Recollections

40 Years Ago

Wednesday, March 19, 1975

Pea Ridge Graphic-Scene

Jack Lasater, secretary of the Pea Ridge School Board, has won re-election to a second five-year term. Voters in the Pea Ridge School District, as well as throughout the county, overwhelmingly backed the school taxes on the ballots, but no hikes in taxes were proposed in any of the districts.

Cub Scout Pinewood Derby winners at Garfield Saturday night were Kurt Simrell, first place; Jeff Johnson, second; and Jason Johnson, third.

A farm building was destroyed by fire Monday morning on the Franklin Miller farm southeast of town off Lee Town Road. Pea Ridge firemen responding to the summons succeeded however in stopping the intense heat near a liquid fuel tank and possibly preventing it from exploding. The fire is thought to have been ignited by grease that was being heated in the building.

30 Years Ago

Wednesday, March 20, 1985

The TIMES of Northeast Benton County

Strong feelings were evidenced Thursday night as some 70 Brush Creek residents and property owners crowded into Tuck's Chapel to protest consideration of annexation by the adjacent City of Little Flock, or by any municipality.

A number of people have begun to express opposition to the funding of the Volunteer Ambulance Service of Northeast Benton County through "service fees" to be added to tax bills.

The renovation work for the Garfield Elementary School included the installation of two new wood-burning furnaces and necessary duct work. The first furnace was installed in the school basement. The second wood-burning furnace was installed outside the old school building and an addition had to be constructed to house it.

20 Years Ago

Thursday, March 23, 1995

The TIMES of Northeast Benton County

Members of the Pea Ridge National Military Park Advisory Team gathered at the park last week to continue work on a park boundary study. Congress has passed legislation requiring all National Park Service sites to conduct boundary studies to determine whether there are any short-term or long-range threats to boundaries. Military Park Superintendent Steve Adams said that he has identified four major areas of concern along the park boundary.

The Pea Ridge School Board has begun interviewing candidates for superintendent after the Superintendent's Search Committee narrowed the field to eight. The search began following superintendent Marvin Higginbottom's announcement that he will retire after this school year.

10 Years Ago

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

The TIMES of Northeast Benton County

A little bit of history was lost and found Saturday as the walls of the old Pea Ridge High School came crumbling down. Several Pea Ridge residents gathered to watch as a worker in a heavy track hoe demolished the building which was built in 1930. The "time capsule" with Bible and names rested in the indentation in the corner of an old part of the school's foundation. The old Bible found was inscribed "Deposited by the Home Demonstration Club of 1930." Six fragile notebook pages were recovered holding the names of many of the town's residents in 1930.

A fire that started in an attic crawl space damaged a double-wide mobile home near Avoca early Thursday morning. Homeowner Deborah Strickland called 911 at 12:11 a.m. to report her house on fire. Avoca Fire Chief Frankie Elliott said the smoke alarms never sounded but the family dog barked until the family woke up.