Archive - 2013
March 13th
Sylvia Lois Kwiatkoske, 71, of Benton, passed away Friday, March 8, 2013, at Saline Memorial Hospital Hospice House in Bryant. She was born April 14, 1941 in North Little Rock to the late William Mitchell and Jewell Marie Jenkins Mitchell.
She was of the Methodist faith and retired from the Arkansas Department of Human Services. After retirement, she was employed at Walmart as a cashier for seven years.Â
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Darwin Kwiatkoske.
George Lee Anderson, 66, of Benton, passed away Friday, March 8, 2013. He was born Feb. 10, 1947, in Midway to the late Jessie Lee and Lorene Ashley Anderson.Â
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Darlene Fooks Anderson of Benton; his son, Jeremy George Anderson of Benton; two brothers, Eugene Anderson of White Hall and J. C. Anderson of Texas; and five sisters, Betty Adcock of Bauxite, Winnie Harrison, Geraldine Masoner and Brenda Wheeler, all of Benton, and Katie Reese of Malvern.
Elsie Oleta Barrow, 66, of Benton passed away Friday, March 8, 2013. She was born April 16, 1946, to the late Audrey and Pauline Clemmons in Prescott. She loved her family including her canine companions. She also enjoyed feeding her hummingbirds and going to the beauty shop to spend time with her best friend, Susan Prince.Â
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two siblings, Ellen Farrow and James Clemmons.
March 12th
Arkansas Christian Academy will begin construction on a new facility at 12:15 p.m. Sunday.
The 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will more than accommodate the 100 students now enrolled in the academy and there will be room for growth, said school secretary Amy Millea. The academy, a ministry of Family Church, reportedly has maintained a steady growth rate since its opening in 2001.
Bryant police have arrested a 16-year-old Bryant High School student in connection with the robbery of RadioShack in Bryant last week.
The suspect's name has not been released, but this will change if he is tried as an adult, which is possibility, said Sgt. Todd Crowson of the Bryant Police Department. The teen faces charges of aggravated robbery and theft of property.
It was reported that the store had been robbed at gunpoint. However, the weapon was a pellet gun, not a fire arm, Crowson said.
The suspect reportedly made off with an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register.
March 11th
Bonnie Juanita Ballard Gentry, age 88, of Benton passed away Saturday, March 9, 2013.
She was born Feb. 22, 1925, in Little Rock to the late Bill and Mattie Ballard. She was a homemaker and a member of New Life Missionary Baptist Church in Benton.Â
She adored her family and friends. She will be smiling in Heaven as she is reunited with her son, Bill Everett; an infant son, Allen Everett Jr.; a brother, Morris Ballard; and two sisters, Doris Jones and Willie Mae Cox.Â
Terrell Gene Woolery, 80, of Benton passed away March 7, 2013.
He was born Feb. 5, 1933, in Okmulgee, Okla., to the late Roscoe and Pauline Garlick Woolery.
He was retired from Alcoa where he worked as a millwright. He continued to work for Frank Fletcher Industries until the last two weeks of his life.
Terrell was a great, adorable family man, a wonderful, loving husband, and Papo to his grandchildren.
Arthur W. Merritt, 81, of Benton passed away on March 7, 2013. Arthur enjoyed hunting, fishing, reading, and doing crossword puzzles. Being born in Maine, he enjoyed his Yankee ingenuity. He was mechanically inclined and enjoyed working on any kind of machinery. Arthur was a U.S. Air force veteran of 13 years, and he served in Vietnam.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Evelyn Merritt.
March 10th
More photos are available here: http://bentoncourier.com/content/what-happened-midtown-vision
Rachel Arrington thought she was getting in on the ground floor of something big when she bought a home in the area of Bryant referred to as Midtown.
Public hearings were held that sold Midtown as a “lifestyle.” The mixed-use zone development would be the type of place where people walked and rode their bikes to the corner store — the kind of place where shop owners lived in apartments above their businesses. The developers promised beautiful homes and landscaping.
The man accused in the Feb. 21 invasion of a Benton couple's home where he allegedly attacked the occupants and then fled in their vehicle is fighting extradition to Saline County.
Saline County Sheriff's Office officials said the suspect, 41-year-old Derek Dione Wilkerson of Mesquite, Texas, remains in custody in the Dallas area.
The U.S. Marshals Task Force reportedly apprehended Wilkerson about 12 hours after the incident in this county.
Lt. Mike Frost of the sheriff's office said the department is in the process of obtaining a governor's warrant to bring Wilkerson to Saline County.
