Stories from Wednesday, October 3, 2007

All across Northeast Arkansas the drama played out on Saturday, as the men and women of the 875th Engineer Battalion of the Arkansas Army National Guard returned home following their one-year deployment to Iraq. In communities all across the region there were tearful reunions, parades, and welcome back parties. And everywhere you looked were the signs of appreciation for a job well done...

The Lady Mohawk volleyball teams have been very busy in the past couple of weeks, as they continue to battle in both conference and non-conference play. On Sept. 18 the Tribe hosted Hoxie, with the senior girls taking a close match. Chelsey Grimes paced the way with 23 digs and nine kills as the Mohawks won 25-11, 25-23 and 25-22 over the Lady Mustangs. Alicia Garcia added 21 assists and ten digs, while Penny McCluskey finished with 17 digs and Natalie Brown had 15...

Irby Funeral Home has reported arrangements are incomplete for services for William Charles Miller, 82, of Greenway. Mr. Miller died Sunday, Sept. 30th at the Piggott Community Hospital.

Nettie "Josie" Todd, 97, of the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell and formerly of Clarkton, died Sept. 16 at the Piggott Community Hospital. She was born January 27, 1910 to the late Andrew and Minnie "Waller" Masterson and was preceded in death by her husband, Jim Todd and a granddaughter, Donna Kay Todd...

Royce Earl Midkiff, 70, of Greenway, died Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, at the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, Mo. Born July 11, 1937, in Rector to the late William Roy Midkiff and Johnnie Pearl Reynolds Midkiff, he was a mechanic, a member of Rector First General Baptist Church and a life-long member of the community...

1967 Congratulations were in order, forty years ago this week, as the Aubrey Vangilder family was named the Clay County Farm Family of the Year. The Vangilder farm was located near the two-mile-turn east of Piggott. At the recent Piggott City Council meeting it was announced that a location had been found for the new fire station for the east side of the city. ...

The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) held a meeting Tuesday, Oct. 2, to educate the public on plans to bring growth to the city of Piggott and to explain the need for a half-cent sales tax to accomplish this goal. Van Winton, chairman, presented a slideshow that exhibits, in detail, the benefits to the town. The presentation featured objectives such as, but not limited to attracting high-paying jobs, bringing in quality businesses and keeping businesses in Piggott...

Everyone was cheering -- even those who weren't there to personally greet members of the 875th Engineering Battalion as they returned home Saturday after a year in Iraq. Flags waved everywhere, and signs of welcome and thanks were up all over Rector as the entire community joined to express its joy over the return of local soldiers. Many prayers of gratitude went up...

A sea of blue containers lining the edges of Rector streets Monday marked the beginning of the city's new mandatory trash pick-up service. Shelton Sanitation, which handles the garbage retrieval for the city, had its new automated truck venturing through town as the new system got underway...

Carvin George Whelchel, 83, of Paragould, formerly of Marmaduke, died Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, at Greene Acres Nursing Home in Paragould. Born June 24, 1924, at Murphysboro, Ill., he retired as a steelworker from Rockford Drop Forge in Rockford, Ill. He was a member of the United Pentecostal Church of Oak Grove, Ill...

Rev. Elmo A. Thomason, 92, of Conway died Tuesday, Sept, 18. He was born in Mt. Vernon, Ark., to the late Walter and Hassie Thomason. Rev. Thomason received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College and a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Methodist University. He served as a United Methodist minister for 72 years...

Michael Troy Nix, 21, of Alaska, the only grandson of Rector native Doyle Pruett and his wife, Joy, of Pearland, Texas, died tragically Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007, in Anchorage. His maternal grandparents are John and Carolyn Cook of Fairfied Bay and he was the great-grandson of the late Dr. Byron and Marguerite Futrell of Rector...

Royce Earl Midkiff, 70, of Greenway, died Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, at the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, Mo. Born July 11, 1937, in Rector to the late William Roy Midkiff and Johnnie Pearl Reynolds Midkiff, he was a mechanic, a member of Rector First General Baptist Church and a life-long member of the community...

Leda Marie Collier, 61, of Paragould, formerly of Marmaduke, died Thursday, Sept. 27, at her home after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer. Mrs. Collier was born Jan. 1, 1946, to Wolford and Beulah Henson. She was married in 1966 to Charles Collier and was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She was a retired teacher at Marmaduke and belonged to the Marmaduke Church of Christ...

Dan Cole, 78, of Rector died Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, at Evergreen Health and Rehabilitation in Rector. He was born July 19, 1929, in Shelby County, Tenn. He was preceded in death by his parents: Carl and Mary Cole; one son, Charley Cole; two brothers, Penny and Charley Cole, and one sister, Ruth Cole...

(Editor's Note: Some information for this story was provided by the Daily American Republic at Poplar Bluff). Rector native and retired Poplar Bluff banker Melvin D. "Butch" Brown died Friday, Sept. 28, at a Tennessee hospital where he was flown for treatment of injuries he suffered when his motorcycle was struck by a sport-utility vehicle...

A piece of Rector history has joined other treasures of the past as part of the rich, memory-driven displays at the Rector Community Museum. Upon his recent return to Rector, former Blackcat Marching Band drum major Johnny Williams donated his uniform to the museum. Williams wore the uniform during his senior year at Rector High School, donning it for band events such as their performance in the 1957 Labor Day Parade...

The Cougars put the old saying "there's no such thing as a good loss" to the test this past week, in a solid showing against the Walnut Ridge Bobcats at Rector in which the boys in blue were downed 26-22. "I can't say I'm satisfied with a loss, but I do think that was probably the best we've played this year," Cougar head coach Elliot Jacobs said. "I thought, for the most part, our effort was there. We just have to keep working on our execution."...