Stories from Monday, May 5, 2014

On the agenda for tonight's Cape Girardeau City Council meeting is a resolution to seek grant funding to rehabilitate substandard homes. The city plans to request $219,990 in affordable housing program funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Iowa. The money would be used to improve 30 homes in the city; the grant also would cover any administration costs, meaning the program would come at no cost to the city...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Plans for a new mental-health facility at the Fulton State Hospital campus are moving forward, though details about paying for it must be worked out as Missouri lawmakers face an approaching deadline. Officials could back the issuance of bonds but must decide how to issue them and how quickly to pay them off. Lawmakers are required to approve a budget by 6 p.m. Friday covering the fiscal year that starts July 1. The deadline for passing non-budget bills is May 16...

ST. LOUIS -- High school agriculture programs sprouting across the nation's Corn Belt are teaching teenagers, many of them in urban environments, that careers in the field often have nothing to do with cows and plows. The curricula, taking hold as school budgets tighten and the numbers of farms in the U.S. ...

A Sikeston, Missouri, man was killed in a one-vehicle accident at 7:20 a.m. Sunday on Highway 102, 8 miles south of East Prairie, Missouri, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report. A 2000 Ford Explorer, driven by Heather D. Steelman, 23, of Sikeston was northbound, the report said. The driver lost control on a curve, traveled off the right side of the road and overturned, ejecting the passenger, 24-year-old Chad A. Harden, the report said...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri legislators plan to vote this week on whether to override a veto by Gov. Jay Nixon and enact a law cutting state income taxes for individuals and many business owners. But their vote won't be the last factor in determining whether the tax cuts actually occur...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Supporters of eliminating teacher tenure and allowing early voting submitted thousands of signatures Sunday to get the separate constitutional amendments on the November ballot, before this weekend's deadline. Teach Great, the group supporting the proposal to eliminate tenure and base teacher employment on student achievement, said it turned in more than 275,000 signatures to the secretary of state's office...

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar shared the joy they have found in Jesus Christ with about 1,000 people Sunday at Lynwood Baptist Church. The Duggars, of the TLC show "19 Kids and Counting," appeared as part of a benefit for Midwest Ministry Care Center and the Ruth House, which provides a residential, Christ-centered program for women coming out of inpatient alcohol/drug-abuse programs...

It's been a little more than a year since the Cape Girardeau City Council approved the rental-licensing ordinance. While it's been a success in many ways, some involved in the city's rental system say there's still plenty of room for improvement. After multiple meetings between city officials and landlords to determine the language and parameters of the ordinance, the city established the rental-licensing program last year. ...

Starting this week, students from elementary to high school, along with parents, faculty, staff and school board members are being invited to take an anonymous online survey about the perceptions and attitudes in the Cape Girardeau School District. Compiled by the Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis at the University of Missouri and obtained through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the survey is voluntary and will be used to help improve the district, superintendent James Welker said. ...

To Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Steve Bieser, something was noticeably different about his team during the series finale against Murray State on Sunday at Capaha Field. The Redhawks encountered a nine-run deficit in the fourth inning and couldn't come up with a run during key at-bats later in the game in an 11-6 loss in their final home game of the season...

It's National Teacher Appreciation Week, and Perry County School District 32 is highlighting just a few of its outstanding educators. More than 200 teachers and 100 support staff serve the district's 2,350 students. Since 1984, National PTA has designated the first week in May as a special time to honor the men and women who lend their passion and skills to educating our children...

Junior Girl Scout Troop 8544 of Anna, Ill., donated 28 baby and children's blankets to the Pediatrics and Neonatal Intensive Care units at Southeast Hospital on Saturday, May 3. The troop's co-leader is Victoria Stout, who is a coding specialist at SoutheastHEALTH...

It's Teacher Appreciation Week in America, and Perry County School District 32 is highlighting just a few of its over 200 educators who are making a difference in the lives of children each day. This is Hayley Buchheit's first year teaching kindergarten, but she's been in the classroom for 5 years. Before moving to PES, Buchheit taught preschoolers at District 32's early childhood special education center...

Perry County Middle School's eighth grade class has created a paper character quilt highlighting the good character qualities each student strives to achieve. The quilt is on display in the eighth grade hallway at PCMS. Teacher Kelly Hotop explained that each student chose character traits important to them. ...

Beth Heise of Perryville has won the Missouri FFA Veterinary Medicine Entrepreneurship and Placement Combined Proficiency Award at the 86th Missouri FFA Convention. Heise, a senior at Perryville Area Career and Technology Center and Perryville High School, is the daughter of Rick and Jan Heise. She is a member of the Perryville FFA Chapter. Her advisors are Tom Hulshof and William Allison...

While driving home the other night from a family gathering, this cheeky guy was strutting his stuff in the middle of the road. Living in the country, I'm accustomed to seeing deer, rabbits and squirrel running across the road but this is the first time I've had to slow down to avoid running over a peacock!...

Cape Girardeau, MO., May 3, 2014 -- As part of the Mayor's "Clean Up Cape Initiative," Girl Scout Troop 71120 repainted the Success By 6 Born Learning Trail at Capaha Park. Troop members and their mothers met to clean the sidewalk trail around the lagoon at Capaha Park. ...

The Montgomery Bank March of Dimes team met their 2014 fundraising goal of $10,000! The team recently presented the check to Director, Beth Simmons.

Today is Monday, May 5, the 125th day of 2014. There are 240 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 5, 1862, Mexican troops defeated French occupying forces in the Battle of Puebla. (The Cinco de Mayo holiday commemorates Mexico's victory.)...

Each year, about 15.5 million Americans provide 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease, according to statistics from the Alzheimer's Association. Sixty percent of Alzheimer's caregivers rate their emotional stress as high, and about a third suffer from depression...

When most people see a potato, they see a food in the vegetable group. When Jo Ann Hahs of Daisy and Linda Freeman of Oak Ridge see a potato, they see more. Not only do they see potential for handmade jewelry, but they see a way to bring a place of worship to people in need...

Teachers Donna Sanders and Karen Gibbar worked together for 14 years, and when they retired at the same time from Blanchard Elementary School, they knew they'd miss their school, co-workers and students. So when the school librarian asked if they'd be willing to deliver free books to students on their birthdays, the new retirees were happy to help with the project. ...

For senior citizens who want to remain independent and active while continuing to live in their own homes -- but still need some daily assistance and enjoy social interaction -- The Hoover Center in Cape Girardeau is a great resource. The adult day program is licensed through the state of Missouri...

Nothing says "Hello, spring!" like a beautiful garden! Garden and plant enthusiasts have an opportunity to see approximately 20 spectacular gardens during the Ste. Genevieve Garden Walk and Plant Sale sponsored by the Ste. Genevieve Master Gardeners...

Lone Star Industries Inc. has added new land to its holdings here; the cement manufacturing facility has purchased a 342-acre farm from the Provincial Administration of the Vincentian Fathers, St. Louis; the farm is adjacent to other Lone Star property...

Son to John T. and Jodi D. Wipfler of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 9:17 p.m. Friday, April 25, 2014. Name, Adric D. Weight, 6 pounds, 9 ounces. Mrs. Wipfler is the former Jodi Barks, daughter of Laura Barks of Lowndes, Missouri, and the late Jerry Barks. She is employed by the Leopold School District. Wipfler is the son of Charlie and Susie Wipfler of Scott City. He is employed by Do it Best Corp. in Sikeston, Missouri...

NEW YORK -- Spider-Man can still sling it at the box office. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" debuted with $92 million in North American theaters over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was a solid opening for Sony's Columbia Pictures, which has released five movies about Marvel's web-slinging superhero in the last 14 years...

ST. LOUIS -- From male-only corporate jets to guys' golf outings and hunting trips, Francine Katz says her time in the Anheuser-Busch executive suite was rife with exclusion and discrimination. But it wasn't until the King of Beers' 2008 sale to Belgian brewer InBev she says she realized the boy's club atmosphere was costing her millions...

More than 4,500 pounds of unsold food has been distributed to the needy, thanks to a handful of Southeast Missouri State University students and employees. As reported by Emily Priddy last Sunday, a class project has grown into a campus organization. ...

I'm listening to Fox News and a debate among several different people, both Democrats and Republicans, and they're talking about Obamacare whether it's good or bad. This is ridiculous at this stage, because if they look back and see how many changes Obama has made already since it passed the Congress, there's no way of predicting how many more changes he's going to make and what it's going to be like when he gets through making those changes. ...

Dr. Wayne Bowen may be a historian, but his comments concerning Afghanistan are those of a partisan politician. Bowen forgets Bush made a tactical error in starting a virtual all-out war against the Afghan people that led not to the capture of bin Laden but rather to the devastation of Afghanistan, the deaths of soldiers and the tragic killing of thousands of innocent Afghan civilians. ...

1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Open session Communications/reports, other elected officials Public comments Routine business Appointments and possible action Action items Discussion and possible action Discussion and possible action, county advisory boards...

401 Independence St. Study session, 5 p.m. today...

CHICAGO -- Yadier Molina had a simple goal for his ninth-inning at-bat with the bases loaded and the score tied Sunday. "I was looking not to strike out," he said. After fouling off some tough two-strike pitches, Molina grounded a single up the middle to drive in two runs and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped out of an offensive funk with a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs...

The Redhawks snapped a 16-game OVC losing streak with a 5-3 win against Murray State

Kenny Gibbar, foreman and head operator at the Jackson Wastewater Treatment Facility, received the Wastewater Operator of the Year Award on April 23 at the Southeast Section meeting of the Missouri Water and Wastewater Conference at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau...

NEW YORK -- There's a lot to browse on Etsy. Check out the $2.50 earrings made from the feathers of a "quail raised with love" on a Colorado farm. Or take a look at the $30,000 pub-style bar made to order from pine and cherry. Unique products such as these are the reason Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson calls the online marketplace "a personal shopping experience -- really -- in a sea of impersonal retail."...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Jackie L. Miller, 65, of Olive Branch died Saturday, May 3, 2014, at Cobden Rehab & Nursing Center. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Illinois. The funeral will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Interment with military honors will follow at Mound City National Cemetery...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Geri Patterson, 78, of Jonesboro died suddenly Saturday, May 3, 2014, at home. She was born Feb. 13, 1936, in Union County, the daughter of Lindsey and Mamie Elizabeth Gibbs Tibbs. She and Kirby L. Patterson were married March 8, 1953, and he preceded her in death Nov. 16, 2013...

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. -- Thomas A. "Tommy"/"Boy" Koehler II, 41, of University City passed away Friday, May 2, 2014, at St. Mary's Hospital in St. Louis. He was born March 21, 1973, in Chaffee, Missouri. His parents are Thomas A. and Shirley Schuesler Koehler. He and Robin Neiswonger were married Oct. 13, 2013. ...

Raymond "Wesley" Gray, 55, of Scott City died Saturday, May 3, 2014, at his home. He was born in St. Louis on July 4, 1958, the son of Raymond Junior and Estella Josephine Biggs Gray. He married Bobbie Jean Moore on Sept. 22, 1979. Wesley was a vocalist and drummer for the local band TUFA for about 20 years, starting in the mid 1970s. He worked as crusher helper for Lonestar Industries, now known as Buzzi Unicem...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams was released without charge Sunday after five days of police questioning over his alleged involvement in a decades-old IRA killing of a Belfast mother of 10, an investigation that has driven a dangerous wedge into Northern Ireland's unity government...

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan met with security, school and state officials and ordered that "everything must be done" to free the 276 girls held captive by Islamic extremists, one of his advisers said Sunday amid growing national outrage at the government's response to the abduction...

ODESSA, Ukraine -- Outrage over the deaths of pro-Russian activists in riots in Odessa triggered new violence Sunday in the Black Sea port, where a mob of protesters stormed police headquarters and freed dozens of their jailed allies. The activists had been jailed for their involvement in clashes Friday that killed more than 40 people -- some died from gunshot wounds, but most from a fire that broke out in a trade union building. ...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. teachers are nowhere near as diverse as their students. Almost half the students attending public schools are minorities, yet fewer than 1 in 5 of their teachers is nonwhite. New studies from the Center for American Progress and the National Education Association are calling attention to this "diversity gap" at elementary and secondary schools in the United States. The groups want more to be done to help teachers more accurately mirror the students in their classrooms...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A support frame collapsed during an aerial hair-hanging stunt at a circus performance Sunday, sending eight acrobats plummeting to the ground. Nine performers were seriously injured in the fall, including a dancer below, while an unknown number of others suffered less serious injuries...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri lawmakers in Washington have formed a bipartisan group to promote the scholastic benefits of chess while further pushing for recognition of St. Louis as the nation's chess capital. Republican Rep. Jason Smith and Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay lead the Congressional Chess Caucus. Other members include Missouri Republicans Vicky Hartzler, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Ann Wagner, and Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan...

North County Christian scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to rally for an 8-7 win over Eagle Ridge Christian in the MCSAA state championship baseball game Saturday in Joplin, Mo. Eagle Ridge (10-6-1) scored three runs in the top of sixth to cut North County's lead to 4-3, then moved ahead with four runs in the seventh...

News from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:n The 2012 Census of Agriculture data was released Friday, and some of the findings include: -- 22 percent of all farmers were beginning farmers in 2012, meaning 1 of 5 farmers operated a farm for less than 10 years...

O Father God, may those with heavy hearts find peace through you. Amen.

Listening rooms 1 and 2 are tucked away to the right of the entrance and lined with a variety of speakers -- some standing on the floor, others on shelves -- waiting to be tested for sound quality. Two comfortable armchairs sit in the middle of the dim room, and classic rock can be heard softly in the background...