Stories from Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Make and model: 1970 volkswagen "rabbit" dune buggy Owner(s): Kris and Angela Witherby Owner's hometown: Perryville Missouri Fiberglass body dune buggy with a 1915cc Volkswagen bus engine. Pans and frame painted by Brune restoration, body painted by Byron Birk and flames painted and airbrushed by Eric Etheridge. Engine built by Kris Witherby...

For the past week, the Mississippi River has hovered around Cape Girardeau's official flood stage of 32 feet, but the National Weather Service is predicting a steady rise over the next few days. The river is expected to crest at 40 feet on Monday. Cape Girardeau assistant public works director Stan Polivick said the city is watching river levels and has opened both pump stations, which are activated when the river hits flood stage to allow stormwater to be pumped out without allowing river water to back up into the system.. ...

The inside of a house in Cape Girardeau will be stripped to the studs this weekend as the Student Veterans Organization at Southeast Missouri State University transforms the home into a place where veterans can stay as they transition from the military to college life...

ST. LOUIS -- Federal law enforcement authorities are investigating whether the St. Louis Cardinals illegally hacked into a computer database of the Houston Astros to obtain information on players, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday in an unusual case involving two former division rivals in Major League Baseball...

With the announcement of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act expected soon, many are beginning to speculate how states could be affected if the court rules against it. At issue in the case of King v. Burwell is whether the federal government can offer tax-credit subsidies to consumers in states that did not set up their own health insurance marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare...

A look at some of the top events on the field and off of it for the Redhawks in the 2014-15 school year.

The Hope Center for therapeutic horsemanship in Perryville, along with visitors from Camp Curiosity of Perryville, pay tribute to the Flag of the United States of America, in honor of the upcoming flag day.

John Guild NSDAR members attending the annual Flag Day observance at DAR State Headquarters in Booneville, Missouri, are shown from left: Beth Biri; Lorilee Short, state corresponding secretary; Pamela Johnson; and Morgan Lake, state regent. The house is known as the last of the main street mansions...

A man is in custody after trying to flee police at a Cape Girardeau park Tuesday. Cape Girardeau Police Sgt. Adam Glueck said at least two reports came in about 4:30 p.m. of a naked man at Arena Park. Police arrived to find a man, naked except for his shoes, near the park's train...

Three new programs at Southeast Hospital College of Nursing & Health Sciences will give additional career options to students interested in healthcare. All three will be offered beginning in August. The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has approved the addition of:...

Today is Wednesday, June 17, the 168th day of 2015. There are 197 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 17, 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Helen Bradley isn't one of those women who fantasized about her wedding as a girl, so when the time came to tie the knot on the 10th tee of a golf course, she wanted to be relaxed, comfortable and economical. A short gown was just right for her September nuptials, said the 27-year-old bank worker in Madison, Wisconsin...

Warm weather is here, and it's time to give your look as much sizzle as the outdoor temperature, because looking good is always in style. Celebrity fashion stylist Natalie Saidi offers some tips to get your skin, wardrobe and makeup ready for warm weather:...

The need for higher education is growing within Missouri, as an increasing percentage of jobs here require a college degree. The obstacles that stand in the way of making this a reality for many must, therefore, be addressed. Educators in Southeast Missouri have accepted this challenge and joined in to find solutions that will benefit future employers and meet the needs of those soon to enter the workforce...

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is a bright leader and astute politician. And he should know better. Just a week or so after he vetoed a right-to-work bill in Missouri, it is reported that Nixon accepted a $50,000 campaign donation check from the United Auto Workers...

WASHINGTON -- The agency that allowed hackers linked to China to steal private information about nearly every federal employee -- and detailed personal histories of military and intelligence workers with security clearances --failed for years to take basic steps to secure its computer networks, officials acknowledged to Congress on Tuesday...

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- The psychiatrist who treated James Holmes before he opened fire on the audience inside a Colorado movie theater said Tuesday he had complained of homicidal thoughts but never revealed any specific targets, plans or coherent reasons for carrying them out...

A blazing sun and mostly clear skies combine to create a new record high temperature at Cape Girardeau; the old record of 97 degrees, set in 1970, is tied at 3 p.m.; an hour later, the mercury creeps up to 98 degrees, making Cape Girardeau the hottest spot in Missouri...

WASHINGTON -- After talks with President Barack Obama, top Republican leaders in Congress put together a quick rescue plan Tuesday for highly controversial, White House-backed trade legislation that derailed in the House last week. Officials said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were likely to split the stalled bill into two parts in hopes of sending them to the president separately, with Republicans providing most of the needed votes for one part and Democrats for the other.. ...

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. -- The grandson of Oscar Hammerstein has lost his bid to create a museum and educational theater honoring the Broadway lyricist. Doylestown Township's zoning board voted Monday night to deny variances Will Hammerstein needed to build the project at his grandfather's former Pennsylvania farm...

BERKELEY, Calif. -- A 21st-birthday party thrown by a group of visiting Irish college students turned tragic early Tuesday when the fifth-floor balcony they were crammed onto collapsed with a crack, spilling them about 50 feet onto the pavement. Six people were killed and seven seriously injured...

CAIRO -- A U.S. airstrike has killed Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, who commanded its powerful Yemeni affiliate, dealing the global network its biggest blow since the killing of Osama bin Laden and eliminating a charismatic leader at a time when it is vying with the Islamic State group for the mantle of global jihad...

NEW YORK -- The Donald is running for president. Real-estate mogul and reality-television star Donald Trump said Tuesday he will seek the Republican nomination for president. He's the 12th high-profile Republican to enter the 2016 race, with more to come in the weeks ahead...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A former Poplar Bluff street department superintendent has been ordered to stand trial in connection with the shooting of a woman during what apparently began as a child-custody dispute at his home. Accompanied by his attorney, Danny Moore, Jeremy W. Grable appeared before Associate Circuit Judge Thomas Swindle for a preliminary hearing in his case...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- The murder case against Travis Turner moved a step closer to trial Tuesday. Turner was unable to appear in court, but his attorney, David Lloyd, filed an oral motion to allow Turner to appear at trial wearing his own clothes, which is a standard request. The state voiced no objections...

DEXTER, Mo. -- A father and son's vacation ended tragically this week for a well-known Dexter family. The family of Richard Williams, 39, learned early Tuesday he died while aboard a cruise ship Monday. Williams had taken his kindergarten-age son, Tayton, on a Disney cruise to the Cayman Islands. Williams began to feel ill on the boat and asked the ship's day-care center to take care of his son while he went to his cabin to rest...

ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri woman accused with her boyfriend of killing her mother may have faked the need for a wheelchair and pretended to be a Hurricane Katrina victim so she and her mom could collect donations, a sheriff said Tuesday. The daughter, Gypsy Blancharde, had been the focus of a search in the Missouri Ozarks since her mother, Clauddinnea "Dee Dee" Blancharde, was found dead Sunday in their Springfield home. ...

Teresa Lynn Pell, 50, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, June 14, 2015, at her home. She was born May 16, 1965, in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Jim and Joan Davis Pell. Teresa was a 1983 graduate of Scott City High School. She formerly was a CNA at Heartland Care and Rehab, and currently was a laundry supervisor at Southeast Hospital...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Christopher Lee Nelson, 34, of Cairo died Saturday, June 13, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the Massie Funeral Home in Mounds, Illinois. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with Elder Terry Holder officiating. Interment will be in Green Lawn Memorial Garden in Villa Ridge, Illinois...

Edgar Louis Moll, 90, of Jackson passed away Tuesday, June 16, 2015, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 21, 1925, in Burfordville, son of Herman and Edna Siebert Moll. He and Helen S. Peetz were married June 6, 1948, at Tilsit. She passed away Dec. 17, 2010...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Harley Lee Eddleman Jr., 66, of Marble Hill passed away Monday, June 15, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau from pulmonary fibrosis. He was born April 20, 1949, in Cape Girardeau, son of Harley Lee Sr. and Gladys O. Noland Eddleman. He and Jeanie Runnels were married Aug. 4, 1979...

James E. Davidson, 81, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Scott City, died Monday, June 15, 2015, at his home. He was born Feb. 24, 1934, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Ralph C. and Raye Marie Ryan Davidson Sr. He and Joan Pribble were married in 1958. He later married Glenda Steele in 1983. She preceded him in death in 2007...

ROCKVIEW, Mo. -- Leon J. "Sonny" Bucher Jr., 79, of Rockview passed away Tuesday, June 16, 2015, at the family home in Rockview. He was born April 28, 1936, in New Hamburg, Missouri, to Leon Joseph and Clara Turner Bucher Sr. He married Margie G. Green on Oct. 17, 1957...

James W. "Jim" Brown, 57, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, June 16, 2015, at his home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mark Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Michael Malone officiating. Burial will be in Lorimier Cemetery...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Tyler S. Stone, 23, 502 N. Oak Hill Road, was arrested on suspicion of domestic assault and resisting arrest. n Jody M. Blevins, 43, 502 N. Oak Hill Road, of Jackson was arrested on suspicion of hindering prosecution...

* Medical assist calls were made to: Sheridan Drive at 7:09 a.m.; South Mount Auburn Road at 7:47 a.m.; Interstate 55 at 8:54 a.m.; Brookwood Drive at 3:29 p.m.; Independence Street at 4:05 p.m.; Highway 74 at 5:18 p.m.; Themis Street at 5:20 p.m.; Good Hope Street at 5:27 p.m.; North Frederick Street at 5:34 p.m.; Cape Meadows Circle at 7:38 p.m.; North Sprigg Street at 8:47 p.m.; and Linden Street at 10:03 p.m...

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Four current or former employees of a U.S. Postal Service distribution center in suburban St. Louis are among five people accused in a federal indictment of stealing mail that contained marijuana, electronics and other items. The U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis announced the indictment Tuesday. All five suspects are in their early 20s and face multiple charges, including conspiracy and theft or receipt of stolen mail...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Zoo has won the fight for now in blocking a gun-rights activist from carrying a weapon on the site's grounds. A judge has granted a temporary restraining order against Ohio resident Jeffry Smith until a court can take up the dispute next week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Hopeful Missouri teachers will have more time to answer fewer questions on some certification exams after complaints that not enough candidates were passing, but the State Board of Education stopped short Tuesday of lowering the scores needed to pass...

An Arkansas man was injured in an accident early Tuesday in Cape Girardeau County. Sidney Sparks, 30, of Helena, Arkansas, was driving a 1998 Mercury Marquis northbound on Interstate 55, just north of Route KK, about 4 a.m. when he was forced off the road by an unidentified vehicle, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol online crash report...

Logan Hunt carries a form after helping pour a concrete pad for new bleachers at Central Junior High School on Tuesday in Cape Girardeau. The renovations at the track facility are being completed with labor help from Teen Challenge Mid-America and should be finished by the start of school this fall. (Glenn Landberg)...

The Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency is working on revising its flood hazard determinations for a portion of Scott City. The project is being overseen by landowner Monty Keesee of Scott City and the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority. Dan Overbey, executive director for the SEMO Port, said the port and Keesee were trying to maintain some land west of County Road 305 and east of Route N and Main Street in Scott City...

The win came shortly after news broke of a hacking scandal involving the Cardinals and Astros.

Matt Cline was on three state championship teams for the Braves.

WASHINGTON -- An Army veteran with mental-health issues who got over the White House fence and inside the executive mansion was sentenced Tuesday to 17 months in prison, and a judge said it means he's likely to be released before Christmas. Omar Gonzalez's arrest in September was an embarrassment to the Secret Service because officers weren't able to stop him until he was inside the East Room of the home. ...

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- An Arizona Coyotes fan took out her frustration on the mayor behind the decision to send the hockey team packing. Ronda Pearson used a stun gun Saturday on Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers as part of a charity pledge. Weiers volunteered to be stunned with a Taser if a $10,000 donation was made to a charity that supports first responders. Weiers and the Glendale City Council voted to end an arena lease agreement with the Coyotes. A judge on Friday temporarily halted its termination...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Angela R. Brune, 53, of Jackson was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. n Angelica H. Vickers, 29, of Marion, Illinois, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated...

To those whose love endures year after year, send your blessings, O God. Amen.

When most people think of Southern style, they think of culture, refinement and class. People dress up for church on Sundays, wear button-up shirts and jackets to dinner and sport freshly-pressed polos to the country club. Southern Style, a new specialty shop at 823 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, mixes a refined Southern look with the carefree resort wear that is popular this time of year. ...