Stories from Wednesday, October 31, 2018

A Suzuki Intruder IC 1500 will be auctioned off Saturday during the Blytheville Emergency Squad Annual Fundraising Auction at the Mississippi County Fairgrounds Exhibit Building. Don Smith (far left) donated the motorcycle. The silent auction will be held from 4-6 p.m. and the live auction starts at 6 p.m. Saturday. The annual fundraiser allows the Squad to operate and provide assistance during emergencies...

The Arkansas Aeroplex is the recipient of $100,000 in grant funding from the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics. Friday afternoon, state and local officials unveiled the new 24/7 fueling station at the Aeroplex during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The new self-service filling station allows small planes to land on the giant runway and fill up here without needing someone onsite. The setup is similar to a typical pay-at-the-pump for automobiles...

After hearing Stephens, Inc.’s proposal last Wednesday for the 2019 insurance renewals, Monday, before the budget meeting, LS& Associates CEO and Owner Leslie Smith spoke to the Quorum Court about what their consultant firm could do for Mississippi County for insurance and healthcare...

The Mississippi County Finance Committee met Monday to review the proposed 2019 budgets for the Sheriff’s Department and the Coroner’s office. Finance Chairman Michael White moved quickly through the Sheriff’s Department budget and stated that if any JP’s had questions to ask to ask...

The Gosnell School Board met on Monday for a brief and routine meeting. The board's first order of businesses was to approve contract disclosure resolutions for district employees, and board members, who provide contract services for the district. The employees included were Melissa Crawford, Laurie King, Leslie Hill, Jackie Kemp, board member Donnie Wright and board member Danny Queary. The contracts will be valid for two years and have a limit of $10,000 each...

The Gosnell Pirates (5-4, 4-2) will be either the third or fourth seed in the 4A-3, and will try to keep Westside from claiming the conference title Friday night when they host the Warriors on Senior Night at J.W. Rea Stadium. The final week of the regular season will determine a playoff seeding in the league as Rivercrest (8-1, 5-1), Westside (7-2, 5-1) and Trumann (6-3, 5-1) enter tied for first and Gosnell sits a game back in fourth...

The Blytheville Chickasaws (4-5,4-2) enter the regular season finale in a four-way tie for second in the 5A-East. With a win at Forrest City Friday night, the Chicks would secure a spot in the Class 5A playoffs. Blytheville is coming off a 41-21 win over Paragould, bouncing back from a loss at Batesville the previous week and learning it would have to forfeit a win over now league leader Nettleton...

Blytheville attorneys Jim Harris and Zach Morrison, Law Offices of Harris & Morrison, filed an excessive force lawsuit Tuesday in the Circuit Court of Mississippi County after they say a Blytheville police officer’s actions left a man with a crushed trachea and in a permanent vegetative state...