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AUGUST 2021
RUPAUL BY NANCY NOLAN, 1983: Part of ESSE Purse Museum’s ‘Pride and the Power of Love,” up through Aug. 29.
FEATURES
23 THE BEST OF THE WORST OF TIMES
Forget your troubles by indulging in the best Arkansas has to offer. By Austin Bailey, Rhett Brinkley, Lindsey Millar and Stephanie Smittle
26 CHILD’S PLAY
How Trenton Lee Stewart built ‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’ from deep memory. By Jordan Hickey
34 RETURN OF THE WHITE WATER New ownership, same dusty old tavern. By Stephanie Smittle
44 DILL ME IN
Meet Mr. Davis Pickles, Blytheville’s cucumber king. By Rhett Brinkley
52 TREEHOUSE BOOM
9 THE FRONT
Q&A: With Robbie Brindley. The Big Pic: Close encounters of the wild kind.
13 THE TO-DO LIST
Jason Isbell and Lucinda Williams all at once, Sesame Street’s Bert proudly preens at ESSE Purse Museum, a love story at the Little Rock Zoo and more.
18 NEWS & POLITICS
When it comes to the embattled legacy of Sen. William Fulbright, consider taking the long view. By Ernest Dumas
81 SAVVY KIDS
Big love in Little Rock. By Katherine Wyrick
86 FOOD & DRINK
Natural State Treehouses isn’t afraid of heights.
Spicy fruit, snow cones, bobas and other chilly sweets for summer treats.
By Lindsey Millar
By Rhett Brinkley
72 WIGGING OUT
Beauty & Beyond is a cosmetological panoply. By Austin Bailey ON THE COVER: Blytheville’s Mr. Davis Pickles joins the lineup in our Best of Arkansas 2021 issue. Photography by Brian Chilson.
4 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
92 CANNABIZ
The do’s and don’ts of transporting medical marijuana. By Griffin Coop
98 THE OBSERVER
When Dolly Parton sings your name.
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THE FRONT Q&A
NATURE ALWAYS WINS A Q&A WITH ROBBIE BRINDLEY. And whether or not you like it, decay is part of the South. Decay is everywhere. It’s hard to keep mold out of a house in Arkansas because it’s so humid. The grass grows fast. It’s great, but when you’re trying to be a human living in that space, it can be hard. … I wanted it to feel like West Helena in August, which is an awful thing. What’s weird is that I find those things endearing now that I’ve embraced living in the South. I started wearing tank tops, and I was like, “OK, now I get it. I look like a redneck, but I get it.” Those sorts of things are funny to me. Like, “This field is really beautiful, but do not run through it, because it’s full of copperheads.” I like it here. I find it very romantic.
MATT WHITE
Maybe, like me, you first encountered Robbie Brindley’s photography by way of social media, where his work jumped off the screen with kinetic depictions of Hot Springs revelers, fresh off the dance floor at the town’s annual Valley of the Vapors festival or frolicking in front of a minimalistic backdrop on the way into a documentary film festival afterparty. What you’ll find in his new book, “Kudzu and the Usual Erosion,” though, is unabashedly still, heavy, humid — and probably best summed up by this passage in its introduction: “At some point, we all start to crumble; the things that once made us feel strong are soon made weak, and remind us of just how vulnerable we are. We’re the same as an old house on a humble road or a storm moving across the Delta. We’re here and we’re strong, then we aren’t. … . This is a study on those things — on understanding childhood or the people that influenced it. It’s a constant reminder of how frail we are and how nature always wins. It’s a way of coming to terms. It’s a desire to live peacefully with demise.”
WHAT ALBUM(S) ARE YOU LISTENING TO THESE DAYS? Will Johnson, “Wire Mountain” and Jason Molina, “Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go.”
Yeah. I find that as I get older, I mark the year differently. And maybe more like the way I marked it when I was a child, when the first firefly of the year felt like the beginning of something. Yeah, and the past year did that to us, too, where we were very slowed down. You notice when the dogwoods or the Bradford pears start to bloom, like “It’s almost here.” And then it starts storming. And then the fall comes and it gets quiet. Or you mark time by how bad your allergies are.
How did you pick these subjects? They don’t seem like the sorts of things you So obviously you took a huge risk developing HIDDEN TALENT? I can nap anywhere. pick out beforehand as destinations, but the film last thing, in such a volatile way. things you happen upon on your way to FAVORITE GAS STATION FOOD? Hunt Brothers What was your reaction when you started to somewhere else. see the work? pizza. It was definitely just driving around. Going First, I was really happy to see that there were for a drive is a good way to deal with photos on the film. My friend Annie Gerber BIGGEST ARTISTIC INFLUENCE? People who anything. Especially in the Delta. If someone live simply and work hard and live a normal, scanned all of it for me, and she’d send them is, like, right on my tail, I’ll just pull over and to me. And I was surprised at the diversity of quiet life. let them go around. ‘Cause I just wanna what I’d done. … I’m not one to trust myself. be out there and listen to NPR, or some And with this project, it was very personal music. There were plenty of days when I went out and didn’t even because I had to trust myself, and trust what I was attracted to. … not take a photo. … It’s really odd and it was scary, but I did this project pushing ideas away or pulling them in, and trying not to have pride in an without developing any of the film prior. I shot a roll and I would keep unhealthy way. that roll. I developed it all at once. Because I didn’t want to be like, “Oh, here’s this photo, it needs this other kind of photo to complement it.” … . If there’s anything the photos get across, it’s humility, right? It’s If the whole project came out and it was all roads or something — like, the idea you talk about in the book’s introduction, that nature always subconsciously, I was doing that — then that’s how I wanted it to be. wins, and that we are very small, and all these things will pass. A friend was telling me, “You’re absolutely an idiot, because you don’t Yeah. The losing of one’s self is a beautiful thing. I still struggle with know if you have a project or not. Like, what if the rolls all come out all of those things, but I’m in a lot better place than I was before the black or something?” But I didn’t want to have a photo and have it start project, as far as humility and patience. And hopefully grace and to become this ego-driven thing. I just wanted it to be like when I was kindness. younger. When you’d just take a Polaroid because you felt like taking a Polaroid. … It’s very honest, and the way they were chosen is almost —Stephanie Smittle childlike. Just because they looked neat, or odd. Find the book at robbiebrindley.com, and find the full version of this interview at arktimes.com/rock-candy. ARKANSASTIMES.COM
AUGUST 2021 9
THE FRONT BIG PIC
WHEN ANIMALS ATTACK, ARKANSAS EDITION The more you know. BY BETHANY IVIE
THE BLACK BEAR Arkansas’s largest predator can weigh up to 600 pounds and stand 6 feet tall. But Kirsten Bartlow, watchable wildlife coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, points out that a black bear’s favorite hobby (after eating and sleeping) is avoiding human beings. “In this part of the United States we have black bears and they’re just not known for being aggressive creatures,” said Bartlow. “They’d really like as little to do with us as possible.” In the unlikely event you find yourself face-to-face with a bear (or another Arkansas predator like a bobcat, coyote or cougar), here’s what to do: • Don’t feed them. Keep food in bear-proof containers or hung in trees so animals aren’t attracted to your campsite. • Make lots of noise. This works as both a deterrent and a defense in acute emergency wildlife encounters. • Make yourself seem as large as possible by standing at your full height and raising your arms above your head or out to the side. Think large thoughts. • Stay put. Prey runs, you shouldn’t.
10 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
ARKANSAS GAME & FISH COMMISSION
If you’re one of those rugged hunterly types from Greenbrier or Pangburn, you can skip this part. There’s nothing here you don’t already know. But for soft-soled city slickers from urban locales, woodland encounters with bears, snakes and other wild creatures can be daunting. Should we venture out on rivers and trails, or is it better to stick to swimming pools and sidewalks? Experts from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission say not to sweat it. They offered up some reassuring advice about coexisting with some of Arkansas’s most formidable residents. So, which animals are truly dangerous and which ones should we not worry about too much? Hint: It’s not what you’d think.
BEARLY A CONCERN: Black bears are too cute to do much harm.
ARKANSAS GAME & FISH COMMISSION
SURPRISE!: This ringneck is just as nonplussed to see you as you are to see it.
SNAKES “I guess what bothers me is the surprise factor,” said Trey Reid, assistant chief of communications for Game and Fish. “You’re hiking down a path or paddling a river and you look up and all of a sudden there’s a snake in close proximity. That can be a little unnerving.” Of the 36 different types of snakes living in Arkansas, only six are venomous: the copperhead, the cottonmouth or water moccasin, the western diamondback rattlesnake, the timber rattlesnake, the western pygmy rattlesnake (which is not as cute as it sounds, btw) and the Texas coral snake. You can find the local bible of snake identification in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s “Pocket Guide to Snakes.” But if you’re looking for a hard and fast rule it’s this: If you’re close enough to see the snake’s pupils or pattern … you’re too close. “If you’re close enough to mess with the snake, it’s close enough to mess with you,” Bartlow said. In the rare event that you find yourself on the receiving end of a pair of snake fangs, the solution is simple: Go to a hospital. Quickly. There’s no need to suck out the poison, rig up a tourniquet or cut around the bite. In fact, doing any of these things will probably only make the situation worse.
TICKS AND MOSQUITOS As you see, fear of Arkansas’s predators and venomous snakes is largely unwarranted. Arkansas’s blood-sucking insects, though? They are an entirely different story. “When people ask me, ‘What are you most scared of in the woods?’ Or, ‘What animal are you scared of?’ It’s ticks,” Bartlow said. And Bartlow’s right to be cautious. Tick-borne diseases include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme Disease, Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness and Alpha-Gal, a tick-borne illness that results in victims developing an allergy to beef, mutton, pork and all other meats that come from mammals. Mosquitos spread illnesses like the West Nile virus and the Zika virus, both of which are rare but can be serious. So if you’re going to be out in grass, wooded areas or places with lots of leaf litter on the ground, wear boots with your pants legs tucked in, Reid advises. Wear long sleeves and treat your gear with the insect repellent permethrin. For a chemical-free solution, embrace nature’s own pest control, Bartlow said. “You know, some people don’t want opossums in their yards, but opossums will eat lots of ticks. And bats can be a real pain because maybe sometimes they end up getting behind your shutters on your house and are leaving droppings, but they’re eating just thousands of mosquitoes throughout the summer.”
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ARKANSAS TIMES
ALYSSE GAFKJEN
BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE
JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT, LUCINDA WILLIAMS
WEDNESDAY 8/4. FIRST SECURITY AMPHITHEATER. 8 P.M. $45-$125. Were it two different venues that Jason Isbell and Lucinda Williams were playing at this particular August night, they’d force a difficult decision. As it stands, you’re spared. Isbell, whose biting wit on Twitter nearly rivals that on his post-Drive-By Truckers solo album “Southeastern,” is bringing his all-star band, named the 400 Unit after a psychiatric ward in his native Alabama, to Little Rock ahead of his run at Austin City Limits. For the uninitiated, you don’t need to go deep in the catalogs to learn why he’s hailed as one of the greatest songwriters of our time; the Grammy-winning “24 Frames” or “If We Were Vampires” should do the trick. (Or, for more of a sense of the pathos that likely got him cast in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon,” see “Yvette” or “Alabama Pines.”) He’s joined by Lucinda Williams — daughter of an Arkansas poet and immutable bender of sung syllables, and someone who we should have fallen in love with the moment Mary Chapin Carpenter recorded “Passionate Kisses” in 1993, but who instead won us over slowly and irrevocably in subsequent decades. And hey, Isbell’s former bandmate Patterson Hood showed up at this tour’s Montana stop; anything can happen. Get tickets at jasonisbell.com. ARKANSASTIMES.COM
AUGUST 2021 13
BLOOM: A LITTLE ROCK SEASONAL FASHION SHOWCASE
COREY HOWELL
FRIDAY 8/6. OAK STREET VINTAGE. 6 P.M. $10 GENERAL ADMISSION, $20 RESERVED SEATING. Dazzmin Murry’s not much for sitting still; the multi-instrumentalist from rock ’n’ soul outfit Dazz & Brie (our winner for Best Rock Band in the 2021 Best of Arkansas readers’ poll) established a nonprofit called Creators’ Village that works with rising artists in underserved communities in Arkansas. Now, Creators’ Village is partnering with La Rosa Antigua, a local clothing company helmed by Maxi Dominguez and dedicated to, its mission statement says, “destroying fast fashion and unchaining individuality.” Expect a focus on sustainability and upcycling at this downtown Little Rock fashion show, which features designs and styles from Murry, Dominguez, Taylor Compton of Oak Forest Vintage, Talesha Little of A Little Thriftee and Taylor Alexis of Noble Clothing.
ASHLEY MCBRYDE
Double dare anyone who thinks they’re not a fan of radio country to listen all the way through Ashley McBryde’s 2020 record “Never Will” and remain unfazed. Her characters are instantly recognizable to anyone who grew up disenchanted and rural — the girl on the side of the road in “Hang In There Girl,” the nagging puritan in “Shut Up Sheila.” Born in Waldron and raised on a 400-acre farm near Mammoth Spring, McBryde started playing mandolin when she was 3, and because, as she told us in 2020, “there was nothing in any direction except whatever you wanted to do” in Mammoth Spring, she became a great player. She’s since made her mark as a sort of Nashville anti-princess or, as she puts it, the kind of country singer you want to have a beer with. Get tickets at ashleymcbryde.com. 14 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
ALYSSE GAFKJEN
SATURDAY 8/7. ROBINSON CENTER PERFORMANCE HALL. 8 P.M. $28-$200.
ANDY WATSON/BULL STOCK MEDIA, COURTESY OF HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM
SUMMER SOULSTICE X
SATURDAY 8/7. THE REP WAREHOUSE, 714 S. STATE ST. 4 P.M.-11:30 P.M. $20-$45.
ARKANSAS REPERTORY THEATRE: ‘PRIMATING’
SATURDAY 8/10-THURSDAY 8/29. THE CIVITAN PAVILION, LITTLE ROCK ZOO. Yes, you read that right, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is staging a show at the Little Rock Zoo, and with good reason. Jennifer Vanderbes’ romantic comedy is, quite literally, monkey business, illuminating the reunion of two of the world’s leading primatologists, who also happen to be ex-lovers. Ari Edelson, a Yale University grad and decorated director who leads a prolific theater lab company called The Orchard Project, directs. The play is part of the 2021 “The Rep Outdoors” series, a bridge between the pandemic and a time when theatergoers can safely gather indoors. Get tickets at therep.org.
PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS: BAD BOY MOWERS MOWDOWN
SATURDAY 8/14-SUNDAY 8/15. SIMMONS BANK ARENA. 6:45 P.M. SAT., 1:45 P.M. SUN. $19-$109. Hamburg, Arkansas’s own Chase Outlaw will be among the riders taking on “the world’s rankest bulls,” as a press release says, for this throwdown at Simmons Bank Arena. Outlaw (that’s his real name) shattered 30 bones in his face when a 2,000-pound bull named War Cloud trampled him in 2018, and his triumphant return to the sport — 68 metal surgical screws later — has him at the top of his game. As Outlaw told the Arkansas Times in 2019, he’s “taking it one bull at a time. … You just have to have faith in God.” Get tickets at pbrtix.com.
AARON CALVERT, COURTESY OF HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM
Quiet Contender, a record label launched by Seth Baldy and Joshua Asante early in the pandemic, is celebrating an especially hard-earned anniversary of the pair’s “Soulstice” parties, a series of winter and summer solstice concerts held every year at the White Water Tavern. This year, the label is partnering on that concert with the Center for Cultural Community, a local nonprofit that aims to link up artists and musicians with access to things like practice space, mentorship, business savvy and health care. Plan on sets from Asante’s soul outfit the Velvet Kente Arkestra, St. Louis-based BLVCK SPVDE, the jazzdriven Cleveland trio The Katy, and St. Louis-based DJ Makeda Kravitz; plus food from Lili’s Mexican Street Food; and goods from local vendors and artists. The VIP ticket price gets you access to drinks, snacks and a gift bag; get tickets at quietcontender.com.
‘GONE TO SEED’
THROUGH 8/22. TRINITY GALLERY, HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM. When it comes to nature and humans, we tend to think we’re the ones controlling the narrative, but then again, we’re the ones living at the mercy of our daily doses of oxygen to usher us onward to an eventual return to the soil, so who’s really in charge? Maybe the complexity of that cycle is why “Gone to Seed” makes so much sense for this exhibit, despite its verdant glow and vibrant palette. Painter Susan Chambers of Little Rock and ceramicist Aaron Calvert of Russellville turn their eyes (and their hands) to the mystery of nature in “Gone to Seed,” a dual exhibit in the Historic Arkansas Museum’s Trinity Gallery this summer. The works within portray nature not as something placid, but truly wild and, the museum’s description says, “subtly communicate our profound entanglement with the natural world, and the importance of (at least occasionally) relinquishing control and allowing things to go to seed.” Visit 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat.; or 1-5 p.m. Sun. ARKANSASTIMES.COM
AUGUST 2021 15
‘SCALIA/GINSBURG’
COURTESY ESSE PURSE MUSEUM
TUESDAY 8/27-THURSDAY 8/29. 7:30 P.M. FRI., 2:30 P.M. AND 7:30 P.M. SAT., 2:30 P.M. SUN. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER.
‘PRIDE AND THE POWER OF LOVE’ THROUGH THURSDAY 8/29. ESSE PURSE MUSEUM. $10.
Oh, you thought Pride Month was over? Good news: It’s here, it’s queer and it lasts all damn year. ESSE Purse Museum art director Steven Otis has curated an exhibit that is gay as hell and historical to boot, with photos of RuPaul and Candy Darling, nods to LGBTQIA+ history and a vintage beaded purse modeled by none other than Bert, the felted gay icon of “Sesame Street” that we didn’t even know we had until 2018. (But, I mean, we knew.) The exhibit, ESSE said in a release, is “lively, loving and fact filled, featuring photos and artifacts carefully curated in cases in the colors of the gay pride flag. And, of course, because ESSE is a purse museum, parts of the rainbow flag are created with purses.” Museum hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun., Tue. and Wed.; 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat.
‘PIPPIN’
FRIDAY 8/20-SATURDAY 8/28. ARGENTA COMMUNITY THEATER. 7:30 P.M. TUE.-SAT; 2 P.M. SUN. $25-$35. For lots of theater fans in Little Rock, Argenta Community Theater’s biting, triumphant production of “Ragtime” in February 2020 was the last show seen before lockdown set in. The company is back with “Pippin,” an extended metaphor brought to Broadway with the effervescent Ben Vereen at its center, back in 1972, when its fourth-wall-breaking sensibility raised a few more eyebrows than it might now; still, leave it to this North Little Rock company to up the ante on the show’s already rapidfire pace. Vereen will, by the way, speak at the company’s outdoor gala dinner on Aug. 17 at Argenta Plaza, the night preceding preview performances of “Pippin”. Get tickets for the gala or the play at argentacommunitytheater.org. 16 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
Look closely at opera and you’ll find that there’s almost always some element of the legal and the political, though the titles rarely tell you as overtly as this one does. Derrick Wang’s 2015 gem explores the unlikely friendship that sprang up between U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia, a friendship about which The Notorious spoke when she visited Little Rock in September of 2019. Of the opera, the Los Angeles Times asked, “Could we please make it a constitutional requirement that no one can be sworn into office in the White House or Congress without having first seen Scalia/Ginsburg?” Ginsburg herself called Wang’s work “a dream come true.” For this performance from Opera in the Rock, Shannon Rookey sings the role of RBG, Matthew Tatuś sings the role of Antonin Scalia and Michael Colman sings as “The Commentator.” Ella Marchment — director of the Opera Festival of Chicago, director of Opera at Shenandoah Conservatory and director of the International Opera Awards since 2017 — directs the show. Get tickets and details at oitr.org.
CITY GARDEN: BEER & ICE CREAM FAMILY SOCIAL
SUNDAY 8/29. CURRAN HALL, 615 E. CAPITOL ST. 4-7 P.M. $15-$25. Stone’s Throw Brewing and Loblolly Creamery join forces for this Quapaw Quarter Association social. Named for the beer garden that the George Brothers opened in the neighborhood in 1841, the event celebrates the German heritage of early Little Rock settlers with a beer fit for history nerds, Stone’s Throw’s George Bros. Historical Arkansas Ale. Get tickets by searching for “Curran Hall” at tix.com.
NEWS & POLITICS
MEMORIALIZING I FULBRIGHT CONSIDER THE WHOLE OF HIS CAREER.
YOICHI R. (YOICHI ROBERT) OKAMOTO, 1915-1985, PHOTOGRAPHER (NARA RECORD: 2987665) - U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
BY ERNEST DUMAS
COMPLICATED LEGACY: Fulbright’s record includes good, bad and ugly.
18 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
f everyone could agree that there is considerable irrationality, from the right and the left, in what they call the “cancel culture” movement, we might also agree that the late and often inscrutable J. William Fulbright offers a solution. Luminaries at the University of Arkansas, as you know, are engaged in a long reflection about how far to go in desanctifying Sen. Fulbright, whose modest statue has stood for a few years outside a building on the sprawling Fayetteville campus and whose name adorns one of the university’s divisions. Once the president of the university — he was fired by a virulently racist governor — Fulbright has to be unvenerated now because his record on civil rights back in the 1950s and 1960s was only moderately better than nearly all other Southern politicians of the time. The parallels are far from exact, but the Fulbright dememorialization is something like Arkansas newspaper publisher Walter Hussman Jr.’s problems in North Carolina. There, students and faculty are complaining about Hussman’s successful interference in the hiring of a Pulitzer-honored Black journalist for the faculty of the university’s school of journalism after Hussman pledged $25 million to the school in exchange for naming it for him. His contract with the university bars it from removing Hussman’s name from the school once his estate has paid the last of the $25 million in the distant future, although it may permit removing his name before the final payment. This all started, quite justly, a decade ago with the movement to remove from public spaces the memorials to men who, to preserve slavery, revolted against the United States. The statues were mainly of Gen. Robert E. Lee and generic Confederate soldiers and were erected across the South in the early decades of the 20th century, a period labeled with the historical myth known as The Lost Cause — the theory that the rebellion against the United States in 1861 was a noble effort to preserve or resurrect not necessarily slavery, but the perfect social order of the old South. History books were altered to reflect better on the Confederate cause and the later Jim Crow laws that preserved all forms of segregation for nearly 100 years after the war. Lee and the pedestaled soldiers started coming down, or at least removed from public grounds, and there were demands from civil rights champions that government facilities and institutions, including military posts like Fort Braxton Bragg, also remove the names of more obscure Confederate generals who lost the war. Everyone is welcome to his own view about which movement, or neither, has the moral high ground — to commemorate treason against the United States because the white people of the South revered the rebels or to stop ennobling the men who either led the insurrection or extolled those who did. But how far should it go? The case of Bill Fulbright suggests a good demarcation point. Moving the Fulbright statue and deleting his name from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences are supposed to be in order because he was one of the signatories of the Southern Manifesto — the 1956 credo condemning the Supreme Court’s school-integration decision, Brown v. Board of Education, and proposing to use “all lawful means” to reverse it. The modern version is that Fulbright either wrote the manifesto or was its principal mover and that it was his conniving that forced Gov. Orval E. Faubus in 1957 to send troops to Central High School to prevent Black youngsters from going to school with whites.
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There is little substance to either charge. Stevenson anyway); and the liberal Albert Gore Far from being the provocateur who forced While Fulbright was seen as a patrician by Sr. of Tennessee, who was later defeated by the Faubus to take a stand against integrating the colleagues and probably most of his voters, segregationist Republican Bill Brock. schools in 1957, Fulbright was criticized for and he could never be accused of being an Like most Southern senators and taking a powder as the school crisis approached egalitarian — he voted against all the civil rights congressmen, Fulbright in 1962 voted against that August. He was in London working on bills of the era, the ineffectual foreign affairs, which voting-rights acts of 1957 and were the marrow of his 321960 and the substantive ones year career in Congress. of 1964, 1965 and 1968 — his None of the Arkansas crime really was moderation. delegation tried to (He did break with other persuade Faubus from his Southerners in 1970 and voted reckless course, unless to extend the Voting Rights you count Brooks Hays, Act. If it counts for anything, the longtime congressman he also was one of only two who tried to work out Southern members of Congress a settlement between who publicly denounced the Faubus and President bombing in 1963 of the 16th Street Dwight Eisenhower and Baptist Church in Birmingham by for his effort was defeated white supremacists, which killed a year later by Dale Alford, four Black girls and injured many a write-in segregationist. more.) Fulbright’s poor record Whenever he was pressed, on civil rights should Fulbright adopted the common be adjusted to reflect position of Southern moderates what he did and said of the era: The duty of Southern both before and after the white leaders and institutions Brown decision and the was to press forward with congressional civil rights education and social services battles of the 1960s. When to overcome the centuries of President Richard Nixon, oppression. Education, he advancing the Republican figured, would eventually Southern Strategy, sought eradicate prejudice and bring to stack the Supreme Court Blacks into the mainstream. with conservatives who Like a few others, such would satisfy Southern as Arkansas’s beloved foes of civil rights, congressman Brooks Hays, Fulbright, more than any he steered a quiet course that other Southern senator, would avoid certain defeat at tried to foil the strategy. his next election. When Sen. Fulbright had already Strom Thurmond (then a South abandoned the South and Carolina Democrat) drafted the voted to confirm the first Southern Manifesto, Fulbright Black person, Thurgood told his colleagues he would Marshall, the longtime never sign it. Eventually, to chief counsel of the mollify Fulbright and perhaps NAACP, to the Supreme others, Sen. Richard Russell Court in 1961. Marshall of Georgia (the Senate office had argued the case MONUMENTAL DISAGREEMENT: It’s a statue to segregation and must go, some say. building is named for him) against school segregation revised the Manifesto to remove before the Supreme Court language that called on states to disobey the referring the 24th Amendment, which outlawed in 1954. Fulbright also was one of only four law through long-discredited doctrines like the poll tax for federal elections, to the states. Southern senators who voted not to confirm nullification. Arkansas’s segregationist hotspur, Poll taxes were the Jim Crow stratagem adopted the arch-segregationist G. Harrold Carswell, Jim Johnson, was advocating that course in by Southern states early in the century to a vocal white supremacist, for Supreme Court Arkansas and got a nullification law into the diminish Black voting. Opponents like Fulbright justice in 1970. In 1969, Fulbright abandoned Arkansas Constitution that year. The other seven said voting rules were reserved for the states. his Southern colleagues and supported the members of the Arkansas delegation signed the But two years later, he supported ratification liberal Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a civil rights revised manifesto and Fulbright quietly went of the state-written constitutional amendment champion, for majority whip of the Senate along. Only three Southern senators did not ending the poll tax in all Arkansas elections over Sen. Russell Long of Louisiana. Betraying sign it: Lyndon Johnson of Texas, who begged and prohibiting the state from ever adding his Southern colleagues, the junior Arkansas off because as the Senate majority leader he any qualification to vote beyond registration. senator helped block President Nixon’s bill shouldn’t take a position either way; Estes Arkansas voters adopted the state amendment, to outlaw busing as a way to integrate urban Kefauver of Tennessee, who was making his final but Arkansas is one of only five states — the schools. run for the Democratic nomination for president others are Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Fulbright was the only Southern senator who that summer and signing the manifesto would Virginia — where the legislatures still have not voted against Nixon’s nomination of William have thwarted his nomination (he lost to Adlai ratified the 24th amendment. Rehnquist to the Supreme Court. During the 20 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
confirmation hearings, an old memo surfaced that Rehnquist, a law clerk for Justice Robert Jackson, had written for his boss when the Supreme Court was deciding the schoolintegration case in 1954. The memo seemed to argue for upholding the separate-butequal doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. Rehnquist’s limp explanation that he had meant only to lay out one of several possible options for Jackson in the Brown case was sufficient for most senators outside the South, but not Fulbright. Rehnquist was confirmed 68–26. Whether the Bill Fulbright legacy should be repudiated, celebrated in either a muted or majestic way, or just ignored altogether is a question that ought to consider more than the civil rights battles of that brief, tempestuous era. He was a Razorback football star, a Rhodes scholar who studied at Oxford, got a law degree, practiced at the U.S. Department of Justice, taught law at his alma mater, and became president of the university at the age of 34 — the youngest college president in America. When World War II broke out, Fulbright publicly declared his sympathy for the Allied cause and then in 1940 declared that it was in America’s “vital interest” to support the war against Hitler and prepare for the inevitability of joining the war to save democracy and a humane world order. But Fulbright’s mother, Roberta, who published the Northwest Arkansas Times at Fayetteville and wrote a popular column, had opposed Homer Adkins, a Little Rock pharmacist who had used his leadership of the Ku Klux Klan to catapult himself into politics and in 1940 into the governorship. (Fulbright’s mama would become something of a rarity in the Southern publishing world. In 1954, her editorial in the Northwest Arkansas Times cheered the Supreme Court’s momentous school-integration order and induced her town, Fayetteville, to immediately integrate its schools.) Adkins retaliated against Roberta Fulbright by stacking the university’s board of trustees and having her boy fired from the presidency in 1941. Fulbright ran for the seat in the House of Representatives from Northwest Arkansas the next year and was elected. His 2-year term gained him prominence. He was on the Foreign Relations Committee and active in the development of war and postwar policies. The House adopted the Fulbright Resolution, which declared that America would not join isolationists after the war and supported permanent peacekeeping initiatives by participating in a new global organization that would keep world peace and stymie new empire builders like Germany and Japan. It was the beginning of the United Nations. Governor Adkins ran for the U.S. Senate in 1944 and Fulbright entered the Democratic primary against him. Adkins was and remains the most virulent racist to hold a governor’s office since Jeff Davis at the turn of the century.
Adkins declared the Democratic Party the white man’s party. Circulars supporting Adkins in the ’44 race called Fulbright a “nigger lover,” an integrationist and a tool of labor unions. Adkins ran full-page newspaper ads attacking Fulbright for being the only member of the Arkansas delegation to vote for a resolution urging reinstatement of a Black Treasury Department employee who had been fired after a right-wing Texas congressman accused him of being a socialist. Fulbright’s renown, of course, arises from none of those domestic and social controversies but from his leadership on the world stage as a member and then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, beginning with the creation of the Fulbright Cultural Exchange Program in 1945, one of the world’s most prestigious scholarships. It brought thousands of young scholars from all over the world to study in U.S. colleges with the objective of improving diplomatic and cultural relations. His opposition to the war in Vietnam eventually turned much of Congress and the public against the long and enervating war. The eventual publication of the secret Pentagon Papers underscored his wisdom. Should those matters deserve some permanent reverence? It depends upon anyone’s notion about the ills or gains from what he did. A few years back, the university leaders and the trustees thought the old Razorback and youthful college president deserved it. Some consideration might be given to Fulbright’s last successful race, in 1968, when his opponent was his arch enemy and consummate white supremacist Jim Johnson, who famously avoided shaking hands with Blacks in that campaign with the explanation, “I’m not campaigning in the colored community.” Johnson’s son is now a state senator from Little Rock leading the campaign to shut down the teaching of the role of race in history. Fulbright also was the first Arkansas congressperson to have a Black staffer, the civil rights activist Ben Grinage. I suggest a solution to the monument predicament. Should we tear down the Washington Monument and change the name of the capital city because the first president was a slave owner, or declare Thomas Jefferson a scourge rather than a Founding Father because he, too, profited all his life from a passel of slaves and, like Sen. Strom Thurmond long after him, got a Black woman pregnant? Men and women should be celebrated or scorned for the big and lasting things they did in life, not for all their acts of political cowardice or the lack of scientific wisdom that later generations like us possess. Lee and the Confederate generals did only one memorable thing: They attacked their country and killed thousands of men to preserve slavery, but finished second to Gen. U.S. Grant and his men.
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IT’S ROUGH OUT THERE. STILL, LET’S CELEBRATE WHAT’S GOOD.
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itching and moaning is what we do best at the Arkansas Times lately, but sometimes you have to don rose-colored sunglasses and cheer yourself up with a trip to the snow cone shack. Even the most entrenched misanthropes among us can admit there are some fine people doing delightful things around here (shout out to Arkansas’s 2021 best budtender, Buffy Montgomery!), and that perhaps that’s cause enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Arkansas’s pathetic vaccination rates could suck anyone into the doldrums, but the annual Best of Arkansas edition is a well-timed shot in the arm. The readers have voted, and you have pretty good taste. Sen. Joyce Elliott is indeed the best Arkansan. The Van, which supported the dignity of our homeless population even through the pandemic by helping them secure essentials like clothes, food and toothpaste, deserves accolades and support. Discovery’s reign as the best gay bar should not and has not been challenged. We peppered some of the winners with lightning round Q&As, and were happy we did.
Actress Jamee McAdoo shared what it’s like to dip a toe into the pageant scene and wind up winning the tiara. Designer Kelley Kolletis tipped us off to the color of the year and even told us how to not mess it up. TV meteorologist Todd Yakoubian offered up a dad joke tragic and endearing enough to make the whole state groan. The editors here have favorites, too, and we took the liberty of fleshing out readers’ nominations with a few of our own. Food editor (and best author nominee) Rhett Brinkley picked Arkansas’s best peck of pickles on a road trip to visit Blytheville’s own Mr. Davis Pickles. A former preschool teacher who bounded into the pickle-making arena after sampling his own mother’s recipe and finding it wanting (savage!), Dedric Davis pickles whatever he pleases, rules be damned. Turkey bologna? Hot dogs? Sure, pickle them, why not? And his cucumber-based concoctions are equally innovative. Can’t decide between dill or bread and butter? Let Mr. Davis Pickles blow your mind with a combination of the two flavors, all in one jar. Our most elusive editor, Lindsey Millar,
gives up the secret location of his clubhouse with a story about Natural State Treehouses, a Fayetteville-based business that can make your childhood dreams come true. And culture editor Stephanie Smittle combines encyclopedic knowledge of the Little Rock music scene and her signature balletic prose to remind us why the White Water Tavern, our favorite phoenix, will always rise to the top of any best live music venue list. The mosquitoes are biting and a dark virus cloud seems to have settled over the state like we’re the Addams Family or something. But if it’s the end times, might as well enjoy them. So binge watch “The Mysterious Benedict Society” courtesy of Little Rock’s best newly famous writer, Trenton Lee Stewart. Affix some faux lashes from Beauty & Beyond to look your most fly on the voyage to the hereafter. Drop in at Colonial Wines and Spirits (“best booze to go”) and provision yourself to offer up a proper farewell toast. It’s summer vacation’s (and maybe even Western civilization’s) last gasp. Let’s break out the good stuff.
BEST OF ARKANSAS RECREATION BIKE TRAIL Arkansas River Trail Finalists: Mt. Nebo State Park Monument Trails (Dardanelle), Northwoods Trails (Hot Springs), Pinnacle Mountain State Park Monument Trails (Roland), Slaughter Pen (Bentonville) CHEAP DATE Pinnacle Mountain State Park (Roland) Finalists: Arkansas Skatium, Kenda Drive-In (Marshall), The Rail Yard, Riverfront Park FAMILY ATTRACTION Little Rock Zoo Finalists: Brady Mountain Recreation Area on Lake Ouachita (Royal), Little Rock River Market District, Loco Ropes (Mountain View), Petit Jean State Park (Morrilton) GOLF COURSE Rebsamen Golf Course Finalists: Burns Park Golf Course (North Little Rock), Country Club of Little Rock, Pleasant Valley Golf Course, Red Apple Inn & Country Club (Heber Springs) 24 AUGUST 2021
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GYM/PLACE TO WORK OUT 10 Fitness Finalists: 365 Fitness (Conway), Gravitas Martial Arts (Conway), Jolly Bodies, SparkFit HIKING TRAIL Petit Jean State Park (Morrilton) Finalists: Devil’s Den State Park (West Fork), Emerald Park (North Little Rock), Pinnacle Mountain State Park (Roland), Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area (Roland) MARINA Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa on Lake Ouachita (Mount Ida) Finalists: Brady Mountain Resort & Marina on Lake Ouachita (Royal), Eden Isle Marina on Greers Ferry Lake (Heber Springs), Heber Springs Marina on Greers Ferry Lake, Shiloh Marina on Greers Ferry Lake (Higden) OUTDOOR ATTRACTION Garvan Woodland Gardens (Hot Springs) Finalists: Buffalo National River, Little Rock Zoo, Loco Ropes (Mountain View), Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort (Hot Springs)
PARK Two Rivers Park Finalists: Allsopp Park, Burns Park (North Little Rock), Murray Park, Pinnacle Mountain State Park PLACE TO CANOE/KAYAK/TUBE Buffalo River Finalists: Caddo River, Little Maumelle River, Little Red River, White River PLACE TO SWIM Greers Ferry Lake Finalists: Buffalo National River, DeGray Lake, Lake Hamilton, Little Rock Racquet Club RESORT The Lodge at Mount Magazine (Paris) Finalists: Gaston’s White River Resort (Lakeview), Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa (Mount Ida), Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort (Hot Springs), Red Apple Inn & Country Club (Heber Springs)
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JEFF NICHOLS Little Rock born writer/director Jeff Nichols has made five feature films: “Shotgun Stories,” “Take Shelter,” “Mud,” “Midnight Special” and “Loving.” He and his wife and and son live in Austin, Texas. What have you been working on? I’m writing a lot of screenplays. I’m probably paraphrasing Mark Twain, but I’ve always believed that you have to fill up your creative well. After releasing “Midnight Special” and “Loving” back to back, I’ve been in that mode: gotta go write some stuff. The well has been filled. Now, I’m ready for the world to open up so I can go make some movies. One thing I can tell you on the record is that I’m working on my second draft of my “Quiet Place” film [the third in the series]. It’s one of the most intense scripts I’ve ever written. What’s something you’ve watched recently that stood out? I was blown away by “Mare of Easttown.” I’m prejudiced slightly because my friend from college Craig Zobel directed it. But I thought it felt like one of the most sincere representations of small town life that I’ve seen in a very long time.
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RIDDLES, PUZZLES, MAZES AND DAYDREAMS TRENTON LEE STEWART’S ‘THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY’ IS AN ENTERPRISE IN EMOTIONAL MEMORY. BY JORDAN P. HICKEY 26 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
PUZZLE MASTER: Acclaimed author Trenton Lee Stewart.
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oughly two minutes after taking the stage at Reves Recital Hall on the campus of Hendrix College in February 2019, author and Little Rock resident Trenton Lee Stewart had a confession for the audience. “Two things that I never thought that I would do,” he said into the spotlight. “One, the first and most relevant to you, I never thought that I would read from a middle-grade adventure novel to a room full of adults. But that is what is going to happen tonight.” If the audience was at all disappointed to hear that he wouldn’t be reading from his suite of tone poems, Stewart joked, he’d give them a moment to slip out shame-free, making a show of shuffling his papers and ducking below the lectern to take a swig of bottled water. “The other thing that I never thought that I would do was return to the ‘Mysterious Benedict Society’ series,” he said, referring to the hit book series that had earned him international acclaim and a then-in-the-works television adaptation, which has since premiered on Disney Plus. “And yet, I finally did that.” Before he started reading from the latest installment in the series, the then-unpublished “The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages,” Stewart again addressed the disparity between the present audience and the audience for whom he’d written the book. He told them that he was going to read to them as if he were reading a bedtime story to his own children. He explained that he’d be doing voices, and that “there is no cool way to read a children’s book to a roomful of adults — you understand that, I hope ... You can’t be cool while this happens.” For that reason, he urged them to channel their inner 11- or 12-year-old. (“Or if you are 11 or 12 years old, to be yourself.”) Then, he started. And as he did so, reading from his seventh young adult adventure novel about the brilliant children of the “Society,” a “sequel to the three-quel and the prequel,” any need for caveats about the book’s intended audience were rendered moot, swallowed by the power of pure story. “In a city called Stonetown, on a quiet street of spacious old houses and gracious old trees, a young man named Reynie Muldoon Perumal, was contemplating a door ...” *** Trenton Lee Stewart’s writing career can be understood as two nearly equal halves: preBenedict and post-Benedict. For the better part of 15 years after graduating from Hendrix with an English degree in ’92,
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Stewart worked a long string of odd jobs, the expected sort of menial work that a writer takes when he’s striving to make it as a writer. Nightside hotel clerk. Night caretaker at a men’s group home. VHS store delivery driver. These jobs allowed him to focus on literary fiction work, leaving his focus — and often his daylight hours — for writing, as he first earned his MFA at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and then wrote and wrote and wrote. The cleft between the two halves eventually arrived in 2004. Faced with what he would later describe as “a number of small quotidian pressures,” he found himself wondering if, after spending so much of his adult life trying to make it as a writer, it might not be better to pursue a career path that looked more like a career. Law, for instance. Maybe medicine. He told himself that he’d still find time to write, but he knew that it meant dealing with difficult decisions about how he was going to spend his time and energy. And then, within a six-week span in 2005, he got word that two books he’d written had been sold. First, there was “Flood Summer,” a serious piece of fiction that had been years in the works, sprung from two previously abandoned novels, one of which had morphed from an even earlier short story. And then there was the book he’d written for fun while working at a library in Cincinnati: “The Mysterious Benedict Society.” It was a far different sort of book than Stewart had been trying to write, one that didn’t fit the mold of literary fiction. Still, as much as he’d written it for children — specifically, his own two young children — he’d also written it for his own enjoyment. He’d allowed himself to do whatever he wanted to do. To incorporate the sorts of riddles and puzzles and mazes with secret solutions that filled his daydreams. To be as funny as he was in conversation, telling jokes for both kids and adults alike. And he did all of this by channeling what he describes as a “sort of transmogrified voice from my childhood … a more performative version of myself as a writer than I had previously sort of engaged.” It was also, probably, British in lineage, descended from the likes of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis with a dash of Encyclopedia Brown. What then happened is that Benedict Society became “the thing.” When his agent shopped it around to editors, they asked whether he’d planned for it to be a series (he’d privately mused how the story could arc over two books — and with two books, you might as well make it a trilogy). He signed with Little Brown for a two-book deal, started revising the first while he wrote the second and planned the third. He began traveling, before and after the book was published, meeting people all across the country — readers, librarians, booksellers — attending readings and signings at festivals and schools. And eventually, as a prequel and sequel were added to the mix, the universe of the Benedict Society grew larger by magnitudes. 28 AUGUST 2021
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And while this might seem like a departure, it was really a return to an original form. *** This is because, in another sense, those two aforementioned halves of Stewart’s career can be understood as being not halves at all. Because while they might seem to have been two disparate hemispheres — half an apple and half an orange, incomparable, sutured together — they are really part of the same thing, not a pivot or a U-turn, but an extension of two specific moments from his childhood. The first is when he was very young, around 3 years old. That was around the time, Stewart says, when he’d started “thinking.” This meant closing his eyes, and shushing any family
“I WAS TRYING TO GO THROUGH A WORMHOLE AND WRITE THE KIND OF BOOK THAT I WOULD HAVE LOVED THE MOST [AS A CHILD].” members who dared to disturb him as stories took shape in his imagination. These were what he now describes as “Narnia knockoff fantasies,” tales of sorcery and swords in which the young Stewart cast himself as protagonist. The second was when he was 11 or 12, when he made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t forget about the way he saw things or the way he thought about things. He believed that, despite being a child, he had an adult perspective on things, and that this had gone unacknowledged in the interactions he had with adults. Those two experiences cultivated an already innate ability to connect with kids and to tap into what it’s like to be one. Which is precisely what he did when he sat down to write Benedict Society: “It was really almost exclusively an enterprise in essentially emotional memory,” he said. “I was trying to go through a wormhole and write the kind of book that I would have
loved the most.” Over time, however, as his own children approached the ages of his characters, he didn’t have to rely so exclusively on his recollections of the past. He’s noted in other interviews that his son’s tantrums as a toddler figured prominently into the tantrums thrown by Constance. (“Well, if I’m trying to paint a picture of a tiger, it’s great to have a tiger nearby.”) But as they grew older, they also lent those characters an essential element: the tension between genius and emotional age, the way in which children can astound with their unexpected quasiadult commentaries at one moment and be in hysterics the next. “You know, a big part of these stories is the fact that these kids are brilliant and they’re super sophisticated beyond their years in a lot of ways — but they’re still dealing, emotionally, as children with their environment,” Stewart said. “And that’s the disconnect between, you know, dealing irrationally with the world around you because you can’t help it — because of your age or various other factors in the brain or whatever. That tension between that and your more cool, dispassionate, intellectual assessment of events seemed very much a part of a lot of kids’ lives. And I saw that with [my son] Elliot and tried in some ways to let that inform what I wrote.” Ultimately, that seems to be a large part of why the books have such a resonance with readers, young and old. Because even though they deal with sometimes outlandish situations, at heart they grapple with universal principles — placing the children in situations where the ultimate test is making the right, moral decision. *** Precisely 29 minutes and 41 seconds after he started, Trenton Lee Stewart, standing in the spotlight at Reves Recital Hall, finished reading the first chapter of “The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages.” “... And just like that,” he said, flipping the last page in a stack of papers, “the Society was reconvened. Thank you.” At that moment, the audience erupted into a hearty applause. Nearly seven months later, the book would be published. Not long after that, as the world began to shut down and public events such as this one became a distant memory, the television show based on Stewart’s book began to take shape, allowing writers and actors a chance to do the voices of his work. But for the moment, there was applause and time for questions. From the darkness a man-shaped silhouette broke away from the crowd-shaped silhouette and the voice of Tyrone Jaeger, a Hendrix English professor then in his early 50s, came over the speakers. After asking Stewart if he wouldn’t mind taking some questions, Jaeger said, “My inner 11-year-old is right on the surface.” “I can see it,” Stewart said.
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COMEDIAN Nate Williams Finalists: Big Dre, Gene Berry, Michael Brown, Jason Willey COUNTRY BAND/ARTIST Bonnie Montgomery Finalists: Cliff & Susan (Susan Erwin and Cliff Prowse), Lucero, Bree Ogden, Salty Dogs DANCE CLUB Discovery Finalists: Club 27, Electric Cowboy, Jimmy Doyle’s Country Club (North Little Rock), Sway DJ DJ Kramer Finalists: DJ Courier (Hot Springs), g-force, Shayne Gray (Gray Matter Radio on KABF-FM 88.3), JJ Wilson FILMMAKER Jeff Nichols Finalists: Lee Isaac Chung, Graham Gordy, Mark Thiedeman, Kathryn Tucker
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JAMEE MCADOO Little Rock Central High School graduate Jamee McAdoo starred in a 2021 Arkansas-made film called “Shattered Dreams”; published a volume of her own poems; recorded an album of original songs with The Writeous, a poetry collective her family founded; and was crowned in 2019 as the state’s first Miss Heritage Outstanding Teen. You are known for many things, but one of those is the way in which you fuse song, spoken word and activism. When you’re writing a song or a poem, what’s most important to you? The most important thing to me when writing, speaking publicly, or performing my art, is definitely authenticity. I encourage myself to truly open up and explore many ideas with my writing, without focusing on the feedback I could receive but more so evaluating how I personally feel about the piece. You say on your website that you wore “a different natural hairstyle every day onstage in competition despite being told it wasn’t ‘pageant hair.’ “ Can you talk a little bit about that? Every day of onstage competitions, I had a different natural hair style: bantu knots, an afro, twists, etc. ... I know the biases and inequities that I will inevitably face, but I know that if I tackle everything authentically and gracefully, I will always leave my mark.
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AUGUST 2021 31
LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL Arkansas Folk Festival (Mountain View) Finalists: Toad Suck Daze (Conway), Hillberry Music Festival (Eureka Springs), Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival (Hot Springs), Yadaloo Music & Arts Festival (North Little Rock)
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PERFORMING ARTS GROUP Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Finalists: Argenta Community Theater, Ballet Arkansas, Opera in the Rock, Red Octopus Theatre Group PHOTOGRAPHER Amber Lane Photography (Russellville) Finalists: Lexi Adams Photography (Conway), Brian Chilson, Katie Childs Photo, Ashley Murphy Images PLACE FOR KARAOKE Town Pump Finalists: Brewski’s Pub & Grub, Dust Bowl Lanes and Lounge, The Hangout Grill & Bar (North Little Rock), Lucky’s Sports Bar & Grill (Maumelle)
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LOCAL MEDIA BLOG Arkansas Blog Finalists: Arkansas Outside, Blue Hog Report, The Mighty Rib, Rock Candy COLUMNIST/REPORTER Max Brantley Finalist: John Brummett, Ernie Dumas, Dwain Hebda (Ya!Mule Wordsmiths), Philip Martin NEWSPAPER WRITER Max Brantley Finalist: Austin Bailey, Dwain Hebda (Ya!Mule Wordsmiths), Andrew DeMillo, Ginny Monk PODCAST Arkansas Times: Week in Review Finalists: BlackbeltVoices, Gamblers, Rock the Culture, Not For Prophets Stereo Podcast RADIO PERSONALITY Heather Brown (KLAL-FM Alice 107.7) Finalists: Bobby Bones (WSIX-FM, Nashville), Kyle Kellams (KUAF-FM 91.3), Roger Scott and Tommy Smith (KABZ-FM “The Buzz” 103.7)
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Mom to four children and co-host of “The Heather and Poolboy” show on Alice 107.7 every weekday morning, Heather Brown has been on the air since 1999. How would you describe your style in one word? Storyteller. I tend to sing in the middle of conversation if you say a phrase that reminds me of a song, or my voice will change into a character voice. I’m all over the place. I think I’m probably a little goofy.
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BEST LIVE MUSIC VENUE
CHANGE OF THE GUARD NEW OWNERSHIP, SAME WHITE WATER TAVERN. BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE
34 AUGUST 2021
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BRAIN CHILSON
NEW (OLD) CREW: (right to left) Travis Hill, Mike Meza, Matt White, Kevin Creasy, Natalee Miller, Jordan Trotter and Shane Clinton prepare to reopen the White Water Tavern. ARKANSASTIMES.COM
AUGUST 2021 35
MATT WHITE
S
A WORKING-CLASS BAR: Visitors to the White Water Tavern pass yellowing articles from the Arkansas Times on a corkboard at the entrance (above), then into the storied walls of the tavern’s main room (far right). At center, blues artist Adia Victoria shoots a music video at the tavern during its hiatus.
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eventeen months after it closed its doors because of the pandemic, the White Water Tavern is preparing to reopen with new ownership and a slightly modified crew. Last Chance Records owner Travis Hill and his wife, Natalee Miller, are the new owners and — good news for White Water’s legions of fans — they view their role largely as caretakers and don’t plan to dramatically alter the beloved formula. Brent Best and Patrick Sweany are booked to play the Aug. 6 reopening of the dive — or, as music booker and former co-owner Matt White calls it, “one of the world’s great beer joints, music rooms, and funky little community centers.” The White Water has survived three devastating fires, two at the hand of an arsonist and one the aftermath of a drunken motorcyclist’s wayward turn. It’s been a happy-hour home to Bill Clinton staffers and bikers and blue-collar workers and the occasional celebrity — and intellectuals, armchair and otherwise. Where old-school Little Rock bands like Mike “Burger” Scoggins and Sweet Magnolia once played, crowds huddled in recent years to hear Lee Bains III or Adia Victoria or Bonnie Montgomery or Glossary tear the roof off the place. Or, to sit cross-legged on the floor while Malcolm Holcombe or Eliza Gilkyson or Ramblin’ Jack Elliott shrouded the place in a solemn stillness. There is no cocktail menu, no blender, and calling anybody behind the bar a mixologist is likely to get you banned, laughed out of town or both. And yet, there it sits on Esquire magazine’s list of the “24 Best Bars in America.” Patrons, stewards and champions of the working-class bar will tell you there’s magic in the walls and in the rafters. Since its opening in 1976, it’s survived changes of the guard — from Larry “Goose” Garrison’s ownership between 1979 and 2007 to its more recent era under the ownership of White and Sean Hughes, and now, to Hill and Miller. Through it all, it stayed just the way we like it: crusty, unpretentious, sweetly familiar. Here’s the good news: After a year and change of being shuttered, the place looks largely the same ahead of its reopening. The red canoe still hangs as a totem from the ceiling, glowing from the Christmas lights that adorn it. The jukebox still plays Kevin Kerby and R.L. Burnside. Jordan Trotter will still run the soundboard. Beloved bartender Marianne Taylor will still be around, but she’s retired, so expect to find her sitting at the bar, not behind it. White, a gifted photographer whose steady presence as co-owner and music booker has guided the tavern over the last decade and a half,
will still book the bands; a decade and a half of bar work had left him feeling “incredibly stressed and burned out,” and he’s glad to share the load with people who care deeply about preserving it. Bar manager Kevin Creasy will still crack wise from behind the bar with Mike Meza, but with 10 taps this time, instead of three. “It’s a team,” Hill said. “I work at UAMS. I can’t quit my day job and go bartend.” Hill, who works as director of the UAMS Centers for Simulation Education, has booked the wildly popular Holiday Hangout festival at White Water every December. He and Natalee had their wedding reception there. “We want to make sure the White Water’s there 30 years from now,” he said. “We’re just the custodians until it’s the next generation’s turn.” “Folks can rest assured that the spirit of the place isn’t going anywhere,” White said. “I met Travis at the White Water on February 1, 2007, our opening night after taking the reins from Goose. Travis and Natalee have been vital components to many of our greatest shows and events for many years now. We wouldn’t have made it this far along without their friendship and care.” Some of the chief differences: Expect the bar to be open at least every first Sunday of the month at 4 p.m., when KABF-FM 88.3 “Blues House Party” host Deb Finney will preside over a Sunday Afternoon Blues Jam. Former co-owner Sean Hughes has moved on to a position at AR-T’s/Electric Ghost, though he and his wife, Larnie, are “still part of the family,” Hill said, and Larnie will continue to run the tavern’s Saturday farmers market, which kept many locals connected to local farmers during the pandemic. The bar kitchen, which has been rented to many talented cooks over the years (Davis Clement, Lauren McCants, Nick Castleberry and Israel Rogers, to name a few), will be an inhouse operation with more consistent hours than in years past, under the helm of Shane Clinton, formerly a cook at Four Quarter Bar. A large pecan tree that got struck by lightning in 2020 and loomed ominously behind the building has been removed, and sail cloth will be installed over the back patio to provide shade. A newly installed set of 1982 Klipsch Heresy speakers above the bar shelves should make those afternoon playlists sound stellar. There’s new carpet on the stage and stairs; same shade of blue, less grime. There’s less dust, too; a leaf blower to the rafters and a subsequent deep clean have rendered ages of dander gone but not forgotten. Three toilets have been replaced. There’s a new sink at the
MATT WHITE
MATT WHITE
“FOLKS CAN REST ASSURED THAT THE SPIRIT OF THE PLACE ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE.”
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MATT WHITE
bar, and shiny new pots and pans in the kitchen. And that ice machine that seemed to issue its workmanlike rattle just as Adam Faucett was getting to the quiet part of “Living on the Moon?” It’s been replaced, and relocated to the back storage room. The powder pink sink in the women’s restroom still stands, but the stall partitions have been sealed with Kilz — a sanitation mandate, Hill said, so “Fort Sumter was an inside job” and other stallside graffiti gems will live on only in the archives of memory. “We’re definitely not trying to clean it up in a way that discourages the Sharpie,” he said. “I may put the first graffiti in the men’s room, I dunno.” Another thing: the property’s footprint is getting bigger — and less waterlogged. Hill and Miller bought the gravel parking lot across from the bar, which was being leased by the previous ownership. They bought the two lots behind the bar, too, the ones between the bar’s dumpsters and Coates Street. Hill’s got long-term plans for using those two lots; stay tuned. “It’s really about your community and the neighborhood, and keeping the beautiful thing that the White Water is.” White Water founder Paul Black, also a handyman, helped guide the crew with the renovations. That’s Black’s German Shepherd you see sitting in front of the ’70s-era tavern in a photo that sits above the bar — White’s all-time favorite photo of the place, when it looked “like an ancient fishing shack.” When we visited in mid-July, the parking lot was about to be broken up and leveled for drainage purposes (adieu, stubborn potholes); the two lots on Coates were to be leveled out similarly. Aside from some stray carpet remnants and power tools, it felt pretty much like you’d wandered in on a lazy Wednesday afternoon prepandemic, though the bar shelves were conspicuously liquorless. Hill, wearing a T-shirt with the words “Two Cow Garage Is Not A Country Band,” scoped out the day’s construction progress after he’d punched out at UAMS, joined a few minutes later by Natalee and the couple’s 8-year-old, Connor, who is most excited about the prospect of owning a jukebox. The day after Best and Sweany play reopening night, Amy Garland Band and The Salty Dogs are booked, though the blackboard hanging on the western wall still listed the bands originally slated for the second weekend of March 2020, a time capsule of the pandemic’s onset. What happens, then, if the Delta variant puts a damper on the reopening plans? They’ll chug along until the tide turns, Hill said. “I’m too deep into the pool not to keep swimmin’.” Meanwhile, behind the bar, Creasy poked fun at the “new” phone — an olive green rotary model of yore — that they’d been required to install as part of liquor license recertification. He quipped that he was “ready to hate music again,” then took a turn for the earnest, saying he thought they’d all needed the break to properly appreciate the place. “It kinda made us miss it,” he said. “I’m ready to get back to this.” Longtime regular and next door neighbor Nick Devlin even occupied his usual spot at the end of the bar, chiming in with relief that the place wasn’t going to be turned into something “ridiculous.” A sports bar, or worse. He’s played, he guesses, around 700 shows at the spot. “And that’s a conservative estimate. I don’t know why I’m even pipin’ up about that. Chimer-in-chief here. But it’s just cool that it’s gonna be open again, and that it’s gonna be what it was.”
WHITE LIGHT: Country music legend Billy Joe Shaver (19392020) plays the White Water Tavern (right). At left, the barroom sits empty, as it has been for much of the last year and a half.
MATT WHITE
“I MAY PUT THE FIRST GRAFFITI IN THE MEN’S ROOM, I DUNNO.”
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RADIO STATION KLAL-FM Alice 107.7 Finalists: KABF-FM 88.3, KUAR-FM 89.1/KLREFM 90.5, KUAF-FM 91.3, KSSN-FM 96 TV METEOROLOGIST Todd Yakoubian (KATV) Finalists: Tom Brannon (THV11), Garrett Lewis (KFSM), Melinda Mayo (KATV), Keith Monahan (KARK) TV PERSONALITY Craig O’Neill (THV11) Finalists: Steve Barnes (Arkansas PBS), Alyson Courtney (KATV), Chris May (KATV), Laura Monteverdi (KARK) TV SPORTSCASTER Steve Sullivan (KATV) Finalists: Hayden Balgavy (THV11), Dorian Craft (THV11), Wess Moore (FOX16), Tera Talmadge (Pig Trail Nation) TV STATION KATV (Channel 7) Finalists: Arkansas PBS, KARK (Channel 4), KLRT (FOX16), KTHV (THV11) WEBSITE arktimes.com Finalists: arkansas.gov, arkansasonline.com, arkansasoutside.com, bluehogreport.com
PEOPLE AND POLITICS ATHLETE Moses Moody Finalists: Davonte Davis, Lee Ann Jolly, Cayden Parker, Cayden Wallace AUTHOR Charles Portis Finalists: Rhett Brinkley, Kevin Brockmeier, Crystal C. Mercer, Trenton Lee Stewart ARKANSAN Joyce Elliott Finalists: Matt Campbell, Crystal C. Mercer, Eric Musselman, Ryan Taneja LITTLE ROCKER Joyce Elliott Finalists: Matt Campbell, Capi Peck, Frank Scott Jr., Kathy Webb CELEBRITY Mary Steenburgen Finalists: Bankroll Freddie, Symone the Ebony Enchantress, Billy Bob Thornton, Ryan Taneja CHARITY EVENT Soup Sunday (Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families) Finalists: Cupcakes for Goodness Sake (CareLink), Dinner on the Grounds (Our House), The Show Must Go On (benefit concert for local theaters), UAMS Winthrop Rockefeller Cure Walk 40 AUGUST 2021
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KATV, Channel 7 The weather in Arkansas is a popular subject that most Arkansans can agree on. It’s the only subject for Arkansas native Todd Yakoubian, who’s been giving us forecasts since he arrived at KATV, Channel 7, as a meteorologist in 2005. You’ve been updating us on how long it’s been since Little Rock has seen a 100-degree day. How much of an anomaly is the relatively mild summer of 2021? With plenty of summer still to go, 100 degrees is still on the table. However, if we make it through this entire summer without reaching 100, it will be the first time we’ve had three consecutive summers without doing so since 1948, 1949 and 1950. Pretty rare! If we make it through Aug. 4 without reaching 100, it will be the fifth-longest number of consecutive days below 100 degrees. Have you ever seen a tornado in person? Yes. The first time was chasing in south-central Oklahoma in late April 1996. That same storm eventually put down a tornado and destroyed downtown Van Buren. I also witnessed the April 3, 2008, tornado in Leawood as I was driving on I-630 near Barrow Road. You write dad jokes and tweet them out occasionally. Could you leave us with one? When I was 6 years old, I wanted to be a meteorologist, but I often thought about working in a mirror factory. However, I could not see myself working there.
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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Courtney Pledger (Arkansas PBS) Finalists: Janet Jones (Janet Jones Realty), Rusty Mathis (Ben E. Keith), Chris Moses (Newmark Moses Tucker Partners), Dan Roda (Abaca Cannabis Banking) CONSERVATIVE Asa Hutchinson Finalists: Tom Cotton, Jim Hendren, French Hill, Jason Rapert
BOOZE TO GO Colonial Wines & Spirits Finalists: 107 Liquor (Sherwood), Legacy Wine and Spirits, O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor, Sullivant’s Liquor
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MISUSE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS 99% of the bills passed in the Arkansas 2021 legislative session Finalists: Lawsuits defending unconstitutional laws, Sen. Jason Rapert, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, Shutting down War Memorial Golf Course
BUSINESS LUNCH Trio’s Finalists: Cache, Doe’s Eat Place, The Faded Rose, Whole Hog Cafe
NONPROFIT The Van (The One Inc.) Finalists: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, Our House, World Services for the Blind PHILANTHROPIST Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Finalists: John Burkhalter, Rick Fleetwood, Ryan Taneja, Walton Family POLITICIAN Joyce Elliott Finalists: Tom Cotton, Jim Hendren, Asa Hutchinson, Clarke Tucker WORST ARKANSAN Jason Rapert Finalists: Tom Cotton, Asa Hutchinson, Leslie Rutledge, Sarah Huckabee Sanders
FOOD AND DRINK ARKANSAS-BREWED BEER Lost Forty Finalists: Diamond Bear, Flyway Brewing, Stone’s Throw Brewing, Superior Bathhouse Brewery (Hot Springs)
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Sen. Joyce Elliott, a native of Willisville, spent three decades as a public school teacher before winning a seat in the Arkansas legislature, where she has served since 2000. We know that you are an avid adventurer and fan of spending time outdoors. What are your all-time favorite spots in nature in Arkansas? Like many kids, particularly growing up in the South, we were not allowed to sit around in the house. It was out after breakfast and in by sundown. We were lucky to have the great outdoors of Southwest Arkansas, so I basically grew up outdoors. Some of my all-time favorite spots in Arkansas are White Oak Lake where you can find Little Grand Canyon; HemmedIn Hollow Falls; just about anywhere on the Buffalo River; Cossatot River; Garvan Woodland Gardens; Big Dam Bridge; Fourche Creek; and the woods, streams and ponds around Willisville, where I grew up. What are you listening to these days? I am purposefully listening to these women whose music so moves me: Emeli Sande, Eva Cassidy, Lizz Wright, Tracy Chapman, Frazey Ford, Ruthie Foster and Dusty Springfield.
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PICKLES A’ PLENTY: Mr. Davis Pickles are available in a wide variety.
P
ulling into the parking lot of the Mr. Davis Bread & Butter Pickles storefront in Blytheville, it’s hard to miss the lifesize cardboard cutout of Blytheville native Dedric Davis, aka Mr. Davis Pickles, aka Pickleberg Slim, standing in the window flashing a big smile, wearing a black cowboy hat and a “Mr. Davis Pickles LLC” T-shirt, jars of his hand-cut, Mississippi County-grown pickled cucumbers in each hand. If you’re lucky, or if it’s a Saturday, a grill in front of the store will be smoking with pickled beef and vegetable products that are quickly becoming famous around Blytheville and beyond. Upon entering the establishment, which officially opened for retail business in October of 2020, Mr. Davis Pickles himself might be on hand to greet you with his signature stack of slogans: “Welcome to Mr. Davis Pickles. Make your next pickle your best pickle. Eat Mr. Davis Pickles and the world is yours.” A gracious host, Davis is happy to list off every kind of pickle he has displayed behind a glass case, which includes sweet and spicy and just plain sweet versions of bread and butter pickles, dill pickles, sour pickles, the “hottest pickle in the world — get ready!”, pickled sliced jalapenos, pickle relish, pickled eggs, a chow chow collaboration between Davis and his wife featuring a portrait of the couple on the label, pickled bell peppers and onions, pickled okra, pickled green tomatoes, pickled turkey bologna and, yes, what we smelled on the grill — pickled
beef hot dogs. “Best hot dog you’ll ever eat in your life,” Davis said. The display case also holds three gardening awards and an ornate, heavy, legitimate-looking World Heavyweight Championship wrestler’s belt. “I’m going to be the pickle champion of the world,” Davis said. “So when I get up in the morning and I come up here and I look at this belt, it makes me know I got a goal in mind and that’s to be the best.” Davis, 41, worked as a preschool teacher for the Mississippi County Arkansas Economic Opportunity Commission’s Head Start program for 13 years. During that time he became a master gardener and chair of the MCAEOC’s community garden. In addition to teaching preschool, he taught students around Blytheville about gardening. Davis left the economic opportunity commission at the end of 2019 to be a fulltime pickle maker/manufacturer. He plans to continue educating children about horticulture. In fact, the character of Mr. Davis Pickles is something “for the kids,” he said. “It is very important for children to understand where the food they eat comes from.” Davis’ foray into gardening started with a chance encounter when he was driving around on a particularly hot summer day and saw a woman who reminded him of his grandmother. “I was fresh out of college, broke, frustrated and there was an older lady taking gallon buckets of water from her house to her garden.”
Davis pulled over and asked if she needed help. He spent the next few hours with her, weeding, tilling, watering and “just talking about life.” Davis said the stress he felt before he pulled over was gone. “I thought I was helping her,” he said, “but I actually helped myself. I fell in love with gardening and that was all she wrote.” Davis became a master gardener and won the Rookie of the Year award from the UA Division of Agriculture in 2015. Gardening would play a major role in Davis’ personal life as well. While mowing lawns for extra income, Davis befriended a woman named Tamaki Mathis after cutting her grass one day. A domestic violence survivor, Mathis started the company SISTER’S with her two young daughters in 2015, making all-natural beauty products. Mathis donates 10 percent of SISTER’S proceeds to The Haven, a nonprofit in Northeast Arkansas that provides emergency shelter, supportive care and education to victims of domestic abuse. After learning about Mathis’ story, Davis talked her into becoming a gardener. “Through gardening, we fell in love,” Davis said. “Gardening taught us both patience and helped with post-traumatic stress disorder. People don’t know just being out with nature and just watching a plant grow and that quietness and that peace. It’s just different, man.” Mathis became a master gardener, too, and she, along with Davis and fellow volunteer Jerry ARKANSASTIMES.COM
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Marshall, won the “Project of the Year’’ from the UA Division of Agriculture in 2017.
SHARING THE BOUNTY: Dedric and Tamika Davis donate vegetables to a Mississippi County homeless shelter.
AS LOVE BLOSSOMED IN THE GARDEN, SO DID A PROFUSION OF CUCUMBERS. 46 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
MASTER GARDENER BECOMES MASTER PICKLER As love blossomed in the garden, so did a profusion of cucumbers. Davis gave some to his mother who pickled them and let Davis sample them. Upon tasting one of his mother’s pickles, unimpressed, he said, “I can do better than that.” Now inspired, Davis started making jars of pickles out of his home kitchen and created a recipe using herbs from his garden. Around that time, Mathis was heading to a farmers market in Pocahontas (Randolph County) to sell SISTER’S products and convinced Davis to come along and bring his pickles. “I had, like, 100 jars of pickles and within 30 minutes to an hour every last one of them was gone,” Davis said. Davis had labels made and was able to get his pickles in the local Hays Supermarket in Blytheville and Gunn’s Grocery store in Wilson. Jonesboro news station KAIT, Channel 8, interviewed Davis and aired a story about his home-pickling business. After the interview aired, the Health Department paid him a visit, and he had to pull his products off the shelves because he didn’t have the proper licenses and equipment to run a pickle manufacturing business. Davis received a call from Mississippi County Judge John Alan Nelson, who’d purchased some of Davis’ pickles from a local festival. “He said, ‘Man, you got a good product.’ He said, ‘Don’t do anything, I might be able to help you out.’ ” With Nelson’s help, Davis was able to get his business licenses and a grant through the city of Blytheville. Davis acquired his storefront in 2019. He officially opened in May of 2020 and then opened for retail in October to “survive the pandemic.” In December of 2020, he started giving away free hot dogs to the community on Saturdays. “There were people starving during COVID-19 when it first hit and got bad ... I gave away over 5,000 [hot dogs],” he said. Now known as “Pickle Dog Saturday,” the community is welcome to come and try his grilled pickled hot dogs that he slathers with sweet and spicy pickled onions and peppers that boil in a grill pan in their pickling brine, providing a sweet heat relish flavor to the pickled dogs. The pickle flavor is not overwhelming and the heat stays with you. It’s
a new hot dog experience worth seeking. Some customers give donations, but “they don’t have to if they don’t want to,” Davis said. “It was just a way to feed the people. It didn’t cost me a lot, just the effort and also to promote my products.” “Those hot dogs, the flavor is everything in the store. If you want the whole flavor of Mr. Davis Pickles, you get ’em in those hot dogs,” he said. Davis credits the idea to childhood lessons he learned from his grandmother. “There were people in her community who didn’t have much, so if they wanted some food she would feed them on the weekends,” Davis said. Davis and Mathis got married in April of this year, becoming Mr. and Mrs. Davis Pickles. “COVID-19 cancelled it twice, but we finally got it done,” Davis said. “She’s the reason why I am who I am right now. … She shows me how to hold my head up, she believes in me. She told me, ‘You got something good, baby.’ She said,‘Just don’t throw it away, keep going.’ ” Mr. Davis Pickles is certainly going. Davis is working with farmers in Mississippi County to try and keep all of Mr. Davis Pickles’ produce local. “Cotton is king around here, he said, “but we can do something different. We have the [fertile farming] soil, we have enough land.” He’s also planning a pickle festival and hoping to go on a marketing tour around the state to get Mr. Davis Pickles products in more stores. In addition to several Hays Supermarkets, Davis’ pickles are sold in Perkins Restaurant in Blytheville, American Made General Store, Kings Backyard BBQ, Food Smart in Newport and Ella B’s in Arlington, Texas, across the street from where the Dallas Cowboys play at AT&T Stadium. Ella B’s is owned by Blytheville native and former Dallas Cowboys chef Patrick Whitfield and his wife, Patricia. Davis and Whitfield grew up together, and for the upcoming season, Whitfield invited Davis to come down for the home games to grill his pickled dogs for tailgaters. Before leaving Blytheville, Mr. Davis Pickles, host extraordinaire, sent us home with a jar of his brand-new, not-yet-released creation — and my personal favorite, the barbecue pickle made with his own barbecue sauce. He also gave us some SISTER’S Kool-Aid pickles and jars of pickled turkey bologna. He placed a sticker that read “I eat Mr. Davis Bread and Butter Pickles,” on my shirt and said, “You’ve been pickled.” If you want to get pickled, too, you can buy Mr. Davis Pickles products from his website, mrdavispickles.com
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RESTAURANT DELIVERY Damgoode Pies Finalists: Casa Manana, Fantastic China, Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe, Whole Hog Cafe RIBS Whole Hog Cafe Finalists: Corky’s Ribs & BBQ, Count Porkula, Sims Bar-B-Que
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MILKSHAKE The Purple Cow Restaurant Finalists: Big Orange, Loblolly Creamery, MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream and Treatery, The Original ScoopDog (North Little Rock)
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LIQUOR STORE Colonial Wines & Spirits Finalists: 107 Liquor, Legacy Wine & Spirits, O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor, Sullivant’s Liquor Store
ONION RINGS The Purple Cow Restaurant Finalists: Cotham’s in the City, Copper Mule Table & Tap (Bryant), Hubcap Burger Co., Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort Track Kitchen (Hot Springs)
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SHOPPING ANTIQUES Midtown Vintage Market Finalists: Fabulous Finds Antique & Decorative Mall, Roy Dudley Estate Sales, Ruth Hanna’s, Sweet Home/Clement 48 AUGUST 2021
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ART GALLERY M2 Gallery Finalists: Boswell Mourot Fine Art, Gallery 26, Hearne Fine Art, Rivertown Gallery (Mountain Home)
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AUTO DEALER Subaru of Little Rock Finalists: Crain Chevrolet, Everett Buick GMC, Mark McLarty Toyota, Steve Landers Auto Group BICYCLE SHOP Angry Dave’s Bicycles (North Little Rock) Finalists: Arkansas Cycling & Fitness, The Community Bicyclist, The Ride (Conway), Spokes Giant BOOKSTORE WordsWorth Books Finalists: Bookish (Fort Smith), The Bookstore at Library Square, Dickson Street Bookshop (Fayetteville), Dog Ear Books (Russellville) BRIDAL STORE Lowe’s Bridal (Brinkley) Finalists: The Bridal Cottage (North Little Rock), Couture Bridal Shop (Rogers), Something Bleu Bridal Boutique (Hot Springs), Unveiled Bridal Collection CBD STORE Healing Hemp of Arkansas Finalists: Alabi Cannabis Company, Heights Apothecary and Hemp Co., Good Earth Organics, Green Corner Store
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CHILDREN’S CLOTHING The Toggery Finalists: Caroline’s Consignment, Clara Jane & Jax (Batesville), Rhea Drug Store, Simply Sweet Kids (Conway) FABRICS AND DRAPERY Cynthia East Fabrics Finalists: Designer Effects, Joyce Holt’s Window Works, Laura’s Draperies & Blinds, Marshall Dry Goods Co. (Batesville) FARMERS MARKET Little Rock Farmers Market Finalists: Argenta Farmers Market, The Bramble Market, Me and McGee Market, White Water Tavern Market
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FLOORING STORE Cantrell Furniture Design Center Finalists: C&F Flooring and Rug Gallery, Carpet Barn (North Little Rock), McElroy Tops & Floors, River City Flooring
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A n A r k A n s A s F Av o r i t e . YeAr AFter YeAr. FLORIST Petal to the Metal Floristry Finalists: The Empty Vase, Frances Flower Shop, Letta’s Flowers and Gifts (Bryant), Tanarah Luxe Floral FURNITURE Hank’s Fine Furniture Finalists: Ashley Furniture HomeStore, Cantrell Furniture Design Center Store, Cost Plus Furniture, Sweet Home/Clement GARDEN STORE The Good Earth Garden Center Finalists: Botanica Gardens, Cantrell Gardens Nursery, Hocott’s Garden Center, Plantopia GIFT SHOP Box Turtle Finalists: Bella Vita Jewelry, The Crown Shop, Moxy Modern Mercantile, Rhea Drug Store GROCERY STORE Trader Joe’s Finalists: Edwards Food Giant, Kroger, Natural Grocers, Whole Foods Market HARDWARE/HOME IMPROVEMENT Fuller & Son Hardware Finalists: Ace Hardware, Kraftco Hardware, The Hardware Store (Fayetteville), Hum’s Hardware & Rental (North Little Rock) HIP CLOTHING Box Turtle Finalists: AR-T’s, Crying Weasel Vintage, Fringe Clothing, Scarlet HOBBY SHOP Argenta Bead Co. Finalists: ART Outfitters, The Coin & Stamp Shop, Control Records, HobbyTown (North Little Rock) HOME ENTERTAINMENT STORE Arkansas Record-CD Exchange (North Little Rock) Finalists: Audio Dimensions, Control Records, Family Leisure (North Little Rock), Solutions Home Entertainment JEWELER Sissy’s Log Cabin Finalists: Bang-Up Betty, Bella Vita Jewelry & Gifts, Cecil’s Jewelry, Roberson’s Jewelry LINGERIE STORE Cupid’s Finalists: Adam & Eve, Angie Davis (Conway), Doctor John’s Lingerie and Novelties Boutique, Fantasies Lingerie and More (Cabot)
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COURTESY NATURAL STATE TREEHOUSES
BEST TREEHOUSE BUILDERS
CLUBHOUSES FOR ALL AGES NATURAL STATE TREEHOUSES MAKES DREAMS COME TRUE. BY LINDSEY MILLAR 52 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
LINDSEY MILLAR
UP IN THE TREES: In 2015, Natural State used mostly salvaged lumber to build a treehouse in a Siberian elm with a crow’s nest that overlooks downtown Fayetteville (left). Owner Josh Hart (below) was inspired to start the company after looking for pre-built playsets for his sons and being unhappy with his options.
Y
ou’ve heard about the pandemic-inspired surge in home construction and renovation, but what about the treehouse boom? Natural State Treehouses, the 10-year-old Fayetteville-based speciality contractor, has never been busier, owner Josh Hart said. Among the company’s projects in the last year and a half: an off-the-grid treehouse home in rural Madison County; a deck 13 feet off the ground with a hot tub, fireplace and sauna (nicknamed “hot tub in the sky”); a traditional log cabin; and, Natural State’s bread and butter, all varieties of backyard treehouses and freestanding play structures. In July, I drove to Pleasant Plains in Independence County to meet up with Hart and his crew during a two-day build for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Natural State has been working with Make-AWish for the last six years, building one or two projects for the foundation every month. This one was for Rowan, an active 4-year-old with a host of disabilities: He’s deaf, on the autism spectrum and has cerebral palsy and short-gut syndrome (his body doesn’t absorb and digest food normally). His mother, Jamie Butler, said she’d initially applied to Make-A-Wish for a trip to Disney World. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Make-AWish paused trip grants. That worked out, Butler said, because once the family thought about it more,
they decided Rowan would enjoy a treehouse more than a trip to Disney. The original design that Hart, Make-A-Wish and Rowan’s family settled on was for a freestanding playhouse, but when Hart arrived to dig footings, he suggested tying the playhouse into a silver maple just off the family’s covered patio. To do that, Hart and Co. used a long auger drill bit to bore a deep hole into the trunk, then sunk a long bolt specifically designed for treehouse support. The tree will eventually envelop much of the bolt, which both strengthens the connection and prevents airborne fungus or disease from infiltrating the tree. Hart has built platforms all the way up to 35 feet in the air. The higher you get, the more tree movement. No matter how high the treehouse, Natural State builds to allow the structure to shift as the tree moves. “Generally, we find the simpler the better,” Hart said. “A lot of times, people will ask for castles or themed things,” but he tries to steer them toward designs that leave plenty of room for imagination. Rowan’s treehouse got most of the full complement of classic treehouse features: a ladder, a deck, an enclosed portion, a basket for raising and lowering, a slide, a tire swing and a gravel pit underneath (Hart recommends gravel over sand to clients). The treehouse is only 5 feet in the air, but even as an adult standing in it while it was still a work in ARKANSASTIMES.COM
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54 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES COURTESY NATURAL STATE TREEHOUSES
COURTESY NATURAL STATE TREEHOUSES
NATURAL STATE TREEHOUSES OWNER JOSH HART KNOWS HE HAS A SWEET GIG. “BACK IN THE DAY, I BASICALLY SAID, ‘WHAT’S THE MOST FUN JOB I COULD DO?’ ” HE REMEMBERS. “THAT’S KIND OF HOW THE BUSINESS WAS BORN.”
CLASSIC PLAYHOUSES: Some customers ask for castles or elaborate designs, but Natural State Treehouses’ Josh Hart tries to steer them to simpler designs like this backyard play tower in Little Rock (left) and Rowan’s treehouse in Pleasant Plains (above).
progress, I felt like I was up in the trees. Hart knows he has a sweet gig. “Back in the day, I basically said, ‘What’s the most fun job I could do?’ ” he remembers. “That’s kind of how the business was born.” The fuller version: In 2010, Hart and his wife, Kate, decided to surprise their sons, then 3 and 5, with an outdoor playset for Christmas. The couple quickly realized that what was commercially available was both expensive and poorly made. “Someone should make sustainably built play structures for kids,” Josh remembers telling Kate, whose response was, “That someone should be you.” At that time, Hart had worked for a decade at the Walton Arts Center, fundraising and managing the box office. “It was a wonderful job,” Hart said, “but I ultimately realized I wasn’t built to work indoors.” He’d learned carpentry from his father. Hart built that first family treehouse with his sons and Kate, a fiction writer, in mind — a play space that could double as a writing studio. That eye for multipurpose use has always been key to Natural State’s design philosophy, another element that separates its work from the commercially available playsets, which are typically not navigable for anyone but little kids. “A [treehouse or playhouse] doesn’t need to be sized so only kids can be in it,” Hart said. “I like to think about making a place that the 5-yearold can enjoy now, but when she’s 13, she can go do homework. Or adults can have friends up to it to have a cocktail.” Like any builder, Natural State works on a wide range of projects, though it’s increasingly taking on bigger projects. Still, for the most part, the company operates on the affordable end of the spectrum. “We’re pretty budget-conscious and pretty creative,” he said. “You would be surprised what we can do for $20,000.” But the standard backyard treehouse or playset is more in the $4,000-$7,000 range. Natural State relies heavily on cypress and eastern red cedar, grown and milled in Arkansas, and reclaimed materials, which means the company largely dodged the recent massive spike in lumber prices. Hart said Natural State is committed to its relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and continuing to build simple backyard treehouses. Most of the company’s work has been concentrated in Northwest Arkansas and Little Rock, but Natural State has traveled all over the state and into Missouri and Oklahoma. “Pretty much all of our business is through word of mouth,” Hart said. Often Natural State will build one backyard treehouse in a neighborhood and get three or four more jobs from neighbors. Word is spreading. In July, Natural State was already booking for spring 2022. ARKANSASTIMES.COM
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BEST POET MEN’S CLOTHING Dillard’s Finalists: Baumans Fine Men’s Clothing, Bell & Sward (Conway), Mr. Wicks, The Woodsman Co. (Fort Smith) MOBILE PHONE PROVIDER AT&T Finalists: Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk Wireless, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless
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PRE-K OR PRESCHOOL Pulaski Academy Finalists: The Anthony School, Episcopal Collegiate School, Pediatrics Plus COMMUNITY COLLEGE UA Pulaski Tech (North Little Rock) Finalists: Arkansas State University-Beebe, National Park College (Hot Springs), NorthWest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville), South Arkansas Community College (El Dorado)
OUTDOOR STORE Ozark Outdoor Supply Finalists: Bass Pro Shop, Domestic Domestic, Ken Rash’s of Arkansas, Ozark Mountain Trading Co. (Conway)
FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) Finalists: Arkansas State University (Jonesboro), Hendrix College (Conway), University of Arkansas at Little Rock, University of Central Arkansas (Conway)
PAWN SHOP Braswell & Son Pawnbrokers (Little Rock, North Little Rock, Bryant, Conway) Finalists: Big Daddy’s Pawn Shop, Levy Pawn and Gun, Pawnderosa Pawn Shop, USA Loans Pawn Shop
PRIVATE SCHOOL Pulaski Academy Finalists: The Anthony School, Catholic High School for Boys, Episcopal Collegiate School, Hannah School
RV/CAMPER DEALER Moix RV Supercenter (Conway) Finalists: Crain RV (Benton), Gander RV & Outdoors (North Little Rock), Goss Camper Sales, Kiko’s Kountry RV (North Little Rock)
PUBLIC SCHOOL Little Rock Central High School Finalists: eStem Public Charter School, Forest Park Elementary, North Little Rock High School, Pulaski Heights Elementary
SHOES Rock City Kicks Finalists: Happy Feet (North Little Rock), J Pruitt Shoes, Tops Shoes (Benton), Warren’s Shoes
GOODS AND SERVICES
TOYS The Toggery Finalist: Box Turtle, Kindness & Joy Toys (Fayetteville), Knowledge Tree, Rhea Drug Store VAPE SHOP Toddy Tobacco & Vape Shop Finalists: Abby Road, Rogue Vapers, The Vapor Connection, Vapor World VINTAGE CLOTHING Crying Weasel Vintage Finalists: America Jane Vintage (Conway), Oak Forest Vintage, Ruth Hanna’s, Thriftpologie ARKANSAS TIMES
EDUCATION
MOTORCYCLE DEALER Toad Suck Harley-Davidson (Conway) Finalists: Heritage Indian Motorcycle of Northwest Arkansas (Rogers), Honda of North Little Rock (North Little Rock), Richards HondaYamaha, Rock City Harley-Davidson
SPORTING GOODS Ozark Outdoor Supply Finalists: Academy Sports + Outdoor, Dick’s Sporting Goods (North Little Rock), Gene Lockwood’s, Rock City Running
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WOMEN’S CLOTHING E. Leigh’s Finalists: Crying Weasel Vintage, Fringe Clothing, Rhea Drug Store, Vesta’s Boutique
ACCOUNTING FIRM Frost PLLC Finalists: CFO Network (North Little Rock), EGP PLLC, HCJ CPA’s & Advisors, Landmark APARTMENT COMPLEX The Fitzroy Chenal Finalists: Argenta Flats Apartments, Bowman Pointe Apartments, The Pointe Brodie Creek, The Pointe North Hills, Wellington at Chenal ARCHITECT Cromwell Finalists: AMR Architects, John Greer (WER Architects), Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, Taggart Architects ARKANSAS-BASED COMPANY Walmart Finalists: The Pointe North Hills, Roller Funeral Homes, Stephens Inc., Superior Senior Care
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ARTISAN Bang-Up Betty (Stacey Bowers) Finalists: AR-T’s (Justin Sharp), Bella Vita (Brandy McNair), Hannah Lawrence, Turner Custom Millwork AUTO SERVICE Discount Tire & Brake Finalists: Jett’s Gas & Service, Little Rock Paint and Body, R Street Shell, Subaru of Little Rock AUTOGLASS REPAIR Safelite AutoGlass Finalists: Allied Glass & Frame Shop (Benton), Capitol Glass Co., Dr. B’s Windshield Repair Co., Mobile Glass Pros BANK Arvest Finalists: Arkansas Federal Credit Union, Bank of England, Bank of Little Rock, Centennial Bank
2021 Best of Arkansas Contractor
COMMERCIAL INSURANCE AGENCY State Farm Finalists: Arkansas Farm Bureau, Brown & Brown Insurance, The Hatcher Agency, Shelter Insurance COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AGENCY Keller Williams Realty Finalists: Kelley Commercial Partners, McKimmey Realtors, Newmark Moses Tucker Partners, The Property Group COMPANY TO WORK FOR CareLink (North Little Rock) Finalists: Cornerstone Construction, Kelley Commercial Partners, Newmark Moses Tucker Partners, Roller Funeral Homes
www.KincoConstructors.com
Thanks For Voting Us Among The Best In Arkansas!
BEST RIBS 2415 Broadway St • Little Rock (501) 372-6868 • simsbbqar.com 58 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
CONTRACTOR Kinco Constructors Finalists: American Structure Inc., Cornerstone Construction, Lash Remodeling (Maumelle), River Rock Builders DESIGNER/DECORATOR Kelley Kolettis Designs Finalists: Debi Davis Interior Design, Garry Mertins (mertinsdykehome) Brittany Nixon Creative, Johnna Novak (Novak Design) EVENT VENUE Heifer International Finalists: First Security Amphitheater/River Market Pavilions, Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, The Rev Room, Rusty Tractor Vineyards FUNERAL HOME Roller Funeral Homes Finalists: Ashby Funeral Home (Benton), Bella Vista Funeral Home (Bella Vista), North Little Rock Funeral Home, Smith Family Funeral Homes
BEST DISPENSARY IN ARKANSAS Thank you to everyone who voted for us! When you have the opportunity to help a neighbor, that’s exactly what you do. And that’s exactly what we did. This local family-run company in Sherwood, Arkansas is setting out to assist our neighbors in finding the comfort and relief they need. Our focus is not only on the product, but the experience. The warm and inviting environment allows a person to feel at ease. The friendly and professional team members allow you to connect. The quality of our product allows you to care for your needs at the highest standards. Have an Impact… That’s what we’re setting out to do. (501) 487-6045 • 3107 E Kiehl Ave, Sherwood www.naturalreliefdispensary.com Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Marijuana is for use by qualified patients only. Keep out of reach of children. Marijuana use during pregnancy or breastfeeding poses potential harms. Marijuana is not approved by the FDA to treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of marijuana.
BEST DISPENSARY
BEST WELCOME MAT
BIENVENIDO A LA SEVIER COUNTY THE MINORITY AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS COMMISSIONS A MURAL AND A MESSAGE. BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE
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exarkana-based artist Darlene Taylor’s “Welcome to De Queen” mural welcomes visitors in English, Spanish, Choctaw and Marshallese. A new community group in De Queen called the Minority Affairs Council of Southwest Arkansas launched in the wake of the George Floyd murder in May 2020, and the mural was the group’s first project. The council’s president, Murriel Wiley, said its purpose was twofold: It covered up graffiti after a bout of vandalism hit the town last year, “and it also sent the message that everyone is welcome here, no matter where you come from.” Muralist Taylor, Wiley told the Arkansas Times, has since been hired by local businesses “for 16 other projects around town.”
Rhea
Drug Store PHARMACY • UNIQUE GIFTS ONE-STOP SHOP
BEST PHARMACY, BEST GIFT SHOP, BEST TOYS, BEST CHILDREN’S CLOTHING, BEST WOMEN’S CLOTHING
SERVING LITTLE ROCK SINCE 1922 • 2801 KAVANAUGH LITTLE ROCK 501.663.4131
Thanks For The Votes!
BRIAN CHILSON
Best Reporter/Columnist and Best Newspaper Writer
BEST COLUMNIST/REPORTER, BEST NEWSPAPER WRITER, DWAIN HEBDA A proud transplant to The Natural State, I love writing about the people and places that make Arkansas special. A heartfelt thanks to everyone out there who cast your vote in my direction. I appreciate it! Need a writer to promote your business or tell your story? USE YA WORDS! For a free, no-obligation bid on your project: 501-813-9559 | dwain@ya-mule.com | ya-mule.com ARKANSASTIMES.COM
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HANDYMAN Roman Gonzales Finalists: Avant Garde Estate Services (Joshua Plant), The Dryer Vent Guy (Matthew Young, Conway), Lash Remodeling (Maumelle), Top Notch Home Services (Steven Long, Conway) HOME BUILDER Hines Homes Finalists: Bradford Morris Construction, Graham Smith Construction, Markus Homes, Mike Orndorff Construction HOME INSPECTION Blackbird Inspections (Eric Young) Finalists: Joe Cummins, GQ Inspection Services (Dennis Evans), Lance Lefler, Pillar to Post Home Inspectors (The Paulson Team) HOME, LIFE, CAR INSURANCE State Farm Finalists: Citizens Fidelity Insurance Co., Allison Covington (MidArk Insurance Group), The Jenkins Agency, USAA HOTEL Capital Hotel Finalists: Aloft Little Rock West, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort (Hot Springs) HVAC REPAIR Middleton Heat & Air Finalists: Airmasters Heating & Air Conditioning, Davis Comfort, Ski Brothers Heat and Air, Yates Maintenance Heating & Air INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER AT&T U-verse Finalists: Comcast, Conway Corp, Cox, Hyperleap
EXCEPTIONAL CARE. TERRIFIC PEOPLE. Kavanaugh Pharmacy is your forever pharmacy.
Thanks for voting us Best Pharmacy! BEST PHARMACY 501-664-3844 • 5008 Kavanaugh Blvd. • www.kavanaughrx.com 62 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
LANDSCAPER/LANDSCAPE DESIGN The Good Earth Garden Center Finalists: Chris H. Olsen, Pugh’s Earthworks (Maumelle), River Valley Horticulture Products, Westfall Design Studio (Tontitown) LAW FIRM Wright Lindsey Jennings Finalists: Duncan Johnston & Collins, Mitchell Williams Law Firm, PPGMR Law, Taylor King Law LAWYER Taylor King (Taylor King Law) Finalists: Lauren Collins (Duncan Johnston & Collins), Bill James (James Law Firm), David Slade (Carney Bates & Pullium), Kacey Ziegler (Nash Law Firm in Maumelle)
esize to vertical. Replace Best of logo with 2021 logo and add 2021 to the list.
TWO OF THE BEST REASONS TO CHOOSE
OUR HOSPITAL Voted Top 5 in Orthopaedic Surgery Dr. Martin and Dr. Hefley are just two reasons why, year after year, more patients choose to make Arkansas Surgical Hospital their hospital. Make Arkansas Surgical Hospital your hospital by calling (877) 918-7020 to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists.
Physician Owned. Patient Focused. 877-918-7020
| w w w.arksurgicalhospital.com
RIVERDALE 10 VIP CINEMA BEST MOVIE THEATER 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Full Food Menu • Serving Beer & Wine Tickets & Gift Cards available online Luxury Leather Electric Recliners with tables in all auditoriums Reserved Seating Ticket Kiosks in Lobby for your convenience Locally Owned & Operated
2600 Cantrell Rd. 501.296.9955 • riverdale10.com
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KASTEN SEARLES
BEST DESIGNER/ DECORATOR
WINNER
BEST FUNERAL HOME
ROLLER FUNERAL HOMES
THANK YOU ARKANSAS! FINALIST: BEST ARKANSAS-BASED COMPANY BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR www.rollerfuneralhomes.com
WE BUILD COMFORT.
Thank you for voting us one of the top 5 Heating & Air companies in Arkansas!
BEST HVAC REPAIR 501.960.8971 • yatesmaintenance.com 64 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
KELLEY KOLETTIS Kelley Kolettis Designs
Arkansas-grown interior designer Kelley Kolettis won accolades from Arkansas Times readers for her skill at helping clients put together homes and workspaces that are both lovely and livable. Here, she offers some advice for the DIY set. What’s the color of the year? And does the South have its own colors? The color of the year is a mossy green, anything to bring in more nature to liven up your space. The South’s color palette is inspired by our natural surroundings: blues, greens, creams. More so than a color “palette,” Southern design is inspired by patterns, and mixing them in creative ways: plaid/stripe, animal print and floral/botanical. What’s the most common design mistake people make? Choosing a color at the paint store. Bring home a couple of samples in various shades of the chosen color to see what looks best in the space, checking the samples throughout the day to make sure the chosen color still looks the best in morning light, evening light or in artificial light. There are hundreds of shades of your color for a reason, so make sure it still looks good in the space before committing to painting the whole house.
Swacy Stachovic
BEST COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Emergency Medical Services Student
uaptc.edu/apply
OFFERING DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES IN: Applied Electronics Technology Associate of Arts Automated Manufacturing Systems (AMS) Automotive Technology Aviation Maintenance Technology Business and Information Technology Collision Repair
Construction Management Culinary Arts and Hospitality Diesel Technology Drafting and Design Technology Early Childhood Education Electronics General Technology HVACR
Machining and Computerized Numerical Control Medical Sciences Military Technologies Power Sports and Equipment Technology Tractor and Trailer Logistics Welding Technology and much more!
START HERE. GO FURTHER.
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SUBSCRIBE TO
ARKTIMES.COM BEST BARBERSHOP
66 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
THANKS FOR VOTING FOR US! WINNER FOR BEST GIFT SHOP, HIP CLOTHING FINALIST FOR BEST TOYS
MON-FRI 10-5:30 SAT 10-5• 2616 KAVANAUGH BLVD. LITTLE ROCK 501.661.1167 • SHOPBOXTURTLE.COM
THANKS FOR VOTING US BEST HOME INSPECTION!
PROUD TO HELP YOU BUY WITH CONFIDENCE!
1-501-INSPECT 5018 Club Road, Suite 112, Little Rock blackbirdhomeinspections.com
BEST HOME INSPECTION
Serving Central Arkansas, including Little Rock, Hot Springs, Benton, Bryant, Cabot, Conway, Jacksonville, Pine Bluff, and Sheridan. ARKANSASTIMES.COM
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thank you FOR VOTING KELLEY KOLETTIS DESIGNS BEST IN ARKANSAS!
BEST DESIGNER/ DECORATOR
MARKETING FIRM CJRW Finalists: Campbell Ward, CMW Agency, MHP/ Team SI, Thoma Thoma MOVER Two Men and a Truck (North Little Rock) Finalists: Brandon Moving & Storage (North Little Rock), Elite Movers, Mustard Seed Moving of Arkansas, VIP Moving of Arkansas MUSIC EQUIPMENT Guitar Center (Little Rock) Finalists: Fry Guitars, Palmer Music Co. (Conway), Renown Music (North Little Rock), Shuffield Music Co. (Arkadelphia) PEST CONTROL Adams Pest Control Finalists: Arkansas Pest Control (North Little Rock), Curry’s Termite, Elkins Pest Control (Maumelle), Pest & Animal Control, Legacy Termite and Pest Control
KELLEY KOLETTIS DESIGNS INTERIOR DESIGN | RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL 501.940.3832 WWW.KELLEYKOLETTISDESIGNS.COM
The Van is forever grateful for the support of Arkansans. We can’t thank you enough for your votes and look forward to your help and support as we prepare again for this coming winter.
EVERYBODY vs. HOMELESSNESS!
PET GROOMERS Hounds Lounge Pet Resort and Spa Finalists: Doggie Do’s, Fairview Kennels, Hounds’ Hideaway (Conway, Jonesboro and Rogers), Woof Happy Tails PLUMBER Ray Lusk Plumbing Finalists: Associated Plumbers Inc., David Guajardo (Action Mechanical, North Little Rock), Hall’s Affordable Plumbing, Merrick Plumbing (Benton) RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE AGENCY The Janet Jones Co. Finalists: The Charlotte John Co., Keller Williams Realty, McKimmey Associates Realtors (North Little Rock), The Property Group SIDING, WINDOWS AND ROOFING Wilson’s Home Improvement (Hot Springs) Finalists: Accountable Roofing, Arkansas Roofing Kompany (Conway), Cornerstone Construction, Sideco/Windco (North Little Rock)
Best Nonprofit
SOLAR COMPANY Seal Solar (North Little Rock) Finalists: AEV Solar, Cornerstone Construction, Entegrity, Shine Solar (Rogers) TATTOOS 7th Street Tattoo Finalists: Black Cobra Tattoos (Sherwood), Love Spell Tattoo, Lucky Bella Tattoos (North Little Rock), Smoky Row Tattoo (Russellville)
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ARKANSAS TIMES
TRAVEL AGENCY Poe Travel Finalists: Friends Tours & Travel, Peacock Travel Group, Sue Smith Vacations (North Little Rock), West Rock Travel WEALTH MANAGEMENT Encompass Financial Partners Finalists: Conger Wealth Management, Chris Harkins (Harkins Rafferty Wealth Management of Raymond James), Kelly Ross Journey (Edward Jones), Tim Rafferty (Harkins Rafferty Wealth Management of Raymond James) WEB DESIGN Rock City Digital Finalists: iProv, Matmon, Jeffrey A. Turnbow (Conway), Thomas Wallace Interactive Media WINDOW TINTING SunStop Window Tinting (North Little Rock) Finalists: 007 Window Tinting (Benton), D&D Sun Control Inc. (North Little Rock), Jay’s Window Tinting (Sherwood), Rock City Wraps
MEDICAL AND PERSONAL CARE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY Fox Ridge Luxury Senior Living Finalists: The Manor Senior Living Community, Memory Care of Little Rock at Good Shepherd, Woodland Heights, Indian Rock Village (Fairfield Bay) BARBERSHOP Dogtown Barber Lounge (North Little Rock) Finalists: Blade and Barrel (Jacksonville), Handle Barbershop, Jerry’s Barbershop, Sullivan Barber Service BUDTENDER Buffy Montgomery (Suite 443 in Hot Springs) Finalists: Noah Nichols (Harvest, Conway), Micah Reynolds (Herbology), DJ Riggan (Good Day Farm Dispensary), Taylor Yates (Good Day Farm Dispensary) CHIROPRACTOR Dr. Beverly Foster (Chiropractic Health & Rehabilitation) Finalists: Lee Hodge (Abundant Health Chiropractic & Therapeutic Massage), Omnis Rehab: Joint and Performance Center, Pinnacle Chiropractic, Dr. Richard Riley (Little Rock Chiropractic) COSMETIC DENTIST Dr. DJ Dailey (Smile Dailey General and Cosmetic Dentistry) Finalists: Dr Stephen Deal (Deal Family Dentistry, Greenbrier), Dr. Montgomery Heathman (Heathman Family and Cosmetic Dentistry), Dr. Sam Strong (Dentalways), Dr. Jeff Wisner (Wisener, Cooper & Fergus DDS; Rogers)
From Shabby Chic To Classic Antique Thanks For Voting Us The Best!
Thank You,
AR Times readers, for voting us Best Marina!
WINNER BEST ANTIQUES FOR 13 YEARS! Mountain Harbor Resort & Spa on Lake Ouachita 870-867-2191 • 800-832-2276 MountainHarborResort.com
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Monday–Saturday 10am–6pm Sunday 1–5pm 105 N. Rodney Parham Road (501) 223-3600 midtownvintagemarket.com
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Premier Lodging • Award-Winning, Full-Service Marina Lake-View Dining • Turtle Cove Spa
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Thank You For Voting Us Best Vape Shop! Come See Us!
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Best Vape Shop
14001 Cantrell Road, Little Rock (501)-916-2364 • www.toddysmokeshop.com ARKANSASTIMES.COM
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tHe cHaRlOtte JOHn cOMpanY
BEST PLUMBER
t H e c Ht aHRe l c OH ta tR e lJ OO tHtne cJ O OM Hp n a cn OY M p a n Y Upholstery | Pillows | Drapery | Headboards | Wallpaper | Home Accessories
WE DO IT ALL
F
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sitting pretty
Hours: Mon-Fri 10-5; Sat 10-4 • 1523 Rebsamen Park Rd • Little Rock • 501-663-0460 • cynthiaeastfabrics.com
THANKS FOR VOTING FOR US!
KASTEN SEARLES
tHe cHaRlOtte JOHn cOMpanY
JAMES WILLIS Ray Lusk Plumbing
BEST OUTDOOR DINING, BEST FRENCH FRIES, BEST BUSINESS LUNCH, BEST SALAD
tHe cHaRlOtte JOHn cOMpanY
LITTLE ROCK’S MOST AWARD-WINNING RESTAURANT 1619 Rebsamen Rd. 501.663.9734 • thefadedrose.com
Good plumbing is something we rarely think about until disaster strikes. And when our sinks get clogged, or our toilets overflow or our pipes burst, it’s often our own fault. Save your plumber the trouble this winter and follow these directions from James Willis of Ray Lusk Plumbing. How important is it to leave the faucets dripping in winter when it gets below freezing? It is very important to leave faucets dripping during freezing temperatures. Drip hot and cold water on sinks located on exterior walls. Open cabinet doors under the sinks. Drip tub and shower faucets if they are located on exterior walls. Remove hoses and install covers on all outside hose bibbs.
What is the strangest thing you’ve retrieved out of a drain? Strangest tHe cHaRlOtte JOHn cOMpanY item that I’ve found in a drain was a gold necklace. I pulled a toilet in a house to see what was causing [it] to stop up frequently and found a necklace stuck to the discharge pipe of the toilet. I showed the R e s i d e n t i a l s a l e s BEST s RESIDENTIAL p e c i a l i snecklace t s to the customer, [and] she informed me that her husband REAL ESTATE AGENCY Little Rock — Since 1982— Conway given her the necklace before R e s| 501-664-5646 i d e n t i a l s a l e s s p e1300 c iOak a Street l i s| had t s 5813 Kavanaugh 501-327-5646 charlottejohn.com he passed away, and she couldn’t n l t ieasl ss a e s i d e n t Ri eas li d se a p le ecs i sap le ic si at lsi s t s R e s i d Locally e n t Loved. i a l s a l e s s p e c i a l i s t s Locally Owned. remember what had happened to Little Rock Conway ttle Rock s| 501-664-5646 i a a l e s s p eConway a Street l i s| 501-327-5646 t s charlottejohn.com — Since 1982— Little Rock Conway the necklace. e s| 501-664-5646 i d e5813 nKavanaugh t Ri ea li dse an lt e sl ss p e1300 c iOak a Street l 1300 ic si|Oak t s augh 501-327-5646 charlottejohn.com R e s i d e n t i a l s a l e s s p e c i a l i t s 5813 Kavanaugh | 501-664-5646 1300 Oak Streets| 501-327-5646 charlottejohn.com
Locally Owned. Locally Loved. — Since 1982— Locally Locally Owned. Locally Loved. Loved. Loved. LocallyOwned. Owned. Locally Locally — Since— 1982— Since 1982—
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70 AUGUST 2021 ARKANSAS TIMES Little Rock Conway Raugh e s| 501-664-5646 i d e n t i a l s a l e s s p e1300 c iOak a Street l i s| 501-327-5646 t s charlottejohn.com
Thanks for voting us THE BEST Milkshake and Onion Rings in the State!
BEST MILKSHAKE • BEST ONION RINGS ilovepurplecow.com
Quality Care Rooted in Arkansas
The BridgeWay is honored that the readers of Arkansas Times have selected us the best mental health facility.
1-800-245-0011 TheBridgeWay.com 21 Bridgeway Road • North Little Rock, AR 72113
Founded in 1983, The BridgeWay Hospital is the only free-standing psychiatric hospital in Arkansas with distinct programs for acute mental health, serious mental health, and substance use disorder treatment for adults, as well as behavioral healthcare for adolescents, ages 13-17, and children, ages 4-12. We offer a continuum of services designed to help people experiencing behavioral, emotional, or addictive problems that can lead to fractured lives.
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MANDY KEENER
HAIR HEAVEN: Get a new ‘do at Beauty & Beyond.
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BEST WIGS
BEAUTY & BEYOND BECKONS
WE APPRECIATE YOUR VOTES FOR BEST HAIR SALON!
GO FOR THE FANNY PACKS, STAY FOR THE WIGS. BY AUSTIN BAILEY
S
even Palestinian-Americans blessed with thick, obstinately inky hair can’t be expected to know much about wigs and extensions. Thaer Nimer, who co-owns Beauty & Beyond at 7509 Cantrell Road with his six brothers, admits his ineptitude in this department. He can’t even braid, he said. Perhaps you’re equally unskilled, and/or equally hirsute? You’ll still enjoy a spin through this unexpected oasis of urban beauty and fashion in the vintage Tanglewood Shopping Center. Clusters of giant hair bows, off-brand Crocs, Gucci ball caps that seem unlikely to have been handcrafted in Italy. The window displays at Beauty & Beyond exude a chaotic Canal Street vibe. Stretchy athletic wear in all the colors of middle school memories beckons. Inside, beyond a rack of neon fanny packs, is a labyrinth of hair in every imaginable color, length and configuration; more than 300 kinds of wigs, with price tags from $5 to $700. The most expensive in the shop is a Rapunzelesque blonde with wavy bangs, made from real human hair. A subtle blue-gray bob I admired was around $300, astonishingly silky to the touch and too expensive to even try on. But there are bargains to be found at Beauty & Beyond. African black soap, a trick our glamorous grandmothers knew about decades ago that’s coming back into popularity but still sometimes hard to find, can be got here for $1.95 a bar! The eyebrow tinting kits are also a bargain, but have a bottle of dish soap on hand to counteract your inevitably unskilled application. If you end up with Groucho Marxworthy brows, then at least you can offset them with dramatic faux eyelashes. Magnetic or glued? Weekend casual or mile-long, extra glam? They have racks and racks from which to choose. The store is part of a small chain, which is good news considering that left to themselves, the follicularly blessed Nimer brothers surely would have no idea what to stock. Swing by any day between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. (except Sundays when they close at 6), and let one of the owners look on helplessly but encouragingly as you shop.
BEST HAIR SALON Contact RED for an appointment. Call (501) 664-4RED (733) or text (501) 416-2608 1923 N University Ave • www.redbeautylounge.com
THANKS FOR VOTING US BEST DERMATOLOGIST! COME GET YOUR SPOT CHECK!
arkansasdermatology.com
BEST DERMATOLOGIST ARKANSASTIMES.COM
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THANK YOU ARKANSAS!
Thank You!
We are here for you and are ALWAYS 100% Gluten, Wheat, Soy and Nut-Free!
BEST FAMILY PHYSICIAN
BEST BAKED GOODS
THANKS FOR VOTING US BEST SUSHI 4 YEARS IN A ROW! 2018, 2019, 2020 AND 2021.
KASTEN SEARLES
323 S Cross St, Little • (501) 375-2257 • dempseybakery.com Thank youRock Arkansas! We are here for you and are ALWAYS 100% Gluten, Wheat, Soy and Nut-Free! 323 Cross St., Little Rock Phone: 501.375.2257 dempseybakery.com
DR. KENT COVERT Little Rock Family Practice
A Searcy native with degrees from the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Dr. Kent Covert is married with three children. Aside from universal acceptance of the coronavirus vaccine, what’s the one piece of basic medical advice for patients that would make your job way easier? Eat better, eat less, watch your weight. The negative domino effects of obesity cannot be understated. Do you have any good doctor jokes? I like this one just because I have a lot of friends who are orthopedic surgeons: What’s the difference between God and an orthopedic surgeon? God doesn’t think He’s an orthopedic surgeon. Do you have a hidden talent? I make the best chocolate milk, but that’s about as far as my cooking talents go.
2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. | Little Rock, AR 72205 (501) 660-4100 | KemuriRestaurant.com 74 AUGUST 2021
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BECAUSE YOU DESERVE THE BEST Thank you for voting Sissy’s Log Cabin “Best Jeweler,” and allowing us to serve your spectacular community.
SISSYSLOG C ABIN. C OM
“STILL THE BEST!” —you
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
BEST LIQUOR STORE BEST BOOZE TO GO
2021
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
11200 W. Markham
501-223-3120 866-988-8466
ColonialWineShop.com SHOP ONLINE: ColonialWine.shop @ColonialWines
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THANKS FOR VOTING FOR US!
COSMETIC SURGEON Dr. Suzanne Yee (Cosmetic & Laser Surgery Center) Finalists: Dr. Rhys Branman (Cosmetic Surgery Center), Dr. Melanie Prince (Melanie Prince, M.D. Plastic Surgery), Dr. Kris Shewmake (Shewmake Plastic Surgery), Dr. Gene Sloan (Aesthetic Plastic Surgery) COUNSELOR/THERAPIST Argenta Counseling Finalists: Stacy Kinzler, Glenn McCracken, Rachel Pinto, Dr. Kathleen Wong (Bridges 2 Wellbeing, Fayetteville)
The mission of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is to ensure that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential.
DERMATOLOGIST Arkansas Dermatology Finalists: Franks Dermatology, Dr. Jay Flaming, Dr. Ray Parker (Dermatology Group of Arkansas), Pinnacle Dermatology
BEST NONPROFIT BEST CHARITY EVENT
DISPENSARY Natural Relief Dispensary (Sherwood) Finalists: Good Day Farm, Greenlight Dispensary (Helena-West Helena), Herbology Little Rock, The Source (Bentonville)
www.aradvocates.org
DIET/WEIGHT LOSS CENTER Arkansas Heart BMI Institute Finalists: Arkansas Health & Nutrition, Baptist Health Weight & Nutrition Center, Diet Center, Natural State Health Center
EYEWEAR Eye Care Arkansas Finalists: Burrow’s and Mr. Franks Optical, James Eyecare & Optics Gallery, Kavanaugh Eye Care, Visioncare Arkansas (Conway) FAMILY DENTIST Little Rock Family Dental Finalists: Downtown Dental Care, Dr. Ethan Erwin (Hot Springs), Jolly Family Dental, Dr. Steve Mangan (Mangan Dental Group) FAMILY PHYSICIAN Dr. Kent Covert (Little Rock Family Practice) Finalists: Dr. Alison Richardson (Arkansas Family Medicine), Dr. Carey Roach (Barg Family Clinic), Dr. Stephen Tilley, Dr. Daniel Watson (Autumn Road Family Practice) HAIR SALON Red Beauty Lounge Finalists: Carter|Miller, Salon Joseph, Salon Platinum (Conway), Heather Young HOSPITAL Arkansas Children’s Hospital Finalists: Arkansas Heart Hospital, Baptist Health, CHI St. Vincent, UAMS
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IN-HOME CARE CareLink (North Little Rock) Finalists: Baptist Health Hospice, Conway Regional Home Care Services, Home Instead, Superior Senior Care (Conway) MASSAGE THERAPIST Ava Bella Day Spa Finalists: Abundant Health Chiropractic and Therapeutic Massage (Conway), Arkansas Healing Arts Massage & Wellness, Massage Arkansas, Zach Turner at Little Rock Massage and Wellness (North Little Rock) MED SPA Rejuvenation Clinic and Day Spa Finalists: Ava Bella Day Spa, Doctors MedSpa, Radiant Wellness by S&S, Skin Fix Med Spa MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY The BridgeWay (North Little Rock) Finalists: Conway Behavioral Health Hospital (Conway), Methodist Family Health, Pinnacle Pointe, Rivendell Behavioral Health Services of Arkansas NAIL SALON Best Nails Finalists: Cherish Nails & Spa, Chic Nails & Spa, Ethereal Nail Spa, Fashion Nails NURSING HOME Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Finalists: Andover Place, Chenal Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, Encore West Little Rock, Garland Nursing & Rehab, Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at Good Shepherd OPHTHALMOLOGIST Dr. Katherine Baltz (Central Arkansas Opthalmology) Finalists: Dr. Laurie Barber (Little Rock Eye Clinic), Dr. Joseph Chacko (Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute Clinic, UAMS), Dr. Romona Davis (Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute Clinic, UAMS), Dr. Lydia Lane (Little Rock Eye Clinic) OPTOMETRIST Dr. Julie Dolven (James Eye Care) Finalists: Dr. Susan DeBlack (DeBlack Eye Care, Conway), Dr. Brian Guice (Kavanaugh Eye Care), Dr. Derek Scott Long (Maumelle), McFarland Eye Care ORTHODONTIST Phelan Orthodontics Finalists: Daniel Orthodontics, Hodge Orthodontics, Vondran Orthodontics, Wardlaw Orthodontics
El Dorado • Fort Smith • Hot Springs • Little Rock Little Rock • Hot Springs • Dallas/Forth Worth Dallas/Forth Worth • Longview • Lufkin • St. Louis Tyler • Longview • Lufkin • El Dorado Sulphur Springs • Tyler • Texarkana
Texarkana El Dorado • Texarkana
Raving Results
2017, 2018, 2019
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Exceeding your expectations has been our team’s focus for over 45 years, whether it’s been providing trusted gardening advice or planning and implementing an outdoor living space for your family. It has been our honor to do so. Thank you for voting us Best Landscaper/ Landscape Designer + Best Garden Store
15601 Cantrell Rd, Little Rock thegoodearthgarden.com
PHARMACY Kavanaugh Pharmacy Finalists: Achor Family Pharmacy (Maumelle), Cornerstone Pharmacy, The Pharmacy at Wellington, Rhea Drug Store PHYSICAL THERAPISTS OrthoArkansas Finalists: Advanced Physical Therapy, Harris & Renshaw Physical Therapy (Sherwood), Dr. Montana Chapman (Advanced Physical Therapy), Physical Therapy Institute
SPA Ava Bella Day Spa Finalists: Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa (Hot Springs), Copper Well Retreat, Doctors Med Spa, Rejuvenation Clinic & Day Spa
Shop in-store, by phone or online. We also offer curbside pick-up, home delivery in Little Rock and shipping nationwide. Join our email list and follow us on Facebook or Instagram to learn about new book releases, author events and more!
Open 10 AM - 6 PM Monday - Saturday, 12-5 PM Sunday 5920 R St, Little Rock • 501-663-9198 • www.wordsworthbookstore.com ARKANSAS TIMES
PERSONAL TRAINER Lee Ann Jolly (Jolly Bodies) Finalists: Anna Bolte (Bolte Fitness), TJ Brown (Westside MMA), Brooke Walker (365 Fitness) Quen Spencer (Core Wellness)
RETIREMENT Good Shepherd Community Finalists: Andover Place, Chenal Pines Retirement Resort, Chenal Village, Superior Senior Care
Our booksellers are ready to help you pick your next great read.
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PEDIATRICIAN Dr. Leah Youngblood (Little Rock Children’s Clinic) Finalists: Dr. Cheryl Ahart (Little Rock Pediatric Clinic), Dr. Dawn Martin (All for Kids Pediatric Clinic), Dr. Josh O’Neill (Little Rock Pediatric Clinic), Dr. Aaron Strong (Little Rock Pediatric Clinic)
PROSTHETICS Snell Prosthetics & Orthotics Finalists: Arkansas Prosthetics and Pedorthics (Benton), Horton’s Orthotics & Prosthetics, New Hope Prosthetics & Orthotics (North Little Rock)
THANK YOU ARKANSAS READERS FOR VOTING US BEST BOOKSTORE!
BEST BOOKSTORE
ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON Dr. Ken Martin (Martin Orthopedics) Finalists: Dr. Kyle Blickenstaff (Unity Health, Searcy), Dr. William Hefley Jr. (Arkansas Surgical Hospital), Dr. P. Allan Smith (OrthoArkansas), Dr. Jonathan D. Wyatt (OrthoArkansas)
VETERINARIAN Hillcrest Animal Hospital Finalists: Allpets Animal Hospital, Dr. Brian Barron (Shackleford Veterinary Clinic), Pinnacle Valley Animal Hospital, Pleasant Valley Veterinary Clinic YOGA STUDIO Barefoot Studio Finalists: Arkansas Yoga Collective, Big Rock Yoga, Blue Yoga Nyla (North Little Rock), Sixth House Wellness Studio
D N A B S N BETT NER
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ALLMA
ROUND TRIP TRANSPORTATION TICKET TO FESTIVAL | LUNCH ADULT BEVERAGES
SATURDAY, OCT. 9 DEPARTING AT 10 A.M.
RIDE THE ARKANSAS TIMES BLUES BUS AND LET’S CELEBRATE THAT THE BISCUIT IS BACK TO CELEBRATE ITS 35TH YEAR! ISS DON’T M A DAVIS AND TT THORNE RBURG! E D N U F ANSON
GET TICKETS AT CENTRALARKANSASTICKETS.COM
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Join host Kat Robinson – Arkansas food historian, author, travel writer and enthusiastic foodie – as she visits dairy bars in every corner of the state to compile a culinary tour guide. See dairy bars across Arkansas at myarpbs.org/dairybars
PREMIERES AUG. 19, 7 P.M.
THANK YOU! Best TV Station Best Chief Executive Officer – Courtney Pledger Best TV Personality – Steve Barnes
COMMITTED CO-PARENTING A BLENDED FAMILY THAT WORKS WELL. BY KATHERINE WYRICK PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON
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PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT IS EXCITED
In addition to DVA, the 2021-2022 school year will also
TO PROVIDE EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE ONCE AGAIN
launch another new academic approach through the
TO ALL STUDENTS IN THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR.
Academies of Central Arkansas created by Ford NGL. This is
Entering his fourth year as superintendent, Dr. Charles
an educational initiative to help students prepare for college
McNulty continues to improve education, opportunities,
and career by engaging them in project-based learning
and collaboration with stakeholders across the District.
to provide real world learning experiences for students.
PCSSD is looking forward to returning to a more traditional school setting but also offering a new full-time virtual schooling option for students known as the DRIVEN Virtual Academy. DRIVEN is a two-part platform within the District that includes the School of Innovation and the Virtual Academy. The DRIVEN model engages students in online and in-person learning to meet students where they are and allow them to work at their own pace. DRIVEN School of Innovation is a program offered to students at Joe
All PCSSD high schools are implementing freshman
T. Robinson, Maumelle and Mills University Studies high
seminars, which is the first class taken by high school
schools. DRIVEN Virtual Academy (DVA) will serve K-12
students before selecting their pathway for 10-12 grade.
students in Pulaski County as well as surrounding areas.
In preparation for the academy concept in high school, all
DVA serves students whose families prefer a homeschool setting but want a structured, monitored
PCSSD middle schools are moving to a block schedule. PCSSD will continue to enhance ongoing initiatives
curriculum. Additionally, it is beneficial for families
like our Big Rocks: AVID (Advancement Via Individual
who must travel often or are involved in extracurricular
Determination) and PBIS (Positive Behavior
activities and desire a more flexible option through
Interventions and Supports). AVID increases student
online or accelerated learning. Blended learning and
engagement, promotes classroom collaboration and
extended, in-person tutoring opportunities will add
activates deeper levels of learning with practical,
other resources to support students and families. DVA
useful tools and instructional strategies. PBIS assists
students may participate in PCSSD extracurricular
our schools with enhancing our school climates
activities upon meeting academic requirements.
and provides additional support to all students. We look forward to seeing what the 2021-2022 school year will bring us. Every day in PCSSD, we are working to find solutions to continue to provide a quality education, equity, and excellence to our students.
ABOUT PCSSD
501.234.2000
Pulaski County Special School District spans more than 600 square miles in central Arkansas and requires highly skilled and passionate personnel to adapt educational policies and personalization to 25 schools. Every school is accredited by the Arkansas State Board of Education. PCSSD has served schools across Pulaski County since July 1927. PCSSD is committed to creating a nationally recognized school district that assures that all students achieve at their maximum potential through collaborative, supportive and continuous efforts of all stakeholders.
W
hether you’re a stepparent, stepsibling, half-sibling or member of some other nontraditional type of blended family, you know that finding unity and balance despite your family’s unique dynamics can be challenging. Even for the most prepared, the process of integrating two families isn’t always seamless. Creating a functioning blended family is hard work that takes time and effort. Despite the inevitable ups and downs, however, a blended family is still just that — a family. Experts say — and anecdotal evidence bears out — that you can’t expect your families to meld overnight. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, it can take one to two years for blended families to adjust to the changes. Parents who are proactive in reducing and addressing potential issues can make the transition easier. Common problems can include sibling rivalry and stepparent discipline. It’s a given that mistakes will be made, which is why it’s important to extend yourself, your partner and your kids some grace. According to the most recent data from the Census Bureau, 16% of children are living in blended families, which are defined as a household with a stepparent, stepsibling or half-sibling. We are now a nation in which the majority of families are divorced, with 1,300 new stepfamilies forming every day. Those statistics might sound grim, but a blended family can be a beautiful new beginning. Case in point: Meet the Powers/Turner/Sniegocki clan — two families that have managed to form one cohesive, harmonious whole. Though she shies away from the spotlight, Molly Powers was kind enough to offer us a glimpse into her unique, inspiring arrangement. As a critical care nurse, Molly has faced her share of taxing, intense situations — including caring for critically ill COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. During this stressful time, her families — both of them — have provided her with a much-needed support system. At this point you may want to grab pen and paper to make a chart. Molly’s household includes three kids (two biological, one step) — Bee Powers (15), Zoey Powers (14) and Avery Turner (14) — her husband, Jordan Turner, and pups Pepper and Cici. “But,” she was quick to add, “our family is made up of eight people.” Zac Powers (Molly’s ex-husband, father of Bee and Zoey), and Ryan and Liz Sniegocki (Avery’s mom, Jordan’s exwife, Molly’s friend) all live just a stone’s throw away from each other in midtown. “We’re all just as at home at each other’s houses. The kids frequently walk or bike between homes when they’ve forgotten something or just need a change in environment. It’s a great system,” Molly said While it might not be the norm, it’s certainly something to aspire to, and for these parents and kids, it makes for one big, happy family.
THE CROCKPOT THEORY OF CO-PARENTING
Licensed marriage and family therapist April Eldemire offers this highly relatable analogy for the modern parent: “One way to think of the difference between blended and nuclear families is that blended families are like a crockpot meal, while nuclear families are like a quick skillet sauté. Purely biological families are seared together with fierce devotion and love, yet stepfamilies stew together slowly, taking time to bond and become unshakeable.” (To extend the analogy: Teenagers may roast parents and each other, and parents may grill teenagers. Tensions may simmer. Also, how does an air fryer fit into all of this?) Eldemire writes, “A loving and well-adjusted stepfamily is possible when couples commit to taking the time and action necessary to get there.” She asserts that the strength of a couple’s relationship ultimately determines the family’s success and offers these tips: 1. Set realistic expectations. 2. Communication is key. 3. Parent together, not separately. 4. Create your own unique family system. 5. Stay connected to your partner. 6. Stay the course and don’t give up.
MOLLY POWERS IS A CRITICAL CARE NURSE, OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST, AND AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE REMARKABLE BLENDED FAMILY SHE’S HELPED CREATE.
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AUGUST 2021 83
A Q&A with Molly
(nurse, mom, stepmom, wife, friend) What are your favorite family activities? We are obsessed with waterfalls. Hiking, camping and floating rivers in canoes or tubes or whatever we can get our hands on. Jordan and I actually got married on one of our camping trips at Lake Ouachita State Park! The kids are great travelers. We can tell them we’re headed to a cabin in Ponca in the morning, and they’ll have their backpacks ready at first light. I feel so lucky to live in a state where just a short drive takes us to outdoor fun and adventure. As a critical care nurse, your job is intense and stressful during the best of times. How do you de-stress? De-stress? What’s that? (Kidding!) I try not to over-schedule myself and allow myself to reschedule or cancel things if I’m feeling overwhelmed or anxious. That seems to be the most stressful thing outside of work. Most people probably consider my lifestyle boring, but being at home with my clan is where I’m happiest and most comfortable. How do you balance work and family life? I’m fortunate enough to only work on weekends, so that gives me plenty of time during the week to spend with the family. I’ve been working this schedule since the children were little, so that freed me up to be room mom and volunteer at the schools. My husband recently changed his schedule to primarily weekends as well, so Monday through Thursday is family time. This was extremely important early in the pandemic when the kids were out of school. It also allows us to do activities during the week that are typically reserved for weekends and avoid the crowds and lines. Any advice on how to integrate two families? I think it helped that we were all friends initially. Jordan and Liz had Avery around the same time Zac and I had our two when we all lived in Hot Springs. We attended Avery’s second birthday party; Liz watched the kids when we were busy; Ryan and Liz went to the same church camp in high school. We all moved to Little Rock at different times but came together easily and naturally, like it was supposed to be this way. The eight of us celebrate all the birthdays and holidays; we go camping and have random Wednesday night cookouts together. Communication is so important, though. I’ve found that communicating openly and honestly is the best way to prevent conflicts. We still get schedules mixed up occasionally, and that can be frustrating, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously. We’re in this together, so we’ve all got to support each other, but mostly let’s have fun! Pack your bags, kids, we’re all going to the lake.
ON THE COVER LEFT TO RIGHT BACK ROW: LIZ SNIEGOCKI, RYAN SNIEGOCKI, MOLLY TURNER, JORDAN TURNER, ZAC POWERS. LEFT TO RIGHT FRONT: BEE POWERS, ZEV POWERS, AVERY TURNER. 84 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
Great Things Happening at LRSD
Building STRONG SCHOOLS and Even STRONGER COMMUNITIES
OPTIONS TO MEET EVERY NEED
SAVVY kids PUBLISHER | BROOKE WALLACE | brooke@arktimes.com
EDITOR | KATHERINE WYRICK | katherinewyrick@arktimes.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE | LESA THOMAS ART DIRECTOR | KATIE HASSELL
FIND MORE AT SAVVYKIDSAR.COM
@SAVVYKIDSAR
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS AUGUST 16TH! If you haven’t registered, visit:
www.LRSD.org/register (Student Registration: K-12) or
www.LRSD.org/earlychildhood (Pre-K)
Reminder! Dads and father figures - don’t forget to snap a photo of you with your child at his/her school on the first day. Then enter the LRSD “Fantastic Fathers” Facebook Photo Contest!
WANT TO ADVERTISE WITH US? INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES? CONTACT BROOKE WALLACE AT BROOKE@ARKTIMES.COM
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AUGUST 2021 85
RHETT BRINKLEY
FOOD & DRINK
COLD SUMMER TREAT GUIDE BEAT THE HEAT WITH ICY SWEETS IN CENTRAL ARKANSAS. BY RHETT BRINKLEY
86 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
BLUE DREAM: The Solar Punch shaved ice at Cozy’s in North Little Rock will melt away your summer doldrums.
I
t’s August, which means the end of summer is near. For me, it’s always been a horrible month. As a child it meant the end of magical freedom and another school year on the horizon. As an adult, it means one more month of brutal heat and hair-raising humidity. Summertime might not be as magical for adults as it is for kids, but one thing I enjoy just as much now as I did in my youth is an artificially fruity, sugary liquid concoction drizzled onto ice served in snow-like composition. When you’re at a snow cone stand you’re in a world where red tastes like red, blue tastes like blue, green tastes like Ninja Turtle and Tiger’s Blood is a gourmet delicacy. We learned that the snow cone game has been taken to new levels in Central Arkansas, and we’ve put together a guide to some of our favorite spots to cool off.
14800 Cantrell Rd. Little Rock 501-868-5279 www.buffalowildwings.com
THE BREEZY SCOOP 8420 STAGECOACH ROAD
Breezy Scoop owner Jade Summerville offers several delightful add-ons to her Italian ice: You can top it with candy like Nerds, gummy worms, Sour Patch Kids, or get the ice scoops served on top of a watermelon half or inside a pineapple. A “Cheesecake Delight” is also on the menu, featuring a slice of cheesecake served with strawberry Italian ice. My favorite flavor is virgin margarita, which Summerville said sells out weekly.
KALUAS REFRESQUERIA & BOTANAS 3425 PIKE AVE., NORTH LITTLE ROCK
Kaluas offers smoothies, agua mineral, snow cones, ice cream, sorbet and fruity energy drinks. I tried the “mangonada,” consisting of mango smoothie, mango sorbet, chamoy sauce (a spicy Mexican fruit condiment made from dehydrated fruit, chili powder and citrus juice), Tajin seasoning and chunks of fresh mango. It’s served with a straw coated in tamarind fruit and chili powder. It’s refreshing, not too sweet and a tad spicy. It’s a perfect summer treat. I also had to get an agua mineral because it looked so enticing on the menu. A blend of ice, Topo Chico, chamoy and Tajin, it’s simple, refreshing, spicy and delicious. ARKANSASTIMES.COM
AUGUST 2021 87
COZY’S SHAVED ICE 2829 PARKWAY DRIVE, NORTH LITTLE ROCK
EL SUR STREET FOOD CO. VARIOUS LOCATIONS; CHECK FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM RHETT BRINKLEY
LINDSEY MILLAR
Cozy’s Shaved is just a few miles northwest of Kaluas, so I thought I’d chase down my mangonada and agua mineral with a really sweet snow cone. The most popular blend according to the lone employee is “Tiger’s Blood,” a flavor I know all too well. So I got the daily special, “Solar Punch.” The soft, snowlike texture was perfect and Solar Punch tasted blue in the best way.
In the summer months, our favorite Honduran food truck regularly offers a fruit cup on special: It’s long slices of watermelon, sliced peaches, a liberal dousing of lime juice and a heavy sprinkle of Tajin. It pairs perfectly with a baleada.
CAJUN SNOW 3000 KAVANAUGH BLVD.
I inquired about the daily special, “Shark Week,” and was told it was “Ocean Mist” with a little “Tiger’s Blood.” How could I resist those two flavor profiles? I told myself I was only going to eat a little because I’ve been eating my weight in snow cones, but the combination of sweet red and blue fruity flavors was so wonderful that I ate the whole thing and only spilled a little bit in the car.
RHETT BRINKLEY
RHETT BRINKLEY
THREE FOLD MOBILE 1509 REBSAMEN PARK ROAD
BEAT THE HEAT: (clockwise from top left) Tajin-spiced fruit cup from El Sur; Italian ice scoops in a watermelon topped with candy from The Breezy Scoop; refreshingly spicy mangonada from Kaluas; lychee ice topped with mango popping bobas from Three Fold Mobile.
88 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
In the warm-weather months, Three Fold’s mobile food truck serves up some delicious, unique shaved ice. Traditional flavors are offered as well as authentic Asian flavors such as lychee, dragonfruit, red bean and yuzu. You can choose to have your shaved ice topped with fresh fruit, or bobas, similar to the chewy tapioca bobas in bubble tea, but with fruity bobas that burst fruit flavor into your mouth. We recommend lychee with mango bobas, but you really can’t go wrong. Three Fold’s shaved ice is only served at its mobile location on Rebsamen Park Road. Three Fold is also utilizing its lychee, dragonfruit, yuzu, peach, mango and passion fruit syrups to sweeten its new Jasmine tea, brewed at the downtown location on Main Street. So you can get mango ice Jasmine tea with mango popping bobas.
50 over
participating breweries
new location! argenta plaza on main street
to be announced
and a seltzer section
north little rock
food for purchase from local food trucks
early bird
$30 $40 at the door
scan me for more info! sponsored by
tickets available at centralarkansastickets.com ARKANSASTIMES.COM
AUGUST 2021 89
serving better than bar foodall night long Kitchen open until 1:30am
August
6 -TryMore Mojow/ DoctorJunior 9pm 7 - Billy Ruebenand the Elevated Enzymes 9pm 13 - BBJand Learningto Crawl9pm 14 -TBA 20 - Outdoor Block Partyw/Just Cuz’7pm (free) 21 -AndThen Came Humans 10pm 27 -The KC Bones Band (GratefulDead Cover Band) 9pm 28 -The Chad MarshallBand 9pm
BEST LATE-NIGHT SPOT BEST LIVE MUSIC VENUE
Check out upcoming bands at Fourquarter.com
BRIAN CHILSON
Open until 2am every night! 415 Main St North Little Rock (501) 313-4704 • fourquarterbar.com
IT’S TIME FOR PIG AND SWIG WHERE PORK DELICACIES AND HIGH-END WHISKEY COME TOGETHER. August 6 Memphis Yahoos 7 Psychedelic Velocity 13 All N Band 14 John Bailey & Hedonist River 20 Black River Pearl 21 Morning View 27 Vintage Pistol 28 GMG Band
BEST HAPPY HOUR BEST LATE NIGHT SPOT BEST PLACE FOR TRIVIA
LIVE TRIVIA
EVERY TUESDAY AT 6 P.M. 1316 MAIN ST. • (501) 372-9990
90 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
S
everal years ago, an Iowa whiskey distiller tried to raise pigs that tasted like whiskey. With the help of a swine nutrition expert, he devised a carefully crafted diet for the pigs made up of spent grain from the leftover mash from the whiskey-making process, corn and soybeans. The consensus among those who sampled mash-fed pork, according to a Popular Mechanics news story? It was very good, but not whiskey-flavored. Popular Mechanics offers a surefire way to create the inverse: Pour one ounce of rendered bacon fat into a glass jar with whiskey, freeze it overnight, strain and you’ve got bacon-infused whiskey. Now that we’ve crossed those big ideas off our list, here’s the simplest way to marry the joy of smooth sippin’ whiskey and pork delicacies: Buy a ticket (or three) to Arkansas Times Pig & Swig. Presented by Saracen Casino, our annual event returns from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, at the River Market Pavilions. Tickets are $25. Buy them at centralarkansastickets.com. Here’s what that ticket gets you: high-end whiskey samples from Knob Creek and pork bites from the restaurants of Saracen Casino Resort, Bar Louie in North Little Rock, Table 28, Smoke Beast BBQ, Sims Bar-B-Que, Whole Hog Cafe in North Little Rock, Flint’s Just Like Mom’s, Dickey’s BBQ, Library Kitchen & Lounge, Nubbies Nibblers, Brick and Forge of Conway and Fassler Hall. There will also be music from Yadaloo Music and Arts Festival and a photo booth sponsored by Colonial Wines & Spirits. The after-party goes down at The Library Kitchen & Lounge. The event is only open to those 21 and older.
THE ARKANSAS TIMES MEDICAL CANNABIS WELLNESS EXPO Curious about the benefits of medical marijuana and the options available? Want to know how to choose the proper dispensary? Whether you currently have a medical marijuana card or are considering one the Arkansas Times informative Medical Cannabis Wellness Expo can help answer those questions. You will get panel discussions from your local dispensaries, as well as keynote speakers throughout the industry including: doctors, patient advocates, pharmacists and research & education specialists.
You won’t want to miss it.
AUGUST 28 9am-5pm
ALBERT PIKE MASONIC CENTER 712 SCOTT ST, LITTLE ROCK
ENTRY IS ONLY $10
LUNCH PROVIDED BY TWO SISTERS CATERING
Exhibitors:
CASEY FLIPPO Sponsor and Special Host of Events
Event Sponsor
• Healing Hemp of Arkansas • Greenlight Dispensary (Helena) • Natural Relief Dispensary • Curaleaf Dispensary • Native Green Wellness Dispensary • Good Day Farm Dispensary
• Delta Cannabis Company • Liberty Defense Group • Arkansas NORML • Buffalo Company CBD • Arkansas Natural Products • Natvana
Lunch by
TICKETS AT CENTRALARKANSASTICKETS.COM
Must be 21 or over to attend
Speakers
DR. BRIAN NICHOL CannabisExpertMD
MELISSA FULTS Patient Advocacy
DR. BRANDON THORNTON Co-owner & CEO of Steep Hill Arkansas
CATHIE HIEGEL Research & Education Specialist
Marijuana is for use by qualified patients only. Keep out of reach of children. Marijuana use during pregnancy or breastfeeding poses potential harms. Marijuana is not approved by the FDA to treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of marijuana.
CANNABIZ
HOW TO TRANSPORT MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW IS SKETCHY, BUT SMALL PRECAUTIONS COULD PREVENT TROUBLE. BY GRIFFIN COOP
92 AUGUST 2021
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A
rkansas law doesn’t have much to say about how the state’s medical marijuana patients should transport their medicine, but advocates recommend patients take a few simple steps to increase safety and eliminate confusion. The constitutional amendment that voters passed to legalize medical marijuana in 2016 did not address how the medicine should be transported, according to Little Rock lawyer David Couch, who wrote the measure. Couch said his intention was for patients to be able to carry medical marijuana in the same way they would carry other prescriptions. “People should realize [medical marijuana] is safer than opiates, but you can carry around oxycontin in your pocket and nobody will bug you,” Couch said. “It should be exactly the same thing for a vape pen.” Since voters passed the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, the state legislature has passed two bills that dictate how patients should carry medical marijuana. Arkansas patients are required by state law to transport their marijuana in child-proof containers and can transport no more than five ounces of marijuana. Melissa Fults of the Arkansas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) recommends using resealable glass containers, old medicine bottles or child-proof baggies that are available at the dispensaries and through NORML. Fults also recommends reusing the child-proof containers that products are packaged in at purchase. State law does not require patients to keep the products in their original packaging, and Fults said it can be
difficult to get some products, such as vape pens, back into their original packaging. “There is nothing in the law that says it has to be in the original container,” Fults said. “Nothing. All it says is a ‘child-proof container,’ so people just have to get creative.” Patients are also not required to carry their prescription cards with them, but Fults and Couch recommend doing so. “Do not leave home without your card,” Fults said. “If you have product, you better have your card. Once you go to court, you can get out of it, but who wants to go to court? Nobody. You’ve got to carry your card. The only protection you have is that card.” While advocates say carrying the prescription card can eliminate some problems, Bill Sadler, spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said the cards are limited in what rights they grant. Prescription cards do not preclude cardholders from complying with a state trooper’s requests during a traffic stop and do not allow cardholders to drive impaired. Sadler said it is also illegal to simultaneously possess a firearm and marijuana, even medical marijuana. Couch described the best practices for transport as a distinction between “what should they do and what are they legally required to do.” For instance, Couch also recommends cardholders carry their card, although they are not required to do so. “Legally, there really is no requirement [to carry your card],” Couch said. “If you are a cardholder and you have five ounces or less of marijuana, you can ward off a criminal offense. But, practically, you should carry your card.”
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Marijuana is for use by qualified patients only. Keep out of reach of children. Marijuana use during pregnancy or breastfeeding poses potential harms. Marijuana is not approved by the FDA to treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of marijuana.
FULL-SERVICE MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY
Visit littlerockzoo.com for more details.
OPEN EVERYDAY
Sun & Mon 10am – 6pm Tues – Sat 10am – 8pm
THANK YOU FOR VOTING! We are honored to serve our community with the best medical cannabis products in the state alongside our incredibly knowledgeable staff. Our mission is to make your healing process as seamless as possible. Thank you for your support and encouragement, – The Source Team
We are a cash-only business. There is an ATM located in the store for patients’ convenience.
Marijuana is for use by qualified patients only. Keep out of reach of children. Marijuana use during pregnancy or breastfeeding poses potential harms. Marijuana is not approved by the FDA to treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of marijuana.
ARKANSASTIMES.COM
AUGUST 2021 93
Congratulations!
JOHNNY MITCHUM MBA, MiCP, CPA (inactive) Executive Broker KW Commercial/ Keller Williams Realty
For Closing
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In Volume in the last 30 days!!! Need to Buy, Sell, Lease Commercial Real Estate? Call Johnny at 501-940-3231 or email jmitchum@kw.com
Keller Williams Realty 12814 CANTRELL ROAD LITTLE ROCK, AR 72223
MARKETPLACE
ST. VINCENT INFIRMARY MEDICAL CENTER in Little
Rock, AR seeks Medical Technologist. Multiple positions available. Requires BS in Medical Technology, alternatively BS in Chemistry, Biology or Physical Science + 1 yr of lab exp; and current certification by ASCP or equivalent. Apply to michelle.foreman@ commonspirit.org
To advertise in this section, call Luis at 501.492.3974 or send an email to Luis@arktimes.com 94 AUGUST 2021
ARKANSAS TIMES
LEARN ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA
AT THE ARKANSAS TIMES MEDICAL CANNABIS WELLNESS EXPO.
S
ince the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in mid-2019, Arkansans have spent $330 million on nearly 50,000 pounds of cannabis. As of June, there were 77,000 active patient cards. Those numbers grow exponentially every few months. We’re still in the dawn of the industry, but obviously a lot of people are sold on the benefits of medical marijuana and undoubtedly there are many others who want to know more. That’s where the Arkansas Times comes in. The Arkansas Times Medical Cannabis Wellness Expo will be held from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Albert Pike Masonic Center in Little Rock. Admission is $10 and includes a boxed lunch from Two Sisters Catering. Entry is limited to those 21 and older. Whether you have a patient card or are considering getting one, the expo will help answer any questions about medical cannabis. Casey Flippo, the CEO of medical marijuana processor Dark Horse Medicinal and hemp processor Natvana, is sponsor and host of the event. Law firm Wright Lindsey Jennings and accounting firm Frost PLLC are also sponsors. Speakers include Dr. Brandon Thornton, co-owner and CEO of Steep Hill Arkansas, a cannabis science company with a focus on analytical testing; Dr. Brian Nichol, a board-certified anesthesiologist who specializes in chronic pain management; Cathie Hiegel, a cytotechnologist who has years of experience researching medical cannabis; and Melissa Fults, longtime Arkansas medical marijuana advocate and the treasurer for the Arkansas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Here’s what you can expect to hear about at the expo: *The pros and cons of using medical marijuana. *An introduction to the endocannabinoid system and cannabinoids as medicines, and the various ways they can be administered. *The cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids best suited to combat PTSD, arthritis and glaucoma. *How Arkansans can work together to protect and expand medical marijuana patients’ rights. Attendees will also be able to interact with these businesses at the expo: Arkansas Natural Products, Arkansas NORML, Buffalo Co. CBD, Curaleaf, Delta Cannabis Co., Good Day Farm, Greenlight Dispensary, Healing Hemp of Arkansas, Heights Apothecary & Hemp Co., Native Green Wellness, Natural Relief Dispensary and Natvana. From 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, Aug. 27, the expo will host a special industry day aimed at the owners and employees of medical marijuana dispensaries and associated industries. Speakers include Flippo; Doralee Chandler, director of Arkansas Alcohol Beverage Control; Erika Gee of Wright Lindsey Jennings; Curtis Winar of Frost PLLC; Dan Roda of ABACA; and Elizabeth Michael and Martin Thomas of BUD Agency. Members of the industry interested in attending should email leemajor@arktimes.com.
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ARKANSAS TIMES
AUGUST FINDS Ray Parker
These paint-by-number kits for kids and adults are great for summer activities wherever you are. Cynthia East Fabrics, 501-299-9199, cynthiaeastfabrics.com.
rayparkerart.com
Check out these neoprene totes. They are the perfect bag this summer. New styles coming in shop soon. Rhea Drug, 501-664-4117. See great works like these paintings by Ray Parker showcasing now through July 31. Boswell Mourot Fine Art Gallery in SoMa, 501-664-0030, boswellmourot.com.
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WordsWorth is more than just books. Find activity kits, kid-friendly crafts and more on the shelves. WordsWorth Books, 501-663-9198, wordsworthbookstore.com.
Show your love of Arkansas with these Natural State-inspired housewares. Box Turtle, 501-661-1167, shopboxturtle.com.
A special advertising section
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AUGUST 2021 97
THE OBSERVER
TAKE ME TO DOLLYWOOD
A
fter the cruel summer of 2020 kept everyone housebound and pasty, deficient in both family visits and sunshine, it was with great relish that The Observer took out eastward to resume our annual pilgrimages to Dollywood. Every year (save the last one), cousins, parents and siblings from three states converge at our temporary Tennessee mountain home nestled in Dolly Parton’s famous mountains. The road part of the trip was more chilling (and potentially spilling) than usual this year, owing to mayhem at the I-40 Mississippi River bridge. When the news first broke about the crack in a load-bearing beam, we resigned ourselves to never seeing our parents again, residing as they do on the other side. But traffic is rerouting relatively smoothly over the old I-55 bridge. Yes, that’s the antique structure the Hernando DeSoto Bridge on I-40 was built to replace, and it’s natural to question the 71-year-old span’s structural integrity. Our advice: Just white-knuckle it and turn your podcast up really loud to chase such thoughts from your head. Also, consider that you’ve likely crossed the DeSoto Bridge dozens of times in recent years while the thenundetected crack lengthened and widened beneath you. And yet, here you are. Nine or so hours into the drive, the blue mist of the Smokies finally comes into view. Must be getting close. Was that a Bush’s Baked Beans 98 AUGUST 2021
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factory we just passed? That’s when you know you’re almost there. Much like its namesake, Dollywood captivates with a signature mix of humble charm and approachable glitz. We came for the Tennessee Tornado, but stayed for the swank Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort, where if you shell out for a room, you’ll score passes that take you to the head of the line for rides. We felt terrible the first few times we walked up to immediately board roller coasters other people had been waiting half an hour or more to ride. Flaunting such privilege just didn’t feel right at a family attraction founded by and for mountain folk. To be honest though, the allure of riding the Dragonflier over and over helped us get past the guilt right quick. Let them eat funnel cake. And so we hit as many rides as we could stomach, gnawed on a giant turkey leg and admired the bald eagles on display in their enormous mesh forest enclosure. We tapped our feet along to bluegrass versions of Cranberries and Journey songs subtly piped out from hidden loudspeakers. We tisked under our breath at all the tiny babies out in the high altitude sun without bonnets, and marveled at families with six, seven, eight kids in tow, somehow none of them crying. We refilled our water bottles dozens of times, and easily so, since refill stations are scattered in high concentrations throughout the park. For Dollywood diehards, the primacy
of Sevierville’s finest in the pantheon of amusement parks stems from how effortless and downright pleasant it is to visit. It’s the Chickfil-A of theme parks: clean, friendly and white evangelical in a way you can’t quite explain; welcoming to all, even the heathens. We once spied there a wholesome guy in his early 20s wearing a “Virginity Rocks!” T-shirt. But neck tattoos are easy to spot, too. Brown, Black and Asian visitors mingle with the sunburned mountain folk, a crowd of many colors. That handsome male couple in Hawaiian print tank tops and swim trunks, hailing the Dolly trolley from the DreamMore Resort for an afternoon at Dollywood’s Splash Country waterpark, fit in just fine. When we spied them the next day in Dollywood proper — one of them driving a motorized wheelchair, perhaps the result of a waterslide-related calamity — they seemed as comfortable and entertained as anyone so freshly lamed could hope for. Some of you might scoff at our family’s theme park of choice. We’re OK with it. There’s nothing wrong with shelling out for airfare and $100-plus tickets to amble among Disney’s coastal elites. The Observer remains devoted to the one celebrity all Americans seem to agree on, and we’re happy to buy whatever she’s selling. Dolly’s come-asyou-are, miraculously nonpartisan paradise beckons, just nine hours and one deathdefying bridge crossing away.
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