Stories from Saturday, March 10, 2018

Cape Girardeau County Recorder Drew Blattner is seeking a grant to digitize more documents on file with his office in Jackson — a process he called both time- and cost-prohibitive. The indexes to the deed books are deteriorating, Blattner said, and that’s a big problem...

Southeast Missouri native Scott McDowell is the man who keeps correct time and volunteers his to make sure the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse clock — originally installed in 1921 — is in working condition year-round, including the weekend daylight saving time starts...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — The former Noranda aluminum smelter will reopen in May with plans to employ 450 people near term and potentially as many as 900 with future expansions, equaling the number of jobs lost when the plant shut down two years ago. Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens said the smelter will provide jobs with an average annual wage of $64,000...

Today is Saturday, March 10, the 69th day of 2018. There are 296 days left in the year. Daylight saving time will begin Sunday at 2 a.m. local time. Today's Highlight in History: On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's assistant, Thomas Watson, heard Bell say over his experimental telephone: "Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you" from the next room of Bell's Boston laboratory...

Over the past few days I have come across several recipes for dessert items that sound interesting and fairly simple to make. I have made note of them and they are on my radar to prepare in the very near future. I am especially interested in the blondie recipe and the lemon pie. For the lemon pie you use the whole lemon and bake it. I love anything lemon, and to have an entire whole lemon in a pie is just my kind of dessert...

Jack Conaway was cutting peat for fuel in the Emlagh bog in County Meath, Ireland, back in 2016 when he made a stinking discovery. Buried twelve feet underground was a twenty-two pound lump of butter estimated to be about 2,000 years old. The surprising thing about this finding is that it is not all that surprising. Hundreds of specimens of so-called "bog butter" have been located across the Emerald Isle. I've even seen one...

The annual Greek Week blood drive surpassed its goal by collecting 248 more units of blood than the previous years record. The Interfraternity Council and National Panhellenic Conference at Southeast hosts one of the largest blood drives in the region with the American Red Cross, which is in critical need of blood donations...

WARREN, Ohio -- A garishly appointed Ohio mansion that heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson once called home and subsequently fell into disrepair is being converted into a house of worship. The Living Word Sanctuary Church has been cleaning up the property in Trumbull County's Southington Township, roughly 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Cleveland, since the 25,000-square-foot (2,323-sq. meter) mansion was donated to the church several years ago...

LEWISTON, Idaho -- Five types of apples, once thought to be extinct, have been rediscovered in northern Idaho and eastern Washington. The Lewiston Tribune newspaper reported Monday that "apple detective" David Benscoter located the trees growing near a butte in the rolling hills of the vast Palouse agricultural area...

I would love to get Bob Farr's take on champing -- a word that is yet unfamiliar on our shores but which has real meaning in England, where so many of our religious customs are derived. Farr is the bishop of the United Methodist Church in Missouri and wrote a book a few years ago with an apocalyptic title: "Renovate or Die." His overarching theme is that American churches are too focused on maintaining the congregational status quo. ...

I recently watched Josh Garrels' 2013 documentary "The Sea in Between," an art piece of depth, soul, beauty and truth that follows Garrels and other musicians to Mayne Island, British Columbia, for a week of music making, invitation and creation. It is a film that revels in God, nature and communion...

Happy birthday to Ruth Anne Glency, Ruth B. Welborn, Harry Imhoff, Bobby Sexton, Dale Tenkhoff, David Tuller, Vivian Hasty, Francis White, Sean Hampton, Linda Lowery, Michelle Glassbrook, Bernadean Kerley, Maxine Pepple, Emily Siebert, Connie Spane, Michael McIntosh, Kathie Razor, Shirley Dowdy, Kelly Spies, Donnie Kiefer, Tammie Harmon, Roger Reece, Lawrence Vaughn, Jennie Williams, Pat Zimmerman, Adam Beard, Tonya Lynn, Rick Cobb, Sharon Gibbons, David Owens, Aggie Abernathy, Margie Lee, Jody Hargrove, Jon Kessler and Kathy Blevins.. ...

Mornings at my house are like running a marathon. The alarm goes off and up I go running into the day with a list of 1,000 things that need done while my husband rolls over, yawns, stretches, and meanders over to the closet to get dressed. I rush to let the dogs out, pack school lunches, feed the cat, make sure all permission slips and homework sheets are signed, and somewhere in there find time to make myself a cup of coffee. ...

Nick and Tammi Earley of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Elizabeth G. Earley, to Patrick M. Williamson, both of San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Stephanie Williamson of Cape Girardeau and Reginald Williamson of St. Louis. Elizabeth is a 2013 graduate of Notre Dame Regional High School. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration/Marketing in 2017 from Mississippi State University. She is a community manager at Sociallyin in Birmingham, Alabama...

Jennifer Lauren Nelson and Robert Alan Woolf, both of Cape Girardeau, were married Oct. 14, 2017, under the willow tree at Cape County Park South. Chad Newell of Oak Ridge officated the ceremony. Josh Tomlin of Cape Girardeau provided acoustic guitar and vocals...

Delivering hot meals to homebound people takes a certain personality, and for one close-knit group of people in Cape Girardeau, deliveries are about more than just food -- they're about the connection, too. BJ Bowman, 80, said she's volunteered with the program for 22 years...

The red buckeye tree is one of the first deciduous trees in Southeast Missouri to leaf out in spring. I took this photo on March 4 when almost all other trees in the woods were still dormant. I dug up 4 small buckeyes from my woods on this day and delivered them to a neighbor where we planted them in his yard. This is the best time of year to plant a buckeye tree...

Normally we don't have a lot of issues with our garden when it comes to bugs. Oh we have the normal bugs so don't get me wrong. We have tomato worms beginning in June or so. They will simply eat all the leaves off the top of tomato vines. We have worms that eat up our cabbages if we aren't paying attention. ...

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will hold a Walk MS event Sunday, April 22, at Capaha Park, Pavilion 1, 1400 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, according to a recent news release. More information is at walkms.org, (855) 372-1331 or fundraisingsupport@nmss.org...

The following students have been awarded scholarships to attend Southeast Missouri State University for the 2018-2019 academic year. n Landon Felter of Jackson has received the Regents' Scholarship. Felter is the son of Steven and Leslie Felter of Jackson, and will be a 2018 graduate of Jackson High School...

Monday: Oven-fried chicken or polish sausage and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, California-blended veggies, whole-grain hot roll and mixed fruit dessert of cinnamon streusel cake. Tuesday: Beefy soft tacos or vegetable-beef soup, seasoned black beans, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes, tortilla chips and citrus fruit salad or cook's choice dessert...

It's not hyperbole when Dr. Chelsea Grigery says things like: "We're going to change two students' lives tonight." Grigery, a Sikeston native and local physician, is proof of this statement. On Wednesday, 650-plus students participated in the 62nd annual Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair held at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau...

O Lord Jesus, may we focus on what is pure and noble. Amen.

A fire that is believed to have started in the paint room at the Lee-Rowan plant in Jackson sent two workers to the hospital and the rest home last night; all fire trucks in Jackson were dispatched to the plant, after someone reported the fire at 10:01 p.m.; the small blaze was brought under control quickly...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The ex-husband of a woman who had an extramarital affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens testified for an hour and a half Friday before a House committee doing its own investigation into the indicted governor, the man's lawyer said...

** Ruth Illers Ruth Illers, 91, of Jackson died Friday, March 9, 2018, at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Ford and Sons Jackson Funeral Home in Jackson.

BRIDGETON, Mo. -- Laverne Berniece Dodson, 73, of Bridgeton, formerly of Scott City, died Thursday, March 8, 2018, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. There will be a private graveside service at St. Augustine Catholic Cemetery in Kelso, Missouri. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City was in charge of arrangements...

SULLIVAN, Mo. -- Jennifer DeClue, 36, of Sullivan died Friday, March 2, 2018, in Cuba, Missouri. A memorial visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 10, at the Eaton Funeral Home in Sullivan, with a service to follow at 4 p.m., with Pastor John Blackmore officiating...

Kimberly J. Davie, 63, of Jackson died Wednesday, March 7, 2018, at her home. She was born Feb. 15, 1955, in Cape Girardeau to Jack F. and Marilyn D. Harwell Kelly. She and Robert L. Davie were married June 27, 1981, at Cape Girardeau. She graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School in 1973...

WASHINGTON -- The White House tried to swat away criticism Friday the U.S. is getting nothing in exchange for agreeing to a historic face-to-face summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said North Korea has made promises to denuclearize, stop its nuclear and missile testing and allow joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. ...

WASHINGTON -- His staff hollowing out and his agenda languishing, President Donald Trump is increasingly flying solo. Always improvisational, the president exercised his penchant for going it alone in a big way this week: first, by ordering sweeping tariffs opposed by foreign allies and many in his own party, then hours later delivering the stunning news he'll meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. employers went on a hiring binge in February, adding 313,000 jobs, amid rising business confidence lifted by the Trump administration's tax cuts and a resilient global economy. The surprisingly robust hiring, reported by the Labor Department on Friday, was the strongest in 1 1/2 years...

BOSTON -- The sun came out across much of the Northeast on Friday as utilities tackled the arduous task of restoring power to hundreds of thousands of customers who lost electricity during the storm hitting the region this week, all with the possibility of a third nor'easter in the offing...

LONG BRANCH, New Jersey -- The federal government has been advising a beach town on the Jersey Shore on plans to build a pier and start a ferry service to speed New Yorkers to the doorstep of a resort co-owned by Jared Kushner. Kushner's seaside resort sits right next to the proposed pier, which places the federal government in the awkward position of helping steer a project to benefit President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. ...

WASHINGTON -- A former Trump campaign aide arrived Friday at the federal courthouse in Washington for a scheduled grand jury appearance, days after he defiantly insisted in a series of news interviews he intended to defy a subpoena in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a far-reaching school-safety bill Friday placing new restrictions on guns, cementing his state's break with the National Rifle Association and decades of Republican thinking on gun control in the aftermath of the Parkland high school attack...

The National Rifle Association has dramatically increased its funding to schools in recent years amid a national debate over guns and school violence, an Associated Press analysis of tax records has found. But few say they plan to give up the money in the aftermath of the latest mass shooting...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In a state not known as a friend to labor unions, hundreds of West Virginia teachers found a way to organize a massive nine-day strike paving the way to raises they had been denied for years. How did they do it? The strikers said social media tools were key to fostering communication and networking. And the double whammy of rising health insurance costs and proposed corporate tax breaks provided strong motivation...

WASHINGTON -- It looks like President Donald Trump is getting the military parade he wants in Washington -- though he may get no tanks for the effort. A Pentagon planning memo issued Thursday and released Friday says the parade being planned for Nov. 11, Veterans Day, will "include wheeled vehicles only, no tanks -- consideration must be given to minimize damage to local infrastructure." Big, heavy tanks could tear up District of Columbia streets...

HOUSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit Friday accusing the U.S. government of broadly separating immigrant families seeking asylum. The lawsuit follows action the ACLU took in the case of a Congolese woman and her 7-year-old daughter, who the group said was taken from her mother "screaming and crying" and placed in a Chicago facility. While the woman was released Tuesday from a San Diego detention center, the girl remains in the facility 2,000 miles away...

NEW YORK -- The smirk wiped off his face, a crying Martin Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison for securities fraud Friday in a hard fall for the pharmaceutical-industry bad boy vilified for jacking up the price of a lifesaving drug. Shkreli, the boyish-looking, 34-year-old entrepreneur dubbed the "Pharma Bro" for his loutish behavior, was handed his punishment after a hearing in which he and his attorney struggled with limited success to make him a sympathetic figure. ...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- The sleek, green-and-white trains glide past the congested, ragged streets of Addis Ababa along the city's new light rail -- built and financed by China. The towering silver African Union headquarters here was built by China, too. So was the new ring road system around the city. And the new railway connecting landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti...

LONDON -- Dozens of khaki-clad troops trained in chemical warfare were deployed on the streets of the usually sleepy English city of Salisbury on Friday as part of the investigation into the nerve-agent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter...

BEIRUT -- An aid convoy crossed into the embattled rebel-held suburbs of Damascus on Friday, delivering desperately needed aid despite heavy fighting breaking out "extremely close" to the convoy and renewed airstrikes by the Syrian government. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the close-range fighting came despite security guarantees from the parties involved in the conflict humanitarian aid could enter the town of Douma, in eastern Ghouta...

PARIS -- A Canadian company's hardware is being used to hack internet users along Turkey's border with Syria, researchers said Friday, adding there were signs Kurdish forces aligned with the United States might have been targeted. The revelation comes as Turkey presses its offensive against the Kurds dug in along the country's frontier with northwestern Syria -- a conflict threatening to disrupt the American-led effort to extinguish the Islamic State group. ...

PRAGUE -- Tens of thousands of Slovaks rallied in massive anti-government protests across the country Friday to demand a thorough investigation of the slayings of an investigative reporter and his fiancee, and changes in government. The protesters packed a central square in Bratislava, and other rallies were taking place in dozens of other places in Slovakia as well as abroad, the biggest since the 1989 Velvet Revolution...

BERLIN -- Germany's center-left Social Democrats announced Friday they're nominating the mayor of one of Berlin's toughest districts among six ministers the party will have in the country's next government. Franziska Giffey is considered a rising star within the party and will take charge of the Families Ministry -- the first ministerial position held by Chancellor Angela Merkel from 1991 to 1994. Like Merkel, Giffey was born in the former East Germany...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Wednesday n Medical assists were reported at 8:35 a.m. on Themis Street; 1:36 p.m. on Brenda Kay Court; 3:59 p.m. on North Main Street; 5:25 p.m. on Bloomfield Road; 6:21 p.m. on South Broadview Street; and 9:03 p.m. on South Frederick Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Burglary n Burglary was reported at 931 Locust St. CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt...