| Hot debate flares up over discussion of vacant buildings
Discussion became heated Thursday night at Arkadelphia's Board of Directors meeting as property owners asked the board for more time to make improvements before the board condemned the properties.Sgt. Ritchie Smith, Arkadelphia's code enforcement officer, submitted three properties for condemnation, the old church at 7th and Caddo, two duplexes at 809-815 Caddo and a building at 201 N. 10th.Bob Arnold, owner of the old First Baptist Church located at 7th and Caddo streets, gave a brief history of the building and asked the board for more time to clean up the area around the building. .
Warm Weather To Greet Flower & Garden Festival
Downtown Leesburg will be transformed into a five-block garden Saturday and Sunday for the 17th rendition of the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival.The popular garden event has become a top regional draw, pulling about 30,000 visitors to Leesburg during the two-day event. The exhibit is located in the setting of historic Leesburg, which, to many visitors, adds to the allure of the event. Warming weather, with temperatures predicted to reach into the 70s, is expected to add to the garden atmosphere this year.Visitors and vendors alike tend to characterize the festival as a "fun show," in part because of its relaxed pace as buyers wander in and out of the various exhibits and vendor booths, stopping off every now and then to grab a bite to eat from the many and diverse food vendors as well as rest their feet and listen to some great musical entertainment.For those new to the show, there will be a plethora of garden products-landscape displays, trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, vines and herbs-as well as garden equipment, tools, statuary and furniture, watering systems, birdhouses and garden art.
Tokasa makes gardens glow
ONE of nature's beauty that catches the eye of visitors when sailing towards Also Island, in the Northern Division, is the beautiful gardens on the hills there. On closer approach, one can only admire the way the leaves of coconut trees sway to the rhythm of the wind, casting shadows over a garden of roses and bright flowers. And the hands behind the gorgeous garden belong to a villager who has been responsible for the Also Island compound for more then two years. Since 2004, Tokasa Rabuka has been employed as a gardener for an American couple Jim and Kyoko Bandy who now lease the island. Tokasa, who is from the chiefly family of Cawaro Village on Udu Point, helped the couple secure the lease to the island by talking to the late chief, (her older brother) to give the island to the couple.
Learn to garden while shopping for groceries
The staff at Stew Leonard's Garden Centers will host free Saturday morning gardening workshops throughout the spring and summer season. The seminars, which begin at 9 a.m. and last about an hour, run from tomorrow through Aug. 25. There will be no workshops on holiday weekends (Mother's Day and Memorial Day). This is the first year that all three stores (Yonkers, Danbury, Conn., and Norwalk, Conn.) will be holding the seminars. Here's a look at the scheduled topics: - Tomorrow: "Make Your Neighbor Green with Envy" (liming, fertilizing, aerating). - April 21: "Spring Bulbs" (selecting, planting, planning for next season). - April 28: "Fruits and Vegetables" (planning, controlling diseases, shading). - May 5: "Ready, Set, Annuals" (creating different combinations, soil mixtures).
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