The Bryant High School varsity dance team completed another successful season under the tutelage of Laura Wooten, reaching the finals in Pom and Hip-Hop at the 2010 National competition in Orlando, Fla. That came after they captured the program’s seventh State Dance championship.

Members of the team include seniors Mackenzie Cole, Cara Prichard and Katy Mozisek; juniors Betsy Browning, Jennifer Bull, Paige Farnam, Katherine Kordsmeier, Mariah McElroy, Erin Moser, Lauren Penfield, Erica Reeves, Samantha Sanders, and Amy Whitt; and sophomores Callie Akers, Shelby Ellison, Morganne Gillespie, Brooke Kenney, Olivia Lovell and Aaryn Murdock.

Photos by RICK NATION

Results of the Bryant Elementary School art contest, conducted by art teachers Jan Patrick and Amber Crenshaw, have been announced. The first-place artworks will be submitted to the Young Arkansas Artists contest while second- and third-place works will be sent to the Saline County Art Guild’s show.

First-place winners (with their grade teacher) included:

By Lana Clifton

Governor Mike Beebe was in Bryant Wednesday morning to help dedicate the Arkansas History Room at Bryant Elementary School. The room, the only one of its kind in the state, was a vision that had come to fruition for third grade teacher, Jami Branch. She and her class worked together with parents and others to pull together artifacts and information about Arkansas.

Branch emotionally spoke of the project as a great accomplishment and held it up to the students of Bryant Elementary as an example of what could happen if they worked toward a goal.

“If you try anything, if you set your mind to it, you can do it, boys and girls,” expressed Branch. “Lots of people said this would never happen, and we proved them wrong.”

 Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe was in Bryant Wednesday morning to help dedicate the new Arkansas History Room at Bryant Elementary School. The project was spearheaded by Jami Branch's third-grade class. Above, the Governor presents a plaque to the class. The plaque will be posted in the Arkansas History Room and lists each student in the class as founders of the room. (Photos by Lana Clifton)

The Bryant High School Stinger Steppers dance team returned from the National Dance Team Championships in Orlando, Fla., after earning 13th place in the Pom competition and 12th place in the Hip Hop event.

In addition, coach Laura Wooten was awarded the NFHS Spirit Coaches Award.

To see a video that includes an interview with Wooten and features the Stinger Steppers among three teams at the championships, see

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=296719538927&ref=nf

By Rob Patrick

It’s amazing really.

Dale Jones is planning to be back at work late this week or early next.

The 38-year-old is a physical education coach at Collegeville Elementary School and the offensive coordinator for the Bryant Hornets football team. Originally from Cincinnati, he moved to Hot Springs when he was in seventh grade and attended school at Cutter-Morning Star. After graduating from the University of Central Arkansas, he coached nine years at Mayflower High School before coming to Bryant in 2006. He’s the father of two, Ashlyn, 9, and Braden, 5.

And less than two weeks ago — on Tuesday, Jan. 19 — he was undergoing 11 hours of surgery to remove a tumor behind his right ear that was pressed against his brain stem and growing further into his brain.

Let us recall how, last fall, the Bryant Stadium surface was in such a condition that, more often than not, the bands couldn’t march, the dance teams couldn’t perform, the JV and B team games, seventh and eighth grade games had to be moved or cancelled. And when the freshman and high school varsity teams played, it was a quagmire that just continued to deteriorate.

A move began to replace the natural grass and mud with an artificial surface, something one school after another in the Hornets’ conference and classification has already done.