Stories from Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Sixty-five seniors will bid farewell to Piggott High School during commencement exercises for the Class of 2006 at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 12, at the Piggott High School Gymnasium. The valedictorian for the PHS Class of 2006 is Amanda Dawn Johnson, the daughter of Terry and Lynette Johnson...

A small cross made of sticks, a humble bouquet of flowers, the sword of a fallen soldier and the Confederate flag were part of a ceremony memorializing Major General John Sappington Marmaduke last Sunday afternoon at Chalk Bluff. The memorial to Marmaduke, the namesake of the town in Greene County that is in the process of cleaning up from the tornadoes that hit on April 2, was a fitting one...

Members of the Piggott High School Class of 2006 were honored on Sunday, May 7, during the Piggott Ministerial Alliance's Baccalaureate Services at 6 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Piggott. The graduates entered to the strains of Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" played by organist Sandra Routszong. The processional was followed with Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"...

A special evening is being planned for Clay County cancer survivors and their loved ones. The first annual Clay County Relay for Life Survivor's Dinner will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 15, at the Piggott First General Baptist Church's Family Life Center, located on the corner of South Taylor and Bruce Streets...

District teachers expressed their concerns about the ramifications of summer school for Piggott's students during the Piggott School Board meeting Monday evening in the PHS Library. Present for the meeting were Board members Cliff Winberry, Robert Jackson, Shawn Parker, Neil Morgan and John Rodery, superintendent Bruce Evans and academic advisor Joan Gossett...

Opal Beggs, 84, of Paragould died Saturday, April 29, 2006, at Greene Acres Nursing Home in Paragould. Born May 12, 1921, in Gun Town, Miss., she and her family moved to Cardwell, Mo., when she was one year old and lived there for more than 50 years. She attended Antioch Church of Christ...

Youth summer baseball league play is currently underway at the Jeremy McDaniel Memorial Sports Complex in Rector and surrounding communities. With a host of tournaments and regular season games, fans of all ages will have many opportunities to delight in witnessing the ascension of younger players in the National Pasttime...

With the combination of new faces and familiar ones in new roles, the Rector Cougar baseball team was able to overcome a general lack of experience and finish with a respectable 10-17 overall record in 2006. The team went 5-5 in 3AA-North conference play and earned a trip to the regional tournament at Monette...

The 2006 Marmaduke Lady Greyhound softball team was only the second group in the school's program to reach the regional tournament since moving over to fast-pitch softball. The team finished with an 8-6 overall record, reaching the aforementioned regional tourney as well as the district semifinals...

Helen Julie Cornelison, 89, formerly of Rector, died Sunday, April 30, 2006, at Genesys Hospice Care Center in Goodrich, Mich. She was born March 12, 1917, in Arkansas and was a resident of Flint, Mich., from 1952 until she retired to Arkansas in 1973...

Earline Pruett, 88, died Thursday, May 4, 2006, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. Born Feb. 10, 1918, in Marmaduke to the late Billie and Ollie Brewer, she was a retired cook at the Marmaduke School and a member of the Providence Missionary Baptist Church...

"Some days it seems like a lifetime ago, and then on the other hand, it seems like yesterday." That's what 43-year-old Janet Linam says about her experience with cancer as a high school junior -- and about a recovery considered by doctors -- and friends and family members -- to be a miracle...

Three Jonesboro men were arrested just before midnight Friday by the Rector Police Department on drug-related charges. Charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver were Oscar A. Sanchez, 24, Derrick Michael Innes, 20, and Shahram Eslahi, 18...

Action taken Monday by the Arkansas Board of Education waived the minimum 178-day school year for Marmaduke Public Schools in the wake of the devastating April 2 tornado which struck the community and closed classes for several weeks. The board also waived the administration of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills...

The final Rector High School commencement ceremony in the school's old gymnasium will be at 8 p.m. Friday, May 12. The 50 members of the Class of 2006 will say goodbye to high school days and take a step toward the future when they receive diplomas...

Democrat Sports Staff The Rector Lady Cougar softball team had another year of excellence in 2006, earning a conference championship, second place in the district and a trip to the regional tournament. With a 16-4 overall record, the girls from Rector were once again the team to beat in the 3AA-North conference, going a perfect 10-0...