76.6 F
Fort Smith
Thursday, July 2, 2026
type here...
Home Blog Page 652

Secretary of State Addresses Monument Destruction

Tammy Teague
-
0
Secretary of State Addresses Monument Destruction

In recent years and in recent times, we as a nation and a state have looked inward to ourselves and to values that we hold dear. This concept of reflection is not new to us as Arkansans or Americans. Our country and state have erected many monuments throughout history to memorialize a person, place, event, or sacrifice made.

Our State’s Capitol was constructed during the years of 1899 to 1915. The first monument placed on State Capitol grounds, a memorial to confederate soldiers, was done so in 1905. Among the many monuments found on Capitol Grounds, is a smaller, less notable monument honoring all soldiers of the Civil War imprisoned in the State Prison that was once located on Capitol Grounds. As Secretary of State, I am honored to have overseen the installation of our most recent memorial, the Gold Star Memorial, that was complete in 2019 and dedicated to the families of those that have lost loved ones in war.

Act 274 of the 2017 legislative session requires the Arkansas Legislature to authorize construction or removal of a monument on State Capitol grounds. As Secretary of State and Chairman of the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission, my office works with the Arkansas Legislature to ensure their statutes and mandates of installation, maintenance, and removal are implemented in regards to the monuments on State Capitol grounds and in the Statutory Hall of the United States Capitol. Currently, I am working with various stakeholders at the direction of the Arkansas Legislature to oversee the removal and replacement of two statues currently located in the Statutory Hall with statues honoring Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash.

In recent weeks, many monuments across our nation have been removed through both lawful and unlawful processes.  The scope of my office in regards to Capitol monuments is defined by law and by the direction of the Arkansas Legislature. I encourage Arkansans to visit with their respective legislative members on those issues that are important to them as it relates to the monuments on Capitol grounds and I encourage those seeking change to do so in a lawful manner.

Arkansas Football Coaches Association: Ready to Proceed August 3

Resident News Network
-
0
Arkansas Football Coaches Association: Ready to Proceed August 3

In what could be viewed as a response to the actions or lack of action from the governor’s office on the status of high school contact sports this fall, the Arkansas Football Coaches Association (ArFCA) issued a statement on Wednesday via Twitter about its readiness to take the next step in preparing their players for the fall season. In their tweet, the ArFCA mentioned that they have been in “phase 1” conditioning with their players since June 1 and they are now ready to take the next step according to their prior-approved schedule from the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) to begin working their players out in helmets starting Monday, August 3.

The statement from the ArFCA concludes with their support of the decisions that are being made by Governor Hutchison.

In yesterday’s daily briefing from the governor at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Hutchison did not make any announcements or give specific information about a decision with respect to contact sports and their schedules. He did indirectly refer to sports in the context of reporting COVID -19 infection rates on a county-by-county basis and stated that this was one of the variables he was using in his decision making with respect to opening school in the fall and resuming sports. Governor Hutchison again made no mention of the status of contact sports other than to mention that the infection rate, specifically in northwest Arkansas was declining rapidly.

Some may interpret the ArFCA statement as a visible sign of frustration within the coaching ranks in the state. Coaches, players, and fans are seemingly becoming increasingly anxious as August 1 is just around the corner. Preparation time for an on-time start to the season is becoming shorter with each day. The issue of playing or not playing in the fall had not been addressed in several weeks, but is now beginning to re-surface in each daily briefing. It remains to be seen what effect the ArFCA statement will have, if any, on the Governor’s sense of urgency to make a decision.

Earlier this week, the AAA issued a statement regarding its acknowledgement of receiving questions on start times, schedules, etc., associated with fall contact sports. It further stated that any actions outside of the Governor’s directives on this issue “was not an option.”

Resident Press will continue to monitor this development. And if the Governor does make an announcement today or tomorrow, RP will be there to report it to our readers. In the meantime, stay with Resident Press for this and other sports stories that affect the River Valley.

Resident Press File Photo

Scott County Man Shares the Love of Christ Through Roadside Ministry

Jason Baggett
-
0
Scott County Man Shares the Love of Christ Through Roadside Ministry

If you have driven the one to two mile stretch of Highway 71 South, just North of Waldron, you may have seen a man happily waving, wearing a white robe and sharing a warm smile from the highway shoulder.

That man is Rick Franklin.

Franklin felt led to spread love, joy and inspiration. He can be seen standing, and waving at all hours of the day, including the wee hours of the morning, even when the weather’s cool. In fact, you can’t miss him.

That’s how Franklin looked when he appeared one morning as I was traveling south. My headlights illuminated his white robe, and I questioned what I had witnessed. A smile crossed my face, and I couldn’t help but think he was there with a purpose, and perfectly timed to do exactly what he felt he was called to do.

“I want people to know that God loves them.”

I feel as if he was there for me, those who went before, and followed, giving us all that reminder that we all need at this moment, maybe each day.

To those who yield their time, Franklin is eager to visit and pray with before bidding a warm farewell. Looking back, the departed may witness him “jumping for joy.”

His smile and enthusiastic demeanor is appropriately displayed as cars approach from either direction. Franklin waves at them all, and most all of them acknowledge his presence with a return favor of a honk, and a wave.

Personally speaking, I admire Franklin for putting himself out there, and sharing his faith in a manner that asks nothing, yet gives everything.

Single Car Accident Sends Woman to Hospital

Tammy Teague
-
0

Around 3:30 p.m. this afternoon emergency responders were dispatched to a single car accident on Highway 28 E., near Cedar Creek bridge in Scott County.

Sheriff Randy Shores stated that the woman left the roadway and into a wooded area, striking a tree. “If a state highway worker hadn’t seen her, she could have laid there for a while.”

The Waldron Fire Department and the Y City Fire Department used the jaws of life to free the woman. The infant was not injured, and was rescued from the vehicle by state highway workers.

The woman, whose name has not been released at this time, was flown to a Hot Springs hospital.

Researchers Diving into COVID-19 Effects on Recreational Fishing

Tammy Teague
-
0
Researchers Diving into COVID-19 Effects on Recreational Fishing

Randy Zellers Assistant Chief of Communications

LITTLE ROCK — Americans seem to have fallen back in love with the outdoors during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. With organized sports, spectator-fueled events and formal schools being shuffled to the side to slow the spread of the virus, time in the outdoors seems to have become a rediscovered gem to many people looking to escape cabin fever during self-imposed quarantines. Rods, reels, canoes, kayaks, mountain bikes and all other sorts of outdoors equipment has flown off shelves so quickly that manufacturers have been unable to keep up with demand.

But how many of these people are newcomers to the outdoors? Has the pandemic increased awareness of hunting and angling or is it just a matter of people suddenly finding time to do what they remember enjoying years ago? Is COVID-19 actually responsible for the uptick in sales or is something else at play? These are questions researchers at Louisiana State University and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are looking to answer.

Recently, the AGFC helped distribute surveys to 25,000 randomly selected fishing license holders to gauge their motivations for fishing this year and to see if the disease has actually played a part in their decision-making process.

“We were looking at doing a study on our own, when we were contacted by Dr. Steve Midway at LSU,” said Jessica Feltz, human dimensions specialist for the AGFC. “He was already working on a study and had a handful of states already working with him.”

AGFC’s Fisheries Division then supplied Midway with contact information for 25,000 randomly selected license holders to be part of the survey.

“I want to strongly encourage anyone who was chosen to receive the survey to take the time to answer it and be as honest as they can about their answers,” Feltz said. “We’ve received a handful of questions asking if it was a legitimate survey, so we wanted to let people know it is going on.”

Feltz says survey participants will have a few weeks to supply their answers.

“It may help us understand ways to educate and motivate new anglers, and I think that’s exciting,” Feltz said. “And because many states are participating in the same survey, it will be interesting to see where Arkansas falls in regard to some of the answers.”

Anyone with questions about the survey is encouraged to contact Feltz at jessica.feltz@agfc.ar.gov.

AGFC to Plug Leaking Infrastructure at Lake Wilhelmina

Tammy Teague
-
0
AGFC to Plug Leaking Infrastructure at Lake Wilhelmina

Randy Zellers Assistant Chief of Communications

MENA — Contractors working with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will close the portion of Polk County Road 125 that crosses the levee of Lake Wilhelmina Aug. 11 to attempt to plug leaking infrastructure that has plagued the lake for the last two summers.

Lake Wilhelmina is a 200-acre reservoir built on Powell Creek in Polk County. The lake’s dam was constructed in 1958. Wilhelmina is known for excellent bluegill and redear fishing, as well as good opportunities for largemouth bass and channel catfish.

“It’s not a large lake, but it’s a good location to fish and has a devoted following in nearby Mena,” Hobbs said.

According to Brett Hobbs, fisheries supervisor at the AGFC’s Hot Springs Regional Office, helicopters will lower giant sandbags into place between the lake’s spillway control tower and levee to plug a hole that has formed in the lakebed, likely allowing water to escape through the outflow pipe at a point past the control tower’s influence.

“We first heard some comments from the public about the lake being unusually low back in summer of 2018,” Hobbs said. “That was a particularly dry summer, so we weren’t sure if it was just normal loss of water or something else at play. But in 2019, we had many more calls when the lake’s water level worsened, despite a fairly wet year.”

Hobbs says at one point in 2019, the lake’s level dropped low enough that boaters were no longer able to launch a boat.

“We did some more investigating in late summer 2019 and saw that although the control tower’s gates were closed, a healthy flow of water was still running in Powell Creek downstream of the dam,” Hobbs said. “We started looking with our sidescan and downscan depth finders and found what we thought were two holes in the lakebed between the control tower and the dam.”

Further investigation by the AGFC Dive Team using high-detail sonar equipment confirmed that there are holes in the lake bed, one as large as 7 feet in diameter and the other less than two feet in diameter, over the lake outflow pipe.

“We’ve coordinated with our Operations Division to procure a contractor who will help us hopefully stop the leak,” Hobbs said. “They will lower giant sandbags, up to 1,500 pounds, into the holes using a helicopter. Multiple sand bags will be placed. We hope this effort will plug the holes so a camera inspection can be made via the downstream end of the pipe to see what sort of damage may be there so we can formulate a solution.”

At 62 years old, much of the original infrastructure at Lake Wilhelmina has exceeded its life expectancy, and the AGFC may be looking at larger repairs in the future. Similar infrastructure failures forced the AGFC to begin the renovation of Lower White Oak Lake near Bluff City, Lake Elmdale in Springdale and Lake Poinsett near Harrisburg.

“We hope the repairs are not as extensive as what had to be done in those locations, but we won’t know until we can get this leak plugged to get a better look,” Hobbs said.

For more information about Lake Wilhelmina, visit the lake’s page at agfc.com.

Tiger Market to Host River Valley Seed Swap

Tammy Teague
-
0
Tiger Market to Host River Valley Seed Swap

Tiger Market in Mansfield Arkansas runs from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday (closing at noon in extreme heat).

Tiger Market was started by Kari of Kari Dickinson Photography with help from Mansfield Recorder/Treasurer Becky Walker.

Through summer they operate as a Farmers Market selling fresh produce alongside other homemade items. In the off season they will transition to a holiday market style, when fresh produce isn’t available and where local shoppers can buy holiday decor, gifts and more.

Due to COVID19 and the risks involved with indoor gatherings, Tiger Market will be hosting the River Valley Seed Swap, which was started by Kari Dickinson and Quint Hodges in 2019. The event will take place during a regular scheduled market day, where shoppers can benefit from receiving free flower and vegetable seeds for the following year or even trading seeds they have with various seed swap vendors to give community members a wide variety of options when it comes to home grown produce and flowers. 

Photo courtesy of Kari Dickinson Photography
Photo courtesy of Kari Dickinson Photography
Photo courtesy of Kari Dickinson Photography

UAFS Invests in Training Faculty to Excel in Online Teaching

Tammy Teague
-
0
UAFS Invests in Training Faculty to Excel in Online Teaching

This spring universities across the country raced to transition courses to online delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With numbers still rising in the state of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith is making strategic investments in training its faculty to excel in online course delivery, partnering with the world-renowned Quality Matters. 

“After the rapid transition from face-to-face to online course delivery in the middle of the spring semester, a number of faculty expressed the desire for professional development in online teaching to maximize the student experience in their classes,” explained Dr. Georgia Hale, UAFS provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Student success is always at the heart of our institutional goals, and as we navigate a new normal for the fall semester, utilizing Quality Matters to help faculty hone their online teaching skills will help us ensure our students are successful in all the ways their classes may be delivered.”. 

Thus far faculty members at UAFS have registered for more than 150 Quality Matters courses, all of which focus on improving  course quality, managing content delivery and implementing a system of quality assurance. 

“Even before the contract was signed, we had over 50 faculty express their interest in Quality Matters courses and workshops,” said Susan Simkowski, associate professor, chair of the UAFS Faculty Senate and one of the university’s three acting Quality Matters coordinators. “Our faculty are in the process of taking webinars, certifications and courses to improve their online courses. The Quality Matters goal is for faculty to build courses, which ultimately can be reviewed by experts in online pedagogy, and receive the QM certification as a course or program which achieved quality assurance goals.”

According to its website, Quality Matters trainings aim to create a culture of continuous improvement so faculty can deliver on their promise to provide excellent content day after day, semester after semester.

“Keeping learners engaged is different in online courses,” the website reads. “Getting them past the ‘packaging’— the mechanics of the course — so they can focus on content and learning objectives can be a challenge. That’s where our research-based rubrics and standards really shine: They provide objective, evidence-based ways to evaluate the components of online learning.”

Most workshops range in price for member institutions from $100-200 for each instructor who participates. Leading into August the university has already committed approximately $20,000 to workshops for its faculty, though as a member institution, more faculty may choose to participate throughout the semester. 

“The primary emphasis for this initiative is to provide high-quality professional development to faculty who are or will be teaching in one of the distance formats,” said Dr. Margaret Tanner, associate provost for academic affairs.

Dennis Sprouse, an adjunct professor in the UAFS College of Business, described his first week of Quality Matters training as both a rigorous and enjoyable opportunity. 

“I am learning a lot of new information while strengthening much of my previous knowledge, and I am certainly seeing things from a different perspective,” he said. “The student need for a well-designed and delivered course is as important as the subject matter of that course. The process has included much valuable reading resources and written assignments.”

Though Sprouse said the process was not for the faint of heart, he embraced the training, noting that UAFS students will certainly benefit from taking online courses developed from the start with their success in mind. 

UAFS faculty are currently registered for courses covering applying the QM rubric, assessing learners, connecting learning theories to teaching strategies, creating presence in online courses, designing a blended course, designing an online course, evaluating course design, gauging technology skills, improving online courses, orienting online learners, and using instructional materials and technology to promote learner engagement.

Scott County Hardware wins True Value Foundation’s Painting a Brighter Future Grant

Tammy Teague
-
0
Scott County Hardware wins True Value Foundation’s Painting a Brighter Future Grant

Waldron, AR, July 27, 2020 – A fresh coat of paint brightens any room, and this summer Waldron Public Schools will refresh their learning environment with 20 gallons of donated paint. Waldron Public schools was selected as the winner of a paint grant through Scott County Hardware & Farm’s partnership with True Value Foundation’s Painting a Brighter Future program. A True Value Foundation paint grant helps improve learning environments and can have an impact on youth attitudes and performance. Over 1,600 schools and youth-development focused organizations across the country have been awarded paint since the program’s inception in 2009, covering nearly 20 million square feet of learning space.

Partnering with True Value Foundation, Scott County Hardware & Farm nominated Waldron Public Schools for a 20 gallon paint grant to help refresh youth learning spaces. Ken Landon of Scott County Hardware & Farm is delivering the asthma and allergy friendly paint, located at 1359 W 2nd in Waldron.

True Value’s EasyCare Ultra Premium Acrylic Latex paint has earned the asthma & allergy friendly® Certification Mark via an independent certification program established in the United States, which helps consumers identify products more suitable for people with asthma and allergies. The program performs physical and chemical testing on products to ensure they minimize irritants and pollutants in the air and reduce potential exposure to allergens. The asthma & allergy friendly® Certification Mark is awarded only to products that are scientifically proven to reduce potential exposure to asthma and allergy triggers.

Waldron Public Schools are using the paint to give their classrooms a much-needed makeover. The more than 900 youth will enjoy learning in the newly painted facility.

“Through True Value Foundation’s Painting a Brighter Future program, we’re able to help Waldron Public Schools and give back to the community we love to serve,” said Scott County True Value & Farm’s General Manager Matt Scantling. “The donation will not only save the organization money, but more importantly will create an environment that fosters learning, inspires creativity and instills community pride.”

True Value Foundation unites retailers in helping improve the lives of children in the communities True Value serves. The foundation advocates for youth and serves as a catalyst to provide tools and resources to
help youth realize their dreams and achieve their potential. We encourage our partners to get involved and give back through volunteerism, mentorship, community improvements, and raising funds.

true value-paint-grant-Waldron

Do I Sound Funny To You?

Megan Hecox
-
0
Do I Sound Funny To You?

I was 36 years old the day I found out people thought I was crazy. I mean, I always knew I was four cents short of a nickel but hey, at least there’s never a dull moment when I’m around. I am married to a man that is as southern as they come. And since I’m from Fayetteville, he loves to call me his little Yankee so I joke that our relationship is like the Civil War. When one moves from the big city to a small-town way of life, it can be a shock to the system. For me though, fitting in was never a problem because I can pretty much get along with anyone. Shoot, my 5th-grade teacher told my parents during a parent-teacher conference that I would talk to a rock if I was sitting next to it.

But from day one of living in a small town, any time I would open my mouth to talk, someone would say “Your not from around here are you?” Honestly, I always took it as a compliment. Little did I know, that question was being asked because of the things that were coming out of my mouth. Let me give you a few of my “Yankee” examples. I pronounce the word crayon as “crown” while my husband gives it a two-syllable “cray-ahn.” I say the word “pen” (as in what you write with) while my husband says “pin.” I use the word “soda” in reference to a carbonated beverage as opposed to my husband saying “coke.” I drink unsweet tea as opposed to the coveted holy drink of the south, sweet tea. I almost threw up when my husband handed me biscuits and chocolate gravy one morning for breakfast and he said I was trying to kill him when I introduced him to sushi.

I’ve lived in a small town since I was 21. But the reason I say I was 36 when I found out that people thought I was crazy is because of one simple saying. Recently while around a group of friends enjoying some delicious treats at a get-together, I asked if anyone wanted any more to eat. After everyone declined I said, “Well, less camels more hay!” You would have thought I had just grown a tail and a third eye by the looks I was getting. NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD THAT PHRASE BEFORE!! Are you kidding me? What do you mean you have never heard that phrase before? My entire life, that very phrase was uttered by either my parents, my sister, or myself at least once a week.

So I decided to do some investigating because surely this was just another example of my big city twang. I first asked my father where that saying had come from. He said he heard it from my mother. So I asked my mother where the saying had come from. She said she had heard it from my father. Seriously? Thanks for the help guys! So with both of my parents along with myself now stumped on the origin of this phrase, I turned to the one thing that has always had my back. Google. Well, guess what? Google didn’t even know what I was talking about and I’m pretty sure I heard him chuckle a few times during the search process. It’s ok, the ATM lady voice does the same thing when I request my balance.

So what about you and your family? Are there any sayings that get thrown around a lot? Or maybe you’re like me and people just don’t understand the words that are coming out of your mouth!

1...651652653...1,055Page 652 of 1,055

© Resident News Network | 2015 - 2026 | All Rights Reserved | Baggett Enterprises LLC | Isaiah 43:18-19