Stories from Monday, June 15, 2015

It will be another eventful meeting for the Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday night as it moves forward with the selection of a partner for a new sports complex, holds the final vote on the 2015-2016 budget, and discusses Transportation Trust Fund 5...

Downtown Cape Girardeau will play host to a patriotic set of events leading up to a larger fireworks show than in years past for the Fourth of July. Planned for Independence Day on Spanish Street near the steps of the Common Pleas Courthouse is a celebration featuring performances by the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, a United States naturalization ceremony and recognition of the Southeast Missourian's 2015 Spirit of America Award winner...

Residents of Perryville, Missouri, got a scare Sunday morning when a wild bear wandered through town. Perryville police chief Direk Hunt said police first received reports of the 200- to 250-pound black bear on U.S. 61 about 8:30 a.m. The Perry County Sheriff's department also responded to the reports. Sheriff Gary J. Schaaf said the first call reporting a bear on the loose seemed strange, but reports quickly were corroborated by other frightened residents began reporting the same...

A recent graduate of Southeast Missouri State University has created an exhibit that explores the more than 50-year history of Southeast's nursing program. The exhibit, displayed on the third floor of the Rosemary Berkel Crisp Hall of Nursing, features a timeline of the department's history, a biography of its founder, Helen Kinney, and information on how the department serves the region's need for nurses...

A Dunkin' Donuts restaurant will open this fall in Cape Girardeau, said Carl Ritter Jr., a member of an investor group who recently acquired a multicounty franchise territory from the national chain. The group is closing on a North Kingshighway property that will convert an existing building into a Dunkin' Donuts. The investors received approval from the national chain to develop the location and are working to find property in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for a another location, Ritter said...

2015 has been a very interesting and active year when it comes to Family Court Reform. Over twenty states have, or are considering, legislation to fix Family Courts. Missouri was one of these. We, with MO4SharedParenting, went to Jefferson City at least once a week for over three months. ...

Today is Monday, June 15, the 166th day of 2015. There are 199 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 15, 1215, England's King John put his seal to Magna Carta ("the Great Charter") at Runnymede. On this date: In 1775, the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to appoint George Washington head of the Continental Army...

Gene Schuessler had worked in the pest control business for more than 18 years when he decided to branch out on his own and open Advanced Pest Control in 1981. The business at 821 Progress St. in Cape Girardeau is truly a family affair. "Our son, Gary Schuessler, and daughter, Deanna Niederkorn, also work here with us," says Dorothy Schuessler, who is Gene's wife and also works in the business...

As community bank president at The Bank of Missouri, Aaron Panton knows banking encompasses more than loans and checking accounts. It also should include a solid relationship between banker and client. "Your bank should take the time to know you and your industry, and work with you to reach the goals to be successful in that industry," he says...

The motto at Fox Family Dental in Cape Girardeau is to "treat people like family," and that goes for patients as well as employees. "If you treat your staff like family, they'll stay with you," says Dr. Bob Fox, who opened his practice on Broadway in 1975. The office moved to its current location on North Kingshighway in 1986 and completed an expansion in 1996...

Patrick Higgins opened Creative Data Systems, 2917 Independence in Cape Girardeau, in 1991 out of a need for an affordable computer for himself. "I was a Southeast Missouri State University student and wanted a computer for myself, but I couldn't afford to buy one," says Higgins. ...

For Sally Suchman, the decision to open a flower shop was a dream long in the making. "My mother always loved flowers. The shop is named after my mother. She used to decorate for weddings and always had lots of flowers at the house," Suchman says. She grew up loving flowers, too -- like mother, like daughter. ...

When it comes to catering in the Cape Girardeau area, the offerings are plenty and sundry. Be it a business lunch, wedding reception, family holiday feast, corporate conference -- or anything in between -- it's likely there's a caterer to meet the need...

Business licenses issued in Cape Girardeau during May include the following: M&S Enterprises, 902 S. Kingshighway Just Kidding LLC, 101 N. Main St. Brad Berry Insurance Agency, 885 N. Kingshighway The Hair Loft Salon, 245 S. Broadview St. Seth Elliott Keith, 113 Independence...

531 Wash House 531 Wash House, an antique store in Uniontown, Missouri, was opened in 2013 by lifelong friends Kathy Renner and Ruth Rellergert. "We'd been friends for years," Renner says. "Ruthie bought her homeplace back in 2011, plus another house [beside it] that her great-grandfather had lived in. I [had purchased] the brick house across the street back in 2004 that my great-grandfather had lived in."...

Cape Girardeau County Tax liens and lien discharges recorded at the office of Drew Blattner, recorder of deeds, during May are filed by the Missouri Department of Revenue, except as indicated by IRS designation. For more information, contact the recorder's office at 573-243-8123...

Bankruptcies filed through May for the Southeastern Division of the Eastern District of Missouri's U.S. Bankruptcy Court are listed below with their corresponding case numbers. The Southeast Division includes the counties of Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard and Wayne. Court is held in Cape Girardeau...

ESSNER JOINS BENNETT DENTISTRY Dr. Blake Essner joined the team of dentists at Bennett Family Dentistry in Cape Girardeau. Essner previously practiced dentistry in Sikeston, Missouri, according to a news release, and is a graduate of Notre Dame Regional High School and Southeast Missouri State University. He received his dentistry degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2014...

RUSSELL AWARDED FOR SAFETY RECORD STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Bobbie Russell won the 2014 Safety Award from Beelman Truck Co. Russell is a pneumatic tank driver based out of the company's Ste. Genevieve terminal. He has been employed by Beelman for eight years and has been eligible for the Safety Award drawing for seven of those years...

SCOTT CITY RESTAURANT HOLDS GRAND OPENING Wild Hogs Smoke House, a new barbecue restaurant and meat shop, held a grand opening May 10. The restaurant at 116 E. Hickory St. in Scott City is owned by Tony Bure and Paul Schock, who also owns the adjacent Schock's Pub. Wild Hogs specializes in smoked foods, Bure said, including pulled pork, ribs, brisket and wings, with smoked specialty sides and smoked desserts, such as pies...

El Sol Mexican Restaurant Alvaro Munoz started working in a restaurant when he was 18 years old, with the dream of someday opening his own. That dream came true in October 2013 when he opened El Sol, an authentic Mexican restaurant at 1105 Broadway in Cape Girardeau...

Small-business owners searching to connect their business personally and professionally with the community need look no further than the plentiful networking opportunities in Southeast Missouri. Local business networking events have grown in number in recent years as area chambers of commerce look for creative ways to keep members socializing and learning, and businesses look for chances to keep customer lists expanding. Amanda Winschel, director of the Perryville Area Chamber of Commerce, says the business community in her area has upped attendance at networking events during the past year. The chamber, like others in the area, tries to offer something for everyone, she says, including a monthly women's group lunch meeting, meetings for young professionals and a Business After Hours event...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Sandy Del Duca was mourning the death of her father when Lulu, a curly haired goldendoodle, came bounding down the stairs at the Ballard-Durand funeral home. Del Duca thought Lulu was simply the pet of funeral home owner Matthew Fiorillo, whom she was meeting to make arrangements. But the dog also works there -- one of an increasing number of dogs being offered by American funeral homes to comfort mourners...

BERLIN -- The comet lander Philae has awoken from a seven-month hibernation and managed to communicate with Earth for more than a minute, the European Space Agency said Sunday. The probe became the first spacecraft to land on a comet when it touched down on the icy surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November. ...

LONDON -- A week ago, Tim Hunt was a well-known Nobel Prize winner who was promoting science education throughout Europe and the world. Today, he's widely perceived as a sexist who has been stripped of most of his positions because of inappropriate comments about women in science...

Besides roll call votes, the Senate and House also took action on legislation by voice vote. The Senate passed a bill (S. 1568) to extend the authorization for replacing a Veterans Affairs medical center in Denver. It also passed the Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act (H.R. 615), to require Homeland Security to develop interoperable communications capabilities among its component agencies...

Cape Girardeau City Council City hall 401 Independence St. Study session, 5 p.m. today n No action will be taken during the study session. Items for discussion n Planning and Zoning Commission report n TTF 5 information campaign n Appearances regarding items not on the agenda...

Since its inception seven years ago, the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation has generated more than $18 million total contributions, including more than $8 million in cash gifts; the foundation currently has more than $13 million in assets, including $8 million in property that either has been purchased or donated, and $3.7 million in endowed funds...

PATTON, Mo. -- Lt. Col. Cecil B. Williams, 99, of Rolla, Missouri, passed away Thursday, June 11, 2015. He was born Jan. 30, 1916, near Mayfield in Bollinger County, Missouri, son of Cornelius Bennett and Amelia Catherine Green Williams. Cecil attended Green and Seabaugh elementary schools. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- Rosemary Elizabeth Diebold, 83, of Benton died Friday, June 12, 2015, at The Arbors of Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 10, 1932, in Cape Girardeau to Michael and Philomena Schwartz Glaus. She and Stephen William Diebold were married Thursday, March 29, 1951, at St. Lawrence Church in New Hamburg, Missouri...

Harold Stephen Pobst, 94, of Oran, Missouri, passed away Sunday, June 14, 2015, at The Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born December 26, 1920, in Oran, Missouri, to the late Michael and Louisa Menz Pobst. He married Berniece Gluckhertz on September 27, 1941, and she survives...

DALLAS -- The man linked to a violent assault on Dallas police headquarters was accused two years earlier of choking his mother, then fleeing to an East Texas town where schools were locked down from fear he would attack them as "soft targets," according to accounts from police and family members...

AKCAKALE, Turkey -- Syrian Kurdish fighters closed in on the outskirts of a strategic Islamic State-held town on the Turkish border Sunday, Kurdish officials and an activist group said, potentially cutting off a key supply line for the extremists' nearby de facto capital...

TBILISI, Georgia -- Severe flooding in the Georgian capital left at least 12 people dead Sunday and triggered a big-game hunt across the city for lions, tigers, a hippopotamus and other dangerous animals that escaped from Tbilisi's ravaged zoo. Residents were warned to stay indoors as police conducted the hunt, but fear deepened as night fell on the city of 1.1 million with some of the animals on the loose...

JERUSALEM -- An organization of former Israeli soldiers dedicated to shedding light on the dark side of the country's military is coming under fire, roiling a country in the grips of a battle against the burgeoning threat of international isolation and boycotts...

NEW YORK -- Whole Foods says it will name its new chain of smaller stores with lower prices after its "365 Everyday Value" house brand. Co-CEO Walter Robb said the chain will be named "365 by Whole Foods Market," a nod to the brand already sold by the grocery chain...

The recent news that Cape Girardeau County's sales tax revenue is up 7.75 percent is great news. The June general sales tax report, which provides this information, opens the door to a possible reduction in property taxes. This, of course, is even better news for residents...

** ISO sold item; ** Education model; ** Parson; ** Jensen, cops; ** Red light, green light; ** Walker, Harley; ** Mental health; ** Dragoni's clarification

NEW YORK -- The Pope is on Twitter, along with the Dalai Lama, world leaders and, of course, Kim Kardashian. The short-messaging service can bring fleeting fame or instant ignominy and get you fired. It has been credited for sparking revolutions and, like Facebook, transforming the way the world communicates...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Discount contact-lens sellers scored a legal victory in an increasingly bitter pricing war with manufacturers as a federal appeals court cleared the way for a hotly contested law Utah law that could have wide-ranging effects on the $4 billion industry...

MOXEE, Wash. -- These are good times for growers like Ben St. Mary. He stood at his family's farm in Washington state recently and watched as employees built trellises where a new field of hops, the key ingredient in the flavoring of beer, will grow...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A four-day search by law enforcement led to the arrests of two Charleston men wanted in connection with a shooting. Lamarcus Williams, 18, and Jadarius McCain, 19, were arrested Saturday in Cape Girardeau in connection with a shooting Tuesday in Charleston. The men are charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and property damage...

A semi-tractor trailer crash shut down part of Interstate 55 traffic south of Cape Girardeau for hours Sunday evening. Law enforcement officials confirmed the truck, traveling north on I-55 at between Cape Girardeau and Scott City, went off the road into the Diversion Channel at mile marker 92 about 7 p.m...

FERGUSON, Mo. -- A nurse spurred by racial unrest in Ferguson after last summer's police shooting death of Michael Brown is giving prospective nurses from that St. Louis suburb an educational break. Pat Potter coordinates research for nursing and allied health at BJC Health System. She started a scholarship fund in November to assist Ferguson students interested in careers in nursing...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri business owner died Sunday morning in a plane crash after texting his family the aircraft had encountered turbulence, authorities said. Two witnesses reported the Piper PA-32 was coming apart in the air as it went down in a wooded area less than a mile north of the Cuba Municipal Airport in Cuba, Missouri, State Highway Patrol Sgt. Cody Fulkerson said. A wing was found a quarter-mile away from the rest of the plane...

ST. LOUIS -- A new dental clinic in St. Louis will seek to fill a need -- providing care for many people who haven't had access to dental care. The $23 million clinic opens today. It's a partnership between Kirksville, Missouri-based A.T. Still University and Affinia Healthcare...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An Associated Press review found numerous examples of Missouri lawmakers championing legislation that affects the industries in which they work. It's a fairly common practice in the state's part-time Legislature, where many members hold private-sector jobs to supplement their $36,000 annual salary. When asked, lawmakers denied conflicts of interest, sometimes pointing to outside experience as helping to inform legislation...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- During Missouri's legislative session, a landlord worked to change rental policy, farmers pushed agricultural legislation and a grocery association official pushed a bill that would prevent communities from banning environmentally costly plastic bags...

HAWKS POINT, Mo. -- A spring storm churned up a small tornado in eastern Missouri and downed trees in the central part of the state. The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday morning an EF-0 tornado moved through western Lincoln County about 7 p.m. Saturday...

KELSO, Mo. -- Mother Nature tried her best, but she couldn't dampen the enthusiasm surrounding this weekend's Kelso Klassic. Pop-up thunderstorms both Saturday and Sunday sunk their teeth into the schedule of the three-day fastpitch softball tournament, which celebrated its 31st season at the Kelso softball complex. But tournament officials, 14 teams and scores of fans fought back with a vengeance, and the tournament was able to conclude Sunday nearly on schedule...

The finale of the three-game series with the Royals was postponed.

KELSO, Wash. -- High-school graduates in Kelso, Washington, discovered an error when they received their diplomas during Saturday's graduation ceremony. The covers protecting the diplomas carried the state seal of Oregon. Kelso superintendent Glenn Gelbrich says the mistake was an ordering error. The error was discovered after the ceremony was underway. Students will receive new diploma covers. The diplomas are valid...

Cord Dombrowski and Chuck Rounsaville were the overall champions, winning the Horserace event at the 42-team, three-day Gentlemen's Invitational held at Dalhousie Golf Club. Dombrowski and Rounsaville won the Pebble Beach flight, which put them in the Horserace -- a competition for the seven flight winners and a wild-card team -- a three-hole, alternate-shot format...

Dr. Michael Givens of Cape Girardeau now is a certified insurance consultant. Givens recently was certified by the Missouri Division of Professional Registration to perform insurance consulting and peer reviews in Missouri, a news release stated. Givens can provide independent medical exams, review documentation and ensure medical guidelines have been followed, according to the release. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A suspect was in custody pending formal charges of resisting arrest. n A suspect was in custody pending formal charges of possession of a controlled substance -- marijuana...

Open our hearts, O God, to respect for and forbearance toward others. Amen.