Hikers find their ordeal world news
MAKING NEWS: Reporter Cathy Frye, 43, and photographer Rick McFarland, 58, longtime, award-winning, married employees of this newspaper, made international headlines last week with their own dramatic tale — a hike gone bad in the Texas desert. In addition to coverage in this paper, their ordeal was covered by CBS This Morning, ABC News’ Good Morning America, The Associated Press, CNN and others.
In case you missed all the coverage, the two were lost for days without food or water in Big Bend Ranch State Park. McFarland, at his wife’s insistence, made his way out and found help. Frye was rescued last Sunday and hospitalized, suffering from severe dehydration and exposure. They are set to return to work this week.
LIFE STORY: Those who saw the divorce filing for Paula and Jason Morell in late August may wonder what that means for Paula’s nationally heard, highly popular Tales of the South radio show that broadcasts from the couple’s restaurant, Starving Artist Cafe in North Little Rock. Fans can breathe easy. “In a nutshell, he will get Starving Artist Cafe and I will get Tales of the South and my publishing company, Temenos,” Paula tells “Paper Trails.”
“What is for sure is that Starving Artist will stay open and Jason will now be the sole owner, and Tales will continue there on Tuesday nights as well as continue to do additional shows at other locations,” she says. Otherwise, she is no longer at the restaurant.
BACK IN THE GAME? Shane Whitlock, a Little Rock radiologist and former contestant on the show Jeopardy!, would like back in the game. He’s competing for the chance to return in the million-dollar Battle of the Decades Tournament. The tournament will feature 45 former contestants, 42 of them chosen by producers and the final three (one from each decade of the show’s history — 1984-1993, 1994-2003 and 2004-2013) chosen by viewers’ online votes.
Whitlock is competing in the online voting against four other fan favorites from the 1990s. He previously appeared on the show three times, winning $32,800 in the 1996 College Championship, $5,000 as a semifinalist in the 1996 Tournament of Champions and $55,400 as a semifinalist in 2005’s Ultimate Tournament of Champions.
Online voting for his category concludes at 8:59 a.m. Monday. To vote for Whitlock, go to: jeopardy.com/minisites/ battle of the decades 90s.
SNOOZER NEWS: So Tontitown residents Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, 48, stars of the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting have announced that they hope to have another child. Yawn ….
“We’re trying at this point, and we shall see if that is a possibility,” says Michelle, 47, whose last pregnancy in 2011 ended in a miscarriage. This notso-breaking news arrives shortly after the launch of the show’s 12th season.