Stories from Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Rector's Labor Day Picnic is known as one of the best community homecomings and festivals in the state -- and the 2008 version lived up to that tradition in fine form. Beginning with a parade that observers said was one of the most outstanding in recent memory, and continuing on until the Miss Rector Pageant at the conclusion of the day, the event was an unqualified success...

Rector High School librarian Diane Brewer took part this summer in a unique educational experience, traveling to South Africa with 15 other instructors from the state as part of a five-week study tour...

As September gets underway, students in the Rector School District find themselves settling into familiar routines. However, this year the number of students following those routines has decreased...

While it was referred to as a progress meeting, a recent gathering of the Highway 67 Corridor Coalition in Corning essentially showed no progress on the planned highway. In many ways, the project appears to be at the same stage as during the last coalition meeting nearly a year ago...

The Rector High School Sports Hall of Fame made a strong beginning Saturday. Its first induction ceremony was a memorable part of Rector's annual Labor Day celebration. A crowd of former athletes, school officials and supporters filled the school cafeteria to celebrate the induction of Jess Bucy as the first member of the Hall of Fame...

Arkansas cotton growers are keeping an eye on their fields to see if the plentiful rain of the last two weeks has promoted boll rot, according to Dr. Tom Barber, extension cotton agronomist with the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture...

Small-town mayors across the nation who harbor strong political ambition now have hope. A person who just a few years ago was the mayor of a town of less than 8,000 now potentially will be a "heartbeat away" from holding the most powerful position in the world...

Many people are sticking close to home these days because of the high cost of gasoline. They can't afford to tool around just for the fun of it. Many are foregoing cross country trips and staying closer to home...

The American people can be defined, in part, by their willingness to get and keep a job. We measure one's worth by his ability to take care of his family on a regular and predictable basis, with sustained job security. ...

Pamela Jean Haley, 53, of Piggott, died Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008, in the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff. She was born March 22, 1955, in Kennett, the daughter of Stanley Clifton "Red" and Juanita Turner Haley...

Billy Elvis Smithee, 64, of Rector died Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008. He was born March 23, 1944, in Monette to the late Jessie Carl and Jessie Marie (Huckabee) Smithee. Also preceding him in death were a son, Billy Elvis Smithee Jr., and two grandchildren, Brandy and Nathan Smithee...

Joseph Dewayne Mason, 54, of Rector died Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. He was born July 23, 1954, to Joseph and Edna (Edwards) Mason in Rector. He worked at Monroe on the line assembly...

Raymond Burr, 53, of Paragould died Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. He was born Sept. 8, 1954, in Kennett, Mo. He was preceded in death by his parents, Tommy "Red" and Rose Annette (Fuller) Burr. Survivors include a son, Colter Burr of Lometa, Texas; four daughters and a son-in-law, Christopher and Cameron Bruster and Cheyenne Burr of Lometa, Texas, and Amy Burr and Lisa Fudge, both of Wichita Falls, Texas; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Rose Ann and Jimmy Parrish of Lafe and Judy and Rick Guillot of Paragould, five grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.. ...