Gravette Students Making Documentary on Hiwasse Annexation
By: Marissa Stevens
Updated: February 20, 2012
The Hiwasse annexation issue has been a hot topic in Benton County, and a few students have decided to film it all.
Zak Heald, Sayer Smith, and Connor Houtchens are all students at Gravette High School, have been at every meeting, and are piecing together their documentary every step of the way, hoping to share the story of Hiwasse.
"We kind of talked about it at school, we talked with faculty members we just kind of talked about it, and we kind of decided hey why don't we do something about this," said Heald, a Bella Vista resident.
"I said hey Zak, do we want to just get together and film this I mean it would be fun," said Smith, a Hiwasse resident.
"It's been really interesting I mean seeing how local government functions, I mean we learn about in class but we never really get to see it in action but now we're right there," said Houtchens, a Gravette resident.
Some people in Bella Vista want to annex Hiwasse, but many folks in Hiwasse would rather voluntarily annex into Gravette.
"They both have good views as to why they want to do it, why they don't want to do it," said Heald.
These students are very knowledgeable on the topic at hand, and say they want to share the story of a small town dealing with a big issue.
"At first we were kind of thinking it was going to be a couple week deal and then it kind of moved into months and months and now we're on the full steam ahead for however long it's going to take," said Heald.
"It's going to be crazy coming back seeing how the towns change and how we can film it now how it is," said Houtchens.
And while they say they are just being teenagers, having fun, they still hope to spread the word about something affecting many of their fellow Benton County residents.
"Something's happening around you, it's so close, we might as well document it as it goes," said Heald.
The next meeting on this issue is Monday, February 27, at the Benton County Courthouse, where the Quorum Court will be deciding whether Hiwasse can annex in to Gravette.
Zak Heald, Sayer Smith, and Connor Houtchens are all students at Gravette High School, have been at every meeting, and are piecing together their documentary every step of the way, hoping to share the story of Hiwasse.
"We kind of talked about it at school, we talked with faculty members we just kind of talked about it, and we kind of decided hey why don't we do something about this," said Heald, a Bella Vista resident.
"I said hey Zak, do we want to just get together and film this I mean it would be fun," said Smith, a Hiwasse resident.
"It's been really interesting I mean seeing how local government functions, I mean we learn about in class but we never really get to see it in action but now we're right there," said Houtchens, a Gravette resident.
Some people in Bella Vista want to annex Hiwasse, but many folks in Hiwasse would rather voluntarily annex into Gravette.
"They both have good views as to why they want to do it, why they don't want to do it," said Heald.
These students are very knowledgeable on the topic at hand, and say they want to share the story of a small town dealing with a big issue.
"At first we were kind of thinking it was going to be a couple week deal and then it kind of moved into months and months and now we're on the full steam ahead for however long it's going to take," said Heald.
"It's going to be crazy coming back seeing how the towns change and how we can film it now how it is," said Houtchens.
And while they say they are just being teenagers, having fun, they still hope to spread the word about something affecting many of their fellow Benton County residents.
"Something's happening around you, it's so close, we might as well document it as it goes," said Heald.
The next meeting on this issue is Monday, February 27, at the Benton County Courthouse, where the Quorum Court will be deciding whether Hiwasse can annex in to Gravette.
