Stories from Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Work continues around county as officials await word from FEMA (02/18/09)
Clay County officials continue to await word from representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) following a survey of the area a week ago. According to Clay County Judge Gary Howell, two FEMA representatives toured much of Clay County Tuesday, Feb. ...

2009 Little Sweetheart Photo Contest Winner (02/18/09)
Karrin Alyce Henderson is the 20-month-old daughter of Nate and Heidi Henderson of Rector. Beautiful little Karrin was born June 28, 2007, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. She enjoys playing with her older sister, Sarah Robinson, age 8, and brother, Drew Henderson, 3 ½. Karrin loves music and loves to dance. Her favorite food is popcorn...

Taking it down (02/18/09)
Workers with Roese Contracting Company, Inc., of Kawkawlin, Mich., work Monday near the East Fourth Street railroad crossing in Rector burying cable for CenturyTel telephone company. Roese, which specializes in underground contracting, originally was scheduled to work for CenturyTel in this area in March, but the recent ice storm brought the team to the area earlier. CenturyTel is burying most of its lines to help prevent future outages. (Democrat photo/Nancy...

Some rural residents still in the dark (02/18/09)
While the effects of the late January ice storm that swept the region were felt by nearly all, the debilitating weather system has had a lingering presence with many of the county's rural residents, as many country homes remain without power...

Residents receive help from crews near and far (02/18/09)
The past three weeks have been a difficult time for the entire region, as many in the area have had to deal with the loss of power. Nearly every home in Clay County was without power for at least some period of time, with many measuring the gap in weeks, not days...

Census offers best temporary job to come along in 10 years (02/18/09)
Some of life's big events only happen once in a while. Many are eagerly anticipated -- The Olympics, graduations, birthdays. Others -- dental exams, renewing your driver's license, cleaning out gutters -- not as much. ...

Rector teen to share thoughts on website (02/18/09)
Want to know what's going on at Rector High School? Community members, students and alumni soon will have a new voice to keep them up-to-date with the "goings on" at RHS. Cole Thomas, a 17-year-old Rector junior, will write a weekly blog as part of the Clay County Democrat's online edition. ...

Cougars advance in tourney with win over Marked Tree (02/18/09)
The Cougars earned a trip to the second round of the 2A-3 District Tournament at Caraway by rolling over Marked Tree 81-56 on Saturday. Rector climbed out to a 23-14 first quarter lead and never looked back, going ahead 41-28 at halftime and 61-37 going into the final period...

Senior girls earn regional berth with district victory over BIC (02/18/09)
The Lady Cougars punched their ticket to the regional tournament with a 66-56 win over Buffalo Island Central Monday night in the 2A-3 District Tournament at Caraway. Though the game was tightly-contested, Rector managed to lead throughout: 18-12; 34-30 and 51-44...

Goodbye, ice storm (02/18/09)
Whew! I don't know about you, but I'm tired. I barely knew that Valentine's Day and Presidents Day had arrived. I'm still reeling from the ice storm aftermath. I'm okay, but some of my friends are still in the dark, awaiting power in rural areas northwest of Piggott. After three weeks, they are still coping with the outage...

The Dark Ages (02/18/09)
This writer was privileged to serve as medical officer at the U.S. Naval Academy many years ago. Did those creatures ever teach me! They spoke with their own dialect, observed their strict code of truth and honesty, and most of them grew into the fine officer corps that makes our Navy the strongest anywhere...

Tony Joe Rodden (02/18/09)
Tony Joe Rodden, 50, of Paragould died Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, in an accident in Centennial, Colo. He was born March 22, 1958, to the late Hiley and Dorothy Rodden in St. Louis, Mo. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his...

Reginald Dean "Reggie" Holman (02/18/09)
Reginald Dean "Reggie" Holman, 66, of Rector, died Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro. He was born Jan. 5, 1943, in St. Francis to the late Oscar Holman and Beulah (Price) Holman Gordon...

Delbert McArthur Hughes (02/18/09)
Delbert McArthur Hughes, 66, of St. Francis died Friday, Feb. 13, 2009, at his home. He was born June 19, 1942, near Rector and was the son of the late Martin and Hettie (Allman) Hughes. He had a Master's Degree in chemistry and taught high school science for 30 years in the Piggott, Clarkton and Twin Rivers school districts. ...