Arkansas Times - November 24, 2016

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A NEW DAY FOR CHILD WELFARE? With Arkansas’s foster care system bursting at the seams, the Division of Children and Family Services has an ambitious plan for reform.

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CHILDREN IN CRISIS: an Arkansas Times special investigation

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016

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COMMENT

Farming medical marijuana With the recent passage of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment to our state’s constitution, I wanted to share my perspective as a small organic farmer at North Pulaski Farms and the former CIO of World Wide Travel Service. When I started my organic farm in late 2008, all my friends asked me, “What are ya gonna be growing out there, Carney?” insinuating that I would be growing an illegal substance. My reply was always, “Nothing that would risk losing my farm and landing me in prison.” For the last eight years my focus has been growing certified organic fruits and vegetables and building my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farmshare. The last few weeks I have pondered whether to seek one of the cultivation licenses that will be issued per the AMMA. Now my friends are saying “Don’t you know the fix is already in?” “Some politician’s farmer cousin is already gonna get one.” To this my reply is, “How can that be when they have not even formed the commission to create the rules yet?”

Not having an understanding about the relationships that may or may not be in our state government and hoping my friends are just as clueless as they were when I started farming, I want to offer some ideas for the soonto-be-created Medicinal Marijuana Commission.

First, I think existing Arkansas farmers should get the cultivation licenses. Everybody talks about getting warehouse space and becoming millionaires growing this medicine.

We realize there will be significant security and record-keeping requirements. The farmers who understand this already have the infrastructure, have committed their lives to feeding our state and have a working knowledge of horticulture should be considered over others. Secondly, how this is made should be a factor. You can’t just wash off any residue that may have been used to grow and produce this medicine. Patients should not have to worry about what toxic chemicals may be in it. Third, we have a chance to finally negotiate our drug costs. If they use a competitive bid process to award the licenses, patients will not have to pay as much. We all have seen the videos of the small child whose seizures have been virtually eliminated by using this medicine. That family should not have to go broke to provide it. Lastly, I know our state has always been one to readily adopt “sin” taxes.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

I don’t believe God created this plant for man to use as a sin; he created it to be used as a medicine.

Kelly Carney Cabot

Once upon a time Putin and Trump will negotiate peace. Putin begins by asking for Melania — or he will blow up Trump Tower.

El Donald will agree, but instead sends his ex-wife Marla Maples naked — but wrapped in a 22-carat gold sheet woven directly into Merino wool fab-

ric backed with a silk jacquard added to 1,000 thread-count Egyptian cotton.

Marla will roll out into the splits and dance sexy for Putin. This will keep the peace for a while, but eventually Putin will want something more. The Don will send his lovely, innocent, youngest daughter, Tiffany, allegedly merely to visit her mother. But he tells Putin if he wants to keep the peace, he must marry her ASAP in a HUGE official ceremony and also keep her mother (in Siberia will be OK; she likes to ski). So does Ivana, by the way. Putin and Trump will be happy as kings.

Then, El Donald suddenly passes on — in the middle of the night, in the middle of a peaceful Tweet. After a brief period of national mourning that morning, in the afternoon FLOTUS will be crowned Queen of America, democracy having recently become passé when the Constitution was legislated and adjudicated away. Beautiful Queen Melania will immediately send all his kids to Trump Tower and close them in securely. They can’t get out but they can order out. Baron will become Prince and his cousins will come to live with them to teach him Chinese and Russian. Putin divorces Tiffany on the grounds that in her sleep she calls him “Daddy.” He gives her a long baby seal fur coat and sends her to Siberia to join her mother and Ivana. As a wedding gift, Czar Putin annexes Slovenia for Czarina Melania, who reveals that for such a long, lonely time she has longed for a stronger, shorter man with very little hair and that time goes by so slowly and time can do so much. Their opposing nations now peacefully joined the good old-fashioned way, everyone in the world lives happily ever after.

Mady Maguire Little Rock

The upside of Trump If Superman went around roughing up junior high students for overdue library books, he never would have made the comic pages. Is the failure to return a library book on time a wrong?

Certainly it is. But, to be a superhero one needs supervillains, and absentminded teenagers just don’t measure up to supervillain status. As much as he despised Lex Luthor, the man of steel needed him.

We baby boomers were blessed with some great adversaries. Lyndon Johnson and his interminable, indefensible war; Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon; and Spiro “No Lo Contendo” Agnew were all there to inspire us. The millennials are an even bigger lot than we boomers were. Trump might just be the man they need to motivate them.

This will be especially true if The Donald turns the likes of Tom Cotton loose. Cotton is likely to start more wars than he has army for and end up bringing back the draft just to keep a fresh supply of IED fodder on hand.

When their ranks begin to thin, the millennials will take to the streets just like the boomers did. Trump can look to Johnson, Agnew and Nixon to see how well things worked out for them.

David Rose Hot Springs

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016

5

WEEK THAT WAS

Quote of the week

Arkies in Trumpland A number of current and former Arkansans were among those who visited Trump Tower last week as the president-elect considered who to hire for top administration posts. On Friday, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and former Gov. Mike Huckabee were spotted. Cotton has been rumored to be a candidate for defense secretary. Huckabee was thought to be a leading contender for ambassador to Israel, but he dismissed those reports over the weekend.

Later, on Fox News, he said he was under consideration for both a Cab6

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

inet and advisory role, but declined to elaborate. On Thursday, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge was spotted at Trump Tower. “My interest is in helping the Trump administration,” she told reporters. “Whether that’s continuing on as the attorney general of Arkansas or [working] in the administration, then my ears are open.” She’s been rumored to be in consideration for an EPA position.

Predictable A subcommittee of the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission moved a proposed Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol to the public comment phase before a full committee vote and approval by the secretary of state.

A not-so-bold prediction: The mon-

ument will be approved. Secretary of State Mark Martin will move to install it as the legislature wishes. Various parts of the machinery will gum up sufficiently to block other monuments that have been proposed to recognize different faith and belief systems. Then the ACLU will sue. It will win, unless the Trump/Republican Senate makeover of the judicial system is sufficiently in place by then.

Senate wises up to Dem strategy Two weeks ago, Democratic members of the Arkansas House of Representatives used House rules, which allow members to pick committee membership based on seniority, to potentially wield outsize influence.

Despite having only 26 of 100 members, Democrats managed to secure an 11 to 9 majority on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. Last week, when the Senate drew committee assignments, the Republican majority took steps to make sure Democrats couldn’t stack committees in that chamber. The Senate, which is made up of nine Democrats and 26 Republi-

cans, adopted a rule limiting minority party membership on standing committees to three. The standing committees — the important ones — have eight members. Democrats had an eye on the Education Committee. Democratic Sen. Joyce Elliott, an education stalwart, commented on Twitter after the rule change: “AR folks, you had better wake up to what’s in store for education in AR. The rules weren’t changed to pass progressive legislation.”

School board member in blackface A picture taken at Halloween of a white man dressed in blackface and holding a sign that read “Blak Lives Matter” [sic] was identified last week as Ted Bonner, a Blevins School Board member, by Blevins Superintendent Billy Lee. The state NAACP chapter and the Arkansas Education Association both called for Bonner to resign.

Bonner is up for re-election in 2018; Lee said he had apologized. Blevins is a small community in Hempstead County. The school district has about 480 students, about 80 of them African American.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRYAN MOATS

“Marijuana is still illegal under federal law and just because a state passes something doesn’t make it legal under federal law. It only makes it legal under state law. But as we know, federal law trumps state law, so there are a lot of unanswered questions.”

— Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin on Arkansas’s new constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana. Governor Hutchinson has promised a good-faith effort to comply with voters’ wishes and work is underway by his administration to establish the regulatory scheme necessary. A gold rush of would-be entrepreneurs and high-dollar lobbyists is also underway to carve off a piece of anticipated profits.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRYAN MOATS

OPINION

Kids count

T

he trial for the murder of Isaiah in the Torres murTorres, 6, was a reminder again of der trial there was a gaping hole in the law pertaining “no doubt whatsoto child protective services. ever that this child Torres was killed by his father, Mau- was subjected to a ricio Torres, now sentenced to die for prolonged period of MAX capital murder. His mother awaits trial. abuse.”

BRANTLEY The case is of broad interest because Today, the pubmaxbrantley@arktimes.com of the Torres family’s involvement with lic has reason to the child welfare system. The parents had ask: How did this happen?

It is the same question I asked — and lost parental rights on five children more than 10 years ago. They subsequently had which the governor’s office and DHS three more children. In 2014, a teacher at stonewalled — after a foster father in Van a private school attended by Isaiah made Buren was indicted in federal court for a report to the Arkansas Department of sexually abusing foster children. Again in Human Services about suspected physical that case, warning signals were sounded, abuse of the child. An investigation did not but children remained in the home. substantiate the complaint. His parents In either case, the state might well removed the child from the school and be able to demonstrate proper response, instead homeschooled him. good intentions and a perfect storm of Isaiah died in 2015 after horrific punish- circumstances (for example, parents ment — the insertion of a stick in his anus — with practiced dishonesty). But the publed to a fatal infection. His body had marks lic is owed an explanation, and has been of other injuries. The medical examiner denied it. who performed the autopsy told the jury Why? It was illustrated by remarks on

China in charge

L

et’s turn to foreign affairs to see how we might calm the flood of anxieties over the coming Donald Trump presidency.

It is a harder climb than for domestic policy. Last week, we urged sympathy for Trump’s original passions for universal health insurance, women’s reproductive rights and national policies to halt catastrophic climate change. That and some vague post-election reassurances are more calming than simply relying on election promises to his party to end health protection for 22 million people and to the carbon industries that he will scrap rules that rein in air and water poisons from burning fossil fuels and to open public lands and fragile waters to drilling and mining. Still more encouraging, last week he stood by his demand that the Republican Congress give him spending authority for a bigger infrastructure stimulus than even the ones it refused Barack Obama before the country attained full employment.

Mexicans, Muslims, African Americans, women — you still have the power of prayer.

While we’re at it, everyone should give up the fantasy that conscience-ridden Trump electors will vote for Hillary Clinton or someone else on Dec. 19 because she will wind up with a popular-vote victory

of some 2 million votes—nearly 2 percent—over Trump.

Her popular votes will be the third most in history, ERNEST behind only Obama DUMAS in 2008 and 2012.

Presidential selection doesn’t anticipate faithless electors, and shouldn’t, although Trump was right that the electoral-college system designed by our slaveholderprotecting founders should give way to popular votes.

Calming the great foreboding over more war, a nuclear holocaust and a revolutionary shifting of alliances is a harder task now that the president-elect has announced his chief adviser and national security team, which brought a cheering and sieg-heiling crowd to Washington on Saturday for a conference near the White House to celebrate a president they view finally as a kindred white nationalist.

To recapitulate, the president’s chief adviser will be Steve Bannon, who headed the alt-right fake-news blog Breitbart; his national security adviser will be retired Gen. Michael Flynn, an admirer and paid advocate of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and an old officer whom former Secretary of State Colin Powell called “right-

Twitter, by J.R. Davis, Governor Hutchinson’s press spokesman. He wrote: • “People are free to make allegations.

DHS, by law, must keep certain facts confidential for the safety of the child and family.”

• And, “If you’re listening to talk radio hosts sound off on child welfare cases, remember they’re only dealing with half the facts.”

I wondered if he was responding to talk radio discussion of the Torres case. I’ve since learned that it was likely the Hot Springs case where children were temporarily removed from a home by a circuit judge out of concerns for their safety.

Local legislators, particularly Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale), won’t let go of that case, though the children were returned home and we know of no harm that has come to them.

Davis illustrates the lack of accountability on child welfare. And he is right.

Half the facts aren’t enough. There is no confidentiality or safety to preserve for Isaiah Torres. He’s dead. Confidentiality only serves to protect those who might have made mistakes.

DHS has the toughest job in state gov-

ernment, with hard cases and few easy answers. The work is a calling for most who labor there, typically in difficult, underpaid jobs.

But failures must not enjoy the blanket protection of the pretext that confidentiality is all about the children.

Let’s change the law, if that’s the solution, so that it allows more discussion of how the state responds to publicly known failures. My guess is it would engender more sympathy, not less, for their work. But I also believe there’s a way to discuss these cases now without violating the privacy of children. The governor, who’s made some praiseworthy steps to improve the child protective system, could make this happen.

PS: After I wrote the above on the Arkansas Blog, DHS again came under fire for failing to respond for hours to West Memphis police, who found a baby abandoned on a fast food restaurant parking lot. In what seemed a clear departure from past practice, DHS provided a detailed explanation of how a new system aimed at being responsive to local police had broken down, in part of because of phone problems. I saw that as a step forward. I hope I’m right.

wing nutty,” among other aspersions; the head of the Central Intelligence Agency will be Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo, an advocate of torture and secret detention who causes George Washington to turn over in his grave every time he speaks.

Before publication, we may know if his secretary of state will hew to more Republican orthodoxy on foreign affairs than those characters.

It is clear that national tranquility now will require all of us to frame a new picture of the world from the one we have known since Hitler’s demise or longer — that the chief threat to American and global security is a nationalist and expansionist Russia. We must get used to the idea of Russia, not the European democracies, as our best friend. Won’t it be great, Trump asked us repeatedly, if America and Russia are allies? For our collective composure, we will have to do more than get used to it.

The love affair between Trump and Putin, which both trumpeted all year, is real, as they made clear in their post-election phone confab. Trump during the campaign suggested that Putin might be the secret to his Middle East policies and to his vow to conquer ISIS. Putin has been bombing U.S.-backed rebels in Syria and also, from time to time, the jihadists. Putin counts on Trump to lift Obama’s global sanctions against Russia, which sank the country into recession, and to help him in other ways.

Minutes after his warm talk with

Trump, Putin unleashed land and amphibious bombing and missile attacks on Aleppo, the bloodied center of resistance to the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is about Russia’s only ally in the world except North Korea and the unreliable Chinese. Trump had listed Assad, along with Putin and the dead dictators Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, as leaders he admired for their ability to control their countries and crush dissent.

The happiest man abroad the day after the election may have been Assad, whose future as the head of his flattened country now seems more assured than anytime since the U.S.-backed insurgency began in 2011. U.S. support for the Syrian revolt is certain to end, unless shocked congressional Republicans and maybe an orthodox secretary of state can turn the president around.

Behind Putin and Assad, the next happiest may be China’s premier. He knows that Trump won’t dare start the trade war that he hints at, and now is assured that the Trans Pacific Partnership, which Obama engineered and which would have isolated China throughout the Pacific Rim, is dead. He called over the weekend for the nations to unite in a Pacific free-trade zone controlled, of course, by China instead of America.

We can get used to a world where we, not Russia and China, are isolated and reviled. We will be great again in our own minds, and that could be all that counts.

Follow Arkansas Blog on Twitter: @ArkansasBlog

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lternating wins and losses has been the pattern behavior of Arkansas’s 2016 season as it draws to its terminus. So after the Hogs gave their most listless and disappointing home effort in a good while against LSU, why wouldn’t they just explode all over the cowbell-clanging din in Starkville the next time out?

Granted, these Bulldogs are a mere shadow of what they were when current Dallas Cowboy sensation Dak Prescott was at the helm of the offense for most of the last three years. But they still had a quality victory over Texas A&M to draw from, and bowl eligibility in play. And Prescott’s successor, the large and deceptively agile Nick Fitzgerald, is the kind of quarterback who has bedeviled the Razorbacks of late.

He was excellent on this night, too, accounting for more than 400 yards in the aggregate and all six of the Dogs’ touchdowns. But he might have arguably been too efficient, because every time he zinged Robb Smith’s unremarkable front for a long keeper or a quick throw to the boundary, it meant that the beleaguered defense on the other side was going to retake the turf. And that’s where Arkansas saw opportunity.

The Razorbacks never punted and, but for a missed field goal and a couple of arguable calls that went favorably for a change, they were without substantive challenge from the Bulldogs in a 58-42 rout. Amassing 661 yards and doing it with balance and occasional flair, the Hogs nudged their record to 7-4 overall and 3-4 in the SEC, which has them eyeballing another respectable regional bowl game that might well cause 30,000 or 40,000 fans to take a post-Christmas drive beyond the state’s borders. It’s again not the apex of our late summer fever dreams, but with a win over lowly Missouri to close out the regular schedule Arkansas would stay on track to improve its overall record each year under Bret Bielema, and place itself in the seemingly annual “upstart” conversation.

Mississippi State’s defensive decline is more jarring than the one the Hogs have suffered. Going against Dan Enos’ unit the week after it managed only a single touchdown and field goal against LSU might have seemed like a fully ripened chance to atone for a frustrating year (the win over the Aggies was a clear highlight in the same season where South Alabama, Kentucky and BYU all vanquished the Bulldogs). Enos apparently took any criticisms of his unit personally, because

from Rawleigh Williams’ 71-yard score on the game’s second play to Devwah Whaley punching it across BEAU for a clincher late, WILCOX this seemed like an offensive line trying to salvage a tattered reputation and a quarterback desperate to demonstrate that his early-season unflappability was the norm.

Austin Allen was indeed resurgent with a 303-yard, two-touchdown effort, which notably also featured his best completion percentage in two months and a big zero in the sack column. The Bulldogs exacted occasional duress on Allen, but he was nimble again and his numbers would’ve even been better had Cheyenne O’Grady hauled in a long touchdown throw in the first quarter.

But this was the night for Williams to make a bid for SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors. The sophomore tailback’s career-long scoring jaunt was part of an eight-carry, 191-yard first half and was the first of his four touchdowns. State tried to close the off-tackle lanes that were splayed open early — and succeeded — but then Williams turned in the real play of the night, a nifty southpaw jump pass on fourth and goal from the one that fell into Austin Cantrell’s hands for a tidestemming score midway through the third quarter.

Williams’ durability, effort and smarts have made him the conference’s leading rusher only a year after his football future was in serious doubt. He’s accounted for 13 total touchdowns and developed into a competent pass blocker while showing himself to be unwilling to wilt under the demands of 200-plus carries. With Whaley coming in as the most touted skill position recruit of the offseason, Williams simply has put in the work and been too dependable to ignore or discredit. And as he’s gone, so have the Hogs: they’re 6-0 when he crests 100 yards rushing, and 1-4 when he doesn’t hit the century mark.

The workmanlike showing of Allen and Williams is what has enabled this team to excel in spite of its many warts.

Both have assumed leadership roles in their first extended action, and both are producing at a rate that belies that inexperience. If for no other reason, Hog fans should relish the 2017 season because the backfield — Whaley will obviously be a major factor as well, what with his lateseason flourishing — could rate among the region’s best.

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THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

Cassandra

T

he Observer’s grandfather on our mother’s side was a crackerjack fella. Grew up in the sandy hills north of Conway. County boy, through and through. During hog-killing time in December 1941, the story in our family goes, when word of Pearl Harbor reached his little community, he and his friends loaded into his T-model truck and made the rough journey to the first speck of civilization that included an Army recruiting office, where they all enlisted. By the time my grandfather got to the office where he would sign on with Uncle Sam, the story goes, his truck was so squatted with the weight of young men who had hitched a ride to save democracy that he had to crawl along in low gear.

And now, 75 short years later, we have elected as the president of the United States of America a man who is busily surrounding himself with racists, xenophobes, war-mongers and scape-goaters, the whole operation cheered on by white supremacists who have skulked forth again from the dustbin of history. My grandfather and those boys he rode with to Conway in the winter of ‘41 would come to be quite familiar with the aims and attitudes of men of similar ilk in the years after coming down from the hills, as they were blasted into manhood or out of this world all over Europe and the Pacific.

The Observer never knew our grandfather. He died of a rare cancer before The Observer was born, possibly the result of being some of the first American boots on the ground in Nagasaki after V-J Day. Yours Truly doesn’t know what his politics were, but his grandson has a hard time believing the country boy who loved this country so much that he was willing to drop his hog-killing knife and sprint for his duffel bag when Lady Liberty called would be in support of installing a proud white supremacist as a “strategist” two doors down from the office where FDR once sat, composing letters to American mothers.

We read in the New York Times that last Saturday in Washington, D.C., in a building named for Ronald Reagan, an outfit called the National Policy Insti-

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M

tute held themselves a good ol’ fashioned rally. Speeches against Jews, part of the keynote address in the original German, and finally a rousing Nazi salute as those assembled cried, “Heil!” Look it up if you don’t believe me. Then, if you’ve got a relative who fought in The Big One, ask yourself: Where is thy ghost, grandfather?

And another thing: This is not, by the way, “sour grapes.” We’ve heard that a lot from conservatives recently, most of whom are so busy cheering because Team Red caught the most Pokemon that they can’t grasp that what has happened in this election is not, in any way, normal.

What they can’t seem to understand is it’s not the election that has people marching in the streets and depressed at the thought of the next four years. It’s the man who was elected. Believe this or not, but The Observer can say with a 100 percent money-back guarantee that if a miracle Electoral College write-in vote were to flip the presidency from Trump to Mitt Romney in mid-December, the news of four years of President Romney would be greeted with tearful huzzahs and shirtless, drunken waving of Old Glory on the lawn of The Observatory.

Why? Because we can be fairly certain that Mitt wouldn’t say or do something before lunch on his first day as president that might start World War III, crater the American economy so deep we all have to go back to horse and buggy, or make constitutional law professors start communicating solely by carrier pigeon about their plans to bury cherished books under the toolshed. Dorito, not so much.

Then again, what does The Observer know? We feel so often these days like Cassandra, the daughter of the King of Troy. The Greek god Apollo gave her the gift of being able to see the future, but when she rebuffed his advances, he cursed her by making it so no one would ever believe her. And so she was forced to live the horrors that befell her people twice: once as prophecy, and again at that which she could not convince her countrymen to stop. That’s half this country now, watching as the other half dances a celebratory jig to beat the band.

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016

9

Arkansas Reporter

THE

KRIS JOHNSON

Isa

GUILTY: Torres was escorted to the Benton County Courthouse by a law enforcement officer on Nov. 8.

Torres sentenced to death For the murder of his 6-year-old son.

BY BENJAMIN HARDY

L

ast Tuesday, a Benton County jury sentenced Mauricio Torres to die for the murder of his 6-year-old son, Isaiah Torres, in the culmination of a trial that included testimony from six of Torres’ surviving children and stepchildren as to years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the Bella Vista occupa-

10

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

tional therapist assistant.

The death sentence came one day after the jury convicted Torres of capital murder and first-degree battery following days of testimony from prosecution witnesses. The defense called no witnesses, and Torres did not testify. Torres, 45, was arrested last April along with his wife, Cathy

Torres, who has also been charged with capital murder and first-degree battery and is awaiting trial. (Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that case as well.)

According to the defendant’s account in police interviews conducted soon after the murder, Mauricio and Cathy Torres took Isaiah and his two older sisters on a camping trip to Missouri on the weekend of March 28, 2015. On the morning of March 29, after Isaiah was found eating cake without permission, his father punished him by inserting a stick into his anus and making him perform squats in a corner. “Cathy got mad because [Isaiah] … wasn’t going fast enough … so she pushed him down,” Torres said in a recorded interview played for the jury. The family then drove back to Bella Vista, and Torres claims that he and his wife did not realize the child was

seriously injured until they arrived home. They called 911 that evening, and medics notified police when they arrived at the Torres home to find the child unresponsive.

Dr. Stephen Erickson of the Arkansas State Crime Lab was the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Isaiah Torres. He told the jury that the child died from septic shock brought about by acute peritonitis: “a traumatic disruption of his rectum from a foreign object.” But Erickson also said that before that “ultimate fatal injury” occurred, the autopsy showed there was “no doubt whatsoever that this child was subjected to a prolonged period of abuse.” He showed the jury graphic autopsy images revealing scars, bruises and lacerations on his face, trunk and extremities; “puncture wounds everywhere” on his scalp; injuries on his fingers, likely from “shielding

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himself against blows”; and over 60 “whip marks” on his back, in Erickson’s phrasing.

“This is chronic child abuse. It could go in a textbook,” he said. The photo evidence was also backed up by the testimony of one of Isaiah’s sisters, who said Mauricio Torres regularly beat and hit her brother, among other acts of abuse.

Ea rl ier i n the trial, the jury also heard f rom t wo of I s a i a h’s f or mer kindergarten teachers at Bentonv ille’s A mba ssadors for Christ Academy, Peri Isaiah Torres Heffernan and Hannah Welshenbaugh. Both had taken pictures that showed bruises on Isaiah. Heffernan testified that she had called the Arkansas Department of Human Services in 2014 with her concerns about child abuse.

However, the child welfare investigation that followed apparently did not find evidence to substantiate the claims of abuse, as the Arkansas Times reported in 2015. This is despite the fact that both Mauricio and Cathy Torres had other children removed from their custody

by DHS a decade previously, in 2004 or 2005, following a child maltreatment investigation that evidently was substantiated. It is still unclear why the 2014 investigation initiated

by Hefferman’s call to DHS failed to uncover that aspect of the parents’ history, but child welfare authorities last year indicated a clerical or computer systems mistake was partly to blame.

To win a capital murder conviction, prosecutors needed to convince the jury that the fatal injury should be considered rape, and/or that Torres “knowingly caused” the death of his child. Defense attorneys could do little to deny Torres’ role in Isaiah’s death, but they hoped to convince jurors the evidence would only support the lesser included offense of first-degree murder. Torres’ attorneys attempted to plant some doubt CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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A new threat to the Buffalo Farm seeks permit to serve as disposal site for liquid hog waste.

BY BENJAMIN HARDY

F

or over three years now, a fight has raged over C&H Hog Farm, a large concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in Mt. Judea that houses some 6,500 swine near Big Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo National River. Environmentalists have long feared that liquid hog waste — which the farm spreads on its surrounding acreage — would seep into the region’s porous geology and find its way into the beloved river. Last August, the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission enacted a fiveyear moratorium on new large-scale factory hog farms in the Buffalo watershed with the backing of Governor Hutchinson and the legislature. The ban did not affect existing permits, such as the one held by C&H. But a facility near Deer (Newton County) called EC Farms may have

found a loophole that will allow it to serve as a disposal site for up to 6.7 million gallons of liquid hog waste annually.

EC Farms is owned by Ellis Campbell, a cousin of C&H owners Richard and Phillip Campbell. Until this year, it held a permit for a relatively small hog-farming operation — about 300 animals — but the farm seems to have been closed since 2013. The permit, however, remained active. This summer, EC Farms applied for a permit modification (rather than a new permit) that would allow it to “land farm” hog waste originating with another facility — specifically, C&H. When the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality granted the modification in July, the state environmental regulator gave the go-ahead to EC Farms to spread millions of gallons of pig

NOT IN MY WATERSHED: Carol Bitting (left) and Lin Wellford after last week’s hearing at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality headquarters in North Little Rock.

manure on its property each year.

ADEQ’s decision to grant the modification attracted critical public comments from defenders of the Buffalo River, and three area residents — Carol Bitting, Lin Wellford and Dr. Nancy Haller, who call themselves “The Three Grandmothers” — petitioned for an appeal. At a Nov. 16 hearing at ADEQ headquarters in North Little Rock, PC&E Commission administrative judge Charlie Moulton heard arguments over whether the permit should stand. The room was packed.

“I can say unequivocally this is the most well-attended motion hearing I’ve ever had,” Moulton said.

Attorney Richard Mays represented the three petitioners. He told Moulton that the modified permit is “a roundabout way for C&H farms to avoid getting a permit to distribute this waste.

The amount of this waste is the critical issue. You’ve got a 6,000-animal operation … [generating] millions of gallons of waste.” After the hearing, Mays said he believed C&H’s own on-site waste storage and disposal capacity was nearing its limit and so the farm needed to find a place to dump the excess.

Tracy Rothermel, general counsel for the ADEQ director’s office, argued that the appeal should be dismissed, citing problems with how the petitioners worded their appeal and saying CONTINUED ON PAGE 31 arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

11

TOP-DOWN CHANGE: DHS Director Cindy Gillespie told reporters the Division of Children and Family Services must reform its practices.

CHILDREN IN CRISIS: 12

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

an Arkansas Times special investigation

The war room After strategizing for months, DHS officials have a plan to address Arkansas’s foster care crisis.

BY KATHRYN JOYCE AND BENJAMIN HARDY

tart with an undeniable fact: The state of Arkansas is taking children away from their families at an unprecedented rate.

From January 2015 to November 2016, the number of kids removed from their homes and placed in foster care by the Division of Children and Family Services — the child welfare division of the Arkansas Department of Human Services — has grown by 37 percent. There were 3,811 children in foster care on Dec. 31, 2014. In July 2015, when then-DCFS Director Cecile Blucker told the Arkansas Times the system was “just maxed” and identified the situation as a “crisis,” there were more than 4,400. Sixteen months later, as of Nov. 21, there are 5,218 children in the care of the state.

To determine why, DCFS in March turned to its independent consultant, Hornby Zeller Associates Inc., a New York-based firm that researches child welfare issues. In June, after analyzing 400 sample cases, HZA delivered its findings to DCFS. The report said the increase in foster children did not seem to be driven by an increase in child maltreatment cases, since the percentage of investigations into child abuse

or neglect that were found “true” from January 2015 to March 2016 did not rise dramatically. Instead, it declared, “the increase in foster care is due largely to two factors: DCFS removing more children [from their homes] immediately upon investigation and the courts ordering removals against the recommendations of the agency.”

HZA concluded that 22 percent of Arkansas children who were placed in

foster care in 2015 and early 2016 should have potentially been left with their families, representing a nearly 30 percent increase in “questionable removals” by the state’s child protection authorities. (That increase translates to at least 300 additional children.)

“In most of these cases, there were family supports clearly available which could have prevented the removal or the allegations were simply not sufficiently serious to warrant removal; and in rare instances, the investigative work was incomplete or there was nothing in the record to indicate any safety concern,” HZA wrote. The consultant included a list of recommendations to address the problem.

When this newspaper obtained a copy of the document last month under a Freedom of Information Act request, DCFS Director Mischa Martin said in an attached letter that she had “concerns” about the “conclusions drawn and recommendations made,” although she also agreed with “many of HZA’s findings.”

At the time, DHS spokesperson Amy Webb said the agency was working on a broader plan of its own that would better address the surge in foster care numbers.

On Nov. 14, DCFS released that plan, “Moving Beyond Crisis,” which outlines the first phase of an effort to stabilize the child welfare system. Although the report does not address some key issues identified by HZA, it is nonetheless ambitious and substantial. The agency plans to place more children

with their relatives, rather than with strangers in the broader foster care system. By putting more resources into “in-home services,” DCFS wants to decrease unnecessary removals of children from their families. It plans to add 228 new employees statewide and address its chronic staff turnover problem. It intends to streamline the foster parent application process. It also aims to help foster children stuck in residential psychiatric or behavioral health institutions.

Coupled with Governor Hutchinson’s recent announcement of a proposed $39 million boost in DCFS funding over the next two years — among the largest proposed increases in the governor’s fiscally conservative budget — the DHS plan represents a concerted, sustained effort to improve child welfare outcomes in Arkansas. Many of the proposals in the DCFS plan address problems highlighted by the Arkansas Times in our coverage of the state’s foster care crisis over the past year and a half.

Jennifer Ferguson, deputy director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, described the report as a “well laid-out plan to address longstanding issues within the division.” The spike in foster care numbers has created a budget crisis for DCFS, she said. “The biggest problem is more kids staying in the system. They enter, but they’re not able to exit. [DCFS] is operating on a budget that’s not built for that many kids.” That has created a child welfare workforce “operating in crisis mode” and in dire arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

13

UP AND UP: The Arkansas foster care population has increased or held steady every quarter since January 2015.

need of more staff, Ferguson said.

Perhaps surprisingly, the plan was also praised by one of the state’s fiercest critics of DCFS: State Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale), a self-described “far-right conservative” who has led an aggressive legislative investigation into what he sees as abuses of power by DCFS, the courts and other pieces of the child welfare system.

“The problem is so comprehensive, and it requires a comprehensive solution, and that’s going to take a while.

You can only have so many balls in the air,” Clark said. “I really think they’re dealing with about as much at one time as you can deal with. Long term, I think they will have to do more, but I think for now, we really couldn’t have asked for them to do any more. … I’m still a skeptic, but I truly believe with [DHS Director] Cindy Gillespie at the top and Mischa [Martin] over DCFS that they’re on the right track.”

Both Gillespie and Martin took over their positions from agency veterans.

Martin, a DCFS attorney, was named interim director of the division in April when Blucker departed after seven years on the job. (Martin’s appointment became permanent in July.) Gillespie, a former D.C.-based health care consultant and adviser to Mitt Romney, assumed control of DHS in March. Her predecessor, John Selig, had held the agency director post for a decade.

Since May, Gillespie and Martin have been holding what they call “war room” sessions intended to figure out what is going wrong in the state’s child wel14

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

fare system and how it can be stabilized. The meetings have included DCFS administrators, officials from other DHS divisions and partners with local and national nonprofits.

“There are so many factors and so many issues going on, and they feed on each other,” Gillespie told reporters at a press conference accompanying the plan’s release. “What we’re focused on right now is breaking that cycle.”

Here are some of the most significant proposals.

1

Placing more children with relatives, rather than strangers.

The need to increase “relative placements” was a primary focus of a report on DCFS authored by consultant Paul Vincent in July 2015. The study was commissioned by Hutchinson in the wake of an Arkansas Times story about the “rehoming” of two adopted children by a state legislator, Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork), and their subsequent sexual abuse. At the time, Vincent noted that only 14 percent of the children DCFS removed from their homes were placed in the care of a family member. The national average for such placements is 29 percent.

“Increasing the use of relative placements is the simplest and most promising next step” toward improving foster care, Vincent wrote. Child welfare experts have long said children fare better with relatives than with strangers, yet many judges (and some DCFS staff) are mistrustful of extended family

members who want to care for children removed from their parents.

Last October, the Times wrote about Kimberlee Herring, a Cabot resident whose three grandchildren (ages 3, 4 and 5) were removed from their unstable parents and adopted by a foster family. They were then physically abused in their adoptive home.

(The adoptive mother was convicted of second-degree domestic battery in 2015, but is still fighting the conviction on appeal.) Before the adoption, Herring and six other households on both sides of the family attempted at length to obtain custody of the children, but none could gain the approval of DCFS, often due to seemingly minor issues with background checks. Their story is not unusual: Many grandparents, aunts, uncles or other relatives have described being shut out of the foster care or adoption process after a child is removed from his or her parents, despite being willing and able to provide a good home.

Arkansas has already improved its record on relative placements significantly. Since this summer, DCFS has attempted to address bureaucratic hurdles by decentralizing some approval processes, working with local law enforcement to run background checks and having workers on call to approve homes after hours. The number of children placed in the care of a family member or “fictive kin” has now risen to more than 25 percent, and the agency aims to reach or exceed the national average by next August.

2

Removing fewer children from their homes.

In recognition of the fact that children generally fare better and are less traumatized by remaining at home, the DCFS report focused heavily on ways to preserve and strengthen families. At the end of fiscal year 2016, more than 6,000 children were being monitored through what DCFS calls “inhome cases.” But high caseloads and an overburdened DCFS field staff means that caseworkers are unable to keep up with the demand to visit homes and provide support services.

This could partly be addressed through a new “prevention and reintegration unit,” if Hutchinson’s $26.7 million proposed budget increase for fiscal year 2018 wins legislative approval.

DCFS proposes partnering with nonprofit and religious partners to expand an existing program called “Nurturing Families of Arkansas,” which provides four months of intensive, hands-on parenting education.

Ferguson, of Arkansas Advocates, described the initiative as “a really good evidence-based program. … but it takes funding to do.”

DCFS also wants to use federal Medicaid dollars to create a supplemental home visiting program to provide oversight for families with children under 8 who have had substantiated reports of neglect, failure to thrive, Garrett’s law (children born with illegal drugs in their system), medical neglect or Munchausen Syndrome. The new program would coach families on basic par-

BRIAN CHILSON

NEW BLOOD: Mischa Martin was appointed interim DCFS director in April; the job became permanent in July.

enting, home and financial issues and provide guidance and practical support, such as transportation assistance, to help parents manage their children’s medical care.

At present, Gillespie said, the agency lacks the means of effectively helping keep children at home in situations where it may be safe to do so. “You’ve got to get the family ready to take a child back,” she said. “That’s why … strengthening families, this prevention and reintegration unit is an incredibly important part of what we’re doing. We haven’t got

the resources right now, in- or out-ofhouse, to focus on a family that might be getting into trouble.”

“The research is really strong on how traumatic it is to remove a child from the home,” Ferguson said. She said she couldn’t comment on whether the child welfare system in Arkansas removes children too readily, since Arkansas Advocates is “not on the ground,” but added, “if you can keep a kid at home safely, that’s what you should do.”

Clearly, removal is sometimes necessary. It would be difficult to think of

a better argument for an aggressively interventionist child welfare system than the case of Isaiah Torres, the 6-year-old boy in Bella Vista who was killed in March 2015 after sustaining years of abuse from his parents. His father, Mauricio Torres, was sentenced Nov. 15 to death for the capital murder of his son; the child’s mother, Cathy Torres, is awaiting trial for capital murder as well (see Arkansas Reporter, page 10). However, the fact is that foster care sometimes holds its own perils.

Last month, the Department of Justice

announced that a former foster parent from Van Buren, Clarence Garretson, had pleaded guilty to five counts of interstate transportation of a child with intention to engage in criminal sexual activity. FBI agents gathered testimony from multiple victims who said Garretson, a long-haul truck driver, raped them while on cross-country trips. Garretson and his wife operated a DCFS foster home from 1998 to 2004, during which at least 35 minors were placed in the residence.

There are advocates on both sides arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

15

of the political spectrum are the key to real reform,” who believe child protecWexler told the Times.

“The only way to fix fostive services are too quick to take children away ter care is to have less of from their parents. Richit. … The DCFS generals ard Wexler, the executive are ignoring the message CLARK: The state director of the National senator said the DCFS from their frontline troops.

Coalition for Child Protec- reforms were “on the What’s needed more than tion Reform, believes that right track.” another new unit and a is the case. After reviewing bunch of new caseworkers both the DCFS plan and the HZA report, is a fundamental change in the take-theWexler said the DCFS plan “may lead to child-and-run culture that permeates marginal improvement,” but also critboth DCFS and the Arkansas courts.” icized the agency for not addressing Among other things, the HZA report the central point made by its consulascribes the rise in removals partly to specialized “investigative units” estabtant, HZA: that the rise in foster care in Arkansas is due largely to “questionable lished by DCFS that operate separately removals.” from every day family service workers.

“It completely ignores the Hornby The consultant said these investigaZeller findings — and those findings tors sometimes see “themselves as law

enforcement officials rather than social workers” and adopt an adversarial role with the families they’re investigating.

This leads to a greater number of children being removed, HZA said. Regular caseworkers told HZA that investigative units had a “low threshold” for removing children whose parents might have been dealt with instead by monitoring them in their homes with protection plans. On the other hand, investigators expressed mistrust of caseworkers’ abilities to effectively monitor children left in homes. DCFS officials were not available to explain why the agency report did not address HZA’s concerns on that point.

Sen. Clark said DCFS should create an ombudsman position outside the agency’s typical chain of command that

could handle complaints about overly aggressive action from DCFS staff.

“They’re going to have lots and lots of complaints that aren’t valid,” he said.

“You know, I get calls every day from people who are guilty. You have to sift through those. But what they’re also going to get are the real complaints, the real problems, and when you get that repeatedly — on a certain person, in a certain area — then you deal with it.”

3

Hiring and retaining more staff at DCFS. The staff at DCFS is chronically, mercilessly overworked — another fact the Times has reported on before. Despite the sharp rise in children in the foster care system, DCFS’ total staff numbers

BRIAN CHILSON

SHUT OUT: After Kimberlee Herring was denied the chance to care for her grandchildren, they were adopted into a home where they were physically abused.

16

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

have not increased accordingly (in fact, there were employee reductions in 2010).

The result is that Arkansas family service workers handle, on average, nearly twice as many cases as the national standard, leading to an average of 240 annual overtime hours per employee. Agency-wide, in fiscal year 2016, the agency paid $3.1 million for almost 208,000 overtime hours.

Predictably, the burnout rate is high.

Most of the agency’s geographic service areas have a 32 percent turnover rate for family service workers, leading to a dearth of experienced staff and too many inexperienced workers making decisions about cases.

While everyone knows turnover rates in the agency are high, DHS Director Gillespie said, “The reports we get are that every month the experience [level] of our staff is going down. … A big piece of focusing on this area is not just ‘let’s add more bodies,’ but how do we address retention?

What is making them leave us?”

For staff working such a huge amount of overtime, Gillespie continued, their lives effectively belong to their jobs. “We hear from our workers that they’d be willing to take a cut in overtime to be able to not have burnout,” said Martin. “At some point you can’t function when you’re working 24/7 all the time.”

Governor Hutchinson’s request for funding would create 228 new DCFS jobs, including 150 new family service workers, 18 supervisors and 60 program assistants. Among that number would be five employees who make up a “mobile crisis unit,” which could deploy to areas that have lost staff to fill in the gap until new workers are hired. DCFS is also hopeful that a new pay plan for agency staff could further help with recruitment and retention.

Clark said he supports the increased funding. “I’m a fiscal conservative. I’m not for throwing money at anything. But I’m also a businessman, and if you’ve got problems to solve, you need to solve the problems,” he said. “They’re down to 13 months [average tenure] … . That is such a major problem. Just imagine what a short time some people have been with the agency, and that they should be prepared to make these decisions?” Clark said that he’s visited with caseworkers who are doing “a great job,” and that DCFS desperately needs to recruit and retain such people. He expressed hope that “once we fix some of these things, you really should be able to decrease this budget. … It’s kind of like the surge in Iraq: Sometimes you have to do what you have to do to control the problem, and then once the problem’s controlled, it’ll take less resources.”

But Wexler, of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, was not impressed. He again pointed out a disconnect between the HZA report’s criticism of “questionable removals” of kids and the solutions proposed by DCFS. “I am a tax-and-spend liberal and proud of it,” Wexler said. “I’m glad to throw money at problems, and no problem is more deserving of money than child welfare. But HZA didn’t say that children are being needlessly removed because there is not enough counseling and parent edu-

cation. HZA said children are being needlessly removed, period. They concluded that even with the resources currently available, many children are being taken needlessly from everyone they know and love and consigned to the chaos of foster care.”

4

Recruiting and retaining foster parents.

Last September, the Times reported on a backlog of applications

from would-be foster parents that appeared to be languishing within DCFS. The process to open a foster home necessarily requires extensive background checks, home visits and other safeguards. But the system also seems at times to bind applicants in red tape for little reason.

Carolyn Edwards of Pine Bluff was one such parent. It took her two years to successfully adopt her niece’s daughter after the girl was born with drugs and alcohol in her system — a delay that was

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17

LOST IN THE SYSTEM: Ivy Brake spent 10 years in foster care, including in behavioral health institutions.

18

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

tian County — which has long exemplified the state’s foster care crisis, with reports last year of children having to sleep in DCFS offices for lack of open beds in foster homes — that could fast track permanency plans for children whose adoption or family reunification plans have stalled.

DCFS also described steps it would take to increase recruitment of foster homes that can handle older children, groups of siblings and children with developmental disabilities or “complex behavioral health needs.”

RACHEL PUTMAN

5

largely due to two nonviolent criminal charges on her husband’s record, both from over 20 years ago. Lost paperwork, caseworker turnover and sometimes counterintuitive rules made the application process arduous, some foster parents said. In fact, many good foster parents close their homes due to frustrations with DCFS. The DCFS plan acknowledges these complaints, quoting one foster parent who told the agency in a survey that “it’s very frustrating to have to communicate with someone who seems to not want to trust you when you are attempting to help — help that has been heavily solicited. You stop feeling like volunteers and begin to feel more like a resented staff member.”

DCFS says it is working to streamline the application process more generally, to take a more customer servicebased approach to interactions with families, to create a senior-level position responsible for foster parent support, and to modernize its methods of communication. For example, it is initiating a text messaging system for caseworkers seeking placement options for new foster children. (Caseworkers often tell of hours spent calling one foster family after another to find an available home when a child is in immediate need.) The agency is also piloting a “Rapid Response” program, created by the Casey Family Foundation, in Sebas-

Reducing reliance on behavioral health institutions.

The Times wrote last summer about Ivy Brake, who entered the foster system in 2007 at age 10 and spent the next eight years bouncing to over a dozen placements, including behavioral and mental health facilities. It’s unclear whether she ever qualified for behavioral or mental health admission, but during her time in such institutions she accumulated a string of psychiatric diagnoses for which she was prescribed a variety of medications. The Times also spoke to former DCFS workers who confirmed that foster kids are often “sent to behavioral” after they cycle through too many foster homes.

Sometimes residential treatment is necessary for foster children with behavioral or mental health needs. But the DCFS plan acknowledges that a number of foster children have lingered in such facilities beyond any medical necessity, simply because the agency lacks the means to reintegrate them into the community. That creates worse scenarios for children, along with great expense to the system (institutionalization is much more expensive than outpatient treatments).

The report found that “89 youths were ‘stuck’ in an institution on July 1 for more than 30 days even though it was no longer medically necessary because … a lack of supportive services prevents them from transitioning to a less restrictive setting.” Since the agency’s “war room” meetings began, it’s made addressing this problem a priority; by October, 28 of those 89 youth had been moved out of long-term residential treatment.

DCFS says it is moving immediately to help children exit unnecessary psychiatric care and has “requested federal approval to create and implement a short-term Medicaid-funded initiative that will build out transitional services for youth leaving psy-

chiatric residential treatment.” The $2.5 million program will pay for a “mobile assessment and crisis mobilization unit” that could be operational as soon as this month, as well as family and support services from by a behavioral health provider. The agency also has a longer-term plan to improve the behavioral health system in general —

which is managed by a separate division of DHS — and limit children’s time in institutions. It is aiming to implement that plan by next July.

Funding for this reporting was provided by people who donated to a crowdfunding campaign on ioby.com and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.

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Arts Entertainment AND

‘Dreams’ and ‘fantasies’ Arts Center’s shows elucidate enamels.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

I

f you’re going to make a painting, why make it with glass on copper?

Why go through the complicated process of working with a medium that you must melt on a surface that you must form and electroplate, all while worrying about what color and tonality you’ll end up with?

That’s a question raised and answered in the enamel art exhibitions “Little Dreams in Glass & Metal, 1920 to Present” and “Glass Fantasies” at the Arkansas Arts Center.

Enamel artists are people who love to build and burn and mold and drip, risky means to an artistic end. The best enamel work is astounding and the middle ground requires a certain amount of genius to succeed as art.

(The worst ends up as hotel decoration.)

“Little Dreams” is the first nationally traveling exhibition of enamel art in more than 50 years, the Enamel Arts Foundation claims. If you grew up in the middle of the last century around people who collected enamel objects, you’ll feel transported by the show, which is heavy on the work from the 1950s. Many of the objects here display a wonderful post-Cubist and mid-century aesthetic — starbursts, lozenge shapes, crescents, circles. I nearly swooned with nostalgia over Virginia Dudley’s 1955 “Plate,” which appears to be an image of four idealized salamanders on an irregular foursided form, and Barney Reid’s “Moon Flags,” Miro-like in its drawing.

Making successful enamel work on the wall, in the flat picture plane, is harder than in, say, jewelry, at least to this admittedly under-educated eye.

Why make a picture on a heavy piece of metal to hang on the wall when a bit of canvas would do?

The best pieces in “Little Dreams” answer that: Because fired glass can hold the most saturated of hue. It can let light in to see what’s underneath, or 20

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ARKANSAS TIMES

be opaque, or diffuse into tiny dots of color. For example: Edward Winter’s “Vegetabilis,” a 1940 Cubist still life, with its stylized leafy shadows created by the translucent enamel, and pieced works, like Jean Ames’ “The Garden” (1956), fitted shapes that create an image with a not-quite-rectangular edge. One of the most beautiful works in the show is a more modern piece, Helen Elliott’s “Journal 7,” a 2007 work of enamel on steel, in which she fires color on and then removes it by what’s called “stoning,” a burnishing technique. The result is luminous, an abstract composition in a palette of ochres and white and black marks.

Also among the later, more sculptural works you’ll find June Schwarcz’s vessels of folded and stitched sheets of enameled copper; Mary Chuduk’s “Veiled” (2009), in which she’s created an image of a woman in hijab atop a convex form to which fine circlets of hair and pearls are attached; and Marianne Hunter’s little figure in a kimono atop her husband’s turned wood “Macassar Sunrise.” “Garden Candles t ic k s ,” silver

pieces with pale blue cloisonné sides and silver leaves by Linda Darty, are elegant.

There is stunning jewelry here, including “Pair of Scarab Ear Cuffs” by goldsmith John Paul Miller, which features his “granulation” technique of adding tiny spheres of gold to the surface. David C. Freda’s “Study of Newborn White Crown Sparrows, Eggs and Adults” (2001) is just that, in necklace form, with a pendant of featherless fledglings emerging from cracked shells, egg beads and bird head clasps.

(An interesting note: Freda’s necklace was purchased by the Enamel Arts Foundation with funds from the Windgate Charitable Foundation in Siloam Springs.) In the rear of the gallery are books about enameling and a video about Miller, Schwarcz and enamel artist William Harper, who creates abstract jewelry using the cloisonné technique, drawing with gold.

WORK BY LITTLE ROCK’S OWN Thom Hall accompanies “Glass Dreams” in the exhibition “Glass Fantasies,” 40 narrative works. We do not think that it is just because we know and love Hall, who just won the Arkansas Arts Council’s Governor’s Individual Artist Award for 2017, that we think his work is very fine. His painterly images, in Limoges cloisonné techniques, are often witty, sometimes h o m o erotic a n d

PAINTING WITH ENAMEL: Jean Ames’ “The Garden.”

always beautifully crafted. His palette is daring.

“Boys with Blue Raft,” silver cloisonné enamel on copper with copper foil, is a wonderful work in aquas and deep blues used to splashy effect around the gorgeous male figures, and apparently hearkens to a childhood vacation in Miami Beach. “Turbulence at the Beach” is a jewel, with white splotches of foam and a literal and figurative undercurrent of sexual tension.

Hall, who no longer works in enamel because of the health risks, knew how to make water flow and froth in enamel.

Hilarious and wonderfully composed is his “Sylvia Moskowitz at the Rodeo,” in which his alter ego (Moskowitz) vamps in the background while a cowboy rides a bucking horse in the foreground. With the exception of the pieces in the collection of the Arts Center, all of the work is in private hands, which meant that we had to take a photograph of almost everything in the show to keep enjoying it.

Both exhibitions run through December.

21ST CENTURY ENAMELING: Mary Chuduk’s “Veiled.”

ROCK CANDY

Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

A&E NEWS LITTLE ROCK NATIVE Nate Powell is a National Book Award winner. “March: Book Three,” the final part of U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ civil rights memoir, won the award for young people’s literature at a ceremony in New York last week. Andrew Aydin and Powell were co-authors with Lewis on the trilogy. This marks the first time a graphic novel has ever won the National Book Award, and makes the “March” trilogy, already a bestseller that’s landed on school reading lists across the country, one of the most decorated comic works ever.

YOU SPEAK SPANISH? WE DO! SE HABLA ESPAÑOL

El Latino is Arkansas’s only weekly circulation-audited Spanish language newspaper.Arkansas has the second fastest growing Latino population in the country, and smart business people are targeting this market as they develop business relationships with these new consumers.

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201 E. Markham, Suite 200 | Little Rock Ar 72120 | 501.374.0853 For advertising call 501.492.3974 or by email luis@arktimes.com Facebook.com/ellatinoarkansas

NEXT YEAR MARKS the 25th anniversary of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. Past champions include Ho-Hum, Runaway Planet, Big Silver, Salty Dogs, 607, Velvet Kente, Brother Andy & His Big Damn Mouth, Tyrannosaurus Chicken, Holy Shakes, The Sound of the Mountain, Mad Nomad, Ghost Bones and The Uh Huhs. Want to join those ranks?

Enter by sending a link to your original material on Facebook, Reverbnation, Bandcamp or Soundcloud to showcase@ arktimes.com and including the following: band name, hometown, date band was formed, age range of members (all ages welcome), contact person, phone and email. Submission deadline is Dec. 31.

Performers will compete for an array of prizes worth over $2,500. Acts must perform 30 minutes of original material. All styles are welcome. Twenty semifinalists will compete in groups of four beginning the last Thursday in January and every Thursday throughout February at Stickyz.

Weekly winners will then face off in the finals at the Rev Room on Friday, March 10.

THE OXFORD AMERICAN magazine is departing from its state-themed formula for its heralded December music issue this year, with a genre-themed edition called “Visions of the Blues,” available on newsstands Dec. 12. Managing Editor Maxwell George introduced the 23-song compilation accompanying the issue.

“The blues cannot be contained, not in one song, not in one person; nor in one hundred. … The blues is among the South’s greatest exports, and its continued evolution at the hands of artists like Otis Taylor, Rhiannon Giddens, Alabama Shakes and Adia Victoria is as rich and unpredictable as ever.” The magazine’s third editor, Eliza Borné, celebrated one year at the helm in October — and a year in which the OA received its first National Magazine Award for General Excellence, at that.

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BY STEPHEN KOCH AND STEPHANIE SMITTLE

FRIDAY 11/25

BLOCK FRIDAY

The last couple of times I’ve wandered into a venue where Bijoux was performing, I found myself hoping it was somebody’s first time in Little Rock, and that those tones were the ambassadorial ones they heard. She’s endlessly polished, her pitch is always on point, and whether it’s “The Nearness of You” or “Hotline Bling,” she’s tasteful and bubbly when she puts her spin on cover tunes, to which she gravitates because they create a shared vocabulary with the audience. She told Rock City Life’s Anthony S. Carter earlier this year, “I want people to feel things. … It’s part of the reason I like doing covers because covers are memories, you remember where you were in your life when you loved a particular song.” These days, Bijoux tells us, she and Rodney Block have been doing “Tina’s ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It,’ Rihanna’s ‘Work’ and Maxwell’s ‘Lifetime.’”Even before you add the silky smooth sounds of Bijoux and the trumpet of Block to the blend, Zin Wine Bar has a few major things going for it when it comes to shaking off the effects of Thanksgiving overindulgence. There are the wide, comfy couches up front, the soothing water effects of the blue neon that lines the wall of the shotgun-style lounge, and that family-style antidote to casseroles, the amuse-bouche: plates of dark chocolates with fried fruit, provolone-stuffed cherry peppers, herbed English cheddar with sopressata.

There’s also the obvious “hair of the dog” factor; if you shared one too many Bud Lights with your Trump Nation uncle the day before trying to find some common ground on gun control issues, a $7 glass of Trapiche Broquel Malbec might be just the thing to set you straight.

(We suggest you find a designated driver if that glass leads to a couple more of the same.) SS 22

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ARKANSAS TIMES

JONATHAN MANNION

9 p.m. Zin Wine Bar. $15.

THE EAST ATLANTA SANTA: Atlanta’s prolific, controversial and newly svelte rapper Gucci Mane comes to the Metroplex 10 p.m. Nov. 25, $40-$120.

FRIDAY 11/25

GUCCI MANE

10 p.m. Clear Channel Metroplex. $40$120.

Gucci Mane, the often divisive and unbelievably prolific Atlanta rapper, is out of prison, and that tattoo of an ice cream cone is inscribed on a cheekbone lean enough to have inspired conspiracy theories that the Gucci we’ve seen lately is a clone. Since his release this summer, he’s been teasing a clothing line called Delantic poolside with newly toned abs. Grounded for bad behavior

by the U.S. government (two years for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon), Gucci took to Snapchat with decidedly tamer antics than his history of feuds might portend: He filmed himself offering hundreds of dollars to anyone who’d save him from eating Cocoa Pebbles and popcorn by bringing him a hamburger from Ann’s Snack Bar. (Someone did, specifically collaborator Mike Will Made-It. Gucci ate it.) On Sept. 20, he posted himself cutting off the ankle bracelet he’d been required to wear on house arrest,

eliciting an, “It’s over with! Yay!” from girlfriend Keyshia Ka’oir in the background, and since then, he’s released his eighth and ninth studio albums in quick succession, featuring collaborations with Kanye West, Rick Ross, Drake and Young Thug — “Everybody Looking” and “Woptober” — both of which contain lyrics that focus heavily on his newfound freedom: “Flood your ears, your neck, your wrist, your fingers and put it all on rocks/Say Guwop home and yeah it’s official, grab some tissues.” SS

there. The Toronto hardcore punk band released the often-imitated “Ill Blood” in 2002, then split from the scene in 2005 unceremoniously, prompting a host of knock-offs and probably just as many No Warning tattoos in Canada and elsewhere.

About a decade later, the group reunited as suddenly as it had left, announcing the re-emergence with a note on its Facebook page saying, “this world is too disgusting of a place not to be making our music again.” No Warning is joined by a formi-

dable list of hardcore bands from around the region: Free at Last from Springfield, Mo.; Kansas City’s Blindside USA; Tulsa’s Piece of Mind; San Antonio’s Afflictive Nature; Memphis’s Reserving Dirtnaps; and Little Rock’s own Terminal Nation.

There’ll also be a solo set from Young Gods of America’s Goon des Garcons (Brandon Burris), who’s back in Little Rock after an October tour in New Zealand. Tickets are available at the door for $25, or in advance at arkansaslivemusic.com for $30. SS

SATURDAY 11/26

BRIGADE FEST

7 p.m. Rev Room. $25-$30.

If the phrase “circle pit” trips your trigger, Brigade Fest is probably a prime place for you to be the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Brigade Skateboards, the selfdescribed “sketchy skateboard company from Arkansas” is throwing a party as part of its goal “to create a culture for the youth by creating an environment that everyone is welcome in,” as founder Evan Grove tells us. Fair warning, No Warning will be Follow us on Instagram: ArkTimes

IN BRIEF

JENNIFER HEIMBAUGH

BLIND WATER FINDS BLIND WATER: After taking his gut-punch melodies around the country again, Adam Faucett brings them back home for a show with his backing band The Tall Grass, joined by Little Rock’s Swampbird and Atlanta’s Radio Birds, 9 p.m. Nov. 26, Stickyz, $7-$10.

SATURDAY 11/26

ADAM FAUCETT AND THE TALL GRASS

9 p.m. Stickyz. $7-$10.

Fresh off a tour with Austin-based singer/songwriter Joanna Barbera, Faucett is back in town, and he’ll be, as The Onion’s A.V. Club put it, “knock[ing] your brain into the back of your skull.”

He’s inventive with the delicate arpeggios his tunes are built on, and maybe even more creative with the rhythmic patterns that tie them together. The time signature in “Melanie” displaces the strong beat, putting it where your ear hasn’t necessarily been trained to expect it, and “Living on the Moon” adds a marvelous extra beat or two to a standard four-count, lending a sort of ellipses at the end of phrases like “I know damn well what it means to keep shinin’ when nobody sees.” Though I doubt he disappointed any audiences

in Brooklyn or Water Valley, Miss., with his solo set, his songs are at their forceful best when Faucett is backed by The Tall Grass: easily two of the strongest rhythm players in town, drummer Chad Conder (Hard Pass, Brother Andy and His Big Damn Mouth) and bassist Jonathan Dodson (Brother Andy and His Big Damn Mouth), both of whom know Faucett’s songs intimately enough to lock into a groove with unrelenting accuracy. Faucett’s been making the rounds long enough to know that you give the room everything you have that night even when it’s empty, a principle he won’t likely have to put to the test at Saturday night’s homecoming. He’ll be joined by the five-piece Swampbird, a self-described “foot stomping folk-rock” five-piece accented by a good dose of pedal steel, and Atlanta quartet Radio Birds. SS

QC: CW: CD: AD: AM: PM: PO:

TP and The Feel brings its keyboard-forward jazz grooves to South on Main, 10 p.m., $10. Drag artist Symone, who was profiled in September as an Out in Arkansas feature in the Arkansas Times, performs at Club Sway for “Symone Says,” 9 p.m. Stephen Neeper and The Wild Hearts join Dead End Drive and American Lions at Gino’s Sports Grill in Benton, 9 p.m. Mountain Sprout stomps out the remaining Black Friday embers at Maxine’s in Hot Springs, 10 p.m. Comedian Mitch Fatel does a two-night run at the Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., $14. The Rev Room hosts “Purple Friday: The Return of the Prince Tribute,” 10 p.m., $10-$20. The Big Dam Horns bring their outsized sounds to Stickyz, 9 p.m., $7. The Schwag and Friends of the Phamily jam at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, 9:30 p.m., $12. Donna Massey & The Blue Eyed Soul play at Cajun’s, 9 p.m., $5. Against the Grain performs at Markham Street Grill & Pub, 8:30 p.m., free.

MUST INITIAL FOR APPROVAL

Trim: 2.125" x 5.5" Bleed: 1none Closing Date: 3/4/16

FRIDAY 11/25

Pub: Arkansas Times

If the holiday is a time for reflection on the bounties we’ve enjoyed, there may not be a more symbolic event this holiday weekend than a Mulehead show the day after Thanksgiving at the White Water Tavern. Come ponder a time when the prefix “alt” portended good things, like “… country,” “… weekly,” or “… porn.” Consider an era when these Little Rockers with the cheeky Biblical references in their songs were poised to achieve escape velocity. Imagine a world where the Friday after Thanksgiving is not black, but tan, orange or gold — the colors of autumn. And beer.

But let us not be heavy of heart. We can

be nostalgic, but this is no nostalgia act.

The band’s 2004 breakup didn’t take.

Mulehead’s fifth long-player, “Forever Out of Tune,” came out just last year on Max Recordings after several years of Kevin Kerby, Brent Labeau, Dave Raymond and Geoff Curran curiously spending their time working on nonMulehead projects, such as their families. Whatever, guys. Indeed, let us be thankful for what we have. We still have Mulehead. We still have Max Recordings. We still have the White Water Tavern. And they still have us. Or, as the boys in the band more simply put it, “Come burn off your turkey day carb load by dancing your arse off.” SK

Job/Order #:279607 QC: cs

MULEHEAD

9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern.

Brand: Ritas Item #: PBW2016003

SATURDAY 11/26

If you don’t have plans for Thanksgiving, drop by the potluck dinner at Thanksgiving at the Firehouse Hostel & Museum in MacArthur Park, noon. Later, Pizza D’Action holds its 4th Annual Punksgiving with The Dangerous Idiots and Fayetteville’s The Silvershakers, 8 p.m.

Live: 1.875" x 5.25"

THURSDAY 11/24

NOT EASY. © 2016 ANHEUSER-BUSCH, BUDWEISER® BEER, ST. LOUIS, MO

SATURDAY 11/26 Jamie Lou and the Hullabaloo join The Couch Jackets at King’s Live Music in Conway, 8:30 p.m., $5. The UALR Trojans women’s basketball team takes on the St. Louis University Billikens at the Jack Stephens Center, 3 p.m.

Robinson Center hosts The Ten Tenors, 8 p.m., $25-$75. “Naughty or Nice? The Tod Crites Holiday Art Show” opens with refreshments and a reception with the artist, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Red Door Gallery, 3715 JFK Blvd., NLR. Shawn James and the Shapeshifters play George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, 8:30 p.m., $10. Jesse Aycock joins The Paul Benjamin Band at Smoke and Barrel Tavern in Fayetteville, 10 p.m., $5. Jet 420 plays at Cajun’s, 9 p.m., $5. Tragikly White takes the stage at West End Smokehouse, 10 p.m., $7. Hot Springs’ Low Key Arts marks the 10th anniversary of its Arkansas Shorts project with a screening of selected shorts, 7

North Little Rock 501-945-8010 Russellville 479-890-2550 Little Rock 501-455-8500 Conway 501-329-5010

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BY STEPHEN KOCH AND STEPHANIE SMITTLE

FLIPPY: Yagmur Altan’s “Rabbit Blood” and Chadwick Whitehead’s “Killer Recipe” are two of 23 short animated films to be screened at the Little Rock Film Society’s Flipbook Animated Film Festival Nov. 28 at The Joint, 7:30 p.m., $8.

MONDAY 11/28

FLIPBOOK ANIMATION FILM FESTIVAL

7:30 p.m. The Joint. $8.

If you believe the study conducted by Microsoft Corp. on 2,000 participants in Canada last year, the average adult has an attention span of about eight seconds.

There’s still a serious gap to make up between that timeframe and the shortest film at the Flipbook Animation Festival, but hey, your spastic, brainwashed-bymultiple-browser-tabs brain is probably better off here than it is delving into

PBS’ marathon series “Soundbreaking.”

The Little Rock Film Society — the nonprofit organization that brought films like “Southwest of Salem,” “Major” and “White Nights” to Arkansas during the 2016 Kaleidoscope Film Festival — holds a monthly film series at The Joint in the Argenta District called Monday Night Shorts. As the group says on its Facebook page, its goal is to provide “new opportunities to see films that have until now rarely been seen in Arkansas.” This installment in the series is dedicated to animation, featuring 23 films from 11 countries around

the world that range from hyperrealism to stop motion, from a minute to a quarter hour. There’s Chadwick Whitehead’s “Killer Recipe,” in which an avocado inadvertently invents tortilla chips that want to eat him; Mori Wu’s “Cut to Bliss: Force of Fashion,” a series of vignettes that “explore fashion as a way to express female empowerment”; Stav Levi’s “Head,” in which a man decides to secede from his own head; Nyan Kyal Say’s “My Life I Don’t Want,” from the point of view of a young girl in Myanmar; David Chontos’ “Sisters,” in which a pair of performers

recapture former glory through music inspired by Swedish songwriter Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson (one half of duo “The Knife”); Yagmur Altan’s “Rabbit Blood,” in which residents at a Turkish country house brew an unconventional variety of tea; and Kristen Lauth Shaeffer’s “349,” in which a dance performance was videotaped and then converted into still frames which were, in turn, given to 349 people who redrew them to represent themselves and someone with whom they were connected. SS

audience to places like the Glory Hole Waterfall, Hawksbill Crag, Cedar Falls at Petit Jean State Park, the cypress swamps of the Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge and, via time-lapse photography, the light trails made by stars as they move over Kings River Falls. His hiking guidebooks, if a bit more dry than those published by his peers, are the incredibly detailed results of his exhaustive per-

sonal sojourns on the trails of Arkansas, and, for an introductory course, it’d be hard to beat Ernst’s 1994 guide, “Arkansas Hiking Trail: A Guide to 78 Selected Trails in ‘The Natural State,’ ” complete with a foreword by former President Bill Clinton. Ernst was president of the Ozark Highlands Trails Association for 28 years, a group that’s collectively logged 350,000 volunteer hours with the U.S. Forest Service. At

least 10,000 of those hours were put in by Ernst himself, who received an award from the chief of the U.S. Forest Service for his contribution. These days, he teaches workshops, mostly in the Buffalo Wilderness, for small groups of aspiring nature photographers. For this event, Ernst will give a slide show featuring stills like those in his latest book, “Arkansas in My Own Backyard,” and stick around for a Q&A session. SS

TUESDAY 11/29

TIM ERNST

7 p.m. Faulkner County Library. Free.

Odds are if you’ve spent any time hiking in Arkansas, the name Tim Ernst is familiar to you. The wilderness photographer has played a significant role in capturing the state’s natural treasures on camera and — to the tune of 17 collections that have become coffee table mainstays — exposed a wider national 24

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IN BRIEF p.m., followed by the cult classic “The Room,” (not to be confused with the 2015 film “Room”), 8 p.m., $5.

WEDNESDAY 11/30

DAVID OLNEY

9 p.m. White Water Tavern. $10.

Rhode Island native David Olney’s been doing this a long time, y’all. While the dark acoustic upstarts inspired by Townes Van Zandt are turning gray themselves now, Olney’s a contemporary who toured with Townes, recording more than 20 albums over four decades. In fact, the late Mr. Van Zandt ranked Olney’s songwriting only behind

MONDAY 11/28 that of Mozart, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Bob Dylan. If additional wildly effusive praise is needed, the Nashville Scene more recently called Olney that city’s “answer to the Bard” (yes, as in Shakespeare) in the wake of his original song composition and acting in Americanathemed productions of “As You Like It” and “The Comedy of Errors.” You gotta respect a fellow who doesn’t rest on his laurels, especially when those laurels

find you at No. 4 with a bullet behind only Mozart, Dylan and Lightnin.’ But let us continue with the laurels. Consider the lineup of great performers and songwriters who’ve seen fit to record Olney’s songs: Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury. Convinced yet? Ward Stout will accompany Olney on fiddle and mandolin; Fret and Worry (by the way, which one’s Fret?) opens the show. SK

The Bluegrass Martins, an award-sweeping family band from Jefferson City, Mo., turns its fiddles and dobros toward Christmas music at The Collins Theater in Paragould for Bluegrass Monday, sponsored by KASU-FM, 91.9, 7 p.m., $5 suggested donation.

Perry County Extension Service holds a forum discussing a potential Master Gardener program in that county, First Electric Cooperatives, 10 a.m. The Capital Hotel serves up eggnog for its annual “A Capital Christmas: Tree Lighting,” 5 p.m.

TUESDAY 11/29 The UALR Percussion Ensemble gives a concert featuring works

by Warren Benson, R.W. Buggert, David Steinquest and Richard K. Levan and premieres the new chamber group, The Capitol City Percussion Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., free, UALR Center for Performing Arts. If you’re jonesin’ to show what you’ve got on the 1s and 2s, the White Water Tavern hosts an Open Turntables night, 9 p.m. Vino’s Brewpub Cinema screens the 1965 pilot episode of the sci-fi TV series “Lost in Space,” 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 11/30 PYROTECHNIC JUGGERNAUT: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings its electrified Christmas arena rock to Verizon Arena Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30, $38-$78.

WEDNESDAY 11/30

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA 7:30 p.m. Verizon Arena. $38-$78.

You won’t be able to tell it when you’re perched underneath a progrock soundtracked pantheon of pyrotechnics, lasers and giant robotic arms, but the TSO’s current show, “Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” was written in a single evening and as a last-minute stand-in on FOX Television Network one evening in 1999, after the slotted show dropped out unexpectedly. “It was only supposed to be played once on TV; it has been played every year since,” TSO founder/producer/director/composer Paul O’Neill told USA Today. “It was never supposed to be released as a DVD; it went double platinum.” The juggernaut troupe toyed with changing

up the formula for its 20th anniversary this year, but was so flooded with fan mail asking for “Ghosts of Christmas Eve” it felt it had no choice but to do some version of the show this winter.

TSO’s made a signature sound by electrifying classical instruments like the violin and making Christmas-y arena rock. Then, to the delight of children and LSD users everywhere, TSO accents that sound with a monumental theatrical display, something that has only gotten more traction with the advent of lightweight LED lighting, O’Neill told The Morning Call newspaper in Pennsylvania. “We used to have to carry two tractor trailers of generators because a lot of the buildings couldn’t handle our electrical poles. Two years ago, the lights got so efficient we were able to

drop the generators, which left more room for pyro.” For instilling the sense of hubris it took to conceive of TSO, he blames The Who; Emerson, Lake and Palmer; and especially Pink Floyd, who mesmerized O’Neill when he saw them live in the mid-’90s. “I simply had never seen a show that good, where every time you thought you saw the ultimate gag, they had 10 more lined up. ... They didn’t have the advantage of all these computers, etc. Basically, every year we know all the pyro companies, we know all the lighting companies, we know all the special effects companies. They all know that if they invent great special effects that [are] insanely expensive, there is one band that is dumb enough to buy it. And that’s us.” SS

If you’re lucky enough to have nabbed tickets within the 45-minute window that the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra was giving them away for free, you could have a spot at the ASO’s “Thank You, Little Rock” concert in Robinson Center, 7 p.m. Jaimee JensenMcDaniel, also known as “The Curvy Soprano,” brings her band The Trebled Souls to South on Main, 8:30 p.m., $10. The Human Rights Campaign Arkansas hosts “Where Would Jesus Go? A Forum on Bathroom Bills” with Rev. Denise O’Donnell at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 6:30 p.m. King’s Live Music in Conway hosts its final Science Wednesday of the year, “The Science of Food,” with Hendrix College professor Dr. Stacey Schwartzkopf and University of Central Arkansas professor Dr. Melissa Kelley, 6:30 p.m. Richard Brodhead, the president of Duke University, gives a lecture in Sturgis Hall of the Clinton School of Public Service, noon.

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SEPTEMBER 11-27, 2015

ALSO IN THE ARTS

(501) 378-0405 | TheRep.org

BEER NIGHT

ARKANSAS ARKANSAS RREPERTORY EPERTORY T H E AT R E THEATRE

Come try a sampling before the show!

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Before the start of the show, enjoy a complimentary beer tasting provided by Lost Forty Brewing.

THEATER

“Sorry, Wrong Chimney.” A Christmas comedy from Murry’s Dinner Playhouse.

6 p.m. dinner, 7:30 p.m. curtain Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. dinner, 12:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. curtain Sun. through Dec. 31. $15-$36. 6323 Colonel Glenn Rd. 5623131. murrysdp.com.

“A Fertle Holiday,” The Main Thing’s holiday production. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. through Jan. 14. $22. 301 Main St., NLR. 372-0210. thejointargenta.com “Great Expectations.” TheaterSquared’s production of the Charles Dickens classic. 7:30 p.m. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 30, Wed.-Fri., 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. through Jan.1. $10-$45. 505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. theatre2.org.

“A Christmas Story.” Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s production of the Turner Entertainment film. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m. Tues.-Sun., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 3780405. $25-$50. 601 Main St. therep.org.

VISUAL ARTS, HISTORY EXHIBITS

Thursday, December 1, 2016 6-7pm Lobby at The Rep For tickets, call the Box Office at (501) 378-0405 or visit TheRep.org sponsored by

ARKANSAS TIMES

UPCOMING EVENTS ON CentralArkansasTickets.com DEC

Arkansas Craft Guild The 38th Annual Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase

JAN

Argenta Arts Acoustic Music Series AAMS Presents Michael Chapdelaine

2

19

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LOCAL TICKETS, One Place

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All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please email the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

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From your goin’ out friends at

MAJOR VENUES

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Collectors Show and Sale,” through Jan. 8; “Little Dreams in Glass and Metal: Enameling in America, 1920 to Present,” 121 artworks by 90 artists, and “Glass Fantasies,” retrospective of work by Thom Hall with 40 enamels, both through December. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000.

ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff: “Exploring the Frontier: Arkansas 1540-1840,” Arkansas Discovery Network hands-on exhibition; “Heritage Detectives: Discovering Arkansas’ Hidden Heritage.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: Studio Art Quilts Associates show, through December; “Fired Up: Arkansas Wood-Fired Ceramics,” work by Stephen Driver, Jim and Barbara Larkin, Fletcher Larkin, Beth Lambert, Logan Hunter and Hannah May, through Jan. 28; “Little Golden Books,” private collection, through Dec. 3. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790.

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957.

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER: “Ladies and Gentlemen … the Beatles!” Records, photographs, tour artifacts, videos, instruments, recording booth for singalong with Ringo Starr, from the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE, through April 2. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $8 seniors, retired military and college students, $6 youth 6-17, free to active military and children under 6.

CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way, Bentonville: “The Art of American Dance,” 90 works spanning the years 1830 to now, through

Jan. 16; “Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies,” campaign advertising artifacts, through Jan. 9; American masterworks spanning four centuries in the permanent collection. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.Sun., closed Tue. 479-418-5700.

ESSE PURSE MUSEUM & STORE, 1510 S. Main St.: “A Walk in Her Shoes,” women’s footwear from the beginning of the 20th century, through Jan. 15; “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags,” permanent exhibit. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun. $10, $8 for students, seniors and military. 916-9022.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. 3rd St.: Kimberly Kwee, multimedia drawings, and David Scott Smith, ceramics, through Feb. 5; “Heinbockel, Nolley and Peterson: Personal Rituals,” watercolors

by Amanda Heinbockel, fiber art by Marianne Nolley and mixed media by Brianna Peterson, through Dec. 4; “Tiny Treasures: Miniatures from the Permanent Collection,” through Jan. 9; “Hugo and Gayne Preller’s House of Light,” historic photographs, through Jan. 3; ticketed tours of renovated and replicated 19th century structures from original city, guided Monday and Tuesday on the hour, self-guided Wednesday through Sunday, $2.50 adults, $1 under 18, free to 65 and over. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, 503 E. 9th St. (MacArthur Park): “Waging Modern Warfare”; “Gen. Wesley Clark”; “Vietnam, America’s Conflict”; “Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II.” 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 9th and Broadway: “Treasured Memories: My Life, My Story,” debut of new works in museum’s 2016 Creativity Arkansas collection by Barbara Higgins Bond, Danny Campbell, LaToya Hobbs, Delita Martin, Aj Smith, Scinthya Edwards and Deloney, through December; permanent exhibits on African-American entrepreneurship in Arkansas. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683-3593.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham St.: “True Faith, True Light: The Devotional Art of Ed Stilley,” musical instruments, through 2017; “We Make Our Own Choices: Staff Favorites from the Old State House Museum Collection,” through December; “First Families: Mingling of Politics and Culture” permanent exhibit including first ladies’ gowns. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 -10:30 a.m. every Tue. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050.

REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith: “Pulled, Pressed and Screened: Important American Prints,” through Jan. 5. 479-784-2787.

TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, U.S. Hwy. 165, England: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12. 9619442.

UNIVERSITY GALLERIES

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro: “Embel-

lish,” paintings, fiber art and sculpture

by Liz Whitney Quisgard, through Dec. 9; “Tools for Thought: Jewelry,” miniature sculptures by Kiff Slemmons, through Dec. 9; “Face Off,” works by Jonesboro High School students, reception 5-6:30 p.m.

Nov. 29. Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 2-5 p.m.

Sun. 870-972-2567.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK, 2801 S. University: “UALR Faculty Biennial,” work by Win Bruhl, Kevin Cates, David Clemons, Tom Clifton, Rico Cuatlacuatl, Brad Cushman, Tim Garth, Sofia Gonzalez, Mia Hall, Kerry Hartman, Heidi Hogden, Joli Livaudais, Eric Mantle, Carey Roberson, Aj Smith, David Smith, Marjorie Williams-Smith and Rachel Smith, through Nov. 28, Gallery I; senior BFA exhibit of works by Lane Chapman, Jeremy Couch, Kenneth Guthrie, Rayna Mackey and Tracy Taylor, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, Gallery III. 9 a.m.5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-8977.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT FAYETTEVILLE: “ABOUT FACE,” work by Philip Guston, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Rashid Johnson, Mary Reid Kelley, Arnold Kemp, Amy Pleasant and Carrie Mae Weems, through Dec. 4, Fine Arts Gallery, lecture by Pleasant 5:30 p.m. Dec. 8, Hillside Auditorium. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 479-575-7987.

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS, Conway: “Senior BA/BFA Exhibition,” work by 11 seniors, through Dec. 1, Baum Gallery. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Wed. and Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thu. 450-5793.

“Dia de los Muertos,” work by members of the Latino Art Project, through Jan. 6. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.Sat. 758-1720.

LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH, 420 Main St., NLR: 2nd annual “Juried Arkansas Art Teacher Exhibition.” 687-1061.

M2 GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell Road: “Holiday Art Sale,” work by Neal Harrington, Phoenix Murphy, Maddox Murphy, Cathy Burns, Dan Thornhill and others. Noon-5 p.m. Mon., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 2256257.

McLEOD FINE ART GALLERY, 108 W. 6th St.: “Landscapes/Dreamscapes: At the Crossroads of Observation and Memory,” drawings, pastels and paintings by Jean-

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LITTLE ROCK AREA GALLERIES

ARGENTA GALLERY/ROCK CITY WERKS, 413 Main St., NLR: “Periculum,” paintings

by Trey McCarley, through Nov. 26. 2588991.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: David Mudrinich, “Connecting with the Land,” paintings, through Dec. 24. 2241335.

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: “The Fourth of July and Other Things,” paintings by Diana L. Shearon, through December. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-noon Fri., all day Sun. 375-2342.

CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 664-0880.

COX CREATIVE CENTER, 120 River Market Ave.: “Chronicas de lo Efimero,” paintings

by Maria Botti Villegas. 918-3093.

GALLERY 221, 2nd and Center Sts.: Work

by William McNamara, Tyler Arnold, Amy Edgington, EMILE, Kimberly Kwee, Greg Lahti, Mary Ann Stafford, Cedric Watson, C.B. Williams, Gino Hollander, Siri Hollander and jewelry by Rae Ann Bayless. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 801-0211.

GINO HOLLANDER GALLERY, 211 Center St.: Paintings and works on paper by Gino Hollander. 801-0211.

GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Best of the South,” through Dec. 15. 664-2787.

HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Two Fronts,” multimedia drawings by Alfred Conteh. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822.

L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Still Life,” paintings by Louis Beck, through November. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.Sat. 660-4006.

LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St., NLR:

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OXFORD AMERICAN AND SOUTH ON MAIN presents this excellent show in December

Hey, do this!

NOV & DEC NOV 26

DECEMBER 1, 2016

JIM LAUDERDALE [AMERICANA SERIES] 8:00 PM—The Oxford American magazine is excited to welcome Jim Lauderdale to Little Rock! This is the second show of our 2016-2017 Americana Series. Doors open at 6:00 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time.

DEC 2-4

THE ARKANSAS CRAFT GUILD’S CHRISTMAS SHOWCASE takes place at the Statehouse Convention Center. The premier holiday shopping event of the year features art, pottery, glass, jewelry, woodworking and more from more than 100 crafters. Admission is $6.25 with free admission on Friday from 5-8 p.m. and on Saturday morning from 8 a.m.-10 a.m. for early bird shoppers. For more info, visit www.arkansascraftguild.org. For tickets, visit centralarkansastickets.com

DEC 9

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre presents, A CHRISTMAS STORY, based on the classic film about Ralphie Parker. Follow his hilarious misadventures as his family struggles to enjoy the holidays on the brink of WWII. Opening night is Friday, Dec. 2. For tickets and show times, visit www. therep.org.

ALL MONTH Named best new bar by our readers, FOUR QUARTER BAR has live music all month long. View their line-up at www.fourquarterbar.com.

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

RIVER CITY MEN’S CHORUS kicks off the holiday season with a series of concerts featuring your favorite Christmas tunes. Performances are at 3 p.m. on Sunday and 7 p.m. on Monday and Thursday at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive. All concerts are free and open to the public. For more info, visit www. rivercitymenschorus.com.

NOV 30

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA returns to Verizon Arena to present “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve.” The rock opera includes all of your favorite Christmas songs performed in a grand, theatrical way that you have to experience live. Tickets are $37.50, $51.50, $65.50 and $78 and are available at www. ticketmaster.com.

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s

FUN!

DEC 1-12

The Crown Shop hosts its 12 DAYS OF GIVING with a different gift guide available every day. It’s a one-stop shop for all of your Christmas card, gift and giftwrapping needs.

THROUGH DEC 12

UALR has two shows this month.

In Gallery I, it’s the BA STUDENT CAPSTONE EXHIBITION and in Gallery III, BFA EXHIBITIONS featuring the work of Lane Chapman, Jeremy Couch, Kenneth Guthrie, Rayna A. Mackey and Tracy Taylor. All exhibitions are free and open to the public. For gallery hours and more info, visit ualr.edu/art/ galleries/upcoming-exhibitions.

DEC 15

La Terraza’s TACKY CHRISTMAS FIESTA takes place from 6-10 p.m. Enjoy delicious rum drinks and authentic South American dishes served during the holidays.

DEC 30-31

DEC 16-18

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents its HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS show at Robinson Performance Hall. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday with a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. For tickets and more info, visit www. arkansassymphony.org.

NOW THROUGH JAN 8

Choctaw Casino in Pocola, Okla., brings the FAB FOUR to CenterStage for a night of Beatles favorites on Friday, Dec. 30. Show time is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or 800-7453000. The following night, ring in the New Year with King Michael, a tribute to Michael Jackson, at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $59 and also available through Ticketmaster.

ARKANSAS TIMES

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter ROBERT TEPPER will perform live in concert at Wildwood Park’s Cabe Festival Theatre Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.

For more info, contact info@wildwoodpark. org or call 501-8217275.

HOME FREE, Season 4 winners of NBC’s The Sing-off, bring their a cappella style to UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall for A Country Christmas.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. For tickets, visit uca.edu/ publicappearances.

Buddy is the star of the Broadway musical ELF, which will be brought to the Robinson Performance Hall stage, Dec. 3-4. Show times are 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $25-$70 and available online at www.ticketmaster. com. For more info, call 501-244-8800.

MAYDAY BY MIDNIGHT plays Cajun’s Wharf on Dec. 1, King’s Live Music on Dec. 9 and a New Year’s Eve show at the Benton Event Center Dec. 31. Check out their full schedule in this issue. Book the band for your holiday party, wedding or special event at www. maydaybymidnight.com.

DEC 2

DEC 8

DEC 3-4

Ballet Arkansas presents its traditional holiday classic fairytale ballet, THE NUTCRACKER, accompanied by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Dec. 9-11 at Robinson Performance Hall.

Friday night’s performance is at 7:30 p.m. with 2 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday. This is a Christmas tradition for many Arkansas families and is always a beautiful, memorable event.

For tickets and more info, visit www. arkansassymphony.org.

NOV 30-DEC 24

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NOV 27-28, DEC 1

Celebrity Attractions brings the TEN TENORS to Robinson Performance Hall. Join Australia’s rock opera stars as they amaze and enthrall the audience with a beautiful blend of traditional and contemporary Christmas songs as part of their Home for the Holidays show. Show time is 8 p.m.

Tickets are $25-$75 and available online at www.ticketmaster.com. For more info, call 501-244-8800.

DEC 9-11

Join the downtown crowd for SECOND FRIDAY ART NIGHT (2FAN). Hop on the trolley, and get your Christmas shopping done after hours while supporting local shops and galleries.

Check next week’s issue for a preview of participating locations.

CHECK OUT OUR DEC. 1 ISSUE FOR A SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FROM DEC. 5-11 SURROUNDING THE COMMEMORATION OF THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR.

NOW THROUGH DEC 31

The hilarious Christmas comedy SORRY WRONG CHIMNEY is now showing at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. Enjoy dinner and a performance for the perfect holiday date night. Season tickets make a great gift. For show times, reservations and more info, visit www.murrysdp.com. And don’t forget about their awesome wesome NYE dinner, show, party and breakfast after midnight.

THE TAVERN SPORTS GRILL has live music on Wednesdays and Fridays as well as, football on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, $10 buckets of beer and 34 large TVs. Enjoy half-off appetizers and $1 off liquor and wine during happy hour.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HOT IN SPA CITY ON OUR HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS CALENDAR. R. PAGE 37

The Arkansas Arts Center hosts its 48TH ANNUAL COLLECTORS SHOW AND SALE, a tradition that brings the New York art gallery scene to Little Rock with the finest works for sale. For more about the show, visit www. arkansasartscenter.org.

ALSO IN THE ARTS

nie Lockeby Hursley and Dominique Simmons. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 725-8508.

MATTHEWS FINE ART GALLERY, 909 North St.: Paintings by Pat and Tracee Matthews, glass by James Hayes, jewelry

by Christie Young, knives by Tom Gwenn, kinetic sculpture by Mark White. Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 831-6200.

MUGS CAFE, 515 Main St., NLR: “Figure It Out” work by Claire Cade, Lilia Hernandez and Catherine Kim. 7 a.m.-6 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. 379-9101.

THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St.: “Habitats: Bentonville,” photographs by Kat Wilson, part of The Art Department series, through November. 379-9512.

AROUND ARKANSAS

BENTONVILLE MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, 202 SW O St.: 1930s sandpainting tapestry by Navajo medicine man Hosteen Klah, from the collection of Dr. Howard and Catherine Cockrill, through December. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 479273-2456.

FAYETTEVILLE STUDIO 545, 545 Center St.: New watercolors by William McNamara, through Nov. 27. 479-527-9842. davidmckeearchitect@gmail.com.

HOT SPRINGS ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: Paintings by Polly Cook and Patrick Cunningham and photographs by Jim Pafford. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 6550604.

GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Sculpture by Rod Moorhead, watercolors by Doyle Young, glass ornaments by James Hayes. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 318-4278.

GARLAND COUNTY COMMUNITY LIBRARY, 1427 Malvern St.: “Macros and Minis,” large and miniature paintings, through Nov. 26.

JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 A Central Ave.: “Cantos from the New Pantheon,” paintings by Randell Good, through November. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 321-2335.

JACKSONVILLE JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle, Jacksonville: Exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students.

241-1943.

MORRILTON MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean

Mountain: Permanent exhibition of more than 50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.5 p.m. 7 days. 727-5427.

POTTSVILLE POTTS INN, 25 E. Ash St.: Preserved 1850s stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, with period furnishings, log structures, hat museum, doll museum, doctor’s office, antique farm equipment. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. $5 adults, $2 students, 5 and under free.

479-968-9369.

ROGERS ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. 2nd St.: “O Christmas Tree,” Hawkins House, opens with guided tours 12:30-4 p.m. Nov. 27, 17th annual Holiday Open House, exhibition through Dec. 31. 479621-1154.

THEY’RE HERE!

SCOTT PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, U.S. Hwy. 165 and state Hwy. 161: Permanent exhibits on historic agriculture.

8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $4 adults, $3 children. 961-1409.

SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections.org.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (ACNMWA) is taking applications for its biennial online registry of Arkansas women artists, which allows selected artists to showcase their work. Deadline for application is Dec. 31. To apply, go to acnmwa.org/artist-registry. Juror is Rana Edgar, director of education and programs at the Arkansas Arts Center.

ACNMWA was founded in 1989 to support the efforts of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. The Arkansas Arts Council is accepting applications for Arts in Education Mini Grants and Arts for Lifelong Learning Mini Grants, residency programs, through August 2017. Artists must match the grant award of $1,000 with either cash or an inkind contribution. For more information, go to the Available Grants section of arkansasarts.org.

Wildwood Park for the Arts invites printmakers to submit works with a theme of nature for the February 2017 “Nature in Print” exhibit. Deadline to submit proposals online is Dec. 1. Find more information at wildwoodpark.org/art.

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016

29

MOVIE REVIEW

TORRES SENTENCED TO DEATH, CONT.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is tasked with translating communications from one of 12 alien “heptapods” hovering above the Earth.

Fear and wonder ‘Arrival’ makes room for ‘linguistic relativity.’

BY SAM EIFLING

T

he mysteries that linger throughout “Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve’s richly conceived alien-invasion picture, often remain just out of sight and just beyond grasp. “Independence Day” it isn’t; rather than discs settling over cities and opening fire, humanity is confronting a dozen enormous, coffee-bean-shaped objects that hover benignly over different sites around the globe. The race is on not to defeat the aliens inside, but to communicate with them: The simple question of “what are you up to?” holds the key to defusing a growing worldwide tension over which government knows what and preventing intraspecies war. Getting at the truth requires patience, intellect and a willingness to trust. In short, it is contra-Trump.

To wit: When was the last time the hero of your potboiler alien communication movie was a lady scientist, anyway — “Contact”? Here we have Amy Adams as a brilliant linguist who’s brought on as the point translator for the military’s response to the giant bean floating over 30

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

Montana. Beside her is Jeremy Renner as a physicist — sort of a Jeff Goldblum stuffed into a jarhead. Forest Whitaker wears a uniform and gives orders. To talk to the aliens, the scientists enter the bean with a lot of sensitive equipment and a whiteboard and proceed to work on some intergalactic pantomime on one side of a translucent wall. On the other side, the aliens (a hybrid of octopuses and enormous arthritic upright hands) cast circular symbols onto the wall — inky logograms (think Chinese characters) that reveal the language piece by piece.

Riveting, right? Actually, for a movie with such tension, the overall effect is oddly soothing. The dark, foggy room where the aliens live and the dim room where the scientists work give the movie a dreamy, hazy texture that serves the other storyline: the persistent dreams, or perhaps hallucinations, that Adams has about her daughter, who died young from what appeared to be a rare cancer.

The linguist’s consciousness flickers and flits as she realizes she’s gleaning

the alien language, and beginning to perceive time in new ways because of it.

This performance of Adams’ is one that people will call “breakthrough,” and rightly so. She anchors nearly every scene, bringing gravity to a part that requires gentle bewilderment, true wonder and a heartache that only compounds the deeper we go. The narrative, though, belongs to screenwriter Eric Heisserer, adapting a short story by Ted Chiang, and to the director, Villeneuve (“Sicario,” “Prisoners”). Heisserer has described “linguistic relativity” as a basis for the story. In Villeneuve, he found a director capable of cranking up the stakes without gun battles or lasers. Together they build a structure and pace that let the movie arrive iteratively, almost in waves, until the imagined and the real swirl and merge like water. So restrained is the director that the film’s most important line is delivered in Mandarin, sans subtitles.

This is the movie M. Night Shyamalan would have given a kidney to make.

Extraterrestrial invasion flicks never go out of style, and for good reason: There’s never going to be a time when the wonder and fear of meeting beings from elsewhere isn’t as exciting a thing as humans have conceived. “Arrival” triumphs by acknowledging the fear while giving over to the wonder. Would that we were all so brave.

as to whether his bizarre actions were actually performed for the sake of sexual gratification and with the intent to kill his son.

“Whatever they did, as despicable as it is, they didn’t do it knowing the child would die,” attorney Bill James told the jury during opening statements. During closing arguments, James said, “This is not a rape case. … You can assume all you want, but the problem is that … [the prosecutor] has to prove it.”

Prosecutor Nathan Smith made the case during closing arguments that Isaiah’s death was “a sadistic act of sexual torture. … You know that is an act of sexual gratification just based on common sense.” He also noted that Erickson had testified that Isaiah would have likely survived his injuries if they had been treated quickly. “Had they [called 911] a couple hours after the fact, he’d probably be alive today. Why didn’t they? Because they had committed a crime,” Smith said.

The jury evidently found it quite easy to conclude capital murder occurred: It took less than an hour to reach a guilty verdict.

During the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury heard more horror stories from three former stepchildren and two biological children of Torres, all of whom lived with the defendant in Jonesboro during the late 1990s or early 2000s. All but one are now young adults in their early 20s (the fifth is still a minor).

All told the court that they suffered chronic abuse at the hands of Mauricio Torres. Some alleged sexual crimes, some said they were repeatedly beaten and struck, and some said they experienced both physical and sexual abuse.

Among the victims were Quinton Martin, 21, and Nicholas Martin, 22, both of whom were biological children of Cathy Torres by other men before she married Mauricio. Both are now in prison in East Arkansas.

Quinton Martin, who lived with his stepfather between the ages of 4 and 8, said “it was a daily occurrence, where we’d get hit with belts ... from our ankles to the top of our back. … I guess for his amusement, he’d make us come into the living room and fight each other, and if we didn’t, he’d hit us.” Nicholas Martin also described being made to fight his brothers and being beaten with a belt, with wire

coat hangers or with his stepfather’s fists. He and his brothers didn’t tell anyone, he said, because “we feared for our lives.”

Mauricio Torres had at least two children with a previous wife before he met Cathy Torres, and they also testified against their father at his sentencing. Maurice Torres, Jr., 21, and Ericka Torres, 24, said they were repeatedly sexually and physically abused by their father before he left their mother. Maurice said his father would hit him “multiple times a day”

with his fists or with “anything that was close by,” and that the beatings began “when I was around 4 or 5.”

Both also said their father raped them.

Torres joins 34 other men on Arkansas’s death row.

Ibby Caputo contributed reporting for this story. Funding for her reporting was provided by people who donated to a crowdfunding campaign on ioby.com and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.

BUFFALO, CONT. they failed to outline their full legal and factual objections. Bill Waddell, an attorney for EC Farms owner Ellis Campbell, agreed with ADEQ. Lin Wellford said she and the others didn’t realize they needed a lawyer when they first petitioned. (Mays only began representing them after the fact.) She told a reporter that the EC Farms permit modification was “choreographed to get around the moratorium” on new CAFOs in the Buffalo watershed. Wellford questioned why ADEQ, the state’s environmental regulator, was using taxpayer dollars to defend EC Farms while “the Buffalo River is being allowed to be degraded.”

Wellford noted in her appeal that allowing C&H to use other fields for its pig waste will skew the validity of the University of Arkansas’s monitoring efforts of pollution on Big Creek.

She said the runoff from EC will also impact Shop Creek and the Little Buffalo, adding. “This is seven more miles of this National River being imperiled, all to allow one hog CAFO to operate.”

“This [river] is supposed to exist as a resource for my grandchildren and your grandchildren,” Wellford said.

Waddell, the counsel for EC Farms, told the judge that his client “has tried to comply with the regulations in asking for a permit. He’s not asking for any favoritism.”

Moulton found much fault with the petitioners’ complaints and agreed with Rothermel. But he also questioned whether ADEQ had the authority to convert EC Farms’ hog-farming permit into a new permit.

“You’re basically converting one type of facility to another … a sow facility to a land farming facility,” he said. “[Those are] two different types of permits, isn’t that what happened?”

Rothermel said the permit simply “evolved.” She told Moulton that “it

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isn’t really a new permit. ... Aspects were removed from the permit, and then updated aspects were added.”

However, Moulton pointed out that ADEQ’s regulations identify two different types of permits that operate under two different regulations. “That’s not my language. That’s the department’s language,” he said.

Moulton said he needed both parties to deliver briefs on the issue, and set Tuesday, Nov. 29, as the date for the next hearing.

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016

31

OUT IN ARKANSAS

Q&A with H.L. Moody The Democratic Party spokesman on the election talks local and national politics.

BY SETH ELI BARLOW

H

bad, the longer they can say the DPA is dead, and that’s simply not the case.

We’ve been meeting internally and coming up with a structured plan for going forward and there’s a lot of transition going on. If you look at the counties where we did well and the counties where we need to do better, and then look at the precincts where we did well and where we didn’t, we can learn a lot about where we need to focus our resources in the future.

Eventually, we’ll have an active county

so in that way, the county organization is really integral to the overall statewide structure.

Our phones have been ringing, we’ve gotten emails and Facebook messages from people wanting to know how they can get involved, and we always point them back to that county party structure, especially in counties where we have a strong presence.

What else have you been hearing from people this past week?

Immediately after Election Day, even on election night, we started getting phone calls. They wanted to know how to get involved. They were horrified by what they were seeing on TV, and they wanted to know how to fight.

You know, the last time [when HB 1228 was passed] we finally yelled loud enough for people to notice. Corporations took notice, and the people that stood on the Capitol steps to protest what was going on inside quite literally stopped us from being in an economic situation like North Carolina. There’s something to be said for that. Now we’re aiming for that on a bigger scale. Now, people are actually plugged in and paying attention. For the first time, people who’ve never thought about activism personally are thinking about ways that they can join in, and the party can play a very important role as a conduit for those people. The party can be the mechanism that helps create social change, because real change comes from working on the inside and the outside. You have to have both.

.L. Moody has been involved with the Democratic Party of Arkansas for over 14 years and now serves as the party’s communications director. I asked him about the election, the future of the Democratic Party in Arkansas and what it was like to be one of the most visibly out men in Arkansas politics.

Are you still in a phase of trying to armchair quarterback all of your decisions?

No. I’m trying very hard to look forward, and I’ve got a lot of reasons to do that. Not the least of which is that the legislative session starts in less than two months, and there’s a lot of organizing to do between now and then to be sure that, as terrible legislation comes up, we can have folks on the Capitol steps, inside the Capitol, people calling legislators or sending them letters and emails. Our job now is to represent Democratic values and protect our rights.

Over the past week, many people have been asking where to go next from here.

Have you been hearing that same sentiment from the party members that you’ve 32

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

So, what happened on Tuesday?

Well, a couple of things happened.

One, and most notably, white workingclass voters across the whole country did not vote for Hillary Clinton. And of course, Arkansas happens to be full of white working-class voters. So, at least for Arkansas, the result was somewhat predictable.

We lost some legislative seats that we worked really hard on, and I was really sad about that. Those folks ran some good races and some of them lost by less than the folks who ran [in previous election cycles], so that shows that we’re gaining some ground. I think people keep asking us, “Where’s the floor?” Well, we’re there.

TIME TO WORK: Says H.L. Moody, communications director of the Democratic Party of Arkansas.

spoken to?

I think Secretary Clinton summed it up best when she said (at a charity gala on Nov. 16) that there were days when she wanted to curl up and never leave the house. I totally get that, but, as somebody that pays the electric bill by working in politics, I just don’t have that luxury. Also, the longer I am lying down and feeling

party in all 75 counties. Most people don’t know that they can actually join the party, that you can actually be a member of the Democratic Party and that the way to do that is through the county party organization. That county organization elects members of the state committee and the members of the state committee elect the executive officers of the party,

I have to admit, you’re sounding much more optimistic than I expected.

Well, I’m not one to wallow. You know, Maya Angelou, and more recently Justin Trudeau, said something along the lines of “no social issues are settled by fear,” and I also think they don’t get settled by people who sit on their ass. So it’s time to get up, time to wipe our tears, and get over the fact that we didn’t get what we wanted this time. We have to remember that we live in a country in which the democratic bargain is still very much alive: If you get defeated this time, you can still compete next time, and you might well win. And if Democrats, even in Arkansas, if all Democrats who feel the way we do actually went and voted, we’d start winning some of these elections. That’s the trick for 2018 and 2020 and beyond. Frankly, sometimes anger is great motivator, but we have to be sure to turn that anger into activism.

Looking at the LGBT community,

I feel like this time, for the first time, something clicked. Some of that angst and anger in the community turned to activism, and I personally saw, both at the Hillary office and at the DPA office, more LGBT people this time coming in to make phone calls and stuff envelopes and knock on doors. That’s what it takes to get Democrats elected, and I think that it’s when we all take some ownership of those elections that we start to make headway.

It’s easy to say that the representative in Maumelle doesn’t affect your downtown Little Rock life, except that it does because that guy is going to vote with his buddies on policies that are against what your family might need. So, we as an LGBT community and as a party have to take ownership of the wider picture and starting working towards change.

This isn’t the time to hide; it’s the time to be active. It doesn’t necessarily even have to be with the party; it can be something in your local community that will make it better. If we all, as progressives, start pulling in that direction, we can make some things happen, even here. We have to go out and make a different kind of history now.

How long have you been involved with the DPA? I worked my first campaign for the DPA in 2002, and I was a field coordinator then. It was my job to get volunteers, and if I couldn’t get a volunteer to go and knock on doors I’d just do it myself.

Were you out of the closet then?

Oh, yeah. I’ve been out since I was 18.

How was that?

Like pulling off a Band-Aid. It hurt, but once it was done, it was done; there was no going back. It took a while for some of the people in my life to get with the program, but they finally did for the most part. It took my mother the better part of 10 years to get used to the idea, but she’s fine now.

Has there ever been a time in your 14 years with the DPA in which your sexuality has been as issue?

Surprisingly, I don’t think so. I think, at first, I expected it to be more of an issue than it probably was, but that had more to do with me than with anybody else. In 2002, when I worked that first campaign, the director of the coordinated campaign was Guy Cecil, who went on to be the director of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and he was with one of those big PACs

that supported the Clinton campaign, and he was out at the time. So I had a really good role model. And I’m also good friends with Chad Griffin, who’s president of the Human Rights Campaign and a really great role model for young out gay men from Arkansas. I don’t think I was plowing a lot of new ground. Now I might have put my own mark on things as I went by, but other people walked that path before me. As far back as I can remember, there have always been LGBT people that have worked for the DPA. I’ve run into this a couple of times, and maybe this is a common thing for LGBT people, but I’ve had times where I’ve met someone or worked with someone and eventually they tell me that I’m the first gay person that they’ve ever met and that I’ve caused them to think differently or see things a different way.

And if that continued for the rest of my life, I’d be just fine because that’s how the tide turns. It really is one attitude at a time.

Well, also in that span of time, we’ve had tremendous changes in LGBT rights and public acceptance. What has that been like to have the vantage point you’ve had?

In 2004, the amendment was passed that defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented gay couples from adopting. I was two years in at this point, and if you look at this year’s election, I can barely point to a Republican using same sex marriage as an issue against a Democrat in Arkansas. It’s an incredibly dramatic change in the tenor of the conversation. I think a large part of that is because it’s now settled law.

You still might hear conservatives say that they believe marriage is between a man and a woman, but that’s not what the law says. And you’ll notice that they aren’t campaigning on changing the law. It’s just not the wedge issue that it used to be.

We have come a long way on LGBT issues, but what about transgendered Arkansans? Do you think we’re going to see a so-called “bathroom bill” in the next legislative session?

Absolutely. Next session we’re going to have to fight the bathroom bill, and they’ve already started making moves on a tax cut. Those are the two big fights that we’re going to have to gear up for pretty quickly after the election.

I’ve always thought that as the LGBT movement progressed … the T got left behind.

David A. Glaze, Conductor

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016

33

Dining

WHAT’S COOKIN’

BLUE SAIL COFFEE in Conway, a true coffee lover’s destination that serves up strong hotbrewed and cold-brewed coffees on Front Street and in Donaghey Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas, is sponsoring the first Latte Art Throwdown on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Donaghey Hall location. Baristas from cafes all over will compete to see who makes the best latte art, those wonderful white shapes drawn in foam on the surface of your java, while showing off their coffee chops.

The event is at 7 p.m. and there will be food from the Oak Street eatery Streetside Creperie and free — FREE — beer from Lost Forty Brewing. Blue Canoe Brewing in Little Rock also serves Blue Sail coffee. Attendance is free; there’s a $15 entry fee for baristas.

MUGS CAFE, PREVIOUSLY owned by Michael Carpenter, has sold to Michael Hickmon, the senior acquisitions manager at Blue Flame Minerals and formerly of Searcy. A worker at the cafe said the new owner is “pushing toward changing a couple of things,” but she was uncertain about the details. Carpenter opened Mugs as part of a Christian ministry.

A PLUMBING PERMIT has been pulled by AMR Architects for Dust Bowl Lanes and Lounge at 315 E. Capitol, the bar and bowling alley going in the former site of the Legion Club. Fassler Hall, a German restaurant with locations in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, is expected to open across the street next summer. Dust Bowl Lanes and Fassler Hall are owned by the McNellie’s Group in Tulsa.

34

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

PERFECTLY EXECUTED: The cold-smoked filet.

SO on Sunday Fine dining stand-by still a hit.

S

ometimes you’re just too tired to cook.

This happens to us most often on lazy Sundays, a day when, for whatever reason, a lot of Little Rock’s finer restaurants close their doors. So it was that we decided to exchange our sweats for our Sunday best and head to SO. We’re glad we did.

If you don’t know exactly what you want to drink, fear not. The staff at SO knows what they’re doing. Sensing our indecisiveness, our server ventured a guess: “You’re looking for something wintry, to warm you up? Maybe a little bourbon in there somewhere?” He read our minds. What he placed on the table was a stroke of fall cocktail genius: a Manhattan as a base topped with just a splash of pecan vodka. We were leery, but trust us, it worked.

Our gullets warmed, we ordered an appetizer. We’ve always been fans of

what we’ve come to know as armadillo toes: jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and grilled. We were happy to see a higher-falutin’ version on SO’s menu, the beef brochettes ($13). Compared to what we’ve had before, they’re a bit deconstructed. A tender morsel of steak is topped with cream cheese, a sliver of jalapeno, wrapped with bacon and grilled.

They come sitting in a shallow drizzle of cilantro oil. All in all, these were solid, but they spent just a tad too long on the grill.

A more medium cook on the steak would have taken these from pretty OK to just right. The cilantro oil is divine, scratching an itch we didn’t even know we had.

The special for the night was wildcaught salmon ($40), pan-fried in a castiron skillet and served with grilled vegetables atop an apple-lemon gastrique, a sweet-tart sugar reduction. The cook on

Follow Eat Arkansas on Twitter: @EatArkansas

the salmon was perfect, giving it a nice crusty outside, with a tender-flaky middle — just like wild-caught fish should be.

The chefs let the salmon do the work, only lightly seasoning the fish so as not to cover it up or hide its flavor. The gastrique had a subtle, mellow flavor that rounded out the dish well.

The cold-smoked filet ($45) came highly recommended by our server (whose recommendations never failed, by the way). We can see why. The cold smoke prevents the beef from getting that too-rich smoky flavor.

It was perfectly executed. The cook — we always request a filet medium rare — was about as spot-on as one could ask for. Like the fish, the steak was seasoned sparingly but topped with a nice, rich garlic butter that added a flavorful, stout punch. The filet was tender and melted away. We were sad to see it disappear so quickly.

Side dishes rarely get their own paragraph, but the bone marrow mashed potatoes deserve one, and not just because of their impeccable presentation. The potatoes were served in a halved bone, soaking up marrow as they sat waiting to be

BELLY UP

Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com

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UNRIVALED: The chocolate sack.

tasted. They were consistent with everything else we had at SO, left to taste like exactly what they were: potatoes. No cheese, no overpowering garlic concoction, just potatoes heightened and glorified. It’s rare we count mashed pota-

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QUICK BITE The wine list at SO is killer and the staff knows its way around it quite well. The Adelsheim Pinot Noir (2010, from the Willamette Valley in Oregon) was light, fruity, and peppery and paired well with our appetizer. A Real De Aragon Garnacha (one of the least expensive by-the-glass offerings at $10) from Spain was delightful: very complex and light enough to drink with fish if you’re white-wine averse.

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toes as a highlight, but here it’s true.

We were satiated, but couldn’t help but order the chocolate sack ($13) for dessert. We love chocolate desserts, but have come across few as delectable and indulgent as this one. The dessert chef lines a wax paper sack in chocolate and freezes it. He then peels the wax paper away so what you’re left with is literally a chocolate sack. This isn’t throw-away chocolate either: It’s lovely, dark and expensive-tasting. The sack is filled with homemade vanilla ice cream, graham cracker crumbles, chunks of moist chocolate cake, and drizzled with a raspberry sauce as rich as if it were preserves. The sack towers above the plate. “There’s no elegant way to do this,” our server told us, instructing us to lay it on its side and bash it with the butt-end of a butter knife to reveal its delicious innards.

This was more than two could handle — they will pack it up for you, miraculously — but would do fine for a party of four. The combination of rich flavors and textures is a delight.

Get Well. Stay Well.

SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

JUNE 5 - JULY 22, 2017

Faculty applications, all disciplines, will be accepted through January 9. Staff applications will be accepted through February 20.

For more information contact the AGS Office at 501-450-1279 or ags@hendrix.edu, or apply online at www.hendrix.edu/ags arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

35

ARKTIMES.COM/RESTAURANTS17

2017

STARTS NOV. 23

2017 marks 36 years since the Arkansas Times first started the Restaurant Readers Choice Awards. You can walk in many restaurants and see a wall full of posters.

Voting is all online - arktimes. com/restaurants17 - and the final round ends January 31.

Arkansas has some great 36

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

restaurants, now’s the time to show your love. Winners will be announced March 16 and an awards celebration party sponsored by our good friends at Ben E. Keith will be held at the Pulaski Technical Culinary and Hospitality Institute on March 14.

Vote now!

ENDS JAN. 13

HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS december

Hot Tickets in Hot Springs For a complete calendar of events, visit hotsprings.org.

2016 HOLIDAY LIGHTS AT GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS

HOT SPRINGS CHRISTMAS PARADE IN DOWNTOWN HOT SPRINGS

Now thru December 31st The Gardens operating hours from Saturday, November 19 – Saturday, December 31 are NOON – 9 p.m. Holiday Lights come on at 5 p.m. nightly.

CLOSED THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS DAYS.

December 5th, 6:30 p.m.

Every year Hot Springs unveils a new theme for its Holiday Christmas Parade (this year’s theme is “Visions of Christmas Long Ago”) and it is always a great time for families. Along with the superb parade which features floats and marching bands, the entire town of Hot Springs will be aglow with holiday cheer. For those looking for a special small town Christmas, Hot Springs will not disappoint. During your holiday vacation, don’t miss this opportunity to get into the holiday spirit.

HANDMADE HOLIDAY SHOP - 528 CENTRAL AVENUE

November 21-December 11th This boutique shopping experience pops up every year in a different location around town from October to December. It features handmade creations by over 20 local artist and artisans. Shop the holiday. Shop local!

GALLERY WALK @ LOCAL ART GALLERIES

December 2nd, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A continuous tradition for 25 years and counting, galleries stay open late for Gallery Walk on the first Friday of each month to host openings of new exhibits by local, regional, national and international artists.

TCHAIKOVSKY’S THE NUTCRACKER BALLET - HOT SPRINGS CHILDREN’S DANCE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS

Oaklawn invites all guests with December birthdays to join in a celebration just for you! Enjoy birthday treats, refreshments and a special gift in Lagniappe’s from 4–6 p.m. on Sunday, December 18 and win you share of $10,000 with drawings every 15 minutes from 1–4 p.m. and 6–9 p.m.! Happy Birthday from Oaklawn!

December 2nd & 3rd, 7 p.m.

LakePoint Church, 1343 Albert Pike Road Hot Springs Children’s Dance Theatre Company presents Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Ballet November 25 - 7PM November 26 - 1PM and 7PM Preferred Ticket Pricing: Adults $30 Student $15 Regular Ticket Pricing: Adults $20 Student $10 Tickets available at www.hscdtc.org

THE POCKET THEATRE PRESENTS “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” @ THE POCKET THEATRE, 170 RAVINE ST.

December 2nd-11th It’s A Wonderful Life is a musical adaptation of Frank Capra’s Christmas classic masterpiece film. This is the saga of George Bailey, the Everyman from the small town of Bedford Falls, who dreams of escape and adventure.

2ND ANNUAL HOLIDAY GIVEAWAYS AT RON COLEMAN MINING @ 211 CRYSTAL RIDGE LANE, JESSIEVILLE.

DECEMBER 18TH

December 3rd, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Come celebrate the holiday season with your family at the Ron Coleman Mine! Drawings for free gifts in appreciation from our family to yours. Free, no admission required.

Check us out online at colemanquartz.com

LATTES & LIT @ KOLLECTIVE COFFEE + TEA, 110 CENTRAL AVE.

December 3rd, 6 p.m.

Lattes & Lit takes place every first Saturday of the month at 6 pm at Kollective Coffee+Tea. This free monthly literary roundtable welcomes Arkansas authors and showcases their work. From storytelling and readings to poetry and music.

THE STARDUST BIG BAND @ THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM OF THE ARLINGTON RESORT HOTEL, 239 CENTRAL AVENUE

Experience an early Christmas holiday cheer and decorations with the Stardust Big Band on Sunday, December 4th in the elegant Crystal Ballroom of the Arlington Resort Hotel, 239 Central, starting at 3PM. Everyone is welcome. Admission is $10, none for students K-12. Attire is optional, casual to Sunday best is often seen at these events. If celebrating a birthday with friends you are welcome to bring your cake.

You may bring your drinks from the cash beverage bar in the lobby up to the ballroom. Complimentary ice water is provided at the tables. The Stardust Big Band is listed in the Arkansas Arts On Tour roster. Nonprofit organizations may receive assistance in funding when contracting Stardust for a fund raising event. For information www. stardustband.net or 501-767-5482

JINGLE DOGS PUP PARADE AT HOLIDAY LIGHTS! @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS

December 5th For one night only, dogs will be allowed admission into Holiday Lights!

Join us for a parade around the Great Lawn beginning at 5 p.m., as well as pictures with your pooch and Santa from 6-8 p.m.

SANTA NIGHTS AT HOLIDAY LIGHTS @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, GARVAN PAVILION

December 5-8th & 12-15th, 6 – 8 p.m.

See Santa in the most magical setting around! Santa will hear all the children’s wishes from 6-8 p.m., and professional photographer Rebecca Peterman will be taking photos; photos can be purchased on site for a reasonable fee.

THE FIVE STAR DINNER THEATRE PRESENTS FIVE STAR CHRISTMAS SHOWS @ 701 CENTRAL AVE.

December 9-10th, 16-18th & 22-23rd dinner at 6 p.m., showtime at 7 pm.

Home of the finest dinner theatre buffet in the South.

Reservations suggested. Call 501-318-1600.

ANNUAL HISTORIC DISTRICT LUMINARY DISPLAY @ PROSPECT AND QUAPAW STREETS IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT

December 10th at Dusk At dusk the whole neighborhood comprised of over 350 homes, from Prospect and Quapaw to West Grand and Prospect Avenues, the intersections and all adjoining streets will be outlined with a candlelight luminary.

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com NOVEMBER 24 2016 37 arktimes.com NOVEMBER 24, 2016 37

CHRISTMASTIME IN ARKANSAS LIVE @ HOT SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER

Hot Springs

That’s the kind of history made in Hot Springs every day.

December 10th, doors open at 6 pm.; show begins at 7 p.m.

Featuring the following acts: Ned Perme and the Ned Perme Band Buddy Jewell Frank Byers Heather Hoyt Steve McCann Anne Benoit and the Rock Solid Band Tickets are $28.00 Tables of 10 are available for $500.00

12 OUTLETS OF CHRISTMAS

December 12-23rd Join us for the 12 Outlets of Christmas.

You’ll have a chance to win prizes and Free Play with daily drawings — featuring a different sponsor each day from The Outlets of Little Rock!

HOLIDAY IN THE PARK @ HOT SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER, HORNER HALL

December 13th Holiday in the Park is an annual holiday musical event sponsored by National Park Community College and the Fun City Chorus.

The entrance fee is 2 non-perishable food items. There will be performances by the National Park Community College Choir.

CHRISTMAS FOR KIDS @ HOT SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER

December 19th, 11 a.m.

Event doors scheduled to open at 11AM; Santa will be on site with gifts and goodies for the children. Children MUST be present and accompanied by a chaperone to participate.

NEW YEAR’S EVE AT OAKLAWN

December 31st Wrap up your 2016 and ring in the New Year at Oaklawn! Join us for the biggest celebration in town on Saturday, December 31 — featuring live music, a $7,500 drawing, Prime Rib Dinner and New Year’s morning breakfast buffet!

REELS AND WHEELS – A DRIVE IN MOVIE, THE POLAR EXPRESS @ HOT SPRINGS MEMORIAL AIRPORT

December 23rd, 6-9 p.m.

Reels & Wheels- Visit Hot Springs & Resort TV Cable pay homage to the golden days of the Drive-in Movie and celebrate the holidays all in one night! Load up the car and head down to Hot Springs Memorial Field.

HOTSPRINGS.ORG

Event CALENDAR DECEMBER 1

Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

DECEMBER 2 & 3

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Ghost Town Blues Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2

Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

DECEMBER 4

VIP Event — Jacob Flores @ Oaklawn, 10:30-3:30

DECEMBER 8

Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

HotSprings.org • 1-888-SPA-CITY Ghost Town Blues Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill 38 NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ARKANSAS TIMES 38 NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ARKANSAS TIMES

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016

39

Moxie @ Silk’s Bar & Grill

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge

DECEMBER 9 & 10

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 The Big Dam Horns @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

DECEMBER 15

Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

DECEMBER 16 & 17

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10

John Calvin Brewer Band @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2

Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

DECEMBER 24

DECEMBER 22

Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

DECEMBER 23

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 OAKLAWN CLOSING AT MIDNIGHT* No live music at Silk’s Bar & Grill Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10

DECEMBER 29

Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

DECEMBER 30 & 31

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Moxie @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 VIP Event – Jacob Flores @ Oaklawn, 4-10 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

The Christine Demeo Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2

HOT SPRINGS CHRISTMAS EVENTS The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa Your Book arties ay P Holid ow!

N

ARKANSAS YOUTH CHORALE CONCERT @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ANTHONY CHAPEL

December 4th The Arkansas Youth Chorale from Little Rock will perform a holiday concert in Anthony Chapel. The mission of the Arkansas Youth Chorale is to provide life-changing, world-class musical experiences to students, grades 6th through 12th.

THE VILLAGE STRINGS CONCERT @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ANTHONY CHAPEL

December 5th, 6:30 p.m.

The Village Strings ensemble from Hot Springs Village will perform a selection of seasonal favorites in beautiful Anthony Chapel. Concert is free and open to the public.

THE VILLAGE CHORALE CONCERT @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ANTHONY CHAPEL

December 6th, 6:30 p.m.

The Village Chorale from Hot Springs Village will delight with various holidayinspired numbers. Concert is free and open to the public.

(Planned for January 2017) (Planned for January 2017)

(Planned for January 2017)

www.hotelhotsprings.org

40 NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ARKANSAS TIMES 40 NOVEMBER 24, 2016 ARKANSAS TIMES

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CLASSICS IN THE CHAPEL @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ANTHONY CHAPEL

December 7th, 6:30 p.m.

Christine Beauchamp, along with Ray and Ruth Leibau, and Ken Goodman will present their annual holiday concert featuring traditional favorites on the piano.

Concert is free and open to the public.

CRYSTAL CHIMES HOLIDAY CONCERT @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ANTHONY CHAPEL

December 12th, 6:30 p.m.

Crystal Chimes Chorus will celebrate the holidays through a variety of musical numbers. The four-part a capella women’s barbershop chorus is under the direction of Margaret Kresse. Concert is free and open to the public.

HOLIDAY HIGH TEA @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, MAGNOLIA ROOM

December 13th, 3:30 p.m.

The December 6 tea is sold out, so an extra date was added! Enjoy 4.5 million twinkling lights illuminating the Gardens after this festive tea!

THE VILLAGE MEN’S CHORUS CONCERT @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ANTHONY CHAPEL

December 15th, 6:30 p.m.

The Village Men’s Chorus will perform a selection of seasonal favorites in majestic Anthony Chapel. Concert is free and open to the public.

THE MUSES “VOICES OF ANGELS” CONCERT @ GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS, ANTHONY CHAPEL

December 18th, 3 p.m.

The Muses Creative Artistry Project presents its 11th annual “Voices of Angels”sacred classical Christmas concert. The concert is the final program of The Muses 2016 subscription series “Four Seasons in Art & Song.”

Holiday Gift Guide M

P

ake your holidays merry and bright! Each week until December 15, we are bringing you gift ideas

from your favorite local retailers for everyone on your list.

Dress up

Get the

gentleman on your list taken care of this holiday season with great finds at Mr. Wicks— your go-to place for Peter Millar and other name brands!

your wine with wise words from the Box Turtle.

Arkansas Flag and Banner

has tons of new Razorbacks products in their 800 West 9th Street store, or you can shop online anytime (store pick up available)!

Join us

for a fabulous shopping extravaganza at the Bella Vita Shop the Saturday after Thanksgiving! Complimentary coffee, mimosas, and snacks will be available and the first six shoppers through the door on Saturday will get a tote bag FULL of fun swag from several artists/small businesses. We will also be offering 40% off one Bella Vita Jewelry item on this day (custom orders included).

Give a gift card

to 7th Street Tattoo and Piercing this holiday season!

BLACK FRIDAY SALE! •

50 FlagandBanner

.com

%

EVERYTHING IN STOCK

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NOV. 25, 26 AND 28

• FLAGS & POLES • BANNERS • MILITARY GIFTS • RAZORBACK GEAR • HOLIDAY DECOR • APPAREL & MORE!

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AT HOME

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INSIDE PAINTED LADY • 637 HIGHWAY 365 • MAYFLOWER • (501) 804-3528 WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/THESOUTHERNFOXNLR

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com NOVEMBER 24, 2016 arktimes.com NOVEMBER 24, 2016 41

41

2016 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Give the

gift of diamonds this holiday with something unique from your downtown jeweler, Kyle Rochelle Jewelers.

Pick up

Do your

holiday shopping at Edwards Food Giant this year with the Edwards Gift Card.

Get Away

This Holiday Season….to the Arlington! Give an Arlington Gift Card.

wnership!

O w e rN Unde Just in time for your skinny jeans!

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HEIGHTS 4910 Kavanaugh Blvd. • Little Rock, AR 72207 OV

a copy of the Colonial Holiday Gift Guide at the store or visit ColonialWineShop.com/GiftGuide.

You’ll find great gift ideas for everyone on your list.

(501) 663-9482

Ask about our appetite suppressing, fat burning products!

dietcentercentralarkansas.com

* Based on a full service program of at least 8 weeks. Registration fee and required products, if any, at Diet Center regular low prices.†Results not typical. Available at participating locations. Void where prohibited. ©2016 Diet Center® Worldwide., Inc. Akron, OH 44333. A Health Management Group™ company. All Rights Reserved.

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Move Over Cheese…

From The Community. For The Community.

DELIVERY AVAILABLE COMPETITIVE PRICES GOOD NEIGHBOR PHARMACY MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED GIFTS • GREETING CARDS VITAMINS & HERBAL PRODUCTS VACCINATIONS AVAILABLE

DRUG STORE

(501) 664-4444 6815 Cantrell Rd. Located Next to Stein Mart

TanglewoodDrug.com

MADDOX CLOTHING & ACCESSORIESES

Sizes Small - 3XL. Affordable | Stylish | Great Customer Service. rvice.

WE’VE MOVED! 11525 Cantrell Rd., Ste. 403. Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center ShopMaddoxOnline.com 42 42

NOVEMBER 24, 2016 NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

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Wine has found a new love with BRIX® Chocolate for Wine. Available at Krebs Brothers, it.

Billed as “wine’s favorite chocolate,” you can’t go wrong with this sweet gift for the wine lovers on your list.

A Croquade

waffle maker from Eggshells Kitchen Co. is a gift that will be begging to be used on the morning after Christmas!

Join us for the 38th Annual Arkansas Craft Guild’s Christmas Showcase!

December 2nd, 3rd & 4th 2016

Statehouse Convention Center in Downtown Little Rock Friday 10am-8pm • Saturday 8am-6pm • Sunday 10am-4pm

Art After Hours

Friday 5-8pm • Free Admission • Live Music • Stone’s Throw Brewery Beer Sampling

Early Bird Shopper Special Saturday 8-10am • Free Admission

Find more information at Facebook.com/Christmas Showcase or call 870-269-4120

Go to CentralArkansasTickets.com to purchase tickets!

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NOVEMBER 24, 2016 NOVEMBER 24, 2016

43 43

2016 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Shopping for

a style maven?

Check out the Gallery Day leather bag from Ten Thousand Villages.

Celebrate Christmas

in your ENO Hammock with the ENO Twilights LED Light String from Ozark Outdoor. There is never a cloudy night!

The Charlee

is one HOT dress just in time for the holidays at Maddox. Come Shop our NEW LOCATION at Pleasant Ridge for some stylish and affordable clothing & accessories from small to 3XL!

Socks in a Box

gift sets are a gift that also gives back, and you can find them at Ten Thousand Villages. The socks are made by Conscious Step, who partner with non-profit organizations to support causes around the world.

Tanglewood Drugstore

HANDCRAFTED GIFTS FROM A WONDERFUL WORLD

has your YUM this holiday season with Juanita’s Candy Kitchen Brittle, Peanut, Pecan & Cashew

Bring Joy

Support the

effords of our local Junior League of Little Rock with their award-winning cookbook. Give the taste of Little Rock’s culture this season. Get yours at JLLR.org or call 375-JLLR.

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Offer valid at participating stores until 12/31/16. Not valid with other discounts, or on the purchase of gift cards, Oriental rugs, Traveler’s Finds or consumables. One coupon per store per customer.

44 44

NOVEMBER 24, 2016 NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

2016 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Shop the

38th Annual Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase on December 2-4 at the Statehouse Convention Center and see more wonderful work from artists like these. Get your tickets now at centralarkansastickets.com

Shop with us on Small Business Saturday - November 26th

Shop with us on Small Business Saturday November 26th

523 S. Louisiana (In the Lafayette building)

5924 R STREET LITTLE ROCK 501.664.3062

www.bellavitajewelry.net

*Holiday Hours *Gift Cards Available *Free Gift Wrap

KNIFE SALE

BUY 1 GET 1

HALF OFF

Sale begins on November 14 and runs through December 23.

(501) 687-1331 4310 Landers Road, NLR M-F 8-5 Sat. 9-5

LET LAMBRECHT’S TOFFEES BE YOUR SIGNATURE GIFT FOR THE HOLIDAYS. FIND THEM HERE! Handmade ceramic trees by local artist Julie Holt

M-F 10-6 • SAT 10-5 • SUN 12-5 2616 KAVANAUGH BLVD. LITTLE ROCK 501.661.1167 • WWW.SHOPBOXTURTLE.COM

664-6900 BEST GIFT SHOP

5501 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite K • eggshellskitchencompany.com ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 24, 2016 NOVEMBER 24, 2016

45 45

2016 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Prepare yourself

for the holidays by grabbing a bag of these yummy Choco-Jettes, which suppress your appetite, support your weight loss, burn fat and fuel your chocolate craving.

The Diet Center has more amazing products too like these carb blockers and fat burning products!

Find unique,

handcrafted artisan pieces like this at The Southern Fox for those special ladies on your list.

Black Friday

is now Fun Friday at Warehouse Liquor. Smirnoff Red 1.75L $17.99.

Belvedere 750ml $25.99. Cuervo Gold 750ml $15.99. Don Julio Reposado 375ml $18.99.

Buy it! Find the featured items at the following locations: 7TH STREET TATTOOS & PIERCING 814 W.Seventh St. 372.6722 7thstreettattoos.com

ARKANSAS CRAFT GUILD’S CHRISTMAS SHOWCASE, DEC 2-4 Statehouse Convention Center centralarkansastickets.com ARLINGTON HOTEL 239 Central Ave. Hot Springs 501.623.7771 BELLA VITA JEWELRY Inside the Lafayette Building 523 S. Louisiana St., Ste. 175 479.200.1824 bellavitajewelry.net BOX TURTLE 2616 Kavanaugh Blvd.

661.1167 Shopboxturtle.com COLONIAL WINE AND SPIRITS 11200 W. Markham St. 223.3120 colonialwineshop.com

EDWARDS FOOD GIANT locations statewide edwardsfoodgiant.com EGGSHELLS KITCHEN CO. 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite K 664.6900 eggshellskitchencompany.com JUNIOR LEAGUE OF LITTLE ROCK 375-JLLR JLLR.org KREBS BROTHERS RESTAURANT SUPPLY 4310 Landers Rd., NLR 687.1331 krebsbrothers.com KYLE-ROCHELLE JEWELERS Lafayette Square , 523 S. Louisiana St., M100 375.3335 kylerochellejewelers.com

For more than four decades, the Junior League of Little Rock’s awardwinning cookbooks have nourished the community efforts and mission of our League. Each book is beloved in our community and beyond, serving up the Southern tradition of cooking in Little Rock at the time of its publication.

There is something delightfully personal about a local Junior League cookbook – as a gift, in a home, as a guide – offering a taste of Little Rock’s rich history and culture.

Get yours at www.jllr.org or by calling 501-375-JLLR 46 46

NOVEMBER 24, 2016 NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

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MR. WICKS 5924 R St. 664.3062 mrwicks.com MADDOX 11525 Cantrell Rd. Ste 403 313.4242 shopmaddoxonline.com OZARK OUTDOOR SUPPLY 5514 Kavanaugh Blvd.

664.4832 ozarkoutdoor.com TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES 305 President Clinton Ave. 374.2776 tenthousandvillages.com THE CROWN SHOP 10700 N. Rodney Parham Rd. 227.8442 thecrownshop.com THE DIET CENTER 4910 Kavanaugh Blvd.

663.9482 dietcentercentralarkansas.com THE SOUTHERN FOX (Inside Painted Lady) 637 Hwy 365 Mayflower 804.3528 WAREHOUSE LIQUOR 1007 Main St. 374.0410 860 E Broadway St., NLR 374.2405

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ARKANSAS TIMES

MARKETPLACE TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION, CALL LUIS AT 501.375.2985

sip LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELING

DOT SAP Evaluations Christopher Gerhart, LLC

(501) 478-0182

PANAMERICAN CONSULTING, INC. Interpretation and Written Translations (Spanish – Portuguese - French) Latino Cultural and Linguistic Training

MICHEL LEIDERMANN, President

ARKANSAS GRASS FED LAMB

(Minority Business - AR State Vendor) mleidermann@gmail.com • Mobile: (501) 993-3572

THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK IS RECRUITING FOR:

ARKANSAS GRASS FED LAMB ARKANSAS GRASS FED LAMB

Director of Housing and Neighborhood Programs Manages the activities and operations of the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs to include housing development, housing rehabilitation, relocation services, codes enforcement, neighborhood planning efforts, community development programs, animal services, land bank program and neighborhood resource center operations.

Requirements: BA in Business Administration, Public Administration or Planning or related; four (4) years of managerial-level experience in housing program administration, planning, community development administration, federal programs administration or related; and four (4) years of supervision or management.

Please go to www.LRJobs.net to apply by December 18, 2016.

The City of Little Rock is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We offer first quality one-year-old lamb raised on our farm in North Pulaski County. Our meat is free of steroids or any other chemicals. The only time we use antibiotics is if the animal has been injured which is extremely rare. All meat is USDA inspected.

You can pick up your meat at our farm off Hwy 107 in North Pulaski County (about 25 miles north of downtown Little Rock) or we can meet you in downtown Little Rock weekdays. All meat is aged and then frozen.

We offer first quality one-year-old lamb raised on our farm

PRICE LIST

in North Pulaski County. Our meat is free of steroids or any other chemicals. The only time we use antibiotics is if the animal has been injured which is extremely rare. All meat is USDA inspected.

You can pick up your meat at our farm off Hwy 107 in North WeROAST offer first quality one-year-old lamb raised on our farm RIB NECKBONES Pulaski County (about 25 miles north of downtown Little

Rock) or we can meet you in downtown Little Rock weekdays. in North ismeatfree of steroids or any contains aboutPulaski eight ribs County. Our meat (for stew or soup) $5 lb All is aged and then frozen. (lamb chops) $17 lb.

TESTICLES lb other chemicals. The only time we use $10 antibiotics is if the

PRICE LIST:

LEG OF LAMB has been injured which isHEARTS, LIVERS, KIDNEYS lb $10 RIB ROAST lb animal extremely rare., $5TESTICLES All meat is contains about eight ribs (about 4 to 5 lbs) $12 lb. (lamb chops) $17 lb. , HEARTS, LIVERS, KIDNEYS, $5 lb TANNED SHEEPSKINS USDA inspected.

SHOULDER LEG OF LAMB $100-$150 TANNED SHEEPSKINS,

(about 4 to 5 lbs) $12 lb. $100-$150 (bone cook this slow, like a pot roast.

(Our sheepskins are on tanned in farm Wein, offer first quality one-year-old lamb raised our (Our sheepskins are tanned in You can pick up your meat at our farm ina North SHOULDERoff Hwy 107 Meat falls off the bone). $11 lb. a Quaker Town, Pa. (bone in, cook this slow,tannery like Quaker Town, Pa. that has tannery that has specialized in sheepin North Pulaski County.

Our meat is steroids or any a potfree roast. Meatof falls off the Pulaski (about 25 miles north downtown skinsfor forLittle generations.)

BONELESS LOINCounty $8 lb specialized sheep-skins generations.) bone).of $11 lb.in other chemicals.

The only time we use antibiotics is if the BONELESS LOIN $8 lb Rock) or$20we Little Rock weekdays.

TENDERLOIN lb can meet you in downtown

animal beenand injured is extremely TENDERLOIN $20 lb rare. All meat is LAMB BRATWURST All meathas is aged thenwhich frozen.

LAMB BRATWURST USDA LINK SAUSAGEinspected.

LINK SAUSAGE (one-lb package) $10 lb

(one-lb package) $10 lb

India

(for stew or soup) $5 lb

F a r m

You can pick up your meat at our farm off Hwy 107 in North NECKBONES Blue PRICE 12407 Davis Ranch Rd.LIST: | Cabot, AR 72023 Pulaski County (about 25 miles north of downtown Little 12407 Davis Ranch Rd. | Cabot, AR 72023 Call Kaytee Wright 501-607-3100 Call Kaytee Wright 501-607-3100 Rock) or we can meet youalan@arktimes.com in downtown Little Rock weekdays.

RIB ROAST TESTICLES $10 lb alan@arktimes.com All meatabout is aged andribs then frozen. contains eight (lamb chops) $17 lb.

HEARTS, LIVERS, KIDNEYS, $524,lb2016 arktimes.com NOVEMBER

PRICE LIST:

LEG OF LAMB

TANNED SHEEPSKINS,

47

2017 DON’T BLINK, MY FRIEND

M I N DS N B LOW

Submission deadline:

December 31, 2016 acts must be able to perform minimum of 30 minutes of original material with

LIVE INSTRUMENTATION.

Semi-finalists announced on

January 9th 48

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

ROX

AND EMBR ACE THE FEAR .

HEARTS N BRO K E

TO ENTER, send streaming Facebook, ReverbNation, Bandcamp or Soundcloud links to showcase@arktimes.com and include the following:

1. Band Name 2. Hometown 3. Date Band Was Formed 4. Age Range of Members (All ages welcome) 5. Contact Person 6. Phone 7. Email all musical styles are welcome.