by “Stretch” DeTrooth

The Hwy. 18 bridge closure has caused some inconvenience and angst among area residents. However, some area residents decided to have some fun with the bridge closure last night. A group of about 40 people gathered at the bridge last night around 2 a.m. to party and watch motocross riders jump over Dabbs Creek where the new bridge is being constructed.

Law enforcement was alerted of the gathering, and they arrived around 2:30 a.m. to break it up. The group scattered when law enforcement arrived. They did manage to arrest 3 onlookers because their ATV wouldn’t start. One law enforcement officer said, “This was obviously a planned thing. They had built 2 large wooden ramps to glide over the creek. They were all riding 4 wheelers and dirt bikes, so they were ready to roll if we showed up. This was very dangerous and stupid. These losers were even drinking Bud Light! Unbelievable! We’ll get them next time.”

I was able to talk with a couple people that were at the gathering, and they both wanted to remain anonymous. One onlooker said, “It was so awesome; it was like a party. We were hanging out, playing music, and drinking beer. Those dudes were ramping over the creek like Evel Freakin Knievel.”

A motocross rider told me, “I was a little nervous about the ramps. We built them out of pallets and scrap wood in about 20 minutes. But, they held up well. After 4 or 5 beers, I was like screw it. Let’s go! We were having a blast dude! It was so rad! The po po had to ruin a good time. We’ll be back though. They can’t stop us.”

Law enforcement talked with nearby residents, and they asked them to call 911 if people start to gather again in the wee hours of the night at the bridge construction site. However, an unnamed source said some nearby residents were there gambling on which rider could jump the farthest. Law enforcement feels confident nearby residents will notify them if the group does gather again.

by Ima Phibber

As the saying goes, if you play with fire, you’re eventually going to get burned. Evidently, that saying applies to snake handling in church services. There aren’t many churches that still do snake handling in services these days, but the Strong River Church of Our Lord Jesus in rural Simpson County is a church that still embraces the practice.

Pastor Jake “The Snake” Flair has been snake handling in his services for about 10 years, and he’d never been bitten until last night. Bro. Flair was always cautious when snake handling, and he always reminded his congregation how dangerous the practice can be. Bro. Flair uses timber rattlers in his services, and he catches every snake he uses in the Bienville National Forest.

Bro. Flair is in ICU right now, but he’s expected to make a full recovery. Bro. Flair leads the music in addition to preaching at the church. He was singing a solo while holding the snake in front of his face when the snake bit him on the neck. He was immediately in agonizing pain, and he urged someone to call 911. The emergency responders arrived about 20 minutes later. A member of the congregation pulled out his Judge and dispatched the snake. I talked to multiple members of Bro. Flair’s congregation, and they had different view points as to why he was bitten.

Susie Story said, “Bro. Flair just wasn’t in the spirit tonight. I could sense it and everyone including the snake could sense it too. That’s why the snake bit him. If you’re gonna handle snakes in church, you gotta make sure you’re in the spirit.”

Jim Bob Duggan, an elder in the church, said, “I think the snake bit him because he was singing off key. He’d never sung that song before, and he was bad off key. The snake could sense that just like me.”

Bro. Flair couldn’t be reached for comment. I asked members of Flair’s church if they think Flair will continue to do snake handling in his services, and they all said that he’d definitely continue with the practice. Duggan said, “He’ll keep doing it. I doubt he’ll sing that song again, or he may not handle snakes while singing. But, it’s been part of our services for generations, and he’ll keep doing it.”

The church members I talked with said to keep Bro. Flair in your thoughts and prayers. They also would like a pastor with snake handling experience to fill in for Flair while he recuperates, so contact the Strong River Church of Our Lord Jesus if interested.

By I. B. Lyon

If you’ve been to the Puckett City Park to a ballgame this year, then you’ve seen Blind Billy Ball (B3) and his seeing eye dog, Slugger. Slugger has been attracting fans from across The Valley and beyond this year. Baseball and softball fans have never seen a blind umpire with a seeing eye dog. It’s always been a joke with fans when an umpire makes a bad call about him/her needing a seeing eye dog, but it’s become reality this year at Puckett.

William Ball (aka Blind Billy Ball or B3) was born blind, but he’s never let it hold him back. B3 has always had a love of sports and especially baseball. Growing up, he would hang around the park as his brothers played ball, and he was a manager for the high school team. B3 is now 23, and he’s been away from baseball for a while now. He’s been itching to get involved with baseball again. About a year ago, B3 came up with an idea. He was going to get a seeing eye dog, and he was going to train the dog to be an umpire. B3 has always been very independent, and he never considered getting a seeing eye dog. B3 chose a golden retriever and he named him Slugger. He and B3 immediately became best buds.

Slugger was trained as a seeing eye dog when B3 got him, but he wasn’t trained to be an umpire. Incredibly, it only took B3 about 2 months to train Slugger to be an umpire. B3 had Slugger ready to go by February, because he wanted to call games this year. Getting Slugger ready to call games was the first hurdle; B3 had to convince the ball association’s board that they could do the job. The ball association president, Chad Boll said, “B3 called me with the idea of he and Slugger calling games, and I told him he was crazy. You’re gonna have to prove to us that y’all can do it.”

The ball association basically had a tryout for B3 and Slugger. They did about 25 out/safe calls, and about 25 ball/strike calls. They passed with flying colors! Slugger barks to make calls. When B3 and Slugger are behind the plate, one bark is a ball and 2 barks are a strike. When he rings a batter up on a third strike, he barks twice followed by a howl. In the field, one bark is safe and two barks is an out. Chad Boll said, “I couldn’t believe it. I was dumbfounded at how good Slugger was.” Boll told B3 they’d give it a try, but they didn’t know how the coaches, players, and fans would react.

Fast forward a few months and B3 and Slugger are the talk of The Valley. People that have no association to Puckett or the ball players are coming to see Slugger. He’s become a local celebrity. Not only is he a big attraction, he is a very good umpire. One coach said, “Slugger is the best umpire we have by far. Us coaches hope we get B3 and Slugger every game, because we know they’ll do a good job.” Boll said, “When B3 and Slugger call a game, there are no arguments or disagreements about calls. How can you argue with Slugger? That’s been a big plus for us.”

Slugger is a big hit with the kids of course. They all look forward to hanging with him and petting him after games. B3 tells the coaches and kids not to bother him during games, because he takes his job seriously. After games, coaches and parents have a tough time getting the kids to leave. Slugger is great with kids, and he loves the interaction.

B3 said, “This has gone way better than I could’ve imagined. I appreciate the ball association for giving us a chance, and I appreciate the coaches, players, and fans for the love they’ve shown us. We look forward to calling the games the remainder of the year, and we’ll be back next year.”

If you want to see Slugger in action, B3 and Slugger call games 3 nights per week at the Puckett City Park, and they’ll be working on Puckett Ball Day on May 6th.

by B. S. Ryter

Traffic was delayed yesterday morning on Kersh Rd. because about 20 llamas were roaming in the road. The llamas are owned by farmer Homer Sampson. Mr. Sampson has been raising llamas for about 15 years on his Kersh Rd. farm. A few motorists that SRVO talked with about the situation were not happy with Mr. Sampson. Many motorists had to wait minutes for the llamas to get out of the road.

One motorist said, “The traffic down this road is going to be bad enough with the bridge closure, but now we have to worry about stupid llamas in the road. Plus, those ugly things are aggressive. If you honk the horn, they’ll run at your car.” Two other motorists said they honked at the llamas, and the llamas spit on their windshields. Both said they had difficulties getting the llama saliva off their windshields.

One unlucky car passenger got spat on by a llama. Speedy Duckworth’s wife wanted him to pet a llama, so he rolled his driver’s side window down to pet a llama. Speedy said, “That llama walked up to me, and I put my hand out. He wouldn’t let me pet him, and I could tell he was about to spit. So, I ducked, and he spat on my wife’s face. She was not a happy camper to say the least. But, she told me to try to pet the darn llama, so she couldn’t blame me. Don’t tell her, but I was laughing on the inside.”

One Kersh Rd. resident, who wanted remain anonymous, said she thinks Mr. Sampson let the llamas out on purpose. She said, “I’ve never seen those llamas get out. I think he let them out on purpose to delay traffic. I think he doesn’t want people driving down this road. He’s an ornery old man.”

Mr. Sampson was able to wrangle his llamas back into their pasture later in the day. But, motorists on Kersh Rd. need to be on the lookout for the llamas in the future. Also, don’t honk at the llamas if you encounter them, and don’t roll your window down!