Stories from Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Dear Sam: I am 57 years old and have just lost my job due to downsizing. I am concerned that my age will turn off prospective employers. As a result, I have removed the years of service on my résumé from each employer I have had; that seems to have helped a little...

SIKESTON, Mo. — While he's known around the community for getting the toughest children — and even adults — to smile, Standard Democrat photographer Tim Jaynes is remembered for much more than capturing moments with his camera. Jaynes died after suffering a heart attack Sunday at his home in Sikeston. He was 38...

NEW YORK -- Americans see a slice of sunlight for the economy, as a widely watched report Tuesday showed people are not as pessimistic about the future as they were a month ago. The housing market is still falling, but so have gas prices -- at least a little -- and that was enough to spark a little hope amid the deepest economic gloom in 16 years...

COLUMBIA, Ill. -- Robert Geringer, 96, of Columbia died Friday, July 25, 2008, at Columbia Convalescent Center in Columbia. He was born Jan. 10, 1912, in Perryville, Mo., son of Lucas and Louise Katherine Bohnert Geringer. He and Anita Floyd were married in Cape Girardeau. She died June 12, 2008...

Garland D. McKinney, 59, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, July 28, 2008, at his home. He was born Oct. 31, 1948, at Lowndes, Mo., son of Ollivett Kidren and Ida L. Hefner McKinney. He married Kay Bowers. McKinney was a truck driver with Delta Express. He was a member of the VFW in Scott City...

Ronald Lee Gammon, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was born Nov. 10, 1947, in Cape Girardeau, son of Bobby C. and Helen Marie Goad Gammon. He and K. Sharon Donica were married March 29, 1969, in Cape Girardeau...

ORAN, Mo. -- W.O. "Dub" Turnage, 89, of Oran died Monday, July 28, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 9, 1919, in Munford, Tenn., son of John Henry and Lillian Bertha Adkins Turnage. He and Katie M. Ray were married Feb. 24, 1960. She preceded him in death May 17, 1992...

Hilmer E. Albrecht, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, July 28, 2008, at Landmark Hospital. He was born Oct. 27, 1916, in St. Paul, Ill., son of Otto and Mary Schnake Albrecht. He and Grace Ehrat were married Jan. 18, 1939, in Shobonier, Ill. Albrecht was a co-op manager with Randolph Farm Service Co. from 1942 to 1978. He served on the First National Bank Board from 1959 to 2006 and was president of Farm Credit Banks of St. Louis...

Wesley "Wes" Kinder, 61, of Jackson died Monday, July 28, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 5, 1947, in Cape Girardeau, son of Clifton H. and Bernice Ausman Bess. He and Debra Lunsford were married Nov. 11, 1995, in Jackson...

Rita Burk of Cape Girardeau sent me several recipes she has tried lately and thought they were interesting enough to share with you. Rita is a longtime Cape Girardeau cook and avid cookbook collector. Enjoy her latest findings. Emily Cannon's Banana Pudding...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Ted Stevens, the nation's longest-serving Republican senator and a major figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven felony counts of concealing more than a quarter of a million dollars in house renovations and gifts from a powerful oil contractor that lobbied him for government aid...

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Serb ultranationalists crowded a main square Tuesday night to protest the government's plan to extradite former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal, while a few hundred extremists clashed with riot police...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Guelda G. Rives, 91, of Cairo died Monday, July 28, 2008, at Daystar Care Center. She was born Feb. 13, 1917, in Cairo, daughter of William Berbling and Dottie Belle Sellers Glaab. She married Charles Rives, who died in 1998. Rives had been an administrative assistant with Illinois Lumber Co. ...

An error at the Cape Girardeau county clerk's office had District 1 commission candidate Bill Hahs seeing red Tuesday. Hahs was upset because when the Southeast Missourian asked for copies of the campaign finance reports filed by the 13 candidates in District 1, his was not included. Hahs had turned his report, which shows he raised $465 for his campaign during the first three weeks of July, on Friday, ahead of the Monday deadline...

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- This isn't how a jet pack is supposed to look, is it? Hollywood has envisioned jet packs as upside-down fire extinguishers strapped to people's backs. But Glenn Martin's invention is far more unwieldy -- a 250-pound piano-sized contraption that people settle into rather than strap on...

BAGHDAD -- Loyalists within Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia network call it the "martyrs' list," and it's long and growing: At least three dozen senior members killed in slayings or fighting since last summer and nearly 60 others detained...

Southeast Missourian A forum for candidates in contested Perry County offices will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Perry Park Center theater. The event is sponsored by the Perry County Republican Party, the Perry County Democratic Party and the Republic-Monitor newspaper, said Fran Ray, vice chairwoman for the Perry County Republican Central Committee...

WASHINGTON -- As speculation swirls, Barack Obama and John McCain are knuckling down to the work of choosing running mates with their nominating conventions just weeks away. Current and former governors and senators seem the most serious contenders, though most of those mentioned are playing coy about any discussions with either campaign...

Ann B. Logsdon, 85, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

LOS ANGELES -- City officials are putting South Los Angeles on a diet. The city council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in an impoverished swath of the city with a proliferation of such eateries and above average rates of obesity...

BEIJING -- Environmental officials say their efforts are starting to clear the haze above Beijing, while strong wind and some rain have also raised hopes of blue skies when the Olympic Games start in just more than a week. The city has put in place a series of drastic pollution controls since July 20 that included pulling half the city's 3.3 million vehicles off the roads, halting most construction and closing some factories in the capital and surrounding provinces...

The Cape Girardeau School District will gain a social worker this upcoming school year. The United Way of Southeast Missouri and the Community Caring Council are providing seed money, splitting salary costs with the district three ways. The district will be expected to assume the full cost beginning the second year...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday: n At 7:38 p.m., emergency medical service in the 1100 block of Harmony Street. n At 7:12 p.m., emergency medical service in the unit block of South Kingshighway. Firefighters responded to the following calls Tuesday:...

LOS ANGELES -- The strongest earthquake to strike a populated area of Southern California in more than a decade rattled windows and chandeliers, made buildings sway and sent people running into the streets Tuesday. But there were no immediate reports of serious injuries or major damage...

To the editor: On behalf of the Red House Interpretive Center Board I would like to express heartfelt thanks to all who helped make the First Third Annual Louis J. Lorimier Memorial World Famous Downtown Golf Tournament and All You Can Eat Catfish Buffet a success this year...

GENEVA -- After coming tantalizingly close to a historic trade deal, World Trade Organization talks collapsed Tuesday in a blow to seven years of efforts to open up the global economy. Once promised as a recipe for lifting millions of people out of poverty, the end to nine days of high-level talks left no new trade openings for farmers and manufacturers, no global economic boost and no grand deal for Third World development...

Southeast Missourian U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof brings his campaign for governor to Cape Girardeau today as part of a 10-day effort to gain voter's trust on economic issues. Hulshof will speak at 10:45 a.m. at JCS/Tel-Link, 1606 N. Kingshighway, a business owned by prominent local Republicans Reg and Kathy Swan. Hulshof will discuss his proposals for job training, pro-business government reforms and tax incentives to encourage investment...

To the editor: At Wappapello Lake, we celebrated Independence Day with families from across the nation. We want to honor several businesses and organizations that shaped our Waterfest into quality family entertainment: SEMO Regional Water Safety, which provides prizes, ribbons and water-safety materials. ...

ORAN, Mo. -- Julius Joseph Trost, 87, of Springfield, Mo., died Monday, July 28, 2008, at his home. He was born Jan. 19, 1921, in Oran, son of Fred and Dora Trost. Trost worked in the Civil Conservation Corps before becoming a truck driver with Frisco Transportation Co. He was a member of Macedonia Baptist Church and Teamsters Local 600...

Lonnie D. Reed, 21, was taken into custody after police executed a search warrant Tuesday in the 1100 block of Apache Ave. in Jackson. According to a news release, a "small amount of marijuana, various drug paraphernalia and numerous firearms were seized."...

New asphalt is being laid on Morgan Oak Street running east from Sprigg Street to the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus, a project that caused a temporary closure of part of Morgan Oak Street on Tuesday morning. The project should be finished by Thursday, said Geoff Dial, special projects coordinator with the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A subject is in custody pending charges of assault and unlawful use of a weapon. n A subject is in custody pending charges of assault...

The July 20 story "Dozens of soldiers from 1138th Engineer Company returning tonight after tour in Iraq," misspelled Johnny Brennecke's name. It also should have identified him as a sergeant. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.

ST. LOUIS -- Flooding woes aren't over yet in parts of northeast Missouri, where a manmade lake closed to boaters Tuesday and dozens of people living along a river below it did not return home due to high-water worries. There were also scattered reports of water-logged homes, damaged bridges and impassable roads tied to heavy rainfall in recent days...

25 years ago: July 30, 1983 Britt Airways Inc. of Terre Haute, Ind., one of the largest regional air carriers in the nation, is expanding its operations to the Cape Girardeau area with three round trips daily to St. Louis beginning Sept. 1; Cape Girardeau will be the 25th city in seven states to be served by Britt...

Every political candidate faces tough decisions on how he or she should try to reach voters. One way that is grabbing the voters' attention -- sometimes in a bad way -- is the so-called robo-calls, or political automated telemarketing. The robo-calls, along with calls from not-for-profit organizations, are exempted from state and national no-call lists...

Voice-over artist Matthew Piazzi will join tenor Neal E. Boyd in Las Vegas. Piazzi appeared on NBC's talent competition show "America's Got Talent" briefly on Tuesday, but it was long enough to make it clear that he's moving on to the next round of the competition, the Las Vegas callbacks...

A Southern Illinois industrial engineering company has acquired the former Nestle Purina Petcare office building in Cape Girardeau and will be moving its operations to the area by late August. The building has been vacant since 2007, when Purina moved its operations in Cape Girardeau to Bloomfield, Mo...

With the election season upon us, political pundits of all stripes are pontificating on the merits of their candidates and the shortcomings of their opponents. This is nothing new by any stretch of the imagination. I have written about the world of politics for many years. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An appeals court on Tuesday ordered a federal judge to go back and review whether Missouri's chief election officer met her legal obligations to keep voter registration rolls current. The U.S. Justice Department sued the state and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office in November 2005 for alleged violations of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to "conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters by reason of (death or change in residency).". ...

Muddled amendment I AGREE we all have a right to own guns, and it's not the government's business what I do in my own home. That being said, the language of the Second Amendment is not perfectly clear. Why doesn't it just say that everyone has a right to bear arms, no matter what? Why does the same sentence include the necessity of a the militia? After all, the Bill of Rights was written after the Continental Army had disbanded and before the formation of the U.S. ...

By Peter Mires My old professor, geographer Fred Kniffen (1900-1993), loved the state fair. Who doesn't? The cacophonous midway, corn dogs, funnel cake and big-name entertainment have considerable appeal. But Dr. Kniffen saw the state fair as a celebration of an American tradition: agriculture...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — An Advance, Mo., man was in the Stoddard County Jail Tuesday on a $150,000 cash-only bond following his arrest over the weekend for a number of drug charges. Ray Gene Camden Sr., 57, was picked up at his Advance residence following a lengthy investigation on the part of the sheriff's department and the SEMO Drug Task Force...

Gardening brings music to Larry Huter's ears. "Catbirds, mockingbirds, redbirds, bluejays, yellow finches are all enjoyable to listen to. They're good music and basically the reason I'm in for it," said Huter, a property owner certified as a Habitat Helper by the Missouri Department of Conservation...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Plagued by floods but buoyed by optimism, Marble Hill aims at becoming a destination for science, recreation and a little Christmas-in-the-Foothills cheer. Marble Hill's biggest problem is the beautiful but occasionally dangerous Crooked Creek. ...

Three handwriting experts have determined a key document in the reopened case of convicted murderer Joshua C. Kezer was indeed written and signed by former Scott City officer Bobby Wooten. The document is at the center of an investigation that has called into question the conviction of Kezer, who was blamed for the 1992 murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless based on testimony of inmates who later recanted their stories...

The final days of State Treasurer Sarah Steelman's campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination brought her to Southeast Missouri emphasizing bread-and-butter issues she hopes will find an audience among people struggling to cope with higher food and fuel prices...

Police are searching for Nieko D. Kuykendoll, 17, after a woman reported he shot twice at her late Tuesday evening. The woman, who lives in the 700 block of South Ellis Street, was not hit. According to a probable cause statement, the victim was robbed on July 6 by the same man, who stole money and a cell phone. He and another male reportedly told the woman that if she called the police they would kill her and her baby...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof pledged today to create a more business-friendly climate in Missouri if elected to the state's highest office. Speaking to about a dozen supporters and local media at JCS/TEL-Link in Cape Girardeau, Hulshof said such a climate is necessary to attract quality employers to Missouri. ...

Paul’s Pawnshop in Sikeston was robbed by two people around 10 a.m. Wednesday. One person reportedly had a gun. "Several items" and "an undetermined amount of cash" were taken, according to a news release from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. Police are still searching for the subjects. Call the the police department at 573-471-4711 or CrimeStoppers at 573-471-1500 with information. People who provide information that leads to a conviction may be eligible for a reward...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Drenching rains continued to cause flooding problems in parts of Missouri on Wednesday, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to increase the amount of water released from the man-made Mark Twain Lake. Officials reported that some homes below the lake near the Salt River have flooded. ...

BENTON -- Today and tomorrow are the last days to sign up for the first phase of Scott County's newest water district. Scott County commissioners met with board members for the Public Water Supply District No. 4 of Scott County for an update on the water district's status during their regular meeting Tuesday...

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Mississippi River bridge connecting Missouri and Illinois at St. Louis apparently was not damaged after breakaway barges scraped a center pier. U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Tim Whalen said 15 barges broke loose from a towboat at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday and scraped the center pier of the Poplar Street Bridge...

ROLLA, Mo. (AP) -- A Dent County woman is suing the University of Missouri system and World Wrestling Entertainment over injuries she suffered at a pro wrestling event. Twyla Riley says the injuries include damage to her head, back, neck, knee, ankle and elbow. A lawsuit filed in Phelps County Circuit Court earlier this year says Riley fell from bleachers when a railing gave way at the Gale Bullman Multipurpose Center on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus in Rolla...

An unidentified 80-year-old man was taken to Saint Francis Medical Center Tuesday afternoon after a single car crash in Cape Girardeau. The man, driving a Nissan Sentra, was southbound on Interstate 55 near the 93 mile marker and began taking the ramp to U.S. 61 when he struck a yield sign, according to Cape Girardeau Police Department Sgt. Kevin Orr...