Stories from Thursday, November 4, 2010

Eunice Estelle Huckabay, 96, of Rector passed away Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010, at the National Health Care in Kennett, Mo. She was born Jan. 14, 1914, to W.W. and Cora (Moss) French in Rector, Ark. Preceding Eunice in death were her parents; her husband, Marvin Huckabay; two sisters, Mildred Inez and Hazel Bishop, a grandchild and a great-grandchild...

Steps are being taken to help make West Third Street safer for pedestrians, most notably children walking to and from Rector schools. During Monday night's Rector City Council meeting, four residents who live along West Third met with city officials to discuss what measures could be taken to address concerns regarding speeding vehicles in the area. ...

On a day-to-day basis, most of us get along together rather nicely, thank you. There generally is not a lot of conflict as we go about our school experiences, our work days and our leisure activities. We inherently like each other and show lots of common courtesies...

Hundreds of families and friends are breathing a long-awaited sigh of relief now that soldiers of the 875th Engineer Battalion's 1037th Route Clearance Company have returned to American soil. Approximately 200 area soldiers arrived early Monday morning in Gulfport, Miss., returning to the country they have served well during the last nine months, detecting and eliminating roadside bombs in Afghanistan...

David Freeman was elected mayor of Rector in a three-man race in Tuesday general election balloting. Freeman, a current member of the city council, received 288 votes to 162 for Kenny Burns and 61 for Tommy Baker. Freeman garnered 56 percent of the vote, which means there will be no runoff. Burns' total represented 32 percent to 12 percent for Baker...

I saw a friend in Blytheville last Friday night. He had two black eyes and a bump on his forehead. He wasn't wearing a costume, but his black eyes looked Halloweenish. They were more like two dark rainbow circles painted beneath his eyes, much like the markings that football players paint under their eyes before playing in a game...

Debra Karen Sagert passed away after a battle with breast cancer on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010, and is now with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Born in Jonesboro, Deb was raised on her parents' farms in central and northeast Arkansas. She was a 1971 graduate of Piggott High School and a 1977 graduate of Baylor University. ...

Rebecca Johnson, 43, of Piggott, passed away Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010, in the Piggott Community Hospital. She was born Nov. 17, 1966, in Duncanville, Texas, and was the daughter of Gerald and Sherry Porter Smiler. She was united in marriage to Curtis Johnson on Dec. 5, 1986...

Dorotha J. Cole, 82, of Maumelle passed away Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010, at Spring Creek Health and Rehab. She was born Oct. 9, 1928, to Ray and Cornelia (Wheeler) Winton in Piggott. Mrs. Dorotha Cole is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, David and Lianne Cole of Vilonia; one daughter and son-in-law, Cindy and Michael Miller of Lakeview, Minn.; eight grandchildren, Kimberly, Becky, Jennifer, Jackie, Shane, Sarah, Zachary and Abbie; nine great-grandchildren, and one sister, Susan Miller of Texas.. ...

Lorene Parker Edwards, 95, of Fairfield Bay, formerly of Piggott, passed away Monday, Nov. 1, 2010, at Ozark Health Medical Center in Clinton, Ark. Lorene was born June 11, 1915, and was the daughter of the late Oran and Mary Stewart. Lorene was preceded in death by a son, Jerry Tate...

Throughout the nation, citizens have been turning out to elect new leaders or show their support for those already in office. As local voters took to the polls Tuesday, longtime residents likely were greeted by familiar faces. While the names on the ballot may be in a state of flux from year to year, a strong core group of workers have been helping Piggott voters with any questions they may have regarding selecting their desired candidate in the election...

Hundreds of families and friends are breathing a long-awaited sigh of relief now that soldiers of the 875th Engineer Battalion's 1037th Route Clearance Company have returned to American soil. Approximately 200 area soldiers arrived early Monday morning in Gulfport, Miss., returning to the country they have served well during the last nine months, detecting and eliminating roadside bombs in Afghanistan...

Incumbent Piggott mayor Gerald Morris narrowly defeated challenger Danny Brown, 618-607, in voting in Tuesday's general election. Two incumbent Piggott aldermen were defeated. Challenger Mike Cook had a 644-519 margin over incumbent Carl Birmingham in North Position 2 balloting. Challenger Jamey Parks won the South Position 2 race with a 626-568 edge over incumbent Tommy Risinger...