Stories from Sunday, January 15, 2017

The drone of a floor buffer Thursday filled what will be the lobby of the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex as a workman polished the exposed concrete to its final sheen. "We're just now getting to the point where we're finishing up," said Phil Penzel of Penzel Construction Co...

Southern Missouri Bancorp Inc., parent corporation of Southern Bank, and Tammcorp Inc., parent corporation of Capaha Bank, announced the signing of a merger agreement where Southern Missouri will acquire Tammcorp in a stock and cash transaction. As part of the transaction, Capaha will be merged with and into Southern Bank...

Two men at the center of the Mischelle Lawless homicide investigation since the beginning of the case in 1992 will take polygraph tests Tuesday in an attempt to clear their names. "I'm tired of all the bulls---," Matt Abbott said. Twin brothers Matt and Mark Abbott will undergo a two-hour polygraph session with certified polygraph practitioner Lee Boyd of St. Louis under the supervision of private investigator John Mackey beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Cape Girardeau...

Today in History Today is Sunday, Jan. 15, the 15th day of 2017. There are 350 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, retroactively known as Super Bowl I...

Butch and Pam Wright of Jackson announce the engagement of their daughter Kaci Dawn of Jackson to Tyler John Bishop of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Bill and Cathy Bishop of Cape Girardeau. Kaci is a graduate of Jackson High School. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in nutritional science from Southeast Missouri State University. She is employed by Innovative Orthodontics in Cape Girardeau...

Kris and Emilie Martin of Cape Girardeau announce the engagement of their daughter Alison Lynn Martin to Matthew Bryan Ferrell, both of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Larry Ferrell and Patricia Holley, both of Jackson. Alison is a 2005 graduate of Notre Dame Regional High School. ...

Genny Anne Bradshaw and Adam Robert Shipley were married Nov. 5, 2016, at Cape County Cowboy Church in Oak Ridge. Larry Lempke, friend of the couple, performed the ceremony. Genny is the daughter of Patty Bradshaw of Kelso, Missouri. Adam is the son of Scott and Gina Shipley of St. Charles, Missouri...

Do you plan to watch the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20?

One of the perks of retirement is a flexible schedule. So when someone hangs a disco ball, turns down the lights and plays The Commodores' "Brick House" or Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" on a Tuesday afternoon, there's nothing to stand in the way from dressing to the hilt and slipping on the dance shoes...

These two ducks are a pair of hooded mergansers. The male sports brilliant white on his head and chest. The female has an elegant copper-colored hood. The hooded merganser is a very small duck, weighing only about 1 1/2 pounds fully grown. Its skittish nature, small size and affinity for small ponds with bushy shorelines make it a hard subject to photograph...

n The 27th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Program will begin at 6 p.m. today at Greater Dimension Ministries Church, 723 Hackberry St. in Cape Girardeau. The program will be provided by Dr. Larry Barnett. In lieu of an admission fee to the event, attendees are asked to donate non-perishable food items, canned goods, toiletries, youth gloves, hats, scarves or school supplies. These items will be distributed to agencies that assist various individuals...

Monday: Center closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tuesday: Chicken strips or French dip sandwich, baked-potato wedges, steamed broccoli, whole-grain bread or bun, strawberries and bananas and iced cherry cake. Wednesday: Saucy pork chop or Romano chicken, sweet potato and apples, seasoned green beans, whole-grain hot roll and sugar-free tropical fruit with strawberries or apricot crisp...

I have been given a few new recipes over the past week that friends have tried and liked or hope to try very soon. Of course, that makes me want to prepare them as well, and they all sound worth trying to me. During the course of trying new recipes, if you find one or more that you enjoyed, consider passing them along for other readers to enjoy. That would be a nice way to start the new year...

A week or so ago, a friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was under the weather with what sounded like the flu to me. So I commented that her Grandma Goldie would make Marge and me chicken soup when we got sick. The soup was almost worth getting sick just to get. Not really, but the soup was awesome...

Recently, a friend and I have been texting about the actions of University of Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon early one morning in 2014. A horrifying video was released just last month that clearly shows the incident in a campus deli in Norman, Oklahoma. You can call it up instantly on YouTube...

Sometimes I am guilty of measuring my love, especially with my family. I want everyone to know the sacrifices I'm making, and I make sure to verbalize how my sacrifices are inconveniencing to me. I want others to feel indebted to me for my sacrifices, to place me on a pedestal and laud me for my goodness...

This sweet kitty is Daisy. She is 2 years old and is all ready for a loving home! Daisy is available for adoption at Safe Harbor; call (573) 243-9823.

Diamond is 6 months old. This sweet girl is available for adoption at the Humane Society; call (573) 334-5837.

Happy birthday to Jack Wessel, JoAnn Stovall, Brenda Miller, Mindy Hendrix, Trenton Horman, Amy Obermann, Ruth Sadler, David Slinkard, Sue Traw, Joe Williams, Trish Little, Pam Cannon, Adelia Frank, Alice Uhrhan, John Gaines, Sarah Gaines, Collin Dannenmueller, Rebecca Reischman, Erica Dannenmueller, Robert Graham, Kimberly Hendrix, Judy Abernathy, Jonathan Teegarden, Leroy Bollinger, Patrick Moore, Kathy Shetter, Vicky Lange, Wanda Nelson and Dorothy Wolfe...

An old Chinese curse says, "If we don't change directions, we are going to get where we are headed." Some have said, "Now that Donald Trump and the Republicans are in charge, we will straighten out the mess in Washington." We will "drain the swamp," so to speak...

Submitted by Aaron Horrell The winners of the first ever photo contest sponsored by Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau have been announced. The Best of Show photo (above) is titled “Observation Deck” by Ed Thomason. He is from New Madrid, Missouri. Alternate Best of Show (below) is titled “Christmas Flowers” by Laura Bennett from Cape Girardeau. Other winners in this contest were Terry Crank of Linden, Michigan; Larry Braun of Benton, Missouri; Alexander Kantchev of Cape Girardeau; and Carmen Simpher of Cape Girardeau. The gallery will sponsor four more photo contests during 2017, including “Anything Flowers,” which will have a deadline for entry on March 31; “Fourth of July”; “Halloween”; and “Anything Winter.” We are still finalizing entry deadlines for the second, third and fourth contest. Each contest will begin after the previous one has ended. The contests will be open to people of all ages in two divisions: youth (ages 17 and younger) and adult (18 years of age and older). We will offer prizes or monetary awards to Best of Show, Alternate Best of Show, first place, second place, third place and two honorable mention places. There will be a small entry fee of $10 for up to three photos. More information can be found on Facebook or at Painted Wren Art Gallery, located at 223 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau.

The Oak Ridge Homemakers FCE met Dec. 13 at the home of Jackie Brandtner in Cape Girardeau. The meeting was called to order by Jean Rehak, president. The group sang a favorite Christmas carol, "O Come All Ye Faithful," led by Marilyn Rutherford. Rutherford also read, as a devotion, the Bible story of the birth of Jesus. ...

O Lord God, we seek your guidance as we go about our day. Amen.

For the past several years, President Elect Trump has paid a variety of compliments to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among other items, Trump has described him as a smart and a good leader. I find this troubling. Among the actions taken by Putin while he has been ruling Russia are the following:...

We were disheartened to hear recently that the Salvation Army fell $50,000 short of its red kettle goal. In a recent Southeast Missourian story written by Tyler Graef, Capt. Ronnie Amick, who leads the Cape Girardeau office, said even though the organization collected about $250,000, the result was disappointing...

NEW MELLE, Mo. — Fire officials said a man was critically injured when he was trapped upside down in a pipe for about 26 hours near St. Louis before being rescued. New Melle Fire Protection District chief Rick Massey told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that 47-year-old Leo Lyke was rescued Thursday from the 20-inch-wide pipe at a home construction site near New Melle. ...

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis police said one of the men who robbed a newly elected lawmaker at gunpoint in December also robbed a woman leaving a church Christmas service days later. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tavion Regans and William Nelson, both 20, are charged in the robbery of the woman as she and a friend left Mass at Christ Church Cathedral downtown. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Ameren Missouri electric customers now will have to pay about $3 more on their monthly bill to support energy-efficiency efforts by the utility company. The Missouri Public Service Commission said the charge will apply to the bills of 4,118 customers in Boone County and 1.26 million customers statewide. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Parts of the central U.S. grappled Saturday with a second day of road-glazing ice and braced for more of the treacherous, below-freezing wintry weather expected to close out the holiday weekend. The storm created travel headaches for many people who opted to go out despite pleas by authorities to stay put. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Karen Webb Smithey, 73, of Jefferson City, formerly of Tamms, Illinois, died Thursday evening, Jan. 12, 2017, at home. Funeral arrangements are pending at Crain Funeral Home in Anna, Illinois.

FENTON, Mo. — Donna M. Renaud, 69, of Fenton, formerly of Perryville, Missouri, died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, at her home. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, with a rosary at 8:30 a.m., at Young and Sons Funeral Home in Perryville...

Bruce Melvin, 62, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, at his home. There will be no services. Crain Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau is in charge of arrangements.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Robert F. Horman, 77, of Chaffee passed away Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, at the family home. He was born March 4, 1939, in Chaffee to the late Fred and Mayme Griffin Horman. He married Marilyn Ann Griffin on July 7, 1962. She preceded him in death Jan. 29, 2013...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Charles "Chick" Hood, 91, of Tamms died at 7:56 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born May 29, 1925, the son of Daniel and Mae Clardy Hood. He married Viola Smith, who preceded him in death, then later he married Mary Hale Croft, who also precede him in death...

Lane M. Cunningham, 82, of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, at his home. He was born Dec. 5, 1934, in Burfordville to Ralph M. and Pauline “Pat” McDaniel Cunningham. He and Gladys F. “Faye” Masters were married May 30, 1977. Lane was a 1952 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School. ...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Billy "Bill" Sunday Chapman, 100, of Chaffee died Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, at Heartland Care and Rehab Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born July 19, 1916, near Advance, Missouri, to George E. and Mella C. Reed Chapman. He was proud of the fact he was named after the evangelist Billy Sunday, whom he went to hear when he spoke in Cape Girardeau in the 1930s. He married Gladys "LaRue" Scism on April 6, 1938, in Bloomfield, Missouri, and she preceded him in death Aug. 8, 1999...

Wendi “Bird” Ann Barnhart, 54, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, at her home. She was born July 29, 1962, in Cape Girardeau to Samuel and Yvonne Ventres Barnhart. Wendi’s passion was art. Through her “garbage art” and “twisted world of poetry,” she brought laughter and inspiration to everyone who came in contact with her. ...

ADVANCE, Mo. — Mary Karen Abbott, 66, of Advance passed away Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, at Advance Nursing Center. She was born Sept. 21, 1950, at Marble Hill, Missouri, the daughter of Paul and Myrtle Eaker Leadbetter. Karen was a member of Advance First Church. She had worked for Manpower at Procter & Gamble...

At least 2 inches of snow blanketed parts of Southeast Missouri late Monday and early yesterday, forcing cancellation of schools and causing problems for motorists; Cape Girardeau police report at least 20 minor accidents in the city, most involving vehicles running off roads or sliding into street signs...

The Scott City Fire Department responded to the following calls: Jan. 7 n At 5:21 a.m., emergency medical service in the 500 block of Second Street East. n At 12:41 p.m., emergency medical service in the 400 block of Rose-Con Road. n At 2:19 p.m., emergency medical service in the 100 block of West Hickory Street...

The Jackson Fire Department responded to the following calls: Thursday n Emergency medical service on Spring Lake Trail. Friday n Emergency medical service on Mansfield Place. n Emergency medical service on Mansfield Place. n A flue fire on West Washington Street...

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Thursday n Medical assists at 1:15 a.m. on South West End Boulevard; 3:46 a.m. on North Frederick Street; 10:34 a.m. on Corporate Circle; 11:23 a.m. on Delwin Street; 4:35 p.m. on North Sprigg Street; 5:30 p.m. on North Fountain Street; and 8:34 p.m. on South Sprigg Street...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Orville L. Hill Sr., 40, no address given, was arrested at 1701 Lacey St. on a Cape Girardeau County warrant for probation violation...

WASHINGTON -- Protesters gathered Saturday to support immigrant-rights at rallies around the U.S., denouncing President-elect Donald Trump for his anti-immigrant rhetoric and pledges to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and crack down on Muslims entering the country...

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats seething over FBI director James Comey's handling of the election-year inquiry of Hillary Clinton confronted the law-enforcement officer over his refusal to say whether the FBI is investigating possible links between President-elect Donald Trump's campaign and Russia...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A book of short stories titled "Forty Minutes Late" was returned to a library 100 years late. Bay Area resident Webb Johnson returned the book Friday. There was no fine. Johnson's great-grandmother checked it out from the city's Fillmore branch in 1917. She died a week before the due date, and the Fillmore branch is no longer around. Johnson found the 1909 book in a steamer trunk in 1996. A "fine forgiveness program" that runs through Feb. 14 inspired him to return it...

MOSUL, Iraq -- Iraqi forces won a string of swift territorial gains in Mosul in the fight against the Islamic State group after months of slow progress, with a senior officer Saturday laying claim to a cluster of buildings inside Mosul University and an edge of a bridge...

NEW YORK -- Birds took the blame for bringing down the jetliner "Sully" Sullenberger landed on the Hudson River eight years ago this weekend. They have been paying for it with their lives ever since. An Associated Press analysis of bird-killing programs at the New York City area's three major airports found nearly 70,000 gulls, starling, geese and other birds have been slaughtered, mostly by shooting and trapping, since the 2009 accident, and it is not clear whether those killings have made the skies safer.. ...

PHILADELPHIA -- For Abdul Aliy-Muhammad, the Martin Luther King Jr. he learned about as a child was a man of love, peace and racial harmony, a gifted orator. It wasn't until Aliy-Muhammad became an activist he came to know and appreciate the King who decried the Vietnam War as "unjust" and made a firm case for economic justice for black Americans...

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican stressed the sacred nature of Jerusalem on Saturday as the Palestinian leader warned prospects for peace could suffer if the incoming Trump administration goes ahead with plans to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem...

PASADENA, Calif. -- Broadway star Jennifer Holliday has backed out as a performer at this week's presidential inaugural after protests from her gay and black fans, dimming the event's already-low celebrity wattage. Holliday, best known for her Tony-winning role in Broadway's "Dreamgirls," said Saturday she hadn't considered singing at a Thursday concert by Washington's Lincoln Memorial would be judged a statement of support for President-elect Donald Trump...

LOS ANGELES -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company's first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago...

ELLENTON, Fla. -- After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on "The Greatest Show on Earth." The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus said the show will close forever in May. The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company executives said. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal-rights groups contributed to its demise...

NEW YORK -- Donald Trump tore into civil-rights legend John Lewis for questioning the legitimacy of the Republican billionaire's White House victory, intensifying a feud with the black congressman days before the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and as the first African-American president prepares to leave office...

Cape Girardeau police arrested a local man Thursday after he broke into a house and threatened the resident with a knife, officers said. The Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Adrian McKinsley Brown, 33, with first-degree burglary, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor property damage...

Water lines in Jackson are too small to adequately supply for current and future demand, said city engineer Erica Bogenpohl. “There is a need to upgrade the water system, and we would like to start in uptown Jackson,” she said. She said current 2-inch and 4-inch lines are not adequate to supply firefighting efforts from hydrants or sprinkler systems...

Hundreds packed the Jackson Civic Center on Friday night for the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce annual banquet. Chamber executive director Brian Gerau said 2016 — aside from the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series — had been a good year for the chamber, and the new year brings new hope for growth and opportunity...

SIKESTON, Mo. — A man was killed in an industrial accident late Thursday in Sikeston. At 8:42 p.m. Thursday, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety received a report of accidental trauma at a business at 103 S. Acres St. An employee with Illing Co., a packaging service, died of injuries sustained involving a forklift he was operating, according to Sikeston officers...

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's U.S. senators are renewing efforts to get the legendary riverboat the Delta Queen cruising again on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Legislation filed by Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and co-sponsored by Republican Sen. ...

This summer, the Ritz, the most famous hotel in the world, reopened its doors after a $450 million renovation. Situated on Paris' Place Vendome, where dukes and princes used to live, the accommodation is no less palatial than any royal residence, and those who are able to afford a room there (starting at more than $1,000 and running to as high as $25,000 a night) surely must feel like a king or a queen, which was the goal of the hotel's founder, Cesar Ritz...

“Federal overreach” is a familiar refrain to members of the Missouri legislature. For years, we have witnessed federal agencies overstepping their lawful authority and making life more and more difficult for employers and employees alike. A decade of this overreach is a big part of the reason that Missourians overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump for president and it’s also why Missourians should be heartened by the president-elect’s choice to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — current Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.. ...