Stories from Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Make and model: 2002 Road King Classic Owner(s): Mark VanMatre Owner's hometown: Cape Girardeau Names of people in photo: Kevin Schlegel (brother in law) Custom Chrome, Fat Wire Wheels, Vance and Hines exhaust, Big Bore Kit My car's name: Santa's Sled...

A Cape Girardeau woman allegedly used access to an elderly woman's debit and credit cards to steal more than $11,000 over a three-month period. Ulanda Kaye Smith, 38, was issued an arrest warrant Monday. She is charged with a felony count of financial exploitation of the elderly...

WASHINGTON -- Eyeing the end of his presidency, Barack Obama urged Americans on Tuesday night to rekindle their belief in the promise of change that first carried him to the White House, declaring the country must not allow election-year fear and division to put economic and security progress at risk...

State Rep. Kathy Swan and her husband, Reg, say the city of Cape Girardeau is taking their land unfairly, offering well below the appraised value for just over three acres of woods behind their home. "Kathy and I just want to be treated fairly," Reg Swan said Tuesday. "We expect to be paid at least the appraised value."...

Although the unemployment rate has dropped steadily over the last five years, there are certain positions in the region employers find difficult to fill. "We've seen a shortage of drivers with CDLs (commercial driver's licenses)," Shad Burner, business development specialist at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said. ...

HOUSTON -- The Rams are moving back to Los Angeles, maybe with company. The San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders might end up staying put, although the leadership of both teams didn't come close to making that commitment Tuesday night. Or one of them could be headed to L.A., too...

Clinging to an eight-point lead, the third-seeded Red Devils knew that wasn't going to cut it, so they responded by shooting 67 percent (18 of 27) in the second half and cruised to a 75-45 win over No. 6 Delta in Tuesday's first-round game at Chaffee High School.

Freshman Leah Cauble broke loose for a game-high 37 points and tallied seven assists, five rebounds and four steals to lead top-seeded Oran in the quarterfinal romp of eighth-seeded Scott City in the Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament on Tuesday at Chaffee High School.

Whether she'll be able to play is almost always a game-time decision for Southeast Missouri State shooting guard Ashton Luttrull. When the Redhawks suit up at the Show Me Center tonight against Jacksonville State there will probably be a conversation between Luttrull and coach Rekha Patterson shortly before tipoff at 5:30 p.m...

VFW Post 3838 and Auxiliary recently held a reception for the Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy essay winners. Pictured (from left): Etienne Soto, 3rd place Voice of Democracy; Perri Poe, 3rd Place Patriot's Pen; Savanah Seyer, 1st place VOD; and Amory Patomson, 3rd place VOD. Not pictured are Jack Floyd, 2nd place Patriot's Pen; and Elise Ferrell, 1st place Patriot's Pen...

Cape Central graduate Andre Statam and Charleston graduates Greg Tucker and DelFincko Bogan, who each had a contingent of supporters from their home towns, made key contributions in the Gamecocks' 74-60 win over Southeast.

Today in History Today is Wednesday, Jan. 13, the 13th day of 2016. There are 353 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 13, 1966, Robert C. Weaver was nominated to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Lyndon B. Johnson; Weaver became the first black Cabinet member...

As fundraising efforts and equipment installation is underway, staff at the new Jackson Civic Center is preparing for the building's grand opening. The project has been in the works since 2013, when plans to obitain a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant began. The facility, approved by FEMA in July 2014, will house a 1,990-person-capacity safe room in addition to recreation facilities...

At long last, the coffee shop conversation has shifted away from politics. For now at least, Trump and Hillary's names are unspoken. And there are 1.3 billion reasons for this shifting dialogue. If you don't have lottery fever by now, you must be hibernating. There's no other excuse...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Fetal-tissue donation would be banned in Missouri, and the state health department would need to annually inspect abortion clinics under Republican-sponsored legislation that was reviewed Tuesday in a Senate committee. It's among several abortion-related laws and bills Missouri lawmakers are looking at, including oversight of abortion clinics during a House committee that also took place Tuesday...

Son to Trenton James and Blair Cassie Reagan of Patton, Missouri, Southeast Hospital, 8:43 a.m. Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. Name, Ivan James. Weight, 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Fifth child, second son. Mrs. Reagan is the former Blair Tonjum. She is employed by the Madison County Health Department. Reagan is the son of Mike and Cathy Reagan of Patton. He is employed by Procter & Gamble...

New church officers are installed during the morning worship service at Trinity Lutheran Church; they are Dale Kester, president; Michael Ringwald, vice president; Erwin Dost, secretary; and Allen Clark, treasurer. After hearing presentations from two firms interested in designing a new College of Business Administration Building, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents has asked for more specific information before making a decision; making presentations Friday were representatives of Sverdurp Corp. ...

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey could become the second state to raise the smoking age to 21, as part of a movement that's been spurred in part by a major study released last year and an increase in electronic cigarette use among young people. The state's Legislature on Monday passed a bill that would fine retailers up to $1,000 if they sell cigarettes or other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, often called "vapes," to anyone 20 years old or younger...

SAN FRANCISCO -- For the first time in its efforts to crack down on sex trafficking during the Super Bowl, the FBI will try to reach out to women and girls selling sex in the run-up to the game to give them a way out and get them to turn against their traffickers...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The mother of a fugitive teenager known for using an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck was released from a Texas jail Tuesday, a day after a judge reduced her $1 million bond for allegedly helping her son flee to Mexico...

MILWAUKEE -- Lynn Bartos always had a good feeling about the soft-spoken nurse who would greet her warmly at the Milwaukee-area infusion clinic where she got treatments for rheumatoid arthritis pain. It turned out the two had a far deeper connection...

NIPTON, Calif. -- Lottery ticket buyers have to suspend their belief in math to drop $2 on an infinitesimal chance to win the Powerball jackpot, but in Nevada, they also have to drive across the desert and wait in lines that can stretch for hours. In Hawaii and Alaska, they need to cross an ocean or mountains to reach a lottery kiosk...

LONDON -- Media mogul Rupert Murdoch announced his engagement to Jerry Hall, the American actress and former supermodel who had a long relationship with Mick Jagger. Murdoch, 84, and Hall, 59, placed a classified ad in the Births, Marriages and Deaths section of Tuesday's Times newspaper, owned by Murdoch's News Corp...

WASHINGTON -- Iran was holding 10 U.S. Navy sailors and their two small boats that drifted into Iranian waters with mechanical problems. Iran accused the sailors of trespassing, but American officials said Tehran has assured them the crew and vessels would be returned safely and promptly...

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Deep inside the Grand Canyon, on river trips that stretch for weeks, National Park Service workers have preyed on their female colleagues, demanding sex and retaliating against women who refused, a federal investigation found. The Department of the Interior's Inspector General's report Tuesday was prompted by a complaint in 2014 accusing the Grand Canyon National Park's chain of command of mishandling complaints trip leaders pressured female co-workers for sex, touched them inappropriately, made lewd comments and retaliated when rejected.. ...

FLORENCE, Italy -- An autopsy has determined an American woman whose naked body was found last week in her Florence apartment was strangled with an object such as a rope or cord, an Italian prosecutor said Tuesday. Prosecutor Giuseppe Creazzo cautioned more lab results are needed to pinpoint the time of Ashley Olsen's death...

ISTANBUL -- A suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the heart of Istanbul's historic district Tuesday, killing 10 foreigners -- most of them German tourists -- and wounding 15 other people in the latest in a string of attacks by the Islamic extremists targeting Westerners...

WASHINGTON -- Florida's unique system for sentencing people to death is unconstitutional because it gives too much power to judges -- and not enough to juries -- to decide capital sentences, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 8-1 ruling said the state's sentencing procedure is flawed because juries play only an advisory role in recommending death, while the judge can reach a different decision...

LONDON -- The world's biggest oil companies are slashing jobs and backing off major investments as the price of crude falls to new lows -- and there may be more pain to come. Companies such as BP, which said Tuesday it is cutting 4,000 jobs, are slimming down to cope with the slump in oil, whose price has plummeted to its lowest level in 12 years and is not expected to recover for months, possibly years. ...

* Medical assists were made at 8:34 a.m. on South Ellis Street; 9:04 a.m. on Route K; 9:12 a.m. on North Frederick Street; 9:18 a.m. on Stonebridge Drive; 9:28 a.m. on Good Hope Street; 10:35 a.m. on Franks Lane; 11:46 a.m. on Aspen Drive; 12:31 p.m. on Broadway; 5:09 p.m. on South Park Avenue; 7:47 p.m. on South Sprigg Street; and 9:09 p.m. on Independence Street...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri House committee approved a pair of measures Tuesday aimed at requiring government-issued photo identification to vote. A similar ID law was struck down in 2006, with the Missouri Supreme Court saying it violated state residents' constitutional right to vote. ...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Earl Norman Hurst, 88, of Marble Hill passed away Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, at his home. He was born Oct. 29, 1927, in St. Louis, the son of John Bell and Ethel Mae Cody Hurst. He and Ina Mae Cook were united in marriage July 6, 1945, and she passed away May 14, 2013...

BENTON, Mo. -- Henry Bernard Heuring Jr., 79, of Benton died Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, at his home. He was born Sept. 16, 1936, in Ancell to Henry Clarence and Bertha Alma Peetz Heuring. He married LaVerne Cecilia Ziegler on June 17, 1961, and they were blessed with 54 1/2 years of marriage...

Phillip Herrera, 58, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, at Southeast Hospital. Services will be at a later date in California. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Tommie L. Hall, 63, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, at his home. A memorial service will be at noon Saturday at Second Missionary Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau, with the Rev. Oscar Hall officiating. Williams Funeral Home of Charleston, Missouri, is in charge of arrangements...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Bobby Wayne Cooper, 46, of Marble Hill died Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, at his home. Friends may call from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday at the chapel of McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson. A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Friday at the chapel, with James Hood officiating...

A Cape Girardeau man is accused of assaulting his girlfriend, then stealing her car. Marcus Dewayne Winston, 40, was arrested by Cape Girardeau sheriff's deputies Monday. He has been charged with felony counts of second-degree domestic assault and stealing...

Two women were involved in a motor vehicle accident about 4 p.m. Tuesday that caused one vehicle to spin 180 degrees and strike a utility pole, breaking it in half, and sending one driver to a hospital. A gray Cadillac sedan was going east on William Street when it was struck by a GMC Denali headed north on Lorimier Street after it briefly stopped at William. The Cadillac was the vehicle that struck the telephone pole...

BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. ­-- Search-and-rescue workers continue to look for Jerry Hooper, the Kinder Morgan worker who fell overboard from a barge into the Mississippi River on Saturday night. Several agencies are involved in the search. About 8:25 p.m. Saturday, in response to a call from the company, a Mississippi County sheriff's deputy arrived at Kinder Morgan and was told employees had located Hooper and were trying to get him into a boat. Seven minutes later, they lost the victim in the river...

The American Red Cross will hold a multi-agency resource center for flood victims Thursday in Alexander County, Illinois. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Horseshoe Lake Chamber of Commerce, 22434 Railroad St. in Olive Branch...

All scores were reported to the Southeast Missourian on Tuesday.

The Jacksonville State men's basketball team set to visit the Show Me Center tonight for a 7:45 p.m. game doesn't bring with it a much better record than Southeast Missouri State. But for the Redhawks (0-4 Ohio Valley Conference, 2-14 overall) to pick up their first OVC win and snap a four-game losing streak, they will have to earn it against a Gamecocks team that has 14 losses but nine by 10 points or fewer...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Moses Kingsley had 24 points, five rebounds and four blocks as Arkansas defeated Missouri 94-61 Tuesday night. Kingsley was a perfect 8 of 8 from the field and converted on 8 of 10 free-throws. He also had three assists, matching a career high...

Fruitland and East County firefighters rescued a man who was caught in Little Indian Creek about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday near Oriole. The man, in his mid-30s, told responders he was camping near the intersection of Route Y and Route V and was supposed to rendezvous with other campers when he fell into the creek, Fruitland assistant chief Gene Kerns said...

Route W in Cape Girardeau County from Perryville Road to Papago Lane will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform shoulder repairs, according to a MoDOT news release. Work will take place 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Thursday through Tuesday...

LONDON -- It's one of the rainiest British winters on record. So some London commuters were surprised to hear their trains had been delayed because of the sun. Rail operator Southeastern tweeted Tuesday "we had severe congestion through Lewisham due to dispatching issues as a result of strong sunlight." The company said low winter sun was hitting monitors at an angle so drivers could not see them. Commuters are used to hearing an array of excuses for frequent delays...

ST. LOUIS -- Patrik Berglund scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the second period, and Ty Rattie netted his first NHL goal to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Scottie Upshall and David Backes also scored for St. Louis, which converted on its first two power-play attempts. The Blues won in regulation for the first time since Dec. 22...

O Heavenly Father, may we boldly proclaim your grace to all. Amen.