Stories from Sunday, January 1, 2017

Today in History Today is Sunday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2017. There are 364 days left in the year. Today's Highlights in History: On Jan. 1, 1942, 26 countries, including the United States, signed the Declaration of the United Nations, pledging "not to make a separate armistice or peace" with members of the Axis. The Rose Bowl was played in Durham, North Carolina, because of security concerns in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor; Oregon State defeated Duke, 20-16...

Lauren Embree and Kodi Lappe were married Oct. 29, 2016, at St. Mary Cathedral in Cape Girardeau. The bride is the daughter of Kevin and Shari Embree of Paris, Missouri, and the groom is the son of Tim and Michelle Lappe of Jackson. A dinner and dance reception was held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Jackson...

Daniel and Evelyn Wheelock of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Dec. 23, 2016. Wheelock and the former Evelyn K. Hazen were married Dec. 23, 1966, in Canon City, Colorado. The Rev. Harlan Heap performed the ceremony. The couple has two children, Darin S. Wheelock of Boynton Beach, Florida, and Danette K. Neikirk of Cape Girardeau. They also have three grandchildren...

We have just been through one of the most negative political campaigns in history, one that set a new standard for pettiness and being just plain ugly. But, as an eternal optimist, I have been looking for that silver lining at the edge of the dark cloud, that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and I have found some reason for optimism...

Fog can be described as tiny droplets of water that hover near the ground. Fog is thicker than mist and can become so thick that it makes highway driving very difficult and even impossible in some cases. I was lucky to be out in the woods with my camera on this particular morning. It was Christmas Eve 2016. The fog was thick and seemed to be the main event. I thought of a line in the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as I searched for a good fog image...

Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel will celebrate its 50th anniversary at 10:30 a.m. today at the church, 1904 W. Cape Rock Drive in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Dr. William Matzat will be the guest speaker. All are welcome to attend. A New Year's Day gathering will be held from 1:30 to 5 p.m. ...

Happy New Year! The holiday season seemed to fly by and now we embrace a new year. Most parties are over and we return to a somewhat normal schedule. For many of us, we have eaten rich foods for weeks now and as the new year comes in, we will be looking to enjoy some leaner meals. I found these recipes that just might get us off on the right foot this new year...

This column will publish on New Year's Day. So with that in mind, I would like to suggest a New Year's resolution. For a while, look at plants not from the angle of "What do I have to do this year in my landscape or garden?", but from the angle of just enjoying the beauty of growing plants. Let me explain...

It seems like sometime around Jan. 1 many people make resolutions of some kind or other. Many of these resolutions deal with losing a few pounds or exercising in one form or another. Some probably deal with a habit that they want to quit. Some of us don't make resolutions, but all of us want 2017 to be better than 2016. We want our lives to make a difference...

I've never used this space to promote a book and will not start now. I am intrigued, however, by a book from an eccentric author who is just this side of brilliant. Leonard Sweet, who advertises himself as a Christian futurist, is out with his latest, "The Bad Habits of Jesus: Showing Us the Way to Live Right in a World Gone Wrong."...

New. It's funny the beginning of a new year comes in wintertime, when everything seems dead, when -- here, at least -- it's cold, there are no leaves on the trees and nature seems to tell you to retreat into yourself. It's a funny time to use the word "new," a word I associate more with the green of spring, blossoming, visible growth...

Pansy is a 3-year-old friendly kitty looking for a loving forever home! She is available at Safe Harbor; call (573) 243-9823.

How long did you stick to your New Year's resolutions last year?

Happy New Year! Happy birthday to Darrell Chapman, Jory Hitt, Jimmy Johnson, Lee Sadler, Eddie Wells, Colby Devenport, Joshua Eifert, Kori Brown, Georgia Dannenmueller, Kellie Lynn, Tom Essner, Hershel Motes, Bill Beard, Katie Ralph, Chris Whitaker, Norma Graviett, Boyce Boese, Virginia Seyer, Gabe Walter, Ian Eichhorn, Dale Simpson, Mallory Siebert, Bonnie Haney, Tina Jones, Roger Simpson, Kathryn Miller, Danny Lee Finley, Sue Ann Lynn, Kristen Wessel, Annie Ralph, John Hampton, Larry Kirn, Sue Wessel, Sara Hemingway, Laverne Keller, Danny Rains, Terra Owens, Kodi Ballard, Alissa Swindell, Paris Beardslee and Sonny Leible.. ...

Americans briefly scaled back the scope of home renovation projects after the recession began nearly a decade ago, says interior designer and "HGTV Design Star" judge Vern Yip. But even during the peak of that focus on smaller, more sustainable living, the size and complexity of kitchen designs continued to grow...

Monday: Center closed for New Year's holiday. Tuesday: Chopped steak or ham with black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, winter blend veggies, whole-grain hot roll and cinnamon apples or German chocolate cake. Wednesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce or chicken broccoli Alfredo, garden salad with chickpeas, Italian vegetables, whole-grain garlic bread and pears and cherries or pineapple up cake...

The following students have been named to the fall 2016 Dean's List at Southeast Missouri State University. Advance, Missouri: Kayla McCabe, Macey Cooper, Ethan Barr, Joshua Robison, Grant Woodfin, Jami Pobst, Liza Gray, Heather Meadows, Amber McFarlin, Victoria Throgmorton, Molly Wiseman...

O Lord Jesus, may we resolve to grow spiritually in the new year. Amen.

It is not every day that one person receives his due while another generously passes on his. But that day will come soon when Dexter resident Mike Keathley, who passed away of cancer in 2008, has a state building in St. Louis named after him, an honor that Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder was offered, but deferred to Keathley...

NORRISTOWN, Pa. -- Bill Cosby is starting 2017 in a legal dragnet that only has tightened around him since his arrest a year ago. Cosby was charged with aggravated sexual assault Dec. 30, 2015, days before the 12-year statute of limitations would have run out over a 2004 encounter at his estate near Philadelphia...

LOS ANGELES -- Dying of a broken heart is real. When Debbie Reynolds passed away this week, her son said the stress of his sister Carrie Fisher's death the day before was too much for his mother to take. The emotional distress of losing a loved one can trigger broken-heart syndrome, a recognized medical condition that disproportionately affects women and can be fatal...

IRWINDALE, Calif. -- Christian Guntert was lying on his back, gluing seeds to the bottom of a giant faux pizza for a Rose Parade float when a teenager made a casual comment about his wife. When the 58-year-old Guntert told the girl he and his longtime girlfriend weren't married, she screamed: "You're not married?"...

CLEVELAND -- The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday suspended its search for an airplane carrying a beverage distribution company executive and five other people when it vanished over Lake Erie shortly after takeoff from the city's lakeshore airport. The Coast Guard said it would step aside to allow Cleveland to begin recovery efforts for the plane and the victims...

For some college-bound students distressed by the election of Donald Trump, Canada is calling. Colleges from Quebec to British Columbia said applications and website traffic from the United States have surged since Trump's victory Nov. 8. Although many Canadian schools also ramped up recruiting in the U.S. recently, some said dismay over the presidential election has fueled a spike in interest beyond their expectations...

CENTREVILLE, Md. -- Two luxury retreats in New York and Maryland where Russian diplomats have gone for decades to play tennis, sail and swim were shut down by the Obama administration Friday in retaliation for Moscow's cybermeddling in the presidential election...

Investors capped a year of solid gains on Wall Street on Friday in a selling mood, sending the major U.S. stock indexes modestly lower on the final trading day of 2016. Technology and consumer-focused stocks led the broad slide, while real-estate companies and banks eked out small gains. As it had been for much of the week, trading was subdued ahead of the New Year's Day holiday...

GRANBY, Colo. -- Investigators were trying to determine Friday how a Texas woman fell to her death from a chairlift at a small Colorado ski resort, the first fatal fall in the state in over a decade. The 40-year-old woman's two daughters also were injured after falling about 20 feet with her Thursday at Ski Granby Ranch about 90 miles west of Denver. Police identified the woman Friday as Kelly Huber, 40, of San Antonio...

WICHITA, Kan. -- A Mexican man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl on a Greyhound bus that traveled through Kansas had been deported 10 times and voluntarily removed from the U.S. another nine times since 2003, records show. Three U.S. Republican senators -- including Kansas' Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts -- demanded this month the Department of Homeland Security provide immigration records for Tomas Martinez-Maldonado, 38, who is charged with a felony in the alleged Sept. ...

HONOLULU -- Stung by new punishments, Russia is looking past President Barack Obama to Donald Trump in hopes the president-elect will reverse the tough U.S. stance toward Moscow of the last eight years. In an embrace of a longtime U.S. adversary, Trump is siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin...

NEW YORK -- A New York City Uber driver is boasting he drove through 240 green traffic lights before hitting a red light. Noah Forman achieved the feat during a 27-minute drive through Manhattan that began about 3:30 a.m. Dec. 6. Forman recorded his journey on video...

BEIRUT -- A nationwide Syrian cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey that went into effect at midnight held Friday despite minor violations, marking a potential breakthrough in a conflict that has disregarded high-level peace initiatives for over five years...

UNITED NATIONS -- Russia urged the U.N. Security Council on Friday to quickly adopt a draft resolution endorsing the cease-fire agreement in Syria and reiterating support for a roadmap to peace that starts with a transitional government. The draft also calls for "rapid, safe and unhindered" access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country...

NEW DELHI -- Fifty days ago, India yanked most of its currency from circulation without warning, jolting the economy and leaving most citizens scrambling for cash. As the deadline for exchanging the devalued 500- and 1,000-rupee notes for new ones hit Friday, many Indians still were stuck waiting in long bank lines...

BRASILIA, Brazil -- Each week, patients at the Support Hospital of Brasilia receive visits from a special breed of therapist: dogs trained to help them recover from disease or injury. Big and small, from German shepherds to shih tzus, the dogs get into bed with some patients to snuggle during 15-minute visits...

Nyssa Young, daughter of Karen Young of Scott City, is born at Southeast Hospital, the first baby born in Cape Girardeau in 1992. Last-minute filings will mean a primary election in Scott City's second ward for at least one seat on the city council; Terry Gettings, a member of the town's volunteer fire department, filed yesterday, the last day to file for the two-year term; he will face incumbent John Rogers and George Moit; also filing yesterday was Joe Bles for Ward 3...

PORTLAND, Maine -- The most powerful nor'easter in nearly two years brought heavy snow, powerful winds and even thunder and lightning to northern New England, leaving tens of thousands of people in the dark Friday and burying some towns under 2 feet of snow...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri Republican saw last year's debate over a proposed constitutional amendment that would have protected businesses that deny services to same-sex couples bring lawmakers to tears and grind legislative work to a halt. His potential solution: Take state government out of marriage completely...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Anthony D. Griesbaum, 38, of Jackson was arrested on suspicion of possession of drug parpahernalia and parking a motor vehicle where prohibited...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Thursday. n Medical assists were made at 1:32 a.m. on South Sprigg Street; 8:52 a.m. on North Fountain Street; 4:25 p.m. on South Kingshighway; and 4:40 p.m. on Hemlock Court...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Lauren E. Davis, 25, of Lee's Summit, Missouri, was arrested at 546 S. Sprigg St. on a Lee's Summit warrant for possession of drug paraphernalia...

Daughter to Adam Joseph and Samantha Irene Kutz of Perryville, Missouri, Saint Francis Medical Center, 8:03 a.m. Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Name, Ella Jo. Weight, 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Second daughter. Mrs. Kutz is the former Samantha Fritsche, daughter of Lowell and Beverly Fritsche of Frohna, Missouri. She is employed by Saint Frances Medical Center's Weight Loss Solutions. Kutz is the son of Joseph Kutz and Pamela Secrease of Perryville. He is employed by Murray Enterprises...

ST. LOUIS -- A judge has appointed state prosecutors to the retrial of a man once sentenced to death in the killings of two sisters pushed from an abandoned Mississippi River bridge. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported a judge agreed Thursday to appoint the Missouri Attorney General's Office as a special prosecutor. St. Louis' prosecutor had sought the move, arguing state prosecutors have the necessary experience and knowledge of Reginald Clemons' case to take over...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A panel set up by the University of Missouri has released a list of legislative recommendations that include redefining how students are charged for their education. The University of Missouri System Review Commission was created after uproar at the campus last year that toppled top leadership. The panel was to audit the system and give recommendations to both the Legislature and the university board of curators, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Caryn Durbin has gotten plenty of birthday presents in her lifetime, but picking the best one is easy. The Joplin resident awoke at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis on Nov. 14, her 30th birthday, after a bilateral lung transplant surgery that began the day before to find she had received several gifts in one...