Stories from Tuesday, June 19, 2012

GREEN FOREST -- Mayor Charlie Reece is eagerly anticipating Thursday's meeting at the Alumni Center with Arkansas Highway Department officials on a proposed new route for U.S. Highway 62. Reece and other Green Forest officials and residents are concerned about the future of the city if the Highway Department decides to re-route Highway 62 out of the downtown area...

HOLIDAY ISLAND -- After several months without a doctor, the St. John's clinic at Holiday Island now has a doctor in the house: Dr. Sonal Bhakta, who specializes in internal medicine. Dr. Bhakta is here as part of a rural medical program with Mercy Health Systems. ...

EUREKA SPRINGS -- For writer Elizabeth Newell-Mack, there is an intrinsic connection between the loss of the springs in her hometown of Sulphur Springs, Ark., and the loss of the town's people, businesses and vitality. While on retreat at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Newell-Mack is working on a book, "Healing Springs," that explores this connection and what it means...

It was a recent Friday around noon when my husband and I pulled into the parking lot of the Town and Country Café. We parked next to a small bus that is used for Social Services recipients, and I thought nothing of it until we entered the café and sat in a booth across from the back room that is reserved for large groups and gatherings...

Father's Day was Sunday and most of us made sure to let our dads know how much we love and appreciate them. The truth is that we owe so much to our fathers, but do you know who founded Father's Day and when it was first celebrated here in the United States?...

(Note: Heads up, Middle-Schoolers. Isn't the Sixth Annual Writing Contest coming up soon? Save this column!) In the last column, I promised that this week would be something different and something fun. Let's start with a couple of stories. Your Pain Will Set You Free...

This is a response to the letter sent by the Arkansas Department of Health "experts" published in the Citizen, May 3. In their letter, ADH "experts" stated, "experts around the world have provided strong evidence that water fluoridation is both safe and effective. There is no link between community water fluoridation and any harmful health problem ... fluoride is a natural element found in rocks, soil, fresh water and the ocean."...

BERRYVILLE -- There's not a scientific study that proves it. No poll has been taken. And there's not a close examination of the subject. But it seems there are a couple of observations one can make about barbers. First, they generally seem to have a deep satisfaction in their chosen profession. Second, it appears they keep working much later into their senior years than those in other professions, save U.S. Supreme Court justices...