Stories from Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Ruth Creek, who resides near Rector, has been feeding hummingbirds for a few years, but this year says she decided to "put more into it." She hung several feeders at both the front and back of her house, and recently noticed the tiny creatures flocking to the feeders just before dark...

Rector's Dalton Shaw is the American Taekwondo Association's new World Champion in the first degree black belt division for competitors aged 17 to 29. Shaw's crowning victory came Friday when he competed for the title at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock...

An exciting program is working with local businesses, organizations and individuals to provide the leaders of tomorrow with a unique opportunity to learn more about the different careers available...

Through the hard work of many City of Rector staff members, Rector has received a number of grants for various projects over the last few months. Mayor Ron Kemp was on hand last week in Little Rock to receive a $39,076 Historic Preservation Restoration Grant for restoration of the Rector Waterworks Building, built in about 1915...

Popular Gaither artist Kevin Williams is excited about returning to Rector as part of the Aug. 4 Helping Hands Foundation benefit concert. Williams serves as bandleader for the Gaithers while showcasing both his talent with the guitar and his knack for humor on stage. ...

Local residents have completed a special type of training to help them in everyday life. Deborah Logsdon, Matthew Maltbie, Jimmy Stevens and Ricky Wheeler are all recent graduates of the Northeast Arkansas Innovative Training Center's (NEAITC) Next Step Life Skills program...

The return of the annual Marmaduke Picnic was a success, as hundreds turned out for the events this past Friday and Saturday at the city park. Though the temperature was high, the spirits of those in attendance soared to even greater heights, as the Independence Day celebration returned to Marmaduke for the first time since the town was devastated by a tornado in 2006...

Ashley (Kemp) Wimberley, Director of Marketing at the Arkansas Press Association in Little Rock, was elected president of the Arkansas Advertising Federation at a luncheon held June 18 at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock...

The men who settled down to work that hot summer in Philadelphia were citizens of substance, leaders from their respective states, and loyal subjects of the British crown. In recent years, the monarch in far-off England had signed legislation worked up by a parliament that cared little for the colonists' demand that they be represented in that law-making body that taxed them...

Last week I attended a 50's 60's celebration. We were to dress in that era. I scrounged around my closet trying to find something old but presentable. I came up with a skirt (not old) that was part of a Halloween costume. It had large silver dollar size white polka dots on a black background. Attached, underneath, was a full crinoline petticoat...

Despite the topsy-turvy nature of labels in our current political atmosphere, we believe there is a fundamental difference between those who tend toward what is considered a more liberal philosophy of government and those who lean to the conservative side...

I remember while away at college back in the late seventies that my family told me about a nice young couple arriving at Rector to run the Clay County Democrat. It wasn't long after that, while Marki and I were home from college, that we had the opportunity to eat dinner with you and your wife at the Mosley home. ...

Harold Midkiff, 61, of Rector passed away June 25, 2009, at the NEA Hospital in Jonesboro. He was born October 17, 1947 to the late Roy and Johnnie (Reynolds) Midkiff in Clay County...

Inez Runyon of Rector passed away at the age of 83 at the Evergreen Nursing Home in Rector on June 27, 2009. She was born November 26, 1926, to the late Freeman and Ruby Holt in...

A young Rector golfer is showcasing his abilities among the top youth players in the state. Kade Scott may only be 11-years-old, but he has a golf game which is the envy of many players three, four or five times his age...

"From the veranda of the Pfeiffer house, where Patrick and Gregory played, Pauline glanced around the tree-covered lawn." So begins the June 2009 Hemingway-Pfeiffer Creative Writing Retreat anthology, Outside the Lines, penned June 8-12 at the Hemingway Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center in Piggott...

Local businessman and Viet Nam war hero John Carlton of Piggott lost a lengthy and valiant battle with cancer Tuesday, June 23, at Piggott Community Hospital. He was 61. Carlton was founder and co-owner with his wife Vicki of Master Marketing of Piggott, which the couple started in 1992. ...

Members of the Piggott City Council were informed in a meeting Monday night that the first payment from FEMA on ice storm expenditures has been received. Mayor Gerald Morris told aldermen a check for over $483,000 was received by the city, and added the short term note at Piggott State Bank was immediately retired...

Danny Self, a teacher of multiple math classes at Piggott High School, is retiring the end of the 2008-2009 school year. The subjects Self has taught include the following: Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry, College Algebra, Calculus I, General Math I, General Math II, and one year of Alternative Math. ...

The weather forecast is excellent and a full day of activities is in store for visitors to the 82nd annual Piggott Fourth of July Picnic. The picnic, which benefits the upkeep of the Piggott Cemetery, will be held Saturday, July 4, and with the event falling on a weekend, organizers expect a big crowd...

With the assistance of Piggott city workers, the new flagpole was set in front of the Clay County Courthouse Monday afternoon. The new 41-foot pole was purchased through donations, and was placed with the blessings of the Quorum Court. An official dedication and flag-raising ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. today (Wednesday, July 1). (Times photo/Tim Blair)...

1969 The program for the annual Piggott Fourth of July picnic was set 40 years ago this week with Charles Haywood singing the National Anthem, Rev. Kenneth Threet giving the invocation and Bro. C. Ray Miller offering the welcome address. In other news, Dorris Cox was elected president of the Piggott Lions Club and the Ministerial Alliance is sponsoring a youth rally...

Last week I attended a 50's 60's celebration. We were to dress in that era. I scrounged around my closet trying to find something old but presentable. I came up with a skirt (not old) that was part of a Halloween costume. It had large silver dollar size white polka dots on a black background. Attached, underneath, was a full crinoline petticoat...

Harold Midkiff, 61, of Rector passed away June 25, 2009, at the NEA Hospital in Jonesboro. He was born October 17, 1947 to the late Roy and Johnnie (Reynolds) Midkiff in Clay County...

John Allen Carlton, 61, lost his valiant battle with cancer on June 23, 2009. He was born May 24, 1948, in Denton, Texas, and was raised on a ranch in Hartshorne, Okla. John was very proud of his Western heritage, which was so lovingly instilled in him by his parents, Bill and Mary Carlton...

Former Piggott Mohawk Daniel Baldwin made an excellent showing in Friday night's Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star football game at Bentonville. Baldwin, who will walk on with the Arkansas Razorbacks this fall, played defensive back and on special teams as the east squad fell to the west by a final of 26-9. ...