Mostly Positive Feedback On New Junk Hunt Routes

RISON - Though both the Historic Hwy. 35 Junk Hunt and the Hwy. 79-63 Junk Hunt Loop originated in Cleveland County as separate hunts created by Jennifer Via, they have since expanded into the Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt. Junkers got their first taste of the expansion this past weekend as the fall run saw new treks far beyond the county. "This year has been another successful fall run for the Junk Hunt," said Via. "Several hubs and individual sales in the cities along the route had great turn outs, and some were slow this year." Via said while the majority of the feedback she and her handful of volunteers have received has been positive, some shared concerns that the new routes may not have had many sales on them. Some areas are more densely populated than others, so there will be more sales in those larger areas, but some will also take time to catch on. Via said the perfect example of this was the first 79-63 hunt. "Those highways were spread out when we first started, but now they're full of sales each year." she said. "Some worried this year expanding beyond those would mean less sales, or less traffic on the original route, but there were more than ever." With this first expansion completed, Via plans to merge the Hwy. 35 route, with additional (continued from page 1) connections through Hwy. 270 and Hwy. 167 combining the route to complete the Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt this coming spring, set for March 79, 2024. "The reasoning for the merge is that some people wanted additional roads and cities added to each hunt," Via said. "But at the same time, some wanted the spring route in the fall and the fall route in the spring." Via said some even wanted each Junk Hunt more than once a year. "Combining the two into the Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt and having it twice each year makes the most sense," she said. "There's a whole lot of junk to go around!" A full map will be available soon, as well as dates for the fal...