In its new travelogue video about Eureka Springs, «They're Coming To Your Town,» the American Family Association employs some pretty colorful adjectives to describe our quirky little village, including terms that make those dreaded code words «eclectic» and «mecca» sound downright benign:

• «A national hub for homosexuals.»
• «The San Francisco of Arkansas.»
• «A gay hot spot.»
• «A gay sex tourism destination.»

Huh? Say what? Really?

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In a message to a local business yesterday, November 26, Patriots' Herald publisher Al Pryor disclosed his departure from the newspaper. Following the cancellation of advertising in the Patriots' Herald by yet another local business, Pryor wrote «. . . as of today I am no longer part of the Patriot so no sweet of [sic] my brow.»

Pryor's recent editorial blaming the «gay community» for his paper's financial woes--and published against the advice of his own board of directors--may have been his parting shot at gay citizens and their allies and his swan song. And, possibly, the Patriot's last gasp.

Earlier in the month, Pryor had rejected a paid advertisement for Diversity Weekend, claiming it was incompatible with the «family values» of the Patriots' Herald. «With the gays up in arms against us because we would not run the diversity weekend ad,» Pryor sweepingly generalized, «they threaten to stop all business transactions with businesses that do run ads with us.»

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In last week's article entitled, «To Boycott or Not? Fundies Flip and Flop,» we told you about «traditional family values» newspaper publisher Al Pryor blaming the Eureka Springs gay community for his publication's potentially dire financial staits.

We'd like nothing better than to give you a link to Al's Galton's whistle wisdom in its entirety, but we suspect Al's opening sentence, «I write this against the advice of my board of directors,» had something to do with the fact that Al's editorial has been removed from the Patriots' Herald web site.

Briefly, Al refused to accept an ad promoting Eureka's Fall Diversity Weekend. A local skirmish ensued, wherein citizens and visitors vowed to boycott the Patriots' Herald and its advertisers. Al fired back with a bang, and a whimper, complaining--and we're quoting directly from our print version of the web-excised editorial:

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(Eureka Springs, AR)--The first and only Domestic Partnership Registry in the Arkansas continues to attract couples from around the state and nation. Last week, 13 couples joined the registry, 12 of them on Friday, Nov. 2, opening day of the city's annual Fall Diversity Weekend.

Gay New Bureau paid the $35 application fee for three randomly-chosen couples: Leah Smith and Rebecca Brown, and Heather Hodges and Brandi Willingham, all of Claremore, OK, and Darci Bohneblust and Jolene Hickman of Riley, KS. To mark the occasion, the couples also received gift bags with top hats and veils from eurekapride.com, free weekend transportation from Eureka Springs Limousine and discounts from local merchants and inn keepers.

Birds of a Feather: Leah Smith and Rebecca Brown flank City Clek MJ Sell

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We haven't done an official tally lately, but the number of gay-owned businesses in Eureka Springs may have just breached the 50 barrier with the recent opening of two new retail shops. An old-favorite motel has new owners, too.

Glass Act

Fusion Squared, a suitably eclectic enterprise at 84 Spring St. (479-253-4999) features extraordinary fused-glass jewelry and decorative plates and bowls--along with chain-mail bracelets, necklaces, to-die-for tie-dyed tees and original drawings by Topeka, Kansas artist Chris Prouty.

Proprietors and artists-in-residence John Rinehart and John Jarrett happily abandoned corporate ships in Topeka to launch their new retail venture in Eureka Springs. «We had visited the town four or five times in the past, loved it and, well, the rest is history,» says Rinehart. The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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Eureka Springs City Clerk MJ Sell issued the 100th Domestic Partnership Registry (DPR) certificate on Friday, August 24th. The happy 100th couple from North Little Rock, AR joined partners from 11 states* who have added their names to the DPR since the registry opened on June 22.

We've been waiting to report this milestone because we wanted to see if the total collapse of civilization predicted by DPR opponents would materialize.

Sure enough, a judge in Iowa suddenly decided that gays and lesbians are American citizens who are equally deserving of civil rights. Americans belatedly realized that loudly-homophobic politicians solicit gay sex in public restrooms. (Right. We know. Surprise, surprise.)

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Tentatively, gay businesses launch effort to form gay (or not) business guild

By the time Eureka Springs Mayor Dani Wilson arrived, a few minutes into the first meeting of what may turn out to be an association of gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses, the only seat remaining for Her Honor was a commodious windowsill.

Wednesday night's inaugural meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 30 individuals representing at least 20 of the city's approximately 50 gay-owned businesses--and at least one gay-friendly enterprise.

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The propagandist never asks «Why?» He needs no justification, but rather only this granite faith. -- August Eigruber

In tonight's episode of Al Watch, we discover that the American Family Association, the radical, right wing organization that, called for a nationwide boycott of Eureka Springs, is making a documentary about our fair city.

As Disciple Jean Merritt explains in the Patriots' Herald,

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We've been asked to comment on the local press coverage of last weekend's PDA in the Park and, yes we'll admit we've been stalling, but here goes:

The only mention of the event comes from our old friends at the Patriots' Herald. It's short. It's to the point. Here it is, reproduced in its entirety:

«....gays passed out pink hats and posed for a picture in the park.»

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If only it can find the will to do so, this little mountain hamlet is perfectly poised to take advantage of the great big gay/lesbian travel market.

The Domestic Partnership Registry gave the town millions of dollars worth of free and mostly-positive publicity. Now millions of prospective tourists--gay and straight--all over the country know for the first time that a progressive resort destination exists in Northwest Arkansas.

To give credit where credit is due, the Rev. Philip Wilson's christening of the town as «the most homosexual city in the South,» didn't hurt, either.

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