Stories from Friday, June 19, 2015

Inclement weather has caused tonight's Tunes at Twilight performance to be moved indoors. Nashville-based soul singer/songwriter Kira Small will perform at Rose Theater tonight instead of the Common Pleas Courthouse. The show will still begin at 7 p.m...

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A white man who joined a prayer meeting inside a historic black church and then fatally shot nine people was captured without resistance Thursday after an all-night manhunt, Charleston's police chief said. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, spent nearly an hour inside the church Wednesday night before killing six women and three men, including the pastor, chief Greg Mullen said. A citizen spotted his car in Shelby, North Carolina, nearly four hours away...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- An East Prairie man was killed in an ATV accident that occurred about noon Thursday just south of East Prairie. Billy R. Hatton, 48, was traveling south on County Road 527 when his ATV ran off the right side of the road and struck a tree, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The vehicle overturned, and Hatton was ejected...

The Missouri Mental Health Commission on Thursday announced the replacement for retiring Department of Mental Health director Keith Schafer. Mark Stringer, a longtime department employee, was selected for the position and will assume the role July 1...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri state workers donning masks and blue gloves with the care of surgeons cut open a 100-year-old time capsule from the Capitol on Thursday, unearthing relics such as a Bible, photos of the Capitol's groundbreaking ceremony and yellowed newspapers...

Three men are facing charges in connection with theft of irrigation wire in Scott County. Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd has charged Marvin L. Burton Jr., 44, of Scott City, Marcus A. Bowers, 26, of Jonesboro, Illinois, and Joseph M. Reddick, 52, of Emporia, Kansas, with felony theft and property damage, according to a news release from the Scott County Sheriff's Office. Bond for each has been set at $5,000 cash only...

Pristine and clear used to be how some residents living near the Little Black River described one of the "best kept" secrets for fishing. Now, they call it a dump and blame those attending the recent "Trucks Gone Wild" event at Brick's Off Road Park...

Today is the first day to enroll children in the Scott City Interactive Parks Program's third annual Thursdays Fundays summer program. For three consecutive Thursdays beginning July 16, SCIPP will provide activities from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. SCIPP is a community not-for-profit organization whose goal is to bring the community, organizations and resources together...

A few local communities were included in the 2015 Niche Best Towns to Raise a Family in Missouri. Cape Girardeau narrowly managed to land in the top 50. Niche ranks towns based on school ratings, crime rates, age demographics and access to affordable housing and child care. A high ranking indicates a town is attractive to families because of good schools and a safe community. Suburbs and cities with more than 100,000 residents were excluded from the list...

Southeast Missouri State University last week announced its lineup for the visual arts 2015-2016 season at the River Campus. The gallery will showcase six exhibits during the 2015-2016 season, along with eight bachelor of fine arts graduating seniors exhibitions. ...

Organizers of Cape Girardeau's July 4 festivities will decide next week whether a large fireworks display over the Mississippi River and other events will need to move because of river flooding. Julia Thompson, the city of Cape Girardeau's parks and recreation director, said if water levels do not look likely to recede by July 4, the evening's fireworks display, a U.S. ...

Jackson is home to a new Missouri Lottery winner. Benny Myers, 65, went straight to St. Louis to claim his prize after learning he won $398,000 playing Show Me Cash, a daily draw game, according to a news release from the Missouri Lottery. While claiming the jackpot June 12, Myers said he had checked the numbers from the night before while on his lunch break, the release said...

Heavy rain and flooding across the state have prompted Gov. Jay Nixon to declare a state of emergency in Missouri. "As significant flooding continues to impact large portions of the state, I have directed state emergency management personnel and the Missouri State Highway Patrol to take action to assist local communities and protect the public," Nixon said in a news release. ...

Ally Ochs practices inversion moves while spotted by Sierra Greaser during an aerial arts camp Thursday at the Source-Yoga 'n' More in Cape Girardeau. The fitness activity promotes strength, flexibility and stamina in a fun atmosphere.

SIKESTON -- The fyi Network is considering a new show that will fit with its mix of lifestyle and reality programming. This one, however, will have a familiar look for Southeast Missouri residents. At 8 a.m. Saturday, "Small Town, Big Style," will debut on the network, featuring Sikeston residents Sarah and Ty Ferrell and Ty Ferrells' mother, Frannie. The show combines the talents of the three Ferrells as they renovate a house in the 30-minute pilot...

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation that will provide $10 million in funding at Southeast Missouri State University to renovate the Grauel Building, Brandt Hall of Music and Rosemary Berkel Crisp Hall of Nursing, the university announced Thursday...

Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland recently recognized area volunteers for their outstanding service in Girl Scouting. The Volunteer of Excellence Pin was presented to Jennifer Landewee of Cape Girardeau. The Volunteer of Excellence Pin recognizes volunteers for outstanding service in direct partnership with girls or who have contributed outstanding service in support of our council's mission delivery to girl and adult members...

Chance Ziegler, left, Lewis City Counselor Missouri Boys State and Commander Dennis Woeltje, right, The American Legion Department of Missouri, pause from their duties at the 76th session of The American Legion Missouri Boys State. Ziegler, a Notre Dame High School graduate and Southeast Missouri State University sophomore, was elected Lt. ...

Justin Siemers and Andy Matthews show off the catfish they caught Thursday on the Mississippi River. The Southeast Missourian took a photo of Siemers and Matthews backing their boat in across the parking lot of Red Star Access Thursday before the two went out to set some lines in the Mississippi River...

Today is Friday, June 19, the 170th day of 2015. There are 195 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 19, 1865, Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free, an event celebrated to this day as "Juneteenth."...

In our American culture, little else is as patriotic as the Fourth of July. It's a date that celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and marks our birth as a nation separate from Great Britain. And although hundreds of years have passed since those auspicious early days of our Republic, we are reminded pointedly of that remarkable journey on this always-remarkable day...

Anyone who has been paying any attention at all knows we are concluding a most unusual spring. It has been, for the most part, cool and wet. This means conditions have been ideal for flowers, shrubs and trees in our area. This was certainly evident last Saturday during the tour of six interesting gardens sponsored by the garden clubs of Cape Girardeau...

ESKI MOSUL, Iraq -- It was a heart-racing moment. The cigarette smuggler was stuck in line at a checkpoint as, up ahead, Islamic State militants were searching cars. He was running a big risk: The militants have banned smoking, and lighting up is punishable with a fine or broken finger. Selling cigarettes can be a death sentence...

CHICAGO -- A lawyer for former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Thursday called leaks regarding the federal hush-money case against the Illinois Republican "unconscionable" and said he may ask the court to investigate. Thomas Green, Hastert's Washington, D.C.-based defense attorney, said during a status hearing in Chicago he's concerned information that's been disclosed to the media may inhibit Hastert's right to a fair trial...

TAMPA, Fla. -- When a 6-year-old boy left behind his favorite stuffed animal at Tampa International Airport, officials took the toy on an adventure. Owen Lake lost his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, earlier this month on his way to Houston. His mother, Amanda Lake, says she called the lost-and-found office but couldn't retrieve the toy before the family left...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Comcast Cable Communications must identify an Internet-service subscriber who posted an anonymous message suggesting a political candidate molests children, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday, affirming a lower court opinion...

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Texas death-row inmate Gregory Russeau was executed Thursday evening for the slaying of a 75-year-old East Texas auto repair shop owner 14 years ago during a crack cocaine binge. Russeau, 45, from Tyler, Texas, became the nation's 17th convicted killer to receive a lethal injection this year and the ninth in Texas...

WASHINGTON -- Ending years of wait, the government agreed Thursday to provide disability benefits to as many as 2,100 Air Force reservists and active-duty forces exposed to Agent Orange residue on airplanes used in the Vietnam War. The new federal rule, approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget, takes effect today. It adds to an Agent Orange-related caseload that already makes up one out of six disability checks issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs...

Only in Southeast Missouri could people kill an albino deer or a little black bear and justify it, while displaying their National Rifle Association sticker on their car. If it's true that St. Louis Cardinal personnel hacked into the Houston Astros database, then nothing, and I do mean nothing, is sacred anymore...

More rainfall over the upper Mississippi and Missouri river watersheds has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a new flood crest for the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau; the river is expected to crest Monday at 35 feet, three feet above flood stage...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: n Medical assist calls were made to: Good Hope Street at 6:02 a.m.; Brookwood Drive at 9:27 a.m.; Linden Street at 10:07 a.m.; Merriwether Street at 12:25 p.m.; South Broadview Street at 1:43 p.m.; Whitener Street at 1:50 p.m.; South Spring Avenue at 2:33 p.m.; North Broadview Street at 3:25 p.m.; and North Street at 6:32 p.m...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. n Caleb W. Lee, 25, of Marble Hill, Missouri, was arrested on three Cape Girardeau warrants for failure to appear. n Lola A. Cox, 56, of Whitewater was arrested on a Fredericktown, Missouri, warrant for failure to appear for bad checks...

Linda L. Wyatt, 54, of Cape Girardeau, died Wednesday, June 17, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center. A graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

Terry Lee Sides, 60 of White, Georgia, formerly of Cape Girardeau, passed away Monday, June 15, 2015, in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 30, 1954, in Cape Girardeau to Wilbert E. and Gloria Benson Sides. Terry and Debbie Smith were married July 21, 1977...

ATHENS, Ga. -- Ted Proffer, 80, of Athens died Wednesday, June 17, 2015. He was born in Chaffee, Missouri, son of the late Clifford and Leola Marie Summers Proffer. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jacqueline Proffer, in 1994. Ted served in the United States Navy from 1951 through 1974, retiring as Lt. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Martha Elias, 88, of Cairo died at 3:33 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, 2015, at Heritage Manor in Mayfield, Kentucky. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Mighty Rivers Regional Worship Center in Cairo. Funeral services will be at noon Saturday at the church, with the Rev. Larry Potts officiating. Burial will be at Green Lawn Memorial Gardens in Villa Ridge, Illinois...

Along the scaly spine of the Tyrannosaurus Rex runs the evolution of Hollywood blockbustering. Twenty-two years ago, Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" set the standard for the kind of movie the industry has, ever since, bred like test-tube dinos. Their genes are modified for the requisite computer-generated effects, merchandising tie-ins and theme park-style attractions...

The second annual River Campus Summer Arts Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, 518 S. Fountain St. There is something for all ages during the free event -- a celebration of the arts -- including creating and viewing works of art, dancing and dance performances, live music, theater demonstrations and performances and more. More information is available at semissourian.com/story/2201989.html...

Elizabeth Beck of Chaffee, Missouri, submitted this photo of her tattoo by artist John Shelton. "My papa (grandpa) passed away 17 years ago and I got a tattoo of his favorite flower, the passion flower, a little over 4 years ago," she said. "John Shelton, owner of Four Aces, helped come up with the design, and he did an amazing job with all the intricate colors of a passion flower and the detail work making it fit perfectly as a side piece. ...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis called Thursday for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he calls the "structurally perverse" economic system of the rich exploiting the poor that is turning Earth into an "immense pile of filth." In a sweeping manifesto aimed at spurring action in U.N. climate negotiations, domestic politics and everyday life, Francis explains the science of global warming, which he blames on an unfair, fossil-fuel-based industrial model he says harms the poor most...

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. -- Authorities say a man drove under the influence of alcohol to a small-town Kentucky police station, where he requested officers arrest him. The Kentucky New Era reports 26-year-old Christopher L. Stewart drove to the station in Hopkinsville, near the Tennessee border, Tuesday, approached officers and said he was ready to go to jail for DUI. ...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. blamed "roguish behavior" for the team's involvement in the alleged hacking of the Houston Astros' player personnel database. DeWitt said Thursday the team was still investigating the matter but said no more than a handful of individuals in an operation that numbers in the hundreds -- he described it as a "needle in a haystack" -- was responsible...

St. Louis wasted another strong outing by Jamie Garcia, losing 2-1.

The Southeast Missouri State football team's 2015 schedule was finalized Thursday with the announcement of the game time for the Redhawks' season opener against Missouri. Southeast will face the Tigers at 3 p.m. Sept. 5 in Columbia, Missouri, in a game that will be televised on an SEC Network Alternate channel. It is the Redhawks' first televised game, not including their OVC Game of the Week TV package, since their clash with Purdue was broadcast on the Big 10 Network on Sept. 17, 2011...

His analytic approach during his tenure helped stock the St. Louis roster.

Highway 77 in Scott County from Route D to U.S. 61 will be reduced to one lane with a 10-foot width restriction as contractor crews begin an asphalt overlay. The work will take place daily from Monday through July 6, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Transportation...

Give us wisdom, O God, to make our best ideas become reality. Amen.