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The Baxter County Quorum Court set aside a day for a boxing program that helps people fight Parkinson’s disease, part of a short Tuesday evening meeting last week in which justices of the peace approved every item in front of them unanimously.
The ordinance established Rock Steady Boxing Day in Baxter County. The program marked its 10th year locally and held an open house Monday. The date of the proclamation was set to line up with its celebration.
Rock Steady Boxing came to Mountain Home through the Mruk Family Education Center on Aging at Baxter Health. Classes meet at the Baxter Regional Wellness Education Center at 2545 Highway 5 North.
The program is built on non-contact boxing. Coaches trained in the method lead participants through footwork, bag work, stretching and drills that move the body in every direction while the routine keeps changing. The idea is to push back on the symptoms Parkinson’s takes away first, including balance, strength, flexibility and range of motion.
Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease with no cure. It damages the nerve cells that produce dopamine, and over years it brings tremors, stiffness, slowed movement, balance trouble and difficulty speaking. Classes are built to work for people at any stage of the disease.
Getting in starts with a phone call to the Mruk center at (870) 508-3880 for a new member’s packet. Participants then need authorization from their primary care physician and a referral to the Baxter Health Physical Therapy Department. A physical therapist assesses them before they are referred into the program.
The national program started in 2006 in a small Indianapolis gym, founded by a former Indiana county prosecutor who noticed his own symptoms improved after boxing workouts. It has since grown to more than 800 affiliate locations.
County business
The largest appropriation of the night sends $262,500.07 from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Marine Fuel Tax Grant into the Road and Bridge Department budget.
The court also moved $82,910.34 into the Casey House Restoration Grant Fund. The county owns the 1858 house, which served as Baxter County’s first courthouse and survived the 1985 tornado that nearly destroyed it. Restoration architect Gary Clements has estimated the first phase at $214,172, with the county responsible for roughly a third and the balance coming from grants.
Another ordinance appropriates $15,000 from the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Security and Emergency Preparedness to the Building and Grounds Department. The court also accepted $8,705 in donated funds into the Recycling Grant Fund.
Justices approved an ordinance authorizing the sale and transfer of county property to Marion County.
Three more appropriations went to public safety and juvenile services. They include $9,221.84 in fees and reimbursements the sheriff’s office received in May, added to its 2026 budget; $36,000 from the Special Jail Fees Fund, split between the Special Jail Fees and the Jail Maintenance and Operations budgets; and $1,959.50 to the Juvenile Services Department budget.
Appointments
The court confirmed Lucian “Skip” Lane to the Rodney-Jordan Volunteer Fire Department board of commissioners.
Justices reappointed David McQueen and appointed Dennis Lore to the Hand Cove Fire Protection District board of commissioners. Cindy Horvath was confirmed to the Midway Fire Protection District board of commissioners.
