Stories from Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Paul Dean Crews, 62, of Leachville, died Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, at the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. He was the son of the late Eugene and Ethel Mary Pilgram Crews and had been a lifelong Leachville area resident. He was a former longtime employee of Hytrol Conveyor in Jonesboro and was a member of the First Assembly of God Church in Leachville...

Jayley Kay Harper, infant daughter of Eric Harper and Savannah Hurt, was born into Heaven on Jan. 22, 2012, at St. Bernards Hospital in Jonesboro, Ark. In addition to her parents she is survived by grandparents, Larry and Robin Harper of Caraway, Ark., Donnie Hurt of Blytheville, Ark., and Lisa Parker of Monette Ark...

Helen Louise Henry, 86, of West Memphis, passed away Jan. 17, 2012, in Jonesboro. She was born Oct. 2, 1925 in Nettleton, to the late George and Myrtle Eidson Wyatt. Mrs. Henry was an all star basketball player in her youth and continued her love of the game throughout life. She was a beautician for over 50 years and retired in July 2010...

Thelma Jackson, 84, longtime Leachville resident, died Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, at the Gosnell Nursing Center. She was the daughter of the late Thomas Eugene and Gladys Basinger Harrell and had been a longtime Leachville resident before making her home in Gosnell last year. ...

Ernesto Perez, 44, of Valle Hermosa, Mexico, formerly of Manila, died early Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, from injuries received in an accident in Valle Hermosa. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Howard Funeral Service of Manila. Guest register is www.howardfuneralservice.com...

Mary Ethel Roberson, 75, of Manila, widow of Mr. Bill Roberson, died Sunday Jan. 15, 2012, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. Born at Manila she was the daughter of the late James Nolen and Emily Smith Bollinger. ...

Margaret Elizabeth Wallace, 59, of Las Vegas, Nev., formerly of Leachville, died Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, at the Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas. She was the widow of Mr. Lacey Wallace and had been a Nevada resident for the past 17 years...

Josh McCormick drained four three pointers to help Buffalo Island Central knock off Cross County 52-33 Tuesday night at the Mustang Athletic Complex in Monette. McCormick led the Mustangs with 16 points while Wes Colbert pitched in nine more...

Brittany Fowler sank the game tying and go-ahead free throws with seven seconds remaining to lift Buffalo Island Central to a come-from-behind 78-77 victory over East Poinsett County in a key 2A-3 conference game Thursday night at Lepanto...

Alteeno Sain pumped in 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked six shots to lead Riverside to a 74-65 2A-3 conference victory over Maynard Friday night on the road. Logan Meurer also had a big night for the Rebels, pouring in 22 more points, including a perfect 12-12 performance from the free throw line. ...

Jordan Roberts hit a short jumper in the lane with less than five seconds on the clock to deal Riverside a heartbreaking 44-42 loss in 2A-3 senior girls conference action Thursday night at Maynard...

Manila overcame a sluggish start and a fired-up Harrisburg squad to post a come from behind 67-52 victory Friday night, spoiling the Hornet's homecoming festivities. Harrisburg came out hot in the opening half, building a 32-29 halftime edge. ...

For the past two weeks, the Blytheville Police Department has been holding seminars for our city relating to crime prevention. One session was on business, and one was on ID theft. The session on Thursday, Jan. 26, will be on "home protection." Our city seems as if we are under attack, but we need to make it more difficult for the few criminals to be successful. It is time for us to learn how to prevent being a victim of theft...

I'd like to thank Mark Brasfield for his recent article in Thursday's paper, concerning the parks and recreation tax money that will generate about $700,000 for the purpose of maintaining our parks and recreation, including our museums. The City Council should read Mark's article and remember to be diligent in ensuring the citizens that their tax money will be spent wisely and not squandered as it was under our past administration...

Someone needs to tell the mayor to stop making statements to people and making them think (the IRS) will go into people's personal accounts and take their money. This is a false statement, and he knows it. My sister-in-law said this same thing to me a few weeks ago. ...

Buffalo Island Central Homecoming festivities were held Friday night, Jan. 13, at the Mustang Athletic Complex in Monette. Royalty pictured are, from left: Princess Chasity Garrett, escort Weslan Colbert, Queen Lindsey Pittman, crown bearer Lextan Corter, escort Nick Bollinger, flower girl Macie Hatch, Princess Lauren Roddy and escort Alex Field...

The last couple of weeks have been a mixed bag of extremely good and extremely bad things, with a few oddities scattered in just for good measure.

Miss Heather Nichole Haley of Collierville, Tenn., and Mr. Bradley Gene Goff of Byhalia, Miss., are planning am April 2 wedding at The Pentecostal Church, located at 4820 Old Germantown Rd in Memphis

Mr. Ernesto Perez, 44, of Valle Hermosa, Mexico, formerly of Manila, died early Saturday from injuries received in an accident in Valle Hermosa.

Mrs. Carolyn Kaye Joiner, 66, of Moody, Texas, formerly of Osceola, died Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in her home.

Do you remember when a Coke cost five cents? The Buffalo Island Museum has a Coca-Cola bottling machine from the early 1950s. It is a Vendo 39 model and was donated by Johnny Jones. This model was produced from 1949 to 1957. ...

Mr. Robert Louis Johnson, 63, of Blytheville, died Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at St. Bernards Hospital in Jonesboro.

Mr. Fred Allen Haskins, 65, of Turrell, died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2012, at Crittenden Memorial Hospital in West Memphis.

Mr. Paul Dean Crews, 62, of Leachville, died Saturday Jan. 21, 2012, at the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould.

Manila Mayor Wayne Wagner recommended the reappointment of department heads at the regular city council meeting held Jan. 16. "They are all doing a good job and I recommend the reappointment of Jackie Hill for chief of police; Keith Bennett as fire chief; and Henry Ford as water superintendent," Mayor Wagner said...

Mrs. Glenna Mae Whisenhunt Biviano, 70, of Searcy, formerly of Blytheville, passed from this life Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, at UAMS in Little Rock.

Mrs. Otean Anderson, 81, of Blytheville, died Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, at Great River Medical Center in Blytheville.

The Monette City Council approved a $700 salary increase for the nine full time city employees and Mayor Chub Qualls at the regular council meeting held Monday, Jan. 16. A salary freeze was set for council members and the city clerk/treasurer...

Curt Huckaby has filed for the newly created District Judge position for Craighead County, Lake City Division. Born and raised in Lake City, Huckaby has maintained a law practice in Lake City for the past 30 years. He is married to Vickie Huckaby, a partner in Friends and Company Hair Salon in Jonesboro. Curt, Vickie, and their children reside in Jonesboro...

"In with the new" seemed to be the theme of Monday night's Blytheville School Board meeting, as the board was approached with everything from new technology plan to new contracts for current staff members.

Adults who have started, or who plan to start, the GED program have six opportunities to take the test before the next major change takes place Jan. 1, 2014. The test will be offered three times in 2012 and three times in 2013...

The city of Dell now has a new place for lunch that boasts a familiar name and is backed by more than 25 years of restaurant experience.

Plans and fundraising are now under way for the construction of a veterans memorial in the city of Gosnell.

The Blytheville Archeology Station held its first open lab of the year on Saturday. Staff members said they had a "pretty good" turnout, with 17 people coming out to "get their hands dirty."

A packed house was on hand Monday at the Holiday Inn for the monthly luncheon of the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Manila's Jeff Knowlton, musician, writer, artist and craftsman, enjoys preserving history and legend through his music, paintings, stories and poems. He has long been a researcher of Native American history with a special emphasis on the Cherokee tribe. ...

The city of Blytheville owes the county $496,000 in jail fees and $128,000 in landfill fees, according to Quorum Court justice Michael White, who chairs the county's Finance Committee.

Staff Mayor Jon Milligan finished the first year of his four year term as Lake City mayor. He said he has enjoyed serving as mayor. Lake City has been home to Milligan all his life. "The employees have years of experience and they know their jobs," Milligan said. ...

Pictured is a SR-71 Black Bird, customized, fast, powerful and capable of 75+ mph. This is no ordinary motorized bikem according to Verdell Hogan of Blytheville, who submitted the photo.

Angelique Morgan's all-around performance definitely helped the Blytheville junior varsity Gymchicks, but it wasn't quite enough to overcome a Monticello team that had just enough in the final standings. Monticello totaled 141.5 points to claim the Jan. ...

Monticello High School had what it took in the floor exercise portion of their duel meet with the Blytheville Gymchicks, but the defending state champions had enough of everything else to squeeze out a two-point victory in their Jan. 20 opener with Monticello...

BAY -- The Armorel Lady Tigers reduced a 15-point Bay advantage at halftime to just two by the start of the fourth period before the Lady Yellowjackets pulled away in the end and won, 54-42, Tuesday night. Trailing, 32-17, heading into the third period, the Lady Tigers outscored Bay, 19-6, over the next eight minutes and trailed, 38-36, heading into the fourth period. Bay outscored the Lady Tigers, 16-6, in the final frame to secure the victory...

The Blytheville 9th grade Chickasaws pulled out a 2-point win over Paragould Monday night thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting in the closing moments. Trailing, 32-31, with two seconds left, Jonathan Dugan-Banks sank two free throws to give the Chicks a 33-32 win at Chickasaw Gym...

The Blytheville Chickasaws head to Jonesboro tonight to take on the Nettleton Raiders. The Chicks are coming off a huge, 48-42, road win Friday night over the Wynne Yellowjackets. That came on the heals of huge home loss to the Paragould Rams. "This is another big game tonight," said Blytheville head coach David Hixson. "We can't afford to go 2-3 in the conferance with two games against Forrest City and (Greene County) Tech still on the schedule."...