Siloam Springs Herald-Leader

News

WATCH: Governor, health officials to give virus update Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials will provide an update on Arkansas' covid-19 response at 1:30 p.m. by NWA Democrat-Gazette 1 hr. ago

State virus cases up 572 as testing slows; hospitalizations rise by 19 Hospitalizations for covid-19 continued to grow on Monday, reaching another new high of 439 patients, an increase of 19 from the previous day. by John Moritz

City discusses environmental concerns Editors note: The Herald-Leader is publishing a series about the goals that city board members decided to pursue during a May 14 workshop at the Siloam Springs Public Library with City Administrator Phillip Patterson and Mayor John Mark Turner. by Marc Hayot

Honor graduates recognized at annual luncheon A total of 31 Siloam Springs High School students were recognized Thursday at the 43rd annual Chamber of Commerce Honor Graduate Luncheon held at Simmons Great Hall on the campus of John Brown University. by Janelle Jessen

Arrests and citations June 29 by Marc Hayot

City introduces Siloam Cares to promote mask wearing The city of Siloam Springs will kick off Siloam Cares on Monday. by Marc Hayot

City board passes mask resoution The city board passed Resolution 34-20 encouraging citizens to wear face masks and business owners to require them from their patrons during Tuesday's board meeting. by Marc Hayot

Arkansas sees 751 new cases; hospitalizations climb by 8 Arkansas recorded 751 new cases of covid-19 Friday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said, as hospitalizations climbed by eight to 402. by Nyssa Kruse

Sports

BEST IN THE WEST Lewis brought energy, on and off the court The Prep Rally: Best in the West series will highlight the all-time best players in western Arkansas as selected by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. by Paul Boyd

Another week of workouts in books The Siloam Springs football team is pressing toward its first scheduled fall football practice until the Panthers are told otherwise. by Graham Thomas

JBU alum to lead men's soccer program John Brown University director of athletics Robyn Daugherty announced Wednesday afternoon the hiring of Chris Cole (JBU Class of 1987) as the next head coach of the men's soccer program.

On the same team For nine seasons, Brandon Craig and Aaron Meier went head to head coaching against one another in Oklahoma Class 4A football. by Graham Thomas

OPINION: Football in spring? Idea is out there Typically, the first Monday after the July 4 holiday means the end of the Arkansas Activities Association dead period, the re-start of summer practices for high school sports and, in particular, the beeline toward the start of football season. by Graham Thomas

Boys soccer returns to field for first time For the first time since March 16, the last day of in-person school, the Siloam Springs boys soccer team held a team workout Monday morning at Panther Stadium. by Graham Thomas

No baseball for Naturals, Travs this season Northwest Arkansas Naturals General Manager Justin Cole had anticipated the news. It still didn't take away the sting. by Paul Boyd

HS football to stay in holding pattern High school football teams in Arkansas wanting to increase contact didn't hear the news they wanted Tuesday. by Jeremy Muck

Opinion

OPINION: Masked intent Oh, how easy it is to blame the experts for our troubles. Let us taunt and ridicule those who sought to better themselves with higher education. Jeer at the scientists warning of continued epidemics. Question their credentials, call it fake news. Go ahead, widen the divide between "them" and "us" with your conspiracy-driven rants on social media. Democrats are the snowflakes wearing masks, brave Republicans refuse to be masked! How low have we set the bar for patriotism? by Graham Thomas

OPINION: Strange political season begins, few events for 'politickin' What a strange political season we are in. by Maylon T. Rice

Letter to the Editor Christian love and Christian hate by By Oren Piper, Siloam Springs

RELIGION: In God we trust In our Pledge of Allegiance we say, "...one nation under God..." That phrase was added during a time when atheistic communism was threatening America. But today that slogan rings hollow. Is America still one nation under God? Another slogan, "In God we trust," is on all of our coins as a national motto. Looking at the turmoil lately, is it still true? by Ron Wood

OPINION: Dust in the air "In a divided society, only the church can model unity." That's the good news. The bad news is that the church frequently falls short of promoting ethnic respect or racial reconciliation. Truly born-again people, by God's grace, can love one another. By experiencing the love of God through Christ, strongholds of bigotry are dismantled. by By Ron Wood

OPINION: The fragile social fabric A local veteran talked about his service in Afghanistan. He had seen ancient relics destroyed by the Taliban. Huge Buddhist statues had been blown to bits. Taliban leaders knew little about Buddhist history, but they wanted its symbols annihilated. by Preston Jones

Letter to the Editor In Defense of the 'Credentialed Class' by By Trisha Posey

Strawberry memories Strawberries and sulfur water. The commingled fragrance of those two items prompts memories of summer days spent at my grandparent's home. The annual trek from the desert of eastern New Mexico to the little community of May in Missouri was eagerly anticipated during my childhood years. by Graham Thomas

Religion

RELIGION: A very good question The following is a question from a girl I love, and my response to her. by Gene Linzey

RELIGION: A Series of Devotions on Colossians "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: as ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit." Colossians 1:1-8 by Randy Moll

RELIGION: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." 1 Timothy 1:12-17 by Randy Moll

OPINION: One nation under God For some time now, our government has felt obligated to divorce Christ and Almighty God from the public domain. For those of you who either haven't studied history or don't believe the historical record, I pray that the following reflections on history will help you to understand the path we have trod that made us a great nation -- under God. by Gene Linzey