Stories from Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Inaugural Blessing of the Animals will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 on the lawn of the First United Methodist Church in Osceola.

GOSNELL -- All week, Gosnell head coach Gary Moody emphasized the importance of getting off to a strong start. Message received. The Pirates opened up a 28-0 lead less than 13 minutes into Friday's 3-4A opener with Brookland, then rolled to a 42-14 win in front of a large homecoming crowd...

WYNNE -- Sometimes a team just has your number. Over the last three seasons, the Wynne Yellowjackets have definitely had the Blytheville Chickasaws number winning all three games by a total of 112-13 including Friday night's 35-0 shutout at Yellowjacket Stadium. It was was Wynne's second straight shutout over the Chicks after a 43-0 win at Haley Field last season...

Mr. Dewey Eugene "Gene" Penn, 78, of Gosnell, died Friday in his home. Born in Half Moon on May 24, 1935 to the late Guthrie and Opal Crane Penn, he gave his life to the Lord several years ago and was a member of the Baptist faith. He was a veteran who served his country for four years in the United States Army. He was an avid fisherman and his family says he was the best BBQ man in the world and he always had people asking for the recipe for his BBQ sauce...

John L. House, 68, of Walnut Ridge formerly of Armorel and Tomato, died Thursday at St. Bernards Hospital in Jonesboro. Born March 28, 1945 in Blytheville to the late Marvin and Beulah House, he accepted Christ as his Savior as a young man at the Tomato Baptist Church...

Mr. Donald "Donnie" Robertson, 53, of Gosnell, died Friday. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Cobb Funeral Home at a later date.

Mrs. Betty C. Johnson, 78, of Killen, died Monday at her daughter's home in Tuscumbia. She was a member of the Hendrix Road Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin "Mac" McMullan, two sisters, Alberta Crews and Elwanda McMullan, and one brother, William Sterling Grable...

Mrs. Thelma Grable Keen, 86, of Cordova, Tenn., formerly of Murfreesboro, Tenn., died Tuesday. She was born August 13, 1927, to the late Dewey and Bessie Grable. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by her husband, Charles B. Keen, one brother, William "Man" Grable, three sisters, Elwanda McMullen, Alberta Crews and Charlene Johnson...

Jonettie "Jo" Quinn, 77, of Blytheville died Thursday at the Great River Medical Center in Blytheville. Born July 29, 1936 to the late Rev. P.T. and Annie Wilbanks in Walnut, Miss., she was a member of the Pentecostal faith. She lived in the Blytheville area for over 40 years and was a retired waitress and factory worker...

Teresa Walters, often referred to as the International First Lady of Piano, will be live in concert at The Ritz Civic Center in Blytheville at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4. Her program, titled "Moonlight and Romance: Cameos of Great Composers and Well-Loved Melodies," will include works by Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Gershwin's classic "Rhapsody in Blue," among others...

TenarisHickman, one of the largest employers in the Mississippi Co. area, recently announced that they will be adding new positions to its current workforce. The exact number has not been disclosed. "We are pleased to be supplying the U.S. oil and gas industry with pipe made right here in Mississippi County," Hernan Brondino, Operations Director, TenarisHickman said. "We are providing opportunities that strengthen and develop our employees, and in turn, building a greater community."...

Scott Blake of Design 500 is expected to unveil the Delta Gateway Museum's design plan Thursday during the monthly Parks and Recreation meeting. The regular Parks and Recreation meeting has been moved to the Delta Gateway Museum for the presentation. It will be held at its regular time, 4 p.m...

More than 150 volunteers came out last weekend to be a part of the Cleaner Safer Blytheville cleanup, which once again was a success according to city council members Stan Parks and John Musgraves who couldn't say enough good things about those who volunteered...

The Blytheville Middle School robotics team, High Voltage, is preparing for another big year of competitive SMART Robotics with the biggest team, and biggest task, the group has had since its inaugural year. High Voltage is in its third year of competing, and each year the team -- and build -- has gotten bigger, according to coach Sharon Brown. There are 36 students on this year's team ranging from sixth-tenth grades, only 10 of which are returning team members...