Emily Van Zandt
Recent Stories by Emily Van Zandt
Trails still popular as weather warms
updated: 05/22/2013 10:09 a.m. Discuss
It may be time to bask in the air-conditioned indoors for some, but for many residents in the Three Rivers Edition coverage area, summer marks a time to get out on the trail. With walking, hiking and biking opportunities popping up in more cities than ever — including new options in Fairfield Bay and McRae, among others — the trails have become a popular option for free exercise and recreation. Hiker and former outdoor sports owner Frank Barton said his favorite local trail is on Sugarloaf Mountain in Heber Springs, near the campus of Arkansas State University-Heber Springs. The trail is popular year-round but especially draws crowds in the warmer months.
Local loss brings need for lifeguard to Sandy Beach
updated: 05/22/2013 10:13 a.m. Discuss
It had been a hot day of football practice for Robert Woods, and the 13-year-old needed to cool off. Like so many area kids during the summer of 2012, Robert headed straight for Sandy Beach. The popular stretch of sand and rock along a cove at Greers Ferry Lake has a roped-off area for swimming, with the water around 8 feet deep. A few hours later, Heber Springs High School football coach Steve Janski got the phone call: Robert Woods had drowned. “It was an awful feeling when I got that call from our sheriff to come down to the beach,” Janski said. “He was part of our junior high program. We’re a small town and a small school, and it gets even closer when you’re in that locker room.” Word of the sudden loss spread quickly through the football team and the town. Students wanted to see something done, so they started a petition online, asking that a lifeguard be placed at the beach.
Mom business: Cabot area entrepreneurs split time creatively
updated: 05/17/2013 12:04 p.m. Discuss
With a full-time job in Little Rock and plenty of after-school commitments for her son, Peyton, 8, Andrea Beedle has been putting in lots of evening hours to get her new business off the ground. When it opens in early June, her paint-your-own pottery store, Fired Up Cabot, will join a growing number of craft-oriented businesses owned by Cabot-area mothers. In 2011, stay-at-home mom Amy Belk started Knitty Bitty Dreamers, selling knitwear for infants and kids. Rather than spend money on a storefront, Belk sells the items from an online store and at the occasional craft show. With two kids at home, finding the time to knit and crochet for her owners can lead to some late nights.
El Paso man pens book on flood safety
updated: 05/17/2013 12:08 p.m. Discuss
Johnny Mullens can remember the exact moment he decided he was going to write a children’s book. It was Dec. 26, 2011, and he was driving home from visiting his aunt in Oklahoma over the holidays. He had stopped at a restaurant in Fort Smith and started scrawling notes for what would eventually become his first book, Johnny’s Family Goes Camping. The book — available in print and e-book form on Amazon.com — is a combination of two of Mullens’ major interests: weather and learning. The book tells the story of Johnny, Sandy and their parents, who plan a camping trip at Bull Creek Campground. The family makes plans for what to do in case of a sudden flood, and the techniques they talk about help teach readers — and children listening to the story — about flood safety.
Mike Cumnock: Retiring Arkansas Youth Ranches CEO leaves lasting legacy
updated: 05/17/2013 11:57 a.m. Discuss
When it was announced that Mike Cumnock, CEO of Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches, was set to retire at the end of 2013, the emails began pouring in. “I was young and rebellious, but Mr. Mike, he saw something in me,” wrote one former rancher. “He guided me and molded me. … He’s an angel sent from heaven to watch over all of God’s neglected, abused and abandoned children. He did it gloriously.” Cumnock first joined the ranch staff in 1995 as director of professional services, but his ties started out long before that. When the ranches were first opened by members of the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association in 1976 as a refuge for abused and neglected children, residents of Independence County were hesitant to have a ranch in the Batesville area. The association turned to Cumnock to drum up support for the project to be there.
Fulton County gets prepared for annual Homecoming Fest
updated: 05/17/2013 12:09 p.m. Discuss
Of all the things that draw visitors to the annual Fulton County Homecoming Festival, the biggest pull may come in the form of apple pie. At the end of the Bank of Salem Mark Thomas Memorial Apple Pie Run, homemade apple pies await the top 20 runners. It’s a unique motivational tool for the 5K runners, and race organizer Sherry Jackson said the reward draws racers from as far as Jacksonville.
Residents return home for annual Augusta Days
updated: 05/15/2013 10:33 a.m. Discuss
Sixteen years after she first started working with the fest, Janice Beard is still nervous as the Augusta Days Festival approaches. She wants it to be a success. Each year, Beard finally lets out a sigh of relief as the Sunday night fireworks show marks the end of another year.
Searcy K-Life going strong into summer
updated: 05/10/2013 10:21 a.m. Discuss
Nine months after relocating to be closer to the students it serves, Searcy K-Life is going strong. The ministry, which stands for Kanakuk Life, is an interdenominational Christian organization that reaches Searcy youth through Bible studies, mission trips and after-school activities. On its website, K-Life’s mission is described as “the ability to build relationships with kids and bring the content of God’s word to bear on those relationships.” To help further that mission, Searcy K-Life moved last August from a now-demolished house on Elm Street to a one-bedroom ’40s-era home at 810 N. Elm St.
The Rev. Nancy McSpadden: Traveling many paths continually led chaplain to heart’s work
updated: 05/10/2013 10:32 a.m. Discuss
At 60 years old, the Rev. Nancy McSpadden isn’t the typical dorm resident. But the chaplain at Lyon College in Batesville wouldn’t have it any other way. For the last four years, McSpadden has been living as a resident mentor in an on-campus residential hall for upperclassmen.
Tamale Factory bringing big crowds to Gregory
updated: 05/07/2013 3:49 p.m. Discuss
The dining room may only be open for business on Fridays and Saturdays, but work at the Tamale Factory rarely slows down. Opened in November, the tamale and steak-centric spot owned by George Eldridge and located on his farm is filled on Mondays and Tuesdays with the spicy smell of simmering tamale fillings and the busy hands of tamale cooks Donna Wallis and Shirley Western. On Wednesday, the farm’s focus reverts back to a working horse ranch, where Eldridge and trainer Rob McDonald raise quarter horses from babies to yearlings to sell in Oklahoma City.
