Stories from Thursday, September 8, 2011

We hear a lot about recycling. And saving energy, too. Things are different today than they were once upon a time. Remember when we washed cloth baby diapers and hung them on the clotheslines to dry. Wind and sun dried all our clothes. We didn't buy throwaway diapers (or ink pens or throw-a-way plastic razors)...

As we near the 10th anniversary of one of the most tragic days in American history, let's hope the spirit of national unity that arose after 9/11 still exists and we can indeed join together as a people if we sadly must deal with any such event in the future...

Don Mack Dickinson, 76, passed away Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. Don was a lifelong member of the Marmaduke Church of Christ, where he served as an elder. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Lorene Dickinson, and a brother, Duane Dickinson...

Delphia Jane Hayes, 97, of Rector died Wednesday, Aug. 31, in Kennett, Mo. Mrs. Hayes was born Nov. 5, 1913, near Rector, Ark. She was a homemaker and was of the Baptist faith. Survivors include two sons, William Hayes and wife Vicki, and Ralph Hayes Jr., both of Rector; five grandchildren, Lynn Hayes, Susan Hayes, William Hayes Jr., Holly Robertson and Nick, Chelsea and Nicole Fisher...

Larry Gordon Doherty, 68, of Leachville, Ark., died Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011, at the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. Born Nov. 18, 1942 in Senath, Mo., he was the son of the late Ira and Ethel Rouse Doherty and had been a long time area resident. ...

Leo Jerry Sallee, 84, was born Dec. 29, 1926, to the late Waldo Fay and Cleo Sallee. He passed away on Aug. 30, 2011, in Pocahontas. He is survived by wife Julianne Sallee of the home; two daughters, Karla and Houston Richardson of Memphis and Lark and Steven Sigsby of Rector; former wife and mother of his daughters, Georgia Sallee of Rector; four grandchildren, Elizabeth Fitzgerald of Memphis, Tenn., Sarah Ragan of Flagstaff, Ariz., Marshall Sigsby of Jonesboro and Natalie Sigsby of Starkville, Miss., and one great-granddaughter, Erin Baker of Memphis. ...

Mrs. Mary Ruth Wyrick Pierce, 62, of Kennett, Mo., died Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, at the NHC Healthcare in Kennett. Born March 16, 1949, in Auburndale, Fla., she was the daughter of the late Richard and June Neighbors Wyrick and had been a long-time area resident. Mrs. Pierce was a member of the First Baptist Church in Hornersville, Mo., and she enjoyed fishing, crafts and she loved her dog McKenna very much...

A crowd of more than 200 didn't let a light rain dampen their enthusiasm and support for a Sunday afternoon celebration of the progress of the beautiful and dramatic Rector Veterans Memorial Park. Highlights of the ceremony were an address by Gen. George Barker and the raising of the flags in the monument area...

Staples recounts escape from tower Ten years ago Adam Staples was a 22-year-old man thinking he had a long life ahead of him. The events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed his viewpoint and could very easily have ended his life. Looking at Adam today, one would never dream he was one of the thousands of people in the World Trade Center on that infamous day...

Many Rector Labor Day Picnics past have been deemed as the most spectacular or the most glorious, but the 2011 picnic certainly rivaled any from previous years as one of the biggest and best ever. A front which brought light rain showers Sunday also brought refreshingly cool dry weather for the remainder of the picnic, with temperatures dropping into the 60's for the early part of the day Monday and warming only slightly to the low 70's in the afternoon...

A Clay County deputy was taken into custody in relation to charges stemming from an alleged domestic disturbance in Rector during the early morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 4. According to a report issued by the Arkansas State Police, deputy Heath McClung was taken into custody regarding a domestic disturbance...

Nobody can accuse Gary Adams of abusing presidential power. The pride of Piggott as its last Razorbacks letterman along with fellow starting defensive back Tommy Dixon, Adams was the president of the Razorbacks Lettermen's Club when the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor was formed in 1988...

A large collection of athletes, fans and family gathered in the school cafeteria Saturday to take part in the third annual Rector High School Sports Hall of Fame Luncheon. The event served to honor 2011 inductees Randy Rogers, Ted Box, Gary McClure, Lavaughn Robertson and the 1959 Blackcat basketball team, as well as all those who have been involved in Rector, Greenway and Clay County Central athletics...

It was a tough start to the 2011 football season for the Mohawks Friday night, as the Tribe visited a speedy Marked Tree Indians squad which returned nearly all its starters from a year ago. Piggott was downed on the evening, falling 32-19 at Marked Tree...

Peggy Delight Edwards, 76, of Piggott, Ark., passed away Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, at St. Bernard's Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro, Ark. Peggy was born Jan. 10, 1935, in Campbell, Mo. She was a retired school teacher and member of First United Methodist Church of Piggott and of the VFW Lady Auxiliary. She was an avid book reader and enjoyed taking daily walks with her dog...

Virginia "Tootie" H. Hampton, 71, of Piggott, Ark., passed away Monday, Aug. 29, 2011, at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Little Rock, Ark. She was born on July 28, 1940, and was the daughter of the late Andrew Jackson and Alma Litto Crowell Duff. She was united in marriage to Cletis Earl Hampton on March 7, 1960, and to this union three children were born...