Mayor Richard Hartsfield and Public Works Director Rich Galyen announced on Monday, January 11, the projected ground breaking date for the city’s new Dollar General store.
“The blueprints have been submitted,” shared Galyen. “They should be approved in about two weeks. I estimate the ground breaking to begin in mid-February.”
In August 2020, the council approved the sell of city property for $66,000. That land, located behind city hall, includes Alexander Park. However, the city has plans to build a new and improved park on the former elementary school property, which has been purchased by the city.
The Arkansas School Garden Grant Program was established to help schools start or expand gardens on school grounds. The grant program was developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to increase production of specialty crops in school gardens. Specialty crops as defined by the USDA are fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops.
Congratulations to the recipients of the Arkansas School Garden Grant Program!
ALLPS School of Innovation, Fayetteville
Alma High School, Alma
Alma Kiddie Kollege, Alma
Anne Watson Elementary, Bigelow
ARESC Preschool, Pine Bluff
Arkansas Consolidated High School, Alexander
Cabot Freshman Academy, Cabot
Carolyn Lewis Elementary, Conway
Cedarville High School, Cedarville
Charleston Middle School, Charleston
Columbia Christian School Early Childhood Education Center, Magnolia
Crossroads West, Atkins
First Baptist Christian School in, Rogers
Greenbrier Eastside Elementary, Greenbrier
Greenwood Preschool Center, Greenwood
Hazen High School, Hazen
Health Wellness and Environmental Studies Elementary, Jonesboro
Helen Tyson Middle School, Springdale
Hillcrest Schools, Strawberry
Hope Academy of Public Service, Hope
Hot Springs Child Care Center, Hot Springs
Hugh Goodwin Elementary, El Dorado
Indian Hills Elementary, North Little Rock
Jacksonville Lighthouse Elementary, Jacksonville
James R. Tate Elementary, Van Buren
John Tyson Elementary School, Springdale
Klassic Kidz, Inc., Pine Bluff
Lake Nixon Outdoor Preschool, Little Rock
Mann Magnet, Little Rock
Math Science Technology Magnet School, Marion
McNair Middle, Fayetteville
Milestones Services, Inc., Conway
Miss Polly’s Learning Center, Wynne
Monticello Middle School, Monticello
Nettleton Junior High, Jonesboro
Nettleton STEAM in Jonesboro
Norphlet Middle School, Norphlet
North Little Rock Middle School, North Little Rock
Omaha Elementary, Omaha
Ozark Junior High, Ozark
Pea Ridge High School, Pea Ridge,
Peek A Boo, Elkins
Pine Bluff High School, Pine Bluff
Pulaski County Juvenile Detention Center, Little Rock
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Center for Arkansas Farms and Food is offering beginning farmer classes to learn the fundamentals of farming, networking opportunities with new farmers, and discovering available resources. Register for as many classes as you like. Each course is offered independently.
Classes in 2021 are virtual through Zoom unless otherwise indicated. Classes listed as location TBD will be on-farm with limited registrations if Covid restrictions allow. For class information and tuition, visit here.
Pictured: Southeastern Oklahoma State teammates Skye Summers and Megan Rose follow mask protocols before the Golden Sun Invitational
Approximately ten months ago, Southeastern Oklahoma State University distance runner Megan Rose was told like so many athletes across the country that her season was over. The worldwide Covid-19 crisis halted sports competition and in general the normal routines of life.
Rose, a 4-time individual high school cross country conference champion during her days at Mansfield, was in the dark as to when her racing schedule would return. Days of waiting turned into weeks. Anxious weeks turned into months.
In September, Fall sports across the nation slowly resumed its competitive schedule. SEOSU, a member of the Great American Conference, did not. The league’s presidents voted to postpone competition until the second semester. That left Rose who was to enter her third season of college cross country racing in limbo until just this month.
On January 15, the wait was over. Arkansas Tech University in Russellville invited conference members Henderson State and Southeastern Oklahoma State for an unconventional, protocol infused tri-match.
Regardless of the circumstances, Rose and company were elated for the opportunity to lace up their racing flats. A trip home to Arkansas soil for the Mansfield native made the chance to compete once again even better.
Unpredictable Arkansas weather greeted the former Lady Tiger as did an array of health-related pre and post race procedures. A sunny and mild mid-week turned freezing cold and windy for the afternoon start of the Golden Suns Invitational. Call it one more brick on the protocol wall to competition in this new world of masks, screenings, and social distance.
For what Rose had to endure to finally begin the 2020 cross country season on January 15, 2021, frigid winds may have been the least of her concerns. Cold hands, warm heart may have taken on a whole new meaning for the MHS standard.
When all was said and done, Rose finished second among her Savage Storm teammates and ninth overall in the meet. The following is an exclusive first-hand account of Rose’s return to racing. The words below are excerpts of a message Rose sent home to her high school coach and team following Friday’s collegiate meet.
“It was really awesome getting to compete again! I was just focused on having the right mentality. We’ve been waiting to compete for nearly a year and we obviously wanted to race well,” expressed Rose.
“I tried to not put too much pressure on myself thinking about how our season isn’t promised and this race is all that matters. I just told myself to give it 100% and just start passing people as I ran, and not to let up or slow down. I remember telling myself to race good, just go out there and race. If you don’t race well that’s fine. It’s just another Friday. Telling myself it’s just another Friday helped me not stress over the race too much.”
“We had to wear masks the whole time except for warming up, racing, and cooling down. However, our team always wears masks during warmup in practice because we are so close together. So, we still warmed up and cooled down in masks. We had to drive three vans to the meet instead of two so we could sit separately. The coaches were smart in the seating arrangements. I was in the same van as my roommate because we share the same living arrangements.”
“We had to fill out the Covid questionnaire sheet for the GAC and give it to the Arkansas Tech trainers. We got our temperature checked as well. No spectators were allowed. The meet consisted of three teams, Arkansas Tech, Henderson, and SOSU. The start was kind of funny. The gun didn’t go off so they told us to relax, and we all stood around as runners do. Then when they tried to shoot it again, it didn’t go off again. So I thought we were going to have to relax again. I relaxed and stood straight up, and the gun went off.”
“My start was a bit funny because of that. When we ran, I counted that I was fifth for my own team. I didn’t start with the front pack at the beginning and for a second got worried. It was very windy and cold. I like racing in the cold. I prefer it over the heat of racing in September. The wind was hurting all of us. I wished I was closer to the front pack so the wind could be blocked.”
“I remember passing one of my teammates, then another, and my assistant coach (Coach Stephanie Heald) said to pass the girl in red. As I’m running I nod yes and focus on passing her and not letting up or slowing down. I passed her before the first-mile marker with another teammate. I tell her ‘let’s get that girl in red’. The course was flat and was behind the Tucker Coliseum at Tech. I looked up to realize I was suddenly second on my team. I was very happy and content.”
“Our first place girl (Skye Summers) was way up ahead. She finished fifty seconds in front of me. I had a good finish. My overall time was 13:05 for ninth overall. I got a shirt for placing in the top ten. It was cold and windy, and we even saw snow on the way down to the meet. But, I was happy and content with the race. I prayed about the racing and my racing season for so long. I’m happy God has blessed us with the season and has given me this amazing ability to compete.”
Southeastern Oklahoma State University junior cross country runner Megan Rose of Mansfield, AR.
Rose moves ahead at Russellville race
Savage Storm coaches and players prepare for a road trip to Arkansas to start their newest cross country season in the winter of 2021
On a cold Friday night that saw light snow in most of the River Valley, Paris high school hosted Winter Court Night and the Booneville Bearcats. The frigid temperature outside was in stark contrast to the hot action inside Paris Gymnasium as the two rival schools squared off in senior boys and girls conference games. When the night was over, the fans of both schools saw their teams play hard with Booneville taking both games late in the second half halves of play. With the win, Booneville increased its distance over Paris in the conference standings for fifth place. For Paris, there was significant improvement by both the boys and the girls teams, but neither team could overcome numerous turnovers throughout the game that eventually cost Paris the conference victories.
Resident Press Photo
The Lady Eagles have seven conference games remaining in the regular season, and the senior boys have eight. The Eagles will play a make-up game at home on January 28 against Cossatot River who had to postpone their earlier game with Paris due to COVID reasons within the Cossatot boys team.
Resident Press Photo
The Paris senior high teams will not play again until next Friday when they travel to Waldron to play the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are tough on their home floor, and Paris will have to once again put a disappointing loss in their rear view mirrors and focus on winning a critical conference road game.
The conference regular season is quickly nearing an end, and Paris has games remaining at Waldron, at Danville, and at Cossatot River. The final home games are Hackett, Charleston, Cedarville, and the boys’ make-up game with Cossatot River. The conference regular season ends on February 9 with a home game against Cedarville. So, time is running out to make a run in the conference standings.
The encouraging news for the Lady Eagles is that they were competitive with Danville, Cossatot River, and Cedarville. Although Danville and Cossatot River will be tough on their home floors, it is not an impossible task for Paris to win these games and make a move in the conference standings. And although Paris soundly defeated Hackett earlier in the season, Paris cannot take the Hornets for granted. Hackett has improved and will be coming to Paris to even the score with the Eagles.
For the boys, the team just has to keep playing hard on every possession. Reducing turnovers on offense and defending outside shooters is something the team can work on over the final eight games. The same is true for the Eagles as it is for the senior girls; if the team can make a run in the final eight games and make some advancement in the conference standings before the conference tournament, the team could avoid playing a top one or two seed in the first round. For both the boys and the girls, Paris wants to be playing their best basketball in mid-February when post-season play begins. The senior district tournament will be held at Cedarvillle, and the Pirates will be tough in front of their home fans during the tournament.
Resident Press Photo
The Paris basketball program is young, and the Paris fan base is watching both teams grow up with each game. Both are having growing pains, for sure, but, the future is bright as a lot of players on both teams are very young and are getting significant playing time this year. With most of their players returning next season, Paris can focus on getting better this season with every game and creating a positive spring board going into next year.
Resident Press Photo
Congratulations to all of the girls who were honored in this year’s Winter Court! It is a great time of the year, and Winter Court is something that those students will remember for the rest of their lives. It is all part of the high school experience, and the entire Paris community can be very proud of all of the girls selected to this year’s Court.
Have a great week! Stay well, stay warm, and Resident Press will see you in Waldron on Friday night!
The Hackett Jr Lady Hornets stepped onto The Hives court on Thursday, January 14th with stingers ready and ill intentions. Across from them was an intimidating Waldron Lady Bulldogs team that was in Hackett to dig up a solid victory. Two programs aiming for an upper hand on their road to greatness. Who could ask for more? But when the dust settled, it was the Lady Hornets who came out on top with a 42-27 win at home.
Both teams took turns playing aggressive basketball against each other, but Hackett had the nets on their side. The Lady Hornets were able to fly past Waldron’s defensive wall to light up the scoreboard on nearly every possession. Hackett had players who could score a bunch of points in a short period of time. Alex Bunch was one of those players as she led the team with 21 points. Aaliyah Escoffier made a statement of her own rolling out 7 points while Brooklynn Decker and Mackenzie Freeman jumped in the mix with 4 points apiece. Alona Rothwell and Jessie Mendenhall combined for 6 points at 3 points apiece. The victory set Hackett up at 6-9 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
“I thought it was the most complete game we have played all year,” exclaimed Lady Hornets Coach, Broc Adams. “We took care of the ball, moved it well, and got great looks. We forced a lot of turnovers and got layups that helped up push the lead into the second half.”
For the Lady Bulldogs, it was a hard-fought battle, but not the end result they wanted. With a total of 6 players out for the game, Waldron leaned hard on their young bench players to step up. As the game went on, so did the Lady Bulldogs as they didn’t back down from the fight. Katie Stringer and Emily Powell stepped up big as the pair teamed up for a combined 15 points against the Lady Hornets. The tough loss put Waldron at a 3-6 overall record and 0-2 in conference play.
The Waldron Jr Bulldogs haven’t faced very many teams that can go toe to toe with them. Going into their game against the Hackett Hornets on Thursday, January 14th, the Bulldogs knew they would have their hands full with an equally skilled Hornets team. In fact, the only thing unequal about the game was the final score of 31-26 in Waldron’s favor.
Waldron jumped on the Hornets early and often. The Bulldogs found gaps in the Hornet’s defenses but found out quickly that the Hornets wouldn’t go down without a fight. That is precisely what Waldron loves too. A gritty tough opponent. The Bulldogs leash was led by Chris Lopez who dumped 15 points, 9 rebounds, 6 deflections, 4 assists, and 3 steals on the Hornets in a stellar performance. Lopez wasn’t alone though as seven teammates hooked up for their share as well.
Scout Young, Cole Bailey, and Noah Patrick scored 3 points each and combined for 4 defensive rebounds. Kaden Rogers rolled up 5 points in the game while Kason Davis had 4 points on the night. And Logan Young rounded out the scoring with 2 points. “I am really proud of the way my guys played against Hackett,”expressed Coach Josh Atchley. “It might even be our most complete game of the season so far. This group hasn’t reached their potential yet so I’m excited for the rest of conference play.”
With a solid lineup on Hackett’s side of the court, the Hornets battled back and forth with Hackett. With every Bulldogs score, Hackett would quickly learn their mistake and correct it. For every lesson the Hornets adjusted, Waldron would find the Hornets weakness again. One thorn in the Bulldogs paw that just got deeper was a game of catch. To be specific, they couldn’t catch Cole Ketchum. Hacketts Ketchum was able to power through the Bulldogs for 14 points in the game. Unfortunately for the Hornets, Waldon found a way to catch up.
Hackett Coach Kent Elmore said, “We had every opportunity to win the game and put them away. We executed our sets well but the shots just never fell in. I’m proud of our boys for giving it their all. Nights like these happen and you just have to bounce back and get back to it in the next one. Waldron is a well-coached team and it’s always tough for anyone to beat them at their place.”
With morning temps well into the low 30’s before daybreak, the Arkansas Bass Team Trail opened their 2021 season from the docks of Shangri-La Resort on Lake Ouachita.
112 teams took off with plans and dreams to haul in the winning catch. The weather cooperated with no storms, and a light wind despite previous winter weather patterns.
The team of Brandon Rhoden, and Eric Clark bested the field with a five fish limit at 20.65 #’s for the win. Second place team, Huey Applegate and Greg Ault weighed 18.69 #’s, with third place team Don Brown, and KL Parks weighed 18.61 #’s.
Anglers disclosed that they caught fish from 3ft, to 50ft on a wide variety of well known Ouachita baits, and popular techniques all across the lake.
The next stop on the ABTT schedule is February 20 on Lake Dardanelle.
For more information on Arkansas Bass Team Trail, visit their website HERE, and for complete results of today’s event, CLICK HERE
Cedarville has had an off and on season so far. Be that as it may, every team has their good nights and their bad nights. On Tuesday, January 12, the Cedarville Sr Pirates had neither. Rather than good or bad, the Pirates chose to take Paris to the ol’ woodshed as they played one of their best games of the season and netting a win 67-39.
Let it be known that Paris is a solid team within their own right, but on that night the Pirates may have been the best team in the state on the court. Cedarville had two players who posted up unworldly stats in the game. Austin Cluck averaged over a point per minute as he scored 27 points in under 25 minutes of playing time. Scoring on 7 of his 11 three-point shots, Cluck was money in from outside the perimeter. He also assisted the Pirates with 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Sounds amazing right? What if there were two players like that. Well, there was!
There’s not just one Captain on this Pirate ship. Austin Swaim scored 22 points with just a hair over 25 minutes of playing time. Swaim swam past every Eagle who dared to guard him and left a trail of feathers in his wake. Swaim tacked on 3 rebounds and 3 assists to boot. Defensively, it was Darryl Kattich who marched Paris’s offense down the plank. Kattich played great defense against Paris’ best offensive player. Kattich pounded players on the boards almost like he forgot football season was over as he racked up a team-leading 6 rebounds and also made 4 assists. His defense and rebounding were a huge part of Cedarville’s success in the game.
Head Coach, Frank Cluck said “Overall, it was a great team effort for a big win. Cody Dickens and Dylan Cluck consistently did their job well and contributed significantly to getting open shots for the two Austins. Several players came off the bench and contributed to our success. This group played like a true team at all times and that’s what won this game for us.”
The win was great, but Cedarville knows there is plenty of basketball left to play. With a 5-7 overall record and a 2-2 conference record, the Pirates are looking to rebound on a slow start to the season. If they play light’s out like they did against Paris, who can stop their ship from sailing to pure dominance? The answer, no one! Friday, January, 15 the Cedarville Pirates will host Lifeway Christian.
The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith will commemorate the legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an online panel discussion, open to anyone who wishes to participate, at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18.
“Human Rights in a Time of Crisis: A Virtual Conversation” was inspired by Dr. King’s quote, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at the time of challenge and controversy.” The event is organized by the Democracy Project at UAFS.
“Despite the current environment forcing the cancelation of our traditional MLK Week events, we look forward to continuing the UAFS tradition of celebrating, in a safe and responsible way, Dr. King’s legacy through an emphasis on human rights, non-violence, and unity,” said Dr. Williams Yamkam, assistant professor of political science and Chair of the Democracy Project at UAFS.
Panelists will include:
Danny Baker,Fort Smith Police Chief, who will discuss protecting and serving during moments of turmoil;
Jay Richardson, State Representative, District 78, talking about bills he has introduced on human rights matters;
Rita Howard Watkins, public defender,discussing her dedication to represent the rights of those who cannot afford a lawyer;
Reverend Sona B. Key, founding member of Police and Community Engagement (PACE), speaking on her role in bringing together the Fort Smith Police Department and the community; and
Mayra Esquivel, activist with Arkansas Immigration Defense, explaining the work she does representing immigrants.
The conversation will be moderated by Paul Davis, senior pastor for St. James Missionary Baptist Church.
In addition to the online conversation, the Boreham Library on the UAFS campus will have a book display throughout the week featuring selected works pertaining to civil rights.
This will be the 10th year UAFS has collaborated with community members and organizations to honor and celebrate Dr. King.
In October 1964 Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, slated this year for Jan. 18, was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.
