Growing up, I always looked forward to the end of the schoolyear. I spent many summers playing church league baseball and as I got older, I found opportunities to use this time to make a difference in the lives of others by teaching kids to swim. It was a rewarding experience.

More than 870,000 Arkansas residents receive some type of health care through Medicaid, which is operated by the state Department of Human Services.

Jason Barrett, special prosecuting attorney for the State of Arkansas, declined to file criminal charges in a case involving the father of Capt. Michael Sloan of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Russell Sloan allegedly had a gun in view of people attending a baseball game at the Withrow Springs  State Park ball field on May 20.

I’ve not commented on the nutty political scene in America this year, mostly because we are a local newspaper that does not usually comment on national politics.

District 28 Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, held a public meeting last week to discuss the situation with the Kings River, which some in attendance said is filling with an unusual and possibly environmentally harmful amount of gravel in some areas.

Boston Mountain Rural Health Center (BMRHC) celebrated its 30th anniversary of providing comprehensive services to Northwest and North Central Arkansas.

The Madison County Quorum Court voted unanimously on Monday night to request an ordinance containing “ballot language” for a 1 cent sales tax increase for the operation and maintenance of the new county jail and for that ordinance to be ready for a vote at the court’s next regular meeting in August or during a specially-called meeting before then.

A 21-year-old Rogers man was arrested and charged with rape on July 13, by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.

A 30-year-old Huntsville man has been charged with attempted murder in the first degree and committing 10 counts of a terroristic act after a shooting incident at a Huntsville apartment complex left one man wounded.

Beatrice Barbara Rhodes, 97, of Elkins, passed away Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at her home. 

Jim Kern, 73, passed away at home on Monday, July 1, 2024. 

Kathleen Bowman, 75, of Springdale, died Monday, July 8, 2024, at her home. 

Garry Vincent Smith died at his home in Wesley, AR on June 21, 2024, at the age of 62.

Justin Harris, a former basketball and boys and girls golf coach for Huntsville High School, will serve this year as the head boys basketball coach for the Kingston Yellow Jackets.

Excitement and high energy are two ways Huntsville High School head volleyball coach Kasey Gosvener describes her team in the early going of practice on July 8, the first day after the end of the Arkansas Activities Association’s Dead Period.

Live wrestling is coming to Huntsville. You read that right — live wrestling is coming on July 20 to the AT & Georgia Mae Smith Activity Center.

ST. PAUL — The St. Paul Volunteer Fire Department received the go-ahead to apply for two different grants during the St. Paul Town Council meeting on July 2. 

No-cost medical services provided by the U.S. Army Reserve will be available at the Kingston School campus, 300 School St., and the Jasper School campus, 600 School St., beginning at 1 p.m., July 16.

Restoration of the Basham Building is still a work in progress, but Huntsville Police Chief Todd Thomas, who has spearheaded the project since last year, said he is pleased with it so far.

Huntsville’s 1-cent sales tax expired on June 30, said Mayor Travis Dotson.