Stories from Saturday, April 6, 2019

The convoy was not headed for battle but helped to confront a lengthy conflict within Crystal Cecil, a lieutenant with the Missouri Army National Guard and new Officer in Charge of Southeast's Show-Me Gold program. Cecil was driving with her then-17-year-old daughter, Brittany Ellis, on their way to see Cecil's father in 2013 when they came upon the convoy. Crystal had dreams of joining the military while in high school but had become pregnant at 17 with Brittany...

Start-up businesses have become “a critical part of economic development,” Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner said Friday. Mehner was one of three panelists who spoke to chamber members at First Friday Coffee about economic development efforts...

Missouri lawmakers likely won’t decide on how to tax online sales before the legislative session ends in May, state Sen. Wayne Wallingford said Friday. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate, but there has been no consensus on the issue, he said...

In celebration of Cape Girardeau Rotary’s 100th anniversary, Rotary International president-elect Mark Daniel Maloney addressed a crowded room Friday at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. Upon arrival Friday, Maloney described the Cape Girardeau club as “a very impactful group” within Southeast Missouri...

Today in History Today is Saturday, April 6, the 96th day of 2019. There are 269 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On April 6, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, New York...

JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri's fledgling riverboat gambling industry was rocked yesterday by a razor-thin voter rejection of an amendment allowing games of chance on floating casinos; Amendment 3, which would have legalized games of chance on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, ran breathtakingly behind all night, despite a multi-million-dollar advertising blitz bankrolled by potential gambling operators...

Billy and Janet Moses of Mounds, Illinois, announce the engagement of their daughter, Lindsay S. Moses, to Vince Long of Cape Girardeau. He is the son of Mike and Valorie Long of McClure, Illinois. Lindsay is a 2016 graduate of Notre Dame Regional High School. She expects to receive a Bachelor of Science in early childhood education from Southeast Missouri State University in December...

Spring is a good time to catch one of North America's largest beetles, the giant water scavenger beetle. If you leave an outside night light on for a few hours, you are likely to attract this beetle. During winter this insect has the ability to survive buried in the mud at the bottom of a pond. In spring it makes a spiderweb-like case in which it lays eggs and attaches to a floating stick or other debris...

Submitted by Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary O'Malley is an 11-month-old shy but very sweet natured male kitty. He is a pretty orange and white and is waiting for his forever home! He is available for adoption at Safe Harbor; call (573) 243-9823.

Cape Girardeau/Scott City Monday: Cheeseburger or smothered bratwurst, seasoned tater tots, steamed zucchini, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion, whole grain bun and cinnamon applesauce or lemonade cake. Tuesday: Barbecue pork chop or chopped steak with bacon and onion gravy, baked potato, Brussels sprouts, whole-grain hot roll and sugar-free peach crisp or blonde brownie...

Sometimes I have kind of a jumbled mind. I think about this and that and no real central idea. This is one of those weeks. I was watching Kentucky play Auburn the other day, and I was rooting for Kentucky. Since we lived close to Lexington, I have been a Kentucky fan. ...

The Cape Girardeau Veterans Home Foundation is looking to fill a three-year board position, a news release stated. The candidate should have a strong connection to the Missouri Veterans Home service area and experience with a non-profit. Foundation board members act as ambassadors of the home. ...

The Torchbearer Iota Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi met March 25 at the home of Bobbie Woodard. Carole Calvin was hostess. Judy Dona was a guest. Vice president Vicki Connell-McKinney presided. Several members were planning to attend the April 5 production of "Hello Dolly" at Notre Dame Regional High School...

Private George W. Shinn was born on May 29, 1841, in Canton, Illinois, to John W. and Elizabeth Shinn. Shinn worked as a clerk for his father's drugstore prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. On May 25, 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army in Peoria, Illinois, and served with Company H of the 17th Illinois Infantry...

Evolution doesn't need an adjective. When the word is uttered, people seem to know what is meant. Properly, though, there ought to be a modifier. Folks mean "species" evolution, the notion that all species are related and gradually change over time. ...

Have you ever pondered why you love and how do you love others? What causes you to love another human being, pet, or another object of your affection or love? After being around various individuals and listening to their conversations and opinions, I wondered what someone had to do or become before he/she could be deserving of love. ...

NEW YORK -- Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer of the Nashville-based company The Home Edit believe in streamlining your belongings to get organized, but they say it isn't realistic to expect people to pitch so much of their stuff. "We definitely are more lenient in purging than Marie Kondo's method," said Shearer, referring to the author of the best-selling book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing." Kondo also has her own series on Netflix, "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo," and has sparked the verb "Kondo-ing," meaning purging anything that doesn't "spark joy.". ...

Trinity Lutheran School A Honor Roll 5th grade: Kendall Bourbon, Ava Brown, Beckley Goetz, Allee McKee, Mia Panton, Hannah Pruitt, Tali Renshaw. 6th grade: Austin Belanger, Margaret Hillin, Noah Kirn, Jackson Wilson. 7th grade: Annie Adams, Clara Brune, Berkley Inman, Ellie Kratochvil, Katie Swain, Owen Tarry...

St. Denis School A Honor Roll 3rd grade: Bella Allred, Paxton Beck, Mallory Burger, Preston Burger, Elizabeth Christian, Tucker Dirnberger, Abby Henson, Jack Heuring, Kaydin King, Joey Lee, Raegan Mason, Lucy Massey, Tate Shively, Brenly Thorne, Colton Uhrhan...

Jesus, thank you for coming so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Amen.

There's a running joke among the Southeast Missourian editorial board when we discuss editorial topics. "Spring flowers," someone will suggest. It's a nod to former editor Joe Sullivan who would put forward this hard-hitting piece of journalism. This time of year spring flowers is a perfectly good topic. ...

LONDON -- British police stationed armed officers outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Friday after tweets from WikiLeaks quoted what it said were high-level sources saying Julian Assange could be kicked out of the building within "hours to days."...

TOKYO -- Japan's space agency said an explosive dropped Friday from its Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully blasted the surface of an asteroid for the first time to form a crater and pave the way for the collection of underground samples for possible clues to the origin of the solar system...

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday again sought to delay Brexit until June 30 to avoid a chaotic withdrawal from the European Union in one week, although a key leader of the bloc suggested an even longer pause in the difficult divorce proceedings...

JERUSALEM -- In a tight race for re-election, Israel's prime minister has gotten a welcome lift from his friend in the White House. Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign speeches, billboards and social media videos have all heavily featured President Donald Trump's image, statements and pro-Israel actions as endorsements of the long-seated prime minister...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Like health officials facing outbreaks of disease, internet companies are trying to contain vaccine-related misinformation they have long helped spread. So far, their efforts at quarantine are falling short. Searches of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram turn up all sorts of bogus warnings about vaccines, including the soundly debunked notions they cause autism or mercury preservatives and other substances in them can poison and even kill people...

WASHINGTON -- The notice to Congress from the White House was met with confusion: Why would President Donald Trump withdraw his nominee to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Longtime border official Ron Vitiello appeared to be cruising toward confirmation. One Senate committee had endorsed his nomination and a second was likely to follow suit despite opposition from some Democrats and a union representing some agency officers...

CALEXICO, Calif. -- Declaring "our country is full," President Donald Trump on Friday insisted the U.S. immigration system was overburdened and illegal crossings must be stopped as he inspected a refurbished section of fencing at the Mexican border...

WASHINGTON -- Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday made light of his recent controversy about crossing physical boundaries with women, and he signaled in a resolute speech to union activists he's ready to run for president as a moderate Democrat in party drifting left...

WASHINGTON -- Just weeks after insisting American airstrikes in Somalia had killed no civilians, U.S. Africa Command said Friday new information revealed a woman and a child died last April when a U.S. strike targeted al-Shabab militants. The revelation comes on the heels of a report by Amnesty International charging last month as many as two dozen civilians had been killed or wounded in U.S. airstrikes in Somalia...

WASHINGTON -- No, thanks. President Donald Trump said Friday he's got better things to do than attend the "boring" and "negative" White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Trump said he'll hold one of his signature political rallies as counter-programming to the glitzy April 27 press dinner, skipping the event for the third year in a row...

NEW YORK -- Democratic presidential candidates Friday touted their plans on criminal justice reform, the study of reparations and other racial equality issues, highlighting the critical role black voters will play in choosing the party's 2020 nominee...

Boeing will cut production of its troubled 737 Max airliner this month, underscoring the growing financial risk it faces the longer its best-selling plane remains grounded after two deadly crashes. The company said Friday starting in mid-April it will cut production of the plane to 42 from 52 planes per month so it can focus its attention on fixing the flight-control software implicated in the crashes...

In the aftermath of Tuesday's stunning defeat of a constitutional amendment that jeopardizes the viability of riverboat gambling in Missouri, state officials are going back to the drawing board trying to decide the next step; local officials in cities and counties where local options for riverboat gambling have been approved are also in disarray...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Virgie A. Schubert, 83, of Perryville died Thursday, April 4, 2019, at Independence Care Center of Perry County. She was born June 18, 1935, in Friedheim, daughter of Arthur and Anna Dickman Ruesler. She and Harold L. Schubert were married Aug. 12, 1961. He survives in Perryville...

Son to Adam Richard and Susanna Nicole Hoss of Millersville, Southeast Hospital, 11:59 a.m. Friday, Jan. 25, 2019. Name, Joseph Riley. Weight, 9 pounds, 3 ounces. Third child, first son. Mrs. Hoss is the former Susanna Luttrell, daughter of Randy and Penny Luttrell of Jackson. She is administrative assistant with Southeast Ear, Nose and Throat. Hoss is the son of Richard Hoss of St. Charles, Missouri, and the late Lisa Ory. He is an automotive technician with Bening Mazda...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The most brazen abuses of standardized testing in the college bribery scandal could be chalked up to security lapses: the ringer hired to take the SAT, the proctors paid to look the other way, the accommodations for extra time obtained through false diagnoses of disabilities...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau fire department responded to the following calls: Thursday n Medical assists were made at 9:52 a.m. on South Silver Springs Road, 12:15 p.m. on South Sprigg Street, 12:47 p.m. at Doctors Park, 3:04 p.m. on South West End Boulevard and 6:33 p.m. on South Pacific Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n Quentin Ledbetter, 20, of Cape Girardeau was arrested on suspicion of possesion of controlled substance in the 1400 block of Independence Street...

I recently got to spend a few days in Portland, Oregon. The word I would use to describe Portland is "kind." Portland is kind and open. I noticed this, especially, in three instances: people engaged with me, smiling, saying hello and asking questions on the sidewalks and public transportation. Each person who exited the back doors of the bus yelled to the bus driver in the front, "Thank you!" as they left. And people who had homes did not hold people who did not at arm's length...

Avis Allmon, 87, of Jackson passed away Thursday, April 4, 2019, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Sept. 21, 1931, in Drum, Missouri, daughter of Henry Lee and Annie Markham Mabrey. She and Glen E. Allmon were united in marriage Dec. 31, 1949, and he passed away Feb. 4, 2011...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri House member engaged in "unbecoming" conduct by creating a false rumor another lawmaker was having an affair with a House employee, according to a report from a legislative ethics panel. The report found Rep. Rocky Miller's actions were "personally hurtful" and "professionally damaging" to those falsely accused and may have compromised the chamber's ability to provide a "respectful, professional work environment."...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The University of Missouri is hunting for more campus housing just two years after it was forced to idle some residence halls after protests over race had sent enrollment plummeting. Between 5,200 and 5,400 incoming freshmen are expected in the fall, according to university spokesman Christian Basi. ...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The winner of an election for city prosecutor in Farmington admitted she incorrectly said in a mailer sent two days before the vote her opponent was living with a felon. Julie McCarver was re-elected Tuesday, defeating lawyer Cira Duffe...

WASHINGTON -- Hiring in the United States rebounded in March as U.S. employers added a solid 196,000 jobs, up sharply from February's scant gain and evidence many businesses still want to hire despite signs the economy is slowing. The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, near the lowest level in almost 50 years, the Labor Department reported Friday. ...