News

Dixie Lee Williamson Martin, 86, Sherwood, October 26. Born in Bastrop, Lousiana, Martin held a degree in English from Louisiana Baptist College. A lifelong high school English and journalism teacher, she taught at Jacksonville High School early in her career and finished her career at Sylvan Hills High School, where she was the longtime faculty advisor to the student newspaper and yearbook staff. In addition to her duties at the high school she was invited to teach classes and workshops at UALR and Ball State University.

News in 1978 and served as editor, photographer and co-publisher until 2005, when he sold the newspaper. In 2006 he joined the Texarkana Gazette as the Southwest Arkansas reporter and worked there until his retirement in May 2019.

Daniel Macon Brawner, 74, Wynne, October 21. A native of Eupora, Mississippi, Brawner was a graduate of Wynne High School and of Christian Brothers University… Login to continue reading Login…

William Thomas Taylor, Sr., 95, Little Rock, March 5. Taylor started at the then – Arkansas Democrat as a paperboy at age 13 in 1941.

June Biber Freeman, 95, Scottsdale, Arizona, July 4. The wife of Edmond Wroe Freeman, IIIinois, Freeman met her future husband as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. The couple then moved to Pine Bluff, where Edmond published the Pine Bluff Commercial with his brother. In the early 1960s, she led the effort to create the Little Firehouse Community Arts Center, which grew to become the Southeast Arkansas Arts and Science Center, the predecessor of the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas. From 1975 to 1980, she worked as director of state services for the Arkansas Arts Center, where she transformed a large van into a mobile art gallery for residents of small towns and rural areas. Freeman also wrote the “Artline” column in the Pine Bluff Commercial From 1986 to 1995.

Peggy June Barentine, 88, Jacksonville, June 1.The mother of APA Director of Operations Terri Cobb, Barentine married her high school sweetheart, Buford Barentine on May 27, 1955. She retired from Dillard’s Department Store after working many years in mortgage banking and was a former member of the North Little Rock chapter of Beta Sigma Phi.

The December board meeting of the Ozark Mountain School District was held at the Western Grove School where the board reviewed many different issues and proposals. Superintendent Jeff Lewis presented issues of personnel, petition for transfer of students, an AR DOT right-of-way at the Western Grove school location, E-Rate funding, and grants that were issued being the Professional Learning Grant, $18,000, McKinney-Vento Homeless Grant, $15,000, and the High Impact Tutoring Grant, $28,234 with the total grant money of $61,234.