Stories from Friday, December 25, 2020

Local author Mary Koeberl Rechenberg recently self-published her third children's book, Andy's Bubblegum Adventure, illustrated by Ashley Farrar from Cape Girardeau, which includes references to the Cape Girardeau County area. It is a book about Andy, who enters a bubble gum-blowing contest and blows a bubble so big, it carries him across the countryside...

Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is beginning to be distributed, Sgt. Cody Windbigler of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Office is warning county residents to be on the lookout for possible scams. According to Windbigler there have not been any COVID vaccine scams in the area so far, but by preemptively preparing citizens he hopes it can help reduce the risk of them occurring locally...

Local landlord Paul Caruso decided to hire the services of Stephenie Gardiner, owner of Bon Bon's of Cape Girardeau, to create three different cakes in the likeness of the very building she operates out of as a gift to the three organizations that helped them own and re-construct the building in 2018...

Merry Christmas, everyone. As is tradition, the Southeast Missourian publishes the biblical Christmas story. It is a simple story, but the birth in a stable some 2,000 years ago changed the world. We share the story from the Gospel according to St. Luke, Chapter 2)...

To Cape Girardeau County auditor Pete Frazier, some of the greatest rewards a hunter can receive aren’t found in a field or tree, but in fellow hunters — sharing in their stories, experiences and memories.

Volunteers provided a Christmas lunch to all comers Friday at an annual event in Jackson. Curly's Kitchen and Jackson Elk Lodge sponsored the free event.

This story has been updated. J. Michael Davis would like a seat on the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Board of Trustees, a panel whose July 9 decision to announce a face-covering order due to COVID-19 ignited controversy. Davis filed his candidacy December 17, joining incumbents Emily Tuschoff Collins, Georganne P. Syler and John M. Freeze in seeking election on the April 6 general municipal ballot...

Today is Friday, Dec. 25, the 360th day of 2020. There are six days left in the year. This is Christmas Day. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 25, 1990, the World Wide Web, the system providing quick access to websites over the Internet, was born in Geneva, Switzerland, as computer scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau created the world's first hyperlinked webpage...

A drive through town today -- Christmas Day -- is a drive through a retail and service wasteland as commerce comes to a virtual standstill; however, there are a few scattered outposts at which the neon "open" signs remain on; Bessie's Restaurant and Smörgåsbord on Route K near Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau remains open, a fact not lost on -- or unappreciated by -- the throng of customers who keep the establishment packed all day long...