Memorial Day Dispatches From A Recovering City

In the aftermath of recent storms, residents across the city banded together today to clear debris and begin to repair the damage.

The newsletter contains five snapshots from a Memorial Day that was anything but ordinary for the City of Bentonville.

— Sam Hoisington

Strangers Stop To Help

From left to right: Andrew Neff, Jackson Carey, Benjamin Vizena

Sherry and Brian Moeller had never met Jackson Carey before he stopped to help with storm cleanup at their house on Northwest C Street.

"We had never met him previously. Jackson just rolled up and said, 'Hey, do you need some help?'" Brian said.

Jackson, who lives in Fayetteville, gravitated to the neighborhood because of his connection to a local park. 

"Park Springs Park is my favorite park, so I wanted to help in the area," he said.

He brought friends, too. Andrew Neff of Centerton and Benjamin Vizena of Rogers joined the effort.

The Moeller family said they were a big help.

"These guys were absolutely awesome," Brian said. "We got so much more done today than I would've ever imagined."

After hours of working at the Moellers' home, the young men left to volunteer with cleanup at the park.

Carey says goodbye to Sherry Moeller after helping with storm cleanup.

Bentonville Officers Help Clear Debris

Officer Mikel Williams (left) and Sergeant Nicholas Brown (right) 

The busiest spot in town was the city's compost facility at 2000 NW A Street.

Trucks snaked out of the facility's driveway and into the street, waiting for their turn to dump loads of storm debris.

Among those waiting were Officer Mikel Williams and Sergeant Nicholas Brown from the Bentonville Police Department, who took time away from their usual duties to help with cleanup efforts in the city.

Dressed in black shirts and long pants, the officers labored in over 80-degree weather, unloading brush from their truck and tossing it onto a massive pile of storm debris. 

Residents dump debris at the city's compost facility.

Church Pantry Feeds Families

Submitted photo of The Community Table.

The Community Table, located at 216 NW A Street, served 75 meals and provided over 20 families with food.

The pantry is run by Bentonville Community Church. 

Debbie Martin, a pastor at the church, said the pantry will likely be open more this week, but details have not been finalized yet.

Bentonville Schools Cancels Classes for K-8 Students

An uprooted tree lies in front of an entrance to Lincoln Junior High School.

Bentonville Schools canceled classes for the remainder of the year for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Final exams for high school students are scheduled for this week. Those students have the option to abstain from taking finals, in which case their current grade in the class will be considered their final grade. 

Due to road blockages, the district will offer limited bus service from designated pickup and drop-off points for students who plan to take a final.

The last day of school was originally scheduled for Thursday.

Local High Schoolers Clean Up

Luke Webb (top) surveys his work and enjoys a well-earned snack.

Caden Newell has friends he can count on.

Around 6 p.m., the high schooler and eight of his friends were resting after hours of cleanup work at his family's house on Tiger Boulevard. 

Earlier in the day, the family had even more help.

"We had a lot more people earlier," Newell said. "We're just kind of wrapping up now."

His mother praised the boys' efforts.

"They've been working so hard," Heather Newell said.

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