Stories from Tuesday, December 15, 2015

The Arkansas State Highway Commission has approved a bid of more than $13 million to widen four miles of U.S. Highway 62 in Carroll County. A press release from the commission notes that a contractor will widen a section of U.S. 62 between Berryville and Green Forest from two lanes to five. The work will take place between County Road 704 to just west of Arkansas Highway 103 South...

Benjamin Winn is happy to be teaching music at Berryville Intermediate School. "I'm amazed at how passionate kids are here," Winn said. Winn, who started teaching at Berryville this past year, explained that each grade in the intermediate school must perform a piece for the public. The fourth grade class performed a five-minute song at the school's Veterans Day assembly, and the third grade class presented "Twas the Night Before Christmas" two weeks ago...

Patty Fletcher wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but she certainly was memorable. After Fletcher died Nov. 29, people in both Berryville and Green Forest pitched in to give Fletcher a funeral just a memorable as she was. Bobby Thurman, who works with Nelson's Funeral Home, explained that Fletcher, 69, died without any family and would have had a bare-bones funeral had local citizens not stepped in. One of those citizens, Danny Inman, described how the funeral came together...

Clay Maxey Ford of Berryville is open for business. The former Berryville Ford officially changed hands on Monday, Dec. 7, as Maxey took ownership. A grand opening is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 22. Maxey, who owns Clay Maxey Ford and Clay Maxey Motorsports in Harrison as well as a pre-owned car dealership in Springdale, said he is excited to have a presence in Berryville...

Parents of Eureka Springs Elementary School students will get to see firsthand what their kids have been learning in music class on Thursday, Dec. 17. The school's annual Christmas program will take place at 7 p.m. that night at the Eureka Springs City Auditorium, where the performances will be split into two acts...

This building used to be known to most residents of Berryville. At the time this picture was made it was used as apartments, a far cry from the more noble use when it was first built. (Photo courtesy Frances Emmett)

I never knew either of my grandmothers. Both of them died young, years before I was even born. I've seen one photograph of my paternal grandmother (more on that in a bit) and until this weekend I had seen one grainy photo of my maternal grandmother...

This weekend, I saw the Eureka Springs High School production of Annie, Jr. The show was phenomenal, but what struck me most is how hard all the drama students worked on it. Because I'm writing an article about the show, I got a back-stage look at just how much work the students put in...

Abbey Mangandi was crowned Miss Merry Christmas 2015 on Saturday night at Green Forest's Fred Grim Gym. (Trevor Tegley photo)

The Berryville Lions Club celebrated the season with a banquet at the Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center in Eureka Springs. It was intended to be an 'ugly Christmas sweater' theme but the only member participating was club president Tyler Ashworth, kneeling in the center of the group. (Photo by David Bell/Carroll County News)...

Rehearsals for the Eureka Springs High School drama production of Annie, Jr. didn't start until two weeks into October, but director Rick Mann doesn't think that was a problem. "I expected the students to have much more difficulty than they did. They've done really well," Mann said...

Randy High, holding the big scissors, is once again running Green Forest Flowers. Joining him at the grand reopening last week were from left: Ross Darby, Maribee Dudley, Bill Emmerson, High, Tiffany Newton, Sandy Powell, Marilyn Miller, brother Timmy High, LeAnn Stark and Green Forest Mayor Charlie Reece. (David Bell/Carroll County News)...

GREEN FOREST -- Playing without three of your starters is always difficult. Having to do it in a tournament championship game against a quality opponent is even more difficult. That partly explains why the Huntsville Eagles defeated the Berryville Bobcats 59-41 Saturday evening in the final of the Green Forest Holiday Tournament...

GREEN FOREST -- There are times when a team comes out lacking the required energy to win a game. That was the case Thursday night when Bruno-Pyatt defeated Green Forest, 45-33, thus eliminating the Tigers from the Green Forest Holiday Tournament. "After playing that many nights in a row (five games in six days) the guys had no legs, no energy and they just couldn't get going," Green Forest coach Brandon Stone said. ...

GREEN FOREST -- The Berryville Lady Bobcats and the Green Forest Lady Tigers are going in two different directions and that showed Friday night when the Lady Bobcats beat Green Forest, 61-17. "When you are as young as we are, you have to take every opportunity to learn," Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison said. "We put some kids in some different spots tonight to see how they responded. I was pretty pleased with it."...

EUREKA SPRINGS -- The Eureka Springs Highlanders have depended on their defense for a majority of the season, but sometimes to win, you must forget about what led you to previous victories. That was the case when the Eureka Springs Highlanders got a home win against the Shiloh Christian Saints, 87-77 Thursday evening...

The Berryville Bobcat wrestling team competed at the Northwest Arkansas Duals in Rogers over the weekend. The Bobcats competed in seven matches and went 1-6 overall. Listed below are the matches Berryville won: Bartlett (Tn.) 44, Berryville 21: 120: Ethan King pinned Cody Longo...