Stories from Friday, August 14, 2009

CAIRO, Ill. - A traffic stop on Interstate 57 turned into the seizure of 398 pounds of marijuana Thursday morning. According to a news release from the Cairo Police Department, Sgt. Bernard Brown stopped a truck for speeding at the 4 mile marker around 7:37 am. The driver of the vehicle exited and ran on foot through a wooded area adjacent to the interstate...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A special meeting of the Sikeston City Council will be conducted Monday for public comment on creation of a Railroad Quiet Zone. Also on the agenda is requested legislation requiring all domestic animals in Sikeston to be spayed or neutered...

Before the preview showing of "Godspell" on Thursday night, Mike Dumey gathered his actors around. "The potential is great," he said. "I've said that from the beginning." Dumey, the choir director at Cape Girardeau Junior High School, put together a small group of actors this summer, Starz on the Rise. He said he wants to give area talent a forum to display their performance skills...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Former Gov. Warren E. Hearnes, a man who guided Missouri through the turbulent Vietnam era and the first governor to serve two consecutive terms, is gravely ill, said his biographer, Rob Crouse, who is serving as a family spokesman...

The owner of a pharmacy headquartered in Cape Girardeau will pay more than $3.9 million to Missouri, Illinois and the federal government in a Medicaid fraud settlement, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced in a news release today. Noel R. Botsch, owner of Special Design Health Care -- a specialty pharmacy that provides in-home pharmacy services -- allegedly double-billed Medicaid and submitted false claims for payment...

The NCAA stripped the Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball team of 11 wins when the Division I Committee on Infractions announced its report Thursday. The vacation of wins highlighted the penalties imposed on the Redhawks program for major and secondary violations in the men's basketball program. The program also saw a reduction in scholarships and recruiting visits...

On Saturday, September 26, 2009 the Annual Golf Chipping Contest will take place in Marble Hill, MO. Hosting this event will be the Christmas in the Foothill Group who is helping the community raise funds to build a Community Stage. Participants will be hitting from three tee boxes to the pin approximately 75 yards away. ...

In 2008, many came out to hit golf balls at the 2008 Golf Chipping Contest in Marble Hill, the final three ranged from ages 15 to 64.

With the guilty plea of Mark P. Lowery in a Stoddard County courtroom Thursday morning, authorities can close the books on what may be the largest string of burglaries in Cape Girardeau County. Lowery previously confessed to police he'd committed more than 100 area burglaries over the past three years, but as per an agreement with Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, he was only charged in connection with two of the burglaries...

Former Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Scott Edgar continued to profess his innocence Thursday even after the NCAA deemed that he knowingly committed major rules violations.

Miss Jenny Mae Duncan was crowned "Little Miss Missouri" at the Missouri Misses and Sweetheart Pageants held in Mexico, Missouri, on July 25. Contestants were required to compete in personal interview, talent, active wear, and evening wear. Jenny won high score first place awards in all four areas of competition, the only contestant to do so. For her talent presentation, she performed a vocal solo entitled "Big and Loud" from the animated movie, "Cats Don't Dance"...

The Democratic agenda being pushed by President Barack Obama and the Congressional leadership is a target-rich environment for Republicans, U.S. Sen Kit Bond said to area Rotarians Thursday. Health-care changes, energy legislation known as cap-and-trade, spending programs that will balloon the federal debt and questionable spending of stimulus dollars just scratch the surface, Bond said...

My Papillon , Leeto trying to get Sunny to play with him. Obviously, Sunny is not in the mood !!!!

First time Evie had been in the swimming pool,and she loved it. She is only 3 months old.

Cape Girardeau County has submitted an application that would help combat homelessness in the area. During Thursday's Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones signed an application for $177,649 in stimulus funding. ...

The Cape Girardeau County Collector's Office has revised its list of delinquent taxes, as some property owners who owed those taxes have paid them. The Southeast Missourian recently obtained a list of properties in Cape Girardeau County on which delinquent taxes are owed, including legal descriptions of the properties and how much taxes are owed on them...

The deadline for submitting proposals to provide taxpayer subsidized commercial passenger service at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport has been extended to Monday, a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman said Thursday. The original deadline was Wednesday. The extension was granted, transportation department spokesman Bill Mosley said, because Aviation Technologies, Inc., combined with Charter Air Transport, requested an extension...

Friday "500 Days of Summer,"Rated PG-13 @Cape West 14 Cine "Bandslam,"Rated PG @Town Plaza Cinema "District 9," Rated R @Town Plaza Cinema "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," Rated R @Town Plaza Cinema "The Time Traveler's Wife," Rated PG-13 @Cape West 14 Cine...

Erica Anderson, 13, started experimenting with batons when she was 7 after watching halftime shows at football games. "I guess the shiny metal appealed to me," she said. "It's really neat to watch." Anderson, an eighth-grader at Jackson Junior High School, competed in America's Youth on Parade last month. At the national competition in South Bend, Ind., she placed in the top 12 for her four events...

Until 1950, the U.S. Postal Service delivered mail twice a day in many areas. Dinner invitations could be posted in the morning, and replies would be received in the afternoon post. Businesses relied on the quick delivery of mail. Today, the Internet delivers e-mail millions of times a day. For many computer users, it sometimes seems like most of those messages show up in their inboxes...

Federal health reform will affect all Missourians, and so it is imperative that all Missourians have access to accurate information about the policies being discussed. Unfortunately, opponents of reform are injecting misleading claims and outright falsities into the debate, making it difficult for people to understand what this reform will mean for them...

Paying the bills; Street work; Can't see in; Health choice; They're Republicans; Happy pictures; Highway comment; Helping out

For summer flowers and crape myrtle blossoms, we give thanks, O God. Amen.

Americans consume too much fat (the bad kind) and sugar and too little fiber, vegetables and grains. So what? Well, if the elected leaders of this nation really wanted to reform health care, wouldn't they start by encouraging us to all pitch in? Let's face it. You and I can't do much about pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and doctors and hospitals. To be honest, I wouldn't know what to do with the pharma-medico-insurance complex. But I can do something about what I eat for lunch...

NEW YORK -- Les Paul, the guitar virtuoso and inventor who revolutionized music and created rock 'n' roll as surely as Elvis Presley and the Beatles by developing the solid-body electric guitar and multitrack recording, died Thursday at age 94...

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Dr. Jason Newsom railed against burgers, french fries, fried chicken and sweet tea in his campaign to promote better eating in a part of the country known as the Redneck Riviera. He might still be leading the charge if he had only left the doughnuts alone...

BAGHDAD -- A double suicide bombing devastated a cafe packed with young people in northwestern Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, officials said, in the latest attack against a minority community. The blast capped a deadly week in which nearly 150 people have been killed in bombings concentrated near the volatile northern city of Mosul and Baghdad, heightening fears that Sunni insurgents are stepping up efforts to stoke ethnic and sectarian tensions...

KABUL -- Voting observers expect fraud during next week's Afghan presidential election and warn that cheating will most likely take place at polling stations in remote or dangerous areas where independent monitors won't be able to be present. A suspiciously high number of women -- far more than men -- have been registered to vote in culturally conservative provinces where President Hamid Karzai expects to do well, a leading election monitor said this week. ...

WASHINGTON -- Maybe it was an accident or perhaps an ancient experiment. Many thousands of years ago, early humans somehow figured out they could make better stone tools by treating the rocks with fire. Evidence of that, dating 72,000 years ago, has been found on the southeastern tip of Africa, researchers report in today's edition of the journal Science...

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is upsetting the nation's governors by pushing for authority to call up military reservists for natural disasters -- and to control how the troops would be used in any state. "Control" is the key word. Largely considered a wartime resource, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine reserves can be tapped by the president for military deployments overseas and for national emergencies such as terrorist attacks. ...

Voting has ended and winners have been selected in the Southeast Missourian's Summer Babies Photo Contest on semissourian.com. Thousands of votes were cast by nearly 1,900 registered users who chose their favorites out of the 147 photo entries...

Cape Girardeau County

Jackson Firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday: * Emergency medical service on South Missouri Street. * Emergency medical service on East Jackson Boulevard.

McCormick; Hess

25 years ago: Aug. 14, 1984 The third murder trial of Douglas Wayne Thompson in connection with the death of a Cape Girardeau auxiliary police officer in 1961 has been delayed to Sept. 12 to 14 in Scott County Circuit Court; the trial, which was postponed several times, had been scheduled to begin Monday...

Contractors began milling work on U.S. 61 in Jackson Thursday and will continue working on the road through Saturday, reducing part of it to one lane. Work will take place from Route D to the Highway 34 and 72 intersection from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. to minimize traffic interference. Crews will then pave the road beginning at 6 p.m. Monday, ending at 6 a.m. During this time some streets may be temporarily closed except to local traffic...

ST. LOUIS -- A Turkish-Canadian man has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing a plane in Canada and flying over three states before landing along a dark southern Missouri highway. Adam Dylan Leon pleaded guilty Thursday in St. Louis to federal charges of interstate transportation of a stolen aircraft, importation of a stolen aircraft and illegal entry...

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Thou shalt not steal -- especially within sight of a convent. Police in Independence, Mo., are crediting a pair of nuns with helping nab a gun-toting man suspected of burglarizing two homes Thursday morning. Around 7 a.m., Sister Catarina glanced out a window of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist convent and spotted a suspicious man walking through a soybean field. She and Sister Connie headed outside to see if the man was lost or hunting illegally...

Southeast Missouri State got off easy Thursday. Thursday's announcement by the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions could have been much worse for the Redhawks men's basketball program considering the university already was on probation. When you look at the penalties imposed, it's hard to believe they weren't worse. The university will claim the penalties are harsh and that they've instilled fear into the department...

As far as potential NCAA sanctions, Dickey Nutt knew what he was getting into when he was hired as Southeast Missouri State's men's basketball coach March 12. After the sanctions against the Redhawks were announced Thursday by the NCAA, Nutt said the Redhawks can resume their task of rebuilding a struggling program...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Indiana Pacers rookie forward and former University of North Carolina national champion Tyler Hansbrough was honored Thursday night in his hometown as the city awarded him a key to the city and the gym floor was named in his honor at E.T. Peters Gym, where he played prep basketball at Poplar Bluff High School...

ST. LOUIS -- So far, the St. Louis Cardinals are making the most of a favorable August schedule. They lead the NL Central by 4 1/2 games and are 12 games above .500, both high water marks, heading into a three-game series against the NL West-trailing San Diego Padres today. For the month, only a three-game set in Los Angeles next week is against a winning team...

PHILADELPHIA -- By halftime, the Linc was buzzing: Michael Vick was an Eagle. Suddenly, no one seemed to care much about the preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday night. All that mattered to most fans was that the disgraced quarterback had joined their team...

WASHINGTON -- There's a certain irony here. The 20th-century community organizer who used 21st-century tools for his people-powered White House campaign now finds himself besieged by citizens airing their grievances at 19th-century-inspired town-hall-style meetings...

WASHINGTON -- A report on retail sales Thursday reinforced a worry of economists: Shoppers won't spend enough to help a recovery take hold. The figures served as a reality check for an economy that lately has appeared poised to emerge from recession and grow again. Consumer spending powers about 70 percent of economic activity...

Honors, Achievements Scholarships -- From staff reports ...

You can make an egg float in water by adding an ingredient found in the kitchen. Materials Instructions STEP 1: Fill the transparent cup halfway with water. STEP 2: Add 4 teaspoons of salt. Use the spoon to mix the salt and water. STEP 3: Place the uncooked egg in the salt water...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Donald T. Simmons Sr., 58, of Dongola died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with Jack Richardson officiating. Burial will be in Anna Cemetery...

Ruby M. Friedrich, 81, of Jackson died Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Lori Anne Freeman Ditto, 44, of Charleston died Monday, July 27, 2009, at St. Louis University Trauma Center following a brief illness. She was born Feb. 23, 1965, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Sara Freeman of Cape Girardeau and Danny and Sharon Freeman of Linn, Mo...

George F. Gregori, 59, of Jackson passed away Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, at his home. He was born July 26, 1950, in New Orleans, to Victor "Greg" and Laura Wilkinson Gregori. He and Paula Riley were married Sept. 2, 1984, in New Orleans...

Gerald Edwin Palmer, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 14, 1924, in Norman, Ark., son of Dorsey and Hattie Horn Palmer. He and Thelma Long were married June 24, 1950, in Piggott, Ark...

Cynthia Jo "Cindy" King, 46, of Jackson passed away Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, at her home. She was born Jan. 17, 1963, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Kenneth L. and Norma L. Ridings Blankenship. Cindy moved to Jackson from Cape Girardeau in 1973, and attended Jackson High School. ...

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Leroy Eddleman, 80, of Dongola died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, at the home of a son. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday and 8 to 10 a.m. Monday at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola and until time of service at First Lutheran Church...

Theodore "Ted" Westrich Jr., 45, of Wright City, Mo., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. today at Baue Funeral Home in O'Fallon, Mo., and from 2 p.m. to service time Saturday at First Baptist Church in Wright City...

An article in Thursday's Southeast Missourian about Cape Girardeau zoning code revisions included a reference to city rules on how many unrelated people may live together in the same dwelling. Under the revision, no more than three unrelated people will be allowed to share a house or apartment...

George Edward McLaird, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born April 3, 1925, in Farmington, Mo., son of Clarence L. and Beulah I. Trickey McLaird. He and Faye Wilma Reid were married April 10, 1946, at Jackson. She died Aug. 9, 2002...

Jesse Cole Phillips, 27, of Park Hills, Mo., formerly of Jackson, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Oct. 20, 1981, in Belleville, Ill., son of Ben S. Phillips and Barbara Weigle. Jesse was a graduate of Jackson High School...

Williams sinks hole-in-one Linda Williams of Jackson carded her third career hole-in-one Monday at Kimbeland Country Club. Williams used a 3-wood to ace No. 6, a par 3 playing 134 yards. Witnesses were Gerald Williams, Larry Angle and Lil Angle...