Stories from Friday, March 5, 2010

Oak Ridge worked for two great looks at 3-pointers to tie the game in the closing seconds but neither one would fall, and the Mules ended Oak Ridge's season with a 64-58 victory.

On Saturday, Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus will host a one-of-a-kind show as "TAO: The Martial Art of Drumming" comes to the Bedell Performance Hall.

Darren Jones shaved his head once and decided it wasn't a good look. Now with hair "however long nose-length is," he said he is going to give it another shot for charity. "My hair is longer now than it probably has been in my entire life," said Jones, the youth minister at First General Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau...

The annual Children's Arts Festival is trying to boost area elementary and middle school students' interest in music. In addition to the art contest display at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's gallery, opening at 5 p.m. today, a concert featuring around 100 student choir singers and musicians in the fourth through sixth grades will be held at Southeast Missouri State University's Academic Hall auditorium at 6:30 p.m. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- Two Haywood City, Mo., men were charged Thursday with first-degree robbery, armed criminal action and stealing in connection to a Jan. 28 Amerimart convenience store robbery in Benton. In a news release, Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said Jim "Bug" Harris Jr., 49 and Timothy Winston, 36, were identified as suspects when investigators were working a separate felony case in the Haywood City area...

MINER, Mo. - A Poplar Bluff, Mo., woman sustained serious injuries after she lost control and struck another vehicle Thursday morning northbound on Interstate 55. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said that around 9:05 a.m. a 2003 Ford driven by Julie E. Ward, 49, of Poplar Bluff was passing a 2006 Honda driven by Mary K. Roth, 66, of Mountain View, Mo. The Ford then lost control and struck the Honda near mile marker 71 before it came to a rest in the median...

This is Tigger, our baby bunny. You lay him on his back and rub his belly and he falls asleep!! He's resting up before Easter!! He's the best little bunny and very much spoiled rotten, lol.

a beautiful peaceful morning

this is penny my bullmastiff who came from the humane society when she naps on the couch which is most of the time unless we are out walking she like her little blanket to keep her warm!!

HAYWOOD CITY, Mo. -- Work is moving along on Scott County's Public Water Supply District No. 4, with officials now looking to the second phase of the project. "The storage tank has been erected and is scheduled to be finished by March 17," said Tim McIntyre, system manager. "Construction of the district's wells began on Feb. 16. Progress on the distribution lines has been hampered by poor weather, but the project is still on track for a late summer completion date."...

CAPE GIRARDEUA, Mo. -- Terry Moreland of Sikeston has enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard. Moreland, 17, will serve with Company E of the Recruit Sustainment Program in Cape Girardeau. Through the program, he will learn basic Army skills and values and become more familiar with his role as a Soldier in the Missouri Army National Guard...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The 2008 winner of the TV show "America's Got Talent" has a new gig -- singing for the president. STLtoday.com, The Web site for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reported Friday that Sikeston, Mo., native Neal Boyd will perform for President Obama when Obama appears in St. Louis next week...

This is our 6 yr old male boxer Beans waiting for his Daddy to come home from work.

Parker to Emerson; You can run but you can't hide your record On February 22, 2010, Team Emerson issued a letter to their constituents stating the following; As Missouri Republican's who are deeply interested in strong, experienced leadership for our congressional district, we are concerned about recent attempts to question Jo Ann Emerson's credentials. No one is working harder to bring common sense to the halls of Congress.....

Macon is a 4 month old yellow lab. There are 3 yellow and 3 black available for adoption at The Humane Society of SEMO 573-334-5837. See more pets available at www.semopets.org

Shelby Spencer of Cape Girardeau and Ruth Morgan of East Prairie didn't know each other until a few weeks ago. But today the similar health challenges they face have forged a special friendship The families of the two Southeast Missouri Hospital patients met in the Intensive Care Unit and have bonded during Shelby's and Ruth's Hospital stay. "There is a lot of camaraderie between families in the ICU," notes physical therapist Jean Schwarz, PT...

The participants of the Hoover Center Senior Alive Program made these Leprechauns as St. Patrick's Day decorations for the Hospice participants. Pictured are front row: Cherie Herbst, Coordinator; 2nd row: Linda Dockins, Belva Keller, Helen McCarty, and 3rd row: Geraldine Love, Barbara Warren, Violet Crain, and Norma Dawes. ...

Through 38 years of teaching art, Judy Barks-Westrich says she has learned as much from her students as they have learned from her. Barks-Westrich, also a mixed media artist with her own studio in downtown Cape Girardeau, teaches art at Central High School. Before she came to Cape Girardeau 15 years ago, she taught art at Sikeston High School...

3/11/2010 7:15 PM at Movies At The Mud House - HISTORY CHANNEL Presents- "That's Impossible: Weather Warfare" The power to use tornadoes, hurricanes, and the deadliest weather as weapons of war may now be possible. We'll investigate reports that weather weapons are in development and we'll reveal the technology that in the future could turn hurricanes, earthquakes, even tsunamis into some of the most powerful and plausibly deniable weapons of mass destruction the world has ever seen...

R&B singer Breeze is promoting his new Album entitled:N-LUV-W/DESTINY Breeze's music has over 4000 Hit's on the ''music internet circuit'' such as YouTube,myspace, FaceBook,Tagged and Twitter. If u want to Purchase Breeze's New Cd. just e-mail him at the freezeteam@yahoo.com...

A Jackson woman was injured Friday afternoon when she drove through a red light and collided with a dump truck at the U.S. 61 and Highway 177 at Fruitland. Ashley D. Jones, 25, was taken by ambulance to Saint Francis Medical Center after she drove her 1995 Oldsmobile through a red light and collided with a dump truck driven by 41-year-old Don C. Bond of Jackson, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol...

Though Scott City native Matthew Buttrey has toured the world, he said he misses the people in Southeast Missouri the most and he credits a few of them with his success. Buttrey grew up in Scott City and learned to ice skate at the Plaza Galleria in Cape Girardeau. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1995 and attended Southeast Missouri State University...

Arts and entertainment briefs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Movie magic will be the toast of Tinseltown on Oscar night, and what better way to bring the festivities couch-side than with a cocktail inspired by this year's nominees? We asked mixologists from around the country to come up with award-worthy recipes. The results ranged from a classic cocktail that dates to the early days of flight to a bubbly concoction from the ice cream parlor featured in the family-friendly "Up."...

Murder plots can be funny, and the current River City Players dinner theater production, "Let's Murder Marsha," aims to prove it. Marsha stumbles upon her husband and other friends plotting something. With an armory of murder-mystery novels and an active imagination, she immediately assumes they're plotting to kill her -- and only days before her birthday...

WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton didn't flinch when comedian Stephen Colbert congratulated her on Washington, D.C., becoming a state. "Not quite," she replied during a segment on his show not long after President Barack Obama's election...

WASHINGTON -- Jonathan Pilkington's boss wouldn't take no for an answer. During more than two years as a food runner at an upscale steakhouse in Scottsdale, Ariz., Pilkington says his male supervisor groped, fondled and otherwise sexually harassed him more than a dozen times...

WASHINGTON -- Despite doubts among many lawmakers that it'll create many jobs, the House on Thursday passed legislation giving companies that hire the jobless a temporary payroll tax break. The measure passed 217-201 on a mostly party-line vote. The bill also extends federal highway programs through the end of the year...

WASHINGTON -- Support from his own party in doubt, President Barack Obama summoned more than a dozen House Democrats to the White House on Thursday, pleading with them to put aside their qualms, seize a historic moment and vote for his massive health care overhaul...

A Jackson man facing an assault and child endangerment conviction in Cape Girardeau County has been charged with tampering with a witness for allegedly contacting the victim and asking her to drop the charges and not to testify against him in court.

The Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1978 to broadcast symphonic music of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries throughout Russia. The group first toured the United States in 2004, with 42 concert stops. This year's tour will last nine weeks and include more than 50 concerts. Following tonight's performance, the group will travel to Arizona to begin the western leg of the tour.

Southeast Missourian The organizers of April's well-attended tea party at Capaha Park are gathering today to plan activities for the year. The group will hold two meetings, at 1 p.m. and again at 7 p.m., at the Jackson Public Library on the third floor of Jackson City Hall, 101 Court St. The meeting is to brainstorm activities for the group and its volunteers...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Judge Benjamin Lewis granted a change of venue Thursday morning in the case of James E. Primer of Patton, Mo., who is charged with rape and molestation.

Cape Girardeau County residents in the Millersville area are under a boil-water order until further notice, the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center announced. A water main was broken near Bird Creek bottoms along Highway 72 during excavations, said Amanda Haimes, clerk for Public Water Supply District No. ...

Presentations about an upcoming bond issue for the Cape Girardeau School District, cap-and-trade and health care reform will highlight today's First Friday Coffee.

BARCELONA, Spain -- The Mediterranean was heaving as the 68-year-old Italian stood in the cruise ship lounge. A moment later a monstrous wave shattered the windows and sent shards into her head, leaving her bleeding on the floor and calling out for her husband...

KUNDA, India -- A stampede among thousands of poor villagers scrambling for free food and clothes at a commemorative event killed 63 people Thursday at a Hindu temple in northern India and injured dozens of others. Nearly all the victims were women and children. The stampede knocked down a gate at the compound surrounding the temple in the small town of Kunda, on the northern plains of Uttar Pradesh state...

BAGHDAD -- There were no politicians kissing babies at the campaign rally, but it came close. The band played, men danced and women swayed to the music as a speaker worked the crowd before the arrival of the main candidate -- former prime minister and secular Shiite Ayad Allawi, who made his way to the podium shaking hands and waving to well-wishers...

SAN BERNARDO, Chile -- The Desarmes family left their native Haiti two weeks after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, joining the eldest son in Chile for what seemed a refuge from the fear and chaos of Port-au-Prince. Their sense of security lasted barely a month. It was shattered at 3:43 a.m. Saturday when one of the most powerful quakes on record shook a swath of Chile...

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's intelligent agents have arrested a senior Afghan Taliban commander, officials said Thursday, the latest move in a crackdown against the insurgent network in Pakistan. Agha Jan Mohtasim, a former finance minister for the Taliban before the U.S-led invasion in 2001, was detained in the southern city of Karachi, two intelligence officials said. ...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests...

ALL three National Merit Semifinalists from Central High School went on to achieve National Merit Finalist. They are Nina Scheibe, Josh Wen and Janna Trautwein. This puts these kids in the top 1 percent of high school students nationwide. This is big news and speaks highly of the school system here. ...

This letter was sent to Dickey Nutt, men's basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University:On behalf of the entire city of Cape Girardeau, I want to personally thank you and your team for bringing pride and dignity back to the Show Me Center...

It has been 40 years since many of watched the blurry -- and amazing -- live TV images of the first man on the moon. Since them, the U.S. space program has focused on an orbiting space station, shuttle trips and unmanned exploration of nearby planets and asteroids...

John Michael "Johnny Mike" Eldridge, 56, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Sept. 26, 1953, in Cape Girardeau, son of John W. and Nola F. Sample Eldridge. John was a 1971 graduate of Central High School...

Stephen D. Campbell, 58, of Jackson passed away Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at his home. He was born Jan. 15, 1952, in Shreveport, La., son of Jack and Anne McGill Campbell. He and Jane Hilton were married Feb. 15, 1980. Stephen was a member of New McKendree United Methodist Church in Jackson. He owned and operated Campbell Realty in Cape Girardeau...

Oma "Aleta" Hedge, 94, of Labadie, Mo., formerly of Jackson, passed away Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at Bethesda Meadow Nursing Home in Ellisville, Mo. She was born June 11, 1915, near Burfordville, daughter of Dennis A. and Carrie "Zelma" Helderman. She and Floyd James Hedge were married June 19, 1935. He passed away Feb. 13, 1977...

Alfred Charles "Al" Robertson, 74, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born June 11, 1935, in Los Angeles, to Alfred Sebron and Irene Albertine Robinson Robertson. He and Mary Ann Rheinecker were married July 4, 1958, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Belleville, Ill...

Raymond Lee Pulliam, 46, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Sept. 8, 1963, in Cape Girardeau, son of Raymond C. and Jean McBay Pulliam. He and Patty Wallman were married Jan. 11, 1986...

ORAN, Mo. -- James Dale Wagoner, 52, of Oran died Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 14, 1957, at Belleville, Ill., son of James Earl and Patricia Ann Rafalowski Wagoner. James retired from Delta Air Lines in Atlanta as a stewarder. He was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Stockbridge, Ga...

A proposed quarter-cent sales tax for four years to produce local revenue to help construct a Mississippi River port passes with ease in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties; the tax will go into effect Jan. 1. A fundraising campaign for the Family Learning Center is launched in the morning with an informal breakfast at the facility at 605 Broadway; the goal of $20,000 would provide about one-fifth of the not-for-profit organization's budget for the year...

SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- Toyota has for years blocked access to data stored in devices similar to airline "black boxes" that could explain crashes blamed on sudden unintended acceleration, according to an Associated Press review of lawsuits nationwide and interviews with auto crash experts...

For those who make music and share it with others, we pray to you, O God. Amen.

WASHINGTON -- The economy is showing renewed strength as retail sales surged last month and factory orders also increased. Such gains could lead to more hiring -- if they can be sustained. Retailers said Thursday that store sales rose in February by the largest amount since November 2007. And orders to U.S. factories in January posted their sharpest rise in four months. It was another sign that manufacturing is helping drive the economic recovery...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Republican House budget chief proposed Thursday that Missouri provide public schools with the full amount of money called for by the state's financing formula, even as others raised new concerns about whether it could afford to do so...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation providing up to 20 extra weeks of benefits for unemployed Missourians. The governor signed the bill just hours after lawmakers gave it final approval Thursday. It takes effect immediately...

LOS ANGELES -- Spread 10 ways, the phrase "nominated for best picture" hasn't had much of a box office effect. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences doubled the number of nominees this year in hopes of drawing more attention to more movies. But the revenue bump for this year's crop is less than the one enjoyed by last year's five best-picture hopefuls...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- After an investigation, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and Chaffee Police Department arrested James A. Stewart, 29, of Chaffee after a search of his residence revealed an illegal marijuana growing operation.

Several years ago, when most of my aunts and uncles on my mother's side of the family had died or had become incapacitated, one of my cousins assumed the responsibility of keeping everyone informed by e-mail. Cousin John's original task was to remind all the cousins -- 15 survive -- and their extended families about the annual family reunion. I have questioned my family's sanity at times, especially when it comes to holding an outdoor reunion in Southeast Missouri in August...

St. Vincent dug an early hole and couldn't climb all the way out. The Indians fell behind by five points after one quarter and fell to top-seeded Eskridge 60-50 in their Class 2 District 5 boys basketball semifinal Thursday. Kyle Rollet led St. Vincent with 20 points, while Sean Martin netted 13 in the loss...

The 2010 Southeast Missouri State baseball team has already posted one win over a major conference program. Southeast will have a chance to add to that total over the next three days as the Redhawks play four games at the BankFirst Challenge in Starkville, Miss...

Host Delta lived up to its billing as the overwhelming favorite in the two-team Class 1 District 3 tournament with an 85-36 rout of the Braves.

Meadow Heights put on a defensive clinic on its way to a 53-22 victory against Oran in the Class 2 District 3 girls basketball championship game.

The Scott County Central Braves overwhelmed second-seeded Richland 84-46 at Delta High School.

DALLAS -- The St. Louis Blues are working on another late-season surge. Paul Kariya scored twice, combining with Brad Boyes for a pair of goals during a 17-second span of the first period, and the Blues extended their winning streak to a season-best five games with a 6-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night...

The River North Chicago Dance Company performed in Bedell Performance Hall on Tuesday, and as part of their visit, they held a free master dance class Monday. "Open to the public" and "geared toward all levels" coaxed me into the practice room. In case there's any doubt, I'm in the lower level...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Jason Bay's debut was low key, but David Wright homered in his first at-bat and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 17-11 on Thursday. Bay, a former Red Sox left fielder, went 0 for 2 with a walk and a strikeout in his first game of the spring and first live action with the Mets since signing a four-year, $66 million contract in December...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston not-for-profit group will host an event this month to collect and dispose of old prescription medications with the idea of keeping those drugs out of the hands of children, the Sikeston Standard Democrat reported. Trends indicate more of today's teenagers are passing on the hard-to-obtain street drugs and opting for the typically easily accessible prescription drugs...

Expecting a decline in unemployment by the end of 2010, a St. Louis economist believes the U.S. economy is poised for a recovery.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) -- Another Missouri community college is receiving a grant to educate students in growth industries. Gov. Jay Nixon was scheduled to visit St. Charles Community College on Friday to announce the Training for Tomorrow grant. The money will help the college develop training programs in such fields as surveying, technology and sustainability, and business operations...

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- Members of a student group pushing for specific policy protection for gays and lesbians at Missouri Southern State University said Thursday that they will continue to protest at the central administration building until the nondiscrimination policy includes reference to sexual orientation...

Blue and red flags line Route W in Cape Girardeau, signs that work has begun on a project to add shoulders along four miles of the road from Lexington Avenue to LaSalle Avenue. The project, financed with federal stimulus money approved last year, has seen a difficult launch, first when bids came in well over budget and more recently when bad weather delayed projected start dates in November and again in early February...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri found out Thursday it lost in the opening round of a federal competition for education grants. The U.S. Department of Education said Missouri's application for nearly $750 million under the "Race to the Top" program is not among the finalists. But Missouri education commissioner Chris Nicastro said the state plans to submit a revised application by the next deadline June 1...

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle was reappointed Tuesday to a 13-member Missouri Supreme Court Committee assigned to write jury procedure used in criminal cases in Missouri. He is one of two prosecutors in Missouri appointed to the committee, which also makes any necessary amendments to the Missouri Rules of Criminal Procedure...

Jackson The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Summonses Miscellaneous Jackson Firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday:...