The Unofficial News for Rogers & Northwest Arkansas

Northwest Arkansas Ford Dealer set to close: Bob Maloney Ford says goodbyes

rogersarkansas — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:32:17 +0000

Bob Maloney Ford located on the outskirts of downtown Rogers, Arkansas will be closing effective December 31st after more than 30 years in business.

Bob described the closure as the result of very harsh business conditions in the region.

An estimated 50 employees will remain on the payroll through the end of the year, according the press release obtained by Roger’s Arkansas News staff.

Northwest Arkansas has been hammered by a severe economic contraction and massive over-building earlier in the decade. The result has been the closure of hundreds of small businesses, restaurants, car dealerships, bankrupt developers, and bank closures.

Frenzy for new toys builds at Arkansas Walmart stores: Target left wondering, “Why not here?”

rogersarkansas — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:03:35 +0000

With Christmas just a few hours away, we’re seeing a great deal of frenzy developing at Arkansas Walmart stores, especially in the newly-remodeled Bentonville Walmart and always hectic Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Pinnacle Hills, no too far from the manufacturing plant of one of the hottest toys made near Pinnacle Hills.While some of the hottest toys of the season are available at Target, there are a few that the buyers at Target left off the list.

We found one hot toy you definitely will not find at Target.Check out the following limited edition toys we wish were available only at selected Walmart stores in Arkansas for a limited time.

Called Barbee (pronounced “bhay-be” – the “r” is silent) this toy is all the rage among everyone we know – including liberals, gays, homophobics, bankrupt developers, conservatives, and even right-winged politicans – across the state of Arkansas. We hear Bill Clinton will receive one for Christmas this year directly from the manufacturer. Is this fab new toy on your holiday wish list? It should be!

Eureka Springs Barbee: This Barbee is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstock with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow or when it’s dinner time. She does not want or need a Kenny Barbee, but if you purchase two Harrison Barbees and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

Eureka Springs II Barbee: This versatile Barbee can be easily converted from Barbee to Kenny by simply adding or subtracting the multiple snap-on parts. She still wants you to call her when it’s dinner time.

Fayetteville Barbee: Comes with an assortment of second-hand Kate Spade Handbags, a dented Lexus SUV, and a long-haired foreign dog named Honey that humps everything in sight. She lives in a cookie-cutter McMansion with a mortgage that’s so upside down, well, you know. Available with or without the botched tummy tuck, boob job, and face lift. Alcoholic Kenny sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

Fort Smith Barbee: The modern day homemaker Barbee is available with the ten-year-old Ford Windstar mini-van on the verge of being repossessed, plus a matching gym outfit complete with torn armpits to match the torn seats in the van. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

Harrison Barbee: This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweedy bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Kenny’s butt when she’s drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

Pinnacle Hills Barbee: This yuppie Barbee comes with your choice of last-year’s BMW or Hummer H2. Included are a personalized Starbucks cup good only at the Starbucks that closed last year, a credit card that’s over the limit, and a faux-country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Kenny and Private School Skipper. You can only purchase these at the local bank, because everything was repo’d because daddy was a Northwest Arkansas real estate developer that went bust.

Rogers Barbee: This Barbee is no longer available for political reasons, but can still be found on eBay. Wearing just one shoe, this Barb went broke running a pizza joint in historic downtown Rogers, then got busted for running a Ponzi-scheme, finally committing pretend-suicide by pretending to throw herself off the Beaver Lake Dam.

Springdale Barbee: This Barbee is attired in the traditional chicken-processing job garb, where she chokes Kenny’s little chicken on a daily basis. She comes with a green-card, twelve bambinos, and speaks only Spanish.

SW Little Rock Barbee: This Barbee now comes with a stroller and two in-bred infant Barbee wannabes. Optional accessories include a GED with last year’s maps and an expired bus pass. Gangsta Kenny and his 1971 Caddy were available, but is now very difficult to find since the addition of the mixed-breed infant.

West Memphis Barbee: This recently paroled Barbee comes with a 9mm toy handgun, a fake Ray Lewis knife, and a 64′ Chevy with dark tinted windows. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) …unless you are a cop, then we don’t know what you are talking about.

Pine Bluff Barbee: This Barbee was never available… she got shot before she made it to the list.

Legal Notice: Please do not confuse these toys with products made by other companies, including Barbie (r) which is made by Mattel (r). Our toys should not be confused with any Mattel ™ or Barbie ™ toy, or any other toy on the market. Any resemblance to any toy or person, living or dead, or anything currently available in a Walmart store is a mere coincidence. Parody comparisons are strictly in the eyes of the reader and possibly intended. No Rights are Reserved. A photo of Fayetteville Barbee is shown below so as not to be confused and for comparison to similar products on the market.

Clock Shop running out of time in downtown Rogers, Arkansas

rogersarkansas — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:55:20 +0000

A giant “Moving Sale” sign in the window of the Clock Shop greeted passer-by’s in downtown Rogers, Arkansas. That business lasted about two years in downtown Rogers.

Located at the corner of Walnut and 2nd Street in downtown Rogers, Arkansas, the Clock Shop sold and repaired used clocks. The location has been a revolving door for businesses, which previously held a modern furniture store, an art gallery, and a jewelry store.

It seems like another warning sign that downtown Rogers needs more than a couple of new intersections to fix the merchant woes in the neighborhood.

Stacy’s Cafe on the Bentonville Square goes out of business

rogersarkansas — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:46:26 +0000

Apparently Rogers and Fayetteville aren’t the only places in Northwest Arkansas where restaurants open and close faster than the mouths of local business boosters and spinners.Another restaurant fatality occurred this week when Stacy’s Cafe on the Bentonville Square went out of business. No surprise here. We expect dozens more restaurants in Northwest Arkansas to close in the coming months. I hope aspiring restaurant entrepreneurs (especially those from out-of-town) take note and give second thoughts about taking a similar fatal plunge in the neighborhoods of Northwest Arkansas.

Local business boosters are in high gear blaming everything, except the fact there are way too many restaurants for the area. The truth is, folks built dozens of restaurants across Northwest Arkansas expecting massive growth that simply never came – and probably won’t come during our lifetime.

Sure, cheap little Mexican fast-food joints, operators with deep local ties and a building owned by mom and dad, corporate-owned faux-Italian/Chinese, and burger/chicken drive-thrus will continue to pop-up catering to vendors and low income immigrants, but those operators have (had) deep pockets. For everyone else, it’s now a fool’s game – especially out-of-towners investing in a restaurant gig.

Mom, who tosses hash and eggs at customers at the local pancake joint, warns aspiring restaurant owners to “keep prices low, hustle customers at your church, and throttle-back on your lifestyle.”

Excuse abound over what went wrong at Stacy’s. 40/29 gives one angle: http://ow.ly/OZUa

2009 Rogers, Arkansas “Most Beautiful Business in Rogers, Arkansas” Award Winner Announced

rogersarkansas — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:17:21 +0000

This business has received the prestigious 2009 Rogers, Arkansas “Most Beautiful Business in Rogers, Arkansas” Award, which was presented in a drive-by ceremony attended by everyone who enjoys seeing this business on a daily basis.

The award was given based on the attractively displayed collection of vintage late-model automobiles carefully placed on the beautifully manicured grounds. The vehicles are viewed by the entire neighborhood, all who are wondering, “How could I get so lucky having a great neighbor like this making my neighborhood the talk of Northwest Arkansas.”

Some folks who have neighbors this thoughtful get all the luck, don’t you agree!

Congratulations to the owners of this business for being such a thoughtful neighbor, who clearly embraces the philosphy of “Keep Rogers, Arkansas Beautiful”

Rogers, Arkansas Featured Business of the Week

rogersarkansas — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:48:10 +0000

Some folks call historic Rogers, Arkansas an impoverished, neglected, and otherwise disadvantaged residential and commercial area of Northwest Arkansas, troubled by a disproportionately large amount of crime and hunger. We wish we could disagree more.

We think this picture show a different story about the town called Rogers.

Here’s a photo of an Enterprise located in the historic downtown Rogers business district that is creating a positive image of the community of Rogers.

This photo tells me that this business is proud. The photo shouts out, “I’m proud to be a member of the Rogers, Arkansas business community. I’m proud to make my neighborhood a more beautiful place to live. I like how my business is beautifying my neighborhood.

Join us on our journey through Rogers, Arkansas. See more beautiful homes and businesses, and a few in the process of reshaping the way people think about Rogers, Arkansas. Visit our Rogers, Arkansas Photo Scrapbook. Click Here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45796588@N06/

Is it time to for the city of Rogers to clean-up its Ghettos?

rogersarkansas — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:58:04 +0000

With all the stimulus funds and energy rebate programs going unused where our Northwest Arkansas community needs it most, maybe those nice folks in Rogers City Hall could take the time and go door-to-door in downtown Rogers (and east and south of downtown) and promote some neighborhood pride, and throw some federal monies at the growing blight in our aging neighborhoods.

Since Rog is working graveyard shift, he’s planning on spending his new-found daytime hours snapping and posting photos of some of Rogers, Arkansas biggest ghettos, eyesores, and zoning violations – and posting them right here for the entire planet to see what the growing ghettos of Northwest Arkansas really look like.

Northwest Arkansas misses out on new high-pay jobs going to Little Rock

rogersarkansas — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:38:56 +0000

Allied Wireless Communications, the spin-off born out of the Alltel acquisition, announced it will locate its headquarters in Little Rock, immediately generating 200-250 white-collar workers with average salaries higher than $87,000 a year, according the the Governor’s office.

These are the kind of good news announcements we’d like to see for Northwest Arkansas.

Task Force makes over 1,000 Sex Offender & Violent Crime Arrests in Northwest Arkansas!

rogersarkansas — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:33:30 +0000

Fayetteville, Northwest Arkansas – The U. S. Marshals Service and the Northwest Arkansas Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force recently surpassed a monumental mark. “This month marks 1000 fugitive arrests for the task force,” said Deputy U. S. Marshal Dewaine Allen.

The Task Force began its work in November 2007, with a grant of more than $500,000. The grant was written and is administered by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, but funding is close to an end. Without additional funding, the NWA Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force will have exhausted all resources in March 2010, and effectively conclude operations through the Benton County funding. The U. S. Marshals Service will continue operating the task force, but with limited resources.

According to Deputy Allen, “The grant monies have been used to purchase Task Force Officer vehicles, emergency lighting, radios and other equipment for officers.” The grant was also used to lease a private office space in Springdale until operations could be relocated to the U. S. Marshals Service office in Fayetteville. “Relocating saved us considerable funding, but resources are at an end, and we need additional funding to operate,” said Deputy Allen. Computers, phones, and overtime were also paid from the grant. “Unless additional resources are obtained, the task force will lose its most valuable resource…our administrative assistant, who is paid by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office via the grant,” said Deputy Allen.

The NWA Task Force and its many partners have arrested more than 1000 fugitives since inception. The task force performs sex offender compliance checks throughout Northwest Arkansas, and in its new location serves as the “Fusion Center”, a central location where sex offenders report to initially register, as well as update registration information such as employment, vehicle information, and residence status. Sex offenders from Benton County, Springdale, and Fayetteville currently report to the Fusion Center on a weekly basis.

The Northwest Arkansas Sex Offender and Violent Crime Task Force is comprised of the U. S. Marshals Service, Benton, Washington, Madison, and Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Siloam Springs, and the Bentonville Police Departments. The Arkansas Department of Community Corrections is also a valued member. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office currently manages the grant that funds the task force.

Every year, the U.S. Marshals and its associated task forces throughout the country arrest more fugitives than all federal law enforcement agencies combined. Last year, this number was more than 73,000 state and local fugitives and more than 36,000 federal fugitives. Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov/

Arkansas unemployment rate drops to 7.4 percent; thanks to minimal wage retail job gains

rogersarkansas — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:49:34 +0000

Arkansas’ unemployment rate dipped slightly in November to 7.4 percent — that’s the good news.

The bad news is the drop in unemployment is the result of growth in minimum wage retail jobs, thanks to the holiday shopping season, combined with fewer layoffs, the state said Friday.

Unfortunately, 70% of the job gains came in the form of minimum wage and near-minimum wage jobs in the retail sector. That’s not anything to brag about, Mr. Governor of Arkansas. (Anyone try to make a mortgage payment, get health insurance, save for retirement, and send your kids to college on $12/hour? It ain’t gonna’ happen.)

More bad news:

The leisure and hospitality sector lost another 1,800 mostly minimum-wage seasonal jobs last month
Jobs normally associated with wages paying enough to support a family continue to get hammered in Arkansas.
Educational and health services lost 1,500 jobs last month
Professional and business services jobs dropped by another 1,300, the state agency reported
Arkansans hold 23,200 fewer jobs in November than they did a year ago, when the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent
The largest drop in jobs came in the manufacturing sector, which has lost 15,400 jobs in the past year
Trade, transportation and utilities lost 10,500 jobs in the past year