Stories from Wednesday, December 7, 2022

The former city clerk of Parma, Missouri, was sentenced Monday, Dec. 5, after pleading guilty to a felony charge of stealing from the Bootheel town of 713. Helen Frye was ordered by the New Madrid County Circuit Court to pay restitution of $37,626 to the city and was sentenced to seven years in prison. She received a suspended execution of sentence, meaning she will serve 120 days in prison and then be placed on probation...

Gibson Center for Behavioral Change in Cape Girardeau is building a bus. Or, rather, they are having one built for them. As soon as late winter or early spring, the facility will dispatch a mobile unit out to rural Southeast Missourians who have little or no access to mental health services...

Cape Girardeau Mayor Stacy Kinder is attending a conference of mayors along the Mississippi River this week in Washington D.C. to lobby for national support for resources to help with the impact of the drought on the region. The conference is hosted by the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, a collaborative group made up of more than 100 municipalities, including Cape Girardeau...

A planned new roundabout at the intersection of Highway 25 and Route K in Gordonville was the subject of a three-hour come-and-go Missouri Department of Transportation public input session Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Gordonville Elementary School, 653 Route Z...

Those in Missouri without broadband coverage have the opportunity to put their home or business on the map. The Federal Communications Commission recently released new maps showing what areas have and do not have access to broadband, down to the individual address...

The City of Jackson has received $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and is planning to use a little more than a tenth of the amount to replace 1965-era Union Street Restroom No. 1 at the intersection of North Union and Oak streets. The municipality's Board of Aldermen this week heard the results of a Thursday, Dec. ...

Cape Girardeau City Council members voted unanimously Monday, Dec. 5, to approve the first reading of an ordinance to rezone a property at the southwest corner of Lexington Avenue and Big Bend Road, paving the way for future development at the location...

Today in History Today is Wednesday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2022. There are 24 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as well as targets in Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines and Wake Island; the United States declared war against Japan the next day...

Jackson, MO is an incredible community with so much to offer holiday shoppers this year! Full of unique boutiques and shops, Jackson is the perfect place to find gifts, enjoy a delicious meal, or indulge in a sweet treat. Looking for a unique gift? Jackson has several vintage and handmade gift shopping options that offer custom made-to-order items. ...

O Father God, we place our hope in Jesus, the Messiah, our Prince of Peace. Amen.

The "Twitter Files" released by Elon Musk give us a more fine-grained understanding of how and why the social media company decided to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story. This was a woefully stupid decision. The New York Post's account was suspended for two weeks for the offense of coming up with a scoop that we are still talking about and that will surely play a large role in upcoming GOP investigations into Biden family corruption...

We remember the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor 81 years ago today by Japanese naval and air forces that led to 2,403 service member and civilian casualties, along with an additional 1,178 injured. The surprise assault on American soil would lead the United States to enter World War II...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Dec. 5 n Medical assists were made at 2:08 a.m. on North Henderson Avenue; 2:44 a.m. on Copper Drive; 12:55 p.m. on Marilyn Drive; 1:16 p.m. on North Sprigg Street; and 6:31 p.m. on Bella Vista Drive...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A warrant arrest was reported on Independence Street. n A warrant arrest was reported. Assaults n Fourth-degree assault, resisting/interfering with arrest, detention or stop and first-degree trespassing were reported on Green Acres Drive...

Melvin L. Parrow, 64, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, at Southeast Hospital. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at Freedom House Ministries in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the church, with the Rev. William Rogers officiating. Burial will immediately follow at Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau...

Mary Evelyn Kellett, 89, passed away Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, at Saxony Village Retirement Community in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 10, 1932, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to the late Theodore "Ted" and Myrtle Edwards York. On Dec. 22, 1952, in Piggott, Arkansas, she married Donald Eugene Kellett, who preceded her in death April 6, 2006...

The COVID-19 pandemic sent Heidi Whitney's daughter into a tailspin. Suddenly the San Diego middle schooler was sleeping all day and awake all night. When in-person classes resumed, she was so anxious at times that she begged to come home early, telling the nurse her stomach hurt...

WASHINGTON -- The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will make criminal referrals to the Justice Department as it wraps up its probe and looks to publish a final report by the end of the year, the panel's chairman said Tuesday...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Anderson Lee Aldrich loaded bullets into a Glock pistol and chugged vodka, ominously warning frightened grandparents not to stand in the way of an elaborate plan to stockpile guns, ammo, body armor and a homemade bomb to become "the next mass killer."...

MADISON, Wis. -- Special counsel Jack Smith has subpoenaed local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania, asking for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election...

OMAHA, Neb. -- A federal judge ordered a Wisconsin company that cleans hundreds of slaughterhouses nationwide to ensure it is complying with child labor laws after investigators identified at least 50 minors scrubbing and sanitizing dangerous equipment on overnight shifts at five different meatpacking plants in three states...

MOMBASA, Kenya -- Scientists around the world are warning governments who will be gathering in Montreal this week for the United Nations biodiversity summit to not repeat past mistakes and are urging officials to "avoid trade-offs" between people and conservation needs in a report Monday...

BEIJING -- China's leaders eulogized the late Jiang Zemin on Tuesday as a loyal Marxist-Leninist who oversaw their country's rapid economic rise while maintaining rigid Communist Party control over society. President and current party leader Xi Jinping praised Jiang in an hour-long address at Beijing's Great Hall of the People as senior officials, military brass and rank-and-file soldiers stood at attention...

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's Parliament passed a long-awaited and controversial revision of its penal code Tuesday that criminalizes extramarital sex for citizens and visiting foreigners alike. After ratification, the new criminal code must be signed by the president, according to Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Hiariej. The criminal code will not apply immediately...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Drones struck inside Russia's border with Ukraine on Tuesday in the second day of attacks exposing the vulnerability of some of Moscow's most important military sites, experts said. Ukrainian officials did not formally confirm carrying out drone strikes inside Russia, and they have maintained ambiguity over previous high-profile attacks...

LOS ANGELES -- Kirstie Alley, a two-time Emmy winner whose roles on the TV megahit "Cheers" and in the "Look Who's Talking" films made her one of the biggest stars in American comedy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, died Monday. She was 71. Alley died of cancer that was only recently discovered, her children, True and Lillie Parker, said in a post on Twitter. Alley's manager Donovan Daughtry confirmed the death in an email to The Associated Press...

NEW YORK -- Donald Trump's company was convicted of tax fraud Tuesday for helping executives dodge taxes on extravagant perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars, a repudiation of financial practices at the former president's business as he mounts another run for the White House...

WASHINGTON -- Hailed as heroes, the law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were honored Tuesday with Congressional Gold Medals and praised for securing democracy when they fought off a brutal and bloody attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump...

ATLANTA -- Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election Tuesday, ensuring Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden's term and helping cap an underwhelming midterm cycle for the GOP in the last major vote of the year...

Representatives from medical, law enforcement and social service fields have created a sexual assault advocacy group to serve victims in Cape Girardeau County; board of directors president Tammy Gwaltney said the recently-organized Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence will piece together services that until now have been partially offered by various county agencies; the organization recently gained not-for-profit status and will assist female and child victims through every step of the trauma they face as a result of sexual assault and abuse.. ...

Ingrid Forsythe, 77, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, Nov. 27. 2022, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St Louis. She was born Feb. 8, 1945, in Lüsberg, Germany. Ingrid was trained as a tailor and worked as a seamstress at Thorngate Ltd. and Custom Creations by RM Coco until her retirement. She enjoyed caring for her home, yard and garden, and had a special place in her heart for German shepherd dogs...