Stories from Wednesday, October 19, 2016

This amazing lady Mamie Ledure is turning 100! Come help her celebrate from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at the VFW Hall, 1408 Main St. in Scott City. Dessert and drinks will be provided.

The Southeast Missouri Hospital Auxiliary honored volunteers Peck and Germaine Robert with the Ilena Aslin Service Award at the group’s annual recognition dinner. Volunteer Pat Robert received the Margaret Foster Roberts Award. Volunteers, who reached service milestones, also were recognized at the event held recently at the Osage Centre...

WASHINGTON -- Millions of Social Security recipients and federal retirees will get a 0.3 percent increase in monthly benefits next year -- the fifth year in a row older Americans will have to settle for historically low raises. The adjustment adds up to a monthly increase of less than $4 a month for an average recipient...

An effort is underway to bring greater attention to genocide issues in local schools. C.P. Gause, professor and chairman of the department of educational leadership and counseling at Southeast Missouri State University, has been meeting with middle- and high-school administrators since he returned from a summer conference at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C...

The first phase of the once-disputed Shadow Wood Villas is underway on Hawthorne Road. The new subdivision, developed by GMA Development LLC, will feature 20 housing units -- 16 individual villas within eight duplex houses and four single-family homes -- with each building set on a separate lot, arranged around two cul-de-sacs...

Christian Knotts defies a defender during an after-school pickup football game Tuesday in Cape Girardeau. The children took advantage of unseasonably warm weather; the high temperature Tuesday was 85 degrees.

Today in History Today is Wednesday, Oct. 19, the 293rd day of 2016. There are 73 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 19, 1216, John, King of England, died, more than a year after affixing his royal seal to Magna Carta ("The Great Charter")...

As hard as I try, it's impossible to avoid political discussions as the clock ticks down to Nov. 8. In my lifetime, at least a half dozen presidential elections have been billed as "the most important vote in the history of America." Those words are being spoken this year and it may well be accurate this time...

Just a few years after the Notre Dame girls golf team's inception, and in its first trip to the state meet as a team, the Bulldogs got to hoist a state trophy. The Bulldogs, who first fielded a team in 2011, cruised to victory at the Class 1 state meet last week, winning by 40 strokes...

Looking forward to fall when it seems summer won't quit is only made easier by the fab fashions that flood the stores during this time. Sweaters, boots, jackets, hats and more take over the magazines and shopping sites, tempting us to take a chance on Mother Nature and go for it!...

The killing of Michael Brown, an African-American teenager, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, not only started a wave of peaceful protests and socially conscious groups, but it is also is what Nyara Williams, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, said inspired her clothing line, Black.Clothing...

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria's government is negotiating the release of another 83 of the Chibok schoolgirls taken in a mass abduction 2 1/2 years ago, but more than 100 others appear unwilling to leave their Boko Haram Islamic extremist captors, a community leader said Tuesday...

First Missouri Terminals, a recently formed corporation that will handle liquid fertilizer, has become the fourth tenant of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority; the company will lease 2.5 acres near the harbor from the port and has begun construction on a one-million-gallon bulk-liquid fertilizer-storage tank...

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Martha Joan Johnson Wright, 80, formerly of Jackson, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, at Hospice of Savannah. She was born Aug. 29, 1936, in Neelys Landing, daughter of Arvy and Violet Gohn Johnson. Martha worked at International Shoe Co. in Jackson for 20 years. She was an avid gardener and loved to cook big family meals...

Michael P. Stephens, 70, left this life Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, at Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau, after a year-long battle against leukemia. He was born Aug. 14, 1946, son of Herbert L. and Jane Avolyn DeGuire Stephens. He grew up in Fredericktown, Missouri...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Pamela Moore, 58, of Chaffee passed away Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Feb. 25, 1958, in Anna, Illinois, to the late Roy and Leona Taylor Swafford. She married Joe Moore on Jan. 16, 1988, and he survives of the home...

Patricia Jo Lansmon, 60, of St. Louis, formerly of Cape Girardeau, passed away Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016, at the Missouri Veterans Home in St. Louis. She was born Oct. 22, 1955, in Cape Girardeau to Jim and Edith Matthews Lansmon. Patricia was a 1974 Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate, a 1978 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and obtained her master's degree in 1983 from Southeast Missouri State University. ...

Vallillee Jordan, 92, passed peacefully to her Heavenly home Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, where she joined her beloved husband of 71 years, Milton, and her loving son-in-law, Dann Dickemann. She is survived by her daughter, Diane Jordan Dickemann of Jackson; two sons, Joel "Bo" (Connie) Jordan of Monument, Colorado, and Bill (Stacey) Jordan of St. ...

Gene Earl Hitt, 73, and his wife, Rita M. Hitt, 69, died in 2016. They were married Feb. 22, 1980, in St. Charles, Missouri. Rita passed away Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in St. Charles; Gene passed away Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, in O'Fallon, Missouri. Rita was born May 13, 1947, in Belleville, Illinois, and was reared in a small Illinois town by Malcolm J. McLester and Marie Agnes Mueller...

Loretta Mae Dickerson Dockins, 96, of Jackson entered her heavenly home Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. She was born May 5, 1920, in Jackson, daughter of Gale and Zula Dockins Wilkinson. She and Victor Dickerson were married Dec. 1, 1939, and he passed away June 1, 1989. She and Perry Lee Dockins Sr. were married April 13, 1993. He passed away Jan. 18, 1997...

Joy Brown, 92, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, at Fountainbleau Lodge. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home...

Laura Isbell "Bonnie" Bethard, 97, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, at The Arbors at Colony Pointe in Columbia, Missouri. She was born March 3, 1919, in Raymond, Illinois, to George and Sarah Williams Stogsdill. She and Eldon Bethard were married Feb. 19, 1938, at Terre Haute, Indiana. He preceded her in death Dec. 10, 2014...

Ilena Merniva Aslin, 90, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016, at the Lutheran Home. She was born Aug. 16, 1926, in Bloomfield, Missouri, to the late Bon and Mirtie Aslin. Ilena was a member of Maple United Methodist Church. She was a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University. Ilena taught school for seven years, and for 40 years she served as an executive director for the Girl Scouts. She retired in 1991, moved to Cape Girardeau and devoted her life to volunteering...

NEW YORK -- The late rapper Tupac Shakur and Seattle-based rockers Pearl Jam are among the first-time nominees on the ballot for induction next year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nine of 19 acts nominated are on the ballot for the first time, with Shakur and Pearl Jam in their first year of eligibility. ...

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Two weeks before their wedding, Viet "Victor" Anh Vo and his fiancee were stunned when a court clerk rejected their application for a marriage license because he couldn't produce a birth certificate. The couple had spent thousands of dollars on a wedding planner, caterer, florist, disc jockey and a reception hall for 350 guests before they learned a newly amended Louisiana law would block them from getting married...

Facing unprecedented warnings of a "rigged" election from Donald Trump, state officials around the country rushed to reassure the public, and some are taking subtle steps to boost security at polling places because of the passions whipped up by the race...

MANASSAS, Va. -- From the outside, the single-engine Cessna Caravan that took off from a small airport here Monday looked unremarkable. But inside the cockpit in the right seat, a robot with spindly metal tubes and rods for arms and legs and a claw hand grasping the throttle was doing the flying...

GWER, Iraq -- The pace of operations slowed Tuesday in the fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group as Iraqi forces advancing to the east and south of the city began pushing toward larger villages and encountering civilian populations. Iraq's Kurdish fighters, known as the peshmerga, largely paused their advance, according to commanders stationed along the front to Mosul's east, consolidating gains from the previous day...

MOSCOW -- Russian and Syrian warplanes halted their airstrikes on Syria's besieged city of Aleppo on Tuesday in preparation for a temporary pause in the military push Moscow has announced for later in the week, the Russian defense minister said. According to defense minister Sergei Shoigu, the halt in the strikes should help pave the way for militants to leave the eastern rebel-held parts of the contested city...

QUITO, Ecuador -- Ecuador's government acknowledged Tuesday it cut off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's internet access at its embassy in London after the whistleblowing site published a trove of damaging emails from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign...

WASHINGTON -- "Stop whining," President Barack Obama rebuked Donald Trump on Tuesday, speaking out as seldom before on next month's election and chiding the Republican for sowing suspicion about the integrity of America's presidential vote. Obama also accused Trump of cozying up to Russia's Vladimir Putin to a degree "unprecedented in American politics."...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls Monday: n Medical assists were made at 3:06 a.m. on Merriwether Street; 7:54 a.m. on Jefferson Avenue; 8:25 a.m. on Bloomfield Street; 10:58 a.m. on Linden Street; 2:50 p.m. on William Street; 4:16 p.m. on Vantage Drive; and 7:25 p.m. on Southern Expressway...

BALLWIN, Mo. — A St. Louis County man is recovering from a health scare, and he has his bike monitor to thank. Michael Kim of Ballwin is an avid bicyclist. KTVI-TV reported on a recent Saturday, he had just begun a ride when his Garmin bike computer showed his heart was beating at a very rapid pace, over 140 beats per minute. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A 32-year-old southwest Missouri man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for setting fire to a mosque and trying to burn down a Planned Parenthood clinic. Jedediah Stout of Joplin pleaded guilty April 18 to one count of damaging the Islamic Society of Joplin mosque; two counts of arson at a Planned Parenthood facility in Joplin; and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. ...

ST. LOUIS — One of the nation’s largest Fourth of July celebrations is returning to Forest Park in St. Louis in 2017. Organizers of Fair St. Louis said Tuesday the festival will be July 2 through 4. The fair was on the grounds of the Gateway Arch for its first 33 years. ...

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A park in St. Louis County soon will be named in honor of a police officer killed in the line of duty. St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said Clydesdale Park will be renamed to honor county officer Blake Snyder, who was shot fatally by a suspect Oct. 6. Snyder's funeral was last week...

ST. LOUIS -- Saint Louis University is preparing to test a vaccine aimed at fighting the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The university is seeking 90 volunteers to test the vaccine developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland, starting this month...

ROLLA, Mo. -- The Missouri University of Science and Technology has suspended the small Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and is making students move out of the fraternity house after two new members were hospitalized. The students were injured Thursday during an event at the fraternity house in Rolla, university spokesman Andrew Careaga said, adding he couldn't disclose how the students were injured or the extent of their injuries because it's under investigation...

ST. LOUIS -- Ninety-year-old rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry is set to release his first new studio album in more than 35 years. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Berry's album, titled "Chuck," will be available in 2017. The album was recorded in St. Louis-area studios and will feature mostly original work by Berry, who turned 90 on Tuesday. He is the sole producer on the album...

Bill Heider of Cape Girardeau waits by fish fishing line at the lagoon at Capaha Park on Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.

A Perryville, Missouri, man was arrested after he struck an adult male relative with a metal pipe and baseball bat Sunday, according to Perry County sheriff’s deputies. Perry County Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Hoeh charged Cody Eugene Boland, 19, with second-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action...

A Florissant, Missouri, man was arrested in Cape Girardeau after he assaulted a female Southeast Missouri State University student on campus, police said. Southeast police officers arrested Xavier Lavelle Spann, 18, on Monday. Spann is not a Southeast student, police Lt. Creighton Gould said...

Two people were shot during an early Tuesday shooting in the 500 block of South Pacific Street in Cape Girardeau.

A Chaffee, Missouri, woman threatened another woman with a knife during a domestic disturbance Monday, according to sheriff’s deputies. Scott County deputies arrested Patricia Ann Knight, 42, at 6 p.m. Monday. The Scott County Prosecuting Attorney’s office charged Knight with unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor domestic assault...

WASHINGTON -- It will take more than three clicks of the heels to restore the ruby slippers that whisked Dorothy back to Kansas at the end of "The Wizard of Oz." The slippers, which for more than 30 years have been one of the most beloved items at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, were crafted almost 80 years ago by the MGM Studios prop department...

Son to Matthew Michael and Melissa Ann Dannenmueller of Benton, Missouri, Saint Francis Medical Center, 12:54 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. Name, Nicholaus Michael. Weight, 8 pounds, 6 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Dannenmueller is the former Melissa Riley, daughter of Douglas and Cheryl Beggs of Blodgett, Missouri. She works in sales at Cargill. Dannenmueller is the son of Debbie Gibson of Kelso, Missouri, and Richard Dannenmueller of Horn Lake, Mississippi. He is a delivery man for FedEx...

LOS ANGELES -- "Price is Right" history was made on Monday's episode when a trio of contestants spun $1 on the game show's colorful wheel. The contestants each landed on different combinations of $1 in a pair of spins during one of the show's showcase showdowns. The show awards contestants who earn $1 on the wheel without going over a $1,000 prize. Host Drew Carey pumped his fist in the air after the first three-way $1 tie in history. The CBS game show is airing its 45th season...

NEW YORK -- With designer goods available online anytime, luxury retailers are adding more amenities and personal touches for in-person shopping. Stores overall are facing slower sales amid more restrained luxury spending, and some brands' flagship locations have seen a drop in shopping by international tourists because of the stronger U.S. dollar...

Lord Jesus, we praise you, for every good and perfect gift is from above. Amen.