Carroll County News: Opinion

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Kristal Kuykendall

The View From Here >>

Alison Taylor-Brown

The Village View >>

Recent Columns

Alison Taylor-Brown

Beginning writers' first challenge: Finding time
Beginning writers have a lot of challenges. They have to learn the mechanics of storytelling, such as how to create believable characters and dialogue. They have to figure out exactly what story they want to tell -- their own, someone else's, or a fiction...

Cheri Yarborough

Enjoying Santa visits all year long; Writer to start advice column
Not too long ago I had a long conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. That was easy to do because they live right here in Berryville when not getting ready for the big holiday. You may have seen them shopping at a food store or standing in line at the bank. They usually only dress in their red finery around Christmas, but the rest of the year, they dress pretty much like everyone else--except for Santa's red socks...

Alison Taylor-Brown

Blogging with a Quill: How to find your 'tribe'
A New York agent told me that I absolutely must blog. To blog is essential. Blogging is breathing for a writer's "platform." "Do it," she said. "Today." To blog, I was told, is to find your tribe. Who is my tribe? My tribe, I was told, are the people who already love me. That would be my parents, both in their eighties, my husband, my poodle...

Alison Taylor-Brown

Students ask and answer: Who is a Writer?
Parents and teachers were amazed Saturday afternoon, when they found their fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders actually QUIET, heads bent over papers, pens scratching furiously. Mike Hancock, Village Writing School instructor and the inspiration for this burst of creativity, looked just a tiny bit smug. His "Into the Wild" workshop, designed specifically for this group of almost all boys, had done exactly what he planned. They were writing...

Editorials

EDITORIAL: Are you listening, Eureka Springs School Board? (05/15/13)
Less than a year ago, we took the Eureka Springs School Board to task for the failure of its three new board members --who ran in the 2011-12 school year with the promise to be "open and inclusive" -- to live up to that campaign promise. Apparently, not only have things not changed since that editorial, they've gotten worse this year...

EDITORIAL: Who is really being served? (04/30/13)
When a public power utility proposes to run a 345 kV transmission line with a 150-foot cleared corridor 48 miles across a county, and: No public notice is run in the newspaper of record for that county; and The county judge, who knew about it months before landowners did, doesn't see fit to bring the matter up before the members of the Quorum Court so they can inform their constituents who might be affected; and...

GUEST COMMENTARY: King's bill will help keep our water safer (02/12/13)
Water operators, water districts and other entities that hold the responsibility of stewardship of our precious drinking water resources have asked that you help enact the Water Additive Accountability Bill now being considered by the Arkansas State Senate...

EDITORIAL: SB131 will hurt, not help public safety, will hinder government oversight (02/08/13)
Would you be interested in seeing a list of convicted felons who have also been allowed to obtain a concealed carry permit, in violation of federal and state laws? Or -- hitting a little closer to home in light of the recent murder of Laura Aceves of Eureka Springs -- would you be interested in seeing a list of concealed carry permit holders who have also violated or been accused of violating multiple no-contact orders?...

EDITORIAL: Opinion Page is for everyone; can't we all just get along, anyway? (01/15/13)
Editor's note: This editorial is no way directed at the author of the letter printed on this page, who was most pleasant and polite in her objection to our recent cartoon, which we address here. Instead, it is a response to the other, not-so-polite readers who we heard from, and those who had the "conviction" to badmouth us online or otherwise but lacked the courage to address us personally...

Letters to the editor

Reader encourages all residents to write PSC re: SWEPCO (05/09/13)
SWEPCO posted about one month ago a docket 13-041-U with the AR Public Service Commission to build this can't-get-any-higher-or-powerful 345 KV transmission line cutting through the mountains of NWA part of the Ozark Plateau. This is one of the most valuable and significant remnants of forested land remaining in the USA even though most of the mature timber is already gone and mostly immature forests remain after decades of deforestation already in existence...

Reader describes feelings about SWEPCO proposal (05/08/13)
It is said that Eureka Springs was founded on sacred ground. So venerated were the waters of Eureka, warring tribes could not fight at the springs. For hundreds of years, the area now known as Basin Spring provided a peaceful gathering place for visiting tribes. Eureka Springs is a legendary city of healing, people from far away places come looking for peace, serenity, caring people, and a better place to live...

Reader urges officials to oppose power lines (04/30/13)
Before the start of the Great Recession, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) identified the need to increase transmission capacity in Carroll County, Arkansas and issued a NTC (Notification to Construct) on the date Feb. 13, 2008. We've been kept in the dark until now of their plans, so I want to do some quick math...

Reader thanks Jesus parade participants (04/16/13)
On behalf of the Western Carroll County Ministerial Association, we would like to thank those who contributed to the Celebrate Jesus Parade on March 30. We give special thanks to Ray and LaDonna Bottomly for the many hours they spent praying an organizing the intercessory prayers and prayer walks...

Reader praises help from Stubbs (04/16/13)
I have been reading complaints published in the newspaper against animal control officer Chuck Stubbs. I have no information regarding these complaints. My interaction with Mr. Stubbs (I assume it was he as I did not know his name) is related to his twice returning my pet labrador retriever. She twice escaped from my fenced-in yard after she was newly adopted from the shelter. Perhaps she was seeking a previous owner or even family members...

Blind woman says shop denied her ADA access (04/16/13)
I am a 56-year-old blind woman who lost my vision 13 years ago. For the past seven years I have been using a certified and train guide dog for navigation and safe traveling. Being partnered with a guide dog has given me great freedom and independence...

Reader says Christ of Ozarks statue deserves our help (04/09/13)
The Ozarks Statue project was initiated by Gerald L.K. Smith and was built by The Elna M. Smith Foundation. The coordinator was Charles F. Robinson. The sculptor was Emmet Sullivan and the associate sculptor was Adrian Forrute. The chief mortar artist was A. C. McBride. The engineer was McKinley Weems, who many local people believed could design, build and repair anything...

Readers say their dog cruelly shot by officer (03/26/13)
My dogs Egon and Fritz got out of the yard after 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. My husband Darrin and I noticed this at 5:30 a.m. the next morning. Darrin started driving around the area looking, and I looked for them on my way to work. Darrin notified law enforcement and Chuck Stubbs at Animal Control before 8 that the dogs were out...

Reader says thanks for Stubbs story (03/26/13)
Thank you Carroll County News for reporting on this story. The Berryville animal control officer has been a nightmare for so many people -- and so many dogs and cats -- for so many years. -- NAME WITHHELD UPON REQUEST Berryville resident

Reader offers different plan for Holiday Island repairs (03/26/13)
We have been subjected to a litany of "Plans" to find and fix the leaks in our water system. I have studied them for two days now and I would offer a plan which I believe would be far more viable than those proposed by Mr. Schrader and Mr. Hartley. As starters, I would not hire a contractor to come in and "sweep" the entire system. ...

Reader says Eureka should be example, embrace changes (03/26/13)
Everywhere I look, changes are occurring. Most of us realize the necessity of change to facilitate the growth needed to move forward in life. We know the oil will run out eventually, and alternate means of power should be investigated and brought into use. We recognize that perhaps our septic systems are not optimal and more natural means should be found...

Reader excited about 30th annual Fiddlers Convention starting Thursday (03/19/13)
Hello to all of you readers and fiddle music lovers. The 30th Annual Fiddlers Convention is right around the corner. Starting Thursday, March 21, there will be music in the air and campers on the parking lots of North Arkansas College's southern campus in Harrison...

Readers alarmed by hog farm plans near Buffalo River (03/19/13)
Friends of the Buffalo National River are alarmed at the recent issuance of a permit by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality for the construction of a 6,500-head hog farm on a tributary of the Buffalo River in Newton County. There are numerous concerns about this industrial scale confined animal feeding operation (CAFO), not the least of which is the fact that the Buffalo National River was not notified of this project until long after the permit was issued...

Reader says motorcycle noise a growing menace (03/19/13)
Beloved by some, but despised by most, is the unmuffled engine roar of Harleys riding through downtown Eureka Springs. Say the word pollution and everyone in Eureka Springs will tell you they are against it, whether it be releasing raw sewage into Leatherwood Creek, exhaust fumes, or injecting foreign fluoride into our drinking water. ...

Reader says fluoride additive should stay a local decision (03/12/13)
In the study the Arkansas Department of Health is using to justify the fluoride mandate, the implication is that the fluoridation chemicals added to water are natural; but they are not. Although we are assured they have been safety tested, the Carroll Boone Water District asked for that evidence and it has never been delivered. At least 3 other local communities have requested these safety studies years ago and stopped fluoridation when they discovered no safety studies exist...

Reader says he's not attacking Reese, council (03/12/13)
Since I have been writing letters to the editor of Carroll County News, some have thought I am attacking the mayor and council members of the city. This is far from the truth. I have been told that before I moved to Green Forest in 1999, this city was a beautiful, clean town, and I know from experience that when I came to visit my daughter and her family back in the early '90s, this city was so nice that my wife and I decided to move here. ...

Reader has thoughts on raising funds for refuge (03/12/13)
I would like to elaborate on my suggestions for Turpentine Creek fundraisers. I think that the May Festival of the Arts is a beautiful occasion for Eureka as a community to support Turpentine Creek. Adopt tigers as a theme for a fundraising event during the festival. Have donation jars at artists' places during the art walk. Raffle off an artwork...

HISID staff says 'thank you' (03/12/13)
Thank you to Lorene Whittington and all her volunteers who helped with the mailing of the 2013 assessment bills. The HISID staff is so appreciative of these people that give up their time to help out. People like these make Holiday Island a special place and have a positive impact on the community...

Reader says GF leaders lack follow-through (03/05/13)
Having been in management for a large manufacturing firm and traveling this country and others, I retired and moved to Green Forest. I learned how a successful business should work, but I find that I fail to understand how the government of Green Forest functions...

Reader says Bischoff lawsuit not only option (03/05/13)
At a public meeting of Holiday Island property owners and the Attorneys representing David Bischoff held Feb. 11, the Attorneys for the Bischoffs referred to the illegal exaction action as the ONLY way that Holiday Island could continue to exist legally as a community. I contend that there is never only one solution to settling differences...

Reader sings praises of Berryville Bands (03/05/13)
I had the pleasure of attending the recent concert presented by the Berryville bands. It included performances by the sixth, seventh, eighth-grade and high school bands. It's difficult to find words to express how impressed I was by the these students. They perform at an very high level and I enjoyed myself tremendously. Congratulations to them and to their dedicated band directors. I'm looking forward to their next performance...

Reader hails Bobcat wrestlers, laments weather situation last week (02/26/13)
When the 2012 Bobcat Football season came to a close there were 12 young men that began making their way every day to the old gym after off-season workouts. They usually get there before the coaches and began setting up for practice. They carried and rolled out about 10 mats weighing 120-700 pounds, then clean and mop them without delay. ...

Reader: GOP should answer Obama's climate challenge (02/19/13)
In his State of the Union address the President said, "For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change," and "If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will." Meaning more EPA regulation. Obama is right about the necessity for immediate action. ...

Reader thanks county road department (02/19/13)
In a world where it seems like most people have a hard time taking responsibility for their actions I would like to commend the employees of the Carroll County Arkansas Road Department..focusing on the people who work the roads in the rural county roads. ...

Reader writes to Bischoff lawsuit supporters (02/19/13)
This is a letter to Mr. & Mrs. Bischoff, Mr. Germani, Mr. Brown and each of our other neighbors who in my opinion supported and now share the responsibility for the malicious illegal exaction lawsuit that has befallen Holiday Island. Thank you for your generous contribution to the history of this community and congratulations on your 15 minutes of fame. ...

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