Stories from Friday, February 10, 2017

A Carroll County teenager who is charged with capital murder in the death of his older brother last month was transferred from a juvenile detention center to the county jail in Berryville early Thursday, the day of his 18th birthday. Joseph Ian Santiago is accused of beating and stabbing Alex Santiago, 21, to death inside a mobile home in the Grandview area northwest of Berryville on Jan. ...

Hot Springs will be alive with the sound of music next week, and several Carroll County high school students will be adding to the melodies. Students from both Eureka Springs High School and Green Forest High School auditioned for All-State Choir last week and were selected by the judges to participate in the Arkansas All-State Music Conference at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The conference begins Thursday, Feb. 16 and continues through Saturday, Feb. 18...

Mayor Tim McKinney believes extending Berryville’s temporary sales tax is vital to the future of the city. In his “State of the City Address” at Tuesday’s Berryville City Council meeting, McKinney focused on the progress, both current and future, being made in the city...

The scope of work needed on the Highway 62 widening projects is narrowing every day. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department has been working the past few months on expanding a portion of Highway 62 between Green Forest and Berryville from two lanes to five lanes...

The Berryville City Council has taken the next step in financing the expansion of the city’s industrial zone. The council voted at its Tuesday meeting to pass Resolution 1003, authorizing Mayor Tim McKinney to execute any and all documents on behalf of the city for the proposed purchase of real estate for a new industrial and commercial park...

The big cats at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge have a new place to play. The refuge hosted a grand opening Jan. 21 for the new habitat, which features a double hammock, a three-tiered animal bench, fire hose area, rock bench and a makeshift scratching post comprised of enclosed logs...

It was Eugene Peterson, translator of the popular “Message” paraphrase of the Bible, who introduced me to a man named Rick Bass. Rick is a writer, a former geologist and an environmentalist. A child of Texas and a product of that state’s oil fields, Bass now actively works to protect the Yaak Valley, a wild, pristine wilderness in northwest Montana not too far from his adopted home of Missoula...

Rick Delaney ambles up the stairs at St. James Episcopal Church and adjusts a sign near the gate. “Sunday Night Supper - Everyone is Welcome,” the sign says. Delaney explains that he’s taking a quick break from the prep for tonight’s Sunday Night Supper, saying he coordinates with local restaurants to provide food for the event...

BERRYVILLE — Berryville seniors Jeanessa Smith and Melody Smith won't soon forget the Lady Bobcats’ monumental 52-30 victory on senior night over the Huntsville Lady Eagles. "We played well," Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison said. "If we play like that, we are going to be hard to beat."...

The Eureka Springs Highlanders had already clinched a conference championship, but Tuesday's home game against Mountainburg was very important. The 2A-4 West district tournament begins next week and both teams were looking to make a strong closing argument ahead of Wednesday's seeding meeting. A 64-44 victory for the Highlanders is a pretty strong closing argument...

Green Forest basketball coach Brandon Stone is continuing to see improvements, but as the district tournament starts next week it is important to start seeing positive results on the scoreboard. There were no positive results shown on Tuesday evening in Marshall, as the Bobcats defeated Green Forest, 68-46...