"The Arkansas Traveler"

A three-member cast from the Arkansas Arts Center’s Children’s Theater on Tour presented an original production entitled “The Arkansas Traveler” last Friday to students from Kingsland and Rison Elementaries inside the Kingsland Auditorium.

Written by Alan Keith Smith, the production was inspired in part by the image depicted in Edward Washbourne’s 1858 painting, “The Arkansas Traveler,” of a mounted rider encountering a fiddler and his family at the door of their humble cabin. The storyline for the play centered on front porch story telling. The cast consisted of Nate Buursma, Mark Hansen, and Anna Holman.  The presentation was made possible by a grant through the Arkansas Humanities Council and Target.

RISON – Last week’s announcement that Fordyce Bank & Trust will be buying The Bank of Rison left some wondering if yet another business in downtown Rison will soon be going away.

Jim Hulse, president and CEO of Fordyce Bank & Trust, did address that matter during his public announcement about the sale. He said it is their intention to find someone to fill the vacancy once The Bank of Rison moves its operations to the Rison Financial Center.

“We don’t want to leave another vacant building downtown,” he said.

Hulse said that move will not take place until the merger is approved by the federal regulatory agency, which could take up to 190 days.

With an eye on keeping existing businesses in downtown Rison as well as bringing in new ones,  a meeting has been set up for 4 p.m. Thursday, March 1, inside the Community Room at The Bank of Rison to discuss the possible formation of an organized effort to revitalize and beautify downtown  Rison.

“The goal is simple – we want to see more buildings in the downtown area be put to use,” said Britt Talent, publisher of the Cleveland County Herald and one of organizers of the meeting.

To read the full article, see the February 22, 2012 print or e-Herald edition of The Herald.

A work crew from the City of Rison Water Department was busy Tuesday afternoon digging the trenches to install the water lines.Superintendent Johnnie Johnson said the sewer is also expected to be connected this week.

Once the concession stand and restrooms become fully functional, Johnson said that will be the final phase of having the new baseball/softrball complex basically finished.

The Rison Wildcats open their 2012 baseball season at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, with a game against cross-county rival Woodlawn.

The idea of building a new baseball/softball complex for Rison High School was first sparked in 2005 when the baseball and softball teams were having scheduling conflicts with the local youth teams in using the City Park ball fields.

In 2006, the Cleveland County School Board voted to buy 23 acres of land adjacent to the Rison High School campus to build a baseball/softball facility. The school board approved plans for the project in 2007 but construction of the two fields was slow to come. Weather and other issues seemed to hound the project from the start and it wasn’t until last year that the two teams finally got to use the fields for the first time but without a concession stand or permanent restrooms. The school district used a mobile concession trailer and portable toilets instead.

To read the full article, see the February 22, 2012 print or e-Herald edition of The Herald.

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services reported that approximately 300 of Cleveland County’s estimated workforce of 3,900 people were without work in December, equating to an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent for the month.

December’s jobless figures for Cleveland County were up slightly over the November 2011 rate of 7.6 percent.

In comparison, the Arkansas statewide jobless rate for December was 7.4 percent, which was up slightly over the November rate of 7.2 percent.

Despite the slight increase, Cleveland County fared much better than most of its neighbors. Grant County was the only contiguous county that had a lower jobless rate (6.5 percent) than Cleveland County. All the others had unemployment figures at 8.8 percent or higher: Bradley County was at 10.1 percent, Calhoun County at 8.8 percent, Dallas County at 10.4 percent, Drew County at 11.1 percent, Jefferson County at 9.5 percent and Lincoln County at 9.9 percent.

To read the full article, see the February 22, 2012 print or e-Herald edition of The Herald.

All local candidates, regardless of office or party affiliation, must register for their respective offices during this time at the clerk’s office inside the Cleveland County Courthouse at Rison. Candidates for legislative or statewide races register at the state capitol in Little Rock.

So far, there are only two locally  contested races based on the announcements made so far by persons who intend to run this year:

• County Treasurer – Tommy Butcher and Jack Hopson, both of the “Y” community, and incumbent treasurer Becky Tollison

• County Coroner – Scott Newman of Calmer and  Justice of the Peace John Reed of the “Y” community.

To read the full article, see the February 22, 2012 print or e-Herald edition of The Herald.

Rear view of the 1969 Dodge D100 pickup stolen Saturday night near New Edinburg

RISON – The owner of a 1969 Dodge pickup that was stolen sometime between 9 and 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, near New Edinburg is offering a reward for its return.

Willie Livingston, who lives in the Dallas, Texas, area, said his powder blue colored 1969 Dodge D100 was taken from inside a fenced area at 30 Livingston Road near New Edinburg Saturday night.

Livingston said a neighbor heard the truck start that night and later discovered that the truck along with a trailer and some equipment had been stolen. Livingston said everything was inside a locked fence and that the lock had been cut to gain entry. He noted that some of the equipment was taken from inside a locked shop that was on the premises.

In addition to the truck, Livingston said a 10-foot black trailer with a ramp tailgate, two mowers (a Murray riding mower and self-propelled Honda mower), an air compressor, nail gun and leaf blower were also stolen.

Livingston said his biggest concern is getting the truck back. He said he has owned the truck since it was new and the truck has great sentimental value since it was used to teach his children to drive.

Front view of the 1969 Dodge D100 pickup stolen Saturday night near New Edinburg

Anyone with any information is encouraged to call the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department at (870) 3325-6222, or Willie Livingston at (817) 929-7108.

Joyce Rogers was instrumental in helping begin the Women’s Ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention. She loves encouraging and challenging others in their Christian walk.

In addition, Branson comedian Clarence Wayne will be on hand as well as music by the The Lisembys.

Registration is $60 per person, which includes lodging, three meals and the conference. To register or for more information, visit their website www.Lisemby.com for an event brochure and registration.

Interested persons can also contact event coordinator Pamela Lisembyat (417) 230-0409 or email at PamelaLisemby@gmail.com

The event is open to the public. Registration is required. To register, call Donna Ferguson at (870) 352-7197

Samantha is the daughter of Robert and Sharon Harrison of Woodlawn, and the granddaughter of Will and Dorothy Smith of Woodlawn, and Elbert (Sonny) Harrison of Pine Bluff.

To be named to the Chancellor’s List, a student must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours and have a grade point average of 3.8 to 4.0 for the semester.

Despite the loss, Rison still advances to the Class 3A South Region Tournament that begins next week at Prescott. The Wildcats, the no. 4 seed from the 8-3A conference, will  face the home-standing Prescott Curley Wolves, the no. 1 seed from the 7-3A, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

After going without a win in conference play during the regular season, fifth-seeded Rison pulled off an emotional 56-46 win over fourth-seeded Harmony Grove in the first round of the district tournament last Tuesday.

Wildcat Coach Cody Lambert said everything they spent in that win started to catch up with them in the second half against the Bucks.

Smackover was up 15-10 at the end of the first quarter and still maintained only a single digit lead, 26-15, at halftime. But the fatigue of playing two consecutive nights started to take its toll it the third as the Bucks stretched their lead to 46-32 by the end of the quarter and closed out the game with a 24-11 run in the fourth.

“We were a little bit tired from the night before,” Lambert said. “That was an emotional win for us… getting into the regional tournament. That was a big factor for us in the second half (against Smackover).”

To read the full article, see the February 22, 2012 print or e-Herald edition of The Herald.