100 years ago
Dec. 6, 1918
HOXIE -- The large gin belonging to B. A. Coates, one of the finest in the state, together with the Hoxie Handle factory, were destroyed by fire last night, including a large quantity of cotton. The fire originated in the upstairs of the gin building. The destroyed cotton is fully covered by insurance and the gin partially. Amounts are not known, but the loss is estimated at $15,000.
50 years ago
Dec. 6, 1968
BENTON -- Donald Ray Buchanan, 29, and James Kenneth Johnson, 30, escapees from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on November 28, have been charged with the armed bank robbery Monday of the Bryant Branch of the Benton State Bank, the FBI and State Police said Thursday. About $18,000 was taken in the robbery. Two employees of the bank and five customers were locked in the bank's vault during the robbery None of them was injured. The two robbers were armed with pistols. A Bryant dentist, Dr. Phil Cuthrie, whose wife was one of the persons locked in the vault, discovered the robbery when he walked from his nearby office to the bank about 15 minutes after the crime had occurred.
25 years ago
Dec. 6, 1993
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s nephew helped dedicate an elementary school and a race relations commission both named in King's honor with a crowd pleasing speech Sunday in Little Rock that affirmed strong families and the unfortunate resilience of racism. More than 300 people packed the auditorium of the new King school for a nearly two-hour program to celebrate King, his vision of peace and human unity, the school and the commission that intends to help carry out his unfinished dreams.
10 years ago
Dec. 6, 2008
• About 800 people will be out of work when the Petit Jean Poultry Inc. deboning plant in Danville closes at the end of January. Employees were notified by the company at the end of November that the plant will close between Jan. 29 and Jan. 31. A spokesman at the plant confirmed the closing Friday but could not comment further...Marvin Childers, president of the Little Rock office of the Poultry Federation, said Friday that the next few months will be hard on the poultry industry. "This is the catch-up of everything that has been going on in the market. There is no question that the high price of feed and the abundant supply of chicken has pushed us to this point," he said.
Metro on 12/06/2018