Stories from Thursday, December 2, 2004

The Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds had a difficult time on their trip to Paragould on Monday, Nov. 22, falling to the Lady Rams by the score of 63-29. The Lady Rams took the lead early, going up 20-7 after one. Marmaduke trailed 33-14 at the half. Paragould held a 49-22 advantage after three quarters...

Santa is pressing his suit, and the weather man is promising perfect weather, so the Rector Area Chamber of Commerce is hoping the city's 2004 Christmas parade, set to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, will be one to remember. Beautiful white lights sparkling on buildings all over town and cheerful Christmas decorations lining the main streets already have created a holiday atmosphere, and the fun of the Christmas parade surely will add to the Christmas spirit for all...

Major recording artist Marty Haggard, son of country music legend Merle Haggard, will present an evening concert and testimonial at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, at the Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, located at 434 Greene Road, four miles west of Rector...

The trial of accused murderer John Patrick Dickinson of Marmaduke now is scheduled for Jan. 4-7 at the Craighead County Courthouse in Jonesboro. A change of venue from Clay County to Craighead County was granted in a pre-trial hearing Nov. 22 in Greene County, according to District Prosecutor Brent Davis of Jonesboro. Judge David Goodson presided over that hearing...

A Rector man was arrested on drug charges for the second time in a month following a search Friday afternoon, Nov. 26, by the Clay County Sheriff's Department and the Rector Police Department. Kevin Curtis, 40, of 407 West Seventh street, was charged Friday with possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture methamphetamine...

Judy Ann Collier, 52, of Peach Orchard died Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born March 24, 1952, in Detroit, Mich., to the late Arthur Edward and Helen Deloris Huckabee Mangum. She was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith...

Farrell Elizabeth (Taylor) Davidson, 79, of Rector died Monday, Nov. 29, 2004, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born Aug. 12, 1925, the daughter of the late Elmer (Jack) and Lorene Taylor and Fannie McKelvey Taylor Carson. She was married Feb. 24, 1940, to Edward Lawrence Davidson Jr., who preceded her in death May 10, 1991...

Emily Mae Donaldson, 97, of Rector died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2004, at Greene Acres Nursing Home in Paragould. She was born Aug. 20, 1907, in Rector to the late Gourley and Ida (Moseley) Donaldson. She was a florist, a member of the Fifth and Pine Church of Christ and a lifelong member of the community...

Lillian Elizabeth Ray, 86, of the Paragould Nursing Home died Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born July 20, 1918, in Fredricktown, Mo., to the late Charles and Iva Wentworth. She was a homemaker and a member of the Church of Christ...

Taylor Graham sank two free throws with 53.6 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Marmaduke Junior Lady Greyhounds a six-point lead over the Junior Lady Cougars of Rector, 40-34, in the finals of the Clay County Tournament on Tuesday night at Corning...

The Junior Hounds of Marmaduke fell Tuesday night to host Corning in the championship game of the Clay County Junior Boys Tournament by the score of 54-50. Corning was dominant early, taking a 20-3 lead after the opening quarter. The home team went up 34-12 at the half. Marmaduke trailed 41-28 after three quarters of action...

The Marmaduke Greyhounds were victorious as they played host to the Cardinals of Weiner on Monday, Nov. 22, by the score of 76-54. Marmaduke held a 19-15 lead after the first quarter. The Hounds took a 40-30 lead into the half. The home team continued to pour it on in the third, increasing their lead to 24 points, going up 67-43...

The Lady Greyhounds were defeated 47-30 by Maynard in the opening round of the Williams Baptist College Tournament at Walnut Ridge on Saturday, Nov. 22. The Lady Hounds trailed 13-10 after the opening quarter. Maynard held a 25-17 lead at the half. After three quarters of play, Marmaduke fell behind 41-23...

The Marmaduke Greyhounds were successful on their trip to Paragould on Tuesday, Nov. 23, as they dropped the Falcons of Crowley's Ridge Academy by the score of 65-46. Marmaduke took a 12-8 lead after the initial quarter of play. The Hounds went up 10 at the half, leading 32-22. The lead was expanded in the third, with Marmaduke going ahead 49-32...

An example of "recycling at its best" netted over $400 for the Rector Relay for Life team, WRECK (Walking Rectorites Encouraging Cancer Knowledge), at the Little Bit'a Christmas Arts and Crafts Show held Nov. 12-14 in Jonesboro. "I sew all the time," said Rector Elementary School teacher Debbie Robinson. ...

Longtime Marmaduke superintendent Jerry Don McIntosh has resigned. Marmaduke School Board members unanimously accepted McIntosh's resignation in an emotional called meeting held at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23. McIntosh, who had been employed by the district for 40 years and served for as superintendent for the last 32, requested that the Board honor his request to resign and go into retirement, effective immediately...

There was a happy ending Sunday night, Nov. 28, for a McDougal family who had a frightening holiday experience. Six-year-old Zanuel Glasgow was found unharmed and returned safely to his home at about 8:55 p.m. after he disappeared into the darkness earlier in the evening without a shirt, shoes or socks...

The Piggott Area Chamber of Commerce would like to invite everyone to attend Christmas Fest on the square from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11. This is an annual event sponsored by the Chamber for everyone to enjoy and to encourage shopping in Piggott for the Christmas season...

The Clay County Arts Council will host the annual Night of Chocolate at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Piggott Community Center. The evening traditional program consists of a delicious meal of chicken cordon blue, twice baked potatoes, glazed carrots, salad, hot rolls, tea and coffee, along with an array of delicious chocolate desserts...

The long-awaited facilities report for public schools in Arkansas was presented Tuesday at the State Capitol in Little Rock. It came somewhat in the form of a bombshell -- an estimated $2-3 billion cost for repairs and construction of facilities throughout the state...

Bernice Lambert, 86, of Cardwell, Mo., died Friday, Nov. 26, 2004, in the St. Bernard's Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. She was born Oct. 27, 1918, at Red Onion, Mo., the daughter of the late A.L. "Short" and Emma Richardson Mize. She married Morris R. Lambert on Jan. 12, 1946. They had two children. He preceded her in death on Dec. 20, 2000...

Mary Joyce (Simpson) O'Hara, 77, of Poplar Bluff, died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2004, at the Westwood Hills Healthcare Center in Poplar Bluff. She was born Nov. 21, 1927, at Pollard, the daughter of the late Lemuel L. and Mary Davis Simpson. In her early years, she and her late husband, George W. O'Hara, lived in Poplar Bluff for a brief period of time before moving to St. Louis where she lived for 40 years...

Ruby Byars, 88, of New Florence, Mo., formerly of McDougal, died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2004, at New Florence Nursing Home in New Florence. She was born on Jan. 20, 1916, in Clarkton, Mo. She was united in marriage to Willie Clifton Byars on April 12, 1934. He preceded her in death on April 3, 1974...

The Piggott Mohawks traveled to Corning for the first round of the Clay County Invitational Tournament on Monday, Nov. 22. The Mohawks were facing the Rector Cougars, to whom they had lost by three points the previous week. The stands were filled with fans from both teams who traveled the distance to see the action. Both teams turned up the defense from the very beginning and neither team scored for almost the first two minutes of the game...

On Monday, Nov. 22, the Lady Mohawks saw conference action at home against the Lady Rebels of Riverside. The Lady Mohawks captured a victory over the Rebels with a final score of 67-56. The first quarter ended with the Lady Mohawks having a narrow lead over the Rebels with a score of 13-10. Both teams added 17 points each during the second quarter, bringing the score to 30-27 at the half with the Lady Mohawks hanging onto the lead...

The Piggott Mohawks returned to Corning on Tuesday, Nov. 23, to face off with Corning Bobcats for the finals of the Clay County Invitational Tournament. The Mohawks went into the game following a big win over the Rector Cougars the previous night. The game got started and the Mohawks scored first. The action was fast-paced as each team fired off shots and scored...

The Piggott Lady Mohawks were crowned the Clay County Invitational Champions on Tuesday, Nov. 23, when they defeated the host Lady Bobcats of Corning with a final score of 66-60. The Lady Bobcats scored on a three-point shot to start the game. But the Lady Mohawks quickly gained dominance, leading the game 20-13 at the end of the first quarter...

The Piggott Junior Mohawks traveled to Corning on Monday, Nov. 22, for second round action of the Clay County Invitational Tournament. The Junior Mohawks were eliminated from the tournament by the loss to the Junior Bobcats of Corning, 53-31. The first quarter of the game had both teams being evenly matched on scoring, with the Bobcats only leading by five points, 15-10...

The Piggott Junior Lady Mohawks traveled to Corning on Saturday, Nov. 20, for their first round in the Clay County Invitational Tournament. The Lady Mohawks met up with the Lady Greyhounds of Marmaduke. The Greyhounds rolled over the Mohawks with a final score of 41-12...

Two 17-year-old juveniles were arrested on drug charges Sunday, Nov. 28, following an investigation which began after the two fled Marmaduke police officers attempting to serve an arrest warrant in the Nimmons area. The Clay County Sheriff's Department was notified at about 1:21 p.m. ...