Stories from Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Dale Chrisman, 73, of Jonesboro, passed away Monday, Sept. 15, 2014 at St. Bernards Medical Center...

The Gosnell Pirates take on the Rivercrest Colts Friday night at J.W. Rea Field. The Pirates (2-0) are coming off a 28-18 win over Osceola a week ago. It took a fourth quarter comeback to put the Seminoles away as Osceola held a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter. Despite Rivercrest's 0-2 start, Gosnell head coach Gary Moody is preparing for just as tough of a battle this week...

Last week, Ben Fisher got an opportunity to see how his Blytheville Chickasaws respond to adversity. Following a three-hour bus ride out of state, the Chicks (2-0) overcame five turnovers and a late deficit against host Okolona, Miss. to escape with a narrow, 25-24 win...

Mr. Richard J. Coleman, 69, of Blytheville, died Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014, at Great River Medical Center in Blytheville.

Several employees of the Blytheville School District gathered in the Board Room of the Administration Building for their Title I Report to the Public on Aug. 25. The estimated Title I budget is $2,347,811.68, and the program provides federal funds to help support the district's entire educational program. ...

The Mississippi County Arkansas EOC Community Garden, located on Byrum Road, recently won first place for Master Gardener Dedric Davis. The item produced from the garden that won first place is an American Watermelon. EOC Executive Director Samuel Scruggs and Program Director Shirley Pulliam congratulated Davis for his hard work. The EOC staff thanks all the people who volunteered in garden this year...

Desmond F. Hammett and Doug Echols had the opportunity to work together, and through research and many hours of collaboration, the two saw the need to decrease the unemployment rate of the citizens in Mississippi County. Echols, the workforce orientation and retraining keys coordinator at Arkansas Northeastern College, and Hammett, a member of the HR-training and development team at Tenaris Hickman, brainstormed and came up with a plan to offer a training for prospective job candidates in Mississippi County. ...

Blytheville, Arkansas, has the worst streets I have ever driven over. I mean, you can't go anywhere without hitting a bump, pothole or both. I'm not made of money and buying tires and having my car fixed. This really doesn't make sense. Then you have all these shacks around here that need to be torn down...

I hadn't initially planned on going back to this subject, but after the feedback I've gotten on last week's column I thought I might give you guys at least a brief update on my trip before I launch into the heart of this week's piece.

Blytheville Mayor James Sanders reads a proclamation in honor of Constitution Week, at a student ceremony hosted by the Charlevoix Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Rep. Monte Hodges has chosen to award his 2014 Serving up Solutions grant dollars -- $975 -- to the Blytheville/Gosnell Area Food Pantry.

Blytheville native Tucker Nunn has been selected as the new Main Street Blytheville executive director, and board members feel his enthusiasm and passion for Blytheville make him the best candidate to continue the MSB legacy.