Stories from Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The 2009 Piggott Mohawk baseball campaign is scheduled to get underway this Thursday, Feb. 26, as the Mohawks are slated to host Ridgefield Christian with first pitch set for 4 p.m. The Tribe was scheduled to follow that game up with a non-conference road game at Pocahontas this Friday...

The Piggott Mohawks ended the 2008-09 high school basketball season on the same floor where they began this year's campaign, as they fell to the Rivercrest Colts 59-68 in the second round of the district tournament at Tuckerman. The loss left the Tribe one game over .500 for the season, and just one game shy of qualifying for to this week's regional tournament at Bergman...

1969 The proposed millage increase will be decided by Piggott school patrons in the coming weeks, and the effort to educate voters on the need continues. Members of the Piggott Lions Club toured the PES campus in the past week, and were pictured visiting the sixth grade class of Delores Bellers. ...

For Valentine's Day, my friend Shirley got a skunk. No, not a stuffed one. A real live one. It was found in the barn in a cage on Valentine's Day. The cage was left there by her husband who was trying to catch a bandit raccoon...

Marion Gene Keller, 46, of St. Louis died Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. He was born April 21, 1962, in Paragould to Bud and Mary Frances (Hogan) Keller. He worked and made his home in St. Louis...

David D. Maulden, 57, of Corning, died Monday, Feb. 16, 2009, at Piggott Community Hospital. He was born Aug. 23, 1951, and was the son of Johnny and Velma (Trammell) Maulden. He was preceded in death by his mother...

Donna Mae Hunt, 64, of Vine Grove, Ky., died Thursday, Jan. 21, 2009, at Hosparus Inpatient in Louisville, Ky. She was born May 22, 1944, in St. Louis and was the daughter of the late Arthur Harold and Amy Pauline (Abney) Petty. Her half-brother, Lee Abney, also preceded her in death...

Erica Danielle Rickman, 19, of Malden, died Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, at her home. She was born Feb. 24, 1989, and was the daughter of Barry and Melissa (Pitts) Rickman. Erica was a 2007 graduate of Piggott High School and was active in the Mohawk softball, basketball and volleyball programs. ...

Hank Turner, 44, of Honeoye Falls, N.Y., formerly of Nimmons, died Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, following a battle with cancer. He was born April 14, 1964, and was a 1982 graduate of Piggott High School...

Mrs. Hazel Swindler Turner, 94, of Little Rock died Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, in Little Rock. She was born Aug. 5, 1914, in Ozark, where she later graduated from high school. She attended College of the Ozarks and Arkansas Teachers College, later graduating from the University of Arkansas with a degree in home economics...

Johnie Curtis Culp, 87, of Malden, Mo., died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Golden Living Center in Malden. He was born Sept. 24, 1921, in Blytheville and was the son of the late Willie Curtis and Ida Alice (Ham) Culp. He was married Jan. 11, 1948, to Dovie Walker and the couple had two sons...

Leonard Bell Jr., 83, of Piggott died Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, at the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, Mo. He was born June 29, 1925, in Rector and was the son of the late Leonard and Fay (Mobley) Bell...

Lester Crossfield, 78, of Piggott died Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, at his home. He was born Aug. 5, 1930, in Greenway and was the son of the late William Silbra "Sid" and Lucille (Shaw) Crossfield. He was married June 1, 1974, to Glenda Renard...

Linda Lou Morrison, 66, of Piggott, died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at her home. She was born Feb. 23, 1942, and was the daughter of the late Stanley Miles and Gertrude Irene (McCawley) Irons. She is survived by two sons, Scott Foy and Andy Morrison; two daughters, Kelly and Rick of Piggott and Mandy Siddell; a brother, Stanley Miles Irons II and wife Patricia; four grandchildren, Adam Grammer, Lacey Grammer, Monica Morrison and Macey Siddell; one great-granddaughter, Haley Bell, and many other relatives and friends.. ...

Thelma Hommel, 92, of Piggott, formerly of McDougal, died Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, at Piggott Community Hospital. She was born Jan. 25, 1917, at Corning to the late Will and Sarah (Thompson) Hopkins. She married Hilman Hommel on Sept. 18, 1938, and he preceded her in death July 7, 1978...

Zinnia Alice Stairs, 96, of Paragould, a native of the Pollard area, died Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009, at Greene Acres Nursing Home in Paragould. She was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith. ...

Members of the Piggott Schools board of education met in regular session Tuesday evening and voted to re-hire the principals and assistant principals at both campuses for the coming school year...

County employees have been working long hours following the disastrous ice storm of Jan. 27. In fact, the amount of work required has led to the necessity of overtime for road department employees, according to Judge Gary Howell. ...

Piggott Elementery School hosted the 2009 Clay County Spelling Bee Wednesday, Feb. 18, with participants from throughout the county taking part. At the conclusion of competition the winner was PES fourth grader Chirsten Pace...

State Representative Mike Patterson of Piggott is shown with President Bill Clinton following the former governor's address to the 87th General Assembly. Clinton, a longtime friend of the Patterson family, spoke to lawmakers at the Capitol in Little Rock Wednesday, Feb. 18. (Photo provided)...

The recent ice storm and its impact on the city was the main topic of discussion at Monday night's Piggott city council meeting. The council heard updates from the various city departments, reviewed how the city reacted to the emergency and talked about the high cost of the ice storm...