Stories from Sunday, August 16, 2009

Briea Williams of Ozark, Mo., is hoping to buy her first home by taking advantage of a program that provides federally funded incentives to purchase foreclosed houses.

In the past year, Cape Girardeau sent four letters to property owners directing them to carry out essential repairs to make their buildings safe.

DAVENPORT, Calif. (AP) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged residents to heed mandatory evacuation orders Saturday as 6,800 firefighters battled to control nearly a dozen blazes across the parched state. Schwarzenegger met with firefighters at the Lockheed Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a day after the governor returned to the state from attending the funeral of his mother-in-law, Eunice Shriver...

Hear our prayers, O God, and fill us with hope and love for one another. Amen.

Jason Bachert, of Wildwood, Mo., watches his horse Single Barrel inspect his three-year-old son Bennett Saturday afternoon, August 15, 2009, during the Midwest Regional Futurity Jubilee Horse Show and Silent Auction at Flickerwood Arena in Jackson. ...

First catfish caught by Layne Henderson my six year old son. Caught at conservation campus kids only pond on 8-14-2009 at 8:30 pm.

First catfish caught by Layne Henderson my six year old son. Caught at conservation campus kids only pond on 8-14-2009 at 8:30 pm.

Cape Youth Tackle Football (CYTF) will hold a final registration date for all kids in grades 2-7 (fall 2009) to play tackle football this fall. We will take registrations on Saturday, August 22 from 4-6pm in the Osage Centre on North Kingshighway. Players must attend parents/guardians at registration to be tested and weighed and to receive equipment...

Triple H at WWE SummerSlam Tour in Cape Girardeau, MO Sunday August 16th 2009

WWE United States Champion Kofi Kingston

MVP doing a move on The Big Show

Triple H getting ready to slam down Cody Rhodes

WWE Champion Randy Orton placing a choke hold on The Game Triple H!

Rosa and Gail Kim

In the online video, a fully clothed infant floated unassisted in water for several minutes before an instructor picked him up. As a nurse, Cristy Welker couldn't believe what she was seeing. "I had never seen anything like it before," Welker said. "But at the same time, my son was 3 and seeing the video really struck a chord with me."...

Three Title 1 schools in the Cape Girardeau School District and one in Scott City face sanctions after failing to meet proficiency targets on statewide exams.

A move to bolster Southeast Missouri State's linebacker corps last year paid dividends not only for the Redhawks but also Josh Woods. Woods hopes to pick up where he left off in 2008 after making the switch from cornerback. "It's been a lot of fun, but I still have a lot more to improve on," Woods said Saturday after Southeast's first intrasquad scrimmage...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A Perry County man apparently killed himself with a single rifle shot early Saturday morning after he used his car to attack his girlfriend in a Perryville park and firing two shots at police.

Darcy Morgan and Lawrence Braun were married May 23, 2009, at Meyer Lake in Benton, Mo. The Rev. Russell Rice performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Kathleen Tuma of Poplar Bluff, Mo. The groom is the son of Pauline Braun of Cape Girardeau...

Gretchen Leigh Spitzmiller and Mitchell Dane Harpster were married May 30, 2009, at Shuck Recital Hall on the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. The Rev. Paul J. Short performed the ceremony. Music was provided by the university's brass quintet...

Michelle Diane McRaven and Linus Joseph Berghoff were united in marriage June 6, 2009, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso, Mo. The Rev. Oliver Clavin performed the ceremony. Organist was Betty Ressel and vocalist was Amanda Landgraf. The bride is the daughter of Darryl McRaven of Jonesboro, Ill., and Rebecca Welker of Cape Girardeau. The groom is the son of Leo and Hilda Berghoff of Kelso...

Lesli Dawn McConnell and Brandon Lee Winchester were married Aug. 8, 2008, at the Common Pleas Courthouse gazebo in Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Nancy Gillard performed the ceremony. Parents of the bride are Gary and Marilyn Kay Jones of Scott City and Donald and Linda Shelton of Kelso, Mo. The groom is the son of Roy and Shannan Morton of Sikeston, Mo., and Richard and Vicki Winchester of Jackson...

Wayne and Jane Unterreiner of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter, Sarah Nicole Unterreiner, to Jeffrey William Fahrner. He is the son of Bill and Sandy Fahrner of Belleville, Ill. Unterreiner received a bachelor of science degree in education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a fourth grade teacher with Mehlville School District at Oakville Elementary School in St. Louis...

Bobby and Linda Miller of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter, Casey Lynn Marie Borgfield, to Cody Alan Fenton. He is the son of David and Kim Strong of Cape Girardeau and Ron Fenton of Mabelvale, Ark. Borgfield is a 2003 graduate of Jackson High School. She received a bachelor of science degree in social work from Southeast Missouri State University in 2008. She is employed at Community Counseling Center...

The engagement of Shelley Dawn Aslinger to Cory Michael Kirchhoff is announced by their parents, Jean Aslinger of Cape Girardeau and Michael and Vicky Kirchhoff of Highland, Ill. Aslinger is also the daughter of the late Howard Aslinger. Aslinger is a graduate of Central High School. She received a bachelor's degree from Southeast Missouri State University...

Mr. and Mrs. Reece Sanders of Cape Girardeau celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with a luncheon Aug. 12, 2009, at their home. Hosts were their children and grandchildren. Sanders and Louise Young were married Aug. 12, 1939, at the home of the bride in Brownville, Neb...

Laura and Bill Moore of Altenburg, Mo., and Matthew Clark Sr. of Perryville, Mo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Jerri JoAnn Cotner of Jackson, to Alexander Everett Carr. He is the son of Alan and Wanda Carr of Jasper, Ga. Cotner is a graduate of Jackson High School...

Raymond E. Myers, 83, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Hannibal, Mo., died at Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009, at the Missouri Veterans Home. He was born Aug. 11, 1926, in Hannibal to Raymond W. and Ola Mae (Blacketter) Myers. He married Eugenia Warren on Oct. 5, 1946. They have enjoyed 62 years together...

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Helen M. Zarger, 88, of Topeka passed away Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, at Midland Hospice. She was born Sept. 7, 1920, in Gilette, Ark., the daughter of John B. and Della B. (McKim) Quinn. She married John J. Zarger on June 19, 1956, in Ottawa, Kan., and he preceded her in death May 5, 1998...

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- Roy E. Kopf, 84, of Belleville, born Sept. 16, 1924, in Belleville, died Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, at Four Fountains Convalescent Center in Belleville. Mr. Kopf retired from Steamfitters and Pipefitters Local 101. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Belleville and American Legion Belleville Post 58. Roy was a World War II U.S. Navy veteran...

BENTON, Mo. -- James E. "Jim" Wilhelm, 78, of Benton died Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 5, 1931, in Benton to Adam Edward and Corina Hand Wilhelm. He and Mary Ann Tarr were married May 15, 1965, at Cape Girardeau...

Ruby Marie Friedrich, 81, of Jackson passed away Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 22, 1927, in Ancell, Mo., to George and Matilda Hess Peetz. Ruby attended grade school in Kelso, Mo., and Cape Girardeau and was a 1946 graduate of the former St. Mary's High School in Cape Girardeau. She and David Friedrich were married Dec. 27, 1947, in Kelso. He passed away Aug. 2, 1963...

Jean Mae Simpson LOUISVILLE, Colo. -- Jean Mae Simpson, 91, of Louisville and formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Friday, Aug. 7, 2009, at HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties in Louisville. She was born May 8, 1918, in Bridgeport, Okla., the daughter of Leroy and Elma Johnson Martin. She and Paul Simpson were married Dec. 31, 1942, at Corpus Christi, Texas. He died March 1, 2008...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Lee R. Bauwens of Perryville died Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, at his home. He was 66. He was born July 13, 1943, in Perryville, the son of the late Herman and Marie (Cissell) Bauwens. He was married to Cheryl "Charlie" Johns on Feb. 5, 1983, who survives in Perryville...

Ruby K. Werner, 86, of Granite City, Ill., formerly of Scott City, died Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009, at her son's home in Chesterfield, Mo. A memorial graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Lightner Memorial Cemetery in Scott City. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements...

Baseball Football Running Softball Tennis Triathlon Submit items by mail, fax or e-mail to be included in the calendar....

The Cape Girardeau 12-and-under Cal Ripken All-Stars baseball team dropped its opener Saturday at the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Md. Bel Air, Md., knocked off Cape Girardeau 11-8 after rallying from an 8-7 deficit after two innings. Adam Pope started for Cape Girardeau but only lasted 1 1/3 innings. Matthew Westrich took the loss in relief. Pope allowed seven runs while Westrich surrendered four...

Hope you're not tired of retro-styled cars just yet because one of the best just arrived in showrooms. The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro is a visual rendition of the 1969 Camaro but with a sinister flair provided by bulging fenders and large wheels. A windshield and side windows give passengers the feel of being behind gun slits in a military vehicle...

WASHINGTON -- A deal with Switzerland settling U.S. demands for the names of suspected tax dodgers from a Swiss bank has a lot of wealthy Americans with offshore accounts running to their tax advisers -- and the Internal Revenue Service. "They are very frightened," said Richard Boggs, chief executive of Nationwide Tax Relief, a Los Angeles-based tax firm that specializes in clients with tax debts exceeding $100,000. ...

RICHLAND, Iowa -- He quit his job and drove his wife and their four daughters across country, a 21st-century pioneer lured by the promise of a life-changing deal with an older stranger. Isaac Phillips always wanted to be a farmer. But colleagues at the Utah jail where he supervised inmate work crews were leery, telling him not to give up a day job, that he was making a mistake and that it was a crazy idea...

YANGON, Myanmar -- Stung by international outrage over the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's ruling generals agreed Saturday to hand an American prisoner involved in her case to a visiting U.S. senator. Sen. Jim Webb was also granted a meeting with the junta chief and was allowed to hold talks with Suu Kyi, the first foreign official permitted to see the Nobel laureate since she was sentenced Tuesday to 18 more months of house arrest...

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A woman pays her bus fare with 3 trillion in old Zimbabwe dollars -- the equivalent of 50 U.S. cents. The collector accepts the brick of neatly folded bundles of a trillion each without bothering to count the notes. "No one seems to worry, and it works," said the woman, Lucy Denya, a secretary...

Here's a cautionary note to Missouri and other out-of-state drivers who travel highways in Illinois: If you text while you drive, you may be pulled over, ticketed and fined starting Jan. 1. Illinois is one of several states that have some form of ban on texting while driving. In most cases, as in Illinois, police are authorized to stop a vehicle if the driver is believed to be texting...

If you think the health-care reform debate has been turbulent, just wait for the deep-recession public-debt debate. Someone has to do it. Count me in. There must be enormous sacrifice, burden and pain. That is the price that must be paid if our democracy is to survive. As Benjamin Franklin responded in 1787 to the question of what the Constitutional Convention had produced: "A republic, if you can keep it."...

Alan Journet's recent letter regarding our health-care system is correct in that our primary concern should be enhancing the quality of care available to all Americans while controlling costs. His reference to Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom having better health care than the United States is debatable, all according to the slant of the study...

I am the original caller who suggested that most people are happy with government-run Medicare. I also understand Marlena Jones' frustration with respect to Medicare not covering her antigen drops but opting instead to cover the more expensive allergy injections. This makes absolutely no sense...

Alan Journet, in his recent letter to the editor, is, as always, giving research information that includes only his point of view. Numerous studies have shown the medical systems he is touting as being much different than he is describing. Journet claims he lived under government-controlled medical systems more than half his life. ...

In response to Alan Journet's Aug. 12 letter: The government's taking over our health care is not the answer. I see the massive waste of Medicaid and Medicare. Thousands of dollars are wasted on nursing home patients. I have an elderly mother who has thousands of dollars wasted on unnecessary tests that are required by these agencies. These tests are not going to improve her quality of life...

In reply to Ted LeGrand's July 25 op-ed column, I would like to politely disagree. Both conservatives and liberals may be found in the Republican and Democratic parties, both of which have had ample opportunity to lead our nation back to limited, constitutional government. Both have failed miserably...

State regulation; Thanks for billfold; Corporate decisions; Fighting back; Class sizes; Billed in error; Handling the crowd; Sick world; Opposite opinions; Coaching with class; Fair opinion

The following properties are either currently under a condemnation order from Cape Girardeau, which means the building must be repaired or demolished:n 225 S. Middle St. A fire-damaged home that Centurion Development has promised to repair. The following buildings have been issued repair to minimal property standards letters from the city within the last year:...

It's an awful feeling when your indoor cat dashes past you out the door. But it's even more distressing to realize that you've just made matters worse by giving chase. That's what happened to some clients of pet detective Laura Totis in Clarksburg, Md. She helps find lost pets via phone consultations and a trained search dog...

The Cape County Board of Directors for Handicapped Facilities held its annual appreciation dinner and presented the County Appreciation Award to Robert Landgraf. Landgraf has served as president of the board since it was formed in 1975. The board is made up of nine members and helps support sheltered employment and residential facilities for handicapped people in Cape Girardeau County...

Army Pvt. Dani M. Delarosa has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the nine weeks of training, she studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches and field training exercises. ...

The Cape County Board of Directors for Handicapped Facilities held its annual appreciation dinner and presented the County Appreciation award to Arylsse Popp. Popp joined the nine-member board in 1976. She has served as secretary and currently serves as treasurer...

Army National Guard Pvt. Robert B. Burton has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the nine weeks of training, he studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches and field training exercises. ...

Delivering flowers, brightening days Betty Rameley of Jackson decorates Jackson Manor with flowers grown on her farm. Rameley has been bringing flowers to the home for more than a year. She started when her mother, who died recently , became a resident at the home. ...

Husband-and-wife journalists Bob Miller and Callie Clark Miller use this space to offer their views on everyday issues. HE SAID Eli is ticktocking just a few feet away under the glow of a silent television. He's asleep there in his swing, rocking in his little time machine. Six weeks old, now, the little guy...

Distributed throughout the eastern half of the U.S., north and into a large swath of Canada, the Barred Owl is one of only two North American owls that have dark eyes. The most noted predatory threat to a barred owl is its larger cousin the Great Horned Owl. Both these owls can be found in the same woods, but the barred owl will vacate an area that becomes frequented by a great horned owl...

The Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau recently recognized the American Legion Auxiliary for its long tradition of support to veterans. Under the leadership of Barbara Yallaly, the American Legion Auxiliary home representative, this group has been assisting the residents at the veterans home since it opened in 1990. ...

25 years ago: Aug. 16, 1984 Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale and his vice presidential running mate, Geraldine Ferraro, may make a campaign stop in Cape Girardeau in early October; among Republicans, well-known U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp of New York is scheduled to campaign here in October in behalf of U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, who is seeking re-election to a third term...