Lifestyle

All poultry to be entered in the Clay County Fair, set to begin Sept. 11, must be tested negative for Pullorum-Thyphoid within the 90 days prior to the fair to comply with Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission regulations. Testing and pre-regis-tration will only be done from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, in the show barn at the fairgrounds. Please contact Vance Turner at 870-5984524 or Richard Smart at 870-324-0270 for more information.

The 2024 Rector Labor Day t-shirts are now on sale at several locations in the city. They may be purchased at Centennial Bank, Rector Drug, The Caffeinated Cow and The Copper Rose. Youth through adult XL are available for $20.00 each and any size over will be $22.00 each. Also available are black can koozies for $5.00 each. All checks need to be made payable to Woodland Heights Cemetery.

A new event has been added to the Clay County Fair this year as Barrel Races will be featured on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Training for the event will begin at 5 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Among the events offered will be training barrels, peewee barrels for children eight and under, youth 3D, adult 3D sidepot and open 4D barrels. A negative coggins is required. Concessions will be available. For information on registering and entry fees contact Whitney Watts at 573-421-2890 or Regina Gossett at 870-324-1188. The event is free to the public.

As in times past, the annual Clay County Fair Parade will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10 and entrants are now being recruited. In keeping with tradition, the parade will begin at the First Baptist Church of Piggott, located a block west of the square on West Main Street, and will end at the fairgrounds. Line up and registration will start at 6:30 p.m. at the church.

Organizers of the annual Nimmons Old Timers Dinner note it’s that time of year again. This year’s dinner will be held beginning at noon on Sunday, Sept. 1, at the community center. Current, and former, residents of the Nimmons area are invited to attend, and bring a dish for the potluck meal. They’ll also be accepting donations at the door, with the proceeds going toward the continued upkeep of the Nimmons Cemetery.

In celebration of 80 years of the Miss Rector pageant past Miss Rector Queens are encouraged to participate in a walk-out during the Ms. Rector pageant at 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1. Those who would like to participate are asked to contact Jade Simpson at 870-236-0587 or Sarah Hicks at 870-595-4342 to confirm attendance.

Arkansas State University has announced the list of students who completed degree requirements to graduate at spring commencement at First National Bank Arena. Chancellor Todd Shields presented diplomas at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist and doctoral levels, along with various program certificates, as awarded through the various colleges: Agriculture, Neil Griffin College of Business, Education and Behavioral Science, Engineering and Computer Science, Liberal Arts and Com-munication, Nursing and Health Professions, Beck Sciences and Mathematics, and University College.

In keeping with event tradition, a full slate of pageants will be held in conjunction with the 2024 edition of the Rector Labor Day Picnic. This year’s pageants are scheduled for both Sunday, Sept. 1, and Monday, Sept. 2, on the beauty revue stand of Memorial Park. Pageant organizer Jade Simpson noted that as of press time the Sunday pageants time changes had not been determined yet.

Senath Lions Club will sponsor a dog show at the annual Hornersville Watermelon Festival on Saturday, Aug. 10.