At last Tuesday’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) subcommittee meeting, members considered a request from Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s office to move a $104,000 appropriation to her office’s extra help appropriation in order to cover the first six months’ salary for Mr. Joe Profiri, the governor’s new senior advisor.
Corning High School seniors participated in the “Get Real” program Wednesday, January 24, 2024, provided by Clay County Cooperative Extension FCS Agent Christin Holmes. The program is a hands-on experiential simulation that teaches young people about personal financial management.
The Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) and the council’s subcommittees met this week at the Capitol. These meetings were previously scheduled for the week of January 15 but were postponed due to the winter weather across the state.
Pam Lowe did a great column a couple of weeks ago about truth. It set me to thinking. We have always been plagued by lies told by people who simply want things their way. It is not new, and it will probably never end. But, it could be avoided by doing your own research and when you hear a comment, go to its root and see if their truth might be found. If not, then cast it into a bottomless pit so that it might not deceive someone else. And please, don’t do your research on social media, or by listening to those talking heads. They all have an agenda, and the facts will usually get spun to reflect that agenda. I live in Texas, and right now the world is looking at us through big eyes. Our governor, Abbott, is playing hardball with immigrants who are crossing our southern border. He has placed razor wire in the river to keep men women and children from crossing. He is also defying the federal government by not removing the wire when ordered so by the Supreme Court. I am not going to argue that the border needs attention - it does. But mainly, I read and watch videos about that area, some posted by local people. I see another agenda, one that is a bit inhumane. Recently a woman and her two children drowned in the river, and Abbott’s National Guard would not allow the Border Patrol to rescue them. How do you excuse that? I am aware that not everyone that crosses that border is trying to come to America to find work and a life. I am not that naïve. We have people running drugs across, though little of that is brought in by families. It is usually brought in by trucks. Perhaps if the attention of the authorities could be focused on that rather than families, it could be further restricted. Not all the people trying to cross are Mexican nationals either. There are refugees from as far south as Venezuela, and that could be a problem. I have also heard reports of foreign nationals from other parts of the world trying to breach our borders that way. Yes, that needs attent
LITTLE ROCK – A group of physicians and nurses conducted an in-depth study of the deaths of pregnant women in Arkansas and submitted their recommendations to the Legislative Council. They recommend that maternity care providers should increase their understanding of the need to screen for chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, which can worsen during pregnancy and which is a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths.
When I was growing up in the early 1980s, we had a weekly newspaper in our town. There was a woman assigned to cover our little neighborhood. I remember her calling each week to ask my mother what was new in our family. Did Jeremy make the honor roll this quarter? Had we gone on vacation recently? Did we get a new pet? She would take this information from anyone in the neighborhood who was willing to share it and would write a column each week. When the paper came out on Wednesdays, my mother was always excited to read what was going on in the neighborhood. Everyone on our street knew each other. We played outside with the kids every day until dusk. My parents were in a bowling league with our neighbors. We had a block party in the street in the summer. When a new family moved in everyone welcomed them and introduced themselves. I guess you could say it was a great community. A few years later when I was in the seventh grade we moved to a new neighborhood. There was no one there to welcome us. There were no block parties. No one played out in the street. Everyone kept to themselves. There also was no one from the weekly newspaper calling to get information to report about the neighborhood. It certainly felt like less of a community. It never occurred to me until I became involved with community newspapers that the difference between the two neighborhoods was the newspaper. Without the weekly story telling of the life events of our neighbors it became easy to lose connections.
The University of Central Arkansas has named Chelbi LeGrand to the Fall 2023 Dean’s List. LeGrand has been recognized as a student who has earned a 3.50 or higher, grade point average on a minimum of twelve hours of undergraduate degree credit during the 2023 Fall semester.
The Corning Public Library iscelebratingFineFree February. During the month of February, all fines for returned books and DVDs will be forgiven.
POCAHONTAS, AR — The BRTC Foundation (BRTCF) will host a virtual auction and Spring Soirée as the spring fundraiser for students and academic programs. The event will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at the St. Paul’s Parrish Life Center in Pocahontas.
Arkansas Senator Missy Irvin recently said that on social media. She was referring to the neglected roads that need to be fixed.