Bubba Thompson

One of my favorite festivals is coming up in this weekend May 18-19 in Magnolia, Ark., just a short drive from Texarkana. The 24th Annual Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cook-Off.

The event includes a sidewalk art show, crafts, and motorcycle show, a fishing tournament, and the Blossom Festival Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday. Best of all, 5,000 steaks are cooked by teams vying to win the coveted Governor’s Cup and title as the World championship Steak Cooker.

I remember several years ago I took the wife and kids and the smell of the steaks cooking made for one hungry family by the end of the day. I remember sitting under some old Magnolia trees in the town square chowing down on some of the best steaks you ever sunk your teeth into.

Bubba Thompson, CMT’s star contestant from the hit show, “Sweet Home Alabama”, will be one of the judges for the Magnolia Blossom Festival World Championship Steak Cook-off!!

Country group’ The Lost Trailers’ will be the featured artist on Saturday, May 19.

I highly encourage you and your family to check out this festival as it is well worth the drive. For more details log on to their website blossomfestival.org.

Here’s a video of The Lost Trailers from YouTube.

Check out this YouTube video of last year’s festival.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Donna Summer died on Thursday, and though she may be best known as the Queen of Disco, the ‘Last Summer’ singer’s passing and an outpouring of support from country music artists proves the influence of an icon can transcend any genre.

“So sad to hear of Donna Summer passing,” Sara Evans tweeted Thursday after learning of her sudden death. “I absolutely love her music! Had her albums as a child and memorized them! She’ll be missed!” Billy Ray Cyrus also took to his official Twitter page to mourn Summer’s passing. “RIP #Donna Summer LEGEND !!! Your music will live forever,” tweeted the singer.

Even in the wake of what most would consider a tragic loss, Jimmy Wayne chose to keep things positive, focusing on the contributions Summers made in the music world. “Did you know that #DonnaSummer was the producer & conductor on ‘We are the World,’” Wayne posted, referring to the massively successful charity single.

Born LaDonna Gaines in Boston in 1948, Summer first charted with ‘Sally Go ‘Round the Roses’ in 1971 under the name Donna Gaines. The singer soon changed her stage name and overhauled her sound before scoring a No. 2 single on the Hot 100 chart  in 1975 with the overtly sexual, ‘Love to Love You Baby.’ Summer earned an additional 13 Top 10 singles spanning 14 years, including the No. 1 hits ‘MacArthur Park,’ ‘Hot Stuff,’ ‘Bad Girls’ and ‘No More Tears (Enough is Enough),’ a duet with Barbra Streisand.

Summer also had connections to country music — at least as a songwriter. The one-time Nashville resident penned the song ‘Starting Over Again’ with her husband, and the track later became a chart-topped for both Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. According to the Boot, Summer was even a Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum board member.

A statement issued on behalf of her family reads, ”Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith. While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy.”

“Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time,” writes her family.

Donna Summer died at the age of 63 after a battle with lung and breast cancer. She is survived by her husband Bruce Sudano, their daughters Brooklyn and Amanda, as well as her daughter Mimi from her previous marriage.

Source: TasteofCountry.com

Twitter

There aren’t a lot of red-haired players in the NBA. That’s one of the reasons Patrick Gonzalez, who has red hair, is a fan of Matt Bonner, a ginger-headed back-up center for his hometown San Antonio Spurs.

So to pay homage to the sharp-shooting bigman, Gonzalez had a rather accurate image of his favorite player shaved into the back of his head.

Since hair is apparently a touchy subject at Woodlake Hills Middle School, his mom Rose Gonzalez actually went to the school to clear the Bonner-cut with the administration before Patrick showed up for class.

But despite this meeting, Patrick was told that he would have to get rid of his unique hair style or face suspension. According to school official Aubrey Chancellor, Rose Gonzalez may have met with the front office about her son’s hair, but permission was never actually granted.

So now it looks like Patrick will have to get rid of his tribute, which has been deemed a “distraction.” He says that he is “mad,” but will comply with the decision.

If anything good were to come out of this misunderstanding, it would be that it might draw more attention to Bonner, who last year posted a couple pretty clever parodies of basketball instructional videos on YouTube. Check them out below.

Source: TheFW.com

Townsquare Media

Several area high school baseball teams are in action tonight.The Pleasant Grove Hawks begin a best of three regional quarter final series in Kilgore against Mabank. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Game Two will be same time tomorrow night also in Kilgore, and a game three if necessary will be played Saturday 2 p.m. in Mt. Pleasant.

The Hawks come in ranked fifth in the state with a 27-5 record while Mabank is 18-7.

Pleasant Grove  prefers the best of three format over a one game winner take all game.

In another area quarterfinal series, Hughes Springs ranked second is taking on Queen City in a best of three at Texas High. First pitch is 7 p.m. tonight, with game two tomorrow at the same time, then a third game if necessary would be 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon also at Texas High in Texarkana.

Townsquare Media Texarkana

Several vehicles have been stolen from car lots in the last few weeks in Texarkana, Texas.Texas side police believe they may have solved at least some of them with an arrest. An off-duty detective was driving south on Lake Drive when he spotted one of the alleged stolen cars. He radioed authorities who stopped the vehicle.

Police say 19-year-old Patrick Antara Sims Jr. has been charged and a warrant has been issued for a 15-year-old juvenile suspect.

The investigation continues and more arrests could be pending.

iStockphoto

Vote for Texarkana, Arkansas to win a grant for a dog park.

The PetSafe Bark for Your Park Contest has started and runs through June 14, 2012. You can vote every day!

Texarkana, Arkansas is ready for its first community dog park and shelter dog park. It will be known as “JefFURson Park,” located on the Partnership for the Pathway Trail. It’s the triangle area between the pathway, pavilion and road that runs along AHS. Areas will be sectioned off for large, medium and small dogs. There will also be an agility course. The community will be able to exercise and socialize their dogs with other dog lovers.

Crystal Sloan is helping to organize this project. She says, “We also want to create a dog park at the Animal Care and Adoption Center of Texarkana, Arkansas with a portion of the grant. Our shelter dogs desperately need a safe place to run off-leash and play with volunteers and potential owners. As of now, the shelter dogs can escape from their slip leads and run into nearby traffic when they are taken outside of the shelter. With $100,000 we can make the most of the money by serving the general public’s need for a safe off-leash dog park as well as creating a stress-free and safe environment for the community’s shelter dogs. Our animal shelter serves Miller County, Arkansas and Bowie County, Texas, so voting for Texarkana, Arkansas will benefit both sides of Stateline.”

Please vote daily for Texarkana, Arkansas.

You can vote once a day. Please mark it as a favorite and vote daily.

Last year there was some confusion which caused a split of the votes between the Twin Cities. I believe this cost our community the chance to have a dog park. If we can get a dog park in Texarkana, Arkansas, it will benefit the entire community no matter which side of the line you are on.

The unique opportunity for Texarkana is the ability to also help the animal shelter with this grant. If you have ever been to or seen a shelter that has areas sectioned off for dogs to run loose, it is very helpful to potential adopters. They are able to go into a fenced area and sit with the dog to interact and see how much they would enjoy the dog if they adopted it. I get chill bumps when I think about how much of a difference this type of park could make for the animals that are stuck in the shelter waiting to be given a chance. Please help by voting daily for Texarkana, Arkansas to get a dog park.

Here is a video of last year’s grant winner:

Vote daily for Texarkana, Arkansas

This is a grassroots effort. If you would like to help in this project, please visit Petsafe.net and download flyers to distribute.

2012 Wear It Campaign

With Memorial Day weekend just over a week away, the National Safe Boating Council is ready to kick off their annual campaign to spread the message of safe and responsible boating.

Make sure the kids have life jackets that fit - looking cool is a bonus! (© Scott Mills/Townsquare Media)

The main push this year is to remind boaters to wear their life jackets. In 2010, the last year for which statistics are available, 484 people drowned across America and 395 were not wearing life jackets.

The National Safe Boating Council wants to remind everyone to always wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket while on the water. Even if you’re a good swimmer.

Also, adult life jackets do NOT work for children. Make sure the kids have one that fits.

Remember: A life jacket can’t safe you’re life if you’re not wearing it!

Old Shoe Woman/flickr

Oh, Congress! I love this story! Last year Congress was battling over the health of school lunches, and now pizza is a vegetable! Well, kinda.

First to be clear, Congress never declared pizza as a vegetable, but they did leave some loopholes so  schools nationwide can declare pizza a vegetable!

How did this happen? Well, it was a small little step. Congress declared that an eighth of a cup of tomato paste has the same nutritional value as a half a cup of vegetables. Oops! That backfired a bit! If that’s true, then wouldn’t a Snickers bar equal a serving of nuts?

No fear though, because Jared Polis, a congressman from Colorado, has introduced an act for school lunch improvements.  It’s called The Slice Act,  (Yeah, the humor of that name does not escape me!) which will allow the Department of Agriculture to put new standards on pizza and tomato paste.

Polis told CBS news in Denver  “What Congress has done, believe it or not, is defy logic.” He’s not against pizza he’s just against it being called something it isn’t. “Pizza may be fine to eat from time to time, but it ain’t a vegetable,” he said.

Thank you Mr. Polis!

via Rep. Polis Doesn’t Want Pizza Classified As A Vegetable Anymore « CBS Denver.

ThinkRetail/Flickr

Did you purchase Skechers Shape-Ups, Tone-Ups or Resistance Runner shoes in Arkansas or Oklahoma thinking they may improve your health? If so, you may be eligible for a refund.

As part of the settlement, Skechers will allocate $40 million to reimburse consumers who purchased the shoes. In addition, they will pay $5 million to the states involved in the lawsuit. For its portion, Arkansas will get $84,254 while Oklahoma will get $89,273.

For refund information, you can go to www.ftc.gov/skechers or call 866-325-4186.

treasurehunterssevents.com

It’s the International Coin Collectors Event today! Join Kicker at the Comfort Suites on Richill Drive from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. and get ready to cash in!

Some great ideas to bring in are broken herringbone necklaces, old class rings, sterling silverware, gold coins, silver coins pre 1965, vintage guitars, comic books, antique toys and more. Check out the list of things you need to bring!

They have international resources, which gives them the ability to pay premium prices! So grab your gold, antiques and collectibles and we’ll see you at the Comfort Suites in Texarkana!

kkyr

What is shaking in East Texas?Yet another earthquake has struck deep East Texas. This moderate tremor happened around 3:12 a.m. centered near Timpson with a magnitude of 4.3 on the scale. The Shelby County Sheriff’s office says the only known injury was an elderly woman who fell out of bed and cut her arm. There have been reports of broken windows and fallen dishes but no major damage reported so far.

The quake was felt some 75 miles from the epicenter. The same area felt a 3.9 magnitude quake just last week. East Texas is not normally thought of as the place in Texas where earthquakes are felt.

Dusty Smith, LollyPopFarm, Sugar Daze/Flickr

Movies in the Park tonight, Co-ed softball tournament, a bake sale and pet adoptions this weekend in Texarkana.

Local Events This Weekend:

Thursday, May 17:

Movies in the Park, at Spring Lake Park Thursday at 8 p.m., “The Smurfs,” Rated PG. Admission is free! Bring your lawn chair or blanket. Concessions will be available. You can bring your own food but no alcohol is allowed. For more details contact the City of Texarkana, Texas Parks and Recreation Department at 903-798-3978.

Saturday, May 19:

Hooks Cub Scout Pack 547 will have their annual Yard Sale beginning at 8 a.m. at 113 East Ave. G in Hooks, Texas. They will also sell hamburger plates for $5. All proceeds will benefit Pack 547. For more information please contact Vanessa 903-276-3977.

Co-Ed Softball Tournament at the New Boston Tapp Memorial Park. This is a tournament to benefit the Strack Family. Their 3-year-old boy was killed in a car accident and his mother suffered a broken neck in the accident. This fundraiser is to help the family with their medical costs. The entry fee will be $150 per team. For more information call 903-278-7393.

Circle J Cowboy Church Bake Sale at Tractor Supply on starting at 9 a.m. This fundraiser is to help send kids to camp. For more information call Tiffany at 903-908-4262.

The Texarkana Animal League is hosting a pet adoption event this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Petsmart in Texarkana, Texas. Several local rescues will be there as well with many different dog breeds. All dogs are spayed or neutered, up to date on vaccinations and microchipped. There are also cats and kittens available for adoption in TAL’s cat adoption center inside Petsmart. Become a Fan of Texarkana Animal League’s Facebook page to find out more about this adoption event and future events.

Fish Fry at Ashdown Farmers Market from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to benefit Little River Patriots. Candidates for the upcoming 2012 election will speak at the event. For more information visit LittleRiverPatriots.com

The 24th annual Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cook-Off is May 18-19 in Magnolia. The event includes a sidewalk art show, crafts, a car and motorcycle show, a fishing tournament, and more. Over 5,000 steaks are cooked by teams vying to win the coveted Governor’s Cup and title as the World Championship Steak Cooker. For more details check out blossomfestival.org or call 870-234-4352.

Washington hosts Armed Forces Day May 19 in Washington at Historic Washington State Park. This day is set aside to remember the many ways in which armed forces personnel have impacted our country since its founding. The event features exhibits and first person living history attractions related to the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, The Mexican War, Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, and an appearance by current armed forces representatives.Special programs and activities open at 9 a.m. and run through 4 p.m. Park tours are available at regular prices from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free for special exhibits. Tours cost $8 for adults and $4 for kids 6-12 years old. Visit historicwashingtonstatepark.com or call 870-983-2684 for more details.

Announcements:

Vote for Texarkana, Ark. to win a grant for a dog park: Please vote daily for Texarkana, Ark.! The PetSafe Bark for Your Park Contest has started and runs through June 14. You can vote every day! Texarkana, Ark. is ready for its first community dog park and shelter dog park. It will be known as “JefFURson Park,” located on the Partnership for the Pathway Trail. It’s the triangle area between the pathway, pavilion and road that runs along AHS. Areas will be sectioned off for large, medium and small dogs. There will also be an agility course. The community will be able to exercise and socialize their dogs with other dog lovers.

Crystal Sloan is helping to organize this project. She says, “We also want to create a dog park at the Animal Care and Adoption Center of Texarkana, Ark. with a portion of the grant. Our shelter dogs desperately need a safe place to run off-leash and play with volunteers and potential owners. As of now, the shelter dogs can escape from their slip leads and run into nearby traffic when they are taken outside of the shelter.

Texarkana Animal League’s Tails of Two Cities Day Planner-2013 edition is underway. Please share with your animal-loving friends and family. The more people that sponsor a page, the more lives we can save. Applications can be downloaded at TexarkanaAnimalLeague.org.

Here are just a few of the ways you help animals by sponsoring or underwriting a page:

Low Income Spay/Neuter Assistance Program available to residents of Bowie, Miller, Cass, & Little River Counties.

Foster Care for cats, dogs and the occasional rabbit or ferret. All of the animals in our foster care program are fully vetted prior to adoption.

TAL purchases all vaccines for animals residing at the local city-run shelter, Animal Care & Adoption Center. Shelter pets deserve a healthy life!

Wildlife Rehabilitation: baby birds, raccoons, opossums, oh my! All of these and more have come through and been successfully released back into the wild.

Life Saver Program: our way of helping local rescues offset unexpected, but necessary veterinary expenses.

Have An Upcoming Event?

We want to hear about your upcoming events! To have your church, group or civic organization announcements listed here please send an email and include the who, what, where, when and why. Please include contact information for the event.

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Police are searching for a missing inmate in Benton, Ark. who walked away from his work detail around 3 p.m. on Wednesday at the Saline County Courthouse.

The inmate, 46-year-old Timothy Berthelson, was being detained for failing to appear in court on traffic and other misdemeanor violations.

He is described as a white male with a gray beard, shoulder length hair and a bald spot. He’s approximately 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds.

He was last seen wearing standard issue orange pants, a white tee shirt and a camouflage hat.

topgold/flickr

Facebook has become a way of life for of us – I thought! A new survey came out and says that’s not true. What?

The survey was conducted by AP-CNBC and it found that almost half of Americans think Facebook is a fad. Only 13 percent that were polled trust the social network to protect their data. The really interesting thing that I found out from this survey was 57 percent of Facebook users don’t click on the ads and another 25 percent said they rarely will click on ads!

Not the best news for a company that goes public later this week, and is justifying it’s value of $104 billion because of it’s advertising business! Also not good,  General Motors is pulling their Facebook advertising because they say it doesn’t work. That’s $10 million of advertising!

But have no fear, I have a feeling Facebook will continue to make loads of money and  will be around for a long time!

Sweet Swirlz yogurt machines (© Jathan Fink/Townsquare Media)

Texarkana summers are brutal, but there’s a new place in town to help us beat the heat. Sweet Swirlz, a frozen yogurt shop that opened last November in Pleasant Grove, is a one-of-a-kind, locally owned business that is quickly becoming a family favorite.

Earlier this week I stopped by to try out the goods. Chris Stine, one of the employees there (and great nephew to best-selling author R.L. Stine of “Goosebumps” fame), welcomed me with a big cheerful smile and tousled blond locks and offered to show me around the shop, which is colorfully decorated in pastel pink and green.

“We’ve got five machines that each have two flavors which can be swirled together,” Chris said. Four of the machines typically maintain the same flavors of Strawberry Sensations, Cheesecake, Orchard Peach, All Natural Classic Tart, Kisses Chocolate, Caramel Custard, Tahitian Vanilla and White Chocolate Mouse.

Sweet Swirlz' effervescent Chris Stine is ever cheerful (© Jathan Fink/Townsquare Media)

The fifth machine changes flavors weekly and usually features the most unusual flavor combination. This week, the result was Espresso/Cupcake. As strange as that blend sounded, the swirl of rich coffee and chocolate cake made for the perfect bite of cool, frosty refreshment.

Chris was quick to point out that there are tons of toppings available too, and his favorite is apparently the Boba Balls, because he mentioned them frequently. “They’re filled with strawberry juice that bursts in your mouth,” he said with a grin. (Yes, I believe my new buddy Chris is always full of smiles.)

In addition to these flavorful Boba Balls, there are 29 other toppings customers can choose from including berries, nuts, and assorted candies.

Boba Balls give a burst of strawberry flavor (© Jathan Fink/Townsquare Media)

Located at 3317 Richmond Road, the shop quickly fills with teenagers after school, eager to fill up on their sweet concoctions. Sweet Swirlz makes it easy though. All customers have to do is grab a cup, fill it up with all the yogurt they can handle, pile on the toppings, and then weigh it and pay only 43 cents per ounce. While it sounds amazingly inexpensive, it is a business model that has worked so well the owners are considering opening a second shop in Arkadelphia, according to Chris.

So the next time you’re out on a hot afternoon and need a little cooling off, skip the ice cream and try something tasty and low fat and discover for yourself why Sweet Swirlz is the latest place to make our Good Eats list.

iStockphoto

So you go pay to eat at an All-You-Can-Eat restaurant expecting to go back for seconds, then your told your cut-off and can’t have anymore food. Would that make you mad?Well, a Wisconsin man is pretty ticked off after he got cut off at an all-you-can-eat fish fry at Chuck’s Place. Bill Wisth apparently ate more than a dozen pieces of fried fish, when management brought his eating to an end. So the question is did the restaurant really run out of fish or were they cutting him off based on his weight. The man who is six-foot-six and weighs 350-pounds says it is “false advertising” and decided to show back up two days later with a picket sign in protest of the whole incident.

According to the Associated Press the restaurant continues to deny him anymore more fried food, one waitress says he’s been a problem for years, with a pretty big tab he hasn’t paid off yet.

Do you think he was treated fairly or not?

See the YouTube video and then form your own opinion.

(source:huffingtonpost.com)

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

It’s official – ABC-TV has announced that Reba’s new sitcom will make it to this year’s fall lineup. I happen to be a huge Reba fan and have been following her for years. I wonder if this show will have shades of her last sitcom Reba.

Reba’s new sitcom Malibu Country will officially premiere this November on ABC. A premiere date hasn’t been announced, but according to Reba’s website, the show will air Fridays at 8:30 p.m. EST.

See a clip from Malibu Country from ABC.com

(source:CMT)

The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department is proud to participate in such an outstanding event for such a worthy cause. Please join us on this date.

You can visit the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department online at www.txkusa.org/arkpolice.

(Source: Officer Kristi Mitchell/Public Information Officer TAPD)

Willie plays guitar and shares lead vocals with Lukas…