GENTRY — January 2010 was a cold one, with snow and frigid temperatures being the top story in Gentry for the first two weeks of the year now past. Though temperatures did dip over the weekend, 2011 is starting off without the snow and extreme cold of a year ago. Other lead stories in January of 2010 include a house fire which destroyed the Highfill home of Garvin and Ila Reid on Gailey Hollow Road, and the Gentry School Board signed a memorandum of understanding with the Arkansas Department of Education at a special meeting on Jan. 6 agreeing to use national assessment models and national standards rather than state standards. The move is likely to changethe face of education in Gentry and Arkansas. The recycling center along Dawn Hill Road in Gentry also closed in January due, in large part, to the economic times. Snow again blanketed the Gentry area on the last day of January.
A first step toward becoming a Tree City USA was taken in February when urban forester Peter Rausch took an inventory of Gentry trees on public property. Rausch, a forester and certified arborist from Little Rock, spent time in the city parks and looked at other public trees in the city. His inventory was taken not only todocument the numbers, species and condition of trees in the city but to make recommendations on trees which need to be trimmed or removed and places and species of trees to be planted. With a young team and a new coach, the Gentry wrestling team surprised both their opponents and themselves, coming away with their first state title in the newly sanctioned sport. Ross Wilmoth and Dr. Robert Weaver were added to the list of lifetime achievement award recipients at the Gentry Chamber of Commerce awards banquet held the end of February. More than 80 members and friends of the Gentry community filled the Wooden Spoon Restaurant for the special annual event.
Gentry observed its first Arbor Day in March, with trees being planted at the primary and intermediate school campuses, as well as at the Eagle Watch Nature area. Spring arrived with heavy, wet snow, nearly a foot of it, and school children began their spring break with the opportunity for winter sports.
Gentry's Senior Activity Center sponsored a beanbag baseball competition in the Carl Gym last April and its team won, outscoring teams from the police and fire departments, the Lions Club, Gentry Primary School, the Masonic Lodge, the Gentry cheerleaders and the Gentry High School National Honor Society.
One hundred and twelve seniors graduated fromGentry High School in May. Graduation ceremonies were held inside the high school auditorium due to wet weather and a soggy football field.
In June, the city council approved a study to determine the needs for a new or remodeled police station to give the Gentry Police Department more space and security. The town of Highfill held its first council meeting in its newly-built city hallin June. Groundbreaking was held at a Mc Donald's Restaurant in Gentry. A 6-year-old Highfill boy, Hunter Garrett, died in a mobile home fire; his family members escaped the fire.
In July, for the second year in a row, rains put a damper on the annual Chamber of Commerce sponsored Freedom Festival in the city park, but crowds came out anyway to enjoy the Gentry tradition. The Bloomfield 4-H won top honors at a countywide 4-H garden show. The final issue of the Gentry Courier-Journal was published.
In August the first issue of the Westside Eagle Observer was published from the newspaper's new office in Gravette. The newspaper is a combined edition of the Decatur Herald, Gentry Courier-Journal and Gravette News Herald. An armed robbery occurred at the Gentry Kut and Kurl beauty salon, with wanted fugitives from Arizona and New Mexico being the prime suspects.
McDonald's new Gentry restaurant opened in September and immediately became a busy place. Gentry held its semi-annual alumni banquet and the TiredIron of the Ozarks held its annual fall antique tractor and engine show at its showgrounds in Gentry. Highfill also held its annual Hay Daze celebration, and Don and Lorrie Amos held their fourth annual Cherokee Strip Fly-in.
In October, Gentry held its annual fall festival in the city park and the new skate-spot skate park was officially opened and dedicated. Plans also were in the making for a new park on city-owned property along Flint Creek.
Kevin Johnston was elected Gentry's new mayor after theNovember General Election and a special runoff election. Stacy Digby was elected mayor of Highfill.
A controversial key-box ordinance passed in 2006 was revisited by the city council but was not yet replaced with a less-restrictive new ordinance. Gentry held its annual Christmas parade and large crowds came out in spite of the wind and the cold. The Gentry cheerleaders took first place in state competition and returned home to be greeted on Main Street by many supporters.
News, Pages 2 on 01/05/2011