Stories from Monday, November 28, 2011

Darnell Wilks made his mark for two years playing basketball in Cape Girardeau. Wilks now is making his mark on a much bigger stage as a member of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters. Wilks, who attended Central High School as a sophomore and junior, is part of the Globetrotters' 10-player rookie class that is preparing for the team's 2012 World Tour...

My 14 yr old son, Dylan shot this 8 point buck at his Great Uncle's out of state farm.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO November 28, 2011 For 2012 plans, which start Jan. 1, the open enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2011. During this period, you can join, switch or drop your plan. And everyone with Medicare coverage can sign up for Part D...

The Classy Sassy Chicks Red Hats of Jackson recently hosted the 1st Annual "Red Hat Parade" at the Mall and had to tell Santa all their "wishes." Other Red Hat ladies from Cape and other areas of Southeast Missouri plus Illinois joined them and shopped the mall and craft shows...

Twenty four thousand children a day die from hunger. That's right! TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND!!! What if this was happening in the United States? Why should we care less simply because this is happening in other countries? I say we shouldn't care less. We should be horrified and we should be asking what we can do to stop this...

Rain, Sleet, Snow, 30 degree win chills, conditions like these would make any normal person cringe, but for the Semo Copperheads it only means one thing, the seasons almost here. After there 2011 campaign that led them all the way to the National Championship, you could say the Copperheads are "shaking" at the chance to make another run at it. ...

The air show is likely to return to Cape Girardeau skies in 2012, but airport officials on Friday stopped just short of making it a promise. But they did say they want the Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival to return next summer, following this year's cancellation due to difficulty booking the performers they wanted...

MALDEN, Mo. -- Some people in this Southeast Missouri town are pushing the city government to stop using a gas chamber to euthanize animals at the pound. Dogs and the means of euthanizing them were a major focus at a recent city council meeting...

The city of Cape Girardeau is in the early stages of creating safer routes for students who walk and bike to schools in the center of town. On Nov. 21, the city council authorized entering into a design services contract for sidewalks along streets near Franklin Elementary, Central Middle School, Central Junior High School and St. Vincent de Paul Elementary. Funding for the project comes from the Safe Routes to Schools Program, a federal aid program through the U.S. Department of Transportation...

The damp, chilly air didn't dampen the holiday spirits of those lining the streets of downtown Sunday night for the 20th annual Old Town Cape Parade of Lights. Bundled in blankets, people said the secret to staying warm despite temperatures in the 30s was lots of layers...

Today is Monday, Nov. 28, the 332nd day of 2011. There are 33 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Nov. 28, 1961, President John F. Kennedy dedicated the original permanent headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va...

KFVS12 general manager Mike Smythe, who will retire Nov. 30, has made a significant impact in Cape Girardeau and the greater Southeast Missouri area. The second-longest-serving GM in station history, Smythe first came to KFVS in 1998. During his tenure, Smythe has come into our homes through the "Heartland Business Break" feature and his "ViewPoint" editorial segment, the latter which earned him nine Missouri Broadcasters Association awards for best editorial and an Emmy Award in 2010...

I want to thank the Southeast Missourian for some bang-up reporting. Too often I think that I and others take what you do for granted. Your opinion about Cape Girardeau County officials' salaries was important. Hopefully it sparks better thinking about this issue. And the city council discussion about the CVB one-time funds indicates that without the newspaper, even city council members might not know what is going on some of the time. Few people say it, but I will: Thanks for what you do...

O Lord God, may we choose our words wisely, glorifying you in all we do. Amen.

VERIA, Greece -- The Robin Hoods in this northern Greek town sport rubber gloves, fuses and orange stickers. Nearly two years of pay cuts, job cuts and tax increases have pummeled living standards in debt-crippled Greece, and the country is facing record unemployment and a fourth year of recession in 2012...

BAGHDAD -- Iraq on Sunday signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. to tap natural gas in the south, one of the biggest agreements by the OPEC member to develop an energy sector battered by years of neglect and war...

While Cape Girardeau remained relatively calm, there were several reports from across the country of Black Friday shopping violence this year. With stores opening earlier, many at midnight, it seems shoppers were short-tempered and sleep-deprived in their quest for the best Black Friday bargains...

Craig Bohnsack has joined ACCION Texas Inc. as a loan officer serving the Missouri region of a new organization that will operate locally as ACCION Delta. ACCION Delta is a collaborative effort with Southeast Missouri State University's Douglas C. ...

BERLIN -- German police cleared a sit-in of thousands of protesters attempting to block a shipment of nuclear waste and temporarily detained 1,300 people Sunday, officials said. Hundreds of officers started evicting protesters from the rail lines near Dannenberg in the north of the country in the morning, police spokesman Stefan Kuehm-Stoltz said...

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- The Roman Catholic church says Zimbabwe's chronic water shortages should be declared a national disaster. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace said in a statement Sunday collapsed water and sanitation facilities will cause "more suffering and deaths" as annual rains begin...

BEIRUT -- In an unprecedented move against an Arab nation, the Arab League on Sunday approved economic sanctions on Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad. But even as world leaders abandon Assad, the regime has refused to ease a military assault on dissent that already has killed more than 3,500 people. ...

ISLAMABAD -- Afghanistan officials claimed Sunday that Afghan and NATO forces were retaliating for gunfire from two Pakistani army bases when they called in airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, adding a layer of complexity to an episode that has further strained Pakistan's ties with the United States...

ST. LOUIS -- Food pantries in Missouri can expect the arrival soon of what has become a season offering -- venison. The annual Share the Harvest program gives Missouri hunters an opportunity to donate deer to be processed and sent to more than 300 Missouri food banks, according to the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis. Last year, about 5,700 hunters took deer to food banks, providing more than 300,000 pounds of venison...

WASHINGTON -- Medicare's prescription coverage gap is getting noticeably smaller and easier to manage this year for millions of older and disabled people with high drug costs. The "doughnut hole," an anxiety-inducing catch in an otherwise popular benefit, will shrink about 40 percent for those unlucky enough to land in it, according to new Medicare figures provided in response to a request from The Associated Press...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Several groups are debating the wisdom of replacing Missouri's income tax with an expanded sales tax. Supporters see the proposal as a way to boost the state's economy; detractors fear an increased burden for the middle and lower classes and decreased state revenue. Besides disagreeing on the idea, they also cannot get together on what to call it...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Assaults Thefts Property damage Miscellaneous...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Bertie J. Crider, 81, of Poplar Bluff was born Sept. 21, 1930, in Pemiscot County, Mo., the daughter of James and Lula Guise Ward, and passed away Nov. 23, 2011, at The Manor in Poplar Bluff. Bertie had worked as an LPN at Doctors' Hospital in Poplar Bluff for 15 years. She attended the Southside Assembly of God Church in Poplar Bluff...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: ...

PATTON, Mo. -- Freda Ward, 94, of Patton passed away Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, at the Stockoff Nursing Home in Fredericktown, Mo. She was born May 8, 1917, in Patton, daughter of John and Carrie Stanfill Miinch. She and George Alexander Ward were united in marriage Sept. 22, 1934, and he passed away Aug. 23, 2000...

Viola Mary Sebastian, 87, of Jackson passed away Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, at her home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Sam Roethemeyer officiating. Interment will follow at Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson...

Jackson The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Summons Thefts Jackson Firefighters responded to the following call Friday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday: ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas teenager who wrote a disparaging tweet about Gov. Sam Brownback said Sunday that she is rejecting her high school principal's demand for a written apology. Emma Sullivan, 18, of the Kansas City suburb of Fairway, said she isn't sorry and doesn't think such a letter would be sincere...

Adath Tilley, who has been a volunteer with the Salvation Army for 59 years, throws the switch that activates the Tree of Lights in front of Hirsch Tower; the Army hopes to raise $60,000 during the holiday season, which will fund various Army programs...

After being downsized from her job as a department store manager, Sharon Ebersohl decided to take her retail experience and open her own children's resale store, Kid Biz in Town Plaza. Not only did she create a job for herself, she now employs four others as her business continues to grow...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Parents in the Columbia School District will have an alternative to finding expensive care for younger children on some snow days this winter. When classes are canceled because rural roads are impassable but primary streets are clear enough for travel, the district will offer a "snow club" at three elementary schools for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Patrick Peterson never thought he'd get another chance to return a punt for the Cardinals against St. Louis. Not after he beat the Rams with a 99-yard return in overtime three weeks earlier. But Peterson tied the NFL record with his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season and Arizona won its seventh in a row in St. Louis with a 23-20 victory Sunday...

Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball is off to a solid start, with several notable wins by league teams. That includes Southeast Missouri State's 64-57 home victory over Miami of Ohio on Saturday. The Redhawks turned in their best all-around performance of the year against the Mid-American Conference team...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ken Hitchcock's surging St. Louis Blues added a special one to their recent collection of victories. David Backes scored a power-play goal in the third period to lift St. Louis past the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Sunday night, giving Hitchcock the win in his first game against his former club...

Tigers senior Kim English scored 29 points in the 29-point victory vs. winless Binghamton

CLAYTON, N.C. -- English-speaking Roman Catholics who have regularly attended Mass for years found themselves in an unfamiliar position Sunday, needing printed cards or sheets of paper to follow along with a ritual many have known since childhood...

BOSTON -- Step into the sanctuary of the African Meeting House and you will walk on the same ancient floorboards where Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison and other prominent abolitionists railed against slavery in the 19th century, and where free black men gathered to shape the famed 54th Massachusetts Civil War regiment...