Summer break may be over, but we still have about a month before the official start of fall. And since we call Arkansas home, there is no telling what weather we will be enjoying on the first day of fall (September 22 for those who want to count down). The days are starting to shorten but there is still lots of fun to be had and memories to make before summer 2021 comes to an end!
1. Catch a sunset on the lake! Okay, you can do this any time of year! But when it’s still warm enough for a dip in the lake it is just all the more satisfying.
2. Get outside at night and play with glow sticks! Those earlier sunsets mean it’s easier to get out with little ones who may have had bedtimes while it was still light out before.
3. Have dinner around a campfire. Hobo dinners are easy and can be cooked right on the fire! (Google hobo dinner recipes for what to try!) Fall is often when we think of campfires, why not enjoy the last of summer with one.
4. Camp in your yard. My big kiddo has been asking to do this, and I think we need to soon before the nights get too cool for him. Maybe your family needs to do it, too!
5. Go out for ice cream- anytime is a good time for ice cream but while the weather is still so hot there is just so much satisfaction in getting a nice cold ice cream.
6. Have a family picnic. Does everyone else’s kids eat way more around a picnic table? It only works at the one in our yard because the one at the park is just too exciting. But having a picnic in our backyard is an expected hack for getting my kids to eat more and the perfect late summer activity.
7. Cast a line! If you haven’t been fishing all summer it is the perfect after school or weekend activity to extend your summer fun even though school has started back. Even if you spent your whole summer fishing, it’s never a bad idea to go again.
8. Jump in a body of water/have a water balloon fight/just get wet! There is only so much of the year it’s warm enough for water activities. While it’s still warm, get out and cool off!
Thankfully my family doesn’t have egg allergies, but sometimes I start making a recipe without checking for all the ingredients. It’s a flaw of mine, and recently I realized I had no eggs. Yet I had already dumped some flour, sugar, and cocoa together to make brownies. I quickly regrouped and thought that’s okay, I will make brownies without eggs. And to be honest, they are incredible. They are much more fudge-like than traditional brownies and I am a huge fan!
Ingredients
-3/4 cup flour
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoon baking powder
-1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 stick melted butter
-2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
-1/2 cup plain yogurt*
-1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
-1/2 cup nuts (optional)
*I used vanilla yogurt and omitted vanilla flavoring, it had a less chocolate-y flavor maybe, but I enjoyed it.
1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl. Sift in cocoa.
3. Add butter, cream together
4. Add yogurt and vanilla extract
5. Add chocolate chips and/or walnuts if desired
6. Pour into greased 8×8 pan
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean
After a long off-season that began shortly after an October 31st lost to Hackett in the Class 3A state final, the Paris Lady Eagles opened the 2021 high school volleyball season on Monday at Russellville. Paris defeated the Lady Cyclones in three straight sets, 25-19, 26-24, and 26-24. Tonight, the Lady Eagles will return to the road to play their second match of the season, this time at Lavaca against the Lady Golden Arrows. .
The Lady Eagles return the nucleus of a sophomore / junior team from a year ago that finished as state runner-ups. This year’s team is talented, deep, and experienced, and the Lady Eagles are off to a great start in the 2021 campaign. Paris opened the season Monday on the road at Class 6A Russellville and will have another big road game tonight in Lavaca before returning home on Thursday of this week for their season home opener against at tough Class 7A Fort Smith Southside team. The first week is all about getting the team ready to open conference play in just the second week of the season when they again go on the road to play a tough Charleston Lady Tigers team at Tiger Center. The veteran Paris team, coming off of a summer in which the team worked hard and played hard at multiple camps throughout the state and region, appears to be ready for the season and has started the year in mid-season form.
Resident Press Photo / Jim Best
The effort of the Lady Eagles has been exceptional and the team appears to be “running on all cylinders.” The addition of senior Jacee Hart as setter and the emergence of Melanie Lo as a “lights-out” defensive specialist as the team’s libero has put the finishing touches on a team that is tall and athletic on the front line. More so than perhaps they have been over the past three season, this year’s edition of the Lady Eagles may be the most complete team on a position-by-position basis than any of their predecessors. And now, add to the Lady Eagles’ team a spirit of determination and hustle that is quickly defining this team with great effort and communication and “buy in” as their coach, Jordan Devine, admirably says when she comments about and describes her team. After Monday’s win at Russellville, Coach Devine commented, “I’m just so proud of the girls! They have really bought-in and have improved so much!”
Paris senior Melanie Lo (21) is having her best year on the Paris back line (Resident Press Photo / Jim Best)
On Monday, Paris traveled to Russellville to open the season. The Lady Eagles led from start to finish in the first set and won in dominating fashion. The next two sets were very different. Paris won the second and third sets, both by the scores of 26-24. Russellville battled in both sets, but in the end, the Lady Cyclones did not have an answer for the front line of Paris. The match was highlighted by a dramatic save where junior Brailey Forst dove on the floor near the scorers’ table to keep a ball alive, and senior Alyssa Komp was then able to make a dramatic save that returned the volley on the third hit. The save was indicative of the effort and intensity of the Lady Eagles. If they keep this focus, combined with their talent and experience, it should be a very good year for Paris volleyball.
Thursday’s home opener versus Southside will be a huge test for Paris. A year ago, Paris traveled to Fort Smith and were beaten soundly by the Lady Mavericks. Southside is a very good volleyball team that produces collegiate talent every year, and the match at Paris Gymnasium should be a good measuring stick to how much this team has improved with the experience and work they have invested since last year. It will be a big test in front of the home fans, and the Lady Eagles must play well and with great intensity to win the match.
Photos from Monday’s match at Russellville are now available on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports. Resident Press will be in Lavaca tonight for the Lady Eagles’ next match against the Lady Golden Arrows. Look for a recap of that game in Resident Press on Thursday evening.
The Lady Eagles are flying high to start the 2021 season, and they will need to keep the same high altitude to navigate their way through a tough first week of non-conference play and into next week’s conference opener at Charleston. Stay with Resident Press for complete coverage all season of Paris volleyball!
See you tonight in Lavaca!
Wednesday, Paris again played on the road, this time at Lavaca.
The Mansfield Sr Lady Tigers took to the court Monday night to show their net worth against the Booneville Lady Bearcats. These sets weren’t merely edge-of-the-seat matches, these were matches so tight and frantic that fans rarely even took a seat. The Lady Tigers and Lady Bearcats definitely put on quite the show, but it was the Lady Tigers who wound up victorious with a 2 to 0 set victory for the Sr JV squad and a thrilling 3 to 2 set win for the Sr Lady Tigers.
Skylynn Harris
The Lady Tigers JV squad was up first and made short work of Booneville with a quick 25-11 first set victory. Spikes, aces, digs, and flares flew directly at the Lady Bearcats’ feet as the tone of the night was set in play. Booneville had enough of that in the second set though as the Lady Bearcats clawed their way into a close final set. The Lady Bearcats shot some solid purple power at Mansfield, but in the end, it was the Lady Tigers who wound up victorious with a 25-20 final set to close the JV match out with a 2-0 win.
As the Sr Lady Tigers came through the spirit line, the stadium erupted with excitement to see the defending 2A State Champs take on a tough as leather Lady Bearcats team. Mansfield jumped to an early lead with a fast-paced 25-16 first set win. Cakewalk right? Well, Booneville made sure to bake in a few bricks in that cake and the Lady Tigers began to chip their teeth in the second set as Booneville rolled to a 25-21 second set victory. With confidence on their side now, Booneville was ready to set Mansfield back on their heels. Set three was the defining set for both teams as the claws came out in this catfight and fur began to fly on the court. Back and forth the match went with neither team gaining traction. The third set fell in the Lady Tigers’ favor though as they finished with a 27-25 edge.
Alayna Turner
The exhaustion on both teams began to show in the fourth set as mental mistakes kicked in and players began making costly errors. Mansfield took the lead but the Lady Bearcats swiped it back. Booneville landed a lead, but the Lady Tigers snagged that lead back again. The fourth set was literally back and forth with the home stands cheering followed immediately by the visitor’s erupting. Booneville forced a fifth set in Tiger Stadium with a 31-29 fourth set victory. It came down to all or nothing for both teams as they entered the rarely seen fifth set of the match. With the Lady Tigers and Lady Bearcats completely gassed, the game would boil down to who had the overhanded upper hand. As everyone’s eyes followed the ball in a trance-like state, the final set was worth the wait for Mansfield fans as the Lady Tigers edged out Booneville 15-11.
A Franklin County man died this afternoon after he jumped from the Lee Creek Road overpass in Van Buren onto the top of a commercial cargo trailer and truck traveling eastbound along Interstate 40. The incident occurred about 10:55 this morning. The Arkansas State Police Highway Patrol Division, Troop H, is investigating the death of Dillon Allen Wynn, 26, of Ozark. State troopers believe after Wynn jumped and landed on the passing trailer, he rolled off the trailer and fell onto the highway. Wynn was transported from the scene by emergency medical personnel and taken to a Fort Smith hospital where he later died.
The Focus on Greenwood 2021, Fun Fall 5k race is scheduled for Saturday, October 2, 2021. This year’s race will be a walk/run event.
Focus on Greenwood is a non-profit organization that operates with great volunteers and sponsors.
If you or your business is interested in sponsoring this year’s event, you are asked to contact coordinator Mark Huneycutt at 479-597-8989 or email greenwoodrunwalkandroll@gmail.com
The Focus on Greenwood 2021, Fun Fall 5k race is scheduled for Saturday, October 2, 2021. This year’s race will be a walk/run event.
Focus on Greenwood is a non-profit organization that operates with great volunteers and sponsors.
If you or your business is interested in sponsoring this year’s event, you are asked to contact coordinator Mark Huneycutt at 479-597-8989 or email greenwoodrunwalkandroll@gmail.com
In 1985, after purchasing the home farm of 110 acres from my parents, my dad gave me the best economic advice on making a living on the farm that I’ve ever heard. He said: “Son, if you want to make a living on the farm, don’t go to town. When you go to town, you will spend money. Wait, and when you go to town, take something to sell, and come home with more money than you went to town with, and you will always have plenty of money.”
After building up a 40 plus cow/calf operation, in about 1993, on December 25, I had five momma cows give birth in the 24 hour period of Christmas Day. Feeling magnanimous, I told my wife she could have any one of those calves as an additional Christmas gift. When I shared that with dad, he said: “Son, I gave your mother a cow one year for Christmas. The next year, I had to give her another one. First thing you know, she had more cows than I did.”
In 2001, after five years of a custom hay baling operation with only a Ford 2000 tractor, I decided to buy an additional larger Ford 3000 model tractor. (More horsepower for mowing and bailing, less changing of implements). When I told my dad, he responded: Son, you need to think about it, you can only ride one tractor at a time.” I now own three tractors, and guess what? I still can only ride “one at a time”.
I lost my dad in May of 2020, the day after my 70th birthday. I miss him. One of the last things he ever told me, and the most important, was: “I love you”.
Replacing the tires on your car can get expensive. You typically want all four treads to have equal wear, and when one tire goes, you need to think about whether it’s safe to replace one or if it’s time to replace all of them. Save yourself some trouble by asking, “tire plugs or tire patches: which is better?” and learning which will keep you safest on the road.
How Tire Plugs Work
After your vehicle runs over a sharp object, whether a nail or a pointed rock, it will puncture the rubber and cause air to leak out. Normally, people will see this and determine that the tire is no longer suitable for use. But by pulling out the sharp object, you can insert a tire plug into the hole to seal the damage. The plug will adhere to the tire, creating a strong bond and making your tire usable once more.
Safety Considerations
While you can insert a plug to seal a puncture, it cannot heal every wound. You cannot properly repair a hole that is too big, and it will tear again. Know what damage you can safely seal and what will require a new tire.
How Tire Patches Work
Patching a tire is a more involved process that requires you to remove the tire from the rim and use a die grinder to cut a two-inch diameter hole around the puncture. The patch is then pushed from the interior of the tire to the exterior, forming a strong seal.
Convenience Considerations
A patch is commonly regarded as the stronger of the two options, providing better, more reliable results and a stronger tire. But the downside is that it is a very hands-on process, requiring you to directly work on your tire and manipulate it further. A patch is not as quick and easy a fix as a tire plug, but it can provide astounding results for the effort.
Know When To Get a New Tire
You can’t salvage every tire; there are times when you need to know when to replace a tire. If the hole is too big or the tire is damaged too badly, you may need a replacement. Even after you know whether a tire patch or a tire plug is better, you still need to acknowledge when both aren’t enough. Know when you need to change your tire if your current one is no longer safe.
In a warmup for the season opener against the Muskogee Roughers, the Varsity Bulldogs welcomed Fayetteville into Smith-Robinson Stadium.
Fayetteville would strike first with a pass from Bladen Fike to Oregon commit Isaiah Sategna. Greenwood would answer back with a run by Austin Mitchell. Before halftime Hunter Houston would find Luke Brewer. The scoreboard was reset at halftime with the score 14-14.
Senior Parker Gill puts pressure on Fayetteville’s QBSenior Hunter Houston throws to Aiden KennonHead Coach Chris Young Junior Jake Glover looks for more yardage Senior Luke Brewer during Warm-UpsSenior Tyler CrossnoSenior Bryce CaldwellSophomore Slade Dean
