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Wendy Gross
TUESDAY, April 27, 2021 / Vol. 7 Issue 17 / 75 cents
Thanks for the Memories Adam and Warren's last issue of the Voice by Warren Johnson
In the January 26 issue of the Voice, I authored an article titled "It Takes a Village." I recalled the day I learned my friend Anita had unexpectedly passed away in her sleep in mid-November. As I explained in that article, I fell into this position somewhat accidentally. Terry needed help, and I told her I would do what I could. My love for the service The Voice provides to the community gave me the determination to do everything in my power to ensure its survival. For the next two months, I spent my nights and weekends editing The Voice while working a full-time job, putting in many eighteen-hour days. In January, I spent a day working with Terry. I realized that, in addition to caring for her husband Gene (an Alzheimer's patient), she had debilitating health problems. These issues were hindering her from managing the business with the attentiveness she had in the past. When I discovered the gravity of Terry's situation, I re-
quested vacation from my day job for the remainder of January, when my employment would expire. I began working with Terry in the office daily. The more I discovered, the more apparent it became that this ship was sinking. For every hole we plugged, two more would manifest themselves. Subscription renewal notices had not been distributed in months; Advertisers had not been billed in over a year; The Voice was five weeks behind in payment to the printer; Advertisers had not been provided legal proof of publication for months. I suddenly became aware that there wasn't enough money in the bank to publish the next issue of The Voice. I contacted Adam and revealed Terry and The Voice were in dire straits. Adam began caring for Terry and Gene's personal needs and learning what he could about the business side of the newspaper. When Terry admitted herself into the hospital, she asked Adam to take over the business operations. He agreed to work with me. We would do everything in our power to keep The Voice
Philips Elected Secretary To Board Of Directors
Anita Tucker and Terry O'Connor were the founders of the Voice of Van Buren County alive. He loaned The Voice money to keep it afloat temporarily and began billing advertisers while also helping with Terry's personal affairs. When we stepped out together on this endeavor, we realized that there were some variables beyond our control, not the least of which was the fact that Terry's health was rapidly deteriorating. To further complicate matters, Terry was estranged from her only child and would not allow us to con-
Mary Philips recently was elected secretary to the Board of Directors of the Arkansas Association of Quorum Courts. Mary represents
Van Buren County to the state association of its 75 counties. She is presently serving her 4th term as justice of the peace, District 4, Fairfield Bay.
tact her. We realized that we could give The Voice everything that we had and still not be able to save it. We decided that, should the venture become unsustainable, we would produce a final issue, pay the vendors, and refund subscription monies received after the point in time we took charge. In February, we finally obtained contact information for Terry's daughter. Within a See Memories on page 2
photo by Jeff Burgess
Ozark Health Financial “Report” Bewilders Some, Satisfies Others by Adam Kuipers
Ozark Health Incorporated (OHI) CEO David Deaton provided Van Buren County with what he called a "report" for the month of February. It follows in its entirety: "Please find the below hospital and nursing home report
for the month of February. Net Patient Revenue $2,051,657 Total Operating Expenses $2,238,083
A NOTE OF CLARIFICATION:
We are a critical access hospital (CAH) and are paid throughout the year at a spec-
ified rate, but “settle” at year end when we file our cost report. Typically, we are owed money by Medicare and Medicaid at year end, resulting in improvement to our bottom line. In short, our financials generally turn out much better than they show during the year.
As always, I’m available to answer questions." County officials’ reactions to the “report” ranged from “its a joke” to “it fulfills the letter of the law.” However, the legal reby Robert Snyder
See Report on page 2
After the rain - The rhododendrons are blooming now in this Crabtree flower bed.
Proud family members are his parents DL and Jennifer Webb, sister photo by Warren Johnson Courtney Webb with Coach Tammy Johnson.
Jasper Burgess 40
Ryan Webb Signs With Buena Vista University
Clinton Starting Five Recognized Post-Season
by Tammy Johnson
Clinton High School Senior Ryan Webb has officially committed to Bue-
na Vista University in Iowa to play tennis, esports, and academic scholarship. He chose the college from numerous offers across the U.S. Ryan is an All-State and All-Conference tennis player who helped lead his team to a District Championship this year. He is an outstanding student-athlete in the
classroom and on the court. "We will miss his leadership and determination never to quit. Ryan is one of the quickest learners and best performers I've ever coached." The signing ceremony and college reveal were on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the Clinton High School Arena.
Zac Alexander 15 Photos by Denise Burgess.
The entire Clinton Boys starting five were recognized post-season. These Clinton Seniors were District Runners Up and the first team to go to the state tournament back-to-back in a very long time. Season record 1910 The boys are AllState: Jasper Burgess,
All-State Tournament Team: Harrison Hall, All-Conference: Zac Alexander, Harrison Hall, Lathan Newland, and Nathan Farmer. Jasper was the leading scorer for the team when we went down mid-season with a season-ending injury. Scoring in the Regional/State Tournament was Harrison
Hall with fifty points, Zac Alexander with fifty-six points, Lathan Newland with seven points, and Nathan Farmer with twenty-five points. All of the boys have played together since the third grade. This is a great team and a great group of kids. See more photos on page 5.