Basketball state tournaments are here
Basketball state tournaments are here
The daffodils are nearly here; Early voting ongoing; When the walls came tumbling down; Commercial real estate awards handed out plus sports and headlines
Note to subscribers: An annual or monthly subscription is billed to your debit or credit card as ARKANSAS.SUBSTACK.COM and if you have questions, please email arkansas@substack.com. Thanks for reading and subscribing!Eclipse plans?
Do you have plans for this April’s total solar eclipse? If you haven’t heard, there’s a total solar eclipse happening on Monday, April 8. Central Arkansas will be in the path of the totality and things are expected to get a little crazy as loads of people are expected to come here and there and everywhere to see it. But, the question is, do you have plans? And if you do, please reply to this email to let us know. Also, don’t look directly at the eclipse without eye protection. That’s bad.
Pandemic deaths flat
The state Department of Health, in a report issued Feb. 21, it showed that in the past week, no Arkansans had died from Covid year, through Feb. 17. The previous week there had been 24 Covid deaths. Covid has now killed 13,659 Arkansans. That would mean the pandemic death toll has now passed Marion’s 13,635 people, the state’s 29th largest city.
Covid toolkit
There’s now a one-stop shop to learn about vaccination sites and other Covid related information. Click here to learn more.
If you don’t want to get sick and die, there’s some things you can do:
Get vaccinated
Get boosted
Wear a mask
Avoid crowds
The Headlines
Meetings: This is a public meeting free week and maybe because Thursday is Leap Day?
Events: There’s daffodils at Wye Mountain this weekend, weather permitting, and the annual festival in Perry County is free and worth the drive. In Hot Springs, there’s cherry blossoms and sake and sumo wrestling, and quite the combination. For more on both, keep scrolling
Looking for a summer gig? Maumelle Parks & Rec is hiring for a variety of jobs this summer and click here for more.
Basketball: State tournaments started across Arkansas on Tuesday and Maumelle, Central Arkansas Christian and North Little Rock have all qualified in their respective classifications and North Little Rock is hosting the 6A state tournaments. Maumelle, CAC and North Little Rock boys are all in action tonight and for more on the North of the River teams in, keep scrolling.
Early voting ongoing
The March 5 primary and judicial elections are now less than a week away and early voting has already begun in Pulaski County. Early voting will continue through Monday, March 4 with Election Day being Tuesday, March 5.
Early voting sites
Jess Odom Community Center, 1100 Edgewood Drive, Maumelle
Feb. 28 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Feb. 29 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 1 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 2 ... 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Glenview Community Center, 4800 E. 19th St., North Little Rock
Feb. 28 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Feb. 29 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 1 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 2 ... 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
William F. Laman Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock
Feb. 28 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Feb. 29 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 1 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 2 ... 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Jacksonville Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive, Jacksonville
Feb. 28 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Feb. 29 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 1 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 2 ... 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
First Christian Church of Sherwood, 2803 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood
Feb. 28 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Feb. 29 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 1 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 2 ... 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Pulaski County Regional Building, 501 W. Markham, Little Rock
Feb. 28 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Feb. 29 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 1 ... 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
March 2 ... 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
March 4 ... 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
For other South of the River voting sites, click here.
State tournaments preview: Maumelle, CAC and North Little Rock play this week
North Little Rock is hosting the 6A state tournaments this week as play began on Tuesday.
North Little Rock boys are the No. 3 seed from the 6A-Central and will face Fort Smith Northside at 8:30 p.m. tonight at Smalltel Arena.
For the bracket, click here.
To buy tickets to any of the state tournament games, please click here.
NLRTV, the school's YouTube channel, will not be streaming games from the arena during the tournament but tonight's game will be on the internet thanks to the Grizzly Sports Network and can be watched by clicking here.
North Little Rock enters the game 19-7 while Northside, formerly in the Central, is 10-20 on the season.
The two teams faced each other on Dec. 29 earlier this season and North Little Rock won, 71-55.
The winner of the game tonight, will face Fayetteville, the No. 2 seed from the West, at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.
The semifinals will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of Central No.1 seed Bryant and Bentonville West /Cabot
On the other side of the bracket are West No. 1 seed Har-Ber and Central No. 2 seed Little Rock Central along with Jonesboro/Bentonville and Springdale/Little Rock Southwest.
In the 6A girls state tournament, North Little Rock is the No.2 seed from the Central and has a first-round bye.
For the bracket, click here.
North Little Rock (26-4) will face the winner of Springdale Har-Ber and Jonesboro at 7 p.m. Thursday.
North Little Rock has beaten Har-Ber once this season, and Jonesboro, twice.
The winner advances to the semifinals at noon on Saturday against the winner of West No. 1 seed Fort Smith Northside and Central/Bentonville.
North Little Rock hasn't played Northside this season and Rickey Smith's squad is an impressive 26-3.
Northside has two losses to out-of-state programs in nationally ranked IMG Academy and Springfield, Mo. Kickapoo and they also lost to Fayetteville in December. Northside has yet to lose in 2024 and are riding a 14-game winning streak.
On the other side of the bracket are Central No. 1 seed Conway and West No. 2 seed Fayetteville along with Springdale/Bryant and Cabot/Rogers.
Maumelle has made the 5A tournament in Searcy this week as the No. 2 from the 5A-Central.
The Hornets (17-10) will face Valley View (19-10) at 5:30 p.m. today on the tournament's second day.
This is the first meeting between the two schools this season.
The game will be streamed on the Maumelle Sports Network and click here for the broadcast.
All Maumelle games will be streamed at the link above.
For the bracket, click here.
The winner of today's game will face Benton, who beat Mountain Home, 60-38, on Tuesday afternoon, in the quarterfinals at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday with the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
On Maumelle's side of the bracket are Alma/White Hall and Marion/Little Rock Parkview.
In 3A, Central Arkansas Christian has made the state tournament this week at Elkins.
For the bracket, click here.
CAC (23-5) made the tournament after beating Lisa Academy North, 66-43, in the third place game at the regionals in Dover on Saturday.
Booneville is 19-9 overall and the game will be a purple and gold clash as the schools both wear the same colors.
Booneville is the No. 2 seed from its region and lost to Bergman, 80-49, in the finals.
This game will be streamed at the Bearcats Sports Network and click here for the broadcast.
This is the first meeting of the year between the two schools.
The winner of this game will face Rivercrest/Harmony Grove at 8:30 p.m. on Friday and the semifinals will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Also on CAC's side of the bracket are Dumas/Gosnell and Riverview/Elkins.
Lamar ended up winning the region and is on the other side of the bracket.
The daffodils are nearly here
The annual Wye Mountain Daffodil Festival starts at 9 a.m . this Saturday in Perry County and continues through Sunday, March 10.
Festival hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and parking and admission is free but donations are accepted.
The daffodils and jonquils that cover the mountain are already starting to bloom and event organizers note that the festival’s length and daily hours could be extended depending on the weather.
Now in its 46th year, the festival is a benefit for Wye Mountain Church, formerly a United Methodist congregation, and before that, it was a United Brethren church, built in 1928.
In addition to the flowers, there’s arts and crafts that will be for sale along with food trucks. In years past, the cinnamon rolls were a must purchase.
There will also be daffodil bulbs for sale at the festival as well.
The address for the church is 22300 Highway 113, Bigelow and for more click here.
As written about previously, the drive to Wye Mountain is worth it. There’s roughly 10 acres of glorious color on display as matching families pose with the Easter best as photographers snap away.
Speaking of flowers
Cherry blossoms will be on display in Hot Springs this Saturday as part of the American Craft Sake Festival.
Origami Sake, based in Hot Springs, is one of the hosts, along with the city and the Sake Brewers Association.
It will start at 5 p.m. in downtown Hot Springs on Saturday and carry through to Sunday a Sumo Wrestling exhibition at 6 p.m.
To buy tickets, click here.
North Little Rock Fire Department to have promotion ceremony
The North Little Rock Fire Department will have a promotion ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Patrick Henry Hays Senior Center.
Six firefighters are being promoted and they are:
Matthew Hunt, Tanner Ramsey and Matt Mathchett will be promoted to Lieutenant.
David Kirkendoll and Steve Lankford will be promoted to Captain
Capt. Ricky Cranford will be promoted to Battalion Chief.
Cranford, above, is the city’s first Black Battalion Chief and started with the department in 1996. He made Lieutenant in 2005 and was promoted to Captain in 2015.
Being sworn in as new firefighters are Richard Herring, Ashley Meyer and Michael Marra
In addition to the promotions, several firefighters are also retiring and they are:
Battalion Chief Al Cerrato (43 years)
Capt. Perry Tackett (36 years)
Lt. Mark Mahan (20 years).
When the walls came tumbling down
North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick helped lead the demolition of the former City Services building on Tuesday morning.
Located at 120 Main St., and a former bank the building has had many lives with the city and with its demolition will clear a valuable piece of downtown property for future development.
The demolition is expected to take 75 days, weather permitting.
Commercial real estate awards handed out
The Commercial Real Estate Council of Metro Little Rock held its annual Commercial Real Estate Awards on Thursday, Feb. 22.
The event honored both significant achievements and the largest real estate transactions in the metro area for 2022.
Honored as Legends were Rick Ashley and Gus Vratsinas.
Ashley has been involved in commercial real estate for his entire life and there’s a significant number of commercial developments that carry the Ashley name.
Two he’s especially proud of are Ashley Square, off Rodney Parham, and home to the TJ Maxx, among other commercial properties. North Little Rock’s Lakewood Village is another and his company was instrumental in doubling its size.
In addition to real estate, Ashley has also been involved in banking and helped restart Twin City Bank, now Centennial Bank as is a member of the board there.
He’s also been heavily involved with the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.
Vratsinas, a Little Rock native, is a professional engineer as well as the co-founder of what’s now VCC, the international construction company headquartered in downtown Little Rock.
He has shaped the Little Rock skyline and was the general contractor for the TCBY Tower, now the Simmons Tower, the tallest building in the state and his North of the River impact has also been significant as he was the project manager for North Little Rock’s McCain Mall and also built The Other Center, the strip mall across from the mall, and home to Target, among other retail businesses.
The son of Greek immigrants, Vratsinas’s proudest professional accomplishment and also his most personal was building his church, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church when it moved to west Little Rock on Napa Valley Drive in the 1980s. He also worked on the church’s expansion in the 2000s with the addition of the church’s 7,000 square foot Cultural Center.
He’s also been instrumental in the success of the church’s annual Greek Food Festival and helped move it from its RiverFest home to the new church when it was completed in 1986.
He is also a member of the University of Arkansas College of Engineering Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Construction Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.
Impact Awards
The group also recognized the impact of last year’s EF-3 tornado and North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick and Little Rock Police Chief Heath Helton were on hand to accept Impact Awards for their respective cities.
Little Rock PD was also recognized for its Real Time Crime Center, which was completed last year.
Commercial Real Estate Project of the Year 2023
Sometimes it takes a village and sometimes it takes more than 50 companies to help get a project completed and such was the case with the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, which re-opened last year after a complete renovation and significant additions to the city’s 133,000 square-foot museum.
The museum has been nationally recognized for its design and construction.
Commercial Real Estate Person of the Year 2023
Bryan Day, Executive Director for the Port Authority of Little Rock, was named the Real Estate Person of the Year. A former assistant city manager and director of the city’s Parks & Rec department, Day has been with the Port Authority since 2014 and has led its transition to a “super site” with the move of an aviation navigation beacon that will allow for thousands of more acres to be developed there.
Largest Industrial Lease: 6801 Scott Hamilton – Drew Holbert, Isaac Smith, Clark Irwin & Andrew Wiechern, Colliers Arkansas
Largest Medical Lease: Premier Medical Plaza – Chris Moses & Greyson Skokos, Moses Tucker Partners
Largest Office Lease: 500 Main Street – Boyle Building – Chris Moses, Chris Monroe, Greyson Skokos & George Friedmann, Moses Tucker Partners
Largest Retail Lease: 12309 Chenal Parkway – Metro Appliances & More – Jill Bryant, West Group Real Estate
Largest Industrial Sale: 12221 Arch St. Pike – Lauren Atkins, Haybar Real Estate and Nathan Monan, Colliers Arkansas
Largest Land Sale: Top Golf Way – Club View Multifamily – Lee Strother & Kevin Huchingson, Colliers Arkansas
Largest Multi-Family Housing Sale: 10801 Paul Eells Drive - Fountain Bleau Maumelle – Ted Bailey, III & Richard Cheek, The Multifamily Group
Largest Office Sale: 12615 Chenal Parkway – Stone Bank – Drew Holbert & Clark Irwin, Colliers Arkansas
Largest Retail Sale: 1400 Military Road, Benton – Grocery Management Partners – Todd Rice, Colliers Arkansas
Sponsors for the event included: BluSky Restoration, Colliers Arkansas, Ferstl Valuation Services, Metro Disaster Specialists, Middleton Heat & Air, C.B.M. Construction, Cushman & Wakefield|Sage Partners, Regions Center 400 Capitol, Apartment Hunters, Canyon View Properties, Comfort Systems of Arkansas, Flake & Company, Hathaway Group, PI Roofing, Pulaski County Title, Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC, Western Specialty Contractors, Evo Business Solutions, Haybar Real Estate, Jefferson County Alliance for Economic Development, Beach Abstract & Guaranty Company, GFF Architects and The Multifamily Group.
CREC board members include:
Matthew Beachboard, Moses Tucker Partners
Reagan Compton, GFF Architects
Michael Crosby, Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC
Derek Fisher, Bank OZK
James Harkins, Blue Whale Development
David Hathaway, Hathaway Group
Rose Kline, Cushman & Wakefield | Sage Partners
Teresa Kreis, Colliers
Brad Sims, Pulaski County Title
Payton Smith, Metro Disaster Specialists
Cathy Tuggle, Apartment Hunters
Art notes
Hamlet to be performed at North Little Rock High School
March is going to be a big month for Shakespeare enthusiasts as the Theater Arts department at North Little Rock High School is going to be staging a production of Hamlet.
Shows start on Thursday, March 28 and conclude Saturday, March 30, Easter weekend, and will be held at the high school’s Performing Arts Center.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens.
For more information, call 501- 771-8127 or click here to buy tickets online. Tickets must be purchased on the internet as no cash will be accepted at the door.
Camp Healing Hearts set for May 17
Methodist Family Health’s Kaleidoscope Grief Center is currently accepting applications to attend its free overnight grief camp, Camp Healing Hearts.
It will be held at Camp Aldersgate in Little Rock and will start at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 17 and conclude the next day.
The camp is available to any Arkansas family who has experienced a death in the last three to six months.
Grief can be a terrible thing and the camp is designed to help those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. It is for children from 5 to 18 and an adult caregiver is also required to attend with the child.
There’s 100 spaces available and to apply for the free camp, go to MethodistFamily.org/Camp-Healing-Hearts and complete the form online.
Application deadline is Sunday, May 5.
For more information, call Dao Ward at 501-537-3991 or toll-free at 800-756-3709.
Sports
High School wrestling wraps up
The high school wrestling state championships were held at the Jack Stephens Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Saturday and a number of North of the River athletes came home with state titles or runners-up.
Brandon Bauer, who wrestles for Central Arkansas Christian, won the 4A title in the 150 pound weight class when he defeated Pottsville’s Cutter Boyse. Bauer was also named one of the three outstanding wrestlers in the 138-165 pound grouping.
Bauer wasn’t CAC’s only state champion as Augustus Smith won by decision against Pottsville’s Slayden Graham in 4A’s 157 pound weight class.
CAC’s Izzy Hovater won a 5A girls state title by defeating Mena’s Emmery Anderson in the 140 pound weight class.
CAC’s Zane Tafoya finished as a runner-up in 4A’s 285 pound weight class when he lost a 5-1 decision to Subiaco’s Camarion Raino.
North Little Rock had a state champion and two runners-up in 6A.
It was a familiar name as North Little Rock’s Ka'liyia Chism won her second consecutive title in the 125-pound weight class in girls wrestling. Chism, this year, defeated Bentonville’s Nahomy Ranero-Garcia.
North Little Rock’s James Couch lost to Springdale Har=Ber’s Jacob Campbell in the 113 weight class while Little Rock Central’s Max Mobly won a 7-1 decision over North Little Rock’s Amarion Jones in the 285 pound weight class.