August 2022

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Jennifer Carollo Fischer Half-Way Summer Bucket List Can you believe it is just about the half-way mark for summer? If your kids are anything like mine, the battle cries of, “We are bored!” and “What are we doing today?” have started to fill the time between waking up and finishing my first cup of coffee. I always like to hold out on some tricks up my sleeve for August.

From Senator Blake Johnson LITTLE ROCK – When it meets in special session the legislature will consider a $50 million grant program for school safety measures. The governor proposed making grants available for schools that need financial help to implement recommendations made recently by the Arkansas School Safety Commission.

J ett House of Representatives State of Arkansas District 56 The Governor is calling the General Assembly into an Extraordinary Session this week to address the use of surplus funds to provide tax relief and funding for school safety measures. The Arkansas School Safety Commission was reinstated in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

by M urley The Clay County Courier is happy to announce the addition of a new columnist, Larry Murley. Larry is a 1956 graduate of Corning High School and is coming full circle as he will be writing for his hometown newspaper about his recollections of growing up in Clay County as well as his vast life experiences.

Pocahontas, AR – The Arkansas EMT Association honored local Paramedic Matt Smith as the 2022 Arkansas EMS Instructor of the Year at its annual conference held in Hot Springs. Smith served as the EMS Program Director at Black River Technical College through July 2022 and continues to work as a medic and instructor with ProMed Ambulance as he furthers his education. Over the years, Matt Smith has been instrumental in preparing all levels of EMS professionals across Northeast Arkansas. His commitment to high-quality instruction and exceptional teaching style led to the expansion of health services not only in the local community but across the state.

Larry Murley, former Clay County resident and 1956 Corning High School graduate, has implemented creativity paired with his life experiences to pen six books and two books of poetry. Larry began writing in 2013 with his first book, “Loss of Innocence, A Viet Nam War Story.” “It was the start of something awesome,” he said. “The book detailed my service in Vietnam in 1962. More than that, it gave birth in me a desire to write, a desire to tell stories that I had been acquainted with during my life.” Larry signed copies of his books at a book signing on Saturday, August 6 at Kroger near College Station, Texas.