The Office of Sebastian County Prosecutor Daniel Shue announced on Friday, August 27, that his office will not be pursuing any charges against Hartford resident, Daniel Harris. Harris was arrested in Mansfield on Wednesday, August 4, for being in possession of firearms on school property.
Police Chief Wayne Robb responded to the call of a suspicious person in the joint parking lot of Mercy Family Medicine and the Mansfield Elementary School, located at 100 N. Walnut Street. Upon arrival on scene, Robb made contact with a male subject and sought a consent for search. According to Robb, Harris was cooperative and agreeable to the search. That search led to the discovery of four firearms, a set of handcuffs, and a bulletproof vest.
Harris, a Security Corporal at Choctaw Casinos and Resorts, was allegedly waiting inside the vehicle on a female he had brought to the clinic. The female reportedly alerted the staff that she was fearful because of the number of guns Harris had.
The concealed handgun carry license holder was arrested on four charges of firearms possession on school property, class D felonies. He was transported to the Scott County Detention Center and booked in at 8:09 p.m. Following a hearing on Friday, August 6, Harris was released on $35,000 bond.
Charges were pending in both Sebastian and Scott County. Following an investigation into allegations occurring in Sebastian County, the prosecutor’s office announced Friday that no criminal charges will be filed in this case. However, the case remains pending in Scott County. The office of Scott County Prosecutor, Tom Tatum, is aware of the investigation in Sebastian County, however, it is unclear whether or not the decision by Shue’s office will have any bearing on the case going forward in Scott County.
The Scott County Prosecutor’s Office stated they have 60 days to file formal charges against Harris.
Our beloved father and husband, Vernon Johnson, 95, of Waldron, Arkansas passed from this life on Monday, August 23, 2021 in Fort Smith. He was born December 29, 1925 in Kingsley, Iowa to Arthur and Lillian (Hamil) Johnson.
Vernon was born and raised on a farm near Kingsley, Iowa. In 1951 he married Wanda Hangman and, with some help from their sons, they successfully worked their Kingsley, Iowa farm until 1978, when he decided to semi-retire and move to a warmer part of the country. Having taken their honeymoon in Hot Springs, Arkansas and remembering how much they loved that part of the country, they found property with a couple of chicken houses near Waldron, Arkansas where they were very successful chicken growers many years before retiring.
Vernon and Wanda were members of the Church of Christ in Kingsley, Iowa and attended Denton Baptist Church in Waldron.
Vernon is survived by his wife of 70 years, Wanda Mae (Hangman) Johnson; sons, Randal Johnson (Ann) of Salt Lake City, Utah and Dennis Johnson (Laura) of Greenwood, Arkansas; sisters, Marilyn Steffe of Athens, Georgia and Connie Junck of Kingsley, Iowa; and grandson, Jerome Johnson.
He is preceded in death by his brother, Dale Johnson and his parents before mentioned.
Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Bulger Funeral Home.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at Denton Baptist Church in Waldron. A graveside memorial service will be held at a later date in Iowa.
It was one of those memorable games that everyone will never forget. Anyone who was in attendance at Paris Gymnasium will never forget the intensity and the great competition between two great high school volleyball programs. When the night was over, Fort Smith Southside left Paris with a big win against the Paris Lady Eagles, but make no mistake…both teams played extremely well, and both teams will benefit from having scheduled the games. Being battle-tested early in the season will be a big plus for both teams heading into their respective conference play next week.
Southside entered the match 1-0 on the young season, having previously defeated Van Buren earlier in the week. Paris, 2-0, entered the game with wins at Russellville and Lavaca. A year ago in Fort Smith, it was the Lady Mavericks handing Paris a severe beating in which Southside dominated in all phases, including a very hard-hitting front line that Paris had no answer for with its young starting line-up. This year’s match would be a measure for the Lady Eagles of how much they have improved and the experience they had gained going into this season.
The first set was an indication of things to come as both teams battled back and forth, exchanging blows like two heavy weight prize fighters. Behind good front line play, Paris began to make up an early deficit, closing the gap to 9-12 in the first set. Southide called time out, and the momentum appeared to be swinging to Paris.
After the timeout, the Paris front line continued to assert itself, highlighted by the play of Paris’s Akira Robinson and Alyssa Komp. Behind the play of the two front line seniors, Paris took the lead, 18-17, forcing Southside to call yet another timeout. The teams then exchanged serves, and at the end of the first set, it was Paris going on for the first set victory, 25-22. The large crowd at Paris Gymnasium went crazy as the Lady Eagles broke the string of consecutive set victories by Southside. The Lady Mavericks appeared a little shell-shocked having dropped the first set to the Class 3A Lady Eagle in the hostile territory of Paris Gymnasium.
But Southside is a great volleyball program, and they know how to overcome adversity. The two teams continued to exchange blows into the second set. The two fighters went back and forth until Southside eventually took a three point lead at 16-13. Paris called time out and when play resumed, the Paris back line refused to let anything drop against the hard return spikes of the Southside front line. The Lady Eagles’ Melanie (Lights Out) Lo, who may be the most improved player on the team this year as a defensive specialist, made one dig after another. Unofficially, Lo had 23 digs on the night.
The battle of the second set raged on with Paris again calling time out with Southside leading 23-21. After the timeout, Paris was not able to close out the game, and the Lady Mavericks evened the match by winning the second set, 25-21. Although it was heart-breaking for the Lady Eagles to lose the set, it was nearly a two-set advantage for Paris, having come close to winning the second. But Southside had evened the match, and you could feel the momentum swing to the Lady Mavericks.
The third set began with Southside coming out of the starting gate strong and dominating Paris. It appeared that the Lady Mavericks had found their stride, and perhaps…the match may be going Southside’s way. The Lady Mavericks pulled out to a 10-6 lead when Paris called their first time out. But the Lady Eagles could not answer the power hitters of Southside, and the lead eventually stretched to 20-13 for the Lady Mavericks before Paris called their second time out. But eventually, Southside won the third set going away by the score of 25-16 in the most dominant score of the match.
Resident Press Photo / Jim Best
With Southside ahead in the match two games to one, everyone wanted to see how Paris would react to being down and facing another loss to Southside. The Lady Mavericks began the fourth set by taking the first three points, and the feeling was that the Lady Mavericks were about to close out the match. But the Lady Eagles fought back with great determination and great team play. As the two teams continued to fight in an adrenline-packed match, it was Paris taking the lead 17-14 in the set, forcing a Southside timeout. The Paris Gymnasium student section and crowd was going crazy on every point. After the time out, Paris increased their lead to 20-16 when Southside was forced to take another time out. But at the end of the fourth set, it was the Western Wall of Paris holding up to the front line of Southside as the Lady Eagles won the fourth set 25-19, forcing a decisive fifth set.
The Lady Eagles started the fifth set with some sloppy play; one had to wonder if Paris had exerted a lot of emotional energy in the warm Paris Gymnasium in the fourth set, forcing a fifth. Paris called time out early, down 1-5 to Southside to start the set. But as they had all night long, the Lady Eagles came soaring back, evening the score at 6, and forcing the Lady Maverick to call time.
Both teams continued to play extremely hard. So many players on both teams were contributing to a great match. The adrenaline was flowing, and the crowd was hanging on every point. Paris called time out in the fifth with Southside leading 13-10 in the 15 point tie breaking set. And from that point, Southside was able to hang on to win the set and the match by the score of 15-12 in the fifth.
With the win, Southside improved their record to 2-0, and Paris’s dropped their season record to 2-1. The Lady Eagles will now play in Little Rock on Saturday in the Spikefest invitational tournament. But most importantly, Paris will be in Charleston on Tuesday to open conference play against the Lady Tigers.
There are so many positives for both teams to take away from this great, non-conference match. Both teams are very good and played very hard with great character and determination. And that should serve them both well as their seasons continue. I look for both teams to go deep into the state tournament.
But for Paris, it was a total team effort where no one quit or hung their heads when Southside was up two sets to one, and started the fourth set in strong fashion. The Lady Eagles continued to play hard and fight their way back to a big fourth set victory to give themselves a chance to win in a fifth set. All Paris fans can be very proud of this group, and if they continue to play with great effort and intensity, they should be difficult to beat for the rest of their schedule.
It was one of those athletic contests that makes a fan feel privileged to be able to attend and watch the great effort and team play that both teams exhibited. And like the title to this story says, it was one for the ages.
Pictured is Zander Walters. Photos courtesy of Raine Hecox
In the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights, one of the coaches asked a player “Tell me what you are seeing out there?” to which the player replied, “They’re fast coach. They’re big coach…..plus, they’re fast”. That quote was the common thread for the Jr High Tigers game Thursday night against the Mena Bearcats as they were outmatched in size and speed in route to a 35-0 loss.
Cooper Edwards
The Jr Tigers took to the field surrounded by blistering heat and thick humidity with every intent to give it their all to upset the 4A Bearcats in their first game of the season. They knew what they were up against too as they had already faced off against Mena the previous week in a too close to call scrimmage. It didn’t matter that the Jr Tiger shad the odds stacked against them and that they were already short starters Jeremy Strozier, James Bausley, and Dominic Shores, the Tigers were there to play ball.
Toby Towe
Mansfield started off kicking the ball to Mena and covered the return very well. The Tiger defense started off strong with solid tackles by Toby Towe, Boston Elmore, and Dawson Robinson. Mena was able to drive the ball a little way downfield, but although the Tigers bent, they didn’t break. The Bearcats found no favors with attempts to run straight into the teeth of the Tigers, so they tried bouncing the ball to the outside. Again, Mansfield didn’t break and held their own as Leland Powell superglued himself to the Bearcats receiver to force a turnover on downs. The Tigers took over on offense and began to do what Mena couldn’t as Zander “Warrior” Walters walloped the Bearcats driving the ball up the gut on multiple plays. Dawson Robinson got in the mix with an explosive 33-yard run to close the first quarter out with an even 0-0 score.
Trey Powell
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the second quarter gave Mansfield a heaping double dose of exhaustion. With already having low numbers and short a few starters, many Tigers played both offense and defense with little rest in between while Mena had the numbers to rotate players in and out often. The Tiger’s defense held Mena’s potent offense up for half of the 2nd quarter, but the Bearcats finally broke the goal line plain with 4:38 left in the half. Mansfield successfully blocked Mena’s extra point to leave the score sitting at 6-0. Shortly after, Tiger Running Back Dawson Robinson was injured leaving Cooper Edwards, Zander Walters, and Trey Powell with a full workload. The Tiger’s offense held the ball well and drove a ways before punting the ball back to the Bearcats. Mena would again drive downfield and score with 0:34 seconds left in the half and add on the two-point conversion to set the score at 14-0. Trey Powell gave the Tigers a spark of life with the ensuing kickoff returning the ball 29 yards as the clock ran out on the half.
Logan Ore, Cadien Ore, and Cisco Fildes
The game was all Mena after the half as they rolled up two more scores in the third quarter to drive the score up 28-0. Going into the fourth quarter, the Tigers were on their heels and out of gas. Mena struck again early in the fourth quarter and tacked on the extra point for a 35-0 lead and that was when disaster struck the Tigers. Once back on offense, Robinson went back in after recovering from his second-quarter injury and took a quick handoff from Edwards. As he rounded the corner, Robinson was caught from behind and slammed to the ground. As players took a knee, Robinson was taken off-field and the game ended with a final score of 35-0.
Dawson Robinson
The Jr Tigers lost this battle, but the war is far from over. As this young team watches film, studies their plays, and rests up, they know they must endeavor to persevere. The next game on their schedule is none other than the Waldron Bulldogs. Although Waldron is another 4A team for the 3A Tigers, this is the Battle of Scott County, and all bets are off when the Tigers and Bulldogs clash. Mansfield will travel to Waldron next Thursday with a kickoff at 7:00 pm.
Due to COVID-19, many people worldwide have transitioned from the office lifestyle to working from home over the last year and a half. Along with all its benefits, isolation can make it hard to stick with healthy habits while working from home. However, if you stay dedicated to your personal well-being, you can curb many negative effects.
Physical Activity
Working from home means you might stay stuck inside all day, every day. Your body is losing a lot of the physical activity you naturally get from going about your daily business. So, even if you didn’t have a consistent workout schedule before working from home, going to the gym or walking is beneficial for your health.
Healthy Eating Habits
When at home, people tend to snack all day. You might start eating at weird hours, skipping meals, or adding more. You are asking your metabolism and digestive system to perform irregularly, manifesting themselves in multiple harmful ways. So, even though you’re at home, try to maintain consistent eating times.
Keep a Clean Workspace
When you work and live in a space, you want to make it comfortable. A messy workspace is not only distracting, but excessive clutter can affect your mental health. Keeping a clean home will help your anxiety and is less of a distraction when working.
Mindful Meditation
Having the space where you live intersect with where you work can make dropping the stresses of work harder. It’s not easy to leave it at the door when you never left. That’s why it is more important than ever to have daily check-ins with yourself to stay aware of your mental state. Working from home is almost like starting a new job; there is an adjustment period where you must be patient with yourself.
Mindful meditation will give you a few minutes in the day to assess your well-being and take active steps to keep any overwhelming feelings at bay.
Create an at-Home Commute
To further increase your work-life balance, it’s helpful to have a way of signifying to your brain when you are switching between work mode and relaxation. A method of doing this is to have an activity between them to break them up. Waking up and enjoying a cup of coffee, watching a little bit of television, or doing yoga gives you a chance to mentally prepare for the day ahead as a typical commute would.
By sticking with healthy habits while working from home, you can avoid the average pitfalls of the at-home worker.
It must have been an overwhelming sight. Eight-hundred men, twelve wagons, two cannon, and extra mounts heading west on the Old Military road. Dressed in rebel grey, Confederate flag and colorful guidons flowing in the breeze, the column would have stretched for nearly a mile. The date was September 27, 1863 and Colonel Joseph Shelby’s iron brigade was on a march which would carry them deep into the state of Missouri on one of the most famous raids of the Civil War.
Seeking to avoid federal troops at Dardanelle and Clarksville, Shelby was determined to cross the river at Roseville and head north to Missouri through Huntsville. According to local tradition, his men camped at the town of Shoal Creek, near the present day artesian well road on the 26th. Departing early the next morning, Shelby sent Captain “Tuck” Thorpe ahead, scouting out the territory as they advanced. The group passed through the small villages of Ellsworth and Spielerville, running across the occasional union sympathizer who took pot-shots at the column.
Colonel Joseph Shelby
Right at noon, Thorpe topped a small hill near Haguewood Creek, just east of present day Paris, Arkansas and surprised eighty or more Union troops encamped along the creek. The 1st Arkansas Infantry, under Captain William Parker, had picked up ammunition and weapons at Dardanelle and were resupplying local guerilla supporters. Many of Parker’s men were from the local area and were happily visiting family while resupplying friends with weapons. Grabbing up weapons, one of the largest skirmishes of the river valley ensued. Bullets flew from both sides; many of Shelby’s men were equipped with repeater pistols and multiple guns. Even with the traditional weapons, a civil war soldier could load and fire three to five times in a minute. Shelby, hearing the fire of his advance troops, hurried his men in support. Union Soldiers ducked behind trees and wagons and the battle raged. Benjamin Wilks, a union soldier from the area, fell, pierced by a rain of bullets from the confederates. William Hawkins was in one of the wagons, accompanied by his sister who was visiting. Firing out the back of the wagon, he fought bravely until falling at her feet.
Tiring of the two-hour standoff, Shelby ordered a charge on both flanks and scattered the union troops who fled west on the military road. Chasing them, Shelby was able to capture twenty-eight men, many of them officers that he later paroled. He also captured a couple of wagons and the ammunition and weapons they contained. His losses were ten men killed, eight wounded during the battle.
Rounding up his men, he destroyed the wagons and campsite, and continued west to Moffet’s station and on to Roseville where his horses crossed the river in shallow water with what he described as a sandy bottom. No doubt, with the river current, the wagons and cannon were carried across by the ferry that crossed the river to what is now the Denning community. He passed through Ozark early the next morning, going up what is now the pig trail to Huntsville.
Shelby’s raid was one of the most successful in Civil War history. He captured more than forty federal unit flags, six hundred guns, killed or wounded six hundred federal troops while paroling five hundred more, and tore up and damaged two-million-dollars’ worth of property. In the process, he tied up 100,000 men commanded by General Schofield of Missouri and 30,000 troops under General Steele of Arkansas.
Shelby is known as the General who never surrendered. A movie based on his exploits, The Undefeated, featured John Wayne and Tony Curtis.
My bus passed by the old battlefield every day for years. Grown up in weeds and brush, we never realized we touched history each day as we traveled the military road to school. Often history is as close as our own back door!
Christopher Mark Godfrey of Barling, Arkansas passed from this life, Monday, August 23, 2021 in Barling, Arkansas. Christopher was born August 10, 1961 in Shreveport, Louisiana to William E. Godfrey and Sharon K. (Campbell) Godfrey. He was 60 years old.
Christopher was a mechanic by trade. He loved working on motorcycles. When he wasn’t busy with motorcycles, he enjoyed going hunting and being out in the woods.
Christopher leaves behind to cherish his memory, his children: Kristi Brock, Dustin Godfrey, Nicholas Godrey and Paige Purvis all of Texas, his mother, Sharon Godfrey of Shreveport Louisiana and his siblings: Angie Wallen and Nikki Hammonds both of Bosier City, Louisiana, Shane Godfrey of New Orleans, Louisiana and Keith of Coushatta, Louisiana. Christopher will be missed by all that knew him and the many whose lives he impacted including a host of extended family, friends and neighbors.
Christopher was preceded in death by his father, William Ed Godfrey.
Christopher’s visitation will be Saturday, August 28, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Waldron, Arkansas. Arrangements and cremation are being entrusted to the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home & Crematory in Waldron, Arkansas.
Hello, my name is Sheri Hopkins. Most of you know me, but for those who don’t, I will tell you a little bit about me. I’ve lived in Mansfield since I was in second grade when we moved here from Booneville. My second-grade teacher was Mrs. Taylor and she kept all of the boys lined out.
I married Charles Hopkins in 1985 and seven years ago he passed away with a heart attack. We have two children, Shannon and Jacob, and his beautiful wife, Loren. I have three grandchildren, whom I am raising, Ethan, 18, Evan, 16, and Ella, 12. They are the light of my life.
I call our house “Hops House of Danger.” I have one furbaby, a four-pound chihuahua named JR. I am Great Aunt Sheri to a host of nieces and nephews that I love dearly.
I am a member of the Mansfield Assembly of God Church. I serve on the Mansfield City Council and I am currently the President of our Mansfield Chamber of Commerce. I love my town and our citizens. I have worked at Chambers Bank for 20 years and I love my job and my customers.
I love to bake, make goodies, cook, and, in the words of my mother, “mess and gom.” She always said, “you’re a good cook but a messy one.”
I’m going to share some recipes of mine and some from friends and family. I will start with easy recipes that will be easy for all of the working moms, dads, and grandparents. Don’t let the fact that I’ve lost a roast, some cream cheese, and left my trunk up after I bought groceries in Ft. Smith and lost my can goods down Rogers Avenue scare you off.
This first recipe was given to me by my good friend, Darlene McAlister, she lives at Abbott with her husband Jeff.
PORK ROAST BURRITOS 1 Boston Butt Pork Roast 1 16 ounce jar of Salsa Herdez (green sauce) 1 onion (optional) 1 pepper (optional) jalapeno to taste (optional) I always use a crockpot liner. Put the roast in, add ingredients, cook on high for six hours. Do not add water to this recipe. When it is done, remove the bone from the roast, take your fork and shred the meat mixture. Eat on tortillas, you can add cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, or whatever you want to add. Ella and I like ranch on ours. Enjoy your easy dinner. The best part, there is very little clean-up!
For Hunger Action Month this September, the River Valley Regional Food Bank will join Feeding America and other network member food banks to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of people facing the impossible choice of hunger. Food banks around the country are working to make a real and lasting impact on food insecurity in their communities, and they are asking for the public’s support.
September marks the 14th year Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a nationwide network of 200 food banks, including the River Valley Regional Food Bank, and 60,000 partner food pantries and meal programs, has organized the annual call to action. This year’s campaign presents the impossible choices that millions of Americans must make between food and other basic needs.
“For many, a daily meal is a simple choice of what to eat,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “For people facing hunger, a daily meal poses a very different type of choice. It’s often an impossible decision between food or other crucial needs, such as electricity, childcare, or medicine. Nobody should be forced to make a choice to go hungry. With the public’s support, we can come together to help people achieve long-term food security, so they no longer have to make such tough decisions.”
During the month of September, people across the River Calley can get involved in the movement by learning, committing, and speaking up about ways to ending hunger.
Host a food drive
Host a fundraising drive
Sign-up for volunteer opportunities
“This September, we are asking members of the community to take action, because food shouldn’t be an impossible choice, “River Valley Regional Food Bank Director Tracy Engel said. “Hunger Action Month is a time to mobilize to end hunger. You can choose to donate or advocate. you can choose to volunteer or raise awareness. You can choose to help end hunger. Learn more about how you can take action by visiting www.rvrfoodbank.org/hunger-action-month/ or hungeractionmonth.org.
Dr. Gary Lee “Doc” Axley was born on the 14th July 1946 in Tulsa Oklahoma. Doc passed away unexpectedly on the 19th of August 2021.
He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Debbie; sisters Judy Robertson and Barbara Jo Fox, three children Kimberly Axley, Angela Estrada, and Lt Col Gary Axley, USAF; three stepsons, Robert, Donnie, and Jeremiah Childers; sixteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Additionally, Doc left behind many esteemed colleagues and close personal friends. Doc was preceded in death by his father, Arthur “Junior” Axley of Claremore OK, and his mother, Alma Douglas.
Doc is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served honorably and valiantly in the Marine Corps (Semper Fi), achieving the rank of Lance Corporal. Doc was the epitome of patriotism, integrity, and compassion; he placed great value on these traits and upheld them in all aspects of his life. Doc was a board-certified Doctor of Oriental and Naturopathic medicine in the states of West Virginia, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. He treated thousands of patients with emphasis on the naturopathic treatment of cancer and catastrophic illnesses. He was the Founder and Professor at the Arkansas College of Natural Health, imparting his vast knowledge of naturopathic medicine to other medical professionals. Additionally, he was instrumental in founding the Arkansas Board of Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture, successfully lobbying for the advancement of the profession.
Compassion and humanitarian acts were a way of life for Doc Axley and a guiding principle he lived by. Doc loved to help people, and in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Doc Axley, in collaboration with the Waldron community, was vital in assisting 300 evacuees in acquiring housing, clothing, food and medical care. In addition, he was instrumental in the efforts to locate and reunite lost loved ones.
Anyone that met Doc remembered him. He was the center of attention in any room; his charisma, stories, and jesting brought joy to so many. Doc loved raising cattle and in his downtime, he and Debbie retreated to their ranch to enjoy the beautiful countryside. Doc was larger than life and his legacy will live forever through the many lives he touched and changed.
Doc’s visitation will be 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Monday at the Rye Hill Baptist Church.
Doc’s celebration of life will be at the Rye Hill Baptist Church Monday, August 30th at 11 am. This will be followed by a graveside service, with full military honors at Ft. Smith National Cemetery at 2 p.m. All are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Marine Corps Toys for Tots at https://www.toysfortots.org/donate/
