State Crime Laboratory has identified the body found near Thida in Independence County as 25-year-old James Franklin Conway.

The cause of death has not been determined pending the results of toxicology tests. Franklin’s body was found in a wooded area Saturday by a man and his wife out for a Saturday morning four-wheeler ride about 25 miles south of Batesville.

Orlando, Fla.—Volunteerism and making his community “a better place to live” are what drive Scott Wood, who was named the 2009 Time Magazine Dealer of the Year during the opening session of NADA’s annual convention Saturday. Wood, of Stanley Wood Chevrolet /Pontiac Co. and Scott Wood Chevrolet/Dodge/Jeep in Batesville, Ark., told attendees that his love for his community and a passion to make improve the local economy have always motivated him to give back.

Wood started in automobile retailing “with a broom, a shovel and a wheelbarrow,” as a lackey in the dealership—or what would be known today as a “permanent lot orderly”—and progressed through the dealership ranks. “I swept up,” he said. “And that’s how it started.”

Wood said the honor is more than he could have ever expected: “We need more positives in our industry, and for me, this is going to be a highlight. This is far and away the highest award I thought I would ever garner.”

(Above) Scott and Myra Wood, Time Dealer of the year

On Sunday, January 10 at 2 p.m., Joe Biard, former mayor of Batesville, will tell about his parents’ businesses and their past as he remembers it. He will focus on their Batesville Fur Company, which at one time was the largest fur market in Arkansas.

In the 1950s Ernest Biards’ fur company brought in over $250,000 annually, and most times dealt with New York fur buyers. The company not only carried mink and fox and other fine furs, but also marketed skunk tails. A seasonal business, it operated from November through March. Biard will include some of his own story as he tells how he learned to grade fur and take care of the office as a young man.

Ernest and Erma Marshall Biard also owned several other businesses. One was Batesville Shell and Pearl, which bought mussel shells and made button blanks for shipment to Iowa where they made the buttons. At one time Biard owned one-half interest in a Black River pearl believed to be the largest in the world and it was featured on the “To Tell the Truth” television show.

The Biard family established Red River Marine Sales in Heber Springs where they sold larger boats and outboard marine engines. And they also owned Hi-Way Lumber Company, along with Batesville Woodworks.

Audience members may be stimulated to remember their own families’ history as it related to a bygone era.

Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.  Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children.  The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.

Old Independence is a regional museum serving a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff.  Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820’s Arkansas territory.

Imagine a whole museum coming to life on Friday, January 8, 2010.  “A  Winter Night at the Museum” will take place between 6 and 8 that evening.  The event is co-sponsored by Old Independence Regional Museum and the Batesville Area Arts Council. Tickets to this event could make good stocking stuffers.
Inspired by the Night at the Museum films, the event will feature a fun evening in which historical characters come to life and interact among themselves and with guests.  Twenty local folks, some prominently known, will portray characters in 10 exhibits.
Imagine Shawnee Town animated with a trader and an Indian making a fur trade, or a 1930s Depression era woman enacting those hard times. A Confederate soldier, with a number of weapons will bring his world to life. Watch a 1920s farmer busy planting and making conversation with a lady from the 1860s. A fisherman-net maker and his wife at her 1940s kitchen stove will reveal their lives.
Then a whole family rides in a wagon to town to shop, while a 1900s woman makes lard and tells of hog killing and picking cotton, alongside a hunter telling his tales while a woman spins.
A 1904 couple rides in a carriage, while their driver takes them on a ride down Main Street in Batesville.  Guests will be surprised by the man who portrays a 1930s gas station attendant.  And then there is Mrs. Olson from Little House on the Prairie selling wonderful gifts in the museum shop.
Along with watching and interacting with the “live” exhibits, guests will be invited to eat hors d’oeuvres during the evening. They may also watch Patty Carreras perform in “mime”. She has been performing as Charlie Chaplin for over 30 years and has been seen by thousands of children in numerous states, including New York and London.  From the museum mezzanine, musical groups will perform throughout the evening.
In the museum library, guests will look at several pieces of art that the BAAC is providing, most of which will be available for purchase. And for those who want to add a bit of theater to themselves, two face painters will be on duty there.
In another room hand puppeteers will lead guests to create shadow animal puppets on the wall.
Exciting highlights of the evening will be four door prize drawings, one every half hour. A 32 inch flat panel LCD television has been donated by First Community Bank; A Nintendo Wii is furnished by First Southern Bank and Merchants and Planters Bank. A gift certificate for a Gusto spiral sliced ham has been donated by Meacham’s Packing Company, and a $100 gift certificate has been given by Batesville Furniture.
Tickets are now on sale at the museum and at BAAC Art Gallery on Main Street. Prices range from $10 for members or contributors to $12 for non-members. Children 5 -12 are $6 and those under age 4 are free.   Call 870-793-2121 for more information.

What does a young man who has left his roots on the family farm to pursue a high life in a city do when he returns home from Christmas only to find himself reliving the same day over again? Come, enjoy a FREE Christmas play at Believer’s Community Church located at 3645 N St. Louis Street in Pfeiffer (north of the Northside Fire Dept.) Thursday, Friday, & Saturday – Dec. 10 – 12 @ 7:00 pm FREE nursery care provided! For more information, call 870-793-8365.

Title: Beginning Steps in Batesville
Description: Beginning Steps Conference will be held Friday, December 4th at the Josephine Raye Rogers Center/WRMC in Batesville in Conference Room A from 1 – 2pm. This program is promoted by the Batesville School District its purpose if to offer educational and emotional support for parents of newborns, informal meetings will include discussions of all newborn baby basics, attendees will receive a Free baby gift and all parents and their newborns up to age 6 weeks are Welcome. For more information please call 870-793-0627.
Date: 2009-12-04

(Above) KFFB on Location at Factory Return Outlet

(Above) Its a family affair

(Above) David answers questions

(Above) More folks looking for the great deals

(Above) Everyone loves to sign up for prizes

Great deals for everyone

(Above) Folks sign up for prizes and shop for deals

(Above) Balloons are a hit

(Above) Couples enjoy the deals

(Above) David showing folks the deals

(Above) Even babies are at party

(Above) Folks Come from near and far

(Above) Folks load up the great deals

(Above) Fred, Seth and Rich

(Above) Free Not Pads

(Above) Fun for all

(Above) Is that the real price

(Above) More deals

(Above) More Folks

(Above) More fun for all

(Above) More selection

(Above) More sign up for prize

(Above) Petit Jean Hot Dog and a Pepsi Please

(Above) Pop Corn is the kids favorite

(Above) Seth handing out Balloons

Title: 28th Annual Arts and Crafts Show & Sale in Batesville
Description: The 28th Annual Holiday Season Arts & Crafts Show will be held on December 5th from 8:30am to 5:00pm and December 6th from 10:00am to 3:00pm. The event will be held at the West Plains Civic Center. For more information, call 417-256-1587.
Start Date: 2009-12-05
End Date: 2009-12-06

Old Independence Regional Museum will host its 3rd Annual Old Fashioned Family Christmas Party on Saturday, December 12th, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  Admission is free for this event, but donations are always appreciated.  This is the final installment of the museum’s popular Family Day series for 2009.

“We envision an old fashioned Christmas as one where families come together to enjoy the stories, sights, and sounds of the season.  What would Christmas be without cookies and homemade ornaments and Christmas cards and mistletoe?  We look forward to sharing some of the Christmas traditions of the past with visitors of all ages and hope that generations of families will come out and share some old and make some new Christmas memories,” stated Amanda Nikkel, Volunteer Coordinator.

The morning will begin at 10 a.m. with a reading of some traditional Christmas stories in the Shawneetown exhibit room by one of the museum’s volunteers.  For $1.00 per person, visitors can participate in a “dessert walk” in the Barnes/Simmons Gallery at 10 a.m. and again at noon.  The winners will be able to choose from a collection of delicious, homemade desserts.

At 10:30 and again at 11:30 The Cobb Brothers will play in the Honkonen Program Center.   This group consists of Caleb Cobb, 15, on the fiddle, Samuel Cobb, 13, on the mandolin, and Nathan Cobb, 11, on the bass.  The Cobb Brothers play regularly at the Ozark Folk Center, Cash’s White River Hoedown, Silver Dollar City, and many other blue grass venues around the state.  In addition to many musical accomplishments, The Cobb Brothers are also state and national clogging champions.  These talented young men will be joined later in the their performance by Mountain View friends, accompanied by Joe Jewell on the guitar, for square dancing, jig dancing, waltzing, and two stepping.

Mark Rorie will be on hand at 10 a.m. to autograph copies of his new book The Polk Bayou Kids and The Secrets of the White River Monster .  Visitors are invited to enter a drawing to win autographed copies of the book.

Beginning at 11 and continuing until 1:15, visitors are invited to move through the museum to several stations where museum staff and volunteers will assist with decorating Christmas cookies, Christmas card making, and making angel and reindeer ornaments.  Visitors will also learn about the traditional “kissing ball” made with mistletoe and be able to make a small mistletoe bough to take with them and hang in their homes.

To close out the day, at 1:15 p.m. members from Batesville’s Chorale Society will give a performance of Christmas songs and lead a sing-along with visitors.

The museum gift shop will be open during the event. “Santa’s Helpers” will be on hand to assist children in gift selection for parents, grandparents, and siblings.  Free gift wrapping will accompany gift purchases.  The gift shop carries books and toys, as well as a variety of educational, local and handcrafted items many of which are priced for small pockets.

Normal museum hours are: Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays.  Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children.  The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.

Old Independence is a regional museum serving a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff.  Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820’s Arkansas territory.

3,000 Shoppers Descend on Batesville

The first annual Autumn Antique and Crafts Festival demonstrated clearly that what was not long ago referred to as the “burgeoning antique district” is now a full-fledged attraction.  Approximately 3,000 shoppers visited shops in downtown, around Batesville, and in the county during the three day event, Thursday through Saturday.   Main Street Batesville executive director Paula Grimes proclaimed the festival “a major success and a major learning experience.  We discovered a lot about improving the festival as we move forward.”  Grimes also noted that the weather played a big part in keeping attendance from being even higher. “Thursday’s cold, heavy rain really kept folks at home,” she lamented.

Friday brought a little relief from the rain and allowed Aunt Minnie and the band from Cash’s White River Hoedown in Mountain View to perform in the increasingly busy Pocket Park.  Free burgers and hot dogs provided by Citizens Bank combined with the entertainment to attract a large crowd to the park.

The David Grimes All Star Band performed to a full house Friday evening at the Simply Southern Music Hall.

Shopping was heaviest Friday afternoon, before the clouds set in, and all day Saturday.  All nine of the downtown antique and collectible dealers experienced large crowds and strong sales.  Local non-profits like the United Way and several churches also benefitted from the sale of beverages and food items

Organizer Bob Pest sees a bright future for the festival. “We have a small notebook full of ideas and suggestions for improving the festival next year.  We plan to meet with all the antique and collectible store owners very soon to look at how we get better.  We are looking at developing a broader regional identity by involving other communities. We also want to thank the City of Batesville for their work preparing the pocket park and showing Main Street at its best.”

The first annual Autumn Antique and Crafts Festival was sponsored by First Community Bank, Citizens Bank, the Future Fuel Chemical Company, and the Ozark Gateway Tourist Association.