Stories from Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Lori Bollinger helps her daughter, Mia, 2, get settled at a computer to watch YouTube videos Monday at the Cape Girardeau Public Library in Cape Girardeau.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri could save up to $1 billion a year within the next four years if it overhauls the state's Medicaid health insurance program, according to a study from a consulting team. A draft of the report obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch does not recommend tightening eligibility rules for Medicaid. State lawmakers are separately considering a plan to require healthy Medicaid recipients to work...

The Southeast Missouri University Foundation recently named Jim Riley, founder of Red Letter Communications and community leader, the 2019 Friend of the University, according to a news release. Riley will be honored with the award as part of the annual President’s Council Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the River Campus Cultural Arts Center atrium...

Two area lawmakers cast opposing votes on a Missouri House bill that would bar school districts from starting the school year more than 10 calendar days before Labor Day. The House agriculture policy committee passed the measure on a 15-to-10 vote last week, with state Rep. Barry Hovis, R-Gordonville, voting for it and state Rep. Rick Francis, R-Perryville, Missouri, opposing it...

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2019. There are 322 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 12, 1999, the Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice. On this date: In 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin in Hardin (now LaRue) County, Kentucky...

Last month I began the 2019 goals review, discussing the infrastructure, public safety improvements, retail expansion and regional partnership goals. The balance of the City of Jackson's annual goals center around the financial strategy for the coming years...

Recently this country went through the ordeal of a partial government shutdown. Eight hundred thousand government employees, whether they were required to work or not, failed to get their paychecks on time and at least a half a million contract employees will not get any pay checks at all. This adds up to a permanent loss to the economy of $3 billion...

Cape Girardeau's and Jackson's school district foundations have both held fund-raising galas recently, which means thousands of more dollars will be available for teachers to bring improved learning techniques to students. The Cape Public Schools Foundation uses the Penguin Party dinner and auction that was held on Saturday to fund teacher grants for innovation in the classroom. ...

NEW YORK -- When the last model walked down the Carolina Herrera runway in a floor-length, billowing gown looking like a huge white shirt, it was a playful nod in two ways. First, it was a take on the tradition of ending a fashion show with a bridal gown. And second, it was a nod by designer Wes Gordon to his predecessor and her famous love for a crisp white shirt...

TOWSON, Md. — It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and at Towson University in Maryland a mother has been trying so hard to find a date for her son police are concerned. The Baltimore Sun reported a woman in her 50s wearing a multicolored scarf approached students in two campus buildings last week, showing them a picture on her cellphone and asking whether they would date her son. ...

SEATTLE -- Schools closed across Washington state and the Legislature canceled all hearings Monday with winter snowstorms pummeling the Northwest again as a larger weather system wreaked havoc in the region and even brought snow to Hawaii. Seattle's metro area had already been hit by three snow storms this month, and the National Weather Service reported Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has received 14.1 inches of snow so far in February, more than twice the annual average and the snowiest month in more than 30 years.. ...

CUCUTA, Colombia -- Nearly three weeks after the Trump administration backed an all-out effort to overthrow Nicolas Maduro, there is little sign the Venezuelan president is losing his grip on power. Dozens of nations have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido's claim to the presidency and the U.S. has tightened sanctions aimed at cutting off billions of dollars in oil revenue. But anti-Maduro street protests have come and gone, and large-scale military defections have failed to materialize...

BEIRUT -- Islamic State group militants cornered in their last foothold in eastern Syria fought back with suicide car bombs, snipers and booby traps Monday, slowing Kurdish fighters advancing under the cover of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, Kurdish news agencies and a Syrian war monitor said...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Pentagon's top official made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Monday to meet with U.S. commanders and Afghan leaders amid a push for peace with the Taliban. Pat Shanahan, the recently installed acting secretary of defense, said he has no orders to reduce the U.S. troop presence, although officials say such a move is at the top of the Taliban's list of demands in exploratory peace negotiations...

WASHINGTON -- Private investigators working for Jeff Bezos have concluded the brother of the Amazon CEO's mistress leaked the couple's intimate text messages to the National Enquirer, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday...

DENVER -- Striking teachers picketed outside of schools and marched through Denver's streets Monday as car horns blared in support of the latest U.S. walkout amid a swell of educator activism in at least a half-dozen states over the last year. Just more than half of the 4,725 teachers called in absent for Denver's first strike in 25 years. Some students crossed picket lines to get to class as schools remained open with administrators and substitute teachers...

NEW YORK -- Cigarette smoking rates have stopped falling among U.S. kids, and health officials believe youth vaping is responsible. For decades, the percentage of high school and middle school students who smoked cigarettes had been declining fairly steadily. For the past three years, it has flattened, according to new numbers released Monday...

WASHINGTON -- Freshman Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar "unequivocally" apologized Monday for tweets suggesting members of Congress support Israel because they are being paid to do so, which drew bipartisan criticism and a rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

RICHMOND, Va. -- The clamor for the resignation of Virginia's top two politicians seemed to die down Monday, with some black community leaders forgiving Gov. Ralph Northam over the blackface furor and calling for a fair hearing for Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax on the sexual assault allegations against him...

WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators reached agreement Monday night to prevent a government shutdown and finance construction of new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, overcoming a late-stage hang-up over immigration enforcement issues that had threatened to scuttle the talks...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis judge is stepping away from the case of a police officer accused of killing a female colleague while playing a variation of Russian roulette. Circuit Judge David Roither on Friday recused himself following a motion from the attorney for officer Nathaniel Hendren. The motion said Roither's comments at an earlier hearing suggested bias against Hendren...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri jail nurse who allegedly wanted to marry a man convicted of killing a lottery winner has been charged with poisoning her husband and setting their home on fire, according to court records. Amy Murray, 40, is facing charges including first-degree murder and arson in the Dec. ...

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Firefighters in suburban St. Louis gave up on using an ambulance after roads became dangerously icy and instead used a stretcher to walk a patient about a mile to a hospital. KSDK-TV reported Maryland Heights firefighter Shaylor Taetz rushed to Interstate 270 with his partner Sunday after a bus spun around on the freeway. Taetz said they'd almost reached the bus when their ambulance slid on the ice and hit a guardrail...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis County grand jury has returned a 17-count indictment against a man suspected of killing a woman and sexually assaulting two others inside a suburban St. Louis religious supply store. The indictment filed Wednesday mirrors charges prosecutors filed in November against Thomas Bruce of Imperial, Missouri. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri House has passed a bill to create a monitoring program to track prescriptions for opioids. House members voted 103-53 Monday in favor of the bill. It now heads to the Senate, where past efforts have met pushback. The legislation would allow doctors and pharmacists to see which prescriptions patients are receiving. The goal is to identify patients who are receiving multiple prescriptions for painkillers and address potential opioid misuse...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The University of Missouri System is seeing an increase in freshman applications at three campuses this fall compared to last year, according to system officials. Mun Choi, the system's president, announced last week freshman applications grew by nearly 6 percent at the Columbia campus, from 17,864 in fall 2018 to 18,878 in 2019. Choi said the university's freshman deposits have increased by 37 percent from last year, the Columbia Missourian reported...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Authorities say they're investigating a suspicious fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia that is seeking to regain its ability to offer abortions. Columbia police said officers responded to an alarm at the clinic around 4 a.m. Sunday. A small fire had started inside the structure, and the building's sprinkler system extinguished it. Firefighters told police the blaze was "suspicious in nature," according to a statement from the police department...

Cape Girardeau anthropologist Scott Grantham has seen his share of graves in recent months; from last August through January, Grantham was involved in moving the skeletal remains from some 2,500 graves in an abandoned, predominately black St. Louis cemetery to make way for completion of the MetroLink route to Lambert Airport...

Lynn VanMatre, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center in Cape Girardeau. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

William Doward Stallins, 90, of Garland, Texas, formerly of Cape Girardeau and Princeton, Kentucky, died Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at his home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Morgan's Funeral Home in Princeton Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with Rev. James McKinney officiating. Burial will follow at Blue Springs Cemetery...

Michael Loyd Slinkard, 69, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at his home. He was born June 3, 1949, in Cape Girardeau to Loyd and Benita Irene "Peg" Benton Slinkard. He and Sharon Sander were married June 4, 1970, at Cape Girardeau. She preceded him in death April 9, 1991...

Elvia Percival, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at Southeast Hospital. She was born Nov. 26, 1930, in Dallas to Louis and Pearl Ealo Guevara. She and Dean Percival were married Aug. 25, 1973, in Dallas. Elvia and Dean lived most of their married lives in Cape Girardeau. ...

Harold A. Moore, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday at Ford and Sons Sprigg Street Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Donny Ford officiating...

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Barbara Jean Kern, 78, of New Hamburg passed away Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, at her home. She was born Nov. 28, 1940, in New Hamburg to the late Al and Rose Westrich Kern. She was retired from Thorngate Ltd. in Cape Girardeau. She was a member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg. She was a member of St. Ann's Sodality of New Hamburg and a member of the church choir...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Melda L. Heck, 90, of Perryville died Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from 6:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday at Young and Sons Funeral Home. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Bruce Owens officiating. Burial will be in the Mount Hope Cemetery...

Why does President Trump have to ask congress for permission to do anything at all, while Obama could do whatever he wanted on a whim with his pen? Sure is a double standard in this country depending which party occupies the White House. This week we learned that "executive time" constitutes 60 percent of President Trump's schedule. Most of that is spent watching television. What would you do if one of your employees spent 60 percent of their time watching television?...

Lord Jesus, in all circumstances may we speak truth with grace. Amen.

Daughter to Andrew and Elizabeth Pillow of Batesville, Arkansas, White River Medical Center in Batesville, 3:26 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. Name, Penelope Marie. Weight, 4 pounds, 8 ounces. First child. Mrs. Pillow is the daughter of Kim and Bryun Umphress of Batesville and Donald Stacy of Perryville, Missouri. Pillow is the son of Lyndon and Annette Pillow of Judsonia, Arkansas...

I stood in line at Christ Church of the Heartland on Friday for well over an hour in the crowd wrapping around the inside of the church. We were there to honor the life of Terry Kitchen, affectionately known to all as "Coach." This larger than life man, taken from us too soon, has touched more lives than most people dream. ...

The SoutheastHEALTH Foundation received a $1,450 donation from The Rushing Family Trust on February 5, 2019 to benefit the Reach Out and Read program at the Southeast Pediatrics office. Reach Out and Read is a national program developed to promote a love of reading and encourage children to read together with their families. ...

Congratulations! You landed your first job and you’re settling in, putting your knowledge, skills and creativity to use in the ways you’ve always dreamed about. Believe it or not, now it’s time to start planning for retirement. It’s important to take some time to imagine how you want your life to look when you are in your 50s, 60s and beyond, and to put pencil to paper to see how much money that lifestyle will realistically cost. ...