Above, the east side of the Stone County Jail is being considered for expansion potential. Changing standards for jail operation are mainly responsible for the problems forcing Stone County to consider constructing a new jail, along with an unanticipated rise in crime. Kirk Green, who now serves as jail administrator, was a Stone County deputy when the current jail was built in 1994-95 and made the move fro ...

Receiving the Farm Family of the Year honor has a bittersweet aspect for the Olen Wilson family of Timbo. With Olen and Elma Wilson not only farming but with him having taught agriculture for decades, they were an easy choice for the county selection committee in choosing this year’s recipient, especially considering that their son, Jerry, had taken over management of the cattle to extend the family traditi ...

District Judge Jake Newton uses a new video conferencing system at the Stone County Detention Center, technology that has potential to save the Stone County Sheriff's Department both time and money. See the full story in the June 13, 2018 issue. ...

Jail administrator Kirk Green assists with a demonstration of a new video visitation terminal at the county jail. Visiting at the windows inside the jail will no longer be available. The video system can be used on-site or remotely. See the full story in the June 6, 2018 issue. ...

The Dick Powell House on Main Street in Mountain View was demolished last week and the three-acre commercial lot is actively for sale. The structure of the house was unstable with the floor and ceiling falling in, and owner Sharon Rosa believed it was time to get rid of the liability. The Rosa family has owned the property more than 100 years, and the Powell family rented the house for three years when acto ...

Photo courtesy of Amber Masterson/Skylar's Voice A Stone County jury convicted Victoria A. Dycus, 30, of first degree murder last week in the death of her 4-year-old daughter, Skylar Shellstrom, in November, 2016. Dycus was sentenced to 19 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) and will serve at least 70 percent of her sentence (13.3 years) before being eligible for parole. Also charged in the ...

A Stone County man with obvious emotional issues created quite a scene April 3 on Main Street in Mountain View, then the next day burned down his mother’s house. Foy Densmore, 56, withdrew $921 in one- and five-dollar bills and change from First Security Bank on Main Street, according to Densmore’s statement to Mountain View Police. He then walked outside and threw the money in the air. Windy conditions ble ...

Stone County Judge Stacey Avey received word Monday that the county has been approved for a $1 million grant to help construct an 18,000-square-foot building to be leased to Excel Boats for an expansion of the company’s manufacturing operation. The grant, which is being made through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) was announced by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The project is expected ...

Conditions have been right for three prescribed burns to be conducted on U.S. Forest Service land in Stone County this month, the latest involving a small tract around Blanchard Campground, and 243 acres near Optimus, both last week. District Ranger Jim McCoy said last Thursday’s burn near Optimus, in particular, went “exactly as planned” and should achieve the objectives of clearing the cedar brush that ha ...

Three men were transported to hospitals as the result of this two-vehicle accident on Highway 66 Dec. 8 just after 4 p.m. in front of Red Doors Church. According to investigating officer Arkansas State Trooper Blake Johnson, Manuel Solis, 61, was eastbound in a Ford pickup and was turning into the church parking area when he collided with the westbound pickup driven by Josh Tilley, 36, of Mountain View, who ...