Stories from Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois overnight Thursday. The warning, issued early Wednesday, includes Alexander and Union counties in Southern Illinois and Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott and Stoddard counties in Missouri...

BOSTON (AP) -- Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers may try to save him from the death penalty in the Boston Marathon bombing by arguing he fell under the murderous influence of his older brother, legal experts say. The outlines of a possible defense came into focus this week when it was learned that Tsarnaev's attorneys are trying to get access to investigative records implicating the now-dead brother in a grisly triple slaying committed in 2011...

DORENA, Mo. -- The Dorena-Hickman Ferry will suspend operations Thursday morning for maintenance and repair work, according to a news release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Capt. Ed Floyd said he is optimistic the ferry will be back in service by about 1 p.m. that day, the release said...

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Department of Corrections said Tuesday it is switching to a new lethal injection drug, less than two weeks after the governor halted executions until it could find a replacement for the anesthetic propofol. The Corrections Department said in a news release it will use the sedative pentobarbital. ...

A Cape Girardeau woman has been charged with property damage and resisting arrest after a Monday afternoon incident involving a school bus. According to Darin Hickey, spokesman for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, about 3:30 p.m. a school bus stopped at a residence in the 1900 block of College Street. ...

Parking in certain parts of Cape Girardeau will be restricted because of the Southeast Missouri State University Homecoming parade at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. According to a Cape Girardeau Police Department news release, beginning at 2 a.m. Saturday parking will be prohibited on both sides of Broadway from North West End Boulevard to North Main Street; on Main Street from Park Drive to William Street; on North West End Boulevard from Broadway to Parkview Drive; on the east side of Perry Avenue from Broadway to Parkview Drive; on both sides of Bellevue Street in front of Houck Stadium; and both sides of Houck Place.. ...

Two people filed Tuesday as official candidates for Cape Girardeau City Council, the first day completed petitions could be submitted to city hall for the April 8 election, and others joined a growing list of potential candidates seeking needed signatures from residents of their respective wards...

Servco Equipment Co. of St. Louis was chosen as the low bidder to provide food service equipment for Jackson's new elementary school Tuesday night. The school board approved the bid of $325,447 during a special meeting. Superintendent Ron Anderson said the food service equipment will include items such as serving and cooking equipment, stoves, ovens, containers, refrigerators and utensils...

The Montgomery Bank Seniors Club recently returned home from a 9 day/8 night trip to New Mexico. The group toured sites in Albuquerque and Santa Fe including the Albuquerque Balloon Festival.

Broadway Prescription Shop, located at 710 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, has added the Broadway Wellness Room in their ongoing commitment to provide a full offering of health services to their clients. The Broadway Wellness Room is a recently renovated private consultation room in which customers and the general public can receive a wide variety of services, information and health-related instruction without needing a doctor's appointment...

Jamie Tworkowski, founder of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) and Julia Jones, actress (Leah Clearwater from the Twilight Saga) will be presenting: Pain, Hope, Questions, and Community: An Evening with To Write Love on Her Arms on November 5th at Rose Theater, Grauel Hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. The event is free. Doors open at 6:30 pm with the presentation given from 7-8:30 pm...

Mrs. Lynn Dennis, Religion and Computer teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Jackson, was named Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

Ms. Jennifer L. Weiss, Coordinator of the Center for Writing Excellence at Southeast Missouri State University, was selected as the 2013 Executive of the Year for the Girardot Chapter of International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) at its annual Executive Night Recognition Banquet on October 15...

Lucky, our kitten, found a great spot to snuggle up! She found the big stuffed dog to be a warm bed!

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Authorities say two men stationed at Fort Leonard Wood are charged with attempting to lure a 12-year-old girl into a vehicle while asking for sexual favors. Thirty-four-year-old Mohammed Mahmoud Omar Mefleh of St. Robert, Mo., and 31-year-old Antoine Chela of Waynesville, Mo., are jailed in Pulaski County on $200,000 bond on charges of harassment and enticement. No attorney is listed for either man in online court records...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri judge has struck down two new laws that would have limited the ability of local officials to regulate cellphone towers, ruling that lawmakers violated procedural requirements when passing the measures. The decision barring the laws from being enforced may not be the final word. Representatives of cellphone service providers and cities said Tuesday the ruling could be appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court and lawmakers could revisit the issue next year...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says he wants to provide full funding for public schools by the time he leaves office in January 2017 -- a goal that would require the state to spend hundreds of millions of additional dollars...

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- A day after a Jackson County prosecutor was named to reinvestigate a northwest Missouri teen sexual abuse case, a modest crowd of a few hundred people braved chilly conditions Tuesday night to show support for a girl whose story has drawn worldwide attention...

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2013. There are 69 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 23, 1983, 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, were killed in a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon; a near-simultaneous attack on French forces killed 58 paratroopers...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- An Anna, Ill., man has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine and heroin distribution ring authorities uncovered last month at his home, Union County State's Attorney Tyler Edmonds said Tuesday...

UNION CITY, Tenn. -- A Poplar Bluff, Mo., man recently appeared in Obion County Circuit Court after he was indicted by a grand jury there on multiple charges, including first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. During its October term, the Obion County grand jury handed down a five-count indictment against Jarrod Reese Spicer, charging the 42-year-old with three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and theft...

NEW YORK -- Marriage is coming after the baby carriage for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Kardashian's publicist, Ina Treciokas, confirmed Tuesday the couple is engaged. E! News first reported that West proposed to Kardashian on Monday -- her 33rd birthday -- in front of family and friends at the AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team...

It was a journey that started in February with pitchers and catchers in spring training. Eight months later, the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves playing the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The Cardinals are making their second World Series appearance in three years and fourth in the past decade. Playing baseball in October has become the norm, not the exception. Cardinal fans have responded and regularly fill Busch Stadium...

The massively flawed rollout of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, should come as no surprise given the unanswered questions that have plagued the federal monstrosity from the very beginning. But equally as predictable is the reaction of the Obama lemmings, who continue to insist all is well in Obamaland and the "glitches" are little more than technical issues caused by massive interest in the new law...

Apparent Halloween pranks staged at Bel Air Drive and Bertling Street have prompted Cape Girardeau police into keeping closer tabs on the area; last week, police received complaints about two incidents in which dummies were placed in the road at that intersection...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY The Department of Public Safety at Southeast Missouri State University reported the following item. Theft...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Travis M. Welty, 42, of Perryville died Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, in Perryville. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Miller Family Funeral Home in Perryville. Burial will be private.

KELSO, Mo. -- Christopher A. Seyer, 48, of Kelso passed away unexpectedly Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, at St. Louis University Hospital. Chris was born March 26, 1965, in Cape Girardeau, to Joseph A. and Frieda Brockmeyer Seyer. He and Joni Y. Gibson were married Sept. 9, 1990, in Cape Girardeau...

De SOTO, Mo. -- Jerry L. Owen, 78, of De Soto died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. He was the beloved husband of Barbara Bond Owen; dear father of Melanie (Chris) Osborn and Christopher Owen of St. Louis; grandfather to Erin (Steve) Schmidt, Conrad Osborn, Emelia Osborn, Elani Owen and Alison Owen...

Mary Ellen Kenkel, 69, of Jackson died Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, at her home. She was born March 10, 1944, in Cape Girardeau, to Arnold C. and Anna Schuck Brockmire. Mary had worked at Florsheim Shoe Factory in Cape Girardeau, and did baby-sitting for family and friends. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson...

LONGTOWN, Mo. -- Norma B. Hacker, 94, of Longtown passed away Monday, Oct. 21, 2013, at Independence Care Center of Perry County. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today and from 6:30 to 8 a.m. Thursday at Young and Sons Funeral Home in Perryville...

Jimmie Wayne Glaus Sr., 74, of Scott City died Monday, Oct. 21, 2013, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 2, 1939, at Fornfelt (Scott City) to Ervin and Ollie Mae Crader Glaus. He and Alice Pobst were married April 8, 1961, at Chaffee, Mo...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- John Ewanchen, 63, of Perryville died Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, at his home. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until time of service today at Miller Family Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. today at the funeral home. Burial will be in Home Cemetery...

GRASSY, Mo. -- Noal Eldon Cowell, 74, of Grassy passed away Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Liley Funeral Home in Marble Hill, Mo. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Revs. Jeff Wells and Nathan Huffman officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hills Cemetery at Morley, Mo...

Carolyn N. Brown, 72, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013, at Life Care Center of Cape Girardeau. She was born June 26, 1941, in Ironton, Mo., to Willard and Irene Simmons Robbs. Carolyn and Bill Brown were married in 1961 in Pocahontas, Ark. He preceded her in death in 1985...

BOSTON -- Lance Lynn squeezed through a door leading into the Green Monster, shimmied along a cramped space behind the famed left-field wall and peered out a tiny metal slot in the Fenway Park scoreboard. "A little snug for me," the burly St. Louis pitcher said...

The Woodland boys cross country team won the SEMO Conference Small Schools cross country meet for the first time at Cape County Park on Tuesday. Woodland defeated four-time defending conference champion Oak Ridge 46-66 to take the title. "The guys have been working hard all year and they've been running strong all year, but obviously today was a little bit special being the conference meet and you could tell in their performance -- they stepped it up a little bit," Woodland coach Ryan Layton said.. ...

Coaches and players often call their team members family, but for Kelly softball coach Rhonda Ratledge and third baseman Samantha Ratledge it means more. "I don't see her as my stepdaughter ever," Rhonda Ratledge said. "She's my daughter through and through."...

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team garnered plenty of respect Tuesday as the Ohio Valley Conference preseason polls and all-conference squads were announced. Southeast's women gained a bit more respect than in recent years but not nearly enough in relation to where coach Ty Margenthaler believes the program is headed...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri coach Frank Haith has been suspended for five games by the NCAA, which announced Tuesday that he had inadequately monitored his former assistants' interactions with a disgraced Miami booster and then tried to cover up a five-figure hush money payment to keep potential violations hidden...

U.S. 61 in Scott County, between Route Y and Route HH, will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews replace a culvert pipe beneath the roadway. The work will be performed from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. -- From the Missouri Department of Transportation...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Poplar Bluff City Manager Doug Bagby filed a defamation lawsuit last week against Councilwoman Angela Pearson for statements she published this summer that he says tarnished and hurt his reputation...

SPARKS, Nev. -- Students cowered in fear and pleaded for their lives as a 12-year-old Nevada boy went on a schoolyard rampage with a handgun he brought from home, waving the weapon at classmates and shooting a math teacher in the chest on a basketball court...

WASHINGTON -- Twice this year alone, Air Force officers entrusted with the launch keys to nuclear-tipped missiles have been caught leaving open a blast door that is intended to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering their underground command post, Air Force officials said...

O Lord God, blessed Redeemer, we seek to honor you in all things. Amen.

McKenzie Bess nailed seven kills to help the Central volleyball team claw out a close 25-20, 21-25, 25-20 victory over host Scott City (2-24-1) on Tuesday night. Kacee Anderson served five aces and Callie Callis recorded six digs for Central (6-24)...

Two Southeast Missouri State soccer players have been recognized by the Ohio Valley Conference for their performances over the weekend. Freshman Christina Rohde and senior Ashton Aubuchon were named OVC defensive player of the week and goalkeeper of the week, respectively, on Tuesday...