Arkansas Times - November 09, 2017 by Arkansas Times

Congratulations, Dr. Nitin Agarwal! A visionary faculty member Selected 2017 Fellow, International Academy, Research, and Industry Association

Dr. Agarwal is the Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy Endowed Chair, Information Science

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

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VOLUME 43, NUMBER 62 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, Suite 200, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, 201 EAST MARKHAM STREET, SUITE 200, Little Rock, AR, 72201. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $74 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current singlecopy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.

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COMMENT

NOT ME! I never groped a woman or did any of those other things that are flashing across the news outlets every day. True enough, I never had a “real” job, at least not one in an office environment, but the idea of invading a person’s privacy in such a manner is just foreign to me. I mean, it’s not like I‘m constantly fighting off the urge to grope, like an alcoholic fighting off the urge to knock back a bottle of Schnapps. And what about the other men in the workplace, the non-gropers? Why don’t they explain to the gropers that what they are doing is just not acceptable? We need two things here. We need all the non-gropers to stand up and say, “NOT ME.” Then we need them to take the gropers aside and enlighten those Neanderthals. David Rose Hot Springs

From the web In response to the Nov. 6 Arkansas Blog post, “Supreme Court refuses to hear Mike Maggio’s appeal”: It’s a shame he only got 10 years. I wonder what the parole possibilities are? He won’t serve enough time, in my opinion, for the incredible abuse of trust given a judge. He’s contributed to the downfall of the entire justice system. Here’s hoping that his income is attached for the rest of his life to pay off the civil case. Perplexed Shouldn’t he have to serve extra time for showing what an a-hole he is? Remember geaux tigers? Maxifer There is no parole in the federal system, Perplexed, so he will serve all of his time, less a little bit (matter of a few months at most) off of that if he behaves himself. This is what is so great about federal sentencing vis-a-vis state ones. In the federal cases, you know how much time a person is going to serve, whereas in state sentencing, you have to divide the sentence handed down by either one-sixth, one-third, one-half or 70 percent, depending on the severity of the crime. plainjim

In response to the Nov. 5 Arkansas Blog post, “More than 20 dead in mass shooting in Texas church”: Dear Sutherland, how are those 4

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

thoughts and prayers working for y’all? Vanessa Vanessa, what a heartless comment. Downtowner Eagerly anticipating the athleticism from the usual sources as they bend, twist and turn to keep from calling this, like the Vegas massacre, an act of terrorism, yet speak with such rapid assurance when the perp is identified as having one of those funny names. During the interregnum, before such

is revealed, it’s “thoughts & prayers” no coherent gun policy in the good old down the line from the blowhards and U.S.A. No amount of prayer will change puffers. that reality. Gotta wonder if our elected tsallernarng leaders see such mass shooting events as entertainment because they sure as hell For those who disliked Vanessa’s aren’t lifting so much as a little finger earlier post, explain to me, precisely, to do anything to change the status quo. what benefit has ever accrued to Damn shame, too. Maybe one of us the victims, as opposed to the self- on this blog will be in the next batch indulgently thoughtful and prayerful, of mass victims. We can call it U.S.A. from thoughts and prayers. Roulette, just with more firepower and Silverback66 far more dead and wounded. Oh, and where were the good guys Ho hum. Just part of the daily price of with the guns we always hear will stop a bad guy with a gun like this? Or did Texas confiscate all the guns, and that news just hasn’t percolated across the border yet? Sound Policy

WE SPEAK SPANISH, DO YOU NEED HELP?

Just decided to buy a gun this week. Guess this is not the place for a recommendation on what kind to get. Screen name taken What makes me most sad about any of the mass shootings is that they even happen to begin with and that none of the perpetrators are being captured alive. The last mass shooting I can remember where the shooter was captured alive was the during the Planned Parenthood murders in Colorado Springs in 2015. Something is deeply wrong in our U.S.A. I believe in the right to bear arms, but I also believe that gun-worship is empowering the mentally ill to commit mass murder. So many hateful paranoid men thinking an assault rifle is going to right all the imaginary wrongs they feel have been done against them. Artificial Intelligence

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In defense of Vanessa, some version of the point she was trying to make has been all over Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere all afternoon and this evening. Maybe she was the first one to “go there” on the blog, but she is definitely not the first to say it. It was out there well before it showed up here. 4 People are tired of hearing “thoughts . G Á P NOS MEXICA ON LA and prayers” and then that’s the end of YA NO S DE LOS El Latino is a free publication available at ÍA MAYOR MENTADOS it. Anyone can say that. It’s beginning U INDOC 185 pickup locations in Central Arkansas. to ring hollow and I cringe whenever I PÁG. 13 AY: www.ellatinoarkansas.com RIAL D hear it now. If “thoughts and prayers” MEMO OS LATINOS D SOLDA IERON EN Facebook.com/ellatinoarkansas 19 T COMBA AS GUERRAS Pág help in any way, how could this have L . S TODAS happened in the most holy of places? TO PÁG. 2 Contact Luis Garcia today for more information! VEN E Something evil has been unleashed E D AR LRock 201 E. Markham suite 200 • Little A and is running amok in the U.S.A. I have N MA (501) 374-0853 • luis@arktimes.com E S no idea how we are going to find our O ARI D way back to civilization, but I’m sure N E CAL it will take more than a catch phrase to fix this mess.

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Thoughts and prayers never solved any crimes. It is just an excuse, a damned cover-up for insensitive politicians who don’t want to solve what is one of the biggest — if not the single biggest — dangers of our modern society: the uninhibited access to weapons capable of mass killings. Politicians hide behind their thoughts and prayers while people are being killed. This same thing could happen at my church. We don’t take any security measures because everyone should be welcomed to the house of the Lord. Speaking of “thoughts and prayers,” how many of us really believe that the politicians are sincere in their offering them up? plainjim

In response to the Nov. 5 Arkansas Blog post, “Honeymoon’s over for Sarah Huckabee Sanders”: Dear Media, please keep it up. Sarah Huckabee upstaging her boss will simply shorten her time in the spotlight, and the administration will have to reach even lower for a spokesperson. Vanessa Better yet, Vanessa, if our world ever regains it sanity then maybe she’ll never have a decent job again. wannabee conservative

I notice lately she’s taken to occasional attempted humor. Her jokes fall flat just like her dad’s ... but without the outhouse flavor. JB

formally announces he’s not running for re-election. Pygface

is not coming back. The present, such as it is, will be transformed into the future that is evident in the more progressive societies in our country and world. In response to the Nov. 3 Arkansas Inequities persist, but many of those Do you Kool-Aid drinkers ever get Blog post “State tourism official warns of prejudices of our past have been eroded tired of tearing down successful people economic damage from ‘bathroom bill’ ”: in ways that may not be appreciated. just because you oppose their political Unfortunately, the political Mixed race families might be a bit odd views? Guess they are OK as long as atmosphere is one reason we’ve decided in some corners of Arkansas, but are they agree with your views but look out to move back to our home state. Won’t not illegal and for the most part do not if they do not. What a collective bunch miss the regression of women’s rights, attract all that much attention. The of phonies. the push for more religion interference public persons who formerly hid in the Razorblade in public schools and the narrow- closet who have come out, well, that minded views of LGBTQ citizens. What does not attract all that much attention, So, the willingness to lie to the nation ever happened to the Arkansas of David really no big deal, at least if they stick to on a daily basis meets the description Pryor and Dale Bumpers? Instead we get consenting adults. Yes, a rational, educated and of “successful”? The ability to ignore Rutledge, Rapert and Mr. Re-Homing the voice inside yourself that whispers Harris. Truly sad. thoughtful people should not take so Irishgirl2012 long to do the right thing, but if you “you’re not telling the truth” is admirable? are smart enough to realize things Such is the thought process of a party-before-country Republican. I just moved back to Arkansas from should be better, you should be smart The blog members can expect to the bluest city in one of the bluest enough to realize that most of our be chastised by Mr. Razorblade for states in these united. To those of you fellow Americans, perhaps especially criticizing Manafort, Gates, Flynn and bemoaning the present political climate Arkansans, are not. Take some solace in Flynn Jr., when their chances to lie in in Arkansas, oh, and let me add J. William the fact that Jeff Sessions, Donny Trump Fulbright and William J. Clinton, let me and Harvey Weinstein, among others, the spotlight come along, soon. Emersum Biggins offer this nugget of consolation: The are not from Arkansas. We begat Johnny people and policies that so bedevil you Cash, Jim Jones, Douglas Blackmon and Prediction: Barring total implosion, in the present day will be swept away Jeff Nichols. Take some pride in their she keeps this gig up just long enough by the inevitable tide of progress. The works, and don’t take any crap from to declare for Boozman’s seat when he past that the others are trying to regain others, and surely don’t crap all over

yourself. Get to work, register, think and vote. Go get ’em. deadseasquirrel

In response to a Nov. 1 Arkansas Blog post about Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ defense of the weird characterization of the Civil War by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly: Sarah may be dishonest, but she is not dumb, as many here try to portray her. She is an expert in the mechanics and the machinations of a political campaign. As White House press secretary, she is still running a political campaign. She did a good job managing John Boozman’s 2010 campaign for the Senate, as well as her daddy’s go-nowhere presidential campaign in 2012. She is politically savvy, and knows that politicians are rarely punished for lying. She also knows how to avoid critics. She simply quit communicating with the Arkansas Times, took the Times off the list of media receiving notices and never returned Max’s phone calls, according to what he has posted previously. Politics is a duplicitous game at its best. She knows how to practice duplicity very well. plainjim

arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

WEEK THAT WAS BRIAN CHILSON

Quote of the week “We’ve had some political issues coming up in the legislature that have threatened to harm everything we’ve done for the last 30 years … . We have spent literally millions of dollars trying to establish a positive image of Arkansas out there. People think that Arkansas is a good place to come and that bathroom bill could jeopardize all of that.” — Joe David Rice, retiring state tourism director, speaking to members of the Van Buren Advertising & Promotion Commission and other area leaders, as reported by the Southwest Times-Record in Fort Smith. Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R-Pocahontas) failed to pass such a bill in the Arkansas legislature in 2017, but the idea is being studied in the interim for possible re-introduction.

Arkansas Supreme Court stays execution The Arkansas Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for Jack Greene on Tuesday in a 5-2 decision. Green was slated to be executed Thursday, Nov. 9. Justices Rhonda Wood and Shawn Womack would have denied the request. The majority did not give a reason for granting the stay. Attorneys for Greene raised an argument denied in circuit court last week that it is unconstitutional for state law to give sole discretion for determining a condemned prisoner’s competency to the director of the state Department of Correction. Greene’s lawyers argued that he was mentally incompetent, specifically suffering from delusional disorder. They said Department of Correction Director Wendy Kelley’s decision that Greene was competent to be killed for a slaying in Johnson County was based on an outdated evaluation. They argued that U.S. Supreme Court precedent requires a “fair hearing” by a neutral decision-maker, not a member of the executive branch. The state Supreme Court stayed the execution of Bruce Ward for the same reason in April. His appeal for a permanent bar to execution on the ground of incompetency remains on appeal. Multiple experts have said that Greene lacks rational understanding of his punishment, but Greene has objected to a stay of his execution in Arkansas.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Maggio appeal denied The U.S. Supreme Court this week denied without comment former Circuit Judge Mike Maggio’s petition to consider an appeal of his conviction and 10-year federal prison sentence for bribery. Maggio began serving his sentence in July for admitting that he’d been influenced by campaign contributions from a nursing home owner, Michael Morton of Fort Smith, to reduce a verdict against one of Morton’s nursing homes from $5.2 million to $1 million. The contributions were arranged by former Republican state Sen. Gilbert Baker of Conway. Neither Morton nor Baker was charged and both have said they did nothing wrong in contributing to Maggio’s campaign for the state Court of Appeals, scrapped by this and another ethics violation. Maggio attempted to withdraw his guilty plea and also argued that the prosecution hadn’t met the standard for a bribery case in charging him. The completion of Maggio’s criminal case now clears the way for plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Morton and Baker over the verdict reduction (Maggio was held immune from lawsuit for acting in his official capacity) to attempt to draw testimony from Maggio to support their suit on behalf of the estate of the woman who died because of inadequate care and which saw the unanimous jury award reduced by $4.2 million. Rumors have also long circulated that the federal public corruption team that brought this case — and which has been working on kickback cases against two former legislators in Northwest Arkansas — might plan more action on completion of the Maggio criminal case. But that’s only speculation at this point.

FALLEN: Leaves cover the sidewalk along President Clinton Avenue in the River Market district.

Arkansas Poll by the numbers The Arkansas Poll from the University of Arkansas is one of the most reliable indicators of where Arkansans stand on a wide range of issues. The results of the 19th edition were released earlier this week. A sampling:

72 percent support the death penalty

55 percent believe the

campaign finance system should be “completely rebuilt”

47 percent approve of President Trump

40 percent disapprove of Trump

38 percent support stricter rather than less strict gun control laws

15 percent support less strict rather than stricter gun control laws

30 percent were worried about global warming as a threat in their lifetime 61 percent were not worried about global warming

43 percent support LGBT adoption (compared to 61 percent nationally) 35 percent support same-sex marriage (compared to 64 percent nationally)

More guns

gunman opened fire in a small Texas church during Sunday service, killing 26, wounding many more and ultimately shooting himself. The event didn’t even make the top news position in the Monday morning Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. That upper right-hand Page 1 space went to Donald Trump’s trip to Japan, where he offered the familiar thoughts and prayers for the latest massacre victims, only marginally more valuable than the ritual moment of silence by the U.S. House. As ever, a call for action on gun safety was met first by those who said it was no time to politicize tragedy. The attorney general of Texas also said it was time to get MORE guns in churches. The U.S. has the most guns of any country in the world, 88.8 for every 100 people. That’s twice the rate of the nearest competitor, Yemen. We record almost four times the gun homicides of our next closest competitor in the developed world.

OPINION

Still, people like Rep. Charlie ColMAX lins (R-Fayetteville) BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com think the answer is more guns. In 2017, he finally achieved by forcing state colleges to allow concealed weapons on campus. Some think this won’t improve safety. The University of Arkansas recently recorded a suicide by gun on UA property. The UA police are refusing to provide details on account of the victim’s age. But it would be interesting to know how the gun was acquired and where the gun was kept. We know that ready availability of guns increases the likelihood of accidents and other ill outcomes. Says the Harvard School of Public Health: “Every study that has examined the issue to date has found that within the U.S., access to firearms is associated with increased suicide risk.” Donald Trump says the mass shooting wasn’t a gun issue, but a mental health issue. Matt DeCample, former press aide

Putin wannabe

resident Trump’s regard for authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and their techniques gives some people the willies. Achieving that kind of power may not be outside his dreams, but it is beyond his reach. Still, it must give you the creeps when he publicly longs for the power to run the Justice Department and the FBI, as he did occasionally during the campaign and again, often, when legal developments around the campaign and the White House have not gone his way. When Robert Mueller, special counsel for the Russian investigation, lodged charges against three of Trump’s campaign associates for their foreign connections, Trump tweeted again about taking charge of the Justice Department and the FBI. He demanded they start investigating “Crooked Hillary” and the Democrats instead of Russian infiltration of the presidential election. Since taking office, he has grieved that his own attorney general and the FBI director would not follow his wishes by undertaking criminal investigations of his political enemies and critics and halting the Russian investigation. He repeatedly expressed his dismay at learning that the FBI and the criminal division of the

Justice Department do not take direction from the president. After the FBI director last year ERNEST concluded the DUMAS investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state and announced that it had found no convincing evidence that she had violated the law or jeopardized national security, Trump promised that as soon as he became president he would appoint a special prosecutor and get her locked up. We do not have to recall the abuses of the national police in authoritarian countries — the various incarnations of the KGB in Russia, the SS and the Gestapo, or the police forces under contemporary tyrants like Saddam Hussein, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad or Turkey’s Recep Erdogan — to know the dangers. It is not in the Constitution but longstanding protocol that the Justice Department and its police force, the FBI, operate independently of the president. The heads of both are appointed by the president but are expected to strive for justice, not to pursue the political whims

to Gov. Mike Beebe, used series of tweets to illustrate the emptiness of Trump’s words. Trump and the Republican Congress are determined to make severe cuts in Medicaid, the country’s biggest provider of mental health care. At risk currently, too, is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, another source of treatment for childhood mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. Treatment of young people can prevent adult problems. Commented DeCample, “Making it harder to obtain mental health care when it is costing us innocent American lives is, pun intended, just crazy.” New spending on mental health seems unlikely from this Congress. So what about modest gun safety legislation? FBI analysis of mass shootings shows that almost 6 in 10 involve a family member among victims and 16 percent of attackers have a record of domestic violence. The latest killer got a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force for abuse of his wife and child, and his mother-in-law was among the members of the church he targeted with his semi-automatic rifle. A universal background check — wellenforced, unlike the Air Force’s failure to

report the Texas killer’s domestic conviction — makes it harder for people to obtain and own weapons. Why not close the gun show loophole? And why not tighten prohibitions for gun ownership and purchase by domestic abusers. Shouldn’t the federal law apply to domestic partners, not just legal spouses? And why shouldn’t Arkansas tighten up its law on domestic abuse? In 2017, Rep. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock) got a quick veto from the gun lobby for his bill to extend the prohibition on gun ownership for those convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery. Rep. Bob Ballinger objected to a gun prohibition for something that might be a “relatively minor” matter. Lose gun rights over beating your wife? It’s unacceptable in Arkansas under the “natural law” that Ballinger claims to preach. I know gun control legislation isn’t going anywhere, in Arkansas for sure. If slaughters in elementary schools and churches and a mass shooting of 600 people in a matter of a few hundred seconds can’t weaken the gun lobby’s hold on politicians, nothing will. I remain sure of this much: More guns and ammo aren’t the answer.

of the president. The FBI director serves 10-year terms that do not overlap with the president’s. He is not supposed to start, supervise or stop investigations. Congress made those reforms after the Watergate scandal, which followed presidential meddling in the affairs of the Justice Department to pursue political reprisals. Nixon started the White House “plumbers,” in fact, when FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover proved squeamish about using his sleuths to find out how Democrats were getting leaks from his administration. Trump was demanding the same thing last spring, when the media kept reporting leaks from intelligence agencies and the White House staff. He wanted the leakers exposed and the press punished. The Watergate reforms in Justice and the FBI were a reaction to the occasional police-state incursions during the long tenure of J. Edgar Hoover, who, starting with Franklin Roosevelt, supplied presidents with inside knowledge of their political enemies. If you were around in the ’60s you remember the dossiers he prepared on civil rights leaders, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. One president, Harry Truman, hated the FBI director because he thought he sought to build a “citizen spy system.” Hoover didn’t like the Kennedys and supplied them secret intelligence only upon request while col-

lecting information about the president’s amorous affairs. But he had a friend in Lyndon Johnson, for whom he supplied dirt and intelligence on his opponents, inside and outside the party. President George W. Bush’s nastiest scandal was his attorney general’s knuckling to the White House political office’s request to fire nine Republican district attorneys, including Arkansas’s Bud Cummins, for insufficient dedication to the party. A few had refused to announce investigations of Democrats for their election activity in the run-up to the 2006 election. The Justice Department’s inspector general said the attorney general had undermined the independence and integrity of the department. Trump has said that he would not fire Mueller as long as he did not delve into his financial dealings or his income tax records. The retiring director of the Internal Revenue Service, a longtime friend of Trump, said last week that all of Trump’s income tax records are held in a special safe so they cannot be hacked or accessed by anyone inside or outside the IRS except him. Trump’s dark secrets are safe with him and presumably the successor that Trump will name. But what if Mueller subpoenas them? Then we will know if his bravado matches Putin’s. I don’t think it does.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Sex scandals

t’s getting to where you can’t keep Change,” a best-selling book about the track of the lechers, gropers and 2012 presidential campaign. It became a sexual abusers without a scorecard. well-reviewed HBO movie. He was everyOnce one of these sexually tinged moral where on cable TV — a regular on “Mornpanics we have so frequently gets going, ing Joe,” “Today,” there’s no telling whose squalid little sins etc. He had a lucrawill be exposed to public view. tive contract for a If nothing else, they start a lot of titil- book on the 2016 lating conversations. Shouldn’t there, for campaign with an example, be a general immunity for office HBO tie-in. GENE Christmas parties? Halperin first LYONS OK, that’s a joke. But hold the phone. made his bones in Certain details are hard to assimilate. 1992, pressing Bill Clinton about (you Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly personally paid guessed it), Gennifer Flowers — the Little a $32 million settlement to a woman he Rock chanteuse who earned an estimated sexually harassed? Yowza! That sounds $500,000 pretending to be the 42nd preslike a lot more than unwanted kisses and ident’s longtime mistress. (Clinton evenpats on the fanny to me. And then he did tually admitted a lone encounter with it some more? Flowers in the back seat of a car.) That sounds downright pathological. More recently, Halperin expressed For that matter, if even half the allega- initial shock at Donald Trump’s “grab ’em tions against Hollywood producer Harvey by the pussy” remarks. “When people say Weinstein are true — which few doubt some new Trump tape could have mate— the man belongs in prison, although rial that is WORSE than the @accessholit’s doubtful he’ll be convicted. But he’s lywood video,” he tweeted “what exactly finished as a public figure. could be WORSE?!?” Closer to my own profession, I won’t Good question. deny a degree of pleasure seeing cerBut Halperin quickly regained his baltain of the moral scolds who professed ance, urging viewers to be skeptical of outrage at Bill Clinton’s sins brought women accusing Trump of actually doing low. NPR editor Michael Oreskes, who what he bragged about. He was widely resigned after evidently making a career regarded as Trump’s favorite non-Fox of fondling, tongue-kissing and proposi- News pundit. Halperin and his longtime tioning unsuspecting young job-seekers, girlfriend recently bought a multimilwas Washington editor of The New York lion-dollar summer home on fashionTimes during the Monica Lewinsky era. able Nantucket. Jill Abramson, then Oreskes’ respected So now it turns out that Halperin second-in-command, regrets not con- allegedly enjoyed pressing his erect fronting him or filing a formal complaint. penis against unwilling twenty-someAbramson, the author of “Strange Justice: thing women who came to him for career The Selling of Clarence Thomas” — how’s advice — and that, once again, everybody that for irony? — says, “If I had to do it pretty much knew it. CNN reporter Claagain, I would have told him to knock rissa Ward tweeted that “I’d been warnit off. … Maybe confronting him would ing young women reporters about Mark have somehow stopped him from doing for a long time.” it to another woman.” College girls, too. No sooner had Or maybe not. What often struck me CNN’s original expose of Halperin’s onduring the Lewinsky scandal was the the-job aired assaults aired than a lawyer number of politicians and pundits (myself named Katherine Glenn accused him of included) who kept their own intimate groping her under the table in 2011 when lives of spotless rectitude secret while she was a 20-year-old Tulane undergradberating Clinton. By offering payola, Hus- uate. The event took place at the home of tler’s Larry Flynt gleefully took down James Carville and Mary Matalin, who’d a number of congressional hypocrites, hosted a dinner party for 15 students and most notably GOP House Speaker Bob the distinguished visiting lecturer. Livingston. But journalists — not a parAnyway, goodbye Nantucket. ticularly virtuous cohort, in my experiHalperin denies the lurid details, but ence — remained unscathed. he’s also apologized and resigned. No Which brings us to ubiquitous politi- more book contract, no more HBO. You’d cal commentator Mark Halperin. Essen- think they’d learn, these leg-humping tially the Hedda Hopper of Washington dogs with mad ambition. A successful journalism (that’s a gossip columnist, rake like Bill Clinton waits for the woman kiddies), Halperin co-authored “Game to make the first move.

Feminism fuel

n a rite that felt nearly religious, a a group dedicated to training women to year ago this week thousands of run for political office in Arkansas. The women voting for Hillary Clinton energy to run, particularly among the wore white to the polls mirroring the youngest women in the training, was suffragists who fought for women’s palpable. Importantly, they were thinkaccess to the ballot a century earlier. ing strategically about how to turn that Those same women were shell-shocked interest into a candidacy that gave them and saddened by the stunning victory the greatest chance of success. by Donald Trump last Nov. 8 — both In addition, because of its unexpectedness and the across the months winner’s “locker room talk” that con- and across differfirmed a treatment of women that was ent communi(at best) objectification and (at worst) cations outlets, sexual abuse. Fascinatingly, the exhaust- many important JAY ing past year has produced a feminist new voices have BARTH moment that few would have expected emerged as key when Kate McKinnon mourned Clin- explainers and critics of the Trump era — ton’s loss with a rendition of Leonard many of them women. Perhaps the most Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to open “Saturday interesting new feminist voice is LauNight Live” the weekend after the elec- ren Duca, who weaves back and forth tion. While many groups targeted by between traditional op-eds and a lively Trump administration policies and pro- Twitter feed (where she now has over nouncements (such as immigrants and 350,000 followers). Her most high-protransgender Americans) have seemed file gig is as a columnist for Teen Vogue, very much on the defensive across the where she writes the weekly “Thigh last 12 months, a moment of genuine High Politics.” That op-ed is unique in feminist empowerment has emerged that it mixes sharply written analyses and shows little signs of abating. of politics (often through a consciously The first signs of empowerment gendered lens) and always closes with were, of course, the immense women’s “to read” and “to do” lists for her readmarches that developed spontaneously ers (which have grown beyond the teen not just in Washington, D.C., but across girl target audience for Teen Vogue. Yes, the nation the day after Trump’s inau- I’m man enough to admit that I now pop guration. Those events were crucial in onto the Teen Vogue website.) focusing in on the president as the target Traditional and social media have for the tangible challenges still facing merged most importantly on the recent women in the United States (the iconic series of stories regarding sexual harasspink hats, of course, have their roots ment by a growing list of media figures in Trump’s “Access Hollywood” video), and politicians. Clearly, a variety of in assuring participants and observers forces have combined to make this a that they were clearly not alone in their moment when such stories have domisentiments, and in creating cross-gen- nated the news, but Lin Farley, a jourerational personal connections in com- nalist who helped popularize the term munities across the country. “sexual harassment” in 1975, pointed The political engagement exhibited to Trump’s presidency as a key ingrethat day has not faded. While most dient for both the initial mainstream Americans are following politics more media coverage as well as the overnight closely since Trump was elected, a and overwhelming #metoo movement recent Pew Research Center poll shows on social media in which women of that 58 percent of women are paying the “Mad Men”-era joined the youngmore attention than before while 46 est women in telling their often gutpercent of men are. Moreover, there wrenching stories: “Because of the elecare signs that more women are turning tion and because of who we elected, I that engagement into their own races for think there’s been an awful lot of ferpublic office at different levels, setting ment about the issue of women, womthe stage for 2018 to become another en’s rights, women’s place in society.” “year of the woman” where a sharp uptick The last 52 weeks have been exhaustin women’s political success shows itself. ing ones. There is no reason to think that A recent analysis by political scientists the coming weeks will be any less stresswho study women candidacies in the U.S. inducing. However, particularly because of shows that Trump’s election was a cata- the cross-generational nature of this new lyst for many of these new prospective feminist moment, there are many signs of women candidates. Recently, I spoke to hope for a more equitable America. arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

PEARLS ABOUT SWINE

Dead man walking

his column was in its relative ley’s keeper, just one infancy five years ago when the play after Austin editors astutely branded my col- Cantrell’s fumble at umn about a shocking Razorback loss to the 1 threatened to Louisiana-Monroe in Little Rock with jeopardize this epic the headline “Worst loss ever.” My ugly moment in RazorBEAU mug and that damning description ap- back lore. WILCOX peared on ESPN and CBS a week later Here is the oddas those networks ran a montage about ity of this unforgettable-for-all-thethe embarrassing defeat overseen by wrong-reasons game: Arkansas genJohn L. Smith, and I felt sure that given uinely did dominate the game in all all circumstances at hand, that designa- phases. The Hogs put up a commendtion would never be at risk again. able 523 total yards to the ChantiAfter all, Bret Bielema took over for cleers’ modest 359 (about average for UA interim head coach John L. Smith, the season). Kelley had his most accuand yes, after a hard initial campaign rate game throwing the ball so far, 16 trying to adapt and remake the pro- for 25, and the only blemish on his day gram, he guided the Hogs to a respect- was a disastrous backward pass that able, if underwhelming, 22 wins over was charged to him as a fumble, but the next three years. There were some which really should’ve been pinned on rough defeats along the way, no ques- the coaching staff for employing such tion, but nothing could possibly com- a boneheaded call in a tight contest. pare to Smith’s Top 10 team, forcibly Buoyed by Hammonds’ career-best 119 bequeathed by St. Petrino unto him, rushing yards on only seven runs, the gagging away a 21-point lead over a Arkansas rushing attack hit 259 yards Sun Belt team. on a mere 35 total carries, whereas On Saturday, for a good couple Coastal Carolina struggled to reach of hours, the Hogs tried like hell to 3.4 yards per tote. renew that headline for another fiveSo how did this late-season breather year term. Coastal Carolina, another turn into a gasper? Well, for starters, Sun Belt team with a history of thor- Arkansas’s much-maligned defense ough beatdowns by Power 5 confer- is not always bad, but it is almost ence schools and a sparkling 1-7 record always terrible on third downs. An (which included a 51-17 shellacking by awful lower-tier foe should never Arkansas State that Red Wolves’ fans rack up eight third-down conversions crowed justifiably about), sauntered against an SEC defense, but Coastal into a sparsely populated and largely did, and as an added bonus never comdisinterested Reynolds Razorback Sta- mitted a turnover. That 1-7 team may dium and built a 13-point fourth quar- have been outclassed at every positer lead. tion in theory, but the Chanticleers Make no mistake, had the Chanti- played with heart, poise, discipline cleers held on, Bielema would have been and smarts, four traits of which their summarily dismissed, Jack Crowe- hosts were and have been bereft. style, within a matter of hours. Things Bielema looked resigned but relieved have been bad enough for the Hogs in a postgame on-field exchange, smilthis fall that the odds of Bielema’s sur- ing and saying “Hell no” when asked vival have eroded weekly, but getting if he feared for his job, but also beartaken down by a first-year FBS mem- ing the in-game marks of a man who ber with a backup quarterback at the is coming to grips with the fact that helm would have been Bielema’s death his execution can only be stayed so knell for certain. long. He winced, buried his face in his Arkansas, of course, found a sense play sheet, grimaced and scowled … yet of urgency when the score ballooned many times he still had that somewhat to an unthinkable 38-25 Chanticleer familiar visage of a lost soul, a genuine lead. T.J. Hammonds was off to the guy who is simply out of his element. races immediately on an 88-yard scor- And when the likes of Coastal Carolina ing run, and after the Hogs held Coastal can elicit that sort of appearance from Carolina in check, they marched down- an SEC head football coach, then he’s field for a winning score on Cole Kel- not likely to wear that label forever.

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

Your Plans. Your Progress. Your Business.

THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

The lost corner

and Spouse happened to be on Second Street the morning after the trees had dropped their leaves. We parked, got out and walked back to the corner. And somewhere in the digital flotsam of our page on Dr. Zuckerberg’s Fantabulous Electric Book of Faces, there are pictures of our love, hair up, fashionable scarf around her neck, walking on sunshine. It was a moment her loving man will recall fondly on his deathbed. But downtown, someone signed a form and dispatched a crew. In some bleak physical plant, a ch a i n saw wa s loaded into a pickup truck. Maybe someone donned a hardhat and crushed out a cigarette. And now, at the corner of Second and Main, all that stands is a streetlight. All that adorns the sidewalk are two wide stumps, 10 feet apart, each with initials scored into their tops with the tip of a saw. People drive and walk by without noticing that the day, gray as a wool overcoat, has been made even more so. The Observer knows, of course, how ridiculous it is to mourn a tree. We try as we can to not cling to things, as all things must flee in time. Nothing gold can stay, as Robert Frost reminded us. But it still hurts. Thanks to the lingering summer, the ginkos hadn’t dropped their leaves yet this year, and we had been looking forward to it with the same kind of strange anticipation as the residents of Capistrano must feel waiting for the swallows. But such is life. Shit happens. Nothing stays the same. The loveliness and ugliness of this world ebbs and flows by turns. If life has taught us nothing else, it is that. But still, forgive us a moment of grief for the loss of a beautiful corner in the city, and a tree.

Bank anywhere with

DAVID KOON

riving down Second Street on the way to a meter and another potentially expensive day of shooting craps with the Parking Gods in their infernal three-wheeled cart, The Observer noticed this morning that the two towering ginko trees on the northeast corner of Second and Main — the biggest we’ve ever seen anywhere, bar none — were gone. We didn’t notice if they were there yesterday, too preocupied with other matters to notice, but our impression is they weren’t. The Observer observes. We try to pay attention when beautiful things evaporate from the world in the darkness, leaving this a dimmer place. The Observer has had a love affair with those trees for all the 15 years we’ve worked on Scott Street downtown, their branches shading our jalopy in the summer, Yours Truly walking past them on the way to the courthouse from time to time. It is the fall of the year, however, when that love blooms to passion. The ginko, you see, has leaves of the brightest, Crayola box yellow in the fall. When they dropped, year after year, they did so mostly all in one night, and when they did, it looked as if the sun had fallen on that corner and exploded into drifts of pure happiness. The Observer has, on occasion, stopped on that corner on a dreary fall day and thrown those leaves up in handfuls — surely looking like a crazy person to anyone driving by in the process — just to see them coast down in the air, the unique courtesan fans of the ginko leaves whirling and flipping, waving goodbye to the long summer. Years ago when, downtown on a Saturday in the fall, The Observer

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BOOKS FROM THE ARKANSAS TIMES

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NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

he idea that a tax cut for the in state and local wealthy will help everyone, taxes as a busithough false, is a stubbornly mar- nessman making ketable notion. Perhaps Peter Lindert, around $350,000 distinguished professor of economics at a year. The childthe University of California-Davis, says care worker pays ELEANOR it best: “It is well known that higher about 12 percent WHEELER taxes and transfers reduce productiv- while the busiity. Well known — but unsupported by nessman pays just under 6 percent. In statistics and history.” Unfortunately, fact, low-wage workers aren’t just paythis falsehood persists in being “well ing a higher rate directly because of known” both at the federal level and at the current tax system. Their gap in home in Arkansas’s legislature. pretax income is also partly a product Let’s take the most recent in a long of the tax system itself. Economists like line of research on this topic. The Insti- Thomas Piketty have linked previous tute on Taxation and Economic Policy cuts in U.S. top tax rates to increascompared nine states without income ing income inequality, not economic taxes to nine states with the highest growth. In other words, not only do lowincome tax rates. Like other studies, wage workers face higher state and local they found that there was little evidence tax rates, they also likely would have that zero-income-tax states were boom- been earning higher wages in the first ing. In fact, in many categories, “high- place if our tax system were more equal. tax” states blew their counterparts Sure, if you would rather look at the out of the water. The states with high total tax bill instead of the rate, the income taxes bu si nessma n had better ecois paying more, nomic growth, but the efforts faster income of their congrowth and bettributions look ter employment very different. opportunities. Just look at the In zero-incometime it takes to tax states, job pay off state and g r o w t h d id local tax bills. If worse at keepyou believe the ing up with population growth. most valuable thing we have is our time, This is not to say that higher income you will want to know who is spending taxes caused these benefits; the point more hours investing tax dollars toward is that the income tax rate alone is the public good in Arkansas. The childlargely irrelevant to economic success. care worker works until around Feb. 12 And if the states with no income tax at to pay off their state and local tax bill all aren’t getting anything out of the for the year. The businessman is done deal, what can we hope to achieve from by Jan. 19, three full weeks earlier. lowering our top rate a few percentage Cutting personal income tax rates points? The only sure thing from zero- would make the stark inequalities in income-tax states is that the wealthiest Arkansas even worse, and will undercut people in those states get a lot of ben- our hopes of ever affording the investefits, and that those benefits come off ments that would promote our ecothe backs of everyday workers. nomic success. A progressive income This is a good time to remember that tax structure that asks people to conArkansas already asks lower income tribute according to their ability to pay people to pay a bigger share of their does not hurt growth. Income taxes income to state and local taxes. We are improve our state’s ability to invest in even harder on low-income people than what would really move us to the front: most other states. Arkansas is the 11th a world-class public education system, worst in the nation for overburdening access to quality health care, highways the poor and letting the wealthy slide on and roads, and systems that help chiltheir tax bill (who remembers the capi- dren who need our help the most, such tal gains exemption for people making as child welfare and juvenile justice. more than $10 million a year?). In our state, a full-time childcare Eleanor Wheeler is a senior policy worker making around minimum wage analyst for Arkansas Advocates for Chil($18,000 a year) would pay twice the rate dren and Families.

Cutting personal income tax rates would make the stark inequalities in Arkansas even worse.

CANNABIZ

Budding beat

he Arkansas Times debuts this week Cannabiz, a new column devoted to the ins and outs of the burgeoning medical marijuana industry in Arkansas. Tips? Write arktimes@ arktimes.com.

cultivation (13) and dispensary (8) applications; its cultivation applications were the highest among the zones. In Zone 8, Miller County had both the highest cultivation applications (3) and the highest dispensary applications (6); the zone had the lowest total of dispensary applications (16 total) among the zones. Medical Marijuana Cultivation Facility and Dispensary Apps by Zone Total figures were 95 applications for cultivation and 228 for dispensary. At its October meeting, the commission found Zone 1 Zone 2 CF - 10 CF - 4 Zone 3 D - 33 27 applications for cultivation unverifiD - 17 CF - 25 D - 44 able for lack of information and 58 appliZone 4 CF - 8 Zone 5 cations for dispensaries unverifiable for D - 24 CF -13 D - 41 the same reason. Lawsuits on behalf of the unverified applicants for both culZone 6 CF - 6 Zone 7 D - 34 tivation and dispensaries against the CF - 22 D - 18 commission were filed under aliases Oct. Zone 8 CF - 7 26 by Alex T. Gray of the Steel, Wright, D - 16 Gray & Hutchinson law firm, calling the denials of the licenses “arbitrary and capricious.” The commission plans to The map above, from the Arkan- award five licenses for cultivation to 32 sas Medical Marijuana Commission, licenses for dispensaries. shows the locations of cultivation facility and dispensary applications One of the first print publications received by the commission broken in the state dedicated to medical cannadown by zone. The zones were drawn bis will hit the streets later this month. according to population, though they Ounce Magazine is edited by Corey may not correlate with the need for Hunt, who also runs the popular medimedical marijuana. In Zone 1, the high- cal marijuana-based website and Faceest number of both cultivation (7) and book group Illegally Healed (illegallydispensary (17) applications were in healed.com) and who has applied for a Washington County. There were no license to run a dispensary in Mulberry. cultivation applications from Benton It will be published quarterly. Creative County and no dispensary applications director Shannon Anderson, who was from Madison County. In Zone 2, cul- heavily involved in the push for medical tivation applications came from only marijuana in the state, said the initial run Izard (1), Searcy (1) and Van Buren (2) of Ounce will be 5,000 copies at 32 pages, counties; all counties except Newton but they hope to double both the print and Searcy had dispensary applications, run and the page count with the next with Boone, Cleburne, Stone and Van issue. Anderson said advertising sales Buren having the highest number at for the first issue have been “robust.” three each. In Zone 3, Jackson County The magazine will be distributed for had the highest number of cultivation free in doctor’s offices, restaurants and applications (8), and Crittenden had the retail stores across the state. They also highest number of dispensary applica- hope to distribute on college campuses, tions (15). In Zone 4, Sebastian County pending approval. Much of the conhad the highest number of both culti- tent of the first issue was gleaned from vation applications (3) and dispensary the recent archives of Illegally Healed, applications (11). Logan had none. In which has over 400,000 likes on FaceZone 5, Pulaski County had both the book and routinely publishes profiles highest number of cultivation applica- and articles written by those involved in tions (9) and dispensary applications the medical cannabis industry. Ander(26); Faulkner County had the second son said they hope to make the focus of highest dispensary applications (12). In Ounce more on Arkansas in upcoming Zone 6, Garland County had the highest issues, including profiling an Arkansas number of both cultivation (3) and dis- patient helped by medical cannabis in pensary (22) applications; the number every issue. The magazine is going to of dispensary applications filed were the printer this week, and Anderson the highest among the zones. In Zone 7, said copies should be ready to distribJefferson County had both the highest ute around the middle of November.

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arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

A celebration of Arkansans with ideas and achievements of transformative power. Cover Photo by Rett Peek

JASON MACOM Paralympic hopeful.

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

RETT PEEK

he story of Jason Macom’s career as an the amputation, Macom dove headlong into internationally ranked cyclist began researching all he could about para-cycling: at the moment a lot of other athletes’ prosthetics, record times and the top-ranked careers would have ended: with the amputa- disabled cyclists in the world. tion of his leg below the knee. A BMX bicycle “I sort of made it a mission to figure it out: racer since he was young, Macom took a tum- looking at all the world record times, learning ble while playing bike polo in the summer of who the competition guys are, really getting 2009 and shattered a bone in his right ankle. into it from all those different angles. As soon Over the next six years, he would endure as I got a prosthetic, I went straight home and several surgeries to try and correct the issue, put on cycling shoes and jumped on my bike.” leaving him in near constant pain. In the Macom soon realized that the walking summer of 2015, however, a bone infection prosthetic with which he had been fitted led to a long-delayed decision to amputate. wasn’t right for cycling. After reviewing video Macom took what could have been seen as a of his “good” leg as he worked the pedals of devastating blow as an opportunity. a bike on a stand, Macom got to work devel“I remember just trying to create a file in oping a series of ever-more-sophisticated my head of all the things I could be able to racing prosthetics, eventually working with do once we swapped over and I was able to friends in the local cycling community and get a prosthetic and start using that,” Macom a Little Rock machine shop to get the parts said. “What could I do? Bike racing was back and pieces right on both the leg and his speon the table as something I could do. I started cially modified bike. These days, his racing looking into that more and more.” During leg looks a lot like a carbon fiber fan blade. the three-month recovery time following “It’s very aero,” he said.

When he spoke to the Arkansas Times in October, Macom had just received his 2018 contract to join the Team USA Paralympic cycling team, and was practicing for December’s Para-Cycling National Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo. Though he has a contract with Team USA, he doesn’t have a spot on the Team USA roster yet. “I have to race for that spot,” he said. “Everything is earned on Team USA. It’s all based on previous results. It’s all, ‘If you’re fit at the time and the weeks leading up to the big race, you have to prove it and earn your spot on the roster.’ That’s the goal at the moment: to earn a spot on the roster to go to the world championships.” The selection race will be in held in February, with the World Championships in Rio next March. If he makes the Team USA roster, he can compete in what are known as World Cup events in countries around the world, including Japan, New Zealand and the U.K. The results of those races will determine which Team USA members will represent the United States in the 2018 Paralympic Games, which will be held in Tokyo in 2020. “A lot of racing has to be done between now and then,” he said. —David Koon

DOUBLE HELPING: Tina (left) and Trina Fletcher are working with rural communities who want to improve their schools.

TINA AND TRINA FLETCHER One plus one, working for better schools in the Delta

wins Tina and Trina Fletcher were raised in Morrilton by their single mother. “We did not have the easiest childhood,” Trina said. “We were poor, working-class, living check to check. Most days when we came home from school, there was no one there; mom was working until 7 p.m.” That history helps Tina and Trina relate to many of the students they meet in their work in the Delta with Forward Arkansas, an education initiative created by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and the state Department of Education. They tell the students they meet, you can be like us. You can be first-generation college students. You can go on and get graduate degrees. The Fletcher twins, 31, did: Tina holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Arkansas and a master’s degree in secondary teacher education from Harvard University. Trina holds a bachelor’s degree in applied engineering from UA Pine Bluff, a master’s degree in operations management from the UA, a second master’s from George Washington University and a doctorate in engineering education from Purdue University. Tina interned with programs in the office of first lady Michelle Obama. Trina interned with Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar and Kellogg’s. One could go on; their accolades are many. Here’s what happened to bring them to work together: About 10 years ago, Tina said, Morrilton High School invited them to speak

to students about their success. “After that experience, we said, ‘We have really interesting stories. We think we could be valuable, to kids like us, first-generation college students, [from homes] with single parents,’ ” Tina said. The twins joined up to become inspirational speakers, going to high schools, nonprofits, churches, telling kids to “take advantage of opportunities” offered by education. They are “blunt and honest,” Trina said, about their own struggles. They also talk about beloved teacher mentors who made the difference in their lives. Then, last January, Forward called, asking Tina and Trina, now incorporated as Fletcher Solutions, to work with Crossett and Lee County as they talk about what they want their school systems to look like. Their job is to help bring people together to talk about what they want from their schools. “A lot of it is just connecting the dots,” getting the community together. “There are resources right in the towns, like access to grant money,” Trina said. For example, Trina said, on her visit to Crossett last week, a meeting brought together folks who may not have been in the same room before: parents, the mayor, the president of the bank, a representative from the community college, all asking, “How do we improve our partnership?” “It’s fascinating, the work that these communities are doing,” Tina said. Trina and Tina hope to improve students’ motivation to get an education, to help “plant

a seed.” To that end, they connected students from Lee County with the UA’s Skilled Trades Camp. The students learned about careers in welding and HVAC, for example; they got to drive 18-wheelers. They also went to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Trina’s hope was that they would then share their experiences with friends back home: There is a big world out there. Forward “is not the magic dust,” Trina said. But she and Tina are helping people in the communities write down what they want to achieve, how they can achieve it and how they can sustain the achievement. Talk about buy-in: The Fletchers provided to school administrators in Crossett and Marianna surveys including 35 questions about what goals for education should be. The surveys, posted on the Crossett school website and distributed on paper in Marianna — with students inputting the results into a computer — elicited 400 responses from Lee County and 375 from Crossett. It’s not known how many downloaded the surveys or were provided the surveys, but the number appeared substantial to the Fletchers. “Even though Forward is educationfocused, it’s really an initiative in building community,” Tina said. Noting that Lee County schools have lost 1,000 students in the past 10 years, Tina said she’s discovered a passion for rural education, and is considering pursuing a doctorate in education, studying the impact of consolidation on small communities — an impact that can kill small towns. Trina’s passion is to get students — girls and students of color especially — interested in STEM studies. And so a future chapter in the twins’ lives: “The 12th Street Collab,” a co-working space for people of all ages to grow their businesses. “That’s a wild animal of its own,” Trina said. The dream has foundations: The twins have bought property on 12th Street in Little Rock zoned commercial. Stay tuned. — Leslie Newell Peacock arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

BILL HALTER

ville’s contract with Scenic Hill, Lester said, the form of property tax revenues. giving the town a great “bang for our buck” But more than the power of the sun or the in public relations. declining cost of solar plants, a factor that The solar plant, being built on 42 acres determines how much a state turns to this owned by the city, will when complete in the cleaner, sustainable energy source is policy. From political to solar middle of next year provide 5 megawatts of North Carolina for example, which produces power. alternating current, enough to power 25 per- 2,000 megawatts of solar energy (compared cent of Clarksville’s households, Lester said. to Arkansas’s 20 mw), requires utilities to hen Clarksville Light and Water Co. The biggest splash Halter’s company, which produce a fraction of their electricity from decided to think about powering does commercial work only, has made was in renewable sources and awards state solar the city-owned utility with solar September 2016, when international cosmetics tax credits. energy, it first looked to Missouri municipal company L’Oreal announced it was partnering Solar power growth in Arkansas could be systems. It next investigated the Arkansas with Scenic Hill to build solar power plants affected by two policies being debated at the Electric Cooperative Corp.’s solar power pur- at the Maybelline plant in North Little Rock state and national level. chasing agreements. and another L’Oreal plant in Kentucky. The The Arkansas Public Service Commission Then, in early 2016, CLW General Manager Kentucky plant is the largest commercial solar will hold a hearing Nov. 30 on its net metering John Lester said, the utility started talking to array in that state. Maybelline’s is the third rules that regulate the price utilities pay when Scenic Hill Solar’s CEO Bill Halter. Halter, the largest commercial project in Arkansas. The they buy excess energy produced by indepenformer lieutenant governor of Arkansas (2007- North Little Rock project, which took only 49 dently owned solar power plants. Entergy 11) whose political career included challenges days to construct, covers 8 acres and provides wants to pay at a lower rate that Halter says to former U.S. Rep. Blanche Lincoln and his 10 percent of the overall energy needs. would reduce the benefit — but not zero it out position as COO of the Social Security AdminisThe projects are like “bookends,” Halter — of generating solar power. tration, incorporated Scenic Hill Solar in 2015. said. Scenic Hill designed and built the solar In September, the International Trade “Bill was more flexible, which accommo- plant for L’Oreal, which the company then Commission ruled that Chinese solar panel dated our needs better,” Lester said. Scenic bought. Scenic Hill owns the plant in Clarks- imports are a threat to American manufacHill’s solar panel technology was another ville, which is buying power from Scenic Hill turers, which would allow the U.S. to impose attraction: Like the compass plant, a prairie at a fixed rate of 5.5 cents per kilowatt-hour tariffs on the panels, making the panels more sunflower, Scenic Hill’s solar panels follow for 30 years. It can lower that price by pur- costly to purchase. That might benefit U.S. the sun as it moves across the sky, rather than chasing the plant from Scenic Hill in seven solar panel manufacturers but harm the indusstaying in one position. How the panels move years, when Scenic Hill’s tax credits expire. try as a whole. is determined by weather stations that comThe reasons companies are turning to solar Still, thanks to New Market Tax Credits pute the positions in which the panels can power are many, Halter said. They can save available from the federal government, Halter best absorb the sunlight. money by owning their own plants or enter- and Clarksville Water and Light are making Halter’s firm was based in Arkansas, as ing long-term contracts at fixed prices and not plans for the future, Lester said. “It’s highly well. “We do business locally, if not with the being vulnerable to the vagaries of electric likely we’re building a second solar facility on state, whenever we can,” Lester said. And grid price volatility. There are environmen- a different property,” Lester said, thanks to because Halter is well known in several circles, tal reasons, because sunlight is a sustain- the credits, created to stimulate the economy. technological as well as political, some 300 able source of power. There are multiple tax — Leslie Newell Peacock nationwide periodicals wrote about Clarks- incentives. There are public benefits, too, in

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ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

PENELOPE POPPERS Helping the most vulnerable.

rom a new office and drop-in cen- the past, she’s been forced to tell kids lookter on the seventh floor of a building ing for shelter to hide the fact they are gay at 300 Spring St. downtown, Lucie’s — no rainbow T-shirts, no mentioning a boyPlace director Penelope Poppers can see the friend or girlfriend — just so they can find streets where many of the clients who come a dry place to sleep. NEW DIGS: For Lucie’s Place downtown. to her organization for help are forced to live. The organization got a big publicity and Lucie’s Place — named in memory of Lit- fundraising boost in 2014, after a #Doutle Rock transgender resident Lucille Marie bleTheDuggars campaign against the Hamilton, who died in 2009 — was estab- Duggar family's $10,000 donation toward not surprising.” lished as a nonprofit in 2012 to provide ser- repealing Fayetteville’s LGBT civil rights “People still have these sort of backward vices for some of the state’s most vulnerable ordinance went viral, including a mention ideas about LGBT people,” she said. “It was homeless people: LGBT youths, the majority by national syndicated columnist and LGBT just a couple loud people. But that leaves me of whom were kicked out of their homes by activist Dan Savage. The group has raised feeling very positive about the state of things. religious parents. $24,000 because of the Duggars’ anti-gay There weren’t a hundred people saying, ‘No, “There are still a lot of religions that have efforts. we don't want this.’ It was just one or two. very anti views on LGBT folks,” Poppers said. Lucie’s Place recently moved into the That’s not my favorite thing, but it’s better “Parents here in Arkansas might hear from larger, 1,000-square-foot office and day than it could be. We could have a hundred their pastors that their LGBT kids are going center. It’s also earned tentative approval people saying they don't want this.” to hell, or shouldn’t deserve to exist or what- to open a group home on Main Street. It While Poppers said that attitudes are ever they say from the pulpit. The parents expects to close on the property in a month. changing, she hopes a generation doesn’t hear that and they repeat the same things to In the new Main Street home, Lucie’s Place have to pass away for life to get truly bettheir kids. A lot of times, they either end up will have 12 beds where young people can ter for LGBT youths. Whatever the case, kicking their kid out of the home for being stay for up to six months before transition- she believes she’s part of that change, and LGBT, or the parent ends up making it so ing to a longer-term independent living necessary for now. bad that the kid just has to leave.” home or their own apartment. The process “My concern is that it's just not getting Since starting the nonprofit, Poppers of getting those beds hasn’t been easy, how- better quick enough for the people that we has learned the harsh reality of life on the ever. An earlier attempt to establish a home see that need things right now,” she said. streets for LGBT youths. Though some in the Leawood neighborhood was met by “That’s why we exist: to catch them when shelters in town will accept LGBT people, protest from a neighbor, leading Lucie’s we need to, when the world has been terPoppers said others that are connected to Place to withdraw the plan. Poppers said rible to them.” churches with anti-LGBT views won’t. In the backlash was “disappointing, but maybe — David Koon arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

RUTH HAWKINS he Arkansas Delta would be a much less would be a way to link a number of the assets interesting place without the almost in the region together.” Working with mayors, two decades of work put in there by county judges and volunteers in the eight counArkansas State University’s Ruth Hawkins. ties Crowley’s Ridge passes through, Hawkins Director of ASU’s Arkansas Heritage Sites and her team eventually succeeded in getting program since it started in 1999, Hawkins the National Scenic Byway designation. Once has been instrumental in spearheading ASU’s that was accomplished, however, they were efforts to save, renovate and preserve histori- faced with another problem: What could they cally important sites all over East Arkansas, direct people to see along the route? including the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum “We knew we had the Delta Cultural Cenand Educational Center in Piggott, where the ter anchoring the southern end [of the scewriter Ernest Hemingway wrote sections of nic byway, in Helena/West Helena]. We had “A Farewell to Arms”; the Southern Tenant Arkansas State University in the middle, and Farmer’s Museum in Tyronza; the Rohwer we had five state parks and a national forest Relocation Camp, where over 8,000 Japanese- along the route,” she said. “But the problem American citizens were incarcerated during was, when you got up to the north end, up near World War II; Lakeport Plantation in Lake Vil- Piggott, there wasn't really a developed attraclage; and the recently restored Johnny Cash tion up there.” At that point, Hawkins began Boyhood Home in the town of Dyess. looking at the ties writer Ernest Hemingway, An employee of ASU for 39 years, Hawkins who married into the Pfeiffer family near Pigwas originally a vice president for institu- gott, had to the region. Eventually, ASU was tional advancement in the late 1990s, when able to acquire and restore the barn Hemingthe university turned its attention to preserv- way sometimes used as a writing studio, as ing the heritage of the area. “We were looking well as the home that belonged to his in-laws, at ways to match up the needs of the Delta and turn them into a museum. region with education programs at the uniFrom there, the Heritage Sites program has versity,” Hawkins said. “One of the things seen a whirlwind of activity, including the full we became aware of was the National Scenic restoration of Lakeport Plantation. Students Byway program. We felt like creating a route use the projects as a kind of laboratory to learn along Crowley’s Ridge, starting up in Clay about the restoration and research that goes County and going down to Phillips County, into historic preservation. It is the restora18

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ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

Heritage champion.

tion of the Cash boyhood home, however, that Hawkins is maybe most proud of. Hawkins said the leaning and neglected house, which the Cash family moved into in 1935, sent a mistaken message to visitors. “People were driving by that and thinking that was what Johnny Cash lived in. They thought he’d lived like that,” she said. “The truth of the matter is that when he lived there, it was a brand-new house. … I really wanted it restored back to the way it looked when the family actually lived there. His mother was very proud of that house. It was the first new house she’d ever lived in.” Purchased by ASU in 2011 and opened to the public in 2014, the Cash house now sends a more correct message about the efforts of FDR’s New Deal in the area, providing visitors with what Hawkins called an “authentic” experience. That authenticity is what restoring old places can provide all over the Delta. “To the extent that a structure can help tell a story, to me, that’s what’s important about preservation,” she said. “That’s true particularly here in the Arkansas Delta. For some reason, the stories are not recorded. We’re beginning to lose so many stories from the Great Depression and the New Deal, the era the Johnny Cash house represents and the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum represents. Many of those people are no longer with us, and the ones who are with us were children when a lot of this happened. So, to me, preservation is important in being able to utilize a structure to help tell the stories that would be lost otherwise.” — David Koon

BRIAN CHILSON

MARIA MENESES DREAMER, fighting.

aria Meneses is counting on the go to school. We are Americans, and we have idea that America will keep her dreams of wanting to better ourselves and promises. wanting to better the United States.” Brought to the United States from GuateIn her work with the UACC, she has talked mala at age 2, Meneses, 19, who formerly served to Arkansas lawmakers tasked with coming as chairwoman of the Progressive Arkansas up with a replacement. Sitting in a coffee shop Youth PAC and works as the United Arkan- near downtown, she cried as she described sas Community Coalition’s Central Arkansas her frustration. Organizer, is a beneficiary of the Obama-era “I’m a 4.0 [GPA] bio-chem pre-med student,” Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals pro- she said. “I want to be a doctor. There’s many gram, which allows undocumented people people like me who want to be nurses, police brought to the United States as minors to stay officers, teachers. They want to contribute. and legally work. Meneses said the election of I know this. I’ve spoken with them. I told Donald Trump has brought a wave of fear in [Arkansas 1st District U.S. Rep.] Rick Crawthe state’s community of approximately 5,000 ford that I wanted to be in the Navy. He said, DACA recipients, both that the program might ‘We’ll help you in your case.’ I said, ‘What about be abolished and that the information they the other [DACA recipients]? Why don’t you gave the government might be used against help them as well?’ He is supposed to reprethem and their families. sent the masses, not just one person.” “It’s very worrisome,” she said. “You don’t Meneses resigned as chair of Progressive know what ICE is going to do with all the Arkansas Youth PAC to serve on the campaign information, what the Department of Home- of Democrat Gwendolynn Combs, who is runland Security is going to do. They know where ning against Rep. French Hill in the 2nd Diswe live, where we work, they know where we trict. She’s also going to college full time and

working a waitressing job while continuing her outreach efforts with the UACC. If DACA recipients are forced to leave the country, Meneses said, we will all be poorer. “I know one DACA recipient who is the mother of a U.S. citizen — a toddler,” she said. “Let’s say she was to be taken away? What happens to that child if she’s not prepared? He goes into the foster system. Things like that. Not only does the removal of DACA affect the recipients and their families, but it also indirectly affects American citizens as well. We pay taxes, none of which we can receive back in return, or any of the benefits they provide.” As for herself, Meneses is at a dark crossroads, having to imagine two futures simultaneously: one in which she serves as a doctor in Arkansas, and another in which she could be deported to a country she can’t remember. Either way, she said, she will face the future with the adaptability immigrants show every day. “Wherever I end up going, whether it’s here in the United States or back to Guatemala, I know that as an immigrant I can adjust quickly and get it together,” she said. “If I can do it here in the United States, I can do it anywhere in the world, as long as I’m willing and dedicated to do it for myself and for those I care about.” — David Koon arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

JOSHUA ASANTE

JOSHUA ASANTE I

Multihyphenate talent.

t seemed like Joshua Asante became the country widely, playing the likes of SXSW and closest thing Little Rock has to a rock star the Newport Folk Festival. It cut an excellent almost overnight. Or maybe you saw it debut LP, “All the World There Is,” in 2014. coming. Maybe you saw him nine years ago It secured a national booking agent and manwhen he was relatively new to town, tall and agement company based in New York and taciturn and hanging out at open mic nights. Nashville. That none of that has translated That’s when he says he started singing out into broader fame or significant remuneration loud again for the first time in decades. (He’d doesn’t strike Asante as a reason to hang it up. stopped when he was 5 or 6; his father and “I feel like a lot of bands don’t make it. That he had fought about him singing. “I was/am five-year mark is like, ‘Whoa, man, we’ve been stubborn,” he says by way of a partial expla- at this for a long time.’ ” But if you have been nation.) The poems he’d been delivering in making good moves and good music, you front of the mic morphed into songs that his should be patient with it.” Success in music friends cheered. Before long, he’d cut an EP is like making a half-court shot, Asante added. and started Velvet Kente, a band full of accom- “But I’ve made a few of those,” he said with plished players who synthesized a broad swath a smile. The band just completed a new EP of black music — ’70s-era funk/soul, West Afri- that Erik Blood, a Seattle producer/engineer can chants, electric blues. The 2009 Arkansas most known for collaborating with Shabazz Times Musicians Showcase was the first time Palaces, is mastering. Asante expects the band many in Little Rock had seen Velvet Kente, to shop it to national labels for release next and that battle-of-the-bands served as a sort year. (Meanwhile, Velvet Kente continues of coronation for Asante and his soul-stirring to play Little Rock shows sporadically, often vocals, powerful enough to quiet a noisy bar. with a massive ensemble, including multiple Velvet Kente won handily and went from a horn players and percussionists on stage. Velband that few people knew to the most in- vet Kente is slated to play South on Main on demand one in town, the rare local act capable New Year’s Eve, debuting many new songs.) of consistently filling Little Rock venues. Then But music is only part of Asante’s creative in 2010, Asante joined up with another group life. He’s long been an accomplished photogof veteran Little Rock musicians and formed rapher and his reputation has grown in recent Amasa Hines, a similarly genre-bending unit years. His tender treatment of his subjects, that pulls as freely from sprawling psychedelic especially of black women, often accented by rock as it does Afro-beat. As Velvet Kente shadows or resplendent in colorful dresses or began to play out more sporadically, Amasa jewelry, has earned him empathetic praise: Hines took its place as the band Little Rock Consistently, the people he shoots tell him, celebrated above all others. before he took their picture, no one had ever Now, almost seven years later, Amasa Hines photographed them the way they saw themhas done all the things a promising band does selves. en route to broader success: It’s toured the Hearne Fine Art has hosted an exhibition 20

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ARKANSAS TIMES

of his photographs, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center has acquired several shots, Coulson Oil commissioned a series of cityscapes from him, and next year, Little Rock’s Et Alia Press will publish a book of his photographs. See his work @joshua_asante on Instagram or at churchofchaos.com. Moreover, he’s been able to carve out a meaningful revenue stream from his work. Despite never advertising himself as a commercial photographer, he shoots portraits for pay about three times a week. “I’ve been obsessing over photography way before I ever picked up a guitar or started writing songs,” he said. “I’ve always been more confident as a photographer. For one thing, I’m framing photographs and portraits in my mind’s eye all the time. It never turns off.” His creative work extends further. He’s laying out a book for celebrated artist Delita Martin, formerly of Little Rock and now of Hufffman, Texas. And he’s the sound engineer on a documentary about the Elaine massacre. Asante, who had a peripatetic childhood throughout the Delta and South, had not visited Elaine in 20 years before going along on the shoot earlier this year. “The black people were terrified that we were there, and the white people were incensed that we were there,” he said. The filmmaker, Michael Wilson of the San Francisco Film Institute, told Asante about a new initiative at the school to recruit nontraditional students into the film program. “I had film school in my 2025 plan,” Asante said. But he said he might jump on the opportunity if it emerges earlier. It’s all part of a broader goal of doing meaningful and financially sustainable work, Asante says. “I want to be in those conversations along with the people I admire, eventually, and I want a level of comfort that comes from my own creative output, rather slaving for somebody else.” — Lindsey Millar

KAT WILSON

LAURA SHATKUS Spearheading experimental theater in Benton County.

he last time this reporter spoke with Laura Shatkus, she was holed up in preparation for an adaptation of “1984” by Lookingglass Theater Artistic Director Andrew White. She included the following dispatch: “Just survived my first hurricane by sleeping inside a movie theatre inside a theatre-theatre in Florida. For my job. Life is an adventure!” It is, particularly if you’re an actor and the founder of the Northwest Arkansas-based theater group ArkansasStaged. The floating theater collective kicked off the year with an Inauguration Day reading of Lauren Gunderson’s “all-female political farce” (“The Taming”) and ended its 2017 lineup with a fully staged Halloween performance of “Empanada Loca,” a macabre take on the legend of Sweeney Todd starring Guadalupe Campos, with the occasion marked by specialty empanadas courtesy of famed chef Matt McClure of The Hive restaurant. Shatkus described the women at that “theatre-theatre in Florida,” The Hippodrome, as “scrappy, strong” and “badass,” and the Arkansas Times couldn’t help but think, upon hearing those words, that she must have fit right in. An aspiring English teacher who jumped ship on her career plans when she discovered she hated student teaching, Shatkus dove headlong into the Chicago acting world without any formal theater training — and actually managed to get work. For a whole decade, even. “I used to joke,” she said, “if somebody said something technical to me in a rehearsal, I would say, ‘Oh, I don’t know what that means. I didn’t go to theater school.’ Brought down the house.” Though her M.F.A. in acting from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville means she’s had to put that quip on the shelf,

Shatkus still embraces the idea of demystifying theater-speak in favor of connecting with an audience — and, despite the title of “artistic and managing director” that precedes her name these days, erring on the side of uncertainty. “I love saying, ‘I don’t know. What do you think?’ ” she said. “And giving people permission to say that, because this art form is totally collaborative.” Collaboration is exactly how ArkansasStaged got going — and how Shatkus ended up at its helm. The company was founded in 2013 by Sabrina Veroczi and Kris Stoker, and after founding a longform improv troupe, made up mostly by women and called 5 Months Pregnant, taking over ArkansasStaged was a natural fit for Shattkus. “In some ways, I was functioning as an artistic director of that little improv group, and I really liked it. And I was pretty good at it! So, when I graduated and started looking at my opportunities it wasn’t a strange fit to go, ‘Hey, here’s a company that has a little bit of some traction already, and a name. And I took over and I started doing the work.” That work includes stagings of “everything from Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary American plays to the poems of Baudelaire and the absurd musings of Gertrude Stein,” it says on the company’s 2018 season fundraising website. The ArkansasStaged performance of Lauren Gunderson’s aforementioned political farce (which generated $1,000 in proceeds for Planned Parenthood) opened at 21c Museum Hotel with a note from the playwright, who waived her royalties for any companies that would perform “The Taming” on President Trump’s Inauguration Day. It ended as follows: “Theatre isn’t supposed to be a safe place, it’s supposed to be a brave place,

so let’s be brave together.” As if in accordance with that mantra, ArkansasStaged has made the most of being without a brick-and-mortar performance space, transforming rooms at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and 21c into sites for George Brant’s “Grounded,” UA professor John Walch’s “Craving Gravy,” Steve Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” Donald Margulies’ “Collected Stories” and David Ives’ “Venus in Fur,” an erotic two-person comedy. “I’m very interested in telling stories that are not being told here,” Shatkus said. “Stories about women, very contemporary theater. Not to say that The Rep [the Arkansas Repertory Theatre] and TheaterSquared aren’t doing that, too, but maybe being independent means I can take more risks,” a couple of those, she said, being “Empanada Loca” and the S&M-heavy “Venus in Fur.” “It’s definitely an R-rated play,” Shatkus told me, “but some of my oldest patrons, who I was afraid were going to be horrified by it, were like: ‘That was the best play ever. I love that woman. Where is she? How can I tell her I love her?” For Shatkus and ArkansasStaged, who are devoted not only to producing plays that amplify and explore the stories and voices of women, but to doing so with a donation-based admission, it turns out that not being beholden to the trappings of a facility (or a board, or a historic legacy) comes with its own set of challenges, but also its own freedom. “I’m just adding to the conversation,” Shatkus said, “with my unique background of appreciation of theater in Chicago, appreciation of experimental theater, appreciation of site-specific theater — using the site to inform the play. And really just giving opportunities to wonderful people that I know are capable of doing the work.” A lot of what’s been done at ArkansasStaged, she said, was a matter of good timing. “Part of being a producer is seeing who should be put together, who makes sense together. How can you bring these forces together to make something good?” — Stephanie Smittle arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Steuart (left) and Tom Walton, Sam Walton’s grandsons.

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

TOM AND STEUART WALTON

taken to it in droves. Pretty quickly after the development of Slaughter Pen, Steuart Walton told Bike Magazine, “Tom was thinking about how we go from 5 to 15 miles and then from 15 to 50 miles, so it was a progressive effort." As it stood in 2015, pedestrian and cyclist activity peaked in the late afternoon and early evening on weekdays, suggesting that use was primarily recreational. Still, the per capita Heirs with a vision. usage of the paved trails clocked in at rates s a kid growing up in Northwest Brightwater, the Momentary will be a space comparable to cities with much longer hisArkansas in the era of bike-centric where cyclists, foodies, artists and the entire tories of trail development, like San Franmovies like “Rad” and “Pee-Wee’s community converge.” Under the direction cisco and Portland, and it’s not far-fetched Big Adventure,” there weren’t many places of Lieven Bertels, formerly the director of the at all to imagine once-sequestered corners to follow up on that cinematic inspiration in Sydney Festival in Australia and the year-long of Bentonville connected to one another. In real life. In fact, there weren’t any bike shops Leeuwarden-Fryslân 2018 European Capital fact, a Google Maps search will tell you that at all. There was the flagship Wal-Mart in of Culture in The Netherlands, the industrial it only takes about five minutes longer to bike Bentonville, where you could stare at rows space — slated to open in 2020 — will be repur- between Crystal Bridges and the Momentary of Huffy cruisers hanging from hooks in neat posed to house art that might not fit so neatly than it does to drive, and future trail networks rows overhead, adorned with the essentials: into the fine-art focus of the nearby Crystal are bound to narrow that gap even further. Disney-themed decals, handlebar streamers, Bridges Museum of American Art, its exposed As for Steuart Walton, when his focus isn’t neon plastic spoke beads. Now, though, over a pipework and warehouse walls in keeping on the trajectory in front of the handlebars, his dozen high-end cyclist outfitters dot a curve with the contemporary, experimental nature thoughts lean skyward. Game Composites, an along Interstate 49 between Bella Vista and of the art within its walls. aircraft company founded in England in 2013 Fayetteville. Thanks to networks of bicycle “Art is transforming lives in Northwest by Walton and Phillip Steinbach, finished trails like Slaughter Pen, piloted by Walmart Arkansas,” Tom Walton said. Before projects construction on its Bentonville production heirs Steuart and Tom Walton, the area has like the Momentary can make a life-changing facility in August 2016. There you can take become a darling of a destination for cyclists impact, though, people have to be able to get entry-level classes in aerobatics — or, if you’ve around the world. The brothers, grandsons to it. And, by way of another one of Tom’s got an extra $400,000 kicking around, cusof Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton, experiments, residents won’t necessarily have tomize your own brand-new GB1 Gamebird, are expanding on the company’s mid-aughts to do that by car. The Momentary sits at 507 a sleek two-seat monoplane that cruises at recruitment efforts with a network of stellar SE E St., about a mile south of Crystal Bridges around 230 mph. singletrack bike trails and projects like the and right on top of the Razorback Regional For those of us with shallower pocketMomentary, a 63,000-square-foot arts space Greenway, a 36-mile off-road, shared-use trail books, we’ll settle for enjoying the fruits of in a defunct Kraft cheese factory. that stretches from Bella Vista to south Fay- the efforts that earned Tom Walton the title of “Cultural experiences are not isolated,” etteville. According to data the Walton Fam- 2016’s Arkansas Tourism Person of the Year: Tom Walton said in an Aug. 31 announcement ily Foundation collected in 2015 by placing world-class museums and green spaces to be on the Walton Foundation’s website. “With its pneumatic tubes and pyro counters along its enjoyed by everyone — even those of us who proximity to the Razorback Regional Green- pathways to calculate cyclist and pedestrian aren’t heirs to a dime-store fortune. way and the recently opened culinary school, traffic, Northwest Arkansas residents have — Stephanie Smittle

BRIAN CHILSON

CHERYL ROORDA, ZACHARY SMITH Sunny entrepreneurs.

ou might call Cheryl Roorda and Zachary Smith Hot Springs’ lowpower couple. That would describe the solar-powered radio station, KUHSFM, 97.9, that Smith directs and Roorda is involved with in her role as president of the board of Low Key Arts, the licensee of the nonprofit station. But you wouldn’t call Roorda and Smith low power. The couple, also known as the polka duo The Itinerant Locals, has invested lots of wattage into their adopted home of Hot Springs. Since moving to the Spa City 14 years ago, they have fulfilled Smith’s longtime dream of creating a community radio station, rehabbed a building at 240 Ouachita Ave. that Roorda says was on its last legs, and are finally on the verge of opening their own restaurant, SQZBX (Roorda plays the accordion), where they’ll serve beer they’ve brewed in their spare time while running a radio station, rehabbing a building, playing every Friday night at the Steinhaus Keller restaurant and beer garden and raising two children.

Smith said he was “underemployed and hanging out in a coffee shop talking philosophy with other underemployed people” in Seattle many years ago when he began to think about creating a radio station that would give musicians and artists access to media. But he didn’t have the resources. In 2013, when the Federal Communications Commission finally promulgated its rules for such low power stations, all the elements were in place: Smith, Roorda, a nonprofit to hold the license — Low Key Arts — and the experience of broadcast engineer Bob Nagy. The community rallied around, especially after it was decided the station would be solar-powered, Smith said, participating in Kickstarter and other fundraisers. The station, which has a license for low power FM, with an equivalency of 100 watts, went online in August 2015. KUHS has 70 volunteers a week — including Smith — who run the station and DJ. The volunteers are from all walks of life — from Karl Haire, a sales rep at Car-Mart, who DJs the “Dad’s House” program (playing “music

I would hear when I spend time with my dad just talking or sharing our life experiences”), to Jane Browning, executive director of the United Way, who DJs “the Heart Beat” (“exploring our community’s needs, challenges and solutions, pulling resources together in volunteer service”), to pastor Mark Maybrey, who DJs the “Blues and Roots Review” (“featuring blues music of all types, roots of rock ’n’ roll, Americana and a special interest in the grooving, soul, bluesy sounds from Muscle Shoals both past & present.”) The station’s reach is 5.6 miles (though there are gaps), but its programing is streamed online. The station will move up the dial next year, to 102.5, which has less interference. The couple hopes to open the SQZBX restaurant and brewery, in the same building as KUHS-FM, in a month to six weeks. The restaurant will feature six of the RoordaSmith family brews and cider on tap, along with pizza, sandwiches and salads. “We’re keeping it real simple,” Smith said. The beers will be German-style, “easy to drink” beers “that let you get up and go to work the next morning,” he said. That puts the opening at just about the time that Smith and Roorda will be honored at Preserve Arkansas’s 2017 Arkansas Preservation Awards dinner with the Excellence in Personal Projects — Commercial award for their work on the Ouachita Avenue building. The event is scheduled for Jan. 19 at the Albert Pike Memorial. — Leslie Newell Peacock arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ONIE NORMAN Delta activist.

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

nie Norman doesn’t tell her age, but hood ditches, Norman said. The soil of Winher career of public service in the chester, a nonporous clay, also made septic Delta does. A resident of Dumas, systems problematic. The problem has been Norman traces her community work back long-running; help from the state has been to the 1980s, when she won a Volunteer of expected for years. Mayor General Alexander the Year Award from Gov. Bill Clinton. In told Norman he’d “run up against a brick wall” the 1990s and early 2000s, she worked with after a grant in 2016 did not get funded, and the Kellogg Foundation on community- took Norman on a tour of the town, where she building and get-out-the vote programs. learned the smell was so bad that people were She served as a justice of the peace in Desha being made nauseous; they could not even sit County for eight years, and ran for mayor outside. Norman started making phone calls twice and once for county judge, winning and writing emails. The state Department of neither seat but showing, she believes, that Health, legislators from Drew County, Govan African-American woman has every ernor Hutchinson, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, much right to seek office as a white person the Arkansas Economic Development Comof any sex. She ran a childcare center for mission. No luck. 27 years to earn her living, but volunteered, Then, she said she thought, “We’ve got to then and now, with the Arkansas Public bring this to the public.” TV stations KLRT, Policy Panel, the University of Arkansas for Fox 16, and KARK, Channel 4, took up the Medical Sciences’ College for Public Health cause in August, shooting footage of the raw and the Delta Citizens Alliance. In 2009, sewage and interviewing residents. In Sepshe won an Arkansas Democratic Black tember, the deputy director of the Arkansas Caucus President’s Award for her activism. Natural Resources Commission announced “She’s unabashed. She’ll ask questions of the commission would provide Dumas with anybody. She may make people in power $3.9 million to bring Pickens and Winchester uncomfortable, but she’s not intimidated,” said into the system and another $2.3 million to Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Public connect to Dumas’ drinking water system. Policy Panel. The towns are still working out the agreement. “I’m just trying to make a difference in my Norman also serves on the Housing Authorcommunity,” Norman said. ity for Dumas, which recently opened The Recently, Norman worked with the mayor Woodlands, a renovated apartment complex of Winchester to bring attention to the town’s in an area Norman described as previously sewage problems. Residents of the tiny town of blighted. She is pushing for the creation of 167 or so who either couldn’t afford to install a Boys and Girls Club in Dumas that would or keep septic systems in good repair were serve the children of Gould as well. “She has piping their sewage straight into neighbor- good ideas,” Dumas Mayor Johnny Brigham

said. “Sometimes she gets in a little bit of a hurry” to see them funded, he added. Tangible results of Norman’s activism, like an apartment building or a sewer project, may be limited, but she believes simply bringing the problems of the Delta to light — its lingering “Jim Crow” mentality that has kept the African-American residents, which represent more than half the population, impoverished; fear of a change in the status quo by decisionmakers; laws in the legislature on food stamps and the like — is accomplishment in itself. She is proud of her work with the Public Policy Panel, helping people understand how the political system works, that the public has a voice and should use it. “When I served on the Quorum Court, I tried to empower people. People would say, ‘You can marry people now.’ She told them that there was far more to being a justice of the peace than that. Her unsuccessful runs for mayor — the first black woman to run — and for county judge “opened doors and minds for people. I did it to show that any African American can do this.” Norman said people from the community have helped outsiders — “we’ve trained the researchers” — to understand to whom they should be talking to address needs, and it’s not just the entrenched power structure. For example, the efforts to promote tourism, like creating the bike trail down the Mississippi levee, are fine, she said — but most people who actually live in Delta towns won’t be enjoying those trails. “I think our elected officials let us down,” Norman said. “I would like to see people hold them accountable. … We’ve had people on the Quorum Court for 30 or 40 years. Now look, let’s be real. That’s a long time. … You don’t have that energy anymore. They’re good people, but once they get in, they don’t have an opponent.” — Leslie Newell Peacock

BRIAN CHILSON

NITIN AGARWAL T

Researcher studies how social media legitimizes disinformation.

he same day the Arkansas Times But, lately, it’s been the ugly: how bots spoke to Nitin Agarwal in his office help cloud and haze messaging to dismanat the University of Arkansas at Lit- tle truth; the way radicalization works in tle Rock, three major Internet media com- online communities, especially with ISIS; panies — Facebook, Twitter and Google — how fringe narratives go from blogs to maintestified before Congress. Each company stream sources. was grilled on its failure to regulate a masFor someone tasked with picking at the sive disinformation and misinformation things that keep some of us up at night, Agarcampaign committed by Russia during wal was surprisingly chipper, and positive, last year’s presidential election on their when a reporter walked into the office; offerplatforms. ing him almond chocolates from a recent trip While some questions veered into the to Turkey because, he said, he’s been “going political milieu of the point of the cyber through them faster than I should.” deception (to elect Donald Trump, accordAgarwal came to studying social media ing to U.S. intelligence), it was also a much before the doomsday proclamations of the broader moment. An “initial public reckon- death of truth were infused into the zeiting,” according to The New York Times, as a geist. In 2003, when he graduated from the question, and fear, lingered over the preced- prestigious Indian Institute of Information ing: How does democracy work in a world Technologies and began applying for graduate dominated by social media? programs in the United States, Mark ZuckSince 2009, Agarwal, professor of informa- erberg had not yet created Facebook. By the tion sciences, has been paid by, among others, time he graduated six years later with a docthe National Science Foundation, the Office of torate from Arizona State University, “social Naval Research and now the Department of [media] was just gaining momentum,” he said. Defense — with a massive $7.5 million, fiveHis background and work had largely year grant — to study the dissemination of been in investigating large sets of data from information on social media. He’s looking at a mechanical background. He looked at the the effect of social media on human behavior, burgeoning internet as a “viable data collechuman behavior on social media and then how tion platform” to harvest huge amounts of that new social media affects ... well, it just information about “how human behavior in keeps going. “It’s kind of a co-evolution, how society evolves,” he said. With this in mind, the behavior is changing and how the social in August 2009, Agarwal came to UALR as media platforms are changing,” he said, creat- a professor and “found a home here,” he said. ing a cycle of influence. His research tries to After a few years studying blogs, Agarwal suss out this push and pull to create a “sort of started seeing the effect of tweets and bots a digital ethnography” of information online. on human behavior. In creating these ethnographies, Agarwal In, 2013 Russia annexed Georgia and said his team looks “at that from the entire waged “regular warfare as well as cyber range of good, bad and ugly.” warfare ... disseminating false narratives ...

trying to inject this narrative so that they can influence the local population and the local people are thinking,” he said. The Russian government, just as governments have done for years, hoped to use propaganda to legitimize the effort. “This is not a new problem. Look at what happened during WWII. Instead of pamphlets being dropped from the airplanes, now it is tweets,” Agarwal said. “[Social media] has made the dissemination much faster, the content travels much faster.” In part, this speed was because of the new “menace of the bots,” another weapon in cyber warfare’s arsenal. Agarwal has a large graphic of a group that uses bots on social media: ISIS. The swirling graphic depicts 80,000 to 100,000 Twitter account estimated to be linked together to spread a certain message. Whereas ISIS may use a chatroom to recruit users, bots help distort truth. Users will program bots to, for example, pick a certain hashtag and flood it with tweets, often coded with misinformation from both sides of the issue. “The goal is not to have a certain outcome — the higher goal is to create divisions in the society, to polarize discussion in society; to unravel the fabric of democracy in the free world,” Agarwal said. This deluge of mass information muddles the truth. “Social media has done tremendous damage in that aspect,” he said. But, Agarwal and his group COSMOS — Collaboratorium for Social Media and Online Behavior Studies, composed of graduate students from around the world — see a system that has been created and can be changed. “The entire goal is to find out what kind of models can be used to counter this information,” he said. “We can take one of the two paths. We can just completely ignore, deny what is out there. Which,” he says immediately, “is not an option.” Or, “we get involved in these discussions,” he continues, “and the community can rally around this issue.” — Jacob Rosenberg arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

BRIAN CHILSON

Making a rare bipartisan push for considering race in policy.

n September, state Sens. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock) and Jim Hendren (R-Sulphur Springs) proposed an eight-member bipartisan panel — composed equally of Republicans and Democrats — to discuss how race affects policy and life in Arkansas and look for ways the legislature could work to address race relations in the state. The Arkansas Legislative Council soundly rejected their proposal. But Hendren and Elliott say they want to continue to discuss race, because of the unrecognized role it plays in politics and Arkansans’ lives, including their own. They talked about their proposal and their desires to keep talking about race relations at a recent Political Animals Club meeting in Little Rock. Growing up in South Arkansas, “I was uncannily aware of the savage inequalities,” Elliott said. “I loved hanging around the old people and listening to what they were saying. That’s when I learned so much about people being afraid and knowing things just were not equal. And, eventually knowing it was all embedded in race.” She recalled going to a school that was not integrated and saying the Pledge of Allegiance or reading the founding documents “knowing it was not true” based on her experiences with racism. 26

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ARKANSAS TIMES

“That just became part of a bedrock for me, of knowing someday I’m going to do something about race. Because it shouldn’t be this way. And I was a child, but I never lost that desire,” she said. As a legislator, Elliott has been a dogged champion for policies that push back against structural racism. Especially in recent years, with Republicans in control of the legislature, that has been an uphill battle. Hendren said he grew up going to a school that was “100 percent white” in Northwest Arkansas. “I guess I would say I was naive and uninformed about the world that many people live in,” he said, “and also, even our own history.” After college at the University of Arkansas, Hendren joined the Air Force and “that’s where I really started to have my eyes opened.” “I can tell you, I may have been taught the Little Rock Nine and what happened at Central High, but it certainly didn’t sink in and I didn’t understand it,” he said. “As a National Guardsman for 15 years, to think that the governor would activate the Guard to come and keep kids out of the school. ... And then to have the president nationalize them and say, ‘No you’re not, you’re going to protect those kids.’ That’s such an amazing thing.

BRIAN CHILSON

SENS. JOYCE ELLIOTT AND JIM HENDREN

“I think so many kids — all across our state — don’t fully understand the period from 1865 to the present and what happens in our country with regard to race relations,” he said. For Elliott, racism is structural. She pointed to a structural column in the room where the Political Animals were meeting. “It’s like it’s embedded in that column, you don’t know what’s holding that column up and something is. You take for granted it’s going to stand. You don’t go around wondering what’s holding it up,” she said. “It’s structured into the systems we have.” Hendren said he agreed that bias was built into some systems and they “need to be fixed.” But, Hendren said he did not want to discuss the “abstract” nature of racism. He wanted “facts and figures.” And, he added, “What I will not agree is that there is a unanimous effort to be racist.” “I don’t just have the time and desire to do that, if we’re just going to talk about stuff, if things are not going to change,” he told the Arkansas Times. “Let’s look at the facts, let’s define that problem. Then, how do we fix it?” he said. The idea of considering these issues is not an unusual idea — or a new one — to deal with a country’s “original sin,” Elliott said. She talked about South Africa’s reconciliation councils after apartheid and the commissions established after genocide in Rwanda. “That is a beacon of an example of how you confront tough issues and do something about [them]. When something becomes unacceptable, you do something,” she said. Hendren and Elliott promised to continue the discussion and will push the committee forward in the future. — Jacob Rosenberg

JUDGES TOMMY FOWLER AND DAVID BOLING Taking on a private probation company.

Prolific at 20, a producer is trying to make sense of a digital world.

n YouTube comments for through elegant electronic pulsaYuni Wa’s “So 1989” (which tions. His music has been called had 998,858 views in early Vaporwave, though thinks he’s more November), no one talks about expansive. Little Rock, or the legacy of the Vaporwave is an attempt at nosStifft Station neighborhood where talgic reconstruction of consumerhe lives with his grandmother in a first music from the ’80s and ’90s. house across from the old Wood- It’s a sub-sub-sub-genre of elecruff Elementary School, making tronic music. Imagine remixed beats on a Dell Inspiron desktop Muzak into a slow, smooth heartcomputer. The commenters do not felt jam. try to guess his real name (which Unlike the classic model of local is Princeton Coleman; he chose sensation, who climbs the ladder Yuni Wa because it means “uni- of the scene, he went global before versal” in Japanese in a shortened going local. form, and “it’s a cool language, lit“My relationship with Little erally an artform,” he said). They Rock isn’t too, too good,” he told don’t call him, me. Mostly he’s at 20 years old, achieved suca wunderkind. cess online. His And they don’t album covers talk about how are made by a he has already guy who lives put out 25 in the Nether“projects” — LPs lands, he said. and EPs mostly, His 20,000-plus some beat tapes. monthly Spotify Instead, they listeners, 9,336 write things like, followers on “I need a 10-hour SoundCloud and version of this,” the 233,587 who and “I’d rather have viewed live in this video his YouTube than my own channel are not life” and “I’M concentrated IN LOVE.” in Little Rock. Yuni Wa is a sound and force from Sometimes he even struggles to their computer. “It’s very personal book shows. “We’re still facing the and impersonal at the same time,” local gatekeepers now,” he said. the soft-spoken Wa said of his music. The “we” is a growing creative As Wa, he has jam-packed his collective that regularly meets at consciousness into his music. “It’s Paramount Skate Shop in North a lot of emotion,” he said. “Because, Little Rock, trying to create an I grew up in poverty and … .” He “in-house society of creatives,” he trailed off for a moment. Then says, so they can photograph and Wa began to discuss a few things film and produce away from the vaguely, including, but not lim- current structures of art in Little ited to, absent parents and lost Rock. The group includes rappers siblings. “I really speak with my Goon Des Garcons, Solo Jaxon and music,” he said. “Because technol- Fresco Grey. Wa creates beats for ogy can allow for people like me them. Sort of like BROCKHAMP… I just think about sound. I just TON, they’ve revolted against know sound. You know when you joining other scenes or systems, know what you’re doing? You can’t creating their own instead. Some always conceptualize it in words.” of them have moved to Los AngeWa’s songs don’t have specific les, and Wa said he’s considering references to personal tragedies. moving, too. Instead, he conveys his emotions — Jacob Rosenberg BRIAN CHILSON

BRIAN CHILSON

hen Tommy Fowler and Sun about a man who was selling his David Boling ran for sep- plasma each day to afford the fines. arate district judge posi- Another probationer, after not paying tions in 2016, both talked about a a $25 seatbelt ticket, saw the charges problem in Craighead County Dis- blossom to $2,400 in fines, 40 hours of trict Court: The Justice Network. community service and 10 days in jail, The for-profit, Memphis-based orga- the Sun reported. nization had run probation services In January 2017, both men took for more than 20 years in the county office and promised to kick The Jusand had been known to keep people tice Network out by July 2017. In the convicted of misdemeanor offenses meantime, they have worked on stoplocked in a cycle of debt fueled by gap amnesty programs to help people high fines and fees. pay fines or have them waived. It was a “In our move meant courts, we to f undahave three mentally options we change the can do,” Bolcou r t s y sing told The tem in CraigJo n e s b o r o head County Sun in 2016 for the better. during his To give an ca mpaig n. idea of scale “You can do of the probprobation, lem, accordyou can do ing to the community nonpartisan service and news orgayou can do nization The f ines. And Marshall I think one Project: In of the misAugust 2016, takes that is Boling had occurring is 34 people that of tencome before times peoh i m ; on ly ple are being six were FOWLER: As Craighead County district judge, he caught up ended the county’s reliance on private probation. accused of in the cycle crimes while because they the rest a re b ei ng were there hammered with all three ... . Often- to address issues stemming from The times these people ... they’re the work- Justice Network. ing poor, that are on the margins.” The Justice Network sued the judges Fowler also talked to the Sun about in June. It said it was contractually oblithe company. “It’s not a money-making gated to receive the money from the arm of the government ... . If it’s priva- imposed fines and fees. No court date tized, that’s what’s left. It’s to make sure has been set for the lawsuit. (Fowler enough people are coming through to and Boling declined to be interviewed meet the bottom line.” by the Arkansas Times, citing the pendAn Arkansas State University stu- ing lawsuit.) dent researching the subject told the — Jacob Rosenberg

YUNI WA

arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

Arts Entertainment 180 grams of mood AND

Room Records] his investment in the project back along the way as a bonus.

A Q&A with Andrew Morgan. BY T.J. DEETER

What other house records have come out of Arkansas? I honestly don’t know. There’s certainly heads of all ages out there. And surely some of them have produced music over the years, and maybe some of it’s even good. I mean house/techno/ whatever’s been around now for nearly 40 years. Would love to hear some Arkansas gems if they’re out there.

snippet of something, a phrase or just a high hat sound or whatever it may be, I’ll take a snapshot of it with the MPC [Music Production Controller] and play with it, see where it takes me.

What about dreams? I know you have always had a fascination with them. Dreams probably played a bigger role when I was writing more lyrics in band situations. I’d mix dream scenarios with real life ones to keep things interesting. With this, making house music and beat stuff, I dunno. One recurring thing in my dreams is finding an old room of mine, a bedroom or something, and I know I’ve still got an old fourtrack recorder in there and a box of tapes and maybe there’s some real magical music I made years ago hidden in there. Hidden treasure! But I rarely, if ever, in the dream, make it to the point of cracking that code, or hearing anything from this mythical box of tapes.

Waveland, Miss., down on the coast ver the last 15 years, Andrew near the Louisiana border. It was Morgan — as a musician in ground zero when Katrina made various local bands and as landfall. My title is also a reference How much does random chance a producer with solo projects — has to the book “Waveland” by Fred play into creating your music? How amassed a formidable catalog. He was Barthelme. The book’s definitely a bit do you go about choosing samples? one half of the rock duo Chinese Girls and, under monikers like Ettiem (and now, Country Florist), he’s churned out some supremely smoky disco that works as well on the headphones as it might in a club at 3 a.m. Country Florist’s trilogy tapes, released by Drawing Room Records, drew international notice, including a spot on Dave Tompkin’s “My Are you still Everyday Shit, recording with Every Night tape? Why do Shit: Songs That you prefer it? Actually Came Yes. Everything Out This Year on “Waveland” That I Listened has spent time on to the Most” list tape via my trusty for the Paris INTO THE RED: Andrew Morgan channels the Gulf Coast, a Frederick Barthelme book and a recurring dream on the latest from Country Yamaha MT4X. Florist, “Waveland.” Review. On Oct. I’ve been using it 20, Morgan and since about 2002, Drawing Room Records released of a downer, but then, so is the Gulf These two questions live together and I know how to get out of it what another full length Country Florist Coast in a lot of ways. in my mind. I might sit down with a I want. And I just love the sound of album, “Waveland,” cited by the label general idea of what kind of groove I’m pushing signals into the red on tape. as Morgan’s “most ‘official’ musical What are your goals with this looking to create based on my energy offering.” whole thing? and mood. I let listening guide me. Is that why you put out tapes as Damn. Well, if I’m honest, it’s to I’ll grab a stack of records — recent releases? Don’t you want to be heard Did you know there is a town in make the greatest house records to things I’ve picked up or old faves I’m by as many as people as possible? Arkansas called Waveland? ever come out of Arkansas. And maybe revisiting or whatever’s stacked near First, let me say that Waveland is I didn’t. The record’s named for make Jeff [Kuykendall, of Drawing me — and just listen. If I hear a little available as a limited vinyl LP and

BRIAN CHILSON

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

ROCK CANDY

NOVEMBER 17 IN THE

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

A&E NEWS digitally. The initial trilogy of Country Florist releases came out on cassette, and that seemed like an appropriate way to present it; it all came from tapes. Everything I’ve done through Drawing Room Records is available digitally, and accessibility is important. But having physical objects, artifacts, is important to me, and to the label also. What is it about having an artifact? Having something in your hand that went through the whole manufacturing process, the stages of which involved other creative and skillful people to pull off, is a cool thing. It connects you physically to all of that. And humans like to collect objects that hold personal significance, whether it’s like some rock you found that looks like a wicked skull or my new record. Besides music, where do you draw inf luences from? What’s your go-to shit? So-called “Black Twitter” is a go-to. The perspectives there give me hope. It’s very educational. The future is black, brown and female. Also, I loved having the chance to see Werner Herzog in person recently at UCA in Conway. His take on things gets mischaracterized by a lot of folks, I think. Like, they come for the existential despair or whatever, but he’s actually quite lifeaffirming. And he reminded us that your art, even if not overtly political, is an act of defiance. I’m into that notion. Can’t stop won’t stop. Country Florist’s “Waveland” can be streamed and purchased on Bandcamp at drawingroomrecords. bandcamp.com.

ALONG WITH PUBLISHING some intriguing new titles for pre-order — Joseph Osmundson’s “Inside/Out” and an anthology called “Subject To Change: Trans Poetry and Conversation,” to name a couple — Little Rock’s Sibling Rivalry Press is taking applications for its Undocupoets Fellowship, a campaign founded in 2015 to counterbalance (read as: protest) the practices of first-book fellowship programs in which undocumented poets could not participate. In partnership with Amazon Literary Partnership, Sibling Rivalry Press “will grant TWO $500 fellowships, with no strings attached, to undocumented or formerly undocumented poets to help defray the cost of poetry-related submission fees,” the press’ website reads. At least one of those will go to a poet who identifies as LGBT on the application. There is no application fee. The deadline is midnight Dec. 31; apply or make a donation at siblingrivalrypress.com/ undocupoets-fellowship. THE FULCRUM, A one-day festival from Infinity Music Group slated for March 17, 2018, is conducting a public poll to gauge interest in the lineup and, organizer Cliff Aaron says, is “financially ready” to confirm the acts therein: names like D’Angelo, Kelly Clarkson, The Roots, Sza or Solange Knowles. Perhaps because Little Rock residents are eager to imagine Riverfest’s successor, or maybe because The Fulcrum is soliciting applications for an auxiliary “Arkansas Only” stage, the project is being compared to the late Memorial Day festival, but Aaron said the target audience for The Fulcrum skews squarely toward the 18-30 age range. Infinity Music Group is DJ Nick Hud; Aaron, of Drummerboyinfinity Productions; and Susan Erwin Prowse and Cliff Prowse of North Little Rock’s Big Red Dog Studios LLC. Find out more and cast your vote at the fulcrum.live/poll. THE OXFORD AMERICAN’S annual music issue explores the music of Kentucky in 160 pages with five alternating covers featuring the music of “country music innovator Sturgill Simpson [of Jackson], Louisville rapper James Lindsey, Paducah troubadour J.D. Wilkes and Commonwealth icons Les McCann and Loretta Lynn,” a press release reads. The accompanying 27-track compilation also features an all-female octet version of the 18th century murder ballad “Pretty Polly,” recorded in Louisville this summer for the magazine’s exclusive release. The issue hits newsstands Nov. 21; pre-order a copy at oxfordamericangoods.org.

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LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE AND LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

‘MY STRANGE NATION’: On the heels of releasing the Cuban percussion-laden EP “An American in Havana,” the Susan Werner Trio performs at Walton Arts Center.

THURSDAY 11/9 crowd, too on the nose for the crowd at the Village Vanguard. Even those less than en7:30 p.m. Walton Arts Center, Starr Theater. chanted by Werner, though, would be wrong For a telling portrait of an artist at two to deny her sheer ingenuity when it comes to career chapters separated by a decade, ob- songwriting. See the earnestly critical “(Why serve Susan Werner at the piano for 2007’s Is Your) Heaven So Small,” or the tune “City “Strange Nation,” revised in 2017 to reflect the Kids” from her agri-themed album “Hay“WTF” tone du jour. A few of the particulars seed,” in which farmers at a market gouge remain the same: “My Strange Nation gave urbanite hipsters as recompense for all the the Indians our germs/They surrendered on shit they endured as — well, hayseeds — our terms — as in, died/Their survivors filed while their in-town peers “had carpet on the appeals/so we gave them roulette wheels,/ stairs, had beanbag chairs, they kept diaries.” My strange nation, America.” A mid-aughts Or the rose-colored, syrupy “May I Suggest” anti-war verse, though, is supplanted by a which, if you’re cynical enough to make it couple of Trump jabs: “My strange nation/ through without so much as a dreamy look, now has an autocrat/and an orange one, at means you need to triple your dose of “It’s that, at the helm.” Werner’s occupied a a Wonderful Life” here in a month or so, strange little corner of contemporary folk Scrooge McDuck. SS music; too fluid and jazzy for the Lilith Fair

SUSAN WERNER TRIO

THURSDAY 11/9-SUNDAY 11/12

EL DORADO FILM FESTIVAL Various times. South Arkansas Arts Center and Murphy Arts District. $15$125.

The El Dorado Film Festival’s not new, but thanks to a thoroughly renovated downtown, it’s got some new digs to stretch out in. There’s the Griffin Restaurant, an “industrial chic” farm-to-table operation where homegrown crooner Barrett Baber will play opening night, and the adjacent Griffin Music Hall, where The Legendary Pacers (sans the late Sonny Burgess, whose life is outlined in one of the festival selected shorts, Nathan Willis’ “The Arkansas Wild Man”) and Dennis Quaid & The Sharks are to play festival parties. You can check out the latest in Arkansas-made films: “Door in the Woods,” “The Devil Made Me Do

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

FRIDAY 11/10 It,” “Blind Date” and “Into the Green.” Maybe most notable is the regional premiere of Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying,” with Steve Carell, Laurence Fishburne and Bryan Cranston at the forefront. Like Linklater’s predecessor “Boyhood,” it tackles some high-minded questions about life, aging and family. Maybe even more relevantly, though, it asks what it is to be a patriot — a question that’s come into sharp focus in the Trump era, and one Linklater explored in an interview with NPR’s “All Things Considered” last week, eventually concluding: “The patriotic thing is to, actually, if you care about the troops, to make sure that they’re actually well taken care of and that if they’re going to die, it’s going to be really for our freedoms, you know.” Check out eldofilmfest. com for tickets and a full schedule. SS

2ND FRIDAY ART NIGHT 5-8 p.m., downtown venues. Free.

Friday’s hunt for fine art, crafts and craft beer will find plenty to see, buy and imbibe. The Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St., serves up a new show, “Natural Crafts: Fiber. Clay. Metal.,” live music by John Willis Music and Fallen Queen Belgian Witbier by New Province Brewing Co. of Rogers. The show — which is why you’re there, right? — features work by 2017 Arkansas Arts Council 2017 Fellowship recipients: fabric artist Sofia V. Gonzalez, ceramicist Hannah May and sculptor Kerrick Hartman. The Butler Center, 401 President Clinton Ave., opens the Arkansas Pastel Society show, “Reflections in Pastel”; DJ Mike Poe will provide the music.

The Cox Creative Center, 120 River Market Ave., features new drawings by Brian Madden; nearby, at 300 River Market Ave., the shop Beige is showing work by Capital View Studio owner Bryan Frazier. On the way to the Old State House to see “Young Frankenstein,” grab a coffee at Nexus, 301B Clinton Ave., and check out the cafe’s art. Then head south, stopping in at Gallery 221 at Second and Center streets and Bella Vita, 523 Louisiana St.; the latter is celebrating its third anniversary with calendar artist Kim Doughty McCannon, a hot cocoa bar from Loblolly Creamery and birthday cake. Find new oil paintings just around the corner at McLeod’s Fine Art, 108 W. Sixth St. Mariposa photography studio, 229 W. Capitol Ave., will also be open. LNP

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 11/9

FRIDAY 11/10

‘HONORING CITIZENSHIP’ 7 p.m. Great Hall, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Free.

Described by the LA Times as “a troublemaker, a true subversive,” Victoria Marks has been stirring the pot in the world of choreography since the early 1980s. A 1986 review in The New York Times lauded her “wit and imagination” in moments like the aromantic tug of war in “What Holds You,” which superimposed words like “you” and “him” on white costumes and phrases like “no sense” and “your good taste” on the backdrop. Over 30 years later, Marks, a Guggenheim Fellow and a revered voice in modern dance, is still aiming for the literal and the specific, as in this Veteran’s Day (observed) show for Crystal Bridges’ Performance Lab series, in which pieces titled “Veterans” and “Not About Iraq” are interspersed “with short film works that question the place of the body in matters of heroism, valor, and truth,” the event page reads. SS

A DISPATCH FROM BIG BOT: Chad Maupin’s “Astro Pulp” opens with a reception at the THEA Foundation Friday evening.

FRIDAY 11/10

PEER REVUE

8 p.m. Museum of Discovery. $12-$15.

If you’ve ever discussed a scene from “Contact” with a science-minded friend, it’s entirely possible you’re forever convinced that science and entertainment don’t mix. Consider this, though: Bill Nye. Richard Feynman. Doc Brown. Right? Scientists can be funny, or at least a few of them can, and this series — piloting events in Colorado Springs, Denver and Little Rock — aims to prove it. To do that, they’ve developed what they’re calling a “thinking person’s comedy night,” an evening in which scientists are thrown on stage and asked to perform eight-minute sets “about the cool stuff that they know.” Doors open at 7 p.m., and they’ll have a few menu items from the nearby Damgoode Pies for sale, as well as a cash bar. SS

FRIDAY 11/10

GIRLS TRIP: LADIES NIGHT OUT 9:30 p.m. South on Main. $15.

DJ G-Force, the musical snake charmer behind many a Discovery Nightclub patron’s decision to “just have one more hurricane and then we’ll call an Uber”; Bijoux, the dulcet-toned contralto that acts as secret weapon to the Rodney Block Collective and Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe; and Block himself are teaming up for this one, and they’re bringing the ’90s with them. Girl groups like SWV, TLC and the less acronym-y Brownstone and Xscape get Block’s “future house” treatment in an acoustic setting that finesses treble sounds like the trumpet. SS

FRIDAY 11/10

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas hosts Community Night, with tours of the Arkansas Artmobile and a science exhibit on sensory perception, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Brian Nahlen and Nick Devlin duet at Cajun’s Wharf for happy hour, 5:30 p.m., free, followed by a late-night set from Charlotte Taylor, 9 p.m., $5. The Foul Play Cabaret burlesque troupe takes the stage at The Joint Theater & Coffeehouse, 8 p.m., $10. The White Water Tavern hosts acoustic poets Peter Case (formerly of The Plimsouls) and Kevin Kerby, 9 p.m. Country star and Natural State native Ashley McBryde returns to Arkansas for “Heroes and Legends,” a show at the Vada Sheid Community Development Center on the campus of Arkansas State University-Mountain Home, 6 p.m., $10-$15. Comedian Julie Scoggins goes for laughs at The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., $8-$12. Father James Martin leads “a conversation about how the church and the LGBT community can enter into a relationship of respect, compassion and sensitivity” for “Building a Bridge,” 7 p.m., St. John’s Catholic Center, 2500 North Tyler St., Fitzgerald Hall, free. The University of Arkansas Latin American Ensemble performs “A Trip to the Caribbean,” a pop-up concert at Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale, 7:30 p.m., $10.

FRIDAY 11/10

‘ASTRO PULP’ 6:30 p.m. Thea Foundation. $10.

Fayetteville illustrator Chad Maupin’s pulp-inspired worlds are made of the same stuff as “Man or Astroman?” album art and the movie “Mars Attacks!” — monsters, outer space, lasers, faraway planets. Under the alias “Big Bot,” the California native and head of the Fayetteville artist cooperative CattyWampus has created a show that looks like individual panels of a “Lars of Mars” storyline — or, in the words his biography uses, emulating “the processes of pulp printing techniques … taking these tropes of childhood mythology and using them to illuminate the archetypes they represent in us all.” Maupin’s “Astro Pulp,” up at the Thea Foundation until Dec. 8, opens with this reception, where your admission also gets you heavy hors d’oeuvres by Ben E. Keith, an open beer and wine bar and the opportunity to win an original print by Maupin. The show is part of Thea’s The Art Department series showing work by emerging and established artists. SS

The fourth installment of “Sushi & Chill” at Chi’s Asian Cafe, 3421 Old Cantrell Road, features live music from Koncept, spoken word poetry from Karbon Theorist and comedy from Ronel Williams, 10 p.m., $5. Sad Daddy takes jug-inspired tunes like “Mama Don’t Cook It” to Maxine’s in Hot Springs, 9 p.m., $5. Marilyn Keiser, a highly accomplished scholar and performer of pipe organ music, plays works by Durufle, Bach and others at Christ Episcopal Church, 8 p.m., free. DeFrance takes the stage with its new lineup at Four Quarter Bar, 10 p.m., and does it all again at 2 a.m. at Midtown Billiards. The Yarn, a storytelling organization, partners with The Clinton School of Public Service to bring “Headstrong: Stories of Mental Emotional Health” to the New Deal Salon series, 7 p.m., 2003 S. Louisiana St. Nerd Eye Blind plays at Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Silks Bar & Grill, free. Mother Hubbard performs at West End Smokehouse, 10 p.m., $7. The New Town Blues Band fires up its set at Markham Street Grill and Pub, 8:30 p.m., free. Some Guy Named Robb performs for happy hour at Cajun’s, 5:30 p.m., and Brian Nahlen returns with his full band, 9 p.m., $5. The Arkansas Arts Center opens its annual CONTINUED ON PAGE 33

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THE

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BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE AND LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

FRIDAY 11/10

‘BIG BANDS & BALLET’ 7 p.m. Center for Humanities and the Arts, Pulaski Technical College. $20.

The year 2017 has been one of transi- stage at Pulaski Tech’s CHARTS for “Big tion for Ballet Arkansas. The company ex- Bands & Ballet,” a throwback tribute to the panded its programming and outreach at its swing era with live accompaniment from home on Main Street with the casual “Mo- the UA Little Rock Jazz Ensemble. If you tion on Main” soirees and “Open Class Di- can’t make the main event, check them out vision,” courses for adults or aspiring danc- Saturday afternoon at 520 Main St. Ballet ers of all skill levels. It’s also welcomed two Arkansas is replacing its usual matinees new leaders this summer: Artistic Director with children’s programming; this time, it Michael Fothergill and Associate Artis- offers a performance of Prokofiev’s “Peter tic Director Catherine Garratt Fothergill, and the Wolf” with children’s activities both formerly of the Alabama Ballet. With pre- and post-performance. SS this show, the company gets cozy with the

SATURDAY 11/11 FROM A NORTHERLY PRAIRIE: Saskatchewan songwriter Colter Wall performs at the Pro Auto Listening Room Thursday evening and at Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack Friday night.

FRIDAY 11/10

COLTER WALL

WHITNEY ROSE, BONNIE MONTGOMERY 9 p.m. White Water Tavern.

From the same country traditionalist scene that’s made a place for voices like Margo Price and our own Bonnie Montgomery comes Whitney Rose, sounding like The Shangri-Las and Lesley Gore and looking like Linda Ronstadt circa 1969 on

the “Johnny Cash Show.” Rose will have her latest, “Rule 62,” on hand and, if we’re lucky, we’ll get to hear a glimpse of the album on the horizon for White County composer and honky tonker Montgomery, whose early work already feels classic. SS

9 p.m. Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack. $10-$12.

Maybe it’s the way he plucks the bass-leaning notes on the guitar just a touch too hard, or the languid, labored way that words roll out of his mouth, but Colter Wall’s songs evoke a danger that reminds me of Blaze Foley and Malcolm Holcombe. Somehow, though, thank the gods, he avoids mimicry — and eye contact, for that matter. Wall’s a Saskatchewan native, but he reads as someone who could out-outlaw half the self-declared troubadours in Texas, as on the mellow “Saskatchewan 1881” or on “Kate McCannon,” an only-occasionally rhyming murder ballad that warns the listener just how breathlessly love can transform into unhinged rage. Wall is also playing a free show the evening before (Nov. 9, with free food, too) at the Pro Auto Listening Room in Conway at 2115 E. German Lane, a collision and auto repair company that occasionally turns itself into a spot for community cookouts, car shows or concerts like this one. Blake Berglund opens both shows. SS

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

SUNDAY 11/12

‘WRITING FOR FILM’ 3 p.m. Ron Robinson Theater, Zin Wine Bar. $25, free.

Back when the Arkansas Cinema So- filming the damn thing? For this seminar, ciety started, it did so with a mission an- the focus is on four aspects of screenwritcillary to screening stellar movies and ing: “the idea, the outline, the draft, and inviting public conversation: It wanted to the edit,” ACS’ website reads. “Through develop the kind of educational arm that sharing his methodology and experiences, might ignite Arkansas’s next Jeff Nichols, Jeff hopes to somewhat demystify the writMary Steenburgen or Graham Gordy. This ing process and offer up strategies for tackis one such program, a seminar on writ- ling feature film scripts.” The concessions ing from Nichols, who’s not only one of stand will be open, and tickets are availthe state’s chief cinematic treasures, but able at arkansascinemasociety.org. Aftersomeone with a knack for communicat- ward, as filmmakers are wont to do, they’ll ing, in layman’s terms, the mechanics of drift to a bar where they will keep talking his craft: What makes good movies work? about movies, except with vino. That’s at What about all the extra stuff you have to Zin Wine Bar, 300 River Market Ave., 5 do after you finish writing, creating and p.m.-8 p.m., with no cover charge. SS

IN BRIEF, CONT.

ACROSS LINES OF FAITH: Terrell Starr (right) and Lecia Brooks (left) speak at Arkansas Baptist College as part of Interfaith Arkansas’s annual assembly on “Religion and Minorities.”

TUESDAY 11/14

‘RELIGION AND MINORITIES’ 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Arkansas Baptist College, 1621 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. $25.

Reporter Terrell Jermaine Starr’s short biography cites his ability to “break down Russia-U.S. relations in ways that make him not sound like a Washington hack,” which I imagine must make him a pretty in-demand speaker right about now. He’s joined at Arkansas Baptist for this year’s annual Interfaith Arkansas assembly by another acclaimed speaker, Lecia Brooks, director of outreach programs at the Southern Poverty Law Center and director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Ala. (To get a sense of what Brooks has been up to this summer, check out the SPLC’s guide for college students, called “The Alt-Right on Campus: What Students Need to Know.”) In addition to Starr and Brooks, Dr. Myra Houser, who represents the Baptist faith; Morgan Holladay representing the Buddhist faith; and Mehmet Ulipinar, representing the Muslim faith will address questions of “interfaith and ecumenical unity,” as a press release reads. Your ticket includes lunch and a membership in Interfaith Arkansas for a year. Reserve at interfaithark@gmail.com. SS

WEDNESDAY 11/15

RAH HOWARD 9 p.m. South on Main. $10.

Rah Howard’s packing some lyrical punches these days, as anyone who’s seen him in 2017 can attest — and he’s delivering them in provocative packages. Following 2013’s “B2BFA” and 2015’s “In My Time,” the videographer created and directed design-heavy video singles like “I’m Black” and “Everything,” and elicited some of the best judge comments in the 2017 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase: “This is what the blues sounds like now” and “A harmonica hasn’t given me that many feels since ‘Roseanne.’ ” He’s at South on Main as part of the Sessions series, curated in the month of November by Chef Matthew Bell. SS

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Ballet Arkansas is offering a series of children’s performances in lieu of Saturday matinees this season, beginning with Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” to be accompanied with live narration at the company’s headquarters, 520 Main St., 2 p.m., $20. Local musicians pay tribute to the late Tom Petty with a concert at Revolution, 9 p.m., $10-$15. Down the street at Stickyz, Northwest Arkansas reggae band The Irie Lions perform, 9:30 p.m., $7. Dirty Lindsey takes the stage at West End Smokehouse, 10 p.m., $7. The House of Art in Argenta celebrates its third anniversary with comedy from Poundcake and live music from Dazz & Brie, 8 p.m. Rockabilly veteran Unknown Hinson lands at Fayetteville’s Smoke & Barrel Tavern, 10 p.m., free. Lance Daniels kicks off the evening with a happy hour set at Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m., free, and later, saxophonist/vocalist Pamela K. Ward takes the stage. 9 p.m., $5. The Squarshers take their self-described “groovegrass” to Kings Live Music, 8:30 p.m., $5.

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SATURDAY 11/11

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“Collectors Show and Sale” of work from New York galleries, art ranging inPRINT price from $1,000 to $100,000. Center Ridge native and country singer Matt Stell takes the stage at Kings Live Music in Conway, with an opening set from Amber Wilcox, 8:30 p.m., $5. Trumpet virtuoso Bria Skonberg performs at the Walton Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., Starr Theater, $30-$50.

SUNDAY 11/12

The Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra plays works by Berlioz, Copland, Haydn and Jennifer Higdon for “Symphonie Fantastique,” 3 p.m., Albert Pike Masonic Center, 712 Scott Street, $20. Guitarist Dana Cooper performs a free show at the Faulkner County Library, Conway, 2 p.m.

MONDAY 11/13 Denver doom rock trio Primitive Man bruises the ears and the psyche with a show at the White Water Tavern, with Seattle’s Bell Witch and our very own Sumokem, 8:30 p.m., $12.

TUESDAY 11/14 An afternoon tea in the Magnolia Room at Garvan Woodland Gardens features the life history of the site’s namesake and benefactor, Verna Garvan, 3 p.m., $28-$33. Depression Expression, Pancho Casanova and Griffin Buckley share a bill at the White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. The MacArthur Museum of Military History screens Ken Burns’ 2014 featurelength documentary, “The Address,” 6:30 p.m., free.

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Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’

CHEFS DONNIE FERNEAU and Kelli Marks are partnering to open Cathead’s Diner, a Southern comfort food eatery, in the so-called East Village (east of Interstate 30, aka Hanger Hill) in early 2018, their PR folks have announced. The 4,075-square-foot restaurant will open in the Paint Factory — the new home to Cromwell Architects Engineers and the 12 Star Flats loft apartments — and will seat 90 indoors and 30 on the patio. Cathead’s will also have a private party room. Ferneau, who has been associated with numerous restaurants, including Ferneau’s, Rocket 21, Good Food by Ferneau and the 1836 Club, will be executive chef, and Marks the pastry chef. Marks is the owner of Sweet Love, a catering company that offers wedding cakes. The restaurant will serve breakfast, brunch, lunch, and pastry and dessert menus. Cathead’s is hiring: 20 to 25 jobs, from bussers to sous chefs, will be available. To apply, send a resume to catheadsdiner@ gmail.com. A WHIMSY COOKIE CO. bakery and party space is coming to 401B S. Bowman Road in December and in Fayetteville in mid-February next year, according to the company’s owner, Pink Laurie Brands. The Memphis-based bakery sells custom, hand-decorated cookies and offers cookie-making parties. Its hand-decorated cookies include regularshaped cookies (including bite-sized), logo and character cookies and edible image cookies. Whimsy also sells gooey butter cookies in six flavors; chocolate chip cookies and variations on the chocolate chip theme, including chocolate chip cookie cakes; chocolate-dipped oreos; and sugar cookie cakes. Cookie parties come in several packages and can also be customized. You can also order Whimsy cookies. In Memphis, store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. To apply for a job at the Little Rock Whimsy cooking, email asuriff@pinklaurie.com. COME MID-MARCH, The Hillcrest Fountain bar will have a larger back deck featuring an enclosed area and seating atop the enclosed area, owner Daniel Bryant says. Now the deck drinkers will have “an even better view of the shoppers at Kroger,” Bryant told the Times, laughing. The bigger news is that the front of the bar — where the pool and shuffleboard tables are and where local and regional beers (and wine) are served from its long bar — will be SMOKE FREE. Those who’ve been scared off the Fountain, at 2809 Kavanaugh Blvd., next door to Canon Grill, because of its thick tobacco smoke haze will now be able to go further than the front door. The back deck will be where folks can light up, both in the enclosed area and on top of it. 34

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

A DAMN FINE LUNCH: Barbecue brisket and onion rings at Nick’s in Carlisle.

Fish fry, est. 1972 Onion rings and fried pies are picks at Nick’s.

here’s a novelty place in Amarillo, Texas, with a restaurant, brewery, hotel and Texas-shaped swimming pool called the Big Texan Steak Ranch, whose far-flung billboards boast a “FREE 72. OZ. STEAK DINNER.” (Free, that is, if you can manage the formidable task of eating it all.) Nick’s Bar-B-Q & Catfish in Carlisle throws no such gauntlet, but it does share the Big Texan’s marketing strategy of placing multiple billboards far enough away from the actual restaurant to create the impression that it’s a destination in and of itself, some place famous enough for you to pay attention to well before the exit sign is in view. That impression was reflected inside, too, as we drove past a scant few dining options along state Highway 13 in Carlisle — Sonic Drive-In, Subway, Pizza N More, Chester’s Fried Chicken — to reach the sprawling, saloon-style building at the strike of noon on a Friday. Diners entering Nick’s are met first

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with the to-go counter that bifurcates the structure into two separate dining rooms. It was bustling when we visited, with a ringleader calling out loudly to the growing crowd: “Anybody dining in today?” Nick’s makes its own BBQ sauce in hot and mild varieties, a selection of which the restaurant places front and center for waiting customers to peruse. Or, diners waiting for takeaway orders can check out the lobby wall, where photographs of some of its more celebrated diners hang: Marty Stuart, one hit-wonder Mel McDaniel, The Doobie Brothers and Carl Perkins (twice). Their country radio contemporary Mary Chapin Carpenter was among them, too, not photographed but there in spirit through the loudspeakers with “Down at the Twist and Shout.” Brushed metal signs with nostalgic scenes of a bygone Route 66 hung on the wall, interspersed with more oddball pieces — a painting of

a cow’s nose at short range, vintage prints demarcating different styles of forks and spoons as if they were scientific botanical illustrations. Nick’s menu is huge and squarely Southern American: fried shrimp, smoked chicken sandwiches, taco salads, BBQ nachos, grilled chicken salads, fried dill pickles, cheeseburgers, rib plates to pair with fried okra or steamed veggies, smoked kielbasa. We took a cue from the establishment’s name and ordered the Small Catfish Dinner ($9.99) and the Regular BBQ Beef Sandwich Basket ($8.49). The “regular” BBQ beef sandwich, which came out swiftly in the hands of an attentive and gracious server, was enormous. God only knows what size we’d have gotten if we ordered the “jumbo” version ($8.99). Lightly sauced (with Nick’s signature, we presumed) and cradled between two large hamburger buns were layers of brisket that, while certainly not the caliber of a drysmoked competition specimen, made for a damn fine lunch. Sandwiches come with two sides, for which we picked the hand-battered onion rings (also offered as an appetizer for $2.99, which we’d discover was completely

BELLY UP

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Nick’s Catfish & Bar-B-Q 1012 Bobby L. Glover Hwy. Carlisle 870-552-3887 nicksbq.com Quick bite

The dessert options at Nick’s include a “Cake of the Day” ($4.99/slice) and “Grandma’s Homemade Pecan Pie” ($2.69), both of which you can top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream ($1.49). We bypassed both and left town with one of the Hand Made Fried Pies we saw lauded on the restaurant’s tabletop napkin dispensers. The pies come in apple, apricot, peach or coconut, and the decadently flaky coconut cream pie we’d taken to go barely made it 10 minutes down the road before being inhaled.

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worth the double billing) and baked beans. The beans weren’t adding much to the conversation. Like most bulksimmered baked beans, they were sweet but unremarkable. Boring beans were forgotten and forgiven, though, after trying the onion rings. Liked baked beans, bragworthy onion rings can be difficult; even if you go to the trouble of making a A CARLISLE STAPLE: Open daily. homemade batter, the onions can suffer from too light a frying, slipping out and around their deep-fried cocoon so that you never really get a bite that’s both shrugged off if we were using tongs to onion and ring. These were among the pull it out of a large aluminum pan at best we’ve had — as in, ever. The batter a company picnic or a family reunion. was crisp and flaky, expertly fried so Here, though, it was clear that one way that, like a stellar beignet, they seemed Nick’s manages to churn out suppers in light and delicate despite the caloric volume seven days a week is to pre-fry it heaviness they undoubtedly acquired in batches, rather than to fry it to order. during their time in the fryer basket. Atop the fish were all the usual susThe sandwich plate came with a side- pects: a dill pickle, a lemon, a generous car of perfunctory cole slaw — nothing slice of raw onion and an ample servto write home about but hard to quib- ing of what we suspect was homemade ble with, which is maybe the point of tartar sauce. The “tater babies” (think cole slaw. truck stop-style fried potato logs, except Maybe that’s the idea behind fried tiny) tempted us from the list of side catfish, too. For all its symbolism as a dishes out of sheer curiosity and were icon of Southern cuisine, the goal with similarly chewy. They also came with fried catfish seems to be to stay out of a side of ranch dressing that, though it its way, keeping the batter crispy and seemed extraneous at the time, is probresisting the urge to season liberally, ably your best bet if you are in Carlisle as they do at Flying Fish when asked and in need of something in which to to “make it snappy.” If that’s the case, dip a “tater baby.” then the catfish at Nick’s is adequate. Our impression of the since-1972 The catfish we had wasn’t seasoned Carlisle staple? Nick’s Bar-B-Q and heavily enough to offend anyone, nor Onion Rings doesn’t exactly make for was it anything we’d be inclined to veer a billboard-ready branding strategy, but off the interstate for. It had that slightly it’s a damn good guide for what to order chewy texture that we’d have happily for lunch.

1170 S. Amity Road | Conway | OPENING MONDAY, NOV. 13!

arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

MOVIE REVIEW

MORE THAN MONSTERS: The second season of Netflix’s supernatural thriller “Stranger Things” concerns itself with the realm of isolation, trauma and memory.

Mind over matter “Stranger Things 2” is a study in trauma. BY GUY LANCASTER

“S

tranger Things 2” picks up about a year after ics, and the expertly crafted tension that have made the events of the previous series. It’s 1984, the series so popular. However, there are so many and Reagan/Bush campaign signs litter the shows available these days, and you just don’t have lawns in Hawkins, Ind., where, unbeknownst to the time to waste on a series that resembles little more town at large, a secretive government laboratory than a pastiche of recycled tropes from 1980s pop has inadvertently opened a gate into another real- culture, right? ity. The girl called Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer had stated psychokinetic marvel at the center of these govern- that their intention with this second, nine-episode ment experiments, remains missing after defeating season was to expand the mythology of “Stranger last year’s feature creature, while Will Byers (Noah Things.” And, while they certainly take the show Schnapp), a middle-school boy who had been dragged beyond the confines of small-town Indiana and into this “upside-down” dimension, is back home, deeper into the pasts of its characters, the mytholdealing with the lingering trauma of what he expe- ogy explored and expanded is our own. A myth is just rienced, including visions of a greater menace just a story, like the myth we tell ourselves of childhood on the other side of reality. — a time of wonder and innocence, rather than, often, If you’re already a devoted fan of Netflix’s “Stranger of confusion and pain. To describe this show as the Things,” you’re perhaps reading this review to see product of ’80s nostalgia or a yearning for childhood if I agree with your much more informed opinions, experiences is to mistake the clothes for the man, for and chances are that your friends have been talking “Stranger Things” is much more than the sum of its about nothing else for the past two weeks. Even if Stephen King and John Carpenter references. you’re not, though, you have heard all about the excelRebecca West once wrote that the sin against the lent acting in the series: the ensemble cast certainly Holy Ghost — the Bible’s one unforgivable sin — was brings their best to each performance, though it is “to deal with people as if they were things.” The modSchnapp as the tormented Will who stands out this ern horror genre has, with rare exception, exulted time around. Or, you’ve possibly also heard about in exactly that, from the slasher flick whose cast of the taut dialogue, the classically creepy atmospher- stock teenager stereotypes gets lined up for execu36

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

tion in increasingly grotesque ways, to the torture porn films whose populations exist only to suffer or to inflict suffering. By contrast, “Stranger Things,” while situated within the horror genre, interests itself more with the complexity of the human soul than the fragility of the human body. Its characters evolve and break type, as with Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), last season’s high school bully, who becomes this season’s hero and mentor. Even the show’s rare missteps only highlight its fundamental interest in humanity. For example, a subplot featuring local conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), hired to investigate the disappearance of Barb Holland (Shannon Purser) the previous year, takes the series into some silly territory, but its purpose is not comic relief — it’s to illustrate the ongoing struggle of family, friends and the wider community as they come to terms with tragedy. Indeed, characters in “Stranger Things” struggle against trauma and memory as much as they do against the otherworldly “shadow monster” that is this season’s supernatural baddie. That creature could hail straight from the work of H.P. Lovecraft — an otherworldly assemblage of stormy tentacles whose mind and motives lie beyond human comprehension. In Lovecraft’s stories, the encounter with forces beyond our ken drives the average man to savagery or insanity. In “Stranger Things,” though, that encounter renders all the more poignant these moments of our daily lives, turning upside-down our symbols of loneliness and isolation — the foil-wrapped frozen dinner, the awkward school dance —and finding, time after time, the possibility of redemption.

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The Weekend Theater

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Go to CentralArkansasTickets.com to purchase these tickets and more! Arkansas Times new local ticketing site! If you’re a non-profit, freestanding venue or business selling tickets thru eventbrite or another national seller – call us 501.492.3994 – we’re local, independent and offer a marketing package!

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ALSO IN THE ARTS

THEATER

daily. 374-1957.

“Dork Reunion.” The Main Thing’s fall musical comedy, a flashback to the Fertle Family’s high school days. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., through Nov. 18. $24. The Joint Theater & Coffeehouse. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-3720205. “Baskerville.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents Ken Ludwig’s Sherlock Holmes adaptation. 7:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat., dinner at 6 p.m.; 12:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Sun., dinner at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., through Nov. 25. $15-$37. 6323 Colonel Glenn Road. 501562-3131. “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” The Studio Theatre’s take on Christopher Durang’s comedy. 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun. $17-$27. 320 W. 7th St. 501-4102283.

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “Mandela: The Journey to Ubuntu,” photographs by Matthew Willman and recreation of Mandela’s cell, through Feb. 19, 2018; “Art of Africa: One Continent, Limitless Vision,” pieces from the Clinton Presidential Center’s archives as well as from President Clinton’s own personal collection, through Feb. 12, 2018; permanent exhibits on the Clinton administration. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $8 seniors, retired military and college students, $6 youth 6-17, free to active military and children under 6, President Clinton’s birthday. 374-4242.

CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way, Bentonville: “Stuart Davis: In Full Swing,” nearly 100 “Murder at the Howard Johnson’s.” Five works by the modernist jazz-influenced Star Dinner Theatre’s production of Ron painter, through Jan. 1; “Native North Clark and Sam Bogick’s murder mystery/ America,” indigenous art, through Jan. 7, comedy. 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. curtain Nov. 2018; “Not to Scale: Highlights from the 10 and 17. $17-$38. 701 Central Ave., Hot Fly’s Eye Dome Archive,” drawings and Springs. 501-318-1600. models of Fuller’s geodesic dome, through March 2018; American masterworks “Driving Miss Daisy.” Five Star Dinner spanning four centuries in the permanent Theatre’s reprise of Alfred Uhry’s drama. 6 collection. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. curtain Nov. 11, 18 and 29. $17-$38. 701 Central Ave., Hot Springs. a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.Sun., closed Tue. 479-418-5700. 501-318-1600.

FINE ART, HISTORY EXHIBITS MAJOR VENUES ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “49th Collectors Show and Sale,” works from New York galleries, Nov. 10Jan. 7; “The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design,” through December. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, 201 Olympic Drive: “A Shared Vision,” selections from the Rudolph-Blume Collection, including works by Louise Bourgeois, Damien Hirst, Martin Puryear, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol and others, Bradbury Museum, through Nov. 17 870-972-3471. ARTS & SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff: “Razzle Dazzle 2017,” big bands, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10-11, $20 members, $25 nonmembers, $15 students; Arkansas Arts Center Artmobile, through Nov. 11, with Community Night 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 9; “2017 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition”; “Pine Bluff Art League Annual Juried Exhibition”; “How People Make Things,” all through Nov. 11. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Bret Aaker: Conatus,” Loft Gallery, through Jan. 27; “The Art of Injustice,” Paul Faris’ photographs of Japanese incarceration at Rohwer, through Dec. 30; “Jim Nelson: Abstraction and Color,” through Nov. 25. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 38

NOVEMBER 09, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

ESSE PURSE MUSEUM & STORE, 1510 S. Main St.: “The Power of Plastics: Reshaping Midcentury Fashion,” plastic handbags from Anita Davis’ collection, through Jan. 7; “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags,” permanent exhibit. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun. $10, $8 for students, seniors and military. 916-9022. FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: “Bonfire,” 21 environmentally focused works by textile artist Barbara Cade, through Feb. 8, 2018; “Momoyo Torimitsu: Somehow, I Don’t Feel Comfortable,” giant inflatable bunnies, through December. 18. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-784-2787. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. 3rd St.: “Body/Ecology: Daniella Napolitano and Carmen Alexandria Thompson,” through Jan. 7; “Hidden Treasure: Selected Gala Fund Purchases,” including portraiture by Henry Byrd, work by Thomas Hart Benton, watercolors by Jacob Semiatin and more, through Jan. 8; “Gordon and Wenonah Fay Holl: Collecting a Legacy,” through Feb. 4, 2018. Ticketed tours of renovated and replicated 19th century structures from original city, guided Monday and Tuesday on the hour, self-guided Wednesday through Sunday, $2.50 adults, $1 under 18, free to 65 and over. (Galleries free.) 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, 503 E. 9th St. (MacArthur Park): “Waging Modern Warfare”; “Gen. Wesley Clark”; “Vietnam, America’s Conflict”; “Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602. MATT McLEOD FINE ART, 108 W. 6th St.: Work in all media by Arkansas and outof-state artists. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 725-8508.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 9th and Broadway: “Hidden No More,” work by 11 artists for the 2017 Creativity Arkansas collection. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683-3593. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: Interactive science exhibits and activities for children and teenagers. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050. OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham St. “Cabinet of Curiosities: Treasures from the University of Arkansas Museum Collection”; “True Faith, True Light: The Devotional Art of Ed Stilley,” musical instruments, through 2017; “First Families: Mingling of Politics and Culture” permanent exhibit including first ladies’ gowns. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685. SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. 5th St., El Dorado: “Shea Snow’s Solo Show,” work by Memphis artist, through Nov. 29. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 870-8625474. TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, U.S. Hwy. 165, England: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $4 for adults, $3 for ages 6-12, $14 for family. 961-9442. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT FAYETTEVILLE: “CONTRA,” works in nontraditional mediums by Jessica Stockholder, Erin Shirreff, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, Nicole Cherubini, Kendell Carter and Mariah Robertson, through Dec. 19, reception 5-7 p.m. Dec. 8. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 479-575-7987. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK, 2801 S. University Ave.: “Creating Youth,” works by Michael Warrick, Gallery II, through Nov. 10; “Estamos Aqui (We Are Here),” serigraphs by Latino artists, including Jesus “Cimi” Alvarado, Alec Dempster, Delilah Montoya, Juan Miguel Ramos and Quintin Gonzalez, Gallery III, in conjunction with the NEH Big Read project, through Nov. 10; Fine Arts Building Gallery I. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-8977. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS, Conway: “BA/BFA Senior Exhibit,” through Dec. 7, Baum Gallery, reception 2-4 p.m. Nov. 19, McCastlain Hall. 10 a.m.5 p.m. Mon.-Wed., Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thu. 501-450-5793. WALTON ARTS CENTER, Fayetteville: “Charting Terrain: A confluence of light and form,” work by Victoria Burge, Ben Butler, Theresa Chong, Sean Morrissey, James Siena and James Turrell, through Dec. 23. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, noon-4 p.m. Sat. 479-443-5600. SMALLER VENUES ARGENTA GALLERY, 413 Main St.: “Glitch,” work by Jacob West. ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER ARTMOBILE: “A Feast for the Eyes,” 10 a.m.-5

p.m. Nov. 9-10, 1-4 p.m. Nov. 11, Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff. ARTISTS’ WORKSHOP GALLERY, 610A Central Ave., Hot Springs: Nina Louton, Jerry Matusky featured artists. 623-6401. BARRY THOMAS FINE ART & STUDIO, 711 Main St., NLR: Paintings by Thomas. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 349-2383. BOSWELL MOUROT, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Their New Works,” Robin Hazard, Hamid Ebrahamfar and Susan Chambers, through Nov. 24. 664-0030. CANTRELL GALLERY, 8208 Cantrell Road: “Little Rock Journal,” paintings by John Deering, through Dec. 23. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335. CORE BREWERY, 411 Main St., NLR: “A Collection of Skulls,” hosted by the Latino Art Project. EMERGENT ARTS, 341A Whittington Ave.: “Dia de los Muertos,” through Nov. 25. 655-0836. GALLERY 221, 2nd and Center Sts.: Work by gallery artists Tyler Arnold, Melissa Deerman, EMILE, Kasten Searles and others. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 801-0211. GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave., Hot Springs: James Hayes Art Glass Co., through November. 318-4278. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Best of the South,” work by Thomas Hart Benton, Carroll Cloar, Theora Hamblett and Clementine Hunter, Robyn Horn, Mark Blaney, Sammy Peters, Daniel Mark Cassity, Melissa Wilkinson and others. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 664-2787. HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “The African American Series (2008-2009),” mixed media paintings and drawings by Manuel Hughes, Gallery II, through Nov. 11; “XXIX Prime,” anniversary show of work by significant African-American artists. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822. HOUSE OF ART, 108 E. 4th St., NLR: “Art Without Limits,” erotica. JUSTUS FINE ART GALLERY, 827 A Central Ave., Hot Springs: “A Natural Perspective,” sculpture and painting by Robyn Horn, Dolores Justus, Jill Kyong, John Lasater and others. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 321-2335. L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Still Life,” work by Louis Beck, drawing for free giclee 7 p.m. Nov. 16. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 660-4006. LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH, 420 Main St., NLR: “Street Joy,” photographs by Heather Canterbury. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat. 687-1061. LEGACY FINE ART, 804 Central Ave., Hot Springs: Blown glass chandeliers by Ed Pennington, paintings by Carole Katchen. 8 a.m.-5 LOCAL COLOUR GALLERY, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Artists collective. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 265-0422.

ARKANSAS TIMES MARKETPLACE TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION, CALL LUIS AT 501.375.2985

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is seeking an Assistant Professor- Family Medicine in the Little Rock, AR metropolitan area. Teaching duties: Teaching medical residents, fellows, and students regarding family medicine. Clinical duties: Prescribing or administering treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease or injury; direct and coordinate activities of nurses, residents, assistants, specialists, therapists, and other medical staff. Requires: Must have MD or foreign equivalent, such as MBBS; plus have completed a Family Medicine or related residency program; be board certified or board eligible in Family Medicine upon hire and if board eligible must complete board certification within one (1) year of hire and must have Arkansas State Medical License. Applicants should send resume and cover letters to Jamie Rankins, 4301 W. Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205, JLRankins@uams.edu. UAMS is an inclusive Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans and is committed to excellence.

shop LOCAL Shop ARKANSAS TIMES Order to Show Cause for Change of Name Case Number: HEC 1701257

PETITION OF: Heather Walker FOR CHANGE OF NAME SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: 1. Petitioner: filed a petition with this court for the decree changing names as follows: Present name: Tiffany Carriere to Proposed name: Tiffany Walker Present name: Jasmine Shelton to Proposed name: Jasmine Walker 2. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If not written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING a. Date: DEC 14 2017 Time: 1:30 PM Dept. H-1 b. The address of the court is 880 N. State St., Hemet, CA 92543. 3. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Arkansas Times OCT 25 2017 JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT

PART-TIME ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, is seeking a part-time Administrative Assistant in its Little Rock office. 15-20 hours a week, flexible schedule. Requires general office skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office programs and database programs. 5+ years of experience required. Salary based on experience ($11 to $15/hr). Send cover letter, resume and references to jvazquez@aradvocates.org.

DRIVERS PLEASE BE AWARE, IT’S ARKANSAS STATE LAW: USE OF BICYCLES OR ANIMALS

Every person riding a bicycle or an animal, or driving any animal drawing a vehicle upon a highway, shall have all the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle, except those provisions of this act which by their nature can have no applicability.

OVERTAKING A BICYCLE

The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a roadway shall exercise due care and pass to the left at a safe distance of not less than three feet (3’) and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.

AND CYCLISTS, PLEASE REMEMBER...

AACF is an equal opportunity employer.

Your bike is a vehicle on the road just like any other vehicle and you must also obey traffic laws— use turning and slowing hand signals, ride on right and yield to traffic as if driving. Be sure to establish eye contact with drivers. Remain visible and predictable at all times. arktimes.com NOVEMBER 09, 2017

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