Stories from Tuesday, December 2, 2014

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon reversed plans Monday to reduce the state's monthly benefits to blind residents, saying he instead will ask legislators to approve additional money to make up for a shortfall in the program. Nixon said he ordered the Department of Social Services to drop the planned cutbacks, which were to take effect in January...

J.J. Lee braves the falling sleet and freezing rain as he bikes to class at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus Monday morning in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston, Missouri, man has been charged with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. Craig "Pico" Marks, 35, turned himself in to the Sikeston Department of Public Safety about 4:50 p.m. Sunday. Marks was being sought for the early Sunday morning shooting of Tyrell Banks, 22, of Haywood City, Missouri. Banks later died from his wounds...

The Elks Mobile Dental Unit will be in Cape Girardeau through Dec. 30 to serve patients with documented intellectual or developmental disabilities. The unit is set up at 639 Elks Lane and is manned by Dr. Robert Beck, doctor of dental medicine, and dental assistants Joyce Howson and Cindy Smith. Clinic services are available by appointment Monday through Thursday by calling 573-690-6003...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The first opportunity for Missouri lawmakers to propose legislation for the new session brought a wave of bills addressing police brutality, use of deadly force and equipping officers with cameras -- measures spurred by the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by a white officer in Ferguson...

In the past few years, political-science professor Jeremy Walling and former colleague Will Miller have delved into the tea party's influence on politics and policies, and some of what they found surprised them. Walling and Miller -- a former political-science professor at Southeast Missouri State University, now director of Institutional Research at Flagler College in St. ...

Since its first meeting in spring 2013, Southeast Missouri State University's Academic Visionary Committee has generated many health-related degree and certificate programs that will be offered in spring, with more to come. Heather McMillan, faculty associate, Office of the Provost, said the 10-member panel is considering a potential public health interdisciplinary program and a clinic at the River Campus Center, where students in the athletic training program could provide support to the performing arts students in case of injury.. ...

(Fred Lynch)

Scott City residents soon will see an increase in their water bills. Like many cities in the surrounding area, Scott City has to adjust its ammonia rates, causing them to build a new sewer lagoon system to be in compliance with the restriction. "[The lagoon project is] costing us somewhere between $2 [million] and $4 [million] but closer to $3 [million] and $4 million dollars," Scott City administrator Ron Eskew said...

A small group of protesters from Southeast Missouri State University braved icy temperatures to protest events in Ferguson, Missouri -- sparked by the fatal shooting in August of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer. The shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson and the subsequent decision by a grand jury not to indict Wilson prompted unrest in Ferguson and nationwide. ...

The Cape Girardeau City Council gave initial approval Monday night to a measure that will bring the city's weapons ordinance in line with new state gun laws. A Senate bill proposed in this year's legislative session allows open carry across the state for those with valid permits. Nixon vetoed the bill, but the General Assembly mounted a successful veto override in September, and new gun laws took effect across the state in October...

Both of Missouri's senators on Monday sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service requesting a push back of consolidations for mail processing facilities. The planned consolidations of up to 82 mail processing centers across the country will affect two Missouri facilities -- one in Cape Girardeau and one in Springfield -- in the spring...

A month ago, 29-year-old terminal cancer patient Brittany Maynard ended her life in Oregon and in doing so revived the debate over physician-assisted suicide. Though only five states offer a legal path to ending one's life, Maynard's situation made headlines nationwide, opening a division between supporters and opponents...

If you've ever steered your car through the Lexington Avenue roundabout or stopped for pedestrians at the traffic light at Broadway and Henderson Avenue, then you're one of many to make use of a Transportation Trust Fund 4 project. The two are among a dozen projects, plus a few general street and sidewalk improvement activities, recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 9, 2009, and approved by the Cape Girardeau City Council on Feb. 16, 2010...

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- About 40 residents of Altenburg and Frohna, Missouri, met with a joint board of aldermen in Immanuel Hall in Altenburg on Monday night to discuss what the new town will be called after the two towns merge. Altenburg and Frohna are already about as close to being one town as they could be; they share utilities, sewage and a fire department. ...

Money is being given away weekly to lucky LOTSA cash ticket holders! On Sunday November 23 Mrs. Lil Blattel won $100 and Mrs. Vilet Roberts was the fortunate $500 winner. And on November 30 Mrs. Kristi Stout won $100! Remember- there are lotsa more opportunities to win Lotsa Cash!!! St Mary Cathedral School will be giving away a total of $15,000 before the upcoming annual dinner auction, to be held February 15, 2015. ...

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2014. There are 29 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 2, 1954, the U.S. Senate passed, 67-22, a resolution condemning Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., saying he had "acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."...

NEW YORK -- ABC's "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir will do a one-minute newscast each weekday for Facebook, touching on the day's top stories and trending topics online. The "Facecast" will usually be posted in the early afternoon. ABC said Facebook users will see the report in their news stream if they have "liked" "World News Tonight," or else will be able to find it on the newscast's Facebook page...

NEW YORK -- The lyrics of two early unrecorded Bob Dylan songs are going on the auction block. Christie's says the typed lyrics being offered Thursday include handwritten annotations. The original 1962 "Talkin Folklore Center" manuscript could fetch $40,000 to $60,000...

BRUSSELS -- Former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk is pushing the European Union's center of political gravity eastward by taking over the EU presidency from Belgium's Herman Van Rompuy. Monday's transition ceremony highlighted the increasing power of Poland within the 28-nation EU, and the bloc's ongoing shift from a western European economic association half a century ago to a strong political body uniting some 500 million people from Britain to the borders of Russia...

WASHINGTON -- From the violent lyrics of rap music to the crude comments of teenagers in video-game chat rooms, the Supreme Court struggled Monday over where to draw the line between free speech and illegal threats in the digital age. The justices considered the case of a Pennsylvania man convicted of posting violent threats on Facebook -- in the form of rap lyrics -- about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a school and slitting the throat of an FBI agent...

Father God, we praise you, for the joy of the Lord Jesus is our strength. Amen.

The Cape Girardeau Central High School football season finished a history-making campaign on Saturday. The Tigers made the school's first trip to the state championship game for Class 4 football. Their opponent, Webb City, won the previous four state titles going into Saturday's contest. But Central was undeterred. It opened the game with 14-0 lead. Despite the early start by the Tigers, the Webb City Cardinals came back and won a fifth consecutive championship by a score of 48-21...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Michael Hill, 74, of Cairo, formerly of Decatur, Illinois, died Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at Daystar Nursing and Rehab. A private burial will be at Pleasant Grove Memorial Park. Crain Funeral Home of Cairo is in charge of arrangements.

SCOTT CITY The Scott City Police Department released the following items between November 23 and 28. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A warrant arrest was made in the 2100 block of Main Street. n A warrant arrest was made in the 600 block of Main Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Craig A. Walker, 33, of Kennett, Missouri, was arrested on a Jefferson County warrant for failure to appear for traffic offense. n A suspect was in custody pending formal charges of domestic assault...

Hilda Hoffmeister, 97, of Jackson passed away Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at her home. She was born Jan. 24, 1917, near Delta, daughter of Henry and Lena Sievers Thoma. She and Edwin Hoffmeister were married Oct. 12, 1940. He passed away July 10, 1963. Hilda was baptized Feb. 11, 1917, at Trinity Methodist Church, formerly Dreiengreits Evangelical Church of Whitewater, which was built by her grandfather, Adam Thoma. She was confirmed March 3, 1933, at Zion Methodist Church of Gordonville...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Saturday: n At 12:57 a.m., a building fire on William Street. n At 1:22 a.m., a medical assist on North Main Street. n At 4:49 a.m., emergency medical service on Penrod Place...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Kenneth J. Rhodes, 81, of Advance passed away Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at his home. He was born July 17, 1933, in Advance, son of Cecil James and Elsie Sheldon Rhodes. He and Vivian Shell were married Oct. 13, 1957, in Hernando, Mississippi...

Edward L. Herbst, 88, of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, died Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Aug. 16, 1926, in Farmington, Missouri, son of Henry and Elizabeth Carrow Herbst. He and Louella Siebert were married Feb. 15, 1947...

BERTRAND, Mo. -- Helen Bridges, 77, of Bertrand passed away Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at her home. She was born Dec. 26, 1936, in Edwardsville, Illinois, daughter of Louis and Edna Sutton Blumberg. Helen was a member of First Baptist Church in Mounds, Illinois, where her husband, the Rev. Tom Bridges, is serving as pastor. Helen and her husband have been affiliated with several churches over the years in Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri...

Mary C. Tallent Hill, 72, of Lawson, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014, at her home. She was born May 20, 1942, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Willie M. and Mary Opal Niswonger Tallent. Mary was a longtime member of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri...

I want to comment about the Ferguson debacle. They put the guard out, but they stood on one side of the street way down the street from the rioters. Why didn't they put some of the guards around those stores that were burned and looted? Then when people would come, the guard could have told them to move along if you want to demonstrate. Demonstrate over in another area, but you're not burning these stores. I just can't believe how inept our governor is...

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with family and friends who care, and you had love and fellowship to share. Since Thanksgiving was so late this year, the Christmas season is already upon us. There are many opportunities to participate in the Christmas spirit of giving to others...

MARSTON, Mo. -- United Steelworkers Local 7686 members, who have been on strike against Noranda Aluminum Inc. since Sept. 1, have agreed to return to work without accepting the company's work-contract offer; that decision follows the company's announcement last week that it would replace the striking workers if they didn't return to their jobs Monday...

Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt anticipates his team will have to play a "perfect" game, or near that, to beat any opponent on their home court, and that will be put to the test against an in-state foe tonight. The Missouri Tigers will try to defend their floor from Nutt's Redhawks when the teams meet at Mizzou Arena at 7 p.m...

Son to Ryan T. Moore and Deborah A. Jackson-Moore of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 8:46 a.m. Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. Name, Ellis Henry. Weight, 6 pounds, 7 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Jackson-Moore is the daughter of Kathy and Bill Warren of St. Charles, Missouri, and Burt and Christal Jackson of Whitehall, Michigan. She is employed by Noonday Collection. Moore is the son of Jack Moore of Washingtonville, New York, and Terri Wade of New Paltz, New York...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams and the NFL will not discipline the five players who stood with their hands raised in a show of solidarity with Ferguson protesters before Sunday's game. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Monday that it was his players' "choice to exercise their free speech," but he would not comment further on their actions...

ST. LOUIS -- Five St. Louis Rams players entered the football field with their hands raised. A day later, people walked out of work or school showing the same gesture of solidarity with Ferguson, Missouri, protesters. The pose has come to symbolize a movement, even though witnesses offered conflicting accounts of whether 18-year-old Michael Brown had his hands up in surrender when he was killed by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in August...

WASHINGTON -- Diners will soon know how many calories are in that bacon cheeseburger at a chain restaurant, the pasta salad in the supermarket salad bar and even that buttery tub of popcorn at the movie theater. The Food and Drug Administration announced long-delayed calorie labeling rules last week, requiring establishments that sell prepared foods and have 20 or more locations to post the calorie content of food and beverages "clearly and conspicuously" on their menus, menu boards and displays. ...

VIENNA -- Austrian police investigating a grenade blast were less puzzled by the explosion and more by where it took place -- inside a wood stove that appeared to contain nothing but firewood. Police spokeswoman Petra Datscher said Monday a World War II grenade apparently landed on a tree during fighting. It was then enveloped by wood growing around it to the point that it was invisible when the tree was chopped down for firewood and sold to the market where the stove's owner bought it...

LIMA, Peru -- With this year on track to become the warmest on record, more than 190 nations began talks Monday on new limits for the greenhouse gases that are already changing global climate patterns and making life more difficult around the world...

WASHINGTON -- Wanted: Thick-skinned candidate to oversee a sprawling bureaucracy bitten by budget cuts and join a national security team besieged by criticism. Must be tolerant of White House interference. The job conditions for President Barack Obama's next defense secretary have already spurred some top contenders to bow out, leaving the White House with a slim list of candidates to fill the post for the administration's final two years. ...

Dr. Katherine E. Parrish, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at Southeast Hospital. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the chapel, with the Rev. Kim L. Ferguson officiating. Entombment will be in Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum...

Thelma Krauss, 75, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be from noon until service time Thursday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Cape County Memorial Park...

MORLEY, Missouri -- Karen "Carolyn" Coram, 63, of Lowndes, Missouri, formerly of Morley, died Saturday, Nov. 28, 2014, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Oran, Missouri...