Stories from Wednesday, January 28, 2004

At approximately 8:50 a.m. Friday morning, a piece of the past rolled through Piggott. The air was filled with anticipation as some of the older generation placed pennies on the train track and others tried to find the spot for the perfect picture of the world's largest operating steam engine...

The Clay County Sheriff's Department made five drug related arrests last week in the county. On Jan. 18, during a traffic stop on Highway 135, south of Corning, Telly Gilbee, 28, of Marmaduke was arrested for possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of marijuana and drinking on the highway...

In April of 2003, eighth graders across the state of Arkansas took the Benchmark exam. One student at Piggott High School received a perfect score on the literacy portion of that exam. Jordan Coomer scored higher than 99.8 percent of the students in Arkansas. She found out at the beginning of this school year...

Long-time Piggott Lions Club member Lloyd Russell was honored at the club's meeting at noon Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Barn Restaurant. As a charter member of the first Lions Club organized in Piggott, Russell, 96, is the club's oldest member. He can still drive and continues to be very actively involved...

The Piggott senior boys were in action on Tuesday against Corning at home. Jared Vaughn had 18 for the Mohawks, but that wasn't enough for Piggott as they fell to Corning, 79-64. Joining him in double figures was Jake Jones 12. Others scorers were Chet Vaughn and Chad Emerson with 8, Kalyn Hoggard 6, Trey Sutfin 5, Chris Wegel 3, Jonathan Cox and Ronald Burr with 2...

The Piggott senior girls were in action on Monday against the Highland Rebels at home during which a win eluded them. The Lady Mohawks came out enthusiastically in the first quarter but fell short 15-11. The second quarter would prove to be tough for Piggott as they were held to four points and ended the half down, 32-15...

The junior girls were in action on Monday against Highland at home, where they won their 11th consecutive game. This was a very important game for Piggott. A win meant being tied for first-place in their conference as they await the outcome of their game on Thursday against Pocahontas...

Jerry Jordan, 85, of Success, Ark., died Jan. 24, 2004, at the John J. Pershing V.A. Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. He was born Nov. 4, 1918, in Hickoria, Ark., the son of R.O. and Effie White Hooper Jordan. He was united in marriage to Virgie Mae Ellis on April 28, 1940. To this union 14 children were born...

Velma L. Rice, 86, of Festus, formerly of Piggott, died Sunday, Jan. 25, 2004, at her home in Festus. She was born June 23, 1917, in Pollard, the daughter of the late Euin and Belle McDonald Pillow. She was united in marriage to George Spencer Pickering and he preceded her in death in 1959. She married Edwin Rice on Nov. 27, 1973...

Joe Statler, 63, of Rector, died Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, at his home. He was born May 25, 1940, in Clay County to Birtlee (Stevens) Statler and the late Barney Statler. He was retired from Monroe Auto Equipment of Paragould, a lifelong member of the community and a member and deacon of Union Home General Baptist Church...

Selma Lee Grigsby, 76, died Jan. 10, 2004, at Crestpark Retirement Home in Marianna, Ark. She was born Dec. 16, 1927, in Leachville, the daughter of Charlie Perry and Dool Mae Gatlin Gray. She was united in marriage to Thedell Grigsby. Mrs. Grigsby was a homemaker and was of the Baptist faith...

BY CARLA WAGSTER Times News Staff Several Piggott Elementary fourth and fifth grade students have been nominated for the Duke Talent Search, which is designed to provide additional resources, motivation and recognition for students who display extra promise by scoring at the 90th percentile or higher on grade level standardized achievement, aptitude, and mental ability test batteries or approved state criterion referenced tests. ...

Mary Elizabeth Hardin Nichols, 84, of Huntsville, Ala., died Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004, at her home. She was a member of the Memorial Parkway Church of Christ in Huntsville. She was preceded in death by her parents, H.R. (Bud) and May Hardin of the Rector/Marmaduke area...

With Lindsey Fowler scoring a career-high 19 points, the Rector Lady Cougars beat Crowley's Ridge Academy {CRA} 56-48 at Rector last Thursday Night. Coach Shane Robinson said "Lindsey came through for us tonight by hitting some shots when we really needed her to."...

Rector's Cougars came through with two good performances last week, but couldn't "seal the deal" in losses to Crowley's Ridge Academy and Walnut Ridge. The Cougars stayed close to Walnut Ridge for three quarters on Friday night before coming up short at the end, 67-56...

The Lady Greyhounds swept over Walnut Ridge like a tidal wave Monday night at home by a count of 63-31 as they improved their seasonal record to 19-9 (8-3). Terri Graham's trey on the left wing off of a pass from Heather Johnson gave the Lady Hounds a 3-0 lead 15 seconds into the game. ...

The Marmaduke Greyhounds were defeated 84-49 by the Buffalo Island Central (BIC) Mustangs Friday night at Leachville. That the Hounds came to play can be attested to by the fact that there were eight lead changes in the first quarter. With the Hounds trailing 7-5 John Clark gave them their first lead when he drained a three-pointer from the left corner at 4:24 leaving the score 8-7...

A funeral mass for George Leslie Niederkorn, 51, was held at 10 a.m. TUesday, Jan. 27, 2004, at Prince of Peace Church, with Father Michael J. Larkin officiating in Jacksonville, Fla. Interment was in Riverside Memorial Park in Jacksonville. A native of Rector and a 1973 graduate of Greenway High School, Mr. Niederkorn died Saturday, Jan. 24, in a local care facility...

Eva Jean Underwood, 66, of Little Rock, formerly of Marmaduke, died Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004, at St. Vincent's Doctor's Hospice in Little Rock. She was born May 24, 1937, in Dell, Ark., to the late Holton Carner and Virginia (Smith) Carner. She was a homemaker and a member of Marmaduke First Baptist Church...

Joe Statler, 63, of Rector, died Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, at his home. He was born May 25, 1940, in Clay County to Birtlee (Stevens) Statler and the late Barney Statler. He was retired from Monroe Auto Equipment of Paragould, a lifelong member of the community and a member and deacon of Union Home General Baptist Church...

The Rector Drama Deparment, Troupe 4089, has started rehearsal for their spring show, "An Endangered Species: Waking Up," a drama by Kathy Sorensen. This is a social awareness play centered around the AIDS/HIV epidemic. The cast will be working with the Arkansas Chapter of AIDS Awareness and the American Red Cross...

The Rector High School FFA will hold its first annual fish fry/chicken strip dinner and live auction at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, at the Rector community Center. The cost is $7 per person. "The young men and women of the Rector High School FFA have worked countless hours to gather many nice items to be sold at auction," said FFA sponsor Jason Murray. ...

Paul Temerian, who effectively put high school football on the map in Rector, died Friday, Jan 23, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center at Paragould. He was 76. Temerian moved permanently to Rector in 1984 after a highly-successful coaching career in the Detroit area...

Ruby Elsass's entrance into the world 100 years ago was not a smooth one. "Back then, doctors made house calls by horseback," she recounted in an interview this week with the Democrat. "The night I was born, the snow was very deep. When the doctor arrived, he was nearly frozen."...

During the previous two weeks, an unusual number of telephone calls have been received by the Arkansas State Police and other state and local agencies from parents and guardians of pre-teenage children. This group of callers is seeking information about motorized scooters that apparently became popular as Christmas gifts for Arkansas children...

The Rector girls basketball games dropped a pair of games to Riverside in action Monday night on the Lady Rebels' home court. Riverside posted quarter leads of 22-4, 39-15 and 57-21 in rolling past the senior team, 69-31. Natalie Sigsby and Jessica Hill led Rector scoring with seven each. Also scoring were Haley Harmon 6, Fallon Robins 5, Lindsey Fowler 5 and Tiffany Kirklin 1...