Stories from Thursday, September 2, 2004

The Rector Cougar golf team is in preparation for the opening match of the season on Thursday, Sept. 16, in Piggott. The Cougars will be competing against teams from Piggott, Bay, Riverside, BIC, Walnut Ridge and CRA. The boys team consists of Jay Beacham, senior; Nathan Wyatt, senior; Dwayne White, senior; Cody Perriman, junior, and Chase Sain, sophomore...

Frank McKenney, 84, of Piggott, died Friday, Aug. 27, 2004, at his home in Piggott. He was born Nov. 30, 1919, in Piggott. He was the son of the late James Onia and Elizabeth Fox McKenney. He was united in marriage to Opal Permenter on Oct. 6, 1939. They had four children...

The list of accomplishments by Rector native Matt Mills continues to grow. After two Honorable Mentions, the six-foot, 175-pound point guard for the Williams Baptist Eagles was an Academic All-Conference award winner for the third straight semester...

After beginning their one-a-day practices on Aug. 9, it is nearing the time for the Rector Junior High football program to put all that hard work and preparation to the test. The team will play at Cross County this Thursday, Sept. 2. Coach Wade Williams believes his team has "still got a ways to go," but has faith in his squad and their ability to win ball games. "Let 'em play and have fun doing it. The more they enjoy playing, the harder they will work for success," the coach said...

The new head coach for the Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds, Spencer Hoffman, had his squad take part in camps at the University of North Carolina and Manila this summer. Hoffman said that the team's performance "improved with each outing." Their record at the UNC camp was an impressive 10-2. They went 2-2 at Manila...

The Rector peewee football teams participated in a jamboree Saturday, Aug. 28, at Marked Tree. The jamboree is a helpful tool in training and judging the status of the teams involved. Instead of the traditional four quarters, teams play for one 15-minute period...

Justina (Tina) Marie (Hardin) Weber, 24, of Rector died Sunday, Aug. 22, 2004, in an automobile accident near Rector. Born Feb. 23, 1980, in Paragould, she was the daughter of Ronnie Ray and Brenda (Carnette) Hardin of Rector. She was married June 20, 1998, to Rockie Weber...

Dimple Maxine Gregery, 85, of Rector died Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born Jan. 23, 1919, in Conway to the late Archie and Mary Parham. She was a homemaker and a member of the Fifth and Pine Church of Christ...

Police are searching for a 16-year-old Rector girl missing since Thursday, Aug. 26. Rector Police Chief Tommy Baker said Ronnika Smithee, a 5'5" blonde with blue eyes, called home on the night of Aug. 26 and was reported missing by her father, Ronald Smithee, on Saturday, Aug. 28...

When most people attend the annual Labor Day festivities in Rector and enjoy the beautiful setting of Memorial Park they may not realize just how many of the trees in the park have been seriously damaged over the years. Don Pickler has been working on the park for 10 years. Recently he removed several items from the trees in the park which he called the most difficult to remove...

Joey Pruett of Rector is this year's Rector Labor Day Parade grand marshal. "When I was first asked if I would serve as grand marshal, my first comment was 'I'm not old enough.' For the first few days I was worried that people would think to themselves 'I've worked more years than him', et cetera. But then I realized that grand marshal is not somebody but a representative of all those who give of themselves year after year," Pruett said with a smile...

"Hometown Memories - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" is the theme for this year's annual Labor Day Picnic. Proceeds benefit the beautiful Woodland Heights Cemetery. An exciting Showdeo and Speed Show at the Rector Arena will kick off Labor Day weekend activities in Rector at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, and Saturday, Sept. 4...

The Piggott Lady Mohawks volleyball team participated in a Tri-Match at Wynne on Aug. 26, sweeping the jamboree. Other teams involved were Wynne, Trumann, and Bay. The Lady Mohawks began the match against Wynne, defeating them in two consecutive games. The first match score was 25-21, then 25-22...

Sherry Moore is the new nurse at the Piggott Schools this year. She fills the void left by the retirement of longtime nurse Dianne Cluck. Although she is new in the capacity of nurse, she is no stranger to PES. This is her fourth year to work at Piggott Elementary...

The Rector Police are searching for a 16-year-old Rector girl missing since Thursday, Aug. 26. Rector Police Chief Tommy Baker said Ronnika Smithee, a 5'5" blonde with blue eyes, called home on the night of Aug. 26 and was reported missing by her father, Ronald Smithee, on Saturday, Aug. 28...

The Clay County Fair Canine Contest winners in each category were as follows: Most Photogenic went to Sampson, owned by Jack Stephens. Second place went to Tank. Tank is also owned by Stephens. Third place went to Tiny, who is owned by Lacy Grammer...

The annual McDougal Homecoming Picnic will be held Saturday, Sept. 4, at the Edna Cooper Memorial Park. This is a schedule of the day's events: 9 a.m. - Benediction, followed by business meeting. 9:30 a.m. - Faris Conyers Band. 10 a.m. - Baby Contest, up to 23 months, casual dress...

Frank McKenney, 84, of Piggott, died Friday, Aug. 27, 2004, at his home in Piggott. He was born Nov. 30, 1919, in Piggott. He was the son of the late James Onia and Elizabeth Fox McKenney. He was united in marriage to Opal Permenter on Oct. 6, 1939. They had four children...

Lynn Wilson, 53, of Pollard, died Monday, Aug. 30, 2004, at the Piggott Community Hospital in Piggott. He was born Dec. 25, 1950, in Poplar Bluff, the son of Sydney Lomax Wilson and the late Lyman Theodore Wilson. He married Sharon Umfleet on Sept. 18, 1953...

Just about everywhere a person could see, there was either the color red or black -- Piggott High School Mohawk colors. There was excitement in the air from parents, students, and children at the Community Fall Sports Pep Rally, which was held last Friday at the high school gymnasium...

The Senior Mohawk football team will kick off its season opener against Portageville at 7 p.m. Friday at Parker Field. "It's a question of which team eliminates its mistakes," said Piggott coach Ken Shumate. "They're bigger, but we match up", he continued. Portageville returns six players on the offensive side from last year and seven from defense...

The Piggott Junior Mohawks' football season will begin on at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, with the seventh grade team hosting Walnut Ridge. The Junior Mohawks' game will begin following the seventh grade game. Coach Ken Shumate said the seventh grade team is looking good. He said they have not had much practice, as most of the team were not able to attend the summer conditioning and did not begin until school began...

The Piggott School Board met in a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 30, to hear updates from architect Mark Cahoon on the board drawings of the building projects. When Cahoon and the Board originally discussed the project, the estimated cost for the construction of the new building was $1,000,000. ...