Fire destroys home during rainstorm

A house fire in western Carroll County gutted the home of Alan and Karen Jo Vennes Thursday.

The home, located at 156 CR 228, off Highway 23 North, was fully involved by the time fire crews arrived late Thursday afternoon.

No one was home when the fire started. A "for sale" sign is posted in the front yard. The Venneses were currently living in the house, and both work in Eureka Springs.

"Someone driving by saw it and went to a neighbor's to call it in," said Jack Deaton, chief of the Holiday Island Rural Fire Department.

The cause is unknown, Deaton said, although neighbors had reported lightning strikes in the area. A thunderstorm with heavy rains started shortly before the call was toned out to the fire department.

"It was pretty much a total loss by the time we got there," Deaton said. Heavy rains had no effect on the fire.

Firefighters battled the blaze for five hours. Around 3 a.m., the fire reignited. Crews spent another hour and a half Friday morning putting the second fire out.

"We poured 30,000 gallons of water on that fire, and it rained heavily, and still it reignited," Deaton said. "The home was built with big, thick timbers, which probably held the heat. It was a very hot fire."

He said an investigator from Little Rock will be coming up to determine the cause of the fire.

In addition to the Holiday Island Rural Fire Department, departments from Eureka Springs, Grassy Knob, and Eagle Rock, Mo., responded to the scene.

Fire destroys home during rainstorm

A house fire in western Carroll County gutted the home of Alan and Karen Jo Vennes Thursday.

Class of 2004 earns $3 million in scholarships

Eureka Springs High School Senior Class of 2004 has won more than $3,000,360 in scholarships and awards to help them further their education.

HISID considers marina lease renewal with Kriers for 2005

Although the current lease with the marina operator in Holiday Island is not up until January 2005, the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) had the item on its agenda for discussion Monday.

Holiday Island getting to work on marketing

No one in Holiday Island likes to see their assessments increase, and a number of groups are forming a coalition to do something about it.