Field Day will begin February 10 at 4 p.m. with the first round of the knife and axe throw competition at Forestry Park west of University Apartments. The competition will resume February 11 at 8 a.m. with the final round of the knife and axe throw, followed by pole felling, pole climbing, archery, chain throw, men’s bow saw, women’s bow saw, log rolling, men’s cross-cut saw, women’s cross-cut saw, Jack and Jill (men and women) cross-cut saw, log chopping, and birling. All events except birling will be held at Forestry Park. The birling competition, which involves two people attempting to walk ( or run) each other off a floating log, will he held at Weevil Pond.

Field Day is the culmination of a week long competition to select who will represent UAM at the 2012 Association of Southern Forestry Clubs Conclave competition March 15-17 at North Carolina State University. UAM has won Conclave 31 times in the 54-year history of the event, including last year at the University of Georgia.

During the week leading up to Field Day, UAM students will compete in a variety of technical forestry skills, such as photogrammetry, pole classification, wood identification, and wildlife identification.

For more information, contact the School of Forest Resources at (870) 460-1052.

A public opening and artist’s reception will be held February 10 from 5 to 8 p.m. and will be tied to the Second Friday Art Night Art Trolley.

Richard is a professor of art at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and has been a member of the UAM faculty since 1997. His exhibit includes mixed media pieces encompassing acrylic, gouache, watercolor, graphite, ink, and color pencil on paper. The work addresses issues of history and history making through use of text, images of toys from Richard’s childhood, and historical art references.

The major series of larger works combine more images and quotes, with the quotes coming from contrasting sources such as philosophical essays and pop culture. The quotes are combined in a spontaneous manner with images of toys from Richard’s childhood, painting effects, and art historical sources.

“I want the viewer to have the same amount of fun and interest in analyzing or viewing the work and dealing with the connections, as I had in the creation of the work,” explained Richard.

Richard’s other works are intended to be studies in working out color choices, image choices, painting or other media effects to be used in the larger works, but have now evolved into completed pieces.

Richard’s work has been displayed in selected solo exhibitions, including “Relativities” at Henderson State University (2012); “Jokes and Bombs” at the Baton Rouge (La.) Gallery (2012); “Echelon” at Du Mois Gallery, New Orleans (2011); “Coordinating Conjunctions” at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (2011); “Hands On” at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La. (2010); and “Cereal Inquiries” at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock (2008). His work has been included in over 100 national juried and invitational exhibitions including the recent After School Special at the University Art Museum in Albany, N.Y., and is currently included in the Arkansas Arts Council’s Small Works on Paper, which will travel to 10 locations throughout the state in 2012.

Richard is represented by Blue Moon Gallery in Hot Springs, by Du Mois Gallery in New Orleans, and by Baton Rouge Gallery.

A Haunted Love Story, The Ghosts of the Allen House is a nonfiction intertwining of two stories: one family’s experiences residing in the house, and the story of the best known member of the Allen family, Ladell Allen Bonner (March 22, 1894 – January 2, 1949), whose hidden stash of over 80 love letters Spencer discovered under a floorboard in the attic.

The letters enabled Spencer to vividly tell the tragic story of the kind, intelligent, and frustrated Ladell, who deliberately consumed mercury cyanide during her mother’s annual holiday party in 1948.

Available in paperback in bookstores throughout the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, A Haunted Love Story was officially released January 1 and is also available in Kindle and Nook editions. Because of early reviews, it’s a top-20 “Top Rated” title in the “Supernatural” category on Amazon.com, and in its early weeks has been the No. 1 bestselling “Hot New Release” in three Amazon categories.

Barbara Hoyt, in a review for Amazon.com, called the book “intriguing on so many levels. The author has done his research and is incredibly skilled at weaving all of the stories together in a way that held my interest from start to finish. First there is the Spencer family who has to deal with the fact that the Allen House is haunted, and that they are living in it. This is more difficult for the author . . . but ironically, his skepticism and his fear of being perceived as some sort of nut by his colleagues actually lend further credibility to the book. Then there are the inhabitants themselves, the ghosts of the Allen family, and especially Ladell, whose letters the author finds in the attic. It is her story of love and loss that draws Mr. Spencer in further and the reader along with him. Set against the history of the town of Monticello and the social mores of the South in the early to mid-twentieth century, her relationship with a handsome, wealthy and very married man, comes alive – so much so that I felt that I was there, in the moment, with the couple, not reading what the author could only glean from their clandestine correspondence. The way Mr. Spencer pieces together the arc of the romance from beginning to end, while sharing with the reader his family’s experience of coming to grips with the paranormal makes for a compelling and satisfying book. I would highly recommend it.”

Spencer is the award-winning author of three novels, two short story collections, and a history book. His numerous writing honors include the Faulkner Society Faulkner Award, the Omaha Prize for the Novel, the Patrick T. Bradshaw Book Award, and four Special Mentions in Pushcart Prize. He and his family have lived in the Allen House since 2007. Spencer can be visited online at AllenHouseTours.com.

Students attending will receive a free green UAM t-shirt, compliments of the Department of Athletics, to wear and show their support. Aramark Dining Services will also sell 50-cent hot dogs all night. As always, students are admitted free-of-charge with a valid UAM ID. T-shirts will be provided while supplies last so please arrive early to ensure yourself a shirt.

The Blossoms tip off with the Golden Suns a 5:30 followed by the Weevils and Wonder Boys at 7:30. Come out and support your basketball teams as they open the second half of the Great American Conference schedule.

Members of the UAM forensics and debate team are (from left, first row) Chase Roan, Anastasia Duff, Tiffany Tucker, Sydney Davis, Meg Ryan, Sam Montgomery, (second row) Jamie Ward, Jon Hoskins, Bobby Evans, Maggie Parrish, and Jessica Pennington.

The forensics and debate team from the University of Arkansas at Monticello captured the overall Arkansas championship of the Southern Regional Forensics Tournament held last week at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

UAM won the Arkansas championship in competition with teams from Harding, the University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas Tech, John Brown, Henderson State, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

UAM won 30 awards to earn second place in the overall forensics sweepstakes competition, led by Sydney Davis, who won the Arkansas state championship in overall sweepstakes and the Arkansas championship in both program oral interpretation and impromptu speaking. A sophomore creative writing major from Bentonville, Davis won five awards – sixth place in extemporaneous speaking, third place in persuasion, second place in poetry, second place in after-dinner speaking, and third place individual forensics sweepstakes.

In the team competition in the International Public Debate Association category, UAM won five awards. Chris Brown and Kelly Reed of Siloam Springs reached the semifinals of IPDA team debate. Reed, a junior political science major, was named the Arkansas state champion and earned the second place individual speaker award. Brown, a senior communication major, won third place speaker award.

The teams of Bobby Evans, a junior animal science major from Memphis, and Liz Borse, a junior art major from Monticello; and Tiffany Tucker, a senior education major from Cabot, and Justin Walker, a senior computer information systems major from Watson, reached the quarterfinals in team debate.

UAM students won four awards in individual debate. Tiffany Tucker reached the quarterfinals in the varsity division while Walker and Jaime Ward, a senior criminal justice major from Pocahontas, reached the round of 16. In the professional division, graduate student Zack Tucker from Marked Tree also reached the final 16.

Other UAM students competing were Jessica Pennington, a junior communication major from Crossett, Meg Ryan, a senior speech communication major from Camden, Maggie Parish, a sophomore English major from Pine Bluff, Samantha Montgomery, a sophomore political science major from Woodlawn, and Anastasia Duff, a senior communications major, from Dermott. UAM graduate Yvonne Hinshaw of Monticello also competed.

The UAM forensics and debate team was scheduled to compete at the Pussy Cat Swing, hosted by Sam Houston State University February 2-5.

The record is the ninth in 10 years and represents an increase of 205 students, or a six percent increase over last spring.

“Our continued enrollment growth is due to the outstanding efforts made by all of our UAM family,” said Chancellor Jack Lassiter. “The attention given to the admission, retention, remediation, advising, mentoring, teaching, and graduation of our students continues to fuel our success.”

UAM’s spring semester enrollment has grown from 2,696 in 2004 to its current 3,692, an increase of 37 percent in nine years. Spring enrollment grew to 2,718 in 2005, 2,898 in 2006, 3,112 in 2007, dipped to 3,063 in 2008, then increased to 3,233 in 2009, 3,474 in 2010, 3,485 in 2011, and finally to 3,690 in 2012.

“This is truly a significant accomplishment when taken in combination with the decreasing numbers of high school graduates in our traditional recruiting area,” Lassiter added. “It’s a tribute to our recruitment efforts and to the work of our marketing committee in getting the word out about UAM and the opportunities available at this institution.”

Play4Kay is an event that women’s basketball teams from across the country participate in to help raise breast cancer awareness on their campus and in their communities.

As part of the Blossoms’ initiative to help raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, the team has designed a Play4Kay shirt to be worn on game day.

Pre-sale of the shirt begins Monday, January 23 and ends at noon on Monday, February 6. Shirts will be made available for pick-up on Friday, February 10 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm at the UAM Athletic Office in Steelman Field House. Any shirt not picked up on Friday will be made available for game-day sale.

Prices are $12.00 for a youth small through XL, and $14.00 for XXL through XXXXXL. Cash and checks made out to “UAM Women’s Basketball” will be accepted.

To order a shirt, contact Coach Tanya Ray at (870) 460-1357 or by email at rayt@uamont.edu

Join the Cotton Blossoms on Saturday, February 11, in support of finding a cure for breast cancer!

Scholarship applications must be received by the admissions office no later than March 1 to receive priority consideration. Scholarship applications are available in the Office of Admissions in the first floor of Harris Hall, online at www.uamont.edu/Admissions <http://www.uamont.edu/Admissions> , from high school counselors, and from the transfer offices of two-year colleges.

For more information, contact the Office of Admissions at (800) 844-1826 or (870) 460-1026.

HopePlace thrives with the assistance of organizations such as the UAM Nursing Students and Faculty. All of our material assistance resources are donated.

Hopeplace Monticello a faith based parenting and pregnancy resource center that is striving to meet the needs of young families by providing material needs through an EARN WHILE YOU LEARN program. For more information about our education program and services view the website at www.hopeplacemonticello.com

HopePlace is open Tuesday-Wednesday & Thursday’s 9am-4:30pm

2003 Chevrolet Tahoe LT 2 Wheel Drive with 111k miles.

In excellent shape. Bose sound system. New tires. Fully loaded.

Asking  $8,900

CALL 870-723-7040