Corning Police Corporal Micayla McClung has been promoted to the rank of Sergeant as is tradition within the department after completion of D.A.R.E. Training by the School Resource Officer. McClung graduated from the D.A.R.E. Program on Friday, July 26, 2024 and was promoted on August 1, 2024 by Captain Terry Ladd due to her dedication and hard work to the students of the Corning School District, the Citizens of Corning, and the State of Arkansas.
Monday, July 22, 2024 9:07 a.m. – A female advised she spoke with State Police in Little Rock, and they are going to open a cold case on her grandfather’s murder in 1988. Advised they are suspicious about the way it was handled. She advised she had spoken with a male when he was Highway Patrol and he was vague and sketchy over the information given and that it did not coincide with the information provided in the original report. She is requesting a copy of the police report from 1988 so that the State Police and Crime Lab can reopen the case. Advised her grandmother had gone to jail for two months over it but was released due to lack of evidence. She does not know the address her grandparents lived at the time of the murder but that it was down from an old gas station by the railroad tracks. Advised the police chief. Unable to find any information on the incident.
For your reading enjoyment, we continue to publish Rambling Vines by the late Marylea Vines as she recalls events and names of Corning folks from many years ago. We are currently in the year 1990 It’s been a long time… in fact, too long, since I have been around little ones who snatch and grab everything from everywhere and put everywhere with sticky fingers.
August 18, 1949 The Corning School Band placed third and made an excellent showing at the Batesville Water Carnival, August 5. Shown above is picture of band in Parade that day at Batesville.
The Militia War. Welcome to Clayton County is a limited weekly column exploring the life of General Powell Clayton, the original namesake of our county, our early history, and why we are not called Clayton County today.
Events change, sometimes quickly, others take a bit of time. I remember a certain day that my youngest son, Chris, went up to our mountain property when he was about 6 years old. I had an old Caterpillar up there and I worked on it most of the day, while he played midst the boulders and rocks with his X-Men. As we returned home that afternoon coming down off the very steep four-wheel drive section of the road, a herd of deer came out of the forest and casually worked their way by us. We finished our descent and went home. I had worked the entire day in early March in a t-shirt, it was so very warm. About 9 P.M. our local Denver station announced that there was a high chance of snow for the evening. I stepped outside, and big white flakes were coming down in bucketfuls (we were about 70 miles north of Denver)! In the next 36 hours we received 48” of snow, taking out whole sections of power poles, closing highways for miles and snowing people into their cabins. Certainly not what the morning would have made you think.
The 2024 4-H O-Rama: Undercover Clover was held at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville July 23rd through July 26th. Each year contests are held at the state level. During the competitive events, our Clay County 4-H Food Bowl Team which consists of Kaelyn Burns, Emma Holmes, Hanna Lidisky, and Jaydin Stirnaman, won first place in their competition. This qualifies them to compete nationally at San Antonio in January. Jaxon Burns received a participation award in the highly competitive Public Speaking competition.
It was a beautiful day for golf with low humidity and sunny skies over the Victory Lake Golf Course for the 1st Annual Benefit Golf Tournament on Saturday, July 20, 2024. The tournament, a 4-Man Scramble, was a 50/50 raffle with paid flights.
The annual Clay County Extension Service row crops field day near Corning took place Wednesday, July 24th. The event was in one location this year, Chad Price farm, North of Corning near Moark. The event featured rice, soybeans and corn. Crop variety plots were established early in the year in preparation for this event. I rely on the support of local farmers who volunteer their time and resources to make this happen and I greatly appreciate their help. Around 50 people were in attendance including local farmers, crop consultants and industry personnel. Updates on new varieties and technology were presented. Much of the discussion centered around pest control. Insect pests in corn and soybeans have increased in the area and control strategies were presented. It’s always nice to have local on-farm data to look at when deciding on what crops and varieties to plant next year. The plots will be taken to yield and available for producers at the end of the season. This is also an opportunity for local producers to visit with Extension specialists and company representatives in person. The following day we had a field day featuring cotton on the East side of the county. Many producers around Corning are interested in growing cotton again. In fact, there is already some cotton planted this year near Datto. Cotton acres are increasing in Clay County.
Queen - Meredith Reece Standley from Piggott, AR 1st- Sailor Renee Tibbett from Piggott, AR 2nd - Lennon Gilmore from Jonesboro, AR 3rd - Conley Anne Vaughn from Rector, AR 4th - Shylor Buchanan from Gideon, MO .