Washington County Enterprise-Leader

News

Hometown Hero Goes 'Above And Beyond' LINCOLN -- Lincoln School Board, state Rep. Charlene Fite and some mothers honored Lincoln bus driver Dale Shook last week for saving a student from being struck by a vehicle. by Lynn Kutter

School Board Appoints New Member To Fill Vacancy FARMINGTON -- Farmington School Board accepted the resignation of board member Doug Williams last week and then turned around and voted to appoint retired Farmington educator Lori Blew to serve out the remainder of his term. by Lynn Kutter

Prairie Grove Calls Special Election To Issue Up To $18 Million In Bonds PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove City Council voted last week to call a special election on Feb. 9, 2021, to ask voters to allow the city to refund bonds secured by a 1% local sales tax and a 0.75% local sales tax and then use the two sales tax rates to issue new bonds to finance up to $18.3 million in new construction projects. by Lynn Kutter

School Refinances Bond Issues For Savings LINCOLN -- Lincoln Consolidated School District recently refinanced two bond issues and the School Board received good news about the sales at its Nov. 16 meeting. by Lynn Kutter

Local Districts Added To 'Red Zone' FARMINGTON -- Farmington and Prairie Grove school districts have been added to the "red zone" of districts with 50-99 new known covid-19 infections per 10,000 residents over a 14-day period, according to a news release from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement on Nov. 19.

Council Increases Water, Sewer Rates PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove water and sewer customers will pay small incremental rate increases over the next four years, with the first increase taking effect Feb. 1, 2021. by Lynn Kutter

DECA Chapter Helps With Food Drive Farmington High's DECA chapter participated in a food drive with Farmington United Methodist Church.

'Shop' Donation SUBMITTED PHOTO Brandy Allen with Specialty Fastening Systems in Prairie Grove donates to School Resource Officers Travis Stills, left, and David Faulk for the Prairie Grove Police Department's Shop with a Cop Program. The department is still accepting donations for this year's program. There are about 60 children on the 2020 list. by Lynn Kutter

Sports

Tigers Break Away In Fourth PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove (10-1) broke away from a see-saw battle with 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to ring up a 59-34 playoff win over Blytheville (5-5) Friday at Tiger Den Stadium. by Mark Humphrey

Farmington Loses Playoff 51-21 LITTLE ROCK -- Pulaski Academy didn't play the previous two weeks entering Friday's Class 5A first-round contest. by Jeremy Muck

Lincoln Silences Skeptics LINCOLN -- Reed Mendoza became only the second head football coach in school history to win a playoff game with the Wolves knocking off Atkins, 37-14, on Friday. by Mark Humphrey

Lincoln Girls Suffer Loss At Ozark LINCOLN -- Lincoln girls basketball coach Emilianne Slamons took her team to Ozark for a nonconference game on Monday, Nov. 16. Lincoln's first basket didn't come until junior Landree Cunningham knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing 2:10 into the contest and played from behind eventually losing 59-31 on the road at Ozark.

Cardinals Stave Off Tough Lavaca Squad FARMINGTON -- The Cardinals won 77-71 on Nov. 16 while hosting a Lavaca team which went 34-5 last season winning district and Regional championships before losing in the Class 3A State semifinals. by Mark Humphrey

Picture Of Mercy FARMINGTON -- Those looking for a definition of mercy in a contemporary world which often seems hostile need look no farther than Farmington's 57-8 girls basketball win over Lavaca Nov. 16. by Mark Humphrey

Lady Tigers lose 47-35 to Siloam Springs PRAIRIE GROVE -- Siloam Springs dealt Prairie Grove a 47-35 nonconference loss in the girls basketball home-opener at Tiger Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 17. by Mark Humphrey

Prairie Grove Playoff Highlights MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER by Mark Humphrey

Opinion

COLUMN: Innovation, Investment, Creativity Abound America's race into space is now riding on a superhighway. The latest Elon Musk Space-X launch of four astronauts looked more like a downtown shuttle bus than it did a risky rocket ride. I could imagine the music from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey as the slow-motion docking scene played out. We're a long way away from a cramped Mercury capsule holding one man in a tight squeeze. When the astronaut's capsule docked with the International Space Station last week, no human pilot was used. A computer did all the work. NASA has come a long way after doing all the initial heavy lifting. Now the involvement of America's private sector, with its investment capital, creative genius, unfettered ideas, and profit motive, has accelerated progress much faster.

COLUMN: A Thanksgiving Message For 2020 Has life gotten you down? Well, let me tell you: my joy, security, contentment, and whatever else we can put on the list, is not affected by whatever happens in life. Our country may be in a mess, but my security and joy are based on what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me. I'm thankful that Jesus gave His life for me, and I'll be eternally thankful that, in turn, I've given my live to Him.

OPINION: Hanging chad Do you remember hanging chad? No, I'm not talking about lynching someone named Chad. I'm talking about the obscure word that all of America became familiar with -- the dangling tiny circles of paper that are part of punch cards. They were punched out by a stylus to select a candidate. by Ron Wood

OPINION: Was It A Bad Day? When I woke up this morning, it was raining. Carol checked the weather report and said it had ... wait a minute. I better tell you what this is all about.

OPINION: 'Lame Duck' Governor Ill-Prepared For Pesky 2021 Legislature Gov. Asa Hutchinson, it would seem, is trying to resist adjusting to his new role as a "lame duck" governor of Arkansas.

A Delicious Apple Cake Recipe I fully intended to include an apple recipe each week, not to take place of the missed Apple Festival, but to remind us to look forward to a better time, and to remind us of the good times of these past many years. by Jackie Brooks

OPINION: Remembering 'Hanging Chads" from 2020 Election Do you remember hanging chad? No, I'm not talking about lynching someone named Chad. I'm talking about the obscure word that all of America became familiar with - the dangling tiny circles of paper that are part of punch cards. They were punched out by a stylus to select a candidate.

Religion

OPINION: Thanksgiving a day to rejoice in the LORD! "They read from the book, from the Law of God, with interpretation, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. Then Nehemiah the magistrate, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were teaching the people said to all the people, 'This day is holy to the LORD your God. Stop mourning and weeping.' (This was because all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.) Then he said to them, 'Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.' So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, 'Hush! Because today is holy you should stop being so sorrowful.' Then all the people went to eat, to drink, to send portions, and to enjoy a great celebration because they had understood the words declared to them." Nehemiah 8:8-12 by Randy Moll

RELIGION: Don't forget to pray for ministers of the Gospel "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak." Colossians 4:2-4 by Randy Moll

RELGION: Responding To Temptation By Standing Firm In Jesus Christ Have you handled challenges in life just as you had planned? For most of us, we have not always responded to life events as we thought we should or could.