Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Facility on the evening of March 24. According to the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, 10 juveniles were arrested and transported to the Sebastian County Juvenile Detention Center.
This was the second report on the facility from over the weekend. Earlier reports show one inmate was arrested and charged with third degree battery (inmate on inmate.)
On Sunday evening, Captain Pevehouse said an “initial report came in that juveniles were loose on the grounds, but inside the fence, and attempting to escape.”
No one escaped, and the facility was securely locked down. The disruption was caused by males fighting. Those 10 juveniles were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
This past Saturday, our area kicked off the beginning of a new era as the Ouachita Reapers played their first game at their new home in Waldron. Although they suffered a 44-0 loss to the Arkansas Silverbacks, the feeling of merely being at a Semi-Pro football game was electric.
Ouachita Reapers vs Arkansas Silverbacks
The Ouachita Reapers played toe to toe with the Silverbacks ending the first quarter only down 6-0. Their “Ground and Pound” offense smashed the Silverbacks in the mouth on each offensive play and the Reaper defense swarmed to the ball making big hits. As the game went on, more players turned out for the Silverbacks allowing them to sub out players consistently as the Reapers played with what they had. The Reapers were forced to play many players on both sides of the ball creating noticeable exhaustion on the squad. The Silverbacks took advantage of the Reapers exhaustion and ran away with the game from there.
#39 Eric Sorenson going in for the takedown
With the game closing out and the rain moving in, you’d think players would be hanging their heads and fans would be clearing the stands, but that was not the case. Fans broke out umbrellas to stick it out until the bitter end. An injured Reaper even took time to take cover with a young fan in the stands to talk with him.
#20 JoJo Wright running the ball
Considering all things going against the Ouachita Reapers in their first game of the season, it was a success to many. The Reapers will be at home again this Saturday, March 30 as they face off against the Dallas Bulldogs at 3:00 p.m. Come out and pack the stands for the, no, OUR Ouachita Reapers.
Ouachita Reapers
Organiser and player, Wesley Allen Schuller, had this to say about the game. “Although the final score was lopsided, we still played a good game. Our offense was able to move the ball on the ground decently. We definetly need to get more players though. Exhaustion and injuries will pile up quick.”
Last week the State Procurement Office deemed Rights of Passage, the vendor awarded the juvenile services’ contract, as ineligible.
The $15.8 million contract was contested by a second bidder, Youth Opportunity Investments. YOI claimed that ROP was ineligible to run the facility, although it does currently operate a center in Alexander, AR. Edward Armstrong, director of the Office of State Procurement, agreed with YOI’s claim.
The decision of the Office of State Procurement is final. Officials have stated that this does not affect the timeline of transfer from state services to a private sector.
The operational start-up of the Harrisburg, Dermott, Lewisville and Mansfield facilities are set to begin on July 1, 2019.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will hold public meetings in Waldron, Mountain Home and Mountain View in the next few weeks to speak about the need for an expansion of the current Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone for deer and elk. Recent test results from CWD-positive deer along the outer edge of the zone boundary have caused the AGFC to consider expanding the current CWD Management Zone to include Baxter, Scott and Stone counties.
Biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission identified 238 new positive cases of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer and three elk during the 2018-19 deer hunting season. Among these were positive cases on the northern edge of Scott County and the eastern edge of Searcy County. To ensure compliance with the AGFC Code of Regulations, any county where a wild or captive cervid tests positive for CWD and any county within a 10-mile buffer of a positive CWD sample will be included in CWD management zone regulations.
“As we continue to learn about CWD in Arkansas and determine the outer edge of the disease, we have to adjust our management zone’s boundaries in an effort to help contain the disease and slow its spread,” said Cory Gray, chief of the AGFC’s Research, Evaluation and Compliance Division.
Gray says biologists and other staff at the AGFC want to offer hunters and other conservation-minded individuals the opportunity to learn more about the disease and what steps the AGFC is taking to slow its spread throughout the state.
Inclusion within the CWD Management Zone will mean new regulations concerning hunting on public and private land within these counties, movement of harvested deer, and feeding wildlife, which can abnormally concentrate animals into close quarters and increase the likelihood of disease transmission.
The following wildlife management areas will be affected by new regulations concerning CWD: Cedar Creek WMA, Muddy Creek WMA, Norfork Lake WMA and Sylamore WMA. Within these WMAs, button bucks will now count toward a hunter’s antlerless bag limit and antler size restrictions such as the three-point rule will be removed. These liberalizations are meant to increase the harvest of young bucks, which are the most likely to disperse and possibly carry the disease further. “The harvest of younger bucks is much different than the quality herd management we try to accomplish with the three-point rule, and we know it’s a change many hunters may not understand,” Gray said. “But once CWD has been identified in an area we need to change our focus to strategies that first address disease management.”
Private land hunters in these counties also will see the lifting of antler restrictions and the change from button bucks being listed as bucks to antlerless. Deer harvest limits also will be liberalized on private land to help lower concentrations of deer and slow the spread of the disease.
Baxter, Scott and Stone counties will be included in Tier 2 of the CWD Management Zone’s carcass movement regulations as well. Parts of deer and elk harvested on private and public ground from these counties may not be transported outside of the CWD Management Zone except for the following low-risk items:
Antlers and cleaned skulls
Meat with all bones removed
Cleaned teeth
Hides
Finished taxidermy products
The last notable change to wildlife regulations for these counties is the restriction of feeding wildlife except when used for hunting from Sept.1-Dec. 31. Outside of this window, feeding wildlife will no longer be allowed, with some exceptions (see www.agfc.com/en/hunting/big-game/deer/cwd/cwd-regulations).
“Supplemental feeding and baiting of wildlife concentrates animals in close quarters, which increases the frequency of direct contact between animals and increases the chances of disease transmission,” Gray said.
Meetings are scheduled for the following times and locations:
March 28 at 6 p.m. — Scott County
Waldron High School Auditorium
1560 W 6th Street
Waldron, AR 72958
April 2 at 6 p.m. — Baxter County
Arkansas State University, Mountain Home Campus
The Sheid – Trout Center
1600 South College Street
Mountain Home, AR 72653
April 4 at 6 p.m. — Stone County
Ozark Folk Center, Small Auditorium
1032 Park Avenue
Mountain View, AR 72560
Engines revved, and cars are polished all in preparation for what is shaping up to be the biggest, most successfully Barling Cruise Night to date!
The event is scheduled for April 13, with a car show from noon-4 p.m. and a cruise from 6-10 p.m. The group SADA, Students Against Drugs and Alcohol, is the event’s sponsor.
It will feature a Spring Vendor Village, an area centrally located, where vendors can sell crafts and food.
Additionally, there will be live bands and all kinds of activities as classic and modern cars, trucks and motorcycles cruise up and down Fort Street in Barling.
If you are interested in participating as a vendor or an entrant, you can call 479-717-7717.
Members in the community of Hartford are coming together to work as well as reap the benefits of a community garden.
Hartford resident Lillian Marie Pearson took her two children to the community garden, which is located at the corner of McCloud and Hazel.
The family spent two hours working and picking up rocks. “I want to teach my kids about volunteering and being a part of a community,” Pearson said. “What better age to start than three and six. Since they are both boys who love outside, the community garden was the perfect opportunity.”
Pearson added, “I hope to have the boys help distribute the food as well so we can get to know our neighbors a little bit more.”
Volunteers initiated the garden, have given their time, equipment and seeds. Anyone who is interested in helping is encouraged to stop by and be a part of this community project.
Recently, a small town boy received big-time attention after his famous three point basketball shot dubbed, “Jaden’s Shot,” went viral. That video caught the attention of the famed Globetrotters, who were scheduled to appear in Tulsa, OK. The team extended Hackett student, Jaden James, an invitation to that event, where he once again made his signature sinker.
While James is famous for his dunking skills, basketball is just a small part of who he is.
James, 15, is the son of Brandon and Wendy James. His older siblings are Tyler and Brennan (Bubba) James. He’s also a sophomore student at Hackett High School.
His mom Wendy said, “Jaden’s passions for life go outside of ball. Ball is an important part, but more importantly is his joy of life in general…He truly enjoys going out and participating in sports…He loves to shoot, probably in part of the amazing aids he has had the entire time he has been in school…The gym has allowed him to continue to do what he loves, but it has also been a way that he can socialize with other students.”
James has overcome his share of obstacles, undergoing intensive therapy since he was nine months old. According to his mom, he has had therapy at Kisler Center in Fort Smith, BOST, home and school based therapies.
“When the original diagnosis of autism was handed to us at 18 months old, so were the ‘nevers’ that he wouldn’t be able to do. He would never walk, talk, pottytrain, feed himself, the list goes on and on…There are no words that describe that feeling when you aretold that your child has autism. You feel that your child’s childhood is gone. There is a time of feeling sorry for yourself, then you pick yourself up and put on your big boy shorts and take the bull by the horns. That is what we have tried to do everyday in everyway.
His parents recognize that having a sibling with a disability can be difficult on the family. But his mom says that James’ siblings have never seen him as different and that they’ve always involved him.
I have always said, ‘I am so honored that God chose me to be his mommy and that God trusted me because He knew I could give Jaden exactly what he would always need.’
Prior to his autism diagnosis, James was experiencing seizures. He’s been treated for years with medication and has been seizure free since 2013.
His mother said this is where his love of sports was born. “Whatever the older two were doing, he was a major part of it. With a lot ofperseverance and determination of his family, teachers, aids, and therapist we have overcome many of the obstacles that could have stood in his way.”
His parents have never allowed his diagnosis to define their life. “We have taken him everywhere ball has taken us following his brothers. He has had the opportunity to participate in the Special Olympics for years. This is the one time of year that it is all about him. We all partake in the day. He would of course rather socialize, but it is an amazing day, and it’s his day. We have been so blessed to attend school districts that embrace the Special Olympics and this year has been no different. Hackett Special Olympics has taken him to golf, basketball, flag football, and in April the spring games. We love allowing him to participate and we are there in the stands as his biggest fans.”
In addition to sports, James enjoys watching Dora and Blue’s Clues, going to school and church. His mom admits he enjoys the same things all typical teens do, a phone, tablet and tv.
James’ overcoming and joyful attitude is contagious, and as his mother said, we could learn a lot from him. Often times she sits back and reflects on what a wonderful world it would be if everyone saw others the way James sees them. “He never meets a stranger and everyone is someone special to him. He brings joy wherever he goes and leaves an impression on everyone he meets.” She recalled one distinct memory of him as a baby. “We were in Little Rock for a biopsy on his legs, and we were eating. An older woman had been watching us for some time, and when she got ready to leave she came over and told me that she ‘sees Jesus in his eyes.’ Wow, what a compliment and testimony of Jaden’s view on life. This is how everyone should look at people. He is a trooper for sure.”
No doubt he’s an overcomer, and he’s kept an amazing and joyful spirit through it all. His mom and dad admit that they have become better parents for having had a child with disabilities.
“We don’t know what the future looks like for Jaden, but one thing is for sure, he will always have his mom, dad, his Tyler, and Bubba to continue to provide him whatever he needs,”
Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), an American Electric Power company, has submitted a request to the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) for a net annual increase of $45.6 million in the company’s non-fuel base rates, plus $12 million for increased vegetation management.
If approved, new rates would likely go into effect in the first billing cycle of January 2020. The combined $57.6 million request would result in an overall bill increase of approximately $22.60 per month, or 24 percent, for an Arkansas residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month.
“We recognize that this increase will impact individuals, families and businesses. At the same time, we have made significant investments in generation, transmission and distribution facilities since our last Arkansas general rate case in 2009,” said Malcolm Smoak, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer. “We work hard to provide high quality customer service while managing our costs and continuing to invest in the electric system to provide reliable and safe power for Arkansas customers.”
The sharp rate increase has faced opposition, however. Many customers feel that the average increase of $22.60 doesn’t accurately reflect their average monthly bill with a 24 percent rate increase. For example, the average homeowner sees a $150.00 to $200.00 per month electric bill in the summertime. With the rate increase, they will see a $36 to $48 increase per month.
Hard work and dedication does payoff. Brianna Winchester has been playing the game of softball since she was 8 years old. She and her parents have dedicated themselves to perfecting her skills in the game. Brianna started playing in Lavaca’s ESCYO league and later moved to travel fastpitch. She has played for SWAT 02, Rapid Impact O2, and finished her travel career with So Cal Athletics Jendro/Dempsey. Currently Brianna plays for the Lavaca High School Lady Arrows as a shortstop and pitcher. She has traveled and competed in several different states; Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, and Kansas. She’s also been invited to several different College camps, Florida Ava Marina, New Jersey Fairleigh Dickinson, Missouri Drury University, Texas A&M Commerce, Alabama UAB, and Alabama A&M. Wednesday Brianna verbally committed to Alabama A&M to play D1 softball after high school. She will be visiting in the fall for the official visit.
Brianna’s Travel Ball coach, Brian Jendro posted the following “Well what do you know, our 3rd commit of the day. So Cal Athletics Jendro/Dempsey 2020 Brianna Winchester commits to The D1 Alabama A&M university. This kid puts in so much work, and now it paid off, she will play softball and get her degree from one of the best schools in the south. Congratulations Rusty Winchester you have raise a great young lady!!”
Jonathan Vire, Brianna’s High School softball coach, also wanted to congratulate her saying, “First of all I would like to congratulate Brianna on her commitment to Alabama A&M! Brianna is a big part of what we are trying to accomplish as a team, we want to be aggressive at the plate and on the base path. She has been a great lead off batter for us through our first nine games. She is leading the team in batting average, stolen bases, and in triples. I’m happy for her. It’s good to see that her hard work has paid off, and that she will get to further her career after she is done playing for the Lady Arrows.”
