Jody Smotherman is one of those people who belongs in just about any environment. He’s spent the last three years in the specialty field of health care community engagement, and it’s a good descriptor for the new Stone County Medical Center administrator who shows a passion for people and improved quality of life. more

As was (and is) the case with many hardworking families in rural America, a big part of my ancestry comes from Ireland, and from the UK - not people of distinction, mind you. Just hardworking folks who came to the US looking for new opportunities, and the chance to fulfill some dreams. It is the essence of America, I believe. This welcoming national spirit on which our country was founded. more

One of the things an outsider coming into Mountain View learns quickly is that music is serious business around here. There are especially strong opinions about the purest forms of music that define folk culture. more

I couldn’t have been more than 7 years old when I noticed that spring season that my parents had a few seeds left over from their garden-planting that April. I asked if I could have the spare seeds, and they were glad to oblige, I’m sure, wondering what a 7-year-old would ever want with seeds for squash, cucumber, purple hull peas, and lettuce. Heck, at that age, I didn’t even really like any of those things. more

This week, just a few thoughts and observations, and a project particularly where I could use your feedback. more

We’ve taken one of the most beautiful things in all of commerce, and like most other successful initiatives, turned it into a cookie-cutter enterprise stamping it into existence at the edge every small town across the South. Oh, how I miss the old-style, mom-and-pop general store. more

Arkansas Department of Transportation officials say they expect to manage a different road scenario this week than they did just a week ago, and that heavy snows over several days may not be as difficult to clear as just a few hours of ice were in the region’s first winter weather event. more

Daryl Pitts has snow in his blood. These days, you might even call him the snow man. ARDOT’s area maintenance supervisor for Stone County is a second-generation road-crew worker who remembers the long hours his father would put in to past weather-related events like those county residents are now experiencing. more

There’s a funny nameplate on my desk that reads: “I’m kind of a big deal.” But the truth is, down deep, I’ve never been that much about self. Not that it’s some admirable attribute of a sweetheart of a guy. I’m a live-how-you-feel kind of guy who doesn’t hide his emotions well, but ideas like self-love and self-care just never lined up with my personality. more

The quorum court’s law enforcement committee was to meet Feb. 2 to formalize a process for business owners seeking a private club application to serve alcoholic drinks.  more

State Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View said a bill introduced in the Arkansas House of Representatives would bring greater consistency to wet-dry laws that have been in place for decades. She is lead senate sponsor of HB 1148, which would authorize cities to conduct their own local option elections to manufacture and sell alcoholic beverages. more

It’s hard to overstate the significance of an issue now before the Stone County Quorum Court that at least one justice calls “contentious.” While alcohol sales and wet-dry issues across the state are, indeed, historically contentious, they carry significance well beyond the moral dilemma most frequently debated. more

A 2017 law that shifted the first hurdle of “private club” status approval to local governments is getting its first test before Stone County’s governing body. more

Winter is the best season. Convince me I’m wrong. more

The regular three-day tour of participating artists’ private studios on the 2020 Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour was canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some of the … more