Stories from Saturday, August 2, 2008

BERRYVILLE --Several youth groups have come to help with a variety of jobs at Little Portion Hermitage, including weeding, composting beds, brush clearing, rock removal, log splitting, harvesting and snapping beans, and shucking corn, according to hermitage spokesperson Peggy Lodewyks...

Calls out Election Commission Chairman Phillips for profiting on leases to county and state

BERRYVILLE -- There's a new coach in Bobcat land named Valerie Turner, who will work in the girls athletic program with new interim head girls basketball coach Kristin Smith. The board of education met Monday and named Smith as interim head basketball coach after the departure earlier this summer of Nolan Helder...

CARROLL COUNTY -- The Carroll County Equalization Board meets during the months of August and September to hear petitions from property owners who feel their property has been assessed in error or unfairly. The five-member board is appointed by various agencies in the county. The schools, the cities and the county judge each appoint one member, and the Quorum Court appoints two. Terms are staggered...

HOLIDAY ISLAND -- The Holiday Island Board of Commissioners passed part of an amendment to its amenities regulation Monday and tabled the rest until the August meeting. Amendment #12 to Reg. 26, which deals with rules for recreation, golf and other amenities, was presented at the July 21 work session for the Board to consider two changes: one having to do with golf discount cards and the other to do with usage fees and cleaning deposits for district facilities...

EUREKA SPRINGS -- El Shaddai Ministries invites the public to come hear Dr. Paul Gervais minister Friday, Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. in "An Open Heaven" miracle crusade. The meetings will be held at the Roadway Inn Swiss Holiday Resort, 2015 East Van Buren (U.S. Hwy. 62 across from Rapid Roberts) in Eureka Springs...

BILLIE DEAN COOPER, a resident of Green Forest, was born Aug. 11, 1929, in Eldorado, Kan., a son of Harold Delbert and Emma (Harlan) Cooper. He died Sunday, July 27, 2008, in Green Forest, at the age of 78. Mr. Cooper was a veteran, having served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He attended Coin Church and was a member of the American Legion...

J.W. RUSSEL "JOHNIE" DARITY, died July 29, 2008, at the age of 78, the son of Frank and Ida (Young) Darity. He was born in Eureka Springs, April 29, 1930. He was in the construction business for many years and loved to sing. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Pauline Reynolds and Lorene Bonta...

VIRGINIA DAVIS, 87, of Fayetteville, died July 28, 2008, in her home. She was born May 13, 1921, in Boston, Mass. to Ragnar and Grayce (Wilder) Dalstrom. Later her family moved to Wilmette, Ill., where she graduated from New Trier High School. In 1942, she married Rowland M. Davis. They raised a family of five children in Glen Ellyn, Ill., where Virginia was active in many community activities. She also continued her education, receiving both her bachelors and masters degrees in mathematics...

Reba Sue Freeman, a long time resident of Eureka Springs, died on July 29, 2008, at the Johnson County Nursing Center in Olathe, Kan. Sue was born in Union City, Tenn., on April 14, 1925, where she later met and married Bob A. Freeman, who preceded her in death, as has her son, Larry...

EDWARD EUGENE "GENE" LITTLE, a resident of Grandview, was born April 19, 1945, in Arlberg, a son of A.J. and Eddith Alice "Kay" (Bagley) Little. He died Wednesday, July 30, 2008, in Berryville, at the age of 63. Mr. Little was a veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He was a member of the Grandview Baptist Church...

PETE PIERCE, a resident of Holiday Island, was born June 9, 1942, in Oakland, Calif., a son of Charles Milton and Pearl (Cobo) Pierce. He died Monday, July 28, 2008, in Rogers, at the age of 66. Mr. Pierce was a retired truck driver. He was also a member of the Holiday Island Elks Lodge #1042...

LITTLE ROCK -- The small craft advisory on the Arkansas River has been lifted, and the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza -- the country's largest amateur bass fishing tournament -- is set for Aug. 1-3. Arkansas River conditions have reached safe levels for small craft, as the Corps of Engineers reported that the Arkansas River flow levels are now below 70,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), the level considered hazardous for small craft...