Jensen asks hard questions. Jensen is my three year old. He’s incredibly smart for his age. I’m hopeful I am raising a child who will a leader someday. For now though, I have to live through the rough questions and odd demands.
Most recently he needed to know why we don’t have a compost pile like Mimzee (my mom). I didn’t have a good answer because until that moment it had never occurred to me that we needed one. He also informed me Curious George has a compost pile, so we need one. Like any good mother would do, I gathered my scraps and dumped them on the ground off the back porch. Boom, our compost pile was born!
To make my life easier I found a container with a lid to hold the peelings, egg shells, etc. that comes out of the kitchen. This keeps me from running out the back door several times a day, but also keeps gnats and odors out of the kitchen. When the container gets full I go dump it in our small but growing pile.
Additionally we will add dead leaves and hay to our compost, as well as some newspapers. Coffee grounds, tea bags, brown paper bags, grass clippings, saw dust, and garden waste can all be added as well!
Make sure not to compost meats or other foods that are not primarily vegetables/fruit. Anything treated with herbicide or pesticides, diseased plants, or weeds should not be added to the pile.
Where you place your pile should be a big enough area for turning the pile and adding more. It’s also good to remember this is not an overnight way to reap rich soil, it does take time. Despite that, it will produce excellent nutrient rich dirt for your garden.
Are you ready to leave the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle behind and move to the country? At first, moving to the country can be a bit of a culture shock. To decide if it’s right for you, check out this guide of things to consider when moving to the country.
More Land or More House?
Your budget can go a long way when it comes to a rural property. This means you’ll get to decide how you want to spend your money, rather than worrying about saving it for a congested suburban home. You can get a large plot of land for far less money in the country, but remember, you’ll have to shell out a lot for general upkeep. If having a lot of land isn’t your thing, the money you save on real estate can go toward your dream home décor and design.
Commuting
Will you be staying at your current job when moving to the country? Driving from a rural town will likely add many miles to your commute to and from work. There are also unique challenges when driving on country roads, such as getting stuck behind a slow-moving tractor. Before committing to the country life, consider your daily commute.
Availability and Convenience of Necessities
You won’t find a Walmart or Target down the street from your new country home. This means you’ll need to get used to buying in bulk and taking fewer last-minute trips to the store for dinner’s final ingredient.
Keep in mind that some necessities may be hard to come by in the country. Poor reception and weak Wi-Fi are not uncommon, especially if a bad storm rolls through.
Neighbors
The last thing to consider when moving to the country is the lack of neighbors. If you’re looking for a quiet place away from others, the country will be perfect for you. However, if isolation isn’t your forte, don’t expect to see too many neighbors around. Your nearest neighbors may be a car ride away.
There’s a lot to think about when deciding whether moving to the country is right for you. Keep these four considerations at the forefront to help you make the right choice.
As the old saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together”, and that could be said for Thursday night’s game in Paris where the Eagles hosted the Cossatot River Eagles. Cossatot made the two-hour plus trip to Paris to play junior and senior boys make-up games that were postponed earlier in the month due to COVID reasons. Paris fans who came out to the game were treated to perhaps a glimpse into the future of how good the Paris boys basketball team can become next year. The Paris Eagles got a big 54-50 win over the Cossatot River Eagles at Paris Gymnasium.
The Paris junior high boys lost a heart breaker, 34-33, in overtime on a Cossatot free throw with no time left remaining in overtime. A foul was called on Paris deep inside the lane on the defensive end with zero seconds remaining in the clock. But the junior Eagles showed tonight along with several other games they played in January that there is good talent coming to the varsity next year, and Paris fans can be excited about those players who will move up next year.
Following the junior high game, the senior boys took the court, and early in the game, it did not look good for Paris. Cossatot is a very good team and the Eagles took off to an early 14 point lead at the end of the first quarter. Paris scrapped with everything they had in the first to keep the game within reach, otherwise, the game may have been over in the first half.
Resident Press Photo
After trailing 18-4 at the end of the first, Paris played hard, tenacious defense coupled with maybe their highest field goal percentage from the field. Paris shooters came alive as the offense seemed to feed off of the defensive success the Eagles were having with Cossatot.
At the end of the first half, Paris had erased the Cossatot lead and trailed by just one point, 31-30. The momentum had taken a dramatic swing to the Paris end, and the Eagles came out in the third and continued their hard defense that eventually won the game for the Eagles.
Resident Press Photo
After the game, Paris head coach Blain Brewington talked about his pride in the team for their effort and their determination to fight back against a very good Cossatot team. Coach Brewington said, “We got down big early; they (Cossatot) shot the lights out. Our kids never lost their focus or energy. They just chipped away and chipped away. So proud of their effort and no quit mentality. Once we got settled, I thought the defensive end of the floor is where we won the game. Proud of how we executed down the stretch.”
Resident Press Photo
After a tough stretch in January, the Paris senior boys have now won two games this week. There will not be much time to enjoy tonight’s victory as the Eagles will travel tomorrow to Danville to play a Little Johns team that would like nothing more than to avenge an earlier loss at Paris. But, this is another game that Paris needs to continue its momentum going into the district tournament, as well as to end the season on a positive note to build on for next year.
Resident Press Photo
For Paris fans, who knows? The Eagles may have turned the corner tonight. There will be more tough games before this year is over, but the team learned tonight that they can beat a good team, regardless of the early score, if they keep playing hard, stay together, and continue to improve. Tonight was a milestone in the new program under Coach Brewington, and may be a glimpse into what life could be for Paris the next two years.
Additional photos from tonight’s game will be available tomorrow afternoon on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports. Additionally, photos of the Paris junior boys game with Cossatot will be available at Paris Eagles Sports on Sunday.
Resident Press will be in Danville tomorrow night to bring you complete coverage of the Eagles and Lady Eagles and their games with the Little Johns. Paris will play junior boys and girls games, as well as senior high boys and girls games Friday at Danville. First game tips-off at 5 p.m.
Congratulations to the Paris Eagles and their coach, Blain Brewington. This one was fun and was great to watch! As we have said many times, there are better days ahead for Paris basketball!
Fort Smith, Ark. (Thursday, January 28, 2021) — The River Valley Regional Food Bank, in partnership with Feeding America and PetSmart, will distribute pet food to the public on Friday (January 29, 2021) as part of the food bank’s Furry Friend Friday event.
PetSmart, through Feeding America, donated 32,000 pounds of pet food to the River Valley Regional Food Bank for the event. The food bank will first provide bags of dog and cat food to pet rescue agencies across the food bank’s eight-county service area beginning at 10 a.m., at the food bank location at 1617 South Zero Street in Fort Smith.
The food bank will then host a pop-up pantry pet food giveaway for the public on Friday afternoon. The public giveaway will also be at the food bank’s location and will be announced on the food bank’s social media channels when it begins. It will be on a first-come-first-served basis while supplies last.
The Friday distribution is drive-thru only, so the public is encouraged to please stay inside of their vehicles. Event staff will load the donations into the vehicle for the public.
The donation is made possible from the PetSmart Charities® recent $10 million commitment to the Feeding America network to help combat pet food insecurity across North America.
The 2020-21 Waldron FFA Officer Team (top row, from left): Advisor; LauraKitchens Vice President; Abbigail Stark- 16 years old, her parents are Kerry and Scott Stark, she graduates in 2022, and she wants to become an agricultural teacher in the future. Sentinel; Brooklyn Brothers- 15 years old, her parents are Misty Parsons and Wesley Brothers, she graduates in 2023, and she wants to become a veterinarian in the future. Treasurer; Kylee Broomfield- She is 15 years old, her parents are Jennifer and Matt Broomfield, she graduates in 2023, and she wants to attend SAU or OSU to major in veterinary and equine medicine. Parliamentarian; Jinjer Ward- She is 15 years old, her parents are Joshua and Tashia Ward, she graduates in 2023, and she wants to become a veterinarian in the future. President; Summer Imperiali- She is 16 years old, her parents are Ashley and Travis Imperiali, she graduates in 2022, and she wants to become a physical therapist in the future. Secretary; Lincoln Hale- He is 17 years old, his parents are Zach and JoAnna Hale, he graduates in 2021, and he wants to become a mechanical engineer. Reporter; Chayse Nelson- He is 15 years old, his parents are Amy and Mike Defoor, he graduates in 2023, and he wants to become a farm manager in the future. Historian; Rebecca Millard- She is 17 years old, her parents are Patrick and Vicki Millard, she graduates in 2022, and she wants to become a veterinarian assistant in the future.
When it came to Tuesday night’s battle between the Waldron Jr Bulldogs and the Danville Jr Little Johns, defense was the name of the game. The Jr Bulldogs wanted to have a good showing against Danville and by the end of the night, although they didn’t net the 39-28 win, they didn’t go down without causing a little chaos first either. Waldron has hit a few snags this season but with a roster full of potential, once they figure out how to get over the back and forth mental slump, they’ll be chewing up opponents right and left!
The Jr Bulldogs scored 22 rebounds, 12 steals, and 25 deflections in their game against Danville. Offensively and defensively the Little Johns could immediately tell that the Legion of Doom tag-team partnership of Chris Lopez and Kason Davis was something they didn’t want to mess with. This brute force put up 10 points apiece and led in rebounding while sending their opponents running for the hills. Rounding out the scoreboard with a combined 8 points was Scout Young, Kaden Rogers, and Logan Young who channeled their inner Three Muskateers and sword fought the Little Johns up and down the hardwood.
Tonight, January 28, Waldron will travel to Hackett for their second round of conference play. In their first tussle, the Jr Bulldogs won 31-26. “We are trying to finish the season on a high note and leave Hackett tonight with a win,” stated Coach Josh Atchley. “We will be a little low on numbers but these guys are hungry to continue to compete.” The Jr Bulldogs sit with a 6-8 season record while the Jr Hornets are 9-8.
The Mansfield Sr Tigers hardwood heartaches continued on Tuesday, January 26th with a lopsided 61-33 loss to the Lavaca Golden Arrows. It didn’t take long for Mansfield to get behind the eight-ball against the Golden Arrows. The Tigers struck foul trouble early in the game and Lavaca took advantage of Mansfield’s frustrations. With an offensive inconsistency, Lavaca exploded to a 31-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers found some life support in the second quarter though as the team finally began to mesh together. A couple of steals and defensive stops held the Golden Arrows back to only 9 points in the second quarter, but the Tigers still walked into halftime down 40-17.
Clint Stovall
Mansfield got some solid minutes from the bench in the second half as players rotated in and out consistently. With fresh bodies on the court, the Tigers were able to hang a few more points on Lavaca, but that didn’t last. The defense that had held the Golden Arrows so well in the second quarter began to unravel and Lavaca rolled ahead 59-28 at the end of the third quarter. The final 8 minutes of the game was a defensive battle as players from both teams played really good defense stuffing each other’s offenses from lighting up the scoreboard. Both teams combined only scored 7 points in the final quarter of the game leaving Mansfield with a 61-33 loss.
Braxton Byers
Codi Chick was held to 14 points in the game but that was due to a lack of playing time because of foul trouble early in the game. With Chick out, Lavaca was able to pin their ears back and flood the Tiger’s other scorers with tons of pressure. The pressure was able to shut down the president, JoJo Bailey, keeping him to only 5 points. A returning Tyler Escalante was able to play solid defense and bring down plenty of rebounds but was also stuffed offensively gaining just 4 points. The big men of the boards, Bri Sanderson, Zayne Dugan, and Drew Elmore combined for a total of 6 points against Lavaca. And Greyson Baggett and Braxton Byers rounded out the teams scoring with Baggett putting up 3 points and Byers putting up a single bucket for 2 points.
Greyson Baggett
With talented players and great coaching, it’s hard to tell what the cause of the Tiger’s downfall is but rest assured, the team as a whole is working on whatever it is. With only a couple of games left in the regular season and the District Tournament still to go, the Tigers are gripping the steering wheel with both hands to turn things around. The next turn for (7-12) Mansfield will be the (5-7) Magazine Rattlers as the Tigers host the Rattlers on Tuesday, February 2nd.
Talk about a wild and crazy week the Magazine Jr Lady Rattlers are undergoing so far. On Monday, the Jr Lady Rattlers experienced one of the most intense matches this season when they faced the Mulberry Lady Yellowjackets. Magazine built an affable 12 point lead but took a punch to the gut when they started to get into foul trouble with two of their top-shots, Jailynn Sims and Destiny Corley. “Destiny fouling out along with all our missed free shots plus Mulberry hitting timely threes, allowed the Lady Yellowjackets to slowly chip away and finally send the game into OT,” explained Coach Randy Bryan.
It was a hardcore fight to the finish with both teams delivering one blow after another. But it was the Lady Yellowjackets who sealed the deal with 3 seconds left in the game taking the 31-30 OT victory. Callie Nicholas led the Lady Rattlers with 9 points by demolishing her opponents like a wrecking ball taking down a building. Destiny Corley and Jailynn Sims acted like a modern-day Thelma and Louise on the court. This trailblazing duo played like criminals on the run from the law as they stole the show with a combined 15 points and 23 rebounds. And Joslyn Corley and Ainslee Chappell rounded out the scoring with 6 points by meticulously assisting anywhere on the court that they were needed.
The following evening, Magazine was back at it as they took on the Mountainburg Lady Dragons. Hitting the hardwood with the Lady Dragons for the first time this season, the Lady Rattlers rolled in to prove a point and prove a point they did! Magazine showed up big time delivering hotshots, supersized steals, and whopper rebounds. The Jr Lady Rattlers scored conference paydirt as they cashed the Lady Dragons check picking up a 35-17 win. Thelma and Louise (Corley and Sims) were at it again this time joining forces to earn 13 points and 26 rebounds. Gracee Franklin left Mountainburg feeling the “blues” as she snagged 9 points in the game. Dragonslayer, Nicholas, netted 8 points. And Kinzie Robinson and Chappell combined for 5 points.
The Jr Lady Rattlers aren’t done with the week just yet as they will host the Acorn Lady Tigers on Friday, January 28. With the exception of their game against Mansfield, Magazine has been playing exceptionally well and is looking to continue the trend for the remainder of the season. “Acorn looks to be in the upper echelon of our conference with great scoring capabilities. The winner of this game looks to assume 2nd place in the conference. I look for a hotly contested game with high-intensity play from both sides knowing what’s at stake.” The Lady Rattlers will go into this contest with a 5-7 total play record.
When it comes to maintaining the overall functioning of your home, one of the most crucial components to consider is your current plumbing. Not only are these systems essential for providing us the necessary drinking water to survive, but they’re also responsible for establishing our standard quality of life. As such, should your own pipes fail, it can leave you in a difficult living and financial position. These are some signs your home plumbing needs an upgrade, so you can get this renovation done before major problems occur.
There’s Evidence of a Leak
Water leaks are a common occurrence when pipes don’t have proper insulation or receive necessary maintenance. However, should these leaks happen frequently and in varying parts of the home, it’s no longer a small issue that you can quickly fix. This pattern means that your pipes are no longer strong enough to withstand the home’s overall water pressure, and they’ll continue to break and cause water damage. So, if you notice puddles or wet spots near your major systems, it’s time to consider an upgrade.
Your Water Is Oddly-Colored
Discolored water can also mean something’s wrong with your pipes. When a home’s pipes are clean and functioning correctly, the tap water will appear clear and free of sediment. However, should your pipes sustain rust build-up, this could begin to affect the look, smell, and taste of your water supply. As such, should you notice a change in any of these features, it’s vital that you think of your old pipes as a potential source.
Water Pressure Is Low
Another important sign your home plumbing needs an upgrade is if your water pressure is lessening over time. Pipes suffering from frequent clogs or leaks often experience a disrupted water flow. This reduces the amount of pressure used to push the water through them. In severe cases, your water flow could turn into a little trickle. As such, it’s crucial that you’re regularly testing for poor water pressure and getting your pipes replaced before bigger problems can develop.
Your Pipes Are Older
You should consider getting a pipe upgrade as well if you know your system is older. While certain types of pipes can last for a long time, they’re still exposed to large amounts of stress over several years of frequent use. So, if you’re living in an older home, the chances are good that you’re due for a newer system anyway. Acting preemptively is a great way to avoid potential pipe bursts as well as ensure that everything remains up to code.
The Mansfield Sr Lady Tigers won yet another big one on Tuesday, January 26th by polishing off the Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows. The victory pushes the Lady Tigers closer and closer to legendary status giving them the program’s best record in over the past six years. Even though the accomplishment looks great on paper, Mansfield is still determined to do even better on the court.
Brooke Wright
The Lady Tigers welcomed back their full team for the first time in weeks. With the return of Lita Hecox, Skylynn Harris, Serenity Brunson, and Kiara Thomas, Mansfield was fully loaded and Lavaca was in trouble. Mansfield went after the Golden Arrows quickly plowing their way to a ten-point 14-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Tigers’ defense was so dominant that Lavaca’s only score in the first quarter was when Mansfield fouled on a made three-point shot giving the Lady Golden Arrows a tacked-on free throw. The near-perfect defensive pressure continued for the Lady Tigers, but their offense wasn’t on par quite yet. That being said, Mansfield still walked into halftime with a commanding 26-8 lead.
Makayla Strutton
After halftime, neither team seemed to catch fire offensively. The Lady Tigers hung another 10 points in the third quarter to extend their lead to 36-13 while Lavaca knocked out 5 points of their own. Mansfield ran into a foul wall late in the third quarter giving Lavaca a head of steam going into the final quarter of the game. That was when Coach Joshua Bryan cleared the bench. In the final three minutes of the game, the Lady Tigers were able to get every player off the bench and on the court to give the whole team a proper “Welcome Home” gift. The gift that keeps on giving though is their season sweep against Lavaca as the Lady Tigers went on to win 46-21.
Natalie Allison
Although the offense didn’t reach their 50 points per game average against Lavaca, they still put up some pretty good numbers. Season leading scorer Makayla Strutton scored 16 points while her basketball twin, Danielle Lillie, landed 14 points against Lavaca. The returning Skylynn Harris gave the Lady Tigers their sweet soft shots with 6 points. Chloe Creekmore continued to move forward in her basketball skills by hanging 5 points against the Lady Golden Arrows. And Brooke Wright and Seven Sanderson dipped in for a bucket each pairing for a combined 4 points in the game while Natalie Allison rounded out the scoring for Mansfield with 1 point in the game. Although Hecox, Thomas, Brunson, and Sara Fisher didn’t score in the game, their defensive and set-up contributions were key in the Lady Tigers’ victory.
Danielle Lillie
The Mansfield Sr Lady Tigers have their eye on the prize. The prize isn’t a conference title, regionals title, or state title. The prize is the next game and that is the mentality they aim to maintain. With teams like Mountainburg, Magazine, Dover, and JC Westside on the schedule, the Lady Tigers can’t afford to look past anyone. Mansfield will next host the scrappy Magazine Lady Rattlers at The Jungle on Tuesday, February. 2nd
