Stories from Friday, March 22, 2013

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A mobile carrier is offering free cellphones and wireless service to low-income Missourians. Assurance Wireless, an arm of Sprint, is offering 250 free voice minutes and 250 free text messages to eligible residents. The company says 900,000 Missourians may be eligible if they meet income guidelines...

CHICAGO (AP) -- Under orders to trim hundreds of millions of dollars from its budget, the Federal Aviation Administration released a final list Friday of 149 air traffic control facilities that it will close at small airports around the country starting early next month...

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil might want to go back into hibernation. Authorities in still-frigid Ohio have issued an "indictment" of the furry rodent, who predicted an early spring when he didn't see his shadow after emerging from his western Pennsylvania lair on Feb. 2...

ST. LOUIS -- Mayors from communities along the Mississippi River on Thursday said they would work with federal lawmakers to sharpen the national focus on the waterway after two years in which shipping has been threatened by flooding and drought. Looking to wield more clout on river matters, about a dozen mayors from Minnesota to Louisiana gathered in Washington to announce the formation of their Mississippi River Platform, which will focus on water quality, community development and drought and flood preparation....

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston man won $1 million on a Missouri Lottery scratcher. Roy Metcalf Jr. purchased his "$1,000,000 Classic Cash" ticket March 9 at Fas Gas, 600 N. Main St., in Sikeston, Mo., according to a lottery news release...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Sixteen students were aboard a Dexter school bus that failed to yield and struck a passenger car at Route H and County Road 659 just after 7 a.m. Thursday. No one was seriously hurt in the wreck. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Clark Parrott, the bus driver, 56-year-old Jayne James of Dexter, was not immediately charged with any wrongdoing, but an investigation continues into the accident. ...

Three Eagle pitchers combine for a one-hitter

A five-way race for two Jackson School Board seats pits two longtime incumbents against three challengers who say they want to see a board more responsive to parent concerns. The April 2 election will be the first in many years with that many names on the ballot seeking the three-year terms...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill.--Almost two years after enduring the worst flooding in recent memory, residents of Olive Branch finally will be in a position to decide their own destinies now that a buyout grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been approved...

An organizer expects at least 50 people, and maybe as many as 150, to participate Sunday in Cape Girardeau's portion of a nationwide rally protesting the end of six-day home delivery by the U.S. Postal Service. Thomas Bolen, who is putting together Cape Girardeau's part of the Delivering for America rally at 1 p.m. outside the Cape Girardeau post office at 320 N. Frederick St., said the message organizers hope to communicate is that "a vast majority of people are affected if it does go to five-day delivery."...

In honor of National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, employees of VIP Industries delivered candy bouquets to area businesses this week. It is the hope of the company that this simple gesture will provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about the vital contributions individuals with disabilities make in our communities...

Union Pacific Railroad will invest $21 million in area infrastructure by building a section of track over nine miles long near Bell City, Mo., according to a news release Thursday. The track will be a second main line and will stretch four miles north and south of Bell City. ...

BENTON, Mo. -- A man who had been living in Sikeston, Mo., as an undocumented immigrant has been arrested following a sex-crime investigation. Bibiano Sarmiento-Merino, 28, is charged with one count of first-degree sexual misconduct and one count of second-degree child molestation, both Class A misdemeanors, according to a news release from the Scott County Sheriff's Department...

Today is Friday, March 22, the 81st day of 2013. There are 284 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 22, 1963, The Beatles' debut album, "Please Please Me," was released in the United Kingdom by Parlophone. On this date:...

Pledging to continue efforts in a new term to keep Missouri on "a road of progress," Gov. John Ashcroft announces his intention to seek re-election; Ashcroft speaks at the municipal airport, one of a series of news conferences he will hold on a two-day tour of the state...

WASHINGTON -- Gun-control legislation the Senate debates next month will include an expansion of federal background checks for firearms buyers, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday in a victory for advocates of gun restrictions. The announcement underscores that Democrats intend to take an aggressive approach in the effort to broaden the checks, currently required for transactions involving federally licensed firearms dealers but not private sales at gun shows or online...

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

Firefighters responded to the following calls Wednesday:...

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

Barbara A. Warren, 71, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at Southeast Hospital. She was born April 20, 1941, in Portageville, Mo., to Rex Leon and Ivry Belle Phoenix Hutton. Barbara enjoyed going to the Hoover Center at Southeast Missouri State University and loved her many friends there...

Mark Allen Hitt, 53, of Jefferson City, Mo., formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Thursday, March 21, 2013, at St. Mary's Health Center in Jefferson City. Dulle-Trimble Funeral Home in Jefferson City is in charge of arrangements.

BENTON, Mo. -- Morris Wayne Hale, 71, of Benton died Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at his home. He was born Feb. 18, 1942, in Charleston, Mo., to Leo F. and Seena L. Chandler Hale. He and Elizabeth Ann Vinson were married June 2, 1972. She preceded him in death Aug. 10, 2003...

Harl E. Friedrich, 86, of Whitewater passed away Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at his home. He was born Feb. 13, 1927, near Advance, Mo., son of Charlie and Agnes Barker Friedrich. He and Elizabeth Anne "Betty" Deneke were married May 12, 1957, at Zion United Methodist Church in Gordonville. She passed away Dec. 13, 2009...

PARIS -- A new examination of what essentially is the universe's birth certificate allows astronomers to tweak the age, girth and speed of the cosmos, more secure in their knowledge of how it evolved, what it's made of and its ultimate fate. The universe suddenly seems to be showing its age, now calculated at 13.8 billion years -- 80 million years older than scientists had thought. ...

WASHINGTON -- As they struggle to get ahead, many low-wage workers are not taking advantage of job training or educational programs that could help them make the leap to better-paying jobs. They often are skeptical about whether such programs are worth the trouble, a new survey shows...

Republican candidate for the 8th Congressional District, Jason Smith, plans to open a campaign office in Cape Girardeau today. A ribbon cutting ceremony for the office will be held at 4 p.m. today at the office location at 330 S. Silver Springs Road, according to a news release from the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce...

The United Way of Southeast Missouri released "Destination Kindergarten," a book to help parents prepare children for success in kindergarten, according to a release sent Thursday. The 55-page illustrated book is free to all area students entering kindergarten and consists of activities, skills, suggested resources, introduction to the alphabet and more. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A former Kansas City, Mo., pastor and convicted sex offender returned to the area from New Orleans on Thursday to face charges that he molested a 13-year-old at a church. George Spencer, 48, of Kansas City, Kan., was arrested this month in Louisiana by FBI agents and held until he could be extradited. ...

OK, spring got off to a rough start in terms of the weather. But fear not Southeast Missourians, for there will be plenty of spring-related activities going on this weekend as the home and garden show, officially known as the Tri State Regional Home and Garden Show, kicks off. It will take place at the Show Me Center...

The Southeast Missourian's reprinting of Stephen F. Knott's Wall Street Journal article is designed, as is Knott's 2012 book, "Rush to Judgment: George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and His Critics," to justify the dishonest, costly and disastrous invasion of Iraq carried out by the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz war hawks who in tandem withheld valuable information that would have caused many members of Congress and the American people to protest against such an insane invasion...

Grandpa, tell me one of your bedtime stories. You want a story? Sure, I'll tell you a story. You want a knight in shining armor, or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, or a hero saves a damsel in distress or a little boy who grows up to be rich and famous -- what kind of story do you want?...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Fire Department rescue crews searched the frigid Missouri River near downtown Kansas City for nearly two hours for two people who jumped off a highway bridge into the water. A witness reported seeing two people and possibly a child jump from the Bond Bridge before noon Thursday, but the witness likely mistook a blanket the woman was holding for a baby, said police Capt. Steve Young...

CHICAGO -- Tens of thousands of Chicago students, parents and teachers learned Thursday their schools were on a long-feared list of 54 the city plans to close in an effort to stabilize an educational system facing a huge budget shortfall. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the closures are necessary because too many Chicago Public School buildings are half-empty, with 403,000 students in a system that has seats for more than 500,000...

JERUSALEM -- President Barack Obama on Thursday prodded Israelis and Palestinians to return to long-stalled negotiations with few, if any, preconditions, softening his earlier demands that Israel stop building settlements in disputed territory...

Comedy to play at Rust Theatre Beth Henley's comedy, "The Miss Firecracker Contest," will be performed at 7:30 p.m. April 3 to 6 and at 2 p.m. April 6 and 7 in the Rust Flexible Theatre at the Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus. This comedy follows Carnelle Scott, a young woman in Brookhaven, Miss., as she attempts to win The Miss Firecracker Contest on the Fourth of July. ...

The Mississippi River long has been the economic and cultural lifeblood of river towns like Cape Girardeau, but the big waterway also can be a dangerous place. From 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sean Visintainer of the University of Missouri, St. Louis will talk about steamboat disasters on the Mississippi at the Cape River Heritage Museum. Refreshments will be served...

A promoter calls it "a crazy party with lots of energy," and guarantees music fans who don't take their tunes too seriously will be in for a good time when the "Our Tour Can Beat Up Your Tour" comes to Pitter's Cafe and Lounge, 811 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, on April 11...

WASHINGTON -- After Friendster came Myspace. By the time Facebook dominated social media, parents had joined the party. The online scene has changed and these days even if you're friends with your own children on Facebook, it doesn't mean you know what they're doing...

DECATUR, Texas -- A man who could be linked to the slaying of Colorado's state prison chief is likely to die after being shot by Texas authorities following a harrowing car chase there, authorities said Thursday. Wise County Sheriff David Walker told an afternoon news conference in Decatur that the man remained unidentified. He said the suspect is "basically legally dead," although he remains hooked to equipment for organ harvesting at a Fort Worth hospital...

A nationally recognized dance conference hosted this year by Southeast Missouri State University is expected to bring more than 400 students from 22 colleges and universities to the Earl and Margie Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts at the River Campus...

The Southeast Missouri State softball team kicked off a five-game road swing Thursday with a 10-3 loss at Western Kentucky. Southeast, which is 1-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play, fell to 8-13 overall. The Hilltoppers, 5-1 in the Sun Belt Conference, improved to 16-9 overall...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- David Freese said his back still feels a bit stiff, but he didn't show any signs of lingering issues when he returned to the field for the first time in a week. Freese led off the fourth inning with a long home run and the St. Louis Cardinals went on to beat the New York Mets 3-2 on Thursday...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City won't be the only place in the country offering advance public screenings of the new Jackie Robinson movie "42" after all. Organizers of Kansas City's April 11 advance screening told the media Wednesday the city was the only place other than Los Angeles where movie would be shown to the public before the its April 12 opening...

O Lord Jesus, we praise you, for through you their is salvation. Amen.

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team has battled back to .500 in Ohio Valley Conference play, the same as its overall record...

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Dorian Green scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half and eighth-seeded Colorado State used good shooting and great rebounding to run away from No. 9 Missouri 84-72 om Thursday night in the NCAA tournament...

All the local events reported Thursday to the Southeast Missourian.

When Republican party committee members stopped by my home working on behalf of Charlie Herbst, they failed to tell me that by voting Jay Purcell out we were voting out the only true conservative in County government. Now property taxes have gone up and we have to pay to use picnic shelters and put up holiday light displays in the park. The Republican Party owes us all an apology...

NAME: Norman Goehman AGE: 60 PLACE OF BIRTH: Cape Girardeau,MO SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: David Goehman-son Elizabeth Wyatt-daughter EDUCATION: Central High School-class of 1971 OCCUPATION: Retired BUSINESSES OWNED, ALL OR PART: Owner of Flora Creek Farms...