Polk County Pulse - March 15, 2023

Mabry Helps Raise

Tim Ernst wows the crowd

Mena may have been his last show

Article

and *photos by Ethan Nahté

Outdoor photographer Tim Ernst had a captive audience of 200-plus people for his first, and last, appearance at The Ouachita Center on the UARM campus this weekend. The presentation wasn’t his last event because of any negative reason, but more on that in a moment.

“I’ve always loved coming to Mena. I just don’t get here very often. It’s the first time I’ve been on campus. It looked to me all the seats were full. It’s kind of a dreary day outside, which was in my favor because they didn’t have anything else to do,” he said with a grin. “They had to come inside and see me, so I really appreciate them.”

The event was hosted by Polk County’s Quality of Life with the assistance of a grant from the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Ernst announced to the audience that this was his 1,510th presentation he has done. That’s a little over four years of his career if one was to divide that by 365 days.

“I started back in 1973 when I started working for the [U.S.] Forest Service at Blanchard Springs Caverns. I started giving programs in front of small groups there as part of our cave tour.”

Ernst pulled out his old shirt he wore as part of the USFS, pointing out that the badge on the shirt wasn’t even in use any longer as he modeled it for the audience.

Fifty years later, the crowd at the Mena show were part of a special moment.

“This is probably my last program I’m going to give because I’m basically retired from producing new picture books, which is what I’ve been promoting with the slide programs for the last several decades.”

Ernst also gave photography workshops for over 30 years, up until COVID-19 hit. He has since retired his workshops, as well. He had originally planned to retire his tours in 2020, but the pandemic changed those plans as it did for many creative types in various industries.

As any photographer can attest, once you’ve been bitten by the shutter bug, it’s in your blood and a part of you. Some-

thing is always bound to capture a photographer’s eye, even if it’s something that others may not have noticed or seen in quite the same way. Ernst won’t be giving up the camera.

“That’s true. Fortunately, the camera I have with me all the time now,” Ernst said as he pulled out his phone, “fits in my back pocket. It takes pretty darn good pictures with phones these days.

“I still am doing nature photography, but it’s on a very limited basis now. It’s not a seven-day a week, 12 – 24 - hours per day, mentally as well as physically, especially when you live in Arkansas. Most of my projects have been Arkansas-only projects. There’s always something somewhere that it’s always possible to get a great photograph of out in nature. It’s my job to be there when that greatness happens, whether it’s light, an animal, waterfall, or something like that. I can’t take very many of them sitting at home. I can only work when I’m out there.

“Now that I’m not going to be doing it full time, I can go every now and then when

Arkansas photographer and author Tim Ernst holds up the pair of books that made up his slideshow presentation for a crowd at The Ouachita Center on the UARM campus.

Lana Gail to perform at OLT

Submitted by Julie Ulmer

Ouachita Little Theatre, in cooperation with Gailforce Entertainment, is proud to present “The Women of Country Music.” The public is invited to take a trip back through time with Mena’s own professional singing recording star, Lana Gail.

Along with her band and Radio DJ Tex McWestern, Lana will take the audiences back in time from the 1930’s to modern day where the music of many of the most influential women in country music will be performed.

Where else in Mena can you hear the songs of stars like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift in a live concert sung by one of the finest country music voices in Arkansas? There will be something memorable for everyone in this show, complete with costume changes to reflect the times and singers represented. Make plans now to attend one of the three concerts on the OLT stage March

Hobson returns to Union Bank

Submitted by LeAnn Dilbeck

Kevin Williams, President of the Union Bank of Mena, has announced that Allison Hobson will return to Union Bank of Mena to the New Accounts team.

31 or April 1 and 2. The Friday and Saturday evening shows are at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday concert is at 2:30 p.m. You can buy advanced tickets (reserved seating) online at oltmena.com or at the OLT office, 610 Mena St. on Thursdays and Fridays from 2 - 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

All adult tickets are $15 and students are $10, and will also be available at the door. Reserved tickets are recommended for this show and are on sale now. One half of the proceeds from this show will go towards OLT’s “Burn the Mortgage” campaign.

Allie, as most know her, worked previously at Union Bank of Mena as a loan assistant. She will soon graduate with her Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. She will be assuming a supervisory position in her new role at the bank upon graduation.

“We are so proud of Allie for continuing her education and are thrilled to have her return in this very important leadership role. She has always been very focused on serving the customer and will be a great fit with who we are as a bank,” Williams said.

Allie and her husband, Hunter, share one son, Elliott. The family is active at Christ Community Fellowship Church. In her spare time, Allie enjoys spending time with her family, sunshine, exercise/health/wellness, and reading or listening to podcasts.

Allie is looking forward to returning, “I am very excited about returning to Union

Bank and taking on a new role. My banking experience is in loan operations, so moving to retail is new territory, but I am confident in the role and know that I have a great team to work and learn with. I have missed Union’s customers and am ready to see their familiar faces. Coming home feels good!”

Williams couldn’t agree more, “It will be great to have her positive energy back with us as she takes on this leadership role.”

Scott County sheriff’s jury trial pushed to April

By The Pulse Staff

The jury trial for Scott County Sheriff Randy Shores, 62, that was scheduled to begin on March 13, has been pushed back to April 18 in the Scott County Circuit Court in Waldron. The special prosecuting attorney for the 15 th  Judicial District, Emily White, filed a continuance motion in the case. Circuit Judge Jerry Ramey granted the motion request to postpone the trial last week.

Arkansas State Police arrested Shores for two counts of accomplice to third-degree battery, a Class A misdemeanor, on September 30. 2022. The arrest was in connection with a physical

injury Omar Gonzalez caused when he was a Waldron police officer during the arrest of Robert Deer of Van Buren on February 16, 2022. Gonzalez entered a negotiated plea to one count of third-degree battery last month. He was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine and $250 in standard court costs. Two other charges against Gonzalez were dismissed in the plea agreement.

John Rhone, a special agent with the Arkansas State Police, wrote in the arrest affidavit that Shores witnessed Gonzalez hitting Deer on the head several times and sling him headfirst while handcuffed into the front of Deer’s van. Body camera videos recorded the incident at the scene.

Darrell Mackey “Buddy” Bean

Mr. Darrell Mackey “Buddy” Bean, age 77, passed away, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Mena, Arkansas. He was born August 14, 1945, in Auburn, California, to the late Johnie and Roxie Bean.

Mr. Bean was the proud owner of Hatfield Lumber and loved working, driving heavy equipment, and helping people. He would often pick up hitch hikers and was known to talk to anyone who would listen. “Buddy” enjoyed telling stories, driving around with Susie on the farm and looking at timberland, learning about history and collecting unique things and coins. Mr. Bean had a favorite saying, “It is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

Buddy is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Sue Bean; children, Stan and Amanda Bean of Amity, Arkansas, Stephanie and Frank Fluitt of Weatherford, Texas, Kim Hurst of Mena, Shelly and Dane Ward of Mena, Arkansas, David and Bernice Philpot of Mena, Arkansas; 15 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren; 2 sisters, Reba Pennington of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Nina and Garry Johns of Amity, Arkansas; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, other family and friends, too numerous to mention.

Buddy was preceded in death by his parents, Johnie and Roxie Bean; his brothers, Alton Bean, Grady “Toots” Bean, Johnie Bean Jr., and Curt Bean; as well as by his sister, Jean Harding.

Services for Mr. Darrel Mackey “Buddy” Bean will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at Dallas Avenue Church in Mena, Arkansas. Brother Jimmy Harding and Brother Bill Cobb will be officiating under the direction of Beasley-Wood Funeral Home. There will be a visitation held Monday, March 13, 2023, at Beasley-Wood Chapel from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Pallbearers are Adam Hurst, Mark Hurst, Jake Turner, Tyler Bean, Trent Bean, Greg Philpot, Levi Romine, Dexter Ward, Austin Hurst, Alex Hurst, and Tyler Hurst.

Honorary Pallbearers are all employees of Hatfield Lumber, HLC Transportation, and B&M Forestry.

Online obituary at beasleywoodfuneralhome.com

Raymond Leon Terry

Raymond

Leon Terry, age 76, of Mena, Arkansas, passed away on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Mena Regional Health System. He was born on Friday, February 14, 1947, to Ernest Eugene Terry and Ruth Maude Wilson Terry in Acorn, Arkansas.

Raymond served proudly in the United States Army during Vietnam and was awarded several sharpshooter awards during his service with the military. He was a member of the Concord Baptist Church for many years and cared very much for all his church family. Raymond was the machine mechanic at Pine Bowl for over forty years and later worked at Repops until retiring. He was an avid deer hunter and he also loved to read and collect stamps. Raymond was a loving father, brother, grandfather, uncle and friend and will be missed by all who knew him.

Raymond is preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Ruth Terry; and one son, Tiny Terry.

Raymond is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Bryan and Krystal Terry of Mena; his brother and sister-in-law, Clifford and Bonnie Terry of Sheridan, Arkansas; his sister and brother-in-law, Connie and Del Brooks of Fayetteville, Arkansas; grandchildren, Cade, Carter, Peyton, and Addie; his niece, Elizabeth Terry Spurlin; and his nephews, Daren, Brandon, and Foster Brooks; and a host of other relatives and friends.

A memorial service will be held at Concord Baptist Church on Saturday, March 18, 2023, at 2:00 PM in Ink, Arkansas. Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Bowser Family Funeral Home in Mena, Arkansas.

John C. Sharp

John C. Sharp, 80 years old, of Mena, Arkansas, went home to his Heavenly Father on Sunday morning, March 12, 2023. John was born on Sunday, September 20, 1942, in Freeport, Texas to Arthur C. Sharp and Edna Lee Smith Sharp.

John proudly served his country in the United States Army from 1964-1966. When he returned home to Texas, he worked in various types of construction jobs as well as a painter. He also had a small used car lot for a while.

He loved his family and was always “good ole dependable and honest John.” John was very soft hearted and had a love for all God’s creatures. He never married and when his dad got in poor health, he promised him that he would take care of his mom. So, when his dad passed away, he moved with his mom to Arkansas. He worked with the Polk County Road Department until he retired to take care of his mom when she got to where she couldn’t stay alone, like he promised his dad that he would do. He took very good care of her until she passed away at the age of 92.

John never wanted to bother anyone but would help you anyway he could. He was a very good person. John loved God and was a strong believer in prayer. Anytime you went to visit he was always ready to talk about Jesus and the Bible. John will be dearly missed by all that knew him.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur C. Sharp and Edna Lee Sharp; four brothers, Wayne Sharp, Jack Sharp, Arthur Lee Sharp, and Ronald G.

Sharp; and one sister, Marie Gentry. John C. Sharp is survived by his youngest sister and brother-in-law, Colleen and Eddie Strother of Mena; one sister-in-law, Betty Sharp of Marshall, Texas; and  a host of nephews, nieces, great-nephews and nieces, cousins and friends.

A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 10:00 AM at the Gann Cemetery in Potter, Arkansas, with brother Stacy Strother officiating under the direction of Bowser Family Funeral Home in Mena, Arkansas.

Mr. Vernon Lee Holt, age 70, passed away Friday, March 10, 2023, in Mena, Arkansas. He was born May 8, 1952, in Peoria, Illinois to the late William Holt and Shirley Pramley.

Mr. Holt was a Vietnam Veteran serving in the United States Army. He loved riding his motorcycle and was very talented at building model cars and airplanes.

Vernon is survived by his son Bobby Holt and wife April of Cove, Arkansas. Grandchildren Sabrina Holt and Dominick Miller. Sisters Shirley May-Thacker of West Virginia and niece Pamela Slone. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Holt and Shirley Pramley, son Billy Holt and brother-in-law Carl May. Services for Mr. Holt will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, March 16, 2023, at Beasley-Wood Chapel in Mena, Arkansas. Brother Jerry Minchew will be officiating under the direction of Beasley-Wood Funeral Home. There will be a visitation one hour prior to the service from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Pallbearers will be Dominick Miller, Stanley Watson, Jarod Miller, Jake Miller, Bobby Miller, and Timothy Higby.

Honorary pallbearer is Alex Morrell.

Online obituary at beasleywoodfuneralhome.com

Vernon Lee Holt

1168 Hwy 71S

Mena, AR 71953

Phone: 479-243-9600

Fax: 479-243-9603

Email: news@mypulsenews.com

KENA 104.1 - KQOR 105.3

MyPulseNews.com

Our Team:

Ashley Moore - General Manager

Ethan Nahté - Production Manager/Editor

Patrick Massey - Contributing Reporter

John Russell - Graphic Design

Josh Barker - Account Executive

Alexis James - Account Executive

Curt Teasdale - Programmer / On-Air Personality

Ariel Varner - Receptionist/On-Air Personality

Distribution & Insertion Staff: Danielle Stewart, Chaz Welch & Sahil Bahn

Letter to the Editor:

In recent issues, Cynthia Thanos-Wade has offered opinions regarding the people of Arkansas decrying our religious beliefs, the Arkansas Legislature regarding “drag shows” and pro homosexual material being limited to children. The keyword is here is CHILDREN.

Since the “pandemic”, America has learned a great deal about the sinister actions of too many politicians, big tech, the media, and mysterious, dark money with no face, to be held accountable for their actions. Almost 100% of their efforts have been led by Democrats. We see the massive damage this has done to parts of America. From defunding the police, laws eliminating bail, unconstitutional gun laws, and a complete disregard for illegal immigration. One party, the Democrats, have led this anti American agenda.

Today (March 12), multiple states legislators, elected by the people, have taken a stand against this agenda. Arkansas will no longer accept adult males dressing in female clothes and being presented to our children for what is sexually oriented “grooming”. There is no other logical description for their actions. Explain the importance of “why” these adult males have a desire to focus specifically on children.

Our education system is infested with pedophiles and groomers. School boards use every tactic they have to hide or obstruct parental involvement and notification. The current POTUS admin has declared parents as domestic terrorists.

Want to share your opinion?

and tens of millions of other parents see this grooming as a very real problem. Your actions have crossed a line and threaten our families by attempting to circumvent decisions parents should make.

You attempt to portray yourselves as victims of oppression and yet have used every available means to cancel those who spoke up and opposed you. The truth is our children are the real victims of your pro homosexuality agenda. We’re not going to take it anymore

As our newly elected Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated in her State of the Union reply, “That’s not normal, it’s crazy, and it’s wrong.”

Lynn & Sue Cowden, Mena

Letter to the Editor

The Polk County Pulse welcomes letters to the Editor addressing any topic of interest to our readers. To be published, letters must not contain obscene or libelous language. Letters do not reflect the viewpoints or opinions of Pulse Multi-Media.

The letter must include a signature to be considered for publication. Signatures will NOT be held out by request. Letters will be restricted to 500 words. Any letters longer than 500 words will require purchase of advertising space.

The following contact information is required when the letter is submitted: NAME, AGE, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER.

The Polk County Pulse is the area’s premiere and fastest growing news publication. The Polk County Pulse is FREE and published weekly on Wednesdays, with a distribution of 8,000 and an estimated readership of 10,000. MyPulseNews.com has hundreds of visitors daily and KENA and KQOR have thousands of listeners hourly.

POLICY: The publisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. All property rights, including any copyright interest, in any advertisement produced by Pulse Multi-Media and/or The Polk County Pulse using art work and/or typography furnished or arranged by Pulse Multi-Media and/or The Polk County Pulse shall be the property of Pulse Multi-Media and/or The Polk County Pulse. No such advertisement or any part thereof may be reproduced without the prior written consent of Pulse Multi-Media and The Polk County Pulse.

POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements of a political nature must be prepaid and must also include the name of the entity paying for the advertisement. If an entity other than the candidate the advertisement is endorsing is paying for the ad, a statement must be signed by the candidate verifying the candidate has seen and approved the advertisement.

The writer offered up an ancient 1931 report from Kinsey. In the 91 years since, innumerable studies regarding homosexuality have shown it is in many ways, a self-destructive lifestyle choice. From psychologists to criminologists, the documentation is crystal clear. Studies have shown increased risks of mental disorder symptoms, suicide, substance abuse, and more, some with deadly consequences. What person in their right mind would support draconian measures such telling or instructing our children and they can change sexes? These same people support genital mutilation to our most cherished possessions.

John Wayne Gacy offered himself as a clown to children and then went onto massacre at least 33 males. His costume was a disguise to masquerade himself before children, just as those used by male drag queens. The very definition of masquerade is to “a false show or pretense”. Sexual predation by homosexuals against children is far too common.

Wade-Thanos says America should focus on REAL problems, not this pro homosexual agenda targeted directly at our children. As parents with 4 grandchildren, we,

In past years I have heard so many Hollywood elites and fellow citizens threaten to leave the country or state if the person elected or a policy put forth was one they disagreed with. I always thought this to be rather childish and without fore thought for what was to be lost or gained by such threats. That the person threatening such action would feel their absence would be so catastrophic that it would hurt others by their absence seemed delusional and self-centered.

I must admit that there have been elections or policies passed that were not what I voted for or were not in line with my values or beliefs. My values run more conservative in most, but not all cases. I understand majority rule in our republic and endure things until the next election, and then I vote and hope for a different outcome. I do not, however, threaten to take my marbles and go play elsewhere. In the military I have been to elsewhere and it paled by comparison to here.

In the interest of trying to scientifically come up with a test to see if some celebrity or unhappy citizen leaving, as many have threatened but failed to do, I tried the following. I went to Lake Ouachita and submersed myself in the lake. At the instant I did so I had someone measure the lake level to see how much it rose. It did not rise. To see if my absence in the lake left a hole, I noted that the water immediately came back as if I was never there. No hole.

The conclusion I drew was that it is important to not overestimate any one person’s impact by their presence in the state or country and to threaten leaving is not punishment to those remaining. To overestimate your value to the body as a whole

Letters are published at the discretion of the Editor and Publisher.

Letters may be submitted by e-mail to news@mypulsenews.com; mailed to P.O. Box 1450, Mena, AR 71953 or dropped off at 1168 Hwy. 71 South, Mena, AR. A drop-box is provided by the front door for after-hour convenience.

by threats of your departure may devastate your feelings of self-worth when there is no rush to persuade you to stay. It may be even more hurtful if a few offer to buy your ticket or help you pack.

If you continue to try to punish your fellow citizens by threats to depart, please go jump in a lake first and see if you get anything but wet. Please let me know if my scientific theory holds water. It is hard to argue with science.

Thank you for a forum to address my thoughts peacefully, though we may disagree.

With respect and kindest regards, Ronald Goss, retired, Mena

From the State House of Representatives

In the 9th week of the 2023 Regular Session, the House passed several bills addressing education, elections, and healthcare. The House also passed a bill to increase the property tax credit for Arkansas families.

With a vote of 99-0, the House voted in favor of increasing the homestead property tax credit from $375 a year to $425 a year. HB1032 now heads to the Senate.

Education bills passing the House this week include the Seizure Safe Schools Act. HB1315 requires all schools to have at least 2 employees trained to recognize the signs and symptoms of seizures and know how to respond.

The House also voted in favor of HB1535 and HB1462.

HB1535 states that at each regular monthly meeting of a school board, a report of student academic performance should be provided to the board.

HB1462 clarifies the definition of “unaccompanied homeless youth” to mean an individual between the ages of 16 and 22 who is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. The definition will allow a school’s liaison for homeless children and youth to provide additional support. HB1462 also waives fees for identification, driver’s license, and birth certificates for unaccompanied homeless youth.

The House passed several bills regarding elections including HB1487 and HB1510.

HB1487 creates the Ballot Security Act of 2023. The bill allows for the tracking of ballots

John Maddox

john.maddox@ arkansashouse.org

and proper delivery and creates a process to preserve spoiled ballots. HB1510 would require special elections to be held on the same dates as primary and general elections. It states special elections shall be held on the second Tuesday of March or November in a year when a presidential election is held or the second Tuesday of May and November of all other years. The bill outlines specific criteria for exceptions to hold an emergency special election.

The House also passed HB1035. This bill requires a healthcare insurer to provide coverage for screening for depression of the birth mother by a healthcare professional within the first 6 weeks of the birth mother’s having given birth on or after January 1, 2024.

The House voted in favor of SB199. This bill states that a healthcare professional who performs a gender transition procedure on a minor is liable if the minor is injured in any way. It also states that a civil action can be filed for up to 15 years after the minor turns 18 years of age.

And the House passed SB295. This bill seeks to create the Cost-Shifting Prevention Act of 2023 by addressing the rates paid for customer-owned net-metering facilities. It would require utilities to compensate solar users at wholesale rates as they do other power providers.

The House will reconvene on Monday at 1:30 p.m. You can watch all committee meetings and House floor proceedings at arkansashouse.org.

John Boozman

1120 Garrison Ave. Suite 2B

Fort Smith, AR 72901

Phone: (479) 573-0189

Fax: (479) 575-0553

Bruce Westerman

101 Reserve St. Suite 200

Hot Springs, AR 71901

Phone: (501) 609-9796

Fax: (501) 609-9887

As the legislative session enters its final weeks, activity is in high gear.

The highlight of the week was the final passage of the governor’s historic reform of Arkansas education.

Dozens of other important measures were advanced out of committee and approved by the Senate and House of Representatives.

Both chambers approved HB 1419 to change the rules for citizens’ groups trying to place an issue on statewide ballots.

Currently, supporters of an initiative or proposed amendment must submit signatures from at least 15 counties. HB 1419 would require a minimum number of signatures from 50 counties. Arkansas has 75 counties.

The bill’s sponsors say it is too easy for wealthy special interests to get an issue on the ballot. Opponents question whether the bill is constitutional.

Senate Bill 199 was sent to the governor for signing. It would extend the period in which a person can sue a physician for malpractice for performing gender transformation procedures on a minor. Those procedures include surgery and hormone therapy.

People who have had the procedures could file a malpractice suit up to 15 years after they turn 18.

The Senate passed SB 270 to expand the definition of sexual indecency with a child to include adults who knowingly enter and remain in a bathroom assigned to the opposite sex, if a minor is present.

It does not apply to parents with their own children who are under the age of seven.

The House passed HB 1156 to require schools to designate all bath-

rooms and changing areas as exclusively for boys or girls. If a student is unwilling or unable to use the boys or girls bathrooms, the school must provide a reasonable accommodation, such as a single-use room.

The Senate approved SB 262 to remove the power of the state Board of Education to require consolidation or annexation of a school districts whose student population falls below 350.

Act 195 repeals a state law that required teenagers under the age of 16 to get an employment certificate from the state Department of Labor as a condition for getting a job.

The House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs advanced HB 1513 to create an election integrity unit within the office of the state Attorney General.

The unit will work with the state Board of Election Commissioners and the Secretary of State. Its staff will track all violations of election and voter registration laws, and will oversee the hotline for reporting violations that is maintained by the Attorney General.

The House approved and a Senate committee advanced HB 1401 to cut from two years to one year the cumulative period that an able-bodied adult is eligible for welfare.

According to the bill’s sponsor, more than half of the recipients of cash welfare in Arkansas have received it for longer than 18 months. Technically, the cash assistance program is under the Department of Workforce Services and is called the Transitional Employment Assistance Program.

HB 1401 would not affect children, people who cannot find work due to circumstances beyond their control, parents or caregivers over 60 and parents or caregivers with disabilities.

John Maddox Terry Rice

Arkansas Department of Agriculture announces grant opportunity for farmers markets

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The Arkansas Department of Agriculture (Department) is pleased to partner with the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas for the eighth annual Arkansas Farmers Market Promotion Program. This program, which is administered by the Department and funded by the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas, helps build awareness for farmers markets and their vendors. This program provides funding assistance for the state’s farmers markets to serve their communities as consumer interest in locally grown and made products continues to increase. The Farmers Market Promotion Program may fund the following promotional items to build community and regional awareness for a specific farmers market: signage listing names, seasons, times of operation,

and location details; local traditional advertising; and social media campaigns. In 2022, the Department provided over $9,000 in grants to 23 Arkansas farmers markets through the partnership with the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas.

Applications are due April 28, 2023, or until funds are no longer available. Applications and additional information can be found at  agriculture.arkansas.gov/arkansas-department-of-agriculture-programs/farmers-market-programs/

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the development and implementation of policies

and programs for Arkansas agriculture, forestry, and natural resources conservation to keep its farmers and ranchers competitive in national and international markets while sustaining natural resources and ensuring safe food, fiber, and forest products for the citizens of the state and nation. Visit  agriculture.arkansas.gov/. The

Arkansas Department of Agriculture offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

With more than $5 billion in assets, the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas support rural communities and agriculture across Arkansas with reliable, consistent credit and financial services today and tomorrow. In Arkansas, the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas are owned by the more than 21,000 customer-owners they serve. Through the cooperative structure, members have a voice and vote in the associations’ governance. Members also share in the cooperatives’ financial success through cooperative returns which total more than $317 million since 1997.

By Richie Lawry

“Captain Rostron rushed into the chart room and worked out the Carpathia’s new course. As he figured and scribbled, he saw the boatswain’s mate pass by, leading a party to scrub down the decks. Rostron told him to forget the decks and prepare the boats for lowering. The mate gasped. Rostron reassured him, ‘It’s all right; we’re going to another vessel in distress.’ In a few moments, the new course was set—North 52 West. The Carpathia was 58 miles away. At 14 knots, she would take four hours to get there. Too long.”

It was early morning, and the stars shone brightly in the moonless sky. As I traveled to pick up a load of auto glass, I listened to the audiobook, “A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice” by Rebecca Connolly. The book tells the story of the fateful night of April 15, 1912. Most of us know the story of that night the Titanic sank or have at least seen the movie. But “A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice” tells the story from a perspective I have not read before.

In alternating chapters, the book follows the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron, as he attempts a heroic rescue, and Kate Connolly, a third-class passenger on the Titanic, as the survivors try to stay alive. The book tells the stories of heroes like the captain, and others who did little or nothing to help. It salutes a man who did what he could to bring others to safety. It is a unique and inspiring look at the rescuers from the Carpathia who managed to get over 700 people to safety. It is also a tragic and heartbreaking look back at that terrible night.

Shortly after midnight, Captain Rostron of the Carpathia wakes to a distress signal from the Titanic, which has struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage. Though information is scarce, Rostron is determined to answer the call for help. He begins to strategize the response of his ship, which is over four hours away. Although the captain is unsure of the amount of damage, he is determined to aid the Titanic’s passengers. Braving ice-

An Arkie’s Faith A brilliant night of stars and ice

ahead, but the Carpathia had a top speed of 14 knots. At that speed, it would take 4 hours to reach the Titanic. Rostron was determined to do better. He ordered all off-duty stokers to the engine room to get every ounce of steam the boilers could make. All power went to the engines. From its top speed of 14 knots, the Carpathia kept increasing speed. Traveling 3 knots faster than her top speed, the Carpathia sped to rescue the perishing.

The captain ordered extra lookouts in the crow’s nest, the bow, and the bridge. He steamed faster than full speed into a field of icebergs at night to rescue a ship that had already struck an iceberg. He called the stewards together and explained the plight of the Titanic and the mission of the Carpathia.

bergs himself, he pushes the Carpathia to the limit.

With the Carpathia four hours away, there are more questions than answers: Will the ship hold together if pushed to never-before-tested speeds? What if he also strikes an iceberg? And with the freezing temperatures, will there be survivors by the time the Carpathia arrives?

Kate Connolly, a passenger on Titanic, is enjoying her time in third class with newfound friends. But in the middle of the night, strange sounds lead her out into the corridor, looking for answers. She eventually learns that the ship is in trouble and has little time to escape. The third-class passengers are not warned or helped, but Connolly manages to board a lifeboat in the chaos. But after seeing the Titanic sink into the abyss and hearing the cries of hundreds of people still in the water, she wonders if rescue is possible.

As the Titanic sank, her wireless operators tried heroically to find another ship near enough to come to its rescue. They contacted the Carpathia about 58 miles away a little after midnight. The Titanic’s message said: “SOS--SOS. Come at once. We have struck a berg.”

The radio operator of the Carpathia reported the message to his first officer. Together they barged into the room of Rostron, waking him from a sound sleep. When he heard the news, the captain said, “All right, tell him we are coming along as fast as we can.”

The captain gave every command he could think of to prepare for a rescue mission. The crew rigged lights along the ship’s sides and opened all gangway doors. They readied block and tackle to hoist boats aboard and slings to lift the injured.

The captain had ordered full speed

One thousand five hundred people from the Titanic died that night because they could not get into the lifeboats. Of those who could get into the lifeboats, the Carpathia rescued over 700. No other ship arrived in time. The leadership of Rostron in the hours following the sinking of Titanic remains to this day, a masterpiece of crisis management. From the moment Rostron was informed of the distress messages received from Titanic, every order he issued was intended to get to the stricken ship as quickly as possible while preparing his ship to receive survivors and give them the care they needed.

Gentle Reader, it was no doubt that many survived due to Rostron’s quick thinking, preparations, and the speed with which he got to the scene. Like Rostron, we can make a difference when people around us need help.

“Go and rescue the perishing! Be their savior! Why would you stand back and watch them stagger to their death? And why would you say, ‘But it’s none of my business?’ The one who knows you completely and judges your every motive is also the keeper of souls—and not just yours! He sees through your excuses and holds you responsible for failing to help those whose lives are threatened.”

Proverbs 24:11-12 (TPT)

The ‘unsinkable” RMS Titanic (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Find the Bless Your Heart hearts

By Ethan Nahté

A group of local crafters called 2800 CRAFTSY has initiated a community project lovingly called The Bless Your Heart Project.

This group has designed and handmade charming fabric hearts that will be placed around Mena and surrounding communi-

tle exercise is good for the heart, so they say. The hearts will be approximately the size of an adult hand. The women plan on placing the hearts where they won’t get blown away. With any luck, they won’t get soaked, but they are washable.

2800 CRAFTSY is a Mena craft group that is free and open to all interested people. The group has a current membership of about 200, although not all 200 show up at the meetings. That number is more of a dedicated dozen or two.

“The group has been around a little over a year. We meet every Tuesday for anyone who would like to come. It’s free. There is no membership. You come and go as you wish. We just ask that you be nice.” They meet at 2800 Jerry Lee Dr.

ties in various locations to be found and adopted by random strangers. The 150 hearts contain the message “BLESS YOUR HEART” and are intended to simply bless the heart of the finders, The hearts are yours to keep or to place in a location for someone else to find and bless their heart. The choice is yours.

Jann Stricklin is the founder of 2800 CRAFTSY. She said, “We started this group because there’s really nothing to do in the community a lot of times. We craft, we sew, we do charitable things, we have one of the Green House Cottages we’ve adopted, so when holidays come, we bring them treats and Easter baskets and things like that.

“This is our outreach for the community. We really like the idea of find a rock, but we just want to bless the community. Every one of the hearts says, “Bless Your Heart.”

The project will begin on Tuesday, March 21, so keep your eyes open and happy hunting.

The searching might also get people stirring outdoors after the cold and wet has passed from the winter weather. A lit-

Their meetings are a combination of working on craft projects, events coming up, and maybe a smidgen of gossip. It’s not just sewing. It’s any craft you want to bring along and work on as you socialize. They generally take a lunch break. Sometimes they come back and work after the lunchbreak, but not always. It’s very loose and relaxed. It even includes gardening and canning amongst those who want to crochet or create découpage. The group is open to newcomers, male or female, who are trying to learn a crafting skill. If anyone in the group knows how to do something, they are happy to show beginners how it’s done.

“When you come to the group, the basis of the group is a common interest in crafting, but it’s turned into a sisterhood. It’s very emotional for me to even talk about it.

Look for 2800 CRAFTSY on Facebook Groups for more information. The group asks that if you do find a heart, take a selfie with the heart and where you found it. They’d love to see who finds their creations.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for United Country Real Estate’s John and Christy Titsworth and their new Creekside Apartments on March 8. Their new real estate office and apartments are located at 804 Highway 71 North in Mena. Their apartments are one or two bedrooms and will include upcoming amenities such as an on-site gym, pool, and community area. You can reach them by calling 479-394-7545 or check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/creeksidemena/ . (Alexis James/Pulse)

ERNST

continued from page 1 the mood strikes me — when I think there are going to be great waterfalls flowing or a great light show or something like that.

“I do also plan to have some camera equipment with me when I travel. I still travel and hike quite a bit around Arkansas and other places. If something really wonderful presents itself, hopefully, I will be able to capture some of it.”

In addition to his breath-taking picture books, Ernst has also produced several guidebooks, covering various Arkansas hiking trails, scenic views for nature lovers, and waterfall guidebooks for the state.

“The ‘Arkansas Waterfalls’ guidebook is actually our best-selling guidebook” Ernst said. “It first came out in 2001, then it was updated with a lot more waterfalls in 2012. We’re going to do a third edition of it, but it may be next year before it comes out. It’s going to have a couple hundred waterfalls in it.

“One of the things that surprises a lot of people is that we have got literally thousands of waterfalls around the state. Very few of them are unnamed or well-known. A lot of them have been documented now because of social media and because of the waterfalls guidebook. People use that as a basis: ‘Which waterfall are we going to go to this weekend?’ ‘How many can we go see?’. It’s been a great excuse to get

tween the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, and Rich Mountain is the second-highest peak. Did you know Arkansas also has the highest waterfall between the two ranges?

“Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls on the Buffalo National River up in Newton County is the

trail, over there just a few feet off the trail, there’s different kinds of wildflowers and moss-covered rocks that were just really a brilliant green. They kind of stood out, which right now is early March. It’s pretty stark landscape up in the Ozarks — it gets more advanced down here in the Ouachi-

know Queen Wilhelmina State Park carries our books. We also have about 14 or 15 different guidebooks. Most of them are about Arkansas. They’re available at state parks, local book stores, visitor centers, gift shops, and of course online at our web page, which is TimErnst.com . There’s a link to all of the books that we carry. If you want to order them by mail order. Our distributor is the University of Arkansas Press. There’s a link to each book on their website to order if you can’t find them locally. We always recommend folks shop local when they can. A lot of people will go into a bookstore and not see our books immediately. Sometimes they get put in other places. If you’re in a bookstore and don’t see them, just ask. They may have their own shelf full of them.”

“Yes, I’m a nature photographer, and by trade… my advocation, I guess, is to share the beauty of Arkansas. That’s really what I love to do. It’s not so we can get millions of more people to come here; it’s as much for the residents to be able to help them appreciate what we’ve got here as well.”

Ernst has a gallery next door to his residence in the Ponca area, where sightseers flock to hopefully catch a glimpse and a photo or two of elk. Visiting the gallery requires making an appointment, which can be done online from the homepage of his website.

tallest waterfall between the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains, which is basically mid-America. It’s 208 feet tall.”

Why Arkansas?

Despite his travels to other mountain ranges, national parks and hidden gems across the United States and other countries such as Iceland, Ernst has a love for Arkansas.

“I’ve always found Arkansas to be very photographable. The landscape here is very intimate. It’s something I can go out and if I see something really neat, I can get there without technical climbing equipment or traveling 20 miles on foot, although some of it is way in the back country. I know some other places have some incredible panoramic landscapes, and that’s great, but you can’t reach a lot of them physically.

tas — but the green moss right now by itself is really spectacular.

“I had got down on my hands and knees right off the trail and photographed, not a wildflower, but the leaves of a wildflower that was purple. It’s the underside of the leaves. I was showing my cousin, ‘Look at this incredible thing.’ It’s a liverwort. It’s named because of the color underneath the flower is kind of liver colored. Things like that really fascinate me.

Visitors to his site can also view his online journal about wildlife. Once named Cloudland Cabin Journal, it has since changed to Little Bluff Journal after moving from his property where Cloudland was located on a scenic bluff not too far from Hawksbill Crag.

Legacy

people into the great outdoors and discover that much further into the back country what we have in Arkansas… in some places, maybe right next to the highway, that they don’t know about.”

Several Arkansans may be aware that Mount Magazine is the highest peak be-

“To give you an example, I was hiking with some cousins a couple of days ago. We were going down a trail with a big waterfall at the end of it, which was the main feature. It’s the Lost Valley Trail at Buffalo National River. Along the way, it seems like every 10 or 15 steps, on the left side of the trail, on the right side of the

“Most people will look at it and they see way beyond what’s right in front of them, but I think Arkansas has so much intimate scenery like that, that is literally within our grasp. For a photographer, it’s an easy place for me to take pictures that I can show people. They’ll say, ‘Wow, look at that! That’s incredible,’ instead of the same scenic vista in Colorado or at Yosemite, which is also quite spectacular, of course. Ours is within our reach, I think — a lot more than some other places.”

Tracking them down

Out of Ernst’s 20 coffee-table picture books, 18 are exclusively photos of nature and wildlife within Arkansas.

“Sixteen of those are now out of print. I

It’s understandable that Ernst, 68, is ready to retire on a professional level. It takes a lot of work and time to travel, hike, and shoot thousands of photos to find those perfect images that are awe-inspiring scenes that many may not have known existed. Don’t be surprised if you’re out on a trail, especially in the Ozarks, and see Ernst with a camera in hand, relaxing and doing what he loves best.

Odds are, he has inspired several people to take up nature photography, either as a hobby or as a professional.

Meanwhile, Ernst has left the world a wonderful collection of outdoor images revealing the beauty and splendor of Arkansas more than anything.

*(Eds. Image from slideshow presentation photographed by Tim Ernst.)

A unique look at Hemmed-In-Hollow Falls and The Milky Way. Ernst used a technique known as light painting. He explained a few of his techniques beforehand, as well as during a Q&A session following each slideshow.

WomeninBusiness inBusiness

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Polk County Pulse asked community members to nominate Women in Business to be honored for 2023.

The Pulse team was delighted to receive numerous nominations from the community. The comments from neighbors, business partners, family and friends showed tremendous support of the hardworking women whom they felt should be highlighted. We certainly agree.

From established to new careers and ventures, to volunteering and acts of service, there is no doubt all who were nominated are deserving of recognition. Eight women were selected by a third party to be honored as outstanding women in business. The Mena-Polk County Chamber of Commerce Board was gracious enough to read through the nominations and make the difficult selections. We sincerely appreciate the Board’s time and participation, which allowed the Pulse to remain unbiased in highlighting the deserving ladies.

To the many community members who took the time to submit nominations, thank you. It is a great privilege to have been able to read your kind words and support for women in our community. Please helps us congratulate the honorees and nominees on their dedication to their careers, families, service organizations, volunteer efforts, faith and our community. We are proud to know you and thank you for setting an example for us all to follow. It is our great pleasure to introduce the Outstanding Women in Business for 2023!

* Gretchen Goodnight

* Brandy McCoy

* Tamara Smart

* Pasha Watson

[Profiles and photos by Ethan Nahté, except LeAnn Dilbeck’s photo courtesy of Union Bank.]

Morgan Bissell

didn’t really think twice and think it would be around three years later.”

Bissell laughs when asked about branding and hindsight.

“Think about the long haul. Think about is it easy to say and remember? Does it represent what you plan on doing forever?”

Bissell points out the Cowbabes portion of the name is easy to remember because it’s different, but the Designs title tends to confuse people.

keep up with the demand and to attract attention with her pop-ups.

“I started with boutique-style jewelry, then it started to get a little bigger so then we did clothes. Then I did a mobile boutique that was an enclosed trailer that I take with me to rodeos and pop-ups. I knew when I was pregnant that carrying tables and stuff was not going to work. After that, I was really trying to find a storefront.”

in the dental office, but it’s nice knowing you’re the one raising them, teaching them, getting to watch them grow. You don’t miss out on anything. That’s what really drove me to get the store and have those girls up there.”

Despite her hectic schedule, Bissell still finds time to design jewelry.

One of the newer businesses around Mena is Cowbabes, an interesting name that has to pique the curiosity of anyone who hears or reads it for the first time. The owner of Cowbabes Designs, LLC, is Morgan Bissell.

Bissell said, “The name was kind of funny, because when I first started, I was just doing handmade jewelry and I really didn’t think it was going to be anything. I just wanted to do it for myself and some family and friends for gifts. When I posted about it, people and my family and friends really liked it.”

From there, Bissell decided to do a small business in 2019. “I put on my personal page, asking for recommendations for a name. One of my friends on Facebook said, ‘You should call it Cowbabes.’ I called it Cowbabes Designs because I was designing the rings.

“Once I did it, everyone kind of knew when they saw my jewelry that it was Cowbabes Design, so I couldn’t change it. Now that I’ve gotten bigger and into the boutique stuff, I really don’t want to change it because a lot of my people know when they say Cowbabes that it is us.

“I didn’t think it would ever be like that. I

Bissell’s designing grew to more than just as gifts. It was a way to help pay for textbooks while in college. She studied to become a dental hygienist and has a bachelor’s degree in health science that is specifically dental hygiene. She currently works part time for Dr. Pepper here in Mena. She also worked at a dental office in De Queen until she opened her storefront in Mena, then decided to quit traveling to De Queen.

But, if you were to look at her Facebook page, her website, or visit her boutique store, you’ll find a combination of her jewelry designs alongside items such as clothing, freshies (they hang in your car but look cooler than a cardboard Christmas tree), purses, wallets, and more from vendors.

“We’ve expanded to the point where I was doing a bunch of pop-ups and stuff.”

A pop-up is a temporary retail space, also known as flash retailing, that allows shop owners to meet customers where they live and get their brand out there in front of the public. Shops can range from setting up in a mall to a rodeo if one was selling items such as Cowbabes sells. Pop-ups around the western half of Arkansas and getting into the BrickCity stores seems to have helped get Bissell’s brand noticed.

Bissell needed plenty of inventory to

Bissell finally found a location at 809 Mena St., between Coast to Coast and the signal light. The shop is so new that she moved in, in January. It’s a location close to a high-volume of traffic and potential customers. It’s also the perfect place for Bissell and her two employees to bring their kids to work with them because they have had such a difficult time finding childcare.

She has pop-ups in both Fayetteville and Fort Smith at The Shops at BrickCity and a third one in Sharla’s Selectables in Waldron. Bissell and her husband spend a lot of their weekends traveling throughout northwest Arkansas to restock. She said it’s very time consuming. Her husband Aaron is a journeyman lineman for REA.

Being a new business, Bissell is reinvesting her profits back into the business. “I haven’t had anyone really backing me. It’s just what I make I put directly back into the business. I don’t pay myself.”

Bissell does have employees that assist with the pop-ups, as well as two employees in Mena, Rhyen and Bianca. Each have a child they also bring to work. Bissell encourages it.

“I had reps before that helped me rep my business and they got a discount. When word got around I was opening my place, these two were new stay-at-home moms for the most part. This would be a good opportunity to come to work, but I don’t want to have to have them pay for someone to watch their kid, because they’re not going to get to work all the time. I know it’s hard to take care of kids. I understand that aspect. But it’s also hard to be a mom trying to pay for that, and work and then pay for other things, too. It’s a clothing store. For the most part, they tend to get into things here and there… the customers love it.”

“Part of the reason I want them to be able to have their kids there is to be able to be the one who raises them. I know people have to have people take care of their kids, and I do on the days that I work

“A lot of times I’ll have someone send me a message online or come into the store and order a custom design. I have other stuff — some leather wristlets that I make, hand—painted cowboy hat mirror hangers that people can order online. My mother-in-law makes freshies, and I help her with that.”

Bissell finds herself in the middle of a boom as popular TV shows such as “Yellowstone” and the spin-offs or similar shows see growing ratings. There are also Western influencers on social media that have helped boost the popularity.

“Western fashion has really got a new aspect on it. It’s starting to be really popular, so people are bringing in all these different styles and they will style it Western. We may have a shirt that’s not very Western, but you can style it 10 different ways.

“Our style in the store is more like modern Boho. We have mom jeans. We have ripped jeans that are just cropped. We don’t just have all bell bottoms or flares. We try to have a little bit of everything for everyone.”

In doing so, Bissell tries to get in everything from clothes a mom or grandmother might wear to a teenager’s tastes. The sizes range and include plus-size jeans. They even carry men’s items.

“I feel like that if you don’t have something set in your mind that you want to go to school to do, you’re probably going to waste your time doing it. My mom’s a college teacher, so I’m not saying don’t go to college, because I obviously did. But, if there’s something you’re really passionate about, you’re obviously going to put your time and effort into it, and you’re really going to try and make it succeed. If you have a hobby or have a trade or something like that, take a leap of faith and really push. Don’t give up after the first few months. Don’t give up after the first year, because it’s not always going to be easy. It’s not always going to be successful. You might have months where you’re not quite paying the bills. You really just have to keep trying to put back into the business, push it out there, and figure out new ways… .”

Gretchen Goodnight

Goodnight earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at University of Central Arkansas while working at Conway Regional Hospital. She also worked at both Arkansas Children’s Hospital and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock.

Upon arrival in Mena, Goodnight worked at Same Day Surgery, Mena Regional Health System, while completing her master’s in nursing.

time at HCI. Simultaneously, she served as a clinical mentor to four family nurse practitioner students from four different universities.

Goodnight returned to private practice with Mountain View Clinic from October 2018 to April 2021. Shortly before Mountain View Clinic merged with Mena Regional Health System, she made the move to provide primary care services to our area’s military veterans at the Mena VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic from April 2021 to August 2022.

If you have driven up Morrow Road to the Mena Regional Hospital, Nidec, or one of the health-related clinics along the way, you may have noticed Goodnight Family Healthcare has hung up their shingle and been open for business since Sept. 6, 2022.

The clinic is run by Gretchen Hays Goodnight. If the name sounds familiar, it may be because Goodnight has been nursing around Mena and Acorn for a dozen years.

As an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), she joined Mountain View Clinic from 2011-2015. She then participated in an outreach of Healthy Connections, Inc. (HCI). Goodnight staffed the Ouachita River Health Center, which was Polk County’s only school-based health clinic. The HCI clinic is located on the Acorn School Campus. She worked there full time for three consecutive school years, 2015-16, 16-17, and 17-18, adding vaccine for kids and private vaccine programs for patients there.

She participated in the National Health Service Corp’s student loan repayment program during her

Arkansas HB 1258 of 2021 enabled Advanced Nurse Practitioners to apply for full independent practice authority, making Goodnight’s dream of opening her own practice attainable. In August 2022, she applied for full independent practice authority through the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and was soon able to open Goodnight Family Healthcare, PLLC.

In addition to her professional acumen and helping raise her four children with Justin Goodnight, Gretchen has also become involved in community service.

A few examples include serving as spring little league soccer coach in 2020 and 2021.

Goodnight laughs because she was more or less guilted into being the soccer coach. “I’m not good at saying ‘no,’” she admitted. Goodnight had once played basketball but had never played soccer and wasn’t confident in coaching the kids. “The first year, I don’t even recall if we got to play an official game before COVID happened. The next year, they asked if I wanted to coach again. That second year we only scored one goal. I know it was frustrating for the kids to not win, but when we were so excited by that goal you would’ve thought we won the championship. We were so happy.”

She did end up assisting in coaching a basketball team.

She mentioned that she enjoys all of the parks in the area and what they have to offer to give children and families activities to do, not to mention how nice they are. She believes Mena does a great job in keeping the parks in great shape.

Goodnight was also on the Polk County Extension Advisory Committee in 2017-2018. Additionally, she was both an Awana leader and a Vacation Bible School volunteer at Grace Bible Church.

Pasha Watson’s duties and title have changed over the course of her nearly-five years with the City of Mena. Originally, she was the assistant for Ashley Smith (now Moore) at the Mena/Polk County Chamber of Commerce. When Smith left, Watson took over as the director. At that time, the Chamber had a contract with the Mena Advertising & Promotion Commission (A&P).

Watson said, “We were doing their marketing and festivals. When the Chamber didn’t renew the contract with A&P, I wound up getting all of the marketing, the festivals and the books. I do all the A&P functions. The Chamber doesn’t do A&P functions anymore.”

Watson is now the Mena Advertising & Promotion Commission Administrator

“Under the Advertising & Promotion Commission, we have Lum & Abner Music and Arts Festival, the July Fourth Fireworks Festival, I just added the Ouachita Mountains Jeep Jam, and the Christmas Festival in Janssen Park, and we’re also working on the 2024 [Solar] Eclipse Festival.”

Multitasking, organizational skills, prioritizing and a patient, cool demeanor is a necessity with such a job.

“It takes months of preparation,” Watson said. “You have to get all of your entertainment, all your contracts, and all of your vendors in, what activities you’re going to do, and who is available. There’s lots of moving pieces to all of these.

“You’re working on multiple projects at the same time. You can’t do one and stop and start the other one. They all have to be in their particular phases of completion so you’re ready to go on that date.”

When working with vendors or entertainers who do a festival circuit, many of them are booked a year or two out. It requires research and a lot of communication to pull off a big event successfully, and the flexibility and foreknowledge that the job is not a 9 – 5 gig.

“There’s a lot of marketing opportunities that are lost. The sooner you can get things out there, the better off you are just from an awareness perspective of drawing a crowd if nothing else.”

Due to the amount of time, preparation and advertising dollars spent, most events are “rain or shine” unless the inclement weather is considered dangerous. Anyone who went to the Christmas parade and the festival surely recalls the dreary, wet evening, but hundreds of people stuck it out to meet Santa and watch the fireworks and light show that followed the parade.

“You just have to go with it,” Watson said.

Watson has an associate degree in business management and intends to get her BBA. The most foolish thing she said ever did was changing her major in mid-stream while attending the University of Texas at Tyler.

“I was going to get my teaching certification. My Bachelor of Science is in history as a major and social studies as a minor.

Although Watson has a long history in marketing, her current position was not one she saw herself in. “I’ve been in marketing over 25 years now. I started out in the healthcare industry in their marketing company, putting out big insurance proposals to American Airlines and different municipalities and things like that.

“I’ve got my real estate license, again, in the marketing and sales. I’ve done East Texas Out-

doors Magazine, marketing and Sales. That part of it, I’ve been doing a really long time.

“I’ve worked out at Rose Aircraft. That stayed pretty true. That’s been kind of my vein.

“The event planning, I did not know that was going to be participated in a lot of things for different organizations I’ve worked with, setting up at different event fairs and showcasing their products — in the events, not coordinating them. There’s a lot to it from just being a participant. Being the ringmaster is a whole different, and you want to make everyone happy and that’s an impossibility, but you do the best you can.

Some events, such as the upcoming total solar eclipse that will occur April 8, 2024, has had cities and towns within is projected path planning for months in advance.

“The first time we were exposed to it was the 2020 Governor’s Conference in Fort Smith. But then COVID, and everything stopped, or we might have been planning a little bit earlier.

“Mayor Smith had the foresight to say let’s get on this list and be at these meetings. We’d be way ahead of the game that way. Starting that early, you kind of burn some people out. They get to hearing it too much. Some people don’t think there’s going to be that many people here. We have to plan for it to be that many people here. We want to show off Mena. This is a really great opportunity to have people that may not have been here for any other reason to come here for this incredible event. We want them to come back.

“That was one of the things going to those meetings and listening to Brook Kaufman from Casper, Wyoming. They’ve been an incredible resource for us. They did not capitalize on all those people that came there. That was one of their biggest — in their after-action reports — regrets, I guess. We want, when they do come here, to make sure they have a great experience. That they do want to come back and see all things they didn’t get enough time to do and they can do [next] time.”

For those who have never traveled to the Ouachita Mountain region, they tend to find themselves surprised by the splendor and the many things to do, especially if you like the great outdoors.

“It’s incredibly beautiful here. I think sometimes living here you kind of get in your circle of home-to-work, home-to-work and you forget to look around and really appreciate what a beautiful place that we live in.

“And the people… we are a friendly and charming and beautiful community. What’s not to like?

“Having the Wolf Pen Gap Trails. Having our art district. Having the Talimena Drive. We have a lot for a small area for people to take advantage of.”

Watson belongs to a few other organizations and boards:

She is the secretary for the Mena Downtown Partners. “In that vision of what can we bring downtown and how can we elevate that for our guests’ experience and for our community?”

She is also on the Western Arkansas’ Mountain Frontier board of directors. “That looks at this region as a whole from Fort Smith and all on the western side. We meet in different places.

Pasha Watson

We’ll meet in Fort Smith or we’ll meet in Mena sometimes. They give you a better perspective of other and bigger towns and their marketing strategies. There’s a great publication that CJRW puts out every year. It highlights all the towns in this region. It’s a good way to keep your ear to the ground about what other towns and things are doing.”

She currently sits as the secretary of the Talimena Scenic Drive Association. They do the Keep Arkansas Beautiful each fall and clean-up the Drive. “That’s a national treasure there.”

When it comes to modern-day techniques, Watson recognizes social media is a very powerful tool, and it can be a “make or break” thing.

“People absolutely castigate you. Whatever you’re doing right or wrong, I guess. Used wisely, even with a very small or no budget, you can reach a lot of people, I think in that way it’s changed the avenues to reach out and connect with people — not just your radio or your print, your traditional media partners. I think it gives a lot more control to the business owner, the event planner or whoever. That was a game changer.”

“Tourism is a big economic driver. At least for a while, [marketing] would be a good career path. Be adaptable, be flexible, be willing to learn. It changes all the time. Your metrics always change. It’s a constant evolution in learning. I think it’s fascinating. I think it’s fun. You get to meet a great bunch of people being here in the tourist information center. We have people come from overseas. I never know who’s going to walk through the door.

“The industry as a whole, with a very broad brush, it’s high energy, great people to work with, a good crowd to be around and a lot of creative people. I say go for it if it’s something you are interested in doing.”

Tamara Smart

the state of Arkansas. That had never happened before. If I ever go back to get my degree, that’s what I would get it in is admin because I was familiar with it.”

Several of the nominations for Smart mention how she is very supportive of both HHE students, the teachers and staff.

“That was my main goal, I think, going into administration, because truly, I love teaching. I miss the classroom so much more than I anticipated. Going to the next level, being an administrator, my whole goal was to be able to still be an advocate for my teachers and be that supportive person they could count on and trust, because so much comes up.

“Teachers are under so much pressure nowadays. There’s a lot with disciplining kiddos here and at home.

“Teachers are so much more than just teachers nowadays. They’re parents and counselors and all of those things. When you’ve lived it like I did, I never wanted to forget that. I took that next step. That was always very important to me not to lose that and for them to kind of keep me grounded. That was always one thing that Mrs. Sherrer did and I wanted to emulate that after she left.

“I do always want to support my teachers as much as I can and remember what it was like in the trenches.”

works, and turn assignments in.

“We know that there was learning loss. It was inevitable. When kids didn’t come back immediately after three or four months, it just widened. Luckily, I feel we are getting back on track… but you do see the repercussions of it.”

Smart believes many parents learned to be grateful for teachers after trying to teach their children at home. “…our jobs are very important and a computer can’t do what a real-life teacher can do.”

She’s proud of the extra efforts the teachers are making to make learning fun and getting them engaged. HHE has been improving their efficiency in overall test scores for math and reading.

She and her teachers do the research, she said. “What are the interventions? What are the things that are going to make an impact on those reading scores and those math scores. Our teachers are going through a training with our co-op called Math Quest. It’s cognitive guided instruction. It’s an extra supplement to the Eureka Math they are already doing that helps kids learn math in their own unique way.”

They have also tried to gain interest in reading with their book clubs. Not only are they reading a book or having a story read to them, but they have special guests, such as a cartographer when they were reading a story on maps.

fifth and sixth grade, being on different campuses, are getting to do something together. That’s neat, too, to bridge that gap between here and middle school.”

Smart likes to give words of wisdom or positive affirmations each morning over the intercom to encourage the children.

“Every day is about a different topic. Today was about your conscience, and really just stop and thinking before you say and do things, and letting your conscience guide you. The other day, it was a quote from Socrates. Huck Finn was the quote this morning that had to do with your conscience. Sometimes he said something to the effect that guilt can eat you up from the inside when you don’t listen to your conscience.

“Just talking to our kiddos like that, we want to affirm every single morning how loved they are. That’s always an affirmation. One of the things we’ve done this year is they have their mission statement, which we recite together over the intercom. Our whole motto is, ‘We rise by lifting others.’ They know that RISE stands for respect, integrity, being safe and putting forth effort. When they get in trouble, they know what part of RISE are you not doing?”

Smart said there are a lot of positive incentives that go with RISE.

Tamara Smart has the responsibility of handling a building full of adult employees, as well as a few hundred kids ranging from third through fifth grade at Holly Harshman Elementary School (HHE).

Smart replaced Paulette Sherrer, who Smart describes as a dear friend.

“Paulette and I actually went back and got our master’s for ed [educational] leadership together. I was pregnant with my daughter, so Paulette finished up hers before me, then kind of helped me through after I had Lainey. Then she became principal here. I was actually blessed to get to follow behind her.”

Smart became principal of HHE beginning the 2015-2016 school year. She graduated from Henderson in 2000 with her bachelor’s in elementary education and she has her early childhood certification. In 2012, she graduated from Harding with her master’s in ed leadership.

Smart began her teaching career at HHE in 2006 as a fourth-grade teacher. She taught fourth grade for four years, then moved to third grade and taught it for five years.

Smart then went to Waldron and taught first grade, commuting from Mena for six years. Granted, that was nothing compared to her commutes while pregnant, to Nashville, Arkansas. After her middle child was born, she then had to travel to Little Rock three or four times a week during the summer to finish her degree. She also took an online class at SAU at the time.

Becoming a principal was not within her scope when she began a career in education, but it is a family tradition.

“My dad was a principal and a superintendent. Both of my uncles on his side… were principals, superintendents and administrators. At one time, they were all three superintendents in

As for the students, Smart looks back when she had 25 in a classroom to now having over 400. Although there are a few times a teacher is gone and there aren’t enough substitute teachers, Smart will step into the classroom once again.

“I do feel like they’re mine. When they’re here, if they’re getting disciplined or if it’s positive, I say, ‘I’m your parent.’ That’s me eight hours a day, like it or not. I do love them. I want to see them succeed. We really try to instill those values. We are so much more than a school to our kiddos here. That’s first and foremost before test scores or anything else. My mantra to my teachers is, ‘love them.’ Everything else comes after that. If they know they’re loved and supported, they’re going to learn from you in some way, shape or form.”

Smart gives credit to her amazing staff for helping get things on track once the spring 2020 school year was over and the pandemic had shut everything down. She worked with staff to make the return to the classroom as easy as possible for students and teachers.

“When they initially came back, they had three different choices: They could be on campus in-person, they could do virtual through Polk County Virtual, or they could do blended, which was the teachers would video as much as they could in person, but the teachers were still responsible for their learning, but they stayed at home with the concept of when parents felt comfortable then they would come back. Blended was so difficult on my teachers, because are you not only are you responsible for those kids who are here every day, but you were trying to touch base and trying to make contact. Some parents were amazing with it. Some, it was more difficult. The online learning is difficult, and getting familiar with the Chromebook and how it

HHE students also worked with sixth graders in the middle school and recently attended the Quiz Bowl championship in Murfreesboro, taking first place.

“We’re definitely proud of them. I like that our

It not only gives the children something to achieve, but perhaps a lesson that putting forth effort and implementing the four actions that RISE stands for pays off.

As for being recognized as a Woman in Business, Smart said, “It’s humbling. I was totally surprised, grateful and appreciative.”

Deedee Alston is a farmer, a realtor, co-owner of Alston Land Services, a certified Dave Ramsey Coach,and owns The Vault Coffee Shop. She has her bachelor’s from John Brown University and her MBA from UALR. She was once the Chief Operations Officer for Healthy Connections.

She and her husband Luke owned and operated Holly Springs Homestead for seven years. They sold produce and canned goods, including items from their berry farm. They were chosen as the 2017 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year.

Alston said, “We had an Angus ranch, eight [Tyson contract] broiler houses, and we had a heritage breed free-range pig farm. We did our own meats. We had Angus beef as well as heritage breed free-range pork in our on-farm market.”

When COVID-19 prevented kids from coming back out to the farm, it was part of what forced the Alstons to make a decision to close the farm.

“Diversifying on a farm is the key to success. When the cattle market is down, or the poultry market is down, or you have crop failure, you have these other lines of income. It’s really where agritourism came into being. Arkansas’ number one industry is agriculture. I was one of the early founding members of the Arkansas Agritourism Association and sat on that board. For me, it was great because I was able to marry those two things together. Our whole operation was born out of that.

“When COVID happened… we still had a full berry crop to do something with. We quickly converted to an online market. We did farm-side pickup. We would have tables set out and people would literally drive by and pick that up.”

Pre-COVID, children went to the farm on field trips. Parents also took their kids out to the farm during the summer for Homestead Camp.

“We ran that for a couple of years. That was one of my greatest joys because we were trying to teach kids skills.”

Beyond growing food and eating what they picked from farm-to-table, they also got to cap off their week with a camping trip. The kids would go home and talk about the camp. Parents began requesting similar adult classes, which they enjoyed just as much as the children.

“We didn’t really close down [Holly Springs Homestead], we just kind of waited. When you’re planning for the October corn maze, you’re making decisions in April, May and June. It’s a big investment to put in the corn maze.

“Then we had a flood. COVID was not the final chapter for us. It was the single time the Ouachita and the Irons Fork River met. That level of flood wiped out all of the infrastructure on the farm.”

“It’s also hard to recreate a labor force prior to COVID that was happy with $10 - $12 per hour working in the sun with no benefits.”

The harsh freeze and snow in early 2021, and the early freeze of October 2021 were devastating.

The Alstons were also heavily involved with the local 4-H group, their own kids being in 4-H at different levels while participating in sports.

“The 4-H groups were a lot of our homestead kids, but there was another level who had never touched the farm before. They wanted their hands in the dirt and wanted to understand that.

As her children got older, she also became involved with the Home Economist Club, which

Deedee Alston

is the Home Extension now. She founded the Home School’s Preservation Club, which is another chapter of the local Extension Club with an emphasis of preserving the way things were done in the old days. We’re losing those skills. They also started a YouTube channel.

“Luke and I were a little bit ahead of our time on some of these things,” she said. “Now, postCOVID, these things are hugely popular.”

Meanwhile, their neighbors and good friends, Sharon and Farrell Cole, had been attempting to recruit the Alstons as realtors for years. The couple started getting their licenses in 2019, planning on it being a part-time job.

“We got our real estate licenses and that practice took off. We found ourselves making the decision to either shut down our real estate business we’d been building in the interim, or do we continue on this. In the meantime, our boys grew up and moved away.

“What we quickly learned is there is nothing that is part-time about real estate. When they call and they want to see something, you go.”

With their knowledge of agriculture, land, water tables and such, the Alston team has a good grasp on selling rural property.

“Luke has been very successful at that. That is his game. Luke’s love is land, but we go anywhere.”

Deedee, a Vandervoort native, also has The Vault Coffee Shop in Cove, which is practically a half hour from their farm. She’s a graduate of Cove and knows a lot of the community.

“I did not sign up to start a coffee shop. It slapped me.”

It came about from the family doing their own farm market, as well as Deedee leaving out at 3 a.m. every Saturday to set up at the Farmer’s Market in Fort Smith. Yet, they still had a lot of produce. The Cove community had lost their grocery store, so they started doing a market on the lawn of The Vault Coffee Shop for two or three years.

“I didn’t know it was for sale,” she said, explaining a conversation about how they could implement a farmer’s market once again now that the threat of the pandemic wasn’t as great. “Before we knew it, we bought it. We took over the coffee shop last May.”

Alston’s advice: “I don’t box myself in by being a woman. I don’t see in color. I don’t see in age. I don’t see in gender. If I want something, I should do it. If you want something, you should just do it. It does take work. If you want something, quit caring what everyone thinks… You have to keep your eye on the prize.”

Brandy McCoy

Brandy McCoy is the manager of T.J.’s Country Store in Hatfield. Her journey to becoming the manager was by accident, akin to cooking and accidentally spilling a spice into the mixing bowl and something good and unexpected comes out of it. She began working at T.J.’s in 2014, nine years ago, as a cook.

McCoy said, “I got kitchen manager within like three months of being there. I’ve cooked my whole life since I was 16. Cooking is my dream. I was 16 when I started cooking at Vicki’s Café in Hatfield.”

Two years into her job was when the unexpected occurred. “I never thought about [becoming store manager]. When Tim [Scott] got ready to retire from Walmart, he wanted to travel. That was their goal. His dad owned Scotty’s, so he wanted a convenience store, as well. Their goal was to hire kids so kids could get a start. But they wanted to travel, so they needed somebody to run the store.

“It was a shock for sure. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s a big step,’” McCoy said with a laugh. “They had actually gone on vacation to Alaska — that’s where they had lived — so they went back to Alaska for a month. So, I had the whole store for a month.”

It was a bit nerve wracking for Tim’s wife Leona.

McCoy said, “One thing was Leona was scared, saying, ‘We can’t leave.’ I asked Tim, “We have insurance, right?’ and he said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, “It’ll be either standing or it won’t when you get back. It’s still standing,” she said, laughing more. Now the comment has become an on-going joke when they get ready to leave.

Since the store is still standing, they offer a full-menu breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner specials. Due to Hatfield being a few miles outside of Mena, many of the local residents stop in at T.J.’s because they

don’t want to drive all the way to town. With their being few options to eat or get fuel around Hatfield, McCoy stated that the store stays quite busy during their business hours of 5 a.m. – 10 p.m.

McCoy manages 16 employees, five of whom are teenagers. Plus, she has Crystal, an assistant cashier manager who works when McCoy is off duty. McCoy generally works four days per week, but as any manager will tell you, being in charge also means being available.

“If we have employees in the store, I’m on call. Crystal and I take turns being on call every other weekend.”

Some may wonder how difficult it could be to sell snacks and fuel, but operating and managing a convenience store takes a lot of organization, prioritization, and dedication.

“It’s a lot harder than people think. I’ve had some of our young people come in that we’ve hired and it’s like, ‘We’ve learned so much. We never thought it was this hard.’”

McCoy sits and takes the time to talk with her employees, especially the teenagers who have questions and are wanting to improve their skills and training for the business world.

“I have one girl who has a dream of having a little sandwich shop. She asks me all kinds of questions and we go over invoices. I show everybody what I know. I tell them, ‘I’ll teach you my ways,’” she replied with a laugh.

McCoy knows the community, being born and raised in Hatfield. She’s actively involved in what’s happening in Hatfield. She’s on the committee for the June Jubilee, which occurs the last weekend of June.

“It is Hatfield’s Fourth of July. It is when Hatfield was founded.

“Last year I put on a pageant, which was a big deal because I have three boys. My sister said, ‘Do you know anything about girls?’ We had a few bobbles, but it went off pretty good. We had about 150 in the audience.

Then come October, there’s Hatfield’s Light the Night, which is their Halloween celebration.

“Several years ago, the churches actually started it. It was an alternative to trick-ortreating; a safe place for kids to go. When COVID hit in 2020, they didn’t want to do it anymore. Me being me, I thought it wasn’t fair to these kids. They’ve lost school.

They’ve lost everything. So, we headed outside, me and a couple of people from work.

In 2020, we had it in the baseball field behind the auditorium. The next year we had it in the auditorium. Last year we did it at the park.”

She’s also involved with Breakfast with Santa. “I actually had approached our pastor at First Baptist Church and he said they did something in Florida called Breakfast with Santa. I thought Hatfield needed to do something for Christmas.”

They put on their first Breakfast with Santa in 2021 and it turned out pretty good according to McCoy. In 2022, they decided to improve upon it.

“This last year we decorated the stage. It was like coming into a Winter Wonderland. We had all of the elements. We had a snowman giving out hot chocolate. We had a Nativity scene. We had Santa. We had train whistles for The Polar Express.”

McCoy was in charge of wrangling Santa and his elves. The preacher was in charge of feeding everybody.

In 2022, McCoy stepped into the political ring and became a City Council member.

“Back in the summer, one of the girls had resigned. I was voted in, in her place. It is

new… very new.”

McCoy had tossed the idea around in her head a bit about running for City Council. She hadn’t even talked to her family about it. Once she decided to take the first step, she had already missed the deadline by one week. McCoy figured that gave her a little more time to learn. Instead, the woman who was resigning did so the following week and asked McCoy if she was interested in taking her place.

Her main reason for wanting to be on the council: “I don’t want to see our town die. I want to see it grow. I want to see it prosper. I’m involved in the community. The only way to do that, is to be a part of the city.

“I’ve learned a lot already — things I had no clue. We did have to create a water board this year, so I am on the Water Board Committee.”

She and her husband also joined the Lion’s Club, so this year will be their first big Easter event with the organization.

“My family stands behind me 100%. Without God’s presence, I couldn’t imagine being where I’m at now. And the opportunity that Tim and Leona gave me to be able to try and even do it.”

Malissa Fields

“Immediately, I started a fiber group at the art gallery. They used to have one and it broke up, so I started a new one.”

The group eventually moved to Suzy Q’s, then The Ouachitas, then she and her husband decided to open up a yarn store, which is located at 700 Mena St.

side on the sidewalk here.

“There’s a worldwide Knit in Public Day and I am planning something for that as well. I have lots of plans.”

male instructor who teaches macrame. When they gather in groups, the group sort of teaches as a whole, helping one another.

Malissa Fields has been knitting since 2008. Although she found it frustrating at first, she persisted and not only knits, but crochets and does macrame, all in her own store, the Rich Mountain Fiber Co. Fields said, “After you learn how to do it, knitting and crocheting can be a Zen therapy. The learning of it can be frustrating. People will look at you like you’re crazy when you say this is going to relax you, because learning new things is hard.”

She’s been promoting fiber here since she moved to the Mena area on Halloween of 2016.

“I love Mena. I see so much potential and hope here, but I am a city girl. I love the city. My husband hates [the city] He likes the slow, easy pace.

“I always wanted a shop… . For years I would say, that would be a great place for a yarn store. My husband would say no. I would keep saying that’s where my yarn store is going to be, and he would say no. Then May of last year, he said let’s just try it.”

She opened her doors July 8, 2022.

“Our focus here is crocheting, knitting and some macrame, but fiber arts encompasses a lot more. There’s needle felting, weaving, spinning. Eventually, we will get into fibers like spinning.”

Fields sells a variety of fibers and plans to expand the selection.

Fields also has classes for spinning fiber. Most of them come in with old-fashioned portable spinning wheels.

“When the weather gets better, we are planning what is called a ‘spin-out,’ which is where they will bring their machines and sit out-

Prior to opening her business, Fields worked at Mena Medical Associates. During COVID-19 she worked from home, scheduling appointments for doctor’s offices that come to people in their homes for urgent care.

She didn’t let the pandemic slow her down. Her fiber group interacted through Zoom and Skype.

If you’ve never worked with fiber, but have an interest, it’s something almost anyone can do.

“My goal of the shop is to build a community. I want people to come here and sit and do their craft. I want us to be able to teach each other. I do teach, but I feel it’s more of a community. I feel like new people, when they come, they sense that and they want to be here. I try to keep everything super-positive and edifying. I want people to be built up. I think that helps them know their worth.”

Fields has a couple of other teachers for the various fiber techniques such as advanced crochet. Her teachers also include a 14-yearold girl teaching amigurumi, and a

For those old enough to remember quilting bees, “That is exactly what I’m trying to get here. I feel like when you bring [people] together and you just have normal interactions and conversations, that helps to keep depression at bay.”

“Another goal of this type of business is to get away from fast fashion, which is a huge polluter, not just in the process of making the fabrics and garments, but… people are like, ‘It was just $3. Let’s just throw in the garbage.’ It ends up in a landfill and it’s a huge polluter.”

“If you have a dream, you can manifest it, but you have to be willing to do the work. It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot harder than you think is. It’s so gratifying. I’m so happy. If people have the dream, I think they should try it, but be willing to do the work that goes into it.”

Malissa’s store brings people from everywhere in the community together to enjoy fiber arts.

LeAnn Dilbeck

marketing and communication skills early on for her company, Dilbeck Marketing Firm.

Dilbeck said, “In the years that I had Dilbeck Marketing Firm, I had the privilege of serving customers in tourism, healthcare, banking, aviation, and hospitality. I have not only watched each of those sectors grow but Mena overall has grown in diversity. Our area has seen an influx of new residents over the last few years who are discovering what many of us, who are natives, have always known. I truly believe Mena is perfectly poised with all of the right leadership in place, and resources identified, to explode economically.”

Those leadership possibilities include careers for women.

Dilbeck is also a board member of CASA of the Ouachita Region (Court Appointed Special Advocates); has served numerous terms on the Mena Polk County Chamber of Commerce, serving as president in 2022; a member of the Arkansas Regional Coalition of the Ouachitas; and The Crossing.

Her past community involvement includes serving on the Mena Depot Commission, Mena Lioness Club, consulting for the Mena Advertising/Promotion Commission, Mena Regional Health System Foundation, and Arkansas Community Colleges (ACC).

LeAnn Dilbeck, who was recently named Senior Vice-President for Union Bankshares, Inc. began her 25-plus year career at Union Bank, followed by several other ventures in between.

Dilbeck is a graduate of Henderson State University with a degree in marketing and a minor in communications. She utilized her

Dilbeck said, “I do believe job opportunities have certainly expanded for women. Technology itself has opened the door wide open and job opportunities are not based solely on your location. For a short time after we sold The Pulse, I worked for a New York based non-profit organization. We were all located across the country and would meet virtually weekly and then travel to service areas around the globe when needed. Living in this area is certainly no longer a limitation, if you don’t allow it to be.”

She was honored as the B.P.O.E. 2007 Citizen of the Year, 2006 AHA Diamond Award, 2015 RMCC/ACC Alumnus of the Year, and is a 2019 graduate of the ACC Leadership Institute. She was most recently the Vice-Chancellor for External Affairs at the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain.

She and her husband, David, previously owned and operated The Polk County Pulse before selling to Bunyard Media Group in 2015.

Despite Mena’s small-town atmosphere, and all of Polk County for that matter, Dilbeck has managed to find prospects where she was told the opportunity didn’t exist.

“My advice is to ‘Think outside of the box.’ I was told that I would never be able to do anything with a marketing degree in Mena, Arkansas and nothing has been further from the truth. At the time I finished college, no one was providing professional marketing service which screamed opportunity. When I had my first child, I wanted to stay home but needed a full-time income. I left a promising job at Union Bank to stay home and was able to do consulting work regionally – and that was at the very early days of the internet (showing my age). I was able to earn a good income, control my schedule, and be completely available to my family just like a “stay at home” mom. I was able to have the best of both worlds. I may have been a bit sleep deprived but it was important to me so it was completely worth it. David has always been my greatest cheerleader and supported me with all of my ‘out of the box’ ideas.”

The Dilbecks have two children. Their son Dustin and daughter Lexi.

“First and foremost, I consider my greatest accomplishment in life to be my two amazing children. They are intrinsically good people who love God and have a deep desire to serve to make the world a better place.”

Acorn E.A.S.T. students putting skills to task

Submitted by Tammy L. Young

Acorn High School E.A.S.T. students; Braylan Bohlman, Noah Holland, Elijah Badger and Luis Basilio have started a project that goes back to our “reduce, reuse, recycle” roots. Badger originally had the idea of fixing some things that were in need of repair and began searching around and found some electronic devices that were in need of minor or major repair.

Soon, Bohlman, Holland and Basilio got on board with the project and have all put their skills to the tasks at hand. Thus far, they have repaired an Alienware computer that was disposed of and an Oculus Virtual Reality headset, both of which were in need of repair.

Currently, the students are looking for other electronic devices to repair and repurpose. If you have any computers/game consoles or electronics to be disposed of and can donate, contact Scott Bohlman, Acorn High School E.A.S.T. Instructor.

The mission of E.A.S.T. Initia -

Acorn student Mabry helps raise awareness

Submitted by Tammy L. Young

Acorn Elementary Student Drew Mabry along with his family and a host of others participated in the Arkansas Developmental Disability Awareness Month event in Little Rock on March 1.

The event included an introduction and overview of Arkansas’ March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month by the Secretary of Arkansas AR Department of Human Services Kristi Putnam and Director of the Division of Developmental Disability Services Melissa Weatherton.

The event also included interviews and spotlight banners unveiled highlighting the theme, DON’T “DIS” OUR ABILITIES!

tive in partnership with Acorn High School is “to provide an environment that fosters relevant, individualized life-changing experiences through service and technology”. Through this partnership, the vision is also realized - “to transform the educational experience so innovative thinkers can drive positive change for their future, community, and world”.

Drew was interviewed and featured in a spotlight of the different services offered by Developmental Disability Services and is featured on banners displayed on the building.

Drew and his family expressed their appreciation and being honored to participate in Arkansas Developmental Disability Awareness Month. “People want lots of things in life. Today, I just thank God that he allowed me to be the walking, talking miracle I am and to-

day made me proud to celebrate what makes me unique.” Drew said.

“We are extremely proud to be a part of a month full of wonderful celebrations of what the State of Arkansas is doing to help those who are differently able. Many people are working in various programs within the State that are changing the lives of children and their families. This event was a celebration of their successes.” Drew’s mother, Jennifer Mabry stated.

A video interview featuring Drew and his story will be released later in March.

Jackson announced as December 2022 UCA graduate

CONWAY, AR (03/07/2023)-- The University of Central Arkansas conferred nearly 500 undergraduate and more than 180 graduate degrees and certificates through the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; College of Business; College of Education; College of Health and

Behavioral Sciences; College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Graduate School.

Sophie Rose Jackson of Cove, Arakansas, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Addiction Studies.

Noah Holland gets down to the guts of things. (Photo courtesy of ORSD)

Drew Mabry (far left) helping to raise awareness during Arkansas Developmental Disability Awareness month. (Photo courtesy of ORSD)

Anttila named coach of new Collegiate Livestock Judging Team

Submitted by Ilana Burk

UA Rich Mountain proudly announces Walker Anttila as coach of the new Collegiate Livestock Judging Team, set to begin Fall 2023.

Anttila is originally from Joliet, Montana, and grew up raising sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle. After high school, he joined the judging team at Casper College and received an Associate of Animal Science and Agriculture Communications. Anttila then transferred to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville where he was part of the Razorback collegiate judging team while pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science. He plans to obtain a Master’s Degree in Animal Science with a focus on Genetics. Anttila currently runs Ozark Show Goats with his family.

When asked about the livestock judging position, Anttila stated, “I’m super excited about the opportunity at Rich Mountain to start the program and represent UARM and the state of Arkansas at the highest level.”

Walker is currently recruiting for the 2023-2024 school year. UARM Chancellor Phillip Wilson commented that “Walker is a tremendous addition to our campus. He has the knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to build and lead the only two-year college competitive judging team in the state of Arkansas.”

Students who are interested in joining the first UARM Livestock Judging Team should visit bit.ly/livestockrecruit.

City of Mena spring clean-up

The City of Mena Annual Spring CleanUp is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, March 28. City trucks will pick up items you want to dispose of at no charge. This Clean-up service is free for residences within the city limits of Mena only

Please follow the below listed regulations to ensure that the pick-up runs smoothly.

Materials will not be picked up unless they are placed at the curb-side and separated. Street Department personnel cannot go onto private property to assist in moving items.

It is very important to separate any items that you want to keep away from those that are to be discarded, such as trash cans.

The following items cannot be picked up: concrete, brick, rocks, dirt, shingles, batteries, and construction debris. Please separate your items to be discarded into 5 distinct piles as follows:

• Furniture — couches, chairs, televisions, window frames, etc.

• Household trash — paper items, etc.

(Please place trash cans, that you wish to keep, to one side so that they will not be disposed of inadvertently.)

• Metal material -- hot water heaters, stoves, appliances, etc.

• Yard waste — tree limbs, shrubs, grass, etc.

• Tires

Note-it is required that all small yard debris, such as small limbs, gum balls, leaves and grass, be placed in garbage bags.

The Mena Street Department will begin pick up in the northwest part of the city and work their way across town following the same routes as Southern Disposal. Trucks will run one to three days after the day of your normal trash pick-up. The response to this Clean-Up is usually overwhelming, so please be patient if the trucks are running somewhat behind the posted schedule; however, each route will only be covered one time. It is not necessary to call City Hall in order to receive this service.

Hogspore News: Remember the et cetera

By Clet Litter as told to Bob Simpson

My wife, Punkin can remember everything, days, meals, weather, events, etc. She’s really deadly with et cetera. There’s a word for folks like that. I call it irritating, but not in a mean way. When I begin repeating myself, Punkin helps me recollect what was in every news report. Here’s something I ran by her yesterday, and she said I hadn’t ever written about this. So, here we go. The idea is called The Post Pancake Eating Theory. Whatever you can manage within two hours of scarfing flap jacks, real butter, and syrup, then you’re gonna do that for the day. The theory applies to males only.

Lie down for a nap right after a hotcakes stack attack, then you’ll nap through the day, cause the food in your stomach turns into sleeping pills. You are a lion full of antelope resting under an

Acacia tree with no predators. You’re the mane man, king of the jungle. If you start working within two hours of pancaking, then you’re gonna work all day. You are a termite digging in a 9-foot mound.

The concept only works if the wife leaves the house after breakfast. When she stays, then you’re a termite with sawdust for brains.

Hollywood Language lessons: A guvernment non-gender employee is able to give birth. That worker is eligible for a paid 6-weeks Modernity Leave. The participants in a woke custody case are the cloner and the clonee. A Fusion restaurant is where you hear, “Let’s get some Dim Sum Tacos.”

Mystery writer Widow Fenster says, “Humor is merely a laxative for worry.”

You can contact Clet Litter at bobsimpson2007@AOL.com You know you wanna.

The following information was received from Polk County law enforcement agencies. The charges against those arrested are allegations and the cases are still pending in the courts. Individuals charged and whose names appear in this column may submit documentation to us at a later date that the charges have been dismissed, or that they have been found innocent, and we will include that information in this space in a timely manner.

POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S LOG

March 6, 2023

Deputies responded to a report of a possible suicidal individual.

Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Polk 76 E near Acorn in reference to a trespasser.

March 7, 2023

Michelle Crawford, 30 of Mena was arrested on charges of Criminal Trespass, Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct.

Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Hwy 71 near Acorn in reference to a vehicle being broken into.

March 8, 2023

Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Polk 121 near Mena in reference to a welfare check.

Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Polk 121 near Mena in reference to a verbal domestic disturbance leading to the arrest of Matthew Owen, 26 of Mena on a charge of disorderly conduct. Owen was also served Felony Warrants for Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Probation Violation.

Deputies responded to a residence on Polk 419 in reference to a domestic disturbance leading to the arrest of Darrell Sanders, 53 of Mena on charges of Violation of a Protection Order and 3rd Degree Domestic Battery as well as being served Felony Warrants on nine charges.

Deputies responded to a report of

MENA POLICE REPORTS

March 5

Two men arrested for murder, arson in McCurtain County

By Patrick Massey

Identity Theft.

Michael Laws, 36 of Mena was arrested on a Felony Warrant for Failure to Comply with Registration and Reporting Requirements.

March 9, 2023

No reports.

March 10, 2023

A traffic stop led to the arrest of Jeremiah Kahn, 37 of Mena on a Parole Hold and a Misdemeanor Warrant. Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Hwy 246 E near Hatfield in reference to a trespasser.

March 11, 2023

Christopher Chandler, 42 of Grannis was arrested by an officer with the Arkansas Sate Parks on charges of Obstructing Governmental Operations and Probation Violation. Deputies were dispatched to a church near Wickes in reference to a broken window.

Deputies responded to a report of a reckless driver. Information has been forwarded to the Prosecuting Attorney for further consideration.

March 12, 2023

Deputies responded to a walk-in complainant in reference to missing property.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office worked 1 vehicle accident this week.

Polk County Detention Center Jail

Population: 20 Incarcerated Inmates with 14 Inmates currently on the Waiting List for a State Facility.

Garet Wilson, 20, was charged with Battery 2nd, Public Intoxication, Disorderly Conduct, and Criminal Use of Prohibited Weapons after a Disturbance on Reine Street.

A report of forgery was taken from a walk-in complainant.

William Pierce, 39, was served with a warrant at a residence on Janssen Avenue.

March 6

Heath Spencer, 26, was charged with Theft of Property at Walmart.

A report of theft and disorderly conduct was taken at Walmart.

March 7 No report.

March 8

Robert Craddock, 26, was served with a warrant at the detention center.

Harmony Muniz, 30, was charged with Domestic Battery after a complaint from a walk-in complainant.

A report of theft of property was taken from Walmart.

March 9 No report.

March 10

A report of battery was taken from a walk-in complainant.

Madison Scott, 21, was charged with Theft of Property at Walmart.

March 11

Larry Kenyon, 52, Cheryll Rice, 58, and Sandra Ralph, 41, were all served with warrants at a residence on Dallas Avenue.

IDABEL, Okla. - Oklahoma authorities say two men are in custody on murder and arson charges following a house fire in Idabel earlier this month.

Allen Shaw, 89, [top photo] and Randy Sander, 69, [bottom photo] were both arrested on charges of second-degree murder and arson in the second degree following an investigation into a house fire on March 2 that resulted in the death of an Idabel woman.

According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OBSI), the house fire resulted in the death of 43-year-old Danette Stowe. An in-

vestigation began after McCurtain County first responders were dispatched to a house fire on the 2800 block of Womack Road on March 2. Stowe’s body was found deceased inside after the fire was put out. Her husband was transported to the hospital to be treated for his injuries. Two dogs were also reportedly killed during the fire.

Following an investigation, deputies with the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office arrested Shaw and Sander on March 2. Both are being held in the McCurtain County Jail on $500,000 bonds.

Unofficial information alleges Shaw and Sander deliberately set fire to the house in an attempt to remove the renters residing within it.

Agencies involved in the investigation include the OSBI, McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office as well as the Garvin, Idabel and Millerton Fire Departments.

Sanders is well-known in McCurtain County as a local nature photographer.

Old-time church revival meeting, at Calvary Baptist Church, 2100 Hwy. 375 W, Mena. Open to all! Includes guest speakers, music, refreshments and a message. Sunday, March 26, 6 - 7:30 p.m., and Monday-Wednesday, March 27 - 29, 7 - 8 p.m.

2800 Craftsy meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m., 2800 Jerry Lee Dr., Mena. Free to all who are interested in crafting. (501) 617-7261. Visit 2800 Craftsy on Facebookgroups.

Narcotics Anonymous meet at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday, noon - 1 p.m. on Wednesday, 7 p.m. on Thursday, 7 p.m. on Friday, and 6 p.m. on Saturday at the old bus barn at the Crossing Church. For information call Erica at (479) 234-5289 or Candice at (501) 356-8300.

Stop Smoking Seminar-quitting nicotine for good. Free 10-night seminar, weeknights at 5:30, March 6 - 17, the Farm House, 819 Mena St. No sign-up required. For more info call (816) 304-4676.

DIY Learn Something New-Making

a Seed Bomb, Saturday, March 18, 10 a.m. at the Extension Education Bldg., 211 Dequeen St., Mena. Call the Extension Office to register by Friday, March 17, to ensure we have enough supplies for each participant. (479) 394-6018. There will be a $5 fee to cover supply costs.

The Humane Society of the Ouachitas will meet Thursday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. at La Villa’s in Mena. All pet lovers are welcome.

The Polk County Housing Authority has Rental Vouchers available. They are also in need of Applicants and Landlords. Contact them at 509 S. Morrow, Mena, (479) 394-1565 or polkarhousing.com

First Presbyterian Church will be presenting a study, “The Evolution of the Bible”, in its Adult

Around Town

Sunday School Class on Sunday mornings beginning at 9:45. The class will be conducted by Earl Harrell. Anyone with an interest in this study is invited to attend. Classes will be at the church in the parlor, 904 Church Ave., Mena.

The Hatfield Branch Library is open every Tuesday and Friday from noon - 4 p.m. The library is located at 121 Cemetery Rd. (old Agri building) in Hatfield.

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner & Dance at the Mena Senior Activity Center, 401 Autumn Dr., from 5 - 8 p.m, Friday, March 17. Music by Gator & Friends Band. Meal served from 5 - 6:30 p.m. with a shrimp boil with potatoes, corn, fried fish, beans, coleslaw, peach cobbler, and tea or water. Suggested donation is $15.

GriefShare continues to meet every Thursday from 10 a.m.-noon at First Presbyterian Church Mena for anyone in the community who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

The Cove Branch Library is open Monday and Thursday from noon - 5 p.m. The Library is located next to Cove Town Hall at 5568 Hwy. 71 S.

The Mena/Polk County Senior Center will have The Gator and Friends band performing in Mena every Thursday, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

The Center has an exercise class on Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Contact Trena Looney with questions, (479) 394-5459.

The Cossatot Senior Center in Wickes has meals and activities for seniors. If you need to make delivery arrangements or changes call (870) 385-2373.

Hatfield First Baptist Church “Shepherd’s Closet” Open Wednesdays, 10 a.m. - noon. Large selection of good, used clothing & a limited supply of

non-perishable food items. Free to anyone in need.

Alcoholics Anonymous meet at The Crossing Church, 3 p.m., Sundays; at 5 p.m., Tuesdays; and at 8 p.m. Saturdays at the old bus barn. For information call (479) 2348366 or (479) 216-3786.

The Food Pantry at the Mena Seventh Day Adventist Church is open every first and third Monday of each month, 4 - 6 p.m., located at Fair Grounds Road. For more information, call (479) 437-4018.

American Legion meets every 2nd Tuesday at the Legion Hall in Acorn. Potluck at 6 p.m., meeting follows. Come play Bingo, Saturdays and Mondays, starts at 6 p.m., doors open at 4 p.m.

Reynolds Gardner Community Men’s Breakfast every Tuesday, First United Methodist Church, Mena, 8 a.m. (full breakfast for small donation). All men from the community are invited to attend.

Alcoholics Anonymous meet at 7 p.m. Fridays at the First United Methodist Church, Ninth Street and Port Arthur. Discussion/Book Study for information call (479) 243-0297.

Bluegrass Jam Session is open to musicians and fans alike. Bring your instruments for an unplugged session to the Daisy Room (behind Janssen’s Avenue Florist & Gifts) the first and third Thursdays of each month, starting at 6:30 p.m. Free event. Some snacks are provided.

It’s easy to have your event listed in Around Town, which will be read on radio stations KENA and KQOR daily. Simply send your Around Town announcement to news@mypulsenews.com or call (479) 243-9600 and let us know about your event! To have it in the Polk County Pulse newspaper, we need to know by FIVE on FRIDAY. We look forward to continuing to serve the community!

- HELP WANTED -

Brodix, Inc. is accepting applications for an experienced CNC Machine Operator. Applications may be picked up at the Brodix office, located at 301 Maple Avenue in Mena, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Competitive starting wages with benefits available.

Notice to Applicants: Screening tests for alcohol and illegal drug use may be required before hiring and during your employment.

T0329

Brodix, Inc. is accepting applications for general labor positions. Applications may be picked up at the Brodix office, located at 301 Maple Avenue in Mena, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Competitive starting wages with benefits available.

Notice to Applicants: Screening tests for alcohol and illegal drug use may be required before hiring and during your employment

T0329

F.M. Dix Foundry is accepting applications for general labor positions. Applications may be picked up at the office, located at 301 Maple Avenue in Mena, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Competitive starting wages with benefits available.

Notice to Applicants: Screening tests for alcohol and illegal drug use may be required before hiring and during your employment.

T0329

Brodix, Inc. is accepting applications for an experienced TIG Welder for a permanent day shift position. The applicant must be proficient in welding aluminum.

Applications may be picked up at the Brodix office, located at 301 Maple Avenue in Mena, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Competitive starting wages with benefits available.

Notice to Applicants: Screening tests for alcohol and illegal drug use may be required before hiring and during your employment.

T0329

Joe Brandt sees how and when California goes into the ocean. Keyword search “Joe Brandt’s dream 1937 California earthquake.”

T0315

CLASSIFIEDS

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

Kevin Williams; Jason Sullivan; Emily Bevill of UNION BANK OF MENA and Theresa Young of Arvest Bank; you have 30 calendars days upon receipt of the four Affidavit of Status and the Affidavit of Complaint to controvert and overcome them IN WRITTEN SWORN AFFIDAVIT FORM UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY to the address therein contained. Your silence stands as consent to, and tacit approval of, the factual declarations therein contained being established as fact as a matter of law.

T0329

- SERVICES -

Wendell’s Tree Service - Tree Removal and Trimming. Experienced and fully insured for ALL your tree-trimming needs. Call (479) 394-0227 or (479) 216-4328. T0405

Handyman services - small jobs preferred. Plumbing, electrical, small engine repair. For details, call Bill Duff (479) 216-5204. T0315

Construction, steel buildings, welding, pads, ponds, and roads. Military discounts. Insured. Give RC Customz a call for free estimates at (479) 216-2976. T0426

Daniel’s carpentry and painting and handyman service. Deck and privacy fences, etc. Call (479) 216-1101 or (479) 216-2299. T0329

Tree services, forestry mulching, storm cleanup, stump grinding. Signs and light replacement. Give RC Customz a call at (479) 216-2976 for Free estimate. T0426

Mena Shuttle - Ground transportation to AR and TX airports. Doctor and emergency appointments. Also, light deliveries. (870) 490-1191 T0405

3/16 - Cossatot @ Hackett

3/17 - Cossatot @ Paris

Soccer

3/16 - Mena vs. Prairie Grove Girls Only

Softball

3/15 - Mena vs. Nashville State College

3/21 - UARM vs. Eastern Oklahoma State College

Softball

3/15 - UARM vs. Carl Albert State College

Track & Field

3/18 - UARM @ UCA

CRSD shares sneak peak of new sports uniforms

By Patrick Massey

Cossatot River School District is sharing a sneak peek of what the district’s football and volleyball uniforms will look like beginning with the next school year.

Coach Barrett has taken up sign-up forms for football and ordered uni-

barrett@cossatot. us for football questions and Coach Pope at  PP227375@ reddies.hsu.edu for volleyball questions.

Cossatot River School District announced last year its plan to launch a football and volleyball program beginning with the 20232024 school year.

Just for junior high football alone, the district has already had over 50 boys in grades seven and eight sign up in interest.

Superintendent Tyler Broyles added that the volleyball program had between 70-80 girls express their interest in joining the junior high team.

Broyles said the district is launching

into the fundamental aspects of creating a new sports program, such as ordering uniforms, building schedules, finding schools to play and building more interest.

Cossatot River is the only Class 3A school in its conference without a football team, and one of only a couple of teams without a volleyball program. It is also the third-largest school in the conference.

forms for players.

Coach Pope was at CRHS this week taking sign-up forms for volleyball for both junior high and senior high.

Volleyball sign-up forms are also being sent home to current sixth graders and forms are also available at CRES and CRHS.

Contact Coach Barrett at  dakota.