Callaway couple to offer troubled women second chance, family

July 26, 2011 at 8:36 a.m. | Updated July 26, 2011 at 8:36 a.m.

Betty Curtis and her husband, Richard, plan to turn this unused camper on their property into a new home - and a second chance - for a young woman just released from prison who plans to resume studies to become a veterinarian at William Woods University this fall. The couple wants to create a welcoming, family atmosphere for women in similar situations.
Betty Curtis and her husband, Richard, plan to turn this unused camper on their property into a new home - and a second chance - for a young woman just released from prison who plans to resume studies to become a veterinarian at William Woods University this fall. The couple wants to create a welcoming, family atmosphere for women in similar situations.

Betty Curtis is a firm believer in second chances.

A widow who raised two daughters on her own, a three-time stroke survivor, happily-married wife to a second husband (Richard Curtis) who himself has had health issues leading to installation of a pacemaker, nurse-maid to abused and neglected horses; Curtis feels lucky about where she is in life, and is constantly looking for ways to pass that on.

To that end, Betty and Richard Curtis - who have been married for three years - plan to open up the Second Chance Ranch on 10 acres of land they live on not far from Fulton as a new home for women being released from prison who have nowhere else to go.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.