Stories from Thursday, August 4, 2011

TRUMANN - Mrs. Nancy Sue "Susie" Facello, 52, of Trumann, died Thursday, July 28, 2011, in Trumann, Ark. She was born in Harrisburg, Ark., grew up in the Trumann area and had lived in Lake City, Ark., for the past 21 years. Mrs. Facello enjoyed taking care of her family and friends. Mrs. Facello was a homemaker and member of the First Assembly of God Church in Trumann. She was preceded in death by one brother, Ricky Taylor, and her parents, Luther Justin and Juanita Novalene Taylor (Briley). Survivors include her husband, Johnny Facello of the home; one son, Master Sergeant Jason Harrison and wife DeAnna of Mor--n de la Frontera, Spain; two daughters, Amanda Harrison and fiancé Don Hill and Taylor Arnold and husband Blake, all of Trumann; three brothers; five sisters, and seven grandchildren, Madison and Ryan Harrison, Jacob, Jonathan and Jadon Haynes and Ava and Austyn Arnold. Funeral service will be Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the First Assembly of God Church in Trumann with Rev. Kenneth Doke officiating. Burial will be in Jonesboro Memorial Park Cemetery in Jonesboro, Ark. Active pallbearers will be Joseph Elrod, Michael Grassie, Anthony Grassie, Pat Grassie, Joseph Facello, Greg Sawyer, Johnny Sawyer and Kalem Richardson. Visitation will be Thursday from 11:30 a.m. until time of service at the First Assembly of God Church. An online register book can be signed at www.thompsonfuneralhome.net.

Peyton Elizabeth Morton was born July 19, 2011, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro to Bradley and Michelle Morton of Bay. Peyton joins Sommer, 12, Chase, 10, and Zoe, 5, of the home. Proud grandparents are Gary and Barbara Morton of Jonesboro and Janet Humble of Bay.

It's a 7.8 pound boy for Steven and Tanya Sparks of Highland. Steven Easton Corbin Sparks was born July 19, 2011, at UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock. Proud grandparents are James and Judy Brown of Dyess, Doris Brown and Bill Smallwood of Lepanto and William and Diane Sparks of Hardy.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wyatt Boxley and Ms. Lisa Kathleen Boxley of Marked Tree proudly announce the upcoming wedding of their daughter, Jennifer Paige Boxley, to Anquion LaDon Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Leroy Williams of Tyronza. Miss Boxley is the granddaughter of the late Richie Swan and Maxine Swan of Marked Tree and the late John Boxley Sr. and Ruby Jean Boxley of Marked Tree. She graduated from Marked Tree High School in 2008. Mr. Williams is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Willie Williams of Tyronza and Mr. John Smith and the late Virginia Smith of Tyronza. He graduated from MTHS in 2003. The wedding will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at the First United Methodist Church in Marked Tree. Invitations were sent.

Joe and Janie Carrizales of Chelford, Ark., are happy to announce the upcoming wedding of their son, Anthony Carrizales, to Deborah Lasha Alexander, daughter of Kim and Gloria Alexander of Austin, Texas. The couple met at Texas Bible College in Lufkin, Texas, five years ago. The future groom graduated as valedictorian and received his Bachelor's degree in Theology from Texas Bible College in 2006. The future bride graduated as valedictorian and received her Bachelor's degree in Christian Education from Texas Bible College in 2010. A double-ring ceremony will be held Saturday, Aug. 13, at the First United Pentecostal Church in Trumann, with a reception to follow immediately afterward.

Tony Rodgers of Trumann recently attended Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., home of NASA's official Visitor Information Center for its Marshall Space Flight Center. The weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on teamwork, leadership and decision-making. Tony was part of the Space Camp Robotics Program which is specifically designed for trainees who have a particular interest in engineering. He spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated space shuttle mission to the international space station (ISS). Once aboard the ISS, the crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or space walk. Tony and crew returned to earth in time to hear retired space shuttle astronaut Captain Robert "Hoot" Gibson speak at their graduation. Space Camp crew trainers who lead each 16-member team must have at least a year of college, and 67 percent of the 2011 staff are college graduates. Space Camp operates year-round in Huntsville and uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA. More than 560,000 trainees have graduated from Space Camp since its opening in Huntsville in 1982, including STS-131 astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger. Last year, children and teachers from all 50 states and 58 international locations attended Space Camp. Those interested in training like an astronaut may visit www.spacecamp.com or call 1-800-63 SPACE.

The Marked Tree School District will be giving out school supplies between 1 and 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11. The giveaway will be on a first-come first-served basis. All supplies are for Marked Tree School District students only. Supplies may be picked up in Ms. Bennie's office.

A Lake City woman died Thursday, July 28, in a one-car crash on Woodruff Lane. According to Arkansas State Police, Nancy Sue Facello, 52, was traveling northbound on Woodruff Lane Thursday evening when her 2001 Ford Expedition went into a skid and left the roadway. The vehicle overturned in a ditch. The police report noted she was not wearing a seatbelt.

Cedar Park Elementary School in Trumann will hold an open house from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, for first and second grades and from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. for third and fourth grades. Kindergarten orientation will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9. Wee Cat Academy open house will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8.

Three Poinsett County school districts saw increases in scores of proficient and advanced for the 2011 Arkansas Augmented Benchmark Exams. Trumann, Marked Tree and Harrisburg school districts all showed improvement over last year's scores. This year 85 percent of Trumann students scored proficient or advanced in math and 69 percent in literacy. Marked Tree scored 94 percent proficient or advanced in math and 67 percent in literacy. Harrisburg scored 85 percent proficient or advanced in math and 79 percent in literacy. Last year's scores for these schools were: Trumann -- 84 percent in math and 60 percent in literacy. Marked Tree -- 89 percent in math and 57 percent in literacy. Harrisburg -- 84 percent in math and 72 percent in literacy. East Poinsett County (EPC) school district is down slightly from last year's scores with 80 percent in math and 72 percent in literacy. Last year's scores for EPC were 85 percent in math and 74 percent in literacy. Bay school district scored 82 percent in math and 73 percent in literacy this year, compared to 94 percent in math and 85 percent in literacy last year. According to the Arkansas Department of Education, benchmark scores are improving overall across the state. "We did well this year as we continue to build upon the success of data-based decision making implemented over the past few years," said Dr. Tom Kimbrell, Commissioner of Education. "But we have a long way to go, and we're ready to take all of our students to the next level." "We're making gains every year," said Dr. Gayle Potter, Director of Assessment, "and with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards that will kick off this fall in grades K-2, we're on the right path for preparing our students for college and careers." Potter attributed the improved test scores to the state's emphasis on professional development of teachers and a strict standards-based education system that sets high expectations. "Is that progress? Yes," Kimbrell said. "Is that victory? Don't think so. We will continue to support Arkansas educators and best practices to multiply the gains we applaud today."

Local authors gathered Saturday, July 30, at the Craighead Public Library to share their books with the public. Library director Phyllis Burkett designed the event to give the public an opportunity to interact with and meet 21 local authors, some of which include: John Abernathy and Jinx Olson with adventure, mystery, and political stories; Shannon Taylor Vannatter, a pastor's wife from Conway who writes Christian romance novels; Viola Cornelious, who writes poetry; Janice Clark, who is also an artist and children's illustrator; Jean Fort, with her book of photography; Margaret Fransworth, who plays Mrs. Claus and writes children's Christmas books, and Carol Dabney with her full-color picture poetry book about children with parents in the military. Other authors included Maxwell West, who will be at Bill's Fresh Market in Marked Tree this Friday, and Linda Nance, who heads up the Jonesboro Writers Club, which plans to meet this coming Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at Books-A-Million.

Have you ever wondered how you have collected so much stuff? If you have, I'm sure you have also asked how this stuff can be downsized. The Trumann Lions Club had professional organizer Diane Sandberg as their guest speaker last week. She is with Time is Money, a home and business organizing service. Sandberg first talked of the different reasons for downsizing. Moving to a smaller home, financial reasons, new lifestyle, inherited estates and the merging of households were some of the most common reasons. Goals you may have for wanting to downsize include less financial stress, home maintenance, freedom, travel costs and less emotional stress. Sandberg talked about the four types of clutter personalities. There are hoarders, who keeps everything they have. Procrastinators will keep putting off the attempts to downsize. Rebels will just flat out refuse to do the job. The perfectionist will want things to be perfect, and sentimentalists will think that everything is of sentimental value and not want to part with anything. Why is it so hard to downsize? Most think they have to keep up with the Joneses and have new things all the time. Decision making on the items is too difficult, it's too time consuming and most just don't want the stress of having to downsize. To get started, you want to make a goal of what you want to do, gather all tools you may need for the job and set a time to start. Some questions you may want to ask yourself when starting to downsize are: 1) Is it garbage; 2) When was it last used; 3) If it gets broke will it be repaired, 4) Do you love it and is the item valuable or have historical value. Here are some basic tips you can use. * Decide what to keep. Ask for help in making this decision. * Decide what to do with things you do not want. Have a family discussion as to whether to sell or donate the items. * If you are moving to a new home, get a printout of the floor plan and decide where things will go. Make sure you keep track of what you pack up. Just remember, downsizing is like working out. You don't enjoy it while you are doing it, but when you finish you are more than glad you did.

In spite of the high temperatures Saturday, July 30, the seventh annual Stuff the Bus event, a one-day school supply drive, drew parents, teachers, students and residents of Poinsett County together for the common goal of helping kids succeed in school. A big yellow bus was parked at the Trumann Walmart waiting to be "stuffed" with supplies for area children. Though the overall total of supplies and cash collected were down compared to last year's record high, organizers said they are thankful for the generosity of Poinsett County residents. The Trumann location collected 1,863 packages and cash donations totaling $485.07, with all proceeds directed back to the participating schools to purchase supplies. United Way of Northeast Arkansas expressed thanks to Tish Knowles, who served as site leader for the Poinsett location. "We truly appreciate her hard work and commitment to this initiative," said a United Way spokesperson. "We are proud of all the volunteers who gave up part of their weekend to not only help area school children but teachers as well who sometimes use their own money to buy items for their classrooms." United Way of Northeast Arkansas is located at 407 Union in Jonesboro, where the organization works to advance the common good in an eight-county service area. For more information, contact the United Way office at (870) 935-3658 or visit www.uwnea.org or www.facebook.com/UnitedWayofNortheastArkansas.

The AAC legislative meeting for county officials was held Thursday, July 28, in Little Rock, for the review of new laws passed this year in the Arkansas General Assembly. Pictured are, from left: Johnny Rye Jr., Assessor of Poinsett County/Association of Arkansas Counties Legislative Committee; AAC president Mike Jacobs, and Poinsett County Justice of the Peace Harold Blackwood. Not pictured is Poinsett County Sheriff Larry Mills, also on the AAC Legislative Committee.

Heritage Agriculture of Arkansas, located at Hoxie, has been selected as the 2011 "Best-in-Class Farm Equipment Dealership" by Farm Equipment magazine. Farm Equipment presents its "Dealership of the Year" awards annually to farm equipment dealerships in two categories: one for those with $50 million and under in annual revenues and one for dealers generating more than $50 in annual revenues. Heritage Agriculture of Arkansas, which is a five-store retailer of Case IH farm machinery, earned the distinction this year in the under $50 million category not only for its outstanding financial and operational results, but also its attention to customer care, employee development and community involvement. Heritage Agriculture of Arkansas started with Claud Cash, who grew up on the family farm in Trumann. While attending Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, he worked at Trumann Implement Company. After graduation, and with dealership experience under his belt, he went to work for the International Harvester Company in Memphis as an accountant. In 1966 he returned home and purchased Trumann Implement Co. with his uncle, Jimmy Moon. Although Jimmy was Claude's uncle, they were more like brothers and enjoyed a productive partnership for many years. They acquired dealerships in Jonesboro, Weiner and Hoxie. Under Claud's leadership, Lawrence County Tractor at Hoxie became the primary location in 1972. In the mid-80s, they decided to divide their assets. Claude kept Trumann and Hoxie, while Jimmy kept Jonesboro and Weiner. In 1987, Claud and his longtime friend and business partner Bob Pittman acquired Carlisle Implement Co., Inc., and later Arkansas County Farm Equipment in Stuttgart and DeWitt. By this time, Trumann Implement Company had closed. Pocahontas Tractor was acquired in 1990. Claud also entered the political world and served two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives and one term in the Arkansas Senate. After his passing in 2004, Claud's wife, Joan, assumed the role as head of the company. She remains involved in every aspect of the business and did so while serving two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Pittman retired in 2010. Today, Joan's son, Greg Cash, and son-in-law, Mike Linton, oversee the day-to-day operations of the dealership. Greg grew up in the business, and Mike entered it in 1988. In 2010, the company changed its name to Heritage Agriculture of Arkansas with locations in Hoxie, Pocahontas, Carlisle, Stuttgart and DeWitt and 75 employees. On its website, the company says, "Although we hope to expand someday, we're not really interested in being the largest dealer, just the best!" The dealership was chosen for the award by a panel of renowned farm equipment experts. Nearly 100 dealerships were nominated for the award. In their selection of Heritage Agriculture of Arkansas, the judges noted, "They've achieved a good market share for Case IH and experienced a strong ROA in 2010. They have also had solid revenue growth in the last three years. All and all, the judges felt this is a strong dealership and congratulate Heritage for the 'Best-in-Class' award." Farm Equipment's Dealership of the Year judging panel included Dr. W. David Downey, director, Center for Agricultural Business, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; David L. Kahler, retired CEO of the Ohio-Michigan Equipment Dealers Association, Dublin, Ohio, and Charles Class, president, Glass Management Group, Arlington, Texas.

Angela Criss, of Criss Travel, came to speak to the Trumann Rotary club about the benefits of using a travel agent when planning a vacation. Her and her husband, Doug Criss, moved back to the area two years ago, opening Criss Travel, which is located in Trumann. Criss graduated from Arkansas State University with an advertizing and marketing degree and taught school for 16 years. Angela and Doug have three children and it was because of her children that Angela began looking into becoming a travel agent. "I was working with a woman who was an accredited travel agent," Criss said. "I wanted my children to be able to travel to new places and see new things." Soon Criss was taking courses in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. "I love planning trips," she said. "I especially love working with young couples and planning honeymoon trips. I also really enjoy planning trip for large groups." One year, when Criss was working as a travel agent in Salem, Arkansas, the cruise line Carnival held a contest called Recipe for Success. "I wrote my recipe and ended up winning the contest," Criss said. "Carnival said that if someone can sale like that in Salem Arkansas, we need her." After winning the contest, Criss began to write travel articles for magazines like Travel Trade. "That opened up a lot of opportunities for me." Criss and her family may love to travel, but it's not without good reason. "Traveling has great health benefits," Criss said. "It relieves stress and helps you sleep better." There has even been a study done by Expedia that showed that men and women are less likely to develop heart disease after going on vacation. The vacation packages Criss sale offers a wide range of opportunities and experiences. There are 5-day Carnival cruises in the Caribbean for around $318 per person and honeymoon packages in the Virgin Islands for around $3,057. Places include Alaska, the Mediterranean and Hawaii. There are Disney cruises for families and all-inclusive resorts in paradise for couples. The best news is using a travel agent won't cost you more than using a travel site because their bill is paid by the cruise line and resorts. Travel agents can also help if there is an emergency or something on the trip does not go according to plan, for instance getting a sick child home quicker than scheduled. Travel agents also know which cruise or resort is having what special and they have access to upgrades. "It is important to travel," Criss said, "to get away for awhile and relax. It's really not as expensive as it is portrayed to be."

Poinsett County Court Clerk Fonda Condra showed the Marked Tree Rotary Club the new JP district she is working to redraw and spoke about what redistricting will mean for the county. The Attorney General and Secretary of State are responsible for proposing the House of Representatives and Senate maps, while the Poinsett County election commission redraws the JP district map. The JP district map is based on Census numbers and has to be updated and redrawn every 10 years. Condra said she is the only person on the current election commission who was on the commission 10 years ago. Condra noted the current 11 JPs will be able to stay in their respective districts. "Poinsett County lost some people, but we're not as bad as Mississippi County," she said. "They're going from 13 JPs to 11 JPs. As long as we maintain a population of 25,000, we get 11 JPs." The maximum number of JPs a county may have is 15. Condra said the old and new JP maps are not varying much and noted the JPs are pleased with the maps. All of the maps have to be redrawn by Jan. 1. In order to redraw the maps, every voter's house has to be pinpointed on the map. "Poinsett County has 14,000 registered voters," Condra said. "It's not a task that can be done overnight. Computers are great, but the information is only as good as what you put into it. If a road is listed, but it's not on the map, we have to get in a car to find the road. The roads on the map are not up to date, but they're better than they were 10 years ago. "I'm very proud of our county," she said. "We're operating better than in the past. Revenues are not up, but we're conservative." Rotarian Mary Ann Arnold, who is a former JP, added to this by saying, "I think we have one of the best groups of elected officials in 25 years. They're working in their budgets, being conservative and working for the people."

Sanitation and economic issues have been a reoccurring theme this summer in Poinsett County. The county currently has a landfill that has not been in use for the past five years. Poinsett County Judge Charles Nix spoke about plans to close the landfill. "We haven't used the landfill for five years now, because of cost reasons," Nix said. The county stopped using the landfill because of high maintenance costs, but still had a permit on the landfill, which allowed them to keep the landfill open. The permit expired last year though and Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) said that because the landfill is no longer in use, it must be properly shutdown. The shut down cost will be less than what it would cost for the county to reopen the landfill and continue to maintain it. "We will have to work our budget around the cost for the shutdown though," Nix said. "It can be a costly process, but we are hoping that we can do a lot of the work ourselves or hire out locally to help with the shutdown." There is a list of criteria and regulations that the county must hold to. The landfill will have to be filled with a plate covering of a specific amount, will be required a specific amount of top soil on top of that, will have to be seeded and then finally monitored. It will have to be checked regularly for runoff, but once it meets the requirements it will be released. "Most of the cost will come from gathering all the dirt needed to fill it in. We hope to do most of it ourselves and use some of the materials on site. We are also looking in to using nearby sources to relieve costs." Poinsett County has also been working hard at repairing some of the roads in the area, especially the north and south loop around Marked Tree. "We also just finished fixing one of our bridges," Nix said. The Poinsett County courthouse is also looking to see if it can make room in the budget to take out a bid out on a new air conditioning system. The current system is outdated and faulty. Repair cost for the older unit will eventually cost more in the long run than a new system. "Once we know how much it will cost to replace, we are going to see if we can fit it into our budget for next year," Nix said.

Community members filled the Marked Tree fire station Thursday, July 28, to mingle during the Marked Tree Chamber of Commerce Afterhours event. "We want to try to grow our community to bring industry in," said Chamber president Jeff Bookout. "It will take communities working together. If one gets a business, we'll all benefit." Mayor Wayne Nichols also spoke about some of the advantages Marked Tree has. "We have a great school, we have the advantage that we're on the railroad, and we're getting the Awesome Products plant," Nichols said. "If you watch the towns that are doing good, they have a strong Chamber of Commerce." The Chamber also gave out numerous door prizes, including hats, candles, t-shirts, water bottles, coffee mugs and flowers arrangements.