Stories from Friday, September 5, 2014

The Blytheville Junior Chickasaws kicked off the 2014 football season with a 20-8 win over their rival from the south, the Osceola Junior Seminoles. The Chicks took advantage of their own miscue to get their first score. On a first-and-10 from the Seminole 12-yard line, quarterback Tony Newmeyer fumbled the snap but scooped up the loose ball and headed into the end zone for a touchdown. Blytheville led, 6-0, after the missed two-point try with 5:01 left in the first quarter...

I read about the idea for matching grants from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. I believe it would be wise to put a tram or trolly, one from Williams Park to Franklin Park, and for tourism reasons, extend it down to Kentucky Street. At the parks, we could put in three-story parking garages to really lure in the tourism dollars when the fair or flea market is in town. We could get this done for $137,000,000, but the grant would give us half of this back...

Mississippi County EOC Emergency Services Coordinator Sarah Phelps held a HEAP Assurance 16 workshop on Aug. 27 at the Blytheville EOC building. The topic for the workshop was "Education is the Key." ANC Trio Adviser Denese Bogard was the guest speaker...

Tessa Fulling, daughter of Steve Fulling, is the recipient of the 2014 Mary Katherine Logan Leadership and Service Scholarship. This $700 scholarship is given by the John Logan family to a female student who has a 3.0 grade-point average or better and exhibits outstanding qualities of leadership and service to the community. Fulling is a student at Arkansas Northeastern College, majoring in nursing...

The Mississippi County Republican booth won the first place ribbon at the Mississippi County Fair. The booths were judged on creativity, showmanship, cleanliness and how well people understood the booth's message. Pictured at the booth are Barbara Francis of Blytheville and Dorothy Crockett of Osceola...

Cole and Sofia Long of Marion announce the birth of their daughter, Layla Grace. Layla was born July 10, 2014, at the Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women in Memphis. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 19 3/4 inches long. She joins brothers Weston Alexander Long and Asa Maksim Long...

The Blytheville Wastewater Department will work with an engineering firm to study issues at its West and South treatment facilities.

Tipping fees at the Mississippi County landfill are one of the lowest in the state. According to a 2014 survey of landfill fees by the state of Arkansas, the only landfill with lower tipping fees for Class 1 waste is Crittenden County's in West Memphis.

Nicole Voelkel, one of the presenters for Rachel's Challenge, offered a moving, emotional assembly Wednesday afternoon to Blytheville High School students at the BHS auditorium.

During Thursday night's Parks and Recreation meeting, Williams Park supporters expressed their disappointment in the city's decision not to pursue a state outdoor grant.