Stories from Tuesday, February 22, 2005

by Larry Elkins I might have confused some of you in my last column. I mentioned a three-year-old. Our kids are teenagers. The three-year-old in question and her six-year-old sister are Breonna and Aaliyah, respectively. They are our nieces and have been staying with us since around Thanksgiving...

Author Liz Babbs is another writer from overseas, Great Britain, to be exact, where Christianity seems to be anticipating, and perhaps experiencing, transformation for the 21st Century, a time in which spirituality in all its forms is experiencing a resurgence...

Frankie Eugene Riggles of Berryville, daughter of James and Daisy (Casey) Coker was born June 23, 1925, in Viola, Mo., and died Jan. 29, 2005, in Carroll County Nursing Center at the age of 79 years. Frankie had lived in the Berryville area the past seven years, coming from Watts, Okla. Before retiring, Frankie had worked in the fruit orchards in California and at the Carnation milk plant in Mt. Vernon, Mo...

The Eureka Springs Highlander senior boys got what they wanted Tuesday in the semifinals of the 1AA District Tournament at Mountainburg, a 63-45 win over the host Dragons that put them in the finals on Thursday against No. 1 Cedarville. Eureka finished second to Cedarville during the regular season, and will be fighting for the No. 1 seed from 1AA to the regional tournament next week in Charleston...

The Greenland Lady Pirates pulled out a miraculous 42-38 win over the Eureka Springs Lady Highlanders on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the 1AA District Tournament in Mountainburg, making sure the Eureka girls would get the No. 4 seed next week in the regional tournament...

OSAGE ---- A fire that destroyed the home of 77-year-old Cecil Underdown was also responsible for his death, investigators believe. His burned body was found in the driver's seat of an SUV parked about 30 feet from his trailer house that had burned to the ground near the Osage community...

Vida Dale Smith, 33, of Green Forest was found not guilty of methamphetamine paraphernalia possession with intent to manufacture late Thursday in Berryville. The jury of six men and six women reached the verdict after closing arguments that concluded at 6 p.m...

The death of a local man is under investigation by the Carroll County Sheriff's Office and the state Medical Examiner after his body was found floating in a pond in Urbanette earlier this week. Sheriff Chuck Medford said the body of Nickey Lynn Gadberry, 48, of Urbanette, was found floating in the pond along the edge of the road on Highway 21 North, in the heart of Urbanette...