A common refrain in Arkansas is, “if you don’t like the weather today, just wait till tomorrow.” During the summer, we wish for colder weather; in winter, we wish for the reverse. Recently, a common refrain across a big part of the U.S. is drought and the need for more rain. No matter the weather, we always are ready for a change but never for as much as we received in 1927.
The year started out warm and dry, resulting in early snow melts in the Rockies. When spring arrived, rains set in on the upper Mississippi and waters from the north filled the Mississippi river basin and the Gulf of Mexico. In April, weather fronts converged across Arkansas and torrents of water poured from the sky. In western Arkansas, twenty inches of rain fell within a two-week period of time. With the Mississippi River at flood stage and melt-water arriving from the mountain, the water had nowhere to go. In places, the Mississippi river was 60 miles wide. So much water was trying to pour into the Mississippi that water flowed backward up the White river, flooding much of the delta. The Baring Cross bridge at Little Rock was endangered. To prevent its collapse, 16 box cars of coal were placed on the railroad track that spanned it to prevent it from being swept away. All 16 cars plus half of the bridge disappeared down the maelstrom.
Levees along the Arkansas river overflowed and then collapsed from the onslaught. Residents from Paris, Ozark, and Russellville watched in horror as equipment, dead animals, and even homes swept by carried by the flood waters. Wild animals, including all kinds of insects, rats, and snakes, were driven to higher ground. The richest of farmland along the major Arkansas rivers and streams were flooded, wiping out any hope for the growing of crops.
Cities faced growing sanitation problems as water, sewer, and electrical power was lost. Streets were impassable, many homes were flooded with feet of water, and people were left without food, clothing, or safe water to drink. Small airplanes flew over area towns, looking for individuals that needed rescued after being stranded on the roofs of buildings.
Eleven per-cent of the state was completely covered by water; water that in some places was 20 feet or more in depth. Dardanelle became an isolated island, surrounded by streams of water. Residents watched as the huge supports for the pontoon bridge washed away, two of them later located far downstream near Morrilton. Residents of area towns called for federal assistance but began collecting local funds and assistance as well to build sand barriers and earth walls to protect their homes. Tent cities developed on top of some of the high levees, attempts to survive until the water receded. The river remained over flood stage for 153 days and it was months before the water receded enough for people to attempt to return to their homes.
Many returned to find their homes and land destroyed. Six miles east of Dardanelle, the Carden bottoms land was covered by several feet of sand washed in from distant mountains. The land was worthless and useless for years to come. The enormity of the disaster changed people’s attitude toward government assistance and resulted in initiating government disaster assistance. The government bought up acres of the land; the portion near Dardanelle is now the Holla Bend wildlife refuge. Remove a few inches of topsoil, the several foot layer of sand still resides.
Like today, a common refrain would have been, “I could live for years without seeing another rainfall. Lord, why can’t you send us some dry weather for a change?”
Be careful what you wish for. The next great American disaster began in 1930 and we know of those times of drought as the “Great Dust Bowl.”
Fall is in the air and that means it’s time for our Fall Cleanup Campaign.
Residents of Mansfield are encouraged to use the Cleanup Site dumpsters, to pick up litter, tackle illegal dumps and do whatever else it takes to put a shine on Mansfield, according to Mansfield Mayor Buddy Black. This city wide cleanup campaign is in coordination with the Great American Cleanup.
Proof of Mansfield residency is required by Arkansas Drivers License for disposal of trash at the cleanup site. The City Campaign will take place on Saturday October 15, 2022 from 7:30 AM until 2:00 PM or until dumpsters are full. Dumpster location will be @ 601 East Center Street or at Greenwood Road Department Road Yard (October 8, 2022).
NOTE: Tires will NOT be accepted as a part of this cleanup campaign. County residents may dispose of up to four passenger tires, without rims, at no charge by taking the tires to Westark Tire @ 601 Oak Grove Road in Van Buren, Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 5:00 PM.
NOTE: Dumpsters will be staffed by City employees at all times to assure that only acceptable wastes are disposed of properly. The following items are NOT acceptable due to Landfill regulations:
Yard waste, grass, leaves and brush Used oil Tires Batteries Hazardous or toxic waste **TVs Computers – Electronic Equipment Cleaning chemicals Herbicides or pesticides Paints or liquids of any kind Fluorescent Bulbs Freon containing appliances (appliances using Freon MUST have the compressor removed before it can be accepted) NOTE: Barrels used to burn trash are illegal in the State of Arkansas and will NOT be accepted as part of the cleanup campaign.
Please see County Wide Cleanup instruction for anything not listed. This Cleanup is for Mansfield Residents only and NOT for Commercial Disposal.
Mansfield distance runners earned a high interest yield at their home cross country meet sponsored by Today’s Bank on September 24.
Among the 554 entries and 24 schools enrolled in the 19th annual event, it was Mansfield that showed to be a worthy adversary. The MHS players came away with 12 medals and 2 runner-up team finishes in the small school division.
The junior boys of Mansfield made the most noise in the final race of the morning. Six of those competing Tigers earned medals.
Rising freshman star runner Joey Williams once again highlighted the strong showing by the team.Gunner Williams, Jonah Martin, Hunter Whittaker, Braxton Bartlett, and Joseph Carter all joined the medal party with top 15 placements.
As a group, the Tiger men finished in second place in the team standings. West Fork took the title with 23 points while Mansfield finished with 33.
The Tiger junior boys finished in third just a few days earlier at the UA Rich Mountain hosted Buck Fever race. In a close contest, DeQueen took the top prize with 98 points. Mena and Mansfield tied with 100 points but Mena took the runner-up status due to their higher placing sixth runner breaking the tie.
Mansfield’s junior girls also took the second place prize at the Today’s Bank Invitational. Class 3A West Fork dominated the lower division with 25 points. The young MHS Lady Tiger team made up exclusively of seventh graders squeezed past conference rival Magazine 61 to 62 for second.
Rylan Jones continued her meteoric rise through the running ranks. The Lady Tiger’s top junior girl runner finished sixth overall in the 1A-3A division. More importantly, Jones’s 3k time was only 7 seconds behind the 2A-4 conference leader.
“Rylan is coming along strong”, noted meet director John Mackey. “If she wants to be the conference champion, it’s right there in front of her. Rylan is making gains every week on the Magazine freshman leader.”
Jones was also sixth at the Buck Fever 2.5K race on Tuesday. She has medaled in every meet but one so far this season.
MHS newcomer and teammate Abby Smith also medaled at the Today’s Bank race. It was her first medal in only her second event of the year.
“Abby has been heavily involved in conference volleyball play,” said Mackey. “She has been running early in the mornings to get some work. The more race reps she gets, the better she will be. I’m happy she got this medal. It was a matter of time she would break through.”
Mansfield’s junior girls used Jones, Smith, Miley Clopton, Adeline Bray, and Bailey Quick as their scoring five. All finished in the top 21.
Mansfield’s senior girls did well walking away with four medals. Unfortunately, those placings fell out of the rankings as the team did not have a fifth runner. The groups top two players Laney and Jadelyn Wood fell ill the night before the race.
“With those two here, we may have had a shot at winning,” offered the head coach. “Our girls ran well. Raine Hecox set a personal record for the 5K distance.”
Award winners for the Mansfield senior girls were Trinity Triska, Hecox, Ashley Martin, and Addie Bowman. Triska, Hecox, and Martin joined the Wood sisters at the UARM race earlier in the week to take the runner-up plaque there.
Mansfield hosted the Today’s Bank invitational Saturday, September 24. Even though Waldron has a new classification and has moved to 4A, the cross country team is still proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Senior high boys came in 4th behind Bentonville West, Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside which are all bigger classifications. Kason Moudy was the only medalist coming in 13th but Landon Defoor came in 18th, Cole Bailey came in 27th, Julio Grano came in 28th and Billy Garrison 35th to round out the top 5 from Waldron. “Three of our top five are sophomores. The fact we are competing against bigger schools only helps us for when we get to State in November. This is Senior Kason Moudy’s 1st year to run cross country and he’s our #1 right now. He should break 19:00 soon which is a great time for a first year runner.” Senior high girls are rebuilding after a couple of years out for the State Championship team who are all graduated. Kynlyn Frayer was the teams’s #1 on Saturday with a 26th place finish. Ailey Ledesma was 31st, Erika Gabel 35th, Lexee Kesterson 49th and Haylee Thomas 51st rounding out the top 5 for Waldron. Junior high boys came in 3rd behind Bentonville West and Greenwood junior high. Three boys received medals. Jonny Williams came in 4th and Eli Connelly came in a close 5th and Dakoda Weaver came in 7th. Julian Shaddon was 23rd and finishing off the top 5 was Pete Williams in 30th. “The top 3 medalists are all 9th graders so it’ll be interesting to see what they can do in a 5K since they could potentially move up for state.” Waldron junior high girls came in 2nd behind Greenwood. All the competition they were up against did nothing to hamper their determination. There were 3 medalists. Emily Defoor came in 3rd overall, Haley Mitts came in 5th and Madison Johnson came in 15th. Connie Grano came in 20th and Kimber Carnahan finished out Waldron’s top 5 coming in 23rd. “This group has a lot of potential. There hasn’t been a group like this since the State championship team of 2019. I’m excited to see where they can go in a couple of years!”
For the past couple of decades, the high-flying spread offense has been king of the gridiron. The old ways of three yards and a cloud of dust mixed in with powerful hits by players labeled “headhunters” became caveman-like. Low-scoring defensive battles became boring to fans. That mindset may be changed though after Mansfield traveled to West Fork on Friday, September 23rd. Was it a low-scoring game? Yes. Was it a defensive battle? You betcha. But one thing Friday’s game definitely won’t be called by fans in attendance though is boring.
God, Country, and Mansfield Tiger Football.
Both teams entered the match-up undefeated in non-conference play with West Fork defeating the likes of Green Forest (4A), Berryville (4A), and Paris (3A) while Mansfield beat Magazine (2A), Paris (3A), and Waldron (4A). The two evenly matched teams flipped the coin and off to the races they went. The Tigers started off with the ball and began to chisel away at West Fork’s defense with runs by running backs, Tyler Woolbright and Fisher Willsey. Mansfield mixed in a few dump passes to Tyler Turnipseed and Daniel Burton to keep West Forks defense guessing what was coming next. This offensive trail mix of play calling kept West Fork on their heels for 16 plays until the Tigers finally capitalized with a Fisher Willsey four yard Tiger Touchdown. Mansfield would miss the extra point kick giving the Tigers an early 6-0 lead.
Running back Fisher Willsey speeds around the West Fork defense for a Tiger touchdown.
Mansfield’s defense took the field to face the West Fork offensive giants. The cards were stacked against the Tigers defense as they were outsized, were short two defensive starters, and were on an unfamiliar field. But that’s all part of the game, so the Tigers looked West Fork dead in the eye and flat out said “Just Bring It”. Mansfield chopped down each West Fork play on their opening series to force a punt in just six plays. Unfortunately for the Tigers, West Fork’s defense got some redemption on Mansfield’s next drive by intercepting a pass at their own 27-yard line. Just as before though, West Fork couldn’t move the ball on the Tigers defense. Big tackles by Drew Elmore and Sam Burton pushed West Fork into a passing situation. Greyson Baggett was lying in wait for that exact scenario as he jumped the pass and nearly picked the ball off. West Fork would punt again and were able to get a good kick-off pinning the Tigers back deep in enemy territory. West Fork gave Mansfield all they could handle, but the Tigers would still close out the first quarter with possession of the ball up by a score of 6-0.
Running back Tyler Woolbright (#22) follows his linemen for a big gain.
The Tigers weren’t able to keep the ball for very long in their opening drive of the second quarter and had to punt on fourth down giving West Fork a short field to work with. West Fork quickly took advantage of the shift in momentum and tired the Tigers defense to drive 48 yards on 9 plays to score. After tacking on the extra point kick, West Fork took the lead from the Tigers 7-6. Mansfield roared back with powerful runs by Tyler Woolbright and Fisher Willsey to get down to their own 34-yard line. Even though the Tigers offense was short two starting linemen, the line was able to protect quarterback Cole Kindle long enough to find Peyton Martin for a tip-toe catch at the Tigers three-yard line. After a short talk between officials, the catch was called out of bounds which put Mansfield at a fourth down decision to make. But no decision was needed when Daniel Burton is on the field. Burton caught a pass from Cole Kindle and danced his way to a Mansfield Tiger first down. Emotions and mental mistakes put the Tigers a mile behind the chains again but didn’t deter them from earning those yards back. A couple of runs by Tyler Woolbright set up Fisher Willsey for a 3-yard end-around sprint into the end zone. The Tigers couldn’t add the two-point conversion, but the touchdown gave them the lead back with a 12-7 score.
Tyler Turnipseed (#10) finds a gap and turns on the “Turnipspeed”.
Mansfield’s defense was back at it again, but this time it was the linebacker corps that stepped up. West Fork tried to run to the perimeters of the field only to be met head-on by sophomore Jeremy Strozier and freshman Andrew Burton. Since they couldn’t run to the outside, West Fork tried passing down the middle of the field. Big Mistake. Senior Drew Elmore read the quarterback like a kindergarten picture book and intercepted the pass to give the Tigers offense another shot at scoring before the half. Mansfield marched downfield with a balanced pass and run offense. Cole Kindle found Peyton Martin again but this time the catch was in bounds and in the end zone for a Tiger Touchdown. Unable to convert the two-point conversion, Mansfield closed the half ahead of West Fork 18-7.
Peyton Martin (#25) weaves his way through West Fork’s defense for a Tiger touchdown.
West Fork received the opening kickoff of the second half and the Tigers defense went straight to work stuffing West Fork for a three and out. Both teams’ defenses played tag back and forth as neither offense could put up a score for the first four series of play in the second half. The Tigers finally punched through with a touchdown, but unfortunately, it was the Tigers in black that scored. West Fork added an extra point to leave Mansfield clinging to an 18-14 lead with a full quarter and a half left in the game. Luckily for Mansfield, the Tigers defense stood strong for that quarter and a half. Defensive ends Trey Vaughan and Samuel Burton created chaos in the backfield as both secured big quarterback sacks on West Forks passing occasions. Linemen Caleb Collier and Dakota Deer were put in as backups for the Tigers two missing starters but stepped up well beyond the position of backups as the duo clubbed their way through West Forks massive offensive line to stop the run game. The Tigers defensive onslaught shut down a West Fork final drive to prevent a comeback as Mansfield secured an 18-14 final score.
The headhunting buzzsaw also known as the Mansfield Tiger defense.
Mansfield’s victory wasn’t an easy one nor was it pretty. But an ugly win is still a win and the Tigers earned it. Head Coach, Tim Cothran, was proud of his team’s endeavor to persevere against all odds. “Our guys played hard and fought valiantly. They had to overcome a lot of adversity against a very good West Fork program and came out with a win. They never gave up. We’re very proud of them for this hard-earned victory”. The victory puts Mansfield in territory that hasn’t been seen in a few years. The Tigers now have a 4-0 overall record and are 1-0 in conference play. Possibly the most impressive stat though is Mansfield’s defensive achievements over the past four games. The Tigers defense leads the 3A-1 in points allowed by only giving up 20 total offensive points overall in their four games this season. Add that with a prolific offense that has hung up a total of 122 points in the same period of time and you have one heck of a ball team on your hands. The Tigers next challenge though is all that is on their minds right now as Mansfield will host Greenland for the Tiger’s homecoming on September 30th.
The Glen Rose Beavers came to Eagles Stadium tonight, perhaps for the first time in the history of both schools. The game featured a Glen Rose team that was picked by many to win the 3A-4 conference. The Beavers’ looked the part tonight, defeating Paris 54-7 in week one of the conference season.
The game was never really in doubt at any point of the contest. Paris was clearly over-matched by an experienced, talented, and very big Glen Rose team. Paris struggled with moving the ball offensively, and defensively, the Eagles had few answers to slow the Glen Rose offense.
The game took a controversial turn late in the second quarter. Glen Rose, leading 35-0 against a Paris team that was having very little success, elected to take the ball after a turn over on downs, inside their half of the field with approximately 40 seconds remaining in the first half. A lot of teams in the Beavers’ position would have chosen a conservative running play, or, would have taken a knee to run out the first half. Glen Rose was scheduled to have the first possession of the second half after Paris had chosen to receive the opening kickoff.
But Glen Rose went into a “trips right” (three wide receivers at the line on the right side of their formation) and threw the ball two out of three downs to score just before the end of the first half. The PAT was unsuccessful, and the Beavers took at 41-0 lead into the locker room.
As a sportswriter I am not going to comment on this, other than to say a lot of teams would not have elected to be that aggressive with a 35 point lead just before the half against a team that had shown no threat to them the entire half. That is all I am going to say.
But Paris fans can be proud of the effort the Eagles played with all night. They were clearly outmatched against a very good football team, but they kept battling on every down.
The Eagles will go on the road next week to Bismarck to play their second conference game of the year. The Lions will be another big test for Paris with the schedule not getting any easier in their first year in the newly revamped 3A-4.
Look for a preview of the Bismarck game in next week’s Logan County weekly newspaper. Additional photos from this game will be published on Facebook at Paris Eagles sports next week.
You may have heard that you can simplify your investment strategy just by owning index-based or passive investments. But is this a good idea? You’ll want to consider the different aspects of this type of investment style.
To begin with, an index-based investment is a vehicle such as a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that mimics the performance of a market benchmark, or index — the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and so on. (An ETF is similar to a mutual fund in that it holds a variety of investments but differs in that it is traded like a common stock.) You can also invest in index funds that track the bond market.
Index investing does offer some benefits. Most notably, it’s a buy-and-hold strategy, which is typically more effective than a market-timing approach, in which individuals try to buy investments when their prices are down and sell them when the prices rise. Attempts to time the market this way are usually futile because nobody can really predict when high and low points will be reached. Plus, the very act of constantly buying and selling investments can generate commissions and fees, which can lower your overall rate of return. Thus, index investing generally involves lower fees and is considered more tax efficient than a more active investing style.
Also, when the financial markets are soaring, which happened for several years until this year’s downturn, index-based investments can certainly look pretty good — after all, when the major indexes go up, index funds will do the same.
Conversely, during a correction, when the market drops at least 10% from recent highs, or during a bear market, when prices fall 20% or more, index-based investments will likely follow the same downward path.
And there are also other issues to consider with index-based investments. For one thing, if you’re investing with the objective of matching an index, you may be overlooking the key factors that should be driving your investment decisions — your goals and your risk tolerance. An index is a completely impersonal benchmark measuring the performance of a specific set of investments — but it can’t be a measuring stick of your own progress.
Furthermore, a single index, by definition, can’t be as diversified as the type of portfolio you might need to achieve your objectives. For example, the S&P 500 may track a lot of companies, but they’re predominantly large ones. And to achieve your objectives, you may need a portfolio consisting of large- and small-company stocks, bonds, government securities and other investments. (Keep in mind, though, that while diversification can give you more
opportunities for success and can reduce the effects of volatility on your portfolio, it can’t guarantee profits or prevent all losses.)
Ultimately, diversifying across different types of investments that align with your risk tolerance and goals — regardless of whether they track an index — is the most important consideration for your investment portfolio. Use this idea as your guiding principle as you journey through the investment world.
This article is provided by Jeffrey O’Neal, Financial Advisor Edward Jones 20 N Express St, Paris, AR 72855 479-963-1321 jeffrey.o’neal@edwardjones.com edwardjones.com/jeffrey-o’neal Edward Jones, Member SIP
(Barbara) Ann Corkill Crossett of Waldron, Arkansas went to be with her Lord and Savior, Thursday, September 22, 2022, in Fort Smith, Arkansas with her loving family by her side. Ann was born June 6, 1937, to Charles Merchia Corkill and Lilly Mae (Porter) Corkill in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She was 85 years old, an ex-schoolteacher and a longtime member of the Waldron United Methodist Church.
Ann was born the third of four children (Charles Corkill of Austin TX, Connie Fuller of Pine Bluff, and the late Patsy Strode also of Pine Bluff, respectively). She graduated from Pine Bluff High in 1955 and was awarded a full college scholarship. She attended college at ASU and Arkansas A & M (now UAM) and earned a teaching degree. While attending UAM she met and married the love of her life, Buddy Crossett, in Monticello. After graduating college, she began her lifelong teaching career in Star City, Arkansas. She touched the lives of many young impressionable students of all ages in Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas, and Alabama over the span of her 30 plus year career. Ann was an educator, mentor, and friend to many students, colleagues, and fellow educators. She also earned a master’s degree in teaching from ATU in the late 1980’s. Ann was also involved in a variety of various organizations including church, Waldron Chamber of Commerce, and Waldron Boys and Girls Club. She volunteered her time and devoted herself to helping in any capacity she could. Ann loved spending time with her family and friends making forever memories. Attending her weekly bridge club with her friends brought joy and laughter to her week for the last 15 years.
Ann leaves behind to cherish her memory her children: Lesa Ballou and husband Harold of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Richard Crossett II and wife Sherri of Searcy, Arkansas and Lori Crossett of Waldron, Arkansas. Granny Ann will forever remain in the hearts of her grandchildren: Nathan Ballou, Christopher Ballou, Autumn Glisson and Hunter Crossett as well as two great-grandchildren (Josie & Elle). Ann is also survived by one brother Charles Corkill and one sister Connie Fuller. Ann will be missed by all that knew her and the many whose lives she impacted including a host of nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors and loved ones. Ann was preceded in death by her loving husband of 55 years, Buddy Crossett, her parents, Charles and Lilly Mae Corkill, and one sister, Patsy Strode.
Ann’s celebration of life will be 2:00 p.m., Sunday, September 25, 2022, at the Waldron United Methodist Church in Waldron, Arkansas with Rev. Diane Miller and Pastor Roger Rice officiating. Arrangements are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.
Ann’s visitation will be Saturday, September 24, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. until 12 noon at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas.
Memorials may be directed to the Boys and Girls Club of Scott County, or Waldron United Methodist Church
The 2022 high school volleyball schedule is rapidly moving toward the end of the regular season as most conferences are now playing the second games in their round-robin schedules. At deadline time for this story, the Lady Eagles were just finishing a long week of travel that saw Paris make trips to both Elkins and Green Forest. After a few short days, the Lady Eagles continued their travels to Little Rock to play Episcopal, and on to Booneville the next day for their second conference game with the Lady Bearcats. The final game of the week was a home conference rematch with the West Fork Lady Tigers.
Next week will begin week eight of the season, and the Paris schedule looks like this:
October 4 vs Hackett
October 6 at Lincoln
October 8 Paris Invitational (games and times TBA)
The regular season will end on October 13. The junior high district tournament will be held October 15 at Hackett. The senior high district tournament will be held October 18-21 at Charleston High School. Looking ahead, the first three rounds of the state tournament will be held in Searcy at Harding Academy, October 25-27. The Class 3A state championship final will be held at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs on October 29.
It is not hard to get depressed when you turn the television on every morning. Part of my morning ritual is to watch the cable business news in the morning while I have breakfast before I start each day. If you get too involved with the programming, it doesn’t take long to be depressed about our nation’s economy and the struggles of business; in particular, small business.
But then you have the opportunity to meet some great local people who had a vision and who jumped right in to the local market in Paris and decided to make a go of things. And from what I have seen so far, Paris’s new “True Grit Grinds Coffee & Tea” and their owners are off to a great start and will make a splash in the Paris and surrounding communities.
The ownership team at True Grit is as diversified as their menu. From an Masters in Business Administration degree to a master barista who is very passionate about their coffee, the owners at True Grit Grinds Coffee and Tea have turned their corner of the Paris Square into a showplace that all citizens of Paris can be proud of. In fact, the owners of the store, as part of their remodeling to turn the office space into what was once the local Verizon store, have exposed and refinished the original 100-years old wooden flooring that has been part of the building. In fact, if you have not been in their building recently, you almost will not recognize what it looks like now. The new business in Paris is located at 12 East Walnut Street in Paris, adjacent to the Logan County Courthouse.
The menu offers a variety of coffees, teas, sodas, and other drinks for all of their customers. In fact, they will custom make just about anything that you want. They also have a sandwich menu that is great for lunch. Their courthouse square location makes them convenient for employees in the businesses surrounding the square and throughout the city of Paris.
According to the owners, over 40,000 cars per day pass the store along state highway 22. Just part of the marketing research, along with visiting other coffee shops in similar sized cities and towns, and examining their menus and prices that was conducted prior to their opening.
True Grit Grounds Coffee and Tea on the Logan County Courthouse Square in Paris (RNN Photo / Jim Best)
The ownership team at True Grit Grounds Coffee and Tea includes Dawn Bambrick, Ashley Denney, Rick Bambrick, and Jonathan Denney. The four comprise a great ownership team that own True Grit Grounds as a “family proprietorship” between the four owners. It is an equal partnership with all partners having an equal say in the business.
The idea to put a coffee shop in Paris was one that resulted from significant thought and research by the owners. In a recent interview, they told RNN, “We love bouncing ideas back and forth all of the time, dreaming about “What if we did this?”, or, “What if we did that?”, and, since we moved here we all thought we we (Paris) just needed a little coffee shop. We need a place to hang out, and it seems like within a week, we went from just talking about how fun it would be, and all of the sudden, like within a week, we had a lease a building and God said, “Go!””.
In the conceptual process of business start, the four reached out to the Paris Area Chamber of Commerce and solicited the input and advice of Chamber executive director, Tonya Fletcher. “We approached Tonya and said that we just need to set down and bounce some ideas off of you. What do you think? And, one of the things we told her was that we were interested in possibly doing a coffee shop for the community, and we asked her what she thought. She said, “That’s a great idea!”, and I (Rick Bambrick) had just happened to have written a comprehensive business plan and she looked at it. She seemed overwhelmed by the ideas we had about the shop. We wanted to create a place; like it wasn’t as fast as they (Ashley Denney) had said, but, it was. But, we checked with a lot of people and asked if anyone else was going to do a coffee shop. Because, we don’t have to do it. But someone needed to and to provide this kind of an element to the community. Everyone we talked to said that they were not interested in putting one in. There were a couple of people who were thinking about it, and we checked with Tonya and she said others had lost interest and were not going to do it. So, it was a sign to us that we needed to move forward. We looked all over Paris for a building with a drive-through, street frontage, etc. We really wanted to be on the Square because it is the center of town. One of our core values is to be able to provide for the city, and if we were off on an isolated tract somewhere, we couldn’t really provide the service that we wanted.”
No doubt, the ownership group has done their homework and have conducted their research to see if the business would have a chance to be successful. They are a great example for others to follow who are considering starting a business in the area. This is exciting to me; our community needs successful business ventures to continue to improve the economic health of Paris, and this ownership team will make a big contribution to our local economy.
As I had the pleasure of listening to the owners of True Grit Grounds, I could not help but to notice and be impressed by the faith-based approach to their business. In fact, in my mind, their shop is a small version of the corporate blueprint of Chic-fil-A who openly manages and operates their stores in a Christian-based philosophy and core set of values. Make no mistake, this is a for-profit business, but, the owners of True Grit Grounds impressed me as an ownership group who founded the business in their Christian faith and will operate the business as a service to the citizens of the Paris and surrounding communities.
The group has renovated the “old Verizon building” on Walnut Street into a beautiful showplace for Paris. Gone are the previous layers of flooring in the building, and the 100 year old floors are now exposed and refinished, creating a beautiful impression to customers when they enter the building. The plywood and blue Verizon carpet have all been removed. The drop ceiling has also been removed, and the original ceiling is now exposed in the shop.
The group rented the building in early June of this year, and opened for business on July 26. Considering all of the renovations and the move-in to start the business, that is a very fast start for a new business. It was all rooted in an invested into planning and research before they started the business, and now, they are off and running, and Paris has a new, very unique business that it can be very proud of. “The town has been so good to us; everyone has been super-amazing to us!”
But as the city of Paris appears to be on a bit of a upswing when it comes to the attraction of new business, the True Grit Grounds ownership group pointed out some facts to us that I did not realize at the time.
Traffic along state highway 22 that moves through Paris accounts for approximately 41,000 vehicles moving past their store per day. “Our business plan research told us that there are four different markets in Paris that we could appeal to. First, there are the local people who live here. Within that, it is divided into the older and younger population groups. One of the other major markets is the passage of over 41,000 people up and down this road (Hwy 22) on a daily basis. It’s amazing. So, it’s like, those passers-by may need something between, say, Fort Smith and Dardanelle. So, that is the second demographic. The next group is those going up to Mount Magazine. There is a huge number of people (250,000) per year going in that direction; it may people just going to Cove Lake to fish, or, people going all the way up to the Lodge to hang out there, or whatever. They need a place to stop, and we are right along the trail. Hikers, cyclists, etc., would all be our targets.”
It appears to me that the local Paris economy has been on a bit of an upswing for the last five years or so. Like any other town, the local economies of those towns go through both good and bad times, and after a slowing in the economy ten or more years ago, it seems, in part with the hard work of the Chamber of Commerce, that the local economy in Paris is growing steadily, and that is evident by new established businesses in the area. The Chamber has been busy with ribbon-cutting ceremonies for several weeks, celebrating the openings of new businesses in Paris. And True Grit Grounds has the potential, in my opinion, to be a crown jewel in the local economy.
The new coffee shop offers a varieties of not only coffee, but teas. They have a sandwich menu that makes the shop a great choice for lunch, as well. And if you are thinking that, like me, you do not want to pay $8 for a cup of coffee, you do not have to worry. True Grit Grounds is very reasonably priced, and does not price their products as high as some other local or corporate coffee shop chains.
“We did a lot of market research, including going to eight different local coffee shops in similar markets. We weren’t thinking about Starbucks, so we went to small towns. We got menus from small town shops and created a spreadsheet to see what they provided and at what prices. Starbucks can charge an arm and a leg because of their market size. We do not.”
So, in my opinion they have killed the criticism that no one wants to pay an exorbitant price for a cup of coffee. “Our lunch special is a sandwich, soup, and chips for $7.50”. Wow.
Jonathan is the barista of the business, and his focus is bringing the best coffee and ingredients to the True Grit Grounds menu for their customers. “We have worked with three or four roasters in the area to get the best product for the best price for our customers. We went with Onyx (Onyx Coffee Lab; onyxcoffeelab.com) and they have been fantastic for us. Onyx is a world-famous coffee roaster and barista champion. We are getting world-class coffee at a really good price. They are here in Arkansas which is part of our business core values to do business locally. They (Onyx) are in the Bentonville and Fayetteville areas with the main headquarters in Fayetteville. They coached us through the business side and in the operations side of what it looks like running an espresso bar on a daily basis.”
So Paris residents, Magazine tourists, and any other coffee drinkers out there, you will not want to miss the opportunity to stop by this great coffee shop and sample their diverse menu. And if you are not a coffee drinker, they have a wide variety of excellent teas, as well as soft drinks and other offerings for your taste!
If True Grit Grounds is as accommodating to their customers as they were to me in my request for their interview, they will be a huge hit in Paris. It is so good to see them and the many other business entrepreneurs in town making a go of their businesses in Paris, and we wish them all of the best in their new business ventures!
