Stories from Monday, January 5, 2015

I met my boyfriend, Gideon, in the spring of 2010. Both in the top of our class, we were invited to a governor's reception in Little Rock. After I took a photo with Gov. Beebe, I retreated to the refreshment table. I first saw Gideon when I was drinking subpar lemonade. Standing in the back of the room, he wore a dark suit and an even darker expression. I couldn't figure out why a person could look so sad during a celebration like that, so I approached him...

Children returning to school this week shouldn't expect any snow days in the near future. Though it will be brutally cold the next couple weeks in Carroll County, Joe Sellers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Tulsa office, said there will be little to no precipitation accompanying the drop in temperature...

Carroll County was the first place to host the Master Gardeners State Convention nearly 20 years ago. In 2016, the Carroll County Master Gardeners will host the convention again. Tammy McCance, president of the Carroll County Master Gardeners, said there will be approximately 500 master gardeners at the Inn of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs for the convention. ...

Green Forest School District Superintendent Matt Summers has been working out, but not because of a New Year's resolution. He's trying to get in shape for the Lifetouch Memory Mission, a trip that allows Lifetouch employees to build a school in a foreign country...

Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson swears in newly appointed Carroll County District Judge Greg Thurman. Thurman replaces Jackson, who vacated the District Court position when he was sworn in Jan. 1 as circuit judge.

Berryville Mayor Tim McKinney swears in Caleb Culhane as a full-time officer with the Berryville Police Department.

We're starting a new, regular feature in the Carroll County News -- "Then and Now." Eventually we'll want your assistance with this fun project. Each Midweek edition will include a picture and a little information about the location. It will be a place you may or may not be familiar with, but will not be so obscure as to be impossible to identify. In the Weekend edition we will show you a contemporary picture of what the location looks like today and where it is...

Fred and Sherry Siebert (center) of Rogers deliver checks totaling $23,000 to President Tanya Smith of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (right) and Curator Emily McCormack (left) on New Year's Eve.

Rusty Butler (center), president of Carroll County Farm Bureau, was honored for the county's work over the past year at the 80th Arkansas Farm Bureau annual convention Dec. 4 in Hot Springs.

Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (CBCO) will hold a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at Green Forest High School. CBCOP has issued a Code Yellow Alert for all negative blood types. There is currently less than a two-day supply of this type on hospital shelves and donations are needed immediately...

The Carroll and Madison Public Library Foundation Board met in early December at the Huntsville Public Library to organize the group's annual fundraising campaign.

GARY RICHARD USREY SR., resident of Berryville, Arkansas, born October 10, 1945, Carrollton, Arkansas, son of Willie Osmore and Lillian Edith (Smith) Usrey. Passed away with family by his side Saturday, January 03, 2015, Bentonville, Arkansas at 69 years...

BERRYVILLE -- The Green Forest Tigers were facing a size disadvantage in Monday's first-round game of the Holiday Hoops Tournament, and it turned out to be an obstacle they couldn't overcome. White County Central pulled away from Green Forest late in the second quarter and went on to a 58-33 victory at Bobcat Arena...