Eureka Springs Independent

A new year brought a different approach to questions around wind turbines, which have occupied the quorum court for 18 months. At the Jan. 21 meeting, incoming Justice of the Peace Caroline Rogers sponsored...

The Arkansas School Recognition Program has given grant money to each of the three schools in the Eureka Springs School District, based upon the scores in ATLAS testing from spring 2024. Eureka Springs was one...

The fountain in Basin Park is sinking, along with the foundation. Parks and Recreation Director Sam Dudley said at the Jan. 21 commission meeting they had only received one repair bid, which was from...

The latest long-term Eureka Springs Hospital employee to report being terminated unfairly is Becky Burt, the maintenance director who has worked at the hospital for more than 15 years. Burt’s departure means the hospital...

Public comments followed a decision by Eureka Springs City Council to remove former Eureka Springs Hospital commission Chair Kent Turner with some of the strongest statements yet by former employees about alleged mismanagement at...

Doug Stowe is an Arkansas Living Treasure who has lived in Eureka Springs for 50 years and been a woodworker for 49. The process of his woodworking career has flowed from craftsmen/artist to publisher...

Eureka Springs City Council faced the ongoing saga of the sewer and water plant lines falling apart and being worked on as the primary focus in 2024. At the beginning of the year, McClelland...

The Planning Commission held its first meeting of 2025 on Jan. 14, and a new slate of officers will preside in the coming year. Former chair Susan Harman was term-limited, and Fergie Stewart will now...

The Eureka Springs Hospital (ESH) Commission has indicated it will not pursue Dr. John House’s proposal to take over management of the hospital that is in turmoil after firings and resignations of a large...

Dr. John House, who owns and operates the Health First Clinic, is a former hospital commission chair and former hospital director. He recently sent the following letter to the hospital commission providing more detail...

Critics of the Eureka Springs Hospital (ESH) Commission spoke again at a commission meeting Jan. 20, and told commissioners they will continue their campaign for accountability by speaking at commission and council meetings until...

The Historic District Commission schedule, first and third Wednesdays of each month, would have conflicted with the Jan. 1 holiday, so Jan. 15 was the first meeting of 2025. Commission officers were elected, including Chair...

With no urgent business on the agenda, members of the Carroll County Airport Commission used the Jan. 17 meeting to look to the coming year. Consulting Engineer Joey Wallace outlined the state and federal grants...

At the end of Rockhouse Rd., down yonder past Hippie Holler, exists one of our town’s best kept secrets. Ozark Mountain Nibbly Organic Mushrooms (Omnom) or simply “the farm.” It’s not only vital to our...

The tradition of hanging flags at half-staff or half mast dates back to the 17th century, where the flag was lowered to make room for a “death’s flag.” On Dec. 29, President Jimmy Carter...

Several years ago, a number of residents of East Mountain—a major traffic corridor between North Main and US 62--requested more speed bumps because of dangers created by motorists speeding in a residential area with...

Eureka Springs City Council held a brief budget meeting before the regular meeting on Jan. 13. Finance Director Michael Akins said he called the meeting so the aldermen could ask questions or make suggestions. Alderman...

On January 13, Eureka Springs City Council heard pleas from former employees of the Eureka Springs Hospital for the removal of Kent Turner from the hospital commission and the firings of Chief Financial Officer...

The Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission held a workshop Jan. 8 in which they addressed four items of business, including commissioner Heather Wilson, suggesting a rubric, or guidelines for those applying for...

The January school board meeting provides an annual opportunity to review the facilities master plan, which outlines current and proposed projects. Director of Operations Rick Mann led the board members through a presentation on Jan....

The City Council held a special meeting Jan. 7 concerning a petition calling for a special election to decide on whether to have a permanent Entertainment District at Pine Mountain Village. Alderman Harry Meyer...

This past year, Eureka Springs Hospital employees have reported harassment and violations of regulations prohibiting workplace violence from Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Cynthia Asbury, Human Resources Director Jodi Edmonson (now Interim CEO), Hospital Commission...

One of the main focuses this past year for Holiday Island, which was designated as a city in March 2021, was creating an Advertising and Promotion commission and bringing in short-term rental businesses. The...

The Parks Commission had a very busy 2024, making big changes and repairs in all parks. The year began with most of the new Lake Leatherwood cabins finished and ready to be opened, with...

A big story in Carroll County in 2024 outlining efforts by billion-dollar company, Scout Clean Energy, to proceed with building a $400-million, 180-megawatt Nimbus wind farm on mountain ridges south of Green Forest. The...

What really stands out to Julie Morton, an energy sector easement analyst for 43 years, about the proposed $400-million Nimbus wind facility is the chaos the project’s developer Scout Clean Energy has caused. “Somehow these...

Questions and complaints about a planned wind-turbine development have dominated quorum court meetings in 2024. Several ordinances in opposition to the turbines have been introduced at the table since Spring 2023, and each failed....

Since March 2023, a planned wind-turbine development south of Green Forest has dominated quorum court meetings. A series of ordinances came to the table in an effort to derail the project, but justices of...

Finance Director Ty Reed started the Dec. 19 meeting with a review of the budget for the City Advertising and Promotion Commission. He said there is currently around $2,000,000 in assets and that the...

The Historic District Commission’s final meeting of 2024 presented commissioners with a difficult choice. Lloyd Leibee had installed a metal carport at 26 Emporia St., and Building Inspector Paul Sutherland flagged the project and told...

The Carroll County Airport Commission met Dec. 20, and much of the meeting revolved around big changes in the coming year. The commission has recovered part of a large lease, and new hangars will be...