Stories from Friday, February 25, 2005

Special to the Tribune Former Marked Tree coach and Dean of Students Rob Jennings pled guilty last Thursday to one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity as part of the federal case against him. In a hearing, held at the United States Courthouse in Little Rock, Jennings, 48, of Little Rock accepted the guilty plea before U.S. ...

Special to the Tribune One thing that is known about the rivalry between East Poinsett County and Marked Tree is that when both teams play each other on the basketball court, you can expect tough defense, along with good players giving their all. And nothing was different for last Tuesday's first round game between both schools at the 3AA-South Sr. District Tournament in Turrell...

Special to the Tribune Under first year coach Bobby Lewallen, the East Poinsett County senior girls basketball team completed a complete turn-around last Friday night as the team defeated Earle 54-51 in the championship game of the 3AA-South Sr. District Tournament at Turrell...

Jerry Wayne Sweeney, 51, of Lepanto died Sunday, Feb. 13, at Methodist Central Hospital of Memphis. Born in Lepanto, he was an Army veteran, a construction worker and of the Baptist faith. Survivors include his wife: Mary Sweeney of Lepanto; three daughters: Stacy Scott, Wendy Sweeney and Blair Sweeney, all of Lepanto; a sister: Brenda Sweeney of Osceola; and one grandson...

Opal Irene Birdno Smith, 83, of Lepanto was born on April 15, 1921 to the late Samuel David and Ida Bell Birdno in Portia, Missouri. She died at her daughter's residence in Trumann on Tuesday, Feb. 15 She was a homemaker and a member of the Lepanto Church of Christ...

Pauline Reed McCollister, 95, of Lepanto died Thursday, Feb. 17, at her residence. A Blytheville native, she was a faithful Christian all of her life. She was a homemaker and the oldest charter member of West Ridge Baptist Church. Survivors include four daughters: Flora Bass Walker of Marked Tree, Julia Mae Franks of Bono, Onie Morris of Blytheville and Lois Simmons of Futheyville, Miss.; a son: Otis "Sonny" McCollister of Crawfordsville; 17 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; and 24 great-great-grandchildren.. ...

Martha S. Mason, 59, of Memphis, formerly of Lepanto, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, at St. Francis Hospital of Memphis. Survivors include her husband, Dwight Mason of Memphis; a daughter, Sheila Huntley of Memphis; and a brother, Billy Thompson of Corinth, Miss...

Funeral services for Julie Mae Anderson, 64, of Marked Tree, who died Monday, Feb. 14, at NEA Medical Center of Jonesboro, were held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Industrial Street Church of Christ. John Graham officiated and burial followed in Riverview Cemetery at Marked Tree under the direction of Sims-Woodard Funeral Service of Marked Tree...

The East Poinsett County Elementary School in Lepanto will be registering for Pre-K and Kindergarten from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 29. The Tyronza campus will hold registration for Pre-K and Kindergarten from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 30. Parents must bring children's birth certificate, social security card, shot record and physical screening...

The Marked Tree Police Department reported the discovery, Saturday afternoon, of the remains of a white male near the railroad tracks southeast of Marked Tree by Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad employee, Skyler Whithed. The skeletal remains were tentatively identified from personal effects as that Charles Larry Wynne age 59 of Nashville, TN...

Prom policy and athletics were two major topics of discussion at the Marked Tree School Board meeting Monday night. Members of the junior and senior class came to petition the school board to let students drive to and from the prom. The board granted permission earlier in the year for the prom to be held off campus in Jonesboro. One of the stipulations was that students would ride two and from the event in transportation provided by the school...

Hard work and dedication is something that does not go unrecognized in Marked Tree. Shear Images, a local hair salon owned by Marked Tree native Kim Carter, was recently honored as Marked Tree Business of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce. The announcement was made at the chamber's annual banquet held last Tuesday at Arkansas State University Technical Center in Marked Tree...

At the heart of every good town there are good people - people just like Mrs. Peggy Bankston. She is, without a doubt, part of the backbone of Marked Tree. She faithfully attends civic meetings and rarely misses an opportunity to serve others in the community. Although Bankston is not one to put herself in the spotlight, others in the community have taken notice of her tireless efforts to help Marked Tree grow and prosper...

Special to the Tribune Going into last week's 3AA-South Sr. District Tournament in Turrell, the Marked Tree Lady Indians were not expected to do very much. Entering the tournament, the team had only one win in the regular season, over Class A Armorel and went winless in district play. However, with the addition of three freshmen from the team that won the junior girls district one week earlier, Marked Tree was expected to make it interesting...

Special to the Tribune Two Marked Tree athletes who have contributed to the success of both the Marked Tree baseball and football teams in the last few years recently announced that they will continue their athletic career at the University of Arkansas-Monticello...