Stories from Sunday, December 28, 2014

Earlier this year, the former federal courthouse sat empty, with prospects unknown. Now the large building at 339 Broadway has taken on a new purpose and is filling fast with what its owner says is a mixed business community prompted by flexible leasing options, which is bringing jobs and activity to downtown Cape Girardeau...

A program designed to improve neighborhoods within Cape Girardeau has garnered plenty of interest in pilot areas. As it moves forward, city officials said the goal is to continue to identify the program's exact role. The Neighborhood De- velopment Initiative has been in the works for more than two years, and the first presentation on the matter was made to the city council in July. ...

NEW YORK -- Thousands of police officers from across the nation packed a church and spilled onto streets Saturday to honor officer Rafael Ramos as a devoted family man, aspiring chaplain and hero, though an air of unrest surrounding his ambush shooting was not completely pushed aside...

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An AirAsia plane with 161 people on board lost contact with ground control today while flying over the Java Sea after taking off from a provincial city in Indonesia for Singapore, and search and rescue operations were underway...

Kiara Williams Cape Girardeau Assistant manager, Finish Line How do you plan to ring in the new year? I plan to bring my New Year's in with my family. What would you wish for in 2015? Hopefully, I graduate from Southeast Missouri State University this year with a degree in marketing. What do you think of New Year's resolutions? I'm not really a fan of New Year's resolutions. I feel like you should always make goals and be doing that. What resolution might you make? Something I want to do is be able to save more. Clarence Salley Cape Girardeau Custodian, West Park Mall How do you plan to ring in the new year? I plan to ring in the new year, hopefully, with a great invention. I have some ideas. What would you wish for in 2015? I would like to see that police officers are better trained and more considerate and compassionate toward their fellow man, and not resort to deadly force as their first line of defense. What do you think of New Year's resolutions? I don't make a lot of resolutions. I just try to make the next year better than the previous year. What resolution might you make? I would be more courteous and considerate of others, but that's part of my job, so I get to do that on a regular basis. I would hope that others would do the same. Brenda Morris Scott City Retired How do you plan to ring in the new year? I am going to be celebrating with family and friends. What would you wish for in 2015? I would wish mostly for good health and happiness. What do you think of New Year's resolutions? Of course, I believe in making them. What resolution might you make? To lose weight, just to get off a couple of pounds. I'm baking candy tomorrow, so I have a plan for that. Judy Piper Crump, Missouri Retired How do you plan to ring in the new year? I will spend the evening at home, maybe with family. What would you wish for in 2015? I wish for peace in our country, that there would be a turnaround. God needs to be the head of our country. What do you think of New Year's resolutions? I don't do New Year's resolutions, because I very rarely keep them. What resolution might you make? I would do what I could to help others.

Today is Sunday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2014. There are three days left in the year. Today[[OpenSingle]]s Highlight in History: On Dec. 28, 1944, the musical [[""]]On the Town,[[""]] with music by Leonard Bernstein and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, opened on Broadway...

Submitted by the Cannon family Judge, the Great Dane, with his best friends, Jaxon and Cimarron.

U.S. Bank presented Cape Girardeau Public School Foundation with a $2,000 check. The grant is going toward funding innovative teaching in the classroom and after-school programs known as The Great Teaching Grants Program. From left are Ryan Wiley, vice president, U.S. ...

The prekindergarten class of Trinity Lutheran School in Cape Girardeau donated bedtime bags to the Safe House for Women.

Leola Twiggs, left, was given a Human Rights Award in recognition of her 40 years with Head Start and caring way with children. Church Women United Co-leader Joan Sebaugh presented the award.

U.S. Bank donated $1,500 to SoutheastHEALTH Foundation to fund scholarships for nursing students at SoutheastHEALTH College of Nursing & Health Sciences. From left are Ryan Wiley, assistant vice president of U.S. Bank in Cape Girardeau; Steven Green, market president of U.S. Bank; and Sam Duncan of the foundation...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Cats these days aren't associated with deities the way they were in ancient Egypt, but the Internet has gotten them a little closer. We adore Nora the piano-playing cat. We chuckle as a comical feline named Maru leaps into cardboard boxes. We revel in Grumpy Cat's permanently sour expression. And with millions watching videos of other kitties getting tongue baths from horses and playing peekaboo with their owners, cats have become online stars...

Tom Matukewicz, Southeast Missouri State University head football coach, will be the featured speaker at a prayer breakfast at 6 a.m. Jan. 8. Other speakers include Ron Watts, senior pastor at LaCroix Methodist Church; Mark Anderson, senior pastor at Lynwood Baptist Church; and Father David Hulshof, pastor at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church. Breakfast, at $7, will be served at 6 a.m. with a program running from 6:45 to 7:30 a.m...

Santa has his elves watching children everywhere in Southeast Missouri! Elves are at home, at school and in businesses. There is even an elf at the Southeast Missourian. These elves are called scout elves. They watch children and adults, and then report back to Santa at night...

Have you picked a side yet? If not, you'd better think fast, because the battle lines are being drawn, and they cut right down the dinner table. For if there were any theme to the food world in 2014, it was the prevalence of polarizing issues. Whether we were tussling over genetically modified organisms, or debating how healthy is too healthy for school lunches, or scolding one another for our gluten choices, this year our collective culinary consciousness seemed mired in disputes...

New Year's Eve celebrations call for friends, family and food, and maybe not necessarily in that order. Good finger foods and appetizers are a great way to just graze on food all evening as you wait for the ball to drop. Here are just a few recipes to help get your party started and kick off the New Year...

Garden journals come in all shapes and sizes. They can be as simple as using a shorthand notebook or a ring binder or just a notebook. Or you can go to the other extreme and have it set up by time and plant and even have it on a calendar-type program in your computer. I would like to describe a simple yet effective garden journal that includes a calendar...

Swaziland, Africa, is not usually on a 12-year-old boy's list of places to travel during Thanksgiving. However, that was precisely the choice Parker Lipke made this year. He and his mother, Ashley, part of a Heart for Africa team, left the comforts of America and spent 10 days on a mission trip. Their plan was to be a blessing, but both received much more than they gave -- and Parker, for one, cannot wait to return...

During one summer break while attending college, I worked at a camp, spending the majority of my days on and in the lake. One of my assignments was to teach unsuspecting campers how to sail. I guess the reasoning was that, a) I was older than they were, and b) I had been sailing for at lease one day longer than they had, so, for all intents and purposes, compared to the campers, I was an expert...

The Christmas season, as many know it, ends the day after Christmas. Other churches believe it lasts until the Epiphany. It isn't long after the holiday, you began to think of celebrating the new year. Perhaps parties are on your agenda, the New Year's welcoming ceremony at midnight or you may have a list of changes you're going to make this coming year...

NEW YORK -- See Cuba before it changes. Check out the World Expo in Milan. And if you're heading to New York City to see the view from 1 World Trade Center's observatory (scheduled to open in late spring), take the subway to Queens and see if you can figure out why it topped Lonely Planet's "best in the U.S." destinations for 2015...

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to Peggy Cochran. We hope you had a merry Christmas. Gas prices remain low, and a lot of people decided to hit the road for the holidays. We invite you to share your travels and guests with us. Former resident and now longtime San Diegan and Charger fan Jae Hopkins and his wife Akiko traveled to South Carolina to spend Christmas with their sons, Joe and Andy, and their families and brother Mark and his wife Ruth Ann. ...

While splitting firewood recently, I discovered a colony of black carpenter ants in the wood. A large ash tree had died and was blown down in a wind storm last spring. The tree trunk was about 20 inches across. Cutting the log into blocks for firewood did not reveal the ants, but splitting the blocks with a sledge ax did...

There is good progress being made at the Cape Girardeau Business Park, the future home of a Pepsi Mid-America distribution center. The Southeast Missourian reported recently AT&T was nearing completion of installing fiber-optic cable that will have the ability to provide high-speed network connection to businesses located at the park...

** Food prices; ** Gene Rhodes; ** Joe Cocker; ** Greek housing; ** Economy, columns; ** Enjoy the gas; ** Kindness shown; ** Post office

O Father God, thank you for sending Jesus so we may have eternal life through Him. Amen.

WASHINGTON -- If Hillary Rodham Clinton seeks the White House again, her message on the economy could be an important barometer as she courts fellow Democrats. Members of her party are watching how the former secretary of state outlines steps to address income inequality and economic anxieties for middle-class families. Some members of the party's liberal wing remain wary of Clinton's ties to Wall Street, six-figure speaking fees and protective bubble...

NEW YORK -- The presents are unwrapped. The children's shrieks of delight are a memory. Now it's time for another Yuletide tradition: cleaning the needles falling off your Christmas tree. "I'm not particularly worried about it. ... I'll just sweep it up," said Lisa Smith-Hansford of New York, who bought a small tree at a Manhattan sidewalk stand last week...

LOS ANGELES -- "The Interview" was never supposed to be a paradigm-shifting film. But unusual doesn't even begin to describe the series of events that transpired over the past few weeks, culminating in the unprecedented move by a major studio to release a film in theaters and on digital platforms simultaneously...

MIAMI -- It was hot and dark, and mosquitoes bit at his skin as 23-year-old Jose Fuente Lastre boarded a raft with eight other men, intent on fleeing Cuba. Their flimsy vessel built from scraps of metal, wood and inner tubes had failed repeatedly. Oil leaked. The propeller sputtered...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea blamed its recent Internet outage on the United States on Saturday and hurled racially charged insults at President Barack Obama over the hacking row involving the movie "The Interview." North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission, led by the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, which is the nation's top governing body, said Obama was behind the release of the comedy that depicts Kim's assassination. ...

McALESTER, Okla. -- Oklahoma's last execution went so badly, the state tried to cancel it before it was over. With the inmate writhing while the lethal drugs seeped into his body, his executioners drew the viewing gallery curtains, concealing what the warden later described as "a bloody mess."...

ANKARA, Turkey -- A high-school student who was jailed for allegedly insulting Turkey's leader was released from custody Friday after his arrest caused uproar and intensified fears that Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is lurching toward more authoritarian rule...

HAVANA -- A half-century after Washington severed relations with Cuba, the United States' seven-story mission looms over Havana's seaside Malecon boulevard as the largest diplomatic outpost in the country. Cuban guards stand at close intervals on the street outside, and islanders line up by the thousands each year for a shot at a coveted visa...

NEW YORK -- When Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, flood insurance companies working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency dispatched an army of structural engineers to do detective work. Their assignment: Find out how much damage to policyholders' homes was caused by surging seawater and how much predated the storm...

BEIJING -- In the grainy video, Zhang Xiuhong can see her daughter ride her bike down a country road on her way to school one spring afternoon six years ago. In the next shot, Yao Li rides down a driveway a few moments after her classmates walk by. Then, the pictures stop: The 15-year-old disappeared just minutes after that surveillance footage was taken, leaving only a shoe as a clue in a nearby ditch...

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani warplanes and ground forces killed 39 militants as part of an ongoing operation in a volatile tribal region near the Afghan border, the Pakistani military said. The airstrikes were carried out Friday evening in the Datta Khel area of the North Waziristan tribal region, an army statement said Saturday, adding that an underground tunnel system and a large underground cache of weapons and ammunition also were destroyed...

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's suspension of transport connections with the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula is expected to be only a temporary measure, a Ukrainian security official said Saturday. Ukraine blocked rail and bus travel Friday between the mainland and the peninsula, which Russia seized in March...

TOKYO -- Japan's Cabinet approved 3.5 trillion yen ($29 billion) in fresh stimulus Saturday for the ailing economy, pledging to get growth back on track and restore the country's precarious public finances. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is wrapping up his second year in office hard-pressed to salvage a recovery that fizzled into recession after a sales tax increase in April...

Malden man killed in one-car accident MALDEN, Mo. -- A Malden man was killed when his vehicle failed to negotiate a curve Christmas Day. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported at 5:50 p.m. Thursday on Dunklin County Road 222, two miles south of Malden, Darrell J. McDowell, 45, was driving east when his vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway. According to the report, the vehicle failed to negotiate a curve, striking a utility pole...

HAVERHILL, Mass. -- Someone stole a baby Jesus statue from a church's Nativity scene and replaced it with a pig's head. Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini says the desecration has "all the elements of a hate crime." The parish priest saw the statue had been taken from the creche at Sacred Hearts Roman Catholic Church on Christmas morning. Police said the pig's head left in its place appeared to have been recently severed...

DUBLIN -- A brain-dead pregnant woman was taken off life support Friday after a court ruled her 18-week-old fetus was doomed to die -- a case that exposed fear and confusion among doctors over how to apply Ireland's strict ban on abortion in an age of medical innovation...

MOSCOW -- Russia identified NATO as the nation's No. 1 military threat and raised the possibility of a broader use of precision conventional weapons to deter foreign aggression under a new military doctrine Friday signed by President Vladimir Putin...

WASHINGTON -- It was supposed to be a joke. "Are you still president?" comedian Stephen Colbert asked Barack Obama earlier this month. But the question seemed to speak to a weariness with the president and skepticism anything will change in Washington during his final two years in office. Democrats already are checking out Obama's potential successors. Republicans are trying to push aside his agenda in favor of their own...

The latest air-emissions test on Southeast Missouri State University's new fluidized, bubbling-bed boiler show pollutants from the plant are well below allowable amounts; however, the university hasn't yet received official confirmation that the plant passed inspection from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Kelcy F. Sayler, 24, 620 N. Main St., Apt. 4, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and failure to maintain a single lane. n Matthew L. Gutwein, 18, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, being a minor in possession by consumption and failure to maintain a single lane...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Thursday: n At 5:03 a.m., emergency medical service, excluding vehicle accident, on South West End Boulevard. n At 11:55 a.m., medical assist on South Spanish Street...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Driving while intoxicated and endangering the welfare of a child were reported. n Paula McCain, 43, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on a warrant arrest. n Keith L. Curry, 47, of Cpae Girardeau was arrested on a warrant arrest and a parole violation...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Norma Lee Wilkening, 89, of Columbia passed away Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, at Lenoir Woods in Columbia. She was born April 20, 1925, in Cincinnati to Guy and Geska Richter. She and Walter T. Wilkening were married March 17, 1945, in Oak Ridge...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. ­-- Clyde W. Taylor, 91, of Perryville died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, at Independence Care Center of Perry County in Perryville. He was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today and from 6:30 a.m. until service time Monday at Young and Sons Funeral Home...

Jarred Schumpert, 28, and son Lyndon, 2, of Cape Girardeau died in a vehicle accident Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, in Garland, Texas. Arrangements are pending at Miller Family Funeral Home in Perryville, Missouri.

Richard Edwin Schubert, 67, of Jackson passed away Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, at his home. He was born July 14, 1947, in Cape Girardeau, son of Walter and Vivian Schamburg Schubert. He and Audrey Schlimpert were married April 19, 1969, in Altenburg, Missouri...

ANNA, Ill. -- Dianne Reppert, 68, of Anna passed away Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 6, 1946, in Carbondale, Illinois, daughter of Alfonzo and Opal Casper. She and Jerry L. Reppert were married June 16, 1968, in Anna...

GLENALLEN, Mo. -- James Dwane Rainey Sr., 62, of Glenallen died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, in his wife's arms at their home. He was born Sept. 14, 1952, at Advance, son of William Theodore and Bernice Murphy Rainey. Jim and Regina Corbin were married July 21, 1983. She is the daughter of the Rev. Jimmie and Elwanda Corbin...

Mary Ilene Niswonger, 91, of Jackson passed away Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, at Monticello House in Jackson. She was born Feb. 17, 1923, in Kurreville, Missouri, daughter of William "Bill" and Josephine Ates Welker. She and Rusby Dayton Niswonger were married Feb. 15, 1941, in Millersville...

ORAN, Mo. -- Norma J. Lenon, 88, of Jefferson City, Missouri, passed away Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, at Oak Tree Villa Nursing Center. She was born Sept. 29, 1926, in Oran, to James and Cathleen Driskill Baty. Norma was a graduate of Oran High School, and Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in 1947. She was a student nurse under the Cadet Nurses Corps during World War II, and after graduation would have been inducted into the Army if the war had not ended...

Steven J. LaBruyere, 55, of Jackson died Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Donny Ford officiating. Burial will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield, with full military honors by the Missouri Honors Team...

Coletta Fern Koch, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Oct. 7, 1925, in Morley, Missouri, to Amos Cleveland and Maggie Elizabeth Bryant McMullin. She and Joe Koch were married July 1971 in Cape Girardeau. He passed Oct. 26, 1993...

BENTON, Mo. -- John Paul Hente, 63, of Benton died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, at his home. He was born Oct. 2, 1951, in Cape Girardeau to Lester and Alice Bouge Hente. He and Carol Bertagnolli were married July 26, 1975, at Egypt Mills. John was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau and confirmed at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. He graduated from Trinity Lutheran School and Central High School...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Clyde V. Gowen, 37, of Perryville died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, at his home. Service will be private. Miller Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Lois Nation Fodge Feagan, 68, of Sikeston died Friday, Dec, 26, 2014, at Miner Nursing Center in Miner, Missouri. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

Jeanne Brennan, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014, at Ratliff Care Center. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time Friday at Lynwood Baptist Church. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the church, with burial in Cape County Memorial Park...

Aslan is 7 years old. He is neutered and declawed. This guy deserves a loving home. If you have room in your heart and home for Aslan, please come see us or call 573-334-5837. His adoption fee is $11!.

Harvey and Sophie used to be cold in the wintertime. Now they're unstoppable. The shih-tzus' owner, Shayna Arndt, says they used to refuse to go outside this time of year. "When the weather was cold, they'll sit and shiver and just stare at me," she says. But that was before Arndt started dressing them up. Doggie sweaters, scarves and windbreakers have rocketed to unprecedented popularity this year, largely, analysts say, on the accidental success of an April fools' joke...

PERELIYA, Sri Lanka -- A packed train in Sri Lanka that was swept off its tracks by waves as big as elephants. A boat patrolling off Thailand's shore hurled more than a mile inland. Streets in Indonesia turned into roaring rivers that carried people to their deaths...