Citizen 102413 Blayne and Landis stories

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERVisit us online: www.lovelycitizen.com
VOLUME 14 NUMBER 47 OCTOBER 24, 2013
A big time
in Africa
Rotary officer
completes
mission trip
Page 4
‘A perfect
match’
WoodSongs,
Eureka made
for each other
Page 8
n Eureka school
funds left alone
Beebe effort to keep
‘surplus’ funds fails
Page 3
n Opera in Ozarks
director retiring
Jim Swiggart has been
at helm for 25 years
Page 5
n Gubernatorial
candidate visits
Asa Hutchinson speaks to
Carroll County GOP
Page 12
Long time coming
Eureka’s best-known fiddler moving on to follow his dreams,
but Mountain Sprout pushing on with new member n Page 22

Lovely County Citizen – October 24, 2013
The Citizen is published weekly
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See Dispatch, page 19
Oct. 14
4:45 a.m. – Caller reported a homeless
man walking up Spring Street. Officer
responded and advised that the subject is
going to leave Eureka Springs.
9:00 a.m. – ADT reported an alarm
going off at the Blarney Stone. Officer
responded, but it was a false alarm.
11:12 a.m. – Caller from Romancing
the Stone reported a shoplifter. Office
responded and to find the employee was
mistaken.
4:23 p.m. – Caller from Spring Street
reported he had some items stolen from
his gallery. Officer responded and took
a report.
Oct. 15
12:45 p.m. - Subject came to depart-
ment to report his storage unit was bro-
ken into and things were stolen.
4:46 p.m. – Dispatch reported Emer-
gency Medical Services needed traffic
control. Officer responded, but was redi-
rected to an alarm.
4:47 p.m. – ADT reported a residential
burglary alarm on Fairmount Street. Of-
ficer responded; all okay, except for the
medical emergency.
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loud noises from Harmon Park. Officer
responded and told subjects at the park
that the park was closed.
Oct. 16
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Officer responded and checked on build-
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with a broken leg and it bit her, the cat
got away and the caller went to the hos-
pital. Officer took report and advised
other officers to be on the lookout for
a suspicious feline, considered to be
armed and dangerous and feigning inju-
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October 24, 2013 – Lovely County Citizen – Page 3
Eureka school funds safe – for now
Attempt by Beebe to keep ‘surplus’ tax revenue thwarted at Special Session
By Kristal Kuykendall
Citizen.Editor.Eureka@gmail.com
EUREKA SPRINGS — Gov. Mike Bee-
be’s attempt to permanently confiscate “sur-
plus” school tax revenue at eight Arkansas
school districts including Eureka Springs
failed during the Legislature’s Special Ses-
sion last weekend.
Eureka Springs School District stood to
lose as much as $1.3 million per year un-
der the proposed legislation, which failed to
muster enough support for passage during
the Special Session that began last Thursday.
State Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest,
and state Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville,
were on the front lines of the fight against
the measure, which died in committee in
both chambers.
“Luckily we were able to join forces
with some Democrats and others who op-
posed this and get it stopped,” King told the
Carroll County News on Monday. “This is
purely ego-driven on Beebe’s part. And we
are going to remain vigilant even during the
next Legislative session that he doesn’t try
this again.”
State lawmakers were asked to consider
whether the state should permanently con-
fiscate all school tax revenue that is above
the minimum required to fund public ed-
ucation for each district’s students. That
school tax revenue is paid in as part of the
Uniform Rate of Taxation by local taxpay-
ers.
Amendment 74, approved by the state’s
voters in 1996, requires that every school
district levy at least 25 mils in property tax
for the maintenance and operation of the
local schools; local taxpayers may elect to
pay more than 25 mils toward the school
district as well. A mill produces $1 for ev-
ery $1,000 worth of assessed property.
State law requires that each district spend
just over $6,000 per student on their educa-
tion. Under the law, local residents’ prop-
erty tax dollars go back to the local school
district to meet that minimum per-student
expenditure, and the law — and courts’
interpretations of the law — at least some-
what addresses what should happen when a
district’s taxpayers don’t pay in enough to
cover all the students in that district.
But some state officials – including Gov.
Mike Beebe and state Education Depart-
ment leaders – have argued that the law is
not clear on what should happen when a dis-
trict’s taxpayers pay in more than is needed
to meet the minimum spending requirement
on the education of all its students.
That’s what occurs annually in Eure-
ka Springs, thanks in part to the district’s
inclusion of the retirement community of
Holiday Island. Fewer students than the
average neighborhood but higher proper-
ty values there mean that Holiday Island
boosts the district’s revenue without adding
demands on its resources.
The school surplus has equaled about
$1.3 million a year lately, and after the
state two years ago attempted to keep the
extra funds and “redistribute” them to fi-
nancially struggling school districts across
the state, Eureka Springs joined a lawsuit
with Fountain Lake School District, which
also enjoys the same “problem” as Eureka.
Late last year, the Arkansas Supreme
Court ruled in favor of the school districts,
stating that under the current law — which
they acknowledged was somewhat ambig-
uous — tax dollars paid in for school fund-
ing belong to the local districts in which the
taxes were paid, and do not belong to the
state for redistribution.
The Supreme Court denied Beebe’s
request for a re-hearing earlier this year.
Some language in the court’s ruling, how-
ever, suggests that the Legislature could
potentially alter the current law and allow
the state to keep the excess funds.
And that’s exactly what Beebe had asked
the Legislature to do.
“The courts didn’t agree with Beebe
when he tried to take the money in the first
place,” King said last week, “and then we
beat a similar proposal back in the Legisla-
ture this past session. Now he’s using a crisis
to get what he wants.And if there’s one thing
I believe on this, it is that the people deserve
a fair hearing on this issue – and they can’t
get that if we are forced to rush it through as
part of the alleged fix for the health insur-
ance shortfall.”
The issue arose last week, in an emergen-
cy Special Session, because Beebe made it
a part of his proposal for “fixing” the public
school employee insurance budget shortfall.
Insurance rates are increasing by 50 percent
for next year, and state lawmakers have been
scrambling to find extra funding so that
teachers and other public school workers
will only have to cover about 10 percent
of the increase.
Both Ballinger and King said last week
they were surprised that Beebe had tried
to make the school funding issue part of
the “emergency” regarding the health in-
surance shortfall.
“I’m disappointed that the governor
is deciding to muddy the waters with an
issue that has nothing to do with teacher
insurance,” Ballinger said. “Everybody
is in agreement on the other bills related
to the insurance, but not on this tax issue.
It is frustrating to me, and it’s clearly an
attempt to override what I thought was a
solid Supreme Court decision.”
School tax dollars should absolutely
stay local, he added.
“We are in a better position to admin-
ister those school funds than trying to do
it at a state level,” Ballinger said. “Funds
that are now going toward paying Eure-
ka teachers and providing AP classes and
things like that would, under this propos-
al, (have been) sent to the state and spent
in other districts elsewhere. That money is
supposed to benefit the district where the
taxes were collected.”
The Legislature ended up approving an
additional $43 million in funding for the
public school employee insurance fund,
meaning that school workers will see just
a 10 percent increase in their insurance
premiums next year.

By Landon Reeves
CCNnews@cox-internet.com
EUREKA SPRINGS — The Eureka
Springs Rotary Club’s president-elect and
her husband have returned from a mission
to South Africa and shared their adventure
at the last club meeting.
“Well it was a gift from our son,” said
Cathy Handley, Rotary president-elect.
”He had bid on the trip at an auction and
he thought it was more of a vacation. It
turned out to be a missionary trip.”
Her son, Michael Handley, is on the
board for Samaritan’s Feet, an organi-
zation whose goal is to provide shoes to
impoverished children in America and
around the world. Their current goal is
to give 10 million shoes in 10 years, and
they are on the 10th year and a million
shoes short of their goal, Cathy said.
“The area that we went to was the prov-
ince of Limpopo,” said her husband, Lar-
ry Handley. “It was at the very northern
tip of South Africa. It is fairly populated
with locals and tribes and a fair amount of
people from Central African and other Af-
rican countries that have had civil wars.”
In Limpopo, they were the guests of
Blessman Ministries, a group led by a
physician from Iowa, Jim Blessman. The
Handleys were able to see the contribu-
tions of the Rotary Club’s wells that pro-
vide clean water to the villagers. Cathy
also met with fellow Rotarians in South
Africa to discuss how to write grants to
get funds for additional wells in the area.
Blessman Ministries provides food for
tribes as well as education on agriculture,
irrigation and other practices that will
help them self-sustain, Larry explained.
The Handleys also prepared and pro-
vided food for many people while there.
In one day, they fed 490 people with rice
that was donated by Iowan farmers, Cathy
said.
She also said their group gave shoes to
mentally handicapped residents who are
mostly ignored by other Africans. The
group also gave to other adults and chil-
dren, who were extremely grateful, Larry
said.
“I am a geographer, and I have taught in
colleges and universities,” Larry said. “It
is great to go to places like this because
sometimes the pictures painted by the
textbooks are quite general and you don’t
get into the nitty-gritty details of how
things fit together, like how their educa-
tion system works or how their politics
work.”
The Handleys left for Africa on Sept.
26, but months before departure they par-
ticipated in several conference calls that
let them know what they were getting into
and offered additional instructions for
their arrival.
“We got there and they gave you in-
structions on what to expect,” Cathy said.
“Like keep windows shut because wild
monkeys will demolish your room, and
we were told that if you see a bug, kill it,
because there are no window screens.”
Cathy said every morning she would
see a slew of animals that before the trip
she only has seen in zoos. She described
them as running wild across the country-
side and twice as big as captive animals.
The couple is planning a reunion trip
for September 2014. They also said that
the people who accompanied them were
strangers at the beginning of the journey,
but by the end they were lifelong friends.
“It was definitely a trip of a lifetime,”
said Cathy. “They say that you can leave
your heart in Africa, and I think you can,
too. It makes you want to go back to help
more, and I will absolutely go back.”
Eurekans return from trip to Africa
Rotary Club officer’s vacation turned into heart-tugging mission of help
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Cathy Handley, the president-elect of Eureka Springs Rotary Club, is shown volunteering during a recent trip to Africa.

By Landon Reeves
CCNnews@cox-internet.com
Jim Swiggart, general director for
Opera in the Ozarks, is retiring after
more than 25 years of directing and
teaching others
how to make
music.
Swiggart was
born in Chan-
dler, Okla., and
he attended and
graduated from
Oklahoma City
University with
majors in voice,
i n s t r u m e n t a l
and church mu-
sic. He has taught music in Kansas,
Oklahoma and Arkansas.
His connections to Opera in the
Ozarks go way, way back.
In 1955, he was a junior in high
school and attended a music camp at the
Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony. The
colony would later
change its name to
Opera in the Ozarks
under Swiggart’s
tenure as director.
The colony was
previously owned by
a German minister,
who sold it to Profes-
sor Henry Hobart of
Phillips University
in Enid, Okla. The
minister was using
it as a church camp,
but the grounds were
too worn down to
continue the camp,
so Hobart started a
music education program for some of
the best and brightest music students
from Oklahoma and surrounding areas.
“The first thing he did was call his
friends who were they very best pro-
fessionals, like Constance Eberhart and
Isaac Van Grove,” Swiggart explained.
“Those people brought their skills, and
next thing you know there were kids
here who have never been around a pro-
fessional before and all the sudden there
is a professional here sitting across the
table from them helping them develop
their music talents.”
The first production under Hobart
was “Hansel and Gretel” in 1950, and
one year later the production was tele-
vised and the colony started gaining a
reputation.
“It caught on like a prairie fire and
everyone wanted to be a part of it,”
Swiggart said. “It started in 1950 with
12 students and some staff and by 1955
there were 115 students with an opera
company, orchestra and ballet compa-
ny.”
As the colony grew, it started attract-
ing a more mature and talented student
body. Swiggart attended as a student
from 1955 until his second year of col-
lege in 1958. At that time it was a six-
week camp that produced 10 operas a
year, with the support
of the Eureka Springs
community and the
National Federated
Music Clubs.
In 1980, after a few
years of teaching mu-
sic at public schools,
Swiggart was ap-
proached by his old
high school vocal
instructor to conduct
a band camp at the
colony and help them
become profitable.
With the help of a
“brillant college pro-
fessor,” Swiggart led
his campers to produce 20 music selec-
tions in one week, which is a lot com-
pared to band camps at other colleges
that only did three in as much time.
“We challenged them, and when you
are challenged you grow,” Swiggart
said. “Those kids grew very quickly,
and I did that for several years until
they needed someone to come and run
the opera in 1989.”
With 30 students, a grand piano and
the help of Carol Freeman, an instructor
who attended the colony and the same
university as Swiggart, the colony gen-
erated profits for the first time in sever-
al years and paid its bills with the help
of Swiggart’s leadership and direction.
The next year they built an orchestra
and started establishing an even bigger,
stronger reputation.
The colony changed the name to Op-
era in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point
in the early ‘90s to help outside music
programs and officials from other ven-
ues better identify with the purpose
and location of the program. They de-
cided to keep Inspiration point in the
name so that the colony’s alumni could
recognize their former program as well.
“This program fulfills a need that no-
where else can,” Swiggart said. “I was
challenging kids because I wanted them
to experience more, and if you teach
right, you will get it done. There is no
other pace quite like it in the United
States. We give the students a hands-on
experience that no one else gets, and
that has what made me continue this
until the point to where I am ready to
retire.”
The music education programs at
Opera in the Ozarks have graduated
singers to see them go directly to major
opera companies, and some of OIO’s
alumni have even sung at the Metropol-
itan Opera in New York.
“It is a very energizing thing for
a person to be a part of someone else
earning success,” Swiggart said. “That
is why I teach … it is about producing a
program that fulfills the needs of young
people that inspires them to go on and
have a life in music.”
Swiggart attributes all of his success
and all of the opportunities he has en-
joyed to his experiences with true pro-
fessionals at the Fine Arts Colony. He
said he and the students he has taught
were only able to continue their path
thanks to spending time with the great
instructors at OIO.
Opera in Ozarks Director
Jim Swiggart retiring
Jim Swiggart Photo Submitted
The 2013 Queen’s Contest contestants are, sitting, Clare Ray and Cassie Roy;
standing, from left, Kyla Boardman, Brenna Malone, Josie Muskratt, and Angela
Tenan. Not pictured is contestant Raven Leggett. The Queen’s Contest, part of
the Ozark Folk Festival happening this weekend, takes place Thursday night at
The Aud beginning at 7 p.m. and features entertainment by The HedgeHoppers.
Queen’s Contest participants
“It is a very energizing thing
for a person to be a part
of someone else earning
success. That is why I teach
… it is about producing a
program that fulfills the
needs of young people that
inspires them to go on and
have a life in music.”
– Jim Swiggart

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The Fall Holiday Is-
land Presbyterian
Church Spaghetti
dinner held Sept.
23 was a roaring
success, by all ac-
counts. Proceeds
were presented by
Reverend Clare Kel-
ley, left, to Jerri Mar-
lowe, Carroll County
Senior Activity and
Wellness Center
Director (Meals on
Wheels); Mary Os-
born, Older Youth
Specialist, CASA of
Northwest Arkan-
sas; and Don Shafer, Mission and Outreach Chairman of Holiday Island Presby-
terian Church. CASA and Meals on Wheels each received a check for $1,850.
“Thank you to the folks who donated their time, talents, and food to make this
annual event possible,” said organizers. “Special appreciation goes out to ev-
eryone in the community who bought tickets and joined in for fun, food, and
friends. In supporting this event you became a part of something very special
and important!”
Photo submitted
Spaghetti dinner a roaring success
The Holiday Island Theater Guild is
once again in pre-production for its fall
presentation, “The Ladies Man,” a French
farce by Charles Morey and translated and
adapted from “Tailleur Pour Dames,” by
Georges Faydeau. Returning director Elise
Buchman is excited to bring this produc-
tion to the HI stage.
“It is set in the early 1900s and the Guild
is grateful to Celebrations and Traditions
by Michelle McDonald for her assistance
in bringing the time period to life,” said
play staff.
This fast-paced and uproarious produc-
tion features a cast of four men and four
women, some of whom have seen on the
Holiday Island stage before, specifically
Ron Huibregtse as Dr. Hercule Molineaux,
a middle-aged physician; Susan Vernier as
Yvonne, his wife; Yvonne’s overbearing
mother Madame Aigreville (Vicky Vander
Horn), French maid Marie (Clare Thomp-
son Roy) and Bill Harris as Bassinet, a pa-
tient of Dr. Molineaux’with an unfortunate
speech impediment. Mary Kolbe reappears
on stage, this time as Suzanne Aubin, a
patient with an unexplained interest in the
good doctor.
Newcomers to the HI stage include
Tom Lukken, as Suzanne’s Prussian hus-
band Gustav, and Noah FitzPatrick as Mo-
lineuax’ valet.
“In Belle Epoque Paris, the recent-
ly married Dr. Hercule Molineaux (Ron
Huibregtse) tells ‘one, tiny, little,hardly
noticeable lie’to cover an innocent but em-
barrassing indiscretion. From that single
untruth tumbles a cascade of increasingly
convoluted deceptions, misunderstandings
and mistaken identities,” writes the play’s
publisher.
The play also includes “more slamming
doors than realistic architecture should
ever accommodate, all adding up to a hi-
lariously zany and infectiously charming
farce.”
This production is scheduled for Nov.
7-9. The dinner theater on Thursday night
(limited seating, at $27.50 per person) will
begin at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday night
productions ($10 per person) are at 7 p.m.
For further information, call 479-253-
7766 for the dinner theater; or 253-5622 or
253-5385 for Friday and Saturday tickets.
HI Theater Guild play opening
Photo Submitted
Pictured is the Holiday Island Association of the Arts Guild’s cast for “The Ladies
Man”: Noah FitzPatrick, Bill Harris, Ron Huibregtse, Susan Vernier, and Vicky Vander
Horn. Not pictured are Tom Lukken, Clare Thompson Roy and Mary Kolbe. The din-
ner theater on Thursday night (limited seating - $27.50 per person) will begin at 6 p.m.
Friday and Saturday night productions ($10 per person) begin at 7 p.m. For more
information, call 479-253-7766 for the dinner theater; or 479-253-5622 for Friday and
Saturday tickets.

By Catherine Krummey
CarrollCountyNews@cox-internet.com
This will not be Michael Johnathon’s
first stop in Eureka Springs.
“I was there about a year and a half
ago, and I did a concert at The Aud,” he
said, before calling the city’s downtown
area “adorable.”
“I loved the people, I loved the mu-
sic,” Johnathon added. “Eureka Springs
is a perfect place for WoodSongs to
come.”
Johnathon’s “WoodSongs Old-Time
Radio Hour” is headlining this year’s
Ozark Folk Festival, going on now
through Sunday.
Johnathon said City Advertising and
Promotion Commissioner Charles Rags-
dell and other Eureka tourism officials
approached him a year and a half ago at
a WoodSongs recording in Little Rock
about coming to the folk festival.
“They said, ‘Please give us some time
so we can bring it to Eureka Springs,’”
Johnathon said.
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at The Aud,
WoodSongs will be taping two shows
for listeners (and online viewers) on ra-
dio stations around the world (including
KUAF in Fayetteville), the American
Forces Radio Network, Blue Highways
TV Network and public TV stations na-
tionwide.
The shows recorded at The Aud will
feature a celebration of Ozark folk mu-
sic, and Johnathon is encouraging locals
– especially families – to come out and
enjoy the performances.
“Parents should bring their children
to this,” he said. “It should give them
a real sense of pride in being from the
Ozarks.”
Johnathon said they received hun-
dreds of submissions from Ozarks-based
musicians to perform on WoodSongs at
The Aud.
“Anybody and everybody with a CD
sent it in,” he said. “We got a huge pile
of CDs, and we picked what I thought
were the best.”
For the smaller bands performing on
the show, this means exposure on a na-
tional level. WoodSongs has over 500
radio affiliates and is carried on Armed
Forces Radio Network. The show has
more than 2 million listeners each week,
and its accompanying TV show is car-
ried on the Public Broadcasting System,
with each show being broadcast twice.
WoodSongs has recorded more than
700 shows since the program began in
1999, on Georgetown College’s WRZG
radio station in Georgetown, Ky.
“We used to give them the show on
cassette tape,” Johnathon laughed.
“We’ve gone from 15 to 20 people
crammed in that studio to a 500-person
theater in Lexington, Ky.,” he added. “It
just grew really fast.”
Johnathon started his days as a ra-
dio DJ just after graduating from high
school, when a friend gave him a line on
a job at KVOZ in Texas.
“A friend of mine thought I would
have fun with it,” he said. “Like many
18-year-olds, I was just looking for
something to get me out of my parents’
house.”
So Johnathon drove 44 hours straight,
from his hometown of Beacon, N.Y., to
Laredo, Texas.
One night, he played “Turn, Turn,
Turn” by the ‘60s folk-rock group The
Byrds. As the song played, he recalled
seeing the songwriter, his Beacon neigh-
bor Pete Seeger, performing in his home-
town in New York.
“I didn’t even know he was Pete See-
ger,” Johnathon recalled of his child-
hood.
By the time the song had ended that
night in Texas, he decided to pursue a
career as a folk singer.
Shortly after that night, Johnathon
moved to Mousy, Ky., and explored the
folk music scene.
“I started playing music with my
neighbors there,” he said.
Johnathon said he and his fellow mu-
sicians started to notice that it was hard-
er to get on the radio, giving him the
idea to start WoodSongs.
“We needed a gateway to the audience
that would respect the art,” Johnathon
said. “That’s all I want WoodSongs to be
about – who’s good.”
Ahead of the WoodSongs show, John-
athon and other festival acts will be per-
forming at Basin Spring Park on Friday.
The free music begins at noon.
“I’m excited about playing at the folk
festival Friday night,” he said.
Following is the full list of performers
slated for the WoodSongs broadcast at
The Aud on Saturday and more informa-
tion about each musical act:
• MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY
– One of Johnathan’s primary special
guests on WoodSongs in Eureka will be
Michael Martin Murphey, who is best
known for his hits “Wildfire” and “Caro-
lina in the Pines.” Murphey has six gold
albums, including “Cowboy Songs,” the
first album of cowboy music to achieve
gold status since “Gunfighter Ballads
and Trail Songs” by Marty Robbins in
1959. Murphey is also the author of New
Mexico’s state ballad, “The Land of En-
chantment.”
Murphey grew up in Dallas, Texas,
where he developed a special love for
cowboy songs and stories. As a youth,
he enjoyed writing poetry and loved lis-
tening to his uncle’s old 78 rpm records
– particularly the music of country and
folk artists such as Hank Williams, Bob
Wills and Woody Guthrie. In junior high
school, he began performing as an ama-
teur, and later as a camp counselor at a
summer camp.
At the age of 17, he took his first
“professional” music job, playing West-
ern songs around a campfire at a Texas
ranch. By the early 1960s, Murphey
was playing clubs in Dallas, performing
country music, folk music, and rock mu-
sic. He won over the conservative Texas
audiences with his charm and talent, and
Michael Johnathon: Eureka Springs,
WoodSongs are a ‘perfect’ match
Photo submitted
Michael Johnathan’s hit radio program, “WoodSongs,” will tape two episodes live at
The Aud this Saturday as part of the Ozark Folk Festival.

soon formed a band that developed a sig-
nificant following in the Dallas area.
Murphey’s first big break came
through his friend Michael Nesmith,
who had become part of the popular
television musical group, The Monkees.
Nesmith asked Murphey to write them a
song for the next Monkees album, and
Murphey composed “What Am I Doing
Hangin’ Round.” The album “Pisces,
Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” sold
more than 5 million copies.
Murphey went on to write hits such as
“Geronimo’s Cadillac,” “Carolina in the
Pines” and his masterpiece “Wildfire.”
His 1990 release “Cowboy Songs” was
the first Western music gold album since
Marty Robbins’ 1980 album “Number 1
Cowboy.”
Murphey went on to record a series of
“Cowboy Songs” albums that reinvigo-
rated the Western music genre. Murphey
has multiple Grammy nominations and
six gold records. His songs have been re-
corded by Kenny Rogers, John Denver,
Cher, Lyle Lovett, Flatt and Scruggs,
Hoyt Axton, Roger Miller, Bobbie Gen-
try, Michael Nesmith and the Monkees.
For more information, visit www.
michaelmartinmurphey.com or
watch a video at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=gl4Y4FWWkn0.
• LEROY TROY AND THE TEN-
NESSEE MAFIA JUG BAND – Also
to be featured at the Eureka WoodSongs
broadcast will be Leroy Troy and the
Tennessee Mafia Jug Band. Leroy Troy
and the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band is a
six-piece band that has graced the stage
of the Grand Old Opry over a doz-
en times, and have played all around
the world. Leroy was in the cast of the
long-running television show Hee Haw,
and it shows with their humorous music
and corny jokes. Also in the group are
“Lonesome” Lester Armistead, David
“Ferg” Ferguson, Dan Kelly, and Mike
Armistead. Their music has been fea-
tured in movies and television shows,
but their most infamous performance
was playing at Billy Bob Thorton and
Angelina Jolie’s wedding.
For more information or to watch
a video, visit www.TennesseeMafia-
JugBand.com or www.youtube.com/
watch?v=-WOP9dW-F78.
• THE CLARK FAMILY TRIO is
from Searcy, Ark. They perform modern
bluegrass, Americana and Gospel favor-
ites featuring tight, three-part “family”
harmonies along with finger-style and
flat-picked acoustic guitar. Nine-year-
old Sally Ann Clark and her big sister,
15-year old Sophie, have grown up sing-
ing with their mom, Cindy, who also
plays upright bass for the group. They
are joined by Little Rock super-picker
Bill Nesbitt on acoustic guitar.
For more information: http://Clark-
FamilyTrio.com/ or www.youtube.com/
watch?v=JdlNZuGwWAs
• CLANCEY FERGUSON has been
hailed as “Princess of Bluegrass.” This
15-year-old fiddler from Mountain View,
Ark., is the 2012 Arkansas State Junior
Fiddle Champion and the 2013 Arkansas
Junior Contemporary Fiddle Champi-
on. Despite her tender age, Clancey has
amassed an impressive list of appear-
ances including playing on stage with
Rhonda Vincent on numerous occasions
and being interviewed by Chelsea Clin-
ton for “NBC Nightly News with Brian
Williams.”
For more information: http://Clanc-
eyFerguson.com/ or www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ZF30oXWDvR0#t=22.
• THE OZARK ALLIANCE is a fam-
ily band from Salem, Mo. Alex, Jenny,
Allison, Robin, and Dennis Vaughn have
been playing together as a band since
2002 -- with the exception of Allison,
who was only born in 2004. The band
specializes in traditional and modern
bluegrass and bluegrass-Gospel music
performed around a single mic. They
won 1st place in the National Single Mic
Championship at Silver Dollar City in
2008.
For a video of the group, visit www.
youtube.com/watch?v=gnBFKQE-
OX5U.
• MOUNTAIN SPROUT is a high-
ly energetic hillbilly music machine,
spitting original tunes and blowing
minds with witty lyrics and face-melt-
ing musicianship. Hailing from Eureka
Springs, five incredible musicians work
seamlessly to bring forward the kind
of bass-thumping, banjo-picking, gui-
tar-playing, fiddle-shredding music that
makes you get up and stomp your feet.
For more information: Mountain-
Sprout.com or www.youtube.com/
watch?v=m-Gv4xVGXGQ.
• DAVID KIMBROUGH III is a gen-
uine bluesman living in Northwest Ar-
kansas. He began his career singing
alongside his father, the great Junior
Kimbrough. David has recently added
the mountain dulcimer to his presenta-
tion of original, Delta, North Mississippi
Hill Country and cotton-patch blues.
For a video, visit www.youtube.com/
watch?v=iLp6sEcBOik.
• FIDDLIN’ BANJO BILLY
MATHEWS has been playing music for
over 40 years in the old-time genre. Still
residing in the Ozark Mountains, he is
known far and wide across the country
for his musical skill and old-time fid-
dling ability.
For more information: www.Ban-
joBilly.net/ or www.youtube.com/
watch?v=yQM1wSGlhJc.
• MARTIN JOHNSON is a native
Arkansan and masterful young acoustic
guitarist. At times classical, his fretwork
drifts fluidly into finger-picking and on
into what Martin affectionately refers to
as his own “slap-hit” technique, where
he uses his fingers to slap the fretboard
to create syncopated rhythms and har-
monic tones to accompany the more tra-
ditional elements of his playing style.
For a video, visit www.youtube.com/
watch?v=sd58JWV7chg.
• BRICK FIELDS will perform at a
Gospel Brunch in Basin Park at noon
on Sunday, Oct. 27 to close down the
festival. Rachel Fields-Brick and Larry
Brick are Arkansas natives who offer a
natural approach to original Arkansas
blues and folk music. The multi-award-
winning couple are definitive blues art-
ists, although their repertoire includes
originals written by both and of vari-
ous genres including Gospel, ballads,
folk, and R&B as well as well-tested
standards. The Nashville Blues Society
has called Brick Fields Music an “Un-
leashed cleansing of the soul!” and New
Music Of Tomorrow says, “Brick Fields
is by far the most soulful artist I have
heard in years!”
For more information: www.Brick-
FieldsMusic.com
Tickets for reserved seating for the
WoodSongs performances range from
$35 to $75 (all fees included), and are
available at www.TheAuditorium.org.
For a complete schedule, tickets and
more information, visit www.Ozark-
FolkFestival.com or www.WoodSongs.
com.
Photo submitted
Michael Martin Murphey, best known for his hit “Wildfire,” will headling The Aud per-
formance and taping of the international radio program “WoodSongs” Saturday.

Guest Editorial
Letter from our state lawmakers
Citizens of the Week
David“D-Bob”Crook
D
espite facing terrible odds and the
opposition of the state’s Executive
Branch, after a 33-hour special ses-
sion, the Arkansas House and Senate conclud-
ed a marathon process over the weekend that
exemplified how a bipartisan effort to do the
right thing could yield positive results.
We were privileged to lead courageous leg-
islators from both sides of the aisle who took
a principled stand and prevented the Governor
from appropriating funds from the school prop-
erty tax revenue, which would have harmed
eight small school districts, including Eureka
Springs, and would have violated theArkansas
Constitution.
So, for now, Eureka Springs no longer faces
the 17 percent drop in its budget and the neg-
ative impact that would have occurred had the
Governor been successful in his attempted con-
fiscation of local school funds.
While we may justifiably celebrate a vic-
tory, we must continue to be vigilant. We
are told this issue will not be brought up for
consideration during the Legislature’s Fiscal
Session in February; however, we were also
originally promised that this issue would not
be a part of this special session, yet somehow
it appeared.
We have also been told that it will appear
again during the 2015 General Session of the
Legislature, so we must stay alert to any op-
portunities for individuals who may attempt
to challenge current law and ultimately seize
funds that belong to our schools.
Rest assured we will remain diligent and
constant as we continue our effort to do what is
right for the hard-working taxpayers of Carroll
County and our fellowArkansans.
We will continue to work to be good stew-
ards of our state and local resources and make
government as efficient as possible while pro-
tecting education in our community.
— STATE SEN. BRYAN KING
STATE REP. BOB BALLINGER
B
layne Thiebaud is this
week’s Citizen of the
Week. The Mountain
Sprout fiddler is leaving the Eu-
reka Springs-based band after
seven years, and moving to Ha-
waii. (See related article on Page
22.) Blayne has brought smiles
to thousands of faces, including
ours, and inspired no-telling-
how-many new jigs as the most
energetic and enthusiastic mem-
ber of the popular hillbilly-blue-
grass band. His soulful, thought-
ful and spiritual demeanor when
he’s not on stage — and his pure,
honest character — are a stark
juxtaposition to his on-stage
party personality. It takes a big
person to admit they’re headed
in the wrong direction and make
a drastic move in order to find
themselves and a better path for
their lives. Blayne is not only
doing it, he has been willing to
tell the world about it, inspiring
us and likely many of his fans to
check the shape of our own ships
and right them where needed. We
wish Blayne the best on his Big
New Adventure, and we hope to
see him again — all well-round-
ed and spiritually sound — in
Eureka Springs very soon.
V e t e r a n s
w e w a n t y o u r
Send us a photo of your veteran and tell us their story.
In honor of Veterans Day and those who have served our country, on Nov. 7,
the Lovely County Citizen will print photos of all the local veterans we can find –
but we need your help. The Citizen also will recount the best veteran stories
we’ve heard this year – and yours could be chosen!
Send your photo and information to CitizenVeterans@gmail.com or drop
it off at the Lovely County Citizen, 3022 E. Van Buren, Suite H, Eureka Springs.
Submissions MUST INCLUDE the veteran’s name, hometown, current age, branch of service,
years of service, and contact information for either you or the veteran.
Submission deadline to have your veteran included in this Citizen Special Edition is noon on Monday, Nov. 4.

Send your opinions to
Citizen, P.O., Box 679,
Eureka Springs, AR 72632,
fax to (479) 253-0080 or e-mail to:
citizen.editor@yahoo.com
Editorial Policy
The opinions on the Editorial page are our opinions. The opinions on the Forum pages are your opinions.
All forum entries must be signed and verifiable. We reserve the right to edit submissions.
What do think
Citizen Opinion by Margo Elliott
What’s your favorite part
of the Folk Festival?
James Elliot
Tune
“Mo Crispy”
I love the elabo-
rate story telling.
Randy Seward
“Egg Man”
I stay home raising
my 48 chickens.
McKenna
Hussey
“Ukulele Girl”
I always enjoy the
parade and all the
Fall colors.
Linda Asher
Williams
“Transient
Flamingo”
My favorite part
of the Folk Festi-
val is “The Folk”.
There wouldn’t
be a festival
without all the
folks.
Cassie Wilson
“Only Ginger in
the Irish Pub”
The music.
Strolling around
town, listen-
ing to it and
watching people
dance.
Josie Yerby
“Crystal Queen”
Our wonderful
community com-
ing together, and
the long history.
(See Vernon
Tucker’s face-
book page for
more history)
Citizen Survey
Go to www.lovelycitizen.com and weigh in.
m No! We paid that money for our school district and that’s what it
should be used for.: 74.0% (37 votes)
m Yes. The whole state should chip in to support poorer school districts,
especially when we have extra money we don’t need.: 26.0% (13 votes)
LAST WEEK’S QUESTION
Do you think it’s right for the state to confiscate the “extra” school funding
property tax dollars paid by Eurekans if all the money isn’t needed by the
local school district? Why/why not?
50 votes cast
Go to www.lovelycitizen.com and weigh in. Vote by Wednesday 9 a.m.
Tell us what you think!
Citizen, P.O., Box 679, Eureka Springs, AR 72632, fax to (479) 253-0080
or e-mail to: citizen.editor@yahoo.com
m I like the parade the best.
m I prefer the live musical performance at The Aud.
m I love the live music at small venues around town.
m I enjoy the storytelling the most.
Stars and Stripes Forever show to kick off flag fundraiser
The American Legion, Walker-Wilson Post #9, in co-
operation with Mayor Morris Pate and the Greater Eure-
ka Springs Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce
a new Flag Initiative, through whichAmerican flags will
be installed on existing utility poles throughout Eureka
Springs.
Theflagswillbeplacedonpolesthathavestreetlights,
allowing them to be installed permanently. This project
will be carried out in stages, with the first stage running
from the top of Planer Hill to the Train Station. There are
also plans to add a larger flag at the top of Planer Hill,
and to encourage residents and local business operators
to display flags at their homes and places of business.
The eventual goal is to create a good presence of
American flags all over the city, displaying loyalty to our
country, support of our servicemen and women and to
show our pride asAmericans.
Aspecial fund is being established through theAmer-
ican Legion to cover the cost of purchasing these flags.
To kick off fundraising efforts, Pine Mountain Theater is
hosting a special show, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” on
Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. This show will feature special
music by local performers along with the “Presentation
of Colors” by theAmerican Legion Color Guard.
The highlight of the evening will be a keynote address
by retired Air Force Lt. Col. Steve Gray, who currently
serves as the senior military and veterans’ affairs liaison
for U.S. Sen. John Boozman.
The whole community is invited and encouraged to
attend this special night to salute our country, our flag
and our veterans. The show is free but donations will be
accepted.
Individuals can sponsor a flag for $50, and local civic
clubs and organizations are being asked to consider sup-
porting this event. Mayor Pate has issued a challenge to
anyone pledging that he will match a single donation of
$500.
For more information contact Jack Baker, 479-253-
2519 or Mike Bishop, 479-244-7641. Donations can be
dropped off at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center
located in the Village at Pine Mountain.
— MIKE BISHOP
President/CEO
Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce

Gubernatorial candidate Hutchinson visits
By Catherine Krummey
CarrollCountyNews@
cox-internet.com
EUREKA SPRINGS – Gubernato-
rial candidate Asa
Hutchinson spoke
to Carroll County
Republicans Mon-
day night, hitting his
platform highlights,
talking about his
ties to the area and
answering questions
from the group.
“There’s a lot of
energy for the future
here,” Hutchinson
said of Carroll Coun-
ty.
The former United States Attorney
for the Western District of Arkansas,
Congressman and U.S. Department of
Homeland Security Under Secretary has
been coming to Carroll County since he
was a child living in Gravette.
“I grew up going over to Bible camp
in Green Forest,” Hutchinson said, add-
ing he and his wife, Susan, who was
also at the Carroll County Republican
meeting, celebrated
their first wedding
anniversary in Eure-
ka Springs.
In discussing his
political views and
what he would bring
to the table, Hutchin-
son discussed being
against Obamacare
and gun control and
having a “passion”
for job creation.
“What I bring to
the table is a conservative philosophy
which I’ve been following for the last
two decades,” Hutchinson said.
“I believe in more individual
choice,” Hutchinson said, referring to
Obamacare. “I believe we have a good
health care system in place. We don’t need the government involved in that.”
He also talked about how he saw Ar-
kansas’ current job market as “non-com-
petitive” compared to surrounding states
such as Missouri, Louisiana and Texas,
adding that the state’s income tax has a
lot to do with that.
“We have the highest state income
tax, at seven percent,” Hutchinson said,
adding – through conversation with
State Rep. Bob Ballinger – that while
it’s going to be going down to 6.9 per-
cent, it should be lower. “Through effi-
ciencies… we can lower that rate.”
Locally, he said that “having a voice”
on the economic development commis-
sion would be helpful in getting more
jobs to the area.
“We need to have people on our eco-
nomic development commission from
every part of the state, especially north-
ern Arkansas,” he said.
When asked about another local issue,
fluoridation of public water, Hutchinson
was unaware that it was an issue gov-
erned by state law.
Also to improve the workforce,
Hutchinson addressed the need for bet-
ter vocational and technical education.
“We have to have that opportunity for
good voc/tech education as well,” he
said.
Under education, the candidate also
talked about the recent threat to the Eu-
reka Springs School District’s budget.
“The state should not be able to
take the money from Eureka Springs
schools,” Hutchinson said.
Additionally, Hutchinson expressed
frustration with the Common Core State
Standards, citing its omission of cursive
writing and mathematics tables.
“It was an idea that made sense at
the beginning,” Hutchinson said of the
Common Core. “Bureaucracy got a hold
of it along the way. … As governor, I
will call our secretary of education in
and look into changing this.”
When questioned by Sheriff Bob
Grudek about the damage done by the
government shutdown, Hutchinson said
he thought it would have no bearing on
next year’s election.
“I believe it’s very short-term,”
Hutchinson said. “I don’t think it’ll ef-
fect the elections next year. I hope we
have the strength to overcome this by
next year.”
“I believe in more individu-
al choice. I believe we have
a good health care system
in place. We don’t need
the government
involved in that.”
– Asa Hutchinson
Photo by David Bell
Former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, now a candidate for governor, speaks to Carroll
County Republicans at Forest Hill Restaurant on Monday night in Eureka Springs.
Photo submitted
The two area Daughters of the American Revolution chapters of Abendschone
and Harrison Colony gathered at the Inn of the Ozarks on Oct. 19 for a luncheon
to greet the Arkansas State Regent Jo Ann Cooper and State Vice Regent Mary
Deere on their bi-annual visit to meet all of the ASDAR chapters in Arkansas.
In front from left are Abendschone Chapter Regent Fayette Schmutzler, Arkan-
sas State Regent Jo Ann Cooper, Harrison Colony Chapter Regent Kathleen
McMurrin, State Vice Regent Mary Deere, Vive Allen of Harrison Colony, State
Chaplain. Back row, from the left, Harrison Colony Chapter Registrar Sally Jo
Gibson, Abendschone Chapter Vice Regent Phyllis Jones, and Valerie Water-
man of Harrison Colony.
State regent visits DAR chapters

Calendar of Events
Oct. 23-27: Original Ozark
Folk Festival
Tickets are on sale for the 66th Annual
Original Ozark Folk Festival. Tickets for
reserve seating range from $35 to $75 (all
fees included) and are available at www.
TheAuditorium.org. The Original Ozark
Folk Festival has been celebrated annually
since 1948, making it the longest consecu-
tively held annual folk festival in America.
The festival takes place on Oct. 23-27 in
Eureka Springs. The music, poetry, sto-
ries and art of the Ozarks will be featured
throughout the weekend. Bands, musi-
cians, singer-songwriters, poets, artists and
crafters are encouraged to submit samples
of their music or art for consideration. Sub-
missions are being accepted until Sept. 15.
They can send a press kit or digital samples
of their work to submissions@ozarksfolk-
festival.com. They can also mail their sub-
mission to the CAPC, 121 East Van Buren,
Suite 3B, Eureka Springs, AR 72632. For
more information, please visit OzarkFolk-
Festival.com and WoodSongs.com.
Oct. 24: Library help for writers
This Thursday, Oct. 24, Carnegie Li-
brary Director Loretta Crenshaw will
speak on the library resources available
to writers. She will demonstrate use of the
EBSCO databases and show how the li-
brary can help with research, craft, English
or story. The evening begins at 6 p.m. at
the Village Writing School at 177 Hunts-
ville Road in Eureka Springs. Writers’
Night Out is a free weekly event open to
the public. Come learn how the library can
make you a better writer. For more infor-
mation, call 479-292-3665.
Oct. 25: Mad Hatter Ball
The 11th Annual Mad Hatter Ball is
scheduled for Friday, Oct. 25 from 6:30
p.m. until 11:30 p.m. Tickets will be avail-
able starting 3 p.m. the day of the ball at
the will-call desk in the lobby of the Cres-
cent Hotel. Maybe you will go home with
a beautiful, one-of-a-kind art masterpiece
by a featured ESSA instructor in the silent
auction. Don’t forget to enter the hat con-
test for a chance to win a prize. All pro-
ceeds raised support educational program-
ming and operating expenses at Eureka
Springs School of the Arts.
Oct. 25-26: Voices from a Silent City
The Eureka Springs Historical Museum
will host its fifth annual “Voices from Eu-
reka’s Silent City” cemetery walking tours
on Oct. 18, 19, 25 and 26. The living his-
tory tours feature live actors in period cos-
tumes telling the stories of early citizens of
Eureka Springs. Tours begin at 5:30 p.m.
with the last at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10
for adults, $5 for children 12 and under.
They may be purchased at the Chamber of
Commerce, any Cornerstone Bank loca-
tion or the museum. There is no parking at
the cemetery, but free parking and shuttle
service will be provided at the former Vic-
toria Inn parking lot located on Hwy. 62
East. Tickets will also be available at the
parking site, or may be reserved by calling
the museum, 479-253-9417.
Oct. 26: Large item trash pickup day in
Western Carroll County
Carroll County residents are invited to
participate in the eighth annual Load Up
Your Pickup Day, to take place on Oct.
26 at the Beaver Lake Exxon at the inter-
section of Highways 62 and 187, from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. Accepted items include old
appliances, old furniture, tires, electron-
ics, sinks, toilets and bathtubs. Volunteers
are needed at the locations to assist in di-
recting traffic and unloading vehicles. For
more information, call Gary Gray at Car-
roll County Solid Waste at 479-253-2727
or 870-423-7156.
Oct. 26: 4-H Trick-or-Treat for charity
The Carroll County 4-H will Trick-
or-Treat for nonperishable food items on
Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to noon.
The food will go to Loaves and Fishes, a
food bank in Berryville. Put donations by
the door and they will pick it up. For more
information contact the local 4-H office at
870-423–2958.
Oct. 26: Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser
Hungry? Come to the Berryville Senior
Center on Saturday, Oct. 26, and enjoy
fresh homemade pancakes. Breakfast will
be served from 7 to 11 a.m. Plain, blueber-
ry, pecan and chocolate are just some of the
choices you have, in addition to sausage
plus all the juice and coffee you can drink.
All proceeds go directly to the Meals on
Wheels program, which provides nourish-
ing meals to residents of Carroll County.
Bring a neighbor, bring a friend and enjoy
conversing and visiting others who come
out to support this worthy cause. The Pan-
cake Breakfast is sponsored by the Carroll
County Republican Committee. Join us as
we work to help provide for the needs of
Carroll County residents in need. The cost
of the delicious pancakes is by donation
at the door. The Berryville Senior Center
is attached to the Library and Courthouse
Annex.
Oct. 26: 18th Annual Howl-O-Ween
Spooktacular
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge has
scheduled its 18th Annual Howl-O-Ween
Spooktacular for Oct. 26 from 7 p.m. to
9 p.m. Games, food and a children’s cos-
tume contest provide a fun experience for
all ages. The annual Halloween party is
the only time the refuge animals can be
viewed in the dark of night. Visitors to the
refuge during the day will be allowed free
entry to the Spooktacular party in the eve-
ning, but must exit the refuge at 6 p.m. and
re-enter with a pass at 7 p.m. to allow the
staff preparation time for the party. Normal
admission prices apply: $15 for adults, $10
for children 12 and under, seniors and mil-
itary members. Children under 3 are free.
All donations are welcome. For refuge and
event details, visit www.turpentinecreek.
org or call (479) 253-5841.
Oct. 28: Hog farm presentation
The Waterkeepers Alliance will have a
presentation on hog factory farms on Mon-
day, Oct. 28, at 5:30 p.m., in the Eureka
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship church
at 17 Elk St. Please bring food and drink to
share after the meeting. Waterkeeper Alli-
ance professionals will discuss impending
health and economic issues, pollution of
air and water, and the threat to the entire
Buffalo National River watershed.
Nov. 2: Fall Village Craft Show
The Village at Pine Mountain on U.S.
Highway 62 in Eureka Springs will be
hosting its annual Fall Village Craft Show
on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Applications are currently being accepted
for booth spaces. Spaces are 12’x12’ and
cost $35, or $40 for a space with electrici-
ty. Only handmade items are allowed. For
more information, please contact Gayle
Voiles at 479-244-6907 or 479- 253-7047.
Nov. 2: Help for children’s authors
Berryville’s award-winning children’s
writer, editor, and publisher Craig Fro-
man will conduct a half-day workshop on
Writing for Children at the Village Writ-
ing School in Eureka Springs on Nov. 2.
The workshop will begin at 1 p.m. at the
Village Writing School at 177 Huntsville
Road. Cost for the half-day workshop is
$25. For more information, call 479-292-
3665.
Nov. 3: Grizzly bear habitat debuts at
Turpentine Creek
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge will
introduce their popular grizzly bear, Bam
Bam, to his new enlarged habitat with a
grand opening celebration at 10 a.m. on
Sunday, Nov. 3. Bam Bam, a 6-year-old
male grizzly bear rescued by TCWR in
2009 from a private owner, has become a
visitor favorite with his “hind-and-seek”
antics and love of his miniature stock tank
soaking pool. Thanks to private and cor-
porate donors, Bam Bam will move from
a small concrete and wire enclosure to al-
most a half-acre natural habitat featuring
an in-ground swimming pool with a water-
fall. Bam Bam will be relocated from his
current enclosure to his new indoor den in
the all-new Bear Bungalow Building. His
den door will be opened an 10 a.m. with a
special ceremony so visitors can see Bam
Bam feel grass between his paws for the
first time. All interns, staff and the refuge
Board of Directors will be on hand for this
historic achievement by Arkansas’ most
popular wildlife sanctuary. The refuge
opens at 9 a.m. for wildlife viewing with
hourly Walking Tours from 11 a.m. to 4
p.m. Trolley tours also available. Wildlife
feedings start at 5 p.m. Normal admission
prices apply, $15 for adults, $10 for chil-
dren 12-under, seniors, and military mem-
bers. Children under 3 are free. For refuge
details, visit www.turpentinecreek.org or
call 479-253-5841.

Many of his Eureka Springs neighbors
may not know it, but Ron Landis, 59, is
known all over the world for his coin en-
graving and minting skills. He maintains a
studio on White Street where he mints coins
using methods and machinery typical of
200 years ago, and he hand-engraves “hobo
nickels,” which he sells to collectors all over
the world.
But this past weekend, he gained quite a
bit of new notoriety for his musical ability
— something most Eurekans are already
very familiar with. His former band, the Doe
Brothers, was the “house band” at Chelsea’s
Corner Cafe & Bar for years, beginning
in the 1980s, and now he regularly sits in
with several different groups all over town
and plays with his “regular” group, Magic
Mule. He has long been known around the
region for his guitar and mandolin playing,
but here lately, he’s built a reputation as a
skilled performer on dobro and on steel gui-
tar, also called “lap steel.”
Over the weekend, Landis won not one
but two picking contests at Yonder Moun-
tain String Band’s Harvest Music Festival,
which took place last Thursday through Sat-
urday at Mulberry Mountain just north of
Cass on Highway 23.
On Friday, he entered the mandolin-pick-
ing competition and went up against three
other entrants; Landis won, and his reward
was $50, a basket of prizes and the oppor-
tunity to perform a song with Mountain
Sprout. The prizes including things like
T-shirts, a wool cap, artwork, a copper
bracelet, a hand-carved Jerry Garcia hand-
print, and “lots of other neat stuff,” Landis
said.
“My main competition then was a young
hippie-looking kid, he looked a lot like a
young Sam Bush and he was really good,”
he explained. “It was a really close decision
between the two of us, so I ended up sharing
my prizes with him.”
The performance part of the prize ended
up being a lot more fun than he’d expected,
he said.
“When I got up to the stage, it was dark,
and Grayson (lead singer of Mountain
Sprout) asked me my name,” Landis said.
“I guess he couldn’t see me with the lights
shining in his face. I said ‘Ron Landis,’and
he looked closer at me and said, ‘Oh, it’s
you! Get on up here!’ So because I knew
them and they knew me, they let me play
the whole show with them.”
Despite the rain and frigid temperatures
that evening, there were hundreds of fans
present (if not more) and “they knew all the
words to the songs, it was a lively crowd,”
Landis described.
Saturday morning brought the guitar
flat-picking contest, which requires that you
use a flat pick — and not fingers — to make
the notes.
“The Sam Bush-looking kid was also my
main competition at guitar, and he was real-
ly good but he did the finger-picking style,”
Landis explained. “There was another guy
who was pretty good too, but what hurt
the other entrants was that their styles just
weren’t appropriate for a flat-picking com-
petition.”
Landis won that contest, too.
And because he won both competitions,
he was awarded the opportunity to choose
which instrument to play and which band he
wanted to perform with on the Main Stage
that evening. He chose Railroad Earth,
an internationally renowned progressive
jam-bluegrass band based on the East Coast
that headlines major festivals all over the
country and has for over a decade. And he
decided to play the mandolin with them.
“Ireallywasn’tthatfamiliarwithRailroad
Earth before that, but they really rocked,”
Landis said. “They were great sports about
it. I told them, ‘Thanks for letting a new guy
come in like this, it’s got to be a scary thing
sometimes,’but they were very cool about it
and had fun with it.”
When Landis was introduced by Railroad
Earth and he walked out on stage, the audi-
ence — several thousand people — emitted
the loudest cheers they had all evening, by
all accounts.
“I had a lot of support out in the audience,
anditfeltsogreat,”hesays.“Isavoredevery
moment of it; it was a huge rush for sure.”
Landis says the moment was definitely a
lifetime high point, right up there with the
time that Sam Bush sat in with his former
band, the Doe Brothers.
“Sam Bush is one of my heroes, so that
was really special,” Landis recalled. “But
Saturday night, they had the light show and
thousands of people in the audience and the
fog machine and everything.
“The Railroad Earth guys were so cool;
they hammed it up a little and really let me
milk it while I was up there on stage. It was
so much fun!”
ThebandmembersandLandisperformed
the song “Old Dangerfield,” a classic but
difficult bluegrass tune by Bill Monroe —
another one of Landis’ musical heroes and
major influences.
It was the same song Landis had per-
formed in his competition, so he was very
familiar with it after learning it and practic-
ing it over the past several weeks.
“They suggested that song, and it’s the
only tune I’ve been playing for the last two
weeks, so I was prepared,” he said. “I played
it for the band backstage before the show to
show them I knew it and how I played it.
The Railroad Earth guys suggested that we
slow it down and add a little groove to it, and
it ended up sounding fantastic I thought.”
The audience – and this reporter – agreed
wholeheartedly, as the seasoned music fans
on hand literally stopped the show with ex-
tended cheers for Landis after the song end-
ed. The Railroad Earth members grinned
wholeheartedly as they waited for the ap-
plause to die down, and the band’s regu-
lar mandolin player, John Skehan, held up
Landis’ arm like a boxer who’d just won a
big fight.
He sure felt like he had, he said.
Landis also plays the banjo, fiddle, har-
monica, tenor banjo, bouzouki, and dobro.
Alongtime music counterpart and Eureka
Springs fiddler, Chuck Onofrio, said he isn’t
surprised by Landis’victories.
“He inspires me musically, and has ever
since we first started playing together af-
ter high school in Denver,” Onofrio told
the Citizen on Tuesday. “He’s also a great
craftsman. The first time I saw him he was
playing a banjo he had built. He inspired me
to go to instrument repair school to learn
how to repair and build violins.
NEW FALL
INVENTORY
Best Prices In Town
• Lots of Adult Clothing
• Halloween Costumes
• Thanksgiving Decorations
• Holiday Serving Dishes
Purple House
Thrift Shop
“The Fun Place To Shop”
Open Week
Days 10 - 4
24 Norris * Eureka
Springs On The
Eureka Springs
Hospital Campus
Ripley is a large solid black cat with
thick short hair. She came to the shel-
ter in January as a stray. Ripley is
most content when lounging on her
pillow, but also enjoys batting around
a ball with a friend. She is a sweet cat
who likes attention, but doesn’t care to
be held. Ripley has been spayed, vac-
cinated and is ready to go home. She
can be adopted for half the usual fee.
For more information, call the Good
Shepherd Humane Society Animal
Shelter at 479-253-9188 or stop by
the shelter on Highway 62 East in Eu-
reka Springs. Shelter hours are noon
to 5 p.m. daily except Wednesdays.
Pet of the Week
Eureka musician makes his mark

“The area we grew up in in Denver turned
out some really great musicians like Tim
O’Brien and many others – and Ron is one
of them,” Onofrio continued. “Right from
the beginning we were playing with fantastic
musicians, and Ron held his own even in the
early years when we were beginners.”
Not long after high school, Landis had
formed a band in which he played banjo, his
primary instrument of choice at that time.
He also had already learned to play guitar.
But with several other banjo players avail-
able and a scarcity of mandolinists, Landis
decided to try his hand at the instrument.
It’s known for its difficulty to play, with the
strings very close together and chords re-
quiring holding down eight strings at once,
Onofrio explained. It requires strong hands,
fast but short hand and arm movements, and
a great ear, he added.
“He really excelled, almost instantly, at
mandolin,” the fiddler recalled. “He learned
it really fast — within a couple of months
of first picking it up, he was playing at blue-
grass speeds and had really learned how to
get around on the instrument. It takes some
people years to get to where he got in a cou-
ple of months.”
Onofrio says of all the instruments Landis
plays, mandolin is his favorite to watch him
on. “But I’m also really enjoying his dobro
playing lately; he’s really come a long way
on that instrument too.”
The fiddler says that Landis is one of few
musicians that any band can hire, and “Ron
can just show up and do a great job without
rehearsing with them or anything – and not
many people can do that.”
Landis says that music has helped him
overcome many challenges in his life,
including losing his business partner,
best friend and Doe Brothers counter-
part in 2005, when Joe Rust committed
suicide.
“He suffered from depression, so it was
no surprise to his family when he committed
suicide,” Landis said quietly. “We had such
a symbiotic relationship, it was like someone
tore my arm and leg off.”
Landis says he drank heavily for a few
years and fought his own depressive battles,
before a serious car accident helped him
“wake up.”
“I just got back into my music then,” he
recalled. “It’s my cozy place; it’s my ther-
apy.”
And for thousands of fans last Saturday
night, it was clearly everyone’s therapy.
Photos by ???????????????????????

Cocktails for a memorable Cause
Cocktails for a Cause is a monthly Eureka Springs Downtown Network gathering. The third Thursday of each month, a different business hosts C4C to the benefit of a local
non-profit organization. The cover charge and a portion of the sales of each libation goes to the month’s cause. Last Thursday the cause was the Eureka Springs Preservation
Society, and the event was held at the Grand Central Hotel. The two-hour “cocktail hour” drew numerous folks who came to have fun talking and networking with their peers.
And at this C4C, guests were treated to music by the regular pianist/singer at the Grand Taverne, Jerry Yester, a member of the ‘60s folk-pop group The Lovin’ Spoonful.
AT LEFT: Glenn Crenshaw and Tom Carlin swap stories. AT RIGHT:Susan Ozborne reacts to her first sip of a double-olive martini. Her husband, Guy McCormick sits
behind her. The couple splits their time between Wichita, Kansas and their Eureka home on Lake Lucerne.
AT LEFT: Guy McCormick places his order.
AT RIGHT: The lobby of the Grand Central Hotel was ground zero for this month’s Cocktails for a Cause.
Photos by David Bell

Photos by Charles Chappell
Highlander boys handily defeat OmahaThe Eureka Springs Highlander boys’ basketball team defeated Omaha 73-42 on Tuesday in the school’s home opening game. Jake McClung led in scoring with 17 points
including three 3-pointers, Reggie Sanchez had 15 points, Ryan Sanchez had 13 points, Trevor Lemme had 11 points including three 3-point shots, and Dalton Johnson
contributed 7 points including two 3-pointers. The Lady Highlanders didn’t fare so well in their contest with Omaha on Tuesday, losing 31-27. Abby Moore led with 12 points
and 12 rebounds, and Samantha Mueller contributed 4 points. The Highlanders travel to St. Paul for their next game, on Friday, Oct. 25.

Voices from a Silent City haunts spectators
The 5th annual Voices from Eureka Springs Silent City Cemetery Tour kicked off Friday evening amid scattered showers. Ten locals portrayed various Eurekans and mim-
icked their attire and personalities for the tours, lead by six guides – Alexa Pittenger, Carolyn Green, Rochelle Bales, Mary Diehl, Christy Braswell and Glenna Booth. Rod
and Phyllis McGuire handled produced the tours with help from the local historical genius of June Westphal.
Ida Bentley, played by Hannah Grat, tips back the forty grains of strychnine after being
jilted at the alter by her lover Harvey Bryant, as life without Harvey was too much to bare.
Okemah (Kim) Morrell, played by Karen
Pryor, takes time away from playing in
The Hill Folk band to entertain the crowd
in her trademark costume.
John Wynn, played by Terry Miller,
emerges from his unmarked grave in
Potter’s Field to fiddle for onlookers.
Claude Fuller, played by Mike Maloney, ris-
es aside his gravestone to pose for a pho-
tograph.
Augusta “Mama” and Adolph “Papa” Kukler, played by Joanie Kratzer and Jim White,
tune their zither moments before the rain showers started.
Perry Mark, played by Tim Grat,
stands alongside his pride and joy, the
first motorcycle to rumble through Eu-
reka Springs.
AT LEFT: Rod and Phillis McGuire
stand at the entrance of the cem-
etery, greeting tour takers. Along
with producing the tours, Rod
was also the acting Greeter at the
Gate.
AT RIGHT: Joe Parkhill, played by
Jake Allen, takes time away from
putting Eureka Springs in the lime-
light to pose amid torchlight.
AT FAR RIGHT: John Philip Sou-
sa, played by Terry McClung,
stands amid the rainfall that was
marching all around him.
Photos by Chip Ford

Dispatch
Continued from page 2
8:50 a.m. – Animal Control found two
stray dogs and followed them to their
home then issued a verbal warning to the
owners about a dangerous cat roaming
the streets, rendering the dogs unsafe for
canine passage.
4:24 p.m. – Caller form Victoria
Woods reported some missing pills.
Officer responded and pills were later
found.
8:08 p.m. – Caller from Ridgeway Av-
enue reported a domestic disturbance.
Officer responded and spoke with com-
plainant.
9:58 p.m. – Traffic stop on Highway
62 led to the arrest of subject on a Ber-
ryville warrant.
11:10 p.m. – Caller reported a sus-
picious vehicle at a gas station’s gas
pumps. Officer responded and vehicle
was broken down and the driver was
waiting for assistance.
Oct. 17
10:49 a.m. – Caller reported elder-
ly male walking back and forth along.
Highway 62. Officer responded and he
was okay.
1:45 p.m. – Caller reported her neigh-
bor was harassing her. Officer responded
and spoke with both parties. Can’t we all
just get along?
Oct. 18
11:22 a.m. – Routine traffic stop on
Passion Play Road resulted in an arrest.
7:39 p.m. – Caller from a local restau-
rant reported a noise compliant on a lo-
cal tavern. Officer responded and they
turned the music down.
Oct. 19
1:46 a.m. – Caller from local hotel
reported a man screaming behind the
building. Officer responded, but was un-
able to locate the subject due to “some
psychopath screaming too loud” for him
to hear the directions from dispatch. Just
kidding.
3:01 a.m. – Caller from Ridgeway Av-
enue reported a noise complaint. Officer
responded and told party to keep it down
and inside.
8:30 a.m. – Caller advised they had
security footage of their neighbor’s dog
knocking over their trash cans. Officer
responded and a follow-up was made by
Animal Control Officers.
7:41 p.m. – Guest from local motel
wanted to fill out a police report about
a stolen wallet. Officer took report, but
wallet was found the next day. I hate it
when I report my wallet stolen and then
find it exactly where I left it.
8:29 p.m. – Anonymous caller re-
ported someone using a leaf blower on
Main Street. Officer responded, but the
complaints were unfounded, it was just
some Texan chasing teenagers with a
chain saw, no need for a report. Happy
Halloween!
10:42 p.m. – Officers were advised to
be on the lookout for a reckless driver on
Mountain Street, but did not locate.
Oct. 20
12:26 a.m. – Traffic stop at Rapid
Roberts resulted in a DWI arrest.
11:38 a.m. – Caller from Chestnut
Street reported a truck and trailer block-
ing his driveway. Officer responded, but
no report was needed.
10:30 p.m. – Caller reported a vehicle
leaving Grand Taverne headed to Chel-
sea’s that should not be driving. Officer
responded, but was unable to locate.
11:40 p.m. – Caller reported his dog
was missing and ask for someone to no-
tify him if it is found. The malingering
killer cat strikes again!
11:41 p.m. – Routine traffic stop lead
to the arrest of two subjects on charges
of DWI and a Carroll County warrant.
Flu shot clinic coming
to Carroll County
Those looking to ward off the flu this
season should mark Oct. 30 on their cal-
endars.
The Carroll County Health Depart-
ment will be conducting a Mass Flu Shot
Clinic on Oct. 30 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
at the county fairgrounds.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the 2013-2014
flu season starts this month and could
last for more than six months.
It is recommended that all individuals
6 months of age and older should get the
flu vaccine. Vaccinations are especially
important for people at higher risk of
flu, including health care professionals,
children younger than 6 and people over
65.
In addition to the Mass Flu Shot Clin-
ic, the CCHD will be providing vacci-
nations to students and staff members at
area schools. CCHD representatives will
be at the Green Forest Alumni Center
today from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. They
will also be at Eureka Springs schools
on Oct. 21 and Berryville schools on
Oct. 23.
For more information about any of the
Carroll County flu shot clinics, call the
health department at 870-423-2923.
Between five and 20 percent of the
U.S. population develops influenza,
commonly called the flu, each year,
according to a release from the health
department. This leads to more than
200,000 hospitalizations from related
complications. Flu-related deaths occur
every year, ranging from a low of about
3,000 to a high of 49,000 people.
The most common problems associat-
ed with the flu shot are mild, according
to the CCHD. The side effects include
soreness, redness or swelling where the
shot was given; hoarseness; sore, red or
itchy eyes; cough; fever; aches; head-
ache; itching; and fatigue.
If these problems occur, they usually
begin after the shot and last one or two
days. If they persist longer, call your
doctor.
Photo submitted
Carroll County Extension Agent Randy Forst addresses the advanced class of
Master Gardeners. Some 70 people attended the class at First Christian Church
on Passion Play Road in Eureka Springs last week.
Master Gardeners get advanced

YOUR Children’s Story
I
t is a truth universally acknowledged
that a single writer in possession of a
good desire to write must be in want of
a children’s story.
Apologies to Jane, and the desire to write
a children’s story is not “universal” among
writers. But I’ve been very surprised at
how many people who are writing memoir
or adult fiction also have a children’s story
perking on the back burner. Sometimes, the
children’s story is fully written—even illus-
trated. Sometimes, it’s just a idea. But it’s
beenwaitingpatiently—perhapsfordecades.
I, on the other hand, do not have a clue
about writing for children. I don’t have a clue
about children. They seem mostly to emit
piercing shrieks in Wal-Mart or bang things
on my coffee table. I’m grateful for the peo-
ple who are parents. It’s a dirty job but some-
one has to do it.
But what appeals to children in this tech-
nological age? What vo-
cabulary is appropriate
for each age group today? In what ways are
today’s kids more sophisticated in perception
than my generation? In what ways are they
less? How has cultural and social collective
memory and understanding shifted genera-
tion by generation? What iconic archetypes
are still relevant? Which are not? I can’t an-
swer any of these questions.
So what will I do with all these children’s
stories that our eager local writers are wav-
ing about with excitement? How can I judge
where these stories miss the mark and where
they hit it spot on?
“A prophet is not without honor,” Jesus
said, “except in his own country and among
his own people.” Now that is a universal
principle. Do we appreciate the quiet talent
that lives among us and never draws atten-
tion to itself? Do we allow our opinion to be
slanted by a difference in ideology?
We have an award-winning children’s au-
thor and editor living quietly among us who
day by day drives from Berryville to his job
in Green Forest. Craig Froman doesn’t have
a huge sign on his car to say that his chil-
dren’s book won a USA Best Book award.
But that, in today’s glutted book market, is
no small thing.
Nor does he advertise that in his job as an
editor he sees hundreds of children’s man-
uscripts in a year; as a publisher, he knows
what parents buy; as a trained educator, he
knows what children love. Because he loves
children and does not see them solely asWal-
Mart shriekers and coffee table demolishers.
So the next question I faced was how
to leverage this talent into the most useful
workshop for local writers and their stories.
Craig and I decided that the quickest way to
jumpstart these stories would be to have him
critique them, drawing concepts from them
that he could then discuss as general princi-
ples of writing for children.
And people who don’t already have a sto-
ry written can still take the workshop to listen
and learn.
I’m calling for submissions now, any-
thing from coloring books and picture books
• • •
Alison Taylor-Brown has an MFA in Fiction and a lifetime of teaching experience from pre-
school to university levels. She directs The Village Writing School, whose mission is to
foster the development of area writers through workshops, writers’ circles, and coaching.
Her column, Village View, appears weekly. To talk to Alison about your writing goals and
dreams, contact her at alisontaylorbrown@me.com or 479 292-3665.
By Sandra
SynarVillageView Alison
Taylor-
Brown
VillageWriting School
upcoming workshops
November 2
WRITING FOR CHILDREN
Have your Children’s Story
Critiqued by an award-winning
Childen’s Author & Publisher
1-4 pm $25
Coming in December
WRITING YOUR CHRISTMAS
STORY
A free gift from the
Village Writing School
January 18, 2014
GETTING STARTED
(the first 2 pages, research,
to outline or not, story arc,
writing rules to live by)
For more info or to register
visit villagewritingschool.com
or contact 479 292-3665 or
alisontaylorbrown@me.com
to chapter books. The deadline is October
31. Email your story to me at alisontaylor-
brown@me.com or, if you only have a hard
copy, call me at 479 292-3665.
The workshop will be November 2 from
1-4 at the Village Writing School at 177
Huntsville Road. The cost, including the cri-
tique of your story, is only $25.
Let’s get these stories finished to keep
these kids quiet and off the coffee tables.
Writer’s Night Out to feature Library Director
This Thursday, Carnegie Library Director Loretta Crenshaw
will speak on the library resources available to writers. She
will demonstrate use of the EBSCO databases and show how
the library can help with research, craft, English, or story. The
evening begins at 6 pm at the Village Writing School at 177
Huntsville Road, Eureka Springs.
Writers’ Night Out is a free weekly event open to the public.
Come learn how the library can make you a better writer. For
more information, call 479 292-3665.

The Village Writing School To support our local writers,
the Lovely County Citizen is
providing space each week
to showcase a student of
The Village Writing School.
For more information, email
alisontaylorbrown@me.com
or call (479) 292-3665
This Week’s Writer:
Richard Schoe
“Owwutch!“ winced the boa.
In aggravated rage the snake bucked,
and the little gray mouse lost his grip on
the sewing needle now deep in the snake’s
bottom or where his bottom ought to be, if
a snake were to have a bottom.
“That…sthmartths!” With yellow-eyed
murder, the snake struck towards the
mouse, dumping the little girl out of the
tent like a mean jump rope hooking her
legs out from under her. Blessing that it
was, the little girl tumbled free, having
hampered the snake’s strike just enough
for the little gray mouse to hop clear, all
fangs considered.
His eyes glazing vengefully over, the
boa constrictor smoothly drew his body
around behind him, picking the needle out
of himself as it swam by. He hatefully swore
an oath, promising inevitably gruesome
doom to the girl and the mouse. Sounds of
the jungle escaped from the air, vanishing
into muted self-preservation as all the neigh-
borhood watched the inevitable fact of jun-
gle life and jungle death: how one would
feed the other. Then, as abruptly as it had
stopped, chatter and play would be resumed
by the living.
The little girl scooped the mouse up, hold-
ing him high and close, just above her heart.
Making slow deliberate steps back and back,
her eyes upon the snake, her heart upon the
mouse, and her thoughts upon her savior as
she prayed, “And deliver us from evil. . .”
The snake coiled, then reached back to
strike. . .
“Stuuumphf.”The spear chomped into the
ground. Cracking his body like a whip, the
boa lashed out for the tall grasses behind the
tent with its long body in hot pursuit of its
head.
“Stuuumphf. . .Stuuumphf. . .Stuuumphf.
. .”another and another and another spear
stitched after the snake’s retreating tail, the
last spear just grazing the side of the wig-
gling boa as it escaped.Afinal listphing “ow-
wutch’’was muffled by the rescuing hubbub.
The villagers flooded the grasses, fanning
out and poking their spears in unwelcoming
jabs ahead of their feet so that if anything
were there, it would decide to relocate to a
different neighbourhood, one without spears.
• • •
A long-time transplanted flat-lander to Eu-
reka Springs, Richard Schoe is the father
of three grown sons, is somewhat retired,
somewhat self-employed; and the caregiver
for his mother, Betty H. Schoeninger.
“Tell me a story, Dad.” “What do want me to tell you?” “Tell me a story about a little
gray mouse.” And so began the gray mouse adventures that Richard Schoe told his youngest
son. The mouse was the pet of a little English girl who moved to Africa when her parents be-
came missionaries. This story makes lavish use of the onomatopoeia so popular with children
while keeping the dramatic tension high. Try it out on a child you know.
The Little Gray Mouse and the Boa
T
he little gray mouse’s fear changed
colour. The snake was hungry and
had just discovered where the little
girl was sleeping!
As if the boa had heard those thoughts,
he moved soundlessly back to the little gray
mouse’s cage, nosing up against it, darting
his tongue out into the air inside the cage.
Quite large enough to keep a mouse in, but
what could these ridiculously skinny bars
keep out! The little gray mouse backed op-
posite the snake, slowly, purposefully until
he bumped into the little girl’s pin cushion
and pricked himself straight up.
Taking an eyeful of the snake’s darting
tongue, the rather sharp-witted mouse hes-
itated, then, quicker than a mongoose, the
little gray mouse grabbed the longest sew-
ing needle, leaped as though shot right at
the boa’s face, and stabbing like a sailor,
the mouse harpooned the snake’s darting
tongue. With a half twist, the mouse bolted
the boa’s nose to the cage; his tongue was
speared through by the needle and locked
against the cage wires. Thrashing in pain,
his nose trapped against the cage by his own
tongue, the boa flailed and flopped and slam-
bam-ded to get loose. The little gray mouse
held on for dear life, his dear life.
“Oh! My thtongue! My thtongue! You
Ssthabbed my thtongue!” wailed the snake.
“Owutch! Owutch! Owutch!”
Like a fresh-caught fish landed on a boat
deck, the boa flipped and fluttered. The cage
thumped this way and walloped that way
and thumped this way again.
“Oh! My thtongue. My thtongue. Let go
my thtongue! Bad mouthe. Bad mouthe.”
What a ruckus! The snake bashed and
crashed and trashed the orderly contents of
the tent most inhospitably. From the little
gray mouse’s first stab, the monkey alarm
had hoot-hooted the call to the jungle neigh-
bourhood.All the village heard.
Well,evenastrongandkeenlydetermined
mouse can only hold on for so long against
a battering boa a hundred times longer and
a thousand times bigger. The cage had quite
disassembled itself under such tremendous
poundings from the snake, and the little gray
mouse was tossed loose outside. Tumbling,
rolling he spilled out onto the tent floor,
out of the cage, out into the open. . .still
holding the needle.
“I am ssthooo mad!” listhpped the swol-
len-thtongued boa, ranting his threats on
and on at the little gray mouse and prepar-
ing his dreadful wrath.
“I am going to eath you! I am going to
hide and waith and sthqueeeethze the life
outh of every living thing thath comes
intho this tenth! Sthqueeeethze them and
eath them…All of them!”
“Thwack!” It was the little girl, white-
eyed and panting. She swung the broom,
straight, even and real hard, just as if the
snake’s head were an oversized baseball.
Spinning like a ballerina, moving her head
only at the last, dipping her raised foot
down to stop her spin, planting both feet
solid, she unleashed the broom again.
“Thwack!” the snake’s head tried to
leave the tent but was held by its neck
much like a rope being thrown to some-
one needing rescue that drops short when
played out.
“My head!” groaned the hateful boa lift-
ing himself up off the tent platform. “You
are sthooo going thwo be my lunch.”
Like a slinky thrown sideways, the boa
uncoiled toward the little girl now dizzy
and all unwound after her second swing.
The snake, too close to hit and too strong to
stop, made his first wind around the girl’s
feet before she could think to step away.
The little gray mouse’s eyes snapped
wide. The little girl! Up he bound, needle
in hand, landing all crouched on the boa’s
flowing form, rounding for its second
wind on the girl’s legs.

Some might say that Blayne Thiebaud
IS Mountain Sprout.
No doubt, his energetic and oftentimes
wild presence fills up the stage when the
Eureka Springs-based hillbilly-bluegrass
band performs. Thiebaud, the band’s fid-
dler, is never still when he’s playing, bend-
ing forward and back, side to side – all
while sawing his fiddle with bullet-like
speed, lightning-like electricity and stop-
watch-like precision.
Reviewers have sworn they’ve seen
smoke coming off his bow, and it would
surprise none of Mountain Sprout’s fans
if that actually occurred. Fans adore his
on-stage persona, and Eureka residents
have come to adore him off-stage as well.
Friends and bandmates alike describe him
as a “joker with a spiritual and serious
side.”
But now Thiebaud, 30, is leaving Moun-
tain Sprout, moving to Hawaii early next
week. His last performances with the band
will be Friday night, Oct. 25 at Chelsea’s
Corner Cafe & Bar, and Saturday, Oct. 26
at a live taping of the international radio
program “WoodSongs,” happening at The
Aud as part of the Ozark Folk Festival this
weekend.
Mountain Sprout has built a reputation
over the last seven years as a hard-party-
ing, rambunctious, irreverent group whose
hits include tunes like “Screw The Govern-
ment,” “Marijuana,” “Town Drunk,” “Dry
Counties,” and “Tweeker,” which pokes
some tongue-in-cheek fun at meth users.
They’ve toured the country a number of
times and are favorites in the Mid-South
region, particularly at music festivals large
and small. The band typically performs
several times at major annual Arkansas
music festivals such as Wakarusa and Yon-
der Mountain String Band’s Harvest Music
Festival, which incidentally was last week-
end.
Festivals are a favorite place to perform
for Mountain Sprout, and its members
can usually be found pickin’ and singing
around a campfire with friends and fans
till sunrise at such events. It is at festivals
that Thiebaud is best known for his row-
dy behavior, said lead singer Grayson Van
Sickle.
“He’s kind of known for passing out by
the bonfire and burning his boots, so he’s
constantly having to buy new ones after al-
most every festival,” he said with a laugh.
“But seriously, he’s the world’s best fiddler
in my opinion. He’s irreplaceable, actually.
It will definitely be hard to reproduce the
kind of energy Blayne brings to the stage.”
Thiebaud’s energy and carefree spirit
have made him a lovable character, both on
stage and off, but they’ve also led to sever-
al abrupt life changes, some hard times and
some difficult lessons.
One of those was his unexpected exit
from the U.S. Army in 2002. He’d been
enlisted for 11 months and was stationed in
Hawaii when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred.
“It was intense during that time,” he re-
calls. “At first, my initial reaction was that
it was some fake military exercise. Then
we found out it was real, and we were pret-
ty sure we were all going to war.”
Luckily for Thiebaud, the Army units
stationed in Hawaii were at the bottom of
the list to be sent overseas, so he didn’t
have to go. It wasn’t too much later that his
independent thinking and penchant for re-
bellion got him excused from further mili-
tary service. He was honorably discharged,
since he “didn’t quite see eye-to-eye with
the Army,” he says, grinning.
He stayed in Hawaii for another six
months before moving back to his home
state of Texas; he grew up in Odessa.
“I got derailed a little bit in Texas by
the party lifestyle, so I left Texas and went
to Illinois to stay with my older broth-
er, Dean, who I’d never really known till
then,” Thiebaud explained. “I slept on
Dean’s couch for three months. He was in a
band called The Woodbox Gang, and that’s
when I started really playing music.”
He’d taken violin lessons as early as
sixth grade, but had focused on guitar in
the years leading up to his move to Illinois.
Fans may be surprised to learn that his fa-
vorite music to play on guitar was heavy
metal: Pantera, White Zombie and Marilyn
Manson were among his faves. Fans also
may be surprised to know that Thiebaud
doesn’t consider himself a “real” fiddle
player. “I just try to mimic whatever I hear
and like,” he says. “I don’t even know the
lick to Turkey and the Straw, for example, I
just play it like I remember it in my head.”
Whatever his methods, it was during his
time at his brother’s – who earlier this year
moved to Eureka and joined Mountain
Sprout as well – that Thiebaud picked up
the violin again and began to learn to play
it bluegrass-style.
“I’d sit on the church steps at an old
church where Dean’s band practiced and
listen to them play,” he recalls. “One day,
a guy named Adam Wagner walked up to
listen, too. That’s how I met Adam.”
The two became fast friends and mu-
sic-playing buddies, eventually forming a
band called the Broke Strang Band. They
performed around the Midwest region,
coming through Eureka Springs the first
time in 2004.
“I just kept coming back here after that;
it was like I never really left.”
At that time, Mountain Sprout was
based in New Orleans as a street band with
a rotating membership of about a dozen
musicians. Thiebaud met Van Sickle busk-
ing on a New Orleans street, and he ended
up sleeping on his floor for several months,
joining the group of Mountain Sprout mu-
sicians not long after. They traveled back
and forth between NOLA and Illinois, per-
forming at bars and festivals in between
and staying in Eureka Springs as often as
possible.
In 2006, Van Sickle, Thiebaud and Wag-
ner sat down and decided to get serious
about Mountain Sprout. They were at PK’s
in Carbondale, Ill., when they made a pact
that they were going to move to Eureka
Springs, where their bassist, Melissa Carp-
er, already lived.
“Grayson was looking for a place to set-
tle down and raise his family, and Eureka
was a good centrally located hub for the
Midwest to branch out from. We already
had some connections in the business here,
and a fan base, so we moved to Eureka in
‘It’s Been a Long Time Coming’
Fiddler Thiebaud leaving Mountain Sprout; band pushing on with new member
Photo by Joe Huff
Performing to a very enthusiastic audience at Harvest Festival last Thursday are
Mountain Sprout members, from left, Blayne Thiebaud, new member Mike Schem-
bre, Dean Thiebaud, Grayson Van Sickle, Adam Wagner and Daniel Remond.

the fall of 2006,” Thiebaud explained. “I
lived in a storage unit with Adam until we
got kicked out, in the dead of winter – it
was cold as sh**! Later we met Caitlin
Cantele and Whitney Capps and ended up
renting a house on Owen Street with some
of our new friends.”
It didn’t take long for the gang to be-
come known as the hard-partying band.
Some have criticized Mountain Sprout
for this and have advised them to “calm
down” and focus more on their musician-
ship.
“Duh,” Thiebaud says of those who
say the band parties too hard. “It’s always
been like that. We’ve been partying hard
since before we started playing music. I
started playing the fiddle for free beer,
who wouldn’t? Then I learned I could ac-
tually make money at it, too.”
Mountain Sprout took off, growing in
popularity and in reputation. In 2009,
Carver quit the band and bassist Dan-
iel Redmond of Broken Arrow, Okla.,
moved to Eureka to become a full-time
member.
The party lifestyle and spending nine
or more months a year touring and per-
forming began to wear on Thiebaud with-
in a few years of Mountain Sprout mov-
ing to Eureka Springs, he says.
Then, last New Year’s Eve, he decided
it was time to move on.
“The lifestyle just got to me, all the
drugs and alcohol that come with being
a professional musician and playing in
bars,” Thiebaud says. “Grayson joined
Alcoholics Anonymous and stopped
drinking, Adam finished his first solo CD
and starting hitting that hard, and Dan
also had a side project, Ice Cold Fat-
ty, starting up. I went on a three-month
bender and after that I knew I had to go.”
It took a few months longer than he’d
planned to make his exit, he says, but it’s
all worked out. The band recently hired
a new fiddler, Mike Schembre from Co-
lumbia, Mo.
Now, Thiebaud is going to pursue “oth-
er creative avenues,” though he will also
likely end up playing fiddle whenever he
can – “just not right off the bat,” he says.
“I’m thinking about going to massage
school just to have another profession
under my belt that has nothing to do with
playing music in bars.”
He will be living in the town of Cap-
tain Cook on the Big Island of Hawaii,
just south of Kona. He has a job lined up
working for his room and board by clean-
ing, cooking and entertaining for guests
at a bed and breakfast, and he has several
entertainment-job interviews lined up, he
says.
“I’m relieved to finally be moving,”
Thiebaud says. “I feel like I don’t have
to carry the weight of the world on my
shoulders anymore, that weight of the
lifestyle and being a so-called rock star.”
He says he will miss the people of Eu-
reka the most – “and Chelsea’s. It’s just
home; it’s the living room of Eureka, at
least for me. I still get mail at Chelsea’s.
“It was the first place I stepped into
here, literally, and it’ll be the last place I
step out of.”
His bandmates are not at all happy
that he’s leaving, but they’re determined
to carry on with Mountain Sprout’s mu-
sic. Redmond says that while Thiebaud
does bring the most energy to the stage,
“Mountain Sprout is Grayson, who
writes almost all of our songs. As long
as Grayson is comprehensive, Mountain
Sprout will happen.
“I think every one of us is a big part of
Mountain Sprout, but we are all ultimate-
ly following Grayson’s lead,” Redmond
continued. “But I hate to see Blayne go.
He’s the most artistic of all of us.”
Thiebaud, listening to Redmond, jok-
ingly repeats, laughing: “Autistic or ar-
tistic?”
Redmond replied by giving Thiebaud
some tongue-in-cheek advice: “You
know what I suggest you do before you
go to Hawaii? See as many possums as
possible. That’s the first thing I’d miss in
Hawaii. ‘Man, I really wanna see some
possums.’”
Thiebaud laughed.
Then Redmond gets serious, when
asked to describe his bandmate in three
words: “Brother I love,” he quickly re-
plies.
Dean Thiebaud, when asked the same
question, said “World’s best fiddler.”
“I think it sucks that he’s leaving, but
he’s got to do what he’s got to do,” the
guitarist and protective big brother said.
He and Wagner provide acoustic rhythms
for the band, taking turns on lead and
both contributing vocals as well. “The
band will be fine, and I hope Blayne will
go get his head together and come back in
a few months.”
Time will tell. Meanwhile, Mountain
Sprout will tour in support of the new al-
bum it recorded two weeks ago, entitled
“Long Time Coming,” after a new song
written by none other than Blayne.
“It’s been a long time coming,” the
song says. “I have paid my dues. It’s been
a long time coming, and all my dreams
are coming true.”
Theibaud’s fans and friends — and es-
pecially this reporter — certainly hope
they do.
Photo by Kristal Kuykendall
Mountain Sprout performs last Saturday on the Main Stage at Yonder Mountain String Band’s Harvest Music Festival at Mulberry Mountain just north of Cass.

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