Stories from Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Rector's season wound to a close at the district tournament in Marmaduke Monday night as the Cougars fell to Riverside, 56-32. Despite the final score, the Cougars were within striking distance much of the game. The two teams were tied 10-10 after the opening quarter...

SGT Joel Hayes of Rector is beginning to feel at home in his new office at the Rector National Guard Armory. As new Readiness NCO for Detachment 1, Company A, 2nd Battalion of the 153rd Infantry Battalion, he says he wants to make the local unit "shine like a diamond in the mud."...

Elsie Vadalia Hampton, 67, of West Memphis, formerly of Rector, died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at Baptist East in Memphis. Born Oct. 8, 1938, in Rector to the late Denver Barker and Dessie Oneida Burkhead Barker, she was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith. She also was preceded in death by a sister, Lisa Hampton...

Della Fay Redman, 97, of the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, formerly of Piggott, died on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at the Piggott Community Hospital. She was married to William Tell Bowman on July 5, 1927. He preceded her in death. She was then married to James Clovis Redman on July 5, 1941, who also preceded her in death...

The Marmaduke Junior Greyhounds met the Junior Mohawks of Piggott in the finals of the district tournament at Monette this past Saturday. Marmaduke fell in the contest, 47-37. The teams were knotted up at 8-8 after the first quarter, but Piggott moved ahead 24-18 at the half. That advantage grew to 35-25 after three quarters...

The Lady Cougars played their final game of the season this past Monday night, as the team faced Maynard in the opening round of the district tournament at Marmaduke. Rector was downed by the Lady Tigers, 62-46. It was a close game through the first half, with Maynard holding 16-13 and 26-20 leads after the first and second quarters, respectively. Rector fell behind 44-31 going into the fourth quarter...

Marmaduke and Riverside went down to the wire in their semifinal matchup at the junior district tournament at Monette this past Saturday. The game, originally scheduled for Friday, was rescheduled due to conditions following the winter weather. Rachel Juarez hit Crissy Crawford with an entry pass in the lane for a layup with 1:00 remaining in the game to bring the teams to a 33-33 tie. ...

"Bill Carter has lived a life like no other. From serving in John F. Kennedy's Secret Service to shepherding the Rolling Stones through their tumultuous first U.S. stadium tour and their myriad legal problems, he witnessed first-hand and participated in massive shifts in American history." Chet Flippo, former editor of Rolling Stone, editorial director of CMT.com...

Construction of Rector School District's new preschool facility should be completed soon, and the new director, Jamie Simmons, was hired at Monday night's board meeting. Superintendent Rob Louder told board members that, even though the parking lot will not be blacktopped until the end of March, the building itself will be complete by the end of this week. Louder said the next step will be to furnish the facility...

The Lady Mohawks spoiled the final girls high school game at Biggers-Reyno by topping the Lady Buffaloes, 63-47. Piggott trailed 16-14 after the first quarter, but rallied to take a 31-25 lead going into the second half. The Lady Mohawks were up 41-34 after three quarters...

The Piggott Mohawks ended their 2005-06 regular season play on Thursday, Feb. 9, when the team traveled to Biggers-Reyno and were outscored, 85-67. The Mohawks held a slim lead over Biggers-Reynod during the first half, with quarter scores of 21-15 and 41-37. ...

The Junior Lady Mohawks faced Bay in the opening round of the district tournament at Monette last Tuesday. The game was hard fought throughout, but in the end, Piggott fell to the Junior Lady Yellowjackets, 45-42. Bay the advantage throughout: 11-8; 25-17 and 38-24...

Many area residents have walked past his face numerous times in the Piggott Post Office, but most may not realize the significance of the man who was the subject of the bronze bust in the lobby. Leslie L. Biffle was truly a small town boy who made good. He was born on Oct. 9, 1889, in Boydsville. It was a long road from Boydsville to Washington, D.C...

A trio of Piggott eighth graders earned the top three spots at the Clay County Spelling Bee held last Wednesday at the elementary library at Piggott. Jana Johnson, the daughter of Linn and Yvonne Beaver, took home first place when she correctly spelled "scrupled" and "congealed."...

Della Fay Redman, 97, of the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, formerly of Piggott, died on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, at the Piggott Community Hospital. She was married to William Tell Bowman on July 5, 1927. He preceded her in death. She was then married to James Clovis Redman on July 5, 1941, who also preceded her in death...

Billy Jack Keas of McDougal died on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006, at his home. He was born in Newport on Dec. 14, 2005. He was preceded in death by his great-grandfather, David Keas; and great-grandparents, Frank and Hazel Householder. He is survived by his mother, Tina Renee Keas of McDougal; one brother, Dillon Michael Smith of McDougal; grandmother, Donna Faye Crawford of McDougal; grandfather, Jackie Dewayne Keas of Paragould; great-grandmother, Bernice Keas of Paragould; three aunts, Amanda Danielle Butler of McDougal, Jamie Lyn Adams of Pocahontas and Trisha Diane Keas of Pocahontas; uncle, Brandon Levi Keas of McDougal; and many other relatives and friends.. ...

Elsie Vadalia Hampton, 67, of West Memphis, formerly of Rector, died Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at Baptist East in Memphis. Born Oct. 8, 1938, in Rector to the late Denver Barker and Dessie Oneida Burkhead Barker, she was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith. She also was preceded in death by a sister, Lisa Hampton...

Thelma Haywood Moreland, 77, of Madison Heights, Mich., died Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006, at her daughter's home in Royal Oak, Mich. She was born in Piggott on Nov. 2, 1928, the daughter of the late Herbert and Neatie Elward Haywood. She married James Orville Moreland in 1949. They had four daughters and two sons...

Charles Ray Craig, 58, of Jonesboro died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006, in the St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. He was preceded in death by his father, Cordie Craig; and his mother, Media Conyers. He is survived by his son, Charles Craig of Jonesboro; his dad, Rawligh Conyers of Jonesboro; one brother, Robert Lee Craig of Pheonix, Ariz.; two sisters, Barbara Avery of Campbell and Betty Wright of Oklahoma City, Okla.; and other relatives and friends...

Ruby Chisolm Lacy died on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2006, at the age of 94. Born on Oct. 25, 1911, in Lepanto, she was the daughter of William Murphy and Anna Robinson. She married Cody (Bill) Lamar Chisolm and moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., in the 1930's. He preceded her in death in 1964. They had three daughters, Wilma "Polly" (John) Carioba, who preceded her in death in 1988, Jean McFarland of Ypsilanti, Mich., and Mary (Alvin) Shelton, formerly of Ypsilanti, Mich., and now a resident of Florida...

The Piggott Junior Mohawks pulled away from Marmaduke in the second quarter of the junior district finals matchup to claim the district championship, 47-37. With the score tied 8-8 after the first quarter, Piggott responded to a drive and layup by Marmaduke's Jacob Mason by rattling off nine unanswered points. ...

The Piggott School Board accepted the low bid of $3,789,000 from G.A.G. Builders Inc. of Cabot for the construction of the new kitchen and cafeteria, gymnasium and classrooms during its meeting at the district's administrative office building Monday evening. Superintendent Bruce Evans, district academic advisor Joan Gossett and board members Cliff Winberry, Shawn Parker, Neil Morgan, John Rodery and Robert Jackson were present...