Few knew, including Cooper Rabjohn, that the all-time scoring record that was still standing after 57 years, belonging to the late Allan Pruett, Class of 1966, was poised to be surpassed. Since Rabjohn’s stellar junior season, 2021-22, Coach Matt Mills and those close to the Rector basketball program saw potential for Rabjohn to surpass Pruett’s point record.
Wintertime is upon us, and we have spent the week after Thanksgiving taking down all of our pumpkins and fall leaves and hanging up our Christmas lights and setting up our trees! As the temperature drops you need to take the drive up here to stay warm and look around our festive cabin of a Welcome Center. It’s that time of year again for the Arkansas Trail of Holiday Lights and there are plenty of ways to enjoy the holiday season in northeast Arkansas.
Organizers of the annual Clay County Department of Human Services Christmas Project report another successful effort. According to DHS county administrator Holly Crabtree, “We started with 13 families and 33 children and then the Piggott and Rector Schools took eight families because they were already getting gifts for those through the school.
Black River Technical College recently awarded the BRTC President’s Scholarship to Britton Wofford of Piggott. Wofford is a 2006 graduate of Piggott High School and is seeking a degree in nursing.
Judy Ann Riley Judy Ann Riley, 77, of St. Francis, Ark., passed away December 13, 2023, in Dexter, Mo.
Ann Highfill Greenway Ann (Highfill) Greenway, 82, of Paragould, Ark., passed away on December 16, 2023. She was born to the late Everett and Audie (Walker) Highfill in Paragould.
Nelda Joyce Chadwick Nelda Joyce Chadwick, 87, of Rector, passed from this earth on December 13, 2023. Nelda was born to the late Amos (Red John) and Anna (McKeel) Pruett in Knob, Ark.
Jon Cory Robertson Jon Cory Robertson, 44, of Fayetteville, Ark., passed away December 15, 2023, at the William Walker Hospice House in Fayetteville, after a short battle with cancer. He was born on February 3, 1979, in Piggott, Ark., and was the son of Debra and Vance Whaley and Butch Robertson.
Weslie Dewayne Crouse, age 72, former longtime Manila resident, passed from this life Monday, December 18, 2023, at his home in Corning. Born in Manila to the late Larie Wesley and Vermell Williams Crouse, he was a 1970 graduate of Manila High School and later served in the United States Air Force. Dewayne worked for over 35 years as a lineman and later service man, initially for Arkansas-Missouri Power Company, which later became Arkansas Power and Light and Entergy. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Corning and served many years as a Gideon. Dewayne also volunteered for the Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief Organization and had served as the Mission Director for the Agape Mission Outreach in Corning. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister Mary Nell Crouse.
Bro. James Marvin Jones, age 77, of Benton, passed away December 17, 2023. He was born July 22, 1946 in Nella, Ark., to the late Lennie Marvin Jones and Daisy Laverne Jones. James served as a chaplain in the U. S. Air Force and was the minister at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Bauxite.