Stories from Thursday, December 1, 2016

On November 12, 2016 my Daddy, Robert "Bob" Goza, retired Jackson City Postal Carrier passed away. On November 16th, when Daddy was laid to rest, his fellow Postal Carriers honored Daddy & our family by leading the funeral procession with four U.S. Postal Trucks...

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission will meet Tuesday in Cape Girardeau. The commission last met here in 2006. Commissioners will convene the meeting at 10 a.m. at the Osage Centre. The meeting is open to the public. Commissioner Michael Pace of West Plains, Missouri, said “it is important for us to see what is going on” around the state in terms of transportation projects and needs...

NAYLOR, Mo. — A Naylor man and his toddler son are alive today thanks to the efforts of two area men who pulled them from their burning vehicle in October. For their heroic actions in saving Daniel Scott Mitchell and his 3-year-old son, Decklan, Heath Moon of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Jeffrey Thomas of Naylor were appointed as “honorary” troopers of the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Monday morning...

Astronaut Scott Kelly's message Wednesday night at the Show Me Center built upon the idea impossible things are worth striving for. He told the audience when he was a child, it was impossible for him to become an astronaut. He recalled the time when, during a bathroom break in first grade, he was asked by a classmate what he wanted to do when he grew up...

Today in History Today is Thursday, Dec. 1, the 336th day of 2016. There are 30 days left in the year. Today's Highlights in History: On Dec. 1, 1941, Japan's Emperor Hirohito approved waging war against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands after his government rejected U.S. demands contained in the Hull Note. British-born journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke became a naturalized American citizen...

O Lord Jesus, our Messiah, in you alone do we place our hope. Amen.

If you're ready to get in the Christmas spirit and need something to do on Friday night, look no further than the Downtown Christmas Open House. The open house is from 5 to 9 p.m. and will include a variety of activities, all of which are free, according to Old Town Cape marketing and event coordinator Katie Amrhein. First Friday with the Arts also will occur downtown that night...

Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine veterans who are watching their old service branch change with time are seeing new weapons, uniforms, protective gear, vehicles, aircraft and the use of new electronics in all offensive and defensive systems. The changes are happening quickly and most civilians will be unable to keep up with the pace of developments...

LONDON -- The Bank of England's new plastic 5-pound note is stronger, cleaner and safer -- but apparently not suitable for vegetarians. Vegans and vegetarians are calling for the new bank notes, which have been in circulation for two months, to be replaced because they are made with a substance derived from animal fat. The Bank of England confirmed on Twitter the notes contain "a trace of a substance known as tallow" -- a rendered form of animal fat...

MEDELLIN, Colombia -- The pilot of the chartered plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team told air-traffic controllers he had run out of fuel and desperately pleaded for permission to land before crashing into the Andes, according to a leaked recording of the final minutes of the doomed flight...

BEIRUT -- A series of artillery rounds lobbed Wednesday on Syria's eastern Aleppo district killed 26 civilians, including seven children, as they fled a government ground offensive in the besieged enclave. It was the second time the Jub al-Quba neighborhood, in the historic district of the rebel-held eastern side of the city, was struck in as many days...

BEIRUT -- When war is constant, it can be easy to lose sight of how much a single death can matter. But the passing of one committed social worker will be especially devastating to his community in Aleppo. The 24-year-old Anas al-Basha was a center director at Space for Hope, one of many unheralded local initiatives operating against the odds to provide civil-society services to Syria's war-torn opposition areas...

WASHINGTON -- William Christenberry, an artist renowned for photographs of crumbling buildings and rusty cars that captured the decay of the rural South, has died. He was 80. Christenberry died Monday at a nursing home in Washington of complications from Alzheimer's disease, his daughter, Kate Christenberry, said...

LANSING, Mich. -- Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein on Wednesday requested a full hand recount of Michigan's presidential vote, making it the third state narrowly won by Republican Donald Trump where she wants another look at the results. Stein previously asked for recounts of the votes in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin...

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump promised to "drain the swamp" in the nation's capital. Instead, he appears to be diving right in. So far, the president-elect is tapping people with deep ties to Washington and Wall Street as he fills out his Cabinet, turning to two power centers he vilified as greedy, corrupt and out of touch with Americans during his White House campaign...

WASHINGTON -- In persuading Carrier to keep hundreds of jobs in Indiana, President-elect Donald Trump is claiming victory on behalf of factory workers whose positions were bound for Mexico. But the scant details that have emerged so far raise doubts about the extent of the victory...

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A white police officer who fired eight shots at the back of an unarmed black motorist during a foot chase is guilty of murder or manslaughter, a prosecutor said Wednesday after a monthlong trial. Malice -- the evidence required for a murder conviction -- had to be in officer Michael Slager's mind the instant he fired at Walter Scott, who at that point was running away and posed no threat to him, she argued. ...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A prosecutor Wednesday cleared a Charlotte police officer in the killing of a black man whose death touched off civil unrest, and he presented detailed evidence to rebut assertions the slain man was unarmed. Officer Brentley Vinson was justified in opening fire on Keith Scott and won't face charges, Charlotte-Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray said...

DETROIT -- The Obama administration has decided not to change government fuel economy requirements for cars and light trucks, despite protests from automakers. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy said based on the agency's technical analysis, automakers can meet emissions standards and fuel-economy requirements for model years 2022 to 2025...

WASHINGTON -- The rate of earthquakes in Oklahoma has dropped dramatically since late May, when the state limited wastewater injections into energy wells, an Associated Press statistical analysis shows. And a new scientific study says the state is on its way back to calmer times that prevailed before a huge jump in man-made quakes...

LOS ANGELES -- California's legal marijuana industry is expected to involve everything from backyard growers to sprawling fields in the farm belt, storefront sellers along rural roads and chain-store-like outlets in Los Angeles. State tax collectors are taking initial steps to get a hand into that vast, emerging economy, with billions of dollars at stake in the future for the state treasury. ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Tornadoes that dropped out of the night sky killed five people in two states and injured at least a dozen more early Wednesday, adding to a seemingly biblical onslaught of drought, flood and fire plaguing the South. The storms tore through just as firefighters began to get control of wildfires that killed seven and wiped out more than 150 homes and businesses around the resort town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee...

The Rev. Marcus Zill is guest preacher at weekend worship services at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau; Zill is director of development for the Missouri District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Three Jackson houses open for a holiday candlelight tour, including the Oliver House, Jackson's only home listed on the National Register of Historic Places; others on the tour are Trisha's Bed and Breakfast and the L.A. Goodwin home, owned by Norm and Vi Colyott...

Margaret A. Zieba, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Sept. 14, 1936, daughter of Mack and Louise Tarry, in Dexter, Kentucky. She and James L. Zieba were married July 1, 1961, in Murray, Kentucky...

Cassandra "Sandy" Mignon Whitledge, 73, formerly of Jackson, passed away Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, at Diversified Health Care in Martin, Tennessee. Cassandra Mignon LaPierre was born Jan. 12, 1943, in Cape Girardeau to Charles and Barbara Unger LaPierre. She married Gary Whitledge on Jan. 22, 1966. They were married for 43 years...

Jennifer Lynne Miles, 46, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, at Life Care Center. She was born Aug. 26, 1970, in Lincoln, Nebraska to Donald Orval and Paula Dee Ragsdale Miles. Jennifer was a graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School and earned bachelors of arts degrees in French language and culture and Spanish language and culture from Southeast Missouri State University. ...

Ida Mae Jordan, 89, of Jackson died Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Evangelical United Church of Christ in Cape Girardeau, with pastor Dan Johnson and the Rev. Jeffrey Long officiating. Private burial will be at Salem Cemetery in Cape Girardeau...

Carol Coventry, 69, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Murphysboro, Illinois, died Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, at Life Care Center. A memorial service will be at a later date. Crain Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements...

The Jackson Fire Department responded to the following calls: Tuesday n A citizen assist on East Jefferson Street. n Smoke investigation on North High Street. Wednesday n Emergency medical service on Bent Creek Drive. n Emergency medical service on Main Street...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Lashay E. Pinkerton, 47, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on suspicion of stealing. n Eddie D. Walrath, 57, of Bland, Missouri, was arrested on Gasconade County, Missouri, and Crawford County, Missouri, warrants...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Tuesday n Medical assists were made at 12:37 a.m. on South Spring Avenue; 1:57 a.m. on Mason Street; 4:10 a.m. on Hackberry Street; 9:16 a.m. on William Street; and 2:20 p.m. on South Kingshighway...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrest does not imply guilt. Arrest n Alisha D. Snider, 39, 1600 Independence St., was arrested at North Pacific and Themis streets on suspicion of false declaration. Assaults...

Son to Matthew Robert and Candace Christine Schlueter of St. Peters, Missouri, Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, 7:54 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016. Name, Henry Mark. Weight, 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Schlueter is the former Candace London, daughter of Mark and Connie London of Cape Girardeau. ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Education Secretary John B. King Jr. is urging governors and school leaders in states that allow student paddling to end a practice he said would be considered "criminal assault or battery" against an adult. King released a letter Nov. 22 asking leaders to replace corporal punishment with less punitive, more supportive disciplinary practices that he said work better against bad behavior...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Authorities are investigating after a Kansas City store employee reported shooting and killing a customer during a fight for control of a gun. Police said in a news release the shooting happened Tuesday after the customer entered the business with a gun. The employee said he wrestled with the customer over the gun and shot the customer before calling 911...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City police have reopened a police station after determining a "suspicious package" outside the station wasn't an explosive. Police spokeswoman Kari Thompson said the station was reopened Wednesday evening after authorities determined there was no threat at the department's South Patrol station...

SMITHVILLE, Mo. -- Authorities said an investigation into the cause of a fiery pipeline rupture in Missouri will have to wait until the heat from the blaze subsides. Sgt. Jeffrey Shanks of the Platte County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday repairs have not yet begun on the pipeline that ignited Tuesday night on cropland just north of Kansas City International Airport...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police in St. Louis and Kansas City said they made roughly 140 arrests of protesters who pressed for a $15-per-hour minimum wage. KSHB-TV said Kansas City police confirmed at least 110 people were arrested Tuesday while they blocked a street. St. Louis police took nearly 30 protesters into custody after they staged a sit-in on a street near a fast-food restaurant...

ST. LOUIS -- The reward has climbed to more than $82,000 for information leading to an arrest in the death of a St. Louis bar owner. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported 57-year-old Patrick McVey was shot to death in his SUV on Nov. 9. McVey was a co-owner of Maggie O'Brien's Restaurant & Irish Pub in downtown St. Louis. Police have reported no major breaks in their investigation...

WENTZVILLE, Mo. -- A General Motors plant in eastern Missouri is increasing security because of written threats against minorities. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the General Motors plant in Wentzville has beefed up security after threats of violence against minorities were scrawled on bathroom walls at the facility...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A federal agency is investigating after firefighters had to rescue a man trapped in a mud trench at a Kansas City work site. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a news release it's investigating the collapse that occurred Wednesday at an apartment complex...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Police in Kansas City said an officer shot and killed a robbery suspect after the man reached for his gun. The Kansas City Star reported police said the shooting occurred Wednesday after narcotics officers pulled over a driver as part of a planned arrest. The man who was shot was a suspect in several robberies and told police he was armed and ready for a shootout with officers if they tried to arrest him...

ST. LOUIS -- A $1 million federal grant will provide housing for homeless people in St. Louis, Mayor Francis Slay said Tuesday. The city announced it has been awarded the grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its Housing First program...

NEW YORK -- Taking the offensive after Election Day setbacks, Planned Parenthood and its allies filed lawsuits Wednesday in North Carolina, Missouri and Alaska challenging laws they view as unconstitutional restrictions on abortion. "We are going to fight back state by state and law by law until every person has the right to pursue the life they want, including the right to decide to end a pregnancy," said Planned Parenthood's chief medical officer, Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Netflix subscribers now can binge on many of their favorite shows and movies even when they don't have an internet connection. The long-awaited offline option announced Wednesday gives Netflix's 87 million subscribers offline access to videos for the first time in the streaming service's decade-long history...

Approval of minutes n Minutes of the Nov. 28 meeting Communications/ reports -- other elected officials n None at this time Public comments n Items listed on agenda Routine business...

Route H in Perry County between Route M and County Road 946 will be closed as Missouri Department of Transportation crews replace pipes under the roadway. Work will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. Friday...

n Polystyrene beads n Clear plastic craft ornament n STEP 1: Remove the cap and hook from the plastic ornament. Fill the ornament one-fourth of the way with polystyrene beads. Place the cap and hook back onto the ornament. n STEP 2: Rapidly shake the ornament and observe...

Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation and Margaret and Rudy Jurgens have announced the creation of the Margaret Weiss Jurgens and Rudy Jurgens Scholarship. Together, Margaret and Rudy have made it a priority to support and recognize the need for an educated workforce. The scholarship will be offered through the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center. The recipient must be a degree-seeking student and live within a 50-mile radius of Cape Girardeau...

There are more than the two obvious worlds novelist Charles Condomine and his late wife, Elvira, inhabit in "Blithe Spirit," a production by the Cape Girardeau Central theater program that portrays the farcical complications of an innocent seance. The dark comedy, written by Noel Coward, is directed by first-year Central English teacher Belle DelaCruz with the assistance of Kimi Wibbenmeyer, and begins its three-day run at 7 p.m this evening at the Richard D. Kinder Performance Hall...