Stories from Thursday, October 2, 2003

The Piggott Area Chamber of Commerce's annual fall banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the Piggott Community Center. This year's theme is "Our Hometown." Abby Houseworth, Miss Crowley's Ridge Byway, will serve as mistress of ceremonies. Dinner/auction tickets are $12.50 each...

David Lyman birdied hole number one Sunday in a sudden death playoff to claim the Sugar Creek Country Club 2003 Club Championship. Last weekend, Lyman, Barry DeHart, Daniel Gossett finished in a three-way tie for the title. DeHart was last year's Club Champion...

The Piggott girls tennis team improved to 6-2-1 on the year last Tuesday with a 4-3 win over Ridgefield Christian. In singles play, Dara Binkley defeated Joy Hutchinson, 6-3, with Allie Rodery posting a 6-3 win over Kristen Thrasher. Courtney Dunlap fell, 6-3, to Anna Ledbetter and Krystal Bedwell dropped her amtch to Natalie Reeves, 6-4...

WILSON The Piggott Mohawks went into their first 3AAA conference game of the 2003 season Friday night with a daunting challenge facing the class AAA state runnerup Rivercrest Colts. In what could have been a very sobering experience for the Piggott squad, the Mohawks even though losing the contest, 34-6 were highly praised by the coaching staff after the game...

The Piggott Lady Mohawk volleyball program has, over the past several years, been one of the premiere sports programs in northeast Arkansas and the entire state. However, the 2003 season has, so far, been one of extraordinary proportions -- considering the fact that the team only has four returning starters with significant playing experience...

Donald Bell, 62, of Piggott died Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, at his home. He was born Dec. 17, 1940, in Nimmons, the son of the late Martin and Rosie Mae Rundel Bell. He was united in marriage to Sue McKenney on Feb. 26, 1961. To this union one son was born...

Virginia Fuller, 82, of St. Louis, formerly of Piggott, died Monday, Sept. 29, 2003, in the Bethesda Dilworth Nursing Home in St. Louis, Mo. She was born Oct. 24, 1920, in Piggott, the daughter of the late Seby and Ira Elizabeth Edwards Allman. She was united in marriage to Fielding Curtis Fuller on Sept. 3, 1940. To this union three children were born...

Ruth G. Jones Collier, 82, of Piggott died Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003. She was born July 20, 1921, to Anderson and Ethel Williams Jones, then of Patterson, Ark., in Clay County. She was united in marriage to Wayne Collier on Jan. 30, 1942. To this union one son was born...

The Karl and Matilda Pfeiffer Foundation board of trustees is pleased to announce Anne Winchester has been named executive director. She will officially begin duties on Oct. 7. Winchester previously served as news director of the Piggott Times, where she had been employed since 1987. She began working at the newspaper as a mailroom employee and later was a staff writer/photographer before becoming news director of the Times and the Clay County Democrat in Rector...

The City of Piggott will be observing Public Power Week Oct. 5-11, a national event that celebrates publicly-owned utilities. As cooler weather approaches, it is time for residents to begin preparing their home heating systems for the cold climate that will follow...

The Piggott City Council unanimously approved a proposal to increase water and sewer rates gradually over the next two years using a ratio of 50-25-25. The vote came during the utilities meeting Monday night that was preceded by a public hearing. During the public hearing, Stan Shultz of Shultz Engineering said a rate analysis had been conducted. He said a rate increase was proposed to help fix the city's aging infrastructure and to increase revenues which are being exceeded by losses...

Mary Lucille Butler, 86, of Paragould died Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. She was born March 28, 1917, in Rector, the daughter of the late George and Ida Stallings. She was a housewife and was of the Baptist faith...

In a game played here at Rector last Friday night Palestine-Wheatley defeated the Cougars 69-0. The Patriots scored on their first play from scrimmage on the night when Elisa Duncan made a 65-yard run at 11:45. The PAT was good and it was 7-0. A fumble by the Cougars on their first possession gave the ball right back to the Patriots on the Cougar 20-yard line. The turnover led to a 15-yard touchdown run by Brad Barton at 9:34. The PAT was made again and Palestine-Wheatley's lead was 14-0...

Unlike a lot of the other talented Lady Greyhounds who have worn the red and white, Danielle Vincent's vintage as a basketball player has been a short one. It's common for basketball players at Marmaduke and other schools to start playing around the fourth grade, first learning the basics and later adding the finer skills, reaching fruition around the 11th or 12th grade...

After falling behind by two touchdowns, the Rector junior Cougars rallied to tie Turrell 14-14 on the road last Thursday night. The hard fought tie snapped a 12-game losing streak dating back to Coach Nathan Henderson's first game at Rector. The way the game started the odds didn't look particularly high that the Jr. ...

Ruth G. Jones Collier, 82, of Piggott died Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003. She was born July 20, 1921, to Anderson and Ethel Williams Jones, then of Patterson, Ark., in Clay County. She was united in marriage to Wayne Collier on Jan. 30, 1942. To this union one son was born...

Gerald Wayne Speer, 62, of Rector died Sunday, Sept. 28, 2003, at Regional Medical Center of NEA in Jonesboro. He was born Aug. 3, 1941, in Greenway, the son of the late Earl Estel Speer and Emma Jean (Cox) Speer. He was retired from 33 years of military and civil Service and was a softball coach for the Red Birds/NAPA. He was a member of Rector First Baptist Church and a lifelong member of the community...

Marmaduke is providing an American home to three foreign exchange students this year. Malin Broman, 17, is from Stockholm, Sweden. She is a senior at MHS this year and her host parents are Donald and Dorothy Wallace. She has a host sister, Cassie, who is also a senior at MHS. Broman's parents are Thomas and Marie Broman of Stockholm...

(Editor's Note: This information was provided by the Rector Public Library.) A highlight of the annual Miss Rector Labor Day pageant was the appearance of several former Miss Rectors. Here are the Miss Rectors from the time the pageant began to the present day:...

The Rector Parks and Recreation Commission will sponsor two events in Rector on Saturday, Oct. 11. The annual citywide yard sale will begin at 7 a.m. There will be no fees for permits for yard sales held on this date. Also, since a bluegrass festival is scheduled, there will be no table set-ups in Rector Memorial Park...

October is "Scare Up a Good Book and Treat Your Library" month at the Rector Library. In observance, the library has ordered a new set of World Almanac: Library of the States books on the 50 states and . Persons can make $15 donations to have one of the books dedicated to or in memory of loved ones...

Tuesday evening at Rector for the third year in a row Piggott won both games of the trophy showdown from Rector. Piggott won the 4th/5th grade game 14-0 and they won the 6th grade game 6-0. In the 4th/5th grade game Kyle Hardin had touchdown runs of 40 and 35 yards for Piggott. Haydyn McMillion had the two-point conversion for Piggott...