Stories from Thursday, January 10, 2008

Gaither production premiere features young Rector fan (01/10/08)
A special premiere of the newest Gaither Homecoming video was held at the Rector Community Center on New Year's Eve. The video, which featured Rector 13-year-old Ariel Dooley being interviewed by performer Bill Gaither, touched the hearts and minds of many who were present at the premiere...

39th ships out for deployment (01/10/08)
Family and friends gathered Monday morning at Walnut Ridge for an emotional sendoff for members of the 39th Brigade Combat Team heading for two months of training at Camp Shelby, Miss., and then on to deployment in Iraq. Specifically, the soldiers leaving on three buses on a supporter-lined Highway 67 are members of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry -- part of the 39th. ...

Cougars trounce Marked Tree in strong conference effort (01/10/08)
There certainly wasn't any rust on the Cougars as they came back from the holiday break with a vengeance Friday night, routing Marked Tree 78-54 in a make-up game at Rector. "We had a pretty nice effort all-around," Rector head coach Mark Manchester said. "We played really hard. You're always a little concerned coming back from a break, but I thought we did a good job of being prepared once we stepped on the court. It was a really good team effort."...

Parsley reaches 1,000 points, lifts girls over rival Marmaduke (01/10/08)
The long string of classic meetings between the Rector Lady Cougars and the Marmaduke Lady Greyhounds continued Monday night in Rector. The two squads met in a non-conference game which was highly contested. In the end, the Lady Cougars came away with a 49-40 win over their rival, thanks in large part to a stellar performance at the free throw line and a strong outing by senior Hannah Parsley...

Rachel Lee (Hampton) Carroll (01/10/08)
Rachel Lee (Hampton) Carroll, 91, of Marmaduke died Friday, Jan. 4, 2008, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould. Mrs. Carroll was born Jan. 13, 1916, to the late William Hall and Flossie Pearl (Starnes) Hampton. She was orphaned at age two and was raised by her maternal grandparents, Moses and Belle Starnes...

Valerie A. Ergle (01/10/08)
Valerie A. Ergle, 56, of Mapleton, Ill., died Monday, Dec. 24, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill. Born Nov. 6, 1951, in Lafe to Osborn and Mary Reynolds Wilcoxson, she attended grade school and two years of high school in Rector. She was employed as a school teacher for Manual High School in Peoria for 29 years, retiring in June 2007...

Nadine Lanelle Wilson (01/10/08)
Nadine Lanelle Wilson, 88, of Greenwood, Ind., a native of Rector, died Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. She was born Nov. 16, 1919, in Rector to the late Thomas Owen and Madge (Fitzgerald) Harp. She was a graduate of Rector High School and had worked in the Lines and Transmission Planning Departments of Indiana Bell for over 25 years before retiring in 1980. While at Indiana Bell, she was a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America...

Maurice Humphrey "Hump" Ray (01/10/08)
Maurice Humphrey "Hump" Ray, 80, of the General Baptist Nursing Home in Campbell, formerly of Marmaduke, died Monday, Dec. 30, 2008 at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born Dec. 7, 1927, in Marmaduke to the late Shad Ray and Reba (Graves) Ray, he was manager of a service station in California, of the Baptist faith and was in the Marines...

Mark Wilson (01/10/08)
Mark Wilson, 41 of Rector, formerly of Conway, died Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008, at UAMS in Little Rock. He was born Dec. 18, 1966, in Pasadena, Texas, and worked as a mason brick layer. He was of the Baptist faith and was a veteran of the National Guard...