News

Linda Dee Rooney Card, 69, Caddo Gap, April 18. A native of Kiefer, Oklahoma, Card was a long-time contributor to the Montgomery County News through her weekly column, “Norman News with Dee Card.” Under the name Dee Rooney she was the author of the 2023 novel, “Annie’s Heart,” and had just published her second novel, “The Devil’s Bathtub,” on March 8. A former Arkansas Tobacco Control Agent, Card, had also served as a member of the Caddo Gap Volunteer Fire Department and was a member of the Diamond Writers Association.

Jessie Elizabeth Christner Bain, 99, Hot Springs, September 30. A native of Flint, Michigan, Bain retired from The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs, where she worked for many years in the advertising department.

Vivian Lee Asbury Heyl, 74, Brookland, April 18. Heyl was born in Peoria, Illinois and graduated from Mammoth Spring High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Arkansas State University.

Edward Michael Freeman, 82, Bella Vista, November 13. A lifelong newspaperman, Freeman began his career at the Decatur Daily in Decatur, Alabama before becoming editor of The Montgomery Advertiser and Alabama Journal in Montgomery, Alabama.

Alice Stewart, 58, Alexandria, Virginia., May 18. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Stewart held a degree in broadcast news and political science from the University of Georgia.

The featured cat is a youngster named Enzo. He arrived late last September when he was found dumped near a couple’s home. He is about 7 months old now and is a very sweet black and white tuxedo. He is not too vocal and gets along with the others in the Cattery. We’re not sure how he is with dogs.

Richard Palmer Portis, M.D., 79, Little Rock, March 31. Dr.

The 2024 December count of 153,423 mallards in the Arkansas Delta region was almost double the total from the same time last year but was still well below the 2009-2024 December long-term average in estimates made from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s December Aerial Survey, conducted Dec. 9-13.