Stories from Tuesday, February 19, 2019

SIKESTON, Mo. — Sikeston School District superintendent Tom Williams has announced his retirement after nearly 30 years with the district. The Sikeston School Board accepted Williams’ retirement during its regular monthly meeting Feb. 12, and Williams made an official announcement Friday via the district’s Facebook page...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Poplar Bluff School District is continuing to take steps to ensure the safety of its students following the death of an Early Childhood student. Feb. 1, a wall-mounted table fell and struck 4-year-old Bradley Sullivan. The wall-mounted tables were removed from the Early Childhood Center after the district's property and liability insurance provider, Missouri United School Insurance Council (MUSIC), finished its on-site investigation earlier this month...

Well-dressed fathers and daughters braved the ice and frigid temperatures to follow the yellow brick road to the 11th annual Father Daughter Dance on Saturday at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. ...

Cape Girardeau will host a pride festival this spring thanks to new LGBTQ-advocacy group Cape Pride, which held a “Coming Out Party” on Saturday to officially announce the festival. Amber Moyers, who heads the group’s board of directors, said Cape Pride formed last summer after a series of discussions among community activists...

Violent crime declined by more than 15 percent in Cape Girardeau last year compared to the average for the previous five years, police chief Wes Blair said Monday. He credited several new crime-fighting initiatives for the downturn. They include deployment of extra patrols, use of a multiagency street crimes task force, creation of Watch on Wheels, use of body-worn cameras for officers, expansion of the K-9 unit, development of a crisis intervention team and opening of a police substation at Saint Francis Medical Center.. ...

State Reps. Kathy Swan and Holly Rehder will battle for a state Senate seat next year. The two Republican lawmakers are seeking to replace state Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, for the 27th District Senate seat. Wallingford is term limited and so are the two House members. Under state law, lawmakers are limited to serving eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate...

Teacher Gail Timpe says Notre Dame Regional High School's business law class isn't just about the legalities of starting, owning and operating a business. It's also about researching and building a business from the ground up, and students do exactly that over the course of a semester, in a "Shark Tank"-like "Dog Fight."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For the past six years, 148th District state Rep. Holly Rehder said she has sought to serve her constituents while fighting for good policies for all Missourians. As she begins her final two-year term, she said there is still much she would like to accomplish...

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 19, the 50th day of 2019. There are 315 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 19, 1968, the children's program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," created by and starring Fred Rogers, made its network debut on National Educational Television, a forerunner of PBS, beginning a 31-season run...

Eddie Shackles, 77, of Whitewater passed away Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family. He was born July 26, 1941, in Chaffee, Missouri, to the late John Albert and Virgie Cecelia Griffin Shackles. He married Kathy Audini on May 16, 1987, and she survives of the home...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Lisa Savage, 56 of Chaffee passed away Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, at her home. She was born May 10, 1962, in Cape Girardeau to Benjamin Walter and Wadine Gross Savage. Lisa was an avid reader, enjoyed gardening and was a waitress at IHOP...

Charlotte Kay Murphy, 84, of Jackson, formerly of Cape Girardeau, passed away Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019, at Jackson Manor Nursing Home. She was born April 28, 1934, in Sikeston, Missouri, to Herbert W. and Callie R. Thomas Kellett. She was a graduate of Delta High School. ...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Rita Mantel of Sikeston died Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete with Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee, Missouri.

Last November, Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved Constitutional Amendment 1 (A1), known as Clean Missouri, a citizens' initiative designed to clean up state government. Will someone please explain to me why our local representatives, Barry Hovis (146th) and Kathy Swan (147th), recently voted for House Bill 445 which clearly is designed to weaken A1 -- by removing state representatives and state senators from its key provisions -- bringing yet more darkness to Missouri government?...

Presidential candidates galore -- and we have barely gotten started. The prelude to 2020 is shaping up to mirror the 2016 campaign in which about 20 Republicans threw their hats in the ring to succeed Barack Obama. But what kind of person actually wants to be president?...

Six more men with ties to Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity have been arrested on misdemeanor hazing charges stemming from the beating of five pledges, and authorities say more arrests may be made; in all 13 men have been arrested since Wednesday in an investigation prompted by the death of 25-year-old Southeast Missouri State University student Michael Davis...

CHICAGO -- Chicago police said Sunday they're still seeking a follow-up interview with Jussie Smollett after receiving new information shifting their investigation of a reported attack on the "Empire" actor. The trajectory of the investigation "shifted" after detectives questioned two brothers about the attack and released them late Friday without charges, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Saturday. ...

AURORA, Ill. -- An initial background check failed to detect a felony conviction that should have barred the man who killed five co-workers and wounded six other people at a suburban Chicago manufacturing plant from buying the gun. Months later, a second background check of Gary Martin found his 1995 aggravated assault conviction in Mississippi involving the stabbing of an ex-girlfriend. ...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- President Donald Trump suggested Monday key officials involved in the Russia probe were engaged in "treasonous" behavior. Trump lashed out on Twitter at former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, whose new book details his concerns about potential foreign influence over the president, and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who initiated special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A Republican operative, who last year rounded up votes for a GOP candidate running for Congress, conducted an illegal and well-funded ballot-harvesting operation, North Carolina's elections director said Monday. The director's testimony came on the first day of a hearing into whether mail-in ballots were tampered with in a race for the state's 9th District seat, which saw Republican Mark Harris narrowly defeat Democrat Dan McCready...

BAGHOUZ, Syria -- The collection of tents was largely silent on a sunny winter Monday afternoon. Few people were visible, but the few out and about were calm: Two men in long robes and pants walked slowly together through the grass, a woman leisurely came out of her tent to look around, a man on a motorcycle drove toward the river...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Kamala Harris had the best campaign roll-out. Amy Klobuchar's snowy debut showed grit. Elizabeth Warren's opening campaign video was a bit odd. Take it from an unlikely armchair pundit sizing up the 2020 Democratic field: President Donald Trump...

If you have a few extra bucks you don't need for necessities such as rent or loan payments, consider shopping for happiness. From ancient philosophers to current experts in behavioral economics, people have been pondering the link between money and happiness. Among them is author Gretchen Rubin, who thinks about happiness for a living. She's written several books on happiness, including "The Happiness Project" and the forthcoming "Outer Order, Inner Calm."...

WASHINGTON -- Mitch Hungerpiller thought he had a first-class solution for mail that gets returned as undeliverable, a common problem for businesses that send lots of letters. But the process he helped develop and built his small Alabama technology company around has resulted in a more than decadelong fight with the U.S. ...

NEW YORK -- Retailers and top fashion brands such as Gucci and Prada keep apologizing for products smacking of racial insensitivity. The big question is: Why does it keep happening? Experts say many of these fashion companies live in a sort of bubble and lack the diversity in their staff that could vet their fashions. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's largest utility company plans to spend $6.3 billion on grid improvements over the next five years. Ameren Missouri filed its plan with the Missouri Public Service Commission last week. The highlights include installing 800,000 "smart meters" through 2023 as part of an effort to give customers more control over electrical costs, and a $1 billion expenditure on wind energy in 2020...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Floyd W. Wahlers, 77, of Perryville died Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at his home. He was born April 4, 1941, in Perryville, son of Theodore and Hilda Steffens Wahlers. He first married Mary Cox on Jan. 30, 1968. She preceded him in death Jan. 21, 2008. He then married Laura L. Prost on Feb. 14, 2009. She survives in Perryville...

BENTON, Mo. -- Justin Gregory Mosby, 43, of Benton passed away Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at his home. He was born Jan. 3, 1976, in Cape Girardeau to Greg W. and Lisa A. Wilson Mosby. He and Lyndsey M. Burger were married Aug. 4, 2001, at New Hamburg, Missouri...

Haralambos "Bob" Ligonis died Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at his home in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with Trisagion Prayers observed at 11 a.m., Saturday at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Daniel Morton officiating. Burial will follow at Fairmount Cemetery in Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Cecil C. LaBruyere, 76, of Perryville died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, at his home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. March 1 at Young and Sons Funeral Home. A memorial service will be at 7 p.m. March 1 at the funeral home, officiated by the Rev. Gerold McBride...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Patricia L. Heaps, 81, of Perryville died Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, at Independence Care Center. 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 Pastor Ray White officiating. Burial will be in Yount Community Cemetery...

Aaron Lee Flessner, 41, died Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Liley Funeral Home in Marble Hill, Missouri. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home, with Pastor Rocky Strand officiating. Interment will be in Bollinger County Memorial Park Cemetery near Marble Hill...

Charles W. "Bill" Criddle, 88, of Oak Ridge died Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, at his home. He was born April 5, 1930, in Oak Ridge to Charles B. and Grace M. Moore Criddle. He and Billie Lou McCanless were married Sept. 18, 1948, at Osceola, Arkansas. He served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force from 1947 to 1967, serving in Japan and Goose Bay, Labrador. After his military service, he worked 17 years on the river. Upon retiring , he opened Billie's Place in Oak Ridge...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Agnes Ellen Sturgeon Corbin, 99, of Advance passed away Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. She was born March 8, 1919, in Townley, Missouri, daughter of William Joseph and Melola Eaker Myers. She first married Elmer Franklin Sturgeon on March 3, 1934, and he passed away July 10, 1995. She later married Claud Corbin on June 30, 1997, and he passed away Jan. 1, 2014...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Ricky Lynn Cook, 61, left this earth Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. After fighting a long battle with cancer, he went to Heaven to be with his father and brother. He was born Dec. 1, 1957, in Marble Hill, son of Elbert Dude Sr. and Geraldine Garland Cook. Ricky and Cheryl Ann Davis Cook were united in marriage Jan. 13, 2004...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Ronald Cain, 71, of Tamms died Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at Monticello House in Jackson. He was born July 21, 1947, in Cairo, Illinois, to Henry Edgar and Margaret Elaine Brown Cain. Ronald retired from Procter & Gamble, where he was a dedicated technician for 32 years. ...

Father God, thank you that we are more than conquerors through Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

Cape needs a refresh of its old slogans. Many moons ago we were the "City of Roses," then there was the strange "City of a Thousand Tales." More accurate and appropriate would be "City of a thousand potholes." The downhill sides of Mt. Auburn near apartment city are now alignment wreckers as are numerous others on Cape Rock...

Daughter to Justin Tyler and Cortney Blaire Aden of Cape Girardeau, Saint Francis Medical Center, 3:53 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. Name, Avalon Quinn. Weight, 6 pounds, 11 ounces. Fourth child, third daughter. Mrs. Aden is the former Cortney Boitnott, daughter of Bill and Kim Boitnott of Chaffee, Missouri, and Joe Proffer of Cape Girardeau and the late Laura Proffer. She is a cashier at McCallister's. Aden is the son of Rob and Kim Keller of Oak Ridge. He is a bartender at The Southerner...

NEWARK, Del. — A man’s nap in the back of his car in Delaware turned into a nightmare after the car he was sleeping in was stolen and crashed. ...

BEIJING -- China's government Monday accused the United States of trying to block its industrial development by alleging Chinese mobile network gear poses a cybersecurity threat to countries rolling out new internet systems. And in a potential blow to the U.S.'s effort to rally its allies on the issue, British media reported the country's intelligence agencies have found it's possible to limit the security risks of using Chinese equipment in so-called 5G networks...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Jo Ann Martin, 65, of McClure died Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at her home. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Robert Joyce, 72, of Jackson died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

Guardian Angel Lady Redwings came in as a #7 seed in the Notre Dame Jr. High Tournament played Feb. 1 & 2 and Feb. 10 & 11 in Cape Girardeau. They played their first 2 games, winning both, which put them in the top 4. They lost the next 2 games, but still came away with a 4th place trophy. ...

On July 13, semoball.com, The Southeast Missourian, rustmedia and other daily newspapers in Southeast Missouri will put on the sixth annual Semoball Awards show, a glamorous evening to recognize the best athletes in the region for their athletic and academic accomplishments...