W W W. S E M I S S O U R I A N . CO M
ESTABLISHED 1904, CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. $1.00
TUESDAY
BUSINESS / 3A
Coming soon
JUNE 9, 2020
Jackson eyes several business openings this summer, fall GOOD SPORTS / 1B
AN ORAN GUY
Basketball coach Shoemaker makes impact on many young people
MONDAY MOURNING Marijuana dispensaries plan to open later this year Event calls local clergy to repent inherent racism, act against racial injustice
Representatives of local shops say COVID-19 has not affected schedules BY JAY WOLZ
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN State officials say it’s possible the COVID-19 pandemic could result in delays in Missouri’s medical marijuana program, but representatives of medicinal cannabis dispensaries in Cape Girardeau and Jackson say they expect to be open by this fall as long as they have “product” to sell by then. “Hopefully, we’ll see some (dispensaries) open in August,” said Lisa Cox, head of public relations with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) in Jefferson City. “I don’t know that we can say that with 100% certainty, but we’re on track so far.” She said DHSS “remains on track” with its timeline and processes, but “some facilities have reported setbacks to their implementation efforts related to COVID-19.” Others, she said, report they are on schedule and DHSS is proceeding with verification and certification of cultivation, production, testing, transportation and distribution operations
Hopefully, we’ll see some (dispensaries) open in August. I don’t know that we can say that with 100% certainty, but we’re on track so far.” LISA COX Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services head of public relations in the state. “It is too early to say whether COVID-19 will cause significant delays in implementation of the (state’s) medical marijuana industry as a whole,” Cox said, “however, individual circumstances will be considered as deadlines draw nearer.” According to DHSS regulations, medical marijuana license holders must be operational by this winter. Locally, plans are moving ahead for dispensaries in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area. See MARIJUANA, Page 11A
BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com
The Rev. James Muriuki with Redeemer Episcopal Church in Cairo, Illinois, delivers a prayer to conclude a Monday Mourning call-to-action event Monday at Peace Park in downtown Cape Girardeau. The event was called by the social justice ministry at St. James AME Church to encourage local clergy members to confront racism and actively seek social justice in their communities. BY BEN MATTHEWS
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN An interdenominational group of faith leaders gathered Monday at Peace Park in downtown Cape Girardeau to answer a specific call to action — to repent for complicit behaviors contributing to social systems of white privilege and renounce any past preclusions to confront systematic oppression. The Monday Mourning event called by St. James AME Church’s social justice ministry drew represen-
ONLINE Photo gallery More photos of the Monday Mourning event are in a gallery at semissourian.com. tatives from about a dozen local religious centers — many of whom wore stoles and collars in addition to face masks as they stood in a socially-distant circle. An opening prayer led by Pastor Joe Rowley of Emanuel United Church of
Christ in Jackson noted the group gathered themselves to “reorient towards faithfulness” and emphasized a belief all humankind was created in God’s image. “In this time of pandemic, we asked for not just physical healing and wholeness, but a spiritual wholeness that touches on our deepest illness, especially as white Christians in this time of protest,” Rowley prayed. Speaking through his face mask, Omar Aziz expressed his perspectives as a member of the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau by
Inside George Floyd scholarship established at SEMO, Page 5A. Hundreds gather for BLM protest in Perryville, Page 14A. extending condolences to the family of George Floyd in the wake of his “tragic” and “unjust” death May 25 in Minneapolis, after he was pinned to the ground under a white officer’s knee for almost 9 minutes. See MOURNING, Page 11A
Delta church holds unusual baptism to maintain social distancing BY JEFF LONG
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN Under a cloudless sky in the parking lot of First Baptist Church in Delta on Sunday morning, Erica McClard was baptized in a cattle trough. Two weeks earlier, she had given her life to Jesus. Baptism, McClard said, publicly affirmed her private convictions. “I’m starting a new life free of addictions,” said McClard, who said she is in recovery from methamphetamine use.
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“Baptism is telling the world you’re not ashamed, that you are a new creation in Christ,” said Randy Conn, pastor since 2017. McClard, 40, is the mother of two — Rylie, 20, and R.J., 15. Her parents, Donna and Steve, were in attendance. “We’ve been praying (for this) for a good long while,” said Erica’s mother, Donna McClard, “and this (baptism) is a blessing to us.” Conn said due to social-distancing restrictions, a maximum of 84 can fit inside the church’s sanctuary.
semissourian.com
Erica McClard is baptized by full immersion in a cattle trough Sunday at First Baptist Church in Delta.
“We’ve been drawing 90 or more since COVID started, so we’re still worshipping outside,” Conn said. Conn, who previously served a church in Morehouse, Missouri, for 16 years before coming to Delta, said the church’s governing board is paying close attention to Gov. Mike Parson’s guidelines. “(Parson) has extended Phase 1 (of reopening Missouri) to June 15, so we’ll reexamine what we’ll do at church after that,” Conn said. See BAPTISM, Page 11A
Pavement Ends
JEFF LONG ~ jlong@semissourian.com
WEATHER
Photos & story Chicken and the egg — Backyard chickens aren’t just for pastoral country settings anymore. See photos — and read the story — at semissourian.com.
INDEX
Business .......................3A Classified...................... 5B Comics .......................... 3B
Watch your step! James Baughn peers into a massive sinkhole that has opened in Reynolds County along the Trail of Tears. Take a look in his latest Pavement Ends blog at semissourian.com/blogs.
Crossword ........ 12A, 3B Daily Record .......6A, 7A Dear Abby ................ 13A
Entertainment ........ 13A Obituaries............6A, 7A Opinion ................8A, 9A
H:87 L:68
Strong winds subsiding
Sports............................ 1B TV listings ...... 12A, 13A
Volume 116 • Issue 205
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