Stories from Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Rector has been chosen to host three separate state Little League tournaments as part of a reward earned by the Tri-County Little League. The Tri-County League, which includes portions of Clay, Greene and Dunklin counties, has been rewarded for the commitment shown to its local communities by providing excellent Little League diamonds for the children. These diamonds were evaluated and proven to be some of the best in the state and resulted in the tournament awards...

The Marmaduke Greyhounds were downed 63-52 by the hosting Buffalo Island Central Mustangs this past Friday at Monette. BIC held a slim 10-8 advantage after the first quarter, but was able to spread it out to 27-17 at the half. They hovered in the double digit range for the remainder of the game...

The Rector Lady Cougars fell 46-35 to Riverside in Lake City this past Monday. Rector trailed by the barest of margins, 11-10, after the first quarter, but found themselves trailing 28-12 at the half. Each team scored five points over the course of the third as Riverside led 33-17...

The Walnut Ridge Bobcats used a superior effort on the glass to top the Cougars, 68-53, in 3AA-North play this past Friday in Walnut Ridge. It was neck and neck at the half, with Rector trailing by one, 26-25, but the Bobcats went to the boards in the second half, getting second and third chances while limiting the number of Cougar shot attempts. Walnut Ridge built a 47-39 lead at the end of the third...

Federal officials now are involved in the investigation of possible criminal actions in the operation of the Marmaduke School District. "Several federal investigators met with one of my agents Monday to begin one of the processes," said Sgt. Jerry Digman of the Arkansas State Police. Digman is the special investigation unit commander looking into the Marmaduke situation...

Basketball homecoming 2006 at Rector High School is sure to be a time of nostalgia and lots of reminiscing. As the town celebrates its final basketball homecoming Friday, Feb. 3, in a gymnasium built in 1950, there will be a look back to more than a half century of other homecomings with their special memories...

When a typical American teen goes home from school, quite often the first words you'll hear are, "I'm starving!" But some Rector kids have a different take on hunger. On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24 and 25, more than a dozen young people from the First United Methodist Church will participate in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine because of their concern about what hunger means for children living in poverty...

Temperatures dipped Saturday, Jan. 21, and a brisk wind blew, but Rector special education teacher Dawn Sims still leaped into icy waters in the Area I Special Olympics' 2006 Polar Bear Plunge at Crowley's Ridge State Park in Walcott. Sims was the top individual fundraiser among 75 brave people who took the plunge, raising $1,043. The winning group, Possum Holler Pirates, raised $1,212. The total raised in the annual event was $10,000...

Alice Elizabeth Dortch, 90, of Granite Bay, Calif., formerly of Rector, died Thursday, Dec. 29, 2005, at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Roseville, Calif. Born March 6, 1915, in Thayer, Mo., to the late William D. and Sara Elizabeth Huff Wooldridge, she was married March 19, 1932, to Roy A. Dortch, who also preceded her in death. She was a long time member of Rock Springs Methodist Church and of the Eastern Star...

Christine Mason Hatley, 79, a native of this area and a longtime resident of San Jose, Calif., died Saturday, Jan. 21, 2006, in San Jose. She was born July 31, 1926 in Hickoria, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Mason. She was baptised into the Methodist Church in Knobel as a young woman. ...

Martha Benefield Kirkpatrick, 52, of Garland, Texas, died on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, in Baylor Medical Center in Garland, Texas. She was born Sept. 4, 1953, in Piggott, the daughter of the late Tom and Mary (Cryer) Benefield. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one brother, Odell Otte...

Brooke Smith scored 25 points, including six three-pointers, to lead the Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds to a 48-30 victory over the Walnut Ridge Lady Bobcats this past Monday night in Marmaduke. The first half had a slow pace, as the teams seemed to be testing the waters, looking for any advantage. ...

The Piggott Lady Mohawks used their advantage in the post to power to a 56-46 win over the hosting Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds on Monday, Jan. 16. The interior combination of Lauren Hickson and Kortney Toombs, who combined for 37 points, was too much for Marmaduke to handle...

The Piggott Junior Lady Mohawks delighted the crowd of home fans with a victory over the Junior Lady Cougars of Rector on Thursday, Jan. 19. The Junior Lady Mohawks pushed the Junior Lady Cougars throughout the entire game, with quarter scores of 13-7, 22-13 and 36-24...

The Mohawks went on a 12-0 run over the final four minutes of the game to get past the Cougars last Tuesday at Rector. Piggott held a 33-32 advantage over the Cougars when the fourth quarter began, but moved on for the win thanks in large part to a surge from T.J. Harris, who scored nine of his 14 points in the final frame. Logan Ballard also threw in for 14 in the win over the county rival. Other scorers were Trey Sutfin 9, Kalyn Hoggard 7, Lance Conley 6 and Brian Seal 3...

Valentines from Piggott, 1910-1918, will be on exhibit at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott, Wednesday, Feb. 1, through Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. The exhibit includes pages from Willie Underwood Wyatt's scrapbook of Valentines from her grammar school classmates in Piggott, 1910 to 1918...

There will be a new hot check program in use by the City of Piggott as discussed at the Piggott City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Mayor Gerald Morris, aldermen Carl Birmingham, Mike Patterson, Jim Poole and Tommy Risinger, city attorney John Lingle and city clerk Judy Parker were in attendance...

Ora McGhee Claiborne, 105, of Piggott died on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, in the Murphy Health and Rehabilitation Center in Piggott. She was born on Oct. 7, 1900, the daughter of the late Walter C. and Laura (Hall) McGhee. Mrs. Claiborne was a graduate of Piggott High School and also a graduate of the University of Arkansas. She was a dedicated teacher with over 40 years experience, several of which were spent teaching in the Piggott Schools...

Elbert Druie Rogers, 94, of Piggott died on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, at the Jonesboro Health Care in Jonesboro. He was born April 17, 1911, the son of the late Lewis Edgar and Bulah Hill Rogers. He was united in marriage to Virgie M. Smith on Oct. 24, 1931. They had one son...

Bessie Bare, 92, of Piggott died Friday, Jan. 20, 2006, at the Murphy Health and Rehabilitation Center in Piggott. She was born April 22, 1913, in Clifty, Tenn., the daughter of the late Usless and Bell Lawson. Mrs. Bare was a member of the Christian Church and was a nurse. She enjoyed fishing and gardening...

Martha Benefield Kirkpatrick, 52, of Garland, Texas, died on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006, in Baylor Medical Center in Garland, Texas. She was born Sept. 4, 1953, in Piggott, the daughter of the late Tom and Mary (Cryer) Benefield. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one brother, Odell Otte...

Christine Mason Hatley, 79, a long-time resident of San Jose, Calif., died on Jan. 21, 2006, in San Jose. She was born July 31, 1926, in Hickoria, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Mason. Mrs. Hatley was baptized into the Methodist church at Knobel as a young woman...

John David Allen and his wife, Susan, were killed Aug. 29, 2005, in Biloxi, Miss., when Hurricane Katrina hit Biloxi. Mr. Allen spent eight years in the United States Air Force. After his discharge from the USAF, he worked in construction in Nashville, where he met his wife, Susan. They later moved to Biloxi, where they made their home. He continued to work in the construction business and Mrs. Allen worked at one of the schools and also at one of the casinos...

Despite the festive atmosphere Friday at the Piggott High School gymnasium, due to homecoming, the Mohawks were outscored by the Maynard Tigers, with a final of 62-41. The Mohawks were pushing their game in the first quarter, staying within 10 points of the Tigers, ending the first quarter, 15-8. The second quarter had the Mohawks scoring first and narrowing the Tigers' lead to two points...

The Piggott Lady Mohawks came onto the court, ready to prove they were winners, and defeated their county rivals, the Rector Lady Cougars, on Thursday, Jan. 19. The Lady Mohawks led the game through the first three quarters: 12-7, 28-22 and 47-37. Despite this lead, the Lady Mohawks began having some fouling problems late in the fourth quarter that allowed the Lady Cougars to get within winning range...

The Seventh Grade Mohawks scored two victories recently. On Friday, Jan. 20, the Mohawks defeated Maynard with a final score of 32-11. Hayden McMillon led the scoring with 11 points, followed by Tanner Murray with nine. Colby Lovelace contributed eight points, while Alek Sample put in four...

The Piggott Junior Mohawks truly dominated the court on Friday, Jan. 20, as the team faced the Junior Tigers of Maynard for conference action. The Junior Mohawks outscored the Junior Tigers with a final score of 60-23. The Junior Mohawks did not allow the Junior Tigers to score for the entire first quarter and ended it 18-0. ...

The first degree murder retrial of Clay County resident David Houston Reagan, 48, began Monday morning in Greene County Circuit Court in Paragould with Judge Gerald Pearson presiding. Reagan was tried and convicted of murdering two-year-old Sarah Binkard, in 1990 and received a life sentence. He was granted a new trial 18 months ago because of legal and procedural errors during the first trial, held in Paragould, with a change of venue from Clay County...