Bari Searls broke her leg on Friday

Warren Searls reported his wife Bari, the chairman of the Players’ care and concern committee, tripped over their wee dog Friday afternoon and broke her leg at the hip.
Warren said Bari is doing fine as is Tux the Chihuahua. Bari underwent surgery late Friday night to repair her broken femur. The surgeon told Warren that all went well during the two-hour surgery which ended at midnight. Warren said it seemed a lot longer than two hours to him.
Bari will not have to wear a cast as all the repairs were internal. A steel strap the length of her thigh was screwed in place. Bari has been recovering in National Park Medical Center and will return home in the next few days.
Warren asked for no visitors for a day or so. Bari needs her rest to heal properly.
Warren said they were told at the hospital that tripping over animals is the number two cause of leg and hip breaks. Bathroom falls are number one.
Bari asks that the Players’ members stay well, be careful and be safe.

Join the Hot Springs/Hot Springs Village Symphony Guild and attend the events lined-up for fall 2010. Large, active, and altruistic, the Hot Springs/Hot Springs Village Symphony Guild is primarily a philanthropic organization and with nearly 1,300 members The HS/HSV Symphony Guild is one of the largest, if not the largest Symphony Guilds in the United States and a significant force in the area devoted to music appreciation and education. Members are entitled to advance ticket sales and preferred seating. Members will receive advance ticket sale coupons in July, prior to public sales for each event at later dates.Kicking off the season on Tuesday, September 14, will be a dinner/cabaret show with Denise and Stephen Edds and Company. Denise Edds, M.M.E., Ouachita Baptist University, M.M.E., University of North Texas, is choral director and instructor of college music classes, private voice, music appreciation and public school music at National Park Community College, Hot Springs. Denise Edds performs frequently as a soloist throughout the south with symphony orchestras and also in operas, oratorios, and recitals. Most recently, she made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Soundwaves, a vocal jazz ensemble formed by Denise Edds recently sang in the New York Lincoln Center Vocal Jazz Festival. The event is $25 per person, beginning with cocktails at 5:15 p.m., catered dinner at 6 p.m., followed by a varied pop and classical vocal program starting at 7 p.m. at the Coronado Center, Hot Springs Village.The second event scheduled is the Harmony of Homes Tour, Monday, October 11, in Hot Springs Village. This is the Guild’s 2010 major fundraiser and there will be tours of exceptional HSV homes, along with luncheon at Diamante Country Club. Morning tours begin at 9 a.m. and afternoon tours at 1 p.m. Advanced ticket sales will be announced in July. The home tour benefits music scholarships, band instruments, band camp, the ASO and other philanthropic musical endeavors in Hot Springs and the surrounding area. This is a "save the date" for your calendar with advance tour/luncheon tickets at only $25 per person, advance home-tour only tickets $15 and same day home-only tickets $20. Announcement for ticket sale date forthcoming.Back by popular demand is The Acousticatz, Friday, October 15 at the Woodlands Auditorium, Hot Springs Village, with curtain time at 7:30 p.m. and $10 ticket price per person. Steeped in bluegrass but tinged by pop, jazz and country, the group can best be summed up in just five words: Everything old is new again. Semifinalists in the Colgate Country Showdown, the biggest country music competition in the world, the group has enjoyed extensive touring throughout Arkansas and the U.S. They have three CDs to their credit and are working on the fourth with some exciting new original material. The Acousticatz have been featured the last four years at the American Music and Craftsmanship festival at Silver Dollar City and are proud members of the International Bluegrass Music Association. This concert is a great value and tickets will go fast when open to the public in late September.The New Christy Minstrels is an American folk legend ensemble. Formed by Randy Sparks in 1961, their performance is scheduled for Thursday, November 18, 7:30 p.m. with tickets at $25 per person at the Woodlands Auditorium, HSV. This will undoubtedly be a sell-out, so watch for ticket sales announcements and purchase tickets early. When Sparks started the NCM, the name deliberately evoked Christy’s Minstrels, an enormously popular 19th century blackface minstrel group founded by Edwin Pearce Christy. This globally recognized group had several Top 40 folk music hits, including "This Land Is Your Land," "Green, Green," "Today," and "Ramblin." "Green, Green" sold over one million copies in 1963 and was awarded a gold disc. The film score for the 1964 comedy movie, Advance to the Rear, featuring Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens, was the first complete soundtrack ever made in the folk music style. The score is notable for the hit standard "Today" and several others, including "This Old Riverboat" and "Company of Cowards" (the original title). Randy will be presiding over a faithfully restored group offering no less than three Original New Christy Minstrels to reclaim their rightful place on stage and in the hearts and minds of millions. The reunion group has now been in high gear for more than four years.Rounding out the concert season, The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Concert returns to the Woodlands Auditorium in Hot Springs Village on Monday, December 20; $25 per person tickets and curtain time at 7:30 p.m. What better way to celebrate the Christmas season than listening to the familiar holiday melodies played by the ASO under the direction of Musical Director and Conductor Maestro Philip Mann. "I’m thrilled at the prospect of joining the ASO as it turns the page and embarks on a new chapter in its already celebrated history," said Mann. Mann promises a stellar concert with perhaps a few surprises.The Guild’s holiday fundraiser is a Branson Christmas Tour Monday, November 29 through Thursday, December 2. It’s a relaxing trip by motor coach and three night’s accommodations at Savannah House. There will be reserved seats for six shows with some lunches and dinners included. Call Sue Smith at 984-6191 for more information on ticket prices and shows.Majority funding for the Guild’s philanthropic work is derived from memberships and individual donations to the organization. You can be a part of this musical outreach into the communities surrounding Hot Springs by joining nearly thirteen-hundred others by becoming a member. Members enjoy advance ticket sales, seating preferences, and selected complimentary concerts. Call Linda Biagini, Membership Vice President at 501-922-6121 or Email her at cbiagini@suddenlink.net.

Diamond Trail Walk/Run

Start getting in shape now. The Hot Springs Village Paul Bewie Boys and Girls Club is hosting a 5 K trail walk/run on October 30 at 8 a.m.
Participants will be shuttled to Ron Coleman Mining. The last shuttle leaves no later than 7:45 a.m.
All documented participants are automatically registered to enter a drawing for a .85 carat diamond.
Pre-registration thru October 20 is $25. Race day registration is $35. All pre-registered participants will receive a t-shirt for getting out and walking or running the trail. The t-shirts will be distributed at registration the day of the race.
Registration forms are available on the Paul Bewie Boys and Girls Club website at www.bgclubonline.com or by stopping by the office on Highway 7 in the same parking lot as the McAuley Center.

Train-the-Trainer workshop

Heifer International is hosting a Train-the-Trainer session on Tuesday, July 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Heifer Village.
Shelley Greene with the Arkansas Earth Institute will train Heifer educators on how to deliver Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI) discussion courses that can in turn be offered to the public starting this fall and throughout the year.
This train-the-trainer workshop is designed for Learning Center educators and area community volunteer educators. It provides an opportunity for educators to broaden their knowledge and to deliver the well-established NWEI discussion courses, which fit with Heifer’s mission.
For more information go to www.arkansasearth.org. There are a limited number of seats, so please sign up early.
Please RSVP to Valerie Kimbrough at Valerie.kimbrough@heifer.org by Thursday, July 20 if you are interested in attending the training session.

Opportunity to help New Orleans through Heifer International

Heifer International is putting together a study tour to New Orleans on March 13 through 19 of next year.
Jen Girten, manager of school programs for Heifer International, along with Heifer USA country program staff, will be providing unique insight into Heifer’s work in Louisiana and the city of New Orleans.
To give you a better understanding of what the trip will involve, please visit Hefier’s website at www.heifer.org/studytours/americas and download the USA: New Orleans study tour overview, the trip itinerary, travel information document and USA New Orleans application packet.
If you are interested in this trip please fill out the USA: New Orleans application packet completely and return the documents along with a $500 deposit to the study tour’s office Attn: Study Tours/Sara Drew, Heifer International, 1 World Ave., Little Rock, AR 72202.
Please note that the deadline for application/deposit for this trip is January 13, 2011. The deposit is $500. Total cost for this trip is $1,500.
The cost of the study tour includes accommodations, meals, transportation during the trip, project visits, tour leaders and guides, workshops, cultural sites and a Heifer backpack kit with a journal and name tags.
Domestic air transportation to and from New Orleans are not included. However, all transportation within New Orleans for the duration of the trip is included. For air and travel guidance, please read our USA: New Orleans travel information document. All travel arrangements outside of the study tour dates will need to be made and paid for directly by the participants.
Go to Heifer’s website at www.heifer.org/studytours to find all of the necessary documents. The documents are PDF documents that you can print off and scan and email, fax or mail back to Heifer headquarters.
The trip will be limited to 14 participants and we anticipate this tour will fill up quickly, so please try to get your application and questions back to Sara Drew at Heifer as soon as possible if you are interested.

Reiki practitioner spoke to Rotarians

Leslie Case, a Reiki practitioner, gave a talk last week to members of the Rotary Club of Scenic 7. She also demonstrated her healing technique on a Rotarian with a shoulder ache.
Case talked about the history of the Reiki healing art and using her knowledge to help ease pain and stress in others. Case lightly touches her clients and uses her hands to direct healing energy from the client back to the client. Nothing of Case is transferred in the process.
Case also discussed the benefits she has obtained with Reiki treatment. She has been able to stop some of her medications with the healing under her doctor's supervision. She has also regained hearing in one of her ears.
She repeated testimonials given by her sister, a Reiki skeptic, that has benefitted from Reiki treatment.
Case explained how Reiki could be used for distance healing.
Earlier this year, Case offered me a session in exchange for some editing of an article she would like to publish. I was a little trepidatious of the process. We sat down and discussed what the treatment would entail. Case answered basic questions about the process and made it clear she could not diagnose but would discuss what she felt after the treatment. Fully clothed I laid down on her comfy massage table.
She started with my head and lightly touched her way down specific energy points on the front of my body and then I was turned over and the process was repeated down my backside. Soft music played in the background and I swear at one point I was so relaxed I could hear myself snore.
After the treatment Case told me what areas she felt I might be holding some stress. Her goal in treatment was to balance my bodies natural energy thereby promoting healing by balancing.
I was out of whack on my right side because I am deaf on my left side and over compensate. A few weeks following the treatment I discovered I no longer needed to take blood pressure medications. I don't know what the relationship was to the Reiki treatment I am just happy to be free of a medication.
The treatment was a pleasant way to spend an hour. I felt relaxed and comforted. The benefits of a light touch Reiki treatment were I didn't feel pummeled or like I was releasing toxins following the treatment.
The Rotary Club of Scenic 7 meets today a little before noon at Molly O'Brien's on Highway 7. Today is the passing of the gavel for the club.

Membership assignments back before the board

Linda Mayhood

The POA's Linda Mayhood made a clear and concise presentation to the POA board regarding membership assignment programs. The POA has tried several tactics to make foreclosed lots profitable or at least to move them out of the POA inventory.

Membership assignment is the right to use POA facilities at property owner rates. Currently there are 486 property owners assigning their rights to interested parties. The cost of assigning privileges is $100. There is a form online at www.hsvpoa.org to facilitate assignments.

The brief but ill-fated one-day campaign in the Sentinel Record and Democrat Gazette to sell membership privileges last year netted nine assignments. There was an uproar in the Village because the perception was that the POA was devaluing the Village. The campaign was put on hold.

The POA changed tactics and sold foreclosed lots to 72 property owners. The POA sent out letters to property owners with an adjoining foreclosed lot. They sold ten lots by that method. They raised the cost of the lots from $500 to $1,500 and sold an additional 34 lots. Contractor Bob Malt bought 20 lots at $850 a lot.

The POA offered an incentive plan for real estate companies to sell lots and none were sold.

By May of this year there were 5,721 lots in arrears. Last year foreclosures and legal costs were in excess of $510,000. In January of this year the POA suspended foreclosures. So far this year $128,000 has been spent on lot related expenses.

This year there is a projected loss of $292,464 in assessments for lots. There will be 850 additional lots in POA inventory at the end of this year. Mayhood said, "we need the cash in the lots in inventory. We don't want to flood the market with cheap lots."

Memberships (assignments) are selling for $535 a year. Of that proposed figure, $432 goes to pay the POA assessment.

There are no preferential treatments given with the purchase of a membership. No one will be given special tee times, etc.

The membership is good for 12 consecutive months. The membership is non-transferable and non-refundable.

The application process takes two to three weeks.

Mayhood suggested marketing this plan in a 300 mile radius of the Village. She believes the program can pay for itself. She also suggested funds to make the program viable could come from the Chamber's A&P fund allocation.

Star Gazer parking lot causes ire

Villager Patrick Hunt expressed his ire to the POA board regarding the absorbed cost of $8,233.90 for POA employees to build a parking lot at the quarry area for the Star Gazers.
The Star Gazers requested a parking lot following a star viewer taking a tumble in the previous parking area.
Hunt was displeased the POA allocated $8,233.90 for a parking lot to be used by very few people in these cost cutting times. He suggested the area be put to multiple use by putting in the dog park that Villagers have volunteered to pay for adjacent to the Star Gazers lot. He stated, "surely there are more dog owners than Star Gazers in the Village.
Hunt suggested the use of a flat area 200 yards east of the parking area for a dog park. According to POA general manager Dave Johnston, the flat area was owned by Cooper and used as the hurricane damage staging area following Gustav and Ike.
Johnston and board member Jim Owens will be taking Hunt's suggestions seriously as they work on a land use plan for the quarry area.
The POA employees used to build the parking lot worked on the lot between utility construction projects. The employees are on the payroll and it kept them busy during their down time. There were no additional funds allocated for the parking lot.
Board member Jeff Atkins questioned keeping a crew on staff if they weren't busy all the time.

Water treatment plant update

Kirby Rowland

Kirby Rowland of Garver Engineers talked to the POA board about the water treatment plant improvements projected cost. The goal of the upgrade of the plant is to take the plant from producing its current four million gallons of water a day to producing a projected six million gallons of water a day.

This is Rowland's follow-up presentation to the board subsequent to his initial presentation at the board retreat last spring. Due to budget constraints the board asked Garver for an updated cost analysis with suggested cost cutting measures.

The current water treatment plant was built in 1994. The government mandates the plant have a water treatment capacity to meet the number of lots in the Village. It doesn't matter whether the lots are built on or not.

The pump size will have to be increased to keep up with projected demands. Corrosion has taken a toll on the current equipment. There are also projected improvements in chemical treatment, filtering and backwash.

Rowland said it will take through June of next year to complete the design phase of the water treatment improvements. After design completion it will take an estimated three months for regulatory approval. Then the bidding process will have to be completed. He does not see the new improvements on line until February of 2013 at a total project cost of $4.4 million.

At the conclusion of Rowland's presentation board member Jerry Kosaglow suggested the board might want to hire a commissioning agent "to see we get what we pay for." The suggestion will be taken under advisement.