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.
We keep pace with Eric Walker and Keith Scheffler as they train for the “Tough Mudder Dallas.” Their team of seven will face a 12-mile gauntlet of wall, rope, fire, water, electro-shock and, of course, mud obstacles at the end of this month.
"Liztomania" by Phoenix
Tuesday afternoon, Ozarks at Large’s Antoinette Grajeda took a tour of the new Tyson Founder’s Room. Here’s her story.
"Four Leaf Clover" by Abra Moore
The University of Arkansas’ Full Circle Campus Food Pantry came in second in a nationwide contest launched by the White House called “Campus Champions of Change Challenge.” Representatives from the pantry visited the White House Thursday to be honored for innovation and determination.
The Arkansas Arts Council-organized event "Small Works on paper" is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year; plus, some fly-fishing, an antique show and HOWL for women and men make the weekend look very promising. Becca Bacon Martin from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers has the details.
Author Michael Downs talks about his book “The Greatest Show” which is a collection of short stories based on the 1944 Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus fire.
To listen to more of this conversation, click here.
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Tori Amos