Stories from Wednesday, February 6, 2019

A Cape Girardeau man shot and killed a man he described as a friend after the two argued and had a physical confrontation Monday morning, police said. Dominique Lashun Hill, 23, 922 S. Benton St., was arrested shortly after the shooting, police said...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Wall-mounted tables at the Poplar Bluff Early Childhood Center and O’Neal Elementary School will no longer be used following the death of a 4-year-old student Friday at the Early Childhood Center. The two buildings used the same type of tables, made by the same manufacturer and installed around the same time, Poplar Bluff School District superintendent Scott Dill said Monday afternoon...

Community Counseling Center will host its second annual superheroes-themed Have a Heart for Kids Fundraiser on Thursday to benefit its specialized children’s programs. “February is kind of a time when the events have wound down from all of the holidays,” Mary Burton, executive director of Community Counseling Center foundation, said by phone Tuesday. “So why not talk about having a heart for children?”...

Friends and colleagues of Terry Kitchen on Tuesday remembered “Coach,” as he preferred to be called, as a passionate, one-of-a-kind person whose legacy will live on. Kitchen died Monday after dedicating his life and energy to the school district he loved. He was 66. ...

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2019. There are 328 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was born in Tampico, Illinois. On this date: In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the United States won official recognition and military support from France with the signing of a Treaty of Alliance in Paris...

The epitome of irony can be found in California Rep. Nancy Pelosi saying a border wall is immoral. This coming from a woman who aligns herself with the party who embraces the Holocaust America has waged on our unborn over the past 45-plus years, Abortion...

Wake me up when high school football returns. Instead of building a wall on the Mexico border, let's build a wall along the border of Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Let California have all the illegal immigrants along with Speaker Pelosi and all the other nuts out there...

The progressive Mecca of San Francisco is hailed by the liberal elite as the model community of the future -- inclusive and diverse. San Fran is a beacon for progressives as not only the first city to sanction sanctuary for illegal immigrants but as a window into the future of the true America. It has long been known for its sexual progressive agenda as well as being one of the most expensive cities in America...

Of all the people in Cape Girardeau who wield influence -- from politicians to media personnel, police and law figures to business and economic leaders -- few have more potential to shape Cape Girardeau's future for the better than an energetic school principal named Leigh Ragsdale...

ANNA, Ill. -- A light earthquake rattled the ground and people's nerves in at least five states early yesterday morning, but reports indicate damage, if any, was very light; the epicenter of the quake was in Southern Illinois, near the small Union County community of Lick Creek...

Lindell Lee Snider, 59, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. He was born May 9, 1959, in Cape Girardeau to Grover Leon and Charlotte L. Griffith Snider. He served in the U.S. Army. He had worked for S&S Innovations of Cape Girardeau. Survivors include two daughters, Leigha Sander of Jackson and Savannah Bain of Ogden, Utah; two grandchildren; two sisters, Kathy Y. ...

Mary Ann Robertson, 84, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, at Chateau Girardeau. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m., with parish prayers at 7 p.m., Feb. 13 at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 14 at Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church, with Father Allan Saunders officiating. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at Green Mount Catholic Cemetery in Belleville, Illinois...

ST. ANN, Mo. -- Vicki Sue Puchbauer, 66, of St. Ann passed away Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, at Bethesda Meadows in Ellisville, Missouri. She was born June 18, 1952, in Cape Girardeau to Victor and Betty Henry Puchbauer. She was baptized at St. John's United Church of Christ in Fruitland, where her membership remained...

Terry Wyatt Kitchen, 66, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, at his home. Visitation will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday at Christ Church of the Heartland in Cape Girardeau. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church, with Pastor Zack Strong officiating. Burial will be at Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau...

Mary Alice Frazier, 66, of Cape Girardeau passed away Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, at Southeast Hospital, with her family by her side. She was born March 20, 1952, in Cape Girardeau to Arnold Chester and Theola McArthur Miles. She and Eugene Frazier Jr. were married March 31, 1973, at Cape Girardeau...

George Lynn Duff, 89, of Scott City died Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Oct. 9, 1929, in Blodgett, Missouri to Porter and Mary Stafford Duff. He married Darlene Zeigler. He was a route salesman for Lewis Bread Co. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Scott City...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Jack Junior Brown, 86, of Advance passed away Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, at his home. Jack was born June 8, 1932, at Advance the son of Jack A. and Thelma Bagbey Brown. Jack was united in marriage to Marlene Clark Brown on Aug. 30, 1953, in San Diego, and she preceded him in death May 3, 2002...

Pearl Lucille Berry, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Feb. 4, 2019, at Lutheran Home. She was born March 11, 1929, in Essex, Missouri, to James Matthew and Pearl Gladys Brown Edwards. She and Bill Griffin were married. He preceded her in death. She then married Adam Ray Seabaugh, and he preceded her in death. Then she and Chester E. Berry were married April 25, 1994. He preceded her in death...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Lying about a service animal would be a misdemeanor in Missouri under legislation partly inspired by stories of emotional support snakes and a peacock. The Columbia Missourian reported Republican Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg said his proposed bill would protect landlords who prohibit pets from tenants who falsely claim their pets are service or emotional support animals. He also said illegitimate service animals could be disruptive to other tenants...

WASHINGTON -- A new art exhibit at a Washington museum shows an Ivanka Trump lookalike pushing a vacuum cleaner and invites spectators to toss crumbs for her to clean up. The art piece by Jennifer Rubell, titled "Ivanka Vacuuming," opened Feb. 1 and continues through Feb. 17 at the Flashpoint Gallery. The public is encouraged to "throw crumbs onto the carpet, watching as Ivanka elegantly vacuums up the mess, her smile never wavering."...

PARIS -- Paris' deadliest fire in over a decade killed at least 10 people Tuesday as flames engulfed a nine-story apartment building, sending residents to the roof and clambering across balconies to escape. A 40-year-old woman who lived in the building, said to have a history of psychiatric problems, was arrested nearby and held on suspicion of having set the fire not long before. French police opened a criminal investigation for voluntary arson resulting in death...

JERUSALEM -- A West Bank settler group Tuesday said the number of people living in Israeli settlements surged at a much faster rate than the overall Israeli population last year and predicted even more rapid growth thanks to the policies of the Trump administration...

CAIRO -- Egypt's parliament advanced a proposal Tuesday to amend the constitution in a way to allow President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stay in office well beyond the end of his current term in 2022. El-Sissi led the 2013 military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president and was elected the following year. He has presided over an unprecedented crackdown on dissent, and was re-elected last year after all potentially serious challengers were jailed or pressured to exit the race...

MEXICO CITY -- A caravan of about 1,700 Central American migrants has arrived at the Mexican border city of Piedras Negras, just west of Eagle Pass, Texas. While previous caravans had preferred the border city of Tijuana, the relatively open section of the border around Eagle Pass is marked mainly by the Rio Grande River and lacks the long sections of high barriers found in Tijuana...

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's office put much of the business of governing on hold Tuesday as the Democrat privately weighed whether he can stay in the job despite the uproar over a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's nominee to replace Brett Kavanaugh on a high-profile appeals court backed away from language she used as a college student in writing about sexual assault, race and equal rights for women. "To be honest, looking back at some of those writings ... ...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump picked the grandest stage to unveil one of his first immigration initiatives: Appearing before a joint session of Congress a month after taking office, Trump announced the creation of a hotline to help victims of crimes committed by immigrants...

WASHINGTON -- The World Bank may be poised for a shake-up with President Donald Trump planning to nominate David Malpass, a World Bank critic, to lead the institution focused on global poverty. Malpass' selection was confirmed by a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to comment publicly on personnel decisions. Trump is expected to make the announcement later this week...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump declared near-total triumph over the Islamic State group in Syria in his State of the Union address Tuesday, but U.S. defense officials are increasingly fearful the militants are simply biding their time until the Americans leave the battlefield as planned...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will hold a two-day summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on Feb. 27 and 28 in Vietnam to continue his efforts to persuade Kim to give up his nuclear weapons. Trump has said his outreach to Kim and their first meeting last June in Singapore opened a path to peace. But there is not yet a concrete plan for how denuclearization could be implemented...

WASHINGTON -- Facing a divided Congress for the first time, President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Washington to reject "the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution." He warned emboldened Democrats "ridiculous partisan investigations" into his administration and businesses could hamper a surging American economy...

Lord Jesus, may we love one another as you love us. Amen.

Route W reduced for culvert improvements Route W in Cape Girardeau County, between Route Y and Tonopah Road, will be reduced with a 10-foot width restriction as contractor crews extend the box culvert. The work is scheduled to take place from 6 a.m. to midnight daily Feb. 18 through March 9...

G. Elaine Smith, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, at her home. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi lawmakers are again killing bills to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the last flag in the U.S. to display it. But they also rejected measures to force universities opposed to the emblem to fly the banner. The emblem -- a red field topped by a blue tilted cross and dotted by 13 white stars -- has appeared on Mississippi's flag since 1894. Critics say it's racist; those who oppose removing it say it's a historic symbol...

Daughter to Derek and Natasha McMinn of Patton, Missouri, Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, 7:02 a.m. Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. Name, Aleyna Grace. Weight, 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Mrs. McMinn is the daughter of Levi and Helen Mast of Kidron, Ohio. McMinn is the son of Carlos Mardale and Cathy McMinn of Patton...

On Saturday, February 2nd the Delta Bobcats, for the 11th time participated in the Polar Plunge to benefit Missouri Special Olympics. This year 21 Bobcats jumped in Lake Boutin for an amazing cause and were able to raise $5,185, making the Bobcats the top fundraising school for the 8th year in a row. ...

I need to get my eyes checked. After hours on the computer and on my phone, I have blurry vision, and I am getting headaches. I put off going to the eye doctor during the busy holiday season. In hindsight, I wish I had fit a visit in my schedule because now I have to meet my insurance deductible...

For 86-year-old Edith Prater of Jackson, having a place to spend her day with other senior adults is a highlight for her. “I really enjoy being here,” she says. “I get up in the morning and do stuff all day.” Prater is a client of Southeast Missouri State University’s Hoover Center, a facility offering supportive programming during the daytime hours to well and frail senior adults age 60 and older...

It sits at the intersection of highways D and E in Oak Ridge, Missouri, a tin building from 1911 with a front wall of windows. It’s the place local high school students stop in for breakfast each morning, the place farmers stop in for lunch, the place people know each other. It used to be a hardware shop, and then a secondhand store. Now, it’s the Mudcat Coffee House, a tucked-away gem that feels like home to the locals, owned by Rebecca Moore and her husband, Ronald...

Suzanne Thompson, fiber artist and teacher of shibori and ice-dyeing methods in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, describes her life as “Forrest Gump-ish.” It’s true: in many ways, she has been in close proximity to important historical events as they happen...

For many people, the civil rights movement is nothing more than a distant memory or a bit of black and white text in a history book, but Carolyn Maull McKinstry remembers more than faded photos or flashy headlines. She experienced the prevalence of segregation in her hometown and tasted the freedom found in sitting at the front of a bus or ordering a Coke at a previously unwelcoming establishment. ...

Mike Goodwin has the urethane form and hide of a 10-foot-tall Kodiak bear shot on Kodiak Island, Alaska, laying on its back in his taxidermy shop just outside of Jackson. He and his assistant, Kevin Elfrink, are using adhesive to glue the hide to the form while sewing it together. This is the second day they’re working on it, with hopes to finish mounting it and doing the habitat recreation work within two more days...

In part two of this five-part series, Dr. J. Russell Felker, MD, shares memories of the summer during his adolescence he and his friend, Tom Critchlow, walked from Sikeston, Missouri, to Farmington, Missouri. The saga will be continued in subsequent issues of TBY...

I like to show my intercultural communication students a skit by Margaret Cho, a Korean-American comedian, where she describes being served lunch on an airplane. She pantomimes the male flight attendant going down the aisle delivering the plates and announcing to each passenger, “Asian chicken salad … Asian chicken salad …” then he gets to her. He pauses. He looks at the salad. He looks at her. He looks back at the salad. He swallows, then gingerly offers, “...chicken salad?”...

I’ve lived in the country almost my entire adult life, which has been wonderful. For some reason, perhaps because there are so few of us and we get to know each other quite well, nicknames are prevalent, and most quite descriptive. I’ve actually known some people their entire lives without knowing their “real” name. It hasn’t mattered to me, or them. We are who (or whom?) we are...

My younger brothers, Brad and Brian, and I never rolled out of bed for school as eagerly as we did on Saturday mornings. As we opened our eyes, it dawned on us we didn’t want to miss the Saturday morning cartoons, so we burst out of our beds like racehorses charging out of the gate at the Kentucky Derby...