Mary Jo Higginbotham, 81, of Cherokee Village died Saturday, October 13, 2012, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MO from a heart condition. She was born August 1, 1931 in Naylor, MO to Harlan and Tola (Sweet Mama) Shaver.

She graduated from Pocahontas High School, where she was a cheerleader and homecoming queen, and won several beauty pageants in her youth. Most of her adult life she resided in Walnut Ridge and Hardy, where she has owned and operated the family business, Higginbotham Funeral Services, Inc. and Higginbotham Burial Insurance Co. for many years.

Local Author Valerie Hansen’s “Love Inspired”  books have been added to the Featured Arkansas Authors’ Area at the Ash Flat Library.

Among the titles included are Standing Guard, Shadow of Turning, Face of Danger, Nowhere to Run, Frontier Courtship, High Plains Bride, Blessings of the Heart, and Samantha’s Gift.

Hansen has won numerous awards, including first place in the New England RWA “Reader’s Choice Bean Pot Award” for Nightwach in the inspirational romance category.

The Baxter County Sheriff’s Administrative and Criminal Investigation Offices will be closed today, September 7, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. so deputies and staff may attend funeral services for Dr. Mike Shy.  

Dr. Shy, 60, was a reserve deputy and served as chaplain for 20 years.