HEAVY RAIN, high winds cause problems in Arkansas.
ALASKAN ADVENTURE: Conway native Sheri Coker and her husband, Robert, a research scientist, moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, last spring and it’s been an adventure since. Their move (a 5,000-mile journey with four dogs in tow to a rental house that turned out to be uninhabitable) was so action-packed that the real estate agent who helped them find a house to buy nominated them for HGTV’s Living Alaska! reality show.
Look for their story to air in June. Meanwhile, thanks to an essay Coker wrote about her love of hunting, the former Conway High School biology teacher was chosen as a finalist in the Prois Hunting & Field Apparel’s 2013 Prois Award contest for women who make hunting their passion and lifestyle. Those interested in voting (one vote per person) can visit the awards section of proishunting.com through Dec. 31.
CHANGING CHANNELS: Central Arkansas radio personality Pat Bradley tells Paper Trails it’s official — he’s making the move back to KABZ-FM, 103.7, “The Buzz.” He’s returning to the station where he worked before switching to KKSPFM, 93.3, “The Source.”
“It’s just a much better fit for me,” explains Bradley. Last February, he joined the new sports talk station. In May, he began co-hosting a new morning show with longtime friend and former Razorbacks quarterback Clint Stoerner.
Beginning in February, listeners can find Bradley alongside his former Buzz co-host Justin Acri on The Zone show airing 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays.
ARRIVING AT HER
DESTINATION: Libby Clayton of Jacksonville, a truck driver and a finalist in Overdrive trucking magazine’s Most Beautiful Contest, is again being featured in the magazine. This time, in the December 2013 issue, she is fulfilling her longtime dream of being photographed in front of a show truck. The photo was taken during her trip to the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas in August, where she posed next to a 2007 Peterbilt 379 voted Trucker’s Choice.
THE WRITE STUFF: Kevin Brockmeier of Little Rock has a new novel, A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade, set for release by Pantheon Books on April 1. His first signing of it will be at the Arkansas Literary Festival in Little Rock, followed by one at Wordsworth Books. In the book, Brockmeier recalls the most difficult year of his life, “with all its mistakes, triumphs, sadnesses, and joys: a tale about how hard it is to grow up and how the experiences of childhood shape the adults we become.”
COVER GIRL: If that green-eyed, curly-haired girl on the cover of a how-to magazine for the popular Rainbow Loom jewelry crafting kit found at Michael’s stores looks familiar to central Arkansans, it’s because she’s a local girl. Olivia Rankin of Sherwood attends Crestwood Elementary. The 9-year-old, who’s been modeling since she was 5, also appears on the box of Wonder Loom, Wal-Mart’s version of the product.