Stories from Thursday, August 4, 2011

As the end of summer vacation nears, new Rector High School football head coach Lewis Earnest is brimming with excitement. Earnest, 31, may not be entering an ideal situation, as low numbers sidelined last year's senior high program, but the new coach is happy to be at the top of the Rector football program...

In 2000, David Vangilder reunited with high school friend Kelly Warner at a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) developmental event where Warner was employed. This began Vangilder's long adventure into the world of professional wrestling, a journey which has lasted 11 years...

The Piggott boys' and girls' summer league tennis tournaments wrapped up this past week at the municipal courts. The league, organized by PHS coach Paul Seegraves, allows players the opportunity to hone their skills prior to the start of the upcoming high school season...

Randy Rogers is remembered by many as one of the most versatile athletes to ever come out of Rector High School. With the winning records Rogers racked up in baseball and basketball, he's also one of the school's most successful athletes of all time. His skills on the baseball diamond and basketball court have led to Rogers' inclusion as a member of the Rector High School Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2011...

Sometimes I like it quiet. When the din of the surroundings overpowers me, I want to close my ears and drown out the noise. In restaurants and stores we hear the ringing and dinging of cell phones. In places where televisions are for sale, all the sets flash in unison as they cry, "Buy me, buy me."...

The Arkansas State University (ASU) marching band, "The Sound of the Natural State," will return this year to march in the Rector Labor Day parade. The almost 200-member band first appeared as part of the Rector parade in 2009 and totally wowed spectators...

Piggott State Bank has been named as one of the top performing banks by the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA). Piggott State Bank was named to the ICBA 400 in the pages of the June edition of Independent Banker magazine, an award-winning national publication which focuses on community banking...

With a well deserved reputation for excellence, the Oran McBride Stone Company of Batesville has been providing and laying stone for thousands of homes, buildings and special projects in the U.S. and Canada since 1947. From their own quarries in the foothills of the Ozark mountains in north central Arkansas come some of the most elegant architectural designs in the southwest...

More details have been released in the investigation of the death of Joshua Buchanan, an employee at American Railcar Industries in Marmaduke. Buchanan, 28, of Brookland, was taken by ambulance to Arkansas Methodist Medical Center at Paragould on Monday, July 24. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital...

Seven Clay County post offices are among the list of 200 potential sites in Arkansas currently under examination by the United States Postal Service for potential closure. The post offices at Greenway, St. Francis, Pollard, McDougal, Success, Datto and Knobel are included among a total of 3,653 locations across the nation being considered for closure...

A Clay County Sheriff's Department pursuit Monday night resulted in numerous charges for a Rector man. Timothy Lindsey, 31, was arrested following a vehicle chase which took place over a distance of 16 miles. Lindsay is facing charges of felony fleeing, aggravated assault, DWI, criminal mischief, resisting arrest and defective vehicle equipment...

Julie Elizabeth Creek, 66, of Piggott, Ark., passed away July 30, 2011, at the Piggott Community Hospital in Piggott, Ark. She was born on Sept. 6, 1944, in Marmaduke, Ark., and was the daughter of the late James Mac Henry and Celma Purdom Rideout. She was united in marriage to Jackie Wayne Creek on March 29, 1960, and to this union a son, Tony Michael Creek, was born...

Larry W. Holifield, 69, of Piggott passed away Tuesday, July 26, 2011, at UAMS in Little Rock. He was born Nov. 25, 1941, in Piggott and was the son of the late Elmer and Freda "Johnson" Holifield. He was married to Carol Ezell April 11, 1959, in Hernando, Miss. They were married 52 years...

Manuel Earmon Eaton, 94, of Rector passed away Thursday, July 28, 2011, at the Rector Nursing and Rehab. He was born Aug. 13, 1916, to the late Earl and Lettie (Maricle) Eaton in Rienzi, Miss. Manuel served as a lifelong deacon at his church and was an honorary deacon at the Mo-Ark Association. He was a farmer and a very proud grandpa...

Davey Lee Raspberry, 78, of Holcomb, Mo., passed away Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, in Kennett, Mo. He was born on Sept. 8, 1932, in Holcomb, Mo., and was the son of the late Jacob Marion and Edna Davis Raspberry. He was united in marriage to Shelby Jean Livingston on Aug. 16, 1964, and to this union a daughter, Rebecca, was born...

I have learned, after meeting countless deadlines, that no crystal ball or gift of foretelling the future have been afforded this columnist, either by inherited DNA or by gifts of the Almighty. I write on Sunday -- we publish Tuesday, so that I may not say anything has happened from Sunday to Tuesday that by twist of fate or change of mind and expect my credibility to last very long...