Villager Journal

The 2019 Polar Plunge benefiting Special Olympics Arkansas (SOAR) is slated for March 2, at the Boxhound Marina in Horseshoe Bend. Registration for this year’s plunge will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony at noon with the plunge to directly follow...

The Hardy City Council held their regularly scheduled meeting Jan. 4. The meeting opened with the approval of two sets of minutes; the first from a working meeting and the second from the council’s regularly scheduled January meeting. Freda Mae Gamblin was the first to speak to the council per the sign up sheet for speakers...

Beginning in February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will spend several months gathering information about farm economics and production practices from farmers and ranchers across Arkansas, as the agency conducts the third and final phase of the 2018 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS)...

Arkansas students can now complete an eligibility quiz to see which of 200+ Community Foundation scholarships they are eligible to receive. Students can go to www.arcf.org/scholarships to complete the quiz and begin their application. Each scholarship has its own eligibility criteria and deadline. ...

The Arkansas Educational Television Network and Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Feb. 4 the launch of AR-CAN – the Arkansas Citizens Access Network, aetn.org/arcan – a web-based network that will provide Arkansans with live streaming coverage of legislative proceedings, board and commission meetings, and other government hearings and activities...

The iconic sign that has welcomed residents, visitors and passersby at Cherokee Village’s South Entrance for 50 years will be removed in the coming days in preparation for development of a Casey’s convenience store. Constructed by the original community developer in 1969, the concrete block sign is wrapped in native stone and topped in wood. While the sign’s color and lettering style has changed over the years, it has served as a Village landmark for five decades...

The first flood of 2019 took place Feb. 7 after heavy rains passed through the area. During the flooding, two young men showed extraordinary courage as they helped rescue a woman who was attempting to walk to work when she became caught up in the flood waters...

A father and son from Cave City have been arrested and each charged with rape, a class Y felony, in unrelated cases. According to an affidavit obtained from the Sharp County Courthouse, David Hipp, 64, was charged after the Sharp County Sheriff’s Department was contacted by the Arkansas Crimes Against Children Division of the Arkansas State Police in regards to allegations against David...

Identity theft is a constant concern for Arkansans, but tax time brings additional anxiety over protecting personal information. Tax refund fraud occurs when a Social Security number is stolen and used to file a tax return and the resulting refund is claimed by the thief. Unfortunately, many people are unaware that this fraud has occurred until they attempt to file their own taxes and discover that a return has already been filed using their Social Security number...

Fulton County Fair and Salem Chamber of Commerce are gearing up for the second annual Ozarks Sports and Outdoor Expo, to be held March 30 at the Salem Civic Center. The first expo, held March 2018, was a great success with a large attendance and they are preparing for an even bigger year...

The Fulton County, county government is moving full steam ahead to attempt to beat the deadline to receive funding for the Humphrey’s Ford Bridge Project. According to Judge Jim Kendrick, this project is 12 years in the making and the timeline is getting down to the wire...

The Hardy Advertising and Promotions Commission (A&P) held their first meeting of 2019 at the Hardy Civic Center Jan. 28. New to the table were Hardy City Council members Mark Gordon and Bruce Thurow. This was also the first meeting conducted by Kristin Proulx, who was appointed chairperson of the commission in December of 2018...

The City of Cherokee Village has a long legacy of promoting recycling and recently, took their efforts one step further by involving the students of Cherokee Village Elementary. According to Cherokee Village Mayor Russell Stokes, recently the city partnered with the Highland School District to place a cardboard trailer at the elementary school...

The Highland Middle School Jr. BETA Club recently attended the Arkansas State Jr. BETA Conference in Hot Springs Jan. 24-25. According to Alanna Russell, Jr. BETA Advisor, while at the conference students participated in a variety of activities, however; one of the highlights of the trip was to return to Sharp County with the State Community Service Award...

Approximately 100 members of the community gathered at Ozarka College during the course of two meetings Jan. 31 to participate in the CREATE BRIDGES initiative. CREATE BRIDGES, an acronym for Celebrating Retail, Accommodations, Tourism and Entertainment by Building Rural Innovations and Developing Growth Economies, is a pilot program being executed in six regions, two in each of the following states, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arkansas...

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is seeking the State’s top environmental leaders to apply for this year’s ADEQ Environmental Awards. Businesses, nonprofits, and government entities who are working to help achieve a vision of a healthy environment and prosperous economy across the state are encouraged to apply...

The Department of Arkansas Heritage is now accepting grant applications for the Small Museum Grants Program, which funds projects for up to $2,500 for Arkansas history museums, historical societies, historic houses and sites and military museums. The deadline for applying is April 11...

If you do a quick web search of the 2009 ice storm, you will find it has its own “Wikipedia” page titled, January 2009 North American ice storm. Jan. 27-28 marks the 10th anniversary of the ice storm which left many in the area without power for weeks...

A large group gathered together at the Artisan Steak House and Grill Jan. 26 for a meeting of the Arkansas Liberty Coalition (ALC) and Patriots of Act 746. The ALC is a nonprofit organization who support and retain second amendment rights. The first to speak during the meeting was Representative Dan Sullivan. Sullivan is currently serving his third term in the Arkansas House representing District 53...

Scammers are recycling an old con to scare Arkansans into turning over prepaid debit cards or wiring money to pay off an unpaid utility bill. The Arkansas Attorney General’s office has received over 100 reports since the first of the year of con artists posing as utility company employees threatening to shut off utility services due to an unpaid bill...

Home BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: HOMB) “Home” or “the Company”, parent company of Centennial Bank, has been ranked #1 on the Forbes 2019 “Best Banks in America” list for the second consecutive year. The Company first achieved the top ranking in 2018, which was an improvement from #8 in 2017’s rankings and #15 in 2016’s rankings. ...

Though it may sound farfetched to some, human sex trafficking is real and regularly occurs throughout the nation, Linda Inmon, Extension specialist for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, said. As inconceivable as it may seem, the crime also occurs in Arkansas...

Hundreds of Arkansas young people will descend upon Little Rock Feb. 12 for 4-H Day at the Capitol. Arkansas 4-H organizers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture say 375 4-H’ers were signed up for the event by the middle of January and more are expected by the end of this week...

UAPB School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences The second Borrower Training course is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15-16, at the S.J. Parker Agricultural Research Center Conference Room at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). The session will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. Producers will undergo two days of intensive education consisting of farm business training and production, crop or livestock training...

The 2019 Spring River Area Chamber of Commerce (SRACC) Annual Inauguration and Awards Banquet held on Jan. 22 was a huge success with a sold out crowd celebrating the Chamber’s successful year and award presentations. The event was held at the Highland Elks Lodge and offered guests casino games to play for fun prior to the program. ...

Tricks Hoops and Alley Oops! The Harlem Wizards, presented by the Spring River Area Chamber of Commerce, are returning to Sharp County Feb. 15 and tickets are now on sale. According to Executive Director Kari Hollis, the famous Harlem Wizards will be performing at the A.L Hutson Center and the doors will open at 6 p.m...

Fountain Place, the non-profit Christian Independent Living facility located in Cherokee Village, has announced the return of James Sanders. Sanders was acting manager in June of 2018 and served the position in a temporary capacity. Now that he has returned, he intends to continue the work he started in June of last year...

Following the reinstatement of the Department of Public Safety in the City of Hardy, plans are already in place to help improve safety in the community. According to Jason Bristow, one effort currently under way is to re-implement the Hardy Fire Department’s Water Rescue and Dive Team...

In the digital age, frauds and scams are an unfortunate part of doing business online. We want to protect you as best we can. We urge you to always be cautious and to avoid providing sensitive information such as your Social Security Number (SSN) or bank account information to unknown individuals over the phone or internet. If you receive a call and aren’t expecting one, you must be extra careful. ...

Seven License2HOWL Scholarships are available to freshmen entering Arkansas State University for the 2019-20 academic year. These scholarships are valued at $5,000 for the year, and are renewable for recipients who continue to meet criteria and re-apply...

It may be a new year, but 2019 has seen the same old scams from con artists. Entergy Arkansas is aware of scammers across the state trying to get money from customers over the phone with threats of shut-off. Small businesses are typically the target...

The Ash Flat City Council held their regular meeting Jan. 8 during which they voted to change their meeting time for 2019. While passing a series of mandatory resolutions, the council voted to pass an ordinance setting their meeting dates and times for the second Tuesday of each month rather than the third Tuesday of each month...

The Highland Fire Department has worked hard to expand and grow during the course of the past several years. According to Fire Chief Kal Dienst, now the department is considering taking one more step in the right direction by creating a full time position to serve the public...

The City of Cherokee Village held their first meeting of the year Jan. 17. A proposed ordinance, several resolutions and purchases were among the topics of discussion on the council’s packed agenda. The meeting opened with a prayer from the mayor. The agenda was then approved and Dave Gruger took to the podium to make comments about an agenda item and read his comments from a letter...

Sharp County Third Judicial Circuit Judge, Kevin King, passed away Jan. 18 in Jonesboro at the age of 64. His unexpected passing rocked the community King had spent so much time and effort striving to improve. King’s work with area youth, not only in the court systems, but also on a daily basis, has left an imprint and impact which will live on for years to come...

A Cherokee Village couple are facing multiple felony charges after an investigation by the Cherokee Village Police Department yielded stolen property, drugs and more. According to a report from the department, a series of events leading to the arrests culminated Jan. 8 when officers worked a theft case involving a new Husqvarna riding lawn mower...

The City of Hardy made the decision to return to having a Department of Public Safety following their first regular meeting with the newly seated council members and mayor Jan. 8. During the term of former mayor Jason Jackson, the city voted to disband the Department of Public Safety and split the departments to create stand alone police and fire departments, which would be run under separate leadership...

The Hardy Fire Department has new leadership following the city council’s decision to reinstate the Department of Public Safety. On Jan. 8 Department of Public Safety Director Tamara Taylor appointed Austin Rose as the Assistant Director and Fire Chief for the city...

Following the swearing in ceremony held Jan. 2, Alisa Black took her position as the new clerk for Sharp County. Although this will be her first term as clerk, Black is no stranger to the operations of the office of county clerk. “I’ve been here almost 21 years. ...

The Spring River Area Chamber of Commerce will hold their Annual Awards and Recognition banquet Jan. 22 (snow date Jan. 29) at the Highland Elks Lodge Community Room in Cherokee Village beginning at 5 p.m., with entertainment. According to event chair, Graycen Bigger, this year’s theme is Casino Night “When the Stakes are High, Bet on Small Business”...

Jan. 9 marked National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day across America. Each and every day, 24-hours a day, a community’s law enforcement, first responders, fire fighters and EMS heed the call for help from those in their community. Have you ever wondered where exactly the call comes from? Where the information goes in order to inform the responders? One department that exists in each county across the nation but rarely spoken of, is dispatch...

This is the second half of a look back on 2018. June Jennifer Collins, 56, the woman accused of attacking a woman in her care, pled guilty to murder in the second degree, before Judge Harold Erwin June 20. The Spring River Innovation Hub hosted a Business After Hours event June 21...

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission (MMC) voted to approve the scoring results provided to them by the Boston- based Public Consulting Group (PCG) Jan. 9 in Little Rock. Despite the early release of unofficial scores obtained through FOIA by area media groups, scoring the final approval and results yielded some changes; something Scott Hardin with the MMC said is due to an error during the scoring process...

Northeast Arkansas continues to see new infections as part of an ongoing hepatitis A (hep A) outbreak. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) is warning people about a possible hep A exposure after an employee of Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen in Jonesboro tested positive for the virus...

Little Rock, Ark. – The new year coincided with a report released by the United Health Foundation (UHF) that showed that Arkansas increased our health ranking by two spots, from 48 to 46 overall. The UHF described Arkansas’s strengths as a low prevalence of excessive drinking and high meningococcal and Tdap immunization coverage among adolescents. They listed the state’s challenges as a high prevalence of smoking, a high cardiovascular death rate, and a low rate of dentists...

While the growth of the agri-tourism industry could mean extra income for farmers, it could also mean an increase in risk. The number of farms receiving income from agritourism increased by almost 10,000 from 2007 to 2012, with income increasing by $138 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2012 Census of Agriculture. Research suggests that this upward trend will continue as a result of increased consumer interest in food and farming paired with growers’ need for extra income...

The City of Cherokee Village has a new Animal Control Officer, Anthony Gielen, who was recently hired following the resignation of Ariel Housmann. Although he does not have experience as an animal control officer, Gielen spent 19 years in law enforcement in north eastern Minnesota...

The 2019 Spring Fashion & Bridal Show happens Sunday, February 3, at 4 p.m. as part of the 2019 Bridal Expo at the Holidome at the Holiday Inn in Blytheville, Ark. The Bridal Expo kicks off Saturday, February 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature vendors who cater to weddings, including travel agents, venues, dj’s, photo booths, jewelers, bakers and printers. ...