Stories from Wednesday, January 10, 2007

With over a dozen concerned citizens on hand the Piggott school board held its regular meeting Monday night at the administration building. All members were in attendance. Topping the agenda was a discussion of the ongoing building project for the new gym and classrooms, though the majority of the spectators were on-hand for the consideration of a new contract for Superintendent Bruce Evans. ...

Too many turnovers and a hot-shooting Corning squad spelled doom for the Piggott Lady Mohawks Thursday night as they dropped a conference game to the Lady Bobcats on the road. The final was 37-55. Coming off the long holiday break the Lady Mohawks looked a bit rusty as they fell to a team they had beaten at home in their season opener...

As the Piggott Mohawks completed their final practice prior to last Tuesday's Corning game their task was clearly defined. As the Tribe wrapped up with a few line drills the voice of Coach Paul Seegraves could be heard above the pounding of the player's shoes on the hardwood; "we haven't beaten the Corning varsity in five years. You sophomores remember you only had three losses last year and one of those was to Corning. You seniors; this is your last chance to beat these guys at home."...

Doyle K. Harmon, 81, died Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007, at the St. Joseph's Home in Kenosha, Wis. Born on March 8, 1925, in Gibson, Mo., he was the son of the late Clarence and Sarah (Ray) Harmon. He was raised and educated in Greenway and moved to Kenosha in 1947...

Often, trying to decide what to write for this space can be difficult. I can't tell you how much I sweated over the "bathroom" column a few weeks ago. I discussed it at great length with BJ trying to decide whether it was appropriate or not. Might someone be upset about it?--besides Mom, that is--My Aunt Juanita even called to tell me that I was going to get a whipping for writing about the mayday bar. Fortunately, I'm my mother's favorite son...

As 2007 gets underway we at THE TIMES are bringing back an old tradition for this newspaper, and many others, looking back at the news of yesterday. Precisely we'll be looking at specific weeks, and issues of the paper, from 20, 25, 30 and 40 years ago as we highlight some of the major and minor stories of the time. ...

Anytime a person gets sick or is in need of emergency care, the first thing that comes to mind is where to get quality care. For Piggott, that place is Piggott Community Hospital. The hospital was built in 1978 and became city owned when it was constructed...

The next time you visit Dr Angela Howell at the Family Eye Clinic in Piggott they'll want to take your picture. No, not a mugshot for their records, but a series of high definition digital photos of your eyes. In some cases inside and out. "This new system allows us to photograph the surface of the eye in great detail," Dr. Howell explained, "and if we dilate the eye we can photograph the inside as well."...

The second Hootenanny doubled the first one in multiple ways. Nearly 300 people gathered on Jan. 6 at the Piggott Community Center for the second hootenanny. The show, which is becoming a monthly event, raised over $1,000. The event in December had approximately 100 people and raised around $500...

Historic rivals went head-to-head Monday night, as the Rector Lady Cougars visited the Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds. On this particular night, the advantage went to Marmaduke, as the Lady 'Hounds came away with a 44-34 win. Though the teams are no longer in the same conference after Marmaduke's re-classification as a 3A school beginning this year, this rivalry remains a hard-fought tradition...

The Rector Cougars shook off their holiday rust, returning to the court in style, pulling out a 50-47 victory Friday over host Marked Tree, picking up a key conference win over the Indians. "That was a big win on the road," Rector head coach Mark Manchester said. "Any time you go on the road in this league and win, you've done something."...

Doyle K. Harmon, 81, died Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007, at St. Joseph's Home in Kenosha, Wis. Born March 8, 1925, in Gibson, Mo., he was the son of the late Clarence and Sarah (Ray) Harmon. He was raised and educated in Greenway and moved to Kenosha in 1947...

Born March 13, 1950, in Belk to the late Homer Yancey and Ollie Barrett, he was an employee of Glaizer Installed Glass and of the General Baptist faith. He also was preceded in death by two brothers, Doyle and Elmer Yancey, and two sisters, Velma Faye and Savannah Kay Yancey...

Andy S. Greene, 62, of Wildwood, Mo., formerly of Paragould, died Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006. He retired from General Motors in 2001 and enjoyed biking and running in races with his daughter. He was a member of the West County Swing Dance Club and enjoyed Imperial dancing...

Thelma Ann Cox, 96, of Rector died Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007, in Paragould. Born May 13, 1910, in Evart, Mich., to the late Adelbert and Myrtie Porter, she was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith. She also was preceded in death by her husband, William Luther Cox; two sons, Charles and Adelbert Feirick, and three daughters, Hilda Bush, Lindy Duncan and Mary Smith...

The year of 2006 brought primarily positive headlines for the area, but tragedy and sadness were, as always, also a part of the fabric of life in rural Arkansas. This is a continuation of lead stories in 2006. July The capital murder conviction and life-without-parole sentence of John Patrick Dickinson of Marmaduke was unanimously upheld by the Arkansas Supreme Court in the May 2005 shooting death of Jewel Cavaness of Rector...A late night fire virtually destroyed Family Care Clinic of Rector...After several meetings, Clay County Justices of the Peace finally found several viable options in cutting county expenditures...Cary Simmons of Rector was honored at the University of Arkansas Honors Banquet with the Verna C. ...

The Rector Post Office has lost some of its familiarity recently, as residents will no longer be greeted by long-time clerk Glenn Leach. Leach is retiring from the Rector office after being employed there in some capacity for nearly 30 years. Leach, who has been a full-time clerk inside the post office since the summer of 1980, began as a part-time substitute carrier for the town's rural route deliveries in May of 1977...

A new cable company will be coming to Rector. Newwave Communications currently is in the process of purchasing the cable systems in place in areas of Northeast Arkansas such as Rector, Marmaduke, St. Francis, Greenway and Piggott from current provider SuddenLink, according Newwave representatives James Gleason and Keith Davidson...

The Greyhounds were in Piggott on Friday night, as Marmaduke met the Mohawks in conference play. In the end, the meeting was not the belated holiday gift the 'Hounds had hoped for, as they fell 65-55. Marmaduke held the advantage for much of the night, leading 18-9, 35-34 and 48-44 through the first three quarters...