Stories from Friday, March 22, 2019

Caroline Thompson is passionate about painting, teaching and cooking, and since moving to Cape Girardeau last year, her love for art has blossomed into her next big opportunity: Caroline Thompson Studio & Gallery. Thompson -- abstract impressionist oil painter -- began her career in 1999 after attending a 4-series art workshop she wasn't necessarily excited about...

Here's to hoping you have fully recovered from all the St. Patrick's Day festivities, because this weekend there's a flight of music varieties to check out. There's even the production of "Evita" taking the stage Saturday at the Southeast River Campus...

An empty building with a stark face of glass and concrete stands at 40 S. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau, opposite Fire Station No. 1, near apartment buildings, a church and a grocery store. Since March 2018, when the police department moved from the building constructed in 1976 to a new facility at 2530 Maria Louise Lane, the former station has been vacant...

Candidates for the Kelly school board have brought up everything from finances to school safety and hiring of teachers in advance of the April 2 election. School board incumbents John Felter and Paul Ruff face three challengers for the two seats on the board...

Organizers are hoping to raise $14,000 in this year's Walk MS on April 13 at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. Local advocate Mary Meyer, who has organized the walk each year for the past 30 years, said she was diagnosed in the 1980s with relapsing MS, which means the symptoms can vary in intensity from one day to the next...

An anonymous donor has pledged $1.5 million in matching funds toward construction of an indoor aquatic center, two former Cape Girardeau mayors announced Thursday. Former mayors Harry Rediger and Jay Knudtson revealed the private donation at a breezy, outdoor news conference at the Shawnee Park Center attended by city, school and community leaders...

Today is Friday, March 22, the 81st day of 2019. There are 284 days left in the year. Today's Highlights in History: On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act to raise money from the American colonies, which fiercely resisted the tax. (The Stamp Act was repealed a year later.)...

In your March 16 article, "Trump vetoes rebuke of border order," we read that our president continues to focus on building a U.S.-Mexico border wall rather than addressing the reasons why migrants come in the first place. Violence from gangs and family members, entrenched poverty and rampant hunger are forcing many -- mostly families -- to flee Central America. This includes many women and girls forced to leave their homes in search of what we all seek: safety and a chance at a meaningful life...

Every single civic organization in the city of Cape Girardeau has done good work over the years. But Rotary is the granddaddy of them all. The Cape Girardeau Rotary Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with a gala event April 5 at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. At the event, president elect of Rotary International Mark Daniel Maloney will address the Rotarians and the public, which is invited to attend...

JERUSALEM -- President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election...

BOISE, Idaho -- David Lunsford is an avid gun owner with a firing range on his Texas spread. With bump stocks about to be banned by the U.S. government, he grudgingly decided to sell off his and let someone else figure out what to do with them. "If I get caught with one, I'm a felon, and it seems like to me that's entrapment in the biggest way. ...

WASHINGTON -- A top House Democrat says Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and a powerful White House aide, is not preserving all of her official email communications as required by federal law. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said in a letter that Trump's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, informed the committee late last year that she doesn't preserve official email she receives in her personal account if she doesn't respond to it...

WASHINGTON -- More Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to halt his attacks on the late Sen. John McCain. But Trump is continuing to complain about the Arizona senator's health care vote seven months after McCain died of brain cancer. "I'm not a fan of John McCain," Trump said again Thursday in an interview taped for Fox Business Network's "Mornings With Maria."...

NEW YORK -- Poet Tyree Daye will finally have some time to really write, and not think too much about money. "I can take the summer off and pay down some debts," Daye, from Youngsville, North Carolina, said Wednesday night after accepting his $50,000 Whiting Award, given annually by the Whiting Foundation to 10 emerging artists...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook left millions of user passwords readable by its employees for years, the company acknowledged Thursday after a security researcher exposed the lapse. By storing passwords in readable plain text, Facebook violated fundamental computer-security practices. Those call for organizations and websites to save passwords in a scrambled form that makes it almost impossible to recover the original text...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The company owning a duck boat that sank on a Missouri lake last summer, killing 17 people, announced Thursday it won't operate the vessels this year because of the ongoing investigation and will instead open a replacement attraction in the tourist town of Branson...

NEW YORK -- A Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to sending pipe bombs to CNN and prominent critics of President Donald Trump in a wave of attacks that harmed no one but spread fear of political violence across the U.S. for days leading up to last fall's midterm elections...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation -- a measure that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy. Bryant's action came despite a federal judge's ruling last year that struck down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions in the state. ...

After listening to impassioned testimony on two issues not on the Cape Girardeau City Council agenda last night, the staff elected to take up both matters at the next meeting: Minimum housing standard codes and the parking situation in the 300 and 400 block of Louisiana Avenue, which is close to the 96-car parking lot at Southeast Hospital...

David Craig Tally, 64, of Cape Girardeau passed away Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at his home after a struggle with liver cancer. He was born Nov. 19, 1954, in Cairo, Illinois, to the late Jerry and Rita Sue Parker Tally. David was born in Cairo and grew up in Mounds, Illinois...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- On Monday, March 18, 2019, Christina Lynn Westrich Shannon, loving wife, mother, sister and friend, passed away at the age of 62 on the farm she loved so much. She was surrounded by family and her beloved pets. Christy was born May 8, 1956, in St. Louis to Andrew and Judith Macke Westrich...

For nearly five hours competitors rumbled in a throw down in a Super Smash Brothers tournament to compete for cash prizes at Gaming Grounds on Broadway on March 9. Nearly 30 competitors showed up to compete for first, second and third place. "Super Smash Brothers" is a video game that has been around since 1999 but has started to regain popularity with its release on Nintendo Switch, a new gaming system...

BEND, Ore. -- A Blockbuster Video in Oregon is the last one on the planet after the only other Blockbuster video rental shop, in Australia, announced it is closing March 31. Employees of the dated franchise in Bend say running the store has its challenges. ...

Delvin Gilbert Meyr, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis. He was born Dec. 24, 1942, in New Wells to Gilbert and Florence Hutteger Meyr. He and Dottie Lambky were married Dec. 27, 1966, at Jefferson City...

Louise Ostendorf Alderman, 76, of Scott City died Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 22, 1942, in Cape Girardeau to August and Lucinda Stock Ostendorf. She and Daniel Kenneth Alderman were married Oct. 26, 1974, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso, Missouri. He survives at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau...

Thank you, O Lord Jesus, that in your nearness we may take shelter. Amen.

Jackson The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrest n Lisa Daly, 53, of Jackson was arrested on suspicion for property damage. Theft n Theft reported in the 3300 block of Old Cape Road. n Theft reported in the 500 block of North Hope Street...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: n Medical assists were made at 10:42 a.m. on Independence Street, at 1:56 p.m. on William Street and at 10:19 p.m. on South Sprigg Street. n At 12:50 a.m., good intent, no medical, false alarm was made on North Henderson Avenue...

Bob Miller's column about changing the mascot in Jackson makes sense to me. I have always been against using a person as a mascot, but it really hit home when Jackson hung a tiger high up on a crane and I realized that Cape could not do that to Jackson because they cannot hang an Indian. I even hated seeing the tiger hanging. Tasteless!...

For Kevin Fles, Financial Advisor at Montgomery Bank, financial advising is all about a personal connection and building relationships with his clients. From advising them on how to invest their money to learning about their family, Kevin views each client individually...