Stories from Tuesday, October 2, 2012

ST. LOUIS -- Bacon lovers can relax. They'll find all they want on supermarket shelves in the coming months, though their pocketbooks may take a hit. The economics of the current drought are likely to nose up prices for bacon and other pork products next year, by as much as 10 percent. But U.S. agricultural economists are dismissing reports of a global bacon shortage that lent sizzle to headlines and Twitter feeds last week. Simply put, the talk of scarcity is hogwash...

Months of back and forth over the language in an ordinance to establish a rental inspection program in Cape Girardeau came to a close Monday night. The city council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance, which will require landlords to purchase annual licenses to rent property and mandate maintenance of properties. ...

Cape Girardeau's scooter riders came one step closer Monday night, although it was a small one, to having to wear helmets while riding on city streets. The Cape Girardeau City Council, while it still has questions and says the issue deserves more study, asked for a draft ordinance that would lay out exactly what such a law could look like. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Notre Dame and Perryville volleyball teams have built quite a rivalry in recent years. That was on full display Monday night in front of a big crowd at Perryville's gymnasium. "This is what pumps us up. This is what volleyball is all about," Notre Dame senior Miranda Fowler said. "It's always intense against Perryville."...

A Cape Girardeau teenager pleaded guilty Monday to the hate crime assault of a gay neighbor, reversing her previous denials that the victim's sexual orientation had nothing to do with the July 24 attack.

More than 200 people don't want nine mostly wooded acres along Old Sprigg Street Road and Bertling Street to become an apartment complex for university students. They signed a petition that said so. But city officials ultimately sided with potential developers and city staff recommendations to rezone the area...

One of our daughter's Golden Retriever's eight pups about to dive into the bucket of water.

Our daughter's Golden Retriever had a litter of puppies and I took this picture of her feeding her babies.

Golden Age Games 2012

And now it goes to voters. After nearly a year of often heated public discourse, it will take a special election that marks the city's first-ever referendum to decide the matter of whether a bowhunting deer program will be implemented within the city limits...

For those of us who didn't realize it,there is a Mother's flag for the sons and daughters who serve in the Military. This was the taking down of our daughter Karla's flag for her son Clayton who had just returned from Iraq at the end of his military stint. Carl and I were very honored to be able to be in WI for me to take this picture of our grandson...

We saw this buck on the side of the road on HWY CC close to the Apple Creek Conservation area. He did not run off as we snapped several pictures of him. He seemed to pose for his picture and just kept on eating and watching us as were watching him. It was exciting...

A program benefiting local dairy farmers is among the 34 U.S. Department of Agriculture Programs that are now expired since Congress adjourned without passing a new five-year farm bill. For the first time in more than 20 years a farm bill was allowed to expire with the end of the federal fiscal year, Sept. 30, without Congress passing some sort of an extension, said Mark Cadle, executive director for the Missouri Farm Service Agency...

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Little or no economic growth is likely this year in most of the nine Midwest and Plains states covered by a survey of business leaders, but the booming oil business will continue to drive growth in North Dakota and Oklahoma, according to the report released Monday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder appears to be catching up to his Democratic challenger's fundraising advantage. Kinder spent heavily in the summer's GOP primary and reported $18,300 in available cash on Sept. 1. Since then, state campaign finance records show Kinder has collected $129,000 from contributions above $5,000. The haul includes $25,000 from the Missouri Republican Committee...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Rep. Todd Akin has backed almost $100 million in earmarks in recent years, including money for home-state military programs and local highway work. During his Republican Senate primary this summer, Akin even aired a television ad proudly defending his effort to get federal dollars for military armor in "what some call earmarks."...

Cape Girardeau County is now part of the Missouri One Call system, according to a release by the Missouri One Call System. Residents can call 1-800-344-7483 or 811 to work with an operator to find underground utilities and other hazards that may be hidden near a dig site. ...

The final Illinois 12th Congressional District debate will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 10, according to a news release Monday. Democratic candidate William Enyart of Belleville, Ill., Republican candidate Jason Plummer of O'Fallon, Ill., and Green Party candidate Paula Bradshaw of Carbondale, Ill., will debate the issues in the final round of three debates...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Federal health officials have been working to determine the source of a new virus recently discovered in northwest Missouri, where it sickened two men who live miles apart and who reported having tick bites days before they were hospitalized in 2009...

An apparent overnight burglary at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri resulted in the theft of two pit bulls. The burglary was discovered Monday morning when the organization was preparing to open for business, director Kelly Goff said, and the Cape Girardeau Police Department has been notified...

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 2, the 276th day of 2012. There are 90 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 2, 2002, the Washington, D.C. area sniper attacks began as a resident of Silver Spring, Md., was shot and killed in a store parking lot in Wheaton; the next day, five people were shot dead, setting off a frantic manhunt lasting three weeks. ...

LONDON -- Adele has confirmed she has co-written and performed the theme to the upcoming James Bond movie "Skyfall." The singer was initially unsure whether she wanted to take the project, according to news posted to the official James Bond website Monday...

The best way to find breast cancer early is with a mammogram. Women over 50 should have a screening mammogram every two years. When breast cancer starts out, it is too small to feel and does not cause signs and symptoms. As it grows, however, breast cancer can cause changes in how the breast looks or feels. Symptoms may include:...

On behalf of Alma Schrader Elementary School, I would like to express my appreciation of the Southeast Missourian's coverage of the 2012 Constitution Day and Heroes Recognition Assembly. I would like to especially recognize photographer Adam Vogler for the pictures he took capturing the several special moments of this assembly...

O Lord God, may we hate evil and cling to what is good. Amen.

My wife and I were at Trail of Tears State Park at the river overlook. While I was there I dropped a special walking cane that I got from my daughter several years ago. There was a family there with four teenage girls. They went racing up the walkway then down the hillside to retrieve the cane for me at the bottom of the overlook by the railroad tracks. I want to say thank you to the girls, and we do have some wonderful teens in this area. Thank you...

ST. LOUIS -- A federal judge in St. Louis has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the contraception mandate of the federal health care law. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Frank O'Brien and his company, O'Brien Industrial Holdings LLC of St. Louis, was one of nearly three dozen cases nationally challenging the constitutionality of regulations in the health care law. ...

Daughter to Andrew Joseph and Stephanie Lynn Toeniskoetter of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 10:28 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. Name, Mercedes Rene. Weight, 6 pounds, 11 1/2 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Toeniskoetter is the former Stephanie Ramsey, daughter of Mark Ramsey and Valerie Ramsey of Cape Girardeau. ...

Missouri first lady Janet Ashcroft, addressing a regional gerontology conference at Southeast Missouri State University yesterday, urged the health care professionals to expand upon a lead role Missouri has taken in disseminating information about Alzheimer's disease and other problems of the elderly...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Highway 34 between Route ZZ and Highway 51in Bollinger County will be closed Wednesday as contractor crews install a pipe under the roadway. Weather permitting, the work will take place from 4 to 11 p.m. The work zone will be marked with signs. Motorists are urged to use caution while traveling near the area...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republican challenger Todd Akin went on the offensive against Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri's Senate race Monday, claiming that her husband's businesses profited from a federal stimulus act provision that helped finance low-income housing...

WASHINGTON -- A new study finds that fraud in scientific research is growing, even though it remains rare overall. A review of retractions in medical and biological peer-reviewed journals finds the percentage of studies that had to be withdrawn because of scientific misconduct has jumped several-fold since the mid-1970s. The study said fraud or suspected fraud is by far the biggest reason for retractions, outweighing errors and plagiarism...

WASHINGTON -- Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a wide-ranging defense Monday of the Federal Reserve's aggressive policies to stimulate the still-weak economy. The Fed needs to drive down long-term borrowing rates because the economy isn't growing fast enough to reduce high unemployment, Bernanke said in a speech to the Economic Club of Indiana. The unemployment rate is 8.1 percent...

It's a medical nightmare: a 24-year-old man endures 350 surgeries since childhood to remove growths that keep coming back in his throat and have spread to his lungs, threatening his life. Now doctors have found a way to help him by way of a scientific coup that holds promise for millions of cancer patients...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- His blood could boil. His lungs could overinflate. The vessels in his brain could burst. His eyes could hemorrhage. And, yes, he could break his neck while jumping from an altitude of 23 miles. But the risk of a gruesome death has never stopped "Fearless Felix" Baumgartner in all his years of skydiving and skyscraper leaping, and it's not about to now...

The U.S. attorney's office released the following information Monday for defendants who appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis M. Blanton. SENTENCED Name: Radon Wayne Crane Residence: Summersville, Mo. Age: 32 Sentence: 3 months...

UNITED NATIONS -- A North Korean minister lashed out at the United States on Monday, saying its "hostile" policy has left the Korean peninsula a spark away from a nuclear war. Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil Yon told the U.N. General Assembly that the Koreas have become "the world's most dangerous hotspot" and blamed the "hostile" policy of the United States toward North Korea...

STOCKHOLM -- IKEA is being criticized for deleting images of women from the Saudi version of its furniture catalog, a move the company says it regrets. Comparing the Swedish and Saudi versions of the catalog, free newspaper Metro on Monday showed that women had been airbrushed out of otherwise identical pictures showcasing the company's home furnishings...

TEHRAN, Iran -- For weeks, a manifesto complaining about Iran's stumbling economy circulated in secret among factories and workshops. Organizers asked for signatures and the pages began to fill up. In the end, some 10,000 names were attached to the petition addressed to Iran's labor minister in one of the most wide-reaching public outcries over the state of the country's economy, which has received a double pounding from tightening Western sanctions and alleged mismanagement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government.. ...

CHICAGO -- Mandolin player and composer Chris Thile learned the hard way that when you get a call from the 312 area code this time of year, you should probably answer the phone. Thile is among 23 recipients of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius grants," which are given in a secrecy-shrouded process. Winners have no idea they've been nominated for the $500,000 awards until they get the call, and nominators must remain anonymous...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Andrew Engeldinger's parents pushed him for two years to seek treatment for what they suspected was mental illness, but even though he became increasingly paranoid and experienced delusions, there was nothing more they could do. Minnesota law doesn't allow people to be forced into treatment without proof that they are a threat to themselves or others. ...

The Jackson Police Department Released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest 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 The Department of Public Safety released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt...

Rebecca Sue Smith, 55, of Foley, Mo., died Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. She was born May 20, 1957, in Cape Girardeau, to Otis Albert and Carrie O'Daniel Phillips. She and Ervin Dean Smith were married Sept. 24, 2005, in Cape Girardeau...

BENTON, Mo. -- Rufus Roy "Sonny" Sanford Jr., 77, of Benton passed away Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, at Saint Francis Medical Center, surrounded by his family. He was born Jan. 15, 1935, in Ancell, son of Rufus Roy and Ethel Angelyn Stone Sanford Sr. He and Shirley Elaine Fry were married March 26, 1953, in Ancell...

Lindel R. Hodge, 67, of Jackson passed away Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 24, 1945, in Cape Girardeau, to Edwin R. and Elizabeth I. McClard Hodge. He and Roxie Peyton were married March 30, 1968. They had been married 25 years when she passed away in 1993...

ORAN, Mo. -- Marie J. Eftink, 89, of Oran passed away Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, at the family home. She was born April 18, 1923, in Randles, to W.J. and Wilhelmenia Brand Trankler. She and Paul J. Eftink were married Nov. 12, 1940. He preceded her in death Aug. 20, 1997...

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Anna Marie Brucker, 80, of New Hamburg passed away Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, at Miner Nursing Center in Sikeston, Mo. She was born Dec. 27, 1931, in Gordonville, to Walter J. and Hazel Eakins Hennecke. Anna and Clarence J. Brucker were married March 1, 1949. He preceded her in death Dec. 22, 1989...

Beulah Marie Beussink, 82, of Jackson passed away Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 9, 1930, in Leopold, Mo., daughter of Edward and Josephine B. Vandeven Holzum. She and Gilbert H. Beussink were married July 5, 1952. He passed away July 21, 2006...

ANNA, Ill. -- Mary Lou Adams, 81, of Anna died Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, at Anna Rehab and Health Care Center in Anna. A graveside service will be at 2 p.m. today at Anna City Cemetery, with the Rev. Jimmy Keller officiating. Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Jonesboro, Ill., is in charge of arrangements...

New Vision Youth and Family Services in Jackson has been approved for $92,491 in state tax credits, the Missouri Department of Economic Development announced Monday. New Vision will use donations to increase the number of children served at its Hope Children's Home, an emergency shelter for children. ...

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

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams' adjustment to a short workweek has started pretty smoothly. They come off a 19-13 victory over Seattle on Sunday relatively healthy and get a second consecutive home game for their Thursday night matchup with Arizona...

ST. LOUIS -- Jaime Garcia is in fine form for the postseason, winning his last three starts and homering off Bronson Arroyo, too. The St. Louis Cardinals are almost there, clinching a tie for the second NL wild card and spoiling Dusty Baker's return from a mini-stroke with a 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night...

Storytelling is a gift. Whether through the written or spoken word, those who do it best combine topic mastery and a unique ability to engage audiences. One local individual who has done this for decades is Dr. Frank Nickell. Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University, recently announced he will retire at the end of the 2012-2013 academic year. ...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During this month, you will see a lot of pink in our area. Both Cape Girardeau and Jackson are participating in the Pink Up campaign benefiting the Dig for Life program originally started by coach Cindy Gannon and the women's volleyball team from Southeast Missouri State University. With the help of Saint Francis Medical Center the program has grown tremendously...

NAME: Gary J. Schaaf AGE: 56 PLACE OF BIRTH: Perryville SPOUSE'S, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Tamara Schaaf, Amanda Geile, Brian Schaaf, Aaron Schaaf EDUCATION: Graduated Perryville H.S. 1975. Some college at SEMO. St. Charles Law Enforcement Academy, numerous law enforcement related courses from various state and federal agencies...