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Mansfield Athletes Of 2024 Are College Bound And Ready For More

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9:47 am

Mansfield Athletes Of 2024 Are College Bound And Ready For More

Statistics show that only about 7% of high school athletes get a shot at playing college sports. Most of those athletes tend to come from larger schools while the percentage of smaller school athletes is likely much, much smaller. So, when Mansfield had seven athlete’s signing to play in college, it became kind of a big deal. From the time they moved up as freshmen to their final year donning Red and White, the seven 2024 Tigers and Lady Tigers have combined for a whole slew of State Championships, Regional Championships, District Championships, and Conference Championships. If you couple those team awards with a plethora of individual accolades each of these student athletes achieved in each and every sport available in the Mansfield School District, you have one heck of a list. These student athletes put in countless hours of hard work in the classroom as well as field/court to acquire scholarships to seven different colleges in five different sports.

Alyson Edwards has been a name that has struck fear into the Lady Tigers opponents ever since little league. With her well rounded athleticism coupled with her sports intellect, Edwards could have gone to college in just about any sport she wanted. Alyson has been an All-State, All-District, All-Conference, and All-Star athlete in volleyball, basketball, and softball almost each year she has played. After “pitching” around her options, Edwards chose to sign with the University of Nebraska Omaha to play softball. Even though Edwards stats for her senior season continue to grow as the Lady Tigers enter the State Tournament, the end result will likely land her as one of the best pitchers Arkansas has ever seen. All of the years of practicing softball in the old gym with her parents after basketball practices paid off in a big way as she will be transforming from a Lady Tiger to a Lady Maverick.

Working hard with a smile is something you don’t see much of in high school athletics. When it is spotted though, it’s usually Kynslee Ward with her ear-to-ear grin. Like Edwards, Ward has been an all-around athlete for the Lady Tigers program in basketball, volleyball, and softball. Kynslee’s extreme work ethic led to her averaging 15.6 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, 3 assists per game, and 5 steals per game in her senior basketball season. Kynslee broke two school records with 164 steals and 89 made threes this season as well. It was those statistics coupled with her visible love for the game that caught the eye of Crowley’s Ridge College, and the rest is not history but the future, as Ward signed with the Lady Pioneers shortly after the Lady Tigers basketball season ended. Kynslee will now be smiling big while she steals the show over in Eastern Arkansas.

If there was a face of “never give up”, it would be that of Raine Hecox. Hecox dabbled in just about every sport Mansfield has to offer in her career (even football). While she played the role of Robin to the Batmen on her team’s most of the time over the years, she made sure she was the best Robin she could be to help the Lady Tigers succeed. As a two-time State Champion in Indoor Track, State All-Star, District Champion, and State Runner-Up in Outdoor Track along with medaling in multiple individual meets, Hecox’s determination to make herself and her teammates successful drew the attention of the University of the Ozarks for nearly two years. Even while competing with an injury for most of her senior season, Hecox’s selflessness and determination landed her a spot on the Eagles Cross Country and Track roster.

Volleyball is a staple of women’s sports in Mansfield. With four consecutive State, Regional, District, and Conference Championships it would be hard to think that there wouldn’t be any colleges kicking down the door to have a shot at one of the Lady Tigers. Well, there wasn’t one in Mansfield’s talented group to be found…there were two. Kinley Vanmeter moved to the Mansfield school district as a sophomore and immediately made an impact in volleyball. Overall, Vanmeter has two State, Conference, and District Championships with the Lady Tigers. In her senior season, Vanmeter racked up All-Conference, All-State Honorable Mention, and All-Star Nominee accolades while leading the team in digs with 334. With stats like that, Lyon College decided to snatch up this Lady Tiger for themselves and just like that, Kinley Vanmeter became a Lady Lion. Every team has to have an “ace” up their sleeve and for Mansfield volleyball, that was none other than Cole Smith. Smith was a part of all four of Mansfield’s consecutive State Championship teams and made it her mission to give all she could to the Lady Tigers. In her senior season, Smith was awarded All-Conference, All-State Honorable Mention, All-State Tournament Team, All-Star Nominee, and led the team in aces with 100. Cole was able to complete her mission of playing at the next level by signing with the Mission University Lady Patriots to play volleyball.

While it is the girls’ sports in Mansfield that tends to get all of the attention, there has been one sport that has held the light for the Tigers consistently. It has been the baseball program that has pulled most of the weight of the boys’ sports for the past few years and a couple of athletes have been key increments in the program’s success, Peyton Martin and Jaden Wolfe. Peyton has been a multisport superstar for the Tigers since his elementary years. Peyton has held multiple individual accolades in football, basketball, track and baseball making him one of the most valuable players in the school’s history. Martin helped the Tigers 2024 baseball run to the State Tournament by averaging .468 when swinging the bat. The hard work and determination of Martin brought the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain to his doorstep with a Bucks scholarship in hand. Jaden Wolfe proved to be a dual threat for the diamond Tigers both on the mound and at the plate. Jaden’s baseball IQ and skillset was so impressive that National Park College snatched him up even before the season started. Wolfe’s 3.3 ERA from the pitching mound laid waste to opponent’s batters throughout the 2024 season while he solidified a .277 batting average on the year.

With a class of 52 Tigers and Lady Tigers graduating in just a few days, 13.4% will move on to play college sports. That places Mansfield as nearly doubling the national average of next level players. This group has proven that no matter what school you go to, big or small, hard work and persistence will always pay off. While the names Alyson Edwards, Kynslee Ward, Raine Hecox, Kinley Vanmeter, Cole Smith, Peyton Martin, and Jaden Wolfe will now be called out in different areas of the state and country, their names will forever be etched in the Mansfield Tigers and Lady Tigers lore for generations to come. Congratulations to all and go Mavericks, Pioneers, Eagles, Lions, Patriots, Bucks, and Nighthawks!!!

Harding Academy Escapes with 2-1 Extra Innings Win Over Paris in 3A State Baseball Tournament

Networks

Jim Best

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8:14 pm

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Harding Academy Escapes with 2-1 Extra Innings Win Over Paris in 3A State Baseball Tournament

HOT SPRINGS- Majestic Park in beautiful Hot Springs National Park was the setting last week for the first three rounds of the 3A state baseball tournament. Hot Springs, with a long and proud tradition of supporting major league baseball as an annual spring training location in the days of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, has embraced its legacy with a beautiful Majestic Park baseball and softball facility. And this year’s tournament lived up to expectations at the outstanding facility.

The first round of the baseball side of the tournament featured a “David and Goliath” match-up between last year’s defending 3A state champion, Harding Academy, and the fourth seeded Paris Eagles. Very few people honestly expected the Eagles to compete with the Wildcats. The game was also a rematch of the 2022 state semifinal match-up between the two schools that saw Harding Academy win handily over the Eagles on the way to the 2022 championship.

But no one told the Eagles that they were not supposed to win. Paris came out early and took a 1-0 lead over the Wildcats in the first inning. The inning also saw a run thrown out at the plate that could have increased the Eagles’ lead to 2-0 and would prove to be very important much later in the game.

Senior starting pitcher, Dawson Neumeier, got the start for the Eagles after pitching impressively in the district and regional tournaments. Neumeier would end up going the distance in a nine-inning affair that would not determine a winner until one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Neumeier’s iron man performance would outlast three Harding Academy pitchers. But in the bottom of the ninth, the Wildcats were finally able to get a runner aboard and eventually advance him to second base on a sacrifice bunt. The next hitter hit a line drive to center field that scored the runner in the walk off win for Harding Academy. It was a tough loss for Paris who gave a gutty performance.

Harding Academy survived the Eagles’ effort to advance to the second round, but the toll the win took on its pitching staff would cost the Wildcats in the second round. Harding Academy’s championship run ended the next day with a loss to Gosnell in the quarterfinals.

Congratulations to the Paris Eagles baseball team for their second trip to the state tournament in the past three seasons. Seniors Konnor Edwards and Dawson Neumeier played their final games after having led the team all season. Congratulations to both seniors on a job well done!

After losing just two seniors on this year’s team, Paris will be predicted to again compete for a 3A-4 title and yet another trip to the state tournament. Congratulations to the Eagles on a great season!

Paris Band Program Holds Annual Spring Concert and Awards Banquet

Networks

Jim Best

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8:00 pm

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Paris Band Program Holds Annual Spring Concert and Awards Banquet

PARIS– It was a banner year for the Paris Eagles band program in 2023-24. The concluding school year included a state runner-up finish for the marching band in November of 2023.

The Eagles band program recently held its annual spring concert on the campus of Paris Middle School. High school concert and jazz bands performed, along with the middle school bands. A big crowd of proud parents attended the event to cheer on and support their band students.

This year, the Paris band booster club sponsored its first-ever band banquet that was held immediately after the concert. The large crowd moved the short distance to Paris High School were parents were treated to a meal and an awards ceremony. Band awards were given to both middle school and high school band members. Seniors, whose stadium banners were hung for the final time in the high school cafeteria, were presented the banners in a special moment during the ceremony.

The program’s highest band award, the John Phillip Sousa Award, was awarded to senior Jacy Varnell. Jacy was one of just a few seniors in the program this year who led the band to a second-place finish at state marching contest. The Eagles band program will return several students next year and should be again very competitive at the state contest next fall.

The Paris band program is supported by a host of band parents, led by Trena Heartlein. The parents organized the first-ever band banquet that they intend to become an annual event.

RNN congratulates all of the Paris band students as well as those who participated in the concert and received awards!

“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor

Lifestyle

Tammy Teague

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7:34 pm

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“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor

By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor

Hello everyone! We survived another week of storms. I may have to retire and move to Boca Raton to get away from these tornadoes. Oh, wait they have hurricanes. Guess I will just deal with the tornadoes.

I have told y’all that crazy things always happen to me. Well, I was cleaning the car out one day and I was using the shop vac, knowing good and well I don’t know how to operate a vacuum cleaner. It’s a learning process every time I drag that beast out. I was leaned over vacuuming the floorboard of the car and somehow that hose got away from me and had my hair sucked up in it! I wrestled that thing like it was a cobra and got my hair out. Let me tell ya if y’all could have seen my hair after that happened you would have died laughing. I looked like I had been in a wind tunnel. I’m sure my neighbors didn’t know when I moved in, they were going to get a show with their dinner. My place is like a circus all the time. I hope y’all got a good laugh out of that. I’m scared to vacuum the car out now. I get my grandson to do it.

Another crazy thing happened. My grandson, Ethan, asked me to get him some green tea. I stopped at the Neighborhood Market Walmart, a.k.a. Jimmy’s store, even though he is at the Memphis Walmart now. I’m looking for green tea and I pass this container of lemon and raspberry tea and I’m thinking green tea don’t even sound good. I’m gonna get this lemon and raspberry tea. I put it in the cart and look down and it says “hard” on the box. What in the world is “hard tea?” Well low and behold it has alcohol in it, and I almost took it home! Can y’all imagine the wild party on Howard Street if I had brought that home? We would have really had a circus and I wouldn’t have even known why. Walmart should not put their “hard” teas in the same area as regular teas. I’m sure I’m not the only one that has done this. I’m just going to stick to my Diet Coke. Can’t get that mixed up. I don’t think they have made “hard” Diet Coke yet.

Y’all have a good week. Stay safe and hope you moms had a wonderful Mother’s Day. This recipe is a strawberry crisp, since strawberries are in season. I already bought my flat from Arnold’s Farm and put them in the freezer. I have never made this, but heard it was delicious.

STRAWBERRY CRISP
5 heaping cups of fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4 cup sugar (white)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cornstarch
TOPPING
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup sugar (white)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a deep dish pie plate or large baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Combine the chopped strawberries and sugar in a large bowl and mix until the berries fully absorb the sugar. Add the cornstarch and vanilla and stir until all the strawberries are evenly coated. Pour into the greased baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and stir well untill well coated and crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top of the strawberries. Bake in a preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving. You can serve with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

MHS Alumni Scholarships Awarded

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Tammy Teague

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5:46 pm

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Mansfield Alumni Board President Larry Stanfill took to the podium on Saturday, May 4 to welcome attendees, and to announce this year’s alumni scholarship recipients.

Before announcing the recipients, Stanfill introduced the board members: Linda Udouj, secretary/ treasurer; Treva Mathis, the longest serving board member; Theresa Whiley, Taley Dedmon, Vicki Hall, Michael Elmore, Cheryl Davis and Terry Williams. “We are thankful for these volunteers who bleed red and white,” shared Stanfill.

Stanfill noted that the scholarship is supported by tax deductible donations and memorials collected through the year. “We had seven qualified applicants. This made our decision hard. Our criteria are based on academics, school activities and financial need. We are able to offer scholarships of $500 per semester for up to eight semesters per student. I believe we currently have three students receiving the scholarships in addition to the three we are announcing today.”

Peyton Martin: He is the son of Daniel and Summer Martin. Peyton plans to attend U of A Rich Mountain and major in advanced manufacturing welding.

Zachary Hayslip: He is the son of Trent and Wendy Hayslip. He plans to attend UAFS and major in computer science.

Alexis Chestine: is the daughter of Salem Bock and Ronald Chestine. She plans to attend UofA in Fayetteville and major in biology.

Cole Smith: Chris Campbell presented a $500 scholarship from the Campbell Family Revocable Trust in memory of Donald L. Ranz class of 1963.

Raine Hecox: received $500 Scott County Cattleman’s Scholarship for Mansfield. Linda Udouj presented the scholarship.

Timepiece: Natural Dam

Tammy Teague

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7:25 pm

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By Dr. Curtis Varnell

Lunchtime had arrived at Cedarville schools but, instead of spending my time at a local café, I headed six miles north to visit the famous Natural Dam. Natural Dam is a formation of Atoka sandstone that extends almost 200 foot across Mountain Fork Creek, impeding flow and creating a small lake. As the natural basin behind the dam fills, water flows over the eight-foot high dam and thunders onto the rocks below.

William Larrimore, one of the earliest settlers in Crawford County, first came across the formation in 1819 while on a hunting trip. Infatuated with the beauty of the area and the potential of using the power created by the falls, he soon returned and constructed a grist mill on the site. The mill, set with a horizontal shaft connected to several wooden paddles, was powered by the force of the falling water. Inside the mill, a series of gears slowly turned mill stones used to grind corn and flour into a useable product. In the 1850’s, Arkansas geologist and artist, David Dale Owen passed through the area and drew a picture of the formation and mill. The drawing illustrates the natural peacefulness and beauty of the area.

Clara Eno, in her History of Crawford County, searched early tax records and found that Larrimore was one of 96 original families that settled Crawford County. Of interest is the fact that none of the original families had a tax rate that exceeded $5.83 per year.

Land surrounding the dam was rich and fertile and, as farmers moved in nearby, the small town grew to include a Presbyterian church and several stores. Located on the main road leading to Cane Hill and thus into Fayetteville and N.W. Arkansas, the dam was a popular stopping off place for travelers. Both before and after the Civil War, camp meetings, often lasting two weeks or more were held along the creek. People from far and near came to the nightly meetings and many stayed in special cabins built to accommodate the visitors during their stay. Most of the revivals involved those of Methodist or Cumberland Presbyterian faith with both denominations eventually constructing churches in the area.

The Civil War was a time of trouble for the region. Armies from both sides travelled up and down the road and several skirmishes were fought in the area. Confederate General Ben McCulloch believed that all mills should be burned so that they did not fall into use by occupying Union forces. So saying, he or his men destroyed most mills in the region, including the Fayetteville steam mill which had the capability of producing 10,000 pounds of flour daily. The mill owned by Larrimore was probably destroyed during this time because records indicate a man by the name of Boyd operated a mill on that site. There are some stones from the mill remaining on the west side of the dam.

By the 1870’s, Col. H.P. King bought up several acres of surrounding land and built a store east of the dam on a part of the old wire and Butterfield stage road. That road is now highway 59. That store and dwelling house soon became the nucleus for a new Natural Bridge and outgrew the original located on the creek. The town grew to include a post office, a school, a gin, and several businesses. Gradually the old town disappeared and became what it is today, a place for leisure, picnics, and swimming.

Today, a part of the National Forest, visitors can wade in the waters below the dam, swim in the reservoir, or just observe the beauty of nature. Easy to locate, take exit 5 at Van Buren, go North on Hwy 59 until you see the small town of Natural Dam. Exit left at the sign for the falls and one can drive right to the site. Of course, traveling south from Siloam Springs will bring you to the same location. Either way, it is a great place to enjoy the Natural State.

Where Are They Now? Update on Tiger Rose

Featured

Tammy Teague

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7:21 pm

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Where Are They Now? Update on Tiger Rose

Contributed by Coach John Mackey

Catching Megan Rose during her years as a competitive racer was something very few could do. Just over six years ago, the former Mansfield distance runner became the only four time individual cross country conference champion in MHS school history. On the heels of that success, she spent the next four years setting records while running for Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Now, in what might be her most noteworthy achievement thus far, we catch up to the legendary Lady Tiger to find all is still well with the 2018 Mansfield graduate. Her newest victory came this past Friday, May 3 in an arena beyond the realm of running. This time around the award was in the form of a Master’s Degree in Education and School Counseling. She earned her newest degree on the same SOSU campus that she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education just two years ago while making university history running records.

“Staying disciplined is the easiest thing you can do for yourself whether it’s running or school,” expressed the obviously proud Rose one day after the Spring Commencement Ceremony at Bloomer Sullivan Arena in Durant, Oklahoma. “I stayed determined to get my degree. I just continued into my masters program, never taking a break or a summer off. I wanted to keep the momentum going.”

Inside the Savage Storm basketball arena, a very large audience along with university faculty, staff, invited dignitaries, family, and friends packed into the building to witness over 440 graduate degree recipients receive their diplomas and hoods. Among the many, Rose was excited to announce that up to 14 members of her own immediate family and friends were able to attend.

“It was kind of nice,” confessed Rose. “This was also the first time my fiance’s (Adam Decker) parents and my parents actually got to meet.”

Dr. Thomas W. Newsom, the 21st President of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, announced during his opening remarks at the commencement exercises that the Spring 2024 graduating class was the largest in school history. There were 823 students that were to graduate over the weekend with 349 baccalaureate degree recipients, 442 graduate degree recipients, and 32 certificate recipients. Amazingly, the recipients hailed from 41 states, 18 countries, and 15 sovereign tribal nations to populate the record number.

Rose was able to complete her graduate degree while working full time as a 5th grade English and Social Studies teacher at Durant Intermediate School.

“I used my conference hour and my PLC (Professional Learning Community) time to shadow counselors and serve students as a counselor myself,” recalled Rose in regard to her latest college experience. “That fulfilled my 100 practicum hours as part of the required 48 hours of graduate coursework.”

Undoubtedly, Rose followed a disciplined path in regard to her graduate and undergraduate studies at Southeastern Oklahoma. According to her own moral compass, it’s simply what she expected of herself. All-Academic honors from the Great American Conference for three consecutive years (2020 – 2022) certainly epitomized that line of thinking. Truth be told, her status upon the All-Academic Team could have easily been for four consecutive years but according to the college athlete turned teacher, “freshmen weren’t allowed on that particular conference awards list.”

When you hear Rose speak, her sense of value, spiritual commitment, and hard work comes out with ease. Perhaps in the context of a runner’s mentality, it’s as fluid as producing three of the university’s top 5000 meter race times of all times. The best in SOSU history was Rose’s 18:52.87 clocking established at a Southern Baptist University hosted event in Missouri on April 2, 2022. To this day, it still sits atop the Savage Storm Track and Field records board.

“It’s easier to follow 100 percent of the rules than to follow 99 percent and slack on the one,” reflected the 24 year old, second year school teacher. “That one percent requires damage control. I want to be a better example to my kids than that.”

When asked if her current students realized her passion for running, her response was quick and decisive.

“Oh yeah! I can still outrun any of my kids on the playground,” explained the still physically fit athlete turned teacher. “I still run three days a week after school, getting three to five miles each time out. Twice a week my roommate and I go to the gym at 5:30 in the morning to lift weights.”

After four years of running cross country and track at SOSU, Rose retired her competition shoes holding three university records. Two involved separate relay teams while the other was the 5000m individual distance race at Southern Baptist in her senior track season.

In 2021, the DMR (distance medley relay) team of Rose, Alexis Longoria, Skye Summers, and Jesse Sanchez set the new school standard running 13:36.47 for the 10 lap specialty event. Rose started the relay with a 1200m leg, followed by Longoria’s 800m run, Summers’ 1600m mile equivalent, and Sanchez’s 400m closing sprint. The record was produced at Emporia State during Rose’s junior year. It was the second fastest time at the meet.

In 2019, Rose’s freshman season, she joined Skye Summers, Regan Romas, and Rebekah Christman in the award-winning 4x800m relay. By Rose’s modest account, it was only a 10:35.65 timing. It held up as the Savage Storm standard for four years until the quadrupling of Madison Rowe, Aliya Carrizales, Alexis Longoria, and Arden Kesterson reeled off a 9:53.82 in 2023.

While in high school, Rose was an award winning cross country runner and track athlete. She landed on multiple lists with All-Conference, All-District, All-Star, Player of the Year, and Athlete of the Year recognition. Her last high school cross country race gave her the second fastest 5K time ever produced at the prestigious River Valley All-Star XC Race hosted that year in Magazine. That high school mark of 19:52 was remarkably within one minute of her college school record.

Timepiece: The Byrd Family and the Formation of the AME Church

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Tammy Teague

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7:18 pm

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Timepiece: The Byrd Family and the Formation of the AME Church

By Dr. Curtis Varnell

The old church stands dilapidated, paint peeling and deserted on the outskirts of the tiny Afro-American town of Grey Rock. A testament to its history, the cornerstone reads, “founded 1873, rebuilt 1949, C.M.E.” Nearby stands a memorial to its founders, former slaves Allen and Sarah Byrd. The site has become the central focus of the community and its foundation.

Allen was born into slavery on the Titsworth’s plantation near Roseville in 1815. Allen’s mother, a slave of the Titsworth family, was brought into Arkansas when the Titsworth family moved to the area from Kentucky. He grew up on the plantation where he worked the cotton fields in nearby McLean bottoms or assisted at the port owned by the Titsworth family. Alfred eventually married a fellow-slave Sarah and they parent 16 children, all but one born in Arkansas and all born into slavery.

Titsworth, a southern sympathizer, evacuated to Texas during the Civil War and took several slaves including the Byrd family to Texas with him. Alfred was the first to become a freeman, possibly given his freedom in 1862 when John Titsworth passed away. Oral history states that Alfred continued to work for the family until he could purchase his wife. When the war ended, the entire group returned to the war-torn and devastated river valley. Each of the former Titsworth slaves were provided 40 acres of land and Grey Rock developed as a community center servicing the former slaves. Byrd, obviously an industrious man, began to buy up adjoining land and became prosperous enough to deed a minimum of 40 acres to each of his children.

Byrd and his descendants were instrumental in the development of the community. One of the first orders of business was to create a place of worship. Like many former slaves, they desired to create religious institutions separate from their former slave masters. Allen and his wife donated one acre of land for the formation of a Methodist Church, soon to become a part of the African Methodist Episcopal Church: AME. The AME, a church originally formed by freemen in the North, rapidly grew to become one of the largest churches of former slaves. As soon as the Civil War was over in Arkansas, the Reverend Nathan Warren established the AME church in Helena and in Little Rock. The church included service, education, and the social and political uplift of African-Americans as a part of their ministry. Shorter College, founded in 1886, was a part of this movement.

The original Grey Rock church was torn down and replaced by a new structure in 1949. Generations of the Byrd family were members of the Grey Rock AME, serving as Trustees, Sunday school teachers, and even as ministers at the church. The church has served as community center, meeting place, and a place for family meetings for well over one-hundred years. In 1918, the family placed a stone on the church grounds memorializing the Byrd family contributions to the area. The grounds are now a part of the Arkansas Register for Historic sites. The largest road to the nearby county seat at Paris is still named Byrd Road as a testament to this family.

Windows are cracked and broken, the door ajar. Inside, worn out pews and scattered hymnals exist beside junk and debris left by vagrants. A shadow of what it once was, the building is slowly fading into oblivion. Closing my eyes, my imagination reaches to the past and I can almost see the congregation as they enthusiastically worship to the soft appeal of the old Gospel songs of the past.

USDA black vulture study taking flight in Arkansas, Missouri

Outdoors

Tammy Teague

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7:13 pm

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USDA black vulture study taking flight in Arkansas, Missouri

By Randy Zellers

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and U.S. Department of Agriculture need the public’s help collecting sightings of black vultures outfitted with special tags fitted to their wings. The birds are part of a multi-year study to better mediate conflicts with black vultures.

Birdwatchers, livestock owners and landowners are encouraged to report any tagged birds to the United States Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab online at reportband.gov. Sightings can also be emailed to USDA Wildlife Biologist Eric Tillman at [email protected].

Black vultures and turkey vultures both play an important role in nature by eating dead animals and removing disease from the landscape. The more aggressive black vultures, however, can cause issues for cattle ranchers and other livestock producers. The species can prey on calves, vulnerable cows, and smaller farm animals such as lambs and goats. Black vultures also are known to cause property damage to vehicles, boats and houses.

“We have seen black vultures destroy the rubber seals around car windows and windshields as well as scratch up the paint when they have gathered around some of the boat ramps and parking areas to wildlife management areas in the state,” Karen Rowe, nongame migratory bird coordinator for the AGFC, said. “They also will destroy roofing and caulking around vents and windows of homes if they establish themselves in one spot too long.”

The USDA trapped 89 black vultures near the Missouri-Arkansas border and marked each with a white tag on their right wing. Each tag has a letter and number that is visible when the bird is perched and in flight. Twenty-eight of these vultures also were outfitted with radio transmitters to track daily movements.

By tracking the movement of these birds the USDA and its partners hope to better understand their movements and reactions to the various management tools used to deter them from nuisance situations.

“While there are a number of management tools we can recommend to people experiencing vulture conflict issues, we don’t fully know how the use of these tools may affect their behavior and movements,” said USDA Wildlife Biologist Eric Tillman. “Do they adjust their home range, alter their roosting network, or permanently abandon the conflict area? Or do they just return after management is completed? With this study, we hope to answer some of those questions.”

Black vultures have a large, black body with a bare, black head. This species frequently flies higher than the red-headed turkey vulture. Turkey vultures have a much better sense of smell and use it to locate carrion that can be miles away. Black vultures, which are much more sight-oriented, will follow turkey vultures to their finds and drive them off of the spot.

Their aggressive nature also can cause many issues with livestock owners, as they may prey upon newborn calves, cows that are giving birth or smaller livestock. Livestock producers may use non-lethal techniques to deter black vultures, such as loud noises, spraying with a garden hose, or using pyrotechnics without a permit. Removing animal carcasses and cutting down dead tree snags and other possible roosting sites can also discourage black vultures.

Black vultures are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and may not be killed without a depredation permit obtained through Arkansas Farm Bureau.

Landowners can request assistance with black vulture damage to livestock or property by contacting USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Wildlife Services by calling 501-835-2318.

Hackett Elementary Achieves Distinction as a 2023-2024 Capturing Kids’ Hearts® National Showcase School

News

Tammy Teague

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7:10 pm

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Hackett Elementary has received the 2023-2024 Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools® award (www.ckh.org). This distinction directly reflects the unwavering dedication and collaborative efforts of Hackett Elementary’s students, staff, and the entire school community. The recognition of a Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools® award serves as a testament to the commitment held by the campus community to foster a positive and nurturing learning environment.

Each year, National Showcase Schools undergo a meticulous selection process, evaluating essential performance indicators, collecting campus data, and seeking feedback from both staff and students. The outcomes reflect the successful integration of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts® Process, showcasing the unique culture and climate of each campus. Capturing Kids’ Hearts® applauds Hackett Elementary, where educators go above and beyond, fostering a secure, connected, and enthusiastic learning environment for students.

Congratulations to Hackett Elementary on this distinctive recognition! Retiring Elementary Principal Tura Bailey has seen numerous recognitions and is most worthy of the accolades. Her heart for her students sets her apart and we highly commend her!

R

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