The Corning School Board met at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10 with all members present except for Keith Turner and Kirk Scobey who were unable to attend. The minutes and financial report were approved. The Board approved an extension to Superintendent Woolard’s contract through June 30, 2025.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has quickly spread across Arkansas and its spread is creeping into Clay County with Covid-19 cases having increased from 58 active cases two weeks ago on Dec. 28 to 173 cases on Monday, Jan. 10 reaching 195 on Tuesday, Jan. 11. Dr. Thompson, President of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) said he believes there are a couple factors that are impacting the fast spread of the Omicron virus in Arkansas. “We’re all tired of it. I mean, number one, and also, I think while we had heard about the Omicron variant, it’s only in the last couple of weeks that we’re experiencing how much more infectious it is. It really is uncontrolled spread through communities. And, I think, you know, folks are coming off the holidays, not fully aware how dangerous this is. I mean, we’ve got more than 1,000 folks in the hospital today and we’ve had more than 175 deaths just since New Year’s.”
The Corning Chamber of Commerce held its first luncheon since March 2020 on Monday, Jan. 10 at the Parkview Restaurant in Corning. The organization halted the luncheons due to the pandemic. As the Chamber resumes their luncheons, as in the past, each meeting will be held in a local restaurant and will feature a guest speaker who will share information with attendees. There is a change to the date of the meetings to the second Monday of the month at 11:30 a.m.
BREAKFAST: MONDAY: NO SCHOOL TUESDAY: Sausage Egg & Cheese Biscuit or Cereal, Fruit, Juice, Milk WEDNESDAY: Oatmeal or Cereal, Toast, Fruit, Juice, Milk THURSDAY: Sausage Bites or Cereal, Yogurt, Fruit, Juice, Milk FRIDAY: Breakfast Burrito or Cereal, Yogurt, Fruit, Juice, Milk LUNCH: MONDAY: NO SCHOOL TUESDAY: Chicken Taco, Fire Roasted Corn and Beans, Tossed Salad, Chocolate Pudding, Chilled Fruit WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti w/ Bosco Stick@CHS, Tossed Salad, Cali Veggies, Chilled Fruit THURSDAY: Pizza, Corn, Tossed Salad, Graham Cookie, Chilled Fruit FRIDAY: Chicken Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes w/Gravy@ CHS, Green Beans, Chilled Fruit .
The Clay County Election Commissioners will hold their monthly meeting on Friday, January 14, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. in the Corning Election Warehouse. This is a regular meeting to discuss plans for the upcoming election year. The public may attend. Please call the County Election Coordinator, Karen Cagle, at (870) 240-3295 if you have any questions regarding this meeting.
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Department of Education is pleased to announce that 72 applications have been selected to receive approximately $2.5 million in Career and Technical Education State Start-up Grants to assist with the development of new CTE programs of study. Of that amount, the ADE Office of Computer Science Education is providing $144,000 to CTE to fund five additional applications that have a computer science focus.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued changes in Covid-19 guidance on January 6, 2022. These changes were adopted by the Arkansas Department of Health as well as the Arkansas Department of Education and affect Arkansas school districts. This week the Corning School District released this new guidance to parents and school personnel.
A head-on collision of two 18-wheelers in the southbound lane of Hwy 67 northeast of Pocahontas near Engleberg Road on Thursday, Jan. 6.
A reception was held on Monday, Dec. 27 at the Eastern District Courthouse in Piggott for Clay County Clerk Pat Poole to commemorate her retirement. Poole acquired a vast knowledge about county business over her nearly 34 years in the office and was known for her professionalism. Brande Boyd, who has worked in the county clerk office for six years will serve as county clerk until Poole’s term ends Dec. 31, 2022.