Stories from Sunday, May 9, 2004

Dalton D. Priest, 67, of Keego Harber, Mich., died Saturday, April 10, at his home. He was born Sept. 20, 1936, in Rector to the late Mr. and Mrs. Pat Priest. He also was preceded in death by one sister, Alene Jolly of Marmaduke, and two brothers, Robert Hamm of Michigan and James Hamm of Rector...

HARRISON -- Rector's Lady Cougars played well in their first-ever trip to the state Class AA softball tournament, but fell to a powerful Greers Ferry Westside team, 2-0, on Monday morning. The game had been postponed from Saturday because of rain. The Lady Cougars met a tough pitcher in Westside freshman Chris Barnum, a lefthander with a solid fastball and a good offspeed pitch...

Despite a spirited seventh-inning rally, the Rector Lady Cougars were upended 10-8 by the Riverside Lady Rebels in the finals of the class AA Region 4 Tournament at Rector Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Cougars had previously defeated the Lady Rebels three times this season. In the finals of the district tournament, also held at Rector, the Lady Cougars beat Riverside 7-1...

Rector's Junior Cougars came through with impressive efforts in the district track meet Tuesday afternoon at Greene County Tech, with both the boys and girls finishing second. The boys competition came down to the final event, the 1600-meter relay, with Earle edging Rector top spot. The two teams were tied going into the event...

Matt Rabjohn, former standout baseball and basketball player at Rector (then Clay County Central), has been named head junior and senior girls basketball coach at his alma mater. Rabjohn replaces Shane Robinson, who resigned to take a position at Marmaduke...

City superintendent Todd Watson informed the Rector City Council that the city must be in compliance with Ordinance 493, which is the Cross-Connection Control Program, by July 1. The ordinance regulates the safety of the public water system and the prevention of backflow out of factories, businesses and homes in the event of a water main break...

Thirty-five Rector High School seniors will receive diplomas and say farewell to their school and classmates in graduation ceremonies at 8 p.m. Friday, May 7, at the RHS gymnasium. Co-valedictorians of the Class of 2004 are Jessica Hill, the daughter of Keith and Jan Hill, and Samantha Ray, the daughter of Donna Ray...

A new time and temperature sign has been spotted by many residents as Peoples Bank in Rector became a part of Liberty Bank. The change took place on Friday, April 29. Ed Way, executive vice president of marketing at the bank's headquarters in Jonesboro, said that customers won't see major differences. The employees at the banking center will remain the same. If anything, customers will see more community involvement from the bank...

The Clay County Arts Council will celebrate the arts on June 5 with the musical sounds of bluegrass phenomenon "Still on the Hill". This exciting duo will be making a stop in the Clay Community Center on June 5 for a show area residents won't want to miss...