Those silly Arkasonians

Offbeat Dollars for Scholars: "The annual duck celebration in Stuttgart, Ark., was winding down ? the Queen Mallard beauty pageant was over and the world's best duck dog had been determined. Then Daniel Duke stepped onto the Main Street stage.

Duke, a teenage veteran of more than a dozen duck-calling contests, wowed the judges with his renditions of the four required blasts: hail, feed, comeback and mating. Duke, from the nearby town of Brinkley, triumphed ? and bagged one of the nation's more unusual college scholarships.

'I knew I had a shot at it,' the 19-year-old said of the $1,500 award, which he hopes to use to attend the University of Arkansas. 'And I think it's pretty great you can get a scholarship for calling ducks.'"
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I couldn't resist sharing this. My father is an Arkansas grad, I may have to call him up and ask if he received any duck hunting scholarships back in the day. Of course he will probably respond that he wasn't able to attend the contest because it was too far to walk in the snow, especially being uphill both ways. After I ask a follow up question, I will be informed that back "in the day" it used to snow in Arkansas even during the winter.