reflections magazine, benton courier, july 2009

Reflections • Summer 2009 • 1

2 • Reflections • Summer 2009

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Contents

Cover Story 8-38 Meet our twelve “Angels Among Us” winners — pictured above — and find out what they do for their neighbors and communites and why they were chosen for this special honor. Also check out the list of other nomi-nees, beginning on Page 32.Cover story portraits and cover photo by Daniel Sample.

Working beyond their years 40 The teens who make up Benton’s Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council are a special bunch indeed. We visited with them and checked into a recent project they undertook to spruce up a local park in Benton — all on a volunteer basis, of course, and one of many volunteer projects the teens participate in each year.

More than just a homemakers club 46 The Saline Extension Homemakers Club might have started out as a group to teach women their domestic duties, but that was long ago. These days, the group focuses much of its time and energy on projects that give back to the community and sup-port nonprofits, such as making hats for cancer patients and dolls for children at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.


church directory


Meet Our Contributors

Lynda Hollenbeck is Associate Editor at the Benton Courier and has covered Benton city government, entertainment and features for more than 30 years. In her spare time, she enjoys caring for animals, participating in Benton’s Royal Theatre productions and spending time with her husband, Ed, and grandchildren.

Richard Duke has done nearly every job at the Courier, including deliv-ering a few papers. Currently, he is Sports Editor and covers four Saline County schools (Benton, Bryant, Bauxite, Harmony Grove) and one that sits on the border (Glen Rose). When he is not trying to please parents and coaches, Duke supports his wife’s marathon-running obsession as well as his own need to run farther than one mile at a time.

Jillian Duke, a Reporter at the Benton Courier, has covered all aspects of news in Saline County for several years. She loves meeting new people, hearing their stories and then sharing those stories with the community. Sports really aren’t her thing, but she does participate in a sport. She endures half-marathons and is proud of her 5K wins. When not running or writing, Jillian enjoys reading, watching movies or going to the theatre.

Brian Bloom is publisher of the Benton Courier. An Iowa native, Bloom has managed newspaper operations for more than 30 years. Bloom enjoys playing at golf and reminisc-ing about the athlete he wished he was. Whatever he has accomplished in his life, he says it pales in comparison to the community service by the individuals chronicled in these pages.

Whit Jones, Editor of the Benton Courier, is an award-winning journalist who has worked for more than

30 years in the newspaper business. He is a native of Saline County. He enjoys outdoor activities

and news, politics, music and sports.

Bruce Guthrie has been a Sports Reporter for the Courier for two and a half years. He enjoys the St. Louis Cardinals (most of the time), spending time with his two daughters and watching his son play high school football.

Kristal Kuykendall is News Editor at the Benton Courier and has worked as a journalist for more than 15 years in Central and

Northwest Arkansas and in Lexington, Kentucky. She particularly enjoys writing about music, and in her spare time enjoys

traveling to see concerts, enjoying the great outdoors and camping with friends.



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8 • Reflections • Summer 20098 • Reflections • Summer 2009

An Angel Among Us


Cover Story

TheEnergizer bunny he just keeps going, and going…

Laverne Payne is 79, but you’d never know it by looking at her, or by talking to her, or by observing her busy schedule. A retired beautician, she’s constantly doing something for someone else — cooking for elderly shut-ins or families who have recently lost a loved one, or going to do the hair of elderly or disabled ladies who aren’t able to get the beauty shop, or mak-ing quilts for her many offspring (she has three daughters, six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren).

In her “spare” time, Payne is active in her church, First Baptist in Bryant. (In fact, she says it’s her favorite place in Saline County, since it’s where she spends most of her time.) She enjoys playing games like cards and Dominoes with her church friends, most of whom are many years younger.

As her youngest daughter puts it, “She has a better social life than I do,” said Donna Teeter, 51, of Bryant. “She also keeps her mind sharp by doing a lot of puz-zle books, sudoku puzzles and word search puzzles, things like that. She has friends at church that play games together a lot.”

Payne also travels a lot, visiting her chil-dren, grandchildren and great-grandchil-dren as often as possible and often staying for weeks at a time. She also goes on just-for-fun trips with friends and relatives as often as possible, visiting places like Hawaii and Canada.

Her favorite place to visit? “Well, I went to Germany twice when my granddaughter was there; when one of my great-grand-daughters was born, I stayed a month,” she said. “It was real pretty there. And I went to Canada with some friends last year

on a train trip across the country and it was gorgeous. It was a beautiful country. And when my youngest granddaughter was in high school several years ago, I went as a chaperone to Mexico with her. So I have traveled quite a bit.”

But even though she’s retired, she never fails to take care of her “clients” — the ladies who are not able to get to the salon whom she visits and takes care of. Teeter says she doesn’t do it as much now as she used to, but she has been doing it for decades: providing free, in-home beauty shop services for shut-ins and the disabled.

In fact, it started back when Payne’s old-est daughter, 59-year-old Kay McPherson

of Sherwood, was a teenager, McPherson said. Back then, Payne’s Beauty Salon offered shampoos and sets for $1, perms for $5 and up, and manicures for $1 (it was the ’60s).

“Mother had a beauty shop in the house, and if people couldn’t afford it, she’d do it and wouldn’t charge them as a gesture to help them out; she’s always done stuff like that,” McPherson said. “One of our friends we went to church with had a horrible accident that left her pretty disabled, and Mother has been going to her house and doing her hair now for 20 years or more.”

Now, Payne — who later worked for JC Penney’s and Sears’ beauty salons before she retired — has narrowed her client base to just a handful of shut-ins. “I won’t do hair for someone now who is able to go to the beauty shop,” Payne explains. “I do it for those who aren’t able or can’t afford it. I do two or three permanents every few months, and do haircuts once a month for a couple of ladies.”

Why, you might ask, is she still at it, after all these years of “giving back?” “I just love to do it, and I just hope somebody does mine when I get that age and I’m not able to go to the beauty shop and can’t afford it or whatever,” she says, smiling. “They say it makes a difference in how they feel and it brightens up their week when they can get their hair done.”

When she isn’t doing hair, she’s cook-ing up dinners for people who aren’t able to cook for themselves, or she’s driving elderly friends to doctor’s appointments and taking them shopping and the like. “My husband (now deceased) used to come in all the time and ask if something I was cooking was for us to eat or for someone else, because I was all the time baking stuff for shut-ins or for funerals or something like that,” Payne recalled. “It’s just being a good neighbor. I do it because I think the Lord put us here to help each other.”

Laverne PaynePlace of birth: Damascuslived in Saline county: Since 1951favorite Place in Saline county: Church (First Baptist in Bryant)favorite book or movie: The Bible, “since I read it more than anything else,” she says.hobbieS: Playing games, traveling, quilting. “I quilted all my kids, grandkids and great-grandkids a quilt. I think I’m caught up on the quilting!”What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “They might be sur-prised to find out my age (79). If I tell somebody, they are usually surprised!”

By Kristal Kuykendall

S


An Angel Among Us


am McAdoo has a heart of gold — and he wears it proudly on his sleeve. A brief visit with the 64-year-old twin from Benton reveals his penchant for getting a bit emotional when he talks about what’s important to him: his family, his faith, his church.

McAdoo, who was nominated as an “Angel Among Us” by a former coworker who said she feels she’s known him her entire life, can quickly make anyone feel that way. He easily opens up about his life, revealing the good along with the bad, the highs along with the lows, the miracles along with the bumps along the road.

Notably, he fails to mention while describing himself how much time he puts in serving his church and his elderly neigh-bors and friends. For more than 25 years, McAdoo volunteered his time to keep up the grounds at New Holland Baptist Church (where he has been head usher for 33 years), and he routinely helps out elderly church members and neighbors by mowing their yards, too.

Sometimes he takes the older church members on field trips, simply because he felt bad that there weren’t many social activi-ties targeted to their group. “One day I got to watching them, and I realized how we didn’t have any stuff for the older people to do, and I took them one Sunday to Petit Jean Mountain — probably 15 elderly ladies,” he recalled. “I got such a blessing out of it.”

During the trip, one woman remarked that she’d like to see where the Rockefellers lived. Despite the fact that the grounds were blocked to the general pub-lic, McAdoo took a chance and drove the group up to the house. “And lo and behold, Win Rockefeller came out and started visit-ing with them, and it just made their day. My friend who had gone a long with me

thought we were going to get arrested, and he came out and just started talking to us and it made all the difference in the world for those ladies,” McAdoo recalled, his eyes sparkling.

McAdoo’s eyes sparkle a lot, even when they’re tearing up at a certain memory — such as the story of how his daughter , Leah, escaped almost certain death in a very serious car accident. She was pulling out from a stop sign when a state police car, chasing a suspect on a highway at about 95 mph, hit her car at her door, eject-ing her through her sunroof.

“When we got to the hospital in Conway, they had revived her about three times, and we didn’t recognize her when we walked in. The doctor said she probably wouldn’t make it,” he said, getting under-standably choked up. “They said she’d never have a child, and that she had a broken neck and came within an 1/8 of an inch of being paralyzed. She had 230-plus stitches in her head.”

They lived at the hospital for four weeks, and when Leah was released they had so many balloons and flowers they had to get a van to carry them all home. “That really meant a lot to us,” McAdoo explains. “So I always send flowers and balloons now to anybody I know of who is sick. It’s some-thing I enjoy doing. My florist tells me I’m his best customer!”

Not long after she was released, Leah was to be married. A week before her wed-ding, the doctor told the family, with tears in his eyes, “that you couldn’t even tell she’d been in an accident,” McAdoo said, giant tears rolling down his face. “And then she got pregnant a year or two after she got married; I have a wonderful 10-year-old grandson, Nate.”

McAdoo calls it miraculous. He also considers it a miracle that he turned his own life around 36 years ago when he met his wife, Jane. At the time, he was “living a rough life” and drinking a lot, but Jane invited him to church again and again, and he finally went. “I started turning my life around and stopped drinking, and took a trip to Acapulco, and when I got back I asked her to marry me and we were mar-ried within a week,” he says proudly.

But he doesn’t think it’s any big deal that he spends so much of his time giving back to his community, his church and his neighbors. He’s been known to pay utility bills for total strangers because they couldn’t afford to, or purchase Christmas gifts for families in need. “My dad always told us you’re on this Earth to help people, and that’s the way I believe. I enjoy helping people; I just get a blessing out of it,” McAdoo says. “I have done things in my life for people who didn’t even know I did it or had a hand in it. I would never change the way I’ve done things for people. I have learned so much.”

Cover Story

Sam McAdooPlace of birth: Los Angeles, Calif.lived in Saline county: Since 1947favorite Place in Saline county: “I used to spend a lot of time fishing at Lyle Park.”favorite book or movie: Any film with Clint Eastwood. “Gran Torino” was good.hobbieS: Shopping, traveling, spending time with my wife, Jane.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? I’m a cat-lover.

heart of goldBy Kristal Kuykendall

S


An Angel Among Us


hen Stephanie Wagner found out she had been nominated for “Angels Among Us,” she was surprised and embarrassed. “My volunteer work is my passion and not something I do for recognition,” she said.

Wagner, 51, of Bryant has volunteered with Angel Food Ministries at First Southern Baptist Church in Bryant for three years now. The ministry is a national program.

“It grew out of the work we did for our church food pantry,” she said. “We were searching for a way to provide more con-sistent quality of food at an affordable price, including some high quality protein to the families who came to our food closet. One of our ladies, Elaine, told us about the Angel Food Ministry that she had been to, and we investigated the quality and price of the food and decided it was a good fit for our food closet as well as a benefit to the community, since there were no income restrictions, unlike the USDA programs.”

Wagner is humble and doesn’t take much credit. She said with the assistance of “many dedicated volunteers, I coordinate the two food ministries at the Baptist church: Two Fish and Five Loaves Closets and the Angel Food Ministries.”

Angel Food Ministries is a nonprofit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing grocery relief and financial sup-port to communities throughout the United States.

Wagner first started working with the food closet when her son was in junior high school doing community service. “I found that in striving to meet the needs of the peo-ple I encountered, I was the one who was blessed by their smiles, their friendship and their warmth,” she said. “I would not say that I serve in this capacity selflessly. I have a passion for it and gain a great deal of inner peace and strength by serving. It can break

your heart at times, but the rewards of see-ing answered prayers are great.”

When Emily Hogue, who started the food closet, needed someone to take over, Wagner said, “Dianna Goforth and I volun-teered to coordinate it.”

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Wagner said there were months when supplies for the food closet were difficult to obtain. “We then looked into USDA commodities, but

there were many restrictions and red tape involved,” she said. “We then found the Angel Food Ministry and became a host site for it. After Dianna’s mother became ill, she had to step down, and I continued to coordi-nate it with the assistance of many others.”

Wagner was born the third of 10 children and the oldest girl. “My parents were not poor, but neither were we rich. We never went hungry, but there were no luxuries either. As a child, I spent most of my time following my older brothers around the woods that surrounded our house, help-ing Mom with the little ones, or my favorite pastime, reading books. I loved and still love

to read almost anything, but particularly his-tory.”

Wagner’s day job is a medical technolo-gist for Arkansas Oncology Associates, performing laboratory testing. “Working with patients diagnosed with cancer and other diseases can be very difficult but also very rewarding,” she said. “You see them all the time and think of them almost as family members. You smile and cele-brate their improvements during treatment, remissions from disease, and cure. You cry with them when they relapse, get bad news on test results, or run out of treat-ment options. You grieve and mourn their passing.”

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from Illinois State University. “I have worked in hospital labo-ratories in Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Arkansas, but prefer the direct patient con-tact I get working in a physician’s office.”

She said her coworkers and supervisors are very supportive of the volunteer work she does, and her schedule has been flex-ible enough to allow her the time off during the week that she needs. “I am blessed to have a wonderful group of volunteers that I can call on to pick up food items that may become available to us at a moment’s notice,” Wagner added.

If ever she feels defeated or tired, Wagner said she simply remembers the smile on a child’s face when she gives them something as simple as a Looney Tunes toothbrush. “The joy of giving cannot be bought but is a gift itself,” she said.

Wagner has been married to Doug Wagner for 27 years. They have a son, Stuart, 20. She noted her family is very sup-portive of her volunteer work. “Doug is usu-ally by my side as we work to prepare food boxes for distribution and distribute it.”

Cover Story

Stephanie WagnerPlace of birth: Decatur, Ill.lived in Saline county: Since 1997favorite Place in Saline county: “Mills Park. I like to walk and think.”favorite book or movie: “My favor-ite fiction book is ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ by James Fennimore Cooper. I love to read historical novels.”hobbieS: Cooking, genealogy, embroidery, knitting and crocheting.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “That I am very shy and introverted.”

closet coordinatorBy Jillian Duke

W


An Angel Among Us


Cover Story

fter Leland Turbyfill meets with the “rascals” for coffee at McDonald’s in Benton, he makes his rounds. Turbyfill, 74, of Benton does not make rounds in the doctor sense of the word. He makes his rounds at Benton Healthcare Center and other nursing homes to visit with resi-dents.

“It makes you feel good to visit them,” he said. “Some don’t have anyone else to come see them.” And for that reason, Turbyfill was chosen as an “Angels Among Us.”

“I thought it was a joke,” Turbyfill said of finding out he had been chosen. “I didn’t think anybody thought about it. I don’t do it to be noticed.” Turbyfill, who retired from Alcoa in 1998, began visiting the nursing homes about seven years ago. “My dad was out there and then two members from my church were there, so I just started going and just kept going.”

Turbyfill belongs to Riverstreet Church of Christ in Benton, where he volunteers for many activities. In addition to offering his friendship to nursing home residents, Turbyfill brings them snacks, and on Sunday mornings, he takes Communion to those who wish to participate.

Those who nominated Turbyfill noted he has had some health problems the past year, but he continues to serve others in any way possible. He also visits and takes Communion to those in area hospitals.

Turbyfill seldom misses a day making his rounds. But if he goes on vacation or misses for some other reason, when he comes back, some will say, “Where you been?”

“I hate when they look up and say that,”

he said. Even residents with Alzheimer’s can remember his face and don’t like it when he doesn’t come to visit.

He participants in an activity with his church in sending birthday cards to Benton Healthcare residents. And naturally, Turbyfill is the one who delivers the cards. “Sometimes it’s all the mail they get,” he noted.

It’s easy to understand the rea-son behind one nomination that reads, “Leland’s acts of kindness are completely selfless ... . The world is a better place because of Leland Turbyfill.”

Turbyfill was born in Paron and has lived in Saline County all his life. He and his wife, Joyce, have been marred for 55 years. After graduating in 1953 from Benton High School, where he played football, Turbyfill entered the Navy. He began working for Alcoa in 1957, where he worked until retirement.

During his time at Alcoa, he was a union

officer with the United Steel Workers of America. He was instrumental in helping employees handle personal problems so they could continue working.

“I helped 1,200 to 1,400 employees deal with stuff like marital and family problems,” he said. “I think helping people then is what motivated me to first get started with visit-ing people in nursing homes.”

Through his union work, he had the opportunity to travel to big cities like Miami, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Buffalo, N.Y., and Atlanta. Currently, he is president of the retirees union and serves on the Central Arkansas Workforce Investment Board.

The Turbyfills have three adult children, Tammy Propes of Benton, Alan Turbyfill of Benton and Angela Murphy of Nashville, Fla. They have four grandchildren.

When he’s not busy with his duties for the organizations, church or nursing homes, Turbyfill can be found garden-ing. But even that task is done selflessly. Several nominations noted Turbyfill is always quick to give homegrown veg-etables to neighbors, friends and nursing home residents.

Also at his church, Turbyfill helps coor-dinate hosting campers for Ozark Christian Camp at Lonsdale. The campers come to his church the night before camp starts for a meal. “They come from all over, and we provide lodging and then the Monday morning, we provide breakfast for all camp-ers before they go out to the lake.”

Turbyfill gets tired just like anyone, but he knows he fills a need for many people, and as long as his health will allow, he plans to keep feeding those needs.

Leland TurbyfillPlace of birth: Paronlived in Saline county: 74 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: “The Old Falls, a secluded place off a creek in Paron.”favorite book or movie: The BiblehobbieS: Building, gardening and being outside.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “That I visit nursing homes every day.”

resident friendBy Jillian Duke

A


An Angel Among Us


Cover Story

friend of Cookie Brown’s said she isn’t surprised that the Benton resident is so active in volunteer work “because that girl sure does like to be on the go.”

Even Brown admits that.

“I love to do things,” she said. “I especially like to give back. I’ve always thought you ought to give back some-thing in this ol’ world. I’d sure hate to pass through this world and not give back something.”

Well, that’s not something Brown has worry about; she spends much of her time giving back.

Among other things, Brown still works with school children, she volunteers with CJCOHN (Churches Joint Council on Human Needs) and she helps with the Ralph Bunche Community Corp.’s Back to School program through Benton’s First United Methodist Church.

These are the reasons Brown was nominated as an “Angel Among Us” by Patti Hyatt.

“She is a neat person, a real go-get-ter, and if she believes in something, you can’t knock it out of her,” Hyatt said.

“Honestly,” Brown said, “I thought someone else should be nominated for this volunteer honor. I am pleased that I was chosen, but I sure see a lot of peo-ple doing a lot more in the community than I do.”

Brown was the first nurse in the Benton School District. She was employed as a registered nurse in 1976 and retired in 1995.

“Since I was the first and only nurse, I worked at all the schools,” Brown recalled.

“Later on, when we got more nurses, I worked primarily at Benton High School and Angie Grant Elementary.”

But retirement didn’t stop Brown from helping. Each school year she helps administer vision tests to students. And she and Hyatt operate a clothes closet at Angie Grant for less fortunate children.

Brown grew up in Hartman and moved to Benton in 1962 when her husband, Charlie, took a job as a lineman with the city of Benton. He died in 2001 at age 69.

Before becoming the school district’s first nurse, Cookie Brown worked for 10 years as a Head Start nurse in Saline, Hot Spring and Clark counties. She received her nurse training at then-Bap-tist Hospital in Little Rock.

Brown loves the outdoors, she said. She enjoys working in her yard, fishing and she even thought about hang gliding recently while visiting family on the East Coast.

“We were on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and my grandson was teach-ing people how to hang glide,” she said. “You know what? I think I might just do that. It looks like fun.”

Well, she does have athletic ability. Brown played semi-professional basket-ball for a team in Quitman in the early 1960s.

But the question is, how did she get the name Cookie?

“When I was young,” she said, “there was a popular Shirley Temple movie and after that, my neighbor started calling me Cookie. I was about a year old and the name just stuck.”

But, she said, “All the kids at school call me Miss Cookie.”

Brown has two daughters. One is a first-grade teacher at Paron and lives near her mother. The other is a dietician in Virginia.

Cookie BrownPlace of birth: Hartmanlived in Saline county: 47 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: “I like the Saline River, and I love Downtown Benton during Christmas.”favorite book or movie: “I enjoy all kinds of historical books.”hobbieS: “I like to quilt, work in the yard and fish.”What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “I was a semi-professional basketball player.”

vision othersBy Whit Jones

A

for


An Angel Among Us


Cover Story

f people help Carol Lawrence, for whatever reason, you can rest assured that she will return the favor.

A good example is the Saline Memorial Hospital hospice program, which Lawrence said “was so good to us” when her hus-band, Malcolm, was suffering through the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

“That’s why I help hospice now,” Lawrence said. “They were there for us. and I want to be there for them.”

Malcolm Lawrence died in 2002 at age 73. “Oh, gosh, yes, I took him a lot of places after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s,” Carol Lawrence said. “I cared for him for seven or eight years.

“I remember when Malcolm was first diagnosed. I asked the doctor, ‘What can I do to help him?’ The doctor said, ‘Just keep him doing anything and everything he can do.’”

The Lawrences met in Fort Wayne, Ind., Carol Lawrence’s hometown. She said, with a laugh, “Malcolm came all the way up there looking for me.”

Actually, Malcolm Lawrence had gone to work for General Electric Corp. after graduating from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. The company moved him to Fort Wayne, where his wife-to-be had just completed college.

The Lawrences moved to Fayetteville in 1964, where Malcolm Lawrence grew up, and to Benton in 1967.

“The reason we moved back to Arkansas was so Malcolm could be close to the Razorbacks,” Lawrence said.

“Obviously, I am now a big Razorback fan, too.”

Lawrence also helps with CJCOHN (Churches Joint Council on Human Needs), and she’s involved with the United Methodist Women program at Benton’s First United Methodist Church.

But the one thing Lawrence has done for more than 35 years is volunteer her

time as organist and pianist at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Benton.

“I surely have played there a long time,” she said, “and have loved every minute of it.”

She plays primarily on Sundays now, but she previously played during the week for children’s programs until her husband became ill.

In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina dev-astated the Gulf Coast, Lawrence invited Gerald and Kathy Dunlap and their son,

Jay, into their home. The Dunlaps sought refuge in Benton because their home in Slidell, La., was ruined by the vicious tropi-cal storm.

“I lived by myself and had spare bed-rooms and I thought about how helpless so many people were after the storm,” Lawrence said. “The family lived with me for several days until they found housing.”

The Dunlaps also stayed with Lawrence recently, for a couple of weeks, while they were between houses.

“They decided not long after they got here in 2005 that they liked it and would settle here,” Lawrence said. “One of the reasons is because they are Catholic and they like the church here and the people.”

Gerald Dunlap is a social worker at the Arkansas Department of Correction’s Ouachita River Unit near Malvern.

Lawrence was nominated as an “Angel Among Us” by the Dunlaps, who said in their nomination letter than she “provided us a home when we had none, a family when we were alone, hope when we felt despair and encouragement when we were afraid.”

Lawrence has four children — they live in Benton, the Los Angeles area, Chicago and Grand Rapids, Mich. — and eight grandchildren.

When she isn’t volunteering, or traveling in Arkansas, Lawrence said she visits fam-ily members.

And she even finds time to play bridge, one of the joys of her life. “I play any chance I get,” she said with a chuckle.

Carol LawrencePlace of birth: Fort Wayne, Ind.lived in Saline county: 42 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: Home.favorite book or movie: “The Sound of Music.”hobbieS: Playing bridge.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “That I’m an open book.”

music makerBy Whit Jones

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An Angel Among Us



Cover Story

olly Stafford has no problem helping anyone in any area of her life. But if you sit across her at the bridge table, you’re on your own.

Yet Stafford must be able to keep her card playing foes as friends because she was nominated as an “Angel Among Us” by no fewer than eight people in Saline County. That kind of support is special — no matter how many times you win at cards.

Not only is she highly regarded, but the words these people use to describe her efforts is nothing short of amaz-ing. “She is the most loving, caring and humble person I have ever known,” one person said. “Not only is she a genuinely caring person, but she always makes you feel special and happy to be around her,” another gushed. “Polly personifies the everyday hero you are seeking,” still another said.

And yet, Stafford is as unassuming a “hero” as anyone would meet. More in the style of Clark Kent than Superman, Stafford makes her rounds and does her good deeds with little or no fanfare. It’s something she doesn’t really want.

“There are so many other people out there that do much more than me,” she said. “I just do what I can when I can. I’ve been able to see a need and fill it at times, but I’ve never been one to toot my own horn.”

That’s OK, because plenty of others see her work. Where Stafford most excels is her attention to those who are unable to get out and about themselves.

Stafford spends much of her time calling shut-ins every day “to start their day with

a personal conversation.” She also heads throughout Central Arkansas to various nursing homes in Benton, Bryant and Little Rock. Often she takes bouquets of flowers grown in her own yard to brighten up each resident’s day.

If that wasn’t enough, she also heads to the hospitals for the same reasons — checking in, bringing flowers and a smile. And when those people get home, Stafford is usually the first to provide a home-cooked meal for them.

“It seems to me like the older people in our lives get overlooked,” Stafford said. “It’s so simple to just go and visit. You don’t even have to bring anything. You can just be that bright spot of sunshine in their day. Sometimes that’s all they need.”

Stafford said that sometimes the most simple acts can mean the most. Sending a card or calling someone on the phone can mean the difference between a

depressing day and one that is remem-bered as special.

As the Sunshine Chairman at First United Methodist Church in Bryant, she is in charge of organizing and sending out cards to all types of people. Her work at the church is just an extension of her faith.

“I could not do what I have been able to do without a strong faith and a strong home church,” she said. “I have been going there for years, and it has meant so much to me. The people there are the most special.”

But while all those people are on her list, her main priorities are her fam-ily. She is always “on call” for her four grandchildren, who all live in Fayetteville. Many are the times that she will head to Northwest Arkansas for a golf tourna-ment or a horse show to support them. She jokingly calls those trips her “assign-ments.”

Born in Quitman, Stafford and her husband moved to Saline County in 1965, and she has been a quiet pillar of the community ever since. Now a widow, Stafford has a strong base of friends who are able to spend time with each other doing, among other things, things like playing bridge. And Stafford leads the bunch.

“It’s more than a hobby,” she said. “It’s actually a passion. It’s so good in order to keep your mind working and functioning. I’ve been playing for years, and I just love it.”

Calling herself an “open book,” Stafford thinks that the work she does is small but meaningful. “I just try to do what I can,” she said. Obviously, many have noticed.

sunshine callerBy Richard Duke

P

Polly StaffordPlace of birth: Quitmanlived in Saline county: 44 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: “I love the courthouse and the area in downtown Benton, although it is tough to get around there.”favorite book or movie: “I have enjoyed books by Margaret Truman.”hobbieS: “I love to play bridge. It keeps your mind sharp.”What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “I’m not sure. I like to think of myself as an open book.”


An Angel Among Us



Cover Story

he voice mail for Brenda Scrimager is simple, but it says a lot: “I’m out saving the world.”

Although the message may be tongue in cheek, the sentiment behind it is not. Once an art teacher, Scrimager now uses her creativeness to help anyone she can in any number of ways.

Her knitting club decorates blankets for oncology nurses to give to their patients, and she teaches art to adults with special needs, focusing on painting and crafts. Her art comes in handy with children as well. She is still able to teach special needs students when she can, and the angel charms she makes are given to cancer patients.

Scrimager knows how special those charms can be to patients with serious illnesses — she was a cancer patient herself. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer 15 years ago, Scrimager had to retire from teaching school. Since then, she has used her time volunteering in any way she could.

“I got a fine arts degree, and I always saw myself planning to be a painter and portrait artist,” she said. “But I started teaching art in public schools. So I got more degrees in order to be able to teach special needs children.”

Although she had to leave teaching on a daily basis because of her cancer, she has still been able to help all kinds of chil-dren through art.

“I was able to work with this one stu-dent who needed attention from the third grade, and he has recently graduated from aeronautical school,” Scrimager said. “It wasn’t just reading or writing that

he needed help with. It was self-esteem issues. It was just building him up and showing him that he could achieve. And

he did.”

Scrimager’s latest idea is a Homework House, which would give students a place to go after school. She believes that with some students, there seems to be a gap between parents and local schools on what children need to learn and advance.

Her Homework House would provide computers for those who do not have access to them after school. “The key is that the place would be a safe environ-ment for kids, and that’s the most impor-tant thing.”

But it’s not just children or students that she helps. Inspired by Billy, her husband

of 22 years, Scrimager began working with veterans in order to get their experiences down on paper or on tape.

“My husband told me that real stories of what happened in Vietnam weren’t being told,” she said. “And a lot of times it’s just because these men are not able to get the words out on paper. They need help, and that’s what I can do. It’s amazing what can help these people when you can get those thoughts and words out on paper. It’s like unlocking a door. I feel like I am a tool for them.”

Although Scrimager has lived in Saline County for only two years, she has been a part of Central Arkansas for much lon-ger. Her husband wanted to move back to his stomping grounds mainly because he wanted to retire in the place that he spent his childhood, and Scrimager has never felt at home as much as she has in recent years.

“I lived in Little Rock for years, but it didn’t feel like home to me,” she said. “I love it here.”

Scrimager said she and her husband are “a good team” since he is the rock in the relationship and she is the balloon, floating from place to place. So it means that much more that Billy is the one who nominated her for the “Angels Among Us” award.

“He really is quiet in many ways, so this means a lot to me,” she said. “I’m so excited about this because I try to do what I do without any fanfare. I love coming in contact with people and doing what I can, but I never worry about credit.”

Brenda Scrimager “saves the world” the old-fashioned way — she earns it.

saving worldBy Richard Duke

T

Brenda ScrimagerPlace of birth: Baton Rouge, La.lived in Saline county: 2 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: “I really love to go home. I love our space, and it is special to us.”favorite book or movie: “I love the movie “Secondhand Lions,” and I just finished reading “The Healing Quilt,” which was wonderful.”hobbieS: “I work with fused jewelry and lampwork beads. I also love to knit and croche.”What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “I am an ovarian cancer survivor, but mostly I am who I am wherever I go. That’s what everyone knows about me.”

the


An Angel Among Us



Cover Story

atti Hyatt loved raising her children. That was a special time in her life. She also loved the years she was part of the local workforce. Those were good times, too. But she says the best time of her life has come during her retirement years when she’s concentrated on volunteer-ing. “I love what I’m going now,” Hyatt said. “My retirement years have been the best years of my life. I wish everyone could enjoy retirement as much as Paul and I do.”

Hyatt and husband Paul believe that vol-unteer service is what they are meant to do. “We’ve been blessed by the Lord, and we feel it’s our obligation to help others,” she said.

The many organizations to which Hyatt con-tributes her time provide opportunities to know people they never would have come in contact with otherwise, she said. “It amazes me when I hear someone say they don’t have enough to do when there’s so much they could be doing to help others,” Hyatt said. “There are so many needs.”

The excuse that they’re holding out for “something where I’ll get paid” mystifies Hyatt. “You do get paid,” she said. “You just don’t get paid in dollars.”

As an example, she mentioned the rewards of seeing a family receive a home through Habitat for Humanity of Saline County. “There’s nothing quite like seeing them after they get their house — and you know it wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for Habitat.”

Hyatt doesn’t actually work on construction of the homes, but provides meals for the workers, which include her husband. “I’m mainly Paul’s supporter and worrier,” she said.

Other causes Hyatt serves are Churches Joint Council on Human Needs, a local coalition of churches that operates a ministry to provide food, clothing, some utility assistance and other services to people in crisis situations; Saline Memorial Hospital Auxiliary; and First United Methodist Church of Benton, where she serves as social con-cerns coordinator for the United Methodist Women.

The church women’s group concentrates on Benton elementary school youngsters who need special attention, Hyatt said. “We provide clothing and lye shampoo and other items for the children, and we also support Safe Haven, the local shelter for victims of domestic abuse,” she said.

“Cookie Brown (also chosen as an ‘Angel Among Us’) and I do a lot of that together,” she said. Hyatt enjoys cooking and especially likes to make cakes, cookies and candy to share with others.

A few months ago she came to the aid of a neighbor who has no family here and was trying to plan her wedding. The woman said she knew nothing about the process and confided her frus-tration to Hyatt, who simply took over, prepared the food, did the decorating and even served the wedding guests.

That neighbor, Diane Lynn Patterson, who nominated Hyatt for the Angels Among Us honor, called Hyatt “a miracle worker” because, unsolicited, she solved her problem, simply out of the kindness of her heart.

Hyatt says she benefited from the experience as much as Patterson because of the close friendship that developed between the two fami-lies. “They’re the first neighbors we’ve had in a long time that are visiting neighbors,” she said.

In addition to husband Paul, Hyatt’s family includes two daughters, a son, three grandchil-dren and a great-granddaughter.

Hyatt’s special project with CJCOHN is the Senior Supplement program, which provides groceries for residents who depend on Social Security income and often don’t have enough money to meet their food needs toward the end of the month.

“I’m the driver and my husband is my deliv-ery person,” she said. “This is a wonderful program. It helps them at the end of the month when their money has run out. They are waiting for us when we get there. It’s very appreciated. We deliver to a lot of people all over the county.”

In her volunteer work through the Saline Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Hyatt oversees the information desk in the hospital lobby. “I love it,” she said. “I see people I haven’t seen since I worked for Drs. Baber and Viner (the commu-nity’s first surgeons, both deceased now) and in our business (Benton Sheet Metal from which both she and her spouse are retired).”

Hyatt also is a member of the Monday Study Club, primarily a book discussion group but which also engages in some community service. “I’m involved in social concerns in that club, too,” she said.

One of the best things about volunteer ser-vice, Hyatt said, is meeting other volunteers. “They’re such giving people, and they’re people I’d probably never get to know through any other means.”

Hyatt expressed gratitude at being selected for the Courier “Angels Among Us” honor. “I don’t feel that I deserve to be singled out as someone special, though, because I love what I’m doing.”

wheels mealsBy Lynda Hollenbeck

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Patti HyattPlace of birth: Russellvillelived in Saline county: 54 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: “At home, with my family.”favorite book or movie: “When God Winks” by Squire RushnellhobbieS: Reading and playing cards on computer.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “A lot of people would be surprised to learn that I can use a computer.”

with


An Angel Among Us



Cover Story

arolyn Wise isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. In fact, she does so regularly as the chief groundskeeper for Old Rosemont Cemetery.

That’s not her official title. She’s actually the volunteer chairperson of the cemetery association, but Wise goes beyond the administrative level, doing the bulk of the physical labor herself. All efforts are strictly unpaid and voluntary.

While Wise’s duties on paper involve record-keeping and hiring mowers to clear the grounds of the historic Benton cemetery, most days she’s there cleaning gravesites and doing other grounds work.

When relatives and friends visit the cem-etery, regardless of the weather, more often than not, they will find Wise and her hus-band, Bob, hard at work. The Wises have dedicated themselves to preserving the cemetery where both have parents, grand-parents and other relatives buried.

They use their own truck, provide their own gasoline and give their time to rake, bag and haul pine straw and leaves. They dispose of trash, old flowers and trinkets left at the gravesites.

Carolyn Wise has been involved in this effort since 2002 when she volunteered to help Zip Steed, who was overseeing the cemetery association. “Zip and Charles Howard Roland were the main ones who worked there, but Zip’s health diminished and Charles Howard has died, so someone was needed to do the work,” she said.

Wise said she was ready, willing and able to tackle the oversight of the old cem-etery, which encompasses around 10 acres. The task is a continuing one that doesn’t allow for a lot of down time. “There are a lot of prominent people buried out there,”

she said, noting that the Gann mausoleum, which is located at the edge of Military Road, represents the start of the graveyard.

Among the well-known family names on graves in the cemetery are “Walton, Hughes, Ashby and Shoppach,” she said. “Some graves were moved to Old Rosemont when C.W. Lewis Stadium was built,” Wise noted. The stadium area didn’t include an actual cemetery, but was the site of several graves. “It’s a little confusing because Old Rosemont adjoins New Rosemont and people get them mixed up.”

New Rosemont is privately owned and managed, while Old Rosemont comes under the supervision of the cemetery associa-tion, Wise explained. “There are a lot of unmarked graves out there, and we’ve tried to identify them, but it’s really difficult,” she said. “There’s no plat on record for it.”

Wise has researched this issue through the Saline County government and also

through the Saline County History and Heritage Society, another organization in which she takes an active role. “I’m interest-ed in historical stuff and try to do research, but if I have a choice, I’d rather be outside working on the grounds,” she said.

The expense of the cemetery upkeep is borne by slightly more than half the associa-tion’s members, Wise said. “I send out about 400 requests for contributions every year and get responses from a little over 200,” she said.

She would welcome more assistance with the grounds upkeep and noted that on one occasion she was able to obtain work-ers through the Saline County Community Service program. “They helped a lot,” she said. “They did a lot of work in one day. They raked up a lot of tree debris and put it on the trailer for Bob to haul off.”

Wise encourages others to show more interest in preserving the final resting places of their loved ones. “People as a whole should respect the graves of family members,” she said. “I realize that a lot of people live in other areas and visit here only occasionally.”

In addition to the physical work Wise does, she keeps a record of contributions, makes bank deposits and mails acknowl-edgements of memorials. There is no perpetual care endowment fund for mainte-nance of the cemetery, but Wise accepted the responsibility for maintaining the site herself or making the arrangements to hire someone to do so.

Benton resident Dorothy Moore, who nominated Wise for the “Angels Among Us” honor, said the cemetery is “more beauti-ful and carefully tended (since 2002) than it has ever been due to the labor of love and steadfast commitment of Carolyn Wise.”

keeper groundsBy Lynda Hollenbeck

C

Carolyn WisePlace of birth: Bentonlived in Saline county: Her “whole life”favorite Place in Saline county: “Any place with historical significance.”favorite book or movie: “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell (book and movie) and “Hello, Dolly!” (movie).hobbieS: Yard work, traveling, visiting flea markets and antiquing.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “Probably that I col-lect Fiesta dishes, glassware and Niloak pottery.”

ofthe


An Angel Among Us


Cover Story

e was considered a star pitcher when he was younger, and he became good enough to pitch on the collegiate level for Arkansas. He even made a trip to the College World Series with the Razorbacks.

Boyd Goodner, who was a standout left-handed pitcher for Benton High School, has returned home and found a way to reciprocate the teaching he received as a youngster. He spends a lot of his time away from his job in the loan department at Regions Bank as coach of an 11-year-old United States Specialty Sports Association tournament baseball team.

That may not sound so exceptional, but it’s the little things, says Goodner’s assistant coach, Toney Brasuell, that set Goodner apart and qualify him as an “Angel Among Us.”

“For the last two baseball seasons,” Brasuell said in nominating Goodner, “Boyd has taken several hours each week begin-ning in January and lasting through June to volunteer time, money and experience to coach 10-20 area boys on baseball and life.”

One unique aspect of Goodner’s efforts is that he doesn’t have a son playing. In fact, he doesn’t have any children.

“Beginning in March,” according to Brasuell’s nomination letter, “Boyd spends nearly every weekend with the youngsters through the end of June.

Brasuell said Goodner, 22, shares his baseball experience with the youths when he could be spending his time doing other things. “I initially approached him about working with my son for pitch-ing help,” Brasuell said.

From there, the match was made. Brasuell told Goodner that he had a young baseball team and asked Goodner to help him coach. Brasuell said Goodner’s experi-ence is invaluable.

Goodner, a 2000 BHS graduate, said he enjoys being able to teach these children a game he loves, especially boys in this age group. “I’d say 10-14 years old is my favorite group,” Goodner said. “They are of an age where we can just teach fundamen-tals.”

Two years ago, Goodner said Brasuell asked to help him coach a USSSA travel-ing baseball team. Once he got his feet wet, Goodner said he was hooked.

Brasuell said Goodner relates to the players off the field as well. “From iPods and Gameboys to baseball,” Brasuell said, “Boyd is close enough to the boys’ age and has a personality to relate to them.”

“I have an unbiased view,” Goodner said, “and every day the boys want to be out there. We teach more than baseball — we teach life.”

A big lesson the boys have learned, Goodner said, is an ability to deal with fail-ure. In this year’s USSSA state tournament at Alma, Goodner’s team was eliminated by a pair of one-run games. Against the Northwest Arkansas Vipers, in fact, the team’s elimination game ended when the right fielder threw out a player at first base.

Goodner said the team learned that little things can make a difference in success or failure. “More than anything, we want to see work ethic,” Goodner said. “We want these kids to do more than just what we do three days a week.”

Goodner’s philosophy about achieving was developed when he was younger and was striving to become a better player. He didn’t even start his baseball career until he was 10, he said, but once he made up his mind to become a better pitcher, his desire gained momentum.

“I got tired of hitting ninth (in the batting order),” Goodner said, “so I hit off a tee and did whatever else I could to get bet-ter. It wasn’t too long before I was hitting third.”

From there his baseball career took off. After starring for the Panthers, he went on to have a stellar career with the Razorbacks. In 2004, Goodner finished his Razorbacks career with a 3-3 record and 1.50 earned run average. His 32 appear-ances, all in relief, led the team. He pitched 60 innings and allowed just 14 runs, includ-ing 10 earned, on 55 hits. He walked just 16 batters while striking out 46.

dedicated coachBy Bruce Guthrie

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Boyd GoodnerPlace of birth: Little Rocklived in Saline county: 15 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: Bernard Holland Parkfavorite book or movie: “Shawshank Redemption.”hobbieS: Fly fishing.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “I used to draw a lot.”


An Angel Among Us



Cover Story

sk David Snyder about his volun-teer efforts and he just shrugs. “It’s not a big deal,” he says. That’s not what Irene Hobbs says of Snyder’s good deeds. She says his generosity and kindness are indeed a big deal. “You can ask any-one that he has helped and they will tell you that,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs, in her nomination of Snyder as an “Angel Among Us,” wrote of countless instances in which Snyder bought, paid for and delivered groceries, supplies, uniforms and numerous other things to those in need and without means.

“From broken porch lights and drug store pickups and deliveries to flat tires and mowing yards, this man does it all and more,” Hobbs wrote in nominating Snyder.

And Snyder won’t penny for his efforts. Hobbs has many stories about Snyder helping people who were forced out of their homes because of a fire or tornado or any other reason.

His relief efforts begin with little tasks, such as purchasing groceries and toilet-ries, and end with Snyder buying furni-ture and household items for people in need.

“He never wants anyone to know of his kind deeds,” Hobbs said, “but they are 70 times seven and counting.”

Hobbs also has been known to help out children who cannot help them-selves. “When a child needs entry fees or uniforms,” Hobbs said, “everything is paid for.”

One of Snyder’s greatest efforts is at the Benton Senior Activity Center. He responds to the participants’ needs in honor of his mother, Alice, who died in 2001. “She did a lot of work there,” Snyder said of his mother, “and I keep her memory alive by doing what I can for them.”

Snyder remembers the truckload of artificial trees he delivered at the center so visitors could enjoy the extra decora-tions.

What else motivates Snyder? “It’s just giving back,” he said with a typically unassuming response.

Snyder grew up an Army “brat,” follow-ing his father all over the world. Snyder got into the furniture business when he landed a job with Ethan Allen, and the traveling continued. Eight years ago, he moved back to Benton and opened Your Furniture Connection.

Snyder said his giving nature is a rea-son his business has thrived, even when mentors and furniture industry experts said his type of furniture store wouldn’t last a year.

Hobbs and Snyder recall a time when Hobbs had a flat tire. With both Hobbs’ husband and son out of pocket, Snyder sprung into action. Just coming off shoul-der surgery, and the staples still in place, Snyder changed the tire while Hobbs was fanning him from the heat with a newspaper.

Snyder said he doesn’t quite know when he developed such a giving nature. He has been doing it since he was a youngster, mowing lawns free for older adults.

His furniture store is consistently used as a pickup point for disaster relief, the last time being when a tornado hit Hurricane Lakes mobile home park in April 2008.

Hobbs said Snyder’s only fault is that he works nearly 20 hours a day, seven days a week.

Snyder said he runs his business the way stores operated in the past, with more of a sense of community rather than worrying so much about the bottom line. He said the bottom line normally takes care of itself.

The bottom line is that Snyder strives to leave his community a better place than he found it. “To me, he’s a best friend,” Hobbs wrote. “To others, he’s an angel.”

household helperBy Bruce Guthrie

A

David SnyderPlace of birth: San Pedro, Calif.lived in Saline county: 11 yearsfavorite Place in Saline county: Larry’s Pizzafavorite book or movie: “I’m always at work, so I guess I don’t have one.”hobbieS: Family.What Would PeoPle be SurPriSed to learn about you? “I collect stamps.”


Cover Story

Angels Among Usnominations

Meet the dozens of other Saline County residents who were nominated as “Angels Among Us” by Benton Courier readers. All the nominees were worthy recipients, and selecting the twelve winners was a difficult task, indeed. We salute the winners and nominees for their service to Saline County.

Tim and Sharon Finley“Tim is a pharmacist and Sharon works with

underprivileged children,” the person who nomi-nated the couple relates. “Sharon does her job and anything else she can to improve the lives of those kids. She take a carload of kids to church, they helped a young man get into rehab who didn’t have insurance — never expecting anything in return.”

“They are always giving, thoughtful and caring. There is an old saying about giving the shirt off your back. Well, Tim and Sharon would give the shirts off their backs to someone in need.”

Linda Gilbert“Linda Gilbert is my angel,” Horace Lovell

wrote. “She has taken me to the doctor, cooked and brought me food and cleaned house when I was not able.

“She volunteers at CJCOHN, she helps mem-bers of First Presbyterian Church and several older people. She visits nursing homes, playing bingo and checking on residents. She will help you if she knows you need help.”

Dru OrlandoDescribed as a selfless nominator by Kathy

Snowden, Dru volunteers three days a week at Saline Memorial Hospice House. “She spreads love and cheer as the leader of ‘The Sunshine Caregivers’ at Walnut Street Church of God,” Snowden wrote. “She personifies the love she has for the Lord by serving others.”

Cordell Herring“We are put her to help other people” is the phi-

losophy of lifelong Saline County resident Cordell Herring. And, according to her anonymous nomina-tion, she lives up to her beliefs.

She is an active volunteer at Saline Memorial Hospital at the front desk and in breast imaging. She is a longtime CJCOHN volunteer and often extends compassion by providing temporary shelter for a family, sewing clothes for clients with special needs and meeting other concerns.

Cordell makes baby quilts for Arkansas Children’s Hospital, lap robes for nursing home recipients and regularly donates dresses for little girls.

Clera MichaelMichael would work all day and then would

deliver medication to those who could not get out themselves, her nominator wrote. She would visit her mother-in-law regularly at the nursing home. Despite working a stressful job, she always found time for others with a smile on her face.

Wanda Mink“If you were to pass by her walking down the

street, you would think she looks just like anyone else,” Brenda Frazier wrote. “But if you were top look at her through my eyes, you would see an angel.”

Frazier continued: “I lost my husband to cancer after 17 wonderful years. Wanda lost hers five years earlier. She asked me to go to lunch one day and from that day on she’s been great support to me. For two months, my life consisted of going to work and then coming home to an empty house to cry. Wanda not only became my friend but she saved me from a lot of lonely nights. I’m sure it’s because of her close relationship with God that she cares for others so deeply.”

Stephanie DukeA tireless worker at the Christian Community

Care Clinic, Duke obtained grant money so that

the clinic is now staffed five days each week with a medical practitioner.

Duke arranged with Benton city officials for a wonderful space for the clinic and has initiated training programs for pharmacy volunteers and medical personnel to volunteer their time to make the clinic available to several hundred people each month, Peggy Roberson wrote.

“There is no way to cover all of the volunteer hours Stephanie and her husband, Mike, have given to Saline County’s Christian Community Care Clinic,” Roberson added.

Jamie Mullins“Jamie,” neighbor Mary Sue Hill writes, “is never

too busy to help someone.” Hill said Mullins worked tirelessly for the Central

Arkansas Development Council’s senior activity center while working in a second-hand store on the weekends.

A registered nurse, she also helps with bingo to pay the center’s utility bills.

“I feel she is an angel in our community of Paron because of all the things I have written and I didn’t write,” Hill added.

Whitney CochranGail Filer nominated Whitney because of her

willingness to help. “For example,” Filer wrote, “a couple of weeks ago I mentioned to her that one of the neighbors, a single lady who works long hours, had not been able to find anyone to mow her yard. Whitney said she would take her lunch hour and mow it — bagging seven bags of grass and never met the woman and wanted no pay or recognition.”

“She is truly a beautiful person inside and out. I would like to honor her as one of Saline County’s ‘Angels Among Us.’”

NOMINEES, page 33


Carolyn WierCarolyn is described by her nominator as “a

wonderful, caring person for all of Traskwood dur-ing our time of need.” She is always there with food, smiles, hugs and words of encouragement. She has helped many and loves everyone, the nomination read.

Chris MuphreeChris is a great coach to the Dirt Devils, Mandi

and Nanny wrote. “Chris goes out of his way to pick up girls for practice, games and pitching or batting lessons. He is at the ballpark all the time. He cares for all the girls on or off the field. In the almost three years we’ve known Chris, we’ve come to love him and can’t imagine him not being in our lives.”

Cheryl Johnson“It’s a pleasure to name Cheryl Johnson of

Paron as an ‘Angel Among Us,’” Linda Bell wrote. “Cheryl makes the trip from Paron to Benton Senior Activity Center to pick up meals for 16 homebound people.

She runs errands and buys groceries for any-one who needs it. She has several family members who are in bad health and need her immediate attention. It is amazing how one person can be a true caregiver for so many different people.”

Evelyn and Art Taylor“Evelyn and Art Taylor are truly ‘Angels Among

Us,’” the nomination read. Regular adoptees of stray animals, the nominator wrote of one golden retriever who was going to be euthanized. The Taylors came to the rescue, adopting the stray along with a number of other pets.

Donald KestersonFamily is the center of Donald Kesterson’s life,

granddaughter Skylar writes. “He enjoys taking his family hunting and teaching them everything he knows about wildlife. He is always willing to help out a family member or a neighbor or a friend. Thanks to my wonderful grandfather, my mom obtained her GED at 35 years of age. He is the man you can always count on if you’re day is going rough and you just need a smile.”

April and Ray Kesterson“When some homes in the neighborhood were

flooded, April took time off from work to help out. She took pictures for insurance purposes and invit-

ed a large family to live at her home for an undeter-mined amount of time,” the nominator wrote.

“Ray moved out furniture and was available to his neighbors for tree trimming, home repairs and more.” April and Ray, the nomination read, “were there on the worst day when her neighbor’s hus-band died. April was my neighbor and an angel to all who lived in the neighborhood.”

Larry DanielsAn active member of Indian Springs Baptist

Church, Larry Daniels quietly gives of his time and abilities to help others, Gail Baxley wrote. “Cleaning a yard, doing odd jobs or simply taking a few min-utes of his time to ‘listen’ doesn’t begin to describe the magnitude of Larry’s giving heart,” the nomina-tion read.

Linda GilbertLinda has worked tirelessly and in a most

Christian manner as a volunteer for CJCOHN to assist the needy residents of Saline County, while fulfilling her responsibilities as a wife (now a widow) and a mother of three sons “She is definitely an ‘Angel Among Us’ and is so deserving of recogni-tion,” the nominator wrote.

Tony Hensley, Tammie Tackett, Eddie Tackett, David Lashlee

Neighbors helping neighbors is this quartet’s common theme. The nominator related how upon returning home from the doctor’s office, her vehicle caught on fire. These four manned hoses to extin-guish the fire. “These four young people were my angels that day and this old lady thanks them,” the nominator wrote.

Jean B. HershAn active member of the Bryant Civitan Club,

this 88-year-young woman shows no sign of slow-ing down, her nomination read.

“She bakes for the homeless and makes flower arrangements for nursing homes. A former square dance club member, she continues to serve as treasurer for a local home extension club. One of her favorite things is to volunteer for the Special Olympics, an activity she’s enjoyed for 30 years,” the nomination reads.

Aleese Oliver NicholsDespite debilitating arthritis, Oliver continues to

volunteer at her church and at CJOHN whenever needed. “She led the charge for covered walkways at her daughter’s elementary school and arranged for a flag to fly over it. She, along with her hus-

band, minister to youth in their church while taking care of her grandmother,” the nomination read.

Gail BaxleyAn employee of the Benton Senior Activity

Center, Gail Baxley lives what she preaches. “She’s known to take people to dinner and movies and works with senior citizens at her church. She visits shut-ins, teaches Sunday school and, while she has no children, takes care of many others,” the nomination read.

Larry RobbinsWhether it’s weeding flower beds or taking out

the trash at the senior center, Larry Robbins just wants to help, the nomination read. “Larry served on the sheriff’s patrol while living in Arkansas County. We benefit from his training because Larry is always on the lookout to see who is where, what is going on, and he will not let anyone mistreat cen-ter members,” the nomination reads.

Billie June Carson“A mother to six, a grandmother to 14 and great

grandmother to 19 more, even breast cancer can’t slow her down,” Kristin Johnston wrote. “I’ve see my mom so tired, but when the church office calls to tell her someone has passed away, she’s off to calling her bereavement committee, setting up tables and getting ready to serve the meal. She teaches chil-dren’s choir and receives blessings from first- and second-graders who call her Memaw. She’s not going to quit or retire until the Lord’s ready for her in heaven.”

Christine ElrodAt 87 years of age, Christine shows no signs

of slowing down, according to her nomination. She mails cards, cooks for shut-ins and visits them. She makes quilts for the needy and continues to go to Sharon Missionary Baptist Church each Sunday.

Cathy DavidsonFoster care has been Cathy Davidson’s calling

and it called her 21 times, according to her nomina-tion. She adopted two of the children. “She organiz-es yard clean-ups for neighbors in the community who are experiencing difficulty. She is active in her community and her church and his involved in the music ministry. What greater love can there be than to love a child?” the nomination reads.

Paul HyattAn active volunteer for Habitat for Humanity

of Saline County, Paul is on his 33rd build. He is a longtime volunteer with CJCOHN, packing food and delivering it to seniors as well as transport-

Cover Story

NomineesFrom page 32

NOMINEES, page 36


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ing Christmas gifts to nursing homes and helping clients with special needs. He has donated more than 1,400 hours in diagnostic imaging at Saline Memorial Hospital and is actively involved at First United Methodist Church, according to his nomina-tion.

Ella PenningtonOwner of Ella’s Beauty Shop, on her days off

she cooks and delivers meals to shut-ins. She has been known to open early and stay late to help people who need haircuts and, according to her nomination, serves the community because she cares.

Harold ShreveBryant resident Harold Shreve was nominated

for his strength of self, according to Butler Yates. “Always a smile and terrible joke without complaint, only gratitude for life though his own has known tragic loss of his only son to cancer,” Yates wrote. “An unsung Good Samaritan who deserves thanks from all who know him, he is a goodly man.”

Habitat volunteersKurt Holland nominated all who give their time

to help with Habitat for Humanity of Saline County. “These kind-hearted, selfless people work hard and at time long hours in the hot, humid Arkansas sum-mers. From skilled helpers to the ones who just want to help out carrying wood, passing out water, preparing meals or cleanimg up, we could not get it done without their help,” he wrote.

Linda Lambert“My mother is my angel,” Linda Lambert wrote.

“She’s always there for me and my kids. I just wanted to say she’s my angel.”

John Dennis DavidSlow to speak but quick to care is the way J.D.

Lambert’s wife describes him in her nomination. “He likes helping others and is as good as his word,” she wrote. “Even though he’s the smartest, coolest, strongest man I’ve ever met, he prays ‘Not my will, but think, Oh Lord.’ His life and wisdom is a very important part of JD Farms,” she wrote.

Connie HippsDescribed as an angel, Connie Hipps’ nomina-

tor wrote of her own travails with breast cancer. “She went out of her way to fix my hair, encourage

me, and comfort me when I was upset. Without her kindness and encouragement, I would never have made it through my treatments,” the nominator wrote.

Fran MorehartA hospice nurse until her retirement, Fran

Morehart was soon called back to service with the home health department. She also takes care of her 88-year-old mother and assists at church. “I think we have an angel among us,” her nomination wrote.

Sharon RidgewaySharon Ridgeway’s priorities, according to

Dianne and Jim Crippen, are her God, her family, her community and her friends. “She,” the nomina-tion read, “is always last. From church hostess to working in the church pantry, she always goes above the beyond. When I was caring for my ter-minally ill mother in my home, Sharon organized a schedule for folks to bring one meal per week to my home. What a blessing that was.”

Perry MillsCivitan President Perry Mills is persistent with

setting up and organizing all the meetings, his nominator wrote. “He’s always looking for projects that need done around the community, and is in constant contact with his peers talking to them about the great experiences they too would have volunteering.” Active in his church and in Boy Scouts, Perry was honored with an outstanding service award this year at Benton Middle School.

Lauren DudleyCalled an inspiration to her peers, this ninth-

grader has shown accomplishment in all areas of community work, her nomination read. Active in the Benton Junior High Junior Club, Lauren has shown great leadership ability and is an inspiration to all youth. She also is active in other organizations such as Peer Leadership, tennis, The Green Team, choir and her church.

Amy Jivan“She has brought the richest laugh to the cli-

ents of the Civitan Center by proving you can put so much heart into helping,” her nomination read. Secretary of the Junior Civitan Club and active in Peer Leadership, she completed 43.5 service hours and is an inspiration to all youths.

Marilyn ChildressMarilyn Childress and music go hand in hand,

according to her nomination. “She sings like an angel. And, oh, that smile of hers will light up your life. A Sunday school teacher, she takes God’s les-

sons to life, offering assistance when a friend or neighbor is ill. Married for more than 50 years, she will readily step in and volunteer wherever neces-sary.”

Inez CumbieIt’s the little things in life that make Inez Cumbie

special, Thelma Shaw wrote. “She takes time to call and check on you and buys me stamps when she goes to the post office. She brings church bulletins and helps friends get to the doctor when assistance is needed. She is my neighbor and she is one of my angels and I thank the Lord for her.”

Jimmy Bearden“I nominate Jimmy Bearden because of his

thoughtfulness and the acts of kindness he does for everyone,” Pat Humphries wrote. “I seem him leave each morning and I think wherever he is working today it will be a better place.”

Renee JamesWhen she hears of anyone who is ill or

bereaved enduring life’s many problems, Renee James cooks. “She is truly a shining light with a dish,” her nominator wrote. “She now works full time, volunteers and is on the board of the Christian Community Care Clinic. She teaches a church class and is the secretary for the Benton Athletic Memorial Museum board, but still finds time to fix food for those in need.”

Ed Rouse Sr.“I am here to tell you, he is a hero for the things

in our neighborhood,” Lydia Colquitt wrote. “He helps everyone. When my husband passed away, he was there to help me or anyone else.”

Betty ReynoldsDespite her own health problems, Betty Russell

is a taxi for people in need. “She takes people to the doctor, takes cancer patients for chemo treat-ments, takes food to the shut-ins, to ill people or to those who have lost their loved ones,” her nomi-nator wrote. “She sends out cards to the ill and bereaved and to others to cheer them up.”

Dirk and Shiela MewsDisasters bring out the best in people and the

best in the Mewses. A neighbor writes that it was Dirk and Sheila who assisted them in clean-up of their trailer after last year’s tornado. “They both have jobs but they still come and help us when they are off,” the disabled nominator wrote. “They are a blessing to us. When storms hit they call or come out to make sure we get to a storm shelter.

Cover Story


NOMINEES, page 38


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Cover Story

Lots of times they don’t let us repay them for food orders they pick up for us. Over the year we now consider them our kids as they have become one of the family.”

Janet GarrettLexie Vales, an 86-year-old widow suffering

from congestive heart failure, writes, “Janet Garrett takes me to the grocery store and pharmacy to buy groceries and medications. She makes me home-made soups or a slice of pie and, if she doesn’t see me out, checks to make sure I’m OK. To me she is an angel.”

Rose CarlisleA member of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church

and a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Saline County, Rose Carlisle gives bounty to those in need. “They share their garden with us neighbors. You never know when a surprise sack of some veggies will turn up on your doorstep,” Betty Reynolds writes. “She gives of her time taking older family members to the doctor, the beauty shop of the grocery store. She always puts others first and wants no recognition for it.”

Shannon SperghtsA secretary at Ten Mile Baptist Church,

Shannon Sperghts always has a smile and a kind word, her nominator wrote. “She knows every child by name, has a pleasant and kind heart and is a

very good person. She is truly an ‘Angel Among Us.’”

Dianne HinesAfter working all day as a therapist, Hazel Davis

writes that Dianne Hines then comes to her house to mop floors and clean her ceiling fans. “She is no kin and has a big family and grandkids, but she would not take any money for her work,” Davis wrote. “We go to church together and she knows I had hip replacement. I’m so grateful for my angel Dianne.”

Lorine HatcherDescribed as a caregiver for years, Lorine

Hatcher’s kindness extended beyond her family. “She has a heart of gold,” her nominator wrote. “Now a resident of Benton Health Care, her care giving has not stopped. She is all over the place, pushing her little 4-wheeler, still helping anyone who needs an extra hand. She loves people and loves helping others.”

Linda WebbA caregiver for years, bank teller Linda Webb

has worked as a hospice volunteer. It was then she met Loucille Spears, Glenda Spangler wrote. “Ms. Spears was bedridden from a fall and missed her weekly hair appointments. Linda would come every Saturday morning to curl Loucille’s hair and manicure her nails. Her always happy, smiling face and he anecdotal stories made a huge difference in Gigi’s life,. Her smile is contagious. She is truly an ‘Angel Among Us.’”

Debbie NiccumA lifelong Benton resident, Debbie “is a pre-

cious lady who has looked after and taken care of many of her neighbors in the past several years,” her nominator wrote. “She is bravely dealing with MS and other health issues and taking care of an ailing husband, but she still makes time to drive a neighbor to the doctor or grocery store. She is known for her sweet, helpful spirit. She truly is an angel.”

Betty GrahmBetty’s nominator, a beauty salon owner, said

Betty “is one of my favorite guests. She is a sur-vivor of breast cancer and she hurt more for me than herself when I had to shave all of her hair off one Sunday afternoon.” Betty takes baked goodies to the salon, her nominator wrote, “but most of all, Betty cares about so many people. I call her ‘Card Lady’ because she will mail up to 12 or so cards every day to friends and family, and sometimes to people she may not even know.”

Marsha Dorman-FlemingMarsha is a nurse who goes out of her way to

help people in need, her nominator wrote. “She has purchased prescriptions for elderly people who cannot afford them,” the nominator wrote, “and she has adopted a family to take care of. The mom is in her 20s and terminally ill with children. Marsha and her husband, Ron, have helped the mother pay bills and watch after the children. They’ve recently purchased and moved an old, historic home on Highway 5 and remodeled it to take in children or others in need.”


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LYNDA HOLLENBECK

Working at the parkMayor’s Youth Council members work hard at ‘giving back’

Lyle Park is getting a facelift thanks to a dedicat-ed group of young people. This is coming about as part of a city beautification project undertaken by the Benton Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council and is the first community service project the newly organized council has undertaken

Hannah Pinkerton, a two-year member of the group, is chairing the group’s Beautification Committee, but J.R. Baxter conceived the idea for the work at the park.

Baxter, a first-year member of the council, said the project will include adding three flower beds and the planting of crepe myrtle bushes, hydrangeas, encore azaleas (meaning they bloom four times a year) and other flowering shrubs.

The project was suggested by Baxter when the council gathered in its organizational meet-ing to develop projects and services for the year. “Beautification in the city was listed as a top priority for the members this year,” Angela Ross, one of the council’s two adult sponsors.

“After the council members met in their meet-ing, J.R. and Holly Holland, also a first-year member, presented the group’s ideas to the Parks Commission, and the commissioners are very excit-ed about what they want to do,” she said. “Jason Kelly, who’s on that commission, said the proposal was very well received.”

The effort at Lyle Park will include adding new trash receptacles and repairing or replacing the existing pavilions, Baxter said. “We also want to put asphalt on the parking lot and the city has agreed to this.

“We’ve talked to a local electrician, Brad Glover, who’s willing to help us improve the lighting here, which should make it a lot less likely for vandalism to occur,” he added. Another goal is to “develop bet-ter access to the banks for fishing,” Baxter said. “Our dream is build a sidewalk, and we’d also like to get some barbecue grills.

“We’re trying to fix the parks up on the Saline River, which is so much a part of this community,” he said. “We need to do what we can to make this a nice area. The river is an untapped resource here, and we need to do what we can to make this a nice area.”

Jordan Betts, who is beginning her second year on the council, said she is happy the council is doing this. “This ties in with our mission statement — to

J.R. Baxter, fourth from left, gives instructions for a Benton Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council improvement project at Lyle Park. From left are Austin Fletcher, Jordan Fletcher, Holly Holland, Baxter, Cole Durham, Jordan Betts and Mayor Rick Holland. The project was suggested by Baxter at the council’s organiza-tional meeting.

By Lynda Hollenbeck

YOUTH, page 42


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make the city a better place for all the residents.”

Cole Durham, another first-year member, also is excited about the park project. “This is really good for the city. It’s fun to be out here doing something worthwhile for our community.”

Pinkerton said improving the park will benefit all Saline County residents, but it will be “especially good for the youth.”

“A lot of young people come here to hang out, and we’re helping to make it much nicer,” she said. “We normally don’t start our community service until September after school has started,” third-year member Jordan Fletcher said.

“I feel we’re getting off on the right foot by start-ing this summer,” she said. “This gives the council the right mindset for understanding how important the youth council is.”

Austin Fletcher, in his first year, shares his sis-ter’s viewpoint. “Taking on a project this big shows we can make a difference in the community,” he said. Holly Holland pointed out that she lives near the park, so she finds it especially meaningful to be part of an improvement project for an area that has always been part of her family life.

“We’ve always come down here a lot and we want to make it a safer, prettier environment for everyone,” she said. Ross said other projects the group plans to undertake this year will include repainting the stenciled Panther Paws that mark several city streets from the high school on Border to C.W. Lewis Stadium on South Market and, hope-fully, doing playground cleanup at local elementary schools. The Benton Police Department, school offi-cials and the city’s street department have commit-ted to help the youth with the Panther Paws project,

but the playground proposal has not been presented yet to school officials, she said.

“School officials and Benton police are very excited about the Panther Paws,” Ross said. “They plan to work with us to coordinate the dates and time and get the painting done during the hours when there is less traffic.”

Also on the council’s agenda for the year is a project that will brighten up the downtown area, Ross said. “They want to add to the white Christmas lights so that there will be lights downtown all year long,” she said.

Benton Mayor Rick Holland commended the youth council members for their dedication to the city. “Members of the youth council do wonderful

work for our city,” he said. “They volunteer to help at many functions — Old-Fashioned Day and several other events — and the Lyle Park project is just another example of their outstanding public service. “I am very impressed with their initiative and their hard work to beautify our city.”

Parks Commissioner Kelly said it’s “great having the mayor’s youth council invlved in the Lyle Park project.” “We need to pay more attention to details,” he said. “It’s always exciting to have volunteers doing good things, and we’re excited to have them work in the parks system. Unfortunately, the parks department often focuses on ball programs and sometimes we ignore the green spaces,” he said. “

We’re excited about this project and I think we’ll see a lot of good things happening at Lyle Park.”

YouthFrom page 40

Starting an improvement project at Lyle Park recently are Benton Youth Advisory Council members, from left, Jordan Betts, Austin Fletcher, Holly Holland, J.R. Baxter, Jordan Fletcher and Austin Fletcher.

LYNDA HOLLENBECK

LYNDA HOLLENBECKHolly Holland and Jordan Betts work on landscaping at Lyle Park recently during a volunteer project.


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For nearly 70 years, a local club has been working to better itself and the community. Sharon Extension Homemakers Club was

established in the early 1920s. Beulah Wright is the club’s oldest member, having joined in 1941.

The club is just one of its type in Saline County under the University of Arkansas Extension Service. It has grown from a group organized for women to learn domestic duties to something more focused on leadership skills, club secretary Lucille Bagley said.

“It was very different back then,” Wright said. “I remember when the county agent would come out and check chickens and teach us how to can goods.”

The club has also provided women like Wright a steady stream of friends. “Some of my dearest friends I made in EH and most of them are gone now.” For her, EH has been “very important.” “I learned a lot about homemaking that younger women have missed. We had a strong 4-H club then, too, and taught the younger ones as they came up, like the art of fairing, quilting and can-ning.”

Wright noted the club has always done service projects and is still responsible for the kitchen at the county fair. “The EH kitchen is our building,” she said. “We do the upkeep and have insurance on it. The week of the fair is our only money-mak-ing projects.”

“I remember when we didn’t have a kitchen, when we had a tent that we sold hamburgers out of for 15 cents and we sold six hamburgers for 90 cents,” she said.

Wright still performs many of the tasks from years past, such as sewing, quilting and canning. “I don’t do as much,” she noted, but others members are quite complimentary of all her involvement. In fact, Wright is also the president of all the county EH clubs. Other clubs in the county are Avilla, Vimy Ridge, Midway and Sunshine.

Lameria Colclough, county agent and adviser of the extension groups, said, “As a whole, they are part of the largest volunteer organization in the state.

Here in Saline County, we have the Midway group who works with Drug Court. Vimy Ridge group works hard to maintain its park, and the Sharon club does a little bit of everything.” The clubs do “a lot of traditional things,” she added. “They are the go-to people for things like quilting, but they’re also moving forward in the community and fill needs depending on what’s needed.”

Wright noted the scope of the program started to change back in the 1980s when more and more households went from one-income households to two-income households. Program involvement is going down statewide and members are needed, she said, adding it only costs $4 per year to be a member. Men are welcome to join, Bagley added.

When the club meets the third Thursday of each month, the ladies have an educational lesson on anything ranging from health to crafts. Their crafts often turn into service projects. Last year, for exam-ple, the Sharon club joined other clubs to make more than 500 hats for cancer patients. The hats were given to Arkansas Children’s Hospital and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The Sharon club also participates in the Knitting for Noggins program at Children’s. “We also make teaching dolls for Children’s,” Bagley said. “They’re made out of a neutral color fabric and have no

facial features. They use them for patients. The doctor can take the doll to help learn if the child has been abused or the doctor can explain to them if they’re having surgery. We turned in 140 last year and it’s an ongoing thing.”

She added, “We also helped Safe Haven wom-en’s shelter by donating pillows and bags. So many women and children come in without these things.” Speaking of pillows, Bagley said the club has made special pillows for breast cancer patients.

“We enjoy helping others,” she said. “Just to see their faces, and the people who benefit from what we do is worth it.”

In addition to meeting once a month at the EH kitchen or someone’s home, the club attends the state meeting once a year. “That’s always fun to go to,” Bagley said.

The purpose of extension offices reportedly is to help farmers grow crops, homeowners plan and maintain their homes, and children learn skills to become tomorrow’s leaders.

The Morrill Act of 1862 established land-grant universities to educate citizens in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other practical professions. Extension was formalized in 1914, with the Smith-Lever Act. It established the partner-ship between the agricultural colleges and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide for coopera-tive agricultural extension work.

The first Cooperative Extension work conducted by the University of Arkansas was in 1905 when several Farmers’ Institutes were held, but this work was limited because of a small state appropriation. Later the number of institutes held was increased as larger appropriations were made. These were discontinued after the Smith-Lever Act went into effect in 1914.

By Jillian Duke

much more than ahomemakers clubSharon Extension Homemakers Club members Margie Dixon, left, and Beulah Wright work on “teaching dolls” for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The effort is just one of several service projects the club performs.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARON EH CLUB

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARON EH CLUBHelen Watts, left, and Pat Bruton, members of the Sharon Extension Homemakers Club show pil-lows club members made for Safe Haven wom-en’s shelter, just one of many service projects.


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Ice Cream SocialIce Cream Social Downtown Benton Downtown Benton

July 16July 16--1919 Hello DollyHello Dolly

Royal TheaterRoyal Theater

Aug 1Aug 1 Back to School Backpacks Back to School Backpacks

Ralph Bunche ParkRalph Bunche Park

Sept 4Sept 4 Salt BowlSalt Bowl

War Memorial StadiumWar Memorial Stadium

Sept 5Sept 5 United Way Kickoff FestUnited Way Kickoff Fest

Tyndall ParkTyndall Park

Sept 8Sept 8--1212 Saline Co. FairSaline Co. Fair

Saline Co. FairgroundsSaline Co. Fairgrounds

Sept 26Sept 26 Battle of the BandsBattle of the Bands


Oct 3Oct 3 Dixie Car ClubDixie Car Club


Oct 10Oct 10 Old Fashion DayOld Fashion Day

Courthouse SquareCourthouse Square

Oct 22Oct 22 Savor the FlavorSavor the Flavor

Benton High SchoolBenton High School

Oct 29Oct 29 Spook CitySpook City

Downtown BentonDowntown Benton

Dec 1Dec 1--3131 Celebration of LightsCelebration of Lights Courthouse SquareCourthouse Square


Benton Automotive

1123 Hwy 5 North • 776.2292www.bentonautomotive.procarcare.zone.com

Mike & Jennifer Lingo, Owners

Full Auto Repair • TiresA/C-HeatBatteriesBrakes

Charging & StartingComputer Diagnostics

Drive Train

ElectricalEngines

Factory Original PartsFuel Systems

IgnitionOil Changes

RadiatorsScheduled Maintenance

SteeringSuspension

TiresTransmission

Local shuttle & vehicle pickup • Fleet discountsFree battery testing • All Estimates Upfront

Jesus Loves You

reflections magazine, benton courier, july 2009

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