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State Capitol Week in Review From Senator Terry Rice

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9:44 am

State Capitol Week in Review From Senator Terry Rice

LITTLE ROCK –The Arkansas Broadband Office known as ARConnect has been working on major broadband expansion and upgrades for Arkansas. The Federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program approved a new $1 billion initiative in funding to overhaul the Arkansas broadband expansion plan. Currently, the state is in the final stages of its proposal and just completed the public comment period in August.

In 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved Arkansas’ initial proposal. However, new federal rules implemented in 2025 caused the program to revise its original plans and a new application process for internet service providers (ISP) was established. Pending authorization from the Arkansas General Assembly and NTIA, construction is now expected to begin in 2026.

According to the draft Final Proposal, the BEAD program received 730 applications from 33 ISPs. Provisional awards were given to 23 ISPs at a cost of $308.3 million, which ARConnect reports was $275 million less than previous estimates. These providers are responsible for introducing affordable, reliable high-speed internet to 79,240 homes and businesses in areas with minimal or no broadband service. The intent is to deliver broadband in underserved areas and to stimulate what the plan calls “home-grown economic development”.

The overall goal is to connect all households and businesses that lack internet access. The technology plan aims for 76% fiber, 16% satellite, 7% fixed wireless, and 1% hybrid technologies. The average grant per location is projected to be approximately $3,891, also one of the lowest in the country.

The state previously launched a challenge process for the public to report inaccuracies in its broadband coverage map to make sure all underserved areas are located and represented by broadband. The first national broadband map was created by NTIA in 2011 and is being continually updated by each state. These maps now serve as vital tools for consumers, businesses and policy makers to find out who is offering broadband, what types of broadband they are offering and where it is being provided.

ARConnect also launched a new Internet affordability dashboard to simplify comparing low-cost internet plans. Affordability is one of their main goals in providing internet access to the state. This user-friendly dashboard provides information in one accessible place, county by county, for residents to identify plans in their area and compare offerings. You can find the Affordability Dashboard online at: https://broadband.arkansas.gov/affordability/.

The Arkansas Fiber Academy, an accelerated training program for jobs in broadband and telecommunications, also announced their newest offering for the Fiber Network Engineer Program. Developed in partnership with industry leaders to meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology. The intensive 15-week training program will be offered at no cost to eligible participants through a grant from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development. Additional broadband career training programs are available. For information on these programs check out the website at: https://www.arkansascc.org/arkansasfiberacademy.

“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor

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9:25 am

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“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor

By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor

Hello everyone! What beautiful weather we are having here in the River Valley. Well, we had a 50th birthday party for my beautiful niece, Kelly. My mom used to tell her all the time, “Kelly, you are so beautiful—you need to be in Hollywood.” One time my mom did tell her she was beautiful but added that she could lose a little weight—just like an old person! She really is pretty and funny, she’s a jewel. We had a get-together for her at the Blue Ember Restaurant. My sister-in-law, Peggy, had it all decorated beautifully. We had cake and chocolate-covered strawberries, and we laughed and had the best time. Her fiancé, Jimmy, was there of course, and he got her a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet. Falling in love will make you do some crazy things—I even got married once! She’s fixing to get married, and we love Jimmy. He’s the best thing that ever happened to her. While she was showing off her bracelet, her sister-in-law (who’s married to my nephew, the judge that does crazy things) said, “Go show that to your brother—maybe he’ll get the hint.” In true Michael fashion, he said, “I’ve told her and told her—just pick the day and I’ll take you to Murfreesboro and you can dig for diamonds.” We all laughed—he’s tighter than bark on a tree! And that’s not all that happened! I’ve told y’all how everybody in the family loses stuff—especially Kelly and Jimmy—and he’s worse than her! When they get married, they’ll need a service dog or a seeing-eye dog to help them. He’s lost keys, wallets, jewelry, checks…the list is endless. She’s even lost one of her daughters once! When Michael came into the restaurant, he laid his wallet on the table by my purse. When they got ready to leave, I was helping him pack up leftovers for his dogs from the food we didn’t eat. He was laughing and talking, and Kelly whispered, “Whose wallet is that?” I told her it was Michael’s. She said, “Don’t say a word—let’s see if he forgets it.” We let him get out into the parking lot before Kelly grabbed it and ran out the door hollering, “Sir! Sir! You left your wallet!” He turned around and just started laughing. Let me tell you, we all got a big laugh out of that! Honey, when we Wags go somewhere, we have a party—and we are all loud, trying to talk over each other. If you ever find a wallet or keys somewhere, chances are they belong to a Wagoner! Y’all have a great week and enjoy the weather! Candy Corn Fudge Ingredients: 3 cups candy corn 1 cup peanut butter 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 2 cups white chocolate chips 1 cup milk chocolate chips (optional) Instructions: Line a 9×9-inch pan (or similar size) with foil or parchment paper. Chop the candy corn and add it to a medium saucepan with the peanut butter. Heat over low heat. Add the sweetened condensed milk and white chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. (This takes a while!) Spread evenly in the prepared pan and cool or chill until hardened. Melt the milk chocolate chips and drizzle over the top, if desired. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Bulldogs Tame Wolves 42-10

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Ross Fujibayashi

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1:49 am

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Arkansas’s alternative firearms deer hunting season opens Oct. 18

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8:55 pm

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Arkansas’s alternative firearms deer hunting season opens Oct. 18

By Randy Zellers

Many Natural State deer hunters will head to the woods for the first time on Saturday with a new shooting iron in their hands for the state’s alternative firearms season. Introduced last deer hunting season, the alternative firearms season expands muzzleloading season to include a few new options for hunters to carry.

In addition to muzzleloaders, hunters participating in the alternative firearms hunt will be able to use non-semi-automatic rifles that fire straight-wall centerfire cartridges.

Specifically, these are the options available to hunters this alternative firearms deer hunting season:

Muzzleloading rifles with a barrel 18 inches or longer and of .40 caliber or larger;
Muzzleloading handguns with barrels 9 inches or longer and at least .45 caliber if they shoot conical bullets 200 grains or heavier, or .530 caliber if shooting round balls;
Large bore air rifles at least .40 caliber that shoot a single, expandable slug, produce at least 400 feet/pounds of energy at the muzzle and are charged from an external tank; and
Non-semiautomatic centerfire firearms (including non-semiautomatic handguns with barrels 4 inches or longer) that fire a straight-walled metallic cartridge .30 caliber or larger.

No shotguns are allowed during the alternative firearms season, nor are automatic or semi-automatic rifles.

During the hunt’s opening year there was some confusion about the legality of drop-in conversions to limit the functionality of AR-platform rifles. To clarify, simple drop-ins that prevent cycling or tweaks to the firearm to render the semi-automatic function inoperable are not enough to be legal. Conversion kits must replace the entire upper portion of the firearm with an obvious bolt action visible from a distance to be used during the alternative firearms season.

Both shotguns and semi-automatic rifles are legal to use during modern gun seasons, so owners of these firearms can still enjoy them during a portion of the deer hunting year, but for alternative firearms season, they must still stay in the gun safe. The season still opens new opportunities and is by no means a restriction on previous years. It’s apparent that many hunters have enjoyed this expansion.

Arkansas deer hunting records showed a substantial increase in harvest during the alternative firearms season last year with 21,665 deer checked. Muzzleloaders accounted for 11,284 of those deer, which was in line with the previous year’s total of 11,992 deer checked. The alternative firearms harvest appeared to nearly match that muzzleloader component with 10,356 deer taken by straight-wall cartridge. Twenty-five deer taken with big-bore air rifles rounded out the total alternative firearms harvest last year.

The increase in alternative firearms harvest was followed by a decrease in the opening weekend harvest of modern gun season, with nearly 9,000 fewer deer checked than the opening weekend of modern gun season in 2023. When the final numbers were tallied at the end of the year, the 2024-25 season showed a slight increase from the year before, with 200,285 deer checked, well within the typical range of the season’s harvest totals during the last decade.

Visit www.agfc.com/hunting/deer for a complete list of season dates and deer-specific regulations or download your copy of the 2024-25 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook at www.agfc.com/guidebooks.

Mansfield City Council Discusses Property Interest, Regionalized Wastewater and Personnel Matter

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Jason Baggett

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4:19 pm

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Mansfield City Council Discusses Property Interest, Regionalized Wastewater and Personnel Matter

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Stone Cold Lock Of The Week: Week 7

Ross Fujibayashi

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1:33 am

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Week 7! Just four more games in the regular season, but at the mid-point of the conference race. This week’s games in the 3A-1 are kind of tame in comparison to what is coming the next two weeks. The 6A West race still has some seeding that will start to become clearer this week.

Get out this week and watch football or go to Tri-State Speedway, their big end of the year race is going on this week.

Stone Cold Lock Of The Week

Fort Smith Southside vs Van Buren

I did not want to make it to big school games in a row, but when you see the rest of the Friday night slate. I am sure you the reader will understand. The 4-2 Mavericks travel across the river to take on the 4-2 Van Buren Pointers. There has been clamoring on one ranking about not ranking the Pointers higher because they are 3-0 like Greenwood. Solid point, and the complaint is noted. This week they can take a major step in getting into the conversation of competing for no lower than a fourth seed by beating the Mavericks. But there is still a gauntlet for Van Buren to run through, trip to Greenwood, home against Mountain Home, and then at Shiloh Christian to end the regular season. Southside already has losses to Mountain Home and Shiloh with a week nine game at Greenwood looming. If the Mavericks can find a way to stop Austin Riggs, who follows a great line of Pointer receivers like Malachi Henry and Trenton Cooley. Southside may just pull off getting that fourth spot.

The Rest

Cedarville vs Mansfield

Two games ago it was Andrew Burton, the last game was Silas Burton. Could there be a third Burton brother or cousin that takes home the Mansfield Farm Bureau game ball this week? As long as the Tigers do not overlook the Pirates while looking ahead to next week’s game against Booneville, this could be in sportsmanship territory by halftime.

Lavaca vs Charleston

At one point this was a rivalry. Bragging rights for Highway 22, but since 2006 this has been a lopsided affair with Charleston averaging 44 points to Lavaca’s 14. This season Charleston averages 45 points per game this season, and all signs are pointing to this game going the same way. Charleston has Booneville in Week 9 at home.

Booneville vs West Fork

The Bearcats will score as much as they want to in this matchup. The next two weeks for the Bearcat faithful will be large deciders on where they spend the first round of the playoffs. Win both there the top seed. Win the one next week and it puts the conference into a light spin. Just win the second one, they are number two. It is a heavyweight matchup we all have been waiting for since the start of the season. At some point doing these I will look at the West Fork logo in Adam’s Game Day edit and not think (team name) vs Wake Forest.

Hackett vs Greenland

Well, this one should have been the Lock of the Week. Hackett is on the backside of one of the toughest trio of games Mansfield, Booneville, and then Charleston. At that, they got Charleston after a tough Mansfield loss. Up until conference they were 2-1, could Hackett turn the tables and become the fourth seed in the 3A-1? Get past Greenland and that Lavaca game in Week 8 becomes huge for a playoff berth.

Greenwood vs Lake Hamilton

Just like Lavaca vs Charleston there was a time when this game was one you circled as what could be a good game. Back in the Ronnie Peacock era the games were decent, then since 2016 in the Rick Jones then Chris Young era, there have been four shutouts. The Bulldogs were going for five shutouts until a deep pass got them on the scoreboard for the first time since the 2020 State Championship game. Chasing Coatney: 1612 yards to go for Kane Archer.

Jessieville vs Paris

The Eagles are on collision course with Glen Rose on Halloween in Week 9.

Magazine vs JC Westside

4-2 Magazine is rolling in and out of JC Westside this Friday. The Rattlers do host the defending Class 2A State Champion Conway Christian next week. A win could have them in position to get a playoff spot.

Mena vs Waldron

While this may not be the Mena team they had last year, there is time for them to make noise. The last two weeks see them going against Clinton and Dardanelle. Waldron has just four more games and could end on a high note with games against Dover and Lamar in consecutive weeks.

Just One More So We Can Have An Equal Ten on Our Edit.

Benton vs El Dorado

Currently, there are five teams sitting at 2-1. Yes, you read that FIVE teams with identical records are right. Last year Sylvan Hills finished 0-10, this year they sit on top of the conference after surprising the whole dang state beating Benton and El Dorado in back-to-back weeks. Benton, who was a pre-season #3 behind Greenwood and Shiloh, now may end up a fourth seed in their conference. This may be the most intriguing conference regardless of class with everyone beating each other.

Games	Ross’ Picks	Adam’s Picks
LOTW Southside vs Van Buren	Southside	Southside
Cedarville vs Mansfield	Mansfield	Mansfield
Lavaca vs Charleston	Charleston	Charleston
Booneville vs West Fork	Booneville	Booneville
Hackett vs Greenland	Hackett	Greenland
Greenland vs Lake Hamilton	Greenwood	Greenwood
Jessieville vs Paris	Paris	Paris
Magazine vs JC Westside	Magazine	Magazine
Mena vs Waldron	Mena	Mena
Benton vs El Dorado	El Dorado	El Dorado

Timepiece: Cherokee in Arkansas

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7:08 pm

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By Dr. Curtis Varnell

Virtually every old family living in the Arkansas River Valley claim to have some Indian blood, most often Cherokee. Often blue-eyed, sometimes blond-headed, and without a feature generally accepted as native, in most instances they are probably correct. The Cherokee are an integral part of the culture and history of the region.

The original homeland of the Cherokee Indians was western North and South Carolina, north-ern Georgia, and northeastern Tennessee. As American settlers encroached upon their native lands, many of the Cherokee willingly left their homeland. Others, more resistant, fought in court and on the battle field against this encroachment but were ultimately defeated. One of the more resistant of the warriors, a chief by the name of Dragging Canoe, made an impassioned appeal to his people during the 1775 treaty of Sycamore Shoals, “the whole country, which the Cherokees and their fathers have so long occupied, will be demanded, and the remnant of the Real People — will be compelled to seek refuge in some distant wilderness. There they will be permitted to stay only a short while, until they again behold the advancing banners of the same greedy host. Not being able to point out any further retreat for the miserable Cherokee, the extinction of the whole race will be proclaimed.” Much of his proclamation became fact.

By 1780, many of these “old settlers” moved westward into Spanish territory and settled in eastern Arkansas near the Saint Francis River only to once again face American encroachment as the result of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. After the New Madrid earthquake of 1811-12, they moved even further westward and settled along the Arkansas River. Eventually, a treaty with the U.S. provided them a land-grant that was said to be equal to the size of their original homeland with territory from the Arkansas to the White River. An 1816 treaty termed the Lovely Purchase established a boundary between the warring Cherokee and Osage and extended tribal land as far west as Tulsa.

The Old Settlers established scattered family farmsteads and farms and developed a life-style little different than their white counterparts. Many owned cattle and other livestock and some grew cotton and owned slaves. The Cherokee established small villages at Mulberry, Illinois Bayou, Galla Creek, Pottsville, and south into Yell county at Dutch Creek. One of the more disgruntled groups moved as far south as Texarkana, hoping to again enter Spanish territory.

The Arkansas group included several well-known individuals. A document detailing those attending a meeting at the Indian trading post at Spadra included John Jolly, the principal chief of the Cherokee, and his famous adopted relative, the Raven (Sam Houston). Both were listed as living in the Horsehead Creek area. Another of the settlers, Walter “Wat” Webber became well-known for settling at the famous falls named after him in Oklahoma. One of the more famous of the group was George Gist, also known as Sequoyah, who may have developed a part of his alphabet while living near present day Clarksville. Dwight Mission, a school where Cherokee children could learn American ways, was established near Russellville in 1820.

In 1819, the author Thomas Nuttal described the area along the river as “lined with the houses and farms of the Cherokees, and though their dress was a mixture of indigenous and European taste, yet in their houses, which are decently furnished, and in the farms, which were well fenced and stocked with cattle… argue a propitius [sic] progress in their population.”

The peaceful life of the Cherokee soon came to an end. In 1828, the Treaty of Washington uprooted the Cherokee, moving them westward into Oklahoma and forcing them to abandon the prosperous farms they had established. To expedite the removal, every displaced native was given: “…a good rifle, a blanket, a kettle, and 5 lbs. of tobacco when he agreed to move…” while any displaced frontier settler was awarded with: “…up to 320 acres of public domain land in Arkansas Territory for every head of household over the age of 21 years.”

The Eastern Cherokee, those who had stayed in the original homeland, were soon to be removed as well. Their trip was called the “Trail of Tears.”

2025 alligator season sets harvest record

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3:48 pm

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2025 alligator season sets harvest record

Arkansas’s two-weekend alligator season wrapped up in the predawn light Monday morning, and when the last harvested alligator was checked, hunters had tallied 205 alligators, narrowly edging out the previous record of 202 harvested in 2023.

According to AGFC Herpetologist Amanda Bryant, hunters surpassed the initial quota of 204 with one additional harvest.

“We’re really happy with the outcome this year. We always want 100 percent of the quota to be filled so it’s great when that happens,” Bryant said. “The quota is exceeded when multiple hunters take an animal in the same night and only one or two animals remain to close the season. It’s pretty common. We set the quota a few animals short of the total needed harvest with this in mind.”

Hunters on public land filled 26 of the 38 drawn public land tags available. The success rate of 68 percent was an improvement over last year’s 58 percent hunter success on public land.

“Almost every hunter who puts in some time on the water in Arkansas’s public alligator hunting areas will see a legal alligator to harvest. Getting within snare or harpoon range can be tricky, especially with some of the larger ones,” Bryant said. “And a lot of unfilled tags are the result of hunters holding out for a larger alligator and running out of time; but hunters were actually more successful this year than last year.”

This year’s Millwood Lake hunt totaled seven checked alligators, leaving two tags open at the end of the first year of this area’s quota hunt.

“We tried to get the harvest a little higher there with the addition of the quota, hoping more hunters would mean people wouldn’t pass up on opportunities,” Bryant said. “Seven of the nine possible checks is slightly better than last year, but we’d really like to see that harvest goal reached in the future.”

On private land, Alligator Management Zone 3 in southeast Arkansas had the most successful hunters, with 106 checked during the two weekends of the hunt. Hunters in Alligator Management Zone 1 in southwest Arkansas checked 69 alligators, and hunters in south-central Arkansas (Alligator Management Zone 2) harvested four.

“Zone 2 doesn’t have as much habitat for alligators and has a smaller quota for private land hunters,” Bryant said. “It was the only zone to remain open on the last night of the hunt. Zone 3 closed two days before the end of the hunt, and Zone 1 closed with one night remaining in the scheduled hunting season.”

Arvest Bank Offers Tips to Prevent Elder Fraud

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3:46 pm

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Arvest Bank Offers Tips to Prevent Elder Fraud

October is National Cybersecurity Month and Arvest Bank is sharing tips to help one particular group most vulnerable to financial fraud: America’s elders. According to the Federal Trade Commission, older adults lost the most money to scammers in 2024. Victims aged 60 and older reported losses of nearly $2.4 million.

Criminals will target vulnerable people online or on the phone and gain their trust through elaborate schemes, including imposter, romance and sweepstakes scams. Their ultimate goal is to financially exploit their victims through theft, fraud or misuse of the person’s money or property.

“Financial fraud is an issue that impacts everyone regardless of age, but too often we see older victims fall prey to these scams,” said Heather Polk, Branch Administrator at Arvest Bank – Fort Smith. “Our hope is to continually educate the public about these scams so they can protect themselves and their loved ones from being victims.”

Polk shares three common scams and ways to prevent vulnerable individuals from financial fraud.

Imposter Scams

Imposter scams happen when fraudsters contact someone pretending to be their bank’s fraud department, the government, a business or even a relative. These imposters have a number of ways to contact you, including emails, texts and phone calls. These scams typically warn of a serious problem or an issue that requires immediate attention, such as a potential unauthorized transaction or a credit card that has been locked.

It’s important to never click on any links in an unsolicited text, email or website. If you’re unsure if it’s legitimate, contact the business or agency that is allegedly responsible for contacting you through a verified number.

Romance Scams

Romance scams are a type of imposter scam that occurs when a scammer creates a fake online identity to gain a victim’s liking and trust. Fraudsters will use this false relationship to manipulate their target into giving them money or even gaining access to their financial accounts. If a love interest asks for money, they may ask you to send it as a gift card, online money transfer or cryptocurrency.

A simple rule to follow: Never send money or gifts to someone you have not met in person.

Fake Prize Scams

Scammers, possibly posing as a recognizable organization, may contact you through text, phone or email with the promise of a prize, lottery or sweepstakes. Their goal is to gain access to your personal information and money. The FTC provides three common signs of a prize scam: if you have to pay to claim your prize; if you have to pay to increase your odds of winning; or if you have to give your financial or personal information.

If you’re not sure about a contest or the company contacting you, search online to see if you find anything about them. Type the name with terms like “review,” “complaint” or “scam.”

Protecting Loved Ones

If you are concerned about a family member or friend you may think is a target of financial exploitation, here are some things to watch for:

● Erratic or unusual banking transactions, or changes in banking patterns such as frequent large withdrawals, including at the ATM, or uncharacteristic internet charges or attempts to wire large sums of money.

● Unusual or sudden changes in a will or other financial documents.

● Unexplained disappearance of funds or valuable possessions.

● A new caretaker or friend who suddenly begins conducting financial transactions on behalf of the elder.

If you suspect you have sent money to a scammer, immediately report it to your financial institution and report it to the proper authorities such as local law enforcement.