Stories from Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Aging brings many joys, like more time with family and freedom with retirement, but our later years can also bring difficult life transitions – including the loss of loved ones and the stress of age-related health concerns. Mercy Hospital Berryville has now partnered with Senior Life Solutions. ...

The Harrison Handyman team took home the first-place trophy at the Merlin Foundation’s second annual Ragball Tournament. Pictured are team members (front row, from left) Alexx Carter, Taylor Wiefenbach, Cody Paul, Rachel Walker, Merlin Foundation representative Kaleigh Evans, (back row, from left) Steve Paul, Seth Butler, Brandon Emmitt, Wes Slaton, Billy Creamer and Jeremy Bilbee. ...

Here I am again, spending my retirement writing to my representatives instead of relaxing. Don’t get me wrong, I have to do this because I cannot trust you to protect my democracy. I will continue to do this dozens of times every week along with going to resistance meetings, protests, voter registrations and citizen rights rallies until I feel my rights and freedoms and the rights and freedoms of all Americans are safe again. ...

Make-A-Wish Mid-South recently granted the wish of Berryville Wish Kid Andy Benitez. Andy, his parents, Emilia Jiminez and Jose Benitez, and his sister, Emily, were off to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. after his wish reveal party. The Berryville School Kids for Wish Kids Club sponsored the wish, and funds were raised by a group of Berryville graduates as part of their senior Capstone Project...

HOLIDAY ISLAND — The Holiday Island Board of Commissioners discussed budget needs with directors of the Recreation Center and the Water/Wastewater departments in the District Office during a regular meeting on Monday, September 25. The meeting represented the final preliminary budget meetings with department heads and should lead to a draft budget meeting followed hopefully by a meeting to finalize the budget before board member elections in early December...

Retail analysis and development is a key component of economic development for a community. That was the message of Mark Goodman, president of Goodman and Associates LLC in Conway, during a presentation on Berryville’s retail trends Thursday in the Community Room of Cornerstone Bank. Goodman, a consultant for Winrock International, recently completed a retail analysis of the Berryville area and was sharing his findings with interested business and community leaders...

Bikes, Blues and BBQ weekend was an easy ride for Carroll County, according to local officials. Sgt. Brian Jones of the Eureka Springs Police Department reported there was only one minor accident in Eureka Springs over the weekend. “It went good for us,” Jones said. “There were no fatalities in Eureka. We had a lot of people in town, and everything went smoothly. There was only one accident on Friday, and it was a one-vehicle accident.”...

Two Eureka Springs firefighters were sent to the hospital after putting out a fire on Spring Street on Friday, Sept. 22. Fire marshal Jim Kelley said Monday the firefighters were the only people who suffered any injuries in the blaze, attributing the heat exhaustion to 90-degree temperatures and high humidity. The firefighters are doing well now, Kelley said...

The Berryville School Board voted at its Monday meeting to approve the 2017-18 operating budget. Superintendent Owen Powell said the budget is based on projections for the upcoming school year, with the spending and funding of the previous year being used as points of reference...