Stories from October 2013

NEW YORK (AP) -- The partial government shutdown that began Tuesday left many federal workers uncertain of their financial future, with many facing unpaid furloughs or delays in paychecks. Park ranger and father-to-be Darquez Smith said he already lives paycheck to paycheck while putting himself through college and worried how he'll fare if the shutdown lasts a long time...

ST. LOUIS -- The wait is over for Missourians hoping to find out whether the Affordable Care Act lives up to its name when it comes to shopping for government-backed health insurance. The online insurance exchange in Missouri is being operated by the federal government after state lawmakers and then voters rejected a state-run system. Unlike in many other states, few details about the plans' premium costs, deductible levels and other specifics were disclosed in advance of today's kickoff...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Baseball fans arriving in St. Louis for the start of the playoffs this week can scratch off one potential side visit -- the Gateway Arch. The lingering dispute over President Barack Obama's health care law prompted a partial federal government shutdown Tuesday. Nationwide, some 800,000 federal workers are off the job. Services deemed critical, such as law enforcement and disaster assistance, continued, but the shutdown idled many offices and facilities...

Although an official announcement of candidacy was not made by Missouri's lieutenant governor Monday, Peter Kinder did indicate a definite interest in running for the congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Jason Smith through the formation of an exploratory committee...

CHICAGO (AP) -- The online insurance marketplaces that are at the heart of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul struggled to handle the wave of new consumers Tuesday, the first day of a six-month open-enrollment period. A combination of high demand and technical glitches seemed to overwhelm the online system early in the day. Federal and state officials were working to address the problems, which led to long waits on government websites and a federal call center...

A Butler County man charged with murder reached a plea agreement with prosecutors at his pretrial hearing in Cape Girardeau County on Monday morning, days before his trial was set to begin. Paris Thomas, 23, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., was charged in 2011 with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm, accused of shooting and killing Marcus D. ...

A Dexter, Mo., man charged with murder appeared in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court on Monday morning to request a bond reduction. Glen Scott Evans, 45, faces one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, and two counts of armed criminal action in connection with the death of 34-year-old Sean Crow, whose body was found Feb. 20 in a truck outside a McDonald's restaurant in Advance, Mo...

A Cedar Hill, Mo., man accused of using a video camera in a women's restroom pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy and was sentenced Monday morning in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court. Frank Fuchs, 52, was arrested Aug. 5 at the Silver Springs Office Complex, 351 S. Silver Springs Road, after a female soldier from the U.S. Army recruiting office in the building discovered a video camera under a restroom stall wall, court records show...

Three men who allegedly used a broomstick and knife to beat and stab a man during a home invasion and attempted robbery Friday afternoon in Cape Girardeau remained in the Cape Girardeau County jail Monday. Vincente V. Young, 21, of Memphis, Tenn., and Marcquise Taylor, 18, and William L. ...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Mingo National Wildlife Refuge may offer expanded hunting and fishing opportunities, Sectretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced last week. Mingo is one of 20 refuges across the country where hunting and fishing may be expanded. Six national refuges are being opened to hunters and fishermen for the first time...

Classic rock bands REO Speedwagon and Styx will play the Show Me Center in December. The bands will team up for a show at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5, according to a listing on the Show Me Center's website calendar at showmecenter.biz. The bands have a long list of hits spanning decades, including songs such as "Can't Fight this Feeling, "Take it on the Run" and "Time for Me to Fly" by REO Speedwagon and "Blue Collar Man," "Come Sail Away" and "Too Much Time on My Hands" by Styx...

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Rick Braswell with Cotner Electric installs a pink gel on one of the lights of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge Monday, Sept. ...

As a way to get students and families walking, Alma Schrader Elementary School students, teachers, parents and grandparents will take part in Walk to School Day on Oct. 9. The Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation at Southeast Missouri State University, in cooperation with the Alma Schrader Elementary School PTA, is sponsoring the event. Mark Langenfeld, professor of health, human performance and recreation and biology, said 80 to 100 people are expected to participate...

Getting out of your own way, knowing your passion and following your heart will help you achieve happiness in life, health and wellness expert Jillian Michaels told an audience of 1,618 at the Show Me Center on Monday evening. Michaels was the first speaker for this year's Southeast Missouri State University Speaker Series. ...

Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger announced Monday that he'll seek another term. Rediger, first elected in 2010 after former mayor Jay Knudtson was forced out by term limits, said at an afternoon news conference that he's decided to seek the seat again in the April election. Rediger will have to collect signatures on a petition to get his name on the ballot. If two or more other candidates join the race, a primary will be needed to winnow the field to two before April's election...

WASHINGTON -- For the first time in nearly two decades, the federal government staggered into a partial shutdown Monday at midnight after congressional Republicans demanded changes in the nation's health-care law as the price for essential federal funding and President Barack Obama and Democrats refused...

The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people, according to a global study going out today by the United Nations and an elder rights group. The report ranks the social and economic well-being of elders in 91 countries, with Sweden coming out on top and Afghanistan at the bottom. ...

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 1, the 274th day of 2013. There are 91 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 1, 1908, Henry Ford introduced his Model T automobile to the market. On this date: In 1861, during the Civil War, the Confederate navy captured the Union steamer Fanny in North Carolina's Pamlico Sound...

Friday afternoon was special for Jeff and Andrea Cunningham, the Cape Girardeau couple who founded Melaina's Magical Playland. The all-accessible playground at Cape County Park North, inspired by their daughter Melaina who died from a neuromuscular disease, had its official opening with swarms of children enjoying the new facility...

I must admit to a bit of trepidation when I read the article in the Southeast Missourian that the end of some program might slow Jackson's growth. Rest assured, we're still plugging along with continued building growth. At the end of August, we issued 49 building permits with a total construction value of $17,132,082.82, which included the new elementary school. ...

NEW ORLEANS -- BP lied to the U.S. government and withheld information about the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico after its well blew out in 2010, attorneys told a judge Monday. But lawyers for the London-based oil giant denied those accusations and said there was no way to prepare for such a unique blowout a mile below the seafloor. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Hundreds of Missouri anesthesiologists urged the state Monday not to use propofol in an upcoming execution, saying the fallout could jeopardize the availability of the anesthetic relied on by thousands of U.S. hospitals and clinics...

Son to Clint Russell Yarbro and Shelby Lynn Davis of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 8:47 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. Name, Jace Allen, Weight, 8 pounds, 5 ounces. First child. Ms. Davis is the daughter of Carol Ank of Cape Girardeau. Yarbro is the son of Russell Yarbro of Cape Girardeau and the late April Yarbro, and his stepmother, the late Christey Yarbro...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Sunday:...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY The Department of Public Safety at Southeast Missouri State University released the following item. Theft...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Robert "Big Tom" Thompson, 73, of Cairo died Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Massie Funeral Home in Mounds, Ill. The funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, with Terry Holder officiating. Interment will be in Spencer Heights Memorial Park in Mounds...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Helen T. Kruep, 97, of Perryville died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, at Independence Care Center. She was born Oct. 27, 1915, in St. Louis, to Frank and Magdalena Hassler Kratochvil. She and John Herman Kruep were married Feb. 12, 1938, in St. Louis. He preceded her in death Aug. 31, 1998...

Geraldine S. "Gerry" Hartel, 82, of Perryville, Mo., died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at her home. She was born Aug. 17, 1931, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Joseph H. and Geraldine H. Galeener Schlue. She and Edward A. Hartel were married July 27, 1963. He preceded her in death Aug. 28, 1999...

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Inspectors charged with the enormous task of overseeing the destruction of Syria's deadly chemical weapons stockpiles kicked off their mission Monday, racing to meet tight deadlines against the backdrop of civil war. The Syrian regime lashed out at the rebels, claiming government forces are fighting mostly al-Qaida-linked militants and refusing to talk with the main Western-backed opposition group -- a blow to U.S.-Russian efforts to hold a peace conference by November.. ...

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- When Sudan's longtime president Omar al-Bashir introduced drastic austerity measures, he berated the public for being ungrateful over how his regime had improved their lives, boasting that before he came to power, Sudanese never ate hot dogs, talking as if they were a strange, luxury food...

NEW YORK -- The prime ministers of India and Pakistan met in New York on Sunday, and in a step toward easing tension, agreed on the need to stop the recent spate of attacks in the disputed Kashmir region. They also both accepted invitations to visit each other's countries, although they didn't set dates. ...

WASHINGTON -- Despite soothing assurances from Iran's new leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implored President Barack Obama on Monday to keep punishing sanctions in place against Tehran -- and even tighten them if the Islamic republic advances its nuclear programs while negotiating with the U.S...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is suing North Carolina for alleged racial discrimination over its tough new voting rules, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday. "By restricting access and ease of voter participation, this new law would shrink, rather than expand, access" to voting, Holder said at a news conference. "Allowing limits on voting rights that disproportionately exclude minority voters would be inconsistent with our ideals as a nation."...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis and Chicago have famously parried for more than a century: St. Louis snatched the 1904 Olympics even after Chicago had been named the host city, and the disdain between St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs fans fuels one of baseball's biggest rivalries...

WASHINGTON -- Contentious from its conception, President Barack Obama's health care law has survived the Supreme Court, a battle for the White House and rounds of budget brinkmanship. Now comes the ultimate test: the verdict of the American people...

LONDON -- A host of stars turned out to experience Justin Timberlake's headline gig at the iTunes Festival in London. Grammy-winning singer Adele, actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth McGovern were among the audience at London's Roundhouse on Sunday night...

When breast cancer starts out, it is too small to feel and does not cause signs and symptoms. As it grows, breast cancer can cause changes in how the breast looks or feels. Symptoms may include: What is a mammogram? A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast. ...

CHICAGO -- The government's latest infant bed-sharing numbers show a trend: the percentage of U.S. babies sleeping with parents or another child more than doubled since the early 1990s, despite public health messages linking the practice with sudden infant death syndrome...

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team has improved its record during each of Dickey Nutt's four seasons as coach. This year figures to afford the Redhawks their best chance yet at a major breakthrough -- and Nutt isn't shying away from those expectations entering today's start of practice...

Monday's high school swim meet at the SEMO Aquatic Center may have lacked competition, but the coaches involved used the triangular meet as a springboard toward late-season success. Notre Dame dominated the meet, winning 10 of 12 events on its way to 144 team points. Jackson was second with 81, followed by Saxony Lutheran with 11...

The Southeast Missouri State football team has struggled in quite a few areas so far this year, not the least of which revolves around slow starts. Southeast has trailed by at least nine points in the first half of every game and has faced double-figure halftime deficits in three contests...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team continued its fall exhibition schedule Sunday by dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Memphis. Southeast lost the opener 1-0 in eight innings and the nightcap 10-4. Southeast had only two hits in the opener, by sophomores Savannah Carpenter and Chelsea Smith...

The first major step in establishing a National Public Radio station at Southeast Missouri State University was taken recently when Susan Westfall was hired as station manager. Resin Exchange is in its new, 56,000-square-foot quarters in the Nash Road Industrial Park area; company officials hope to send out their first rail load of products from the new plant next week...

Lord God, may we be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. Amen.

The Notre Dame girls tennis team ended an impressive regular season Tuesday afternoon. Notre Dame dropped only one match as the Bulldogs rolled past host Fredericktown 8-1. The Bulldogs improved to 14-2 as they prepare for the upcoming district tournament...

ST. LOUIS -- This time last year, the St. Louis Cardinals had no chance to exhale and things ended up working out pretty well. Still, they did not want to go through that tension again. Instead of hustling off somewhere for an elimination game, the NL Central champion Cardinals earned a day off Monday. There can savor a six-game winning streak that gave them 97 wins, tied with Boston for the most in the majors, and home-field advantage for the first two rounds of the postseason...

The team of Chad Friend, Rob Maruska, Aaron Friend and Tyler Probst, and the squad of Josh Parham, Matt Carter, Todd Obergoenner and Kent Phillips finished first in the respective championship flights at the Notre Dame Fall Booster Club Scramble at Dalhousie Golf Club...

Chaffee High School's best start to a football season since 1969 has earned the Red Devils statewide recognition. The Red Devils are ranked 10th in Class 1 according to the poll released Monday. Voting is done by a 15-member panel of sportswriters and broadcasters...

When they put newborn Karsyn Raleigh Helmers on the scale at Saint Francis Medical Center, her parents expected a big, healthy baby of between 8 and 10 pounds. What Wesley and Jessica Helmers of Patton didn't anticipate was one weighing in at 13 pounds, 8 ounces...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Best-selling author Tom Clancy, whose wildly successful technological thrillers made him one of the biggest publishing phenomena of his time, has died. He was 66. Clancy arrived on best-seller lists in 1984 with "The Hunt for Red October." He sold the manuscript to the first publisher he tried, the Naval Institute Press, which had never bought original fiction...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama summoned congressional leaders to the White House on the second day of a partial government shutdown that has furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers and closed military cemeteries as far away as France. Republican leaders welcomed the Wednesday afternoon meeting but questioned whether Democrats were ready to deal...

The pressure is on for the federal government and states running their own health insurance exchanges to get the systems up and running after overloaded websites and jammed phone lines frustrated consumers for a second day as they tried to sign up for coverage using the new marketplaces...

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com People line Broadway at the intersection of Fountain Street, Wednesday night, Oct. 2, 2013, as Ben Affleck, right, and another actor film a scene from 20th Century Fox's feature film, "Gone Girl", in front of the old federal building in Cape Girardeau....

The one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill expired Monday in the midst of a government shutdown, marking the first day of a lapse in the bill since it was extended last year. The U.S. House of Representatives last weekend passed a resolution reinserting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program into a larger version of the farm bill, which includes rural development and commodities, according to Garret Hawkins, director of national legislative programs for the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation. ...

CHICAGO -- Americans got their first chance Tuesday to shop for health insurance using the online marketplaces that are at the heart of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, but government websites designed to sell the policies struggled to handle the traffic, with many frustrated users reporting trouble setting up accounts...

WASHINGTON -- First slowed, then stalled by political gridlock, the vast machinery of government clanged into partial shutdown mode Tuesday and President Barack Obama warned the longer it goes, "the more families will be hurt." Republicans said it was his fault, not theirs...

Although its been a little more than 200 years since the last big one hit, the New Madrid Seismic Zone is still a hot spot for earthquakes. New research conducted by U.S. Geological Survey scientists shows why the zone is unique and may continue to pose a higher earthquake risk than adjacent areas in the central United States...

Across the region Tuesday, many federal government offices normally open for services might as well have posted signs on the door "Be back in?" as a partial shutdown closed down some completely and scaled back operations at others. A congressional failure to reach a deal on funding federal government agencies by midnight Monday meant that visitors were left unable to access national parks and monuments, and some agriculture services and Social Security offices ran on less than half normal staff as employees took furloughs. ...

You won't have to be of German heritage to enjoy the first Uptown Jackson Oktoberfest, but it couldn't hurt. "If people want to wear German attire with lederhosen, we encourage that," said Lisa Walker, Oktoberfest chairwoman. "It will only make things more fun."...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Perryville Board of Aldermen on Tuesday moved a step closer to accepting a countywide conservation plan designed to help protect an endangered fish. The board heard the first reading of an ordinance entering the city into an intergovernmental cooperation agreement with county, state and federal entities to implement the Perry County Community Conservation Plan...

The Immaculate Conception Choristers of Jackson will be performing in Branson as part of Veterans Week. On Friday, Nov. 8, they will be part of the Walmart Salutes Veterans Show. Jason Yeager of American Idol season 7 will serve as emcee. Other performers in the show include popular Branson stars the Hughes Brothers and Barbara Fairchild. ...

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- A suburban St. Louis fire district is banning firefighters from wearing pink T-shirts, saying the shirts -- which support Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October -- are unprofessional. Dozens of fire districts in the region participate in the Pink Heals Movement, a national effort started by an Arizona firefighter to generate awareness and support for women battling breast cancer. Chesterfield firefighters say they have worn the shirts the last four years...

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 2, the 275th day of 2013. There are 90 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as the court opened its new term...

ST. LOUIS -- A state appeals court in St. Louis has upheld the use of red-light cameras in the suburban community of Creve Coeur. In an opinion released Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District sided with a previous St. Louis County Circuit Court ruling in favor of Creve Coeur and its camera vendor, American Traffic Solutions Inc. The suit was brought by four people who received tickets for running red lights...

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Missouri's 102-year-old State Fairgrounds will be getting $2.2 million in infrastructure improvements. Gov. Jay Nixon announced the upgrades Tuesday at the nearly 400-acre fairgrounds in Sedalia. The work will focus on the stormwater management system to tackle leaks and improve drainage, partly by repairing and replacing pipes throughout the site. The improvements will also address connections between the fairgrounds and Sedalia's stormwater system...

More than 100 craft beer samples from more than 25 microbreweries will be offered during the second annual Cape Girardeau Craft Beer Festival on Saturday. The festival, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., will be at Arena Park in the SEMO Fairground Bank of America Show Arena. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a trial judge's dismissal of charges against a man accused of violating the state's prohibition on gun possession by convicted felons. Arthel Ford Harris pleaded guilty in 2001 to a felony for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A Wyatt man was sentenced to 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on Monday for child abuse, assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Jeff Hemphill, 27, was sentenced in the Circuit Court of Mississippi County by Judge David Dolan after being found guilty in a jury trial Aug. 23...

Son to Clint Russell Yarbro and Shelby Lynn Davis of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 8:47 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. Name, Jace Allen, Weight, 8 pounds, 5 ounces. First child. Ms. Davis is the daughter of Candy Ank of Cape Girardeau. Yarbro is the son of Russell Yarbro and Christey Yarbro of Cape Girardeau, and the late April Yarbro...

The fourth annual Outdoor Worship Service of Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel is held in the morning at Cape County Park South; pastor of the church is the Rev. William Matzat. The Rev. Jerry L. Webb was installed as pastor of West Side Church of God last night; he is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and received a bachelor of arts degree in 1978 from Anderson University...

NEW ORLEANS -- An employee of the company that owned the doomed Deepwater Horizon drilling rig testified Tuesday he was surprised when BP scrapped his team's design to stop the gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. Robert Turlak, a Transocean Ltd. manager, was a witness for his employer at a federal trial that focuses on BP's response to the April 2010 well blowout. ...

BUENA VISTA, Colo. -- A 13-year-old girl said her father shielded her as boulders crashed down on them on a Colorado hiking trail -- an action authorities say probably saved her life even as her father and four other family members were killed...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Insults dished out by food critic Anthony Bourdain on an episode of CNN's "Parts Unknown" have stirred up outrage in New Mexico -- and now he acknowledges that he was wrong. The sharp-tongued chef and writer lashed into the "World Famous" Frito pies sold at Santa Fe's Five & Dime General Store's snack bar. The store is a tourist attraction and a mainstay in the city's historic plaza...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis says he doesn't want a "Vatican-centric" church concerned about itself but a missionary church that reaches out to the poor, the young, the elderly and even to non-believers. That's the vision he laid out as he opened a landmark meeting Tuesday on reforming the 2,000-year-old institution...

UNITED NATIONS -- North Korea on Tuesday spurned South Korea's offer of development aid in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons, saying "this can never, ever, be a political bargaining chip." North Korean counselor Sang Beom Lim was speaking in the "right of reply" session at the end of the annual General Assembly speeches, when countries unleash their most outspoken diplomats to counter arguments made by other countries in their high-level speeches...

BEIRUT -- Wading into the world spotlight, international inspectors arrived in Damascus on Tuesday to begin the monumental task of overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons in the middle of a civil war. The inspectors from a Netherlands-based chemical weapons watchdog have about nine months to complete their mission that calls for finding, dismantling and eliminating President Bashar Assad's estimated 1,000-ton arsenal...

UNITED NATIONS -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played the spoiler Tuesday to any easing of Iran's relations with the West, telling world leaders his country will do whatever it takes to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it has to stand alone...

WASHINGTON -- There's at least one constant in a government shutdown: The 532 members of Congress continue to be paid -- at a cost of $10,583.85 per hour to taxpayers. Lawmakers get their pay even as hundreds of congressional staffers are sent home, packs of tourists are turned away at the Capitol, and constituent services in many offices grind to a halt. Most entrances to House and Senate office buildings and underground parking garages are closed...

Alma Schrader Elementary School students and staff first participated in Constitution Day at the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. Now in its 12th year, school officials say students look forward to the uplifting festivities. Last month, the assembly of students heard from special speakers and local officials and joined in song to celebrate Constitution Day. ...

Government shutdown. Obamacare. Debt ceiling. Iran. Syria. Amnesty. Let's count the ways our elected officials can find disagreement and continue to disregard the American people. But as we all know, the list is growing daily. As the great modern-day philosopher Rodney King once said, "Can't we all get along?"...

In this day and age, it seems we're all running an endless race to be better than someone else or to one-up them somehow. We should strive to be more like Christ, rather than pleasing other people. The tea party is referring to the new Common Core standards as Obama Core, despite the fact he and the federal government had nothing to do with its creation. ...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Monday:...

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

FT. WORTH, Texas -- Eric Eugene Lyles, 51, of Ft. Worth passed away Monday, Aug. 26, 2013, at his home. He was born July 9, 1962, in Dallas to the late Cecal Ray and Carolyn Maxine Carter Lyles. Eric held a bachelor's degree in computer science and worked as a software developer...

Annabelle A. Keusenkothen, 82, of Jackson died Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center in Cape Girardeau. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Anna Marie Daume, 91, of Cape Girardeau passed away Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born April 20, 1922, in Cape Girardeau County, one of five children to Julius F. and Pauline Friedrich Nebel. She and Walter H. Daume were married April 25, 1943, at Zion Lutheran Church in Gordonville. They had been married 45 years when Walter died Oct. 21, 1988...

Michael Leon Borden, 55, of Scott City passed away Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. He was born Jan. 11, 1958, in St. Louis, to Johnny Lee Borden and Suedell Puckett Brown. Survivors include a son, Michael Borden Jr. of Sikeston, Mo.; three stepchildren, Melissa Vinson of Cape Girardeau, Teddy Vinson of St. ...

DETROIT -- Automakers expect little effect from the federal government shutdown, and they predict a fourth-quarter rebound after a rare sales decline in September. Auto sales dropped 4 percent from a year ago to just over 1.1 million, mainly due to a calendar quirk that pulled Labor Day weekend transactions into August's numbers. The drop ended a 27-month streak of gains for the industry...

NEW YORK -- A new survey of U.S. Jews has confirmed some of the community's worst fears: One in five American Jews say they have no religion, and their ranks appear to be growing. Jews in this category feel pride in being Jewish and a strong sense of belonging to the greater Jewish community. ...

MCALLEN, Texas -- Eight of the 34 young migrants who presented themselves to immigration officials at the U.S.-Mexico border without legal documents have been released from U.S. custody, a lawyer said Tuesday. The others remained in detention, but U.S. authorities haven't said where, immigration attorney David Bennion said...

Central boys soccer coach Dan Martin likes the way his team has responded after a slow start to the season. Tuesday night was no different as the host Tigers made a two-goal first half stand up for a 2-0 win over Poplar Bluff. The win was the Tigers' fifth in a row and upped their season record to 9-6, Poplar Bluff fell to 1-10-1...

Southeast men figure to feature a different type of team this season.

ST. LOUIS -- Falling one hit shy of 200 didn't dampen the excitement of Matt Carpenter's breakout season. The St. Louis Cardinals leadoff man isn't that big on statistics, and he didn't even notice he was within range until the last few days. There have been so many other accomplishments for a player who's become a star so fast he's emerging as a leader and yet not above getting the rookie treatment...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams re-signed outside linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, who was waived at the beginning of a four-game suspension to start the season. Dunbar was the team's second-leading tackler last year and coach Jeff Fisher had said there might be a chance of re-signing him...

BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi sheik cradled his grandson's tightly wrapped body Tuesday, his face grim and his eyes downcast, trailed by men bearing the coffin of the infant's mother. The mother and son were killed the day before by a bombing in Baghdad -- two among nearly 1,000 Iraqi lives lost to violence in September...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The digital domain is creeping off our desktops and onto our bodies, from music players that match your tunes to your heart beat, to mood sweaters that change color depending on your emotional state -- blue for calm, red for angry. There are vacuum shoes that clean the floor while you walk and fitness bracelets, anklets and necklaces to track your calorie burning...

O Father God, may we love one another, always pointing others to you. Amen.

The Southeast Missouri State volleyball team saw its magic in five-set matches run out Tuesday night in Martin, Tenn. Host Tennessee-Martin overcame a sizeable fifth-set deficit to squeeze out a 25-21, 25-27, 26-24, 22-25, 15-13 victory. Southeast fell to 8-9 overall and 1-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play with its second straight OVC loss...

The Perryville boys soccer team continued its impressive season Tuesday night by routing visiting De Soto 7-0. Perryville, which improved to 15-3, got two goals apiece from Emilio Mattingly and Eann Bergman. Kyle Wood, Emmanual Miranda and Juan Hernandez all added one goal apiece...

My beauitful daughter, Aaliyah is enjoying the awesome weather after church.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The federal government shutdown is blocking Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder from filing his congressional exploratory committee. Kinder completed the paperwork, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday he has been unable to file with the Federal Election Commission. The committee is for a possible run for the 8th Congressional District that covers southeastern Missouri...

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Director David Fincher walks across the lawn of the Common Pleas Courthouse during setup for a scene for 20th Century Fox's feature film "Gone Girl", Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, in Cape Girardeau. ...

From a mall movie theater to a home of its own, one local church is celebrating 25 years of service and fellowship. The La Croix Church celebration, known as "One Event, Two Days," begins with more than 70 service projects planned across the community all day Saturday and ends with a worship celebration at the Show Me Center on Sunday evening. According to Ron Watts, founding pastor of La Croix, this event is unlike any other held by the church...

Five local students have earned a semifinalist slot in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program. Students are entered into the program when they take Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test their junior year. About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program. The semifinalists, which represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, were the highest scoring entrants in each state...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Firewood dealers and community leaders breathed a sigh of relief this week after learning that a proposed quarantine on wood products would include the entire state. Fears of a quarantine on Perry County firewood began this summer, when a Missouri Department of Agriculture field agent found emerald ash borers in a Perryville park...

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- An eastern Missouri woman is facing first-degree murder charges in the death of her husband, a case originally reported as a suicide. The Daily Journal newspaper in Park Hills, Mo., reported that 50-year-old Cheryl Long of Fredericktown was arrested Tuesday in the fatal shooting of her husband, 56-year-old Alan Long...

ST. LOUIS -- For the second time this year, a federal court has ruled that the eastern Missouri town of Desloge cannot ban the Ku Klux Klan -- or any other group -- from passing out fliers. The preliminary injunction issued on Tuesday stops Desloge from enforcing an ordinance that prohibits the distribution of leaflets on the street. ...

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- Firefighters with a suburban St. Louis district can wear pink T-shirts to show support for breast cancer victims after all -- as long as the shirts don't include a union logo. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Monarch Fire Protection District board in Chesterfield on Tuesday reversed its ban on "Pink Heals" T-shirts during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. ...

The Missouri Housing Development Commission will hold a public hearing later this month regarding a request for financing and/or housing credits for two apartment complexes in Cape Girardeau. The hearing will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Pear Tree Inn, 2211 Market St. in St. Louis to discuss requests for River Heritage Apartments at Walker and Woodlawn streets and Silver Springs Apartments at North Silver Springs Road and Spruce Street...

Southeast Missouri State University and the city of Cape Girardeau were awarded a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to renovate a building and parking lot as part of the Creative Labs and Industries Incubator program, according to a news release from the university...

Despite the federal government shutdown, Missouri's National Guard adjutant general Maj. Gen. Steve Danner said Wednesday the state's 11,500 citizen-soldiers and airmen will remain mission-ready. The Missouri National Guard has started limited operations and is conducting an orderly shutdown of nonexcepted activities in the wake of a government shutdown, according to a National Guard news release. ...

Even though he broke ranks with the Republican House leadership on a state income tax cut, District 151 state Rep. Dennis Fowler, R-Advance, Mo., believes he represented the interests of his constituents in his home district. His first regular legislative session and a session to consider veto overrides are behind him. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County officials have nothing positive to say about a proposed interstate corridor north of the county. Dennis Ziegenhorn, Scott County commissioner, said during the regular Scott County Commission meeting Tuesday he does not support a proposed route for a new east-west corridor, Interstate 66, as presented last week...

Cape Girardeau police and school officials are trying to update information for a program designed to help reunite people with disabilities with their families if they become lost. Under the Take Me Home program, families of people with special needs can submit contact information to the Cape Girardeau School District or the Cape Girardeau Police Department, which will enter the information into a database officers can use to take the person home, according to a news release from the police department.. ...

No one was injured Wednesday afternoon when a ruptured gas line caused a backhoe to catch fire about a block south of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. Firefighters were called at 1:34 p.m. to investigate an odor in the 600 block of North Main Street after a Cotner Electric backhoe struck the four-inch line...

About 2 million direct-care workers across the country now will enjoy the same wage protections as most American workers -- a guarantee of a minimum wage and overtime. The U.S. Department of Labor on Sept. 17 announced a final rule that extends the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum-wage and overtime protections to direct-care workers such as home health aides, personal care aides and certified nursing assistants, effective Jan. 1, 2015...

There was a pervasive air of confidence among actors and instructors before the opening performance of "Legally Blonde: The Musical" on Wednesday at the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University. "I'm a little nervous, but I'm ready," said Molly Dowd, a senior portraying the musical's lead character, Elle Woods. "I think we're all ready. We won't let the audience down."...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama conferred with congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday for the first time since a partial government shutdown began, but there were no signs of progress toward ending an impasse that has idled hundreds of thousands of federal workers and curbed federal services across the country...

Two incumbents and a challenger grabbed the first petitions as the initial step to becoming candidates for Cape Girardeau city government positions Wednesday. By early afternoon, three petitions had been picked up for the three Cape Girardeau City Council spots and the mayor's position, all up for election April 8...

Bill Emerson Bridge all lit up in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Poe is an 11 month old Border Collie mix. He is neutered. Poe is energetic and would love an active family! See more pets available at petfinder.com.

Photo taking this morning, driving from Kelso to Cape Girardeau! I had to stop to admire His majesty displayed!

SoutheastHEALTH celebrated the recent opening of its new Convenient Care at 2432 East Main Street in Jackson with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 2. Numerous officials and Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce representatives turned out for the ceremony...

Queen of the Mississippi with pink bridge for pink up cape.

A day out at Johnson shut ins

Today is Thursday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2013. There are 89 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a reunified country...

LOS ANGELES -- The promoter of Michael Jackson's ill-fated comeback concerts was not negligent in hiring the doctor convicted of killing the superstar, a jury ruled Wednesday, four years after the death stunned the world and sent the popularity of his music soaring...

St. Louis Cardinals fans are used to winning and watching their favorite baseball team compete in October, but there's a renewed excitement this time of year when the boys of summer compete in the playoffs. The Redbirds finished the regular season with a National League-leading 97-65 record, which tied the Red Sox for the best record in Major League Baseball...

A "new" recreational facility that could host basketball and volleyball games and other youth activities is being proposed for the Arena Building; the Cape Girardeau Evening Optimists are leading a drive to make better use of the building; three chandeliers in the building, however, prohibit such sports activities...

Dedria R "Dee" Gibson, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at her home. She was born Sept. 12, 1948, in Paragould, Ark., to Loyal D. and Dorothy M. White. Dedria was a member of Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church. She had been employed by Famous Barr in St. Louis. Her hobbies were her pets and fishing...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Linda "Geraldine" Wallace, 66, of Advance passed away Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at her home. She was born Aug. 3, 1947, at White Oak, Mo., daughter of Wilburn Thomas and Audie Key McWhirter. Geraldine had been a seamstress at Thorngate Ltd. She was a member of Varney Missionary Baptist Church, where she was baptized as a child...

Annabelle A. Keusenkothen, 82, of Jackson died Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 21, 1931, in Cape Girardeau, to Ray Daniel and Anna Louise Schulte Gilder. She and John J. Keusenkothen were married Aug. 23, 1958, at St. Mary Cathedral in Cape Girardeau...

Jerry Lee Owens, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at Southeast Hospital. Visitation will be from noon until time of service Saturday at St. James AME Church. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the church. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery...

CAIRO, Ill. — Marie Anne Mowell, 97, of Cairo died Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. A memorial service will be at a later date. Barkett Funeral Home in Cairo is in charge of arrangements.

Son to Derek Michael and Lea Marie Runge of Perryville, Mo., Saint Francis Medical Center, 9:12 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Name, Hunter Michael. Weight, 8 pounds, 5 ounces. Fourth child, first son. Mrs. Runge is the former Lea Clifton, daughter of Steve and Mary Ann Clifton of Perryville. She is a toddler-level teacher at Shining Stars Preschool. Runge is the son of Charles Runge and Mary Penrose of Perryville. He is a welder with Lee Mechanical...

A section of the 300 block of Broadway will be closed to traffic on Saturday morning. A contractor will be installing new equipment on the KFVS-12 tower, 310 Broadway, forcing the closure, according to a news release from the city of Cape Girardeau. ...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:...

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

Administrative Office Building 1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Open session Action items Pertinent address: 1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo...

ST. LOUIS -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are riding high after their first postseason victory in 21 years. They're confident they can beat anybody, anywhere. A few hours after defeating Cincinnati in the NL wild-card game Tuesday night, the Pirates touched down in St. Louis. They're about to face another familiar foe in an unfamiliar month when they take on the NL Central champion Cardinals in a best-of-five division series...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perryville High School volleyball coach David Mirly thought the Pirates were not properly prepared for Wednesday night's match. The Pirates might have been able to get away with that against many squads -- but perennial powerhouse Valle Catholic is not among them...

ST. LOUIS -- Jeff Fisher is upset with the Rams' 1-3 start -- and hasn't tried to hide his anger. In his 18th season as an NFL head coach and second with St. Louis, Fisher answered only two questions before walking out of his postgame press conference Thursday night after a 35-11 loss to San Francisco...

Has your sandwich bag ever exploded? It can if you replace the sandwich with a few other ingredients from around the house. Materials Instructions STEP 1: Tear a paper towel into four equal pieces. Using one of the pieces, pour two tablespoons of baking soda into the center of the paper towel square. Fold the square into a smaller square so the baking soda stays inside...

The 58th annual Homecoming celebration at Perryville High School in Perryville, Mo., will be held Oct. 18 and 19. Highlights of the weekend include a bonfire at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 in the bus parking lot with music, concessions and spirit activities; the Homecoming parade at 10 a.m. ...

Route H in Perry County, between Route M and County Road 950, will be closed as Missouri Department of Transportation crews replace a pipe under the road. The work will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today...

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. -- A bus taking a church group home to North Carolina blew a tire, veered across a highway median and crashed into a sport utility vehicle and tractor-trailer Wednesday in a fiery wreck that killed eight people, authorities said...

The pressure is on for the federal government and states running their own health insurance exchanges to get the systems up and running after overloaded websites and jammed phone lines frustrated consumers for a second day as they tried to sign up for coverage using the new marketplaces...

Lord Jesus, thank you for your unfailing love, and the gift of eternal life through you. Amen.

The Notre Dame class of 1963 celebrated its 50th reunion this past weekend with an informal gathering at Auburn Place Hotel on Friday night and a more formal dinner party at the Elks Lodge on Saturday. There were 65 graduates in the class with five classmates deceased and 60 of us still contributing to life in the manner in which we were taught at Notre Dame. A total of 49 classmates registered for both nights of the reunion, and great fun was had by all...

A look at the best-of-five National League division series between the Pittsburgh Pirates:n Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Thursday, at St. Louis (5:07 p.m.); Game 2, Friday, at St. Louis (1:07 p.m.); Game 3, Sunday, at Pittsburgh (TBA); x-Game 4, Monday, Oct. 7, at Pittsburgh (TBA); x-Game 5, Wednesday, Oct. 9, at St. Louis (TBA). (All games on TBS or MLB Network)...

The Zalma boys cross country team took first place at Wednesday's Chaffee Postal Meet as the Bulldogs grabbed three spots in the top 10 to finish with a team score of 36. Zalma freshman Peyton Ford crossed the finish line in fifth place to lead the Bulldogs. Sophomore Alex Steinberg followed in sixth ahead of brother Jacob Steinberg, a freshman, in seventh...

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A judge has excluded testimony about the good character of a southeast Missouri murder victim when his convicted killer gets a new sentencing hearing. The ruling Friday by Boone County Circuit Judge Kevin Crane comes as attorneys are preparing for a sentencing hearing for Mark Gill...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- An Anna, Ill., man has been sentenced to five years in prison for a 2012 gas station burglary. According to a news release issued from Union County State's Attorney Tyler R. Edmonds, Keivyan J. Ellis, 20, was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after he pleaded guilty to one count of burglary from an incident at a gas station in Dongola, Ill., in November. ...

Both lanes of Interstate 55 northbound are now open following an afternoon crash that closed the left lane at the Diversion Channel. The Cape Girardeau Police Department Twitter account just after 2 p.m. reported the crash closed the left lane of I-55 northbound at the Diversion Channel.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Gerrit Cole and the Pittsburgh Pirates played like veterans. Cole gave up two hits in six dominant innings and had an RBI in his postseason debut, Pedro Alvarez homered for the second straight day and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Friday to even their NL division series at a game apiece...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- A Southern Illinois school building is condemned after education officials announced Friday that "toxic" mold was so prevalent the building wasn't safe for students. The announcement, by regional superintendent of schools Janet Ulrich, said the Meridian Elementary School building in Mounds was condemned and the doors were locked on Friday...

A trial could turn into a sort of multiple-choice exercise for jurors if they convict a Jackson man accused of detonating a pipe bomb in a Cape Girardeau neighborhood. David Salzmann, 44, faces charges of second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, unlawful possession of a weapon and violation of an order of protection in connection with a June 9 explosion in the 1200 block of North Spanish Street...

ST. LOUIS -- Carlos Beltran, Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals gave Pittsburgh a quick reality jolt. Beltran's three-run homer sparked a seven-run third inning Thursday and the Cardinals got seven stingy innings from Wainwright to open their NL division series with a 9-1 rout of the Pirates...

When Erica Cooper was a library assistant at Alma Schrader Elementary School, she had a view of the courtyard outside. "I'd stare out at it a lot," said Cooper, who now teaches fourth grade. "I just thought it would be neat to make it into something more. It always appeared to have so much potential, but was left untouched."...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A woman with a year-old child led Secret Service and police on a harrowing car chase from the White House past the Capitol Thursday, attempting to penetrate the security barriers at both national landmarks before she was shot to death, police said. The child survived.

The Bank of Missouri last week donated the former Security Bank building to Marble Hill for use as a new city hall. According to a news release issued by The Bank of Missouri, as a condition of the donation, Marble Hill will transfer its city hall facilities to Bollinger County. Once that move is made, the University of Missouri Extension and the Bollinger County Archives will move into the current city hall building...

A "creepy" exhibit designed to put viewers in a Halloween frame of mind will be presented by local artist Michael Baird at the First Friday reception at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. Baird's exhibit, "Folklore," is his vision of "monsters" such as the famed Loch Ness Monster and the ubiquitous "bogeyman" that are noted in folklore around the world...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An audit questions the legal authority and confidentiality of the Missouri lieutenant governor's waste reporting website. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder's budget was increased about $38,000 to develop the website. It is not yet online...

With the filming of 20th Century Fox's "Gone Girl" in full swing, it's likely people have visited filming locations in Cape Girardeau in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the film's stars, such as Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike or Tyler Perry. Visitors also might have noticed filming a single scene could last for hours. ...

The New Beginnings Church of Deliverance, 1024 William St. has opened a "Soup Kitchen," in the back of their church. Pastor Dorothy Wilson and Bishop Carey Wilson, who also operate The New Beginnings House of Refuge, felt the calling of God to open a "Soup Kitchen" to feed those who are less fortunate than others...

Jackson High School, Jackson, Missouri--Members of the Jackson Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America will hit the streets on the evening of Tuesday, October 29 to "Trick or Treat" for canned foods to be donated to the Jackson Ministerial Alliance food pantry. ...

Today is Friday, Oct. 4, the 277th day of 2013. There are 88 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into orbit. James R. Hoffa was elected president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The family comedy series "Leave It to Beaver" premiered on CBS...

Daughter to Craig and Heidi Kight of Hinsdale, Ill., 4:36 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013. Name, Paige Ann. Weight, 8 pounds, 6 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Kight is the former Heidi Nuzbach, daughter of Norm and Nancy Nuzbach of Darien, Ill. She is a paralegal in Chicago. Kight is the son of Judy Dooley of Cape Girardeau and Kieth and Kim Kight of Leopold, Mo. He is a golf course superintendent with ClubCorp...

Annexation of a tract of land north and west of Scott City, and the sale of the Scott City City Hall and relocation into the new city municipal building were among the items of business handled last night at the council meeting; the council set Nov. 21 as the date for a public hearing on the request from a group of business men to annex a tract of land south of Nash Road and east of Interstate 55...

Abbie Crites-Leoni of Cape Girardeau has been selected by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to fill a vacancy for U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southeastern Division. According to a news release from the Eastern District, Crites-Leoni was selected from nominees submitted by a merit-selection panel that consisted of attorneys and laypeople. ...

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

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Wednesday:...

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

A burned wire was reportedly the reason for a Thursday morning power outage that left nearly 900 Ameren Missouri customers in Cape Girardeau County without electricity. According to Dearika Binion, communications coordinator for Ameren Missouri, at about 5:15 a.m. ...

Larry Martin Werner, 68, of Chesterfield, Mo., formerly of Scott City, died Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

GLENALLEN, Mo. -- Anthony Daniel Skunda, 66, of Glenallen passed away Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until time of service Monday at Liley Funeral Home in Marble Hill, Mo. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Monday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Elijah Allen officiating. Burial will be in Missouri State Veterans Cemetery at Bloomfield, with full military honors provided...

Jerry Lee Owens, 60, of Cape Girardeau passed away Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at Southeast Hospital. He was born Oct. 9, 1952, in Brownsville, Tenn., to J.B. and Ada Reed Owens. Jerry was a graduate of Haywood High School in Brownsville. He was licensed in culinary arts and worked as a cook in Chicago restaurants and also worked in utilities in Tennessee. He was a member of the House of Prayer World Outreach Center. He was an avid fan of the Chicago Bears, Cubs, Bulls and the Indianapolis Colts...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Barbara Ann Mitchell, 66, of Marble Hill passed away Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, at her home. A graveside service will be at noon Saturday at Mount Hope Cemetery in Lemay, Mo. Hutchings Funeral Chapel in Marble Hill is handling arrangements...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Betty Joyce Hahs, 85, of West Plains, Mo., formerly of Marble Hill, passed away Thursday, May 16, 2013. She was born May 19, 1927, daughter of Ralph and Della Crader DeWitt. She and Dick Hahs were married June 8, 1946. He passed away Sept. 20, 1976...

The federal government shutdown is blocking Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder from filing his exploratory committee for a possible congressional campaign. Kinder completed the paperwork, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday he has been unable to file it with the Federal Election Commission. The exploratory committee is for a possible run in the 8th Congressional District that covers Southeast Missouri and is held by U.S. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Salem)...

ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri state senator is calling on Gov. Jay Nixon to consider budgeting money for a gas chamber, citing concerns about the state's ability to find an adequate execution drug. Republican Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia wrote to the Democratic governor Thursday urging him to either include gas chamber funding in his fiscal year 2015 budget or propose an alternative method of execution. ...

A panel of breast cancer survivors will be featured at a meeting of the Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's Club on Friday. According to a club news release, club members Connie Bedell, Holly Lintner, Janet Presson and state Rep. Kathy Swan will be sharing their winning breast cancer battles and will also provide tips they learned along the way...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Dexter, Mo., woman is behind bars and a 6-month-old baby injured after an August incident. Megan Kirby has been charged with abuse of a child and endangering the welfare of a child. The crimes carry a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison...

BROSELEY, Mo. -- Butler County authorities continue to investigate whether mismanagement and poor record keeping are to blame for recently discovered financial issues at the Broseley Senior Center. The Butler County Sheriff's Department was contacted in late August by Dewayne Brotherton, president of the board for Broseley Senior Citizens Inc., which operates the community and nutrition center, asking for an investigation into "past finances" involving the center, according to Sheriff Mark Dobbs.. ...

It may seem school district foundations only throw exclusive parties for the well-heeled, but they are a vehicle to help districts fund classroom extras that go beyond the regular budget. The Cape Public School Foundation and Jackson R-2 School District Foundation have successfully raised funds for classroom teacher grants and other projects...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A small plane made an emergency landing Thursday on a busy street in the heart of Silicon Valley, surprising morning commuters but touching down and stopping without injuring anyone. The Bellanca Citabria took off from a San Jose airport just before 8 a.m., but the pilot soon notified air traffic controllers he needed to go back, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said...

WASHINGTON -- Three days into a government shutdown, President Barack Obama pointedly blamed House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday for keeping federal agencies closed, while the budget dispute moved closer to a more critical showdown over the nation's line of credit. The Treasury warned of calamitous results if Congress fails to raise the debt limit...

An event that helped 356 homeless and low-income individuals last year, including more than 200 families, returns to the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau today. Project Homeless Connect will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., assisting those with financial struggles to connect with a range of services. ...

I had the great privilege of working with our Convention & Visitors Bureau on Saturday at the SEMO Family Weekend. Thanks, Chuck Martin and your great staff! The comments from parents who have trusted our great city with their children were great: "What a friendly town, I love the river, the trees are so large, the rolling hills are beautiful, your city is so clean, so many places to eat -- please help me choose, we feel so comfortable and safe in Cape, the murals are beyond belief and your available medical facilities are the best in the nation.". ...

If a "perfect storm" is when weather disasters converge, what do you call it when autumn arrives and all these glorious fall events take place at the same time? How about "perfect"? Since my favorite season started a couple of weeks ago, there have been more things to do than I have time for...

ROME -- The rickety fishing boat was the third of the night to head toward the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, overloaded with African migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Most never reached shore. After the boat started taking on water, someone on board set a fire to get the attention of passing ships. The flames spread and panicked passengers surged to one side to avoid the fire...

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri will host a reception for the monster-themed creations of Michael Baird in Gallery 100 and the Lorimier Gallery through October. The Arts Council will also host a reception for the Community Wall exhibit of paranormal photography titled "Haunted Images -- Through The Lens of Tom Halstead."...

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri will host a First Friday reception for its paranormal photography exhibit, "Haunted Images Through The Lens of Tom Halstead," from 5 to 9 p.m. The exhibit, on the Arts Council's Community Wall, will be presented by the Paranormal Task Force, a team of paranormal invesitgators from Arnold, Mo. ...

The temperatures are mild, so what better time to enjoy a movie outdoors, especially a cult classic such as "The Goonies"? Today at 7 p.m. the Rock Garden at Jackson City Park turns into a movie theater when the city shows a free film. Bring something to sit on, but concessions are available and costumes are welcome. Call 204-8848 for more information...

NEW YORK -- Now that the dust (and ricin) have settled from Sunday's "Breaking Bad" finale, it's worth considering what makes a drama series' exit good or bad. As much as fans may miss "Breaking Bad," they were able to bid farewell satisfied it met its obligations at the end no less than it did every week from the first episode...

In an effort to better communicate about education standards in Missouri, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Missouri Department of Higher Education has launched a new website focused on the Missouri Learning Standards, MissouriLearningStandards.com. The site launched this week and features new resources, videos and information on the standards directed at parents, teachers, community members and school administrators...

Last week: Sikeston 22, Poplar Bluff 21; Jackson 56, Central 27 Last year: Sikeston 26, Jackson 17 Outlook: For the second straight year this game likely will decide the SEMO North Conference champion. Both teams entered with 5-0 marks last year, and the Bulldogs handed the Indians their first loss under coach Brent Eckley...

Southeast will try to break the Tigers' four-game winning streak Saturday

October is National Movie Month, and Wehrenberg Theatres is celebrating. Guests who are registered in Wehrenberg Theatres' Movie Viewer Program can look forward to a free movie Oct. 15 at any participating location. Every Monday in October, guests can get into any evening movie at a matinee price. ...

Special Collections and Archives at Kent Library at Southeast Missouri State University has acquired a letter written by an ancestor of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner. Roxanne Dunn, assistant in the special collections and archives at Kent Library and graduate assistant A.J. Medlock obtained the letter from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., resident Pat Parker. Medlock met Parker through a Civil War digitalization project called "Crossroads and Confluence."...

The Highway 51 bridge over the Mississippi River in Perry County will be reduced to one lane as crews perform a utility inspection. The work will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday. Highway 51 in Bollinger County, between Route H and Water Street, will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform bridge repairs. The work will be performed from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday...

O Father God, may we generously help the poor and share your message of hope. Amen.

Editor's note: The following guest column is part of a letter the writer sent to Southeast Missourian publisher Jon K. Rust. By John Bennet I am writing to let you know how much I enjoy the online version of the Southeast Missourian. As a Missouri expatriate living in the overly open-minded Pacific Northwest, it is absolutely refreshing to read about God's Country and its denizens...

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

The Three Rivers Booster Club has pledged $50,000 toward a new activity center at Three Rivers College. The Booster Club, which helps support Three Rivers' athletics through events and fundraising, pledged to donate $25,000 per year for the next two years to the Three Rivers Endowment Trust to be used for a proposed activity center that will serve as a new home for the Raiders and Lady Raiders basketball teams and area sports tournaments...

Jackson replaced Sikeston as SEMO North Conference champions in convincing fashion Friday night with a 49-0 victory at home.

WASHINGTON -- A rare flash of bipartisanship Saturday served as a tease to those hoping Congress is moving toward reopening the government and averting an unprecedented default on the federal debt in less than two weeks. Only two days after House Speaker John Boehner raised hopes by telling colleagues he won't let the nation go into default, key members of both parties conceded that no one has presented a plausible plan for avoiding it. ...

We Support Breast Cancer Awareness! Do You?

The Bill Emerson Bridge turns pink for Pink Up Cape month.

Doctor Turned Author Richard Blomberg Tells Gripping Tale of Military and Medicine for Readers Who Enjoy Mitch Rapp and Jack Reacher. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI (1888PressRelease) Today, author Richard Blomberg announces the release of his military thriller, "Warpath," in paperback. "Warpath" tells the story of Jack Gunn, a Navy SEAL and American Sioux who combines 21st-century technology with 19th-century wisdom to track terrorists from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea...

Central had three 100-yard rushers -- all in the first half -- and blasted visiting Farmington 59-21 Friday night.

Today is Saturday, Oct. 5, the 278th day of 2013. There are 87 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 5, 1921, the World Series was carried on radio for the first time as Newark, N.J. station WJZ (later WABC) relayed a telephoned play-by-play account of the first game from the Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants were facing the New York Yankees, to a studio announcer who repeated the information on the air. ...

A mound of cool, Canadian air settles over the Midwest, dropping temperatures below freezing in some states; at Cape Girardeau, the record low for the date is tied, when the mercury falls to 35 degrees at 7 a.m. Allen Moss Jr., has been hired by the city of Cape Girardeau to replace Ian Sutherland as a new assistant city attorney prosecuting municipal cases; Sutherland resigned in mid-September to take a job with the county prosecuting attorney's office...

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

The Chaffee football team remained undefeated with a road win at East Prairie on Friday. The Red Devils (6-0) trailed early before eventually beating the Eagles (1-5) 54-32. East Prairie opened the scoring and led 6-0 after the first quarter before Chaffee replied with 34 points in the second period to take a 34-14 lead into halftime...

The Jaguars have the worst rushing defense in the league

Eight months have passed since a Perryville Police Department employee raised questions about former chief Keith Tarrillion's professional conduct, prompting an investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The status of that investigation is unclear...

Two overlooked pitchers will take the mound in a pivotal game in the NL divsion series

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No testimony will be allowed about the good character of a Southeast Missouri murder victim when the man convicted of killing him gets a new hearing to decide whether he gets sentenced to death or life in prison, a judge decided Friday...

A fire destroyed the Missouri Plastics plant in Jackson, which caught fire about 10 p.m. Thursday. No one was hurt, but the fire continued to burn through much of Friday, said Dwayne Kirchhoff, chief of the East County Fire Protection District. Kirchhoff said the cause was unknown and the Missouri Fire Marshal's Office had not been able to start its investigation...

The old recruiting slogan goes "Join the Navy and See the World." That message has been a powerful incentive for attracting enlistees to the U.S. Navy, and through the decades countless sailors have visited ports of call around the world. The stories sailors tell about their visits, even the semi-truthful ones, often are special enough to be remembered long after their service to country has ended...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Eight months ago, a Perryville Police Department employee lodged a complaint about former chief Keith Tarrillion's professional conduct, prompting the city to hire a retired Secret Service agent to investigate. Nearly seven months ago, after that agent's investigation raised questions about the legitimacy of a police report about property damage at Tarrillion's home, the Missouri State Highway Patrol began investigating whether Tarrillion had broken any laws...

There will be a Candlelight Vigil for Domestic Violence Awareness Month on Tuesday, Oct. 8. at 7 p.m. at the Blodgett City Park. It is located behind the post office off Hwy H. There will be special survivor guest speakers; representatives from local shelters; law enforcement, etc. Any survivor or those who have been affected by domestic violence are welcome to attend. For more information, call 573-475-0153...

When Kevin Marquez and Gabby Bernier chose Southeast Missouri State University as their alma mater, finances and emotion played a part in their decisions. "What made Southeast stand out for me was the opportunity to study abroad and the internships available to me in the business program," Marquez said...

Today is Sunday, Oct. 6, the 279th day of 2013. There are 86 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 6, 1927, the era of talking pictures arrived with the opening of "The Jazz Singer," starring Al Jolson, a movie that featured both silent and sound-synchronized sequences...

This insect is not an ant, although it is always referred to as an ant. It looks like a large red and black hairy ant, but is really a wingless female wasp. It is a very nervous insect as it hurries across the ground aimlessly, never seeming to stop. This makes the eastern velvet ant a very hard subject to photograph clearly...

Paul and Linda Bradshaw of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a family dinner Saturday. The couple was married Oct. 5, 1963, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Scott City, by the Rev. Allen. Paul is a graduate of Oran High School and Linda is a graduate of Scott City High School...

A fried chicken dinner will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today at the Immaculate Conception Parish Center in Jackson. Fried chicken and all the trimmings will be offered. The cost is $8 for adults and $3.50 for children ages 6 to 12. Children 5 and younger eat free. Carry-outs will be available. For more information, call Delores Bohnsack at 979-2148...

SoutheastHEALTH Auxiliary president Judy Brown, left, was honored with the Margaret Foster Roberts Spirit Award at the Auxiliary Appreciation Banquet Sept. 26 at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Brown, a volunteer at Southeast Hospital since 1995, was recognized for her inspiration, commitment and leadership and her more than 5,500 hours of service. ...

SoutheastHEALTH presented Madeleine Launius of Dexter, Mo., with the Ilena Aslin Service Award at the Auxiliary Appreciation Banquet Sept. 26 at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. Launius was recognized for her exceptional volunteer service with the cardiac rehabilitation program at the SoutheastHEALTH Center of Stoddard County, where she has contributed more than 7,800 hours of service. Launius, center, is shown receiving her award from Auxiliary president Judy Brown, left, and Ilena Aslin...

SoutheastHEALTH Auxiliary president Judy Brown, left, presents a check to SoutheastHEALTH president and CEO Wayne Smith and volunteer services director Cathy Goodman at the Auxiliary Appreciation Banquet Sept. 26 at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. The check represents the $872,233 worth of volunteer labor provided by Auxiliary members during the last year. Volunteers contributed nearly 46,000 hours of service to SoutheastHEALTH...

WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department says 524 schools -- out of about 100,000 -- have dropped out of the federally subsidized national school lunch program since the government introduced new standards for healthier foods last year...

The feeling of fall is certainly in the air at every store you walk into. The stores are full of pumpkins, apples and other flavors of fall. The warm, rich aromas of fall are so welcoming as you enter a store or home where something is baking with those fall scents: cinnamon, cloves, apples, pumpkin and sweet potatoes...

Ivan is 3 years old. He is neutered and housebroken. Ivan is available for adoption at the Humane Society. For more information, call 334-5837. ...

Seymour is a large, 3 year old fluffy cat. He is a bit shy, but he simply needs a little extra love. For more information, contact Safe Harbor at 243-9823. ...

Pet Name: Millie Owner: Kristin Kirker Favorite activity: Napping. ...

One of my favorite snapshots is of my wife and I standing in the streets of New York. You can see the high-rises off in the distance peaking over the brownstones with their iconic stoops. If you look closer though you'll notice that those buildings don't look quite right. What looks like a scene from New York is actually a back lot in Florida. We weren't in New York City but standing in front of a plywood city...

Would it be wonderful if you could possess whatever and whomever you wanted? Until one learns that God knows best and everything happens for a reason, that seems attractive. Parents become so used to being primary in the lives of their children, they think this situation will last forever. Then when children mature and pull away, mom and dad are often bewildered and even angry. Their security is being taken...

By BOB CAMPBELL ~ Southeast Missourian Of all the ways a marriage can go bad, two of the most prevalent are poor communication and a lack of attentiveness. Avoiding those and other potential hazards will be emphasized at Cape Girardeau's first Soul Mate Live marriage seminar at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at The Venue, 80 S. Plaza Way. Doors open at 6 p.m...

By Andrew Tyahla ~ The Arrow Dr. Joseph Low Jr. was one of the most well-known professors to have taught at Southeast Missouri State University. He taught in the Department of Speech Communication from 1962 to 1998, where he was beloved by students and co-workers. Even after he retired, Low continued to actively support and promote the university...

Angus Reserve Grand Champion Heifer: Elizabeth Otte, St. Mary, Mo. Grand Champion Bull: Birk Beef Cattle, Gordonville, Mo. Reserve Grand Champion Bull: Birk Beef Cattle, Gordonville, Mo. Reserve Grand Champion Heifer: Tim Mueller Charolais, Altenburg, Mo...

MONDAY--Corn dog, broccoli & cheese or cherry tomatoes or baby carrots, pears, cookie. TUESDAY--Chili-cheese nachos, corn or cherry tomatoes or baby carrots, orange sections. WEDNESDAY--Beef steak w/wo gravy, whipped potatoes w/wo gravy or cherry tomatoes or baby carrots, roll, mixed fruit cup...

Members of Cape Girardeau County FCE Clubs attended the 77th Missouri Association for Family and Community Education annual conference Sept. 18 through 20 in Jefferson City. Those attending were JoAnn Hahs, southeast district director and member of Lamplighter Club; Barbara Barks, Peggy Barks and Betty Dellinger of Oak Ridge Club; and Mary Klaproth, MAFCE state secretary and member of Town and Country Club. ...

Brad and Martha Floyd of Millersville announce the engagement of their daughter, Staci Ann Floyd, to Douglas Henry Froemsdorf. He is the son of Curt and Elainna Froemsdorf of Jackson. Staci is a 2008 graduate of Saxony Lutheran High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in communication disorders from Southeast Missouri State University in 2012. She is employed by Jackson School District...

Mr. and Mrs. Marty Haupt of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Shelby Lynn Haupt, to Daniel James Koch. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Koch Sr. of Altenburg, Mo. Shelby is a graduate of Saxony Lutheran High School, and attended Southeast Missouri State University. She is a grounds chief with facilities management at Southeast...

Halie Dawn Dunn and Timothy Marcus Simmons were married Aug. 10, 2013, at Deerfield Lodge in Cape Girardeau. James Green performed the ceremony. Vocalist and guitarist was Matt Peaslee of Rolla, Mo. The bride is the daughter of Wes and Tracey Tripp of Cape Girardeau and Eric Dunn of Bloomington, Ind. The groom is the son of Deena Ring of Jackson and Mark and Karla Simmons of Olive Branch, Ill...

It began in a movie theater in the mall. Now, La Croix Church is one of the largest churches in the Cape Girardeau area. The church has a membership of 1,738 and an average weekly attendance of about 2,200. Today, in the second installment of its "One Event, Two Days," the church will celebrate its 25th birthday. Instead of having three services for the congregation, the church will have one at the Show Me Center on Sunday evening...

Missouri is No. 1 again! Of all the states, Missouri has the highest rate of bankruptcy. The Cape Girardeau police really need to monitor North Fountain Street more, especially the 200 block, which is a one-way street. Numerous vehicles are constantly driving the wrong way to enter the Cape Mart Quick Shop instead of driving around the block. With the State of Missouri employees working on the 200 block, sooner or later someone is going to be hit by a car going the wrong way on a one-way street...

What a great feeling it is to drive around Cape and see all the pink ribbons supporting cancer treatment. I love this town. I have an idea for a new constitutional amendment: Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not also equally apply to the senators and representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the senators and representatives that does not also equally apply to the citizens of the United States...

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to save us, giving us a hope and future. Amen.

Harry "Joker" Warren Jr., 90, died Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, at his residence in Charleston, Mo. He was born Oct. 29, 1922, at Brock Ranch in Oregon County, Mo., to the late Harry Warren and Eva Risner Warren. In 1928, his family moved to Blodgett, Mo., where they farmed and raised cattle. ...

McLEANSBORO, Ill. -- Hayward Lee Eggley, 88, of McLeansboro died Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, at the McLeansboro Care and Rehabilitation Center. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Harre Funeral Home in McLeansboro. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. ...

Mary Ann Gonzales, 69, of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, at Landmark Hospital. She was born on Feb. 9, 1944, in Cape Girardeau to Finnis Eugene Cook and Mary Cook Maglone. She was a member of the Cape Girardeau Eagles Club No. 3775. Mary is survived two sisters, Vonda (Roger) Sczepanski of Mount Pleasant, Wis., and Cathy (David) Overbeck of Gordonville; two brothers, Larry (Eva) Maglone of Cape Girardeau and Robbie (Ramona) Maglone of Springfield, Mo.; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.. ...

FORT HOOD, Texas -- Zachary "Zack" Paul Metheny, 14, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at Carl R. Darnall Hospital in Fort Hood. He was born April 26, 1999, to Tim and Betty Metheny. Zack was a student at Killeen High School. He was a member of the freshman football team, golf team and track team. He was a member of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Hope Mills, N.C...

Verna Clara Hellwig, 93, of Jackson, died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at Chateau Girardeau. She was born Feb. 12, 1920, in St. Louis, the only child of Harry and Clara Angerman Hussman. On June 28, 1941, in St. Louis, she married George Arthur Hellwig. Verna was a devoted mother, a dedicated housewife and competent office manager for Hellwig Brothers Farm in Chesterfield, Mo. ...

NEW ORLEANS -- Tropical Storm Karen stalled off the Louisiana coast Saturday night as a weakened system that threatened to bring strong wind and heavy rain to low-lying areas. The National Weather Service said Saturday evening that the storm was stationary but expected to move across or near the southeast Louisiana coast late Saturday or early today, then track eastward and lose strength. It had spent the day either stalled or moving slowly...

LOS ANGELES -- Education officials in the nation's second-largest school district are working to reboot a $1 billion plan to put an iPad in the hands of each of their 650,000 students after an embarrassing glitch emerged when the first round of tablets went out...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Making the movie trilogy "The Hobbit" has cost more than half a billion dollars so far, double the amount spent on the three movies in the "The Lord of the Rings" series. That figure includes the major 266 days of filming with actors that was completed last year, although it doesn't include an additional two months or so of "pick-up" shoots this year...

LOS ANGELES -- Jane Fonda will receive the American Film Institute's 42nd Life Achievement Award, one of Hollywood's most prestigious career honors. "Jane Fonda is American film royalty," AFI chairman Howard Stringer said in a statement Thursday. "A bright light first introduced to the world as the daughter of Henry Fonda, the world watched as she found her own voice and forged her own path."...

TRIPOLI, Libya -- U.S. forces on Saturday captured an al-Qaida leader in Libya linked to the 1998 American Embassy bombings in east Africa and wanted by the United States for more than a decade, a U.S. official said. The official identified the al-Qaida leader as Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known by his alias Anas al-Libi. His capture would represent a significant blow to what remains of the core al-Qaida organization once led by Osama bin Laden...

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- International military forces carried out a pre-dawn strike Saturday against foreign fighters in the same southern Somalia village where U.S. Navy SEALS four years ago killed a most-wanted al-Qaida operative, officials said...

WASHINGTON -- A man who set himself on fire on the National Mall in the U.S. capital has died of his injuries, which were so severe that authorities will have to use DNA and dental records to identify him, District of Columbia police said Saturday...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says U.S. intelligence assessments show Iran is still "a year or more away" from building a nuclear weapon. The president's assessment puts him at odds with Israel, which says Iran is just months away from being able to build a bomb...

Tom Schweich always had a yen to be in public service, but he didn't take a direct route there. Schweich, elected Missouri auditor in 2010, spoke to an audience of about 150 people at the First Friday Coffee on Friday at the Show Me Center. A Harvard-educated lawyer, Schweich talked about his background and programs he's added as auditor. ...

Carolyn T. DiSilvestro, 89, of Jackson passed away Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, at Ratliff Care Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 24, 1923, in Philadelphia to Fred and Christina Rockbach McCutcheon. She and Daniel "Danny" DiSilvestro were married Oct. 25, 1941, in Philadelphia. They had been married 59 years when Danny passed away Dec. 2, 2000...

Robert E. Vogelsang, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 29, 1933, in Cape Girardeau to Clarence Henry and Ella Adeline Harper Vogelsang. Robert served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves for eight years and was a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. He worked for Burroughs Corporation, Procter & Gamble and McDonnell Douglas...

Joseph E. Bass, age 73, of Pocahontas passed away Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Nov. 12, 1939, in Cape Girardeau to Orville and Elpha Venable Bass. He and Clara L. Conklin were married Dec. 19, 1959. She preceded him in death July 20, 2013...

Kenneth R. Bryan, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 14, 1937, in Willow Springs, Mo., to Kenneth L. and Jacquelyn E. Bush Bryan. He and Diane Naeter were married Aug. 27, 1970, in Cape Girardeau...

Betty L. Smith, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, at her home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Chapel. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the chapel, with the Rev. Lewis Todd officiating...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — James L. Givens Sr., 70, of Allenville, Mo., died Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, at the Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee.

Faced with the loss the International Shoe Co. plant this month, Jackson got good news this week; LeeRowan Co. is adding 60,000 square feet to its operation; the expansion could create another 50 to 100 jobs within a year; RAPCO Cable and Lighting, which has expanded its facility by more than 12,000 square feet within the past year, announced it will add 40 to 50 workers to its force...

Special thanks to Charles Stamp Jr. for his $750,000 donation to the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the Creative Labs and Industries Incubator. The new incubator center to be located at 616 Broadway will be a major feature to the program led by Dr. James Stapleton...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:...

Traffic was slowed on Interstate 55 on Friday after a two-vehicle crash that resulted in minor injuries. The left lane of northbound I-55 at the Diversion Channel was closed when a motor home in the right lane switched lanes and hit another vehicle, Cape Girardeau Police Department spokesman Darin Hickey said. The crash closed the left lane for less than an hour...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- A Southern Illinois school building was condemned after education officials announced Friday that potentially dangerous black mold was so prevalent, the building wasn't safe for students. The announcement by regional superintendent of schools Janet Ulrich said the Meridian Elementary School building in Mounds was condemned and the doors were locked Friday. A sign saying the building is unfit for occupation was posted outside...

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- James Franklin threw for four touchdowns and Missouri squashed any doubts about its early season schedule with a 51-28 victory at Vanderbilt Saturday. The Tigers moved to 5-0 and opened conference play without missing a beat in the program's first trip to Nashville as a member of the SEC. Vanderbilt, which won the last match up 19-15 in Columbia, Mo., last year, slipped to 0-3 in conference play and 3-3 overall...

The Tigers exploded for 52 points in the first half to end a two-game losing streak

Cape Girardeau City Council City hall 401 Independence St. Study session, 5 p.m. Monday No action will be taken during the study session. Items for Discussion Closed session Items for discussion...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Southeast Missouri State football team grabbed its first lead of the season by scoring for the first time on its opening offensive possession. Southeast later got a defensive touchdown by Central High School graduate Cantrell Andrews to take its second lead of the year, still in the opening half...

By MARTY MISHOW ~ Southeast Missourian NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Senior cornerback Cantrell Andrews has established himself as a nice defensive playmaker for the Southeast Missouri State football team. Saturday night the Central High School graduate got to enjoy one of the biggest plays a defensive performer can make...

The Indians blasted defending champion Sikeston 49-0 at homecoming game

The Southeast Missouri State soccer team stretched its undefeated streak to four games by beating visiting Lindenwood 2-0 on Friday night. Southeast, 3-0-1 in its last four matches, improved to 3-4-2 on the season. Division II Lindenwood fell to 7-3 as the Lions had their five-game winning streak snapped...

A Dexter, Mo., man was placed under arrest for DWI after a Thursday night wreck that sent his passenger to a Cape Girardeau hospital with serious injuries. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that Andrew W. Farrow, 40, was driving west on County Road 624 one mile west of Highway AF at 9:15 p.m. Thursday when his 1998 Ford Taurus crested a hill, went airborne, ran off the road and struck an embankment...

ZALMA, Mo. -- Modean Belle Lingle, 90, of Zalma passed away Oct. 4, 2013, at the Advance Nursing Center in Advance, Mo. Modean was born Feb. 28, 1923, in Gipsy, Mo., daughter of Elbert and Ruth Clubb Schrader. She and Loy Lingle were united in marriage in March 1946 at Advance. He preceded her in death Jan. 23, 1973...

There's nothing like home cooking. The Notre Dame cross country teams used their home course to their advantage Saturday, claiming titles in both the boys and girls divisions of the Notre Dame Invitational. The Bulldogs' boys team won handily with 39 team points, paced by freshman Rudy McClellan's first-place finish in 16 minutes, 28.60 seconds...

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

CAMDENTON, Mo. -- The Morgan County treasurer has been awarded more than $93,000 after a judge found that she had wrongly been paid less than other officials in the central Missouri county for eight years. The Lake News Online reported the recent judgment for Treasurer Louella Pryor came in a back-pay lawsuit she filed in April 2012...

STEELVILLE, Mo. -- An eastern Missouri woman is facing charges for allegedly taking nude pictures of her middle school-aged daughter, posting them on the Internet and allowing men to have sex with the child. The Washington Missourian reports that the woman from Steelville was charged Wednesday with endangering the welfare of a child and promoting a sexual performance by a child. She is jailed on $50,000 bond...

CAMARILLO, Calif. -- The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped 14 cents during the last two weeks. The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday said the price of a gallon of regular is $3.38. Midgrade costs an average of $3.58 a gallon, and premium is $3.71...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Authorities say a suburban St. Louis man faked his own suicide after giving his home, car and boat to his ex-girlfriend in order to keep her from reporting allegations that he sexually abused a 6-year-old girl. Raymond David Avett, 45, and his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer L. Callaway, 34, both were charged Wednesday with concealing a felony. They remained jailed Friday -- Avett on $250,000 bond and Callaway on $200,000 bond...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Mold found in buildings of a former state prison forced an end to tours at the Missouri State Penitentiary for the remainder of the year and the cancellation of a couple thousand tickets. The Jefferson City News Tribune reported the closure comes after tests performed by the state. Officials had noticed a "heightened musty smell" during the summer...

ST. LOUIS -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Friday against the Missouri Department of Corrections, alleging that the agency failed to comply with open records requests related to its planned use of the anesthetic propofol in two upcoming executions...

LANSING, Mich. -- Republicans in the Midwest would like you to know something about the government shutdown that closed the national parks and put 800,000 workers on the street: They had nothing to do with it. Please don't blame them. That message spilled out of the offices of state legislators, and even governors, in public statements, tweets and interviews as politicians outside Washington scrambled to insulate themselves from the partisan turmoil that sent repercussions across the country.. ...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Although they were told by federal employees they would be cited for trespassing, several in a 20-person group that gathered Sunday afternoon outside Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Southeast Missouri crossed onto closed federal lands to protest the government shutdown...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Mississippi County Sheriff's Department is warning area residents of a phone scam in which a caller poses as law enforcement and solicits money. The caller identifies himself as a deputy sheriff or a paralegal from the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a news release from the sheriff's department...

Paul Aydelott has come a great distance in three years, and says every mile was indispensable to reaching the better place he and his family are in. Weighing 650 pounds, the Apostolic Promise Church youth pastor's life was in jeopardy. With burdensome debts and never having lived anywhere but in public or church housing, Aydelott resolved to turn his life around...

The Jackson Police Department soon may join other area law-enforcement agencies in using stepped-up technology in patrol cars. Chief James Humphreys said the department is waiting only on a server that needs to be purchased by the county in order for in-vehicle laptops to work and for officers to finish training on mobile systems...

PITTSBURGH -- Carlos Beltran's latest postseason homer gave the St. Louis Cardinals a chance to win Sunday. Just as quickly, the resilient Pittsburgh Pirates took that opportunity away. Pedro Alvarez hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning minutes after Beltran's solo shot tied the game, and the Pirates beat the Cardinals 5-3 for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five division series...

The former federal building at 339 Broadway has been brought back into the spotlight -- literally -- as actors Ben Affleck and Tyler Perry walk in and out of its doors during the shooting of the feature film "Gone Girl." Thomas M. Meyer of Exit Realty, the building's real estate broker, may soon be taking the building's for-sale sign down for good...

The excitement created by the filming of 20th Century Fox's "Gone Girl" is a major reason for the "Gone Girl" novel being gone from the shelves of some local bookstores. Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl," the best-selling 2012 thriller novel and the basis for the motion picture, is experiencing a slew of new sales locally, and booksellers couldn't be happier...

Input from the public taken by the city of Cape Girardeau may influence proposed ordinances expected to take care of problems such as graffiti, illegal vehicles, junk-covered yards and porches, and properties afflicted by chronic crime. The city council is set to discuss proposed new ordinances and changes to existing ordinances relating to nuisance abatement today during the 5 p.m. ...

Today is Monday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2012. There are 85 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 7, 1929, former Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, one of the main figures of the Teapot Dome scandal, went on trial in Washington, D.C., charged with accepting a bribe from oil tycoon Edward L. ...

Have you ever stopped to think about children who are in foster care, who have parents in prison or unable to care for them? How must these children feel to oftentimes have no one in their corner? How must they feel to get hauled into court to face situations that are not of their doing? Who represents them when their parents have infused violence or crime into their lives?...

Without naming names, I think there is a relatively small number of members of Congress who have spent far too much time watching and been far too influenced by the TV series "Sons of Anarchy." The flowers and plants along Broadway look like weeds and do nothing to make the appearance of Broadway look better. ...

NEW YORK -- Ask Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly how her new prime-time program will differ from the edgy news show she had been hosting in the afternoon and she said that "it's going to be dark out." The joke has a serious point. Don't expect Kelly to turn into a fire-breathing partisan because she has more exclusive real estate...

NEW YORK -- Procter & Gamble executives say it was striking the first time they witnessed a man shave while sitting barefoot on the floor in a tiny hut in India. He had no electricity, no running water and no mirror. The 20 U.S.-based executives observed the man in 2008 during one of 300 visits they made to homes in rural India. The goal? To gain insights they could use to develop a new razor for India...

Son to Hunter Cole Kincaid and Jessie Beth Jaisaree of Cape Girardeau, Saint Francis Medical Center, 1:37 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. Name, Jaxon Cole. Weight, 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Ms. Jaisaree is the daughter of Ashley Jennings of Cape Girardeau and Julio Jaisaree of Wentzville, Mo. Kincaid is the son of Darlene Kincaid of Cape Girardeau. He is employed by Exel...

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and Democratic challenger Wayne Cryts will square off Saturday at a Paducah, Ky., television station in the first of three debates; the debate will be broadcast that evening. Six issues that will be on the Nov. 8 general election ballot are discussed at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee; voters will consider four statewide issues and two local issues; the latter two provide for a 10-year quarter-cent capital improvement sales tax for flood control and the establishment of sewer connection fees for new users.. ...

Betty L. Smith, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, at her home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 14 at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Chapel. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Oct. 15 at the chapel, with the Rev. Lewis Todd officiating. Burial will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield...

ZALMA, Mo. -- Modean Belle Lingle, 90, of Zalma passed away Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, at the Advance Nursing Center in Advance, Mo. Modean was born Feb. 28, 1923, in Gipsy, Mo., daughter of Elbert and Ruth Clubb Schrader. She and Loy Lingle were united in marriage in March 1946 at Advance. He preceded her in death Jan. 23, 1973...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Elmer P. Heise, 90, of Perryville died Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013 at his sister's home. He was born April 8, 1923, at McClure, Ill., son of Paul A. and Edna Stueve Heise. He and Leona V. Verseman were married Dec. 6, 1952. She preceded him in death March 27, 1998...

1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Open session 1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo...

BEIRUT -- International disarmament experts on Sunday began dismantling and destroying Syria's chemical weapons arsenal and the equipment used to produce it, taking the first concrete step in their colossal task of eliminating the country's chemical stockpile by mid-2014, an official said...

CAIRO -- Security forces and Islamist protesters clashed around the country Sunday, leaving 51 killed, as a national holiday celebrating the military turned to mayhem. Crowds from Egypt's two rival camps -- supporters of the ousted Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, and backers of the military that deposed him -- poured into the streets and turned on each other...

A suspected Libyan al-Qaida figure nabbed by U.S. special forces in a dramatic operation in Tripoli was living freely in his homeland for the past two years, after a trajectory that took him to Sudan, Afghanistan and Iran, where he had been detained for years, his family said Sunday. The Libyan government bristled at the raid, asking Washington to explain the "kidnapping."...

Half a world away from her birthplace in Ethiopia, teenager Hana Williams died on a rainy night in the backyard of what a prosecutor called a "house of horrors" -- the rural home of her adoptive family in Washington state. The official causes of her death, after being forced outside as punishment, were malnutrition and hypothermia. Authorities said Hana, during three years of adoption, had been beaten repeatedly with switches, starved and made to sleep in a locked closet...

NEW YORK -- Five years after U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, triggering a global financial crisis and shattering confidence worldwide, families in major countries around the world are still hunkered down, too spooked and distrustful to take chances with their money...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is beginning a new term with controversial issues that offer the court's conservative majority the chance to move aggressively to undo limits on campaign contributions, undermine claims of discrimination in housing and mortgage lending, and allow for more government-sanctioned prayer...

LOS ANGELES -- When mortgage rates began climbing in May from rock-bottom lows, Kevin Williams worried he might miss out on an opportunity. So he listed his home in Orange County, Calif., and planned to buy a bigger house in San Diego after it sold. The process took all summer. Last week, he and his wife locked in a mortgage...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Summonses Assaults Burglaries Thefts Miscellaneous...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIs Arrests Summonses Thefts CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY The Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt...

The bad news for the Southeast Missouri State football team was the Redhawks' latest loss, Saturday night's 40-16 beatdown at Tennessee State. But, even though it might not be clear for Southeast fans to see, maybe there is a bit of good news on the horizon for the Redhawks...

Southeast topped Jacksonville State 2-0

The Rams dropped Jacksonville to 0-5 with a 34-20 victory

First Midwest Bank of Dexter has announced that Heather Short has been named assistant vice president and branch manager at First Midwest's Cape Girardeau location at 1820 N. Kingshighway. Short brings almost eight years of banking experience. First Midwest's Cape Girardeau branch is a temporary full-service modular bank that opened Sept. 24 with groundbreaking for a new facility planned for the fall...

Sloan + Themis on Thursday will host an evening of "pearls, crystals, cupcakes and glamour" as part of its fall trunk show, with 10 percent of sales benefitting Old Town Cape, a not-for-profit organization that works toward revitalizing downtown Cape Girardeau, according to an email from Claire Bruce, owner of Sloan + Themis...

O Lord God, may the words we say be pleasing to you. Amen.

PITTSBURGH -- Michael Wacha heard the chants. Then again, when 40,000 people clad in black scream your name relentlessly for the better part of three hours, it's kind of hard to miss. The goal was to rattle the St. Louis rookie, remind him that 22-year-old pitchers aren't built to withstand the pressure of an elimination game...

ST. LOUIS -- Thousands of civilian employees furloughed last week at Illinois military installations as part of the fallout from the federal government shutdown returned to their posts Monday, but it wasn't clear when they may receive retroactive pay...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri will move ahead with two planned executions despite efforts in Europe to block a common anesthetic from being used in the procedure, Gov. Jay Nixon said Monday. German company Fresenius Kabi produces almost the entire supply of propofol, but the European Union is considering possible export limits as part of its anti-capital punishment policies. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers are considering whether to block a proposed rule that could expand the use of ethanol in gasoline. A legislative committee heard about two hours of testimony Monday on whether the rule change goes beyond existing state law, but it delayed a decision on whether to halt the proposal until Wednesday...

Cape Girardeau County is now seeking proposals for outdoor sirens commissioners hope will add to the area's awareness of emergency situations. Commissioners on Monday approved advertising for proposals for the sirens. A pre-proposal meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 23, and the county is requesting proposals be submitted by 4 p.m. Nov. 13. Requests for proposals are available in the county clerk's office...

The Jackson Public Works Department has announced that Recycling Center hours will change for Saturdays in the fall and winter. The Recycling Center, 508 Eastview Court, will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays beginning Nov. 2, according to a news release from Rodney Miller, public works director. The reduced hours of operation will run through March 30. The center will continue to be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 2, the release said...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is investigating a weekend burglary at a local church. According to police spokesman Darin Hickey, officers arrived at Overcomers Church, 624 S. Ellis St., about 1 p.m. Saturday after receiving a call from a church leader. Police found someone had entered through one of the church doors, and various items were strewed about inside the church. An undisclosed amount of money and a projector were reported stolen, Hickey said...

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com ABOVE: A sand bar is seen just north of Riverfront Park in this view from Red Star Access on Monday in Cape Girardeau. BELOW: The mouth of Sloan Creek is seen at the Mississippi River just south of Red Star Access....

QULIN, Mo. -- Prayers for a miracle ended Monday for the family of 5-year-old Devonte Dye when rescue workers found the missing boy's body shortly before 10 a.m. in a slough near his grandparents' Qulin home. The old St. Francis River channel sits about 50 feet behind Devonte's grandparents' Highway 53 home, where the boy was last seen playing in the yard Sunday afternoon, Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said...

A Cape Girardeau woman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Monday for accidentally running over and killing her lover. Angelia J. Hanson, 30, was accused of backing a 2001 Dodge Durango over Jody L. Lane, 43, outside their home at 612 N. Fountain St...

The Delta School District will be taking bids later this month for a safe room/multipurpose room that can withstand the force of an EF5 tornado, or winds of up to 250 mph. Superintendent Nate Crowden said the district applied for a $641,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency about two years ago. FEMA will provide 75 percent of the cost of the room, and the school district, 25 percent...

The Jackson Board of Aldermen took a step toward the future Monday when they unanimously accepted a plan to improve the city's electric system. The newly approved Electrical System Facility Plan could be launched in 2014 and last through 2023, but for the time being the plan will be subject to more scrutiny to determine which direction the city will take concerning its implementation...

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating a fire that wiped out the Missouri Plastics recycling facility near Jackson last week. A fire broke out late Thursday and continued into Friday, destroying the 100,000 square-foot building. The ATF is investigating at the request of the Missouri Fire Marshal's Office. No one was in the building at the time, and no one was injured...

Nuisance ordinances proposed for Cape Girardeau look to move forward as planned during the coming months with a few exceptions by request of city council members. A committee of staff formed in February to look at adding new rules and procedures to the section of the city code that governs nuisances, and its recommendations have recently been pitched to the public and the city council...

The City of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department will host a Senior Day Trip on Tuesday, Oct. 22. The group will first make their way down to Sikeston, Mo. for dining at Lambert's Cafe. After lunch the group will stop at Diebold Orchards, where seniors will receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases. A final stop will be the Antique Centre Mall in Benton, where seniors will receive a 10 percent discount on purchases of $25 and up...

The rainstorms last week produced some amazing cloud formations. This one was taken in Chaffee in between downpours.

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 8, the 281st day of 2013. There are 84 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire erupted; fires also broke out in Peshtigo, Wis., and in several communities in Michigan...

One of the many ministries in this area is Celebrate Recovery, a faith-based program that helps those with "hurts, habits and hang-ups." Last month, about 100 people, many involved in this ministry, heard from former professional baseball player Darryl Strawberry, an arch-nemisis of the Cardinals in the 1980s as a New York Met and a former National League rookie of the year...

Boy, it would really be nice if Harry Reid and Barack Obama would be as interested in keeping the illegals out of the border as they are as keeping the veterans out of the memorials. What a shame they've put this country to, and it's the Democrats doing it...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- U.S. interrogators headed to an American warship in the Mediterranean to question a suspected Libyan al-Qaida operative linked to the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa, as new details emerged Monday about plots planned by a Kenyan militant who escaped a U.S. raid in Somalia...

WASHINGTON -- In its first major campaign finance case since the Citizens United ruling in 2010, the Supreme Court is considering whether to undo some limits on contributions from the biggest individual givers to political campaigns. The justices will hear arguments today, the second day of their new term, in a dispute between the Obama administration and Republicans who are challenging the contribution limits as a violation of First Amendment rights...

WASHINGTON -- The glitch-ridden rollout of President Barack Obama's health-care law has opponents crowing: "Told you so," and insisting it should be paused, if not scrapped. But others, including insurance companies, say there's still enough time to fix the online enrollment system before uninsured Americans start getting coverage Jan. 1...

WASHINGTON -- A possible national default loomed closer Monday as the partial government shutdown lingered, rattling markets in the U.S. and overseas. A gridlocked Congress betrayed little or no urgency toward resolving either of the threats. Stocks got a case of the jitters on Wall Street, and halfway around the world China stressed the importance for the international economy of raising the U.S. debt limit...

NEW YORK -- It's a turkey. It's a menorah. It's Thanksgivukkah. An extremely rare convergence this year of Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukkah has created a frenzy of Talmudic proportions. There's the number crunching: The last time it happened was 1888, or at least the last time since Thanksgiving was declared a federal holiday by President Lincoln, and the next time may have Jews lighting their candles from spaceships 79,043 years from now, by one calculation...

NEW YORK -- Investors sent the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its lowest close in a month Monday as few signs emerged of a deal to end the U.S. government shutdown and raise the nation's borrowing limit. Senate Democrats moved to introduce legislation to raise the nation's debt limit without the unrelated conditions Republicans have said they are seeking. ...

Delores Jean Tuller, 71, of Scott City died Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, at her home. She was born July 25, 1942, in St. Louis, to Calvin Joseph and Annetta Lea Rhineberger Dobbs. She and David Robert Tuller were married July 21, 1967, in Festus, Mo. Delores retired from Walmart in Cape Girardeau, after 22 years of service...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Lena M. Reeves, 85, of St. Jacob, Ill., passed away Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at Anderson Hospital in Maryville, Ill. She was born Aug. 19, 1928, at Hurricane, Mo., to Ernest Otto and Mary Catherine Garland Moore. She and Allen B. Reeves were married May 9, 1948. He passed away Oct. 28, 2006...

James Leon Givens Sr., 70, of Allenville died Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, at Chaffee Nursing Center. He was born Oct. 18, 1942, in Dupo, Ill., to Leon and Grace Iona McCulley Givens. He and Anna Lavada Robins were married July 17, 1965. She preceded him in death June 27, 2011...

Benny Lee Shell, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, after a 16-year battle with leukemia. He was born Aug. 20, 1934, at Greenbrier, Mo., to Loren and Ennis Owens. He married his college sweetheart, Shelby Ann Mouser, on Oct. 26, 1957. Ben received bachelor of science and master of arts degrees from Southeast Missouri State University...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Elnora Myers, 95, of Marble Hill passed away Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at Woodland Hills. She was born March 1, 1918, in Senath, Mo., daughter of Crulis W. and Lucy Baker Marshall. Elnora was raised by Bertha Eaker. She worked for the Mitchell Pallet Co., and was a member of Marble Hill United Methodist Church. She was a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan and enjoyed quilting and taking care of her cats...

Rita M. Henderson, 58, of Jackson passed away Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, at her home. She was born May 11, 1955, in St. Louis, daughter of Joseph and Ann Poposky Tucek. She and Jon T. Henderson were married Sept. 19, 1975, in Arnold, Mo. Rita grew up in Arnold and graduated from Fox High School in 1973. ...

Elmer Don Farrow, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, at Southeast Hospital. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until service time Thursday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 3 p.m. Thursday, with the Rev. Tony Ward officiating. Entombment with full military rites will be at Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum...

MOUNDS, Ill. — Donald Crow, 80, of Boise, Idaho, formerly of Mounds, died Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, at his home. Per Don's wishes his body was cremated. Announcement courtesy of Jones Funeral Home in Villa Ridge, Ill.

Daughter to Jimmy Steven and Ashley Nichole Pletka of Oak Ridge, Southeast Hospital, 2:01 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. Name, Reagan Josephine. Weight, 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Mrs. Pletka is the former Ashley Martin, daughter of Frank and Pam Martin of Delta. She is a PTA at Premier Rehab. Pletka is the son of Steve and Nancy Pletka of De Soto, Mo. He is a foreman with Apex Paving...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and Democratic challenger Wayne Cryts square off here in the first of three October debates, with neither candidate landing a knockout punch. The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission approved plans to relocate the Highway 25 Diversion Channel bridge north of Blomeyer; the commission approved plans for construction of a new bridge and raising of the grade north of the bridge by about 6 1/2 feet...

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

Firefighters responded to the following calls Friday:...

ST. LOUIS -- Early in Sunday's game, the St. Louis Rams were whistled for a special teams penalty when rookie Ray Ray Armstrong pushed a defender out of the way and nullified a nice punt return by Tavon Austin. The Rams (2-3) beat the winless Jaguars and ended a three-game losing streak, but can't afford such miscues going forward...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Summons Theft Miscellaneous...

The Southeast Missouri State football team hasn't had many offensive highlights so far this year, but what will probably rank at or near the top of the list for the entire season took place Saturday night during a 40-16 loss at Tennessee State. Sophomore tailback Lewis Washington, a burly 245-pounder with surprising speed, broke off a 99-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the game...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean and most of the major nominees have signed on to perform at the Country Music Association Awards next month. Swift and Aldean were among the first round of performers announced Monday for the Nov. 6 show in Nashville. ...

Each year, one in every three adults age 65 or older falls and 2 million are treated in emergency departments for fall-related injuries. And the risk of falling increases with each decade of life. The long-term consequences of fall injuries, such as hip fractures and traumatic brain injuries, can affect the health and independence of older adults. ...

Hold your nose and don't spit out your coffee: Doctors have found a way to put healthy people's poop into pills that can cure serious gut infections -- a less yucky way to do "fecal transplants." Canadian researchers tried this on 27 patients and cured them all after strong antibiotics failed to help...

They were mystery diseases that had stumped doctors for years -- adults with strange symptoms and children with neurological problems, mental slowness or muscles too weak to let them stand. Now scientists say they were able to crack a quarter of these cases by decoding the patients' genes...

O Heavenly Father, may we share your message of hope and redemption. Amen.

Fans can get an early preview of the 2013-14 Southeast Missouri State basketball teams during Redhawks Madness on Sunday at the Show Me Center. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., with a full slate of activities beginning at 9 p.m. The event, which is free of charge, will last no more than 1 1/2 hours...

Cori Stoverink and Tyler Elfrink paired up to win the SEMO Horseshoe Association's season-ending 20-team Tournament of Champions on Sunday in Leopold, Mo. Randy Grady and John Keller placed second, while Lachelle Cook and Joe Keller finished third. Cook earned the award for highest points (182) for the eighth consecutive year. Ron LeGrand (86) was second and Randy Senciboy was third (74)...

The Notre Dame and Perryville volleyball teams have built quite a rivalry over the past few years, one marked by high intensity and close matches. "It's a big rivalry. It's always intense and exciting," Perryville coach David Mirly said. "I think both teams have a lot of respect for each other."...

The Bollinger County Sheriff's Department is looking for Nicholas Loughary, 22, who is wanted for suspected first-degree burglary and tampering. Police say Loughary is armed and dangerous. Sheriff Darin Shell warns that anyone who sees him should not approach him. Instead contact the authorities...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 3.8 million veterans will not receive disability compensation next month if the partial government shutdown continues into late October, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told lawmakers Wednesday. Some 315,000 veterans and 202,000 surviving spouses and dependents will see pension payments stopped...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration, scrambling to tamp down a controversy over suspended death benefits for the families of fallen troops, announced Wednesday that a charity would pick up the costs of the payments during the government shutdown...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff police are investigating two hit-and-run accidents that resulted Monday in the death of one man and serious injuries for a another. Officers ask witnesses to come forward with information related to an accident that occurred shortly after 11:30 a.m. in the 800 block of West Pine Street and killed a 26-year-old pedestrian...

ST. LOUIS -- The 2.3-million-member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is allowing its 6,200 individual congregations to decide for themselves whether to sponsor troops with the Boy Scouts of America. Missouri Synod resident Matthew C. Harrison released a letter Monday advising congregations to make their own decisions. The letter followed an announcement earlier this year by the Boy Scouts of America that it was changing its policy to admit gay youths to scouting programs...

It will be an evening for beautiful yet complex dance performances when "New Dance Horizons II" begins the 2013-2014 River Campus Touring Season on Wednesday at the Bedell Performance Hall. A production of Dance St. Louis, one of the oldest and most respected dance presenters in the United States, "New Dance Horizons II" will feature four recently premiered dances from Common Thread Dance Co., Leverage Dance Theatre, Madco and the Saint Louis Ballet...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri proposes to tighten eligibility for food stamps for thousands of adults who aren't meeting work requirements. The change sought by the Department of Social Services would roll back an expansion of the food-stamp program that began in 2009, when Missouri had a higher unemployment rate because of the economic downturn...

For the second time in less than a week, Fruitland firefighters found themselves battling a massive blaze with help from multiple departments. Donna Boardman, co-owner of Flickerwood Farms Inc., 3027 Larch Lane, said no one was hurt in the fire that started shortly after 4 p.m., but the metal building that housed her baled wood shaving and feed byproduct business was a total loss...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will nominate Federal Reserve vice chair Janet Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the nation's central bank, the White House said Tuesday. Yellen would be the first woman to lead the powerful Fed, taking over at a pivotal time for the economy and the banking industry...

In the last few years, pastors at Lynwood Baptist Church noticed a need for deeper counseling than pastoral care could provide. It led them to open Midwest Ministry Care Center as part of the church's Greater Things Vision. The counseling ministry is affiliated with Lynwood Baptist but is a separate not-for-profit entity, said the Rev. ...

A Democrat will announce a run for Missouri's 8th Congressional District Wednesday in Cape Girardeau. Barbara Stocker, a retired research scientist from Jefferson County, plans to kick off her campaign with an announcement at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse, according to a news release...

Destiny & Wes are 4 month old blue heeler mixes. There are 4 in this litter. They are available for adoption at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, 573-334-5837. See more pets available at semopets.org.

Ellie (our wheaten terrier) LOVES to travel or just go riding!

LIBERTY, Mo. (October 9, 2013) -- Debbie (Gillespie) Mitchell, a 1975 graduate of William Jewell College, was honored during homecoming ceremonies in late September. Mitchell received the Jewell Humanitarian Award, recognized for living a life that reflects the high humanitarian service standards espoused by Jewell's vision statement: "Serving others to create a more compassionate and just world."...

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2013. There are 83 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 9, 1813, Giuseppe Verdi, the composer of such classic operas as "Aida," "La Traviata," "Rigoletto" and "Il Trovatore," was born in the Italian village of Le Roncole. (There is some dispute over Verdi's date of birth, with numerous sources saying he was actually born on Oct. 10.)...

Since there appears to be little agreement in our federal government these days, let's find one -- just one -- issue that is nonpartisan, out of control and in need of a major overhaul. Let's start with what has been called the "secret welfare system" -- the Federal Disability Insurance Program...

Other than a caller to Speak Out on Oct. 2, when has anyone referred to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as Obama Core? Some people, upon finding themselves at a loss as to the facts of a debate, try to change directions by introducing unrelated arguments. Clearly the caller attempted to introduce a red herring into the debate concerning CCSS...

Central service professionals are being celebrated for their important role and commitment to patient safety during the annual International Central Service Week, Oct. 13-19. The International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM) represents approximately 21,000 central service professionals in the U.S. and abroad who facilitate the procurement, management and processing of surgical supplies and equipment...

For nearly two weeks in September, co-workers at several area businesses teamed up to compete in the 2013 Corporate Games. With more than 20 contests, the competitive (and not-so-competitive) folks in this area battled it out. There was good-natured competition, but this was about connecting with others in the area, having fun and learning something about teamwork...

ADAM VOGLER ~ avogler@semissourian.com Ben and Anna Schlenker, of Cape Girardeau look out at the Mississippi River from a scenic overlook Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Trail of Tears State Park, north of Cape Girardeau....

I listened to two of our congress people, one man and one woman, on the news recently. They were asked it they would give up their check if the government shut down. Not one of them would answer the news person asking the question. After constantly being asked the question they still would not answer. That kind of Marie Antoinett arrogance is what starts revolutions...

Mission Sunday is observed at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church; guests of the congregation are the Rev. David Birner and his wife, Lois, and their three children; the Birners have been missionaries in Papua, New Guinea, the last 11 years. ROLLA, Mo. -- U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and his Democratic challenger, Wayne Cryts, exchange assertions on a number of issues in a radio-broadcast debate here, the second in the same number of days...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Sunday: The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Monday:...

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

THEBES, Ill. -- Jerry L. Whitaker, 63, of Thebes died Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Spencer Heights Cemetery in Mounds, Ill. Jones Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill., is in charge of arrangements...

PATTON, Mo. -- Jimmy Wayne Statler, 66, of Patton died Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at his home. Visitation will be from 9:15 a.m. until time of service today at Liley Funeral Home in Patton. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. today at the funeral home, with the Rev. Kevin Mills officiating. Burial will be in Post Oak Cemetery near Patton...

ORAN, Mo. -- Mary Louise Schlitt, 76, of Oran went to her heavenly home Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, surrounded by her loving family. She was born April 7, 1937, in Union County, Ky., to Rufus and Mary Harlean Little Hart. She married the love of her life, Jerome Paul Schlitt, on Oct. 22, 1955, at Guardian Angel Church in Oran...

WARE, Ill. -- Harold Ray Sadler, 78, of Ware died Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, at Union County Hospital in Anna, Ill. He was born Jan. 2, 1935, in Anna, son of Eugene and Louise High Sadler. He and Lillian Treece were married Aug. 23, 1958, in Jonesboro, Ill...

Louise Bender Roth, 96, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, at Life Care Centers of Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 23, 1916, in Cape Girardeau, to Martin G. and Elinor Wilder Bender. She and Walter Roth were married April 14, 1950, in Cape Girardeau. He preceded her in death March 26, 2003...

Gloria Faye Wilkey Mueller, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

Mary Lou King, 79, of Delta passed away Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born March 26, 1934, at Glenallen, Mo., daughter of Fonnie and Margaret Charles Cobb. She and Minferd Claude Rhodes were married in 1948. She and Charles Junior King were married in 1963...

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- Steven Adam Januszewski, 63, of Sedgewickville left his country home Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, after a long illness. He was born Nov. 29, 1949, in Chicago, to Alexander and Irene Sikorski Januszewski. Steven moved to California in 1969, and retired from IBEW Local 952 in 1989. ...

James Leon Givens Sr., 70, of Allenville died Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, at Chaffee Nursing Center. He was born Oct. 18, 1942, in Dupo, Ill., to Leon and Grace Iona McCulley Givens. He and Anna Lavada Robins were married July 17, 1965. She preceded him in death June 27, 2011...

Richard A. "Dick" Decker, 74, of Jackson died Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Barbara Jane Brown, 85, of Charleston died Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 5, 1928, at Essex, Mo., to Arthur Bryant "Archie" Parker and Charlotte Steger Parker. She and A.S. "Alfie" Brown Jr. were married Aug. 24, 1947. He preceded her in death Sept. 14, 2001...

Before making your mark in an unfamiliar market, it's best to do your research and make an effort to speak the language. Joseph Low III, a strategic management and marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience leading cross-cultural teams focused on Latin American business development, spoke to an audience of about 50 Tuesday night at Glenn Auditorium in Dempster Hall at Southeast Missouri State University...

Former professional football player Tim Lester spoke to Scott City High School students Tuesday, leaving them with a message to be good "choosers" and to not conform to the world around them. "We are not born winners, we are not born losers, we are born choosers," Lester said as he encouraged the students to run away from drugs and alcohol and make good choices in their lives...

The vibrant, cheerful and safe town of Riverdale is getting a ghoulish makeover. In "Afterlife with Archie," a series debuting today, publisher Archie Comics is launching not just its first horror title, but its first book carrying a rating for teens and older sold only in comic shops...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- People whose Missouri homes and businesses were damaged by floods and strong storms in August now can qualify for federal low-interest loans. The U.S. Small Business Administration on Tuesday approved disaster aid for Pulaski and Taney counties, as well as their neighboring counties of Camden, Christian, Douglas, Laclede, Maries, Miller, Ozark, Phelps, Stone and Texas. The aid is for damage that occurred from Aug. 2-14...

NEW YORK -- The cultural heritage of the entire nation of Syria and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are on the World Monuments Fund's 2014 watch list. According to the group, preserving the Arch's complex design and preserving its 20th-century materials is "challenging."...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court appeared ready Tuesday to free big individual donors to give more money to political candidates in the court's first major campaign finance case since the justices took the lid off of independent spending in 2010...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner offered hints of possible compromise but traded heated rhetoric Tuesday, a frustratingly inconclusive combination that left the eight-day partial government shutdown firmly in place and the threat of an unprecedented national default drawing closer...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- A St. Francois County circuit judge rejected murder suspect Brent Bouren's request for bond reduction Tuesday and set the case for a preliminary hearing next month. Bouren, 42, of St. Louis, faces charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, witness tampering, second-degree assault and felonious restraint in connection with the death of Cape Girardeau tattoo artist Samuel Francis...

The government predicted Tuesday that most households will pay more for heat this winter. Prices for natural gas, electricity and propane should be higher, the primary reason that more than 90 percent of U.S. homes will incur higher heating expenses...

ST. LOUIS -- Heading into Game 5 of their NL division series against Pittsburgh, the Cardinals can take comfort in this: They're 7-1 the last three years when facing postseason elimination. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said poise comes from a mind-set of sticking to routine that is established during spring training...

There were several inaccuracies or unclear explanations reported in Sunday's article and corresponding graphics on Southeast Missouri State University's enrollment figures. An outdated enrollment figure was used in a caption and in the body of the story. The correct four-week enrollment for Southeast was 11,917...

STOCKHOLM -- Nearly 50 years after they came up with the theory, but little more than a year since the world's biggest atom smasher delivered the proof, Britain's Peter Higgs and Belgian colleague Francois Englert won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for helping explain how matter formed after the Big Bang...

NEW YORK -- In a dramatic break in a cold case more than two decades old, investigators used DNA to identify the mother of a dead child known only as Baby Hope, police said Tuesday. The New York Police Department received a tip from someone after a publicity push over the summer, police officials said...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man is in the Butler County Jail after allegedly setting fire to a trailer with four people inside. Christopher Durance Willis, 34, thought the occupants of the home were conspiring to kill him, according to a probable-cause statement. Willis is being held on charges of first-degree arson, a felony that carries the same sentencing range as attempted murder...

Lord Jesus, may our focus be on things with eternal value, building your kingdom. Amen.

The Dexter girls tennis team won two of three doubles matches to edge Notre Dame 5-4 in the semifinals of the Class 1 District 1 tournament Tuesday. The teams split the six singles matches with Carly Hopkins, Adele Soutar and Emily Young recording victories for the Bulldogs. Hopkins and Reagan Kapp won No. 1 doubles, but Dexter won the last two...

To find the secret of an unusual, eerily similar season in the history of Red Devils football, one may want to check an old Chaffee football roster and the streets of the town Friday night. For whom and what? Later. Why? Because for Charlie Vickery, his former teammates and many in Chaffee, Friday's game against Malden is a blip on the space-time continuum, the recreation of a narrative that played out for a previous generation of Red Devils...

Eula S. "Judy" McLain Masterson Watson, 95, of Bakersfield, Calif., passed away Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, in Bakersfield. She was born June 5, 1918, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Charles A. and Avia E. Slinkard McLain. She married William H. Masterson in 1939. He passed away in 1967. She then married Dewey Watson in 1975. He passed away in 1989...

Elmer Don Farrow, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, at Southeast Hospital. He was born July 17, 1926, in Oriole, to George and Emma Perry Farrow. He and Dorothy Elizabeth Marion were married Aug. 14, 1948, in Piggott, Ark. Elmer was a 1944 graduate of College High School. He was a member of Antioch Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau, past member of Cape Girardeau Jaycees and lifetime member of VFW Post 3838...

If you're thinking of making this year's Halloween costume yourself, you can stick with simple or go Hollywood pro. Neither has to take much time or money, and either can create a convincing costume, whether you're looking to draw guffaws, shrieks or admiring nods...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri officials say there should be plenty of good hunting even though there may be fewer ducks in the sky this fall. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the number of breeding ducks at 45.6 million this year -- down 6 percent from last year's record high...

Whether it's jumping rope, dancing or balancing a pink foam noodle in one hand, 63 Clippard Elementary School students are staying fit. The group is part of Tiger Power, a program created by physical education teacher Darren Neels that meets Wednesdays in the Clippard gym...

Not many leaves are falling yet, but people who live in Cape Girardeau can expect to see the city's collection truck soon making its way down streets in search of leaf piles as autumn continues. The city's annual leaf-collection program officially began this week and will continue through March 28. ...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis-based not-for-profit hospital system is cutting jobs. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported SSM Health Care is making the announcement this week to employees. Spokeswoman Kristen Johnson said that out of respect for affected workers, details won't be made public until later this week...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri lead mining company has contributed $10,000 to House Republicans after legislators enacted a law shielding the company from large liability judgments in some lawsuits. Online state records show that The Doe Run Co. ...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis prosecutors have dropped a drug possession charge against a 21-year-old man after a city judge questioned the arresting police officer's credibility and the suspect accused police of planting evidence. Jeremy Eden was arrested in a December 2011 traffic stop and charged with possession of the anti-anxiety drug Alprazolam without a prescription as well as misdemeanor assault...

ST. LOUIS -- Washington University's continued use of sedated cats and ferrets to train medical students how to insert breathing tubes down babies' throats is cruel, ineffective and unnecessary, according to a medical ethics group pressuring the school to abandon the practice...

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Department of Corrections said Wednesday it will return a shipment of a common anesthetic it intended to use for executions, nearly a year after the drug distributer's urgent request for it to be sent back. The department said in a news release it still has a supply of propofol, but it didn't clarify whether it had enough of the drug for two upcoming executions. Phone and email messages left with the agency's spokespeople were not returned...

Southeast Missouri State University's master of business administration program is one of the nation's most outstanding business schools, according to an education services company. The Princeton Review, princetonreview.com, features the program in the new 2014 edition of its book, "The Best 295 Business Schools" published this week...

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Concrete is poured Wednesday for the lower-level mechanical room of the expansion of Southeast Missouri State University´s River Campus in Cape Girardeau. ...

Electrical power has been restored to commercial customers in west Cape Girardeau after a Wednesday accident involving a dumptruck. According to Kent Martin, a spokesman for Ameren Missouri, power was restored about 5:15 p.m. The outage occurred about noon when a dumptruck was traveling on Shirley Drive with its bed raised. ...

The Jackson School District will have a groundbreaking for its new elementary school at 8:30 a.m. today at the building site. Superintendent Ron Anderson said grading for the building is complete, footings are being placed and masonry work has begun at 455 N. Lacey St...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The fugitive Bollinger County authorities have been looking for was arrested Tuesday as he attempted to cross the border from Laredo, Texas, into Mexico. Bollinger County Sheriff Darin Shell said he was notified at 8:37 p.m. by the U.S. Border Patrol that Nicholas Loughary, 22, had been arrested. The border patrol ran a check on Loughary, and found that he had felony warrants against him in Bollinger and St. Francois counties...

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Snow-crew members lay white tarps across the terraced hillside of the Common Pleas Courthouse on Wednesday in Cape Girardeau. The crew will add "snow" made of paper with a slight moisture content on top of the tarps to set a scene from the feature film "Gone Girl."...

Nearly 24 hours after it started, the fire that destroyed Flickerwood Farms continued to smolder. "I'm looking out the back door, and yes, there's still smoke coming out of it," chief Dean Riley of the Fruitland Area Fire Protection District said Wednesday afternoon...

Armed with orange and black balloons, Cape Girardeau Public School Foundation executive director Amy McDonald, superintendent James Welker and assistant superintendent for academic services Sherry Copeland made their way through the hallways of three schools Wednesday bearing gifts -- $9,654 in grants...

ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright went all the way and the St. Louis Cardinals got two-run homers from David Freese and Matt Adams to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Wednesday night, advancing to the NL championship series. Wainwright scattered eight hits in his second dominant win of the division series, coming through for the Cardinals in a winner-take-all Game 5...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers blocked a proposal Wednesday that could have allowed greater amounts of ethanol to be blended into the gasoline sold for most vehicles. The decision by a legislative panel halts a proposed rule change by the Missouri Department of Agriculture that would have allowed stations to sell fuel containing 15 percent ethanol. ...

I took this photo late winter, took 2 hours for him to make a move, lol.

This is from the 2013 Firetruck rally in Cape

PRESS RELEASE Facebook / Twitter Training Free Twitter / Facebook Training This Saturday - 10/12/13 Facebook and Twitter are invaluable tools in the process of saving our republic. Join Cape County Tea Party members this Saturday 9:00am at the Cape Public Library to receive training on these two Social Media Applications (ie. web sites)...

Darryl LeGrand Transmissions supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month! That's Right, this month we are going PINK!

Girl Scout Brownies from the Jackson Service Unit of Girl Scouts Missouri Heartland participated in the American Red Cross Pillowcase Project Saturday October 5 at the Jackson Elks. the girls learned how to prepared for emergencies like home fires and tornados, the importance of having an emergency supply kit and an emergency plan at their homes. ...

Name: Josie Owner: JoAnn Moore Favorite Activity: Being chauffeured around in her "doggie" car seat.

Today is Thursday, Oct. 10, the 283rd day of 2013. There are 82 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 10, 1962, President John F. Kennedy, responding to the thalidomide birth defects crisis, signed an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requiring pharmaceutical companies to prove that their products were safe and effective prior to marketing...

There's no excuse for driving while under the influence of alcohol. At its core, this is about personal responsibility and making good decisions. But as a society, particularly with the number of young people attending Southeast Missouri State University, it's important to make sure safe transit is available for those who have consumed excessive amounts of alcohol...

CONCORD, N.H. -- A temporary increase in food stamps expires Oct. 31, meaning for millions of Americans, the benefits that help put food on the table won't stretch as far as they have for the past four years. Food stamps -- actually the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- go to 47 million Americans a month, almost half of them children and teenagers...

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei -- U.S. officials said Wednesday the Obama administration is poised to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in military and economic aid to Egypt. The announcement is expected this week, once official notifications have been made to all interested parties...

NEW YORK -- An undercover police detective accused of punching out an SUV window during a motorcycle rally that descended into violence was unmasked Wednesday in a courtroom where he was confronted with serious assault charges. But Detective Wojciech Braszczok's lawyer insisted he would be exonerated by the video prosecutors say incriminates him in the Sept. 29 melee...

LOS ANGELES -- NASA's Jupiter-bound spacecraft hit a snag Wednesday soon after it used Earth as a gravity slingshot to hurtle toward the outer solar system, but mission managers said it's on course to arrive at the giant planet in 2016. Juno emerged from Earth's shadow in safe mode, a state that spacecraft are programmed to go into when there's some trouble...

NEW YORK -- Drake, Robin Thicke, Keith Urban and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will perform on the Grammy Awards nominations special in December. The Recording Academy made the announcement Wednesday. The show will be Dec. 6 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles...

NEW YORK -- Madonna, John Mellencamp and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are among the nominees for the 2014 Songwriters Hall of Fame. They are joined by a number of top acts, including Ray Davies, Cyndi Lauper and Linda Perry. The Songwriters Hall of Fame provided a list of nominees in advance of the official announcement, set for today...

GENEVA -- Iran has more enriched uranium than it needs for its research and would be willing to discuss the "surplus" with Western powers during nuclear talks next week, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday. Larijani said Iran is open to discussions about what to do with the 20 percent enriched uranium it doesn't need. ...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is inviting Republican lawmakers to the White House as pressure builds on both sides to resolve their deadlock over the federal debt limit and the partial government shutdown. With the shutdown in its ninth day Wednesday and a potential economy-shaking federal default edging closer, neither side was revealing signs of bending...

WASHINGTON -- About 3.8 million veterans will not receive disability compensation next month if the partial government shutdown continues into late October, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told lawmakers Wednesday. About 315,000 veterans and 202,000 surviving spouses and dependents will see pension payments stopped...

President Obama is a bully. If you don't do things his way, he runs you down and blames everybody but himself. For five years he's blamed Bush for everything that's wrong. I've got news for Obama and the Democrats: a lot of the problems are you're fault, and you need to work with Republicans and the independents. They all need to get together and help the country instead of going by what the dictating head of our country is trying to do...

1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Open session 1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo...

Kersbergen Daughter to Katherine Suzanne Kersbergen of Jackson, Saint Francis Medical Center, 11:52 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. Name, Caroline Elizabeth. Weight, 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Third child, first daughter. Ms. Kersbergen is the daughter of Doris Kersbergen and John Kersbergen of Jackson. She is product manager at Victoria's Secret...

Three apartment complexes for mentally and multiple handicapped people in Southeast Missouri are slated to be constructed in what is considered to be the first project of its kind in the nation; the $2.5 million project will consist of a total of 50 units of housing, composed of a 20-unit apartment complex in Cape Girardeau and 15-unit complexes in Jackson and Marble Hill, Mo...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:...

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

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests Summonses Assault Burglary Property damage Miscellaneous...

WASHINGTON -- Starting in about a decade, Kingston, Jamaica, will probably be off-the-charts hot -- permanently. Other places will soon follow. Singapore in 2028. Mexico City in 2031. Cairo in 2036. Phoenix and Honolulu in 2043. And eventually the whole world in 2047...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The bridge carrying U.S. 60 and 62 traffic over the Mississippi River, south of Cairo, will be reduced beginning Oct. 23 for repairs. According to the District 9 Office of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the lane closure is expected to be in place weekdays until about Nov. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- Errors and a lack of timely hitting halted Chaffee's softball season in the first round of the Class 2 District 1 tournament on Wednesday. The fifth-seeded Red Devils were defeated 6-0 by fourth-seeded Portageville at Kelly High School...

BENTON, Mo. -- A no-hitter was just what the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders needed to advance to the semifinals of the Class 2 District 1 softball tournament. Led by pitcher Kelli Brunke, third-seeded Saxony Lutheran defeated sixth-seeded East Prairie 10-0 in five innings during first-round action at Kelly High School on Wednesday...

ST. LOUIS -- Tavon Austin has little to show after the first five games of his rookie season with the St. Louis Rams. His best plays have been the ones that were called back. Austin had four returns for just 15 yards in Sunday's win over Jacksonville. The elusive rookie from West Virginia had 72 yards of punt-return yardage wiped out by his teammates' illegal blocks...

Maj. Richard A. "Dick" Decker, 74, passed away Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at his home in Jackson. He was born Oct. 1, 1939, in Jackson, to George and Ruby Grosvenor Decker. Dick was a 1957 graduate of Jackson High School. He received a degree from Southeast Missouri State University and played on the football team. He later earned a master's degree in psychology from Phoenix University...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Robert W. Hecht, 73, of Altenburg passed away Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, at his home. He was born March 28, 1940, in Altenburg, son of Benjamin C. and Olga Pilz Hecht. He and Charlotte Saupe were married May 11, 1963. She preceded him in death April 9, 2013...

Larry Martin Werner, 68, of Chesterfield, Mo., formerly of Scott City, died Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, at his home. He was born Feb. 25, 1945, in Illmo, to Wilbur Martin and Ruby K. Hopke Werner. Survivors include a son, Shane Martin Werner of Ventura, Calif.; two daughters, Meghan Werner and Heather Werner of Kansas City, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- John E. Staggs, 65, of Perryville died Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today and 7 a.m. until service time Friday at Young and Sons Funeral Home...

Richard L. Gerlach, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, at Southeast Hospital. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Funeral Home.

NEW YORK -- Three U.S.-based scientists won a Nobel Prize on Wednesday for developing a powerful new way to do chemistry on a computer. They pioneered highly sophisticated computer simulations of complex chemical processes, giving researchers tools they now use for a variety of tasks, such as designing new drugs and solar cells...

WASHINGTON -- The challenges for Janet Yellen if she becomes the next Federal Reserve chair will require the steely intellect and the personable style that many attribute to her. Deciding when to slow the Fed's economic stimulus. Forging consensus from a fractious policy committee. Calculating the effects of any economic slowdown from Washington's budget fight. Facing volatile financial markets. Absorbing new members at the Fed...

WHEELING, W.Va. -- A retired police officer armed with what federal marshals described as an assault-type rifle fired up to two dozen rounds at a West Virginia federal courthouse Wednesday until police returned fire and killed him, authorities said...

O Lord God, we praise you, our Everlasting Father and magnificent Creator. Amen.

Nikki Peters pitched a perfect game as the Notre Dame softball team opened Class 3 District 1 tournament play with an easy win. Second-seeded Notre Dame routed seventh-seeded Potosi 14-0 in five innings Wednesday in Potosi, Mo. Peters recorded 12 strikeouts as the Bulldogs improved to 20-5...

ST. LOUIS -- Alexander Steen's slap shot with 21.1 seconds remaining beat Chicago goalie Corey Crawford and gave the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Steen broke down the left side as part of a 3-on-1 rush. He kept the puck and let go a drive from just inside the circle that trickled through Crawford...

Looking for a way to add a little science to your Halloween? If so, using a few materials from around the house, you can create Dracula's soap. Materials Instructions STEP 1: Mash two Ex-Lax pills in a small bowl. STEP 2: Pour 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol into the small bowl and mix...

Kristin J. Mumiukha, daughter of Ron and Patty Schaefer of Scott City, graduated with a doctor of education degree in higher and adult education, with a concentration in higher education. The degree was conferred Aug. 11 by the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tenn. Mumiukha is an alumnus of Scott City High School and she earned her bachelor of science degree in 2006 and master of science degree in 2009 from Murray State University in Murray, Ky...

South Old Orchard Road in Jackson will be closed Monday due to engineering work that will include drilling operations. According to a news release issued by the Public Works Department, the work is planned at the Williams Creek Bridge on South Old Orchard Road. The section of roadway between Bainbridge Road and County Road 306 will be closed between the hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The road will be closed to all but local traffic during this planned engineering work, the release said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri is one of 30 states and territories nationwide scheduled to participate in earthquake preparedness drills on the same day next week. Ten states, including Missouri, will be part of the Great Central U.S. Shakeout drill at 10:17 a.m. Oct. 17, which will teach the "drop, cover and hold on" technique to use during an earthquake...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is investigating the Wednesday theft of an American Cancer Society donation jar. According to police spokesman Darin Hickey, at about 11 a.m. officers arrived at R and P Oil gas station, 2551 Bloomfield Road, in response to the theft. ...

The Disabled American Veterans will send its mobile service office to several Southeast Missouri sites in an attempt to better educate veterans on benefits and services available to them. According to a Disabled American Veterans news release, the mobile services office will offer information to veterans free of charge at the following locations:...

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- A three-week search ended Thursday when a tugboat operator spotted the body of a missing Matthews, Mo., man. At 5 p.m. Thursday, a tug boat operator with Magnolia Marine Transport notified authorities he had discovered a body in the Mississippi River near Bunge Grain at Portageville, Mo., according to a news release from New Madrid County Coroner George DeLisle. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Jay Nixon's administration is working on a proposal that could allow national parks to reopen in Missouri with help from the state. Nixon said Friday that Missouri's proposal would specifically include plans to reopen the Gateway Arch grounds in St. Louis and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways Park in southern Missouri...

EMINENCE, Mo. (AP) -- People can float on the Current and Jacks Fork rivers that flow through the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in southwest Missouri but they can't set foot in the closed parks until the partial government shutdown is over, a Riverways official said...

WASHINGTON -- On a day crammed with rising and falling hopes, President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans groped inconclusively Thursday for common ground that could avert an economy-tanking default and possibly end the 10-day-old partial government shutdown...

Against a backdrop of construction workers busily putting up masonry walls and grading ground, Jackson school officials, board members, community members and supporters turned out Thursday for the groundbreaking of the district's newest campus. The building will sit on 15 acres at 455 N. Lacey St. and enclose 105,000 square feet. The project architect is Warner Nease Bost Architects Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., and the contractor is Brockmiller Construction of Farmington, Mo...