MH schools react quickly to alleged threats at Jr. High
Mountain Home School administrators and police responded quickly when they learned late Thursday of conversations on social media of an alleged shooting incident planned at Mountain Home Junior High School Friday. Superintendent Dr. Jake Long says the safety of students and staff is the district’s highest priority.
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While speaking to Bob Knight, General Manager of KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot on KTLO 97.9 FM Friday morning, Long said the environment of the world today requires the school district to take these and all alleged threats seriously.
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Anyone with information regarding these allegations or any possible threats or dangers to Mountain Home Schools should call the administrative office at 425-1201 or Mountain Home Police at 425-6336.
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Multiple power outages from storm, no injuries reported
Multiple power outages have been reported from storms crossing the Twin Lakes Area Wednesday morning. Local law enforcement agencies from across the listening area say there has been minor damage to roofs, trees and powerlines due to high winds however, no injuries have been reported.
As of 8:30 Wednesday morning 8,000 were without power in eastern Mountain Home. North Arkansas Electric Co-op’s website says over 14,000 in the area are without power. Leah Rouse says straight line winds knocked out a transmission line that feeds a local substation. She says there are broken poles and crosslines on Highway 201 South and similar situations in Gamaliel, Howard Creek and Promiseland. Crews were dispatched to all of those areas and Rouse says progress is being made. At 9:35 Wednesday morning Rouse says most of Howard Creek, Promiseland, Gamaliel, Salesville and 201 North have power restored. There were still scattered outages in Mountain Home and Buford at that time. A few thousand NAEC customers were still without power.
Entergy reports approximately 6,807 without service.
Calico Rock Public Schools, Melbourne Public Schools, Twin Lakes Literacy Council and Kidspiration in Mountain Home and are closed due to power outages.
The majority of damage occurred south of Mountain Home. Reports from Big Flat say at least three or four homes were damaged on Spring Creek Road and County Road 116 to the east of Big Flat and North of Highway 14. The National Weather Service in Little Rock says it appears there were straight line winds there ranging from 50 to 75 miles-per-hour. One home was knocked off its foundation and an out building was destroyed. Images can be seen on this story at ktlo.com.
A spokesperson from the Searcy County Sheriff’s office says the storm came in and moved out quickly. Partial roofs are gone. Power lines, phone lines and trees are down as well. All Searcy County law enforcement and fire crews were dispatched at 2:00 Wednesday morning to check roads and remove debris.
Baxter County 911 says they had to field calls from Fulton County due to a generator failure. They say reports have been received of downed trees and power lines as well. No other significant damage or any injuries have resulted from the storms.
All of the weather has pushed off to the east and no other warnings or watches are in effect.
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Sheriff Montgomery says Senate Bill 136 inadequate for repeat offenders
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery says, among other issues, Senate Bill 136, the Criminal Justice Efficiency and Safety Act of 2017, doesn’t adequately address the main issues. The legislation proposes reducing the state’s prison population by letting those with minor offenses go to county jails or community corrections up to six times before being sent to prison.
Local Senator Scott Flippo recently voted in favor of the bill. Senator Missy Irvin was opposed and Senator Linda Collins-Smith voted present.
Montgomery says the bill, introduced by Republican Senator Jeremy Hutchinson, has been amended, in his estimate, ten to twelve times due to concerns he, along with other sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys, has. Some attorneys argue the bill takes away the ability to revoke probation.
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Another problem, according to Montgomery, is the passage of Act 570 in 2011 which put many more on probation than the system could handle.
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Sheriff Montgomery says the bill also does nothing to address those who commit crimes more than six times with out any significant repercussion.
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Even though he’s not jumping up and down for joy over the bill, Montgomery says he is pleased it addresses some of the mental health issues some prisoners face. The proposal would create crisis intervention centers for the mentally ill.
Senate Bill 136 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday.
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New McDonald’s has busy grand opening
The new McDonalds located at Highway 62 East and The Sheid-Hopper Bypass celebrated it’s grand opening Thursday. New owner Andi Vaini says her crew began early gearing up for the 9:00 a.m. ribbon cutting and the 11:00 opening which gave the first 50 customers in the lobby and the drive-thru free Big Mac’s each week for a year.
Mountain Home Police provided extra crowd control and at 8:30 Thursday morning, Vaini says cars were already beginning to line up for the event. The very first person in line said she had been waiting since 6:00 Thursday manager.
Vaini has been a second-generation owner/operator since 2010.
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Vaini served on the Ronald McDonald House Board in Springfield, The Women’s Operator Network for the Region and President of the Ozark Co-op.
Starting out the Drive through will be open 24 hours and the lobby will be open from 5:00 in the morning to 11:00 at night. They will be featuring a lot of different specials.
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A Facebook page for the new location is a work in progress and will have more content coming out. Monthly specials will be updated there. Specials will also be advertised on ktlo.com including a chance for kids to hang out with Ronald McDonald himself.
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The new McDonalds is located at Highway 62 East and The Sheid-Hopper bypass.
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Locals remember entertainer, Chisai Childs
A Branson legend with ties to the Twin Lakes Area, Chisai Childs, has died at the age of 69.
Known for her glitzy glamour, it is said she began entertaining at the age of six, was named Miss Talented Teen in 1965 and toured with USO shows and others across the county. In 1981 she brought her Grapevine Opery show from Texas to Branson where it played at the Starlite Theater until 1988 when she bought the Bull Shoals Theater, which she owned until 1994. During that time Lori Gregory, owner and operator of Gregory Jewelers in Mountain Home, worked for her at the theater during the summers from the time she was 14 to 18.
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Childs knew lots of celebrities, according to Gregory who describes her as living several lifetimes before coming to Bull Shoals. Gregory loved listening to her stories and remembers one special night at the Bull Shoals Theater.
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Always a lady, is how Gregory describes Childs.
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Linda Masters, a longtime resident of Bull Shoals who worked with Childs, says she never forgot Bull Shoals and often returned to the theater bringing Branson shows and performing herself.
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Everyone who knew Childs, says Gregory, felt they were one of her good friends.
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Gregory says she had a wreath of yellow rose, Childs’ favorite flower, placed on the door of the Bull Shoals Theater in her honor.
Often called The Belle of Branson, Childs is credited for bringing well-known entertainers to Branson including Shoji Tabuchi, Doug Gabriel and Boxcar Willie. She had a television show, Chaisi and the Ozarks, on Channel 33 in Springfield and hosted a live radio show from Branson, Boxcar’s Bandstand, with Boxcar Willie. Most recently she was performed with The Baldknobbers at The Baldknobbers Theatre and is credited for her work with creating the Terry Music Awards recognizing performers and those who work behind the scenes.
Funeral services for Chisai Childs, who died Wednesday, are planned for Sunday afternoon at 1 at the Baldknobbers Theatre.
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