Toby Pearcy, 40, has spent half his lifetime as the consistent face of the local truck stop. His co-workers, community and the store owners celebrated him this week.
Pearcy has been working at 71 Express in Mansfield for the past 20 years. The community responded with congratulatory accolades. Leann Hurt shared “Congratulations that’s awesome! There needs to be more people like him in this world!” And, Sheri Hopkins added: “Congrats the store wouldn’t be the same without ya.” Others went on to share that they expect Pearcy to be around another 20 years, and that he a real asset to the business.
“Twenty years ago Superintendent Paul Wilson introduced a young man into our lives,” shared Kristy Ludwig, owner of the 71 Express. “Who would have thought 20 years later he would have made such an impact on our family and on our community. It has been an honor and privilege to have Toby working here beside us all these years. We are so thankful and blessed to have such an incredible young man who is so dedicated and loyal. We just don’t know what we would have done without him all these years. Thank you Toby for all your years of dedication.”
As it has been said many times, the championship culture at Charleston High School is pervasive in every sport and academic activity within the Tigers’ school district. And perhaps unlike any other, the Charleston football program is all about winning championships. This year’s edition of Charleston Tigers football is no exception, and head coach Ricky May and his staff will lead a young group of Tigers into the state playoffs Friday night at Alumni Field. As young as the Tigers are, this team could be set to make a serious run through perhaps three rounds, and who knows, maybe all the way to Little Rock. No doubt, the future of Tiger football is bright with all of their young and talented players, but the present is also bright, and Charleston could be a bit of a surprise this year to some other programs around the state.
Charleston enters the 2020 state playoffs as champions of the 3A-1 conference and hold a 8-2 overall record and were a perfect 7-0 in conference play. Inclusive in the Tigers eight wins this year was a win over the Class 4A Pottsville Apaches. Charleston’s only two losses on the year were to 4A powerhouses Ozark and Dardanelle. But true to the Tigers’ philosophy, the tough non-conference schedule paid off with an undefeated conference season and the forging of a tough group of young players who are now ready to make a state playoff run in Class 3A.
Resident Press File Photo (Ronni Tate Young)
Charleston will host the Mayflower Eagles from the 3A-4 conference on Friday at 7 p.m. Mayflower is the number five seed from their conference and finished their season 2-7 and 2-4 in conference play. Their record is a bit deceiving; the Eagles had three losses in non-conference play against Central Arkansas Christian, Southside Batesville, and Hot Springs Fountain Lake. In conference play, the Eagles defeated Little Rock Baptist Prep and Danville.
The results of the Mayflower season were:
CAC 35, Mayflower 20 (L)
Southside Batesville 28, Mayflower 13 (L)
Hot Springs Fountain Lake 35, Mayflower 7
Paris 35, Mayflower 7 (L)
Mayflower 31, LR Baptist Prep 22 (W)
Booneville 40, Mayflower 7 (L)
Perryville 21, Mayflower 0 (L)
Mayflower 27, Danville 7 (W)
Atkins 28, Mayflower 14 (L)
Resident Press File Photo
On offense, Mayflower is led by quarterback Eli Sanders. According to Hooten’s Arkansas Football publication, Sanders “proved to be an accurate passer in June.” Sanders is a good athlete at the position and will attempt to get the ball to sophomore receiver DeAndre Stewart who had a good spring going into the 2020 season. The Eagles got off to a rough start in 2020, but as the season progressed, many coaches around their conference commented that Mayflower steadily improved throughout the season.
Resident Press File Photo
Recently, I visited with Charleston head coach Ricky May. In our conversation, he indicated his respect for Mayflower, and talked about being ready to host the Eagles. “They’ve (Mayflower) got a couple of guys that can run really well. They have some explosive plays, but more than that, they are a lot like Cedarville; they just want to grind you. They want to run at you as much as they can and they will take three or four yards at a pop. And that kind of worries me a little bit; we did struggle against Cedarville with their backs. Hopefully we won’t struggle as much. But who knows, they are explosive. They rotate four or five running backs into the game, and all of them have different skill sets. They do what we call a “sugar huddle” where they huddle a few yards behind the line of scrimmage and then quickly break the huddle and jump right into a formation and go. It creates a problem on defense if you are not ready.”
Mayflower has shown this season that they will try to control tempo on offense by going quickly in one sequence and then abruptly change the snap count to keep the defense guessing and to prevent them from keying on the snap count. The Eagles are a team that is challenged by a lack of size and thus uses a lot of deception and misdirection to gain an advantage over their opponents.
Resident Press File Photo
Citing the Eagles’ improvement throughout the season, Coach May said, “I think early on in the season they turned the ball over a little bit, and I think they have cleaned that up. We are going to have to wrap-up and tackle on defense. We’re excited to be where we are at.”
Resident Press File Photo (Ronni Tate Young)
A Charleston victory in the first round on Friday night will propel the Tigers into the second round. The Tigers would host a second round game in Charleston on November 27 and would likely play Glen Rose. In fact, due to their top seed in the playoffs, the Tigers could host games in the first three rounds of the state tournament and not have to leave home until the semifinals. So, the playoffs are very much a one and done proposition, and the team and coaches will be completely focused on Mayflower and nothing else beyond this Friday’s game.
But, fans and people like me can afford to look ahead, and with this young group of talented Tigers, it would not surprise me to see Charleston in the semifinals and playing for the right to go to Little Rock for the Class 3A state championship game. That is a long way off, and there are some very good teams on Charleston’s side of the playoff bracket, but, playing at home is huge for the Tigers, and I believe that Coach May and his staff will have their team ready to go starting this Friday night.
Resident Press will have a recap on Friday’s game on Sunday night. RP will follow the Tigers all the way through the playoffs, including coverage of the Class 3A state championship game on December 19, So stay with ResidentPress for playoff coverage of the Charleston Tigers!
As the 2020 basketball season gets underway, the Waldron Sr High Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs are just three games in and already proving to be stiff competition for their opponents. Waldron battled their first two games of the season on the road, first against Fountain Lake and then against Two Rivers. Each squad fell short in their matches with Fountain Lake but only by a few points. The Lady Bulldogs finished with a 37-33 final while the Bulldogs logged a 44-42 ending.
The quarantine bug has hit the Waldron basketball program pretty hard in their most recent matches and although it has caused some hassle for the Lady Bulldogs, it hasn’t been enough to deter the girls who have continued to compete their rears off. The Lady Bulldogs took a one-point loss in their game against Two Rivers ending with a score of 41-40. Kadance Espinoza brought in 2 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 steal. Hazel Buesing earned 5 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal. Rheagan Sanford made 4 points. Jessica Ozuna got 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal. Hailey Stidman was the offensive head honcho securing 21 points along with 4 rebounds. And Summer Imperiali and Vivian Holmes combined for 7 rebounds.
For the Bulldogs and their faceoff with Two Rivers, the boys found their footing and gained momentum as they took home a 73-50 win. “Every player played with a lot of heart and emotion,” stated head coach, Joshua Brown. “We had tons of deflections and forced turnovers on the defensive end!” The Bulldogs snagged a whopping 40 deflections and 24 forced turnovers. Two players garnered a double-double in this game as Petey Justice scored 11 points and 12 rebounds and Caden Fuller made 12 points and 10 rebounds. Lidge Stinson earned 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals. Isaac “The Real” Villarreal led in scoring with 13 points along with 1 rebound, and 3 steals. Kason Moudy netted 8 points and 1 rebound. Ethan Mayberry got 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Trevor Hunt made 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Trenton Hunt obtained 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals. Peyton Lipham and Forrest Efurd combined for 6 points and 5 rebounds. And Jacob Daggs acquired 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
On Monday, November 16, Waldron got the WAC hopping with their first home game of the season against DeQueen. The Lady Bulldogs were first to bounce onto the court and get things started. With players still absent, the remaining girls stepped up big time, playing lots of minutes and pushing themselves to the very end. Each Lady Bulldog that hit the court was quick to apply pressure to every Lady Leopard that came into view. And even though Waldron took a 49-45 loss, it wasn’t from a lack of trying. Sanford was on fire offensively as she secured 20 points with 6 of those points coming from 2 over the top three-pointers. Sanford also earned 2 rebounds and 3 steals. Espinoza made 5 points and 10 rebounds thanks to her faster than lightning rebounding skills. Ozuna picked up 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Buesing made 1 rebound. Imperiali netted 2 points and 1 steal. Ward picked up 3 rebounds. And defensive dynamo, Hailey “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” Stidman, was fierce with 14 rebounds, 3 steals, and 9 points.
The Sr Bulldogs closed out the evening against one of the best senior boys’ teams DeQueen has had in a while. The Leopards not only play well together but they play hard and can score too. But none of that fazed the Bulldogs whose motto during the match was “anything you can do, we can do better”. “The Bulldogs had a nice win at home last night against a solid DeQueen ball team! Four of our guys scored in double digits and defense was all over the place. I’m proud of the effort these guys give each day. We talk about winning the day and they did just that! I love what I am seeing and when we return our nine other players, this group could be special!”
Helping to take the Bulldogs to a 62-43 victory against DeQueen and upgrading their record to 2-1 was Stinson with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 14 deflections, and 7 steals. Justice made 2 points. Daggs earned 1 rebound. Fuller netted 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 6 deflections. “The Real” Villarreal picked up 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 deflections, and 3 steals. Moudy got 1 rebound, 2 deflections, and 1 steal. Mayberry earned 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 deflection. Trevor Hunt got 4 rebounds, 2 deflections, and 1 steal. Trenton Hunt scored 16 points, 3 rebounds, 10 deflections, and 4 steals. Lipham made 5 points and 1 deflection. And Efurd got 1 rebound.
The Sr Lady Bulldogs will play again tonight at Magazine and both senior teams will take on the Lions at Gravette on Monday, November 23 starting at 6 pm.
If you have read any of my recipes you probably know I don’t like mixes. I prefer making everything from scratch! Maybe this is because if I have a mix I generally use it as soon as I buy it so there aren’t any in the house. But I also appreciate that it saves me money!
For a while I have been thinking about chocolate cake, funny enough I’m not usually a giant chocolate cake fan. But for some reason I’m craving one! I was actually thinking about the chocolate cake lunch ladies make, and well- here we go!
Ingredients
1 c butter
1/2 c cocoa
2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 c sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped nuts (optional)
Icing
1/4 c butter
1/4 c milk
1/4 c cocoa
3 c powdered sugar
dash of salt
Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time and mix each well.
Sift together cocoa and flour. Add to egg mixture. Add vanilla and nuts.
Pour in prepared 9×13 pan, bake 20-25 mins on 350.
To make the icing- add all ingredients in a sauce pain, melt butter, and stir. Pour on cake while both are warm, icing will form as it cools down.
Arresting Agency – Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office: Benjamin Odell Deer of Huntington was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 10 at 2:20 p.m. and remains at the SCADC. Deer was charged with petition to revoke – felony.
Kenneth David Niemann of Lavaca was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 9 at 1 a.m. and released on cash bond November 10 at 1:13 p.m. Niemann was charged with driving while intoxicated, third offense, careless driving – lane change, and fleeing – vehicle.
Jordan Lee Sanders of Waldron was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 10 at 7:15 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond November 10 at 10:19 p.m. Sanders was charged with assault in the third degree.
Kenneth Wayne Sharp of Bonanza was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 8 at 10:03 p.m. and released on signature bond November 8 at 11:21 p.m. Sharp was charged with battery in the third degree, and assault in the second degree.
Brent Lee Smith of Waldron was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 10 at 12:35 a.m. and released on signature bond November 10 at 5:43 a.m. Smith was charged with two counts of failure to appear – class B misdemeanors.
Taylor Raee Wheeler of Hackett was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 9 at 9:18 a.m. and released on signature bond November 12 at 12:10 p.m. Wheeler was charged contempt-willful disobedience (failure to pay fine), and drug court sanctions.
Adam Willhite of Mansfield was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 8 at 1:41 p.m. and released on legally sufficient bond on November 8 at 4:49 p.m. Willhite was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree.
Arresting Agency – Greenwood Police Department: John Michael Hill of Waldron was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 10 at 6 p.m. and was released on legally sufficient bond on November 11 at 12:10 p.m. Hill was charged with driving while intoxicated – third offense, and refusal to submit to a chemical test.
Arresting Agency – Mansfield Police Department: Nicholas Ryan Long of Greenwood was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 14 at 7:15 a.m. and released on signature bond November November 14 at 12:11 p.m. Long was charged with failure to appear – class B misdemeanor, and failure to appear – class A misdemeanor.
Arresting Agency – Arkansas State Police: Ely Rosendo Perez of Waldron was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 13 at 1:20 p.m. and is being held without bond at the SCADC as a fugitive from justice – out of state.
Amy Renee Torres of Hackett was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 14 at 1:35 a.m. and released on legally sufficient bond November 14 at 8:28 a.m. Torres was charged with driving while intoxicated – fist offense, and speeding over posted speed limit.
Arresting Agency – Fort Smith Police Department: Devalin Dakota Phelan of Bonanza was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 10 at 4:45 p.m. and remains at the SCADC. Phelan was charged with contempt – willful disobedience (failure to pay fine), contempt of court (child support), and failure to appear – class C felony.
Tracey Don Ratliff of Midland was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 10 at 7 p.m. and released on signature bond November 10 at 11:07 p.m. Ratliff was charged with possession of controlled substance – schedule I/II felony <2g, and possession of drug paraphernalia – ingest meth/cocaine.
Arresting Agency – Barling Police Department: Amy Jean Townley of Lavaca was booked into the Sebastian County Detention Center on November 11 at 5:43 p.m. and released on signature bond November 11 at 8:52 p.m. Townley was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia – ingest meth/cocaine.
*The charges against those arrested are allegations and the cases are still pending in the courts.**
There’s no question that keeping your home clean and hygienic is a standard part of being a homeowner. However, this process is especially important during the winter. With the dropping temperatures and occasional snowfall, many of us will find ourselves trapped indoors and exposed to some of our homes’ dirtiest places. These are a few crucial home cleaning tips for the winter months to ensure your environment stays healthy.
Cut Back on Clutter
If you have stacks of boxes taking up space in the corner of a room or a few books you’ve been planning to put away for a while now, now is the time to do it. When you leave clutter to sit around your home, it becomes a collector of any dirt, dust, or mold particles that happen to pass by. These materials are then more likely to circulate in the air and affect your health. Instead, do your best to pack away or throw out any unused items around your home.
Replace Your HVAC Filters
It’s also important to take some time to replace your central air system’s HVAC filters. As previously stated, harmful materials such as dirt and dust are at their worst when they’re circulating through the air. These filter components catch these particles and reduce how many of them are collecting on your surfaces. As such, switching your filters out before you turn on the heat for the winter can go a long way toward keeping your home cleaner overall.
Look for Dust in Unexpected Places
But when you do need to start dusting and wiping down certain surfaces, make sure you’re doing so in more than just the places you can see. Dust and dander can collect anywhere—and large enough deposits can start drifting throughout your home. To combat this, you should also dust in harder-to-reach places like behind the fridge, under the couches, and even on top of the ceiling fan blades. Pendant lighting fixtures also often need a thorough cleaning around this time of year, and you shouldn’t neglect your other lighting fixtures either. All the aforementioned areas are hot beds for more than just dust and dander, and they can take a serious toll on your home’s indoor air quality if left unkempt.
Winterize Your Entryway
However, one of the most crucial home cleaning tips for the winter months is to keep new messes from coming in from the outdoors. Whether we’re encountering dirty water, slush, or clumps of mud, we tend to track these things inside with us during the winter season. These messes can be a pain to clean up and can even cause stains on certain types of flooring. Therefore, you’ll want to winterize your entryways to prevent these materials from being tracked through the house. Boot trays and scrapers, as well as coat hangers, are particularly effective at this task.
There’s no question that keeping your home clean and hygienic is a standard part of being a homeowner. However, this process is especially important during the winter. With the dropping temperatures and occasional snowfall, many of us will find ourselves trapped indoors and exposed to some of our homes’ dirtiest places. These are a few crucial home cleaning tips for the winter months to ensure your environment stays healthy.
Cut Back on Clutter
If you have stacks of boxes taking up space in the corner of a room or a few books you’ve been planning to put away for a while now, now is the time to do it. When you leave clutter to sit around your home, it becomes a collector of any dirt, dust, or mold particles that happen to pass by. These materials are then more likely to circulate in the air and affect your health. Instead, do your best to pack away or throw out any unused items around your home.
Replace Your HVAC Filters
It’s also important to take some time to replace your central air system’s HVAC filters. As previously stated, harmful materials such as dirt and dust are at their worst when they’re circulating through the air. These filter components catch these particles and reduce how many of them are collecting on your surfaces. As such, switching your filters out before you turn on the heat for the winter can go a long way toward keeping your home cleaner overall.
Look for Dust in Unexpected Places
But when you do need to start dusting and wiping down certain surfaces, make sure you’re doing so in more than just the places you can see. Dust and dander can collect anywhere—and large enough deposits can start drifting throughout your home. To combat this, you should also dust in harder-to-reach places like behind the fridge, under the couches, and even on top of the ceiling fan blades. Pendant lighting fixtures also often need a thorough cleaning around this time of year, and you shouldn’t neglect your other lighting fixtures either. All the aforementioned areas are hot beds for more than just dust and dander, and they can take a serious toll on your home’s indoor air quality if left unkempt.
Winterize Your Entryway
However, one of the most crucial home cleaning tips for the winter months is to keep new messes from coming in from the outdoors. Whether we’re encountering dirty water, slush, or clumps of mud, we tend to track these things inside with us during the winter season. These messes can be a pain to clean up and can even cause stains on certain types of flooring. Therefore, you’ll want to winterize your entryways to prevent these materials from being tracked through the house. Boot trays and scrapers, as well as coat hangers, are particularly effective at this task.
New baby checklists are overwhelming, and most of the items listed as “necessities” are only useful if your baby is a certain personality type. Otherwise you have spent a lot of money on a product that will not be used. Each baby is going to have different personalities and like different things. Even my two boys have different preferences, but a few things I wholeheartedly recommend.
1. LARGE swaddle blankets- the hospital will likely give you small swaddle blankets, however after the first two weeks they are really too small for the baby. I have had a couple different brands between the boys and really don’t feel that the brands matter, the size does. Any large cotton or muslin swaddle blanket will work, just make sure its at least 40×40!
2. Baby delight snuggle nest- I didn’t have one of these with my first but I love it with my second! He sleeps in a wooden bassinet next to our bed at night, in the beginning when he came home from the hospital we stuck the snuggle nest in it to make him feel more secure. Now it allows him to nap wherever we are- fishing, swimming, my mother-in-laws, it goes with us everywhere and it’s perfect. He has to lay flat of his back (which is also the recommended way for babies to sleep) to sleep, he does not like being held while he’s napping.
3. Portable sound machine- our second baby spent a week in the NICU, so when he got home the world was very quiet to him! Thankfully I thought last minute to get a sound machine and it was so helpful for us. I have a cheap one that can clip on his car seat, we also put it on the outside of the snuggle nest at night and set the timer for an hour. He would go to sleep pretty fast after turning it on because he was used to it. I preferred the white noise setting.
4. Wubbanub or pacifier toy- any thing that can help new parents find that tiny pacifier in the middle of the night. Both my boys have taken pacifiers and we have used the Wubbanub brand for both of them, but there are generic animals that clip on any paci as well!
5. A wrap or baby carrier- I have used a structured carrier and a wrap and I love both. Because I have worn them tandem a couple times I prefer the Moby wrap for the baby and the structured carrier for my oldest boy.
The 5 month old was dead set on looking miserable and at the ground, but he does enjoy the wrap.
In August of 2013, an eager young hopeful approached Northwest Scott Fire Chief Donnie Adkins. He wanted to join the Junior Firefighter program. Four and a half years later, the 18 year old Jason Moore is an Arkansas Fire Training Academy graduate.
“His Dad and Mom, Terry and Rhonda Moore, were both members of NW Scott VFD…” explained Adkins. “I told him yes he could join, with conditions…” Those stipulations were that Moore maintain a “C” grade point, a pledge that his homework would come before any fire department event, and that he present copies of progress reports to be included in his department folder. That evening, it was official. Moore became a junior firefighter.
Moore attended every training class, and event, accumulating 307 astounding hours. “This young man came to me again and said chief I want to go to the fire academy to get my firefighter two and work as a career firefighter….I said sure thing,” added Adkins.
Adkins filled out all the necessary paperwork to send Moore to the Arkansas Fire Academy as a sponsorship, at no expense. “The first seven days is all first responder, which he passed…Then, he started his firefighter standards for eight weeks.”
Moore’s plan hit a snag due to COVID-19. “He contacted me and said they shutting down the academy and sending everyone home…”
In August of 2020, Moore was able to finish and graduate from the Arkansas Fire Academy. According to Chief Donnie Adkins, Moore is now awaiting a spot on a paid fire department.
With the way this year is going the holidays are going to look different for so many. Because of the virus many people may choose not to celebrate in the ways they always have. I know for my family we will be doing Thanksgiving and likely later Christmas differently.
But we will also be starting a new tradition this year. My best friend texted a couple months ago and asked if we could do a “Friendsgiving”. I am always game for food and hanging out with my friend and her family! Of course the answer was YES!
“Friendsgiving” started its climb to being a well known term in 2013, and has been gaining popularity ever since. It began as a popular experience for college kids who were not going to be able to make it home to their families and were celebrating with friends instead.
Because our families will have a different Thanksgiving experience this year it is really a breath of fresh air to have something new. We have quarantined with them in a way, because we have seen each other throughout the pandemic so this seems like a simple choice to continue seeing each other.
On the menu was chicken, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, macaroni and cheese, green beans with bacon, and Oreo dirt cake. It was all delicious and ate with lots of laughter! Our three year olds enjoyed lunchables and playing.
Finding a normal this year seems to be next to impossible; it’s just a rough year. If your holidays are looking different, perhaps you can find someone you are already seeing and celebrate with them. Or focus on being together with those in your home.
