Stories from Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Numerous competitive races await voters

A 15-year-old Blytheville boy was in fair condition at The Regional Medical Center in Memphis Monday afternoon, a hospital spokesman said, following an accidental shooting Saturday in the 1300 block of Holly Street. Around 3:40 p.m. Saturday, the juvenile suffered a single gunshot wound to the front of his neck, according to a Blytheville Police Department report...

OSCEOLA -- A Mississippi County man was killed Sunday night in a one-car accident on Highway 77, 12 miles west of Osceola. According to an Arkansas State Police report, Erinn Michael Galton, 32, of Wilson, lost control of his 1971 Jeep 6-by-6, while traveling south on Highway 77 at 8:19 Sunday night...

PSI Fund II LTD, a Dallas-based company that specializes in lending money to funeral homes, is trying to foreclose on nine funeral homes in connection with $5.1 million worth of defaulted loans. Among those funeral homes named in the suit is Blytheville's Cobb Funeral Home...

ARMOREL -- Patrons of the Armorel School District will have to wait to find out when, exactly, students will make up snow days this spring, after board members tabled action on the matter during Monday's school board meeting. The district already made up one day by attending school on Presidents Day, Feb. ...

ARMOREL -- Patrons of the Armorel School District will have to wait to find out when, exactly, students will make up snow days this spring, after board members tabled action on the matter during Monday's school board meeting. The district already made up one day by attending school on Presidents Day, Feb. ...

Vivian Dunigan, 86, died Monday, March 1, 2010, surrounded by family and friends at her daughter's residence in Jonesboro, following her battle with pancreatic cancer. She was retired from the Buffalo Island Central School cafeteria where she was loved by all. She was a lifelong member of the Black Oak Church of Christ...

Ruth F. Hillhouse, 78, passed away Friday, March 5, 2010, at St. Bernards Medical Center. She was born July 11, 1931, in Black Oak to the late Charlie and Lena Fletcher. Mrs. Hillhouse retired from Basler Electric where she worked in quality control and also worked for Home Instead as a caregiver. She was a member of the Caraway Church of Christ...

Jeannie Howard, 69, passed away Monday, March 1, 2010, at her residence. She was born Jan. 15, 1941, in Blytheville to the late Lois and Nettie Love. She was a homemaker and loved to do crossword puzzles. ...

Audith Marie Shaver, 78, formerly of Manila, died Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at the Renaissance Hospice Center in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. Born at Manila, she was the daughter of the late B.O. and Ollie Patterson Kelley and had lived most of her life in the Manila area. She was the widow of Jake Shaver and was a retired lab technician for the former Rodman Hospital in Leachville...

Freeman Delbert Williams, 82, of Jackson, Mo., formerly of Manila and Dexter, Mo., passed away Sunday, March 7, 2010, at Cape Girardeau. Born at Beach Grove, Ark., he was the son of the late Roy and Mamie Harvel Williams and had been a resident of Jackson for the past 11 years...

Trena Shedd, counselor for Manila Middle School, is making plans and looking forward to the first Benchmark Bash. "Benchmark testing time can be so stressful, I wanted to find a way for students, teachers and parents to join together for a fun day in preparation of the testing," Shedd said. ...

Manila drilled six straight three pointers in the second half, breaking open a close game to advance to the semifinals of the Class 3A State Tournament with a 57-46 victory over Harding Academy Friday night at Jessieville...

J.J. Helton and Blake Wheeler nailed back to back three pointers late in the fourth quarter of Saturday night's state semifinal matchup at Jessieville, propelling Manila to a thrilling 53-47 come from behind victory over Riverview...

The Buffalo Island girls gave a very talented Conway Christian a real challenge before finally falling, 70-56, in Thursday's first round of the Class 2A State Tournament at Carlisle. The Lady Eagles, one of the state's top-ranked teams, held the upper hand throughout most of the game, but the Lady Mustangs cut the...

James Boness, Riverside sophomore, earned top honors in high school bowling making the All Region team and All State. He was named the high school state champion in the individual boys division. Boness has been bowling for several years. The regional tournament was held in Jonesboro and the state tournament was held in Little Rock on Thursday, Feb. 25...

Mark Hawkins joined the Farm Bureau staff on Feb. 1. Hawkins will be located in the Manila Farm Bureau office located at 603 South Highway 77. The Leachville native is a 2004 graduate of Buffalo Island Central High School and the son of Cole and Kerin Hawkins of Leachville...

Julie Thompson and Kasey Davis, sixth grade students at Buffalo Island Central East Elementary, attended the awards ceremony for the Craighead County Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) 2009-10 American History Essay Contest...

Riverside hosted the 2A Junior High Regional Quiz Bowl competition Saturday, Feb. 6. The Riverside team, under the direction of Brenda Hutchison, won runner-up in the Region competition qualifying them to participate at state...

Manila's bid for a state championship almost ended before it even got started in Thursday afternoon's first round battle against underdog Parkers Chapel in Jessieville. After blowing a 13 point lead, the Lions found themselves down three in the waning seconds of regulation, but junior Kam Ashabranner saved Manila's season when he threw in a desperation three pointer at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.. ...