Stories from Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Content: First impression... Several areas of Simone's résumé required immediate attention. Simone's objective was to secure a permanent interior or graphic design position, and she planned to do this by leveraging her freelance engagements and educational pursuits to get her foot in the door. ...

An inmate made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the custody of Jackson police this afternoon. At around 3:40 pm today, officer Jim Barker was in the process of placing the inmate in the back of his patrol car at the police station before his scheduled transportation to the Cape Girardeau County Jail, said Jackson police chief James Humphreys. But the inmate managed to escape and ran the length of a football field before Barker recaptured the prisoner five minutes later...

Eggers Daughter to Kyle and Christy Eggers of Arnold, Mo., Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, 3:53 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008. Name, Kayla Marie. Weight, 8 pounds, 14 ounces. First child. Mrs. Eggers is the former Christy Thoma, daughter of Orville and Gwen Thoma of Jackson. She is a registered nurse at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Eggers is the son of Carl and Brenda Eggers of Perryville, Mo. He is general manager of Sam's Club in Ferguson, Mo...

Special person I WANT the community to know that there are people who have a heart. I recently lost a dog and offered a reward. This wonderful woman called me after a week and had found my dog. She took him in and took care of him. When she was able to call, I got my dog back. She would not accept a reward. I thank God for people like this...

PATTON, Mo. — Mickey Ackman has two distinct memories of Dec. 30. He remembers lunch with his wife of 30 years, Pamela, after which he kissed her goodbye and told her he loved her. He remembers coming home hours later, finding her lifeless body in a pool of blood...

Southeast Missourian Amber Alert Awareness Day was marked Tuesday with messages posted on the 60 electronic message boards posted around the state by the Missouri Department of Transportation that were paid for, in part, by a grant to expand the Amber Alert system...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Norma Jane Nenninger, 58, of Marble Hill died Monday, Jan. 12, 2009, at her home. She was born May 13, 1950, at Blomeyer, Mo., daughter of Joseph and Nora DeBrock Bueter. She and Leo Nenninger were married Sept. 23, 1972, at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Glennon, Mo...

The National Weather Service issued a wind chill advisory this afternoon for counties throughout Southeast Missouri.The advisory, which starts at midnight and lasts through 10 a.m. Thursday, is in effect for Bollinger, Cape Giradeau, Perry, Scott and Stoddard counties, as well as other Southeast Missouri counties. Cold air combined with strong north winds will take wind chill values below zero...

USDA Rural Development is hoping qualifying homeowners in Southeast Missouri take advantage of a program designed to assist needy residents in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau and Perry counties. In its 35th year, the Section 504 loan program provides assistance for repairs, improvement or modernization of a home, removal of health hazards and making a house safer...

WASHINGTON -- Scientists begin recruiting mothers-to-be in North Carolina and New York this week for the largest study of U.S. children -- aiming eventually to track 100,000 around the country from conception to age 21. "We are embarking on the road to discovering the preventable causes of the major chronic diseases that plague American children today," Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, one of the lead researchers, said Tuesday...

ATLANTA -- Sexually spread diseases are reversing years of decline with reported chlamydia cases setting a record, government health officials said Tuesday. The apparent increase in chlamydia, a sometimes symptomless infection that can lead to infertility in women, is likely because of better screening, experts said. In 2007, there were 1.1 million cases, the most ever reported, said officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Growth in Southeast Missouri State University's enrollment and other factors have increased the demand in Cape Girardeau for affordable housing. Property owners are trying to maximize their profitability by renting spaces to as many individuals as possible. Under the city's current ordinances, up to five unrelated people are permitted to occupy a house in a neighborhood zoned for single-family homes, like much of the area around the university...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday: n At 8:14 p.m., a medical assist in the 1300 block of Margaret Street. n At 9:44 p.m., mutual aid fire at 1122 W. Cape Rock Drive. n At 9:55 p.m., a medical assist in the 1500 block of Price Street...

It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt. That couldn't be further from the truth for the Southeast Missouri State women's gymnastics program. Among the many interesting storylines for the Redhawks are two team members who are sisters and two more who hail from the same club and have been friends since their early teens...

PLANO, Texas — Two years of college football, two years of being chosen the best receiver in the country. There wasn't much left for Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree to accomplish. So now he's eager to see how he'll do in the NFL. Crabtree said Tuesday he's giving up his final two years of eligibility because he thinks he's ready for pro football. The first challenge is finding out how high he'll go in the draft...

NORMAL, Ill. -- Wedding bells meant Taco Bell for Paul and Caragh Brooks. Customers inside the fast-food restaurant continued to order tacos and burritos as the couple sat Friday in an orange booth at Taco Bell and exchanged vows. "It's appropriate," groom Paul Brooks said. "It's an offbeat relationship."...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- I'm not at all certain just how you accurately gauge the decline in civilization but I know it when I see it. We can discuss until we're blue in the face exactly why violence is such a part of our society. Experts tell us that poverty (the oldest excuse in the books), lack of a two-parent households or the media are somehow to blame for the ever-increasing level of violence within our society...

Veteran state Rep. Scott Lipke on Wednesday regained the committee chairmanship he lost in 2007 during a political fight with former House Speaker Rod Jetton. Lipke, R-Jackson, will chair the House Crime Prevention Committee, a panel that is routinely assigned major bills relating to a wide variety of criminal laws. The appointment was made by new House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin...

25 years ago: Jan. 14, 1984 Cape Girardeau County Assessor Jerry Reynolds, a two-term Democrat, filed for re-election yesterday. Patrick Doyle, 32, a Minnesota advertising executive, has been named advertising director of the Southeast Missourian; for the past three years, Doyle has been advertising director of the Albert Lea Tribune; the Tribune, like the Missourian, is a member of the Thomson newspaper group...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A woman who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Kansas City is accused of running an online prostitution business through her office computer, according to a federal indictment released Wednesday. The former USDA worker, Laurie Lynn McConnell, 26, was arrested Wednesday along with a second suspect in the case, John O. Miller, 36. Both are from Kansas City...

DAYTON, Ohio -- When the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force began looking at ways to depict the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, imposing obstacles loomed. Certain missions remain classified and some equipment, such as night-vision goggles, was unavailable for display because it was still being used by troops or might be if they are redeployed...

DEXTER, Mo. — A 19-year-old Dexter man has been charged with first-degree child molestation and first-degree statutory rape. According to Detective Cory Mills of the Dexter Police Department, a 14-year-old girl, accompanied by her mother, appeared at the city police station Dec. 26 with claims that Shawn A. Steely had sexually assaulted the girl in July. The girl was 13 at the time of the alleged incident...

When it comes to healthy eating on a budget, beans are a dream food. They are rich in nutrients, dietary fiber and protein, they are filling and low in fat, and they are inexpensive and easy to keep on hand. Even better, most grocers stock a variety...

A Louisiana man fleeing from authorities who suspect he shot his wife and adopted daughter was captured on Interstate 55 at Center Junction by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Cape Girardeau police Tuesday evening. The patrol received a call from Louisiana authorities who thought the man was northbound on I-55, said trooper Nathan Wheeles of Troop E Headquarters in Poplar Bluff, Mo...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A 15-year-old boy was cited into juvenile court on suspicion of stealing. n A 16-year-old girl was cited into juvenile court on suspicion of possession of an imitation controlled substance and possession of prescribed medication...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Jay Nixon is pushing for the quick establishment of a small-business loan program as one of the initial steps in his job-creation agenda. Nixon also has ordered the creation of a pair of task forces: one aimed at attracting automotive manufacturing jobs to the state; the other to capture as much money as possible from a potential federal economic stimulus package...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Three deaths associated with a national salmonella outbreak occurred in Virginia and Minnesota, health officials confirmed Tuesday. Two adults in Virginia had salmonella when they died, though it's not clear that the illness is what killed them, said Michelle Peregoy, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Health. She did not release details about the two people. Earlier, Minnesota health officials said an elderly woman had the illness at the time of her death...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Billy Joe Croy, 66, of McClure died Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Marvin "Butch" Rodewald, 51, of Perryville died Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis. He was born Sept. 14, 1957, in Perryville, son of Darwin F. and Ruby R. Amberger Rodewald. He married Sharon Davis...

On Oct. 24, 2000, Michael Carey was shot to death in his home in Morley, Mo. In 2002, Carey's wife, Charity Carey, was convicted of killing her husband. Charity Carey was sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder in the second degree. Just days before leaving office, Gov. ...

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a $60 million, four-year contract with Derek Lowe, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The deal is subject to the pitcher passing a physical. Atlanta also finalized a three-year contract with Japanese all-star pitcher Kenshin Kawakami, but the 35-year-old Lowe is the big catch...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the first time since Missouri casinos opened in 1994, Kansas City's riverboat gambling venues took in less money than the previous year. The 2008 take was just more than $719 million, about $1.5 million short of nearly $721 million in 2007. Revenue was up 1.5 percent in December, the first full month after voters repealed the state's loss limit...

MUMBAI, India -- In a city that worships the movies, people are embracing "Slumdog Millionaire" as the newest addition to the cinematic pantheon -- never mind it hasn't hit the screens here yet. The "Slumdog" sweeps at the Golden Globes on Sunday were enough to make an unseen sensation of this Mumbai-based fairy tale of love and riches. It became the talk of Mumbai, where the vast Hindi-language movie industry known as Bollywood is based...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A parolee was back behind bars Tuesday morning because of good descriptions provided by the man he now is accused of following home and robbing at gunpoint. At 9:08 p.m. Monday, the Butler County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call from a resident in the 1300 block of County Road 523 reporting a robbery...

Scott County Central boys basketball coach Ronnie Cookson recorded win No. 700 with his team's victory Tuesday night. Cookson, who entered the season with 688 wins, saw his team move to 12-1 with its 104-43 win over East Prairie. Cookson became the eighth boys basketball coach in Missouri history to reach 700 victories...

KELSO, Mo. -- Sister Patricia Ann Ressel, 86, died Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, at the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Northbrook, Ill. She was born Mildred Angeline Ressel on March 1, 1922, in Kelso, daughter of Charles and Mary Katherine Essner Ressel. She grew up on the family farm and attended St. Augustine Grade School in Kelso...

WASHINGTON -- You've lost your job, and your mortgage company is threatening foreclosure. Then, when it seems that things can't get any worse, the tax man comes calling. What's a person to do? Don't ignore the Internal Revenue Service. "The most important thing for people to do even if they owe money is to go ahead and file that return," said Terry Lemons, senior spokesman for the IRS...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Van Buren man was flown to a Cape Girardeau hospital early this morning for treatment of what authorities describe as severe head trauma after he was allegedly assaulted at a local residence. Details surrounding how Dusty Lee Tucker was injured are still sketchy since he could not recall what happened to him, explained Poplar Bluff police Cpl. Aaron Decker...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Residents ran for cover Tuesday in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City as Israeli troops backed by tanks thrust deeper into the city and sought Hamas fighters in alleyways and cellars. On the diplomatic front, Egyptian mediators pushed Hamas to accept a truce proposal and, in a hopeful sign, Israel sent its lead negotiator to Cairo for "decisive" talks on a cease-fire. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also headed for the region to join diplomatic efforts...

The Feb. 17 switch from analog to a digital signal on television sets is creating confusion among some viewers. The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that in 36 days all television stations must shut off their analog signals and switch to all-digital programming. A converter box must be used for analog sets that rely on antennas...

You have given us the ability to choose, O God. Help us to make good decisions. Amen.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston police arrested five people on drug charges after two separate investigations Saturday. Sikeston police detective Bobby Sullivan served a search warrant at 338 E. Gladys St., Apt. B just after 6 p.m. Saturday. Three men were at the residence when officers arrived. Investigators reported collecting 15 grams of crack cocaine, 10 grams of marijuana and packaging materials for narcotics at the home, along with cash believed to have been the result of drug sales...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Temperatures crashed to Arctic levels Tuesday as a severe cold wave rolled across the upper Midwest on the heels of a snowstorm, closing schools and making most people think twice before going outside. Thermometers read single digits early in the day as far south as Kansas and Missouri, where some areas warmed only into the teens by midday...

Salads can be a hard sell in winter. Iceberg lettuce when there's ice on driveway just doesn't work. But in her latest cookbook, "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics," Ina Garten offers several salads perfect for cold weather. Her roasted tomato caprese salad, for example, makes use of plum tomatoes, common at most grocery stores year-round. The beauty of warm salads is that they better absorb vinaigrette dressings, Garten said...

BANGKOK, Thailand -- It seemed like a good idea at the time: Remove all the feral cats from a famous Australian island to save the native seabirds. But the decision to eradicate the felines from Macquarie island allowed the rabbit population to explode and, in turn, destroy much of its fragile vegetation the birds depend on for cover, researchers said Tuesday...

Franklin Elementary School will host a free, public presentation on the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at 10 a.m. Thursday. Debra M. Miles, assistant general counsel for Missouri Department of Mental Health, is the featured speaker. Rhonda Dunham, Franklin principal, said Miles is an excellent speaker. While scheduling her for Thursday's event, Dunham said she was so impressive, she is planning a second event, on cultural diversity, featuring Miles in February...

KENNETT, Mo. — A Kennett man was injured and his dog was killed following a fire at his residence on Route EE in Kennett. The Kennett Fire Department responded to a fire at 2408 Route EE, trailer No. 7, at 7:51 a.m. Saturday. The resident of the property, Henery Freeman, was asleep on a bed in the living room when he woke up to the smell of smoke. He was treated on the scene for first- and second-degree burns to his hands. The home had no smoke detectors...

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The man who performed a football exorcism in the desert is keeping his cool with his Arizona Cardinals a win away from the Super Bowl. Then again, Ken Whisenhunt just about always keeps his cool. The Cardinals franchise never has been here before, but Whisenhunt has. He was offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers before taking on the formidable challenge of coaching the NFL's laughingstock of a franchise...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The state Senate that will decide whether to throw impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich out of office will be sworn in today by -- who else? -- impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The governor will preside briefly over the chamber that will hold his political life in its hands in less than two weeks. The opening of a new legislative session is normally an upbeat occasion, but how the senators and the governor will respond this time is anyone's guess...

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East. At a daylong confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, president-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state sailed through an array of uncontentious questions until two Republican committee members pressed her to take additional steps to ensure that former president Bill Clinton's global fundraising work does not pose even an appearance of conflict with her role as the chief U.S. ...

"In Praise of Pecans: Recipes and Recollections" by June Jackson is a wonderful new addition to my cookbook collection. My sister, Barb, gave it to me for Christmas, and it is an easy read of stories and memories of the author growing up in pecan country, as well as 125 pages of recipes, all using pecans. ...

School district employees who faced a big increase in their retirement contributions will get at least a temporary reprieve, the Social Security Administration has decided. In a letter sent last week to Sen. Claire McCaskill, David Rust, deputy commissioner of Social Security for Retirement and Disability Policy, said a July 1 deadline for deciding which school employees should be paying Social Security taxes has been set aside. ...

NEW YORK -- A task force charged with assessing technologies for protecting children from unwanted contact online has concluded that no single approach is foolproof and that parental oversight is vital. The Harvard-led panel, in a report obtained by The Associated Press and scheduled for release today, dismissed prospects for age-verification technologies, the approach favored by many law-enforcement officials who had pushed for the creation of the task force...

WASHINGTON -- Tested before taking power, president-elect Barack Obama appealed to Democrats in Congress on Tuesday to allow the use of an additional $350 billion in federal bailout funds and vowed to veto any move to block the money. Obama backed up his plea with a promise to revise elements of the original bailout program that have drawn widespread criticism, pledging that billions will go toward helping homeowners facing foreclosure. ...

Loyd Ray Ervin, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 12, 2009, at his home. He was born March 2, 1924, in Benton, Mo., son of John and Beulah Minter Ervin. He and Wilma Shirrell were married March 5, 1944, in Cape Girardeau. Ervin was a lab technician 43 years at Marquette Cement Co. and was a shop foreman 43 years at Cape Ready Mix. He retired in 1987. He was a member of First Church of God and was an avid fisherman, golfer, and loved to hunt...

President-elect Barack Obama praised it, and now you can, too. During a one-time gig as a food critic on a public television restaurant review show years ago, the next president raved about the peach cobbler served at a diner in his Chicago neighborhood...

Southeast Missouri State University will test its readiness for a shooting scenario when the school conducts an emergency preparedness drill today. Scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon, the drill will result in the lockdown of Carnahan Hall, Crisp Hall of Nursing, the pedestrian area on the east side of Academic Hall and the south side of Brandt Hall of Music while university staff members work through the drill. ...

McCLURE, Mo. -- Mary Taylor Burchyett, 73, of McClure died Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Anna-Jonesboro, Ill.

The biggest crime of all in "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" is not the bank heist that goes down at a New Jersey mall on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Rather, it's the egregious way in which Kevin James' innate likability goes to waste...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Edith Francis Howard passed away Monday, Jan. 12, 2009, at her home in Advance at the age of 83. She was born June 19, 1925, in Ancell, Mo., to the late Frank and Mildred Burgess. She married Clyde F. Bock April 3, 1943, who preceded her in death Jan. 14, 1950. To this union a daughter, Patsy Jean, was born...

The Daily Dunklin Democrat newspaper in Kennett, Mo., had some interesting news to report today: authorities in Kennett seized a combined 50 dogs and birds from a house there, where the animals and an elderly man were living in filth.The case is somewhat similar to one here in Cape Girardeau in November, when 20 cats were rescued from filth in a mobile home. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Just as Missouri gets going in the Big 12 portion of the schedule, the team is dealing with more adversity. The Tigers (13-3, 0-1 Big 12) host Colorado tonight in the conference home opener, but they'll be without one of their best players. ...

HARPERSVILLE, Ala. -- An investor who had entrusted money to an Indiana financial manager suspected of trying to fake his own death in a plane crash said Tuesday he had complained to state regulators that the man was unfairly charging high fees and pocketing the money...

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi officials acknowledged problems Tuesday in determining how winners will be chosen in regional elections, raising concerns that electoral challenges could tarnish the Jan. 31 vote. U.S. and Iraqi officials have pinned their hopes on the balloting to unify the country's ethnic and sectarian groups. But confusion about the results could undermine that goal and provide a new source of tension...

KENNETT, Mo. — A total of 50 animals were collected by the Humane Society of Missouri during an investigation into animal abuse at a home in Kennett on Tuesday. Members of the Humane Society of Missouri assisted local authorities in an investigation into animal neglect at 1607 Russell St. in Kennett on Tuesday. A total of 28 dogs and 22 birds were collected from the home...

Two men accused of reaping nearly $500,000 from a mortgage fraud scheme will go on trial Feb. 17 in Cape Girardeau. Russell T. McBride, 46, and Robert Wrolstadt, 59, appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis Blanton for a hearing in which they waived their rights to file any motions challenging the federal evidence against them. Blanton last week set their trial date before U.S. District Judge Charles A. Shaw...

Scene from the Inaugural Parade in Jefferson City on Monday, January 12, 2009.

Inaugural Parade in Jefferson City on Monday, January 12, 2009.

The Cape Central Tigers marching band was invited to march in the inauguration parade in Jefferson City Mo.

The Cape Central marching Tigers, marching in Jay Nixon's inaugural parade, Jefferson City Mo.