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Sunday, August 21, 2011
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The
Daily Citizen TheDailyCitizen.com
Serving Searcy and White County, Ark., since 1854
Bisons start to prepare for SAU
As preseason camp comes to an end, Harding turns its attention to Southern Arkansas. — Page 1B
Eco house
n Built using insulated concrete forms n Initial costs are higher than regular home n Saves money on utility bills
Couple building green house House can sustain 200-mph winds
Local bands getting ready for football Band directors at White County schools have been preparing their students for Friday nights. — Page 3A
Rice crop forecast down locally
Spring rains, floods hindered planting
79.5 million hundredweight (cwt), which is down 31 percent from last year’s 115.7 million cwt. If realized, the number would be Arkansas’ lowest since the 79.2 million cwt harvested in 1997. “There are several reasons rice production is down,” said Keith Martin, county extension agent. “First is that the plant price did not compare well to soybeans or corn, so a lot of farmers chose to switch. Also, it was wet early in the spring
By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@thedailycitizen.com Due to the rains and floods in the spring earlier this year, Arkansas’ and White County’s rice crop is down this year. According to the Department of Agriculture, the 2011 total rice production for Arkansas is forecast at
and the floods kept rice farmers from planting on time. Most of the farmers switched to soybeans.” Farmer Michael Taylor, who has 460 acres of planted rice east of Bald Knob, said he stuck with the rice because he uses a rotation program alternating between rice and soybeans. “If you jump back and forth because of the market,” he said, Continued on Page 2A
State projections
n 2011 total production is forecast at 79.5 million cwt, down 31 percent from last year’s 79.2 million. n If realized, it will be the lowest production since the 79.2 million cwt of 1997. n Producers expect to harvest 1.16 million acres of rice, down 35 percent from 2010. n If realized, this will be the smallest harvested area since 1989.
Local catfish restaurant gets back to business
By Molly M. Fleming mfleming@thedailycitizen.com More than a year ago, Ruby Bates of Searcy was eating breakfast at McDonald’s when in walked Pangburn builder Robert Young. Bates struck up a conversation with the builder and asked for his card. She and her husband Burt had been wanting to build a house for a while, but they hadn’t started on the project. During the conversation with Young, Bates found that he was trained to build an eco-friendly home using insulated concrete forms. The Bateses made plans and, soon, building had begun on a home that was ahead of its time. “My husband and I are growing older and we wanted a house that wouldn’t have to be constantly worked on,” Bates said. “With this type of home, we can put cement siding on the outside and it will never have to be repainted.” Continued on Page 3A
Honey Hill Animal Hospital
n Co-owned and operated by Searcy graduate n Services small and large animals
SHS alum realizes dream with vet hospital
By Molly M. Fleming mfleming@thedailycitizen.com When Searcy High School alumna Natalie CooperTowns was growing up, she used to look at the old barn on her grandfather’s land and dream of the day she would build a veterinarian hospital in its place. That day has finally come true. With her husband Chad Towns, the two of them opened Honey Hill Animal Hospital on Honey Hill Road on Monday. “It’s a blessing to be home again,” Cooper-Towns said. “It’s been about seven years since we’ve been in the area, so it’s nice to be back.” Continued on Page 2A
At the Georgetown One Stop, Roy Gray and JoAnn Taylor are back to business as usual after the restaurant was nearly destroyed by flood waters this spring. Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com
Iconic restaurant recently re-opened A By Molly M. Fleming mfleming@thedailycitizen.com little over three months ago, JoAnn Taylor was up to her knees in river water. This wouldn’t have been that shocking if she was in the river, but instead, the river had come to her at her restaurant, the One Stop in Georgetown. The restaurant had been taken over by the river during a “100year flood.” “We brought a boat to come up to the restaurant that night and everything was covered in that silky mud,” Taylor recalls. “I told everyone then, ‘I’m moving.’” But the town wouldn’t let her leave. “The next morning, some people came and woke me up at 6 and said they were going to take the walls down," she said. "The Andrews, the Starks and the Stephens were all ready to help." And help they did. With the efforts of the Georgetown community and the people of Kensett, the destination restaurant has now been back in business for two weeks. “We worked at least twoand-a-half months before we
WEATHER
Today: Partly sunny. Rain possible. Highs in the lower 90s.
Vol. 157, No. 201 ©2011 The Daily Citizen
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Rain possible. Lows in the 70s. Northeast winds 5 mph.
Back to work
What: One Stop Where: 209 Main Street, Georgetown Status: Now open after having nearly been destroyed by flooding earlier this year.
could re-open,” Taylor said. She credits the help of the College Church of Christ of Searcy, a Baptist church in Kensett, friends at Harding University and people all around White County for getting her restaurant back to working shape. “I was really shocked that they didn’t want me to leave," she said. "I cried a lot at that time, but now I’ve started smiling again.” Taylor has been in Georgetown for 14 years. Her river-caught catfish, hush puppies and French fries attract folks from all corners of the state. While the size of her restaurant is small, it is always packed with customers ready to try the catfish, which is cooked by Roy Gray, who has been with Taylor since the first day of the restaurant’s opening. “You don’t know how good a
The Georgetown One Stop was standing in three feet of water during the flood this spring. Local residents and churches helped rebuild the restaurant and it has been reopened for a couple of weeks. Molly M. Fleming/mfleming@thedailycitizen.com friends you have until something like this happens," Taylor said. "It was really unbelievable what people were willing to do — and they are all customers." There is still a little work left on the new place, she said. Sometime soon, she’s going to have to repaint the floors, but the customers don’t seem to mind how they are now.
INDEX LOCAL, 2A OPINIONS, 4A LIFESTYLES, 5A CALENDAR/OBITUARIES, 6A SPORTS, 1B CLASSIFIEDS, 5B
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“Everyone tells me they wanted to help because they just enjoy coming out here so much,” she said “There’s always hope. There’s always people willing to help. This taught me that I really do have a lot of friends. And I think that by us opening back up, it encouraged other people to keep going as well.”
A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. Roald Dahl
Novelist, 1916-1990
Contact us: 3000 E. Race, Searcy, AR 72143, (Phone) 501-268-8621, (Fax) 501-268-6277
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