Stories from Saturday, September 4, 2021

Families in the Sikeston, Missouri, area have a friend and advocate in Cooper McKelvey.

Trash and recycling pickups will be affected by Monday's Labor Day holiday in Cape Girardeau. Monday's trash and recycling routes will be collected Tuesday; Tuesday's routes will be picked up Wednesday. All other routes remain the same. Most city operations will be closed Monday with several exceptions...

Cape Girardeau County health officials reported two COVID-19-related deaths Friday, and officials in Stoddard County, Missouri, reported three virus deaths. According to information released by the county Public Health Center, both of the fatalities were in their 70s. The deaths were the 142nd and 143rd virus-related fatalities of county residents during the pandemic...

Stan Polivick, director of Cape Girardeau Public Works for the last three years, said he views it as a "great compliment" when people take for granted what his 94-person department does and hopes Cape residents will remember this when they go to the polls in November to vote on an online sales tax referendum...

See a gallery of photos from Friday's Tunes at Twilight.

A new peer support center for people recovering from drug and alcohol addictions will open soon in Cape Girardeau, possibly later this fall, thanks to a grant from the state Department of Mental Health. The program, to be known as the We Do Recover Recovery Community Center (RCC), will be staffed and managed by recovering addicts at a yet-to-be-determined location...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Before the sun rose Wednesday, eight mobility-impaired hunters prepared for the opening of dove season, with the help of the state Department of Conservation. "Sure helps to take your mind off of all the other problems you've got going on," Eston Livingston said about the hunt while sitting in the tall grass with his son, Weston Livingston. Both are from Whitewater in Cape Girardeau county...

Today is Saturday, Sept. 4, the 247th day of 2021. There are 118 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus used Arkansas National Guardsmen to prevent nine Black students from entering all-white Central High School in Little Rock...

A new organization -- the Friends of the Cape Girardeau Public Library Foundation -- has been established to raise money for the library; to introduce the new foundation, a "Lift Off" celebration is set for Oct. 4; Apollo 13 astronaut and author James Lovell will speak...

Dave and Roxie Penny of Cape Girardeau will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Sept. 10. A party will be held at a later date. Penny and the former Roxie Ayers were married Sept. 10, 1971, in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Sonny Keesee performed the ceremony...

Jennifer Brown and Kevin Goodman, both of Cape Girardeau, announce their engagement. Jennifer is the daughter of Rick Brown of Cape Girardeau and Angela Brown of Scott City. Kevin is the son of Pete Goodman of Jackson and the late Marta Goodman. Jennifer is a 2011 graduate of Jackson High School. She received an associate degree in offset printing in 2011 from the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center. She a publication designer with the Southeast Missourian and rustmedia...

Lindsay Elaine Beachner and Clayton John Myers were married June 19 at Our Lady of the Presentation Catholic Church in Lee's Summit, Missouri. The Rev. Tom Holder perform the ceremony. Lindsay is the daughter of Kim and Elaine Beachner of Lee's Summit. Clayton is the son of John and Pam Myers of Cape Girardeau...

After 34 years at the helm, Professor John S. Cobb relinquished principalship of his beloved Lincoln School to Professor Oliver Odell "O.O." Nance. As successor, Nance likely felt the pressure of oversight (Cobb stayed on as a grade teacher for four additional years), but saw the open door of opportunity at the region's model Cape Girardeau school...

The Oliver House Museum in Jackson will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 5 for tours. It has recently been remodeled. Docents will give you the ultimate tour. Books on Tap: A Social Book Club will meet from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ebb & Flow Fermentations. Join the freeform book club for drinks and discussion of what was read for August's theme, "Blast from the Past," books about history or set in historical time periods...

Monday: Closed for Labor Day. Tuesday: Spaghetti with meaty sauce or chicken country casserole, Italian-blend veggies, tossed lettuce salad, garlic bread and chilled peaches or apple streusel cake. Wednesday: Tuna salad or chicken pasta salad, three-bean salad, sliced tomatoes, whole-wheat crackers and chilled grapes or creamy fruit dessert with coconut...

Is this a flower? Is this a cookie? Could this be a special kind of pancake with white icing? It might look like I went diving into the depths of the ocean to find some strange electric coral, but I didn't. I stayed right here in Southeast Missouri...

Many of us pray for the persecuted church all over the world. There are many places where it is dangerous to express faith in Jesus Christ. Christians, in the United States, are often mocked for claims of religious intolerance even as they are targeted for lawsuits. When Christians are in the minority, their lives are often in danger. Where does this hatred come from? Remember, we are facing spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6)...

This column is written the day after the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education decided to re-implement a mask mandate after daily student attendance dropped below 90% in most of the district's schools. According to a story by my newsroom colleague Monica Obradovic, 306 of the CGPS' 4,475 students were in quarantine as of Tuesday evening -- with 28 children positive for COVID-19...

On the first Monday in September, you may be looking forward to one last fling. That's because Labor Day is arriving, then. What does it mean to most folks? Do we meditate on the true reason we celebrate Labor Day, or does it have another meaning for us?...

It's getting closer and closer to fall, so the amount of daylight is going downhill. At one time it was staying light to almost 9 p.m., but now it's getting dark closer to 7 p.m. Sunrise right now is at 6:29 a.m. and sets at 7:26 p.m., which makes the day 12 hours and 57 minutes long. ...

The people of Southeast Missouri have a lengthy history of giving verbal support to military veterans. This support finds specific expression in the following paragraph from Gov. Parson's press release for last year's Veterans Day: "On this Veterans Day, I encourage all Missourians to honor the service, sacrifice, and courage of our nation's veterans. These brave men and women deserve the highest appreciation and utmost respect not just today but every day,..."...

Ideologues at both political extremes, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, on the left and Fox News host Tucker Carlson on the right, have recently pointed to pet foreign countries as exemplars of what America should strive to be. Yet Sanders and Carlson are each misled by a superficial understanding of what these countries are really about...

According to a new report from The Washington Post, America's corporations have committed "at least" $49.5 billion to the cause of "racial justice" since the George Floyd murder last year riveted our national attention on race. This amounts to a little over $1,100 for every Black man, woman and child in America...

O Father God, thank you for the blessing of work. Amen.

Cape Girardeau City Council 5 p.m. Tuesday City Hall 401 Independence St. Study session n No action will be taken during the study session Presentations n Heritage Manor Tax Credit Project -- MACO Development Communications/reports n City Council staff...

City of Jackson mayor and Board of Aldermen Regular meeting 6 p.m. Wednesday Adoption of agenda Approval of minutes n Minutes of Regular Meeting of Aug. 16 and 24, 2021 Financial affairs n Monthly bills Action items Power, Light, and Water Committee...

September precipitation already has surpassed the tiny little splash recorded in August; Dr. Al Robertson, a climatologist at Southeast Missouri State University, reports that 0.22 of an inch of rain fell in Cape Girardeau last month; so far this month, 0.27 of an inch has been recorded; last month was the second-driest August on record, according to Robertson...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Sept. 1 n Medical assists were made at 5:02 a.m. on Perryville Road; 7:16 a.m. on William Street; 8:38 a.m. on Brenda Kay Court; 9:34 a.m. on Black Willow Lane; 12:40 p.m. on South Kingshighway; 5:44 p.m. on South West End Boulevard; 6:35 p.m. on Jewel Drive; and 7:55 p.m. on Howell Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department released the following items. Arrest does not imply guilt. Arrests n Carlyn L (Wise) Boutwell, 52, of Jackson was arrested on a Jefferson County warrant for failure to appear for amphetamine possession...

Delia Marie Terry, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, at Bertrand Nursing and Rehab in Bertrand, Missouri. Graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at McLain's Chapel Cemetery near Oriole, with the Rev. Sam Roethemeyer officiating...

BENTON, Mo. -- Charles Ervin Robinson, 83, of Benton, died Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 at his home. He was born April 9, 1938, in Murphysboro, Illinois, to Lester and Anna Mae Garner Robison. He married Shirley Robinson on Aug. 4, 1956. He was a coal miner and was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was of the Baptist faith...

Kevin Clark, 64, of Jackson died Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, at this home. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

** Hadley Bowen Hadley Jade Bowen, 27, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, at her home. Visitation will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the funeral at 4 p.m. at Crain Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Edward "Ed" Zeno Beussink, 84, of Jackson, died Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, at his home. Visitation is from 8:30 to 11 a.m., Friday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson, followed by a Knights of Columbus Rosary at 11:15 a.m. Funeral Mass will be at noon Friday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson, with the Rev. Randolph Tochtrop officiating. Burial will follow at Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson...

ORAN, Mo. -- Roger Allen Barbee, son of Roger Dale Barbee and the late Diane Medlin Barbee, was born Sept. 11, 1970, in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and departed his life Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, at the age of 50 years. Roger was currently employed by American River Transportation Company (ARTCO), a subsidiary of ADM. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and a resident of Oran...