Gordon Ramsay show filmed in Conway

LITTLE ROCK — Award-winning chef and hospitality expert Gordon Ramsay is in Arkansas this week, and he paid a visit to a popular Little Rock eatery.

Zac Hite wasn’t nervous when he cooked a meal for a celebrity chef Monday — because he didn’t know his cooking was eaten by Gordon Ramsay until much later.

Hite is a cook at Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co., where Ramsay visited Monday for lunch.

Ramsay tried the beef noodle soup and a regular bun, Hite said, and the chef “said it was good.”

Ramsay is in Arkansas to film his show “24 Hours to Hell and Back,” a reality TV show that aims to rescue “struggling restaurants” across the country. The show’s Hell on Wheels truck was set up in a parking lot near the corner of Bruce Street and Farris Road in Conway over the weekend, steps away from the University of Central Arkansas campus. The vehicle serves as a temporary kitchen while a restaurant is revamped in under 24 hours.

Nearby, college student staple and dive bar Bears Den Pizza was closed over the weekend for “renovations,” and from the outside Saturday, it still appeared to buzz with activity.

Three Fold manager Jonathan Boney said he didn’t know Ramsay was coming Monday, and he did a “double take” when he saw the chef.

“I’m sure he’s eaten at a lot of great restaurants,” said Boney.

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JONESBORO — An 82-year-old Navy veteran from Cleveland, Ohio made a pit stop in Jonesboro on Veteran’s Day to keep his blood donation record going. Al Whitney is on his “second tour of duty” taking a road trip to every state in the U.S. to donate blood.

So far, the vet has donated 118 gallons of blood.

Whitney was deferred at the American Red Cross in Jonesboro when trying to donate due to him already giving a lot. However, that’s not going to stop him from finishing his mission and traveling to the last 14 states.

While traveling, Whitney also advocates for people to give.

“People are dying for blood not being there,” Whitney said. “It’s so important, and it’s a shame that people realize it when someone in their family needs blood, then they get excited about it.”

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Motorcyclist killed in collision with police car

BLYTHEVILLE — Arkansas State Police are investigating a fatal crash involving a Blytheville Police cruiser and a motorcycle.

The investigation is at its beginning stages, but it appears the officer was not on call when the wreck happened. James Wright, 52, was operating his motorcycle when he was hit by a Blytheville Police cruiser Sunday afternoon on West Main Street.

Investigators with the Arkansas State Police determined the cruiser, driven by Blytheville officer Jonathan Penny, hit the back of Wright’s motorcycle. Wright did not survive his injuries.

Blytheville police chief Ross Thompson said it was his understanding the police unit was not on any kind of a call and was not in any kind of emergency operation. According to Thompson, officer Penny was treated at a local hospital following the accident.