News

While new and active cases of COVID-19 continue to increase in Carroll County, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday that he sees signs of improvement on the state level. “No new deaths and active cases dropping is good to see along with more than 5,000 new vaccinations today,” Hutchinson posted Sunday on Twitter. “This is great news as we continue to fight new incoming variants and must do all we can to prevent more cases.”...

The COVID-19 pandemic has made things difficult for many people. Especially hard-hit have been performance groups, from community and school choirs and bands to professional musicians. Between restrictions on large gatherings, limited rehearsal times, quarantines and mask mandates, finding the opportunities to rehearse — much less perform — has been a real challenge...

For the first time since 2019, the Carroll County Community Orchestra will perform on Sunday, Dec. 5. The orchestra’s annual Christmas concert, canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Bobcat Arena in Berryville...

Mayor Butch Berry met with the city’s economic development committee on Wednesday, Nov. 10, to discuss how to move forward with establishing affordable housing in Eureka Springs, and the group considered creating a nonprofit organization as the next step in the process...

Drug charges against a Eureka Springs husband and wife have been dismissed after a judge agreed with a defense attorney that the arrests were based on an illegal search. Prosecutors moved to dismissed charges against James and Rebecca Calahan and Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson signed an order to that effect on Nov. 15. Jackson’s order also states that a defense motion to suppress evidence in the case was granted...

A passenger on a Eureka Springs city trolley was transported to the hospital and a local woman was arrested after a traffic accident on Oct. 30, according to a police report. The report, which was released Tuesday morning — more than two weeks after the accident occurred — says the city trolley driven by Eric Evans was traveling westbound on West Van Buren just after 8 p.m. ...

The Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission agreed to spend $5,000 to promote the Arkansas Continental Preliminary Pageant, scheduled for early January, at its regular meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Local business owner Anthony Christopher submitted the marketing support fund request, which included $4,000 for social media marketing and $1,000 for print materials. ...

Unless they have a religious or medical exemption, Eureka Springs Hospital employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4. At the Eureka Springs Hospital Commission’s regular meeting Monday night, hospital CEO Angie Shaw announced a Nov. ...

Among the topics of discussion at a meeting of the Carroll County Airport Commission on Nov. 19 were the related topics of increasing revenue and expansion. At the heart of the discussion was the possible acquisition of several acres of land to build new hangars for lease and the possibility of restructuring a number of existing long-term, low-return hangar leases...

Just like last year, the arrival of colder weather in Arkansas is being accompanied by an increase in cases of COVID-19. Despite the increase, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday pointed out some positive news. “In the last week we have increased by 10,000 the number of fully vaccinated Arkansans,” Hutchinson posted on Twitter. “While active cases are up by about 1,200 over last week, we have 30+ fewer hospitalized; and our deaths are lower than in some time...

Berryville City Council members heard an encouraging report from the Saunders Museum during its regular meeting on Nov. 16. The monthly activity report from the city’s Saunders Museum showed a significant increase in visitation and monies received, matching last year’s October attendance — which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic — and nearly reaching 2019 levels...

Student enrollment in the Green Forest School District grew by 20 in the past month, rising from 1,373 on Oct. 1 to 1,393 in November, an increase that has left district superintendent Matt Summers with a few questions. “That kind of raised some eyebrows,” said Summers, who delivered the enrollment update to the school district board during its meeting on Nov. 15. “If they come and enroll, we put them in. The question is, where are they living?”...

The Berryville School District is on track to begin using solar power on campus at the beginning of the year. The district board heard an update on the solar array project, a 25-year agreement with North Little Rock-based Today’s Power Inc., from a company representative during the board’s regular meeting on Nov. 15...

A Holiday Island man was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 10, after he allegedly admitted stabbing his father to death. According to a probable-cause affidavit written by investigator Bobby Engles of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to an address on Apache Drive in Holiday Island just after 7 a.m. ...

The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas has begun an upward trend while the number of hospitalizations because of the novel coronavirus continue to fall. “Our case report continues to increase slightly compared to the previous week,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a Twitter message Sunday. “Hospitalizations continue to remain at a much lower level than we saw earlier in the fall. The vaccine has been shown to reduce severe COVID symptoms and hospitalizations.”...

The Eureka Springs School Board voted Monday night to suspend its mask mandate, a policy reinstated at the board’s Aug. 9 meeting with the understanding that the issue would be revisited at each subsequent meeting. Superintendent Bryan Pruitt said the district hasn’t had any COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks, and only three students were quarantined after a close family member tested positive for the virus. ...

Some Carroll County residents might find themselves living in a new legislative district next year thanks to new proposed maps released late last month. The proposed new House map, based on 2020 census data, would split Carroll County between Republican Rep. Harlan Breaux and Rep. Mark Berry. Rep. Ron McNair, who currently represents a portion of Carroll County, would no longer do so...

The Eureka Springs City Council has a new member. During its meeting on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, the council voted to appoint Nicholas Roberts to Ward 1, Position 2 — the seat left vacant after Laura Jo Smile resigned in October. Roberts and David Avanzino applied for the position, and both spoke to the council before the vote. Roberts said he’s been in Eureka Springs for almost 10 years and has “a lot of ideas” to help the town...

Whether they’re playing competitively or watching the action on Twitch, everyone in Eureka Springs High School’s Esports Club is getting in on the game. EAST facilitator Adam Louderback said the club started earlier this year, thanks to the computer-building skills of former student Kyle Plott. Plott, who graduated last year, spent this past summer literally bringing the computers in the EAST lab up to speed. Plott said he outfitted seven computers with high-end CPUs and new graphics cards...

A Holiday Island man was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 10, in connection with the death of another man. Gabriel Brotherton, 26, was booked into the Carroll County Detention Center just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to jail records. Carroll County Sheriff Jim Ross said in a news release Thursday that county dispatchers were notified of a possible deceased person in the yard of a residence on Apache Drive in Holiday Island. ...

The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas and the number of hospitalizations because of the novel coronavirus continue to fall. “Our COVID numbers continue to move in the right direction,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a Twitter message Sunday. “Last year, we saw a large increase in cases and hospitalizations in the winter months. Let’s get vaccinated so we can avoid that as we get closer to winter.”...

Some rural Berryville residents who paid a $100 deposit in hopes of being included in the city’s recent rural water project can expect to receive a refund in coming days. City administrative assistant Jay Lee says he’s processing them as fast as he can...

Carroll County veterans will be honored throughout the community this Veterans Day on Thursday, Nov. 11. The Eureka Springs Veterans Day Parade rolls through downtown Eureka Springs at 10 a.m., with lineup starting at 9 a.m. by the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library. The parade will be followed by a rifle salute at 11:11 a.m. at the Cat House parking lot at 82 Armstrong St...