Stories from Thursday, April 1, 2010

Spring has been bursting out all over in Rector over the last few days, bringing a palette of bright colors especially thrilling after a long gray winter. These dazzling daffodils and beautiful grape hyacinths, located at the home of Jim and Patricia Mabrey on Idlewild Street, are a wonderful reminder that Easter will arrive this weekend with its promise of renewal. (Democrat photo/Nancy Kemp)...

Rector sophomore Kelsey Wynn joined with some of the other brightest students in Arkansas earlier this month as part of the annual Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) program. Wynn, 15, spent two days at the event in Bentonville, where she took part in several leadership and team building activities...

The Rector Gifted and Talented Quiz Bowl team earned third place in the Northeast Arkansas 2A Regional Quiz bowl competition held Saturday, March 13, at Rector High School. With their placement, the Rector team will take part in the state competition on April 10 in Hope...

Several Rector children came face-to-face with exotic animals and took part in uplifting exercises in a special lock-in held Friday night, March 26, at the Rector First Baptist Church. A total of 19 children in grades three through six spent the night at the church and enjoyed a night of chills, thrills and valuable life lessons. ...

The Rector Housing Authority has always focused on helping local individuals and families meet their needs. With its subsidized housing, the RHA has made it possible for many families to have quality, affordable homes to which they might not otherwise have access...

Charles R. Wright, 67, of Piggott, passed away Thursday, March 18, 2010, in the Piggott Community Hospital. He was born Sept. 19, 1942, in Piggott, and was the son of the late Raymond Andrew and Sylvia Virginia (Hughes) Wright...

Wyman Oneal Potter of Rector, formerly of Marmaduke, passed away at the Arkansas Methodist Hospital at the age of 69. He was born August 5, 1940, to the late Woody and Virgelene (Cupp) Potter in Mounds, Arkansas. Mr. Potter roofed numerous houses in this area for many years...

Billie (Max) Lovelady, 77, of Collierville, Tenn., passed away March 28, 2010, at St. Francis Hospital. Born in Rector, he was a member of the Covenant Baptist Church and was a Navy veteran and Shriner. He attended Arkansas State University and retired as Chief of Safety Engineers for Memphis and Shelby County Code Enforcement...

James Albert "Sonny" Griffith of Paragould, formerly of Rector, passed away Friday, March 26, 2010, at the age of 76 at the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. James was born to the late Albert and Grace (Graham) Griffith on...

Doyle Hampton Duke, 92, of Memphis, formerly of Rector, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on March 25, 2010. Mr. Duke was born on December 27, 1917, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to Ollie Lee and Elba Elizabeth Duke. He worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps for several years during the Great Depression...

Needless to say, debate and the controversy have swirled around health care reform legislation for months now, both in Washington and around the nation. For better or worse, the debate is over for now and the implementation will begin...

I'm in a reflective mood. My mind has been going back to the time when I was a young wife and mother. Most of that time I was living in Louisiana, then in Indiana. Perhaps the reason I'm being reflective is because my grown daughter recently asked me to write a series of essays about the time when she was a baby and a toddler and beyond...

The Cougars haven't had much luck making their way onto the diamond recently, as soggy field conditions due to rainy weather have resulted in the delay of several games thus far. The most recent missed date was Monday's game with the Greyhounds at Marmaduke...

The Lady Cougars were in Marked Tree Tuesday, squaring off against the 2A-3 powerhouse Lady Indians. The game was a duel between Rector sophomore pitcher Amanda Bradford and Marked Tree's Hannah Ghant. In the end, the hosts got the win, topping the Lady Cougars 2-1 in the struggle...

Kaleb Davidson of Piggott Elementary School won this year's "Proudest Kid in Piggott" essay contest and was recognized Monday, March 29. Davidson took first place in the essay contest sponsored by the Piggott Area Chamber of Commerce, earning a cash prize for both him and his classroom and lunch with Mayor Gerald Morris...

The Emmanuel Baptist Church of Piggott will continue its spring tradition this week in celebrating Easter with a variety of events and activities, all free of charge. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. Good Friday with a community fish fry at the church. ...

The Piggott Fire Department's new pumper truck was delivered early Tuesday afternoon to the main fire station. Several members of the department are shown checking out the new addition. The truck came fully equipped and ready for service. It replaces a 1978 Ford pumper, and was purchased at a cost of just over $184,000. (Times photo/Tim Blair)...

Plans continue for the 12th annual Piggott Heritage Park Car Show and Cruise as early registrations are still being accepted. The Piggott Area Chamber of Commerce will host the annual car show Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 21, 22 and 23, with the majority of the activities being held at Heritage Park...

Frances Ilene Winberry, 85, of Campbell, Mo., passed away Wednesday, March 24, 2010, in the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell. She was born March 24, 1925, in Caraway, Ark., and was the daughter of the late Reverend E.W. and Hettie (Arnold) Gray...

Mary Quotilda Hartgroves, 80, passed away Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at a hospital in Jonesboro. Visitation was held all day Sunday, March 28, at the Schaffer Funeral Home in San Angelo, Texas. Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. ...

Frieda Marcelle Barrett, 87, of Pollard, passed away Sunday, March 28, 2010, at Piggott Community Hospital in Piggott. She was born May 20, 1922, in Kennett, Mo., and was the daughter of the late Fred and Lora (Troutt) McClure...

1970 Pioneer architect and builder Eldridge Ellis (E.E.) Porterfield, 90, died March 27, 1970 at Piggott Hospital (one of the buildings he designed). Other buildings designed by Porterfield were the old First Baptist Church and the United Methodist Church. After the original First Baptist Church building burned in the 1960's the firm co-owned by his son designed its replacement...

I'm in a reflective mood. My mind has been going back to the time when I was a young wife and mother. Most of that time I was living in Louisiana, then in Indiana. Perhaps the reason I'm being reflective is because my grown daughter recently asked me to write a series of essays about the time when she was a baby and a toddler and beyond...

The Piggott Lady Mohawks resumed play following spring break with a non-conference game against one of the top teams in Southeast Missouri Monday afternoon. The Tribe, still trying to put together consistent pitching, was shut-out in the varsity contest--and dropped a B game despite a better outing to Naylor...

Spring break came at a good time for the Piggott Mohawk baseball squad, as the Tribe was able to rest their weary pitching staff following what had been a turbulent couple of weeks. The Mohawks were scheduled to resume play Monday afternoon at Westside, but the Warriors cancelled that game after depleting their pitching pool in a weekend tournament...