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‘RELAX YOUR MENTAL TENSION’
Whitewater farmer honors mother with new book, looks back on life in war-torn Liberia
Weekend June 24, 2018
KASSI JACKSON ~ kjackson@semissourian.com
From boat makers to farmers, U.S.-led tariff war inflicts pain BY PAUL WISEMAN AND MICHELLE R. SMITH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — A Florida boat builder absorbs $4 million in lost business and expects more pain. An Ohio pork producer is losing access to a vital export market and fears the damage will last years. A motorcycle shop near Cologne, Germany, wonders whether it even has a future. A brawl the United States provoked with its closest trading partners is starting to draw blood. On Friday, the European Union began imposing tariffs on $3.4
billion in American goods — from whiskey and motorcycles to peanuts and cranberries — to retaliate for President Donald Trump’s own tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. China, India and Turkey had earlier begun penalizing American products in response to the U.S. tariffs on metals. “We’re bleeding pretty bad right now,” said Jim Heimerl, a pork producer in Johnstown, Ohio. Pork producers such as Heimerl are already suffering from plunging prices and reduced income since China’s move to impose a 25 percent tariff on Amer-
We’re bleeding pretty bad right now.” JIM HEIMERL pork producer in Johnstown, Ohio ican pork in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. If the trade rift doesn’t worsen, the damage to the overall economy will likely be modest, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. But no one can say the economic harm will
end soon. On July 6, the United States is set to slap tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods to punish Beijing for forcing American companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to China’s market and other brass-knuckled attempts to supplant U.S. technological dominance. Beijing has vowed to retaliate. And Trump has threatened to punch back again with tariffs that could eventually cover $450 billion in Chinese products — representing nearly 90 percent of all goods Beijing exports to the United States.
Escalating tariffs likely would raise prices for consumers, inflate costs for companies relying on imported parts, rattle markets and paralyze business investment as executives wait to see whether the United States can reach a truce with the trading partners it’s fighting with. A full-fledged trade war, economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch warn, risks tipping the U.S. economy into recession. Heimerl, president of the National Pork Producers Council, noted American See TARIFFS, Page 5A
Stooges in Jackson under new ownership Former police officer Rodney Barnes returned to Jackson to take over the restaurant from longtime owner Ron Cook BY MARYBETH NIEDERKORN
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN
Stooges Restaurant in Jackson is under new ownership. Ron Cook, owner for 17 years, sold Stooges to former Jackson police officer Rodney Barnes, who said he plans to preserve what has made Stooges an “iconic” Jackson eatery: a neighborhood place people can go to meet and make friends. Barnes describes himself as a foodie who enjoys cooking, but more than that, he wants to push boundaries and experiment with what he likes to eat. He also wants to maintain
Stooges’ reputation as a live music venue. And, he said, he’ll keep the bar stocked with well drinks and beer — he plans to apply for a full liquor license. As to why he wanted to make the shift from police officer to restaurant owner, Barnes said, “It was time to follow my passion.” Cook wanted to sell, he said, and he wanted to buy. Barnes retired as a captain with the Jackson police force after 21 years, he said, and spent the last couple of years working at Washington University in St. Louis. See STOOGES, Page 4A
BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com
During his final night as owner of Stooges Restaurant, Ron Cook, above right, hugs Terry Crass on Thursday in Jackson.
Scott County Sheriff Wes Drury responds to issue involving deputy BY MARK BLISS
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN Scott County Sheriff Wes Drury posted a fierce rebuttal online late Friday afternoon to a Southeast Missourian story about a deputy accused of stalking a woman. He accused the newspaper of several inaccuracies and accused the woman of grossly exaggerating the frequency of the times the deputy passed by her house. Furthermore, he said the department conducted a background check before hiring the officer. In a statement issued Friday on the sheriff’s department Facebook page, Drury defended deputy Travis Keller. The Southeast Missourian reported in Friday’s issue a judge had denied the woman’s request for an order of protection. Drury wrote the judge’s ruling was “based on the credible evidence” presented at Thursday’s hearing at the Scott County courthouse in Benton, Missouri. In his statement, Drury said the story was “poor journalism” and amounted to a “flagrant disregard of the facts.” Drury took issue with the reporting on a dozen items. Judge Rob Barker was a Mississippi County judge and not a Scott County judge, Drury said. The See SHERIFF, Page 5A
FE AT U R E D O P P O R T U N I T Y
Registered nurse - Home Health and Hospice SoutheastHEALTH has openings for RN positions in Home Health as well as Hospice. Find more in its ad on Page 1D. Contact Recruitment Marketing Specialist Katelyn Fritz at kfritz@semissourian.com · 573.388.2762
Work smarter. More jobs on page 1D.
INDEX Classified......................1D Crossword ................... 9C
Daily Record ...............6A Dear Abby ................... 9C
Good Times ................. 1C Obituaries....................6A
Opinion ........................8A Real Estate ................... 1E
Volume 114 • Issue 220
Sports............................ 1B TV listings ................. 10C Copyright © 2018 Rust Communications