Shoppers, all armed with cash and those plastic debt producers (credit cards) are watching to see what the small town merchant will do.

Or not do.

The Black Friday numbers, while some economists shout were encouraging — as other disdained the impact as so successful — those numbers  are about like the unemployment numbers we are all bombarded by almost every nightly newscast.

The numbers are good for some, bad for others. Was the kickoff to the shopping season encouraging for the Republicans and discouraging for the Democrats? Or visa versa?

There is one major thing the holiday season will do for all of us: It sort of stymies the political rhetoric and dulls the shouts from the nation’s capitol. And all those occupy folks have now been relegated to that category called: “And in other news … .”

There is little all those Presidential candidates can do this time of the year to compete with shopping and Saint Nicholas. Other than have the candidates work the telephones for cash; shake a few hands in very partisan settings; and as always attack one another on all forms of electronics media from Television, Twitter, and of course, on Al Gore’s Internet.

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The City of Rogers was bemoaning the dip in the price of recyclable materials in a sister-publication to “The Free Weekly” last week.

The slick and popular drop-off center in north Rogers has seen a decline in folks dropping off cardboard, plastics and other recyclable materials this year. And the city leaders wonder why? Perhaps it is the price of gasoline may be to blame. The price at the pump — even for econ-friendly folks — has been high most of the summer.

Also it is the time of the year when paper mills and others who purchase these items from recycling centers, tend to slow their buying in the fourth quarter and use its stockpiles to make it through the end of the year.

Also, as an industry many paper mills and other large manufacturing plants shut down over the holidays for major repairs and extended closures due to weird holiday schedules and employee demands for time off.

So keep recycling and support all the cities in Northwest Arkansas that have recycling programs to keep valuable materials out of the area landfill.

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And it looks like Burt Hanna and one of his many affiliated business ventures is starting up as a  computer recycling business located down on Armstrong Drive in Fayetteville.
Hanna and associates are coming late to the game in Northwest Arkansas with ESCO Processing and Recycling Inc., of Rogers (now in the old Daisy BB Company building on old U.S. 71) already with boots on the ground and  working commercial and other big accounts where lots of computers, printers and other electronics can be found. ESCO recently assisted in a giant free computer drop off at the Arvest Ballpark in Springdale sponsored by the area watersheds, solid waste districts and other agencies.

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Superior Industries, the aluminum wheel manufacturer in Fayetteville, has moved at least one of its affiliated companies or vendors back closer to their location in Fayetteville. A wheel polishing operation — Bright Technologies — is preparing to move from a Lincoln industrial building back closer to Armstrong Drive and the area where Superior sits.
The move will eliminate hauling the product to Lincoln where it was polished and returned to Superior. And save, no doubt, on fuel costs.

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Once again, has Walmart suspended its online, “How Are We Doing?” campaign?

Looks like the world’s largest retailer is so busy ringing up its way to profit, it has suspended the online chance to win some extra dough.

The noticeable absence of the 4-to-6 inch addition to your typical Walmart receipt has been missing since the start of the holiday season.

Well, as they say, there is always “next year.”

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Not a lot has been said about Walmart’s smaller version stores in the state.

The plan was to build the trio of Walmart Expresses and see how it goes. There have been some built in other markets, but is there a trend here?

Daddy W. really wants to know.  Don’t you?

Maybe the smaller size Walmart, with limited hours, is not such a big hit as it seemed to be here in Walmartville or Arkansas.

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More and more telephone books are going the way of the rotary dial phone. That little gadget on your cellphone that lets you store all the numbers you need and that other little gadget of Al Gore’s Internet that lets you find a telephone number (or Web address) has all but made the paper telephone directories obsolete.
And Ma Bell and all her cronies are in an advertising freefall. The number of pages of ads has long outpaced the pages of actual printed numbers.
All the phone books in the region — be they the Red Book, Green Book, Names and Numbers or the old SW Bell books — rely upon cheap, shoddy and faulty means of distribution.
Throwing a plastic-wrapped telephone directory in the driveway is certainly no way to get delivery done.
Next time one of those slick-talking boiler-room sales people call you Mr. Businessman to have a phone directory advertisement, ask them if you can swing by their strip-mall address and simply toss your check out on the pavement.
It seems to work for them.

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Organic wine?
Organic beer?
Aren’t those terms oxymorons?
Anyway, the Ozark Natural Foods grocery emporium in Fayetteville will soon be selling both.
Huh?!
Yes, that’s right; A liquor license to sell both has been filed.
Stay tuned.

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Rest In Peace.
J.B. Hunt, the man who founded the trucking firm, was laid to rest in a newly completed cemetery complex of both in-ground and above-ground burials developed after his death in 2007.
The new cemetery, located in the Pinnacle Development, in Rogers, is quite a showplace. And one that is available to area citizens — at a price. The development is a for-profit cemetery, but a nice one.

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Our hat is off to the 2012 Arkansas Business Hall of Famers. The event to be Feb. 10 in Little Rock, will honor quite a quartet. The inductees are:
w John Ed Anthony, a timber baron from Bearden
w Wayne Cranford, the ad/public relations man from Little Rock
w Walter E. Hussman Jr., a newspaper scion who hails from Camden, but now lives in Little Rock
w Jack C. Shewmaker, a cattle rancher and former Walmart wrangler of Bentonville
Still no women on the list, but there is hope for 2013.
Tickets to this event are in the stratosphere range and corporate tables are also available for a price that will shame the stockholders.

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Sounds like former Razorback basketball coach John Pelphrey has done it again. He bought a fancy home in Fayetteville (as do all the coaches) and managed to turn it into a $300,000 loss when selling.
He can blame it on the economic downturn.
He can blame it on his bad timing.
He can blame it on location or the Kentucky blue presence in the home.
He can blame it on the motion offense or he can tell us he will always be a Razorback. Yeah, right.

Boy, oh, boy, some 45 percent — almost one out of every two — of public schools in Arkansas have failed to meet the minimum standards of academic achievement.

Who set those minimum standards of academic achievement? Sadly, we Arkansans did.

Well, with 45 percent of the 1,071 public schools in Arkansas not meeting the standards, this can’t be close to Northwest Arkansas’ fine high schools, can it? Look again, gentle readers.

It’s right here too, not just in the Delta or “below Little Rock,” as lots of armchair academicians like to say.

But here are the facts.

Some 480 Arkansas public schools must take steps in the form of hiring tutors, making or allowing student transfers, or changing their facilities (what changes are not noted) — or hire an educational consultant to tell these districts what is wrong.

Sounds like an easy fix.

Schools have these employees called teachers or instructors, so why hire tutors? Does this mean more teachers or better programs for these students who have trouble in the classroom? If so, fine.

There are 35 of the 45 schools in Little Rock that need help, the study says. Twenty-six of the 36 schools in the Pulaski County Special School district that need help. Sixteen of the 19 schools in the North Little Rock School District need help. No wonder every church with a spare fellowship hall is getting in the private or charter school business in the Little Rock area.

There are 13 of the 26 schools in Fort Smith that need help; nine of the 25 schools in Springdale need help; and here come the rest: four schools in Fayetteville; six in Rogers; five in Jonesboro; seven in Pine Bluff and, get this, all seven schools in Blytheville.

Yikes. What are we gonna do?

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Crystal Bridges has been at the “top of everyone’s must-write-about list” this past month. The newspaper covered the event well and made a cargo ship load of money in the ads covering the event. The event on the Bentonville square was quite a deal. The crowds could have been bigger, but it was just as nice as the decades ago Sam and Helen Days parade and ceremony to honor the icons of the Walton Family: Sam and Helen.

Congratulations to the Walton Family and especially to Alice Walton for this gift to Northwest Arkansas and America.

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Mortgage rates have fallen back below 4 percent.

Good news, if you have the cash and the desire to buy a house these days. A short five years ago mortgage rates were 5 percent to6 percent and a decade ago the rates were in the 8 percent range.

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Gasoline prices just won’t go down and stay down. Not with the holidays approaching.

Watch the news media suddenly realize how expensive it is going to be to fly to grandma’s for Thanksgiving.

And Christmas.

And New Year’s Eve.

And oh, yeah, Arkansas’ bowl game.

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More than just doughnuts.

Arkansas Basketball Coach Mike Anderson displayed the class, PR skills and general concern for the basketball Hogs’ fan base by showing up last week at a student ticket outlet on the morning tickets were going to be sold.

He was there in person and passing out doughnuts to those who stood in the chilly Ozark morning to get ducats. He shook hands and was, as always, so accessible.

No wonder he is the right fit for the Razorbacks.

Insiders tell Daddy something went awry with regulators when all the debts of First National Bank of Rogers got thrown in the mix. (Being in the day-to-day banking business is one cut-throat and on-edge business these days.) So what is in it for the faithful BOF employees? Well, stay turned, readers. This is about to get really interesting.

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Crystal Bridges opens on Friday. Traffic and all things that power the service economy here in Northwest Arkansas are set for “go.”
This will not only be good for hotel, restaurant and other businesses of the service industry. Already this project has put valuable jobs and resources in the area. And many of these jobs and resources are here to stay.
While Daddy W. may not be among the Top Tier of members — he, too, will get to see many of these works again, and many others, for the first time.

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McKee Baking Co. in Gentry is having some big environmental events on Nov. 16. Big wigs with the State ADEQ and others are there promoting their “Green” programs.
Look for Little Debbie to still be doing things the right way in central Benton County. Some sources say Gov. Mike Beebe may be on hand. Let’s see.

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Did the ground shake?
Sure it did.
Daddy was all posed to write a snippet about the recent earth tremor in jolly old England — near the Blackpool area. The shake was caused, the Brits write, due to “fracking.”
That is the same chemical process being used all over the state — especially in Central Arkansas on that Fayetteville Shale venture.
Seems like fracking was also used over in the Sooner State. Yikes.

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The Fayetteville (Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville) jobless rate is still the best in the state.
While at a high 6.3 percent in September that rate is far below the other areas of the state. Hot Springs is at 7.7 percent jobless, Jonesboro at 7.3 percent; Texarkana at 7.8 percent, and Pine Bluff at 10.1 percent. The state average is 8.3 percent.

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Oil by the barrel is up to $92.51 over the weekend.
That equates into $109.34 a barrel in London on the International Market.
Retail diesel here at home is 80.1 cents higher per gallon than a year ago.
Gasoline is 63 cents higher per gallon than a year ago.
And we all think fuel prices (for the moment) are cheaper today.

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So long, LEI (Lighting Electrical Inc. of Fayetteville). Once a major player in all things being built, the company has closed, taking Chapter 7 bankruptcy. They listed $1.66 million in assets and unfortunately $11.5 million in debt.

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More on the BOF non-deal: Deposit records for Northwest Arkansas show the Bank of Fayetteville is 3rd in deposits with $327 million dollars of 3.8 percent share. ArVest, of course, is No. 1 with $1.2 billion (that’s billion, with a ‘B’) or 35 percent of all the deposits, or one-out-of-every-three dollars. Second is First Security with $483 million or 13.2 percent.

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Shares , which can be bought on the public stock exchange for the Bank of Fayetteville are at low levels. Who owns the most shares? Well, that would be Board Chair, David McClinton with a 14.3 percent of all shares. Next comes Lee Bodenhammer with 7.8 percent stake, then Jim Lindsey with 4.8 percent of the pie. Curtis Shipley has a 3.2 percent stake while CEO Mary Beth Brooks sits at 2.6 percent of all bank shares.

• • •

Uh, oh, here we go — again.
Do any of the “tree people” in Fayetteville care about these new “Franken trees” that are popping up all across the South? Seems a coalition of International Paper of Memphis, Mead/Wesvo Corp. and some New Zealand — Yep, that nation that is on the backside of the world — company called Rubicon Inc. are developing some genetically modified trees. These new trees are a hybrid of eucalyptus that grow faster, stronger and make more paper (A-ha!).
Therein lies the reason. One has to wonder do the “tree folks” here care? Are we ready for another invasion of the Jim Lindsey Bradford Pear tree to reclaim Fayetteville’s landscape?
Oh, Mary where are you now?

• • •

Now here is a winner: bacon jerky! (To be found, where else but Walmart?)
Let that sink in for a minute,
Jerky … made from bacon. Do the taste buds begin to dance? Are grown men starting to drool? Well, that’s what the folks at Monogram Foods hope is in their future.
The bacon jerky is sold under the names of Trail’s Best and other private label names. It is just Beggin’ Strips for men.
Right here at your local Walmart.

• • •

Ah, those clever folks at the Compton Gardens. A beautiful invitation came in the mail inviting Daddy W. It said “The Peel Compton Foundation Board of Directors requests your presence at the Annual Christmas Gala on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011.”
Wow, Daddy W. will press his tux and shine up those ebony alligators for this shindig.
It goes on to talk about bubbly champagne and sumptuous pass-arounds.
Then they get down to business. “Tickets are $100 per person …” the invitation reads, and it goes up in cost from there.
What a scam. Col. and Congressman Peel would be upset. The late Dr. Compton, seeing this didn’t go to save a river, would be less a gentleman about his words.

• • •

Did Daddy see a sign for a new painting company in Northwest Arkansas? How about one led by the National Championship point guard Corey Beck?
Well, there is a company bearing his name and also bearing witness to the 1994 National Championship basketball Razorbacks.
Does Jeff Long know about this use of the Hog moniker in a business? Uh-oh.

Stop! All you politicians. Be you in local towns, down in Little Rock, or out at Planet Washington D.C.
Read the headline.
Yes, there are 536,000 Arkansans on Social Security and Medicare in the state.
Wow. That’s a lot. A lot of voters.
And a lot of people who really care about the votes you are casting. If you don’t think so, keep on doing what you are doing. You will find out how unhappy these folks are in the coming months, weeks and days.

———

How many certified organic farms are there in Arkansas?
Humm. A good question.

More than Mississippi — that’s always a good guess. And that’s correct. Mississippians have only 23. South Carolina has only 18, Louisiana 15, and Alabama 8 — yeah, something that Alabama sucks in — organic farming.

Arkansas, for the record has 25. Other states around us with certified organic farms include Oklahoma with 66, Tennessee with 26, and Texas with a whopping 279.

Certified organic farms and the food we eat does matter. It really does. Look for the local organic growers at the area’s farmers’ markets — most of them are there. And remember, the farmers’ markets will soon be closing down. Hurry to them while you can.

———

This month, the UA’s “One Book, One Community” program featured author Colin Beavan and his book “No Impact Man.” Beavan decided to take matters into his own hands and not have a carbon footprint in New York City. His book will make you think. There is a public book signing at the UA today, and he is speaking to Fayetteville Book Clubs from noon to 2:30 p.m. Friday. Don’t miss it.

———

The average American uses 176 gallons of water a day — that’s right every day. Aren’t you glad for Beaver Lake and all the wonder of that water resource and the watersheds that protect it? You should be. Just this past week Daddy W. supported a joint cause of keeping old computers and TVs out of the water supply and the landfills by recycling some relics at the Arvest Ball Park in Springdale. More than 24 tractor trailer loads of e-waste were collected there. Good job.

———

Aldi’s Food Stores is building its second Fayetteville location on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It is across from Lowe’s and next to the old Quittin’ Time Bar locale.
One has to wonder how it will go. But a recent conversation overheard on the canned food aisle at the World’s Largest Retailer may speak for itself. A mom, pinching pennies, remarked out loud that Aldi’s has the same green beans for 20 cents less.
But don’t argue that at the check out counter without a printed ad to back you up. Aldi’s does some printed advertising, but not every week.

———

One disturbing item Daddy W. is watching is the state pension “droop” in other states. South Carolina, for example, is over $1 billion. Yes, that is with a “B” dollars out of sync with its anticipated pension income and outgo in the next five years.
Scary that some folks worked hard for a pension and might not be able to get it due to poor investment strategies and oversight. And in Arkansas we are all worked up about public officials retiring and then hiring themselves back on and drawing a pay check and retirement. Look for more changes in the upcoming Legislative Sessions.

———

Gypsy sales?  Humm did the City Code Fathers fall asleep last week. There was a three-day sale in the old Quittin’ Time building. Now it is closed and moved on. Was there a permit? Was sales tax collected? There were some new goods sold? Or has Fayetteville already embraced Herman Cain’s new 9-9-9 formula? Daddy wants to know.

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Daddy Warbucks is a fictional character, who loves to poke fun at business, politics and stuff that others leave alone. A g-mail address for fan mail is coming, Dear Readers.
Keep reading.


Not everyone’s numbers are good this time of the year. Walmart, for example, is focused on the holidays, but the late summer usually makes a real “dip” in their retail numbers. While trying to be positive this past week, officials with the world’s largest retailer said Walmart has “turned the corner.”  Well, let’s all hope so. If there is going to be economic recovery in this county (and the world) let’s hope the world’s largest retailer can get it done.

No pig jokes please. Walmart is in a jam in China, shuttering several stores after a scandal involving incorrect labeling of pork products. The Central Government in China is putting the pressure on the stores and actually hinting that the local folks who mislabeled the products might get jail time.

Online sales tax?
Just ask Northwest Arkansas U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, who is a fan.
In fact, the radio wave warbler of the Congressman, who last sat in the Mayor’s chair for the City of Rogers, introduced a bill to empower states to collect sales taxes from Amazon and other online retailers. It is called the “Market Place Equity Act of 2011.”  Daddy says watch this bill.
Sources in the Arkansas State Government — all the way to the Governor’s Office — sure do like this bill.

Tar up the runways at Drake Field before someone falls in one of them cracks, Daddy W. says.
Local airplane owners and others were complaining about the runway at Drake Field being closed down to make repairs.
Well duh…
That runway — and all others — needs to be in tip-top shape, don’t you think? A “runway rejuvenation” is needed, City offices say.
Van Buren-based Time Striping will do the work next week (Oct. 24-25) and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The tarmac will be closed for repairs.

Even with perfect weather, some craft fair venues looked less than full this past weekend.  Maybe it is the economy. Maybe it’s time to reinvent the craft’s fair event. Oh, yeah, the Granddaddy of them all, War Eagle, probably doesn’t need a reinvent. But just how many of those rolling ducks made from tire rubber and pine can one kid have?

Watch for the Springdale Cops to have a classier looking ride as they retire the last of the Crown Victoria models from Ford. The new SUV Police Vehicles don’t really look like cop cars. They look more like Federal Vehicles. It is just the local police pulling you over. Not the FBI, INS or U.S. Marshal — so pull over.

Yarnell’s Ice Cream’s bankruptcy trustee will soon auction off its real estate. That move will affect Northwest Arkansas. Several of the Searcy-based ice cream warehouse locations in Northwest Arkansas will be on the auction block. And can you believe it, Walgreen’s stores still have some of the Yarnell products for sale. Check that expiration date folks — it is bound to be getting close.

Daddy W. has heard that a local gadfly CPA might be a GOPer for State House District 92. More on this later.

Now some “friends of Uvalde” are hosting a fund raiser at a private home in Springdale — sort of outside his bailiwick, but that’s OK. However, the decision to put former GOP candidate Bootsie Ackerman (who ran for the same senate seat) on the full-color flyer, smiling and shaking hands with the new candidate, has caused a little stir. Note the word “little.” Some of those involved with the fallout from the Ackerman/Madison Senate tussle a few years ago were taken aback at the photo.

But again, never let one underestimate state Rep. Lindsey’s (soon to be state Sen. Lindsey) acumen to politics.
–
Still on politics — just wait, there is some business in this week’s wanderings — Congressman Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock, will be making his Northwest Arkansas Political Animals debut on Oct. 21 at the Clarion Inn. Breakfast is $9 and that’s for the breakfast. There are no Political Animal Club dues, according to Richard Hudson, who spearheads this mix of political speakers while working his day job at the University of Arkansas.
—
Uh, oh. Wells Fargo, Regions Bank and US Bank better watch their step. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is about to jump on these financial institutions for offering that old, slick version of PAY DAY LOANS. Remember folks, these high interest pay day loan scams were outlawed in 2008 by the state Supremes. General McDaniel — needing a good, meaty topic to flank his run for the governor’s office in 2014 — seems ready to pounce.
—
No fees?! It didn’t take local banks in Northwest Arkansas long to say there will be no ATM fees or hidden fees charged on debit cards. Even ArVest with almost 11 percent of the deposits in the area isn’t too big to see that such fees, even when legal, are not good for business. Or good for its smallest customers.

by Daddy Warbucks

Whenever one sees groups holding hands on anything, it’s a good sign. This was the case recently when the City of Fayetteville, Fayetteville Public Schools, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, Fayetteville Visitor’s Bureau and some local promoters touting habitotes announced a new partnership that would put reusable bags called habitotes into the hands of every school child in Fayetteville. The hope being that the kids would take them home to mom and dad and the number of throwaway plastic shopping bags would decline.

Just home many times in past years have all these groups been together on anything other than Woo Pig Sooie?

Mayor Jordan said equipping the Fayetteville community with free habitotes will do much to eliminate waste and lead to a healthier environment.

Habitotes are made from recycled plastic bottles and to get the program going, the consortium only needs to come up with several thousands of dollar in sponsorship money.

Remember the old joke made by a Texas politician when the world’s largest mass retailer started handing out plastic bags — Arkansas luggage, he cracked.

Daddy W. hopes this effort leads to some regional awareness and concern for the environment. Don’t you?

Shoe Drive

A good cause is ongoing thanks to Unity of Fayetteville. It’s the Soles for Souls Shoe drive. The group will have drop sites for gently worn shoes. The shoes will be passed along to those who need them. For information, call Annette Olsen at 521-0918.

Wetland Wins

The Woolsey Wet Prairie Wetlands and the City of Fayetteville were awarded the Governor’s 2009 Corporate Conservationist award, sponsored by the Arkansas Wildlife Federation. This marked the first time since the Arkansas Wildlife Federation was formed in 1936, that a municipality has received this award. Good award. Good forward thinking.

Lottery Date

The promised Sept. 28 rollout date for the Arkansas Lottery still looks strong. Daddy W. noticed ads in some rural downstate newspapers soliciting vendors to sell tickets. Who will be selling the tickets locally? Stay tuned.

New Racks

While several local folks submitted designs for bicycle racks for the new Municipal Courts building, a New York firm won the job. One features the scales of Justice, the other a bench. Let’s hope some of the local entries can be used elsewhere in the city? How about it Mayor?

XNA Up

Word is out that cheaper airfares, thanks in part to low-cost carrier Allegiant Air, that just started flying out of XNA, have finally lifted the Highfill airport out of the slump it has been in since the recession and high fuel costs crippled the airline industry. Those who are managing the Fayetteville Executive Airport at Drake Field are also gleeful saying their takeoffs and landings are up. But, sadly fuel sales are off.

Now A Dime

Looks like Circuit Clerk Bettye Stamps took a licking (or a liking) to a request from Justice of the Peace Candy Clark. JP Clark wondered why the Circuit Clerk was charging more than anyone else in the courthouse for copies. In response, Stamps promptly lowered the charge to be in line with the rest of the offices.

A&P Monies

While Fayetteville gears up for UA football crowds, which will probably be bigger than ever, and another Bikes, Blues & BBQ, the Advertising and Promotion Commission still wallows with a heavy caseload to collect from past due restaurant taxes the businesses have already wrung out of the diners and drinkers. Some 11 business owners are facing criminal summons to resolve this. Daddy W. wishes there was a better way to collect these fees.

Cover Gal

Fayetteville’s Donna Pettus was the cover girl on a recent issue of The Arkansas Lawyer. As the president-elect of the state bar, she, as always, looked splendid. Daddy W. giggled when he saw her hubby and general good guy, Lamar in the photo background. A classy cover shot that’s something all their friends can enjoy.

25 Years

Congrats to two First Federal Bankers of note, Ross Mallioux and Tommy Richardson. Both logged 25 years of serving the financial community.

No Trauma Takers

Daddy W. has been scratching his head over why Washington Regional Medical Center and Northwest Medical Center group has applied for any type of trauma designation under the new state law. What gives? Sixty eight hospitals have applied. In our area St. John’s in Springfield, Mo., will get some Arkansas money for a Level 1 facility. The only Level II institution looks like Sparks in Fort Smith. The Physicians Specialty Hospital in Fayetteville applied for a Level IV designation. Mercy in Rogers applied for Level III.

Now Certified

Crye-Leike Executive Broker Barry Beard has earned his professional real estate designation as a Certified Distressed Property Expert. He is a sales associate in the company’s Fayetteville West branch office. Congratulations.

By Daddy Warbucks

Those who donate to the University of Arkansas Department of Athletics Foundation were greeted at the mailbox last week by at least two surprises: the 2009 tickets — for those who ordered them — and a slick brochure on the state of UA Athletics.

The 32-page report, colorful and concise, gave out numbers like veterans of the Hog donors have never seen before. For example, the State of the Foundation, at best years ago was a simple one- or two-page letter. No more. Now it is more, much more.

There was $57,970,472 allocated to UA athletics in 2008-09 fiscal year while some $58,062,030 came into the coffers and those figures were as of June 30. When you take in that kind of money in everyday’s mail and bring in more dollars than one can almost count … Woo Pig Sooie.

The brochure told of the 2,500 hours of community service that the UA athletes posted during the year. That 50 percent of the Razorback athletes on the spring 2009 Athletic Department Honor Roll had grade points of 3.0 or better and 62 Razorback athletes had perfect 4.0 GPAs for fall 2008 and spring 2009. Woo Double Pig Sooie.

Key numbers on the Razorback Foundation were also broadcast. The annual fund saw a 6.75 percent increase from 2008 to 2009. The total gifts were up 27.7 percent during the same time and the number of Razorback Foundation members increased from 10,390 to 10,587.

This was the first time ever that the executive and senior administrative staffs were active members of the Razorback Foundation Inc. Good numbers. Good work.

Wind Speed

Looks like a wind farm might be sprouting up soon. The Red Barn Wind Project, a projected $40 million venture, is eying 560 acres near Gentry. They are doing studies now to see how it might pay out.

Two WAC Promos

Looks like Peter Lane, the new Walton Arts Center director, is wasting no time in pumping up the talent. He has promoted Laura Goodwin to vice president of learning and engagement and Jodi Beznoska to vice president of communication. Goodwin has been at the WAC since 1996 and Beznoska since 2005.

Free Bluegrass

Yes, but not the kind of bluegrass grown at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, but the foot-stomping kind that makes you wanna be outside at a concert. Backporch Bluegrass will put on a free concert at the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks at 7 p.m. Aug. 28. Bring your seating.

College Stimulus

What kind of stimulus can help a college or university other than a winning football season? Money of course. Locally the federal stimulus dollars will help the UA flagship campus with $4 million and the UA Division of Agriculture with $1.5 million. Woo Pig Sooie. NorthWest Arkansas Community College will get $750,000 and UA-Fort Smith a cool $2 million.

Becca’s Back

After a brief spell in Blytheville, Rebecca Garner is headed back to Fayetteville. Look for her here in mid-September. She was the backbone of the former Llama investment house established back years ago by Alice Walton. Garner then went to her own firm, Garner Asset Management in 1998 and later sold that to Tom Garrison in 2005. She’s been gone since 2007. Welcome back.

Books Are High

Looks like the chairman of the Barnes & Noble Booksellers is making off with a sweet deal as the corporation will buy the college book division, which belongs to the chairman. The ideas of Barnes & Noble selling textbooks may have been a farfetched idea when the chairman started it, but last year the textbook division made a 1 percent profit while the bookstore profits fell 5.7 percent.