Stories from Thursday, September 3, 2015

Blytheville Parks Director Elroy Brown wants the people of Blytheville to know that hunting the ever growing population of geese, including Canadian geese, in the Blytheville area is permitted and he even encourages it. "It's open season from September 1 through September 15, and then there is another season that opens up in December. ...

Gosnell's 2015 Cotton Festival will be held October 2-3. The festivities kick off Friday, October 2 at 6 p.m. with a live band and food vendors. The fun continues Saturday, October 3 with live bands, food vendors and entertainment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will also be a corn hole toss for adults only, dance contest, hog calling, raffle tickets and 50/50 tickets...

Arkansas Northeastern College will again be a scholarship partner with the Miss Northeast Arkansas Pageant Association, which sponsors Miss Northeast Arkansas, Miss Lights of the Delta, Miss River Delta, Lights of the Delta's Outstanding Teen, River Delta's Outstanding Teen and Northeast Arkansas' Outstanding Teen...

The Arkansas Human Development Corporation, with assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, has partnered with public and private organizations to hold a regional conference designed to support and grow small businesses in Northeast Arkansas...

Rehearsals of the Arkansas Northeastern College Community Choirs and the University-Community Choirs at Arkansas State University are joining forces to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Arkansas Northeastern College in 2 performances of Handel's Messiah. The group, which is inviting new members to participate, will be singing the classic masterwork with professional soloists & orchestra this term...

Words do indeed have power. I remember hearing former County Judge Steve McGuire say many times, "It's a great day to be in Mississippi County." His words were equally powerful. The Bible tells us that the power of life and death are in the tongue. I also know that "you can't see it until you believe it", "misery loves company" and "birds of a feather flock together."...

In the past several months a horrific trend of violence has gripped Blytheville. We have had an ever increasing number of gun-related incidents resulting in injuries and death. We have muggings near our schools, in our driveways, and at local businesses...

As a decade passes, the memories of the time still sit in my memory like it were yesterday. We were evacuating Metairie, northbound on the morning before the tragic storm, and could not find a hotel that would take pets throughout Mississippi or Tennessee...

Jefferson Davis Donaldson, 81, Blytheville died Saturday, August 29, 2015 at NEA Baptist Jonesboro. He was a retired member of the United States Air Force, factory worker and a member of New St. Luke Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jefferson Donaldson Sr. and Maria Higgins Donaldson;...

Jimmy R. Holt, age 63 of Gosnell, passed from this life Monday, August 31, 2015 at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Born to James "Ed" and Captola (Green) Holt, Jimmy was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and a wrestling fan. When he was younger, he enjoyed playing baseball with his great nephews. Jimmy was a great person, always helping anyone at any time. He was always a cut-up, smiling and singing...

Leslie T. Tolley, 88, went to be with the Lord Tuesday, September 1, 2015. He was born in May of 1927, at Bible Hill, north of Parsons, Tennessee, to Cynthia Gulledge Tolley and George Thomas Tolley. He grew up on the family farm and graduated from Parsons High School...

By AARON FITZPATRICK Blytheville Courier News If it's opening week in the high school football season, that means one thing around this area; Blytheville vs. Osceola. The two longtime rivals square off to open the 2015 season Friday night at Osceola. While it's a non-conference matchup in September, the two teams usually are ready to go as if it determines a playoff spot in November...

I saw part of a poem a few days ago that kind of resonated with me. It started out something like this: "Just because my hair is gray, give me time, don't throw me away." It goes on to say how much knowledge and wisdom the old have to share if they are just given the time and the opportunity to do so...

It is I, The Great Fitzini, The Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, back for another season of predicting the outcomes of the local prep football games. By reading the following, you will know the outcome of each and every game before kickoff. ...

LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal judge deflated "Deflategate" Thursday, erasing New England quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for a controversy that the NFL claimed threatened football's integrity. U.S. District Judge Richard M. ...

The following are reports from the Blytheville Police Department. -- Police investigated a burglary in the 5000 block of North 6th Street. -- Officers took a report of a stolen license plate in the 400 block of East Kentucky. -- Police took a criminal mischief report in the 500 block of Lumerate. The offender threw a brick and busted the victim's windshield...

The Blytheville Planning Commission is scheduled to review plans for Little Caesar's Pizza, which plans to build a restaurant at 1023 East Main Street. The former Mazzio's Pizza property was purchased by National Cities Corporation of Memphis earlier this year...

Eva Mae McCullough, 87, of Manila, passed from this life, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born June 13, 1928, in Dell to the late Austin and Lola Elizabeth Johnson Glover, she was a 1946 graduate of Manila High School and was a longtime member of the First United Methodist Church...

Blytheville High School was temporarily placed on "Perimeter Lockdown" from approximately 11 am. until 11:30 a.m. Wednesday morning after the school received a phone call which contained a threat to administration. "Perimeter Lock Down", in essence, is when a school locks down outside entrances to their facilities, yet students are allowed to move from class to class. The threat has been removed and BHS has since returned to normal operations...