Monticello Live

This week’s One Monticello Life story features a member of our community that has been mentioned to MLive as a good candidate for recognition more times than any other. She is well known throughout the entire city, yet she isn’t a politician, doctor, lawyer, or in the public spotlight at all.

MLive recently received an email from a local business leader saying, “I went through the Taco Bell drive-thru today and realized that for a very long time, I have heard this sweet little voice take my order, and how nice she always is, and I took the time to thank her for a job well done.

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Last week we featured the loom, this week the spinning wheels.  We have the one large and a smaller spinning wheel in the upstairs bedroom of the museum.  The larger one still has some twine and cotton fibers on the spindle and are a light brown in color either from age or dyeing.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum, We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays from 2pm till 5 pm and Sunday by appointment. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership. Being a member gives you the right to attend meetings and have a voice for the museum and you will receive the yearly journal that the museum produces. All though your presence is not required at the meetings to become a member. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

Continuing our tour down the east side of South Main Street, the next block now begins with a large, two-story red brick office building that houses the Searcy accounting firm. Before these offices were built, A. H. (Hellums) Owens owned a service station there. The service station was constructed in the 1930s-40s by the late Mr. Owens after he bought part of the side yard of the home of Mr. P. A. Whitaker to locate his business.

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In May, a Drew County Circuit Court jury of 5 men and 7 women only took 40 minutes to find a local man guilty of sexual indecency with a child and 2nd degree sexual assault.  He had been arrested on September 2, 2010.

The jury sentenced him to 24 years in prison for those crimes, which were committed against a 7 year old.  He was released on an appeal bond, pending this court decision. (more…)

Tommy Gray has announced his intent to seek re-election to the Drew County Quorum Court, as District 5 Justice of the Peace.

Gray is a native of south Arkansas and a resident of Drew County for more than 35 years, Gray is president and manager of Monticello Tire and Service, Inc.

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Gasps of surprise went around the table as Quorum Court members began reading a sheet of paper Judge Damon Lampkin passed to each of them. It was his letter to the Court expressing his decision to retire after serving this final year as Drew County Judge.

In an emotional statement to the Court, and the public, Judge Lampkin said that he would be 71 years old if he ran again next year, and it was time for him to put his health first. He then read his letter to the audience which said…..

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Chief of Police Eddy Deaton addressed the City Council Thursday evening on warrant issues the department is having due to mix-ups in District Court. He told the Council that over the past few years people were being arrested on warrants for fines that they had already paid.

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Eddy Deaton has a new title at the Monticello Police Department as of January 2012… Chief Deaton. He takes his future goals for the department very seriously.

 “I want to make the Monticello Police Department one of the best departments in the state. I want the officers to have the most updated training and equipment out there. I want to see all law enforcement agencies working together to accomplish a common goal of professional enforcement of the law, and community involvement, to aid in preventing and stopping crime.”

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This old loom still has some weavings on it that was started and never finished by the owner who donated it to the museum. 

Several pieces of the looms work are hanging nearby.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum, We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays from 2pm till 5 pm and Sunday by appointment. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership.

Being a member gives you the right to attend meetings and have a voice for the museum and you will receive the yearly journal that the museum produces. All though your presence is not required at the meetings to become a member. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

Since we’ve covered the west side of South Main from the Square to Jackson Street, let’s go back to the square and look at the east side of South Main to Jackson Street. His area, too, has experienced a colorful history.

An 1886 plat map of Monticello shows that a dry goods store, a tobacco store, a millinery store, a sewing machine and gun store, a business involved in “fence making” and an “imagery” business were located on that first block from the corner to the railroad tracks in that year. (more…)

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arrests confirmed by Sheriff Mark Gober

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No one was seriously injured, around 3:45 Saturday, in a 3 vehicle collision at the HWY 425/278 intersection.

A Ford pick-up reportedly ran a red-light, and was struck in the driver’s door by a Pontiac Grand Prix.  Another vehicle was also struck, receiving less damage than the Ford and Pontiac.

Monticello Police and an Arkansas State Trooper responded to work the traffic and accident.

Sheila Gardner and Kim Wilson, Monticello & Statewide Teacher of the Year, at the Awards Banquet

At the MEDC / Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet, each school district honored one teacher as their “Teacher of the Year.”

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Last week we discussed the portion of South Main Street between the corner of South Main and East Gaines Street and the present Drew County Courthouse. This week we’ll look at the courthouse “property” and continue to Jackson Avenue.

The current Drew County Courthouse is the fourth courthouse to be built for the official business of Drew County since the county’s 1846 beginnings. Since a fairly thorough description of the building of the “new” courthouse and its history was written by me and published in the 2007 Drew County Historical Journal, I won’t repeat all of that at this time. (Multiple copies of the 2007 Journal may be purchased at the museum for $5.00 each.)

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This display has just about every camera one can imagine, and probably some you couldn’t , come by and see if you have seen some of these in your lifetime.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum, We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays from 2pm till 5 pm and Sunday by appointment..

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

Tom Henry of the Montongo community recently brought a copy of a northwest Arkansas newspaper to church with him.

“That’s my granddaughter”, Tom said with pride.  

After reading the article printed in The Times of Northeast Benton County, written by Annette Beard, it was plain to see that he had a reason to be proud.

“I can’t believe I get paid to do this,” the 23-year-old Air Force second lieutenant said of flying.

Kristin Henry earned her bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2010, and is now stationed at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Okla. There, she is in the process of earning her wings – becoming a military-rated pilot.

In high school, when most teen-aged girls were getting their driver’s license, worrying about proms and their first car, Kristin had earned both her visual and instrumental pilot’s licenses.

Click here for the full story from “The Times” / NWAonline.com.

Mark Gober has announced his candidacy for re-election to a fifth term as Drew County Sheriff. “During the past seven years I have worked closely with county, local and state officials in the prevention and deterrence of crime. We have increased the level of drug detection and substantially increased the number of drug related arrests. I have enjoyed meeting many citizens of this county while performing my duties as Drew County Sheriff and look forward to the many challenges that I face daily in this office.”

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This is a homemade kerosene lamp made by MM Hardy.  This goes to show the ingenuity of the people back then to be able to take old parts, weld them together and make a lamp to light the house and be safe enough to do so.

Come see this and many other interesting items on display at your Drew County Museum, We are open Fridays from 1pm till 5pm, and Saturdays from 2pm till 5 pm and Sunday by appointment..

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Drew County Historical Society, memberships are $25 Dollars for a single membership or $40 for a family membership. Please mail your membership request to The Drew County Historical Society 404 South Main Monticello, AR 71655.

I want to look briefly down West McCloy Street now to share information about the location of a public “meat storage locker” that once operated near the Square. Bill Dunlap, a kind gentleman who is a former Drew Countian and brother of the late Martha Sue McClain, called and supplied some information about the business. He also suggested I call his cousins, Shirley Burks of Wilmar and Hardy McKinstry of Banks, to hear their memories. I did and heard some delightful memories!

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According to MPD Chief Eddy Deaton, a woman taking a walk was mauled by a Rottweiler, Friday morning. (more…)

We have all heard the saying that “what goes up…must come down”. For some reason, there are those people who do not believe this saying (or the law of gravity) applies to bullets fired into the air from a gun during the course of celebration. Over the New Year’s Eve holiday, a stray bullet pierced the hood of my car parked three feet away from my house during someone’s trigger happy celebration. There was also another incident in the Monticello area where a stray bullet went through someone’s roof and stopped in the family’s headboard where the parents were asleep in that bed with their small child. And this isn’t the first year this has happened.

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Pat Scifres Savage announces that she is seeking re-election for the position of Drew County Circuit Clerk. She is currently serving her fourth term of office as the Circuit Clerk.

She graduated from Monticello High School and attended the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Pat is a Baptist and has three children: Chris Savage and wife, Kelly of Crossett; Brian Savage of Monticello, and Ashley Savage, a student at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. She is a grandmother of two, Gavin and Jaxson Savage from Crossett. Pat is the daughter of Martha Scifres and the late Tommy Scifres.

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Grant presented by Delta Kappa Gamma

FEED THE KIDS RECEIVES GRANT

Delta Kappa Gamma recently awarded a grant of $500 in support of Feed the Kids weekend snack bags. The Extension Homemakers also contributed the proceeds from their winter fundraiser and the Shepherd Center gave a portion of their fall session registration to support the project. Feed the Kids is funded strictly through donations with some assistance from Rice Depot and a few grants. The group is awaiting final determination from the IRS to become a 501c3 entity.

Bags prepared for students.

Feed the Kids is a snack pack weekend feeding program active in Monticello and Drew Central Schools. The mission originally started by the Presbyterian Women of First Presbyterian Church has grown in the past five years from an experiment with six children to more than 150 children in both school districts. Children in Pre-K through 8th grade are identified by counselors, teachers, other school personnel, and sometimes even the children themselves as needing additional food.

beanie weenies to be distributed

The cost of each snack bag is about $6.00 and contains enough food to supplement a hungry child over the weekend. Clean-up bags are sent home on a quarterly basis and contain soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and seasonal items like socks, hats, and gloves. The cost to provide the bags has grown to over $2,000 per month.

Volunteers from the Methodist Youth Group, Second Baptist Church ladies’ mission group, Vera Lloyd Achievement Club, and individual community members pack and deliver the bags. The bags are packed the first Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. during the school year at the Fellowship Hall of First Presbyterian Church. For more information, to volunteer, or to donate to Feed the Kids, contact Louisa Smith, Chair 367-7439 or Allison Collins, Vice Chair 367-2987

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2011 brought with it many headlines that affected our lives.   Some simply stirred our interest, while others changed the way we live.

MonticelloLive is posting the top 40 headlines of 2011, based on pageviews, video plays, and amount of public conversation that the stories inspired.

While we are reminiscing, here are links to the 2009 Headlines and the 2010 Headlines- The Year in Review.

At least a dozen law enforcement officers were on patrol on New Year’s Eve, representing MPD, DCSO, and State Troopers, which may have been enough to convince some “celebrators” to “let somebody else drive.”

But that wasn’t the case for everyone, with 5 Drew County arrests being made on potential DWI charges, after the festivities ended well after midnight.

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