Stories from Monday, February 26, 2018

Melisa Rutherford, 53, of Blytheville, passed away Friday, February 23, 2018 at Heritage Square Nursing Home in Blytheville. Melisa was born in Pine Bluff to Jim and Phyllis Tucker. She worked as a Librarian for Blytheville School District and attended Lone Oak Baptist Church. ...

Manila -- Marilyn Joyce Britt was born Aug. 18, 1942, in Parkin, to Jessie and Lillian Shelton Neal. She was a homemaker and attended Pentecostal Church of God in Osceola. Mrs. Britt passed away Feb. 22, 2018, at Flo & Phil Jones Hospice House in Jonesboro, at the age of 75...

Monette -- Beulah Ware Cannon, 90, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. She was born Sept. 2, 1927, in Monette to William Aud and Lizzie Ware Stewart. Until her retirement, she was postmaster at the Monette post office. She was a member of the Monette United Methodist Church. She was also a member and past Worthy Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was a fine golfer at the Kennett Country Club and a terrific gardener...

Rev. Jerry Lee Johnson, 72, of Manila, former Leachville resident, passed from this life Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, at the Arkansas Continued Care Hospital in Jonesboro. Born in Manila he was the son of the late Robert "Bolton" and Nina Bell Roach Johnson and was raised in the Lost Cane Community near Manila. ...

Kathleen Routon, 89, of Manila, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Walnut Ridge. She was born Feb. 8, 1929, to Robert and Nora Condley Coffman in Hector. She married Bob Routon on May 10, 1946. She was a homemaker and a loving grandmother. Kathleen was a member of Brown’s Chapel Baptist Church in Manila and taught Sunday school for over 40 years...

Debbie Kay Stark, 51, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, at Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center in Kennett, Mo. She was born Nov. 5, 1966 in Manila to Henry and Irene Reinhart Fletcher. She enjoyed taking vacations, fishing, camping, and loved lighthouses...

The Washington State couple accused of kidnapping 18-year-old Ashton Talley was released on bond before Mississippi County investigators arrived to interview them, according to Second Judicial District Prosecutor Scott Ellington. "It appears they do things a little differently in Washington State," Ellington said. ...