Taking a look back at the first half of an eventful 2022
WESTSIDE — Coming to the close of 2022, we take this time to look back over the year at some of the leading stories which appeared in the Westside Eagle Observer on the following dates over this past year.
Jan. 5 — Gravette opens the new year with a new business on Main Street. The opening of Pet Pop, a supplier of all kinds of quality pet supplies, is good news for pet owners in the area who have had to travel out of town to do their shopping.
Jan. 12 — Stormey Jo Pembleton was crowned Gravette’s coronation queen, and the Lions went on to defeat the Pioneers in the basketball contest on Jan. 7.
Jan. 19 — Winter Storm Izzy moved into the area, it gained strength and the projected snowfall amounts climbed to 1-3 inches for the local area.
Jan. 26 — Due to positive covid-19 numbers and the number of students and staff under quarantine, Gentry High School suspended on-campus instruction and all athletic activities at the high school campus from Wednesday through Friday of last week.
During a pandemic, with many small businesses closing their doors for good, many would not expect a new business to thrive. Leroy’s Cafe in Sulphur Springs, however, has beat those gloomy expectations.
Feb. 2 — Up against a fullcourt press and a strong defense the entire game, the Lady Pioneers had an off night at shooting, picking up only 28 points in play against the visiting Lady Lions from Gravette in a 36-28 loss for the Gentry girls.
Feb. 9 — Schools in Gentry canceled in-person instruction and turned to AMI (alternative
methods of instruction) lessons last week Wednesday through Friday and didn’t return to on-campus instruction until Monday due to weather forecasts, freezing rain, sleet and snow, which began late on Wednesday.
Feb. 16 — A new barber has taken over operations at Gentry’s longstanding barbershop, located at 206 E. Main Street, and he has been busy since day one. Tame the Mane, the new name of the shop operated by David Devault, opened on Jan. 31 and Devault has been busy giving haircuts since.
Preparations began at Peterson Gym, the 50-yearold main gym at Decatur High School, to get a muchneeded makeover.
Feb. 23 — Patrons of the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center in Gravette enjoyed a Valentine’s Day party to kick off their week. Monday, Feb. 14, was designated as Wear Red Day on the Center’s activity calendar, so most guests came dressed in red.
March 2 — Schools in western Benton County again made use of alternative methods of instruction on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week because of the wintry mix that fell in the area on Wednesday and Thursday. Sleet, snow and freezing rain began on Wednesday morning and continued off and on through much of the day, making area streets and roads ice-covered and slick. Another dose of the wintry mix, with thunder and lightning, came on Thursday, making driving conditions even worse.
March 9 — The 2022 Greater Gravette Chamber of Commerce “Boots and Bowties” gala was held Thursday evening, March 3, at Legacy Ranch southeast of Gravette. The event, which was postponed from Feb. 5 due to impending bad weather, brought out a good crowd, and plenty of boots, bowties and cowboy hats were in evidence.
March 16 — Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari, one of Northwest Arkansas’ oldest tourist attractions, has been closed for the winter and might not open again. Leon Wilmoth, former manager of the family business, said the closure might end up being permanent, depending on what Wilmoth family members wish to do.
March 23 — Area citizens were invited to an open house at Gravette’s new city hall on Thursday, March 10. The event, co-hosted by the city of Gravette and the Greater Gravette Chamber of Commerce, began at 4:30 p.m. with tours of the building. A ribbon-cutting was held at 5 p.m. City hall offices were opened to the public in January after the building underwent several months of extensive remodeling.
The Pioneers fought their way back from a 6-4 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 7-6 win over the visiting Elks from Elkins on Monday, March 14, in the Merrill Reynolds Memorial Sports Complex at Gentry High School.
Mayor Kurt Maddox and a group of Gravette city employees, department heads, and police and fire department personnel gathered at the home of Mike von Ree Friday morning, March 18, to honor him for his 25-plus years of service to the city of Gravette.
March 30 — Students in Brandi Brown’s art classes at Glenn Duffy Elementary School in Gravette held an art show Tuesday evening, March 8, at the Gravette Civic Center. Brown proudly pointed out that every one of her students was represented and displayed work in the show. Brown teaches art to students in kindergarten through second grade. Their paintings, all portraits, were displayed on long banners hanging in groups according to classrooms.
Gentry claimed its first tournament championship of the 2022 baseball season with an 8-1 victory over Palestine-Wheatley, using a pair of freshman pitchers Saturday. The Pioneers won the “No Place Like Home Wolfpack Classic” baseball tournament hosted by Lincoln by going deep into their rotation.
April 6 — Brayden Feathers singled to left in the bottom of the fifth inning, then stole second and third bases and finally scored the go-ahead run for the Pioneers on a Crafton Beeler single to the shortstop in the March 29 contest between Highway 59 rivals Gravette and Gentry at the Merrill Reynolds Memorial Sports Complex at Gentry High School. The Pioneers won the contest, 2-1.
April 13 — Gravette Lions Club president Linda Damron and club secretary/treasurer Jeff Davis displayed the international president’s certificate of appreciation “in recognition of distinguished achievements in fulfilling the mission of Lions Clubs International” awarded to Davis at the club’s April 5 meeting.
April 20 — Heavy rains on Wednesday morning, April 13, caused localized flooding in Gentry and the surrounding area, especially along Flint Creek. Numerous roads in the area were closed because of the flooding, including the new bridge over Dawn Hill East Road in Gentry, with water from the swollen creek overflowing approaches on both sides of the bridge and reaching up to the bottom of the bridge itself. Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in the area during the morning hours on Wednesday. Northwest Arkansas National Airport in Highfill reported 7.9 inches on Wednesday.
For one old bridge near Decatur, the end of its service life came at the hands of a powerful jackhammer and one worker at the controls. The old Wolf Creek bridge on Arkansas Highway 59 outside of Decatur took about 10 days to dismantle, making way for a new and wider span.
April 27 — A plaque was unveiled Saturday dedicating one of the wildlife viewing pavilions at Eagle Watch Nature Trail to Terry Stanfill, a former employee of American Electric Power, a wildlife and nature photographer, and a voice for conserving the plants and animals in the region. Stanfill was instrumental in the establishment of the wildlife area and in opening up the area to local residents so they could see the richness of the plant and animal life in the area. Stanfill died in August 2021.
The Lady Pioneers shut out West Fork in non-league play on Thursday but fell in tough games to Booneville on April 18 and at Van Buren on Friday. In the final regular-season home game on Thursday, the Lady Pioneers not only honored their seniors but shut out their West Fork opponents in three innings, 15-0.
May 4 — Mike Dennison was sworn in as the new member at the regular meeting of the Gravette city council Thursday, April 28. After members accepted the resignation of Ron Theis, who has moved to Cabot, they voted to select Dennison to fill the vacant Ward 1, Position 1 seat. Mayor Kurt Maddox administered the oath of office, and he immediately took his seat on the council.
It was their moment under the stars Friday night as students, faculty, staff and guests gathered at the venue barn at Holland Farms in Highfill for the 2022 Decatur High School prom. At 6 p.m. the couples began arriving in cars, pickups and modified limousines, ready for a night of good food, karaoke, dance and prizes.
In the longest trip of the 2022 season, the Decatur boys’ soccer team made the almost three-hour bus trip to Lead Hill for the second conference matchup with the Tigers on April 26. As with the match earlier in March, the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Tigers by eight goals.
May 11 — Once again, heavy rains fell and waters rose. It was less than a month ago, on April 13, that heavy rains caused flooding in the area. Then, last week, rains fell again for most of the week, with the heaviest rains falling on Wednesday, May 4, and flooding occurring in the area through Thursday. As a result of the onslaught of rain showers, many local roads were closed, including U.S. 412 and State Highways 12 and 264.
May 18 — High school seniors in Gravette walked across the stage and received their diplomas in ceremonies held in the Lions Den Arena on Saturday morning. The graduates, 122 of them as listed on the graduation folder, marched into the arena to Pomp and Circumstance, played by the Gravette High School band.
Graduates from the 2022 senior class at Gentry High School received their diplomas in graduation ceremonies held at John Brown University in Siloam Springs on Friday evening. The Gentry graduates, 113 of them according to the graduation folder, marched into the arena to Pomp and Circumstance, played by the high school band.
May 25 — It was a night for which many seniors across the country waited for 13 years, the end of a long, long journey and the beginning of an even longer journey over the next 50plus years. For 33 seniors at Decatur High School, the traditional walk across the stage marked the end of their childhood and the beginning of adulthood.
Because of construction on Peterson Gym in Decatur, the senior class of 2022 was forced to walk in a different location for the first time in over 10 years. But the setting was perfect for this transition. This year’s commencement ceremony took place in the beautiful Cathedral of the Ozarks on the campus of John Brown University in Siloam Springs on Friday night.
A great horned owl was released back into the wild on Sunday after being nursed back to health following an infestation by flukes, types of parasitic worms. The owl was released along the Eagle Watch Trail in Gentry by Northsong Wild Bird Rehabilitation, working in connection with Lynn Sciumbato, founder and operator of the Morning Star Rehabilitation Center near Gravette.
June 1 — The school board in Gentry offered the post of high school principal to Justin Blanchard of Siloam Springs at a special board meeting on Monday evening, May 23, and Blanchard has accepted the job offer. Gentry’s current principal, Brae Harper, was transferred to be the federal programs curriculum coordinator for the school district in the new school year.
The new splash pad in Gentry City Park opened on Friday, May 27, and it has been a busy place ever since, giving children an opportunity to cool off, have fun in the water and play with friends.
June 8 — Jim and Michele Pigeon did not plan on winning, but the Pigeon Family Farm, just north of Siloam Springs, won the Benton County Farm Family of the Year award for 2022. They were notified of the award in early May. In addition to raising cattle and poultry, part of the Pigeon Family Farm’s business involves growing and selling flowers at its greenhouse and nursery.
With summer just around the corner, the Iva Jane Peek Decatur Public Library will begin hosting the “Oceans of Possibilities” program starting on Monday, June 6. Library co-director Patsy Alleman-Hickson and her team have a full schedule ahead of themselves, putting together games and activities for children and teens of all ages.
June 15 — Gravette Fire Department hosted a training class in vehicle extrication on Saturday, June 4, with students from fire departments across northwest Arkansas participating. The instructor for the Firefighter 1 and 2 course was Lt. Brad Harris. The class began with students warming up with several exercises before the auto-extrication practice sessions. Members from Pea Ridge, Highfill, Gravette, Lincoln, Gallatin, Hickory Creek, Avoca, Maysville, Little Flock, Beaver Lake and Johnson fire departments were all taking part in the Firefighter 1 and 2 classes.
The ribbon was cut and ballgames got underway at Gentry’s new sports complex on Browning Road on Monday evening, June 6. The ribbon was cut at about 5:15 p.m., with the fields readied and the first pitch thrown out by Danny Feemster shortly before 6 p.m.
June 22 — The Decatur Lady Bulldog junior high basketball team is on a roll thus far this summer after winning six straight contests during the Jay, Okla., junior high basketball camp May 26-27. But this record is nothing compared to a recent appearance in a local basketball camp on June 13 and 14. Fess Thompson summed up the two-day event shortly after the camp concluded, saying, “Every one of my girls scored points during the camp, every one of them. I couldn’t be more proud of them all.”
A black bear was seen at the corner of Coker and Vaughn roads in rural Gentry by neighbors Chris James (44) and his two sons, Christian James (14) and Ethan James (13), at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 7. At first, it was Christian James who saw the bear. The two boys and their father were on their way to pick up two other students for football practice that day.
June 29 — In 2020, when the opportunity presented itself, Bryan Austin and his wife Becca took advantage of the surplus of produce they grew and sold them at 20411 Highway 102 in Decatur. As of Tuesday, June 21, their Dairy Barn Market has been open for business with more vegetables and goodies for this year.
Area residents gathered in Sulphur Springs Park Saturday afternoon to celebrate durng the city’s annual Independence Day event. The crowd was pretty good considering the scorching summer temperatures, but many sheltered in the shade of the park’s large trees to seek relief from the heat.
To Be Continued Next Week …