Stories from Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Mississippi County voters may cast their ballot in the Arkansas Presidential primary Tuesday across the county's 20 polling locations, all open until 7:30 p.m.:...

Ginny Lynn Boren Davison, 54, of Calico Rock, passed from this life on Friday, February 26 at St. Vincent Hospital in Little Rock. Ginny was born February 20, 1962 in Blytheville to the late Billie and Curtis Boren. Ginny loved the Dallas Stars hockey team, the Razorbacks and the Cardinals. She loved deer hunting, fishing, music and dancing. Ginny was a selfless and devoted mother who always put her family before herself. She loved spending time with her many friends and family...

Norma Louise Hillis, 67, of Blytheville, passed away Saturday, February 27, 2016 at NEA Baptist Hospital in Jonesboro. Born to James D. and Estelle (Wright) Brackin, Norma was a homemaker. She was involved with the Circle of Hope Cancer center as well as St. ...

Judge Ann Pugh (Marietta Ann Lucas Pugh) went to be with the Lord Jesus on February 23, 2016, after her battle with cancer. She was born August 20, 1945, in Blytheville, and graduated with a bachelor's and a master's degree from Arkansas State University. While teaching with the Memphis City Schools, she attended and graduated from the Law School at Memphis State University, presently The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law...

James Larry Smith, 72, of Luxora, Arkansas passed away Friday, February 25, 2016. He was born February 3, 1944 in Humboldt, Tenn. to John and Jewell Smith. He was a member of Luxora First Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include his wife Ethel Smith;...

David Allen Rainey, 56, passed away at his home on February 28, 2016. Mr. Rainey was a graduate of Briarcrest High School and Memphis State University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, serving terms as Treasurer and President. ...

For years in the educational arena, one would hear the phrase, "The more you learn, the more you earn." While this is true within disciplines (a person with a master degree in liberal arts typically earns more than a person with a bachelor degree in liberal arts), the statement very often is not true across disciplines (a person with a bachelor degree in liberal arts typically does NOT earn more than a person with a one-year certificate in welding or paramedic). ...

Riverside canned three consecutive third quarter triples to break open a close game and went on to defeat Salem 62-49, earning a berth in the 2A State Basketball Tournament this week at Marmaduke...

Powerhouse Valley Springs opened Wednesday's 3A Regional Tournament with a 15-0 run and went on to steamroll Manila 72-42 in first round action Wednesday night at Yellville-Summit High School. ...

The following reports are from the Blytheville Police Department. -- Police assisted with the removal of an unruly Blytheville Middle School student. The female student was arrested. -- Officers took a theft report (cell phone) in the 2200 block of West Rose...

Earle strung together a 14-1 second quarter surge and went on to subdue Riverside 47-33 to claim the 2A North Regional girls basketball championship Saturday night at Sloan Hendrix...

Tim Maddox with DMX Architects of Fayetteville met with Manila city officials prior to the Feb. 22 city council meeting to discuss possible sites for a senior center. Maddox looked at the vacant lot west of the library for new construction and the former Dr. Shaneyfelt office on main street with renovations...

Leachville City Council passed a resolution accepting a tornado grant from the USDA during the Feb. 22 meeting in City Hall. The Council heard an update from Drake Brown, fire chief assistant, about the new tornado siren as well as the future fire substation located at 2023 South Main Street. ...

Blytheville Courier News The Gosnell Pirates will open the 4A boys state tournament hosted by Malvern High School Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. against Dollarway. The Pirates are the three seed after finishing third in the 4A East Region Saturday with a 10 point , 68-58, win over 3-4A rival, Westside...

LITTLE ROCK -- Randy Veach of Manila (Mississippi County) has been selected as president and chairman of the board of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company. In his eighth year as president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, Veach has served on the SFBLIC board for the past 13 years...

Monette Mayor Jerry "Chub" Qualls shared an update of the February Veterans Park Committee meeting at the Feb. 22 city council meeting. The new location on the north corner of Highways 139 and 18 will be the official sight of the park and work has begun. The Christmas tree has been removed and a monument has been chosen...

Adam Seider, project manager with Nabholtz Construction, spoke briefly at the Manila School Board meeting Feb. 22. Seider informed the board the new high school building project is within two percent of the budget which is good...

W.C. Kirk, 74, of Manila died Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at his home. He was born Nov. 9, 1941, in Dell to the late Woodrow and Dink Hale Kirk and had been a lifelong Mississippi County resident. He was a retired truck driver for Vester Spencer Trucking in Lake City and was of the Baptist faith...

Gosnell's school board met Monday night to discuss recognition of teacher and student accomplishments, as well as hear reports on educational issues like learning disorders and how to address them. The board heard from, and rehired the district's Elementary Principal, High School Principal, Supervisor of Special Services, and Assistant Superintendent. ...

W. C. Kirk, 74, of Manila, died Monday, February 29, 2016 at his home. He was born November 9, 1941 in Dell to the late Woodrow and Dink Hale Kirk and had been a lifelong Mississippi County resident. He was a retired truck driver for Vester Spencer Trucking in Lake City and was of the Baptist Faith...

Bentley Leon Brinkley, 78, of Paragould passed away Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. He was born May 7, 1937, in the Childress community of Monette and resided in Potosi, Mo., and Paragould. ...

Edward Ray Clouse of Blytheville passed away Friday, February 26, 2016 at the age of 87. Ray was born in Curdsville, Ky, on May 28, 1928. He graduated valedictorian of his class from Armorel High School in 1947 and joined the Army soon after, and was deployed to Germany. ...

Roger Clifton Callender, 69, of Blytheville, passed away Saturday, February 27, 2016 at the Memphis VA Medical Center. Born to P.C. and Eva (Rodgers) Callender, Roger was a former employee at Bush Brothers and a member of Dell Baptist Church. He was a musician, loved to play music, and was the founder and leader of the Callender Band. ...

PARAGOULD -- A day after scoring just one run against Jonesboro, the Gosnell Pirates exploded for 12 runs on 15 hits in a 12-3 win over the Paragould Rams. The big blow came in a six-run fifth inning that turned a 4-1 lead into a 10-1 lead. The Pirates used three pitchers to combine for the win. ...

ARMOREL -- The Armorel Tigers got off to a bumpy start to the 2016 season. The 2A Riverside Rebels scored four first inning runs off of junior Tiger right-hander Logan Blankenship and went on to beat the defending 1A state champs, 6-1. "We've got a lot of work to do," said Tiger head coach, Charlie Brown. "We had some players out today and we were playing with a lot of younger kids. So, we'll just have to keep on going. We've got a conference game Thursday to get ready for."...

Primary election results in local races came in later than expected Tuesday night, as results on the Circuit Judge Race between Curtis Walker and Tonya Alexander remained unreported in total outside of Mississippi County for some time. Walker's race also includes Crittenden County. ...

James Brandon Riggs, 42, went to be with the Lord on February 28, 2016. Brandon was formerly from Blytheville, but a long-time resident of Memphis. Brandon was born on Oct. 4, 1973 in Blytheville and was the youngest child of F.B. and Linda Riggs. He was raised in the country of Mississippi County, where he loved to walk the cotton fields searching for arrowheads. ...