Stories from Tuesday, September 28, 2021

An East Prairie, Missouri, man was arrested Sunday evening in Cape Girardeau County. Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers took into custody Michael Caery, 46, for alleged possession of a controlled substance (marijuana), driving while suspended or revoked and failure to have two working tail lights...

Two people were arrested over the weekend for alleged driving while intoxicated in Cape Girardeau County. Missouri State Highway Patrol reports state authorities arrested Reena Steger, 26, of Altenburg, Missouri, at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday for alleged driving while intoxicated/prior offender. She was taken to the county jail and released...

A Benton, Missouri, man was taken into custody Sunday for several alleged felony violations. A Missouri State Highway Patrol report states authorities arrested Stephen Sheldrake, 39, for two counts of alleged resisting arrest, felony operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, failure to have insurance and displaying the plates of another vehicle. He was also arrested on a felony probation and parole warrant...

Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus will host "Guys and Dolls" beginning Wednesday. Presented by Top of the Marq, performances will be in Bedell Performance Hall and will begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with a 2 p.m. performance planned Sunday...

Two Scott County COVID-19 patients have died in recent days, pushing the number of county residents who have died because of the virus to 103. Total virus cases in the county were 5,583 as of Friday — with 36 new cases since the county's last update — and officials reported 490 active cases in the county Friday...

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt says the state will be in a good position to collect more than a half-billion dollars as part of a negotiated multistate opioid lawsuit settlement, but only if several Missouri counties and municipalities, including Cape Girardeau County, drop their opioid lawsuits...

Divisiveness is nothing new in U.S. politics. A living former American president was known to use the phrase, "the politics of personal destruction," in reference to the often tough rhetoric used in the public square. The description was made popular by President Bill Clinton during his 1999 impeachment trial, but some historians also point to the rough treatment afforded Robert Bork during his failed 1987 nomination by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Supreme Court...

With a 6-1 vote Monday night, the Cape Girardeau School District board voted to maintain the district's current masking and quarantine procedures. The decision was met with vocal disagreement from a crowd packed into the district's typically barren board room...

One lane of Interstate 55 in each direction will open Thursday at Center Junction, as construction of the diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 55 and U.S. 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson continues, according to a Missouri Department of Transportation news release. ...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department's emergency services unit investigated a case of someone becoming ill Sunday after attempting to consume a tortilla chip, part of the "Paqui One Chip Challenge" by Austin, Texas-based Amplify Snack Brands, according to Fire Chief Randy Morris Jr...

For years people have complained about the minimum wage being too low, and many people decided that they were better off on welfare than working. This past year we have started to see wages rise in all fields, and some employers offer sign-on bonuses. ...

O Father God, we cast our cares upon you, for you care for us. Amen.

Lafayette, Louisiana -- Mattresses waiting for sanitation pickup. Downed trees. Trees pruned by nature. Bags and bags and bags of garbage. On the way from the airport into New Orleans, I see all this outside homes. Refrigerators, too -- people discarding them because they didn't get a chance to empty the freezer before the storm hit and the power went out...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Sept. 26 n Medical assists were made at 11:32 a.m. on North Silver Springs Road; 12:41 p.m. on South Pacific Street; 3:25 p.m. on North Kingshighway; 4:07 p.m. on Whitener Street; 4:49 p.m. at Beaudean Lane and Parkway Drive...

JACKSON The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests n Tyuana Williams, 24, of Jackson was arrested on a Cape Girardeau warrant. DWI n Mary Steele, 62, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated...

Carol Wilkinson, 76, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, at Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee, Missouri. She was born Dec. 12, 1944, in Oregon City, Oregon, to Floyd Daniel and Edna Lenore Northey Blodgett. She and Glen "Doc" Wilkinson were married Aug. 15, 1991 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He preceded her in death on March 7, 2004...

Freda J. Stover, 89, of Jackson passed away Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, surrounded by her family at the Monticello House in Jackson. She was born Nov. 28, 1931, in LaForge, Missouri, daughter of Aubrey Lee and Beulah Robinson Glidewell. She and Herschel "Doc" Stover were married Jan. 10, 1949, in Tunica, Mississippi. He passed away Sept. 28, 2005...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Mary June Simmons of Chaffee, daughter of the late Rev. Watis Harrell and Pauline Chance, was born Feb. 23, 1942, in Brownwood, Missouri, and departed this life Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, at the Hunter Acres Nursing home in Sikeston, Missouri, at the age of 79 years...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Elvin T. Kassel, 91, of Perryville died Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Ford and Young Funeral Home in Perryville and from 8 a.m. until the time of service Friday at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Perryville...

David Angel Flores, 39, of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, at 12:35 p.m. in his home. He was born May 8, 1982, in Dallas, Texas, a son of David and Margie Storz Flores. David served his country in the U.S. Army. He was an excellent cook and worked for Broussard's Cajun Cuisine in Cape Girardeau. ...

PUXICO, Mo. -- Russell Wayne Fish, 85, of Puxico passed away Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 20, 1936, in Wayne County, Missouri, the son of Ernest and Kathleen Fish. Russell and Barbara James were united in marriage on July 5, 1959, at Kinder Chapel in Kinder, Missouri...

Connie Sue Copsy, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, at 8:15 a.m. at her home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until the hour of service today at Crain Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. A memorial service for Connie will be at 1 p.m. today the funeral home, with the Rev. Steve Vester officiating...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Linda Sue Jiles Christisen, 76, of Perryville died Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from 9 a.m. until service time Thursday at Ford and Young Funeral Home in Perryville...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday about whether Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft used an unconstitutional set of laws last year to derail an effort to put the state's new abortion restrictions on a ballot for a public vote...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation plans to test hundreds of deer for COVID-19 this hunting season following a recent federal report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the results of a federal study testing white-tailed deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. Samples showed at least 7% of the population having antibodies for the virus that causes COVID-19. The highest population showed 67% in Michigan...

GREENVILLE, Mo. -- The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the crash of an older model Cessna airplane near upper Wappapello Lake; searchers found pieces of the plane and the bodies of its passengers yesterday about noon; there were no survivors...

The Professional Home Economists of Cape Girardeau met recently for their annual September meeting. The highlights of the meeting was to award scholarships of $750 each to two undergraduate students from Southeast Missouri State University. Yearly, the recipients of the competitive scholarships are outstanding students majoring in academic programs historically identified within the field of Home Economics. ...