Seven will be inducted into the 2016 Van Buren High School Hall of Honor at an induction ceremony set for Oct. 4.
They are David Clegg, Kenneth Fry, Dr. Mike Hurst, Charlie James, Mike Norwood, Dr. James Reed and Ed Yeager.

The ceremony for the class of 2016 will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Van Buren High School Commons at Van Buren High School, located at 2001 Pointer Trail. There will be a reception honoring the 2016 inductees as well as the 2016 football homecoming court after the ceremony. Inductees will also be recognized during activities surrounding the Pointer football team’s homecoming game Oct. 7.

David Clegg is a 1953 Van Buren High School graduate and was an All-State Pointer basketball player and band member who earned a music scholarship at Texas A and I where he played trombone during his college career. He earned a music education degree and served as a public school educator in Texas for 33 years as a teacher, band director, elementary and high school principal and superintendent. He served in many leadership roles in the communities where he worked, including with Lions International, March of Dimes, Heart Fund, and Boy Scouts of America.

Kenneth Fry is a 1966 graduate of Van Buren High School and a lifelong resident of Van Buren. He attended classes at Westark Community College while working at the Southwest Times Record, where he became news editor before leaving the paper in October 1989. Fry joined the staff of the Press Argus-Courier in May 1992, becoming editor in the fall of 1997, a job he currently holds. Fry was the recipient of the Iverson Riggs Memorial Citizen of the Year award in 2012 and served as president of the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

He is a member of the Van Buren Kiwanis Club and serves on the boards of Boys and Girls Club of Van Buren, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Crawford County and Keep Van Buren Beautiful. He is married to Sandy and has a daughter, son and three stepchildren as well as 16 grandchildren.
Dr. Mike Hurst is a 1967 graduate of Van Buren High School and served as a student council member, NHS president, Arkansas Boy’s State representative and member of the football and basketball teams in high school. Dr. Hurst participated in the pre-dentistry program at Ouachita Baptist University and was accepted to the University of Tennessee dental school where he earned his Doctorate of Dental Surgery in 1974. Dr. Hurst has been an active member of the American Dental Association and chaired Children’s Dental Health committee locally. He has served on the Van Buren School Board, Crawford County Hospital Board, Van Buren Chamber of Commerce Board, First Baptist Board of Trustees and on the Development Council for Ouachita Baptist University.
Charlie James is a 1961 graduate of Van Buren High School.

Mr. James was an All State Pointer football standout as a defensive tackle, and anchored the 1964 Pointer defense which set school records for fewest total yards and fewest passing yards allowed. James received a football scholarship to the University of Arkansas Monticello where he helped create the best defensive team in UAM history. He earned All-American honorable mentions in 1963 and 1964. After graduation, he was drafted and signed by the Houston Oilers to play professional football, but suffered a career ending knee injury before being able to play. In 2006 James was inducted into the University of Monticello Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. James graduated from UAM in 1964. He is retired and works with the Heritage United Methodist food bank where he and his wife Betty are active church members.

Mr. Michael Norwood was a 1972 Van Buren High School graduate and career educator who served 35 years with the Van Buren and Fort Smith school districts as a coach, teacher and administrator. Mr. Norwood was a gifted athlete who was a solid performer for both VBHS and Ouachita Baptist University where he received a full scholarship. Norwood served for more than 20 years as a teacher and coach in the Van Buren School District and was on the coaching staff of the 1996 Van Buren State Champion football team.

Mr. Norwood served as a school administrator at Belle Point and Kimmons Junior High in Fort Smith. Norwood also served in the United States Air Force achieving the rank of Major and was a commanding officer at the Biloxi, Miss., base. Norwood served as a past director for the Van Buren Boys and Girls Club, was a Kiwanis and Lions club member. He was a lifelong member of the Greater Pilgrim Baptist Church where he served as a deacon.