Stories from Thursday, June 8, 2006

Candidates Jimmy Carter and Buddy Lovell are asking voters to head to the polls again next Tuesday, June 13, to decide who will be elected State Representative for District 56. Carter and Lovell are in a runoff election due to the fact that one candidate did not receive 50 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary held on May 23...

Democrat Sports Department The Trumann Recreation Department in conjunction with the Jonesboro Parks and Recreation Department and the Paragould Recreation Department announced last week that it will be conducting a summer skate park series. The series will consist of three skate park competitions at each city's skating facility with the first competition to be held in Jonesboro from 10 a.m. ...

Tribune News Staff Hannah Ghant of Marked Tree and Hailey Shankle of EPC are both undefeated as starting pitchers for the Gators 14-and-up fast-pitch soft ball team. Scott Shankle of Lepanto is the team's coach. He said both pitchers have obviously had a great deal to do with their winning record which was 33-14 as of the end of last month...

Rhonda Elizabeth Hawkins, 40, of Marked Tree died Sunday, June 4 at the NEA Medical Center in Jonesboro. She was a homemaker and mother of four children. Survivors, all from Marked Tree, included her husband Freddie Hawkins; three sons-Freddie Wade, Clinton Gene and Eric Dean Hawkins; one daughter-Nikki Elizabeth Hawkins; one brother-Melvin Standfield; and one grandson-Cainan Wade Hawkins...

Lillian Crockett, 35, of Marked Tree died Friday, June 2 at the NEA Medical Center in Jonesboro. She was born January 3, 1971 in Memphis and was a factory worker. A member of Jefferson Memorial Church in Butler, Ark., she was preceded in death by her father Person Anderson, Sr...

John Carl "J. C." Smith Sr., 87, of Pocahontas died at the NEA hospital in Jonesboro Thursday, June 1. He was born April 25, 1919 in Commerce, Ga. Smith, who was a Baptist, a farmer and a World War Two veteran sucombed to heart failure. He was preceded in death by his parents James Smith and Inez Tanner; two sisters-Florence Chandler and Bessie Mae Smith; and two brothers-Jesse and Dewey Smith, and one granddaughter Cheryl Childers Norwood....

Robert Wayne Fuller, 70, of Mulberry died Saturday, June 3 at Summit Medical Center in Van Buren. Fuller was a retired farmer and was preceded in death by his wife-Clara Collins Fuller, his parents-Frank and Berdie Fuller and two brothers. Survivors include three sons-Kenny Fuller of Mulberry, Robert Wayne Fuller, Jr. ...

Gerald Davis Payne, 81, formerly of Payneway died Friday, June 2 at the V.A Medical Center Ft. Roots, North Little Rock. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 5 at Murphy Funeral Home Chapel in Marked Tree with Patrick Tucker officiating. ...

Tribune News Staff From Shakespeare to Poe to Steinbeck, Betty Myers has imparted her love of reading and the English language to a 25 year succession of students at Marked Tree High School. Next year, however, Myers won't be seen in her classroom or in the halls of the school because she's decided that the class of 2006 would be her last...

Justin Gilley, a sixth grader at EPC/Tyronza campus, was the winner of the flag contest and received a $50 bond. He is the son of Janice and Ronald Gilley of Tyronza. Students on the EPC/Tyronza campus from kindergarten to 6th grade were asked to draw what they thought a Tyronza City flag should look like. Ms. Bates, the art teacher at EPC was instrumental in helping the students with this project...

Opinion DAN BRAWNER Tribune Sports Staff Not that this means anything in any great way, but I decided to compile an NCAA football for next year based on the average of last year's top 25 and the 25 schools with the best recruiting classes this year based on rankings by Scout, Inc...