Stories from Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Blytheville Century 21 McWaters Casons will play in the Arkansas American Legion State Tournament beginning Friday in Little Rock. The Casons advanced with wins in the Zone 2 tournament last weekend in Batesville. Blytheville will take North Little Rock at 7 p.m. Friday night at Burns Park in Little Rock. The Casons will either play at 10 a.m. or 4 p.m. on Saturday based on Friday night's results...

"I'm really excited," said Sydney who is 8-years-old and will be entering the third grade at Armorel Elementary in the Fall. The two swimmers, along with about 40 other swimmers, will represent Arkansas from the South Wind conference. The conference is made up of teams from the northeast part of the state including Batesville, Paragould, Mountain Home and Wynne among others. They will compete against athletes from all over the country and even a few teams from other countries...

Blytheville man James Gregory returned to circuit court this week to face charges of terroristic threatening. The charges stem from an incident in September, in which Gregory was arrested after allegedly making threats against numerous local officials...

A building plan was tentatively selected Wednesday for a new Mississippi County-wide animal shelter, when the project's board of directors met in Osceola. According to chairperson Shirley Connealy, the project has received over $12,000 in donations from private individuals, but the board is making the pursuit of grant funding their primary objective, as the construction of a new shelter will cost a great deal more than what they have...

OSCEOLA -- If approved by the Osceola Planning Commission and the Osceola City Council, Osceola could soon be home to a residential substance abuse treatment facility. If approved by all entities, I Surrender will provide living quarters for men and women with a drug or alcohol addiction...

OSCEOLA -- Osceola was the host site for Mississippi County Judge Randy Carney's every-other-month luncheon meeting with the mayors of all municipalities in the county. In attendance were nine of the county's 17 mayors, State Representative Tommy Baker, newly-elected nominee and Baker's future replacement, Monte Hodges, and other city and school district officials from across the county...

Gary Bryant, warden at the Arkansas Department of Corrections Mississippi County Work Release facility, resigned last week amid allegations of sexual harassment. According to an ADC spokesperson, allegations were made against Bryant by a female employee, and he resigned July 19, during the course of investigation into his actions...

The Walker Park swimming pool will remain open until Aug. 11.

News of the old Hoops Drive-in's impending demolition brought back some good personal memories and a nostalgic trip down memory lane. But I'm sure it also revived some not so pleasant memories for some. In fact, one former employee sees the demolition as closure for a horrific, life-changing incident...

Eddie L. "Ricky" Luster Jr., was born Jan. 15, 1958, in Armorel. The son of the late Eddie L. and Senda Lue Luster Sr. he attended Armorel and Blytheville schools. He left Arkansas in 1977 and lived in Chicago and Detroit. He returned home in 1991 and worked as a crane operator for Maverick Tube Corporation. He enjoyed his family and friends and was an active member of the Graveyard Kids Organization...

Mrs. Dorothy Lynn Maxwell Karnes Howar, 89, of Little Rock, formerly of Blytheville, passed from this life Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at Arkansas Hospice at St. Vincent's Hospital. Born in Blytheville to Robert and Annie Lloyd Maxwell, she was a sister in a family of eight and often recalled her early days of working on the Gosnell farm with her other siblings...

Mr. Randy Franklin Powell, 61, of Steele, died Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at Hayti. Powell was born to the late Clifford Powell and Edith Powell June 16, 1951, in Hayti, along with his twin brother, Roger. Randy married Leigh Ann June 2, 1984 in Steele...

A Blytheville city employee is being investigated for allegedly selling drugs out of a city vehicle. According to Blytheville Police Department Criminal Investigations Division Capt. Scott Adams, 32-year-old Brian Eugene Robinson of Blytheville will be arraigned Monday in Blytheville District Court on charges of possession of control substance with intent to deliver methamphetamine, marijuana, and Hydrocodone, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, and possession of firearms by certain persons. ...