Stories from Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Two of the Blytheville City Council standing committees met in consecutive special session Monday afternoon, with the Police and Fire Commitee meeting at 4 p.m. and the Finance Commitee meeting immediately thereafter in order to address a situation that has arisen concerning the Blytheville Police Department's ability to communicate with each other and with the Fire Department via digital radio...

Monday night, the Gosnell School Board approved a proposed 3 percent bonus for employees. The bonuses would cost the district $239,549, according to superintendent Bonard Mace. Employees now must vote on whether to accept the bonus and, if they approve it, the measure would go back to the school board for final approval...

The Blytheville Public School District held a nearly two-hour structured and highly moderated public forum that was filled with information and at no time became charged with negative emotion Monday evening in the multi-purpose building of the Blytheville Primary School. Approximately 25 people, including numerous employees and staff of the district, were in attendance...

Don’t blame the 1989 Blytheville Chickasaws if they didn’t exactly set the world on fire with their “Phi Slamma Jamma” way of scoring points. They weren’t known for their fast breaks and triple-digit capabilities. What’s important is the Chickasaws had a way of thwarting teams that did have those backgrounds, and it carried them all the way to state and overall tournament titles that year...

Jodie Brown, 79, passed away Monday, March 27, 2017, in Monette. He was born Oct. 30, 1937, in Delfore to the late Joe and Beulah Young Brown. Jodie was a farmer and lived all of his life in the Monette area. ...

Blytheville police arrested a man on theft charges Wednesday, after an apparent incident at Zaxby’s. Devanta Rainer, 22, was charged with theft of property — greater than $1,000, less than $5,000, according to the police report. Deputy prosecutor Curtis Walker, Jr. told the CN Thursday afternoon that Rainer has been "released pending further investigation." Walker also explained, "There was some evidence that came up today that I'd like to take a better look at before we lock him up."