Stories from Tuesday, December 22, 2015

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Some legislative staffers at the Missouri Capitol have been earning money moonlighting as political consultants for candidates and campaigns, a practice that critics say could represent a conflict of interest. Statehouse staff members doing campaign work has been a longstanding practice in Jefferson City, and it's legal as long as political work isn't done on taxpayer time, The Kansas City Star reported. ...

Cape Girardeau police officers responded to what they saw as a senseless act of violence by extending a helping hand. A Cape Girardeau man was assaulted and robbed at noon Saturday near Silver Springs Road and Shawnee Parkway. The man had stopped to pay a bill when a shaved bald white man in his late 20s or early knocked him to the ground and stole his bicycle and the money in his wallet, Cape Girardeau Police Department public information officer Adam Glueck said...

The city of Jackson now will investigate options for funding construction of a new police station after the Board of Aldermen settled on a design for the building during Monday night's meeting. The board also set a Jan. 4 public hearing to discuss a use-tax proposal slated to go before voters in April. The revenue from that tax likely would fund police and first responders...

Cape Girardeau city voters will decide the fate of two tax issues when they go to the polls April 5. The City Council voted Monday night to place the issues on the ballot. Final approval of the election ordinances is slated to occur in January. The first ballot measure would allow the city to retain the vehicle sales tax. The second would enact a use tax on items bought out of state, primarily by businesses. The use tax would be levied at the same 2.75 percent rate as the vehicle tax...

When the Saxony Luthern and Notre Dame girls basketball teams met Monday night, it was a far cry from the 59-24 trouncing the former offered earlier in the season. But the Crusaders still had Brianna Mueller. The Bulldogs came to play, but Saxony broke open a five-point game at halftime as Mueller scored 21 points to lead the top-seeded Crusaders to a 44-36 victory in a Kelso Supply Holiday Classic semifinal at the Show Me Center...

The Indians defeated Sikeston 45-34 to reach the title game of the Kelso Supply Holiday Classic.

A new executive director has been selected for the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. Brenda Newbern will begin her duties at the CVB on Jan. 18, the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce announced Monday. Newbern replaces Chuck Martin, who retires Dec. 31. Martin had been CVB director for 13 years. He is leaving to become part-time director of the Missouri Travel Council...

Toughness has been the focal point for the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team since Rekha Patterson took over as the Redhawks' coach. After a few close wins this season she's described her players' efforts as "Redhawk Tough," and after their latest loss at home to Central Arkansas the players and Patterson both credited it to a lack of that...

Today in History Today is Tuesday, Dec. 22, the 356th day of 2015. There are nine days left in the year. This is the first full day of winter. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 22, 1965, "Doctor Zhivago," David Lean's epic film adaptation of the Boris Pasternak novel starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, had its world premiere in New York...

Friday's day-long rain turns into freezing rain early this morning with the advent of a slow-moving arctic cold front; the frozen precipitation quickly coats highways and bridges, causing a large number of motor vehicle accidents in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Edgar C. Dykes Jr., 76, of Poplar Bluff passed away Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center. He was born Nov. 29, 1939, in St. Louis to Edgar C. and Mildred (Slattery) Dykes Sr. Edgar served two years in the Army National Guard...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Henry Theodore Holzum, 90, of Leopold passed away Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, at the Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 6, 1925, in Leopold, the son of Robert and Hannah Lenderink Holzum. He and Lorraine Seiler were united in marriage Nov. 8, 1952, at St. John's Catholic Church in Leopold...

Daughter to Ronald Dean and Katie Lynne Fisher Jr. of Jackson, Southeast Hospital, 5:27 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015. Name, Presley Marie. Weight, 6 pounds. Second daughter. Mrs. Fisher is the former Katie McFadden, daughter of Barbara Proffer and Jerry McFadden, both of Jackson. She is employed by Ken's Cape Cleaners. Fisher is the son of Brenda Taylor of Hugo, Oklahoma, and Ronald Fisher of Prescott, Arizona. His employed by McFadden Construction...

Jess Wyatt, 53, of Jackson died Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015. He was born March 9, 1962, in Colusa, California, to Carl and Clayla Haskins Wyatt. Jess was a veteran of the U.S. National Guard. He enjoyed fishing and woodworking. He is survived by his wife, Shirley Wyatt of Jackson; two children, Kayla and Blaine Vaughn, both of Jackson; his mother, Clayla Wyatt of Fredericktown, Missouri; and two sisters, Ann Stratton of Marble Hill, Missouri, and Jean Royer of Fredericktown...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The humming is constant; a low-pitched drone from 155 miles of conveyer belts racing packages in every direction. Boxes shift from one belt to another and bump into a metal wall. Thud. Thud. Thud. In the background, trucks beep and jet engines roar...

NEW YORK -- Cheap is the new chic for holiday gifts. Jana Montero, who has in the past bought loved ones iPods and tablets for Christmas, has changed her attitude about gift giving: This holiday season, she's grabbing candle sets and serving dishes that cost under $30 to give to family and friends...

ORAN, Mo. -- Brian Keith Sauceda, 45, of Oran passed away Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born in Chaffee, Missouri, on July 7, 1970, to Vidal and Katherine Louise Daniels Sauceda Jr. He was a member of Victory Life Center in Oran. He worked as a cashier at a gas station and did carpentry work...

MORLEY, Mo. -- C.D. Alcorn, 86, died Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, at Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee, Missouri. Born May 14, 1929, in Crowder, Missouri, son of the late Ellis and Wrista (Fulkerson) Alcorn, he was a member of Morley Baptist Church. Mr. Alcorn was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Airman Second Class, and was a self-employed real-estate agent, having been owner and operator of C.D. Alcorn Agency from 1953 to 2012...

ST. LOUIS -- A 3-year-old boy was fatally shot Monday at a suburban St. Louis home, hours before a teenager described as a family friend surrendered to the authorities after being sought for questioning, police said. The 3-year-old was shot once in the abdomen Monday morning at a home near Florissant and later died at a hospital, police said. Brian Schellman, a St. Louis County police spokesman, said it was not clear whether the shooting was an accident...

ST. LOUIS -- A retrofitted Metro bus that will serve as a mobile farmers market in the spring made a test run last weekend on St. Louis' north side. The visit Saturday launched the official start of St. Louis MetroMarket, which aims to increase access to healthy produce in neighborhoods that don't have grocery stores...

LAS VEGAS -- A homeless woman accused of slamming a car carrying her 3-year-old daughter into a crowd of pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip told authorities she was stressed out after being chased by security guards from parking lots where she had been trying to sleep before the crash, according to a police report obtained Monday...

HONOLULU -- President Barack Obama, in a broadside against the leading Republican presidential candidate, said billionaire Donald Trump is "exploiting" fears working-class men in particular have about the economy and stagnant wages. In a year-end interview with NPR News, Obama said demographic changes combined with the "economic stresses" people have been feeling because of the financial crisis, technology and globalization have made life harder for those who rely on a steady paycheck...

WASHINGTON -- Gone are the Bojangles fried chicken and biscuits. When supporters offer Tex-Mex, she takes a salad. And forget about cake (most of the time). As Hillary Clinton knows from previous presidential campaigns, politicking means picking your food carefully...

NEW YORK -- The Van Dyke Money Gang in New York made off with more than $1.5 million this year -- but it wasn't in gunpoint robberies or drug running; it was a Western Union money order scheme. In New Jersey, 111 Neighborhood Crips used a machine to make dozens of fake gift cards for supermarkets, pharmacies and hardware stores...

BEIRUT -- Lebanon's trash-collection crisis that set off huge protests this summer is entering its sixth month, but you hardly would know it in Beirut. Not only are the capital's streets kept relatively garbage-free, but the country's politicians have been in no hurry to resolve the catastrophe...

WASHINGTON -- There may be one more Clinton on the campaign trail next fall. Chelsea Clinton, the only child of former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announced Monday she is expecting her second child next summer...

IGUALA, Mexico -- The previous elected mayor is in jail, and the new one wants to "turn the page" on the ugliest chapter in the history of this southern Mexican city. Fifteen months ago, when 43 rural college students disappeared at the hands of local police and cartel thugs, Iguala became the symbol of Mexico's narco-brutality. Now, federal police are in charge of security, the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party controls city hall, and Mayor Esteban Albarran Mendoza wants to move forward...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into a joint NATO- Afghan patrol Monday, killing six American troops in the deadliest attack on international forces since August. Two U.S. troops and an Afghan were wounded...

SHENZHEN, China -- Rescuers searched Monday for 85 missing people a day after the collapse of a mountain of excavated soil and construction waste that had been piled up over two years in China's manufacturing center of Shenzhen. Authorities said the landslide buried or damaged 33 buildings in the industrial park in Shenzhen, a city near Hong Kong that makes products used around the world ranging from cellphones to cars...

BANGKOK -- Thailand's government said Monday it is not ignoring the slavery and forced labor in its lucrative shrimp industry that was highlighted in an Associated Press investigation last week. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd, flanked by police, navy and other officials, held a news conference to address issues raised by the story. The report has elicited reactions around the world, including from major food companies in the U.S., Europe and Australia that buy Thai seafood...

WASHINGTON -- America's 2016 presidential candidates are split on promoting regime change in the Middle East, but not along the usual party lines. GOP contenders Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are finding common ground with Democrats Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley in suggesting it's better to keep authoritarian leaders -- including Syria's Bashar Assad -- in power as a bulwark against extremism...

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. -- Darth Vader is a tattooed 43-year-old former Marine who owns a gym and is raising funds online for a bone-marrow transplant. A western New York man legally changed his name last year to match the villain in the "Star Wars" films...

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- A radio shock jock who hosted "Opie and Anthony" is facing charges over a fight with a woman at his New York home. Nassau County police say Anthony Cumia was arrested Saturday after the 26-year-old woman contacted authorities. He was arraigned Sunday on a charge of second-degree strangulation...

NEW YORK -- The Miss Universe pageant and host Steve Harvey doubled down on the apologies Monday after an excruciating live television moment -- announcing incorrectly Miss Colombia had won, then taking the crown from her head to give to a rival from the Philippines...

LOS ANGELES -- Bill Cosby sued supermodel Beverly Johnson for defamation on Monday, calling her a liar over her claims the comedian drugged and attempted to sexually assault her in the 1980s. Cosby's lawsuit contends Johnson has been using the story to try to rekindle her career...

Hundreds of dilapidated mobile homes and vacant lots in Cairo, Illinois, and elsewhere in Alexander County may be bought for less than $700 each as county officials seek to eliminate hundreds of tax-delinquent eyesores. About 375 real estate parcels and 66 mobile homes are on the sale block. The required minimum bid is $640 for a vacant tract and $695 for a mobile home. Bids must be received by Jan. 8...

The Jackson Missouri Area Chamber of Commerce is taking sign-ups for Leadership Jackson 2016. The educational and networking program will take place each third Wednesday of the month from February through September, according to information from the chamber. Breakfast, lunch, beverages, snacks and transportation on field trips are included...

A victim receiving treatment at a Cape Girardeau hospital said he was shot at, and flying glass from a car window pierced by the bullet caused his injuries. But the victim would not give Cape Girardeau police information about the attacker. The 24-year-old Cape Girardeau man was near Hackberry and South Ellis streets at 4:30 a.m. Sunday when several shots were fired at his vehicle, at least one hitting the car's window glass and causing his injuries, he told police...

A 5-year-old child was grazed by a bullet in the early morning hours Sunday on Cedar Street in Cairo, Illinois. At 1:19 a.m., at least one shooter fired several shots at a house on Cedar Street, according to a news release from the Illinois State Police...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham announced Monday he was ending his 2016 presidential campaign. The South Carolina senator posted a video saying he was proud of his campaign, which he said was focused on the nation's security. "You have honored me with your support. ...

A suspect in a fatal shooting Saturday in Sikeston, Missouri, turned himself in to authorities Monday. Antoine A. Harris-Applewhite, 33, of Sikeston turned himself in to the Scott County Jail about 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to Sikeston Department of Public Safety Capt. James McMillen...

Philadelphia rallied for a 4-3 comeback win.

For the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team to avoid its worst start in school history, the Redhawks and coach Rick Ray will go through a program and coach they're familiar with. Southeast (0-10) faces the Missouri State Bears at 7:05 p.m. today at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri, for the 145th meeting between the two teams. It's the second-longest series for the Redhawks' basketball program...

BALTIMORE -- A judge has scheduled a new trial date after the mistrial of one of six officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray. William Porter's first trial ended in a hung jury last week. His new trial is scheduled to begin June 13. ...

PRAGUE -- Prague Zoo said it likely owns the longest salamander on Earth. The endangered animal is the largest amphibian on the planet. In a statement Sunday, the zoo said Karlo, a Chinese giant salamander it received 19 months ago from Germany, likely is the biggest representative of its species. The zoo said Karlo is 5 feet, 2 3/16 inches long. The amphibian's weight is 77 pounds...

All the local high school events reported Monday to the Southeast Missourian.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Betty A. Cole, 77, of Perryville died Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Services will be private at a later date. Young and Sons Funeral Home Inc. in Perryville provided the arrangements...

Caecilia Clara Presley, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Dec. 14, 2015 at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. A graveside funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Hobbs Chapel Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Sunday. n Medical assists were made at 4 a.m. on East Rodney Street; 7:47 a.m. on South Kingshighway; 3:28 p.m. on South Spring Street; 6:39 p.m. on Delwin Street; 7:59 p.m. on Water Street; and 10:41 p.m. on South West End Boulevard...

Jackson The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Jason A. Clark, 35, 225 Keystone Drive, was arrested on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. n Brooke M. Albrecht, 19, 374 Pleasant Lake Drive, was arrested on a Cape Girardeau warrant...

Cape Girardeau The Cape Girardeau Police reported the following items on Dec. 21. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Natasha Lynn Newton, no age given, no address given, was arrested on suspicion of stealing at Wal-Mart, 3439 William St. n A suspect was in custody pending formal charges of shoplifting at Wal-Mart, 3439 William St...

The Shriners organization is a miracle worker, offering quality health care, including surgeries, to children regardless of families' ability to pay. Many of those families who have been on the receiving end of this care have been gathering yearly for a Christmas party since 1996. They enjoy a party and a meal, while sharing the joy of the physical progress each has made -- sort of like a family reunion...

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. Amen.

I would like to spend this time with our citizens reviewing the progress and achievements in 2015. Next month I will look forward to prospects and opportunities for 2016. The City of Cape Girardeau and Mid-America Hotels reached an agreement to extend the Hotel/Restaurant tax into the future at the present rate. ...

Liam Gorton, 2, shows Santa Claus his toy train during a photo session Monday with Santa at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau. Santa will be making daily appearances at the mall through 5 p.m. Christmas Eve.