Fairfield Bay News

Scholarship Recipients

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:45:19 +0000

Peace Lutheran Church 2012 College Scholarship Recipients…Each year, the members of Peace Lutheran Church in Edgemont offer academic scholarships to graduating seniors from Shirley and West Side High Schools. This year, three scholarships were awarded to area seniors (from left to right): Drew Bitter, Devinne Tribble, and Jesse Jackson, all from West Side High School. Congratulations!

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Annual Plant Sale A Huge Success

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:35:29 +0000

Eleanor Hilsenrath Master Gardener The Van Buren County Master Gardeners’ annual plant sale was a big success on Saturday, May 12. In addition to the hundreds of plants that the Master Gardeners had nurtured for the sale, the thirty some-odd vendors and Janet Carson, the Arkansas horticultural specialist, added a lot to the festive nature of the event. Ed Leamon Park was at its flowering peak with the Rose Garden in full bloom, and the other gardens were beautifully planted and mulched. A big thank you to our wonderful community for its support of Master Gardeners. As a matter of fact, the FFB Community Club will be honored at the State MG Conference this week in Monticello as the “Friend of Master Gardeners” for its support to the Van Buren County MG organization.

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E-Waste Grant Approval Received

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:24:21 +0000

The Fairfield Bay City Council met on Monday, May 14 with a quorum with Alderman John Foster and Alderman Robert Otis absent. Mayor Wellenberger told the council members the White River Planning and Development District received the E-Waste grant request and funding was available to move ahead with the project. Ron Milligan has completed the pavilion design and construction will begin this month. In Economic Development news, four Dress up the Bay Grant requests have been submitted to the Chamber of Commerce. A grant is currently being pursued to repair/refurbish the conference center. If the grant does not come through the city is faced with possibly tearing down the conference center. The City Campground is showing a strong season in bookings so far, well ahead of last years bookings. Moving of the gate house and improved signage has created greater visibilty. The overall appearance of the campground is greatly improved. The Denim and Diamonds fund raising event held on May 4 was a great success. Mayor Wellenberger said it far exceeded his expectations with over $7,000 raised for the school. The success is due largely to the volunteer work of Sharon Luxon, Linda Duncan, Cindy Wellenberger, Sue Scroggins, Kay Otis and many others. A new deer survey has been completed showing that the Bay reflects 146 deer per square mile compared to 150 last year. Training for this years deer hunt will be held at the Fairfield Bay Senior Center on Saturday, July 21 and the proficiency testing will take place on Saturday, July 28. Mark Harbour and Randy Wells will oversee the hunt again this year. Jeff Smith, President of the Arkansas Bow Hunters Association stated that the hunt held in the Bay last year was the most successful and most organized hunt they have seen throughout the state. Two resolutions were passed by the council members; transfer of the CMT account to Eagle Bank and the disposal of the heavily maintained police cruiser.

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Memorial Day Program Set For Monday, May 28

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:22:23 +0000

The annual Memorial Day Program held at the Veterans Memorial at City Center, Fairfield Bay is set for May 28 starting promptly at 11:30 a.m.. The traditional event will this year honor the veterans of the Korean War. All those who served during that conflict will be recognized and provided front row seating. Memorial Day began around the time of the American Civil War and slowly evolved into a national day of remembrance commemorating those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during our nation’s conflicts. Eventually, Memorial Day became a national holiday recognized by an act of Congress. It is traditional and authorized by federal law to lower the colors to half staff at 6 a.m. on Memorial Day and raise them back to full staff promptly at 12 noon. The Memorial Day service is timed to, hopefully, allow that to occur. Veterans and their spouse or significant other will be provided seating. All others should bring folding chairs and arrive by 11:15 a.m. for a music presentation prior to the ceremonies start. A Community Picnic will follow immediately after the ceremony in the Senior Center parking lot sponsored by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Fairfield Bay Scouts. Everyone is invited to remain for the refreshments.

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Dear Editor: 5-16

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:18:10 +0000

Dear Editor:

To all our FFB friends, Thanks to all for their kindness, cards, notes of encouragement and prayers of support at the loss of my mother, Bettie Miller. What a wonderfully generous community FFB is when one of their own is in need or is hurting.

Dwayne & Linda Miller

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Mike Beaumont Director Of Basketball Operations

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:16:00 +0000

Tennessee head women’s basketball coach Holly Warlick has added another member to her staff with the addition of Mike Beaumont as the Director of Basketball Operations. Beaumont has been on the staff at Ole Miss as the Assistant Athletics Director for Football Operations since January 2008 working for (then) head coach Houston Nutt. He replaces Lady Vol Basketball Operations Director Kathy Harston who has resigned effective June 1, 2012, to pursue other professional opportunities. “I have known Mike for a number of years and have always been impressed with the way he goes about his business,” said Warlick. “Houston Nutt had nothing but glowing things to say about him and it will be great to have Mike’s operations knowledge and experience on our staff.” A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas (2000, B.S.E in Health Education) and Arkansas State (1994, B.S. in Kinesiology & Exercise Science), Beaumont worked as an academic counselor for the University of Arkansas men’s athletics department (2006-08), working primarily with football, before joining the Rebels. It was during his time in the high school ranks that Nutt took notice of his abilities and invited Beaumont to join his staff at the University of Arkansas in 2006. In 2008, Beaumont remained with Nutt’s staff in a move that brought him new duties at the University of Mississippi. At Ole Miss, Beaumont was the personal assistant to the head coach and the head administrator for all matters that related to the staff, the student athletes and the program. Beaumont also served as one of the main contacts and liaison with all institutional departments, external agencies and the public relations for the football program. While at Ole Miss, the Rebels played in the Cotton Bowl in 2008 and 2009. During his time in Oxford, Beaumont had the opportunity to be a part of team that included now NFL greats Mike Wallace, Dexter McCluster and Michael Oher. At Arkansas, he served as the academic counselor for the football team. Beaumont also served as the liaison between the faculty and the athletic department. He assisted in the management of tutors, mentors and learning specialist for his student-athletes with zero academic casualties. Additionally, he worked with camps and on-campus/official visits during recruiting. At Arkansas, Beaumont, had the opportunity to be a part of a team that enjoyed an SEC West Championship in 2006 and back to back January 1 bowls in 2006 and 2007. His student athletes included current NFL stars Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. Prior to his stint in Fayetteville, Beaumont was a football and baseball coach at Lincoln (Ark.) High School and also served as assistant athletic director in addition to teaching from 2001-06. As the head baseball coach, he led his team to the 1-AAA conference championship in 2004 and was voted by his peers as the 2004 Conference Coach of the Year. The defensive coordinator on the high school football staff, he was the head coach of the junior high squad and guided Lincoln to the 2005 conference title championship on the football field . Beaumont served as the head video coordinator at UCA in Conway during the 1999 football season while completing his degree in health education. He then moved to Mountain View (Ark.) High School to work as the defensive and offensive line coach for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Married to the former Susan Patton, Beaumont and his wife have two daughters – Monica (15) and Rachel (11). Mike is the son of Connie Beaumont of Fairfield Bay.

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Community Education Center At Fairfield Bay Update

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:06:08 +0000

Copies of the summer session classes will be available on May 18. These will be shorter as one time two-hour classes, and subjects planned for visitors and/or interested students. The cost of the class will reflect this change, from $15 to $20 per person. One exception will be the Oil Painting class which will continue in five-week sessions. Interested individuals may register on June 4 for all classes. Visitors will register on Mondays each week for selected courses, by calling the Center at 884-4440 for registration. “The Management and Understanding of the iPhone and iPad” will be offered again this week on May 17, 10 am until 12 Noon, with Ron Phillips as the instructor. The cost for this third session will be $10 per person. THANKS again for the attendees and auction bidders at the Denim and Diamond. My, what loyal supporters of the Center we have in the community. The dollars raised will allow us to continue offering affordable classes. Speaking of classes, we would welcome suggestions for some new continuing education classes the community might enjoy, or an instructor prospect. Effectively managing a school, such as the Center, is more than a one-person operation. It involves finding teachers, recruiting a minimum number of students to support the classes, scheduling classes and appropriate classrooms, marketing the classes, maintaining the facility, supplies and equipment; creating forms and brochures, collecting tuition, entering data, and printing reports. At the same time, we operate under a municipal approved budget. Therefore, we need a few more volunteers to answer the telephone, return messages, and help with registration so that we can plan and operate more efficiently.

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Local News 5-16

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:02:19 +0000

Bradford Cemetery Holds Ceremony

Decoration Day for the Bradford Cemetery, located on Hwy 16 East, Shirley, will be Sunday, June 6. A potluck lunch will begin at 1 p.m. Please bring your favorite food dish. Paper and plastic products, as well as iced tea and coffee, will be provided. Come join the fellowship of family and friends. The food is always great! The memorial service will start at 2 p.m. with Doug Young playing the bagpipes. Special music during the service will be provided by talented family members. Loved ones who died in the past twelve months will be memorialized. Bring pictures, mementos, and lots of memories to honor loved ones who have gone before us. Everyone is welcome to enjoy a great after noon with family and friends. Donations to the cemetery may be made payable to the Bradford Cemetery and given to or mailed to the Treasurer, Rebecca Burgess, 4471 Banner Mountain Road, Shirley, Arkansas 72153. Refer questions to the Cemetery Board Members; Jerry Bradley, Ray Dowdy, Howard Potter, and Phyllis Young.

T.O.P.S. News

Pictured from left to right..Leader Charlene Carr, Co-Leader Shiela Brown, secretary Verna Hicks, Treasurer Betty Vagedes, Weight recorder Pat Sullivan assistant weight recorder Joyce Bradford

T.O.P.S.(Taking off Pounds Sensibly) installation took place the first Monday in April…We are so thankful for our members that have once again stepped up to keep our chapter going. This is a big commitment throughout the year. They will go to a few meetings that will keep them informed with updates and different activities going on around the state. These positions come with a lot of work and dedication to keeping up with paperwork and informing others on what and how our chapter is doing so we all say a big thank you once again to all these people for helping to carry on our TOPS chapter 0294FFB . Our TOPS chapter was started on the 21st day of August in 1978 thanks to a very special committed lady who you will still see at every Mondays meeting. Her name is Helen Kanney. We have had different locations over the years but I do feel having our meetings at The Hart is such a plus. Even though you DO NOT have to be a member of the Hart you can still join TOPS. Most of the TOPS members do belong, due to the fact that they all know that working out is the key to weight loss and keeping in shape. Our membership total is forever changing. Unfortunately, some join not realizing just how hard it is to make life style changes and drop out. This has to be a learning process where you change your life style and learn so much so that you can take good care of yourself…It isn’t an easy journey, that is why having support is so important and this is the main thing that we offer with a lot of little incentives along the way to make it fun….another year… There are also fun days that will take place somewhere in Arkansas where all members can go to meet people in our state that are in TOPS and receive awards for all their accomplishments for certain time periods. The big activity that our chapter looks forward to each year is our state’s SRD (state recognition days) Every year this brings in over 400 tops members in our state to a different location and next week our state’s SRD is taking place in Hot Springs. Several from our chapter will be leaving for Hot Springs where some of our menbers will once again receive awards for all their hard work in reference to their weight losses. Some will be graduating into KOPS (Keep Off Pounds Sensibly) due to reaching their goal weight . Each chapter has a queen and a king. This year our chapter’s queen is Nancy Pagett who worked hard even with some medical issues to reach her goal weight this past year..We currently have No king but hoping in the future that this will change for our chapter. So if your struggling with weight loss and need some support and would like some more information please call Nancy Edwards 501-884-3917 or stop by and you can attend one meeting for Free we meet on Mondays at 8:30 a.m.

Fairfield Bay On Patrol / 4-1-12 – 4-15-12

By: Chris Waring May 21 – June 3rd is the National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization (Click it or ticket) and the Fairfield Bay Police Department will be very active during this time. Arkansas state law requires all persons in a vehicle to be seat belted. The National Transportation Saftey board web site shows that surviving an accident is 50% higher when wearing a seat belt. 3 out of 4 people ejected from their vehicle in an accident die as a result. Seat belts also reduce infant injury by 71% and toddler injuries by 54%. This is a nation wide mobilization and in Arkansas not wearing your seat belt is cause for a traffic stop by itself. Please buckle up for your own saftey and to avoid a ticket. Calls for the period included 3 assists to the Sherrif’s office, 2 reports of terroristic threats, 1 domestic disturbance, 1 disorderly conduct, 4 disturbance call, 4 suspicious activity calls, 1 criminal mischief, 1 suspicious person, 1 report of adult abuse, 52 public service calls and 1 missing juvenile. 30 Traffic stops were conducted for the period, 15 speeding, 7 not stopping at stop signs, 1 no license plate, 5 defective equipment, 1 for careless driving and 1 riding an atv on the roadway. 3 of these stops resulted in citations. Arrests for the period, 2 on outstanding warrants, 1 public sexual indecency, 1 indecent exposure, 1 disorderly conduct, 1 DWI and 1 driving on a suspended license. Questions or Comments, good or bad please E-mail me at cwaring40@yahoo.com. Be safe, buckle up and have a great couple of weeks.

Little Red River Audubon Society

Dr. Leesia Marshall will speak about her continued research in ecology and conservation of watershed streams using the Louisiana Waterthrush as an indicator of stream quality. Join us Tuesday May 22 at Western Sizzlin Restaurant in Clinton, Arkansas. A “Dutch treat” dinner begins at 5.30 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m. There are door prizes after the meeting.

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County Judge’s Report

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:14:13 +0000

I am writing this letter on May 3, 2012

Through the first 16 weeks of 2012, the County Road Department has hauled a total of 63,020 tons of gravel or 36% of our goal of 175,000 tons for 2012. Our bridge crew have completed the replacement of the Sulpher Road bridge and finished repairs to the Sequioyah Road bridge. Total miles of roads improved in 2012: 4”+ gravel and road drainage improvements – 25.0 miles Asphalt overlays – 4.1 miles TOTAL 29.1 miles

Our County Rock Crusher at Formosa is down and is considered to be economical unfeasible to repair. We looked at two (2) different options: To purchase a remanufactured and/or new equipment that would cost between $650,000 and $800,000 To custom crush 50% to 60% of our needs at the Formosa and Dennard quarries and purchase the rest at other surrounding quarries. We choose to try the custom crushing option to hold production cost down, requires no capital investment, and keeps the dump truck transportation down.

Sheriff’s Corner: There have been several updates within the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department. The Department received a grant for in-car video systems to be installed in the patrol cars. The installation of the new equipment is currently underway and is expected to be completed by June 01, 2012. We have also received a Homeland Security Grant for replacement of the current communication system to an upgraded digital radio system. Implementation of this upgrade will begin within a few months. We recently began doing our first appearances via video communication. This saves the County money and time as the video first appearance virtually eliminates travel time and employee displacement. The total calls for service for 2012 are as follows:

Domestic Calls – 45 Sexual Assault – 26 Residential Burglaries – 15 Theft of Property – 112 Commercial Burglaries – 5 Drug Possession – 60 All Other – 499 The total calls for service in 2011 was 754. The current total for 2012, as of May 1 is at 962. The total calls for service for 2012 will far exceed the past years calls.

The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department currently has 16 full-time deputies and 5 part-time deputies. The Detention Center currently has 16 full-time jailors and 5 part-time jailors. The Detention Center has booked in 383 arrestees to date. The Sheriff’s Department would like to thank the folks that continue to donate to the “Shop with a Cop” Program.. Christmas may be several months away, but these donations are received year round to ensure that children and families in Van Buren County, that need your help, will not be forgotten.

For updates on “Shop with a Cop” program, current arrests, press releases and other community related information, please visit our website at www.vbcso.com I hope you feel this update gives you information about how the County Departments operate. The next article will feature Solid Waste/Recycling. Thank you and May God Bless! Roger W. Hooper

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Can You Turn “Be a Millionaire Day” into Reality?

danfeuer — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:09:04 +0000

If you look hard enough, you can find many obscure holidays, but few of them can instantly capture people’s interest as much as Be a Millionaire Day, which is “celebrated” on May 20. While amassing a million dollars may not be as significant a milestone as it used to be, most of us would still feel pleased if we could someday attain “millionaire” status. While there are no perfect formulas or guarantees, here are some steps to consider when working toward any investment goal: Put time on your side. The earlier you begin saving and investing, the better your chances of reaching your financial goal. You can’t expect to “strike it rich” immediately with any single investment, but by investing year in and year out, and by choosing quality investment vehicles, you have the opportunity to achieve growth over time. Pay yourself first. If you wait until you “have a little extra money lying around” before you invest, you may well never invest. Instead, try to “pay yourself first.” Each month, move some money automatically from a checking or savings account into an investment. When you’re first starting out in the working world, you might not be able to afford much, but as you advance in your career, you can increase your contributions. Control your debts. It’s easier said than done, but if you can keep a lid on your debt payments, you’ll have more money with which to invest. Take advantage of tax deferral. When you invest in tax-deferred vehicles, such as a traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and your 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan, your money has the opportunity to grow faster than it would if placed in an investment on which you paid taxes each year. Of course, when you start taking withdrawals, presumably at retirement, you’ll have to pay taxes, but by then, you may be in a lower tax bracket. And since you’ll have some control over your withdrawals, you can help control taxes, too. Build share ownership. As an investor, one of the best things you can do to build your wealth is to increase the number of shares you own in your investments. So, look for buying opportunities, such as when prices are low. Also, consider reinvesting any dividends or distributions you may receive from your investments. Don’t be overly cautious. For your money to grow, you need to put a portion of your investment dollars in growth-oriented vehicles, such as stocks. It is certainly true that stock prices will always fluctuate, sometimes quite sharply, and you may receive more or less than your original investment when sold. But if you avoid stocks entirely in favor of more stable vehicles, you run the risk of earning returns that may not keep you ahead of inflation. As you approach retirement, and even during retirement, your portfolio will probably still need some growth potential. Work with your financial advisor to determine the appropriate approach for you. Think long term. By creating a long-term investment strategy and sticking to it, you’ll be less likely to take a “timeout” from investing in response to perceived negative news, such as market downturns and political crises. Following these suggestions may someday allow you to reach the point when your financial goals become a reality for you.

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