The Sentinel-Record
HSSD to shift to 7-period day for grades 7-12
The Hot Springs School District will transition from a block schedule to a seven-period school day for students in grades 7-12 beginning in the 2026-27 school year, a shift administrators say will add instructional time, improve consistency and expand...
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Blanket forts, paper planes, giant games:
After a successful run in 2024, The Family Room is returning to the Hall of Wonder at Mid-America Science Museum, 500 Mid America Blvd., starting Sunday, March 1. The exhibit, which was designed and built by the museum staff, was first introduced in...
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HSSD requests $300,000 to continue prevention program
The Hot Springs School District has applied for more than $300,000 in opioid settlement funds to expand its peer-based prevention and recovery program, building on what district leaders say are sharply reduced repeat offenses and growing student...
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The Sentinel-Record launches Community Journalism Project to expand local coverage
The Sentinel-Record on Wednesday announced a public fundraising campaign aimed at strengthening and expanding its local newsroom, launching what it calls the Community Journalism Project with an initial goal of raising $75,000. The initiative will...
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Fountain Lake Fire Department board meeting sparks criticism, heated debate
Tensions remained high at Monday’s monthly Fountain Lake Fire Department Board of Commissioners meeting. The event was hosted at the Fountain Lake High School auditorium in order to accommodate the number of community members who signed up to speak...
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Mardi Gras draws 4,000 for city’s inaugural event
Approximately 4,000 people attended Sunday’s inaugural Mardi Gras in the Spa in the Bridge Street Entertainment District, far outpacing what organizers and vendors anticipated. “It looks like at our highest point we had 2,500, 2,600 people,” Tim...
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J’ville details third grade retention, retesting plan
JESSIEVILLE — Jessieville School District administrators outlined new third grade promotion and retention requirements under the state’s LEARNS Act during the Feb. 9 school board meeting, detailing intervention timelines, exemptions and an optional...
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LH voters to decide 2.75-mill increase for $45.5M Legacy Project
PEARCY — Early voting begins Tuesday for the March 3 preferential primary election, with voters in the Lake Hamilton School District set to decide a proposed 2.75-mill property tax increase to fund a $45.5 million facilities overhaul. The proposal for...
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FL board approves 2% raise for all employees in 2026-27 salary plan
FOUNTAIN LAKE — The Fountain Lake School Board on Monday night approved a 2% salary increase for all district employees for the 2026-27 school year, a move Superintendent Darin Landry said is aimed at closing the pay gap with other Garland County...
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Supreme Court candidate holds event in Hot Springs
Little Rock attorney John Adams said the three-branch system described by James Madison in the late 1700s is no longer what people are seeing in practice. “I do think we can look back to high school civics and just all observe that the system James...
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Fountain Lake FCCLA collects 1,500-plus items for foster families
FOUNTAIN LAKE — Fountain Lake High School’s FCCLA chapter recently collected more than 1,500 donated items to support local foster families, turning a “wild idea” into a community-wide effort for National FCCLA Day of Service. Students boxed up...
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School districts, library sign lease for new satellite library
JESSIEVILLE — A new satellite library in north Garland County moved closer to reality Tuesday as the Garland County Library signed a lease with the Jessieville and Fountain Lake school districts. The lease clears the way for the construction of a...
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DECA marks 80th conference as record number of students compete
The Arkansas chapter of DECA kicked off its annual State and Career Development Conference at the Hot Springs Convention Center Monday, drawing about 1,000 students from across the state for two days of competition, leadership development and...
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Bronni discusses his route to state supreme court
Hot Springs National Park Rotary got the chance to hear from the newest justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court Wednesday in a “fireside chat” moderated by Arkansas Rep. Les Warren, R-District 84. A Camden native, Justice Nicholas Bronni lives in Little...
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Low Key Arts dropping office space, not going anywhere
Low Key Arts has opted to vacate its offices in the Karicole building as a way to continue to trim its expenses with the reduction in grant opportunities for arts programs. Rob Cox, the new president of the LKA board, said the organization is not...
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HSDFI announces six new board members
Six new members were named to the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute’s Board of Directors in advance of the 35th Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, the organization announced Wednesday. The board consists of 19 members and is led by LaTricia...
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Federal spending bill includes money for Army Navy Hospital
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, said the $1.2 trillion federal spending bill signed into law Tuesday included $9.2 million to address environmental and safety liabilities at the Army and Navy General Hospital. It will fund demolition,...
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Board to consider fewer spaces, simpler rates for managed parking
Changes to the managed parking program the Hot Springs Board of Directors are scheduled to consider at its Feb. 17 business meeting include making about 250 paid spaces free. On-street spaces the city charges $1 an hour for on Convention Boulevard and...
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CMS superintendent’s nonrenewal draws questions and staff reaction
Questions about transparency and concern from staff followed the Cutter Morning Star School Board’s decision Monday not to renew Superintendent Nancy Anderson’s contract, as the school community reacted to the move and Anderson defended her record and...
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Lake Hamilton launches bullying info initiative
PEARCY — The Lake Hamilton School District has launched a new online bullying information initiative aimed at helping students, parents and staff better understand what constitutes bullying, how to report concerns and how the district responds. School...
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Lakeside, Arvest expand playground communication boards across county
What began as a middle school project at Lakeside School District has grown into a countywide initiative to make playgrounds more inclusive for non-verbal students. The district’s EAST program recently partnered with Arvest Bank to create and...
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Soul Taking Shape:
Longhua Xu, a prominent local artist and Arkansas Living Treasure, will be featured in a retrospective exhibition at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum with a reception at its opening on Feb. 14. The exhibition will be on display until June 14 and is...
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JAG students pitch ‘Love Project’ to fight food insecurity
Hot Springs School District JAG students are turning a competition project into a community initiative aimed at addressing food insecurity across Garland County. JAG, or Jobs for America’s Graduates, is a national nonprofit that helps students stay in...
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Schools close for third straight day as icy conditions persist
All Garland County school districts will remain closed today for a third consecutive day as ice and snow from last weekend’s winter storm continue to blanket the area and make travel hazardous. The Hot Springs School District, along with Lakeside,...
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County, city offices remain closed today
Hot Springs and Garland County offices will remain closed for the second straight day due to inclement weather, officials said Monday afternoon. “We’re going to run our paratransit — the ones we have to get to nephrology clinics or the cancer...
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Winter storm shuts down county schools
A winter storm that blanketed Garland County with snow and ice forced widespread school closures today and Tuesday, prompting districts to cancel classes, after-school activities and events as officials cited unsafe road conditions and freezing...
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‘Freakishly cold’ weather sticking around for days
Drivers mostly stayed off the roadways Saturday morning, a fact that eased some of the tension for emergency workers and road crews, officials said. With much of the state receiving sleet overnight Friday, Garland County Department of Emergency...
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Pinnacle Hotel Group breaks ground at Hampton by Hilton hotel site
Pinnacle Hotel Group hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday at the Central Avenue site of a planned Hampton by Hilton hotel. The ceremony featured refreshments provided by Mueller’s Bistro and Bakery. Chet Patel, principal and chief development...
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NWS: Low temps expected to have larger local impact than precipitation
Parts of Garland County could see as much as 6 inches of accumulation from the winter storm forecast to hit much of the central and southern part of the country today through Sunday. “There will be, most likely, some snowfall with this, but the...
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City, county could see ‘pretty significant icing’
Forecasts for the wintry weather are looking less favorable for the weekend with up to three-quarters of an inch of ice and 3-6 inches of snow predicted by the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. Meteorologist Thomas Jones said Garland...
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‘Wired for Success’:
Arkansas Junior Beta Club State Convention kicked off Tuesday at the Hot Springs Convention Center, bringing together thousands of fourth through eighth grade students for two days of academic and creative competition, leadership development and...
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MLK Day Parade sees dozens of community groups, churches celebrate
The 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade drew dozens of participants to Central Avenue Monday to celebrate King and the Civil Rights Movement, as community members lined the sidewalks to cheer the festivities. The Rev. Margorie Hamilton-Scott,...
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New baseball, softball complex part of FLSD six-year facilities plan
FOUNTAIN LAKE — A new baseball and softball complex, expanded elementary classrooms and campuswide security and accessibility upgrades are among the projects outlined in Fountain Lake School District’s newly approved six-year facilities plan. The...
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Beyond ‘catching bad guys’:
JESSIEVILLE — A new Introduction to Criminal Justice course at Jessieville High School is giving students a firsthand look at how law enforcement, courts and corrections work together — and helping many clarify their future career paths. The...
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New landfill cell ready to open
The largest cell at the Garland County Landfill is ready to open, pending approval from state regulators. The 4.7 acres make up the first cell of the 61-acre landfill’s 11-acre third phase. County Judge Darryl Mahoney told the Garland County Quorum...
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LHSD readies Legacy Project ahead of March special election
PEARCY — As the Lake Hamilton School District enters the final months of the school year, Superintendent Tony Thurman said preparations remain underway for a major facilities initiative and the millage proposal that would fund it. Thurman said the...
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City seeks EPA funds for abatement of old St. Joe’s
Citing poverty rates for juveniles and single women that more than double the national average in the census tract that includes the old St. Joseph’s Regional Health Center, the city said federal funds to remove hazardous materials from the hospital...
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City adds extra security layer for board meetings
A walk-through metal detector stood sentinel at the entrance to the Hot Springs Board of Directors chambers and board room at the board’s first business meeting of the year Tuesday. A police officer is typically at the entrance as the public files...
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Oaklawn numbers up in historic first Holiday meet
Oaklawn wrapped up its first Holiday meet Sunday, finishing 13 of its 64 scheduled days of racing this season, and with a three-week break before the start of the Classic meet, Oaklawn President Louis Cella said the first four weeks of the season was...
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OBHAW’s Wellness Day program joining CRC
Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness joined with the Hot Springs Community Resource Center Monday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting to announce the start of a Wellness Day program at the facility at 109 Hobson Ave. Susan Smith, the CEO of OBHAW, said...
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HSSD plan calls for athletic, safety upgrades
The Hot Springs School District will focus on maintaining aging buildings, completing major athletic and safety upgrades, and addressing accessibility needs under its newly released 2026 SixYear Facility Master Plan. The plan, submitted to the...
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America 250: Oaklawn unveils new flag in ceremony
Oaklawn is the home to the first flag to be raised in the state honoring the United States semiquincentennial, which was raised Saturday morning in a ceremony with Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester. The flag, which superimposes “America 250...
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Gallery Walk gets underway tonight
Hot Springs’ monthly Gallery Walk features the opening of new art exhibitions showcased in downtown fine art galleries and studio spaces. According to the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance, the following galleries are open for Gallery Walk from 5–9...
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Area leaders reflect on 2025, look forward to 2026
The Sentinel-Record recently asked several community leaders to reflect on 2025 and share their goals and personal resolutions for 2026. NPC’S DERDEN PRIORITIZES GROWTH, REFLECTION Looking ahead to 2026, National Park College President Wade Derden...
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Facility closures, groundbreakings were among the top newsmakers
From historic flooding to the opening of a new school and the closure of Levi Hospital, Garland County had plenty of headlines in 2025 that will resonate in the community for years to come. FLOODWATERS CAUSE DAMAGE ACROSS COUNTY In early April,...
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MPSD plans security, roof upgrades in 6-year plan
MOUNTAIN PINE — The Mountain Pine School Board approved the district’s SixYear Facility Master Plan at its Dec. 18 meeting, which outlined security improvements, roof replacements and electrical upgrades as the district plans amid declining enrollment...
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MPHS says error led to F on state report card
MOUNTAIN PINE — Mountain Pine High School officials told the school board last week that an accountability error likely caused the campus to receive an F letter grade when its data shows it should have been rated a D or a C. Principal Joy Higdon...
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Southern Theatre Co. to present ‘Man vs. Machine’ Jan. 16-18
Can audiences tell the difference between a play written by a person and one written by artificial intelligence? Southern Theatre Company invites theatergoers to find out when it presents “Man vs. Machine,” a six-play, 10-minute festival, on Jan....
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Horseman’s lounge opens at Oaklawn
After installing Wi-Fi in all the barns at Oaklawn last year, the Arkansas Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association has partnered with the track to add a lounge for horsemen, which opened just prior to the start of Oaklawn’s Holiday...
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‘Such an important event’: Priest talks Christmas, resurgence of church
As people around the world celebrate Christmas today, the holiday holds a particular significance among those of the Christian faith. Rev. Shaun Wesley, the pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, said the birth of Jesus still holds great...
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Library board sees new renderings for branch, main
Garland County Library’s Board of Trustees saw updated renderings during their final meeting of the year Monday, giving the library’s executive director the go-ahead to add them to a final proposal to submit to the Hot Springs Metro Partnership for a...
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Christmas for Kids hosts annual celebration
Hundreds of local children and their families gathered at the Hot Springs Convention Center Monday for this year’s Christmas for Kids event, featuring food, music and giveaways for attendees. The event is sponsored by the Christmas for Kids...
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Deputy attorney general defends partial release of Epstein files
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Justice Department’s decision to release just a fraction of the Jeffrey Epstein files by the congressionally mandated deadline as necessary to protect survivors of...
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NPMC discusses plans for new adult psych unit
Approximately 30-35 new staff are expected to join National Park Medical Center in the next year as the hospital starts to build its new adult psychiatric unit, the hospital’s CEO said. CEO Scott Bailey said the hospital decided within days of the...
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LHSD highlights academics, CTE growth, community engagement in annual report
PEARCY — Lake Hamilton School District leaders highlighted academic performance, career-focused learning, staff compensation and growing community involvement in Monday night’s annual report to the public at the school board’s monthly...
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Jewish community and friends light menorah, remember lives lost in Bondi Beach massacre
A small gathering celebrated Hanukkah Tuesday as members of Hot Springs’ Jewish community, alongside their non-Jewish friends and neighbors, observed the lighting of the menorah. The annual tradition, sponsored by Lubavitch of Arkansas, took on an...
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Warming shelter had ‘zero problems’ in first openings at Resource Center
More than 30 people have spent the night at the Hot Springs Community Resource Center on each of the three nights the facility opened as an emergency warming shelter. The facility opened for the first time as a warming shelter on Dec. 3, and with...
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Melissa Speers, Jessieville superintendent, to retire June 30
JESSIEVILLE — Jessieville School District Superintendent Melissa Speers announced plans to retire effective June 30, asking the school board to accept her resignation at its Dec. 8 monthly meeting after nearly three decades of service to the...
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City board to consider extending parking fee waivers
The Hot Springs Board of Directors will consider waiving parking fees for downtown residents and workers through Feb. 28. The enabling ordinance on its agenda Tuesday night would extend the waivers beyond their Dec. 31 expiration, buying time to...
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‘A temporary stewardship’
When Corey Alderdice learned he had been named Arkansas Business’ 2025 Executive of the Year in the Public Sector/Education category, the outgoing executive director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts said he was...
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Oaklawn cuts ribbon for 121st season
Oaklawn staff is excited for the 121st season of live racing, which starts today with a 10-race card. Gates open at 11 a.m. with first post set for 12:30 p.m., and the $150,000 Advent, the first stakes race of the Holiday meet, which runs through Jan....
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Cella: Oaklawn ready for 121st season
Oaklawn President Louis Cella told Hot Springs National Park Rotary the racetrack is ready for its 64-day season to start Friday. Opening weekend will be “highlighted by our six tons of corned beef sandwiches giveaway on Saturday,” Cella said, drawing...
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Oaklawn Rotary announces winners for this year’s Christmas parade
This year’s annual Christmas parade was a dazzling display of holiday cheer, and the results are in as to which entries stood above the rest. Oaklawn Rotary, which puts on the annual parade, announced this year’s top floats Tuesday morning at the...
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Mass casualty drill tests readiness with mock school bus crash
Garland County first responders put their emergency skills to the test Saturday morning by hosting a fullscale mass casualty simulation at the Garland County Fair & Livestock Association arena, giving the community a look at how agencies respond when...
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Daniell Heat and Air to give away 3 furnaces to families in need
Daniell Heat and Air is currently accepting nominations as part of its “Heat from the Heart” initiative to provide free furnaces for three families in need through Dec. 21. According to a news release, nominations will be accepted for families, single...
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Oaklawn set for two meets for 2025-26 season
For the first time, Oaklawn will be having two distinct meets for the 2025-26 race season. The holiday meet kicks off this weekend with the classic meet set to start on Jan. 30, Oaklawn General Manager Wayne Smith said. “We’re actually starting in...
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Cold morning, warm support:
Lakeside School District is sending its football team off to the state championship game following a cold but spirited district-wide pep rally Friday at Chick Austin Stadium. The Rams are set to depart for Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium today at...
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Levi Hospital building to be demolished
Six months after announcing it would cease treatment, the Levi Hospital Board of Directors announced the building at 300 Prospect Ave. will be demolished. A news release from the Levi Community Foundation said parts of the building date back to 1914,...
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VHS names winners of Feast Month
A record number of votes were cast for eateries across Hot Springs in the month of November for the fifth annual Feast Month competition as diners selected the best dining spots across 12 categories. “We saw a record number of votes this year, with...
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Toy museum founder looks to expand into Spa City
The founder of Hanamaki Toy Museum hopes to see Hot Springs have its own wooden toy museum as soon as 2027. Yasuhiro Otomo, who is also president and CEO of Otomo Lumber in Hanamaki, Japan, spoke to city, county and business leaders at the Garland...
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Winter weather generally north of county
Garland County managed to dodge a bullet with the first winter weather of the season. Colby Pope, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, said commutes could be affected this morning, even though much of the wintry...
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First taste of winter weather expected today
Winter weather is anticipated to be a factor for motorists today as the National Weather Service in North Little Rock is forecasting up to two-tenths of an inch of accumulation from 6 a.m. through Tuesday morning. The NWS has predicted a 40% chance of...
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Philly transplant brings her philanthropy to Hot Springs
Grove Street isn’t the high-rent district, but to Philadelphia transplant Monica Wright it’s a bucolic retreat. “People have told me this is allegedly the ghetto,” Wright said earlier this month. “How can this be the ghetto? This is the bad side of...
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