Ozarks At Large
Tonya Lewis Lee helped bring Christopher Paul Curtis' novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham to Tv this month. Tonight the film is being shown, for free, at Bentonville High School and today we talked with Ms. lee about the project that premiered earlier this month on the Hallmark Channel.
Late last week, the federal Department of Health and Human Services accepted Arkansas's plan for Medicaid expansion. The city of Bentonville will give away compost and wood mulch this week. A couple of roads close or otherwise reroute in the River Valley starting today. And gas prices dropped slightly in Arkansas over the past week.
With this morning's montage, we say several goodbyes; to Summer, to a famed Yankees pitcher, and to one of our longest-tenured colleagues at KUAF. Here are our 10 pop culture references we used to say goodbye.
- "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music
- Lou Gehrig's farewell speech
- "Goodbye my Lover" by James Blunt
- ET says his goodbye
- The famous words from Gone With The Wind
- "Hello, Goodbye" by The Beatles
- The Friends leave the apartment for the final time
- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John
- Jim Carey tells his fare goodbye at the beginning of Dumb and Dumber
- Leaving Casablanca for the final time
- Johnny Carson bids his final farewell to the audience during his final time hosting The Tonight Show
The Arkansas Center For The Book this week made its selection for the 2013 If All Arkansas Read The Same Book Program. Kyle Kellams spoke with Vivienne Schiffer, the author of the novel Camp Nine, this year's selection.
State officials continue to seek a solution to the teacher insurance crisis in Arkansas. New numbers are out regarding Arkansas students' achievements on Advanced Placement tests. And, the Connecting Arkansas Internet Conference is being held in Little Rock this week.
You can go to a workshop at NWACC to learn about the state's Freedom of Information Act, or you can participate in one of many lake and other outdoor cleanups in the next few days.



Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, May 9, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, Michael Tilley talks about a new owner for some long-abandoned real estate in Fort Smith, and the official announcement of a Whole Foods in Fayetteville. Plus, Cletus Got Shot gets ready to perform at a few festivals in the next month.
Carroll County’s Quorum Court failed to secure an ordinance to establish public rural water system several years ago, after voters repealed it, claiming the project was being pushed and controlled by a minority of developers. But now the QC’s water committee is looking to convince a majority of residents to support a more transparent public water facilities board-facilitated project.
"Eye Can't See" by Nightmares on Wax
The just-published Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music has entries about the most famous Arkansas musicians like Johnny Cash and Louis Jordan. It also has lesser known, but still very important, figures like the musician known as Moondog and Bob Burns.
The UA Center for Advanced Spatial Technology starts a study to try to get a more accurate attendance count during Bikes, Blues and BBQ. UA Chancellor David Gearhart answers questions by state legislators regarding a recent audit of the University's Advancement Division. Walmart gives a sizable grant to the NWA Council to help improve the quality of life in northwest Arkansas. And, the American Cancer Society is starting a new long-range cancer study this week across the nation, with survey sites as follows.
9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 17 at Hope Cancer Resources in Springdale
2 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 18 at the Fayetteville Public Library
9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday Sept. 19 at the Mercy Family YMCA in Rogers
9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday Sept 20 at the Center for Nonprofits at St. Mary's in Rogers.
"Boy With A Coin" by Iron & Wine
Roby Brock from Talk Business Arkansas discusses Governor Beebe weighing in on the teacher insurance crisis and more in his weekly business and political news recap.
"Let Her Go" by Passenger
A new study by UA Department of Education Reform on how students are effected by a field trip to Crystal Bridges is being published in the journal Education Next.