Stories from Wednesday, May 9, 2001

This is a story about the one that didn't get away. Michael E. "Bart" Barton of North Little Rock reeled in a 71-pound bighead carp from the Arkansas River last week. The 47-year-old Barton, on only his second cast of the day, was snagging for catfish just below Murray Lock and Dam in North Little Rock when he made his record-breaking catch...

Phillip V. Davis, 51, of Piggott died Tuesday, May 1, 2001, at Piggott Community Hospital. He was born Sept. 10, 1949, in Corcorn, Calif., the son of Vernie and Dorothy Cox Davis. He married Nellie Calhoun in 1969. To this union two children were born. He married Shirley Harmon on Oct. 11, 1988...

Fred Henry Johnson, 74, of Piggott, formerly of Rector, died Saturday, April 28, 2001, at Piggott Nursing Center. Mr. Johnson was born July 4, 1926, in Clay County to the late Robert and Nanny Watson Johnson. A Navy veteran of World War II, he was a cook in the Navy and in various restaurants. He was a member of Center Hill Baptist Church in Paragould and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Foreign Legion...

Larry Neil Presson, 62, of Rector died Sunday, May 6, 2001, at Arkansas Methodist Hospital in Paragould. He was born Feb. 24, 1939, in Rector, was employed at Wal-Mart in Kennett in the lawn and garden department and was a member of the First General Baptist Church...

Opal Jewell Maynard Steward, 82, of Rector died Saturday May 5, 2001 at the Paragould Nursing Center. She was born November 14, 1918 in Boydsville to Willie and Ada Pearl Beavers Maynard. She was married to Rushford Steward in South Bend, Ind., and was retired from the Memorial Hospital in South Bend. She lived in Clay County for 20 years and was a member of the Baptist faith...

Alfred J. Burmeister, 82, of Colon, Mich., died Tuesday, May 1, 2001, of heart failure at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, Mich. He was born in Battle Creek, Mich., to Alfred John and Mary Lenore Burmeister and was a resident of Rector from 1981 to 1996, when he moved to Colon...

Perry Lynn Faught, 38, of Jonesboro died Tuesday, May 1, 2001, at his home in Jonesboro. He was born June 21, 1962, in Kennett, the son of Herman Henry "Bud" and Sevetta Ruth "Betty" Phillips Faught, both of whom preceded him in death. He was a southern gospel musician...

Jerry Lee Bynum, 56, of Cardwell, Mo., formerly of the Rector area, died Monday, May 7, 2001 at St. Bernard's Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. He was born December 10, 1944, in Hoxie to the late Robert and Mary Mable Hendrix Bynum. He was a truck driver and a member of the Baptist faith...

AUGUSTA -- Rector's Cougars opened play in the Class AA state baseball tournament with a bang here Monday night, clubbing the Flippin Bobcats, 16-0, in a five-inning game. It was the combination of typically strong pitching by Kyle Pruett and an arsenal of hitting that propelled the Cougars into quarterfinal play against Carlisle...

The Rector Cougars continued with their hot bats Tuesday night, pounding out 17 hits in a 13-3 drubbing of Carlisle in the quarterfinals of the state Class AA baseball tournament in Augusta. Alan Rabjohn went the distance on the mound for the Cougars, now 20-4 for the season...

A Rector youth is on her way to Florida to participate in a national basketball tournament. Lauren Faulkner, a sixth grader from Rector, will be traveling to Orlando, Fla. the week of July 1-7 to compete with her team, the East Arkansas Lady Lakers, in the AAU National Invitational Basketball Championship...

Sugar Creek Country Club in Piggott will be the site this weekend for a two-man scramble golf tournament. According to Brad Montgomery, there are seven or eight openings yet available for the event. "We normally field 72 teams, but we only have 60-some right now," he said...

Former Marmaduke mayor Don Taylor, who was residing in Bartlett, Tenn., died Saturday, May, 5, at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis at age 55. Taylor was born Dec. 15, 1945, in Portageville, Mo., to the late Ted Taylor and Mary Faircloth. He married Melba Chastain on Sept. 18, 1964, in Wardell, Mo...

The Easy Riders Saddle Club will host the first horse show of the season Saturday, May 12, at the arena on Highway 90 in Boydsville, between Rector and Corning. The show will begin at 7 p.m., and sign-up is at 6 p.m. The highlight of the first show is the opportunity to win a registered walking horse. The horse is "Choice of Pushover" out of "The Pushover" and by a "Pride's Choice Cut" mare...

Early registration continues through Friday, May 11, for the Rector High School drama department's annual Stageworks drama camp for elementary students. The final day of registration is Friday, May 18. The week-long Stageworks camp, for students now enrolled in grades one through six, will be held Monday through Friday, May 28 through June 1. ...

Could she really be an angel, A question in the hearts of her children. Her hair a cap of soft waving black, Kindness her virtue, she has no lack. She takes many steps from morning til night Checking to see that each child is alright. Her love is the flame that warms our home,...

Cloudy skies and wet weather didn't dampen spirits at this year's Marmaduke Mayfest, held Friday night and Saturday in downtown Marmaduke. Festivities started Friday night with a free bean and cornbread supper at 5 p.m. May 4 at the Marmaduke United Methodist Church...

Forty-eight members of the Rector High School Class of 2001 will graduate in ceremonies at 8 p.m. Friday, May 11, at the RHS gymnasium. Graduates will enter as the processional is played by the Rector High School band, directed by Blake Marsh. Valedictorians of the Class of 2001 are Candace Marie Sears, Cary Lee Simmons and Bethany June Simpson. ...

There was a time when communities were tightly-knit, and neighbors were friends instead of strangers. One way to demonstrate that friendship was making quilts with each block containing the embroidered signature of its creator. Many people still own these unique pieces of a bygone time. Even though the people may be long gone, they live on through the fabrics (a snippet of a dress or the sleeves from an old shirt) and colorful threads that form the covers...

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." The words of Margaret Mead are included in a special bulletin board display created by Piggott Elementary first grade teacher V'Ora Cooper to commemorate the high school graduation of some of her former students...

Ted Linn Girtman, 68, of Piggott died April 28, 2001, at Baptist Desoto Memorial in Southhaven, Miss. He was born Oct. 7, 1932, in Cave City, Ark., the son of the late George Elda and Sarah Pauline Montgomery Girtman. He married Jewell Marie Holsted on Dec. 29, 1981...

For the first time at Piggott High School, PHS competed in the state weight lifting tournament. The mighty Mohawks finished the tournament as state runners-up and placed fifth in the state overall. 63 schools from across Arkansas gathered in North Little Rock for the competition at Barton Coliseum on April 21...

Sugar Creek Country Club in Piggott will be the site this weekend for the annual two-man scramble golf tournament. According to Brad Montgomery, there are seven to eight openings yet available for the event. "We normally field 72 teams, but we only have 60-some right now," he said...

Several records were broken this past season for the Piggott High School tennis teams. Senior Courtney Carrens finished her career at PHS holding the record for most matches played (73), most games won (512), most doubles wins (36), most games played in district tournaments (217), most games won in district tournaments (142), most games played in state tournaments (154) and most games won in state tournaments (74)...

Piggott's Angie Beck was one of five Williams Baptist College Lady Eagle softball players to be named to the American Midwest All-Conference honorable mention roster. Beck is a junior and is majoring in Biology at Williams which is located in Walnut Ridge...

The third annual Heritage Park Rod Run and SuperCruise is almost here, and organizers say the event will be even bigger this year. The event will be held Friday, May 18, through Sunday, May 20, at Heritage Park in Piggott and is sponsored by the P.R.O.G.R.E.S. Council...

Eight valedictorians, all with 4.0 grade point averages, will be honored when the Piggott High School Class of 2001 graduates at 7 p.m. Friday at the high school gym. They are Lauren Cole, Phil Pollard, Rebekah Householder, Marc Yount, Courtney Carrens, Amanda Lovelace, Mandi Thomas and Ashlie Simmons...