City Loses Some Revenue

Transcription

TODAY IN SPORTS
Fayetteville’s
Newspaper Serving
Washington County
Since 1860
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Published By Stephens Media
PAGE 8A
AN EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2011
NEW CENSUS NUMBERS
City Loses Some Revenue
POPULATION SHIFTS CHALLENGE SOME MUNICIPAL, COUNTY BUDGETS
By Tony Hernandez
THERNANDEZ@NWAONLINE.COM
Washington County, Fayetteville,
West Fork and three other cities lost
some of their share of the countywide sales tax dollars to the remaining local governments because of
new census numbers.
The recently released U.S. Census
for Arkansas showed all cities in
Washington County but one —
Winslow — grew in population.
Washington County government and cities within the county
share tax revenue based on their
percentage of the county’s overall
population. When it comes to the
county-levied sales tax revenue,
the question isn’t whether a city or
county has grown, but whether its
population has grown as much or
more than the other cities and the
unincorporated area of the county.
Officials are eager every 10 years
to discover not just how many
people their communities have
attracted, but how those numbers
compare with the others that share
sales tax revenue.
Springdale, Prairie Grove, Greenland and five others will see a boost
in their share of sales tax revenue.
Springdale grew by almost 18,000
people between 2000 and 2010.
More importantly in relation to the
sales tax, its population grew to
31.4 percent of the county’s overall
2010 population of 203,065. That’s a
STAFF PHOTO ANDY SHUPE
2.5 percentage point gain.
That could mean an extra Workers operate machinery Wednesday as construction for a
$1 million for Springdale in 2011, Walmart Express being built in western Prairie Grove by C.R. Crawford
Construction in Fayetteville. New retail outlets generate new sales tax
SEE SALES TAX PAGE 7A
revenue for local and county government operations.
LIVING HISTORY
Womack
Opposes
District
Change
REPRESENTATIVE CALLS
PLAN ‘FOOLHARDY’
By Larry Henry
LHENRY@NWAONLINE.COM
BENTONVILLE — U.S. Rep. Steve
Womack said Saturday he opposes
any proposal to carve Fayetteville out of the
3rd District he
serves in Northwest Arkansas.
“That was a
foolhardy plan
to begin with,”
the first-term
Republican from
Rogers said at a
Womack
breakfast forum
in the Bentonville
Doubletree Guest
Suites.
Womack said
he instead favors
reducing the
population size
of the 3rd District by forfeiting
SEE DISTRICT PAGE 2A
Saturday
School
Turnout
Down
STUDENTS MAKE UP
MISSED DAYS
By Kate Ward
KWARD@NWAONLINE.COM
The battle at Pea Ridge
won’t be re-enacted in full
because National Parks Service
regulations consider the
battlefield a hallowed ground,
said Troy Banzhopf, chief of
interpretations for the Pea Ridge
National Military Park.
About 90 percent of the
4,300-acre park in Benton
County today looks like it did
on March 7, 1862, when Union
and Confederate forces fired
the opening salvos in a two-day
battle.
“We’re restricted to smaller-
FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville High
School student Jocelyn Orellana
would have rather stayed in bed
Saturday morning.
Instead, the high school senior
braved near-freezing temperatures
to attend a required school makeup
day.
“It’s always a hassle to get up
in the morning for school, but it’s
especially difficult on a Saturday
when it’s cold outside,” she said.
Sophomore Crystal Dean shared
a similar sentiment, adding that
she realizes there aren’t many good
options.
“I would rather add more days
at the end of the year than go to
school on a Saturday,” she said. “I
could be sleeping right now.”
Arkansas law requires schools
have 178 days of class per year.
Six hours count as one day. Many
districts build extra days into their
academic calendars to offset days
lost to weather, but recent snowstorms caused those extra days and
more to be used.
“There’s really no good option
when you miss 10 days,” Superintendent Vicki Thomas said.
The district revised its 2010-11
calendar last month to accommodate missed days.
Adding days to the end of the
year, making up school during the
weekend and cutting holiday time
off were among the calendar revisions.
SEE CIVIL WAR PAGE 6A
SEE SCHOOL PAGE 5A
STAFF PHOTOS J.S. WEDGEWORTH
Actors with the 3rd Louisiana Historical Society march Saturday during a demonstration at Leetown battlefield during the Pea
Ridge National Military Park’s 149th battle anniversary. The Civil War actors came together to present a living history of the battle with
demonstrations and a historical overview.
Civil War Re-Enactors Stage Battle
STATE MARKS START OF WAR IN 1861 WITH PERIOD CLOTHING, REPLICA WEAPONS
By Dan Craft
WEB WATCH
DCRAFT@NWAONLINE.COM
ARKANSAS CIVIL WAR
SESQUICENTENNIAL
COMMISSION
PEA RIDGE
W
hen Don Tolbert
levels his rifle and
fires at charging
Confederate
troops in Northwest Arkansas,
he will be imitating his
ancestors, who did the same 149
years ago this week.
Tolbert, a Civil War battle
re-enactor, will join other reenactors this weekend at the
Pea Ridge battlefield as the state
marks the start of the war in
1861.
The re-enactors wear
authentic period clothing, fire
blanks from replica weapons and
eat what battlefield participants
consumed. One common staple,
which Tolbert carries in his mess
kit, was hardtack, a flour
biscuit that remains edible for
years. The Arkansas Civil War
Sesquicentennial Commission,
arkansascivilwar150.com
Carl Anderton, of Merriam, Kan., plays banjo Saturday as Edward
Richardson, of Richmond, Kan., sings along at the Elkhorn Tavern
during the Pea Ridge National Military Park’s 149th battle anniversary.
Actors portrayed Civil War residents during the living history event.
created by the General
Assembly, is commemorating
the Civil War through 2015. A
schedule of events is on the
commission’s website.
Events at Pea Ridge this
weekend include battle reenactments and lectures from
park rangers and re-enactors
putting the Pea Ridge battle into
context within the four-year war
that ended in 1865.
Your time.Your bank.
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bof.com | 444-4444
NEWS
2A NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES
PARADE OF FOOLS
POA To Give Partial Credit
To Workers For Snow Days
SPECIAL TO NWA MEDIA
BELLA VISTA — The village
Property Owners Association will give employees partial credit for days
missed because of inclement
weather.
Nonexempt full-time and
part-time regular employees
who didn’t work when the
association’s administrative
offices were closed were
required to use vacation days
or were not paid. They will
receive about half of the vacation days used or half of their
regular pay, according to an
association news release.
Those nonexempt full-time
and part-time regular employees who were required to
work and did will receive
four more days of vacation.
The association’s administrative offices have been
closed eight and a half days
this year because of weather.
The association’s policy is
not to pay employees because
of weather closings. However,
the unusually high number of
snowstorms has required the
association to consider an
exception. Nearly half of the
association’s employees have
used all of their vacation days
because of weather.
The association closes its
offices because of weather
based on advice from the
city’s Street Department and
Police Department, as well
as personal observations
regarding whether it’s safe
for employees to be driving, according to the news
release.
However, during inclement
weather, it is essential some
employees work to assist
with weather-related issues.
Some employees could not
travel back and forth from
home, so they stayed the
night at the Maintenance and
Construction Division.
In making the decision to
credit employees, Larry Shoe,
human resources manager,
surveyed the inclement
weather pay practices of
similar entities in the area.
He found Bella Vista, Bentonville and Rogers, as well as
Benton County, give employees full pay during inclement
weather closings.
Forty-seven percent of
companies provide full pay
to nonexempt employees,
according to a survey by the
Society for Human Resource
Management.
New Committee To Discuss
Property Assessments
BELLA VISTA — An ad hoc
committee recently appointed
to study the benefits of an
all-inclusive property assessment will meet Wednesday.
The committee will start
at 3 p.m. and will discuss
the proposed all-inclusive
assessment. The meeting,
which will be in the Bella
Vista Country Club’s Board
Meeting Room, is open to
the public, according to a
Property Owners Association
news release.
With the change, property
owners would pay a higher
monthly assessment rate but
have free, unlimited access to
most recreational activities,
including free golf.
The all-inclusive rate
would require a vote of the
membership, according to
the release.
Lakes Committee Chairman Mike Messerli, Golf
Committee Chairwoman Ruth
Hatcher and board members
Andy O’Neil, Carol Smith and
Tom Wooters serve on the ad
hoc committee.
Wooters, the committee’s
chairman, said the group’s
findings should be presented
in the spring.
Library Has Own iTune
Application Available
FAY E T T E V I L L E — T h e
Fayetteville Public Library
now has its own application for iPhones and iPads,
available for free through
the iTunes store by searching “Fayetteville Public
Library.”
The application allows
library users to access
their account, browse the
library’s catalog and place
items on hold for future
pickup.
An application for the
Android operating system
will be released in the
coming weeks.
Artist Nodie Williams puts the finishing touches on a sculpture Saturday that she and Alice McKee made for the
AR Homes and Krew Calliope float for the annual Fat Saturday Parade of Fools in Fayetteville. The parade began on the
Fayetteville square before making its way up Block Avenue and then down West Dickson Street.
DISTRICT: Zone Must Decrease By 98,000 People, Pritchard Says
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
residents living in its eastern and southern counties
to adjoining districts.
“It’s probably best to
shrink it from the exterior
counties,” he said. State
legislative committees are
redrawing boundary lines
for Arkansas’ four congressional districts to adjust for
population shifts unveiled
in the 2010 U.S. Census.
The federal “one person,
one vote” mandate requires
the General Assembly to
redraw the districts as
closely as possible to the
ideal size of 728,980 people,
Sen. Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins,
said last week. That means
the population of the 3rd
District, which has grown
rapidly since the last census
in 2000, must be reduced by
about 98,000 residents, he
said. The district includes
Bentonville, Fayetteville,
Fort Smith and Russellville.
Pritchard is one of four
Republicans on the eightmember Senate Committee on State Agencies and
Governmental Affairs. That
committee and its House
counterpart must agree
upon one map before the
full Senate and House can
submit the proposal to Gov.
Mike Beebe.
Sen. Sue Madison, DFayetteville, who heads the
Senate committee, said last
week she is considering an
option that would include
Fayetteville and portions
Baird
Hall
Pritchard
Madison
of Washington County in
the Democratic-leaning
4th District to the south.
Rep. Clark Hall, D-Marvell,
chairman of the House
state agencies committee,
said including traditionally
Democratic Fayetteville in
the 4th District would give
constituents there a sense
their vote counted as it
might not in the Republican 3rd District. Pritchard
unveiled two maps Friday
that would leave Fayetteville in the 3rd District but
remove population from
t h e d i s t r i c t ’s s o ut h e r n
and eastern counties. One
map would move Marion
and Boone counties in the
northeast corner of the 3rd
District into the 1st District
farther east, and shift Johnson and Franklin counties
into the 4th District to the
south. The other map places
Marion, Newton and part of
Johnson counties in the 1st
CORRECTIONS
District and Pope in the 4th.
Womack said one of those
plans would “least disrupt”
the 3rd District, but he did
not state a preference.
“That’s like asking me
which arm do I want to cut
off,” he said. He added it is
wrong to assume because
he grew up in Pope County
he is insistent it remain in
the 3rd District. Womack
was born in the county seat,
Russellville, and attended
high school there. In an
interview later, Womack
said as Rogers mayor for 12
years he and other leaders
in cities along the Interstate
540 corridor “always talked
about operating as a region.”
Removing Fayetteville from
that regional strategy would
be too radical, he said.
Hall said in a phone
interview Saturday either
of Pritchard’s proposals,
if approved in the Senate,
would be “dead on arrival”
in the House committee,
where Democrats hold a
four-vote advantage.
Hall said Pritchard’s plans
break up too many counties.
Pulling “liberal” Fayetteville
south into the 4th District
places the city in a district
more representative of its
political leanings without
disrupting as many counties, Hall said.
The 4th District congressman, Mike Ross of Prescott,
is the four-member delegation’s lone Democrat.
About 60 people attended
the 90-minute forum
sponsored by the RogersLowell Area Chamber of
Commerce and the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber
of Commerce. Rep. Duncan
Baird, R-Lowell, said numerous plans have surfaced at
the capitol about redrawing
congressional districts, but
he favors those that preserve
the cities and counties in
the northwest corner. Baird
said he agrees with a statement in the newspaper last
week by Rep. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, that the
area is thought of as a single
geographic and business
location.
“I think Benton and Washington counties should stay
together,” Baird said. “You’d
hate to see that divided.”
The event featured a
panel of state legislators
from Benton County, but
Womack, sitting in the
back dressed casually in
jeans, was asked to offer
comments.
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NEWS
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES 3A
Delinquent Renters Fall Afoul Of Law
SPRINGDALE OFFICIALS PUSH TO MOVE SCOFFLAWS OUT WITH CRIMINAL CHARGES
By Steve Caraway
deposit the disputed rent Harper said.
“We keep losing our defendants for appeals.
THE TERMS
SCARAWAY@NWAONLINE.COM
money before the case is
“I recommend starting
They give up and move out.”
heard.
both the civil and the crimiLEGAL LINGO
SPRINGDALE — Djuana
Mabry had a problem. The
bills for her rental property
were still coming in, but one
renter wasn’t paying rent
and she couldn’t get him
out.
“They knew the law better
than I did,” Mabry said.
“They gave me a sob story
and I got snookered.”
Tenants failing to pay rent
is an age-old problem, said
Jeff Harper, city attorney.
Evicting a delinquent
tenant requires filing a civil
court case. If the case is
contested, obtaining a court
order could take months to
get on a circuit court docket,
hold a trial and receive a
verdict, Harper said.
Harper relies on a different option. He uses state
criminal law to encourage
those who fail to pay rent or
vacate to move out. The law
requires a landlord to give
a tenant notice to pay their
back rent or move.
After making sure the
landlord has given notice
and waited 10 days, Harper’s
office sends a police officer
to issue the tenant a citation.
The law does not allow
renters to be evicted, but
they can be fined $25 per
day, Harper said.
“Most people, after they
receive the notice, will
move,” Harper said.
Mabry followed Harper’s
Citation: A notice for a
person to appear in court.
Civil case: A lawsuit
between two people or
entities.
Criminal case: A lawsuit
by a governmental agency
claiming a criminal action by
a person or entity.
Unlawful detainer: A
document filed against a
person in possession of
rented property who refuses
to give up the property at the
end or termination of a lease.
SOURCE: THE ’LECTRIC LAW LIBRARY
procedure and her delinquent tenant moved out.
However, some renters
said the law treats the landlord-tenant relationship
unfairly.
Arthur Brown fell two
months behind on rent when
he couldn’t work because of
the snow, he said.
Brown was served a citation Feb. 22 for failure to
pay rent, but said he can’t
afford to find another place
to live.
“I can borrow money to
get caught up on rent, but
I can’t pay all the deposits
to move,” Brown said. “My
landlord said he doesn’t
want the rent. He wants me
out.”
Brown claims his landlord is using the citation
as one of several ways to
MARSHALL PRETTYMAN
Litigation director
harass him.
“The city shouldn’t be a
bill collector,” Brown said.
If a renter wants to contest
they owe a landlord money,
they must deposit with the
court the amount of rent
money the landlord claims
they owe. The money is held
by the court. If the renter is
found guilty, the landlord
receives the money. A not
guilty verdict returns the
money to the renter.
If the renter is found
guilty and has not deposited
the money by the time of the
trial, they can be charged
with a misdemeanor, according to the law.
That part of the law may
be unconstitutional, said
Marshall Prettyman, litigation director at Legal Aid of
Arkansas. Having to come
up with money before a trial
has no precedent in criminal
cases, he said.
Putting up money for bail
is not the same, Prettyman
said. When a defendant
shows up for court, he gets
the money back.
Carol R. Goforth, a professor at the University of
Arkansas’ School of Law,
wrote a brief challenging
the constitutionality of the
statute. Goforth calls the
law utterly unique across
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the United States.
Prettyman has not seen
Springdale file misdemeanor
charges against those who
don’t deposit the rental
money in dispute, he said.
“They mainly use the law
as a club to get renters out,”
Prettyman said.
The bond money is
based upon the allegations
of a private party — the
landlord — and there’s no
method for the defendant to
contest the accuracy of the
amount claimed, according
to Goforth’s brief.
Renters usually end up
moving out because they
don’t have the money to
fight it, Prettyman said.
Legal Aid, which helps
low-income people who
can’t afford a lawyer, has
been trying unsuccessfully
to get an Arkansas Supreme
Court or the Arkansas Court
of Appeals ruling on the
constitutionality of the law,
Prettyman said.
“ We ke e p l o s i n g o u r
defendants for appeals,”
Prettyman said. “They give
up and move out.”
Fayetteville also f iles
charges against nonpaying renters, said Brian
Thomas, deputy prosecutor
for Fayetteville. However,
they’re not required to
“We will work with landlords for those who won’t
pay their rent, but it’s
dropped off,” Thomas said.
“Since those renters more
sophisticated with the law
know we can’t evict them,
landlords have gone to the
civil process.”
Larry Douglas, a Springdale lawyer, has filed several
unlawful detainer cases for
landlords in circuit court
against nonpaying renters, he said. In an unlawful
detainer case, the landlord
gives the renter notice they
have three days to vacate.
If they do not leave, they
can be served notice of the
court case, usually by a paid
process server. The renter
has five days to file an objection that would send the
case to court.
If the renter doesn’t file
an objection, the sheriff can
remove the renter from the
property.
Brown, who has been
convicted of failure to pay
rent or vacate twice, in 2007
and 2008, according to city
records, thinks cities should
stay out of landlord and
tenant problems and let the
civil process take over.
“Cities don’t get involved
when someone falls behind
on their car payments,”
Brown said.
But, the civil process
takes a long time if the
renter fights the charge,
nal cases at the same time,”
Harper said.
Springdale filed more than
80 cases against delinquent
renters in 2010, Harper said.
Brooke Lockhart, deputy city
attorney, filed 11 in one day
for Brookhaven Apartments,
a large apartment complex
off Powell Street.
B ro o k h ave n re c e n t ly
changed management and
did not return phone calls.
Ben Lipscomb, Rogers
city attorney, said he has
filed three or four criminal
cases over failure to pay rent
in the 20 years he has been
in office. Manpower issues
keep him from doing more,
he said.
“A landlord has another
legal remedy by going the
civil route,” Lipscomb said.
“An unlawful detainer case
can remove a renter who
isn’t paying.”
Harper said the criminal
charges are another available tool the state provides
him.
If civil cases against renters moved faster, Harper
wouldn’t place such an
emphasis on the criminal
charge.
“It wouldn’t bother me if
the state would take away
the misdemeanor charge
out of the law,” Harper said.
“We’re trying to follow
the letter of the law. If it
changes, we’ll change what
we do.”
NEWS
Shofner’s Closes Its Doors After Many Years
DOWNTOWN LANDMARK HAS BEEN IN OPERATION AT SAME LOCATION SINCE MID-1940S
“It’s just a sad day.
It’s been here since
the 1940s and it was
the place to get your
supplies.”
By Tracy M. Neal
TNEAL@NWAONLINE.COM
ROGERS — A downtown
landmark has closed its
doors.
An auction was held
Saturday morning at Shofner’s to sell merchandise
and other items and the
business supply and printing business.
Shofner’s owner Randy
Shofner said he decided to
move in a different direction
which he described as semiretirement after the building
at 107 West Walnut St. was
sold.
Shofner said he thought
about moving to a new
building, but decided against
it since he could make the
same decision in another
two or three years.
Shofner’s has been at its
downtown location since
the mid-1940s.
Shofner’s grandfather, Jim
P. Shofner, started the business in 1929 and it was first
located in the Progressive
Life Building.
“It’s not a tough day,”
Shofner said as items were
being auctioned off. “The
toughest day was making
the decision to do it.”
S h o f n e r sa i d h e w i l l
not have a storefront, but
will continue to sell office
PAT HARRIS
Customer
work 15,” Shofner said.
Saturday was the last day
for the business to be open,
but Shofner said he will
be there for the next week
finishing things.
Rick White, who owns
White’s Jewelry Store, said
the downtown area will be
different without Shofner’s.
Pat Harris also said it was
sad day to see Shofner’s
close its doors.
Harris said his grandfather opened a business in
1926 and it was located next
to Shofner’s.
“ It ’s j u s t a sad d ay,”
Harris said. “It’s been here
since the 1940s and it was
t h e p l a c e t o g e t yo u r
supplies.”
Shofner said he will have
STAFF PHOTO DAVID FRANK DEMPSEY
mixed emotions when he
Randy Shofner, left, talks with Harold Amos at a business closing auction of merchandise at Shofner’s business supply removes the sign from the
and printing store in Rogers on Saturday. The business was opened in 1929 by Shofner’s grandfather Jim P. Shofner. It has
front of the store.
been in its current location, a former Kroger’s grocery store, since the mid-1940s.
“It’s going to be tough,
supplies, mainly over the I don’t care if you work out Shofner said.
life as semi-retirement.
but not as hard as it would
telephone.
of a covered wagon, I will
Shofner described the
“I don’t have to work have been two or three
“I had people tell me that continue to buy from you,” next phase of his business 60 hours a week and instead years ago.”
RECORDS
OBITUARIES
Bobbie Volene
Coffelt Bautsch
HOUSTON — Bobbie Volene
Coffelt Bautsch, 72, of Houston, Texas, died Feb. 28, 2011,
in Houston.
She was born
Dec. 27, 1938,
i n B e n to n ville, Ark., to
Grace Lindsey
and Charles
Fields.
Bautsch
She was
preceded in death by a son,
Robert Coffelt; a daughter,
Lisa Coffelt; and husband,
Harold Bautsch.
She is survived by two
sons, Charles Coffelt and
wife, Carolyn, of Gillett, Ark.,
and William Coffelt and wife,
Marilyn, of Fort Smith, Ark.;
grandsons, Graham Coffelt of
Fort Smith, Ark., and Valon
Aliu of Mitrovica, Kosovo; an
aunt, Bonner Allred of Tulsa,
Okla.; and her dearest of
friends, Cathy Roth of Houston, Texas. She never met a
dog that she didn’t love!
Graveside services
will be held at 9 a.m.
S a t u r d a y, M a r c h 1 2 ,
2011, at Woodlawn Garden of
Memories, 1101 Antoine Drive,
Houston, Texas 77055.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Houston SPCA, or, Single Parent
Scholarship Fund of Crawford and Sebastian Counties,
5401 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith,
AR 72903.
— Paid
John Biddinger
A memorial service for
John Biddinger, 49, will be
Saturday, March 12, at 2 p.m.
at Peace Lutheran Church,
805 W. Olrich in Rogers.
— Paid
Kenneth T. Scott
HINDSVILLE — Kenneth
T. Scott, 81, of Hindsville,
formerly a longtime resident
of Springdale,
died March 4,
2011,
at
Wa s h i n g ton Regional
Medical
Center in
Fayetteville.
Scott
He was born
July 11, 1929,
i n S t i g l e r,
Okla., to Eulis
L e s te r a n d
Gertie Davis
Scott.
Kenneth was a retired truck
driver for Tyson Foods and a
retired USDA inspector. He
was a United States Marine
Veteran serving during WWII
and Korea.
He was preceded in death
by his parents, his wife Edna
Davis Scott, a brother, G.R.
Scott and sister, Carol Sandovol.
He is survived by four
sons: Mike Scott and wife
Jane of Hindsville, Dan Scott
of Springdale, Rick Scott and
wife Linda of Fayetteville
and Rudy Scott of Fayetteville, sister, Janice Anglin and
husband Jack of Lowell. Nine
grandchildren and nine greatgrandchildren.
Visitation will be Tuesday,
March 8, 2011, from 5 p.m. to
7 p.m. at Sisco Funeral Chapel
of Springdale. A memorial
service will be held at a later
date.
Online condolences may be
made to www.siscofuneral.
com.
— Paid
Patsy Dalton
BELLA VISTA — Patsy Dalton,
76, of Bella Vista, Ark., died
on Friday, March 4, 2011, at
her daughter’s home in
Fayetteville,
Ark. She was
born in 1934
i n Va l l e y,
Neb.
She was
Dalton
ra i s e d a n d
educated in Nebraska and
graduated from Creighton
University with a Medical
Technologist Degree. Patsy
married Richard E. Dalton
in 1958 in Fremont, Neb. She
worked for several hospitals in Omaha, Neb., and at
Washington Regional Hospital, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
She loved to travel and fish.
She was an avid Nebraska
Cornhusker Fan, as well as a
devout Catholic.
Patsy and her husband
moved here from Omaha,
Neb., 28 years ago. She was a
member of St. Bernard Catholic Church of Bella Vista.
She was preceded in
death by her parents and her
husband, Richard Dalton.
She is survived by two sons,
Mike Dalton and his wife
Tricia of Cassville, Mo., Mark
Dalton and his wife Brenda of
South Bend, Neb.; six daughters, Dianna Ritter and her
husband Mark of Albuquerque, N.M., Catherine Groseclos and her husband Gene of
Bentonville, Ark., Nancy Bane
and her husband Chris of
Bentonville, Ark., Ann Soren-
son and her husband Mike of
Fayetteville, Ark., Julie Dalton
of West Fork, Ark., Linda
Dalton of Vallejo, Calif.; one
brother, Jim Rolfs of Tucson,
Ariz.; 11 grandchildren and
four great-grandchildren.
Mass of the Resurrection will be held on Tuesday, March 8, 2011, at 9 a.m.
in the St. Bernard Catholic
Church with Msgr. Scott L.
Marczuk officiating. Rosary
will be held on Tuesday,
March 8, 2011 at 8:30 a.m.
before mass at St. Bernard
Catholic Church.
Arrangements are by the
Bella Vista Funeral Home &
Crematory.
The family wishes to thank
Washington Regional Hospice
for their wonderful care.
Online condolences may be
made at www.funeralmation.
com.
— Paid
Dovie Sue
Buchanan
Arrests
Bentonville
Lucus Jantz Haderman,
32, of 1108 Tunbridge Drive
in Bentonville was arrested
Saturday in connection with
aggravated assault and
endangering the welfare of a
minor. Haderman was being
held Saturday in the Benton
County Jail with no bond set.
Benton County
Sheriff’s Office
Richard Allen Burroughs,
33, of 12286 Longview Drive
in Bella Vista was arrested
Friday in connection with
three counts of delivery
of a controlled substance,
communication devices,
distribution near certain
facilities, possession of drug
paraphernalia, possession
of a controlled substance,
possession of firearm
by certain persons and
simultaneous possession
of drugs and firearms.
Burroughs was being held
Saturday in the Benton
County Jail with no bond set.
FAYETTEVILLE — Dovie Sue
Buchanan of Fayetteville, Fayetteville
Demetrus Shelley,
Ark., passed on Friday morn27, of 1642 Boxley Ave. in
ing March 4, 2011.
She was born on May 31, Fayetteville was arrested
1934, in Hazel Valley the
daughter of Lonnie B. Nickells Sr. and Mildred Wynn
Nickells.
209 W. Emma Ave.
Survivors include her
Springdale, AR
husband, Carl Kent Buchanan
479-756-5531
of Fayetteville, Ark., and six
daughters; Jeanette Jones of
www.springdalecountrygardens.com
Phoenix, Ariz., Marla and
husband Allen Chatter of
Herndon, Va., Patricia and
husband Roger Walker of
Fayetteville, Ark., Sandra
Simon-Brooks of Fayetteville,
Ark., Sherry Beeks of Kan.,
Christie Tuggle of Spencer,
Okla., and Katherine Ford of
Fayetteville, Ark.; one sister
Daphan Drake of Texas,
Ronnie Nickells of Ark.,
Lonnie Jr. Nickells of Ark. She
was preceded in death by her
oldest daughter, Neila Sue.
She was a homemaker,
wife, mother, grandmother
and great-grandmother. She
has 21 grandchildren and
25 great-grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be
held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at
Beard’s Funeral Chapel with
Dr. Buel Curtis officiating.
Burial will be at Oak Cemetery.
The family will receive
friends at Beards Chapel from
4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Online condolences may
be made to the family at
www.beardsfuneralchapel.
com.
— Paid
Country Gardens
March 4 in connection
with felony possession
of a controlled substance
and possession of drug
paraphernalia, along with
misdemeanor driving on a
suspended/revoked license.
He was in the Washington
County Detention Center on
$265 bond Saturday.
Charles Vaughn, 22,
of 1642 Boxley Ave. in
Fayetteville was arrested
felony possession of a
controlled substance. He was
in the Washington County
Detention Center without
bond Saturday.
4th Judicial District
Drug Task Force
Michael Bush, 22,
of 204 Andrew Ave. in
Springdale was arrested
bond Saturday.
Matthew Parson,
21, of 3760 Serene St. in
Springdale was arrested
bond Saturday.
Springdale
Angela Rodas, 27, of
42 Applegate Drive No. 8
in Springdale was arrested
Saturday in connection
with criminal charges
involving breaking or
entering, theft of property
and third-degree domestic
battery. She was in the
Washington County
bond Saturday.
Washington County
Sheriff’s Office
Savannah Toro, 21,
of 2523 N. 40 St. in Fort
Smith was arrested Friday
in connection with felony
theft by receiving. She was
bond Saturday.
Duane Parrish, 30, no
address listed, of Springfield,
Mo., was arrested Friday
in connection with felony
theft by receiving. He was
bond Saturday.
— STAFF REPORT
You Can Help Keep Arkansas Clean!
DON’T LITTER!
NEWS
SCHOOL: About 80 Percent Of Students Attended Saturday Classes, District Spokesman Says
AT A GLANCE
District spokesman
Alan Wilbourn said about
80 percent of students
attended class on Saturday.
He said more absences
were reported among high
school students because of
previously planned athletic
events and academic competitions.
“As you look into the parking lot, it’s not as full as it
normally would be,” he said.
“But all things considered,
it’s not that bad. We knew the
absentee rate would be higher
in the upper levels because of
everything that’s going on, but
the attendance at some of our
elementary schools is pretty
close to normal.”
Wilbourn said 1 , 563
students were reported
absent on Saturday, meaning
that 6,452 students attended
class.
Elementary attendance
was about 85 percent to
90 percent, which is close to
average for any given school
day, he said.
Thomas said a lower attendance rate was expected, but
indicated it was the only way
to avoid using spring break
time, which is the week of
March 21.
“Given the close proximity to spring break that we
are, we felt it might be an
issue for parents and staff,”
she said. “We wanted to add
another hour to the school
day to make up time, but
that’s usually not approved
by the state.
I think with ample notice,
as we look at the calendar for
next year, we can look at that
time as an option to add in
snow days.”
While many students
seemed less than thrilled
about spending their Saturday in a classroom, some
parents said they agree with
the district’s decision.
“I am absolutely fine with
Saturday school, but I can
see how it could be an inconvenience when parents and
kids already had something
planned for that day,” said
Shelley Hart, who has a
daughter at Holcomb Elementary and a son at Fayetteville
High School.
“Our weekends are usually
crazy busy, but it worked out
that this was a good weekend
for us.”
Hart said her son missed
part of the day on Saturday
to attend a choir contest at
Har-Ber High School, but
attended school before and
after the trip.
Providing more advanced
notice to parents would have
been helpful for families that
plan their weekends months
in advance, she said.
REVISED SCHEDULES
Fayetteville: The last day of school will be June 10. Asbell and
Happy Hollow, the district’s two continuous learning centers, will
finish out their last day on June 15. Two previously scheduled
holidays, Feb. 21 and April 29, will also be regular school days.
Parent teacher conferences will be held after school hours and
students will not be dismissed from school on March 11 is a
secondary school makeup day and April 1 is an elementary makeup
day.
Farmington: The district added Saturday school to Feb. 26 and
April 2. School will be held during spring break on March 21 and 22,
along with Memorial Day on May 30. The district will add June 2
and 3 to the end of its school year.
Prairie Grove: The district will add makeup days to the end of the
year, making June 9 the final half-day of school. Parent teacher
conferences will be March 15 and 17.
Lincoln: The district had its first two Saturday school days on
Feb. 2 and 26. Additional Saturday makeup days are planned for
March 5 and 12. The last day of school is June 8.
Greenland: The district added two days to the end of its year,
making June 8 the final day of school. Two Saturday schools are
scheduled for March 12 and April 2. Students will also attend school
on March 18, which was previously set aside as a professional
development day for teachers.
West Fork: March 19, 21, 22, 23 are scheduled as makeup days. The
last day of school is slated for June 3.
Springdale: March 21 and 22 will be makeup days and June 9 will
be the last day of school
Elkins: Preliminary plans, according to the district’s calendar,
include makeup days will be on March 5, 12, 21 and 22; April 2,
April 22; and May 30. The final day of school isn’t listed on the
district’s calendar.
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
“Of course my kids weren’t
happy about it, but what kid
would be?” she said. “They
are resolute to the fact that
they have to go to school and
haven’t asked me to let them
stay home.”
Rumors circulated that a
long-held tradition known as
“senior skip day” was slated
for Saturday, but it couldn’t
be confirmed by school officials.
“It’s not scheduled for
today,” Wilbourn said. “It’s
supposed to be later in the
year.”
Orellana said the original
skip day was slated for last
month, but was canceled due
to snow.
“There was a text message
being sent among seniors that
today would be the day,” she
said. “I’ve heard of a couple
people who planned to skip
today because their parents
didn’t care if they missed a
Saturday, but I knew I needed
to be here.”
The last day of school for
Fayetteville students will be
June 10.
Asbell and Happy Hollow,
the district’s two continuous
learning centers, will finish
out their last day on June 15.
President’s Day, which was
Feb. 21, marked the first of the
snow makeup days for the
district. April 29 will also be
a regular school day instead
of a holiday. Parent teacher
conferences will be held after
school hours and students will
not be dismissed from school
on March 11 or April 1.
Julie Thibodaux, who has
a sophomore at Fayetteville
High, said she favors the
alternative scheduling, but
would rather the school year
end sooner.
“I know many school
districts have been challenged with the snow days,
but I’m pleased with the
Fayetteville School District’s
decision to hold a Saturday
session,” she said. “We were
actually hoping for another
Saturday, to cut off some days
in June.”
Other districts in Washington County have formulated
similar plans.
Lincoln missed 12 days of
school and has since extended
its school year to June 8. The
district plans to go to school
on four Saturdays and had
five days built into the calendar at the end of the school
year. Two days scheduled for
teacher development were
also used as makeup days.
Greenland added two days
to the end of its year and two
Saturdays on March 12 and
April 2. Students will also
attend school on March 18,
which was previously set
aside as a professional development day for teachers.
“The previous calendar
called for six of the 11 days
we’ve missed to be made up
at the end of the year,” Greenland Superintendent Charles
Cudney said. “We amended it
to make up the additional five
days beyond the six, making
two days up at the end of the
year and making June 8 the
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final school day.”
Cudney said an alternative
would have been using spring
break time, which would
likely result in even lower
attendance numbers due to
the short notice.
“Adding days at the end of
the year would come after
the benchmark exam, which
is the state exam in which
we’re held accountable,” he
said. “We want to get in as
many instruction days prior to
The Eye Center
that. It’s a choice of no good
options, but we’ve tried to
listen to parents and employees as far as what works best
for them and consider what’s
educationally sound for our
school district.”
Craig J. Brown, MD
Kellye McElroy, MD
Margaret Gribble, MD
Jonathan Shaver, OD
Andy Langston, OD
Tammy Grammer Morris, OD
Something for everyone in
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NEWS
Infantry soldiers
wore hats with
the brim curled
on the right.
Cavalry officers’
hats curled on
the left side.
Two-Day Battle At Pea Ridge, 1862
Union forces expecting a Confederate attack from the south were surprised when rebel forces slipped around their lines. The two-day battle
that followed was one of the largest Civil War engagements west of the Mississippi River. The Union victory ended Confederate hopes of
controlling Missouri.
MARCH 7: The Union wins at Leetown
Battlefield. Two Confederate generals die.
N
Le
eC
ree
k
Elkhorn
Tavern
Huntsville Road
62
The stripes on
Don Tolbert’s
sleeve indicate
the uniform
belongs to a
sergeant.
Leetown
Battlefield
MARCH 7: The Confederates
capture and occupy Elkhorn Tavern.
MARCH 8: Union troops take back
the tavern. The Confederates
retreat to the east.
Litt
le S
uga
rC
ree
k
62
To
Ro
ge
rs
ng
pri
nS
o
t
n
Wi
Tel
egr
aph
72
h
nc
Bra
Roa
d
Pea Ridge
Federal
Trenches
To Garfield,
Beaver Lake and
Eureka Springs
Union, Day 1
Union, Day 2
Confederates, Day 1
Confederates, Day 2
Pea Ridge National Military Park
Park Tour Road
Source: National Park Sevice
STAFF GRAPHIC CHLOE O’CONNOR
The ammunition
pouch carried
caps, gunpowder
and balls for the
soldier’s weapon.
CIVIL WAR: Cherokee Soldiers Fought For South
Both sides
used mostly
percussion cap,
muzzleloading
rifles that had to
be reloaded after
each shot.
Tolbert wears a
standard-issue
Union Army
infantry uniform
from 1861.
STAFF PHOTOS SARAH BENTHAM
AT A GLANCE
PEA RIDGE BATTLE FACTS
Union Gen. Samuel Curtis and Col.
Grenville Dodge would become executives
with the Union Pacific Railroad and
are credited with helping complete
intercontinental railroad lines after the war.
As the war shifted east following the
Pea Ridge battle, the 9th Iowa Rifles of
the Union Army and the Confederate
3rd Louisiana Volunteers would meet
again, participating in the fighting and
siege of Vicksburg, Miss., in the summer
of 1863.
Telegraph Road, where the Union Army
expected a Confederate attack, was
the main communication line and road
between Fayetteville and Springfield, Mo.
The road followed the route of the prewar Butterfield Coach Stage service line.
The line followed the Trail of Tears route
traveled by displaced Cherokee, Choctaw
and Chickasaw tribes in 1838-39. Sections
of the former route are noted throughout
Northwest Arkansas road names, including
Old Wire and Butterfield Coach.
Harry Yount, a soldier with the Missouri
State Infantry fighting for the Union, was
injured and captured March 5 in a pre-battle
skirmish. After a short captivity, he rejoined
the Union war effort, then drifted west
after the war ended. In 1880, Yount was
named the first gamekeeper at Yellowstone
National Park. He’s considered the father of
modern National Parks Service rangers.
Gen. Samuel Curtis is noted as the only
commander in U.S. military history to win
a battle after turning his line of attack
180 degrees.
The quartermaster, or head of supplies, for
Curtis’ troops, Capt. Phillip Sheridan, wrote
of difficulty finding enough game and crops
in the winter Ozarks to feed the troops.
Sheridan would later be promoted, and
was a noted Union leader in several major
battles later in the war.
About 1,000 Cherokees fought for the
Confederates at Pea Ridge under Gen.
Albert Pike. It was the largest Native
American presence in any Civil War battle,
and would have been larger if additional
units of Chicasaws and Choctaws heading
to Northwest Arkansas had arrived before
the battle ended.
Four Union soldiers won the Medal of
Honor for their actions at Pea Ridge:
Pvt. Albert Power, Cpt. William Block,
Col. Eugene Carr and Col. Francis Herron.
Attempts were made to preserve the
battlefield as early as the 1880s, but the
4,300-acre park wasn’t established until
1956. It opened to the public in 1961.
scale demonstrations,”
Banzhopf said. Tolbert and
the other re-enactors hope
to demonstrate as much as
they can what happened at
Pea Ridge, when two battles
erupted, one near Leetown
and another near Elkhorn
Tavern.
At Leetown, Union forces
routed Confederate army
units and an attached force
of 1,000 Cherokee soldiers.
The Cherokee participation
was the largest presence of
Native American troops in
a Civil War battle, according to historical accounts.
A Union victory at Pea
Ridge dashed rebel hopes
of turning Missouri into a
Confederate state.
A clash later in 1862 at
Prairie Grove in Washington County led to the
withdrawal of major Southern forces from the area,
according to accounts.
Tolbert, an analyst for
Walmart beverage suppliers
who caught the re-enacting bug from a co-worker,
didn’t realize during his
first trips to the Pea Ridge
battlefield that four of his
great-great-uncles fought
there as Union soldiers.
“I’d been traipsing all over
the grounds for years before
I ever discovered there was
a family connection,” he
said. “When we talk about
how the 11th Indiana Rifles
moved up a ravine on the
flank of the 3rd Louisiana
Volunteers and captured
Colonel Hebert, my
forefathers were part of that
move.”
Re-enactor
W. Mountain St.
5:30 p.m.
Fayetteville Parks and
Recreation Advisory
Board — Room 111, City
5:15 p.m.
Fayetteville City
Council Water and Sewer
Committee — Room 326,
Administration Building, 113
W. Mountain St.
City Administration Building,
113 W. Mountain St.
Springdale City
Council — Room 236, City
5:30 p.m.
Washington County
Finance — Quorum
Spring St.
Tuesday
Courtroom, County
Courthouse, 280 N. College
Ave., Fayetteville
Washington County
Legislative Affairs —
Community Development
Building, 305 S.W. A St.
Farmington Library
Board — Public Library, 241
Rheas Mill Road
Springdale City Council
— Council Chamber, City
Spring St.
7 p.m.
Centerton City Council
— Council Chambers, City
Hall, 290 Main St.
Wednesday
9 a.m.
Fayetteville Forward
Transportation Group —
Quorum Courtroom, County
Courthouse, 280 N. College
Ave., Fayetteville
Room 111, City Administration
Building, 113 W. Mountain St.
6 p.m.
Benton County Quorum
Court — Quorum Courtroom, City Administration Building,
4:30 p.m.
Fayetteville City
Council — Room 326, City
Soldiers on both sides fired round balls instead of
shaped bullets. Each wrapper included a ball, wadding and
gunpowder for a single shot.
Four Ward Cleanup Events
Slated For Fayetteville
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Monday
sides included coffee, hardtack bread and beans. These
staples were nutritious, cheap and easy to preserve and carry.
“I’d been traipsing
all over the grounds
before I ever
discovered there was
a family connection.”
DON TOLBERT
A typical mess kit, like this one from Don
Tolbert’s personal collection, for soldiers on both
215 E. Central Ave.
Bentonville City Council
— Council Chambers,
Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber
of Commerce, 317 W.
Walnut
6 p.m.
Historic Springdale
Group — Shiloh Museum of
Natural History, 118 Johnson
Ave.
Thursday
Noon
Fayetteville Forward
Inclusion Group — Room
111, City Administration
Building, 113 W. Mountain
St.
4 p.m.
Fayetteville Tree and
Landscape Advisory
Committee — Room 111,
4 p.m.
Fayetteville Planning
Commission — Room 111,
113 W. Mountain St.
City Administration Building,
113 W. Mountain St.
Rogers Advertising and
Promotion Commission —
— STAFF REPORT
FAYETTEVILLE — City officials have announced the
dates for annual spring ward
bulky waste cleanups. The
cleanups enable residents to
dispose of large, bulky waste
for free on designated dates.
For a detailed list of
what is accepted go to the
city’s website at accessfayetteville.org and look
under the Solid Waste and
Recycling section or call the
main office at 575-8398.
All cleanups will be from
7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following locations:
Ward 4: March 26 at Owl
Creek School, 375 N. Rupple
Road, and Shaver Foods parking lot, behind Randal
Tyson Track Complex,
1367 S. Beechwood.
Ward 3: April 2 at the
Elks Lodge, 4444 N. Crossover Road, and Vandergriff
Elementary School, 2975
E. Township St.
Ward 1: April 9 at Root
Elementary School, 1529
E. Mission Blvd., and the
Solid Waste & Recycling
Facility, 1560 S. Happy Hollow
Road.
Ward 2: May 14 in the
front parking lot of Woodland Junior High School,
7 E. Poplar St., and the Church
of Christ, 310 W. Center St.
NEWS
SALES TAX: County Could See An Annual Decline Of $1.4 Million In Revenue, Treasurer Says
CONTINUED FROM 1A
if sales within the county
remain similar to 2010.
“We’ve got several infrastructure needs as the result
of our growth,” Springdale
Mayor Doug Sprouse said.
He said extra revenue will
help pay for road projects
on Don Tyson Parkway, Elm
Springs Road and Johnson
Road.
West Fork grew to 2,317, an
increase of 275 people, but
its portion of the county’s
population dropped from
1.29 to 1.14 percent. While
the loss may appear small,
it could equal a $44,000
drop in revenue in a town
whose total annual revenue
is around $1 million, Mayor
Frances Hime said.
“The general fund balance
has been reducing steadily
over the years,” Hime said.
“I plan to meet with every
department and have the
departments work together
on how best to address this
issue.”
As in Springdale, city
leaders in Prairie Grove and
Greenland see improvements to infrastructure as a
top priority.
“It was much-needed,”
Larry Oelrich, Prairie Grove
administrative services
director, said of the increased
revenue. “We did some
major annexation. We’ve
been holding off some of the
road improvements.”
Those road improvements
will be paid with the extra
sales tax revenue, Prairie
Grove Mayor Sonny Hudson
said. The city annexed land
between his city and Farmington in 2006. The roads
from that annexation have
not been upgraded to pavement.
Cities that see growth in
population and extra sales
tax revenue should be careful about celebrating, said
Tom Paradise, a geosciences
professor at the University of
Arkansas. Paradise published
“Arkansas: An Illustrated
Atlas” this year and has studied impacts of population
growth in the state.
City population growth
and revenue increases come
with an increased demand in
Washington County
Sales Tax Distribution
Washington County and its cities split
county sales tax revenue based on the
most recent census. In 2010, the total
sales distribution was $28.6 million.
This chart shows sales tax distribution,
by percentage.
BY THE NUMBERS
NEW CENSUS CHANGES SALES TAX DISTRIBUTION
Washington County and its cities split county sales tax revenue based on the most recent census. The chart below shows city populations in
2000 and 2010. The chart also shows the city’s proportion of the overall county population.
Small cities combined
Springdale
Farmington
Prairie Grove
Elkins
Johnson
Elm Springs
Goshen
Greenland
Lincoln
Winslow
Tontitown
West Fork
Fayetteville
County rural population
Total
Unincorporated
Fayetteville
Springdale
13.59
31.39
18.78
36.23
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and State Treasury
STAFF GRAPHIC
services, like road upgrades
and social services, Paradise said.“We’re seeing
stresses and strains on
health services like those for
senior citizens, also water
and air quality, infrastructure and things related to
infrastructure like traffic and
congestion,” Paradise said.
“Fifty percent more cars
means 50 percent more
road usage and more
complaints.”
Cities end up in a continuous cycle of having to spend
more money on infrastructure as population grows, he
said.
“Fayetteville, for example,
has anticipated the growth
with innovative, larger-thanneeded effluent systems, but
as growth continues that
new system will equal the
need and then fall behind,”
Paradise said. “This is the
case with many communities in the region. The population growth has surpassed
the capacities of the infrastructure.”
Wa s h i n g t o n C o u n t y
provides several services
to residents regardless of
whether they live in cities
or unincorporated areas.
The Quorum Court and
county staff have braced
for a decline in the county’s
sales tax revenue. Washington County will see the largest reduction in revenue of
all local governments. The
county’s share of sale tax is
determined by the portion
of county population not
living in any city, but in
the unincorporated areas.
Previous
Population
Previous Tax Share
(by percentage)
2010 Census
Population
New Tax Share
(by percentage)
43,487
3,605
2,540
1,251
2,319
1,031
752
907
1,752/1804*
399
942/2030
2,042
58,047
37,201
157,715
27.26
2.29
1.61
0.79
1.47
0.65
0.48
0.58
1.14
0.25
1.29
1.29
36.80
23.59
100
63,743
5,974
4,380
2,648
3,354
1,497
1,071
1,259
2,249
391
2460
2,317
73,580
38,142
203,065
31.39
2.94
2.16
1.3
1.65
0.74
0.53
0.62
1.11
0.19
1.21
1.14
36.23
18.78
100
$1,038,579.88
$187,881.78
$156,469.69
$146,266.81
$51,917.70
$23,907.07
$14,491.12
$12,859.73
-$10,396.53
-$17,306.15
-$21,675.18
-$44,018.24
-$163,298.42
-$1,375,679.25
While the rural population
grew by almost 1,000 in the
last decade, the county’s
piece of the sales tax pie
dropped to 18.8 percent from
23 percent.
County Treasurer Roger
Haney said the fall could
mean about $1.4 million less
annually. Haney expected
the county’s rural population proportion to drop to
17.3 percent, based off projections form the Northwest
Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. A drop to
17.3 percent could have
meant a loss of $1.8 million
instead of $1.4 million.
“It was a little better than
we anticipated,” Haney said,
“but it still is a big drop.”
The county will be able to
initially absorb the revenue
reduction because it set aside
$2 million in reserves as a
contingency for the census
transition. More than half
of that contingency will be
used in 2011, so the revenue
loss may strain the county’s
2012 budget.
Fayetteville grew by about
25 percent to 73,580, but
slightly dropped its share of
the county’s overall population by half a percentage point to 36.23 percent.
Fayetteville Finance Director Paul Becker said the
actual census figures came
in smaller than projections
by the Northwest Arkansas
Regional Planning Commission. But the city chose not
to use the commission’s
numbers in planning 2011’s
budget. Instead, the city
used the 2000 formula for
the entire year, Becker said.
By using the 2000 formula
instead of the 2010 projections, the city avoided overbudgeting its 2011 revenue.
“At that point in time, the
mayor’s position was that
we should wait and see what
the actual census data is,”
Becker said.
The drop in sales tax
revenue could be around
$165,000 per year, if sales tax
revenue levels are similar to
2010, Becker said. Collectively, smaller cities made an
overall gain in Washington
County’s population, while
the county and Fayetteville’s
Formerly Wiggins Animal Hospital
proportion dropped. Greenland is among the smallest
cities in the county and its
$164,671 in sales tax revenue
in 2010 pales in comparison
to Springdale’s $7.9 million.
Greenland Mayor Bill
Groom said his city is trying
to entice more business into
his city to make it more
appealing for potential residents.
His city must upgrade
water and sewer lines and
repair streets to entice more
business, he added.
479.442.7729
Of the 13 cities and the
county, Greenland’s share of
the county’s sales tax slightly
increased. The city may see
an extra $12,000.
“It’s certainly better than
having $12,000 less,” Groom
said.
“My guess is that $12,000
is going to be a little bit low.
That could fix the roof on the
community center. It could
be used here and there for
patching potholes. We could
put it into our infrastructure,
which is our next big push.”
hylandparkag.com
Pastor Brad and the Hyland Park church family
invite you to join us as we commemorate 75
years of making a difference in the Fayetteville
community. Come help us celebrate our legacy
as we look forward to our future.
If you have ever pastored or attended…
WHITE CHAPEL
ASSEMBLY OF GOD
Rock St and S College
HylandParkAG
900 N Crossover
CENTRAL
ASSEMBLY OF GOD
6th St and S College
…or if you are searching for a church home…
please be our guest at our
Special Anniversary Service.
479.751.2327
ELIZABETH CARENDER, DVM
DAVID EVANS, DVM
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BENTONVILLE — Benton
County’s mayors will learn
this month how the 2010 U.S.
Census has altered their share
of the county’s 1 percent sales
tax revenue.
Some will win and some
will lose, relatively speaking.
“We haven’t gotten anything
for March,” Pea Ridge Mayor
Jackie Crabtree said Friday.
“I do know from the county
it is going up. They tell me
it’s going to be up just a little
over $20,000 a month.”
Benton County government and cities within the
county share tax revenue
based on their percentage of
the county’s overall population. The entire population
of Benton County grew from
153,406 in the 2000 Census to
214,097 in 2010.
Two co m m u n i t i e s —
Springtown and Sulphur
Springs — lost population during the decade.
Springtown dropped from
114 people in 2000 to 87 in
2010. Sulphur Springs’ population dropped from 671 in
2000 to 511 after the 2010
count. Both of those towns
will see their share of the
county sales tax revenue
decrease because of the drop
in population.
Others will see a decrease
in their share of the tax
revenue despite growing
in population. Rogers, the
county’s largest city, grew
from 38,829 people in 2000
to 55,964 in 2010. Despite
that robust growth, the city’s
share of the county population dipped slightly from
25.8 percent to 25.2.
Rogers Mayor Greg Hines
said his city’s budget for 2011
was prepared with the 2010
Census in mind. Hines said
the city projected its county
sales tax revenue for 2011
at the same amount as it
budgeted in 2010.
“It certainly means the
share of city of Rogers’
revenue proceeds from the
county sales tax is not going
to increase,” Hines said of
the census results. “Fortunately, our city sales tax
revenues have continued to
increase. We’re on a fivemonth upward glide path,
and we’ve just had the largest single-month collection in
our city’s history. With that, I
don’t expect to see a considerable impact.”
Hines said Rogers’ share of
the county tax goes into the
city’s general fund and isn’t
earmarked for any particular
use.
“It goes to fund the basic
operations of the city,” Hines
said. “Things like salaries.”
Centerton was one of the
big winners. The population of Centerton grew from
2,146 in 2000 to 9,515 in the
2010 Census. The city’s
share of the county sales tax
grew from 1.39 percent to
4.29 percent.
Centerton Mayor Bill
Edwards said his city is waiting for official numbers,
but he’s already looking at
possible uses for the added
money.
“I was told we wouldn’t
see anything until later this
month, but we should see
some good county turnback,”
Edwards said.
3.63
0.66
0.55
0.51
0.18
0.08
0.05
0.04
-0.04
-0.06
-0.08
-0.15
-0.57
-4.80
SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU AND STATE TREASURY
2903 W HUNTSVILLE AVE • SPRINGDALE, AR
By Tom Sissom
Estimated
Impact**
*Lincoln and Tontitown had boundary changes that increased their population and their proportion of the county-wide sales tax revenue
**The estimate is determined by applying each city’s or county’s new share of sales tax revenue to the 2010 sales tax distribution from the state
Treasury. The financial impact assumes overall county sales would stay the same in 2011.
Census Results, Bring
Good, Bad News
TSISSOM@NWAONLINE.COM
Gain/Loss
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Living Is A Cinch
ZZZQZDWIFRUJ When Safety Belts Are Part of Your Life- BUCKLE UP!
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES
SPORTS
8A
C O M M E N TA RY
Lady Tigers Head To Hot Springs
DEFENDING CHAMPION PRAIRIE GROVE STUNS STAR CITY 61-56 IN SEMIFINALS
By Paul Nielsen
PNIELSEN@NWAONLINE.COM
ALEX ABRAMS
aabrams@nwaonline.com
A Shave
And
Trash Talk
BARBERSHOP FILLED
WITH SPORTS BANTER
FAYETTEVILLE
he small building
is unimpressive. It
resembles a concrete
shoebox set on a
gravel parking lot it shares with a
second-hand store. A gas station
that appears to have gone out of
business decades ago is just down
the road.
The interior of the building is
simple. The floors are concrete,
and the furniture amounts to an
old couch, a foldable table and
several metal chairs. The TV by
the vending machine is always
tuned to ESPN, and who knows if
it gets any other channels?
This barbershop — which could
never be confused for a salon
— is the best place in Northwest
Arkansas to talk sports, debate
sports and discuss anything
relating to sports. And depending
on when you get there, you might
have to wait for an Arkansas
football player to get out of the
only barber chair in use.
Who needs Internet message
boards, where people hide behind
screen names like CalvinSwine
and HawgyHoudini21? Sports
talk radio and Twitter are
good for some things, but it’s
hard to express all the reasons
Major League Baseball needs a
salary cap in 30 seconds or 140
characters.
Call me old-fashioned, but I go
to the barbershop to get my fill
of sports banter. It’s “Pardon the
Interruption” meets “Extreme
Makeover.” The haircut is an
afterthought, just a nice perk that
comes with an hourlong debate
on whether Floyd Mayweather
dodges fights.
“Yes, sir, I’d like my hair shaved
on the sides and finger-length on
the top. You can square it up in
the back and trim the sideburns.
And by the way, how good would
LeBron James be if he had Kobe
Bryant’s killer instinct?”
My barber is like a sports
talk radio host; he always has
an opinion. He’s like a sports
reporter; he seems to know
the dirt on certain players and
coaches. Even people who
don’t need haircuts often walk
through the door, sit in the metal
chairs and join the latest sports
argument:
“Ryan Mallett is too much of a
statue in the pocket to be a good
NFL quarterback.”
“John Pelphrey should be
fired. Arkansas basketball is so
irrelevant right now.”
“Those rumors you’ve heard
about (INSERT PLAYER’S NAME
HERE), they’re true.”
On one occasion, an Arkansas
football player talked about his
T
HEBER SPRINGS — Prairie Grove
is going back to Hot Springs.
Kendra Coyle
scored 21 points
despite playing
with a sprained
ankle and Lady Lady Tigers 61
Ti g e r s s o p h o - Lady ’Dogs 56
mores Michelle
Lumsargis and Justyne Huber
combined for 12 points in the
fourth quarter as defending state
champion Prairie Grove stunned
Star City 61-56 in the semifinals at
the Class 4A State Tournament.
Prairie Grove (27-7) will play the
CLASS 4A STATE TOURNAMENT
GIRLS
PRAIRIE GROVE 61
STAR CITY 56
Prairie Grove
10
17
14
16 — 61
Star City
21
13
11
11 — 56
Prairie Grove (27-7): Coyle 21, Lumsargis 13, Huber
12, Galloway 10, Barnett 5
Star City (30-2): Linsy 15, Reedy 13, Hause 11, Scott
9, Pace 5, Whitfield 3.
Shiloh Christian-Pulaski Academy
winner in the state championship
game in Hot Springs next weekend.
Times for all the state finals will
be announced today. Star City,
which lost to Prairie Grove in the
championship game last year, ends
the year at 30-2.
“Our girls keep clawing and
fighting,” said Prairie Grove coach
Kevin Froud. “All of our ladies
stepped up and did some big
things. The girls just never gave
up.”
Fr o u d s a i d C oyl e wa s a t
80 percent but the senior scored
14 of her 21 points in the first half
as the Lady Tigers erased a 12point Lady Bulldogs lead.
Coyle’s biggest basket was a
layup that beat the third period
buzzer and tied the game at 45-45,
and gave the momentum to Prairie
Grove.
“It was big,” said Star City
coach Becky Brown said. “It tied
it up and changed the momentum
right there.”
Froud said Coyle’s layup was a
big confidence booster.
“That was a big momentum
changer,” Froud said. “Star City
played in one close game this year
and that was the game they lost.
If we could just get it to the end
there, we would have a chance. I
knew if we got to the end there,
we would have a shot.”
Lumsargis scored five straight
points for the Lady Tigers to open
the fourth period and Huber then
hit 5 of 6 free throws the final 30.8
seconds to ice the win.
“Justyne made some big free
throws,” Froud said. “We just
made a few more plays.”
FINAL ROUND TODAY
FLW Pros Offer Tips
ANGLERS GIVE ADVICE SHARED FROM DAYS ON BEAVER LAKE
By Flip Putthoff
FPUTTHOFF@NWAONLINE.COM
BEAVER LAKE — Catching bass has
been a four-letter word — hard —
for some anglers fishing at Beaver
Lake in the Walmart FLW Tour
bass tournament.
Others have caught fish — big
ones, too — in weather conditions
that ranged from summer-like to
frigid.
These FLW anglers are among
the best in the nation. Several
offered advice to area fishermen
on how to catch a bass or two from
Beaver Lake right now.
Ray Scheide of Dover: (Scheide
caught a 6-pound, 3-ounce largemouth on Friday.) “The fishing’s
going to get better every day.
I’m throwing a swim bait for
suspended f ish.” Crank baits
should also work.
Stetson Blaylock of Benton:
(Caught a 6-pounder on Friday
within sight of the Prairie Creek
boat ramp.) “Swim a grub shallow.
The one I’m using is a Berkley
4-inch Power Grub, milky salt and
pepper. Work it 6 to 8 feet deep in
clear water.”
Guido Hibdon of Gravois Mills,
Mo.: (Did not catch a 6-pounder.)
“Let me tell you a little story. I was
fishing today and noticed of all my
rods I didn’t have one with a plastic worm on a jig head.
“I grabbed a worm and shortened it to about this long,” Hibdon
said, spreading his thumb and forefinger 3 inches apart. “I threw that
out and caught a 2-pounder on the
first cast. Six hours later, I hadn’t
caught another fish.”
Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo.: (Like
father like son, no 6-pounder.) “I’d
go golfing. If the kids want to go
fishing, take them to the amusement park.”
Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn.:
“Use jerk baits around cedar
trees on the outside of spawning
coves.”
Rob Kilby of Hot Springs: “Hand
grenades. Shad-colored dynamite,
SEE TIPS PAGE 10A
SEE ABRAMS PAGE 10A
AT A GLANCE
EARLY DEADLINES
Because of early deadlines Saturday
for Northwest Arkansas Newspapers,
coverage of the evening prep state
tournament basketball games is
included in Section C of today’s
Northwest Edition of the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette.
WEB WATCH
Find complete coverage
of Northwest Arkansas
high school sports at arpreps.com.
TODAY’S TICKET
WALMART FLW BASS
TOURNAMENT ON BEAVER LAKE
When: Final Round Today
Take-Off: 7 a.m., Prairie Creek park
Weigh-in: 4 p.m., John Q. Hammons
Center, Rogers
Format: The top 10 pros compete
today. Winner gets $100,000 or
$125,000 if he owns a Ranger boat.
Outdoor Expo: Noon to 4 p.m.,
Hammons Center
Additional coverage in today’s
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
STAFF PHOTO FLIP PUTTHOFF
Ray Scheide of Dover is one of the FLW pros who offered tips on how to catch bass at Beaver Lake, like this
6-pound, 3-ounce largemouth he caught Friday. See additional coverage in today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
SPORTS
Lady Tigers
Fall Short
In Semifinals
WEST FORK’S CHAMPIONSHIP DREAM
SLIPS AWAY TO VALLEY SPRINGS
By Nathan Allen
NALLEN@NWAONLINE.COM
SEARCY — It wasn’t the
ending that West Fork’s girls
basketball team wanted.
After playing so well in
their previous two games, the
Lady Tigers has visions of
advancing to their first state
championship game since
1982 on Saturday afternoon.
That vision will have to
wait another year.
Valley Springs senior guard
Kayla Carlton scored 14 points
to lead her team to a 44-39
victory over West Fork in
the semifinals of the Class 3A
State Tournament in Rhodes
Field House.
Valley (36-7), the defending state champions, will play
the Bergman-Mountain View
winner next weekend in Hot
Springs’ Summit Arena for the
state title.
Valley took its fourth
and final lead of the
ga m e w i t h 2 m i n ute s ,
18 seconds left when Carson
Lowery made a 3-pointer
from the left corner to give
her team a 39-37 advantage.
“That was the biggest
moment of the game,” West
Fork coach Nathan Wells
said. “When (Lowery) hit
that three, I knew it would be
tough.
“They’re such a good
team, they’re tough to defend
and tough to make baskets
against.”
Prior to Valley taking
control in the fourth quarter, West Fork (24-9) built a
five-point lead in the third
by going on a 10-2 scoring run that ended with a
3-pointer from senior guard
PREP BASKETBALL
SEMIFINALS
GIRLS
VALLEY SPRINGS 44
WEST FORK 39
Valley Springs
9 11
9
15 — 44
West Fork
15
4 12
8 — 39
Valley Springs (36-7): Carlton 14,
Saunders 9, Lowery 8, Harness 5, Lawrence
5, Graddy 3.
West Fork (24-9): Sagely 19, Jones 12, S.
Franklin 5, Fraley 2, R. Franklin 1.
Sarah Sagely.
Sagely led West Fork with
19 points while junior Melissa
Jones finished with 12 points
and six rebounds. Jones sat
on the bench for more than
a quarter after receiving two
early fouls, preventing West
Fork from having a constant
advantage inside the lane.
Va l l e y s e c u r e d t h e
victory down the stretch
despite making only 13 of 24
(54 percent) foul shots overall.
“West Fork is a great team,
they play so hard,” Valley
coach Kimberly Jenkins said.
“But we just found ways to
make big plays in the second
half. We did the little things
and it worked out in our
favor.”
Wells said going to the
semifinals is something that
will help elevate West Fork’s
program in the future, especially with so many younger
players coming back next
season.
“I couldn’t be happier for
this group and what they’ve
accomplished this season,”
Wells said. “Our seniors took
us to a new level, and I have to
give them credit for that. It’s a
tough way to end the season,
but we had a great ride.”
FILE PHOTO JOEL RAFKIN
Kyle Teague of Siloam Springs keeps the ball out of reach from a Sylvan Hills defender during the semifinal game of the
5A state tournament on Saturday at Charles B. Dyer Arena in Alma.
Bears Rout Panthers
SYLVAN HILLS PROVES TO BE TOO MUCH FOR SILOAM SPRINGS
By Graham Thomas
GTHOMAS@NWAONLINE.COM
ALMA — Siloam Springs
stood toe-to-toe with Sylvan
Hills for one half.
The Bears’ quickness and
athleticism proved to be too
much for the Panthers in the
second half.
Sylvan
Hills highprofiled
j u n i o r
recruit
A r c h i e
Panthers
43
Goodwin
scored 29 points and the
Bears defeated Siloam Springs
56-43 in the semifinals of the
Class 5A State Tournament at
Charles B. Dyer Arena.
The Bears (25-3) — who
were the top seed out of the
5A-Southeast — advanced
to the Class 5A State Finals,
which will be played this
week in Hot Springs.
The loss ends Siloam
Springs’ season at 24-7. The
Panthers entered the tournament as the third seed from
the 5A-West and defeated
5A-East No. 2 seed Beebe 64-
SYLVAN HILLS 56
SILOAM SPRINGS 43
Siloam Springs
13 10 8 12 — 43
Sylvan Hills
12 11 13 20 — 56
Siloam Springs (24-7): Payton Henson
19, Kyle Teague 8, Shane Carlson 8, Nicholas
Eshnaur 6, Scout Alexander 2.
Sylvan Hills (25-3): Archie Goodwin 29,
Dion Patton 11, Larry Ziegler 6, Trey Smith 4,
Devin Pearson 4, Anthony Featherstone 2.
56 in the opening round on
Wednesday before knocking
off 5A-Southwest top-seed
Arkadelphia 63-53 on Friday.
Siloam Springs had won
six straight games going into
Saturday’s game.
The Panthers and Bears
played to a 23-23 tie at
halftime, but Sylvan Hills
outscored Siloam Springs 3320 in the second half.
After shooting 45 percent
from the field in the first half,
Siloam Springs dipped to 34
percent in the second half,
including missing all 14 3point attempts.
Overall the Panthers went
17 of 43 from the field and 3
of 24 from behind the 3-point
line.
“We just didn’t make shots,”
said Siloam Springs coach
Johnny Taylor. “I’m extremely
proud of our guys and what
we accomplished. Nothing
negative, we just didn’t make
shots tonight. I thought we
played well enough to win in
the first half.”
Goodwin, a 6-foot-5 junior
who is being recruited across
the country, got loose for
three breakaway dunks in the
first half, but Siloam Springs
was able to match the Bears
point for point.
Both teams went on 4-0
runs at the start of the third
quarter, but Goodwin was
fouled on a 3-pointer and hit
all three foul shots to give
Sylvan Hills a 30-27 lead it
wouldn’t relinquish.
Goodwin finished 8 of 15
from the field and 13 of 20
from the free-throw line. In
three state tournament games,
he’s averaging 33.3 points per
game. Goodwin also pulled
down 10 rebounds.
“We wanted to try and
make it difficult for him to
even touch it,” Taylor said.
“We wanted to try and make
it difficult for him to score.
He’s obviously a really good
player. I don’t think it was
our defense tonight. I thought
it was our offense. In the
third quarter we didn’t make
shots and we let him hit some
shots.”
Dion Patton hit a 3-pointer
to put Sylvan Hills ahead 3629. He had 11 points for Sylvan
Hills. The Panthers went cold
at the start of the fourth quarter and Sylvan Hills pulled
ahead by double digits.
Siloam Springs All-State
guard Kyle Teague fouled out
with 4:42 left in the fourth.
Sophomore center Payton
Henson fouled out shortly
after leaving little hope for a
Siloam Springs rally.
“We had a chance to see
them play once, so we kind
of had a feel for what they
wanted to do and who their
guys were,” said Sylvan Hills
coach Kevin Davis. “The guys
did an incredible job with our
scouting report and taking it
to the floor.”
Teague struggled with his
shot, going 2 of 12 and missing all eight of his 3-point
attempts. He finished with
8 points. Henson led Siloam
Springs with 19 points.
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Farmington Loses
To Clarksville
By Paul Nielsen
PNIELSEN@NWAONLINE.COM
HEBER SPRINGS — Clarksville’s defensive pressure
was too much for Farmington Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers forced the
Cardinals into four-straight
turnovers during a 12-2
fourth-quarter run as Clarksville defeated Farmington
58-50 in a semifinal game at
the Class 4A State Tournament.
Clarksville (25-8) will
play either defending champion Jonesboro Westside or
McGehee in the state title
game in Hot Springs later
this week. Farmington ends
the year at 27-7.
Clarksville trailed 43-38
early in the fourth put they
upped the defensive pressure and Kendrick Lee came
up with two steals to help
the Panthers to a 51-45 lead
with just over two minutes
remaining. The Panthers
then hit 7 of 8 free throws to
advance to the title game for
the first time in 10 years.
Trey Norris led Clarksville with 12 points while
sophomore Dederick Lee
and freshman Kendrick Lee
both added 10 points.
“Our defensive pressure
has been our calling card all
year long,” said Clarksville
BOYS
CLARKSVILLE 58
FARMINGTON 51
Clarksville
13 14
9
22 — 58
Farmington
11 13 17
9 — 50
Clarksville (25-8): Norris 12, D. Lee 10,
K. Lee 10, Thompson 9, F. Lee 6, Schucker 5,
Stumbaugh 4, South 2.
Farmington (27-7): Purdy 23, Turner 12,
Leichner 7, Buchanan 4, Mills 2, Woodward 2.
coach Tony Davis. “(Farmington) handled it well early
but it weathers on you. That
was the big key, we finally
forced them into a few turnovers. That was the difference in the game.
“Once we got the lead,
we felt pretty comfortable
because we were able to
make plays offensively.”
Jason Purdy led Farmington with 23 points but the
Cardinals were just 2 of 9
from the field after taking a
five-point lead early in the
fourth quarter. Farmington
guards Kendall Buchanan
and Gavin Osnes both fouled
out.
“Two of our best guards
fouled out of the game and
we have a tough time replacing them,” said Farmington
coach Beau Thompson. “We
never shot the ball well. We
are the type of team that
needs to make shots. They
just made more plays than
we did.”
SPORTS
SHOWCASE SEMIFINALS
Tigers Beat Hornets
BENTONVILLE GIRLS HOLD OFF BRYANT
By Henry Apple
HAPPLE@NWAONLINE.COM
BENTONVILLE — Jordan
Murray and Brittani Reagan
used their heads to help
Bentonville’s girls reach the
North Division championship game Saturday afternoon.
Both players connected
on headers to block a pair of
Bryant shots on goal in the
second half, and the Lady
Tigers held on for a 1-0 semifinal victory in the Northwest
Arkansas Showcase. Bentonville advanced to play Pulaski
Academy in a later match at
Memorial Park.
Both plays came after
goalie Lexie Chitty was out
of position after blocking
another Lady Hornet shot
attempt in the 43rd minute
of play. Murray’s play came
at the last possible moment,
and Reagan came up with
her critical header moments
later.
“Jordan was right at the
line when she made her
play,” Bentonville coach Kris
Henry said. “Those were a
couple of great defensive
plays that came when our
goalie was beat.”
Lauren Powers provided
Bentonville (3-1) with its
only goal in the 41st minute.
Powers’ blast came from
approximately 25 yards out in
the center of the field, where
the ball sliced and carried
into the upper right side of
the goal.
“It was the perfect shot,”
Bryant coach Julie Long said.
“There was nothing that we
could do better on defense,
and there isn’t a goalkeeper
that could have saved that
shot.”
Most of the match was
played on Bentonville’s side
of the field, but the Lady
Tigers really couldn’t get a
clear shot at the goal. Bryant
(2-1) bunched its players in
the box, making it hard for
Bentonville to mount any
decent attack.
“It looked like we were
weary out there,” Henry said.
“We’ve played a lot of games
this week, and the fatigue
was starting to show. In the
second half, we did a good
job of getting more pressure
because we had the wind.
“Lauren took a chance on
that goal and it paid off. We
decided to put her on top
because she provided so
much energy out there.”
TIPS: Bohannan Says Better Bite In Warm Water
but you gotta know where to
throw it,” Kilby chuckled. “No,
you can catch ‘em. Use jerk
baits or crank baits. It doesn’t
seem to make a difference.”
Bink Desaro of Columbia, S.C.: “You’ve got to keep
moving around right now.
It’s feast or famine. I’ve been
throwing a jerk bait, a crank
bait and flipping a jig.”
How deep? “One to 50 feet.
They’re everywhere,” Desaro
said.
Wesley Strader of Spring
City, Tenn.: (Strader caught
a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass on
Friday.) “I’ve been catching
mine really, really deep on a
Little George type bait, then
up shallow on a jerk bait. Any
shad color is good.”
John Cox of Debary,
Fla.: (He caught a 5-pound,
10-ounce bass Friday.) “They’re
starting to move to the bank.
Use a crank bait 2 feet deep to
the bank.”
Greg Bohannan of Rogers:
“I’d go to the river arms.
There’s a better bite in that
warmer water.” Use a shallowrunning crank bait and focus
on shallow rock.
Wildcats Bounce Back
By Vernon Tarver
VTARVER@NWAONLINE.COM
BENTONVILLE — Near freezing temperatures and high
winds couldn’t slow down
Springdale Har-Ber on Saturday at the Northwest Arkansas Showcase.
The Wildcats, who
dropped
their tournament opener
a g a i n s t Lions
1
Fort Smith
Northside on Friday, bounced
back with a strong and at many
times dominant effort in a
4-1 win against Durant, Okla.
at Memorial Park.
For the Har-Ber boys soccer
team and coach Paul Crouch,
the performance against the
Lions was much needed after
Friday’s 3-2 loss to Fort Smith
Northside.
“We came out nervous
against Northside and nobody
was comfortable with the ball
at their feet,” Crouch said.
“But we came out and played
a totally different game in the
second half and then (Saturday) we came out and played
a really good first half. Our
passing percentage was high
and we weren’t losing possession much.”
Har-Ber (1-1) wasted little
time to take control against
Durant. Daniel Gonzalez got
the Wildcats started with
a goal in the game’s first
minutes and Eric Linderos
then followed with a second
score from 10 feet outside the
goal to give the Wildcats a 2-0
lead at the half.
On the other end, the Lions
(2-2) had very few opportunities of their own and rarely
could take over possession
against a quicker Har-Ber
lineup.
“We played like we did
(Friday) night in the cold and
rain and we didn’t bounce
back from that,” said Durant
coach John Wilmoth. “We
were on our hills most of the
game and they didn’t get our
best effort.
“But take nothing away
from (Har-Ber). They’re a
good team, they pass the ball
around well and move real
well and that’s a credit to
them.”
Har-Ber added a third goal
when Jose Gonzalez broke
away to make it 3-0 early in
the second half. The Wildcats
then turned the game over to
the bench, but still continued
to have its way with Durant.
Juan Martinez would add
the Wildcats final goal in the
game’s 88th minute before
Har-Ber allowed its only goal
in the game’s final minute.
Har-Ber’s performance
was particularly impressive
considering the conditions.
On a sloppy field and with
winds whipping at more than
20 miles per hour, the Wildcats still were able to find
a way to move through the
Durant defense with ease.
“(The conditions) were
very tough,” Crouch said. “In
the first half with the wind
in our face, it was killing our
service and shots as well with
the wind forcing the ball up in
the air. Just cold, wet conditions slows the game down a
little bit.
“But I was happy with the
entire game. We had some
mistakes in the first and
second half, but overall we
played well.”
ABRAMS: People Go To Barbershops To Talk
NFL aspirations while sitting
in the barber chair. He was
promptly called a “head
case” and told he dropped
way too many passes to
make the NFL. Another time,
a former Razorback got his
hair trimmed and the sides
cleaned up, so he could look
nice for his upcoming court
appearance.
People go to barbershops
to talk and sometimes talk
trash. It can get loud and
brutal. Walk into any oldschool barbershop, and
there’s a good chance the
place will resemble the scene
from “Coming to America”
in which the barbers and
patrons debate who’s greater:
Joe Louis or Rocky Marciano.
(Joe Louis, in my opinion.)
I’ve never stood around
an office water cooler and
gotten into an argument over
something that happened in a
game the previous night. I’ve
never offered my opinion on
a message board, either. But
every few weeks I get a haircut.
“Yes, sir, the length on top
is perfect. It looks great. And
by the way, what do you think
about Cam Newton’s chances
of making it in the NFL?”
ALEX ABRAMS IS THE ASSISTANT
SPORTS EDITOR FOR THE
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
NEWSPAPERS. HIS COLUMN
APPEARS EACH SUNDAY.
“Exquisitely inventive
opera...witty and clever.”
NEW YORK TIMES
The Mikado
Produced by the legendary
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
Saturday, Mar. 12, 8pm
Tickets start at $28
The Mikado is set in a fictitious Japanese town full of
colorful characters and tells a whimsical tale about the
foibles of human nature. A full orchestra brings to life
Sullivan’s evocative orchestration and the outstanding
performers bring lushness to the vocal lines through
Gilbert’s memorable lyrics.
waltonartscenter.org
Box Office: 479.443.5600
Walton Arts Center is located at 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville
B
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS
BUSINESS
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
Banking Profit Improves
ANALYSTS SAY FINANCIERS REMAIN CAUTIOUS DESPITE PROGRESS
By Kim Souza
KSOUZA@NWAONLINE.COM
The local banking sector made
headway in 2010, collecting
$180 million in profit, despite swallowing hefty charge-offs and large
provisions taken to offset the ongoing saga of real estate loans gone
bad.
The combined net income among
18 community banks doing business
in Benton and Washington counties
rose 182 percent from $64 million
earned in 2009, according to the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Part of the earnings increase
relates to aggressive out-of-state
branch expansions by Simmons
First National and Bank of the
Ozarks in the second half of 2010.
When setting aside the results
of these two banks, the remaining 16 institutions together earned
$90.2 million in 2010.
“It looks as if our local banks have
turned the corner for the most part.
They made steady progress working through troubled loan portfolios,
dealing with several large bankruptcies and a sluggish economic recovery last year,” said John Dominick,
banking professor at the University
of Arkansas.
Half of the 18 community banks
earned more money than a year
ago: First Security Bank, Bank of
Fayetteville, Parkway, Simmons First
National, Bank of the Ozarks, First
State Bank of Northwest Arkansas,
the Bank of Gravett, Liberty Bank
Bankers
Say TARP
Money
Helped
By Kim Souza
KSOUZA@NWAONLINE.COM
through to earnings.
“That’s a lot of money put in the
cookie jar by local banks because
they are still somewhat nervous
about how long the recovery will
take,” Dominick said. “Just think
how fast earnings will rise once
Lending activity remains tepid
two years after seven area banks
boosted capital reserves with
$223 million from the U.S. Treasury
Department’s Capital Purchase
Program.
Seen as a government stimulus
to jump start consumer lending,
the Troubled Asset Relief Program,
known as TARP, did help banks
shore up sagging capital levels. But
little money was loaned out, according to shrinking bank balance sheets
on file with the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp.
Despite the government urging
banks to lend, most held tight to
the capital as they faced rising
delinquencies from loans already
on the books.
Bankers say tepid loan demand
and higher capital restrictions from
regulators have put lenders into a
shrinking mode.
Analysts said it’s not that people
SEE BANK PAGE 2B
SEE MONEY PAGE 2B
STAFF PHOTO SARAH BENTHAM
Customers bank at First Security on Wednesday in Springdale. The bank increased loans by $441 million
last year and deposits rose by $378 million from 2009. First Security bucked the shrinking trend in 2010
producing a 19-percent year-over-year growth in assets to $3.26 billion.
and First Western.
Three banks earned a smaller
profit in 2010: Arvest, Bank of
Arkansas and Decatur State Bank.
Six banks lost money last year.
Metropolitan National, Pinnacle
and Legacy National each trimmed
losses from 2009. Chambers, Signature and First State Bank of Lonoke
BUSINESS BRIEFS
each posted wider losses linked to
nonpaying real estate loans.
While the segment is improving
overall, analysts say bankers remain
cautious, and with good reason.
Higher provisions for loan loss
reserves siphoned $269.2 million
from local bank profit in 2010.
That is money that didn’t flow
SMART PHONE
Consignment Store
Gets New Owners
Puttin’ on the Ritz is putting out the
welcome mat again, despite signs the
upscale consignment clothing store in
Fayetteville would be closing.
Cecelia Dye of Fayetteville and Sue
Kinsey of Goshen bought the store at
2385 N. Green Acres Road on Monday
from P.J. Langford for an undisclosed
amount. This is Dye and Kinsey’s first
business venture together and first
experience in retail.
They had been customers since
Langford took over the business
14 years ago and have been
enthusiastic about the quality and
condition of clothing offered.
Dye and Kinsey hope to
add new consigners and are now
accepting spring and summer attire
in good condition. Hours are from
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday.
Job Seekers Get
Resume Help
Employers wanting to fill positions
are encouraged to sign up for a booth
at the NWA Media Job Fair on
March 28 in Rogers. The event is
hosted by the Rogers-Lowell Area
Chamber of Commerce. Hours are
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the John Q.
Hammons Convention Center,
3300 Pinnacle Hills Parkway.
Job seekers can participate
without charge and are encouraged
to bring resumes to give company
representatives.
Tips to improve those resumes will
be available on a drop-in basis from
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Anyone who does
not yet have a resume is asked to
complete a worksheet online at www.
rogerslowell.com. The information on
the worksheet will be used to create
a resume during scheduled sessions.
Employers can choose among
various rates for exhibitors’ booths
by calling Courtney Backus in the
Chamber office at 619-3190.
BUSINESS BRIEFS ARE RESTRICTED
TO AREA BUSINESSES THAT HAVE
RELOCATED, OPENED A NEW BRANCH,
CHANGED OWNERS AND/OR HAVE
BEEN HONORED BY AN INDEPENDENT
ORGANIZATION. SEND ITEMS TO P.O. BOX
7, SPRINGDALE, AR 72765: OR
E-MAIL: CSWANSON@NWAONLINE.COM.
A consumer uses the Bank of America application on an iPhone on Thursday.
Mobile Money Market Expanding
EXPERT: BANKING VIA CELL PHONES, TABLETS WILL INCREASE
By Christie Swanson
CSWANSON@NWAONLINE.COM
Personal banking is getting
easier to do from any place at
any time.
Mobile banking is not a new
phenomenon, but smartphones
are rapidly changing its prevalence.
“A lot of people may have
wanted to try mobile banking, but it was a hassle,” said
Mark Beccue, senior analyst
on consumer mobility for ABI
Research. “Smartphones are
changing that.”
Banks started offering mobile
options in mid-2007, Beccue
said.
Forrester Research reports
7.3 million people used mobile
banking in 2008. The number of
users doubled between 2009 and
2010, going from 10.3 million to
20.6 million.
ing to 72 million.
Four of f ive U.S. adults
owned a cell phone in 2010, and
WHY NOT?
17 percent owned a smartphone,
About 12 percent of online adults use mobile banking. Those choosing not
according to Forrester Research.
to mobile bank cite a variety of reasons. Survey respondents could give
The company also reports that
more than one reason.
25 percent of smartphone users
◗ See no value in using it — 37 percent
are mobile bankers.
◗ Don’t believe it is safe/secure — 35 percent
Beccue said mobile banking use
◗ Don’t want to pay for cell phone fees — 32 percent
will grow at a slow and steady
◗ Will wait to access accounts other ways — 24 percent
◗ Don’t have right technology on cell phone — 21 percent
rate as smartphones become
◗ Don’t know enough about it — 16 percent
more affordable and widespread.
◗ Cell phone’s screen is too small — 13 percent
Kidera said the average price of
◗ Don’t know how much it would cost — 9 percent
a smartphone dropped 23 percent
◗ Don’t know whether my bank offers it — 8 percent
between 2009 and 2010, going
◗ It is complicated to use — 5 percent
from $362 to $295.
◗ Bank doesn’t offer mobile banking — 4 percent
Mobile banking creates a win◗ It is too slow — 4 percent
win situation through automation
◗ Can’t find enough information about it — 2 percent
and streamlining costs, Beccue
◗ Other — 10 percent
said.
SOURCE: FORRESTER RESEARCH
“Customers find it very convenient and banks can save money,”
The number of smartphones Steve Kidera of the Consumer he said.
sold between 2009 and 2010 Electronics Association. He
Anna Drachenberg of Fayettville
jumped 33 percent, growing from expects that number to increase
SEE MARKET PAGE 3B
41.2 million to 55 million, said another 31 percent in 2011, growAT A GLANCE
BUSINESS
2B NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS
INCORPORATIONS
BENTON COUNTY
Project Graduation of Siloam
Springs Inc., Michael Houston, 117
N. Broadway St., Siloam Springs.
American Line Service Inc.,
Jeremy Decker, 1203 N.W. 10th St.,
Bentonville.
Bo Sports LLC, Bill Watkins, 1106
W. Poplar St., Rogers.
Rogers Towing and Recovery
LLC, Tony Arnold, 1934 Cierra Drive,
Rogers.
Mojo Marketing Inc., Nicole Trudo,
2005 N.W. Desoto Drive, Bentonville.
Alexandria’s Designs LLC, Michael
Gulas, 2710 Patti Lane, Rogers.
Universal TV Stand LLC, John C.
Riley, 29 Churchill Drive, Bella Vista.
Huronaro LLC, Romane Armand,
3 5 0 4 S.W. C ro s s w i n d s B l vd . ,
Bentonville.
Pro Property Management LLC,
Larry Robison, 6 Halsted Circle,
Rogers.
K T Croft Inc., Tracy Croft, 4
Mallow Lane, Bella Vista.
2G3M Underground Utilities LLC,
Steve V. Ashmore II, 8293 Beaver
Shores Drive, Rogers.
NWA Cleaning LLC, Jessica Wilcox
or Savanna Ferguson, 3500 Victoria
Place Apt. 1, Bentonville.
J&V Mobile Repair LLC, Vickie
A. Polina, 910 N.W. A St. Apt. 1,
Bentonville.
NWA Events Unltd., Gwen Kelly,
1401 S. Walton Blvd. Suite 142,
Bentonville.
Brand Ventures LLC, Terry Smith,
701 Horsebarn Road Suite 200,
Rogers.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Beaver Watershed Alliance, Nicole
Hardiman, 100 W. Center St. Suite
300, Fayetteville.
Razorbox Properties LLC, Jeb H.
Joyce, 4100 Corporate Center Drive
Suite 310, Springdale.
Bill Brown Appraisal Inc., Bill
Brown, 1479 Executive Place Suite
C, Springdale.
Livetree Creative LLC, Jordan
Carmon, 3953 Allison Lane Suite 101,
Springdale.
HB Tax Express LLC, Heldo
Jacob, 204 N. Thompson St. Suite 1,
Springdale.
Ozark Integrated Circuits Inc.,
James W. Smith, 3425 N. Futrall Drive
Suite 103, Fayetteville.
Spring Creek Rentals LLC, James
W. Smith, 3425 N. Futrall Drive Suite
103, Fayetteville.
Interventional Pain Specialists
of Northwest Arkansas PLLC, Jared
Ennis M.D and/or Jason Holt M.D.,
509 E. Millsap Road Suite 109,
Fayetteville.
Cox Concrete and Services Inc.,
Sam Cox, 328 W. Randall Wobbe Lane
Suite A, Springdale.
Montavel Properties LLC, Luis
Avelar, 4276 Saint Johns Wood St.,
Springdale.
Al’s Alliance LLC, M.D. Sarwar
Alam, 4691 W. Tumbleweed St.,
Fayetteville.
Razorfast Roofing LLC, Shawn
Redmond, 60 E. Township St.,
Fayetteville.
Needle’s Eye, P LLC, Michael
L. Roberts, 814 Nicholson Ave.,
Springdale.
Happy Packages of Northwest
Arkansas Inc., Zacc Arnold, 826
Chantel Ave., Springdale.
Aarkay Enterprises LLC, Arun
Chawla, 3535 S. Thompson St.,
Springdale.
Maruti Enterprises LLC, Arun
Chawla, 3535 S. Thompson St.,
Springdale.
College Avenue LLC, Jerry Allred,
3102 N. College Ave., Fayetteville.
Bicycle Fayetteville Days Company,
John Goddard, 2020 E. Country
Way, Fayetteville.
Ruff-House Bulldogs LLC, Joshua
Evans, 20380 E. U.S. 412, Springdale.
Boyce R. Davis PC, Boyce R. Davis,
211 S. Main Ave., Lincoln.
Golden Kolache Bakery LLC,
Paul W. Milam Jr., 2212 Main Drive,
Johnson.
Vinson Images LLC, Jason Vinson,
2537 N. Vickers Place, Fayetteville.
White Elephant Entertainment
LLC, Glenn Whitman, 1991 W. Custer
Lane, Fayetteville.
Bktk LLC, Billy Bob Webb, 116 W.
Emma Ave., Springdale.
Boston Mountain Ranch LLC,
Janet Tekell, 12045 Flowers Road,
West Fork.
Ironstar Ranch Inc, Greg Pierson,
12045 Flowers Road, West Fork.
E l i s h a P r o p e r t i e s L L C , D.
Westbrook Doss Jr., 121 N. School
Ave., Fayetteville.
Gateway Homes LLC, Michael
Pennington, 12357 Brush Creek,
Springdale.
Ozark Tradition Knifeworks LLC,
David Williamson, 13876 S. U.S. 71,
West Fork.
Sparkling Image LLC, Derek
Va n v o a s t , 1 4 0 0 D a v i s Av e . ,
Springdale.
Rick Long Construction LLC,
Charles Edward Young III, 1526 Plaza
Place, Springdale.
Go Healthy Vending LLC, Geron
Vail, 1886 Balmoral Ave., Springdale.
Oxford Bend Estates Subdivision
Property Owners Association Inc.,
Peter G. Estes III, 19 E. Dickson St.,
Fayetteville.
Roy Brown Consulting Inc.,
Peter G. Estes Jr., 19 E. Dickson St.,
Fayetteville.
USHR Finance LLC, Richard D.
Roblee, 1915 Green Acres Road,
Fayetteville.
— STAFF REPORT
MONEY: Only One Of Seven Participating Banks Has Fully Repaid Treasury’s Investment
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
don’t need loans, but many
can’t qualify under tighter
credit requirements.
“We can’t see what might
have happened without the
extra capital, but it’s likely
more banks would have failed
and overall loans would have
contracted further,” said Tim
Yeager, Arkansas Bankers
Chairman at the University
of Arkansas.
On that note, Yeager said
the TARP program was
a success for community
banks, while most have not
repaid the money.
He said the last thing
taxpayers want is banks
making loans they
shouldn’t.
The FDIC admitted last
year that banks participating
in the government’s stimulus
program used extra capital
to shore up balance sheets,
largely ignoring federal
directives to lend in hopes
of reviving the economy.
TARP was not a loan,
but through the capital
purchase program the Treasury purchased shares of
preferred stock from qualifying financial institutions. The
Treasury was to receive a
5 percent quarterly dividend
on the investment through
BY THE NUMBERS
TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM UPDATE
FOR U.S. BANKS
656: The number of banks receiving TARP funds
$245.4 billion: TARP disbursements to U.S. banks
$211.1 billion: Funds repaid to the government
$35.45 billion: Funds outstanding
$31.68 billion: Income generated by Treasury’s investment in
banking sector
SOURCE: U.S TREASURY DEPARTMENT AS OF FEB. 3, 2011
2013, when the rate jumps to
9 percent.
The government investment was initially meant for
financially healthy banks,
but three of the seven local
recipients have come under
enforcement actions by
regulators since the money
was received.
Capital Restraints
Signature Bank got
$16.8 million in TARP money
and maintained stable lending though 2009, but the bank
took a defensive posture in
2010 as it came under tighter
restraints by regulators.
“We are glad to have
participated in the program,
the funds allowed us to keep
lending in 2009 and then
served as buffer when the
bank’s losses escalated last
year,” said Gary Head, president of Signature.
Signature Bank has paid
$1.58 million in dividends
since receiving the money.
Head said 5 percent is a
low cost for capital in today’s
market.
Critics of the program
say banks under capital
pressures are more likely
to miss dividend payments.
The Treasury reported
140 banks across the nation
skipped dividend payments
last year.
Both Metropolitan
National Bank and First
Federal Bank benefited from
TARP.
These banks missed multiple dividend payments to the
government since coming
under strict enforcement
actions for capital shortfalls.
Metropolitan National got
$25 million, which analysts
say likely rescued the bank’s
capital ratios from lethal
levels in 2009 on the heels
of a $80 million annual loss.
Metropolitan’s capital
reserves declined from
$142.9 million to $73.3 million
in the past two years ending
Dec. 31, 2010.
The bank’s total loan portfolio shrunk by $352 million
since December 2008.
Metropolitan Bank
declined to comment on
the status of its delinquent
TARP payments, but remains
$1.7 million in arrears for five
missed dividend payments
as of Feb. 15.
F i r s t Fe d e r a l B a n k
received $16.5 million in
TARP money, but also is not
current with quarterly dividend payments.
“Our regulators will not
allow us to pay dividends at
this time, given the enforcement action directing higher
capital level requirements,”
said CEO Larry Brandt.
H e s a i d TA R P w a s
intended to stimulate lending and perhaps it did so
very early on. But as the
economy’s struggles continued many banks needed the
money to cushion dwindling
capital reserves.
First Federal is in the
midst of a $55 million capital public stock offering,
expected to close by the end
of the second quarter.
“This capital will allow
us to fully repay our TARP
obligation and put the bank
well above the capital ratios
our enforcement action
requires,” Brandt said.
TARP Update
Only one of the seven
participating banks has fully
repaid the Treasury for its
investment.
Bank of the Ozarks
redeemed the $75 million of
preferred shares it sold to
the government by the end
of 2009.
“We received the capital
in early 2009 but after careful consideration the bank
realized it didn’t need the
funds and opted to get out
of the program,” said Susan
Blair, spokeswoman for the
bank.
Liberty Bank received the
second highest capital infusion selling $57.5 million of
preferred shares to the Treasury Department.
In the two years since
Liberty got the money
the bank’s loan portfolio
shrunk from $1.8 billion to
$1.57 billion by the end of
2010.
Liberty paid $5.67 million
in TARP dividends to the
government since 2009.
Liberty Bank’s equity capital rose from $293 million to
$353 million in the past
two years and the bank
returned a profit of $15.5
million last year, but the
Treasury Department still
holds preferred stock in the
bank.
Chambers Bank benefited from a $19.9 million
TARP infusion and has paid
$2.42 million to the government since 2009 for the use
of that money.
Chambers’ loan activity
increased 2 percent in 2009
after receiving the funds,
but loans were scaled back
in 2010 by about $20 million,
according to the bank’s most
recent FDIC filings.
Community First Bank
of Harrison received
$12.72 million in TARP money
but the bank’s loan portfolio
has shrunk $62 million in
the past two years while its
capital reserves increased by
17 percent.
“Capital is king for
community banks these days
and most want to preserve
it given the slow economy
recovery,” Yeager said.
BANK: Six Banks Lose Combined $49.97 Million Last Year, Linked To Bankruptcies, Real Estate
these large provisions are no
longer necessary.”
He said the biggest drain
on bank earnings in 2011
is the $497 million of real
estate the 18 financial institutions recovered last year.
“Real estate appraisals are
much lower than when the
loans were written. That
means banks must writeoff the difference and either
hold the foreclosed property and pay for upkeep, or
resell it at a lower price and
swallow the loss,” Dominick
said.
Charge-offs declined about
15 percent in the year-overyear period but remained
high at $221.6 million at the
end of 2010.
Better banking profit is
contingent upon how efficiently the lenders can work
through their real estate
holdings, said Tim Yeager,
Arkansas Bankers Chair at
the university.
The tell-tale signs of a
prolonged recovery are seen
in the banks’ rising delinquent loan portfolios.
The combined nonaccrual
loans jumped 23 percent last
year to $688 million for the
18 banks.
Those are loans more
than 90 days late and facing
c h a r ge - o ff . T h e b a n k s
also reported $252 million
in loans past due 30 to
89 days.
Yeager said Northwest
Arkansas banks had a higher
concentration of real estate
loans than the state average
and continue to suffer losses
related to declining land and
home prices.
The group held total loans
of $16.25 billion at the end of
2010. About 5.86 percent of
those were delinquent.
Yeager said this is at least
four times greater than
a bank’s normal comfort
zone and indicates bankers
still have more work to do
before earnings normalize.
BY THE NUMBERS
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS BANK EARNINGS
The 2010 net income or loss reported by the 18 local banks
reviewed, compared to 2009 earnings.
Bank
2010
2009
Percent
Change
Simmons First National $24.8 million
$12.6 million
96.8
First Security Bank
$66.9 million $40.63 million
64.6
Bank of the Ozarks
$65.8 million $44.83 million
46.7
First State Bank NWA
$1.42 million
$1.08 million
31
Liberty Bank
$15.5 million
$13.1 million
18.3
Bank of Gravett
$460,000
-$5.84 million
*
Parkway Bank
$326,000
-$4.61 million
*
Bank of Fayetteville
$157,000
-$2.02 million
*
First Western
$1.02 million
-$2.54 million
*
Arvest
$49.5 million
$52.8 million
-6.25
Decatur State
$719,000
$1.91 million
-62.4
Bank of Arkansas
$1.06 million
$3.41 million
-68.9
Metropolitan National -$8.31 million -$80.1 million
*
Pinnacle Bank
-$1.51 million -$6.28 million
*
Legacy National
*
First State Lonoke
*
Signature Bank
-$15.6 million
$1.06 million
-1,573
Chambers Bank
-$17.7 million
$4.85 million
-466
* The annual percentage change can’t be calculated because of net
losses in 2009.
SOURCE: FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORP.
Fatter Bottomline
Analysts say the larger
banks have had an easier time
moving through the recovery
cycle, but that wasn’t necessarily the case with the local
banks reviewed.
The highest marks for
bank performance ranged
from First Security with
$3.2 billion in assets to the
region’s smallest, First State
of Northwest Arkansas.
Yeager said the results
posted by these two banks
would be g reat in any
economic climate.
First Security earned
$66.9 million in net income.
This was a 64.6 percent
improvement over last year
with a stellar 2.05 percent
return on assets, the metric
used to measure a bank’s
profitability relative to its
capital base.
According to the Boston
Consulting Group, the indus-
try benchmark is a return on
assets of 1 percent.
First Security ranked
higher than 96 percent of its
173 peers across the nation,
according to the FDIC.
“This bank continues to
set the bar high, managing to
escape many of the commercial real estate lending woes
other local banks have
endured in recent years,”
Yeager said.
Jim Taylor, regional president for First Security,
said conservative lending
practices in good and bad
economic cycles have served
the bank well.
“We are not immune from
real estate exposure and
also experienced a slightly
higher than normal amount
of delinquencies last year. We
are seeing some real estate
lot values stabilize which is
encouraging,” he said.
First Security is flush with
$337 million in equity capital
and Taylor said the bank has
money to lend and continues
to shop for possible branch
acquisitions within the state.
First State of Northwest
Arkansas outperformed
97 percent of 146 banks
of similar size across the
nation last year. Huntsvillebased First State earned
$1.42 million, up 30.6 percent
from the prior year. The bank
also improved its return on
assets to 1.84 percent, up
from 1.47 percent in 2009.
Simmons First National,
Bank of the Ozarks and
Liberty Bank, each based
outside Northwest Arkansas,
also ranked at the head of the
class, according to their yearover-year financial results.
Four other banks reversed
their fortunes in 2010, hitting
pay dirt after sustaining
losses in 2009.
Parkway Bank of Rogers
climbed out of a $4.6 million
hole to earn $326,000 in
2010.
“It has taken time, patience
and due diligence to turn
the losses around and while
we know there is still lots
of room for improvement,
we’re happy with the progress made last year,” said Bob
Taylor, president of Parkway.
He said the bank has
focused on identifying
and collecting its past due
accounts but still faces
$8.2 million in real estate on
its books.
“The real estate holdings
are the biggest challenge for
us this year. But we are just
now beginning to see some
serious interest in a few of
the properties, after months
of fielding calls from bottomfeeding bargain hunters,” he
said.
The Bank of Gravett
reversed a $5.8 million loss
in 2009 to earn $460,000
last year. The profit is linked
to a $5 million reduction in
charge-offs in the year-overyear period.
The Bank of Fayetteville
wiped away a $2 million loss
and posted a profit of $157,000 $4.14 million, not nearly
enough given the banks
in 2010.
recent increase in delinquencies.
Holding Steady
Three banks made money,
albeit less than in 2009.
Arvest set aside
$129 million to loan loss
reserves in 2010. This reduced
the banks net income to
$ 4 9. 5 m i l l i o n , d o w n
6.2 percent from the prior
year, according to the FDIC.
Arvest deposits rose about
3 percent in the past year,
but total loans shrunk by
$624 million or 7.9 percent.
“Consumers saved money
in 2010 and seem to be stepping out to spend a little
more in recent months. We
are encouraged that loan
demand will improve this
year as consumers feel more
confident about holding on to
their jobs,” said David Short,
president of Arvest Bank’s
Benton County market.
While Arvest continues
to expand outside the area,
deposits held in Benton and
Washington counties total
$3.1 billion, or roughly onethird of the bank’s total.
The Bank of Arkansas
and Decatur State Bank
each reported smaller profit
margins in 2010, while also
writing fewer loans and
adding more deposits.
The Bank of Arkansas
reduced its nonperforming loans by 44 percent in
2010, without adding to
its real estate portfolio or
any substantial increase in
charge-offs.
Decatur State Bank continues to face $25 million in
nonperforming loans, up
123 percent from a year
earlier.
Analysts expect Decatur
State Bank’s earnings will
contract further in 2011 as it
will need to set aside additional provisions to offset the
risk associated with its deteriorating loan portfolio.
At the end of 2010, the
bank had loss reserves of
Hefty Losses
Six banks in the group lost
a combined $49.97 million
last year, linked to local real
estate woes and a few multimillion-dollar customer bankruptcies. The largest declines
were felt by Chambers Bank
and Signature Bank.
Chambers Bank lost
$17.9 million last year, as it set
aside $28.6 million to cover
its rising delinquent loan
portfolio.
Si g n at u re B a n k ’s n e t
income plummeted from
$1.06 million earned in 2009
to a $15.6 million loss in 2010.
The earnings deficit included
a $10 million goodwill impairment charge related to Signature’s branch in Brinkley.
Gary Head, president of
Signature, said the goodwill
charge was required by the
bank’s auditing firm given
the decline in bank stock
valuations since the Brinkley branch was purchased
in 2006.
The bank also set aside
$18.8 million to offset its
delinquent loan risk and
charged off $17.8 million that
could not be collected.
Head downsized the bank
by selling two branches in
Benton County last year to
First Bank of Camden in an
effort to shrink the institution
and its capital requirements.
He attributed much of the
rough year’s performance to
free-falling appraisal values
on loan collateral and lackluster local economy.
Head said between September 2009 and December 2010
an appraisal for one piece of
commercial real estate held
as collateral declined from
$16 million to $10.5 million.
“We are off to a better start
in 2011 and continue to run a
lean operation,” Head said. “I
am glad 2010 is history.”
BUSINESS
ON THE AGENDA
MARKET: Banks Have Three Ways To Serve Customers Through Mobile Banking
MONDAY
8 a.m.-5 p.m. — Certified Fiber Optic
Technician, at Shewmaker Center for
Workforce Technologies, 1000 S.E. Eagle
Way in Bentonville. Continues Tuesday
and Wednesday. Cost is $700. Register
at nwacc.edu/corporatelearning or
936-5175.
6-9 p.m. — Access 2007, Level II,
at Shewmaker Center for Workforce
Technologies, 1000 S.E. Eagle Way in
Bentonville. Continues Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings. Cost is $174.
Register at nwacc.edu/corporatelearning
or 936-5175.
TUESDAY
7 a.m. — BNI Razorback Network
Group at the Holiday Inn, 1500 S. 48th St.
in Springdale. Membership fee required.
Contact Greg Collier at 725-0453 or
gcollier@farmersagent.com.
7:30-8:30 a.m. — I Take the Lead
business referral group, at Village Inn,
2300 S.E. Walton Blvd. in Bentonville.
Membership fee required. Contact Bob
Thomas at 435-4138.
8 - 9 a . m . — Tuesday Morning
Tune-Up at MainStay Suites, 301 S.
45th St. in Rogers. Led by Tom Jones
with Harris McHaney, at 644-4851 or
tuesdaymorningnetworkgroup@gmail.
com.
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. — Grantseeking
101, at Compton Gardens Conference
Center, 312 N. Main St. in Bentonville.
Cost is $50, discounted to $45 each for
board/staff pairs. Register with Cheryl
Kester at ckester@cox.net or 479-5821053. Information: peelcompton.org.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. — Access 2007, Level II,
at Corporate Learning Fayetteville, 4004
N. College Ave. Cost is $174. Register
718-7572.
11 a.m.-2 p.m. — How to Write
a Business Plan, at the University of
Arkansas in Fayetteville. Cost is $35.
Registration required at sbtdc.uark.edu
or 575-5148.
Noon-1 p.m. — I Take the Lead
business referral group, at the RogersLowell Area Chamber of Commerce, 317
W. Walnut St. in Rogers. Membership
fee required. Contact Bob Thomas at
435-4138 or Bob@ITakeTheLead.com.
WEDNESDAY
7-8:30 a.m. — BNI Benton County
Business Builders, at the Doubletree in
Bentonville. Membership fee required.
Contact Mike Ramsey at 366-6044.
7:30-8:30 a.m. — I Take the Lead
business referral group, at the Panera
Bread, 201 S.W. 14th St. in Bentonville.
Membership fee required. Contact
Bob Thomas at 435-4138 or Bob@
ITakeTheLead.com.
8:30-11 a.m. — The Joseph Project’s
mission is to provide timely and
relevant job resources, networking and
encouragement to business people
between jobs. Meets at John Brown
University of Rogers, 2807 Ajax Ave.,
Suite 200. Free and no pre-registration
required, www.workmatters.org/the_
joseph_project.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. — Excel VBA (Visual
Basic for Applications), at Corporate
Learning Fayetteville, 4004 N. College
Ave. Cost is $225. Register at nwacc.
edu/corporatelearning or 718-7572.
business referral group, at Ye Olde King
Pizza, 3162 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
in Fayetteville. Membership fee required.
Contact Bob Thomas at 435-4138 or Bob@
ITakeTheLead.com.
THURSDAY
8 a.m. — Connecting Professionals
at Simmons Suites, 3001 N.E. 11th St. in
Bentonville. Sponsored by Bentonville/
Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.
Contact Nancy Desler at 273-2841 or
ndesler@bbvchamber.com.
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. — The People Skills
of Change Integration, Renolds Center for
Enterprise Development, 145 N. Buchanan
Ave., in Fayetteville. Session 2 of 6 of the
Integrating Change certificate program
of the University of Arkansas’s Executive
Education Center. Cost is $695; discount
for UA employees. Register at execed.
uark.edu/integrating.asp or 575-2856.
11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Early-State
Venture Finance: Raising Capital to Fund
Growth, at the University of Arkansas
in Fayetteville. Cost is $35. Registration
required at sbtdc.uark.edu or 575-5148.
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. — Northwest
Arkansas Human Resources Association
at Springdale Holiday Inn, 1500 S. 48th St.
Program is Generation Y (the Millennials)
and the Upcoming Generation Z: Evolving
the Workforce, featuring members of the
student chapter at John Brown University.
Cost is $25. Reservations at noark.org.
business referral group, at Joe’s Italian
Grill, 4224 W. Sunset Ave. in Springdale.
Membership fee required. Contact
Bob Thomas at 435-4138 or Bob@
ITakeTheLead.com.
1:30-2:30 p.m. — Event Service
Providers networking group, for those
who plan events or sells products and
services that support the event industry,
at Atlanta Bread Co., 4602 W. Walnut St.
in Rogers. Contact Carrie Perrien Smith
at 636-7626 or soarhigher.com/esp.htm.
1 : 4 5 - 8 p . m . — Wo m e n i n I T
Conference, at Donald W. Reynolds
Center for Enterprise Development, 145
N. Buchanan Ave. in Fayetteville. Theme:
Discovering Tomorrow Together: How the
IT Woman of the Future is Created Today.
Tour of RFID Lab, 2-3 p.m. Aspirations in
Computing Award Reception is 6-8 p.m.
Continues Friday. Cost is $225; various
discounts available. Register at itri.uark.
edu/1987.asp.
6:30-7:30 p.m. — Benton County
Chapter of the International Association
of Administrative Professionals, at Hyatt
Place, 4610 W. Walnut St. in Rogers.
Program is “Financial Debt Free Future”
by Dawn Scifres, HR specialist, Global
Leadership, Walmart. Information:
iaapbentoncounty.com or Susana Bailey
at 633-2087.
FRIDAY
7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. — Women in IT
Conference at Donald W. Reynolds
Center for Enterprise Development, 145
N. Buchanan Ave. in Fayetteville. Cost
is $225; various discounts available.
Register at itri.uark.edu/1987.asp.
8 a.m.-5 p.m. — Certified Fiber
Optics Splicing Technician (CFOS/T)
course, at Shewmaker Center for
Way in Bentonville. Continues Sunday.
Cost is $675. Register at nwacc.edu/
corporatelearning or 936-5175.
8 a.m. — Rogers Creative Referral
Network at Schlotzky’s, 2709 W. Walnut
St. in Rogers. Contact Carrie PerrienSmith at carrie@soarhigher.com.
8:15 a.m. — Fayetteville Creative
Referral Network at Firehouse Subs, 1364
E. Augustine Lane in Fayetteville. Contact
Donna Hamilton, 521-4411, or donna@
imagebuildersnwa.com.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. — Access 2007, Level I,
at Corporate Learning Fayetteville, 4004
N. College Ave. Cost is $159. Register
718-7572.
11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Maximizing Your
Website’s Potential (Search Engine
Optimization), at the University of
Arkansas in Fayetteville. Cost is $35.
Registration required at sbtdc.uark.edu
or 575-5148.
SATURDAY
8 a.m.-5 p.m. — Delegating for
Business Success, at Shewmaker Center
for Workforce Technologies, 1000 S.E.
Eagle Way in Bentonville. Continues
Saturday, March 19. Cost is $299. Register
936-5175.
8 a.m.-5 p.m. — Certified Fiber
Optics Splicing Specialist (CFOS/S)
course, at Shewmaker Center for
Way in Bentonville. Continues Sunday.
Cost is $675. Register at nwacc.edu/
corporatelearning or 936-5175.
9 a.m. — Homebuyer Education class
at Jones Center for Families, 922 E. Emma
Ave. in Springdale. Free. Attendance may
help in qualification for down-payment
assistance. Register at www.CCOAcares.
com or 521-8877.
ON THE AGENDA PROVIDES
READERS WITH INFORMATION
ABOUT A BUSINESS-RELATED
EVENT OR PROGRAM. SEND YOUR
ITEM TO P.O. BOX 7, SPRINGDALE,
72765 OR E-MAIL SMORRIS@
NWAONLINE.COM.
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS 3B
said she likes the convenience of being able to
check balances and make
transfers from her iPhone
while traveling.
Mobile banking accounts
for about half the activity
of her online Regions bank
account. Drachenberg said
she has used mobile banking for almost a year.
Triple Play
Banks have three ways to
serve customers through
mobile banking: mobile
web browsers, applications
and text messaging. Beccue
said this is what people in
the industry call the “triple
play.”
Many banks offer mobile
access that is mostly an
extension of their online
banking program; a
version of a bank’s website
is retooled as a mobile
website.
Beccue said the mobile
sites load faster, have fewer
graphics and are more to
the point.
Bank of America and
Wells Fargo were among the
first banks to use the mobile
web for banking, launching
sites in 2007.
Web-based services are
the most frequent mobile
offering from banks, Beccue
said. Customers use a
browser to navigate to a
bank’s site, as is done on a
home computer.
Lindsay Ramsey said the
Bank of Fayetteville began
offering web-based services
in fall 2008.
“It’s the same system as
online. They are one in the
same,” the bank spokeswoman said.
The bank will launch an
iPhone application by May,
and will soon after offer a
similar program for Android
phones, Ramsey.
The growth of smartphones is pushing the development of application.
“This is generally the
most rich experience for
the customer. It’s the most
robust solution,” said Jason
Kincy, Arvest spokesman.
Applications provide a
one-touch link to a banking program and keeps the
user from having to surf the
web.
Arvest started developing mobile banking in 2007,
and rolled out the program
in early 2008, he said.
Kincy said Arvest plans
to add browser-based and
text message services in the
near future.
“Everybody’s mobile is
a little different,” he said.
“I’m excited about getting
beyond the point of just
having an app.”
Text messaging, or short
message service, is the third
side of the mobile triangle.
It is not as common and
is starting to catch on in the
United States, Beccue said.
About 98 percent of
cell phones can send and
receive text messages, but
less than half have Internet
access, he said.
“When banks didn’t treat
texting as a viable option
they were ignoring a very
large market,” Beccue said.
This service can send
automated alerts for things
such as low balance, and
users can text a request for
information such as balance
or transfer information.
Short message service
allows banks to reach
customers who may not do
other forms of online banking.
Cell phone ownership is
above 82 percent, meaning more U.S. adults have
a mobile phone than own
a computer or have access
to the Internet, according to Forrester Research.
The report predicts by
2015 nearly 18 percent of
these offline adults will use
mobile banking to access
their accounts.
Another growth area for
mobile banking is the electric tablet market.
Mobile bankers can use
tablets with apps or via a
browser to access informa-
“The phone will become the nexus for all our
data. At that point it will become the No. 1 point
for all hackers.”
JASON ROUSE
Financial-security consultant
tion. Kidera said the tablet
market grew 10,200 percent
between 2009 and 2010.
About 100,000 tablets were
sold in 2009, skyrocketing to 10.3 million in 2010.
He expects consumers to
purchase 18.2 million tablets
this year.
Apple expanded the tablet
market Wednesday when it
launched the iPad 2.
The price of tablets is
also dropping, he said.
Ave ra ge co s t d ro p p e d
35 percent from 2009 to
2010, going from $700 to
$520.
“And the price is continuing to drop every year,”
Kidera said.
The larger tablet screen
provides customers with a
better view for mobile banking. About 13 percent of U.S.
adults who are online say
they don’t use mobile banking because of the small
phone screen, according to
Forrester Research.
Far more, 35 percent,
point to security as a reason
to avoid the process.
Safety Concerns
More and more personal
information is going on cell
phones, giving criminals
added incentive to target
them, said Jason Rouse, a
financial-security consultant who focuses on mobile
and wireless technology for
Cigital, a software security
and consulting firm.
Rouse said we are becoming a mobile society that
wants constant connectivity.
“The phone will become
the nexus for all our data.
At that point it will become
the No. 1 point for all hackers,” he said.
That being said, Rouse
said mobile banking is very
secure.
“Scrutiny is so intense
that banks have extra incentives to get it right,” he
said.
Kincy said Arvest uses
many of the same protocols
used for online banking.
Mobile bankers must use a
password and be in possession of the phone.
“There is limited risk,” he
said.
Beccue said users should
be alert to phishing. Microsoft defines phishing as
identity thieves sending
fraudulent e-mails directing
users to a website or phone
number that will ask for
personal information.
Apps are usually very
secure, he said.
Mobile banking activities are usually limited to
actions that don’t move
money out of the account.
Bill pay options require
the user to be logged in
and most banks only allow
mobile transfers to another
account from that bank,
making them easy to trace.
Rouse said there are some
easy things mobile bankers
can do to stay safe.
“Become an active participant in your finances,” he
said. Customers should
know what transactions
occur in their accounts.
He also said customers
should call their banks and
ask questions about security.
“This is two-pronged,” he
said. “It tells the bank you
are interested in the security of your account and
has the potential to make
them a bit more proactive
in enhancing security.”
What’s Next
As mobile devices
continue to evolve, so do
banking options.
Beccue said some banks
last year started a personto-person money transfer
program.
This is something Kincy
said Arvest is working to
implement. Splitting a lunch
tab with a friend, and transferring money straight from
one account to another is an
example of how the program
could be used, he said.
Beccue compared the
money transfer to PayPal,
but rather than using it to
make eBay purchases it
could be used to pay the
plumber or the baby sitter.
Another plan starting to
catch on is remote check
capture. A smartphone
scans a check, sends the
image to the bank and
deposits it into an account
without the need to enter a
bank branch.
“Eventually your phone
will be your wallet,” Beccue
said.
simmonsfirst.com
%S4IBSPO(BCFS
Welcome Dr. Sharon Gaber to our
Corporate Board of Directors.
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UIF6OJWFSTJUZPG"SLBOTBTIBTCFFOOBNFEUPUIF4JNNPOT'JSTU/BUJPOBM
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4B NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TIMES
OPINION
H O W
W E
S E E
T H E
F I R S T
W O R D
“I don’t think nobody’s frustrated yet,
it’s just the political process.”
HOUSE SPEAKER REP. ROBERT MOORE, D-ARKANSAS CITY
On delays in passing tax cut bills passed by the Senate
I T
Tax Proposal
For Highways
Unappealing
A
rkansas could use more roads, but a proposal
being floated in the Legislature to fund an
expansion of the state’s highway system
ought to be abandoned.
This proposal, courtesy
of Arkansas House Speaker
WHAT’S THE POINT?
Robert Moore, comes in two
The Legislature should pass
parts, both of which would
on House Speaker Robert
Moore’s highway funding
require approval of the
plan.
voters.
One part involves raising
the state sales tax by a halfcent for 10 years. The money collected from this
— an estimated $1.8 billion over a decade — would
go toward paying back bonds that would provide
the money to establish a four-lane highway grid
connecting the state.
The other part involves raising the state’s diesel fuel
tax from 4 cents to 9 cents, an increase that Moore
said would raise another $1 billion over 10 years.
These ideas would be submitted separately to
voters in 2012.
Let’s start with this sales tax proposal.
The concept of building four-lane roads crisscrossing the entire state might sound like progress,
but it’s just another result of the “build it and they
will drive it” mentality. The notion that these roads
will spur economic growth in new areas is mostly
wishful thinking.
Arkansas doesn’t need roads to nowhere. The
asphalt ought to follow the growth, and the growth
is happening mainly here in Northwest Arkansas, as
well as Sebastian, Pulaski and Craighead counties.
We can’t support the sales tax as a funding
mechanism, even if it is temporary. The sales tax is
a well we’ve visited too often. It’s a regressive tax,
one that punishes poor people the hardest. If this
half-cent increase were approved, it would more than
cancel out the grocery sales tax reduction that the
Legislature is expected to pass this year.
Sales taxes are collected most where money flows
the most. Northwest Arkansas residents, then, would
bear a disproportionate burden of this tax compared
to the rural, less populous sections of our state. This
proposal doesn’t make sense for Northwest Arkansas.
Now about the proposed diesel tax hike. It
reportedly has the support of the trucking industry,
on the pledge that proceeds would go toward
interstate highways that truckers depend on to do
their jobs.
But then, what projects would the Highway
Commission undertake with this money? We don’t
know. We can hardly support a tax on only the vague
promise that it will improve our transportation
infrastructure. That’s like your school district asking
property owners to pay an additional millage only
with the promise that the additional funds will
improve the district. You’d want to know exactly what
the district intended to do with that money before
you voted for the millage.
The Highway Commission’s power would be greatly
enhanced if these taxes were to make the ballot and
win voters’ approval. On principle, we oppose giving
so much power to an independent agency run by
people who are not elected.
Our interest is in directing precious tax dollars
toward the transportation projects that need them
— wherever that might be. Moore’s proposal wouldn’t
achieve that. The only thing it promises to do is to
keep contractors employed.
What’s worse, if the proposal goes forward, it stalls
by another year or more efforts by those such as the
Northwest Arkansas Regional Mobility Authority and
Ozark Regional Transit to get needed projects done in
our area.
Moore’s proposal is at least a starting point
for discussion on how to improve the state’s
transportation infrastructure, and we commend him
for taking a stab at it. But we’re afraid that his plan
would lead only to a massive waste of money.
A Member Of NAN LLC
Published by Stephens Media LLC
Rusty Turner, Editor and Publisher
Lisa Thompson, Managing Editor
Greg Harton, Local Editor
The opinions in “How We See It” are those of the Northwest Arkansas Times.
All other opinions are those of the artist or author.
All letters become the property of the Northwest Arkansas Times.
Gerrymander Plan Makes No Sense
C
ontorting redistricting
maps to put far-flung
Fayetteville into the
congressional district
that mostly represents South
Arkansas is patently absurd.
Even state Sen. Sue Madison,
D-Fayetteville, who advanced the
idea, had to know so.
“Don’t automatically assume
it’s a bad idea,” she told a
reporter when asked about the
proposal to put Fayetteville in
the 4th Congressional District
with Pine Bluff, Hot Springs,
Texarkana, Lake Village and
all points in between. The 4th
District is massive, sprawling
across South Arkansas and
reaching north to touch all three
of the other districts.
Nevertheless, because of
declining population there,
that district will have to add
people.
Logically, they’ll be in places
contiguous with existing counties
in the 4th District, not yanked
from the heart of the 3rd District,
now condensed to just a dozen
counties in the state’s northwest
quadrant.
The 3rd District must lose
people to get to a constituency
that will be equal “as nearly as
practicable” to those in each of
the other redrawn districts.
All the shifts are intended to
meet a “one person, one vote”
goal.
Congressional redistricting was
always going to be a challenge,
but who would have thought
disagreement would sprout
over how to reconfigure the 3rd
District?
The rational approach is to
trim at the borders, not to pluck
a city from the heart of the
district.
It makes sense to alter the
fringes while keeping intact the
P U B L I C
He’s right. Political
considerations for Fayetteville
Democrats should not drive a
redistricting decision that will
impact so much more.
State Rep. Uvalde Lindsey,
D-Fayetteville, acknowledged
that the strategy in Madison’s
proposal might help a Fayetteville
Democrat win a congressional
BRENDA BLAGG
race. But he’s one Fayetteville
bblagg@nwaonline.com
Democrat who opposes the idea
of changing districts and instead
counties along the western
sees the city as part of the larger
corridor (Benton, Washington,
Northwest Arkansas, a region
Crawford and Sebastian) and as
that works together collectively.
many of the others as needed to
State Sen. Bill Pritchard,
reach the magic number needed
R-Elkins, has plans in the works
to divide the state into four
that would keep as much of
equally populated districts.
the 3rd District, including
To achieve the cut in the 3rd
Fayetteville, as possible intact.
District, Madison suggested
He was to present his ideas
linking Fayetteville and part of
on Friday at a Chamber of
Washington County to the 4th
Commerce forum. Pritchard is
District via a slim strip of land
essentially offering a couple of
through the Ozark National
ways to get the number down
Forest in Crawford County.
by chewing on the edges of the
While the math might work,
existing district.
this idea is the dictionary
That approach should get more
definition of gerrymandering.
support than Madison’s.
It reaches beyond reason to
Both Madison and
move Fayetteville, which still
Pritchard are on the state Senate
has a lot of Democrats, out
committee charged
of a Republican-controlled
with recommending a plan
congressional district.
for congressional redistricting.
Some redistricting decisions
A committee in the House
will be purely political. You can
is similarly making its own
count on that. But there is more
plan.
to consider.
The committees must agree
Steve Clark, president of
before a redistricting bill goes
the Fayetteville Chamber of
to the full Legislature and
Commerce, made the point in
lawmakers don’t have a lot of
an e-mail last week to chamber
time to get the job done.
members, urging opposition to a
There’s time enough for lots
link with the 4th District.
of ideas to be floated, some good
“... We, Fayetteville, do not have and some not. But they’ll have
much in common with either the to go some to be as absurd as
constituents and/or the political, jerking Fayetteville out of the 3rd
educational, social, industrial,
District.
agricultural, historic, financial
BRENDA BLAGG IS A COLUMNIST FOR
or economic institutions of that
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS MEDIA.
area,” Clark wrote.
C O M M E N TA RY
V I E W P O I N T
Stockdale A War Hero
I
n response to John Brewer’s
letter, “Obama’s second
term assured” (Feb. 11):
First of all, Mr. Brewer is
mistaken about the “Tea Party.”
You cannot vote for the
“Tea Party” as it is not a political
party.
In 1992, Ross Perot did select
retired Vice Admiral James
Stockdale as his running mate for
a reason. Commander Stockdale,
a F-8 Crusader pilot, was shot
down early in the Vietnam War.
This “zombie” was not a young
man at the time. “Commander” is
equivalent to an Army lieutenant
colonel. This “zombie” flew F-8
Crusaders off aircraft carriers in
all kinds of weather; completed
his missions and landed back on
the carrier. Except for his last
mission, Vice Admiral Stockdale
for much of the time was senior
officer at the infamous “Hanoi
Hilton” where he lived for
several years. Being senior, he
was singled out for more severe
torture, deprivation and solitary
confinement.
In 1973, 300 or so of our
prisoners of war, including
Stockdale, were returned by
the North Vietnamese as an
act of faith. President Nixon
reneged on his promise to the
communists, so they withheld
the remaining 3,326 prisoners.
Stockdale was awarded the
nation’s highest honor, the
Medal of Honor, and numerous
other medals when he
returned after eight years as a
POW.
If you recall, in 1979, Ross
Perot went to Iran, and along
with retired Col. Bul Simon,
retrieved his employees that
were held hostage. (The U.S.
government’s employees
languished in Iran for over
a year.) The “zombie” knew
where our POWs were and I
believe that if Perot had become
president, our POWs would have
been accounted for.
I presume that Mr. Brewer is
a Republican and has a right to
speak his mind (guaranteed by
men like the “zombie”). Indeed,
we all have the right to vote
for Republicans, Democrats’
Constitution Party, Libertarians,
Green Party, independent and
even communists. So I say to
Vice Admiral Stockdale, thank
you for your contribution. I am
sure you are in a “Star-Spangled
Heaven.”
You may find Stockdale’s
website at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
James_Stockdale.
JOHN FITTS
Noel, Mo.
NEWS
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS 5B
The Price
Of Delusion
HOW CAN A REASONABLE ADULT
IGNORE SCIENCE, BELIEVE TALES
D
The Evidence Of Evolution
‘GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH’ BOOK LABOR OF LOVE FOR BIOLOGY
E
volution: It’s a
simple concept.
A group of
forest-dwelling
Alaskan brown bears
wanders from a larger
population and finds a
new home on the Arctic
Ocean’s icy shores. Over
many generations, survival
pressures favor coats
that blend with their
surroundings and the
wanderers’ coats evolve
from brown to white. Even
creationists recognize
this kind of “microevolutionary” change.
But a sufficient number
of such small changes
can make a crucial
difference: The bears’
genes eventually evolve to
the point that they can no
longer produce offspring
with their brown bear kin.
At this point, the white
bears have formed a new
species, distinct from the
brown bears. As you’ve
guessed by now, this is
in fact how polar bears
evolved 150,000 years ago.
It happens all the time,
and needn’t take long.
Members of a particular
mosquito species found
their way into three London
Underground tubes during
construction around 1863.
Today, they have evolved
into three species, unable to
reproduce together.
Once a species has
“diverged” into two or
more species, there is
nothing to prevent the two
from diverging further and
further due to different
survival pressures. Thus
did an ancient dinosaur
diverge to produce the first
bird, an ancient fish diverge
to produce the first land
animal, and an ancient ape
MODERN TIMES
ART HOBSON
ahobson@uark.edu
diverge into an upright
walker that eventually led
to us.
Richard Dawkins’
wonderful new book
“The Greatest Show on
Earth: The Evidence for
Evolution” presents the
fossil, genetic, historical,
developmental, laboratory,
medical, geological and
common-sense evidence
for biological evolution
in convincing and
entertainingly readable
detail. It’s impossible in
this brief review to convey
the enormity and weight of
this evidence, but here’s a
summary of one example,
a spectacular experiment
by bacteriologist Richard
Lenski and colleagues at
Michigan State University.
Since 1988, Lenski has
followed the evolution of
the common bacterium
E. coli in the lab. In 1988,
a single population of
genetically identical cloned
bacteria was distributed
among 12 identical flasks,
all of which contained the
same nutrient broth. They
have been kept in separate
flasks ever since, with daily
replacement of broth and
water and random removal
of enough bacteria to
prevent overpopulation.
They have now experienced
45,000 generations of
evolution.
The broth contained
several vital nutrients, with
glucose in the most limited
supply. Any random genetic
mutation that permitted a
bacterium to exploit glucose
more efficiently should be
favored by natural selection
— just as white polar bears
are favored in Arctic ice
— so that individuals with
the mutant gene should
out-reproduce the nonmutant individuals, allowing
the favorable mutation to
spread throughout that
flask.
This is precisely what
happened. Over the
generations, glucoseprocessing efficiencies
increased, all 12 “tribes”
grew faster, and average
body sizes grew larger.
Fascinatingly, the tribes
got better in different
ways — different body
sizes in different flasks,
for example, despite all
individuals in all flasks
having identical body
sizes at the beginning.
Surprisingly, one tribe
even evolved an entirely
new capability to utilize
a particular nutrient
(remember all flasks had
the same soup of combined
nutrients) as though it
were glucose, and thus
to increase its “fitness”
enormously inside of a few
generations. This occurred
because of an extremely
improbable combination
of two mutations in quick
succession — the kind
of thing that “intelligent
design” creationists claim
is impossible without a
god-like “designer.”
Creationists hate this
experiment because it
shows evolution in action,
shows new information
entering an organism’s
DNA with no designer,
demonstrates the power of
natural selection to form
highly improbable but
useful gene combinations,
and undermines
creationism’s central dogma
that some organisms are so
“irreducibly complex” that
they could not have evolved
naturally.
Creationists’ rejection
of evolution is no small
matter. Their resistance to
honest thinking cripples
science education, numbs
the brains of the 44 percent
of Americans who accept
their mythology, and
dumbs down our entire
society. America must move
beyond these medieval
superstitions.
And what’s not to like
about evolution? We’re
all kin. You are kin to all
creatures great and small,
to the flowers, the quick
leopard, the soaring hawk,
the thundering dinosaurs,
and to at least 20 species
of two-footed primitive
humans stretching over
6 million years.
“The Greatest Show on
Earth” conveys little of
the anti-religious fervor of
Dawkins’ excellent bestselling “The God Delusion.”
And despite the subtitle,
this isn’t primarily an anticreationist tract. It’s a labor
of love for the wonders of
biology, a book for scientist
and nonscientist alike. It’s
not an easy read, but if you
enjoy science or, indeed,
knowledge, you’ll find it
rewarding.
ART HOBSON IS A PROFESSOR
EMERITUS OF PHYSICS AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS,
RETIRED PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER
AND FREELANCE COLUMNIST.
elusional people
seem to be in
vogue these days.
I mentioned
Donald Rumsfeld in
my last column. In
recent interviews he has
expressed shock that
anyone would blame him
for mistakes made in the
buildup to the Iraq war
concerning weapons of
mass destruction. At least
four books have been
written since the Iraq
invasion showing clearly
the Rumsfeld leadership
policies were failed policies.
He blissfully denies any
mistakes at all and takes
no responsibility for any
failures or lives lost.
Moramarr Khaddafy/
Gadaffy/Ghadaffy or
however it’s spelled, says
the people of Libya love him
and there is no protest at all
in his country. It’s not clear
if he really believes that
but he said so in a speech
last Wednesday. “How
could there be shooting
at protesters when there
are none?” How does this
happen to a human mind?
Our own former governor
Mike Huckabee said last
week that President Barack
Obama was raised in Kenya.
Does he really believe that?
I guess if you can believe
in a literal Noah’s Ark and
a worldwide flood that
destroyed everything on the
planet, you can believe in
almost anything. How can
a reasonable adult ignore
science and reason and
believe such fairy tales? He
can’t, not as a reasonable
adult.
Then there is Charlie
Sheen. I’ve been watching
“Two and a Half Men”
reruns for a year or so. They
are hilariously funny. The
premise is solid, the writing
is great, the characters are
well-established and each
actor does a fabulous job
of playing his or her part in
each episode. The theme
of the show is simple: sex,
sex and more sex. Every
aspect of sexual behavior
is blatantly marched across
the stage, hung out to dry
and made fun of in every
way possible. You name it,
you got it. And it’s hilarious.
And it’s apparently just
what America demands.
It’s been the No. 1 sitcom for
years and generates multimillions of dollars.
Those of us who grew
up on black and white TVs
in the ’50s remember “I
Love Lucy,” “Father Knows
Best” and “Gunsmoke” as
our prime time shows. The
sexiest thing about any
C O M M E N TA RY
GRADY JIM ROBINSON
gradyjim@aol.com
of those shows was Miss
Kitty, sheriff Matt Dillons
bar room “girlfriend.” As
I recall there was not a
single reference to sexual
activity or innuendo or
raised eyebrow of any kind
in the 22 years of that show.
In my house there was
an embarrassing silence
when Jane Russell began
advertising her crossyour-heart bra for the full
figured woman. Yikes! I
was embarrassed by ads for
underarm deodorant.
Back to Charlie Sheen and
crazy people. It is obvious
that people who succeed to
incredible levels are often
treated differently than
normal people. After years
of being idolized they began
to believe that they are
different, superior, perhaps
chosen by some higher
power to rule the world.
Elvis was destroyed by his
fame. Certainly Michael
Jackson was consumed by
his need for attention and
adoration. We see this over
and over to varying degrees
in movie stars, sports
figures, the very rich and, of
course, in politicians.
Charlie Sheen is living in
a delusional world. He is
playing out in his real life
the role that he has played
so successfully in his TV
sitcom that we all find so
funny even though we are
sometimes appalled at the
subject matter. He is living
in a mansion with two
young women whom he
calls his goddesses, his five
children, a nanny or two
and a cook. He thinks this
is perfectly normal. He is
now demanding $3 million
dollars per episode. (As I
write this morning we learn
that authorities have taken
his twin boys from the
home.)
I suppose it would be nice
to be a famous millionaire
entertainer like Charlie
Sheen or perhaps a 40-year
ruler of an African nation
loaded with oil, but there
is often a price to be paid.
Sometimes the price is just
too high.
GRADY JIM ROBINSON IS A
RETIRED PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER
AND FREELANCE COLUMNIST.
Remembering A Former Senator Who Cared
FINCH DIED TOO YOUNG,
BUT DIDN’T WASTE HIS TIME
Y
ou’d think my
most vivid
memory of
state Sen. Jon
Fitch, D-Hindsville, would
be the House Education
Committee meeting
where he pushed through
a common-sense school
reform bill virtually
single-handed, or the big
fight over property tax
reform or some other
grand thing.
There’s a lot of those
grand and glorious things
to choose from. But my
stand-out memory of
this man who died so
unexpectedly on Saturday
comes from what should
have been a routine
meeting.
Jon was Senate chairman
of the Special Language
Subcommittee. The best
way to describe that
C O M M E N TA RY
DOUG THOMPSON
dthoompson@nwaonline.com
body is, it’s the finetuning subcommittee for
the powerful Joint Budget
Committee. Not everything
fits into permanent law.
Some laws dealing with the
real brass tacks of paying
for your state government
are passed as one-yearonly provisions and
appropriations.
Being on that committee,
much less chairman of
it, requires two things.
First is close attention to
detail that requires deep
knowledge of government
nitty-gritty. The other’s
the integrity to win the
trust from your fellow
lawmakers, because the
potential for mischief in
that committee’s greater
than anywhere else.
One guy who knows
a lot more about state
government than I ever
will told me one morning
that he always felt like “a
pig wearing a wristwatch”
when he went to the
Special Language meetings,
he was so clueless about
what was going on.
I went to those meetings
because getting a clue was
my job, and because this
state and others had settled
a big lawsuit with tobacco
companies over health
claims. A lot of that money
was going through Special
Language. Any lookout,
however clueless, was
better than none.
The committee was
dealing with other things
first that particular day
and, as a courtesy, Fitch
asked the liaisons from
the governor’s office (the
governor’s lobbyists) what
the administrator’s position
was on each bill.
Three times in a row,
an administrator and
liaison from the state
Department of Human
Services said the
“administration has no
position on this bill.” In
other words, lawmakers
could do what they want.
Most legislators would
take permission like that
and just go with it. Most
chairmen of committees
would appreciate the
freedom of action. In
general principle, most
people appreciate folks
who have the wisdom to
shut up when they have
nothing to say.
The third time was one
time too many for Jon Fitch
that day, however.
Jon had a temper, but
he didn’t yell at the
meeting. He didn’t berate
the guy. He didn’t name
names. He didn’t say what
he said for my benefit,
either, expecting his
comment
to make the news. It didn’t.
But he looked that poor
guy from Human Services
right in the eye and told
him that, in his opinion,
the administration should
“have a position on every
bill that comes through the
Legislature.”
I remember that today
because Fitch was right,
both in that instance and
in principle. To him, a
public office was a public
trust. If you’re going to sit
in the chair, you ought to
care.
That pretty much sums
Jon Fitch up. The people
of Arkansas got his full
attention for 18 years in the
state Senate and six years
in the state House before
that, and almost four years
as he served as director
of the state Livestock and
Poultry Commission.
He died too young at the
age of 60, but he wasted
none of his time or ours.
The philosophers say
that people want to live
forever but don’t know
what to do with the few
years they have. Well, they
were wrong in Fitch’s case.
He was a man who knew
what he was about.
It’s better to live
60 years like that than
100 years with “no
position” on anything.
Correction
In an unrelated note, I
said in last week’s column
that sales tax applies on
cars costing more than
$2,500. I knew better. The
sales tax kicks in at $2,500
or more. Sorry about that.
DOUG THOMPSON IS EDITORIAL
PAGE EDITOR.
NEWS
6B NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS
P U B L I C
V I E W P O I N T
Education
Problems
Complex
R
ising
remediation
rates at state
colleges are
a current controversy.
Lottery scholarships allow
more students to attend
college. This is good but
many of these additional
students are less qualified.
Of course the percentage
needing remediation
increases.
Should colleges and
universities raise entrance
standards if so many
are not ready to study?
Perhaps. Should public
schools advise vocational
training as an alternate?
What would this economy
do without electricians,
carpenters and mechanics?
Why shouldn’t we
encourage students who
would excel and be happy
in these careers to follow
their dreams?
Are there other reasons
for higher remediation?
Many. End-of-course
tests in high school, for
one. These tests (literacy,
geometry and biology)
occur in the mid to late
third quarter. All learning
that counts for these tests
must happen before the
test. Subtract several weeks
for review and instruction
is slashed by half. Testing
mania effectively reduces
instruction.
Many students cannot
read. It is usually a matter
of poverty — whether that
poverty is what brought
the student to the U.S.
or is a result of our own
homegrown poverty,
entrenched through the
generations. Yet, reading
instruction is taught,
almost exclusively in the
primary grades.
These discussions
usually target teachers. But
teachers are no match for
the influence of a parent. If
a parent does not encourage
a child to study and value
education, the teacher’s
mission is crippled.
Teachers are only a part
of education. Teachers
must do as principals,
administrators, boards,
the Arkansas Department
of Education, legislators,
federal agencies and
the Congress demand.
Everyone knows how
teachers should do their
jobs. This competes with
the best source of guidance
for what should be done,
the individual relationships
between teachers and
students.
Of all who are frustrated
with the problems in
education, the teacher
is the most frustrated
— and most dedicated to
education of each child.
Blaming, punishing,
denouncing and destroying
do not help the teacher.
The problems with U.S.
education are far more
complex than we are now
addressing.
The problems are
complex and the answers
cannot be simple. They are
unlikely to be inexpensive
also. Classes must be
smaller so teachers can
give more attention to each
student — students are
not widgets. Efficiencies
of scale are different for
schools and businesses.
But, as many have
observed, if you think
education is expensive, try
ignorance.
MICHAEL COURTNEY
Fayetteville
WHERE’S AL
WHEN NEEDED?
H
oly cow! Wasn’t this
part of the country
supposed to be practically
subtropical by now due to
global warming?
You’ve no idea how many
years I have been eagerly
anticipating having mangos
and bananas growing in my
backyard.
The inconvenient truth,
however, is that the only
thing my relentless gaze
can see in my backyard is
approximately 347 trillion
well-placed snowflakes. All
neatly stacked to nearly a
foot and a half high.
When I looked out on
the front porch to see if
there was plenty of food
and fresh (liquid) water
for the cats, I got a shock
at what I saw. There were
two raccoons, one doe and
three neighborhood dogs
all sitting together quietly
staring at the empty cat
food dishes, just shivering
and waiting for refills.
Hearing the sound of a
jet roaring through the cold,
cloud-covered skies above,
I wondered if it might be
Al Gore on his way to some
miserable sun-drenched
balmy tropical island to
spend the winter.
I sure wish he was here
helping me shovel snow.
Maybe he’d help me feed
the cats.
DAVID VANCE
Rogers
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Published submissions
become the property
of Northwest Arkansas
Newspapers.
Justice Takes No Snow Day
JUDGE FACED
BEING SWAMPED
WITH CASES
C O M M E N TA RY
I
t looks a little like
spring has sprung
with these perky
yellow daffodils
ablaze and these bright
green infant leaves
announcing themselves on
hydrangea stems.
But, remember, it was
only a couple of weeks ago
when Fayetteville looked
out one morning to behold
23 inches of snow.
That is knee-high or
above to most people. A
judge would need to hike
up his robe to traipse
through that.
As is his custom, Circuit
Judge William Storey,
who handles four of
five Washington County
criminal cases on average,
insisted on holding court
anyway the morning of this
deluge, never mind that the
courthouse was otherwise
closed, as was practically
everything else in town,
indeed across the greater
region.
Complaints have been
lodged about the judge’s
action, about issues of
fairness and safety and
sensitivity to defendants
and to officers of the
court, both on Facebook
— fatefully, for one
public defender — and to
me.
So I got Judge Storey
on the phone Wednesday
afternoon during a break in
his jury trial and ventured
to discuss his stubborn
defiance of winter’s
elements.
He sighed. He
acknowledged frustration.
He said this was the first
time in his long judicial
career (he is 68 and has
been a judge for more than
P U B L I C
JOHN BRUMMETT
jbrummett@arkansasnews.com
two decades) that he had
been criticized for doing
his job.
Here is his explanation:
His caseload is such
that he gets way behind
— indeed, the dispensing
of criminal justice gets
way behind — if he cancels
court.
On the day in question,
he had an array of
procedural matters on
criminal cases scheduled
and defendants had come
from all around and had
no way of being assuredly
or efficiently informed of
cancellation.
It is not, he explained,
as if he had one trial
scheduled that day, in
which case notification of
cancellation would have
been easy.
Nobody has been jailed
or fined or otherwise
sanctioned for contempt
for not showing up, he
assured, and any party
facing an impassable hill
or driveway would have
needed only to call his
office and explain what
would have been an
automatically excused
absence.
He simply felt a need, he
said, to have his court open
that day.
The judge asked me
what my opinion was of
what he had done. I told
him I was finding myself a
tad torn upon hearing his
explanation. I said I was
going to ponder it.
So I slept on it. I woke
the next day rather certain
that a judge should not
require people to come to
court on a day like that.
But there is another
issue. It turns out that
some folks were chatting
the day before on Facebook
about how this judge, as
per usual for him, was
likely to insist on holding
court the next morning no
matter the elements.
A deputy public
defender, Julie Tolleson,
chimed in on this Facebook
thread to say that people
in power — not the judge,
specifically — tend not to
give a rat’s rear, though
she did not say rear, about
the plight of poor people
without an easy way to get
themselves transported in
wintry road conditions.
Later she posted that
having an open courthouse
in such a weather
condition was “irrational.”
Judge Storey is not a
Facebook guy. But a friend
of his is. And this friend
sent him a copy of this
thread.
So the judge went
out and declared that
he would disqualify
himself forthwith from
any proceeding in which
Tolleson was representing
a defendant.
Based on his knowledge
of her having said in a
public forum that he did
not give a rat’s hiney and
was irrational, he said, he
could not assure himself of
being fair to her.
To be precise: Tolleson
did not say specifically that
the judge did not give this
rat’s patootie. And she said
the policy, not the judge
himself, was irrational.
Anyway, I did express
directly to the judge my
thinking that he was
supposed to be fair to
criminal defendants
without regard for his
personal feelings toward
any specific solicitor,
thus not susceptible to
a personal bias based on
petty personal matters
between him and an
attorney.
To that he made
something very clear to
me. The accusation that
he does not give a rodent’s
posterior and is irrational
— that is not petty to him.
Again, Tolleson didn’t
say that, exactly. And I
have a sneaking suspicion
that there are other judges
and lawyers out there
who do not personally
enjoy each other, but who
mutually manage to pursue
justice anyway.
Maybe it will not
snow again this season
in Fayetteville and these
parties will have a year to
think all this through.
My suggestion would
be for the judge to cancel
court when there is
two feet of snow on the
ground, even to the great
inconvenience of a long
docket, and for the judge
to rise above his animus
toward this Facebooking
deputy public defender.
He should un-recuse
and let her do her work,
especially since, as he
assured me, she is a
wholly able and competent
lawyer.
Oh, I also would suggest
that, freedom of expression
aside, the deputy public
defender do a little tighter
editing of her Facebook
commentary.
A universally despised
newspaper columnist is a
more appropriate purveyor
of such pithy public
critique.
JOHN BRUMMETT IS A
COLUMNIST FOR THE ARKANSAS
NEWS BUREAU IN LITTLE ROCK.
V I E W P O I N T
Should State Fear Swepco Plan?
T
he Feb. 12
Arkansas
DemocratGazette reports
Swepco’s plan to introduce
a carbon sequestration
bill into the Legislature.
This would make
Swepco’s Arkansas coalfired plants “greener” by
storing bad (as in global
warming) smokestack gas
underground. Possible
dead-storage sites (up to
1,000 years) are saline
formations in southeast
Arkansas.
Another possible use is
to pressurize old, tired oil
wells to extend their useful
lives.
Louisiana, for one,
passed similar legislation
(HB 661) last year, without
opposition. As in the
Arkansas proposal, that
bill contains liability
provisions highly favorable
to the utilities.
A fee-based fund is
established to cover
any liability in early
years.
After 10 years, all liability
transfers to the state.
But no one knows
what costly operational
problems and what
groundwater damage
may occur with this new
untested technology.
And poor Arkansas: Our
state is already wrestling
with the groundwaterdamaging effects of
gas-well fracking and of
injecting used fracking
fluids into storage wells.
Is Swepco’s “clean coal”
initiative just another,
more virulent fracking
fracas in the making?
If that’s not enough
about “clean coal,” just
remember the massive
fly ash slurry spill in
Tennessee about two years
ago.
BILL MILLAGER
Rogers
RAISING
MONEY IDEAS
T
he Feb. 8 paper reports
about a bill to raise
vehicle title fees in order
to benefit the state police
retirement system. Why is
it every time a government
agency cannot manage their
funds, the solution is to
raise taxes? Here’s a novel
idea: Why not have the
state police do a little more
enforcement of laws? Those
who travel frequently on
Interstate 540 know what I
am talking about.
Here’s another idea:
Instead of penalizing
residents who legally
register their vehicles,
go after all those with
out-of-state plates who
are avoiding the title fees
and property taxes. All
one has to do is crossreference home owners
with vehicles. If no
vehicles are registered, it
could be a rental; in either
case, current laws require
vehicles and drivers to
have a current address.
Another idea: Have the
1,000-plus current and
retired officers open their
eyes while in public. I only
need to look within four
blocks of my house to see
illegally licensed vehicles.
Bottom line? Stop
penalizing law-abiding
citizens and go after the
criminals. Isn’t that your
job?
JOSEPH ELSTER
Rogers
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS
3D
OUR TOWN
ALL OURS, ALL HOURS
CARIN SCHOPPMEYER
cschoppmeyer@nwaonline.com
Center
Marks
Milestone
SOUP SUNDAY SERVES UP
AID FOR ADVOCATES
T
he Arkansas Crisis
Center marked its
25th anniversary
Feb. 26 with “It’s
a Wonderful Life” at the
Fayetteville Town Center.
The organization, established
in 1985 as the Northwest
Arkansas Crisis Intervention
Center, provided a crisis
hotline.
In the ensuing years,
the nonprofit organization
continues to offer aid to those
in crisis, delivers suicide
prevention and intervention
and has grown to help link
people in need to available
resources.
Access to services also has
grown and is not limited to
the telephone now. Those in
crisis can also chat online and
text using their mobile phones.
Arkansas was the first state to
offer a statewide online chat
option.
The dinner event, which
raised some $10,000,
recognized the group’s
founders, previous directors
and those who are furthering
the vision of the organization.
Legacy Awards were
presented to Gloria Dible, Marj
Metzger, Martha Bergant, Rilla
Tolliver and the late Laney
Morriss.
Visionary Awards went to
Steven Blackwood, Aaron
Wolfe and Nikki Ball.
The 10th annual Soup Sunday
to benefit Arkansas Advocates
for Children and Families gave
475 attendees an opportunity to
try dozens of soups from area
restaurants on Feb. 27.
The event, held at the
Northwest Arkansas
Convention Center in
Springdale, raised more than
$41,000 — more than doubling
2010 proceeds.
Soups for sampling
included crawfish corn bisque
from Cafe Rue Orleans,
spinach gorgonzola from
Hammontree’s Grilled Cheese,
chicken noodle from AQ
Chicken, tomato pesto from
Greenhouse Grille and seafood
chowder from Crabby’s
Seafood Bar and Grill.
Those sipping soup on
Sunday included Pam and
David Parks, Lynn and Joel
Carver, Dee Lea, Denise
Garner, Rich Huddleston,
Ann Henry, Allyson and Mike
Malone, Michelle Wynn, Tyler
Clark and Susie Shinn.
University of Arkansas
super-graduate Regina Hopper
returned to campus this
week as a Johnson Fellow.
The fellowship, endowed
by Marcia and Jeff Johnson
of Fayetteville, brings back
prominent UA alumni to
talk with alumni and current
students in classroom settings.
A political science major and
law school graduate, Regina
visited with classes in both
schools early this week, sharing
her experiences as a White
House correspondent for CBS
and as a Washington, D.C.
attorney.
The Johnsons hosted a
reception in Regina’s honor
Tuesday evening at their
downtown Fayetteville home.
SEE CARIN PAGE 8D
Meza Harris, left, takes dance lessons Feb. 24 from instructor Adam Richardson to prepare for the local Dancing with the Stars
competition. The session was held at Arkansas Dance Connection in Tontitown.
Stepping Out
LOCAL CELEBRITIES TAKE TO THE DANCE FLOOR FOR CHARITY
By Debbie Miller
DMILLER@NWAONLINE.COM
TONTITOWN
M
eza Harris steps
quickly across
the dance floor
in tandem with
her dance instructor as the first
uptempo beats pound over the
stereo system.
“I’ve got chills, they’re
multiplyin’; and I’m losing control,”
croons John Travolta as Harris
and Adam Richardson glide fluidly
across the floor.
They’re rehearsing a quick-step
routine, and the number is fast —
for the observer trying to keep up,
and most certainly, for the dancers.
“We’ve chosen one of the
hardest dances out there,”
Richardson of Arkansas Dance
Connection says.
True, the routine is challenging,
but Harris says she’s enjoying
learning the number.
As the song progresses,
Richardson counts off the steps of
GO & DO
DANCING WITH THE STARS
OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
Time, day: 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday
Venue: John Q. Hammons Center in
Rogers
Benefits: Children’s Museum of
Northwest Arkansas
Tickets: $60 per individual or $100
per couple purchased by calling the
museum at 479-696-9280 or by
e-mailing info@
nwachildrensmuseum.org.
a particularly complex part of the
routine. “One, step, tap, step, kick,
step ...”
“I’ve always loved to dance,”
Harris says later, recalling
attending dances after school
events when she was growing up
in Bentonville.
The senior vice president and
executive broker of Lindsey &
Associates Inc. is one of six local
celebrities chosen to compete
in Dancing with the Stars of
Northwest Arkansas. The fourth
annual event, slated for Saturday,
is a fundraiser for the Children’s
Museum of Northwest Arkansas.
Harris says she chose to
participate because she was asked
by board member Don Overstreet
and she wanted to aid the museum
effort. She’s invited friends to
purchase tickets and come out to
enjoy the evening.
Patti Park, chairwoman of the
event, said Dancing with the Stars
offers a format that makes for a
somewhat different and yet fun
fundraiser.
It may add to the fun
atmosphere that some of the
local dancers also are fans of the
television show of the same name.
“I’ve said all along I’m the
Florence Henderson of Northwest
Arkansas,” quipped Harris, who’s
in her 60s. Actress Florence
Henderson, familiar to some fans
as Carol Brady in “The Brady
Bunch,” was a contestant in Season
11 of the television program.
Harris says after several
rehearsals, she is feeling great.
She adds that just with the
practice she’s done for this event,
she can better understand some
of the transformation the stars
undergo.
“I see why they lose all that
weight,” she says.
Her fellow competitor,
Meredith Brunen, shares a similar
perspective.
“Rehearsals for Dancing With
The Stars have been challenging,
fun and great exercise,” she says.
“Adam Richardson and the other
professionals at Arkansas Dance
Connection have made this an
awesome experience.”
The executive director of
development at NorthWest
Arkansas Community College
will be performing the Argentine
Tango, a dance that she notes is
admired for its beauty, passion,
drama and excitement.
SEE DANCE PAGE 12D
Gala Something To Squeal About
DIABETES ASSOCIATION’S KISS A PIG EVENT RAISES RECORD-BREAKING $340,000
By Debbie Miller
DMILLER@NWAONLINE.COM
ROGERS — A record-breaking
crowd turned out Feb. 26 to determine which of eight candidates
would have the honor of planting
a smooch on a baby pig named
Bella.
The ninth annual Kiss A Pig Gala,
themed “Mask-Squeal-Rade,” broke
an attendance record with more
than 111 tables and approximately
1,100 attendees, according to information from Lori Bramlett, director
of the American Diabetes Association of Northwest Arkansas.
The proceeds from the gala
— $340,000 — also represented
an all-time record for the event,
which helps the Diabetes Association fund education, research and
programs.
James Di Salvo of Abbott Nutrition raised nearly $73,000 in the
large business category, and Corey
SEE GALA PAGE 6D
STAFF PHOTO DEBBIE MILLER
Bill Horton, from left, John Furner, Nick Tyler and James Di Salvo were among the candidates vying for
the honor of kissing a pig during an American Diabetes Association fundraiser on Feb. 26. Di Salvo was one of the
winners.
4D NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS
OUR TOWN
CASA Supporters Shine Light Of Hope
BREAKFAST, LUNCHEON YIELD MONEY PROGRAM
By Carin Schoppmeyer
CSCHOPPMEYER@NWAONLINE.COM
R a c h e l a n d Jo n a t h a n
Negley of Cave Springs
knew even before they wed
that adoption would be a
part of their marriage. It
took a different form from
wh a t t h e y e nv i s i o n e d ,
however.
The couple shared their
story Tuesday at the Light
of Hope luncheon to benefit
CASA of Northwest Arkansas, Court Appointed Special
Advocates for Abused and
Neglected Children.
CASAs, as they are
called, are volunteers who
speak for the best interest
of abused and neglected
children as they go through
family courts and foster
care systems. Frequently,
a child’s CASA is one of
the few constants in his
life while going through
turmoil. “We have to bring
these children to life for the
judge,” said one advocate.
Jonathan Negley told
the crowd that after a year
and a half and a failed
private adoption that cost
them their savings, they
concluded that, “God had
a different plan for our
family.”
Their relationship
with CASA of Northwest
Arkansas came through
the Department of Human
Services when they signed
up for foster care classes in
2009.
In March 2010, the
Negleys were contacted
about brothers Ryan David,
5, and Ethan James, 4, whose
mother’s rights had been
terminated. Their CASA,
Kim Lane, was able to shed
light on the boys’ previous
circumstances that included
neglect and abuse. “Because
of our CASA and her insight
… we were able to unders ta n d t h e i r e m o t i o n s ,”
Rachel Negley said.
She said the couple officially adopted the two last
September, “ but in our
hearts they were already
our sons.” The two boys
joined the Negleys’ biological daughter Mya Katherine,
4, to complete the family.
Th e l u n c h e o n at t h e
Fayetteville Town Center
was the second part of
the organization’s third
STAFF PHOTOS CARIN SCHOPPMEYER
Rachel and Jonathan Negley stand with their
children, Mya, from left, Ryan and Ethan, at the CASA Light of
Hope luncheon on Tuesday.
CASA supporters Jennifer Enlow, from left, Brittany Adair, Terrye Brosh, Judi Harrison,
Janna Perry Holloway and Denise Garner gather at the organization’s Tuesday luncheon.
NWA
&
Prom Formal Dress
Consignment
March 12 & 13
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm
at the Springdale Holiday Inn
John Q. Hammons Room
To sell a dress
bring to one of these locations below:
1. Saving Grace Inc. in Rogers
CASA Executive Director Crystal Vickmark, from left, and board members
Glenda Graves, Anthony Hucker and Ed Parrish welcome supporters to the Light of Hope
luncheon at the Fayetteville Town Center.
annual fundraiser, following a breakfast that morning at the Embassy Suites in
Rogers. The more than 500
attendees in Benton and
Washington counties helped
raise approximately $70,000
at the events and the group
expects to exceed its
$80,000 goal when remaining donations are mailed.
Executive Director Crystal
Vickmark said that amount
augments the nonprof it
agency’s annual budget and
helps them recruit, train
a n d s u p p o r t vo l u n te e r
advocates. Training topics
include the unique needs of
abused and neglected children, courtroom procedure,
social services, the juvenile
justice system and domestic
relations case studies.
2. Lethal-Lure Clothing Alterations
(Maria’s) in Rogers
3. Purple Armadillo in Bentonville
4. 2852 Timber Ridge Drive in Springdale
(call 479-633-2250 for appointment)
SAVE THE DATE
AT A GLANCE
PLAYHOUSE PALOOZA
CASA OF NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS
About the event: Fundraiser
offering donated original
playhouses for live and silent
auctions and ticket drawing.
Display and Auction:
April 15-30, Northwest
Arkansas Mall, Fayetteville
Construction Bash:
April 30, Northwest
Arkansas Convention Center,
Springdale
CASA board member
Anthony Hucker said that
last year there were “nearly
1,000 reports of child abuse
in our community — and 10
of those children died.”
Address: 5322 Bleaux Suite
A, Springdale, 72762
Phone: 479-725-2213
Web: www.nwacasa.org
If any of these options do not work for you,
please contact us and we will arrange to
pick them up.
We will be accepting prom, formal, and
wedding dresses. Please bring your
formal shoes and purses/clutches too!
For more information contact
nwapromconsignment@yahoo.com or
by phone at 479-633-2250
SOCIETY
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS 5D
ENGAGEMENTS
Henretty-Ray
Shannon BreAnn Henretty and Aaron Lee
Ray, both of Van Buren, plan to marry at
2 p.m. April 16, 2011, at Bethlehem Free Will
Baptist Church in Van Buren.
The bride is the daughter of Lisa and
Randy Beard of Dyer and Theresa and Tim
Henretty of Elkins. She is the granddaughter
of Louise and Lester Henretty of West Fork,
Betty and Ted Houy of Greenland and Armon
and Waylon Beard of Huntsville, Texas.
She is a secretary with David L. Moore P.A.
in Van Buren. She attended the University of
Arkansas in Fort Smith.
The groom is the son of Lorita and the Rev.
Randall Ray of Van Buren. He is the grandson of Aletha and Ronald Ray of Van Buren,
Deloris and Claude Wallace of Lincoln and
the late Shirley Wallace.
He is a mental health paraprofessional at
Perspectives Behavioral Health in Fort Smith.
He is a 2008 graduate of the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio, with a degree in
audio engineering.
Hollingsworth-Warner
Gray-Bynum
Heather Anne Hollingsworth of Springdale
and Benjamin Robert Warner of Overland
Park, Kan., plan to marry at 6 p.m. July 23,
2011, at Santa Rosa Golf and Beach Club in
Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.
The bride is the daughter of Cathy and
Beau Hollingsworth of Springdale. She is the
granddaughter of Donna Hekhuis of Springdale, Dorothy Hollingsworth of Tyler, Texas,
the late Roger Hekhuis and the late Walter
Hollingsworth.
She is a social worker with Communities in
Schools of Greater Tarrant County in Euless,
Texas. She is a 2010 graduate of the University of Texas in Arlington with a master’s
degree in social work, a 2009 graduate of
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth
with a bachelor’s degree in social work and
a 2005 graduate of Springdale High School.
The groom is the son of Barb and Dan
Warner of Overland Park. He is the grandson
of Clarence Warner of Overland Park, Mary
and Bob Lamm of Sequim, Wash., and the late
Georgia Warner.
He is an accountant at Weaver and Tidwell
LLP in Dallas. He earned a master’s degree in
accounting in 2009 and a bachelor’s degree
in accounting and finance in 2008 at Texas
Christian University and is a 2005 graduate
of Blue Valley North High School in Overland
Park.
Amanda Leigh Gray of Siloam Springs
and Christopher Ryan Bynum of Greenwood plan to marry at 6 p.m. March 26,
2011, at First Christian Church in Siloam
Springs.
The bride is the daughter of Melanie and
Randy Gray of Siloam Springs. She is the
granddaughter of Freita Link and Barbara
and Jack Gray, all of Siloam Springs.
She is a customer service representative
at MedDirect Inc. in Fort Smith. She is a
2009 graduate of the University of Arkansas in Fort Smith with a bachelor’s degree
in business administration and a 2004 graduate of Siloam Springs High School.
The groom is the son of Becky and Rick
Bynum of Greenwood. He is the grandson
of Dirlene Helms of Mansfield and Robyn
and David Bynum of Booneville.
He is fleet manager at USA Truck in Van
Buren. He is a 2005 graduate of Greenwood
High School.
Landon-Lewis
Whitney Landon of West Fork and Cole
Lewis of Centerville plan to marry March 25,
2011, seaside in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
The bride is the daughter of Candi and
Stan Landon of West Fork. She is the granddaughter of Joe Landon of West Fork, the late
Charlotte Landon and the late Laura and Carl
Kaup.
She is an information technology operator
for the Bank of Fayetteville in Fayetteville.
The groom is the son of Einella and Bruce
Lewis of Centerville. He is the grandson of
Neoma Lewis of Ola, the late J.C. Lewis and
the late Elza and Erma Housley.
He is a fleet manager with Tyson Transportation in Springdale.
WEDDING
Backus-Ward
Batey-Camarigg
Leann Backus and Vince Ward, both
of Little Rock, plan to marry at 6:30 p.m.
June 11, 2011, at the Botanical Gardens of
the Ozarks in Fayetteville.
The bride is the daughter of Anita and
John Backus of Fayetteville. She is the
granddaughter of Thelma Johnston of
Alexandria, La., the late Leonard C. Johnston Jr., the late Joe R. Backus and the late
Tomalyn Backus.
She is assistant manager at Warren’s
Shoes in Little Rock. She is a 2007 graduate
of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville with a degree in human environmental
sciences majoring in fashion merchandising and a 2002 graduate of Fayetteville
High School.
The groom is the son of Sara Kathryn
and Jim Ward of Fayetteville. He is the
grandson of Inez Ward of Danville, Arthur
Larson of Omaha, Neb., the late Ted Ward
and the late Azalea Larson.
He is a tax attorney at Wolfee Law Firm
in Little Rock. He is a 2010 graduate of
Southern Methodist University Dedman
School of Law in Dallas with a Master of
Laws in taxation, a 2009 graduate of the
University of Arkansas School of Law in
Fayetteville with a juris doctor and a 2002
graduate of Fayetteville High School.
Rebecca Batey and Mark Camarigg, both
of Oxford, Miss., plan to marry at 5 p.m.
May 7, 2011, at the Center for Southern
Folklore in Memphis, Tenn.
The bride is the daughter of Betsy and
Gary Batey of Bentonville. She is the granddaughter of Pauline and Owen Jarvis of
Sparta, Tenn., Mildred Batey of Clarksville,
Tenn., and the late Thomas Batey.
She is a project coordinator for media
and documentary projects at the University
of Mississippi in Oxford. She has a master’s
degree in Southern studies from the
University of Mississippi and a bachelor’s
degree in history from Rhodes College in
Memphis, and she is a graduate of Bentonville High School.
The groom is the son of Nancy and
David Camarigg of Newport Beach, Calif.
He is the grandson of the late Martha and
George Price and the late Alice and Wayne
Camarigg.
He is publications manager at Living
Blues Magazine at the University of
Mississippi. He has a juris doctor from the
University of Notre Dame Law School in
Notre Dame, Ind., and a bachelor’s degree
in history from the University of California
at Berkeley, and he graduated from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, Calif.
Dutton-Williford
Arnold-Smith
Amanda Arnold and Steven Smith, both
of Fayetteville, plan to marry at 5 p.m.
May 20, 2011, at St. Catherine’s at Bell
Gable in Fayetteville.
The bride is the daughter of Lisa and
Paul Kirkpatrick of Fayetteville and Sherry
and David Arnold of Knoxville, Tenn. She
is the granddaughter of Wanda Arnold of
Rudy, the late Cleston Arnold and the late
Peggy and Fred Musgrave.
She is employed in marketing at the Bank
of Fayetteville. She is a 2007 graduate of
the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville
with a bachelor’s degree in communications and a 1998 graduate of Fayetteville
High School.
The groom is the son of Kit and Ronnie
Smith of Benton. He is the grandson of
Raymond Smith of Little Rock, the late
Louise Smith and the late Jane and Frank
O’Hara.
He is a collateral manager at the Bank of
Fayetteville. He is a 2005 graduate of the
University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s
degree in finance and a 2001 graduate of
Benton High School.
ANNIVERSARIES
Courtney Ann Williford and Jared Marcus
Dutton, both of Fayetteville, were married
at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22, 2010, at Stone Chapel
at Matt Lane Farm in Fayetteville. The Rev.
Justin Paslay officiated.
The bride is the daughter of Patsy and
Jimmy Williford of Fayetteville. She is the
granddaughter of J.T. Duncan of Wynne, the
late Dorcas Duncan and the late Lucille and
Woodrow Williford.
The groom is the son of Karen McCoy of
Fayetteville and Jerry Dutton of Springdale.
He is the grandson of the late Oleta and Clifford Dutton and the late Ione Kate.
The bride wore a strapless sweetheart
dress fashioned from ivory taffeta featuring
a ruched bodice, an A-line skirt with soft box
pleats and a chapel-length train. She carried a
clutch bouquet of orange and coffee-colored
roses with sunset alstroemeria, butterscotch
daisies, orange gerbera daisies, miniature
orange gerbera daisies, coral berries, bronze
calla lilies and green chrysanthemums.
Kristen Clark of Columbia, Mo., attended
the bride as maid of honor.
Matthew Reynolds of El Dorado served as
best man.
Jackson Justus was ringbearer.
Guests were seated by Ryan Gulley, Gregg
Stewart, Matthew Morris and Evan Dill.
Wedding music was provided by Jonathan
Story.
A reception followed at Matt Lane Farm.
After a wedding trip to Naples, Fla., the
couple live in Fayetteville.
The bride is senior marketing manager at
Lindsey Management Co. Inc. in Fayetteville.
The groom is employed in golf course maintenance by Lindsey Management Co.
POLICY
No IPTC Header found
Farley 50th
Lee 50th
Mr. and Mrs. Bob W. Farley of Siloam
Springs are celebrating their golden wedding
anniversary. Bob Farley and Ethelyn Jones
were married Feb. 5, 1961, by the Rev. H.D.
Pieratt at the home of the bride’s parents
in Siloam Springs. They have three children, Melvin Farley and Calvin Farley, both
of Siloam Springs, and Angie Hardaway of
Chandler, Okla.; six grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lee of Pea Ridge are
celebrating their golden wedding anniversary
with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. March 12,
2011, at the Pea Ridge Emergency Services
Building community room. Charles Lee and
Judy Sumner were married March 17, 1961, at
First Methodist Church of Bentonville by the
Rev. Thurston Masters. They have two children, John Lee of Pea Ridge and Lori Krie of
Fayetteville; and four grandchildren.
General
Fisher 40th
The newspaper reserves the right to edit any
information.
Use of the appropriate form helps ensure the
announcement is correct.
Please type or print legibly, and check
the spelling of names, etc., to ensure the
announcement is correct.
Announcements will be reprinted if the
newspaper has made an error. If an error
appears, notify the editor the next day, so a
correction can be made in a timely manner.
M r. a n d M r s . H a r o l d F i s h e r o f
Fayetteville are celebrating their 40th
wedding anniversary. Harold Fisher and
Betsy Cook were married March 10, 1971.
Help
They have three children, Vaughn Fisher
Call 479-872-5029, 479-872-5002, 479of Fayetteville, Chris Fisher of Springdale
and Evey Fortin of Elkins; and four grand- 571-6418 or 479-271-3713 or send an e-mail
message to living@nwaonline.com.
children.
SOCIETY
ANNIVERSARIES
Singing Men Concert Set For March 13
EVENT PART OF EFFORT TO RAISE AWARENESS, MONEY FOR POLIO ERADICATION
STAFF REPORT
The Rotary Club of Fayetteville and
Central United Methodist Church of
Fayetteville will present the Singing Men
of Arkansas in concert at 3 p.m. March 13.
The concert will be in the main sanctuary
of the church.
The performance is one of a series of
events aimed at raising awareness in the
Rotary Club’s battle against polio. Four
sponsors are supporting the Singing Men
concert — Davis, Clark, Butt, Carithers & Taylor PLC, Mitchell Communications Group Inc., Marla and Dennis Hunt
and Larry Bittle Insurance Agency Inc.
— and thus are aiding the End Polio Now
campaign.
Singing Men of Arkansas is an auditioned
men’s choir pursuing professional excellence in choral sound. It is a nonprofit organization, and its members are all volunteers
who enjoy singing together. The group is
dedicated to singing a wide range of secular
and sacred music.
Rotary International has launched the End
Polio Now campaign to extend immunization efforts to remaining countries around
the globe so that polio can be eradicated.
The Rotary Club of Fayetteville is seeking
to raise $210,000 by April as its part of the
international organization’s efforts.
Other events scheduled in the fundraising
and awareness drive include a golf tournament slated for March 17 and a talent/variety/follies show planned for April 19. More
information is available at www.fayettevillerotary.org/endpolio.html. Online donations to the effort can be made at that
address.
Checks also can be made payable to
Rotary International with “Polio” in the
memo line and mailed to Rotary Club of
Fayetteville, P.O. Box 1683, Fayetteville, AR
72702-1683.
purchased at the Springdale High School’s
main office or at the door the day of the
event.
Information: Call Jeannie Smith at
479-595-1338 or e-mail Jeannie.smth@
gmail.com.
“all-you-can-eat” chili supper and desserts
from 5 to 8 p.m. March 17 at Woodland
Junior High School in Fayetteville.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for school
age children and children younger than 6 eat
free. Tickets may be purchased at the door
or from any Kiwanis member.
Proceeds will be used in the Kiwanis Youth
Program.
BRIEFLY
Group Hosts Brunch Saturday
Cochran 60th
Dr. and Mrs. Tom Cochran of Springdale
are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Tom Cochran and Marian Shuster
were married March 4, 1951, at the Methodist Church in Huntsville by the Rev. Kermit
Van Zandt. They have two children, Thomas
Cochran of West Fork and Kelly Pratt of
Tulsa, Okla.; three grandchildren; and two
great-grandchildren.
Springdale High School Parent Teacher
Student Organization will host a Bulldog
Brunch Prom Fashion Preview from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Springdale High
School Rotunda. Emcees will be KNWA’s
Marci Manley and “Papa Rap” Al Lopez with
catering by Vince Pianalto and his students.
Cost is $10 per ticket. Tickets can be
Kiwanis Host Chili Supper
Fayetteville Sequoyah Kiwanis will host an
— STAFF REPORT
GALA: Approximately 26 Million Adults, Children In US Have Diabetes
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3D
Watson 60th
Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Watson of Pea Ridge
are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary from 3 to 5 p.m. March 19, 2011, at
the Pea Ridge Emergency Services Building community room. Johnnie Watson and
Laverne Holland were married Feb. 21, 1951,
in Mooreland, Okla. They have three children, Darrel Watson and wife Anna of Rocky
Comfort, Mo., Denise Sharpton and husband
Charles of Raymore, Mo., and the late Roy
Lyn Watson; eight grandchildren, Jennifer
Sizemore, Ashley Thompson, Jon Sharpton, Brian Sharpton, Jeff Sharpton, Nelson
Watson, Cody Watson and Jake Robinson;
and two great-grandchildren, Ty and Trey
Sizemore.
POLICY
Society announcements are published in the
Sunday edition of the combined Profiles and
Our Town section. There is no charge for this
service.
Information provided on the appropriate
newspaper form will be used to write an
announcement according to the style and
guidelines of the paper.
Deadlines
Submit by 4 p.m. Tuesday to be considered
for publication in the following Sunday’s paper.
Engagements will be published any Sunday
before the wedding. Six weeks before is
customary. Weddings older than six months
cannot be printed.
Anniversary announcements will be
printed at five-year intervals from 25 to 50.
Anniversaries after the 50th will be printed for
any year.
Forms — available from the Rogers Morning
News, the Springdale Morning News, the
Benton County Daily Record and the Northwest
Arkansas Times — must be completed and
must include day, evening and cellular phone
numbers. These numbers are for verification
and will not be printed.
Submit form and photo together. They
can be submitted via mail sent to Wedding
Announcements, Northwest Arkansas
Newspapers LLC, P.O. Box 7, Springdale, AR
72765-0007, via e-mail to living@nwaonline.
com, through our website (www.nwaonline.
com/features/home) or delivery to offices in
Rogers, Springdale, Bentonville or Fayetteville.
When sending via e-mail, note in the subject
line the couple’s names. For example, SmithJones engagement or Smith-Jones wedding.
Photographs
Color photos will be published if submitted
in sufficient quality. Black-and-white photos
also are accepted, but they will be published
in black and white. Photos must be submitted
with forms.
Williamson of Rich Products raised almost
$35,000 in the small business category. They
both had the honor of kissing a pig, or perhaps
more accurately, a piglet.
There’s a story behind why the organization
celebrates the porcine critter with what the
printed program calls “such pageantry and
pigeantry.”
In the 1920s, scientists unlocked a mystery.
They discovered that the pig pancreas could
be used to make insulin. Through the Diabetes
Association’s signature event, local community leaders throughout the country gather to
celebrate the occasion and show their appreciation for the pig and its role in the mission
to stop diabetes.
In addition to Di Salvo and Williamson,
other candidates for the cause were:
John Furner, vice president of global sourcing and seasonal merchandising for Sam’s
Club
Bill Horton, an attorney with Nolan,
Caddell & Reynolds P.A.
Ryan Paulk, director, Global Finance for
Walmart
Vanessa Tritt, senior analyst, Sales &
Insight for H.J. Heinz Co.
Dr. Tammy Tucker, a family medicine
physician with Northwest Health & Wellness
Center
Nick Tyler, senior vice president of food
service distribution for Tyson Foods.
The chairman for the event was Steve Wolf
of Abbott Nutrition. Wolf told the dinner audience that preparation and planning for this
year’s event actually began two weeks after
last year’s Kiss A Pig Gala. He credited dedicated volunteers with making the annual event
successful.
Donna Parsley of Springdale was honored
as Volunteer of the Year. She is the health
and wellness compliance audit manager with
Walmart, and she has been a volunteer with
the Diabetes Association since the fall of 2006,
when she became involved with Tour de Cure.
Since then, she has served as the association’s
food/beverage committee chairwoman for all
major events.
Duncan Mac Naughton, executive vice
president and chief merchandising officer for
Walmart Stores, was the honorary chairman
and keynote speaker.
Mac Naughton praised Northwest Arkansas as a giving community, and he cited the
attendance of more than 1,000 people turning
out to help find a cure for diabetes as another
affirmation of that giving spirit.
He said a cure must be found for diabetes
and cited statistics to stress the importance of
the Diabetes Association’s work.
Approximately 26 million adults and
children in the United States have diabetes,
or 8.3 percent of the population. Another
79 million people have prediabetic conditions, he noted. It’s estimated that by 2050,
one in three individuals will have the
condition.
Mac Naughton spoke during the dinner,
which included seasoned mix greens with
beet and carrot threads and pear tomatoes,
prosciutto-wrapped smoked Gouda chicken
with an herb cream sauce, Yukon peppered
mashed potatoes, Manhattan-blend vegetables
and French vanilla and white chocolate raspberry ice cream truffles.
Cirque Le Masque provided entertainment
for the gala, and Neile Jones and Matt Turner
of KNWA were emcees.
Prior to the start of dinner, guests browsed
a roomful of silent auction items. Live
auction offerings included a Persian rug, a
Tyson dining experience, a trip to visit Tony
Hawk Inc. headquarters in San Diego and
enjoy a catered lunch with Hawk, a baseball
fantasy package for the Northwest Arkansas
Naturals, a full page ad in All You and full
page ads in Woman’s World and First for
Women.
STAFF PHOTOS DEBBIE MILLER
Eric and Becky Paulk, from left, join Jennifer and Ryan Paulk at the Kiss A Pig Gala
benefiting the American Diabetes Association. Ryan Paulk was one of eight candidates who
raised money in a competition to determine who would be able to plant a kiss on a baby
piglet named Bella. Eric Paulk was his brother’s campaign manager.
UPCOMING EVENTS
AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION
IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
American Diabetes Association Alert Day,
March 22
Diabetes Expo, June 18
Arkansas Diabetes Youth Camp, July 10-July 15
Step Out Walk in Fort Smith, Sept. 10
Tour de Cure, Oct. 22
Diabetes Awareness Month, November
Information: 479-464-4121 or visit www.
diabetes.org
SOURCE: KISS A PIG GALA PROGRAM
Honorary chairman and keynote
speaker Duncan Mac Naughton, left, joins
Steve Wolf, event chairman for the MaskSqueal-Rade gala, prior to the start of the
ninth annual fundraiser for the American
Diabetes Association.
American Diabetes Association
Kiss A Pig candidates included
board chairman Deryn Young, right, and his
wife, Jenifer, enjoy the Kiss A Pig Gala on
Feb. 26 at the John Q. Hammons Center in
Rogers.
Vanessa Tritt, from left, Corey Williamson
and Dr. Tammy Tucker. Williamson won in the
small business category by raising almost
$35,000.
OUR TOWN
CLUB BRIEFS
Flower, Garden
And Nature
Society, NWA
Flower, Garden and
Nature Society of Northwest
Arkansas will present C.
Colston Burrell, international
garden lecturer and designer,
award-winning author,
naturalist and photographer,
at 9:30 a.m. March 19 at the
student center at Northwest
Technical Institute, 709 S. Old
Missouri Road in Springdale.
He will speak on “Native
Alternatives to Invasive
Plants.” Cost is $15 for
nonmembers.
He will sign books after his
lecture.
Myasthenia Gravis
Support Group
People affected by
Myasthenia Gravis, including
family and friends of
Myasthenics, are invited
to attend a local support
group meeting. There is
no charge to participate,
and pre-registration is not
required. The meeting will
be held at the Walker Center
for Families at Circle of Life
Hospice, 901 Jones Road,
Springdale, from 2:30 to
3:30 p.m. March 13.
Information: 790-302,
jrhuff1@cox.net.
Whodunits
Mystery Club
The Whodunits Mystery
Club will meet at noon
Saturday at The Restaurant
On The Corner in Fayetteville,
3582 N. Arkansas 112.
Featured speaker will be
Detective Lonnie Nichols,
former sheriff of Carroll
County and now a member
of the Crime Investigation
Division of the Washington
County Sheriff’s Office.
He administers polygraph
tests, is a forensic
investigative hypnotist and a
certified Arkansas firearms
instructor.
Information: 756-6169.
be a program including a
discussion of sewing with
hand woven fabrics.
Embroiderers’
Guild Of America
The Bella Vista Chapter
Embroiderers’ Guild of
America will meet at
9:30 a.m. Thursday at St.
Theodore’s Episcopal Church,
1001 Kingsland Road in Bella
Vista. The program will be “A
Beading Project.”
Personal
Computer
User Group
The Northwest Arkansas
Personal Computer User
Group will meet at 1 p.m.
March 19 in Suites 217, 219,
221 of the Education and
Computer Center in the north
wing of The Jones Center
in Springdale. The program
will be “Personal Computer
Browser Comparisons” by
president-elect and program
manager Robert Davis.
Son’s Chapel
Quilters
Son’s Chapel Quilters have
supported the maintenance
of the National Historic
Registry building by quilting
and selling baby quilts since
1946. The group quilts from
9 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays,
followed by lunch. The
group needs additional hand
quilters as well as those who
hand embroider and will
teach those who are willing
to learn. The group meets
at 5480 E. Mission Blvd. in
Fayetteville.
Bella Vista
Welcome Club
Ladies Day Out
tour the Inn at Bella Vista, a
bed and breakfast, at 11 a.m.
March 15. After the
tour they will carpool for
lunch at Mimi’s in Pinnacle
Hills. The group will meet
at 10:45 a.m. at the church
parking lot across from the
Arvest Bank at Town Center
to carpool.
Information/reservations:
876-5027, 855-0937.
Blood Center
Sets Drives
Community Blood Center
of the Ozarks will have
blood drives at the following
locations:
Bentonville — Noon to
4 p.m. Monday, PRGX, 211
S.E. 34th St.; and 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. Wednesday, Outdoor
Cap, 1200 Melissa Lane
Fayetteville — 11 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Friday, Washington
Regional Medical Center,
3215 N. North Hills Blvd.
Prairie Grove — 8 a.m.
to 2 p.m. Thursday, Prairie
Grove High School, 500 N.
Cole Drive
Siloam Springs —
3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday,
Lowe’s, 3499 U.S. 412 E.
Red Cross
Hosts Drives
The American Red Cross
will host blood drives in the
following locations:
Bergman — 2:30 to
6 p.m. today, Ozark Baptist
Church, 8349 Blevins Road
Clarksville — 2 to 6 p.m.
Friday, Walmart, 1230 Market
St.
Farmington — 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Friday, Farmington
High School, 278 W. Main St.
Lamar — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, Lamar High School,
301 Elberta St.
Tontitown — 1 to 6 p.m.
Monday, Tontitown Blood
Donation Center, 250
Industrial Circle East.
— STAFF REPORT
Michael Gaines will speak
on “Habitats and Biotopes:
Natural Settings and the
Aquarium” when the group
meets Saturday.
The talk will focus on the
various types of natural
habitats for tropical fishes
and how to create them in
the aquarium.
The society meets on the
second Saturday of every
month in the Community
Room of the Rogers Police
Station, at the corner of
Dixieland and New Hope
roads. The program begins
at 7 p.m. There are door
prizes for new faces and a
mini auction at the meeting’s
end.
Information: nwaas.com,
359-0088.
Bella Vista. P.E.O. Chapter
CD will meet at 1 p.m.
Monday at Bella Vista
Community Church, 75 E.
Lancashire Blvd. Installation
of officers for next year and
a report on the International
Peace Scholarship are some
of the items on the agenda.
Pieces ’N‘ Patches
Quilt Group
Take Off Pounds
Sensibly
The Pieces ’N‘ Patches
Quilt Group will meet at
10 a.m. Monday at Peace
Lutheran Church, 805
W. Olrich St. in Rogers.
There will be a DVD
presentation by Brenda
Henning on “Mastering
the Mariner’s Compass,” a
Bear Paw Production. These
instructions will be helpful
for the workshop March 14
taught by Stella Day. Lunch
will be served.
Take Off Pounds Sensibly
meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays
at Fayetteville City Hospital at
221 S. School Ave.
Information: www.TOPS.
org.
Canasta/Bridge
At St. Bernard
Canasta and bridge will be
played at St. Bernard church
in Bella Vista Thursday.
Open Back
Readymade
Frames
— STAFF REPORT
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WELL AS ITEMS
FROM OUR
CRAFT & FLORAL
DEPARTMENTS.
EXCLUDES FURNITURE.
John Deere &
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&
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Mary
Engelbreit
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Ceramics, Pottery
& Polyresin
Shadow Box
Frames,
Display Cases
& Flag Cases
Spring
Easter Baskets,
Grass, Shreds
& Fillers
EXCLUDES BASKETS
WITH CANDY.
Polystone &
Ceramic Figurines
and Tabletop
77¢ P/YD.
Metal Sectional
Frame Kits
Collegiate
Garden
Decor
%
40% Off
EXCLUDES TEALIGHTS,
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VALUE PACKS
Net
Portrait Frames &
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with Glass
St. Patrick’s
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Decorations
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Candles,
Candle Holders,
Reed Diffusers
& LED Pillars
Tulle
PRICES GOOD IN STORES ONLY MARCH 7 THROUGH MARCH 12, 2011
• SALES SUBJECT TO SUPPLY IN STOCK • SELECTION MAY VARY BY STORE
• THIS AD DOES NOT APPLY TO PRE-REDUCED ITEMS
• SALE OFFERS NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE
STORE HOURS: 9-8 MONDAY-SATURDAY • CLOSED SUNDAY
SPRINGDALE
5244 W. SUNSET
Ozark Center Point Place
479.443.3800
The yearly fishing equipment
resale will be held at Riordan
Hall at 10 a.m. March 17.
The speaker for the
March 10 meeting will
be Earl Hammond. All
meetings are held at 10 a.m.
Thursdays at Riordan Hall in
Bella Vista.
Information: www.
BellaVistaFlyTyers.org.
32”x40”
Matboard &
Pre-Cut Mats
50 Off
Easter Crafts & Decor
Jewelry
Tools &
Adhesives
& More!
Fly Tyers Club
%
OUR EVERYDAY
LOW PRICES
Home
Decor
The Col. Daniel McKissick
Chapter of The Sons of
the American Revolution
will meet from 2 to 4 p.m.
March 17 at the First United
Methodist Church of Bella
Vista, 20 Boyce Drive.
Information: 855-2426,
876-5116.
Marion Chapter National
Society Daughters of the
American Revolution will
meet at 11 a.m. March 12
at the Clarion Inn in
Fayetteville.
The program will be
“Quilts of Valor: Lapquilts
for Wounded Soldiers.” A
buffet lunch will precede
the meeting; cost is $12.
Hostesses for the event
will be Janie McKinney,
Jacque Baker, Nita Profitt
and Honorary Regent Jeanne
Tackett. Members are
encouraged to bring coffee
for the Veterans hospital,
soup labels, boxtops and
used printer ink cartridges
for the DAR Schools.
Information: lantermck@
aol.com.
Categories Shown
Wooden
& Metal
Easter
Decor
(Caddy-corner from Chili’s)
Unique
Gifts
Col. Daniel
McKissick
Chapter, SAR
Marion Chapter,
DAR
Photo Frames
Poster Frames
& Wall Frames
with Glass
Easter
Kitchen
& Dining
Sorority
&
Fraternity
Stuff
The Bella Vista Book Club
will meet at 1 p.m. March 15
at the First United Methodist
Church of Bella Vista, 20
Boyce Drive. The book to
be discussed is “Arkansas/
Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters,
Hillbillies, and Good Ol’ Boys
Defined a State” by Brook
Blevins.
Framing
INCLUDES BUNNIES,
CHICKS, DUCKS & MORE.
Single Tree Plaza
577 E. Millsap, Suite 4
Fayetteville, AR 72703
Robert Neely and other
retired Benton County
teachers will discuss their
long careers and “Early
Education in Benton County”
when the Benton County
Historical Society meets
at 2:30 p.m. March 13 in
the Conference Centre at
Compton Gardens, 312 N.
Main St. in Bentonville.
Bella Vista
Book Club
INCLUDES OUR ENTIRE
SELECTION OF TABLE TOP
AND NOVELTY PHOTO
FRAMES AS WELL AS
ALL WOODEN PHOTO
STORAGE
Posters
& Matted
Prints
Easter Plush &
Stuffed Animals
OPENING
IN APRIL
AT OUR
NEW
LOCATION!
Benton County
Historical Society
Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
for light refreshments and
play starts at 12:15 p.m.
Collage Frames
The Bella Vista Welcome
Club Ladies Day Out will
PartyHouseofNWA.com
LOCAL NOTES
Aquarium Society
Bella Vista. P.E.O.
Chapter CD
Handweavers
Guild
The Northwest Arkansas
Handweavers Guild will
meet at 10 a.m. Saturday
at the Arts Center of the
Ozarks, 214 S. Main St. in
Springdale. After a brief
business meeting, there will
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FAYETTEVILLE
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(LOCATED IN THE MARKET COURT SHOPPING CENTER)
HOURS: Monday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Closed Sunday
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OUR TOWN
STAFF PHOTO CARIN SCHOPPMEYER
Soup Sunday sponsors Pam and David Parks, from left, and Lynn Donald Carver visit
University of Arkansas graduate and Johnson Fellow Regina Hopper, center, stands
at the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families fundraiser on Feb. 27.
with Jeff and Marcia Johnson at a reception Tuesday evening at the Johnsons’ home.
CARIN: Graduate Visits Campus To Share Experiences As Attorney, White House Correspondent
returning Razorback included
Jane and UA Chancellor
Arkansas Alumni Asso- Dave Gearhart, law school
ciation Executive Director Dean Cynthia Nance and
Mike Macechko joked, “No Gerald Jordan.
person should have as many
talents as Regina Hopper OUR TOWN COLUMNIST CARIN
... She’s mastered logistics, SCHOPPMEYER CAN BE REACHED
energy and advocacy — and BY E-MAILING CSCHOPPMEYER@
NWAONLINE.COM OR BY
she was Miss Arkansas!”
Those welcoming the PHONING 872-5049.
Northwest Arkansas Director for Arkansas
Advocates for Children and Families Laura Kellams, from
left, Arkansas Executive Director Rich Huddleston and board
members Dee Lea and Denise Garner welcome guests to
Soup Sunday.
University of Arkansas Chancellor Dave and Jane Gearhart, from right, Lois and Bobby Hopper and
Kris and UA Alumni Association Executive Director Mike Macechko visit Tuesday evening at a reception held in honor of the
Hoppers’ daughter Regina Hopper.
Arkansas Crisis Center Visionary Award
honorees Steven Blackwood, from left, Nikki Ball and Aaron
Wolfe gather at the Feb. 26 fundraiser.
Arkansas Crisis Center Executive Director
Shelby Rowe, from right, stands with the center’s previous
directors Ruthanne Hill, Gloria Dible and Vergean Ward at “It’s
a Wonderful Life.”
Marj Metzger, from left, Gloria Dible, Rilla Tolliver, Jim Morriss, and Shana and Anthony Clark help mark the Arkansas
Crisis Center’s 25th anniversary on Feb. 26 at the Fayetteville Town Center.
OUR TOWN
Wine Opener Opens Hearts, Pocketbooks
FUNDRAISER SETS
CHAPTER EVENT RECORD
By Sara Sullivan
SSULLIVAN@NWAONLINE.COM
BENTONVILLE — If a stranger
was looking at 12-year-old
Luke McFadden, he would
likely see a healthy, happy,
baseball-playing youngster.
“You just don’t realize what
goes on behind the scenes,”
said the boy’s mother, Michelle
McFadden. Luke, a cystic fibrosis patient, spends hours a day
enduring breathing treatments
and taking occasional intravenous drip feeds, and must
take digestive enzymes before
every meal.
“CF is a very hard disease
— looking from the outside
— to understand,” McFadden
said.
Cystic fibrosis, or CF, is a
genetic disease that affects
a person’s lungs and digestive system. It afflicts about
30,000 people in the United
States, causing their bodies
to produce unusually thick
mucus that clogs their lungs
and hampers their bodies’
ability to break down and
absorb food.
Cystic fibrosis patients
frequently have persistent
coughing, severe lung infections and poor growth and
weight gain. CF used to
be considered a children’s
disease, because few who had
it lived to reach adulthood.
But with medical advancements and a regimen of preventive care like what Luke bears
daily, CF patients can now
expect to live into their 30s and
40s — long enough, they hope,
for a cure to be found.
And events like the Northwest Arkansas Wine Opener,
held Feb. 25 at the Doubletree
Guest Suites, are helping to
expedite that search.
Now in its fourth year, the
sold-out Wine Opener saw
more than 400 people sipping
wine from commemorative
glasses, eating nibbles from
stations staffed by area restaurants and bidding on a slew of
auction items.
Green wine bottles decorated the tables, each holding
a red rose. The bottles’ labels
bore sepia-toned photographs
of cystic fibrosis patients, some
pictured with their siblings.
“Sisters,” read one label that
featured 13-year-old MacKenzie Jobe, who was diagnosed
with CF at 4 days old, and
her sister, 10-year-old Peyton
Jobe.
“AIR,” read another that
bore the face of 15-yearold Joey Marshall, who was
diagnosed at 3 months; “CF
Sucks,” the label continued,
“ — the air out of your
lungs.”
“Rock On!” blazed a wine
label showing 10-year-old Trey
Stacy gleefully holding a big
guitar. “Thank you for helping to change my life,” it read,
“Breathe easy and rock on!”
Because the chronic disease
only affects 30,000 in the
United States — a relatively
small number of people in
the pharmaceutical world
— it’s hard to get funding,
said Ann Miller, who joined
McFadden as co-chairwoman
of this year’s Wine Opener.
“So we have to do so much
more fundraising to get the
money through the pipeline
for research.”
And fundraise they did.
Feb. 25’s event raised
$100,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is a
record for the event, and for
any of the Arkansas Chapter’s
fundraisers, said Northwest
STAFF PHOTOS SARA SULLIVAN
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation supporters Avery
Starks, from left, Lori Alexander and Ashley and Jeff
Wright visit at the Wine Opener on Feb. 25 in Bentonville.
Ashley Wright is holding one of the event’s auction items,
a 13-week-old teacup Yorkie.
Northwest Arkansas Wine Opener
co-chairwomen Ann Miller, left, and Michelle McFadden
SAVE THE DATE
pose for a photo at the Feb. 25 event, which is a fundraiser for
the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
UPCOMING CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION FUNDRAISERS
Spring Valley Redbone Fly Fishing Invitational
When: April 28-30
What: Guided fly fishing tournament at the Spring Valley Anglers
club properties in Decatur, and a dinner and auction event at Arvest
Ballpark
Tickets: $75 for the all-inclusive, “Minute to Win It”-themed dinner,
raffle and auction on April 29; $1,500 per two-man team for the
guided tournament
Information: 912-617-5613 or blaroche@rich.com
Walk This Way With The Finest Fashion Show
When: May 6
What: Fashion show, live auction, open bar and after party at Ruth’s
Chris Steakhouse
Where: TBD in Rogers
Tickets: $50 general ticket; $100 VIP ticket for access to Club
Breathe cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and premier seating
Information: 203-9923 or www.cff.org/Chapters/arkansas
Jalane Lee, from left, visits with her parents, Russell
and Sylvia Riggs, in one of the silent auction rooms at
the Northwest Arkansas Wine Opener fundraiser at the
Doubletree Guest Suites in Bentonville.
Arkansas branch development
director Laura Sylvester. For
comparison, last year’s event
raised $65,000, she marveled.
“Good things follow,”
Sylvester added, citing a
recent update on a promising drug in the pipeline. “It’s
just a real good time for this
organization — making a lot
of progress.”
And that shining hope keeps
things going.
Supporters of the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation will
continue to raise money for
research, with events like a
fishing tournament and a fash-
ion show in the works locally.
And families like McFadden’s
will continue to proactively
battle the disease, “to keep
our kids alive until there is a
cure.”
PRESENTING
PLATINUM
GOLD
The Willard
and Pat Walker
Charitable Foundation
Walton Arts Center Corporate
Leadership Council presents
a gala event benefitting arts
learning in Northwest Arkansas
HONORARY CO-CHAIRS
JACK AND MECHELLE SINCLAIR
SPECIAL THANKS
to everyone who made the 2011
Masquerade Ball possible!
MEDIA
Sara Lilygren
and Alex May
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
SILVER
Procter & Gamble | Sher Garner | Sarah Hickman | Nestle | Gallup
Tony Waller | General Mills | Greenwood Gearhart, Inc. | Heinz | Ghirardelli
Pinnacle Women’s Health Care, Inc. | Kimberly-Clark | Tyson | Clorox
Friday Firm | Kutak Rock | Northwest Arkansas Pediatric Dental Center
Mitchell Williams | Diageo | E&J Gallo Winery
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Corporate Leadership
Council Co-Chairs
Steve Collins, Mars, Inc.
Dante Anderson
Masquerade Ball Co-Chairs
Sara Lilygren, Tyson Foods, Inc.
Candace Taylor
Corporate Leadership Council Members
Amanda Barnes, Bassett Law Firm | Kristen Boozman, Portfolio Luxury Real Estate
Dr. Jenny Campbell, Hedberg Allergy Clinic & Asthma Center | Steve Cassin, Mars
Snackfood | Alex Cornett, General Mills | Jay Ellis, Nestle USA | Joe Farnan, E&J
Gallo Winery | Brock Gearhart, Greenwood Gearhart, Inc. | Holly Gilbert, Mitchell
Communications Group, Inc. | Treva Hamilton, Fayetteville Public Education
Foundation | Sarah Hickman, KNWA/Fox 24 | Donny Hubbard, Baumans Fine Clothier
Rebecca Hurst, Friday Eldredge & Clark, LLP | Ron Johnson, Nickelodeon | Dean
Jones, Gallup Consulting | Perry Keefe, Dean Foods | Rich Kley, Kraft Foods | Kurt
Kober, The Clorox Company | Clint Lazenby, ConAgra Foods | Patrick Marbury, Sir
Speedy | Andy McMillin, Coca-Cola | Andy Murray, Saatchi X | Craig Nowokunski,
Kimberly-Clark | Ian Radcliffe, Procter & Gamble | Dr. Jeff Rhodes, Northwest Arkansas
Pediatric Dental Center | Adrian Stratton, Walmart | Denise Thomas, Arkansas World
Trade Center | Tony Waller, Walmart | Joe West, Walmart | Leigh Anne Yeargan,
Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. | Mike Vaughn, KNWA/Fox 24
OUR TOWN
ACO Patrons Warm Up February
BEACH BALL, AUCTION RAISE MONEY FOR ARTS
By Laurie Marshall
The temperature outside
on the evening of Feb. 26
required at least a jacket
— and definitely long pants
— but it was a comfortable
level of “hot” at the Arts
Center of the Ozarks’ third
annual Beach Ball at the
Holiday Inn in Springdale.
Attendees, dressed in
their finest “beach wear,”
were transported to sunny
Cancun, where they were
entertained by a live performance by Mariachi Amistad
and served delicious Mexican and seafood buffets.
Hosts for the party were
Harry and Kathi Blundell,
Jim and Lisa Blount, Joel and
Lynn Carver, Curt Farhat, Al
and Dorothy Hanby, Arnie
and Linda Fulton, Kim and
Karen Eskew and Chris and
Debby Weiser.
As the evening progressed,
the best in summertime
music was played by the DJ
Steve-O of the DJ Connection of Tulsa, Okla., while
attendees hit the dance
floor and browsed the wide
selection of parties, vacations, art, merchandise and
services available in the
silent auction.
A few of the dozens of
popular items were a playhouse built by Dr. Michael
Clouatre and his wife Patsy,
a one-week stay in a condo
looking over the ocean on
Marco Island, Fla., donated
by Margo and Monte
Henderson, and a tikithemed pool party hosted
by Jim and Lisa Blount.
Th e a n n u a l ba l l a n d
auction event brings in
more than 15 percent of the
budget needed to support
programming for children
and adults at the 44-year-old
arts center.
T h i s y e a r, a r o u n d
330 participants enjoyed
the ball, according to Kathi
Blundell, ACO administrative director, up about
10 p e rce n t f ro m 20 10.
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO NWA MEDIA LAURIE MARSHALL
Proceeds totaling nearly
$58,000 also reflected that Tareneh Manning and Tonya Clifford were among supporters enjoying the Arts
10 percent increase, she said. Center of the Ozarks’ Beach Ball on Feb. 26.
Among those taking a virtual trip to Cancun courtesy of the Arts Center of the Ozarks were, from left, Jim
Among hosts for the ACO Beach Ball were Chris and
and Cathey Crouch, Lynn and Dr. Joel Carver and Denise and Dr. Hershey Garner.
Debby Weiser.
The most successful
touring Broadway
concert in America!
PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
NWA MEDIA & WALTON ARTS CENTER
Tuesday, Mar. 29 –
Sunday, Apr. 3
Tickets start at: $23
Direct from New York! Neil Berg’s widely acclaimed 100 Years of Broadway,
a musical revue of Broadway’s most celebrated shows, featuring a dazzling
cast of five Broadway stars accompanied by an all-star New York band, is
coming to Walton Arts Center!
According to San Francisco’s KABC radio theater critic, Jerry
Friedman, “This revue features some of the best songs from the best
Broadway shows, all sung by some of the most talented performers
working today singing many of the hit songs that they have sung on
Broadway.”
100 Years of Broadway recreates the greatest moments from the finest
shows of the century featuring the actual stars of shows such as The
Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, CATS, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Jekyll &
Hyde. These amazing performers light up the stage with songs from the
hit shows in which they starred. Neil Berg presents brilliantly revived
arrangements of Broadway classics as well as thrilling numbers from
Broadway’s newest hit shows.
479.443.5600
waltonartscenter.org
Walton Arts Center is located at
495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville
100 Years of Broadway is part of the Procter & Gamble
Broadway Series and is sponsored by Mitchell, Williams, Selig,
Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. Additional support provided by Bob
and Marilyn Bogle. Media support by 40/29 News and NWA Media.
OUR TOWN
Tasty Temptations Can Be Deadly To Pets, Kids
Dear Abby: In our family,
pets are irreplaceable, fullfledged, beloved members.
One of them was a beautiful, very affectionate cat
we had rescued as an abandoned kitten. Tragically, he
didn’t make it through an
operation we hoped would
save his life. His death was
a needless accident, and we
are writing this in the hope
that you will print it to warn
other readers so no other
animals will die in a similar
fashion.
On the day before he died,
he suddenly stopped eating
and drinking. He became
l e t h a r g i c a n d vo m i t e d
several times. Our vet diagnosed him with a bowel
obstruction. Apparently, he
had eaten a piece of a palm
from Palm Sunday. Unable
to pass through his system,
it had perforated his bowel.
The damage was too extensive to fix.
The vet later told us about
many other items he had
removed throughout his
experience: Q-tips, cotton
balls, coins, twist ties, string,
buttons, Easter grass, Christmas tree icicles, etc. Abby,
please warn your readers to
SUNDAY CROSSWORD
D E A R A B BY
ABIGAIL VAN BUREN
pick up anything that’s small
enough for a pet to put in its
mouth, and to keep anything
a pet might be tempted to
taste out of reach. If you do,
perhaps our precious kitty’s
death will not have been
in vain. — In Mourning In
Pennsylvania
Dear In Mourning: I’m
sorry about the untimely
loss of your adored pet. I,
too, hope your letter will
alert pet owners — as well
as parents and caregivers of
small children.
Dear Abby: Do dreams
have a meaning? I have the
same disturbing dream over
and over again. It happens
often. The scenario is the
same, but the place in the
dream varies. I wake up
feeling anxious and can’t fall
back to sleep.
Do you have any advice or
suggestion on what I can do
about this? You have helped
many people; can you help
me? — Sleepless In Kansas
City
Dear Sleepless: Some
dreams have a “meaning”
— others do not. Your
dream may be an attempt by
your subconscious to work
through something in your
life that you haven’t been
able to resolve consciously,
which is why the dream is
recurring.
Howeve r, i t ’s i m p o r tant that you understand
that dreams usually aren’t
literal. An example would
be a person who dreams he
or she is naked in a public
place. It could be caused
by fear of “exposure” of
some secret, or wish fulfillment having completed a
successful diet and exercise
program. Because the dream
is causing sleeplessness
and anxiety, it may help to
discuss it with a psychologist. Just talking about it
may help the problem go
away.
Dear Abby: Our group
has a problem. One of the
women takes out her dental
floss and uses it at the table
regardless of where we are
— a restaurant, banquet,
anyplace. We have all asked
her please not to, but she’s
the type who, if you tell her
she’s wrong, insists she’s
always right. According to
her, flossing one’s teeth at
the table is acceptable.
She’s in her 60s and she’s
a representative for our
AARP group, which means
she attends a great many
functions. There has been
a lot of talk about this, and
it has made a lot of people
uncomfortable.
She reads your column as
we all do. So please address
this subject. Thank you.
— Grossed Out In Massachusetts
Dear Grossed Out: With
pleasure! Flossing one’s
teeth should be done in
PRIVATE, in the powder
room. Under no circumstances is it proper to do it
at the dinner table. For her
to insist upon doing it in
spite of being told it makes
others uncomfortable is
extremely rude, so tell her
to chew on that!
DEAR ABBY IS WRITTEN BY
ABIGAIL VAN BUREN, ALSO
KNOWN AS JEANNE PHILLIPS,
AND WAS FOUNDED BY HER
MOTHER, PAULINE PHILLIPS.
WRITE DEAR ABBY AT WWW.
DEARABBY.COM OR P.O. BOX
69440, LOS ANGELES, CA 90069.
ACES ON BRIDGE
Dear Mr. Wolff: I know
that in sandwich seat, after
both opponents have bid, you
prefer to play a strong notrump overcall by an unpassed
hand, but a passed hand uses
the call to show a two-suiter.
Given that, how weak or strong
should the two-suiter be? —
Sandwich Shop, Laredo, Texas
Dear Reader: As a passed
hand you will generally come
in with 5-5 and a top honor
in each of your suits. At
unfavorable vulnerability you’d
need some protection in the
form of decent intermediates.
While bidding with five to the
Q-10 and five to the K-J looks
fine to me, beware of tipping
off the opponents to possible
bad breaks just for the sheer
pleasure of hearing the sound
of your own voice.
Dear Mr. Wolff: Do you
encourage your readers to play
third-and-fifth leads against
suits? If so, what would you
lead from interior sequences
such as K-J-10 or Q-10-9?
— Middle of Something, Bay
City, Mich.
Dear Reader: I believe you
get more out of third-and-fifth
leads by treating your whole
holding as a single unit and
leading third from the top, so
you should lead the 10 from
the first holding and the nine
from the second. And as a
further thought, even if you
do not do this at the first trick,
you may find it helpful to make
these plays in midhand. The
disadvantage of these leads
at trick one before dummy
comes down is that you may
be helping declarer.
Dear Mr. Wolff: What
would you bid with ♠ J-9-8-4,
A-3-2, K-10-3-2, ♣ A-4 when
your LHO opens one diamond
and your partner overcalls
one heart? Would you bid notrump, or raise hearts — and
would you let your partner out
below game? — Third-Hand
Dilemma, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Dear Reader: I would raise
hearts rather than bid notrump, but I would start with
a cue-bid of two diamonds to
show a limit raise or better,
prepared to give up in two
hearts facing a minimum hand.
C O M M E N TA RY
BOBBY WOLFF
bobbywolff@mindspring.com
Your hand is not worth a drive
to game (or even to the threelevel) facing, for example, a
five-card suit in a 10-count.
Dear Mr. Wolff: In asking
for aces, am I allowed to
declare “I am asking”? We
have been told it is no longer
permitted. — 20 Questions,
Janesville, Wis.
Dear Reader: By rapping the
table or using the alert card,
you alert your partner’s bids,
not your own, if conventional.
The alert lets the opponents
inquire if they wish to. The
only bids of your partner that
you should announce are your
no-trump range, the fact that
a call is a transfer, or that a
no-trump response is forcing
or semiforcing. But no other
explanations should be made
unless the opponents request
them. For two reasons don’t
alert your own ace-asking call.
First, your partner does it, not
you; second, you don’t alert
any calls higher than three notrump, whatever they mean!
Dear Mr. Wolff: My RHO
opened two spades. I held ♠
J-9-6, Q-7, K-J-2, ♣ A-Q10-4-2 and passed. When my
partner balanced with a double,
how should I have advanced
— and do you agree with my
initial pass? — Stop and Go,
Union City, Tenn.
Dear Reader: Yes, passing
is correct (with a sixth club you
might act but not otherwise).
I would cuebid three spades
at my second turn and pass
a three-no-trump bid, but bid
five clubs over a red-suit action
by my partner. It is not perfect
— but nothing is!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT
BOBBY WOLFF, E-MAIL HIM AT
BOBBYWOLFF@MINDSPRING.COM
Tommy’s Nite Out II
Planned For Saturday
STAFF REPORT
Tommy’s Nite Out II, a benefit for the Van Zandt family, is
planned for Saturday at Pratt
Place Barn in Fayetteville.
The event is set from 7 to
11 p.m. and will include live
music, live and silent auctions
and food.
The first fundraising event
was held in October 2009
when more than 800 friends
showed up to pour out their
generosity and love for the
Van Zandt family. Following
the ice storm in early 2009,
Tommy Van Zandt fell from a
ladder while cutting tree limbs
and suffered a severe neck
injury, leaving him dependent
on a ventilator and paralyzed
from the neck down.
After returning from a
lengthy stay at Craig Rehab
Hospital in Denver, Van Zandt
has tried to maintain a presence at Sage Partners, the
Fayetteville commercial real
estate company he co-leads
with Brian Shaw and Mark
Saviers. However, he requires
a full-time caregiver to assist
him with day-to-day tasks.
More information is available
at www.friendsoftommyv.com.
CRYPTOQUIP ANSWERS
CROSSWORD ANSWERS
CRYPTOQUIP
OUR TOWN
BRIEFLY
Library Seeks
Young Artists
Bentonville Public Library
is calling all young artists
to enter its Draw Me A
Story Art Contest. Entries
should be inspired by the
artist’s favorite book. The
contest is open to artists
from third through 12th
grade. Submission forms
are available at the library
or on the library’s website,
www.bentonvillelibrary.
org. Artwork should be
delivered to the library with
a completed submission
form no later than March 31.
Entries will be displayed at
the library throughout the
month of April.
Winners in three different
categories will receive an
age-appropriate deluxe
art set. Winners will be
announced April 1.
Compton Gardens
Holds Academy
Compton Gardens is
hosting a Grantseeking
Eatery Teams Up Academy for nonprofits
needing to win grant funds
With Pagnozzi
to achieve their mission, but
lack the skills needed to do
HoneyBaked Ham is
so.
teaming up with Pagnozzi
The academy is an
Charities to help the nonprofit
intensive, hands-on learning
level the playing field for the
youth of Northwest Arkansas. experience. Participants
attend the academy two
For each box lunch or
hours per week over six
VIP buffet purchased for an
office lunch or a group outing weeks to digest what they
are learning and begin putting
during the month of March,
HoneyBaked Ham will donate it into practice at their
agencies. They will receive
$1 to Pagnozzi Charities.
HoneyBaked Ham is located an easy-to-read textbook,
have homework and receive
at 1400 S.E. Walton Blvd. in
Bentonville. Order forms: Call one-on-one mentoring from
professional grant writers.
479-271-7838.
Classes will be held from
3 to 5 p.m. every Tuesday
from April 5 through May 10.
Cost is $425.
Space is limited to 15
participants. Registration
deadline is March 28.
Registration: E-mail Cheryl
L. Kester at ckester@cox.net
or call 479-582-1053.
Centerton Gives
Weather Radios
The city of Centerton is
giving weather radios to its
citizens at City Hall, 290 N.
Main St.
There is no charge for
the radios, but a copy of
a Centerton utility bill
is required for proof of
residence. Radios may be
picked up between
8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.
CCOA Hosts
Classes
Local nonprofit Credit
Counseling of Arkansas
will hold free Homebuyer
Education classes at 9 a.m.
Saturday at The Jones
Center, 922 E. Emma Ave.
in Springdale and April 9
at United Bank, 2970 S.
Thompson St. in Springdale.
Participants in the daylong
workshops may qualify for
down payment assistance
of up to $10,000 through
an Arkansas Development
Finance Authority program.
Classes will feature
information provided by
a HUD-certified housing
counselor, a mortgage lender
and a Realtor, and will help
prospective homebuyers
learn about the entire
purchasing process. Seating
for classes is limited.
Registration: Visit
www.CCOAcares.com or
call 479-521-8877.
Class Of 1971
Seeks Classmates
The Fayetteville High
School Class of 1971 is
searching for graduates for
its upcoming 40th reunion.
Individuals responding
should contact the
planning committee at
ddavisdesigns@gmail.com.
— STAFF REPORT
DANCE: Money Raised From Event Will Help Support ‘Museum Without Walls’ Activities
Brunen is a big fan of the
television show, and she
says she finds it exciting to
be able to participate in the
local edition.
She has found the rehearsals for the Northwest Arkansas event to offer some new
insight into the television
program.
“Participating in the show
has given me a better understanding of the time commitment, talent and dedication
that is required of these
professionals and stars,” she
says.
She has a variety of previous dance training. She
started in her early years
with tap and jazz classes at
Frances Stokes Dance Studio
in Fayetteville and later
studied ballet with Anabelle
St e e l m a n - B e r r y a t t h e
Northwest Arkansas School
of Dance. She auditioned
for and was selected for the
children’s corps de ballet for
“The Nutcracker.”
She also enrolled in her
m o m’s ba l l ro o m d a n ce
classes at the University of
Arkansas.
“Growing up with a ballroom teacher for a mother
certainly has instilled in me
a deep appreciation for this
art form,” she says.
In addition to Harris and
Brunen, other local celebrities vying for the top prize of
grand champion will be Tony
Rogers, senior vice president
of marketing at Walmart;
Peter Lane, president of the
Walton Arts Center; Kasie
Yokley, co-founder of 3W
Magazine; and Lauren Boozman, a Realtor with Portfolio
Luxury Real Estate.
Tickets for the event are
$60 each or $100 per couple
and can be purchased by
calling the museum office
a t 479 - 69 6 -92 8 0 o r by
e-mailing the office at info@
nwachildrensmuseum.org.
Tickets also are available
at downtown locations of
Arvest Bank in Bentonville,
Rogers and Fayetteville.
Park, the event’s coordinator, said those attending
will have the opportunity
to watch professionals from
Arkansas Dance Connection perform in addition to
watching local stars take
to the dance floor. The
evening’s theme is “Hooray
for Hollywood,” and some
of the Village Players will
contribute to the ambiance
by portraying various celebrities.
Most of the money raised
from the event will be
used for “Museum without
Walls” programming, says
Holly Hook, administrative
coordinator for the Chil-
dren’s Museum.
“Museum without Walls”
activities seek to develop
awareness about the value
of a children’s museum and
to help more people learn
about its interactive style.
Even before constructing
a museum, the creators of
the museum have begun
i m p l e m e n t i n g c re a t ive
and educational opportunities through the “wallless” format. An event last
October at the Bentonville
Public Library invited families to go “Round the World
with Rexy,” dubbed for the
library’s half-size replica of a
Tyrannosaurus Rex. Youthful
explorers created passports,
and “visited” Great Britain,
Japan, Jordan and Mexico
for hands-on science, art
and cultural activities.
Brunen echoes those
themes in explaining her
participation in Dancing
with the Stars.
“I was willing and interested in participating ...
first of all because Dick
Trammel asked me,” she
says. “Also, I am excited
about the fact that Northwest Arkansas will soon
be home to a children’s
museum, which will provide
educational opportunities
and enlightenment for children and families that will
inspire lifelong learning.”
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