Arkansas Democrat Gazette

PAPER TRAILS
Local TV exec to be honored
LINDA CAILLOUET 


    MAKING HIS MARK: KATVChannel 7 President and General Manager Dale Nicholson will be honored at the annual Mid-America Emmy awards ceremony Oct. 4 in St. Louis for the impact his decades of work in television broadcasting has made in Arkansas.
    During the ceremony, Nicholson will be inducted into the Mid-America Chapter, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Gold Circle. The award is given to television industry professionals who have devoted 50 years or more to the industry and have made significant contributions to broadcasting within their communities.
    Nicholson, a Warren native, began his career at KTVETV in El Dorado in 1960 and joined KATV in 1962. He has held his current position there since 1974.
    BIG-TIME(S) INK: Beatrice Biira, whose story has been widely told in a children's book, Beatrice's Goat, was mentioned here in a recent column amid the news that she will enroll this fall in the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, got more ink yesterday — this time in The New York Times by op-ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof.
    Kristof's piece, The Luckiest Girl, recounts how the gift of a goat from Little Rock-based Heifer International to Beatrice's Ugandan family when she was a girl changed her life, that of her family, and through the years, the lives of many others in her village.
    Kristof also notes that Biira plans to pursue a master's degree at the Clinton School and then return to Africa to aid her community.
    COOL, DUDE! Clarissa Magley of Siloam Springs is one of a dozen winners in a contest by the Children's International Arts Festival sponsored by www. KidsTalkAboutGod.org.
    The 12-year-old was one of 12 entrants who won a dude ranch vacation in Big Timber, Mont.
    The home-schooled sixthgrader's winning entry was a watercolor painting of the creation of the universe.
    To see Clarissa's artwork, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/clarissa.
    SONIC BOOM: Employees of the Sonic Drive-In on Highway 107 in Gravel Ridge are close to qualifying for the national finals of the 14th annual Dr Pepper Sonic Games, a companywide competition to recognize the nation's best Sonic locales.
    The Gravel Ridge locale is a semifinalist hoping to make it to the top 12.
    If successful, employees get to compete in Olympicstyle games Sept. 15-16 in Palmetto, Fla., in categories such as food delivery and preparation.
    The Gravel Ridge gang already has a lot of be proud of, being among 300 semifinalists chosen from 2,700 competing drive-ins.
    A FINAL PITCH: Don't forget this paper's free 25th annual Pops on the River celebration in Little Rock's Riverfront Park today.
    From 6 to 6:30 p.m., anyone with 5 bucks can take three shots at dunking this LSUshirt-wearing columnist. (Geaux, Tigers!) Is this a great country or what?

Paper Trails appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact Linda Caillouet at (501) 399-3636 or at lcaillouet@arkansasonline.com.