Stories from Tuesday, September 4, 2012

SIKESTON, Mo. -- North- and southbound Interstate 55 in Pemiscot County, between Route U and Route O, will be reduced to one lane today as contractor crews resurface bridge approaches. Weather permitting, the work will be done from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The work zone will be marked with signs. Motorists are urged to use extreme caution while traveling near the area...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- An August survey suggests that the continuing drought and lessening export demand for U.S. products are among the drains on the economy in nine Midwest and Plains states, according to a report released Tuesday. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index remained below growth neutral for a second month in a row, the first time that's happened since July 2009, organizers said. The overall index rose to 49.7 in August from 48.7 in July. June's figure was 57.2...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ratcheted up the pressure on lawmakers to sustain one of his vetoes Tuesday by releasing data showing that a retroactive reinstatement of local vehicle taxes would primarily hit people who bought cars from fellow Missouri residents as opposed to consumers who went to out-of-state dealers...

The Cape Girardeau Republican Women will host Cole McNary, candidate for Missouri state treasurer, the group said in a release Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled for noon Friday at Dexter Bar-B-Que in Cape Girardeau. The program will consist of lunch, educational programming and an information session with NcNary. The meeting is open to the public, and there is no cost to attend. For more information, contact Holly Lintner at 573-200-4073 or holly.lintner@gmail.com...

The remnants of Hurricane Isaac drenched Southeast Missouri and the region from Friday through Sunday, dropping more than four inches of rain in some areas. From Friday through Sunday, the National Weather Service measured 2.42 inches of rain at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. Some of the rain came in the form of torrential downpours, as thunderstorms rumbled through the area Friday and Saturday, some touching off tornado warnings...

After a year of phone calls, travel and surveys of original Civil War materials, the digital-documentation project at Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library is now prepared to begin its final phase. The project, titled "Confluence and Crossroads: The Civil War in the American Heartland," has gathered more than 1,600 individual documents, photographs and artifacts from the period that are relevant to the history of the conflict in 23 Southeast Missouri counties and five in Southern Illinois. ...

After Holden's first week of Pre-k we went to Chaffee's first home game of the season, so to celebrate both I made him a Chaffee football shirt with his name on the back

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Democrats open their national convention Tuesday offering President Barack Obama as America's best chance to revive the ragged U.S. economy and asking voters to be patient with incomplete results so far. Michelle Obama, in her opening-night speech, aims to give people a very personal reminder of "the man that he was before he was president."...

Scattered showers, the setting sun and the rising moon combined to create this view of a rainbow and the moon in the same frame. I only had the camera on my cell phone available when mother nature presented this unique scene.

L-R, Gary Schweer, 4-H member and Dale Todt, 4-H Shotgun Leader, In state 4-H Shotgun, Gary Schweer of Jackson placed 4th in the Senior Doubles competition. Gary hit 90 out of 100 shots to tie for 3rd place. In a shoot-off to determine the placing for 3rd and 4th, Gary was short by 1 hit. For additional information on 4-H and 4-H Shooting Sports, contact Jim Lichtenegger, 4-H Youth Assistant at 573-243-1606...

Mark your calendar for the 1st Annual Run/Ride for Ragan, a fundraising biathlon in honor of Ragan Ward Neilson, to be held Oct. 13, 2012. Ragan, a Cape native and daughter of Dr. Robert and Barb Ward, lost her battle with stage four triple negative breast cancer on Oct. 29, 2007. The event will begin at the Boardman/Hutson Pavilion in downtown Cape. The 1-mile Memory/Honor Walk will start at 7 a.m., with the biathlon - a 5K run and 17 mile bike ride - starting at 8 a.m...

New Lorimier School, now Cape Girardeau City Hall, opened its doors in the fall of 1937. These youngsters, pleased with their efforts in a spelling bee, posed for a picture on the steps of the George Boardman Clark house east of the school. The students are Polly Ramsey, Nancy Hunter, Janet Clark, Lloyd Watkins, John Mehrle, Maxine Busch, Rosemary Greenwell, Rosemary Craig, Bob "Bobby" Terry, Viola Whitney, unknown, and Mary Clack. ...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- In a tight race for the White House, President Barack Obama exhorted college students not to forget him despite difficult times as Democrats shone the spotlight on his wife at the Tuesday opening of their national convention...

Officers moving within Missouri Guard's 35th Engineer Brigade FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- The Missouri National Guard's 35th Engineer Brigade recently had an informal going-away ceremony for a pair of officers and welcomed in another. Lt. Col. John Findley, the former administrative officer for the Fort Leonard Wood unit, is leaving to be the deputy for the joint staff operations directorate at Joint Force Headquarters in Jefferson City...

The way Rachel tells it, from a side room at the Family Counseling Center last week, she fell into bath salts by accident. A recovering drug addict at the time with some three years of clean time, in a moment of weakness the 32-year-old Cape Girardeau resident bought what she thought was methamphetamine, a drug that had toppled her life -- along with cocaine -- in the years since high school...

Crested duck @ Capaha Park, 9/2/2012

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A hot summer gave Missourians plenty of reasons to want to cool off at state park swimming beaches, and a drought seems to have helped offer more opportunities to do so. Tests from water samples at state swimming beaches show bacteria levels were high enough to close the beaches less frequently than during the past two years...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Two Missouri groups announced Monday they were dropping their legal challenge to a ruling that they didn't have enough signatures to get initiatives tightening regulations on payday loans and raising the minimum wage on the November ballot.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- My wife and I have canoed and kayaked Missouri waterways since we moved here from the flatlands of Kansas in 2004. We've found each stream and river has a personality of its own -- some offer an energetic, wet romp; others a gentle, contemplative ride. Right now they're all taking it slow and easy, thanks to Mother Nature's decision to turn off the rain spigot...

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 4, the 248th day of 2012. There are 118 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Sept. 4, 1962, The Beatles, with their new drummer, Ringo Starr, recorded "Love Me Do" at EMI Studios in London. (The more familiar version with substitute drummer Andy White and Starr playing the tambourine was recorded a week later.)...

For Danny Essner, a founder of the River City Rodders car club, classic cars are about nostalgia. "Old cars are primarily a hobby for older guys," he says. "We started out when we were in our 20s, and we've kind of evolved. We're trying to relive our youth. Now we have the money (to spend on cars) we wanted to have when we were younger."...

What started as a small celebration to honor young veterans has expanded to include all American soldiers. The fifth annual Welcome Home Celebration will be Saturday, Sept. 29, at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. The event is free and open to all...

To some, diving for sunken treasure in the sea sounds like the stuff of mysterious novels or movies. But to Randy Barnhouse, sunken treasure diving is a passion that he has pursued for nearly 30 years. "I always liked swimming and being around lakes, rivers and streams," says Barnhouse. ...

Anyone who knows Cape Girardeau understands the city is much more populated than the census numbers suggest. Virtually every city leader, when describing the city for the first time or talking about the city in an economic context, uses the word "hub" as a way to explain the city's growing posture as a thriving city, the unofficial capital of Southeast Missouri...

I've always been impressed by the photographers for the Southeast Missourian, but Laura Simon is a true pro. I've watched her work at the river recently and she is professional. Her pictures don't need captions; they speak volumes. Keep up the good work, Laura. You are awesome...

O Lord God, in all we say and do, may it be for your glory. Amen.

LOS ANGELES -- It wasn't backed by any Hollywood movie studio. Reviews were mostly negative. It premiered in Houston, not Los Angeles or New York. And yet despite the unconventional release of "2016: Obama's America," the movie is now among the most successful political documentaries of all time -- and it doesn't show signs of cooling down ahead of the presidential election...

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Clarke Duncan, the hulking, prolific character actor whose dozens of films included an Oscar-nominated performance as a death row inmate in "The Green Mile" and such other box office hits as "Armageddon," "Planet of the Apes" and "Kung Fu Panda," is dead at age 54...

ISLAMABAD -- A Muslim cleric is accused of stashing pages of a Quran in a Christian girl's bag to make it seem like she burned the Islamic holy book, a surprising twist in a case that caused an international outcry over the country's strict blasphemy laws...

According to a preliminary document filed with the county prosecuting attorney's office by the state auditor's office, nearly $60,000 is missing from Cape Girardeau's municipal court funds; prosecutor Morley Swingle said he has assigned an investigator to further probe the allegations of missing funds...

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

Firefighters responded to the following calls Saturday:...

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

CAIRO, Ill. -- Joseph E. Ruiz, 82, of Cairo died Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012, at Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Ky. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo. The rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. in the funeral home chapel...

HARTFORD, Ky. -- Dr. Ronald "Ronnie" Earl Price, 78, of Hartford passed away Friday, Aug. 31, 2012, at the Ohio County Hospital in Hartford. He was born in Madisonville, Ky., on July 16, 1934, to the late Robert E. Price and Dora Pearl Allen Price...

Lynda K. Hansen, 62, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at the Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Phyllis R. Hamm, 78, of Chaffee passed away Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born in Chaffee on Jan. 23, 1934, to the late Raymond Earl and Thelma Marie Schott Jones. Phyllis married James Roby Rogers on Sept. 23, 1950, and he preceded her in death Aug. 22, 1958. She married Norman "Cowboy" Hamm on July 20, 1963, and he preceded her in death Sept. 10, 1982...

Sondra Gockel Fitzpatrick, 52, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at The Lutheran Home. She was born July 23, 1960, in Cape Girardeau, to Marvin Eugene "Pete" and Laverne Springer Gockel. She graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School in 1978 and from Southeast Missouri State University in 1984. ...

Rita L. Burk, 82, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012, at Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until time of service Friday at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.   The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery in Cape Girardeau...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea said a typhoon that hit the peninsula last week killed 48 people and left 21,000 homeless. The update from the official Korean Central News Agency said Monday that Typhoon Bolaven also left more than 50 people injured or missing, damaged 123,550 acres of farmland and destroyed or inundated 6,700 houses...

BEIRUT -- The Syrian regime said Monday there will be no dialogue with the opposition before the army crushes the rebels, the latest sign that President Bashar Assad is determined to solve the crisis on the battlefield even if many more of his people have to pay with their lives...

JOHANNESBURG -- South African police and security guards fired rubber bullets and tear gas Monday at sacked gold miners who were attacking colleagues to block them from working, the mine owner said. Police said four people were wounded at the mine that used to be partially owned by the president's nephew...

BAGHDAD -- For much of Iraq's youth, sporting blingy makeup, slicked-up hair and skintight jeans is just part of living the teenage dream. But for their elders, it's a nightmare. A new culture rift is emerging in Iraq, as young women replace shapeless cover-ups with ankle-baring skirts and tight blouses, while men strut around in revealing slacks and spiky haircuts. ...

GAPYEONG, South Korea -- Unification Church patriarch Sun Myung Moon leaves behind children who have been groomed to lead a religious movement famous for its mass weddings and business interests -- if family feuds don't bring down the empire...

EPPING, N.H. -- Authorities say a New Hampshire woman has been arrested four times in 26 hours for blasting the AC/DC song "Highway to Hell" and other loud music from her home and for throwing a frying pan. Police first issued a warning to Joyce Coffey on Aug. 28 at her home in Epping. They say they were called back an hour later and arrested her for the loud music...

NEW YORK -- A man hurled acid in his daughter's face in a gruesome attack that sent her into a street screaming for help as her skin peeled and her clothes disintegrated, police and witnesses said. As his 49-year-old daughter sat on his couch in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon, Jerome Lynch abruptly left the room, returned with a cup of what she thought was water and doused her with it, she later told a cousin, according to the Daily News...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When it comes to following political conventions, Twitter may soon trump television. TV viewership for last week's Republican National Convention dropped sharply from 2008, suggesting interest in this presidential race falls short of some past contests. But the convention was a hit online and on social networks, the latest evidence of the political conversation's gradual migration from traditional media to the Web...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Union activists walked a political tightrope Monday -- voicing support for President Barack Obama's re-election bid while lamenting adversarial attitudes toward organized labor in the state Democrats chose for the presidential nominating convention...

NEW ORLEANS -- Mitt Romney wasted no time after accepting the GOP presidential nomination in heading to Louisiana to see the damage from Hurricane Isaac, changing his schedule on the fly to get there the very next day. President Barack Obama also tweaked his travel plans to make sure he got there Monday, ahead of his own nominating convention...

BERKELEY, Calif. -- School day wake-up calls recorded by celebrities. Weekend makeup classes. Contests with laptop computers, private concerts and cars as prizes. Educators across the nation are using creative strategies as another school year gets underway to convince students and parents that regular attendance matters -- and not just for grades and achievement...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The home state of the president who didn't inhale has become an unlikely front in the battle over medical marijuana. This fall, Arkansas will be the first Southern state to ask voters whether to legalize medical uses for pot, a move that offers supporters a rare chance to make inroads in a region that has resisted easing any restrictions on the drug...

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. -- Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a clear message last week that the Federal Reserve will do more to help the still-struggling U.S. economy. His remarks left two questions: What exactly will the Fed do? And when? Bernanke described the U.S. economy's health as "far from satisfactory" and noted that the unemployment rate, now 8.3 percent, hasn't declined since January...

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. -- This southwestern Kentucky town has hit the astronomical jackpot. When a total eclipse of the sun darkens skies Aug. 21, 2017, the show will last longer in a stretch of bucolic hill country near Hopkinsville than any place on the planet. It will last two minutes and 40 seconds, not much longer than the Kentucky Derby...

Schnucks Cape Girardeau supermarket is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar upgrade that will bring more variety and convenience for shoppers, store manager Dennis Marchi said. Work began last month installing new energy-efficient coolers, brighter LED lighting, new bins in the bakery and much more...

Saint Francis Medical Center has named Steve Firmand the director of training and development. Firmand will be responsible for managing enterprise learning and developing new projects and strategies for more than 2,400 Saint Francis employees. Firmand has worked in training and development in the academic, pharmaceutical and technology industries. He has also worked with other clients as a performance consultant in the United States and abroad...

Roger and Judith Anne Lang have mixed emotions about deciding to close a family jewelry business that has operated in the same location for the past 96 years. "It's very bittersweet," says Judith Anne. "On one hand, we're ready to retire and enjoy life. But, on the other hand, we will miss our customers, as many of them have become dear friends over the years."...

Linda Clark Nash's interest in Pierre de Lorimier, the founder of Cape Girardeau, started early in her life. "When I was a sixth-grade baby boomer student, I was bussed from Alma Schrader school to Lorimier school (which is now city hall) because of overcrowding," says Nash. "That's where my interest in Lorimier really began."...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals took another step toward a playoff spot, thanks to a misstep by the New York Mets. Andres Torres lost an apparent leadoff double in the ninth inning when he was called out for missing first base, and the Cardinals held off the Mets 5-4 on Monday...

I didn't make the trip to Central Michigan for Southeast Missouri State's opening football game Thursday night. Instead I watched the contest online on ESPN3 and came away impressed by the Redhawks, who suffered a 38-27 loss. CMU ultimately seemed to wear down Southeast with its strength, athleticism and depth, which you would expect from a Football Bowl Subdivision program against a Football Championship Subdivision program...

Southeast Missouri State did quite a few things well during Thursday's season-opening 38-27 loss at Football Bowl Subdivision member Central Michigan. Special teams were among the Redhawks' highlights, led by strong performances from junior punter Joe Vucic and senior kicker Drew Geldbach, who are both in their third year as regulars...

The Notre Dame boys cross country team claimed its first top 10 finish at the annual Memphis Twilight Classic on Saturday. The Bulldogs' top-five finishers all were among the top 100 in the field of 322 runners, placing Notre Dame ninth among the 41 teams...

Cape Girardeau native Susan Beth Scott won her first medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games as a member of the U.S.'s 400-meter relay squad that took silver Sunday in London. Scott teamed with Victoria Arlen, Jessica Long and Anna Eames to nip Great Britain for second in 4 minutes, 24.57 seconds. Australia won the gold in 4:20.39...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. home prices are finally starting to increase consistently. A gauge of national home prices rose in June compared with the same month last year, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller index released Aug. 28. The year-over-year increase was the first since September 2010, a year when housing benefited temporarily from a federal home-buying tax credit...

The nation's oil and gas hub along the Gulf Coast is slowly coming back to life in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. Offshore oil platforms are beginning to ramp up production as crews are returning. Refineries are beginning to restart units as power is restored and floodwaters are cleared out...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Perryville football team fumbled nine times and failed to complete a pass -- yet somehow found a way to win. "It's a very good year to be a Pirate," senior fullback/linebacker Aaron Hadler said. At least through the first two weeks of the season...

In July I gave you information about the Southeast Missouri Medical Center wanting to provide a new community center for the citizens of Jackson. The medical center is a not-for-profit organization formed by Jackson residents back in the late '60s for the purpose of improving health care for the citizens of Jackson and the surrounding area by offering incentives to recruit doctors. At the time Jackson was served by Drs. J.N. Jaeger and E.F. McDonald, who were both nearing retirement...