Stories from Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A federal judge has awarded $7,000 in damages to a Cape Girardeau man arrested for cutting up an American flag and throwing it into the street. Frank Snider III was arrested in 2009. Shortly after his arrest he was released and charges were dropped

The Cape Girardeau City Council has scheduled a meeting at 5 p.m. Jan. 17 to set a special election for the Ward 6 council position. Depending on the number of candidates, the council will call either a general election -- for two candidates -- or a primary election -- for three or more candidates...

Recommendations to change the existing dress code for the Cape Girardeau School District were discussed Monday during a special work session of the school board. Board members, staff from the superintendent's office and principals from Cape Girardeau schools gave examples of dress code violations within their schools and also heard the recommendations, which consisted of:...

A judge sentenced Marcus E. Jones to 90 days in the county jail Monday for his role in the theft of a car that allegedly was intentionally driven into a group of local joggers in late October. Judge Gary Kamp handed down the sentence Monday, which followed convictions of two misdemeanors. ...

A 27-year-old Cape Girardeau man pleaded not guilty Monday to four misdemeanor counts of sexual misconduct that claim he exposed his genitals to female university students during the fall. Shawn M. Way on Monday was in court before Judge Gary Kamp, who accepted the plea and continued the case until Jan. 28 to give Way time to find a lawyer...

A university professor was in a Jackson courtroom Monday on charges that accuse him of cheating during a weekend visit to Cape Girardeau's new casino. Longtime Southeast Missouri State University literature professor Roger C. Arpin, 66, was arrested at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau on Friday night by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on one felony count of violating Missouri's riverboat gambling laws. ...

Barge operators along a key stretch of the Mississippi River on Monday braced for months of restricted shipping as crews prepared to begin blasting large rock formations that are impeding navigation on the drought-plagued waterway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said contractors from Iowa and Ohio could begin demolition of the rock pinnacles in the bed of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis as early as today. They expect to remove enough rock to fill about 50 dump trucks -- possibly more...

Jabari Brown scored 12 points in Missouri's 102-51 victory against South Carolina State

In the aftermath of Friday's shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn., many are trying to overcome the grief over the killing of 20 children and six adults in the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. President Barack Obama said Sunday night in the Newtown High School auditorium that he was mindful that words couldn't match the sorrow, but he told those assembled, "Newtown, you are not alone."...

A Cape Girardeau man was charged with murder Monday after a witness told police she saw him pull the gun from the waistband of his pants and fire the single shot that ended the life of 32-year-old Nicholas Gilbert. Malcolm U. Harris, 21, was handed felony counts of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in Sunday's early morning shooting at The Spot, a Cape Girardeau nightclub on South Sprigg Street. ...

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) -- With security stepped up and families still on edge in Newtown, students began returning to school Tuesday for the first time since last week's massacre, bringing a return of familiar routines -- at least, for some -- to a grief-stricken town as it buries 20 of its children...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Guardsmen of the 1140th Engineer Battalion, in Cape Girardeau, recently dedicated a bench at the Cape County Parks in honor of the commanders, Soldiers and Veterans of the 1140th. "This is a great unit with a great heritage," retired Lt. Col. Brett Hanke told the Soldiers. "I hope you are as proud to be a part of this unit has I was."...

Backrow: Coach Max Wieser, (11)Jordan Hect, (41) Maddie Bruni, (25) (Ashlyn Collier, (24) Logan Welker and (13) Ali Galemmo. Front Row: (14)Heather Wills, (12)Tayla Myer, and (2)Logan Myer. Saxony overcame St. Pious X in the St. Vincent JV Tournament. Only up by a point at half, Crusaders were able use their defence to pull away in the second half to win 37-18. Saxony beat Arcadia Valley in the semi-final game and Scott City in opening round of the tournament...

Gene Schuessler, owner of Advanced Pest Control, was presented with the Dr. Wilbur Enns Man of the Year award by Missouri Pest Management Association at their recent annual banquet held in Kansas City, MO. The award is given in recognition of a person who has been outstanding in their contribution of time, talent, and innovation causing a positive result in the betterment of the Association and its' membership. ...

Employees and students of Cape Public Schools donated $24,374.48 to the 2012 United Way Campaign. L to R: Neil Glass, Teresa Haubold, Dr. Sherry Copeland, Dr. Jim Welker

Montgomery Bank and employees donated $13,760.61 to the 2012 United Way Campaign. Back L to R: Becka Hollis, Ted Williams, Cory Daniels, Kelly Essner, Kevin Dye, Scott Ringwald, Debbie Davis, Jennie Beltz, Debbie Pensel Front L to R: Monica Waldon, Tracy Dannenmueller, Angela Heuring, Sarah Keys, Nichole Tollison, Debbie Suhre, Kent Puchbauer, Brandon Pylate...

Members of the Immaculate Conception Catholic School Lego Robotics teams participated in a state-qualifier competition on November 18th at St. Charles Community College in St. Louis. Immaculate Conception entered two teams in the competition for students in grades 4th-8th...

Missouri teens wanting the next big thing in vampires, witches, angels and demons have an author from their own community to look too. Local author, Catherine Stovall, recently released Reborn, the second novel in her Requiem of Humanity Series, via e-book publisher Untreed Reads...

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 18, the 353rd day of 2012. There are 13 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 18, 1912, the Piltdown Man made its public debut as fossil collector Charles Dawson reported to the Geological Society of London his discovery of supposedly fragmented early human remains at a gravel pit in Piltdown. (More than four decades later, the Piltdown Man was exposed as a hoax.)...

LOS ANGELES -- Long before Christopher Chaney made headlines by hacking into the email accounts of such stars as Scarlett Johansson and Christina Aguilera, two other women said he harassed and stalked them online. The two women who knew Chaney said their lives have been irreparably damaged by his actions. ...

Alexa Marie "Lexi" Bartlett, 18, of St. James, Mo., entered the arms of her Lord and Savior on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. Lexi was born Oct. 11, 1994, in Cape Girardeau. She attended St. Mary Cathedral School until moving to St. James her second grade year, where she was raised by her surviving parents, Jim and Kassie Nenninger Foust...

Merit E. "Mutt" Leming, 90, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Southeast Hospital. He was born Jan. 14, 1922, in Cape Girardeau to William E. and Lela G. Leming. He met and married Ann Warren Leming in 1950. She passed away in 2002...

Daughter to Casey Lynn and Crystal Lynn Davie of Jackson, Southeast Hospital, 7:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. Name, Avery Jane Sue. Weight, 6 pounds, 9 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. Davie is the former Crystal Miller, daughter of Jimmie and Nancy Miller of Cape Girardeau and Jenna and Shell Duskey of Anna, Ill. She is employed by Manpower. Davie is the son of Robert and Kim Davie of Jackson. He is employed at Kidd's...

Jaxson Christopher Kneezle, infant son of Andrea Kestner and Chris Kneezle of Scott City, was stillborn Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He is survived by his parents; maternal grandparents, Stacy and Tracy Kestner; paternal grandmother, Arleen Kneezle; maternal great-grandparents, Bill and Shelia Taylor; and maternal great-great-grandmother, Ann Duty, all of Benton, Mo...

ANNA, Ill. -- Frank "Doc" Chamness, 69, of Anna died Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Ill. He was a veteran. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Paul Sadler officiating. Burial will be in Casper Cemetery...

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- A Bangladesh government committee investigating the garment factory fire that killed 112 people last month said in its findings the blaze was sabotage, probably by someone who worked there. The panel said that no matter who set the fire, the owner of the factory also should be punished for the deaths because he neglected worker safety...

Funerals began this week for 20 children and seven adults in Connecticut killed by a young man with mental issues and access to automatic weapons. A stunned, sad and angry nation is in mourning. At a memorial service Sunday, President Barack Obama cited scripture in reaching out to the community of Newtown:...

After the tragedy that happened Friday in Connecticut, I got to thinking how unsecure our schools are in this area. I have taken lunch money, books, etc. to my grandkids in Jackson schools. I have been in a grade school, middle school and junior high school. ...

EDITOR'S NOTE: A letter to the editor in Monday's Southeast Missourian suggested that U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson will see an increase in her retirement benefits once she is sworn in for a ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Retirement for members of Congress, like all other federal government employees, is based on incremental time of service and is not tied to the number of terms served...

The walk/bike trail being built along Route K may be nice for some, but did they really have to strip the whole hill? The side yards to the homes will be hard to mow now. I feel sorry for those homeowners Corruption According to a just released study, the good news is that out of 176 nations the U.S. is considered only the 17th most corrupt. The bad news is that right behind us, nipping at our heels, is China...

LONDON -- Nearly everywhere around the world people are living longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of modern life, according to the most expansive global look so far at life expectancy and the biggest health threats...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The man who will become the South's first black Republican senator since Reconstruction said his ascension in politics showed the evolution of his state and the nation. Congressman Tim Scott was selected Monday by fellow Republican Gov. Nikki Haley to take over the seat being vacated by Jim DeMint...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sen. Joe Manchin, an avid hunter and lifelong member of the National Rifle Association, said it's time for all sides in the gun policy debate to move beyond the political rhetoric and begin an honest discussion about reasonable restrictions on guns...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- The newly-hired revenue collector for St. Louis County has resigned after reports that she and her husband owed the county for unpaid taxes. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last week that 40-year-old Stacy Bailey had not paid personal property taxes since 2008 and has filed for bankruptcy. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri once again is officially on the losing side of this year's presidential election. Ten people chosen by fellow Republicans gathered at the Missouri Capitol on Monday and cast their Electoral College votes for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney...

BERNIE, Mo. -- A Stoddard County man was killed in a house fire early Sunday morning. Joshua Sandusky, 22, died in a house fire on Stoddard County Road 659 that began around 6 a.m. When fire crews arrived, the home was engulfed in flames. Crews found Sandusky in one of the bedrooms...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt...

A Jackson man was supposed to be sentenced Monday on 13 burglary charges but that won't happen until next month. William Artadi, 20, one of three Jackson men charged in the rash of burglaries that took place in Jackson and Cape Girardeau during a nine-month period, will now be sentenced Jan. 22 following a continuance that was granted at the defendant's request...

The second drug trial of Charles Anthony Robinson, delayed again earlier this month by an absent witness, was rescheduled by a Cape Girardeau County judge Monday. Judge William Syler granted a continuance at the request of Robinson and his lawyer because a witness was out of the country and unable to make the trial that was otherwise set to go. Syler on Monday set the pretrial conference for Feb. 19 and the one-day trial for the next day...

An expected decline in freshmen enrollment during the next few years is among issues being considered in determining whether Southeast Missouri State University should move to Division I in the National Collegiate Athletic Association; a 19-member task force is gathering information pertinent to a report it will issue on whether the university should move from Division II to Division I...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides the following information to help cope with stress following a traumatic event. Strong emotions like fear, sadness or other symptoms of depression are normal, as long as they are temporary and don't interfere with daily activities. If these emotions last too long or cause other problems, it's a different story...

All the local high school events reported Monday to the Southeast Missourian.

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams are looking at another season without a postseason appearance. Winners of three straight games before a 36-22 loss Sunday to Minnesota, the Rams had a chance of making the playoffs if they won their final three games. Now, the final two games serve mostly as a tuneup for next season...

Cut the Jackson girls basketball team some slack if you see them peering warily in their collective rearview mirror. The Indians have their work cut out for them if they plan on successfully defending their title in the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic, which begins today at the Show Me Center...

WASHINGTON -- New tests that promise to speed up diagnosis of food poisoning pose an unexpected problem: They could make it more difficult to identify dangerous outbreaks, like the one that sickened people who ate a variety of Trader Joe's peanut butter this fall...

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- A grief-stricken Newtown on Monday began burying the littlest victims of the school massacre, starting with two 6-year-old boys -- one of them a big football fan, the other a mischievous, whip-smart youngster whose twin sister survived the rampage...

Cape Girardeau and Jackson will alter trash schedules in observance of Christmas and New Year's Day. In Cape Girardeau, trash and recycling that would normally be picked up on both Tuesdays will be picked up the day after each holiday. There will be no special collections and all other routes will remain the same...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Route U in Stoddard County, between County Road 639 and Field Road, will be reduced to one lane as contractor crews perform bridge maintenance. Work will be done from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today through Thursday. SIKESTON, Mo. -- Route O in Bollinger County from Highway 72 to Route A will be reduced today as Missouri Department of Transportation crews make pavement repairs. Work will be done from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m...

O Lord Jesus, may those who mourn feel your loving presence. Amen.

CAIRO -- Just less than a third of voters turned out for the first stage of the referendum on a constitution meant to be a historic milestone in setting Egypt's future -- a showing critics say deepens doubts over the legitimacy of a charter that already has polarized the country...

BEIRUT -- Syria's vice president has acknowledged that the army cannot defeat the rebel forces trying to topple the regime and called for a negotiated settlement to save the country from ruin. The rare, candid comments by Farouk al-Sharaa, a longtime close aide to President Bashar Assad's family, suggested his embattled regime may be contemplating an exit strategy as rebel forces move closer to the capital Damascus. He spoke in an interview published Monday by Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar...

WASHINGTON -- Recovering from war wounds that left him with one arm, Danny Inouye wanted a cigarette and needed a light. The nurse at the Army hospital in Michigan threw a pack of matches on his chest. He wanted to curse her. Instead, she taught him how to light it one-handed...

Cape Girardeau County Tax liens and lien discharges recorded at the office of Scott R. Clark, recorder of deeds, during November are filed by the Missouri Department of Revenue, except as indicated by IRS designation. For more information, contact the recorder's office at 573-243-8123...

Business licenses issued in Cape Girardeau during November include the following:America's Mattress, 304 N. Kingshighway Cloud 9 Maternity Boutique LLC, 2136 William St., Suite 196 Crimson Creative, 1009 Emily Court Presto Exitoso Marketing, 1210 Perryville Road...

Interview by Robyn Gautschy Born and raised in Sikeston, Mo., Mike Marshall has stayed true to his hometown in his adult life as well. He was mayor of Sikeston from 2003 to 2009, is a former president of the Sikeston Jaycees and Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce and was named 2009 Citizen of the Year by the Sikeston chamber. ...

By Robyn Gautschy HELLO Menards Menards home improvement store opened May 15 at Siemers Drive and Bloomfield Road in Cape Girardeau. The $8 million store was the largest retailer to open in Cape Girardeau since 2006, when both Kohl's and Sears Grand opened their doors -- it's also the southernmost location for the Wisconsin-based chain, which has 267 stores. ...

Cape County Commission approves $300 million in bonds for P&G A $300 million expansion of Procter & Gamble facilities is in the works after the Cape Girardeau County Commission approved a plan to issue industrial development bonds in August. Commissioners unanimously approved issuing $300 million in Chapter 100 bonds, which company representatives have said will help fund additional manufacturing capacity needed at P&G's Cape Girardeau County plant to meet future consumer demands. ...

Nearly every Southeast Missouri county saw declining unemployment rates in 2012. The national unemployment rate in 2012 fell from 8.8 in January to 7.9 in October. Here's a look at local unemployment data from the first ten months of 2012 as reported by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center...

HAHS GROUP ADDS COLLEGE DIRECTOR Jared Freese of Crystal City, Mo., was appointed college unit director for the Hahs Group of Northwestern Mutual in Cape Girardeau. His responsibilities include recruiting, training and mentoring interns and representatives and providing clients with financial services. Freese earned his business management/finance degree from Southeast Missouri State University in 2010...

APPLE CREEK WINERY NOW OPEN Apple Creek Vineyard & Winery opened Nov. 10 at 1930 County Road 401 in Friedheim. The winery, owned by Doug and Pat Hunt along with Matt and Shellie Gamel, is 2.8 miles west of Old Appleton at exit 117 off Interstate 55. The vineyard, first planted in 2006, includes six acres and six varieties of grapes. Wine is produced on-site by vintner Matt Gamel. ...

SOUTHEAST PHARMACY DIRECTOR WINS AWARD Dr. Nicole Allcock, director of pharmacy for SoutheastHEALTH, received the 2012 Health System Pharmacy Alumni Service Award from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Pharmacy. OB/GYN JOINS CAPE CARE FOR WOMEN...

Southeast Missourian Businesses small and large will have some tough issues to navigate during 2013. From health care to environmental regulations, there are many unanswered questions contributing to an uneasy feeling that could continue to stifle economic growth...

Bankruptcies filed through November for the Southeastern Division of the Eastern District of Missouri's U.S. Bankruptcy Court are listed below with their corresponding case number. The Southeast Division includes the counties of Bollinger, Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard and Wayne. Court is held in Cape Girardeau...