Stories from Thursday, March 16, 2006

The Marked Tree City Council heard from Dianne Norman of East Arkansas Planning at its regular meeting Monday Night. Norman came to talk to the council and residents present about a grant the city has applied for from the Arkansas Department of Economic Development...

Accepting the immediate resignation of Coach Mark Courtney was a major item of discussion as the East Poinsett County School Board met Monday night in Tyronza. The board also discussed cost of living increases and voted to adopt a resolution for the teacher retirement plan...

The Marked Tree High School Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or JROTC, program recently received a high honor, one post commander Lt. Colonel C.H. Overbay III, Marked Tree said they owe in part to excellent support from the school and the community...

Tribune Sports Staff NORTH LITTLE ROCK--Last year when the EPC Lady Warriors lost to Mineral Springs 67-57 in the first round of the state playoffs, they learned that they needed to step it up a notch to survive at the state level. They learned their lesson well and after sweeping through their three opponents in the opening, quarter and semifinal rounds of the 2006 state tournament, they found themselves in the championship game at Alltel Arena in Little Rock. So far, so good...

Johnny Richardson Cooksey, 59, of Marked Tree died Sunday, March 12 at his residence after a battle with cancer. He was self-employed and a member of the Living Waters Pentecostal Church of Tyronza. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother...

Doris M. Wright, 73, of Osceola died March 8 at Osceola Healthcare. Born March 4, 1933, at Burdette, she was a homemaker and a member of Spearlake Baptist Church. Survivors include her husband, James Wright of Lepanto; a daughter, Nancy Christian of Osceola; three sons: Gary Wright of Joplin, Mo., Ronald Wright of Marked Tree and Randy Wright of Lepanto; three sisters: Martha Gibson of Van Buren, Elissa Underwood of Pekin, Ill. ...

Mary Janice Welch, 80, of Pocahontas died Thursday, March 9 at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born in Harrisburg, she lived in Pocahontas for 12 years. She also lived in Marked tree for a number of years where she worked at Wilshire Division. She was of the Methodist belief...

Wheeler Sigurs Sparks, 79, of Bassett died March 8 at Baptist East in Memphis. Born on Aug. 4, 1926, in Alabama, he was a farmer and a member of New Life Tabernacle in Wilson. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Celicia Sparks and a brother, George Sparks...

Daniel Smith, 66, of Tyronza, died Friday, March 10, 2006 at his residence. Born on September 8, 1939 at Tyronza, Smith was the son of Henry and Annie Smith. He was a deacon at the Tyronza First Baptist Church and an Army Veteran. Smith leaves his wife, Margie Smith of Tyronza; a daughter, Regina Collier of Tyronza; two sons: Danny Smith of Lepanto and Shane Smith of Charlotte, N.C.; two daughter-in-laws, Carey and Kimberly Smith both of Lepanto; five sisters, Vonnie Brewer of West Memphis, Louise Crawford of Marked Tree, Lucille Taylor of Flippin, Frances Head of Cherry Valley and Wanda Hinson of Huntingdon, Tenn; one brother, Douglas Smith of Tyronza; seven grandchildren, Amber Collier, Chris Collier, Chandler Smith, Olivia Smith, Logan Smith, Bailey Lucas and Dylan Lucas; and a great-granddaughter, Faith Busby; He was preceded in death by his parents.. ...

Edward "Eddie" Douglas Ryals, 74, of Marked Tree died Monday, March 13. A US Navy Veteran, he was a member of Central Baptist Church in Marked Tree and the Lepanto American Legion, Post 26. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jo Ann Ryals; his parents, Augusta J. and Everette Ryals; and two sons, Mark Ed. Ryals and Kim Ryals...

Sarah LeeAnn Kibbe, eight month old infant daughter of Michael and Kim Kibbe of Payneway, went to be with Jesus on Tuesday, March 7. She is survived by her parents; one sister, Stephanie; one brother, Stevan; maternal grandparents Esco and Shelia Hubbard of Fontana, Calif; paternal grandparents, Dennis and Betty Putnam of Clifton Forge, Virg. ...

Marked Tree Elementary School is holding preschool registration beginning at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29 at the metro building. Parents will need to bring the child's shot record, birth certificate, social security card and proof of residency. Children must be four years old on or before Sept. 15, 2006...

Phillis Sutton will be at the courthouse to collect filing fees for Democratic candidates during the filing period beginning at noon on March 21 through noon on April 4. She will be available during normal business hours. Republican candidates will file with Joy Grieten at Marked Tree. Grieten can be reached at (870) 358-3714...

FREDRICK, MD -- PublishAmerica is proud to announce that it has acquired the rights to publish The Ridge by Daniel Macon (Dan) Brawner, a sports reporter for Delta Publishing, publishers of the Tri-City Tribune. Executive Director Miranda Prather expressed confidence that Brawner's book will quickly resonate with audiences...

The 2006 St. Jude Bike-A-Thon has been scheduled for Saturday, April 8 at the Tyronza Fire Department. The event is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and end at 3 p.m. There will be prizes for all riders and t-shirts for those who have donations of $35.00 or more. A concession stand will also be open...

After hearing recommendation from the personnel committee, the Poinsett County Quorum Court decided to retain the personnel committee as the grievance committee for county employees. The decision came at the justice's regular meeting Monday night. Prior to Monday's ruling, the court as a whole handled grievance issues, but the committee felt that shifting the responsibility would help in cutting down on the time spent on such issues by the whole Court. ...

Tribune Sports Staff While EPC (3-5) had five games scheduled for last week, they were able to play only two due to rainy weather. Monday, they opened the week with a 4-3, 10 inning loss to the Wildcats at Trumann. "It was a very exciting game," coach Brian Weathers said after the game. "But we didn't get the key heits when we needed them."...