The Sentinel-Record
Hot Springs Gallery Walk anniversary will kick off the city’s 150th birthday
Since 1989, Gallery Walk has been a staple of Hot Springs culture — giving residents and visitors the opportunity to traverse through a variety of galleries, studios and shops. To Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance Executive Director Kat Daniels, who...
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Team Mom brings maternal love, cobbler to Hot Springs
The $4.04 in her pocket was all the money Margaret Webb had Thursday. Her disability check wouldn’t be deposited until Monday, and she was more than 1,500 miles from her home in Desert Hot Springs, California. But she was unbothered by her...
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Hernandez: Make it easier for students to learn
Hot Springs School District employees were urged this week to set firm classroom expectations, protect instructional time and build stronger relationships with students as the district prepares for the new school year. Students are set to return...
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Dust devil tears through new Hot Springs practice field
A dust devil swept across the Hot Springs School District’s new multipurpose practice field Tuesday afternoon, lifting a section of artificial turf and sending black rubber pellets swirling into the air. No one was on the field at the time....
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Hightower turns ‘I can’t’ into ‘I can try’
Lake Hamilton School District’s Holli Hightower has been named one of 15 finalists for 2027 Arkansas Teacher of the Year. Hightower is a fourth and fifth grade dyslexia and reading interventionist at Lake Hamilton Intermediate School, where she helps...
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Sidewalk replacement surprises Ouachita Ave. business owner
The city of Hot Springs is replacing sidewalks along Ouachita Avenue, but one local business owner said she was not given prior notice. Laura Myers said she found out when the contractor began work last week. The section in front of Static, the...
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Library board eyeing former hospital site
Garland County Library Executive Director Adam Webb will explore making a contingency offer on the former Ouachita Memorial Hospital site for the library’s new main branch. Following the Hot Springs Board of Directors’ July 7 vote against accepting...
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Fountain Lake gives aging campus a summer facelift
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Fountain Lake School District is investing an estimated $500,000 to $600,000 in summer renovations designed to modernize aging facilities, reduce maintenance costs and give students and visitors a stronger sense of pride in the...
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VHS and park service report increase in domestic travelers
Recreational activities in Hot Springs are reportedly experiencing an increase in visitors this summer, while some downtown shop owners are claiming a decrease or stagnation in sales. A July 4 article by The Associated Press reported more Americans...
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Victim speaks out amid investigation of nightclub shooting
The investigation into a shooting early Sunday at an area nightclub is continuing, but Garland County Sheriff’s investigators are reportedly dealing with conflicting information in the case. Three victims were injured in the shooting at the club,...
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HS Parks and Recreation holds ribbon cutting for Stokes Creek Greenway Trail
The Hot Springs Parks and Recreation Department celebrated the completion of the first phase of the Stokes Creek Greenway Trail during a ceremony Thursday morning. The new section stretches from 271 Kimery Lane to Richard Street. Parks and Recreation...
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HSSD supercampus nears finish line
The Hot Springs School District expects to complete its $49.7 million supercampus project by Aug. 1, wrapping up a yearslong overhaul before students return for the new school year. Superintendent Mike Hernandez said Tuesday that most of the work is...
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City of Hot Springs interns update stormwater map
The drains, gutters, junction boxes and pipes in the city of Hot Springs’ sprawling stormwater system are marked on the city’s GIS map, but not always in the right spot. The engineering department’s recent investigation into the source of the sinkhole...
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Donations needed as cooling shelter opens to the public
As the heat index hit triple digits Monday, 68 people sought relief in the Hot Springs Community Resource Center’s cooling shelter before 11 a.m. Located at 109 Hobson Ave., the shelter will be open daily through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A...
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New Lakeside facility expected to improve safety, free up parking
Lakeside School District plans to move its buses to a new site before classes begin Aug. 12, allowing the district to launch a redesigned traffic plan aimed at reducing congestion and improving safety across its campus. Construction is underway on a...
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Weekend protests take aim at SAVE Act, AI centers
A pair of protests was held in Hot Springs on Friday and Saturday, with demonstrations supporting voting rights and opposing artificial intelligence data centers. On Friday, people gathered at Hill Wheatley Plaza in opposition to the Safeguard...
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DPGC holds grand opening for new headquarters
Local, state and federal candidates were among the estimated 75 people who attended the grand opening of the Democratic Party of Garland County’s new headquarters, 626 Malvern Ave., Thursday evening. Six of the seven Democrats vying for seats on the...
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End Overdose works to establish local chapter
An overdose prevention nonprofit is setting up a chapter in Hot Springs and looking for volunteers. End Overdose is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been active since 2018. According to its website, its mission is “to end drug-related...
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Simulated attack tests first responders
PEARCY — Simulated gunshots, role-playing victims and staged chaos inside Lake Hamilton High School gave local first responders a chance Wednesday to prepare for a situation they hope never happens. About 65 Hot Springs police officers, firefighters,...
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Missing HS man recovered from Lake Hamilton
Garland County Sheriff Mike McCormick confirmed shortly after noon Tuesday that the body of a person who was reported missing Monday was recovered. The body of Thomas Ross, 85, was located at approximately 11:45 a.m. Tuesday in Lake Hamilton near the...
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The Home Depot set for fall opening in Hot Springs
The Home Depot will open Sept. 24 on Higdon Ferry Road. District Manager Bryan Crowe confirmed the company’s newest location will open this fall at last week’s Hot Springs Board of Directors meeting. Mayor Pat McCabe invited him to speak during the...
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CRC hosts more than 120 at open house Sunday
There was a “good turnout” from the community Sunday afternoon for the Hot Springs Community Resource Center’s Open House. More than 120 people came through the doors for the open house, which was more than what Chris Joannides, the director of the...
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LaFollette reflects on 13 years at helm of museum
Few people have been able to say they made a lasting mark on Hot Springs, but Mid-America Science Museum CEO Diane LaFollette is one of those people. LaFollette, whose 13 year term at the helm of the museum ends in October, led the museum through its...
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Emergent Arts awarded $25K grant for youth programming
Emergent Arts received a $25,000 grant Tuesday from the Genesis Inspiration Foundation for art programming. The foundation, which is partially funded by the purchase of new Genesis vehicles, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that champions the arts for youth...
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CRC: $5.6 million in savings to community in first year of service
The Hot Springs Community Resource Center helped 560 individuals and families with “critical housing stabilization services” over its first year of operation, the organization announced Thursday afternoon. Ryan Kaundart, the program director for the...
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GCL shifts sights to OMH site after board rejects Majestic offer
The Hot Springs Board of Directors turned down the Garland County Library’s $2.35 million offer for the Majestic Hotel site Tuesday night. The library proposed building a main branch on part of the 5-acre site at 100 Park Ave. The $2.35 million was...
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Federal waiver gives state more say over schools
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, state Education Secretary Jacob Oliva and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton joined U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon Tuesday at Hot Springs Junior Academy where McMahon announced the approval of a federal waiver giving Arkansas...
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Sanders, McMahon will visit HSJA today
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon will visit Hot Springs Junior Academy today for an announcement and roundtable discussion, though officials have not disclosed the subject of the event. The appearance is scheduled...
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Worn pages, new possibilities
JESSIEVILLE — Jessieville Elementary School will use a $5,000 grant from the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries to replace worn nonfiction books in its library. The school was one of 220 schools in 38 states recently selected for the grant,...
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Over 3K estimated for Red, White & YOU picnic, parade
Despite rain cutting the fun short, more than 3,000 people attended the Red, White, & YOU parade and picnic hosted by Hot Springs National Park Saturday. Ashley Waymouth, the 250th anniversary event planner for the national park, said the event more...
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Royal Sanctuary Therapy Farm celebrates new developments with flag-raising ceremony for veterans
The Royal Sanctuary Therapy Farm celebrated recent developments and projects on their campus with a flag-raising ceremony Thursday. RSTF founder and executive director Tina Cooper and VFW Post 2278 Commander Terry Daniell raised the flag for the...
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Fireworks stands across county prepare for holiday weekend
Some fireworks stands reported steady customer activity and shared some of this year’s top selling items ahead of Fourth of July holiday weekend. “It’s been a little slow, but it’s beginning to pick up,” said Daniel Merritt, who runs an A-1 fireworks...
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New Scoops Homemade Ice Cream location to open today on Central Avenue
Scoops Homemade Ice Cream will open a new location on Central Avenue today. The new store will open at 829 Central Ave. This will be the second location in Hot Springs, with the first, and original, store located at 4043 Central Ave. near Walmart...
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Food for Thought attendance better but still down since move
While the Giving Team helped about 130 to 140 people at Saturday’s Food for Thought event, founder Janice Davis said the group is still trying to rebuild attendance after moving from the parking lot at Church Street and Malvern Avenue, where it had...
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‘On air’: Spa Amateur Radio Association hosts annual field day exercise
The Spa Amateur Radio Association held a gathering at the Garland County Department of Emergency Management’s 911 Admin Offices to participate in their annual Amateur Field Day Exercise event. The event is just one part of a national event from the...
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Candidates set to face off for District 4 congressional seat
The Heritage Foundation gave Arkansas the top ranking in its 2025 election integrity scorecard. The Washington, D.C., conservative think tank awarded 91 out of 100 points last year, tying Arkansas with Tennessee for the top spot. However, according to...
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Garland County, college’s teamwork pays off for drug court graduate
The county judge, veterans service office and National Park College Career Academy students partnered to gift a vehicle to a drug court graduate Thursday at the Garland County Court House. Taylor Miles thought she had been summoned for a Garland...
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Shoffner makes Hot Springs campaign stop
About 100 people attended Wednesday evening’s fundraising event for Arkansas’ Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Hallie Shoffner at Elks Lodge No. 380. Shoffner, who will face Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Nov. 3, said she moved back home in 2016 to...
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GCL Book Trail offers free admission to Garvan Gardens with library card
The Garland County Library has created a children’s book trail and free entry at Garvan Woodland Gardens for the rest of the month to help children read more, move more and spend time outdoors. Anyone with a library card, or the digital barcode on the...
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GC Library board approves contingency offer for Majestic site
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — The Garland County Library Board of Trustees voted Monday to include a contingency offer to purchase the Majestic site from the city of Hot Springs for its new main branch. The city’s board of directors sent the library’s initial...
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Library holds groundbreaking for new north Garland County branch
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — Workers wasted no time after Monday’s ceremonial groundbreaking for a new branch of the Garland County Library to start demolition of the building that currently sat on the site. The building at 5020 Highway 7 north, which had...
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Resource center to hold open house next month
After more than a year in operation, the Hot Springs Community Resource Center, 109 Hobson Ave., has completed all the building upgrades, and it is celebrating with an open house on July 12 from 1-3 p.m. “Our facility is newly renovated and expanded,...
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10-year-old finds his focus behind the camera
For years, Gunner Gigerich was the younger brother tagging along to ballgames. Now he has a reason to be there. Gunner, a local 10-year-old photographer about to enter the fifth grade, has turned his family’s busy sports schedule into a creative...
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STEM lessons take flight at ASMSA summer camp
Campers at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts spent part of Tuesday turning plastic bottles, water and a bike pump into a lesson on engineering. The project was part of the Aviation and Aerospace Engineering camp during...
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New Miss Arkansas turns crown into call for seat belt safety
Ava Weeks said her first thought after hearing her name called as Miss Arkansas 2026 was disbelief. “Oh my gosh, did they really just say Ava?” she said laughing, wondering if she had heard right. Weeks, a 21-year-old Conway native who represented...
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Shelby named UAMS distinguished alumnus
Garland County Health Officer Dr. Gene Shelby was recently awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Service Award from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine. Shelby, who earned his medical degree from UAMS in 1977, has had a...
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Harrington: AI threat could renew in-person trust
Artificial intelligence may soon make it impossible to trust what people see online, but Ted Harrington told educators and technology leaders Tuesday that the unsettling reality could come with an unexpected upside. Harrington, a prominent...
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Elaine Jones, former city director and A&P commissioner, dies at 81
Between her time on the Hot Springs Board of Directors or her more than four decades of work at Kroger, Elaine Jones was a familiar face to nearly everyone in the city. Jones, who served six terms on the city board, died Sunday, two days after her...
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Burch named new HSFD assistant chief
Hot Springs Fire Department has selected its second assistant chief, filling the role that Tom Braughton left when he retired on May 22. Nearly two years ago, Casey Burch made history when she became the department’s first female captain, but she has...
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Panel touts local control in push for economic development amendment
Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot said Thursday that Issue 3 would give cities and counties tools they say the state needs to compete for jobs, housing and commercial development. Attorney General Tim Griffin,...
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‘We need the people who care for these places’: Kevin Costner among witnesses discussing deteriorating infrastructure at national parks
Much of the testimony in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources dealt with the deteriorating infrastructure the country’s park service and other entities are facing. The congressional field hearing, which was held...
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ONF ‘a good example’ of what national forests should be
Ouachita National Forest is “setting a good example” for the other 153 national forests and 20 national grasslands, the undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment said last week while doing maintenance work on the Charlton...
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Warrants issued for suspect linked to three slayings from December 2020
A former Hot Springs man has reportedly been linked to three homicides which occurred within a week of each other in December 2020, including that of a male teen and a woman and her 5-year-old son. Three charges of capital murder, each punishable by...
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Local author earns indie nod, revisits Hot Springs past
A Lake Hamilton High School alumna has been named a finalist in one of the country’s largest awards programs for independent authors. “Emma: Knightley’s Version,” written by Hailey Jones, was named a finalist in the General Fiction/Novel over 100,000...
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Undersecretary, congressman work on Charlton Trail, recognize volunteers
Local volunteers received some physical assistance from Washington, D.C., on Charlton Trail. U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, and Michael Boren, the undersecretary for natural resources and environment, joined U.S. Forest Service employees and...
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20th Running of the Tubs
The 20th Stueart Pennington World Championship Running of the Tubs held Saturday on Bathhouse Row saw a first-time win for one newcomer, and a repeat of the Garland County Sheriff’s Battle of the Badge win. Three racing titles were awarded at the end...
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Rucker Farm named Garland County Farm Family of the Year
PEARCY — The Rucker family of Pearcy was recently named Farm Family of the Year for Garland County by Arkansas Farm Bureau. Arkansas Farm Bureau annually recognizes one family in each Arkansas county as Farm Family of the Year. The Ruckers were...
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Girls State students reflect on lessons, controversy
Three Hot Springs World Class High School rising juniors said the recent American Legion Auxiliary Arkansas Girls State gave them new friendships, a deeper understanding of government and a closer look at leadership, even as controversy surrounding the...
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Rockets, drones and clay NPC summer camps return
National Park College will kick off its annual summer camp series next week, offering students entering grades 3-10 hands-on camps ranging from rockets and robotics to pottery, cooking, filmmaking and sports. Costs range from $115 to $150 for most...
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Library expresses intent to build new main branch at Majestic site
Plans are in motion for the Garland County Library to build its new main branch on the former site of the Majestic Hotel. While the construction for the main branch is dependent on the passage of a millage increase, the library’s board of trustees...
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Lakeside valedictorian earns NPC degree before heading to Harvard
A recent Lakeside High School graduate is heading to Harvard University this fall after earning her associate degree from National Park College before receiving her high school diploma. Mary Lopez Furlong, Lakeside’s 2026 valedictorian, completed the...
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Chapmond discusses return as HSPD chief, plans to continue progress of the department
A call to duty from the governor may have pulled then Hot Springs Police Chief Chris Chapmond away in January 2023, but he found his way back to the job he affectionately refers to as “home” two weeks ago. “I’ve never been so happy in my life,”...
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Garland County schools work to beat summer slump
As students leave classrooms for the summer, Garland County school districts are sending books, learning packets and extra reading support home with them in an effort to prevent students from falling behind before the next school year. The work has...
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Garvan Woodland Gardens expands nature programs for homeschoolers
Garvan Woodland Gardens is expanding its nature-based programming for homeschool families by offering hands-on activities designed to connect more students with the outdoors. Paige Scoggins, nature education specialist at Garvan Woodland Gardens, said...
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Good character earns students a party
Hot Springs School District students recognized for good character, hard work and improvement in the classroom got a celebration of their own Wednesday as the Greater Hot Springs Kiwanis Club hosted its first Terrific Kids Party at Majestic...
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NPMC to open new behavioral health unit Monday
When Levi Hospital closed its doors on Aug. 1, 2025, not only did it bring the hospital’s 110-year history to a close, but it also left Garland County in a desert for inpatient mental health services. National Park Medical Center hopes to change that...
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ACC leader outlines trends reshaping community colleges
A surge in high school students earning college credit is creating both opportunity and financial pressure for Arkansas’ community colleges, Arkansas Community Colleges Executive Director Collin Callaway said. Callaway, who spoke at the National Park...
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Annual Memorial Day observance calls for unity and reflection
The Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee honored fallen Garland County servicemen and servicewomen Monday during its annual Memorial Day observance at Garland County Veterans Memorial and Military Park. The Hot Springs World Class High School...
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First suspect in Cypress shooting pleads not guilty
The first juvenile suspect in the May 13 shooting near Cypress Street, where two young girls were injured, pleaded not guilty to charges May 18 while a second juvenile suspect, 14, is set to appear June 8 in Garland County Circuit Court. The first...
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Memorial Day Observation planned at GC Veterans Memorial and Military Park
The Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee will host a Memorial Day Observation at 11 a.m. Monday at Garland County Veterans Memorial and Military Park, 118 Orange St. The program honors those who gave their lives in military service, and Garland...
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Law enforcement encourages awareness while boating
While the weather is not forecast to be ideal for being on the water this weekend, local officials are encouraging boaters to be vigilant this summer when they do take to any of the waterways in the area. “This is usually the kickoff to boating...
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Team USA announced for Bass Fishing World Championships on Lake Hamilton
Lake Hamilton will be flush with some of the best bass fishermen in the world Oct. 1-3 for the 20th Bass Fishing World Championship. “Names like Kevin VanDam and Scott Martin will represent the United States as world-class bass fishing champions from...
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Wooden toy playland returning to Spa City June 1
After the success of the Hanamaki Toy Museum’s visits to Hot Springs in 2024 and 2025, Moku Playland is returning to the Spa City on June 1. The month-long pop-up will be at 831 Central Ave. and will be open Thursday through Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4...
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HSPD carry torch for Special Olympics
A group of Hot Springs police officers made the 4.3-mile trek from the police station on Malvern Avenue to Lakeside Field House Tuesday morning for their leg of the Special Olympics’ Law Enforcement Torch Run. Sgt. Richard Nunez carried the torch for...
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Food costs strain feeding efforts as groups work to close summer meal gap
With schools letting out for the summer, area nonprofits are preparing for a seasonal increase in families seeking food assistance as children lose daily access to school meals and rising food costs continue to strain household budgets. Though some...
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City holds ribbon cutting for new fire station
The Hot Springs Fire Department held a ribbon cutting and grand opening Friday of the city’s first new fire station in three decades. Station No. 6, located at 131 First Security Way, is the first station south of the King Expressway and has been in...
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