Roo Doo’s Wild Life Park Owners, JR and Kristen Wheeler, visited Mansfield Elementary School yesterday to introduce their new program, “Wild About Reading.” Kristen Wheeler, former Mansfield Elementary teacher and dyslexia coordinator now for Arkansas Virtual Academy, wants to reach the unreachable students. Their goal with this program is to provide every student with their own personal book to take home. Many of the kids never get a chance to have their own book. With this program, kids can enjoy reading at home!
Yesterday during their visit, JR introduced the kids to Walter, the albino wallaby. Students were amazed by Walter and his kangaroo like features. The Wheelers taught the kids about Walter’s habitat, the things he likes to eat, and how he moves around and survives in his environment. The kids were amazed and loved every minute of it. After learning about wallabies, students lined up at the door and the Wheeler’s daughter, Kiyah, gave each student a book to keep and to take home.
The Wheelers will be visiting Hackett and Waldron Elementary next to introduce their program to these schools, and then they will be returning to Mansfield Elementary after Christmas Break again for their “Wild About Reading” program. If you are interested in donating to this program to help provide a child with a book, please contact Roo Doo’s Wild Life Park through their Facebook page. The Wheelers said, “It only takes $1 to sponsor a child, and for some kids this may be the first book they have ever owned.”
Roo Doo’s Wildlife Park Owners Visit Mansfield Elementary
Positive City Progress Discussed During Council Meeting
By Tammy Moore Teague
The Mansfield City Council met in regular session on Thursday night and had an overall positive report on all areas of business.
After approving the minutes of last month’s meeting and the financial report, Mansfield Police Chief Boyd Farmer reported that the Elementary School will participate in an active shooter course on Monday. Additionally, that all officers are equipped with Narcan devices to administer in the event of a suspected overdose.
Fire Chief Stephen Haysmer was on hand to report on the fire department, advising the council that things were running smoothly. “We assisted in a structure fire in Hartford and have had many medical calls,” stated Haysmer. He presented the council with an application for a new fire department member. The council voted unanimously to accept Dylan Condray on the department. Condray has experience within other fire departments and looks to be an asset as Haysmer continues to build the fire program.
In the matter of public works, improvements continue to be made to bridges and roads. “The bridges look really good,” commented alderman Rick McDaniel. McDaniel also commended the sanitation crew on cleaning up the scattered trash on the side of the highway.
City Recorder/Treasurer Becky Walker reported on the success of the Bluegrass festival, commenting that there were at least 250 people in attendance this year. The event allowed the city to break even, with a small profit. “We hope to continue having them (Bluegrass Festivals),” Walker added.
In the matter of city announcements, Mayor Mike Gipson reminded citizens of the city-wide clean up, which will be held on October 20 from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Also the chili/bean supper, sponsored by the Mansfield/Huntington Area Chamber of Commerce, from 5-7 p.m. at the Mansfield Senior Center. The cost for the supper is $5 per person and all proceeds go towards the town’s Christmas parade.
Gipson also announced the Resident Press’ sponsored Meet the Candidates Night, which will be held on October 22, at the Mansfield High School cafeteria, 6 p.m. Additionally, the Christmas parade, which will be held December 1 at 2 p.m. and a Christmas Tree lighting on December 8 at 6 p.m. at the gazebo. Grand Marshalls for this year’s parade will be Francie and Alex Cunningham, in memory of long-time Chamber member, Jim Cunningham.
With no further business, the Mansfield City Council meeting was adjourned.
City Council Participates in FOIA Training Workshop
By Tammy Moore Teague
Mansfield City Council members, Mayor Mike Gipson and City Recorder/Treasurer Becky Walker met on Thursday evening with Arkansas Municipal League Attorney, Lanny Richmond.
The meeting was court ordered following a lawsuit against the city, brought on by former Mayor Larry Austin. –See related story. As part of a settlement in that lawsuit, council members admitted the violation and agreed to undergo a training workshop.
During the workshop Richmond advised the council on what constitutes a violation of the law, and what protocols to follow to avoid future incidents.
Mansfield’s West Fraser, an Industry Leader
By Tammy Moore Teague
West Fraser’s John McLellan, Procurement Manager and James Travis, Mill Manager, have 19 and 14 years experience respectively in the lumber mill business. And, that business is good!
Senator John Boozman stopped in last week for a visit and to discuss how the business is doing. “He likes to keep his finger on the pulse of how the business is doing and we appreciate the influence he has in helping us with funding and growth,” stated Travis.
In 2014, West Fraser saw the success former owner Gilbert Travis had maintained. Even through a housing market crash, which closed many mills down, Travis Lumber was able to stay in business. West Fraser ultimately purchased Travis Lumber as well as Bibler Brothers Lumber in Russellville. West Fraser is an industry leader with mills all across the United States as well as Canada. The Mansfield location leads District 8, which is comprised of 13 states including Arkansas.
The sister locations work on both the Ouachita and Ozark National Forests, which makes up a large volume of their production. “We feel very fortunate to work in two of the most productive forests within Region 8 and also the country as a whole,” McLellan stated. The good working relationship with the USFS is vital to their success. “We work well with the US Forestry Service,” Travis said. “We are very proud of our relationship with them.”
They operate with 28-30 logging contractors year round. Each of these contractors range from 5-15 employees. Additionally, they utilize road builders and construction companies to get all dirt work projects completed. “Logging contractors today really have it together,” commented McLellan. “They really know the business and are hard workers.”
West Fraser has seen continued success on the production side of the mill as well. Many of the jobs are technology based and the mill boasts one of the newest technologies in scanning capabilities.
Of course production is only one side of their business. Conservation is also important. “We feel like we operate a very important piece of the overall puzzle that makes up managing a health and sustainable forest,” said McLellan. “Every sale that we purchase provides us a renewable resource that we convert into timbers, lumber, bark, shavings and other products for the public.” In sum, nothing goes to waste in this efficiently ran operation. Their goal is to “improve the health of the stand for timber and wildlife while protecting the soil and water resources.” McLellan added that proper forest management is a win-win for everyone.
West Fraser’s operation is certainly a win for the City of Mansfield and surrounding community. The jobs and resources they put back into the community are vital. The local mill has been extremely successful in producing specialty timbers, which have been shipped all over the United States and abroad, including Asia and the Caribbean. The high demand has given way to some highly skilled positions within the company and multi-level job opportunities. “I feel like the young people graduate and just drive right past here and never give it a second thought, but there are a lot of opportunities to climb the ladder here,” stated Travis.
They aim to implement a recruitment plan in the near future. Additionally, they will continue to focus on improved safety, employee morale and retention. A special thanks to McLellan and Travis for the personal tour of their innovative operation. West Fraser is something our entire community can be proud of.
MMS 6th Grade Students of the Month for September
We would like to take a few minutes and recognize our 6th grade September students of the month. Teachers nominated a male and female student for their hard work and positive attitude that they have displayed throughout this current school year.
Our young man that has been selected as the 6th grade student of the month for September for many different reasons, but we are unfortunately unable to share his picture. He has been chosen by his teachers for his great attitude and leadership skills he personifies throughout the school day. Addison Bowman is the 6th Grade September female student of the month. Addison continues to work hard every day and sets a good example for all of her peers to follow.
We are extremely proud to have such great students at Mansfield Middle School and we are even more encouraged by the presence their parents are making in their life. Each student continues to lead their peers by positive examples and we will be saddened by the day these two young people move to the high school. Congratulations Addison and our young man.
Fun Facts about our 6th Grade Students of the Month
6th Grade Male Addison Bowman
Favorite Food: Meatloaf Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Subject: Math Favorite Subject: Athletics
Hobbies: Rubics Hobbies: Basketball/Sports
Favorite Movie: Fantastic Four Favorite Movie: Spongebob
Favorite Book: Phantom of the Snow Favorite Book: Deep Blue Sea & Mermaid Tale
Embarrassing Moment: Falling off scooter in front of people Embarrassing Moment: Laughing in front of a crowd or public speaking
Happiest Moment: camping Happiest Moment: Meeting my BFF at school
Future Aspirations: Work hard Future Aspirations: Teaching K-1st Grade
Favorite Color: Blue Favorite Color: Purple
Funniest School Memory: Eating snow cones with friends Funniest School Memory: Tripping in the hallway
Missing Waldron Teen Found
By Tammy Moore Teague
Waldron teen, Shayla Smallwood, 14, was reunited with her family in the early morning hours on Friday, October 19. She had been missing since 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon in an apparent kidnapping by the girl’s biological mother.
Authorities were able to locate the area Smallwood had been taken to by pinging her cell phone. That showed her location of the last signal the phone received to have been in the Oklahoma City area.
“She kidnaped her and then got scared when the cops up here starting looking for her,” stated Smallwood’s mother, Mindi. “She dropped her off on the side of the road in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.”
Thankfully, the teen was reunited with her family around 3 a.m. this morning.
Lavaca Lady Arrows – District Champs!!!
Photos By Amanda Hall
Thursday was a great night to be a Golden Arrow. The Lavaca Lady Arrows Competed for a District championship against the Hackett Lady Hornets. This match up has been much anticipated all season. It was the third time these teams met this year. The Lady Hornets won the first match in 4 sets, and then breezed through the conference, until the second meeting on October 2nd. The Lady Arrows went on the road to beat Hackett in five sets to claim a share of the Conference Championship.
Fast forward to the District Tournament. Hackett came into the tournament as the one seed and Lavaca entered as the two seed. Both teams had earned a bye to the Semi final game. Both Hackett and Lavaca had no problems in the semi finals both winning in straight sets. Fast forward again to the Championship match. This was destined to be a huge match with two powerhouse teams. It was everything you would expect it to be.
The Lady Hornets won the first set 25-17. The Lady Arrows rebounded to take the second 25-23. The third set was dominated by Hackett25-11. Lavaca then dug deep to take the fourth 25-23. And then came the fifth and final set. The Ladies of Lavaca would not be denied and took the final set and outright District Championship by a score of 15-10.
The crowd went crazy and the girls gloried in the moment. Coach Mark Headley said this about the match, “WOW, what a night! Great atmosphere…so thankful for the fans who came out and supported us… They made a huge difference. These girls are unbelievable…showed a ton of resilience tonight!”
Lavaca will be heading to Crowley’s Ridge Academy in Paragould on Tuesday at 5:00 as they start their bid for a State title. Congratulations Lady Arrows and good luck in State.
As Always,
Go Arrows!!
Arrow Pride!!
Black Powder Offers Early Shot at Whitetails
Article by Jim Harris
Deer hunting with a muzzleloader in Arkansas offers a chance to harvest a deer earlier than any other method other than archery. This year’s season opens Saturday, Oct. 20, in nearly every deer zone in Arkansas and will continue through Oct. 20.
Brad Carner, the chief of wildlife management for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, plans to be in the public hunting woods Saturday with his 12-year-old son like many mentors passing down the knowledge and excitement of deer hunting. “Growing up in northeast Arkansas, the season framework for the deer zone and the WMAs up there required for modern gun season that you use a shotgun with slugs or a muzzleloader, so I started out using a muzzleloader there for the modern gun season and I’ve used one for 25 years,” Carner said.
The muzzleloading season has become tradition for the Carner family, he said. Carner’s son has hunted with a muzzleloader for the last 3 years and took his first deer with the gun at age 9. Carner’s wife, who “has harvested three or four deer,” he said, took her first buck during a muzzleloader season.
“It’s a good option for hunting,” Carner said. “Deer are in their pre-rut activities and still can be locked on a food source, but you’re also starting to see some buck activity on the trees now of rubs and scrapes, the precursor of the heavy rut activity that people start to see at the beginning of modern gun season.”
Ralph Meeker, the AGFC’s deer program coordinator, says this week’s spate of wet cold weather should set up for a fine weekend for the muzzleloading enthusiast and may attract more hunters than usual. Like Carner, Meeker plans to be out among the other deer hunters with a muzzleloader this weekend.
“It’s typically one of my top two favorite ways to hunt deer, along with archery,” Meeker said. “It just provides an early season and then a late season (in December for three days) opportunity. And, it seems like you’re able to connect to the more traditional style of hunting when you’ve got one shot. You take a little bit more time, you have to be a little more patient. The range is a lot different, much shorter than a centerfire rifle.”
Both Meeker and Carner note the technological advances in muzzleloaders in the past decade that have led to guns with an average range of 75-100 yards, but which can stretch out comfortably for some shooters to 150 yards or more. Hunting with a bow, Meeker says, usually means you’re targeting a deer 25-35 yards away.
“During the early days of our muzzleloader seasons, they really were primitive weapons with limited range,” Carner said, recalling starting with a musket-like Hawken muzzleloader with an open sight and a range of about 50-60 yards. “Now, you have the inline muzzleloader and the ability to have a nice scope on there … With the technical implementations, a limited range is not necessarily the case now. The effective range has been greatly extended.”
Carner suggests a newcomer familiarize himself or herself with the firearm and all its components, and not just the powder needed and type of bullet to use, before opening morning. “Practice and know the effective range of your muzzleloader,” he said.Carner lives in central Arkansas now but often will return to where he grew up hunting deer with a muzzleloader, in northeast Arkansas. As wildlife division chief, Carner says, he likes to visit as many WMAs as he can during the hunting seasons.
Meeker says that the first weekend of muzzleloader season usually sees an average of 7,000 to 9,000 deer harvested, and about 25,000 to 30,000 taken with a muzzleloader annually, or about 13 percent of the total deer harvest. Compare that to the expected 35,000 on average that Arkansas hunters take the opening weekend of modern gun deer season.
“Our total deer harvest has kind of stabilized to a little over 200,000 a year,” he said. “We’re expecting a similar number this year. We’ve had some odd weather, a fairly wet spring and a short, dry summer, and it’s starting to rain again.”
The weather patterns, he said, have caused some problems with the muscadines, persimmons and acorns that deer like to forage. Acorns in many areas have already fallen. So, a successful muzzleloading hunter will be wise to search out a good food source this weekend, he said. “You will improve your chances dramatically,” Meeker said. “There is going to be food out there for the deer, it’s just going to be used up pretty quickly. Late-season food plots will be good. The soft mast and hard mast will be used up pretty quickly because it’s already hit the ground.”
Refer to the Arkansas Hunting Guidebook at www.agfc.com/huntingguidebook for various deer zone regulations concerning muzzleloader use and harvest limits. The number of deer allowed per hunter with muzzleloaders can vary by location. Deer zones 4, 4B, 5 and 5B are closed completely during the muzzleloader season, but muzzleloaders may be used during their modern gun seasons.
Mansfield GT Class Tours UCA Campus
Pictured from left: Renden Emery, Zoe Hattabaugh, Blake Reano, Zach Shepard, Seth Fudge, Ethan Pettus, Delilah McKusker, Jesse George, Mrs. Dedmon
This is the Mansfield High School GT class during a campus tour to the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) in Conway. Mansfield currently has three former GT students in the Honors program at UCA.
Waldron PD Search for Missing Teen
By Tammy Moore Teague
The Waldron Police Department and parents Eddie and Mindi Smallwood are asking for help in information on their missing daughter, Shayla, 14.
She was reportedly last seen around 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. She is 5’1,” 110 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes. If you see her please contact the Waldron Police Department at 479-637-9106 or the family at 479-227-0283.