Stories from Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Blytheville Assistant Police Chief Ricky Jefferson and Entergy’s Brandon Decker stand near a new lighting project on Mchaney. The City of Blytheville has been putting a plan in place called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design since 2009. This plan is a multi-faceted plan which involves lighting the city’s snow route, as well as acting as a deterrent to criminal behavior through environmental design. ...

The number of major crimes was at its lowest in several years in 2017, according to Blytheville Police Chief Ross Thompson. Chief Thompson released the major crime statistics for 2017 on Monday afternoon. Though the murder rate remained flat — 9 — when compared to 2016, every other violent crime category was down last year...

Four entire Blytheville City Council committees met, delivered their reports and adjourned Monday afternoon, all within just a little over an hour. The committees included Police and Fire, Airport and Utilities, Public Works and Finance and Purchasing. ...

The Blytheville Board of Education decided Monday night, during a special meeting called to deal with “personnel”, to set up meetings with search firms and receive their proposals, before deciding whether to hire a firm to aid in hiring the district’s next district superintendent. ...

Harris said that they offer help in a confidential, non-judgmental way, striving to create an environment of acceptance, hope, love and safety. The center is an independent, unaffiliated, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that “is working to change lives by offering justice to the innocent, mercy to the hurting, and hope in hopeless circumstances.” As a result, they receive no government assistance and depend solely upon the generosity of their supporters...

W.C. "Dub" Imler, 87, of Trumann, passed from this life Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, at Ridgecrest Health and Rehabilitation in Jonesboro. Born and raised in the Osceola area, he was the son of the late William and Campie Lee Anthony Imler and had been a lifelong Northeast Arkansas area resident. He was retired from Arkla Gas Co. in Paragould and had been a mechanic and carpenter. He was a member of Faith Tabernacle in Trumann...

John White Weeks, 75, of Harrison, passed from this life Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, at his home. Born in Prescott, he was the son of the late John Alexander and Tannie White Weeks and was raised in Gurdon. A 1960 graduate of Gurdon High School, he earned a bachelors degree in psychology and political science from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia in 1964. ...