Stories from Sunday, November 10, 2002

In balloting in Tuesday's general election, challenger Gerald Morris defeated incumbent Piggott mayor Garland "Bud" Holcomb, 1,003 to 509. In the only contested city council position, Carl Birmingham was a 986-536 winner over Larry Featherston. County contests saw incumbent judge Gary Howell defeat challenger Sheila Vaughn, 4,181 to 1,017, while Tracy Gurley won 3,792 to 1,403 over Teressa Johnson in the assessor's race...

The Piggott Lady Mohawks captured the AAA state volleyball runnerup title Saturday at Harrison. The Piggott girls, who finish the 2002 season with a stellar 24-8 record, cruised to a 15-5, 15-6, 15-4 opening round win over Yellville-Summit Thursday afternoon...

GOSNELL While the Piggott Mohawks have struggled to post wins in the 2002 football season, the Mohawk coaching staff has, week by week, noted great improvements in the team's play offensively, defensively, special teams, and most recently, Friday night at Gosnell as the offensive line gave what head coach Scott Morgan called, "the best run blocking we've had all year."...

Ruby Pauline Spicer, 85, of Greenway died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2002, at the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell. She was born May 30, 1917, in Gibson, the daughter of the late Clarence and Sarah Ray Harmon. She was united in marriage to Wayne Spicer on May 15, 1949...

Margaret Ann Keller, 72, of Poplar Bluff died Sunday, Nov. 3, 2002, in Three Rivers Healthcare-North Campus in Poplar Bluff. She was born Feb. 20, 1930, in Piggott. She married Raymond Edward Keller on Jan. 12, 1948, in Rector. She was a homemaker and a member of the Harvest Baptist Church...

Vernie Lucille Massey, 77, of Piggott died Friday, Nov. 1, 2002, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. She was born Jan. 14, 1925, in Crockett, the daughter of the late Walter and Looney Ann Cockran Fry. She was united in marriage to Walter P. "Buck" Massey on Nov. 2, 1939. To this union 15 children were born...

Oran Jackson Nicholas, 91, of Pollard died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2002, at the Piggott Nursing Center. He was born Aug. 20, 1911, in Pollard, the son of the late William Henry and Julie Johnson Nicholas. He was united in marriage to Lorene Pillow on Sept. 5, 1930. To this union two children were born...

Dovie Eubanks, 81, of Nimmons died Saturday, Nov. 2, 2002, at Rector Health Care in Rector. She was born July 24, 1921, in Ullin, Ill., the daughter of the late Andrew and Bert Mae Hinchcliff Osman. She was united in marriage to Enes Eubanks on May 2, 1936. To this union, one daughter was born...

Jane Ellen Frazier, group travel manager for Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, visited Piggott and the surrounding areas recently to see what is offered for group tours for visitors to the state. Frazier travels around the country promoting Arkansas at events such as trade shows and travel agent conventions, where she gives presentations about the state. ...

Dewey Holcomb's military career took him several places, including England and Germany. The Piggott native, who is currently serving as commander of American Legion Post 38, was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 18 in 1953. "I was working in St. Louis," he recalled...

MARMADUKE Outscoring Riverside in every quarter, the Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds won their first home game of the year last Monday night, 68-40. The Marmaduke girls started the game with one of their classic first quarter runs. A three pointer by Lauren Wright ten seconds into the game gave the Lady Hounds a quick 3-0 lead. Wright then came up with a steal and passed to brooke Grigsby for a layup and a 5-0 lead 30 seconds into the contest...

Ila (Bass) Hudson, 77, of Madera, Calif., died Sept. 4, 2002. She was a native of Cardwell and was a former resident of Rector. She had been a resident of Madera since 1950. She was a homemaker and had been a cook in many Madera restaurants over the years. She was also a volunteer at the Madera Food Bank...

Dortha B. Huff, 89, of Germantown, Tenn., formerly of Rector, died Thursday, Oct. 31, 2002, at Germantown Methodist Hospital. She was born June 11, 1913, in Greenway, the daughter of the late D.C. "Doc" Montgomery and Virginia (Chapman) Montgomery...

Gladys Irene Nelson, 72, of Knob died Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2002, at Rector Health Care. She was born Oct. 10, 1930, in Boydsville, the daughter of the late William and Stella Layne. She was prededed in death by her husband, Logan Nelson; one daughter; Emma Nelson; and one brother, Everett Layne...

It promises to be a spectacular night of dining and music when the Clay County Arts Council hosts its second annual "A Night of Chocolate." The event will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Rector Community Center. "We're just really excited about having it," said council president Gail Burns...

An update on the status of insurance monies on the Wise Co. building was heard at Monday's monthly meeting of the Rector City Council. In a letter from city attorney Joe Calvin, who was unable to attend the meeting, he wrote that the carrier, Lexington Insurance Company, has retained a Jonesboro law firm and hired investigators to investigate the cause of the fire...

Three Rector City Council positions were determined in balloting in Tuesday's general election. Incumbents Glenn Leach and Steve Ward were victorious as was Shaun (Cam) Cate, who was running for a seat vacated by Michael Polk. Leach defeated challenger Allen Deringer, 478-125, while Ward won 355-242 over challenger Alan Cavaness...

A long westward journey into the hilly Ozarks proved worthwhile Friday night for the Marmaduke Greyhounds as they beat Valley Springs in high school basketball action, 81-65. Coach Steve Richey said, "We really played well for four quarters. We executed on both ends of the floor. The kids were focused and played unselfishly. I was quite pleased with what I saw."...