Stories from Wednesday, January 16, 2019

The homicide of Stacy Carter-Gonzales, 48, of Tamms, Illinois, is under investigation, according to a news release issued by Illinois State Police. On Friday, the Alexander County Sheriff's Department received a 911 call of a subject with a gunshot wound at a residence in Tamms, the release stated...

Fifty-one Southeast Missouri State University student actors and musicians — under the guidance of six faculty members — are presenting a revised interpretation of 200-year-old French operetta “La Périchole” Friday and Sunday at the River Campus in Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Thanks to donations from community members in Perryville and beyond, more projects at Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial can come together ahead of the monument’s May 18 and 19 grand opening. The full-scale duplicate of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., stands on 43 acres of former farmland just off Route V, donated by Vietnam veteran Jim Eddleman...

While a local community group has focused on getting justice for homicide victims and their families on Cape Girardeau’s south side, police chief Wes Blair said the city has a good track record for solving such violent crimes. “If you include arsons, dog maulings and other manners of homicide, the total count since 2000 is 43, with seven remaining unsolved,” Blair said...

For more than three years, the shooting death of Howard Harris Smith Jr. has been listed as one of Cape Girardeau’s unsolved homicides even though police quietly solved the case. The person, recently identified by police chief Wes Blair as the shooter, has not been charged with killing Smith...

GLEN ALLEN, Mo. — The Village of Glen Allen in Bollinger County was named after Thomas Allen, who donated some land for the community’s development; however, the Rhodes family was the first to lay out land parcels that established the town. Incidentally, there never was a guy named Glen. “Glen” comes from the town’s valley-like location. But, if there had been a Glen Allen, he’d probably be doing flip-flops in the grave regarding the constant wrangling over how to spell this village’s name...

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 16, the 16th day of 2019. There are 349 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 16, 1920, Prohibition began in the United States as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, one year to the day after its ratification. (It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.)...

If the liberal-leaning Post Dispatch newspaper is anything, it's predictable. In an article last week critical of a Republican bill to impose work requirements for some Medicaid recipients, the predictable Post call the idea a "controversial plan that could strip tens of thousands of low-income people of their health care benefits."...

On a flight to London the first week of January, I heard a particular announcement for the first time in my life: "If you are not using your bag for nausea, please think about offering it to a neighbor in need. No one is allowed to the lavatories." It was a turbulent ride, to say the least, echoed later by a flight attendant as "the worst [he'd] ever experienced." Thankfully, transportation the rest of the journey was non-eventful (except for the young man, wearing big headphones, who belted 80s pop songs at the top of his lungs on a local train outside of Caerphilly. ...

It's time to reform the election system for president so that our votes here in Missouri would matter. Under our current Electoral College system, all the attention now goes to about eight or nine battleground states. Missouri should join in with other states that have already passed the National Popular Vote law (HB1921). ...

BEIJING -- China expressed its "strong dissatisfaction" with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday over his criticism of a death sentence given to a Canadian accused of drug smuggling at a retrial following a chilling of relations over the arrest of a senior Chinese technology executive...

LONDON -- British lawmakers Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal with the European Union, plunging the Brexit process into chaos and leading to a no-confidence vote in her government. Moments after the vote, May said it was only right to test whether the government still had lawmakers' support to carry on. Lawmakers will vote today in a no-confidence motion from opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn potentially triggering a national election...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Extremists stormed a luxury hotel in Kenya's capital Tuesday, setting off thunderous explosions and gunning down people at cafe tables in an attack claimed by Africa's deadliest Islamic militant group. Witnesses reported seeing several bodies...

WASHINGTON -- Vowing "I will not be bullied," President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general asserted independence from the White House on Tuesday, saying he believes Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, the special counsel investigation shadowing Trump is not a witch hunt and his predecessor was right to recuse himself from the probe...

WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency hit a 30-year low in 2018 in the number of pollution cases it referred for criminal prosecution, Justice Department data show. EPA said in a statement it is directing "its resources to the most significant and impactful cases."...

MIAMI -- A U.S. federal narcotics agent known for his expensive tastes and high-profile drug seizures has been implicated in a multimillion-dollar money-laundering conspiracy involving the very cartel criminals he was charged with fighting in Colombia...

NEW YORK -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand entered the growing field of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders Tuesday, telling television host Stephen Colbert she's launching an exploratory committee. "It's an important first step, and it's one I am taking because I am going to run," the New York senator said on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." She listed a series of issues she'd tackle as president, including better health care for families, stronger public schools and more accessible job training.. ...

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles school administrators urged the union to resume bargaining as thousands of teachers walked picket lines for a second day Tuesday, joined for the first time by some of their counterparts from independent charter schools. "We need our educators back in our classrooms helping inspire our students," said Unified School District superintendent Austin Beutner. ...

A farewell reception for the Rev. Craig Nessan and family of St. Mark Lutheran Church was held yesterday afternoon at the church; Nessan has accepted a position at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. A large dome of bitterly cold Arctic air sent temperatures falling into the single digits in Cape Girardeau on Friday and Saturday; it also sent many residents reaching for the telephone, as they discovered dead batteries or frozen gas lines...

WASHINGTON -- Staring down the next deadline to pay federal workers, the White House shifted tactics Tuesday, trying to bypass House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to negotiate with rank-and-file lawmakers even as President Donald Trump dug in for a prolonged shutdown...

O'FALLON, Ill. -- Connie Sue Wissman, 60, of O'Fallon passed away Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, at St. Elizabeth Hospital in O'Fallon, with her family by her side. She was born April 9, 1958, in Cape Girardeau to Orville and LaVerne Moore Warner. She and Rodney Wissman were married Nov. 8, 1975...

Warren S. Skinner, 87, of Jackson passed away Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born March 15, 1931, in Oran, Missouri, son of Harry W. and Bertha Clingingsmith Skinner. He and Ella A. Wedekind were married May 9, 1954. She passed away Jan. 8, 2014...

Irene Mirly, 89, of New Wells died Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, at Jackson Manor in Jackson. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New Wells. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the church, with the Rev. Lawrence Bradt officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery...

Margaret Lucille Melvin, 86, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born Aug. 15, 1932, in Cape Girardeau to Coy Jacob and Ethel Bell Rogers Lincoln. She and Joseph Melvin were married Aug. 15, 1980, at Cape Girardeau...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Everett "Butch" Mainer, 73, of McClure died Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, in Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. He was born June 19, 1945, in Anna, Illinois, the son of Lloyd H. and Minnie Cavaness Mainer. He married Barbara Bader on Nov. 18, 1982, in Rock Springs, Illinois...

ANNA, Ill. -- The Rev. James E. "Gene" Hart, 90, died Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, at Illinois Veterans Home in Anna. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna. Funeral will be at noon Saturday at the funeral home. Interment will be in Green Lawn Cemetery in Villa Ridge, Illinois...

Dorothy Lee Grebing, 91, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at Lutheran Home. She was born Aug. 20, 1927, in Cape Girardeau to Ernest Truman and Clara Christine Haupt Niswonger. She and Edward Grebing were married May 1, 1949, at Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. They were married for almost 58 years until his death March 18, 2007...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Stacy Ann Carter-Gonzalez, 48, of Tamms was murdered Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, south of Tamms. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Friday at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms. Funeral will be at noon Friday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Larry Buckles officiating. Interment will follow in Jonesboro Cemetery in Jonesboro, Illinois...

Rosemary L. Bruzan, 69, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Her family will host a memorial service at 11 a.m. Saturday at Emerald Street Church of God, 500 Emerald St., Cape Girardeau, with Pastor Jeff Lohrstorfer officiating...

Emmett Earl Bounds Jr., 66, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, at his home. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to noon Friday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. Funeral will be at noon Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfieldi...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri House lawmakers Tuesday voted against protections for LGBT staffers and gave themselves the option to make some of their emails confidential, despite a voter-approved requirement for transparency. House members changed their records policy as part of a broader package of internal House rules for the 2019 legislative session, which began last week. The new policy deals with lawmakers' documents on party strategy and correspondence with constituents...

KAJO KEJI, South Sudan -- South Sudan opposition commander Moses Lokujo flipped through his notes, explaining international humanitarian law to an attentive group of senior officers. "Soldiers are not supposed to kill someone who's not an enemy," he said. "And if a civilian is walking with a goat it doesn't mean you can steal it just because you have a gun."...

The SEMO community should be aware that the University's annual MLK banquet is being headlined by a speaker, Marc Lamont Hill, so radical he was fired from his on-air role at CNN. He is a noted anti-Semite (and brother-in-arms of Louis Farrakhan) who has made thinly veiled references in speeches to the destruction of Israel. ...

Lord Jesus, we look to you for you are the author of our faith. Amen.

NEW YORK -- Carol Channing, the lanky, ebullient musical comedy star who delighted American audiences over 5,000 performances as the scheming Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly!" on Broadway and beyond, has died. She was 97. Publicist B. Harlan Boll said Channing died of natural causes at 12:31 a.m. Tuesday in Rancho Mirage, California. Boll said Channing had twice suffered strokes in the last year...

VFW Post 3838 and Auxiliary recently held a reception honoring winners of their annual Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy essay contests. Winners received checks and certificates. Front Row, from left are Patriot's Pen winners (6th-8th grade). Second Place, Emily Stageberg, 8th Grade, Trinity Lutheran School; First Place, Puma Saysanan, 8th Grade, St. ...