Pancake Breakfast to Benefit Fire Fighters

Turner Community Volunteer Fire Fighters and First Responders will
have a Pancake Breakfast on March 28, 7:30 am to 10:30 am at the
community building. There will be pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee,
milk, and orange juice available. Proceeds will benefit the Turner
Department.

Board Member Elections

At the February 13th Board Meeting there will be nominations taken from the floor for a vacant board member position. During the last meeting two nominations were made. If there are no further nominations, an election between these two community members will be conducted.

Annual Chili Supper Fund Raiser!

Turner community will be hosting it’s regular Chili Supper on February 21 at 6:30 PM. This is an annual event to raise money to pay for the upkeep of the building and grounds and to pay the utilities bills. However, there’s one thing special about this year…we’ll have live entertainment provided by local good ole boy, Buddy R Kelly Jr.

Buddy is an award winning singer and songwriter that grew up around these parts. He’s donating his time and talent to sing for us and we’re happy to have him. Buddy has won several song writing competitions including runner up for VH-1s “Song of the Year” award as well as played around the area for many years.

A self-taught guitarist, he’s a die-hard fan of Jim Croce, Neil Young and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. He’ll be bringing us tunes such as “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” (Jim Croce), “Bad Moon Rising” (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and selections made popular by artists such as The Eagles, Buddy Holly, Jimmy Buffet, Harry Chapin and Santana.

So come out, join the fun and help us support our community!

Have You Heard?

Have you heard about WestArkSwap? No? Let me tell you about it!

WestArkSwap was formed as a local community bulletin board to announce things such as yard sales, fund raisers, and community events as well as items individuals may want to buy, sell and trade...all without the expense of newspaper ads.

We serve the Fort Smith/Van Buren and surrounding areas.

For more information, click WestArkSwap

From The Chairman's Desk

I would like to take this time to look back on some of the activities and happenings of 2008, but before I do that I would like to give a thank you to Richard Mirus for all the outstanding work he did and is doing for the community. Some of you may not know that Richard resigned from the Board in October. He assures us that when some of the projects that he is working on are completed he will serve again if needed. And we do need him! Richard has worked tirelessly for the community, and many of the improvements in the community are a direct result of his hard work. Richard, we miss you on the board.

Looking back on just some of the highlights from 2008. The Fund-raiser chili supper held on February 9 was a great success. We depend on these fundraisers to pay the maintenance on the building and encourage all to participate. In May, Richard Mirus reported the good news that the water board had received a grant for Locust Mountain, Friendly Lane, Pope Cemetery Rd and Revis Hill Rd to assist with water connections. A great time was had at the June Fund Raising Ice Cream Social. In October the Rock Creek Bridge was reopened after many months of hardship for residents in that area. The bridge was washed out in one of the torrential rainstorms that Mother Nature provided. We look forward to the start of paving on Rock Creek Road soon.
Of the many good events and fundraisers that took place in 2008, the top of the List goes to the HOMECOMNG EVENT. Thanks to all who planned and worked to make it the success that it was. Richard and Lawrence Mirus were the head all-nights cooks again this year and everyone enjoyed eating the fruits of their all night labor.

Looking Forward: We cannot know what the future of 2009 holds, only God knows that, but we know that like those who have gone before us, we can get through torrential rains which wash our bridges and roads out, hail storms that damage our roofs and anything else that comes our way with God’s help and if we work together, neighbor helping neighbor. We encourage everyone to attend the board meetings, which are the second Friday of each month at 6 pm. A potluck supper and an evening of playing dominoes follow this. If you don’t play dominoes bring your favorite game. COME ONE – COME ALL.

From the Desk of the Chair Person-----Fred Peters

Rocky Top 4-H Club News

In November the Club went to the Dollar General Store in Alma and shopped for items needed for Children's Hospital in Little Rock.

In November & first part of December we participated in a Crawford County 4-H Can Good Drive and sad to say our club was about the only club who participated and therefore won the contest. All the can goods went to the Out Reach in Alma.

At the end of December a lot of us went to the Alma Rehab and decorated the bedroom doors for the residents. The kids enjoyed doing it and socializing with the residents while doing it. We have been asked to decorate them for Valentines and Easter and again all through the year for the Holidays and seasons. We received a real nice Thank You letter from them.

December 22nd the kids participated in the Donor Appreciation where the kids make goody bags and deliver them to the people who contribute to the 4-H Foundation.

In December some of us made/served dinner to the residents of the Mountainburg Savannah Park Apartments.

January 6th, all 4-H Record Book Journals and club books had to be turned in for competition. Have not received the County results yet but when I do, I will let you know how the kids placed and how our club books placed.

We are gearing up for a lot busier 4-H Year and a lot of fun events. We will be having a club Achievement Banquet and would like everyone to come and share the kids awards and see first hand some of the many different things they participate in.

Lastly, the club would like to thank the community for the Christmas sacks.

If interested in 4-H please call me at 479-217-0280 or contact Nickie Taul at the Crawford County Extension Office at 479-474-5286

Forecasting Weather

Modern meteorologists have nothing on old time folk lore. I guess as soon as there was such a thing as weather patterns, man has been trying to predict what's coming. Let's look at some of the old time "signs" for weather forecasting.

Animal sign -
A bad winter is predicted when:
squirrels gather nuts early (middle to late September).
beaver lodges have more logs.
fur or hair on animals such as horses, sheep, mules, cows and dogs is thicker than usual.
cows hooves break loose earlier.
crows gather together.

Insect signs -
A bad winter is predicted when:
hornets & yellow jackets build nests closer to the ground and they are thicker.
crickets in the chimney.
ants build their hills higher.
miller moths try to get inside by hitting the screens.

Plant signs -
A bad winter is predicted when:
blackberry blooms are heavier than normal.
carrots grow deeper into the ground.
onions grow more layers than usual.
hickory nuts have thicker shells.

To forecast rain -
It will rain if:
the cows are laying down in the pasture.
the leaves on plants are showing their backs.
there are clouds with the sunset.
ants are covering the hole to their hill.
birds start flying low in the air.

Do you have an ole' time predictions of weather?