Stories from Thursday, June 3, 2004

Police are still investigating the theft of a propane truck from Berryville and the crash that destroyed it in Eureka Springs in the early morning hours of April. 1. The thief or thieves have left no trail that police in either city have been able to follow, except for possible finger prints that have been sent to the state crime lab in Little Rock...

BERRYVILLE ---- When it first came to light that a retired "granny" wanted to take on the task of fixing up the old Berryville nursing home and turning into a haven for foster children, there were some who believed it could not be done. Virginia Litchford, 61 "and proud of it," has managed to enlist the support of the community to the point of getting the project off the ground, including volunteers, supplies and plenty of good wishes...

The popular fishing pier and walkway at Parker Bottoms, in the tailwaters of Beaver Lake, were officially closed on Wednesday because the structures were deemed unsafe. Jim Price, regional contract coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the rock and concrete structure was damaged when Beaver Dam floodgates were opened after heavy rainfall drenched the area in late April and early May...

As more and more "challenging" lots are being sold in Holiday Island -- those with uneven terrain or odd shapes -- builders and homeowners will be coming before the Holiday Island Planning Commission (HIPC) to ask for variances on setbacks. Such was the case Friday when several people asked for variances on lot setbacks...

When you see Lenore Anderson, you don't necessarily think of her as a matriarch of a huge clan, you would just think of her as someone's grandmother. She is both. When she celebrated her 80th birthday the first of May, about 50 members of her family and friends showed up for the party...

"CANCER" -- Hearing this word as a diagnosis can strike terror into your heart and the hearts of those closest to you. You can't believe it. You wonder, "Why me? Why now?" And if you are the primary caregiver of a loved one with cancer, you imagine a future without them and wonder how you will be able to survive that loss...

The prospect of a distinct Arts and Cultural District within the Eureka Springs city limits got a formal presentation last week from members of the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville...

Students from Groves Karate Studio in Holiday Island recently competed in two International Martial Arts Council Circuit tournaments. There were schools from Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas competing in more than 100 divisions. The April 17 tournament was presented in Fayetteville by the Arkansas College of Martial Arts. The eight students that attended and competed took a total of 21 first places, one second place, one third place and a fourth place...

The Covington brothers from Eureka Springs will be playing on the same basketball team again next fall, but this time it will be at the collegiate level. Griggs has just finished his second year at Grayson Junior College in Sherman, Texas, while Cash just graduated from ESHS. Both were standout athletes and good students for the Highlanders, and were a force when they played together one year...

CLARA JANE MILLS PERKINS, a resident of Berryville, was born May 3, 1923, in Ontario, Ore., a daughter of Lawerence and Ruby Jane (Peters) Mackey. She died Sunday, May 23, 2004, in Berryville at the age of 81. Mrs. Perkins was a homemaker, a beautician and at one time owned a day care center. She was of the Pentecostal faith and a member of the Eastern Star...

While events in the Middle East and Far East garner much attention politically, Western Christiandom has been forced to pay attention to a strange religious force which, on the surface, sounds so similar to Christianity, but acts ---- and reacts ---- much differently...

Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., is perhaps the biggest phenomenon to hit American Christianity since the Brownsville Revival in Florida, but its roots go back to the Jesus Movement of the 1970s. The interdenominational movement includes many denominational churches, including Baptist, Church of Christ, Methodist, Presbyterian, Nazarene, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, Assembly of God, Mennonite, Salvation Army and other congregations. ...

Why? All humans have asked themselves that question as they face pains of everyday life. On the opposite side of the same coin, all humans have been awed by something ---- a newborn baby, a stunning sunset, a blossoming plant ----the impact of which is equally unexplainable...