Stories from Sunday, August 28, 2011

Harrisburg held its annual rice buffet Thursday, Aug. 18, at the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church. The cost was only $5 for adults and the buffet included rice appetizers, entrees, sides and desserts made by members of the Harrisburg community. (DT Photo/JACKIE WILSON)

The Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Tuesday, Aug. 23, for Sherman Drum Brokers. Attending were David Owens, Mayor Randy Mills, owner Sherman Drum, Mauria Morgan, Mark Weston, Brittni Wright, County Judge Charles Nix, County Clerk Fonda Condra, Barry Massengill and Rebecca Miles. The ceremony was held to recognize and welcome Sherman Drum Brokers to the Harrisburg community.

The Trumann Rotary Club announced that they will be selling tickets for Strawberry's BBQ at their Thursday meeting. Strawberry's is located in Holcomb, MO and each ticket is $15 for two pounds of BBQ. It includes pork steak, scalloped potatoes, slaw, baked beans and a roll. Pick up will be Friday, September 16, at the Trumann Fire Station from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. All dinners must be prepaid and picked up by 6. Also at the meeting, Sherri Beatty, Executive Director of the Foundation of Arts in Jonesboro, came to speak about some of the upcoming events. The first play for the fall season is Treasure Island, which is based on the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. Merrill Lynch presents Treasure Island and tickets go on sale September 13 for the October 15 and 17 showing at 7 p.m. and October 16 showing at 2 p.m. The Nutcracker Ballet will take place December 3, 5, and 6 at 7 p.m. and December 4 at 2 p.m. Other plays for the year include: The Wind in the Willows in February, Camp Rock the Musical in April and Titanic the Musical in June. For more information about auditions and tickets to the plays listed visit the Foundation of Arts' website at foajonesboro.org or call them at 870-935-2726. The Foundation of Arts also offers many exciting classes throughout the year. Classes for the fall semester begin August 22. Classes range from ballet and jazz, to digital photography and costuming. There are even Saturday workshops offered for those who cannot commit to an entire semester. Some are Acting for Adults, which takes place September 24 and is a free class for adults who want a confidence boost with their audition technique and stage movements; Monster Mashup, which takes place October 22 and cost $22 for students who want to construct Halloween masks and costumes; and even a Pumpkin Carving Workshop, which costs $12 and takes place on October 29. "We have a lot of activities going on," Beatty said. "The Foundation of Arts is a well-kept secret, but its a treat and a blessing to share with others." Season passes are currently available for only $50. For more information on the Foundation of Arts go online at foajonesboro.org.

Nick Stockton, representing Woodmen of the World, came out to the Trumann Sports Complex for a small ceremony to celebrate the donation of a flagpole and flag to the Purple Heart Memorial. James Baker and Garey Martin helped organize the event and donations involved with the Trumann memorial site. Two Trumann Purple Heart veterans, Bill Thomas and John Sadler (at right) were in attendance. Others pictured are Garey Martin, Nick Stockton, Donnie England and James Baker. (DT Photo/JACKIE WILSON)

On Tuesday, Aug. 23, at approximately 9 p.m., a Poinsett County Sheriff's Deputy on patrol along Highway 163, near Highway 14, observed a fire within the carport of a local residence. Upon entering the home, the deputy and a Harrisburg Police officer discovered the bodies of Greg Leatherwood and his wife, Patricia. Both appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds. Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division, Company F, were requested by local authorities to assist in the investigation. As the investigation was underway to the Leatherwood home, east of Harrisburg, local officers were attempting to notify Kyle Leatherwood of his parents' deaths. Unable to obtain a response to knocks at Kyle Leatherwood's residence, local officers entered the apartment where his body was discovered. There was evidence that Leatherwood had also been shot. The three bodies have been transported to the State Crime Laboratory for examination to determine a manner and cause of death. Arkansas State Police Special Agents, along with the Poinsett County Sheriff's Department and Harrisburg Police Department are continuing to investigate the deaths.

Clinical director Amy Bohannan and Kim Fox speak to the Marked Tree Rotary Club about Legacy Hospice. (DT Photo/Corey Clairday)

Has Poinsett County been living in the dark? According to the 2010 Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment Survey, which surveyed 87,760 Arkansas students, Poinsett County's students are above the Arkansas state average in abusing alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, sedatives, stimulants, prescriptions and even meth. The age group surveyed sixth graders. Charles "Skip" Mooney Jr., a Jonesboro attorney, became angered when he read that the drug heroin had been to blame, instead of cocaine, in five cases in Jonesboro in 2008. "I didn't know there was heroin in Jonesboro," said Mooney, at the Out of the Dark Coalition meeting held Tuesday night in Harrisburg. "I didn't know why the community hadn't come together to help stop the drugs." Mooney and his daughter then wrote a letter to the Jonesboro Sun, which they printed as an editorial piece. "That's when the floodgates opened," said Mooney. "I started getting calls from families who had been devastated by drug addiction." Mooney found a study that claimed that Craighead County had the worst teen prescription narcotic abuse problem in the entire United Sates in 2007. He decided he was going to do something to help. Mooney checked with local police, who were overworked and underpaid. Then he checked in with local schools, which were too busy trying to keep their test scores up to invest in prevention classes. Finally he went to the Chamber of Commerce and 175 people showed up to listen to Mooney. In the fall of 2008, he started a non-profit called Out of the Dark, which had the purpose of banding together the Craighead community to fight the growing drug problem. Out of the Dark brings together the business and industries sector, medical and mental health sector, civic services sector, education sector and public safety sector. Each sector is its own group, fighting to find ways to stop drugs individually, but they also work together with the common goal of cleaning up Craighead County. Now it is Poinsett County's turn. Out of the Dark hopes to spread to outlying counties and help them assemble a team of close-knit community members who are passionate about keeping the streets drug free. If there is enough community involvement, then an Out of the Dark Coalition will be formed here in Poinsett County. Mooney said that drugs are all around us and that we normally do not open our eyes to it until there is a tragedy that is drug-related. This past April, Trumann police officer Jonathan Schmidt was tragically shot. It is suspected that Jerry Lard, the man accused of the shooting, was under the influence of methamphetamines. "Everywhere you look, there are drugs," Mooney said. "We need to come together and stop it." Both time and money are needed to keep Out of the Dark running in our community. To learn more about the organization, visit their website at www.outofthedark.org.

The Maxie Theatre in Trumann celebrated its 64th anniversary Aug. 20 with an event called Pack the Maxie, which aimed to fill the building with people. The event celebrated the Aug. 20, 1947, opening of the Maxie and paid tribute to Jack and Pauline Noel, who have run the Maxie for 52 years. There was another couple celebrating a special night during the event. Lonnie Mangrum and Patsy Baker-Mangrum have been married 47 years, and it all started at the Maxie. They met there one freezing night in 1964. "She was coming out of the theater and walking home with her sister," Lonnie said. "I asked if they wanted a ride home, and it turned into a lifetime romance." The two dated for six weeks before hitting the next milestone in their relationship, again at the Maxie. "I proposed in front of the Maxie," Lonnie said, "but we didn't go in and see the movie." "We started to," Patsy said. Six weeks later, the Trumann natives were married. They moved to Indiana for several years and then to Michigan before returning to Arkansas in 1986 where they bought a farm in Goobertown. Lonnie retired from St. Bernards Senior Life Center last year. The couple has three boys, four granddaughters and two grandsons. The two enjoyed their return to the Maxie on Saturday night and the chance to see old friends. They said they sat in just about the same spot they used to sit in years ago. "You can remember where you sat pretty well," Patsy said. Memories of the Maxie included the exceptional popcorn for Lonnie while Patsy remembered loving intermission and going up in the balcony. They also have fond memories of Jack Noel walking up the aisles with a flashlight looking for troublemakers. "We about got kicked out for mouthing off one night," Patsy said. But last Saturday they were on their best behavior. "We told Jack: we're being good."

The Poinsett County Fair and Ruby Sylvia Condra go hand in hand. Why? Well, it could be that she's been working with the Extension Homemakers Club (EHC) for over 52 years and each year has entered the fair's contests. One of her favorite categories is canned goods. This year she entered pears, pickles, cherries, pear preserves, strawberry preserves and a pepper sauce, along with cucumbers, okra and pecans in the field crop category; corn muffins in the baked goods category, and plenty of her home-grown flowers, like her prized roses, in the horticulture category. That might seem like an impressive list of goods for anyone to enter into a county fair, but what is even more exceptional about Condra's list is that she will be turning 101 on her birthday March 15. Last year was the only year Condra did not enter the county fair because she was "under the weather." She was devastated at not being able to enter. After taking a year off, Condra entered the fair contests full force this year, canning her fruits and preserves all the way up until Monday, to be entered on Tuesday. Some of Condra's other fair accomplishments include being named Queen three times, having her recipe for Charleston rice named the overall winner and winning two sweepstakes in canned goods one year and with her quilt another. Even after all of the long hours and time spent on the county fair, it's safe to say that Condra is already looking forward to next year. So when the next Poinsett County Fair comes to town and you are wandering through the exhibits, look for Condra's entries -- they will be the ones with the blue ribbons.