Catholic guys are still hot!
IN THE AIR: “Teenage boys don’t need air conditioning,” says Steve Straessle, principal of Little Rock’s Catholic High for Boys. (The late Monsignor George Tribou, longtime former principal, would heartily agree.) “But,” Straessle adds, “we have discovered that computers do.”
The school’s technology, which should have a fiveto-six-year life span, is
1 only lasting about 1 ⁄ years,
2 he explains. So, when the school undergoes a major renovation within the next three years, air conditioning will be installed for the 70 percent of the school that doesn’t have it now.
THE MAN COMES AROUND: After months of waiting by Arkansans and others who are fans of Johnny Cash, the PBS special filmed at the inaugural Johnny Cash Music Festival at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro last August is set to air soon. The concert will air the evening of May 24 on PBS stations.
Earlier that day, the musical lineup for the next festival, to be held Oct. 5 this year, will be announced during a news conference on the campus. Tickets to this year’s festival will go on sale at 10 a.m. May 25, through ASU’S box office by calling (870) 972-2781 or (888) 278-3267 (tollfree), or going online at tickets.astate.edu or johnnycashmusicfest.com.
BY THE BOOK: John Grisham’s latest novel, Calico Joe, is giving Calico Rock a lift, reports Ed Matthews, who lives in Little Rock with his wife, Pat, and owns Ed’s Rock Lodge in Calico Rock.
The book, set in 1973, revolves around fictional Joe Castle, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen, who came from Calico Rock and amazed Chicago Cubs fans.
“It’s really helping to put our little historic town — which is almost totally dependent on tourism to keep old historic Main Street alive — on the map,” Matthews says of the book.
In March, the town’s museum (created with the help of a generous donation from Grisham) saw an increase in visitors and April promises to be even better, says Matthews, whose rustic lodge overlooks the White River.
Grisham’s connection? His ancestors — the Skidmores — were early pioneers of Calico Rock. Matthews is a fourthgeneration native of the area.
A TAIL-WAGGER: Remember Amy Poe, the former Kenner, La., resident who moved to Little Rock after Hurricane Katrina with her yellow Labrador Rosie? Rosie suffered from arthritis but treatment hadn’t helped.
A $1,200 CT scan was needed to pinpoint her ailment but cost more than Poe’s monthly income.
After a mention here, readers’ donations paid for a CT scan that revealed a spinal infection. Rosie must be treated with antibiotics indefinitely.
“Rosie is not in any pain and is getting around much better,” Poe says.