Stories from Tuesday, March 1, 2011

William Ronald "Ronnie" Laffoon, 71, of Leachville, passed from this life Monday, Feb. 28, 2011, at the NEA Baptist Hospital in Jonesboro. Born at Dermott, he was the son of the late Duford Jewell and Norvell Mason Laffoon and had been a Leachville resident for over 60 years. ...

Betty Jean Shelton, 83, of Manila, widow of Gene Shelton, died Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, at the Manila Nursing Center. Born in Batesville, she was the daughter of the late Herman and Lena King Holt and had been a Manila resident since 1936. She was a 1945 graduate of Manila High School and was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church...

James Eugene Son, 83, of Manila, formerly of Lepanto, died Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011, in Manila Nursing Center. He was of the Church of Christ faith and a master plumber and a Navy World War II veteran...

Ruby Smith Stone, 81, of Leachville, died Friday Feb. 25, 2011, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born in Leachville she was the daughter of the late Charlie and Mary Rouse Smith and had been a lifelong area resident...

The Buffalo Island Central Lady Mustangs claimed the 2A North Region championship Saturday night in Marmaduke, holding off the hosting Lady Greyhounds, 40-39, in a physical, hard-fought confrontation...

Buffalo Island Central advanced to the championship game of the Class 2A Regional Tournament at Marmaduke with a hard fought 53-48 victory over Cotter in Friday night's semifinal action...

MANILA ADVANCES TO 3A STATE TOURNAMENT AT SEARCY The 3A Regional Championship game between conference foes Manila and Rivercrest came down to the final seconds, but in the end it was the Colts who came out on top with a thrilling 57-55 victory over the Lions Saturday night at Bergman...

When Riverside's leading scorer, All-Conference point guard Jake Love went down with a season ending knee injury during the NEA Tournament, many thought the Rebel's season was over. But Love's teammates pulled together and stunned the naysayers by advancing to the 2A State Tournament with a thrilling 72-66 overtime victory against Cedar Ridge Wednesday night at Marmaduke...

The Riverside Rebels notched two key wins to advance to the championship game in the 2A North Regional Tournament Saturday night in Marmaduke. Riverside had the daunting task of once again facing state powerhouse East Poinsett County in the final contest of the event. In the end, the Rebels were outdone by the nightmare matchup of the Warriors, falling 74-49...

All council members were present for the Lake City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 21. Council members are Harold Barker, Tommy Eakins, Ann Davis, Jeffery Wisham, Danny Dunigan and Brenda Hutcheson. Also present was City Clerk Linda Simpson...

Manila School Board accepted resignations, renewed principal contracts and accepted a revised calendar for the school year at the February meeting. Following the approval of the minutes and financial report, the board accepted the resignations of Debbie Hamilton, second grade teacher, and Diane Baugher, elementary principal. ...

The Monette City Council addressed concerns over the proposed parking ordinance at the regular city council meeting held Monday, Feb. 21. Mayor Chub Qualls passed out rewritten copies of Parking Ordinance 2011-6, which has been discussed for the third time...

Buffalo Island Central School Board renewed principal contracts, accepted resignations, accepted bids on gym repair and reviewed the financial statements at the Feb. 21 meeting. President Nathan Sanders called the meeting to order. All members were present except Darrin McFall...

Buffalo Island Central is hosting the Class 2A State Basketball Tournament this week in the Mustang Athletic Complex (MAC). Games started on Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. with the final games being played on Saturday March 5...

Manila City Council heard a proposal for developing a city website from Audra Howerton and Blake Howerton of SculptNet Web Site Development, Inc., of Paragould, before the February meeting was called to order. The meeting was held on Tuesday evening due to the Monday holiday...

The Blytheville Chickasaws begin 5A state tournament play at 8:30 tonight in Alma against Huntsville, the fourth seed from the 5A-West.

The Armorel Lady Tigers season came to an end over the weekend with consecutive losses to Crowley's Ridge Academy and Bay in the 1A Region 3 Tournament at Izard County.

The University of Arkansas Razorback head football coach Bobby Petrino was the guest speaker at the Mississippi County Razorback Club Monday night.

Mr. Ozell "Babe" Young, 72, of Blytheville, died Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at Great River Medical Center in Blytheville.

Mr. William Ronald "Ronnie" Laffoon, 71, of Leachville, passed from this life Monday, Feb. 28, 2011, at the NEA Baptist Hospital in Jonesboro.

Mr. Bruce Hart, 70, of Blytheville, formerly of Simi Valley, Calif., passed away Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011, at Great River Medical Center in Blytheville.

Gosnell High School Principal Brian Carter took time in his report to the school board in Monday night's meeting to commend some of the school's top students on their recent achievements.

Students in the Blytheville School District will attend school on March 8, May 31 and June 1 to make up the remaining three days of school missed for snow, the school board agreed Monday night.

Local pastors, outreach leaders, school administrators and other community leaders were present at the Wiley Center for Healing in the Hood's 2011 Non-Violence Youth Summit.

Effective Tuesday, Code Enforcement will be under the supervision of the Blytheville Police Department.

There are several steps required for a municipality to condemn a property and clean it up.

More than $13,000 in cash and $14,000 in drugs were seized Friday by law enforcement officers in Mississippi County from a Gosnell area residence.

Although spring does not officially begin until the spring, or vernal, equinox on March 20, meteorologists and a whole lot of us crusty old gardeners consider March first the beginning of the spring season.

Recent reports from the Blytheville Police Department.

The Lifeblood donor center in Blytheville has closed in a restructuring of the company's operations, according to Jennifer Balink, vice president of donor relations.

I guess I haven't been cool since about 1997. Of course, for anyone who knows me, this isn't much of a news flash. As many will no doubt be quick to point out, I've probably never been cool.

Miss Lights of the Delta, Ashley Walthall, has been promoting her platform "Patriotic Pride: Supporting Our Troops" in Blytheville. Fifth-grade students from Blytheville Intermediate School collected items such as batteries, beef jerky and other snacks to send to our troops that are fighting for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...

This letter is intended to tell the general public about a great youth group. We always hears on the news about those that go astray but seldom hear of the goodness our youth have in their hearts. I am considered to be a senior citizen by some individuals, and was cleaning the leaves out of my ditch so the drainage would not get blocked. ...