AY About You December 2020

ARKANSAS’ LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2020 | AYMAG.COM

Beth Hunt | Holiday Food Bucket List | Mental Health $5.00 U.S.

To HOPE...to HEAL...

TO LAUGH...TO LIVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

Pinnacle Pointe Behavioral Healthcare System is located in Little Rock and is one of Arkansas’ largest behavioral health facilities. We offer acute inpatient and residential services for children and adolescents ages 5-17 who are struggling with emotional or behavioral health issues.

We Provide a Full Continuum of ehavioral Healthcare Services

tial inpatient care | School-based services | Partial hospitalization Acute inpatient care |Hospital Outpatientisservices Pinnacle Pointe one of Arkansas’ largest behavioral inpatient facilities for

children and adolescents ages 5-17 struggling with emotional or behavioral issues.

TRICARE® is a registered trademark of the Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency. All rights reserved.

We offer a full continuum of services to children and teens age 5 to 17 who are suffering from emotional and behavioral issues. These include depression, anxiety, mood swings, grief or loss, attempts to harm self or others, and other high-risk behaviors.

11501 Financial Centre Pkwy.

Acute Inpatient CareAR| Sub-acute (long-term) Inpatient Care | Partial Hospitalization Little Rock, 501.223.3322 Video • 800.880.3322 Outpatient Services | Telehealth Conferencing | TRICARE® Military Program for Military Dependents We are dedicated to providing quality healthcare to our patients and support to families. Please contact us today to find out more.

T U O FOR H H C A E ELP T R O DAY PinnaclePointeHospital.com Follow us on Facebook!

11501 Financial Centre Pkwy.

Little Rock, AR 501.223.3322 • 800.880.3322

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C O N WAY

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WHAT’S INSIDE

Publisher’s Letter Connect Top Events Murder Mystery Arkansas Backstories

10 12 14 142 144

HOME&GARDEN

Back Again: Jenny and Dave Marrs 26 D.I.Y. State Wall Hanging 16

FOOD&DRINK

The Table of Plenty Holiday Recipes Holiday Cocktails

30 38 60

ARTS&CULTURE

Let it Glow Running With the Long Haulers Do You Know Your ‘Enemy?’

TBeth he People Behind Your News: Hunt

64 86 90 94

TRAVEL ARKANSAS 70 80

Giving the Gift of the Outdoors All Hail the Queen

HEALTH 99 AY’s Best Women in Health Care

Holiday Food Bucket List Pg. 34 Photo by Jamison Mosley

MENTAL HEALTH 122 Out of the Flames 126 Who Helps the Helpers?

130 Unmasking Anxiety 134 Making Seasons Bright

ABOUT YOU

42 Get to Know AY’s Best of 2020 72 25 Days of Christmas Giveaway

ON THE COVER We’ve decked our halls, our stockings are hung, the only thing left to do is wait for Mr. Claus.

Photo by Heather Baker

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Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

• SHORT-TERM REHABILITATION • LONG-TERM CARE • RESPITE SERVICES

Russellville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is nestled in the heart of the River Valley in Russellville, Arkansas.

Our staff provides skilled professional care in a compassionate and supportive atmosphere. Russellville Nursing & Rehabilitation Center not only provides long-term care services, we also offer a wide range of rehabilitative services.

Our physicians, nurses and staff all believe strong relationships with residents and their families is essential to the healing process. The entire staff is devoted to providing quality care, which celebrates the dignity and grace of every single resident.

Winner of the

GOVERNOR’S QUALITY AWARD FOR 2019

215 S. PORTLAND AVE. RUSSELLVILLE, AR

479-968-5256 • russellvillenr.com

PUBLISHER

Heather Baker hbaker@aymag.com EDITOR

Dustin Jayroe djayroe@aymag.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Mark Carter mcarter@aymag.com

ONLINE EDITOR

Tyler Hale thale@aymag.com

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Lisa Fischer lfischer@aymag.com

FOOD EDITOR

Kevin Shalin kshalin@aymag.com

STAFF WRITERS

Katie Zakrzewski katie@aymag.com Caroline O’Connor coconnor@aymag.com

ART DIRECTOR

Jamison Mosley jmosley@aymag.com

PRODUCTION MANAGER Rebecca Robertson rrobertson@aymag.com

Dwain Hebda is president of Ya!Mule Wordsmiths in Little Rock. A writer, editor and journalist of some 30 years, his work appears in more than 30 publications in four states. Nebraskan by birth, Southern by the grace of God, he and his wife, Darlene, have four grown children and two lovely dogs.

Janie Jones began her journalism career by writing features for the River Valley & Ozark Edition. After finding her niche as a true crime writer for AY About You, she acted as a consultant for Investigation Discovery. With her husband, she coauthored two books: Hiking Arkansas and Arkansas Curiosities.

Heather Allmendinger is a public relations consultant and freelance writer. Before working for many years as a strategic communications director in the nonprofit and legal sectors, she held her very first job at AY, formerly Active Years.

She’s a proud alumna of the University of Arkansas and Razorback fan.

Andrea Patrick has spent most of her childhood and adulthood in Little Rock.

She loves the local food scene and believes that we all eat with our eyes first.

Thus led her to a passion for experimenting with recipes, designing and plating at home.

Angela Forsyth lives in Northwest Arkansas.

Her articles have been published in AY About You, Arkansas Money and Politics, Food & Drink, Modern Home Builder, Manufacturing Today, Inside Healthcare, Retail Merchandiser and many more magazines.

She’s a happy wife and mom to four kids and a dog.

Kenneth Heard worked as a journalist for newspapers for more than 30 years, including nearly 20 years as the Jonesboro bureau correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

He now works at the Craighead County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and does freelance writing.

DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Kellie McAnulty kmcanulty@aymag.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Lora Puls lpuls@aymag.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Stephanie Wallace swallace@aymag.com Linda Burlingame lindaaymag@aol.com Tonya Higginbotham thigginbotham@aymag.com Mary Funderburg mary@aymag.com Lisa Licht llicht@aymag.com Tonya Mead tmead@aymag.com

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Jacob Carpenter ads@aymag.com

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Ginger Roell groell@aymag.com Mary Kathryn Rockett mrockett@aymag.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Jordan Knight, Carl Kozlowski, Tony Milligan, Sarah Russell, Philip Thomas

ADMINISTRATION Casandra Moore admin@aymag.com Vicki Vowell, CEO

TO ADVERTISE:

501-244-9700 or hbaker@aymag.com

TO SUBSCRIBE:

501-244-9700 or aymag.com

Nic Williams, an Arkansas native, is a practicing lawyer and contributor to AY About You. He has developed original recipes for more than half a decade and considers Ina Garten as his inspiration.

Most importantly, he’s a proud doggy dad and is grateful for his supportive friends and family.

AY Magazine is published monthly, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8 AY Magazine (ISSN 2162-7754) is published monthly by AY Media Group, 910 W. 2nd St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201. Periodicals postage paid at Little Rock, AR and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to AY Magazine, 910 W. 2nd St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201. Subscription Inquiries: Subscription rate is $20 for one year (12 issues). Single issues are available upon request for $5. For subscriptions, inquiries or address changes, call 501-244-9700. The contents of AY are copyrighted ©2020, and material contained herein may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher. Articles in AY should not be considered specific advice, as individual circumstances vary. Products and services advertised in the magazine are not necessarily endorsed by AY. Please recycle this magazine.

8

Holi

Happy ! s y a d Holi

publisher's letter

‘Tis My Season My favorite saint is Nicholas. Deer season for me means red noses, not bullseyes. I could go on, but suffice it to say I’ve never met a Christmas I didn’t like; my tree is put up and my halls decked well before Thanksgiving every year. (And if it didn’t catch me too much flack, I’d be more than happy to have all my Christmastime garb up before Halloween.) Because of this holiday infatuation of mine, our December issue here at AY About You is always a special one, and this year is no exception.

For starters, we’ve brought back our annual holiday gift guide which we will be celebrating and give-awaying in the days leading up to the big one throughout the month. Check-in on our social media pages and aymag.com/contests each day this month for your chance to win in our 25 Days of Christmas giveaway contest.

Of course, the festivities don’t stop there. Our friends at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission helped us bring you some ideas for outside-the-box stocking stuffers that are, well, literally outside. And we know that this pandemic-plagued season will make the holidays look very different for most, so we came up with a way to help you and your Baker (the one in the bunny loved ones plan around the virus — staff writer Caroline O’Connor has suit) and the sales team at a guide to enjoying holiday lights in the state, most of which are drivethe 2019 AY Christmas party. thru experiences. Oh, and did I mention that our bucket list this month is holiday food?

But the holidays can also be a very difficult time for some of us, especially amid one of the most difficult mental health years in modern history. This makes our annual mental health section and inaugural Allies of Mental Health listing that much more important, and I am very proud of the work our team has accomplished in that regard. Our editor, Dustin Jayroe, has an incredible piece about Glen Johnson, the former substance abuser who has turned his life around to helm the largest Tropical Smoothie franchise in the country. Contributors Heather Allmendinger and Madeline Burke bring you the latest on anxiety and our frontline heroes. And the venerable Dwain Hebda shines a light on the difficulties that nonprofits are facing right now and how you can help “make seasons bright” for those less fortunate this year.

Take care of yourselves; take care of the ones you love. 2020 has been as challenging a year as I can recall, but together we can make it through this present darkness and be a ray of light for others — through the end of this year, the next and all those to come.

We hope you enjoy this issue of AY. Drop us a line and tell us about the ways that you love to help others this time of year. Or just send us some positive feedback from what you read in the succeeding pages. I’d love to hear from you.

Heather Baker, Publisher hbaker@aymag.com

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BUFFALO RIVER OUTFITTERS The Best for a Reason

W

hen word got out about Buffalo River Outfitters (BRO) winning Best Local Tourist Attraction in AY’s Best of 2020, owner Ben Milburn was honored and humbled. It’s an impressive distinction in a state that boasts itself a “Natural” one, where the tourist destinations are as plentiful as any other.

But for the people of Arkansas, the ones who cast thousands of votes for this year’s listing, BRO winning came as little-to-no surprise.

The Buffalo River and the surrounding National Park are not just a beloved attraction for Arkansans, but for people all over the region and country. It’s a place like only few others, where the beauty is matched by the ample opportunities for fun, suitable for a romantic getaway or a weekend with the whole family.

And that’s just the essence provided by Mother Nature. Thanks to the team at Buffalo River Outfitters, the man-made complements to the area have elevated it even more as a hub of touristry.

For overnight stays, there are plenty of log cabins to call home for the trip, ranging from quaint family styles to sprawling group cabins that can sleep up to 10 people. Each of its cabins is just as rustic and charming as the next, and all are equipped with air conditioning, fully equipped kitchens, spacious porches and barbecue grills.

For a more primitive and natural experience, BRO also provides plenty of places to pitch a tent, from designated camping areas to simply the banks of the river on a multi-day float trip.

And despite how popular the area has become with people, it is still teeming with wildlife. So, whether it is hooking a fish on your line or setting your sights on an elk or native bird through a pair of binoculars, BRO can help you find what you’re looking for.

What’s more, in 2019 the park was designated an International Dark Sky Park, the only place in Arkansas to receive such an esteemed designation.

Let BRO help you plan the perfect trip to the Buffalo River so you can see for yourself what makes it the “Best of 2020.”

www.buffaloriveroutfitters.com | (870) 439-2200

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TRENDING ON AYMAG.COM Murder Mystery: Poyen Family Murders to Air on Investigation Discovery Thanksgiving Preorders and Restaurant Openings in 2020 Wow Factor: EyeCatching Exteriors Kevin Costner Reportedly Planning Memorabilia Museum in Hot Springs Recipe Monday: Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

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READER FEEDBACK “You’re doing terrific work with the mags.”

Gary Arnold MADE IN ARKANSAS: PINK HOUSE ALCHEMY TURNS LOCAL INGREDIENTS INTO SIMPLE SYRUP GOLD “This is lovely! Thanks for the write up.”

Pink House Alchemy ‘BE BRAVER THAN YOU FEEL:’ AMY WEBB LIFTS HER VOICE FOR THOSE IN NEED “Wonderful article.”

Heather Bailey SOME LOCAL FRESH FOOD: HEATHER BAKER AND HILARY HUNT HEAD TO LOCAL LIME “Loved having ya’ll over!”

Local Lime Little Rock

INSTAGRAM

CONTESTS

Limited edition Razorbacks, LSU Tigers bobblehead released.

Helen Grace King was planning to open a new restaurant in 2020. A pandemic got in the way, but the Little Rock restaurateur is still plowing ahead on the new venture with plans to get Henrietta’s open in the near future.

AY About You is spotlighting El Sur Street Food Co., Little Rock’s Honduraninspired food truck.

Contest deadline is Dec. 14! Go to aymag.com and click on the “Contests” tab.

1. TIPTON & HURST Looking for that perfect gift for a loved one?

You’re guaranteed to find it at Tipton & Hurst, which has been providing expert florist services since 1886. Whether you need a beautiful bouquet of flowers or a unique gift basket, this Arkansas mainstay will have it. Drop in to find what your heart desires – it’s on us!

CODE: TIPTON

2. LOBLOLLY

There’s nothing like a scoop of delicious ice cream, no matter the season. When it comes to ice cream, you can’t beat Loblolly Creamery. This Little Rock favorite serves up mouth-watering small batch ice cream, using fresh ingredients and unique flavors. Head over and get your favorite flavor, on us.

CODE: LOBLOLLY

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3. TURPENTINE CREEK

Take a walk on the wild side at Turpentine Creek.

This Eureka Springs refuge provides a home for abandoned and neglected big cats, from tigers to lions to leopards. Win two tickets to tour the refuge and see all the amazing animals!

CODE: CATS

Scott Lucas Construction & Custom Homes wins AY’s Best of 2020 award for Home Contractor, Repair and Remodeling.

!

November WINNERS Gadwall’s Grill: MARISA OLSON Loblolly: ALLISON SCHNEIDER Turpentine Creek: KELLEY FIELDS

agenda

5

Top

you just can't miss!

WINTER GARDEN FESTIVAL 2020 Nov. 21 to Dec. 31

121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock Garvan Woodland Gardens’ annual celebration will look a little different this year, but all bets are that the Winter Garden Festival will still be an event to remember.

SHERWOOD’S ENCHANTED FOREST TRAIL OF LIGHTS Nov. 20 to Dec. 30 Sherwood A holiday staple for those north of the river, the Enchanted Forest Trail of Lights opened sooner than usual this year (we needed it), and promises to be as dazzling and spectacular as ever.

LIGHTS OF THE OZARKS Nov. 20 to Dec. 31

Downtown Fayetteville

Fayetteville will light up with more than 400,000 lights this month, offering a safe outdoor recreation that will call to the land of the Hogs another red-and-white fashioned man — Santa Claus.

CHRISTMAS AT THE PARK Nov. 25 to Dec. 31 Jonesboro Another drive-thru light show awaits in the northeastern quadrant of the state, this one featuring a lighted tunnel welcoming visitors from far and wide.

JACKSONVILLE REVERSE CHRISTMAS PARADE Dec. 5, 2 p.m.

Main Street, Jacksonville It’s the year of the in-car festivities, and Jacksonville’s Reverse Christmas Parade is no exception. The 63rd annual edition of the city’s kickoff to Christmas will allow traffic to flow down Main Street to view stationary floats, dance groups and even Santa Claus.

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Jenny and Dave Marrs.

Keeping up with

Jenny and Dave Marrs, Stars of Fixer to Fabulous

by Angela Forsyth | Photos courtesy of HGTV Arkansas’ favorite HGTV couple is getting close to wrapping up season two of HGTV’s Fixer to Fabulous. Bentonville husband-and-wife Jenny and Dave Marrs have been working hard, overhauling old Northwest Arkansas houses and transforming them into new, beautiful homes while still keeping their original charm. With more than 300 home projects and two successful seasons of their hit show under their belts, we couldn’t wait to get some inside information and ask for their advice on home projects.

AY About You spoke with the couple about how the pandemic has affected their projects, plus some easy tips and tricks for adding organizational spaces now that so many of us are home more.

Have there been any major differences between filming seasons one and two? How has the pandemic changed things this time around?

Dave: This season, [because of the pandemic,] availability of product has been difficult. Lumber, especially, has been really tricky. Trying to get a certain sink, or certain appliances, or certain lighting — you’re very limited on. We’ve almost had to start with what is in stock. Then Jenny decides on the design, we consider the homeowner’s style of the house, and we just try to build around that, based on what we can actually get at the time. So, that’s been a real challenge.

Jenny: I love to work with smaller companies anyway, so l have a lot of little lighting companies that I work with to find things. It’s about getting creative in planning that way, figuring out the plan based on what’s actually available. It’s just an extra challenge. It was a challenge last season anyway, just working with the timelines we’re working on, but this year it’s been a little bit even more challenging.

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aymag.com

Have you noticed any changes in home-design trends in 2020, particularly because of COVID-19?

Dave: I think the biggest thing we’ve noticed is that a lot of families with kids are needing a built-in learning space for virtual schooling. That’s definitely been something that has been consistent on many episodes.

Jenny: Pretty much if anyone had young kids, they asked for a space that made sense for homeschool. It’s definitely something new because of COVID-19, but we made sure that the spaces were flexible. Even after kids go back to school and everything goes back to normal, these are still spaces they can use later. We’ve provided adults with offices, studies and libraries. We’re actually working on two houses right now, and we have a study in both of those where mom or dad can go to work and close the door. Or they can use it with the family for board games and reading. That definitely has been a much-needed trend.

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Dave: The other thing which I don’t think is new for us, but it’s something that I think people are realizing is really important, is outdoor space.

We’ve been doing a lot of these this season. We both think it’s really important to utilize the outdoors and that’s something that I think people, because they’re home more often, are realizing — “Oh this actually can be an extension of our home and our living space, and we can use it and make it function that way” — whether it’s an outdoor kitchen or an outdoor living room or just another patio. But that’s been something we’ve really done a lot of this season.

We’re about to go into a new year. For people who want a fresh start and want their home to feel more organized and clutter-free, can you give some advice on how we can add storage space to a home?

Dave: I would say we work a lot with older houses so finding any usable space that you wouldn’t typically think of as usable space is key. A prime example in our house is we have a hallway that you just come in through the hallway from the garage to the kitchen. On one side, Jenny has made a whole picture wall; the pictures aren’t mounted on the wall, but they’re on shelves so she can easily change the pictures with the seasons. The opposite wall of that hallway is a mudroom where there’s backto-back storage. Taking something that was

“A lot of families with kids are needing a built-in learning space for virtual schooling.”

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just the hallway and really utilizing both sides of that wall, we try to do things like that. Whether it’s under a staircase or a random corner, maximize all of the space in your house. I think if anyone went and looked through their house, they would find several areas that can be used better. It doesn’t take much money, and it really doesn’t take that much time, and it’s going to add a lot of character to the house.

Jenny: I think it goes back to figuring out what you need. Another example is we have a coat closet under the stairs that we don’t really use for coats. We have a mudroom that we use for coats, and we really simplify. The kids have one winter coat, and that’s it. We don’t have a lot of extra stuff, just because I don’t like a lot of extra stuff to have to store. I think you start there and figure out what you really need overall.

We use [our coat closet] for a broom and a mop we hang there, and we have a vacuum, and then it’s also the kids’ craft items. I have a rolling cart that I put in there with all the craft supplies. They can roll it out and do crafts at the kitchen table, and then put them away and just roll it back into the closet. We also have shelves in there for other books and storage and things. So, I think just taking anything and thinking outside-of-the-box a little bit. It’s all about figuring out what works for you and finding a system that works for you. Adding shelves is always great. A rolling cart is always really helpful, especially for kids’ stuff because they can pull that out. If you have a big closet where you put toys, getting the clear fronted drawers works. Rev-a-Shelf has a pretty large variety of organizers in different sizes and styles that can be installed to help with pantry and cabinet organization

aymag.com

and you can find them pretty easily — even at Walmart.com. You don’t have to have a big construction project to help with organizing things in the pantry. It’s just a matter of figuring out a system that works for your budget.

Those things are kind of easy to do but if you’re trying to just update a space outside of organization and you don’t have a big budget, I would say the biggest things that I always suggest are paint, first of all. That’s inexpensive, and it really transforms the space.

Painting hardware is an easy thing that’s not incredibly expensive, and it makes a huge difference. If you change out all the hardware in your kitchen and you paint, you are going to have a very different looking kitchen. And then, of course, lighting. So, I would say those are the three things that I would recommend if you’re not taking on a huge renovation, and you have a small budget and you want to update your space. Those are three fairly simple D.I.Y. things that anyone can do, and they will make a big difference.

Watch season two of Fixer to Fabulous Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on HGTV. Visit hgtv.com/shows/fixer-to-fabulous for more information. ,

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aymag.com

project

W all Hanging

Arkan

W

ith the holiday season fast approaching, some AY About You readers may still be searching for that perfect gift for a special friend or relative. Something they can’t find in stores or order online — and ideally with a personal touch. Here’s an idea: an Arkansas wall hanging made by you.

This project will only take a couple of hours or so of your time; it calls for minimal materials and requires tools you (or a neighbor) probably already have. And you’ll produce a work that’ll make both you and your lucky recipient proud.

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sas

D.I.Y. Story and Photos by Joe David Rice

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aymag.com

Crawford 61,948 C-1 Crittenden 50,902 D-9 Cross 17,870 D-8 Dallas 8,116 G-5 Desha 13,008 G-8 Drew 18,509 H-7 Faulkner 113,237 D-5 Franklin 18,125 C-2 Fulton 12,245 A-6 Garland 96,024 E-4 Grant 17,853 F-5 Greene 42,090 B-9 Hempstead 22,609 H-3 Hot Spring 32,923 F-4 Howard 13,789 F-2

Independence 36,647 C-7 Izard 13,696 B-6 Jackson 17,997 C-7 Jefferson 77,435 F-6 Johnson 25,540 C-3 Lafayette 7,645 H-3 Lawrence 17,415 B-8 Lee 10,424 E-9 Lincoln 14,134 G-7 Little River 13,171 G-2 Logan 22,353 D-3 Lonoke 68,356 E-6 Madison 15,717 B-3 Marion 16,653 B-5 Miller 43,462 H-2

Quinn Quitman

C-7 C-4 E-5 D-5 B-8 F-3 A-9 B-3 D-4 E-8 B-8 H-7 C-7 E-8 E-1 D-4 B-7 B-8 F-5 A-2 B-2 D-3 F-5 G-3 E-7 C-6 G-5 G-1 D-9 D-6 G-2 B-4

H-5 762 D-5

Rabbit Ridge D-5 Raggio E-9 Rag Town F-8 Ralph B-5 Ramsey Hill C-7 Ratcliff 202 D-2 Ratio F-8 Ravanna J-2 Ravenden 470 B-7 Ravenden Springs 118 A-7 Rea Valley B-5 Reader G-4 Readland J-8 Rector 1,977 B-9 Redfield 1,297 F-6 Reed 172 G-7 Republican D-5 Reydell F-7 Reyno 456 A-8 Rhea B-1 Rich E-8 Richmond H-1 Rich Mountain E-1 Ridgeway A-4 Rison 1,344 G-5 Rivervale C-9 Rob Roy F-6 Rock Springs G-6 Rockhouse B-3 Rockport 755 F-4 Rocky E-1 Rocky Mound J-3 Roe 114 E-7 Rogers 55,964 A-2 Rohwer G-7 Roland E-5 Rolla F-4 Romance D-6 Rondo 198 E-8 Rosa C-10 Rose Bud 482 D-6 Rose Creek D-4 Roseland C-10 Rosie C-7 Ross Van-Ness J-7 Rosston 261 H-3 Round Pond D-9 Rover E-3 Rowell G-6 Royal F-4 Rudd B-3 Rudy 61 C-1 Rule B-3 Rupert C-5 Rushing C-5 Russell 216 D-7 Russellville 27,920 D-4 Rye G-6 Saddle A-7 Saffell B-7 Sage B-6 Saint Vincent D-4 Salado C-7 Salem 1,635 A-6 Salem E-5 Salem F-3 Salesville 450 B-5 Saltillo D-5 Salus C-3 Samples F-6 Sandtown B-7 Saratoga G-2 Sardis F-5 Savoy B-4

To Tulsa To Muskogee

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Mississippi 46,480 B-10 Monroe 8,149 E-7 Montgomery 9,487 E-3 Nevada 8,997 G-3 Newton 8,330 B-4 Ouachita 26,121 H-4 Perry 10,445 D-4 Phillips 21,757 E-8 Pike 11,291 F-3 Poinsett 24,583 C-9 Polk 20,662 E-1 Pope 61,754 C-4 Prairie 8,715 E-7 Pulaski 382,748 E-5 Randolph 17,969 A-8

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6

3

2

4

2

2

1

Prairie Grove 7

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D-8 B-4 B-6

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Sulphur City

West Fork

6

7

5

Sherman

7

1

3

Valley 2 Springs

3

8

9

5 5

1

3

2

5

3

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7

NORTH CENTRAL UNIT

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BUFFALO POINT

Melbourne 17

Big Flat

Evening Star Harriet

3

Boswell

FOREST

9

2

3

Zion

Sage

2

2

4 1

9

Ozark Acres

Ravenden Springs

2 2 23

6 6

Williford

39

12

6

4

Calamine

1

3

5

Piggott

Crockett

2

9

1

River

Littl

5

6

Peach Orchard Frisbee

Carryville

White Oak

6

9 Nimmons 26 Brookings 10 5 Knobel Holly 3 7 Knob 2 2 Peach 9 Rector 2 Island 3 Orchard 1 Kennett 3 2 3 8 2 4 3 Hargrave Stonewall 2 1 33 Corner 2 Delaplaine Hooker Sharum 6 2 5 9 2 1Shannon 8 Lafe Marmaduke Leonard 3 4 3 2 7 Manson 6 6 5 Beech 30 8 Noland 16 4 7 Grove 3 1 2 Gainesville 5 Mounds Fender 35 2 O’Kean Evening Lesterville 7 1 Oak Star Senath Caruth WILLIAMS 7 2 Grove BAPT. Heights Halliday COLL. 4 5 5 Stanford 6 Bucoda 2 10 2 3 5 1 29 4 2 1 Brighton Hornersville 2 5 1 Cardwell 4 3 7 Powhatan 5 Light

1 1 1

2

8

222

Concord

Hayti

5

1

5

10 7

6

Parthenon

3

1

16

Pettigrew

6

Deer

2

3

6

Morning Gilbert Star

3

Silver Hill

4

3

7

3 2 Lone Pine

Marshall 5 2

13

5

7

2

2

22

3 2

Hoxie

6

3

Walnut Ridge

3

2

3

Walcott

6

BNSF

22 6

3

Fontaine 5

4

3 1 1

7

5

2 2 1

2 2 6

3

Brasher Cooter

Holland

2

Yarbro 1 Calumet 1 1 4 2 2

10

Number Nine

1 4

1

9 10

6

12

Guion

Allison

Mountain

35

St. James

5

A good source of travel information is our IDriveArkansas.com website. Visit the site before your trip for information on traffic conditions, construction zones and the location of rest areas, Welcome Centers and Tourist Information Centers.

2

Fox

Pleasant 2 Grove Marcella

17

38

Hanover

38 12

16

5

We ask that you help us “Keep Arkansas Beautiful” by keeping litter in its place.

If you see litter being thrown from a vehicle, call our 24-hour litter hotline at 866-811-1222. Together, we can keep Arkansas clean and green!

Ben

10

Prim

9

6

5

1

C

COVER PHOTO: Interstate 430/Interstate 630 Big Rock Interchange, Pulaski County. INSET IMAGE: State Highway 154, Conway County

To Nashville

OFFICIAL HIGHWAY MAP

F

JONESBORO

HOT SPRINGS

RUSSELLVILLE

PINE BLUFF

PARAGOULD

LITTLE ROCK

TEXARKANA

MAGNOLIA

WEST MEMPHIS

EL DORADO

BLYTHEVILLE

BENTON

FORREST CITY

FORT SMITH

HELENA-W. HEL.

E

D

To Corinth, Miss.

To Chattanooga

To Nashville

To Oklahoma City

D

G

As you travel, remember to be careful in construction zones. Crews are hard at work keeping our highways in top condition. Being cautious in their work place keeps everyone safe. Have a great trip and enjoy all that Arkansas has to offer!

ISSUED FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION BY THE: Arkansas Department of Transportation P.O. Box 2261 | Little Rock, AR 72203 | www.ardot.gov

DeView

T E N N.

Commission and the staff of the Arkansas Department of Transportation are pleased to present this map of exciting places our great State has to offer.

Destinations for climbing a mountain, canoeing a stream, or exploring a museum can all be found on this map.

As you travel the Natural State, we encourage you to visit one of our many Arkansas Welcome Centers or Tourist Information Centers located strategically around the State. Each has a staff ready to make you feel at home and answer your questions. Our Centers have information on the many things to see and do and can be found in Bella Vista, Blytheville, Corning, El Dorado, Harrison, Helena-West Helena, Lake Village, Mammoth Springs, Siloam Springs, Texarkana, Van Buren, West Memphis and at the Red River north of Texarkana.

Huffman

6

1 View 1 2 6

Timbo

7

Rushing

Old Lexington 16

NATIONAL

WELCOME TO ARKANSAS! The Arkansas State Highway B

Heloise

2

Sylamore

6

Newnata

1

2

Dennard

5

Botkinburg

4

1

Fifty-Six

Onia Alco 4 4

38

Oxley

6

28

21

5

4

8

Thola

8

Leslie

19

6

Tilly

17

28

1

8

Landis 4

1

5

1

Witts Spring

7 1 1 Lurton 1 9 Ben Hur 3

Pelsor

8

2 Snowball Canaan 2

11

Cowell

84

Salus

Catalpa

1 Oark

2

Bass

15

4

Nail

9

Fallsville

OZARK

11

1

NATIONAL

1 2 6

Vendor Mount Judea

10

Swain

Boston

3

11

Cass

2

2

5

11

48

St. 4 Paul 2 4 3 2 Combs Dutton Brashears

48

6

Chester

18

Boxley

Witter

Crosses Delaney 3

2

4

Winslow 12

Lee Creek

16

Standing L. to R.: Philip Taldo, Director Scott E. Bennett, P.E., Keith Gibson Seated L. to R.: Vice Chairman Robert S. Moore, Jr., Chairman Thomas B. Schueck, Dalton A. Farmer, Jr.

Caruthersville

Steele

Black Rock Portia

12

3 Eaton

2

A

Portageville

Holcomb

7

4

Greenway Boydsville

4

Marston

Conran

Gideon

Gibson

8

6

RR.

4

To St. Louis

e 7

Hickoria 5

3 4 Reyno

Engelberg Biggers

2

A SPECIAL FROM THE ARKANSAS STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION AND THE DIRECTOR

To St. Louis

Parma

5

7

McDougal Pollard

7

1

Lynn Jesup

6

Maxville

5

4

Corning

2

Datto 5 Stokes

4

9

6

8

10

Poughkeepsie Smithville 5 Nelsonville

8 5

Sidney 4

12

8

3

Attica 1

26

3

Clarkton

St. Francis

7

6

Risco

Malden

Moark

4

Palatka 5 Success 8

12

35

5

Imboden Sitka

4 5

5

Supply

Pocahontas 1

Ravenden

6 5

Center

6 3 9

5

3 RY.

Highland

10 9

11

4

4

Maynard

Armstrong

Sellers Store

14

1

4

8 2 4

Evening Shade

3 6 Middlebrook

Campbell

Fagus

Currentview 3

Warm Springs 1

Dalton

16 1 Hardy 22 4

Cherokee Village 1 2

7

Franklin

5

1

1 20

Mount Olive

10

Saddle

Myron

4

5

5 6

6 3

Camp

Horseshoe Ash Flat 1 Bend 1

3 5

7

Violet Hill

12

Newburg

NATIONAL

7 Cozahome

3

20

7

Union Wiseman

Brockwell

Rock

5

3

4 Heart 5 Wheeling Glencoe 17 4 Morriston 4 6 Agnos

6

Wideman 6

Pineville

1 3 Calico

1

Salem

Byron 3

Bexar

4

Jordan Dolph Wild Cherry 3 Oxford 8

1 2 6 1 Norfork 2

3

7

10

Viola 6

Mitchell

2 1

Briarcliff Sales- 4 ville

10

OZARK

RIVER

2 1

4

7

Elizabeth

2

2

8

36

Gepp Henderson 5

1 2

2

3

9

4

2

1

2 1

5

Buford 7

Buffalo City 3

3

Elm Store

Wirth

P.

6

2

20

4

10

St. Joe

Vidette

11

6

5

2 2

1

Gassville

1

4

Rea

3

35

Pindall

35

Hasty

8 7

White-

5

3

2

5

Yellville Valley 4

9

13

Welcome

10 Qulin

Neelyville Poynor

Myrtle

Mammoth

2 Spring

1

14

Moko

Broseley

187

Doniphan Naylor

Calm

Thayer

Sturkie

6

9 Harviell

Fairdealing FOREST

196

3 4

Midway Lakeview 3

4 4

4 Fairview

Flippin Cotter 2 7 2

9

Ralph Bruno

1

5

NATIONAL

Riverton

To St. Louis

Steeles

MARK TWAIN Many Springs

Koshkonong

Moody

Bakersfield 2

Gamaliel

Bull Shoals

11

1

Harmon 4 Olvey Eros Everton 2 4

2

Western Grove 1 1 4 OZARK NATIONAL 6 FOREST Yardelle

2

6 3 Snow 7 Summit1

1 5

5 Bellefonte 23

8 3

Jasper

9 Mount

5

7

Pyatt

Zinc

2 2 2 1 3 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 6

Clarkridge

Oakland

4

Peel

3

Lakeway Dodd City 1

8

5

4

4

Ponca 10

4 4

9

6

2

7

Japton

7

Brentwood

42

5

Evansville OZARK NATIONAL FOREST

C

Springs

2

Gaither

Marble Falls BUFFALO

1

Bergman

2 Bear Creek

3

11

5

14

Aurora

5

3

Compton

Kingston 3

Georgetown

3

Batavia 3 Capps

8

Osage 12

1

6

5

Diamond 3 City

Lead Hill 1 1 8 South 8 Lead Hill

Burlington

Ridgeway Alpena 4

3

Hugh 3 Carrollton

3

Dryfork

2

Durham

57

8

8

7

3

Strickler

Greenland 5

1

4

Clyde

Morrow

1 2

8

10

Hogeye

Canehill

Dutch Mills

M I S S I S S I P P I

H

T

E X A Redwater S

Simms

Nash

72

Bloomburg

12

12

9

Brightstar 6

Gin City

2

Walker 7 Creek

6

Bradley 10

6

Waldo

5

1

To Shreveport

8

Rocky Mound 5

2

Village

33

Shuler

9

3

8

Emerson

1

7

2 Parkers

Lillie

3

4

132

4

8

9

7

Ingalls Johnsville

4

2

7

Vick

5

Snyder

9

2 Old

8

7

8

23

44

1

Gardner Strong 1 6

Lapile 11

1 7

Bolding

1

8

3

8

15

Felsenthal

E

F

2 01 9 - 2 0 21

Governor A MESSAGE FROM THE

G

37 5 Miller

5

5

148 Beekman

Chapel

Ross Van-Ness 5

13

Eudora Indian 4 12

Haile

5

To Monroe

6

Log Cabin

To Alexandria

5

Terry

11

10

Chicot Junction

7

The map team at the Arkansas Department of Transportation is constantly at work to ensure that the information in each edition is accurate. The team members understand that Arkansas travelers rely on the map to get to places such as Birdeye, Birdsong, Birdtown, and Seven Devils Swamp.

5

Longwood

7 1 3 3

Grand Lake 82 Readland

Foote

2

4

J

2 5

Gassoway Millikin

286 6

Highland

3

(U.C.)

MILES 0

9

KILOMETERS 0

To New Orleans

8

9

10

5 5

10

15

15 20

25

20 30

25 35

40

10

GOVERNOR ASA HUTCHINSON

WELCOME TO ARKANSAS! The Official Arkansas State

Highway Map is a road map to adventure, a treasure map that will guide you to some of the most beautiful and interesting places in Arkansas.

Shives Lakeport

Mayersville Oak Grove

H

N

Wayside

1

Avon

17

Kilbourne Chickasaw

Jones

Bonita Galion

Linville

Fairview 2 5

Chicot

3

Lakehall

2

3

Wilmot 8

Meridian White

Marion

1

3

7

Chanticleer 3

16

Parkdale 4

Berlin 2

2

12

1

2

4

8 1

Huttig

4

Lake Village

Jennie

22

Oakland

Laran

115

4 5

6 6

5

Portland

8

3

1Crossett

7

16

McMillan Corner

4

1 1 4 1 1 Montrose

4

2

5 Thebes

19

A N A

To Alexandria

Mist

4

North Crossett

West Crossett

19

Hamburg

1

Urbana

Hillsboro

9

Spearsville

Weldon

Bernice

2

Boydell

19

4

3

10

New London

Jerome

1

Fountain Hill

5 4

6

6

Milo

10

Lockhart

L O U I S I Summerfield

5

12

New Caledonia

Junction City

Antioch To Homer

1

Jersey

48 3 12

9

17

8

Colquitt

67

Blackburn

1

2

Chapel

Three Creeks

Gordon Haynesville

Leton

7

3

10

4

Lawson 21

Wesson

Atlanta

6

Shongaloo

Cotton Valley

3

3

2

Quinn Old Union

3 2

1

Calion

5

3 3 3

8 7

Newell

14

Norphlet 2

3

5

8

Brister

6

Walkerville

Sarepta

To I-20

3 2

Lisbon Marysville

10

Joyce City

3

8

5 Mount Holly 6

5

Welcome

Plain Dealing Gilliam

1

Macedonia 19

28

Standard Umsted 1

14

10

Calhoun 8

Springhill Cullen Bolinger

Mira Hosston

32

5

Louann 2

Smackover 2

13

4 2

2

5

Bussey 4

Taylor

3

3

Ida

37

Vivian

To Marshall

Stephens 11

McNeil

2 1

Myrtis

Avinger

36

2 4

2 4

7

6

Smithville

3

1 7 4

8

7

6

Walnut 3 Hill

8

3 4

2

12

4

2

Bivins

3

24

McKamie

2

24 Canfield

Valley Gin

9

Lamartine

3

Buckner 7

9 17

1 2

33 10

2

Linden

4

3

17

Queen City

Ravanna

Hughes Springs

Stamps

5

8 Lewisville

Garland

Fouke

2

72

J

8

4 10

10

cenic as S B ns

Red Hill Douglassville

11

5

Genoa

3 6

To Marshall

30

14

3 2

3

Maud Corley

Naples

Doddridge 1 103

Saline 107,118 E-5 Scott 11,233 E-2 Searcy 8,195 C-5 Sebastian 125,744 D-2 Sevier 17,058 G-2 Sharp 17,264 B-7 St. Francis 28,258 D-9 Stone 12,394 C-6 Union 41,639 J-5 Van Buren 17,295 C-5 Washington 203,065 B-2 White 77,076 D-7 Woodruff 7,260 D-8 Yell 22,185 E-3

2

10 1

Rule

48

3

25

43

6

4

7

4

2

6

Old Marble Alabam

7

3

Green Forest

1

7

Rudd 3

7

Alabam

1

1

To Dyersburg

4

6 Lincoln 4

Baron

Stilwell

"Y" City E-2 Yancopin G-7 Yarborough Lndg. G-2 Yarbro B-10 Yardelle B-4 Yellville 1,204 B-5 Yorktown G-6

Zent Zinc Zion

2 3

4

9 3

Wesley

7

Elkins

Rodessa Arkansas 19,019 F-7 Ashley 21,853 H-6 Baxter 41,513 A-5 Benton 221,339 A-1 Boone 36,903 A-4 Bradley 11,508 H-6 Calhoun 5,368 H-5 Carroll 27,446 A-3 Chicot 11,800 J-7 Clark 22,995 G-4 Clay 16,083 A-9 Cleburne 25,970 C-6 Cleveland 8,689 G-5 Columbia 24,552 J-4 Conway 21,273 D-5 Craighead 96,443 B-9

4

3

3 1

U.

(U.C.)

5

3 3 2

16

Berryville

Metalton

27

2

Hindsville

Denver

2

4 11

1 Rockhouse 8

Forum 2 3

7

Brandsville

South Fork

Arditta Tecumseh

Howards Ridge

Lanton

12

Omaha

Minturn 2 1 Bethel 4 2 Buckeye 3 Lorado 5 2 10 6 6 Sedgwick 1 64 8 Grange 4 5 3 38 4 5 8 Gosnell Hickman Childress 91 Clover 4 4 222 3 5 Mount 4 LeachBend 1 Cave City 2 ville Armorel 4 14 Dixie Pleasant 1 1 9 20 Bono 6 6 5 2 Strawberry 2 2 5 1 3 1 2 3 36 1 2 6 2 7 4 Barfield 2 53 3 5 Monette 5 5 3 Sandtown 11 11 Saffell 7 Alicia 5 1 2 2 Hales 21 Brookland 4 3 2 9 1 3 Point 2 3 Manila1 Lester 3 4 5 5 Whisp 1 4 Black 5 6 4 1 5 2 5 HERMAN DAVIS 5 Dell 4 Oak 6 7 Egypt 13 3 LemsCushman 1 Tomato HISTORICAL 3 Roseland ford 2 4 2 2 Dowdy 3 MON. 1 2 3 6 1 2 10 5 2 Swifton 1 6 4 Vail Shady Pfeiffer Burdette 2 1 2 9 4 4 2 Milligan Grove 8 Hightower Bowman O’Donnell 1 Cord 1 11 Cash 2 1 8 1 1 Lake 4 7 7 5 1 4 Ridge 5 4 Bend 2 Charlotte 2 Whistleville Victoria 5 City 1 1 1 1 2 3 2 7 3 7 6 6 6 5 2 Rosa 4 2 1 2 1 5 7 Tucker- 6 1 2 Lennie 1 6 Bethesda 1 Gibson 2 10 1 Moorefield Ashport Lunsford 2 Bay man 8 2 4 32 4 5 2 Elgin 10 Luxora 5 2 1 Caraway 4 6 2 3 5 4 F ORRE S T L. WOOD Carrolls 4 2 8 6 Sulphur 2 1 3 Etowah Otwell 5 3 CROWLE Y’S R IDGE 2 2 Golddust Ramsey Rock 1 6 Corner 2 2 1 5 5 31 NAT URE CE NT E R 9 2 34 3 2 4 2 Desha 3 Hill 1 6 Osceola 8 Locust Grove Cherry 2 1 4 2 Campbell 4 7 5 Athelstan 2 401 4 2 2 1 1 5 5 3 Newark Stacy 2 Station 2 3 1 Almond 21 West Ridge Keiser 2 Trumann Rivervale 5 Jamestown South- 1Salado 5 Magness1 Pitts 1 5 8 6 Grider 4 21 2 29 6 2 1 3 side 2 23 2 1 11 Carson 3 Diaz 4 1 2 Uno 9 3 Rosie 1 3 25 2 4 1 11 Concord 4 4 1 3 Lake REDDING Natural 2 2 4 Fairfield 3 Wolf Bondsville 2 1 3 3 8 2 Alread Shirley 8 2 1 1 6 Grubbs 2 Ozone Edge12 2 2 Drasco 2 Bayou 2 Banner Dam 4 11 3 Lepanto Judd 6 Bay 3 Mountainburg Jacksonport 1 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 9 5 Greenfield 6 Driver 21 6 3 2 2 5 Hill 2 7 mont 1 Marie HAMPSON Clinton Fulton 10 6 3 1 4 2 Dyess Rupert 1 1 Oil Weiner 2 2 40 Uniontown 2 4 4 ARCH E OL. 2 6 FOREST 7 Crabtree Trough 9 4 1 5 8 Covington 1 34 12 12 9 Cedarville 4 Ida MUSEUM 4 1Newport Floral 6 10 Burlison 6 10 5 3 3 1 8 ST. PK. 3McCormick 6 14 2 Spear 5 2 12 Harrisburg 1 Brownsville 6 Alonzo Evadale 2 7 2 2 12 4 Amagon 6 23 21 Marked 2 1 Lake 6 2 Wilson 1 Greers 2 3 2 Brushy 19 5 4 Gilt Edge Short 2 3 Higden 7 Thida Rudy 2 3 2 3 30 4 2 2 Midway 6 5Tree1 1 1 Ferry 5 3 Chelford 1 Waldenburg 6 4 Pleasant 1 1 12 2 2 Payneway 22 11 2 Bassett 1 3 Hillcrest 4 2 1 1 3 4 Harmony 7 Tumbling Plains 4 2 Balch 12 13 2 3 6 Tyronza 3 Figure 3 9 Hunt 3 6 Deans 7 Scotland Shoals 2 Ludwig 3 5 1 2 7 5 4 Five Heber 2 3 8 1 4 2 31 4 2 Joiner Culpepper Choctaw 33 8 4 Long 9 28 Auvergne Algoa 4 Market 6 1 10 20 3 43 1 2 2 14 Springs 2 2 6 6 3 Brighton 1 Denwood 2 4 Wilburn 7 Hagarville 5 41 Hickory 9 9 1 3 1 4 10 22 8 2 4 6 3 Whitehall 3 1 Clarksville 1 3 Ozark 3 Wiederkehr 8 Denmark Beverage 5 Bird- 1 1 6 3 6 Stewart 42 Flat Mulberry 1 1 5 1 Greenwood Dora 5 Morganton 14 Dyer 3 1 5 2 6 2 2 2 1 6 Ingleside song 1 4 5 Fisher 2 22 6 7 2 Town 5 Lutherville 4 Alma Possum Grape 7 Webb Junction Munford Formosa Hector 1 3 Village 1 Black 8 4 2 Hydrick 1 10 8 Frenchmans Bayou Shoffner 2 Blackville 1 1 Crossroads 5 3 2 3 1 5 City 2 7 Altus 4 2 4 2 Bee 2 4 9 7 23 6 Oak 1 Atoka 4 9 1 1 3 6 3 3 5 5 8 Bay 181 Weldon 1 2 1 Sunnydale 2 6 1 3 Branch 6 5 Village 7 6 5 2 9 22 20 6 6 1 Pleasant 6 Scotts9 3 Cherry 6 Muldrow Pearson 1 Gilmore Lamar 7 Beedeville Cecil 7 2 Southside 10 Velvet 7 Hickory 2 5 Kibler 4 4 Alix Coal Hartman 7 7 Appleton ville Bradford 3 New 7 Valley 2 9 Valley 1 1 Cleveland 1 1 131 Ridge 6 1 2 Hill 1 10 3 5 7 5 6 1 Ridge 4 1 Pangburn Spadra Moffett Stacy 2 3 3 3 Stevens 2 5 Rabbit 6 Dover Twist 6 9 2 Dewey 9 Rosemark 10 5 Birdeye 7 11 6 1 7 Augsburg 4 Tupelo Center 3 Heafer 2 2 1Turrell Jerusalem 2 Denning 4 5 6 4 Creek 2 2 Quitman 23 6 2 Morrison Bluff Ridge Clay Russell Millington 3 5 2 Coldwater 6 Knoxville Ridge 1 4 3 2 4 Vesta 5 6 2 Providence 5 5 4 7 8 6 8 Fitzhugh 4 4 2 Dublin 3 Arkoma Letona 7 Damascus 10 Three 3 1 Piney 2 2 6 2 4 2 1 2 7 1 3 2 4 Moreland 3 8 2 31 7 4 Oak Grove 4 Forks 7 London 2 2 3 5 6 4 3 3 6 4 12 3 2 2 Scranton 4 4 11 Barling 7 3 5 5 3 1 3 2 4 17 43 1 3 1 Rose Bud 4 9 5 1 1 Albion 5 3 3 4 35 4 1 Clarkedale 1 2 Twin Guy 3 Sidon 4 Pickens 3 11 Arlington 6 2 3 Lavaca 3 5 3 Prairie 3 3 9 Carbon 4 Martinville 4 3 Branch Ratcliff Paris 8 5 59 7 View 41 Groves 1 1 1Jericho 6 1 3 Central 3 42 1 9 Birdtown 7 Plainview 1 1 5 Saint 2 4 City 2 6 6 Enders 2 5 8 4 4 Worden 7 3 Vanndale Tilton 3 4 3 7 3 2 7 Braden City 1 2 Armstrong 6 1 2 2 6 34 6 1 4 1 Augusta 32 1 2 James Mill 3 8 9 1Vincent 210 4 Delaware 2 2 3 Joy 8 Bloomer 2 4 5 1 Springs Charleston 2 1 2 2 5 3 Bald 3 2 3 4 4 1 1 Subiaco 6 Midway 6 New 7 8 Caulksville Wynne 2 Solgohachia 2 McCrory 223 8 4 4 Hattieville 1 1 7 8 7 3 11 4 Knob 4 1 2 3 3 39 2 21 6 5 Pottsville 1 Morton 2 13 1 1 5 6 6 1 4 1 Republican 1 Judsonia Blaine Jenny Lind 317 1 4 2 3 1 12 1 13 Parkin 1 1 1 2 2 Patterson Center Hill 13 Earle Lansing 9 10 16 4 4 Sunset 1 4 4 Barney 7 6 6 Old Jenny 1 15 2 Levesque 8 4 Romance Harmony 2 1 1 3 2 Kensett 2 2 2 Greenbrier 13 1 2 3 1 1 3 3 Spiro 1 Lind OZARK Bonanza 7 2 Driggs 4 5 Mount 9 9 Spring2 Vincent 5 5 4 6 1 Marion Blackwell 1 Fair Oaks 7 8 2 3 field 6 Crawfordsville 3 5 2 3 Vernon 1 1 2 3 5 1 Overcup Chismville 6 7 Greenwood 4 4 West Point 3 3 1 1 Grays 7 4 7 3 Atkins 6 3 Hackett 5 2 3 5 3 4 1 1 42 9 3 2 6 1 6 NATIONAL 2 1 Dardanelle 1 Ebony 12Julius 3 28 Wilson 24 1 1 6 5 3 3 11 Jennette 5 3 Springhill 9 FOREST 6 17 6 4 8 Floyd 2 5 2 8 Rock 2 Excelsior 3 8 5 4 Kenwood 1 1 Higginson 8 4 4 5 5 Wooster 7 1 62 Enola 6 9 4 Chickalah 6 5 4 5 6 Panama Island Gieseck 4 14 9 7 9 8 2 Plumerville 3 7 6 Tipp 8 Magazine 2 1 Gregory 9 9 5 12 4 5 4 Milltown 31 Holland 3 4 20 Washburn 6 1 5 1 8 5 5 14 2 Lehi 6 5 5 Witcherville 4 Shear-4 8 Cameron Menifee 5 8 5 Wiville 1 2 4 3 1 2 1 Newcastle 3 2 Naylor erville 5 6 2 Garner 5 15 3 Waveland Barber 7 7 Pine Tree 5 Pickles Gap 2 5 Colt 7 1 2 Shady 4 5 21 2 Mt. 3 1 Hicks 24 3 6 4 Germantown 3 5 Blue 2 3 Georgetown Antioch 1 4 Booneville 2 Pontoon 3 7 4 5 2 3 Havana Walker Howell 6 George 4 5 Dayton Station Shell 9 Edmondson1 2 3 Point Mountain 1 13 1 El Paso 1 Slaytonville 2 McClelland 3 8 2 2 3 Hillemann 4 5 6 Griffithville Midland 2 1 14 1 4 Ada 1 9 16 Collierville 5 4 Centerville 6 33 Heth Lake 4 McRae Huntington 4 2 4 Vilonia 32 6 7 4 8 Proctor Caldwell 5 2 5 22 7 1 Belleville 3 5 2 Abbott 5 12 Louise Oppelo 10 7 4 4 1 3 4 Dixie 1 26 3 1 Ione 13 Horton Becton 3 6 Sugar Beebe Vinity 7 2 4 4 11 3 14 Whitmore 7 4 5 5 Corinth 1 4 Anthonyville Capleville Round 6 Grove 5 Corner 4 2 Mansfield 1 3 4 2 1 7 Hunter 3 2 21 2 11 6 4 Adona Hamlet Danville 1 4 10 2 2 1 3 Pond 8 1 4 7 8 6 2 4 4 3 4 10 5 2 Widener SouthPerry 6 4 Houston Little 6 1 4 Ola 52 22 2 Birta 1 4 3 Saltillo Simsboro 1 3 haven Smacker 10 3 5 5 Hartford Otto Dixie Ward 9 2 26 2 Perryville 3 2 15 6 7 4 2 Gold Creek 5 Casa 21 Greasy Corner 3 6 8 4 6 Austin1 1 5 91 Rose Bigelow Lake View Chatfield 5 13 5 62 5 9 7 Waltreak Palestine 4 Creek 11 Cotton Plant 5 Madison Mayflower 3 Zent 2 Plainview 2 3 11 42 2 Monroe Walls 3 6 2 7 3 3 Fourche 4 Olive 12 3 Horn 6 Hickory Fourche 9 5 1 Hughes 2 2 3 25 2 4 3 2 3 Thompson Grove 2 2 4 1 3 3 1 3 Nimrod Blue Ball 6 Branch Penjur 1 3 Des 1 Wister 3 3 Lynch- Lake 5 1 Junction Plains 9 6 Dodsons 11 Hon 3 Aplin 5 6 Wing 3 2 3 Little Howe Fargo 6 8 3 burg 3 Butlerville 7 5 Arc 4 Corner 4 3 Rover 7 Pleasant 5 94 Beck 5 Horseshoe 3 3 Italy 3 1 5 Union Hill 3 3 2 Days 5 1 5 8 Valley Monnie 10 Lake Cato 2 3 Bates 5 5 1 Goodwin 199 5 4 13 2 7 5 38 3 1 Springs 4 Wye 2 7 10 17 10 1 Brinkley 1 1 Thornburg 4 Macon Cauthron 3 7 13 8 To Jackson 8 1 Bluffton Parnell Oak 1 Woodlawn Seyppel To Tupelo Wheatley 19 2 3 5 Hale 10 Heavener 6 1 2 Grove 3 6 4 Gravelly 7 5 Dansby 3 1 Williams Jct. 6 5 Morgan Roland New Waldron Town 3 5 8 MILEAGE CHART Haynes 5 10 17 Bruins Gill 4 4 48 8 Winfield 1 1 3 4 1 1 1 Salem 13 Beulah 9 14 Natural 3 5 2 South 2 Holub 3 2 3 Nola 3 Brickeys Harmony 5 Steps 1 1 6 Hodgens 9 Hollis 23 4 Bend Harvey 6 10 3 Onyx 2 7 13 8 3 Soudan 8 4 3 3 4 Sherwood 9 4 5 2 6 3 Maumelle 9 24 5 3 38 4 4 2 Raggio 8 Robinsonville 12 4 Furlow 3 OUACHITA 4 Needmore Parks 2 Brasfield 1 54 1 Felton Pinnacle FOREST 24 6 19 6 4 7 3 16 4 Moro 8 16 Oak 5 3 1 2 11 8 4 Biscoe NATIONAL 9 Boles 2 4 1 6 2 Forest 2 1 10 16 7 1 1 23 2 2 4 5 2 4 4 Garrett Grove 82 5 6 3 Lonoke Aly 3 Cammack 1 5 Cedar Forester 1 Rich 1 Kerr 4 7 Hollywood 2 Village Ferndale 7 24 1 Hazen 1 1 4 DeValls 3 Creek Marianna 1 1 3 2 Carlisle 8 7 3 4 2 2 Galloway 209 2 8 CITY 4 8 8 2 Paron Bluff 5 2 1 1 2 8 Scott Valley 4 23 Shady 23 13 7 2 16 Aubrey 1 3 2 2 Monroe Rich Grove 6 7 Tunica "Y" City ST. FRANCIS 5 Page Tollville 4 2 2 110 2 4 3 3 8 Mountain Smale 1 4 7 45 253 51 91 83 212 161 149 184 36 201 67 73 220 75 109 78 194 ARKADELPHIA NATIONAL 3 1 2 2 BIG BRUSHY 2 Eagleton 1 30 Jessieville Story Scott 2 2 FOREST 127 336 90 180 106 217 242 162 269 103 283 150 72 302 158 163 19 276 ASHDOWN 23 7 5 3 3 6 14 2 Blakely 11 8 16 Sweet 3 6 BATESVILLE 117 120 191 83 210 191 98 199 135 146 74 93 228 94 135 121 236 113 Rondo 32 Sims 10 Washita 3 Big Cedar 3 4 LaGrange Avilla Clarendon 1 Blackton 3 Culler 3 4 Blue Springs 6 Congo 7 4 2 3 Home 7 2 BENTON Avant 210 87 48 108 203 117 174 143 31 157 24 116 176 48 89 121 151 2 2 12 5 Evansville 2 9 2 Slovak 1 2 1 10 14 Hot Springs Village Higgins 4 Pettus Acorn Pencil Bluff 2 BENTONVILLE 228 320 274 187 333 26 304 83 330 216 266 217 286 270 259 143 260 338 Turkey 1 4 8 Roe1 4 1 13 4 6 5 1 4 15 Alexander 3 4 4 6 4 4 Salem 9 Crows 8 Scratch Mountain Valley 1 4 4 2 BLYTHEVILLE 210 272 185 299 371 97 337 133 239 53 186 324 57 198 241 329 62 3 6 2 3 8 3 6 3 1 Lexa Aberdeen 9 Shannon 1 6 1 6 1 17 3 1 Seaton 41 1 1 1 Ink 7 Cherry Hill 6 Oden 9 4 Keo Blakemore 4 BOONEVILLE 119 307 174 98 212 92 216 39 242 98 230 118 190 249 167 55 161 250 5 2 7 Hills 9 Owensville 8 2 7 8 8 2 2 2 Dump 5 Mount Rocky 6 Fairmount 28 6 1 6 3 Walnut 2 3 Holly 2 BRINKLEY 92 122 144 93 169 254 26 221 51 121 76 68 181 97 73 140 211 63 2 Mena 6 2 Seaton Wrightsville Poplar Maud Vimy Ridge Pine 4 Pine Ridge 1 Ida 5 Ulm 5 Corner 6 Fountain 8 Grove 1 4 2 3 Grove 3 9 City Postelle CAMDEN 87 272 129 32 250 175 194 172 85 229 98 37 241 71 175 82 207 4 Potter 2 5 East 3 30 1 1 Nance 2 2 5 4 Nunley 2 Lake Mountain 2 3 2 4 2 Preston 4 England 1 51 5 2 4 Allport 11 3 5 CLARKSVILLE 111 252 186 70 218 93 187 60 213 99 201 100 208 220 142 26 211 221 Dundee End Marvell 2 Barton1 Pine 36 1 8 9 Octavia 3 3 Bear 1 1 12 Deep 6 Ferry 4 20 2 Bauxite Dallas 3 6 1 1 2 4 3 5 CONWAY 48 185 129 148 162 118 128 144 77 132 31 166 151 73 49 165 152 Board 1 Coy 11 4 3 Elm Ragtown 2 9 Hurricane 5 6 8 3 1 2 2 11 2 Lonsdale 6 5 Royal 6 Humnoke 2 6 Camp 7 22 6 2 Woodson CORNING 189 87 263 170 282 252 115 292 158 218 50 165 300 30 199 211 308 109 Grove 2 Tomberlin 5 3 Casscoe 2 1 Sardis Crystal Trenton 5 Hensley 19 3 Big Fork Lawrenceville 6 Cypert Haskell 2 6 CROSSETT 126 275 76 157 44 316 185 284 158 139 229 129 78 252 87 202 132 216 Smithville 9 1 7 Springs Morning 5 3 Hatfield 4 Magnet 1 5 5 2 2 Stuttgart 3 2 6 6 4 Turner 1 10 7 3 Star18 25 120 328 106 165 138 183 235 128 260 89 275 142 108 293 159 149 55 269 DE QUEEN 52 17 Black Springs 2 Jones Cove Butter2 4 Lula 3 31 5 2 Mill 1 1 1 8 Oneida 7 6 field Watson 2 12 DERMOTT 118 227 91 144 95 305 136 276 115 137 196 113 128 223 72 192 173 167 Watkins 4 7 Norman 3 13 5 5 Trask6 Ferda 5 40 7 6 Hempwallace 1 wood 3 5 1 Corner Cove 5 1 DeWITT 101 163 129 109 132 267 73 235 52 128 138 78 166 159 58 154 211 104 1 Glen 7 Redfield 5 4 Pearcy 2 Ico Wright 3 3 Crocketts Humphrey 1 1 8 6 Lake View 1 10 5 1 21 Rose DUMAS 93 198 101 115 105 278 108 245 87 114 173 86 138 194 44 164 183 139 Tull 15 8 Cross Roads 3 Diamondhead Bluff 5 Gethsemane 7 Tucker 12 2 2 10 4 3 Pettyview 4 10 Almyra 1 Belfast 2 Caddo Gap 11 Rock- 8 EARLE 145 60 221 126 240 305 32 272 75 174 54 121 260 64 138 191 264 22 1 4 St. 17 Indian 3 5 8 11 1 8 port 5 Wabash 1 36 6 2 5 Sherrill 45 Immanuel EL DORADO 108 299 32 148 Charles 33 308 202 275 185 117 248 117 34 271 90 190 87 246 15 6 Bay 1 Vandervoort Jefferson 7 6 32 Lake Hopper 2 2 1 25 ENGLAND 49 185 98 54 117 215 87 182 91 78 139 25 135 160 27 101 168 126 Bogg 4 Welsh 2 1 7 Bonnerdale 4 4 8 7 1 31 12 Hamilton 4 4 Hatton 17 3 Friars Springs Oak Grove 5 10 2 6 6 3 151 256 120 174 96 335 165 302 144 171 230 143 130 251 101 221 183 196 Point 2 6 Jonestown EUDORA Pastoria 5 1 1 Perla 3 Point 2 3 6 7 Samples Cedar Wabbaseka 6 EUREKA SPRINGS 197 270 301 150 298 45 283 108 315 195 217 182 312 221 238 122 279 280 7 7 6 1 3 Glenwood 3 3 6 Bismarck 7 27 4 8 1 7 25 5 1Prattsville 1 2 3 Langley Lodi 3 1 Wickes Lambrook 5 14 3 8 FAYETTEVILLE 203 371 250 162 308 279 56 305 184 249 192 263 252 234 118 237 313 35 4 2 4 Altheimer 2 20 Social 18 7 Lodge 6 Athens Elaine 2 8 Marcus 5 9 Poyen Salem 6 3 4 Rob 1 1 Hill 6 1 1 FORDYCE 59 240 30 99 49 260 149 226 142 71 198 68 67 221 41 146 112 179 6 Corner 24 1 4 11 3 Roy Ethel 5 2 2 1 White 6 2 1 Sheridan 7 2 117 FORREST CITY 97 175 118 202 279 246 43 146 65 93 230 86 103 165 236 38 DeWitt Umpire 5 4 8 4 8 Ratio 5 2 5 2 Central 2 Hall 13 Landers 5 2 6 Caney 4 5 Hardin Amity Lake 11 FORT SMITH 174 337 194 128 275 56 246 4 272 128 260 159 210 279 201 85 181 280 6 2 Midway 5 Daisy 3 6 9 Grannis Lyon Dick 3 3 6 5 Newhope 4 HAMBURG 123 260 84 147 59 306 170 273 149 136 218 122 93 241 80 200 147 201 2 Bayou 9 1 4 Cross 11 Alpine 6 Kirby CLARKSDALE Donaldson Sherard 1 Meto 2 154 227 237 109 256 79 226 133 252 183 174 139 268 178 181 86 272 237 HARRISON 5 Roads 1 11 Mellwood 5 2 Cornerstone 6 6 3 Lono 2 8 10 1 1 7 HEBER SPRINGS 86 154 163 43 182 194 99 167 143 118 103 65 200 132 107 87 208 129 4 3 2 6 2 Friendship 3 2 3 33 Swan 4 6 Deluce Brush Sulphur 3 24 3 Lundell 3 2 2 HELENA-W. HEL. 143 133 172 144 185 305 43 272 171 108 119 209 129 101 191 260 74 Rolla 1 6 Gillham 5 Lake 8 Creek 48 9 Springs 4 Sweden 11 5 3 HOPE 89 298 50 135 80 234 205 179 228 87 245 112 46 266 121 157 34 239 3 13 1 Leola 35 2 31 6 5 9 Caddo Valley 7 Noble Linwood Crumrod 5 9 7 HOT SPRINGS 31 239 85 77 117 184 146 128 171 186 53 115 205 70 73 118 180 7 Grapevine 4 5 3 5 Lake 4 6 5 5 Reydell Dierks JACKSONVILLE 38 166 112 39 131 200 83 169 109 67 119 14 149 138 56 87 157 120 King Claremont 7 4 Moscow Weber 1 3 Tichnor 7 Hillhouse 5 Willow Ladd 9 Pike City JONESBORO 157 53 229 132 248 249 65 260 108 186 133 268 21 152 179 270 63 Tamo 2 5 Hooker Nathan Joan 1 4 6 8 5 Pine15 2 Gillett 4 2 Hollywood 5 LAKE VILLAGE 134 239 110 157 90 318 148 285 127 154 213 126 124 234 84 204 177 179 9 3 5 2 bergen 3 Dublin Grady 4 5 Gum 6 10 3 LITTLE ROCK 24 186 98 31 117 192 93 159 119 53 133 141 152 42 78 143 127 1 6 40 26 Tulip 3 177 Farindale 5 4 5 5 Murfreesboro 1 Douglas 4 Springs 8 15 12 50 164 125 51 144 212 71 179 90 79 118 26 164 139 47 98 169 105 10 LONOKE Round Lake 6 De Queen 1 Tarry 4 Carthage 11 1 2 10 13 Snow 1 1 Eagletown Highland 5 7 1 44 5 MAGNOLIA 116 324 37 166 34 263 230 210 209 115 268 141 291 108 208 53 266 2 Duncan Chapel Lake Antoine 1 9 Staple 8 8 6 4 Dalark Provo 5 28 1 5 7 2 Center Point 12 Griffithtown 1 7 6 Hill Process 2 1 Staves 5 23 231 64 69 96 228 138 149 161 21 178 45 101 197 49 114 103 172 MALVERN 16 Griffith 31 6 9 6 5 Tutwiler Yorktown 5 Deeson 34 2 Varner 8 4 3 Delight 3 13 City 2 6 2 MARKED TREE 164 46 226 139 252 294 55 261 99 193 32 140 273 48 156 186 277 33 8 Manning 47 10 5 1 Mt. 8 Spring 1 Nady 13 7 1 Cades 2 Curtis Bunn 9 3 Zion MARIANNA 122 107 159 123 178 281 17 250 26 151 82 97 196 103 88 167 241 48 7 Oak Nebo Tokio Okolona 11 2 Gould 11 4 8 4 Grove Rome Perthshire MENA 108 316 131 135 164 137 223 82 248 77 263 130 151 282 147 104 99 257 7 5 10 6 8 Pisgah 1 Bingen Billstown 7 8 Star 5 1 Shelby 7 7 4 3 9 Glendale 2 2 Princeton 5 2 3 112 217 95 136 93 297 127 264 106 133 192 105 132 213 63 183 177 158 McGEHEE 2 Woodlawn 2 Lockesburg 24 2 City 5 5 9 5 Walnut Fresno 7 3 4 Rison 4 7 MORRILTON 67 205 144 21 167 144 138 111 164 66 152 51 182 171 93 26 186 172 1 4 4 Burtsell Gunnison 1 2 Back Gate 6 Calmer 13 Springs 4 3 Parchman 2 Horatio 2 2 Yancopin Nashville 6 34 MONTICELLO 95 231 68 118 72 277 141 244 120 114 216 94 105 212 52 163 150 172 2 27 13 1 Gurdon 3 6 1 Sparkman Mitchell8 2 3 8 9 3 Cerrogordo 1 2 13 Goodwater Ivan MOUNTAIN HOME 167 177 254 126 273 122 167 183 210 196 124 156 282 130 192 121 285 187 3 ville Palmyra 3 3 17 McCaskill 2 3 Mineral Central 4 4 6 6 4 16 Falls 12 5 2 2 2 OUACHITA 4 10 8 MURFREESBORO 83 296 70 130 102 194 200 138 226 56 240 107 72 259 117 115 61 234 Springs 16 2 3 1 6 Watson Pine Grove Mound Bayou 4 1 4 5 7 Little 3 5 Pleasant Rowell 19 Beirne 7 Chapel 29 7 NATIONAL 2 Clow 8 4 NASHVILLE 100 308 74 147 106 207 215 151 241 69 255 129 73 280 138 129 53 255 Dumas 4 2 Vaden Blevins 1 10 9 Garnett 1 Hill 8 24 27 5 5 Rosedale 6 6 Haworth FOREST 4 4 Corner12 8 5 7 1 5 NEWPORT 111 5 99 185 86 204 68 214 111 140 46 87 228 65 131 133 230 84 213 4 2 Winthrop 5 3 Pickens 10 Garrett Bright ville 16 1 Kingsland Boughton Ben Lomond Merigold 2 Cowlingsville 2 2 5 Ozan Ouachita America Bridge OSCEOLA 196 16 259 172 283 305 83 303 119 225 56 172 311 53 189 222 315 48 4 Cross Star 2 6 Herbine 1 1 3 7 7 4 16 2 2 Drew Roads 8 2 Bokhoma OZARK 138 275 220 91 237 74 208 41 234 120 222 121 215 241 163 47 189 242 1 Fordyce Whelen Springs 21 8 7 BrownsHolly Springs 7 Pansy 10 6 9 5 12 town 5 3 1 Paraloma 3 Arkinda PARAGOULD 176 45 252 151 271 252 86 279 129 205 21 152 291 173 198 295 79 Tollette Thornton Beulah 1 2 3 6 Kelso 4 13 143 Alleene 1 1 Columbus Washington Winchester 18 1 5 PARIS 124 265 190 86 230 91 196 42 223 103 210 116 204 236 158 38 183 237 Pace 2 2 5 151 7 3 2 8 Rock 2 1 6 5 10 2 3 2 7 18 40 PIGGOTT 208 5 47 285 183 305 278 118 312 161 237 53 184 325 33 204 230 327 100 11 CLEVELAND Springs DeAnn Okay 8 1 Tom 7 4 Reader 2 7 6 Rohwer 5 Lake 8 6 Florence 10 7 28 PINE BLUFF 48 198 71 73 90 234 103 201 101 70 152 42 108 173 120 152 144 16 3 Montongo 8 11 Wilton Ruleville Beulah 1 2 2 5 Saratoga 2 4 8 POISON 5 Rye 2 Oakhaven Amy 4 9 3 POCAHONTAS 163 84 237 138 256 226 102 266 145 192 37 139 280 41 184 185 282 100 8 New 31 8 Cross 5 7 8 9 SPRINGS Bluff City 2 2 23 Foreman 1 Lobdell 7 18 Boyle Yarborough 2 Arden 4 Edinburg Roads 3 PRESCOTT 74 282 40 120 72 219 189 168 213 73 229 96 42 248 106 165 50 223 Emmet 6 4 3 10 2 1 1 STATE Eagle 5 1 1 Laneburg 4 Tillar 1 Reed Bearden 2 Landing 6 11 7 4 21 ROGERS 221 311 308 180 327 19 297 78 323 209 257 210 281 256 252 136 254 331 Wallace 2 1 Mills McArthur Selma FOREST 4 10 2 10 4 3 Chidester 3 2 15 11 12 5 Harmony 15 14 1 3 2 1 Perrytown 2 Fomby RUSSELLVILLE 89 241 175 49 190 118 165 85 191 73 179 78 208 198 120 211 199 10 Morris McNab 10 1 3 12 7 11 Bragg City 4 Grove 1 3 5 1 5 7 3 1 SEARCY 74 138 148 49 167 210 75 177 110 103 85 50 185 104 92 96 193 98 18 12 5 Guernsey 1 22 Benoit 5 2 3 4 29 1 4 8 Richmond Ashdown 1 7 Doddsville Wilmar 15 3 Monticello 1 1 SILOAM SPRINGS 234 365 315 182 335 33 299 67 325 194 273 218 276 276 254 138 247 333 5 1 12 1 1 6 16 1 1 1 Warren 21 4 1 Tinsman Arkansas 4 7 6 Shaw 9 3 2McGehee 5 Fulton 10 4 SPRINGDALE 218 302 299 170 319 9 287 74 313 199 248 200 272 256 242 126 246 321 7 5 City 1 1 5 5 1 2 7 4 1 1 3 1 11 3 7 Cale 4 12 21 5 1 8 3 8 3 Scott STUTTGART 84 159 107 80 126 241 61 208 65 104 113 51 144 134 36 127 188 100 Lake Vista 2 10 1 East 7 Ogden Temple 5 2 1 3 221 1 2 1 3 9 1 Spring Hill 3 TEXARKANA 121 329 82 165 87 237 236 181 260 118 270 143 53 295 153 211 270 Camden 5 3 Oak Grove 3 3 5 5 6 7 3 3 Rosston 2 5 Evening Shade 2 10 Banks TRUMANN 164 51 233 139 252 298 62 267 119 193 17 140 264 32 175 179 275 47 Woodberry 4 Masonville1 2 11 6 8 24 12 2 3 28 10 18 29 28 4 Green Hill 6 New Sunflower VAN BUREN 169 301 251 124 270 58 241 5 267 132 255 154 214 274 196 80 185 275 Bodcaw 7 2 5 1 Lamont 5 5 12 Hampton 5 1 5 Hope 10 3 7 Dermott 2 2 DeKalb Locust 3 2 5 4 5 WALNUT RIDGE 149 70 223 130 242 227 89 252 132 178 23 125 260 27 171 171 268 86 7 New Hope 5 4 Waterloo Bayou Halley 3 1 5 157 1 2 2 WARREN 87 242 52 120 50 281 151 248 136 98 216 89 89 214 47 167 134 183 2 New Collins 1 2 9 10 Hervey 2 8 2 Willisville Helm Boston 5 3 Harrell WEST MEMPHIS 151 62 210 152 246 313 38 280 74 180 63 127 266 79 144 199 270 2 9 2 Patmos Buena Vista Malta 19 3 2 9 Mandeville To Vicksburg 4 To Jackson WYNNE 130 79 202 105 222 287 17 254 60 159 48 106 242 69 114 158 249 42 29 6 3 9 25 Sumpter Falcon 4 14 Dewey 8 Frenchport 5 Whaley Hooks Leary 8 Lacey 7 23 9 Elliott Ogemaw 10 3 7 182 Ladelle Hermitage 7 4 Boston 2 2

Christie

Vaden G-4 Vail C-9 Valley Gin J-2 Valley Spgs. 183 B-4 Van Buren 22,791 D-2 Vandervoort 87 F-1 Vanndale D-8 Varner G-7 Vaughn A-1 Velvet Ridge D-7 Vendor B-4 Vesta D-2 Vick H-6 Victoria 37 C-10 Vidette A-6 Village H-4 Vilonia 3,815 D-5 Vimy Ridge E-5 Vincent D-9 Viney Grove B-1 Vinity Corner D-6 Viola 337 A-6 Violet Hill B-6

Wabash F-8 Wabbaseka 255 F-6 Walcott B-8 Waldenburg 61 C-8 Waldo 1,372 H-3 Waldron 3,618 E-2 Walker D-6 Walker Creek J-3 Walkerville J-3 Wallace G-1 Walnut Corner E-8 Walnut Hill J-3 Walnut Ridge 5,345 B-8 Walnut Springs G-1 Waltreak D-3 War Eagle B-2 Ward 4,067 D-6 Warm Springs A-8 Warren 6,003 H-6 Washburn D-2 Washington 180 G-3 Washita E-3 Waterloo H-4 Watkins Corner F-8 Watson 211 G-7 Waveland D-3 Webb City C-2 Weber F-8 Wedington B-1 Weiner 716 C-8 Welcome J-3 Weldon 75 C-7 Welsh F-3 Wesley B-2 Wesson J-5 West Crossett J-6 West Fork 2,317 B-2 West Memphis 26,245 D-9 West Point 185 D-7 West Ridge C-9 Western Grove 384 B-4 Wheatley 355 E-8 Wheeler B-2 Wheeling A-6 Whelen Spgs. 92 G-4 Whisp B-9 Whistleville C-10 White J-6 White Hall 5,526 F-6 Whitehall C-8 Whiteville A-5 Whitmore D-9 Wickes 754 F-1 Wideman B-6 Widener 273 D-9 Wiederkehr Village 38 C-3 Wilburn C-6 Wild Cherry B-6 Williams Junction E-4 Williford 75 B-7 Willisville 152 H-3 Willow F-4 Wilmar 511 H-6 Wilmot 550 J-7 Wilson 903 C-10 Wilson D-4 Wilton 374 G-2 Winchester 167 G-7 Winfield E-2 Wing E-3 Winslow 391 C-2 Winthrop 192 G-1 Wirth A-7 Wiseman B-6 Witcherville D-2 Witter B-3 Witts Spring C-4 Wiville D-7 Wolf Bayou C-6 Woodberry H-5 Woodlawn E-6 Woodlawn G-6 Woodson F-6 Wooster 860 D-5 Worden D-7 Wright F-6 Wrightsville 2,114 E-6 Wye E-5 Wynne 8,367 D-8

Summers

2

Clifty

6 1

3

2

4

3

3

3 Maple 10 Urbanette

3

4

8

11 9

Best 4 3

2

41

29 5 2 1 Goshen 4 Huntsville 1 Cross Roads

5

7

FAYETTEVILLE

E-7 F-2 B-6 E-2 C-1 C-8 J-5 A-3

170

56

Starks 1

Eureka Springs

4

18

9

9

Spring 5 Valley

4

8

Caulfield

Gainesville

1

4 Enon Oak Grove

4

Alton

M I S S O U R I

Isabella

Ridgedale

4

7

8

7

Grandview

2

War Eagle

Sonora Mayfield

Farmington Viney Grove

6

3

CONWAY

Ulm Umpire Union Union Hill Uniontown Uno Urbana Urbanette

Wedington Cincinnati Rhea

4

3 5

11

7 4

8 4

9

6

To Jefferson City

FOREST

Protem

Busch 6

Lowell

3 2 Bethel Heights 8 1

2

2 1 6

Johnson 2

15

5 MARK TWAIN NATIONAL Longrun

Forsyth

Branson Hollister

50

Blue Eye Holiday Island

5

9

4

Prairie Creek

1

Monte-Ne

4

1

Elm Springs Tontitown 2

15

Harmon Wheeler Savoy

17

5

Garfield Lost Avoca Bridge Vill.

3

10

5

3 5

4

Flock

17 5

Springs

4

31

Westville

4 Little 4

6 6 Cave

4

25 OZARK NATIONAL FOREST

9 6

5

6 2

1 3

Highfill

Springtown Healing Springs

1 1 6

Vaughn

6

4

Gentry 5

2

CAMDEN

B-9 F-3 C-6 A-4 C-4 E-2 E-9 F-4 D-4 G-3 D-4 C-3 E-6 F-4 C-7 G-7 D-6 D-5 A-9 F-3 B-4 F-6 E-8 G-4 E-2 D-8 F-6 B-6 D-3 E-5 G-3 C-8 D-3 D-6 C-6 G-3

7

5 6

Centerton 4 10

Decatur Cherokee City

2 5

B

3

7

9 7

Watts Ballard

Pea Ridge 15 6

7

ay

Hackett 812 D-1 Hagarville C-3 Hale Town E-2 Halley H-7 Halliday B-9 Hamburg 2,857 H-6 Hamlet D-5 Hampton 1,324 H-5 Hanover C-6 Hardin F-6 Hardy 772 A-7 Hargrave Corner B-9 Harmon B-1 Harmon B-4 Harmony C-3 Harmony D-6 Harmony E-4 Harmony Grove G-4 Harrell 254 H-5 Harriet B-5 Harrisburg 2,302 C-8 Harrison 12,943 B-4 Hartford 642 D-1 Hartman 519 D-3 Harvey E-2 Haskell 3,990 F-5 Hasty B-4 Hatfield 413 F-1 Hattieville D-4 Hatton F-1 Havana 375 D-3 Haynes 150 E-8 Hazen 1,468 E-7 Heafer D-9

Macedonia J-3 Macon E-6 Madison 769 D-8 Magazine 847 D-3 Magness 202 C-7 Magnet Cove F-4 Magnolia 11,577 H-4 Malvern 10,318 F-4 Mammoth Spring 977 A-7 Mandeville H-2 Manila 3,342 B-9 Manning G-4 Mansfield 1,139 D-2 Manson B-8 Maple A-3 Marble B-3 Marble Falls B-4 Marcella C-6 Marcus F-3 Marianna 4,115 E-8 Marie 84 C-10 Marion 12,345 D-10 Marked Tree 2,566 C-9 Marmaduke 1,111 B-9 Marshall 1,355 B-5 Martinville D-5 Marvell 1,186 E-8 Marysville H-4 Masonville H-7 Maumelle 17,163 E-5 Maxville B-7 Mayfield B-2 Mayflower 2,234 D-5 Maynard 426 A-8 Maysville A-1 McArthur G-7 McCaskill 96 G-3 McClelland D-7 McCormick C-9 McCrory 1,729 D-8 McDougal 186 A-9 McGehee 4,219 H-7 McKamie H-3 McMillan Corner H-7 McNab 68 G-2 McNeil 516 H-4 McRae 682 D-6 Melbourne 1,848 B-6 Mellwood F-8 Mena 5,737 E-2 Menifee 302 D-5 Meridian J-6 Metalton B-3 Middlebrook A-8 Midland 325 D-1 Midway C-8 Midway 389 F-4 Midway D-3 Midway A-5 Miller Chapel J-7 Milligan Ridge C-9 Milltown D-2 Mineral Springs 1,208 G-2 Minturn 109 B-8 Mist H-7 Mitchell A-6 Mitchellville 360 G-7 Moark A-9 Moko A-6 Monette 1,501 B-9 Monnie Springs E-5 Monroe E-8 Monte Ne B-2 Monticello 9,467 H-6 Montongo G-6 Montrose 354 H-7 Moorefield 137 C-7 Moreland D-4 Morgan E-5 Morganton C-5 Morning Star B-5 Morning Star F-4

A-8 E-8 G-6 D-6 G-6 B-9 G-2 D-3 J-7 J-5 D-9 E-2 E-6 E-5 B-3 F-6 H-3 D-7 C-9 A-2

F-6 G-6 J-3 H-2 H-2 H-7 C-7 B-5 E-9 E-4 G-5 J-4 D-9 F-7 G-7 C-4 D-8 C-5 H-5 D-7 G-2 G-2 E-7 B-10 F-6 B-2 F-5 F-8 C-9 F-6 C-8 G-5 F-5 C-6 D-7 E-8 F-8 D-9 D-5 D-9 C-9

Gravette

2

West Siloam WE LCOME Springs CE NT E R

3

6

5

To Oklahoma City

Lacey H-6 Ladd F-6 Ladelle H-6 Lafe 458 B-9 LaGrange 89 E-8 Lake City 2,082 C-9 Lake Dick F-6 Lake Hamilton F-4 Lake View 443 F-8 Lake Village 2,575 H-7 Lakehall H-8 Lakeport J-8 Lakeview 741 A-5 Lakeway A-4 Lamar 1,605 C-3 Lamartine H-3 Lambrook F-8 Landis B-5 Laneburg G-3 Langley F-2 Lansing D-9 Lapile J-5 Lavaca 2,289 D-2 Lawrenceville F-8 Lawson J-5 Leachville 1,993 B-9 Lead Hill 271 A-4 Lee Creek C-1 Lehi D-9 Lemsford B-10 Lennie C-9 Leola 501 F-5 Leonard B-9 Lepanto 1,893 C-9 Leslie 441 C-5 Lester B-9 Lesterville B-8 Letona 255 D-6 Levesque D-9 Lewisville 1,280 H-3 Lexa 286 E-8 Light B-8 Lincoln 2,249 B-1 Linwood F-6 Lisbon H-4 Little Dixie D-7 Little Flock 2,585 A-2 Little Garnett G-6 Little Italy E-5 Little Rock 193,524 E-5 Lockesburg 739 G-2 Locust Bayou H-5 Locust Grove C-6 Lodge Corner F-7 Lodi F-3 London 1,039 D-4 Lone Pine B-5 Lono F-5 Lonoke 4,245 E-6 Lonsdale 94 F-4 Lorado B-8 Lost Bridge Village A-2 Louann 164 H-4 Louise D-9 Lowell 7,327 B-2 Ludwig C-3 Lundell F-8 Lunsford C-9 Lurton C-4 Lutherville C-4 Luxora 1,178 C-10 Lynn 288 B-7

Palatka Palestine 681 Palmyra Pangburn 601 Pansy Paragould 26,113 Paraloma Paris 3,532 Parkdale 277 Parkers Chapel Parkin 1,105 Parks Parnell Paron Parthenon Pastoria Patmos 64 Patterson 452 Payneway Pea Ridge 4,794 Peach Orchard 135 Pearcy Pearson Peel Pelsor Pencil Bluff Penjur Perla 241 Perry 270 Perrytown 272 Perryville 1,460 Pettigrew Pettus Pettyview Pfeiffer Pickens Pickens Pickles Gap Piggott 3,849 Pike City Pindall 112 Pine Bluff 49,083 Pine City Pine Grove Pine Ridge Pine Tree Pinebergen Pineville 238 Piney Pinnacle Pisgah Pitts Plainview 608 Plainview Pleasant Grove Pleasant Hill Pleasant Plains 349 Pleasant Valley Pleasant Valley Plumerville 826 Pocahontas 6,608 Point Cedar Pollard 222 Ponca Pontoon Popular Grove Portia 437 Portland 430 Possum Grape Postelle Potter Pottsville 2,838 Poughkeepsie Powhatan 72 Poyen 290 Prairie Creek Prairie Grove 4,380 Prairie View Prattsville 305 Prescott 3,296 Preston Ferry Prim Princeton Process City Proctor Providence Provo Pyatt 221

Tamo Tarry Taylor 566 Temple Texarkana 29,919 Thebes Thida Thola Thompson Grove Thornburg Thornton 407 Three Creeks Three Forks Tichnor Tillar 225 Tilly Tilton Timbo Tinsman 54 Tipp Tokio Tollette 240 Tollville Tomato Tomberlin Tontitown 2,460 Traskwood 518 Trenton Trumann 7,296 Tucker Tuckerman 1,862 Tulip Tull 448 Tumbling Shoals Tupelo 180 Turkey Scratch Turner Turrell 615 Twin Groves 335 Twist Tyronza 762

2

Maysville

76 Flint

4

Kissee Mills

To Springfield

Beaver 1

Gateway

Bella Vista

3

3

Lampe

Viola Seligman 5

3 2 4 2

4

MARK TWAIN Shell Knob NATIONAL FOREST

Washburn Jane

Caverna 5

Arkansas

Gainesville B-9 Gaither B-4 Galloway E-6 Gamaliel A-6 Gardner J-5 Garfield 502 A-2 Garland 242 H-2 Garner 284 D-6 Garrett Bridge G-7 Garrett Grove E-8 Gassville 2,078 B-5 Gateway 405 A-2 Genoa H-2 Gentry 3,158 B-1 Georgetown B-2 Georgetown 124 D-7 Gepp A-6 Gethsemane F-6 Gibson C-8 Gieseck D-9 Gilbert 28 B-5 Gill E-8 Gillett 691 F-7 Gillham 160 F-1 Gilmore 263 C-9 Gin City J-2 Glen Rose F-5 Glencoe B-6 Glendale G-6 Glenwood 2,228 F-3 Gold Creek D-5 Goodwin E-8 Goshen 1,071 B-2 Gosnell 3,548 B-10 Gould 837 G-7 Grady 449 G-7 Grand Lake J-8 Grandview A-3 Grange B-7 Grannis 554 F-1 Grapevine F-5 Gravelly E-3 Gravette 2,325 A-1 Grays D-7 Greasy Corner D-9 Greenbrier 4,706 D-5 Greenfield C-8 Green Forest 2,761 A-3 Green Hill H-6 Greenland 1,259 B-2 Greenway 209 A-9 Greenwood 8,952 D-2 Greers Ferry 891 C-6 Gregory D-7 Grider C-10 Griffith Spring G-6 Griffithtown G-4 Griffithville 225 D-7 Grubbs 386 C-8 Guernsey G-3 Guion 86 B-6 Gum Springs. 120 G-4 Gurdon 2,212 G-4 Guy 708 D-5

759 C-10 G-7 1,648 D-7 D-4 256 E-6 E-6 961 C-2 F-1 447 G-5 B-3 F-3 B-9 287 A-9 731 D-3

O’Donnell Bend C-10 O’Kean 194 B-8 Oak Forest E-8 Oak Grove 369 A-3 Oak Grove H-4 Oak Grove E-6 Oak Grove G-4 Oak Grove D-4 Oak Grove F-4 Oak Grove Heights 889 B-9 Oakhaven 63 G-3 Oakland A-5 Oark C-3 Oden 232 E-3 Ogden 180 H-2 Ogemaw H-4 Oil Trough 260 C-7 Okay G-2 Okolona 147 G-3 Ola 1,281 D-4 Old Alabam B-3 Old Jenny Lind D-2 Old Lexington C-5 Old Milo H-6 Old Union H-5 Olvey B-4 Omaha 169 A-4 Oneida F-8 Onia B-5 Onyx E-3 Oppelo 781 D-4 Osage B-3 Osceola 7,757 C-10 Otto D-6 Otwell C-8 Ouachita G-4 Overcup D-5 Owensville E-4 Oxford 670 B-6 Oxley C-5 Ozan 85 G-3 Ozark 3,684 C-2 Ozark Acres A-7 Ozone C-3

Pineville

45 2

10

Colcord

3

Cassville Exeter

Lanagan

Sulphur Springs

To Jackson

B-2 B-2 J-6 E-8 B-8 F-6 E-5 B-5 C-1 C-8 D-7 B-5 C-6 G-7 D-6 G-2 B-8 G-5 G-1 E-2 C-5 D-8 D-1 B-3 H-2 H-6 E-4 E-5 E-4 C-5 B-6 C-10 H-4 G-7 F-4 H-2 E-6

Keiser Kelso Kensett Kenwood Keo Kerr Kibler King Kingsland Kingston Kirby Knob Knobel Knoxville

G-2 B-6

2

To Joplin

Anderson

Noel Southwest City

A

Ark a

D-8 C-5 E-7 H-8 A-5 H-3 G-2 C-3 E-8 G-5

Jacksonport 212 C-7 Jacksonville 28,364 E-6 James Mill D-9 Jamestown C-6 Japton B-3 Jasper 466 B-4 Jefferson F-6 Jennette 115 D-9 Jennie H-7 Jenny Lind D-2 Jericho 119 D-9 Jerome 39 H-7 Jersey H-5 Jerusalem D-4 Jessieville E-4 Jesup B-7 Joan F-4 Johnson 3,354 B-2 Johnsville H-6 Joiner 576 C-10 Jones Mill F-4 Jonesboro 67,263 C-9 Jordan B-6 Joy D-6 Joyce City H-5 Judd Hill C-9 Judsonia 2,019 D-7 Julius D-9 Junction City 581 J-4

D-6 A-5 E-4 E-4 B-6 C-2 G-6 C-2

Nady G-7 Nail C-3 Nance E-5 Nashville 4,627 G-2 Nathan F-2 Natural Dam C-1 Natural Steps E-5 Naylor D-6 Nebo G-6 Needmore E-2 Nelsonville B-7 New Blaine D-3 New Caledonia J-5 New Edinburg G-6 New Hope H-3 New Hope H-6 New London J-5 New Salem E-8 New Spadra D-3 Newark 1,176 C-7 Newburg B-6 Newcastle D-8 Newell J-4 Newhope F-2 Newnata B-5 Newport 7,879 C-7 Nimmons 69 A-10 Nimrod E-4 Noble Lake F-6 Nola E-3 Noland B-8 Norfork 511 B-5 Norman 378 F-3 Norphlet 844 H-5 North Crossett J-6 North Little Rock 62,304 E-5 Number Nine B-10 Nunley E-2

Scotland C-5 Scott E-6 Scott Valley E-8 Scottsville C-4 Scranton 224 D-3 Searcy 22,858 D-6 Seaton E-6 Seaton Dump E-7 Sedgwick 152 B-8 Sellers Store A-7 Selma G-7 Seyppel E-9 Shady Grove C-9 Shady Grove E-5 Shannon B-8 Shannon Hills 3,143 E-5 Sharum B-8 Shearerville D-9 Shell Lake D-9 Sheridan 4,603 F-5 Sherrill 84 F-6 Sherwood 29,523 E-6 Shirley 291 C-5 Shives H-8 Shoffner C-7 Shuler J-4 Sidney 181 B-7 Sidon D-6 Siloam Springs 15,039 B-1 Silver Hill B-4 Sims E-3 Simsboro D-9 Sitka B-7 Slaytonville D-1 Slovak E-7 Smackover 1,865 H-4 Smale E-8 Smithville J-2 Smithville 78 B-7 Snow B-4 Snow Lake G-8 Snowball B-4 Snyder H-7 Social Hill F-4 Solgohachia D-5 Sonora B-2 Soudan E-8 South Bend E-6 South Lead Hill 102 A-4 Southside 2,224 C-7 Southside D-5 Sparkman 427 G-4 Spear Lake C-9 Spring Hill H-3 Spring Valley B-2 Springdale 69,797 B-2 Springfield D-5 Springhill D-5 Springtown 87 B-1 St. Charles 230 F-8 St. Francis 250 A-9 St. James C-6 St. Joe 132 B-4 St. Paul 113 C-3 Stacy C-9 Stacy D-9 Stamps 1,693 H-3 Standard Umsted H-5 Standford B-8 Staple G-7 Star City 2,274 G-6 Starks B-2 Staves G-5 Stephens 891 H-4 Stevens Creek D-7 Stewart C-9 Stokes A-8 Stonewall B-9 Story E-3 Strawberry 302 B-7 Strickler C-1 Strong 558 J-5 Sturkie A-6 Stuttgart 9,326 F-7 Subiaco 572 D-3 Success 149 A-8 Sugar Grove D-2 Sulphur City B-2 Sulphur Rock 456 C-7 Sulphur Springs 511 A-1 Sulphur Springs F-6 Summers B-1 Summit 604 B-5 Sumpter H-6 Sunnydale C-7 Sunset 198 D-10 Supply A-8 Swain C-3 Swan Lake F-7 Sweden F-6 Sweet Home E-6 Swifton 798 C-8 Sylamore B-6

O K L A H O M A

2,338 Fairmount Fairview Fairview Falcon Falls Chapel Fallsville Fargo 98 Farindale Farmington 5,974 Fayetteville 73,580 Felsenthal 150 Felton Fender Ferda Ferndale Fifty-Six 173 Figure Five Fisher 223 Fitzhugh Flippin 1,355 Floral Florence Floyd Fomby Fontaine Fordyce 4,300 Foreman 1,011 Forester Formosa Forrest City15,371 Fort Smith 86,209 Forum Fouke 859 Fountain Hill 175 Fountain Lake 503 Fourche 62 Fourche Jct. Fox Franklin 198 Frenchmans Bayou Frenchport Fresno Friendship 176 Fulton 201 Furlow

F-5 C-6 B-7 F-7 J-7 F-8 H-6 C-7 E-2 D-2 G-5

B-6 B-4

To Broken Bow

Fair Oaks Fairfield Bay

677

E-8 D-5 G-4 D-3 B-6 B-1 D-8 F-6 B-9 D-4 H-4 E-3 B-4 B-6

To Sherman

Eagle Mills G-5 Eagleton E-2 Earle 2,414 D-9 East Camden 931 H-5 East End E-5 Eaton B-7 Ebony D-9 Edgemont C-6 Edmondson 427 D-9 Egypt 112 B-8 El Dorado 18,884 J-5 El Paso D-6 Elaine 636 F-8 Elgin C-7 Elizabeth A-6 Elkins 2,648 B-2 Elliott H-4 Elm Spgs. 1,535 B-2 Elm Store A-7 Emerson 368 J-4 Emmet 518 G-3 Enders D-6 Engelberg A-8 England 2,825 E-6 Enola 338 D-6 Enon A-3 Eros B-4 Ethel F-8 Etowah 351 C-9 Eudora 2,269 J-7 Eureka Spgs.

2,073 A-3 Evadale C-10 Evansville C-1 Evening Shade H-3 Evening Shade 432 B-7 Evening Star B-5 Evening Star B-8 Everton 133 B-4 Excelsior D-1

Ico Ida Imboden Immanuel Indian Indian Bay Ingalls Ingleside Ink Ione Ivan

Moro 216 Morrilton 6,767 Morris Morrison Bluff 64 Morriston Morrow Morton Moscow Mounds Mount George Mount Holly Mount Ida 1,076 Mount Judea Mount Olive Mount Pleasant 414 Mount Sherman Mount Vernon 145 Mountain Home 12,448 Mountain Pine 770 Mountain Valley Mountain View 2,748 Mountainburg 631 Mt. Zion Mulberry 1,655 Murfreesboro 1,641 Myron

To Dallas

Daisy 115 F-3 Dalark G-4 Dallas F-2 Dalton A-8 Damascus 382 D-5 Dansby E-9 Danville 2,409 D-3 Dardanelle 4,745 D-4 Datto 100 A-8 Dayton D-2 DeAnn G-3 Deans Market C-2 Decatur 1,699 A-1 Deep Elm F-8 Deer C-4 Delaney B-2 Delaplaine 116 B-8 Delaware D-3 Delight 279 G-3 Dell 223 B-10 Deluce F-7 Denmark C-7 Dennard C-5 Denning 314 D-3 Denver A-3 Denwood C-9 De Queen 6,594 G-1 Dermott 2,889 H-7 Des Arc 1,717 E-7 Desha C-7 DeValls Bluff 619 E-7 Dewey H-7 DeWitt 3,292 F-7 Diamond City782 A-4 Diamondhead F-4 Diaz 1,318 C-7 Dierks 1,133 F-2 Dixie D-7 Dixie B-9 Dodd City A-4 Doddridge J-2 Dodsons Corner E-8 Dolph B-6 Donaldson 301 F-4 Dora C-1 Douglas G-7 Dover 1,378 D-4 Dowdy C-7 Drasco C-6 Driggs D-2 Driver C-10 Dryfork B-3 Dublin D-3 Dumas 4,706 G-7 Durham B-2 Dutch Mills B-1 Dutton C-3 Dyer 876 C-2 Dyess 410 C-9

Healing Spgs.

B-1 Heart A-7 Heber Spgs. 7,165 C-6 Hector 450 C-4 Helena-West Helena 12,282 E-9 Hempwallace F-3 Henderson A-6 Hensley F-6 Herbine G-6 Hermitage 830 H-6 Hervey H-2 Heth D-9 Hickman B-10 Hickoria A-9 Hickory Flat C-6 Hickory Plains E-7 Hickory Ridge 272 D-8 Hicks Station D-9 Higden 120 C-5 Higgins E-6 Higginson 621 D-7 Highfill 583 B-1 Highland G-2 Highland 1,045 B-7 Hightower C-10 Hillcrest C-3 Hillemann D-8 Hillsboro J-5 Hindsville 61 B-2 Hogeye B-1 Holiday Island A-3 Holland 557 D-5 Hollis E-4 Holly Grove 602 E-7 Holly Island B-9 Holly Springs G-5 Hollywood F-3 Holub E-8 Hon E-2 Hooker B-9 Hooker F-6 Hope 10,095 H-3 Hopper F-3 Horatio 1,044 G-1 Horseshoe Bend 2,184 B-6 Horseshoe Lake 292 E-9 Horton D-8 Hot Springs 35,193 E-4 Hot Springs Village *12,807 E-4 Houston 173 D-5 Howell D-7 Hoxie 2,780 B-8 Huffman B-10 Hugh B-3 Hughes 1,441 E-9 Humnoke 284 F-6 Humphrey 557 F-6 Hunt C-3 Hunter 105 D-8 Huntington 635 D-2 Huntsville 2,346 B-2 Hurricane Grove F-3 Huttig 597 J-6 Hydrick C-8

yw

Cabot 23,776 E-6 Caddo Gap F-3 Caddo Valley 635 F-4 Cades G-7 Calamine B-7 Caldwell 555 D-8 Cale 79 H-3 Calhoun H-4 Calico Rock1,545 B-6 Calion 494 H-5 Calmer G-6 Calumet B-10 Camden 12,183 H-4 Cammack Village 768 E-5 Camp A-6 Campbell Station 255 C-7 Canaan B-5 Canehill B-1 Caney F-4 Canfield J-3 Capps B-4 Caraway 1,279 C-9 Carbon City D-2 Carlisle 2,214 E-6 Carrolls Corner C-10 Carrollton B-3 Carryville A-10 Carson Lake C-10 Carthage 343 G-5 Casa 171 D-4 Cash 342 C-8 Cass C-2 Casscoe F-7 Catalpa C-3 Cato E-5 Caulksville 213 D-2 Cauthron E-2 Cave City 1,904 B-7 Cave Spgs. 1,729 B-2 Cecil C-2 Cedar Creek E-2 Cedarville 1,394 C-1 Center B-7 Center Hill D-6 Center Point G-2 Center Ridge D-5 Centerton 9,515 A-1 Centerville D-4 Central G-1 Central F-4 Central City 502 D-2 Cerrogordo G-1 Chanticleer H-7 Chapel Hill G-1 Charleston 2,522 D-2 Charlotte C-7 Chatfield D-9 Chelford C-9 Cherokee City A-1 Cherokee Village 4,671 A-7 Cherry Hill E-2 Cherry Valley 651 C-8 Chester 159 C-2 Chickalah D-3 Chicot J-7 Chicot Junction J-7 Chidester 289 G-4 Childress B-9 Chismville D-2 Choctaw C-5 Cincinnati B-1 Clarendon 1,664 E-7 Clarkedale 371 D-9 Clarkridge A-5 Clarksville 9,178 C-3 Clay D-6 Cleveland D-5 Clifty B-3 Clinton 2,602 C-5 Clover Bend B-8 Clow G-2 Clyde B-1 Coal Hill 1,012 C-3 Coldwater D-9 Collins H-7 Colt 378 D-8 Columbus G-2 Combs C-2 Compton B-3 Concord 244 C-6 Congo E-5

D-5 C-7 D-3 F-7 G-6 A-9 B-5 D-7 F-1 C-4 G-2 F-6 B-5 C-5 D-9 A-9 F-7 G-1 G-2 F-5 F-8 B-2 B-2 J-6 C-5 E-4 F-8 F-3 E-6 C-5 G-4 B-6 F-8

RY.

Back Gate G-7 Balch C-8 Bald Knob 2,897 D-7 Banks 124 H-5 Banner C-6 Barber D-2 Barfield B-10 Barling 4,649 D-1 Barney D-6 Barton E-8 Bass B-4 Bassett 173 C-10 Batavia B-4 Bates E-1 Batesville 10,248 C-7 Bauxite 487 E-5 Bay 1,801 C-9 Bay Village C-9 Bayou Meto F-7 Bear E-3 Bear Creek Spgs. A-4 Bearden 966 G-5 Beaver 100 A-2 Beck E-9 Becton D-7 Bee Branch C-5 Beebe 7,315 D-6 Beech Grove B-9 Beedeville 107 C-8 Beirne G-4 Belfast F-5 Bella Vista 26,461 A-2 Bellefonte 454 B-4 Belleville 441 D-3 Ben C-6 Ben Hur C-4 Ben Lomond 145 G-2 Benton 30,681 E-5 Bentonville 35,301 A-2 Bergman 439 A-4 Berlin J-6 Berryville 5,356 A-3 Best B-2 Bethel B-9 Bethel Heights 2,372 B-2 Bethesda C-6 Beulah E-7 Beverage Town C-5 Bexar B-6 Big Flat 105 B-5 Big Fork F-2 Bigelow 315 D-5 Biggers 347 A-8 Billstown G-3 Bingen G-2 Birdeye D-9 Birdsong 41 C-9 Birdtown D-5 Birta D-4 Biscoe 363 E-7 Bismarck F-4 Black Oak 262 B-9 Black Oak C-9 Black Rock 662 B-8 Black Spgs.

99 F-2 Blackton E-8 Blackville C-8 Blackwell D-4 Blakely E-4 Blakemore E-6 Blevins 315 G-3 Bloomer D-2 Blue Ball E-3 Blue Eye 30 A-3 Blue Mtn. 124 D-3 Blue Springs E-4 Bluff City 124 G-4 Bluffton E-3 Blytheville 15,620 B-10 Board Camp F-2 Bodcaw 138 H-3 Bogg Springs F-1 Bolding J-6 Boles E-2 Bonanza 575 D-1 Bondsville C-9 Bonnerdale F-3 Bono 2,131 B-8 Booneville 3,990 D-2 Boston C-3 Boswell B-6 Botkinburg C-5 Boughton G-3 Bowman C-9 Boxley B-3 Boydell H-7 Boydsville A-9 Bradford 759 C-7 Bradley 628 J-3 Bragg City G-4 Branch 367 D-2 Brasfield E-7 Brashears C-2 Brentwood B-2 Briarcliff 236 B-5 Brickeys E-9 Briggsville E-3 Brighton B-9 Bright Star G-2 Brightstar J-2 Brinkley 3,188 E-7 Brister J-4 Brockwell B-6 Brookings A-8 Brookland 2,914 B-9 Brownstown G-2 Brownsville C-6 Bruins E-9 Bruno B-4 Brush Creek F-5 Bryant 16,688 E-5 Buckeye B-9 Buckner 275 H-3 Buena Vista H-4 Buffalo City B-5 Buford B-5 Bull Shoals 1,950 A-5 Bunn G-5 Burdette 191 C-10 Burlington A-4 Burtsell G-3 Busch A-2 Bussey J-3 Butlerville E-6 Butterfield E-4 Byron A-6

Conway 58,908 Cord Corinth 70 Cornerstone Cornerville Corning 3,377 Cotter 970 Cotton Plant 649 Cove 382 Cowell Cowlingsville Coy 96 Cozahome Crabtree Crawfordsville 479 Crockett Crocketts Bluff Cross Roads Cross Roads Cross Roads Cross Roads Cross Roads Crosses Crossett 5,507 Crossroads Crows Crumrod Crystal Springs Culler Culpepper Curtis Cushman 452 Cypert

B NSF

1

1 Tiff City

Abbott D-2 Aberdeen E-7 Acorn E-2 Ada D-4 Adona 209 D-4 Agnos B-6 Alabam B-3 Albion D-6 Alco B-5 Alexander 2,901 E-5 Algoa C-8 Alicia 124 B-8 Alix C-3 Alleene G-2 Allison B-6 Allport 115 E-6 Alma 5,419 C-2 Almond C-6 Almyra 283 F-7 Alonzo C-7 Alpena 392 A-3 Alpine F-3 Alread C-5 Altheimer 984 F-6 Altus 758 C-3 Aly E-3 Amagon 98 C-8 Amity 723 F-3 Amy G-4 Anthonyville 161 D-9 Antioch D-6 Antoine 117 G-3 Aplin E-4 Appleton C-4 Arden G-1 Arkadelphia 10,714 F-4 Arkansas City 366 H-8 Arkinda G-1 Armorel B-10 Armstrong A-7 Armstrong Spgs. D-6 Ash Flat 1,082 B-7 Ashdown 4,723 G-2 Athelstan C-9 Athens F-2 Atkins 3,016 D-4 Atlanta J-4 Attica A-8 Aubrey 170 E-8 Augsburg D-4 Augusta 2,199 D-7 Aurora B-3 Austin 2,038 D-6 Auvergne C-7 Avant E-3 Avilla E-5 Avoca 488 A-2

Arkansas’s beautiful landscape is constantly changing. Increases in population and traffic, and newly designated commemorative routes often lead to improvements to our highway system. The map team tracks all of this so that the next edition of the map accurately reflects the changes.

The team includes geographic information analysts, graphic designers, quality assurance and quality control specialists, and one cartographer, who assembles all the information to include on the map.

The 1983 edition of the State Highway Map earned a spot on the movie screen as a prop in the Tom Cruise movie American Made.

One of the best features of the map is that it is easy to refold, so open up your map and let your Arkansas adventure unfold.

First, acquire an official Arkansas State Highway Map. You can pick one up at any of the Arkansas Welcome Centers along the state’s borders and at many local chambers of commerce. Or a free copy can be ordered at this address: Arkansas Department of Transportation; Map Requests; P.O. Box 2261; Little Rock, AR 72203. Also, you can request a map from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism by calling (501) 682-7777. (And you might ask for a complimentary vacation planning guide while you’re at it).

Once you get the map, carefully cut away everything beyond the state’s outline, but don’t try to follow all the ins and outs of the Mississippi River along Arkansas’ eastern edge or the bends of the Red River in extreme southwestern Arkansas. A rough approximation of the rivers’ courses will do just fine — and is actually preferred. Attempting to convert all those meandering twists and turns onto a wooden surface would be a nightmare.

3

4

Next, position your boards with the best side facing down and then place your cut-out Arkansas map upside down across the boards (see photo). By the way, I’m not sure why, but a horizontal arrangement of the boards seems to yield a better result.

6

Now, for the boards. Weathered siding from old barns or sheds is an excellent material, but please feel free to be creative. I’ve seen attractive versions produced using boards from castoff wooden pallets. The example you see here was made from discarded pine decking. I personally favor a distressed look, but you might want to use new lumber and paint or stain your work to complement a certain décor. Plywood just doesn’t seem to have the character of real lumber.

Your cut-out Arkansas map will be roughly 22 inches wide and 19 inches tall — which means you’ll need to find boards to accommodate a rectangle of that size. (The boards shown in these photos were each 24 inches in length to give me a bit of wiggle room.)

5

Next, use a marking pen to carefully trace the state’s outline onto your boards.

Once all the sawing was done, I again arranged the boards upside down, paying close attention to make sure everything was properly aligned. I then placed two short lengths of molding (also called trim) across the back of the boards and used wood screws to fasten them in place.

With the exception of screws, all my materials were scrap. I bought 14 wood screws for 13 cents apiece, or $1.98 with tax. Not a bad deal by any means!

28

I used a circular saw to cut the straight lines and a jigsaw to deal with the crooked stretches. Don’t forget to protect eyes, ears and fingers while making your cuts.

A few minutes spent sanding the rough edges will give it a more finished look (and removes those pesky splinters).

When considering a facility for short-term rehabilitation services, families want the best they can get for their loved ones, and they have to look no further than Superior Health and Rehab in Conway.

Our rehabilitation gym offers state-of-the art rehab and features interactive equipment to enable our licensed therapists to create a comprehensive therapy program designed to get our residents back to their prior functional level, regain their self-reliance and facilitate a return to home as quickly as possible.

625 Tommy Lewis Drive • Conway, AR• 501-585-6800 • superiorhrc.com

Eric the wonder pig and Annie the Anatolian.

30

The Table

Plenty

of

By DWAIN HEBDA • Photos by JAMISON MOSLEY.

31

aymag.com

ast month, a nasty bit of fake news swirled around the internet, besmirching our beloved state and the people who live here. Amazingly, it had nothing to do with COVID-19 cases, the outcome of the presidential election or the beloved Hogs, but was equally distressing and demanding of counterpoint.

It came in the form of a survey detailing the favorite holiday (specifically Thanksgiving) side dishes from

Lindsey’s Hospitality House.

each state. Green bean casserole, predictably, won many. Some Southern states appropriately boasted macaroni and cheese.

Those crafty Cajuns of Louisiana took cornbread dressing, as they should.

Arkansas? Well according to some pencilneck, when we sit down with family and friends, the most clamored-for sidecar is a heaping helping of white gravy. Not greens. Not mashed or sweet potatoes. Not even dressing. White. Gravy.

As we like to say dow’ heah, “Bless their hearts.”

I feel sorry for people who are so misguided about Southern cuisine in general and our celebratory fare in particular. The holidays are fed below the Mason-Dixon Line like nowhere else in our hallowed Republic. Southern fare done right is the simple elevated to the sublime anyway, but the last two months of the year, kitchens really put into overdrive to honor the season. And Lord, don’t we need a dose of that in 2020.

“Christmas really means something special. It has always been important to us because we are a family of faith,” says Donnie Lindsey who, with his wife Eleanor, is a second-generation owner of Lindsey’s Hospitality House in North Little Rock. “I think it just reflects on how blessed we’ve been.”

The family’s heavenly outlook has guided the landmark restaurant since Donnie’s folks, D.L. and Irma, opened the place in

32

1956, a testament to the power of faith and good food. And holidays bring out the very best in what the eatery has to offer. That means not only turkey- and ham-centric spreads, but a soulful third option for those who want to shake things up a bit.

“We do the traditional,” Lindsey says. “But a lot of people, after they’ve filled up with turkey and ham and all of that stuff during the Thanksgiving break, want to switch to something different. So, during Christmas, we sell quite a bit of barbecue, which is our main thing. That’s what the restaurant was started on, barbecue.

“We have a special platter that we make as a combination of all our five different meats that has beef, pork, ribs, chicken and links on it. That’s a platter that we offer throughout the year, but it’s very popular during the holidays.”

There’s magic in such places as Lindsey’s, mom-and-pop joints that have been serving moms and pops with the same quality across generations.

“I think the main thing is consistency and customer service,” Lindsey says. “We’ve made friends with a lot of our customers down through the years. They know that we’re going to put out a good, quality, consistent product.”

This consistency, of course, is what we crave at the holidays, tastes of something we remember from backwhen. It’s oysters and black-eyed peas at New Years; seven fishes or pierogi on Christmas Eve; dad’s signature catfish and collards during Kwanzaa; Nana’s Hanukkah brisket and latkes.

It’s the prayers of our forefathers and the potential of our children, bound together by the tastes that inspire stories and the stories that imbue laughter. It’s what we strive to create in our own versions of treasured family recipes or the new things we bring, literally, to the table.

Familiarity is what’s given Burge’s Hickory Smoked Turkeys and Hams its mojo since the original smoke shack fired up in 1953 in founder Alden Burge’s Lewisville back yard. A second location opened in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood in 1977.

Today, everything about the operation speaks to its long history, from the succulent meats to the people producing it.

“All of our smokers are in Lewisville. That store has been there since 1962,” says Jeff Voyles, who has owned the company for 11 years. “We have probably some of the longest-running employees at both locations of any company. That’s one of the great blessings that I’ve had in this business.

“In the Little Rock store, Louise Henderson has been here 28 years and has not missed a day of work. Her daughter has been here close to 20. We have some similar stories like that in Lewisville.”

That level of experience is one reason why Burge’s birds and hams are must-haves at many a holiday table in Arkansas and, increasingly, nationwide.

“Holiday fare is as glitzy as you want and as satisfying as you need.”

“We have customers we’ve been shipping turkeys and hams to for 40 years,” Voyles says. “And we have quite a few corporate customers that send smoked hams and turkeys to their clients.

“Let’s say an investment firm in Tennessee ships out 1,000 packages to its customers, and all of those customers receive an item, whether they live in Chicago, New York, LA, or anywhere across the U.S. Well now, they’re additional customers. They like the product, and they’re ordering for themselves.”

Burge’s meat is so coveted that in just two, three-week windows leading up to both Thanksgiving and Christmas, the company ships 16,000 parcels. With demand that high, early orders aren’t just recommended, they’re mandatory — especially this year.

“Greenburg Turkey out of Tyler, Texas, they’re much larger than we are. They had an explosion at their facility, and it burned down,” Voyles says. “They just put out the announcement that they lost all their inventory and won’t be honoring any orders that they’ve received.

“Our website crashed this morning, and Lindsey’s Hospitality House. our phones have been blowing up here and in Lewisville. People are scrambling trying to figure out what they’re going to do. We But it’s also turkey on a plastic tray in the local homeless shelter, may be the closest, I’d say, middle market-sized smoked turkey suphome-sent candies and a letter in a mess tent in Kandahar, an apple plier to Tyler, so we’re going to sell out this year. The only question on a TV tray in the nursing home, Salisbury steak behind bars. In is when. many corners of our community, losing one’s job or one’s way means “I have a feeling if I wanted to sell out by Thanksgiving, I could. the holidays bring no different a menu than at any other time of the But I want to provide stuff to people in December as well.” year.

Holiday fare is as glitzy as you want and as satisfying as you need.

So while there’s much to celebrate, even in a year like 2020, there It’s warm cookies awaiting the last kid to get home from college and is also much work to do. Let each bite we enjoy this year strengthen gifted jars of family recipe jam made from last summer’s peaches. us to stretch our arms wider in 2021, reaching those who need nourThey are magic formulas, these dishes, residing in yellowed church ishment of the body, mind and spirit. Let us expand our tables one cookbooks and on faded index cards written in your grandma’s hand. leaf after another, pulling chairs from hallway closets and our heart’s It’s newlyweds’ first season as Mr. and Mrs. when two families’ traother rooms, welcoming all whom we touch and call family, be it by ditions collide, commingle and come out entirely new. It’s humanblood, by relationship or by community. ity and heritage and hope, united and unbroken, around a table and May your doors burst open to those you love most this season. across the miles.

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aymag.com

Holiday Food AY’s ARKANSAS

Bucket List Presented by

l Blue Cake/Honey Pies

omer’s Restaurant l H

outhern Food Company l S

obbie D’s Southern Cuisine l B

l Lindsey's BBQ and

aylors’ Made Cafe l T

Little Rock

Little Rock

obby’s Cafe l B

North Little Rock

oulevard Bread Co. l B

Little Rock

urge’s Hickory Smoked l B

Turkeys and Hams Lewisville, Little Rock

Little Rock

Hospitality House North Little Rock

l L oca Luna Little Rock

l L ow Ivy Catering Little Rock

l Miracle Pop-Up Bar Bentonville

l Capitol Smokehouse & Grill

l Mother Kelley's Home Cooking

harlotte’s Eats and Sweets l C

l Myrtie Mae's Cafe

hef’s In l C

l PattiCakes Bakery

ommunity Bakery l C

etit & Keet l P

l Cypress Social

etit Jean Meats l P

tcetera l E

ostmasters Grill l P

l F ire Dancer BBQ

abbit Ridge Farms l R

l Gina’s Catering

l Red Door

l Golden Lady

eaton’s Scott Place l S

eritage Catering l H

l South on Main

Little Rock

Keo

Jonesboro Little Rock

North Little Rock Stuttgart Benton Benton

Texarkana

Little Rock

Texarkana

Fayetteville Conway

he Hive l T

Bentonville

hree Sams BBQ l T

Mabelvale

rio’s Restaurant l T

Little Rock

illiams Famous Fried l W

Chicken & Soul Food Fayetteville

Eureka Springs

Conway

Little Rock Morrilton Camden

Bee Branch Little Rock Scott

Little Rock

3C heck off the Holiday Food List as you visit a small sample of our favorite holiday food places.

Hot Springs’ newest, premier skilled nursing and long term care facility.

eatures all private rooms for o well as, private short term reha creen televisions and telephon nvenience.

We have Our facility features all private rooms fora ourdedicat long term residents, as well as, private short term rehab rooms with 42-inch flat screen televisions telephones for family ivate rooms andandan enclosed and friend convenience. We have a dedicated secure unit with 23 private rooms and an enclosed courtyard.

ve | Hot Springs, AR 71901 | 2600 Park Ave | Hot Springs, AR 71901 | 501.321.4276

NURSING & REHABILITATION LIVING PROFILE

our long term ab rooms with nes for family ted secure unit courtyard.

Briarwood Nursing and Rehab is a 120-bed skilled facility located in an urban setting within the heart of Little Rock, in the neighborhood of Briarwood. We are located just minutes from downtown Little Rock and are only one block off interstate 630.

We provide long-term care and short-term rehab care. All residents are monitored throughout the day with assistance in providing daily care as is needed: bathing, dressing, feeding and providing medications.

Briarwood staff also work at ensuring the best care for residents through individual care plans of residents' needs, as well as daily activities, which allow for a variety of interests and abilities.

Nearly all - 98 percent - of our rehab residents return to the community as a result of positive, caring therapists. Briarwood's approach has provided healing to many people in the community.

At Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, we are committed to ensuring that the best possible care is given to you or your loved one in an atmosphere that is calm, quiet and focused on healing. We endeavor to ensure that all aspects of your well-being — mental, physical and spiritual — are cared for in a peaceful and safe environment. Our staff strive to promote dignity, respect, and independence as much as possible, in a beautiful, soothing enviornment that was designed with our residents' comfort in mind.

Briarwood's service-rich environment is made possible by its dedicated staff, from our nursing staff and therapists, to our operations and administrative employees. At Briarwood, our residents enjoy three generations of staff and families. That is over 30 years of service to the community!

501.321.4276

501.224.9000 • 516 S. Rodney Parham Rd., Little Rock • briarwoodnursingandrehab.com 37

aymag.com

� a d i l o H ci pe s e R This photo styled by DishedbyDrea.

38

Cranberry Brie Bites

By Kaitlin Barger

INGREDIENTS Flour 1 (8-ounce) can crescent roll dough 1 round brie cheese W hole berry cranberry sauce (you can also use jellied if you prefer, or dried cranberries) Fresh rosemary sprigs Walnuts or pecans INSTRUCTIONS 1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Spread a little flour out onto your counter and roll out crescent roll dough, pinching the seams together.

3. Cut crescent roll dough into 24 equal-sized squares and place squares into muffin tin slots.

4. C ut brie into small pieces and place inside crescent dough squares. Top with a spoonful of cranberry sauce.

5. Top off with either a whole walnut or pecan, or sprinkle some pieces, and a little sprig of rosemary.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until crescent dough is a light golden brown. These are best served warm.

recipes

Sage & Cheddar Au Gratin Potatoes

Inspired by Julia Child’s recipe for Gratin Dauphinois

By Nic Williams INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons fresh sage, minced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 ½ cups heavy cream 2 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick 2 ½ cups good cheddar cheese (such as Cabot brand), finely grated INSTRUCTIONS 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine sage, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl, set aside.

3. Whisk butter and heavy cream together just until combined, set aside.

4. U sing a 9x13-inch casserole dish, layer ingredients in the following order: 1/3 of the potatoes, 1/3 of the cream mixture, 1/3 of the sage mixture and 1/3 of the cheese. Be sure to follow this order and repeat for the second and third layers.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 90 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

6. Allow dish to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole

By Kaitlin Barger

INGREDIENTS 1 pound sausage (I use turkey sausage, and you can even use a meat substitute) 1 (8-ounce) can reduced-fat crescent roll dough 8 eggs 2 cups milk (I use unsweetened coconut milk) 2 cups shredded cheese of your choice ½ bell pepper, diced 1 cup fresh or defrosted frozen spinach 1 teaspoon black pepper INSTRUCTIONS 1. H eat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

2. In a skillet, cook sausage until it breaks into crumbles; drain grease.

3. While sausage is cooking, unroll crescent roll dough into baking dish. Pinch seams together and spread out dough so it mostly covers the dish.

4. Whisk eggs, milk, veggies and black pepper in a bowl.

5. S prinkle the sausage evenly into dish, then pour in egg mixture. Top with shredded cheese.

6. Bake uncovered for about 35-40 minutes. (You’ll know it’s ready when you stick a toothpick or knife into the middle and it comes out clean.)

7. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Refrigerate and reheat for an easy breakfast.

GET TO KNOW...

AY ’ S BEST OF 2020

By Caroline O’Connor, Katie Zakrzewski and Dustin Jayroe

T

he time has nearly arrived for all of our faithful readers to nominate and vote on the recipients of AY’s Best of 2021 honor. But before we get ahead of ourselves in that regard, we wanted to bring you a little something special this time around — a way to “get to know” the winners and finalists from AY’s Best of 2020.

As you flip through the next few pages, you’ll quickly realize what makes each of these professionals and organizations special, and why our readers chose them as some of the best in the state at what they do. And, who knows — maybe you will take some of this newfound and behind-the-scenes knowledge to the voting booth in 2021.

Stay tuned at aymag.com! The nomination round for 2021 will be here very soon.

Thank You

FOR VOTING FOR US!

BLACKMON CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC

Best Chiropractic Clinic in Arkansas

CHIROPRACTIC CARE • CORRECTIVE EXERCISES LIFESTYLE ADVICE • NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING • SPINAL & POSTURAL SCREENINGS • PHYSIOTHERAPY • MASSAGE THERAPY

7000 CANTRELL RD., LITTLE ROCK, AR 72207 501-663-4101 • WWW.BLACKMONCHIROPRACTIC.COM 42

GET TO KNOW...

BOWEN HEFLEY ORTHOPEDICS WINNER, ORTHOPEDIC GROUP, PHYSICAL THERAPIST, ORTHOPEDIST

Congratulations Dr. Hefley and Dr. Stewart!

Pain is a part of life. One hopes such instances are rare, but whether you’re a young athlete or someone simply advancing in age, pain — whether occasional or chronic — lessens quality of life. Fortunately, Bowen Hefley Orthopedics is here to help.

Here is a look at its AY’s Best of 2020 winners.

marathon runner, youth sports coach and father of high school and college athletes has fueled his pasJason G. Stewart, M.D. William F. Hefley, Jr., M.D. sion for treating patients who play sports and returning them to the game they love. In addition, he enjoys serving other patients who simply want to be able to active lifestyles pain. Bowen, M.D.; Left to right: Samuel A. Moore, D.O.; David M. Rhodes, M.D.; Larry L. lead Nguyen, M.D.; free W.ofScott A native of Little Rock, Hefley earned an unBest Orthopedic Group, Jason G. Stewart, M.D.; William F. Hefley, Jr., M.D.; Jesse B. Burks, D.P.M. dergraduate degree from Harding University and his Bowen Hefley Orthopedics medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in orthopedic Bowen Hefley Orthopedics, founded more than surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical three decades ago, is committed to the care, improveSciences and received additional training in sports ment and quality of life for all of those it serves. The medicine and joint replacement surgery from St. practice provides state-of-the-art, comprehensive Mary’s Hospital System and the Royal National Ormusculoskeletal care in a compassionate manner, thopedic Hospital in London, England. Hefley has improving the quality of musculoskeletal medicine Congratulations to Dr. Hefley and Dr. Stewart forpracticed being ranked among Magazine’s in Little RockAYsince 1990. through diagnosis, treatment, education and research.

Best Orthopedic Surgeons in Central Arkansas.

In addition to being recognized at AY About You, Its physicians, physician assistants, physical therWith over 50 years of experience between them, Dr. Hefley Hefley and Dr. Stewart have improved livesOrthopedic of was also named the Best Surgeon apists, athletic trainers and x-ray technologists are countless patients in Central Arkansas. From patients suffering from joint pain to athletes with acute sports injuries, by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He has consulted Dr. BilltheyHefley specializes in minimally invasive top professionals in their respective fields. And all of have seen and treated it all. Dr. Hefley, Dr. Stewart, and rest of our incredible team are dedicated to leading orthopedic implant manufacturers to surgery of restoring the knee, hipof and His interests its staff, without exception, are devoted to excellence quality life to shoulder. all of our patients.

That’s why year with after year our surgeons are ranked among the best in their respective specialtiestotal in Arkansas, beyond. design new hip and knee implants and has also served include arthroscopic surgeries, jointand replacein the attention and care provided. Simply put, their as team physician and sports medicine director for ments and sports medicine. standard of patient care is the same standard they If you or a loved one suffers from bone or joint pain of the hand, elbow, foot, ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder, call Hefley’s lifelong love anofappointment sports as with an athlete would use for their own families. and organizations. today to schedule a surgeonand at Bowen schools Hefley Orthopedics.

Return to a more pain free Best Orthopedist, William F. Hefley Jr, MD

and active lifestyle with help from the best of the best!

THE BEST SURGEONS. THE BEST TREATMENT.

ALL FOCUSED ON YOU. www.bowenhefleyortho.com

Setting the barusforAY’s overBest 25 years.

Vote of 2020

Little Rock: 501-663-6455 | North Little Rock: 501-771-1600 | Jacksonville: 501-771-1600 | Cabot: 501-771-1600 Little Rock • North Little Rock • Jacksonville • Cabot • White Hall • Russellville • Hot Springs Village bowenhefleyortho.com

Best Orthopedic Group - Bowen Hefley Orthopedics

Thank you to the thousands of readers who chose Conway Regional as the best hospital in a field of worthy nominees. We are incredibly honored to be named the 2020 Best Hospital in Arkansas by readers of AY Magazine. Additionally, many others in the Conway Regional family were recognized as the best in their respective category.

Best Hospital: Conway Regional Health System Best Overall Company: Conway Regional Health System Person of the Year: Matt Troup Best Nurse Practitioner: Meghan Mallett, APRN Best Place to Have a Baby: Conway Regional Health System Best Sports Medicine Clinic: Conway Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center Best Fitness Center/Gym: Conway Regional Health & Fitness Center Conway Regional is committed to bringing you innovative services, new clinics, more specialists, and expanded access to care. We’re not just growing—we’re growing together.

Your Beauty OUR

EXPERTISE. Dr. Eric Wright is a Stanford and Harvard trained, board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery.

If you desire small enhancements or are seeking major changes to your silhouette, Dr. Wright offers a variety of procedures to address your personal needs.

• Aesthetic & Reconstructive Breast Surgery • Body Contouring • Facial Sculpting • Laser Treatments • Migraine Surgery • Injectables & Skin Care

501-575-0088 1701 Center View Dr., Ste. 201 Little Rock, AR 72211

DrWrightPlasticSurgery.com 45

Affiliations: aymag.com

We are here for you and your loved ones even in these unexpected times.

We understand COVID-19 has drastically impacted our community in many different ways.

It's times like these that we must look after one another.

Thank You

AY Readers for the honor to be the Best Senior Care Provider in Arkansas!

With our senior population at higher risk, we want to provide quality support and peace of mind for families to ensure good health and safety for all.

Contact us for safe and reliable home care services. • Provide one-on-one care while in a skilled nursing, assisted living or in-home setting. • Offer transitional care from hospital or rehab to home. • Give comfort to family members knowing their loved one is safe and their necessities are being met.

(501) 847-6102

www.ElderIndependence.com 46

THE FACE OF CHIROPRACTIC BLEDSOE CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC Bledsoe Chiropractic Clinic has been providing hope through healing since 2017. Voted best chiropractor in Faulkner County in its first, second and third year in practice, the clinic is a downtown Conway staple.

“We care about their overall health — mental, physical, social and spiritual. Our patients love coming into our office; they love our staff and our team and the results they get— it’s the total package,” says the CEO and owner, Dr. Amanda Bledsoe.

Having grown from a starting team of three to now 22, Bledsoe Chiropractic Clinic is focused on securing its patients get the best care possible by continuing to offer healing treatments such as adjustments, massage and therapy, even during the pandemic.

“We have grown in the last few months and have been able to continue to employ a great number of local people — which we are so proud of — as well as safely serve our existing and new patients, who have more stress mentally, emotionally and physically than ever,” Bledsoe says.

The clinic is also helping the surrounding community by giving back. Bledsoe says the clinic has been very blessed as a company and “return the blessings” to many local charities and organizations, such as the Bethlehem House, Deliver Hope, Renewal Ranch and United Way. With humility and perseverance driving the business, Bledsoe and her staff continue to offer healing care to Faulkner County and the surrounding areas.

Bledsoe Chiropractic Clinic – 501-504-6999 – bledsoechiropractic.com / bledsoechiro

GET TO KNOW...

LEGACY WINE AND SPIRITS WINNER, BEST LIQUOR STORE

This year has been difficult, due to product shortages, but the folks behind Legacy Wine and Spirits are no strangers to obstacles. When grocery stores began selling wine in 2017, liquor stores around the state took a major hit. Legacy owners David Bevans and John Akins helped form the United Beverage Retailers of Arkansas (UBRA) to represent the interests of liquor retailers from every corner of the state. UBRA, currently the largest association of liquor stores in Arkansas, keeps store owners informed about all the issues concerning their industry. Now, facing a global pandemic and resulting shutdowns, Legacy has won AY’s Best Liquor Store in the state, and Bevans and Akins are grateful for their staff and dedicated customers.

“Being such a young store, we truly are hon-

ored,” Bevans says. “My first thought immediately turned to our great staff. Without them, we would not be where we are today. My second thought was to our tremendous customers. It’s very heartwarming to know that our hard work has been received so well.”

Bevans and Akins opened Legacy in 2015 so they could elevate the retail liquor landscape in Arkansas. They want to offer the best products available to the Natural State, but they also love getting to be part of people’s lives through their work.

“Our industry is about enjoyment and celebration. We get to be involved with people’s weddings, birthdays, graduations, retirements … the list goes on and on,” Bevans says. “It’s a fun gig getting to help people with some of the most memorable times

in their lives.”

Legacy has even been recognized nationally.

Business Dynamics, a leading publication on liquor retailers, listed Legacy as one of the 2018 Retailers of the Year as well as one of the Top 100 Retailers in both 2019 and 2020.

Bevans and Akins know their team is a major element of what makes Legacy the best liquor store in Arkansas. The staff is made up of highly educated experts in the field, and they can help customers with any questions about wine, spirits or beer for any event year-round.

“2020 has been a trying year on us all, but there is always a silver lining,” Bevans says. “We look forward to great things to come and look forward to seeing you in the years to come.”

16900 Chenal Pkwy., #130, Little Rock // (501) 821-3700 // legacylr.com 48

GET TO KNOW...

HEATHMAN FAMILY AND COSMETIC DENTISTRY

WINNER, BEST DENTAL PRACTICE Meet Monty Heathman, DDS, the founder and owner of Heathman Family and Cosmetic Dentistry and the Dental Clinic at Stuttgart. He is this year’s winner of AY’s Best Dental Practice in Arkansas, an honor which he also carried in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Dr. Heathman is a member of the American Dental Association, the Arkansas State Dental Association, the Central Arkansas District Dental Society, and he has served in various local and national dental organizations.

Heathman is an Arkansas native from Springdale. He obtained his bachelor of science degree from the University of Arkansas and his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 2000. He is a second-generation dentist, following in his father’s footsteps, the late Dr. Norman “Dwight” Heathman Jr. After practicing in Springdale for 10 years, Heathman moved to Little Rock. He worked as an associate for a couple of years until he founded Heathman Family and Cosmetic Dentistry in Little Rock and the Dental Clinic at Stuttgart.

“The best part of my job is developing patient relationships over the years and my passion for the many disciplines of dentistry,” Heathman says. “What gives me and my team the greatest satisfaction is to see the transformation of our patients’ oral health, and their trust in us as their family dental home. We take pride in listening to our patients’ wants and needs in order to guide them on their journey, and to deliver exceptional service in a kind, caring and understanding manner. We use state-of-the-art techniques and equipment in order to deliver healthy and happy smiles.”

Both clinics serve both children and adults and provide many services, such as prophylaxis (cleanings), tooth-colored fillings, crowns, bridges, extractions, implant restorations, root canal therapy, veneers, smile makeovers, and all-onfour fixed dentures. For the patient who might have anxiety, the clinics also provide nitrous oxide and other therapies in order to make appointments as comfortable as possible.

Heathman and his wife, Kelli, live in Roland with their four dogs: Madison, a rescue and lab mix; Oakley and Lola, both Akita rescues; and Koning, a Belgian Malinois currently being trained for protection, therapy and Protection Sports Association competition dog. They also have a son, Zach, who is a senior in high school. The Heathmans enjoy animal rescue work and have been “adopted by their dogs,” as they put it. Heathman is an avid Razorback fan, likes to travel, and enjoys fishing in deep-sea tournaments all over the world. His fishing buddies, “Team Tunacious,” are always on the prowl for the next big trophy fish.

“When we found out that we were being honored in AY’s Best of 2020, we felt tremendously honored, humbled and grateful that our patients thought highly of us enough to vote us as the winner,” Heathman says. “We appreciate the thoughtfulness and trust of our family of patients and friends.

“Our primary goal is to serve others. I remind our team of this every day. That’s our mantra. By being bestowed this award, it serves as a confirmation of our dedicated service to our patients and community.

We would like to say, ‘Thank you,’ from all of us at Heathman Family and Cosmetic Dentistry and the Dental Clinic at Stuttgart!”

olidays

Heathman Family and Cosmetic Dentistry // Little Rock // 501-223-3838 The Dental Clinic at Stuttgart // Stuttgart // 870-551-3836 heathmanfamilydentistry.com

GET TO KNOW...

Winner, Neurosurgery and Best Surgeon The CHI St. Vincent Arkansas Neuroscience Institute is a comprehensive program incorporating all aspects of neurosurgery and the spectrum of neurological disorders, including skullbase surgery, vascular neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, spine and spinal cord surgery, epilepsy surgery and surgery for movement disorders. Led by Dr. Ali Krisht, the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute Research and Education Center works to improve treatment outcomes for patients, map the human brain and provide training for neurosurgeons to develop the skills necessary to tackle the most complex cases.

The Arkansas Neuroscience Institute is more than a comprehensive program that addresses all aspects of neu-

chistvincent.com

50

rosurgery and neurological disorders. It is an internationally recognized neurosurgery destination here in Central Arkansas where surgeons from around the world can learn how the world’s best neurosurgeons conduct procedures and address unexpected discoveries.

“Centers like the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute at CHI St. Vincent exist and will not give up on patients, even when others tell them their condition is non-operable or cannot be treated,” Krisht says. “We do not play the statistics game because we realize that each of those lives is invaluable to their families. Impossible does not exist. Each case is an opportunity to save someone’s life.”

Best Nurse Practitioner Jaclyn Piasta

I’m so honored by your votes. Thank you so much!

- Jackie

Board Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with over 10 years experience in OB/GYN care. Specializing in holistic gynecology with a focus on hormone and menopausal management.

9500 Baptist Health Dr Suite 100 • Little Rock www.cornerstoneclinicforwomen.com

501.224.5500

51

aymag.com

GET TO KNOW...

Finalist, Mortgage Lender We’re excited to share that IBERIABANK is now part of First Horizon Bank. Our two organizations have joined forces in a merger of equals to create a leading financial services company.

Together, we will deliver a robust lineup of financial services backed by leading technology, broader lending capabilities and an expanded financial network of experienced bankers and advisers.

From mortgage lending to personal banking — and more — we’re even better positioned to meet the needs of our clients.

PROVEN track record: • Proven, experienced and local mortgage loan officers with deep expertise of market and industry trends.

• Local decision-making and leadership who know Arkansas, its industries and communities.

FOCUSED on you: • Holistic, consultative solutions-based approach to each client relationship.

• Variety of mortgage products available to support custom lending needs.

BETTER TOGETHER with one incredible future: • Strength and stability of two well-respected financial institutions joining together with more than $82 billion in assets.

We’re also focused on the needs of the communities we serve.

Together, we will invest nearly $4 billion to broaden access to financial resources in underserved and low- to moderate-income communities in the southeast. The investment is designed to strengthen community, economic and small business development.

Find out more about who we are and what we stand for by visiting firsthorizon.com/Better-Together.

firsthorizon.com/Better-Together

H AY N E S

Always Essential, Forever Helpful.

Thank you AY magazine readers for voting our large gift shop the BEST GIFT SHOP IN ARKANSAS! 1085 Morningside Dr. • Conway AR

501-327-2400 • haynesace.com 52

2020 WINNER Best Gastroenterology Clinic Best Boss: Bill Greene Recognized as the “Best Gastroenterology Practice in Arkansas” for 2020, Premier Gastroenterology (PGA) has created a unique patient centered/employee centered culture that considers patients and employees together to be members of the Premier family.

In 2018 the practice, which treats conditions of the digestive system and liver, was founded by seven physicians who believe a medical practice can provide both exceptional medical care as well as an exceptional work environment for employees.

“Employee satisfaction is a focus of the practice” says the team of doctors at Premier. “We believe the way we treat our employees will have a direct positive effect on the experience our patients have when they come to see us.

Consequently, we treat our employees like family who in turn treat our patients like family. In addition to an exceptional benefit package we have

included unique, comfortable employee spaces in our new building. If our employees are happy we know it will have a direct impact on patient satisfaction.”

Their 80,000 square foot building, known as Premier Medical Plaza, is located on Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock. It is home to Premier’s 40,000 square foot medical clinic and ambulatory surgery center, alongside 40,000 square feet of other medical practices and related businesses. It represents the intersection of outstanding medical care and thoughtful community development, providing a significant economic impact to the area.

While Premier’s building and design is new, the mission of the practice remains the same --- to treat each patient with the care and concern they deserve. You’re going to love being part of the PGA family.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

From our family to yours,

BUILDING YOUR DREAMS WITH US Custom Homes Energy Efficient Design Build Team 53

homes@mencoconstructionllc.com mencoconstructionllc.com 501-580-0612 / 501-607-1192 Facebook: @MencoHomes aymag.com

GET TO KNOW...

Top 3, Best Insurance Firm Founded in 1909, Meadors Adams & Lee is one of the oldest businesses in the entire state. But even after more than a century of proud service, the essence of the firm has always remained the same.

“Roberts Lee became the sole owner of our firm in 2016 and is committed to remaining locally owned and operated,” says Jeff Utecht, COO. “We have found that when given a choice, Arkansas-based companies prefer to do business locally.”

The independent insurance agency has access to hundreds of different providers for its clients, seamlessly blending the benefits of a major operation without losing the comforts of local service. Every associate is beholden to the Meadors Adams & Lee way, a cultural plan that spells out the

business’ beliefs in 21 statements, providing a roadmap of operation. “This tool has been very effective in providing a consistent level of excellent customer service,” Utecht says.

And while the ongoing pandemic has been difficult for the firm, it has persevered without losing its core values. This resilience meant a commitment to stay in business without any furloughs or reducing anyone’s pay.

“We are honored that our customers thought enough of our firm to nominate us for this award,” Roberts Lee, Owner and President says. “We have an outstanding reputation for taking good care of your business and personal insurance, along with providing options on maximizing the value of your employee benefits offerings.”

100 River Market Ave., #300, Little Rock // (501) 372-5200 // ma-lee.com

GET TO KNOW...

Winner, Best New Restaurant The stars have almost literally aligned for Paula and Karl Lowe, the husband and wife duo behind Roots Restaurant. The pair have extensive culinary backgrounds between them but had never dreamed of opening a restaurant in Jonesboro.

“One day, we were looking at an apartment, and the next we were buying a restaurant,” they say jokingly.

Roots Restaurant officially opened in the summer of 2019, and the Lowes haven’t looked back since. The revolving menu changes every three months, each time a painstaking crafting that involves not only the two and their staff, but the farmers who provide Roots with quality, fresh ingredients.

“We are very proud that our Roots community nominated us for

this award,” the owners say. “We couldn’t believe it; it was too good to be true, especially this year. We are very grateful.”

The restaurant’s culinary accomplishments also netted it a spot on AY’s Farm Fresh Bucket List in November.

But the Lowes aren’t complacent to merely rest on laurels. They are excitedly awaiting next year, and can’t wait to show their faithful customers what else they have in store.

“If you thought the food in 2020 was great, just wait until next year,” they say. “This year we started safe; we will get a little riskier, and the menus will evolve every season. We like to challenge our team and, as always, we are very thankful to have the opportunity to do what we love.”

303 S Main Street, Jonesboro // (870) 336-1212 // rootsrestaurant303.com

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Winner, Jewelry Store The story of Sissy’s Log Cabin began in 1970 when Sissy Jones noticed a log cabin that was for sale as she was driving down U.S. Highway 79 in Pine Bluff. Jones, an avid collector of antiques, began renting the cabin for $50 a month and stocked it with trinkets and treasures from her attic and home.

Soon, word began to spread of the fabulous finds at Sissy’s Log Cabin.

Those humble beginnings quickly evolved into what is now Arkansas’ largest independently owned jewelry store. Sissy’s Log Cabin currently has five locations, in Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Jonesboro, Memphis and Conway. Each features showrooms filled with diamonds, jewelry, estate jewelry, fine gifts and fabulous antiques.

“At Sissy’s Log Cabin, we have the privilege of celebrating in our clients’

special life events,” Jones says. “It’s always a joy to help a client pick out beautiful jewelry to celebrate their occasions. Jewelry is a timeless gift and we appreciate clients trusting us to help them find the right piece.”

What started as more than just a job has remained something more for all of these years, as nearly the entire tree of the Jones family follows in Sissy’s footsteps.

“We are in business as a family, and we want everyone who walks through our doors to feel like a part of our family — that’s the Sissy’s Experience,” she says. “Thank you for allowing us to hold the title of Best Jewelry Store for the year 2020. We wear this title proudly and hope that in 2021 we will once again be awarded this extraordinary honor.”

Pine Bluff • Little Rock • Jonesboro • Memphis • Conway // sissyslogcabin.com

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Winner, Best Window Tint SunStop Window Tinting was founded in 2014 by Justin Lamb and Brandon Thornton in the Lamb Family garage. But what started as a high school hobby quickly became a successful career. When SunStop first entered the auto scene, Lamb and Thornton noticed that the window tinting industry in and around Little Rock wasn’t up to par — the expensive “high-end” tint shops were not high-end at all.

The duo wanted to set the standard. Together, they challenged the idea of what a window shop was, and built what they thought a tint shop should be.

“Our window tinting business is a luxury experience, located in a retail area with access to restaurants and

other amenities to make our customers’ experience comfortable and safe,” Lamb says.

Lamb and Thornton ensure that SunStop carries the highest performing products that allow the company to set itself apart from the competition, not only in the quality of experience but also the quality of products.

This gives SunStop an edge over its competitors, and it has paid off.

“We just want to thank the voters from 2020 that had us nominated and ultimately voted us No. 1 in the state,” the owners say. “It is an amazing accomplishment, and we are extremely proud. We want to thank all of our customers who supported us and made this possible.”

13120 Crystal Hill Rd., Little Rock // (501) 708-0903 // sunstopar.com

GET TO KNOW...

Winner, Best Florist Since 1886, Tipton & Hurst has been committed to fulfilling its promise of “guaranteed satisfaction” with every flower, plant, event and gift it delivers. Consistently voted Arkansas’ Best Florist, this family owned and operated business has blossomed from a floral shop in downtown Little Rock to a full-scale, specialty retailer with five Central Arkansas locations.

Under the innovative leadership of president and CEO Howard Hurst, Tipton & Hurst has developed a thriving e-commerce platform, tiptonhurst. com, with gift and bridal registries.

Both in-store and online, customers are now able to shop the latest in floral design, plants, gifts and décor — all curated by Tipton & Hurst’s expert team — and choose from the largest inventory of fresh flowers anywhere in

the state.

Each year, Tipton & Hurst’s award-winning events team, led by lead designer and vice president Chris Norwood, AIFD, combines its unique artistry, personalized service and the highest-quality products possible to bring its clients’ visions to life. An avid supporter of the communities it serves, it is also proud to play a key role in hundreds of nonprofit events. In fact, it provides more than $100,000 in goods and services annually — making it one of Arkansas’ most charitable givers.

At Tipton & Hurst, customers will find more than just flowers. With its unparalleled products and services, it’s no wonder this Arkansas business has been recognized as one of the best — and most trusted — retailers in the state for nearly 135 years.

Little Rock • Conway • North Little Rock • Pine Bluff // (501) 666-3333 // tiptonhurst.com

Thank you for voting

YGFBFKitchen Restaurant & Catering, located in Downtown Conway,

Thank you for voting YGFBFKitchen Mobile Food & is the creative vision of its owner MaryAnn, a focused and passionate YGFBFKitchen Mobile Food Catering as the winner of&AY’s foodie & entrepreneur.

Catering as the winner of AY’s Best of 2020 - Food Truck! Even Best of 2020 - are Food Truck!

Even YGFBFKitchen delivers a unique fine-dining experience to diners with though we not in our Food though we are not in our Food discerning tastes looking for an exceptional & cajun inspired Truck andsouthern we have upgraded Truck and we have upgraded menu made with locally sourced ingredients.

Guests can feel at to our new restaurant,home we in to our new restaurant, we an elegant and cozy environment

by Southern hospitality willsurrounded continue to provide the will continue to provide the and delicious food! freshest and quality food you freshest and quality food you haveMobile come to& love!

Come visit Thank you for voting YGFBFKitchen Food Catering as the have come to love!

Come visit us at our downtown Conway winner of AY’s Best of 2020us - Food Even though we are not in at Truck! our downtown Conway location 812 Chestnut St. our food truck and we have upgraded to new restaurant, we location - our 812 Chestnut St.will continue to provide the freshest and quality food you have come to love!

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GET TO KNOW...

Winner, Best Cosmetic Dentist DJ Dailey, DDS, does not just help his patients with their health. As a cosmetic dentist and the owner of Smile Dailey, he also builds people’s confidence by giving them perfect smiles.

“I have a passion for esthetics,” Dailey says. “There is a level of artistry that goes into creating the perfect smile that fits each patient, and I spend a lot of time with the patient deciding what would best match their desires.”

Smile Dailey also has a new facility that helps the team go the extra mile for patients. New overheard televisions allow patients to watch re-

laxing videos or favorite shows while receiving treatment.

This year has certainly presented challenges for Smile Dailey. The dentist office was closed for seven weeks by government mandate, but Smile Dailey did everything it could to continue providing for patients. Dailey is particularly proud of his team for coming together to ensure patients feel comfortable getting the care they need, and he knows they are helping people feel their best.

“The more we smile, the better we feel. It’s been shown through research,” Dailey says. “So I say, ‘Smile on, everyone!’”

17200 Chenal Pkwy., Little Rock // (501) 448-0032 // smiledailey.com

Congratulations to Dr. Tracy Van Es!

Voted one of the Best Women in Healthcare 2020!

We’re proud to announce our very own Dr. Tracy Van Es, of Little Rock Audiology, has been voted one of the Best Women in Healthcare for 2020! When it comes to your hearing health, don’t settle for anything less than the best.

Call today and schedule your appointment with Dr. Van Es and our expert staff!

500 S University Suite 405 Doctors Building Little Rock, AR 72205 VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.LITTLEROCKAUDIOLOGY.COM

Call now! (501) 664-5511 57

aymag.com

For all your

catering needs.

Catfish,

Chicken,

Burgers,

After 21 years in the retail grocery business, Rick and Mattie Bellinger set out to find something to call their own. They saw great potential and opportunity in Riverside Grocery.

Shrimp & more!

Purchased in 2004, They began with the little grocery store that was known for Catfish Friday and the Good Plate Lunch.

They added a great breakfast, BBQ Thursday, Pizza Pro Pizza, extended serving hours, propane service, live and cooked crawfish, and in 2015 addeed beer and wine.

Contact us today!

The first catering trailer was bought in November of 2012, and started serving in December of the same year. Since then, they have added 3 more trailers 2 of which are full mobile kitchens.

(501)794-0329 riversidegrocery.com

give the gift of a muse

um membership!

Family $85

Contributing $125

Discovery $500

Unlimited admission for one year for five people. $10 for each additional person.

Unlimited admission for one year for seven people. $10 for each additional person.

Unlimited admission for one year for eight people. $10 for each additional person.

• Free admission to over 350 science centers, including Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville • 10% discount on Explore Store purchases • $25 off birthday party and select summer camp registrations • Enrollment in Birthday Club and Gift Concierge services • Invitations to members-only events

• All benefits listed in Family Membership • Half-price admission to over 200 children’s museums, including Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Bay Area Discovery Museum and Miami Children’s Museum • Two one-time guest passes for friends and family

• All benefits listed in Contributing Membership Enjoy an interactive evening w • Tax-deductible gifta to Museum of beverages, premier auction and ha Discovery • Digital donor wall recognition • Invitations to special events • Private animal meet-and-greet

More membership options available.

Purchase at www.museumofdiscovery.org or call 501.396.7050 58

mention this ad and

receive 10% off your next wrap! terms and conditions apply offer expires 12.31.2020

5 0 1 .7 7 1 .W R A P ( 9 7 2 7) 17 Collins Industrial Place, Suite C • North Little Rock, AR 72113

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y a d i l o Hocktails C

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMISON MOSLEY

This year has caused most of us to check not twice, but thrice our liquor lists coming into this holiday season. Fortunately for us (and you), we have some very “spirited” friends that are always happy to show off a few cocktails for our readers.

Grab a seat, throw a few logs on the fire and usher in a new season of holiday cheer — be it neat or on the rocks.

Enjoy!

Rock Town Distillery 2 oz. Rock Town Brandon's Gin 1 oz. Lemon juice .5 oz. Lavender syrup .25 oz. St. Germain Shake, strain into coupe *Lemon twist

SPONSORED SPONSORED CONTENT 60 CONTENT

Kemuri 2 oz. Woodford Reserve Rye 3/4 oz. Lemon Juice - Fresh squeezed 3/4 oz. Honey Ginger Syrup House Made Shake and Strain over ice 1 oz. Spiced Malbec Reduction Garnish with Lemon Peel

Heights Taco and Tamale Co. El Dorado 3 Year Rum Brown Sugar Spiced Syrup Lime Bohemian Bitters Egg White

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aymag.com

Season’s Greetings from Lake Liquor Fuel your Holidays with us.

20710 Arkansas Hwy 365, Maumelle, AR, 72113

(501) 851-9903

“Start thinking of your holiday menu and baking needs for the holidays!

Honey Glazed Ham, Honey Glazed Carrots, Candied Yams and don’t forget dessert

Honey Pecan Pie, and Fischer Honey!”

2001 N Poplar Street • North Little Rock, AR 72114 501-758-1123 • fischerhoney.com 62

Carolyn Blakely Arkansas AY Ad.pdf

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10/21/20

12:55 PM

Retired English professor Carolyn Blakely learned the joy of giving from her grandmother. A former Arkansas Community Foundation board member and founder of the Honors College at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Carolyn has given of her time, talents and treasures to causes that improve her community.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

Like Carolyn, you want to be a force for good. The Community Foundation can help direct your charitable dollars to impact your community forever or meet immediate needs. To learn more, contact Foundation staff today.

CMY

K

A Tradition of arcf.org/givesmart

Thank you for voting us in the Top 3 of AY’s Best of for 2020!

CELEBRATE the holidays with our famous MARGARITAS & CHEESE DIP

Happy Holidays!

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LET IT GL W Holiday Lights in Arkansas

By Caroline O’Connor

U

nconventional years call for unconventional light displays, and people and organizations across the state have prepared unforgettable holiday installations. Some traditional events, like Garvan Gardens’ Holiday Lights and Jacksonville’s Christmas Parade, have transformed into more socially distant functions while still offering holiday cheer. Other options, like drive-thru residential lights, have stayed the same but offer new benefits to crowd-wary visitors. From outdoor art exhibitions to cruising through local neighborhoods, here’s a list of the brightest holiday light displays in the state.

COMMUNITY LIGHTS Sherwood’s Enchanted Forest

Winter Garden Festival 2020

Celebrate the beauty of the season at Garvan Woodland Gardens’ all-new Winter Garden Festival. Presented in lieu of the annual holiday lights display, the daytime festival will transform the Garvan Pavilion into a life-size snow globe. Attendees can experience new garden displays and enjoy free hot chocolate from the Chipmunk Cafe.

Garvan Woodland Gardens, 550 Arkridge Road, Hot Springs Nov. 21 to Dec. 31 (Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day) 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily; Last admission at 5 p.m. $15/adults, $5/ages 4-12, Free/ages 3 and younger

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Arkansas State Capitol

Although the Little Rock Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade was canceled, Arkansas State Capitol’s lights will still turn on, along with a fireworks show on Dec. 5. Each of the 77,000 lights on the Capitol is glued on one at a time for months, and the lights will decorate the Little Rock skyline through the beginning of January. Visitors can take the perfect holiday photos in front of the Capitol, peek inside at the 25-foot-tall Christmas tree and afterward take a drive through downtown Little Rock.

Dec. 5 to early Jan. 2021 500 Woodlane St., Little Rock

Photo courtesy of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

North Forest Lights

Crystal Bridges’ light-and-sound experience returns to bring the forest to life for the second year. North Forest Lights will be open through April, but the exhibition is the perfect holiday outing to safely enjoy with loved ones.

Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended, and wearing a mask is required.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 600 Museum Way, Bentonville ept. 4 to April 4 (Closed on Thanksgiving, S Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) Dusk - 10 p.m.; Wednesday through Monday $22/adults, $15/adult members, $10/ages 7-18, $7/youth members, Free/ages 6 and younger

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Sherwood’s Enchanted Forest Trail of Lights

This year, the City of Sherwood Parks and Recreation decided its community needed some extra holiday cheer and opened its annual Enchanted Forest Trail of Lights early. The drive-thru experience is more than a mile of lights, including brand new displays. Donations to support future displays are encouraged.

Sherwood Sports Complex, 511 Bear Paw Road, Sherwood Nov. 20 to Dec. 30 6 - 9:30 p.m.

Admission free

aymag.com

24th Annual Enchanted Lands of Lights & Legends

(Parks and Tourism)

Historic Downtown Holiday Lights Display

More than 1 million lights will decorate downtown Hot Springs this holiday season. Visitors can take a drive through the winter wonderland or take a socially distant stroll and purchase Christmas gifts from the shops on Bathhouse Row. Downtown Hot Springs

Head to Pine Bluff to experience the state’s largest drive-thru holiday lights exhibit. Enchanted Lands of Lights & Legends transforms the city’s Regional Park into 1.3 miles of 240 displays. The nonprofit Pine Bluff Festival Association has organized the exhibit since 1996. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.

Lights of the Ozarks

The annual Lights of the Ozarks transforms downtown Fayetteville into a Christmas dream with more than 400,000 twinkling lights. Although the annual lighting ceremony was canceled, the lights will still be on view for visitors throughout the season. Letters to Santa can also be dropped off at the Santa Mailbox in front of the Experience Fayetteville Visitors Center.

Highway 65B & Convention Center Drive, Pine Bluff

Downtown Fayetteville Nov. 20 to Dec 31

Nov. 17 to Dec. 31

5 p.m.-1 a.m.

Free admission

Nov. 23 to Jan. 5

63rd Annual Jacksonville Reverse Christmas Parade 2020

Lights of the Delta, Blytheville (Parks and Tourism)

Despite the canceling of its annual parade, Jacksonville is keeping the Christmas spirit alive by holding a Reverse Christmas Parade. Participants will drive down Main Street Jacksonville to see stationary floats that will include marching bands, dance groups, the fire department and Santa Claus.

Admission is free, and Arkansas Department of Health guidelines will be enforced.

Main St., Jacksonville Dec. 5 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Christmas at the Park

Lights of the Delta

As the largest Christmas light display in the mid-South, Lights of the Delta decorates Blytheville with 6 million lights and 48 major motion displays. Pictures with Santa will continue this year but require attendees to take precautions, including wearing masks and remaining socially distant while waiting in line and when taking pictures.

Holiday goers drive through a lighted tunnel the length of a football field when they arrive at Jonesboro’s Christmas at the Park. The winter wonderland has more than 400,000 lights, plus concessions and pictures with Santa. The 73rd Annual Jonesboro Christmas Parade will also be held at the Park from Dec. 3-7 as a reverse parade with stationary floats.

1405 Airbase Highway, Blytheville

600 Harry Drive, Jonesboro

Nov. 23 to Dec. 27

Nov. 25 to Dec. 31

5:30 - 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 5:30 - 10 p.m., Friday, Saturday Automobiles (max 12 passengers)/$10, small buses/$25, full-size buses/$50 Hayride: $40/trailer, Sunday through Thursday; $60/trailer, Friday, Saturday

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Check its website, christmasatthepa rknea.com, for detailed dates, times and admission prices.

Christmas at the Park, Jonesboro (Parks and Tourism)

Residential & Neighborhood Displays Finney’s Christmas Wonderland, Crossett (Parks and Tourism)

Finney’s Christmas Wonderland

Featured in the show The Great Christmas Light Fight in 2015, Finney’s Christmas Wonderland is a must-see drive-thru light show in Arkansas. Sam Finney brings more than 1 million lights, fog machines and countless memories to his Christmas Wonderland display in Crossett. Donations are encouraged to help fund the displays.

123 Goshen Road, Crossett Nov. 26 to Dec. 31 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Free admission

North Hills, North Little Rock

Cross some items off your Christmas list at McCain Mall, and then head down North Hills Boulevard to see the holiday lights in North Little Rock.

The houses in the neighborhood offer lights and inflatables, plus the area around Lakewood and the Old Mill always offer a scenic drive.

Pleasant Valley, Little Rock

If you are up for an outing in west Little Rock, swing through Pleasant Valley to see what lights the neighborhood has on display. The houses down Pleasant Valley Drive are generally decorated with some of the brightest lights and inflatables in town.

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Edgewater in Maumelle

The Edgewater neighborhood in Maumelle keeps the community in the Christmas spirit every year with beautifully decorated homes for the holidays.

Plus, Lake Willastein Park is a scenic stop any time of year. aymag.com

Stewart Family Christmas Lights, Fayetteville

Stewart Family Christmas Lights

Operating since 2003, the Stewart Family Christmas Lights generally draws thousands of visitors every season to view more than 1 million lights and 500 inflatables. The display also includes a snow machine, a hot chocolate stand and a train called the Wyatt Simpson Express.

4279 E. Wyman Road, Fayetteville Nov. 20 to Jan. 3 $5/person

Bentonville Heart Lites

Inspired by the Osborne Light displays, the Bentonville Heart Lites is a family-run light show that uses specialized computer chips that are programmed to change color with music. The giant display is completely free to the public, but the man behind the lights, Mark Valentine, organizes fundraisers every year to donate to multiple sclerosis research.

3505 NW Edgewood Ave., Bentonville Nov. 26 to Dec. 31

5:30 - 9:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 5:30 - 9:30 p.m., Friday, Saturday Free admission

The Heights & Hillcrest in Little Rock

Cruising through the neighborhoods off Kavanaugh Street in Little Rock is always a treat, and the houses of the Heights and Hillcrest are some of the best-decorated in the city during the holiday season. Make sure to stop by the shops in either neighborhood to purchase some gifts and support local businesses.

Bentonville Heart Lites (Facebook)

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Happy

Holidays Get a free 20-ounce smoothie with purchase of a $25 gift card.

FREE SMOOTHIE OFFER CAN BE REDEEMED IN JANUARY 2021.

13924 CANTRELL RD. • LITTLE ROCK • 501.420.1096 69

aymag.com

Giving theGift of the Outdoors

By Dustin Jayroe

T

he popularity of stocking stuffers has necessitated the small gifts as borderline requirements during the holiday season.

Sure, the large presents will always win the day — a diamond pendant for her, a new pitching wedge for him, or the latest gaming console for the kiddos. But the mantel ought also be dangling boot-looking gift holsters, filled to the brim with lagniappes of all varieties.

And everyone has a supposed guide to stuffing your loved one’s stockings, from Country Living to the New York Times. A virtual trip to Amazon will even feature a

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seasonal subcategory on its homepage centered around the fireplace hangers, “Best Stocking Stuffers 2020.”

But there’s something missing from nearly all of these idea lists, something that will reward you with much more appreciation from your recipient than tabletop bowling or a coffee mug warmer: the gift of the outdoors.

Fortunately for us Arkansas folk, we live in a Natural State that is rife with opportunities for outside entertainment, and we have the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) from which to give and get our gifts from — both literally and figuratively.

HUNTING LICENSES We’ve gone without a lot of our usual traditions this year, but hunting was not one of those things. It roared back into scope last month while both deer and duck hunters breathed a collective sigh of relief that it did not succumb to 2020 like (almost) everything else.

While the hunter in your life is perched silently in a blind or waist-deep in a frigid pond, there’s no better time to ensure a next season for them than by getting a jump start on a 2021 hunting license.

For enthusiasts under the age of 16, the fee is free; you need only obtain an officially licensed ID for them on agfc.com (which is also free). For everyone else, there is a wide range of options to stocking stuff.

There’s the Resident Sportsman’s License ($25), which allows the holder to hunt with modern gun, muzzleloader or bow, and also includes two turkey tags and six deer tags; a waterfowl stamp ($7), which entitles all holders of hunting licenses to skyward prey; or even a Nonexpiring Lifetime Resident Hunting and Fishing Sportsman’s Permit ($1,000), providing both hunting and fishing licenses for life. Visit agfc.com/en/resources/licensing/huntinglicenses/ for more information.

FISHING LICENSES The art of angling has played out similarly to that of hunting this year; as most of the events inside four walls became causes for health concerns, activities spent with Mother Nature were given the green light.

The AGFC offers a plethora of fishing license options, such as the general, Resident Fisheries Conservation License ($10.50), entitling Arkansans to fish with sport fishing tackle; a Resident Trout Permit can be tacked on ($10) to fish and retain those species; or a Combination Sportsman’s License ($35.50), providing the privileges of both the generic hunting and fishing licenses.

Visit agfc.com/en/resources/licensing/fishinglicenses/ for more information.

COMMERCIAL LICENSES Outside of the standard-issue fare, the Commission also offers various Commercial Licenses, such as a Resident Fur Dealer ($50); Resident Trapper’s Permit (free); Wildlife Breeder/Dealer’s Permit ($75); Commercial Wildlife Hunting Resort Permit ($600); and the Game Bird Shooting Resort Permit ($250).

Visit agfc.com/en/resources/licensing/ commercial-licenses/ for more information.

THE GIFT OF GIVING The best part about giving the gift of the outdoors is that you are essentially buying two presents — one for the recipient, the other for the AGFC. Only a small segment of the Commission’s annual budget comes from the Conservation Sales Tax implemented in 1996. For the remaining sums, the AGFC has to pool resources from a variety of mediums, including a sizable share from licenses.

But recently, those monies have fallen into a consistent decline. Over the past five years, fishing license sales have decreased significantly, from 519,816 to 432,505. Hunting licenses tell a similar tale.

With each license sold, the Commission can fulfill its vital mission — to protect, conserve and renew the many resources that make up our Natural State, ensuring that outdoor enthusiasts of all types have bountiful opportunities available to them, from this generation to the next.

So, step outside the box this holiday season and give the gift of the outdoors. Like cousin Eddie says in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, “That’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.”

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DA YS

Giveaway of Christmas

How To Win

Each day of December leading up to Christmas, visit AY’s social media platforms for the code word of the day. Enter it at aymag.com/contests for your chance to win. Items must be picked up in person.

I

t’s already the most wonderful time of the year, but AY About You hopes to make it even more so for a few lucky readers. During our 25-day countdown to Christmas, we will be giving away one item per day from one of the Natural State’s many wonderful local businesses. From clothing to candles and jewelry to potpourri, these stocking stuffers and under-the-tree dwellers are the perfect addition to anyone’s gift list.

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Mrs. Polka Dot — Gift card ($75) 611 Beechwood Street Little Rock, AR 72205 501-603-5177 www.mrspolkadot.net

From travel bags to hats and outerwear, Mrs. Polka Dot is a gift store and monogramming specialist that can customize just about anything you can dream up, and this gift certificate gives you the freedom to do so.

ARTBYTRACEE —

Original Painting ($175) 501-831-6200 artbytracee@gmail.com www.traceegentrymatthews.com Tracee Gentry Matthews has become one of the most heralded local artists in Arkansas. This year, she is giving away one of her handmade pieces, surely one of the most unique gifts around.

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Body Sculpture of Little Rock — Oxygeneo Facial & 50 Units of Dysport 16900 Chenal Parkway, #140 Little Rock, AR 72223 501-503-1772 bodysculpturelr.com

The experts performing your treatments at Body Sculpture of Little Rock are the most talented and highly trained professionals in the industry.

JOY

Townsend Spice & Supply — 12 Spice Containers 725 E. Main Street Melbourne, AR 72556 870-368-3688 townsendspice.com

Pamper your food. No dish is complete without the right concoction of spices. For that, our friends at Townsend Spice & Supply have you covered with this gift that keeps on giving every time you step into the kitchen.

Molly Maid —

Roomba 692 and Complimentary Cleaning ($644.95 Value) 501-758-9996 Greater Little Rock 479-372-6204 Northwest Arkansas mollymaid.com Arkansas' most trusted house cleaning service is not only offering up a free, three-hour, two-person team cleaning this holiday season, but they are also giving away a free iRobot Roomba to help make sure your home stays clean well after the team of two uniformed and insured Home Service Professionals™ clean your home.

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Box Turtle —

Pottery Trees ($38) ($26) 2616 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Little Rock, AR 72205 501-661-1167 shopboxturtle.com These locally handcrafted pottery trees have been our bestseller for years. Start your collection now.

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Good Earth Organics —

Gift Card ($100) 8300 Stagecoach Road, Suite 200 Little Rock, AR 72210 501-398-9868 Good Earth offers the highest quality, 100 percent natural CBD oils, flower and gummies made from USA grown hemp.

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Cantrell Furniture —

Bark Bar —

Gift Card ($50) 1201 S Spring St., Little Rock, AR 72202 501-295-3989 • barkbar.com Bark Bar provides the pawfect space for dogs and their owners to relax and play. Visit Arkansas' first indoor/outdoor, off-leash dog play area and bar.

Navy Ginger Jar ($139) 7619 Cantrell Road Little Rock, AR 72227 501-225-0002 cantrellfurniture.com

A totally classic navy ginger jar. Perfect for grouping on a table or alone on a pedestal.

Road Runner —

“Made in Arkansas” Gift Collection ($324.95 Value) roadrunnerstores.com/made-in-arkansas Road Runner is honoring its deep roots in the state with a curated “Made in Arkansas” in-store gift collection to help you sleigh that shopping list and spread holiday cheer.

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Fischer Honey — Honey Pack 2001 N. Poplar St. North Little Rock, AR 72114 501-758-1123 www.fischerhoney.com Bring a little extra sweetness to your holiday season with some natural honey from the Natural State. Fischer’s has been a favorite of Arkansas households since 1935.

Hocott’s Garden Center — Walter's Green Room —

Gift card ($75) 5018 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Little Rock, AR 72207 501-663-4152 heightscornermarket.com/walter We serve breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as Sunday brunch. So enjoy drinks and great chow.

Gift card ($75) 3612 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Little Rock, AR 72205 501-663-8376 hocottsgardencenter.com

Freshly cut Fraser Firs, wreaths and garland delivered to your door ... or you can pick one up!

Hocott’s does it all — a full service garden center filled with gifts, decor items, rare houseplants, annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs; providing lawn care, landscaping, irrigation services and more.

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Bathhouse Soapery —

Gift card ($75) 366 Central Ave. Hot Springs, AR 71901 501-525-7627 bathhousesoap.com

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Step inside our charm-filled apothecary boutique for an adventure in indulgence. Sample the aromas and textures of our small batch, hand-blended bath and body products and enjoy personalized service that’s so rarely seen today.

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Pizza Cafe —

Gift card ($75) Pizza Cafe: 501-664-6133 Pizza Cafe West: 501-868-2600 pizzacafelr.com Pizza Cafe is giving away a $75 gift card. Come try their great pizza, sandwiches and appetizers!

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Dr. Bruce Sanderson —

EMK 24K Gold Peeling Gel and Rescue Serum ($350) 500 S. University Ave., Little Rock, AR 72205 501-232-6419 lasercareskinclinic.com The clinic offers Little Rock patients many different face and body treatments, including SculpSure® , tattoo removal, anti-aging treatments, acne treatments, Botox®, body contouring, micro needling treatments, facial fillers and skin tightening treatments.

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Lost Forty Brewing — Gift card ($100) 501 Byrd St. Little Rock, AR 72202 501-319-7275 facebook.com/lost40beer

Lost Forty Brewing is a production craft microbrewery in the heart of downtown Little Rock. We aim to craft beers as wild, unwavering and uniquely Arkansas as the storied forest from which we take our name.

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Permanent Makeup

By Grayson —

Consultation ($50) 2300 Andover Court, Little Rock, AR 72227 501-221-0868 graysonsloan.com Permanent Makeup by Grayson is celebrating 21 years of natural-looking permanent makeup. We’re giving away a free consultation (a $50 value) to show you how simple color procedures will make you look and feel beautiful. Gift certificates also available.

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Petit & Keet - Bar and Grill — Gift card ($75) 1620 Market St. Little Rock, AR 72211 501-319-7675 petitandkeet.com

Award winning popular hot spot featuring a variety of unique, elevated comfort classics. Innovative twists on classic cocktails, superb wine list and a large bar.

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Big Orange —

Gift card ($100) West Little Rock: 501-821-1515 Little Rock Midtown: 501-379-8715 bigorangeburger.com We invite you to join us for bold burgers, inspired salads, freshwhipped shakes, soda-bottle floats, craft beers, draft wine and creative cocktails.

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High Cotton Décor —

Leopard Throw ($85.99) 10020 N. Rodney Parham Road Little Rock, AR 72227 501-687-3119 thecottonshedmarket.com

Local Lime —

Gift card ($100) 17809 Chenal Parkway Little Rock, AR 72223 locallimetaco.com

At High Cotton Décor, we bring you unique home décor and gift items for everyone on your gift list! She’ll love snuggling up in our super soft leopard throw during cold winter nights.

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Gift Bundle ($90) 100 E Front St. Hazen, AR 72064 facebook.com/prairiemarketplace/ Small town shopping at Prairie Marketplace in Hazen is a holiday favorite, with chic women’s and children’s clothing and gifts. Embroidery is also available.

The giving season is here and this year we wanted to help you give the gift of deliciously healthy Kemuri!

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Your local taco and margarita purveyor. We invite you to relax, share food, share drinks and share time.

Prairie Marketplace —

Kemuri Japanese Restaurant —

Gift card ($75) 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Little Rock, AR 72205 501-660-4100 kemurirestaurant.com

OOH La La Salon — Gift Basket ($150 Value)

14710 Cantrell Road, Suite 8B, Little Rock, AR 72223 501-868-4111 oohlalasalonsite.net We want you to feel and look your very best. Come visit our salon and let us help you feel OOH La La Beautiful!

Best of

2018

When you you walk walk into into the the Robinson Robinson Nursing Nursing && Rehabilitation Rehabilitation Center Center you you will will feel feel aa comfortable comfortable atmosphere atmosphere different different When from any other facility you have visited.

We feature tall ceilings and an open floor plan.

We have a lovely dining room and from any other facility you have visited. We feature tall ceilings and an open floor plan. We have a lovely dining room and a covered outdoor patio area. a covered outdoor patio area.

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Queen All Hail the

By Joe David Rice Photos by Casey Crocker

White Oak Lake State Park.

Here’s a question for Arkansas-oriented trivia lovers. What do Martin Scorsese, Grapette sodas, Hernando de Soto and Camark Pottery have in common? The answer? Camden.

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Little Grand Canyon.

That’s right, Camden — the Queen City of the Ouachita River and the county seat of Ouachita County. This captivating community in LA (Lower Arkansas) is chock-full of surprises.

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Grappette.

interesting

Let’s start with Martin Scorsese, among the most influential talents in the history of Hollywood with nine Academy Award nominations for Best Director. Scorsese showed up in Camden in 1971 at the tender age of 28 to direct his second film, Boxcar Bertha. Arriving days ahead of the cast, Scorsese scouted locations in and around town, personally drew some 500 storyboards for the film, and then tacked them to the walls of his motel room. That advance preparation allowed him to complete shooting within 24 days and work within his $600,000 budget. Starring Barbara Hershey and David Carradine and released in 1972, the movie is not generally considered one of Scorsese’s best works. But it got the attention of film critic Roger Ebert, the renowned reviewer for the Chicago Sun-Times, who gave it three out of four stars. “Boxcar Bertha is a weirdly interesting movie,” Ebert wrote, and described Scorsese as “one of the bright young hopes of American movies,” perhaps one of the most prophetic comments you’ll ever read.

Now, on to Grapette — and Benjamin Tyndle Fooks. Fooks, a graduate of Camden High School, started in the lumber industry but changed careers in 1926 when he purchased a soft-drink bottling plant in Camden. The Great Depression waylaid plans for expanding his bottling empire, so he began selling his unique “Fooks Flavors” to other bottlers, at one time offering 150 different varieties. Noticing that customers favored grape-based concoctions, Fooks set his sights on developing the world’s best grape flavor. A year or two later, after perfecting the distinctive taste, he found the ideal name: Grapette. Unfortunately, a Chicago businessman owned the copyright. Undeterred, Fooks traveled to the Windy City by train, bought the trademarked name, and began producing Grapette in Camden in 1940. An immediate success, the drink was soon available across most of the country, with more than 300 bottlers in 38 states supplying the tasty beverage. By the 1990s, competition, consolidation and declining market share nearly brought an end to Grapette. But in 2005, Walmart began selling Grapette nationwide through an exclusive arrangement, bringing joy to thousands of fans (although it’s no longer bottled in Camden). For those interested in a personal pilgrimage to Fooks’ grave, he’s buried in Camden’s Greenwood Cemetery.

As for Hernando de Soto and Camden, there are a couple of schools of thought. Given that his journey occurred nearly half a millennium ago and records are — at best — spotty, nobody knows for sure exactly where he went. According to the United States De Soto Expedition Commission, the famed explorer and his band of men stopped here as

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they traveled down the Ouachita River, maybe even spending the winter of 1541 on the bluff now occupied by Camden. Many contemporary archeologists and anthropologists aren’t quite so sure, still debating the actual route taken by the Spanish explorer, although there’s a general consensus that, at the least, de Soto spent some time in the vicinity of Camden.

Now, on to Camark (CAMden, ARKansas). During the same year, 1926, when Benjamin Tyndle Fooks entered the beverage business, Camden saw the founding of Camark Pottery. It beat out two dozen other cities in a national competition organized by a group of Ohio entrepreneurs looking to establish a regional pottery operation. Using locally mined clays (later to be combined with clays from other states), the plant initially created lamp bases and vases. With larger and more efficient kilns, the company was soon marketing a multitude of pieces incorporating a wide range of pastels and glazes (one glaze, a light green with variegated colors, was called Sasnakra, or Arkansas spelled backwards). At its peak, Camark employed more than 100 people and included such prominent retailers as Macy’s among its clients.

Camark went out of business in the early 1980s, but its wares are eagerly collected today. A recent search on eBay, for instance, revealed nearly 500 pieces of Camark pottery up for bid.

Camden, to be sure, is an interesting community. Just take a look at some of the names the town has contributed to Arkansas politics. Three of the state’s governors — George Washington Hayes, Benjamin Travis Lacey and David Pryor — hailed from Camden. Likewise, the city has given the state a trio of U.S. senators: John McClellan, David Pryor and Mark Pryor. Elsewhere, the newly elected Alabama senator, Tommy Tuberville, is also from Camden.

And it’s produced several of the most intriguing women in the state’s history, among them Susan Hampton Newton Pryor. Although better known as the mother of David Pryor and the grandmother of Mark Pryor, she made history herself when she ran for Ouachita County circuit clerk in 1926. Her campaign occurred shortly after passage of the 19th Amendment (giving women the right to vote), making her the first woman in Arkansas to run for public office. She lost in a close race to a World War I veteran but won elections to the Camden School Board in later years.

Another notable woman from Camden is Maud Robinson Crawford. A highly regarded attorney with Senator McClellan’s law firm,

McCollum-Chidester House.

historic Crawford disappeared from her home on March 2, 1957. McClellan chaired a prominent Senate investigation on the Mafia at the time, and fears were that Crawford had been abducted to frighten the senator.

But the absence of a ransom note eliminated that theory. Weeks and then months of police work turned up no clues. Then in 1986, some 29 years later, the Arkansas Gazette ran an 18-piece investigative series on the unsolved case by Beth Brickell. During her research, Brickell found that an Arkansas State Police detective had been removed from the case and his files confiscated when his probe began pointing to Mike Berg, a powerful Arkansas State Police commissioner. “There’s too much money involved,” he was told. Brickell also learned that shortly before her disappearance, Crawford had privately accused Berg of stealing the assets of one of her clients, land and oil holdings worth more than $20 million in those days. Brickell’s newspaper articles resulted in the reopening of the case. The prosecuting attorney got a subpoena to interview Mike Berg’s bodyguard, a suspect in Crawford’s disappearance, who was seriously ill with cancer. When he arrived to interview the bodyguard, the dying man was surrounded by family and the local sheriff. Berg’s bodyguard passed away hours later before telling any secrets. To this day, the fate of Crawford remains one of Arkansas’ most notorious mysteries.

Folks interested in the built environment will discover that Camden is chock-full of fascinating structures. The Greening and Clifton Streets Historic District showcases an early residential area of the community, displaying fine examples of Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman-style homes. Likewise, the Washington Street Historic District reflects over a century of Camden’s residential and architectural history.

A highlight is the McCollum-Chidester House, a museum operated by the Ouachita County Historical Society. One of the finest and bestpreserved examples of antebellum architecture in Arkansas, it was occupied during the Civil War first by Confederate Gen. Sterling Price and later by Union Gen. Frederick Steele. Bullet holes from that conflict can still be seen in the walls.

A map for a driving tour of historic sites in and around Camden can be obtained from the Camden Chamber of Commerce. With more than two dozen listings on the National Register of Historic Places, plan on spending a couple of hours checking out these notable locations.

One of the city’s historic structures, the Old Camden Post Office, now houses the Postmasters Grill, among the town’s favorite eateries.

The building itself dates from 1895, while the restaurant opened on

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‘‘

Camden, to be sure, is an interesting community.

Valentine’s Day 2012. Owner Emily Robertson’s philosophy is simple: “Keep it fresh; keep it local; do everything possible from scratch.” There’s a definite touch of New Orleans to the menu (try the Creole pasta), and the bread pudding is first rate. And the draft beers are 100 percent brewed in Arkansas.

Opening in 1907, the White House Café has about 100 years on the Postmasters Grill. In fact, it’s the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the entire state. Known for its friendly staff, plate lunches and tasty burgers, this classic diner is definitely worth a visit.

So is Woods Place, especially if you’ve got a hankering for awardwinning fried catfish. Just make sure to save room for one of the homemade fried pies (apple, chocolate and peach).

Catherine’s Bistro offers an eclectic menu: soups, salads, wraps, quesadillas, plate lunches and a “burger of the week.” Owner Christy Glaze specializes in custom-made desserts.

Meanwhile, her son, Bobby Glaze, and his wife, Lauren, are opening aymag.com

beautiful south Arkansas’ first microbrewery, Native Dog Brewing. A pharmacist by trade, Glaze parlayed his interest in chemistry and his wish to contribute to Camden’s growth into the downtown’s first new building in more than half a century. The 2,400-square-foot structure, overlooking the Ouachita River, has a friendly industrial feel, using tin, bricks from the old Rialto Theatre, antique doors from the original Grapette factory and lumber manufactured in Ouachita County. Plans call for Native Dog to begin with eight to 12 beers on tap; food will be available from a rotating series of local food trucks. The grand opening is scheduled for early this month.

Although he pastors a local church, Camden Mayor Julian Lott has no trouble supporting the Glazes’ project. “This will be a great addition to our town,” he says. “It’s something we can use to attract other young people to Camden.”

Sworn in on Jan. 1, 2019, Lott is an enthusiastic supporter of the community, touting the Trace (a 2.1-mile walking/biking trail with exercise equipment and a playground on an old railroad right-of-way), the popular sandy beach on the Ouachita River, more than 150 churches and a host of nonprofits that have risen to the occasion during the current pandemic.

“Camden,” he says, “is a community that serves its citizens. Our town has the most resilient, hospitable and caring people you can imagine.”

When asked about the city’s future, Lott says, “I envision a city that becomes more of a melting pot, a welcoming place, a town that our children will want to return to after going away to college.”

Those returning young people may well end up working in lucrative high-tech positions in the Highland Industrial Park, an amazing complex on the east side of town. This site, known as the Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot from 1944 to 1957, is the aerospace/defense industry hub of Arkansas, providing more than 3,000 jobs. Within its 15,000 acres are 1,200 buildings used for storage, warehousing and manufacturing. Major employers include Raytheon, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne. The latter two companies have announced more than $200 million in expansions within the past few months and the creation of about 700 new jobs. Products of the companies include solid rocket motors for missile defense systems, artillery launchers and other military-related items.

“Our Camden facilities are well-positioned for future Defense contracts,” says James Lee Silliman, executive director of the Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development. “The prospects for growth are very strong.”

The Highland Industrial Park is also the home of the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy, the Arkansas Fire Training Academy, the Arkansas Environmental Training Academy and the Southern Arkansas University Tech Campus. Together, these campuses typically serve about 10,000 students a year.

Following a 16-year absence, Beth Osteen returned to her hometown of Camden in 1994 and has been executive director of the local chamber of commerce for well over two decades. When asked what might surprise a first-time visitor, she says, “There’s a sincere sense of

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White Oak Lake State Park. hospitality in Camden. And we’re blessed by having folks who are committed to reinvesting in the community.” She’s especially proud of the close relationship between the town’s Fortune 500 companies and its small, independent retailers. “Our people are working together during these difficult times, demonstrating Camden’s great ‘can do’ attitude.”

When you head that way, keep in mind some nearby attractions.

Civil War buffs will enjoy Poison Springs Battleground State Park (14 miles northwest of Camden on Arkansas Highway 76). Marking one of the battles in the Union Army’s Red River Campaign, the 85-acre dayuse site includes a pavilion with an array of interpretive panels, picnic tables with grills and a one-third mile trail to the spring. Audio tours are also available About 20 miles northwest of Camden is White Oak Lake State Park, a 725-acre oasis for anglers, birdwatchers and just about anybody looking for some rest and relaxation. Daniel Shelman, a native of Magnet Cove and Henderson State University graduate, is the proud superintendent of the park. “We have a beautiful, well-maintained forest here with an abundance of wildlife,” he says. When asked about fishing, he says that crappie and bass are favorites, adding, “Trophy-sized bass up to 9 pounds are not uncommon.” Highlights include 13 miles of trails, 45 campsites in the campground (with a “brand-spanking-new bathhouse”), and four “hike-in” campsites requiring a one-mile walk.

Shelman also says there’s a lot of interest in the nearby “Little Grand Canyon,” an interesting geological formation on the other side of the lake (on property owned by the Arkansas Forestry Commission). Here’s how to experience this unusual site: 1) Exit White Oak Lake State Park, turning right at the stop sign onto AR Hwy 387; 2) Travel 2.3 miles to stop sign; turn right onto AR Hwy 299; 3) Travel 450 feet to stop sign; turn right onto AR Hwy 24; 4) Travel 3.2 miles to Ouachita 332; turn right (there is a brown sign “White Oak Lake Public Fishing Area”); 5) Travel 1.1 miles on Ouachita 332 and cross levee; canyon parking at end of road. Make sure to bring your camera!

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aymag.com

Running

Lou Peyton and Maurice Robinson.

With the Long Haulers

by Sarah Russell | Photos by Jamison Mosley Dear fellow couch potatoes — we are about to get schooled.

It’s all good though. This COVID-19-induced caloric haze can’t end well for us. Little Rock’s Lou Peyton and Benton’s Maurice Robinson are two long haulers in life and sport who have plenty of motivation to share. Both enthusiastically defy their age and bodies — Peyton is 76 years young, and Robinson is staring down his 79th birthday. With their noteworthy footwork, these two runners are a part of a special breed who live to ultramarathon.

The Boston Marathon: most of us are familiar with that race. A legacy from the Greeks, a standard marathon like that

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is more than 26 miles; 26.219, to be exact. The legendary Tarahumara runners wouldn’t even bother to strap on their sandals for a distance that paltry. A native tribe of Mexico, the Tarahumara men — and women — routinely run hundreds of miles at a time. Sandwiched in between the marathons and the Tarahumara are the ultramarathons. Technically speaking, ultramarathons are any footrace longer than a marathon. Commonly, these races range from approximately 31 to 100 miles.

Ultramarathons consist of three types. One is based on achieving a specific distance in which participants run, walk, walk/run or in some races, wheel chair. The second type gives

U lt r a m a r at h o n s participants a set time — hours or days — to complete the course. Truly designed for the masochistic is the third type, known as a “self-supported race.” For the entire race, these competitors don backpacks filled with the sum total of their necessities, including food. The catch? These races can go as long as a week. Be assured this amount of misery is limited. Other ultramarathons have strategically placed aid stations. There, runners find everything needed, including strong doses of encouragement and empathy. Sincere I-hate-mylife moments are not uncommon at certain phases of these runs.

“I never liked running in high school. I didn’t like running when I started running,” Robinson says.

Colorado’s Pikes Peak did it. Robinson’s son-in-law invited him to climb it with him, which they did, even spending the night on the side of the mountain. Something about that experience sparked the inner athlete that was perhaps a little dormant at this point in his life. Before his decades as an engineer for Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, Robinson had played football for what is now Ouachita Baptist University. Within two years of his Pikes Peak climb, he boomeranged back there, this time for a marathon.

His athletic ability was not even remotely sidelined any longer. Among senior runners, classified as 60 or older, Robinson owned first place in that race.

Robinson’s transformation from marathons to ultramarathons was not quite as fast. Continuing to compete in various races, Robinson’s capabilities expanded until his distances, too, began to easily increase. Ultramarathons were a natural progression. But why do it at all, particularly at an age when couching with the chips could so easily be self-condoned?

“Running long continuous distances brings forth moments in time where, in my mind, I realize that I’m doing something that I never thought I would be capable of doing,” Robinson explains. “And afterward, many times I discover according to the records that there are only a handful of people in America or even in the world that have ever done such a thing.”

That would be a fact. Last year at Kansas’ Prairie Spirit Trail 100 mile Race, Robinson finished with an official time of

28 hours, 42 minutes. That number put him in the top 10 in the world, all-time, for runners 75 and older in 100-mile races.

But being 77 years old narrowed those numbers down further, resulting in Robinson actually being ranked in the top 5 in the world, all-time. Daddy got bragging rights, folks.

Thus Robinson’s logbook of races and rankings became even more impressive. His running club, the Saline County Striders, has acknowledged his feet/feats with membership in its Hall of Fame. Admittedly, racing has also brought him an addiction to and a joy for the sport. Robinson shares other traits commonly found among the ultra running community — a modesty and willingness to share the achievements of others.

“Lou is one of the groundbreakers of women running ultramarathons. She is one of the first women in the nation to finish the Grand Slam of Ultra Running,” he offers.

Like Robinson, Lou Peyton has quite literally run her way into history. While Robinson started running in his 60s, Payton started in the ’60s And that alone took some nerve.

Eyebrows were raised at the 1966 Boston Marathon when a woman — the first — ran. She sneaked in. The next year, the race’s first officially registered gender addition ran. It did not go well. The race manager stayed next to this female runner of his, but not to offer support. He actually hit her repeatedly throughout the race in an attempt to stop her from finishing. She did finish, ensuring that more women were to follow, including in 1985 with one equally tenacious Peyton.

In the ’60s, Peyton was the cultural expectation — a wife and stay-at-home mom. Well, for a short time anyway. Six weeks after Peyton became a mom, she broke out of the house and went “jogging.” At this time, running as a sport was in its infancy as well, certainly not defined, organized and marketed as it is today. “Jogging” wasn’t even a common term, and many people felt women needed to just get their sneakers straight and backtrack on home. Peyton didn’t see herself as an athlete, just a mom in need of a break.

“The reason I loved it was you couldn’t be worried about

Peyton didn’t see herself as an athlete, just a mom in need of a break.

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“Do not train to beat someone, that’s not the point.” diapers or cleaning the house or what you left at home. You were just concentrating on breathing and finishing the run. It just blocked out everything, and it still does,” she explains.

Eventually, the school months allowed her to work parttime at Little Rock’s Gary Smith’s Easy Runner, a once staple for runners in the Heights. Meeting other runners fueled her dream — well, why couldn’t she run the Boston Marathon?

The lottery system for determining participants slowed her down, but didn’t stop her from laying her name down on that finish line.

Mission accomplished, but it was just hors d’oeuvres for her. The next year she became an official ultra marathoner in California’s Western States 100. Mother Nature is known to have thrown down her best and worst on this course. Starting at 5 a.m., going into the night, runners literally hit highs and lows geographically and temperature-wise. The Sierra Nevada’s ascents and descents alone are enough to make a mountain goat turn tail. Payton did 80 miles her first time out, but of course, that wouldn’t do. So another year saw her adding this 100-mile victory to her list. The challenge might not have been her only reason for returning.

“I met women who were so very interesting,” she says.

Very interesting indeed, especially that small group of women who were plotting to run the Grand Slam. This big mama of ultramarathons requires runners to complete not one, but four 100-mile races. Did we mention? These races have to

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be completed within 3 months. Runners can select their races from five offered, which are in California, Colorado, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. No matter which four of the five races a runner chooses, there is no opting out of the extensive training, planning and traveling the Grand Slam demands.

“Men had been doing this for a few years, but no woman had done it,” Peyton says, “And we did.”

Having blazed a trail for other women to follow, Peyton also found inspiration of another sort. “I talked my husband into it,” she explains of their creation of the ultramarathon The Arkansas Traveller. At the Western 100, other runners kept asking, “How are you Arkansas people coming out here and finishing these 100-mile races through the mountains?”

The Peytons wanted to showcase their state for these runners. But they didn’t know “… if people would come to it.

And they did. They loved it.” So much so, that almost 30 years later, it remains a source of pride for the Natural State to annually host the event’s runners, who represent multiple states and countries. Peyton’s logbook, kept since 1968, is full of notations to be proud of. Here’s another reason — a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arkansas Ultra Runners Association.

Wow, look at you! So motivated that you’ve already got your online shopping cart full of logos designed to dazzle?

Heads up: We’re about to get schooled here, too. Neither Robinson nor Peyton are focused on brands. Peyton does

emphasize the importance of being properly fitted for your shoes. It’s crucial, because as Robinson explains, “In a 100-mile race, my feet will strike the ground at least a quarter of a million times on the surface, the rocks, whatever.”

The legendary Tarahumara traditionally wore sandals made of rawhide, later upgraded to discarded tire tread. That first woman at the Boston Marathon, the one who snuck in? She wore white leather Red Cross nurses’ shoes. Why? Women’s running shoes simply did not exist then.

The Tarahumara women do their own thing too, like running in their dresses. Some of their men have gone western, but most still wear loose tops and a skirt — and no, that’s not an error. The practicality of the latter outfit no doubt makes for quick pit stops, something Peyton says has to be factored in, just as the need for staying hydrated. Each runner will develop a sense of what clothing will work for them. Diet? For Peyton and Robinson, there are no special diets. Robinson, also a beekeeper, likes to add some of his own honey to his carbohydrates. Peyton doesn’t do alcohol or desserts, but as she says, “Anything

else is fair game. I don’t believe in being hungry”.

Amen, sister. You have all of us chip-snorting couch potatoes with you on that. Speaking of fair game, these athletes define it differently — very differently — than those in many other sports. As Peyton suggests, “Do not train to beat someone, that’s not the point. It’s to get yourself to the finish line.”

Robinson points out the logbook isn’t his only reason for running. It is, he says, “… the social side to running. I enjoy being around the people, enjoy their support — so friendly and super nice.”

Sounds like Robinson and Peyton would be a lot of fun to hang out with.

But maybe running just isn’t where your tootsies are going? That’s fine too. Like the old Nike ad says, “Just do it.” Walk, dance, rollerblade, bike … Whatever your inner child whispers is probably going to be just perfect for you.

OK now, fellow couch potatoes, who is ready to race me to the mailbox? If we’re really lucky (meaning we still have a pulse upon arrival) we might just spot some super cool long hauler breezing by. I stand to be schooled.

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DO YOU KNOW YOUR ‘ENEMY?’ Local News Becomes Collateral Damage in Polarized Time

S

helby Rose stands poised in front of the Little Rock Police Department on a brisk autumn day. Her career at KATV-Channel 7 as a general assignment reporter is still relatively young, but her sharp, skillful and scrupulous style has already established the journalist as a formidable presence in Central Arkansas. She is honest, fair, principled — priceless attributes in this industry.

She’s here to report on the alarming rates of gun violence in the Capital City, a crime beat that the Texas native has become more than familiar with during her time in the state, as well as the chilling and swirling winds that can pick up on fall days such as this. As she prepares to film her prerecorded reporting segment for the nightly news, the gusts are not bashful. Rose calmly uses her fingers as an impromptu brush, trying to tame her hair and remain a professional presence. Suddenly, a crass heckle pierces through the air.

“You look stupid,” a woman out of frame jeers.

“I don’t think I look stupid at all,” Rose retorts behind a smile.

“Oh, I know you do,” the woman doubles down. “You play with your hair more than you do anything.”

“Thank you,” Rose responds with a patience and restraint that onlookers might envy.

“You’re welcome,” scoffs the woman. “Why don’t you play with the rest of your dress? Your belly is sticking out.”

The insults begin to fly as rapidly as the breeze. “Hold your tummy in,” “You need to wear a girdle to keep your belly in,” “No amount of makeup will make you look beautiful.”

Juxtaposed against the wind and the taunts, Rose’s fortitude is unchanged. “I love getting harassed when I’m trying to do my job,” she says under her breath, without losing her charming smile.

Further reporting by Rose would find that this woman was not affiliated with the department, but was known to be a frequent loiterer of the area. Still, it happened. And even more unfortunately, instances such as these are not rare.

“Because the public perception of the media is just so negative

and so terrible, I’ve come to learn not to allow people like that to get to me, and to just ignore them because it’s not worth it,” Rose tells AY About You. Anyone with just half a heart would be disconcerted by language like this, that a young woman just four years out of school has already become numb to impudence as if it were a salutation. But Rose reports the same headline as most of her colleagues in the industry: We’re often the enemy.

And it’s gotten worse.

Gallup, an analytics and advisory company, has tracked via polling how the general public regards the mass media — newspapers, TV and radio — for decades. In 1976, the numbers peaked at a record 72 percent of Americans feeling a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media.

By 20 years ago, it had trickled down to meager shades in the 50 percent range. But in 2016, the bottom dropped out; only 32 percent reported a positive level of trust. It has risen merely marginally to now, with Gallup reporting a 40 percent of trust finding in September.

Carlton “Sonny” Rhodes has more than 40 years of experience in the journalism industry, most of it on the print side of things for the likes of the Log Cabin Democrat, Pine Bluff Commercial and the Arkansas DemocratGazette. But these days, the venerable Rhodes devotes his time to the next generation of budding journos as an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Since very nearly day one, he’s waded through these changing tides and felt the gale fester around him.

“In my 40-plus years as a journalist, public trust of the media has been an ongoing concern,” he says. “I was once confronted by a person who said I had been unfair in a story, even though I had done my absolute best to present the story fully and fairly. I was troubled by the person’s comments and brought up the subject with my editor, who told me that, in essence, whether a story is considered fair ‘just depends on whose ox is being gored.’

In other words, ‘fairness’ can be subjective to some readers.”

Regarding the historic low bar of 2016, one will likely not require a reminder that this was an election year, one of the most polarizing in modern history. It was the year that the phrase “fake news” picked up the steam of an off-the-rails train. Four years later, not much has changed as far as that vitriol is concerned. At that, Rhodes’ words become quite clear.

By Dustin Jayroe

“The situation has not been helped by a president who labels the media as the ‘enemy of the people,’” he says. “People who are disgruntled with the media no longer are content to call an editor and complain or cancel their subscription; they attack you on social media and, as can be seen on television, some reporters have to be protected by bodyguards while trying to do their jobs.”

Rose knows what that’s like. She’s waist-deep in these turbulent waters, though sometimes it might feel deeper than that. She finds no better example to explain what it’s like than comparing two similar moments divided by time.

In 2016, she was amid her first official gig after graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Working as a reporter for KXMB, the CBS affiliate in Bismarck, N.D., she found herself right in the middle of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Thousands of people had congregated to, as she puts it, “middle of nowhere, North Dakota,” opposing the pipeline’s installation which many argued would pose a threat to the region’s water supply and threaten historic sites and ancient burial grounds of the surrounding Native American communities, including Standing Rock, which occupied a reservation nearby.

“What was wild is that, if we’re comparing it to the [George Floyd] Little Rock protests per se, situationally, the [pipeline] protests were way more dangerous than what happened here in Little Rock,” she says. “No. 1, this happened for six months. No. 2, there were a lot more people, and there were just a lot more crazy things happening, like cars being lit on fire, people trying to detonate homemade bombs and blowing their arms off, people pulling out automatic rifles on each other, just absolute crazy stuff. But the difference between then and now is that then I was a fly on the wall. People knew who I was. People knew that I was there, but no one bothered me. In six months of me covering [those] protests, I think I got yelled at three times.

“But comparative to now, whenever I went to the first night of the protests here in Little Rock, within five minutes I was surrounded — having water bottles thrown at me, screamed in my face, calling me all different kinds of obscenity. It was horrible … I was automatically the

Shelby Rose.

“Because the public perception of the media is just so negative and so terrible, I’ve come to learn not to allow people like that to get to me, and to just ignore them because it’s not worth it.”

PREAMBLE

Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the founda tion of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free ex change of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethi cal journalist acts with integrity.

The Society declares these four principles as the foundation of ethical journalism and encourages their use in its practice by all people in all media.

SEEK TRUTH AND REPORT IT

Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpret ing information.

MINIMIZE HARM

Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and mem bers of the public as human beings deserving of respect.

ACT INDEPENDENTLY The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.

BE ACCOUNTABLE AND TRANSPARENT Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.

For more information and further context behind these principles, visit spj.org/ethicscode.

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enemy for essentially doing nothing.”

On live television, Rose was assaulted by one of the protestors. It all became a little ironic as time passed, for just as she was immediately treated as a foe by some in attendance who were fueled by heightened emotion, she would eventually become a kindred spirit — on the ground reporting on the night’s events, Rose was teargassed by police, also on television, simultaneously to the protestors.

Her reporting in Little Rock, covering an event that on the surface was not so dissimilar to the one four years prior, was so dangerous that at one point Chris May, a KATV anchor, was visibly unsettled when the live feed returned to him, cut off after Rose fled a stampede of oncoming protestors.

But therein lies a perplexing curiosity. The public’s means for distrust of media did not begin in 2016, but it was accelerated and amplified by politics, for the most part. That was near-objectively the case early on, but the countrywide protests following the murder of George Floyd were not populated by the right.

“It [essentially] was just a specific group of people who were carrying out that narrative,” Rose says. “But as time has gone on, it has been adopted by everyone. It has become an incredibly common term that everyone is just now using freely.

“If you go back to the root of where this ‘fake news’ started, it was talking about national news sources like CNN, MSNBC — the ones who can have a biased view on stories, and the ones that do tend to lean left or right, depending on the network. But that rhetoric has now been carried to local news where people just lump us all as ‘one in the same.’”

Over time, this snowball became practically unstoppable, an avalanche of hostility that started sweeping up local media into this circumstantial and cognitive dissonance filled dustbin.

“That’s, I think, the frustrating part for a lot of journalists, especially local news journalists,” Rose says. “Because we work our tails off, day in and day out, to be unbiased and fair and balanced in our reporting. Yet, we still get screamed ‘fake news’ at, and we still get accused of leaning a certain way, depending on the story.

“I’ve been called leftist; I’ve been called the alt-right,” she goes on to say, furthering the sentiments put forth by Rhodes’ ox analogy.

From the next wave of up-and-comers of the field, Rhodes has noticed some of the same frustration. Recently, a particular student said this to the professor: “People seem to think journalists have some evil alternative agenda, and that I want to embarrass them through their interview, or that I will plainly make up quotes for them.”

Meanwhile, in actuality and with few better examples than Rose, the media is made up of simply that — people. Those who have taken on a difficult, strenuous, and at times dangerous en-

deavor to keep the general public informed. Whether that is on the newest pop-up chicken shack in the metro or the latest COVID-19 data to help keep your family safe, they’ll be there to tell you about it. They’re humans, so mistakes are possible; but they have lives, families, bills to pay — just like anyone else. And this is their job, which is by design to inform you about the world around you.

A remedy for this disheartening reality is a million-dollar question. One that both Rhodes and Rose have an understandably difficult time answering, same as their colleagues across the state and country.

“Most folks have not had the advantage of being in a journalism classroom and learning about the things that responsible journalists hold dear,” Rhodes says. “Things like the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, the four main principles of which are: Seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable and transparent. I wish there was some way we could get that word out better. On the other hand, one has to question whether this is something the public truly wants to know about.”

What makes Rose human (in addition to simple biology) is her love for people. She describes herself as a social person who, like other extroverts, has been challenged by this pandemic-plagued year defined by societal isolation. She’s thoroughly enjoyed living in the Natural State ever since she joined the KATV news team in 2018 for its abundant opportunities to spend time in nature, like hiking and kayaking.

“If anyone sees me out and about, keep your social distance, but come say, ‘Hi,’” she jokes. “I love meeting people. It’s one of my favorite things to do.

“I’m a Little Rock resident. I’m a part of this community. I am just like every other person on the street here, yet I get treated as some foreign person who has been sent in to just disrupt the community … I consider myself just like everyone else here in Little Rock, but there are people who think of me as the devil. And it sucks.”

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Shelby Rose.

aymag.com

H THE PEOPLE BEHIND YOUR NEWS:

Beth

HUNT

By Carl Kozlowski • Photos by Jamison Mosley

‘‘

They let me sit on set and read through the prompter, and I think I instantly knew that I wanted to do this.

G

rowing up in Carlisle, Beth Hunt was determined to make sure that the town of 2,500 wasn’t her entire universe. As one of four children of a cattle rancher, who also rode saddle broncs in rodeos, and a teacher, she appreciated her family and small-town life, but she always wanted to move to a bigger city.

The path to doing that became clear during a high school journalism class field trip to Little Rock, where her teacher led Hunt and her fellow students on a tour of KTHV-Channel 11. There, she met longtime local host Beth Ward after she finished that day’s noon news. And she began the road to her own longtime anchor gig at KATV-Channel 7 on the weeknight 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts.

“I wasn’t necessarily a news junkie, and I didn’t know back then that I wanted to do it, but I was always intrigued,” Hunt recalls. “Watching [Ward] live, I was in awe. They let me sit on set and read through the prompter, and I think I instantly knew that I wanted to do this.

“Being from a small town, not many people pursued a career in journalism or broadcasting, so I think they laughed it off, I think that was kind of a driving force to push me to it even more — people saying, ‘You couldn’t do that.’”

Hunt, 43, graduated from Arkansas State University with a degree in radio-television before attending graduate school there and quickly scoring a job at KATV thereafter. She first worked behind the scenes before landing her first reporting gig in Fort Smith/Fayetteville, but 10 months later, she returned to Little Rock as a general assignment reporter in 2002.

She’s had plenty of memorable experiences in her two decades on the Arkansas airwaves, including following Arkansas native Gen. Wesley Clark in his race for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. Beyond anchoring live broadcasts from nearly every major festival and event in the state, she particularly remembers covering the aftermath of the 2003 explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library in 2004.

“Columbia broke apart upon re-entry, and everyone on board died,” she recalls. “They sent me down to Nacogdoches, Texas, because people in southwest Arkansas reported seeing it falling and that’s where the pieces were found.

“The Clinton Library opening was so fun, and we did at least a week of coverage, because so much in the city was changing, the whole landscape of downtown. All these people were in town for it, and we had a satellite truck there, and I was standing on top of it recording as they shot there against the Clinton Library.

I just shot all day long, and I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m getting to do this.’”

Hunt and her anchor team at KATV have won an Emmy for Best Newscast in addition to her own Associated Press awards for reporting and several wins in the Arkansas Times annual readers’ poll as Best TV News Person. But perhaps her most exciting moment occurred when she traveled to New York City for a series of stories on Arkansans living in the Big Apple and got a behind-the-scenes tour of Good Morning America — and conducted interviews with Charles Gibson, Robin Roberts and her hero, Diane Sawyer.

“I always loved Diane Sawyer because I thought she had a

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The KATV building in downtown Little Rock.

(Photo by Dustin Jayroe)

unique way of storytelling. Just her voice and the way she tells a story as if she’s speaking to you directly,” explains Hunt. “I’ve always enjoyed her in-depth stories. Meeting her was really great.”

Hunt’s routine has been drastically altered this year by the COVID-19 pandemic, as KATV has joined the rest of the broadcast news industry in shifting to socially distanced studios and scheduling. Normally, her day typically kicked off with a 1:30 p.m. news team meeting in which the news team would decide which stories would be covered and by whom, and which elements are needed to make stories complete. That would be followed by copy editing scripts and recording promos for the night’s broadcasts and brief news reports for local radio stations before settling in for her own pre-show hair and makeup.

Now, the staff has their meetings virtually using the Slack app on cellphones, and Hunt and her co-anchor of four years, Chris May, do much of their afternoon recordings remotely.

When it’s time to go live, KATV’s large studio facilitates keeping the dynamic duo about 30 feet apart.

“I think it’s important to be able to take dense information and simplify it in a way that the average viewer can understand it,” notes Hunt as she offers her thoughts on what makes a good anchor. “We do that every day, taking a dense topic and extracting the information to give it to people in a way they can understand it. I think also the ability to remain calm in high-stress situations is important. I’m a pretty laid-back person, and I think that plays to my advantage.”

One memorably intense story, occurred when the Power Ultra Lounge nightclub in Little Rock was the location of a mass shooting in July 2017. Twenty-eight people were injured and one was hospitalized in the attack, and Hunt recalls it as one of the darker moments of her tenure.

“We went on the air for hours talking about that, trying to figure out what’s going on, who’s the shooter, how did this happen, is everyone OK?” she remembers.

“I also really loved covering politics when I was younger, but not so much these days because it’s so partisan. But election nights are fun because we have national coverage from ABC, and we cut in about local races.”

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On a lighter note, Hunt maintains a sense of humor regarding other aspects of the job. She laughs when asked about the Will Ferrell news satire Anchorman, and recalls that KATV rented out a screen at the Riverdale 10 movie theater to show it to the entire station staff when the movie first came out. And she’s not shy about sharing her own funniest on-air moment.

“I’ve laughed on the air a few times because little mistakes I’ve made get me tickled, and I’m the kind of person who laughs very hard and doesn’t stop easily,” Hunt says. “The only major mishap for me was when I was working on one of our morning shows.

“We often had fashion segments, and models were coming in and out. The store was called Elle, and at the beginning of the segment, I said ‘Please welcome the ladies from Hell,’” she continues, laughing again. “I lost it!”

It’s clear that Hunt loves her job, and a large part of what keeps it fun and interesting is her teaming with May, who launched his own career at KATV before anchoring in Boston and Philadelphia and returning to his hometown in 2016.

“When I was in college, Chris was working at Channel 7 so I would see him on TV and go, ‘Wow, he’s really talented.’ You could always tell he was going somewhere,” she recalls. “When I made it up here, I made it known that if he was interested in coming home, it’d be great if we could get him back — not thinking that it could ever happen, but it did.

“It’s really been enjoyable to get to know him, and I consider him a great friend. I think the most interesting part of our show happens during the commercial break. It’s like a group of friends hanging out.”

Outside of her career, Hunt also enjoys her home life with her husband, Brian, an insurance agent, and her three sons. Ultimately, her love of family and friends makes this big-city success story still a small-town girl at heart.

“Our whole world was that town, so we could come to Little Rock to do shopping or whatever,” she says. “But there was high school football on Friday nights, and both sets of my grandparents lived there. I miss it now. I’m still just a mom who’s working hard to keep my family fed and everyone happy.”

aymag.com

Angela Case, RN

“First comes trust, then comes beauty.”

Angela’s Injectables Angela Case, RN, is quite the busy bee. She’s an aesthetic nurse injector by trade, and also serves as a speaker and trainer in her field with Allergan and Galderma. Such a calendar-filled life is fueled by her passion to help others achieve their best-looking selves.

The plethora of capabilities on her tool belt include wrinkle relaxers, dermal fillers, fat reduction, chemical peels and medical-grade skincare.

But she is well aware that the wide world of beauty can be overwhelming, with many first time patients not knowing what procedure or treatment they need or even want.

“I want patients to feel comfortable asking me anything,” Case says. “The aesthetic industry can be difficult to navigate, so I’m happy to offer my advice on cosmetic procedures.”

For each of her many clients, Case carries a broadly scoped view, not an “in and out” type of procedural mentality.

“Aesthetic goals should be viewed as a journey, not a one-time treatment,” she explains. “Customized treatment plans are my specialty; I can create a treatment plan targeting maintenance or improving particular areas of concern.”

Each person who walks through her doors is greeted cheerfully, and welcomed as a new member of the Angela’s Injectables family — a testament to her dedication to every client.

“The best part of my job is the personal connection I have with my patients,” she says. “I’ve gained many friends through my practice and enjoy catching up on their life events at each appointment.”

“I want patients to feel comfortable asking me anything.”

Prince Plastic Surgery

501-225-3333

@angelasinjectables

angelas_injectables

As a woman-led organization since day one, AY About You knows firsthand the importance and indispensableness of women in the workplace. That’s why we take every opportunity possible to highlight female accomplishment, and we are proud to have found another way to do so — AY’s Best Women in Healthcare.

We hope you’ll enjoy this inaugural listing featuring some of Arkansas’ best women in the industry, voted on by our readers.

A

List published in alphabetical order.

Jamie Abbott, MD Ozark Dermatology

Annette Anderson, MD Conway Regional Health System

Stephanie Bartlett, APRN Arkansas Urology

Ginger Johnson Bogy, EMT DeWitt EMS & Crestpark NH

Dana Abraham, MD, FACS Abraham Breast Clinic

Katlyn R. Anderson, PA-C Arkansas Dermatology

Sunita Bonde, MD North Metro Medical Center

Jennifer Acklin, MS, OTR/L KIDSource Therapy

Jeanine Andersson, MD OrthoArkansas

Beverly Beadle, MD CHI St. Vincent Little Rock Diagnostic Clinic

Megan Gardner Adams, PHARM.D. Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System

Michelle Ang-Poland, MD Northwest Medical Plaza

Anita Aebersold, DDS Arkansas Dental Centers

Carol Angel, MD Conway Anesthesiology Consultants, P.A.

Rebecca Aleck, DO Jefferson Regional Medical Center

Rachel Ashcraft, APRN Cornerstone Clinic for Women

Nadine Alex, MD Alex Endocrine Associates

Sarah Atkins, DDS Higginbotham Family Dental

Jan Elizabeth Alexander, MD Conway Regional Health System Brandi Alexander, APN Lifespring Women’s Healthcare Kattie Allen, MD Premier Dermatology Rebekka Amick, CNS, APRN UAMS Neighborhood Clinic

B

Amanda Bailey, MD Arkansas Children’s Katherine Baltz, MD Central Arkansas Ophthalmology Rebekah Baltz, MD Premier Dermatology Holly Bartlett, RDH Westport Dental Associates in Conway

Cindy S. Beemer, BS, DC Beemer Back Center

Savannah Bradbury, PA Conway Regional Neuroscience Center

Hannah Beene-Lowder, MD Arkansas Children’s

Brooke E. Brander, DO Highlands Oncology Group

Laureen Benafield, MD Northwest Arkansas Pediatrics, A MANA Clinic

Lynsay Brautnick, MD Highlands Oncology Group

Jocelyne Benitez, RDH Westport Dental Associates in Conway Leigh Anne Bennett, MD Arkansas Psychiatric Clinic Brittany Benton, APN Arkansas Urology Lauren Blansett, APRN Conway Regional Greenbrier Family Medicine Amanda Bledsoe, DC Bledsoe Chiropractic

99

Diana Braziel, PA-C Arkansas Urology Amanda Brock, APRN White River Health System Women’s Clinic Shelby Brogdon, OD Teague Vision Clinic Kathryn Brown, OD UAMS Jones Eye Institute Clinic Jacqueline Brown, MSN, APRN East Arkansas Medical Group Sara Brown, CPNP Paragould Pediatrics aymag.com

Congratulations!

Alexa Medlock, Arkansas Aesthetics in Conway for being chosen as one of AY Magazine’s Best Women in Healthcare Specializing in Botox, Dysport & dermal fillers

1050 Bob Courtway Drive, Suite 103 Conway, AR 72032

501-208-4737

Alexa Medlock, RN Arkansas Aesthetics in Conway

Arkansas Aesthetics in Conway

CHAMPIONS. OUR PROMISE: Unprecedented child health.

Defined and delivered.

To our team of champions: you are leading by example for Arkansas’ children. Thank you for voting some of our best as Best Women in Health Care: • • • • • •

Dr. Amanda Bailey Dr. Rebecca Cantu Dr. Kaitlin Cockerell Sue Faulkner, AuD, CCC-A Dr. Jill Fussell Dr. Stacie Jones

Join our team at archildrens.org/careers EOE, Drug-Free, Nicotine-Free, Inclusive Workplace

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• • • • •

Dr. Rebecca Latch Dr. Hannah Beene-Lowder Dr. Tamara Perry Dr. Emily Smith Dr. Amy Scurlock

BoozmanHof Regional Eye Clinic is proud to recognize Drs. Sullivan, Devlin and Stanley among the Best Women in Health Care. Thank you for your dedication to patients and the commitment to your profession. Everyday you demonstrate the BoozmanHof mission to serve others through comprehensive eye care with excellence, integrity and compassion in order to glorify God.

3737 West Walnut Street Rogers, AR 72756 25 Cunningham Corner Bella Vista, AR 72714 Mary C. Sullivan, O.D.

Samantha K. Devlin, O.D.

Stephanie M. Stanley, O.D.

1.800.428.3937

Congratulations

Healing relationships through individual, couple and family therapy.

Faiza Samad

We are honored to have a Best Woman in Healthcare on our team!

Faiza is a Licensed Professional Counselor at Chenal Family Therapy and holds a masters degree in counseling. She has experience treating children, adolescents, and adults with diverse backgrounds and ranges of concerns.

For more information about Chenal Family Therapy, or to schedule an appointment with Faiza, you can check out or website at chenaltherapy.com or send us an email at schedule@chenaltherapy.com.

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aymag.com

Jacqueline Brown, MSN, APRN East Arkansas Medical Group

Angela Case, RN Melanie Prince Plastic Surgery

Meenakshi Budhraja, MD Digestive Wellness Clinic

Kay Chandler, MD Cornerstone Clinic for Women

Jennifer M. Co, MD CHI St. Vincent Little Rock Diagnostic Clinic Christie M. Cobb, MD Little Rock Gynecology and Obstetrics

Chanel Bullock, APRN-FNP-C Pain Treatment Centers of America

Angela Chapman, MD Psychology and Counseling Associates

Stephanie Cody, MD Baptist Health Family Clinic - Hillcrest

Kelly Burks, MD Arkansas Allergy & Asthma Clinic

Montana Lewis Chapman, DPT Advanced Physical Therapy of North Little Rock

Dana Coker, MD Associated Radiologists

Anita Burleson, ANP Skinner Family Practice

Kathryn Chenault, MD CHI St. Vincent North Neurology Clinic

C

Natalie Burr, MD Little Rock Pediatric Clinic Amy Boast Cahill, MD, FACOG Jefferson Regional Medical Center Melissa Campbell, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America Ayisha Canant, Ph.D. Conway Counseling & Wellness Center Rebecca Cantu, MD Arkansas Children’s

Sheva Chervinskiy, DO UAMS Kristin Christian, OD Kinslow Eye & Laser Center Kelly Evans Chronister, RN, MBA, COE Southern Eye Associates Shawn Clawson, APRN, APN Arkansas Urology Missy Clifton, MD Premier Dermatology

Danielle Collie Delta Dental of Arkansas

D

Constance Crisp, MD BodyLogicMD Mary Frances Daut, MD Optimal Pain and Wellness Ashley Davis, MD Sherwood Family Medical Center Gwendolyn Davis, NP Bell Medical Clinic Katy Davis, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America

Shannon Winget Combs, SLP New HOPE Therapy

Romona L. Davis, MD UAMS Jones Eye Institute Clinic

Althea Conley, MD Medical Center of South Arkansas

Sarah Davis, OD Conway Family Eye Care

Jaclyn Cooper, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America

Taylor Davis, LCSW Arkansas State Hospital

Samantha Corral, CNM Creekside Center for Women

Betsy Day, MS, RDN, LDN Premier Gastroenterology

Jennifer Cox, MSN, FNP-BC, APRN UCA Health Center

Rachel Deal, DDS Greenbrier Dental

Dede Cravens, PT OrthoSurgeons

Ashley Deed, MD Central Clinic for Women

CONGRATULATIONS TO

La Shannon Spencer, CEO

Community Health Centers of Arkansas,

INCLUDED AMONG THE BEST WOMEN IN HEALTH CARE IN ARKANSAS!

LaShannon’s never-wavering determination and commitment to the cause of expanding access to top quality health care services exemplifies the spirit of Community Health Centers.

Nearly 240,000 Arkansans received care at more than 140 CHC sites last year.

To learn more about CHCA and our 10 member CHCs, visit www.chc-ar.org

REMEMBER, ARKANSAS:

WEAR A MASK

Wear at least a 2-ply mask

SOCIAL DISTANCE Stay 6 feet apart 102

Meredith A. Denton, MD Northwest Arkansas Pediatrics, A MANA Clinic Samantha K. Devlin, OD BoozmanHof Leslie Dickinson, DDS Dickinson Dental Jennifer DiCocco, MD St. Bernards Healthcare

E

Cori Dyson, MD AR NextStep Counseling

Angela Foster, APRN Conway Regional Medical Clinic

Julie Goodwin, MD Central Clinic for Women

Blakely Edmund, APRN UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute

Beverly Foster, DC Chiropractic Health & Rehabilitation

Melissa Graham, MD Advanced Allergy & Asthma Clinic

Rebecca Foster, PA Pain Treatment Centers of America

Myra Grantham, MSN, FNP-BC UCA Student Health

Penny Freshour, OD Dr. Penny Freshour, OD, P.A.

Laurie Gray-Barber, MD Little Rock Eye Clinic

Adrienne Friedly, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America

Danna F. Grear, MD The Breast Center, A MANA Clinic

Stacy Furlow, MD Northwest Arkansas Pediatrics, A MANA Clinic

Shannon Greenway, PT Milestone Services

Angela Edwards, MD The Children’s Clinic Kristi Mitchell Elia, DDS Dr. Kristi Mitchell Elia Dentistry

Rhonda Dixon, APRN Conway Regional Medical Clinic

Haley Endacott, APRN-BC, AE-C ENT and Allergy Center

Julie Dolven, OD James Eyecare & Optics Gallery

Betty Everett, Ph.D. UAMS Walker Family Clinic

Rachel Dooley UAMS Jennifer Doyle, MD Little Rock Eye Clinic Amanda Duch, APRN Jonesboro Pediatric Clinic Christie Dumboski, APRN, APN Arkansas Urology

Blair H. Greenwood, MD Mayflower Medical Clinic

F G H Jerri S. Fant, MD, FACS CARTI Sue Faulkner, AUD Arkansas Children’s

Jill Fussell, MD Arkansas Children’s

Kerri Garrison, LPC Life Strategies

Kelly-Gwynne Fergus, DDS Fergus Orthodontics

Rhonda Gentry, MD CARTI Cancer Center

Amelia Fleisher, RN Conway Regional Health System

Mitzi Gibson, MSPT Unity Health Medical Clinic

Abby Forbes, RN CHRISTUS Health

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Jennifer S. Gregory, MD Little Rock Gynecology and Obstetrics Lisa Grummer, APRN Cornerstone Clinic for Women Kelly Hall, APRN Arkansas Heart Hospital Ashley W. Halpain, MD All for Kids

aymag.com

Congratulations!

Katherine Thomas, Arkansas Aesthetics for being chosen as one of AY Magazine’s Best Women in Healthcare Specializing in Botox, Dysport & Dermal fillers

Named one of the top 100 aesthetic injectors in America out of 50,000 and the only injector in Arkansas

10301 N. Rodney Parham C7 Little Rock, AR 72227 Katherine Thomas, RN Owner, Aesthetic Injector

501-319-4064

@facesbykthomas //

Amanda Brock, APRN

From your friends at The Women’s Clinic &

WhiteRiverHealthSystem.com

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@the_lipinjector

by Danielle Delta Dental of Arkansas congratulates our very own Danielle Collie on her selection as one of the Top Women in Healthcare for 2020.

DeltaDentalAR.com

Congratulations

Brooke E. Brander, DO

Lynsay Brautnick, MD

Medical Oncology and Hematology

Medical Oncology and Hematology

Springdale | Fayetteville | Rogers 105

www.highlandsoncologygroup.com aymag.com

Saadia Haneef, DO Chenal Family Therapy- Rogers

Emily Hinton, MD Parkhill Clinic for Women

Lauren Harmon-Grantham, DDS Dental Solutions

Sarah Holland, APRN West Little Rock Women’s Center

Annaleigh V. Harper, PA-C Arkansas Dermatology

Deanna Hopson, MD South Arkansas Medical Associates

Stephanie Harrington, Ph.D., LCSW Rice Clinic

Siobahn Hruby, MD Pinnacle Internal Medicine

Tina Hatley-Merritt, MD Allergy & Asthma Clinic of Northwest Arkansas Sarah Hays, DC Elite Chiropractic Erin Hekmatpour, MD Autumn Road Family Practice Lauren Hendrix, MD Arkansas Urology Ronda Henry-Tillman, MD UAMS Breast Cancer Clinic Jennifer Hall Hill, DDS Austin Family Dentistry

J

Jennifer Jacks, MD Jacks Dermatology

Cara J. Jones, MD Arkansas Pediatric Dentistry

Nidhi Jain, MD CHI St. Vincent Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic

Leticia A. Jones, MD Genesis Women’s Clinic Rebecca Jones, MD Legacy Spine & Neurological Specialists

Archana Jarathi, MD CHI St. Vincent Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic

Roxann Hughes, CNS, APRN Little Rock Pulmonary Clinic

Teresa Jeffers, MD Four Seasons Allergy and Asthma Clinic

Cheryl Hull, MD, FAAD Hull Dermatology & Aesthetics

Jill Jennings, MD The Woman’s Clinic

Honey Hull, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America

Amy Johnson, MD Conway Women’s Health Center

Lydia Hunjan, MD Arkansas Health Group Anesthesia

Felicia Johnson, MD ENT Center of the Ozarks

Mallory Hurst, MD St. Bernards Healthcare

Venecia M. Johnson, ACNP-AG, BC Pain Treatment Centers of America

Amy Irwin, MD Northwest Medical Center

Shelby Johnston, APN UAMS Center for Gynecology

Tesa Ivey, CNP, APN UAMS Women’s Health Clinic

Gail Reede Jones, MD Arkansas Urology

I

Sarah Jones, APRN Arkansas Heart Hospital Stacie Jones, MD Arkansas Children’s Blythe Joyner, RDH Westport Dental Associates in Conway

K

Sonya Justice, RN Medical Center of South Arkansas Lori Kagy, MD Arkansas Allergy & Asthma Clinic Iris Kennedy, APRN, APN Arkansas Urology Brenda Ketcher, MD South Central Gastroenterology and Central Endoscopy

Thank you for this honor AY ’s Best Women

in HEALTHCARE Our Hearing Care Specialists will carefully examine your hearing and suggest an appropriate solution.

Shelly C. York, BC-HIS

We’re proud to carry a wide range of products that have helped individuals and families live life to the fullest.

miracle-ear.com | 501-227-4327 106

Traci Kiernan, DC, DNM Natural State Health Center

Lynsay Lee, LPN South Arkansas Medical Associates

Ann-Marie Magre, MD MANA Family Medicine

Mary Batie McDonald MAC Healthcare Solutions

Kristy King, MD CHI St. Vincent

Irina Lendel, MD Arkansas Heart Hospital

Donna McGhee, APRN Arkansas Renal Group

Joyce Kinney, MD Ashley County Medical Center

Rani Lindberg, MD UAMS Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic

Meredith L. Mahan, MD Northwest Arkansas Pediatrics, A MANA Clinic

Ivory Kinslow, MD Kinslow Eye & Laser Center Carmella Knoernschild, DDS Carmella M. Knoernschild Orthodontic Clinic Mollye Jenay Koonce, APRN, FNP-C Jefferson Regional Medical Center

L

Crystal Lackey, PT, DPT The Center Health & Wellness Rebecca Lard, APRN Arkansas Dermatology Rebecca Latch, MD Arkansas Children’s Mimi Lee, MD Mimi Lee Vein & Aesthetic Care

Meghan Mallett, APRN Conway Regional Medical Clinic

Monica Lo, MD Arkansas Heart Hospital

Brandie Martin, MD Conway Women’s Health Center

Marianne Lotito, MS, LCGC CARTI Cancer Center

Dawn Martin, MD All for Kids

Angela Lovett, MD The BridgeWay

Karen Martin, APRN Arkansas Pediatrics of Conway

Kassi Lowry, RN Kindred Healthcare

Ashley Mason, MD, FACOG Creekside Center for Women

Stephanie Lowry, MD Parkhill Clinic for Women

Lisa McAdams, APN Arkansas Nephrology

Tiffany Lucas, APRN South Arkansas Adult Medical Clinic

Kathryn Smith McClurkan St. Bernards Healthcare

Diane Lyddon, MD Ozark Guidance

Virginia L. McCord, MD Northwest Arkansas Pediatrics, A MANA Clinic

M Andrea Mabry, MD Pinnacle Dermatology

Alexa Medlock, RN Arkansas Aesthetics Allyson Mertins, DO Mertins Eye & Optical Holly Miguet, MS Kids Being Kids Therapy Marian Miller, MD CARTI Cancer Center Kayla Mohr, MD Pinnacle Dermatology Theresa J. Moix, APN Conway Women’s Health Center Megan McDonald Moll, OD Hilltop Eyecare Leslie Monroe, DDS Dental Solutions Lauren Monteith, MD South Arkansas Medical Associates Amber Moody, APRN Arkansas Heart Hospital

Leading the Way in

Paige Partridge, MD

Emily Hinton, MD

Women’s Healthcare In addition to obstetrics & gynecology, Parkhill is proud to offer primary care, nutritional support and counseling services. We celebrate our female physicians who are vital to our vision of providing a lifetime of comprehensive and compassionate care for our patients!

www.parkhillclinic.com

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Lindsey Seale, MD

Stephanie Lowry, MD

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Sarah Morgan, APN Arkansas Urology Barbara Morris, MD Arkansas Otolaryngology Center Debra F. Morrison, MD GastroArkansas Allison Morrow, APRN, APN Arkansas Urology Julie Mullenax, APN Arkansas Urology Kerry Murphree, APRN Interfaith Clinic

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Tena Murphy, MD CHI St. Vincent Heart Clinic Devi Nair, MD St. Bernards Healthcare Emily Knoll Neal, APRN Baptist Health Clinic - England Nancy New, LPN South Arkansas Medical Associates Amanda Novack, MD Baptist Health Infectious Diseases Angela K. Nutt, MD GastroArkansas

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Ezinne Nwude, MD Medical Center of South Arkansas

Angela Paulson CARTI Cancer Center

Grace Raja, MD CARTI Cancer Center

Samantha Oates, OT New HOPE Therapy

Tamara T. Perry, MD Arkansas Children’s

Daniela Ochoa, MD UAMS Breast Cancer Clinic

Jacklyn Piasta, APRN Cornerstone Clinic

Geetha Ramaswamy, MD, FACC Walker Heart Institute Cardiovascular Clinic

Emilee T. Odom, PA-C Arkansas Dermatology

Kelly A. Pierce, MD The Breast Center, A MANA Clinic

Lorie Oswalt, APN Lifespring Women’s Healthcare

Rachel Pinto, MS, LPC Chenal Family Therapy

Laura Otter, MD CHI St. Vincent Little Rock Diagnostic Clinic

Ashley Jackson Plummer, DDS Ashley Jackson Plummer, DDS, PA

Heather Owens, MD Little Rock Gynecology & Obstetrics Shea Oxford, APRN Arkansas Heart Hospital Burcu Ozdemir, MD Baptist Health Internal Medicine Clinic

Shannon Pogue, APRN Access Medical Clinic Julia Ponder, ARPN Arkansas Heart Hospital Rebecca Jan Porter, APRN South Arkansas Medical Associates

P R Lacey Parker, MD Pain Treatment Centers of America Paige Partridge, MD Parkhill Clinic for Women

Noemi Ramsay, MD Pain Treatment Centers of America Amy Jo Ray, RN UAMS Carol Reynolds, DC Bella Vista Back Center Karen Reynolds, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC Vantage Point Behavioral Health Kimberly Reynolds, MD West Little Rock Women’s Center Rachael Rickford, APRN Baptist Health Women’s Center

Nicole Powell, DDS, MDS Daniel Orthodontics, Hopkins Braces

Ann T. Riggs, MD Baptist Health Internal Medicine Clinic

Melanie Prince, MD Prince Plastic Surgery

Nicole Rinewalt, MD Pain Treatment Centers of America

Kristi Brannon Rainwater, RRT UAMS

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Dr. Jeni Hill

CONCIERGE INJECTOR OF BOTOX, DYSPORT, AND DERMAL FILLERS available 7 days a week

drmommyjeni

501-680-0429

Congratulations Tina!

for being voted one of AY Magazine’s Best Women in Healthcare

“Dr. Merritt is determined to get you the help you need and not leave you wondering what will happen next. She has ALWAYS been available anytime I need her.”

-Patricia P.

Tina Merritt, MD, is the sole owner of the Allergy & Asthma Clinic of Northwest Arkansas. She attended the University of Arkansas and obtained medical school training and pediatric residency at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She also earned an allergy fellowship at the University of Virginia. Among her accomplishments is a part ownership on the patent for a red meat allergy test, called Alpha-gal allergy. She is also participating in clinical trials for a rare disease and a clinical trial looking at an antibody used to treat COVID-19 in longterm health care facilities.

“We have a busy allergy clinic and have had to adapt to the changing medical environment. The clinic schedules allergy injections, screens all people who come into the clinic and utilizes telemedicine visits as often as possible for the safety of our patients and staff.”

1900 S. Walton Blvd, Bentonville, AR • 479.254.9777

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Jan Risinger South Arkansas Medical Associates

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Kimberly Skelley, MD All for Kids

Regina Thurman, MD Optimal Pain and Wellness

Alexis White, MD UAMS Women’s Center

Lisa Sallings, PT Bowen Hefley Orthopedics

Emily Smith, MD Arkansas Children’s

Dana Treat, APRN Hope Medical Clinic

Laila Whiting-Clyburn, RN The Skin Retreat

Marsha Salman, MD All for Kids

Kellye McElroy Smith, MD, FAAO The Eye Center

Amy Wiedower, MD Central Clinic for Women

Faiza Samad, LPC Chenal Family Therapy

Melanie H. Smith, MD Arkansas Ear, Nose, & Throat, P.A.

Laura Trigg, MD CHI St. Vincent Little Rock Diagnostic Clinic

Angel Samuel, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America

Mallory Smith, MD Conway Regional Health System

Lori Saveall, PHARM.D. East Gate Pharmacy

Stacie Smith, PA Pain Treatment Centers of America

Nicole Scally, MD Northwest Arkansas Family Medicine & Obstetrics

Teresa Smith, APN Arkansas Urology

Kelli Schlesinger, MD Legacy Spine & Neurological Specialists Jennifer A. Schroeder, MD Mercy Clinic Family Medicine and Obstetrics Katrina Scott, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America Amy Scurlock, MD Arkansas Children’s Lindsey Seale, MD, FACOG Parkhill Clinic for Women Brittney Sharp, MS, RD, LD Washington Regional Medical Center Mary Jo Shaver, MD Conway Regional Health System Nicole Shaw, APRN Arkansas Urology Jessica Short, MD Washington Regional Rheumatology Clinic Jen Shuler, APRN Arkansas Department of Human Services Zainab Siddiqui, MD CHI St. Vincent Little Rock Diagnostic Clinic

Tonya Sook, APRN-C Ozark Dermatology LaShannon Spencer, MPA, MHSA Community Health Centers of Arkansas

Anne Trussell, MD Sei Bella Med Spa Sue Tsuda, MD Conway Hematology-Oncology Megan Tucker, APRN Cornerstone Clinic for Women April Turner, DO Baptist Health Surgical Clinic of Central Arkansas Julie Turner, DNP, APRN CARTI Cancer Center

Leslie Ann Wilcox, APRN, RNP Arkansas Urology Diane Wilder, MD CARTI Cancer Center Danielle Williams, RN Ozark Dermatology Wischelle Williams, APRN, APN Arkansas Urology Debbie Williamson, MSPT Bowen Hefley Orthopedics Elaine Wilson, MD CHI St. Vincent Neuroscience Institute

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Karen Spruell, RN Little Rock Dermatology

Sarah Stagg, PT Baptist Health Therapy Center Stephanie M. Stanley, OD BoozmanHof

Lindsay Still, MD Arkansas Allergy & Asthma Clinic Elizabeth Sullivan, MD Legacy Spine & Neurological Specialists

Summer B. Tyson, DDS Jonesboro Pediatric Dental Group Tracy Van Es, AUD Little Rock Audiology

Jami Veal, OD Southern Eye Associates

Katy Wagner, DDS Taylor & Wagner Family Dentistry Vanessa Wall, OD Southern Eye Associates

Julia Watkins, MD West Little Rock Women’s Center

Mary C. Sullivan, OD BoozmanHof

Donya Watson, MD South Arkansas Women’s Clinic

Caitlyn Sweet Forrest City Medical Center

Rachel Wayne, MD CHI St. Vincent Little Rock Diagnostic Clinic

Sarah Swetnam, RN, BSN Swetnam Cosmetic Surgery

Sara Tariq, MD UAMS Internal Medicine Clinic Julie L. Tate, MD Living Tree Pediatrics

Angela Simmons, APRN Arkansas Heart Hospital

Margaret H. Taylor, MD Taylor Functional and Integrative Medicine

Toronsa Simpson, APRN Arkansas Urology

Katherine Thomas, RN Arkansas Aesthetics

Kristy Thompson, APRN Pain Treatment Centers of America

Tiffany N. Weathers, MD Mercy Clinic Obstetrics and Gynecology Jeanne Wei, MD UAMS

Kristina Wenger, MD Paragould Pediatrics

September Westbrook, MD All for Kids

Heather Whaley, MD Pain Treatment Centers of America

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Jennifer Wilson, APRN Cornerstone Clinic for Women Marla Wirges, MD Pinnacle Dermatology Kathleen M. Wong, MD Bridges to Well Being Gena Woodward, MSPT Pain Care Associates Theresa Wyrick-Glover, MD UAMS Orthopaedics Clinic Ye Olivia Xu-Cai, MD UAMS Sarah Yarnell, DDS Woodsprings Family Dentistry Suzanne Yee, MD Cosmetic & Laser Surgery Center Rachana Yendala, MD Conway Regional Health System Shelly York, BC-HIS Miracle-Ear

LaDonna Young, NP Medical Center of South Arkansas Rebecca Young, APRN Arkansas Heart Hospital Nancy Zuerlein, MD Arkansas Allergy & Asthma Clinic

Quality Care Rooted in Arkansas

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A Growing Health System for a Growing Community

Expanded Access

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Rimsha Hasan, MD, Cardiologist

One of AY’s Top Women in Healthcare At Conway Regional, we strive daily to exceed the standards in heart care. Led by a highly-skilled group of interventional cardiologists and emergency department physicians, we have one of the state's best door-to-balloon times for providing emergency heart care.

We’re not just growing—we’re growing together.

New Medical Offices

allies OF MENTAL HEALTH

AY About You is proud to present its 2020 Allies of Mental Health, an inaugural special section to provide resources and further the discussion around the subject. Each of these talented individuals and esteemed organizations has left a lasting imprint on Arkansas, and we are grateful for their selfless service.

allies

OF MENTAL HEALTH

The Centers

Ever since she was a child, mental health has been a part of Charlotte Lockhart’s life. Her mother was a psychiatric nurse at the local Veteran’s Affairs center. She witnessed her mother’s care, passion and support for her patients, and decided then that one day, she wanted to do the same.

Today, Lockhart serves as the program manager of the Centers for Youth and Families’ Elizabeth Mitchell Children’s Center, surrounded by adolescents in need of some of the same graceful care as her mother’s patients so many years ago.

“Many of the children in our program are victims of neglect due to parental substance abuse,” she says. “Intervening early in these children’s lives and providing them with a full array of wraparound services is critical to breaking the cycle. Begin by asking children who are acting out emotionally, ‘What happened to you,’ not, ‘What is wrong with you?’”

During her career, she is proud of how the conversations surrounding mental health have evolved and some of the stigmas have diminished.

“I think we are now more aware of how complex the issues surrounding mental illness are — that there are more variables involved than just the brain,” she says. “When I first began working as a psychiatric nurse in the residential setting in the 1990s, the kids we cared for had obvious behavioral/mental health problems, but we didn’t necessarily understand or address all their other barriers. Today, we recognize that the kids in our care not only have mental health problems but are also facing social, educational and family problems. Today, kids are fighting bigger battles which is why it’s important to use a multidisciplinary approach to treat the whole child and family.”

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OF MENTAL HEALTH

Serenity Park Recovery Center

In 1972, Joe McQuany founded what was then Serenity House, a refuge for substance abusers in Arkansas. In 1990, it was renamed Serenity Park and moved to its current location in Little Rock next to a jail and across from a cemetery — which was fitting, as McQuany believed addicts have three eventualities: locked up, covered up or sobered up. For 35 years until his death, McQuany made Serenity Park a place for addicts and alcoholics to receive world-class treatment and find sobriety.

Today, Serenity Park Recovery Center is privately owned by CEO Tara Tinnin. She, clinical director Scott Passafiume, and the entire staff are dedicated to carrying on the legacy and passion of McQuany every single day.

“I have strived to be a mental health ally since the beginning of my own recovery journey in 2012,” Tinnin says. “I began by addressing my own mental health. I knew that I needed to take care of my own mental well-being if I was going to be able to be of use to myself or anyone else in this world. I began to serve as a mental health ally in a professional capacity in 2013 when I began working as an emergency medical technician (EMT) in San Francisco.”

Passafiume also has personal experience with the subject.

“I have been successful in my personal recovery from substance use for more than a decade. Also, in 2005, my first wife of 17 years committed suicide, which later helped me to work on a career in mental health,” he says. “I am not quiet about my own past struggles and use parts of substance abuse and mental health as analogies whenever I speak in front of people. The more we talk about mental health the less power it has over as us. I do think we have been chipping away at the mental health stigma but lag behind when it comes the stigma which comes with substance use issues.”

It is through these experiences that Serenity Park Recovery Center feels it has a unique perspective, which it is proud to deploy for each and every one of its clients.

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WE BELIEVE NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IN RECOVERY. And they don’t just stop at who walks through the door, rather they are determined to find remedies to help the entire state’s mental health and substance use afflictions.

“We need to pass state-wide legislation that makes the insurance companies do the right thing,” Tinnin says. “The leading policies in the state of Arkansas absolutely do not take care of people. At Serenity Park, we routinely take losses to provide the necessary and vital care that our clients need, but most places cannot afford to do that. But when a facility discharges someone because the insurance company won’t pay anymore, the facility is seen as the villain. Everyone is working on a shoe-string budget in this state, doing the best they can with what they have, but there just simply are not enough resources (money) in the state of Arkansas to provide adequate care to the people who need it.”

MISSION: Serenity Park Recovery Center is committed to providing holistic, evidence-based treatment to those it serves, which will empower them and their families to live sober and productive lives. The center strives to provide tools enabling a lifetime of recovery and healthy living.

VALUES: • Individualized evidence-based treatment protocols.

•H olistic approach to healthy recovery by addressing body, mind and spirit.

• Safety and utmost respect for patients, families and staff.

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VISION: Serenity Park strives to provide a healthy atmosphere for our clients and their loved ones, as well as its employees and team members.

Serenity Park has medical staff on-site providing a treatment environment where health and safety is a top priority. Led by medical director Leslie Smith, MD, and healthcare coordinator Robert Keech, RN, its medical team is following all CDC and Arkansas Department of Health guidances regarding COVID-19.

“Our goal is for those who complete our program to be free from mind and mood-altering substances and be confident in their ability to live life on life’s terms,” the center’s team proudly states. “In all we do, we will strive to be guided and our actions will demonstrate a mindset of care that is spiritually based on the considerations and guidance of a higher power.

It is our hope each individual will see this power as it impacts them through the care received from those who provide services at Serenity Park.”

Serenity Park is also committed to educating the public concerning the disease concept of substance abuse related to recovery. Stating clearly on its website: We are committed to perpetual study, evaluation, and implementation of proven programs in the field of substance abuse.

We can, in most cases, provide: • Immediate admission for medical or observational detox.

• Residential treatment admission in 4-6 hours, not 4-6 days!

• Luxurious sober living homes for post-treatment transitions.

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allies

OF MENTAL HEALTH

Argenta Counseling Kellee McCoy is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). The Benton native earned a bachelor’s from Ouachita Baptist University and a master’s degree in clinical mental health and marriage and family therapy from John Brown University. He started Argenta Counseling in 2017, in downtown North Little Rock’s historic Argenta Arts District.

McCoy has a two-fold mission: The first is to put a major dent in mental health issues in Central Arkansas. The second is to provide a healthy professional environment where therapists feel empowered and supported. Today, Argenta Counseling has grown to 30 therapists in three locations in Central Arkansas.

“I am proud to lead an organization comprised of diverse specialists providing services for an equally diverse population,” McCoy says. “Argenta Counseling casts a wide net into the community and has become a trusted and safe resource for the LGBTQ+ community, local churches, law enforcement agencies, public and private schools, and individuals with varying ethnic, cultural, political, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.”

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LET US PARTNER WITH YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY OF HEALING AND WELLNESS. Argenta Counseling is an outpatient, private practice clinic providing affordable, compassionate and specialized counseling for children, teenagers, adults, couples and families in Central Arkansas. Among the specialties that McCoy and his staff boast are depression and anxiety, women’s and men’s issues, negative body image, low self-esteem, self-harm and suicidal ideation, marriage and couples, same-sex couples, LGBTQ+ gender identity issues, premarital counseling, parenting, single-parent issues and parenting adult children. Additional expertise in PTSD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, postpartum women and blended families are also on hand.

Amid this ongoing pandemic, each of Argenta Counseling’s three locations continue to offer in-person, socially distanced sessions, as well as telehealth sessions via phone or video. And while the COVID-19 era has been detrimental to the overall mental health of Arkansas, McCoy is hopeful for silver linings to help us through this difficult time.

“One positive outcome of this pandemic is that we are seeing a decline in the stigma against mental health and a better awareness of the resources available,” he says, but is well aware that we still have plenty more rivers to cross and uphill journeys.

“I encourage every individual in this state to become a mental health advocate,” McCoy goes on to say. “As an individual, you can advocate for yourself if you are suffering by seeking help. Friends and family can point loved ones to appropriate resources.

Leaders in the community such as clergy, politicians, business owners, executives, teachers, etc. can use their influence by increasing awareness, normalizing mental illness, and becoming change agents to eliminate the barriers to the access of care that many Arkansas residents experience.”

For more information or to request an appointment, call 501-777-5969 or visit its website at www.argentacounseling.com.

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Dr. Kathleen Wong Bridges to Wellbeing, LLC

Ever since she was in the third grade, Dr. Kathleen Wong has been filled with a passion to help others. At that point, she may not have understood what that even meant, but her classmate knew it, to be sure. “You could be a psychiatrist,” the young Wong was told matter of factly on the playground. Unbeknownst to her younger self, this is the path she would earnestly walk; today, Wong is exactly that — a psychiatrist at Bridges to Wellbeing in Fayetteville.

Prior to her arrival in Northwest Arkansas, Wong studied philosophy and economics at the University of Richmond and earned a medical degree from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, before conducting residency training in psychiatry at the Barnes-Jewish Medical Center in St. Louis.

In 2003, she landed in Fayetteville and has been practicing in the region ever since.

“In addition to a conventional psychiatry practice, we treat refractory depression with a series of ketamine infusions,” she says. “This is a novel intervention which can help individuals, often when other medications and therapy have failed. It is safe and well-tolerated, with benefits as soon as hours to days after the procedure. Even more exciting, the individuals are more responsive to psychotherapy and can often reduce the use of medications or outside substances such as alcohol or other drugs. The ketamine supports a structural change in the brain which is longlasting.”

Recently, Wong has also become astute in another novel concept, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which provides tools that everyone can use to live a more satisfying and balanced life, whether there is a formal diagnosis or not. She also proudly utilizes the Temperament Character Inventory personality assessment, another tool that is useful across the board.

“The more I learn, the more I gain tools to help myself and my patients,” she says.

“We need to continue to advocate that varying moods are part of normal experience. I help people see what abilities and strengths they have and help them develop compassion towards themselves and the challenges they experience.”

drwongketamine.com | 479-935-9707

CHANGING LIVES WITH COMPASSIONATE BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE Welcoming patients from across the region Our treatment programs include:

• Acute care for children and adolescents (ages 4 to 18) • Acute care for adults (ages 18 and above) • Dual diagnosis treatment • Detoxification program

• Partial Hospitalization Program for adults • Intensive Outpatient Program for adults

We are here to help when you need us.

Call us today at 800-264-5640.

100 Rivendell Drive, Benton, AR 72019

800-264-5640 | rivendellofarkansas.com With limited exceptions, physicians are not employees or agents of this hospital. For language assistance, disability accommodations and the non-discrimination notice, visit our website. 203643-5291 8/20

Quality Care Rooted in Arkansas

hope Is The Foundation. recovery Is The Journey.

In response to the growing needs of our community, The BridgeWay has expanded its continuum of care for substance use disorders. The acute rehabilitation program will provide hope and recovery for adults struggling with substance use disorders. Led by Dr. Schay, and a Board Certified Psychiatrist and Addictionologist, the Substance Use Disorder Rehabilitation Program is for adults at risk of relapse. Rehabilitation requires the supportive structure of a 24-hour therapeutic environment.

To learn more about our continuum of care for substance use disorders, call us at 1-800-245-0011.

Physicians are on the medical staff of The BridgeWay Hospital but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of The BridgeWay Hospital.

The facility shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.

allies

OF MENTAL HEALTH

Dr. Schay

Medical Director Of Substance Use Disorders & Patriot Support Program

Youth Home

Arkansas’ deaf community in Arkansas is one of the most underserved and overlooked demographics in the mental health field. This unfortunate reality is one that Kerry Ingram, LPC-S, knows all too well, working with hearingchallenged individuals at Youth Home.

And Ingram hasn’t just worked for these people on a clinical level. In 2019, he wrote the legislative bill HB1471, which would become ACT 644, establishing unprecedented standards of care for the deaf community. The bill went down in history as the first rights bill in the country to pass through legislation without the threat of a lawsuit.

But Ingram is well aware that plenty of work remains undone.

“If we can expand our efforts in educating and community involvement, it would certainly help,” Ingram says, referring to the state’s higher-than-average mental health afflictions. “We have to work through our community if we want to accomplish anything.”

“I grew up in several broken homes, but I was blessed to have at least one person in my life at all times who really supported and advocated for me,” Ingram goes on to say. “I want to be that ‘one’ person for someone else.”

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Kala Slaton, MD

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Brandie Martin, MD

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Voted AY’s Best Place to Have a Baby

With Three of AY’s Top Women in Healthcare At Conway Regional, we provide all women and their newborns with dignity, respect, and compassionate care. Our Women's Center cares for mothers and newborns from admission to discharge, offering reassurance and support as you welcome your bundle of joy. Home to three of AY’s Top Women in Healthcare, Conway Regional was also voted “Best Place to Have a Baby” by the readers of AY Magazine.

We’re not just growing—we’re growing together.

Lauren Nolen, MD

New Medical Offices

Glen Johnson.

Out of the Flames: Glen Johnson Found Life in Arkansas

by Dustin Jayroe | Photos by Jamison Mosley

It would be easy to say that Glen Johnson has “made it.” His version of the American Dream plays out every day before his contented eyes. He’s a business leader of what those without his air of humility would call an empire; he’s found eternal matrimony with his wife, Kirstin, with whom he’s been blessed with three children. For the four of them, his love is unwavering, boundless — earned, in the strongest possible meaning of the word. Because, for Johnson, life wasn’t always filled with such harmony.

The road to his becoming president of Blue Flame Minerals and co-CEO of Dyne Hospitality (the largest Tropical Smoothie franchise in the country) ultimately led him to Arkansas, but his journey actually began in Clearwater, Fla. His upbringing was within a family with construction and real estate ties, often going into the office to help his Realtor mother during his early teens. After a brief stint at the University of South Florida, Johnson dropped out and followed his roots into real estate himself.

“That was back when there was a big real estate boom in Florida, back in the late 90s, early 2000s,” he says.

But his success in such a prosperous market was hampered by his own devices, a cloud that had begun to follow his every move — addiction.

Growing up, Johnson was without much of a male role model to admire in a useful way, in what he describes as a “single-mom household.” His brother is 16 years his senior, so, for the most part, Johnson’s home life consisted mainly of him, his younger sister and his mother.

Johnson’s father was mostly out of the picture, as struggles with substance use stood between him and his family.

“My dad’s an addict and has been for pretty much my whole life,” Johnson recalls. “I struggled with the same thing, with addiction.”

It started in high school as nothing more than a seed — a dabbling here and there like many teens, not near the dependence that would come later and turn into the biggest obstacle Johnson has ever faced.

“Really from just seeing it when I was younger at 5, 6, 7, 10 years old with my dad, and then experiencing it myself when I was 18, 19, 20, 21 has always been a challenge in my mind and a challenge for me,” he says.

In the background, he was still working in real estate, but merely making ends meet as the primary controller of his life became drugs — specifically, his most inhibiting crutch: Oxycodone.

Today, Oxycodone and other pain-relieving narcotics have become a centralized part of the growing conversations surrounding drug addiction in the United States. But 20-25 years ago, when Johnson first became a substance abuser, most of the conversations that encompass the present day were yet to be had. It was 1996 when Purdue Pharma first introduced the drug OxyContin, misleading the general public with a marketing campaign that minimized its addictiveness. Sales quickly grew from $45 million that first year to more than $1 billion in 2000. By 2004, OxyContin was one of the most widely misused drugs in the country.

Purdue Pharma would eventually plead guilty for its deceitful sales strategies in 2007, paying more than $600 million worth of fines. But this apparent justice came much too late for the millions of Americans who had become addicted to its product and its cousins that behave similarly. People like Johnson.

His slippery slope ran downhill from almost day one. This many years later, he has a hard time pinpointing all of the specific details, but he does recall having been prescribed a “Percocet-like” pain medication for a minor injury first, the stem of his eventual narcotic strife.

“It was always this constant battle of the addiction taking over and driving my day, versus the work that I needed or wanted to do,” he says. “I would say I more ‘survived and got by.’”

But there came a point when even survival was on the brink. Altogether, Johnson overdosed five times during his darkest days, at the

reaping steps of death’s door each time — emergency rooms, stomach pumps, the whole gamut. After every close call except the last, he returned to the very cycle that had put him near demise. Until the fifth time, which helped him back onto the path of life.

“When I was 23, I would describe it as God used this last [time] I overdosed to plant a seed in my head that said, ‘You need to change,’” he says. “It was my rock bottom.”

Being honest with who he now saw in the mirror, Johnson sought solace in his mother. She scoured the United States for a place to help rehabilitate her boy — somewhere that was “faith-based,” at his request. As fate (or divinity) would have it, Johnson found himself at Capstone Treatment Center in Judsonia, just outside of Searcy, after Christmas in 2004. This was home for the next three months of his life, each of which he notched “clean,” as he has for every month since.

With this newfound sobriety came another monumental decision. Technically, his arrival in Arkansas was thought to be little more than a pitstop. After completing his rehabilitation, he originally intended to return to Florida — the only place he’d ever known — where he had a network of friends and family waiting. But the Sunshine State was also where Johnson had left the cloud that had plagued him for so long. The some 1,000 miles between Clearwater and Searcy was a reprieve, a good distance between him and that ominous fog.

All of this he took into careful account.

He reflected on who he was and who he had become in just a few months. He confided in the good people he had met at Capstone whom he began to literally trust with his life. Finally, he decided to stay and practically start over from scratch. The chapter documenting his old life was finished, and he had work to do in writing the rest of his story.

“Fortunately, I found some really amazing, great people locally who became good friends with me and supported me,” he says.

His first month as a sober man was spent in a Searcy hotel; he had no job, no connections and no true place to call home. So, he got back to basics. He found some roommates — friends he had made at Capstone — enrolled at Harding University for one semester and began to plug into his new environment.

That would be the only semester he’d study at Harding, because, ironically, fate found him again. Just as he was on the front end of the burgeoning opioid crisis in America, he was now in Searcy in the mid2000s, the very start of another boom: natural gas. It was 2004, the same year Johnson first stepped foot in Arkansas, when Southwestern Energy first established the Fayetteville Shale play. Soon, companies from all over the United States and the world would be flocking to the state like ducks in November, settling their crews in places like Conway and, of course, Searcy.

Johnson was right in the middle of it, poised with the prowess of his past life in real estate.

“What was really interesting to me is, growing up in Florida, I had

“It was always this constant battle of the addiction taking over and driving my day, versus the work that I needed or wanted to do.”

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always been taught not to buy land without a way to pay for it, because that’s how you can get in trouble,” he says. But in the Natural State, acres can lead to much more value than simply feet and yards; beneath the surface, an almost-literal gold mine might await.

Johnson began finding land and brokering mineral rights for investors looking to get in on the Fayetteville Shale, Southwestern Energy at one point included among his many clients. He has worked these fertile soils ever since, later officially founding Blue Flame Minerals, of which he is the president.

“That’s kind of [still] what Blue Flame does,” he says. “We raise money from investors, and then we go and purchase mineral rights, either in the Fayetteville Shale play or other shale plays around the

endeavor that could withstand another recession down the line. After studying what had worked, and didn’t, during the 2007-2009 era, he found that many restaurants were able to make do better than other trades, specifically the fast-casual food scene.

In 2011, Johnson opened his first Tropical Smoothie Cafe in North Little Rock, an enterprise that blossomed into Dyne Hospitality Group in 2017, which is the largest Tropical Smoothie franchisee in the country with 70 locations. For his many and ongoing successes, Johnson was recognized on Arkansas Business’ 40 Under 40 list in 2019.

According to the publication, Dyne Hospitality has been named Developer of the Year twice since its official inception three years ago.

Both Dyne and Blue Flame continue to operate out of Little Rock under Johnson’s helm.

Despite the accolades and accomplishments, however, there’s no competition to the proudest harvest of his life: his family. One finds it hard to miss the distinct change of octave in his inflection any time he talks about them. It was nine years ago in August that he married Kirstin Johnson (formerly Swindler), again at the hands of fate. Or, in this case, a mutual friend that introduced the Searcy transplant to the Little Rock native. Together, they have three children — daughters Amelia and Afton, and a son, Finn, the youngest of the bunch. The Johnson family lived in Searcy for a spell but officially moved to Little Rock together six years ago.

If you introduced Johnson to his 20-years-younger self today, he might not recognize the man he’s become. One who, despite it all, speaks only humbly of himself and places at paramount the team at his employ; who aims to be decent and kind, philanthropically giving through both physical assets and simple goodwill; and who credits all of his blessings as such, given by the hand of his Creator to all those who seek Him. “I can remember when I was an addict thinking I would never have a family, comThe Johnson family. (Courtesy) ing from a broken home,” he says. “That’s where my mind was at. So now, I can’t believe how blessed and fortunate I am, really.

I’ve got a wife that I love who is just an amazing person, and then country, and we manage those investments.” we’ve got our three kids … They’re my life.”

The fruits of these labors began to bud prosperous outputs for the To the many Arkansans facing similar struggles who are trying to entrepreneur, until the Great Recession beclouded most of the worldwide markets. find the way back to the right path, Johnson imparts gracious words “That was a real eye-opener for me,” he says. “Because I had worked of wisdom. really hard at that point in time to figure out mineral rights and natu“You never know what you’re going to be dealt,” he says. “You just ral gas and all that, and that business kind of vanished overnight. It have to react to it and be positive and work hard and get through it. came back within a year [and] was decent, but I really wanted to get Never give up, because even in your darkest days, there’s always a way into another business.” out.

Two important factors were at the forefront of his post-market“I always try to say a thankful prayer every day. I thank God for crash mind: He knew that he wanted to help people, and he desired an delivering me from my addiction and for the life that I have today.”

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Who

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HELPERS? 2020 Stretches the Limits of Frontline Workers, Most of All

By Madeline Burke

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s the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread into the next year, many conversations have been focused on the return to normal and the new normal. The pandemic has significantly changed our daily lives at work, school and home without any regard to who we are or where we are. There have already been more than 54.5 million cases and 1.32 million deaths related to COVID-19 reported globally, making it one of the worst pandemics in history. These numbers are increasing day by day.

Some days seem to be more overwhelming than others, with mixed feelings of grief, stress and exhaustion. Frontline workers, including health care professionals, law enforcement and firefighters, are perhaps the most familiar with experiencing those days. They remain dedicated to providing services in their communities by always answering the call to help at all times — normal and not normal. While frontline workers have shown strength and perseverance during the pandemic, their jobs involve working long shifts in sometimes difficult and traumatic situations that can impact their mental health. So, who helps the helpers when they are in need?

According to a May 2018 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), first responders have an increased risk of negative mental health issues including depression, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use and suicide. It indicates that 20 percent in the general population develop behavioral health conditions compared to 30 percent in first responders.

“The job our state troopers have to do is, without any doubt, one of the most challenging and strenuous there is, even under the best of circumstances, without a nationwide pandemic,” says Col. Bill Bryant, director of the Arkansas State Police.

“We know firsthand the mental health toll it can inflict on the best man or woman who carries the trooper’s badge of this department, not to mention their families. But I give credit to the training each trooper goes through and the emphasis we place on making mental health services available to our personnel.”

The Arkansas State Police employs approximately 550 commissioned Arkansas State Troopers and 425 civilian support personnel. Trooper recruits are restricted to the academy classroom and field training for six to seven months. Bill Sadler, Arkansas State Police public information

Courtesy of Arkansas State Police.

Courtesy of Arkansas State Police.

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THEY REMAIN DEDICATED TO PROVIDING SERVICES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES BY ALWAYS ANSWERING THE CALL TO HELP AT ALL TIMES — NORMAL AND NOT NORMAL.

officer, tells AY About You, “They are conditioned to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.”

There are incidences involving child maltreatment, car crashes, homicides and more that can be potentially traumatic for individuals in law enforcement. Furthermore, repeated exposure to these types of incidences is often associated with the development of mental health issues.

In an effort to provide mental health support within the Arkansas State Police, there is an emphasis placed on troopers communicating with supervisors and supervisors recognizing signs that something might be awry. Both internal employee assistance and external referrals to professional counselors are available to troopers. A peer-mentoring program is one example of internal employee assistance that directly pairs employees who have experienced similar struggles. The March 2019 report to Congress from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services provided recommendations that included expanding peermentoring programs to improve mental health resources for law enforcement.

“All a trooper has to do is go to their supervisor and ask for help, and we’ll go to work getting whatever they need to overcome any personal difficulties,” Bryant says.

Strong support systems, along with access to resources and care, play a critical role in addressing mental health issues.

Tony Boaz, director of AR-Connect, says, “the pandemic is causing lots of people to experience stressors that they would not normally have to deal with, and many of their coping mechanisms they are used to are not available, so that is creating a heightened sense of urgency for everyone.”

AR-Connect is a virtual program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Psychiatric Research Institute, funded in part by a $2 mil-

Courtesy of Bryan Clifton, UAMS.

lion federal grant from SAMHSA. It began earlier this May to help anyone in the state struggling with mental health issues related to the pandemic.

The goal is to provide immediate assistance and eventually connect individuals with local resources near them.

There is a call center available 24/7 at 501-5263563 or 800-482-9921. Intake coordinators help evaluate individuals and then set them up a virtual appointment via phone or video with a mental health care professional. AR-Connect offers timely care without the need for a referral or insurance.

One of the biggest challenges is making sure that services are provided to individuals in a safe way that also meets their needs. “The video platforms that are available work well until they don’t,” Boaz says.

“When this happens, all of a sudden, the mental health professionals turn into makeshift IT workers.”

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He points out the added stress associated with providing services virtually. “A day of seeing clients in person is draining, but with a day of therapy via video, the drain is exacerbated,” says Boaz. “Don’t get me wrong, it is great to be able to provide services, but nothing is better than in-person visits.”

Another part of Boaz’s job is to offer support to therapists in the field directly working with patients in the pandemic. His typical day at work involves not only focusing on the problems being presented by patients but also making sure therapists are coping well overall under the circumstances. While it can be stressful, Boaz finds ways to practice self-care and take time to do something for himself. He says that normal is what we need the most right now — “as in, when we can get back to whatever the pre-COVID normal was for everyone.”

aymag.com

UNMASKING

ANXIETY: FACING THE

CULPRIT TO FI N D

CONTROL

By Heather Allmendinger

I

s it an inner voice, lightning through the chest, an uneasy stomach or a little green monster? In disguise and unexpectedly, anxiety can creep into daily life and set up shop ready to disassemble stability, piece by piece. According to a 2017 National Institute of Mental Health study, nearly one in five adults meets the criteria for a mental health diagnosis in any given year, the most common being generalized anxiety disorder. This condition

fosters intense fear over a number of concerns, including illness, job insecurity, financial status or death, and typically takes a mighty toll on social exchanges, close relationships and professional development.

Although more common in adults, affecting almost 6.8 million each year, this debilitating disorder does not exclude for age, race, gender, profession or socioeconomic status. From the most vivacious and blameless children to the most

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driven professionals and paramount celebrities, anxiety can strike anyone at any given time after an increased amount of stress, trauma, grief, or for no apparent reason.

As society has become more familiar with the disorder, we often refer to anxiety in broad terms covering a lot of psychological ground.

We also regularly interchange the meaning of stress and anxiety, which are physiologically similar in the way they impact the body and gain its response, like developing insomnia, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, muscle tension and irritability. They are also similar in how they intersect and co-exist with each other. However,

the conceptual differences between the two are important to note for purposes of identification and an approach to resolve.

Externally generated, stress streams from the experience of certain pressures that are typically happening in the present. The pressure is usually a real-time, relatively short-term demand — a presentation, a job interview, a project deadline, a medical or dental procedure or planning a dinner party. When the taxing activity is over, the stress is eliminated.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is generated internally by fixating on and fearing certain anticipated stressors that might occur in the

future and their realistic or unrealistic impacts.

When absent of stressful burdens, pervasive worry and the overpowering yearning to diffuse fear or “what ifs” of future challenges linger.

Anxiety becomes an issue when it extends beyond logical concern and penetrates normal activities in an unhealthy or uncontrollable way.

With a tendency to mimic the presentation of other physical and mental behaviors, anxiety may be tough to diagnose at first. “Anxiety in modern times often looks like avoidance,” says Kate McCalman, LCSW, of Argenta Counseling. “We learn to avoid what makes us anxious, including the normal triggers of threatening people, places

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and things. However, it can be harder to recognize other triggers, such as thoughts and emotions, and we learn to avoid these without being aware we're even doing it. Rather than lessening it, avoidance actually fuels anxiety.”

Difficulty in pinpointing an anxiety disorder also lies in anxiety’s natural occurrence. Some degree of stress and/or anxiety is not a bad thing.

A certain amount of ongoing pressure may prompt a wave of the yellow caution flag along the big racetrack of life and signal a much-needed tire change. A healthy dose of stress or anxiety, when acknowledged and managed properly, leads to adjustment that often spawns personal growth aymag.com

‘‘

Having anxious thoughts is an expected form of anxiety everyone will experience from time to time, so feeling anxious or worried is not a diagnosis of anxiety.”

and opportunity. That same teaspoonful may also add a dash of incentive and motivation to successfully push through lofty goals.

Our bodies depend upon manageable levels of fear to inherently react quickly to life-threatening situations, carefully consider outcomes, effectively problem-solve and help us relate with others in an empathetic way.

“Fear and anxiety are expected, as they are the mind and body’s natural response to danger and uncertainty,” says Maggie Young, LCSW, CEAP with Southwest EAP. “Having anxious thoughts is an expected form of anxiety everyone will experience from time to time, so feeling anxious or worried is not a diagnosis of anxiety.”

If an unhealthy emotional response has developed gradually over time or seems ageappropriate, the response could appear “normal” in an adult or child dealing with anxiety for the first time. For example, separation anxiety and phobias are issues more commonly seen in children but could easily be mistaken for classic toddler tantrums over leaving a mother’s side or fear of the dark. A rollercoaster of pubescent emotions might be just that, or it may be a sign of chronic anxiety over forming new relationships, rejection or balancing increased amounts of schoolwork all while maintaining performance in extracurricular activities. Gauging the timing of onset, patterns and intensity of behavioral, physical or mental change against a person’s baseline of well-being and quality of life prior to the change will help determine if a medical evaluation and diagnosis are needed.

“The major difference in anxiety in children and adults is the ability to recognize and communicate it,” Young says. “Children have a more difficult time vocalizing their feelings, while adults can verbally acknowledge when a feeling or behavior disrupts life.”

Surprisingly, fewer than 40 percent of adults who have symptoms of anxiety seek treatment of any kind, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

When not addressed, general anxiety disorder can lead to other significant physical and mental health problems, particularly depression, obesity and cardiovascular issues. Based on Harvard Medical Health studies, continuous, unnecessary surges in physical and hormonal responses caused by generalized anxiety disorder may produce heart arrhythmias, increases in blood pressure and damage blood vessels, as well as arteries. These

occurrences also may promote blood thickening, which could lead to deadly blood clots. Any and all aforementioned outcomes increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

As the body repeatedly experiences heightened anxiety, it releases an entourage of stress hormones, one of which is the extendedrelease of cortisol. Chronic, elevated levels of this steroid hormone overcompensate for the replenishment of stored energy that fluctuates during every anxiety-ridden spell.

This disbursement of cortisol increases appetite and contributes to a buildup of fat tissue that leads to weight gain, which in turn, places more pressure on the heart to efficiently circulate blood throughout the body.

Studies have also shown that severe anxiety and acute stress have damaging effects on cognitive processes, such as working memory — the ability to attentively gather, manipulate, hold and use information while also staying on related or unrelated tasks. Working memory is crucial to reasoning and guided decision-making functions.

Compared to the potentially devastating effects of generalized anxiety disorder, seeking help early to uncover the root of a mounting issue is worth investigating. Treatment comes in many forms, from implementing physical activity, a stress management plan or coping skills, such as breathing techniques, meditation and expressive

Courtesy of Kaiser Family Foundation.

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writing exercises, to prescribed medications.

It is not unusual for someone with generalized anxiety disorder to form unhealthy, and often addictive, habits like drug use, alcohol consumption or smoking in an attempt to lessen anxiety. In reality, these will increase anxiety and have a long-term impact on relationships, work performance and overall quality of life. It is also not uncommon to experience a co-occurrence of depression, panic attacks, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorders, or sleeping disorders.

In any case, treating both co-existing issues to achieve maximum, long-term relief is imperative.

ABC News anchor Dan Harris and awardwinning actress Emma Stone have been publicly candid with their personal struggles and coping methods in hopes that others will find refuge in similar outlets. Attempts to suppress his anxiety and depression by self-medicating and occasional recreational drug use led to Harris suffering a panic attack while on air in 2004. After seeking professional help and identifying the source of his battle, his inner voice — a former strength turned worse enemy. In 2014, he authored the No.1 New York Times bestseller, 10% Happier — a comical account of his journey toward reluctantly discovering the life-changing benefits of meditation and calming his inner voice. He later published Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, a follow-up quest to debunk misconceptions surrounding meditation and a scientifically practical guide to rewiring the brain through the practice. To further encompass his story and reach others seeking support, Harris founded the 10% Happier podcast and app where users can find helpful discussions, guided meditations, access to experts in the field of meditation and actionable ways to gain peace of mind and achieve happiness.

Unlike Harris, Stone lived with anxiety most

of her life before having a fruitful career in an ultra-competitive industry in Hollywood. She was diagnosed with general anxiety and panic disorder at the age of 7 after her school nurse and mom noticed a daily pattern of lunchtime requests to go home due to sickness. However, her body language pointed to anxiety. In an interview with InStyle, Stone recalled her therapist using expressive writing and drawing as a way to help her visually separate herself from the feelings consuming her. A little green monster played the role. The monster perched atop her shoulder grew or shrunk based on the amount of listening power Stone gave it. The handcrafted book is a keepsake, and the numerous coping techniques she learned are now a part of her routine to maintain her mental health. She shares that reading, meditation, dancing, journaling and keeping a gratitude list are among her go-to tools. Stone’s passion for helping children overcome their challenges with anxiety is apparent in her active involvement with the Child Mind Institute, an independent, national nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders. From participating in virtual mental health campaigns and public forums discussing the connections between creativity and anxiety to now serving as a board member, she strives to keep the conversation going about a disorder that is often minimized and misidentified. According to the organization, 80 percent of anxiety disorders in youth go untreated. Of those treated, 81 percent improve with evidence-based anxiety treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy.

Physicians frequently recommend seeing a counselor before, or in addition to, trying medication. McCalman says, “Medication can be very helpful in allowing some space to think more clearly in caring for ourselves, especially

when anxiety has been in charge for some time.” However, McCalman warns that, when medicating anxiety, Maggie Young’s list of it’s important to evaluate all options suggestions to help before getting a prescription. She manage COVID-related also notes that the right prescription stress and anxiety: or dosage may take time and careful supervision by the prescribing physician. “Anxiety in the mind can • Keep routines as much easily twist what could be a helpful as possible. tool into a crutch that reinforces unhealthy thoughts like, ‘I need my • Engage in self-care. medication to be myself,’ or ‘Without my medication, I can’t handle • Take breaks from the news anything.’ This often disempowers and social media. and demoralizes patients who are already suffering with extreme • Stay connected to anxiety. family and friends.

“Research suggests that psychotherapy provides a more • Ground yourself in effective and more sustainable the present. method of caring for mental health, as well as increases the efficacy of medication.”

Daily activity for everyone has been altered disorder, depressive disorder, or both, with more significantly this year in efforts to contain the than one out of three screening positive for one spread of COVID-19, and “business as usual” is a or both in the 2020 samples. term of the past for most professionals. Nuances McCalman and Young agree that they, too, of the novel coronavirus, nauseating volumes of have seen an increase in concerns of stress, opinions, election-year noise and ever-changing anxiety and relationship conflict over the past scientific data have collectively brewed a perfect several months. “We anticipate this to continue storm of uncertainty and disruption, leading rising as families settle into a transitioning school experts to believe that conditions are ripe for a year and look towards fall and holiday planning,” national upswing in mental health issues. Results Young says. from U.S. Census Bureau surveys that included Pandemic or not, take a moment to selfmental health screenings support this potential assess. If signs suggest anxiety is sneaking into trend. The data collected showed that, compared your life, unmask and tackle it. Chances are that to adults surveyed in the first half of 2019, adults softening your inner voice or taming your little gauged in April to May 2020 were more than green monster will leave a lot more space in your three times as likely to screen positive for anxiety life for happiness to dwell.

Courtesy of the CDC.

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Seasons making

Nonprofits Struggle to Meet Needs During COVID-19 134

Bright

By Dwain Hebda

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arah Riffle, chief development officer for Arkansas Foodbank, has at her disposal an arsenal of attentiongrabbing statistics, which she deploys at will to underscore the problem of hunger in the Natural State. Arkansas ranks second in the nation in food insecurity, she’ll tell you. One in five Arkansans overall don’t know where their next meal is coming from — as many as one in three in some counties — and one in four children also go to bed hungry.

But lately, an even more sobering statistic has presented itself, illustrating the soaring need for the food bank and its 400 distribution partners statewide racing to serve the hungry in the era of COVID-19.

“One of the most profound things that we’ve seen in this time is the number of people who are utilizing our services for the very first time,” she says. “From March, which really marked the pandemic beginning for us, we’ve seen a 42 percent increase in the amount of food that we have distributed from March 15 through Oct. 15 than we had in that same timeframe in 2019.

“If that gives you any idea of not only the number of people, but the amount of food that people are desperately in need of to be able to feed their families. It’s just been astronomical.”

It should not come as particularly shocking news that nine months of pandemic-fueled challenges have put a lot of America’s nonprofits in big trouble, but the actual numbers are nonetheless attention-grabbing. This summer, the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock conducted a survey of 316 nonprofit leaders representing small and large organizations serving all 75 counties in the state, most with a budget under $500,000.

The survey findings, released in August, showed nonprofits had lost significant revenue due to the impacts of COVID-19, as 64 percent of surveyed nonprofits reported a loss of fee-forservice revenue and 64 percent reported a decline in individual donations.

COVID-19 also impacted nonprofit employment of paid staff, with more than 30 percent of nonprofits having reduced employee hours, and 15 percent reporting layoffs. Reduced staff and limited access to volunteers, plus other health and safety concerns, have resulted in almost 70 percent of nonprofits operating at a reduced capacity, from complete program cancellations to difficulty obtaining needed supplies.

Troubling though that is, Arkansas was doing better than the nation’s largest nonprofits, as per survey findings by Independent

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Sen. Tom Cotton visits the Arkansas Food Bank.

Sector, the results of which were released in June. Among large and mid-sized nonprofits (those between 500 and 5,000 employees), fully 83 percent experienced a drop in revenues, 71 percent of which responded with a corresponding reduction in services. Almost seven in 10 of these organizations furloughed employees and half laid them off entirely during the first three months of the pandemic.

Still, it’s a stiff belt to the jaw for Arkansas’ organizations, Riffle says.

“I think there are three different main areas where we’ve really seen our way of doing business has been primarily affected by the pandemic,” she says. “First and foremost, we’ve all seen the insane skyrocket in unemployment numbers, meaning we have seen a huge increase in the demand for our services. Second, the people who are utilizing our services for the very first time don’t know how this process works. How do I find a pantry? What do you need to bring? Do I need to bring a driver’s license?

“Third, we partner with over 400 member pantries and schools to distribute food in our 33 counties. The very first issue we faced was the governor shutting down the schools. Within a week, we had to completely rethink the way that we made sure children have access to food.”

As nonprofits continue to deal with reduced funding to meet accelerated demand, many are looking to fund drives and events that fill the 2020 holiday season as particularly critical to help keep the mission moving forward. Erica Phillips, executive director of volunteer engagement for Arkansas Children’s, says the annual Festival of Stars event, now in its 18th year, is a good example.

“Festival of Stars is our annual toy and donation drive that benefits patients and families of Arkansas Children’s around the state, our hospitals as well as our clinics,” she says. “The purpose is to provide joy to our patients and families during the holiday season, but also year-round. Toys and gifts and items that are raised through this effort stock our toy shelves in our playrooms and are provided to kids throughout the entire year, not only during the holidays.

‘‘

One of the most profound things that we’ve seen in this time is the number of people who are utilizing our services for the very first time.

“We went from doing one toy and donation drive here at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock to then including our new hospital in Northwest Arkansas, Arkansas Children’s Northwest. More recently, we have included locations around the state in different communities — Jefferson County, Garland County, Texarkana, northeast Arkansas.”

Indicative of the new normal, the effort is scaling back in 2020 to only offer collection points at the Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas hospital locations. Collection efforts will again include a radiothon with partners at Little Rock’s Alice 107.7 and B98.5.

Last year, that component of the drive raised more than $109,000 of the total $274,000 collected in toys and monetary donations.

Phillips says most people don’t think about toys when they think of the components of pediatric care.

“In both of our hospitals, we have playrooms that have toys for our kiddos to play with,” she says. “Obviously, they get much wear and tear and love and attention, so we have to replace those frequently. Also, we give toys away to kiddos. We have kids who spend their birthdays here. We have kids who are fortunate to have their last treatment party, or they lose a tooth in the hospital and the tooth fairy can come.

“You also think about the kiddos in our clinics who have a blood draw, or they have to get a shot or endure a painful procedure. A stuffed animal or a Hot Wheels race car are the types of things that really motivate that child to get through that hard stuff and take away the pain.

“It’s truly unbelievable the number of toys that are donated and the value associated with that. It’s very impressive, and it makes

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us super grateful for the community and the state and the way they come together to make that happen because it’s an overwhelming number.”

Riffle says the ongoing needs of the food bank are similarly basic; shelf-stable food items and cash. The group has taken extra steps to make donating the former as safe and worry-free as possible.

“We’ve been really trying to find creative ways for our community to be able to support us in that way,” she says. “We have food donation bins set up right at the front door and the loading dock of our food bank so people can donate food from a distance, without having to come in contact with our staff or our employees here.”

She also says while either food or money will be gladly accepted, she reminds prospective donors that the organization’s buying power allows it to stretch dollars further than the typical consumer. And, of course, those donations can be made from the safety and comfort of home.

“We’ve been really pushing folks to support us financially online because, as a food bank, our ability to acquire food is much more efficient than if someone took the same dollar and purchased it at the grocery store,” she says. “We use the meal calculation that a dollar can provide food for five meals. If you took that same dollar to the grocery store, that consumer isn’t going to get that same rate.”

Festival of Stars is Dec. 11. Visit www.archildrens.org/festival for more information.

To donate to Arkansas Foodbank, visit arkansasfoodbank.org.

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Zimmer Biomet is a medical device manufacturer that provides products and other services used by health care professionals to create personalized care plans. Zimmer Biomet is not a medical professional and does not practice medicine. Zimmer Biomet is not responsible for the content of [hospital website]. The persons in these advertisements are models and not actual recipients of Zimmer Biomet products and services. Results are not necessarily typical and will vary due to health, weight, activity and other human variables. *Not all patients are candidates for joint procedures or ROSA Knee robotic technology. Only a medical professional can determine the treatment appropriate for your specific condition. Talk to your surgeon about whether joint replacement is right for you and the risks of the procedure, including the risk of impact wear, loosening, breakage, failure or risk of infection, all of which could require additional surgery. For general information on joint pain and technology, visit www.zimmerbiomet.com or call 1.800.447.5633. ©2019 Zimmer Biomet.

GENERAL SURGEON FINDS HIS CALLING IN CONWAY GROWING UP IN A SMALL TOWN IN MICHIGAN PREPARED JOSH DICKINSON, DO, FOR LIFE AS A GENERAL SURGEON IN CONWAY.

A

A lthough life has taken him in several directions, Dickinson, a surgeon with Conway Regional Surgical Associates, finds himself in a town much like the one where he was raised, following a career path like that of his father.

He admired the relationship that his father, Tim Dickinson, a family practice doctor, had with the community in Allegan, which is near Lake Michigan. As he grew up, Dickinson often thought of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a physician. He saw firsthand the integral role a physician has in serving the healthcare needs of their community.

“My dad did a really good job of helping me realize that everybody has their place in the community,” Dickinson says. “My perspective is that everyone I cross paths with has something to teach me, and hopefully I can give something back in return.”

While medicine was always in his mind, Dickinson had an interest in engineering and spent 10 years as a mechanical engineer in Dallas.

During his time there, he also graduated with a master’s degree in biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary which he adds “was for personal growth and developing my relationship with God.” While he enjoyed the detail-oriented nature of being an engineer, Dickinson knew his future was as a physician.

“I had several friends who encouraged me not to give up on the dream of being a doctor. I did some research and called some physicians about the feasibility of raising a family while going to medical school,” Dickinson says. After many conversations, accompanied by prayer and wise counsel, Dickinson began his medical training.

He graduated with a doctor of osteopathy from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Five years later, Dickinson completed a general surgery residency with Charleston Area Medical Center Residency Education – West Virginia University.

As Dickinson explains, “When I started medical school, I thought a surgeon was a guy you only met for 20 minutes and that was it.

Later, I realized even if you only spent 20 minutes with a surgeon,

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you have a different type of relationship because you are trusting your life to them, and that is a very unique relationship that you don’t find anywhere else.”

Another epiphany came when he was looking for a permanent home for his family, which includes his wife, Laura, and four children between the ages of 9 and 14.

“We found out about Conway from our friends Shelley and Justin Charton,” Dickinson says. “Justin was always talking about the virtues of Conway. As soon as we saw the city and met my partners, there was no question where we were going. This is exactly the kind of town that we want to be a part of. It stood out how friendly everybody was. In the brief time that we have been here in Conway, my entire family can say that we have had more friendships that have blossomed than in the previous five years.”

Dickinson began his practice in Conway on Aug. 3, practicing alongside Michael T. Stanton, MD; Brock King, MD; Tony Manning, MD; and Landon Humphrey, MD, at Conway Regional Surgical Associates. General surgeons utilize surgical procedures to remove disease, repair injuries and promote health and healing.

Dickinson has begun performing surgeries using laparoscopic equipment and the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System. “Our team is very focused on minimally invasive surgery,” he says.

Another reason he has chosen Conway is working alongside faithled surgeons. Dickinson asks patients if they want to pray prior to surgery.

“Before I step into the [operating room], I’m praying that the Lord will guide my hands,” he says. “I recognize that I have the training and the surgical knowledge that allows me to take the pathology out of the way so the body can heal the way God made it to heal.”

In his spare time, Dickinson can be found with his family, enjoying Conway’s thriving mountain biking activities as well as backpacking, fly fishing and snowboarding.

Conway Regional Surgical Associates is located in Conway at 525 Western Ave., Suite 203. For more information, call 501-327-4828. aymag.com

MURDER MYSTERY: The Path of a Psychopath, Pt. 1 – By Janie Jones

M

ountain Home is cradled between the White River and two of Arkansas’ prettiest pristine lakes — Norfork and Bull Shoals. It is a favorite spot for tourists and retirees, and though the population has tripled over the last 50 years or so, it retains its small-town appeal.

The Baxter County Courthouse anchors the old public square, just as it did in 1969 when Obie Fay Ash, her husband, Lonnie, and their three children were living just outside of Mountain Home in the small community of Cotter.

Lonnie worked as a barber in Cotter, but Obie did the shopping in Mountain Home. On the morning of Dec. 3, 1969, she ran some errands, making stops at the Ozark Shopping Center, the College Plaza Shopping Center, and a drug store in the town square. After that, it was as if she had stepped into a black hole. When Lonnie got home that evening and realized Obie wasn’t there, he started calling friends and family, but no one had seen her. He contacted authorities around 6:30 p.m. and reported her missing.

Obie was 32 years old with shoulder-length, dark auburn hair and a petite figure. She was last seen wearing an orange-and-green mini dress and an off-white faux-fur coat. She had been driving a dark green 1957 Volkswagen.

Radio station KTLO aired a police bulletin with descriptions of the missing woman and her vehicle.

James Rhein of Mountain Home heard the report, and around 8:30 p.m., he saw the car parked alongside the Baxter Furniture Company at the intersection of Main and 9th streets, two blocks from the town square. Alerting authorities, Rhein led Deputy Sheriff

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William Laffoon to the scene. They found Obie’s nude body rolled up with her head between her knees on the backseat floorboard. Laffoon notified Sheriff Don Cockrum who, in turn, called the coroner and the Arkansas State Police.

The killer had tied the victim up with her own clothing; her lacy, black bra around her throat and her black bikini panties around her ankles.

Her shoes were also in the car. Baxter Obie Ash. County’s Deputy Coroner Robert L. Kerr pronounced her dead at the scene about 9:15 p.m., and her body was transferred to the University Medical Center in Little Rock for an autopsy.

When State Medical Examiner, Dr. Rodney Carlton, filed the autopsy results, newspapers around the state printed the grisly details. The victim had been beaten, strangled, raped and sodomized. She suffered thirteen stab wounds in her shoulders and

neck.

In the first week of the investigation, state troopers and county officials searched for evidence in the area where her Volkswagen was found. They sifted through dirt, gravel and leaves on the ground and inspected the rooftops of nearby buildings, literally looking high and low.

The vehicle itself was wiped clean of fingerprints.

Prosecuting Attorney Robert H. Dudley told the press that Baxter County sent items found inside the car to the FBI for analysis. The task force established a hotline so people could give information to police anonymously and also rented a post office box for the same purpose.

The second week after the slaying went much the same way as the first. Detectives took hundreds of statements from people who might have seen or heard something. About 10 people agreed to take polygraph tests, and they all passed. The sheriff’s office checked with authorities in Texas about two similar cases committed there but couldn’t connect them to the Ash homicide.

With the brutal psychopath still at large, many local women feared for their lives, and their concerns were exacerbated by obscene phone calls from men who claimed to be the murderer. Sheriff Cockrum let it be known that anyone caught making such threatening calls would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Officers set up a checkpoint at the intersection across from the furniture store. They stopped motorists, hoping someone might have seen Obie or her Volkswagen on the afternoon or evening of the murder. A minister reported he had seen the car there shortly before 1 p.m. He thought he saw a man’s head in the car window, but it was just a glimpse and not enough to describe the individual. What only the killer knew at the time was that he was among the drivers questioned at the checkpoint.

A deputy showed him a photo of Obie and asked if he had ever seen her or the dark green car. The murderer said he had not, and then he toyed with the cop.

“Say, isn’t that the murder car they’ve been talking about? Is that the car, her car, the one they found her in?”

The deputy didn’t have time to satisfy the curiosity of looky-loos and waved the young man on through.

Another close encounter between hunter and hunted occurred when the sheriff went into the Mountain Home Television Sales and Service, where the slayer happened to work. He introduced himself to the lawman as Mark Alan Smith.

“I had him very close to buying a color set,” Smith said later. “We got to talking about the investigation,

Mark Alan Smith.

and I asked him how it was going. He said he had some good leads, but I didn’t press him about them. I didn’t want to seem too interested.”

The TV shop owner would recollect his employee as “real good” and “a hard worker.”

Smith disguised himself as an ordinary, unassuming person. Efforts to identify and catch him proved fruitless. Neither the hotline nor the post office box resulted in any new information, but authorities kept trying.

Cockrum said the case was “still very much alive,” but he admitted, “What we need now is a break, big or small.”

Smith bided his time and waited for things to cool down. Then he was gone.

Later, when all came to light, Cockrum looked back on the clues that might have helped them nab the sadist who had ravaged Obie.

“They were there all the time,” Cockrum says.

“A former state policeman was working with a glass installation crew across from the TV shop that day. A co-worker said he wanted to pick up an old Volkswagen ‘like that one over there’ [indicating the Ash vehicle parked in front of the shop]. Afterward, they didn’t link that with the murder car. Even her husband didn’t remember that the Sunday before that they had been talking about how her car radio wasn’t working. She told him she was going to stop and have it looked at.”

The TV shop fixed car radios.

“And I saw clay on the wheels of her car,” Cockrum says. “The same kind of clay that was all around [the] TV place. I didn’t think anything about it then. Of course, we didn’t know any of this then.”

If 20/20 hindsight worked, three more murders could have been prevented, but it was second sight that proved useful in solving one of Smith’s crimes after the Ash homicide. A little old lady who talked to Jesus and had visions described what she saw after Smith killed a woman in Illinois.

“The whole room went red for me,” she said, “An angry, dark red of clotted blood.”

TO BE CONTINUED.

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aymag.com

Snowball

By Joe David Rice

Photos courtesy of Historic Searcy County

A

of back-to-the-landers settled in the merica has slightly more area.

But the subsistence lifestyle of than 25,000 cities, towns Snowball, Arkansas 1937 the movement proved more difficult than and villages scattered across its 3.8 anticipated, and over the years, many of these new million square miles. Only two in this vast array of residents opted out and left for more appealing alternatives. human settlements are called Snowball. One’s in central Minnesota, about Should you want to check out what’s left of Snowball, turn west onto equidistant between Minneapolis and the Canadian border. The other can Arkansas Highway 74 from U.S. 65 a short distance above Marshall. After be found some 875 miles almost due south in the Ozarks of north-central driving seven miles through pretty countryside, you’ll come to what was Arkansas. The northern locale receives about 55 inches of snow annually, supposed to have been Snow Hall. You’ll find a few homes, the entrance or approximately 10 times that of its southern cousin. While Snowball to the former Snowball High School (since converted into a pavilion) and would seem appropriate for a small Minnesota town, it doesn’t strike one the boarded-up post office. as a good fit for an Arkansas hamlet.

As for the original Masonic Hall, it’s gone — but another two-story As it turns out, Snowball is the unintended name of the quiet little stone structure honoring B.F. Snow stands proudly in its place. burg in Searcy County. Settlers arriving in the Calf Creek valley in the 1830s eventually constructed a grist mill and even a cotton gin. In 1885, they built a two-story stone Masonic lodge, also using it for school and church functions. The Masons named this new structure Snow Hall to recognize Benjamin Franklin Snow, the Searcy County sheriff at the time.

When residents petitioned the federal government for a post office a few years later, a careless bureaucrat — or maybe a prankster — in the postal system apparently converted the application for a Snow Hall Post Office into a formally approved Snowball Post Office. And the community’s been known as Snowball ever since.

The current version of Snowball is a far cry from its look of a century earlier. A general store and hotel appeared shortly after the post office opened and a stave mill (which produced narrow strips of oak for wooden barrels) went into operation in 1912. But the stave mill moved to Marshall, and a fire in the fall of 1945 claimed most of the small business district.

The population — which at one time reached 500 or so — dwindled as the younger set sought futures elsewhere and old-timers gradually passed on. The post office closed its doors in 1966.

Snowball enjoyed a temporary reprieve in the 1970s when a number

Joe David Rice, former tourism director of Arkansas Parks and Tourism, has written Arkansas Backstories, a delightful book of short stories from A through Z that introduces readers to the state's lesser-known aspects. Rice's goal is to help readers acknowledge that Arkansas is a unique and fascinating combination of land and people – one to be proud of and one certainly worth sharing.

Each month, AY will share one of the 165 distinctive essays. We hope these stories will give you a new appreciation for this geographically compact but delightfully complex place we call home. These Arkansas Backstories columns appear courtesy of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. The essays have been collected and published by Butler Center Books in a two-volume set, both of which are now available to purchase at Amazon and the University of Arkansas Press.

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