“Mary Fisher Day” declared in Danville by Mayor Gilkey Fundraiser established for award-winning editor

A GoFundMe has been established in order to assist Helena World and Monroe County Argus Editor Rick Kennedy with mounting medical bills.

Kennedy suffered a major heart attack in late May and was airlifted from Helena to Methodist Hospital in Germantown, Tennessee, where he was stabilized and treated. Doctors found multiple arterial blockages, but due to other health complications, Kennedy needs a specialized surgical procedure that few surgeons in the area can perform.

Kennedy was released from the hospital after two weeks and continues to work from home when he is able, but his medical bills have so far totaled more than $57,000, according to Helena World publisher Andrew Bagley. Additionally, the estimated cost of the necessary surgery is $27,000.

A 1988 graduate of the University of Louisiana, Kennedy has worked in the newspaper industry for nearly four decades, and has won numerous awards for his reporting. In addition to the Daily World and Monroe County Argus, Kennedy has worked at the Pine Bluff Commercial, the Hope Star and at newspapers in California, Idaho, Louisiana, Oregon and Mississippi. The fundraiser can be found at gofund.me/c65c7f10

Danville Mayor Bill Gilkey declared Thursday, July 27 as “Mary Fisher Day” in recognition of late Yell County Record and Dardanelle Post-Dispatch Managing Editor and Co-Publisher Mary Fisher’s remarkable life and achievements. The proclamation was read at her funeral that same day, then presented to her family.