Stories from Friday, June 10, 2016

New Salem United Methodist Women's unit met June 6 for a Birthday Luncheon at Gordonville Grill with 10 members present. Meeting was called to order by Joyce Brewer leading the UMW Purpose. Roll call: Name your favorite patriotic song. We will be collecting items for the Festival of Sharing again this year...

KELSO, Mo. -- When he was through, Tom Jansen could hardly stand up. Plagued by sciatica since the winter, he admits he's no longer young and in his prime. But moments earlier you wouldn't have known either -- the past-his-prime or the testy nerve. Jansen struck out nine with no walks, scattering five hits in seven innings of work to help lead his Kelso Fastpitch team past the St. ...

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- As the Missouri State Highway Patrol begins an investigation into the city of Greenville's finances, it appears the conflict that has followed the town of about 500 since April will not end anytime soon. But residents seem determined to move forward, with volunteers from local Masonic and Kiwanis groups stepping in to take over the annual Fourth of July celebration for cash-strapped town officials...

Several local people were honored Thursday during an annual luncheon dubbed “Everyday Heroes: Celebrating the Hero Within.” Held at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, the Red Cross event sought to highlight ordinary people who have done extraordinary things...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — A Poplar Bluff woman is being held on a $500,000 cash bond after being charged Tuesday with assaulting a teenager by stabbing her 16 times. Jessica Ann Sincup, 27, was charged with the Class A felony of first-degree assault and the unclassified felony of armed criminal action. Sincup was to appear Thursday before Associate Circuit Judge John Bloodworth for arraignment on the charges...

The Cape Girardeau County treasurer's office has released its midyear sales tax report, which shows little growth in tax revenue. The low growth is a considerable difference from this time last year. In 2015, the May year-to-date sales tax income had increased 7.75 percent from 2014. ...

A family of five was preparing to celebrate their son’s 22nd birthday with a visiting friend when they discovered a growing fire in the utility room of their Pocahontas home at 257 Church St. Homeowner Tonya Brandon discovered the fire about 6:30 p.m., and all the occupants were able to escape the house, including the family dog, even though they were each in different rooms...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- As Scott Brickell handed out park maps Tuesday to a half-dozen state troopers, he described how security would be organized at the 400-acre park for the Trucks Gone Wild event that starts today. High traffic times likely will be this afternoon through Saturday morning, Brickell said in response to questions from Troop E commander Capt. Jeff Vitale...

Crumbling, cracked steps that lead to the Common Pleas Courthouse make it increasingly risky to navigate them, area runners and workout enthusiasts say. They maintain Cape Girardeau’s county or city government, or both, should fix the steps before someone gets injured. They argue the risk of a fall isn’t just to runners and exercise enthusiasts, but also to anyone who walks up or down the steps that overlook downtown Cape Girardeau...

More elderly, blind and disabled Missourians will qualify for Medicaid assistance under a new law signed Thursday by Gov. Jay Nixon. “This will help thousands of Missourians live more independent lives,” Nixon said during a ceremonial bill signing in the Cape Girardeau County Commission chambers in Jackson...

According to police, Larry Gene Hottel just can’t leave his neighbors alone, and he has found himself in jail once again for disturbing them. The 45-year-old Whitewater man had served a six-month sentence and been released, but he was arrested again after another episode of harassment, this time convincing others to join him, according to a probable-cause statement by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department...

Today in History Today is Friday, June 10, the 162nd day of 2016. There are 204 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On June 10, 1692, the first execution resulting from the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts took place as Bridget Bishop was hanged...

Please repair our main streets. Several main streets that run through Cape Girardeau that almost everyone has to use daily are badly in need of repairs. This has not happened overnight, but has been caused from several years of neglect on the city's part. ...

As Tim Arbeiter prepares to leave Cape Girardeau behind, Cape Girardeau is preparing to lose one of its longtime champions. The vice president of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce has accepted a position as president of the Lee's Summit, Missouri, Chamber of Commerce...

Nuisance telephone calls and landlines go together like a horse and carriage. We still have horses, but carriages are long gone. Soon, there won't be any landlines either. But there will be nuisance phone calls. That's for sure. A lot of you have already given up your landlines, content to rely on cellphones for many obvious and good reasons. ...

Cape Girardeau basks in a bit of nostalgic Americana with the arrival of "The Greatest Show on Earth"; elephants, camels, llamas and horses that are part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus parade along Broadway and Sprigg Streets, en route to the Show Me Center; the Grand Walk occurs four hours earlier than had been scheduled because of the heat...

Bobby G. "Bob" Luttrell, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, June 7, 2016, at his home. He was born June 6, 1933, in Gunnison, Mississippi, to John L. and Edith Marie Duty Luttrell. He and Janet Sue Little were married April 11, 1956, at Holly Springs, Mississippi...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Elbert L. "Al" Hileman, 85, of Mounds died Thursday, June 9, 2016, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at Jones Funeral Home in Villa Ridge, Illinois. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Paul Donner officiating. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery near Dongola, Illinois...

Dorothy R. Foeste, 94, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, June 8, 2016, at Southeast Hospital. She was born March 10, 1922, in Cape Girardeau to Fritz and Dodie Krueger Meyer. She and Claude "C.M." Foeste were married Aug. 3, 1940, at Benton, Missouri. Claude and Dorothy were married 72 amazing years...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest n Crystal L. Craig, 28, of Whitewater was arrested on a Cape Girardeau County warrant and on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while operator's license suspended and failure to maintain a single lane...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Tuesday n Medical assists were made at 1:08 p.m. on South Silver Springs Road; 8:33 p.m. on North Fountain Street; 9:32 p.m. on Linden Street; and 10:10 p.m. on North Main Street...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI n Driving while intoxicated was reported. Arrests n Samuel L. Brown, 53, 12 N. Pind Wood Drive, was arrested at 262 Siemers Drive on a Scott County warrant for possession of a controlled substance...

JERUSALEM -- Israel imposed travel restrictions Thursday on tens of thousands of Palestinians and sent hundreds of additional troops into the West Bank in response to a deadly shooting at a popular Tel Aviv tourist spot. But as the nation's leaders vowed tough responses, they stopped short of taking wider-scale military action...

BEIRUT -- U.S.-backed fighters in Syria converged from three sides on an Islamic State stronghold near the Turkish border Thursday, while Iraqi special forces pushed deeper into Fallujah, one of the last bastions of the militant group in western Iraq...

CAMP TARIQ, Iraq -- Just before sunset at Camp Tariq -- the base of operations for the fight to retake the Islamic State-held city of Fallujah -- Iraqi officers in neatly pressed fatigues and fighters still dusty from the front prepared to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan...

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A man getting ready to watch the sunrise on a piece of plywood in a marina was swept out by the Hudson River current and wound up about 2 nautical miles away near Governors Island. The man was sent drifting into the river on an 8-foot-long piece of plywood about 4:45 a.m. Thursday, a little more than half an hour before the sun came up, Fire Department of New York Capt. Louis Guzzo said. The man told rescuers he went out to a dock to watch the sun come up...

DETROIT -- Three people were charged Thursday in the death of a 13-year-old Detroit boy prosecutors say was beaten and choked and whose body was dumped in a vacant lot after he picked up about $70 that had been dropped outside a convenience store. "There's not a whole lot that shocks seasoned prosecutors, but there are some things you just cannot explain," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said at a news conference, where she announced the charges...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. military troops may be able to sidestep the Pentagon's entrenched, 100-year-old "up or out" promotion system under sweeping new proposals unveiled Thursday, aimed at keeping high-tech experts or other specialists on the job. In announcing the plan, Defense Secretary Ash Carter marked the third -- and most dramatic -- installment in his campaign to modernize the military's antiquated bureaucracy. ...

WASHINGTON -- The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a rescue package for debt-stricken Puerto Rico, clearing a major hurdle in the ongoing effort to bring relief to the U.S. territory of 3.5 million Americans. The strong bipartisan vote was 297-127 for the legislation that would create a financial control board and allow restructuring of some of Puerto Rico's $70 billion debt. The measure heads to the Senate just three weeks before the territory must make a $2 billion payment...

BALTIMORE -- The officer at the wheel when Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury in the back of a police van caused the young black man's death by deliberately giving him a "rough ride," prosecutors said for the first time Thursday as the driver went on trial on murder and manslaughter charges...

SAN FRANCISCO -- With outcry growing against those who stood by a former Stanford University swimmer who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, a childhood friend and a high-school guidance counselor have apologized for writing letters of support urging leniency for Brock Turner...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dealing a blow to gun supporters, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Americans do not have a constitutional right to carry concealed weapons in public. In a dispute that ultimately could wind up before the Supreme Court, a divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said local law-enforcement officials can place significant restrictions on who is allowed to carry concealed guns...

WASHINGTON -- Testifying to Hillary Clinton's grit and experience, President Barack Obama endorsed his former secretary of state's bid to succeed him Thursday and urged Democrats to line up behind her. It was all part of a carefully orchestrated pressure campaign aimed at easing Clinton rival Bernie Sanders toward the exit and turning fully to the fight against Republican Donald Trump...

CHICAGO -- Fans of the old TV show "Saved by the Bell" are getting a chance to step back in time and feel like part of their favorite '90s high-school sitcom gang. But chances are they are eating better than the kids at Bayside High ever did. In a plan class schemer Zack Morris would find genius, a vacant restaurant space in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood has become Saved by the Max, a replica of The Max. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- After much anticipation from local residents, the new Malco Sikeston Cinema & Grill opened Thursday at 1218 Cinema Drive in Sikeston, off U.S. 60 and Hennings Road in the Cotton Ridge Development. The theater sports eight stadium-seating auditoriums, state-of-the-art Dolby 7.1 digital surround sound and 3-D projection. The auditoriums have wall-to-wall curved screens that include a 40-foot large-format Clarus screen...

CINCINNATI -- A little vintage Adam Wainwright and another booed hit by Yadier Molina have the St. Louis Cardinals headed up. Wainwright allowed only two hits over six innings, and Molina's bases-loaded single snapped a tie in the eighth on Thursday night, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 and yet another series win in their lopsided NL Central rivalry...

The Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center will host a Meet the Artist event from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the nature center, 2289 County Park Drive in Cape Girardeau. Attendees can visit with local artist Marty Riley as she works in pastels, acrylic and possibly tissue paper to create landscapes, plants and wildlife from Southeast Missouri conservation areas and state parks. The event is free to the public...

Jess Bolen is pretty certain he still can remember starting lineups and roster numbers from his first season as the manager of the Capahas baseball team. That's pretty impressive, since the 74-year-old Bolen will be writing up a new starting lineup for the Burger King Capahas for the 50th season in their home opener tonight as they host the St. Louis Spikes at 8 p.m. at Capaha Field...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Obama administration's proposal to boost the amount of ethanol and other renewable fuels blended into gasoline produced at least one consensus Thursday during the matter's only public hearing: Few stakeholders, if any, are entirely satisfied by the plan...

The theme and performance lineup for the 2016 SEMO District Fair, which will be from Sept. 10 through 17 at Arena Park, were announced Thursday. The theme of “Enough Fun for the Whole Herd” reflects the diverse and family-friendly activities at the annual event, according to a news release...

My happy place. #semoselfie

The Charleston Fighting Squirrels jumped out to a 6-2 lead after two innings of play and hung on for an 8-6 win against the Mid-Missouri Peacocks in its opening game at the 21-team Fighting Squirrel Classic on Thursday in Charleston, Missouri. Mid-Missouri brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh inning after No. ...

The Aktion Club, a service club for adults with disabilities, will host its third annual trivia night from 6:30 to 9 p.m. today at the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, 755 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. The doors will open at 6 p.m., and the event will have a "Hawaiian Luau" theme with free snacks, a silent auction and more. ...

We praise you, Lord God, for you are able to do more than we ask or imagine. Amen.

As the temperature creeps up, area residents will have plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy the summer with live music in Jackson. The Rock in the Rock Garden free concert series began its eighth year June 3 with a show by Mark Rees. "It's outdoors, and it brings music to the park. ...