Stories from Friday, January 30, 2009

Jacksonville State entered Thursday's men's basketball game last in free-throw percentage in the 10-team Ohio Valley Conference. The Gamecocks also had attempted 71 fewer free throws than Southeast Missouri State, whose 470 foul shots led the OVC...

Either from sheer weight or the temperatures beginning to rise, ice has been dropping from roofs. Underfoot, it poses a different danger. Alan Foust, who works at his wife Janey's American Family Insurance office in Jackson, said he expects to hear from clients soon...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Wilford Grover "Jack" Hadder, 85, of Sikeston died Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born July 20, 1923, in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., son of Grover Steven and Julia Ann Robinson Hadder. He and Ethel Pauline Russell were married Sept. 25, 1945, in New Madrid, Mo. She died Nov. 8, 1992...

Scholarships n Laura Felter of Kelly High School in Benton, Mo., received the Curators Scholars Award to the University of Missouri, Columbia for the 2009-2010 academic year. HONOR ROLL n Whitney Nicole Eftink was named to the fall semester honor roll at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich was unanimously convicted at his impeachment trial and thrown out of office Thursday, ending a nearly two-month crisis that erupted with his arrest on charges he tried to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Theon Schmitt of Chaffee died Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee is in charge of arrangements.

ST. LOUIS -- Peter Regin picked a good time for his first NHL goal. Regin, playing in his third game for Ottawa, scored the winning goal with 1:57 left as the Senators beat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Thursday night. Regin admitted that he misfired a bit on the shot, but was certainly pleased with the result...

Jackson linebacker Blake Peiffer, who led all of Southeast Missouri with 162 tackles this past fall, has committed verbally to play football for Southeast Missouri State. The high school senior said he likely would make it official with the Redhawks on signing day Wednesday...

ATLANTA -- A federal probe into a deadly salmonella outbreak has exposed a dirty secret: Food producers in most states are not required to alert health regulators if internal tests show possible contamination at their plants. The legal loophole surfaced this week when federal investigators disclosed internal Peanut Corp. ...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama intends to overturn four Bush-era executive orders that unions opposed, a labor official said Thursday. Obama planned to reverse one order today that allowed unionized companies to post signs informing workers that they were allowed to decertify their union, an order some claim is unfair because nonunion businesses are not required to post signs letting workers know they were legally allowed to vote for a union...

Lucas Glover and Australia's James Nitties shot 6-under 65s to share the first-round lead in the FBR Open, while Phil Mickelson struggled to a 76 in his first PGA Tour round of the year Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Play was suspended because of darkness with nine players still on the course...

Albert Pujols is encouraging the St. Louis Cardinals to sign Manny Ramirez. The Cardinals slugger, who won his second NL MVP award in November, acknowledged the team might not have enough money to land the free-agent outfielder. "I speak with Manny every three days and he tells me, 'Man, no one wants to sign me,'" Pujols said Thursday during a news conference in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. "I'm not an agent or general manager, but I can't understand how Manny has not signed."...

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team posted its most lopsided win of the season against Jacksonville State when the squads met Jan. 5. Things didn't get much better for JSU in Thursday's rematch. Southeast jumped on visiting JSU from the start and romped 57-37...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon toured storm-damaged Southeast Missouri counties Thursday and spoke to those affected by the widespread power outages. Nixon surveyed the damage with more than a dozen other people on board a helicopter. Fog prevented Nixon from landing in Sikeston, but the helicopter set down in Cape Girardeau, and those on board drove farther south to Sikeston's public safety headquarters...

In these times of gloomy economic news on a daily basis, bits of brighter information are welcome. That was the case this week when the Cape Girardeau City Council approved the bonding plan to pay for more than $20 million of park improvements. The bonds will be repaid with revenue from a sales tax approved by voters last April. Thanks to the decline in interest rates since then, city officials estimated a savings of 20 percent to retire the bonds...

The Internal Revenue Service is offering Saturday hours in Cape Girardeau to help workers who may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit prepare their returns. The first session will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the IRS Taxpayers Assistance Center at 137 S. Broadview St. Additional Saturday help sessions are scheduled for the same hours Feb. 7 and Feb. 21...

As our recent blast of winter weather melts away we are seeing plenty of icicles, but have you ever seen an upward-facing icicle? They exist, and you can create them in your freezer with a few ingredients from around the house. Materials n Ice tray n Distilled water...

Joseph Alva "Pete" Edwards, 80, of Scott City died Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 21, 1928, in Russellville, Ark., son of Joseph Payton and Ella Mae Standridge Edwards. He and Anna Lee B. Baker were married April 2, 1949, at Chaffee, Mo...

MOYOCK, N.C. -- Blackwater Worldwide, denied an operating license in Iraq because of lingering outrage over a deadly shooting spree in Baghdad, promised Thursday to leave the country where it guards American diplomats within 72 hours of being ordered out by the State Department...

Power is beginning to return in small areas of Sikeston, and ice continues to damage Board of Municipal Utilities equipment. The same is true for other rural electric providers and for AmerenUE. Wayne McSpadden, operations manager for the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities, said repairs are frustratingly slow and hampered by ice...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Gerald E. "Gerry" Fallert of Perryville died Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009 at his home. He was 69. He was born Oct. 11, 1939 in River Aux Vases, Mo., the son of the late Frank and Cora Langelier Fallert. He was married June 5, 1971, to J. Cecilia Brown, who survives in Perryville...

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Doomsday Defense. The Purple People Eaters. The Steel Curtain. Exceptional defenses generate colorful, distinctive nicknames that define a style and forge an image that guarantees they will be mentioned for generations. There's no such catchy nickname for these Pittsburgh Steelers, except the not-so-original Steel Curtain II -- which, if nothing else, proves Steelers fans love making any connection possible to the four Super Bowl winners of the 1970s...

While power was slowly returning to areas of Scott and Stoddard counties, little progress was being made further south in Missouri. AmerenUE reported that 30,054 customers were without power in Southeast Missouri, a decrease of about 4,100 from Thursday morning. All 5,033 customers in New Madrid County did not have electricity and 7,642, or 99 percent, of customers in Pemiscot County were in the dark. About 5,000, or 95 percent, of customers in Mississippi County did not have power...

25 years ago: Jan. 30, 1984 Cape Girardeau County Second District Judge J. Ronald Fischer files for re-election; he is the first person to file for the position and has been on the County Court since 1968. The filing of Cape Girardeau businessman John M. Sarff has brought to five the number of persons seeking two seats on the school board; other candidates are incumbent Dr. Thomas Harte, the Rev. Claude Russell, Carolyn Kelley and Charles E. Weber...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon ventured to the University of Missouri's flagship campus Thursday to tout a proposed expansion of health-care training for college students. He instead spent much of his time defending a decision announced a day earlier to suspend several college construction projects funded with money from Missouri's student loan authority. Among the projects: $31.2 million toward replacement of the 70-year-old Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia...

Growing up in St. Louis was a good learning experience. I was born in Kirkwood, and later our family moved to University City just one block from Washington University. My parents were good parents who enjoyed life. They would not stay inside all day. ...

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea declared all military and political agreements with South Korea "dead" Friday, warning it would not honor past accords if Seoul continues to push the Koreas to the brink of war. The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea accused South Korean President Lee Myung-bak of raising tensions on the Korean peninsula with his hard-line position on Pyongyang. It warned that Lee's stance would only draw "a heavier blow and shameful destruction."...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Andy Roddick was right there when Pete Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam title. And he was right there again when Roger Federer moved within one victory of matching Sampras' record. After a scorching day in which temperatures hit 111 degrees, Federer beat Roddick 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 in more manageable 91-degree heat Thursday in the Australian Open semifinals...

ST. LOUIS -- A lawsuit filed in federal court claims rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry canceled three shows during a European tour last year but refused to give back money paid to him in advance. Booking agent Cheyenne Productions of Las Vegas filed suit Wednesday in federal court in St. Louis. It asks Berry to return $93,000 for the concerts he failed to perform. It also seeks reimbursement of other costs and unspecified punitive damages...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Joyce H. Sims, 78, of Chaffee died Monday, Jan. 26, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 4, 1930, in Kaskaskia, Ill., daughter of Henry L. and Myrtle A. Russell Bevenue. She was married to William L. Sims...

While it may appear that some Cape Girardeau streets haven't been touched since the 36-hour ice-and-snow storm ended early Wednesday, the city is trying to make every road passable, public works director Tim Gramling said Thursday. Crews have been working 12-hour shifts since noon Monday, Gramling said. Wednesday's sunny weather helped speed some melting, Gramling said, but temperatures in the mid-20s overnight caused ice-covered roads to freeze hard and made plowing almost useless...

Jeannine Elise Prost, 61, of St. Louis died Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, in St. Louis. She was born Oct. 31, 1947, in St. Louis, daughter of Geraldine and Jack Gastorf. She was married to Joe Prost from 1968 to 1988. Jeannine lived in Cape Girardeau from 1977 to 2001. ...

We all have fears. Some of them are well-founded and help us survive. Others are irrational and are hard to explain. I have two fears most of you might call irrational: I am afraid of a ringing telephone. And I am afraid of power outages. If I were lying on an analyst's couch, I would probably say that my phone and power fears are rooted in my childhood. ...

Show us our foolish ways, O God, and guide us to think soundly and positively. Amen.

A headline in Thursday's edition should have read "Nearly 1,000 residents find warmth at Southeast Missouri shelters." The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday: n At 5:04 p.m., a citizen assist in the 1400 block of South West End Boulevard. n At 5:09 p.m., lines down in the 1600 block of Thilenius Street. n At 5:09 p.m., lines down in the 200 block of South West End Boulevard...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Summons n William P. Browne Sr., 49, 2125 Woodhaven Road, received a summons for animal leash required. Assault n An assault was reported. Thefts...

Ongoing weather problems forced a cancellation of the floodwall signing agreement ceremony set for 2 p.m. today, according to a statement issued by the city. U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, instrumental in getting authorization and appropriations for the $9 million project, was to be a key figure in the event. She announced Thursday she would spent today touring regions hit by the ice storm to develop a coordinated response to victims' needs...

In the wake of the ice storm, people without power in Stoddard and Scott counties are choosing to tough it out at home, in some cases using camping equipment. Harold Morrow of Dexter, Mo., said he's been cooking meals using an airstream trailer he keeps just for that purpose...

ANNA, Ill. -- James Isaac Newton, 79, of Anna died Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, at his home. He was born May 9, 1929, at Jonesboro, Ill., son of William E. "Buck" and Gladys Marie Newton. He and Margaret Smith were married May 8, 1948, at Anna. Newton graduated from Anna-Jonesboro Community High School in 1946. He moved to St. Louis in 1949, and to Elgin, Ill., in 1966. He retired in 1994 and moved to Anna in 1997...

Gerald Wayne Summers, 64, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009, at his home. He was born Jan. 12, 1945, in Cape Girardeau, son of Herbert and Irene Randol Summers. He and Sondra Reed were married Feb. 18, 1978. Summers graduated from College High School in 1963. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. After returning to Cape Girardeau he worked as a licensed plumber and pipefitter, retiring in 1999 due to health conditions...

LOS ANGELES -- Bob Kushell has a monologue, a band and a guest list. Put it together and it adds up to a traditional TV talk show -- one that's online and lasts five minutes from start to finish. The microwave approach of "Anytime With Bob Kushell," with a sole guest and a joke and comedy bit each episode, manages to gently tweak one of TV's most traditional genres while offering the complete, if condensed, viewing experience...

NEW YORK -- This year, news headlines will turn into dance -- on the Internet. The Martha Graham Dance Company is launching a global competition challenging anyone who's cyber-savvy to transform the late choreographer's masterpiece, "Clytemnestra," into an online video...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Mount Redoubt, a volcano 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, is rumbling and simmering, prompting geologists to warn that an eruption may be imminent. Scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory have been monitoring activity around the clock since the weekend...

For two girls who each cheer for the demise of the other's school athletics, Erica Childs and Jill Schnurbusch get along like old friends, smiling, laughing and even hugging goodbye. Childs, a 17-year-old junior at Cape Girardeau Central High School, will join her squad as it performs a dual cheer with the cheerleaders from Notre Dame Regional High School at Monday's basketball game. The Tigers-Bulldogs dual cheer started in 2006 and shows no signs of stopping...

Friday n New movies "Milk" Rated R @ Town Plaza Cinema "New in Town" Rated PG @ Cape West 14 Cine "Taken" Rated PG-13 @ Town Plaza Cinema "Uninvited" Rated PG-13 @ Cape West 14 Cine "The Wrestler" Rated R @ Cape West 14 Cine...

NEW YORK -- According to Harry Connick Jr., winter in Canada counts as a fifth season. While filming the romantic comedy "New in Town" in Winnipeg last January, the actor's face, beard and eyelashes froze in the subzero temperature. "This was just a different level. I mean, for real," Connick said Tuesday. "You can't function. ... I mean, this is the kind of weather where if you stay out there, you're not going to make it, you know?"...

WASHINGTON -- The number of people receiving unemployment benefits has reached the highest level on records that go back more than 40 years, the government said Thursday, and more layoffs are spreading throughout the economy. The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment insurance for the week ending Jan. ...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Within 24 hours of opening its doors at 3 p.m. Wednesday, the Black River Coliseum filled up with about 400 people who were without power, needing a place to stay. Once New Covenant Fellowship Church reached its capacity with 100 ice storm victims Tuesday night, city and county officials restored the electricity at the coliseum so evacuees could start filtering in, said Poplar Bluff city manager Doug Bagby...

The Southeast Missouri State women's gymnastics team should receive a rugged test at home tonight. Southeast, ranked 30th nationally, takes on No. 34 Southern Utah and Centenary in a 7 p.m. triangular meet at Houck Field House. The Redhawks are 4-1 after posting one of the best road scores in program history during last Friday's 194.725-192.775 win at Texas Woman's University...

Alex Fowler netted 22 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead Notre Dame to a 70-16 win over Windsor in the Queen of Hearts Tournament hosted by Villa Duchesne. Jane Morrill added 10 points for the Bulldogs (13-5), who led 24-6 after the first quarter...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff Municipal Utilities restored power to around 600 customers Thursday, but 1,600 were still without power this morning, according to General Manager Bill Bach. At least 200 customers will be out for an extended period until electricians can fix problems at their houses. Municipal Utilities has designated two crews to restore power to these homes as soon as the electricians complete their work...

Gov. Jay Nixon announced in a news release today that Pres. Barack Obama has approved a request to declare Missouri a disaster area following this week's massive ice storm.The declaration will now make federal funds available to local governments affected by the disaster following damage assessments by the State Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency.According to the news release, 88,000 homes in Missouri were still without power and over 2,000 people were staying in 35 shelters across the southern part of the state Friday afternoon. . ...

Longtime KGMO and KFVS12 advertising salesman and World War II veteran Neal Edwards may have retired in the early 1980s but he hasn't taken a break from his involvement in the community. His involvement has included a charter member of the Exchange Club, where he served as president and led a drive to place Freedom Shrines -- a collection of historical documents -- in area schools, past recipient of the Spirt of America award and founder of a golf tournament that benefits the Missouri Veterans Home Foundation.. ...

The Infant Adoption Training Initiative (IATI) is a free training program being offered for local health care professionals. The Understanding Infant Adoption (UIA) curriculum is designed to help health care professionals in providing adoption information and referral to pregnant women. ...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Larry Whitfield was on foot, his getaway car wrecked, his rookie attempt at robbing a bank thwarted by a set of locked doors, according to detectives. Looking for a place to hide, police say, he found himself inside the home of an old woman...

The tens of thousands without power in Southeast Missouri are getting help from several sources in the Cape Girardeau area and beyond.Saint Francis Medical Center began delivering systems to deliver oxygen to patients requiring special treatment to Sikeston on Wednesday, according to a news release sent today by the hospital.Southeast Missouri State University is hosting 25 law enforcement personnel and more than 80 utility workers in its residence halls, a university news release said. ...

DEARBORN, Mich. -- After the worst annual loss in its 105-year history, Ford Motor Co. still doesn't plan to seek government aid, but it's borrowing more money and hinting at further restructuring to brace for a tough 2009 and any surprises from the unpredictable economy...

Updated 10 a.m. Dianne Kelly has braved wintry weather when she lived in Chicago, Ill., but this week's ice, sleet and snow storm was a first for the dispatcher with the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department...

Lawrence Ike Egbuchiri of Nigeria, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009, in Newberry Springs, Calif. He was born Feb. 21, 1975, in Kunsai, Ghana, son of Lazarus and Grace Dimpa-Egbuchiri. Egbuchiri was a former student of Southeast Missouri State University and Oklahoma University. He was a manager of the AM-PM convenience store in Cape Girardeau...

The ice storm continues to affect people south of Cape Girardeau, where thousands are still dealing with no electricity. The situation is pretty bad in our neighboring states like Kentucky and Arkansas, too. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Big chunks of ice are clogging the Mississippi River in the St. Louis area, causing headaches for businesses that use the river. The Army Corps of Engineers is flushing ice out at the Melvin Price Lock and Dam at Alton, Ill., and in the Chain of Rocks area of north St. Louis. In some places, ice is 8 to 10 inches thick...

Money supply MY understanding is that the U.S. has no money. We're borrowing money from China. Where are they going to get the trillions of dollars the Obama administration is going to use for this stimulus plan? Pay it back WE hear all of the reports of the CEOs getting billions in bonuses. Those people don't care about the talk. We need to make them pay the money back...

As a chemical engineer, I would rather find an easier way to clear ice than just chipping away with a shovel. During last winter's (2008) 4 inch ice storm, I spent a very frustrating day clearing away Mother Nature's driveway iceberg. That is not an experience I want to re-live. That's why I decided to restock a former ice melt product called Ice Fighter Plus. Yes It's back...

The ice storm that raged through Southeast Missouri earlier in the week left more than 88,000 still without power throughout the region Friday as utility workers struggled to keep up with new outages caused by rapidly melting ice. By Friday afternoon, Gov. ...

Due to persisting power outages in Southeast Missouri, the regional campuses of Southeast Missouri State University in Kennett, Malden and Sikeston will be closed throughout next week, said university spokeswoman Anne Hayes.

A view of the icy Mississippi taken 1/29.

My husband threw out birdseed near our kitchen window and now we have several cardinals to admire.

Baby Garet and his best friend Lexi are staying warm inside and watching the weather outside.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. - Residents of Ward 2 are under a boil water order until further notice. Marble Hill city collector Carla Watt said a mainline break on High Street occurred at 4 p.m. Thursday. City maintenance crews shut down the system later in the evening....

Winter Ice Stroms don't just damage power lines, trees, and buildings...any aircraft caught outside run the risk of being targeted for a trip to the repair shop...once they're chipped loose from the ground. Heavy, clear ice can make a car or truck gain a lot of weight, but ice build up on an airplane's surfaces can change it's balance enough to make it fall on it's tail. ...

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) -- Utility crews made some progress Friday in restoring power to the more than 1.3 million homes and businesses darkened by an ice storm that crippled states from Missouri to West Virginia, but thousands were still bunking in toasty shelters because their homes had no water or heat...

The collapsed Chaffee Skating Rink. 1-28-09

My daughter playing in the snow & showing me her snowy fingers.

Sport Banken looks up, asking to come inside from the winter storm.

I just thought this looked so beautiful. Thinking about that old wood and how many times it's probley had snow and ice on it.

The ice frozen on the tree after the ice storm of 09'