Stories from Thursday, February 3, 2011

Jual Gene Ort, 68, of Piggott, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011, at the Murphy Health and Rehab Center in Piggott. He was born April 3, 1942, in St. Francis, and was the son of Edward and Imogene Stewart Ort. His mother, Imogene Ort, preceded him in death...

Glen "Genty" W. Norman, 78, of Kerrville, Texas, passed away Monday, Jan. 10, 2011. He was the son of Claude and Roxie Norman. He was born June 21, 1933, in Lake City. His family later moved to Greenway, where he played high school basketball for the Greenway Tigers. While playing for the Tigers, Glen earned the name "Genty Norman" because of his ability to lay the basketball so very gently into the basket...

Ruth Burgess Lewis McNabb, 67, of Farmington, Mo., formerly of Piggott, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. She was born Feb. 7, 1943, in Birmingham, Ala., and was the daughter of the late Thomas Harvey and Lizzie Etta Underwood Burgess. She was united in marriage to Charles "Bud" Lewis in 1958 and he preceded her in death in 1982. She was united in marriage to Larry McNabb in 1991 and he preceded her in death in 2003...

Margaret Ann Austin Jones, 76, of Franklin, Tenn., passed away Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. She was a member of the Fourth Avenue Church of Christ in Franklin. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gerald K. Jones; parents, John and Ellen Deen Austin, and a sister, Virginia Edwards...

Lorene Battle, 93, of Cabot, formerly of McDougal, passed away Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at her home in Cabot. She was born Sept. 9, 1917, in Pollard, and was the daughter of the late Joe Higdon and Beulah Dunlap Mathers. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Elihue Battle; daughter, Loretta O'Guinn and husband Harold; grandson, Steve Gott; sister, Clennie Reed, and many half-brothers and half-sisters...

Mr. Jackie Lee McNeely, 59, of Rector, Ark., died Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. He was born Oct. 21, 1951, at St. Louis, Mo., to the late Leroy and RosaLee Shannon McNeely. Mr. McNeely was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting, fishing and cattle farming. He also enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren...

Christine Hamilton, 83, of Rector passed away Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born May 3, 1927, to the late Sim and Rena (Butler) Baber in Sevier County, Ark. In addition to her parents, Christine was preceded in death by her husband, George Hamilton Sr.; two grandsons, Philip Hamilton and Kevin Earnheart, and a brother, Edward Baber...

Elizabeth Ann Bailey, age 47, of Marmaduke, Ark., died Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, at her home. She was born May 23, 1963, to William and Dorothy Miller Southerly. Mrs. Bailey was an alumnus of the Paragould public school and she was of the Baptist faith...

Melissa Kay Curtis, 56, of Marmaduke passed away Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011, at the Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House in Jonesboro. She was born April 5, 1954, to Tom and Mattie Barber. Preceding Melissa in death were her mother, Mattie (Young) Barber; a sister, Donna Barber; her brother, Dennis Barber, and her father-in-law, Auta (Ike) Curtis...

Things are getting tough all over. Groceries, too, are being downsized. This week I bought a half gallon of orange juice. Or I thought I did. However, the Florida's Natural juice is now 59 fluid ounces. And Tropicana premium orange juice now contains 59 ounces, replacing its old 64 ounces...

For one reason or another, this legend of the groundhog's ability to forecast the weather has persisted, although in 2011 it's all in fun. We drag out the furry beast from his hibernation and report, straight away, that he has seen his shadow on Feb. ...

Arkansas State University in Jonesboro has teamed up with the family of Johnny Cash to produce the Johnny Cash Music Festival at the ASU Convocation Center on Thursday, Aug. 4, with all proceeds going to develop a historical site in Cash's boyhood home of Dyess, Ark...

Now in his third term as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, Mike Patterson of Piggott says he is always looking out for anything which he thinks might help the people of Clay County and Northeast Arkansas. "I live here just like everyone else and want to see more good things come to our part of the state, as well as make sure we can keep the good programs we've got," Patterson said...

Duck hunting has been a great pastime for many years in Clay County. Before this area was settled, there were ducks blackening the sky in massive flocks, eager to feed off the grain and float on the swampy water. Duck hunting was easier then, even without all the new decoys to lure the birds in...

A Houston, Texas, doctor with local ties is among those caring for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically injured in a Jan. 8 shooting at Tuscon which left six people dead and a total of 20 injured. Dr. John Holcomb, the son of Piggott native Sam Holcomb and nephew of Larry Holcomb, who operates Piggott Discount Drug, earned distinction as one of the nation's top trauma surgeons during his career in the United States Army...

It certainly is possible to make an entertaining presentation while also sharing important insights with an audience. Such was the case last week as long-time National Football League referee Walt Coleman enthusiastically served as the guest speaker at the Trumann Chamber of Commerce banquet...

The Lady Mohawks were in a battle Thursday night at home, falling to the visiting Harrisburg Lady Hornets, 57-53. Harrisburg made just enough free throws down the stretch, going four of eight in the final minute, to edge out Piggott on the night. It was anyone's ballgame, as the two teams remained close on the scoreboard throughout. ...

The Lady Mohawks were in a battle Thursday night at home, falling to the visiting Harrisburg Lady Hornets, 57-53. Harrisburg made just enough free throws down the stretch, going four of eight in the final minute, to edge out Piggott on the night. It was anyone's ballgame, as the two teams remained close on the scoreboard throughout. ...

The Lady Cougars captured a big win Monday night in Marmaduke, topping the hosting Lady Greyhounds, 54-52. Chelsea Drope made four free throws in the final stretch to preserve the win for Rector. The Lady Cougars led after each break: 14-11; 31-26 and 43-40, but the always tough Lady 'Hounds stayed right with them throughout. The matchup remains a classic event in the ongoing rivalry between the two schools...

The Mohawks were in the difficult position of hosting the strong Rivercrest Colts Monday night in Piggott. The Tribe was downed by Rivercrest, one of the top teams in conference 3A-3, 74-41. A slow start to the action hurt the Mohawks, forcing them to play from behind for the remainder. Rivercrest led at each break: 29-8; 48-16 and 64-28...