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TUESDAY, November 10, 2015 / Vol. 1 Issue 5 / 75 cents
Lordy, lordy look who's...
Veterans
By Kay Weaver
event
Day
105! Pearl Mahaney celebrated her 105th birthday at a party for family and friends at the Ozark Health Nursing Center last week. The party was held Friday, Oct. 30, though Pearl's birthday was on Halloween, Oct. 31.
Three of her children were in attendance, Barbara Carroll, J.C. Mahaney and Laura Miller.
Donations help pack food bags
Mudslide in Clinton
Pearl has lived in the Shirley, Arkansas, area since 1926.
We don't know the secret to Pearl's longevity, but people who Mayor Richard know her say she is McCormac attend- a joy to be around. ed the party and Pearl has a pospresented Pearl itive attitude on with a proclamation declaring Oct. 31, many who see her 2015, to be Pearl energizing attitude Mahaney Day in and her beautiful Clinton, Arkansas. smile.
For the 10th year, South Side-Bee Branch School is planning a big event to honor America's veterans.
fifth-12 graders, cards for veterans from K-sixth-grade students, music from the band and the choir, and the This year's presentation of colVeterans Day ors from the Gifted program will be- and Talented class. gin at 8:45 a.m. All area veterans Wednesday, Nov. are encouraged 11, at the FAC, lo- to attend, and the cated behind the public is invited. high school gym- Organizers urge evnasium. The entire eryone to wear red, student population white and blue. And Pearl Mahaney turned 105 years old on is involved, includ- flag-waving is welher birthday Oct. 31, 2015. ing essays from comed.
The Clinton School District Backpack Program got a boost recently with donations from a couple of businesses. Farm Bureau of Van Buren County and Woodmen of the World each donated funds toward the program that sends food home each week with kids who otherwise might not have enough to eat. Vickie Sprott, one of the organizers at Clinton schools, said the program provides food for 50 elementary and intermediate students each week. Students at Junior and Senior high also participate in the program. "The number of kids in need is growing," Sprott said. Sprott said the Backpack Program at Clinton is going to try something new this holiday season -- it is going to provide 20 families with entire Thanksgiving dinners. The food selected will be carefully considered because some families might not have an oven to prepare uncooked turkey. "This is a trial run," Sprott said, and there are still some logistics to be worked out. Sprott hopes the trial run is successful enough to do it again at Christmas. Anyone who would like to donate toward the Backpack Program for the holidays may send a check to the administration building c/o Vickie Sprott / 852 Yellowjacket Lane / Clinton, AR 72031. Mark "Thanksgiving program" on the envelope.
Close to 4 inches of rain in just a few hours caused soil below the Best Western to slide down the hill, across U.S. Highway 65 and into the Exxon parking lot. The Clinton Fire Department, Street Department and mayor worked for a few hours Friday morning to spray and shovel the mud off the highway and away from the gasoline pumps. About 3 inches of mud covered the area, but did not get into the store. Mayor Richard McCormac said the problem began Thursday night and the state Highway Department was on the scene then, but by morning, the mudslide had made its way across the street. He said a silt fence would be a possibility to prevent a reoccurence.
Marshall man faces felony drug charge in county A man acting in a "suspicious manner" caught the eye of a Clinton Police officer on Oct. 30, and ended the night in a jail cell. The police office ran the license plate of the vehicle being filled with gasoline at the Exxon station in Clinton and discovered it was fictitious, according to documents in the case.
Billy James Harness, 52, of Marshall also was driving on a suspended license and had a warrant out for his arrest from Searcy County, according to the documents. A search of the vehicle after Harness' arrest turned up suspected methamphetamine and marijuana, the report states.
Harness was taken to the Van Buren County Detention Center and a agent from the 20th Judicial Drug Task Force was called in to assist in the investigation. A field test indicated the crystalline substance was methamphetamine and its total weight was just over 2 grams, the report said.
Harness has been charged with possession of a controlled subtance (meth), a Class C felony; misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, driving with a suspended license and improper use of registration. His next court date is set for Jan. 4, 2015. Harness was release on $5,000 bond.
Harness