Stories from Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Although none Notre Dame players have participated in the semifinals of the state basketball tournament before, six of them have already participated a final four this school year.

A Perryville man was injured after his vehicle struck a fence near Old Appleton late Monday. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Daniel P. Taylor, 23, was driving his 2007 Roketa westbound on County Road 506 around 10 p.m. The vehicle then ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a fence...

Southeast Missouri State University President Dr. Ken Dobbins painted a bleak picture for the financial future of the state and university Tuesday afternoon. "We're here because this is a major, major undertaking," he said during a presentation to faculty and staff in Academic Hall Auditorium...

A Southeast Missouri State University student charged in the off-campus Dec. 13 assault of another student waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Associate Circuit Court Judge Gary A. Kamp today. Pili Showers, 21, of Cape Girardeau, was charged Feb. ...

Nevaeh Boyd being pushed by her older sister Aleshia Glastetter at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau

Aleshia Glastetter and her father David Glastetter getting ready to leave for the big night of fun at the 2010 Father Daughter Dance

Aleshia Glastetter and her step-siter Micah Boyd showing off their dresses before they head out the door with their fathers for the 2010 Father Daughter Dance

Micah Boyd and her father Ronald Boyd getting ready to leave for a night of fun at the 2010 Father Daughter Dance

Mollie doing wat she does best.

Bob Parker Blows Away the Competition in Missouri Sovereignty Project Ranking In its ranking system for Missouri's federal legislative candidates released today, Missouri Sovereignty Project ranked Raymondville rancher and realtor Bob Parker, Republican candidate for the Eighth Congressional District, first among 26 candidates. The Democrat candidate received a score of 9, while his Republican primary opponent, incumbent Jo Ann Emerson, received a 2. Parker scored 43...

The Heartland Pops Band and Chorus will present a patriotic concert Sunday, May 23 at 2:15P.M. at Crossroads Fellowship Church in Jackson. The band will play plenty of John Philip Sousa marches. The chorus will perform the patriotic cantata, "Ring All The Bells" by Derric Johnson. ...

A picnic area at General Watkins Conservation Area, Morley Missouri

March 7-13 is National Lutheran Schools Week. Students in Mrs. Ward's fifth grade class at Trinity Lutheran School in Cape celebrated by visiting another fifth grade class at St. Lorenz Lutheran School in Frankenmuth, Michigan. With the help of SKYPE, students were able to communicate using webcam. ...

Cape Girardeau--9 students from Keyboards & Kindermusik Conservatory--a piano, keyboard and Kindermusik teaching studio in Cape Girardeau--recently received Gold Cup awards from the National Federation of Junior Music Clubs. The Junior Music Festival was held on February 20th. ...

A Daisy woman who formerly co-owned Fruitland Diner faces an April court date for allegedly collecting more than $12,000 from sales tax of items sold at the restaurant but failing to forward that money to the Missouri Department of Revenue. If convicted, Krissty Steers, 28, could face between one day and one year in jail and/or a fine not exceeding $1,000 for charges relating to when she operated the restaurant at 5841 U.S. 61...

Jason J. Robert, a Cape Girardeau man accused of using pliers to attempt to cut off his fiancee's finger, was granted a change of venue Monday before Circuit Court Judge Benjamin F. Lewis. Robert's case will now be heard in New Madrid County. In addition to trying to cut off her ring finger, Robert, charged with second- and third-degree assault, made threats to kill his girlfriend, according to a probable-cause affidavit. ...

Jackson city officials are preparing for a busy 2010. Plans this year include streamlining the city's electric conversion system, revamping a sewer system and, in what officials and business leaders believe will be important in increasing commerce, extending Old Orchard Road to East Main Street...

I recently received a questionnaire with multiple-choice answers in the mail from the Republican National Committee. The sixth question asked: "Do you believe America is better or worse off than it was before Barack Obama became president?" The answer choices were: Yes, No or No opinion...

Communities show off their best sides when they promote and support projects to benefit those among us who need special attention. Two current projects fit the bill. The Jackson Jaycees recently contributed $10,000 for an all-accessible playground. Melaina's Magical Playground is to be built at Cape County Park North. ...

PRESIDENT Obama will run up a deficit this year of 10.6 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. The last time the deficit hit double digits as a percentage of GDP was 1945 when Germany and Japan surrendered. The U.S. won the Cold War without ever running a double-digit deficit. President Reagan bankrupted the Soviet Union, not the United States. President Obama will bankrupt the United States in a short time...

WESTMORELAND, N.H. -- Two of the oldest people in the world have died on the same day. Mary Josephine Ray, who was certified as the oldest person living in the United States, died Sunday at age 114 years, 294 days. She died at a nursing home in Westmoreland but was active until about two weeks before her death, her granddaughter Katherine Ray said...

The following information was released by the U.S. attorney's office for defendants appearing in federal court before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Monday. SENTENCED n Charge: One felony count of possession of 5 grams or more of cocaine wih the intent to distribute...

ST. LOUIS -- Statewide tornado drills scheduled today in Missouri and Kansas have been postponed because of a small risk of an actual tornado. The National Weather Service postponed the drills Monday to avoid any confusion. Thunderstorms are possible in parts of both states today...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday:...

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

David F. Waychus, 59, of Nora Springs, Iowa, died Thursday, March 4, 2010, at Iowa Veterans Hospital in Des Moines. Graveside service was held Monday at Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City, Iowa, with the Rev. Kenneth B. Gehling officiating. Full military honors were conducted by members of Mason City Veterans Memorial Association...

Andrea Renee Weatherspoon, 3, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 5, 2010, in Franklin County, Ky. She was born Aug. 28, 2006, in Cape Girardeau, to Crystal Lynne Stults and Chad Andrew Weatherspoon. She is survived by her parents; a sister, Jaylin Allison Sisk of Cape Girardeau; maternal grandparents, Christopher and Cathy Stults of Dexter, Mo.; maternal great-grandfather, Lawrence Matty of North Charleroi, Pa.; paternal grandmother, Joyce Weatherspoon of Scott City; paternal great-grandmother, Dorothy Dees of Scott City; and paternal great-grandfather, Lee Brooks of Chaffee, Mo.. ...

ANNA, Ill. -- Benjamin F. Schuler, 79, of Anna died Friday, March 5, 2010, at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Ill. Graveside service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Anna City Cemetery, with Susan Middleton officiating. Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements...

Lewis Son to Felix Antoine Lewis and Rose Marie Staple of Cape Girardeau, Saint Francis Medical Center, 7:24 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. Name, Felix Antoine III. Weight, 8 pounds, 1 ounce. Third child, first son. Ms. Staple is the daughter of Frank and Bess Staple of Cape Girardeau. She is a student. Lewis is the son of Felix Lewis of Cape Girardeau. He is a student...

Hazel E. Fiehler, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, March 8, 2010, at Chateau Girardeau Skilled Nursing Center. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Mary Lou Gibson, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 7, 2010, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

Two Cape Girardeau businessmen were honored last night at the annual Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce dinner for their contributions to the community; Paul L. Ebaugh was recipient of the Golden Deeds Award, and Melvin J. Van de Ven was named the winner of the Go-Getter Award...

n An article in Sunday's Southeast Missourian had the incorrect date of the candidate forum to be held by the League of Women Voters. It will be at 7 p.m. March 16.

For those who face the future with faith and hope, we pray to you, O God.

WASHINGTON -- Democrats facing strong headwinds this election season have at least one reason for optimism, according to polling that found the party's large black voting bloc eager to stay involved even without Barack Obama on the ballot. About two-thirds of black adults in four states say they are closely following news about the upcoming midterm elections, and between 74 percent and 80 percent say they are very likely to vote, according to the poll, conducted by the nonpartisan Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. ...

WASHINGTON -- The virus that causes AIDS can hide in the bone marrow, avoiding drugs and later awakening to cause illness, according to new research that could point the way toward better treatments for the disease. Finding that hide-out is a first step, but years of research lie ahead...

Peanut butter recalls. Spinach scares. Contaminated meat. Is it any wonder Americans are jittery about their food? So much so that when The Associated Press recently ran a recipe for traditional spaghetti carbonara -- complete with its only barely cooked egg -- e-mails poured in...

DETROIT -- Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile...

First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and now Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something sinister is happening underfoot. It's not. While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren't. The problem is what's happening above ground, not underground, experts say...

DOGO NAHAWA, Nigeria -- The killers showed no mercy: They didn't spare women and children, or even a 4-day-old baby, from their machetes. On Monday, Nigerian women wailed in the streets as a dump truck carried dozens of bodies past burned-out homes toward a mass grave...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- One of two Baptist missionaries still held on kidnapping charges in Haiti was released Monday, but the U.S. group's leader remained in custody. Charisa Coulter, 24, was taken from her jail cell to the airport by U.S. Embassy staff more than a month after she and nine other Americans were arrested for trying to take 33 children out of Haiti after the earthquake...

BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi prime minister's coalition and its main secular rival both claimed to be ahead in the vote count Monday, a day after historic parliamentary elections that the top U.S. commander said would let all but 50,000 American troops come home by the end of summer...

ST. LOUIS -- Higher-than-average streamflow into the Mississippi, Missouri and other rivers in the Midwest has led the National Weather Service to predict a strong chance of significant flooding this spring in eastern Missouri. Melting snow in the upper Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois river basins, as well as more rainfall than normal over the next three months, are expected to worsen the flood threat, the National Weather Service said...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon says the state and regional economies can benefit from Missouri's push into biotechnology and the life sciences. Nixon spoke Monday to about 300 scientists and business people at the two-day Missouri Regional Life Sciences Summit at the University of Missouri-Kansas City...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is getting involved in the legal fight over the anti-gay protesters who show up at military funerals with inflammatory messages like "Thank God for dead soldiers." The court agreed Monday to consider whether the protesters' message, no matter how provocative and upsetting, is protected by the First Amendment. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri selected a company Monday to develop a database for tracking purchases of cold medicine that can be used to make methamphetamine. Since 2005, Missouri has kept a paper log that law officers can use to check purchases of cold medications containing pseudoephedrine. A 2008 law required the development of electronic logs allowing real-time monitoring, but plans to expand the tracking system stalled because it was not funded...

A 24-year-old Cape Girardeau man charged with stealing from multiple Southeast Missouri State University dorm rooms was sentenced to seven years in prison today before Circuit Court Judge Benjamin F. Lewis. Marcus L. Woods, who pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary Feb. 8, claimed at his sentencing hearing he's battling a drug and alcohol addiction and he was intoxicated when he stole from more than 15 dorm rooms in Towers South...

The Scott County Central boys and Delta girls will get sectional shots tonight against St. Elizabeth when Class 1 playoff basketball resumes. The District 3 champion Delta Bobcats will face the surprise District 4 champion Hornets at 6 p.m. at Park Hills Central High School, and the boys game will follow at 7:45 p.m...

The forecast of rain today has pushed back the start of Southeast Missouri State's 11-game baseball homestand, but coach Mark Hogan is still excited about having so many upcoming contests at Capaha Field. Today's scheduled opener of a two-game series with Missouri State has been postponed...

NEW YORK -- An estimated 41.3 million people saw "The Hurt Locker" top the popular "Avatar" for best picture in the most-watched Academy Awards telecast since 2005. Oscar viewership was up 14 percent over last year, the Nielsen Co. said Monday, keeping with a trend of bigger audiences for major events on broadcast television a month after the Super Bowl set the mark for most-watched telecast ever...

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Josh Beckett made his second start of spring training, and Red Sox pitchers kept the St. Louis Cardinals hitless into the seventh inning. But it was Boston's young hitters who pulled out the win Monday. Che-Shuan Lin's one-out single in the ninth scored Josh Reddick after Reddick doubled in the tying run, and the Red Sox beat the Cardinals 7-6...

Opera singer Neal E. Boyd is an equal opportunity performer when it comes to politicians. The Sikeston, Mo., native and winner of 2008's season of "America's Got Talent" has sung for politicians and presidents of both parties. On Wednesday, the major-label artist who keeps close ties to his home region will sing for the sitting president at a fundraising event for Sen. Claire McCaskill in St. Louis...

Work to improve the Route 51 bridge over Bois Brule Creek in Perry County will begin at 7 a.m. March 16, weather permitting. The bridge will be reduced to one lane with a 10-foot width restriction as work to replace the bridge deck will be underway. The bridge improvements will be completed as part of the MoDOT's Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Program. Improvements to the Highway 51 Bois Brule Creek bridge are expected to be completed in July...

7 p.m. Tuesday Board of Education office, 614 E. Adams St. Call to order Introduction of guests Adoption of agenda Recognition Approval of minutes Finance Public comments Action items...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday:...