Sharon Diane (McVay) Bernard, 55 of Huntington passed away January 30, 2020 at her home. She worked at Mead Container in Fort Smith. She was preceded in death by her mother, Shirley (McAfee) McVay; one nephew, Austin Martin.
Arrangement and cremation under the direction of Ocker Funeral Home Van Buren. Memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
She was survived by her father, Jimmy McVay of Dover, Arkansas; two sisters, Donna Ross of Alma, Janet Martin of Mansfield; two nieces, Shandi Martin of Hot Springs, Terika Wynn of The Colony, Texas; two nephews, Dustin Martin of Mansfield, Zachary Clark of Norman, Oklahoma; several great nieces and nephews and numerous other family members.
Obituary- Sharon Diane Bernard (McVay) (1964-2020)
Lady Pirates Pull Lincoln by the Tail
By Jaclyn Almanza
The Jr High Lady Pirates had a battle for second place in conference against Lincoln’s Lady Wolves at Cedarville Monday evening.
This game was an intense and physical game, where all girls worked their hardest to pull out a win. But, the Lady Wolves were outworked by the Lady Pirates.
The Lady Pirates started off leading the scoreboard in the first quarter with 8-4 . The Lady Pirates held their ground in the second quarter still in the lead. In the third and last quarter, the Lady Wolves were catching up and soon the teams were tied. The Lady Pirates knew they had to win so they worked past their limit and pushed themselves.
The game became restless by jumping back and forth from defense to offense from steals and fouls. The last few seconds were battled to see who would take the win. The Lady Pirates won with a final score of 36-33.
Scott County Hometown Health Coalition Awarded Blossoming Community
The Scott County Hometown Health Coalition was awarded the Blossoming Community recognition at the Annual Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention (ArCOP) meeting of members on Monday, January 27 in Conway, AR. Mayor David Millard, City Clerk and Treasurer Sherry Johnston, and Scott County Health Unit Administrator Darla Mortimore accepted the award on behalf of the Coalition. Mortimore and Johnston serve as co-chairs of the Coalition.
The Arkansas Department of Health “Hometown Health Improvement” and ArCOP, “Growing Healthy Communities” announced the results at the annual meeting. There were 94 applications statewide and only 28 recognized communities. This year, the applicants were carefully selected and scored based on pre-determined criteria. The Scott County Hometown Health Coalition was not only recognized for their achievements, but also moved up a category of recognition.
The mission of the Scott County Hometown Health Coalition is to bring health improvements to the community through prevention and education while addressing these concerns in a holistic approach that engages the economic health as well.
Scott County Hometown Health Coalition will receive incentives throughout the year for achieving GHC recognition. This may include but not limited to marketing/media packages, technical assistance, access to trainings, and access to funding resources.
Goals of the Growing Healthy Community are:
- Encourage smaller Growing Healthy communitiesto come together at the county level to complete this application
- To strengthen and expand partnerships and collaborations in a larger geographic area
- Expand policy, systems and environmental (PSE) change to larger organizational and community-wide efforts
- Grow efforts to engage hard-to-reach and disadvantaged populations
- Achieve and maintain buy-in from elected officials and other high level organizations leaders
Obituary- Addie Louise Staggs (1933-2020)
Addie Louise Staggs of Waldron, Arkansas, formerly of Lonoke, Arkansas, went to be with her Lord and Savior, Tuesday, February 4, 2020, in Waldron, Arkansas surrounded by her loving family. Louise was born April 21, 1933, in Pleasant Plains, Arkansas to Garland Curtis and Bertha Mae (James) Curtis. She was 86 years old. Louise was a longtime member of Blackland Baptist Church.
Louise leaves behind to cherish her memory, three daughters: Lea Stewart of Waldron, Arkansas, Sarina St. John of Houma, Louisana, and Teanna Staggs of Floresville, Texas. Grandma will forever remain in the hearts of her 11 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and 4 great great grandchildren. Louise is also survived by two brothers Lyndle Curtis and Dewayne Curtis. Louise will be missed by all that knew her and the many whose lives she impacted, including a host of extended family and friends she loved dearly.
Louise was preceded in death by her loving husband, James Linden Staggs, her parents, Garland and Bertha Curtis and two sisters: Lorine Shaw and Emogene McAdams.
Louise’s Celebration of Life will be 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas with Rev. Rickey Hunt officiating. Interment will be in the Lee’s Chapel Cemetery in Cushman, Arkansas. Arrangements are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.
Louise’s pallbearers will be Mitchell St. John, Tom Stewart, Pedro Lopez and Joe Staggs. Honorary pallbearers will be Lantz Goforth, Scott Hill, Brent St. John, Brandon St. John, Easton St. John, Jake Staggs and Daniel Stewart.
Louise’s visitation will be 9:00 a.m. until the funeral hour, Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.
Obituary- William J. Avery (1941-2020)
William J. Avery of Waldron, Arkansas went to be with his Lord and Savior, Friday, January 31, 2020 in Booneville, Arkansas surrounded by his loving family. William was born October 13, 1941 in Keene, New Hampshire to William Abraham Avery and Evelyn (Brodley) Avery. He was 78 years old.
William was married to the love of his life, Gloria. Together they raised a family, became treasured grandparents and then great grandparents. William was a family man and his love for each of them was undeniable. He worked hard to provide for them. He loved music and was an avid dancer. He enjoyed watching old western movies and game shows. He also enjoyed drawing and doing paintings.
William leaves behind to cherish his memory, his loving wife of 52 years, Gloria of the home, and his children: Cathy Belletete and husband Casey Hansen, Dianna Avery-Jacobs and husband Rob, Charles Belletete and wife Diane and David Belletete and two daughters in law, Nancy Belletete and Terri Croteau. Pappy or Pappy Bear will forever remain in the hearts of his 27 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Alfred Avery and wife Linda. William will be missed by all that knew him and the many whose lives he impacted including a host of extended family, friends and loved ones.
William was preceded in death by his parents, William A. and Evelyn Avery, one son, William Belletete, one sister, Ruth Buskey and one brother, Kenneth Avery.
William’s memorial life celebration will be 9:00 a.m, Monday, February 3, 2020 at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Waldron, Arkansas with Rev. Ken Overturf officiating. Arrangements and cremation are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home and Crematory in Waldron, Arkansas.
Obituary- Melissa Jean Heinrich (1979-2020)
Melissa Jean Heinrich of Waldron, Arkansas passed from this life, Thursday, January 30, 2020 in Waldron, Arkansas. Melissa was born December 17, 1979 in Salina, Kansas to Kathleen Marie Heinrich. She was 40 years old.
Melissa had a big heart and pink was her favorite color. She enjoyed helping others and would give anyone the shirt off her back. Melissa was talented when it came to drawing and creating art as well as writing poems.She loved spending time with her best friend Chrissa Shores and her adopted mom Minday Doster, but nothing gave her greater joy than spending time with her family and taking selfies with them, especially the loves of her life, her 3 children. She looked forward to hanging out with Chelsey, watching Tara play basketball and watching Tristan perform in the band. Melissa was always willing and ready to help take care of her mom and grandma. She had love for many things but her family was first and foremost the most treasured.
Melissa leaves behind to cherish her memory, three children: Chelsey Edwards of Saratoga, Wyoming, Tristan Cairns of Waldron, Arkansas and Tara Hood of Story, Arkansas. Melissa is also survived by her mother and step father, Kathy and George Cairns, father, richard Powell of Crawfordsville, Indianana, one brother Richie Powell, three step brothers: Toney Cairns, Donald Cairns, both of Waldron, Arkansas, Chris Cairns of Sprindale, Arkansas and one step sister, Heather Cairns of Waldron, Arkansas and grandma, Glenda Manning and Papa Charlie Himes of Waldron, Arkansas. Melissa will be missed by all that knew her and the many whose lives she impacted including a host of extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins.
Melissa was preceded in death by one brother, Alex Powell and grandbaby Edwards.
A memorial life celebration will be held at a later date. Arrangements and cremation are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home & Crematory in Waldron, Arkansas.
Booneville Jr. Bearcats and Lady Bearcats Win at Paris
The Booneville junior high Bearcats and Lady Bearcats made the trip to Paris Monday night and were on a mission to leave Paris with a sweep of the boys and girls games, and that is exactly what they did. In a pair of one-point thrillers, Booneville departed Paris Monday night with junior high conference wins against the Paris Eagles and Lady Eagles.
Booneville’s Ry Ray Goes Up for the Game Winning Shot
With 1.3 Seconds Remaining in the Game
In the first game of the night, the Paris junior Lady Eagles hosted Booneville in a slug fest that included Paris’s Jadyn Wells fouling out and Paris coach Dustin Williams ejected at the end of the game. Paris held a slim one point lead until the final minute of the game until Booneville took the lead for good and going on to defeat Paris by the score of 26-25. Paris, playing without Annabelle Perry, and suffering the loss of Wells, was playing at less than full strength. However, Booneville came into Paris gymnasium as a team determined to take the game from the Lady Eagles, and that is just what they did. Paris assistant coaches will coach the Lady Eagles Thursday night when they host the Perryville junior Lady Mustangs.
After the game, Paris coach Dustin Williams said, “I thought we brought intensity and emotion but were too lackadaisical and blew some assignments defensively in the first half that are uncharacteristic of us. We had a couple of slow minutes on offense and couldn’t get the lid off the basket. In the second half, we answered the call. We came out and go after it on the defensive end; just had some foul trouble that really put us in a bind late. I’m proud of how our girls battled through the adversity; we just came up short at the end.”
The leading scorer for the Lady Eagles was Brailey Forst with 14 points. Jadyn Wells, despite decreased minutes due to foul trouble, had 7 points. Rachel O’Neal had 4 points for the Lady Eagles.
In the second game, the Paris junior Eagles boys team got off to a fast start but could not hold the momentum as Booneville consistently penetrated the lane for shots underneath the basket. A tough, hard-nosed defensive effort from the Bearcats kept Booneville in the game until Booneville’s Ry Ray penetrated the lane along the baseline for the game winning basket with 1.3 seconds to go in the game.
The Paris / Booneville rivalry will write its next chapter tonight in Booneville with the senior high games between the boys and girls teams. This game is always an intense game, regardless of the records. The Lady Eagles, who have not played since their last road loss at Atkins on January 28, are anxious to get back on the court with the chance to get over the disappointing loss at Atkins and back into the win column. Booneville is coming off of a 55-52 win at home over Fountain Lake on January 31 and looks to continue its winning ways as they move forward to the conclusion of the conference season and the upcoming district tournament. Booneville is 9-14 overall and 2-9 in conference play.
Paris will enter tonight’s game 11-11 overall and 5-5 in conference play. Paris is currently alone in fourth place in the conference, behind conference leader Lamar who is 11-0, second place Perryville who is 7-3, and third place Jessieville who is 7-4. Paris has remaining games against Booneville, Jessieville, Fountain Lake, and Perryville, so the Lady Eagles have an opportunity to make a run this week and possibly finish in third place on Valentine’s Day before they begin play in the district tournament.
Going into tonight’s conference games, the girls conference standings are:
Lamar 11-0
Perryville 7-3
Jessieville 7-4
Paris 5-5
Atkins 5-6
Paris has remaining games with Booneville, Jessieville, Fountain Lake, and Perryville. Third place Jessieville has remaining games with Two Rivers, Paris, and will finish on the road at Atkins on February 11. Atkins is a very dangerous team that has won their last four conference games. The Lady Red Devils finish with a road game tonight at Lamar followed by games with Perryville and Jessieville at home. Atkins, who is currently in fifth place in the conference and who split their two conference games with Paris, may have a big say in the final conference standings going into the district tournament.
Tonight’s game begins a final stretch of four games that are extremely important for the Lady Eagles. The last four games will determine their seeding in the district tournament and their possible path into the regional tournament. It can be argued that every game from here out is a playoff game for the Lady Eagles. Losses from this point are extremely costly and each win is extremely important going into post-season play. There is no longer any room left for a poor game for any of the teams entering the final stretch of the conference schedule. Teams will be playing with a “no tomorrow” attitude, and each game should be a thriller.
Tonight’s games in Booneville are going to be barn burners, and the Eagles and Lady Eagles need their fans to show up big tonight in Boonevlle.
Shelter Insurance® Foundation and Phil Hicks Sponsor Local High School Scholarship.
This spring, the Shelter Insurance Foundation will award a $2000 scholarship to a graduate of Greenwood High School. Shelter Agent Phil Hicks sponsors and partially funds this scholarship.
A committee of local high school officials and community leaders will select the local recipient. The committee will consider each applicant’s scholastic achievements, educational goals, citizenship, moral character and participation and leadership in school and community activities. The scholarship is given without regard to race, disability, religion, national origin or gender of applicants. The name of the recipient will be announced at the close of the school year.
The student may apply the scholarship funds toward tuition, fees, or campus housing for any course of study beginning the fall after the recipient’s high school graduation and leading to an academic degree at any accredited college or university. The Foundation makes payment directly to the school the recipient selects.
Applications and additional information about the Shelter Foundation Scholarship will be available in January and should be completed and returned to the school official serving on the selection committee by March 31st. For more information, interested seniors should contact their high school counselor or principal or Shelter Insurance Agent Phil Hicks.
One purpose of the Shelter Insurance Foundation is to fund scholarships within the operating territory of Shelter Insurance®. It is sponsored by the Shelter Insurance Companies, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri. Shelter offers auto, home, life, farm and business insurance services via a network of local insurance agents in our operating territory.
Sr Hornets Take Shot To The Chest Vs Arrows
The Hackett Sr High Hornets knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game when they were slated to face the Lavaca Golden Arrows who are undefeated in conference play. But that didn’t stop them from going all out and giving Lavaca everything they had. Last Friday night ended with the Hornets taking a 61-50 fall but they held strong and never stopped fighting. “We lost a hard-fought battle against Lavaca Friday night,” stated Coach Kent Elmore. “We have three important conference games in the next two weeks. If we take care of business, we will be sitting in a nice position for the district tournament.”
The Hackett Hornets now sit 5-14 in total season play, 3-6 in conference, and hold a total of 802 points. Dylan Kats finished the match with 19 points followed by Zach Gragg with 11, Tyler Satterfield with nine, Cash Oliver with seven, Jake Fisher with three, and Austin Cowell with one.
The Sr Hornets will get back to business on Friday, February 7 when they travel to Magazine to face the (4-13) Rattlers. Magazine also holds a 1-7 record in conference play. The last time these two teams faced each other, the Rattlers took the win by a two-point lead of 47-45. “I feel confident in our upcoming game. We have been playing good basketball as of late. The last game against the Rattlers, our focus was on other things.”
“The preparation and mindset was not where we needed it to be. We have to knock down shots and be patient on the offensive end. Magazine likes to sit back in a zone and we sometimes struggle to be patient when that happens. We control our own destiny for a good seeding and our guys are determined to get where we need to be.”
Photos courtesy of Mandy Foster
Obituary- Donny Ray Owens (1940-2020)
Donny Ray Owens of Waldron, Arkansas passed from this life peacefully with his loving family by his side on January 31st, 2020, at the age of 79.
Don was born on July 16th, 1940, to his parents Buster and Lela (Gibson) Owens. After high school, Don enlisted in the US Navy and served his country for4 years. He married his high school sweetheart, Linda Kay Aynes, on November 15th, 1959.They have been married for 60 years and enjoyed their life together raising their sons,and welcoming their grandchildren and great-grandchildren into the Owens Family throughout the years.
In his younger years, you would find Don working hard as a mechanic at the Harris Motor Company in Waldron, several years later he opened his own automotive repair shop in Crumptown, and later went to work in numerous coal mine sites as a heavy equipment technician and p. He enjoyed raising cattle and loved being a cowboy. Don, Kay and the boys were on the Waldron Quadrille Team (which is square-dancing on horseback) for many years-where Don served as President of the Quadrille. After the boys were grown, Don and Kay built a poultry farm on Sweet Gum Lane. It was there they worked together every day in their chicken houses and made an impressive team.
After selling the farm and moving to town, Don and Kay found adventures and happiness riding their 4-wheelers in the mountains spending countless hours enjoying beautiful scenery, flowers and wildlife together.
Don had a heart for little children and the elderly. He never met a stranger and truly enjoyed visiting and getting to know people he encountered on a day to day basis. In his later years, he could be found on the “hill” at the Senior Citizens Center (where he served as President) playing cards with his friends or dancing to the live music performed on Saturday nights.
Most people knew Don as a public servant and a shining citizen of Waldron. He served many years as a City Council Member and later was elected the Mayor of Waldron.
Some of Don’s interests included gardening, cheering on the Arkansas Razorbacks and spending time with his family. He was at his happiest when surrounded by his family. Don (Dad & Pa) was so proud of his sons and grandkids. He taught them the value of hard work and he was a strong example to them all on being a good and kind person. He often spoke of how proud he was of his family and that his time with them was precious. There is no doubt about it, Don Owens led a very full and happy life.
Don gave his life to the Lord and was a faithful member of Haw Creek Baptist Church.
Don leaves behind to cherish his memory, his wife Kay of the home. Their two sons; Danny Owens and wife, Michelle of Paris, Arkansas, and Kirk Owens and wife, Vera of Mansfield, Arkansas. Pa will forever be in the hearts and memories of his five grandchildren: Jerad Owens, Jace Owens, Kristen Cox, Kyla Owens and Zeke Owens; as well as his six great-grandchildren, Ashlynn Owens, Keyton Oliver, Fallon Owens, Kylor Cox, Finn Owens and Lane Owens.
Don is also survived by his sister, Verna Rogers of Waldron, Arkansas, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and a multitude of countless family friends.
Don is preceded in death by his parents, Buster and Lela Owens, step-father, Sam Calvert, one brother, Worman Owens, and one sister, Mavis Trumble.
Don’s celebration of life was held Sunday, February 2, 2020 followed by his interment in the Duncan Cemetery in Waldron, Arkansas. Arrangements were entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas
Pallbearers were Jerad Owens, Jace Owens, Zeke Owens, Justin Cox and Bim Rogers.
Honorary Pallbearers were Danny Owens and Kirk Owens.
The family would request memorial donations may be made to the Haw Creek Baptist Church or the Scott County Senior Citizens Center, 1508 Clyde Hawkins Drive, Waldron, Arkansas 72958 in honor of Don.
You may send word of remembrance to Don’s family by visiting: www.heritagememorialfh.com