Stories from Friday, April 8, 2011

April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Trumann Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring you medications for disposal to TPD at 221 Melton Avenue. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Last September, Americans turned in 242,000 pounds -- 121 tons -- of prescription drugs at nearly 4,100 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,000 state and local law enforcement partners. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as is the number of accidental poisonings and overdoes due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods of disposing of unused medicines -- flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash -- both post potential safety and health hazards. Fours after last fall's event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an "ultimate user" of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents' controlled substances in certain instances. DEA has begun drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that can take as long as 24 months. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like Trumann Police Department and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

Susan April-Leigh Overbey, 35, of Payneway, died Sunday, March 27, 2011, in the Med in Memphis, Tenn. She was a member of Centerview Methodist of Payneway and worked as a library technician for ASU Technical Institute in Marked Tree for 13 years...

Mr. Rory Edward McDaniel, 49, of Trumann died Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at the family residence. Mr. McDaniel was born in Tampa, Fla., and had lived most of his lifetime in Trumann. He was a welder and a 1980 graduate of Trumann High School. Mr. McDaniel was a veteran of the U.S. Army and of the Baptist faith...

Tony Wayne Sharp, age 40, of Little Rock died March 31, 2011, as the result of a car accident.Mr. Sharp was born Sept. 20, 1970. He is survived by his parents, Shirley Castell of Heber Springs and James Sharp of Marked Tree; his wife, Jennifer Sharp; daughters, Ashton, Olivia and Talecia, all of Little Rock; three brothers, Randy Sharp of Little Rock and Jody and Justin Sharp of Marked Tree; sister, Mellisa Fisher of Tyronza, and several nieces and nephews...

According to a 2010 ACT profile report, Trumann students have scored three percentage points higher on the college English composition portion of the ACT than the national average. Trumann students also have scored five percentage points higher than the Arkansas state average...

Toby Doke recently opened a new business in Trumann. He now is an agent with Farm Bureau after changing his career as a football coach. Doke is a graduate of Trumann High School. He graduated in 2002 from Williams Baptist College with a physical education degree and then received his Master's degree in 2007 from William Woods University...

Malcolm Patterson was born in 1921 in Yellville, Ark. From there he ended up serving with the Coast Guard out of Maine during World War II as the only Southerner on his boat. ...

The Rotary Club of Trumann's Shower of Fortune took place at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 4, in the Trumann Intermediate School cafeteria. The Shower of Fortune is the Rotary Club's annual fund-raising event, which will go towards projects to better the Trumann community...

Kerry Smith of Bartlett, Tenn., has always loved ducks. Originally from Georgia, he grew up duck hunting. When he saw a canvasback drake carving in a shop in Gatlinburg, Tenn., he was enamored of it and did everything he could to learn how to carve ducks himself...