Stories from Wednesday, April 2, 2003

"The pace is picking up" for Piggott's new economic committee, according to Mayor Gerald Morris. "Their only focus will be economic development for our community," he said. An organizational meeting is scheduled for Friday. "I'm very excited about working with the economic group," he said...

Pocahontas slipped past Piggott Monday night in golf action, 83-89. Heather Mayberry shot a low 47 to lead Piggott in girls play. Jeremy Lemmons shot a 41 to lead the boys. Chase Akins shot a 48, Shane Eslahi and Jake Jones both shot a 50.

POCAHONTAS Both Piggott tennis teams notched huge victories last Wednesday in matches against the three-time defending district champ Pocahontas Redskins. In unprecedented style, the Piggott boys ran a perfect 11-0 sweep on the afternoon to boost their season record to 3-0...

POCAHONTAS Successful high school sports programs require leadership, athlete dedication, time to develop and an eagerness for participation. The Piggott High School tennis program has all those ingredients and more and has risen to the cream of the crop as a model for developing programs...

Louisa Georgia Mansfield of Troy, Mo., formerly of Campbell, died on Friday, March 28, 2003, at the Troy Manor Nursing Home in Troy, Mo., at the age of 79 years, one month, and four days. She was born February 22, 1924, to Robert and Emma Purdom Hefner...

Laura Speer Jetton, 86, of Greenway died Tuesday, April 1, 2003. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 3, 2003, in the Hoggard and Sons Chapel with Boyd Wicker and Otis Book officiating. Burial will follow in Shiloh Cemetery near Paragould...

Austin Tyler Higdon, the one-year-old son of Tyler Jade and Chantel Webb Higdon of Jacksonville, died Friday, March 28, 2003, in Little Rock. He was born March 22, 2002, in Palmer, Alaska. He was of the Baptist faith. Higdon was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Timothy Higdon...

Leota Seal, 84, of Jonesboro died March 27, 2003, at Jonesboro. She was born Sept. 07, 1918, in Holcomb, Mo., the daughter of William Burl Swan and Francis Matilda Cooper. She was united in marriage to Nuel Lee Seal on Sept. 4, 1937, in Kennett. Mrs. ...

Since the Arkansas Supreme Court issued its ruling last November that the state's educational system does not adequately meet students' needs, the debate has continued to heat up as to how school districts will meet standards that are yet to be determined...

The Piggott Elementary School Parent Center held a help session for EDLINE, a new internet based program the school has implemented, during parent-teacher conference Thursday, March 27. Tamara Carr, Network Coordinator for the Piggott Public Schools, helped parents activate their EDLINE accounts. Carr said that activation codes for the web site were sent home last Monday with notes about the parent-teacher conference. Carr said, "Anyone with internet access and an account can access it."...

Linda Sue Fyte, 52, of Poplar Bluff, died Tuesday, March 25, 2003, at her residence. She had been in declining health for the past year. Ms. Fyte was born June 5, 1950, in Hammond, Ind. She was a graduate of Gavit High School in Hammond, and a graduate of Indiana University, Dupage College, Ill., where she majored in horticulture. She was self-employed as a landscape designer...

Steve D. Scheffler, 50, of Batesville died Friday March 28, 2003, at the White River Medical Center in Batesville. He was born July 10, 1952, in Piggott to Carl Eugene and Viola Mae (Brewer) Scheffler. He was of the Baptist faith. He was preceded in death by his parents, Carl Eugene and Viola Mae Scheffler; two brothers, Darrell Scheffler and Mack Scheffler; and one grandson, Jonathan Scheffler...

Elbert Ray Reed, 57, of Mount Morris, Ill., died Thursday, March 20, 2003, in Pinecrest Manor Nursing Home in Mount Morris. He was born March 21, 1945, in Piggott, the son of the late Edger and Mildred Arehart Reed. Mr. Reed married Judith Schrader Freeze on Sept. 29, 1989, in Oregon, Ill...

Last Thursday, in a match-up of feral felines, the Rector Cougars beat the Maynard Tigers, 16-6. Behind, 2-1, the Cougars plated six runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead for good. Key hits during the six run uprising were a triple by Derick Parrish and a double by Derek Carter...

Marmaduke Lady Greyhound softball Coach Matt Dean views the upcoming fast-pitch softball season in much the same manner as a fifteenth century explorer regarded the terra incognita of a newly discovered land mass. Terra incognita means unknown territory and that is exactly where the Lady Hounds will be when they play their first fast-pitch game ever this week...

A two run bases loaded single by Brandon Blount in the bottom of the seventh inning boosted the Rector Cougars to a 4-3 win over the BIC Mustangs at Rector Monday afternoon. BIC was leading 3-2 with runners on second and third with two outs when Derek Carter stepped to the plate. BIC elected to walk Carter and pitch to Blount. Blount's line drive single to right scored Jake Holcomb with the tying run and Derick Parrish with the winning run...

Louisa Georgia Mansfield, 79, of Troy, Mo., formerly of Campbell, Mo., died Friday, March 28, 2003, at the Troy Manor Nursing Home in Troy, Mo. She was born Feb. 22, 1924, the daughter of Robert and Emma Purdom Hefner. She married Claud Mansfield in 1940 in Piggott. He preceded her in death on July 24, 1973...

Austin Tyler Higdon, the one-year-old son of Tyler Jade and Chantel Webb Higdon of Jacksonville, died Friday, March 28, 2003, in Little Rock. He was born March 22, 2002, in Palmer, Alaska. He was of the Baptist faith. Higdon was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Timothy Higdon...

Frances Imogene (Rogers) Green, 77, of Rector died Saturday March 29, 2003, at Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett. She was born Sept. 21, 1925, in Dyersburg, Tenn., the daughter of the late Montie and Bessie (Hicks) Rogers. She was a homemaker, a member of the Rector Pentecostal Church and had lived most of her life in the community...

Willine Rodden Anders, 70, of Marmaduke died Monday, March 31, 2003, at her home. She was born Nov. 30, 1932, in Knobel, the daughter of the late William and Verneal Kesler Shook. She was preceded in death by husbands, Finnice Rodden and Vernon Anders; one son, Kenny Rodden; one brother, Farrell Johnson; and one grandchild...

The Rector Police Department has received complaints of some residents receiving calls from individuals posing as bank examiners in order to steal Social Security and bank account numbers. "We've had a number of complaints in the past three or fours weeks," a police department spokesman said...

U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln will be the guest speaker for the Rector Area Chamber of Commerce annual banquet set for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at the Rector Community Center. Tickets for the event soon will go on sale at $12.50 each. Dinner will be catered by the Parkside Restaurant of Rector...

It is a sobering moment when one sends loved ones off to war. On Wednesday evening at the community's Downtown Park, Rector sent its sons off to potentially face the U.S. battles against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Members of Co. B of the 875th Engineering Battalion deployed were Sgt. ...

A "Blast From the Past" alumni game and barbecue supper is slated for April 5 at Marmaduke High School. The supper begins at 4 p.m. followed by the basketball game at 6. Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for students. MHS alumni from 1995 and prior may participate...