Resident News Network

Class 3A Region 1 Tournament to Send Eight Teams to Next Week’s State Basketball Tournament

Resident News Network

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10:54 pm

Class 3A Region 1 Tournament to Send Eight Teams to Next Week’s State Basketball Tournament

The road to the state championship and the realization of the dreams of basketball players throughout Arkansas continues this week with regional tournament play. In Class 3A, the Region 1 tournament will be hosted by West Fork High School. Teams from the 3A-4 conference will do battle with teams from the 3A-1 for the highly coveted berths in next week’s state tournament. The Region 1 tournament will be played this week, Wednesday through Saturday, February 22-25.

The 3A-1 conference features schools from Northwest Arkansas, and in both the boys and girls brackets, the Bergman Panthers and Lady Panthers are the heavy favorites to secure number one seeds in next week’s state tournament. All other seeds in both brackets seem to be up for grabs with the home team West Fork Tigers contending in the boys bracket for the second seed along with the Booneville Bearcats and the Charleston Tigers from the 3A-4. On the girls side, Valley Springs from the 3A-1 will compete against Booneville and Paris for a second seed to state.

But as anyone knows who has followed post season basketball, anything can happen. And basketball fans know that just about every year, “Cinderella”, a team that is the surprise of the tournament, makes an appearance to upset the pre-tournament prognosticators. So, will Cinderella make her appearance at this year’s Region 1 tournament? We shall see.

RNN Sports is proud to bring you this preview of teams that will participate in the Region 1 tournament. Fans can keep up with the results and the round-by-round pairings by going to scorebooklive.com to view live bracket updates over the four days of tournament play.

GIRLS BRACKET

On the girls side of the tournament, the teams that will represent 3A-1 are: Bergman, Valley Springs, Flippin, and Elkins. Teams from the 3A-4 are Cossatot River, Paris, Booneville, and Hackett.

Seedings from the 3A-4 are: Cossatot River (1), Paris (2), Booneville (3), and Hackett (4). Seedings from the 3A-1 are: Bergman (2), Valley Springs (2), Flippin (3), and Elkins (4).

February 22

Bergman vs Hackett, 4 p.m.

Cossatot River vs Elkins, 7 p.m.

February 23

Paris vs Flippin, 4 p.m.

Valley Springs vs Booneville, 7 p.m.

BOYS BRACKET

The boys brackets on the Region 1 tournament include Booneville, Cossatot River, Charleston, and Paris from the 3A-4. From the 3A-1, teams will include Bergman, West Fork, Valley Springs, and Elkins.

The seedings from the 3A-4 are: Booneville (1), Cossatot River (2), Charleston (3), and Paris (4). From the 3A-1 the seedings are: Bergman (1), West Fork (2), Valley Springs (3), and Elkins (4)

February 22

Bergman vs Paris, 5:30 p.m.

Booneville vs Elkins, 8:30 p.m.

February 23

Cossatot River vs Valley Springs, 5:30 p.m.

West Fork vs Charleston, 8:30 p.m.

Winners in the first round of the tournament will lock up bids to the state tournament the following week. A first round regional victory advances teams to the semifinals in the regionals and no worse than a fourth place finish. The top four teams in the regionals advance to the state tournament, so all teams are focused soley on getting that first round victory in regionals. A loss in the first round of region ends the season.

The Bergman Panthers, according to Scorebook Live, won 33 games this year and were a perfect 12-0 in conference play. The Panthers ended the season with an overall record of 33-3. The Lady Panthers also had a stellar year in 2022-23, wining 31 games this year and 11 games in conference play. Bergman was 31-2 overall and 11-1 in the conference.

It could be a tough regional for the four teams from 3A-4, but, there certainly is no guarantee. All four teams from the 3A-4 will compete hard, and surprises happen nearly every year.

RNN Sports reminds fans that tickets to the tournament must be purchased in advance and online through the “GO FAN” website at gofan.co Just type your school’s name into the search bar on the site to find ticket information.

3A-4 District Tournament Crowns New Champions and Trip to Regionals

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1:43 am

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3A-4 District Tournament Crowns New Champions and Trip to Regionals

In the thirtieth season since the opening of Paris Gymnasium, any of those previous 30 years would have to dig deep to find a week of basketball that was better than the last week when it played host to the 3A-4 district tournament. All of the teams played hard and competed well, and in the end, the large crowds that attended throughout the week were treated to great high school basketball. New conference champions and runner-ups were crowned, and a new contingent of teams were tabbed to represent the district in next week’s regional tournament that will be hosted by West Fork High School.

Cossatot River completed a dream season that included both the regular season and district tournament championship (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best)

In the first game of Championship Friday, the top-seeded Cossatot River Lady Eagles were matched against the three seed Paris Lady Eagles. Paris, playing on its home floor, was the visiting team for the game. Both previous regular season games were close with Cossatot River having won both at home and in Paris. But both were very competitive, and the expectation going into this game was that it would be another close game. And both teams did not disappoint.

Paris maintained a small lead for much of the first half, but the well-coached and determined Cossatot Lady Eagles fought their way back to take the lead at the buzzer just before the half.

In the second half, it was a game that resembled a heavy weight fight between two good teams. Both teams left everything they had on the court, and in the end, Paris missed a last second shot that would have won the game. A gallant Paris effort had fallen just short, and Cossatot won the championship and will move on to the regionals as a top seed. The final score was 50-48.

Paris made a big turnaround in 2022-23 with a third place conference season finish and a runner-up finish in the district tournament (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best)

In the boys championship final, the game featured two teams that had turned their regular seasons around and were playing great basketball going into the district tournament. Cossatot River, who spent time in the middle of the conference standings, was coming on strong and had upset the tournament’s top seed, Charleston, in the semifinals. The Booneville Bearcats, featuring a very young but talented team, had been on the same road as Cossatot, but were playing great basketball at the right time. The Bearcats defeated the tournament’s number two seed, Paris, in the semifinals.

Maybe the most improved team in the conference, the Cossatot River Eagles finished the season strong along with a runner-up finish in the district tournament (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best)

So the stage was set for an exciting boys final, but, it did not turnout that way. Booneville’s talented young players quickly took control of the game, seemingly scoring at well on drives to the basket, jumped out to a double-digit lead for much of the game. Cossatot fought back with everything they had, and pulled within eight points late, but it was not enough. Booneville defeated Cossatot by the score of 80-67 for the tournament championship.

The Booneville Bearcats, who had experienced large deficit losses early in the season, had improved dramatically over the past month of the season, and are now district tournament champions and will be the top seed from the district in next week’s regional tournament.

So the regional teams from 3A-4 are set and will move on to play for a state tournament berth the following week. The 3A-4 teams going to the regionals are:

3A-4 GIRLS

Cossatot River, #1 Seed

Paris, #2 Seed

Booneville, #3 Seed

Hackett, #4 Seed

3A-4 BOYS

Booneville, #1 Seed

Cossatot River, #2 Seed

Charleston, #3 Seed

Paris, #4 Seed

RNN Sports will have a regional tournament preview on Tuesday evening. Watch for this story on social media and on our website at residentnewsnetwork.com

And watch for more photos from the 3A-4 tournament this week on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports!

All of us at RNN Sports wish all of the 3A-4 regional teams the best of luck next week in their drive to advance to the state tournament! And….RNN Sports will be there to bring you all of the action!

“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor

Lifestyle

Tammy Teague

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2:08 am

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“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor

By Sheri Hopkins,
Lifestyle Contributor

Hello everyone! We have had spring and now we are back to winter here in Arkansas. I like living in a state where the weather is unpredictable. It keeps the excitement going, never boring. I hope ya’ll had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. Sherri and Justin Weaver have always made my Valentine’s Day special since Chuck passed away. This year, I got beautiful flowers and balloons and a pretty Hobo purse. I was so excited; they are so thoughtful.

Speaking of Justin Weaver, have ya’ll ever heard him tell a story? He is hilarious. We had our Valentine’s Day Church dinner last night and he had us rolling with his stories. I have to tell ya’ll the story he told. It probably won’t be as funny as listening to him tell it. He had to go to McAlister, OK to a meeting, so he stopped in a small town at a diner to have breakfast. He said the waitress takes his order and he orders the “Big Hoss.” It’s a breakfast special. He gets eggs, pancakes, gravy, biscuits and bacon. I don’t know what all, but he got a lot of food. The sweet waitress brings his food out and he looks down and sees something on his pancake. Low and behold, it was one of the waitresses’ false eyelashes. Justin, being Justin, didn’t have the heart to tell her she had lost her eyelash on his pancake. I have laughed till I hurt over that and still laughing today. Things like that always seem to happen to him. Good laughs, with good friends.

Back to me and Valentine’s Day. I had scheduled an appointment to volunteer at the college for the students to do a heart ultrasound. It’s in Chaffee Crossing, and let me tell ya, I felt like I was in a corn maze. I could not find this place. I’m so used to having my kids with me and they will put in the directions in my phone, and it leads me right to where I’m going. Honestly I did not know how to do it. I finally found a building that had a nice lady there. She put it in my phone and it led me straight to where I needed to be. Everyone was so nice and said my heart looked good. I left there and went to pick up lunch for Sandy, Gina and myself. Tracy Epperson bought our lunch for us for Valentine’s Day. I’m in the turning lane and a big Dodge Ram rear ends me. I just slammed it into park and jumped out. He says, “did I bump you?” I said, “bump me? You cracked my bumper.” This just had me all unnerved. He says, pull over to the parking lot at the gas station. What did I do? I ran over the curb at the gas station, and I looked in my rearview mirror and the guy behind me did the same thing. He was a nice man with a super nice Dodge truck that come to find out, Justin Weaver had sold to him, small world. Ended up having a great day after all that. That evening, my three E’s brought me in some Dove Chocolate to top it off. I made this cherry chip cake for a friend for Valentine’s Day, and they said it was a keeper.

CHERRY CHIP CREAM CHEESECAKE
1 cherry chip cake mix
1 jar of maraschino cherries
1 8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
Powdered sugar
Mix the cherry cake mix according to the box directions, but instead of a cup of water, use about 1/4 cup water and the rest cherry juice and bake according to directions. While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese icing. Mix the cream cheese, cherry juice and butter. Add the powdered sugar till it is thick enough to spread, around four cups. Just add a cup at a time till you get it to the consistency you like. I added a little more cherry juice and I took some of the cherries and put them in my chopper and chopped them up fine and added them to the icing. Enjoy this quick and easy recipe. Have a good week!

Paris Area Chamber of Commerce Holds Annual Awards Banquet

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Resident News Network

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1:05 am

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Paris Area Chamber of Commerce Holds Annual Awards Banquet

The Paris Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual awards banquet last weekend at The Barn at Meadowbrook in Magazine. And as always, it was a big event that featured a sellout crowd of attendees to see both individuals and organizations honored for their achievements and contributions to the region in both business and community service.

Chamber executive director, Tonya Fletcher, commented on the banquet by saying, “The Chamber banquet is always a night to remember. I enjoy celebrating so many deserving individuals and businesses that do exemplary work. The Chamber appreciates everyone who sponsored, attended, and those that helped make it possible with their donated time and effort.”

The awards recipients that highlighted the night included Kara Sanders as “2022 Youth of the Year”, Amber Mikles, “2022 Volunteer of the Year”, Lakean Schluterman as “2022 Educator of the Year”, Lee Cooper, “2022 Law Officer of the Year”, and Misty Ulrich, “2022 Humanitarian of the Year”.

Organizations honored were: City of Paris as “2022 Business of the Year”, Main Street Paris as “2022 Tourist Person of the Year”, and the Paris School District as “2022 Chamber Member of the Year”.

In a touching tribute by Paris mayor Daniel Rogers that did not leave a dry eye in the room, the Chamber awarded the Tommy Melton Family the “2022 City Employee of the Year” in honor of longtime and beloved city employee Tommy Melton. Mr. Melton was a primary reason why so many city improvements have taken place in Paris. Mr. Melton’s family accepted the award on his behalf.

Outgoing Chamber president, Travis Schluterman was honored for his accomplishments during his tenure with the Chamber, and he in turn passed the gavel to the new incoming president, Amber Mikles.

The Paris High School FFA once again served the dinner to the guests who attended this year’s banquet. The FFA has served the banquet each year, and they did an exceptional job.

Congratulations to all of the community servants who were honored, and thanks again to the Chamber for the outstanding work they do every day for the Paris and surrounding communities.

Paris High School Hosts a Successful 3A-4 District Basketball Tournament

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Resident News Network

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1:03 am

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Paris High School Hosts a Successful 3A-4 District Basketball Tournament

As the high school basketball season heads to its state championship finale in early March, the post-season began the week of February 13-17 with district tournaments around the state. In Class 3A, the District 4 post-season tournament was hosted by Paris High School. PHS did an outstanding job with the event that was made possible by the many volunteers and workers who donated food, their time, and service to the tournament in welcoming teams from across the 3A-4 to the tournament.

Cossatot River High School, located two hours to the southwest of Paris, had a great tournament, placing both their boys and girls teams in the championship final. At press time for this story, Cossatot River was preparing to play the Paris Lady Eagles in the girls final, and the Booneville Bearcats in the boys final.

Upsets in the tournament included a Cossatot win over the Charleston Tigers in the boys semifinal, and a Paris win over the Booneville Lady Bearcats, also in the tournament semifinals.

A young Paris Lady Eagles team is playing their best basketball this season (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best)

For the Paris girls program, a season that has more than doubled their season wins from each of the previous two years, and a return to the regional tournament for the first time since 2019, caps a season of return for the Lady Eagles program. Paris earned a berth in the girls regional and is looking to advance to the 3A state tournament the following week that will be hosted by Lamar High School.

The Paris boys team has also earned a regional berth and will play for a spot in the state tournament. The boys finished second in the conference regular season that marks the second consecutive year the program has been in the regionals, and the Eagles hope to also advance for the second consecutive year to the state tournament.

Booneville has a talented sophomore class that has improved dramatically this season (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best)

RNN Sports is in West Fork this weekend to bring you regional tournament coverage. Watch for our updates on social media and on our website at residentnewsnetwork.com

City Due for Street Overlay Project

Tammy Teague

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1:00 am

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The Mansfield City Council met in regular session on Thursday evening, February 16. Members present were Aldermen Julie Thomas, James Steele, Glen Hurt, Beverly Lyons, Sheri Hopkins and Boyd Farmer. Also present Mayor Buddy Black and Recorder/Treasurer Becky Walker.

The members of the council approved the January 16, 2023 meeting minutes, but tabled the financials, due to a printing error.

The council then heard the city services reports.

Fire Chief Michael Smith reported 43 total calls, eight fire, and 35 EMS. He noted that several members of the department will be traveling to Siloam Springs on February 25 to obtain their pyrotechnician’s license. Smith added that he had been working the district basketball tournament, had one fire inspection at the Rite of Passage facility, and met with the general contractor at the new DG Market. In total, Smith stated, he’s worked a total of 145 hours.

Next, Police Chief Wayne Robb gave his departmental report. In total there were 50 total calls, 14 agency assists, four in Scott and 10 in Sebastian County. MPD responded to two total school calls, 12 medical, five incident/arrest reports, two total accidents, 98 traffic stops, 61 warnings, three adult arrests, and three animal calls. In total, the department has had nine training hours.

The public works report included 97 work orders completed, 18 one-calls, “Cyclone” lid ordered and waiting for installation, and new playground equipment built and installed at the City Lake Park and City Park behind City Hall.

In matters of unfinished business, the council discussed the water quality report, noting that no issues were found with the city’s water.

Mayor Black provided an update on the city hall cleanup. “The French drain work has been completed. There is no timetable on the renovation, but they are working to tear out the sheetrock.”

In the last item of unfinished business, the council discussed the needed street work. The council voted to approve work to be done at the intersection of Caldwell and Grove Streets. Black noted that the city is due a street overlay project this summer.

In matters of unfinished business, the council voted to approve a fire alarm system for the senior citizens center, approved a city employee taking the classes necessary to obtain a CDL class B permit, and gave the mayor the authority to renew the lease on the trash truck contract.

Before adjourning, the announcement was made that the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus was going to be in Mansfield on March 22, at the Mansfield High School Parking lot.

With no other items of business, the meeting of the Mansfield City Council was adjourned.

Mansfield Splits Golden Arrows To Earn A Shot At District Championship

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Adam Hecox

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5:28 pm

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Mansfield Splits Golden Arrows To Earn A Shot At District Championship

The Mansfield Lady Tigers and Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows are no strangers to each other in the 2A-4. Whether it’s volleyball, softball, or basketball fans are sure to witness an edge-of-the-seat showdown. Most of the postseason matchups in said sports between the programs are for Championship gold. This time however, Mansfield and Lavaca would face off in the Semifinals of the 2A-4 District Basketball Tournament not for the Championship itself, but for just a shot at playing for it.

The game started off exactly how everyone expected it to. Physical. The Lady Tigers took a quick 4-0 lead with a pair of free throws and a board bucket. Lavaca shot right back though with a long range three-point shot to bring the game to a 4-3 score. Alyson Edwards powered through the Lady Golden Arrows for a layup, but Lavaca again drained a three to tie the game. The teams didn’t let up and the ties kept coming. The scoreboard started at 0-0 then went to 6-6, 8-8, and then Lavaca scored their first lead of the game setting the score at 10-8 at 1:09 left in the opening quarter. Kaylee Ward would tie the game again at 10-10 with a board bucket which gave Mansfield just enough push to get another score with seconds left to take the lead. The quarter was over, or was it? Kynslee Ward ended up with the ball in the final seconds and proceeded to make a miracle buzzer shot for three points to officially end the first quarter with a 15-10 score in Mansfield’s favor.

Alyson Edwards started the second quarter the way the Lady Tigers ended the first quarter with a three-point basket. Kaylee Ward followed suit with a smooth jump shot before Lavaca broke Mansfield’s run with a free throw. Some may call it sloppy basketball when turnovers happen, but both teams were just so good that making steals just came naturally. Kaylee Ward stole the ball from a Lavaca player and gave an assist to Natalie Allison for a layup. Lavaca would come up with a steal of their own which lead to another Lady Golden Arrow three-pointer. The Lady Golden Arrows’ defense began to step up heavily as they held Mansfield from scoring any points for the final three minutes of the quarter as the half ended with Mansfield narrowly leading Lavaca 22-18.

There was only one half of play left and only one team could advance to play for the District Championship. Natalie Allison drained a three-pointer to jump-start the third quarter, so it would be Mansfield, right? Nope, Lavaca struck right back with a three-point shot of their own. The Lady Golden Arrows then went on a five-point run to gain a 27-26 lead on Mansfield. Lavaca would continue to manage their lead well with solid defense and smooth steals that led to points on the board. Mansfield finally went ahead of the Lady Golden Arrows with a Natalie Allison layup which gave the Lady Tigers a slim 33-32 lead. The battle wouldn’t end there though as the physicality of both teams began to take its toll with fouls mounting up on both benches. With the score sitting at 36-35 for the Lady Tigers, Kynslee Ward pulled a….well, Kynslee Ward….and screamed down court to beat the clock and buzzer with a layup to extend Mansfield’s lead to 38-35.

Mansfield jumped into the fourth and final quarter capitalizing on the physicality of the game. Fouls by the Lady Golden Arrows sent Seven Sanderson and Alyson Edwards to the free-throw line as the duo netted three of their four shots forcing Lavaca to call a time-out at the 5:52 mark. The short break gave the Lady Tigers just enough breath to have Alyson Edwards, Kynslee Ward, and Seven Sanderson combine for a seven-point run. Lavaca stopped the roll by the Lady Tigers with a free throw, but Mansfield would not be denied their Championship opportunity. The Lady Tigers went to sisters Kynslee and Kaylee Ward to close out the scoring and push ahead 53-40 with 0:22 seconds left in the game. The Lady Golden Arrows would still fight to the very last second, but Mansfield held strong to finish the game with a 53-43 victory.

The Lady Tigers are officially District Championship bound and will play on Friday, February 17th at 7:00pm. Their opponent is none other than the Hector Lady Wildcats. The two programs split wins against each other during the regular season with Hector coming out ahead in the District Seeding as the Number1 seed by way of points after they walloped Mansfield 65-46 in January. Although the two share the Conference Championship title, only one can win District Champion. That means that there will be no flukes nor a shocking cinderella story in the Championship, but rather just one team left standing as the best Lady’s basketball program in the 2A-4.

Even though the Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows will not play for the District Championship, they will still come out with an automatic spot in the 2A Regional Tournament. Lavaca will play the Western Yell County Lady Wolverines on Friday, February 17th at 4:00pm in the District Tournaments’ third-place game. The winner will be the 3Seed in the Regional Tournament while the loser of the third-place game will enter Regionals as the 4Seed.

3A-4 District Basketball Tournament Moves on to Championship Friday

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6:06 am

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3A-4 District Basketball Tournament Moves on to Championship Friday

A thrilling week of high school basketball is nearing its completion this week at Paris High School in the 3A-4 district basketball tournament. Semifinal games were played tonight with the winners advancing to tomorrow night’s championship finals.

It has been a tournament that has been hard on the higher seeded teams. And in Thursday night’s semifinal games, the competition for a district tournament championship and an improved seeding in next week’s regional tournament hit a fever pitch.

The Hackett Lady Hornets, one of the most improved girls teams in the conference this year, gave the top-seeded Cossatot River Lady Eagles all they could handle. Hackett led for much of the way, eventually losing their lead and the game to the favored Eagles. The game was decided on a last second fast break that led to an Eagles layup to win the game by the score of 48-47. With the win, Cossatot River advances to the tournament finals on Friday night. Hackett, having had a successful district tournament, will enter next week’s regional tournament as a four seed.

A last second basket led the Cossatot River Lady Eagles to a semifinal win over Hackett (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best

In the second game of the session, the Charleston Tigers, the top seed in the boys bracket, fell in overtime to a much-improved Cossatot River team. Charleston seemed to be in control for much of the game, but lost the lead late in the second half. The Eagles forced the game into overtime before going on to win by the score of 74-68. Cossatot River advanced to Friday’s championship final with the win. After the upset loss, Charleston will go to the regional tournament as a three seed from the 3A-4.

Paris upset the Booneville Lady Bearcats in the semifinals on Thursday (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best)

The Paris Lady Eagles, who escaped from a quarterfinals near-upset to Cedarville, played their best game of the year against the Booneville Lady Bearcats. Booneville had defeated Paris twice in the regular season; once in a blow-out loss at Booneville, and by 11 points at home near the end of the regular season. But Thursday night belonged to the third-seeded Paris Lady Eagles. Paris defeated Booneville by the score of 57-46 to advance to Friday’s championship final. With the loss, Booneville will go to next week’s regional as the number three seed from the district.

Booneville was impressive in their win over the second-seeded Paris Eagles (RNN Sports Photo / Jim Best)

The final game of the session featured the second seed Paris Eagles against the Booneville Bearcats. Paris had won both regular season games against Booneville; the first being a blow-out win at Booneville, and the second being a close, hard-fought contest at Paris Gymnasium. But Thursday night proved to be the Bearcats’ night, and the game was no contest; Booneville defeated Paris, 64-54. Booneville will play Cossatot River in the boys final on Friday night. For Paris, the loss drops Paris to a four seed in next week’s regional tournament.

As a result of Thursday’s semifinals games, the championship games are set for Friday as follows:

GIRLS BRACKET

Paris vs Cossatot River, 6 p.m.

BOYS BRACKET

Booneville vs Cossatot River, 7:30 p.m.

So, after four days of great tournament play, it comes down to an “All Cossatot” final on Friday. It should be another great night of basketball on what will be the final night of basketball this season at Paris Gymnasium.

RNN Sports will be in Paris again on Friday to bring you the conclusion of the 3A-4 district tournament. Good luck to all the teams!

Division of Arkansas Heritage awards Small Museum Grants

News

Tammy Teague

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1:05 am

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Division of Arkansas Heritage awards Small Museum Grants

(LITTLE ROCK) – The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism today announced $21,930 in grants for nine historic properties and museums across the state. Funded by the 1/8th-cent conservation tax, the awards help small history museums, historical societies, historic houses and sites, and military museums promote education, awareness and enjoyment of Arkansas history.

The Small Museum Grants Program aims to increase the ability of community-based small museums and organizations to research, preserve, present and conserve Arkansas history.

Award recipients are:

• City of Fairfield Bay, for museum operating expenses, $2,500

• Clinton House Museum, CHM Operating Grant, $2,500

• Fort Smith Heritage Foundation, for lawn and grounds maintenance, $2,500

• Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society, for publishing materials, microfilm and air purifier, $2,500

• Helena Museum of Phillips County, to cover utilities, $2,500

• Howard County Historical Society, for operating expenses and utilities, $2,500

• Logan County Museum Association, for county museum collection management project, $2,500

• Old Independence Regional Museum, for museum utilities and scanner, $2,500

• Pope County Historical Foundation, clothing and hat preservation project, $1,930

Eligible organizations must have an annual operating budget of $250,000 or less; must have a staff of at least one person, either paid or volunteer; and must be open to the public at least 90 days per year. Eligible activities include buildings and grounds maintenance, operating costs, equipment purchases up to $1,000, accessioning of artifact collections, educational programming, research, exhibits, and web site design and maintenance. The maximum grant award is $2,500.

To learn more about the application process, visit https://www.arkansasheritage.com/available-grants/division-of-arkansas-heritage-grants/small-museum-grants-program . The deadline for the next cycle of grant applications is April 20, 2023. Awards are granted twice per year.

For more information about the Small Museum Grants Program, please contact Debra Fithen, grants manager for Arkansas Heritage, at 501-324-9150 or debra.fithen@arkansas.gov .

Arkansas Heritage

Arkansas Heritage was created in 1975 and is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. There are eight agencies with unique heritage focuses under the umbrella of this division: Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Historic Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas State Archives.

Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism

The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism protects and promotes our state’s natural, cultural and historic assets, contributing to a thriving economy and high quality of life. It is made up of three divisions: Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Heritage and Arkansas Tourism. Mike Mills serves as the cabinet secretary for the department.

Allison Extends Volleyball Career at Henderson State

Jason Baggett

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6:03 pm

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Allison Extends Volleyball Career at Henderson State

Mansfield Senior, Natalie Allison signs her letter of intent to continue her volleyball career to the collegiate level at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.

Allison, a standout high school athlete, assisted the Mansfield Lady Tigers with a three-peat of State Volleyball Championships in 2020, 2021, and 2022, a Softball State Runner-Up in 2021, as well as Conference and District Regional Champs in Softball and Basketball, and 2022 District Golf Champs.

Accompanying her team accomplishments, Allison’s presence on the court, and field has garnered personal accolades which include All Conference, All District, All State Volleyball, 2021-2022 Volleyball Player of the Year, 2021 State MVP, All Star West, 2021-2022 All Tournament Team, and 2021 & 2022 Captain.

Taking her leadership qualities, and outgoing personality into college, Allison plans to focus her academic career in Health and Physical Education.

“First, I would like to thank God for this opportunity. I would like to thank all of my teammates and coaches for giving me the chance to play with them and helping me succeed. I also want to thank my parents for the countless hours on the road for camps and tournaments and their continued support. I wouldn’t be where I am without the people around me who have always supported me through all of the highs and lows of my volleyball career. It’s been an honor to be a Tiger. Go Reddies!!” – Natalie Allison

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