Stories from Monday, January 14, 2013

MARQUAND, Mo. (AP) - An eastern Missouri man is dead after his car was caught in a flash flood caused by the rain-swollen Castor River. The Park Hills Daily Journal (http://bit.ly/V5Afz5 ) reports that 51-year-old Perry Miller of Marquand died when the vehicle he was in was swept away Saturday night on Route V in Madison County...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Here is the text of Gov. Jay Nixon's inaugural speech as prepared for delivery Monday and provided by the governor's office. ----- Thank you, Judge Burlison. Thank you, President Pro Tem Dempsey and Speaker Jones. Let me begin by thanking the people of Missouri for the privilege of serving a second term as your Governor. I am grateful and humbled that once again, you have given me the opportunity to lead our state forward...

Associated Press WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama demanded on Monday that lawmakers raise the nation's $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly, warning that "Social Security benefits and veterans' checks will be delayed" if they don't and cautioning Republicans not to insist on cuts to government spending in exchange...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Tickets are available to current and former members of the armed forces for this year's free Valentines for Veterans concert featuring country music singer Aaron Tippin on Feb. 15 at the Black River Coliseum in Poplar Bluff...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A Perry County employee escaped injury after Saturday's flash flooding washed his truck from the road and into a creek, according to the Perry County Sheriff's Department. Ricky Favier, who in employed by the county's road and bridges department, was responding to a call reporting that debris was blocking a bridge on County Road 616, a news release said. ...

Sales tax revenue for 2012 was up in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Cape Girardeau County compared to the year before, in line with reports of an increase in Missouri state tax revenue for the year. It is not yet clear if changes to state law controlling how local entities tax vehicles may have led to decreases in revenue, and it is too soon to tell if an influx of visitors to the Casino Cape Girardeau has resulted in an increase in sales tax revenue, local officials say...

The last unfinished project related to a $40 million bond issue passed by Cape Girardeau voters in 2010 is nearing completion at Cape Girardeau Central High School. The Richard D. Kinder Performance Hall, a state-of-the-art facility with a price tag close to $10 million, is expected to open by February...

Attorney General Chris Koster is asking an appeals court to reinstate Missouri's ban on flag-burning, though the move was seen as pointless by some in light of a landmark 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that would supersede any lower court's decision...

This Blue Heeler "Silva" was recently adopted by our Jackson family from Safe Harbor in Fruitland. She was trained by the inmates at the Charleston Prison in all of the basic commands through the Puppies for Parole program. Well behaved, intelligent, house trained, she has a sister named Missy at Safe Harbor waiting for someone to adopt her. Maybe the smartest dog we have ever owned...

5TH ANNUAL CHILI COOK OFF THE CHURCH OF GOD 11929 HWY 77 SOUTH CHAFFEE, MO WILL BE HOSTING THEIR 5TH ANNUAL CHILI COOK-OFF ON FEBRUARY 9TH AT 4:30 PM THERE WILL BE A CASH PRIZE FOR 1ST PLACE. For more information on registration contact Candy Witcher at 573-887-9166 or cwinez@att.net...

Jackson R2 Schools faculty, staff and student body donated $23,299.14 to the 2012 United Way Campaign through various fundraisers at each building. Pictured L to R: Merideth Pobst, Dr. Ron Anderson and Dr. Rita Fisher

Gordonville, MO-January 3rd, 2013- Gordonville Grill continued to give back to local charities in 2012. Through their 10% Tuesday Community Night program, Gordonville Grill donated $10,291.00 to fifty charities. 10% Tuesday Community Nights allows Gordonville Grill to donate 10% of their gross sales to a local non- profit organization every Tuesday. ...

The mascot for De Soto High School

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Jay Nixon recalled Missouri's bloody history in the Civil War during his inaugural address Monday while encouraging Democrats and Republicans in charge of the state's politically divided government to come together for the common good...

ST. LOUIS -- A St. Louis County councilman said he will introduce legislation to remove all exemptions to the county's smoking ban, including at two local casinos. Councilman Mike O'Mara said he will introduce a measure Tuesday in an effort to "level the playing field" for businesses that must comply with the ban while their competitors do not...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Inside a small bungalow on the street separating Kansas City, Kan., from its sister city in Missouri, a small group of entrepreneurs is working on their ideas for the next high-tech startup, tapping Google Inc.'s new superfast Internet connection that has turned the neighborhood into an unlikely settlement dubbed the "Silicon Prairie."...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Columbia is joining a long list of U.S. cities taking another look at the decades-old practice of adding fluoride to public drinking water. It's a debate that has resurfaced from time to time during the last several decades. In recent years, the practice has come under fresh scrutiny from activists armed with research challenging the government's claim that ingesting fluoride is a safe way to control tooth decay. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In politics as in life, people don't always get second chances. Yet when Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon takes the oath of office today after a resounding re-election, the Democratic incumbent will have a second chance to fulfill a key pledge from his first campaign...

Today is Monday, Jan. 14, the 14th day of 2013. There are 351 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 14, 1963, George C. Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama; his inaugural address included the ringing declaration, "Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!" -- a view Wallace came to repudiate in later years...

Cape Girardeau police are asking for help from the public in locating a Southeast Missouri State University female student; Jackie Lynn Lichte, 21, has been missing since Monday. Cold weather, ice and a 17-foot drop in the Mississippi River here are causing navigational problems for towboats and their tows; ice floes and the rapidly falling river between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., already have caused two mishaps on the river...

I'm not about to predict that the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team is ready to challenge for the Ohio Valley Conference championship. That's probably a stretch considering how much the Redhawks have struggled the past three seasons. But you've got to be impressed by the way the Redhawks are performing under second-year coach Ty Margenthaler. He and his staff have breathed plenty of life into a floundering program...

This Thursday night Cape Girardeau will welcome several Republican politicians who hope to be selected as the next person to represent the 8th Congressional District of Missouri. The choice will be made by a district committee of about 80 people. The committee members come from several county and legislative district committees -- some represent multiple local political committees -- all across the wide district. ...

I am writing this letter with a definite point of view and bias. I was opposed to the war in Vietnam. However, because I believe that a resident has a duty to serve his country, I enlisted in 1968. I served a tour of duty in Vietnam with a line platoon of combat engineers. In addition, I had three nephews who served a total of six tours in the most recent Iraq War. One of them is now buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery...

Will this strategy succeed? Republicans lost the election at the national level in large part because of their "just say no" obstructionism. They are trying to rectify this now by just saying "no" even more. The Republican Congress and Senate are making a big thing out of this terrorist attack at Benghazi. ...

LOS ANGELES -- "Zero Dark Thirty" hunted down the top spot at the box office -- and easily won it. Sony Pictures' Osama bin Laden raid drama nabbed first place with $24 million in its first weekend in wide release, according to studio estimates Sunday...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- "Argo" is in big with the Golden Globes, but not so much with the Academy Awards. "Lincoln" is sitting pretty with the Oscars but was mostly left out in the cold at the Globes. Sunday's Globes left the Feb. 24 Academy Awards picture still muddled, with the Iran hostage thriller "Argo" winning for best drama and director for Ben Affleck, a prize he already knows he can't win at the Oscars, where he wasn't even nominated...

Southeast Missouri State track and field athlete Reggie Miller set a school record over the weekend at the SIU Saluki Open in Carbondale, Ill. Miller, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., broke Southeast's indoor high jump mark as he won the event with a height of 7 feet 1/4 inch...

1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Routine business Action items Appointments & possible action items...

Dr. Sunil Mungee was named director of physician practices at Saint Francis Medical Center. Mungee will be responsible for developing and improving Saint Francis medical partners. Mungee earned a bachelor's degree at Indore University and a master's degree at Vikram University, both in India. He earned a master's of business administration degree at Aspen University in Denver...

Small-business lending is up in Missouri and Illinois, according to a report released last week by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the Small Business Lending Fund provides capital to small community banks and community development loan funds. ...

CAIRO -- An Egyptian appeals court Sunday overturned Hosni Mubarak's life sentence and ordered a retrial of the ousted leader in the killing of hundreds of protesters, a ruling likely to further unsettle a nation still reeling from political turmoil and complicate the struggle of his Islamist successor to assert his authority...

NEW DELHI -- Police said Sunday they have arrested six suspects in another gang rape of a bus passenger in India, four weeks after a brutal attack on a student on a moving bus in the capital outraged Indians and led to calls for tougher rape laws...

BAMAKO, Mali -- French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al-Qaida-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said...

NEW YORK -- The death this week of Internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz is rekindling a long-running debate about how harshly authorities should deal with well-meaning people who compromise computer systems. Swartz struggled for years against a legal system that he felt had not caught up to the information age. Federal prosecutors had tried unsuccessfully to mount a case against him for publishing reams of court documents that normally cost a fee to download...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- An Indiana man says he forgives his parents for abducting his son nearly 20 years ago and raising the boy themselves, but he doesn't understand why they thought he was a bad father or why they cut off all contact with him and the rest of the family...

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Newtown residents are divided on what to do with the school building where 26 people were killed, with some favoring demolition and construction of a memorial and others encouraging renovations. Many passionately gave their opinions at an emotional public meeting Sunday about the fate of Sandy Hook Elementary...

WASHINGTON -- In the summer of 2011, when a debt crisis like the current one loomed, President Barack Obama warned Republicans that older Americans might not get their Social Security checks unless there was a deal to raise the nation's borrowing limit...

Cora Lee Sample is celebrating Pop's Pizza's 20th anniversary. Pop's recently added a game room to serve area families, and continues to make the same homemade pizza and provide the quality service they always have. A: The place is named after Doyle Sample. ...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWI...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:...

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

O God, may we use the gifts you have given us to serve others and glorify you. Amen.

The Redhawks basketball team visits Tennessee State tonight

NEW YORK -- The question of whether Vermont's only nuclear plant can continue operating without the approval of state regulators goes before a federal appeals court Monday in a dispute that has gained increasing attention nationally about the boundaries of federal authority over a controversial power source...