A lot of news happened in 2023 in Bradley County with The Eagle Democrat coming under new ownership, murder trials, and more. Here is a recap of the year 2022 in Bradley County:
January
- The 2022 mid-term elections were announced in the county and state. The mayor’s office for Warren, Banks, and Hermitage were up for election. The county clerk, circuit clerk, treasurer, and alderman positions were up for election this year.
- The city of Warren presented a resolution at the Warren City Council meeting honoring the late John B. Frazer, Jr.
- The Warren School District continued the mask mandate due to the rising COVID cases at the time.
- Renovation of the Bradley County Courthouse began January 22 with Diversified Construction and Design of El Dorado. They laid down materials used to repair the tower in the courthouse yard.
- Kaileigh Denee Hampton was the first Bradley County baby born in 2022 on January 4 to Octavia Hampton. The baby weighed five pounds, four ounces and was 17 and 3/4 inches long.
- Arkansas Children’s Hospital hosted six Cooking Matters courses at the Hermitage Community Center. The course was led by a nutrition coordinator and taught kids how to cook healthy meals. They were able to eat the meals they made.
- Gregg Reep announced his candidacy for mayor of Warren.
- Repairs were made to Hermitage Middle School from storm damage.
- Bradley County saw over 300 active COVID cases.
- Former Warren Fire Chief Mike Ashcraft plead guilty to Class D felony for theft of property. He was sentenced to 36 months of unsupervised probation, restitution of $18,122.76, a fine of $350, court costs of $165, and a $250 DNA fine.
- Warren Fire Department hired new fire chief Chuck Moore.
February
- Bradley County Sheriff Herschel Tillman announced he would seek a third term as sheriff.
- Warren EAST Lab students began a mural project downtown in Warren beside Snow Mountain on Main Street.
- Students from Warren High School received NCRC certifications.
- Arkansas Secretary of Commerce spoke at the Bradley County Economic Development Corp. meeting.
- Potlatch Deltic donated $10,000 to the Warren Fire Department to help with the cost of the department’s new pumper truck that was purchased. The truck was valued at $336,000.
- A Blessing Box was installed in Hermitage behind First State Bank. Members of Revitalize Hermitage helped bring the project together. Gardner Body and Glass donated the Blessing Box, which was constructed by Chad Gardner and Jeremy Smith.
- Lighthouse Church building was destroyed by fire on February 3. The church received a love offering of $1,000 from First Assembly of God in Warren.
- Bradley County Judge Klay McKinney announced he was seeking re-election for a third term.
- Representative Jeff Wardlaw announced his run for re-election.
- Aiden Reynolds signed a letter of intent to play baseball for Arkansas Tech University. Keller Bigham signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Mississippi College. Isaac Richey signed a letter of intent to play basketball for South Arkansas Community College. Bailey Herring signed a letter of intent to play soccer for National Park College.
- Hermitage School District modified the mask mandate for staff and students to choose to wear a mask if they want to.
- Family Dollar was temporarily closed due to rodent infestation at the distribution facility.
- Andrew Pritt announced his run for state representative.
March
- David Carter was announced as new Justice of the Peace for district nine on the Bradley County Quorum Court.
- Sharon Balentine announced her candidacy for quorum court.
- Dana Harvey announced her run for justice of the peace.
- David Lee Murphy was announced to headline the Pink Tomato Festival.
- Larry McMahan was named Bradley County Officer of the Year by Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
- Miami Dolphins NFL retired football player Kenneth Poole stopped by Hermitage City Hall to meet Mayor Tonya Kendrix, the staff, and visit his hometown of Hermitage.
- Warren City Council voted “no” on city ward redistricting options that were presented to them.
- The Warren Branch Library was awarded a $3,000 national grant to help serve the community.
- The BCMC was recognized by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program as a Silver Safe Sleep Hospital for their commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep.
- Boots Bailey and the Boys were announced as one of the headliners at the Pink Tomato Festival.
- The former owners of The Eagle Democrat, Danny and Pam Cook, announced their retirement from the newspaper business.
- Water and Sewer rates were raised in April due to the rising costs of materials and operations to maintain and update infrastructure and to meet state mandates.
- Eddie Parnell, Jr. announced his run for quorum court for district nine.
- Warren Woman’s Club hosted a local Arbor Day event at Warren City Park.
- Hardware General, a hardware and general supply store located in Hermitage, held its official ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening on March 16.
- Joe Don Greenwood was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.
April
- Warren High School was heavily damaged by fire and smoke damage. The fire began in the auxiliary gym and spread from there.
- Former owners of The Eagle Democrat reached an agreement to sell the long standing publication in Bradley County to Smith Newspapers, Inc. Smith also publishes the Advance-Monticellonian and Warren native Tom White became the publisher.
- The Bradley County Republican Party sponsored a public candidate forum for state and local candidates to speak.
- Potlatch Deltic donated a check to Warren Fire Department for $10,000. The funds went towards the purchase of a new fire truck that was bought. The cost of the truck was $287,000.
- Warren, Banks, and Hermitage hosted local Easter events.
- Carole Lee Little and her mom Cathy Richardson, collaborated on the T-shirt design for the Pink Tomato Festival and were the winners of the T-shirt design contest.
- Carlitos Roque and Brianna Barker were both arrested on battery charges.
- Former Warren School teacher Kaitlyn Ann Raines was arrested by the Warren Police Department and the Bradley County Sheriff’s Department for two counts of Rape and Computer Exploitation of a Child.
- U.S. Senator John Boozman met with city and county officials and those from the community at Warehouse B.
- Republican governor candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her campaign stopped by Warren for an event at Warehouse B.
- Todd Smith became the new president of Commercial Bank and Trust Company in Monticello and First State Bank in Warren.
- Rev. Gary Harrison, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Warren, preached his last sermon there. He was assigned to the First United Methodist Church in Bingen and Nashville.
May
- Former Warren Lumberjack and Arkansas Razorback Treylon Burks was drafted by the Tennessee Titans.
- Annie Figueroa, Jayden Grider, Bailey Solis, Leah Wolfe, and Luci Woodard were named Warren High School valedictorians. Keller Bigham, Ashlyn Broughton, and Stephanie Canuto were the salutatorians.
- David “Alan” McGhee II and Ericca Lynn Corker led Hermitage High School class of 2022 with highest honors.
- Dr. Bob Smalling was awarded the Lifetime of Excellence Award from the Arkansas Optometric Association.
- Warren School District contracted with Metro Disaster to work on restoring Warren High School.
- Jason and Laura West were named Bradley County Farm Family of the Year.
- The Warren High School class of 2022 received over $1.3 million in college scholarships.
- Best-selling author Siegfried Johnson spoke at First United Methodist Church in Warren. He was the author of Dancing with David.
- The Bradley County Veterans Museum hosted Memorial Day program.
- State Farm donated $10,000 to the YMCA as part of their Outstanding Community Engagement Program.
- The city of Hermitage hosted a free farmer’s market for the community.
June
- Byron Eric Daniels escaped custody from jail. He was eventually captured by local law enforcement.
- The first box of the 2022 tomato season was brought by KJ Fresh Produce and More in Warren.
- Kaiden Hale was crowned Miss Pink Tomato at the Pink Tomato Festival Pageant. Hale also won sportswear and evening gown categories. Savannah Brown was first runner-up and Kelli Jo Stain was second runner-up.
- Pink Tomato Festival happened in June.
- Martha Bradford, from Banks, was reported missing by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.
- The Bradley County Chamber of Commerce sponsored Market on Main.
- Leslie Huitt was promoted to CEO of Bradley County Medical Center.
- The pistol and rifle range was completed and a ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the Warren Shooting Complex.
July
- Carlos Yepes announced his candidacy for Warren mayor.
- ReVIVE opened in Warren and had a ribbon cutting ceremony.
- Warren Mayor Denisa Pennington announced she would not seek re-election.
- Hometown Tobacco was busted for marijuana products by the Warren Police Department.
- Warren City Clerk announced she would not seek re-election.
- Janice Nelson announced her candidacy for city clerk.
- Warren Police arrested Terrell Rogers for not registering as a sex offender after moving from Illinois.
- Warren Fire Department applied for Firewise USA program.
August
- BCMC conducted a community health assessment.
- AHF Products were hit by layoffs.
- The new school route was mapped for the 2022-2023 school year.
- Sherman Gill, from Warren, was charged with capital murder.
- A silver alert was issued for Hermitage resident Martin McDougald, but he was later found safe.
- Bradley County receives safety award from Association of Arkansas Counties.
- Clients at SEAHDC launched a book entitled “Snowflakes”.
September
- Antario Gilbert was found guilty of second-degree murder for the murder of Shaun Ingram.
- BCMC board member Kenneth McDougald announced his retirement from the board.
- The livestock premium sale raised $25,975 at the Bradley County Fair.
October
- Perla Rincon, Sayra Martinez, Grace Smith, Katelynn Roberts, Ti’Mouriah Tate, Magaly Uribe, and Paige Stanley were on the Hermitage Homecoming Court.
- BCMC CEO Huitt was named finalist for Hospital CFO of the Year.
- Tabitha White, Tessa Andrus, Bryleigh Bickers, Natalie Cooper, Raven Harris, Kailey Henry, Emma Mann, Ana Tinoco, and T’Mya Childs were announced on the Warren Homecoming Court.
- A new mural was displayed downtown Warren representing the Warren Lumberjacks. The mural was done by Jason White.
- A wildfire burned 550 acres in the county after a cardboard box caught on fire and got caught on trees during the burn ban.
- Hermitage School District joined in the lawsuit against JUUL Labs.
November
- BCMC CEO Huitt was named Hospital CFO of the Year.
- Warren Branch Library announced the hiring of new branch manager Kandice Wever.
- Gregg Reep won the Warren mayor election. The Hermitage mayor election led to a runoff.
- Tony McCoy was found guilty of murder in the first degree, kidnapping, and felony possession of a firearm.
- YMCA CEO David Richey announced his resignation. He accepted a pastoral position at First Baptist Church of Rector, Ark.
- Warren High School entered phase II of the restoration project.
- The Lumberjacks ended their football season at the quarter finals.
December
- The Hermitage Spirit of Christmas pageant winners were: Ava Jackson (Tiny Miss), Addison Scogin (Petite Miss), Brentley Burch (Tiny Mr.), Hazel Robbins (Toddler Miss), Kylie Kendrix (Little Miss), Anna Ross (Pre-Teen Miss), Kehlani Davis (Baby Miss), and Gracen White (Teen Miss).
- Tabitha White was named Miss Merry Christmas.
- Matt Cathey won the Hermitage mayor runoff election.
- The Bradley County Courthouse bell tower was completed and installed back on top of the courthouse.
