Briefly

MoDOT announces construction updates

• Route D in Cape Girardeau County will be reduced to one lane while the Missouri Department of Transportation makes pavement repairs. The section of roadway is from U.S. 61/Route D intersection to Broadridge Street in Jackson. The work will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
• The railroad at the intersection of Highways 34/72, 25 and U.S. 61 in Jackson may undergo routine maintenance Sunday. Work is scheduled for the East Main Street crossing, and if completed as scheduled, maintenance may then occur at the East Jackson Boulevard crossing.
• U.S. 61 from the Cape Gir­ardeau County line to Perryville will be reduced to one lane while MoDOT crews perform shoulder repairs. Traffic will be reduced to one lane from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

For more information, call MoDOT at (888) 275-663.

Accident in Illinois kills Central student

A 16-year-old Cape Girardeau Central High School student was killed Friday in a one-car crash three miles south of Illinois Highway 3. Jake Pecord of Miller City, Ill., was killed in a one-vehicle accident at 1:30 a.m. Friday on the Miller City Road in Alexander County, according to information obtained from law enforcement authorities and Central High School principal Dr. Mike Cowan. Pecord's 2002 Chevrolet pickup truck, according to preliminary indications, was traveling at a high rate of speed, Illinois State Police said. Pecord lost control of the vehicle and the vehicle struck a tree, state police said. As of Friday afternoon, the state police had yet to release the victim's name. Police said the crash was still under investigation. But Cowan said the victim was Pecord, who enrolled in Central High School last year. He completed the 11th grade and would have been a senior at Central this fall, Cowan said. "That is the worst possible news you can have," Cowan said of learning of the fatal accident. "Jake was a truly interesting person," he said. "I always enjoyed his sense of humor." Pecord recently returned from the national Future Business Leaders of America convention in Chicago, where he placed 10th in computer networking concepts, Cowan said. Visitation for Pecord is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. today at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Bumgard Cemetery in Miller City.

-- From staff reports