Stories from Wednesday, May 13, 2015

When Rylyn Small began his freshman year of high school, he hid in the back of the classroom to avoid speaking to others. But his agriculture teacher helped Small break out of his comfort zone and discover a passion for agriculture. Now, a sophomore at Southeast Missouri State University, Small is among 12 future agriculture teachers who will spend the next year promoting agricultural education to thousands of students as a National Teach Ag Ambassador...

The Cape Girardeau City Council met Tuesday morning to continue discussions from its April 10 retreat, focusing on methods to improve council and staff communication. The council chose to adjourn the April retreat after about eight hours and continue the final agenda items during a later special study session...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Senate Republicans used a rare procedural motion Tuesday to shut down debate and pass a "right-to-work" measure -- a move Democrats say will bring business to a halt as this week's deadline to pass bills nears. The Senate voted 21-13 to approve the bill that prohibits workplace contracts in which union fees are collected from nonmembers. Supporters say it would attract more businesses to Missouri and improve the state's economy...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's Republican-controlled House voted Tuesday to override the Democratic governor's veto of legislation that would reduce the weeks of available jobless benefits to one of the shortest periods in the nation. The 109-53 vote met the minimum needed to override vetoes; a similar two-thirds majority vote is needed in the Senate for the measure to receive final approval...

The Rams responded to a rocky top of the third inning by scoring nine unanswered runs and held on to defeat Malden 11-6 in a Class 1 sectional Tuesday at Malden High School.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- An Amtrak train headed to New York City derailed and tipped over in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, mangling the front of it, tearing the cars apart and killing at least five people. Scores of passengers were injured, and some climbed out of windows to get away...

Cape Central Middle School fifth grade Students of the Month for May, from left: (front row) Lauren LaMar, Constance Newsom, Manuel Perez and McKenzie Daniels; (second row) Akelia Pullen, Lindsey Cleek, Brejhene Dawkins and Mason Thorne; (third row) Kiana Newkirk and Katy Moody; (fourth row) Ethan McMillan, Chereke Lee-Vaughn, Tenaya Hulbert and Lynnica Harley. SoutheastHEALTH recognizes these students in its role as Central Middle School's Partner in Education...

Cape Central Middle School sixth grade Students of the Month for May, from left: (front row) Abbie Wilmarth, Ricki Vaughan and Rokerra Lewis; (second row) Mackenzy Glueck and Emma Huff; (third row) Connor Casey, Taliya Watson, Rachel Keele and Eli Newman; (fourth row) Mason Diamond, Hunter Keefer and Bella LeGrand. SoutheastHEALTH recognizes these students in its role as Central Middle School's Partner in Education...

Guardian Angel School in Oran, MO conducted their Spring Concert on May 12, 2015. "Disney Magic" was in the air and was performed under the direction of Ms. Carrie Landewee. We had soloists, a "Frozen" skit, chimes, recorders, and many group performances. ...

Disney Princesses at Guardian Angel School Spring Concert

Students play recorders for "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" at the spring concert at Guardian Angel School, Oran, MO.

Students use chimes to play the music for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" for the spring concert at Guardian Angel School, in Oran, MO.

Boys in grades kindergarten to 4th grade sing "In Summer" at the spring concert at Guardian Angel School, Oran, MO.

Girls in kindergarten to 6th grade perform "Let It Go" for the Disney Magic Spring Concert at Guardian Angel School, Oran, MO.

The boys in grades 7 & 8 performed a "Frozen" skit for the Disney Magic Spring Concert at Guardian Angel School, Oran, MO.

On Tuesday,May 19th,at 6:30 pm, the Cape County Tea Party will hold its open monthly meeting at the Cape Public Library. This meeting will discuss "the most important 'governing event' in our lifetime." If you would like to know more about the Convention of States Project going on in Missouri, this meeting will separate the facts from the fiction. Keith Carmichael, the Missouri director for the Convention of States Project, will be our speaker this month...

Mike Bowers, Salvation Army youth director, recognizes the Meadow Heights basketball team and its coach, Mark Verticchio, with the Rising Star Award during the annual dinner, A Night with the Stars, on Tuesday in Cape Girardeau. The event celebrated volunteers who have helped the organization serve their community. (Fred Lynch)...

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans are moving to block government rules that would clarify which streams, tributaries and wetlands should be protected from development and pollution under the Clean Water Act. The rules proposed last year by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. ...

Today is Wednesday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2015. There are 232 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 13, 1940, in his first speech as British prime minister, Winston Churchill told Parliament, "I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."...

At the writing of this week's column, the Missouri Legislature is poised to have a potential firestorm following a rare budget agreement that normally grinds along to the very closing moments of the legislative session. Republicans, who hold a veto-proof majority in the House and Senate, approved and sent to the governor a completed budget much earlier than has been tradition...

An empty storefront transformed into a business incubator means progress for downtown Cape. It also means valuable business experience for Southeast Missouri State University students. Through the assistance of John Deere executive and alumnus Charles Stamp Jr., government grants and with university operational support, Catapult Creative House is now open to serve the community in a new and creative way. The project, which cost $1.95 million, "will allow students from various departments and disciplines to work together in a quest to become entrepreneurs," as the Southeast Missourian recently reported. Catapult had a successful "soft opening" May 1, with approximately 300 people touring the facility, as students were on hand to demonstrate the workings of the business incubator operation. "Many who toured were surprised and inspired by the space," said Leah Powers, operations manager. That was just the beginning. Though it is currently open with limited hours, Catapult will not be fully underway until students complete this semester's classes. Summer hours will begin May 19, and a fall grand opening is in the planning stage. The facility may be good practice for future entrepreneurs, but it certainly is more than a mock business endeavor. Catapult is an authentic model for success. Among other things, it includes a beverage bar that Hospitality Management students run, an art gallery and a retail store on one side. On the other side is a letterpress print shop, which operates with the help of rustmedia and Concord Printing. There is also a 3D printer with a computer workstation and a modular classroom. Among the various upstairs features are a conference room, meeting rooms, a photography studio, computer and sewing stations and spaces for interior and art design. Students, visiting artists and community members may rent available space. Catapult is a testament to the good that comes from public and private entities coming together to support students and entrepreneurship, and considering that 70 percent of U.S. jobs are created by small businesses, isn't this the kind of endeavor we should encourage? Stop in at 612 Broadway and check things out between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday this week, or visit when things are in full swing Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m., with a possibility of extended hours to accommodate an early-morning beverage bar.

RICHMOND, Va. -- A University of Virginia associate dean sued Rolling Stone magazine Tuesday for more than $7.5 million, saying a debunked and retracted account of an alleged gang rape on campus cast her as the "chief villain." Nicole Eramo, the top administrator dealing with sexual assaults at the Charlottesville school, said the lengthy and graphic magazine piece about a student rape victim identified only as "Jackie" portrayed her as more concerned about protecting the university's reputation than helping victims of sexual assault.. ...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Food Network television star Sandra Lee announced Tuesday she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and soon will undergo a double mastectomy. The popular lifestyle personality and live-in girlfriend of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo divulged the news on ABC's "Good Morning America."...

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- A new earthquake killed dozens of people Tuesday and spread more fear and misery in Nepal, which still is struggling to recover from a devastating quake nearly three weeks ago that left more than 8,000 dead. A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter carrying six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers was reported missing while delivering disaster aid in northeastern Nepal, U.S. officials said, although there have been no indications the aircraft crashed...

WASHINGTON -- Kirk Odom was convicted of a 1981 rape and robbery after a woman identified him as her attacker, and an FBI specialist testified hair on her nightgown was consistent with hair on Odom's head. But DNA testing 30 years later affirmed what Odom had maintained: The hair wasn't his; neither was the semen left on a pillowcase and robe. A felony conviction that imprisoned him for decades was overturned in 2012 by a judge who declared it a "grave miscarriage of justice."...

WASHINGTON -- A judge deciding whether President Ronald Reagan's would-be assassin can live full-time outside a mental hospital said Tuesday it's a "very hard decision," but one he knew he would have to make eventually when he "opened the door a crack" for John Hinckley Jr. a dozen years ago...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Police recovered a handgun from George Zimmerman and took two guns from a man accused of shooting at Zimmerman while both were driving, authorities said Tuesday. Police also released a 911 call in which the caller says the other man, Matthew Apperson, told him he was forced to fire his gun Monday at the former neighborhood watch leader on a busy street in the Orlando suburb of Lake Mary...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats dealt President Barack Obama a stinging setback on trade Tuesday, blocking efforts to begin a full-blown debate on a top priority of his second term. The president's supporters said they will try again, and Obama summoned key Democrats to the White House to discuss possible strategies. One possibility was to drop a contentious issue dealing with countries that manipulate their currency, but it was unclear whether that would resolve the impasse...

NEW YORK -- Drivers who have seen a steady rise in the price of gasoline can relax: They will almost certainly be paying far less for gas this summer than they have in at least six years. "It's a cheap, cheap, cheap year," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service...

The congregation of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has completed the purchase of property from David and Jerrie Gerlach in the Randol Farms Subdivision, west of Woodland Hills Estates on Abbey Street; the church is looking forward to the construction of a new building...

You can't tell me that a professional like Tom Brady, who has handled a football thousands of times over his career, could not tell the difference in the inflation pressure between 13 and 11 p.s.i. That's 15 percent. He could do it with his eyes closed. He's a cheater, no doubt...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Ethan A. Pack, 29, of Scott City was arrested on a Cape Girardeau warrant. n Sandra D. Coomer, 44, of Jackson was issued a summons for failure to register a motor vehicle...

* Medical assist calls to: Broadway at 12:59 p.m. and South Benton Street at 2:18 p.m. n At 1:11 a.m., call to South Benton Street. n At 1:53 a.m., citizen assist on Brookwood Drive. n At 7:39 a.m., swift water rescue on County Road 200. n At 9:38 a.m., unintentional transmission of alarm on William Street...

Mary Ann Poorman Young, 71, of Scott City was called to be with her Heavenly Father on Monday, May 4, 2015. She was born Nov. 8, 1943, in Chaffee, Missouri, to Elmer and Mima Lee Poorman. Mary retired from teaching at Echo State School in Cape Girardeau in 2014. She was a lay speaker and pianist with the Methodist church 25 years. Her smile, laughter, energy and faith touched many and welcomed every person she met...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Mary F. Snider, 72, of Chaffee passed away Monday, May 11, 2015, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 14, 1943, to the late Buell K. and Eller Mae Beebe Blackshear. She married Abe Snider on May 22, 1995. Mary was a retired security guard with Wolsey Investigation...

MADISON, Wis. -- A white Wisconsin police officer won't be charged for the fatal shooting of an unarmed, 19-year-old biracial man, a prosecutor announced Tuesday, prompting peaceful demonstrations but none of the immediate violence that hit other U.S. cities...

Helen L. Allen, 93, of Rockford, Illinois, passed away Wednesday, May 6, 2015. She was born Aug. 4, 1921, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Joseph Jackson and Zora Anderson Askew. She married Curtis A. Allen on April 4, 1943, in Greenville, Missouri. Helen received a teachers certificate from Southeast Missouri State University and taught several years in the area. ...

NEW ORLEANS -- Deep-water drilling is set to resume near the site of the catastrophic BP PLC well blowout that killed 11 workers and caused the nation's largest offshore oil spill five years ago off the coast of Louisiana. A Louisiana-based oil company, LLOG Exploration Offshore LLC, plans to drill into the Macondo reservoir, according to federal records reviewed by The Associated Press...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- A 23-year-old man accused of exposing other gay men to HIV while attending college in suburban St. Louis tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS in Indiana two years before being diagnosed in Missouri, prosecutors said Tuesday...

ST. LOUIS -- Investigators are closing their probe into former Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich's suicide after failing to find an explanation for why the Republican gubernatorial hopeful took his life, a suburban St. Louis detective said Tuesday. Schweich's work computers in St. ...

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- A shooting Monday at 107 W. Summit St. in Doniphan is being investigated by Doniphan Police. "I can confirm there was a shooting, the victim is in the hospital and the suspect is in custody," said Sgt. Joe Joiner. Ripley County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Miller, who was reviewing the police report Tuesday morning, identified the victim as Jerry Lee Wilson, 31, of Doniphan...

PACIFIC, Mo. -- Hundreds of stray and feral cats are roaming the streets of the eastern Missouri town of Pacific, and city leaders are trying to figure out how to address the problem. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported residents are split over a proposal to trap and neuter the cats and then return those that aren't sick to the neighborhoods where they are found. That idea would replace the current ordinance, which allows the city to hold cats for five days and then kill them...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An ethics complaint has been filed against a Missouri House member who says he has helped other lawmakers hide lobbyist gifts from required public reporting. Liberal advocacy group Progress Missouri's executive director Sean Nicholson said Tuesday he filed a complaint against Republican Rep. Craig Redmon of Canton...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Stephanie J. Brown, 36, 121 East Rodney Drive, was arrested on two Cape Girardeau warrants for failure to appear for failure to yield right of way and no insurance; and on a Cape Girardeau County warrant for failure to appear for fraud/false impersonation...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A Missouri jury has awarded a woman $77 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging Wells Fargo Bank mismanaged her family trusts, costing her tens of millions of dollars. The St. Louis County jury, after a trial of more than two weeks, sided late Monday with 78-year-old Barbara Burton Morriss of the St. Louis suburb of Olivette, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday...

A Sparta, Illinois, man is facing forgery and theft charges in Missouri. John C. Jeffers, 37, is accused of one count of stealing more than $25,000 and 16 counts of forgery between August 2012 and April 2014. In September, Brad Kueker of Kueker's Nursery near Perryville, Missouri, filed a police report after he discovered several forged checks written from the business' account, according to a probable-cause statement by Perryville police detective Ryan Worthington...

CLEVELAND -- The St. Louis Cardinals took clutch hitting to an extreme in Tuesday night's 8-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. St. Louis scored all its runs as the result of two-out hits, including a three-run homer in the eighth by Matt Holliday that broke the game open...

Central junior Kobe Franklin shot a 4-over-par 75 to tie for third place at the Class 3 Sectional 1 meet Tuesday at Fox Haven Country Club in Sikeston, Missouri, and qualified for the state tournament. Franklin will be joined by Notre Dame sophomore Jonathan Bell (78) and senior Trent Schumer (83), who also qualified for the Class 3 state meet Monday and Tuesday at Silo Ridge Golf Club in Bolivar, Missouri...

U.S. 61 in Cape Girardeau County will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews make signal repairs. The work will take place on the outside lane signals at the northbound Interstate 55 exit 99 ramp. The work will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to a MoDOT news release...

DEXTER, Mo. -- More details were released concerning a Saturday accident that killed 36-year-old Terry Belcher. Belcher had just crossed the eastbound lane of U.S. 60 on foot when a 2003 Dodge Dakota struck him near the edge of the road, according to information from Dexter Police Detective Cory Mills...

SAN DIEGO -- A surprising stowaway startled a man out on his boat in San Diego: A sea lion pup who decided to crash in a bunk, waking the owner with his snoring. Michael Duffy, 48, said he was on his 41-foot Kettenburg boat "Elixir" at the San Diego Yacht Club when he awoke at 2:30 a.m. ...

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

Thank you, O Lord God, that you are a shield around us. Amen.