Blast to the Past cars lookin’ good

Old-car enthusiasts turn out for casino show

Story & Photos By Tina Parker
Herald-Leader

First-year judge George Rickey of Farmington rates a 1950s Ford Crown Victoria. The categories that he judged were Classic 1900-1960; Custom 1900-1960; and Custom 1961-1980.

The hood ornament of a 1930s Dodge Brothers pickup truck.

A 1929 Mercedes-Benz SSK was entered in the Blast to the Past Car Show at Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs, Okla. Only 40 SSKs were made

— many of the models seen at car shows are reproductions.

The red leather interior of a 1964 Corvette Stingray.

This 1956 Ford Crown Victoria was one of a dozen entered in the Blast From the Past car show in West Siloam Springs, Okla.

John Raines of Bentonville and Ian Zepan of Rogers look at the interior of a 1954 Ford stationwagon. Rains and Zepan had vehicles in the Blast to the Past car show.

A lime green 1970s Ford Bronco was among the vehicles entered in the car show. Because there were not defined categories, trucks like this were rated alongside cars.

The taillight of a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Several Bel Air’s entered into the Blast to the Past Car Show, however, only one placed in the top three.

WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. — The 9th Annual Blast to the Past car and truck show took visitors on a trip down memory lane. With more than 300 entries of classic and custom cars and trucks at the Aug. 9 show, there was a little something for everyone.

Melvin Mounce, of Springdale, was a car collector, but sold most of them as the cost for parts increased.

He is down to one — a custom 1955 Chevrolet Cameo pickup. The truck, laden with burgundy flames, is his prize possession, and he enters it in car shows throughout the state, where he said he always placed in the top three of his division. However, at the Blast From the Past show, his truck didn’t place. His truck was judged alongside Custom cars and trucks from 1900-1960. “If I were somewhere else I’d be able to compete against pickups in my class,” Mounce said. “Most car shows have different classes of cars for different models, but this one here is all together,” he said. “I don’t like it because I can’t compete here.” Unlike many car shows across the nation, the Blast From the Past has free entry, said Shannon Jennings, marketing manager for Cherokee Casino. The casino sponsors the event and the prizes, which makes for smaller categories, she said. Johnny Shackelford of Elkins has owned his 1956 Ford Crown Victoria since he was 12. His father bought it for him in 1960 for $250. “I drove it to school,” he said. “Back then you didn’t need a driver’s license.” Shackelford said that every car show he has shown it in, the car has placed first. The Blast From the Past was no different — his cruiser placed third in Classic: 1900-1960. “Every bit of it is original,” he said.

Herald-Leader , Wednesday, August 20, 2014; Section: Lifestyles, Page: 6A

Teacher arrested on rape charge

She is accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student

Tina Parker Herald-Leader

A Siloam Springs Intermediate School language arts teacher was arrested after engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old male student, according to court records.

Mary Faith McCormick, 32, was arrested and charged on Wednesday for rape, a Class Y Felony.

For the last three months, McCormick had allegedly engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with the child.

Faculty members across the district were shocked after they learned that a fellow teacher was arrested for the alleged rape of a minor child, according to Siloam Springs superintendent Ken Ramey.

“It’s been a shock and a rough few days,” Ramey said Thursday.

On Monday students will return from summer vacation.

“This is not a healthy situation for our children who are too young to deal with this,” he said.

He said that the best thing for teachers to do is to focus on learning and engaging children.

“We have great teachers and we can work through this,” he said. However, he is concerned for the children, parents and teachers who were impacted by the news.

“We want parents to trust us and to know that we are here in support of them and their families and that we will do what we need to do as a community and a school district to support children,” Ramey said.

Two counselors who work within the district and a few from Ozark Guidance will be brought in to help children, parents and teachers cope with the situation.

“We will have small group counseling, with parental permission, to help with the kids, as needed,” Ramey said. “We want to assure parents that we want to work with them and that they can come with their child.”

According to the probable cause affidavit, McCormick and the child had two consensual sexual encounters — consensual sex at McCormick’s residence in Siloam Springs and oral sex at the site of the house she was building in Gentry.

On several occasions, the teacher and child exchanged sexual-related messages on Snap Chat, according to the affidavit. Snap Chat is an application that allows a person to send a photograph with text that will appear on the recipient’s electronic device for several seconds and then disappear.

However, according to a statement from the victim, a glitch in the application allowed a photo that McCormick sent to the child to remain on the device.

The photo was of McCormick wearing nothing but a towel, according to the affidavit. Two different children saw the photo on the boy’s device.

Police obtained a search warrant and seized McCormick’s electronic devices. On her cell phone, police located the Snap Chat application and verified that the username was the same as the one that sent photos to the child.

The day following her arrest, McCormick attended a bond hearing, where her bond was set at $50,000. She has since bonded out of the Benton County Detention Center.

McCormick was a teacher in the Siloam Springs District for the last three years, and had been an educator for seven, Ramey said.

She has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, he said.

Rhonda Rutledge, a teacher who has taught in the district for many years, will take over McCormick’s class.

“Rhonda is calm, experienced and is someone who will work well with the children and teachers,” he said.

Herald-Leader , Sunday, August 17, 2014; Section: News, Page: 1