Archive
August 4th, 2011
Richard  Swenson, 78, of Benton, passed away Wednesday, August 3, at Ridgewood Nursing Home. He was born on October 20, 1932 in Rockford, IL to the late Harold and Stella Swenson. Mr. Swenson was a parts manager for a motorcycle dealership.Â
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Survivors include his wife, Lois Swenson of Benton, one son, Brian Swenson and wife Sonya of Benton, two daughters, Joyce Ogden of Berryville and Rita Pierce of Malvern, 9 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild.
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Cremation arrangements by Roller-Ballard Funeral Home (315-4047).
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Effie Louise Altom Bullock, 94, of North Little Rock, passed away Wednesday, August 3. She was the youngest of 8 and was born June 11, 1917 in Hickory Flat, Arkansas to John Alex Altom and Valula Day Pearson. She married J. R. Bullock on April 2, 1944.
She retired from JC Penneyâs as a sales associate after 10 years. She loved to read and her hobbies were sewing, arts and crafts, painting and quilting. She was a member of Highland Heights Baptist Church in Benton and a 50 year member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Pangburn Chapter No. 502.
Several Benton and Saline County residents showed off their hunting skills for a television program, which aired all last week.
Randy West, of Benton, was contacted by Freddy King of Cherokee Sports last July and he wanted to know if he could film a duck hunting show.
âHe pretty much wanted to tell the story of how passionate the sport can be,â West said. âHe saw all my Facebook pictures of ducks and he came down and filmed us and interviewed me.â
The show also featured: Chad Taylor, Zach Esry, Brian Moore, Trevor West, Trey West, Tim Wacov, Chris Reynolds and Zach Davis.
August 3rd
Mark Devoe Jackson, 83, of Haskell, went to join his Heavenly Father on August 1. He was born on May 31, 1928 to the late Howell and Lillian Jackson in McJester.  He was also preceded in death by an infant son, Mark Edwin Jackson and brothers, James and Boyce Jackson.Â
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August 2nd
By
Special to the Courier
The Bryant 14-Year-Old All Stars defeated Kenner, La., last yearâs regional champs, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Southwest Regional Tournament in Lake Jackson, Texas. Bryant faced Harrison, Ark., Monday night and lost 9-2, which means Bryant finishes the tournament in fourth place. The Harrison All-Stars were crowned the Arkansas State Champs earlier this year.
Bryant lost to Harrison in the first game of the series and rallied to defeated Oak Grove 8-4 (winning pitcher Jacob Ward) and Kenner, La. (winning pitcher Devin Dupree.)
George Edward âEdâ Talbert, 86, of Benton, died Sunday, July 31, 2011 at Saline Memorial Hospice in Bryant. He was born August 24, 1924 to Walter Edward and Bertha Inez (Sorrells) Talbert. He retired from Southwestern Bell telephone company in 1986 after 39 years of service. He was a member of Lifeline Baptist Church, The Gideons International, and was a Mason. He was a Navy veteran having served in WWII and the Korean War; sailing around the world twice.
He was preceded in death by his first wife Norma Jean (Smith) Talbert, the mother of his children.
August 1st
Dolores Nan or Deaâ Richards
Dolores âNan or Deaâ Richards, 80, of Benton passed away on July 31 at her home. She was born April 12, 1931, in Benton. Dolores was a floral designer having owned and worked in florist shops in Benton and Little Rock, a housewife and of the Baptist faith. She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Lorena Raney, her husband of 52 years, Mike Richards, and a grandson, Kelley Richards Chandler.
Madell Griffin Townsend, 84, of Traskwood, passed away Thursday, July 28. She was born March 6, 1927 to the late Frank Royal and Cynthia Rilla Howie Royal in Mer Rouge, Louisiana.
 In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Gilbert Griffin, two brothers, Aubrey Royal and Verbal Royal and three sisters, Ina Mae Luker, Muriel Williamson, and Louise Huffman.
Cora Mae Vickers Bull Powell
Cora Mae Vickers Bull Powell of Alexander, passed on July 28, at Saline Memorial Hospital Hospice House in Bryant. She was born on October 5, 1921 in Buckner, to Knutchee and Ruby Teague Vickers. She was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved daughter, Janice Lou Bull Brown, two spouses, Leroy Arnold Bull and Herman Powell, a brother, Riley Vickers and a sister, Maxine Coleman.
July 29th
With August just around the corner, that means only one thing â football season is a little more than a month away. With the first game scheduled for Sept. 2, it wonât be long now until Friday nights become the busiest night of my week.
While I love football and every pulse pounding hit that comes with it, the pressure of trying to maintain fair and balanced coverage is always a huge obstacle.
