Stories from Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Cape Girardeau County Commission is expected to decide during its Monday meeting if it will hold some nighttime meetings in the near future. Second District Commissioner Jay Purcell first proposed the idea during the commission's Nov. 9 meeting. ...

The Rev. Byron Bonner admits that hundreds of people marching through the streets won't solve eliminate crime and violence on the south side of Cape Girardeau. But that's not the point of the next month's "Taking it Back II" march. "The march says to the kids in the community, 'We love you,'" said Bonner, pastor of True Vine Ministries...

There are potentially two more candidates for mayor of Cape Girardeau, setting up a likely February primary to pick two candidates to meet in the April general election. Retired businessman Harry Rediger, a longtime fixture on the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission and a name well known among civic leaders, said Friday that he is gathering signatures on a nominating petition and will announce a final decision Monday...

Since 2006 the number of foreclosures has increased by 2 million and the crisis is expected to continue for months, said William Emmons, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. "Is the end in sight?" Emmons asked a group of about 30 people attending a foreclosure crisis seminar Friday in Cape Girardeau. "While all of us would like to say yes, I can't...

These are my two spoiled little baby's. There both chiuaha's. They are so funny together. They wouldn't know what to do with out each other. They play together so well. There favorite thing is to snuggle with each other. They do absolutely everything together. A true love story I think... Angie...

Cassie Essner starts a Hot Wheels race on Saturday during Hot Wheels Zoom Day sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department at the Arena Building. ...

Santa decided to let the raindeer restand plow with the horses

Jersey licking her lips to the just cooked meat.

Buster the Basset running full speed.

This is Winnie. She is very lovable and has never met a stranger! She loves to play with her skunk! She enjoys snuggling on the couch in her fuzzy blanket. Winnie is very playful and loves to play with all of her toys, especially outside! One of her favorite things is to chase crickets! Winnie is the best dog I have ever had! Everyone loves to play with her and she loves every minute of it! She is fun and loving. Winnie is a fantastic dog! I could not imagine my life without her!...

This is Winnie and her best friend (my nephew) Grant. Grant and Winnie love to play together. Grant will run around my house with one of her toys and she will chase him! They both play so much together that they will wear each other out! They have so much fun!...

The JAOSA 1st Grade Girls All Stars won 2nd place in the Cape Tournament on 11/15/2009. The girls went 3-1 in the two day tournament over the weekend. 1st Row L to R: Mackenzie Schubert, Emma Brugger, Ivy Guilliams, Grace Crowden, Katelyn Miller 2nd Row L to R: Sydney Turner, Lindsey Bauwens, Eliza Wadley, Madelyn Bourner, Brooke Thompson, Olivia Ward...

This was during the big ice storm we all remember. My little dog Rolo had never been in the snow. She loved it. It was like she was in doggie heaven.

ST. LOUIS -- The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team displayed the fight and hustle that first-year coach Dickey Nutt has preached during the preseason. But offensive shortcomings and a lack of inside strength conspired to make sure the Redhawks would not usher in the Nutt era with a victory celebration Saturday night...

Patti Eftink, left, fills out raffle tickets, with the help of Beth Kiser and Rachel Byrd, to see Josh Turner while donating to the Jackson Police Department Annual Toy Drive Friday afternoon, November 13, 2009, in Jackson. ...

Firefighters from Sedgewickville, Millersville, North Bollinger and Marble Hill fire districts responded to a fire at the home of Paula Bright just after 7 a.m. ...

KELSO, Mo. -- Stacey Lynn Seyer and Derek Michael Welter exchanged wedding vows May 9, 2009, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso. The Rev. Oliver Clavin performed the ceremony. Walter and Kathy Seyer of Kelso are parents of the bride. The groom is the son of Mike and Bonnie Westrich of Kelso, and Michael and Loretta Welter of Benton, Mo...

Wendy Jo Dirden and Brent Alan Graviett were married Oct. 3, 2009, at First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Mike Shupert performed the ceremony. Violinist was Bruce Dirden of Honolulu, Hawaii, brother of the bride. Pianist was Dana Lynch of Oran, Mo., cousin of the groom. Readers were Bruce Dirden and Michael Dannenmueller of Layton, Utah, uncle of the groom...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Sue Zan Houchins of Marble Hill and Jerry and Wendy Houchins of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Jerrica Suzanne Houchins, to Logan Michael McCarty. He is the son of Michael and Susie Logston of Marble Hill...

Last August I was on I-55 coming back from my sister's funeral. I had car trouble and pulled over on the interstate. I was very afraid, because I was alone and did not want to turn on my emergency lights because of all the bad things I'd read and heard about. ...

The budgeting process in the Cape Girardeau School District is getting an early start. Officials are looking for ways to balance next year's budget instead of relying, as they have in recent years, on reserves to cover growing expenses. In the past three years district expenditures have grown by more than $6 million to $42 million, but revenue increased only $2.8 million...

Every year we hear about how American students are slipping further behind their foreign counterparts, particularly in the fields of mathematics and science. Culturally, we've defined newspapers as fortresses of fact based upon sincere efforts at objectivity. ...

Magnificent play; Intersection trash; Walls will fall; Reform bill; Taxpayers pay; Vote Tea Party; Nation in debt; Pay the premiums; Awesome season; National security; On their own; New trash system; Three classes; Driving pollution; Animal control; Fall weather

By Stanley Kober President Barack Obama is reviewing strategy for the war in Afghanistan -- a war which the President has declared a necessity. The administration hopes that it can drive a wedge between the Taliban, thereby reaching a deal with the group's more "moderate" elements. In doing so, the coalition forces can marginalize the radicals, with whom no negotiation is possible...

Sacramento Bee This month, the United States enters its ninth year of seemingly never-ending troop escalation in Afghanistan. In 2002, there were a mere 5,000 U.S. troops there. The number quadrupled in three years. When President Barack Obama came to office, some 37,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Afghanistan. He has steadily increased the U.S. presence -- to 68,000 today. And now, some in the U.S. military are recommending a U.S. presence of 100,000 troops...

Hear us, O God, when we sing praises of your great deeds. Amen.

Army Pvt. Tylor Floyd has graduated from basic infantry training at Fort Benning, Columbus, Ga. During the nine weeks of training, Floyd received training in drill and ceremonies, weapons, map reading, tactics, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid and Army history, core values and traditions. ...

Jaycees Toybox To donate: Drop new, unwrapped toys at AAA Travel, Alliance Bank, Bank of America, Capaha Bank, Commerce Bank, Osage Center, Southeast Missourian, Montgomery Bank, Regions Bank, US Bank, Wehrenberg Theaters, First Missouri State Bank, Hastings Town Plaza, Paula Huggins Accounting, Bank of Missouri, Westfield Shopping, Kelly Services, Wal-Mart, Healthpoint, Sears, Fitness Plus, Elite Travel, Realty Executives, First State Community Bank, Christian School for the Young Years, Elements Salon, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.. ...

Before long, when the leaves have fallen and the weather turns cold, several organizations in town will ask that people spread some holiday cheer by giving to those who may not be able to afford Christmas presents or even daily meals. The Jaycees' Toybox, among other programs, provides toys for children in the city of Cape Girardeau...

Nov. 16-20 Cape Girardeau Elementary MONDAY--Chicken nuggets or turkey & cheese on bun, chicken & herb rice, mixed fruit cup. TUESDAY--Crispito with nacho cheese sauce or ham & cheese on bun, candied carrots, pears. WEDNESDAY--Turkey & gravy or ham & cheese sandwich, whipped potatoes, green beans, cinnamon roll...

Carter is a lovable long-haired cat who is less than a year old. His brother Cash is also available for adoption. Both cats have been neutered and are up-to-date on shots. For more information, contact Safe Harbor at 243-9823...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has cleared space shuttle Atlantis for liftoff Monday on a trip to stock up the International Space Station with several years' worth of spare parts. Mission managers gave the go-ahead Saturday as forecasters put the odds of good launch weather at 90 percent, about as good as it gets...

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Want to know how far it is from the eastern end of Interstate 40 in North Carolina to the western end in California? You'll have to punch it into your GPS or try MapQuest. The Star-News of Wilmington reports that a popular sign showing the distance between Wilmington, N.C., and Barstow, Calif., has been stolen for at least the fourth time -- and the last...

KIEL, Wis. -- The hundreds of people who lined the main street of a small Indiana city Saturday fell solemnly silent as a white hearse passed by on its way to the church. Mourners streamed into a Wisconsin gymnasium to remember a soldier who once promised to take down Osama bin Laden...

BRYN MAWR, Pa. -- When Sharhea Wade arrived at Bryn Mawr College from a big-city high school, it seemed as if every other student on the quiet, leafy campus had graduated from an exclusive private school. "I felt intimidated by them," recalled Wade. "Bryn Mawr is a different world."...

KAILUA, Hawaii -- Jenn Boneza remembers when the white sandy beach near the boat ramp in her hometown was wide enough for people to build sand castles. "It really used to be a beautiful beach," said the 35-year-old mother of two. "And now when you look at it, it's gone."...

STOCKHOLM -- With a solemn ceremony in Stockholm's antiquities museum, Sweden on Saturday marked the return of 22 skulls looted from a native Hawaiian community mainly in the 17th century. The symbolic ceremony -- attended by guests from Hawaii and the Nordic countries' own indigenous Sami population -- was part of Sweden's increased efforts to return indigenous remains collected by scientists across the world in the 17th and 18th centuries...

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's embattled opposition leaders accused the government of becoming more brutal than the shah's regime in Web statements Saturday, and authorities announced a new Internet crackdown aimed at choking off the reform movement's last real means of keeping its campaign alive...

SINGAPORE -- A major pact within reach, President Barack Obama aims to nudge forward an arms-control deal in talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum brought Obama to Singapore, but he is focusing on individual meetings today with Medvedev and Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of the world's largest Muslim nation and Obama's home as a boy. ...

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. -- A Bluff City woman who mistook a police officer for a car hop at a Sonic drive-in is charged with DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia. A 911 caller Nov. 7 reported Veletta Newman nearly struck several vehicles before pulling into the drive-in...

LOS ANGELES -- The lunar dud for space enthusiasts has become a watershed event for NASA. Spacecraft that crashed into the moon last month kicked up a relatively small plume. But scientists have confirmed the debris contained water -- 25 gallons of it...

Mungle; Dumey; VanZant; Probst; McCrackin; Brown; Mulcahy; Campbell; Withrow; Carter; Petzoldt

Due to a source error, the fire report in Thursday's edition should have said Cape Girardeau firefighters responded to an illegal burn in the 2500 block of Saddleridge Road.

7 p.m. Monday City hall 401 Independence St. Action Items Consent ordinances New ordinances Resolutions Appointments Liquor licenses Other...

Genealogical society selling books The Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society will have several book sales at the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center, 112 E. Washington St., in Jackson with a variety of new and used books for genealogists to purchase. The book sales will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 24...

Daniel and Tracy Woodell of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, announce the engagement of their daughter, Rachel Woodell, to Joshua Hill, both of Columbia, Mo. He is the son of Don and Laurie Hill of Jackson. Woodell is a 2007 graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She is attending the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law...

Staci Dawn Cook and Kenneth James Taylor were married June 6, 2009, at the historic Donnelly House in Birmingham, Ala. Dr. Dean Register performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Steven Cook and Teresa Cook of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Johnnie and Karen Taylor of Hattiesburg, Miss...

An Army psychiatrist, trained to treat men and women dealing with combat stress, allegedly shoots and kills a dozen people and wounds 30 others. Because of the deadline set for me by the Missourian, this column was written five days ago. Which is to say, by the time you read this, we may well know something about the motivation behind Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan's actions -- information not available when I hit "send" on my computer...

Life has a way of roughing us up. Sometimes by the decisions we make, often by the decisions others have made. Sometimes we get roughed up by things beyond our control that dramatically affect the course of our lives, like a call from the doctor to come see him his office or being rear-ended on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon...

The insect in this photo is not a bee. It is an American hover fly, and a member of a larger group of pollinator insects. The unsuspecting person may easily misidentify this bee impostor as it goes from flower to flower just like a bee. Quite possibly its color and markings evolved as a defensive measure to help deter hungry birds and frogs...

Pet name: Daisy Owner: Donna Colyer FAVORITE ACTIVITY: Playing ball and snuggling close to someone.

ST. LOUIS -- Dany Heatley and Jed Ortmeyer scored goals 16 seconds apart in the second period and the San Jose Sharks took a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. Heatley scored his 13th on the power play at 8:23 of the second, and Ortmeyer got his fourth goal 16 seconds later to put the Sharks up 2-1 after a giveaway by the Blues' Erik Johnson...

ST. LOUIS -- The schedule has done zero favors for the one-win St. Louis Rams, the first team in NFL history to draw unbeaten opponents in three straight home games. Good luck parlaying fresh legs off the bye week and a two-week buzz from their lone victory now that the prolific New Orleans Saints are coming to town. ...

ST. LOUIS -- The last time St. Louis Rams receiver Keenan Burton was on the field he tied an NFL career high with five catches and the 54 yards was a personal best. If the records seem modest, remember that Burton is a second-year player for a team that is not exactly an offensive powerhouse. But in that game, two weeks ago, Burton helped the Rams snap a 17-game losing streak with a 17-10 win at Detroit...

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Missouri's 38-12 victory over Kansas State on Saturday can be explained in two words -- Danario Alexander. Shaking off some would-be tacklers and outrunning others, the powerful 6-foot-5 wide receiver had 200 yards and three touchdowns on only 10 catches, his second consecutive monster game, and simply overwhelmed the overmatched Wildcats...

Central senior Sam Gramling earned all-state honors in the 200 and 500 freestyle races Saturday at the Missouri Swimming and Diving Championships in St. Peters, Mo. Gramling placed sixth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4 minutes, 48.48 seconds in the final. Parkway South junior Andrew Kilkenny ran away with the title as he finished in 4:35.08 to beat the runner-up by more than four seconds...

As expected, the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program has landed a 6-foot-9 power forward for next season. Waylon Jones, a sophomore at Albany Tech Community College in Albany, Ga., signed a national letter of intent during the weeklong early signing period that began Wednesday...

There were still plenty of rough spots, which Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach John Ishee expected. But Ishee came away satisfied with the Redhawks' season opener. Despite committing 29 turnovers, the young, inexperienced Redhawks eased past Division II Missouri-St. Louis 66-53 Friday night at the Show Me Center...

The Southeast Missouri State football team shook an eight-game losing streak with an offensive explosion Saturday at Houck Stadium. The Redhawks avoided their first winless OVC season and gave coach Tony Samuel a 54th birthday to remember with a 49-13 victory over the Murray State Racers...

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team ended the regular season Friday night with a five-set loss at Eastern Illinois and lost control of their fate for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. Southeast could have locked up a berth in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament by finishing no worse than sixth place in the OVC, but the Redhawks suffered a damaging loss, falling 19-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 13-15...

Donna Hanschen, who has served for the past two years as project director for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, has been named director of the new Convention and Tourism Bureau. According to city manager Gary A. Eide, the new petition effort being mounted against Cape Girardeau's multipurpose building project is invalid because the petition itself refers to a bond issue ordinance, which legally cannot be subject to a referendum...

The Rev. Shawn Wasson first became pastor at Bethany Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau in October 2003. He is originally from St. Louis, and he enjoys playing golf. Wasson said he loves to see the beauty of a well-maintained golf course. He said he finds it helps him to relax and forget about the cares of the world. ...