Stories from Friday, May 20, 2016

John McClellan is now the principal of Berryville Middle School. On Monday, the Berryville School Board agreed to move McClellan from interim high school principal to middle school principal. McClellan had served as interim high school principal after former high school principal Owen Powell was promoted to superintendent of the Berryville School District. The board previously had voted to move David Gilmore from middle school principal to high school principal...

Berryville held a funding announcement ceremony Thursday at the Berryville Community Center for the city's Water Expansion Project. Ryan Benefield, deputy director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC), presented Mayor Tim McKinney with a check for a grant of $2.75 million. That money, Benefield said, came from a community development block grant, administered by the ANRC and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC)...

An incident that apparently began with police pursuing a vehicle in the Green Forest area ended with the death of a Green Forest man on Monday evening, but details of the incident have not been made public. The local prosecuting attorney says the Arkansas State Police have been asked to investigate the incident; the ASP's public information officer says no such request has been received...

The Berryville School Board voted to raise the price of school meals by 10 cents on Monday night. Breakfast for kindergarten through fifth grade will jump from $1 to $1.10, lunch for kindergarten though fifth grade will jump from $1.55 to $1.65 and lunch for sixth through 12th grade will jump from $1.80 to $1.90...

A public hearing has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, May 20, in the courtroom of the Carroll County Eastern District Courthouse in Berryville to address Tyson Foods' proposal to build a new $136 million processing plant in Green Forest. Tyson has asked County Judge Sam Barr to authorize the abatement of 65 percent of the property taxes on the new plant for 10 years...

If you live in Berryville and enjoy soccer, the Berryville City Council has good news for you. On Tuesday night, the council approved a resolution allowing the city to apply for grants to build a proposed soccer complex. City attorney Clint Scheel explained that the resolution authorizes Mayor Tim McKinney to apply for grant funds from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Outdoor Recreation Grant Program to help develop the proposed Berryville Soccer Complex...

Excitement was not the only thing in the air at the Berryville High School football stadium Thursday, May 12. Berryville middle schoolers gathered around seventh-grade science teacher Andrew Killingsworth as he counted down the launch of his students' weather balloon. Killingsworth released the balloon upon reaching "one," and students cheered and pulled out their phones to take pictures of it as it made its ascent into the atmosphere...

The Green Forest School Board voted to change the process for the annual End of Year Transfer of Funds at its May 16 meeting. Superintendent Matt Summers will meet with the school's bookkeeper near the end of June to review the district's finances and determine the carryover balance...

Several of Jesus' disciples are known by the nicknames they either earned or brought with them from their past. Simon became "Peter," the "rock." John was most often referred to as "the one Jesus loved." The other disciple named Simon was "the zealot;" Matthew, was the "tax collector;" and Judas, indeed, was "the betrayer."...

Natalie Battin and Mary Chew of Loaves & Fishes food bank recently accepted 187 pounds of miscellaneous food items from Terry Jacob and her granddaughter, Madonna, representing Ducommun Inc.'s employee food drive in Berryville. (Submitted photo)

Everyone is invited to the 50th wedding anniversary celebration of Doyle and Verna Blankenship from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, May 27, at the Towering Oaks Church basement in Berryville. Guests are asked not to bring gifts, but cards are welcome. (Submitted photo)

The Berryville Christian Fellowship (BCF) will host live Christian music from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, on the Berryville Square. Pastor Dale Price will also speak during the event. The event is free, and everyone is invited to attend. BCF purchased the historic church on West Church Avenue in November 2015. The native rock church building next to the Berryville Library was vacant for a few years, but the congregation is now enjoying the refurbished venue...

HOLIDAY ISLAND--Holiday Island District Manager Lawrence Blood announced the finding and fixing of an 80,000-gallons-per-day water leak on Bandy Drive during the Monday, May 16 Holiday Island Board of Commissioners meeting. Blood credited discovery of the leak to the district's new telemetry system and predicted further progress against water loss as the water department continues to learn more about the use of the new equipment...

The rental rates for boats and kayaks at local lakes are on the rise. On Tuesday night, the Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation Commission agreed to raise the rates. Parks director Justin Huss explained that it make sense to raise the rates because the department just purchased new boats. He added that the updated rates reflect the rates at other parks...

The adult education program at North Arkansas College in Harrison recently held its annual GED graduation ceremony. Pictured are graduates from Carroll County. Pictured from left to right in the top photo are: (front row) Jarod Riley Edwards, Pattie Jarrett, Danelle Botner, Candice Hayes; (back row) Jesus Trujillo, Kali Woodard, Kanya Horton, Daniel Rangel, Ethan Warfield, Dylan Harpole, Isabella Bishop and Timothy McClenathan. ...

School is almost out, but a few Eureka Springs Middle School students have been too busy rehearsing for "101 Dalmatians Kids!" to think about anything else. "Everyone in my family is coming," fifth-grader Audrey Myers said on Monday. "I'm a little nervous."...

The Food Truck Committee discussed the lottery drawing for food truck and trailer vendors on Thursday, May 12. At its May 5 meeting, the committee agreed to allow private property vendors to sign up for the lottery instead of food truck and trailer vendors. This, the committee decided, would help identify and give responsibility to private property owners who want to host food trucks and trailers...

Dakota Williams gives a double thumbs up after receiving his diploma at Berryville High School's graduation ceremony Friday night at Bobcat Arena. See more photos from Berryville's graduation on Page 12, and photos from Green Forest's graduation on Page 2. (David Bell/Carroll County News)

Each Friday morning, I share breakfast with a group of gentlemen at a local restaurant. The cast of characters isn't always the same; there might be as few as three of us present or as many as seven or eight, depending on the week. But the conversation is always entertaining and, although the food is always welcome, the meal is more about the fellowship...

An incident that apparently began with police pursuing a vehicle in the Green Forest area ended with the death of a Green Forest man on Monday evening, but details of the incident have not been made public. The local prosecuting attorney says the Arkansas State Police have been asked to investigate the incident; the ASP's public information officer says no such request has been received...