PRS RT S TD U.S . PO S TA G E PA ID
Little Rock, AR 72202 Permit No. 471
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 Number 30, Volume 37
MID-WEEK
MARKETPLACE
Servin g th e H ot Sprin gs / G a rla n d C ou n ty a rea s in ce 19 77
Army pilot from HS featured in documentary STEVEN MROSS The Sentinel-Record
Submitted photo
LOCAL HERO: U.S. Army Capt. Dan Culbreth stands near his Boeing AH-64
Apache attack helicopter on the day he was promoted to captain. Culbreth, a 2001 graduate of Hot Springs High School, is featured in the Aug. 2 episode of “My Fighting Season,” a military docuseries executive produced by actor Ricky Schroder.
U.S. Army Capt. Dan Culbreth, a 2001 Hot Springs High School graduate, has flown his Apache helicopter through two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and will soon be flying into many living rooms as one of the soldiers featured in an upcoming episode of “My Fighting Season,” a war documentary series on AT&T’s Audience Network. Culbreth, who serves with the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., will be in the Aug. 2 episode of the six-part docuseries, executive produced by actor Ricky Schroder, which is a sequel to Schroder’s earlier “The Fighting Season,” and follows U.S. Army soldiers in Afghanistan from the unique perspective of their own cameras. “It was an interesting experience,” Culbreth, who was in Hot Springs for a week visiting his parents, Tim and Sally Culbreth, told The Sentinel-Record Tuesday. “I didn’t know what to think of it. I wasn’t too sure what they were looking for, but these are stories that are worth being told.” Culbreth noted that his interview for the episode was about six hours, but his sequence lasts about six minutes. He was able to watch the final cut Monday and said, “It’s good, but definitely edited. It’s very accurate, but very simplified.” He said he would never have agreed to the interview if it had not come through official channels and “had division’s blessing.” They asked him several questions which dealt with “rules of engagement,” a lot of which are classified, so “I was tense trying to describe what happened without divulging information that gives someone a tactical
advantage they could exploit.” He said about a week after his interview, Schroder called him. “I was quite surprised at who was at the other end of the phone. He had been editing my footage and could tell I was tense about what I was talking about. “He wholeheartedly wanted to make sure I understood what his intentions were and that he wasn’t going to twist the video or leave any question the guys we engaged that day were enemy combatants. That it was not going to be agenda driven, but soldier story driven.” The episode deals with a day of fighting by ground troops that occurred during Culbreth’s first tour between August 2011 and September 2012. He would later return for a second tour from August 2014 to May 2015, which was “almost exclusively special operations missions” involving specific Taliban targets, with hardly any ground patrol missions. In the episode, a ground patrol unit was “just off Route Georgia,” which led from Pul-i-Alam, the district capital of the Logar province, through the Wardak province. The route “went through what we called the wild west. We called it Indian country. It was a bad area where patrols got in fire fights every single day.” He said the Taliban were “experts at hiding heavy weapons. Hit-and-run tactics. There were a lot of hedge rows, deep green valleys. A billion ways to hide and move through that valley.” He said the patrol team “got into trouble” and was pinned down. “We got a call about some insurgents on a hilltop firing down and that was the only info we got. I had a grid of where they were, but I didn’t know what they
were shooting at. I didn’t know the team was out there at first.” He said he never talked to the team members, but was finally able to make contact with their commander and “provided air support once I figured out where they were. I don’t want to go into more detail because it will be covered in the episode. But basically they were in trouble and I came in to support.” Culbreth said he later took some of his footage from the video cameras in his Apache to show to the intelligence officer for the ground units “to show them what I see and how I see things. Aerial is not a better vantage point. It’s just different. So we could discuss how to improve my response time and how to handle situations better.” He stressed that “everything in the Apache is recorded. If the video isn’t working, my weapons may as well not be working. If I pull the trigger without the video running, I may as well sign my own tribunal.” Schroder’s first series involved footage shot by embedded cameramen, but the new one comes completely from helmet cams and digital cams worn by the soldiers. The footage Culbreth gave them was consolidated with other footage and eventually made it into the hands of the show’s producers, who were interested in the aerial footage and the “new perspective it offered,” so “the hunt was on” to find the source. He said the show’s associate producer, Jim Raybon, was a former 82nd Airborne Brigade commander, so “not only was he a fellow aviator, but 20 years ago he would have been my boss.” He said Raybon recognized some of the call signs Culbreth could
Tickets available for Oksana concert HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — Renowned violinist Oksana will present a concert of jazz music at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 in the Coronado Community Center, 150 Ponderosa Way. A member of the Fort Smith and Texarkana symphonies, Oksana has also performed with artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. She also performs regularly during World Music Night programs at the Clinton Presidential Center. Besides being an accomplished classical violinist, she is unique in that she can also play by ear. As a result, she has picked up folk music from places she has visited around the world. Upon coming to America, she became interested in jazz music, with its improvisational nature and unique rhythms. Following years of study, she is now ready to release her recently recorded album “Jazz Clouds,” and her Hot Springs Village performance will serve to celebrate that release. “Jazz Clouds” is a collection of several well-known songs that have come out of or were inspired by the jazz idiom. The focus is on music from the 1930s through the 1960s. “We feel that this music will appeal to a wide audience,” the artist said in a news release.
Selections include “It’s a Good Day,” “How High the Moon” and “Music, Music, Music.” Oksana will also perform “Swing 42,” which will feature her singing in French. Accompanying her will be Brian Hamby, playing both Hammond Organ and piano. Inspired by the legendary Jimmy Smith, Hamby has made his own mark on jazz organ, having performed with Christian contemporary artists and jazz musicians in Arkansas and Texas. He is the organist at Scope Ministries, and has published articles of analysis and instruction for the online magazine B3Player. Hamby has been teaching at Ovation and at Piano Kraft in Little Rock since 2012. He is also a student of worldclass jazz organist Tony Monaco. One of central Arkansas’ busiest drummers, Slavek Bolubah, will be on percussion for the concert. He has played with many of the top jazz musicians in the area, including guitarist Ted Ludwig. Bolubah is the drummer for the popular group Dizzy Seven, and he assists in recording the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra any time they perform. He was also the engineer for the record-
PILOT, PAGE 3
The Sentinel-Record/Colbie McCloud
NEW LOCATION: A vendor sets up items in her booth on June 30
at the recently opened Central Avenue Market Place, 4330 Central Ave., located in the Temperance Hill shopping center.
Market Place sales up at new location COLBIE MCCLOUD The Sentinel-Record
Submitted photo
TREASURED MUSICIAN: Classical and jazz violinist Oksana
will offer a concert in the Coronado Community Center on Aug. 9. She will play several selections from her recently released album “Jazz Clouds.” ing of Oksana’s new CD. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased online at http:// www.havpoa.org.
Call Ovation Music Academy at 870-405-6856 for more information about the concert or its artists.
In their fourth week in operation as Central Avenue Market Place, 4330 Central Ave., in the Temperance Hill Shopping Center, dealers say the new move has increased business and items are flying out of the booths. “Everyone comes in and says it’s the talk of the town,” said Reagen Megee, co-owner. “We have only heard wonderful comments.”
Albanese Cormier Holdings of Beaumont, Texas, said in late April that four “strong national tenants” will be operating by early next year in the space formerly occupied by Central Station Market Place at Central City Shopping Center. The company gave Megee and her mother, Shelley, a 30day notice at the end of April to vacate the space more than 200 vendors rely on to sell a
MARKET, PAGE 4
Jessieville High’s Benson, de Haas represent USA Rugby at tourney JAY BELL
The Sentinel-Record
The Arkansas All-Stars impressed at the USA Rugby South Regional Cup Tournament last month in North Carolina and the stage proved to be especially beneficial for two members of the team who were called up to the national team. Ruben de Haas was selected as captain for the USA Rugby Boys High School All-American team and Steven Benson became the second player from Arkansas ever to be called up. Both are rising seniors at Jessieville High School. De Haas became the first player from Arkansas called up in 2014. Pieter de Haas, Ruben’s father, played professionally in South Africa before he and his wife, Lorrain, moved to Arkansas with Ruben more than a decade ago. He helped found the Little Rock Junior Stormers and continues to coach the club team and the state all-star team. The Junior Stormers are the state’s high school-level competitive team. They operate under the banner of the Stormers, the senior competitive team of the Little Rock Rugby Club, which was founded in 1974. USA Rugby hosts five regional tournaments each year to scout and recruit the best players from across the country for the national boys’ and girls’ All-American teams. BHSAA head coach Salty Thompson selected 26 players for an “east” team to
take part in a weeklong camp and two games against the Ontario Blues under-19 development team at Appleby College in Canada. “Ruben is currently the most experienced high school player in the country, as he already represented the USA at U20 level at the World Trophy in Africa earlier this year,” de Haas said. “So we were hopeful for another call up for him to the national High School All-Americans. “I knew Steven was on their radar after a scout saw him at an earlier tournament in St. Louis this year, but what a nice surprise when he was selected to join Ruben for the two-match tour to Canada.” The Arkansas team went 2-2 at the South Regional in Charlotte, finishing with an exhaustive 18-15 loss to South Carolina. The tournament was held June 18-19. Players were notified of the national team selections on June 20. Benson said he did not expect the call. “It kicked in when the announcement was made,” Benson said. “I work hard. My teammates work hard also. We just work hard together and finally the announcement came. I was pretty happy about that. I never really thought about it. I try to stay humble and then when it happened, I was obviously very happy.” Benson will finish his football career this fall
RUGBY, PAGE 5
Submitted photo
CAPTAIN AMERICA: Ruben De Haas dives for a score for the USA Rugby Boys High School
All-Americans during a match against the Ontario Blues under-19 development team at Appleby College in Ontario, Canada. De Haas captained the team in two wins over the Blues.
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