Searcy resident identified as drowning victim
The victim of a fatal boating accident on the Spring River in Fulton County has been identified as a White County resident. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 64-year-old Donald Wright of Searcy drowned Saturday after getting caught in a sinkhole which opened below the falls near Dead Man’s Curve.
The sinkhole is located near Sadler Falls just south of Mammoth Spring. Game and Fish issued a statement Sunday asking anyone floating the Spring River in Fulton County to avoid the area. Game and Fish officials, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Fulton County authorities have installed buoys and roped off the area where the whirlpool is located.
No other details about the boating accident have been released.
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Marion County man dies from accidental shooting
A Marion County man has died after an accidental shooting Wednesday afternoon. Marion County Sheriff Clinton Evans says 27-year-old James Lee Deen died after he accidentally shot himself in the chest.
Evans says the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call Wednesday afternoon at 3:45 from Deen’s mother Toni Nordyke who told them about the shooting. Nordyke, who was driving at the time of the call, was told to pull into the parking lot of the Animal Clinic of the Ozarks on Highway 62/412 just east of the Flippin city limits.
Law enforcement and medical personnel met the two and administered aid to Deen. An Air-Evac medical helicopter arrived within a few minutes and airlifted Deen to Cox Hospital in Branson, but he died en route.
The shooting incident is currently under investigation by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division and the Arkansas State Police.
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MH man points loaded .22 pistol at police officer
A Mountain Home man, 37-year-old Nathan Russell, was arrested early Friday morning after Mountain Home Police responded to a residence where an individual was reportedly drunk, suicidal and possessing a gun.
According to the probable cause arrest affidavit, when officers arrived, Sergeant Jonathan Griffin knocked on the door. In response, Russell opened the door with a loaded .22 pointed at Sergeant Griffin. Russell was ordered to drop the weapon and proceeded to resist arrest.
Law enforcement learned Russell had his four children, ranging in age from 9 to 15, staying the evening. Officers discovered Russell had been allegedly consuming alcohol and also providing it to his 13-year-old child, who later gave a breath test reading of .155.
The report noted an incident started when the 9-year-old son got into trouble with Russell. The 9-year-old explained Russell had grabbed him by the throat, pinning him to the wall while his feet dangled. The 15-year-old saw what was happening and pushed Russell off the 9-year-old.
The 15-year-old stated Russell then grabbed her, slapped her, and punched a hole in the wall next to her head. She also explained, while pointing at his gun, he would kill them all and didnt want them in his life anymore. He also stated at some point, he would throw them off the balcony.
The 15-year-old texted her mother demanding she pick them up. When the mother arrived, she gathered up all her children, while Russell stated he wanted to die. While on the way home, she was able to calm the children long enough to call 911.
Russell has been charged with 15 offenses, including felony counts of domestic battery, aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a family or household member, endangering the welfare of a minor, and terroristic threatening. He also faces misdemeanor counts of domestic battering, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, knowingly furnishing or selling to a minor and resisting arrest.
Russell’s bond was set at $50,000.
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Medical board reinstates Arkansas physician’s license after charges dismissed
The Arkansas State Medical Board has lifted its suspension of a Flippin doctor’s medical license after child pornography charges were dropped.
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports the board suspended Lee Gibson’s license in February after he was arrested on charges of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
Marion County Circuit Court records list the charge as being dropped at the request of prosecutors on May 24th.
Juli Carlson, an executive assistant at the Medical Board, said the board “dismissed the allegations” against Gibson at its meeting Thursday.
A notice on the board’s website listed the license suspension as being lifted effective Monday.
While Gibson is a physician, he was not practicing in the Twin Lakes Area at the time of his arrest.
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BRMC’s cardiac calcium screening saving lives
The annual health fair sponsored by Baxter Regional Medical Center and KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot is traditionally attended by hundreds of area residents seeking free health screenings. But this past April BRMC added a new offering, a registration for a future cardiac calcium screening for $99. More than 150 attendees registered for the screening and by the end of May, about 40 of them had undergone the process, with nine of them having life changing results.
David Fox, BRMC Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, says those nine people had significant or critical test findings leading to the need for additional care.
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One of the nine patients is Linda Knight, a member of the KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot sales department. It was Knight’s sister and fellow co-worker at the radio stations, Patty Sindlinger, who suggested they register for the screening. Knight says she had not felt the need for the screening, saying while she had exhibited shortness of breath, she just considered it part of aging.
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From the cardiac calcium screening, Knight learned she had three blocked arteries, one at 90 percent and two at 70 percent.
Once the issues were detected, Knight was in for her cardiac procedure on a Friday and back at work at KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot the next Monday.
Those attending the health fair like Knight had questions about the cardiac calcium screening. Fox says they educated those who asked what they would be receiving for $99.
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Fox says offering the cardiac calcium screening to community residents has been a successful endeavor and the opportunity to utilize the new offering is still available.
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Fox says the community will soon see a marketing and branding initiative promoting the cardiac calcium screening.
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