Stories from Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Berryville High School freshman Jada Hankins (right) shows off her certificate recognizing her as a Microsoft Office Specialist.

This listing includes individuals who have been booked into the Carroll County Detention Center. Charges may be reduced or dropped, and individuals are presumed innocent until being found guilty. As of Monday, Jan. 11, a total of 96 inmates were being housed in the detention center...

O n Wednesday, Jan. 6, President Donald Trump spoke to his supporters at a rally near the White House while Congress met at Capitol Hill to certify Electoral College votes that would make Joe Biden the 46th president of the United States. Trump again reiterated the false claim that the election was stolen from him and encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building...

I don’t get writer’s block.  For me, writing is like talking, and if you’ve ever met me, you’ll know I’m hardly ever at a loss for words. I can’t guarantee those words will always have substance, but I don’t usually have trouble finding something to say, even if it isn’t especially profound...

L ast week’s column in this space generated a fair amount of response, mostly on social media and mostly critical. For the record, I don’t mind. The purpose of an opinion column isn’t to please someone. In fact, writing an opinion piece with the goal of making someone happy is a fool’s errand. Express an opinion in public, or do anything to attract public attention, and you will be criticized, especially these days. It’s a fact of life and an occupational reality that I’ve long since accepted...

Holiday Island’s first city officials were recently sworn into office.

The Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation Commission has a lot of work to do in 2021, and interim director Scott Miskiel said his team is ready for that challenge. Miskiel, who was named interim director last October after the firing of former director Justin Huss, said he’s working on getting parks finances in order. ...

After adopting out 437 animals in 2020, Good Shepherd Humane Society has plans to create new programs to help local animals in 2021. Cole Wakefield, director of animal operations, said he’s working to create a community cat program. The program would be focused in Eureka Springs, Wakefield said, but would expand throughout Carroll County “with the goal of building a cat support community.” Wakefield said a group of volunteers will help save cats through the trap-and-release program, where feral cats are caught, spayed or neutered and released back into their environment.. ...

The Connect 4 board of directors heard some good news during its quarterly meeting on Thursday, Jan. 7.  The technical education program, a cooperative effort between the various school districts in Carroll County and several local businesses and manufacturers, is doing well in its third year, with 55 students enrolled —28 from Green Forest, 21 from Berryville and six from Eureka Springs — with 16 participating in paid apprenticeship programs where they are earning between $11 and $18 an hour. ...

While many hospitals across the country are struggling to deal with another surge of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly rural hospitals, where beds and staff are limited and space for transfers is limited — Carroll County’s two largest healthcare facilities are weathering the storm without any major problems and are rapidly completing the process of vaccinating their staff against the novel coronavirus...

The Berryville City Council last week debated changes to the city’s existing liquor ordinance. According to Mayor Tim McKinney, a proposed amendment is necessary to bring the ordinance in line with recent changes proposed by the state Alcohol Beverage Control board...

A former Eureka Springs resident who faces charges in several pending criminal cases is back behind bars at the Carroll County Detention Center after a judge ruled that he violated conditions of his release on bail. Sebastian Valentino, 50, was one of three people arrested after a standoff with officers from the Carroll County Special Response Team in September 2019 in Eureka Springs. ...

Three more Carroll County residents have died from complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Arkansas Department of Health, and Berryville School District superintendent Owen Powell confirmed Monday that a teacher in the district has died...

The Green Forest Tigers dropped a pair of conference games last week. Lincoln nipped Green Forest 44-42 on Tuesday at the Grim Gym and the Tigers lost at Bergman on Friday, 70-49. Senior swingman Daniel McDonald scored 22 points against Lincoln, then had 32 in the loss to Bergman. Junior center Jordan McLoud had 11 points against Lincoln...

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Berryville Lady Bobcats, and the ups and downs continued over the past several days. On the court, the Lady Bobcats split a pair of games last week, dropping the conference opener to Shiloh Christian 52-37 on Monday, Jan. 4 in Springdale before bouncing back to beat Clarksville 70-57 in a nonconference game Friday at Bobcat Arena...

Just about every high school basketball team, even a really good one, goes through a lull at some point during the season. The Berryville Bobcats might be in the middle of such a lull right now, but coach Brent Compton believes his team can grow from the experience...

The Eureka Springs Highlanders split a pair of conference games last week, winning 35-24 at Cotter on Monday, Jan. 4, before losing to Flippin 60-41 on Friday at Highlander Arena. Eureka Springs relied on its defense to secure the victory at Cotter. Coach Brian Rambo said Cotter’s strategy was to slow the game down to limit the Highlanders’ possessions...