IN THE BIG LEAGUES NOW: Arkansas documentary filmmaker Larry Foley recently learned that the MLB Network will air Foley's recent film, The First Boys of Spring, next month. The film chronicles the earliest days of spring training, which took place in Hot Springs. See it at 5 p.m. Feb. 13 and again at 8 a.m. Feb. 21.
ARKANSAS MADE: Remember Esperanza -- that 8.52-carat diamond found by a Colorado woman last summer at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro? After being cut and polished at Stanley Jewelers in North Little Rock last fall, the stone was transformed into a 4.6-carat oblong stunner and has been rated by the Gemological Institute of America and the American Gem Society as having exceptional color (D) and clarity (IF -- Internally Flawless).
Little Rock-based furniture maker Tommy Farrell crafted a special box in which to showcase the 147-facet, teardrop-cut triolette jewel now mounted in a custom-designed necklace. The cover of the box's rosewood stand is a 3D-printed lid created by the Hub and features a trio of milky-white rough oblong points resembling the diamond's original state.
Several independent jewelers and appraisers estimate the diamond to be valued at $1 million due to its provenance and uniqueness. The diamond is touring nationally at select jewelers. Bids to buy it can be submitted in person at any of the tour stops or emailed to the North Little Rock jewelry store at laura@stanleyjewelers.com through Feb. 16.
The diamond can be followed via its Facebook page labeled "theesperanza."
STRIKING WHILE THE MIC IS HOT: Marion native Barrett Baber, who came in third during this season's singing competition on NBC's The Voice, joins Rascal Flatts for concerts in Las Vegas. Baber, most recently a high school performing arts teacher living in Fayetteville, will be a part of the country group's nine-show run at the Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino from Feb. 17 through March 5.
HEAVY SUBJECT MATTER: Nikki Webster of Little Rock, 33, and previously 650 pounds, was featured on the premiere of the fourth season of TLC's My 600-Lb. Life. The show followed the assistant costume designer at the Arkansas Arts Center's Children's Theatre for a year. During that time, she dropped 207 pounds through dieting and surgery.
"I had a gastric sleeve, a surgery which is similar to a gastric bypass," she tells Paper Trails. "About 80 percent of my stomach was removed." Webster says she is still losing weight and will be featured in a follow-up segment in the show's next season. Meanwhile, her episode is being rerun on TLC.
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or lhaymes@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday on 01/17/2016