Stories from Wednesday, May 28, 2014

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Pesticides and herbicides may help crops thrive, but they're not so great for little fish. That may be part of the reason the Missouri Department of Natural Resources selected Perryville as the host for a statewide pesticide collection event Saturday at the Perry County Road and Bridge Department, city administrator Brent Buerck said Tuesday...

CAIRO, Ill. -- The murder case against Chauncey Hughes hit another delay Tuesday as attorneys for both sides agreed to continue a defense motion to suppress his confession. Hughes, 30, faces felony murder charges in connection with the Nov. 1 shooting death of his wife, Heather Davis, 22...

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt will visit Cape Girardeau today as part of his statewide tour advocating for improved behavioral health treatment. Cape Girardeau will be the third stop among the nine hospitals and behavioral health centers he's scheduled to visit...

One of the suspects in an Oct. 10 bank robbery in Morley, Missouri, pleaded guilty to a federal charge Tuesday, the same day three suspects in a May 20 robbery at the same bank were set for arraignment on state charges. Joshua L. Thompson of Sikeston, Missouri, pleaded guilty to a federal bank robbery charge Tuesday. His sentencing is set for Aug. 25...

Two people were arrested on unrelated warrants when the Cape Girardeau Police Department recovered a pair of young boys May 21from a U-Haul truck traveling along Interstate 55. Jason R. Braman, 39, of Lafe, Arkansas, was arrested on suspected scrap metal theft and his wife, Michelle B. Braman, 33, of Rector, Arkansas, was arrested for alleged possession of drug paraphernalia, police spokesman Darin Hickey said. Both warrants originated in the couple's home state of Arkansas...

NEW YORK -- They're the $10 million men and women. Propelled by a soaring stock market, the median pay package for a CEO rose above eight figures for the first time last year. The head of a typical large public company earned a record $10.5 million, an increase of 8.8 percent from $9.6 million in 2012, according to an Associated Press/Equilar pay study...

Missouri Rep. Holly Rehder worked until the final days of the legislative session to pass her paycheck protection bill. Although the measure died in the Senate, the Sikeston, Missouri, Republican said the endeavor wasn't in vain. Before the session ended May 16, Democrats and Republicans agreed to drop certain issues in exchange for passing other bills. ...

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri is always looking for "bigs," volunteers who share four to six hours a month with "littles," children ages 5 to 17, but the Big Brother portion of the equation is especially hard to find. Ashley Beggs, executive director for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Southern Region, said the agency serves 350 youngsters each year, with about 250 considered active...

ST. LOUIS -- Unlicensed child care centers could become subject to new state oversight under legislation pending before Gov. Jay Nixon that would bring Missouri into compliance with new federal requirements. The legislation would require state workers to conduct onsite visits of child-care facilities receiving state or federal funds to check for minimum health and safety standards. ...

PARK HILLS, Mo. -- Park Hills Central baseball coach Ronnie Calvird hoped freshman left-hander Nick Haney could get his team through a couple innings against Notre Dame in a Class 4 sectional on Tuesday. Calvird had watched Notre Dame's lineup, which included five left-handed batters, during its district championship win over Kennett last week...

Cape Girardeau voters now will determine the fate of a fire tax during the November election rather than the August one. Gov. Jay Nixon announced over the weekend that five of the eight measures approved by the General Assembly -- including a three-quarter-cent transportation tax -- would appear on the August ballot, prompting the Cape Girardeau City Council to vote in a special meeting Tuesday to place the fire tax vote on the November ballot...

Here are the 10 highest-paid CEOs of 2013, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive pay research firm:1. Anthony Petrello, Nabors Industries, $68.2 million, up 246 percent from 2012 2. Leslie Moonves, CBS, $65.6 million, up 9 percent...

Today is Wednesday, May 28, the 148th day of 2014. There are 217 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 28, 1934, the Dionne quintuplets -- Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie and Yvonne -- were born to Elzire Dionne at the family farm in Ontario, Canada. (Of the five, Annette and Cecile are still living.)...

BUCKHORN, Mo. -- Authorities in south-central Missouri are investigating the deaths of a husband and wife at the site of a Memorial Day weekend motorcycle rally. KOLR-TV reported Pulaski County Sheriff Ronald Long said officers found the bodies around noon Tuesday in a utility trailer on the property of the Shrine Club...

NIXA, Mo. -- Concerns about insurance requirements will keep a southwest Missouri high school team from participating in the first high school bass pro fishing tournament in June. Nixa High School anglers won't be part of the Bass Pro Shops first Open Championship of High School Fishing Tournament at Table Rock Lake on June 7 and 8 because requirements from its insurance company, MOPERM, are too strict and expensive for the volunteer boaters who would take the team onto the lake, said Brandon Clark, the school's activities director.. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City police are warning drivers that officers are increasing traffic enforcement, and the number of tickets has increased dramatically in recent months. Officers wrote more than 6,000 speeding tickets in April, which doubled the number of tickets issued in April 2013, and tickets for all traffic violations increased nearly 50 percent, The Kansas City Star reported. ...

MIAMI -- The point where the roiling ocean meets the fury of a hurricane's winds may hold the key to improving storm intensity forecasts -- but it's nearly impossible for scientists to see. That may change this summer, thanks to post-Hurricane Sandy federal funding and a handful of winged drones that can spend hours spiraling in a hurricane's dark places, transmitting data that could help forecasters understand what makes some storms fizzle while others strengthen into monsters. ...

NEW YORK -- A television producer is seeking teenagers as young as 13 who like to make their own rules and "party like a rock star" to participate in a reality television series about their lives. A Los Angeles-based casting company, Metal Flowers Media, placed a notice about the series "My Teen Life" in Backstage, a publication widely followed by entertainment professionals for job leads. ...

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Dozens of dead insurgents lay piled in a van outside a morgue Tuesday, and a rebel said more were on the way. Bomb disposal experts disarmed a mortar round lodged in a corpse. A wrecked and blood-soaked truck at the Donetsk airport showed the aftermath of battle...

WASHINGTON -- Fake appointments, unofficial logs kept on the sly and appointments made without telling the patient are among tricks used to disguise delays in seeing and treating veterans at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics. They're not a new phenomenon. VA officials, veteran service organizations and members of Congress have known about them for years...

WASHINGTON -- Twelve years after barring execution of the mentally disabled, the Supreme Court on Tuesday prohibited states in borderline cases from relying only on intelligence test scores to determine whether a death row inmate is eligible to be executed...

WASHINGTON -- Seeking to turn the page on more than a decade of war, President Barack Obama announced plans Tuesday for greatly reducing U.S. forces in Afghanistan by the end of the year and then ending the U.S. military commitment by the end of 2016...

Kenny Rogers will be playing a concert Sunday to benefit the center in Sikeston that bears his name and helps children with disabilities. The Kenny Rogers Center is a blessing for many families throughout Southeast Missouri. In a recent interview with the Southeast Missourian, Rogers said he has "developed kind of a kinship with Sikeston over the years, and I think that what they're doing there is so wonderful. I'm proud and excited to be a part of it."...

The Rev. Richard C. Rowling, pastor of St. Mary's Cathedral, has been appointed vicar general for the diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau by Bishop John J. Leibrecht; he succeeds Monsignor Joseph E. Gosche. The Rev. O. David Griffin preaches his last sermons at New McKendree United Methodist Church at Jackson; he has been appointed district superintendent of the Poplar Bluff-Sikeston (Missouri) District...

We may not find ourselves in the worst of times, but it's far from the best of times as well. The IRS scandal, much to the administration's dismay, is not going away. The Democrats have decided to reluctantly participate in the long-overdue Benghazi probe. And the increasingly unraveling Obamacare disaster just won't go away...

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

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

Carrie Ruth Wilhelm, 94, of Tavares, Florida, formerly of Scott City, died Sunday, May 25, 2014, at Cornerstone Hospice in Tavares. Arrangements are incomplete at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Scott City.

ST. PETERS, Mo. -- Richard "Dick" Simpher, 75, of St. Peters died Monday, May 26, 2014. Loving husband of the late Dolores T. Simpher; beloved son of the late Fred C. "Ted" and Beulah Spink Simpher; devoted father of Carrie Simpher, Scott (Melissa) Simpher, Patricia Smith, Debbie Williams, Hershel Williams, Donna (Greg) Hageman and Sharon (Willis) McCree; cherished grandfather and great-grandfather to many; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends...

Margaret A. Shell, 74, of Cape Girardeau passed away Friday, May 23, 2014, at Fountain-bleau Lodge. She was born Jan. 25, 1940, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Elmer and Juanita Morris McCormick. She and Edward Shell were married Dec. 28, 1958, in Cape Girardeau...

Walter H. "Walt" Reynolds, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, May 25, 2014, at his home. He was born Sept. 7, 1927, in Reynoldsville, Illinois, to John and Viola Meisenheimer Reynolds. He and Lea M. Goodman were married March 31, 1956, at Cape Girardeau...

ELCO, Ill. -- Betty Leona Norman, 73, of Elco died Saturday, May 24, 2014, at her home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until service time today at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston, Missouri. The Rev. John Watson, pastor of Elco Baptist Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery near Charleston...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Rollie S. Matlock, 82, of McClure died Sunday, May 25, 2014, at Anna Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Anna, Illinois. He was born Nov. 19, 1931, in Alexander County, Illinois, to Rollie and Gladys Marie Kaufman Matlock. He and Evelyn F. Taylor were married in December 1952 in Paragould, Arkansas...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Jonathan Tyler Inskeep, 12, of Marble Hill died Sunday, May 25, 2014, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, of an apparent brain tumor. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Hutchings Funeral Chapel. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery in Thebes, Illinois...

Jeannie E. Halagiere Heuer, 65, of Bloomington, Indiana, passed away Friday, May 16, 2014, at Bloomington Hospital, holding the hand of Alan, her beloved husband. She was born Jan. 5, 1949, as one of twins (Jane Elaine and Jean Eileen). Jeannie received an M.A. ...

MOUNDS, Ill. — Betty Hedger, 83, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, formerly of Mounds, died Tuesday, May 27, 2014, in Bowling Green. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Cairo, Illinois.

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Robert "Bob" Haertling Sr., 80, of Altenburg died Monday, May 26, 2014, at his home. He was born Aug. 6, 1933, in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, son of Oscar and Myrtle Bodenschatz Haertling. Robert was retired. He was a member of American Legion Post 133, VFW Post 4282, and had been an avid Cardinals baseball fan since 1946...

Dorthylyn Jane Evans, 74, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, May 26, 2014, at Southeast Hospital. She was born Dec. 29, 1939, in Electra, Texas, daughter of the Rev. Aurelius Ottomar and Helene Clara Kunkel Kaltwasser. She and William Clark Evans were married Dec. 25, 1960, in Altenburg, Missouri...

Anita Estes, 90, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, May 22, 2014, at the Lutheran Home. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time Saturday at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. The funeral will be at noon Saturday at the church, with the Rev. Joseph G. Cotton Jr. officiating. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery...

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is encouraging users to change their ID and password information on eBay accounts after the company's announcement last week acknowledging a breach of user data. The breach included customers' full names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, user IDs and passwords...

IMPERIAL, Mo. -- Throughout Notre Dame's Class 2 state sectional soccer game against Windsor on Tuesday, coach Jeff Worley urged his players to relax and let the game come to them. When the Owls erased the Bulldogs' one-goal lead with nine minutes remaining in the game, a panic could've set in...

The right-hander also recorded his first complete game in the Cardinals' 6-0 win

Jill Rushin was named Scholar-Athlete of Year for outdoor track and field

North- and southbound Interstate 55 in Scott County will be reduced to one lane as contractor crews perform bridge-approach repairs. The bridge is over the U.S. 60/Interstate 57 interchange and I-55/U.S. 62, according to a news release issued from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The work will take place from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily today through June 7...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- Political, business and civic leaders in St. Louis and St. Louis County say they are done fighting over economic development projects that can benefit the region as a whole. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley joined several dozen regional leaders Tuesday morning at a Clayton hotel on the city-county border to unveil a new strategic plan for the region's economic developments. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Clergy in St. Louis are calling for citywide prayer to end violence. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition hosted a Memorial Day service at New Northside Church on Monday to draw attention to violence in the city. The service included 52 candles, each with the name of a person who had died from violence in St. Louis this year. The service was part of the Week of Prayer to Curb Violence that continues through Friday...

OLATHE, Kan. -- A southwest Missouri man accused of killing three people in a shooting rampage outside Jewish facilities in northeast Kansas is facing additional charges. The Kansas City Star reported Johnson County prosecutors on Tuesday filed three counts of attempted murder against 73-year-old Frazier Glenn Cross of Aurora, Missouri. ...

HOMER CITY, Pa. -- Three years ago, the operators of one of the nation's dirtiest coal-fired power plants warned of "immediate and devastating" consequences from the Obama administration's push to clean up pollution from coal. Faced with cutting sulfur dioxide pollution blowing into downwind states by 80 percent in less than a year, lawyers for EME Homer City Generation L.P. ...

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria's military chiefs and the president are apparently split over how to free nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by Islamic extremists, with the military saying use of force endangers the hostages and the president reportedly ruling out a prisoner-hostage swap...

LAHORE, Pakistan -- A pregnant woman was stoned to death Tuesday by her own family outside a courthouse in the Pakistani city of Lahore for marrying the man she loved. The woman was killed while on her way to court to contest an abduction case her family had filed against her husband. Her father was promptly arrested on murder charges, police investigator Rana Mujahid said, adding that police were working to apprehend all those who participated in this "heinous crime."...

Lance Bray, Allison Bray, Clay Crosson and Sheila Crosson shot 60 to win the Memorial Day four-person scramble at Dalhousie Golf Club. The team of Troy Bell, Shelley Bell, Tim Hightower and Sheila Hightower won AA flight with a 63. The team also posted the low-putt total of 22...

Lord Jesus, may we persevere in the race you have set before us, focusing on you. Amen.