February 2024

Bobcats celebrate first trip to State Tournament since 1979

Thursday, Feb. 22, the Corning Bobcats celebrated a win against Mountain View in the first round of the Regionals that would ensure their trip to the State Tournament in Elkins. The last time the Corning Bobcats were headed to the State Tournament was in 1979. Corning would fall to Marked Tree that year. The 1979 Corning Senior High Boys Basketball team, coached by Albert Brown and Don Sharpe, led the team to a successful 14-11 season. The Bobcats took first place in the District 2AA North Tournament at Walnut Ridge.

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The Lowe Down

There’s nothing that pinpoints and highlights what is desperately needed and creates a wake-up call more than a crisis. That wake-up call is now for our democratic republic.

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Corning community raises $12,331.58 for Make-A-Wish

The Corning community came out to support the 26th annual 2024 Have A Heart Wish-A-Thon as volunteers braved the windy and cold temperatures to collect donations at the intersections of Hwy 62 and Hwy 67 on Friday, Feb. 16. Volunteers collected $12,331.58 between the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. In all, communities in northeast Arkansas raised $467,966.73 for Make-A-Wish that will provide wishes for children combating grave illnesses. This total breaks the total amount raised in 2023 of $422,142.53.

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Lady Bobcat season comes to an end

The Lady Bobcats lost to Mountain View at Manila in the first round of the Regionals on Thursday, Feb. 22 by a score of 72-42. Corning ended their season with 21 wins. The Senior High Girls Basketball Team has won a total of 45 games in the last two seasons having back-toback 20-plus winning games each season. Coach Jerry Songer has coached this year’s seniors for the past six years as they won tournament championships, conference championships, and won Conference and District Runner-Up. This year’s graduating seniors are Presley Martin, Addison George, Kenlie Watson, Symantha Riley and Katie Zimmer.

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Bobcats advance to State; win 1st round of Regionals

The Corning Bobcats punched their ticket to the State Tournament for the first time in 45 years after defeating Mountain View in a 1st round Regional win by a score of 58-51 on Thursday night, Feb. 22 in Manila. The game was neck-and-neck with Corning leading going into the half by one point; 26-25. The Bobcats continued to lead as they entered the 4th quarter; 42-37. In the final quarter, the Cats scored 16 points with the Yellow Jackets scoring 14 beating Mountain View by 7 points.

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State Capitol Week in Review

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas legislators approved a $30 million expenditure to improve mental health services and treatment of substance abuse. The governor and the state Human Services Department supported the plan to fill in the gaps in the statewide system of treating mental illness and helping people with drug problems.

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From the office of Jeremy Wooldridge

In a recent report to Arkansas lawmakers, it was revealed that behavioral health cases at a pediatric hospital surged by 25% since the pandemic’s onset, with pediatricians noting that a significant portion of their workload now revolves around such cases. This trend mirrors national statistics cited by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), indicating that mental illness affects 1 in 5 Americans annually, including 1 in 5 children at some point in their lives.

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