Stories from Wednesday, August 8, 2018

A recreational-vehicle camper and two homes were found engulfed in flames by a passing bicyclist early Tuesday morning. The fire in the 2900 block of La Mesa Drive was reported at 4:56 a.m. Tuesday, according to a report by the Cape Girardeau Fire Department...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission and the local Republican Party’s central committee are preparing to act to replace Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan, who has announced he will resign Monday. The commission announced Tuesday anyone interested in serving as interim sheriff must submit an application by 4:30 p.m. Friday. An application may be requested by emailing the commission at commish@capecounty.us or by calling (573) 204-2494...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Sen. Claire McCaskill coasted to the Democratic nomination Tuesday in Republican-dominated Missouri, but GOP challenger Josh Hawley could prove to be one of her toughest opponents in a lengthy political career that also included stints as a state legislator and auditor...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri voters delivered a resounding victory to unions Tuesday, rejecting a right-to-work law against compulsory union fees that had been passed by Republican state officials but placed on hold for more than a year after organized labor petitioned for a referendum...

Bollinger County voters unseated incumbent Presiding Commissioner Travis Elfrink on Tuesday, choosing Leo Arnzen by a wide margin, 1,466 to 991, in the Republican primary. Arnzen will face no opposition in the general election. In another hotly contested race, Republican Dana Mayfield won over three other candidates in Tuesday's primary and will contend with Democrat Cindy Yount in November for the position of Bollinger County Circuit Clerk...

Circuit Judge David Dolan defeated Scott City lawyer Rebecca Reed in a Democratic primary contest in Scott and Mississippi counties Tuesday, collecting 3,184 -- nearly 68 percent -- of the combined votes. The victory assures Dolan of re-election in November where he will be running unopposed for a fourth, six-year term...

Funding for a new sewage treatment plant in Perryville cleared a major hurdle Tuesday night. Three ballot measures will fund construction of a sewage plant to replace an aging facility that increasingly can’t meet environmental regulations. City administrator Brent Buerck had said “it is not a tax increase. It is a tax extension.”...

Lawyer Mark Welker cruised to victory over fellow lawyer William Bryant for Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney in Tuesday's heavily watched Republican primary. Welker was the top vote-getter, garnering 8,572 votes to 2,691 for Bryant. The Cape Girardeau resident defeated Bryant of Jackson by a 76 percent to 24 percent margin, according to unofficial election returns...

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 8, the 220th day of 2018. There are 145 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon, facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal, announced he would resign the following day...

It's good to be back in the country. As my wife Victoria likes to say, "Being somewhere is fun. It's the travel, especially the older I get, which is hard. I need a rocket." One of the benefits of life back in the States for both of us is clean finger- and toenails. ...

I attended Monday's city council study session where the issue of flooding was discussed -- specifically the issue of the flooding on Copperfield where water has been 4 feet deep. The issue was brought up to see if there was anything the city could do to alleviate that much water on one of its streets. I was impressed by the resistance...

This year marks Plaza Tire Services' 55th Anniversary, and as part of its celebration, the locally owned company has teamed up with the Southeast Missourian to send someone on a Super Road Trip with St. Louis Cardinals tickets and a set of new tires...

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Battleground Ohio was deciding the year's final special election Tuesday, a congressional faceoff testing anew President Donald Trump's political clout -- and the appeal of his signature tax cuts. The Republican president's shadow also loomed over primary contests in four other states, none bigger than Kansas, where Trump roiled the governor's race by opposing the GOP incumbent on the eve of the election...

AMALIA, N.M. -- Searchers found the remains of a boy after raiding a makeshift compound last week in search of a missing Georgia child, authorities said Tuesday. The remains were found Monday during a search in Amalia, near the Colorado border. Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said. Authorities were awaiting positive identification of the remains...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- In blistering questioning, a defense lawyer accused the protege of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of being immersed in "so many lies" he can't remember them all, as he tried to undermine the credibility of the government's star witness in Manafort's fraud trial...

The Mississippi River crested at Cape Girardeau at 47.9 feet overnight; but at the crest, Tom LeGrand, family members and others lost the battle to save the family home attached to LeGrand's Transmission at 1237 N. Water St.; they lost, 10 1/2 hours after water began coming up beneath the triple row of sandbags protecting the house; water is now 4 feet deep in the house, 5 feet deep in the garage...

TANJUNG, Indonesia -- The rescue team had done everything it could to locate the body of a man who had been killed instantly when a massive earthquake collapsed his home Sunday night on the Indonesian island of Lombok. They used hacksaws to cut a square into a concrete wall. ...

MOSCOW -- An attempt by NATO to incorporate the former Soviet republic of Georgia could trigger a new, "horrible" conflict, Russia's prime minister said Tuesday in a stern warning to the West marking 10 years since the Russia-Georgia war. Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with the Kommersant daily broadcast by Russian state television NATO's plans to eventually offer membership to Georgia are "absolutely irresponsible" and a "threat to peace."...

TEHRAN, Iran -- As Iranians awoke Tuesday to renewed U.S. sanctions lifted by Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, the question on everyone's mind remained: What happens now? From deciphering President Donald Trump's tweets on Iran -- including one demanding "WORLD PEACE" -- to trying to figure out how much their cratering currency is worth, Iranians on the streets appear divided on how to respond...

NANYANG, China -- The 62-year-old Chinese shopkeeper had waited nearly his entire adult life to see his dream of building a church come true -- a brick house with a sunny courtyard and spacious hall with room for 200 believers. But in March, about a dozen police officers and local officials suddenly showed up at the church on his property and made the frightened congregants disperse. ...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A Colorado zoo was cleaning up Tuesday after a hail storm killed two birds and sent five people to the hospital. Hail between about 3 to 4 inches -- between the size of baseballs and softballs -- smashed the skylights of several buildings, including some where animals are kept, Monday at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Bob Chastain, the zoo's president, said Tuesday some workers were injured as they tried to get animals to safety...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Mary Frances Vandeven, 87, of Marble Hill passed away Monday, Aug. 6, 2018, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. She was born April 9, 1931, at Leopold, Missouri, daughter of Martin Peter and Johanna Angela Vandeven Tenholder. She married Sylvester "Bud" Vandeven at St. John's Catholic Church in Leopold on Sept. 17, 1949, and he passed away Jan. 7, 2011...

Jo Allen Myers, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. Funeral will follow at 1 p.m. at the funeral home, with Pastor Phil Roop officiating. Burial will be at Lindsey Cemetery in McClure, Illinois...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Carol T. Hudson, 77, of Perryville died Monday, Aug. 6, 2018, at Independence Care Center. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 6:30 to 10 a.m. Friday at Young and Sons Funeral Home. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home, with Bob Hudson as officiant. Burial will be held at Cedar Fork Cemetery...

Betty Gene Cato, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Eric Schmidt officiating. Burial will be at Morgan Memorial Park in Advance, Missouri...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- SeaWorld Entertainment is eliminating 125 positions, despite recent increases in attendance and revenue. Besides SeaWorld parks, the company has Sesame Place and Busch Gardens parks. SeaWorld said affected workers would get severance benefits...

O Lord Jesus, may we love others as you love us. Amen.

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Thefts n Shoplifting was reported at Fred's, 121 S. Sprigg St. n Theft was reported at 2126 Independence Miscellaneous n Fraud was reported at shell D-Mart, 3415 William St...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Monday n Medical assists were made at 12:44 a.m. on William Street, 4:30 a.m. on North Kingshighway, 9:43 a.m. on Southern Expressway, 1:53 p.m. on South Silver Springs Road, 2:33 p.m. on Water Street, 3:35 p.m. on Andrew Drive, 4:38 p.m. on North Fountain Street, 6:44 p.m. on William Street and 7:08 p.m. on William Street...

Firefighters struggled against rugged terrain, high winds and an August heat wave Tuesday to slow the spread of the biggest wildfire ever recorded in California, an inferno exploding to be nearly the size of Los Angeles in just 11 days. The 450-square-mile blaze, centered near the community of Upper Lake, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, spread fast because of what officials said was a perfect combination of weather, topography and abundant vegetation turned into highly flammable fuel by years of drought.. ...

Daughter to Zachary O. and Olivia D. Hicks of Jackson, Saint Francis Medical Center, 12:48 a.m. Friday, July 20, 2018. Name, Edie Mae. Weight, 8 pounds, 9 ounces. First child. Mrs. Hicks is the former Olivia Meyer, daughter of Wally Meyer and Beverly Meyer of Jackson. She is a mortgage lender with The Bank of Missouri. Hicks is the son of Randy Hicks and Beth Hicks of Sikeston, Missouri. He is a millwright with Acme Constructors...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens apparently couldn't vote in the state's primary election. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported voting records indicate Greitens is still registered to vote in Jefferson City. No voting records indicate he has switched his registration to Warren County, where he and his family own a home in Innsbrook...