Stories from Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The State's request for the addition of Individual Assistance (IA) from FEMA in light of the late-January ice storm has been denied, according to Clay County OEM coordinator Travis Boyd. "I received a copy of the letter to Governor Beebe late Friday afternoon," he noted...

Mary Linam is known to many in the area for her abilities with a needle and thread, having owned and operated her own seamstress business, as well as doing upholstery work with her husband of 70 years, Hughey...

(Editor's Note: This special article for the Democrat was written by Rector native Paul Seay, who now serves as a United Methodist minister in Calico Rock. He and his wife visited Israel in January.) As a life-long Christian, I have always had the desire to go to the Holy Land to see the places where our Christian ancestors walked and lived. To see the places where Jesus lived, taught, died and was resurrected was a dream I thought would never be fulfilled...

Loving memories are rooted in the side yard of my grandmother's home where I grew up and lived until I was eight years old. After we moved to our own neighborhood in the same town, mother was certain to transplant the bulbs for those heritage-filled iris and daffodils...

Rector residents have received some assistance with brush removal from a special group of volunteers. Workers from the Great Adventure Team were hard at work in town last week gathering fallen limbs left behind from the recent ice storm...

Natalie Sigsby, Nathan Haynes and Alex Roofe of Rector, all civil engineering majors at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, will be among ASU engineering students in the university's student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) participating Thursday through Saturday, March 26-28, in the 2009 Deep South Conference, hosted by ASU...

Nostalgia is a mixed bag. As we grow older, it is natural to think back on the past and what was and what might have been. We recognize that memory is selective, fortunately, and we are more focused on the good than the bad as our minds wander back to earlier days...

I've been reading about the Great Depression of the 1930's. That got me to thinking about the foods my grandmother cooked for her family and mine during that economic collapse. I was able to taste a lot of her cooking at family reunions in her small frame home in Southeast Missouri. She handed down some of those recipes and cooking tips to my mother, who passed them down to me...

Judy Collins in the Sixties sang about her quest of finding out about clouds, love and life, concluding that, after having seen both sides now, it was only the illusion that made any lasting impression...

The Cougars opened their baseball season with an impressive 5-2 win over host Marmaduke Friday. The Cougars struck first, breaking the scoreless game open with four runs in the third inning. ...

One Mile at a Time, lead by team captain Shelby Sifford, earned the top prize in the Royal Jaguars category by participating in the Fall Walk Across Arkansas competition. The eight-person team walked 2,057 miles during the eight-week competition. ...

Acclaimed Polish classical guitarist Marcin Dylla is the featured performer in a rescheduled event of Arkansas State University's Lecture-Concert Series. Originally scheduled as the seventh event of the series, Marcin Dylla's appearance was cancelled due to inclement weather in late January. ...

The Clay County Humane Society has been working over the last several months to obtain funding for a facility while attempting to find homes for the county's unwanted pets. Adoptions have been low and donations are small and few, organizers say, but they point out CCHS is not alone. ...

Times News Staff The long, difficult process of cleaning the city of Piggott in the aftermath of the late January ice storm remains a work in progress. While the city has made positive strides in removing debris and brush piles, the devastation wrought by the unforgiving ice remains a constant reminder as piles of downed limbs persist around town...

Special to the Times The Piggott Area Chamber of Commerce hosted an appreciation dinner Saturday, March 7, at the Piggott Community Center. The event was held in honor of those who worked so tirelessly during and after the Jan. 26-27 ice storm. Those attending included members of the various departments from Piggott and Clay County, as well as volunteers and their families...

Lonnie A. Burgess, 56, of Pollard died Monday, March 9, 2009, in Pollard. He was born Aug. 8, 1952, in Senath, Mo., to Thomas Harvey and Lillie Nadene Underwood Burgess. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, John Underwood and Fred Burgess, and a sister, Beatrice Underwood...

Cecil Luther Hickson, 88, of Piggott, died Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at Murphy Health and Rehab in Piggott. He was born July 12, 1920, in Parma, Mo., and was the son of Calvin and Laura (Hale) Hickson...

Howard Devane "Mr. B" Baldridge, 82, of Monette, died Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at NEA Baptist Medical Center in Jonesboro. He was born Nov. 30, 1926, in Cardwell, Mo., to the late Walker and Elsie (Grady) Baldridge and was married Oct. 6, 1945, to Martha Hout...

Melissa Lynn Burr Loughary, 35, of Blodgett, Mo., died Thursday, March 5, 2009, in Sikeston, Mo. She was born Nov. 7, 1973, and was the daughter of Ronnie C. Burr Sr. and Patricia Ann (Howell) Burr. She was preceded in death by her father...

Velma Reed Warbritton Duncan, 74, of Fort Smith died Feb. 28, 2009, in Fort Smith. She was born Feb. 15, 1935, in St. Louis, the daughter of Mildred and Edgar Reed. She was preceded in death by her son, Larry Warbritton, and siblings Bonnie Thacher, Dorothy Reed, Elbert Reed and Gerald Reed...

I've been reading about the Great Depression of the 1930's. That got me to thinking about the foods my grandmother cooked for her family and mine during that economic collapse. I was able to taste a lot of her cooking at family reunions in her small frame home in Southeast Missouri. She handed down some of those recipes and cooking tips to my mother, who passed them down to me...

1969 The proposed millage increase for Piggott schools was defeated by 34 votes, 40 years ago this past week. Patrons within the city voted in favor of the increase, while voters in St. ...

Times Sports Staff The Mohawk baseball squad split a pair of conference games in the past week, and dropped a non-conference decision to one of the top 3A programs in the state. The Tribe was scheduled to host the Corning Bobcats Thursday afternoon and the Rector Cougars on Friday. Saturday the Mohawks will host a JV tournament at Independence Park...