Stories from Wednesday, June 26, 2002

The 75th annual Piggott Fourth of July Picnic is just around the corner. The day will kick-off with the annual parade at 9 a.m. This year's grand marshal is longtime parade chairman George Forrest. The parade, with the theme "God Bless America, begins at the First Baptist Church, travels along Main and ends at the elementary school...

The Annual Sugar Creek Country Club Two-Lady Scramble golf tournament was held on Tuesday, June 4 in Piggott. A total of 25 teams participated . Winners of Closest to the Pin were Glenna Lee and Pat Jamison. Firing a 68 and taking first place in the championship flight was the team of Ellen Rogers of Paragould and Mary Dement of Blytheville...

Piggott Lady Mohawk basketball coach, Jeff Priest, recently held his first off-season basketball camp. A total of 12 campers entering the 4th through 7th grades attended the week-long event and learned fundamentals and teamwork in addition to honing their basketball skills...

Johnnie Throgmorton, 81, of Piggott, died Monday, June 17, 2002, at his home. He was born Jan. 1, 1921, the son of the late Louis Daniel and Mary Ann Corzine Throgmorton. He was united in marriage to Vivian Helton on March 7, 1942. He was preceded in death by; one brother, Richard Throgmorton; and an infant sister, Elaine Throgmorton...

Naomi Orey, 88, of Piggott, died Saturday June 22, 2002, at the Piggott Community Hospital. She was born Jan. 3, 1914, in Pollard, the daughter of the late Tom Marion and Jenny Hall Irwin. She was united in marriage to James Carl Orey on Jan. 14, 1937. To this union two sons were born. She was a member of the new Piggott Chapter #623 Order of The Eastern Star...

Gerald Max Robinson, 72, died as a result of an accident Wednesday, June 12, 2002. He was born Sept. 8, 1929, in Ann Arbor, the son of the late Earnie and Lily May (Crawford) Robinson. He spent his youth at McDougal and attended school at the Post Oak School north of McDougal. Mr. Robinson was a soft spoken, caring and helpful man who loved his family, which included his immediate family and the 26 foster children he cared for from 1963-1973...

Piggott Community Hospital will be allowed to borrow funds for a new air conditioning unit and X-ray equipment under an ordinance approved by the Piggott City Council. At Monday night's utility meeting, hospital attorney Randy Philhours said the voter-approved "Short Term Finance Amendment" allows cities and counties to borrow money for up to five years with "borrowing power" based on their assessed value...

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Attorney General Mark Pryor, was in Piggott Friday to visit with local supporters, who gathered at the law office of Branch, Thompson, Philhours and Warmath. "This race is the most closely watched Senate race in America," Pryor said. "It's exciting to be a part of it."...

Longtime Piggott Fourth of July parade chairman George Forrest is this year's parade grand marshal. "Everything is looking good," he said of the event planned for that morning. Forrest encourages everyone to take part of the parade and to come out and see it along the route, which begins at the First General Baptist Church and ends at Piggott Elementary School on East Main...

Last Monday at Marmaduke the Smoots Jr. Little League won the Rector-Marmaduke Jr. Little League Post-Season Tournament. Banning's Welding beat Irby's, the Rector league champion, 15-14. Zach Shirley homered for Banning's and according to their coach, Mitchell Weber, Daniel White and Dustin Sparks all played well for Irby's...

Joseph Burton Bradham, 86, of Nevada, Mo., a native of Rector, died Monday, May 13, 2002, at Specialty Select Hospital in Overland Park, Kan. He was born Oct. 9, 1915, in Rector to Kelly Leonard Bradham and Flora Burton Bradham. He married Sibbya Brockman of Nevada on Feb. 10, 1945, in Nevada. She preceded him in death on June 24, 1998...

The purchase of a brick in the Rector Downtown Park is a symbol of the community spirit cultivated in the Rector First United Methodist youth group. "We got the brick because we wanted to give back to the community and help to beautify the park," said Ginger Sain, youth leader. ...

A pillow in her living room says "Friends are flowers that never fade." Taking that saying to heart is perhaps the reason that Maria Butler, this year's Grand Marshal of the Marmaduke Fourth of July Picnic parade, still has such a zest for life. Mrs. Butler will be at the head of the picnic parade to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 29...

Excitement is building for Marmaduke's 38th annual Independence Day celebration to be held Friday and Saturday, June 28-29, at the city's Legion Park. The event promises to be filled with games, entertainment and fun for the whole family. Although organizers originally contemplated canceling the event due to a lack of participation in recent years, the celebration will be given an extra spark this year with the picnic's first-ever antique car show...

Beautiful sunshine and cool breezes made Saturday a perfect day for this year's June Fest. Rector Memorial Park was full of people at 9 a.m. for the opening of the annual event. Classic cars and fancy newer models lined the side of the park as the annual car show was combined with the summer celebration...

Award winners at the recent Rector High School basketball camp were: 7th grade girls free throws Hannah Parsley 7th grade boys free throws Jackie Graham 8th-9th grade girls free throws Lauren Faulkner 8th-9th grade boys free throws Jake Holcomb 7th grade girls one-on-one Allison Smart...