I witnessed something last week that made me feel sorry for parents across the world. In no way should any parent, let alone any non-parent, have to put up with not just a disrespectful child, but a disrespectful teenager who should know better.
I admit as a teenager there were times I needed an attitude adjustment and I don’t blame my mother for feeling like ringing my neck, but that’s one good thing about getting older.
Nine-year-old Madison Taylor always wanted a sibling. Last Christmas she got three. Chaney Wes III, Ty Eastin and Sophie Grace Taylor may not have arrived Christmas day, but for Chaney and Leah Taylor of Batesville they are nothing short of a Christmas miracle. Three to be exact. On Dec. 26 the triplets born premature at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock will turn 1. For mom Leah it’s been a year full of excitement.
CONWAY — By the sound of her voice, you would think Vonna Coker had known the man and woman for years. “Hello, hello,” she says, as the door swings open and the couple walks inside. “You need me, or are you all right over there?” she asks a man who’s peering into a glass case filled with Depression-era glassware.
With more students expected to attend Batesville Schools this fall, Superintendent Ted Hall wants to be prepared when the school bell rings and the classroom doors open a week from Wednesday. In a unanimous vote during a special meeting Monday afternoon, the Batesville School Board agreed to hire five new certified teachers for the 2009-10 year. With students transferring under Freedom of Choice to attend Batesville and new kindergartners coming in, along with all the returning students, the additions will ensure a proportionate student to teacher ratio.
I cannot believe it’s been seven years. Seven years since I graduated from River Valley High School in Strawberry. Seven years since I packed up both my and my mom’s car with all the things I would need for the big world of college at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Has it really been seven years?
When something tasted good to my dad, it wasn’t uncommon for him to compliment it by saying, “It’s so good it’ll make ya’ wanna slap your mama.” Last week, following a stop at chef Paula Deen’s restaurant in Tunica, Miss., I would have to agree. Deen, who is one of a handful of chefs like Rachel Ray or Emeril Lagasse to become popular with TV audiences in recent years, currently has her own restaurant in the casino capital of the South, and boy is it good.
CAVE CITY — Stainless steel pots and pans, of every shape and size, are stacked into rows big and small. Hot dog rotisseries, coffee makers, twin-basket fryers and milk-shake machines — just some of what can be found — line rows and rows of shelves from top to bottom. The brick and metal building, sitting discreetly between the town post office and a thrift store along Main Street in Cave City, might not seem like much on the outside.
To some, a doorbell might not seem like much. But for Dale and Tabitha Leigel, it means more than words can say. Next month, Independence County’s first Habitat for Humanity family will move into the house that has taken 52 weekends and more than 2,000 hours to build. It’s a house they can call their own after years of renting. At Habitat for Humanity’s “Home Is Where The Heart Is” benefit banquet Saturday night, Tabitha said it was “heart” and a lot of it that went into the building of their new house.
This Valentine’s Day I received my first professionally delivered flowers at my very first job from Luke. Twenty-four multicolored roses, delicately packaged from ProFlowers.com, were delivered to the office Friday. Pink, orange, yellow and white. Even without the red they couldn’t be more beautiful. Nothing against red, I love them too, but Luke being the traditional romantic has always opted for the red buds for the last four years, so imagine my shock to see that he deviated from the flower norm and got me my very favorite.
While 1,800 homes are still without power in rural areas this morning, Les Frensley hopes that won't be the case Wednesday afternoon.
"We hope to have most everyone on by the end of the day Wednesday," said the customer service manager with Entergy Arkansas.
