Stories from Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Blytheville Police Department issued the following persons warrants for failure to appear during the month of May.

Mr. Robert Barnett, 49, of Blytheville, died Monday, June 6, 2011, in Blytheville.

The city of Gosnell's maintenance of some land given to it by the Arkansas Aeroplex was brought into question by some citizens during the last several meetings, with feathers obviously ruffled over taxpayers' money being used to mow and maintain land which was never entered into the minutes of a City Council meeting.

The Blytheville Planning Commission, during a Tuesday meeting, voted to recommend to the City Council that the railroad crossing at Ash Street be closed upon completion of the overpass and Highway 18 project.

The Mississippi County Quorum Court is facing several expensive projects to maintain two courthouses, said Justice Fred Fleeman, who chairs the Court's Energy and Property Committee.

The first-degree murder trial of 27-year-old Kurion Hughes Jr. is set to begin Monday in Osceola Circuit Court

Blytheville Police Chief Ross Thompson reminds residents that basketball goals and other items placed on the curb in the street right-of-way are subject to being removed by the city.

Parents of students who will enter the fifth and sixth grades at Blytheville Intermediate School will have the opportunity beginning in August to choose how advanced they want their children's curriculum to be.

Officials of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission were in Blytheville Tuesday to meet with local leaders to see if a boat ramp could be placed at Barfield Landing.

My 20-year class reunion was last weekend. I did not attend.

Tournament play began in Cal Ripken and Junior Babe Ruth league Tuesday night at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex. Here's a wrap up of the action. MAJOR LEAGUE Lions 7, Griffin Ag. 4 Down 4-3 in their final at-bat, Lions scored four runs to post a 7-4, come-from-behind win, over Griffin Ag. in five innings...

Mrs. Lizzie Barnes, age 76, of Monette, passed from this life Saturday, June 11, 2011, at her home. Born at Lepanto, she was the daughter of the late Elvin and Bertha Black King and had lived most of her life in Leachville. She was the widow of Mr. J.L. Barnes and was a retired babysitter. Mrs. Barnes was of the Baptist Faith and had lived in Monette for the past four years...

Hershel "Hoyt" Johnson, age 77 of Crown Point, Indiana, formerly of Manila, died Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the St. Margaret Mercy Hospital in Dyer, Indiana. Born January 23, 1934, he was the son of the late R.V. ...

Rudy Lasater, age 63 of Manila, died Monday, June 13, 2011, at the Monette Manor Nursing Center. The widow of Mr. Douglas Lasater, Rudy was a lifelong Manila resident and a member of the First Assembly of God. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Howard Funeral Service of Manila. Guest register @www.HowardFuneralService.com...

Allen Dale Rogers, age 55 of Leachville, passed from this life Sunday, June 12, 2011, at the Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House in Jonesboro following a short but courageous battle with brain cancer. ...

Danny Filo Thomas 58, of Clinton, Ark., passed away Monday, June 6, 2011. He was born Oct. 29, 1952 at Leachville to Filo and Cordia (Miller) Thomas. Danny leaves a wife and three children, not to mention eight grandchildren, 10 brothers, and six sisters. ...

Lillian Eva Walker, age 90, of Meridian, Calif., formerly of northeast Arkansas areas including, Gosnell, West Memphis and Manila, died Tuesday, June 7, 2011, at the Willows Care Center in Willows, Calif. ...

Mr. Stirl E. Thomas, age 66 of Arbyrd, Mo., died Thursday, June 9, 2011, at the St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Born in Detroit, Mich., he was a retired auto mechanic and had lived most of his life in Caraway...

Manila's Taylor Morgan has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Crowley's Ridge College this fall. Taylor will join three other Manila players that played for the Pioneers this past season: Zach Birmingham, Tray Malone, and Blake Wheeler...

MANILA - Mallard Lake is now open to fishermen. Repairs on the entrance roads to the lake have been completed and the roads are now passable. Recent flooding caused severe erosion to the roads and forced Arkansas Game and Fish Commission personnel to close access to the 300-acre public fishing lake...

Nana and Papaw (Judy and Noah "Bubba" Shelton) opened their new business, Nana & PaPaws Snoballs, across from the Manila High School gymnasium at 335 East Olympia. The family business is open from noon until every day offering a large variety of snoballs including Lions Roar and Cotton Candy. The Barbie Flavor has been very popular...

Shelby Wallace of Manila attended a Medical Applications of Science for Health (MASH) camp June 6-17 at the Area Health Education Center-AHEC Northwest in Jonesboro. The two-week summer medical enrichment experience is designed to give interested students a glimpse of what a health profession is really like. ...

A young five-year-old, named Wilma, visited the children at Kohn Memorial Library in Monette on Monday, June 6, and managed to captivate the large audience of children who came out to greet her. Wilma is a Brown Swiss milk cow from Sulfur Springs, Texas, via Damascus and she arrived in her own customized Mobile Dairy Classroom...

Town Crier News Staff The American Cancer Buffalo Island Relay for Life will celebrate its 10th anniversary Friday, June 24, at the Leachville City Park. The Relay Life event is a way for communities throughout Buffalo Island to join together to help in the fight against cancer...

The 10th annual Buffalo Island Relay for Life Survivor Social was held Sunday afternoon in the Leachville Community Center. The survivor social is held each year to recognize cancer survivors...

The Act 2! community theater group will be holding auditions for Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."

Mr. William C. Harris, 64, of Blytheville, died Monday, June 13, 2011, at Great River Medical Center in Blytheville.