Faulkner County residents are seeing spots — in their yards. The Faulkner County Extension Service is getting an elevated number of calls this spring about lawn-care problems in the area.

First Baptist Church Maumelle is looking for ways to answer calls from foster parents across Arkansas through the church’s ministry The CALL Mall. It is a branch of The CALL, which stands for Children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime.

Emily Darnell of Maumelle is making a name for herself. She recently received the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. At the age of 15, Emily has been in Girl Scouts for nine years.

The Toad Master made a special appearance at Greenbrier Middle School on April 30, right before he assumed his official duties May 3-5 at the Toad Suck Daze festival in Conway. Brian Ratliff, aka The Toad Master, was the keynote speaker at the Greenbrier Bookcase for Every Child Project’s second annual awards ceremony.

Thanks to a mayor on a mission to get healthy, Greenbrier Gets Fit was launched for city employees.

Several artists in and around central Arkansas will participate in the Conway League of Artists’ Studio and Gallery Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Dardanelle will be a noisy place on Friday and Saturday. The 24th annual Yell Fest has all kinds of activities including, yes, a yelling contest.

Conway Regional Medical Center’s clinic in Mayflower is back in business at its location on Arkansas 365 after the smell of oil from the ruptured underground pipeline forced the clinic to temporarily move to Conway.

One of life’s greatest pleasures is cooking delicious food for the people you love, then watching their delight. Food has a special power to convey to those around us just how much we care about them.

The arts took center stage April 19 as the Conway Alliance for the Arts presented its first Outstanding Achievement in the Arts awards at a Community Arts Awards Celebration in the Trieschmann Fine Arts Building at Hendrix College.

Thousands of students and employees have come and gone from Quitman schools over the years. Organizers of the Quitman School Alumni Association Inc. hope many will return on May 25 for the annual alumni reunion, which will be held from 2-4 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

Following are dates for baccalaureate ceremonies and graduations for high schools in the River Valley & Ozark Edition coverage area:

Heber Springs High School Principal Justin Johnston can add one more item to the list of things he’s proud of this year.

Out-of-use back roads in Fairfield Bay are getting fresh use as biking, hiking and horseback-riding trails, thanks to a group of area residents.