After much considera-tion and support, JamesHamric is announcing hiscandidacy in the Demo-cratic Primary for PrairieCounty Sheriff. A Hickory Plains native

and a 1991 graduate of DesArc High School, Hamricsaid, Being a reservedeputy with the PrairieCounty Sheriffs Patrolsince 1998, it would be aprivilege and honor toserve the people of PrairieCounty as your Sheriff.Hamric was instated and

trained under the late Sher-iff Randy Raper. He hascontinued to serve thepublic and Sheriff Burnettsince that time. Raised in Hickory Plains,

Hamric is the son of IvaHamric and the late Harvey(H.N.) Hamric. Hamricstated his faith and valuesare firmly rooted in God,the Nation and the peopleof Prairie County. He is amember of Hickory PlainsChurch of the Nazareneand attended ASU-Beebe. Hamric is owner/opera-

tor of Hamric Enterprises alicensed managementbusiness. He said, Being inmanagement roles as wellas owning my own busi-ness, I can offer leadershipand common sense prac-tices to the Sheriffs De-

partment and to the peopleof Prairie County.My goals are to make

for a great County and toempower and encouragethe citizens of PrairieCounty to be ever watchfulin their communities aswell as to build a strong re-serve deputy program.Hamric said, Being an 18-year veteran of the SheriffsPatrol, we have valuable re-sources for our County. Iwould like to see meetingswith parents at our schools,public forums and greateruse of social media to in-vestigate and publicize ac-tivities in the county.I will appreciate your

vote and I am looking for-ward to serving you as yournext Prairie County Sher-iff, Hamric stated.

The Journal welcomes your input (comments, suggestions, personal news, photos, etc)New/Renewed Journal Subscribers . .Contact Us: Email: wrjnews1@centurytel.net Mail: PO Box 1051, Des Arc, Ar 72040 Tel: 870-256-4254

&&Wadena Ramsey, N. Little Rock, AR James Murdock, Hazen, AR

AA C T I V I T I E SC T I V I T I E SCC A L E ND A RA L E ND A R

DEC. 4, DEC. 8Eagle Basketball@McCrory Dec. 4Hosting PW Dec. 8

SAT., DEC. 5, 8-10 AMBreakfast With SantaFirst UnitedMethodist Church

SAT., DEC. 5, 4:00 P.M.Chamber Christmas ParadeBusiness Open HouseFriday & SaturdaySAT., DEC. 5, 5:30 P.M.Parade and Prayer ServiceDeValls Bluff - Sponsor: Arnold Family Foundation

SUN., DEC. 6, 2 PMSand Hill Cemetery AssnSand Hill MissionaryBaptist Church

SUN-WED, DEC. 6-9Revival with Brady WeldonFirst Baptist Church

MON., DEC. 7, 3:30-6:30 PMRed Cross Blood DriveFirst Baptist ChurchFellowship Hall

TUESDAY, DEC. 8, 12 NOONDes Arc Lions ClubMethodist Church

TUES., DEC. 8, 6 PMQuorum CourtCourthouse Annex

TUES., DEC. 8, 6 PMAgHeritage Customer Appreciation DinnerAt Dondies FRI., DEC. 11, 2-4 PMRetirement Reception forDebra Whitson, F&M Bank

FRI., DEC. 11, 6 PMChristmas ParadeCotton Plant - Cash PrizesLine-up 5:30 Old High School

WED., DEC. 15, 10:30 AMAlzheimers Support meetLower White River Museum

THURS., DEC. 17, 2-4 PMFarmers & Merchants BankDes Arc-Open House

OO b i t u a r i e sb i t u a r i e sPg. 3

Tammy Abrams, 50, WardAlice Adams, 80, CabotClifford Bubbus, 64, HensleyG.M. Ludwig, 71, StuttgartBessie McCarty, 79, StuttgartEleanor Privett, 66, BrinkleyGrace Turner, 78, Lonoke

VVOLUMEOLUME 109 109 (17TH WEEK OF 109TH YEAR - 5,652 TOTAL WEEKS SINCE 1907) DES ARC, ARKANSAS (COUNTY SEAT) PRAIRIE COUNTYA FREE PRESS AND A FREE PEOPLE - AN UNBEATABLE TEAM

T H UR S D A Y , D E C E MB E R 3 , 2 0 1 51 SE C T I O N - 1 6 PA G E S PU BL ISHED EACH T H U R S D A Y S I N C E 1 9 0 7

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Journal Christmas EditionJournal Christmas EditionGreetings & Santa LettersGreetings & Santa LettersDeadline: Friday, Dec. 11Deadline: Friday, Dec. 11

Ads May Be Placed byAds May Be Placed byCalling 870-256-4254Calling 870-256-4254

Ballot positionsannounced

James Hamric entersrace for county sheriff

Open House for public at new PrairieCounty Jail Monday, Dec. 7; Lunch with hamburgers and hot dogsPrairie County Judge Mike Skarda and

Sheriff Gary Burnett announce an OpenHouse and tour of the new Prairie CountyJail in Des Arc this Monday, December 7.Judge Skarda says he wants the public tohave this last opportunity to see the interi-or and the advanced technology incorpo-rated into this modern facility first hand -especially since they are paying for itlargely with their tax dollars. The facility will be open to the public,

along with a lunch of hamburgers and hotdogs directly in front of the Court House,

at 11:00 am.Judge Skarda advises that State Repre-

sentative David Hillman and SenatorJonathan Dismang have been invited toattend the event. Also, assisting Judge Skarda and Sheriff

Burnett in hosting the event will be mem-bers of the Prairie County Quorum Courtwho approved the construction. Jeff Miller, construction superintend-

ent, advises that the concrete floors arebeing sealed/painted this week. The newbuilding will be 100% complete next week,

soon as Centurylink finish-es up their work, which in-cludes installation of100MB fiber optic cable forinternet and telephones.

Kaylee and Mollee, young Thanksgiving volunteers(see article at left)

Control Room at Jail - Darrell Turner views monitors

Pictured at right areKaylee (left) and MolleeMcDonald, joyful volunteersdelivering hot turkey din-ners to people Thanksgiv-ing morning from the FirstBaptist Church

Providing Thanksgivingdinner, for those who wouldmight not have it otherwise,has been a tradition at thechurch for several years.Some 170 people wereserved this year.

Kaylee and Mollee aredaughters of Chris andDanielle McDonald.

James Jim Hamric

Ballot positions weredrawn in the Prairie CountyClerks office Tuesday, Nov.24, at 12:00 noon accordingto Rita Dobson, ElectionCommissioner. Listed below are op-

posed candidates and theirballot positions:

DEMOCRATSFor PresidentMartin J. OMalleyJohn WolfeRoque Rocky DeLaFuenteBernie SandersJames ValentineHillary Clinton

Prairie CountySheriff/CollectorJames Jim HamricRick Hickman

TreasurerTamara DabneyBecky Johnson

Justice of the PeaceMary Sue RoeJudy Hinson

REPUBLICANSFor PresidentTed CruzJohn R. KaischMarcio RubioRick SantorumGov. Chris ChristieDonald J. Trump

Continued on Page 16

Sylvester Holloway electedAlumni Association presidentSylvester Holloway, a

1967 graduate of Des ArcHigh School, was electedpresident of the Des ArcAlumni Association at theannual banquet Saturdayevening, Nov. 28.Kent Childers, a 1985

graduate was elected vicepresident. He will alsoserve as program chairmanfor the 61st annual reunionin 2016.Thressia Bradley Taylor

was the presiding presidentat this years meeting.

Other officers are BethNewton Breckenridge,treasurer, and Robbie Crid-er Weaver, secretary.Ron Baldwin and wife,

Betty (Ewing) were the far-thest travelers at the gath-ering that numbered 86. Tracy Crider Cochran

was the youngest alumni inattendance.Barbara Eoff Livesay was

in attendance and holds anenviable record of nevermissing a meeting since itsbeginning in 1955.

School Board acceptstwo resignationsApproves bonus for teachers

60th Annual Alumni Banquet here Saturday, November 28Eighty-six alumni gathered for the 60th annual reunion of Des Arc High School here Saturday evening despite the inclement weather. The evenings activities in-cluded reminiscing, sharing school stories, enjoying a fish/chicken catered dinner and electing officers. The goodbyes as the evening closed were coupled with ex-pressions of see you next year. Rodney Adams photo

The first item of busi-ness for the Des Arc SchoolBoard at the regularmonthly meeting Mondayevening was to deny thetransfer of a student fromDes Arc to another schooldistrict.The board accepted the

resignations of high schoolteachers, Ramona Hol-loway and Jennifer Lefevre,effective 12/18/2015.The board voted to em-

ploy Kathryn Gracie as sec-ondary English teacher, ef-fective 1/4/2016. Unanimous approval of

the resolution for local sup-port of the 2016 MasterPlan and the 2017-2019Funding Cycle PartnershipProgram Application was

given. After discussion, a unan-

imous vote approved extrapay provision of $500.00 forspace camp sponsors. Board members ap-

proved a bonus for currentfaculty and staff of the DesArc School District, withthe condition that thebonus would be pendingapproval from the ArkansasDepartment of Education. Board members present

were Johnny Reidhar, Char-lie Brown, Billy Hinson,Eric Kennedy, Kent Chil-ders and Sylvester.Hol-loway. Supt. Nick Hill andElementary Principal DenaHooks were also presentalong with guest JonathanMcMullen.

Ground-breaking ceremony for new Prairie County Jail in Des Arc July 31, 2014

Judge Mark Derrick, theelected Division 2 DistrictCourt Judge for District 23,is announcing that he isasking for your vote for re-election. The position cov-ers Prairie County andWhite County.Judge Derrick was first

elected as District 23 Dis-trict Court Judge whenWhite County was takeninto the State District CourtSystem by Arkansas Lawwith two Divisions and twofull-time District CourtJudges. Judge Mark Patewas elected as the Judge forDivision 1 and Derrick waselected as the Judge for Di-vision 2. White County wasdivided into eight Depart-ments; one for each of thecourts in existence. Thesewere Searcy and Beebe(which were already dis-trict courts) and BaldKnob, Bradford, Judsonia,Kensett, McRae, Pangburn,and Rose Bud, which hadbeen City Courts. JudgePate andDerrick dividedthe duties with Judge Patehaving the primary dutiesof the Searcy Departmentand Judge Derrick havingthe primary duties of theother eight Departments.Judge Derrick advises,

Now, by Arkansas Law,Prairie County is beingadded into the State Dis-trict Court System. It willbecome a part of District23 with White County and

will have four Departments(one for each of the Courtsalready in existence).There will be no changes inthe Court Clerks or loca-tions of the courts. JudgePate and Judge Derrick, ifre-elected, will travel toPrairie County for court.Prior to being a full-time

District Judge, Judge Der-rick was the City Judge forthe Cities of McRae, Brad-ford, and Griffithville andhe heard the Small ClaimsCourt cases in the SearcyMunicipal Court for JudgeLeroy Froman for threeyears. He was the City At-torney/Prosecutor for theCity of Beebe. He alsoserved as City Attorney for

McRae, Garner, andGeorgetown. He servedeight years on the SearcyCity Council and was amember of the Searcy Li-ons Club.Prior to being a full-time

District Judge, Derrick wasa lawyer for over 22 years.He began his law careerwith the 6th Judicial Dis-trict Prosecuting Attorneysoffice in Pulaski Countyand Perry County in thespring of 1990. He re-turned to his home inSearcy and went into pri-vate practice in 1992.Judge Derrick was born

and raised in ArkansasCounty, southeast of De-Witt. His moved to Searcyin the summer of 1974, justbefore his senior year inhigh school.He has been married to

the former Shannon Ghentof Searcy for 21 years. Theyhave one son, Connor Der-rick, age 11. The family isactive in church.Judge Derrick said, If

elected. I will continue tobe tough on crime and domy best to make you proudI am your District CourtJudge.

Judge Derrick seeks re-election

Judge Mark Derrick

By Donald Kaul

When Paris suffered attacks that killed 17 last Janu-ary at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and akosher supermarket it responded with great class.Parisians filled the streets, locked arm-in-arm in

solidarity against terrorism. Leaders from throughoutEurope (but not, alas, President Barack Obama)joined them in a show of support.And two days after the demonstration, Socialist

Prime Minister Manuel Valls gave a memorablespeech to the French National Assembly supportingthe governments declared war on terrorism butcalling for the nation to maintain its principles of reli-gious tolerance and separation of church and state.At which point the deputies stood and gave him an

ovation, then broke into La Marseillaise. It was a won-derful moment. (The French have a great national an-them and they use it like a sword.)I doubt that moment will be repeated any time

soon. The November 13 attacks in Paris ushered theentire world through yet another door, into a darkerplace.It is a place of fear. If a handful of lightly armed ter-

rorists can bring one of the worlds great cities to itsknees in a single evening, killing 129 and injuringhundreds more, then who among us is safe?It was, in a sense, more ominous than the 9/11 at-

tacks which, while more costly in blood and treasure,seemed almost unrepeatable. We were caught un-awares and took steps to ensure that we wouldnt beagain. The bad guys got lucky.The Paris attacks demonstrate how nave that atti-

tude is.How can we protect ourselves against an insidious,

almost invisible army that takes advantage of the bestqualities of western society its openness, its toler-ance to do it grievous harm?French President Franois Hollande responded im-

mediately by sending warplanes to bomb ISIS strong-holds in Syria. Im sure they killed some people,maybe even some terrorists. I can understand the re-sponse. You have to do something.But thats not much of something. Bombs wont cut

it.The diabolical thing about this enemy is that it

doesnt present much of a target. Forall the talk of establishing acaliphate, it doesnt have a navy oran air force or even artillery worthyof the name. It works in small, secre-tive networks and kills in numbers greatly dispropor-tionate to its military strength.We call them terrorists for a reason: They terrify us.Politically, theyre the best friends the right wing

ever had.French National Front Leader Marine Le Pen, who

has long advocated closing the doors to immigration,is having her I told you so moment.As are the anti-immigrant Republicans here.

Theyre lining up in favor of not allowing Muslimrefugees fleeing the conflict in their home countrysanctuary in ours. At least two dozen Republican gov-ernors have said they would refuse such refugees.The Democrats, including Obama, have presented

a far more reasonable response not all refugees areterrorists, stay the course, blah-blah which soundsweak in the heated atmosphere of a presidential cam-paign.Even Donald Trumps lunatic ravings against the in-

vasion of Mexican rapists and drug dealers sound al-most reasonable now.Heres the problem, said Marco Rubio, for once

not mentioning that his father was a bartender andhis mother was a cleaning lady. You allow 10,000 peo-ple in. And 9,999 of them are innocent people feelingoppression. And one of them is a well-trained ISISfighter.That sort of logic is more appealing now, when we

have Islamic militants on our television screenspromising to come get us.So is the dismissal of the revelations of Edward

Snowden on the universal surveillance were beingsubjected to. More surveillance? Sounds safer. Bring iton.The real question is how all of this will affect our

elections next year.Will it inspire a sense of seriousness in the elec-

torate that has been lacking so far? Or will it bendthings toward the hardliners who want to hole up inFortress America?Well see.

LL a u g ha u g h - I- I nn CC o r n e ro r n e r

,T

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at 424 North Main Street in Des Arc, Arkansas.Founded in August, 1907, the White River Journal is an independent publi-

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E D I T O R I A L S & O P I N I O N S

Donald Kaul

D A T E : H I LOW RAINThurs, Nov. 26 73 59 - Fri, Nov. 27 69 56 1.81Sat, Nov. 28 56 44 2.08Sun, Nov. 29 46 43 - Mon, Nov. 30 51 45 .97Tues, Dec. 1 51 44 - Wed, Dec. 2 51 38 -

WEEKS RAIN: 4.864.86

THURSDAYS SUNRISE SUNSETNov 26 6:51 am4:56 pmDec 3 6:57 am4:54 pmDec 10 7:03 am4:55 pm

SUNRISES / SUNSETS

Nov 29 21.64Nov 30 22.51Dec 1 23.28Dec 2 23.80

Nov 25 19.10Nov 26 19.16 Nov 27 19.17 Nov 28 20.44

WHITE RIVER6 pm Depth Readings per National Weather Service

WHIT E R IVER RE F ER ENC E DEPTHSFLOOD STAGE . . . . . . . . 24.00MAY 7, 2011 CREST . . 39.43

WEEKS WEATHER,RAIN & RIVER

73 38EX TR EM ES11/26 - 12/2

NWS Forecast for DEC 8: 23.9023.90

24-hr Temps: Midnight to Midnight

Latest Sunrise Earliest Sunrise7:14 am 12/31/15 5:52 am 6/5/15Latest Sunset Earliest Sunset8:24 pm 6/24/15 4:54 pm 12/1/15

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At times, Office mAy Be clOsed thursdAy pm And fridAy Am; AvAilABle All dAys

Bombs Wont Cut It . . .Prison Sentences

Members of a criminal justice task force did not ex-pect to see the man who appointed them, but there hewas, Governor Hutchinson, not just dropping by, andbringing with him a new sense of urgency born of frus-tration. And of concern for the budget.His complaint was that too many judges are depart-

ing from the sentencing guidelines in criminal cases,being too tough, lowering the boom, ordering inmatesto serve longer sentences. And driving up the cost ofprisons, which this year will consume uncomfortablyclose to $400 million. Mr. Hutchinsons comments were profoundly irri-

tating to at least two judges, both of whom protestedto me that, at best, the Governor had been eitherpoorly briefed or just p----- off at the situation.Sentences in excess of guidelines, they insisted, wereusually the product of juries or plea bargains. And tohis urging that they be required to justify tougher sen-tences, well, these two judges said they are already re-quired to do so. Not to excuse any of Mr. Hutchinsons misstate-

ments, if they were that, but who could blame any gov-ernor for being p----- off about a criminal justice sys-tem that, experts say, could easily produce the nationsfastest growing inmate population. Arkansas alreadyis in the running. Mr. Hutchinson demonstrated a serious interest in

the problem in his 2014 campaign, then followedthrough this year when he obtained more than $30million to relieve prison overcrowding and shift moreof the burden to the parole system. And still the in-mate count (about 15,000) is at a record high, with1,400 or so prisoners awaiting transfer to state custodyfrom county jails. Much of the surge in inmate populations in

Arkansas and elsewhere owes to a factor apart fromoverzealous judges, as the Governor knows. In a paper published a week before Mr. Hutchin-

sons drop-in, Jonathan Rothwell, a scholar at theBrookings Institution, published a brief survey of agrowing dispute over how far the imprisonment fordrug offenses is to blame for destroying families andcommunities. Rothwell noted studies suggestingAfrican-Americans are disproportionately and unfair-ly harmed by the war on drugs, a devastating fail-ure. He was careful to acknowledge, however, recentresearch that contradicts assertions of racial bias indrug arrests, convictions and sentencing. A FordhamUniversity expert on felony statistics, John Pfaff, forone, examined millions of incarcerations over almosttwo decades and concluded that sentences for drug of-fenses nationally peaked at roughly 20 percent, mean-ing that about 80 percent of inmates were serving timefor other offenses. Statistics can be misleading. Take, for example, the

percentage of Arkansas prison inmates serving timefor drug violations. On average it is about 20, perhaps22 percent, within a point or two of Pfaffs model. So,not that big a problem? Wait: Examine the percentage in Arkansas serving

time for felonies from burglary and theft to robbery,rape, kidnapping and murder. The Department ofCorrection contends that more than eight of ten suchcrimes involved alcohol or drugs as a precipitating fac-tor. Somebody convicted of aggravated robbery, for in-

stance, might never have committed the crime had heor she not needed the money to feed a habit, says Di-na Tyler of the state Department of Community Cor-rection. Sentencing is driven by the most serious offense of

which a defendant is convicted. Take a 20-somethingwhose craving for meth or heroin drives him to burglea residence in search of valuables to pawn. He en-counters the homeowner, who he, panicked, then as-saults and accidentally kills. He will serve a lengthyterm for murder. The perpetrators core problem, hisanimating impulse, may not be an innate propensityfor violence or simple theft but his drug dependency.He may draw sympathy from his family and defenseattorney, perhaps even a judge who has seen it all be-fore, but juries and prosecutors are often immune tohard luck stories. And the racial aspect? African-Americans make up

no more than 16 percent of Arkansass population yetconstitute 48 percent of its inmate population. Its not always that cut-and-dried, Tyler says. You

have to dig a whole lot deeper than that. Usuallytheres a correlation between who is living in povertyand crime rates, Tyler adds. We have to look veryclosely at that, at who lives in poverty.Not very closely, not really. Crimes against people

and property (above the nuisance level) are generallythe work of those, white or black, living below the so-cietal norm in employment, income and education.That so many of Arkansass African-American citizenslive below the poverty level helps explain, if it does notjustify. Inmate overcrowding in Arkansas prisons will not

be alleviated overnight, not through drug courts, ex-panded probation and parole or urging restraint byprosecutors and judges. It will take time and money inaddition to being p----- off.

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Ronnie Ward joins morning walkers at collapsedculvert, Hwy 323, near Des Arc city limits this week

Photos courtesy of HJSanner

Victor Gray and Butch Calhoun again eye rapidly worsening Hwy 323.Below, Des Arc city limit sign has fallen on bad times as well.

W H I T E R I V E R J O U R N A L , T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 3

T T H EH E PP A G E SA G E S TT U R N E DU R N E D BB A C KA C K (Compiled from White River Journal files)

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T h u r s d a y , D e c e m b e r 3 , 1 9 8 1

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The annual pre-holidaymerchants drawings havedrawn large crowds to down-town Des Arc the past twoweeks. Last Saturdays draw-ing winners were Mrs.Corinne Kloss, $100; Ms.Maxine Mayher, $50; andMrs. Lester Childers, $25.Presentations were made byGene Horne, president of theDes Arc Merchants Associa-tion.

The 26th annual DAHSAlumni Banquet held Fridayevening at the school was at-tended by 150 including fivemembers who have notmissed a meeting. They wereMayor Willis Eddins, Billy M.Garth, Ellen Bess Caskey,Clairelyn Rister and BarbaraEoff Livesay. Jerry Berry wassucceeded in the office ofpresident by Donald Patter-son, who was also programchairman. The welcome wasgiven by former teacher-coach, Don Carter; the re-sponse was given by formerresident, Jack Jordan, now su-perintendent of DeWittSchools. Jerry DeVorak wasunanimously elected vicepresident and program chair-man for next year. Entertain-ers were Stewart Morton,Julie Dicks, Andy Burrow,Roxanne Guess, MichelleLivesay, Paul Guess andMelanie Nail, and Miss BethPearson, their music teacher.Past presidents in attendancewere: Manuel Holcomb, JerryBerry, Willis Eddins, GuymanDeVore, George Ford, BobChilders, Lawrence Stine,Alta Holloway and R. L. Mor-ton.

Kim Newton, age 18, sonof Mr. and Mrs. C. E. (Bettie)Newton of the Oak PrairieCommunity, suffered severeinjuries on Thanksgiving Daywhen a three-wheeler over-turned on top of him on a ricelevee. He has suffered spinalinjuries.

A large crowd attended theauction Tuesday at theStevens Home & Auto Supplyin Des Arc. The business,opened in 1954, as StevensWestern Auto by Earl Stevens

and wife, Theresa, closed thisweek after 27 years in busi-ness here. The building, oc-cupied by the business, be-tween 3rd and 4th Sts. onMain, is owned by Farmers &Merchants Bank.

Rob Thornton of HickoryPlains has received a QualityAward from Associated MilkProducers Inc. at a recentDistrict 8 meeting. TheThornton Dairy farm isowned by Rob Thornton andhis father, Bill Thornton.

In a game played Sundayin the old high school gym,the Biscoe Buffaloes defeatedthe Des Arc Cyclones by thescore of 122 to 109. High scor-er for the Cyclones was M.Williams, 29; G. Hardnett, 28;A Holloway, 17; W. Loving, 14;B. Jaggers, 13; D. Holloway, 5;and R. Hardnett, 3. Highpoint man for the Buffaloeswas R. Larkin with 26.

Five senior Eagles, mem-bers of the Des Arc HighSchool football squad, havebeen named to the list of AllDistrict players in the 2AASouth District. They are:Keith Kellar, Billy Pearson,Eddie OBannon, KevinCampbell and Kevin Luck.Also named to the All Confer-ence team were: Campbelland OBannon, offensiveunit; and Keith Kellar andOBannon, defensive unit.

George Ellis, lifelong EastSide resident, is pictured witha 4 1/2-pound turnip and afoot-long radish from his fallgarden.

A Backward ProgressiveSupper provided fun and fel-lowship for members ofLakeside Baptist Church onSaturday evening with tooth-picks and mints at the homeof Bobby and Jackie Smith.Their last stop was for a ham,chicken and spaghetti supperat the home of Jim and Bob-bie Sanner.

Choirs of the First BaptistChurch are preparing fortheir Christmas cantatas. Theyouth choir is being directedby Mrs. Betty Barnes; theadult choir by HerndonBarnes.

Atired and bedraggledCommunist army of1,600 hungermarchers tumbled wearilyinto temporary sleepingquarters tonight after a stren-uous day during which theyhad been rebuffed in everymove to get radical legislaturedemands before Congressand President Hoover. Mak-ing no attempt to hide theirCommunist leanings, themarchers slouched along thestreets singing the Soviet In-ternationale song, chantingdemands for full wage unem-ploymnt relief and demand-ing that our capitalistic gov-ernment be crushed by theupcoming Communist or-ganization.

Last week was a busy oneat the Oak Prairie School, ac-cording to Evangeline Bell,reporter. The school was visit-ed by an official from theState Department of Educa-tion, a health officer, andcounty agents. There will be abasketball game between theOak Prairie girls and boys andthe Johnson Chapel Schoolgirls and boys Friday at John-son Chapel.

Congressman John E.Miller of this district, anxiousto cooperate with the publichealth work, has recently ob-tained for distribution threegovernment publications:Parental Care, Infant Care,and The Child From One toSix.

An outstanding citizen hasgone from among us: Thesterling qualities, loving kind-ness, and retiring personalityof R. A. Merryman, has gone.His beautiful life has been aninspiration, his manliness,princely and generous naturewas unexcelled. The commu-nity is better, the people ele-vated, by Mr. Merrman beingamong us.

A letter from L. C. Baker,

assistant State Club leader,advises that Frederick Sei-denstricker of Tollville is thewinner of the Holstein heifergiven for the boy having thebest record in dairying usingHolstein. Frederick, age 14,has been in 4-H Club workthree years. He bought hisregistered Holstein Heifer inJune 1928 from the State A &M College at Jonesboro for$40.00. He now has three reg-istered Holsteins.

Only a few more weeks asa free school in Des Arc; afterthat, school will be run on asubscription basis, if possi-ble. It is regrettable that theschool finances of this Stateare in such deplorable condi-tion. The school needs thewhole hearted support ofevery citizen as the teacherstry to finish out the schoolyear on a subscription basis.

Again we are called uponto chronicle the death of oneof Des Arcs most highly re-spected citizens, Mr. T. G.Roe, who died Friday, Dec. 4,1931, at the age of 46 years.He was a perfect Christiangentleman, was bookkeeperof the O. B. Guinn Stave MillCo., until they retired, wasbookkeeper for B. B. Bethell &Son, and then bought the DesArc Bakery which he operateduntil his health failed. Heleaves his wife and six chil-dren.

D. W. Currier, our populardruggist, was reported on thepuny list several days thisweek.

Saturday Specials at GriggsCash Store in Des Arc includePure Cane Sugar, 20 lbs,$1.00; Pure Coffee, 8 lbs,$1.00; Building Paper, roll,59c; 100 lbs Salt, 95c; MensFull Thigh Boots, $4.25; MensBest Work Shirts, 59c; MensHeavy Work Socks, 3 pairs,25c; Childrens Hose, 3 pairs,25c; One Lot Mens WorkPants, 75c.

Cotton farmers haventbeen asked to stop growingcotton altogether. They haveonly been asked to hold theirproduction within the limitsof the Nations needs, and touse their dwindling suppliesof labor, machinery, chemi-cals and transportation andstorage facilities to the bestadvantage in producingthings the Nation actuallyneeds badly, such as peanuts,soybeans, pork, beef, poultryand dairy products.

A $625,000 refund to thisyears electric customers ofthe Arkansas Power and LightCompany was ordered lastweek by the State UtilitiesCommission. The refundorder was based on what theCommission found to be ex-cess earnings in 1942.

The more than 10,000American Legion members inthe state, through their 145local posts are engaged in aJalopy Roundup to get junkautomobiles to war industrychannels. The only formalitynecessary is to get the con-sent of the owner of the landon which a junked car hasbeen abandoned.

Women voters will holdthe balance of power in the1944 presidential election ifthe war continues, GovernorAdkins said. He paid tributeto 60,000 Arkansas men andwomen who have enteredmilitary service.

Census report shows that7,829 bales of cotton weeginned in Prairie County, Ark.from the crop of 1942 prior toNov. 14, compared with 8,708bales from the crop of 1941,according to Roy F. Hill, re-porter.

Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Gilliamof this city, accompanied bylittle Miss Lula Fay Allen,were Christmas shoppers to

Little Rock, Monday.Our friends, Messrs. G. G.

and C. C. Purvis, managers ofthe Plunkett plantation, wereover from Biscoe on businessyesterday.

The ladies of the followingorganizations of Des Arc did agrand job during Women atWar Week selling war bondstotaling $4,050.00 and $71.50in War Stamps. They wererepresentatives of theMethodist Church, BaptistChurch, PresbyterianChurch, Full Gospel Churchand the Sesame Club.

Henry Bell, who hasserved the Des Arc LumberCo., the past four years, hasresigned his postition withMr. Nichols and with his fam-ily has moved to England,Ark., where he will engage infarming.

We understand that Mr. O.L. Simmons, one of our suc-cessful rice growers, has pur-chased the L. A. DeVore homein the Walt Addition in DesArc and will move to same thefirst of the year.

Miss Mary Jane McCuin,who attends State TeachersCollege in Conway, spent theThanksgiving weekend athome with parents, Mr. andMrs. Q. E. McCuin, andfriends.

Our friend, Mr. E. L. Hay-ley, one of Johnson Chapelsprogressives, and a regularreader of the White RiverJournal, was a pleasant callerwhile in town with produceand paid his subscription.

Order your Christmasturkey now from home raiser,R. E. Hall, located on Highway No. 11, known as the oldBen Keltner place betweenDes Arc and Hazen: 35 centsper lb; dressed, 50 cents perlb.

O B I T U A R I E S

Tammy Abrams,Des Arc native,burial Tuesday

Services todayat Rest Hills forAlice Faye Adams

Bessie McCartydies at Stuttgart

Eleanor Trivett dies after lengthy illness

Grace Turnerwas native ofCotton Plant

Clifford Bubbuswas member oflocal hunting club

G. M. Ludwig,aquatic expert,dies at Stuttgart

Grace Melba (Davis)Turner of Lonoke went tomeet her Lord Friday No-vember 27, 2015. Grace wasborn to Clyde and Pauline(Ridge) Davis March 7, 1937in Cotton Plant, Arkansas.She was one of seven chil-dren, and is preceded indeath by her parents,brothers Fred Davis andCarl Davis and sisters Jim-mie Bailey and DeloresHickman. She is survived byher two sisters Anne Bushand Mary Bustamonte.Grace married Benjamin

Clark Turner January 24,1953. They had two chil-dren Susan (Roy) Lelandand Elizabeth (Michael)White. She has six grand-children and seven greatgrandchildren.Grace was a member of

Lonoke Apostolic Church.She was a Sunday schoolteacher, choir member,candy maker, housekeeper,and kitchen worker.

She worked at Otten-heimer/Kellwood sewingfactory from the time itopened in 1963 until itclosed in 1988. Grace be-came a CNA with GoldenYears Nursing Home andLincoln Plaza until she re-tired.

Funeral services wereheld at 11:00 am MondayNovember 30 at the LonokeApostolic Church with in-terment following in SunsetMemorial Gardens witharrangements by Boyd Fu-neral Home, Lonoke.

Bessie Mae Sissy Mc-Carty of Stuttgart passedaway Saturday, November21, at Baptist Health Med-ical Center in Little Rock.She was born on March 29,1936 in Jefferson County toNoah and Bessie McCarty.She was employed by the

Stuttgart Shoe Factory untilits closing and later becamea private sitter until her re-tirement. Bessie was agraduate of HumphreyHigh School and a memberof Calvary Missionary Bap-tist Church in Stuttgart.She was proceeded in

death by parents; brothers,Earl, Arthur, Willie, Leroy,and Sonny McCarty; sisters,Jessie Autry, Gladys Hamil-ton, and Margaret McPher-son. Survivors are sisters,

Mary Turney of Stuttgartand Lucy Stewart ofHumphrey.Graveside services was

be held 2:00 p.m. Tuesday atFrazier Cemetery in AlcornCommunity with intermentby Turpin Funeral Home.

Gerald Jerry MichaelLudwig, 71, died November21, 2015, at home inStuttgart with his familyand cat at his side. His plan was ultimately

to be recycled into otherlife forms and minerals. Hewas born February 22, 1944,in Superior, Wisconsin, toparents who were educa-tors with expectations thatall children should be well-educated too.Jerry grew up in Gre-

sham, Wisconsin, andearned degrees from theUniversity of Wisconsin atOshkosh and Milwaukee,followed by a Ph.D. in zool-ogy from the University ofHawaii. Marine biologywas the dictating force bothprofessionally and recre-ationally throughout hislife. While working on his

Masters, he was employedas Curator of Fish and Ecol-ogy at the Milwaukee PublicMuseum. He created ex-hibits and participated incollecting expeditionsthroughout North and Cen-tral America, including theArctic. Jerry and his family next

moved to Hawaii where heearned his Ph.D. specializ-ing in the study of coral reeffish. During this time healso worked as a fishery bi-ologist for the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (USFWS),and later as the remote is-lands manager for theHawaiian Islands NationalWildlife Refuge. Jerry then transferred to

the Florida Keys where heconducted marine fish re-search in Florida Bay for theUSFWS. Following thedeath of his first wife, Jean,Jerry and his two childrenmoved to Stuttgart, AR.Here he conducted aqua-culture research for theUSFWS and the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture for22 years. Jerry was a firmbeliever in equal opportu-nity, and won two nationalfederal awards for his lead-ership in civil rights for fed-eral employees.He published numerous

scientific research papersand popular articles aboutfish farming, and did pio-neering work in the cultureof fingerling fish food. TheStriped Bass Growers Asso-ciation awarded Jerry a Dis-tinguished Service Awardfor his research with larvalfish culture. He was an ex-pert photographer, andwon many national awardsfrom the USFWS and pub-lished several cover photo-graphs for Aquaculturemagazine.After retiring from

USFWS in 2009, he becameactive again with theStuttgart Lions Club, ulti-mately serving as presidentdespite his expressed fearsof public speaking. Hereadily volunteered hisservices at annual fundrais-ers for the Lions Club in theconcession booth on July 4,at the bowling alley forBowl for Sight, and at theannual shrimp boil. He developed many

good friends throughoutthe state on internationaldive trips. His sister Winniewas another of his willingdive buddies on a numberof these trips. Trips includ-ed the South Pacific, IndianOcean and Caribbean. Hislast trip was to the SolomonIslands in August, and hewas slated to depart to NewGuinea on Nov. 22, the dayafter he died of pancreaticcancer. Survivors are his mother,

Winnifred Ludwig; wife,Nancy Ludwig; daughter,Kristine Hoskins (Mark) ofBauxite; son, Daniel Ludwig(Debra) of Gautier, MS;grandsons, Ryan Hoskinsand Steven and MathewLudwig, and stepsons Ker-mit Key of Little Rock andKyle Key (Carmela) of SantaFe, NM; brothers, Theodore(Lisa), Robert (Bing), Law-rence (Marie), William (Ka-thy), John (Ruth), Edward;sisters Winnifred (Charles)Aitch and Mary (Chuck)Miller. A remembrance of Jerrys

life will be held at a laterdate.

Clifford Gus Bubbus ofHensley, Arkansas was bornJuly 12, 1951 in Sacramento,California, the son of thelate Jim and Margie PrineBubbus. He attended Pleasant

Hill Baptist Church in theSardis Community. To say that Cliff loved

guns was definitely an un-derstatement. He was a life-time member of the Na-tional Rifle Association, andwas truly a gifted marks-man. He enjoyed huntingand was a member of theDeliverance Hunting Lodgein Des Arc, and was also avery good cook. His greatesttimes were spent makingmemories with his family,especially the two prettiestgranddaughters in theworld.He died Tuesday, No-

vember 24, 2015 at BaptistHealth Medical Center inLittle Rock at the age of 64.Survivors include his

wife of 38 years, MarilynArledge Bubbus of Hensley;son, John Bubbus and wifeLisa of Bauxite; daughterBrandy and husband Scoot-er Scruggs of East End;brothers, Paul Bubbus,Larry Bubbus and DavidVernon Bubbus all of Rus-sellville; sisters, Gail andhusband Billy Spadoni ofBenton and Teresa and hus-band Leo Harris of Russel-lville; grandchildren, Kaylaand Kylie Bubbus and ahost of nieces, nephewsand friends.Funeral services were

11:00 a.m. Saturday, No-vember 28, at Pleasant HillBaptist Church in the SardisCommunity. Burial was at Flat Bayou

Cemetery near Altheimer.

Eleanor Janie McMillion-Privett, 66, of Brinkley, diedFriday, Nov. 20, 2015 at her home following a lengthy ill-ness. lHer husband of 43 years Herman Privett Sr.; two sons;

two daughters; five brothers; two sisters; her mother-in-law; four grandchildren; and a host of other relatives sur-vive her.Funeral services were held Saturday, Nov. 28 at 10 a.m.

at Greater First Baptist Church, Brinkley. Interment was at Pilgrim Rest Cemetery in Wheatley by

Branscumb Funeral Home of Brinkley.

Tammy Rena Abrams,50, of Ward died Tuesday,November 24, 2015 at CHISt. Vincent Infirmary in Lit-tle Rock, Arkansas. She was born July 14,

1965 in Des Arc to Davidand Judy (Norman) Sim-mons. Survivors include one

son, Jeremy Fairchild andwife, Ashley; one sister, Gin-ger Tinkle; numerousnieces, nephews, aunts anduncles. She was preceded in

death by her parents. Visitation was 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday at Living WatersFull Gospel Church in DesArc with funeral servicesfollowing at 2:00. Interment was in Lake-

side Cemetery with GarthFuneral Home of Des Arc incharge of arrangements.

Tammy Rena AbramsAlice Faye Thornton AdamsClifford G. BubbusGerald M. Ludwig

SPECIAL Begins Thurs., Dec. 3 - Good thru Wednesday, Dec. 9

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Loving mother, grand-mother, businesswomanand friend, Alice FayeThornton Adams, 80, ofCabot, passed away peace-fully in her home on No-vember 29, 2015. She wasborn on January 21, 1935, inBeebe, Arkansas, to Claudeand Esther (Fawcett)Thornton. The youngest ofeight siblings, Alice was anoutgoing girl who became aBadger cheerleader andgraduate of Beebe HighSchool. She eloped withJimmy D. Adams of Searcyin 1953. Together theyfounded Adams Pest Con-trol of North Little Rock in1957 and later acquiredAdams Pest Control ofWhite County. Alice andJimmy raised their childrenin North Little Rock, wherethey attended Levy UnitedMethodist and later, IndianHills Baptist Church, andshe volunteered for Mealson Wheels. Her head fornumbers, sharp bargainhunting, and love for an-tiques came together as sheran Alices Antiques andGifts in Cabot in the 1990s.Ever an astute business-woman, Alice continued tolead the pest control busi-nesses after Jimmys deathin 2003, and in 2010 wasnamed Searcys Business-woman of the Year. A long-time member of

Hebron United MethodistChurch of Hickory Plains,Alice is survived by her sis-ter, Martha Akin, of Reseda,California; her two chil-drenLuann Wiggins(Geoff) of Roswell, Georgia,and Tim Adams (Judy) ofCabot; four grandchildren;four great-grandchildren;Pat Shupe, her long-timecaregiver and friend; andmany nieces and nephews.She was preceded in

death by her parents,Claude and Esther; Jimmy,her husband of 49 years;brothers Howard, James,Charles, and Bill; sisters,Carolyn and Melba, and in-fant grandson, Matthew. Memorials may be made

to the Hebron UnitedMethodist Church.Funeral service will be

held Thursday, December3, at 10:00 a.m. at GriffinLeggett Rest Hills FuneralHome, North Little Rock.

Burial will follow at RestHills Memorial Park.An online guestbook is

available at www.griffin-leggetthealeyroth.com.

Sunday, November 29IN DES ARC

First Baptist Church 204/208Gospel Mission.....................167Lakeside Miss. Baptist..69/110First United Methodist........85Faith Missionary Baptist.47/58Family Worship Center........44.First Assembly of God....39/49Fellowship Miss. Baptist....... 45Church of Christ............13Church of God of Prophecy.. 11Living Waters Full Gospel.......22

AREA CHURCHESHickory Plains Miss. Bap 62/91Morris Chapel Miss. Baptist..33Pleasant Ridge Miss. Baptist.16Hickory Plains Methodist..... 27Hickory Plains Nazarene...... 12Judson Memorial Baptist...... 26Sand Hill Miss. Baptist........14

Reported by churches. Toreport Sunday School Atten-dance and other churchnews, call 870-256-4254.Also, if your church is not onthis list and you wish it to be,call the number here to get itincluded.

W H I T E R I V E R J O U R N A L , T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 54

FF A I T HA I T H TT R A C K SR A C K SBy Rev. Dee Harper

Pastor, First United Methodist ChurchDes Arc, Ar

Work: 870-256-3757 - Cell: 501-593-8978e-mail: cdharper1979@yahoo.com

Under Wraps - God is Expectant!

Sunday SchoolChurch Attendance

Words of Faith/Church News Words of Faith/Church News

Isaiah 9:1-7

Writer Frederick Buechner inhis book Wishful Thinking has asection called Messiah. He be-gins this section with the Ger-man saying, Wie Mans Macht,Ists Falsch. According toBuechner it means, Whateverpeople do, it turns out lousy.Often times our best of inten-tions end up leading us wherewe do not want to go. The Rus-sians get rid of the Czars and endup with Stalin. We in the U.S.create a country based on theidea that all men are createdequal, yet build it a good por-tion of it on the labor of slaves. And the Hebrew people

Buechner says, The nation thatGod chooses to be the hope ofthe world becomes the stooge ofthe world. They have been en-slaved, exiled, led astray, proneto warring among themselves,and their temple was destroyednot once but twice. It is a peoplethat have a Wailing Wall. But a faithful remnant contin-

ues to hope, continues to dream.They continued to hope for theMessiah, the one Anointed byYahweh.Each year during the celebra-

tion of the Passover often timesfaithful Jews still set out a cupduring the Seder that they callElijahs cup. Little children ea-gerly open the door in ceremoni-al expectation of the coming ofElijah. For Jews believe that thereturn of the prophet Elijah sig-nal the coming of the Messiah.As Christians we believe that

John the Baptist is the prophetwho was like Elijah and who an-nounced the coming of the Mes-siah, Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee.Our scripture reading is from

the book of Isaiah which datesback to the 8th Century B.C.E.Around 734 to 732 Judah is fac-ing attacks from Syria and Israel.Ahaz the King of Judah is consid-ering a treaty with Assyria tohelp stop the attacks.Assyria in this time period was

the political heavy hitter in thisregion. Some might have calledit the Evil Empire. Isaiah warnsthat an alliance with Assyriaamount to walking in politicaland theological darkness. Thereason is that by accepting atreaty Judah will lose its identityand even more troubling itshows a lack of trust and relianceon Yahweh.In verses two and three of this

passage there is a poetic descrip-tion of how Judahs joy will bemultiplied because the peoplewho have been walking in dark-ness have seen a great light. Inversed four through six reasonsare given for this; oppression willbe broken, weapons will be de-stroyed, and a child has beenborn who will bear the yoke ofauthority on his shoulders.Now some scholars believe

that verses 2-7 are a quotation ofa hymn or liturgy offered at thecoronation of the king at thetime, in that context they pointto Ahazs son Hezekiah as thefulfillment of Isaiahs words.There are reasons for andagainst this one challenge youcould make to this is that the ti-

tles used by Isaiah seem moreappropriate descriptions of Yah-weh than his kings.This passage is one that we as

Christians have read as fore-shadowing the birth of Jesus.The passage whether originallyabout Hezekiah or not expressthe divine intention that wasand is being fulfilled in Jesus.Also, the expansion of the mean-ing of the passage is for that Godnow not only works to bringabout his Kingdom throughearthly agents, but the childborn, the king, is also now Godwith us. God will do this.Whats amazing is that it is

around 700 years between thewriting of this passage and thebirth of Jesus. How many gener-ations would later live in expec-tation of the complete fulfillingof these words through GodsMessiah?Advent is a time of expecta-

tion. Despite how we celebratethis season today it was notmeant to be a time of instantgratification or indulgence. Itwas meant to be a time of self-sacrifice and repentance as weremember the story of the birthof the Messiah.God might also be expecting

something from us. I want tochallenge us with three applica-tions this morning. The first ap-plication is that God expects usto respond to the amazing gift ofJesus. By respond I mean toreact favorably and to make a re-turn by some action. In otherwords to respond means to turnfrom the way we were going andaccept the gift of grace that Jesusgives to us. Also it means to actin obedience and commit our-selves to making Jesus the Lordof our lives.The second application is that

God expects us to share the storyof Jesus. And by share I mean weshare with both our words andour actions. This time of yearpresents wonderful opportuni-ties to share our faith with othersand also to show our faith to oth-ers. We need to worry less aboutfighting the war on Christmasand worry more about sharingChristmas with others.The third application is that

God expects us to prepare bybeing watchful and come withan attitude of anticipation. If weonly go through the motions ofAdvent can we really expect any-thing different to happen atChristmas? However, what if wetook this season as a time to in-corporate a new spiritual disci-pline into our lives? It couldmean, but not only, reading anongoing devotional, praying at aspecific time each day, or jour-naling our Advent experience insome way.I want to encourage you to live

in expectation of moving out ofspiritual darkness into light be-cause unto us a child is born. Letus respond, share, and preparethis season. May God bless youthis week.Brother Dee

A Great Deal, Beautiful Exchange

I take after my Mom.People used to beamazed at what shecould buy us kids, withsuch little money. I tooLOVE getting greatdeals, and with BlackFriday coming up, a lotof us have sales on ourminds. What excites memost, is when I am ableget something very valu-able, worth much morethan I have to pay...You want to know the

greatest "deal" I evergot? It was the day I of-

fered God what I had,and in return, he offeredme what he had. He took my sins, con-

fusion, doubts, fears,weaknesses, stress, fail-ures, sickness, pain, andpast, and in exchange,gave me, forgiveness,peace, assurance, heal-ing, hope, His righteous-ness, His strength andthru His grace, the abili-ty to live an overcominglife and live eternally. Now that's a "Beauti-

ful Exchange", or like Icall it, a great deal. Written by Deborah

(Pool) Skarda, submittedby Opal Crider

Arnold FamilyFoundationCordially Invite You to Our

ANNUALPRAYER SERVICE

Saturday, December 5Parade Begins at 5:30 pm

Following the Parade, We Will Begin Prayer Service

inRhodes Park - Downtown

DeValls Bluff

Hot Cocoa and Apple Cider Will Be Served

Brady Weldon, whospearheads the H2O Move-ment, will be in revival serv-ices December 6 through 9at the First Baptist Church.The H20 Movement,

Weldon explains, is an in-novative, out-of-the-boxoutreach program throughlive events and onlineshows. Its goal is to reachthe hurting and broken, aswell as those with questionsabout the pain of their past,in a format of hope, Wel-don said. Services are at 11 a. m.

and 7 p. m. on Sunday, De-cember 6, and at 7 p. m.each evening Mondaythrough Wednesday, De-cember 7, 8, and 9. The public is invited.

Brady Weldonin revival atFirst Baptist

Saturday, December 58:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

First United Methodist ChurchChristian Life Center

SANTA CLAUS WILL ARRIVE AT 8 A.M.!

5X7 Pictures w/Santa Available for $5.00 Each

All Ages Welcome to Join Us for Breakfast!

DONATIONS ONLY!

Sondra Burnett in Benefit ConcertA Benefit Christmas Concert, presented by Sondra

Burnett and family and friends, will be presented Friday ,December 11, at 6:30 p. m. at the First Baptist Church inCabot.Burnett, wife of Rodney Burnett, and daughter-in-law

of Marilyn Burnett of Des Arc, will be a featured soloist atthe presentation.

In the last meeting of theyear, Prairie County MasterGardeners completedplans for their visit to Gar-van Woodland Gardens,the Christmas Party and seta date to complete theproject they are working onfor the Chamber of Com-merce at their meeting onMonday evening, Novem-ber 23.

The meeting was post-poned from last Tuesdaydue to the weather forecastand the hard rain in someareas.

Janet Turnage, presi-dent, presided with elevenmembers present.

Members and guests willmeet a BancorpSouth onSaturday, December 5 at3:00 p.m. to travel to HotSprings to see the Christ-mas display at GarvanWoodland Gardens.

Some members whowant to get in necessarywork hours will meet atTrue Value in Hazen at 1:00p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 8, towork on the remainingpots to be placed aroundtown. Bring work glovesand small gardening toolsto use.

Members will meet atBancorpSouth to go to theStuttgart Country Club by6:00 p.m. Thursdayevening, December 10, fortheir annual ChristmasParty. Lonna Rhodes is incharge of arrangements.

Members were giventheir worksheets thatshowed the hours of workand education hours thusfar this year They were tosee if all hours had beenrecorded.

President Turnage said,according to the mem-bers, the records seem tobe correct.

The Club also discussedthe change in the way themoney will be handled be-tween the Club and theCounty Extension office.

Rhonda Betzner, secre-tary, read the minutes thatwere approved. LindaPrice, treasurer, gave the fi-nancial report.

The Club voted to send adonation to the State Mas-ter Gardener organizationfor the awards and servicepins that are given to mem-bers.

The next meeting of thePC Master Gardeners willbe Tuesday, Janaury 19 atBancorpSouth in Hazen.Meeting will begin at 6:00p.m.

W H I T E R I V E R J O U R N A L , T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 5

P e r s o n a l l y S p e a k i n gP e r s o n a l l y S p e a k i n g

Billy Warren Cook of Bis-coe recently had surgeryon his carotid arteries dueto over 80% blockage onboth sides. He is still hav-ing some blood pressure is-sues and dizziness and hasa follow-up appointmentwith his physician thisweek. He has been underthe care of his daughters,Casey Ingle and Kristi Mor-den, both of Des Arc. Hehas two grandchildren thatattend Des Arc HighSchool, Lexi Cook andBryar Morden. Billy War-ren retired this year fromthe Prairie County RoadDepartment after 28 yearsof service.

---------Prayers are sent to Car-

men (Stallings) Lee. Shesuffered a stroke recentlyand had been hospitalizedat Unity Health (WhiteCounty). She was sent toDes Arc Nursing and Reha-bilitation Center afterplacement of a feedingtube for rehab. She wastaken back to Unity Healthand is in intensive care atthis writing. Carmen is thewife of Jim Lee and theyhave two children, Trey,who is a Senior at Des ArcHigh School and Samantha(Bubby) Walker and twograndchildren. Carmen isthe daughter of Lee andSyrena (Kirkland) Stallingsof Hernando, Mississippi.

---------Lori and Ron McIntire

along with her sons,Nicholas and MarcusSheets, supplied Thanks-giving dinner at the home

of her parents, Barbara andWindell Merrell.

Lori, Ron and Marcus,who is a Junior at ClintonHigh School, live in Clin-ton, AR. Nicholas is afreshman at Arkansas TechUniversity in Russellville.

On Friday, Walter,Sharon and their daughter,Katherine Mayhew, camewith another Thanksgivingdinner. Walter and Sharonlive in Lake St. Louis, MO.Katherine is a Junior at Lin-denwood University in St.Charles, Missouri.

Doug and Linda May-hew of Higdon, Arkansasjoined the group Friday af-ternooon to enjoy the Ra-zorback Football game.

Everyone had a goodtime. Barbara said thatthey have plenty of left-overs and she continues toimprove after her heart at-tack in October. Barbara isthe daughter of the lateRussell and Wanda Bran-ham, former residents ofthe East Side Community,Des Arc.

---------Judy (Hendricks) and

Gerald Bone were pleasedto have their grandchil-dren, Bailey Palmer andAlex Moe visit a few daysduring Thanksgiving.

Bailey is preparing to re-turn to Belize for the yearwhere she will be acouselor. Alex returned tohis studies in Boston, Mas-sachusetts

Bailey and Alex are thechildren of Ginny (Nick)Clay of Ventura, California.Bailey and Alex have a

younger sister, Claire whois in elementary.

They are the greatgrandchildren of JoyceHendricks of Des Arc andthe late Merlin Hendricks.

----------Sue Margrave has re-

cently enjoyed a visit fromher nieces, Kay Sakaris andBarbara George, of Pasade-na, Texas. Their parentswere the late Robert Wa-ters, a Cross Roads native,and Nell Johnson Waters ofDes Arc. Sue and Nell aredaughters of former localresidents, the late Ray-mond and Myrtle MaroneyJohnson.

Sue is the wife of the lateNorman Margrave andtheir two sons are Johnny(Casi) of Conway andJames (Mary) of Tyler,Texas.

----------Brenda Williams and her

mother, Geraldean (Hollis)Odell were pleased to havebrother and son, Ray DeanHollis, wife, Jan, and chil-dren, Adam and Rachel,here for Thanksgiving.They came Thursday butleft Saturday because ofbad weather reports fromOklahoma City, where theyreside. A tree fell onRachels new Cadillac, butno damage. Ray continuesas leader in The Gather-ing Church in OklahomaCity.

A number of other fami-ly members joined them,including Raya brother,Lanny and wife, Paula, of-Jacksonville; his son, Lanceand wife, Shannon, and

daughter, Sadie; all of LesiaWhites family, and andBrenda and Dannysdaughter, Lindsey Widner,husband, Drew and chil-dren, Marley and Kanaan,of Des Arc and son, NealWilliams of Searcy. Neal is adog groomer, popular withboth dogs and their own-ers.

The Ray Hollis familyalso visited here with Jansparents, Don and AdaKunkel,

----------Bobby and Mamie Gra-

ham of Cross Roads andPat and Condary Johnsonof Hickory Plains returnedhome Sunday after spend-ing several days in Bran-son, Mo. They enjoyed see-ing and listening the sightsand sounds of Branson anddoing a little shopping.

----------Bill Calhoun of the

Northside Community,Des Arc, is on a waiting listfor eye surgery. The spe-cialist who does this type ofsurgery only performs theprocedure once a month. Ifthere is a cancellation, Billwill be notified the day be-fore the procedure is to beperformed. He is hopingthat he will get the call inthe next week. Bill andwife, Shaley own and oper-ate Custom Irrigation.They have a son, Jordan.Bill is the Northside FireChief and is an EMT. Bill isthe son of the late Haroldand Von Calhoun. The Cal-houns are members of theDes Arc First BaptistChurch.

LThe movie SavingChristmas will be showingat the DeValls Bluff Com-munity Center on Saturday,December 12th at 6:00 pm.Admittance is free and freepopcorn will be availableas well as other conces-sions.

Attending his sisters an-nual Christmas party, KirkCameron discovers there isnothing worse than beingaround a Scrooge! ButKirk wont let his brother-in-laws negative take onthe season dampen hisChristmas spirit. Join Kirkand dive headfirst into allof the joy, celebration,feasting, imagination, andtraditions that glorify Jesus

as the true reason for theseason.

Starring Kirk Cameronand his real-life sister Brid-gette Ridenour, SAVINGCHRISTMAS is an engagingmovie that provides yourfamily with a biblical basisfor our time-honored tradi-tions and celebrationsin-cluding Christmas trees,Saint Nicholas, and the Na-tivity!

If you want your familysChristmas celebration tobe all about Jesus, then itstime to start a new tradi-tion with SAVING CHRIST-MAS! Make the most of theChristmas season: let theSAVING CHRISTMAS tradi-tion begin!

IN APPRECIATION: MaryAnne Williams, left, is pic-tured here presenting a Certificate of Appreciation tothe Des Arc Alumni Association on Saturday, November28 during the annual Alumni Association Banquet. TheCertificate was accepted by 2015 Alumni PresidentThressia Bradley-Taylor. According to Williams, theAlumni Association has invested $500 every year since2009 providing 1750 books conservatively valued atnearly $20,000. The Certificate reads:

Be it known that Margaret Fisher Literacy Challenge,Inc. aka Imagination Library of Prairie & WoodruffCounties recognizes the Des Arc Alumni Association as asustaining investor in the education of young Arkansans.Their annual support represents a unique opportunitythat giving the gift of books have on the educational andeconomic impact in the years to come. Children wholearn to appreciate books at an early age become lifelongreaders and better learners. They are more preparedwhen they enter school and are more likely to stay inschool and graduate.

The continuing participation of the Des Arc AlumniAssociation makes the gift of Dolly Parton's ImaginationLibrary books available to all preschool children agesbirth to five in Prairie County. This home library offersmany memorable moments to families fostering a love oflearning and education that will benefit our communityand our world.

Williams is one of the coordinators for the Dolly Par-ton reading program.

Senior Recital: Pictured above is Drew Hampton, right, performing during his SeniorRecital at Arkansas State University-Jonesboro on Sunday, November 29 before fellowmusicians, faculty, friends and family. Accompanying Drew on the piano is Dr. LaurenClarke, ASU Faculty member. Drew performed two pieces, Premiere Rhapsodie byClaude Debussy and Concerto for Clarinet by Aaron Copeland. A reception was heldafter the recital for guests. Drew, son of Tony and Liz Hampton of Des Arc, is a SeniorMusic Major at ASU-Jonesboro.

You Are Invited To

Open House

Master Gardeners complete plans for final activities of the year

Retired Teachersluncheon Dec. 15

The Prairie County Re-tired Teachers Associationwill meet at the HickoryPlains United MethodistChurch on Tuesday, De-cember 15 at 12:00 noon fortheir Christmas Potluckluncheon.

Debora Carpenter ishostess.

Members are to bring afriend and some non-per-ishable foods for the PrairieCounty Food Pantry.

Both of these thingshave been done for the lastseveral years, Kathy Ewing,president, said.

She also said that besidesa little business to take careof, there will be a little bit ofa Christmas program.

Saving Christmas showingat DVB Community Center

Shop Lynns ...and fill all your Christmas stockings with the perfect gift!

You Are Invited to Our

Open HouseFriday & Saturday, Dec. 4 & 5

ChristmasOrnaments

50% OffChristmas Wreaths, DecorativeAccessories, Arrangements

25% Off

ScarvesJewelry

Lynns Flowers & Gifts16th and Main Streets

Des Arc 870-256-3191 or 870-256-1399

AromatiqueYankee Candles

New Scents: Winterberry

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10% Off

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ShirtsSouthern Trend,and Kerusso

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er for

Door Prizes

8 - 5:30 8 - 12 Noon

Friday, Dec. 4 - 11 am - 6 pmSaturday, Dec. 5 - 10 am - 5 pmRefreshments Served on Saturday

See Our New Fall Inventory

Sizes Small-3x

Gift Cards Available

412 Main StreetIn Des Arc

W H I T E R I V E R J O U R N A L , T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 56

DDDee SS AArrr CC nn uurr SS ii nn gg &&

rree hhh AA bbb ii lll ii tttAAA tt ii oo nnn CCCee nn ttt ee rrr

by Activity Director, teresa henley

Recipes forGifts/TreatsFrom Rev. Jaimie Alexander

From theKitchen ofRev. JaimieAlexander,MethodistMinisterat Bella Vista

Greetings from Des ArcNursing and RehabilitationCenter! We hope everyoneenjoyed their Thanksgivingdespite the bad weather.

DANRC had a deliciousThanksgiving dinner withall the traditional foodsand boy, was it good! Aftereating all of that good food,we wanted to take a nap!

We were sorry to learnthe Eagles lost their gameat England but they arewinners in our book! Theyhave had a great season.

We did not think the rainwas ever going to end afterfour days. We hardley rec-ognized the sun when itcame out on Tuesday!

We are busy finishingup decorating the facilityfor the Christmas holidays.The residents are excited

and are looking forward tothe First Baptist Choirsvisit and the Gifted and Tal-ented kids from Des Arc El-ementary. Just a couple ofspecial events that will behappening here.

It is only 22 days untilChristmas. Did you go tothe sales on Thursday orFriday? I understand thatit was not quite as bad aslast year but I have heardthat Cyber Monday was theheaviest that is has been inseveral years.

We enjoyed watchingthe Razorbacks on Fridaywin their last game of theseason against Missouri.We were wondering whichBowl Game the Hogs willbe invited to.

The Des Arc Chamber ofCommerce Christmas Pa-

rade is Saturday. We arehoping the weather will bewarm enough so that wecan sit outside and watchthe floats and band.

We are pleased to havethe our flashing light dis-play that is coordinatedwith a local radio station toflash with the music.Come out and watch thelight show.

This is all for this week.We would love for you tocome out and visit. Ourdecorations are beautifuland the residents lovecompany.

Until next time, have asafe and blessed rest of theweek!

Teresa HenleyActivity Director

SSee nn ii oorr CCiitt ii zz ee nn SS CCee nn tt ee rrD E S A R C , A R K

By Barbara Williams, Site DirectorWe hope everyone had a

wonderful Thanksgivingweekend.

Monday, we playedBingo, and the quilters hada meeting about the nextquilt.

Tuesday we had Joke ofthe Day and got the centerdecorated for the Bake Saleand Potluck.

Wednesday everyone

gathered together for awonderful ThanksgivingPotluck meal and enjoyedthe Bake Sale desserts.

We were closed Thurs-day and Friday. We will behaving a Christmas PlayDecember 18th at 6pmwith refreshments. Every-one is invited to come tothe center.

We will see everyone in

the Des Arc ChamberChristmas Parade Saturdayevening. God Bless andhave a great weekend!

Barbara Williams, SiteDirector

Olivia Holcomb Osborn,Meals on Wheels

www.facebook.com/de-sarcseniorcitizencenter

White Chocolate Cranberry OatmealCookies,Time Honored Cut-out SugarCookies and Royal Icing, Icebox Fruit-cake, Pecan Chewies, and Pecan Snow-balls are special treats that make won-derful gifts to share and sweet treats toserve during the Christmas Festiveevents you will be hosting and attending. These recipes use basic ingredients thatyou most likely have on hand. So tie on your apron and enjoy baking forChristmas!

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened1 cup firmly packed brown sugar2 large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla1 cup rolled oats1 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda teaspoon salt1 cup dried cranberries1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts cup white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line acookie sheet with parchment paper or asilicone baking mat and set aside.In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in thebowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter andbrown sugar together until is light andfluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mixwell.In another bowl, combine the oats, flour,baking soda, and salt and mix well. Addhalf of the dry mixture to the wet mixtureand mix well. Add the other half and mixwell. Stir in the dried cranberries, wal-nuts, and white chocolate chips.Drop the dough by heaping tablespoon-fuls onto the lined cookie sheet about 3 to4 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutesor until golden brown. Transfer the cook-ies to a wire rack to cool. Makes 3 dozen.

Time Honored Cutout Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing

2 cups butter (4 sticks)2 cups sugar2 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon almond extract1 teaspoon salt6 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugartogether until smooth. Add eggs, extracts,and salt, mix well. Add the flour gradual-ly, stirring well. Cover or wrap dough andchill for at least an hour, but preferablyovernight.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.Divide dough into quarters and work withone quarter at a time, keeping the otherrefrigerated. Roll out on floured surface toabout a thickness. Cut into shapes withyour favorite cookie cutters. Transfer cut-outs to a cool cookie sheet lined withparchment paper or a silicone bakingmat.Bake 6 to 8 minutes, or until set but notbrowned. Cool and decorate with royalicing.

Royal icing

3 oz. pasteurized egg whites (example:All Whites)1 teaspoon vanilla4 cups powdered sugarInstructionsIn a large bowl, beat together whites and

vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar,mixing well. Once all the sugar is incorpo-rated, beat for two minutes on high oruntil smooth and glossy. Color using gelbased food colorings.

Icebox Fruitcake ( my grandmother always made this atChristmas using vanilla wafers)1 Box graham crackers (14.4 oz.)1 cup pecans1 jar maraschino cherries (10 oz.)drained, with juice reserved1 cup raisins1 cup shredded coconut, firmly packed1 cups mini marshmallows1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)Finely crush graham crackers andcoarsely chop pecans and drain cherries.Combine all ingredients in a large bowland mix well. Add reserved cherry juiceby the tablespoonful until the mixturecomes together, but isn't too soft.Turn out into a lightly buttered 9X13 dishand press flat into the pan with yourhands. Chill at least 6 hours, then cut intobars.

Pecan Chewies

2 sticks butter1 cup granulated sugar1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed2 eggs, well beaten2 cups self-rising flour1 cup pecans2 tsp. vanillaPreheat the oven to 300 degrees.Melt butter, add sugars, and blend well byhand (no mixer).Add beaten eggs, stir well.Add flour and stir until all lumps are gone.Add pecans and vanilla.Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13baking dish.Bake approximately 40 to 50 minutesbeing cautious not to over cook. Youwant them to remain chewy. Cool and cutinto squares.

Pecan Snowballs

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)1 cup powdered sugar (plus more forcoating)2 teaspoons vanilla extract teaspoon salt2 cups all-purpose flour1 cups finely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line acookie sheet with parchment or siliconebaking mat.In a large bowl, (or in the bowl of yourstand mixer) cream your butter and sugartogether. Add the vanilla and salt and mixwell. Slowly add the flour, mixing wellafter each addition. A thick dough willform. Add the chopped pecans and mixwell.Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough out androll it into a ball and place it on the cook-ie sheet. I like using a 1 tablespoon cook-ie dough scoop to get them all the samesize. Continue until all the dough hasbeen formed into balls. Place them on thecookie sheet about 1 inch part. Bake for15 to 18 minutes.Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 min-utes then gently roll them in powderedsugar while still warm. Allow them to coolcompletely and then coat them in pow-dered sugar again.

Alzheimer's support group

Meeting has beenMOVED to third Wednes-days each month. Nextmeeting is December 16,10:30 am, at the LowerWhite River Museum StatePark in Des Arc.

A key component of as-pirin has been found toblock a process in the de-velopment of Alzheimersdisease, as well as Parkin-sons, Huntingtons andother neurodegenerativedisorders.

Researchers at the BoyceThompson Institute andJohn Hopkins Universitydiscovered that salicylicacid, the primary byprod-uct of aspirin, binds to acellular enzyme calledGAPDH. That stops it fromcausing cell a key mecha-nism in the development ofAlzheimers and otherbrain disorders.

The study, which ap-pears in the Public Libraryof Science journal PLOSONE, suggests that deriva-tives of salicylic acid mayhold promise for treatingmultiple neurodegenera-tive diseases.

"The enzyme GAPDH,long thought to functionsolely in glucose metabo-lism, is now known to par-ticipate in intracellular sig-naling," said researcherSolomon Snyder, professorof neuroscience at JohnsHopkins University in Bal-

timore. "The new study es-tablishes that GAPDH is atarget for salicylate drugsrelated to aspirin, andhence may be relevant tothe therapeutic actions ofsuch drugs."

The anti-Parkinson'sdrug deprenyl works in asimilar way on GAPDH, theresearchers noted. Theyalso found that a naturalderivative of salicylic acidfrom the Chinese medicallherb licorice and a lab-synthesized derivative bindto GAPDH more tightlythan salicylic acid.

The study was funded,in part, by the U.S. Nation-al Science Foundation andthe U.S. Public Health Serv-ice.

Chamber businesses will be the only merchants with tickets for the Chambers TV giveaway.

ChristmasGive-aways

atOpen HouseWeekend

The Des Arc Chamber of Commerce announces the following give-aways this Fri-day and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5, at participating Chamber-member businesses

City Market

Kennedy Law Office

Merchants & Planters Bank

Garden Gate

Des Arc Public Library

Harveys Garage

Big Ds

Lindsays Pizza

Farmers & Merchants Bank

Palace Drug Store

Garth Hardware

Des Arc Auto & Ag

Lynns Flowers & Gifts

Greenway Equipment, Inc.

2 - $25 Gift Certificates

Christmas Table Ornament

32 oz. Yeti Rambler

Gift Basket

Brownie Mix in a jar

$25 Gas Card

2 Lunch Specials

2 Fri. or Sat. Night Buffets

$50

Christmas Platter

8 ft. Christmas Stocking

43 qt. Ice Bin Cooler

Wreath & Aromatique

36-Pc Floor Puzzle

Saturday

Friday

Friday

Friday

Thursday

Saturday

Saturday

Saturday

Friday

Saturday

Saturday

Saturday

Saturday

Friday

Can Aspirin Help Prevent Alzheimer's?

DANRC Cooks

Residents and Guests enjoying delicious Thanksgiving dinner at DANRC

W H I T E R I V E R J O U R N A L , T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5 7

FARM/HOMEFARM/HOME

CROP REPORTBrent Griffin

CEA-Staff ChairPrairie County

Cooperative Extension ServiceP.O. Boxll 388

DeValls Bluff, AR 72041(Office) 870-998-2614(Mobile) 870-351-54616Week of Nov. 16Days of field work: 0Top Soil Moistu re:

100% SurplusSub Soil Moisture:

100% AdequateLivestock Condition:

Fair

Main Activities:Rainfall limited the re-

maining soybean harvest.Cool season grasses haveresponded to moisture.Water was being held forwaterfowl.

Crop Progress:Soybean: Soybean:

97% HarvestedCrop Condition: Soy-

bean: 100% PoorPasture/Hay: 100%

FairFinal Report for 2015

Arkansas officials re-cently returned from anagricultural trade missionto Sub-Saharan Africa ledby United States Depart-ment of Agriculture(USDA) Deputy SecretaryKrysta Harden. The agri-cultural trade mission tookplace in Ghana, Africa,from November 15-20.

Secretary of AgricultureWes Ward, Secretary ofState Mark Martin, DeputySecretary of State JosephWood and World TradeCenter Arkansas Represen-tative Denise Thomas wereamong attendees. Repre-sentatives from TysonFoods, the USA Rice Feder-ation, the American Soy-bean Association and oth-ers also participated in thetrade mission. In all, fivestate departments of agri-culture and 26 agribusi-nesses and organizationsthroughout the UnitedStates accompaniedDeputy Secretary Hardenon the trade mission.

Agriculture SecretaryWes Ward explained,Arkansas exports approxi-mately 30% of our statesagricultural products eachyear and is consistentlyranked in the top ten in thenation for exports of sever-al commodities. Relation-ships and face-to-face vis-its are an important aspectof agricultural trade.USDA-led agriculturaltrade missions assist theArkansas Agriculture De-partment in building rela-tionships with our globalpartners and expandingopportunities for Arkansasfarmers and ranchers.

Sub-Saharan Africa hasa strong economic outlook,a growing middle class,and surging demand forconsumer oriented foods.The region is also one ofthe fastest growing areasfor U.S. agricultural ex-ports, which have grown bymore than 50% over thelast decade to a total of $2.3billion in 2014.

The outlook is positivefor expanded export op-portunities in Ghana and

the Sub-Saharan Africa re-gion. In 2014, the USDA re-ports that Sub-SaharanAfrica imported an esti-mated $48.5 billion in foodand agricultural products.Currently, Arkansas plays arole in Sub-Saharan Africawith exports of the follow-ing products: poultry andmeat products, wheat, rice,dairy and forest products,and distilled spirits. As of2014, the top Sub-SaharanAfrica markets for U.S.agricultural and relatedproducts include: Nigeria,Angola, South Africa,Ghana, Ethiopia, andKenya.

"The potential for devel-opment in Sub-SaharanAfrica is huge. Arkansasagribusiness has a lot tooffer and establishing a re-lationship with this regionwill be mutually beneficialto our economy and theirs.Good friends make goodtrading partners," said Sec-retary of State Mark Mar-tin.

Participation in thistrade mission not onlyshows a commitment toassist Sub-Saharan Africancountries, but also demon-strates a commitment towork closely with USDAand other state depart-ments of agriculture to ex-pand export opportunitiesfor agricultural products.

Africa represents a greatopportunity for Arkansasfood producers to establishstrategic business alliancesfor bilateral trade and ex-change. Trade missions ofthis nature help facilitateopportunities for econom-ic growth within the state.We look forward to partici-pating and coordinatingmore opportunities forArkansas companies to berepresented in Africa andfoster long term businessalliances for trade, saidDenise Thomas of WorldTrade Center Arkansas.

The Arkansas Agricul-ture Department is dedi-cated to the developmentand implementation ofpolicies and programs forArkansas agriculture and

forestry to keep its farmersand ranchers competitivein national and interna-tional markets while ensur-ing safe food, fiber, and for-est products for the citi-zens of the state and na-tion. llll

Farmers, ranchers andagricultural leaders fromacross the state have cometogether for Arkansas FarmBureaus 81st annual con-vention, set for Dec. 2-4 atLittle Rocks Marriott Hoteland the Statehouse Con-vention Center.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson,Arkansas Farm BureauPresident Randy Veach,agricultural advocate KevinMurphy and farmer-come-dian Tim Moffett headlinethe speakers for the con-vention, which was expect-ed to attract more than1,000 farmers and ranch-ers.

The conventions theme,Growing for Tomorrow, willbe reinforced throughoutthe conventions three-dayrun, including several con-ferences, competitions andspecial meetings.

The event culminateswith the organizations an-nual business session,where voting delegates willdefine the organizationspolicy positions on items ofimportance to Farm Bu-reau members. The dele-gate body also elects theorganizations presidentand vice president.

Our convention reflectsthings that are meaningfulto Arkansas Farm Bureaumembers, said Veach, acotton, rice and soybeanfarmer from Manila (Mis-sissippi County), who isconcluding his seventhyear as president of the or-ganization.

Special conferences arescheduled that will addresstimely topics such as EPAswaters of the U.S. proposal,international trade issues,federal farm programs,labor challenges, avian in-fluenza and weed controladvances.

Additionally, there willbe commodity market out-look conferences, as well assessions dealing with ruralhealth issues and the lateston drone technology.

The convention willspotlight the winners inseveral different competi-tions among Farm BureausYoung Farmer & Ranchermembers.

Awards will be presentedto county Farm Bureaus fortheir work in support of theorganizations agriculturaladvocacy and membershipefforts.

AgHeritage Farm Credit Services willhost their annual Customer AppreciationDinner on Tuesday, December 8, begin-ning at 6 p.m. at Dondies White RiverPrincess, Curran St., Des Arc.

Farm Credit celebrated its 99th anniver-sary on July 17 and entered its 100th yearof providing reliable, consistent credit torural communities and agriculture. As partof the centennial celebration, the FarmCredit 100 Fresh Perspectives program wasannounced. Fresh Perspectives is a searchfor 100 visionaries who are shaping the fu-ture of agriculture. The nomination periodis open through December 18. Visit theFarm Credit 100 website to learn moreabout the program, our history and our

mission. www.farmcredit100.comThe Searcy AgHeritage FCS staff con-

sists of Bert Leder, VP Lending and BranchManager; Darlene Crawford, Sr. Ag Con-sumer Lending Officer; Carolyn James,Customer Specialist and Shirley Turner.

AgHeritage Farm Credit Services is a fi-nancial cooperative with owned and man-aged assets of approximately $1.1 billionas of December 31, 2014, that providescredit and related services to more than3,100 farmers, ranchers and producers orharvesters of aquatic products in 24Arkansas counties. Branch offices are lo-cated in Batesville, Brinkley, Dermott,Lonoke, Newport, Pocahontas, Searcy, StarCity and Stuttgart.;

The Arkansas SoybeanPromotion Board (ASPB)announces board mem-bers and officers for 2015-2016.

Des Arc native, DonaldMorton, Jr., has been reap-pointed by Governor AsaHutchinson to serve on theArkansas Soybean Promo-tion Board. Other boardmembers and officers are:West Higginbothom, chair-man, Marianna; GarySitzer, vice chairman,Weiner; Jim Carroll, Brink-ley; Shannon Davis, Bono;John Freeman, Dumas;Glynn Guenther, Sherrill;Douglas Hartz, Stuttgart;Joe Thrash, Houston.

In addition to serving onthe ASPB, Jim Carrollserves as a United SoybeanBoard (USB) director.Derek Haigwood, Newport,also serves as a USB direc-tor. Robert Stobaugh,Atkins, represents ASPB onthe National BiodieselBoard.

With a goal of improvingthe sustainability and prof-itability of the soybean in-dustry in Arkansas, theboard is responsible fordistributing funds from thestate's soybean checkoff

program. The checkofffunds are used primarilyfor research conductedthrough the University ofArkansas Agricultural Ex-periment Station and Co-operative Extension Serv-ice projects.

Arkansas currently ranks10th in the nation in soy-bean production. Arkansassoybean farmers planted3.3 million acres of soy-beans in 41 of the state'scounties. Arkansasachieved its highest aver-age yield in history with 50bushels per acre, while pro-ducing a total yield of 160million bushels.

For more informationabout board members andthe work being done by theASPB, visit TheMiracle-Bean.com.

The Arkansas SoybeanPromotion Board consistsof soybean producers ap-pointed by the Governorand nominated by variousproducer organizationswithin Arkansas. Althoughboard members contributemany hours of their time toadministering the pro-gram, they serve withoutpay.

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Local soybean producerre-appointed to ArkansasSoybean Promotion Board

AgHeritage Farm Credit Services to host Customer Appreciation DinnerCelebrate Farm Credit 100-Year Anniversary

Arkansas participates in USDA-led Agribusiness Trade Mission to Africa

Arkansas Foodbank willbe distributing USDA Com-modities to Prairie Countyresidents on Wednesday,December 16, at the Court-room at City Hall (107 3rdSt, Des Arc) and again onThursday, December 17, atthe Hazen First UnitedMethodist Church (211 NHazen Ave, Hazen).

Both distributions will beopen from 11:00 a.m. to2:00 p.m. You must arriveprior to 2:00 p.m. to receivefood.

Please bring photo IDand proof of Prairie Countyresidence. Residents mayonly receive food from oneof the distributions.

Commoditiesdistributionscheduled inPrairie County

Arkansas Farm Bureau in 81st convention

(left to right): Deputy Secretary of State Joseph Wood; Denise Thomas, Director of Africa Trade,WTC Arkansas; USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden; Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward;Ashley Nicole Johnson, Chief of Staff to the USDA Deputy Secretary (an Arkansas native); andArkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin

Mineral lease workshop set for Dec. 17 at ASU-Searcy

Mineral leases can provide additional income, but theyalso come with additional responsibilities. Hear the in-dustry, regulatory and legal perspectives at a workshopDec. 17 in Searcy.

Mineral leases: What you need to know about leaseend, water quality and your estate plan will be held from5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. at Arkansas State University-Searcy, inroom TE127 in the Technology East building. Theres nocost to attend.

The workshop is sponsored by the Southern Risk Man-agement Education Center and the University of ArkansasSystem Division of Agricultures Public Policy Center.

Arkansans found themselves in mineral lease agree-ments with drilling companies, but may want to exploresome of the other rights and responsibilities included,said Amanda Perez, extension program associate for thePublic Policy Center. These issues include what happenswhen the lease ends, how a lease will impact their estateplanning or what water quality issues might involved.

Chambers Nursing and Rehab Center

The Sand Hill CemeteryAssociations fall meetingwill be held Sunday, De-cember 6, at 2 p.m. in theFellowship Hall of the SandHill Missionary BaptistChurch located on Hwy. 38east of Des Arc.The purpose of this

meeting, advises Secretar-ty-Treasurer, Barbara Mer-rell, is to elect board mem-bers whose term is expir-ing, discuss financial sta-tus, and the condition ofthe cemetery itself. Position 4, held by Curtis

Hitt, and Position 6, heldby Roy Turmond, are theterms expiring this year.Other board members

are Steve Sanner, Position1; Gladys Sanner, Position2; Tim Sears, Position 3;Jimmy McDaniel, Position5; and Barbara Merrell, Po-sition 7. A term is for a pe-riod of three years and wasstarted in 1995 when Per-petual Care was organizedto support the cemetery incoming years. Financial reports will be

present for inspection.Anyone with family

members buried in the-

Sand Hill Cemetery is invit-ed to attend and becomeactive in the organization.

Shop Here forChristmas

Gifts &Goodies

Amish BrittleChristmas BrittlesPepper JelliesOrnaments

(REMINDER) For peopleto call 870-854-3703 oremail me(OpalCrider@centurytel.net) their News. Please call orsend!!! If you want birth-days in my column and youknow I dont put them in,please let me know! I knowpeople do things that wewould all enjoy readingabout. Not many let meknow , so thats why manyweeks is about Me andMine!I know a 2 BR, 1 bath

trailer for rent in HickoryPlains. Call me if you areinterested.Russell Patterson would

like for anyone that hasdishes at his house to callhim, Home 854-5583 orCell 501-920-5589. Pleasecontinue to keep him andfamily in your Prayers!Uncle Bob Evans had

most all his family Thurs-day for Thanksgiving. Un-cle Wayne Evans was there,too.We enjoyed having all

our in-state kids, Weaversand Cochrans. There weresixteen of us. Randy Criderand family from TN werenot here. Carls friend,Adrienne and Monte Crid-er joined us.Gary, Brenda, Eric and

Jamie Evans, Annas AuntKaren and family and herGrandma had Thanksgiv-ing at Clint and Anna EvansFriday.Sorry the DAHS Eagles

lost their game Friday nightto England. You all shouldstill be proud and holdyour heads hi.Thankful Jamie Norman

of Cross Roads survived abad wreck Friday nigh