Stories from Friday, September 24, 2010

Among the long list of Southeast Missouri State University advocates, Donald L. Dickerson might be the institution's biggest champion. The 1954 Southeast graduate came back to serve his alma mater as a member of the university's board of regents from 1993 to 2005, much of that time as the board's president...

Missouri could be spending an additional $21 million on public schools if lawmakers had followed the wishes of voters when distributing new casino revenue, Auditor Susan Montee said Thursday.

Looking to boost a 72.9 percent high school graduation rate, the Cape Girardeau School District is beefing up its attendance policy -- putting parents on the hook for student absences.

The Missouri Land Reclamation Commission Thursday granted a request for a hearing on a proposed quarry expansion by Strack Excavating near the Dalhousie subdivision in Cape Girardeau. Strack is asking the commission for permission to expand the existing 10-acre quarry's east boundary by four acres...

Fans from Missouri and the surrounding states filled the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau on Thursday to hear country music artist Jason Aldean, who has had 10 songs top the Billboard singles charts since 2005. Hillary Gilbene and Amber Luttvell, both 20 and friends from Arkansas, were two of 5,585 who attended the Show Me Center event...

The first test plot of sorghum harvested at Southeast Missouri State University's David M. Barton Agriculture Research Center indicates it could be a viable renewable energy source and soon could replace corn as the preferred ethanol fuel crop, according to a university news release...

On September 19, 2010 local triathletes from Cape Girardeau and Jackson competed in the inaugural 70.3 Ironman event in Branson, MO. The event consisted of a 1.2 mile swim in Table Rock Lake; a very challenging 56 mile bike ride through the hills of the Ozark Mountains; and a 13.1 mile run along the shopping district of the Branson Landing. Over 1,300 athletes attempted to cover a total of 70.3 miles in what was a very warm day for September...

Some of the proceeds generated by a casino in Cape Girardeau would be used to help pay for capital projects and equipment purchases in the county, Jackson and Scott City, according to a revenue-sharing plan adopted by city leaders. The Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday adopted a plan to be sent to the Missouri Gaming Commission by Oct. ...

Bob and Alene Matthews of Cape Girardeau accept the Ilena Aslin Service Award at the Southeast Missouri Hospital Auxiliary Appreciation Dinner on Thursday, Sept. 23, as the award's namesake, volunteer Ilena Aslin, at right, looks on.

Garett Schaefer had big shoes to fill when it came to being Scott City's next small running back. At 5 foot 7 and 122 pounds, the senior is about 100 pounds and several inches shy of the protypical model of a high school running back. His size is at the extreme end of the spectrum and at one point hindered his playing time...

Many people are familiar with the Disney interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Little Mermaid," but the Department of Theatre and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University will be kicking off its 2010-2011 season with "Once on This Island," a slightly different take on the classic story written by Lynn Ahrens...

The Crisp Museum on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus has hosted many unusual exhibits, and its latest will certainly make the list. "Jun Kaneko" is a self-titled exhibition of the artist's work, showcasing a retrospective of his work in multiple media, including ceramic, glass, textile, bronze paper and canvas...

A handful of local classical and contemporary musicians will help a not-for-profit with a benefit concert today. The Life of Jesus Organization planned the concert at Dockside in Cape Girardeau from 5 to 9 p.m. today to raise money and awareness for the work it does on a daily basis. The organization recycles medical equipment and makes it available to people in need in and around the community...

Arts and entertainment briefs

The Cat Ranch Art Guild, an artists' organization based in Marble Hill, Mo., has planned the "Cat Ranch Roundup 2010: A Cultural Experience" for Saturday and Sunday at the Cat Ranch in Bollinger County off Highway 34. The weekend will include book signings by guild members, artwork on display and tours of the Tom Runnels log cabin. ...

A Morley, Mo., man received serious injuries following a vehicle accident Tuesday in Scott County. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Michael H. Walker, 62, overturned his 2001 Suzuki on Route RA one mile east of Chaffee, Mo. at 2:38 p.m...

Route D in Cape Girardeau County will be closed Monday and Tuesday while Missouri Department of Transportation crews replace a pipe under the road. The first section of road is from one-half mile south of County Road 463 to one-half mile north of County Road 459. Weather permitting, the work Monday will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m...

Phil Breithaupt, the founder and director of the Teen Challenge New Creations Choir, will wrap up a 37-year career today at the Cape Girardeau ministry. Breithaupt's wife, Beverly, who has been with Teen Challenge since 1991, is also retiring from the ministry, which provides a Christian-based program meant to help people of all ages control drug and alcohol addiction...

Cape Girardeau County Commissioners approved an increase of $2,345 to the University of Missouri Extension office's 2010 budget at Thursday's meeting. The extension office submitted a budget of $119,320 to the commission for approval last year. The county, which funds three salaries at the office, approved a budget of $115,345. The additional money will make the office's 2010 budget $117,690...

Over the next couple of weeks, the Democratic leadership, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will seek to force their liberal agenda on citizens of the United States through back-door legislative action. In the Senate, Reid is planning to push legislation attached to the Defense Authorization Bill that would provide illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, allowing them to jump ahead of millions waiting to enter our county legally. ...

Southeast Missouri is full of talent. Proof of this could be found in last week's 10th annual SEMO District Fair Heartland Idol. Musical talent was on full display. The final included six youths and 12 adults who performed on the fair stage. The 18 singers in the finals all gave phenomenal performances. Congratulations to Anna Catherine DeHart and Kevin Harbison for winning the youth and adult divisions...

Scott Kemp Gamster, 65, of Marion, Ill., died Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010, at his home. A memorial service will be conducted at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Reynoldsburg Church near Tunnel Hill, Ill. The Rev. Pete Vinson will officiate. Private interment will be in Woodside Cemetery...

I'M reading about people complaining about the bands downtown being so loud. I go to one of the larger churches in Cape Girardeau, and the music there is so loud you would think you were at a rock concert instead of a church service. I hope other churches aren't like that. I wish our church would turn it down...

Son to Paul and Lori Nesslein of Fort Worth, Texas, 12:28 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010. Name, Miles Lee. Weight, 5 pounds, 1 ounce. Third child, second son. Mrs. Nesslein is the former Lori Eakin, daughter of Jim Eakin of Cape Girardeau, and the late Brenda Eakin. She is a neonatologist at Cook Children's Hospital. Nesslein is the son of Doug and Jodi Nesslein of Cape Girardeau. He is an architect with Renovation Design...

Martha V. Hathaway, 82, of St. Charles, Mo., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010, at Garden View Care Center in O'Fallon, Mo. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Cotrell Funeral Chapel in Poplar Bluff, Mo. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the chapel, with the Rev. Brian Sharp officiating and the Rev. Vernon Kneir assisting. Burial will be in City Cemetery in Poplar Bluff...

Owners of four pieces of property being condemned for the improvement of Highway 177 have filed exceptions to amounts of damages a court-appointed commission said they are entitled to; exceptions were filed by Jerry and Ruth Lipps, Frank Miller III and Virginia Smith Miller, Joseph L. and Erma J. McDowell, and George Poon...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest Firefighters responded to the following call Monday:...

Thank you, O God, for giving us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ. Amen.

This is the column I never thought I would write. If you had asked me 45 years ago, when I got my first newspaper job, to look into the future to the day when I might retire, I would have given you a blank stare. When you are young, you think retirement is for old people. And young whippersnappers never intend to grow old...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:...

FRENCHTOWN, Mont. -- A Montana woman fended off a charging bear on her back porch early Thursday by using the first weapon she could reach -- a zucchini. The woman was stirred after midnight by a tussle in the backyard of her home near Frenchtown, Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli said. She went to investigate and found a 200-pound black bear attacking one of her two dogs, a 12-year-old collie...

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

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.S. delegation walked out of the U.N. speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday after he said some in the world have speculated that Americans were actually behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks, staged in an attempt to assure Israel's survival...

PARIS -- Citizens of the world's richest countries are getting fatter and fatter and the United States is leading the charge, an organization of leading economies said Thursday in its first obesity forecast. Three out of four Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020, and disease rates and health care spending will balloon, unless governments, individuals and industry cooperate on a strategy to combat the epidemic, the study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.. ...

UNITED NATIONS -- Grasping for peace, President Barack Obama on Thursday challenged the world to overcome decades of shattered promises and help Israelis and Palestinians close a historic deal within a year. "This time will be different," he declared...

A group spreading the word on new technologies to reduce emissions from burning coal to generate electricity is in Cape Girardeau today as part of a monthlong Midwest tour. Missouri is more dependent on coal to produce electricity than many other states, with 81 percent of its electricity generated from coal, said Scott Howard of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a not-for-profit organization. Nationwide, 45 percent of electricity comes from coal...

It's an option that no one had really considered, and many still do not see as likely, but the chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission says if he's not convinced that a 13th casino is good for Missouri, he'll vote no. "Not doing one is an option," said Chairman Jim Mathewson, a former state senator from Sedalia.

PITTSBURGH -- Albert Pujols always has been more concerned with pennant races than personal chases during his stellar 10-year career. Fittingly, he didn't sound all that excited about hitting 40 home runs in a season for the sixth time Thursday...

The Size of the playbook has slowed down the receiver

As exhilarating as last week's win over Southern Illinois was, Southeast Missouri State doesn't want that to be its only big highlight of the season. The Redhawks are chasing much more than that, namely the program's first Ohio Valley Conference title...

A large part of art and music is representative of the human condition -- the joy we feel or the struggles we endure. Aside from expressing these things through their works, artists and musicians are notorious for hosting charity art shows and concerts to raise money or awareness for those struggles...

All the scores from Thursday that were reported to the Southeast Missourian.

BAGHDAD -- For a few hours last week, a part of Fallujah was a flashback to the depths of the Iraq war when insurgents ruled the city and its streets were shooting galleries. During an afternoon raid, gunmen exchanged fire with American and Iraqi commandos. ...

WASHINGTON -- More bad news for Democrats clinging to control of Congress: Independent voters are nearly as grumpy as Republicans about politics this year. In an Associated Press-GfK Poll this month, 58 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said politics is making them angry, compared with 31 percent of Democrats who said so. ...

The number of workplace injuries are declining, but that may be because fewer people are working in this economy. Mark Minicky, compliance assistance specialist with the St. Louis Area Occupational Safety and Health Administration, spoke about workplace injury trends Thursday at Saint Francis Medical Center's annual Business Health Summit...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Blockbuster video stores used to be the town square for home entertainment, bustling with people roaming the aisles in search of a movie that the whole family could enjoy in their living room for just a few bucks. And if you were on the fence about buying a VCR back in the 1980s, Blockbuster was everywhere, turning the decision into a no-brainer...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon solicited input from business, education and municipal government leaders in Southeast Missouri to identify emerging industries for investing state resources in over the next five years. "This is not a plan that is going on the bookshelf; it's going on the desk and will be used every day," Nixon said Thursday at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff...

A look at this week's games for the teams in the Southeast Missourian's coverage area

The Wildcats defeated Zalma 25-22, 21-25, 28-26 on their home court Thursday night.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston Department of Public Safety and Sikeston pharmacies will take part in the Drug Enforcement Agency's first ever nationwide "drug take-back" Saturday, the Sikeston Standard Democrat reported. "It's a nationwide effort to get all of the old prescriptions turned in, hopefully, and disposed of properly," said DPS Capt. Mark Crocker...