Members of the North Central Arkansas Artist League hung a new exhibit of 31 pieces of art at Ozark Health Medical Center on Highway 65, Clinton, on Monday, February 22nd.  The exhibit will hang until mid-May.

Exhibiting artists are Freda May, Doris Sexson, Van Swink, Ruby Krimm, Connie Hood, Ellen Kelly, Anne Strawn, Pauline Sears, Bonnie Hookman, and Alison Shreck, all of Fairfield Bay; Jan Cobb and Pamma Henderson of Edgemont; Judy Shumann, Quitman; Diana Foote, Clinton; and Joyce Hartmann, Choctaw.

Subjects embrace a colorful variety of landscapes based on the artists’ trav

els, as well as Ozark snowscapes, animals, flowers, still life, abs

tracts, underwater and rural scenes. Included are oil paintings, watercolors, pastels, charcoal, acrylic, gouache mixed media, and collage.

The display is on the upper level between the cafeteria and the n

ursing home. All are available for purchase at the Gift Shop with a portion of each sale benefiting projects by the Hospital Auxiliary. If the shop is closed,

buyers may call Exhibit Coordinator Joyce Hartmann at 745-6615 or the individual artist, whose phone number is on the card.

Artists meet to paint together each Monday morning at Bayside Studio and Gallery at the intersection of Greenwood Rd. and Highway 330 in Fairfield Bay, across from Razorback Rock on the way to the Marina. Interested persons who want to view painters at work or see more local art are invited to visit Bayside. For more information call President Jan Cobb at 825-7085.

By: Chris Waring

It appears that spring may finally be on its way. I have noticed many people cleaning up yards and planting flowers. Many of our resident dispose of tree limbs and yard debris by burning them. Fairfield Bay has a city ordinance regarding this. There are a few basic rules for burning, first and foremost you must call the Police Department an obtain a burn permit. This can be done on the phone 7 days a week by calling 884-6004 or 884-6005. The need for this is we occasionally have burn bans imposed by the fire chief. Another reason is that people see smoke and call in a fire that is actually a controlled burn. When burning you cannot burn anything that creates toxic or black smoke. Burning near culverts or close to the road is prohibited as well, due to damage to the culverts and traffic hazzards caused by the smoke. And lastly all fires must be extinguished by sunset. Please keep all fires at least 25 feet from structures and have someone watch them with the proper equipment to put them out should the need arise.

Calls this week included 6 rescue calls, 1 dog running loose, 2 fingerprinted for employment, 3 assists to residents, 2 alarm calls, served papers to 1 person, checked out 2 suspicious vehicles, and assisted a stranded motorist. We also opened a criminal trespass investigation, answered a disturbance call and assisted the State Police with an accident investigation.

Traffic stops this week, 5 no permanent license plate, 3 speeding, 6 defective equipment, 3 not stopping at stop signs and 1 for expired tags. Citations were issued to Douglas Abernathy, Richard Davis, Barron Henderson and Robert Lowery. Arrests this week, 1 for driving on a suspended license, 1 for an outstanding warrant and 1 for disorderly conduct. Please E-mail with questions or comments to cwaring40@yahoo.com. Enjoy the nice weather while it lasts and keep an eye out for children playing outside while you are driving in residential areas.

Eleanor Hilsenrath

Community Club President Carlene Barra and Woodland Garden Leader Dianne Percefull are admiring the installation of the Frank Lloyd Wright garden sculpture Sprite in the Woodland Garden at Ed Leamon Park.  With the financial support of the Fairfield Bay Community Club, and donations from individuals and corporations, the Van Buren County Master Gardener organization is able to provide our community with a showplace of a garden.  The pergola at the main entrance, with its new stone enhanced sidewalk, was funded by Chesapeake Energy, and a committee has been formed to make decisions about the new Chesapeake donation, presented a few weeks ago.  The garden around the pergola will be planted this spring, including Confederate Jasmine and Cross Vine climbing the structure and coordinating with the same vines climbing the Rotary Arbor at the other entrance.  Remember to keep May 15 on your calendar as the Van Buren County Master Gardener Plant Sale at the park.

The Van Buren County Master Gardener program is a part the University of Arkansas Dept. of Agriculture Extension Service.

Petitions for nomination of two directors to the Board of Directors of the Fairfield Bay Community Club will be available at the Community Club Office Thursday, March 18, 2010.

One candidate may be listed on each petition for nominations as a member of the Board, and each such petition must be signed by not less than fifty members in good standing.  Available will be two (2) three year terms.

Petitions must be filed with the Community Club no later than the close of business day Thursday, April 15, 2010.  Each individual petitioned will be contacted by the Election Committee to determine the petitioned individual’s willingness to accept such nomination, and if elected, to serve as a director.

“3-D seismic activity related to natural gas development in the Bay is progressing on schedule. Pictured here is a helicopter used to transport equipment used by work crews on the ground. The detailed subsurface images obtained through this 3-D work will allow Chesapeake Energy to place natural gas wells in locations which maximize mineral production while reducing the surface impact and inconvenience to the residents. Seismic work is expected to continue through the spring.”                  Photo By Ron Reynolds

By: Jim & Phyllis Wilkins

On a recent Wednesday evening Lions Jim & Phyllis Wilkins and John Edminston were invited to meet with the Sunday School Class from the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church on Highway 110 On February 5 2008 this church was completely destroyed by a tornado but has been completely rebuilt. The youth in the Sunday School Class range from approximately 4 to 16 years of age  had recently decided to undertake a fund raising project for charity through activities like a penny march during services carrying a bank in the form of a log cabin church. The Sunday School Class raised some $384 (later rounded to $400 by the Church) and with the assistance of Pastor James Hutto and teacher Freda Sowell decided to donate all their money to help other children. Their choice was the children affected by the Jan. 10  earthquake in Haiti. After seeing recent articles in the FFB News regarding the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) involvement in relief efforts the Sunday School Class decided to donate the entire $400 to the Lions Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

After Class member, Brendon, made the presentation Lion Jim gave information regarding the LCIF relief effort where $25 – $50 will provide water, food rations, clothing and shoes to keep a family or several individuals feed, protected and sustained for at least one week or more. $100 – $250 can provide first aid and medical supplies for one shift of emergency first aid for the backlog of injured. Pictures of the Haitian children being given water, food, clothing and shelter were also provided for the Sunday School Class. Less than two years after losing their own church, the youth of the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church have shown the true meaning of charity by giving to those in need even though they did not know them. The Fairfield Bay Lions wish to convey our thanks and appreciation to the members of the Sunday School Class and all the church members who contributed to their gift.

The next meeting for the Fairfield Bay Lions will be Thursday, March 11 when our speaker will Chris Knife with the Arkansas Sheriffs Youth Ranch Program. Dinner ($7.50 per person) will be served at 5:30 p.m. and the menu will be Chicken Breast in Marsala wine/mushroom sauce, bacon wilted lettuce salad, french bread and homemade deserts. The Lions Club still have HiDiHo Nuts ($10) and Truffles ($6) available by contacting Jim or Mary Meadows at 884-6388. Bingo resumed on Monday, March 1st and will be held every Monday evening at 7 p.m. at the Lions Den, 365 Dave Creek Parkway.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA 20th) took another step towards reaching their goal to serve all abused and neglected children in the 20th Judicial District, which includes Van Buren, Searcy and Faulkner counties, by swearing in three new advocates last week.

After completing extensive background checks and training Barbara Hutto, Sally Wheatly and Wendy Russ stood before Judge Clark and swore to faithfully protect and promote the best interest of each child they represent. 

As a CASA advocate these women will be assigned to an open dependency neglect case, which involves a child having been removed from their home due to abuse or neglect.  The advocates role is to investigate every aspect of that child’s life and make a fact based, child focused report to the judge.  When asked what a good outcome is for CASA, Van Buren County Advocate Coordinator Debra Lance explained, “a good outcome is when a child is placed in a safe and permanent home as quickly as possible.  It can mean the child is placed back in the home with their parents; is placed with a relative who is able to care for them; and in some cases it means a non relative adoptive placement is found.”

CASA Program Director Els Strickland explains, “a CASA is only interested in what is best for the child.  There is no other agenda or issue to be considered.  A sad day is when a child is left lingering in the foster care system watching their childhood tick by without a support system to guide them into adulthood.”

With April, which is Child Abuse Prevention Month, right around the corner, CASA 20th is working hard to continue to recruit more local citizens willing to step up and make a difference in these children’s lives.  As new advocate and Clinton City Council Member, Wendy Russ said, “I’ve seen the urgent need in our area for advocacy for children and for more help in strengthening of the family structure. Each child deserves a healthy, happy, strong living environment and if we work together as a community and expect that of each other, we can make it happen.”

To show your support for abused and neglected children in our community please join CASA 20th on Thursday April 8, 12 p.m., Van Buren County Courthouse, downtown Clinton for a flag raising ceremony to recognize April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

To learn more about CASA 20th and how you can become an advocate please visit www.casa20th.org or contact Debra Lance at 745.3038.

Water Festival ‘79 Gets Underway

Next Weekend  -  August, 1979

The 1979 Greers Ferry Lake Water Festival, August 10-13, promises to be the biggest and best ever celebration of the joys of summertime living on the lake.

The fifth annual lake-wide festival will be highlighted this year by three hot air balloon races, four water skiing shows, a championship rodeo and an arts and crafts show, all punctuated by a large variety of special dinners, dances, contest and fun summertime events.

Last year’s festival drew over 30,000 people to the lake area.

Most of the festival events will be taking place in five separate areas of the lake: Fairfield Bay, Heber Springs, the Narrows, Choctaw and Clinton.

STORYFEST – MARKETING

THE BAY

The new hotel planned for FFB will be categorized as a “Destination Hotel”.  The majority of guests at our hotel will be in our community because they chose to come here, not simply because it was on the way to some other final destination.

This simple fact makes marketing FFB just as critical as the hotel itself.  The Club will fill a major need this year as a Marketing Director joins the staff.  Additionally, a Marketing Committee is being created to formalize efforts until the new Director joins our team.  Residents with marketing backgrounds are encouraged to contact John Spies if they would like to offer their experience to the committee.

StoryFest is a great example of the type of experience that can make FFB a unique destination.  Professional Tellers are being brought in from around the country.  Funding is being provided by the City of FFB, the Community Club and the Chamber of Commerce.  Our very own resident story teller, Stas’, is supported by a network of volunteers to bring a one of a kind, only place in Arkansas, put FFB on the map, event to our community on April 24.

Similar events in other states have started small and today bring thousands of guests to the host community.  FFB has so much to offer that guests visiting for StoryFest will leave with a new found excitement for our community.  We can expect them to return and encourage their friends to come see what makes this such a special place.

YOU can help us market the Bay.  Look for details about Story Fest in this edition of the Fairfield Bay News and tell all your friends outside the Bay about it.  Maybe you could even invite some friends to spend that weekend in your spare bedroom!