HOT DOGS, HOT CARS
The Fayetteville City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to make it illegal in Fayetteville to leave an animal inside a car when the outdoor temperature exceeds 70 degrees and the car temperature exceeds 100 degrees, even if the windows are cracked. The law also applies to cold temperatures when the temperature outside and in the car is below 30 degrees.
When a complaint is received about a pet in a hot car, an Animal Control officer will respond. The officer will determine if there any signs of possible heatstroke, like excessive panting and drooling, disorientation, loss of consciousness, seizure, or darkening of the tongue with the pet. If they see any of those conditions, or if the internal temperature of the car is found to be hotter than 100 degrees, the officer will first try to open any unlocked doors to let the animal out. If that isn’t an option, they will call the police —who are authorized to break into your vehicle at this point.
If reported and caught, violators could receive up to $500 in fines. The law was implemented more as a cautionary warning than a gotcha tactic.
So, in other words, G-Man’s got your dog’s back. The world needs less dogs dying in cars, and even more so, less bands named Dogs Die In Hot Cars — seriously, that’s a real band from Scotland.
The Walton Arts Center will be undergoing renovations through November. Here’s a mock-up of what the West entrance will look like once finished.
WALTON ARTS CENTER CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS
Take a good look at the Walton Arts Center, because it’s going to get one helluva face lift. You may have noticed a bunch of wood panels have gone up fencing the concert hall off limits. That’s because officials have started the center’s $23 million renovation project, and it will last until November.
The expansion is going to add 30,000 square feet to the facility. New, shiny features will include an atrium that connects to Dickson Street, an overhaul of Starr Theater, a parking deck, new offices for staff and more space for back of house technical and theatrical equipment.
During the summer renovation, the Walton Arts Center Box Office will move to a temporary location in Nadine Baum Studios with regular business hours of Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. The Walmart AMP Box Office located in Rogers is now open Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
While it’s all well and good we’re getting a fancier WAC, what about those of us who bank with Arvest? What are we going to do without that super-convenient Arvest ATM near the box office? Use the shady-looking third party ATMs that charge $2 in every bar on Dickson? It’s hopeless. My fellow Arvest bankers, we’ve no choice but to forget our debit cards with open tabs on Dickson in honor of our lost, automated friend.
TUITION LOWERED
Not so fast, UA students. NWACC lowered their tuition, not the UofA. Even less cool, it only applies to out-of-state students. Sorry if you got your hopes up. The college’s Board of Trustees lowered out-of-state tuition from $175 to $125 per credit hour, and it went into effect this month for the rest of the school year. Tuition for in-state students is still $75 and $122.50 per credit hour.
TRAIL BLAZING
The North Walton Trail Project is projected to be completed by the end of July or early August, Bentonville city officials said. The Bentonville Trail system consists of three looped trails within Memorial Park, Lake Bella Vista and Park Springs Park. There are seven pathways and bikeways along the city streets, and there’s an all-terrain mountain bike trail and on-road bicycle routes. Altogether there are 20 miles of trails.
Coming in at a total of $825,000, the project includes 1.3 miles of a 10-foot-wide concrete trail. A $250,000 federal grant and $200,000 Walton Family Foundation grant were given toward the project to cover most of the expenses. The remaining $375,000 will be covered by the city.
No more excuses, guys. Party’s over. There are just too many recreational activities developed in Northwest Arkansas on behalf of our health and laziness now. Might as well join a bike club, buy a carbon fiber bike, put on a skin-tight nylon jersey that makes it look like you’re a skeleton — except you really aren’t a skeleton, you’re just wearing a shirt that looks like it— and put the kids in a little taxi cab you have to pull them around in while they complain how hot it is. Yep. Thanks, regional city governments.
