Stories from Friday, November 20, 2020

Repair work will close the U.S. 60/62 bridge at Cairo, Illinois, beginning at 7 p.m. Nov. 30, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The bridge will remain closed throughout the duration of work, which will include pier repairs and temporary shoring. ...

The cast and crew of “The New Normal” decided to embrace COVID-19 in their production, instead of letting it take away from the performance. According to Kitt Lavoie, assistant professor of theater, acting and directing, and director of “The New Normal,” the production team decided they didn’t want to shy away from the challenges COVID-19 presented them, so they incorporated their own problems as the characters’...

Southeast Missouri State University student directors Randi Sargent and Jasmine Jones won a total of three awards at this year’s Truman State University Film Festival. Sargent’s film “The Alibi” won the award for best editing and the people’s choice award, while Jones’ film “Missing” won the award for best cinematography. ...

Water from the Mississippi River crashes on rocks near the river walk because of high winds creating current Thursday in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Kelly Birk, a nurse with the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center’s Cape Girardeau clinic, has been honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize nursing care. Birk was nominated by a veteran patient who said she “not only did her job but went above and beyond” with his care. ...

Cape Girardeau County will reimburse eligible county employees up to $500 to cover qualified 2020 medical expenses. The Cape Girardeau County Commission voted Thursday to make reimbursements available out of the county’s health care fund. “This is to offset any expenses not covered by our insurance company,” explained Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy, who said the county has done this in previous years as long as the county’s health care fund has a sufficient balance to accommodate the reimbursement payments. ...

The new southbound bridge on Interstate 55 over U.S. 61 at Center Junction will open to one lane of traffic as early as today, weather permitting. The bridge is a major component of the $17.4 million diverging diamond interchange construction project between Cape Girardeau and Jackson...

Southeast Missouri State University president Carlos Vargas confirmed late Thursday afternoon he is in quarantine after coming into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Vargas, Southeast president since 2015, said in a campus-wide email the contact happened over the weekend and did not occur at Saturday’s commencement for spring and summer graduates...

Robbie Guard does not mince words about the job he and his colleagues on the Cape Girardeau City Council have in the next few months. “Choosing a new city manager is the most important thing this council ever does,” said Guard, Fourth Ward councilman and mayor pro tempore...

A Cape Girardeau County landmark has been chosen to represent the state on a U.S. Postal Service stamp commemorating Missouri statehood. The Postal Service unveiled several 2021 stamps this week, and among them is a stamp marking Missouri becoming the nation’s 24th state, which occurred Aug. 10, 1821...

Today is Friday, Nov. 20, the 325th day of 2020. There are 41 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Nov. 20, 2000, lawyers for Al Gore and George W. Bush battled before the Florida Supreme Court over whether the presidential election recount should be allowed to continue...

You don't have to check a calendar to know November has arrived. Cooler temperatures are here, and collections of artfully-arranged pumpkins and leaves of yellow, orange and red adorn porches and store displays. If that isn't enough to tip you off, no doubt you've been made aware by the incessant hawking of everything pumpkin spice!...

I have noticed that as the pandemic is increasingly getting worse the message of sanitizing everything we touch is almost silent. We hear "wear a mask" almost hourly and the 6-foot rule and as some experts have said the type of mask we wear is important. ...

A Cape Girardeau school counselor has advanced as one of five national finalists for School Counselor of the Year, named by the American School Counselor Association. Olivia Carter works at Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau. In October, she was recognized as the Missouri State Counselor of the Year, and in 2019 she was the Southeast Missouri School Counselor Association's Elementary Counselor of the Year...

Contrary to most predictions, Election Day brought no blue wave. While former Vice President Joe Biden won the presidency, it looks like the Republicans will keep the Senate. Even more surprisingly, the Democrats appear to be on the verge of losing as many as 13 seats in the House of Representatives. If this proves to be the case, it would be the smallest House majority for any party since 1919...

For years, the state of Missouri has been a preferred venue for civil litigators pursuing far-flung legal theories. Whether they're allowing "junk science" to be admitted as expert testimony or permitting "phantom" damages to provide windfall gains for plaintiffs, Missouri courts have consistently proven themselves an outlier in their interpretation of statutes and policy. And now, much to the delight of trial attorneys everywhere, Missouri has done it again...

Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for our feet, a light on our path. Amen.

James John Zinner Jr., 67, of Jackson went home to be with the Lord Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, at Life Care Center of Cape Girardeau. He was born May 28, 1953, in Mobile, Alabama, to James J. and Ruth E. Whittington Zinner Sr. James was a 1972 graduate of Hannibal (Missouri) High School and attended Southeast Missouri State University...

Barbara Ann Eldridge, 82, of Scott City died at noon Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, at her home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City. Funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Joe Horger officiating...

Martha Jean Gregory Brown, age 70, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of East Prairie, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born Aug. 15, 1950, in Cairo, Illinois, to the late William Ralph and Vivian Lucille Stanfield Gregory. She retired in 2013 after working in payroll/accounting for several businesses. She was a member of First Christian Church in East Prairie...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Ruby M Blaylock, 92, of Perryville died Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, at Independence Care Center in Perryville. Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Perryville, with the Rev. Kevin Barron officiating...

Son to Andrew David and Jessie Nicole Livesay of Wolf Lake, Illinois, Saint Francis Medical Center, 1:09 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 30, 2020. Name, Lane Andrew. Weight, 9 pounds, 5 ounces. Second child, first son. Mrs. Livesay is the former Jessie Reynolds, daughter of Greg and Amy Reynolds of McClure, Illinois. She is a registered nurse at Saint Francis Medical Center. Livesay is the son of David and Mindy Livesay of Wolf Lake. He is an inside wireman/electrician with IBEW...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Nov. 17 n Medical assists were made at 3:04 a.m. on Boutin Drive; 8:17 a.m. on South Pacific Street; 1:07 p.m. on Good Hope Street; 2:49 p.m. on North Kingshighway; 4:19 p.m. on Park Place Drive; 7:48 p.m. on Jefferson Avenue;...

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's foreign secretary said Thursday the country no longer wants officials accused of corruption to be put on trial in the United States, a move that could scale back a tradition that saw most of Mexico's corruption cases tried north of the border...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The National Science Foundation announced Thursday it will close the huge telescope at the renowned Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in a blow to scientists worldwide who depend on it to search for planets, asteroids and extraterrestrial life...

NEW YORK -- With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation's top public health agency pleaded with Americans on Thursday not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household. It was some of the firmest guidance yet from the government on curtailing traditional gatherings to fight the outbreak...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump and his allies are taking increasingly frantic steps to subvert the results of the 2020 election, including summoning state legislators to the White House as part of a longshot bid to overturn Joe Biden's victory...

NEW YORK -- Would you buy something you can't see? That's the question posed by two New York brothers who've lost much of their vision to a rare degenerative eye disorder and have dedicated their lives -- and livelihoods -- to raising money for a cure...

ATLANTA -- A top Georgia election official said Thursday a hand tally of ballots cast in the presidential race has been completed, and the results affirm Democrat Joe Biden's narrow lead over Republican President Donald Trump. The hand tally of about 5 million votes stemmed from an audit required by a new state law and wasn't in response to any suspected problems with the state's results or an official recount request. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday extended Missouri's state of emergency through March as hospitals struggled to keep up with a rise in coronavirus cases. Although there are sufficient beds for patients, some hospitals don't have enough staff to treat the increasing number of sick people, Parson said...

When the shiny old 1903 Studebaker wagon starts from Capaha Park down Broadway to Main Street Sunday, the driver will hold the reins to more than eight tons of raw horsepower; the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, representatives of Anheuser-Busch for more than six decades, will be harnessed and hitched to the famous red beer wagon for Cape Girardeau's annual Christmas Parade of Lights; although the Clydesdales will be the big draw for the annual parade, more than 60 entries already have been received for the parade.. ...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- James Leroy Bourland, 85, of Chaffee, formerly of Wood River, Illinois, died at 1:05 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, at Chaffee Nursing Center after a lengthy illness. James was born June 15, 1935, in East Alton, Illinois, to James and Evelyn Spradley...

Busch Pet Products is at it again this holiday season, kicking off their “12 Days of Christmas” specials on December 8! Take advantage of these amazing in-store offers: Tuesday, December 8:BOGO candles (equal or lesser value) Wednesday, December 9: 30% OFF all Christmas collars, bandanas, bowties, sweaters, and other wearables...

House games are back again at Guardian Angel School for the archangel houses. The October games were held outside on a very hot and humid afternoon. On October 8, the groups of St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael competed against each other to see which group would gain the most points...