Stories from Wednesday, May 20, 2015

The Blytheville City Council's meeting ended in less than 30 minutes Tuesday night, as Tony Hollis and a group of citizens attempted to get Mayor James Sanders to let them address the room.

Zelda King, 93, of Conway, formerly of Manila, the widow of Clifford Leon King, died Monday, May 18, 2015, at the Conway Regional Medical Center.

Edwin "Skip" Evans, 71, of Manila, died Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, Missouri.

James Edward Webb Jr., 55, of Osceola, died of heart failure on Saturday, May 16, 2015, at South Mississippi County Regional Medical Center in Osceola.

Kimberly Rachelle Chipman, 35, of Leachville, died Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at the Arkansas Methodist Hospital in Paragould.

The following are reports from the Blytheville Police Department.

Wanda Lee Smith, 66, of Marked Tree, died Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at her home.

There was a little girl raped and murdered, her name was Jessica Williams. There has been a conviction and sentence of 25 years for the rape of this child. It has been almost two years, and I've heard nothing on or about a murder trial. Why is this? Has our legal system decided that the guy sentenced for her rape was enough?...

Armorel senior Luisa Towery recently attended the Scholastic Honors Day, held May 2 at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion. Pictured are (from left) Spencer Towery, Maria Towery, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Luisa Towery, Arkansas First Lady Susan Hutchinson and Calvin Towery...

Blytheville Public Schools announced its new hires and resignations at Monday night's Administrative Board meeting.

A local man was shot in the leg around 9:38 p.m. Tuesday in the 300 block of South 10th Street.

Mississippi County will be relinquishing its hold on a $2 million debt owed by Aviation Repair Technologies (ART), per a vote by the quorum court's planning and development committee Wednesday morning.

Here's a wrap up of the BBSB Cal Ripken baseball and ASA youth softball from the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex Tuesday night. Thomas, Speight and Noble 11, Lions 10 Trailing, 10-6, in their final at bat, TSN scored five runs to post an 11-10 win over Lions in five innings Tuesday night...

The Armorel Tigers and Taylor Tigers will battle for the 1A state title Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. Three hundred and fifty miles separates the two schools but that has not stopped them from developing a competitive rivalry over the better part of the past decade...

"Going into the big stage, Baum Field, as a freshman, I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders," said Kennedy, reflecting on his experience four years ago. "It kind of scared me. There was a lot of pressure. I was a part of an already seasoned infield."...