Stories from Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Ruella Jo Blackshear, 61, of Marmaduke died Saturday, March 1, 2008, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born Sept. 17, 1946, to the late Ewell and Lillian Reddick in Greene County and was a lifetime resident of Marmaduke. She was preceded in death by her husband, Buddy Blackshear...

The Cougars began the 2008 baseball season with an auspicious start last Friday, falling to Corning 12-6 at Rector. Things looked good for the boys in blue in the early going. Juniors Dalton Shaw and Logan Buck both reached base and were driven home on a single off the bat of senior Daniel Hester. The Cougars roared to a 2-0 lead, but the warm spring-like weather had brought out the worms, and this one was about to turn...

Jack Small, 64, of Boydsville, died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, at his home. Born Aug. 20, 1943, in Hickoria, to the late Jessie and Bessie May (Dobbins) Small, he was owner of Northeast Arkansas Monument Company and a member of Hickoria Missionary Baptist Church. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, photography and talking on his C.B. radio. He was married to Betty Fay Brady Sept. 29, 1963...

Estelle Lucinda Hampton Shelton, 97, died Monday, Feb. 25, 2008, after a long life of devotion and love to her children and extended family. She was born Nov. 29, 1910, in Clay County to Haywood and Mary Hampton. She was a member of the Church of Christ and attended Union Central Church of Christ until she became confined to her home...

We did have a beautiful preview of spring last week, didn't we? What a glorious weekend that was! Of course then we were reminded that we do live in Arkansas where the weather can change on a dime. We had a veritable smorgasbord of environmental conditions the last few days...

Rector High School gifted and talented students learned about the historic significance of several Clay County buildings Wednesday, Feb. 27, when Rachel Miller, education coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, made a presentation at the RHS library...

The staff and residents of Evergreen Health and Rehabilitation in Rector have welcomed new director Debra King to the facility. King joined the Rector site two weeks ago and has been busy familiarizing herself with her co-workers and the residents under her care...

Rector's Shawn Bucy has the unique distinction of being a leap year baby. Though he celebrated his 36th birthday last Friday, the actual date of Shawn's birth has only appeared on the calendar nine times in his lifetime. Despite Feb. 29 missing from most of the calendars, Shawn and his family have always celebrated his birthday...

A basketball skills fundraiser has been planned for Saturday, March 15 at the old Piggott High School gym with the proceeds going toward the medical bills of Erica Rickman. Activities are scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. with registration, and will be going on throughout the day. The highlight of the event will be held at 7 p.m. that evening with a basketball game between the Piggott and Rector "All-Stars"...

If the first game under new head coach Shawn Hearn is any indication, the Piggott Mohawks are looking very strong for the coming baseball season. The Tribe kicked-off the 2008 campaign with a 13-1 win over the Maynard Tigers last Thursday afternoon at Independence Park. The contest featured five strong innings on the mound from senior Brice Swann, who also ended the game with a three-run walk-off homer...

Dorothy Elizabeth Montgomery, 85, of Paragould, formerly of Blytheville, died Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born Aug. 1, 1922, in Shawneetown, Ill., the daughter of the late William and Nell Bradley Reid. She was a homemaker and attended Southside Community Church in Paragould...

Jack Small, 64, of Boydsville, died Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008, at his home. Born Aug. 20, 1943, in Hickoria, to the late Jessie and Bessie May (Dobbins) Small, he was owner of Northeast Arkansas Monument Company and a member of Hickoria Missionary Baptist Church. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, photography and talking on his C.B. radio. He was married to Betty Fay Brady Sept. 29, 1963...

Chip was my favorite dog. He was half poodle and half fox terrier. He was old and decrepit when he gave up the ghost some 25 years ago, but he was a big chunk of my life for a long time. He was around during my two kids growing up years. He lived long enough to see both of them graduate from high school...

1968 The Piggott City Council voted, 40 years ago this past week, to support an effort to bring a "YMCA type" facility to the city, but did not commit any funds to the effort. The project has been spearheaded by Rev. Kenneth Threet. Sad news from the Nimmons community, as 58 year old Carl F. Beck was killed in a tractor accident Feb. 29 at his residence. Also in the news, Piggott and Greenway school patrons will go to the polls March 12 to decide the fate of millage increases...

One of the most vital moments in the history of the world is the devastating conflict of World War II. The impact of this struggle, which defined a generation, is still felt to this day. One of the most important battles of the war is the Battle of Midway. ...

Dana Brown, Clay County Election Commission chairman, has announced that filing for county offices for the May 20 primary will begin at noon Monday, March 3, and end at noon Monday, March 10. Candidates may file at the Piggott Courthouse starting at noon on March 3, and may do so all day March 4 and 5. Filing will then be conducted at the Corning Courthouse all day on March 6 and 7 and until noon March 10...

Area One Special Olympics hosted a skills competition last Friday at Piggott High School with 197 athletes in attendance. Schools attending included Piggott, Greene County Tech, Pocahontas, Paragould, Hoxie and Walnut Ridge. The adult facilities that attended were Abilities Unlimited, Day Springs and Focus...