Stories from Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Lady Cougars have been making positive strides in their efforts to extend their softball season. "I think we're one of the most improved teams in the conference," coach Matt Rabjohn said of his squad. "We've been working hard and I think it's starting to really show when we're out there on the field."...

Rector punched their ticket for the regional tournament yesterday, easing by Riverside 11-4 at home. Mason Knight had a strong showing on the mound, going all seven innings while allowing four runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits while ringing up 15 and walking three...

Chalmers Lorance, 97, a native of Rector, died Feb. 14, 2008, of a stroke. He was born Dec. 15, 1910, in Rector, the ninth child of George Lewis and Rebecca Cordella Lorance. He was preceded in death by his wife, Esther, in 1984 and by a daughter, Betty Jane Harrison, in 1973. He practiced pharmacy for 60 years...

Kathy Ann Tilmon, 46, of Greenway and formerly of Braggadocio, Mo., died Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at the Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center at Kennett. She was born June 9, 1961, in Hayti, the daughter of Jack Lawhorn and Delores Moyers Gray. She married John Tilmon June 25, 1995, in Braggadocio...

Longtime Rector community leader Robert Donald "Bob" Cranford, 83, died Tuesday, April 15, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. Cranford was a faithful member of the Rector community for 61 years, serving on the Rector School Board, the Rector Housing Authority from its conception and 20 years with the Rector Volunteer Fire Department...

Hello! Hello! Hello, everyone! I am writing this column on Monday and it is a fantastic spring day. My windows are open to a warm easy breeze and the sun is warming the coats of my kitties as they lounge on the windowsill. A day to inspire poetry. We are contending with the pollen, of course. This, too, will pass...

Pets, games, music, refreshments, a pageant, political stump speeches and a big merchants drawing -- it's all there on the agenda for the return of the popular Rector Mayfest. The event will get underway at the Downtown Park at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 3...

Rector officials learned Monday that the city has been accepted into the Arkansas Downtown Network program, a division of Main Street Arkansas. The designation came following a highly-competitive process that included eight other communities across the state, all but one larger than Rector...

The Rector branch of Regions Bank recently underwent a major renovation on its building at 400 Main Street. The company and its employees have a rich history in the location. Construction on the building which houses Regions began in 1924 and was finished the following year. ...