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Bull Shoals - Monday, July 4th Bull Shoals celebrated Independence Day with the Annual Fireworks over the Dam and the Bull Shoals VFW All-American Parade and Family Picnic. The parade kicked off at 12:30 p.m. led by representatives of the Bull Shoals Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Department, and local Fire Departments. Several businesses and community groups made floats and gave out flags and candy to the audience lining highway 178 from the Dam Site Campground to the VFW post. Community members brought dozens of classic cars and motorcycles to entertain the crowd. Bull Shoals Mayor David Nixon brought his motorcycle out to show support for the local VFW, his community, and our country. After the parade, watchers were treated to family games, live music, hot food, a beer garden, and root beer floats at the All-American Picnic hosted on the grounds of the VFW. A Harley Davidson motorcycle was raffled off at the event as well. Lines and smiling faces stretched across the parking lot.

In thinking back on the Flippin of my youth, it was certainly much smaller and everyone pretty much knew everyone. This had both pros and cons associated with it but, by and large, the pluses outnumbered the minuses. One of the primary positives of back then, even though it may be hard to believe, was that Flippin had at least five grocery stores inside the city limits, for part of the 1960’s. There was no Wal-Mart Super Center, but we had lots of other options. That’s right, in a town with a population just over 500, according to a special census in the mid 1960’s. And, if you went just a few miles further out toward Cotter, there was Jay King’s grocery and gas station at the intersection of Hwy. 62 and Hwy. 101. The main thing I remember about this one is that they usually stayed open later in the evening than the stores closer in town.

“Veterans and our military are my passions.” Denise “Dee” Smith, of Prince-Rhodes Unit 112 in McCrory, AR, was elected as the 2022- 23 Department President during the Annual Convention in June. Smith is eligible for American Legion Auxiliary membership through her father, Daniel P. Marchese, a WWII Army Signal Corps veteran, and her husband, Tony K. Smith, an Army Infantry and Army National Guard, Iraqi Freedom veteran.

If you enjoy a good British mystery, try the Wycliffe series at Bull Shoals Library. These books by W.J. Burley feature Superintendent Charles Wycliff’s investigative skills to solve unusual murder mysteries that have lots of plot twists. Burley (1914-2002) was a British crime story writer best known for his Wycliffe series. BSL has 15 of these Wycliffe mysteries. The series was also the basis for a popular TV show. The complete list of BSL collections can be found at www.libib.com/u/bullshoalslibrary or stop by the library at 1208 Central next to the Bull Shoals VFW.

Flippin – On July 3, 2022, Flippin hosted its 35th Annual Fourth of July Fireworks Festival at Hickey Park. Events started at 3 p.m. with the Bounce house and Water slide. The very popular Wall of Water by the Flippin Fire Department, and a patriotic ceremony with presentation of the flags during the Nation Anthem.

Fayetteville — Kyndal Murach, APRN, recently joined the Washington Regional Brain and Spine Surgery Clinic, part of the Washington Regional J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute, where she provides care for patients in the clinic and hospital setting.

Fayetteville — Amanda Cheatham, APRN, recently joined the Washington Regional Hospitalists group, where she evaluates and treats hospitalized patients. Cheatham earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Alabama and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. She has more than 15 years’ experience in health care and most recently worked as a critical care advanced practice provider.