Stories from Saturday, August 20, 2011

Most of us that love our animals thrive on their return of that love. We realize that those same pet lovers love to take their animals everywhere they go.

The Fifth Annual Reunion for Blytheville/Eaker Air Force Base will be held Sept. 23-24 at the Holiday Inn for military, their families and civilians of former Blytheville/Eaker AFB. Anyone interested in attending any of the weekend events should contact Wally Thomas at 870-762-6319...

Blytheville Mayor James Sanders expects the 2010 State Legislative Audit to be concluded soon. "They haven't told me yet when they are going to be through, but I believe it will be soon," Sanders said. "They have not given me any definite dates. And I'm not hurrying them. I want them to do a thorough review on the situation."...

As a good faith measure and to avoid a lien on city properties, the Blytheville City Council agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service $33,427 for a 2004-2005 tax debt that the city is no longer able to appeal. Late Friday afternoon, four of the six Council members spoke with the city's tax attorney, William Fones of Baker Donelson, who along with the Taxpayer Advocate recommended the move. ...

Mr. Douglas Wade Leggett Sr., 63, of Gosnell, passed from this life on Friday, Aug. 19, 2011, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. Born in Tuscumbia, Ala., to James and Evelyn Smelley Leggett, he retired from FedEx Freight as a truck driver and was of the Baptist faith...

The Rev. Leonders Patterson, 88, of Indianapolis, Ind., and a former resident of the Blytheville area, passed from this life Friday, Aug. 19, 2011 at the Rose Gate Village Nursing Center in Indianapolis. Rev. Patterson was born Aug. 25, 1922, to Jasper Newton and Beauton Simpson Patterson in the Huffman Community. ...

GOSNELL-- The Gosnell Pirates played a "Blue vs. Gold" inter-squad scrimmage Friday night before a large and spirited crowd at J.W. Rea Field. "This was by far the largest turn out to a Blue Gold game that I've seen," said Pirate head coach Brian Sims. "I just want to thank the fans for their support of this team."...

Mr. and Mrs. Homer Thompson of Blytheville will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, with a drop-in reception in the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church in Blytheville. Homer Thompson and the former Henrietta Mangrum were married Aug. 15, 1961, at First Baptist Church in Paragould. They are the parents of two children, Dr. Suzanne Thompson and Karl and Kimberly Unsworth, and three grandchildren, Adam, Abigail and Rachel Unsworth, all of St. Louis...