Stories from Saturday, August 25, 2012

A lot of interest in the county shelter of late. Some of the comments are positive and some are negative. It is hard to imagine that there are those who could find fault with anything new that they don't understand, and that makes it all wrong.

I just attended the funeral service for Danny Joe McHaffey at Cobb Funeral Home. The service was very touching, but something was left out. Danny Joe was a Scoutmaster for many years when I also occupied that position with Troop 104. First, I would like to impress with your readers that Danny Joe had an enormous impact on the boys that he led in his troop. ...

Recent reports from the Blytheville Police Department:

Manila resident Odelene Ford, 90, recently benefited from a new medical procedure that her family thinks more people should know about. Ford was suffering from calcification in her heart and arteries and was in dire need of an aortic valve replacement, but due to her age she had been deemed inoperable...

Deputy prosecuting attorney Curtis Walker has spent his career working to ensure that those who have broken the law receive the appropriate punishment -- and with good success. Walker attributes his inclination for justice to his love of super heroes, which started as a boyhood hobby but has stuck with him and has been a constant source of inspiration throughout the years...

Recent reports from the Gosnell Police Department:

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Neil Armstrong was a quiet self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved pilot he made "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step on to the moon. The modest man who had people on Earth entranced and awed from almost a quarter million miles away has died. He was 82...

Not a week passes without Dr. Terri Brassfield or her church getting a phone call for a need, whether it's someone who lost all they had in a fire; a senior in need of food; or a child who doesn't have a bed or decent pair of shoes. Brassfield hopes to invite even more phone calls and meet more needs by changing the name of the church...

Blytheville Middle School teacher Veda Struble is suing the Blytheville School District, alleging that Superintendent Richard Atwill gave false testimony to the school board that led to her removal as Blytheville Primary School principal in June, when she was accused of failing to report child abuse...

Hattie Crockett Cain, 86, of Edwardsville, Ill. and a former resident of Caruthersville, died Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 at University Nursing and Rehabilitation in Edwardsville. Mrs. Cain was born in Kennett to John and Wilma Lula (Wright) Kirkman. She was a retired telephone operator for Southwestern Bell, a member of the Southwestern Bell Pioneers and Aldersgate Methodist Church in Blytheville. ...

Hugh G. Caffey, Sr., 93 of Blytheville, died Friday at Heritage Square Nursing Center in Blytheville. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date by Cobb Funeral Home.

Mrs. Mary "Adine" Rhea Burton, 91, died Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012, in Natchitoches, La., surrounded by family, or natural causes. Adine Copeland was born in Cooter, Mo., June 21, 2921, to Ellis Wayne Copeland and Alma Eloise Gilliland Copeland. She lived in Cooter with her family, growing up there with her siblings Wayne and Renna. ...

Joyce Louise Webb, 76, of Manila, died Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 at the South Mississippi County Regional Medical Center in Osceola. Born Feb. 3, 1936, in Dell, she was the daughter of the late Lon and Oscie Baker Matthews and had been a lifelong Manila area resident. She worked many years as a cashier for Farmer's Market Grocery in Manila and attended the First United Methodist Church...

Mrs. Ruby Swihart Thurmond, 97, of Leachville, died Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012 at the Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House in Jonesboro. Born Sept. 9, 1914 in Leachville, she was the daughter of the late Merrill and Mable Brown Swihart. She was a graduate of Arbyrd High School and a member of the Big Lake Country Club...

Jimmy Glynn White, 77, of Manila, died Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 in his home. Born Dec. 10, 1934 in Manila, he was the son of the late Albert H. and Oshia Shedd White and was a 1953 graduate of Manila High School. He was a Vietnam War Veteran and received the Airman's Medal for heroism in 1965 for rescuing four people from a burning car...

Mrs. Martha Elizabeth Regenold Hill, 103, passed away Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. She was born Dec. 3, 1908 in Memphis, Tenn., to the late Zula Buffaloe and Charles Sumpter Regenold. She had been a Blytheville resident since 1954 and was a member of the First United Methodist Church...