Monticello Live

This deer camp, located approximately one mile south of HWY 278 East, on Sixteenth Section Road was destroyed by fire, around 10 p.m. Friday night.

The building was totally engulfed, with flames coming through the roof, when the fire dept. arrived.

The Monticello Fire Dept., Drew County Sheriff’s Dept., and Arkansas State Police responded to the blaze.

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Front Row (left to right)  – Robert Arey, P. Q. Gardner, Odis Allen, Doyle Harris

Back row (L to R) – Whitt Thornhill, Warner Vining, Joel Brooks; John Collins; Roy Grizzell; Macon Causey, T. Robie Scott.

Veterans present at the Memorial Day ceremony who served our county during the Korean War include; Darrell Gray, Houston Berryman, Mickey Findley, Dale Hughes, and Coleman Randall.

Veterans who have served since the Korean War, who were present for the Memorial Day ceremony include: Dale Hughes, Marcus Kellebrew, Walter Chapman, Houston Berryman, Glenn Kellebrew, James Lee, Lamar Butler, and Mickey Findley (not pictured)

Close to 100 people attended a special Memorial Day Ceremony this morning, to honor Drew County Veterans, and the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Four World War II veterans took the chance to visit before the program.  Shown here are Robie Scott, P. Q. Gardner, Robert Arey, and Odis Allen.

Glenn Kellebrew, commander of the local American Legion post, opened the event.

Boy Scout Troop #67 posted the colors.

Drew County Judge, Damon Lampkin served as the guest speaker.

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This week’s One Monticello Life person is the youngest that has been featured, since I took over the site last year.  But as a Drew Central High School Senior, she has made a big difference in small school, a long way from Monticello.

Erica Hood is the daughter of Steve and Amanda Hood. She graduated from Drew Central High School last Tuesday night.

At Drew Central, she was enrolled in the Honors Dept., which is also referred to as the “college prep” level of study.  She was also able to complete some college courses, as well.

Her plans are to attend UAM for two years, and then transfer to UCA, to complete her degree in speech and language pathology. (more…)

Due to repeated crashes with the ballot computing software, Drew County Clerk Lyna Gulledge has announced the REVISED, UNOFFICIAL totals for Tuesday night’s Drew County Election Results.

It appears that all candidates leading in there respective races are still in the lead (except for the Marion Township race), just with different totals.

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Election Day is Tuesday, and with all of the recent conversation about City Council Members, it seems like a good time to feature one of them on One Monticello Life.  Since a current candidate would not really be appropriate, we’ll visit with Al Peer, who did not have an opponent this election.

Al Peer is currently serving his 5th term on the Monticello City Council.  In 10 years of service he’s seen a lot of changes take place in Monticello.

Al first ran for Alderman in 1998, because he felt that he could make a difference in the city, especially in support of efforts benefiting the youth and the elderly.

Mr. Al has been employed by the State of Arkansas for 30 years.  He began with the Employment Security Division for one year, and then moved to Human Services, providing for the needs of developmentally challenged individuals.  He works at the Human Development Center in Warren, in the administration department.  He considers the best part of his job to be the times that he’s been able to help people in that area. 

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Joe Burgess is seeking the position of Constable of Marion Township (Monticello and the surrounding area) currently held by Raymond Chisom.

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During a recent tour of the Ridgeway Hotel with the members of the Monticello Economic Developement Commission, I was able to take several photos of the surrounding area. Most of which were taken from the top floor of the Ridgeway.

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MEDC Director Truman Hamilton announced at last night’s City Council meeting that the Ridgeway Hotel Renovation Grant has been approved.

There is no set amount of the funding that will be provided by the grant at this time, but the approval of the grant is a big step in the process.

Here is a link that will lead you to an article from February 6, that goes into detail about the Ridgeway Hotel Project.

A Dumas man lost his life and a Monticello woman has been transported to Little Rock, as a result of a collision just north of the Drew-Lincoln county line this morning.

As a courtesy, MonticelloLive wants to let readers know in advance that photos of the vehicles are shown on the attached link.

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The weather was great for another exciting night of racing at Drew County Speedway, Saturday. Over 80 cars hit the track to entertain the second largest crowd of the year.

All classes were on the race card making for a full night of dirt track racing. The highlight of the evening was the ADCRA Mod-Lite and Dwarf cars. These mini-cars always put on a good show. This was only the second time this year for the ADCRA series to visit Monticello this year.

Drew County Speedway will take a one week hiatus and not race the weekend of July 16th. The track will be back in action on the 23rd of July with a full schedule of racing with all classes on the race card,

Here’s the result from July 9th: (more…)

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MonticelloLive.com was one of several local businesses, which contributing to the Chamber of Commerce in support of Rough & Ready Days.

Those making donations have the names of their business organization posted around the Monticello Square.

Gretchen and James Cucurullo and their daughter Tessa left Mississippi and Louisiana, along with other family and friends, August 2005, to get out of the path of Hurricane Katrina.

Their intentions were to evacuate and to take Tessa to a motel for a few days of swimming and fun with her nieces, friends, and cousins, then return home. Days turned into weeks, and Tessa began school in Monticello.

They have been profoundly impacted by what they have gone through, with not being able to find out if all their loved ones were safe, and not knowing if they had lost everything.  As the family sat in their motel room for weeks, they found out they were in a very special place.

Gretchen says she could not begin to tell anyone about her life without trying to let them know how one town (and its people) mean so much to them.  She could write a book about all the acts of kindness shown to them in Monticello.  She says, “We have received a lesson in the human spirit that we will never forget.”

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