Stories from Thursday, August 13, 2009

When students walk through the doors of the new Trumann High School for the first time, they will be entering a facility that will no doubt be the envy of all Northeast Arkansas...

Gary Lee Wilkins, 65, of Trumann died Saturday evening Aug. 8, 2009 at the family residence. He was born in Batesville and lived most of his life in Trumann. Mr. Wilkins was the Executive Director of the Trumann Housing Authority and was of the Baptist faith. He was preceded in death by his parents, Marshall Neil and Vida M. Roach Wilkins...

Eldora Lorene Long, 85, of Trumann died Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009 at the Trumann Health and Rehabilitation Center. Born in Etowah, she had lived in Trumann for the past 40 years and was formerly of McCormick and Harrisburg. She was a retired beautican and cook and of the Church of God faith...

With the receptions congressmen and senators have been getting during this August recess, they may not come back home for a long time. The video of the open houses I've seen look like something you would usually see on wrestling instead of the snooze festivals they usually are...

In everyone's childhood there is always this one person or group of people that kind of stand out the most in your mind. No I'm not talking about family members. I'm talking about people that have influenced since we were young. One of mine was Sam Holcomb...

A few weeks ago I got up early on a Saturday to join in a worthy cause. Myself, along with a half a dozen others, went out and we picked up garbage along the side of the roads and ditches in the neighborhoods which make up Ward 3 in Trumann...

The smell of sharpened pencils is in the air as students throughout Poinsett County gear up for their first day of school Wednesday. Hair is being trimmed and school supplies are being neatly organized inside new back packs. And, of course, there are many afternoons spent playing in the sun and splashing in the water to get in just those last few hours of summer...

A suspect is still at large after robbing a man in Harrisburg at gun point. The armed robbery took place just after 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10 on South Wilson Street. The victim, who is from Jacksonville, was taking photos of property in foreclosure when a man pulled to the curb in a tan vehicle...

For 50 years, Wildcat gym was considered a hard place for teams to come into and win. Since Nov. 28, 1958 this has been the case. But times have changed. This November, coaches, players and fans will christen a new gym and new era as the Wildcats take up residence in their new 1800 seat facility at the new high school. ...

The city of Trumann will receive around $10,000-$15,000 to help fix damages caused by flooding. Mayor Sheila Waters met with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency last Tuesday and signed the paperwork documenting $21,000 in damages...

Some controversy arose with the issue of county ambulance services, particularly in Trumann, at the monthly Quorum Court meeting Monday night at Harrisburg. Following a recommendation by the Poinsett County 911 Committee July 30, committee chairman Mary Ann Arnold of Marked Tree opened the discussion of the issue by saying she was not completely comfortable with the ordinance as it was presented.. ...

"38 years is enough of doing something," said Sam Holcomb. Holcomb, owner of Jones Drug Store, officially retired last week as owner of Jones' Drug Store in Lepanto. Holcomb bought the store from Leonard Argo in 1971. "My first summer here, it rained so much I thought I had made a mistake by moving here," said Holcomb. "I swear, I was beginning to see the animals pairing up in two's for the ark."...