The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the individual(s) responsible for vandalizing Dayton Baptist Church.
The SCSO was dispatched to the church, located at 2305 Apple Blossom Loop on Sunday morning, June 28. Vandal(s) had spray painted pentagrams on the side of the church, the van and sign. They also wrote “God Left Me On Read” on the sidewalk.
The total damage to the church and vehicle is estimated at $2,000. Pastor Robert Presson stated, “our faith is not shaken by all of this. We are praying the conviction of the Holy Spirit on those responsible and that they come to know Christ.”
Presson added, “evil hasn’t changed one bit. When I was notified, I was reading in Luke: ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.’
The church has been active in the outreach ministry, giving out Bibles and sponsoring the backpack program for kids. In fact, Presson stated that they will be hosting a Bible study this evening at 6:45 p.m.
The deputy visited with neighbors and nearby parties, and are seeking additional assistance from the public. If you have any information about the incident, you are asked to contact the Sebastian Sheriff’s Office at 479-783-1051.
Within the last two years, the sport of professional fishing has seen its share of changes, merging trails and anglers looking for something new. In some ways, it’s common place where others it’s a way of legitimizing the passions of thousands of anglers.
The National Professional Fishing League took a step out and in a new direction with the announcement of their newly formed trail to begin in 2021.
Anglers submitted their resumes, and the long process of filling available spots went into motion. Three of those anglers were notable names among Arkansas fishing circles.
Hunter Baughman, of Judsonia, Paul Browning of Morrilton and Josh Ray, of Little Rock were accepted and are now poised to take their fishing careers to a new level. A level where their expertise and talents will be tested among the best of the best on a national level.
Hunter Baughman runs down the Arkansas River near Little Rock.
Baughman grew up in a typical rural Arkansas home centered around a love for the outdoors. His accomplishments range from wins on multiple levels including team trails, and Pro-Am level such as Mr. Bass of Arkansas.
If you have been near Baughman, you’ll know his unique personality shines for spreading his faith, his love of family and friends.
My lifelong goal is to fish professionally and the opportunity to compete at this level happened at the perfect timing.
Baughman is approaching the NPFL series with a mindset same as he would with a Pro-Am event. But, he knows with the full field competing three days, he’s going to have to tweak his game plan and mental strategy.
Paul Browning taking off at a Bassmaster Central Open Photo courtesy of Bassmaster
Browning has competed on numerous levels within the Arkansas fishing circles, notably winning the American Bass Anglers District 50 championship, and recently making his Top 12 appearance in a Bassmaster Central Open at Muskogee.
The NPFL is a great opportunity to get my name out there and compete against guys who work for a living like myself.
Browning and Baughman will be travel partners for the 2021 NPFL season.
Josh Ray after a successful day on Arkansas waters.
Ray, who is a constant threat on any body of water made the jump and commitment to the NPFL after realizing it’s where he felt its where he needed to be.
Beginning his fishing career, Ray competed in the McHenry Bass Club based out of Little Rock where they fished Lake Maumelle and oxbow lakes from a flat bottom boat.
I never felt like fishing as a co-angler was for me. I was going to learnfrom my mistakes from the front of the boat.
Ray won the 2016 Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Central Regional on Lake Guntersville in Alabama. It was that event, and win that taught Ray the important lessons of “time on the water” and the confidence to be more consistent.
A title is a good thing, and getting a check is great but I felt like the NPFL offered me something on a national level which is something all anglers want.
These anglers are the quality of sportsman both on and off the water that will not only make Arkansas proud, but showcase the National Professional Fishing Leagues top tier of athletes.
For more information on the National Professional Fishing League, or to follow them on social media, visit their website HERE
In every house, you can expect to find certain things: stove, couches, toilets, refrigerators, etc. They are necessary and practical for living, and they’re at the forefront of the mind for most people when they move into a new house. But there are some not-so-obvious things every household should have. They tend to be things that are needed in an emergency but are good to have around all the time.
Carbon Monoxide Detector
Every house comes equipped with smoke alarms, but most don’t have carbon monoxide detectors, especially old ones. A good CO2 monitor will plug into any outlet and warn you and your family of an odorless and colorless killer in your home.
An Evacuation Plan
When an emergency hits, there won’t be time to think about how to get out of the house. Fires in the home will cause panic and lead to poor decisions. Devise and implement an evacuation plan for every room in your house. Map out the best ways to get out of the house and practice doing it. Hopefully, you’ll never need it, but it’s a necessary plan to have.
Toilet Plunger
This is without a doubt an emergency-type situation in a list of not-so-obvious things every household should have. Go ahead and giggle—it’s funny. People never think about a toilet plunger until the worst has happened. A toilet plunger is cheaper than calling a plumber to come over and having to explain what’s in there and why the water won’t go down. Anyone who didn’t have a plunger when needed will never be without one again.
Pocket Lighters
Even if you don’t smoke, it’s good to have a few lighters in the house. When the power goes out, they are great for lighting candles. You also need them for lighting the fireplace in the winter and the grill in the summer. Lighting a fire is our most basic of survival instincts, yet we ignore that instinct in the modern world.
Portable Charger
Cell phones are as important a survival tool as fire these days. If the power goes out or some other calamity befalls you in your house, you will need your phone to stay in communication and call for help. With the phone, you can search for information and find answers in an emergency. You can take advantage of the flashlight app on a phone too if you are without a real one.
Fire Extinguishers
Grease fires in the kitchen are at the top of the house fire causation list. Keep a few fire extinguishers in the house in areas likely to have a fire. Places like the kitchen, garage, and utility room are more likely to have a fire in them. Hang them in a spot they are easy to access in an emergency.
As of Monday morning, June 29, there have been a total of 10 positive cases in Scott County, four active, six recovered and no deaths.
“Most of our cases were caused from outside sources,” stated Scott County Judge James Forbes. “Even though things are being open up more we must still be cautious.”
He added that he is proud of the citizens of Scott county, “we have done really well compared to a lot of other counties,” Forbes added. “I do think that we need to continue being proactive in preventing the spread of this virus. Wear a mask when around crowds of people, wear a mask anytime you are in public buildings, and wash your hands numerous times a day.”
There have been a total of 435 cases in neighboring Sebastian County, 232 active positive, 198 recovered and five deaths.
Additionally, Yell County with 582 total positive cases, 231 active, 348 recovered and three deaths. And, Polk County with 72 total positive, 12 active, 60 recovered and no deaths.
Experienced and beginning runners are being welcomed to start Mansfield Cross Country tryouts with team training sessions starting Monday, July 6.
Mansfield Coach John Mackey has released his July calendar for any boy or girl from grades 7th through 12th that would like to run cross country. Sessions are open for returning runners, new runners that have enrolled into the district, and seventh graders just entering athletics.
Athletes are reminded that they must have a copy of their sports physical taken within the last 12 to 15 months on file with the school before practicing. State and local return to team activity protocols will also be strictly enforced.
“We’ve had several players already following their individual summer plans,” Mackey stated. “As a team we usually wait until July to begin group sessions. Those sessions will begin at the Mansfield City Lake Park starting at 7 PM on the Monday after the Fourth of July.”
Mackey applauded several of the Tiger athletes that have continued their individual training since school dismissed due to the pandemic. He also cited how a large portion of the Mansfield athletes from all sports have returned to on-campus early morning acclimatization workouts since June 8.
The Tigers are looking for any boy or girl that qualifies academically, has an interest in becoming physically fit, wants to develop self confidence, expand team comradery, and earn recognition. Incoming seventh graders in particular that are not sure of what sport skills they might have are encouraged to join.
“Our new seventh graders don’t always realize Mansfield offers multiple sport opportunities,” the veteran coach emphasized. “You can do football, volleyball, cheerleading, and cross country at the same time if you’d like. Coaches here work well with each other to give kids opportunities.”
The coach continued. “For example, last season we had at least three cross country runners earn all-district or all-region honors while juggling cheer, volleyball, or softball.”
Team sessions will be conducted on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays through the month of July. Participants should arrive at the park pavilion wearing face guards around 7 PM for screening/check-in procedures. Practices will proceed roughly between 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM depending on runners’ fitness levels.
As Secretary of State and Chief Election Officer for the State of Arkansas, I have been receiving many questions and have listened to the many concerns of the citizens of Arkansas as to the upcoming November election. We are fortunate in Arkansas that we have in place the means by which registered voters may request an absentee ballot. According to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 7-5-402 and 7-5-404, a voter may request an absentee ballot due to one of the following reasons:
• You will be unavoidably absent from your polling site on Election Day, OR • You will be unable to attend your polling site on election day due to illness or physical disability, OR • You are a member of the Uniformed Services, merchant marines or the spouse or a dependent family member and are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status, OR • A U.S. citizen whose residence is in Arkansas but is temporarily living outside the territorial limits of the United States.
Those provisions, as provided by state law, allow the voters of the state to contact their local County Clerk, and request an absentee ballot for one of the stated reasons. I understand many of our citizens may be assisting loved ones or are fearful of exposing a vulnerable family member to the virus. I understand that many are fearful of contacting or passing along the virus to others in the community. While my office continues to work with county officials to prepare polling locations, we are also anticipating and preparing for an increase in Absentee Ballot requests due to the COVID-19 virus.
It is my opinion and belief, that our current laws are sufficient to allow the registered voters of Arkansas the choice of going to their local polling location or requesting an absentee ballot from their local County Clerk. We are fortunate that our lawmakers had the foresight in crafting our election laws to allow for times of being unavoidably absent whether by natural disaster, war, or global pandemic.
At McDonalds and surrounding businesses around Greenwood, the tradition of “Paying it Forward” has been going on where the car pays for the order of the car behind them in the drive thru, or while in line inside the restaurant.
General Manager David Dusenbury has been working there since last October and has seen it happening for as long as he has been here. “Oh, I’d say its happened two or three times a day sometimes,” stated Dusenbury. “I’ve worked in other places that don’t have this sort of hometown kind of a feel and it didn’t happen there, but Greenwood really likes to take care of each other”
The Summer of Smiles t-shirts are available –here–
By Randy Zellers Assistant Chief of Communications
LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission voted unanimously to allow Class I electrically assisted bicycles on AGFC-owned wildlife management areas at their regularly scheduled meeting held Thursday, June 18.
Recent changes to Arkansas state law determined that certain classes of electrically assisted bicycles were not classified as motorized vehicles, which has resulted in some confusion on their use on Arkansas WMAs that do not allow motorized vehicles but do allow mountain bikes.
Brad Carner, chief of the AGFC’s Wildlife Management Division, said the change left the previous code language unclear about the use of electric bicycles on AGFC-owned lands managed for wildlife recreation. A proposal was developed to allow only Class I electrically assisted bicycles to be used anywhere a traditional bicycle may be used on AGFC-owned WMAs. Class I bicycles are defined as an electric bicycle with a motor that provides assistance only when the operator is pedaling and ceases to assist the operator when the bicycle reaches 20 miles per hour. Other electric bicycles are subject to the same restrictions as motorized vehicles on WMAs.
The proposal was reviewed through public comment surveys, with 65 percent of respondents who provided input on the regulation in favor of allowing the bicycles. However, some opposition was aired to possible conflicts with the many user groups on WMAs and concerns about interference with the quality of hunting on these public areas. Four speakers from the public spoke in opposition to the regulation, while one spoke in favor of it and its ability to help aging hunters access more remote areas on WMAs.
Commissioners had a lengthy discussion on many caveats of the proposal. While commissioners Stan Jones of Walnut Ridge and Ken Reeves of Harrison stressed using caution toward possible conflicts with other users of WMAs and keeping a close eye on the impact the vehicles would cause on wildlife, Andrew Parker and Anne Marie Doramus brought up the increased opportunities for outdoor recreation these bicycles may provide.
Carner stressed that the regulation would only be in effect on the 61 WMAs the AGFC owns and would not be in effect in the 78 WMAs that are owned by other agencies and organizations and cooperatively managed with the AGFC for wildlife habitat and recreation.
“Most of those are other public land agencies, like the USDA Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, etc.,” Carner said. “And each of those landowners all have their own access restrictions in what is allowed.”
Commissioner Bobby Martin of Rogers also was in favor of the use of Class I electric bicycles on WMAs and recognized the need to stay up to speed with the innovations in this growing industry.
“Multiple constituents are studying this,” Martin said. “And we need to move forward at some type of a measured pace on all of this, because we’re going to learn.”
This was the last official meeting of the Commission during Reeve’s appointment, whose seven-year term will expire at the end of June. The Commission unanimously voted to elect Commissioner Andrew Parker of Little Rock as the chairman for the next fiscal year and Commissioner Joe Morgan of Stuttgart to serve as vice-chairman.
In other business, the Commission:
Heard an update from AGFC Chief of Fisheries Ben Batten on the status of infectious pancreatic necrosis problems along with infrastructure needs at the Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery.
Approved new human resources policies to allow staff flexible work arrangements while continuing vital conservation work throughout the state in the shadow of COVID-19.
Authorized Director Pat Fitts to enter into a partnership with the City of Springdale to grant an easement at the new J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center for the Razorback Regional Greenway Trail to go through the property.
Approved four amendments to the captive wildlife code:
Transferred the authority of captive alligator permits from the AGFC Chief of Wildlife to the AGFC Chief of Fisheries;
Clarified Aquatic Turtle Permit requirements;
Added 439 species of snakes, lizards, turtles and amphibians to the agency’s unrestricted list, and
Moved boa constrictor from the permitted list to unrestricted list.
Authorized Director Fitts to enter into a contract to resolve an encroachment issue with a lakeside landowner at Lake Overcup in Morrilton.
Heard the dates for the Youth and Veteran/Active Duty Military Waterfowl hunt to be voted on at the Commission’s July meeting.
Approved the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Operating Funds Center Budget at $87,484,644.
Approved the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Gas Lease Funds Budget at $224,000.
Approved the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Black River WMA Restoration Funds Budget at $1,306,000.
Awarded outgoing Commissioner Ken Reeves his service sidearm.
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (June 24, 2020)–Arkansas Tech University is planning a virtual commencement ceremony to honor its spring and summer 2020 graduates.
The ATU in-person commencement ceremonies scheduled for Aug. 8, 2020, are cancelled. It is the second in-person commencement ceremony season the university has cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which also forced the cancellation of the ATU spring 2020 in-person commencement ceremonies in May.
“At the outset of the pandemic, we held out hope that we might be able to conduct in-person commencement ceremonies by August 2020,” said Dr. Robin E. Bowen, ATU president. “Our phased return as a university and a state continues, but guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Arkansas Department of Health indicates that it is not yet prudent to host public events the size and scope of our traditional commencement ceremonies. I am saddened that we will be unable to celebrate our spring and summer 2020 graduates in person, but the lack of a traditional ceremony does nothing to diminish their achievements. I am proud of and happy for every one of them.”
The ATU Office of the Registrar, which plans and executes commencement ceremonies at Arkansas Tech, has been making provisional plans for a possible virtual commencement ceremony since April. ATU spring and summer 2020 graduates are encouraged to watch their ATU e-mail accounts for details about how to participate in the virtual commencement, which will be made available online in August.
“While we know the virtual celebration does not replace the experience of commencement, we do hope students will participate virtually in recognition of their achievements,” said Tammy Weaver, ATU registrar. More details concerning the ATU spring and summer virtual commencement are available and will continue to be updated at www.atu.edu/registrar/graduation.php.
ATU is planning for on-campus classes and activities during the fall 2020 semester. A decision concerning the status of fall 2020 in-person commencement, currently slated for Dec. 11-12, is scheduled to be made in October.
The River Valley Regional Food Bank, in partnership with Feeding America and Rath Auto Resources of Fort Smith, will donate 240 bottles of hand sanitizer to the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House in Fort Smith.
The Cancer Support House, who is a member pantry partner of the River Valley Regional Food Bank, will receive the donation of 240 1.75 liter bottles of hand sanitizer on Thursday, June 25 at 11 a.m. at 3324 South M Street in Fort Smith.
The food bank applauds the work of the Cancer Support House and provides this donation to help ensure the safety of the Cancer Support House staff, and the clients they serve.
“We value our partnership with our member pantry partner, the Cancer Support House, and want to do all we can to help protect those with compromised immune systems,” Food Bank Director Tracy Engel said. “They do such an amazing job and we are happy to help them during these trying times.”
The River Valley Regional Food Bank would also like to thank Feeding America and Rath Auto Resources for helping us provide this wonderful gift to our community.
To stay up-to-date on food giveaways and other activities at the RVRFB, follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About the River Valley Regional Food Bank: The RVRFB, a charitable organization, is based in Fort Smith, Ark., and works to alleviate hunger by acquiring and distributing food to people in need. The RVRFB distributes food to approximately 170 nonprofit food pantries, senior centers, youth shelters and soup kitchens throughout an eight county region in West Central Arkansas. The food bank distributes more than 12 million pounds of food each year. It is one of 200 national food banks that make up the Feeding America network, and one of Arkansas’s six food banks that are connected through the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. The food bank is a program of the Crawford-Sebastian Community Development Council. Learn more at www.rvrfoodbank.org.
