May 2023

End of Year Reflection

At the end of each school year I like to spend time reflecting upon the events of the year, consider improvements that can be made in the future, and celebrate successes we’ve experienced. Overall, we have had a very successful year, both academically and in our extracurricular endeavors. I asked our faculty to send me a list of all of our students’ achievements for the year so I could include it in this article, but the list was so long that I didn’t have room! I am very proud of their accomplishments which include CHS being named a Reward School for being in the top 5% of Arkansas high schools for showing growth and Park Elementary being honored for their growth in English Language Arts. Our students have been recognized and won awards in all sports, band and choir, FFA, FBLA, FCCLA, Gifted and Talented, Quiz Bowl, Odyssey of the Mind, and Trap. They have been active in community volunteering and hosting numerous blood drives throughout the year. Our students are not given enough credit for the good they do, and we need to do a better job of telling them how proud we are of them!

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Old friend returns to Hop Alley

Hop Alley in downtown Corning had a familiar visitor come to call when C.A. O’Daniel attended the third annual Hop Alley Rally on Saturday, May 20. The first Hop Alley Rally occurred on Saturday, May 18, 2019. In the months prior to that first event, people who remembered the alley and had experienced some of its history, shared their stories of Hop Alley. One such person was C.A. O’Daniel. C.A.’s family lived in Corning when he was growing up. In fact, Marylea Vines wrote about him and mentioned his family in her column, Rambling Vines in 1985. She wrote, “C. A. O’Daniel, from Pasadena, Texas, stopped by The Courier to renew his subscription. He and members of his family, including three of his sisters, were here for the 4th of July. These people are family of the late Mr. and Mrs. Cal O’Daniel and lived around here for years. I remember back in hard times...some of you think it is hard now... when the O’Daniel kids, especially C. A. and Myrtle, would pick wild blackberries and bring them to town to sell at any price, even a thin dime looked big back then. Myrtle is a little older than me and C. A. is just a few months younger then me and has 17 grandchildren!”

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Regional Job Fair Scheduled for June 8

Several local economic development partners will co-host a regional job fair at Black River Technical College in Pocahontas on Thursday, June 8 from 9am to 2pm. The NEA Intermodal, Randolph County Chamber of Commerce and Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce will cohost the event, which will give job seekers access to available jobs throughout Northeast Arkansas.

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ACAAA celebrates Community Action Month

Little Rock, AR - May 1, 2023, marked the 59th year since the Community Action Network was established to help American families and communities overcome obstacles to poverty. Over 1000+ agencies and state associations across the country are working every day to create opportunities and transform the lives of their neighbors making communities stronger and helping families across the US thrive. This year, Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association, Inc., a proud member of the Community Action Network, recognized the occasion with a storytelling project entitled Thank You for Giving Community Action a Hand. The project was spearheaded by state agency head start programs. Children from the programs created pieces of handprint art that delightfully illustrated a small token of thanks to Arkansas legislators and symbolized the collaborative spirit that guides Community Action and legislators toward processes that cultivate social and economic mobility across Arkansas. The collection of artwork was presented to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on May 19 at the state capitol. “Each May, during Community Action Month, we reflect on the impact that state agencies have on Arkansas families,” said Tomekia Moore, Interim Executive Director of Arkansas Community Action Agencies. “Community Action continues to promote social and economic mobility for all Arkansans through needed services that bridge disparities and lessen hardships experienced by Arkansas families.” Community Action Agencies serve 99% of all American counties with life-changing services to help families achieve financial stability. All agencies are locally controlled and represented by the private, public, and low-income sectors of the community. “We are proud of our communities’ participation in the development and oversight of our programs”, said Moore. “Their engagement helps us to be more effective in our approach by determining the needs of Arkansas families.” To celebrate the continued suc

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Rambling Vines

For your reading enjoyment, we continue to publish Rambling Vines by the late Marylea Vines as she recalls events and names of Corning folks from many years ago. We are currently in the year 1989 Tuesday, May 30th is Memorial Day and, like everything else, it has been changed so that the holiday part of the observance will be on Monday, May 29.

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