News

Former Eureka Springs city gardener Denise Pepmiller was terminated on May 5 — 19 days after filing a grievance against interim parks director Scott Miskiel —but parks officials said Tuesday her dismissal was not related to the grievance. "The grievance had no bearing on the termination. It was unfortunate timing," said parks commission chairman Kevin Ruehle. "We couldn't address anything until the grievance was resolved."...

The Eureka Springs High School drama department will present two showings of the classic musical, Singin' in the Rain, at 7 p.m. Friday, May 14, and Saturday, May 15, in the high school auditorium. Sophomore Joa Murray described the plot of the musical, saying she portrays Lina, one of the double-casted roles. ...

Children as young as 12 will now be authorized to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in Arkansas. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday announced the decision to expand availability of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine during his weekly address from Little Rock...

Eureka Springs Public Works is starting a major water line repair project. On Monday night, the Eureka Springs City Council approved two resolutions to kick off the project: a resolution accepting a $272,627 bid from Kirk’s Excavation to complete the work and a resolution to use Infrastructure and Improvement (I&I) funds to pay for a portion of the cost. Mayor Butch Berry said the city received two bids from the work, one from Kirk’s Excavation and another from LE Davis for $336,800...

Eureka Springs High School valedictorian Morgan Price and salutatorian Mia Evans are excited to celebrate their high school experience with close-knit classmates, faculty and staff at the school’s graduation ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 22. Price and Evans both enjoyed many extracurricular activities over the past four years. Price recalled being in Quiz Bowl and National Honor Society. She loves softball, Price said, and played on the school’s team her freshman year...

Meeting in a special session Tuesday night to address a looming crisis at the county jail, the Carroll County Quorum Court approved a motion calling for a $2-an-hour raise and a $500 retention bonus for detention officers. The motion called for the retention bonus to be paid at the end of August...

The Eureka Springs School District will have a few new faces next year. On Monday night, the Eureka Springs School Board agreed to hire Michelle Boyd as the fifth- and sixth-grade literacy teacher, Alexis Newman as the music and choir teacher and John Paul Dean as the band director. Newman and Dean are replacing longtime teachers Donesa Mann and Barry Milner...

Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry is encouraging all city employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. In a letter dated April 26, Berry writes that the city is aware that active COVID-19 cases have decreased since more people are getting vaccinated. Berry writes that he hopes everyone will soon be vaccinated to prevent the spread of "this deadly virus and having our lives return to normal."...

One of three men facing first-degree murder charges in the 2018 slaying of a Eureka Springs man remained in jail in Harrison on Monday, despite recently having his bond significantly reduced. Charles Ky Hanna, 32, of Berryville is being held in the Boone County Detention Center on a $25,000 bond. ...

Hutchinson wants 50 percent of Arkansans vaccinated by July 30 By Robert Cox CCNnews@cox-internet.com Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson set a new COVID-19 vaccination goal on Tuesday, laying out a plan that he hopes will see 50 percent of state residents at least partially vaccinated against the novel coronavirus by the end of July...

The Eureka Springs Hospital Commission has a new virtual chief financial officer (CFO). At a special called meeting on Saturday, May 1, the commission voted to hire Welch, Couch and Company to provide virtual CFO services. The proposal was submitted by Bill Couch, who has worked with the hospital commission for many years. ...

The Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission is getting closer to hiring a tourism director. At its regular meeting on Wednesday, April 28, commissioner Patrick Burnett said the job description has been posted on the CAPC’s website and Indeed.com. Burnett said volunteer committee member Lynn Berry has been reviewing and vetting the candidates. So far, Burnett said, the commission has received 24 applications. Six of those applications have already been rejected, Burnett said...

A call to check on an abandoned car led to the arrest of four members of a Eureka Springs family on drug-related charges last week. In a probable-cause affidavit filed in Carroll County Circuit Court, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Austin Kennedy writes that he was dispatched just after 2 p.m. Monday, April 26, to check on an abandoned vehicle near County Road 239 and County Road 216 in Berryville...

A disputed vote to remove Greg Moon from the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission was the center of discussion at a two-hour hearing Tuesday morning in a lawsuit challenging Moon’s removal. Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson presided over the emergency hearing at the Carroll County Western District Courthouse in Eureka Springs. Moon’s removal is just one of several issues raised in the lawsuit, which local attorney Tim Parker originally filed March 10...

The Eureka Springs Community Center brought everyone together to celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 24. Featuring booths on bees, monarch butterflies and native plants, the event kicked off with a speech by community center board chairwoman Debbie Davis. Davis thanked everyone for attending the event, where the community center unveiled the Old School Park for the first time. Davis then welcomed Mayor Butch Berry to the stage to give the Earth Day proclamation...

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday continued to encourage Arkansas residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 saying, the state’s vaccination efforts were being hampered not only by vaccine hesitancy, but also by complacency. “We want to emphasize that we have vaccines available in Arkansas,” said Hutchinson, speaking during his weekly news conference in Little Rock. “The supply is not a problem We have vaccines available right now.”...

The Eureka Springs City Council addressed the planning commission’s new vision plan on Monday night. The council heard from planning commission chairwoman Ann Tandy-Sallee, who said the commission spent the last year and a half reviewing and updating the vision plan. The vision plan includes possible actions the city can take to solve problems, Tandy-Sallee said, and covers why certain projects haven’t been completed...

The Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation Commission is taking the first step toward repairing the foundation at Basin Spring Park. On Tuesday, April 20, the commission heard from interim director Scott Miskiel about a proposal for geotechnical services in the park. Miskiel said the wall underneath the fountain is sinking and while the commission has received a grant to complete the stone work, there's an underlying problem causing the deterioration...

The Eureka Springs Community Center is celebrating Earth Day on Saturday, April 24. Scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the community center’s Earth Day Celebration also marks the opening of the Old School Park. The event starts at 11:05 a.m. with opening remarks from Mayor Butch Berry, followed by a performance by John Two-Hawks at 11:15 a.m. ...

City officials named as defendants in a lawsuit centered around the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission have responded to the complaint, asking that the suit be dismissed. Eureka Springs attorney Tim Parker filed the suit on March 10 in Carroll County Circuit Court on behalf of Greg Moon, CAPC finance director Rick Bright, group sales coordinator Karen Pryor, former interim executive director Gina Rambo and former special events coordinator Tracy Johnson...

More than 30 new deaths related to complications from the COVID-19 virus were reported in Arkansas on Tuesday — including one in Carroll County — the first such deaths reported in the state after a four-day reprieve, bringing the statewide death toll to 5,706. The local death toll now stands at 45...

The Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission won’t be funding postage for the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce’s annual visitor guide. At the commission’s regular meeting on April 14, chamber representative Devin Henderson presented a marketing support fund request for $5,000 to pay for postage. Henderson said the chamber is expecting to mail out 20,000 copies of the print guide, with the digital guide already available on the chamber’s website...

The Eureka Springs Hospital Commission is still accepting proposals for a virtual chief financial officer. On Monday night, treasurer Kent Turner said the commission has received one response to its request for proposals for a CFO. Turner said the commission’s request for bids will end later this week, saying he expects to receive more applications. Turner asked CPA Brent Seay if he’s going to apply and Seay said he plans on it...

Local pilots looking to work on their instrument rating and potential pilots looking to log some cockpit hours will soon have a place to do so — on the ground. The Carroll County Airport Commission voted Friday to purchase a flight simulator from Redbird Flight Simulations Inc. of Austin in a move they hope will bring more people to the airport just west of Berryville...