Stories from Thursday, October 24, 2013

Autumn is here and the cotton pickers are busy. The antique dolly at the Buffalo Island Museum is another example of how the cotton industry has changed through the years. This dolly has been in the Swihart family for years before they donated it to the museum...

The Gosnell Pirates are looking for their seventh straight win Friday night, when they host 3-4A conference foe Pocahontas at J.W. Rea Stadium. The Pirates (6-1, 4-0 3-4A) are coming off a thrilling, 44-40 win over two-time defending league champion Highland and enter with a lot of momentum from their red-hot start to the conference season. Last week's key win allowed Gosnell to control its own fate as the Pirates chase a conference championship...

The Blytheville Chickasaws return home to face the Batesville Pioneers Friday night at Haley Field. The Chicks are coming off a physical 35-12 loss on the road at Beebe last week. With a record of 1-6 and 0-4 in the 5A-East, the Chicks have lost five in a row and are still seeking their first victory in the conference...

Last Wednesday, former Blytheville head football coach Vince McCrosky resigned after missing the entire regular season dealing with complications from Parkinson's Disease. I've been around to cover a number of coaching resignations over the years. Some have resigned after moving to different schools. ...

Mrs. Carolyn Williams, 74, of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013.

Hattie "Cissy" Mae Stanfield, 88, of Hot Springs Village, died Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013.

Mrs. Della Juanita Deen, 83, of Blytheville, passed from this life Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, at St. Bernard's Medical Center in Jonesboro.

PICK Blytheville volunteers and the Blytheville School District, in attempting to maintain the feeling of Chickasaw Pride that was evident during Homecoming Week, are offering Blytheville Chickasaw flags.

Students in Kim Hart's Education and Training program at Arkansas Northeastern College Technical Center recently went back in time to see what education was like in the 19th century.

Blytheville Public Schools is looking into adding both boys and girls competitive high school soccer programs to the school's athletic department for the 2014-15 school year.

Mississippi County Hospital Systems is bracing for a significant drop in revenues which began in October and will continue to occur for some time due to the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Medicare expansion in Arkansas.