Volume 11, Issue 5 • March/April 2017
Mary NashPowerful.
Tender.Brillant.
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103 Park Drive • Maumelle, AR
(501) 851-0040 • maumellelaw.com
•ELDER LAW •ESTATE PLANNING •TRUSTS •WILLS •GUARDIANSHIPS
•FAMILY LAW •ADOPTIONS •VA BENEFITS •MEDICAID
•BUSINESS LAW •REAL ESTATE
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102 Towne Centre Dr., Ste. 1Maumelle, AR 72113
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Publisher/Editor
Roger A. Frangieh
Publisher/President
RAFIMI Publishing LLC
RAFIMI Advertising & Strategic Marketing
Art Director
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MauMag (Maumelle Magazine) is published by RAFIMI
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Simona Iva, D.D.S.
Christie Brooks, MS, RD, LD
Marion Scott-Coney
Ken Forrester
Peter Goulden, MD
Simona Ivan, DDS
Cary Maddox
Michelle McCon
Kathleen Neville, MD,
MS, MBA, FAAP
Michae Orfanos
Prunella Pinetree
Austin Pittman
Troy Pousardien
Robyn D. Rektor
Pam Rudkin
MaryAnn Stafford
Harding Stedler
Kathy Wheeler
Writers & Contributors
Stinky Sock and Fairy Talk:
A Tale of My Midlife Crisis .................................5
Goin’ A-FestingPart Two: Plan the second half
of your 2017 Arkansas festival adventures .......... 14
POETRY ....................................... 17Reaping the Rhythms ..................................... 17
WINE ............................................ 26Cutsey-Poo Wine Writing ................................26
Minute with Maddox .......................................27
Springtime Severe Weather ...............................28
PHOTOGRAPHY .......................... 29Camera Main Control Dial ..............................29
Maumelle Photography Club ...........................32
FICTION ....................................... 33True Love’s Kiss .............................................. 33
EDUCATION ................................ 34New Local Board Members to Lead
School District into the Future .........................34
TECH TALK................................... 36Need a Cloud Storage Account?
You May Already Have One! ...........................36
TREE TIPS .................................... 37Shagbark Hickory Tree .................................... 37
BOOK REVIEW ............................ 38Commonwealth ................................................38
THE ARTS
18
9
The Argenta Arts District
of North Little Rock
11
6
Spotlight on Young
Composers in Maumelle
Experimental Treatments Help Arkansas Children with
Cancer Live Longer
8 Reasons You Aren’tLosing Weight
Bad Breath
23
COVER PH
OTOGRAPH
PY MATTH
EW DYSO
N
The Numbers Game
25
20
4 Ways to Avoid Type 2 Diabetes
22
To Stretch or Not to Stretch, That Is the Question
24
I’m pretty sure I’m having a bit of
a midlife crisis. And by “pretty sure,”
I mean there’s really no denying it, and
by “a bit of,” I mean dear Lord Almighty
and Dr. Phil, help me.
It’s happening.
See, eight point two years ago, I became
a mom. And not one of those cute wide-
eyed twenty-something ones embarking on
life while simultaneously cradling a whole
new miniature one. I was already in my
(gasp!) thirties, several miles past my prime
by my grandma’s standards. And Hugh He-
fner’s. I was a graphic designer for a local
private school at the time, and I intended to
keep on keeping on, toting my babe to work
and meetings and whatnot and cranking out
a flyer or brochure each time the nap fairy
paid my daughter a visit. But needy infant
plus needier job eventually took a toll and
equaled exhausted, stressed-out me, and I
couldn’t exactly quit my baby. Nor did I want
to. Because I liked her. And so I bid that job
farewell and never looked back. It was pos-
sibly the wisest decision of my life, which
isn’t exactly saying a lot because the bulk of
my decisions have been of poor quality, but
that’s neither here nor there nor anywhere. I
did it, and it was good.
The next two point four years would be
magical, full of laughter and wonder and The
Wonder Place and rousing games of This
Little Piggy and Stinky Sock. I did the occa-
sional graphic design project on the side,
and I continued to write for this here maga-
zine, as I’d done for years before and would
persist in doing for years to come. And then
the baby fairy (there’s a fairy for everything,
if you must know) kicked the magic up a
notch when she blessed us with another
child, a son, which translated into ten times
the laughter and sixty-seven times the
Stinky Sock. The occasional side jobs contin-
ued, and life felt balanced and fulfilling and
Now With Lower Stress (!!) as I’d never before
experienced it. I had Purpose with a capital
P, and there was no question or doubt in my
mind: I knew right where I belonged.
And I did it all in yoga pants or Hello Kit-
ty pajamas or the occasional stretchy jeans,
each of which I’ve grown accustomed to and
find quite satisfying.
All to say: I haven’t endured a “proper”
job in nearly eight years now, at least not
one that insisted I leave the comfort of my
cozy home and that didn’t involve me wip-
ing someone’s rear other than my own and/
or sitting around in my jammies in front of
my PC into the wee hours of the night with
one of Mommy’s extra-special-don’t-touch
cranberry juice happy drinks. But the end is
near. I feel it in the pit of my stomach and in
every fiber of my being. That stressful, un-
settled sensation is creeping back in, and
I feel like a geriatric college kid heading
out into the great wide world. Because my
son…my BABY!...will be starting kindergar-
ten in the fall.
And I no longer know my purpose in life.
I’m assuming I’ll get an outside-world
job, a proper one. One that frowns upon
jammies. And happy drinks. But WHERE?
What will I DO?! Will it involve graphic de-
sign or writing or both or neither, or maybe I
want to be a seamstress or a carpenter (stop
snickering – I demand it) or a professional
tush wiper. I’m quite skilled at it. Or perhaps
I should go back to school and get an actual
USEFUL degree because the silly English and
psychology and writing ones I insisted on ac-
cumulating aren’t doing a whole lot for me.
But do I really want to head back to college
at my advanced age?! The answer is an em-
phatic NO (!!!) in all caps with triple exclama-
tion marks.
I need the job fairy to provide some
clarity.
And hence the aforementioned midlife
crisis. Change and unknowns and the real
world are tough for me and make me terri-
bly anxious. An interesting side note: I’ve also
been thinking about getting a tattoo, some-
thing I’ve never done in my forty-*bleep*
years of existence. For whatever reason
(midlife plus crisis), I dream of marching into
Lucky Bella and inking up the back of my
neck, but I have no clue what image I’d like to
permanently stab into my skin because crisis
or no, I’m still me and highly indecisive and
moderately sensible. Perhaps I’ll get a fairy.
I can see it now: she’ll have a screwdriver, a
thesaurus, and a pair of sewing shears in one
hand (she’s got surprisingly large hands for a
fairy) while the other toasts me merrily with
a special drink. And she’ll obviously be wear-
ing Hello Kitty pajamas. And stinky socks.
Best midlife crisis tattoo ever! Dr. Phil would
clearly approve. I’m feeling worlds better al-
ready!
But that’s probably just the cranberry
juice talking. MM
Stinky Sock and Fairy Talk: A Tale of My Midlife Crisis
By Michelle McCon
M ichelle McCon is a stay-at-home mom, writer, and sometimes
graphic designer. She enjoys the great outdoors, a good
book, trashy television, word games, music and lots of it, sewing, biking,
woodworking, Hershey Bars, iGadgetry, Hello Kitty pajamas, and maintaining
a low-stress existence.
Have a question or comment? Please feel free to email her at msmccon@
gmail.com.
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How does one become
Chamber of Commerce
2016 Business Woman of
the Year as well as own-
er of the 2014-15 Small
Business of the Year? Everyone’s path
is different and unique and Mary Nash’s
story is no exception. Mary Nash began
her life on a farm near the small town of
Monroe, near Charlotte, North Carolina.
As an only child, she remembers having
the best of both her mother, Brite, and her
father Frank Godfrey. Dad worked nights,
and mom worked days. She would spend
her days enjoying all of the activities her
dad enjoyed –planting and harvesting
crops, caring for farm animals, hunting,
and helping with her dad’s hobbies of
training bird dogs and horses. When mom
got home, she helped with cooking, sew-
ing, and processing the fruits of her and
her dad’s days’ labors. She described dad
as “adventure” and mom as “protection”,
the “best parents anyone could ever have.”
Mary attended a small country school.
She graduated, part of a class of forty-two,
most of whom had gone to school togeth-
er from first grade through twelfth. Every-
one attended the same church and every-
one knew everyone-an idyllic childhood.
Her constant companion was a brown lab
named Trixie. Her love of dogs has never
diminished, and she always has her cur-
rent dog, Bear, by her side (or in her chair).
She had two loving grandmothers and
her parents, but not a lot of children to
play with during school breaks. Her love
of other children and wish to give them
the happiness she enjoyed has helped to
shape her into the person she is today.
When asked about who inspired her as
a child, she fondly remembers an attorney
friend of her father’s, Coble Funderburk.
He was a big man and always wore a ten-
gallon hat and a rose in his lapel. As her
father’s constant companion, Mary was
always around when his friends for whom
he did dog and horse training were. This
man, who so impressed her, never talked
down to her nor did he ignore her. When
speaking, he would bend down to her
height and speak to her as an adult. One
day he asked if she had given any thought
to what she wanted to be when she grew
up. “Yes, sir,” she said, “I want to be an at-
torney just like you.”
“Well,” he replied, “That’s an honorable
profession. You’ll do well.” From that day,
the desire and thought was never far from
Mary’s mind.
Mary married in her last year of high
school. Three years later she had a son,
Jim, then, four years after that, a daugh-
ter, Robin. At age 25, she started her ad-
vanced education at Broward Community
College where she received a two-year
degree. Her marriage had ended and
while working three jobs and raising chil-
dren, she moved on to classes at Florida
Atlantic University where she earned her
Bachelor’s degree in and then her Master’s
in Public Administration. She was accept-
ed into Law School and graduated in 1976
from Nova Law School in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. She passed the Florida bar and
went into business for herself.
Love intervened and she married Price
Howell, moving with him from sunny Fort
Lauderdale to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she
passed the Ohio bar and practiced until
1991. Then she moved to Washington,
D. C. to attend Georgetown. There she
received her post-doctorate Master’s de-
gree. She studied at Charles University
and lived in Prague for several months,
studying International Finance. While
there, she took advantage of her proxim-
ity to history (the cold war ended) and
traveled extensively, visiting Moscow, St.
Petersburg, Warsaw and Budapest. She
witnessed the opening of the first McDon-
ald’s in Warsau, and the first pizza parlor in
Prague. This was sought-after fare…dur-
ing the cold war, “meat and dough” were
basically the food menu. The pizza parlor
was across the famous Charles Bridge in
Prague so every day would see scores of
people, including Mary, trekking across
the bridge and back.
Prior to the US presidential election in
1992, Mary was tapped to accept a job in
Treasury. Her mother had become ill and
she left her beloved Prague to return to
Washington DC, driving to North Carolina
to care for her mother each weekend. The
election changed administrations and
Mary had a new decision to make. In her
heart, she wanted to return to the Char-
lotte of her youth. She talked to a lot of
people and began researching Little Rock.
It filled the bill, culture-wise, and, being
on the same latitude as Charlotte, many
of the same weather characteristics. Hav-
ing always loved the outdoors, (given the
many hours she spent with her dad), she
saw Arkansas as a mecca for boating, ca-
noeing, biking, hiking, hunting, fishing….
virtually all of the activities she had en-
joyed as a youth. She moved to Arkansas
in 1993, took the bar, and settled in.
During all of this time, she nursed her
love for children—her own grandson,
Nash, was just the biological lynchpin.
Mary Nash has a full covey of pseudo-
Mary Nash and her family at Disney World.
Mary Nash Powerful. Tender. Brillant.By Marion Scott-Coney
Continued on page 8>
Mary with her children and parents.
Mary’s parents, Frank and Brite sorting sweet potatoes in North Carolina. The local newspaper saw them from the road and took their picture.
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grandchildren. They think of her as their
grandmother, and consider themselves
cousins—a band of brothers, and now
sisters-- although there is no blood re-
lationship among most of them. These
are children of varied backgrounds and
ethnicities, many of whom have no grand-
parents, or none in the United States.
They travel together, play together, eat
together, often share Mary’s home, and
basically have become her true extended
family. Mary notes that it has been years
since she has missed the premier of any
children’s movie. “I get much more out of
these kids than they get out of me!” she
says, “They don’t have to be your biologi-
cal kids to love them. Everyone needs a
loving relationship with a child.” Well, she
has thirteen…and counting. Mary feels
that “You live as long as someone remem-
bers you.”
The Maumelle firm where she spends
a good twelve hours each day became the
Nash Law Firm in 2010. The firm special-
izes in Elder Law including estate plan-
ning, trusts, wills, asset protection, Med-
icaid and VA Benefits, but they also deal
with personal injury and real estate. She
now has nine employees in her organiza-
tion; five attorneys, two paralegals, two
legal assistants (and one pupalegal, Bear,
who is in charge of client entertainment
and office security.) The Nash Law Firm, as
stated in their brochure, “is not a large firm
at which clients are lost in the shuffle. We
are dedicated to our clients, and the issues
that are most important to them….[con-
centrating] on challenges that really mat-
ter most: Your family’s protection; protec-
tion as well as preservation of your assets;
and protection and respect of your wishes
and dignity.” Along with these important
functions, they counsel and represent cli-
ents applying for Veteran’s Basic, House-
bound, and Aid and Attendance Pensions,
for which there is no charge.
Mary Nash has published two books,
Estate Planning in Arkansas and Helping
Hands Across Time. Keeping Family Mon-
ey in the Family. She is currently working
on her third book, Greed, Stop It in Your
Family. The importance of proper estate
planning cannot be overstressed, no mat-
ter how modest one feels their estate may
be. They answer the question, “Which is
the better estate planning tool: a will or
trust?” Their reasoning is impeccable and
initial consultations are free.
Mary states unequivocally that “this is
the best job in the world! Every day I get
up knowing that I am going to help some-
one today!”
So that’s how it’s done. MM
M arion Scott-Coney has lived in Maumelle
since 2006. She enjoys running, reading,
volunteering, and staying active in Maumelle’s political scene.
You may contact her at [email protected] .
Cover story - continued from page 7>
Albert Einstein once said,
“Imagination is every-
thing. It is the preview of life’s
coming attractions.” Without the
imaginative spirits of those who came
before us we would not be the highly developed soci-
ety we are today. In these troubled times the world is
in need of creative and imaginative solutions to a host
of problems we never would have envisioned even a
decade ago. Therefore, I believe that one of the most
important jobs of a teacher is that of opening up our
young people to thinking outside the box, reveling
in their own special gifts, and developing the self-
confidence they will need to be able to share those
gifts with the world someday. In my piano studio one
of my primary means of doing this has been through
music composition. Ever since the last MauMag is-
sue featuring student compositions (July-August-
September 2013) so many of you have expressed
the desire to hear more from our budding Maumelle
composers. So, in this issue I am sharing a few by stu-
dents who are in the process of discovering their own
unique voices. I have chosen pieces that have won
awards or are currently in competition pipelines.
Stephen and Brandon G. are twins and are so
very similar in many ways, and especially so in their
connection with music. They are now in eighth
grade in home school. Stephen and Brandon began
their piano journey about two and a half years ago
but had already been playing some by ear on their
piano at home. They were born three months pre-
maturely which began a long road of developmental
delays and academic challenges. Music has been very
therapeutic and enjoyable, and playing the piano has
improved their motor skills, memory, independence,
and creative thinking skills.
Background music in movies and video games
of which they are big fans has served as fodder for
lots of ear-playing. From the start I have encouraged
them to compose since it offers them the opportunity
to make music that is their own and gives them the
chance to play much more advanced musical ideas
than the music at the level they are learning to read.
Their mother says, “Although the boys don’t always
follow the same learning curve others might, piano
and composition have given them the chance to ex-
cel in their unique strengths and have a lot of fun in
the process.”
The first two of our featured compositions,
“Prison Break” by Brandon and “Volcanic Fortress” by
Stephen, are unique expressions. No doubt initially
inspired by the mood of background music they have
heard, they have created here two dynamic pieces we
hope you will enjoy as much as they enjoyed record-
ing them for you!
Mary Condren is in eighth grade and is in home
school this year. She began piano lessons about 5
years ago and has been composing ever since. She
also comes from a musical family and has benefitted
from hearing a lot of good music at home. In addition
to piano she enjoys reading and drawing. Her favor-
ite piano music is jazz because it reminds her of New
Orleans, and her favorite thing about studying music
is seeing her own progress across the years and real-
izing how far she has come.
Mary has a very unique personal voice when she
composes. She is very in touch with an internal CD
that hears an idea she wants to express, and then she
brings that to the piano to find it on the keys. Of her
featured piece, “Drifting in the Caribbean”, she says
she got the idea for this piece from “The Ballad of
Davy Jones”, a song she heard in the movie, “Pirates of
the Caribbean”. “I really loved that song,” she says. “It
sounded very mysterious, and I wanted to compose
something like it. To develop a piece I usually play
around with my idea at the piano, adding to it until I
am happy with the outcome. The title came from the
fact that the music reminded me of being lost at sea
after a shipwreck.”
John Jones is in sixth grade at Maumelle Char-
ter School. He has studied piano for six years and has
been composing regularly since he began his lessons.
John added trumpet to his musical pursuits this year.
For fun outside of his musical endeavors John enjoys
Nerf, friends, family time, and playing Pokemon Go
outside. He plays a regular gig of a mix of popular,
classical, ragtime, jazz, and rock music at Embassy
Suites each Saturday morning entertaining the break-
fast crowd.
When composing John tends to improvise at the
piano until he finds the germ of an idea. When work-
ing on his featured piece, “Seashore”, John says he was
just playing random chords until he just happened
upon the chord that begins this piece. From that pop-
up idea he says he just played what came naturally
By Linda Kennedy
Spotlight on Young Composers in Maumelle
Stephen and Brandon
L to R top row the names are: Reuben, Nash, Andre, Roberto, Carlos and Jorge
Bottom row L to R are: Kimberly, Ashley, Diego, Mary and Bianca
Mary and her children, Jim and Robin in North Carolina
Mary Condren John JonesContinued on page 10 >
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after it, and he just went with the flow. “Seashore” is a reflection of
his memories of a day at the seashore and the ever-changing nature of the water throughout the day. He suggests you listen for the waves and how the various waves differ from each other.
Ann Gao is in sixth grade at Maumelle Middle School. She has studied piano for five and a half years and is now playing flute in the middle school band as well. She also enjoys painting, gymnastics, and dancing. She composed her first piece when she was nine years old. Then she went to live in China for three years. Now that she is back in Maumelle, she is continuing to flourish as both a pianist and composer. She says she gleans her composing ideas by listening to the music of classical and jazz composers. Usually she starts a piece by hearing a melody in her mind and then takes it to the piano, adding harmony and more melody until the whole has developed. For Ann the music always comes first. Then she closes her eyes as she listens to the whole. By what she “sees” as she listens, she comes up with her title.
Ann’s featured composition, “A Moonlit Night on the Autumn River”, is very expressive and emotes a very special oriental quality as so much of it is based on a pentatonic (five-note) scale. I asked what sig-nificance the Autumn River might have had for her. “One day we went fishing. As it began to get dark, the moon came out, and it made an artistic impression on me. There is a Chinese piece called “A Moonlit Night
on the Spring River” that I like very much. I wanted to
compose a piece that pictured my own experience on
the Autumn River.”
Clayton Boothe is in eighth grade at Maumelle
Middle School. He has grown up in a home that is
filled with music. His mom plays the flute, his dad
plays bass, and his brother plays the guitar. He be-
gan piano lessons at the age of five, joined the band
in sixth grade as a trumpet player, is now a member
of the jazz band as well, and just this year joined the
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Youth Ensembles pro-
gram as a member of the Academy Orchestra. It came
as no surprise to me when he said that he wants to
become a band director when he is older.
Clayton began composing about four years ago
and is beginning to hone his skills as he takes note of
musical elements in the music of the many compos-
ers he hears through piano, band, and orchestra. His
featured piece, “Omnisciency”, grew from a kernel of
an idea he gleaned from a video game he was playing
one day. Clayton says he added to that kernel to build
the melodic idea upon which the piece is built. His
internal musical vocabulary is influenced by Christian
music and the classical and jazz favorites he tends to
listen to today. Initially he named the piece “Grace
Driven”, but the new title came from his strong feel-
ing that the music expresses an all-knowing or omni-
scient quality.
Riley Williamson is in the eighth grade at Mau-
melle Middle School and has studied piano for one
and a half years. He plays French horn in the band
and plays keyboard and drums in the jazz band. He
is active in Boy Scouts, and holds the rank of 1st Class.
He also enjoys playing soccer. Riley comes from a mu-
sical home where all the family loves to sing, and his
dad is a band director. These influences are evident in
his composing style.
He has made remarkable progress in compo-
sition in a very short time. He tells me his favorite
thing about composing is that he can write whatever
he wants to write. I love that this freedom resonates
with his artistic spirit. Riley says that when he has a
composing idea, he takes it to the piano and plays it
over and over until it starts to feel comfortable. At that
point he is able to expand and change the ideas until
the piece is whole. He is particularly enjoying writing
for jazz ensembles these days, and his featured com-
position, “Even in the End” for a twenty-one piece jazz
group is evidence of that. Riley says the title just came
to him as he was composing because it just seemed
to fit the piece and the feelings the music projects.
Listen for the overall form of a faster moving section
to a slower and more melodic one followed by a re-
turn to the opening idea.
I hope that by hearing these young people ex-
press from their hearts through music, you will be in-
spired to tap into your own creative wells in whatever
mediums are at play in your life. Life, itself, is a per-
forming art, is it not? And, you are your own conduc-
tor. Let’s not just settle for “what is”. Let’s reach into
our imaginations and creative wells, ask “what if”, and
begin to make a difference in the immediate world
around us. MM
Continued on page 12 >
Clayton BootheAnn Gao
The Arts - continued from page 9>
Links for listening can be found at: www.maumag.com/
maumelle-through-music/
Riley Williamson
Linda Kennedy has taught music through the piano
and theory/composition in her independent piano
studio in Maumelle since 1985. She is also organist/accompanist
at NLR First United Methodist Church. Linda may be contacted by
email at [email protected].
Just down the road from Mau-
melle is an area rich in history,
architecture, the arts, and cul-
ture. Within ten easily walkable
blocks in downtown North Little
Rock is the self-proclaimed area known as
the Argenta Arts District. As of today, the
Argenta Arts District boasts eleven visual
arts venues, fourteen dining and drinking
establishments, four performance art ven-
ues, and six different types of arts organiza-
tions as well as a farmer’s market and the
Argenta Plaza - a park that can be rented
for outdoor events and festivals. The Ar-
genta Art Walk takes place every third Fri-
day evening of the month allowing visitors
and art enthusiasts to view the gallery art.
In addition, several festivals and art events
are scheduled throughout the year inside
and outside the buildings.
Also contained in this area is the Arkan-
sas Regional Innovation Hub which includes
Art Connection and other creative oppor-
tunities for entrepreneurs. Arkansas Inland
Maritime Museum, Verizon Arena, and Dick-
ey Stephens Baseball Park are all in the vicin-
ity as well. A public trolley system links the
downtown areas of both Argenta and Little
Rock; tourists ride free from one to the other.
Condos and apartment buildings have been
built and living quarters are available above
some of the historic buildings in the area.
The arts district is part of the Argenta
National Historic District – an area of 60 aces
that was listed with the National Register of
Historic Places in 1993. Architectural styles
range from Queen Anne Victorian to Crafts-
man to Dutch Colonial to Spanish Colonial
to Art Deco. Of the 258 buildings on the Na-
tional Historic Register, only ten are less than
50 years old.
This “Center for the Arts” only developed
recently. A long history of growth and de-
cline dating from the 1800’s characterized the
area. During the Civil War, Union forces cap-
tured the two railroads and built warehouses
and shops in the area. Argenta became the
8th Ward of Little Rock in 1890, which gave
Little Rock a larger tax base; however, very
few improvements were made on the north
side. Unpaved streets, sidewalks of wooden
planks, no drainage systems or fire protection,
and only a small police force and a “bucket-
brigade” fire protection existed. The area had
a reputation of being lawless and dirty.
Different names were given to the area
during its history: It was called “Opposite
Little Rock” for a time, and then DeCantillon,
Quapaw, and Huntersville. The area was also
derisively nicknamed “Dogtown” at one time,
since it was thought that Little Rock residents
deposited their unwanted dogs across the
river! In fact, a mock tombstone can be found
in City Hall commemorating the end of “Dog-
town.” The name Argenta (Latin for ‘silver’)
was formerly given to the area in 1906. This
came about because of successful silver and
lead ore mining at the time.
In 1903, Argenta citizens voted to se-
cede from Little Rock and become a part of
North Little Rock. There was a bit of fracas
over this move, but the transfer actually
occurred on February 23, 1904. Some ani-
mosity remained between Little Rock and
North Little Rock, however. Two unsuccess-
ful attempts were made by Little Rock to re-
annex the 8th Ward.
During the 1920s, downtown North
Little Rock saw continued growth due in
part to the advent of the automobile. The
Broadway Bridge was opened in 1922 and
the Main Street Bridge was improved in
1924. The flood of 1927 caused the closure
of utilities, businesses, schools, as well as the
railroads. Many residents left the area never
to return. A seawall was built with federal
funds in the late 1930’s that helped mini-
mize the flooding problem.
By MaryAnn Stafford
The Argenta Arts Districtof North Little Rock
PHOTO
GRAPHY CO
URTESY O
F THE N
LR HISTO
RIC DISTRICT CO
MM
ISSION
Main Street around 1900.
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The Great Depression caused lost jobs and pay cuts; several businesses closed. The entry of the United States into World War II brought some prosperity to the region. Sev-eral restaurants, variety stores, barber shops, a box factory, car dealerships, and three mov-ie theaters opened.
Several businesses closed in the years from 1960 to 1970 because of population shift to the suburbs, and the opening of Mc-Cain Mall. The federally funded Urban Renew-al was established in 1960 in order to clear out the slums and update the communities in North Little Rock. Unfortunately, many of the historical buildings in the Argenta area were destroyed during this time.
Crime became a major issue in the early 1990s, and several residents formed the Boosters for a Better Downtown and began meeting at First Presbyterian Church. The City Council passed an ordinance in 1993 to create the North Little Rock Historic District Commission whose role was to “maintain the historic core of downtown North Little Rock as a productive living, shopping and work-ing area while preserving the character of the area’s historic roots.” Then the Commu-nity Development Corporation was formed in Argenta with a grant from the Local Initia-tive Support Corporation, a New York-based group. New sidewalks, benches, trees, and lampposts were installed.
According to Donna Hardcastle of the Argenta Arts Foundation, the impetus for the development of the Argenta Arts Dis-
trict came from John Gaudin, who moved
to Arkansas from Louisiana in 1982, living
first in Little Rock. He coordinated arts festi-
vals called “Up With Art” in the area, and then
bought up property in the Argenta Area and
helped to renovate and redevelop the area
with his experience in financial investment.
Gaudin states as his motivation: “I
wanted to live in downtown Little Rock but
couldn’t find a building where I could do a
Gallery, (have) my Wealth Management of-
fice and live. I ventured over the bridge and
saw all the empty buildings in Argenta and
saw a blank canvas that I could help reshape.
I believe in retaining our talented residents
and knew instinctively that we had to grow
a more robust Artistic and Cultural experi-
ences. I founded the Arkansas Regional Inno-
vation Hub and am currently President of the
ACANSA Arts Festival Board.”
He is also an artist, the owner of Argenta
Gallery, lead advisor of Argenta Wealth Man-
agement (a Financial Advisory Firm that helps
people achieve their goals and improve their
communities) and Chair of the Arkansas cau-
cus on the Mid America Arts Alliance Board.
The Argenta Downtown Council was
formed in 2010, and the Argenta Arts Foun-
dation followed. The Business Improvement
District was a commission charged with
cleaning the area, planting bulbs and flow-
ers throughout, and the hiring of two safety
ambassadors whose job is to help customers
and visitors in various ways Monday through
Saturday from 5-10 PM. They can be found
helping people find their cars, changing tires,
furnishing umbrellas, etc. According to re-
ports, there is little crime in the district.
VISUAL ART GALLERIES AND SHOPS INCLUDE:
ARGENTA BEAD FACTORY– Located at
703 Main Street, this shop offers a selection
of beads, findings, stringing materials and
other materials for jewelry making or craft
projects. Classes and workshops, private in-
struction, jewelry repair, and custom-made
jewelry are also available. A work table is
available for anyone who wants to come in
and make jewelry or practice a technique.
ARGENTA GALLERY – owned by John
Gaudin, this gallery at 413 Main Street invites
visiting artists from Arkansas for solo shows.
THE ART CONNECTION at 204 East 4th
Street is an after school and summer visual
arts work program for high school students.
It is part of the Arkansas Regional Innova-
tion Hub – the only facility of its type in the
US. Included in the Hub is a design studio,
a digital studio, ceramics studio, carpentry
shop, wood and metal shop, screen-printing
studio, advanced computer technology, and
workspace for entrepreneurs.
BARRY THOMAS ART GALLERY AND
STUDIO has recently opened at 711 Main
Street. Arkansas landscapes are featured,
and Barry opens up his studio to allow view-
ers to watch him paint in oils.
CLAYTIME GALLERY – A shop as well as
a working studio, Claytime Gallery at 417
Main Street offers classes or studio rentals
for beginning or experienced potters. Sev-
eral kinds of pottery are for sale including
raku, dinnerware, or sculpture by some of
the area’s finest artists.
CORE BREWERY – Located in the estab-
lishment formerly known as Starving Artist
Café, this brewery is currently exhibiting art-
work by Latino artists.
GREG THOMPSON FINE ART – This well-
known gallery is located on the second floor
of the Faucette Building at 429 Main Street
and includes the work of regional as well as
museum caliber artists such as Carroll Cloar
and Thomas Hart Benton.
THE HOUSE OF ART at 108 E. 4th Street
not only features visual arts and body art,
but produces comedy and music shows as
well as poetry. The director is Chris James, a
poet and playwright. The first annual House
In this block alone can be found a church, three art galleries, a bar, a brewing company, a
theater, a restaurant, two architect firms, and an art foundation and gallery.
of Art Poetry Festival will take place during
April to celebrate National Poetry Month.
LAMAN LIBRARY / ARGENTA BRANCH
– The Old Post Office at 420 Main Street re-
cently became the Argenta Branch of the
Laman Library. Not only are reading mate-
rials available here, but a large gallery holds
artist exhibits regularly with receptions and
openings.
MUGS CAFÉ is a casual coffee shop and
eatery that exhibits local artists’ work on its
walls and is open during the Argenta Art
Walks.
NLR HISTORY COMMISSION - The mis-
sion of the North Little Rock Historic District
Commission is to protect, enhance, and
perpetuate areas of NLR which represent or
reflect elements of the city’s cultural, social,
economic, political, and architectural histo-
ry. Photographs, artwork, and memorabilia
are shown on its walls. It is open during Ar-
genta Art Walk.
PENNINGTON PHOTOGRAPHY – Located
in the same space as Claytime Pottery, Larry
Pennington photographs assignments for
advertising, editorial, and corporate accounts,
and is experienced in digital photography.
ROCK CITY WERKS, next door to the Ar-
genta Gallery at 413 Main Street is a work-
ing studio and art gallery for fifteen artists
who specialize in painting, glass works, and
jewelry.
THE THEA FOUNDATION CENTER FOR
THE ARTS at 401 Main Street features student
art from all over the state, as well as solo exhi-
bitions for visual artists. The THEA Foundation
awards scholarships in the visual, performing,
and film arts to high school seniors and spon-
sors workshops, exhibitions and placement
of art throughout the schools.
OUTDOOR SCULPTURE includes this
large sculpture created by Kevin Kresse in
2010. The sculpture is titled “Mother Earth”
and sits in front of the City Grove Townhomes.
Another large public art sculpture will
be installed in the months to come. It is a
six piece, steel sculpture ten feet tall created
by artist Terry Bean. Titled “Dog Dancer,” (re-
member the nickname) the six sculpture
pieces will be located throughout Argenta,
since it was too large to be shown as one
piece.
A mural project is also being planned in
the near future.
PERFORMING ARTSVENUES INCLUDE:
THE ARGENTA COMMUNITY THEATER
(ACT) is a multi-purpose theater that fea-
tures local, regional and national produc-
tions, concerts, book readings, special
events and more. A non- profit organization,
it is committed to serving the community
through education and advancement of the
performing arts. The first of its kind in Arkan-
sas, it is located at 405 Main Street.
BEARDEN PRODUCTIONS PERFORMING
ARTS STUDIO, (BPPAS) is a 501c3 nonprofit
organization committed to making the per-
forming arts easily accessible to the entire
community. Acting classes, stage produc-
tions, dance classes and kid’s cooking class-
es give interested youth an opportunity to
experience the arts in a fun and safe envi-
ronment for little or no cost.
THE JOINT THEATER & COFFEEHOUSE
at 303 Main Street includes a new 105-seat
cabaret theater, with a giant projection
screen. On Wednesday nights, The Joint
Venture, a comedy improvisation company,
entertains at 8:00 p.m. On Thursday nights,
The Joint showcases top regional bands,
and every Friday and Saturday, The Main
Thing, a professional trio of actors and mu-
sicians, take the stage.
INFRARED STUDIO PRODUCTIONS lo-
cated in the Presbyterian Church on Maple
Street is a full-service audio and recording
studio. It is the official production house of
Infrared Records and specializes in new art-
ist development.
The Arts District continues to grow
with arts venues, living space, shops, and
dining establishments. Annual plays, mu-
sic and dance performances, classes, read-
ing series, exhibits, the Dogtown Farmer’s
Market, poetry and reading festivals, other
special events, and dining and drinking
establishments make the Argenta Arts Dis-
trict of North Little Rock a place to watch
and to attend, especially for those living
close by in Maumelle. MM
M aryAnn Stafford taught visual arts, humanities, and English
at Pine Bluff High School for many years before becoming an
Assistant Principal. She retired from the Arkansas Department of Education
in 1993. A teacher and an artist, she exhibits regularly and teaches drawing
at the Maumelle Senior Wellness Center. Dr. Stafford holds signature
membership in Mid-Southern Watercolorists, the Pastel Society of the
Southwest, and the Arkansas League of Artists. Her art can be seen at Eurekan
Art in Eureka Springs and Gallery 221 in Little Rock. Web sites are www.
staffordart.com, www.fineartamerica.com, and www.arkansasartists.com.
Her artists’ blog can be found at www.pastelanne.wordpress.com.
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As promised last issue, after
my roundup of home-grown
festivals not-to-be-missed
this year grew long, here is
the second installment. This list does
not aim to be comprehensive, highlight-
ing instead just a few of Arkansas’ many
festivals, and is comprised of either good
times I can vouch for or festivals I am hop-
ing to enjoy this year. Peek back to the
January issue of MauMag for January-
June fests. Read on for July-December
festivals, including some in Maumelle.
JULYGo to this fuzzy festival once and you’ll
wake up years later still dreaming of the
best cobbler you have ever consumed. (True
story.) The 76th Annual Johnson County
Peach Festival (July 19-22) in Clarksville
claims to be the oldest festival in our state,
running nonstop since 1938. In addition to
the to-be-expected activities like the op-
portunity to purchase a plethora of peach
products (think pie, jam, jelly, and of course,
memorable cobbler), there’s a peach pit
spitting contest (I almost signed up but was
afraid I’d spit on a judge or otherwise embar-
rass self), scavenger hunt, street dance, dia-
per derby, pocket car race, greased pig race
(WHAT?!), and so much more. Visit https://
sites.google.com/site/johnsoncountypeach-
festival for more info.
AUGUSTRun for the grapes and stay for the spa-
ghetti. The Tontitown Grape Festival (Aug.
1-5) is another one of Arkansas’ oldest festi-
vals, this year marking its 119th incarnation.
Besides entertainment, carnival rides, crafts,
and delectable truly homemade spaghetti
dinners, the fest features a 5K Run For the
Grapes that winds through the pastoral
roads of Tontitown, a treat worth doing for
that alone, but the 5K also offers this fun
touch---participants are treated to a grape
bunch upon crossing the finish line. Visit ton-
titowngrapefestival.com for more info.
Did you know Benton is home to the
state’s largest annual convergence of Chris-
tian music lovers? Each August thousands
flock to the free two-day Amplify Christian
Music Festival (Aug. 25-26) held on a 20-acre
grass field at Holland Chapel Baptist Church.
The fest features about 12 headliner acts and
dozens of smaller ones and offers country,
hard rock, pop, bluegrass, and genres I don’t
even know what to call. Christian music has
come a long way since the be happy, poppy
chords of my youth; there’s a lot more these
days than Amy Grant style, including rap,
pyrotechnics, and soulful lyrics. Visit amplify-
fest.org for more info.
SEPTEMBERAlright, Maumellians — as promised,
here’s one for you! Maumelle’s Bash on the
Boulevard (Sept. 15) is one time you won’t
mind getting stuck on the boulevard for
a few hours. The free festival is held in the
Town Centre and features business vendors,
arts and crafts, a Kids Zone, beer garden,
food trucks, and lots of local and regional en-
By Robyn D. Rektor
Goin’ A-FestingPart TwoPlan the second half of your
2017 Arkansas festival adventures
Continued on page 16>
tertainment. A family-friendly festival by day,
the setting sun offers adult revelers some
shadows in which to cut loose and dance!
In a parking lot under the moon, which, as
it turns out, is actually quite fun. The Bash is
run by volunteers from local parks and rec-
reation, city police, and fire departments.
Proceeds help support economic develop-
ment and promote entrepreneurship in
Maumelle. Visit maumellechamber.com for
more info.
Polish Karnawal (late September)
transforms the greens of Marche’s Immacu-
late Heart of Mary school grounds into the
most delightful carnival each fall. Friday
night features a Polish dinner of pierogies,
hasulka, boiled cabbage, spaghetti (??!), and
schnitzel. The midway boasts games of skill
(such as shuffleboard and mallet a frog into a
rotating pot) and chance, like bingo, a mod-
ern version of a cakewalk, and my personal
perennial favorite, what I have affectionately
termed The Meat Raffle, in which contes-
tants attempt to match numbers on small
wooden paddles with the winning roulette
wheel digits. The excitement mounts each
round as the stakes are high---every winner
gets a choice from the seemingly bottom-
less commercial refrigerator holding court
next to the wheel, filled with Petit Jean ba-
con, summer sausage, and ham. Not too
shabby with numbers going
six for a buck. Visit ihmnlr.org
for more info.
OCTOBERLast year marked a turning
point in my life when I went to
an event dressed as a, umm,
goat. Late the day before, I no-
ticed a small line in the ad for
the very first Arkansas Goat
Festival in Perryville (Oct. 7)
that read, “door prize for dress-
ing as a goat.” I texted this tid-
bit to the friend I was going
with, and she, being of a
crafty and ambitious nature,
had by the next morning
concocted us goat wear that
not only scored us prizes as
promised but also attention we had not
anticipated. The first clue that something
strange was afoot occurred in the parking
lot when several cars driving by stooped to
snap our pictures. Before reaching the fes-
tival entrance, we had a number of people
requesting to take a pic with us (oh the age
of Facebook). Soon we were asked to be in
the goat parade (comprised of real goats
and us) and numerous people expressed
appreciation of our goat attire. Having never
encountered fame before, we were not only
surprised by all the attention but also a bit
giddy, and laughed until our sides hurt. We
were interviewed for AETN’s Traveling Arkan-
sas, in which my single speaking line was the
brilliantly concocted “We got snocones” un-
intentionally uttered in the most Southern
drawl that has ever come out of my mouth.
Our legend lives on as our photos are part
of the advertising for this year’s fest. Beyond
the fame, we had a stinking good time. Liter-
ally. The fest is set in the country idyll of Per-
ryville and offers demonstrations (such as
goat cheese making), goat petting, the sale
of goat products including lotion, soap, and
ice cream, goat races, and an obstacle course
contest (we sat that one out though I doubt
we would’ve won, real goats are crafty). Visit
arkansasgoatfestival.com for more info.
Regardless of your beliefs regarding
energies, ghosts, and Sasquatch, the Para-
normal Expo (Oct. 7-8) at the MacArthur
Museum of Arkansas Military History in Little
Rock offers lots of learning opps and is mon-
do fun. Last year was my first time, and I won
three door prizes, experienced several room
readings by psychics, learned about Arkan-
sas’ famed Fouke Monster and an interna-
tional collective consciousness experiment,
got a crush on a Crocodile Hunter look-a-like,
bought some cool Capricorn schwag, and
left with an aura of happy. What more could
one ask of a festival? Visit arkansasparanor-
malexpo.com for more info.
Who can pass up a festival that features
both legumes and a place in which to pass
them? The 35th Annual Bean Fest and
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Great Arkansas Championship Outhouse
Races (Oct. 27-28) in Mountain View holds
the reputation of being a really good time. I
will get there in ‘17, hear my battle cry. This
all-day fest peddles beans and cornbread,
lotsa music, dancing on the courthouse
square, handmade crafts, and supposedly
outrageously fun outhouse races that rattle
down the street. Visit yourplaceinthemoun-
tains.com for more info.
NOVEMBER The Central Arkansas Asian Festival
(early-mid Nov.) is the little festival with a big
heart, a true labor of love by local business-
woman Wilma Houston. Since I have been
keeping an eye on it, the fest has moved
frequently and been in Jacksonville, Con-
way, and a number of Little Rock locations,
including Mosaic Church on Colonel Glenn
this past year. No word yet on where it might
land in 2017. What you can count on is lots
of awesome food options from a variety of
Asian countries, including The Philippine As-
sociation’s legendary shisk-k-bobs, colorful
and unique entertainment (such as rice har-
vest dancers and an eggroll eating champi-
onship), and fun wares to browse. Visit face-
book.com/AsiaArkansas for more info.
And yet again, yay Maumelle! I was both
shocked and delighted when I attended last
year for the first time Maumelle’s annual
Hometown Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday
of Nov.). Not only was it way cheaper than
cooking a T-G meal and way less trouble
(as in none), but the food was, gasp, down-
home good! A $10 ticket ($5 for kids) scores
a seat at a beautifully-set table (fabric-cov-
ered chairs, tablecloths, centerpieces, glass
goblets, real silverware) and a plate of del-
ish smoked turkey and baked ham with all
the trimmins’ – green bean casserole, sweet
taters, green beans, mashed potatoes, bread,
a beverage, and dessert. But wait, there’s
more! A good supply of nice door prizes
were given away; my friends won a $25 gift
card to a local eatery. After we finished stuff-
ing ourselves silly, we strolled to the other
side of the Jess Odom Community Center
turned resort and played bingo, and, double
gasp, participated in a cake walk, in which on
my fourth or fifth try, I actually won. Oh the
thrill of victory. There were lots of games for
kids with some pretty great prizes. Everyone
in my group deemed it a great meal and su-
per fun time. With such service in my back-
yard, I may quit even pretending I will cook
“this year.” Visit maumellechamber.com for
more info.
DECEMBER If you’ve never been to the Arkansas
Craft Guild Christmas Showcase at the
State Convention Center in Little Rock (first
weekend of December), put it on your cal-
endar now and be ready for a priceless treat.
While the show offers excellent holiday
shopping of unique and go-local varieties,
it is also a fabulous opportunity to browse
many art galleries under one roof. Always in
attendance is woodworker Douglas Glass-
cock, who carves unique wood pieces and
inlays them with slivers and chunks of mo-
saic turquoise and signs each piece with
the type of wood it is, and Alison Eastman
Britt, who makes exquisite and inexpensive
concoctions of stamped metal and gems for
jewelry pieces that are unlike any I’ve ever
come across. I buy at least one piece every
show and love my collection dearly. This
past year I took extra time to stop to talk to
a handful of the artists, making it one of the
most enjoyable afternoons I’ve ever had. A
broom maker explained his process of dy-
ing and threading each straw. A Springdale
glassmaker turned occasional whittler dis-
cussed his process of using found pieces
of tree branches to carve whimsical houses
(think fairy or gnome) into the bark, com-
plete with spiral staircases, arched windows,
and whatever accoutrements went with the
story each piece unfolded to him. The carv-
ings were remarkable, and I vowed to own
one someday. The show also offers fudge,
pottery, glass, weavings, candles, and a cor-
nucopia of other treasures from Arkansas
craftsmen. Visit arkansascraftguild.org for
more info.
We live in a beautiful state brimming
with talent ready to be shown off in fun festi-
vals. Get out this year and try a few or even a
new one every month! For a more complete
listing of Arkansas festivals, visit arkansas.
com/events. MM
R obyn D. Rektor is an enjoyer of
festivals, writer, and writing
teacher. Try a new festival in 2017 and share
your fest fun at [email protected].
Poems by Harding Stedler have been the recipient of three
Pushcart nominations. The poems that have received this
recognition are these:
“Six Dozen Flies to Make a Meal”
“Through Aromas of Bubbling Yeast”
“Poems from the Deep”
Reaping the Rhythms
VESPERS, ROOM 752
in this
the pale gray
of her twilight
we sit and listen
waiting for the sound
of her coarse breaths
to slow and then cease
soon
we will no longer
share the same air
soon
she will be
the wish in the wind
soon
she will be
the mist on the river
– Laura Trigg
Little Rock, AR
Harding Stedler
Poet, Poetry Editor
AS TOLD IN A WOMEN’S
PRAYER GROUP
Someone in the circle
worries aloud about a grandson’s warts
not going away, doctors
having no luck.
A retired nurse lifts her chin
and speaks slowly.
Grampa bought all my warts.
Had a gang of ‘em
clustered on my left knee.
How I hated ‘em. Then Grampa
gave me a penny for each wart
and told me they were his now.
She sucks in her breath
and looks at us, perched like
a parliament of owls.
I took his money, don’t you see?
So they became his.
She beams and hikes up her skirt.
See! they’re all gone.
Nourished by the mystery,
we now have good reason for
a jar jammed with pennies.
– Pat Durmon
Norfork, AR
A JULY PICNIC
Remember Petit Jean Mountain?
A rainstorm drove picnickers away
…all except us.
We chose the two-bench redwood,
cushioned the seat,
built a ham and cheese,
sipped iced tea,
and finger-skimmed
the chocolate fudge cake.
You slipped in beside me
to share God’s wondrous view.
Like a slow-motion replay,
the weighted bench tilted skyward.
We reveled in leg-tangled,
food-splattered laughter
as the good Lord cradled us
in a soft landing.
Through a wisp of cloud,
a lemon-colored sun
peeked over the toppled table
– our lone witness.
– Rita Goodgame
Little Rock, ARTO DANCE ON WATER
Once an elderly man saw the glee
when his wife said she wished to be free
just to dance on his grave.
His revenge, he would save.
When he died, he was buried at sea.
– Sara Gipson
Scott, AR
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The movie “Hidden Numbers” has proven to be the
untold story of so many accomplished women, in-
cluding my mother Easter Scott, who our family
knew, was a brilliant NASA mathematics techni-
cian, although others had no clue of our mother’s
involvement in the nation’s history. When this movie surfaced
I thought to myself “they are telling my mother’s story.”
In 1942, Easter Scott graduated from Miles College in Alabama.
She served in the U.S. Army as a hydraulic specialist from 1943 to
1945. She then moved to Cleveland, Ohio and was selected to
work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Lewis Research Center, working in the Instrument and Computing
Division. As a well-liked people person and true leader, during her
tenure at NASA she served on the board of the National Federation
of Business and Professional Women’s Club, represented NASA as
a volunteer tutor at several schools around the Cleveland area and
served on NASA’s (EEO) Equal Employment Opportunity Commit-
tee. Easter retired from NASA in October 1971.
Although busy with her position at NASA’s Lewis Research
Center and her extracurricular interests, Easter was a single moth-
er raising six children, and her “village of helping hands” included
family, friends and neighbors as well as some of her NASA family.
In the late 1990’s one of Easter’s daughters and her family mi-
grated to Arkansas due to a spouse’s job relocation. It was not
long before Easter and most of her immediate family, including
two other daughters, nieces, and nephews were also Arkansas
bound where they all settled in Maumelle.
The Numbers Game
By Patricia Walker
P at Walker is a retired Medical
Transcriptionist. She has written
three unpublished short stories and enjoys line
dancing, scrapbooking and spending time with
the family. For the past five years she has worked
as Office Manager for her family’s thriving Event
Management Company.
When perusing some of her NASA literature and viewing
pictures, Easter often referred to her keen thoughts of the
NASA experience and the friendships that she held so dear.
After a long bout with Alzheimer’s disease, at the age of 91
Easter passed in November of 2012 and rests at the Arkansas
State Veterans Cemetery.
Our family cherishes many proud memories of our moth-
er’s work at NASA and we are so grateful that the “Hidden
Numbers” movie portrayed a story to the world that parallels
our mom’s life. MM
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Are you in PAIN?Living with Arthritis, Fibromyalgia,Headaches or Back Pain?
SERVICES
• Chiropractic
• Massage Therapy
• Spinal Decompression
Therapy
• Acupuncture
• Cold Laser Therapy
www.skinnerchiropractic.com
TWO LOCATIONS103 Park Drive
Maumelle
501.851.6685
663 Highway 365Mayflower
501.470.9855
Kyle L. Skinner D.C. , C.C.S.P.Dr. Tray Fowler, D.C.
If I could get a dollar for each time
I hear “I’ve done everything right,
but I’m still not losing weight,” I
would be wealthy! Usually those saying this
only have the mindset of meals/food choices and exercise, but
there’s more than just that.
There is no perfect diet, no matter what the Paleo, Whole
30, Mediterranean, Gluten Free, Strict Calorie Counter, Vegan,
Keto, or whatever diet follower will tell you. There is no magic
bullet proof elixir or fat burning supplement that does the trick.
And there is also no perfect exercise plan no matter what the
Ignite, runners, beach body, body pump, weight lifters and yogis
would like you to believe. All these approaches can work won-
derfully for some and fail miserably for others.
How exactly do you define “everything right”? Is it exercis-
ing an hour a day and drinking a smoothie…or possibly doing
crossfit plus running twenty miles a week and booty barre at
least twice while you meticulously count your calories on a paleo
diet? But what about your sleep? And how have you been han-
dling that stress lately? And what about those labs you just had
ran…are you on hormone therapy for that? And when is the
last time you had a chance to sit, meditate, or relax the mind?
And what are you doing when not in the gym…is your lifestyle
and job active?
1) Find out what foods work best for you.
Everybody’s body and biological makeup is different. Just
because it works for your tall thin best friend, doesn’t nec-
essarily mean it will work for you. Keep a chart and time-
line to figure out what foods make you feel sluggish and
which ones give the best energy and mental clarity. Use
measuring cups to measure out exact portions. Track your
carbs, proteins and fats. Arrange them in different orders
or maybe even balance all three out for each of your meals.
Try stacking majority of your carbs as pre- and post-work-
out to fuel up your workout. Not all calories are the same,
so I wouldn’t tune into calories per se, but definitely focus
on nutrient (vitamin/mineral) quality. Avoid anything re-
fined. Foods that are refined prevent weight loss…and
yes, “refined” does include whole wheat low carb tortillas
and Larabars.
2) Chart your meal times.
Your lifestyle might only allow 3 meals a day with a pos-
sible snack thrown in there. Or maybe you have more flex-
ibility to have 5-6 smaller meals a day that supports a more
physically active exercise routine.
3) Where does exercise fit into your lifestyle?
Are you taking an advantage of every opportunity, even if
it’s taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work? Try to
get out of the mindset that exercise only takes place in the
gym. Power walk wherever you go. Look at it as a lifestyle
of movement in everything you do. And just because you
saw the gruesome crossfitters on ESPN doesn’t mean all
crossfitters are like that…in fact, most aren’t so try out
something different. Muscle confusion is great for toning
and growth. Find an activity you enjoy that has an encour-
aging environment to keep you motivated.
4) Stress Effect
Stressors are inevitable. Your mindset around stress is
everything yet no one pays attention to it like they pay
attention to their calories. If there is any one thing you
should do, is plan to mitigate stress. Mindset around a
new lifestyle prioritizing rest, recovery and relaxation is
the cure. Studies show stress activates the reward centers
of the brain, makes us crave high calorie food, and causes
the body to make new fat cells and grow those cells bigger.
Stress triggers the stress hormone “cortisol” which so lov-
ingly promotes the belly fat.
Laugh more. It lowers cortisol. Spend more time with
people that bring joy to you, take long relaxing baths, take
a Mindfulness Yoga class, get a massage or just learn to
breathe deep.
5) What underlying issues have not been address?
We take aspirin for headaches, use Band-Aids for boo
boos, and we use food/drink/drugs to cover up inner
wounds. When weeding a garden, it’s important to pull
the root. If you only pull off the green that’s above the
surface, the root will still produce. It still exists. And it will
still continue to affect the roots of your garden vegeta-
bles, suffocating them and depriving them of nutrients
they need which steals from your beautiful harvest. No
amount of food/drink/drugs will heal PTSD or any form
of trauma. I urge you to seek professional help (such as
EMDR) that offers talk therapy and not just more medi-
cines to help you “cope.”
6) Sleep
There is a time for hard work and play, but there is also a
time for good rest. Lack of sleep is not only a metabolism
killer, but a motivation downer. Uninterrupted 7 or more
hours of sleep is crucial for healthy living. Turn off any
screens (TV, phone, computer, etc.) at least 2 hours before
bed. Rub some lavender essential oil under your nose or
on your pillow. Drink some chamomile tea after a relaxing
lavender bath.
7) Get your labs done
This is not just blood tests, but look into ALL panels that will
include blood, saliva, and stool. If there is a deficiency in
minerals, hormones, or gut digestion, then seek supple-
ments and professional help in correcting them.
8) Calculate your water intake
One of the key ingredients to the metabolic cycle is H20.
Your body should be 70% water, which means you need
at least ½ your body weight in ounces of water each day.
No water, no metabolism. Plain and simple. Workout all
you want, eat as clean as you want, but you won’t get any-
where until your body is hydrated.
Ditch the lying scalesStop basing your progress on a number that shows up on that
little square box. A better assessment of your progress is how
your pants are fitting, how you are feeling, and how much more
weight you can lift! You want a true measurement of muscle or
fat weight in each segment of the body, contact me for an In-
Body Body Fat and Muscle Analysis Test. MM
8 Reasons You Aren’t Losing WeightBy Christie Brooks, MS, RD, LD
Registered Dietitian, CrossFit Trainer, Essential Oils Educator
Why Weight Lifestyle Program - www.WhyWeightLifestsyle.com
C hristie Brooks is a Registered Dietitian and a CrossFit Level 1
Trainer. She and her family live in Searcy. She has taught at
Harding University, worked at several hospitals, a dialysis clinic, and a
gym. She has also worked under a childhood obesity grant, diabetes and
HIV clinics, and has owned a restaurant.
She started the Why Weight Lifestyle Program, which is comprised of
an individualized meal plan and weekly one-hour consults targeting hor-
mone balancing, detoxing, clean eating, exercise, and disease prevention.
More info can be found at www.WhyWeightLifestyle.com and www.
facebook.com/WhyWeightLifestyle. Email: [email protected]
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This is a very sensitive subject
that many people are em-
barrassed to talk about, but
all of us experience halitosis
(bad breath) at one point in
our lives. Bad breath affects 50% of the U.S.
population in the middle aged and older
category, not to mention smokers’ breath
in the 20-25% of the U.S. population. These
are just a few of the reasons the fresh-
breath industry (gum, mints, mouth rinses)
is a billion dollar industry.
So what causes halitosis? Obviously
there are the easily explainable instances
that occur immediately after consuming
certain foods and/or spices such as garlic,
onions, cheeses or fish and of course morn-
ing breath. It is thought that up to 85% to
90% of all the cases of halitosis are caused
by disorders of the oral cavity. Some exam-
ples are: poor oral hygiene, dental decay,
gingivitis, gum disease, an unclean tongue,
a dry mouth due to lack of flow of saliva
during sleep, wearing dentures, food reten-
tion, and smoking. Most of these factors
have in common an increase in bacteria
in the oral cavity. These bacteria produce
compounds, collectively known as volatile
sulphur-containing compounds or VSC.
These are the compounds responsible for
bad breath.
But what about the uncommon causes
that some people are not aware like: medi-
cations and certain diseases like sinus infec-
tion, diabetes, kidney disease etc. Some of
these diseases can be identified based on
the odor of your breath, for example a fishy
smell in the breath suggests kidney prob-
lems, while a fruity-smelling breath may
mean uncontrolled diabetes. In this case
make sure you see your healthcare provider.
Taking medications exposes you to a
wide number of synthetic, chemical com-
pounds, which are likely linked to a wide
variety of side effects, including dry mouth.
Saliva plays a significant role in preventing
bad breath, as it helps rinse odor-produc-
ing germs from your mouth. If you suspect
that the root of your bad breath is drug-
induced, see your doctor about adjusting
your medications to prevent dry mouth.
Cigarette-induced halitosis is one of
the more serious forms of bad breath.
Cigarettes contain several chemicals that
produce a strong odor and teeth stains.
Smoking also encourages periodontal dis-
ease, decreases salivary flow and causes a
tongue condition which can trap food de-
bris and tobacco odor. Giving up this dan-
gerous habit is good for your body in many
ways, not only will you have better breath,
but you’ll have a better quality of life.
To eliminate or at least control bad
breath you must first work with your local
dentist to determine what is causing your
halitosis (bad breath). Here are some tips:
Make sure you brush twice a day and clean
between your teeth daily with floss to get
rid of all the bacteria that’s causing your
bad breath. Also is very important to brush
your tongue or use a tongue scraper once
a day – you’ll be amazed and what comes
off your tongue and what a difference it
makes. If you wear removable dentures or
partials, take them out at night, and clean
them thoroughly before using them again
the next morning. Drink enough water if
you have dry mouth and take a lot of medi-
cations. Visit your dentist twice a year for
your routine dental cleanings to eliminate
plaque, gum disease that may be present
and to prevent future gum disease and de-
cay. As far as products that you can use, you
want to make sure that they are alcohol-free
and sugar-free, and contain an antibacterial
agent known for its effectiveness in control-
ling oral malodor. Mouthwash is full of al-
cohol – up to 25% alcohol in some brands
and this dries out the mouth which exacer-
bates bad breath. Over-the-counter mouth-
washes can help kill bacteria or neutralize
them but only temporarily mask bad breath
and it’s not a long term solution. Know that
mouthwash does not replace brushing and
flossing and no amount of liquid can re-
move the plaque from your teeth. Agents
such as zinc chloride, essential oils (thymol
and eucalyptol) and chlorine dioxide have
proven effective in reducing oral malodor.
These can be found in certain mouthwash-
es, talk to your dentist about these products.
If bad breath persists even after follow-
ing these recommendations, you should see
your dentist because it could be an indica-
tion of a more serious medical condition. MM
Bad Breath
By Simona Ivan, DDS
D r. Simona Ivan graduated from Henderson State University with a
Bachelors of Science degree in Biology. She went on to achieve her
DDS at Loma Linda University School of General Dentistry. Dr. Ivan was the top
of her class in clinical experience and received the Academy of General Dentistry
award. When she’s not practicing dentistry in Arkansas, she participates in dental
missions to underserved areas both in the U.S. and around the world.
Dr. Simona Ivan was born in Romania, but grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
She’s had years of experience practicing dentistry in California and Arkansas. She
lives in Little Rock now with her husband and their children. They enjoy being
active in outdoor sports.
4 Ways to Avoid Type 2 Diabetes
Peter Goulden, MD
The number of Americans with
type 2 diabetes continues to
rise as normal diet includes
more and more sugar. Nearly 30
million Americans live with diabetes,
and at least 90 percent of those cases are type
2 diabetes. In Arkansas, more than 360,000
people have diabetes and there are 21,000
new cases each year, according to the Ameri-
can Diabetes Association.
Diabetes occurs when your body is un-
able to control its blood sugar level. In most
type 2 diabetes cases, the body develops a re-
sistance to insulin, which is a hormone made
in the pancreas that helps the body use or
store glucose.
There are ways to lower your risk for dia-
betes. So, how do you that?
1. Eat healthy, get active.
Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes,
which makes diet and physical activity a must.
Staying physically active is a great way
to stave off weight gain. Shoot for 2 ½ hours
of moderate activity each week. If you’re at
your desk all day, break up the prolonged sit-
ting periods with a walk around your office or
campus. Go for a walk around your neighbor-
hood in the evening, or head to a nearby trail.
Just move.
Start eating more
veggies and fruits
and less red meat
and sweets. Instead
of sugar in your tea, try
stevia. Replace the sugary
soda with water. It’s also im-
portant to moderate alcohol consump-
tion as those empty calories a big driver
to weight gain. Replacing fried foods with
grilled options is also important.
In monitoring your diet, it’s crucial to know
your calorie consumption and how much en-
ergy you’re burning. It only takes a small im-
balance to start gaining fat. Let’s say you’re
adding 100 empty calories every day. Within a
month, you could be gaining a pound of fat.
Maintain a healthy weight is key. For infor-
mation on the UAMS Weight Loss Program call
501-603-1497.
2. Watch your blood pressure.
As you add on the pounds, you’re more
likely to develop high blood pressure. These
are other common risk factors associated with
diabetes.
According to the American Diabetes As-
sociation, two in three people with diabetes
have high blood pressure or take blood pres-
sure medication. A healthy blood pressure lev-
el is below 120/80 for most people. A healthy
diet and exercise are great ways to lower your
blood pressure.
3. Stop smoking!
Typically, smoking tends to be
grouped with other unhealthy hab-
its that increase your risk of diabetes,
including unhealthy diet and physi-
cal inactivity. Smoking also increases
your chances of stroke, heart disease
and other serious conditions, so all in
all, it’s just a good idea to quit.
If you need help quitting, try UAMS’
Freedom from Smoking program. You’ll
receive one-on-one support, get informa-
tion on nicotine replacement therapies and
have the support of other former smokers.
There is no cost to participate. To register or
for more information, call (501) 944-5934 or
email [email protected].
4. Know your numbers.
A fasting blood sugar of 99 is normal. A
reading of 100 to 125 is considered pre-diabe-
tes and 126 or greater is in the diabetes range.
Knowing you’re in the normal range pro-
vides reassurance you’re practicing healthy
eating habits and getting plenty of exercise.
Early detection of a pre-diabetic blood sugar
level is also important. If this is spotted early,
it’s possible to reverse it with diet, exercise
and weight loss.
That makes regular, yearly screenings
with your doctor important.
If You Have Diabetes,
Don’t Be Discouraged!
I sometimes see people become dispir-
ited or feel hopeless when they are diag-
nosed with diabetes. If you have the right
set of tools, you can greatly improve your
situation and live a fulfilling life with this
condition. Work with your physician to find
a plan that works for you and empowers you
to improve. MM
Peter Goulden, MD
Assistant Professor & UAMS
Diabetes Program Director
Department of Internal Medicine,
College of Medicine
University of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences
They’re the hardest words most
parents can ever imagine hear-
ing: “Your child has cancer.”
Unfortunately, we deliver them all too often at Arkansas Chil-
dren’s Hospital – about 100 times a year.
As a clinical pharmacologist who spe-cializes in experimental therapeutics, I work with children who are battling the most difficult to treat cancers. Their parents have heard even more challenging words: “The cancer is back and it is likely not curable.”
These kids have leukemias, neuroblas-toma, sarcomas and brain tumors. They need better therapies, but unfortunately, development of drugs lags far behind for childhood cancers.
Because these diseases are rarer, there is less evidence available for many treat-ments, meaning they’re less likely to be FDA-approved treatments. It’s a truly ter-rible situation.
That’s why we’re focusing on experi-mental therapeutics here at Arkansas Chil-dren’s Hospital. We want to find new options for families that don’t have anywhere else to turn. This underscores our commitment to creating healthier tomorrows for all kids.
By offering experimental therapeutic trials, the level of care for all cancer patients at Arkansas Children’s improves. Studies continue to show that safety, quality and research flourish in hospitals that offer these therapies.
What happens if we don’t? These chil-dren will either have to go out of state for treatment or go home on hospice care. Of-fering participation in trials of experimen-tal agents gives patients and their families control over a dire situation and offers them hope for time and quality of life that can’t be found anywhere else in the state and in many cases, the region.
It also helps families in that the answers we get from trials may help future children. At Arkansas Children’s Hospital, we currently have 10 clinical trials open, studying how those medications work for a number of childhood cancers.
Our aim when we started offering these trials last year was to enroll five patients in a year. We have already surpassed that goal, further underscoring how much kids need these treatments.
When the right child comes to us and needs a specific drug, what matters is that we have an appropriate trial to offer. Arkan-sas children will be able to receive care close to home through our experimental thera-peutics program.
We can also serve as a referral center for families from other states. Someday, we hope to expand this program by offering clinical trials for other rare disorders.
At Arkansas Children’s we’re trying as hard as we can to outrun cancer and with quality. Because the best words you can ever say to a parent are, “I’m happy to report, your child is cancer-free.”
Dr. Neville is chair of the American Acad-
emy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs. MM
Experimental Treatments Help Arkansas
Children with Cancer Live Longer
By Kathleen Neville, MD, MS, MBA, FAAP
Kathleen Neville, MD, MS, MBA, FAAP
Director, Experimental Therapeutics
at Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Chief, Section of Clinical Pharmacology
and Toxicology
Professor of Pediatrics, UAMS24
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How many times do you go to
the gym to workout and not
stretch before or afterwards?
Or when you play a sport, do you
stretch at all? You might think that
gymnasts or runners are the only ones who need to
stretch. But did you know that everyone, no matter
what type of activity you do or if you do an activity at
all, should stretch.
An overall fitness regimen includes cardiovascular
work, strength training and stretching and of those
three components, stretching is the one that gets
overlooked the most. So, why is stretching so impor-
tant? Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong
and healthy. And in order to maintain range of motion
about the joints you need flexibility. When the joints
aren’t flexible, they become shorten and tight resulting
in joint pain, strains and muscle damage when you call
on them for activity.
For example, sitting in a chair all day results in
tight hamstrings in the back of the thigh. This makes it
harder to extend your leg or straighten your knee all the
way, which could inhibit walking. When tight muscles
are suddenly called on for strenuous activity such as
running or playing tennis, they become damaged from
suddenly being stretched. Injured muscles may not be
strong enough to support the joints, which can lead to
joint injury. With regular stretching, muscles stay long,
lean and flexible. Also, healthy muscles help a person
with balance problems to avoid falls.
Types of Stretches
• Static: Static stretching means a stretch is held in a
challenging yet comfortable position for a period of
time, usually 10-30 seconds. This is the most com-
mon type of stretching and is considered safe and
effective for improving overall flexibility.
• Dynamic: Dynamic stretching is performed by
moving through a challenging but comfortable
range of motion repeatedly, usually 10-12 times.
This type of stretching is favorable among athletes,
coaches, trainers and physical therapists because of
its benefits in improving functional range of motion
and mobility in sports and activities for daily living.
• Passive: Passive stretching is performed using an
outside assistance to help you achieve a stretch.
This assistance could be in the form of your own
body weight, a strap, leverage, gravity, another
person, or a stretching device. With passive stretch-
ing you relax the muscle you’re trying to stretch and
rely on external force to hold you in place.
• Active: Active stretching means you are stretch-
ing a muscle by actively contracting the muscle in
opposition to the one you’re stretching. In other
words, you relax the muscle you’re tying to stretch
and rely on the opposing muscle to initiate the
stretch. This type of stretching can be challeng-
ing but is generally considered lower risk because
you are controlling the stretch once with your own
strength rather than an external force.
When I have my clients stretch or I stretch myself,
I prefer a combination of active passive stretch. Active
passive stretching is where I have my client stretch a
muscle but contract the opposing muscle to help relax
the muscle I want them to stretch.
Some things to consider when stretching:
• Stretching is not a warm-up to your activity.
You may hurt yourself if you stretch cold muscles.
Warm-up with light walking, jogging or biking at
low intensity for five to 10 minutes. Don’t forget to
stretch after your workout also.
• Don’t bounce. Stretch in a smooth movement
without bouncing. Bouncing can injure your mus-
cle and actually contribute to muscle tightness.
• Hold your stretch but not your breathe.
Breath normally and use your breathe to help the
muscle being stretched to relax and lengthen.
• No pain, no gain...is a big NO, NO, NO. Expect
to feel tension while stretching, but not pain. Our
bodies tell us so much, if we only listen. If there is
pain, then there is a injury of some sort and stretch-
ing could exasperate it further.
• Stretch for a specific sport or activity be-
fore and after. For example, if you are going
for a run, you will want to do dynamic stretches
on your hips, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves.
• Stretch regularly. Stretching can be time
consuming however you can achieve the most
benefits from it if you stretch two to three times
a week.
• Bring movement into your stretching.
Tai Chi or yoga which are gentle movement
stretches can help you be more flexible in spe-
cific movements and help reduce falls in seniors.
Here are some general stretches anyone can
do, granted you do not have a injury about a joint
or muscle.
Quadriceps
1. Place left hand on a stable chair or wall.
2. Bend right knee, taking a hold of the top of the foot.
3. Left knee slightly bent, both knees are even and
squeeze buttocks.
4. Hold for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on other side.
Figure 4 Hips
1. Sit in a stable chair.
2. Take right ankle on lay on left knee.
3. Place right hand on top of right knee and push
down till you feel the stretch in the hip.
4. Hold for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on other side.
Crossed legged Hamstring
1. Standing with your back close to a wall, cross right
ankle over left.
2. Hinge forward and take hands as close to toes as
possible. (If you aren’t able to touch, no worries.
Just make sure you feel the stretch in the back of
the leg)
3. Don’t bounce.
4. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on other side.
By Kathy Wheeler
To Stretch or Not to Stretch, That Is the Question Calves
1. Stand facing a wall.
2. Place right toes on wall with heel on the ground.
3. Keeping a slight bend on the knee, raise left heel
of the ground until you feel a good stretch in the
calf.
4. Hold for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on the other side.
Neck
1. Stretch the left arm out from the shoulder.
2. Take your nose to your right armpit.
3. Place right hand on top of your head and try to
take the nose a little closer to your armpit. (Don’t
overstretch).
4. Hold for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on the other side.
If you have a chronic condition or an injury, you
might need to adjust your stretching techniques.
For example, if you already have a strained muscles,
stretching it may cause further harm. Stretching
doesn’t mean you can’t get injured. For instance,
stretching won’t prevent an overuse injury. Talk to
your doctor, physical therapist or personal trainer
regarding the appropriate way to stretch if you have
health concerns. MM
K athy Wheeler is a nationally
certified personal trainer
with over 10 years experience who works for
10 Fitness-Maumelle. She is an ACE-certified
Personal Fitness Trainer, Cooper Institute
Master Fitness Specialist, IDEA Professional
Member, SCW Yoga and mat Pilates certified
and CPR/AED certified. To learn more about
personal training call 501-519-1746.
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Each year thousands of
golfers are custom fit
for irons. One important
factor in the iron fitting process
is determining the type of material in a
shaft that best fits you. On average most
golfers fit into steel shafts over graphite.
There are several factors to think about
when deciding which shaft material to use.
Here are a few of them.
Steel shafts...
• Are for high swing speeds
• Provide more feedback
• Are less flexible
• Are more affordable
Graphite shafts…
• Are for those with physical limitations
• Can produce more distance
• For slow swing speeds
For those never planning to buy an-
other set of golf clubs
I recommend you go see your lo-
cal PGA pro and have him/her take you
through an iron fitting to see which shaft
is best for your game. They will also help
you select the correct flex and length of
the shaft.
Good luck!
Cary Maddox, PGA MM
Minute With Maddox By Cary Maddox
Steel Versus Graphite: Which Type of Shaft is Best For You
C ary Maddox is the PGA Head Golf
Professional at the Maumelle
Country Club. He has over 15 years of teaching
experience working with men, women, seniors,
and juniors. For more information on lessons
contact him at [email protected]. Visit
Cary on the web at www.carymaddoxpga.com.
Gateway Self Storage
758-STOR (7867)
Individual Door Alarms • Climate Controlled
Resident Manager • Propane Refills
Computerized Gate Access
Sizes: 5x5 to 12x45
Moving and Storage Supplies
Commercial Deliveries
24-Hour Access Available
7101 Vestal CourtOff Maumelle Blvd.
(1/4 mile west of I-430)
PROPANE
REFILLS
If I were asked to name the
greatest obstacle to wine
enjoyment today, the only
honest answer I could give
would be “Cutsey-poo wine
writing.”
Now “cutsey-poo” is a term I in-
vented and likely isn’t in your wine
vocabulary. Let me explain.
When I started writing (and
selling) wine articles more than 65
years ago, a then-current treatise on
wine listed fewer than 75 wine tast-
ing terms and even then the author
didn’t seem too sure about terms
such as “coarse,” “flinty” “hazy,” many
others. Even less certain was wheth-
er “tart” could be substituted for
“acidic.” Nowhere were listed anise,
berry, caramel, cherry, fennel, herb,
jalapeno, licorice, mineral, mocha,
sage, tea, endless others, as wine
tastes.
However, after a bit of time had
gone by, adjectives were added. Not only
was the taste of anise found in wine but a
distinction was made between grilled an-
ise and wild anise. No longer was “cherry” a
reported taste; descriptive terms were add-
ed and we learned there was black cherry,
briary cherry, dried cherry as well as cher-
ries that had reported tastes of jammy, rich,
smoky, supple, bitter, many others. Many of
the terms are simply other-worldly. Do you
know anyone who has tasted underbrush?
One wine writer reported it as a wine taste.
And the winey descriptions extend
much past simple adjectives. Would you
know the taste of a “light-footed” wine if
you encountered it? How about a delicate
burr of tannins which surround a transpar-
ent core of pomegranate and floral flavor?
Would you recognize a wine that had a
sense of restraint or a taut frame or perhaps
had a plushed taste?
By now you may have concluded that
“cutsey-poo” is a term I invented to use in
making fun of wine writers, but that simply
isn’t the case. After all, I’m a wine writer, too.
Most importantly, these writers not
only write about wine, they know wine.
In short, if they write about wine for a na-
tional or regional magazine, they are wine
experts. If you met a wine writer who,
blind, could taste a wine made of a variety
of grapes and could by taste iden-
tify the grape varieties and the ap-
proximate percentage of each in the
wine, you would be in the presence
of an expert.
I have met such people. So, cut-
sey-poo refers to their writing, not to
their wine expertise.
What can you do to negate
cutsey-poo writing? In a word, noth-
ing. When the time comes they will
change.
In the meantime, negate the
cutsey-poo effect on your own. Use
your own expertise. You know what
tastes you like; except for a spouse
or a similar person, others (includ-
ing wine writers), don’t. Then try a
variety of wines and decide which
you like, which you don’t. Read wine
publications; book sales are great for
this purpose as are wine magazines.
Join a wine club, start one if you
have to.
And if you meet a wine writer,
tell him/her that cutsey-poo writing is no
longer the way to go. MM
K en Forrester, a retired administrative
law judge, is the published author of
numerous articles and columns on wine.
Ken is a member of the Authors League, the American
Wine Society and the Society of Wine Educators.
Cutsey-Poo Wine Writing
By Ken Forrester
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Springtime Severe Weather
By Prunella Pinetree
Claps of booming thun-
der, bolts of devilish
lightning, devastating
winds, torrential rain,
and pummeling hail
combine to bring me to my knees
with fear and despair. Yes, I can admit
that I am a scaredy-cat. It is not my best feature
and can be emotionally crippling at times or a
source of embarrassment, but like Popeye al-
ways said “I yam what I yam.”
The mental and emotional imprint of
storm-fear was indelibly instilled in me at any
early age. The lady who took care of us was ter-
rified of bad weather. When the skies got dark
and foreboding, she would unplug every ap-
pliance in the house, close all the doors to the
short hallway, turn off all the lights, and make
us sit on the hallway floor with her in complete
silence. As you well know, spring storms can
last quite a while sometimes as multiple storm
cells pass through the area. We huddled there
a lot, and the fear was palpable.
Now fast forward many years, and you find
me as a fully mature scaredy-cat with the
same childhood feelings of fear. I
can rationalize how silly and
useless this fear is and that
it’s pointless to worry
like that, but when bad
weather begins, all
that valid information
goes out the window.
You will find me hid-
ing in a darkened hall-
way or lower level, and
no amount of logic, persua-
sion or chocolate chip cookies will
get me to move.
I’ve lived in the tornado-
prone South my entire life
and have been fortunate
enough not to have experienced the full brunt
of a tornado first hand (knock on wood). My
childhood friend, who lived across the street,
had her patio cover torn away by a tornado two
years in a row. The house was untouched, but
the patio cover was ripped up and deposited in
the front yard both times. That was weird. I was
always thankful that our house did not have a
patio cover.
My one truly terrifying experience with a
tornado producing storm happened while I was
driving Daddy to Louisiana from Arkansas. The
storms were coming in from Texas, and I wor-
ried that we were headed right into them. Since
he feared nothing, he commanded me to “stop
worrying and just keep driving.” So we drove.
As we approached the Texarkana area
(which was shrouded in VERY dark skies), the ra-
dio issued a tornado warning for several coun-
ties I did not recognize. The knot in my stom-
ach made me believe that we were most likely
in harm’s way, and I desperately wanted to pull
over to seek shelter. But again, being the hard-
headed skeptic, Daddy insisted we keep going.
As I gripped the steering wheel with white-
knuckled fear, I wanted to scream and yell.
My daughter, Petunia, was
in the backseat looking
as fearful as I felt. Appar-
ently as an attempt to
reassure us, Mr. Fear-
no-evil said “Just up
the road a bit, we’ll
be turning away
from the clouds and
storm, so we’ll be ok. I
wouldn’t let you drive
into something dan-
gerous.” That helped
my spirits just a little.
Just minutes later,
we began to turn away from
the dark skies and wind, just like
Daddy predicted. I was thrilled for
any signs of improvement. He looked at me
and nodded knowingly. I gave a small sigh of
relief and turned to Petunia to see her smile, too.
But after just a few short miles, the road in front
of us began to curve back towards the storm. I
yelled at him as fear completely short-circuited
my brain functions. Before he could respond,
our car and the three in front of us drove into
something dark and hanging nearly to the
ground. It looked like a dusty cloud, and we
were actually inside of it. I’m guessing it was a
tornado wall-cloud.
The wall-cloud itself did not seem to be
very thick, and once inside, it was like driving
under a big dome. The radio quit working im-
mediately. We could clearly see the other three
cars as they drove ahead of us in this caravan
of fear. Short lightning bolts were striking here
and there around us, but there was no sound at
all. The pressure in my ears felt like being up in
an airplane. It was the scariest thing I had ever
endured. I still can’t believe that I was able to
drive under all that stress, but I guess I was just
hanging on for dear life. I figured that at any
minute we’d be blown away by the tornado
even though we felt no wind whatsoever.
After a few minutes of this unbelievable ex-
perience, the storm blew past us, and we exited
the wall-cloud. I immediately began to cry. I’ll
spare you the angry, demonstrative, ancestor-
bashing verbal assault I unleashed on Daddy
regarding my fears, his stupidity, our safety, and
what I really wanted to do to him at that mo-
ment. It wasn’t very ladylike at all, I dare say.
Spring storms will come, and spring storms
will go, and I will ALWAYS be fearful of them. I
will ALWAYS treat them with due respect and
never let anyone else make me feel badly about
my fear. Since The Weather Channel has repeat-
edly denied my requests to let me come live in
the Storm Prediction Center, I wear that big yel-
low stripe down my back with pride. I believe
that I’ve earned it!
On the top of most digital SLR
cameras there resides a dial
that allows you to quickly
and easily change your cam-
era settings depending on
your level of expertise and also the pho-
tographic situation that you are in. It is
called the main control dial, and although other
settings reside either on other buttons on the
camera or in the menu, the understanding of
the options on this dial is a great place to start
if you are just getting started in photography.
Although there are a few differences between
the different camera manufacturers, for the
most part the main control dials are very similar.
In this article we will talk about the auto modes
and creative auto modes on the dial, and next
time we will get in to the manual modes.
The first setting to talk about is the auto
mode or the “green” mode. It may be a green
box, a green “A+” or it may even say “auto”. This
mode is your cameras total automatic mode.
Other than you zooming and pushing the shut-
ter button to focus, the camera is going to do
everything else for you. It sets your shutter
speed, aperture, ISO, focus points, metering,
and will pop your flash up if and only if it thinks
you need it. The auto mode is a good place to
start, because it is hard to mess up a picture, but
it can also be frustrating because there is no
way to override what the camera wants to do.
For instance, if you are in a museum that does
not allow flash photography, and your camera
thinks it needs a flash, the flash is going to pop
up and fire.
The next setting on the control dial is the
“no flash mode.” It is usually a lightning bolt
symbol with diagonal line going through it.
This mode is self-explanatory, it is exactly like
the green auto mode except that it will not
pop up your flash, whether you need it or
not. This mode solves the museum problem
that you would have in the green mode, but in
order to compensate for the flash the camera
will slow your shutter speed down, so if you
are using this mode in low light make sure and
bring a tripod.
The next several settings on the main
control dial are characterized as “creative auto”
modes, or “scene” modes. Some cameras have
each mode on the actual dial, and some cam-
eras have them all contained within one mode
on the dial (usually SCN, for scene). The first one
is a picture of a person, which is your portrait
mode. This mode is designed for taking por-
traits. It is going to create a more shallow depth
of field, where your subject is in focus and your
background is more blurred. This helps to avoid
distracting elements in you background and
also to bring attention to your main subject.
The next creative mode usually shows a picture
of a mountain, this is your landscape mode.
The landscape mode gives you a deep depth of
field, so if you want the wildflowers in the field
and the mountains in the background to both
be in focus, the landscape setting is the way to
go. The child mode is represented by a symbol
of, you guessed it, a child. This mode is very
similar to the portrait mode, but usually tries
to give you a faster shutter speed, because chil-
Camera Main Control Dial
By Austin PittmanPhotography by Alex Kent www.alexkentphoto.com
Continued on page 30>
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dren are very seldom stationary! The symbol for
sports mode is usually a person running. The
sports mode tries to give you the fastest shutter
speed possible, while also eliminating your pop
up flash and setting the drive mode on your
camera to “continuous.” Obviously, this mode
is designed for fast action subjects. A word of
warning here, the sports mode works great
for outdoor daytime sports, but with indoor or
night sports if you don’t have the right lens you
still may not get good results. The macro mode
is designated by a flower symbol. Macro is close
up photography, so if you are shooting flowers,
insects or other small objects this is the mode
to choose. Like the portrait and child mode, the
macro mode gives you a shallow depth of field.
A common misconception of the macro mode
on a DSLR is that it will actually allow you to fo-
cus closer to the subject. If you really want to
get in to macro photography, you need to buy a
macro lens, and then use the macro mode. The
final creative mode on the main control dial is
the night portrait mode, which is designed for
taking portraits of people in very low light. Us-
ing this setting helps to avoid having your back-
ground going completely black. It works by
keeping your shutter speed open longer to let
background light in, and then firing the flash at
the end of the exposure to illuminate your sub-
ject. Because the shutter remains open for so
long, it is important to use a tripod and make
sure your subjects remain as still as possible.
In our classes at Bedfords, instructor Alex Kent
says “The total auto mode is a guess, because it
has no idea what you are trying to accomplish
or what your subjects are. The creative auto
modes are an educated guess, you are giving
your camera a hint about your intentions”.
One thing to keep in mind with all of these
automatic modes is that the camera is going to
do it’s best to get you the best image based on
what mode you select. Keep in mind, however,
that as I stated in the sports and macro modes,
the camera may be limited by the lenses that
you use. If you don’t have a macro lens, you are
not going to get a great macro image, because
most lenses simply do not focus close enough.
If you don’t have a lens designed for low light,
fast action photography you are going to end
up with some blurry pictures in some cases
even using the sports mode. Auto modes and
creative auto modes are a good place to begin
if you are just getting started in photography,
but if you are really wanting to get the absolute
most out of your DSLR, a good understanding
of the manual modes and acquiring the right
equipment. Check out the next issue of Mau-
mag and we will talk about the manual modes
on your main control dial. MM
Photography - continued from page 29>
A ustin Pittman is the Vice President
of Operations for Bedford’s Camera
and Video stores in the Little Rock area. Austin
has been a Certified Photographic Consultant
since 2000.
He lives in Maumelle with his wife Shannon
and son Andrew. Austin may be reached by
email at [email protected].
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John Schwankhaus
Photographs courtesy of members of the Maumelle Photography Club. - 501.960.6077
By Larry Egger
By Joseph E. Goble
By Max Baker
By John Schwankhaus
Cute girl at 9:00” Jackson’s thumbs
quickly typed into his phone.
“Huh?” the screen lit back.
“The girl sitting next to me is cute dummy” Jackson clicked .
“I can’t tell- lean back so I can see”, the word bubbles contin-
ued.
Jackson leaned back and shouted to Sam, “Hey, thanks for
bringing me to the game tonight”.
Sam leaned forward in his seat to get a better view, “You bet,
private. Had to squeeze in some fun before you go.”
“Oh YEAH she’s hot”, popped up on Jackson’s screen, then
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“Bro- nothing. I ship out in the morning”, Jackson texted back.
“REALLY! Your last night. Make it memorable”, Sam chal-
lenged.
Jackson looked at his friend and shook his head in disbelief.
“It’s a great crowd tonight here at the Fedex Forum where the
Grizzlies are in superior form”, the announcer’s voice thundered over
the noise of the throng. Everyone in the arena was in great spirits.
The home team was ahead by six points in a decisive play-off game,
elevating the good humor of everyone in attendance.
“Hi I’m Jackson”, he said introducing himself, completely fac-
ing the girl sitting to his left.
“Hey Jackson, I’m Sara” she smiled back tucking unruly blond
hair behind her ear.
“You a big Grizzzlies fan?”
“Yeah, I’ve been coming to Grizzlies games since I was a kid.
My dad used to bring me. How about you?” Sara asked, trying to
keep the conversation going.
“I guess. My friend Sam has season tickets, so we came to-
gether”, Jackson took a sip of his beer.
“Want some popcorn?” She coyly offered, turning toward
Jackson.
“Sure, thanks”, he said grinning as he reached into the bag.
“Hey folks pucker up, it’s the kiss cam! That’s right, round and
round we go, where we’ll stop nobody knows!” The announcer’s
voice ripped through the loudspeakers.
Just then the camera settled on Jackson and Sara sharing her
popcorn.
“SHOW US SOME LOVE”, the voice started the chant, bringing
the crowd along for the ride. As the room began to chant in unison,
Jackson looked up at the jumbotron, and saw what was happen-
ing. Framed in a heart shape were their faces. He poked Sara on the
shoulder and pointed to the screen. Sara giggled as she shook her
head and waved her hands in front of her face. The new acquain-
tances smiled at each other, and at the same time blew exaggerated
air kisses to the camera. A disappointed aahhhh swept through the
crowd like a deflating balloon.
“What’s the..”
“Listen, normally I would ask you for your number, but I’m
leaving in the morning for deployment. Do you want to get a cup of
coffee after the game?” Jackson interrupted.
“Sure, absolutely”, Sara agreed, looking solidly into Jackson’s
eyes.
All at once the intention of the conversation changed from
light and flirty to frank and honest.
After the game Jackson and Sara settled in a small booth in
the back of the Saturn Diner eating French fries and talking about
anything that came to mind. They shared confidential hopes and
dreams neither would have told friends that were in their everyday
lives. Both felt the closeness that comes with confessing intima-
cies to a stranger; an implied permission to walk away with no
consequence. It was Jackson who decided that exchanging phone
numbers would be a bad idea since he was shipping out, and didn’t
want either to hang on to something with no chance to progress.
Sara reluctantly agreed, but couldn’t stop thinking she wanted to
know more about this guy than one conversation could give. The
usual pace of romance had condensed into a few hours before
sunup. As the room brightened with the dawn the pair of freshly
made beloveds faced saying good-bye. With the chill of the morn-
ing air bringing them out of their tandem reverie, they walked hand
in hand to Sara’s car.
“Good-bye is the last thing I want to say right now,” Sara said
shivering, her eyes glistening with tears.
“What a shame Sam hadn’t brought me to a game before”,
Jackson agreed as he opened up her door. “He told me to make to-
night memorable, and it sure has been. I’ll never forget it.”
“When you come back promise you’ll find me”, Sara whis-
pered into his ear.
“I will”, was all Jackson said before he cupped Sara’s face in his
hands and kissed her.
“You’ve got to get out. I’m bringing you with me tonight,
and I’m not taking no for an answer”, Sam’s voice insisted from the
phone.
“Not feeling it, Bro”, Jackson mumbled.
“Come on, Man. It’s been 8 months since you’ve been back.
You are alive, act like it. It’s just a basketball game. We’ll leave at
half time if you want. You’ve just got to get out of the house Man.”
“Yeah, OK, I’ll give you half a game.
“Well alright! I’ll get you in an hour. Dress pretty for me”, Sam
sang before hanging up.
Finding something to wear wasn’t the challenge, finding the
will to leave the house was a problem. Jackson had come back from
the middle-east very small inside, incapable of escaping himself.
He had left with an honorable discharge from service after be-
ing injured by an IED explosion. Since coming back Jackson spent
most days at home watching TV or going
to physical therapy as he learned to walk
with his new prosthetic leg.
The sound inside the arena envel-
oped Jackson like the roar of a stormy sea.
Walking up the ramp to their seat section
Jackson was overwhelmed by the sound
and activity. It was too much for right now.
he felt desperate to go back home, and
was going to tell Sam, but he had walked ahead and was already
entering the seating area. He caught up to Sam at the top of the
ramp, and just as they were about to make the turn to the seat row
Sam abruptly turned to face Jackson.
“Bro there’s something I’ve got to tell you. Don’t get mad at
me, but I knew if I told you, you wouldn’t come”, he started. “I ran
into her at a game a few months ago, and she asked about you.
Jackson, she’s been here at every game for two years waiting for you.”
“What are you talking about?” Jackson was confused and
feeling a little panicked by all the commotion in the room.
Without saying anything else, Sam stepped aside and direct-
ed Jackson’s attention down the row of seats. There sitting alone
in the same seat where they had met was a girl with unruly blond
hair. Jackson crumbled, overcome with emotion. “What do I do?”
he croaked, but his face said so much more. As tears began to form,
he held onto Sam’s shoulder, and looked down at his legs unable to
ask anything else.
Sam held his friend steady and said, “Say hello, that’s all you
need.. ”
Jackson stood paralyzed. He didn’t know whether to run to
the exit, or scream. Before he could regain his composure he felt
Sara’s presence coming nearer, then she was standing beside him.
Jackson looked down at Sara, his mouth opening and closing like a
fish. Words wouldn’t come. He was undone. Sara held Jackson’s
face in her hands and kissed him.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I please bring to your attention
tonight’s special kiss cam couple. They met sitting in those very
same seats, he proposed to her there, and tonight they celebrate
their 30th wedding anniversary. Please give a round of applause
to the Stewarts. Their grandkids bought the tickets for those exact
seats to celebrate this big occasion. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, SHOW
US SOME LOVE”, the announcer’s voice boomed across the arena.
The crowd clapped and chanted in unison, “SHOW US SOME LOVE”.
Jackson and Sara flung huge air kisses to the mob, but they weren’t
satisfied.
“SHOW US SOME LOVE”, they all chanted louder. With un-
canny grace, Jackson wrapped his arms around Sara and dipping
her like a ballroom dancer much younger than himself kissed her
tenderly on the lips. The arena exploded in cheers and applause as
they watched on the jumbotron.
“That was something else”, Sara cooed, glowing from the
excitement as they settled back into their seats.
“You’re something else”, Jackson smiled back, squeezing her
hand. The End MM
By Michae Orfanos
True Love’s Kiss
M ichae Orfanos lives in Maumelle
with her family and three dogs.
She has settled here after living in New York and
Los Angeles, and working in the entertainment
industry. After growing up in Arkansas and then
living in the big city, Maumelle is a perfect place
to raise her family and write stories.
“
By Stephanie Meadows
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Alicia GillenIn 2015, when hundreds of people were gathered at the
Clinton Presidential Center for the annual People Assisting Local
Schools (PALS) volunteer breakfast for the PCSSD, Alicia Gillen
was there to support Maumelle High School. When she heard
the announcer read the most hours worked by a high school
volunteer in the then 36-school district – more than 1,000 – she
said she thought, “Who the heck is that crazy?”
It was her.
That story – and the award – exemplify Gillen, who
doesn’t do anything halfway. The fast talking, fast walking, ener-
getic 40-year-old may be Maumelle’s biggest cheerleader. And
it’s not just because she’s the executive director of the Maumelle
Chamber of Commerce. It’s because she loves this city that much.
Gillen, originally from Sacramento, Calif., moved to Ar-
kansas in high school because her mom had family here. She
graduated from North Pulaski High School, and attended Pulaski
Technical College. But after she became pregnant with her first
daughter, she jumped into the workforce, and hasn’t stopped
working since.
She joined Little Rock-based Windsor Door and worked
up their corporate ladder, eventually leading their national sales
team, all while taking night classes. “I have plenty of credits for a
college degree but I just can’t pass the right science class. Those
labs at night after a long day at work and a young child at home
were tough,” she said with a laugh.
Gillen, now a single mom to three daughters, her old-
est now a sophomore at Arkansas State University, didn’t stop
working when she stepped back from her career to become a
stay-at-home mom. Instead, she launched an afterschool pro-
gram at Maumelle Gymnastics and Cheer and worked 60 hours a
week with her daughters by her side. “I love it when I bump into
some of the kids who were in that program.
The students I mentored are now in middle
and high school, and it’s fun knowing I was
a small part of their lives. It makes my heart
happy,” she said.
Once her children were back in public
school (her youngest two are now at Pine
Forest Elementary), she returned to her
career, and after working as the director of
development for Special Olympics Arkansas
she eventually took the helm of the cham-
ber. “I missed being a part of this town; it
was time for me to come home and do work within my com-
munity,” she said.
Her paying job is only part of the work Gillen does. In her
almost two decades living in Maumelle she has “done a little
bit of everything,” she said. And she’s not kidding. She’s at the
Rotary and Lion’s Club meetings and helps with the Maumelle
Senior Wellness Center. She has assisted with American Cancer
Society’s Relay for Life Maumelle events and been involved in
multiple schools’ booster clubs. She started the Maumelle High
School Parent Teacher Student Association and was its president.
Through the chamber she created the Education Committee to
develop relationships between businesses and youth in the area.
And the list goes on.
Gillen said she steps up because she enjoys being part of a
solution. “And it really comes down to how much I love this com-
munity and the families here,” she explained.
She also works relentlessly because she wants to be an
example for her daughters. “I want my girls to see that you can
be an amazing mother and a successful business woman … you
can be good at all things.”
Gillen admits she doesn’t easily take ‘no’ for an answer. “If
you say ‘no,’ I will come back with another opportunity, another
angle or resolution. Just saying ‘no’ is unacceptable.”
She agrees, too, that she is sometimes
called assertive, aggressive or demanding.
She chuckles at that. “I also know that I’m just
as happy to be on the team as the leader. I
like starting things and knowing I will not be
in charge forever, and that’s OK. I like helping
people feel their own sense of accomplish-
ment, and giving them the enthusiasm to
take the lead once a plan or project is in place.
Sometime people are scared to jump.
I’ll jump in, and sometimes I hit concrete and
sometimes I hit clear blue water. It’s 50-50. But
that’s OK,” she said.
So when does she become the cheerleader and when does
she need to be the boss? “What day of the week is it?” she asks
with her signature big, friendly smile.
I like being a cheerleader and helping others feel empow-
ered, but sometimes I look at something and think, “I can do
better.”
That’s why she wanted to become a PCSSD board member.
“The past board wasn’t doing it. I knew it needed to be
fixed. PCSSD has resurrected the Titanic and now we really need
to get the boat going,” she said.
Gillen, too, has no political reasons for being part of the
school board. “My endgame is to help so that every time a new
report goes out it says how great we’re doing. I want our test
scores to reflect the amazing students, teachers and administra-
tors we have in our schools,” she said.
She said the district is making enormous improvements in
facilities, and it will be “important to continue to establish com-
munity connections.”
She also said virtual academies and flexible learning with
lots of technology will lend itself to business relationships.
“We need to keep our schools strong. When people are
looking to relocate to an area, when they are starting a family,
they want good schools. We want out schools to be the best,”
she said.
“What I want for Maumelle is to have thriving schools
within PCSSD,” she said. “And I want opportunities for stu-
dents to be successful in whatever field they want to pursue,
whether that is a four year, two-year, technical, military or
workforce career.”
“Don’t forget, I have been pretty successful and I gradu-
ated from the school of hard knocks,” she laughed.
Gillen can be contacted at [email protected]. MM
Whether you are the parent of
school-aged children or a tax-
payer looking to protect prop-
erty values, it is important who repre-
sents Maumelle on the Pulaski County
Special School District (PCSSD) Board of
Education. And last November, a dynamic duo was elected
to do just that.
Eli Keller, a sergeant and school resource officer (SRO) for
the Maumelle Police Department, represents zone five, with a
term expiring in 2020, and Alicia Gillen, the executive director
of the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce and secretary of
the board, represents zone six. Her term expires in 2018. (See
map below.) Schools in their zones include Crystal Hill Elemen-
tary, Pine Forest Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, Maumelle
Middle and Maumelle High.
The district, which six years ago was taken over by the
State of Arkansas for financial mismanagement by previous
leadership, has just been returned to an elected board. There
are critical decisions looming in the district’s future, so MauMag
wanted to introduce you to the people who will represent Mau-
melle as they are made – in their own words.
Sgt. Eli KellerWhen Sgt. Eli Keller, 39, saunters into the Starbucks, his
6’4” frame and gun on his hip would be intimidating, except that
he knows most of the restaurant’s patrons, who he visits and
jokes with, eventually arriving with a big smile at the back table
to share his story.
It has been a long road to Arkansas and the school board
for Keller, but he has landed in a position for
which he is uniquely qualified.
Keller is the son of the City’s Community
and Economic Director Judy Keller and the
Deputy Commissioner and Director of Crimi-
nal Investigations at the Arkansas Insurance
Department Blue Keller.
Part of a military family, Keller was
born in Fayetteville, N.C., and after four years
moved to Monterey, Calif. His father was U.S.
Army Special Forces, and the family lived in
Little Rock, Ark. and Washington, D.C., before
Blue Keller was named the Defense Attaché (military liaison) to
Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique and they moved to Malawi –
living in the capitol city of Lilongwe.
He graduated from high school in Johannesburg, South
Africa, in 1996.
Keller said after graduation he intended to take a year off
to travel and work. “That one turned into 10,” he said, adding
that he would work at the American Embassy in Mozambique
and then travel throughout Africa and Europe.
After marrying a native of Mozambique, Keller returned to
the U.S. in 2001, initially living in Mississippi where he had fam-
ily, then Little Rock when his parents moved here.
Keller was working at Buckle, a large retail chain, mov-
ing to cities like Topeka, Kan., and Dallas, managing stores that
needed fiscal help. His son was born in Dallas in 2004. Though
Keller was working in a financially rewarding job, he said it
wasn’t fulfilling. “I had my dad’s military influence growing up,
and my mom is so giving, I just had a strong sense that I needed
to serve. I wanted to do more. I wanted to make a bigger impact.”
At first, he said, he planned to join the military, but then
his son was born and he wanted to be home with him. “This
was the time of the Afghan War, and with my dad having been
a Green Beret he had been gone a lot and I didn’t know when
or if he was coming back. That can be a strain on a family and I
didn’t want it for us.
“I decided that if I couldn’t fight for Americans rights
abroad, maybe I could do it on a local level, and I started looking
at law enforcement or fire,” he said.
That brought him back to Little Rock, and in 2006, Keller
was offered a job with the Maumelle Police Department. After
graduating at the top of his class from the Arkansas Law Enforce-
ment Training Academy, he worked as a patrol officer and then
as a criminal investigations detective, rising through the ranks.
Three years ago Keller moved into the role of SRO. He has twice
been named Officer of the Year by the Maumelle Police Depart-
ment.
Keller said after working as a detective, where he saw the
worst in people, the SRO job and working alongside the kids,
“completely rejuvenated me.”
There was a transition period, he said.
“The kids always wanted to hug me, and I
was worried about that perception,” he said.
“Then I was talking with my mom and she
said, ‘Just remember, when someone hugs
you that might be the only hug that he or she
gets that day.’ So I started giving more hugs.
“I was at Kroger and a student ran up
and hugged me. Her dad looked at me with
cocked eyebrow, and she said, ‘That’s my po-
lice officer!’ That is one of my favorites. She
thought I was her personal police officer.”
That, he said, is what the SRO job is all about.
“There is so much negativity with today’s views of police.
Kids have to realize we are there for them and always feel we
are approachable. Our interactions in schools make that possible.
There is less stigma in Maumelle for kids to come up and talk to
cops. By starting in the elementary schools, students learn early
that police officers are their friends.
“It helps as the kids move to middle and high school. Their
relations with police are better,” he said.
Keller is also passionate about special needs students, and
for the last 11 years has volunteered for Special Olympics Arkan-
sas. Most recently he has helped lead the law enforcement torch
run effort.
Keller’s son is now a student at Maumelle Middle School,
and his 6-year-old daughter is a student at Pine Forest Elemen-
tary School. He is a busy father, police officer and volunteer, and
has now has taken on a position with the school board.
His reason for stepping to the plate is simple. “My mom’s
position in economic development has shown me how impor-
tant it is for community to have a strong school district,” he said.
“When you’re trying to bring in business, the first thing
they look at is good schools,” he said.
Keller ran on the platform Keller4Kids because the job of
a school board member is to protect and promote all of the stu-
dents, he said, not just those in a particular community. PCSSD
encompasses 640 square miles and has 26 schools in Little Rock,
North Little Rock, Sherwood and Maumelle. “Too many times
people get involved in what’s best for my school, my community,
when it needs to be what’s best for all of our kids. A strong school
on Dixon Road in Little Rock is a strong school for Maumelle,” he
said.
Keller, a spiritual and thoughtful person, is not in the job
for political reasons, he assures. “Before going into every meet-
ing – and due in part to my mother – I pray the exact same
prayer, and I know she’s praying it for me. It’s ‘Be quick to listen
and slow to speak,’” he said.
“I want to be open-minded, though it’s my dad and the
police officer in me that part of me is questioning everything. Is
this person genuinely presenting this for the benefit of the chil-
dren or is there motive behind it? I want to be able to have a clear
conscious in any vote I make,” he said.
What does Keller want to accomplish in his new role?
“There are a lot of kids graduating and having to take remedial
classes who are not prepared, or those who are working mini-
mum wage jobs. I want our kids fully college prepared or skilled
for the work force when they graduate.”
He plans to champion the district’s technology initiative
that would allow for more flexible learning and meeting stu-
dents’ needs more individually, a program still in its initial stages.
“But I’m still in the learning phase. I have my eyes and ears
open,” he said.
And heart, too, it appears.
Keller can be contacted at [email protected]
New Local Board Members to Lead School District into the Future
By Deborah Roush
Education
D eborah Roush is a longtime
writer and public relations
professional. Currently she is the executive
director of communications for the Pulaski
County Special School District.
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Perhaps you have seen a shag-
bark hickory tree and not
even known it! If you have
walked around in Maumelle down
by the Arkansas River in the Park by the River,
you have seen these magnificent trees. There
is a whole grove of them. All you have to do
is go into the Park by the River, turn east and
park. Go through the gate in the fence and keep
walking east towards the rock and plaque that
marks the tall slippery elm which is the Heri-
tage Tree for 2017. Just before you arrive at the
Heritage Tree, look north (your left) for tall trees
with slightly shaggy bark. You will eventually
find eight shagbark hickories, which are on the
south slope of the Park behind the Hospitality
House.
The shagbark hickory is one of several hick-
ories in Arkansas. It is found frequently in the
Eastern U.S. It makes a great shade tree, attain-
ing a usual height of 70-90 feet, with a spread of
50-70 feet, so you can see it needs lots of room.
Shagbark hickories are often found in upland
forest, but they will tolerate clay soils and they
don’t mind being in a wet lowland location
near creeks or rivers. It can take partial sun and
shady woods, and it produces more nuts when
there are several of them, for cross-pollination.
Shagbarks can get beetles or weevils, but they
usually are relatively disease-free.
While walking in the woods beside the Syl-
amore Creek in Stone County in April, my hus-
band and I came across an unusual sight. This
harmless king snake was warming itself on the
sunny side of a shagbark hickory! Mr. Snake
didn’t mind our taking his picture, so here you
can see him, as well as the bark
design at the base of the tree.
On this shagbark hickory, the
base had deep furrows and got
shaggy further up.
The leaflets have smooth,
odd-pinnate, compound
leaves (5-9) which are finely
toothed, pointed, and broadly
lance-shaped. These leaflets
are about 3-5 inches long. The
tree flowers in April-May: the
male flowers are pendulous
catkins (think droopy cat tails), and the female
ones are short spikes. The nuts emerge from
the female flowers. Each nut is encased in a
green husk during summer, which splits open
into four sections in the fall, releasing the nut,
which has a distinctly pointed tip. These nuts
are edible and are eaten by wildlife, and they
used to provide food for Native Americans. and
the early settlers. The nuts are still sold commer-
cially. (The Missouri Botanical Gardening web-
site provided the view of nuts and leaves).
Shagbark hickory trees are difficult to trans-
plant because of their long taproots, but they
can be purchased from nurseries for about $13
for a 2-3 foot tree. They are easy to maintain,
once you get them established: they do not re-
quire a lot of additional water.
Here is what the shagbark hickory can look
like in the fall!
The Maumelle Tree Board
has several projects a year re-
lated to the care and planting
of trees in public places in our
town. If you would like to be
part of our activities, we invite
young people and adults to call
us and we will give you a role
in our projects. We especially
hope you might like to attend
our pruning, planting, or tree
identification workshops or
celebrate by planting trees with
us on Arbor Day in November.
Excellent for teachers and scouts who want to
work on tree badges! Call 501-554-2200 and
talk with Dina Nash. At the moment, we need
homes for some chestnut and persimmon trees,
so give us a call! We meet the second Monday
night, 7-8 PM. MM
In the upper-right, you’ll find a square of squares, like the one in Outlook. Click on it. Then choose Google Drive.
Not only do you have 15 GB of free cloud storage available… you also have online access to a full office suite with a word processor, pre-sentation software and a spreadsheet. There’s nothing stopping you from having both a One-Drive and a Google Drive account. That’s 30 GB of free storage space. You can back up a lot of photos and documents there, even music.
Think about it, even though your stuff may be backed up on an external drive or flash drive, if disaster strikes like a fire or tornado, you’re backup drive will likely be in the same place as your original drive. Now I’m all for physical backups, too. But cloud backup is just
an extra safeguard. MM
T roy Pousardien owns and operates Green Dragon Technology in
NLR. Working on computers since 1990 and holding a B.S. in Information Technology, Troy is ready to take on your computer challenges. Got a tech question, email Troy at [email protected].
By Troy Pousardien
There’s a good chance you may
already have a cloud storage
account that you aren’t even
using. If you have an Outlook.com, Hotmail, LiveMail or MSN.com e-mail ad-dress, you are already the proud owner of a Microsoft OneDrive Account. If you have
a Gmail address, you already have Google Drive storage just waiting for you to use.
Let’s check it out. If you have a Microsoft e-mail address, I want you to go to www.
outlook.com. and log into your account.
Even if you don’t have an account, you can
quickly sign up for one by clicking Sign up
now. Then fill in some basic information to
create your free account.
Click the little square of squares at the
top left of your e-mail inbox.
You’ll see icons for free Microsoft Office programs to use online as well as a blue icon with a cloud in it for your OneDrive. Click on it.
Need a Cloud Storage Account? You May Already Have One!
With your Outlook.com e-mail address (or HotMail, LiveMail or MSN account) you get 15 free GB of online storage space in One-Drive. If you have a subscription to Office 365, you get 1 TB.
The same holds true for those of you with a Gmail address. Even if you don’t regularly use Gmail, you might still have a Google ac-count to use in the Google Play store for your Android phone or tab-let. Go to www.gmail.com and log into your Google account. Just
as with Outlook, if you don’t have an account, you can create a
free one in a minute or so.
Shagbark Hickory Tree
Tree Tips from the Maumelle Tree Board
By Dina Nash
D ina Nash is President of the Maumelle
Tree Board. She is an environmental
advocate, an avid hiker, and a retired sociology
teacher, living in Maumelle. She and her husband
Jeff teach courses at Lifequest. Her email is DinaC-
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Commonwealth
By Ann Patchett
By Pam Rudkin
Modern families often
have very compli-
cated family trees. I
recently helped my daugh-
ter create a simple outline and key for her
family tree. This turned out to be so com-
plex that my head was spinning. She had
to factor in divorces, remarriages, step-
children, adopted children, step-great-
grandparents, half-siblings, step-cous-
ins…needless to say, I was fairly frazzled
by the time we had it sorted out. And we
had only graphed out three generations!
Commonwealth is the story of one
such family as seen through the eyes of
Franny, beginning with her christening
and ending with her full acceptance of
the fate her family tree had suffered and
grown into.
Franny’s stepfather Bert makes his
appearance in the story as an uninvited
guest to that same christening. That’s
where he first meets Franny (“the most
beautiful baby he’d ever seen”), first sees
Franny’s mother, Beverly, and first initi-
ates his affair with (and subsequent mar-
riage to) Beverly.
Franny and her siblings blend with
Bert’s children, and the history of their
lives, the tragedies of the divorces, and
the instability of subsequent marriages
are charted throughout the book as each
child’s scars surface in their adolescent
and adult lives. The oldest boy tragically
dies because of his self-imposed sense of
responsibility to keep all the children to-
gether the way only a kid could contrive
is a safe and responsible plan. His death
profoundly shadows all of the characters’
lives.
Nothing prepared the kids, however,
to learn that Franny had given their life
story away to her boyfriend, who was a
struggling author. He wrote a best-sell-
ing novel based on all their tragedies, as
Franny had confided in him. She didn’t
realize that he would sell her history—
her story--but he convinced her it was all
fictional, that no one could claim other-
wise.
Franny’s naiveté cost her dearly, but
she plunged forward and found love
and family in an unexpected way when
she was older and wiser. The story con-
cludes with Franny making peace with
and loving all those who had caused her
so much sadness.
Commonwealth is a great book club
choice, and it is available in multiple for-
mats to read free with your library card
through the Central Arkansas Library
System.
Happy reading! MM
P am Rudkin is the librarian for the Maumelle Library, a branch of the
Central Arkansas Library System. She is a graduate of Texas Woman’s
University, where she earned her Master of Library Science degree. Rudkin
grew up in Harrison, Arkansas and continued her education at the University of
Central Arkansas where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Pam is married and is the mother of three children. Her interests include
reading and music composition.
Volume 11, Issue 5 • March/April 2017
Mary NashPowerful.
Tender.Brillant.
Maumelle Magazine is Hiring!
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE POSITIONS AVAILABLE
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MAGAZINE
MauMag.com
Volume 9 • Issue 1, July - August 2014
An Exclusive Interview with Mary Steenburgen
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