Stories from Wednesday, October 31, 2001

A community-wide Thanksgiving Service will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Rector Community Center. Mayor Ron Kemp organized a meeting of local ministers Monday night at city hall and decisions were made concerning the special service for the entire community...

The Rector Junior Cougars ended their season last Thursday with a 28-8 loss to Earle at home. Once again, Rector opened the game with a tough first half, but played much better in the third and fourth quarter said head coach Jason Lance. Rector's only score of the night came on a 60-yard touchdown pass on a fly route from Bryan Arnold to Rodney Dees...

The Marmaduke Greyhounds defeated Maynard Friday night by a score of 95-80. Paced behind the 34-point performance of Josh Bateman, a total of four other Greyhounds hit double digits in scoring. Josh Lewallen tossed in 19 points, Brent Richardson tallied 12 with Adam Oglesby adding 12 points and 13 rebounds while Chris Keen aided with ten...

Rector head coach Wade Williams is hoping to gave a good Rector fan showing Thursday night at Earle. "We really need good fan support for this game," he said. "I wish we could pack up the whole town of Rector and take them with us. We hope to have as many fans as possible at the game to give us some home atmosphere. It's tough to play at Earle...

With the season on the line Thursday night at Earle, Rector head coach Wade Williams said his team is confident, but not overconfident. "It all comes down to Thursday night," he said. "We win, we're in the playoffs...we lose, the season is over."...

It's all coming together at the right time for the Rector Cougars. Coach Wade Williams said he had been waiting for his team to control the line of scrimmage for an entire game, and that's exactly what they did on Friday night. The Cougars ran the ball fifty-four times for a total of three hundred and fifty-five yards. Derek Carter and Billy Scott connected for four passes and fifty-three yards. Walnut Ridge had only one hundred and forty-five yards of total offense...

Vera Dorris, 84, of Rector died Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001, in Rector. She was born March 9, l917, in Marmaduke to the late Charles are Arpie Reynolds. She was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Walter Parrish Dorris; one brother, William Reynolds, and two sisters, Gladys Yancey and Eithel Nelson...

Russell Davis, 57, of Piggott died Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2001, at his home. He was born Dec. 7, 1943, in Holcomb, Mo., the son of the late Thomas W. and Brooksy L. Miller Davis. He married Louise Meade on Dec. 4, 1971. He was preceded in death by four brothers and one sister...

Gaylon Homer Causey, 65, of Hematite, Mo., a native of Clay County, died Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2001, at his home. He was born Nov. 17, 1935, in Pollard, the son of Homer and Dora McKinney Causey. He married Wilma Gene Johnson, who preceded him in death. He then married Dee Haffner Harmon, who survives...

Manuel Wayne Bullinger, 62, of Rector died Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001, at Arkansas Methodist Hospital in Paragould. A self-employed truck driver, he was born Dec. 30, 1938, in Lafe. He was a Baptist. Survivors include his mother, Opal Bullinger of Rector; three sons, Mike Bullinger of Mindin Mines, Mo., and Tony and Steven Bullinger, both of Modesto, Calif.; one daughter, Sherry Cottrell of Prather, Calif.; two brothers, Gene Bullinger and Lindle Bullinger, both of Rector; two sisters, Glenda Faye Shipley of Pleasant Plains and Nancy Roma Jean Nelson of Holcomb, Mo., and 12 grandchildren.. ...

Rector residents now can enjoy the benefits of therapeutic massage right here at home. The Relaxation Station, which opened recently at 140 North Second Avenue in Piggott, will offer services from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays at Pearl's Beauty Boutique at 318 Main in Rector...

Music is in the heart of Marmaduke band and choir director Ruth Ann Cain. "I couldn't imagine my life without music," she said. Cain teaches junior high and senior high band and freshman and senior high choir. She has taught at Marmaduke School for 17 years...

While little ghosts and goblins and perhaps some patriotic figures will be visiting homes tonight in Rector, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are rapidly nearing. With that in mind, the Rector Area Chamber of Commerce began planning last week for its fifth annual Christmas parade, set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, in downtown Rector...

With November just a day away, the spirit of the holidays is starting to fill the air. Rector merchants hope to capture some of that spirit with a Christmas Open House set from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3 and 4. Some Rector stores also will be open Sunday afternoon for the convenience of shoppers hoping to get a head start on looking for special purchases for the holidays...

The Toughman Contest will be in Jonesboro at the Convocation Center at Arkansas State University on Nov. 2 and 3. Founder and Creator of the Toughman Contest, Art Dore, said excitement is mounting for the unique event. "I used to promote a lot of professional matches, 20-25 years ago, and after every show, the local townspeople would complain, that guy wasn't so bad. ...