Resident News Network

Obituary: Billie Gayle Scott (1958-2024)

Obituaries

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11:48 am

Obituary: Billie Gayle Scott (1958-2024)

Billie Gayle Scott, 66, of Waldron, Arkansas passed away on December 19th, 2024 in Waldron Arkansas.

Billie Gayle was born June 15th 1958 in La Grande, Oregon to the late Ranny Savage and Dora (White) Thompson. She was a loving Daughter, Mother, Nana, Sister, Aunt, and friend.

She attended Harvest Church and she loved her Lord and Savior. Billie Gayle loved her family, adventure, traveling, and she never met a stranger. Once someone said “hi” they were considered a friend for life. She was a member of the Waldron Quadrille for 14 years and a proud member of the Choctaw Nation. Although Billie loved all of these things, nothing made her more happy than the memories that were made when surrounded by her family. Billie Gayle was a blessing and light to so many and we will carry on her legacy of love forever.

Billie Gayle leaves behind to cherish her memory, Mother Dora (White) Thompson of Waldron Arkansas, Her two sons Rusty Craig and wife Amber, and Clint Scott of Waldron Arkansas. Nana will forever be missed by her Granddaughters Dusti Craig and Lanee Shaddon and Grandson Lane Scott. Her two brothers Scott Thompson and wife Sheri of Bates AR and Eric Thompson and wife Wynona of Waldron Arkansas. Step brother Earl Wayne Thompson and wife Barbara of Bates Arkansas. Step sisters Pam Payne and Husband Lewis of Waldron Arkansas and Karen Parish and husband Russell of Mansfield Arkansas. Aunt Billie forever remains in the hearts of all of her nieces and nephews. Billie Gayle will be missed by all that knew her including a host of cousins, extended family, friends, and all those who loved her.

Preceding Billie Gayle in death is her father Ranny Savage, Sister Randa Savage, Great Nephew Josiah Batchelor, Great Niece Reese Scantling and several Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.

Billie Gayle’s celebration of life will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, December 21, 2024 at the

Heritage Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in Waldron, Arkansas with Bro. Larry Free and Bro. Jaylin Brumbelow officiating. Arrangements are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home & Crematory.

Billie Gayle’s pallbearers will be her beloved nieces and nephews. Honorary pallbearers will be her co workers at Weigh Tech.

Visitation for Billie Gayle will be Friday, December 20, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.

State Capitol Week in Review from Senator Terry Rice

News

Tammy Teague

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10:57 am

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State Capitol Week in Review from Senator Terry Rice

The financial health of the state Teacher Retirement System has been steadily improving over the past decade.

For example, using very conservative criteria, retirement systems are generally considered healthy if their “funded ratio” is above 80 percent. Ten years ago it was below 80 percent but at the end of last fiscal year it was 84.6 percent. This measure the system’s capacity to pay for all future benefits of both retired and active members.

Improvement is also indicated if you measure the system’s financial health by its amortization period. Actuaries estimate that within 20 years the system will be 100 percent funded. That compares favorably to the amortization period of ten years ago, when it was an estimated 33 years. It is a marked improvement over last year’s estimated 26 year estimate.

The ratio is 100 percent when taking into account only retired members. The system has enough funds to fully pay for all future benefits of every retired beneficiary, for the rest of their lives.

According to the system’s director, who sends regular updates to members, the retirement system hire consultants to recommend how to best make investments. The investments are diversified, to protect from excessive loss in a particular category and withstand market volatility.

About 56 percent of the system’s investments are in publicly-traded stocks, while 13.4 percent are in bonds and other fixed income categories. Alternative investments, such as hedge funds, make up 5.1 percent of total investments. Real estate accounts for 6.7 percent, private equity 13.4 percent and agriculture, timber and infrastructure 4.9 percent.

Assets are evaluated after adjusting for losses and gains over a four-year period, and at the end of last fiscal year the system’s investments earned 9.75 percent.

A snapshot of the system’s finances demonstrates how its financial health has improved over the past few years. At the end of Fiscal Year 2024 its assets were $22.4 billion. A decade ago its assets were $15 billion.

The system has 142,000 members. About 68,000 are active and 56,000 are retired. Almost 3,000 are in the T-DROP program and almost 15,000 are inactive.

The Teacher Retirement System is the largest public retirement fund in Arkansas. Its Board of Trustees makes decisions after considering their long-term effect. To quote from the system’s web page: “The ATRS Board makes decisions in terms of decades, not days, weeks, or months.”

Junk Food Restrictions

The governor announced that Arkansas would seek permission from federal agencies to prohibit the use of food stamps for sugary soft drinks and junk food snacks. The food stamp program is now called SNAP, for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

In a letter to federal officials, the governor said that SNAP “is undermining the health of millions of Americans, on the taxpayer’s dime, by encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food…. our federal food assistance policies are fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a wide range of chronic health conditions across America.”

Timepiece: Christmas Past

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Tammy Teague

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10:14 am

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By Dr. Curtis Varnell

Celebrating Christmas in Arkansas is a tradition older than the state itself. It is said that Jesuit priests celebrated the birth of Christ at Arkansas Post as early as 1698. Although not officially recognized as a national holiday until 1870, Arkansas had declared it a holiday in 1838, just two years after statehood.

Early Christmas celebration appears to have been more a community than a family type celebration. Communities and churches meet for communal celebration and, in some areas of Arkansas, they were quite a riotous affair involving fireworks, lots of alcohol, and gunfire. In 1837, Robert Brownlee described people coming into town, fighting, swearing and using the Bowie knife freely. In 1840, the Arkansas Democrat reports the firing of a cannon in the downtown area; one with a report so loud it broke windows out of nearby homes. Others described much quitter times, spent in church and sharing communal meals and singing.

Tom Wing, curator of the Drennen-Scott house located in Van Buren, describes the typical Victorian Christmas. John Drennen was a prominent Indian agent, businessman, and politician in the mid-1800’s. According to Wing, during Christmas time the Drennen family celebrated with friends and family in a manner that was similar to today. Old letters, bills, and diaries describe that the house was decorated with lots of cedar and pine boughs. The smell of fruit and spices permeated the house during the holiday. An open Bible sat on the table, opened to the book of Luke and the Christmas story. It was a tradition in the home to read the story each year to those that had gathered. Bowls of salted and sugared pecans, a family favorite, was served to guest of the home, accompanied by the ever-present eggnog. Mr. Wing, who still has several of the old recipes, noted that the eggnog consisted of cream, sugar, nutmeg, lots or egg whites, and a generous serving of cheaper bourbon. The concoction was much fluffier, stronger, and almost unrecognizable from that of today. Among the bills and notes left by the Drennen family was a December order from a local baker for a Canola cake. Canola was a very popular jelly-roll cake and would have been enjoyed by the family during the Christmas meal.

Christmas celebrations, even in Van Buren, must have been more like the fourth of July celebration of today because even the Drennen house mentions that fireworks were placed on the tables for use during events later in the day. A popular firework of the time was the type containing something similar to a firecracker that popped when a string attached to either end was pulled. Several diaries and letters from the time period remarked that guns were fired into the air as part of the celebration.

The traditions we observe today are a conglomeration of celebrations from around the world. The Christmas tree tradition was brought from Northern Europe and were commonly found in homes by the late 1800’s. Candles lit the first trees and were a fire hazard. The invention of electric Christmas lights greatly increased the popularity and use of the tree.

As a rural and poor state, the quality of gifts was determined by how good the crop was in any specific year. Common gifts included practical items such as clothing, shawls, handkerchiefs, and coats for women and such things as saddles, guns, and tools for men. By the late 1800’s, Sears catalogs offered a variety of goods that could be delivered right to your door- of course for the right price. People in the southern part of the state would travel by special Christmas trains to Shreveport or Fort Smith to purchase the latest and best products available form the world market. Sewing machines were popular buys for the women while, like today, baseball bats and dolls were sold to the children. The more typical working class travelled little and were given smaller gifts, sometimes left in stockings, of nuts, oranges, and candy.

As we wait for Christmas, we observe photos of Santa Claus, see thousands of sales adds, and check out the long lists of items wanted by members of our family. Every add and song seems to mention sleigh bells, snow, and a white Christmas. According to Mr. Wing, the winter of 1863 saw the Arkansas River at Van Buren completely frozen over, so much so that Union troops could drive wagons and supplies across the ice. According to weather reports, that is not going to happen again this year but remember, just as in the 1800’s, the real important thing is to spend time with our families and friends and to celebrate the real reason for the season. Happy Holidays.

NIAAA Announces National Scholarship Winners

Tammy Teague

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2:23 pm

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NIAAA Announces National Scholarship Winners

Brevin Egbert and Carley Sexton were named the 2024 NIAAA National Student Athlete Scholarship winners. They were selected by the NIAAA board of directors during their annual July meetings.

Every year two national winners are selected from the pool of NIAAA section scholarship winners – 16 student-athletes in all. The national winners are chosen based on their notable scholastic, leadership, and sportsmanship qualities, as well as community involvement.

The scholarship awarded each year by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) to one male and one female student-athlete is a one-time award of $2,500 for higher education.

Sexton is a graduate of Greenwood High School in Greenwood, Arkansas. The athletic
director is Chris Young and Sexton’s parents are Aaron and Crystal Sexton. Sexton graduated with a 4.09 GPA and was a two-sport athlete at Greenwood. She participated in softball for two years and basketball for three years. In softball, she contributed to the team earning runner-up in the state tournament. On the basketball team, Sexton helped the team earn a state title and she was named all-conference in 2023 and all-state in 2022.

As a leader in her school, Sexton was a member of the Student Leadership Team, the
Fundraising committee, Spanish club, and mentored freshmen at Greenwood. Furthermore, Sexton was the vice president of finance for the Greenwood High School Health Occupations Students of America.

In her local community, Sexton was an active member at her church – Fellowship
Baptist. She was on their hospitality team, a member of the Mission Team, and was
active in their youth group. In addition, for close to six years Sexton volunteered for the
Special Olympics.

In Sexton’s essay she wrote for the NIAAA student scholarship program, she wrote
about the time and effort she put into high school sports, and how failure is never final.
“It might seem simple to some, but through athletics, I learned you are not a failure if it
takes a while to learn it. Setbacks are opportunities to learn,” Sexton wrote.

Accepting the award on Carley Sexton’s behalf, AD Chris Young, and her brothers, Noah Sexton and Travis Cooper.

Both Egbert and Sexton were invited to the 55th National Athletic Directors Conference in
Austin, Texas in December 2024. They were given the chance to read their scholarship essays, as well as receive a glass etching which recognizes them as national winners. Sexton was unable to attend the conference, but accepting in her place, her brothers, Travis Cooper and Noah Sexton. Also present at the Conference, Chris Young. The award was presented by Tol Gropp, CMAA – NIAAA Board President, Director of Athletics, Timberline High School, Boise, ID.

For a student to apply for and receive the scholarship at the state, section, or national
level, they must meet distinguished requirements. This includes a certain level of
athletic and academic achievements, amongst other rigorous criteria. Their athletic
director must also be an NIAAA member. To learn more, visit https://niaaa.org/awards-recognition.

HOLIDAYS: Tips for forming habits, making lifestyle changes in the new year

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Tammy Teague

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2:10 pm

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HOLIDAYS: Tips for forming habits, making lifestyle changes in the new year

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

A new year often involves resolutions to improve health, form a new habit or change one’s behavior. To better achieve these changes, Brittney Schrick, extension associate professor and family life specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, recommends setting SMART goals by ensuring they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-sensitive.

One of the biggest barriers people face when trying to form a new habit is “expecting to be perfect right out of the gate,” Schrick said.

“Often, if we ‘fail’ at something, we give up,” she said. “What is lost here is the idea that practice is necessary. It can’t be an all-or-nothing attitude, and that tends to be how we approach New Year’s resolutions. Give yourself some grace and give yourself the opportunity to start over multiple times.”

Schrick said that when making a change, it doesn’t need to happen on a Monday, or at the first of the month or calendar year. It can be at any time, on any day. “You can just decide, ‘I need to recommit to that,’” she said.

Setting SMART goals

Schrick recommends making SMART goals: those that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-sensitive.

Specific and Measurable: “Your goal can’t just be something like, ‘I need to get healthier,’” Schrick said. “That’s not particularly helpful. But if you narrow it down to ‘I want to eat more vegetables, so I will try to eat them at two meals every day,’ then that is concise enough for you to easily keep track.”
Attainable: Schrick said people should set goals that aren’t grand or unrealistic. “It needs to be something that can actually be achieved,” Schrick said. “If you have never run in your entire life, but you say, ‘This summer, I’m going to run a marathon,’ you might be able to do it, but you’re probably setting yourself up for failure. ~~But~~ you’re more likely to get to a 5k race by the summer.”
Relevant: Finding a true motivation that makes sense within one’s own life and desires is important to progressing toward a goal. “It needs to be something that you actually want to achieve,” Schrick said. “There has to be some motivating factor that isn’t just, ‘I want to look better in a swimsuit by the summer’ or ‘My mother told me I need to get healthier.’ It needs to be something personally relevant to you.”
Time-sensitive: The goal needs to have an end point or built-in deadline, where it is either achieved or it isn’t. “It can be your goal to meet it every day,” Schrick said. “It doesn’t have to be something far in the future. If your goal is to eat two servings of vegetables every day, but you don’t hit it one day, that doesn’t mean you have to stop. You can just try again tomorrow.”

Think outside the body

Though physical health tends to be the focus of many New Year’s resolutions, Schrick said it is helpful to consider other kinds of changes that can benefit mental and emotional health.

“While improving our physical health is a worthy goal, a lot of the time, what ends up happening is that we move on from them when we don’t see results as quickly as we should,” Schrick said.

Setting a goal to read more books, make more of an effort to reach out to friends, or spend more time outside are all changes that can feel good from the inside out.

“I also like the idea of changing our mindsets about things,” Schrick said. “Deciding to be nicer to yourself, or speak more kindly to yourself in your head, can go a long way. Try to catch your negative thoughts before they spiral into being mean to yourself.

“Just catching and reframing some of those words can have a huge impact, which you might not notice the benefits of until it comes in handy,” she said. “It might be months down the line of you practicing this before you notice, ‘Oh wow, my first thought wasn’t a bad one this time.’ That can be a really useful thing to do.”

Deciding to tidy up one’s living space more regularly can also have a big impact on mental health, and Schrick said it is good practice for forming a new habit in general. This is also a helpful goal to set as a family, and it can be tracked using a chore chart or other visual progress indicators.

“Talk with your children about how you all share this space, so you’re going to share the labor it takes to keep your space clean,” Schrick said. “Maybe you have a shared incentive for completing it. ‘If we can keep the house tidy and cross off all of our goals this week, then we can order pizza on Friday night’ — whatever works for your family.

“Just having those shared goals, and that visual tracker, helps you hold each other accountable for making sure things get done,” Schrick said.

For more information and resources about family life, visit the Cooperative Extension Service’s Personal and Family Well-Being page.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

HOLIDAYS: Set healthy conversational boundaries, spend funds wisely to avoid holiday stress

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Tammy Teague

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4:44 pm

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HOLIDAYS: Set healthy conversational boundaries, spend funds wisely to avoid holiday stress

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Though gathering with family and friends is a joyful part of the holiday season, navigating political tension can lead to hurt feelings. Brittney Schrick, extension associate professor and family life specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said setting firm boundaries about the topics up for discussion and redirecting conversation to shared interests and neutral subjects are key to maintaining a cheerful atmosphere.

“If you don’t want to talk about politics, then you need to say, ‘I’m not going to talk about that,’” Schrick said. “And if the other person insists, then you need to be willing to leave the conversation. If you can, avoid interactions with people whom you know are going to escalate tension or conflict — even if it’s your grandmother.

“I’m not an advocate of breaking up family relationships over political issues,” she said. “However, your mental health and your stress level do have physical health repercussions, so if you don’t have to put yourself in that situation, I wouldn’t.”

Be assertive, but not mean, and try to change the subject to a shared interest or a more neutral topic, such as looking forward to seeing a mutual friend or relative.

“Redirection is always good, and sometimes it can be a really clunky segue from ‘I’m not going to talk about this’ into ‘So, how was your drive?’” Schrick said. “But that’s okay because an awkward change of topic is worth avoiding potential conflict.”

Spend less, mitigate stress

In addition to navigating tricky conversations, many individuals and families face tighter holiday budgets for their gatherings and gift exchanges. For those who plan on traveling to see family and friends, Schrick recommends “making your travel worthwhile.”

“It’s important to stick within your means, because you don’t want to start off the next year in a strain,” Schrick said. “Gas prices always increase a bit around the holidays, so if you’ll be driving, go for long enough to make the trip worth it. Take as few vehicles as possible, and get your oil changed first to help with gas mileage.”

When it comes to the big holiday meal or party, hosts can ask guests to share the load by having a potluck.

“Do things that don’t necessarily have to be high cost,” Schrick said. “Especially if you’re feeding a crowd, a potluck is always a good idea. It spreads out the expense across everyone who’s participating, as opposed to the host having to do everything.”

Schrick said that in addition to food costs, hosts can also incur higher water and heating bills during the festivities, especially if guests are staying in their home. To offset this, “you may need to have an uncomfortable conversation,” Schrick said.

Even for people who love to take on hosting duties, it is reasonable to ask guests to pitch in.

“You can say to your guests, ‘It would be really helpful if you could throw in 10 dollars or bring a dish,’” Schrick said. “You’re going to have those folks whom you don’t necessarily want to bring a dish — because that’s not their gift — but they can bring the drinks or the napkins. There are plenty of ways to have it be more of a family or friends affair.”

For gift giving, Schrick said people should be willing to pull back on the number of gifts they give and focus instead on quality.

“Generally speaking, most people would appreciate getting a couple of nice gifts rather than getting a ton of things that are less quality,” Schrick said.

Schrick advised starting a new tradition by switching from each person buying gifts for every family member and instead taking a Secret Santa-style approach, where each person draws the name of another and only buys gifts for them.

“This can help bring costs down for everyone while creating a new experience that has the fun element of surprise,” Schrick said. “It can become something your family looks forward to and shifts the focus to finding gifts that really reflect the recipient.”

For more information and resources about family life, visit the Cooperative Extension Service’s Personal and Family Well-Being page.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Arrest Reports 12/8

Police Reports

Tammy Teague

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4:44 pm

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Arresting agency – Arkansas State Police Troop H:
Tyler Allen Anderson of Paris was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 10 at 6:41 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 10 at 8:26 p.m. Anderson was charged with Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card or Debit Card-unauthorized->1k.

Zachery Q Decker of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 14 at 3:23 p.m. and released on bond December 14 at 5:41 p.m. Decker was charged with Contempt-willful disobedience (Failure to Pay Fine), and petition to show cause.

Mary Faye Sherman of Waldron was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 9 at 4:52 p.m. Sherman was charged with Assist Outside Agency-Misd.

Arresting agency – Sebastian County Sheriff’s Department:
Clarence Leon Anglen of Hartford was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 13 at 12:39 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 14 at 11:11 a.m. Anglen was charged with Theft of Property <$1k, and Breaking or Entering- – Building, Structure or Vehicle.

Heather Marie Bonczyk of Paris was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 12 at 11:27 a.m. and released on signature bond December 12 at 2:42 p.m. Bonczyk was charged with Contempt-willful disobedience (Failure to Pay Fine).

Katharina Alethea Cook of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 14 at 11:27 p.m. and released signature bond December 15 at 5:23 a.m. Cook was charged with Public Intoxication – Danger to self or others.

Zackary Tyler Green of Waldron was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 12 at 2:05 a.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 12 at 4:29 a.m. Green was charged with Fleeing Vehicle D Felony Speeding D Felony.

Wesley Leonard Hartsfield of Bonanza was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 12 at 4:46 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 12 at 8:06 p.m. Hartsfield was charged with Released from ADC has previous charges they have not bonded on.

Jesse David Hoffman of Huntington was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 12 at 10:43 a.m. and remains at the SCADC without bond. Hoffman was charged with ADC Commitment Hold.

Tara Ann Legitt of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 8 at 6:36 a.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 8 at 5:18 p.m. Legitt was charged with Driving While Intoxicated 1st Offense.

Richard Dewayne Lewis of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 10 at 8:31 a.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 10 at 11:37 a.m. Lewis was charged with Assault On Family Or Household Member-3rd Degree, and Domestic Battering in the Third Degree – Purposely.

David William McBride Junior of Huntington was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 12 at 11:33 a.m. and remains at the SCADC without bond. McBride was charged with ADC Commitment Hold.

Erin M Mckim of Hartford was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 11 at 2:43 p.m. and remains at the SCADC without bond. Mckim was charged with Contempt-willful disobedience (Failure to Pay Fine) and ADC commitment hold.

Ronney Paul Thompson of Hackett was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 9 at 10:33 a.m. and released on cash bond December 9 at 4:46 p.m. Thompson was charged with failure to Appear – Class C Misdemeanor.

Cristi Lynn Weaver of Magazine was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 8 at 11:24 p.m. and remains at the SCADC with cash bond. Weaver was charged with Failure to Appear – Class C Felony.

Arresting agency – Fort Smith Police Department:
Levi Slater Daniels of Lavaca was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 14 at 6:29 a.m. and remains at the SCADC without bond. Daniels was charged with Battery in the First Degree – Weapon.

Raymond Evan Dotson of Waldron was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 8 at 4:43 a.m. and released on signature bond December 8 at 10:14 a.m. Dotson was charged with Public Intoxication – Danger to self or others.

Ira Joe Johnson of Lavaca was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 14 at 4:58 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 15 at 3:41 p.m. Johnson was charged with Battery in the Second Degree – Officer, and Public Intoxication – Danger to self or others.

Garrett Michael Mixon of Hartford was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 11 at 10:55 a.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 11 at 3:09 p.m. Mixon was charged with Failure to Appear – Class A Misdemeanor, and Contempt-willful disobedience (Failure to Pay Fine).

Landen Michael Moore of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 14 at 12:59 a.m. and released on cash bond December 14 at 2:53 a.m. Moore was charged with Contempt-willful disobedience (Failure to Pay Fine).

Michael Owensby of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 8 at 12:50 a.m. and released on bond December 8 at 11:09 a.m. Owensby was charged with Speeding over Posted Speed Limit and Driving While Intoxicated 1st Offense.

Bryce Allen Plymale of Charleston was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 13 at 8:21 p.m. and released on bond December 13 at 10:53 p.m. Plymale was charged with Failure to Appear – Class C Misdemeanor, and Driving While License Cancelled/Suspended/Revoked.

Tabetha Louise Smith of Paris was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 8 at 8:01 a.m. and released on December 13 at 4:19 p.m. Smith was charged with Obstructing Governmental Operations-ID, two counts of Failure to Appear – Class B Misdemeanor and Contempt-willful disobedience (Failure to Pay Fine).

Arresting agency – Bonanza Police Department:
Tamara Nicole Neidecker of Hackett was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on December 11 at 10:53 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond December 12 at 2:47 p.m. Neidecker was charged with Driving While Intoxicated 1st Offense, and Possession of Controlled Substance – Schedule VI Misdemeanor <4oz.

Arresting agency – Greenwood Police Department:
Donald Shaun Patrick was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center December 14 at 12:48 a.m. and remains at the SCADC with legally sufficient bond. Patrick was charged with Assault On Family Or Household Member-3rd Degree.

Arresting agency – Logan County Sheriff’s Department:
Tina Granke, 39 of Booneville, was booked into the Logan County Detention Center on December 12 at 12:01 p.m. Granke was charged with failure to appear.

Seth Terry, 31 of Booneville, was booked into the Logan County Detention Center on December 12 at 2:24 p.m. Terry was charged with two counts of theft of receiving and possession of firearm by certain persons.

**The charges against those arrested are allegations and the cases are still pending in the courts.**

YEAREND: Dry weather, armyworms and high input costs made 2024 a rough year for Arkansas cattle producers

Outdoors

Tammy Teague

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2:25 pm

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YEAREND: Dry weather, armyworms and high input costs made 2024 a rough year for Arkansas cattle producers

By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Although cattle prices remain high, Arkansas producers had no shortage of obstacles to keep profit margins thin in 2024.

“What we all know in the cattle industry is that prices are up. When those prices will peak is still a big question,” said Maggie Justice, beef cattle extension specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “But prices are high, so when weather started to get hard on us this year, guys started selling again. Because although prices are high, we’re still not seeing the profit margins you’d think we’d see.”

Justice said input costs, paired with some less-than-ideal conditions have left many producers not retaining heifers in their herds.

“With still high input costs, we’re still seeing a big pool of heifers into the feed yards and guys aren’t purchasing heifers to raise and put back into our national herd, so our national herd numbers are still going down,” Justice said. “If we see a high number of heifers in the feed yards, the national herd won’t grow. Because we would have to retain those heifers, grow them so they can keep having calves.”

Environmental challenges

High input costs aren’t the only thing holding cattle producers back. Jonathan Kubesch, extension forage specialist for the Division of Agriculture, said that wet and dry weather impacted hay quality this year.

“Because it was wet for a lot of folks, we had a delayed first cut and so we had over-mature grasses,” Kubesch said. “We had a really good second cut, but for those of us in the fall drought, we didn’t have a third cut.”

While some portions of the state faced conditions too wet to cut, other areas struggled with drought, and heavy armyworm infestations were felt statewide.

“In general, I would say statewide we were at 80 percent of our production potential, but in our really drought affected areas we lost maybe half or more of our production,” Kubesch said. “We had a lot of armyworm pressure dry spell and we were offset on our hay cut schedule.”

Health and disease

Cattle producers also felt the effects of multiple regulatory changes to the industry in 2024, with the biggest change being the availability of over-the-counter antibiotics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued guidance requiring drug manufacturers to change labels on animal antibiotics to require a veterinary prescription. This guidance went into effect in June of 2023.

“This year we finally started to see the full impact of the FDA’s regulation on antibiotics,” Justice said. “Although it went into effect last year, anything that was on store shelves could still be sold. So really this year is when you saw people going to the store and it wasn’t there anymore.”

Justice said while the regulation will help prevent antibiotic overuse, the shortage of large animal and rural veterinarians in the state will be problematic for producers that do not have an established relationship with a veterinarian.

Multiple insects have also been a concern for Arkansas cattle producers this year such as the Asian longhorned tick, known to transmit a protozoan parasite called Theileria orientalis which is deadly for cattle.

“We had our first confirmed death caused by Theileria in June of this year. We confirmed Asian longhorned tick presence in the state prior to this, but this was our first known death,” Justice said. “Although this is scary, the good news is now we know it’s here and we can test for it.”

Justice said because Theileria mimics anaplasmosis, a common disease in Arkansas cattle, awareness and testing will make a huge difference in cattle health.

Screwworm, a devastating pest that was eradicated in the U.S. and Panama in 2006, was recently found in the established “barrier zone” between the U.S. and areas where screwworm is endemic. Because of this the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service suspended the importation of ruminants from Mexico as of Nov. 22.

“When you think about beef production in general, in an already small national herd, if they’re not importing cattle from Mexico, that will impact us in a couple of months,” Justice said. “Though the USDA is working to resume cattle imports again as soon as possible.”

Those interested can stay up to date on current issues and research-based recommendations for beef cattle production by following Arkansas Extension Beef Systems on Facebook.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Magazine Schools Ranks High in State ACT Benchmarks

News

Tammy Teague

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2:17 pm

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Magazine Schools Ranks High in State ACT Benchmarks

By Jonathan W. Gipson
MAGAZINE SCHOOLS MEDIA RELATIONS

MAGAZINE – Magazine Schools was recently ranked in the Top 8 percent of all school districts in the state of Arkansas for juniors meeting all four of the ACT readiness benchmarks (Math, Science, English and Reading) during the 2023-24 school year.

Magazine, which was 22nd out of 249 districts, prides itself in providing the best academic opportunities for its students as well as offering student services and extracurricular opportunities to ensure its students a well-rounded education.

Students at the South Logan County school can receive college credit through free concurrent college courses and are offered trade and college and career readiness opportunities to prepare for life after high school, and Magazine Elementary is the only elementary school in Logan County to receive the prestigious R.I.S.E Award for reading initiatives.

All Magazine students receive free breakfast, gourmet lunch and afternoon snack each school day and have the benefit of an on-campus health-and-wellness center throughout the school year.

Magazine offers several student organizations and activities for students of all interests, like an award-winning Beta Club, Future Farmers of America Chapter, Future Business Leaders of America Chapter, Band and Choir to name a few.

Magazine students have the opportunity to compete in a total of 15 varsity sports for boys and girls, including a tradition-rich and highly-successful cross country program and a recently added volleyball program that qualified for the region tournament in its first season of eligibility.

Magazine Schools was the first school district in Logan County to receive the prestigious Purple Star School Designation in recognition of its support for students and families of military members. The school not only offers services for military families and their students but also recognizes them throughout the school year.

For families who do not live within the Magazine School District but wish to attend, the Arkansas School Choice Act is an option. Arkansas School Choice enables students in grades K-12 to attend a school in a nonresident district.

The application process for Arkansas School Choice for the 2025-26 school year begins Jan. 1 and runs through May 1. Applications are available at the Magazine Schools Administration Building and online by visiting www.magazineschoolsk12.com//page/school-enrollment.

For questions about Magazine Schools or about enrolling your child in Magazine Schools through the Arkansas School Choice Act, please contact Superintendent Dr. Beth Shumate at 1-866-900-2001.

Winfield Baptist puts on Live Nativity

Madison VanRavensway

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8:30 am

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Friday Night started Winfield Baptist Church’s fourth year of their live Drive Through Christmas Presentation. Journey back to through the story of Jesus’ birth!

The free event begins at the Candy Cane stop to help you get ready for your experience. The volunteer actors act out each scene for every car that comes through, while the story plays through your radio. Upon arrival to the church tune your radio station to 89.1 and enjoy the loop being played to narrate the story as you begin your journey.

It’s a tradition for our family, we make sure to attend every year, even multiple times; and I haven’t gone a year without tearing up. Bring tissues if you’re a crier, you will likely need them.

Bro. William Crelia is the pastor of Winfield Baptist Church and he says of the drive thru “We started it in 2020. It was something people could do during covid. We try to improve it some each year. We as a church enjoy putting it together and enjoy the fellowship while building the scenes. Our hope is that it brings joy to the community but most of all that is tells the story of Jesus birth. For people to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior is the greatest joy anyone can experience.”

What a great time to find Jesus than at the time we celebrate his birth!

The drive through will continue Saturday (12/14) and Sunday (12/15) 6-8pm at Winfield Baptist church 9768 W Hwy 248 Waldron, AR 72958, 5 miles west of Waldron. Watch for the signs to guide you on your way!

Too far away to visit this year? You can go on a video walk through here.

R

About the Division of Agriculture

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