Warren Library Has Five Books by Local Author Sarah Daniell

Warren Branch Library is excited to announce that we now have five Young Adult Paperback books by local author, Sara Daniell, "An Unfortunate Journey", Anything Goes On A Friday NIght", "A Life Unexpected"-Holly Nather Book One, "Cohen's Tale"-Holly Nather Book Two,& “Daughter of a Monarch”-Holly Nather Book Three. She personally brought the books to us a couple of weeks ago and she will also be scheduling a teen writers workshop and book club to those that are interested! We are very excited and as soon as we have more details we will let you know!!

Bio:
Sara Daniell’s story started in the quiet little town of Cedarburg, Wisconsin until her dad’s job transferred him to Arkansas. She thought life would officially be over with that move, but to her surprise, Arkansas is where she found love, married her best friend and had her two amazing daughters.

For years, Sara was a closet writer. Something most knew nothing about. It wasn’t until her best friend and husband told her she needed to pursue what made her happy and to hide that for no one. So, with a deep breath and a beat up laptop, she did it.

Sara has made many close friends in the writing business and says it feels like a family more than anything else. She says she feels more confident in herself for pursuing what she loves and not letting the limited perceptions of others’ define who she is. She’s a go getter, a dream chaser, and if that makes her crazy, that’s fine with her.

Water Relay Teaches Y Day Campers

The Donald W. Reynolds YMCA Summer Day Campers participated in a Water Relay activity Monday, July 26th.  During the Water Relay, the students were to blow through a straw pushing a drop of water across a piece of wax paper.  The game teaches the students teamwork, sportsmanship, patience, and hand/eye coordination.  The summer is winding down but there is still time to get signed up for the AfterSchool program! Don’t let your child miss out on all the fun activities at the YMCA!

Day Campers Tour Veterans' Museum

The Donald W. Reynolds YMCA Day Camp students visited the Warren Veterans Museum Monday, July 26th.  While there, the students were able to tour the museum. They looked at pictures of the veterans and old war equipment and learned about their history.  We would like to say a special “Thank You” to Mr. McCaskill for giving our Day Campers the opportunity to visit the museum.

Alivia and Arielle Are Getting Read Up Before Kindergarten

The Warren Branch Library says, "Congratulations to Alivia & Arielle Napier on reaching 300 books in our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Program!! Keep up the hard work!!"

Coast Guard Turns 226

Southeast Arkansas Political Animals Meet

Left to Right:  Rex Nelson and Dr. John Davis

A large gathering meet Wednesday July, 20th at Western Sizzling in Monticello for the latest episode of Southeast Arkansas Political Animals.  The speaker for the day was Rex Nelson who is Sr. vice president and director of corporate communications at Simmons First National Corp.  Mr. Nelson is a former news reporter, assistant to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a former head of the Delta Regional Authority and served as executive director of the private colleges of Arkansas.  He is the voice of the OBU Tigers football team and travels to Monticello yearly to act as Master of Ceremonies for the Weevil Sports Hall of Fame.  Mr. Nelson is a native of Arkadelphia  and is considered well versed in Arkansas politics.  He currently serves as chairman of the Little Rock Political Animals Club.

Mr. Nelson knew many of those in attendance personally and spent time visiting with everyone present before and after the program.  Mr. Nelson was introduced by Dr. John Davis professor of political science and director of governmental relations for UAM.

Rex talked about the revolutionary tilt in Arkansas politics since 2010 and the population shifts since the 1950's.  He specifically discussed the impact on southeast Arkansas.  He was asked what created the change politically and responded that while it had been a shift in progress for some time, that the election of President Obama seems to have accelerated the change.

Multiple Grammy-winner Amy Grant to perform at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium

El Dorado – Main Street El Dorado will present six-time Grammy Award winner Amy Grant LIVE  Monday, September 19th at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium (100 W 8th). The concert begins at 7:00 pm with doors opening at 6:00.

Amy Grant has built a long, successful career on music that matters. Ever since she burst on the scene as a fresh-faced teenager bringing contemporary Christian music to the forefront of American culture, the Nashville native gained a reputation for creating potent songs that examined life’s complexities with an open heart and keen eye. She became the first artist in Christian music to have a platinum record and went on to become a crossover sensation, her musical gifts transcending genre boundaries to make her a household name.

Lakeport Legacies to Feature “Revising the Mississippi Capitol”

The Mississippi State Capitol was constructed between 

1900 and 1903. Jennifer Baughn and  Brenda Davis will 

address claims that George Mann, the original architect for 

the Arkansas State Capitol, designed Mississippi's 

Capitol dome.

JONESBORO — Jennifer Baughn and Brenda Davis of the Mississippi Department of Archives & History (MDAH) will present “Revising the Mississippi Capitol” in the next installment of Lakeport Legacies, Thursday, July 28, at 6 p.m.

The monthly history talk will take place in the dining room of the Lakeport Plantation, 601 Highway 142, in Lake Village. Refreshments and conversation are at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Baughn, the chief architectural historian for MDAH, and Davis, curator of the State Capitol, will discuss recent findings that are forcing a reassessment of long-held “facts” about some of the building’s most prominent architectural features.

The pair worked together on a revised architectural tour guide for the State Capitol. It was during research for that piece that they first noticed inconsistencies in previous interpretations of the building’s history.

“Our presentation will answer questions like ‘is the stained glass made by Louis Comfort Tiffany’ and ‘why does the eagle face south?'” said Baughn. “And, are there really tunnels under the Capitol?” added Davis. Baughn and Davis will also address claims that George Mann, the original architect for the Arkansas State Capitol, designed Mississippi’s Capitol dome.

The Mississippi State Capitol is undergoing a two-year, $7.4 million repair and restoration project that will leave the 112-year-old structure in its best shape in decades. Priorities are to address longtime water leaks, replace materials damaged by water and weather, and clean the exterior.

The copper eagle atop the main dome has been gilded in gold leaf onsite, and 75 exterior stained glass windows have been removed, cleaned and repaired.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Dr. Blake Wintory, assistant director and facilities manager of Lakeport Plantation, at (870) 265-6031 or by email at bwintory@astate.edu.

Lakeport Legacies is a monthly history talk held on one of the last Thursdays at the Lakeport Plantation during the spring and summer months. Each month a topic from the Delta region is featured. The event is free and open to the public.

The Lakeport Plantation is an Arkansas State University Heritage Site. Constructed circa 1859, Lakeport is one of Arkansas's premier historic structures and still retains many of its original finishes and architectural details. Open to the public since 2007, Lakeport researches and interprets the people and cultures that shaped plantation life in the Mississippi River Delta, focusing on the Antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction periods.

Arkansas Heritage Sites at Arkansas State University develops and operates historic properties of regional and national significance in the Arkansas Delta. A-State's Heritage Sites include the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Lakeport Plantation, the Historic Dyess Colony: Boyhood Home of Johnny Cash and Arkansas State University Museum.

That's SMARTS!

Think about this number: 12,661. That’s how many children and teenagers in seven area counties had the opportunity to see live arts performances during this past school year thanks to the efforts of the Southeast Arkansas Concert Association’s SMARTS (Schools Majoring in the Arts) program. For a significant number of those 12,000-plus students, the presentations may have been their first or only opportunity to see live musicians, dancers and actors.

SMARTS reached kids in every school district as well as a number of preschool and homeschool students in Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Desha, Drew and Lincoln counties. The youngest students had a chance to see performances of Rumpelstiltskin featuring puppets and wooden marionettes, while second-graders got to travel to the Arkansas Arts Center to see Peter Pan and the Arkansas Festival Ballet. All area third-graders, plus some other groups, had the opportunity to see the Seark Concert-staged community musical The Wizard of Oz. That show also featured a number of area children as performers. Fourth, fifth and sixth-graders were visited by the UAM Jazz Band Combo I and junior and senior high school students got shows from the full UAM Jazz Band.
“One of the things that we really wanted to focus on was providing opportunities for children to see art - music being played, dancers dancing and actors bringing stories and songs to life,” said outgoing Seark Concert Association President Susan Akin. “Through the generosity of our many sponsors and volunteers, and the cooperation of our local school districts and their dedicated personnel, we were able to do just that. We are grateful to everyone for their support, because we truly believe that early exposure to the arts may spark a passion to study music, dance or acting in some students and will help create an appreciation for those things in all students.”

Tammy Healey, principal of Central Elementary in Dumas, said that she initially feared her technology-savvy students might be uninterested in the Rumpelstiltskin puppet show - which didn’t feature any touchscreens or other digital features - but was thrilled to find that wasn’t the case. “They were totally engrossed in the performance and the puppeteer had them eating out of his hand,” she recalled. “I know for a fact that most of them had not seen a live performance like this and, as I tell parents all the time, experiences are the best thing to give your child. We can give them the academics, but they need experiences to pull from to write and think.”

More arts programming in area schools is just one aspect of Seark’s growth in recent years. The organization, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, has had tremendous success with recent spring musicals featuring local adult and youth performers. Starting with Seussical in 2014, and moving on to Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz, Seark has been able to provide a performance opportunity for dozens of young persons just beginning to explore the arts.

Wizard of Oz - Munchkins Anna Claire Hollis, Lauren Cassels and Luke Scott, from left, perform in the recent Seark Concert Association production of The Wizard of Oz. More than 2,500 students from all over Southeast Arkansas got to see a performance of this musical as part of the concert association’s SMARTS (Schools Majoring in the Arts) program.

Beauty and the Beast - Mark McGraw was featured as Gaston in the Seark Concert Association’s 2015 production of Beauty and the Beast. The annual spring musical is just one of a number of ways area students are exposed to live music, theater and dance performances through Seark’s SMARTS (Schools Majoring in the Arts) program.

Puppets - The Seark Concert Association’s SMARTS (Schools Majoring in the Arts) program ensures that students in preschool through 12 grades have an opportunity to see live arts performances during the school year. Here, puppeteer Bob Walls, right, brings a show featuring marionettes to area elementary school children.

Those Methodists

Guest Article by Glenetta Rivers Burks

Strange things are happening in the Methodist Church here in Warren,  No one has quite decided what’s going on, but there surely is a difference from what it was a few years ago.  Methodists have always said they welcome everyone; and from what is happening, the welcome mat is out!

First, it seems that almost every week, someone is being baptized or is joining the church.
Maybe people like Bro Gary, the pastor, maybe they like the music (which is great), or just maybe they sense a new spirit seeping throughout the church.  Not long ago, seven young people were recognized on Confirmation Sunday.  Several joined the church; some were baptized.  Maybe that got the ball rolling!  Since then almost every Sunday, the Baptism or church membership ritual is used.  Isn’t that great?

Now here comes the strange part!  Everyone knows that Methodists welcome everyone.
For instance, during Holy Communion, the communion table is open to everyone, not just
Methodists.  Evidently, some creatures of the wild have decided to investigate!  Some months
ago, when the basement flooded from the rains, an armadillo was found floating in the basement.
Had he come to investigate the “goings-on”?

Not long after the armadillo incident, several people began to notice that the carpet
in the sanctuary near the door was showing signs of something gnawing on it.  After much
thought and inspection, the culprit was found to be a raccoon that had invaded the sanctuary.
Evidently he was quiet and respectful during service because no one ever saw him.  Maybe the music reached his heart and soothed his soul.  Evidently, when preaching and singing ended and the sanctuary was dark, a faint light would show under the doors, so the raccoon would go to the light and gnaw the carpet trying to get out.  After several weeks of trying to catch the varmint (Now he was welcome to come to church, but he couldn’t be allowed to ruin the place!), Scott Richardson decided that he had a solution.  He brought Jake, his old hound dog, to the sanctuary (Jake didn’t come on his own, now!).  Sure enough, it wasn’t long until Jake found the ‘coon hiding in a closet in the back alcove of the church.

This may not be exactly what happened, but it’s pretty close!  Scott opened the closet
door and outside doors and turned Jake loose!  It seems that Old Jake and that raccoon had a round.   Reportedly, the neighbors nearby heard all the commotion and couldn’t believe all the shouting and so forth that was coming from the Methodist church—not like\Methodists at all!   Soon, Jake made it clear to the raccoon that he was not welcome to take up residence in the church; and now, thanks to Jake and Scott, that ‘coon is long gone!

But now, that’s not the end of the events!  The Educational Building has had to be
closed for over three weeks because fleas have moved in!  No one really knows how they
started!  Some blame the old raccoon who probably did investigate the whole church, but
who knows!  Fleas have never been given credit for their intellect (or religious curiosity), but they invaded the place by thousands!  About a week ago, the exterminators went into the building to “dose” the fleas again; and guess what they found!  Two more raccoons were in one of the Sunday School rooms and had investigated all the literature and materials in the room!  Supposedly, the servicemen caught them and turned them loose in the parking lot!  One can just imagine that they took home to their family (if they left the church) a good case of the fleas with whom they had associated!

These are just a few of the latest happenings in the Methodist Church.  Gnawed carpet, fleas, whatever, everyone is always welcome!  Some Sunday when you’re not busy, you might want to drop in for Sunday School at 9:30 and music and preaching at 10:30 to find out just what is going on in the First United Methodist Church in Warren!

--Glenetta Rivers Burks, June 2016

Academy Award winner Kevin Costner & Modern West to perform at El Dorado Municipal Auditorium

El Dorado – Main Street El Dorado will present Kevin Costner & Modern West live and in
concert Friday, July 22nd at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium (100 W 8th). The concert begins
at 7:30 pm with doors opening at 6:30. There will be no opening act.

Kevin Costner is an American actor, film director &producer. He has won two Academy Awards (Best Director & Best Actor for 1991’s Dances with Wolves) whereas the
film itself won seven. Aside from Dances with Wolves, Costner’s other notable roles include Eliot Ness in The Untouchables, Crash Davis in Bull Durham, Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams, Lt. John Dunbar in Dances with Wolves, Jim Garrison in JFK, Frank Farmer in The Bodyguard,
Robin Hood in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Roy McAvoy in Tin Cup and many, many more. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for his role as Devil Anse Hatfield in the History Channels epic miniseries, Hatfields & McCoys.

Aside from his brilliant film career, Costner is also a musician, singer and songwriter. Kevin Costner & Modern West was formed in 2007 with the encouragement of his wife Christine. Since 2008, the band has released four studio-albums, seven singles, and three music videos and has toured worldwide including performances in Istanbul and Rome.

Tickets are reserved-seating and go on-sale to the public Tuesday, June 7th at 10 AM and will be
available at www.mainstreeteldorado.org or by calling the office of Main Street El Dorado at
(870) 862-4747. Ticket prices are $40 (Orchestra), $35 (Parquet & Balcony).