Seven years ago, I wrote my first column for Carroll County News. It was the first of many, and I rarely skipped a week. According to very rudimentary math, I’ve written more than 250 columns since that first one in 2014. And today, I write my last...

B y the time most of you read this, Gideon and I will have the car stuffed with wrapped gifts, suitcases, pillows and blankets. I’m the kind of traveler who freaks out if their suitcase isn’t perfectly organized two days before a big trip — preferably, it’s sitting in the trunk long before those keys meet the ignition...

Usually by the end of November, I have purchased all our Christmas gifts for the year. Consummate planners know what I’m talking about. Buying Christmas gifts is an art, and it’s something you can do all year long to prepare for the holiday season. I love tossing gifts into the dedicated gift closet, watching the collection grow as early as February...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, as the classic Christmas song goes. Houses are immaculately decorated, children are sending wish lists to Santa and the Hallmark Channel is playing Christmas movies nonstop. Yes, for many, it is the most wonderful time of the year...

Every two weeks, usually on Thursday, Gideon and I venture to Bentonville for date night. Date night on a Thursday, you ask? I’ll explain. We kick things off on the drive itself, listening to my “Likes” playlist on Youtube Music. Every week when writing stories, I listen to Youtube Music’s “Discovery Mix” to hear new tunes — new to me, that is. The songs range in genre and release date...

This Thanksgiving, we have a special feature in Carroll County News. I spent much of last week calling local nonprofit leaders asking what they are most thankful for this year, and the responses reminded me why I’m so thankful to live and work in our wonderful community...

W hen you move into a new home, you’re preoccupied with a bunch of general stressors: moving the boxes, unpacking the boxes and finding someone to take all the broken-down boxes that now reside on your back deck. It mostly has to do with boxes. At least, that’s what I thought the first few months after moving in...

The debate rages on day after day, week after week, year after year. Gideon and I watched a variation of it on an early episode of How I Met Your Mother last night. Ted calls his girlfriend Victoria and asks if she likes cats. She says she does. Ted loses his mind — this must mean she hates dogs, right? What kind of person hates dogs? Can a dog person even exist in the same vicinity as a cat person? Wouldn’t they implode within five feet of each other?...

Have you ever had a day where everything lines up just right? The kind of day where the weather is perfect and you don’t have to wait in line for anything? If you ask me, not waiting in line is the recipe for a perfect day. When you throw in a few other ingredients — like good friends and a steal of a deal at Goodwill — that’s the cherry on top...

Samantha Jones' weekly column gets hijacked by her cat, Ghoulie.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so it’s fitting that it marks a major milestone for me. In October 2013 — eight years and a lifetime ago — I broke free from an abusive relationship. We were together nearly four years. The abuse started from the beginning, but I couldn’t see it until we mutually ended things...

It’s that time of the year again, when ghosts and ghouls adorn front porches and Sam’s Club sells pumpkins the size of Kim K.’s backside. October means celebrating all things spooky, whether you’re into telling ghost stories around the campfire or streaming a classic horror film like Halloween or Friday the 13th...

Another year, another birthday. Except this year, it’s a milestone birthday. I’ll celebrate 30 years of living on Friday, Oct. 8. Gideon and I have plans — some of which he won’t reveal — but right now, my biggest plan is to reflect on the past 30 years and everything I’ve learned about myself, other people and how to navigate this chaotic world around us...

Everybody at Carroll County News has their Bob story. After all, Bob Moore is so much more than our boss. He’s an avid hiker, proud husband, loving father and grandfather, quick-witted storyteller and a big fan of all things martial arts. I can’t count how many times we’ve been talking and I forgot I was talking to my boss...

Two weeks ago, my best friend Stephanie asked if I could take some photos for her. I’m always up for practicing photography, so I would have said yes no matter the assignment. But this particular photoshoot was special. Life changing. A day I’ll remember until my last day...

Regular readers of this column know I’m obsessed with horror movies. These days, I have a companion for most every movie I want to see. Gideon is truly the best. It’s nice to have him there, but sometimes I miss going to the movie theater alone. For most of high school and college, I was a solo moviegoer. ...

Last week, I wrote about the dissolution of a close friendship, something I’m sure many of you have experienced. In that instance, I was the person to pull the plug. But I’ve had plenty of failed friendships with a different trajectory: me hanging on tightly as the other person pulled away, all the while feeling like I was proving something by not giving up...

Four years ago, a close friend pointed out that we had been friends for five years. According to some internet meme, they said, that meant we would be friends for the rest of our lives. I believed them the way everyone believes their best friend: happily, openly and blindly...

Last week marked the third consecutive year that Gideon has gone back to school. Of course, he spent most of the summer working on professional development and the first few weeks in August getting his classroom ready. Being married to a teacher is a learning experience in itself — for example, I have learned to avoid making jokes about how teachers have the whole summer off...

Well, here’s one thing I can scratch off my to-do list. After fostering a litter of kittens for Good Shepherd Humane Society since April, Gideon and I have cut our cat cache in half. We were elated to find forever homes for all three adoptable kittens last Friday...

I am an avid budgeter. Gideon can’t take me anywhere, especially Sam’s Club, without being reminded to keep the receipt or else. Or else what? I’ve never had to go through with the threat, so I’m really not sure. It wasn’t always this way. There was a time when we couldn’t afford to shop at Sam’s Club or buy anything in bulk besides dry beans and rice. ...

Regular readers of this column know I’m a big fan of the horror genre. I love the slasher sub-genre the most, but there’s no sub-genre I won’t try. One of my favorites is the classic haunted house story. A family moves in, things go awry and before you know it, Dad is hearing voices and Mom is hiding the kids in the boathouse until morning comes. ...

Five years ago, I was a big ball of nerves. Gideon and I were planning our wedding, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go through with the big party. Of course I wanted to marry Gideon. I wanted to tie the knot the night he proposed. But the thought of cementing our union for the first time in front of so many people freaked me out. ...

There are few things I love more than seeing a really, truly stupid horror movie at the theater. Horror is my genre of choice, and I’m particularly fond of the slasher sub-genre. But I’m not picky. If it’s a horror movie and it seems far-fetched, I’m planting my butt in that seat on opening night...

Sometime late last year, I resolved to drink more water. A lot more water. Enough water to guarantee at least 10 bathroom breaks a day. Why? Well, my best friend bought a giant water bottle and said the average person should drink that much water in a day. And I realized that I had maybe one or two dedicated glasses of water a day — the rest was tea or coffee. I wondered if I’d feel better with significantly more water in my system, so I gave it a go...

My nana turned 70 years old Monday. We celebrated her milestone birthday last Saturday with friends, family and lots of barbecue. It was especially wonderful for me and Gideon to be there, because we hadn’t seen her in person since Valentine’s Day in 2019. That’s a long time to go without seeing the important people in your life...

One year ago today, Gideon and I spent the morning working with an Arvest Bank agent to see if we qualified for a home loan. We did, so I reached out to one of our friends who happens to be the best realtor in town. By the afternoon, we were touring a spacious, split-level home near Beaver Lake...

The number of COVID-19 cases has begun to climb again. Hospitals are filling up with sick people. People are dying. The one thing these people have in common? They haven’t gotten their COVID-19 vaccine. I worried about this when the mask mandate was lifted in Arkansas, and again when Walmart announced that you don’t have to wear a mask if you’ve been vaccinated. ...

We celebrated Gideon’s birthday this past weekend, more than a week after his actual birthday which fell on the morning of my oral surgery. Yes, he drove me to and from surgery, picked up my prescriptions and took care of me on his birthday. I got a good one, folks...

After wisdom tooth removal, hard food offenses are considered especially heinous. In the Jones-Keas household, the starving patient who is recovering from oral surgery has become a member of the Soft Food Squad. This is her story. I should probably spare you the dramatics, but I haven’t had a cracker or even a crumb in six days. ...

When many of you read this column, I will be sitting on the couch watching reality TV with four of my teeth missing. That’s right — I have my very first oral surgery on Wednesday morning. All four of my wisdom teeth will be removed, and I’ll be taking off most of the week to recover...

School plays and chili cook-offs and Good Shepherd fundraisers. Lively city meetings and Citizen of the Week nominations and rarely wearing blazers. These are a few of my favorite things about being a small-town journalist, but none of that is as sweet as attending end-of-the-year school events such as award ceremonies and graduation...

Of the many tasks COVID-19 has changed or eliminated, I have missed in-person interviews the most. Specifically, in-person interviews with young people. Talking with our local kids is often the best part of my job, and it really fell by the wayside over the past year and a half...

Fellow cat owners know we don’t really own our felines. Those cats have us wrapped around their little paws. They know it and we know it. That was true when Gideon and I had four cats at home, and it’s even more evident now that we are a house of nine cats...

Last Friday, Josh Duggar was charged with receiving and possessing material depicting the sexual abuse of children. Those of you who have been following the Duggar family were probably not that surprised, considering Josh’s previous transgressions. In 2015, a police report was released to the public describing how Josh molested several of his sisters and one girl outside of the family. ...

Regular readers of this column know that my husband and I lost our 17-year-old orange tabby cat, BJ, in March. Many people advised us to take in another kitty so we could keep sharing the love we had for BJ. Well, we still had three cats and one of them is particularly ghoulish — hence his name, Ghoulie. We didn’t have any immediate plans to adopt a new kitty...

It was the fall of 2013 and I was in my senior year of college. So many of my peers already had jobs and grad schools lined up after graduation, so I felt pressured to do the same. That’s why I applied to Teach For America, an organization that places recent college graduates in teaching positions at low-income schools...

It happened on Sunday. Gideon was working in his classroom so I cleaned the kitchen and swept the floors. Sweeping near the sliding glass doors, I saw a small black dot on the run. It was smaller than my smallest fingerprint, but that didn’t matter. It was a spider...

Last week, I received a quarterly lifestyle subscription box. This box has blessed me with high-end skincare products, nice jewelry and loads of hair care in the past. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so blessed this time around. Pretty much everything in the box was useless or obviously cheap, like a cup in the shape of a cactus that Gideon inexplicably loves...

When you have a pet you love, it’s hard to accept that they’ll never live as long as you will. That’s a tough fact Gideon and I had to face last week when we put our sweet kitty BJ to sleep. I’m writing this on a Sunday — four days after we said goodbye — and tears keep falling down my cheeks...

During my junior year of college, I signed up for a photography course. The course was required for my journalism concentration, and I was not looking forward to it. Writing papers came easy. Studying for exams wasn’t too bad. But mastering the art of photography? You might as well have asked me to chew off my own hand...

Last month, I wrote about an upcoming dentist appointment to repair some damage to my teeth. That appointment turned into another appointment, which was postponed because of the crazy winter storm mid-February. Finally, I found myself sitting in the dentist chair last Wednesday...

Last Friday, I called my boss about a project that would have been due at the end of this week. We came to a conclusion I’m sure many of you have come to understand since that big winter storm hit two weeks ago. We were behind, but so was everybody else...

Last Thursday, my boss told me to expect an arctic blast this week. I grew up in Texas, so I didn’t know what that was at first. As I write on Monday morning from my home office, I’ve come to understand that an arctic blast brings freezing temperatures, slippery roads and the urge to stock up on milk and bread as soon as possible...

I’m writing this column a day early, because I’ve got a date with the dentist on Monday morning. He’ll do some X-rays and tell me what’s wrong, but I’m pretty sure I have cavities — a lot of them. That’s what I’ve been focusing on, at least. It’s much better than anticipating a root canal...

My nana grew up with 13 brothers and sisters, so I had a bushel of great aunts and uncles. We’re not supposed to have a favorite, but I loved Aunt Susanna the most. She was funny, personable and inclusive. Anybody that grew up with a big extended family knows someone always gets left out. ...

On New Year’s Eve, Gideon and I celebrated making it through 2020 without contracting COVID-19. Perhaps we celebrated too soon. Last week, we both tested positive for the virus and have been on lockdown ever since. I’ve noticed that a lot of people seem ashamed of contracting the virus. ...

O n Wednesday, Jan. 6, President Donald Trump spoke to his supporters at a rally near the White House while Congress met at Capitol Hill to certify Electoral College votes that would make Joe Biden the 46th president of the United States. Trump again reiterated the false claim that the election was stolen from him and encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building...

From the looks of it, we were all excited to leave 2020 behind us last week.

With Christmas coming up so soon, many of us are spending this week wrapping presents, writing grocery lists and decking the halls with holiday decorations. These are normal activities in the days leading up to Christmas, but this holiday season has been anything but normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic...

Growing up in Texas, I didn’t have very many snow days. My school dismissed us if there was even a small chance of flurries — that’s how woefully unprepared we were for winter storms. When I moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2014, I was elated at the prospect of an actual snowfall...

It would be an understatement to say 2020 has been a strange year. Many of us have spent months in isolation, and some still are. Gideon and I worked from home together for about three months this year, a stark contrast from past years when I worked days and he worked nights...

This past weekend, I received the sad news that Randy Rust passed away. Many of you will recognize his name, but those of you who don’t will recognize his work. Randy was a talented artist and an integral part of the Berryville mural restoration project. That’s actually how I met him five years ago...

This past weekend, Gideon and I made some tough decisions. We canceled our Thanksgiving plans with friends, opting to celebrate the holiday just the two of us. Then during a talk with my mom, I decided to cancel Christmas, too. To put it eloquently, this sucks...

Every morning on the way to work, I listen to the radio for the news and weather reports. This morning’s broadcast was particularly interesting to me. According to our regional radio stations, the CDC has announced that wearing a face mask doesn’t just protect everyone around you from contracting COVID-19 — it protects you, too!...

This past Saturday, we learned the results of possibly the most divisive presidential election in United States history. Joe Biden was named president-elect and Kamala Harris was named vice president-elect in an extraordinarily close race. Two days later, President Donald Trump has failed to concede the election. ...

“Oh, I can’t do that.” We hear people say it all the time. Whether it’s a new skill or a big change, people are very good at putting themselves in a box and deciding there’s no way out. Some will say it’s entirely too optimistic to believe you can do anything you set your mind to, and that’s partially true. Everyone has limits, but there’s only one way to discover what those limits are...

In our house, chores aren’t divided so evenly. Gideon does all the cooking, pet care, vacuuming and sweeping. I help clean the kitchen once or twice a week, but my main duties are grocery shopping, budgeting and laundry. I’ll mop the floor if it gets really nasty — that’s a big if...

In a word, the past few months have been chaotic. Gideon and I bought our first home in August and moved in early that month. One of our friends suggested that we hire a moving company, but we were already spending thousands of dollars just to get into the home. I couldn’t imagine spending anything extra. In hindsight, we should have hired the movers...

A few months ago, our nation watched in horror as George Floyd died with a police officer’s knee on his neck. Floyd uttered the now famous sentence, heard at protests throughout the country: “I can’t breathe.” Reading about Floyd’s story — and the story of many black men like him — I couldn’t breathe either. ...

I’m writing this week’s column from my home office, something I’ll be doing for the next few weeks. That’s because my husband, Gideon, has come down with something that looks an awful lot like COVID-19. I don’t have any symptoms yet, or hopefully ever, but there’s no way to predict what’s going to happen a day, a week or a month from now...

“Here we go again,” I’m sure some of you are thinking. “Is this woman writing another column chiding people for not wearing a mask?” You’re darn right I am! As regular readers know, my husband, Gideon, is a teacher at Eureka Springs Middle School. He and his colleagues have resumed teaching in-person and the anxiety over transmitting COVID-19 is real. There hasn’t been a major breakout yet, but our educational leaders go to work every day knowing there could be...

Last Friday, I talked to my grandparents for about an hour. I hadn’t spoken to them much since Christmas, so it was good to catch up. They asked about the house Gideon and I recently purchased and I told them all the details. It has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, a screened-in porch and a view of the lake depending on the season. ...

After moving into our first home a few weeks ago, Gideon and I were serious about fostering kitties for Good Shepherd Humane Society. We are a cat-loving household — the more, the better! That’s why we were so excited when three orphaned kittens were left at Good Shepherd two weeks ago. It was our chance to take care of those sweet babies, to ensure that they could survive without a mama cat to rely on...

Next Monday is a big day for Carroll County parents, children and educators. It’s the first day that teachers will see their students in more than five months after in-person instruction halted in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s as exciting as it is scary for our local teachers, who have had to completely change the way they work to ensure safety for everyone...

This is a big week in the Jones-Keas household. After six years of living in a two-bedroom apartment, more than a month of working with a realtor and four long days of sorting, moving and cleaning, Gideon and I have moved into our first home together. Would you all collectively pinch me? It still doesn’t feel real!...

Being a journalist isn’t easy. You are constantly exposed to new situations that your formal education did not prepare you for. You have to think on your feet, question everything and keep a cool head at all times. If you look below the surface, you often discover a story hidden in the weeds. But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar — the trick is knowing what’s real and what’s not...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone a little differently, with many of us changing the way we work. Some of us began working from home, while others had their hours cut. I am one of the lucky folks who continued to work full time during the pandemic, but I did much of that work from my kitchen table. ...

Last Thursday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that Arkansans will be required to wear masks in public places starting Monday, July 20. It didn’t take long for state Sen. Bob Ballinger to issue his own statement on the mask mandate, posting a video on Facebook in the midst of a vacation to Florida...

For much of the past two weeks, I have been working on our upcoming edition of Currents Magazine. Currents is one of the fun things we do at Carroll County Newspapers. The stories have more flair than what we’d write for the weekly paper, the photographs are beautiful and they marry to form a glossy, high-quality publication every time...

Like many of you, I am a creature of habit. I enjoy a version of the same lunch every day, follow the same workout video five days a week and constantly find myself binging TV shows I’ve seen a hundred times already. Consistency is comforting. It’s safe...

Even though it shouldn’t be, I have a feeling this column will be unpopular with some  of our readers. That’s why I want to state the facts right out of the gate. Here it goes. We are living in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. The number of deaths has decreased in many countries but continues to increase in the United States. Northwest Arkansas, the region in which we live, is a national hot spot for COVID-19 deaths...

Pretty much every year since I was born, I have dreaded summer. I grew up in Texas where you start sweating just thinking about going outside in July. In Texas, the seasons are hot summer, moderate summer, cool summer and moderate summer all over again. Texans sweat year round, even on Christmas...

Three years ago, I wrote a column about the power of forgiveness in regard to my relationship with my dad. Regular readers know that I didn’t grow up playing catch with my dad after school or taking him to father-daughter dances. Some years he would come see me on my birthday, and other years he’d seemingly forget altogether. I learned to fear the moments he paid any attention to me, because there was no guarantee they would last longer than a moment...

Growing up, you’d be hard pressed to find me without some kind of writing utensil in my hand. I have loved to read and write for as long as I can remember, especially when it comes to poetry. Like any art, my writing is inspired by the writers that came before me. This week, I’d like to share my favorite poem by Langston Hughes. It was written in 1935 and is very much relevant today...

F our years ago, I wrote a column about the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Sterling and Castile were killed by cops one day apart, one on the sidewalk and the other in his car. Both men complied with police officers but were killed anyway. If you remember, both men were black...

Earlier today, a friend sent me a message saying it’s been 10 years since our high school graduation. I remember one of my teachers saying life goes by fast after the graduation ceremony and I’m starting to believe it. Where did the time go? When you haven’t been released into the real world yet, there’s a burning desire to get out and establish yourself — to get a taste of the unknown. ...

One of my biggest pet peeves is when somebody uses the word “adulting” to describe completing a task like paying the bills on time or making a list for the grocery store. Most often, people use it in a negative way. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve seen the T-shirts and mugs and bumper stickers that say something along the lines of, “I hate adulting,” or “I can’t adult today.” It’s understandable coming from a brand-new high school graduate or college student, but I’ve noticed that very grown adults have adopted the word into their vocabulary, too. ...

Last Christmas, Gideon and I gifted my mom and nana tickets to see Elton John. The concert was scheduled for June and all four of us were going to go. They were ecstatic when they opened the homemade tickets, which Gideon created with construction paper and the clever use of scissors. In the age of digital tickets, it was certainly our most colorful option...

A few years ago, my husband and I were having trouble with his mother. She’s your classic possessive mother-in-law, the kind who expects you to be where she wants you to be or else. There was never an acceptable reason for missing a party or impromptu game night, even though Gideon and I live an hour away from her...

When we read about the COVID-19 pandemic in history books, I’m sure the economic downturn will be a major feature. It’s no secret that the stock market has plunged over the past couple months as the unemployment rate climbs to great heights. Certainly, it’s not an ideal situation. It’s scary enough that folks have been panic buying toilet paper and flouting social distancing precautions. When you add the economic problems, this pandemic begins to feel downright overwhelming...

We don’t realize what we have until it’s gone. I’ve heard that said about love and relationships, but it also rings true about routine. We all have some routine we follow every day, or at least we did until the COVID-19 crisis. I’d start a typical Monday by picking up the mail at the Eureka Springs Post Office and heading to the Carroll County News office in Berryville, usually with KESA playing in the background. ...

It seems like the whole world is abuzz after Netflix released a popular docuseries last month. The show is successful for many reasons, particularly COVID-19 which practically requires non-essential employees to spend all their time at home. You know what else is at home? Netflix and its crown jewel, Tiger King. ...

It’s safe to say we are sailing through uncharted waters right now, with the COVID-19 pandemic canceling so many parts of everyday life. Those who can stay home have been advised to do so, and Gideon and I are fortunate to be in that group. Staying home means we are protecting ourselves and, in turn, protecting everybody else we’d normally see out and about. ...

Regular readers of this column know I am a huge horror fan. I love all aspects of the genre, from B-horror flicks to big studio features. There’s no sub-genre I won’t watch, but apocalyptic horror is one of my favorites. Day of the Dead, Escape from New York, Deep Impact, 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead are pinnacles of the sub-genre. ...

It’s safe to say all of you understand what I mean when I say 2020 has been one heck of a year, and it’s not even April yet. Over the past few weeks, the novel coronavirus has spread throughout the United States rapidly. Restaurants and shops have closed during one of the busiest tourism seasons of the year. Spring break is effectively canceled for those who are paying attention to what’s happening in the world...

We are facing a pandemic worse than anything most of us have ever seen before, and there’s no way to know if it’s going to get better or worse. Lots of folks have said it’s got to get worse before it gets better. I hate to agree with that, but it seems to be going that way — especially if you’re like me and failed to stock up on toilet paper in time...

About a month ago, one of our friends gave Gideon a globe decoupaged with colorful fabric to display in his classroom. Gideon has been teaching eighth-grade language arts and social studies at Eureka Springs Middle School since last fall, so it was a perfect gift for him...

It hardly feels like four years have passed, but here we are slogging through another presidential primary. Regular readers of this column know I’m pretty liberal and not the biggest fan of President Trump. That doesn’t mean I’m a huge fan of all his prospective opponents...

Last Friday, my mom celebrated her 50th birthday. Let me tell you something about my mom –– she is not the kind of person you can fool easily. She loves figuring out planned surprises before they happen. One year, she figured out that the Christmas presents were being kept in the trunk of her family’s car. So of course she waited until her parents were asleep, popped open the trunk, opened all her gifts, rewrapped them and snuck back into the house...

Regular readers of this column know I am a Survivor super fan. Yes, that show is still on. And this Wednesday marks a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans –– it is the premiere of Season 40: Winners at War. For the first and probably last time, 20 winners will compete for a record $2 million. ...

Last Wednesday, I had the honor of judging the Berryville Rotary Club’s Four Way Test Speech Contest. That means I spent my lunch hour talking with folks who work hard to better our community. We all heard from six high school students, who were instructed to deliver a speech that uses the principles of Rotary’s Four Way Test...

Do you ever think about the circumstances that got you where you are today? The college you attended, the company you kept, the people you dated, the career you started, the city you call home –– all these things define our lives. We are constantly making choices that mold life as we know it, and, ironically, we don’t usually realize it in the moment. ...

Some people live their whole lives without owning a television and they seem to be doing just fine. I respect that decision but it’s not for me. From an early age, I have loved everything about television. It started with Barney –– according to my mother, I was so obsessive about it that she almost had a mental breakdown. ...

Regular readers of this column know about my struggle with anxiety. It began at an early age, as it does for many of us. The anxiety led to insomnia, which led to lots of sleepless nights –– the least fun domino effect ever, if you ask me. It got worse in college, when I experienced my first full-blown panic attack. ...

Growing up, I loved to check the mail. My mom and I lived in a little house less than five minutes from the post office, so she’d often give me the key and let me go get the mail myself. I vividly remember approaching our box and inserting the key, excitedly peering inside at our bounty. Once a week, we’d receive my favorite kind of mail: US Weekly, Hilights Magazine and People Magazine...

While catching up with a friend on Saturday, the topic turned to our families. I asked how her parents have been doing and she laughed a little. “They’re doing good. Of course they’re going to get back on their diet at the beginning of the year,” my friend said wryly...

In just a week, we’ll usher in the beginning of a new decade. They say life is short, and I’m starting to understand why. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since my senior year of high school and the beginning of college. It feels like a blur. I was a regular goodie two-shoes in high school, so you can imagine how tough it was to learn some things the hard way in college. ...

In my short 28 years of life, I have lost many relationships. Haven’t we all? Either we drift apart from someone we once loved or, worse, we lose loved ones to an untimely or expected death. My first major loss was Papaw Jimmie when I was 12. He died by suicide in 2004, the day my summer break began...

I received a call from my mamaw Sunday night. She asked how Gideon and I have been doing and what we’d like for Christmas this year. It was your typical catch-up conversation, but when we talked more about Christmas, she sounded sad. “How are you feeling?” I asked...

Like many of you, I love Christmas. The lights, the decor, the spirit of togetherness –– I love it all. My mom taught me to love this time of the year practically from the womb. Our family get-togethers are all about good food, competitive games and thoughtful gifts...

I spent much of last week working on the winter edition of HIlights, our quarterly magazine on everything that’s happening in Holiday Island. Like the rest of Carroll County, Holiday Island packs a ton of volunteerism into a relatively small community...

Like many of you, I have been on Facebook for years — nearly 10 years, to be exact. I joined the site during my junior year of high school and used the heck out of it for a pretty long time. Everyone likes to share what’s on their mind every now and then. Teenagers love to do that regularly. I was not an exception...

Last week marked a major milestone for me. On Oct. 28, 2013, I broke up with my abusive ex-boyfriend for good. We were together for three and a half years. Those were some of the worst years of my life, but I didn’t realize it until the relationship ended...

A few weeks ago, Gideon and I spent a weekend at a bed and breakfast in downtown Eureka Springs. I had asked Gideon to plan some surprises for my birthday and explained that I wanted the kind of surprise I could figure out before it happens. Maybe that’s not how traditional surprises work, but I’m not very traditional. ...

Every Sunday at noon, Gideon and I visit with a dear friend in Berryville. It has become one of our favorite traditions –– no matter how the week will go, we know we’ll kick it off with lovely conversation, lemonade and maybe even some kitty snuggles. You guys know I live for kitty snuggles...

To be honest, we were starting to doubt you. You’ve arrived fashionably late before, but this year it began to border on a faux pas. You know we love you and mean all this in love. At least I hope you do. Welcome to your intervention, Fall. Let’s just cut to the chase. ...

Today is my 28th birthday –– I am officially a member of the Late 20s Club. Birthdays aren’t usually a big deal to me, but finding a place in the world certainly is. That’s what this birthday represents to me. Five years ago, I celebrated my 23rd birthday just a few months after I started working at Carroll County News. ...

May 24, 2004, is a day I will never forget. It’s the day my childhood ended. It’s the day I realized the people we love can choose to leave this world. It’s the day I fully grasped what it means to die. On that day, my papaw died by suicide. Jimmie Lynn Campbell was born on Feb. ...

Tomorrow night marks a yearly milestone for a group of my close friends. It is the finale of Big Brother 21 — a critical two hours of reality television that will reveal the winner of our fantasy draft teams.  Dora, Kasey, Gideon and I started out the summer with four contestants each. ...

This past Saturday, Gideon and I celebrated the marriage of two dear friends. It was a full weekend of wedding events, with the rehearsal dinner Friday night, the wedding Saturday afternoon and an after-party that night by the river. The wedding was beautiful from beginning to end. ...

They say if you go shopping with cash, you’ll spend less than you would if you were using a credit card. It has something to do with seeing the money leave your wallet versus just swiping your card and going on your merry way. Apparently spending money is different when you literally feel it slipping out of your hands...

Most people would complain about working on a holiday, but I’m happy to come to the office on Labor Day every year. Monday is a production day –– that means we have to come in to put out a newspaper. Fortunately, we make our own holidays here at Carroll County News...

There’s a dead snake in my car, and I can’t do anything about it for the rest of the week. A dead snake, you ask? Why can’t you remove it if it’s, you know, dead? Well, it’s wrapped around my air conditioner motor, where it has been taunting me since last Tuesday...

On Aug. 19, 2015, Alison Parker turned 24. One week later, the morning reporter at WDBJ in Roanoke, Va., was shot dead, along with cameraman Adam Ward, on live TV no less. The shooter then uploaded his own video of the murders on Twitter. It was a dark day in our country’s history, one many of us remember...

Despite the unbearable heat, this week marks the end of summer break for our students, teachers and school administrators. Some kids are experiencing their very first day of school and all the excitement and fear that comes with that. My husband Gideon has something in common with those kids...

Another day, another mass shooting. Scratch that. Another day, another couple of mass shootings. This past Saturday, a man wrote a racist, anti-Hispanic manifesto before opening fire at Walmart in El Paso, Texas. More than 24 people were injured and at least 20 people were killed in the shooting. Less than 24 hours later, a gunman murdered nine people and injured 27 others in a popular nightlife district in downtown Dayton, Ohio...

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with reality shows. It started with Survivor in 2001. I still remember watching when Richard Hatch was named the very first sole survivor. And I wasn’t the only one — the finale of Survivor: Borneo had an average of 50 million viewers, the most of any episode of Survivor to date. (Yes, that show is still on and going strong, depending on whom you ask.)...

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to speak to the Holiday Island Rotary Club. They served me breakfast, gave me a new pen and were great company. I talked too long as always, but the best part of my presentation was hearing from the Rotary members about the kind of coverage they’d like to see in their community newspaper...

The United States Women's National Soccer Team has been a hot topic over the past couple of weeks. The team won the Women's World Cup on July 7, just four months after suing the U.S. Soccer Federation over gender discrimination. In the lawsuit, the team alleges its parent organization pays the women's team less, gives them unequal playing conditions and does not promote their games as much as the men's team...

Five years ago, Gideon and I were at a crossroads. I had just graduated from college and he was finishing up his degree. We lived in a dilapidated former bed and breakfast at the top of Kessler Mountain in Fayetteville with way too many roommates. When the plumbing went out, we used the bathroom in a hole in the back yard. It was pure luxury, folks...

After nearly a month of extended spring, the inevitable has happened. Shave your head and slap on some hot pants, because summer is here. Not only is it here, it is thriving. We are expected to experience 80-degree weather the rest of the week, and that’s with rain in the forecast. ...

Imagine you’re driving to work on Monday morning and you are not a morning person. You’re just chugging along, dreaming of the cup of coffee you’ll soon consume. Oh, coffee –– a beacon of hope when you can barely keep your eyes open because you stayed up late binge-watching Riverdale. Then you see debris in the middle of the road, but it’s too late to swerve. You hear clanging beneath your car –– certainly not the good kind, if there is such a thing...

Editor’s Note: This column was originally published on June 25, 2017, in the Lovely County Citizen. It is the story of my dad’s redemption, and I hope it inspires love and forgiveness. Growing up, I knew my dad was an alcoholic. I knew that from an early age. My mom raised me on her own and didn’t try to keep things from me, including the reason why my dad wasn’t around very much. I still saw him on holidays or when I’d visit my grandparents, but he certainly wasn’t a regular fixture in my life...

There are many things I love about my job; interacting with the community, writing for a living and creating my own schedule make the list. The best part, of course, is sharing all the good things happening in Carroll County with our community. That’s why I’m especially excited during the summertime, when we cover summer reading programs at all three libraries in the county...

Three years. Nine semesters. Countless dollars and trips to Conway. That’s what it took for my husband Gideon to get his master’s degree in teaching, and now he is gearing up to put that degree into action. I am overjoyed to announce he will be teaching social studies and language arts at Eureka Springs Middle School beginning in August...

White Street Walk is one of the most popular events in Eureka Springs, and for good reason. It’s the one night of the year artists living in the historic downtown district open their homes to the public. You can see art of all kinds, taste mouth-watering finger foods and sip on complimentary wine. What’s not to love?...

Last week was a big week for Eureka Springs Community Center. The grand opening for the fitness center was held on Monday, bringing a large number of locals together to view the ribbon cutting and a pickleball demonstration if they so pleased. This has been a long time coming for the Eureka Springs Community Center board of directors. ...

We’re pretty lucky to have most of Friday off at Carroll County News. The office closes after lunch, and we get to start our weekends right then and there. That wasn’t the case for me this past Friday, but I’m not complaining. I had the honor of covering Carroll County Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council Awards, where local nonprofits and volunteers were recognized for their contribution to our community...

I can’t think of a time I haven’t loved jigsaw puzzles. There’s something so cathartic about separating the edges from the inside pieces and slowly patching all of it together, usually over the period of a few days. The more pieces the better. I love a good challenge as much as cats love stalking birds –– is there anything more rewarding than seeing your hard work come to fruition?...

This past weekend, I watched a two-hour special on Investigation Discovery called Drew Peterson: An American Murder Mystery. That name surely rings a bell for many of us. Peterson’s case drew national attention after his wife Stacy disappeared on 2007, three years after his ex-wife Kathleen Savio was found dead in a waterless bathtub. Her cause of death was initially ruled as a drowning...

They say honesty is the best policy, but I haven’t been very honest with you guys lately. Quite frankly, the past few months have been exhausting. Everyone at the office got sick in early February, and I broke my ankle a week later. I spent seven weeks in a boot, constantly taking it on and off to complete the simplest tasks. It was stressful to go the bathroom or get a glass of water. The pain was out of this world for weeks, but that wasn’t the worst part...

It’s that time of the year again. Dust off your tabletops and pull the oven out for a deep inspection ––spring cleaning is underway. I’m sure you’re all just as excited as I am. Now, spring cleaning can mean something different to all of us. For some, it’s clearing out closets and reorganizing shelves. ...

Regular readers of this column know I am a huge animal lover. I come by it honestly –– my nana is known to feed every stray in her path, and my mom raised me with at least three pets at a time. My first love was a black-and-white tabby cat named Baby. When Baby died in an accident in 2004, my mom let me pick out a new kitty...

This past weekend was a big deal in Eureka Springs, with the super-popular St. Patty’s Day Parade rolling through downtown. I heard it was the busiest weekend we’ve had in a while. People filled Basin Spring Park, the sidewalk and all the balconies that line Spring Street. It was surely a sight to behold...

Earlier this week, I stumbled across a post on social media that astounded me. A former Bachelor contestant turned Instagram influencer shared a story saying her daughter’s pediatrician supports all parenting decisions, whether that’s to vaccinate, selectively vaccinate or not vaccinate at all. She said her daughter would only receive “absolutely necessary” vaccinations...

Winter weather has threatened us for quite a while now. The meteorologist says we’re going to get sleet and snow all weekend, and then Saturday comes and it’s sunny as can be outside. That’s what I expected this past weekend, when the weather forecast said we’d be getting freezing rain and snow showers Saturday and Sunday. To my surprise, we finally got that snow –– a light dusting, that is...

This weekend, my husband received a message no one ever wants to read. A fatal car accident took the lives of two local students. Four others were injured in the accident. The news hung over us, and our entire community, for the rest of the weekend. It’s still there this week and probably will be for a long time...

A few months ago, I wrote a column about falling — specifically, how good I am at it. I’ve fallen downstairs, upstairs, off moving vehicles, into ditches and more. My repertoire is extensive. Despite all this falling, I had never broken a major bone before. ...

What we long feared has finally occurred. Seasonal sickness has hit Carroll County News, and we’ve all been afflicted in some way. I spent the past weekend holed up at home with Gideon and the kitties, half-watching TV and half-sleeping. That’s actually how I prefer to spend most weekends, but not with a side of queasiness and moderate fever...

It’s safe to say we’ve all screwed up at some point. Maybe you forgot to go to your best friend’s birthday party or selfishly insisted on watching Rock of Love even though your partner was sick and trying to sleep. I’ll plead guilty to one of these things; you guess which one. I’ll also plead guilty to needing to issue an apology every once in a while...

Growing up in Texas, snow days were rare. School let out early if there was even a chance of flurries, but that didn’t happen very often. My mom loves snow and would predict such precipitation when temperatures dipped below 30 degrees. At some point, I began to understand it was wishful thinking...

Last week, I returned to work after spending one week in Dallas and another in my apartment. It was the first time I had ever taken two weeks off at a time. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m a real worker bee. When I don’t have any work to do, I go a little crazy. Fortunately, Gideon and I had plenty to do during my two weeks off...

Two weeks ago, Gideon and I left Carroll County to spend the holidays with my family in Texas. So much has changed since I was a little girl, but we still have Christmas dinner at Nana’s house. It used to be me, Mom, Nana, Uncle Doug and Papaw Jimmie...

Hey, Mr. Kringle. Can I go ahead and call you Kris? I feel like we should be on a first-name basis by now. I have been writing you for more than 20 years now, and occasionally peeping through your window using those night-vision binoculars you brought me in 2006. I say this with no judgment, but you might want to consider closing the blinds before undressing at night. There are creeps out there, you know?...

Growing up in a small town in southwest Arkansas, I knew everyone and they knew me. You may think Berryville is small, but I grew up in a town with a population of 815. Now that’s small. You knew the cashier at the only grocery store in town. You knew the old man playing checkers outside and the little girl cradling chocolate milk behind you...

This January marks my fifth anniversary with Gideon. It has been five years of growth, frustration and joy, with each year bringing a new challenge. He started graduate school in 2016, and we are almost done with that journey. That’s certainly the best thing to call it — no journey is complete without its detours, which we know all too well. ...

Last week, my dad celebrated his birthday. I messaged him saying I hoped he had a great day and I love him, and he returned the sentiment. We talked a little about plans for the holidays — the kind of small talk most people would consider normal. But that wouldn’t have happened two years ago...

One year ago this week, Carroll County Newspapers lost an incredibly talented graphic designer and I lost one of the best friends I’ve ever had. Melody Rust embodied adventure. She taught those around her to pause every now and then to enjoy the moment, especially in nature — the river was her absolute favorite place in the world. She was never more herself than at the river...

Each year, Carroll County Newspapers makes sure to have a presence at the Veterans Day ceremonies in our community. We cover school assemblies from Green Forest to Eureka Springs and citywide commemorations like the popular Veterans Day Parade and rifle salute in downtown Eureka Springs. We’ve done that since I started working here in 2014, but I wanted to learn even more about our local veterans this year...

I’m a firm believer in the power of a good vacation. Taking time off can help you clear your head, try yummy new food and see places you’ve always dreamed of. Last week, I did just that. Leaving Gideon and the kitties behind, I took off on a road trip with one of my oldest friends, Kasey...

Mid-term elections are creeping up on us, slowly but surely. Historically, mid-term races have had much less participation than the presidential election. Most of us are excited to vote for (or against) a presidential candidate, but we rarely talk about the local races that affect us most...

We’ve all heard it before. You get into an argument with someone in your bloodline, and someone else helpfully says, “Well, you can’t pick your family.” There are so many variations of this statement, including but not limited to: “She’s your mom.” “You can’t say no to your grandmother.”...

Dust off your boots and throw on a sweater, because fall is upon us. Like most basic white women, I love this season. I’ve been known to scour trees for a bushel of dead leaves. You might have seen me skulking around searching for the remnants of a bonfire. I need a sign that fall is here, and I finally have it: September has arrived!...

Back in middle school, I woke up every morning to the smell of hazelnut coffee. My mom loved hazelnut coffee. She exclusively bought hazelnut creamer for years, to the point that I thought all coffee was hazelnut-flavored. Every morning, I knew I’d find a half-empty cup of hazelnut coffee on the bathroom counter when I brushed my teeth. ...

To whom it may concern, It’s no secret I haven’t been the biggest fan of President Trump. You could probably discern that from reading my published work or my diary, so I might as well put that out there immediately. Sure, I don’t like Trump’s policies regarding immigration, taxes, national security and the environment, but that isn’t stopping me from reaching out to you today...

About a year ago, I decided I would learn how to juggle. It didn’t take long to find a so-called easy tutorial on Youtube, so I set my computer on a table and grabbed some oranges. While the video did not recommend using fruit, I figured it would up the stakes a bit and I could have a sweet treat once I was done. It was a win-win, right?...

Everybody’s got some talent. Even those of us who feel woefully untalented can do something better than somebody else, whether it’s singing opera, designing a beautiful flowerbed or unloading the dishwasher in less than two minutes. For me, one thing has always come easy. I can confidently say I’m clumsier than almost all of you...

Like many hard-working Americans, I spend an inordinate amount of free time watching horrible reality TV shows. Rock of Love, Married at First Sight, The Bachelor and all its spin-offs … you name it, and I’ve surely seen it. Recently, I’ve discovered The Proposal, an hour-long program that always ends in a proposal...

At the beginning of this year, I told myself it would be the worst year ever. I didn’t have any expectations for 2018, besides hopefully seeing the end of it. Frankly, 2017 ended on a sour note and there was no way 2018 could be a new year. It’s mostly been a continuation of the same old stuff … heartbreak, existential crises and loneliness...

Before I became friends with Melody Rust, I hated summertime. The heat, the bugs, the humidity … I couldn’t find anything good about it. To be fair, I grew up in Texas where you can boil an egg on the sidewalk in June. The heat became my adversary early on. I spent June through August indoors for most of my life...

When President Donald Trump ran for office two years ago, he promised he would build a wall between the United States and Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from coming to our country. We don’t have that wall just yet, probably because it would be expensive and unnecessary. It doesn’t matter, anyway — between April 19 and May 31, the Trump administration has separated 1,995 children from their caregivers in an attempt to crack down on illegal immigration...

We have lost some of our most beloved celebrities to suicide, from comedy genius Robin Williams to rock legend Chris Cornell. Just last week, fashion designer Kate Spade wrote a letter to her 13-year-old daughter before hanging herself with a scarf at her home. ...

Each year on Memorial Day, I attend American Legion Post 9’s morning service. The service has got to be one of the most patriotic events in our county, featuring a rifle salute, performances of patriotic songs and guest speakers who know what they’re talking about...

A few weeks ago, I interviewed some Eureka Springs students involved in the high school’s Rotary Interact Club. All three were seniors, and I knew each of them by name. I have worked with them over the past four years, covering school plays, choir performances and countless special projects...

Last night, Gideon and I were scrolling through Netflix as usual. It seems there’s never anything to watch when you have so much media at your fingertips. We eventually settled on a documentary about animal hoarders, described as a glimpse into the lives of pet owners who open up about their “obsessive love of animals.” I put that in quotations because I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with a good obsession...

Sometimes I stay up all night on Sunday, so I drink a bunch of coffee on Monday to stay awake and end up sleepless yet another night. That’s when I start thinking about everything that has ever happened in the world. It’s the important things that keep me up at night, like the federal budget, the rights of minority groups and, of course, the age-old dilemma most of us face this time of the year. Should I cut my hair for summer?...

I don’t know about you guys, but I am great at discounting myself. It’s one of my best talents. I’ll write a poem and erase it because it’s not good enough. I’ll create a weird painting and stow it in the closet with the litter box, just to show exactly how I feel about it. Everything I do feels flawed...

This past Saturday, I didn’t have any plans. It was the first time in a while that’s been true. I figured I’d sleep in and catch up on some TV. Mostly, I planned to watch it rain with the cat, who loves staring out the window on overcast days. That’s one thing we have in common...

Two weeks ago, I sat with five Eureka Springs High School students in the cafeteria. That wasn’t out of the ordinary. I’ve been in that same cafeteria many times interviewing students about an upcoming school play or special events. It would have been normal to me, but this wasn’t your average day...

Last year on March 17, I went shopping with a friend in downtown Eureka Springs for Melody Rust’s birthday. She turned 42 that day. By that time, we had been close friends for a year. We met in 2016 when I took over day-to-day operations at Lovely County Citizen, where she worked on page design in the back room. She was so talented, and she constantly encouraged me to do my very best...

Unless you really know someone, it’s usually not a good idea to launch into a conversation about religion or politics. Most of us know that. My mom issued a warning about it before big family events until I was old enough to understand. Today, I do understand … so much so that I’ve got another topic to add to the list: reality TV...

At the beginning of most romantic relationships, everything is blissful. Your new partner can do no wrong. They’re the funniest, smartest, nicest, best person you’ve ever met. They are flawless. You wish you could clone them a few times over in case of emergency. When you mention this, it comes across as cute instead of creepy...

When you bring up Valentine’s Day, you’re bound to get one of two responses. Either it’s a holiday created by greeting card companies to make money, or it’s a fun way to show your sweetheart some love. I don’t have very strong opinions about the day...

Last week, our little community was rocked by the apparent suicide of a 15-year-old Green Forest High School student. When we got the news, everyone at our office was heartbroken. Some of us wondered how this could happen. I didn’t wonder about that at all...

This Sunday is the biggest day of the year, with the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots duking it out at the Super Bowl. I’ll be spending this landmark night with friends who know a thing or two about the old pigskin. That’s great, because I’m a huge fan of Super Bowl parties...

In news that surprises no one, I don’t party. I never have. Even in college, I spent most weekends watching TV alone or scoping out all the good equipment at the gym. Pro tip: People don’t go to the gym at 10 p.m. on Saturday. That’s when you can try any machine your heart desires, including the one where you’re supposed to swing your legs to the sun and hope you don’t dislocate something...

Growing up in southwest Arkansas, I knew better than to expect winter weather. We were lucky if we got a light snow shower, and that was only when the rest of the country was experiencing a particularly hard winter. That was the case in 2001, the year we received so much ice and snow that school was canceled for three weeks. ...

They say the first year of marriage is the hardest. When Gideon and I got married on New Year’s Eve last year, I was convinced we’d beat those odds. I was determined to have the best first year of marriage anybody has ever had. Famous last words, right?...

Two weeks ago, I sat in The Auditorium waiting for the Eureka Springs City Council to kick off its meeting. The agenda on my lap displayed the date — Nov. 27, 2017. I circled it and wrote a message underneath. “Four days without Melody,” it said. As many of you know, we lost our graphic designer and dear friend Melody Rust over Thanksgiving. ...

I heard about Melody Rust for at least a year before I met her. At the time, I worked at the Carroll County News office in Berryville, while she was stationed in our Eureka Springs office. My boss would always brag about how talented she was. “Melody Rust is the best designer I’ve ever worked with,” he’d say. “There’s no competition.”...

For the most part, this past year has been stressful and tiring. Gideon kicked off his second semester of graduate school in the fall, and he’s been working with the teachers at Eureka Springs High School to fulfill a requirement for his master’s program. That means he works his regular full-time job, goes to the school and returns home to complete assignments before the cycle starts all over again...

Like many of you, I grew up in a small Arkansas town where everybody knew everything about you. That made it difficult for those in the LGBT community to express who they were. If they were lucky, they could hide it. Most of them weren’t that lucky...

Now that it’s cooler outside, Gideon and I have been opening up the windows a lot more. We love the fresh air and how much it lowers our electricity bill. It’s the time of the year where we can fall asleep listening to the trees swaying and whatever re-run of Sanford and Son our neighbor happens to be watching. I’ve looked forward to it since May...

The women who raised me love dressing up, so you can imagine what Halloween was like for me growing up. Mom and Nana would go all out every year, putting as much effort into their costumes as mine. Some years we weren’t super creative. I remember dressing up as your run-of-the-mill ghost, a white sheet draped around my body with two holes cut out so I could see. One year, Mom hollowed out a laundry basket, put it around my waist and tossed in dirty laundry. I was a laundry hamper...

The time has come. Trees aren’t so green anymore. Leaves aren’t on trees anymore. It’s cold and rainy, and I think it’s about time to start carving pumpkins. I might be getting a little carried away, because the trees definitely still have leaves and it’s not super cold outside. That said, I really don’t mind over exaggerating right now. Fall is here. Fall has arrived...

A couple of years ago, my husband’s 11-year-old brother handed me a Christmas present he wrapped himself. I opened it fully prepared to lie about how much I loved it, but I didn’t have to lie at all. He had given me The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. “I got this for you, because I know you love the killing,” he said. ...

At least 50 people dead. More than 500 injured. That’s the news most of us woke up to on Monday morning after a gunman opened fire on concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas Sunday night. In many ways, it’s the same story we hear every time a crazy person kills a bunch of people with a gun...

For the second consecutive year, Carroll County Newspapers is sponsoring an essay contest on texting while driving. We offered the contest to Eureka Springs students last year through the Lovely County Citizen, and I’m super excited to branch out to the rest of the county. This year, anyone in Carroll County between 14 and 19 can enter the contest...

It was a day as regular as any. For a Tuesday in September, the weather was particularly pleasant. I couldn’t see a cloud in the sky from Mrs. Tubman’s fourth-grade class, gazing out the window after finishing that day’s journal entry. Mrs. Tubman gave us five minutes at the end of every class to write in our journals. ...

This past weekend, I visited my family in Texarkana. It’s the first time I’ve made the trip back to my hometown in a year and the first time I’ve seen my mom and nana since Gideon and I got married in January. Usually I’d visit much more often than this, but Gideon has been traveling a lot for his master’s program and I’ve been trying to keep up with everything going on at home. ...

Regular readers of this column know I am obsessed with my yellow tabby cat BJ. BJ is adorable, loving and kind … basically everything you would want in a friend. The best part is we never fight. BJ can’t speak English, but he does talk to me regularly...

On Saturday, our nation saw another nightmare come true. White nationalists met in Charlottesville, Va., for the “Unite the Right” march, which quickly led to violence between the protesters and counter-protesters. The violence escalated into the afternoon, when a car drove into a group of counter-protesters. One woman was killed, and at least 34 people were wounded at the march...

I don’t know about you, but I begin the year looking forward to the end of it. The fall is my favorite time of the year, mostly because it leads to Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year’s Eve. My family is big on celebrating holidays, big or small, because it means we can get together for a meal. This year won’t be any different, but it will be the first time I’ve spent Thanksgiving with my family in a long time...

President Donald Trump dealt another blow to LGBTQ rights last week when he tweeted that transgender individuals will no longer be allowed to serve in the United States military in any capacity. According to his tweets, the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption the transgender in the military would entail.”...

Board games are a big deal in my family. When I say that, I mean it. My most vivid memories center around my grandparents’ dining room table, where we’d play every board game you can think of. Our favorite was Wahoo, a marble game most know as Aggravation...

Last week, a Van Buren man rammed down a statue displaying the 10 Commandments at the Arkansas State Capitol building. I’ve read a lot of misinformation about this case, and I’m hoping to clear it up in this column. Let’s start with the facts. Michael Reed, a born-again Christian who calls himself a “Jesus freak” on his Facebook page, filmed himself driving into the monument and live-streamed it to social media. ...

My mom raised me on her own, pretty much from the moment I was born. She did it so well I didn’t realize most kids have two parents until elementary school. That’s when I started making friends and having sleepovers, where both parents were present. The more I got to know kids my age, the more I saw differences between my life and theirs...

As of Monday, it’s been a year since the shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. It is the worst mass shooting in American history, with 50 dead and more than 50 injured. It’s no secret that we have a problem with madmen having access to guns in our country, but this column isn’t about that. This column is dedicated to those 50 lives we lost last year...

Last week, my boss covered a story about the Eastern Carroll County Ambulance District. He reported the information given to him and continually updated the story as it evolved. He did exactly what a good reporter is supposed to do, and somebody still accused him of reporting fake news...