Stories from Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Pinch-hitter Travis Hurst legged out an infield single with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was just the opening Hurst and his Jackson teammates needed. The Indians capitalized on four hits and two walks to score five runs in the sixth inning to beat Sikeston 6-5 and win the SEMO Conference baseball tournament title Monday at Capaha Field...

KENNETT, Mo. -- A Campbell, Mo., woman charged with second-degree murder was to appear in court today, after being arrested Wednesday in connection with the death of her one-month-old infant. According to Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Sokoloff, Joanna Faucett, 24, was arrested after authorities discovered that the infant appeared to have been strangled to death...

ARCADIA, Mo. (AP) -- Police and volunteers on horseback and all-terrain vehicles renewed the search Tuesday for a 3-year-old boy who wandered out of his rural Southeast Missouri home. Joshua Childers was reported missing by his parents shortly after noon Monday. Searchers were looking in a rugged area near the Madison-Iron County line near Arcadia, 75 miles south of St. Louis...

PUXICO, Mo. -- A Puxico man who was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed on Highway 51 Friday night was pronounced dead at the scene by Stoddard County Coroner Morgan Sifford. Dead is 54-year-old Tommie J. Bates. Sustaining moderate injuries was the vehicle's driver, 22-year-old Nickolas J. Jackson of Zalma, Mo. He was transported by ambulance to a Cape Girardeau hospital...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A 66-year-old Bloomfield man charged in connection with a relationship with a 15-year-old girl will have his case heard by a new judge. Charlie Glass, arrested in late February, recently filed a motion for a change of judge. His case will now be heard by Judge John C. Spielman of Dunklin County...

Back row left to right: Lindsay Strieker,Brooke Simpson, Cassie Simpher, Charis Stewart, Meghan Dohogne, Holly Schermann, Danny Poole, Coach. Front row left to right: Julie Brandmeyer, Club Director, Abby Horrell, Ashley Humphrey, Cody Lancaster, Adeline Yates, Erica Woods (Bridgett Ninninger unavailable for photo)...

Violet enjoys reading mystery novels.

Sgt Kinnison: To tell you a little about myself, I am a 25 year old local business owner. I am about to have my first child, due in September, with a wonderful woman. This is a letter of appreciation. I have called on the Cape Girardeau Police Department more in the past month, than I have ever called on any police department in my life...

Seven exceptional young men and women were confirmed into a life of discipleship with New McKendree UMC on Sunday, April 26. Class members completed a course of study through weekly Sunday afternoon meetings with Senior Pastor John Rice. Several of the confirmands prepared for this training by completing a pre-confirmation course the previous year under the tutelage of Ms. Laura Jo Smith...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Adam Lindsay of Cape Girardeau has enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard. Lindsay will serve with Company E of the Recruit Sustainment Program in Jackson. Through the program, he will learn basic Army skills and values and become more familiar with his role as a Soldier in the Missouri Army National Guard...

When her 17-year-old son committed suicide in a Missouri prison one year and four months ago, Tracy McClard vowed to help raise awareness of what happens to teens incarcerated as adults. The Jackson woman received national recognition for her efforts Monday when she was presented with the National Mother of Distinction award by the Campaign for Youth Justice and the National Juvenile Justice Network...

This just in (via a news tip) from the internet: "Senator Charles Shields has blocked Representative Jim Guest's legislation in the Senate by not calling it out of the Rules Committee, Anti Real ID (HB361) and the 10th Amendment state sovereignty (HCR 13)...

The following is the first in a series of articles and features on chronic back pain. "Tell someone who is suffering from ongoing low back pain that it is all in their head and you are likely to get yours bitten off." That is what I heard from Dr. James Flowers, the director of Sierra Tucson's Pain Management Clinic, during a lecture I endured recently at a San Diego conference while vainly shifting around in my chair, trying to relieve my shrewish lower back pain...

Cape Girardeau County Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp ordered Max Ellison Jr. to stand trial Monday after finding there was enough evidence to support the charges against him.

Students and staff of the Alternative Education Center recently hosted a Red Cross blood drive in honor of Barb Lohrmann, a long-time district teacher who is recovering from surgery. Thirty-six students and faculty participated, and 22 units of blood were collected. ...

Cape Girardeau School District's 33rd Annual Retirement Dinner was held April 30 at the Cape Country Club to recognize 19 retirees. Senator Jason Crowell presented proclamations, and President of the Board of Education, Mr. Kyle McDonald, provided the invocation...

A prominent Missouri preacher with an extensive network of homeless shelters, free stores and broadcast stations wants to use the the old federal building in Cape Girardeau as a shelter. The Rev. Larry Rice, who has his headquarters in St. Louis, said Monday he had made a formal application to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to get the building at 339 Broadway ...

While the number of building permits issued in Cape Girardeau and Jackson has seen a 50 percent decline so far in 2009, construction of area medical facilities remains strong. Cape Girardeau's two largest health-care providers are moving forward with plans to build new multimillion-dollar facilities...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri House has narrowly endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment requiring that union elections be conducted by secret ballots. The measure cleared the House on Monday on a vote of 82-76 -- the minimum needed for passage -- and headed to the Senate with less than two weeks left in the legislative session. If approved by both chambers, the proposed change to the Missouri Constitution would go before voters in a future statewide election...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers have approved a bill barring evicted tenants from suing landlords for disposing of property they leave behind. The measure goes to the governor after winning House approval Monday on a vote of 158-1. Landlords would be protected from lawsuits for selling, removing or otherwise disposing of personal property left behind by evicted renters. But such tenants could still sue if the landlord's actions were willful, wanton or malicious...

Cape Girardeau Firefighters responded to the following calls Sunday: Firefighters responded to the following calls Monday: Jackson Firefighters responded to the following call Monday:...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI Arrests Summonses Assaults Thefts Burlgaries Miscellaneous Jackson...

A proposal to increase dumping fees for wastewater haulers drew objections Monday night at the Cape Girardeau City Council meeting as septic cleaners and a portable toilet provider asked for relief. The city has allowed companies operating in Southeast Missouri to deliver truckloads of waste to the sewage plant at 429 Cooper St. for a flat fee of $10. The fee has remained unchanged since 1991 despite the use of larger tanker trucks to collect and dispose of the waste...

Hunn; Gremaud

St. Andrew Lutheran Church will serve as one of 400 host sites throughout the country for the Maximum Impact Simulcast on Friday. The leadership training event, broadcast live from 8 a.m to 3 p.m. from Atlanta, will feature a lineup of speakers including former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair, professional golfer Jack Nicklaus, best-selling author John Maxwell and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts president of worldwide operations Al Weiss. Tickets are $100 and include a catered lunch by Celebrations. Reservations can be requested by calling 334-3200. St. Andrew Lutheran Church is at 804 N. Cape Rock Drive in Cape Girardeau.

LOS ANGELES -- An experimental drug greatly increased the number of people who appear to be cured of hepatitis C infection, according to results of mid-stage testing. The findings also suggest the drug telaprevir, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which sponsored the two studies, can cut treatment time from one year to six months. However, those taking the drug reported more side effects including severe rash, nausea and anemia than those on standard treatment alone...

Health events for the coming week

CINCINNATI -- Meet the forgotten housing crisis. While most attention has focused on the wave of foreclosures sweeping mostly middle-class, suburban Sunbelt neighborhoods from California to Florida, the nation's emptiest neighborhoods have remained concentrated in the same place for nearly a generation: the mostly minority, poor, urban neighborhoods of the American Rust Belt...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Tina Brian tries not to notice the boarded-up house next door, where the dandelions are thigh high and beer bottles litter the yard. She ignores the empty house across the street, with the detached garage she says is full of raccoons...

WASHINGTON -- A unanimous Supreme Court said Monday that undocumented workers who use phony IDs can't be considered identity thieves without proof they knew they were stealing real people's Social Security and other numbers. The court's decision limits federal authorities' use of a 2004 law, intended to get tough on identity thieves, against immigrants who are picked up in workplace raids and found to be using false Social Security and alien registration numbers...

MONTVILLE, Conn. -- Thomas Drew was 91, frail and suffering from dementia when, clad in a maroon sweat shirt and jeans, he disappeared from his home in northwest Connecticut. Drew hasn't been seen since that Saturday in July 2007, an example of the perils facing millions of Americans living with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other mental impairments...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama promised on Monday to crack down on companies "that ship jobs overseas" and duck U.S. taxes with offshore havens. It won't be easy. Democrats have been fighting -- and losing -- this battle since John F. Kennedy made a similar proposal in 1961...

DETROIT -- With a month left to finish a list of restructuring moves, General Motors Corp.'s new chief executive officer said it's still possible the company can finish everything and avoid following Chrysler into bankruptcy. But don't think Fritz Henderson, who took over the automaker when Rick Wagoner was ousted by the Obama administration, is ignoring what's going on with Chrysler LLC in front of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in New York...

WASHINGTON -- Evidence that housing is poised to improve and optimism about the results of banking "stress tests" raised hopes Monday that the recession is easing and helped lift a stock market measure into the black for the year. Construction spending and pending home sales both fared better than expected in March, and private economists saw the reports as evidence the overall economy is stabilizing after its bleakest stretch in a half-century. ...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- South Korean snipers hovering in a helicopter Monday chased away pirates pursuing a North Korean freighter, a rare instance of cooperation between the two Koreas. The South Korean ship has been operating off Somalia since last month on a mission to protect its cargo ships from Somali pirates, whose acts of high-seas crime have exploded in recent years as the bandits continue to get ransoms in the millions of dollars...

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's government Monday ruled out allowing U.S. combat troops to remain in Iraqi cities after the June 30 deadline for their withdrawal, despite concern that Iraqi forces cannot cope with the security challenge following a resurgence of bombings in recent weeks...

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican officials lowered their swine flu alert level in the capital Monday and said they will allow universities, cafes, museums and libraries to reopen this week, even as the number of confirmed cases topped 1,200 worldwide. Mexican officials said the epidemic was waning at its epicenter, announcing that Wednesday will conclude a five-day closure of nonessential businesses they credit for reducing the spread of the new virus...

The public perception of politicians is eroded when they act in ways that look irresponsible to the taxpayers and voters they profess to serve, even if those actions don't violate any laws. Such is the case with a trip to London taken by Rod Jetton of Marble Hill, Mo., who rose to political prominence as speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives...

Your coverage of Procter & Gamble's 40 years in Southeast Missouri ("Product powerhouse" April 21) was a welcome article spotlighting the positive impact of a local business. I would like to congratulate Procter & Gamble and thank it for the community support it has provided over the years...

Thank you for the excellent coverage of the 100-year celebration of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department. The online video and articles brought out over 300 people. The event was a huge success, and a lot of first time visitors came to the museum. Our volunteers are creative people and dedicated to the preservation of the history of Cape Girardeau. ...

I am a 20-year-old college student, I weigh 83 pounds. Shocking? What's even more shocking is that I can't get the help I need. There are no treatment programs in Cape Girardeau or the surrounding area for those who suffer from eating disorders. Since eating disorders are so misunderstood, they can rarely be successfully treated by those who do not specialize in eating disorders. ...

When I was growing up America was No. 1 in everything. Our manufacturing, spearheaded by General Motors, dominated this country and the world. As Dr. Meek of Econ 101 related to our class, "No one in the world has the capital and capital investment the U.S. has."...

In response to the story "Capaha Park pool faces uncertain future": This is a sad sign of the times. I remember, while growing up in Marble Hill, Mo., our folks taking us over occasionally on "special" Saturday afternoons in the 1950s to swim in a "real" pool...

For joyful sounds that lift our hearts, we give thanks to you, O God. Amen.

Brittni Peck is spending the last semester of her senior year at Southeast Missouri State University collecting and analyzing DNA samples from cattle. She said her animal breeding class comes out the Barton Agriculture Research Center once or twice a week. Peck, who will attend veterinary school at the University of Missouri next year, said working at the farm during her time as an undergraduate gave her an academic boost...

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Howard's latest happy homecoming linked him with Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt in the Philadelphia Phillies' record book. Howard hit his seventh career grand slam, tying Schmidt for the franchise record in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night that included a frightening injury to Rick Ankiel...

AKRON, Ohio -- Unstoppable at both ends of the floor this season, LeBron James claimed the league MVP on Monday, receiving the award in the high school gym where he first made his name. The Cleveland Cavaliers star won what some expected to be a close vote in a slam dunk. He received 109 of a possible 121 first-place votes to easily outdistance Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. James totaled 1,172 points in balloting by media members...

Central ace Josh Meyer struggled with his control as he worked as the closer against Poplar Bluff in the third-place game of the SEMO Conference baseball tournament Monday. Meyer, who normally starts games, was making his first high-pressure relief appearance. He walked three batters and gave up two hits in 1 2/3 innings...

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program has signed another player. Sam Pearson, a 6-foot-2 sophomore at Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College, played both the point guard and shooting guard positions for the Greyhounds this year. Pearson, an all-Region 16 selection, led the region in scoring with an average of 17.5 points per game...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team has swept Ohio Valley Conference honors for the second straight week. Jennifer Vasquez and Giana Zimmerman were named OVC player and pitcher of the week, respectively, the league announced Monday. Vasquez, a junior left fielder, hit .462 with a .923 slugging percentage in four games last week. Four of her six hits went for extra bases and she drove in seven runs...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- One man was injured in a vehicular assault over the weekend, which officers with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety continue to investigate. A call came in at 9:38 a.m. Sunday in reference to a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle on Frisco Street, near the Dorothy Street intersection. The man reportedly sustained minor injuries...

CAMPBELL, Mo. -- A 24-year-old Campbell woman was recently arrested and now faces second-degree murder charges stemming from the death of a one-month-old infant. According to Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Sokoloff, JoAnn Faucett, 24, was arrested after authorities discovered a dead infant who appeared to have been strangled to death...

A man went into insulin shock Monday afternoon, resulting in a car accident that sent him to a Cape Girardeau hospital. Sgt. Kevin Orr of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said that at 1:42 p.m. a man driving a Buick Regal was traveling southbound on North Kingshighway near Ford Groves and went into insulin shock. ...

BOLLINGER COUNTY, Mo. -- Missouri Department of Transportation crews will replace a drainage pipe beneath Route U, closing a section of the roadway between Highway 34 and County Road 452 through Wednesday. Weather permitting, work will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m...

NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. -- Guardrail repairs will reduce the southbound lanes of a section of Interstate 55 to one lane through Wednesday. Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the section of I-55 from Route P at Kewanee to one mile south of New Madrid.

SCOTT COUNTY, Mo. -- U.S. 61 will be reduced to one lane today through June 5 while Fronabarger Concreters begins widening the shoulders and installing a turn lane. The section of roadway is north of the routes HH and ZZ intersection to one mile south of Grant City at McCullah Drive. Weather permitting, work will take place from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- An Oran women died Friday, a day after being injured in a vehicle accident in Scott County. Sarah M. Holmes, 94, of Oran was pronounced dead at 11:56 a.m. Friday at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She had been transported there by air ambulance with serious injuries following a Thursday morning accident...

In this video excerpt from Max Ellison Jr.'s preliminary hearing on his first-degree murder charge for the 1979 death of Deborah Martin, we hear part of former Stoddard County Sheriff Ralph Mouser's testimony and part of a call Ellison made to Mouser from federal prison in 1979...

SCOTT COUNTY, Mo. - A Sunday afternoon one-car accident near Oran sent a Chaffee woman and two female children to a Cape Girardeau hospital. Robin M. Patterson, 49, was driving her 2002 Buick on Highway 77 about two miles north of Oran when she lost control, traveled off the left side of the roadway and struck a ditch, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said...

Local health-care workers give their views on lower back pain

Dorothy Jean Ingemanson, 84, of Scott City died Wednesday, April 29, 2009, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 3, 1924, in Fornfelt, daughter of Martin August and Mary Alma Fish Krieger. She and Ernest Ingemanson were married April 4, 1945, at Scott City. Ernest died Oct. 22, 1996...

Recognition of the Southeast Missourian's Good Deed of the Week, Sunday, May 3 went to Eric Welch, black belt instructor of Kids in Christian Karate School. Welch was improperly identified in Sunday's edition. A correct photo will be published in Sunday's Good Times. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error...

ANNA, Ill. -- Paul Revere Rendleman, 81, of Anna died Monday, May 4, 2009, at City Care Center. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Bobby Richardson officiating. Burial will be in Casper Cemetery...

ADVANCE, Mo. — Bernice "Sis" Hinkle of Advance died Monday, May 4, 2009, at Sikeston, Mo. Morgan Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Leslie Thomas Hilliker, 87, of Scott City died Monday, May 4, 2009, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City is in charge of arrangements.

Velma Margaret Lovel, 85, of Jackson died Monday, May 4, 2009, at Southeast Missouri Hospital. Lovel was born July 11, 1923, at Morley, Mo., daughter of George and Alma Stanton Elsperman. She and Claude Lee Lovel were married May 18, 1946, at Benton, Mo. He preceded her in death Jan. 19, 2002...

Shelley Jean Nichols, 51, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, May 2, 2009, at her home. She was born Jan. 4, 1958, in St. Louis, daughter of Howard and Ellenada Glaze. Shelley graduated from Ritenour High School. After completing training at County Hospital in St. Louis she moved to Cape Girardeau and took a job at Southeast Missouri Hospital, where she was a CPR-certified, accredited radiology technologist 25 years...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Wilbern B. "Mike" Hornbuckle, 88, of Advance died Sunday, May 3, 2009, at the home of a daughter. He was born March 21, 1921, in Manila, Ark., son of Loyed and Elsie Brooks Hornbuckle. He and Sadie Claudine "Polly" Warren were married on April 17, 1982. She died July 29, 2004...

Kenneth Ernest Beussink, 57, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, May 2, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born Sept. 20, 1951, in Cape Girardeau, son of Ernest Henry and Irene Rosena Wubker Beussink. He and Donna Huey were married Sept. 11, 1982, in Cape Girardeau...

Betty Jean Hawks Wilson, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, May 3, 2009, at her daughter's home in Whitewater. She was born Dec. 27, 1929, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Fleming B. Hawks and Ruby Niswonger Hawks Corbin Seabaugh. She and William G. "Dub" Wilson were married Feb. 12, 1949, in Cape Girardeau. He died Jan. 10, 1987...

Melvin L. Brooks, 83, of Jackson passed away Sunday, May 3, 2009, at Jackson Manor. He was born June 27, 1925, in Jackson, son of Elam and Mary Leggett Brooks. He and Imogene Sevella Schreiner were married Nov. 18, 1944. She passed away Aug. 26, 2008...

ZALMA, Mo. -- Zalma Fire and Rescue will hold its third annual fish fry from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Zalma General Baptist Church. Plates for children 12 and younger are discounted. There will be a gun and hog raffle with three drawings at 7:30 p.m...

The SEMO Iris Society Spring Flower Show will begin at noon Saturday at West Park Mall in front of Macy's. It will run through 5 p.m. Sunday.

The handwringing that is gripping the not-for-profit world these days, because of the recent economic downturn, has a chokehold on our sector right now. Not-for-profits are scraping for funds, reducing services and cutting programs to stay afloat...

Gangs in school; Paying for trash; Coffee buddies; Higher city rates

Notre Dame's golf team fell just short of capturing the Class 3 District 1 title Monday. The Bulldogs fell to Farmington in a fifth player tie-breaker. Perryville finished 10th. The Bulldogs did qualify as a team because four members finished in the top 15...

NEW YORK -- It's "Twilight" versus "Slumdog Millionaire" at this year's MTV Movie Awards. The vampire blockbuster and Oscar-winning Indian romance have six nominations each, including best movie, MTV announced Monday. "Slumdog" star Dev Patel and "Twilight" vampire Robert Pattinson are both nominated for the male breakthrough performance award. ...

25 years ago: May 5, 1984 As the M.G. Lorberg Jr. Speech and Hearing Center is dedicated, ceremonies stress the long-term, ongoing influence of the late chairman of Southeast Missouri State University's department of speech communication and theater...

A man wanted for a Jackson burglary and suspected in a string of burglaries in Cape Girardeau and Jackson was arrested in his Illinois hometown and is apparently fighting extradition back to Missouri. Mark P. Lowery, who is listed with a Robinson, Ill., address in court papers charging him with a single count of burglary and another felony count of stealing, was arrested after Missouri police alerted law enforcement in Crawford County, Ill., that he may be headed that way...

Two early morning fires destroyed homes in Millersville and Shawneetown. Around midnight Fruitland and North County firefighters responded to a report of a fire at Old Shawnee Road in Shawneetown. ...

A two-block area of North Fountain Street was evacuated for nearly three hours Monday night after a gas line ruptured. A call of a natural gas odor came in at 7:35 p.m., according to Steve Niswonger, battalion chief with the Cape Girardeau Fire Department. ...