Stories from Thursday, May 25, 2023

It is hard to believe Memorial Day weekend is already upon us. I can fondly recall my grandmother and parents called this special holiday "Decoration Day". It was a time to pay respects to those who had passed away by placing flowers on the graves and headstones...

I've been waiting for the perfect moment when the stars and all of the various schedules align to visit Carson's by Chef Adam Glenn at 105 E. Center St. in Sikeston, Missouri, and it finally happened. I visited Carson's Facebook page to set up a reservation. You can also call (573) 475-6457 if you'd like to do it that way. I didn't really have a time preference, so the nice person I was messaging set me up for 5 p.m., right when the restaurant opened...

Back in the 1930s some bright director invented a clever idea to make it appear that actors in the background of a scene were actually carrying on a conversation. They were instructed to silently mouth the word rhubarb over and over again. I wish I had known about this trick during my collegiate thespian career, confined primarily to background scenes. I always used the word rutabega...

NEW YORK — Tina Turner, the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and '70s and survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping "What's Love Got to Do With It", has died at 83...

When George Kester moved to Hollywood, California, to pursue music, he didn't know his randomly-paired roommate would become a friend, much less a bandmate. Chris Melvin and Kester met at the Musician's Institute while getting their degrees in different music areas. Kester was already with the band The Doubted, which he and friends started in Cape Girardeau. At that time, the band had a completely different lineup than today...

The Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education members voted during their meeting Monday, May 22, to authorize superintendent Neil Glass to negotiate the purchase of four video scoreboards for Central High School. The contract for the scoreboards will be through Digital Scoreboards LLC, for an amount not to exceed $417,000...

Monday, May 29, is Memorial Day, a day to honor those who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces. Several events have been planned in the area, beginning Saturday, May 27, and continuing through Monday. Among them: n The Avenue of Flags at Cape County Park North will go up Saturday and stay up through Monday. At 9 a.m. Monday morning, a ceremony will be held with 18 new flags being added...

Reppert’s Office Supply has served this region for decades. The store opened in 1969 in Anna, Illinois, and expanded to include locations in Sparta and Carmi, Illinois. Now, they have five locations, after acquiring Mid-South Office Supply and Heartland Office Supply in Sikeston, Missouri...

Since acquiring casino properties in Caruthersville and Cape Girardeau in December 2019, Century Casinos has made a significant financial investment and impact on the region. With each property presenting unique opportunities and unexpected operating challenges during the pandemic, Century Casinos put their trust in the Missouri management teams to provide historical insight and perspective to make recommended enhancements to each location...

It’s been an eventful couple years for Southeast Missouri (SEMO) Pets with the opening of their new adoption center after 40 years of planning and dreaming up the facility. Both adoptions and volunteers have increased significantly. Overall, this new facility allowed SEMO Pets to grow in more ways than one. ...

Today is Thursday, May 25, the 145th day of 2023. There are 220 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a Black man, was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for about 9 1/2 minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and pleading that he couldn't breathe; Floyd's death, captured on video by a bystander, would lead to worldwide protests, some of which turned violent, and a reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.. ...

“Come back when you are ready for surgery.” Have you heard this from your surgeon? I believe most surgeons are asking one question: “Is it legal and ethical for me to do surgery on this joint based on what I have been taught or not?” If the answer is yes, then they will recommend surgery. And if the answer is no, they will refer you back to your primary care physician, recommend a steroid injection, and say, “Come back when you are ready for surgery.”...

Seeing a supposedly grown adult male with rude, hate-filled stickers on their tailgates, bumpers and windows is just such a sign of the current times. What are they? Middle schoolers mentally? Grow up. We have little kids out here in our cars, and we don't want to have to explain your mental illness...

The Congressional Budget Office has just released its latest projection for the next 10 years. "In the agency's updated projections, annual deficits nearly double over the next decade, reaching $2.7 trillion in 2033 ... As a result of those deficits, debt held by the public also increases in CBO's projections, from 98% of GDP at the end of this year to 119% at the end of 2033."...

The homemade quiz below is my way of making my feelings known to you, to our elected representatives in Washington, and to my own family, regarding the character of the current front-running Republican nominee for president of our great, democratic nation, Donald Trump...

"Build the wall" hasn't been a sentiment often heard in South Side Chicago. But someone held a sign calling for the barrier, while other residents shouted, "Close the border" and the like, during a community meeting in South Shore about a former high school potentially getting turned into a facility for immigrants lacking permanent legal status...

O Lord Jesus, grant us wisdom that we may honor you in all things. Amen.

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. May 23 n Medical assists were made at 2:32 a.m. on Lynwood Hills Drive; 4:37 a.m. on North Street; 8:38 a.m. on William Street; 9:22 a.m. on William Street; 9:57 a.m. on Sheridan Drive; 11:51 a.m. on Walnut Street; 1:15 p.m. on Vantage Drive; and 5:34 p.m. on Clark Avenue. ...

Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A warrant arrest was reported on North Sunset Boulevard. n A warrant arrest was reported...

John Trinka, 72, of Whitewater died Friday, May 19, 2023, at his home. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 30, at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral service will follow at noon Tuesday, May 30, at the funeral home, with the Rev. Donny Ford officiating. Burial will be at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield...

Gerry David Roberson of Cape Girardeau passed away peacefully Friday, May 19, 2023, at home, after an arduous, but short, battle with liver cancer at the young age of 68 years old. Gerry was born June 23, 1954. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in Germany from 1971 to 1972...

Micheal Charles Riggs, 61, of Cape Girardeau passed away Saturday, May 20, 2023, at his home, with family by his side. He was born Jan. 29, 1962, in San Diego to the late Charles W. and Anne L. Bergeron Riggs. He proudly served his country in the U.S. Army...

W.J. Proffer, 63, passed away Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. W.J. was born June 10, 1959, in Cape Girardeau to J.W. and Mary Lena Tayor Proffer. He and Cheryl Decker were married April 23, 2016, in Millersville. He worked for Rubbermaid as a mechanic for 39 years. He loved hunting, fishing, cutting wood and planting his yearly garden...

Margaret Helen Nix, 82, of Jackson passed away Sunday, May 21, 2023, in St. Louis. She was born Sept. 21, 1940, in Advance, Missouri, to John Henry and Ethel Pearl McDowell Long. She and Robert D. "Bob" Nix were married March 11, 1960, in Advance. He preceded her in death Feb. 9, 2021...

Susan Renee Bening Niswonger, 61, of Jackson lost the battle with her autoimmune disease Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 26, 1961, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Wayne William and Draunda Jo Welker Bening...

Jewell Woodrow Mooney, 100, was born Sept. 3, 1922, in Birch Tree, Missouri, and passed away Saturday, May 20, 2023, at Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was the son of Effie and James Mooney. Jewell entered the Civilian Conservation Corps when he was 16 years old. ...

ORAN, Mo. — Marietta Jane Graviett passed away Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 27, 1929, in Oran to Paul and Irmina Gosche Pobst. She married Billy Lee Graviett on May 11, 1948, at Guardian Angel Catholic Church in Oran. Bill passed away Oct. 25, 1997. She was also known as "Monie" by many friends and family...

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. — Andrew Michael "Smacky" Essner, 65, passed away Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at his home in New Hamburg following a courageous battle with cancer. Born Sept. 17, 1957, in Cape Girardeau, son of Corona "Coonie" Bucher Essner of New Hamburg and the late Leon Essner, he was a 1976 graduate of Thomas W. Kelly High School in Benton, Missouri...

Son to Megan Miller of Whitewater, Southeast Hospital, 2:43 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Name, Granger Alonzo. Weight, 9 pounds, 5.2 ounces. First child. Miller is the daughter of Tori Miller and Kendall Miller of Whitewater. She works at Dollar General...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A poem written for President Joe Biden's inauguration has been placed on a restricted list at a South Florida elementary school after one parent's complaint. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, poet Amanda Gorman vowed to fight back. Her poem, "The Hill We Climb" was challenged by the parent of two students at Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, along with several books...

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden will announce Thursday that he is tapping Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., a history-making fighter pilot with deep knowledge of China, to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brown's confirmation would mean that, for the first time, both the Pentagon's top military and civilian positions would be held by African Americans. ...

Millions of American adults take daily multivitamins, even though the pills have not been shown to prevent ailments like heart disease or cancer and experts say it's better to get nutrients from food. The latest research looks at whether taking a daily vitamin can have an effect on memory. The study found multivitamins may boost memory function in some people, by the equivalent of three years of normal, age-related memory loss...

SHREVEPORT, La. -- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation's largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping highly addictive painkillers for nearly four years after a judge recommended it be stripped of its license for its "cavalier disregard" of thousands of suspicious orders fueling the opioid crisis...

KYIV, Ukraine -- The head of the Russian private army Wagner has again broken with the Kremlin line on Ukraine, saying its goal of demilitarizing the country has backfired, acknowledging Russian troops have killed civilians and agreeing with Western estimates that he's lost more than 20,000 men in the battle for Bakhmut...

WASHINGTON -- Like the blue and yellow flags that popped up around the U.S. when Russia invaded Ukraine 15 months ago, U.S. popular support for Washington's backing of Ukraine has faded a little but remains widespread, a survey by the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy and NORC shows...

HAGATNA, Guam -- Guam residents and officials emerged from homes and shelters Thursday to survey the damage done to the U.S. Pacific territory after a long night of hunkering down as Typhoon Mawar's howling winds shredded trees, flipped vehicles and knocked out utilities...

SEOUL, South Korea -- The South Korean and U.S. militaries were set to begin massive live-fire drills near the border with North Korea on Thursday, despite the North's warning that it won't tolerate what it calls such a hostile invasion rehearsal on its doorstep...

WASHINGTON -- As families and loved ones mourned the unimaginable loss of 19 children and two teachers shot dead last year in Uvalde, Texas, President Joe Biden said from a solemn White House memorial Wednesday that too many schools, too many everyday places have become "killing fields."...

MIAMI -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his 2024 presidential campaign Wednesday with firm words but a disastrous Twitter announcement that did little to counter criticism the 44-year-old Republican may not be ready to take on former President Donald Trump...

WASHINGTON -- A defiant House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday the debt ceiling standoff was "not my fault" as he sent Republican negotiators to the White House to finish out talks, but warned the two sides need more time as they try to reach a budget deal with President Joe Biden...

Memorial Day services in the region attract large crowds of people who gather to honor fallen veterans; about 200 veterans and their families gather in the Osage Community Centre for the annual Memorial Day service sponsored by the Joint Veterans Council in Cape Girardeau; patriotic music performed by the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, special flag presentations by color guards and a gunfire salute are included in the ceremonies, which are moved from Cape Girardeau County Park because of the threat of rain; Navy Reserve Cmdr. ...