Opinion

More than 137,000 Arkansas residents have tested positive for coronavirus. Another 19,000-plus are classified as “probable cases” based on antigen testing. Nearly 2,500 people have died from the virus in Arkansas and more than 1,000 were hospitalized as of Monday morning...

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...

I’m facing a bit of a dilemma as I start this column. I need to write, again, about Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s inept response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I gave the governor a pass last week when I instead wrote about the improvement of the University of Arkansas football team...

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...

If I needed any more convincing about the improvement in the University of Arkansas football program, I saw all I needed to see Saturday night. Wait a minute, you’re probably saying to yourself right about now: The Razorbacks were beaten by four touchdowns, losing to the Florida 63-35...

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!...

Every year, the people of the Eureka Springs area open up and show their generosity to the needy of those around us by helping the scouts bring in the food and filling up the shelves of our local food bank, the Flint Street Fellowship. This year was no exception — this year was like no other that many of us have ever seen before!  I have been a part of the “scouting for food” drive for 32 years now, and this year I realized that I had not seen it all, even though I thought I had. We are in the middle of a pandemic for goodness sakes, and then the day the scouts were to bring in the food, it’s raining — it’s pouring down rain really, really hard! I thought to myself, “oh my,” but then the miracle happened! I do believe that more food was collected this year than ever before. ...

I would once again like to take this opportunity to thank two special Green Forest police officers for their help on the night of Nov. 10. After fighting the leaf fire my yard man started that afternoon and he left thinking it was out; the wind started blowing and the fire erupted again at 9:30 p.m. ...

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. ...

In previous columns, I have addressed voter fraud myths and reality.

“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...

I have had the blessing of serving as Suzie Bell’s pastor for the last five years. She is an individual of great faith, courage and strength. She has led church mission trips to disaster sites around this state and nation to bring help to our neighbors in need. She, along with her husband, Dan, created the ECHO Clinic to provide free healthcare to our most vulnerable members of our community and recently started building ECHO Village to provide low-income housing...

A small group of people in Holiday Island are once again trying to get the planned community incorporated. Only this time it’s different. It is on the Nov. 3 ballot. They boast promises of “free money,”code enforcement, animal control, etc., all with NO new taxes. ...

An open letter to Eureka Springs mayor Butch Berry: Dear Mayor Berry, I hope this letter finds you well. I know it’s been a trying year for you, as it has for all of us. While we’re all living in a pandemic that affects our daily lives, I know it also has had an impact on your city. And you’ve had other things to worry about, too, such as making some unfortunate remarks that were published in a local newspaper...

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...

What one disgruntled individual has shown in his attempt to abolish the Historic District Commission in Eureka Springs is a grave misunderstanding of how it actually “works” and what its parameters actually are.  As has been explained many times over already, the National Register for Historic Places is strictly honorary and carries little weight. ...

To the Editor: I recently received a flyer from Harlan Breaux, incumbent candidate for Arkansas House (District 97). He claimed that he was “making healthcare accessible and affordable.” He also said he was “creating job opportunities” and “lowering taxes.” Like the flyer he mailed in 2016, none of this had the ring of truth...

We received a beautiful German Shepherd at the police department the latter part of September. The dog seemed very vicious towards everyone. I worked to calm the animal down to no avail, but continued trying, even several dispatchers tried also. Knowing what I would have to do if I didn’t succeed, we kept trying. ...

I grew up in downtown Eureka goofing around in old buildings. In the 1980s, my parents restored historic properties including three buildings on N. Main. So most days, I got off the school bus and played on job sites. It’s hard to overstate the effect this upbringing had on me. ...

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...

My husband Frank and I purchased a house on Armstrong Street in Eureka Springs about a year ago, having fallen in love with it over two decades ago. We look forward to becoming permanent residents there in 2021. We are coming from McKinney, Texas, where we have lived in its historic and cultural district for 18 years...

The Carroll County Home Demonstration Clubs was organized Oct. 17, 1923. As we approach their centennial it is an appropriate time to reflect on the many contributions EHC groups have made in our county. Through extension services many farmers and farm wives have learned skills to improve their crops, herds and quality of life for their families and communities. ...

Dear Editor: Welcome, October!  Not only are we celebrating cooler temperatures, but we are also celebrating the fact October is “Friend Your Library” month! In past years, as you would arrive at the courthouse to pay your taxes, you would more than likely find the Friends of the Library sitting at a table in the foyer asking you to join the Friends of the Library. ...

I believe very strongly that government should be transparent, at every level. Citizens have a right to know what is going on with their government, and public business should be conducted in public view. That’s not just my personal feeling. In Arkansas, it’s the law. ...

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. ...

The news has been replete with calls to solicit your vote to determine the next people we will be electing in this political cycle. One of the areas that may have slipped off of your radar are three constitutional amendments for Arkansas voters to vote upon. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service has provided information that residents should strongly consider before casting their ballot.  The reference is provided below.  Here are some of the key highlights of these proposed amendments.. ...

Voting is one of the most fundamental rights we enjoy as Americans. Every vote matters and our process needs change to ensure public confidence no matter your political perspective.

Regular readers of this column know that I’m a huge Chicago Cubs fan. Earlier this year, first-year Cubs manager David Ross was asked if he thought a 60-game season would hold less meaning than a normal 162-game schedule. I loved Ross’ response: “If they’re handing out a trophy, I want it.”...

I’m saddened. And I’m angry. I’m saddened because a friend lost his father over the weekend to complications from COVID-19, while another friend’s mother fights for life on a ventilator in a Missouri hospital. The friend who lost his dad Saturday night is a former reporter at the Pine Bluff newspaper, a law school graduate who spent some time working in the Middle East and pays close attention to international affairs. ...

This November on our ballot will be an initiative to dissolve the Historic District Commission. If this happens, we will lose millions in grants, we will lose our certified local government, along with Main Street standings, again millions in grants gone. ...

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...

We need to think seriously about the election for state and local offices in addition to all of the current attention to the presidential candidates. A friend recently asked me when and how to see names of the candidates on the ballot for our county. ...

“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...