Chopper Charter, a helicopter service that opened in November at the Taney County Airport, flew Carroll County Electric Cooperative Corp. technicians in two helicopters for four days following the January ice storms in north Arkansas, said Chopper Charter pilot and Director of Operations Mark Boyer.
Boyer said the teams flew along Arkansas power lines near Berryville, Eureka Springs, Harrison and Jasper, and in Madison County. Technicians reported to the electric company where there were poles over roads or lines down, and ground crews were dispatched.
Crews flew about 200 feet above ground; comparatively, Chopper Charter sightseeing tours generally fly at 500 feet, Boyer said.
At times, they hovered near the tops of poles so technicians could check for problems. In some areas, they saw outages for miles, Boyer said.
All told, Carroll County Electric took 17 days to restore power to 56,000 customers. According to the Associated Press, the nonprofit Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas - a 17 member co-op to which Carroll County Electric belongs - estimated its damages at $250,000, half of the entire Arkansas ice storm bill.
Boyer said helicopters from the Blaine, Minn.-based company also have made emergency flights over floods.
Chopper Charter offers sightseeing tours but more often provides point-to-point services such as flying people from the airport to their hotels. They've also recently helped local law enforcement, flying to Oklahoma to pick up a DNA sample in a local court case, he said.
Ducks go to college
There's a new sight on the campus of College of the Ozarks. Ride The Ducks offers a 70-minute tour departing Branson Landing that includes a ride through the college campus, showcasing the beautiful gardens tended by students and other landmarks.
The tour continues through historic Downing Street in Hollister. It was Springfield Realtor William H. Johnson who developed the property when trains began arriving in 1906.
Dino's 24 Karrot Cake Co., owned by pianist Dino Kartsonakis, is one of the businesses along the route that partner with Ride The Ducks. When kids board the Ducks, they receive a Wacky Quacker noisemaker, which often earns them discounts at partnering businesses.
Ride The Ducks still operates their Table Rock Lake tours on State Highway 76. Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. owns Ride The Ducks along with Silver Dollar City in Branson and Duck attractions in Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Newport, Ky., according to www.bransonducks.com.
Drury, society and bank make history
Students at The Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University are conceptualizing building designs for a regional culture and heritage center in Forsyth, said Lisa Owens, director of the White River Valley Historical Society.
In December, First Community Bank of the Ozarks and the Lynn Hall family donated to the society 1.6 acres of land and the 3,000-square-foot former Catholic church across from the new Taney County Courthouse. If the society's plans materialize, it would the first dedicated history museum in Taney County, although the Ralph Foster Museum at College of the Ozarks has an important "Ozarkiana" collection.
On April 20, there will be a reception to display the Drury students work. Also, the Missouri Humanities Council will conduct a charette to help plan fundraising, and town meetings will be held, Owens said. The multimillion-dollar project may take years to complete but will be an interactive facility for permanent and rotating exhibits, research and meetings. It also is expected to attract more cultural tourism visitors to the area, she said.
Nonprofits collaborate for safety
Four nonprofit agencies recently worked together to build an Americans with Disabilities Act-approved wheelchair ramp to provide 53-year-old Oxford Healthcare hospice patient Betty French a safe way to get in and out of her Springfield home, said Kathy Taylor, Oxford's community relations representative. Such ramps can be cost-prohibitive, especially in the Ozarks' hilly terrain.
Students at Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch - a residential facility for at-risk boys in Lampe - volunteered to build the 20-foot ramp.
With funds from a Musgrave Foundation grant, Connections Handyman Services of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks underwrote most of the materials cost. And a Springfield church - which wished to remain anonymous - also contributed. The wheelchair ramp is the ninth shared project between Oxford Healthcare and Lives Under Construction Ranch; others included winterizing homes and adding safety features to bathrooms.[[In-content Ad]]
Kathryn Buckstaff, membership public relations manager of Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, can be reached at kbuckstaff@bransoncvb.com.
