Stories from Tuesday, August 18, 2009

One of the Ohio Valley Conference's top baseball players will return to Southeast Missouri State for his senior season. Jim Klocke said Monday that he will put a potential professional baseball career on hold. "I'm coming back to Southeast," said Klocke, the all-OVC first-team catcher the past two seasons. "I think it's the best decision for me at this time."...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Plant detectives in southeast Missouri are on the lookout for soybean rust after the fungal disease turned up in Arkansas and parts of Mississippi. Soybean scouts from the University of Missouri's Delta Research Center in Portageville are collecting leaf samples from eight monitoring fields in southeast and southwest Missouri. Budget cuts have forced the center to scale back its statewide testing program...

NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. - A Dudley man was struck and killed by a tractor trailer near Sikeston earlier today, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol...

A toddler involved in an apparent swimming pool accident at a Jackson home over the weekend died early Tuesday afternoon, according to Heidi Suppelsa, spokeswoman at St. Louis Children's Hospital. The 20-month-old boy had been hospitalized since Sunday...

A toddler involved in an apparent swimming pool accident over the weekend at a Jackson residence remained in a St. Louis hospital late Monday, according to Cape Girardeau County Detective Jamie Malugen.

WILLIAMSVILLE, Mo. -- A 60-year-old man has drowned in the Black River in southeast Missouri and alcohol is believed to have had a role.

As it explores ways to save money on garbage pickup, Cape Girardeau will look at privatizing the entire operation, city manager Scott Meyer told the city council.

A man suspected of burglarizing two Cape Girardeau businesses was charged Saturday with two counts of second degree burglary and two counts of stealing.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- They're not being judged for combat readiness, rifle marksmanship or grenade-tossing accuracy. But three Missouri National Guard cooks nonetheless will put their military training to the test this weekend as they compete in the Cape Girardeau Jaycees 17th annual Barbecue Fest. The event will be held Aug. 21-22 at Arena Park...

On September 12, 2009, 6:00 p.m., as you drive through Marble Hill, you will see the lights coming from the horse arena located on Highway 34 West in the heart of Marble Hill! You will see horse trailers, horses and riders, out and about ready to give everything they have in the monthly horse show put on by The Marble Hill Optimist Club...

On their first day back, students took advantage of the school's new dining facilities, which include dining stations with different meal options such as homestyle food, deli sandwiches, pizza, grilled food and a soup and salad bar.

DETROIT -- Higher sales from the government's Cash for Clunkers program have prompted General Motors Co. to boost production at several of its factories, according to company and union officials. The increases include an extra day of work at the Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant and increased hours at a factory in Orion Township, Michigan, said the union officials, who asked not to be identified because the announcement, expected Tuesday afternoon, had not been made...

My missing dog :-(

Entries for the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's annual Regional Juries Art Exhibition are due Sept. 14. Artists, age 18 and over, who live within 175 miles of Cape Girardeau are encouraged to submit works interpreting the people, places and things that represent this diverse region. Categories will include painting, 3-D, graphic and mixed media...

Patricia (Patti) J. Lansmon, a Veteran of the US Air Force and resident at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau, was recently selected as the Veterans of the Month by REMEMBERaVET.net. Patti received a certificate of recognition during a reception at the Veterans Home on Tuesday, August 18...

Shirley Nachtrieb will conduct a mixed media (watercolor and acrylic) abstract workshop Sept. 26-27. Her collage work has been published five times in Somerset Studios Magazine. She is a signature member of the Society of Layerists in Multimedia, St. Louis Watercolor Society, the International Society of Experimental Artists, the Missouri Water Color Society, and Best of Missouri Hands...

High Flyer Evan Bourne getting ready to fly on Jack Swagger and MVP as his lookout!

Beth Phoenix winking at me August 16th 2009, We hung out together at BWW's in Cape Girardeau, MO on Superbowl Sunday '09!

Cody Rhodes taking on John Cena with Triple H amd Mark Henry in picture Sunday August 16th 2009!

Ample benches along the trail around Capaha Park provide opportunities to enjoy a peaceful sit and enjoy the ducks and geese, or just sit.

The following story was written by my friend David S. Reif who had the priviledge of interviewing Governor Hearnes in 2003. It is a moving tribute to one of Missouri's best and brightest leaders. Warren Hearnes was the last of the Southern Democrats. He believed in States Rights and fought with all of his might to preserve them. Governor Hearnes was a fixture of American politics and will be missed greatly. Rest in peace Governor. -Clint E. Lacy...

WASHINGTON -- Got an itch to scratch? Scientists have pinpointed a key group of cells that sends itch-alerts to the brain. When researchers at Washington University in St. Louis knocked out those cells in mice, it alleviated their itchiness without affecting their ability to sense pain -- work that opens a possible new target for creating better itch relievers...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Warren E. Hearnes, the first Missouri governor to serve two consecutive terms, was remembered Monday as "maybe the outstanding governor of the 20th century in Missouri" by Southeast Missouri State University historian Dr. Frank Nickell.

Route T in Bollinger County will be closed today for a pipe replacement.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The late Warren E. Hearnes, 46th governor of Missouri from 1965 to 1973, will be honored in a state funeral Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol and return for the final time to Southeast Missouri for a Friday funeral.

ISLAMABAD -- The Taliban claimed responsibility for two weekend suicide bombings in the northwestern Swat Valley, saying Monday the blasts were a message to a visiting U.S. envoy that the militants remained strong despite recent Pakistani army gains there...

MEXICO CITY -- Billionaire businessman Carlos Slim joined academics and human rights advocates on Monday in demanding a renewed national commitment to a free press and an end to attacks on journalists. Declaring free speech as a fundamental human right, the group of 21 leaders signed a nine-page Commitment to Freedom of Expression, a detailed proposal for Mexico to provide the public with access to information, transparency in government activities and the right to safely report news...

LONDON -- British authorities say they will evacuate two small villages in northern England after a World War II-era bomb was found buried in a nearby field. North Yorkshire Police say that more than 1,000 people will be moved from their homes in the hamlets of Ebberston and Allerston on Tuesday afternoon before the 500 pound explosive is made safe...

KABUL -- Women's rights activists alleged Monday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has used a constitutional loophole to enact a law that allows minority Shiite Muslim husbands to refuse food and money to their wives if they deny them sex. The activists suspect Karzai took the step to appease conservative Shiite clergy ahead of Thursday's presidential election. Nearly 20 percent of Afghans are Shiites and could become an influential voting block as Karzai contests for a new five-year term...

MABRIYOLE, Haiti -- Venecia Louis nearly starved last year after four tropical storms pummeled Haiti. Now the 4-year-old's cheeks are pudgier, but her hair is thin and her stomach is swollen -- both telltale signs of malnutrition. Like Venecia, Haiti is barely hanging on as the season's first named storm of hurricane season heads its way. Ana, downgraded to a tropical depression, was moving across the neighboring Dominican Republic on Monday, dumping about four inches of rain...

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

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest Summonses Assaults Theft Property damage Miscellaneous Jackson The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt....

MILWAUKEE -- Children with a broken arm do better on a simple over-the-counter painkiller than on a more powerful prescription combination that includes a narcotic, a study finds. The study tested ibuprofen -- sold as Advil, Motrin and other brands -- against acetaminophen plus codeine, a combo called Tylenol No. 3 that is also sold in generic form...

Two trucks, one of which was a Cape Girardeau fleet vehicle, were involved in an accident Monday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 74 and Mount Auburn Road. One man was taken to a hospital.

ST. LOUIS -- With Orlando Pace gone, Alex Barron is getting used to playing on the other side of the St. Louis Rams offensive line. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound Barron made the move to left tackle from right tackle after Pace was not re-signed in the offseason. Pace, a seven-time Pro Bowl player, signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Bears...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals beat a midnight deadline Monday and signed high school pitcher Shelby Miller to a deal that included a signing bonus of $2.875 million. Miller, of Brownwood, Texas, was the 19th overall pick of the draft and also had considered a scholarship offer from Texas A&M. He was rated the seventh-best right-handed pitcher in the draft by Baseball America after going 10-2 with a 1.90 ERA with 153 strikeouts in 77 innings...

LOS ANGELES -- Rick Ankiel put St. Louis ahead with a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Chris Carpenter pitched eight innings of five-hit ball in the Cardinals' ninth victory in 10 games, 3-2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night...

PHOENIX -- President Obama chastised the defense industry and a freespending Congress on Monday for wasting tax dollars "with doctrine and weapons better suited to fight the Soviets on the plains of Europe than insurgents in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan."...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The price tag for fighting California wildfires during just the past few weeks has climbed to more than $60 million, with the fire season's peak months still looming ahead. But in a state recently forced to make deep budget cuts, pay bills with IOUs and order workers to take furloughs to close a $24.5 billion shortfall, funding to fight wildfires survived, and an emergency reserve even went up. Firefighting officials also have a rainy-day fund to tap into...

NEW YORK -- Investors are finding out what everybody else already knew: The consumer isn't going to spend the economy into recovery. Major U.S. stocks indexes tumbled by the biggest amount in six weeks Monday as investors grew worried that they have been too quick to bet on an economic rebound during the market's five-month rally. Overseas markets and commodities plunged, and demand for safe-haven investments sent the dollar and Treasury prices shooting higher...

MIAMI -- The first hurricane of this year's Atlantic season was gaining strength far off in the ocean Monday, while weaker storms threatened the Dominican Republic and Haiti with heavy rains and drenched the Florida Panhandle. Hurricane Bill was expected to become a major hurricane in the next couple of days, with winds topping 110 mph as it moved on a track expected to be near Bermuda by the end of the week...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Environmentalists are questioning the safety of a state plan to add truck-only lanes to Interstate 70. While separating car and truck traffic the interstate may be a good idea, the state may be overselling the benefits of its $4.1 billion proposal, the Sierra Club's Missouri chapter said in documents filed in response to the state's environmental review of the project...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The nation's largest buyer of new cars and seller of used ones has acknowledged omitting a standard safety feature from thousands of Chevrolet Impala fleet vehicles it bought from 2006 to 2008. The Kansas City Star reported Sunday that St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car chose to "delete" side-curtain air bags on about 66,000 Impalas when it ordered them from the manufacturer. That saved Enterprise roughly $175 per vehicle, or about $11.5 million...

The Cape Girardeau School Board met in a special session Monday to hear presentations on the district facilities plan and the public school and education employee retirement system. Board members discussed aspects of the evolving facilities plan, which should be complete by the beginning of September...

A statewide bicycle race involving 15 teams and 120 cyclists doesn't just happen. That's why host cities for various stages of the Tour of Missouri bicycle race next month need volunteers. Cape Girardeau is the host city Sept. 8 for the finish of the second stage as the cyclists travel from Ste. Genevieve. This leg of the race ends in downtown Cape Girardeau after following a winding route along blacktop roads through three counties...

A few weeks ago Jackson had its annual week when people could put on the curb a lot of items that normally were not in the guidelines of trash pickup. I think this is a wonderful service and wish it was twice a year. I got tickled at myself and others driving around to look at the piles. While it is great to clean up, I was saddened to see so much set out that could have gone to recycling instead of the landfill...

Regarding Sunday's Lou Pritchett's "President Obama: You scare me" op-ed column: 1. If you know nothing about Obama, then read his books and other articles about him. 2. Pritchett infers Obama's Harvard education was obtained surreptitiously. He said it was through student loans and hard work. 70 percent of Harvard's students have student loans. Harvard is looking for bright students, not rich students...

"There's garbage in the punch bowl." The cry was heard. The six-month Obama coming-out party was winding to a close. Promises of perfection had been abandoned months earlier. Now people were being told to sit down and shut up. Obama and his party planners know what is good for us and don't need our input...

Former basketball standout William "Bud" Eley is among five individuals and one team that will be inducted to the Southeast Missouri State University Hall of Fame in December. Eley, the 1999 Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year and the 1999 OVC basketball Player of the Year, will be joined by Rich Eichhorst (basketball, 1952 to 1956), Tuba Meto (volleyball, 1994 to 1997), Andrew Presberry (track, 1980 to 1982) and Linda Wells (softball, 1968 to 1972) and the 1988-1989 men's basketball team.. ...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger has fractured the pinkie finger of his throwing hand and could be out for at least two weeks. Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said Bulger will not play in Friday's preseason matchup at home against Atlanta and is doubtful for the Aug. 27 game at Cincinnati...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's concession on a public option for health care drew complaints from liberals and little interest from critics Monday, a sign of the challenge in finding middle ground on the issue. The White House said there had been no shift in position, adding the president still favors a federal option for the sale of health insurance. ...

WASHINGTON -- A former government informant known online as "soupnazi" stole information from 130 million credit and debit card accounts in what federal prosecutors are calling the largest case of identity theft yet. Prosecutors said Monday that Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami broke his own record for identity theft, though his exploits ended when he went to jail on charges stemming from an earlier case involving 40 million accounts...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Plant detectives in southeast Missouri are on the lookout for soybean rust after the fungal disease turned up in Arkansas and parts of Mississippi. Soybean scouts from the University of Missouri's Delta Research Center in Portageville are collecting leaf samples from eight monitoring fields in southeast and southwest Missouri. Budget cuts have forced the center to scale back its statewide testing program...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's retirement plan for state employees lost 19 percent of its value last year, but has gained 4 percent over the last five years. The Missouri State Employees' Retirement System reported its earnings through June 30. Despite the past year's losses, the top investment official for the retirement system said it has outperformed most public pension plans over five, 10 and 15 years...

NEW YORK -- All three U.S.-based automakers are doing a better job of satisfying their customers than they were a year ago, according to a recent survey. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC all posted significant gains in this year's American Customer Satisfaction Index released Tuesday by the University of Michigan...

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) -- A man is undergoing mental evaluation and treatment after slitting his wrists outside of the St. Louis County courthouse, then writing in blood on a window and the sidewalk. Clayton police chief Thomas Byrne said the incident happened about 11 a.m. ...

BLOOMSDALE, Mo. (AP) -- A cement plant described as the largest in the nation has opened in eastern Missouri, about 50 miles south of St. Louis in Ste. Genevieve County. The $1 billion plant was built by Holcim US, part of Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd. ...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Eugene Stoverink, 61, of Leopold died Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Nov. 3, 1947, in Leopold, son of Lawrence H. and Magdalen Hinkebein Stoverink. He and Linda Nenninger were married Oct. 28, 1972, at St. John's Catholic Church in Leopold...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Dennis M. Strahan, 61, of Chaffee died Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009, at Chaffee Nursing Center. He was born Dec. 29, 1947, in Madison County, Ill., son of Maxwell and Norma Wood Strahan. Dennis was a retired caterer with Burch Food Services in Sikeston, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Raymond M. Roth, 82, of Perryville died Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 21, 1927, at Farrar, Mo., son of the late Otto and Marie Detjen Roth. He and Elinor Mueller were married April 25, 1953...

Gary Lee Ryerson, 44, of Annapolis, Mo., formerly of Austin, Minn., died Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, in St. Louis. He was born Dec. 11, 1964, in Britt, Iowa, to Paul L. and Carol Dee Hickman Ryerson. Gary grew up in Austin and married Becky Smith on July 21, 1990, in Albert Lea, Minn...

Jerry Dean Brotherton, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, at his home. He was born April 5, 1941, in Patton, Mo., son of J.B. and Lena Hahn Brotherton. He and Jacque Dillow were married July 9, 1966, at First Baptist Church in Jackson...

Stella Louise Taylor, 62, of Scott City died Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009, at her home. She was born March 9, 1947, in Cape Girardeau to Leon and Grace Iona McCulley Givens. She and Larry Gene Taylor were married Aug. 29, 1968, at Crump. Taylor was a member of New Life Gospel Church in Scott City...

Rose Marie "Tootie" Blattel, 73, of Scott City died Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009, at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. She was born Oct. 29, 1935, in New Hamburg, Mo., daughter of Barney and Anna Westrich Glastetter. She and Norman "Boss" Blattel were married June 30, 1956...

MATTHEWS, Mo. -- Elaina Nichole Grace Carlisle of Matthews died Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born earlier that day in Cape Girardeau, daughter of John Carlisle and Julie Vanden Brook...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Early Miller, 81, of Murphysboro, Ill., formerly of Mounds, died Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, at his home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to service time Wednesday at Massie Funeral Home in Mounds. The funeral will be at noon Wednesday at the funeral home, with Larry Barnett Sr. and Valencia Clark officiating. Burial will be in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens in Villa Ridge, Ill...

Helen M. Zarger, 88, of Topeka, Kan., died Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, at Midland Hospice. A Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday at Mater Dei's Assumption Church. Burial will be at 9 a.m. today in Fairmont Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Brennan-Mathena Funeral Home in Topeka is in charge of arrangements...

Thanks for rescue; Sidewalk mailboxes; Just compensation; Cuts for seniors; Learn from Reagan; Satisfactory care; No rate increase; Great day; Street work; Dangerous driving; Control spending; Planning for the end; School lunches; Good coverage; Pulling the plug; Balanced literacy; Deficit spending; Moral issue; Local players; No access; Hollywood input; Monitoring waste

Property tax rates in Jackson will remain the same for the year 2009.

A Jackson man thinks a man-made lake where the Diversion Channel now exists could provide a boost to Cape Girardeau County's tourism. As he did in previous meetings, Tom Gleeson again presented the idea to the Cape Girardeau County commissioners during a meeting Monday morning...

WASHINGTON -- White House spokesman Robert Gibbs insists the Obama administration has not shifted its goals on health care reform or distanced itself from a government-run public insurance option. He said in a meeting with reporters Tuesday morning that news stories suggesting that the administration was ready to abandon the public option as it battles to push health care reform through were overblown. ...

WASHINGTON -- Wholesale prices dropped sharply in July, and over the past 12 months fell by the largest amount in more than six decades of record-keeping. The Labor Department said Tuesday that wholesale prices dropped 0.9 percent last month. That's triple the decline economists had expected and was driven by big decreases in both energy and food costs. Over the past 12 months, the prices of goods before they reach store shelves fell 6.8 percent...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's unemployment rate held steady in July at 9.3 percent while job losses slowed from previous months. It's only the second time this year that the state's unemployment rate has not increased from the previous month. Although Missouri shed 700 non-farm jobs in July, it's the best showing since October. The state Department of Economic Development released the labor figures Tuesday...

25 years ago: Aug. 18, 1984 Construction of eight new lanes in the West Park Bowling Center has been completed, and they are now in use; the addition provides 32 lanes in the facility on Silver Springs Road. Fifty years in the specialty meat business will be observed later this month by Esicar's Old Hickory Smokehouse; E.A. Esicar began the business Aug. 27, 1934, at 411 Broadway...