Stories from Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Time for fun: Labor Day '09 is here! (09/02/09)
There seems to be a consensus among all who have ever lived here that Rector is the best place on earth to call home. And as Dorothy said in her famous line from The Wizard of Oz, "there's no place like home."...

NEAITC gets $10,000 Entergy grant (09/02/09)
The Northeast Arkansas Innovative Training Center (NEAITC) received a generous assist Tuesday in its efforts to provide educational opportunities to local residents, as the city was presented a check for $10,000 from Entergy Corporation...

Donations ramp up excitement for auction (09/02/09)
Paul Frets' incredible new painting "Picking Cotton" and a stunning pearl-front Zematis guitar donated and signed by Rolling Stones lead guitarist Keith Richards will be at the center of the Rector High School Helping Hands Foundation's second Labor Day auction at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, but the auction has grown over the last few days to include many other items sure to create a lot of interest...

Doyne Webb dies at age 82 (09/02/09)
Longtime Rector businessman Doyne Maurice Webb died Sunday, Aug. 30, at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould at age 82. Webb worked for years at Irby Funeral Home in Rector and then owned the Mutual of Omaha Insurance Agency on Main Street. In later years, he worked at Glen Sain Motors in Rector and became a fixture at the business, where all who visited enjoyed his warmth and humor...

New teachers join RHS faculty (09/02/09)
As the school year gets underway, students are not the only ones at Rector High School adjusting to new surroundings. Three new teachers have joined the RHS faculty -- Lance Ritter, Rachel McNamee and Craig Dewey...

Flu cases up as school starts (09/02/09)
LITTLE ROCK - Public school and kindergarten administrators are seeing something very unusual in their schools as the children go back to school -- the flu. Illness caused by the new H1N1influenza A virus, commonly known as "swine flu" is being reported. ...

Author to host book signing here (09/02/09)
Sherry Laymon will be signing her book, Pfeiffer Country: The Tenant Farms and Business Activities of Paul Pfeiffer in Clay County, Arkansas 1902-1954, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Rector Community Museum, located at the back of the Rector Public Library (enter on the east side)...

Cougars stun Corning with late-game effort (09/02/09)
Friday night provided an exciting preview to the upcoming football season, as the Cougars defeated county rival Corning 14-13 in a preseason exhibition game. Though the game won't appear on any official records, both teams brought their all in the contest, with pride being winner's reward...

Legacy of a dead lion (09/02/09)
We Americans have witnessed the long-ago inception of a family dynasty that controlled the levers of power in this country since the nineteen-twenties. In Boston, the Irish had immigrated to the extent that folks of a different origin elected them to run that city. ...

Time, understanding lead to compassion (09/02/09)
Not long ago a pastor made a comment in a sermon concerning one of the true tests of Christianity. He said (and we are paraphrasing a bit here), that it is in the nature of a Christian not to hold bitterness or animosity in his or her heart for anyone...