Stories from Friday, January 31, 2014

FORSYTH, MO. -- Holiday Island Commissioner Gregory Davis entered an alford plea of guilty to his charges of third-degree domestic assault and second-degree property damage at his last hearing, on Jan. 24. With an alford plea, the criminal defendant does not admit the act, but admits that the prosecution could likely prove the charge, according to U.S. Legal Definitions...

BERRYVILLE -- Before deciding whether or not to hire a superintendent search firm, a representative of McPherson and Jacobson LLC came to give the School Board a presentation on Tuesday night. Dr. Diana Julian, a consultant for McPherson and Jacobson -- commonly referred to as Mac and Jake -- and former superintendent with the Benton and Bryant school districts, spoke to the Berryville School Board. Julian also teaches educational leadership classes at Harding University...

HUNTSVILLE -- Rickie Lee Asbridge, 55, of Green Forest, is being charged with 20 counts of distributing, possessing and viewing sexual content involving a minor, four counts of computer child pornography and 20 more counts of computer exploitation of a child, according to records from the Madison County Circuit Clerk's office...

CARROLL COUNTY -- Last year, the Carroll County Sheriff's Office made 929 arrests and served 773 warrants, which is 61 percent of arrests and and 77 percent of served warrants in the county, according to the CCSO year-end report for 2013. Also the sales tax for 2013 was the highest amount received by the CCSO and all departments of the CCSO finished the year under budget by approximately $200,000...

Representatives from AT&T Mobility will be on hand Tuesday, Feb. 4, to take comments and answer questions about the proposed cell tower in Busch on land at the Beaver Lake Storage site, owned by Fred Bartel. The meeting will take place at Riverview Resort and Country Store, at 17939 Hwy. 62 West, at 5:30 p.m...

HACKETT -- Eureka Springs fell to 4-21 overall and 1-9 in 4-2A West Conference with a 39-19 loss at Hackett on Tuesday. Hayden Mayfield led the Lady Highlanders with 11 points, Haley Comstock finished with four and Taylor Little added two as first-year head coach Jamie Green continues to build the program...

GREEN FOREST -- Green Forest can't seem to take what is given to them. After continued poor performances from the free throw line in previous games, the Tigers continued to struggle from the charity stripe Tuesday night at Fred Grim Gym, dropping a 60-53 decision to West Fork to fall to 3-13 overall and 1-4 in 1-3A Conference...

BERRYVILLE -- Berryville coach Brent Compton is well aware that the Bobcats could be at or near the top of the 1-4A Conference standings with a break here or there. As it stands, the Cats are on the bottom looking up and needing to win a few games before the conference tournament rolls around in mid-February...

BERRYVILLE -- Berryviille coach Daniel Cornelison said the Lady Bobcats would not be accused of poor defense for the rest of the season following last Friday's loss to Ozark. Whatever Cornelison said to the team in Monday's practice must have been effective as the Lady Cats grounded Gravette 53-22 Tuesday at Bobcat Arena to move a game above .500 in 1-3A Conference action...

GREEN FOREST -- Green Forest girl's basketball coach Kyle Farrar has been waiting for the Lady Tigers to break out of their cage this year. And while Farrar didn't get the overall results he wanted in Tuesday's 52-44 1-3A Conference loss to West Fork, he did see the Lady Tigers show signs of life...

HACKETT -- Eureka Springs boy's basketball coach Brian Rambo had his resources recently depleted with the dismissal of three players and a key starter out with an injury. Sophomore guard Reggie Sanders was back in the lineup in Tuesday's 4-2A West Conference outing at Hackett after breaking a tooth and knocking out two more in a game at Johnson County Westside on Jan. ...

Larry K. Newman, Colonel (Retired) U.S. Army, a resident of Berry-ville, AR, was born Oct. 1, 1929 in Berryville, AR, a son of Clay Altus and Blanche Helen (Hanby) Newman. He departed this life Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 in Berryville, AR, at the age of 84 years...

Rosey Mae Cantwell, age 80 "19", of Alpena, AR, passed away Monday, Jan. 27, 2014 at her home. The daughter of Jess and Edna (Smith) Barnes was born Oct. 8, 1933 at Lindsay, OK. Rosey was a homemaker and worked on her farm. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Claud Cantwell; infant daughter, Loretta Elizabeth Cantwell; brother, Jack Barnes; sister, Lucille Jones; an infant sister; and a granddaughter, Lacy Jo Cantwell Durant...

Carroll County Clerk Jamie Correia shows her form at the Thursday night women's bowling league at Town and Country Lanes in Berryville. Correia is on the team sponsored by Adkins Refrigeration.

HARRISON -- The North Central Arkansas Pageant Association is pleased to announce the upcoming Miss North Central fundraiser pageant. On Friday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Harrison High School auditorium, there will be nine divisions for girls ages 0 and up. We will also host Miss Winter Wonderland categories for ages 0-4; 5-12; and 13 and up for contestants to compete in casual winter wear...

BERRYVILLE -- Mercy Auxiliary-Berryville recently donated $3,000 to the Mercy Hospital Berryville Coworker Crisis Fund. This program is in place to offer financial assistance to Mercy coworkers in the Berryville area when they experience an emergent personal hardship. Some situations this fund has supported in the past include coworker house fires, vehicle accidents and unexpected family emergencies...

GOLDEN, MO. -- The Little Rock District of the Army Corps of Engineers will hold a workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Golden Community Center to discuss closing Viney Creek Park because of budget constraints. The park fronts Table Rock Lake and has 46 campsites...

LITTLE ROCK -- Carroll County Farm Bureau President Rusty Butler, of Green Forest, was honored for the county's work over the past year at the 79th Annual Arkansas Farm Bureau Convention in Little Rock. Presenting the award was Andy Guffey, a member of the Arkansas Farm Bureau staff...

BERRYVILLE -- Jerry King of Green Forest has been elected to a three-year term on the Carroll Farm Service Agency County Committee. King and his family operate a poultry and cattle farm north of Green Forest. The election was held by mail in January for a term that begins in February. Committee members are limited to serving three consecutive terms, and this will be his third...

BERRYVILLE -- The Carroll County Extension Service has a Private Applicator Training Workshop scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18 6 p.m. at Cornerstone Bank in Berryville. Attending one of these training workshops is required by the Arkansas State Plant Board before you can obtain a private applicators license. The certificate of training is good for five years...

BERRYVILLE -- Local master gardener Mariellen Griffith will be teaching an organic gardening class at the North Arkansas College Carroll County Campus in Berryville on Feb. 15 and 22 from 9 a.m. to noon. Organic gardening represents a commitment to a sustainable system of living in harmony with nature by following the essential principles in soil building and conservation, pest management and heirloom preservation...

This year, Bob Seger will celebrate his 10th anniversary as an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The honor is his because of his hardscrabble, up-by-the-bootstraps life story; the way he can forge lyrics that are a combination of personal autobiography and everyman's experience; and of course, there is the legendary intensity with which he delivers his melodies...

HOLIDAY ISLAND -- Holiday Island Community Church has ongoing Bible studies that are open to the community. The church has a variety of styles and topics to help those interested in growing spiritually. Anyone who's interested may come and start at any time...