Stories from Thursday, June 29, 2006

Tribune News Staff From theft to vandalism to drugs to loud music, the citizens of Lepanto were ready and willing to voice their opinions at the June City Council meeting last Tuesday night. It looked for a while during the nearly three hour long meeting, that some of those in attendance were going to try to settle their complaints with something other than words. More than once, allegations of lack of a police protection or failures to respond quickly enough brought tempers to a boil...

Nellie Whitlow, 88, of Marked Tree died Tuesday, June 20 at Three Rivers Nursing Center. She was a member of Central Baptist Church, and was preceded in death by her husband, Jesse Whitlow. Survivors include her son, Bobby Whitlow and his wife, Nancy, of Germantown, Ind.; one step daughter in law, Francis Whitlow of Marked Tree; one grandson, one great-grandson, one step grandson; two step great-grandchildren and two step great-great-grandchildren...

Lula Mae Jackson, 63, died June 20, 2006 at Great River Medical Center in Blytheville. Jackson was born September 13, 1942 in Osceola. She was a factory worker and was a member of the Pentecostal Faith. She was preceded in death by her parents, Isaac Johnson and Sadie Shoemake; three sisters: Juanita Hatten, Joannie Mays and Golden McCallie; and two brothers; James Johnson and Bob Johnson...

Peggy Diane Hosman Burrows, 57, of Forrest City died Tuesday, June 20, 2006, at the Forrest City Medical Center. Burrows was born June 8, 1949, in Marked Tree. She was the daughter of Jack Hosman and Melovie Skinner Hosman. She was a teacher with the Forrest City Public Schools, and was a Sunday School teacher and member of the First Baptist Church in Forrest City...

County Clerk Fonda Condra recently announced that June 21 is the first day to circulate and file petitions for the annual school election which will be held on Tuesday, September 19. The deadline for filing petitions for school board in August 7, and they are to be filed with the county clerk...

Signups for pee wee cheerleading at Marked Tree Elementary School will be at 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 18 at the pavilion next to Marked Tree First United Methodist Church. Students going into the fourth, fifth and sixth grade at Marked Tree Elementary School are invited to participate...

First Baptist Church of Marked Tree will sponsor a community wide blood drive for the American Red Cross from 3 - 8 p.m., Tuesday, July 18 in the church fellowship hall. Those interested in helping with the blood drive or wishing to schedule a time to donate blood are asked to call Ann Tarlton at 358-2024 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. or at 358-2416 after 5 p.m...

Around 1911 to 1913, Lepanto had a booster organization that published a 34 page book about the city. Meant to draw more settlers to the "rich, black, deep, sandy loam soil," the book gives glowing descriptions about the town and surrounding farm land...

The school's wellness policy took first priority as the Marked Tree Board of Education as they met in regular session on Monday, June 19. A presentation of the school's raw data from the benchmark scores was also a highlight of the meeting. Col. Overbay presented the wellness plan, which is based on a school health index created by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Overbay chairs the school's wellness committee which is comprised of parents, students, school staff and a board member...

Addiction has become a very real problem for families all over the nation and Eastern Poinsett County is no exception. One can see the reality of addiction's hold when flipping through the newspaper, turning on the radio or watching the news. Producers are scripting main characters with addictions in movies...

Long-time resident Donnie Gean addressed the council with concerns about the drainage in the city at the Tyronza City Council's meeting last week. Having been raised in the area, Gean was distressed by the fact that damage had occurred to the floor in his brother's shop, which was originally built by his father and could never really be replaced...

"This is a wonderful day for our community," said State Representative Wayne Nichols at the grand opening of the new Three Rivers Nursing Center last Thursday night. Nichols, along with many other residents and community leaders, gathered at the new facility located on Highway 63 to celebrate its official opening...

Opinion By DAN BRAWNER Tribune Sports Staff Sensitivity training. John Rocker needs a lot of it according to MLB commissioner Bud Selig. Rocker, as most baseball fans know, is the former Braves relief pitcher who, at one time or another, denigrated nearly every minority in the country and much of the world...