2 charged w e nes iay th gus , att o um emp , um er te opyr d g ro ansa bb s emocra eaz rync

ANDRA ATTEBERRY Staff Writer andraa @nwanews .com

A Bella Vista police officer captured two robbery suspects Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 20, shortly after one of them tried to hold up a Bella Vista pharmacy. Michael Wright, 22, from Bella Vista, and Joshua Peabody, 24, from Centerton, were charged with two felonies : attempted aggravated robbery and possession of a controlled substance, Detective Ryan Harmon said. A technician at Medicap Pharmacy called police about the incident at 2:36 p.m., according to police reports. The attempted robbery began when a man handed a note to a Medicap clerk indicating the man had a gun and demanding the store’s supply of Oxycontin, police reports state. Oxy Contin is a narcotic used for pain management. The clerks are used to customers handing them pieces of paper, so the victim didn’t realize it was a holdup until she passed the note to a technician, Medicap owner Tom Crisler said. “( The Oxycontin’s ) locked up. I’ll have to get a pharmacist and get the key,” the technician told the alleged robber. The man then turned aroun - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Road work could begin this week

GAYNELL BELLO NI Staff Writer gaynellb @nwanews

The contract to build the new road between Scotsdale Drive and Gordon Hollow Road has been signed and construction is expected to begin soon, possibly as early as this week. The new road, when completed, is expected to alleviate traffic on residential Oniell Drive, that connects Scotsdale Drive to Gordon Hollow Road. The contract was signed by representatives of the City of Bella Vista, the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, Benton County, and Mc Donald County, Mo. The City of Bella Vista and the POA have pledged up to $200,000, each, to complete the project — which is expected to take several months. Construction will be a joint effort between Benton County and Mc-Donald County, Mo. Oniell Drive, a residential street, is currently carrying in excess of 1,300 vehicles a day, according to a study completed in 2007 by Benton County officials. Oniell Drive residents have complained of the increasing traffic on what many consider a narrow, dangerous road. They said many area residents use it as a shortcut t - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Mold found at school

JAMIE BRUNK Staff Writer jamieb @nwanews .com

A slightly elevated level of mold was found during a recent testing at Cooper Elementary School, but Bentonville School District officials don't believe there's cause for alarm. It's believed that the elevated mold readings are coming from mulch on the playground near the south end of the building, members of the Bentonville School Board's Facilities Committee were told Apr. 22. Mold tests are performed by taking samples of the air both inside and outside a structure. If the amount of mold in the air inside a building is higher than what is in the atmosphere outside, that determines that there is a mold problem in the building. The mold test in the south end of Cooper Elementary was higher than elsewhere in the building, but not as high as the outside air levels. Cooper, which was built more than a year ago, came under scrutiny from Bella Vista resident Ed Chitty for what he claimed was shoddy construction. He claimed the building would be susceptible to mold because of problems that occurred during the const - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

City sign ordinance yet to pass

GAYNELL BELLO NI Staff Writer gaynellb @nwanews

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign – and Bella Vista has nothing that will regulate them – yet. During a meeting of the City Council Monday, at which much of the talk was about a proposed sign ordinance, the members voted to hold off for now on casting a final ballot and enacting a law that would regulate signs, banners and similar items. “Many of the businesses (in Bella Vista ) are of the small variety ; are we helping them to exist if we’re not allowing them to put up their signs ?” asked Mayor Frank Anderson. After hearing from three area businessmen who protested the sign ordinance as written because they believed it would harm their sales, in - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Man guilty of animal cruelty

ANDRA ATTEBERRY Staff Writer andraa @nwanews .com

A Bella Vista man charged with animal cruelty for neglecting and starving three puppies pleaded guilty in court Aug. 20. Kevin Smith, of 5 Minton Lane, was cited July 7 by Bella Vista animal-control officer Merle Weaver for allegedly starving the pitbull-mix puppies and neglecting to treat them for worms. Weaver issued the citation one week after picking up the animals and taking them to the Bella Vista Animal Shelter. Smith pleaded guilty in Bentonville District Court and was given a $750 fine with $250 suspended, a 180-day jail sentence with 178 days suspended and two days of public service, according to court officials. He was also charged $105 for court costs. - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

V illag e Hou se A du lt D ay Program has n ew director

DOUGLAS GRANT Staff Writer douglasg @nwanews .com

Village House Adult Day Program in Bella Vista has a new director. Sharon Comstock was named to the position late last month and began her tenure Aug. 1. The West Virginia native is no stranger to working in a nonprofit environment focusing on people. She came to Village House from the Boys and Girls Club of Rogers, where she had served as the facility’s director. Comstock, 61, has had a varied career that includes working for a coal company in her home state nearly 40 years ago and traveling the country hawking NASCAR souvenirs. The latter began as a lark when she and husband Eddie were living in Florida and, as she terms it, “going nowhere.” A friend asked if the couple would be interested in transporting a souvenir trailer to the tracks of the NASCAR circuit, and they agreed. But it was to be one year and one year only. - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

CPR class scheduled

SPRINGDALE — Community Health and Wellness, a service of the Jones Center for Families, is offering a class titled CPR for Families and Friends. This noncertification course will be taught Sept. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Harvey Jones Health Education Building, 610-A E. Emma Ave. in Springdale. Participants will learn how to perform one-person CPR on adults, infants and children. There is no cost, but space is limited. Preregistration is requested by calling (479) 750-6550. - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

RV storage facility to be resurfaced

FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Bella Vista Property Owners Association will begin resurfacing its RV Storage Facility next month. For POA staff to accomplish the resurfacing, restriping and renumbering of the facility, all items must be removed by Sunday, Sept. 7. RV Storage Facility lessees will receive a detailed letter explaining the process and offering temporary storage options. The facility’s lot, which has not been resurfaced in approximately 16 years, will receive a double chip-andseal surface. Lessees will not have access to the storage facility between Sept. 7 and the reopening date without making special arrangements through the Membership Services or Maintenance and Construction offices. For more information, call the Membership Services Department at 855-8000 or the Maintenance and Construction Division at 855-5060. Barring any weather delays, the facility will reopen by Oct. 10. Although the POA is encouraging lessees to relocate their vehicles and other items to any facility or location they deem fit, arrangements have b - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Donation to shelter

Submitted Dustie Meads, president of the Village Art Club, presents a check to Eva Rammy, of the Benton County Women’s Shelter, during the club’s general meeting in August. The money came from proceeds of the club’s spring show and will be used for the children’s art program at the shelter. - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

O BITUARIES

Claire Marie Center Claire Marie Center, 95, of Bella Vista, died Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008, at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. She was born Jan. 30, 1913, in Detroit Lakes, Minn., to Fred Borcher and Mildred Bartlett Borcher. She moved to Arkansas from Goodhue, Minn., in 1964. She worked as a checker for Ben Franklin, then a Wal-M art store, from 1965 until 2002. She enjoyed china painting, cooking, reading and gardening. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Dewey Center, in 1967; a brother ; and two sisters. Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Jane Hobson and Danny Hobson of Bella Vista ; two sons and daughters-in-law, William Kerssen and Debbie Kerssen of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Michael Center and Sue Center of Phillipsburg, N.J.; a brother, Morty Borcher of Wadena, Minn.; three sisters, Shirley Gedde and Dorothy Johnson, both of Wadena, Minn., and Nita Mittleider of Portland, Ore.; seven grandchildren ; and five great-grandchildren. - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Canada Geese receive reprieve

As many as 100 Canada geese in Bella Vista can stop looking over their shoulders for a human with a shotgun — at least for the time being — as they received a reprieve Thursday from the Property Owners Association. During the monthly meeting of the group Thursday night, it was announced that a vote taken in June to kill up to 10 percent of the bird population, using a federal permit the POA had recently received, was made without having all of the pertinent information. POA Board Chairwoman Roberta Dale told the members of the board that they had “misread ” the intent of the permit and had voted on inaccurate information. Thinking the permit allowed only the “killing ” of the birds, the board voted 6-2 that June evening to go forward with the lethal culling of the flock. However, since then, the permit has been reinterpreted, and it has been determined that other means of nonlethal elimination must be used before slaughtering the birds. As a result, Dale called for a reconsideration of the earlier balloting. - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Former foster parent sentenced in pornography case

ADAM WALLW ORTH Arkansas Democrat-G azette

FAYETTEVILLE — A former foster parent from Bella Vista was sentenced to 70 years in prison Thursday in federal court for producing and transporting child pornography. Brian J. Bergthold, 46, pleaded guilty to the July 26, 2007, charges. “You didn’t do this to me,” Bergthold said, sitting in the witness stand before being formally sentenced. “I did this to you.” Bergthold spoke to the victims in the room and the families of victims representing others who couldn’t be there. A thin, pale man, Bergthold wore a white dress shirt and black tie. Throughout the trial, he alternated between cheery talk with family and friends who came to support him and solemnly watching the proceedings. Bella Vista police detective Barb Shrum testified that five boys reported being abused while in Bergthold’s care. - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A u t h o r d r a w s on pe r s on a l kn ow l e d ge , pe n s WW II n o ve l

DOUGLAS GRANT Staff Writer douglasg @nwanews .com

Any American airman shot down over the Philippines during World War II, if captured by the Japanese, had little hope of survival. But their odds of making it home alive increased if they were found first by the Filipinos. One of those stories has come to life in the pages of a new book written by a Bella Vista woman who grew up on one of the Philippine Islands as war raged around her. “Corridors of Pain,” by Cecilia V. Gomez Andersen, is the fictional story of a B-29 crew and their survival after crash-landing in a swamp. The survivors are taken by members of a guerilla band whose sole mission is to get them all into the safe hands of the U.S. military. The book goes into great detail on how the rescuers risk their own lives to save those of the Americans, as well as the strong bonds that eventually form between the two. Andersen, 79, was born in Ilog, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Her father was a school superintendent and her mother was a teacher, which afforded the young girl many advantages of which oth - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Townhouse Association seeks input on future of recreational amenities

DOUGLAS GRANT Staff Writer douglasg @nwanews .com

More than 1,000 townhouse owners in Bella Vista are in the process of voting on whether to keep or eliminate their swimming pools and tennis courts — a decision that could ultimately cost or save them as much as $1 million. On July 31, the Bella Vista Townhouse Association mailed 1,048 surveys to the owners, asking them to select to either renovate or close the association’s pools at Britten Circle, Cora Circle and Metfield Courts and the tennis courts at Brompton, Drake and Metfield. It is estimated the pool renovations will cost $700,000 and the tennis courts $300,000. Repairs and renovations range from such things as fixing cracks on the tennis courts to completely replacing pool plumbing in order to meet current standards. Some of those facilities are more than 30 years old. The board also provided an option that would cut those costs by nearly half. By building smaller swimming pools inside the existing structures, they would save $450,000 and still be able to do the work on the tennis courts. The survey - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Road work will connect city street to county highway

GAYNELL BELLO NI Staff Writer gaynellb @nwanews

The Benton County Road Department is in the process of paving Jack Crabtree Road, which will provide a direct — and straight — connection between Commonwealth Road and County Road 40. The mostly dirt and gravel road is currently closed at the north end because of tree removal, although local residents are allowed access. “It’s a safety issue. We’re trying to keep someone from getting hurt,” Harvey Johnson, a worker with the road department, said. Jack Crabtree is a county road, but it does fall within the city’s master street plan. Metfield’s Dogwood Golf Course borders a portion of both the east and west sides of the road. The Benton County Road Department is widening the road slightly while completing tree removal. They will then begin the road preparation work — applying layers of red dirt, white gravel, chip and seal, and a top layer of asphalt. It will be some time before it is paved, perhaps as long as a year, according to James Michael Rich, a foreman with the Benton County Road Department. The curve o - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Man arrested , charged with rape of child in Bella Vista

ANDRA ATTEBERRY Staff Writer andraa @nwanews .com

An Arkansas man suspected of raping a 6-year-old girl from Bella Vista was captured in Washington state on Friday, Aug. 22. Travis Fredrickson, 36, of Booneville, was arrested by the Washington State Police on a felony warrant charging him with rape of a girl here two days after the Bella Vista police entered the information into the National Crime Information Center data base, Detective Barb Shrum said. The police could not say exactly where the man was when he was arrested. A felony conviction for rape has a 25-year mandatory sentence, Shrum said. The Benton County prosecuting attorney’s office has already begun the extradition process. The child reported the alleged abuse to a family friend, who then told the girl’s parents. They talked to the police on Aug. 9, Shrum said. During the investigation, Shrum said, the Children’s Advocacy Center in Little Flock interviewed the girl. Fredrickson, a construction worker, was alone with the girl occasionally because he was a relative, Shrum said. Police reports ind - Wednesday, August 27, 2008