Stories from Tuesday, May 31, 2005

BERRYVILLE -- They are often referred to, with distaste, as Arkansas Tumbleweeds, but those countless Wal-Mart bags that seem to multiply in the pantry could very well be a source of blessing for people in Tanzania, Africa. Dr. Richard and Beverly Taylor, of Berryville, along with 14 other medical people, recently returned from a March 17-28 medical mission there. Two dentists and one physician made the trip to treat some 800 people over a three-day period...

HOLIDAY ISLAND -- An unhappy group of neighbors showed up to the May 23 Board of Commissioners (BOC) work session, having suffered nearly two days without water the prior week. Although water was back on by Friday the 20th, the nine residents of Suntop Lane, who have experienced ongoing water pressure problems over the years, wanted answers...

EUREKA SPRINGS -- The termination of Pearl Brick as special events coordinator/auditorium director for the City Advertising and Promotion Commission (CAPC) was directed by commission members Wednesday evening at the end of the regular monthly meeting...

BERRYVILLE -- When the weather did in their strawberry crop a few years ago, Neal and Carol Martin took their dairy barn and converted it into a furniture finishing room. The effort is now starting to pay off, with a number of employees cutting wood, assembling the pieces and shipping unique log furniture across the United States. ...

EUREKA SPRINGS Coach Aaron Hall has announced the Highlander Pee Wee basketball camp will be held May 31 through June 2. Grades 1-4 will work out from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, with grades 5-7 in the gym from 1 to 4 p.m. Cost of the three-day camps is $30. Coach Hall and new coach Daniel Cornelison will provide instruction...

BERRYVILLE -- The Lady Bobcat Mid-America Youth Basketball (M.A.Y.B.) team for ages 15-17 played its first basketball tournament of the season through the weekend of May 20-22 when the team competed in the Northwest Arkansas Shootout. The Shootout was headquartered in Fayetteville, but 12 gyms in the area were used to accommodate the 97 teams entered, Coach Jason Tennant reported...

EUREKA SPRINGS -- The Eureka Springs eighth-grade traveling basketball team played in the Northwest Arkansas Classic in Farmington on May 20-22, with action going on in 13 different gyms against teams from Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Highlanders were defeated in their first game, 33-26, by the Arkansas Light Flight. Leading scorers for Eureka were T.J. Wilkinson with 9, Taylor Williams 8, and Tyler McBride with 7...

RODNEY R. TAYLOR, a resident of Eureka Springs, was born Dec. 18, 1954, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, a son of Raymond Everett and Jeanne Elizabeth (Pearson) Taylor. He died Tuesday, May 24, 2005, in his home at the age of 50. Rod was the custodian at Eureka Springs Elementary School. He was a member of Faith Christian Family Church in Eureka Springs...

BONNIE DALEE PHILLIPS, a resident of Rogers, was born Oct. 28, 1910, in Berryville, a daughter of Perry and Melissa Emily (Goforth) Gardenhire. She died Sunday, May 22, 2005, in Berryville at the age of 94. Until her retirement Mrs. Phillips worked for the Department of Agriculture as a home economist. She and her husband owned and operated Phillips Grocery in Berryville. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Rogers, the BPW, AARP and the Christian Women's Association...

HATTIE ANN HAINES, a resident of Hillcrest Home in Harrison, formerly of Green Forest, was born Nov. 11, 1906, in the Douglas Community near Green Forest, a daughter of Ernest elihu and Nora Edyth (McNemar) Norris. She died Thursday, May 19, 2005, in Harrison, at the age of 98...

MARGUERITE ADELIA BLANCHARD FODDRELL, a resident of Cordova, Tenn., was born July 30, 1908, in Waucoma, Iowa, a daughter of Elgin Thomas and Ella Mable (Shook) Blanchard. She died Saturday, May 14, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn., at the age of 96. Marguerite was co-owner of a general store in Berryville for several years. She was a member of the Berryville First Baptist Church...

Ralph D. Connell, 87, of Alpena, died Sunday, May 22, 2005 at his home. Ralph was born the son of the late Christopher P. Connell II and Margaret Frame Connell. He was born May 9, 1918, in Nara Visa, New Mexico. He moved to a farm around 1952 near Alpena...

MRS. JUANITA IRENE BRECKINRIDGE, 87, of Eureka Springs, died May 17, 2005, at the Eureka Springs Hospital. She was born Sept. 16, 1917, at Tupelo, Okla., the daughter of George P. and Mamie Carroll Boone. She had retired from south Community Hospital in Oklahoma City, where she worked as a ward clerk. ...

Lloyd "Dean" Bell, 79, of Buhl, Idaho, died May 8, 2005, at Twin Falls, Idaho. The son of Lonzo and Laura (Webb) Bell, was born Dec. 17, 1925, in Green Forest. He was a veteran of WWII and a member of the Church of Christ. Survivors include his former wife, Iola Mae Trost of Berryville; his second wife, Frances Bell of the home; one son, Carl Dean Bell of Harrison; two granddaughters, Carla Lynette Tuttle of Berryville and Victoria Lynn Hathorn of Kingston; four great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; two step-sons; one step-daughter; nine step-grandchildren and 13 step-great-grandchildren.. ...

The Cape Refuge series continues with this book as Police Chief Matthew Cade gets a 4:30 a.m. call from his dispatcher telling him of a body found just outside his jurisdiction on the river, and how the neighboring police chief is miffed about Scott Crown, Cade's 19-year-old rookie cop, and his handling of the situation...

You've probably met someone who fits the type. Ollie William Benson is a reclusive computer geek who works in the back of a shop in Memphis, Tenn., repairing hard drives by day, and creating software at home by night. At six feet tall, he weighs 406 pounds. His social life is nil, partly due to his own insecurities and largely due to girls being totally turned off by his appearance...

GREEN FOREST -- A full slate of activities are planned in Green Forest June 3-4, beginning with blue grass music Friday night, an Agri Day celebration on Saturday and rodeo action both nights. The rodeo, sponsored by the Green Forest Lions Club, has been an annual event for nearly 50 years...