Stories from Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Around 150 vendors set up shop Sunday between the two parking lots on either side of downtown to bring life to the heart of Cape Girardeau during the Downtown Tailgate Flea Market. “We love just seeing the heart of Cape Girardeau full of people,” said Paula Haas, founder and president of the Downtown Merchants Group and organizer of the flea market. “Full of people — people just walking and they’ve got their children, they’ve got the dogs — it’s just something that’s needed, I think.” ...

Patriotic music, laughter and the aroma of German-inspired cuisine filled Jackson’s town square Saturday during the annual Uptown Jackson Oktoberfest. This year marked the first time the city has hosted a two-day Oktoberfest celebration. On Monday, event chairman Tyler Wolfsberger said by phone while attendance is tough to track because no admission fee is charged, a reasonable estimate of the crowd is in line with previous years — about 14,000 to 16,000, with approximately 2,000 of those attending Friday night...

Fields of Faith, an annual faith-based crusade involving students coming together on athletic fields nationwide, will be held in Cape Girardeau on Wednesday night. Mike Litzelfelner, Fellowship of Christian Athletes representative, said there hasn’t been an event like this one in the Cape Girardeau area for several years...

Postal workers demonstrate Monday in front of the Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse to protest talks of privatizing the U.S. Postal Service. ...

After writing 33 books on subjects as varied as William Faulkner, coach Ron Shumate at Southeast Missouri State University, and baseball, Bob Hamblin has authored a novel, “Leaving Here,” about a depressed lawyer drawn into the fight for gay rights in small-town Missouri in the early 1990s...

Scott County Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger views unfunded state and federal mandates as the county’s biggest challenge. Challenger Jim Glueck wants to make county government “more accessible” to the public. But while they don’t run the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, the two candidates are being drawn into a legal battle involving Sheriff Wes Drury. ...

Stoddard and Butler county officials say the numbers of noncompliant sex offenders in their counties were skewed in a recently released state audit. The information released by state Auditor Nicole Galloway states 1,259 sex offenders are unaccounted for in Missouri. The audit ranked Stoddard County as having the highest rate, 25.2 percent, with Butler County as the third-worst at 20 percent...

A retired Catholic priest is accused of sexually abusing a child while he was a “transitional deacon” at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Cape Girardeau in the early 1970s, a church official said Monday. The allegation against the Rev. Fred Lutz was reported to the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in 2006 but not disclosed publicly until this week, said Leslie Anne Eidson, communications director for the diocese...

Two Marble Hill, Missouri, residents were arrested Friday after a search by Bollinger County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Drug Enforcement Administration agents found drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies and DEA conducted a joint narcotics investigation at the home of Eric and Crystal Tucker, 609 Broadway St. ...

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2018. There are 83 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 9, 1776, a group of Spanish missionaries settled in present-day San Francisco. On this date: In 1888, the public was first admitted to the Washington Monument...

Well, since our distinguished U.S. Senate members seem to be so squeaky clean, there "might" be something that they did to someone 30 to 40 years ago that really caused another person a lot of pain. So in all fairness I suggest we do a full FBI investigation of Diane Feinstein and many of the others who have turned our due process and innocent until found guilty into a mockery of justice...

Jerry Ford has been involved in public or civic service for nearly all his life. He's been involved in politics and music, among many other community activities. He's earned many awards and recognitions and this week he'll earn another, having been selected for this year's Distinguished Service Award at Southeast Missouri State University...

O Lord Jesus Christ, may your peace rule in our hearts. Amen.

CHESTER, Ill. -- The McBride, Missouri-to-Chester ferry shuttle was halted yesterday because the water level over Highway 51 dropped too low to continue to safely operate the service; the highway is expected to reopen to limited traffic Monday. What is described as one of the largest, most expensive rural bridges ever built in Cape Girardeau County is now open; the 200-foot-long, concrete deck and steel pier bridge over the Diversion Channel is on County Road 253, about three miles west of Whitewater; the bridge, which opened late last month, was constructed at a cost of $413,500.. ...

Elizabeth Rachael "Betty" Self, 90, of Jackson passed away Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, at Jackson Manor Nursing Home, where she resided the past five years. Born Dec. 6, 1927, in Cape Girardeau, she was the only child of Carl O. and Emilie Paar Boltz. She married Francis A. Self, and five children were born to their union...

BERTRAND, Mo. -- Deborah R. Monahan, 61, of Bertrand, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, at Bertrand Nursing and Rehab Center. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Crain Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Cape Girardeau...

BELL CITY, Mo. -- Shelby Gene Meador, 81, of Bell City passed away Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, at his home. Shelby was born Dec. 31, 1936, at Lowndes, Missouri, the son of Clyde E. and Nancy B. Durhan Meador. Shelby and Verna Marler were united in marriage May 19, 1960, at Kennett, Missouri, and she survives of the home...

Fred J. Horrell, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, at Life Care Center. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Cape Bible Chapel in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church, with Jim Rudolph officiating. Entombment will be at Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum in Cape Girardeau...

Carol JoAnn Golden, 73, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, at her home. She was born Dec. 29, 1944, in Jacksonville, Florida, daughter of A.J. and Ruby Marlen Cora. She and Jerry Wayne Golden were married April 9, 1974, in Tijuana, Mexico. He passed away Feb. 7, 2010...

MILLER CITY, Ill. -- Doris Ronnebeck Dickerson, 94, died Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, at Monticello House in Jackson, where she had resided for the last five years. Doris was a lifelong resident of Alexander County, Illinois, and had lived in the Miller City area her entire life...

James David Cantrell, 86, of Jackson died Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, at his home. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Terry Russell officiating. Interment will be in Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook is launching the first electronic device to bear its brand, a screen and camera-equipped gadget intended to make video calls easier and more intuitive. But it's unclear whether people will open their homes to an internet-connected camera sold by a company with a questionable track record on protecting user privacy...

ANKARA, Turkey -- A week after dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul for some routine paperwork, the mystery over his disappearance remains unresolved: Turkish officials allege he was killed in the compound; the Saudis say he left the building unharmed...

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities scrambled to contain a public relations mess over the disappearance of the former Interpol president during his trip home to China, saying Monday he was being lawfully investigated for bribery and other crimes. But the government's announcement did little to address concerns raised about the risks of appointing Chinese officials to leadership posts in international organizations. ...

PETOBO, Indonesia -- When the violent shaking from a massive magnitude 7.5 earthquake finally stopped, Selvi Susanti stood up and realized something strange was happening. First, she saw the ground suddenly begin to sink. Then the pavement split beneath her feet like a broken dinner plate and started to rise...

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilians appear on the cusp of handing the presidency to a brash former army captain who has reminisced fondly about dictatorship, pledged to jail corrupt politicians and promised an all-out war on the drugs and crime plaguing South America's largest nation...

EMIGRANT, Mont. -- U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approved a 20-year ban on new mining claims in the towering mountains north of Yellowstone National Park on Monday, after two proposed gold mines raised concerns an area drawing tourists from the around the globe could be spoiled...

MIAMI -- Hurricane Michael gained new strength Monday and is expected to keep growing stronger ahead of an expected midweek strike on Florida's Panhandle, forecasters said. Michael could become a major hurricane with winds topping 111 mph by tonight before the anticipated landfall Wednesday on the Panhandle or Big Bend, according to the National Hurricane Center...

SCHOHARIE, N.Y. -- The supersized limousine that crashed and killed 20 people outside a country store failed a safety inspection last month and shouldn't have been on the road, and the driver wasn't properly licensed, New York's governor said Monday...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump declared a reprieve Monday for Rod Rosenstein, saying he has no plans to fire his deputy attorney general whose future has been the source of intense speculation for two weeks. "I'm not making any changes," Trump told reporters as he returned to the White House after traveling with Rosenstein to an international police chiefs' conference in Florida. "We just had a very nice talk. We actually get along."...

Advocates of taxing fossil fuels believe their position is stronger now because of an alarming new report on climate change and a Nobel Prize awarded to two American economists, but neither development is likely to break down political resistance to a carbon tax...

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in -- again, for the cameras, this time -- Monday night at a White House ceremony, but not before President Donald Trump slammed Kavanaugh's opponents for a "campaign of personal destruction."...

Even though electric vehicles account for just a fraction of overall car sales, they are slowly gaining favor with buyers, particularly as second cars for daily commuting. While you're researching EVs, you'll deal with the usual considerations, including price, comfort, cargo space and handling. Edmunds' Best Electric Cars guide can streamline the research...

While paying off $1,700 in credit card debt in 2014, Jamie Griffin cut up his card. To tackle the remaining $90,000 in student loans he and his wife carried, he read personal finance experts' tips and turned to cash and a spreadsheet to budget. Now that most of their debt is paid off, he's giving credit cards a cautious second chance...

Are America's employers at risk of running out of skilled people to hire? The U.S. economy has become a seemingly perpetual job-generating machine, having steadily added workers for nearly eight years. Even with the unemployment rate now at 3.7 percent -- its lowest point since 1969 -- hiring hasn't stalled. So far this year, job growth has averaged a robust 208,000 a month, up from a pace of 182,000 for all of 2017...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not inply guilt. DWI n Samantha K. Hunter, 25, of New Madrid, Missouri, was arrested at Good Hope and Pacific streets on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident...

NEWRY, Maine — Baseball’s fall classic focuses on an American pastime. A Maine ski resort has its own fall classic based on a Finnish tradition. More than 30 teams from Maine to California participated Saturday in the North American Wife Carrying Championship. ...

The Senate confirmed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday. What a process it was, though. Sexual assault, gang rape and perjury allegations were all part of a process that resembled something of a soap opera, rather than a call to serve on the highest court of the land. ...

Ameren Electric will close Kingsway Drive between Kingshighway and Ranchito Drive in Cape Girardeau at 8 a.m. Thursday for power pole installation, according to a news release from the city. Detours will be available and motorists are urged to use alternate routes. Weather and unforeseen issues may change this schedule...

"How do you improve a toaster? You have five minutes -- go!" Teacher Pam Pensel watches as three groups of students bend their heads over whiteboards and murmur ideas back and forth. They're playing Disruptus, a game designed to teach students how to think differently about familiar items...

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2018 Media Contact: Elizabeth Shelton 573-334-9634 United Way of Southeast Missouri Elizabeth.Shelton@unitedwayofsemo.org UNITED WAY INVITES PUBLIC TO ‘GET ON THE BUS!’ Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City – Anyone who is curious about the network of nonprofit agencies and programs supported by United Way of Southeast Missouri (UWSEMO) is encouraged to join the Live United Agency Tour on October 19th from 2-5 p.m. ...

Daughter to Ray Leonard and Cintina Yoshanda Treadwell of Sikeston, Missouri, Saint Francis Medical Center, 10:51 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. Name, CinRaya Faye. Weight, 8 pounds, 14 ounces. Third child, second daughter. Mrs. Treadwell is the former Cintina Bowden, daughter of Walter and Gloria Bowden of Sikeston. ...