Stories from Friday, January 8, 2021

The Missouri Grassroots Organizer Coalition canceled a "#ResignHawley" rally and demonstration over safety concerns that had been planned for Thursday. The group had been planning to gather at Capaha Park's Freedom Corner in Cape Girardeau to protest U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley's objections to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College win, and the attack on the Capitol...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun a nationwide search for anyone who helped instigate or actively participated in Wednesday’s riots in the nation’s capitol. “The FBI is seeking information that will assist in identifying individuals who are actively instigating violence in Washington, D.C.,” according to a statement issued by the bureau’s field office in St. Louis...

Cape Girardeau County commissioners approved disbursement of more than $16,000 to the Safe House for Women in Cape Girardeau on Thursday. The Safe House for Women will receive $16,513.22 from funds collected by the courts that go to local domestic violence shelters. The funds will be disbursed in two equal payments of $8,256.81, one in January and the other in July...

Local state senator, representatives were sworn in to the Missouri General Assembly on Wednesday. ...

There has been a delay in the arrival of the most recent water/sewer/trash combined bill to at least some of the city’s approximately 17,000 water customers, Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer said this week. “We’re aware of the problem and we’ve been taking inquiries about it,” said Meyer, who said the city uses a third-party vendor to print and mail out invoices...

Driver/operator Chris Miller was named the Cape Girardeau Fire Department’s 2020 Employee of the Year on Thursday. Miller began working with the department in the fall of 2017, and is known for his hard-working, positive personality, according to deputy fire chief Randy Morris...

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center reported six more coronavirus-related deaths Thursday. Cape Girardeau County has experienced 125 total deaths because of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. County health officials reported 74 new cases Thursday. However, the county’s 1,660 active cases are down 11 from Wednesday’s reporting...

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, located in Springfield, has affirmed the trial court in a 12-page ruling released Dec. 29 upholding a $427,500 personal injury award to a local woman seriously injured in 2013 after falling down the basement stairs of the historic Common Pleas Courthouse, 44 N. Lorimier St. in downtown Cape Girardeau...

Bishops of three denominations with congregations in the Show Me State have released statements condemning the Wednesday violence on Capitol Hill. Because of the length of the statements, portions are excerpted below. n Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau...

A terminally-ill child named Calleigh had her dream of going to Disney World granted by the Dream Factory of Southeast Missouri last week. Dream Factory — an all-volunteer-driven wish-granting organization — held a sendoff event Jan. 1 at Calleigh’s home in Altenburg, Missouri, featuring a small drive-by parade, including famous Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse...

Local organization Recover Out Loud Harm Reduction and Recovery Services hosted a pop-up Narcan distribution event Tuesday at Capaha Park. Director Kristi Booth, who started Recover Out Loud with recovered drug users to give back to the community, said the event was “spur of the moment.”...

The respective leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties in Cape Girardeau County had similar visceral reactions to the chaos at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. D.C., that saw the deaths of four people Wednesday. U.S. House members and senators were quickly ushered out of their respective chambers when protesters broke into the Capitol, stopping for hours the scheduled Electoral College certification naming Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice president of the United States, respectively. ...

WASHINGTON -- With 13 days left in his term, President Donald Trump finally bent to reality on Thursday amid growing talk of trying to force him out early, acknowledging he'll peacefully leave after Congress affirmed his defeat. Trump led off a video from the White House by condemning the violence carried out in his name a day earlier at the Capitol. ...

It's the beginning of a new year. It's almost the beginning of a new presidential administration, too. In theory, now is a perfect time for some resolutions: to start fresh, fix the mistakes of the past or do what we never got around to doing. In that spirit, I offer some advice to the Biden administration; Congress; and state and local governments...

The GOP will now be known as the anti-democracy authoritarian party now that Trump incited his base to storm the Capitol building. Republicans sat on their hands and held their tongues for the past year while Trump spiraled down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and delusional dreams of an election victory. They allowed him to act like a banana republic tinpot dictator and did nothing to stop him...

Jefferson Elementary has a new principal, but she's a familiar face with Cape public schools. Tracy Haggerty, previously an assistant principal at Cape Girardeau Central High School, is taking over at the helm of the elementary school. Haggerty follows Kara Jokerst, who recently submitted her resignation to pursue other opportunities outside the state. ...

Dr. Louis Edward Hildebrand, formerly of Cape Girardeau, died suddenly on New Year's Day 2021 at age 80. He had just enjoyed a fun-filled New Year's Eve with his family the day before. Lou was a brilliant scholar, often described by his family as a true Renaissance man. ...

Verna Mae Gloth, 80, of Whitewater passed away Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born April 3, 1940, in Patton, Missouri, the daughter of George and Esther Yamnitz Welker. Verna spent her life as a homemaker. She enjoyed quilting, sewing, cooking and being outside gardening. She was a member of the Delta First Baptist Church...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Betty J. DePriest, 88, died Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. She was born Dec. 24, 1931, in Patton, Missouri, daughter of the late George and Mildred Messier Holley. In 1947 at Charleston, Missouri, she married Lester L. DePriest, who preceded her in death July 29, 2002...

Rosa Lee Balsmann, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Rosa Lee was born Aug. 3, 1932, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Margareitte and Orville Teaford. She and Herbert Hugo Balsmann were united in marriage on July 2, 1955, in Cape Girardeau. They spent almost 56 wonderful years together until his death Jan. 10, 2011...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Bill G. Bailey, age 89, of Perryville died Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at his residence. Private services will be held for the family. Burial with military honors provided by American Legion and Delta Team will be at Yount Community Cemetery...

Robert Clarence "R.C." Ahrens Sr., 71, of Friedheim died Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Jan. 14 at Ford and Sons Jackson Funeral Home. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Jan. 15 at the funeral home with the Rev. Jim Matthews officiating. Burial will be at Old Goshen Cemetery in Oak Ridge...

TEHRAN, Iran -- As the coronavirus pandemic ravages Iran, home to the Mideast's worst outbreak, a women's group hopes to empower its members by helping them make and sell face masks. The organization called "Bavar," or "Belief" in Farsi, formed in 2016, allowing women looking for work to make handicrafts with donated sewing machines. ...

NEW YORK -- A planned book by Sen. Josh Hawley, who objected to President-elect Joe Biden's win and backed baseless claims the election was stolen, has been canceled by its publisher in the wake of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of pro-Trump supporters, a decision the Missouri Republican called "Orwellian" and vowed to fight in court...

PARIS -- As the world watched American institutions shaken to the core by an angry mob, officials and ordinary citizens wondered: How fragile is democracy, and how much stress could their own political systems withstand? "If it can happen in the U.S., it can happen anywhere," said Gunjan Chhibber, a 39-year-old who works for an American tech company in India, the world's largest democracy. ...

WASHINGTON -- Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner before dawn Thursday after a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a stunning attempt to overturn the election, undercut the nation's democracy and keep Trump in the White House...

WASHINGTON -- The violent siege of the Capitol by President Donald Trump's supporters forced painful new questions across government Thursday -- about his fitness to remain in office for two more weeks, the ability of the police to secure the complex and the future of the Republican Party in a post-Trump era...

O God, may we stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around our waist. Amen.

Cape Girardeau Councilman Melvin Gateley withdraws his plan for a board of governors to foster economic development by looking at how to use excess motel and restaurant tax money; after being "enlightened" by other city officials that the Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board already advises the council on spending the money, Gateley says he doesn't believe a separate board is needed...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Jan. 6 n Medical assists were made at 9:14 a.m. on Walden Pond; 9:15 a.m. North Mount Auburn Road; 9:39 a.m. on Westwood Drive; 10:51 a.m. on South West End Boulevard; 8:45 p.m. on William Street...

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks and Ameren Corporation have awarded $30,500 to six nonprofit agencies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Cape Girardeau region. St. Louis-based Ameren donated a total of $111,000 to the CFO’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support agencies in the shared service area of Ameren and the CFO’s network of 52 regional affiliates. ...