Stories from Wednesday, April 13, 2011

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A medical expert at the University of Missouri is warning people to prepare for an especially bad spring allergy season. Allergy specialist Al Barrier says the heavy winter snowfall provided an abundance of moisture in the soil for tree roots. He says that should lead to a tremendous amount of tree pollen this spring. And he says mold also is expected to be strong...

As part of the Southeast Missouri State University speaker series, retired Major League Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. will appear at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Show Me Center. Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, Ripken has more than 3,000 hits and more than 400 home runs in his career. The night's theme is "The Keys to Perseverance."...

In a matter of a few weeks, the planned $10 million Franklin Elementary School will begin moving from concept to reality. The Cape Girardeau School Board Tuesday night approved eight different bid packages for the two-story building, to be constructed behind the existing neighborhood school...

Before setting off for the bright lights of Nashville, Tenn., in 1979, Kent Goodson grew up in Cape Girardeau, where he played with local musicians like Chuck McGinty, Greg Hopkins and the late Randy Leiner.

A male Downy Woodpecker "up close and personal" on my brother Jim Kincy after landing on my deck railing and flying and landing on his ear in Bent Creek yesterday.

A child's pink shoe is the the foreground of a photo of one of Cape's oldest dwellings at 444 Washington. The building was used, among other things, as a smallpox hospital during the Civil War. You can read more about the building's history at http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/capes-civil-war-hospital/...

The Southeast Missouri State University baseball team will kick off the RBIs for Life campaign, an extension of the Dig for Life campaign, at a golf tournament on April 15, where a signed pink authentic Louisville Slugger® bat featuring professional baseball players' autographs will be auctioned off...

Scott County Central basketball star Otto Porter has committed verbally to play at Georgetown next season after visiting the university over the weekend. Porter's decision was confirmed by SCC coach Kenyon Wright on Tuesday morning after news of the decision appeared in online reports...

Southeast Missouri State has announced that it will introduce its next head women's basketball coach during a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday. As reported in Wednesday's Southeast Missourian, all indications are that Wisconsin assistant Ty Margenthaler will take over the program...

Sissy is a 3 year old pug/chihuahua mix. She is already housebroken. Sissy is available for adoption at The Humane Society 573-334-5837. See more pets available at www.semopets.org

Rodeo fun at Flickerwood Arena on Sunday, April 10th, 2011.

The Hoover Center participants enjoyed a field trip to the Pie Bird Cafe in Fruitland and the Pinecrest Azalea Farm near Oak Ridge on April 7. Many beautiful trees and daffodils were in bloom, but they were about two weeks early for the Azaleas to be in bloom. ...

Local crafters will bring their talents to the first annual Spring Craft Show Saturday, April 16 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, April 17, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at Maple United Methodist Church, corner of Cape Rock and Jean Ann. The show, which will be held in the fellowship hall, will feature a variety of handmade items, including things for Easter, an embroidery booth, handcrafted wooden toys, a bakery booth by the seasoned bakers of Maple and a food stand run by the Maple United Methodist Men. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- About 45 Missouri National Guardsmen from Detachment 1, 548th Transportation Company, formerly of Centertown, were recognized Monday during a deployment ceremony at Ike Skelton Training Site. The detachment recently left the now closed Centertown armory and merged into its main unit, the 548th Transportation Company, of Trenton, as the company's third platoon...

The Woodland School District's high school principal has been charged with second-degree domestic assault after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend late last month at a principals' conference at the Lake of the Ozarks.

First time Special Olympics participant, Lori Williams, can't stop smiling and talking about her experience at the 2011 Area Spring Games held April 2nd. "It was awesome," she said. "My favorite moment was when everyone cheered me on when doing the long jump and running. When the gun went off, I kept running all around the track."...

Rex Rattler lived in a nearly wordless world, a place of limited expression. "Yes." "No." At 3, Rex could barely speak. His mother, Cynthia Brown, a Poplar Bluff, Mo., doctor, blamed herself. She thought she was a bad parent, even though she had enrolled the child in speech and developmental therapy after taking him to several specialists...

Wyoming couple Richard and Jeannette McGrath began their coast-to-coast ride for Hearts Up Ranch March 4, 2010, and hadn't been lost once. Then they got to Missouri. Despite finding a suitable spot to cross the Current River and getting off course in part of the Ozarks, the McGraths made it to Cape Girardeau nearly seven days ago, saying farewell Tuesday to the city they said they were dreaming about since they began their ride together in California...

Cape Girardeau police still had no suspects Tuesday afternoon in what they said is a hate crime that took place on North Middle Street late Monday night. The victims, according to Cape Girardeau Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jason Selzer, believe they were targeted because of their sexual orientation...

WEBB CITY, Mo. -- Although Webb City voters supported a smoking ban, the city council voted against implementing the ban in the southwest Missouri city. The council voted 5-3 Monday night against the ban.

Southeast Missouri State apparently has found its next women's basketball coach. All indications are that former Wisconsin assistant Ty Margenthaler will take over the program.

A Cape Girardeau woman was killed in a traffic accident Tuesday morning when she struck an embankment and rolled her vehicle near Silva, Mo., according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Vicki L. Moore, 54, was pronounced dead on scene after the accident occurred around 7:15 a.m...

Frequently, time passes and I do not get any mail or recipes from readers, and then all of a sudden I will get several all at once. This week at the senior center I was given a few recipes to pass along to you. They all sound interesting, and I look forward to giving them a try...

Thursday marks the anniversary of one of the most fateful days in maritime history (with the possible exception of the wreck of the SS Minnow following what was to have been a three hour cruise, leaving Willy Gilligan and fellow castaways stranded on network television for 98 episodes). On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty may be running for president, but he's not ready to be official about it. Pawlenty moved quickly Tuesday to knock down a CNN story that appeared to show him officially entering the race. During a taping of "Piers Morgan Tonight" set to air Tuesday night, the talk show host remarked on Pawlenty's low standing in early polls. ...

WASHINGTON -- It's touted as the biggest one-time rollback of domestic spending ever, but most folks will be hard-pressed to notice. After all, it's just 1 percent of what the government will lay out this year. The number of security officers at airports won't be reduced. ...

WASHINGTON -- Amid a budget debate that will affect the health care of virtually every family, a new poll finds support for President Barack Obama's overhaul at its lowest level since passage last year. But in a defense of Obama's policies, Medicare chief Donald Berwick pleaded Tuesday for more time on the health care law and branded a leading Republican plan "unfair and harmful" and "a form of withholding care."...

AJDABIYA, Libya -- Moammar Gadhafi's forces fired rockets along the eastern front line and shelled the besieged city of Misrata on Tuesday as France and Britain said NATO should be doing more to pressure the Libyan regime. Several rockets struck Ajdabiya, the main point leading into the rebel-held east, and witnesses also reported shelling in Misrata, the only major city in the western half of Libya that remains under partial rebel control...

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican has ordered a Belgian bishop who resigned last year after admitting he had sexually abused his nephew to no longer act as a priest in public and warned that he may risk further church sanctions. The Vatican on Tuesday clarified the punishment against the former Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe after Belgian bishops reported over the weekend that he had merely been sent outside Belgium for spiritual and psychological counseling, a seemingly cushy punishment given the seriousness of the crime.. ...

Contrary to some areas in the country, Cape Girardeau home sales have been strong in 2011. According to Multiple Listing Service statistics for the Cape Girardeau County area, an increasing number of homes are selling this year and at a higher price...

On Thursday, April 7, the Missouri Senate passed a bill that attacks the middle class by seeking to eliminate public employee unions in our state. Every middle class Missourian should be aware of the threat this legislation poses. SB 202 is a bill designed by politicians to hurt their political opponents. ...

THE story on federal subsidies for the Cape Girardeau airport says that a plane ticket costs $49 and it would cost $100 if we didn't have that subsidy. That means every time someone flies to St. Louis, the taxpayers are paying half of their fare. I don't really think that's appropriate. There are other alternatives...

Thank you so much for the wonderful coverage of the recent Teen Challenge banquet. Although I live an hour away, I see amazing support from the city of Cape Girardeau, your businesses, churches and residents. It is such a refreshing thing to see people trying to help lift up those who have fallen, enabling them a "second chance" to walk a godly way. ...

A combination of election-year politics and the realization of what message voters sent last November has forced President Obama to become a late-blooming, last-minute convert to the concept of reduced federal spending. That's what I call leadership!...

Heavenly Father, you are my fortress and my God, the rock in whom I take refuge.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's three remaining space shuttles will go to Cape Canaveral, Los Angeles and suburban Washington when the program ends this summer, the space agency said Tuesday. The announcement came on the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle flight and the 50th anniversary of man's first journey into space...

A Cape Girardeau man accused of a New Year's Eve hate crime had his case transferred Monday by Circuit Court Judge Benjamin F. Lewis to Perry County. Lewis was assigned to preside over the case after Darrell Nice's attorney motioned for a change of judge early this month...

VILLA RIDGE, Ill. -- Kathy N. Sigman, 65, of Villa Ridge (America community), passed away Monday, April 11, 2011, at her home. Kathy was born July 8, 1945, in Cairo, Ill., daughter of Oscar D. and Glenna Marie "Pat" Dunn Niestrath. She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and St. Mary's Sodality of Mound City, Ill. She was an assistant controller at Southern Five Planning Commission. She was a 1963 graduate of Mound City High School...

Franklin Dee Quick, 77, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Portageville, Mo., died Monday, April 11, 2011, at his home. He was born Oct. 6, 1933, in Portageville, to Jim and Gertie Rose Quick. He and Rosa Lee Clendenin were married Aug. 5, 1954. Dee and Rosa Lee have lived in Cape Girardeau the past 31 years...

Lillian Gwenda Lampitt, 89, of Cape Girardeau passed away Monday, April 11, 2011, at Southeast Hospital. She leaves behind a legacy of faith, family, friends and a life of loving service to others. Gwen was born March 15, 1922, near Adelaide in Strathalbyn, South Australia, to Charles Henry and Lily Jane Fargher Hibberd...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- J.W. "Gabby" Poe, 84, of Chaffee went to heaven surrounded by his loving family Sunday, April 10, 2011, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He was born Aug. 3, 1926, in Canalou, Mo., son of James Edwin and Stella Reeves Poe. He married Sammie Garner on Nov. 6, 1946...

Lloyd Gene Eddleman, 47, of Whitewater died Tuesday, April 12, 2011, at his home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home in Jackson. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Ken McDowell of Charleston, Mo., the pilot of a single-engine crop-duster, escaped injuries Friday when his plane crashed and burned in a field east of Lee Avenue in south Jackson. A foundation is being prepared near Route K and Mount Auburn Road for a Savings of America Bank; a six-section modular building will be placed on the foundation this week; the bank is planning on a late May opening...

Bradley Vincent Prevallet, 51, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, April 10, 2011, at West County Care Center in Manchester, Mo. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to service time Saturday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at noon Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Michael Ankrom officiating. Entombment will be in Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum...

ANNA, Ill. -- Ruth D. Glaab, 81, of Anna died Monday, April 11, 2011, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to service time Saturday at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Les Sinks officiating. Burial will be in Lindsey Cemetery in McClure, Ill...

Daughter to Taylor Jacob Arnzen and Kate Alexandra Roggow of Leopold, Mo., Southeast Hospital, 1:07 p.m. Thursday, April 7, 2011. Name, Lea Elise. Weight, 6 pounds, 15 ounces. Ms. Roggow is the daughter of Karen Roggow and Rodney Roggow of Cape Girardeau. Arnzen is the son of Tamra Arnzen and Leo Arnzen of Pace, Fla. He is employed at Ward Hyundai...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Gov. Rick Perry took to the air Tuesday to survey some of the ravaged counties of West Texas devastated by wildfires that have blackened tens of thousands of acres, destroyed dozens of homes and left one firefighter critically injured...

MILPITAS, Calif. -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation requiring California utilities to get one-third of their power from renewable sources, giving the state the most aggressive alternative energy mandate in the U.S. California utilities and other electricity providers have until the end of 2020 to draw 33 percent of their power from solar panels, windmills and other renewable sources...

NEW YORK -- Cisco Systems Inc., one of the titans of the technology industry, on Tuesday said it is killing the Flip Video, the most popular video camera in the U.S., just two years after it bought the startup that created it. It appears to be a case of a big company proving a poor custodian of a small one, even one that makes a hit product. Cisco never meaningfully integrated the Flip Video into its main business of making computer networking gear...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis-based Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. has announced the promotion of Virginia McDowell to chief executive officer effective April 25. McDowell is the company's president and chief operating officer. She will continue to serve as president after succeeding the retiring James B. Perry as CEO...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A proposal to redraw Missouri's congressional map has run into state Senate opposition because of regional disputes. Senators started debate Tuesday about a proposed map approved by the Missouri House. Senators from southwestern, southeastern, western and eastern Missouri expressed concerns. A central Missouri senator objects to grouping his area with Kansas City...

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

Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday:...

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

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Approximately 500 pounds of marijuana was discovered in a tractor-trailer over the weekend after officers became suspicious of the driver. At approximately 11:40 p.m. Saturday, a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol stopped a northbound tractor-trailer on Interstate 57 in Mississippi County for a traffic violation...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri House has set aside a contested measure to limit how much payday lenders can charge customers. The bill debated Tuesday would cap total interest at 60 percent of the loan amount and let customers "roll over" a loan three times instead of the current six...

All the local high school events reported Tuesday to the Southeast Missourian.

PHOENIX -- Justin Upton and Juan Miranda each hit a three-run homer to lead the Arizona Cardinals to a 13-8 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Chris Young added a two-run homer for Arizona, which scored seven of its runs with two outs...

Oran right-hander Dalton Elfrink recently turned in a pair of strong outings for the Eagles baseball team. The junior tossed eight shutout innings in Oran's 1-0 victory over Oak Ridge on Friday. Elfrink only allowed one hit over the eight innings. "Just keeping it outside and listening to my teammates cheering me on," Elfrink said. "It just gives me a drive to do better and make sure I carry the team."...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team banged out 18 hits, including three home runs and five doubles, during Tuesday's 14-8 victory over Southern Illinois.

The Jackson baseball team defeated host Notre Dame 4-1 on Tuesday night.

The St. Vincent girls soccer team ended a two-game losing streak by beating Notre Dame 1-0 on Tuesday.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Route K between Route B and County Road 600 in Perry County will be reduced to one lane next week while Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform routine bridge maintenance. Weather permitting, the work will be done from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily April 19 through 21. The work zone will be marked with signs. ...

The Jackson School Board at its meeting Tuesday night re-elected Terri Tomlin as president and Cathy Goodman as vice president. Setting of the board follows the spring school board elections, held last week. Tomlin ran uncontested earlier this year for another three-year term on the board. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Highway 25 from Highway 91 to Route OO in Stoddard County will be reduced to one lane today and Thursday while Missouri Department of Transportation crews patch the road. Weather permitting, work will be done from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The work zone will be marked with signs...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Work to replace the Highway 91 bridge over Drainage Ditch No. 1 in Scott County, which was set to begin Tuesday, has been temporarily delayed because of issues with material delivery. Construction is now expected to begin next week. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Route B between county roads 512 and 614 in Perry County will be reduced to one lane next week while Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform routine bridge maintenance. Weather permitting, the work will be done from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily April 19 through 21. Signs will mark the work zone...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Conservative radio commentator Herman Cain is joining the call by Missouri tea party supporters for smaller government and less spending. Cain -- the former Godfather's Pizza CEO who's considering a run for president -- spoke Tuesday at a gathering of about 100 tea party activists outside the Capitol in Jefferson City...

Ron Hilliard came back from church one Sunday to find hundreds of plastic $5, $10, $20 and $100 bills hanging on his fence in Flower Mound, Texas, another message from townsfolk angry at him for signing a lucrative natural gas drilling lease for his suburban Dallas property...

TOKYO -- Japan ranked its nuclear crisis at the highest possible severity on an international scale -- the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster -- even as it insisted Tuesday that radiation leaks are declining at its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant...

NEW YORK -- A collision between one of the world's largest airliners and a commuter jet on a dark, wet tarmac at Kennedy Airport is underscoring worries about ground accidents as U.S. airports begin handling a new generation of giant planes. A total of 586 passengers and crew members were aboard the two aircraft Monday night when the left wing of an Airbus A380 operated by Air France clipped a Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet flown by Comair, spinning the smaller plane nearly 90 degrees. ...

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt -- Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was abruptly hospitalized Tuesday for heart problems during an investigation over allegations of corruption and violence against protesters, reported state TV. In a sign that his ailment might not be very serious, however, Justice Minister Mohammed el-Guindi said Mubarak was now being questioned in the hospital...

Egyptian High School High Honor Roll 9th grade: Denise Carson, Danielle Carthell, Hannah McClarney, Skylar McKee, Kayde Wood. 10th grade: Bryce Bigham, Jimberlea Bledsoe, Kaitlyn Heinrich, Skylar Morgan, Austin Murphy. 11th grade: Cedar Buero, Shyah Buero, Austin Caldwell, Tyler Holshouser...

Egyptian Middle School High Honor Roll 7th grade: Olivia Khourie, Dristin Rose, Kimalee Story, Kimber White. 8th grade: Misti May. Honor Roll 6th grade: Emmalea Bigham, Tiffany Burton, Daneesha Carthell, Kenny Foltz, Aron Goldsmith, Tyra Huff, Russell Wolford...

Zalma Elementary School A Honor Roll 1st grade: Kirsten Burkman, Melena Cato, Trey Clark, Catalina Lewis, Richard Tackett, Jake Wade. 2nd grade: Drew Bailey, Catherine Davis, Ethan Lemons, Logan Lemons, Jacob Nanney, Jolie Pickett, Tracie VanGennip, Cole Younger...

Zalma Junior & Senior High School A Honor Roll 7th grade: Christopher Lombeida, Kylee Newberry, Megan Puchbauer. 8th grade: Destiny Atkinson, Andrew Hovis, Evan Hovis, Jacklyn Lingle, Nikkita Phillips, Katelynn Wheetley. 10th grade: Kaitlin Northern...

Cape Central Middle School A Honor Roll 6th grade: Ethan Arnn, Emily Bagby, Madison Bittner, Isaac Buck, Katherine Carns, Jordan Collins, Victoria Crisman, Amy Dai, Skylar Deimund, Gabrielle Desrosiers, Brianna Duncan, Madison Dush, Daysha Egson, Rebekah Garner, Sophia Gentle, Kimberly Jones, Bennett Kidd, Kathleen Kinder, Dylan Kyle, NikkieLe, Anna Margetta, Sky Miller, Destiny Minor, Mackenzie Moore, Michael Morrison, Cassandra Musgrave, Hunter Neal, Kellie Propst, Sabrina Sander, Keegan Stout, Amanda Stricker, Alicia Stull, Tyler Swanks, Drew Thatcher, Rachel Thornsberry, Ella Valleroy, Allison Vaughn, Ellen Wang, Mason Warren, Kirstin Weinzetl.. ...

BERLIN -- An FBI report kept secret for 25 years said the Soviet Union "quite likely fabricated" evidence central to the prosecution of John Demjanjuk -- a revelation that could help the defense as closing arguments resume Wednesday in the retired Ohio auto worker's Nazi war crimes trial in Germany...

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Booming cannons, plaintive period music and hushed crowds ushered in the 150th anniversary of America's bloodiest war Tuesday, a commemoration that continues to underscore a racial divide that had plagued the nation since before the Civil War...