Stories from Friday, February 15, 2019

The chairman of a campaign to pass a $12 million bond issue for the Cape Girardeau public schools said he initially was "negative" about the ballot measure because of the proposed aquatic center project. But "Yes Cape Schools Committee" chairman Jimmy Wilferth said Thursday, after prayer and study, he concluded an indoor aquatic center needs to be built at the proposed Jefferson Elementary School site in south Cape Girardeau...

Bedell Performance Hall at Southeast River Campus will be temporarily transformed into a "big cathedral of musical theatre" for the upcoming production of "Sister Act" from Feb. 20 to 24, according to guest set designer Matthew Buttrey. Southeast Missouri native and Southeast graduate Buttrey -- who now lives in New York -- said all parts of the auditorium will be used and the audience "will become the congregation."...

Three county projects are moving ahead after action at Thursday's County Commission meeting: digitizing books on file with the Recorder's office, the lake project in Cape County Park South, and a new data storage option for county records. County Recorder Drew Blattner said he is applying for a grant to continue digitizing his office's records...

Today is Friday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2019. There are 319 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 15, 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U.S. figure skating team en route to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium...

If you've seen Jim Riley in his element, you've seen his high-energy approach to life. He is a marketing man, a visionary, and much more. Riley will be honored with the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation's Friend of the University award for 2019. He will be presented the award as part of the annual President's Council Dinner tonight at the River Campus...

Investigation The Trump family needs to be investigated until someone gets to the bottom of all the lies around the interactions with WikiLeaks and the miscellaneous Russians. Trump could release his taxes. He could tell the truth on a regular basis. We won't hold our breath...

Anesthesia during a short surgery doesn't harm a baby's brain development, according to an experiment involving hundreds of infants in seven countries. While the study can't answer broader safety questions about repeated or prolonged anesthesia, it may ease the worries of millions of parents whose children have been put to sleep for common procedures...

Is it love? Maybe not. The FTC announced this week that romance-related scams have surged recently and generated more losses than any other consumer fraud reported to the agency last year. The number of these romance scams reported to the agency jumped from 8,500 in 2015 to more than 21,000 in 2018. ...

WASHINGTON -- Congress lopsidedly approved a border security compromise Thursday to avert a second painful government shutdown, but a new confrontation was ignited -- this time over President Donald Trump's plan to bypass lawmakers and declare a national emergency to siphon billions from other federal coffers for a wall on the Mexican boundary...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. retail sales fell in December, posting the biggest drop since September 2009 and delivering more evidence that last year's holiday sales fizzled unexpectedly. Even e-commerce suffered a big setback. The Commerce Department said Thursday that December retail sales fell 1.2 percent from November. They were up 2.3 percent from December 2017. Total retail sales for 2018 rose 5 percent from the previous year...

WASHINGTON -- The chemical compounds are all around you. They're on many fabrics, rugs and carpets, cooking pots and pans, outdoor gear, shampoo, shaving cream, makeup and even dental floss. Increasing numbers of states have found them seeping into water supplies...

WASHINGTON -- William Barr was sworn in Thursday for his second stint as the nation's attorney general, taking the helm of the Justice Department as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Earlier Thursday, the Senate voted 54-45 to confirm the veteran government official, mostly along party lines. ...

NEW YORK -- Amazon abruptly dropped plans Thursday for a big new headquarters in New York that would have brought 25,000 jobs to the city, reversing course after politicians and activists objected to the nearly $3 billion in tax breaks promised to what is already one of the world's richest, most powerful companies...

LOS ANGELES -- A storm fueled by a plume of moisture stretching over the Pacific Ocean almost to Hawaii dumped rain on California Thursday, boosting the threat of debris flows from saturated slopes and flooding from rising creeks and rivers. The storm made stronger by the phenomenon called an atmospheric river hit Northern California and southern Oregon on Wednesday before moving down the coast overnight and threatening the southwestern corner of California...

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Aaron Francisco Chavez swallowed at least one of the sky blue pills at a Halloween party before falling asleep forever. He became yet another victim killed by a flood of illicit fentanyl smuggled from Mexico into the Southwest -- a profitable new business for drug gangs that has pushed the synthetic opioid to the top spot for fatal U.S. overdoses...

WASHINGTON -- Memory and thinking skills naturally slow with age but now scientists are peeking inside living brains to tell if depression might worsen that decline -- and finding some worrisome clues. Depression has long been linked to certain cognitive problems, and depression late in life even may be a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's. Yet how depression might harm cognition isn't clear...

WASHINGTON -- Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said in an interview that aired Thursday that he moved quickly after his boss was fired to protect an investigation into President Donald Trump's potential ties to Russia and prevent it from being shut down in case he, too, was dismissed...

NEW YORK -- The nine companies and organizations tasked with servicing the accounts of the nation's 30 million student loan borrowers repeatedly failed to do their jobs properly over a period of years and their regulator neglected to hold them responsible, a new report finds...

NEW YORK -- The flu vaccine is doing a relatively good job this season, protecting about half the people who got it, U.S. health officials said Thursday. Preliminary figures suggest the vaccine is 47 percent effective in preventing flu illness severe enough to send someone to the doctor's office. Health officials are generally pleased if a flu vaccine works in 40 to 60 percent of people...

Allen Moss, who has served as an assistant attorney general, assistant county prosecutor and city prosecutor, has announced his intentions to run for Division IV associate circuit judge in Cape Girardeau County. Cape Girardeau police are investigating the death of a 25-year-old Southeast Missouri State University student, who dies at his residence in the afternoon; police are considering the death of Michael Davis of St. Louis a homicide...

Much to my liking, the average daily temperatures aren't too cold for this time of the year, which has me looking forward to spring more each day. In just a few weeks we will be moving our clocks up one hour, as we officially welcome springtime! And it seems as though the Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center is eagerly looking forward to spring as well, with all the outdoor-themed activities offered this weekend...

AUGUSTA, Mo. -- Elmer Reed of Augusta passed away Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, Missouri, at the age of 74. He was born April 6, 1944, in St. Clair, Missouri. He was a carpenter. Elmer was a member of Ebenezer United Church of Christ in Augusta and Carpenters Local 32 for 52 years...

Lee Fullbright, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, at Missouri Veterans Home. He was born Oct. 5, 1926, in Cape Girardeau to Amon and Minnie Seabaugh Fullbright. He and Nettie Hinkle were married Jan. 14, 1947, in Cape Girardeau. She preceded him in death Oct. 28, 1996...

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Dorothy Jean Rayford Boyd, 69, of Maryland Heights passed away Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, at Stonebridge Senior Living in Maryland Heights. She was born Nov. 13, 1949, in Tunica, Mississippi, to Janie McFarland and Bobby J. Rayford...

Lord Jesus, we look to you in all things for you are the source of our salvation. Amen.

Boulder Construction will close Fountain Street, between Broadway and Bellevue Street, from 7 to 9 a.m. Tuesday. According to a news release from the city of Cape Girardeau, the closure will allow the company to hoist material to the seventh floor of the Marquette Towers...

Regents approved a slight increase in room and board rates at Southeast Missouri State University at Thursday's meeting. Rates will increase by approximately 2.8 percent for fiscal year 2020. The board rate will increase by .49 percent, and the average room rate by 3.97 percent...

Son to Chase and Brianna Silvers of Canton, Ohio, Aultman Hospital in Canton, 4:31 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019. Name, Owen Holcomb Silvers. Weight, 7 pounds, 4 ounces. First child. Mrs. Silvers is the daughter of Brian and Joanna Gray of Portland, Oregon. ...

Leading up to the 91st Academy Awards on Feb. 24, Marcus Theatres and Marcus Wehrenberg Theatres is set to showcase "silver screen excellence" during its 2019 Best Picture Festival, according to a news release. The two-day event will give moviegoers the chance to see all seven theatrical nominees for Best Picture on Feb. 16 and 23...

ORAN, Mo. -- Austin Don Frala went to be with Jesus on the day of his birth, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019. Arrangements are incomplete with Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee, Missouri.

FENTON, Mich. -- Melba V. Davidson, 68, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. Memorial service will be at noon Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Jeff Long officiating...

Michael Davis was punched, slapped, slammed and caned for days before he died 25 years ago today, the victim of a brutal fraternity hazing ritual at Southeast Missouri State University. The deadly had far reaching consequences. The incident drew national media coverage and focused the spotlight on the culture of hazing on college campuses...