Debra Hale-Shelton

Conway

Freelance columnist at Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Mother, journalist, feminist. Retweets are not endorsements or agreement. Pronouns: she/her.

Articles

Idaho college no longer trying to buy University of Phoenix

4 days ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

The University of Idaho is no longer negotiating to buy the for-profit online University of Phoenix, echoing a similar effort that failed in Arkansas about two years ago. The two schools have “jointly agreed to end discussions,” Phoenix said in a statement Tuesday, Idaho Education News reported. You can read the publication’s full report on the proposed $685 million purchase here.
Crawford County librarian who left amid censorship furor alleges separation agreement violation, sues

5 days ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

A former Crawford County librarian who resigned amid censorship pressure from the county’s quorum court and library board member Tammi Hamby has sued the county, Hamby and others for alleged violation of a separation agreement. Deidre Grzymala, who resigned under pressure in February 2023, filed the circuit court lawsuit last week in Washington County, where she now lives and where she has requested a jury trial.
Newly remade Conway School Board votes to hire Beebe softball coach

1 week ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

What a difference elections can make!The Conway School District is getting a championship-winning softball coach after all, thanks to four progressives on a newly reconstituted school board. On a 4-2 vote Tuesday night, the board hired Sara Flenor, currently Beebe’s softball coach. Voting for Flenor were Sheila Franklin and newly elected members Leo Cummings III, Dr. Barrett Petty and Leona Walton. Opposing her selection were conservatives Linda Hargis and Dr. David Naylor Jr., board president.
Let public schools teach the Constitution, not religion

1 week ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

When I think about Arkansas legislators requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, a purely American commandment also comes to mind: The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ratified in 1791, the amendment protects a wide range of freedoms.
Conway remakes school board with 'historic' election

3 weeks ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

Conway, home to three colleges and roughly 73,000 residents, finally lived up to its “Get Smart” slogan launched back in 2008. Voters on Tuesday overturned the Conway School Board’s white, often secretive majority by handing victories to three Black candidates. Motivated in part by a flurry of online chatter about the current board’s vote refusing to hire a championship-winning softball coach last week, enough voters turned out to hand decisive victories to three progressive candidates, all Black.
Where does the censorship stop?

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

(Catherine McQueen/Getty Images)If you remember visiting the local library as a child, you likely went with your mom or dad, a teacher or with nothing more than your bike and a backpack. Chances are state lawmakers or religious zealots did not escort you inside, and you didn’t have to wonder whose stories were hidden behind locked doors or inside a vault because nothing was locked up.
Where does the censorship stop?

3 weeks ago | arkansasadvocate.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

by Debra Hale-Shelton, Guest Commentary, Arkansas Advocate May 14, 2025 If you remember visiting the local library as a child, you likely went with your mom or dad, a teacher or with nothing more than your bike and a backpack. Chances are state lawmakers or religious zealots did not escort you inside, and you didn’t have to wonder whose stories were hidden behind locked doors or inside a vault because nothing was locked up.
Former Hot Spring County sheriff back in jail

1 month ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

The former Hot Spring County sheriff who resigned after pleading guilty in a federal case involving drugs and sex is back in jail and will remain there until he’s sentenced to prison, a judge ruled Monday. The latest arrest of Scott Finkbeiner took place Friday after federal authorities said he violated a release condition that he avoid all contact with any victim or witness connected to his case.
Library to pay full bill on attorney fees in Crawford County

1 month ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

The latest salvo in Arkansas’s long-running battle over censorship came Monday night in a courthouse in Van Buren. That’s when the Crawford County Quorum Court voted 9-0 for the county’s library system alone to foot the bill for almost $113,000 in attorney fees resulting from a lawsuit over what a judge determined was a violation of the First Amendment. The vote was 9-0 with four absentees.
Library censorship proves expensive in Crawford County

1 month ago | arktimes.com | Debra Hale-Shelton

The war between library lovers and haters is heating up in Crawford County and getting expensive. In a letter demanding $100,000 in damages last week, the attorney for former Crawford County Library System director Deidre Grzymala said county library board member Tammara “Tammi” Hamby “blatantly criticized, denigrated and disparaged” Grzymala during an April 18 public board meeting. That’s on top of almost $113,000 the county already owes as a result of its own failed censorship efforts.