Stories from Tuesday, February 9, 2010

CARROLL COUNTY -- Early voting has been hot and heavy in Eureka Springs, where more than 500 early votes have been cast in a school district election that asks patrons to approve a 1.98 mill increase to pay for a new high school. In contrast, only 11 cast early votes in a special Green Forest mayoral race that is also scheduled for today...

HOLIDAY ISLAND -- The Holiday Island Planning Commission (HIPC) has been tightening up some of its requirements in recent months due to problems with construction and contractors. In October, HIPC voted to require a permit for decks, with two inspections, after it was learned that a deck extension was improperly supported and unsafe...

EUREKA SPRINGS -- The Sixth annual Chocolate Lovers Festival is the day before Valentine's Day -- and this year it promises to return to a favorite of the early festivals -- homemade and unusual chocolate samples. This year's festival presenter, Vacation Rentals, Inc., of Holiday Island, is gearing up for a great time Feb. 13 at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks...

To the Editor: I want to send a message to the citizens of Green Forest. And also ask some questions. Do you want some people elected to the city council who are grossly lacking in common sense and knowledge? Do you want the city to pay an attorney who can not stand up and say to the crowd "you can not speak out at council meetings without legal and prior arrangements with the council." Not only did he not tell the crowd, but he did not instruct the interim mayor that she had the power to demand the crowd to control themselves or be ejected.. ...

The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism has a new way for you to connect and experience The Natural State. Arkansas continues to be ahead of the curve, most recently by launching a new social networking hub Visitmy Arkansas.com and creating an iPhone application...

EUREKA SPRINGS -- Makeup games with Union Christian Academy went the Highlanders way Thursday as both senior high teams posted wins, with the junior boys losing a close one. Coach Aaron Hall's senior girls won 56-47, keeping them near the top of the 2A-4 Conference with a 9-16 overall mark, 7-5 in league play...

What a Super Bowl! Alice and I could have missed it if Monday's snow storm had arrived on Sunday as they predicted as we were in Texas at my mother-in-laws 87th birthday. "All right, let's get this stuff loaded up so we can get on the road," I said early Sunday morning. "Got a Super Bowl to go to."...

Shannon B. Swinney Shelley, a resident of Green Forest, Arkansas, was born January 14, 1977 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a daughter of Byron A. and Dianna S. (Van Cleave) Swinney. She departed this life Tuesday, February 2, 2010 in Berryville, Arkansas at the age of 33 years...