Stories from Thursday, July 13, 2017

Colby Lowery, 7, jumps out of the way as his friend Elijah Edwards, 4, zips down the sidewalk on his bicycle in front of his grandmother's house Wednesday morning in Cape Girardeau. Edwards learned how to ride his bicycle without training wheels Tuesday night...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man was shot and killed Tuesday evening after allegedly brandishing a weapon at a sheriff's deputy who had responded to a domestic-dispute call. Butler County Coroner Andy Moore identified the dead man as Steve Scott, 48...

Shipping containers could be used as building materials in most commercial and all manufacturing districts in Cape Girardeau as well as the airport with special-use permits, the city's planning and zoning commission recommended Wednesday. But their use as homes would be barred except in the neighborhood commercial district, which provides for a mixture of business and residential uses, said city planner Ryan Shrimplin...

A computer software glitch led to some Cape Girardeau customers being overcharged by hundreds of dollars for sewer service, city officials said Wednesday. During the city's recent conversion to a new billing system, some sewer-usage data transferred incorrectly, causing overcharges, city spokeswoman Nicolette Brennan said...

Today in History Today is Thursday, July 13, the 194th day of 2017. There are 171 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On July 13, 1977, a blackout hit New York City in the mid-evening as lightning strikes on electrical equipment caused power to fail; widespread looting broke out. (The electricity was restored about 25 hours later.)...

n Skewer n Balloon n STEP 1: Blow up the balloon, let some of the air out, and tie a knot at the end to hold the air inside. Describe the balloon using its observable properties. n STEP 2: Gently twist the skewer into the thick part of the balloon near the knotted end. ...

The following students from Southeast Missouri were named to the dean's list for the spring 2017 semester at the University of Missouri-Columbia: Friedheim: Andrew Hobeck Millersville: Victoria Roland-Vaughn Oak Ridge: Jessica Hahs, Teagan Schnurbusch...

When Crane Middle School decided to turn over minor IT repairs and troubleshooting duties to students, even the program coordinator was skeptical. Now, two years into the program, Nicole Rangel and her fellow teachers at the school in Yuma, Arizona, couldn't be more pleased. "I have teachers begging me to send a kid down to help them," she said...

In an attempt to bring a change of leadership to the Democratic Party in Cape Girardeau County, Thomas M. Meyer is challenging the chairman for his seat on the party central committee. If Meyer is successful in his effort to defeat Todd McBride as Ward 8 Democratic committeeman, McBride wouldn't be eligible to continue as chairman of the county committee or the 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee...

Leon Carl Sullivan, 83, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, July 11, 2017, at the home of his daughter. He was born June 14, 1934, in Doniphan, Missouri, to Carl and Lorrina Rogers Sullivan. He married Dorothy Jeanette Beggs on June 26, 1953, in Cape Girardeau. She preceded him in death Jan. 26, 1993...

Dolly Wren Rice, 91, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Ironton, Missouri, died Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at Ratliff Care Center. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at DeLisle Funeral Home in Portageville, Missouri. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Mounds Park Cemetery...

Pat J. Cameron, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, July 10, 2017, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born Sept. 16, 1937, in St. Louis to Louis and Lola Weatherford Cameron. Pat was an auditor for Beneficial Finance. She was a member of Lynwood Baptist Church, where she was active in many ministries, including the crochet gang. She also volunteered at the Saint Francis Medical Center Cancer Unit Infusion Center for 18 years...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Crystal Medling, 33, of Jackson was arrested on suspicion of second-degree domestic assault and endangering the welfare of a child. n Jay Oliver, 50, of Jackson was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, distributing or manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while suspended, displaying the plates of another and failure to register a motor vehicle.. ...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Justin T. Aden, 27, 1529 Dunklin St., was arrested at 1529 Dunklin St. on two Cape Girardeau warrants for suspended license and no insurance...

Son to Tony and Ashley Lewis Field of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 7:34 a.m. Thursday, June 29, 2017. Name, Logan Anthony. Weight, 7 pounds, 6 ounces. First child. Mrs. Field is the former Ashley Day, daughter of Neal Day of Cape Girardeau and Karen and David Voshage of Jackson. She is employed by Vizient. Field is the son of Tony and Michelle Field of Jackson. He is employed by Girardeau Distributors...

A treatment for a common childhood blood cancer could become the first gene therapy available in the U.S. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 10-0 on Wednesday in favor of the leukemia treatment developed by the University of Pennsylvania and Novartis Corp. The FDA usually follows recommendations from its expert panels, but isn't obligated to do so...

ST. LOUIS — The Humane Society of Missouri is urging pet owners to avoid keeping their animals alone inside vehicles, even for a few minutes, after a dog was rescued from a hot SUV in St. Louis. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Eric Greitens said his administration wants to hear suggestions from Missouri citizens on how the state can reduce government red tape. Greitens on Wednesday announced the launch of a website, www.NoMORedTape.com. The website allows Missourians to submit recommendations to reduce what Greitens calls burdensome regulations. ...

Approval of minutes n Minutes of the July 10 meeting Communications/ reports -- other elected officials n None at this time Public comments n Items listed on agenda Routine business...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Where is the character Rey in the "Star Wars" version of Monopoly? In a land far, far away, apparently. Eighteen months after game-maker Hasbro promised to add the female character to the game by the fall of 2016, the Illinois girl who wrote to them to say "girls matter" still is waiting...

HOUSTON -- If the Trump administration gets its way, U.S. citizens boarding international flights will have to submit to a face scan -- a plan privacy advocates call an ill-advised step toward a surveillance state. The Department of Homeland Security said it's the only way to expand a program that tracks nonimmigrant foreigners...

WASHINGTON -- The scope of congressional investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential contest came into sharper focus Wednesday as lawmakers said they intended to question the former chairman of the Trump campaign and determine whether Russian social-media "trolls" were connected to Trump's election efforts...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will be "very angry" if the Senate fails to pass a revamped Republican health care bill and said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must "pull it off," intensifying pressure on party leaders laboring to win over unhappy GOP senators and preserve the teetering measure...

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI broke with the president in key areas Wednesday, rejecting the idea an investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump election campaign is a "witch hunt" and promising not to cave to pressure from a White House that has challenged boundaries with the nation's top law-enforcement agency...

KALKASKA, Mich. -- A local official in northern Michigan refuses to apologize for sharing Facebook posts calling for the killing of "every last Muslim" and for nuclear weapons to be used on the world's 10-largest Muslim-majority cities. Jeff Sieting, the village president in Kalkaska, about 230 miles northwest of Detroit, said Monday he doesn't owe anyone an apology over his Facebook posts, the Record-Eagle of Traverse City reported...

TULSA, Okla. -- A 28-year-old man facing federal charges in a pipe bomb explosion outside a northeast Oklahoma Air Force recruiting center "turned to hate" after he couldn't complete the training required to become a certified electrician in that branch of the military, federal prosecutors said Wednesday...

The biopsy shows cancer, so you have to act fast, right? Not necessarily, if it's a prostate tumor. Men increasingly have choices if their cancer is found at an early stage, as most cases in the U.S. are. They can treat it right away or monitor with periodic tests and treat later if it worsens or causes symptoms...

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was found guilty of corruption and money laundering Wednesday and sentenced to almost 10 years in prison, the highest-profile conviction yet in the sprawling graft investigation that has jailed dozens of Brazil's elite...

BEIJING -- Imprisoned Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo's condition now is life-threatening, with multiple organ failure, and his family has opted against inserting a breathing tube needed to keep him alive, the hospital treating him said Wednesday...

One of the biggest icebergs recorded, a trillion-ton behemoth more than seven times the size of New York City, has broken off of Antarctica, triggering disagreement among scientists over whether global warming is to blame. The event, captured by satellite, happened sometime in the past few days when the giant chunk snapped off an ice shelf...

JACKSON, Miss. -- The military transport plane that slammed into soybean fields Monday in the Mississippi Delta, killing 15 Marines and a Navy sailor, appears to have developed problems while high in the air, a Marine general said Wednesday. "Indications are something went wrong at cruise altitude," Brig. Gen. Bradley S. James said Wednesday in Itta Bena, Mississippi...

DALLAS -- Recently discovered documents that seem to show a contractor for the highly criticized classifieds website Backpage.com solicited and created sex-related ads on behalf of the site go against often-repeated claims by Backpage it never had a role in creating or developing third-party content on its site...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Eric Greitens' not-for-profit group is planning a statewide television advertising campaign pushing the governor's promise to balance the state's budget without raising taxes. Papers filed this week with the Federal Communication Commission show A New Missouri Inc. has purchased about $78,000 in air time on Springfield station KYTV and nearly $70,000 in air time on KMOV in St. Louis, The Kansas City Star reported...

ST. LOUIS -- Family of an eastern Missouri park worker who relatives said died of complications from the tick-borne Bourbon virus are warning the public about the illness. Tamela Wilson, 58, worked at Meramec State Park, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The park is about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis, near the town of Sullivan...

Two confirmed cases of canine distemper prompted the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri’s shelter to close temporarily last weekend, according to a news release. At the advice of veterinarians, the shelter is monitoring the intake and adoption of all dogs as the population is observed for signs of distemper, according to the release...

The fourth annual “All Write Now!” writers’ conference is coming Saturday at the University Center on Southeast Missouri State University, allowing local writers a chance to network and get feedback on their work from literary agents, editors and publishers...

LAKEVILLE, Mass. -- A man has gotten drivers to slow down for years with the help of a life-size cutout of a police cruiser in his driveway. Kelly Tufts said he got the life-size Crown Victoria sign from a friend who owned a salvage yard. He puts it outside his Lakeville home on weekends and during holidays to slow drivers in the area. Tufts said town police are OK with the sign, but some passing drivers have given offensive hand gestures...

Parents: Mike and Debbie Robinson Hometown: Zalma, Missouri Post-graduation plans: Attend Southeast Missouri State University. High-school activities: Baseball, basketball, track, class president, Beta Club chapter president, speech and debate, student council president, FCCLA vice president...

Parents: Angela and Christopher Compton Hometown: Jackson Post-graduation plans: My plans include attending the University of Missouri in Columbia and majoring in biochemistry. I will then attend dental school to become a dentist. High-school activities: National Honor Society, student council, Hi-Step, Interact Club, Cool Kids Against Bullying Club, Spanish club, cross country, track...

NEWARK, N.J. -- A former political blogger and high-school classmate of Gov. Chris Christie's who masterminded the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane-closing scheme in a misguided political vendetta was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation...

There's a new set of wheels trolling around downtown. A new trolley -- really just a shuttle bus dressed up as a trolley -- will provide free rides throughout downtown Cape Girardeau beginning today. The trolley will run from 4 to 11 p.m. on Thursdays and from noon to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays...

Every week I struggle to find a subject for this column that is interesting with a particular focus on military or veteran's issues. Often that search for a subject has led me to the story of one soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, or Coast Guardsman who has displayed courage "above and beyond" what is expected. ...

O Lord Jesus, may we love others as you love us. Amen.