Stone County Leader

19/12/2024

📣 We're hiring! 📣

Come be a part of the team at Blanchard Springs Caverns by applying to be a cavern guide! There are 7 positions available, 1 supervisory guide, and 6 general guides. See the links below for a job description and how to apply! Applications are only open until December 20th!

Supervisory Guide: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/824689500
General Guide: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/824691100

📷: The team from the 2023 season at the 50th Anniversary of the Dripstone Tour.

19/12/2024

Information for this service on Friday was not available for our publication this week. The obituary will be published in the Dec. 25 issue.

A Memorial Page for Heather Kirby has been posted on the Roller-Crouch Funeral Home web site - With All Our Respect.

17/12/2024

Our Letters to Santa section is in this week's issue, along with a story of the county approving a budget that includes two additional sheriff's deputies, the city council lifting restrictions on food trucks, details from the Timbo/Rural Special basketball games, youth wrestling and much more! This week's photo page is from the Shop With A Cop event.

11/12/2024

Mountain View City Council this week unanimously agreed to amend the food truck ordinance to allow food trucks to operate anywhere within the city limits.

The council agreed the only limitations were that food truck operators must have permission from landowners and must not cause any safety issues with traffic.

See the full story in our coming issue.

*Edited to note: action to amend the ordinance making this decision official is expected in January.

09/12/2024

Mountain View School Board, which usually meets on the second Monday of each month, has postponed this month's meeting to Dec. 16. The board meets in the Kindergarten Center at 6 p.m.

05/12/2024

The December community calendar is now online, updated from the version printed las week.

04/12/2024

01/12/2024

The Chamber is still looking for tree sponsors.

November 23, 2024 - Christmas Tree Trail - Local organizations, business or individuals can take this opportunity to decorate a Christmas Tree for all to see on the Courthouse Square.  Spectators will stroll through downtown enjoying hot cocoa & hot apple cider, checking out vendors and activit...

27/11/2024

FROM MTN VIEW WATER DEPT:

Boil Order Lifted
November 27, 2024

Boil water notice has been lifted for the customers along Hwy 5 South of Mill Pond bridge, including side roads. This order was issued as a precautionary measure because of the possibility that contaminated water may have entered the distribution system as a result of a complete loss in normal system pressure and a main break.

23/11/2024

ALERT FROM MTN VIEW WATER DEPT:

Main Line Break on S Bayou Dr
November 23, 2024

Per 8" main line break on S Bayou, near the old Mill Pond bridge. Customers on Green Lp, Mill Pond Rd, Anderson Dr., from Hwy 5 S on S Bayou Dr it will extend 3000'. Also includes Hwy 5 S, from the new Mill Pond bridge to the city limits, will be under a precautionary boil order until further notice. Please briskly boil your water for consumption for at least 2 minutes. Spring Creek Rd will not be included in this boil water order. We will have to collect 1 set of samples & send to the Health Dept. When we get the results back, we will send out another alert. The sample will be taken Monday. Sorry for any inconvenience.

20/11/2024

Mountain View Water Dept has announced that crews will be repairing a system leak today. Service outage may be experienced from Maple Dr to Maple Heights area. Parts of Sarah Ln, Grover Ave, Stone Ave, and Hughes Ave may also experience outage or low pressure.

14/11/2024

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduling a full road closure for Highway 25 across Greers Ferry Dam from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Nov. 18-20, 2024, for routine maintenance.

The closure is being coordinated with emergency services and law enforcement agencies.

Officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regret any inconvenience this may cause and ask for the public’s cooperation until the work is complete.

For more information, contact the Greers Ferry Project Office at 501-362-2416

09/11/2024

FRIDAY 11/8/24 -- The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission recently confirmed that a deer in Conway County and another deer in Stone County have tested positive for chronic wasting disease. Both deer were harvested during the recent alternative fi****ms season.

The Stone County deer was taken on private land adjacent to Sylamore WMA. Stone County is already included in the existing CWD Management Zone due to the close proximity of positive samples from Searcy, Van Buren and Independence counties.

The Conway County deer was harvested on Ed Gordon Point Remove Wildlife Management Area during the permit hunt there. Due to the close proximity of multiple CWD positive samples in adjoining Pope and Van Buren counties, Conway County was high on the AGFC's watchlist for CWD.

According to AGFC Deputy Director Brad Carner, no regulation changes to the current deer season are planned. "In advance of modern gun deer season we want to encourage hunters to get their deer tested at any of our free testing locations around the state," Carner said.

AGFC Director Austin Booth says the agency will evaluate the need for any expansion of the CWD Management Zone and regulations concerning deer hunting during the hunting regulations-setting process once the season is over. “Local hunters can help us a great deal by taking advantage of the free testing facilities and getting their deer tested for CWD,” Booth said. “More hunter-harvested samples means more chances to find any new concentrations of the disease and give our staff a better picture of the landscape so they can make better-informed decisions moving forward.”

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk, caribou and moose. It was first detected in Arkansas Feb. 23, 2016. Since the first detection, AGFC has tested more than 61,000 deer and elk from across the state. To date, 1,769 deer and 56 elk have tested positive for the disease in Arkansas.

Research indicates that CWD is caused by a misfolded protein called a prion that is transmitted through f***s, urine and saliva. CWD prions accumulate throughout the body and affect an animal’s nervous system. The diseased prions cause normal cellular proteins to misfold into abnormal shapes that accumulate until neural cells cease to function. CWD can have an incubation period of at least 16 months, which means infected animals may not show immediate signs of disease. Infected animals in the later stages of the disease begin to lose weight and exhibit many abnormal behaviors.

Visit www.agfc.com/CWD or more information. To report sick or dead animals, please call 833-356-0824.

Get the latest information on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Plus, explore all of AGFC.com for all things hunting, fishing, and wildlife in Arkansas.

07/11/2024

The Community Calendar has been updated to reflect some items that came to our attention since the page was published Oct. 30.

07/11/2024

Information we have been given for Veterans events: Foothills Baptist Church Sunday, 10 a.m.; Mountain View High School Monday at 10 a.m.; Rural Special School Monday at 1 p.m.; Timbo High School Tuesday at 1 p.m.

07/11/2024

The U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers is cautioning the public about rising water levels across the region following recent heavy rainfall.

On the White River, the current stage at Newport is 18.7 feet and rising, with a forecasted peak of 27 feet by Nov. 8, 2024. Several regional lakes, including Norfork and Clearwater, have experienced significant water level increases over the past 72 hours. Although the rate of rise has slowed, lake levels may continue to rise slightly throughout the week.

The Arkansas River is currently cresting near 170,000 cubic feet per second at Ormond Lock and Dam. A flood crest between 150,000 and 160,000 c.f.s. is forecasted to make its way downstream over the next two days. A small craft advisory remains in effect for the Arkansas River.

If you own property along a river or reservoir, particularly docks or structures near the water, it's essential to secure or move them to prevent potential damage.

Boaters should use caution while boating near the shore be aware that objects such as fence posts and railings that are normally above the water could now be just below the surface and not visible. Proceed slowly near the shore and use a spotter or depth finder to avoid possible damage to your boat.

Please stay informed by monitoring weather and river forecasts and take the necessary precautions to protect your property.

Daily river and reservoir information can be obtained at www.swl-wc.usace.army.mil or the Little Rock District’s mobile App, which can be found in mobile App stores by searching for USACE Little Rock.

06/11/2024

UNOFFICIAL results for all boxes, minus provisional ballots still being evaluated.

SELECTED RACES ONLY. Full results will be posted to our website later this week, and published in the Nov. 13 issue.

State Rep Dist 41
Tom Nowlin 928
Alyssa Brown 2,690

JP District 3
Billy Wayne Mitchell 351
Tim Hudspeth 277

City Council Ward 1 Pos 1
JK Williams 162
Jessica Sterlin 310

City Council Ward 1 Pos 2
Finis Brewer 279
Gary L. Williams 188

City Council Ward 2 Pos 1
Ricky Shuttleworth 291
Charles R. Widmer 147

City Council Ward 2 Pos 2
BJ Day 244
Truman Bullard 196

31/10/2024

Some information on the downed aircraft located in southwest Stone County ...

NEWS RELEASE FROM STONE COUNTY SHERIFF BRANDON LONG WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30 7:10 PM During the evening hours of Tuesday, October 29th, 2024, the …