UAFS Fall 2024 Chancellor’s and Dean’s List Announced
The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith has released the Dean’s List for the fall 2024 semester, according to Dr. Shadow Robinson, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.
Students with a 4.0 (straight-A) grade point average are included in a unique list called the Chancellor’s List in addition to the Dean’s List. Students who earned Chancellor’s List honors are marked with an asterisk.
Booneville: Allie Baptiste*, Jonathon Barnes*, Camdyn Dove*, Linley Garrett*, Justin Goff, Abigail Henriquez*, Emma Kennedy, Jozelyn Porter, Viviana Preston*, Rachel Robertson*, Diamond Scoma, Emily Smith, Seth Wester, Cole Wright*
Branch: Lillian Turner
Cedarville: Emily Brown, Margaret Burris, Cynthia Inge, Christopher Mendoza, Molly Self, Briley Small, Elizabeth Terry*
Central City: Neika Denney*, Douglas Haulmark*, Logan Lundquist, Willow McFerran, Elijah Walton*
Charleston: Hayden Claiborne*, Hannah Cousins, Brodrick Grantham, Destiny Keolaphan, Hunter Little, Whitney McCoy, Ellason Meador, Billie Murray, Christopher Neissl*, Brayden Ross, Rylee Ross, Zachary Rytting*, Brandon Scott*, David Taylor, Sandra Torkelson*, Heather Tygart*, Peri Tygart, Marissa Villalobos
Greenwood: Averi Abbott, Bryce Barentine, Thomas Bartok*, Alex Beherns*, Joshua Berg, Sarah Beshears, Connor Bibiano, Jessica Black*, Benjamin Braswell, Aubree Cardwell, Kaitlyn Cobbler*, Denver Cooper, Brycen Cox, Christopher Daggs, Ty Davis*, Mckinley Driscoll, Sara Dungan, Cristin Eppinette*, Timothy Ewing, Prairie Farris*, Madison Faulkenberry, Lily Francis, Steven Gonzagowski, Taylor Hartsfield*, Kylie Hicks*, Victoria Howard*, Nathan Huff, Hunter Jeffcoat*, Trey Lewis*, Taylor Magness, Bailey Malenshek*, Gustavo Martinez*, Travis McAnelly*, Jaycee McBride, Hannah Minor, Clayton Mooney*, Rebecca Morrison*, Gracyn Newcity*, Steven Nhongvongsithi*, Maddalena Overturf*, Jordan Owens, Olivia Partin, Lillie Peeples, Samantha Pennington, Mubarka Pervez, Zoey Phillips, Jacob Reed, Ali Rhodes, Samantha Robison*, Beau Sampley*, Seth Secrease, Charley Sharp*, Anna Shirley*, Kiley Stanfill, Amie Taylor*, Cydney Taylor*, Payton Tedford, Yvette Tolentino, Fallon Van Lare, Veronica Vargas, Ruby Watson, Hayden Wells, Dalton Whittaker, Rachel Wiginton, Sarah Williams, Alyssa Wilson, Brett Woolsey, Brooklyn Woolsey, Shayla Woolsey, Madison Yancey, Raven Yates, Carolyn Young
Hackett: Catherine Acord, Brooklyn Black, Ashton Efurd, Linnie Hice, Katelyn Ledbetter*, Shawn Robison*, Whitney Silva, Isabela Suni, Talon Tuck
Hartford: Wyatt Hester, Emilie Nelson, Matthew Nolan
Huntington: Bianca Berryman*, Harlie Fuller, Madison McKusker, Dorian Mead, Sarah White, Mason Williams*
Lavaca: Kevin Allen, Journi Brown, Piper Brown, Joslyn Cooksey, Sydney Crabtree*, Caroline Cravey*, Parker Dempsey, Lyla Flint*, Mason Galarza, Eden Goude, Alexander Hobbs*, Katie Johnson, Taylor Lile*, Katlyn May*, Abigail Melton*, Briana Mudd*, Amy Murphy*, Ashley Murry*, Maddox Noel*, Canon Reed, Kyle Rushing, Josiah Stevens, Mallory Taggart, Kylie Teague*, Eli Thomas*, Anna Todaro*, Payhton Vereecke*, Samantha Wagner, Lily Williams, Timothy Willis
Magazine: Kaylyn Dickens, Ciera Grijalva, Arienne McCollum*, Kiara Vasquez
Mansfield: Kimber Campbell*, Christina Gregory*, Zachary Hayslip, Dakota Langford, Bethany Sartin, Victor Steffen, Kiara Thomas*, Alayna Turner*, Gary Vaughan
Midland: Skylar Cumbie
Paris: Bethany Koch*
Waldron: Eden Akins, Kailie Brewer, Payton Brown, Drake Carnley*, Tate Carnley, Erica Davis, Bayleigh Deramus, Destiny Gaston*, Taylor Horn*, Jayden Manning, Julissa Mejia*, Lane Metcalf*, Lupita Morales, Meagan Murdock, Tara Nix, Vanessa Orozco*, Harleigh Rice*, Alicia Sher, Korie Underwood, Kelsey Yother
Obituary: Gregory Owens (1966 – 2025)
Gregory Royce Owens of Waldron, Arkansas, also known as “Biggin”, passed from this life, Thursday, February 27, 2025 at his home. Greg was born July 29, 1966 to Royce D. Owens and Gloria June (Wagner) Owens. He was 58 years old.
Greg was a loving father and Papaw. He enjoyed watching his son and daughter play sports when they were younger and when he became Papaw he would go to games and was the biggest fan for his grands. Greg enjoyed being outdoors deer hunting and running dogs with his son, dad, grandson and friends. Field Trialing was his passion. He loved to gather around the fire with great friends and he always had a good story to tell everywhere he went. Greg was a good ol’ country boy and his heart was as big as he was tall. Everyone who knew Greg knew he was a bit of a gentle giant.
Greg leaves behind to cherish his memory, his father, Royce Owens, his children: Clayton Owens and wife Tesia and Caroline Pearson and wife Rachel, one sister Tammye Sherrill and husband Phillip. Papaw will forever remain in the hearts of his grandchildren: Natallie, Austin and Gracie Owens. Greg is also survived by one nephew Caleb Sherrill and wife Kishia as well as great nieces and nephews Clayton Miller, Ryleigh Sneed and Presleigh Sherrill. Greg will be missed by all that knew him and the many whose lives he impacted including a host of extended family, neighbors and friends he loved dearly.
Greg was preceded in death by his mother Gloria June Owens and grandparents Leonard and Mildred Wagner and Ules Pud and Willow Owens.
Greg’s life celebration will be at 10:00 a.m., Monday, March 3, 2025 at the Mt. Moriah Community Church with Caleb Sherrill officiating. Interment will follow in the Union Hill Cemetery in Union Hill, Arkansas. Arrangements are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.
Greg’s pallbearers will be Jack Nix, Billy Chrisman, David Chrisman, Derek Barnett, Mark Defoor and Jeff Ridenhour. Honorary pallbearers will be Austin Owens, Gary Burnett, Tom Wagner, Dal White, Dalton Dozier and Brent Mays.
Greg’s visitation will be Sunday, March 2, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.
“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor
By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor
Hello everyone! Such beautiful weather we are having. I love it. I guess I will cancel my plans to move to the retirement mecca of Boca Raton.
I was born in the City of Paris, AR and lived in the City of Booneville until I was seven. Then we moved to Mansfield. I missed all my cousins and the play dates we had, but my dad worked at the sawmill in Mansfield, so that is why we moved. Booneville was where most of my mom and dad’s families lived. That was some 54 years ago. Mansfield is my home now, but I still go to Booneville once a month or so. Some of the cousins meet at a Mexican restaurant, eat and visit. I have one aunt left, and she comes to meet with us also. We have a good time. If the weather permits when you arrive in town, there is an older gentleman dressed as Batman standing by the side of the road waving at everyone. It just makes my day when he is out there. I also like to go to the Walmart in Booneville and get groceries. I was just shopping and looking at stuff and I pass this tall, kind looking gentleman. I speak to everyone, so I said, “hello.” He looks in my cart and says, “looks like you are going to have more fun than I am.” I had all kinds of junk in there and stuff to make cupcakes for my great niece’s birthday party. I said, “yes, I am making stuff for a party” He wanted to know if I was a good cook. You know me, no modesty at all, as I reply, ” I am a very good cook.” That seemed to pique his interest. Then he asked me, “what do you like to do for fun?” I didn’t tell him, but I Have a lot of things I do for fun. We go on our merry way. I am checking out with all my groceries, and he is checking out at the same time, and he says, “I can help you with those groceries. I will load them in your car for you.” I replied, “I got it, I don’t have that much.” He was really nice, but I don’t have time for such goings on.
A few days later, my cousin went to the Booneville Walmart and a man asked her if she was married, if she had kids and if she did, would they be jealous of him. She told him yes, and that she had been for 40 years. He must have thought that to be unbelievable because he said, “so you have been married twice?” She said, “no, just once.” He told her that he was looking for a girlfriend. He said he had a girlfriend, but it didn’t work out and he broke up with her. While my cousin was shopping, she heard him ask three more women the same thing. She called and described the man to me, but it was not the same man. The moral to this whole story is if your single and looking, Booneville Walmart is the place to be. Ya’ll have a great week and enjoy the weather.
If your spouse is still alive, tell them how much they mean to you and how much you love them. This week’s recipe reminds me of my childhood when I would walk to the Kerr McGee gas station owned by Mammy and Pappy Reece and get me a cold Grapette out of the machine.
GRAPE CRUSH CAKE OR CUPCAKES
4 egg whites, room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups grape soda
1 white cake mix (dry)
1 package of grape Kool-Aid
4-6 drops of purple food coloring
Preheat oven to 350-degree, spray your cake pan or get out your cupcake liners. These are super cute for a kid’s party. You can get those colored paper straws in purple and white and stick in the side when you are finished decorating or use sprinkles. Add the egg whites, oil and grape soda to a mixing bowl and use your hand mixer and mix until well-combined. Add the cake mix, grape Koop-Aid and few drops of the food coloring and mix well, until the purple streaks are gone. Fill your cupcake liners or cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I would start at 15 minutes and go from there. Less if you are doing cupcakes. I would just buy the white frosting in the can. To make it go further, I add about 1/2 cup powdered sugar and mix with my hand mixer and add the rest of your purple food coloring till it’s the color you want. If you want to make homemade frosting, you can.
State Capitol Week in Review from Senator Terry Rice
LITTLE ROCK – The Senate has approved a package of bills with tougher regulations for the signature-gathering process by which citizens can place issues on statewide ballots.
In recent years the legislature has passed numerous new laws to prevent voter fraud and protect election integrity. The Secretary of State, the top election official in Arkansas, recently issued a report in which he gave the state good grades for its voter integrity laws.
However, he gave Arkansas poor grades for the security of our signature-gathering process, saying that wealthy out-of-state groups “are able to get almost any issue on Arkansas ballots.”
His report stated that “almost all petitions provided to the Secretary of State’s Office contain tens of thousands of invalid signatures and thousands of duplicate signatures.”
The Senate has approved a package of bills to prevent deceptive practices when canvassers collect signatures from registered voters, in order to place an issue on the ballot.
Senate Bill 207 would require canvassers to inform people, before collecting their signatures, that petition fraud is a Class A misdemeanor. The disclosure could be verbal, or in a separate written document that would be shown to people before they sign.
SB 208 would require canvassers to view a photo ID of each person signing the petition. If canvassers are unable to verify someone’s identity, they may not collect a signature.
SB 209 directs the Secretary of State to not count signatures on a petition if a preponderance of evidence indicates that the canvasser has violated state laws or provisions in the state Constitution regarding canvassing, perjury, forgery or fraudulent practices in getting signatures.
SB 210 would require people to read the ballot title of a ballot issue before signing the petition. The ballot title is a summary of all the provisions in the proposed constitutional amendment or initiated act. The bill allows for the ballot title to be read to the person signing, in the presence of the canvasser.
SB 211 would require canvassers to submit a sworn statement that he or she has complied with all state laws governing the collection of signatures, and with the Constitution. Unless the canvasser submits the sworn statement, any signatures he or she turns in will not be counted by the Secretary of State.
One bill in the package has not been voted on by the full Senate. It is SB 212 to create a new office within the Secretary of State’s office, known as the Document Validity Division.
In other news, the Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation endorsed legislation that would save Arkansas homeowners more than $56 million. It is SB 263 and it will take effect in 2026, when it raises the homestead property tax credit by $100. The credit is currently $500. A spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration said that about 708,000 homeowners would benefit from the bill.
The Senate approved SB 223, known as the Religious Rights at Public Schools Act of 2025. It would put into one law all the various religious rights of students, teachers and school administrators. The act will be distributed to all students and staff at the beginning of each school year.
Obituary: Kathy Massey (1959-2025)
Kathy D. Massey of Waldron, Arkansas passed from this life, February 23, 2025 in Waldron, Arkansas with her loving family by her side. Kathy was born February 20, 1959 in Richmond, California to Hermadee “Pete” Clark and Alma Clark. She was 66 years old.
Kathy worked for many years at Norman Lures. She later went to work for Tyson Foods and dedicated many years of service there. Kathy was a laid back person who loved listening to music. Her favorite thing in the world was being at home surrounded by her family, especially her grandchildren, and her animals.
Kathy leaves behind to cherish her memory, her husband Van Massey, her children: Krista Clark and Rick Bartlett all of Waldron, Arkansas, one sister, Kay Sorg of California and bonus son Van Massey Jr. Nana will forever remain in the hearts of her grandchildren: Aunna Bartlett, Abby Barba and Mason Bartlett. Kathy will be missed by all who knew her and the many whose lives she impacted including a host of nieces, nephews and extended family and friends.
Kathy was preceded in death by her parents Pete and Alma Clark and her siblings: Jean Brown, Ron Clark and David Clark.
Kathy’s family will hold a private celebration of life at a later date. Arrangements and cremation are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home & Crematory in Waldron, Arkansas.