done. The only way to get everything accomplished is to give President Obama more time in office. Eight years simply isn't going to be enough for him or this country...

Best of luck; Tea protest; Sounds familiar; Restoring sanity; Constant reminder; Control the Fed

Hear us, O God, when we confess our shortcomings, and forgive us. Amen.

CHELMSFORD, Mass. -- Jayna Dinsmore dressed in a sharp pink blouse and black slacks and made the pitch she hoped would end her five months of unemployment: Experienced marketing manager and analyst. Diverse background. Trade show experience. Only she wasn't talking to an interviewer. She was talking to a TV camera...

ATLANTA -- Newly published photographs of the aftermath of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. languished for decades in Life magazine's archive before being published on the magazine's website this week. About a dozen black-and-white pictures that went online Thursday include scenes of King's associates meeting solemnly in the civil rights leader's motel room and standing on the balcony where he stood for the last time, and workers cleaning the last of the blood...

NEW YORK -- Two New York City fried chicken restaurants in predominantly black neighborhoods are under fire for putting President Obama's name on their signs. City Councilman Charles Barron said Friday that he will organize a demonstration next week outside Obama Fried Chicken in his Brooklyn district. Organizers said they also may target Obama Fried Chicken & Pizza in Harlem...

TAMPA, Fla. -- In an emotional conclusion to a federal trial, an Egyptian student was found not guilty on charges of carrying explosives that prosecutors said could have been used to build a dangerous rocket. Youssef Samir Megahed's family teared up as the jury read its verdict Friday afternoon, finding him not guilty of carrying explosives across state lines and possessing a destructive device...

NEWARK, N.J. -- State regulators Friday temporarily suspended the medical license of a doctor who health officials suspect is linked to a hepatitis B outbreak. Nearly 3,000 of Dr. Parvez Dara's patients have been warned to get tested after five cancer patients tested positive for the disease, which is transmitted through exposure to infected blood and can cause serious liver damage...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A gunman barricaded the back door of a community center with his car and then opened fire on a room full of immigrants taking a citizenship class Friday, killing 13 people before apparently committing suicide, officials said...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea said preparations to launch a communications satellite into space were complete this morning, and liftoff was imminent. Spy satellites trained high-resolution cameras on a coastal launch pad for a launch the North earlier advised international authorities would take place sometime between today and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m....

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani authorities ordered inquiries Friday into a video showing the public flogging of a screaming woman in a northwestern valley where officials have yielded to Taliban demands for Islamic law. A militant spokesman defended the punishment, fueling a furor that cast more doubt on a creaking peace deal in the Swat valley that U.S. officials fear has created another haven for allies of al-Qaida...

A Friday afternoon fire at 126 S. Hanover St. caused light to moderate smoke damage, said Cape Girardeau Fire Department battalion chief Fred Vincel. The fire started in the area of the clothes dryer of the two-story home, Vincel said, but was out in a matter of minutes. No one was home at the time, but a small dog was rescued from the house without injury...

WASHINGTON -- Chief Justice John Roberts has granted the Obama administration's request to the Supreme Court to block the release of certain sex offenders who have completed their federal prison terms. The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., had earlier invalidated a law allowing the indefinite commitment of "sexually dangerous" prison inmates...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama intends to lift the U.S. ban on family members traveling to Cuba and remittances to the island, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The move would fulfill a pledge Obama made during the presidential campaign and could signal a new openness with the communist nation, the newspaper said on its website...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday: n At 3:32 p.m., mutual aid/emergency medical service at Bloomfield Road and Stonebridge Drive. n At 5:15 p.m., emergency medical service in the 2000 block of Broadway...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Charlotte M. Wren, 30, 2416 Hilltop Lane, was arrested on suspicion of stealing and fraudulent use of a credit device...

Waymon G. Lawley DALLAS. -- Gale Lawley, 79, died Friday, April 3, 2009 in Dallas. Gale was born Jan. 25, 1930, in Davis, Okla., to Carl and Hattie Horn Lawley. He attended high school in Kilgore, Texas, served in the Air Force during the Korean conflict, received a bachelor of science degree from Texas Christian University and later attended University of Kansas as a post graduate. He was married to Joyce Oliver from 1963 until her death in 1990...

Loreen Gladish Loreen Jane Gladish, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 2, 2009, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Lorese Gury DONGOLA, Ill. -- Lorese Brown Gury, 93, of St. Louis, formerly of Dongola, died Friday, April 3, 2009, at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis. Friends may call from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Crain Funeral Home in Anna-Jonesboro, Ill...

An article in Friday's edition about elections for seats on the Millersville Fire District board incorrectly identified the source of a complaint to the Missouri Ethics Commission. The complaint was filed by district board member Lori Aufdenberg. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error...

25 years ago: April 4, 1984 David Barklage, a 22-year-old Southeast Missouri State University student, outdistanced the field in yesterday's Cape Girardeau municipal election to win a place on the city council; two incumbents, Peter Hilty and Curtis Smith, were re-elected to the council...

The Kiwanis Club of Cape Girardeau is hosting its annual '50s and '60s rock and roll dance party from 8 p.m. to midnight today at the Arena Building. "The music from the '50s and '60s was just the most fun," said Fred Horrell, event organizer and Kiwanis member. "The melodies caught you and it had the beat to it. Folks usually stay all night and have a heck of a good time."...

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com Hops Harvey the Buckner Bunny visits with Tonya Henderson, 8, of Cape Girardeau, Friday at Buckner Brewing Company. ...

There is some food that is so good to eat it sets my mouth to watering. Chicken on biscuits, for example. Angelfood cake, with or without icing. All of us probably have our favorites. Since coming to Southeast Missouri, I have had the best bean soup of my life in a little country store in Leopold that serves lunch to a coterie of regular customers. ...

"I am the recipient of unexpected joy," was how the card was signed. This hand-penned note (handwritten notes always carry more weight than e-mail) expressed in simple words an abundance of living. This is a good tag line; I have referenced it more than once...

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage Friday in a unanimous decision that makes Iowa the third state -- and first in the nation's heartland -- to allow same-sex couples to wed. Iowa joins only Massachusetts and Connecticut in permitting same-sex marriage. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November...

FLORISSANT, Mo. -- Police say a man intentionally drove his car through the front doors of a St. Louis County nursing home Friday, causing the car to catch fire and injuring the driver and one resident. The incident happened about 6:30 a.m. at St. Sophia Health and Rehabilitation Center, a 240-bed facility in Florissant. After crashing through the front doors, the car came to a rest in the lobby and caught fire...

PLEASANT HILL, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon said work will begin this month on linking the Kansas City area to the Katy Trail that stretches across the state. Nixon was in Pleasant Hill on Friday at what is planned to be the westernmost trail head of the trail. The 46-mile segment will link the area to Windsor, where the trail now passes...

CHICAGO -- Rod Blagojevich's schemes and corruption stretch back beyond trying to sell a Senate seat, beyond handing out jobs to political donors and even beyond his first day in the Illinois governor's office, federal prosecutors say. While he campaigned on a promise to clean up after the scandals of the previous governor, Blagojevich and a handful of political pals already were planning to line their pockets and split the money after Blagojevich left office, according to a 19-count indictment.. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- A complaint of a suspicious package Wednesday led to the seizure of an alleged mobile meth lab and the arrest of an East Prairie, Mo., man in Scott County, according to a Scott County Sheriff's Department news release. Deputy Jeremy Perrien responded to Route O on a report of a suspicious package that appeared to be intentionally placed on the side of the road, the news release said. ...

Music Concert David Patillo performs at Bethany Baptist Church. When: 6:30 p.m. today Where: 1712 Randol Ave., Cape Girardeau Cantata The chancel choir cantata "Come, Touch the Robe" at Centenary United Methodist Church features an 18-piece orchestra and KFVS12 anchor Jim Burns...

NEW YORK -- Jamelle Cornley scored 18 points and the Penn State used a big second half to beat Baylor 69-63 on Thursday night and win the NIT title. It was just the second postseason tournament championship in school history. Super sophomore Talor Battle added 12 points, all in the second half, for the Nittany Lions (27-11)...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The new seven-year deal for Missouri men's basketball coach Mike Anderson has been approved by the university board. The board OK'd the contract Friday after the school announced the new deal earlier this week. Anderson will earn $1.35 million each year as well as an additional $200,000 in deferred annual payments...

DETROIT -- They're not quite who we thought they were. North Carolina isn't exactly that group of kids who just couldn't resist banding together to take another shot at winning the national title. Villanova isn't exactly that lovable little underdog looking for the perfect game, a la the 1985 title team led by Rollie Massimino...

DETROIT -- Oklahoma sophomore forward Blake Griffin was the runaway choice as The Associated Press' college basketball player of the year. The 6-foot-10 Griffin averaged 22.7 points and led the nation with 14.4 rebounds per game while shooting a Big 12 record 65.4 percent from the field. Griffin led the Sooners to a 30-6 record and the regional finals of the NCAA tournament.Griffin had 30 double-doubles this season...

Southeast Missouri State gymnastics coach Tom Farden would rather be with his entire squad in Arkansas. Farden had to settle for four of his athletes -- not that he's complaining. Despite missing out on a team postseason berth, Southeast will be well represented at tonight's NCAA South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Ark...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team will look to continue the program's best league start in 26 years. Standing in the way will be the Ohio Valley Conference's top squad over the past five years -- Jacksonville State. The squads will have a three-game series at Capaha Field beginning with today's 1 p.m. doubleheader -- Kohlfeld Distributing will provide free food and beverages -- followed by Sunday's 1 p.m. contest...

Brandon Colbert of host Southeast Missouri State finished seventh in the men's hammer throw as the Joey Haines Invitational track and field meet began at the Abe Stuber Complex. Colbert was the only Southeast entrant in the hammer throw, the lone event on Friday's schedule. His distance was 175 feet, 2 inches...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Albert Pujols drove in six runs and Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds 13-1 on Friday night at AutoZone Park. Pujols launched a two-run homer onto the left-field bluff in the third inning -- his second homer of the spring -- and hit a three-run double into the left-field corner in the fourth...

Shae Simmons had a dominating display on the mound Friday as the Scott City baseball team nipped Sullivan 1-0 in the Festus tournament. Simmons, a senior who has signed to play at Southeast Missouri State, fired a one-hitter and struck out 18 in going the seven-inning distance...

DEXTER, Mo. -- An Essex woman remained hospitalized this morning after the building in which she was working collapsed, trapping her under the rubble. Sixty-four-year-old Laura Heppe and her husband, Earl, had been working to dismantle a backyard shed this week; and while Earl Heppe was gone on an errand to Dexter, his wife proceeded by herself to remove more boards from the partially dismantled shed. ...

Southeast Missourian Construction on Perry Avenue/Perryville Road will continue Monday, closing the northbound lane of Perryville Road and Perry Avenue for two weeks for concrete repair work, the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department announced. Northbound traffic will be diverted from Perryville Road east to West End Boulevard at New Madrid Street, with detoured traffic being returned to Perryville Road via Bertling Street. ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Bloomfield man charged in connection with a standoff the day after Thanksgiving 2008 requested and was granted a pretrial psychiatric evaluation Wednesday in a Bloomfield courtroom. Danny W. Pullum, 50 of Bloomfield, was not in court Wednesday, but his attorney, Robin Phelan Northern, appeared and made the formal request...

BENTON, Mo. -- The Scott County Sheriff's Department recovered $20,000 worth of stolen property, leading to charges against three adults and two juveniles, according to a sheriff's department news release. Most of the items were stolen in March, but one item, an all-terrain vehicle, was stolen from the Kelso, Mo., area in December 2007. ...

Storyteller Andy Offutt Irwin entertained the crowd at the Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival for 45 minutes Saturday without music, props, bells or whistles. He simply spoke about Aunt Marguerite, an 85-year-old Southern woman trying to keep her driver's license, adjusting to using a debit card and dealing with the loss of friends...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team continued the program's best league start in 26 years by winning the opener of Saturday's doubleheader. Southeast lamented the fact its undefeated Ohio Valley Conference record did not last the day. The Redhawks built a 7-1 lead through four innings off Jacksonville State All-American pitcher Ben Tootle, who is projected as a first-round draft pick...

Ever since a tornado tore through Jackson on May 6, 2003, 10-year-old Lydia Pensel has had a phobia of storms. Even though the twister missed the Pensel family home, thunderstorms and the prospect of bad weather cause Lydia to be what she describes as "very anxious."...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce president Donnia Mayfield is at her wits' end wondering if the community wants to continue the Fall Festival or Bollinger County Fair -- whatever it will be called -- enough to help organize it...

About 25 people evacuated Port Cape Girardeau restaurant Saturday afternoon because of a cooking fire. The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded at about 1 p.m. and extinguished the fire in about 15 minutes, said battalion chief Brad Dillow. He said the damage was contained to the kitchen. Crews cleared smoke from the building for about an hour, he said. There were no injuries...

Meet the artist The Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center will feature photographer Kevin Ward from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Nature Center. His work has helped catalog rare species believed to be unfamiliar in certain Missouri counties. His line of greeting cards and photographs can be found at "The Gallery" in Marquand, Mo., where he resides...

Fifty-three women have reported rapes in the last three years to Cape Girardeau police. Police investigators determined that just over half of those rapes were "unfounded" or that they never occurred. That number is six times higher than what is reported across the state, according to the highway patrol...

Mr. and Mrs. Alvin W. Kamp of Jackson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a family dinner Dec. 19, 2008, at Port Cape Girardeau. Hosts were his daughter, Deborah Clifton of Cape Girardeau, and her son, Lee Fronabarger of Carbondale, Ill. Guests attended from Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Millersville, and Willow Springs, Mo., and Carbondale...

A Honor Roll 6th grade: Shelby Beggs, Kara Heeb, Sarah Hupp Jacob Riley 7th grade: Trey Scheurenberg, Trey Walker, Breanna White, Audrey Wilkerson 8th grade: Hailey Alley, Jeannie Campbell, Nathan Chandler, Brent Forck, Adisynne Neumeyer, Zachary Rhodes, Jessica Schmidt, Amy Tew, Jessica Worth...

A Honor Roll 4th grade: Harrison Ayers, Jacob Camp, Katherine Carns, Jacquen Cummins, Natalie Davis, Madilyn Dunn, Madison Dush, Yasdani Gonzalez, Madalyn Gutierrez, Emily Hiatt, Katie Kinder, Dylan Kyle, Trenton Leimer, Marisol Morales, Michael Morrison, Alicia Stull, Steven Sundstrom, Luke Wilson...

A Honor Roll 7th Grade: Mikayla Marler, Emily Merick, Dillan Vandeven, Emily Davis. 8th Grade: Kaitlin Northern 9th Grade: Tyler Blankenship, Kelsey Whitehead, Devin Gregory 10th Grade: Alisha Hendrix, Angela Dickinson, Stefanie Slemmer, Justin Stotts, Michael Holman...

3rd Quarter A Honor Roll 4th Grade: Winston Welter 5th Grade: Marisa Hall, Olivia Jordan, 6th Grade: Joseph Beggs, Morgan Campbell, Lyndsie Robert, Rhett Simmons 7th Grade: Macy Hall, Shelby Rhymer 8th Grade: Loney Pender B Honor Roll...

St. Vincent De Paul Parish School 3rd quarter A Honor Roll 4th grade: Lindsay Parker, Destiny Bruenderman, Jack Essner, Andrew Little, Christopher Huckstep, Austin Van de Ven, Claudia Price, Annie Martin, Brooke Essner, Faith Essner, Sylvia Kolda, Lindsay Peters, Sam Mocherman, Maddie McClintock and Jordan Huff...

4th grade: Kyle Keller, Steven Masterson, Beth Mize, Brynn Myers, Katelyn Oehl, Olivia Ruiz, Maci Schamburg, Jarett Seabaugh, McKenzie Slinkard. 5th grade: Dakota DeRousse, Jessica Hahs, Shianna Hengl, Madison LeGrand, Ashley Lemonds, Tessa Mangels and Abigale Matthews...

Zalma Elementary A Honor Roll 1st grade: Eythan Burkman, Zach Findley, Haley Gunn, Megan Harvell, Mikayla Sargent, Hunter Stotts, Olivia Whitehead 2nd grade: Kordell Newberry, Emily Pickett, Arayah Wagner, Madison Younger 3rd grade: Jacob Borders, Shontel Ely, Julia Gregory, Brett Hovis, Callie Robinson, MacKenzie Rogers, Cierra Schmidt, Scott Robinson, Esther Jones...

A Honor Roll 4th grade: Allison Vaughn, Kimberly Jones. B Honor Roll 4th grade: Nathan Hicks, Grace Nall, Dontay Hartfield, Blake Harris, Chaliya Bell, Madison Sides, Brett Kinder, Alexis Patterson, Kaitlyn Dodd, Colletta Pair, Alyssa Lance, Andrew Lawson, Madison Bittner...

3rd grade: Hallie Bollinger, Jace Russom, Brooklyn Sadler, Tucker Chaney, Tyler Whistler, Kallie Brewer, Mattison Cline, Alyssa Lunsford, Brandon Wallce. 4th grade: Isaac Bedwell, Dawson Copeland, Ricky Dennis, Ryan Holderfield, Sydney Kelso, Aaron Medlin, Anna Sadler, Kiley Wicker, Jaylynn Cabaniss, Kerri Cannon, Kody Olsen, Cody Pepple, Jordan Walker, Brandon Wiley...

Kindergarten: Kaya Carroll, Colby Crader, Lauren Crutsinger, Emily Landewee, Dale Lincoln, Katelyn Lunsford, Hunter Ourth, Danielle Thomas, Garrett Vandeven, Seth Hubbard, Mason Sitzes 1st grade: Ryan Birkman, Coley Blattel, Jonathan Bond, Katelyn Borneman, Grant Coomer, Morgan Crutsinger, Ashgen Dozier, Chloe Hamilton, Anna Hanselman, Devin Lesch, Logan Rhodes, Andrea Slinkard, Isaiah Thomas, Colton White, Skylar Barr...

Jefferson Elementary A Honor Roll 4th grade: Emily Bagby, Madison Hankins, Sky Miller, Cassie Musgrave, Kirstin Weinzetl B Honor Roll 4th grade: Dallas Buchanan, Rebekah Garner, Keira Grigsby, Abby Hoxworth, Justice Oats, Collin Smith, Mark Smith, Kaylee Stinnett-Robinson, Kiana Winters...

COMMERCE, Mo. -- Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. "Bob" Michael Jr. of Commerce celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by attending St. Paul United Methodist Church, followed by a brunch reception in the fellowship hall March 1. Hosts were their children and grandchildren...

Bill and Pat Heckert of Fallbrook, Calif., formerly of Cape Girardeau, announce the engagement of their son, Justin William Heckert, to Amanda Kathleen Brown, both of Atlanta, Ga. She is the daughter of Lee and Rene Brown of Inman, S.C. Heckert is a graduate of Central High School. He received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He is a writer with ESPN The Magazine...

Larry and Sheila Gray of Cape Girardeau and Rick and Vicki Winchester of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Rhonda Gray, to Todd Allen Cunningham. He is the son of Robert and Lucille Cunningham of Ottawa, Ill., and Linda Cunningham of Marseilles, Ill...

Vince and Jan Kelley of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily Marie Kelley, to Benjamin Samuel Johnson. He is the son of Rick and Susan Brunke of Jackson and Samuel Johnson of Commerce, Mo. Kelley is a 2004 graduate of Notre Dame Regional High School. She expects to graduate in May from Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She is employed at Saint Francis Medical Center...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Brian and Laurie Bachmann of Perryville announce the engagement of their daughter, Natalie Bachmann, to Kyle Lorenz. He is the son of Terry and Carol Lorenz of Farrar, Mo. Bachmann is a 2005 graduate of Perryville High School. ...

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Petrea of Ruka, Ill., announce the engagement of their daughter, Miranda Luanne Petrea, to Thomas James McClintock. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Tom McClintock of Murphysboro, Ill. Petrea is a 2004 graduate of Salem Community High School. She received a degree in elementary education with certification in cross-categorical from Southeast Missouri State University in 2008. She is a fourth grade teacher with Cape Girardeau School District at Alma Schrader Elementary...

BENTON, Mo. -- Ron and Janis Burford of Benton announce the engagement of their daughter, Julie Renee Burford, to Randy E. Jennings Jr., both of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Randy and Jana Jennings of Bernie, Mo. Burford received a bachelor of science degree in dental hygiene from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2005. She is a registered dental hygienist at Cross Trails Medical Center in Cape Girardeau...

The Rev. Gary and Marilyn Hoffstetter of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Talitha Lynn Hoffstetter, to John Charles Beaudean. He is the son of Mark and Sally Beaudean of Cape Girardeau. Hoffstetter is a 2000 graduate of Moberly High School in Moberly, Mo. She received a bachelor of science degree in education and exercise science from Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo. She is a teacher and coach at Saxony Lutheran High School in Jackson...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Alicia Renea Halter and Michael Gene Vandeven were married April 5, 2008, at St. John's Catholic Church. Monsignor Ed Eftink performed the ceremony. Servers were Corey Yount and Austin Scott of Leopold, cousins of the bride. Readers were Dennis and Pam Horrell of Leopold, godparents of the bride...

Jennifer Renee Laws and Christian Roland Deschenes were married Nov. 8, 2008, at Mount Mariah Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Richard Summers performed the ceremony. Brett Yount played keyboards. The bride is the daughter of Laurie Laws of Richland, Mo. Roland and Irene Deschenes of Wilton, Maine, are parents of the groom...

Along with the many other examples of academic excellence among elementary, high school and college students in Southeast Missouri, now comes the 31st annual High School Art Exhibition that showcases the art of students and their teachers. Through April 22, the featured art is on display at the Crisp Museum at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus -- an excellent showcase for the efforts of the students and their teachers...

The only thing I knew about Junior Achievement was that it worked with students and taught them about business. Wow, was I wrong! Did you know that our JA branch, which was established in 1943, is supported by 5,000 volunteers who have served more than 119,000 children in Missouri and Illinois and we locally have 100 volunteers who serve 5,400 students? The programs are generously supported by local businesses and private donations...

Nuisance cameras; Judging Obama; Thanks for letter; Expressing outrage; Bullying advice; Pet donations; Smelly party

By Chris Guinther "It's an average teenager's weekday ... going to school, being beat up, having lunch money stolen ... the usual. It's sad to say, but bullying is at its worst these days. About 1 out of every 4 teens admits they are bullies or are being bullied. ...

By Richard Moe As legislators consider changing Missouri's Historic Tax Credit Program, one question is uppermost in their minds: Does it create jobs? In a time of economic turmoil and mounting budget deficits, that threshold question is the starting point for most legislative debates in Jefferson City this year...

Krispy Kreme doughnut sale Order doughnuts to raise money for March of Dimes babies until April 15. Call Shelly Kaiser, on the March of Dimes Montgomery Bank team at 331-8508. Pick up is from 9 to 11:30 a.m. April 18 at Montgomery Bank, 200 S. Mount Auburn Road...

Vernon Shell was born on a farm in Glen Allen, and spent 94 of his 103 years there, raising crops, cattle and his family. Shell celebrated his 103rd birthday March 27 at El Nathan Assisted Living Center with a cake decorated with a photo of him as a young farmer catching a young calf. ...

Volunteers with the March of Dimes do more than walk to raise money. Teams have organized doughnut sales, movie nights and today, one team is hosting "Ballgowns for Babies," a used formal gown sale in the Riverview Room above Buckner's Brewing Co. The new March of Dimes fundraiser will feature used, donated gowns for less than $100. High school students and sorority members, some of whom donated their gowns, will model the dresses in a fashion show at noon. The sale will start at 1 p.m...

Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program and Volunteer Intergenerational Center, serving Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, are recruiting volunteers for National Volunteer Week, April 19 to 25. It's your chance to do a good deed. Call 335-7555 or 573-887-3664 or e-mail rsvpvic@sbcglobal.net for more information or to sign up for a volunteer position...

CHICAGO -- The sponsor of a civil unions bill in Illinois said he's "delighted" by the Iowa Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex unions there. State Rep. Greg Harris said the Iowa decision shows the "the values of basic fairness are spreading from state to state."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- To see their two daughters from China or to hear them talk about the children around the world they sponsor, it is apparent Randy and Becky Haight are internationally minded. In recent years, events that seemed to have a divine orchestration to them have repeatedly turned their attention to Africa, specifically Ghana...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A second defendant has pleaded guilty in the shooting death of a 22-year-old Columbia man last summer. Michael Jaco, 18, of Columbia pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree robbery in the June 10 slaying of Nathaniel Bentley. Jaco had been scheduled to stand trial this week for second-degree murder...

CHICAGO -- Chicago wasted little time Saturday reminding the International Olympic Committee that President Obama really wants his hometown to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. From a video in which Obama extols the virtues of the city, to the short film on the city's history that features Obama's election night acceptance speech at Grant Park, it was clear the president is a key component of the bid...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday: n At 10:41 p.m., emergency medical service in the 2800 block of Cape La Croix Road. n At 10:50 p.m., emergency medical service in the 3000 block of Mimosa Drive. n At 11:46 p.m., emergency medical service in the 2100 block of William Street...

Cape Girardeau: DWIs; Arrests; Summonses; Burglary; Thefts; Property damage; Miscellaneous; Jackson: Theft; Summons; Property damage; Miscellaneous

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Hubert L. DeLay Sr., 83, died Friday, April 3, 2009, at his home in Sikeston following an extended illness. He was born July 19, 1925, near Advance, Mo. He and June E. Workman were married April 19, 1946. The son of the late David C. ...

Opal J. Borders, 79, passed away April 4, 2009, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. The daughter of the late Bartie and Myrtle Merritt Wise, Borders was born Feb. 22, 1930, near Bernie, Mo. She and Gerald Borders were married Sept. 3, 1965, in Mississippi...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Alice Neiswonger Morse, 89, of Princeton, Ky., died Friday, April 3, 2009, at Paducah Nursing Center in Paducah. She was born Jan. 20, 1920, in McClure, Ill., daughter of Jesse A. and Jennie Mae Murphy Colyer. She and Lee Woodrow Neiswonger where married Dec. 25, 1938 in Cape Girardeau. He died in 1964. Later she married Thomas Morse on Aug. 8, 1973, in Hopkinsville, Ky. He died in 2004...

Gary Allen Ferguson, 50, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, March 26, 2009, at his home. He was born March 5, 1959, in Wichita, Kan., to Cecil Harris and Billie Jean Johnston Ferguson. He married Lydia Ferguson in 2000. She died in 2005. Ferguson served in the U.S. Army in South Korea from 1979 to 1981. After his military service, he worked as a heavy equipment mechanic for John Deere in New Jersey...

Betty J. Smith, 76, of Jackson died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center in Cape Girardeau. She had lived there since Jan. 21. Smith was born Nov. 3, 1932, in Jackson, to Chester C. and Mildred B. Clippard Smith. Smith graduated from Jackson High School in 1951. ...

Arbra L. Silvius, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

KELSO, Mo. — Mary L. Glasser, 80, of Kelso died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at the Lutheran Home. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Home in Scott City.

25 years ago: April 5, 1984 A $3.2 million item to begin construction of a multipurpose building in Cape Girardeau is included in a $179 million capital improvements package approved today by the House Budget Committee headed by state Rep. Marvin E. Proffer of Jackson...

The look on the man's face said it all as he asked: Is that the new Z car? He was smitten, so much so he couldn't take his eyes off the 2009 370Z that I had parked at the curb. The reverential reaction is common for Nissan's new-generation Z car. People who know and appreciate the Z as an affordable sports car dating back to the 1970s were unabashed in their lust for the new model...

DETROIT -- Police in Detroit have ruffled some feathers after they cracked down on an organized pillow fight at a downtown park. The Detroit News reports that police at Campus Martius Park prevented the feathery fight Saturday by disarming pillow-toting participants. The bout was part of a worldwide event organized on social networking websites...

DECATUR, Ill. -- Students move in unison doing a front snap kick (Mae Geri) and step back to do a side kick (Yoko Geri). With arms slightly bent in position, they learn to do an upper rise block move (Age Uke). At the same time, Billy Roberts yells out a Bible verse or two for them to remember...

PITTSBURGH -- A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and "lying in wait" opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said. Police chief Nate Harper said the motive for the shooting isn't clear, but friends said the gunman recently had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Jiverly Wong was upset over losing his job at a vacuum plant, didn't like people picking on him for his limited English and once angrily told a co-worker, "America sucks." It remains unclear exactly why the Vietnamese immigrant strapped on a bulletproof vest, barged in on a citizenship class and killed 13 people and himself, but the police chief says he knows one thing for sure: "He must have been a coward."...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea carried out a rocket launch Sunday that the U.S., Japan and other nations suspect was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology. Liftoff took place at 9:30 p.m. Saturday from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said...

STRASBOURG, France -- European leaders praised President Obama's new Afghan strategy at a NATO summit Saturday but held their ground on a central disagreement and offered only military trainers and extra security forces for upcoming elections. Violent anti-war protests that marred the alliance's 60th anniversary celebrations were a reminder that much of Europe has no appetite for the other, costlier half of Obama's Afghan equation: more combat troops...

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Chances are slim that all the aid groups expelled by the Sudanese government will return, and alternative ways must immediately be found to help the millions of people in Darfur, President Barack Obama's new envoy to Sudan said Saturday...

Husband-and-wife journalists Bob Miller and Callie Clark Miller use this space to offer their views on everyday issues. SHE SAID We're going to my parents' house to celebrate Dawson's first birthday this weekend. That sounds so weird. Normally, I would say we're going home instead of to my parents' house. But last week, that changed. My parents, who have lived in the same house for 26-plus years on the same property that has been in my dad's family since 1884, moved to a new house...

MOSCOW -- The Interfax news agency quotes Russia's deputy foreign minister as saying consultations with Washington on a new treaty to limit the nuclear threat will begin in the next few weeks. Saturday's report quotes Sergei Rybakov as saying the talks should commence "before the end of April."...

KABUL -- The Afghan president said Saturday he had ordered a review of a new law that critics say makes it legal for men to rape their wives, responding to criticism from around the world that included sharp comments from President Barack Obama...

BEIJING -- Last summer, Xu Demin struggled to cut emissions from his coal-fired factories as part of China's all-out effort to clean the air for the Beijing Olympics. He could have simply waited six months. This spring, overseas demand for his farming and construction machinery plummeted, forcing him to close two plants and lay off 300 workers...

WASHINGTON -- In the coming weeks and months, hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits, just when it's even more difficult to find a job. Congress extended unemployment aid twice last year, allowing people to draw a total of up to 59 weeks of benefits. Now, as the recession drags on, a rolling wave of people who were laid off early last year will lose them...

DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars won -- and lost. Defenseman Trevor Daley scored 16 seconds into overtime to give Dallas a 5-4 victory over the Blues on Saturday night. But it was a hollow victory for the Stars, who were eliminated from playoff contention...

Kristy McPherson, Cristie Kerr and Brittany Lincicome will tee off together in the last group today at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The all-American pairing for the final round of the LPGA Tour's first major of the season makes quite a statement, especially in a Solheim Cup year...

NEW YORK -- Baseball's boom may be over, a golden age of crowded ballparks replaced by a season of uncertainty. The average salary likely will drop slightly for only the third time in 20 years, the first since 2004, and many teams are fretting over ticket sales...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team continued to struggle Saturday as the Redhawks were routed in an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader at Jacksonville State. First-place JSU posted a pair of five-inning, run-rule wins, 12-1 and 9-0. Southeast, which has lost six straight, fell to 12-14 overall and 3-5 in the OVC. JSU is 23-9 and 8-1...

Hansbrough recorded a double-double in UNC's 83-69 win against Villanova. By EDDIE PELLS The Associated PRess DETROIT -- In a classic case of men vs. boys, North Carolina never gave Villanova much chance to breathe, let alone whip up a fresh dose of Final Four magic...

Jackson sophomore Blake Smith missed almost his entire freshman track and field season with a fractured disc in his spine. But Smith, who also had his appendix rupture a couple of months before this season started, is feeling healthy and looking like one of the better local long jumpers this spring...

Central lost both road games it played Saturday. The first one against Fox featured strong pitching while the second game against Seckman featured hot hitting. The Tigers lost 2-1 to Fox and 12-7 to Seckman. Andrew Williams started against Fox. He pitched well, going six innings and allowing two runs -- one earned -- on five hits but he suffered the loss. He struck out one...

James Leigh admitted he did not have one of his best outings. Southeast Missouri State's senior left-hander was still able to improve his record to 5-0 by winning the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Jacksonville State. Leigh gave up three solo home runs in the first four innings, but settled down to pitch 6 1/3 frames in the Redhawks' 18-4 victory. JSU claimed the nightcap 8-7...

Brandon Karcher didn't know what to expect in his first race since the fall cross country season. The Southeast Missouri State senior got more than he anticipated Saturday in defending his 5,000-meter title on his home turf at the Joey Haines Invitational...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Rick Ankiel and Khalil Greene each hit a two-run homer and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds 7-3 on Saturday. Joel Pineiro allowed three runs, two earned, and three hits in seven innings for St. Louis. He only allowed one hit after the first inning and retired the last 14 batters he faced...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams signed Kyle Boller on Saturday to be the backup to starting quarterback Marc Bulger. The 27-year-old Boller spent all of last season, his sixth with the Baltimore Ravens, on injured reserve with a shoulder injury sustained in the preseason...

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Long lines weave through the Arena Building as the Decade Band plays "Locomotion" Saturday evening, April 4, 2009, for the annual Kiwanis 50s and 60s Dance....

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Capaha Park became a hunting ground for Easter eggs Saturday for these children ages 3 and 4. Hunts were also held for age groups 1 to 2 and 5 to 8. The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department hid about 1,000 eggs for each of the three hunts....

Just in time for spring cleaning, organization expert Denise Schofield is holding a Get Organized seminar at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Schofield admits she wasn't born organized, but maintains that with a little work, anybody can lessen their clutter and operate more orderly. Schofield will devote the first half of the seminar to organizing things like games, drawers and cabinets and the last half she will talk about managing time and getting rid of paper clutter...

Seven young people recently graduated from the "Believe to Achieve" program, a collaborative effort between MERS (Metropolitan Employment and Rehabilitation Services) Goodwill, the Cape Girardeau School District, the Cape Girardeau Alternative School and Southeast Missouri Hospital. ...

It is my honor to endorse the candidacy of Josh Andrews for Ward I alderman, City of Marble Hill. Josh is an honest, principled man who will stand with and for the people of Marble Hill. His candidacy has already made a positive impact for the citizens in his neighborhood...

Phil Breithaupt, left, leads the New Creations Choir on Saturday for the Teen Challenge "Rebuilding the Walls" Spring Banquet at the Show Me Center. The music group was founded in 1973 and changes as students rotate through the program.

Tony Spencer said the Southeast Missouri State baseball team was down after letting a six-run lead slip away Saturday. But the Redhawks were far from out. Southeast punctuated an impressive weekend with Sunday's 7-4 win against perennial Ohio Valley Conference power Jacksonville State...

BOLLINGER COUNTY, Mo. - A Patton man was seriously injured in a single-car accident on Route JJ Sunday evening. The accident occurred five miles south of Patton at around 5:45 p.m. as a 1991 Buick driven by Jared E. Landers, 21, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash reports website. The Buick was totaled...

A Butler County man pleaded guilty last week in federal court to threatening to blow up the Butler County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Mark A. Starkey, 44, of Victoria, Texas, formerly of Butler County, pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a threat over the telephone to destroy a building by use of explosives before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., according to the Federal prosecutor's office...

Sunday's severe thunderstorm warning caused Chuck Martin a lot of anxiety, but the headliners for Cape Girardeau's second Storytellers Festival merely incorporated the weather into their flights of fancy. Nearly 200 people arrived for Sunday's final session. ...

As the Cape Girardeau School District works toward a plan to restructure the district's facilities, one school board member says the school system is heading in the wrong direction. In the face of an increasing dropout rate, school board candidates offer different perspectives on the goals of the district. Incumbents Kyle McDonald and Charles Bertrand will face Luther Bonds and Betty Mosley in Tuesday's election. The two candidates with the most votes will assume three-year terms on the board...

Bullying is not limited to the Scott City School District, but the school board has done its part to contain the problem there in recent months, according to two board members. Incumbents Keith Simpson and Gary Miller will face Karen Pobst and Gary Haynes in Tuesday's election. The two candidates with the most votes will assume three-year terms on the board...

Jackson school board incumbents are proud of the construction done at the high school, but some candidates said the process could be improved for future phases of the project. Incumbents Brent Wills and Cathy Goodman will face Pat Wissman and Robert Aubuchon in Tuesday's election. The two candidates with the most votes will assume three-year terms on the board...

The Cape Girardeau City Council tonight will grapple with the issue of how to provide affordable housing when a property owner wants to replace an aging home in a well-established neighborhood. The council will hold a public hearing on the request from Alfred Farrar to replace the home at 804 N. ...

There was a huge turnout Saturday for the Special Olympics 2009 track and field events. Athletes young and old from around the region participated.

Cape Girardeau -- Old Town Cape has Accreditation from the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Center during the Annual Main Street Conference in Chicago in March. Old Town Cape joins other Main Street™ revitalization programs across the country being recognized, including only 3 other Missouri programs. This is the 5th year Old Town Cape has received its National Accreditation...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri has delayed tax refunds and quietly borrowed $325 million from its cash reserves to keep the state afloat. State financial documents obtained by The Associated Press show the state borrowed $175 million from its reserves in February and an additional $150 million in March. But Gov. Jay Nixon's administration never publicized the borrowing...

Cape Girardeau, MO -- Old Town Cape, the City of Cape Girardeau, and the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce are hosting a second Open House for the DREAM (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) Initiative. The Open House, to be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A faster response by emergency officials to the attack at an immigrant services center in Binghamton would have saved no lives, a county prosecutor said Sunday. The shooting at the American Civic Association stopped shortly after the first 911 calls came in at 10:30 a.m., but police didn't enter the building until nearly 45 minutes later...

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.S. and its allies sought punishment Sunday for North Korea's defiant launch of a rocket that apparently fell into the Pacific, holding an emergency U.N. meeting in response to the "provocative act" that some believe was a long-range missile test...

PRAGUE -- Declaring the future of mankind at stake, President Obama on Sunday said all nations must strive to rid the world of nuclear arms and that the U.S. had a "moral responsibility" to lead because no other country has used one. A North Korean rocket launch upstaged Obama's call to action, delivered in the capital of the Czech Republic, a former satellite of the Soviet Union. ...

WASHINGTON -- Airlines carried fewer people last year, but did a better job for those who did fly. The rates of lost bags, late arrivals, passengers bumped from overbooked flights and consumer complaints all declined, private researchers said in their annual study of airline quality, based on government statistics...

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- The candy machine at Henry Sibley High School knows when students roam the halls and automatically powers down when they've gone home. The basketball court still shines, but under the glow of fluorescent tubes that suck up a fraction of the juice the old lights used...

Jackson Firefighters responded to the following call Sunday: n Emergency medical service on East Jackson Boulevard.

25 years ago: April 6, 1984 Ward 10 in Cape Girardeau will be eliminated before the August primary to comply with state law concerning voting in state representative districts, said County Clerk Rodney Miller; in addition, parts of several other city wards will be moved to comply with the law...

CLEVELAND -- Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night, capping a star-studded ceremony that felt much more like a concert than an awards show. For the first time, the show, back in Cleveland following a 12-year holdover in New York's Waldorf-Astoria ballroom, was open to the public...

Mo. retirement system managers get bonuses JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The 14-member staff of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System received almost $300,000 in bonuses, even as the pension fund lost almost $1.8 billion, according to the St. ...

Every day, the 75-member Cape Girardeau Police Department provides security and law enforcement for our community in ways that most of us never know about. The police department offers ride-along programs that help familiarize residents with the work officers do while patrolling. ...

Ugly buildings; Enemy combatants; Raze buildings; Cruise missiles; Drug testing; Blame and credit; Dig in your heels; Just deserts; Placing blame; High ratings; Tea party; Critical donations; Babies in church; Approval rating; Business world; Vending legalities; Pet responsibility; Party cleanup; Being defenseless; Late for appointment; Balance the budget; Playing in street

DETROIT -- The bracket says North Carolina vs. Michigan State. At times, though, the Tar Heels may feel like they're going up against something more than just another basketball team. From the coach on down, the Spartans (31-6) know a win in the NCAA title game on a court 90 miles from their campus won't fix the state's economic freefall, won't put anybody back to work. But there will be 72,000 people in Ford Field, site of the Final Four, tonight. Most will be rooting for Michigan State...

Brittany Lincicome was brilliant when it mattered most. Lincicome sank a 6-foot eagle putt on No. 18 to upstage good friend Kristy McPherson and win the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Sunday, capturing her first victory in a major. Never worse than three strokes behind in the final round, Lincicome stayed close as McPherson and Cristie Kerr traded the lead back and forth on a perfect day at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jeff Gordon ended the longest winless drought of his career, beating Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson to finally win at Texas. Gordon won for the first time in 48 races Sunday at the 1 1/2-mile, high-banked Texas Motor Speedway, one of only two active tracks where the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion never had won a race...

The Southeast Missouri State tennis team finally broke through Sunday. Southeast won its first match of the season, beating visiting Tennesee State 4-2 in an Ohio Valley Conference contest. The Redhawks are 1-16 overall and 1-5 in the OVC. TSU fell to 0-9 and 0-6...

I'm sure nobody thought Southeast Missouri State's undefeated Ohio Valley Conference baseball record would last long. Sports just don't work that way. Still, it's hard to argue with the Redhawks' 8-1 OVC start, especially after Southeast took two of three from perennial OVC power Jacksonville State over the weekend...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- Reversing work on the St. John's Bayou-New Madrid Floodway Project is "a shame -- a waste of taxpayer dollars," according to the project's sponsors. Furg Hunter, a supervisor for the St. Johns Levee and Drainage District, the local sponsors for the St. John's Bayou-New Madrid Floodway Project, spoke about efforts to see the project through and expressed frustrations at the waste of reversing work during a public meeting March 30 in Caruthersville...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Republican Party and the American Civil Liberties Union finally have found common ground. Both are outraged by a recently leaked report by the Missouri Information Analysis Center -- an office that compiles and distributes homeland security information -- that describes the characteristics of potential militia members...

CHICAGO -- First came the housing bust, followed by eroding job security and dwindling retirement accounts. Now, the worst downturn in decades is nibbling away at something so entrenched that people took it for granted: simple, everyday convenience...

Southeast Missouri is greatly influenced by numerous not-for-profit agencies in the region. Leading the way is the United Way of Southeast Missouri, which distributes funds to these entities and coordinates programs that benefit the community. Nancy Jernigan has been leading the United Way of Southeast Missouri for nearly 14 years. ...

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Rebecca J. Seyer, 48, of Edwardsville, formerly of Cardwell, Mo., died Friday, April 3, 2009, at St. Louis University Hospital after a long illness. She was born Jan. 11, 1961, in Hammond, Ind., daughter of Gerald Donald and Cassie Lou Bishop. She and Jeffrey Seyer were married June 8, 1985, in Cape Girardeau...

Arbra Louise Davis Silvius, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 25, 1930, in Imperial, Calif., daughter of Joseph Earl and Sara Ann Riggins Davis. She and Ralph Silvius were married May 17, 1946...

Southeast Missouri Food Bank hires operations manager Kit Brewer has joined the staff of Southeast Missouri Food Bank as operations manager. A native of Ironton, Mo., Brewer graduated from Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo. For the past five years he has worked with the Central Missouri Food Bank in Columbia, Mo., heading their mobile food pantry, USDA and children's programs and serving as operations director. Southeast Missouri Food Bank, 3920 Nash Road in Cape Girardeau, distributes food to more than 145 agencies in 16 counties in Southeast Missouri. Senior nutrition centers, church food pantries, soup kitchens, domestic abuse and homeless shelters and rehabilitation centers are examples of the types of agencies that benefit from hunger relief efforts. . ...

The Southeast Missouri University Choir, Choral Union and Symphony Orchestra will perform Joseph Haydn's "Nelson Mass" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Bedell Performance Hall on the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University. ...

Loreen Jane Gladish, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 2, 2009, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 15, 1922, in Jarvis, Ontario, Canada. She is the widow of Dallas Roy "Jim" Gladish. She was a member of Abbey Road Christian Church...

Dr. William Roy Dawson Jr., 81, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at his home. He was born April 2, 1928, in Montgomery, Ala., son of William R. and Annie Ruth Graydon Dawson. He and Carol McCollum were married on August 21, 1948, in Montgomery, Ala...

Dickie L. O'Laughlin Black, 60, of Tamms, Ill., died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Jan. 1, 1949, in Cairo, Ill., son of Gene and Betty Jo Nichols O'Laughlin. Dick retired after more than 30 years of service as a master machinist with the Burlingotn Northern-Sante Fe, Northern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Elvira A. Schamburg, 90, of Perryville died Sunday, April 5, 2009, at her home. She was born Dec. 1, 1918, in Highland, Mo., daughter of John F. and Mamie Lukefahr Renaud. She and Hubert A. Schamburg were married Dec. 1, 1943. He died May 12, 1998...

KELSO, Mo. -- Mary Lorene Glasser, 80, of Kelso died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 3, 1928, in Oran, Mo., daughter of Benjamin and Christine Beal Elfrink. She and Wilfred Lloyd Glasser were married June 7, 1949, in Chaffee, Mo...

ANNA, Ill. -- Maria Nell "Rita" Thompson, 58, of Anna, formerly of Cairo, Ill., died Saturday, April 4, 2009, at Mulberry Manor in Anna. She was born Oct. 28, 1950, in Fort Hood, Texas, daughter of Carl William and Lucille Gregory Thompson...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals reached the 25-man roster limit Thursday, optioning utilityman Joe Mather to Classs AAA Memphis. An extending slump cost Mather a shot at splitting time at third base with rookie David Freese in place of injured Troy Glaus. Mather had two home runs and 18 RBIs but batted only .227...

Lead us and guide us, O God, no matter what obstacles lie in our path. Amen.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Transportation will herald the upcoming construction season with a its annual Operation Orange: To Make Work Zones Safe awareness program. In addition to the usual cones and barrels seen as MoDOT is working on the roads, buildings, landmarks and businesses across the state will use orange lights to remind drivers to slow down while moving through work zones...

Typical of the past month's Thursday afternoons, after most students and faculty have gone home for the day, eight Jackson high school percussionists tighten down their choreographed movements like a row of pistons. The students' glow-in-the-dark drumsticks twirl and skip in their hands over snare drums in preparation for tonight's performance...

ST. LOUIS -- After all those operations on his right arm, Chris Carpenter had work on his left arm this offseason -- a colorful tattoo. The new tattoo spreads over half the arm displaying his family via astrological signs. There's a lion for his daughter, a Leo. A crab for his wife, a Cancer. An arch for his son, a Sagittarius. A bull for himself, a Taurus...

Time is drawing near for the move to the new 40,000-square-foot Cape Girardeau Public Library at 711 N. Clark Ave. Library director Betty Martin said the library will be moving out of its temporary home at 301 S. Broadview St. after May 3 and will reopen later in the month...

SENECA, Mo. (AP) -- When authorities raided J.B.'s Precious Puppies, they discovered more than 200 dogs standing in their own excrement, crammed three and four to a cage. Some were so sickly they were missing clumps of hair. The skeletal remains of puppies and adult dogs were found inside pet-food bags...

Shut out of federal stimulus funds, Jackson may yet obtain federal help to relieve traffic congestion near South Elementary School. U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, is asking to include $750,000 in the next federal budget for an environmental study and design work to relieve congestion on Highway 25 from Jackson Trail to the city limits. The request was one of 49 earmarked projects, totaling $92 million, submitted by Emerson last week...

Members of Cape Girardeau County's road and bridge advisory board met Monday for more than an hour but did not vote or arrive at any agreements, as the meeting agenda was not issued until after 2:30 p.m. Monday, later than is required by Missouri's Sunshine Law. Board members reviewed the 2009 paving plan and spoke with residents...

The Cape Girardeau City Council overturned a decision of the city Planning & Zoning Commission on Monday night, voting to allow a homeowner to replace an aging house with a new manufactured home. Alfred Farrar will now be allowed remove the home at 804 N. ...

A Sikeston, Mo., man was sentenced to state prison for 30 years Monday for the Nov. 30 rape of an 80-year-old Cape Girardeau woman in her home. Mitchell T. West, 18, was arrested in December after breaking into the woman's home for the second time when she was away. He pleaded guilty to forcible rape, burglary, felony stealing and attempted forcible sodomy...

DETROIT -- For a year, maybe more, North Carolina could feel this national championship coming. It was a calculated march, and behind the unrelenting play of Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson, the Tar Heels stomped out Michigan State's inspirational run Monday night with an 89-72 blowout that wasn't that close...

SIKESTON, Mo. - A 15-year-old male connected with three recent burglaries has been arrested and placed in Juvenile Detention in Charleston, Mo. According to a news release from Sgt. Jim McMillen of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety the juvenile was arrested after he was interviewed on April 3 by Detective Jon Broom...

BOLLINGER COUNTY, Mo. -- A Patton man was seriously injured in a single-car accident on Route JJ Sunday evening. The accident occurred five miles south of Patton at around 5:45 p.m. as a 1991 Buick driven by Jared E. Landers, 21, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash reports website. The Buick was totaled...

ELLSINORE, Mo. (AP) - The FBI says a man suspected of stealing a plane in Canada and landing seven hours later in Missouri has no known associations with terrorism. FBI special agent John Gillies says 31-year-old Adam Dylan Leon was originally from Turkey before becoming a naturalized citizen of Canada. Gillies says a background check showed no connection to terrorism...

SENECA, Mo. -- When authorities raided J.B.'s Precious Puppies, they discovered more than 200 dogs standing in their own excrement, crammed three and four to a cage. Some were so sickly they were missing clumps of hair. The skeletal remains of puppies and adult dogs were found inside pet-food bags...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo -- As wrestlers with names like 'Golden Boy' and 'Psycho' tussled nearby in a sweaty headlock, 7-year-old Zipporah Bell squealed and hopped onto the lap of her new friend. "She's a little jumpy," joked Melody Penner, an 18-year-old Southeast Missouri State University freshman. "But she is having a blast. All of the kids are."...

American Cancer Society Announces Relay For Life Saturday, April 25th, 2009 -- Cape Girardeau County walkers go around the clock in the battle against cancer during the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. This "celebration of life" brings numerous groups and individuals concerned about cancer together for a unified effort to fight back...

The Scott City Women's Club, a non profit organization, has organized their 1st annual 'Spring Fling' Craft Show and Bake Sale. This is an exciting new fund raising event for the Scott City Women's Club annual Christmas gift giving and scholarship programs...

FROHNA, Mo. -- Seven years ago, Mike Ponder and Stuart Ruehling were frustrated with choke tubes they used on their frequent hunts and decided they needed to create a better one. Through testing countless choke tubes -- devices that are attached to the muzzle end of the gun's barrel to control fired pellets -- Ponder and Ruehling developed a choke tube in 2005 that helped win awards and was the catalyst for the creation of their business, Indian Creek Shooting Systems...

The daunting stairs leading up to the historic Common Pleas Courthouse are part of a fitness routine for Liz McCanless of Cape Girardeau. She's dropped 30 pounds since starting the steps workout two years ago, which inspired her to quit smoking recently...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Federal prosecutors have charged a Canadian flight student with piloting a stolen plane into the U.S. in what they say was a suicide attempt. Thirty-one-year-old Adam Dylan Leon was charged Tuesday with transportation of stolen property and illegal entry...

A quiet election day passed with few surprises in Southeast MIssouri. Voters chose members of city councils, school boards and other local government entities. The heaviest turnout was in the smaller towns, where issues such as development, sewer systems and flood control dominate the agenda ...

MASCOUTAH, Ill. -- Roland Burris said Monday he's enjoying being Barack Obama's appointed successor in the U.S. Senate and will decide in due time whether to seek a full term -- never mind nagging questions about the disgraced governor who tapped him...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday that federal stimulus funds will repair and improve dams in 11 states, including several projects in Oklahoma and one each in southwest Missouri and eastern Kansas. "Many dams and other important flood control structures are in a race against time," Vilsack said during a conference call...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- The first former Army soldier to be charged as a civilian under a 2000 law that allows him to be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed overseas faces a trial of his peers -- in a federal courtroom in Kentucky. Steven Dale Green, a former member of the 101st Airborne Division, was accused along with four fellow soldiers of raping a 14-year-old girl and killing her and her family in Mahmoudiya, Iraq, but he won't face an Iraqi or military jury...

Old Town Cape group earns national accreditation for fifth year Old Town Cape, a downtown Cape Girardeau group, announced Monday that it has earned accreditation from the National Trust for the Historic Preservation Main Street Center. The local group is one of only three Missouri programs to receive the accreditation, the fifth year Old Town Cape has received the recognition...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday: Jackson Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:...

Cape Girardeau: DWI; Arrests; Summonses; Assault; Thefts; Miscellaneous; Jackson

Holzum; Ahrens; Unterreiner; Sostillio; Ressel

WHITE LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- An early spring snowstorm dumped almost 8 inches on some parts of Michigan and was blamed Monday for at least four deaths and a power outage affecting about 123,000 people. The weather -- and the snowy, slushy conditions it brought to Michigan roads -- was a "major factor" in a two-vehicle crash Monday in Reading Township at the southern boundary of the state that left three people dead, two of them children, said Capt. ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- The man who gunned down 13 people in an immigrant center thought police had harassed him for years, even spreading rumors about him and touching him in his sleep, and apparently was intent on killing people before returning "to the dust of the earth," according to a rambling letter in broken English mailed to a TV station the day of the massacre...

CHICAGO -- A new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age. Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most prominent in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Windmills off the East Coast could generate enough electricity to replace most, if not all, the coal-fired power plants in the United States, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday. But those numbers were challenged as "overly optimistic" by a coal industry group, which noted that half the nation's electricity currently comes from coal-fired power plants...

LAS VEGAS -- The women of country have taken the wheel. Carrie Underwood won entertainer of the year Sunday night at the Academy of Country Music Awards, winning the top honor that has eluded women for nearly a decade, while Taylor Swift won album of the year and Julianne Hough took top new artist...

WASHINGTON -- Even as the recession cuts into their revenue, some companies are opting to do the unconventional: They're keeping all their employees and finding other ways to trim costs. Their strategy isn't about mercy. It's built on the notion that layoffs bring high costs and hassles of their own...

NEW YORK -- Wall Street pulled back for the first time in five days Monday as investors worried about balance sheets at banks and the quarterly results businesses will start releasing this week. Investors were also disappointed that talks for IBM Corp.'s $7 billion deal to buy Sun Microsystems Inc. have stalled, a sign that the market is still not ready to support big mergers...

WASHINGTON -- Federal and state officials are cracking down on mortgage modification scams, accusing "criminal actors" of preying on borrowers caught up in the nation's housing crisis. Government officials said Monday that scammers are seeking to take advantage of borrowers in danger of default by charging them upfront fees of $1,000 to $3,000 for help with loan modifications that rarely, if ever, pay off...

L'AQUILA, Italy -- Rescue workers using bare hands and buckets searched for students believed buried in a wrecked dormitory after Italy's deadliest quake in nearly three decades struck the city before dawn Monday, killing more than 150 people, injuring 1,500 and leaving tens of thousands homeless...

BAGHDAD -- Anger boiled over in Baghdad streets at Iraqi soldiers and police after a series of coordinated bombings across the city Monday that left 37 dead and more than 100 wounded. Iraq's government blamed the attacks on supporters of Saddam Hussein "in cooperation with the al-Qaida terrorist organization" and suggested the blasts were timed for today's anniversary of the founding of the late dictator's Baath Party...

PARIS -- Dozens of doctors working in teams more than 30 hours performed the first simultaneous partial-face and double-hand transplant over the weekend, Paris' Public Hospital authority said Monday. The authority described the recipient as a 30-year-old burn victim. The man, whose name was not released, was injured in a 2004 accident that left him with scars "preventing any social life," it said...

ANKARA, Turkey -- Declaring the U.S. "is not and never will be at war with Islam," President Obama worked Monday to mend frayed ties with NATO ally Turkey and improve relations with the larger Muslim world. Obama acknowledged still-raw tensions over the Iraq war but said Muslims worldwide have little in common with terrorists such as al-Qaida and have much to gain in opposing them. Reaching out, he also spoke of Muslim connections in his own background...

WAUSAU, Wis. -- A single-engine airplane flown away from an airport in Canada by a student pilot Monday was intercepted by jet fighters over Wisconsin but kept flying south through two more states. It finally landed on a road in Southeast Missouri and the pilot was apprehended...

When Doug Leslie retired earlier this year as Cape Girardeau's city manager, there was no clear-cut procedure for selecting his successor. It had been years since the city council had conducted a nationwide search for a city manager, resulting in the hiring of Leslie's predecessor, Mike Miller, in 1995. Leslie was the council's choice to take over from Miller...

A groundswell of Americanism is rising with the tea party movement. Brought on by crippling legislative spending and originally symbolic of the tea tax protest during American Revolution, U.S. taxpayers of today have already spawned grassroots Taxed Enough Already parties in dozens of communities across our country...

Great administrator; Narrow definition; Replace worn flags; Making laws; Health care help; Illegal meeting; President on point; Less safe now; Storm fears; It's a tax increase; Political control; Just the opposite; Making history; Unsupervised children

25 years ago: April 7, 1984 St. Louis County executive Gene McNary and Missouri Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, the two Republican candidates for Missouri governor, trade barbs at the annual Lincoln Day event held in the evening at the Arena Building; about 500 people are in attendance...

DETROIT -- Michael Jordan wanted to put on his shorts and play one final time. The decorated NBA champion and MVP already had two failed retirements, so what was one more return to the court? Sharing a stage with former Dream Team teammates David Robinson and John Stockton, Jordan was all out of comebacks...

DETROIT -- Forget 40 minutes. North Carolina didn't even need 40 seconds. Rebound, rebound, putback. Strip, rebound, putback. Game. Those two possessions, lasting all of 33 seconds early in the first half, put the Tar Heels in control and Michigan State never recovered. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri has delayed tax refunds and quietly borrowed $325 million from its cash reserves in order to pay employees, public schools, hospitals and other bills. If officials had not acted to keep the state afloat, Missouri would have been $100 million in the hole at the start of April, according to state financial documents obtained by The Associated Press...

The weight of the world is on us, O God, but your strength will save us. Amen.

ST. LOUIS -- Jack Wilson waited until the Pittsburgh Pirates were down to their last strike before coming through. Wilson's three-run double on an 0-2 fastball capped a four-run ninth inning off hard-throwing Jason Motte, leading Pittsburgh to an opening 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team will try to remain hot today when the Redhawks step out of Ohio Valley Conference play. Southeast pays a visit to regional rival Southern Illinois University, with the first pitch in Carbondale, Ill., set for 3 p.m...

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Falcons have traded receiver Laurent Robinson to the St. Louis Rams, allowing the Falcons to move up in the fifth and sixth rounds of this month's NFL draft. The Falcons exchanged picks in the fifth and sixth rounds with the Rams in Monday's trade...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol on Monday replaced the director of an intelligence center that has been under fire after producing a report suggesting militia members often support certain political candidates. The patrol's superintendent, Col. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals fans turned out in the traditional red for opening day on Monday -- red parkas, red overcoats, red ear muffs and red stocking caps. After all, it wasn't exactly jersey weather. Monday's opener against Pittsburgh was among the coldest on record in St. Louis. Those who withstood the chill saw an exciting but ultimately disappointing ending -- the Pirates rallied with four two-out runs in the ninth to win 6-4...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Elvira A. Schamburg, 90, of Perryville died Sunday, April 5, 2009, at her home. She was born Dec. 1, 1918, in Highland, Mo., daughter of John F. and Mamie Lukefahr Renaud. She and Hubert A. Schamburg were married Dec. 1, 1943. He died May 12, 1998...

SYDNEY -- Australian researchers sifting papers belonging to the author of "Schindler's List" discovered a yellowing roll of 801 men saved from the Holocaust by the German industrialist -- the same copy the writer used to bring the story to the world's attention, a curator said Monday. ...

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- In shootings around the nation, police often find the gunman is wearing a bulletproof vest -- and while it's an issue that has recently jumped into the spotlight, it's hardly a new problem for law enforcement. "The bad guys have used body armor going way back," said John Grebert, executive director of the New York State Police Chiefs Association. ...

AMSTERDAM -- Negotiators at U.N. climate talks, buoyed by U.S. promises to lead the fight against global warming, want industrial countries to pledge deeper cuts in greenhouse gases over the next decade. ...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Somali pirates hijacked three vessels in less than two days, diplomats and officials said Monday, with the pattern of attacks suggesting the pirates are trying to evade warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden. ...

UNITED NATIONS -- Haiti's impoverished economy has been battered by $1 billion in damage from last year's hurricanes and a drop in money transfers from Haitians working abroad caused by the global financial crisis, the top U.N. ...

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kazakhstan offered Monday to host an international nuclear fuel bank, and Iran's leader said he supported the idea. The United States initiated the project and allocated $50 million toward it in 2007. ...

Individuals interested in identifying and preserving historical records are encouraged to attend a meeting April 21 hosted by the Missouri State Archives. The meeting will be at 1 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Conservation Campus Nature Center. ...

As part of the Multicultural Speakers' Series, Wong Herbert Yee will make a presentation on "The Making of a Book," at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 9 at Glenn Auditorium, Dempster Hall, Southeast Missouri State University campus. ...

GLENALLEN, Mo. -- Charles "Chalk" Givens, 87, of Glenallen died Sunday, April 5, 2009, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 18, 1921, in Allenville, son of Ancil and Grace Smith Givens. He and Earlene Medlock were married in 1947. He later married Velma "Deanie" Crites on Oct. 12, 1974...

BENTON, Mo. -- William C. Jackson, 80, of West Melbourne, Fla., formerly of Benton, died Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at Wuesthoff Medical Center of West Melbourne. He was born Sept. 7, 1928, in Cape Girardeau, son of Lester and Ada Asher Jackson...

Mary Ann Manor, 77, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, April 6, 2009, at Ratliff Care Center. She was born June 5, 1931, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Sylvester and Etta Starr Hartle. Manor was a member of Cape Bible Chapel. She was a former nurse's assistant at Southeast Missouri Hospital...

Shirley C. Hency, 71, of Jackson, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, April 5, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. She was born May 21, 1937, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Burt Charles and Frankie Christine Cook Palmer. She and Collie Neal Hency were married July 9, 1955, in Cape Girardeau. He died March 31, 2000...

Delmont Lowell Stayton, 95, of Jackson died Monday, April 6, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home...

Mary Alice Eakin, 88, of Jackson, formerly of Bell City, Mo., passed away Sunday, April 5, 2009, at Jackson Manor. She was born May 27, 1920, in Tacoma, Wash., daughter of Marion and Julia Carey Reed. Eakin owned and operated Bell City Fabric Shop 10 years. In her early years she loved designing and making clothes for herself and her family. In her later years she loved oil painting landscapes and flowers...

Loreen Jane Gladish, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, April 2, 2009, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 15, 1922, in Jarvis, Ontario, Canada. She is the widow of Dallas Roy "Jim" Gladish. She was a member of Abbey Road Christian Church...

Geraldine Flo Davis, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, April 5, 2009, in Jackson. She was born March 31, 1922, in Des Arc, Mo., to Hazel McKee and Ray Hagerty. After the death of her father, she and her mother returned to Des Arc, where she was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents, W.E. and Bess McKee. She married R.G. Davis on Nov. 16, 1946. R.G. preceded her in death on Sept. 23, 1987...

Kyle Reynolds pitched a three-hit complete game Monday as Woodland posted a 7-2 victory against Kelly, the Cardinals' first win of the high school baseball season. Reynolds struck out seven and walked two in the road victory. Andrew Minson had a two-run double among his two hits and Ronnie Turner added a double for Woodland (1-2). Sam Long also contributed a two-run single...

Route P in Cape Girardeau County will be closed today while Missouri Department of Transportation crews replace a pipe underneath the roadway. The section of roadway is located between County Road 266 and 268. Work will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m...

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edoddsemissourian.com The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge displays orange lighting to mark National Work Zone Awareness Week. ...

WASHINGTON -- The nation should stop pouring billions into futuristic, superexpensive F-22 jet fighters, pull the plug on new presidential helicopters and put the money into systems U.S. soldiers can use against actual foes, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday...

Shut out of federal stimulus funds, Jackson may yet obtain federal help to relieve traffic congestion near South Elementary School. U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, is asking to include $750,000 in the next federal budget for an environmental study and design work to relieve congestion on Highway 25 from Jackson Trail to the city limits. The request was one of 49 earmarked projects, totaling $92 million, submitted by Emerson last week...

A Butler County man pleaded guilty last week in federal court to threatening to blow up the Butler County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Mark A. Starkey, 44, of Victoria, Texas, formerly of Butler County, pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a threat over the telephone to destroy a building by use of explosives before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., according to the Federal prosecutor's office...

Today is election day, with seats on area school boards, town boards, fire and road district boards and other local governing boards up for election in Missouri. Local races of interest include the Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City school boards, the Cape and Illmo special road districts, the East County and Millersville fire boards and town boards throughout the Southeast Missourian coverage area. ...

A plane allegedly stolen by a Canadian man made a safe landing in Ellsinore Monday evening. Adam Dylan Leon, 31, was arrested at a convenience store in the rural Missouri town shortly after landing the single-engine, four-seat Cessna on a rural road in Ellsinore Monday night, ending a six-hour flight, Missouri State Highway Patrol said. ...

Health events for the upcoming week

Notre Dame exacted a measure of revenge Tuesday night by beating visiting Central 9-1. The Bulldogs suffered a pair of losses to city rival Central last season despite reaching the Class 3 state baseball semifinals. "It's good to get some payback," Bulldogs junior shortstop Colton Young said...

Thirteen children were taken to an area hospital earlier this morning when a driver of a Ford Focus collided head-on with a Nell Holcomb school bus

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Operation "Rotten Egg," a spring warrant round up conducted by Sikeston Department of Public Safety with several other agencies, started around 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to the department. In the last few weeks, Sikeston detectives gathered over 40 Scott County indictments to be served. ...

All of the evidence in a case against a man accused of injuring his ex-wife with a bow and arrow was presented by 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the jury will now hear closing arguments ...

The Southeast Missouri State University Foundation has some competition as it seeks to keep the contract to operate the Cape Girardeau license office. Applus+ Technologies Inc. of Chicago submitted a bid to take over the office at 112 S. Spanish St., the only other bidder besides the foundation. The foundation has operated the office since 1993 and operated the Jackson office until Gov. Matt Blunt chose attorney Gerry Jones to run it in 2005...

Three state highways in Cape Girardeau County will be closed or be under traffic restrictions today as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform maintenance. Route P will be closed from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. between County Road 268 and County Road 272 while crews replace a pipe under the road. ...

Both of Cape Girardeau's hospitals have earned honors from HealthGrades, an independent health-care ratings organization. Saint Francis Medical Center won high marks for patient satisfaction while Southeast Missouri Hospital joined a group getting kudos for safety...

As the Cape Girardeau School Board works toward easing dropout rates and drafting a new facilities plan, it will have new member. Newcomer Luther Bonds unseated four-year board member Charles Bertrand by a 19-vote margin in Tuesday's election. Bonds said he wanted to "spread the net" and try to reach more at-risk students. As executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Cape Girardeau, Bonds said he will bring a community connection to the board...

A quiet election day passed with few surprises in Southeast Missouri. Voters chose members of city councils, school boards and other local government entities. The heaviest turnout was in the smaller towns, where issues such as sewer systems and flood control dominate the agenda...

Two rural fire district boards that have dealt with recent turmoil had votes passed Tuesday expanding their size from three to five members. The Millersville Fire District board had its share of controversy during the past year, said Janice Robertson, who defeated incumbent board member Lori Aufdenberg by nine votes Tuesday...

While new home sales for the first quarter of 2009 have lagged somewhat behind those for the same period a year ago, April may be brighter for Cape Girardeau County. Through March, 172 residential units sold for about $21 million, compared to 205 units sold at $28.5 million during the same time period in 2008, according to the Cape County Multiple Listing Service...

Here is a mother Robin sitting on her newly laid eggs.... this picture was taken outside my apartment. (Hope you all like it)?

Here is a beautiful picture I had taken of the robin's nest outside my apartment. The pic. was taken Monday, when we had snow flurries....and it was sooo cold. But it didn't stop my mother Robin from laying her gorgous blue eggs!!! I hope you enjoy this pic. as much as I do. It really shows all the people in the heartland how beautiful "Spring" really can be...

Lessley Dennington, Blake Kidd and Prithvi Rudruppa, Missouri Scholars Academy designees for summer 2009, are sophomores at Cape Central High School.

Buddy is a 6-year-old neutered male cat. He is declawed on the front. He and his brother, Tigger, would love to find new homes! They are available for adoption at The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, 573-334-5837. See more pets available at www.semopets.org...

Picture taken in my backyard of my apartment. mother Robbin laying on her new eggs, on April 7, 2009...the day it was snowing. she is keeping her eggs warm, for the cold blissful day........hope you enjoy this pic. as much as I do...photo take by: Cindy Letgrate...Cape Girardeau, Mo...

Content: Dear Sam: I think I have a pretty good résumé, but I have no idea where to start when writing a cover letter. Is it necessary to submit a cover letter when applying for a job? I'd prefer to just submit my résumé so I don't have to write a cover letter for every job I am interested in. ...

The following results are for the April 7 election for contested races in Perry County.

The following results are from the April 7 election for contested races within Cape Girardeau County.

The following results are for the April 7 election for contested races within Bollinger County.

The following results are for the April 7 election for contested races within Scott County.

Missouri legislators say politics isn't to blame for holding up passage of legislation that would make it more convenient for voters to cast ballots and companion legislation that would require voter identification. But Democrats generally favor early voting and oppose voter ID, while Republicans generally favor voter ID and, in limited cases, also back early voting...

No crying infants; Unwanted pets; Baseball parking; More education; Welfare rules; Greedy for eggs; Protest outcome; It's the money; Save our planet; Tossing trash

Give us grace to accept our sufferings, O God confident of the glory to come. Amen.

Just when you think the most exclusive club in the world is about to get serious, it starts tilting at windmills The U.S. Senate is by any definition an ultraexclusive club. Limited to 100 members -- until the president makes Washington, D.C., the 51st state -- this elite group has power beyond most imaginations...

Easter Sunday is only a few days away, and I am planning what I will take to my parents' house for supper that evening. While some of us were together recently at their home, we grabbed a paper plate and started writing a menu on it, dividing it up between everyone. ...

Love it or loathe it, mowing season is upon us. And after decades of making lawn mowers bigger, more powerful and easier to push, manufacturers now are touting self-powered mowers and electric models just big enough to get the job done. With the current economic downturn, Peter Sawchuk, lawnmower expert for Consumer Reports magazine, expects more homeowners will be in the market for a mower this spring. ...

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Vermont, the state that invented civil unions, on Tuesday became a pioneer again as the first state to legalize gay marriage through a legislature's vote. The House barely achieved the votes necessary to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill that will allow gays and lesbians to marry beginning Sept. 1. Four states now have same-sex marriage laws...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Here's a new economic indicator: the diminishing level of glamour on Paris Hilton's reality TV show. Contestants in season two of "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" are living in a mansion that costs half as much as the home the show rented last season. Trips to New York and Tokyo are out this year, as the show's production budget has been cut 10 percent...

NEW YORK -- A week after the White House scolded Chrysler for relying too much on gas guzzlers, the company is heading to an auto show today to unveil a new sport utility vehicle. Chrysler says the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which gets 20 mpg in its two-wheel-drive version and 19 in four-wheel-drive, is a crowd favorite and a crucial part of its lineup...

BAGHDAD -- Flying unannounced into a war zone, President Obama told U.S. troops and Iraqi officials alike Tuesday it is time to phase out America's combat role in a conflict he opposed as a candidate and has vowed to end as commander in chief. Iraqis "need to take responsibility for their own country," Obama told hundreds of cheering soldiers gathered in an ornate, marble palace near Saddam Hussein's former seat of power...

L'AQUILA, Italy -- Strong aftershocks Tuesday hit central Italy, and rescue crews pulled a young woman alive from a collapsed building about 42 hours after the main quake struck the mountainous region. Eleonora Calesini, a 20-year-old student, was found alive in the ruins of the five-story building in central L'Aquila, said her grandfather, Renato Calesini...

LIMA, Peru -- Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday for death squad killings and kidnappings as his autocratic government battled the Shining Path insurgency in the 1990s. The court convicted the former leader, who remains popular in Peru, of "crimes against humanity," including 25 murders by the military hit squad. None of the victims, the three-judge court found, were connected to any insurgency...

HAVANA -- Signaling its willingness to discuss improved relations with the Obama administration, Cuba on Tuesday granted three visiting members of the Congressional Black Caucus the first meeting with Fidel Castro by American officials since he fell ill in 2006...

25 years ago: April 8, 1984 Eleven federal prisoners housed in the Cape Girardeau city jail started a hunger strike yesterday; they claim a number of grievances, including limited time to talk on the telephone and watch television, and the lack of a full-course meal at noon...

Jeames Aric Beckham, 36, formerly of Jackson, passed away Thursday, April 2, 2009, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Plano. Aric had resided in Dallas several years. He was born Oct. 28, 1972, in Alton, Ill., son of Kenneth A. and Joyce Moore Beckham...

Delmont Stayton of Jackson went to heaven to celebrate his 95th birthday Monday, April 6, 2009. He was born April 6, 1914, in East Alton, Ill., to John and Nellie Miller Stayton. After his father's death, he was raised by his mother and embraced by his new father, John Nathaniel Eudy. He married Frances Pauline Ferguson April 15, 1941. She died Nov. 20, 1983. Pauline was the daughter of the Rev. L.L. and Laura Ferguson of Tulsa, Okla...

Cape Girardeau: Arrests; Thefts; Burglaries; Property damage; Miscellaneous

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday: Jackson Firefighters responded to the following call Monday:...

ANNA, Ill. -- Ellen Love Campbell, 85 of Anna died Tuesday, April 7, 2009, at Union County Hospital in Anna. She was born Aug. 18, 1923, in Charleston, Mo., daughter of Joseph Franklin and Azlea Rollins English. Campbell was a U.S. Navy veteran and served in World War II. She made her home in Peru many years...