Stories from Friday, March 4, 2016

Cape Girardeau police will have extra patrols downtown this weekend. Cape Girardeau Police and the downtown Cape Girardeau Community Improvement District have agreed on a contract for foot and bicycle patrols between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights, according to a news release from Cape Girardeau police. ...

CEDAR HILL, Mo. -- For Jackson senior Jacob Smith, this district title meant a little more than the others. Smith finished with a game-high 30 points, leading the second-seeded Indians to a 75-66 win over top-seeded Poplar Bluff in the Class 5 District 1 championship Thursday at Northwest High School...

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team didn’t have any trouble finding a source of motivation throughout its home opener against Central Arkansas on Friday night. It came in the form of left-handed starting pitcher Joey Lucchesi. The Redhawks, who were challenged to play with high energy for at least seven innings by coach Steve Bieser prior to the game, were driven by Lucchesi’s imperfect, but impressive outing and picked up a 6-0 win against the visiting Bears at Capaha Field...

The “Dreams Don’t Have an Expiration Date” Fashion Show is coming to Cape Girardeau on Saturday night at Franklin Elementary School. Presented by Que’Rstyles and College Boy Swag (CBS), the event is the first of what organizer MarQuetta Rush said is intended to be an annual show...

ST. LOUIS -- A federal indictment accuses two St. Louis men of a drug-related killing. The U.S. Attorney's office in St. Louis announced Thursday that 24-year-old Jessie Hampton and 25-year-old Malcom Johnson were indicted on several charges related to the 2012 death of Scipio Vaughn of Centralia, Illinois. Both could face up to life in prison if convicted...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A former southern Kansas City parochial school band instructor has been acquitted of inappropriately touching a student. The Kansas City Star reported 55-year-old Tod A. Barnard had been charged with two counts of second-degree child molestation and two counts of third-degree assault. His attorney, Melanie Morgan, said a Jackson County, Missouri, jury found him not guilty on all counts Wednesday...

ST. LOUIS -- The Coast Guard said it was responding to a fuel spill Thursday on the Mississippi River near Granite City. The guard said in a news release a vessel was damaged Thursday while using Lock and Dam 27, rupturing a fuel tank. The fuel tank holds approximately 20,000 gallons. The fuel reportedly was contained inside the lock and dam...

ST. LOUIS -- A federal jury has rejected a lawsuit filed by a man who claimed Ferguson police beat him while he was handcuffed in 2009. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the jury on Wednesday ruled in favor of police and against Henry M. Davis, formerly of St. Charles, Missouri...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A fight is brewing in the Missouri Legislature over an unlikely topic -- beer coolers. The measure, which passed the state Senate on an 18-14 vote Thursday, would let breweries lease coolers to grocers and other stores that sell beer...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri House has passed legislation to create a prescription-drug monitoring program. Representatives voted 87-66 Thursday to approve the proposal and send it to the Senate. The bill would make Missouri the final state to create a database aimed at informing doctors and pharmacists when similar prescriptions were dispensed recently to the same person...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sitting in a back room at a Kmart, Rachelle Allen came face to face with the woman she'd become. There she was on the store's security video, shoplifting a pair of tennis shoes. The blank-faced woman on the screen had matted, unwashed hair. On that cold winter night two years ago, she wore nothing but flip-flops, tattered jeans and a hoodie. As she watched, a security guard rummaged through her purse, finding illegal pills and drug paraphernalia...

Jim Martin said he was surprised to get a call from Gov. Jay Nixon’s office Wednesday telling him he had been appointed Perry County, Missouri, coroner. Martin is the chairman of the Perry County Central Democratic Committee. He applied to the governor’s office to replace Herbert Miller, who resigned Dec. 15, but his committee nominated someone else for the position...

An anti-tax group will campaign against passage of use-tax measures in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. The group, www.NoMOtax.org, also plans to gather voter signatures to seek repeal of the existing Cape Girardeau County use tax. Debra Jenkins, who resides in the county, said Thursday local governments need to do a better job of spending revenue rather than seeking tax increases. “It is a spending problem rather than a revenue problem,” she said...

The company behind the popular speakers series TED Talks joined Southeast Missouri State University in putting on a night of open-minded discussion Thursday. Like Southeast’s speakers series this year, the TEDx theme, “Diverse Passions,” tackled race and culture in society and media...

To thrive, sometimes a business has to evolve. Travelers Gazebo Gardens and Pet Center has done just that over the last 53 years. But now the owners, Michael Obermiller and Glenda Bridges, are retiring. The business as it's known today is considerably different from the one Jesse and Marvalyn Obermiller opened in 1963. Travelers Conoco was a service station, garage and 24-hour wrecker service...

Today is Friday, March 4, the 64th day of 2016. There are 302 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 4, 1966, John Lennon of The Beatles was quoted in the London Evening Standard as saying, "We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock 'n' roll or Christianity." (After his comments caused an angry backlash in the United States, Lennon sought to clarify his remarks, telling reporters, "If I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it."). ...

We praise the greatness of you, O Lord Jesus, our savior. Amen.

If politics were the only lens we had to gauge the future of our nation, we would surely conclude the end is near. And just in time. Political historians can cite example after example of American political shenanigans going back more than two centuries. But we live in the 21st century, and we tend to judge the world around us by what we see and hear today...

Al Sikes, former Sikeston, Missouri, resident and an early pioneer of the rise of the Missouri Republican party under the leadership of Jack Danforth (who was elected state attorney general in 1968), took a position as assistant attorney general in the first breach in the Democratic political machine, which had controlled Missouri politics for over 30 years...

For the twelfth year, area women gathered Feb. 26 for Cape First Church's annual Ladies Tea Party. Nearly 1,400 women were attended to "enjoy an evening with friends, make acquaintances and receive inspiration," according to a Southeast Missourian story by Adrienne Ross. They crowded the Osage Centre, which was decked out in decorated tables, and drank tea while listening to speakers and chatting with friends and vendors...

Following three days of interviews, the Cape Girardeau Board of Education has trimmed a list of 40 candidates for public school superintendent to three. Members of the recently formed Rock Climbing Club at Southeast Missouri State University spent most of yesterday afternoon removing graffiti from the wall of the old quarry at the north end of Trail of Tears State Park; they rappelled down 50 feet to use hammers, chisels and brushes to clear away the spray-painted message, "R.C. ...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Connie F. Palmer, 67, of Dexter passed away Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born June 2, 1948, the daughter of Lowell and Wilma Kathleen Cecil Howard. Connie and Jimmy Ray Palmer were united in marriage Dec. 18, 1965, at Aquila, Missouri, and he survives of the home...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Stanley Ray Lurk, 77, of Perryville died Thursday, March 3, 2016, at his home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday and from 6:30 to 10 a.m. Monday at Young and Sons Funeral Home. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Timber Ridge Church Cemetery...

Vernadene Lane, 91, of Jackson passed away Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Born on Nov. 21, 1924, in Naylor, Missouri, to Earnest W. and Ruhama D. McCarty Smith, Vernadene spent most of her early life in Southeast Missouri, attending Sylvan (Pig Ankle) School and Naylor High School. She and Gerald Lane were married Sept. 2, 1942, in Naylor. They had been married 21 years when he passed away June 5, 1964...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Therese Marie Elfrink, 80, of Leopold died Thursday, March 3, 2016, at her home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Hutchings Funeral Chapel in Marble Hill, Missouri. Parish prayers will be at 5 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Anthony's Church in Glennon, Missouri. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery at Leopold...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Wednesday. n Medical assists were made at 7:53 a.m. on Village Drive and 2:06 p.m. on James Drive. n At 10:24 a.m., a sprinkler activation, no fire, on William Street...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Cedric C. Moore Jr., 23, of Jackson was arrested on a Jackson warrant for failure to appear for contempt of court. n Alaine L. Hamilton, 20, 1000 Towers Circle, was arrested on a Scott City warrant for failure to appear for a traffic offense...

Daughter to Rhonye D. Lincoln III and Mariah Monique Wiggins of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 3:42 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. Name, Zariah Aaliyah. Weight, 7 pounds, 8 ounces. First child. Wiggins is the daughter of Deborah Wiggins Clark of Cape Girardeau. Lincoln is the son of Sherri Johnson Rice of Marion, Illinois...

The Visual Arts Cooperative presents its 14th annual three-gallery show. Galleries will feature pieces from more than 40 regional artists who are members of the Co-op and who represent a multitude of artistic styles and media, including two- and three-dimensional works. Co-op members and board members will be introduced at 6 p.m. Window exhibitors for March will be Marty Riley, Robert Towner and Anita Dickerson...

The Friends of the Cape Girardeau Public Library Foundation will host its annual spring book sale from 6 to 8 p.m. today, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the library, 711 N. Clark Ave. in Cape Girardeau. Hundreds of items will be available for purchase, with hardcover books selling for $1, paperbacks for 50 cents and books on tape for $2. All proceeds benefit library projects sponsored by the Friends Foundation...

The Tallent Brothers, Rocky and Brandon Tallent, will perform from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Apple Creek Vineyard & Winery, 1930 County Road 401 in Friedheim. Pertinent address: 1930 County Road 401, Friedheim, Mo.

#semoselfie

The two-man team of brothers Rocky and Brandon Tallent combine to make up The Tallent Brothers. Originally from Bollinger County, Missouri, between Patton and Marquand, where they grew up on a cattle farm, the pair are touring to share their musical gift and enthusiasm with audiences throughout the country. They entertain crowds with a style similar to that of American roots rock...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Police in Utah said an officer who pulled over soul singer Gladys Knight was treated to an impromptu rendition of "Happy Birthday." Pleasant Grove Police Capt. Mike Roberts said Knight was a passenger in the car stopped for speeding Wednesday about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. ...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A high-school teacher said she forgives the teenager who took her cellphone, found a nude picture and shared it on social media, even though she lost her job and was harassed as a result. School authorities still blame the teacher, however, and have yet to discipline any students, pending a police investigation...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sri Srinivasan, a federal appeals judge who was born in India and grew up in Kansas, could become the first foreign-born justice to serve on the Supreme Court in more than 50 years. The 49-year-old Srinivasan is one of several people being mentioned prominently as a potential replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last month...

NEW YORK -- Supergerms cause 1 out of 7 infections caught in hospitals, health officials said Thursday. The bugs include the staph infection MRSA and five other bacteria resistant to many kinds of antibiotics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported...

WASHINGTON -- Astronomers say they have discovered a hot, star-popping galaxy that is far, far away -- farther than any previously detected, from a time when the universe was a mere toddler of about 400 million years old. By employing a different technique -- one that has raised some skepticism -- a team of astronomers exposed a time period they'd thought was impossible to observe with today's technology. ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's yearlong spaceman Scott Kelly took a long-anticipated plunge Thursday, jumping into his backyard pool, astronaut outfit and all. "Oh, man, that feels good," Kelly said as he floated to the surface. After nearly a year of space sponge baths, Kelly didn't even take time to change out of his blue flight suit. ...

State police agencies and the U.S. Marshals Service joined Mississippi authorities Thursday in their ongoing search for an escaped inmate facing capital-murder charges in the 2015 rape and slaying of a 69-year-old woman. Rafael McCloud, 34, escaped from the Warren County Jail early Wednesday, using a homemade shank to take a jail employee hostage briefly and force him to give up his keys, radio, pants and jacket, Sheriff Martin Pace said. ...

MAPUTO, Mozambique -- An American adventurer said Thursday he discovered part of an aircraft on a sandbar off the coast of Mozambique and initially thought it was from a small plane, and not from a Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared two years ago with 239 people aboard...

DETROIT -- Picking up right where they left off, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio traded a new round of insults at the start of the 11th Republican presidential debate Thursday night, and then Trump made a crude sexual reference before the two pledged to try to focus more on policy...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Kansas City man pleaded guilty Thursday to a failed attempt to firebomb an office for U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Eric G. King admitted he threw two Molotov cocktails at the building in midtown Kansas City on Sept. 11, 2014. One device didn't go into the building, and the second did no damage...

JUPITER, Fla. -- Tyler Lyons was back on the mound Thursday for the St. Louis Cardinals, the stakes slightly smaller than the last time he pitched. Even so, he wanted to throw well -- and did. Lyons allowed one run in three innings to help the Cardinals win their spring training opener against the Miami Marlins 4-3...

CEDAR HILL, Mo. -- The Jackson girls basketball team buried itself in the first half of Thursday's Class 5 District 1 championship, and it proved to be the difference in the Indians' fate. A nine-point deficit at halftime loomed larger after Jackson headed into halftime shooting at a 13-percent clip...