Horse of the Year Havre de Grace Targeting Oaklawn Return
 
Oaklawn stands to once again provide the stage for superstar champions with the Wednesday announcement that Fox Hill Farm’s 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace will return to Hot Springs for the $150,000 Azeri Stakes (G3)...more March 17.
 
Trained by Larry Jones, Havre de Grace started her campaign last year with a win in the same race and also conquered the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn. She went on to wins in Delaware and New York including a victory over males in the Woodward Stakes (G1) at Saratoga last September. She finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in her most recent start in November and was named Horse of the Year in January.
 
Owner Rick Porter announced on Fox Hill Farm’s website that the 5-year-old Saint Liam mare would target a return to the Azeri and that reigning two-time Eclipse champion jockey Ramon Dominguez would be aboard. It is an embarrassment of riches for

Brandon D. Campbell, Little Rock Fashion Week's founder and executive producer, will co-produce the fashion show at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Conway 2012 Bridal Show on Sunday February 26, 2012 at the Conway Expo Center and Fairgrounds, located at 2505 Oak St. in Conway, Ark. The bridal...more show is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The fashion show is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The fashion event will star the high fashion runway models, of all ages and sizes, from Campbell's Oneofakind Talent Inc. modeling agency and past Little Rock Fashion Week presentations. They'll wear clothes from Belk, David's Bridal, Dillard's, Men's Wearhouse, and Reba's Formal Wear.
This will be the second ADG bridal fashion show that Campbell is involved in, featuring OTI and LRFW models, in a month. On January 15th, the ADG Bridal Fashion Show in Little Rock featured models from OTI and LRFW. Campbell served as co-producer and model booker.
Tickets for the Conway 2012 Bridal Show are $5 at the door. The

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Ark. (KTHV) --  A Hot Springs Village police officer resigns, leaving behind a scathing "Letter to the Editor" Tuesday about the department. Some of it includes criticism on the handling of the recent Dawna Natzke missing person turned murder case.

Dale Anderson...more is the officer who wrote this letter to the Hot Springs Village Voice.

He declined any interviews for the story but by phone told us this story, in the big picture, is not about him. It's about exposing what he feels is a department led by bullies and now he hopes the community carries on his fight. But the chief says that there's no fight to begin with.

"By having it printed in the papers, that was the first I knew of it," A.L. Cornett said.

It was a surprise in Tuesday's Editorial Page of the Hot Springs Village Voice where the Village's Public Safety Director A.L. Cornet learned one of his officers was resigning from the force. 

"He did not come see

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Senate has approved using $2.6 million from the state's surplus to keep the financially troubled Arkansas Forestry Commission operating and to repay federal money state official say the commission improperly used to prop up its budget.

By a 34-0...more vote Tuesday, senators approved legislation that would tap the state's surplus for the commission's needs.

The commission last year decided to lay off 34 employees after it faced a $4 million shortfall, but the state rehired 15 firefighters after shifting money in the state's budget. State Forester John Shannon resigned this month after an audit criticized his management and said the commission had improperly borrowed more than $6.4 million from federal grants to cover its payroll.

The measure now heads to the House.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

“The Beat Goes On” 5K Run/Walk, sponsored by Saline Memorial Foundation and SMH Heart and Vascular Services, will be 9 a.m. Saturday at Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton.
The 5K is a fundraiser for the Health Foundation Cardiac Assistance Fund, which supports cardiac care in Saline County.
read more

All Saints Anglican Church welcomed new members Don and Lynda Valdez during the Sunday worship service on Feb. 12.
After the service, the altar cross was taken down and the new members were invited to sign it.
In accordance with the church’s tradition, new members are invited to sign their names and list their favorite scripture verse on the back of the altar cross.
read more

The Ole’ Timers HORSE Basketball League will start its spring season tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Jessieville Basketball Arena.
All men over age 50 are invited to join the fun.
The first session will be for practice and to sign up. The season will last 10 weeks and have a banquet at the end. The cost to play is $20 and includes the banquet.
read more

What:        UALR Hosts High School TEAMS Competition
When:    9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21
Where:    Donaghey Student Center Ledbetter Hall

UALR will host 152 high school students representing 10 high schools at 9:30 a.m. today for the TEAMS competition. TEAMS – Tests of...more Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science – competitions are organized by the Junior Engineering Technical Society as part of National Engineers Week. UALR is the only Arkansas site for this national competition.

The event is designed to teach team development skills through students’ participation as a group in an engineering problem competition. Competition problems cover mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, visual interpretation, computer applications, and reading analysis and interpretation.

TEAMS presents the multidisciplinary aspects of engineering work by illustrating how the math and science concepts students are learning work together and are applied to solve

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (Feb. 20, 2012) – Magic Springs Water and Theme Park made a major announcement before thousands of concert-goers at Sunday night’s Winter Jam, Christian music’s largest annual tour, held at the Verizon Arena.  Park representatives told the crowd Magic Springs will expand its...more Christian entertainment offerings in the 2012 season with a new special event, “Celebrate The Word,” a multi-weekend festival spread through the Summer.

“Our Christian music weekends are very popular. We want to build upon that to bring our families more of the entertainment they desire, in the kind of environment they want,” said Steve Honeycutt, the park’s General Manager.

“Celebrate The Word” kicks off Saturday, June 9th with the award-winning, multi-platinum-selling band Third Day. Then, on Sunday, June 10, Kevin Downes, co-star of the 2011 Sherwood Pictures film "Courageous", and producer of the 2010 film "Like Dandelion Dust" will deliver an inspirational message,

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (Feb. 20) -- Winning assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes, Castaway - "Everyone said we drew bad when we got the 11, but I wasn't that bothered by it. You put them in from the rail out, so they're not in the gate that long. Rafael (Bejarano) did a good job getting him out of the...more gate and getting over to the rail. I knew we brought two good horses and this one had been getting over the track great all week."

Winning jockey, Rafael Bejarano - "I thought he won pretty easy. I was right where I wanted to be, especially at the end."

Second-place trainer, Allen Milligan Jake Mo - "We had sort of a bad trip, got shuffled to the back. Cliff did everything we could ask him to do. We will see him in the Rebel."

Second-place jockey, Cliff Berry, Jake Mo - "He went great. Every time I wanted to put him somewhere, he went right in there. He ran game. I was really pleased with the effort. He ran better today than in the Smarty Jones."

HOT SPRINGS, AR (Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012) – Whenever Sanders and Hirsch’s Gleaming runs at Oaklawn this year, there seems to be travel complications for her regular jockey Cliff Berry. She needed a replacement rider when she won the American Beauty Stakes last month, but Berry had less trouble...more making it to Hot Springs Sunday, and the two travelled beautifully together in taking the $60,000 Spring Fever.
Trained by Bret Calhoun, Gleaming stalked the pace of the 5 ½-furlong contest before unleashing another powerful stretch kick to cruise past front-running entry mates Bent Missile and Awesome Symmetry and score by a length in 1:04.96 over a fast track and paying $3.60 as the 4-5 favorite.
The coupled entry mates in the place and show spots paid $5.40 and $5.20. Hearts on Fire finished fourth.
Gleaming, a 5-year-old Dehere mare, fell farther behind in the American Beauty on Jan. 22 under jockey Lindey Wade. He had picked up the mount when Berry had been fog-bound in

WHAT:          Oaklawn Park will make racing history today when it runs two divisions of the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes. Each race will have the original $250,000 purse and the graded status, allowing for twice as many horses to receive graded earnings, a determining factor in making the...more Kentucky Derby field. The last time a significant Kentucky Derby prep was split was the 1993 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, but neither division carried the full original purse.
WHEN:          4:41 p.m. – 8th  Race, Division 1 of the Southwest Stakes
5:15 p.m. – 9th  Race, Division 2 of the Southwest Stakes
WHERE:       Oaklawn Park, 2705 Central Avenue, Hot Springs, AR 71901
WHO:             A crowd of more than 25,000 is expected to come watch 21 three-year-olds try to continue down the Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby trail in the Southwest Stakes.

According to Punxsutawney Phil, there are six more weeks of winter, but for much of the country this has been one of the mildest winters on record.  With several bouts of 50 and 60-degree days, people are delighted and Mother Nature is becoming confused. Being able to take afternoon walks in...more winter is a welcome surprise, but an early influx of pesky insects much less so.
Many insects hibernate during the cold winter months, but as this winter has been anything but typical, they may be emerging from their hiding places much earlier than we expect,² noted Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). Several states have even reported tick sightings, which is especially worrisome as people head outdoors to enjoy the weather and are unprepared for tick encounters.
Insects survive harsh winter temperatures using several strategies, such as slowing down their metabolism and respiration. But with the warmer temperatures

Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten Assistance to 8,000 Arkansas Families
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Employees of Entergy Arkansas, Inc. are joining forces with other low-income advocates in Washington, DC, to urge Congress to find $5.1 billion for America's front-line energy assistance program. The...more Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps low-income citizens pay utility bills for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.
According to a new study from Indiana University, tough economic times have driven millions of Americans into poverty in recent years and those numbers will increase even as the economy rebounds. The US Census Bureau ranks Arkansas as having the third-highest poverty rate in the nation with 18.8 percent of Arkansans living at or below the poverty level. Meanwhile, LIHEAP funding has been reduced by nearly 40 percent over the last two years.
“If LIHEAP funding is cut as proposed, it will mean 8,000 fewer families will be served in Arkansas,” said Jay

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (KTHV) - Park Rangers are cracking down on crime in Hot Springs.

It's happening at Hot Springs National Park where officials are now publicizing convictions and guilty pleas to get the word out.

Just this week the park sent out its first notice to the...more media, announcing five people pleading guilty for DUI's Monday in federal court. It's kicking off a more proactive fight against crime, in perhaps an unlikely place.

From the steaming hot springs water below to the grand views from the top, it's Hot Springs National Park.

"It's beautiful and in the center of the town, you don't get to see this very often," Tourist Greg Smith said.

It's a pretty spot to visit for Greg Smith and his wife from Dallas. But it's one not without its share of crime, and not surprising to Smith. 

"Being close to a city, it makes it available for such things like that because it creates some hidden areas, some darkness, brings that