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ELKINS COMMUNITY NEWS

March 2023

Show Your Love for Elkins Public Library 

 
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people use the Elkins Public Library every year. Did you know that the nonprofit Friends of the Elkins Public Library hosts a book sale twice a year to support the library’s programs? These book sales are a great way to support the library in several ways. 
 
Volunteer
Friends of EPL and the EPL Board of Directors are working together to host the Spring Book Sale, which is scheduled for May 4-6 at the Elkins Community Center. There are several volunteer opportunities before, during, and after the sale (they will also need these for the October book sale, by the way). They will need people to:
  • Sort books into genres before the sale
  • Helping transport books from the library to the community center before the sale
  • Setting up the tables before the sale
  • Working the sale (multiple shifts available over the three days)
  • Helping tear down after the sale.
 

Donate books, movies

Doing some spring cleaning? Have gently used books or DVDs that you don’t need anymore? The library is collecting books for the Spring Book Sale. Please bring your donations to the library during its regular business hours. They cannot accept encyclopedias or text books. 
 
To volunteer or to learn more about the sale, please contact Jeff English at English_Jeff@hotmail.com, or Eve Owens at emowens@gmail.com or call her at 479.445.9262.
Thank you to this month's sponsors!

Sponsorships help make what we do possible. If you would like to sponsor a future edition, email us at info@elkinsar.org or visit elkinsar.org

Thank you

This newsletter is made possible by the monthly efforts of the following: 
  • Elkins Community Network: Publisher 
  • Jamie Smith: News Director 
  • Lynn Francis: Graphics/Print Director
  • Ezequiel Tovar: Community Insights Director
  • Amanda Kimbel: Contributor
  • Teresa Graves: Distribution
  • Barbara King: Distribution
 
A special thank you to members of the Elkins Senior Wellness and Activity Center for helping fold the newsletters each month.

We’ve revamped our Classifed Ads to focus on helping business and nonprofits connect with people needing jobs. Our job opening spots will be due at the same time each month as the display ads. They are $10 and up to 300 words. For more information, visit our media guide for sponsorships.

March Calendar of Events

All events listed on the ECN Calendar are open to the public.
 

Thursday March 2

· Boston Mountain Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Pick Up - 8am to 1pm at the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Building (1525 S Happy Hollow Rd, Fayetteville). Happens every Thursdays in March

· Storytime at the Elkins Public Library - 11am

· Knitting Club - 7pm at the Elkins Public Library - All crafters welcome. For more info call Trish at the Elkins Public Library at 479.643.2904

March 3-5

· White River Gun Show. Details inside this issue

Saturday March 4

· Reptile Show ’n’ Tell - Noon at the Elkins Public Library

Sunday March 5

· Ozark Revival Quartet - 10:30am at Round Mountain Community Church

 

Monday March 6 *Curbside Recycling*

· Chicken Raising Workshop - 6-8pm at Washington County Extension Office. RSVP required. Details inside this issue.

Wednesday March 8

· Homeschool Game Day - 1-3pm at Elkins Public Library. elkinspubliclibrary@gmail.com for info

· Elkins Robotics Electronics Club - 4pm & 5pm at the Elkins Public Library. elkinspubliclibrary@gmail.com for more info

Thursday March 9

· Storytime at the Elkins Public Library - 11am

· Elkins Farmers Market Vendor Info Meeting - 2:30pm at the Elkins Public Library

· Invasive Plant Removal - 2-5pm at Mount Sequoyah Woods. Details inside this issue.

· Knitting Club - 7pm at the Elkins Public Library - All crafters welcome. For more info call Trish at the Elkins Public Library at 479.643.2904

· Elkins Water & Sewer Committee Meeting - 7pm at Elkins City Hall

Saturday March 11

· Monthly Writing Class - 10am at the Elkins Public Library. Details inside this issue.

· Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser for Richland Baptist Church - 5-7pm at Elkins Middle School.

Sunday March 12

· Daylight Savings Time Begins. Set clocks one hour forward.

 

Tuesday March 14

· Elkins Lions Club Meeting - 6pm at Rio Grande Restaurant

Wednesday March 15

· Homeschool Game Day - 1-3pm at Elkins Public Library. elkinspubliclibrary@gmail.com for info

· Elkins Robotics Electronics Club - 4pm & 5pm at the Elkins Public Library.

elkinspubliclibrary@gmail.com for more info

Thursday March 16

· NWA Food Bank mobile food bank at Elkins Community Center, 9am

· Storytime at the Elkins Public Library - 11am

· Knitting Club - 7pm at the Elkins Public Library - All crafters welcome. For more info call Trish at the Elkins Public Library at 479.643.2904

· Elkins City Council Meeting - 7pm at Elkins City Hall

Saturday March 18

· Boston Mountain Solid Waste District Free Electronics Recycling - 8am to 2pm at Arvest Ballpark

· Generations Tea - 10am-noon at First Baptist Church Elkins

 

Monday March 20  *Curbside Recycling*

· Deadline for ECN Newsletter Ads, News - Email info@elkinsar.org

· Spring Break for Elkins Public Schools

· City of Elkins Planning Commission Meeting - 7pm at Elkins City Hall

Wednesday March 22

· Spring Break Palooza Begins at Terra Studios. Event runs through the 26th. More details inside this issue.

Thursday March 23

· Storytime at the Elkins Public Library - 11am

· Knitting Club - 7pm at the Elkins Public Library - All crafters welcome. For more info call Trish at the Elkins Public Library at 479.643.2904

Saturday March 25

· Elkins Volunteer Fire Department Pancake Breakfast - 6-11am at Fire Station 1 (187 W. First Ave). More details in newsletter.

· Crawfish Boil Car and Bike Show - 4-7pm at the Goshen United Methodist Church. More details inside this issue.

· Paws and Claws Shelter Slumber Pawty - Noon to Noon the following day at the shelter. Details inside this issue.

· Potato Supper & Gospel Singing - 5pm at Durham Free Will Baptist Church. Details inside this issue.

 

Tuesday March 28

· Elkins School Board Meeting - 6pm at the Elkins Schools Administration Building

Wednesday April 12

· Kindergarten Registration - 1:30-3:30pm at Elkins Elementary School

April 14-16

· Citywide Garage Sale Weekend (No Permit Needed)

Friday April 21

· City Spring Cleanup. More details in newsletter

Saturday April 22

· Artchella Benefitting Elkins High School Art Department

· City Spring Cleanup. More details in newsletter

View the complete calendar and submit your events at elkinsar.org or email us at info@elkinsar.org or call (479)274-0016.

Ways to Serve: Art Lab

Terra Studios in Durham hosts the donation-based Art Labs at least once a month, typically on weekends, for the community. These are simple, fun crafts for people of all ages. They need volunteers to help the participants with their projects including explaining the premise, hand out materials, etc. If interested, people can email Terra Studios at terrastudios@terrastudios.com.
 

Community Insights:
Significance of Service


Our Community Insights column has served to allow local residents to give their insights into what makes Elkins a great place to live including their ideas on service and leadership. One of our newest board members, Ezequiel Tovar, is taking over as director of this column and will be the contact for anyone who would like to contribute. This is his introduction!
 

By Ezequiel Tovar

Early this year, I had the great privilege of becoming the Community Insights Director of this Community Insights column. And so, I feel the need to introduce myself. Let’s start at the beginning: My name is Ezequiel Tovar, I have lived in Elkins since I was 8 years old. My parents immigrated from Mexico in the late 90s and first met in Fayetteville. That is why I call the Natural State my home. I went to Fayetteville Christian School since I was in K5 and graduated from there in 2018. I started working at the age of 14 with sandpaper with my father and older sister.

I have worked at the following places: ToysRUs, Goodwill, a recreational facility at the university, and a small accounting firm. I went to the University of Arkansas and majored in Finance with a concentration in financial management and investments. Since I graduated from the university in 2022, I am now a consultant at Zweig Group-a consulting firm for the AEC industry (Architecture, Engineering & Construction). Also in 2022, I had the great honor to be engaged to my high school sweetheart and joy of my life (we are to be married in June of this year).

For the most part of my adolescent and teenage years, I was unaware of anything going on in Elkins. It was until I was a senior at the University of Arkansas that I started to get involved. I decided that attending an Elkins Planning Commission meeting would be of use to me, so I attended and got introduced to City Council member Matt Francis. The floodgates opened. That is where I began to work with the phenomenal team at the Elkins Community Network and have been here ever since. I started as an Ambassador and am now a board member.

As your Community Insights Director, my purpose is to highlight unique individuals that provide insightful commentary on a whole variety of topics. I also want to encourage you to share ideas with me as well. This newsletter is for the community, and I want to make sure that the Community Insights column reflects your voice and interests. If you have an individual that I should talk to, or a topic that you would like to cover, please do not hesitate to contact me (etovar@elkinsar.org)! I believe that together, we can build a stronger, more connected, and more vibrant community. An Elkins for the present and the future. As we move forward, I am excited to be part of this community and to help bring about positive change through the power of communication.

Your humble servant,
Ezequiel Tovar
etovar@elkinsar.org

Writing Class March 11

The next monthly writing class at the Elkins Public Library with Author Linda Rigsbee is 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 11. Each class includes a lesson and then time for local writers to share their work for constructive critique. March’s lesson will be about how to write memoirs.
 

School Choice applications available

 
The Public School Choice Act of 2015 allows students to attend a public school in Arkansas that is different from the school district in which the family resides. School Choice applications for the 2023-2024 school year are now being accepted at Elkins School District. The application window opened on January 1, 2023, and will close on May 1, 2023. 
 
Elkins School District is a great option for students and families that provides a world class education with small-town core values. The academic achievement level and performance at ESD is very high with the district ranking second out of sixteen in district grade point average in all of Northwest Arkansas, using the most recent school letter grades that were released by the Arkansas Department of Education this past November. Students also have a bevy of clubs, organizations, and extracurricular activities in which to become involved. 
 
Please be advised that school choice applications are time and date stamped when they are received, and applications will be accepted in chronological order based on the available space in the necessary grade level and academic program. Families interested in completing a School Choice application should do so immediately, as space is filling up quickly in numerous grade levels. Applications can be picked up and submitted at the Elkins School District administration office. If you have further questions about the district or the School Choice process, check the school out online at www.elkinsdistrict.org or contact school superintendent, Jeremy Mangrum, at jmangrum@elkinsdistrict.org
 

CARDS increase

The Elkins City Council approved an extension of the contract with CARDS for the city’s trash and recycling with a $1.16 per month increase to the overall bill. If your trash or recycling is missed on an assigned day, contact the Elkins Water Department and leave a message if no one is available. 
 

Quartet Concert March 5 

Round Mountain Community Church will host Ozark Revival Quartet at 10:30am, Sunday, March 5, at the church. 
 

Artchella seeking vendors

The 2nd Annual Artchella, a benefit for the Elkins High School Art Department, is seeking vendors and other participants for their event, which is April 22. For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/elkinsdistrict.org/artchella/home. 
 

Goshen Crawfish Boil March 25

Goshen United Methodist Church will host its 14th Annual Crawfish Boil Car and Bike Show 4pm to 7pm, Saturday, April 15. The Car and Bike Show is free with the crawfish boil and chicken dinners $10 per plate. For more information, contact sarahgvaughan1@gmail.com. 
 

Spaghetti Dinner March 11

Richland Baptist Church at Mt. Olive is hosting its annual Spaghetti Dinner 5pm to 7pm, Saturday, March 11, at Elkins Middle School. All proceeds go to support the summer youth church camp. 
 

Diamond Rodeo seeking participants 

Diamond W, along with G2H, will host a rodeo in Lincoln, AR, on April 29. 
They will have Mutton Bustin as well with up to 40 mutton busters. You can sign up by April 25 by texting 479-856-3700. It’s free and there will be a buckle presented to the champion mutton buster.
There will be 15 bull riding teams. For more information, contact the above phone number. 

 
EVFD Pancake Breakfast March 25

The Elkins Volunteer Fire Department is hosting its annual pancake breakfast 6am to 11am, Saturday, March 25, at Station 1 (197 W. First Ave.). The cost is $5 per plate with children age five and younger free. There will be dine-in and to-go options available. 
 

Youth MTB seeking riders

The Fayetteville-based Youth Mountain Bike Team is seeking participants for this upcoming season. The team is for both girls and boys in grades 6-12 from Fayetteville and the surrounding communities. Signups begin April 1 and the preseason events are April-June. Practice begins July 1 and the season ends Oct. 31. For more information, contact fayettevillestudentmtb@gmail.com. 
 

Cowboy camp March 20-24

Thunder Mountain Ranch will host a four-day Cowboy Camp for students during Spring Break, 8:30am to 5pm, March 20-24. The cost is $50 or $175 if they sign up for the entire week. Students will learn about various aspects of horse and cattle care, and riding lessons. Contact the ranch at thundermountainequine@gmail.com or (479) 841-1730 for more information. 
 

City garage sale, cleanup

The Citywide Garage Sale (no permit required) will be April 14-16 and the City Spring cleanup will be April 21-22. The city will share the list of accepted items as soon as they receive it from CARDS. 


Pre-K, K registration 

Elkins Elementary School will host Kindergarten registration 1:30pm to 3:30pm, Wednesday, April 12. Pre-K registration begins April 19. For more information about what is needed to register contact the school.  
 

Invasive plant removal March 9

The Beaver Watershed Alliance, which is based in Elkins, is hosting several upcoming invasive plant removal volunteer opportunities. The next one is 2pm to 5pm, Thursday, March 9, in Mount Sequoyah Woods. For more information, contact the Alliance at info@beaverwatershedalliance.org or 479-750-8007. 


Raising chickens workshop 

The Washington County Extension Office will host a workshop on how to get started raising poultry 6pm to 8pm, Monday, March 6, at the Extension Office in Fayetteville. The event is free to attend but RSVPs are required. Topics will include selection of birds, brooding chicks, nutritional requirements, housing requirements, biosecurity, and regulations for selling eggs. For questions or to RSVP contact Ronnie Horn at 479.444.1755 or rhorn@uada.edu. 
 

Generations Tea March 18

The First Baptist Church Elkins Women’s Ministry Team will host Generations Gather Tea 10am to noon, Saturday, March 18, at the church gym. Women and girls of all ages are invited to enjoy a special speaker as well as sweet and savory tea. Contact the church for more information. 
 

Farmers Market meeting March 9

Elkins Farmers Market is accepting applications for vendors during the 2023 season, which starts April 6. There is a vendors meeting 2:30pm to 3:30pm, Thursday, March 9, at the Elkins Public Library. Contact the Farmers Market for information about their rules and for an application. 
 

Gun show March 3-5

The White River Gun Show will be March 3-5 at the Elkins Community Center. Admission is $10 but children age 15 and younger and women are free. The hours will be Noon to 5pm on Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday, and 9am to 3pm on Sunday. Contact Mike Bell at 479.445.5819 or Carroll Baker at 479.586.6520 for more information. 
 

Shelter benefit March 25

Paws and Claws Pet Shelter is hosting the Shelter Slumber Pawty that is March 25 from noon to noon. Participants will obtain donations and have a “sleepover” at the shelter, either in a kennel or the cat room. Contact the Shelter on Facebook for more information. 

 
Potato Supper/Gospel Singing March 25

Durham Free Will Baptist Church will host a potato supper and gospel singing on March 25 at the church. The supper begins at 5pm and the singing at 6:30pm. The event will include congregational singing and specials. The event is free to the public. 

 
Spring Break Palooza March 22-26

Terra Studios will host Spring Break Palooza March 22-26. Live music and food trucks will be every day. They will also have Art Lab and open art classes throughout the week. Contact Terra Studios for more information or find them on Facebook. 
 

Summer Academy help

The Elkins School District is working on the 2023 Summer Academy and needs help from the community. Here are some ideas from teachers that would involve help from community members:
  • Cooking lessons
  • Dance lessons/golf lessons/archery lessons - they have structured physical activity time for 30 minutes each day.  They would love to be able to offer a variety of games/activities/lessons for students for which they could sign up.
  • Job shadowing or guest speakers
  • Robotics was a huge hit, so they are working on making that an entire lesson/unit for a grade level.  
  • Art/craft lessons
  • Photography lessons (disposable cameras donated?) 
To offer assistance or provide insight, please email Jerri Foster at jfoster@elkinsdistrict.org. 
 

Senior Activities Fridays

Goshen United Methodist Church offers Senior Activities Center Fridays every Friday 10am to 3pm at the church (122 E. Bowen Blvd). It includes free fellowship, refreshments, pinball, cards, dominoes, bingo, pool, air hockey, etc. Quilting is at 1pm and there are education program with the Schmieding Center for Families once a month. For more information contact David Smith (214.507.6605) or Fara Ferguson (479.841.1550). 
 

Reptile Show n Tell March 4

Lexi Sanders and her organization Arkansas Snake Identification will host a herpetology session about local snakes at 12 noon, Saturday, March 4, in the Elkins Public Library Community Room. She will bring several snakes to see and one to touch or hold. There will also be someone giving advice on good practice, safety, and giving basic information as well as answering any questions about local snakes. This is a family-friendly event for all ages. 
 

Job Listings Now Available


We are trying to build the new job listings section on our website but we need your help! We can’t list jobs from local businesses that we don’t know about. So, if you are a local business or know a local business that is hiring, this information is for you. We offer free job listings on our website and there is a $10 charge if you want it posted in our monthly newsletter (both print and digital). Please email your job listings to info@elkinsar.org and indicate if you want it on the website or website/newsletter.

Job Opening


The Washington County Arkansas District Court Elkins Department is hiring a new deputy district clerk. The full-time position would earn $16-$19. Interested candidates should apply with a resume to alexisward@elkins.arkansas.gov or bring it to the Court Department at City Hall. 
ECN Sponsorship Rates

We fund our ongoing programs through sponsorships in three forms. See details for each at elkinsar.org
Job Listings                            $10
Advertise your job openings directly to our community. Text only. Appears in both forms of the newsletter and on the website.

Display                                  $25/50
Available in Business Card or Double Business card size. Will appear in both print and email newsletters and on our website.

 
Check local calendars for changes to events

We try to be as accurate as possible with our calendar information, but sometimes schedules change. For the most up-to-date information, check our events calendar on our website at elkinsar.org/. City of Elkins events can be found on the city website at elkins.arkansas.gov. Elkins School Events can be found on the district calendar at elkinsdistrict.org. The Senior Center also publishes a monthly newsletter with its menu and activities that can be found at aaanwar.org/locations/detail/1426
 

Do you have a business, local organization, church, or youth activity that people need to know about? We have a directory for that! Please submit your organization to one of our directories or email us at info@elkinsar.org or call (479) 274-0016 so that we can spread the word about everything going on in Elkins.
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