Stories from Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Sikeston, Missouri, police are investigating a suspicious incident in which a 31-year-old woman told police she had been held against her will for three weeks, sexually assaulted and forced to consume an illegal substance by her boyfriend. An investigation led to an arrest Friday of Sikeston resident Kenneth James Bramlett, 41, on 11 felony charges including kidnapping, sodomy or attempted sodomy, promoting prostitution, sex trafficking and domestic assault...

The Salvation Army of Cape Girardeau met its Christmas Tree of Lights fundraising goal this year, the organization announced Tuesday. “We surpassed both our kettle goal and our mail appeal goal,” Lt. Matt DeGonia, corps officer at the Salvation Army, said in a news release...

Barber James Macklin, center, discusses the legacy of NBA star Kobe Bryant while wearing a Bryant shirt beneath his apron and trimming Todd Whaley's hair Tuesday at Suite 72 barber shop in Cape Girardeau. ...

Lloyd Smith of Sikeston, Missouri, and Vivek Malik of Wildwood, Missouri, were appointed earlier this week as the two newest members of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents. The appointments by Gov. Mike Parson come after openings in the board were created by the term expiration of former Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay B. Knudtson and the death of Dennis Vinson, former president and CEO of Signature Packaging and Paper in Jackson...

Fudio, a kitchen studio from chef and owner Lisa Essmyer, is up and running. It’s a smallish room in the back corner of The Indie House at 605 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, wide windows, a redbrick wall, dark wood with bright teal paint — and limited seating. For now, a pew and a scattering of chairs can accommodate six patrons, Essmyer said, but she’ll be expanding it to eight in the near future...

ADVANCE, Mo. — One suspect was taken into custody in a suspicious death investigation that caused multiple nearby school districts to go into lockdown. Caution tape surrounded a one-story home at 604 W. Duckett St. on Tuesday afternoon in Advance, where members of the Stoddard County Major Case Squad investigated the overnight death...

The Saint Francis press conference on Monday alternated between tough rhetoric, blasting UnitedHealthcare for leveraging people and crisis for profits, and a stated desire to negotiate. In a news release, UnitedHealthcare fired back comparing Saint Francis pricing unfavorably to urban rates -- and decrying the Cape Girardeau-based hospital system as a reason for high medical costs in the area. ...

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2020. There are 337 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Jan. 29, 2002, in his first State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said terrorists were still threatening America -- and he warned of "an axis of evil" consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Puerto Rico opened only 20% of its public schools on Tuesday following a strong earthquake that delayed the start of classes by nearly three weeks as fears linger over the safety of students. Only 177 schools were certified to open after engineers inspected them for damage caused by the magnitude-6.4 earthquake that killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes on Jan. ...

LONDON -- Britain decided Tuesday to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei to supply new high-speed network equipment, ignoring the U.S. government's warnings it would sever intelligence cooperation if the company was not banned. Britain's decision is the first by a major U.S. ally in Europe, and follows intense lobbying from the Trump administration and China as the two vie for technological dominance...

BEIJING -- The United States and several other nations prepared Tuesday to airlift citizens out of a Chinese city at the center of a virus outbreak that has killed more than 100 people. Hong Kong's leader said it will cut all rail links to mainland China and halve the number of flights as authorities in China and overseas sought to stem the spread of the new virus. The number of confirmed cases rose to more than 4,500...

WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders do not have the votes to block Democrats' demand for more witnesses at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded to fellow GOP senators late Tuesday. It could be a major hurdle for Trump's hopes to end the trial with a quick acquittal...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Judith Ann Zahner, 77, of Perryville died Friday, Jan. 24, 2020, at Independence Care Center. She was born Nov. 9, 1942, in Granite City, Illinois, to Charles Elmo and Nadine Dorotha Counts Thompson. She and Alfred G. Zahner were married Nov. 25, 1976, at Buena Park, California...

Trace Allen White, 31, of Jackson passed away Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at his home. He was born Oct. 11, 1988, in Sikeston, Missouri, son of Danny and Sabrina Nance White. Trace was a line supervisor for Midwest Sterilization in Jackson. He was a loving and devoted father, who always put his children first. Anyone who knew Trace also knew his passion for animals, especially dogs. He served as director of Sikeston Humane Society for several years...

Jason Smith, 30, of Jackson passed away Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Feb. 8, 1989, in Cape Girardeau to Mary Smith and Tracy Cotner. Jason was a 2007 graduate of Jackson High School. He was currently working as a subcontractor in local construction...

Jackie D. Schwettman, 85, of Cape Girardeau passed away at 7:45 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at Lutheran Home. He was born June 1, 1934, in Cape Girardeau to Darl and Selma Heise Schwettman. He married Evon Evans on Feb. 20, 1960. She survives. Jackie received his bachelor's in industrial electronics from Southeast Missouri State University. He retired as plant manager from Lee Rowan Co. in Jackson. His passion was training Tennessee Walking horses. He was a member of Hanover Lutheran Church...

GLEN ALLEN, Mo. -- Joshua Dale Pilson, 35, of Glen Allen died Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, at his home. Funeral services were private. Hutchings Funeral Chapel is assisting the family.

Joseph Margrabe, 80, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at Heartland Care and Rehab. He was born Oct. 31, 1939, in Cape Girardeau to Emma W. Margrabe. He served his country in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. Joseph enjoyed reading good westerns and mysteries and hanging out at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post. He also loved to fish. Joseph worked for Jerry Lipps Trucking...

BERNIE, Mo. -- Leona Lois Griffin, 84, daughter of the late Wenzil and Ruby Leona Creg Crow, was born Nov. 15, 1935, in Bernie and departed this life Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at Saint Francis Medical Center emergency room in Cape Girardeau. Leona was a homemaker and a member of Northside Baptist Church of Bernie...

Kenneth Alan Davis, 73, of Jackson passed away Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Kenny teed off June 24, 1946, caddied by his parents, Aubrey "Tiny" and Christine Davis. His sister, Janet (Ray) Galbreth, also walked the course with him...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A woman has admitted to detectives she was a willing participant in the killing of a man whose body was found outside a Missouri bar 18 years ago, officials said. Tabatha Carter, 53, is jailed without bond in Miller County on charges of being an accessory to first-degree murder and an accessory to armed criminal action in the July 2001 shooting death of Jerry Jeffries, the county sheriff’s office said in a news release...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Parents who no longer qualify for government health care but fail to sign up their children separately are partly to blame for the drop in children’s Medicaid coverage, a top legislative budget official said Tuesday, much to the chagrin of some lawmakers who blame the agency itself...

O Lord Jesus, we lift our hands to you in praise. Amen.

The county inmate population is declining, and Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan says he sees light at the end of the tunnel; on Jan. 19 the county jail hit a record 101 inmates; the facility's regular capacity is about 60 inmates; 74 inmates were in the county's custody Thursday, and the population is expected to continue to decline...

The Jackson Police Department released the following items. Theft n Theft reported in the 500 block of West Main Street. Miscellaneous n Trespassing was reported in the 400 block of West Main Street. n Property damage was reported in the 100 block of East Park Street...