Opinion

I’m saddened. And I’m angry. I’m saddened because a friend lost his father over the weekend to complications from COVID-19, while another friend’s mother fights for life on a ventilator in a Missouri hospital. The friend who lost his dad Saturday night is a former reporter at the Pine Bluff newspaper, a law school graduate who spent some time working in the Middle East and pays close attention to international affairs. ...

This November on our ballot will be an initiative to dissolve the Historic District Commission. If this happens, we will lose millions in grants, we will lose our certified local government, along with Main Street standings, again millions in grants gone. ...

I’m writing this week’s column from my home office, something I’ll be doing for the next few weeks. That’s because my husband, Gideon, has come down with something that looks an awful lot like COVID-19. I don’t have any symptoms yet, or hopefully ever, but there’s no way to predict what’s going to happen a day, a week or a month from now...

We need to think seriously about the election for state and local offices in addition to all of the current attention to the presidential candidates. A friend recently asked me when and how to see names of the candidates on the ballot for our county. ...

“Here we go again,” I’m sure some of you are thinking. “Is this woman writing another column chiding people for not wearing a mask?” You’re darn right I am! As regular readers know, my husband, Gideon, is a teacher at Eureka Springs Middle School. He and his colleagues have resumed teaching in-person and the anxiety over transmitting COVID-19 is real. There hasn’t been a major breakout yet, but our educational leaders go to work every day knowing there could be...

Last Friday, I talked to my grandparents for about an hour. I hadn’t spoken to them much since Christmas, so it was good to catch up. They asked about the house Gideon and I recently purchased and I told them all the details. It has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, a screened-in porch and a view of the lake depending on the season. ...

The dust hasn’t quite settled yet, and there are still some questions left to be answered, but it looks as if Carroll County property owners are off the hook for an $18 annual fee connected to a defunct landfill in Baxter County. The case is extremely complicated in one sense, I can say after having read most of the case file. ...

I’m skeptical about a lot of things as high school and college teams prepare to kick off the 2020 football season. I’m skeptical about the chances for a complete season at either level. Don’t misconstrue that: I hope that both the high school and college seasons go off without a hitch, but I believe the odds are strongly against that...

After moving into our first home a few weeks ago, Gideon and I were serious about fostering kitties for Good Shepherd Humane Society. We are a cat-loving household — the more, the better! That’s why we were so excited when three orphaned kittens were left at Good Shepherd two weeks ago. It was our chance to take care of those sweet babies, to ensure that they could survive without a mama cat to rely on...

Growing old, as they say, isn’t for the faint of heart. Now, I realize that I’m still relatively young, but I haven’t gone unscathed by Father Time. My hair is a whole lot grayer now than it was 10 years ago, and I’ve got an expanding bald spot on the top of my head. Not to mention arthritis in both knees...

Next Monday is a big day for Carroll County parents, children and educators. It’s the first day that teachers will see their students in more than five months after in-person instruction halted in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s as exciting as it is scary for our local teachers, who have had to completely change the way they work to ensure safety for everyone...

Open Letter to County Judge Sam Barr and County Road Foreman Jim Kelly:

This is a big week in the Jones-Keas household. After six years of living in a two-bedroom apartment, more than a month of working with a realtor and four long days of sorting, moving and cleaning, Gideon and I have moved into our first home together. Would you all collectively pinch me? It still doesn’t feel real!...

It’s early August — typically the dog days of summer in Arkansas. The forecast calls for temperatures in the low to mid-90s next weekend, which seems about right. This past weekend, however, was a different story. The weather was much cooler and absolutely beautiful, and I took full advantage...

The family of Klaus Kupfersberger (AKA “Tom”) wishes to express their gratitude to all those who attended the memorial in celebration of his life. They appreciated every gift of food, the beautiful flowers, the cards and memories shared. A special thanks to Michael Bolin, pastor of the Green Forest United Methodist Church, and all the church members who helped with refreshments and encouraging words. We are blessed to be part of such a caring community. ...

Being a journalist isn’t easy. You are constantly exposed to new situations that your formal education did not prepare you for. You have to think on your feet, question everything and keep a cool head at all times. If you look below the surface, you often discover a story hidden in the weeds. But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar — the trick is knowing what’s real and what’s not...

I’ve been spending some time in the office on Sunday afternoons lately, partly because it gives me a chance to get a head start on the week and partly because it gets me out of the house. I’ve been doing my best to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, which means that I spend a lot of time at home. ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone a little differently, with many of us changing the way we work. Some of us began working from home, while others had their hours cut. I am one of the lucky folks who continued to work full time during the pandemic, but I did much of that work from my kitchen table. ...

Since I became managing editor for Carroll County Newspapers six years ago, I’ve made coverage of education a priority. I believe schools are an important part of the community — a source of pride and a vital element in building our future. For the past two years or so, I’ve also been responsible for high school sports coverage. ...

Last Thursday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that Arkansans will be required to wear masks in public places starting Monday, July 20. It didn’t take long for state Sen. Bob Ballinger to issue his own statement on the mask mandate, posting a video on Facebook in the midst of a vacation to Florida...

We have learned so much in these past few months about our community. With early trauma in March and a full shutdown in April, I was proud that our business community rallied together and supported one another. What has followed is interesting and uplifting. Specifically, when most were called back into this hyper difficult environment to re-open and operate their business the leaders of our established tourism infrastructure continued their efforts to move Eureka Springs interests to the forefront.. ...

It blows my mind to think that there are people out there that are so greedy that they sit and just think of ways to steal money. I could have not paid my taxes and the $18 fee, or in my case it was $72. I was promised if they won I would get it back. Now they are trying to figure a way to get the $18 fee. I am a widow but I can stand it, but it is a disgrace that we have people in America that try to pull stunts as they are doing...

For much of the past two weeks, I have been working on our upcoming edition of Currents Magazine. Currents is one of the fun things we do at Carroll County Newspapers. The stories have more flair than what we’d write for the weekly paper, the photographs are beautiful and they marry to form a glossy, high-quality publication every time...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in Carroll County, I believe it’s safe to say — if not directly, at least indirectly. I should note at the outset that five Carroll County residents have died from the virus, and those deaths are not something to take lightly. My heart goes out to those five people, and to the families and friends they left behind...

Like many of you, I am a creature of habit. I enjoy a version of the same lunch every day, follow the same workout video five days a week and constantly find myself binging TV shows I’ve seen a hundred times already. Consistency is comforting. It’s safe...