Stories from Wednesday, July 9, 2003

by David McNeal As usual, Alice and I spent our Fourth of July holiday with her family near Tyler, Texas. This time, our little family also gathered. Kerrie flew in from North Carolina, and Amy and Bobby brought our new grandbaby, Connor, when the threesome arrived from New Orleans...

EUREKA SPRINGS ---- More than 300 competitors from 10 states will compete for $5,000 in cash prizes and $2,500 in other prizes at the 6th annual Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival July 18-20. The event is part of the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series, which is a series of 14 mountain bike races throughout Arkansas in which racers of all age groups and skill levels compete for a state championship title. Champions are decided by a point accumulation process...

The run-oriented Berryville Bobcat football staff has 15 or more young men ready for a 7-on-7 passing league that will be played on Monday nights during July. Huh? Did you say passing? Yep. For the first time, the Bobcats will compete in the popular summer contests that are exclusively passing attacks...

EUREKA SPRINGS ---- The standing-room-only event at the Victoria Inn and Convention Center on Saturday, June 28, was the 3rd Annual Eureka Springs Martial Arts Classic tournament, hosted by Groves Karate Studio of Holiday Island. This tournament was sanctioned by three circuits ---- The American Karate Association, based in Momence, Illinois with a member base of approximately 1,000; The International Martial Arts Council of America, based in Fayetteville and encompassing several schools in the northwest Arkansas area; and the Southwest Association of Tournaments, based in Neosho, Mo., with member schools spread throughout the state of Missouri and Holiday Island.. ...

Week of June 27 June 27 8 p.m. ---- Police were dispatched to the golf driving range to investigate a report of a reckless driver. The suspect was gone when police arrived. 9:20 p.m. ---- Police transported a subject to the police department following a traffic stop...

Week of June 30 June 30 12:32 a.m. ---- Officer assisted sheriff's deputies on Cisco Road, where a stolen truck had been involved in an accident. 7:45 a.m. ---- Medical assist on East Freeman. 8:45 a.m. ---- Medical assist on Huntsville Street. 10:10 a.m. ---- Assisted hitchhiker with ride to city limits...

Week of June 30 June 30 9:05 a.m. -- An unfounded report was made that a tent was set up in hollow behind Flint Street. 1:14 p.m. -- Harassment report was made concerning couple. 1:53 p.m. -- Incident report taken after Dogwood Ridge resident reported vandalism to mailbox...

OSCAR R. BAKER, a resident of Berryville, was born on June 14, 1915, in the Shady Grove community west of Berryville, a son of Frank S. and Bertha (Hunt) Baker. Oscar was a descendant of the pioneer family of John Baker who arrived with his family in Carroll County, Ark., from South Carolina via Tennessee, in January 1833. Oscar died Thursday, July 3, 2003 in Berryville at the age of 88...

RUBY ELIZABETH MANDOLINI, a resident of Berryville, Ark., was born October 3, 1912, in Marion County, Ala., a daughter of James David and Mattie L. (Rose) Bussey. She died Saturday, July 5, 2003, in her home at the age of 90. Mrs. Mandolini was a dietician. She was a member of the Grandview Baptist Church...

KATHERINE SUE PASSMORE MITCHELL, 61, of Harrison, Ark., and resident of Sugar Land, Tex. for many years, died on Wednesday, July 2, 2003. Katherine was employed with Fluor Daniel Corporation as a Project Controls Scheduler. She was preceded in death by her parents, Manuel Page and Edna Oris Passmore. ...

EVERT DONALDSON, a resident of Stone County, Mo. was born February 14, 1917 in Stone County a son of Floyd Worth and Mary Matilda (Corbin) Donaldson. He died Tuesday, July 1, 2003 in Berryville, at the age of 86. Mr. Donaldson was a beef cattle farmer and attended the Living Faith Church north of Berryville...

LOUISE GIPSON, 71, of Anchorage, Alaska, died June 18, 2003 in Anchorage. Mrs. Gipson was born Jan 12, 1932, in Omaha, Ark., to John Troy and Atta Potts. She moved from Missouri to Alaska in July, 1972, with her family and lived in Palmer until 1973, when she moved to Anchorage...

MICHAEL JACK LANGSTON, 50, of Shell Knob, Mo., died Saturday, June 28, 2003, in his home. He was born Oct. 14, 1952, in Kansas City, Mo., the son of Jack and Louis (Hoag) Langston. On Jan. 28, 1972, in Parsons, Kan., he was united in marriage to Cheryl Green, who survives. ...

Ronald Robert Smith of Holiday Island died July 5 at home following a lengthy illness. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, Dec. 29, 1924, the son of Helen and Forrest Smith. After serving in the Marine Corps in World War II, he was graduated from Bowling Green University in Bowling Green, Ohio...

It was a surprise to read that an elected county official thinks that busting meth labs doesn't do much for the county. While Holiday Island Justice of the Peace Marshall Turner stands by the report, which appeared last month in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, as an accurate reflection of his position, he was speaking more from an economic standpoint, rather than a position of public safety...

BERRYVILLE ---- Mayor Tim McKinney told the city council last Tuesday that an Eagle Scout's project has apparently been stolen from Saunders Heights, and is seeking help from the public in locating it. The mayor told the council that the cedar bench that Jadon Mallotte had handmade for the spot as part of his Eagle Scout program vanished...

Sheriff Chuck Medford and his investigators are upset with quotes attributed to Carroll County Quorum Court member Marshall Turner in a recent story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The story, which appeared last week, was a recap of Carroll County's budget and revenue crisis, which was reported in Carroll County Newspapers the week before...

BERRYVILLE ---- Concerns over blasting in the Berryville Memorial Cemetery came to the attention of Carroll County Newspapers reporters last week. At the time, Journagan Construction workers were preparing to blast their way down a city-owned cemetery road to lay water and sewer lines for annexed land at the west end of Berryville...