Stories from Tuesday, December 25, 2018

A packed auditorium at the Community Center in Berryville on Friday, Dec. 14, brought together the world’s largest Christian apparel company, for the annual company Christmas party, featuring an up-and-coming stand-up comic, Jaron Myers. Vic Kennett, founder and CEO of Kerusso, served as master of ceremonies for the event, which drew almost 200 to a buffet lunch, prizes and gifts, and a year-end recap of the company’s astonishing success...

Hey, Mr. Kringle. Can I go ahead and call you Kris? I feel like we should be on a first-name basis by now. I have been writing you for more than 20 years now, and occasionally peeping through your window using those night-vision binoculars you brought me in 2006. I say this with no judgment, but you might want to consider closing the blinds before undressing at night. There are creeps out there, you know?...

Eureka Springs High School is on a path of steady growth, and the state is recognizing it. Principal David Gilmore reported the school has received four awards for growth from the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas. The awards are: Statewide High Overall Growth, Statewide High Math Growth, Statewide High ELA Growth and High Overall Growth. ...

The Green Forest School Board voted at a special meeting Thursday, Dec. 20, to expel a high school student. Superintendent Matt Summers said he recommended the expulsion hearing because of the student’s persistent disregard for school rules, and the board voted to approve the expulsion recommendation. He said the student will be expelled for the remainder of the 2018-19 school year...

Carroll County Youth Leadership Academy Elected Officers: Evelyn, photographer; Jacob, vice president; Jordan, president; Sarah, secretary; and Emily, reporter.

The Crescent Hotel supports local nonprofits every holiday season with the Christmas Tree Forest, located on the east lawn. Mary Howze, who works with the hotel, said 31 nonprofits are represented this year including the Eureka Springs Community Center, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, The Purple Flower, the Creative Minds of St. James Church, People Helping People and the Imagination Library. Howze said this is the 13th year the Christmas Tree Forest has lit up the Crescent Hotel...

The contentious relationship between the Carroll County Airport Commission and the county’s quorum court took center stage at the commission’s monthly meeting on Friday. Several members of the quorum court attended the meeting — along with County Judge Sam Barr and several other county officials — to clear the air about recent tension centered on the county’s 2019 appropriation to the commission...

Every child deserves to experience the joy of Christmas morning. That is why dedicated volunteers in Carroll County have established local branches of the Angel Tree program for their communities, enabling residents, churches and businesses to anonymously offer help to families in need during the holiday season...

Green Forest’s proposed 2019 budget for Green Forest includes a raise for all police officers. At the Green Forest City Council’s budget meeting Tuesday, Dec. 18, Mayor Charles Reece said the city would be increasing police officers’ pay by 4 percent...

High school basketball fans are in for a treat this week, as the 10th Annual Cornerstone Bank Holiday Hoops Tournament tips off at Berryville’s Bobcat Arena.