Stories from Thursday, January 10, 2008

Piggott, 2007 Arkansas volunteer community of the year (01/10/08)
On any given day there are dozens of Piggott-area residents volunteering their time and efforts. And that work has not gone un-noticed, as the city is once again being honored as an Arkansas Volunteer Community of the Year for 2007. "Without the volunteers of our community a lot of things just wouldn't get done," Mayor Gerald Morris noted in talking about the honor. ...

NE Arkansas bids farewell (01/10/08)
Family and friends gathered Monday morning at Walnut Ridge for an emotional sendoff for members of the 39th Brigade Combat Team heading for two months of training at Camp Shelby, Miss., and then on to deployment in Iraq. Specifically, the soldiers leaving on three buses on a supporter-lined Highway 67 are members of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry -- part of the 39th. ...

It happened here, years ago (01/10/08)
1968 Citing its poor condition, a grand jury called for the replacement of the aged Clay County Jail 40 years ago this past week. The jurors referred to several problems with the facility, which was built in 1914. Meanwhile, the Piggott City Council voted to sell two acres of city property for approximately $1,000 each. ...

Over the lines (01/10/08)
This is a column I have been dreading, and avoiding, writing for several weeks now but I can no longer hide. By now many of you already know the story of former Lady Mohawk Erica Rickman and her battle with a brain tumor. It's not a story I wanted to do, but it has to be told...

Helen Norene Byrd (01/10/08)
Helen Norene Byrd, 88, of Pocahontas, passed away January 6, 2008, in Randolph County Nursing Home in Pocahontas. She was born January 14, 1919, in Pollard, and was the daughter of the late Clyde and Emma Battles Conley. She was united in marriage to Shirley Byrd on February 27, 1934...

Leland D. Fletcher Sr. (01/10/08)
Leland D. Fletcher Sr., age 86, of Jefferson City, Mo., died Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at the Capital Region Medical Center. He was born December 13, 1921 in Pollard, the son of William and Ada Stairs Fletcher, both deceased. He was married on June 8, 1941 in Rector to Euvila Jane Carpenter who survives at the home...

Mona Rose Gossett Bare (01/10/08)
Mona Rose Gossett Bare, 73, of Piggott, died Monday, December 31, 2007. She was born January 1, 1934, and was the daughter of the late Millage Baxter and Mildred Marie Campbell Gossett. Mona was a loving daughter and sister, a very giving, generous person with many wonderful talents. She loved the Lord and shared His gift of salvation with many people...

Willie "Bill" L. Hubbard (01/10/08)
Willie "Bill" L. Hubbard, 77, of McDougal, died Thursday, January 3, 2008, in the White River Medical Center in Batesville. He was born February 2, 1930, in Tuckerman, and was the son of the late Clarence and Tommie Prysock Hubbard. He was united in marriage to Ruth Parrish and Omagene McDowell. They both preceded him in death. He was also preceded in death by three brothers and two sisters...

Margie Mae Jones (01/10/08)
Margie Mae Jones, 86, the daughter of the late Riley and Lottie (Parton) Book of Durand, Mich., formerly of Piggott, died Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at the McLauren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Mich. She was born March 20, 1921 in Greenway. She was married to the Rev. Forrest C. Jones in Kennett on June 10, 1939. The couple had seven children. He preceded her in death on Dec. 5, 2006...

Joan Evelyn McCarty (01/10/08)
Joan Evelyn McCarty, 53, of Pollard, passed away Monday, December 31, 2007, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. She was born September 1, 1954, in Brinkley, and was the daughter of the late Ruben and Evelyn Marie Johnson Duncan. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Jessica McCarty and her brother, Charles Duncan...

Billy Shields (01/10/08)
Billy Shields, 63, of Tulsa, Okla., formerly of Rector, died Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007, at Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa. Born March 27, 1944, in Drain, Ore., he attended Rector High School. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and served on the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier...

Delores J. Gossett (01/10/08)
Delores J. Gossett, daughter of the late Otis Johnson and Clara Kirk Johnson, was born Feb. 20, 1934 in Crow, W. Va., and died at her residence in Dexter, Mo., on Dec. 29, 2007, at the age of 73 years. Mrs. Gossett was a member of the First Baptist Church in Dexter, Order of the Eastern Star and Missouri Southern Healthcare Auxiliary...