W W W. S E M I S S O U R I A N . CO M
ESTABLISHED 1904, CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. $2.00
REGION / 3A
GLAD GRADS
More than 1,300 earn degrees at Southeast’s commencement
Sunday May 15, 2016
Emergency c-section on dead mother saves baby
GLENN LANDBERG ~ glandberg@semissourian.com
Artists rap selection policies for roundabout sculpture
First responders at an Interstate 55 crash performed CPR on woman’s lifeless body to keep her infant alive
BY MARK BLISS
BY BEN KLEINE
A decision to commission a sculpture for Cape Girardeau’s Fountain Street roundabout has sparked debate over the selection process among local artists. It also has focused attention on the structure of the city’s public art committee. The Cape Girardeau City Council without any real discussion approved a sculpture project and major improvements to Capaha Field last month as part of a partnership agreement with Southeast Missouri State University. The modern sculpture design was reviewed and approved by Mayor Harry Rediger, university president Carols Vargas-Aburto and the public art committee, those involved with the project said. The sculpture was designed by art committee member and Southeast Missouri State University art professor Chris Wubbena and will be created by Wubbena and art students at the university’s River Campus. The sculpture will be in the roundabout near the River Campus. It is expected to be installed by August 2017.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN A baby was saved from her mother’s lifeless body after a fatal wreck Wednesday morning on Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau. Knowing the mother was dead, emergency personnel performed CPR to give the baby, Maddyson, a chance to live. Maddyson was out of critical condition by Friday afternoon, but it is uncertain whether the child suffered
brain damage due Wednesday mornto a lack of oxygen. ing. Sarah Iler died in Sarah Iler, 26, of the collision. The Cape Girardeau was mother-to-be, who trying her best to originally was from heed the doctor’s Poplar Bluff, Misadvice and carry souri, was headed Maddyson as long as to the hospital there possible. Sarah Iler because Maddys- Sarah Iler already was past her on’s birth was imoriginal due date of minent, according to her May 10, but she was petite sister, Kasandra Iler. Sarah and slender, and there was a Iler already was dilated, worry the baby was going to and that’s why she and her be born too small. Iler was husband, Matt Rider, were ready to be a mom, and that driving south on I-55 on was her focus, Kasandra
Iler said. Sarah Iler’s companion Wednesday morning was Rider. The couple had been estranged for awhile, but recently had reconciled. At 8:04 a.m. Wednesday, a tanker truck struck a Nissan sport utility vehicle that struck the vehicle Rider was driving, a red Chevrolet Blazer. The tanker truck barreled into the Blazer, pushing the SUV into the median. The Blazer overturned and threw Rider and Iler. Kan-
sandra said Iler was killed on impact, but firefighters and EMTs rushed to give Iler CPR in an effort to save her baby. Iler was taken to Saint Francis Medical Center, where an emergency cesarean section was performed. Maddyson immediately was put on a ventilator, Kasandra Iler said. Maddyson was born 4 pounds, 15 ounces — small enough she needed special treatment. See BABY, Page 15A
Proposed demolition of former Oran City Hall draws criticism BY BRIDGET BROWN
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN ORAN, Mo. — Controversy is building around the old Oran City Hall, which is scheduled to be demolished this week. When the city services moved out of the building in November, the city council began discussing the fate of the building at 118 Mountain St. The council recently voted unanimously to demolish the building. In response to the announcement, current and former residents opposed the demolition through calls to city hall and messages on the city’s
WEB:
Facebook page. The building was constructed in 1941 as a project for the National Youth Administration, a program born out of the Works Progress Administration. The upper level of the $15,000 building was dedicated in 1942 and served as Oran’s city hall for over half a century. The basement served as the town jail. According to Oran Mayor Gary Senciboy, the building has been in disrepair for years, and the city lacks funds to pay for the work to bring the native See ORAN, Page 15A
GOOD TIMES / 1C
SOMETHING FISHY Bowfishing is a sport of skill, precision and camaraderie
LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissou-
semissourian.com
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INDEX
Classified......................1D Crossword ................... 3C Daily Record ...............6A
Local sculptor and Scott City High School art teacher Matt Miller criticized the selection process. He said he and See ART, Page 14A
Strange but true
Housebroken, half-ton bison for sale
Check out our latest collection of sports photos — including Jackson vs. Perryville baseball — at semoball.com/photo.
Obituaries....................6A Opinion ........................8A Speak Out ....................8A
A matter of debate
WEATHER
Prep sports galleries
Dear Abby ................... 8B Good Times ................. 1C Movie times ................ 8B
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN
Sports............................ 1B TV listings .................... 8B
ARGYLE, Texas — An 8-year-old bison named Bullet has outgrown its Texas home, and the owner wants to find a new place for the 1,000-pound pet to roam. Karen Schoeve said Bullet occasionally is allowed inside the family’s house but needs more space and grassland. She said the bison is tame and housebroken. The family has posted a Craigslist ad listing Bullet as for sale for almost $6,000, as long as the new owner will allow the bison to continue interacting with people. — Associated Press
Volume 112 • Issue 191
H:68 L:47 Mostly sunny and cool Copyright © 2016 Rust Communications
FROM PAGE ONE
Sunday, May 15, 2016
15A
FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com
The entrance to the former Oran City Hall is seen Friday in Oran, Missouri.
Cape Wiggery Fashions With long layers of free-formed curls FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com
The former Oran City Hall building stands ready for demolition as seen Friday in Oran, Missouri.
Oran
From Page 1A limestone structure up to code. “If the building was in St. Louis or Cape Girardeau, there’d be tax money to spend on something like this,” Senciboy said. But, the mayor said, many of the citizens rent their homes and don’t pay a lot of taxes, so the funds for such restoration projects is limited. Also, he said, there are more pressing issues. Senciboy said the city has to replace a pump for the town’s lagoon to be in compliance with the Department of Natural Resources. “At the last meeting, we approved a $250,000 pump for the lagoon,” Senciboy said. “We have to get that fixed.” Senciboy said he is aware of the concerns voiced about the old building. The city held a town-hall meeting and invited people to give their concerns. Of those who complained online, no one came, he said. “Only three people showed up,” Senciboy said.
Baby From Page 1A On Friday, Maddyson was taken off the ventilator. Kasandra Iler said Maddyson opened her eyes and grabbed a nurse’s finger. There is a worry, however, she was deprived of oxygen for too long. It’s too soon to tell whether brain damage occurred, Kasandra Iler said. “The thought never once entered my head that that baby might die,” Kasandra Iler said. “I felt my sister gave her life to save this baby. That’s how God wanted it. We’ve been calling her our little miracle.” Rider seems to be doing better, too. All of his limbs and a few ribs were broken, and he’s endured several surgeries. Kasandra Iler said Iler’s family has not traveled to see him at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he was taken after the collision — pictures have served as the replacement for a face-to-face meeting. There now is a colossal hole in the Iler family. Iler’s sisters, Kansandra and Amanda West, and her mother, Patricia Knight, are waiting to see what happens with Maddyson and Rider, but the question of who is going to take care of Maddyson is unanswered for now. “She had her whole life
Though turnout at the meeting was low, social-media efforts to halt the project continued. A Change. org petition was created by Chris Kinder, a historic preservationist with ties to the region. “I just wanted people to know that there are numerous options available to them and resources available that could save the building,” Kinder said in an email. Kinder also said he felt as if officials wanted to demolish the building quickly. “Surely there is a way to delay the demolition to allow all voices to be heard and to seek out the resources available to preserve the building,” Kinder said. Bill Hart of Missouri Preservation, a statewide notfor-profit advocacy group, suggested the petition in the hopes of conveying to city leaders there was interest in preserving the building. He said an injunction to halt the demolition also is an avenue that could be taken. “Too many of Oran’s buildings are being demolished,” Hart said. “Once they’re gone, they’re gone.” Senciboy said the city council considered several options before deciding on
The thought never once entered my head that that baby might die. I felt my sister gave her life to save this baby.”
demolition. The basement has wiring issues and mold. The building itself is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; the outside stairs would need to be renovated and a ramp added to comply, Senciboy said. The council considered selling the property he said, “but no one wants it.” Repurposing the materials, he said, is not an option, as it would add more time and expense to the project. “It’s a liability,” Senciboy said. “It needs to come
you are a Radiant Beauty
down.” Senciboy said removing the building will provide the town with much-needed parking, which will help encourage businesses to come to the city and remain there. The demolition initially was scheduled to begin Monday, but Senciboy expected it to start on Tuesday or Wednesday. “It’s going to be a win-win for everyone,” Senciboy said.
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KASANDRA ILER Sarah Isler’s sister ahead of her,” Knight said of her daughter. “And now the baby has to grow up without her mother. ... Amanda, it’s like she’s lost her other half. You can’t tell Amanda and Sarah apart in a lot of pictures.” The Iler family has set up a gofundme.com account to raise $5,000 to pay for the funeral with Moore’s Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff. The family does not have a lot of money, and that is compounded by Sarah not having life insurance, Kasandra said. More than $3,400 had been raised by Saturday evening. Sarah Iler was very close to her 9-year-old niece MaKenna, Amanda’s daughter. Knight said MaKenna has cried for nearly two days straight. “Sarah, she just touched everybody’s life,” Knight said. “She was just amazing.” The gofundme account can be found at gofundme. com/23z6zng.
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W W W. S E M I S S O U R I A N . CO M
ESTABLISHED 1904, CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. $1.00
WEDNESDAY
N AT I O N / 9 A
‘Reckless and careless’ Clinton says electing Trump would send U.S. into a recession
JUNE 22, 2016
SPORTS / 1B
CARDS WIN
Holliday, Carpenter hit homers to beat Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals’ Matt
FAA loosens rules for commercial drone use BY BRIDGET BROWN
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN Restrictions on commercial drone use are tight. Commercial operators have had to carry a manned aircraft pilot’s license or acquire a waiver, which can be a lengthy process. But by August, it will become easier to operate a commercial drone. On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a new set of rules for the use of unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes. The new rule offers regulations for drones weighing less than 55 pounds being used for non-hobbyist purposes. The rules mean commercial operators can fly drones without special permission. Operators, who must be at least 16 years old, would register their drones online as they already are required to do, pass an exam at an FAA-approved testing center and pass a TSA-administered background check. The operator also will be expected to maintain safety standards for the aircraft before each flight. “Before this change, the regulations were almost completely prohibitive for small business,” Oral R. Friend, a See DRONES, Page 5A
The people who want to get involved have probably already done it. They just have an avenue to do it without fear that the FAA’s going to knock on their door.”
ALL ABOUT THAT BASE Poor construction standards partly to blame for Cape’s potholed streets
Bel Air Drive BY MARK BLISS
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN Motorists traveling on many Cape Girardeau city streets experience a bumpy, bone-jarring ride over crumbling pavement that in many cases doesn’t meet current construction codes. Some concrete streets have been patched over the years but continue to fall apart. City council members have heard residents’ complaints. City manager Scott Meyer said many of the concrete streets are at least 25 or 30 years old — the city’s website says the average age for a street is 35 years — and most of them were built on compacted dirt rather than a gravel base, which is standard construction practice today. Meyer, a former state highway engineer, said when
North West End Boulevard
ONLINE Video See video online at semissourian.com. he was hired as city manager in 2009, the city allowed streets to be paved directly over compacted dirt. “I don’t know why they made that choice,” he said. See HOLES, Page 5A
Lexington Avenue City plans to spend from Transportation Trust Fund 5 money over next five years:
$4.25
million to fix concrete streets over next five years
$3.5
million to fix asphalt streets over the next five years.
$1.55
million annually for major street concrete repairs
In addition, the city is spending $3.2 million on replacing dilapidated sections of concrete streets over a two-year period, which began this year from savings resulting from scrapping the Armstrong Drive extension project. More than 100 segments of streets and alleyways slated to be replaced/paved by 2021.
ANDREW CHRONISTER co-owner, Aerovictus
WEB:
FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com
A previously patched pothole is seen Tuesday on South Sprigg Street in Cape Girardeau.
Source: City of Cape Girardeau
Fruitland may seek full-time fire unit The fire district would have to triple its property taxes to pay three crews BY BEN KLEINE
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN The Fruitland Area Fire Protection District Fire Department plans to ask voters to approve a tax increase so it can add a fulltime firefighting unit at its main station. Currently, the district charges a tax of 26 cents per $100 of assessed property value, or about $130 on a $50,000 home, to pay for its volunteer fire department. Fire chief Rob Francis and the fire-district board plan to propose an increase to about 80 cents per $100 assessed value, totaling about $400 on a $50,000 home. If approved, the tax would give the department about an additional $450,000 — most of which would be used to pay and provide benefits to three crews of three firefighters each in 24-hour rotations at fire station 1 in Fruitland. A fire chief and two officers also would be paid and would work during normal business hours. The fire board will discuss the proposal at its meeting 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Saxony Lutheran
INDEX
Classified...................... 5B Comics .......................... 4B Crossword ................... 4B
Obituaries............6A, 7A Opinion ........................8A Sports............................ 1B
See FIRE, Page 5A
BY TYLER GRAEF
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN The recently elected mayor of Scott City is teaming with the city’s new public works director to initiate infrastructure improvements they say have been a long time coming. Ron Cummins, a former city councilman who unseated 16-year mayor
Tim Porch in the April election, plans to waste no time addressing the city’s stormwater drainage problems, needed sidewalk repairs and sewage issues. “With a new public works director, it’s like there’s new blood pumped into our city,” Cummins said. See UPGRADES, Page 5A
Strange but true
Man arrested for loud music near stadium
In her latest blog, Sharon Sanders shares a variety of historic photos, including this 1940 image of the Bunn Bridge. Check it out at semissourian.com/blogs.
Daily Record ...............6A Dear Abby ................ 12A Movie times ............. 12A
High School in Jackson. Francis said the soonest the department could have a tax vote would be the November election; that would require meeting an Aug. 30 deadline for filing. If that deadline is missed, the board will try to get the referendum on the April ballot. “We’re here to serve the public, and we’re giving them information,” Francis said of the Thursday meeting. The department is manned by 32 volunteer firefighters that get only a fuel stipend after calls. The proposal is to keep as many of the current firefighters as volunteers as possible.
WEATHER
From the Morgue blog
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ROB FRANCIS chief, Fruitland Area Fire Protection District Fire Department
Scott City’s new leaders plan upgrades to infrastructure
semissourian.com
Breaking news
We’re here to serve the public, and we’re giving them information.”
TV listings ................. 12A
NEW YORK — Police said they’ve nabbed a culprit who outfitted a van with more than 50 speakers and blasted loud music late at night near the New York Mets’ stadium. Police received noise complaints Saturday night in the Queens neighborhood of Willets Point, near Citi Field. Police found the van and confiscated it. Authorities said the van’s owner, Nelson Hidalgo, was arrested on charges of criminal nuisance, unreasonable noise, unlawful assembly and other offenses. — Associated Press
Volume 112 • Issue 222
H:97 L:77
Partly sunny; hot; humid
Copyright © 2016 Rust Communications
FROM PAGE ONE
Holes
From Page 1A Under Meyer, the city adopted new construction standards requiring developers and contractors to place a four-inch base of gravel over the dirt as a foundation for the pavement. Stan Polivick, public works assistant director, said the change was made in 2010 in conjunction with a number of new development codes adopted by the city. Meyer and Polivick said using a gravel base is standard practice elsewhere in road construction. “It is an engineering principle,” said Meyer, who previously served as district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation in Sikeston, Missouri. He said the highway department required such a base for construction of roads. Polivick said it was standard practice to use a gravel base for road building in Southern states where he used to live. Meyer said a gravel base helps with drainage. “It helps keep moisture away from the concrete,” he said. Public works crews routinely have patched and repaired streets over the years. But the growing age of the streets, aggravated by harsh winters and sizzling summers in recent years, has led to a growing number of roads that need their pavement replaced, city officials said. Heat can cause roadways to buckle, Polivick said. “Most of the roadways have gone past their design life,” he said. Two-thirds of city streets are concrete pavement, with asphalt pavement accounting for the other third. A concrete street is designed to last 25 years, and an asphalt road, 15 years, Polivick said, adding streets often can last much longer.
Upgrades From Page 1A
In recent years, Scott City has seen higher-than-average rainfall. That, combined with clogged ditches, has resulted in frequent flooding in residential areas and what Cummins called “tremendous amounts of headaches.” Public works director Dustin Whitworth said drainage issues are the top priority. “It’s been a lot of years, and our ditches have grown up over the years,” he said. “They just have not been maintained and taken care of well enough.” The first step, he said will be to clear some of the ditches, followed by installing catch basins to collect rainwater. “So, that over a period of time, the water can be released,” he said, “instead of trying to get out all at once and getting stuck.” City engineers are designing several catch ba-
Meyer said a gravel base, such as what is being used now with street construction, should help extend the life of the pavement. The city council pledged to use millions of dollars in Transportation Trust Fund money to address some of the cracked, crumbling sections of streets. In August, voters approved a five-year extension of the half-cent sales tax (Transportation Trust Fund 5 or TTF 5) after city officials promised to fix city streets. The city plans to spend nearly $8 million of TTF 5 money over the next five years to replace more than 100 segments of roadways, which includes paving some alleyways. Some segments cover a block or two; others are shorter sections, officials said. Most are in residential neighborhoods. Polivick said the total includes $4.25 million to fix dilapidated concrete streets and $3.5 million to fix deteriorating asphalt roads. But with the pay-as-yougo trust fund program, revenue from the latest tax extension won’t be used for street-replacement work until 2017, he said. The city, however, already is proceeding with street repairs, thanks to money saved by not moving ahead with the Armstrong Drive extension project. As a result, the city has $3.2 million available to spend this year and next year on replacing badly worn segments of concrete streets. That money is in addition to TTF 5 money. The city council earlier this year awarded a contract to Nip Kelley Equipment Co. to do the 2016 street work at a cost of $1.19 million. Pavement replacement work is well underway in the Lexington Place neighborhood off Lexington Avenue and will be followed up by improvements in the Ashland Hills subdivision on the city’s west side — two of the areas with
numerous rundown streets. Sections of a dozen concrete streets will be fixed by the contractor, with the work scheduled to be finished by the end of the year. Mayor Harry Rediger said he already has heard positive comments from Lexington Place residents about the work that has been completed. The city is spending another $225,000 this year on a contract with ASA Asphalt of Advance, Missouri, to resurface pavement with hot-mix asphalt on sections of seven streets. TTF 4 money is being used to pay for that project, officials said. The city also has one four-man crew assigned full-time to street repairs, Polivick said. A second four-man crew assists in making repairs as needed. The second crew at times does cold-mix patching of potholes. The cost of city-crew repairs is paid from the operating budget. Polivick said city crews handle small street repairs. “We won’t do a whole block,” he said. The city used to operate an asphalt paving machine for overlay work. But the machine broke down a few years ago. Replacing it would cost about $300,000, Polivick said. City staff have concluded such an expense is not warranted, he said. Council members said they continue to receive complaints about the poor conditions of some city streets. One of those is Lexington Avenue, particularly the concrete pavement between Perryville Road and Cape Rock Drive. “The long-term plan is to overlay all of Lexington,” Rediger said. Meyer told the council earlier this year deteriorating roads will continue to pose a challenge. “I think it is going to remain an issue for a while,” he said.
sins, but the eventual locations of the basins have not been determined, he said. Scott City also has seen problems with its sewer system. Several backups have been caused by excess rainwater seeping into the system. Cummins said the problem areas include manhole lids that aren’t sealed and lines disrupted by tree roots. To pay for the repairs, Cummins said he’d like to see a bond issue, but nothing has been planned yet. State inspectors also have mandated an upgrade to Scott City’s sewage lagoon system because ammonia levels are too high under new regulations. “The state has requirements that we are going to have to meet,” Cummins said. “We’ll have to pipe it from the lagoons to the Mississippi River so you have a larger body of water to displace that ammonia amount.” Preliminary work for sidewalk repairs has begun, and Cummins said
the city’s main concern is safety. “We’ve started marking them, so the next step is removing them and replacing them with new concrete so that the public can get out and enjoy our town and not have to be in the road,” he said. “We need to get our kids to school safely, the ones who walk.” Whitworth said repairs will be done on an as-needed basis. “It’s part of something that will be ongoing in all parts of town,” he said. “Wherever it’s needed, not just one part or another.” Whitworth, who was born and raised in Scott City and worked for the city from 1991 to 1999 as public-works foreman, said it’s good to be back with the city. “I’m excited about making the city a better place. It’s not a bad place now, but we can make some improvements, and I’m looking forward to returning to what I started,” he said.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
5A
GLENN LANDBERG ~ glandberg@semissourian.com
A Fruitland firefighter works to extinguish a house fire that broke out June 9 at 257 Church St. in Pocahontas.
Fire
From Page 1A Filling the new full-time positions would be advertised, Francis said. Francis said five full-time firefighters could not cover most fires; the National Fire Protection Association recommends having at least 15 firefighters at every fire. The Fruitland fire district is 110 square miles, from New Wells in the north, Neelys Landing in the east, Jackson city limits to the south and Route D to the west. Francis said the area has grown to include about 9,000 residents. The department answered 409 calls in 2015. So
far in 2016, its average response time is 22 minutes, including mutual-aid calls. Assistant chief Gene Kerns said a hold time from a dispatcher could add three to four minutes to the response time. “Your mom could be in cardiac arrest when we get there,” Kerns said. “That’s why that number has to be lower.” With full-time firefighters at the station, the response time would lessen by five to 10 minutes because it would eliminate travel time to the station, Francis said. There have been some calls Fruitland firefighters have not taken because they were away at their day jobs. An advantage to the tax-
payer for lowering the fire district’s response time is it would improve the district’s ISO rating, thus lowering home-insurance rates. The district has a rating of 8, with 10 being the worst rating, mainly because firefighters have to bring water to many fires. Francis said previous meetings where the idea of full-time firefighters was discussed received a largely positive reception from voters. But he still wants to gauge the public’s reaction to the proposal. “Anything with taxes, you’re going to be cautious,” he said. bkleine@semissourian.com (573) 388-3644
We’ve only just begun Read The Best Years every month to see how the 50-and-up crowd lives life to the max.
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PUBLIC REAL ESTATE AUCTION Rackety Rack Ranch Z Hwy. • Lake Wappapello, MO
12:00 p.m.
SATURDAY Rain or Shine
June 25th, 2016 Terms on Real Estate:See Below
Close to Mingo Refuge • Duck Hunting Refuge has over 7,500 Acres Ranch consists of 53 Acres m/l
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Drones
From Page 1A local videographer and unmanned aircraft owner, said in an email. “Now, I plan on applying for the new commercial license ASAP.” Videographer Andrew Chronister is getting his pilot’s license to comply with the original regulation. He’s a co-owner of Aerovictus, a company that provides aerial imaging for farms and other agriculture businesses. While it might be disappointing to see regulations loosen just after going through the required hoops, he plans to continue. “I would like to be able to fly and be legit before August, when the rule goes into effect,” Chronister said. “I’m always wary of more regulations on commerce, but in this case, it’s under-
standable,” Friend said. “The people and companies that are wanting to use these platforms for business will be, by their very nature, more apt to learn and follow safety guidelines so as to maintain licensing for their business use.” Jack Mitchell, owner of Tailwinds R/C Hobby Center in Cape Girardeau, said the new rule is a step in the right direction. Drone technology will only increase, he said, and in August it will be easier to use drones not only commercially, but for things such as disaster relief and search and rescue. The new rule will increase the market for aerial photography in a variety of businesses, from farming to real estate. According to a news release from the FAA, the rule could generate more than $82 billion for the U.S. economy and create more than 100,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.
Tim Merideth, owner of Century 21 Ashland Realty in Cape Girardeau, said there are great possibilities for drone use in his industry — in marketing properties for sale to the public and for inspection services. John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said several businesses in the region use aerial videography via drones, and he expects to see more. The new regulations will make it easier for those interested in aerial videography to practice it while following FAA regulations, but Chronister and Mitchell don’t expect to see a big increase in competition. “The people who want to get involved have probably already done it,” Chronister said. “They just have an avenue to do it without fear that the FAA’s going to knock on their door.” bbrown@semissourian.com (573) 388-3630
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THURSDAY
SPORTS / 1B
GAME-CHANGER
SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
McCullough leads the way for the Redhawks offense
WORLD / 11A
IS figure slain Russia says an airstrike killed him in Syria N AT I O N / 9 A
MEETING
Trump, Mexican president dispute border wall chat
Republican presidential
LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.
Hillcrest boiling mad over new boil orders Residents of the subdivision are furious over the alerts after huge fee increases BY TYLER GRAEF
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN The boil-order signs went back up Monday at the entrances to Hillcrest Manor subdivision, prompting some residents to wonder whether the system upgrades that are driving their water rates up were worth it. The system, which serves about 250 customers between Cape Girardeau and Gordonville, fell into disrepair gradually over the past two decades under the previous owners, Brandco Investments LLC. Since 1989, problems such as boil orders have become more and more frequent, but rates hadn’t increased. When Hillcrest Utility Operating Co. — owned by Central States Water Resources in St. Ann, Missouri — purchased the water system in March 2015, it put $1.2 million into system upgrades. To offset those costs, it raised water rates. With a projected average household water bill north of $150, residents of Hillcrest Manor face rates among the highest in Missouri, yet the boil orders haven’t stopped. Josiah Cox, president of the company that owns Hillcrest Utility, said the new rates are necessary and based on statewide norms. He also said the continued boil orders are signs of the previous owners’ neglect, and his company is working diligently to fix the system. The most recent boil
WEB:
Probe reveals absentee-voting irregularities ASSOCIATED PRESS
Inside
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis voters who claim to be the victims of absentee-voting irregularities are raising questions about the conduct of campaign workers for a state representative who narrowly won her primary. The allegations stem from Democratic state Rep. Penny Hubbard’s 90vote win against political newcomer Bruce Franks in the Aug. 2 primary, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Franks is suing to overturn the election. Although he won most of the votes cast on election day, Hubbard snared
Jay Ashcroft criticizes Secretary of State Jason Kander over voter-fraud allegations. Page 4A
order, he said, happened when an existing water line cracked, causing the system to lose water pressure. The boil order was a state-mandated precaution, he said. While the fix took only hours, verification the water is safe takes several days, he said. Roy Davault, 90, who has lived in the subdivision since 1979, said if it weren’t for the higher rates, he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the previous owner and Hillcrest Utility. “I told [Cox], ‘You’re no better than Brandco,’” he said. Cox said even if residents
ONLINE Video
don’t realize it, his company has made improvements to the system. He said the $1.2 million went to cover the most pressing infrastructural needs, what he called “big capital projects” — things such as backup power and a 24-hour emergency storage reservoir. “We couldn’t replace the entire conveyance system
Two aldermen resign from Marble Hill board BY LINDA REDEFFER
Watch a video of Hillcrest Manor residents showing the problems with the water system at semissourian.com.
BANNER PRESS
LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com
The Hillcrest Subdivision off Route K is under a boil-water advisory again. then,” he said. “That [cost] would have been astronomical.” See WATER, Page 5A
MARBLE HILL, Mo. — Two Marble Hill aldermen have resigned, leaving the board of aldermen without a quorum and unable to conduct city business. First Ward Alderman Jackie Jenkins, who was elected to his first term in April, confirmed Friday he intends to leave the board because he took a new job at Wal-Mart that requires him to work the 2 to 11 p.m. shift.
INDEX
Classified...................... 7B Comics .......................... 6B Crossword ................... 6B
Next ............................ 10A Obituaries....................6A Opinion ........................8A
Charles Fisher
“That’s the only reason,” Jenkins said. “I hope they appoint someone who can take my place and do good for the community.” See ALDERMEN, Page 5A
Strange but true
Skin roller forces plane evacuation
Chief Sagamore was installed above Houck Stadium in 1981. Fred Lynch shares the 27-foot-tall fiberglass statue’s backstory at semissourian.com/blogs.
Daily Record ...............6A Dear Abby ................ 12A Movie times ............. 12A
Jackie Jenkins
WEATHER
f/8 and Be There Blog
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See BALLOTS, Page 5A
LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com
Gary Minor hoses himself off after working in his yard Wednesday in the Hillcrest Subdivision.
semissourian.com
Breaking news
78 percent of absentee votes to propel her to victory. The U.S. attorney’s office is among several agencies reviewing the results. Reynal Caldwell Jr., 38, was among two voters who told the newspaper people identifying themselves as Hubbard campaign workers filled out their ballots for them in violation of state law.
Sports............................ 1B TV listings ................. 12A
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Authorities say a vibrating device that claims to fight wrinkles as it rolls over a person’s face forced a Southwest Airlines flight to evacuate. Albuquerque Aviation Police said passengers were ordered off the plane Monday after the skin roller was discovered in the back of a seat. Authorities say the flight crew moved the item to the galley, and police searched the plane. No other suspicious items were found, and no arrests were made. — Associated Press
Volume 110 • Issue 282
H:82 L:59
Partly sunny; less humid
FROM PAGE ONE / NATION
Thursday, September 01, 2016
5A
Samsung updates smartwatch; Lenovo ditches laptop keyboard BY ANICK JESDANUN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com
Gary Minor works to remove a tree stump and roots from his yard Wednesday in the Hillcrest Subdivision. “I would pay somebody to do this, but I can’t. I have to pay my water bill,” Minor said.
Water
From Page 1A The issues causing boil orders now, he said, were unexpected but are routine inconveniences that come with rectifying decades of neglect. “It was the same system in place, and it just rotted in the ground,” he said. “Hopefully, we’re past these issues.” But because the most recent spat of boil orders were unforeseen, residents like Davault see little reason to believe the issues are behind them. Furthermore, he and others have expressed suspicions about Cox’s motives from the outset. Cox obtained funding for the initial renovations from St. Louis-based developers Robert and David Glarner at 14 percent interest, which many residents see as abnormally high.
Ballots
From Page 1A Caldwell said he was approached twice and may have been asked to sign something during the first encounter. He said the application for an absentee ballot that was submitted in his name contained some writing that wasn’t his. A few days after that first visit, Caldwell said, four people came to his home and asked whether the absentee ballot had arrived. Caldwell said after he expressed indecision about how to vote, a woman said she would “put down the same votes as hers.” He said the campaign workers left with his signed
Aldermen From Page 1A
Second Ward Alderman Charles Fisher also resigned. Fisher first was appointed alderman in 2013, then ran unopposed for re-election. Fisher declined to elabo-
“Why, in today’s market, you’d pay 14 percent interest, I do not know,” Davault said, suggesting Cox’s 2014 bankruptcy filing was one of the reasons he could not secure funding from a bank at a more reasonable rate. Cox disputed this, saying banks were unwilling to grant him funding because of the system’s poor condition. He also said the difference to Hillcrest Utility’s customers between the current arrangement and what a bank could have provided amounts to “less than 10 percent of the rate they’re getting ready to pay.” Cox, however, testified before the Missouri Public Service Commission the terms of the Glarners’ loan ruled out phased-in rate increases, making the extreme rate increases necessary. Hillcrest resident Gary Minor shares Davault’s reservations about Cox’s busi-
ness practices. “That amazes me. ... Who’s he kidding?” Minor asked. “If he makes a name for himself here with this type of situation he’s got going and then he’s looking at other properties ... who’s gonna want this guy around? And when is someone gonna stand up and tell the governor, ‘Hey, look at your board?’” Hillcrest resident Anna Wanamaker called the rates ridiculous and said she’s not sure they’re helping. “My husband and I, we’re retired; we do not drink this water, even if it’s not on boil order,” she said. They cook and even brush their teeth with bottled water, a fairly common practice among Hillcrest residents. “I’m sick of the boil water orders, and I’m sick of being taken advantage of,” she said.
return envelope and blank ballot. Records show his ballot was among those counted in the tight race. The newspaper also found after interviewing dozens of people and reviewing thousands of documents that: There were at least 60 instances where two applications for an absentee ballot were submitted to the St. Louis Election Board on behalf of a single voter. Some voters contacted by the Post-Dispatch said they had not applied twice and had no idea why someone would have filled out a second application for them. More than a dozen voters said they never claimed to be incapacitated as their applications to vote absentee show. Of the six legal reasons a person can vote
absentee, only one — incapacity — does not require a notarized affidavit. Two former Election Board employees say in previous election campaigns, Hubbard’s husband routinely delivered stacks of absentee ballots to the Election Board offices, even though Missouri election law says only a second-degree relative can deliver ballots for another person. Penny Hubbard’s lawyer denied allegations of impropriety involving either Penny Hubbard or her husband. She said the campaign did not change or improperly handle voting records. “There is absolutely no evidence Penny Hubbard or anyone associated with her forged documents,” lawyer Jane Dueker said.
rate on his decision, claiming only a difference of opinion with the rest of the board as his reason for resigning. Jenkins has not officially resigned in writing. City Clerk Krysty Davis said the city will have to meet in a special session at a time when Jenkins can be present to vote on a replacement
tgraef@semissourian.com (573) 388-3627
for him. Then Jenkins’ resignation will go into effect, and the remaining board members with the newly sworn-in alderman would vote to fill the second vacancy. The next scheduled meeting for the board is Sept. 12. The date and time of the special meeting has not been established.
NEW YORK — Samsung’s next smartwatch will come with GPS capabilities and the ability to call or text for help by triple-tapping a side button. The new Gear S3 retains the circular design of the current S2 model, but is slightly larger. Samsung still will sell last year’s S2 to those who consider the S3 too big on their wrist. As with the S2, the outer ring of the watch face rotates to let you scroll through notifications and apps. Interface improvements include the ability to accept or reject calls with the ring rather than a swipe of the screen. The S3 will come in three flavors. One has LTE cellular capabilities, allowing people to make calls, receive notifications and check weather without a companion phone nearby. A data plan costs extra. The other two models lack LTE and differ primarily in style. Samsung said prices will be announced closer to the devices’ availability later in the year. Samsung announced the new watch lineup Wednesday at the IFA tech show in Berlin. The Gear smartwatches have had impressive designs and battery life, but have been hampered largely by a dearth of apps, as many developers write for Apple Watch and Android Wear devices instead. All three S3 models will have GPS, making them more accurate for workouts. In the S2, GPS was limited to a pricier model with cellular capabilities (on the slower 3G network). GPS, so far, isn’t common in smartwatches, allowing Samsung to stand out with the S3. Although GPS tends to drain battery quickly, Samsung expects at least three days of battery life in the S3. Meanwhile, the emergency-calling feature echoes the “SOS” feature coming to the Apple Watch this fall. Where the Apple Watch will call 911 or the relevant emergency service elsewhere directly, though, the
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican Gov. Paul LePage said Wednesday he intends to seek “spiritual guidance” in hopes of quieting a controversy he created when he left an obscene message on a Democratic lawmaker’s voicemail and then said he wished he could challenge him to a duel and point a gun at him. LePage apologized to state Rep. Drew Gattine personally and later blamed the media for fueling the fight. He also denied claims by some legislators he was struggling with addiction or mental-health issues. “I’m not an alcoholic. I’m not a drug addict. I don’t have mental issues,” LePage told reporters. “What I have is a backbone, and I want to move Maine forward.” LePage said he doesn’t intend to talk to the media anymore, a claim he has made before.
In recent days, legislators have called for LePage to step down or get professional help after his remarks to Gattine and comments he made blaming blacks and Hispanics for Maine’s heroin epidemic. LePage, who is Roman Catholic, responded Wednesday by saying he wouldn’t resign and instead intended to seek “spiritual guidance.” He did not elaborate on what that involved. His wife said in a statement to the media the family believed God would help
them through the situation. “We have always been a family of faith, and we recognize that the grace and guidance from God can make us stronger in life,” first lady Ann LePage said. Last week, the governor left a foul-mouthed voicemail message for Gattine that said in part, “I am after you,” and then he told reporters he wished he could go back in time and challenge Gattine to a duel and point a gun “right between his eyes.”
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S3 will call or text emergency contacts, such as friends or relatives. These will be pre-recorded or pre-written messages. For an extra recurring fee, which has yet to be announced, S3 users will be able to make a live call to ADT’s security dispatchers, who would be able to call 911 or offer other help. The S3 also comes with expanded ability to make payments at stores through Samsung Pay. And the watch’s always-on feature improves with a display of millions of colors, rather than just 16 before.
Something missing in a laptop
Also at the IFA tech show, Lenovo unveiled a twist on the laptop: Its new Yoga Book won’t have a physical keyboard. It’s an odd choice, given that Apple, Samsung and other tablet makers are pushing professional tablet models with keyboard accessories. Those companies are hoping to appeal to businesses and individuals looking to replace their laptops. In Lenovo’s case, the 10inch Yoga Book retains the clamshell design of the laptop, but puts a second touch screen where the keyboard normally goes. People can type on a touch-screen keyboard there or just write or draw on that second screen with an included stylus. You can use a regular pen or pencil, though you’d want to put a sheet of paper over the screen to avoid damage.
Although Lenovo calls Yoga Book a tablet, the keyboard part isn’t detachable, making the device a laptop. The keyboard, though, can fold all the way to the back to make the device feel more like a tablet. Jeff Meredith, a Lenovo vice president, said the Yoga Book might not be appropriate for extensive typing, but should be suitable for people — especially younger people — who use the phone’s touch screen to respond to email at night or even take notes in classrooms. He added when BlackBerrys were popular, people couldn’t imagine getting rid of physical keyboards on their phones, either. The Yoga Book will start shipping in the coming weeks. An Android version will cost $500, and Windows will be $600. The unveiling came hours after rival computer maker Acer unveiled what it calls the world’s first laptop to measure less than a centimeter. The Swift 7 is 9.98 millimeters (0.39 inch) to be exact. But Lenovo says the Yoga Book is thinner, at 9.6 millimeters, or slightly more than the thickest iPad at 7.5 millimeters. Acer, meanwhile, unveiled a laptop with a curved screen, something traditionally limited to computer monitors for desktops. The Predator 21 X is designed for video games and comes with eye-tracking technology that promises to let players aim, identify enemies and take cover by gazing at the screen.
We’ve only just begun Read The Best Years every month to see how the 50-and-up crowd lives life to the max.
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Maine governor to seek ‘spiritual guidance’ BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
MARK LENNIHAN ~ Associated Press
The Samsung S3’s Samsung Pay feature is demonstrated in New York.
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A LESSON IN HELPING OTHERS Career and Technology Center students are welding, painting deer blinds for disabled hunters
Sunday October 30, 2016
ANDREW J. WHITAKER ~ awhitaker@semissourian.com
AN IN-DEPTH REPORT
WHEN MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE LAW COLLIDE
PART 1 OF 4
New emails found on aide’s device during investigation of Anthony Weiner
How a woman’s alone time turned into felony police-assault charges
ASSOCIATED PRESS
his is a four-part account of an alleged assault-of-police-officers case against Renee Boyd, who was diagnosed as a child with obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic depression and Tourette’s syndrome. The story examines Boyd’s response to a police officer who
tackled her during a welfare-check call in January when she did not comply with commands. It follows her subsequent journey through the justice system. The story is the latest installment in the Southeast Missourian’s ongoing reporting of mental-illness issues in the region and beyond. BY TYLER GRAEF
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN Rachel Hornback squirmed in the courtroom, tearful and helpless as her girlfriend Renee Boyd began to stammer in front of the judge. Something wasn’t right. Renee was supposed to simply enter her plea, but the judge kept making her say what she already had told him — how exactly had she assaulted patrolman Jonathan Ortmann? What happened Jan. 27? What was happening now? From the gallery, Rachel could hear the confusion in Renee’s voice. It all felt so wrong — the hearing, the felonies, the jail and the courts and nine months of worrying sick. But then again, not much since January had gone according to plan. It was October now. They were tired, and Renee had been offered a way out. It wasn’t great, but she was too afraid not to take it.
ONLINE Video LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com
Renee Boyd looks out over 1000 N. Middle St. in Cape Girardeau, where she was arrested in January. See her video interview online at semissourian.com.
Share Check out and share every installment of the series and other materials at a special landing page, semissourian.com/boyd
See BOYD, Page 12A
WEB:
Weather alerts
INDEX
Classified......................1D Crossword ................... 3C Daily Record ...............6A
Chaffee principal hits roof after his students hit goal BY BRIDGET BROWN
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN The temperature hit a brisk 45 degrees Thursday night in Chaffee, Missouri. But Sid Atkins, Chaffee Elementary School principal, wasn’t bothered. His sleeping bag and his tent with a dinosaur print kept him warm as he slept on
See ROOF, Page 12A
Strange but true
Lottery skeptic wins $1 million jackpot
Check out our latest images from high-school sports — including Central vs. Farmington football — at semoball.com/photos.
Obituaries.............6A,7A Opinion ........................8A Sports............................ 1B
the school’s roof. His campout was part of a promise he made to his first- through sixth graders at the beginning of the year: If they passed 7,000 Accelerated Reader tests in the first quarter, he would spend a night on the roof.
WEATHER
Sports galleries
Dear Abby ................... 8B Good Times ................. 1C Movie times ................ 8B
Clinton pushes back; Comey in spotlight. 10A
WASHINGTON — The longtime Hillary Clinton aide at the center of a re- cus of the bureau’s earlinewed FBI email investi- er criminal inquiry into gation testified under oath the former secretary of four months ago state’s use of a prishe never deleted vate email server, old emails, while which Comey said promising in 2013 in July didn’t warnot to take sensirant charges. tive files when she The newly disleft the State Decovered emails partment. were on a device FBI director seized during a James Comey no- Hillary sexting investigatified Congress on Clinton tion of disgraced Friday, less than former New York two weeks before the congressman Anthony election, the emails had Weiner, the estranged husled agents to re-examine band of Huma Abedin, one whether classified infor- of Clinton’s closest aides. mation was mishandled. That had been the fo- See EMAIL, Page 12A
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Inside
BY TED BRIDIS AND ERIC TUCKER
About this series:
T
FBI reopens email probe on Clinton
TV listings .................... 8B
LEICESTER, N.C. — A woman who bought a scratch-off ticket to show her husband lottery tickets are a waste of money won $1 million. Glenda Blackwell of Leicester said her husband asked her to buy two Powerball tickets from a Quik Mart last Saturday, but she bought a $10 Carolina Millions scratch-off ticket instead. Blackwell said she was trying to show her husband no one wins. Blackwell, 57, said she’s going to use the money to buy a home and pay for her granddaughters’ college. — Associated Press
Volume 113 • Issue 24
H:82 L:55 Sunny to partly cloudy Copyright © 2016 Rust Communications
12A
FROM PAGE ONE
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Roof From Page 1A
LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com
Renee Boyd looks out over 1000 N. Middle St. in Cape Girardeau, where she was arrested in January.
Boyd From Page 1A As society’s understanding of mental illness grows more nuanced, area agencies and institutions grapple with how best to account for disorders in the field. Renee found out firsthand how quickly mental illness can jeopardize a person’s livelihood, especially as it steered her too close to law enforcement. Her experience that night, in a flash of mutual misunderstanding, set her on a journey through jail and court toward a future that’s still unclear. Renee’s first venture into the criminal system began Jan. 27. Renee and Rachel, now 23 and 24 respectively, were at home, a little green house at 1000 N. Middle St. in Cape Girardeau. The house was shabby, but having dated for three years, it was the first place they had shared as a couple, and it was what they could afford to rent. Without a car, Rachel walked the mile or more or caught rides to and from her shifts at Dollar General. Renee, who’d been diagnosed as a child with a variety of mental disorders, was on disability. Her Social Security benefits helped, but they didn’t have much. Mostly, they just had each other. Over the seven years they’d known each other, they’d learned each other’s rhythms — Rachel especially, because Renee’s mental illnesses made hers more erratic than most. Of Renee’s diagnoses, her obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic depression and Tourette’s syndrome give her the most trouble. Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes “repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The NINDS also reports many people with Tourette’s, like Renee, exhibit other neurobehavioral problems, including OCD. While it’s not known whether depression or anxiety disorders are directly related to Tourette’s, anxiety and excitement has been reliably shown to worsen tic symptoms in Tourette’s sufferers. As such, Renee’s conditions tend to compound each other. A tic caused by her Tourette’s might trigger a series of compensatory gestures to satisfy the OCD, Renee later explained. Likewise, stress and anxiety from a depressive episode could exacerbate her Tourette’s symptoms, and so on.
Though she tried to avoid stressors, things happen. Tics happen. Especially when she was off her medication. And while some tics have come and gone over time, she’s experienced many of those most commonly found in Tourette’s patients. She’s had simple ones such as sniffing, making faces or other spasms while developing complex tics compulsively popping joints or inappropriate outbursts. Tic symptoms typically fade somewhat with age, but Renee’s were so bad during adolescence school administrators, out of frustration, placed her in a special-education class for a time, she said.When she’s at ease, the tic that’s most outwardly apparent often resembles a cough or sharp clearing of the throat with a small facial twitch. Bad stress, though, can get problematic. With bad stress, her tics make her prone to fits and self-harm. “I used to have them all the time when I was trying to figure out medications,” she said. “I’d hurt myself. I never really hurt anybody else.” Sometimes, she said, it’s head-butting walls. Other times, it’s punching herself on her hips and abdomen. “This part of my forehead is so thick from bashing my head against the wall,” she said. “It’s like it’s grown another layer of skull or something.” Before things reach that point, she tries to take steps to calm down, as she tried to do the night she was arrested.
The phone She began the night at home with Rachel and their friend, Valik Schtolton. He was the tall blonde boy who worked at Dollar General with Rachel. He was funny and waifish and more than a little bit fabulous. Rachel liked when he told stories of the nights he spent in heels on drag stages. Renee was not having a good night. It had been five months since she’d begun trying to switch her health insurance to Missouri from Tennessee, where she previouls had lived. She still hadn’t figured it out, so for five months she hadn’t taken the antipsychotic prescription she used to manage her Tourette’s. Some time before 3 a.m., Renee began to get upset. “Little things would set me off, you know?” she later explained. “I was texting my brother, and the phone was acting up.” It was a cheap phone, but the only one she and Rachel had. So when Renee threw it in frustration, Rachel got upset, too. “She was just upset because I was upset,” Renee said, but it still made things only worse.
How this series about Renee was reported The Southeast Missourian was alerted to Renee Boyd’s situation in January during a monthlong series on mental health in society. She and Rachel Hornback granted the Southeast Missourian access and interviews shortly after Boyd’s arrest. Initially represented by a Cape Girardeau County public defender, she hired a private attorney in May. She continued to participate, but in a more limited capacity, on the advice of her legal counsel. For the last nine months, the Southeast Missourian continued to investigate, drawing from interviews, court records and several of Boyd’s appearances in court. Boyd’s attorney Gordon Glaus declined to comment on the case. Requests to interview Cape Girardeau Police patrolman Jonathan Ortmann and Cpl. Richard Couch were denied. — Southeast Missourian Fed up, she left. Rachel and Valik thought she only had stormed out for some fresh air. She did that sometimes. Rachel said she typically would have followed to help her calm down, but decided to let her cool off first. But instead of venting on the porch, Renee ran up the block to be alone, hiding behind a concrete barrier. When she didn’t come back inside and they couldn’t find her near the house, Valik told Rachel to call the police. Rachel didn’t know where Renee had gone, but she didn’t think it could’ve been far. It was cold, dark, and she didn’t remember Renee taking a jacket or shoes when she left. Besides, she figured, Renee hadn’t been doing anything wrong. They just needed to find her, she told him; not call the cops. He called them anyway. Just to be safe. Patrolman Jonathan Ortmann of the Cape Girardeau Police Department pulled up in his patrol SUV at 3:38 a.m., according to the probable-cause statement the officer filed after the arrest. He found Rachel and Valik outside the little green house Renee had left about 45 minutes before. Months later, Hornback and Ortmann would tell a judge, under oath, what happened when Ortmann arrived. While they contradicted each other on several key points, the overall sequence of events is undisputed and corroborated by Ortmann’s statement. After speaking briefly with Hornback and Schtolton, who informed the officer Boyd had been off her Tourette’s medication for months, Ortmann found her in a side yard between her house and one adjacent. No fences separate Boyd’s yard and the neighbor’s, but several trees and bushes grow between them. Ortmann, wearing his black police uniform and black department-issue jacket, approached Boyd to conduct a welfare check, calling her by name when
he was about 20 feet away. She ran from him back toward her house. She said she wasn’t aware he was a cop — or even the cops had been called — until she had been pinned by Ortmann. At 5 feet, 4 inches, Boyd is smaller than Ortmann. He easily caught and detained her by taking her to ground. She resisted, striking him in the process. When a paramedic later tried to restrain and place her in an ambulance, she did the same. As a result, the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged her with two counts of felony assault, one apiece for scuffling with Ortmann and paramedic Charles Herman. They charged her with misdemeanor assault for allegedly spitting on the pants leg of another officer who responded to the scene. The state claims violent intent. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Since her arrest, Boyd has maintained inside and outside of the courtroom she didn’t assault anyone intentionally. It was an accident, she said, and what the officers perceived to be blows were the product of a mental episode — she contends having been upset, she became terribly confused and frightened when a man in black chased and pinned her to the ground. The stress, she claims, triggered a fit she was unable to control. “I don’t know if you’ve ever seen someone with mental problems have those lashouts,” she said. “That’s what this was, because of not having my medication.” As she watched Renee be strapped into the ambulance and driven off into the night, Rachel didn’t know what would happen to her. Nine months later, they still don’t know. Renee is facing charges, still in court and uncertain about her future. Coming next: Renee goes home after weeks in jail. Officer Jonathan Ortmann on patrol downtown. tgraef@semissourian.com (573) 388-3627
Sharing your passion In every Sunday’s Good Times section, we try to highlight people and their passions, whether it’s training wild horses, playing rugby or making hats. What are you passionate about? Call or email features editor Robyn Gautschy with your story idea: rgautschy@semissourian.com or (573) 388-3633
By Oct. 14, the last day of the first quarter, the 320 Chaffee Elementary students had passed 7,008 tests, meaning each student read an average of nearly 22 books in the first 10 weeks of class. “That’s a pretty good amount,” Atkins said. The students, he said, thought the goal seemed lofty, not realizing it was on par with their progress in past years. The first quarter, he said, tends to start slow — students take some time to determine their reading levels before starting the Accelerated Reader program in earnest. But throughout the quarter, he said, there was more than one occasion when the students would take and pass more than 800 tests in one day. And so, around 9 p.m. Thursday, Atkins quietly went to the elementary school to set up camp. His wife and children helped him get his supplies up the ladder, then returned home. Though there was no one on the roof with him, Atkins was not alone. “I did have three children who live here close by come out and said good night, said my name — hollered it — and then their dad texted me to see if I heard it,” he said. The next morning, Atkins sat in a chair on the roof and waved to students and teachers as they arrived. The school, on its Facebook page, encouraged everyone to honk when they saw him. Students, he said, bombarded him with questions. “Did you really stay up there all night?” Yes.
Submitted
Chaffee Elementary School principal Sid Atkins spent a chilly night on the school’s roof starting Thursday evening after students met a reading-test goal. “Were you cold?” No. “How did you go to the bathroom?” He had a ladder to climb down in emergencies. If the students thought 7,000 was a lofty goal for the first quarter, the 10,000 goal for the second quarter might sound impossible. But Atkins is confident they can do it. And when they do, he and his assistant principal, Jennifer Vandeven, will jump into a cold swimming pool on the playground in January. Having participated in the Special Olympics Polar Plunge event in the past, Atkins is not worried. “The year I did it, they had to chip away ice so we had a spot to jump in,” he said. “So it’s OK.” Atkins is proud of the work his students have put forth, and looks forward to the second quarter results. “We’re excited. I hope they reach it, I really do,” Atkins said. “They do the hard part. What I do is the easy part.” bbrown@semissourian.com (573) 388-3630
document required her to give back all “unclassified documents and papers relating to the official business of the government acquired by me while in Abedin’s testimony the employ of the departin a recent civil lawsuit ment.” about State Department Comey’s announcement records may help explain Friday — months after dewhy agents found emails ciding anyone’s use of ClinComey said “appear to be ton’s private email server pertinent” and would be didn’t rise to criminal reviewed “to determine charges for mishandling whether they contain clas- or removal of classified insified information, as well formation — upended the as to assess their impor- presidential campaigns in tance to our investigation.” their final stretch before Abedin told lawyers in the Nov. 8 vote. June in a deposiUpon learning tion, like millions of Comey’s plans of internet users to send the letter who don’t manto Congress, Jusage their inboxes, tice Department she never deleted officials it told FBI old emails at work officials was not a with Clinton or at good idea and cauhome with Weiner. tioned against it, “I didn’t have a Huma according to a govpractice of man- Abedin ernment official faaging my mailbox miliar with the disother than leaving what cussions. The official was was in there sitting in not authorized to discuss there,” Abedin said. “I the private conversations didn’t go into my emails and spoke on condition of and delete State.gov anonymity. emails. They just lived on The official said the my computer. That was Justice Department had my practice for all my warned the FBI the letter email accounts. I didn’t was inconsistent with dehave a particular form of partment policy intended organizing them. I had to avoid the appearance a few folders, but they of prosecutorial influence were not deleted. They all in elections. The position stayed in whatever device is laid out in a 2012 memo I was using at the time or from then-Deputy Attorwhatever desktop I was on ney General James Cole. at the time.” It said prosecutors may Abedin, vice chairwom- never select the timing of an of Clinton’s presiden- criminal charges or investial campaign, and Weiner tigative actions in a way separated this year after that can be seen as affectWeiner was caught in 2011, ing an election or giving a 2013 and this year sending benefit or disadvantage to numerous woman sexual- a candidate. ly explicit text messages The memo states aland photographs of him- though the department self undressed. Federal has a strong interest in authorities in New York prosecuting election-reand North Carolina are in- lated crimes, employees vestigating online commu- must remain committed to nications between Weiner fairness and political neuand a 15-year-old girl. trality. Abedin’s testimony in Comey told FBI employthe suit was complicated ees later Friday he wanted by a routine State Depart- to avoid creating “a misment document she signed leading impression,” but under penalty of perju- believed he was obligated. ry in February 2013. She “We don’t ordinarily tell promised she would “turn Congress about ongoing over all classified or ad- investigations, but here I ministratively controlled feel an obligation to do so documents and materials” given that I testified rebefore she left her govern- peatedly in recent months ment job and promised she that our investigation was was not retaining copies, completed.” Comey wrote. “including any diaries, “I also think it would be memorandums of conver- misleading to the Amerisation or other documents can people were we not to of a personal nature.” The supplement the record.”
From Page 1A
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FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com
Fowl run afoul of law Resident launches petitions to lift city of Cape Girardeau’s ban on chickens
Patricia Ray wins top honor from local Zonta Club BY BRIDGET BROWN
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN
ANDREW J. WHITAKER ~ awhitaker@semissourian.com
Andrew Bard stands in his backyard next to his chicken coop with his three chickens Friday Photo Cape Girardeau. Bard is petitioning to change the city ordinance that doesn’t allow any and video in resident within the city to have chickens on their property to have up to six female chickens at maximum. More images and a video are at semissourian.com. BY MARK BLISS
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN
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ndrew Bard has run afoul of Cape Girardeau law. An animal-control officer recently notified him his chickens must go. City ordinance prohibits Cape Girardeau residents from keeping chickens on their property. Bard thinks the law needs to be changed. A limited number of chickens should be allowed, he said. “There is no smell, no noise, no nuisance,” he said of his chickens.
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He wants the Cape Girardeau City Council to adopt a measure patterned after a law in Columbia, Missouri, which allows residents to keep up to six chickens per lot but bans roosters and mandates requirements about chicken coops and sanitation. Bard said he has collected about 350 signatures on a petition, most of them online through the change. org website. Bard said he also has carried around paper petitions, seeking signatures from residents. About 80 people have signed paper
I think now is the right time to strike, because urban farming is so big.” ANDREW BARD owner of backyard chickens, who wants the city’s ban on them lifted petitions, and he plans to keep gathering names over the next several weeks. He said he hopes to present his petitions to the city
council next month. Bard said he spoke to deputy city manager Molly Hood about the petition effort. Hood said city staff have notified council members about Bard’s petition. Bard, who lives at 230 Bellevue St. in a brick home built in the late 1800s, began keeping chickens in his yard in July. At one time, he had six Rhode Island red chickens. He now has three. A raccoon killed the other three, he said. Bard said he spoke to his neighbors before See CHICKENS, Page 12A
Patricia Ray’s colleagues knew she would be shocked to receive Zonta’s 2016 Women of Achievement Award. They said as much in a video testimony of her achievements, from her work as a nurse, a lawyer with the Limbaugh Firm and a long list of services to the community. Despite these things, they said, she never would expect the honor to come to her. “They were all right,” Ray said breathlessly as she was called to the stage during a ceremony Friday afternoon. “I am shocked.” More than 500 people came to Ray’s Plaza Conference Center in Cape Girardeau as the Zonta Club presented its 12th annual Women of Achievement Awards. The event, which was sold out, honors local, professional women in the community. It also serves
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as the club’s largest fundraiser. Before Ray was given her award, several other women were recognized for their local and worldwide service. See ZONTA, Page 12A
BY BEN KLEINE
SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN Three local entrepreneurs won the Delta Challenge Pitch competition Friday in Cape Girardeau, receiving $40,000 in technical assistance in business development and the opportunity to pitch their company to investors at
the New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. The grand prize winner was Ann Butler and her company, Edible Education. Butler recently moved to Cape Girardeau from Richmond, Virginia, after winning the 1st50K startup competition in See PITCH, Page 12A
Strange but true
Sea of foam spews from airport hangar
Southeast Missourian photographers chose their favorite images from the month of October. See them at semissourian.com/ multimedia.
Movie times ................ 8B Obituaries.............6A,7A Opinion ........................8A
Photo Gallery More images from the awards event are in a gallery at semissourian.com/ multimedia.
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Three area entrepreneurs win pitch competition
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FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com
Patricia Ray reacts Friday after she is announced the winner of the Zonta Club’s 2016 Women of Achievement Award.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Much of the foam that spewed from an airport hangar and flooded a city street appears to be gone. Television footage Friday showed little of the foam from Mineta San Jose International Airport that was several feet deep in spots and had taken up a city block earlier in the day. The foam was a chemical used as a fire retardant from the hangar’s fire prevention system, San Jose fire Capt. Mitch Matlow said. Matlow said the retardant discharged accidentally and began spilling out in the morning. — Associated Press
Volume 113 • Issue 42
H:49 L:24 Plenty of sunshine Copyright © 2016 Rust Communications
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FROM PAGE ONE
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Zonta
From Page 1A
ANDREW J. WHITAKER ~ awhitaker@semissourian.com
Andrew Bard’s chickens roam around in their coop Friday in Cape Girardeau. Bard is petitioning to change the city ordinance that doesn’t allow any resident within the city to have chickens on their property to have up to six female chickens at maximum.
Chickens From Page 1A deciding to keep chickens in a fenced area in his yard, complete with a chicken coop. He said his neighbors were supportive. He said they appreciate the eggs he gives them. When he had six hens, they produced as many as 150 eggs a month, Bard said. “They are awesome,” he said while feeding blueberries to his three remaining chickens. Now that he has been cited, Bard said he will have to relocate his three hens before the end of the month. He plans to take them to a friend’s farm near Oak Ridge. But Bard said he still wants the law changed so he can return to keeping chickens in his yard. In his online petition, Bard wrote “raising chickens can be beneficial to the property owner and the surrounding neighbors. Chickens not only produce fresh, healthy eggs, but they also eat insects and other pests.” He added, “It is time to find a middle ground between those that want nothing and those that want everything.” Jackson and Scott City allow their residents to keep chickens. Jackson allows residents to keep a maximum of five
chickens, and roosters are allowed. But Janet Sanders, Jackson building and planning superintendent, said owners of roosters could face nuisance citations if there is a noise problem. “We haven’t had a lot of problems,” Sanders said of chickens being kept within city limits. “We have had a few people complain.” In addition to limiting the number of fowl, Jackson requires chicken coops and pens to be kept at least 25 feet away from any dwelling, church, school or business and be kept “clean and sanitary at all times.” Scott City allows residents to keep a maximum of three chickens as long as they are more than 150 feet from any neighboring residence or the neighbors have agreed in writing to a lesser distance. Bard said he believes a six-chicken limit like that allowed in Columbia would work best. Six years ago, the city council initially voted for and later scrapped a proposal to allow residents to keep chickens. That measure would have allowed up to 10 hens to be kept on a single property. Some council members said at the time they had received negative comments about the measure. Bard said he believes the time is right to remove a total ban on chickens. “I think now is the right time to strike, because urban farming is so big,”
he said. Bard, who has a large garden, said he enjoys urban farming. His neighborhood is home to a large number of ladybugs and Japanese beetles. His chickens eat those bugs, helping the neighborhood, he said. Neighbor Stacey Peters, who lives across the street, said Bard’s chickens have not been a nuisance. “You never hear them,” said Peters, who is helping to collect signatures on Bard’s petition. Mayor Harry Rediger said the issue could be discussed by the council if and when a petition is presented. No set number of signatures is needed for the council to consider the request. He said he doesn’t know how other council members would view the issue. But Rediger said he is not in favor of allowing residents to own chickens. “I am not interested in doing anything about chickens,” he said. Rediger said allowing residents to keep chickens within city limits could become a nuisance, “and then we would have an enforcement issue.” But Bard said he already has spoken to a couple council members and hopes to persuade a majority of them to allow him and other interested residents to keep chickens in their yards. mbliss@semissourian.com (573) 388-3641
The Department of Music presents
Featuring the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Choral Union and University Choir
Typically the Lifetime Achievement Award goes to a person with a lifetime of service to the community. But in an unprecedented move, the award was given to three people: Mary Greaser, Naomi Newman and Mary Scherer, the three founding members of the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau. “They are phenomenal. They’ve been in the club for 40 years and still probably have more service hours than anybody in the club,” said Callie Welker, co-chairwoman of the Women of Achievement Awards. “They’re very active still, and having people like that to look up to is really cool.” During the ceremony, Zonta Club president Casey Crowell acknowledged the women’s collective achievements and their continued service to the community. The Celebration Award went to Megan Boudreaux, founder of Respire Haiti, an organization that provides education, medical care, discipleship and community outreach in Gressier, Portau-Prince, Haiti. Unlike the other awards, the Celebration Award does not always go to a local woman. Boudreaux grew up in Louisiana and lives in Haiti permanently as a part of her mission. The Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau is involved in service projects for the people of Haiti, and Boudreaux’s efforts, which she described as a calling from God, serve as an inspiration to the Zon-
Pitch
From Page 1A September. Butler’s company sells rolling carts that come with an electrical oven, stove and sink. She has marketed the cooking stations to hospital dietitians, schools and food banks, among others. She has sold 19 stations at $9,000 each. Butler has attended major shows and has gotten interest from organizations such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club. Butler also has developed a cooking curriculum for children. “I knew there was a way you could make money teaching people the right way to cook,” Butler said. Another entrepreneur, Mark Rigdon of My Veggie Chef also has focused on getting people to eat healthy. “Meat heavy diets are causing long-term health problems, but healthy eating is hard,” Rigdon said. Rigdon has an office at Codefi in Cape Girardeau, and My Veggie Chef ships its meals from Cape Girardeau. My Veggie Chef sends out vegetarian frozen meals that people order online. The service started as payto-order but is expanding to subscriptions in January. My Veggie Chef differs from companies such as Blue Apron because its meals are ready to cook without preparation. The
ta Club. Ray’s Women of Achievement recognition came at an opportune time — as she prepares to head into retirement at the end of the year. She began her career as a registered nurse, working in intensive-care units at hospitals in Philadelphia, Boston, Buffalo, New York, and Bethesda, Maryland. She went on to receive her law degree and practiced while raising a family. When the Rays moved to Cape Girardeau in 1997, she became an associate and then a shareholder at the Limbaugh Firm. She also taught business law at Southeast Missouri State University as an adjunct professor. She also has spent time as a member of the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau and a board member of the local Court Appointed Special Advocates group. She’s a member of Saint Francis Medical Center’s board of directors and its executive committee. She is a trustee to the Cape Girardeau Public Health Center. She sponsors and works with children around the world and participates in the Read to Succeed program at Franklin Elementary School. Despite this list of accomplishments, Crowell said, she still doesn’t see herself as deserving. “She is more than deserving,” Crowell said. “You put your foot one foot in front of the other every day. You do your thing. This is what you do,” Ray said after the ceremony. “You don’t expect recognition for it; you just want to try and do good things because it makes you
meals cost between $4 and $6 each, Rigdon said in his pitch. Rigdon said My Veggie Chef developed a loyal and avid fan base through Facebook and continues to attract a following on Instagram and other forms of social media. When My Veggie Chef began its surveys, Rigdon temporarily had to turn it off because of the multitude of responses. “I had to turn the online server off because I had 210 responses in an hour,” Rigdon said. That fanaticism shows up in the company’s revenue stream from about $506,000 in 2014 to $516,000 in 2015. Judges for the pitch competition were Crystal Jones, director of the Institute for Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Southeast Missouri State University; Aaron Panton, community bank president for The Bank of Missouri; and Shad Burner, vice president of business development for the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. All three judges said sustainability with financial models, revenue models and sustainability were important. Edible Education and My Veggie Chef are established businesses that already are making money. Jason and Manda Todt, both of Cape Girardeau, were the third winners of the Pitch challenge, and they have not yet launched their application, Cosmet-
feel good.” While she expressed shock at the honor, she also expressed appreciation. “I’m humbled,” Ray said. “It’s stunning. It’s wonderful, but it’s stunning.” Unlike the Lifetime and Celebration awards, Zonta’s Women of Achievement Award is not chosen by the Cape Girardeau membership. To maintain impartiality, the club sends its final list of nominees to another Zonta Club in Missouri. The other nominees for the Women of Achievement Award were: Dr. Kate Barnette of the Center for Orthodontics; Charlotte Craig, former director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center and longtime volunteer with the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri; Elizabeth Gray of Realty One Associates; Sandy Hastings, owner of Servpro of Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties; Brenda Newbern, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau; Michelle Outman, president of h.o.w.? Ministry; Kathy Smith, owner of Extra Hands Inc. “We have so many amazing women that have contributed greatly to our community,” Crowell said, noting it was a relief the decision did not fall to the club in which all eight women belong. But of the final selection, Crowell said, “Pat’s the perfect recipient.” bbrown@semissourian.com (573) 388-3630
icTech. CosmeticTech would allow a person to take a photo of damage to his or her car and receive bids from repair vendors to fix the damage — likely at a much lower rate than an automotive repair shop. “The vendors are unquestionably in,” Amanda Todt said. Smydge Perry and her company, HABERDAShe, were chosen as the alternate to the three winners. Perry is designing an application and plans to domestically manufacture women’s clothing. Customers would use the application by taking pictures of themselves, one from the front and one from the side. Using a 3-D scanner, style algorithm and a style fitting room, customers will be able to choose formal clothes that fit. Perry was inspired to develop the business when she worked as a lawyer and could not find suits in her size. Jones said each winning entrepreneur identified a problem and a creative solution to the problem. With that approach, none of these entrepreneurs has direct competition with their chosen business. Burner said he looked at the ability of each company to grow. “I want to see a company that can grow and evolve in scale and add jobs,” he said. bkleine@semissourian.com (573) 388-3644
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