Stories from Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Fuzzhead's Brittney Tracer, Matthew Blevins, Daniel Blackshare, Whitney Underwood, Malorie Tippitt, Samantha Billips, Read Phillips, Logan Miller, Tyler Kirklin, Kelly Fowler, Aaron Schenk, Kirk Horton, Brittnay Lockhart and Hadyn Richmond. Century 21...

Sirens will sound and emergency vehicles in Rector will tear through town at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 21, in a carefully organized disaster drill meant to make local emergency personnel ready should a real disaster strike in Rector at some time in the future...

The Clay County Quorum Court voted to amend the 2001 county general and road budgets by ordinance during Monday night's meeting in Corning. Amendments were in the areas of equipment, workmen's comp, fire coverage, office supplies and travel for various departments...

Serving as Grand Marshal for Marmaduke's Independence Day Parade this year is Burl Poe, a major player in Marmaduke's rich history. A former mayor and city alderman, Poe was one of the founding fathers of the city's baseball and softball programs and the first Boy Scout leader in Marmaduke. ...

Clarence E. "Short" Brannan, 88, of Rector died June 17, 2001, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. He was born Jan. 20, 1913, in Boydsville to the late Tom Brannan and Maudie Connor Brannan. He was a lifelong member of the community, a farmer, World War II Air Force veteran, and of Methodist faith. He was married Aug. 10, 1938 in Kennett to the late Mildred Kilbreath Brannan...

Jimmy Dale White, 64, of Marmaduke, died Saturday June 16, 2001, at Arkansas Methodist Hospital in Paragould. He was born Aug. 13, 1937, in Rector to the late Sherman and Dora (Hyde) White. He was a lifelong member of this area, and worked for the Greene County Road Department, and was a member of the Grace United General Baptist Church. He married Alma Harris on Oct. 20, 1956...

Verna Heskett, 96, of Rector died June 16, 2001, at the Crittenden Memorial Hospital in West Memphis. She was born Nov. 1, 1904, in Rector to the late Clint and Ellen Clardy. She was a homemaker and of General Baptist faith. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Rudy Cox; her husband, Johnny Heskett, Sr.; step-daughter, June Heskett Ball; a brother, Claud Clardy, and two half-sisters, Mary Finley and Verdie Gordon...

Rector Sportswear's Monday night victory over Glen Sain's secured them the league championship and a berth in this weekend's Little League District 4 World Series. Sportswear, now with an undefeated record of 10-0, took the lead for good in the third inning of Monday's match up after a solo home run by Jackie Graham, his second of the game. Graham's round-tripper broke a 4-4 deadlock. Sportswear added four more runs in the fifth inning to seal the win...

The Rector Cougars will have a new head coach on the sidelines this fall when gridiron season opens in late August. According to Rector superintendent Kelly Scobey, Wade Williams, formerly the head junior high and assistant senior football coach has accepted the responsibility of taking over the senior Cougar squad helm, pending formal approvement from the Rector School Board...

Rosters for this year's Rector Little League teams are; Sportswear Dalton Shaw, Trey Hamm, Ryan Cavaness, Kyle Cavaness, Cody Loveless, Tony Loveless, Jackie Graham, Brent Graham, Luke Morris, Seth Matheney, Wade Lyles, and C.J.Jones. Glen Sain's Blake Tracer, Drew Boyd, Joseph Parrish, Tyler Small, Michael Gossett, Jason Mathis, Hector Cavazos, Logan Young and Caleb Holcomb...

Last Saturday's scheduled two-man scramble golf tournament at Sugar Creek Country Club was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. According to a spokeman, lack of a sufficient number of teams were the cause for the cancellation.

Rector School superintendent Kelly Scobey, elementary principal Johnny Fowler and high school principal Rob Louder recently attended a four-day Smart Steps to Technology Literacy Seminar. The seminar was held for superintendents and middle grade principals in the Northeast Arkansas (NEA) Educational Cooperative area...

They'll be toys, toys, toys and lots of fun for the whole family when the Rector Area Chamber of Commerce and the Rector Parks and Recreation Commission combine their efforts Saturday, June 23, for the city's fifth annual Toy Show and first annual June Fest...

Courtney Carrens, Micha Morgan and coach Angie Donner will be participating in the annual AAA high school state volleyball all-star game this Friday night at Henderson College in Arkadelphia. Carrens and Morgan are two of only 24 girls chosen from across the state to compete in the game...

The Piggott and Rector libraries will benefit from an increase in state funding for regional libraries that will offset part of a revenue reduction by the governor. Last week the Arkansas State Board of Education restored $3 million to the state's regional libraries, which was double the anticipated $1.5 million that had been expected...

The Clay County Quorum Court voted to amend the 2001 county general and road budgets by ordinance during Monday night's meeting in Corning. Amendments were in the areas of equipment, workmen's compensation, fire coverage, office supplies and travel for various departments...

Miss Crowley's Ridge Byway Lindsey Toland was named to the "Prestigious Top 10" following three nights of preliminary competition last week at the Miss Arkansas pageant in Hot Springs. During the evening competitions, she competed in the swimsuit category on Wednesday, in evening gown on Thursday and spoke on her critical issue of "Adoption Awareness." Personal interviews with the judges were also held Wednesday...

Carl Sutfin, 58, of Piggott died Thursday, June 14, 2001, at Piggott Community Hospital. He was born Aug. 18, 1942 in McDougal, the son of L.T. and Mildred Phillips Sutfin. He married Caroline Hoffman on April 28, 1961. To this union five children were born...

Paul Wade Sr., 57, of Piggott died Monday, June 18, 2001, at Piggott Community Hospital. He was born May 23, 1944, in Piggott, the son of the late William H. "Mutt" and Lillie Gladys Turner Wade. He is survived by four children, Paul Dewight Wade Jr. ...

Arlia Black, 58, of DeSoto, Mo., died Friday, June 15, 2001, in DeSoto. She was born April 5, 1943, in Flint, Mich., the daughter of the late Fred Mathews and Martha Smithwick Barnett. She married William C. Black on June 4, 1960, in St. Francis. She was a sales representative for a cosmetics company...

Mary Henson, 86, of Pollard died Tuesday, June 19, 2001, at the Piggott Nursing Center. She was born April 1, 1915, in Caruthersville, Mo., the daughter of the late Ruben and Mary Alice Kemper Henson. She was preceded in death by a half-brother, Roy Pobst, and a nephew, Kevin Louis Pobst...

A Piggott native is taking over the helm as head senior high football coach at Rector High School. According to Rector superintendent Kelly Scobey, Wade Williams, formerly the head junior high and assistant senior football coach has accepted the responsibility of taking over the senior Cougar squad helm, pending formal approvement from the Rector School Board...

Due to several reasons, the annual Piggott Mohawk Alumni Football Game will not be held this year. According to event organizer Jason Burkman, several reasons circumstances forced this year's cancellation. "For one, equipment and facility problems this year makes it impossible to hold the event. We have had to replace 21 helmets from last year and they haven't arrived yet," Burkman said...

In the tranquil setting of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, teachers from across the region gathered for the facility's first writer's retreat Saturday. "Good teachers are teachers who write," said instructor Dr. Robert Lamm of Arkansas State University's English education program. "We're not only writing teachers, but we're writers."...

-- PHS Class of 1991 -- The Piggott High School Class of 1991 will hold its 10-year reunion from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 30, at Pa and Granny's Kitchen in Piggott. -- Edwards Family -- The Edwards family reunion will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 1, at the Veterans Memorial Building and picnic grounds in Piggott...