U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton’s inaugural “Coffee with your Congressman” will be held in Monticello on May 18, according to a news release from the Republican congressman.
The event, which will be the first in a series over the next several months, will be held at the Pilgrim Rest A.M.E. Church on 522 South Bailey Street in Monticello on May 18 from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. Read the rest of this post
Investigators are trying to determine if the Wednesday night gunshot that injured a Drew County man was the result of an intentional or accidental shooting. The 36-year-old man was wounded when the 12-gauge shotgun his 16-year-old son was holding discharged during an argument, according to a news release from the Drew County Sheriff’s Office. Read the rest of this post
The Monticello High School Band presented its spring concert Tuesday night, performing several pieces before ending with Atlantis: The Lost Continent, Rob Rob Romeyn’s powerful piece that brings the mysterious lost civilization of Atlantis to life in music. The music begins calmly, depicting a beautiful sunrise over the island in the Atlantic Ocean that existed more than 11,000 years ago. The music develops as the fateful day ensues, reaching a stunning climax as Atlantis was swallowed by the sea.
The Monticello High School Band recently won first division superior ratings in all categories at the concert assessment in Sheridan and was the sweepstakes winner, the highest award a band can receive. It was the fourth consecutive year the band was the sweepstakes winner. Read the rest of this post
Dr. Jeff Longing, assistant professor of education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, has been named president-elect and program director for the Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators (ArATE) for 2013-14.
Longing joined the UAM faculty in 2003. He holds a bachelor of science degree in education from UAM, a master of education degree and an educational doctorate from Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana-Monroe). Read the rest of this post
Glen Darnell Perrian
Glen Darnell Perrian, who is suspected in the June 20, 2012, armed robbery of the First National Bank of McGehee, escaped on May 6 from the Desha County Courthouse in Arkansas City where he was awaiting a hearing in his pending criminal case. He escaped on foot. He was reportedly handcuffed but had no foot shackles. Given the nature of the offense of which he is accused, he should be considered dangerous.
John Lipton’s influence on public policy in Arkansas can be seen and felt all over the state.
Elected to 12 consecutive terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, Lipton is a former Speaker of the House and was once one of the most powerful members of the General Assembly. He is a former chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission, friend and confidante of governors, senators and a President of the United States.
It was Lipton who brought the Southeast Arkansas Community-Based Education Center and the Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center to Warren. It was Lipton who was instrumental in the construction of a bridge over Moro Bay that bears his name. It was Lipton who helped secure federal highway designations for U.S. 278 and U.S. 63 as well as the continuation of Interstate 530 south to eventually serve as a connector to Interstate 69.
And it was Lipton, along with Rodney Slater, the late Jerry Bookout, and then-Governor Bill Clinton, who turned a four-hour meeting at the Capitol Hotel in Little Rock into the creation of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program. Read the rest of this post
Amanda Kelly, Andrew Duncan, Jessica Noble, Jalen Garmon, and Breanna Taylor.
Jessica Noble of Star City will lead the Student Government Association at the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 2013-14. Noble was elected president of the SGA in a recent vote of the UAM student body. Read the rest of this post
Star City High Art 2 students recently worked together to design a line of shoes for Vans, a worldwide manufacturer of sneakers, skateboarding shoes, BMX shoes, snowboarding boots and other shoe types.
Students in Roger Darren High’s Art 2 class collaborated on four original shoe designs as part of the 2013 Vans Custom Culture Contest, a national art competition. Read the rest of this post
The William F. Slemons Chapter 977 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy honored four veterans on April 30 at the Crosses of Military Service Ceremony during a luncheon at the Monticello Country Club. Those honored were David Anderson, a Vietnam veteran and former mayor of Monticello, Larry Fuller, a former Air Force veteran during the Korean Conflict, and Levin Johnson and Joe Rawls, both of Rison and both Army veterans who served during the Korean Conflict.
Read the rest of this post
The Trey Hawkins Band will headline the entertainment at the 43rd Annual Armadillo Festival at Hamburg Saturday night. The band, whose members are all from Southeast Arkansas, were voted the top country band in Arkansas in a KSSN-sponsored contest, was a top 10 finalist in the Live at Billy Bob’s Texas Recording Contest and was the Thunder on the Mountain Throwdown winner in Little Rock.
The 4-day Armadillo festival also features Praise Fest, Pachanga Night with Mexican music and food, armadillo races, a 5K Run, carnival rides, arts and crafts, a pancake breakfast, and other activities and entertainment including Ben Coulter, Haley Creek Boys, the Cummins Prison Band, Jeanie Ralph and Michael Collins. The schedule of events:
Read the rest of this post
The Voice staff (front row, left to right) Drew Foote, Ronald Sitton (advisor), Craig Beckerman and Jennifer Lawrence. (Back row, left to right) Dylan Cash Miles, Josh Bodiford, Chris Guzman and Clint Blasengame. Not pictured Susan Pruitt and Kelly Reed. Photo courtesy of Rodney Hill
The University of Arkansas at Monticello’s online newspaper The Voice placed third among online publications at the 2013 Arkansas College Media Association Media Contest April 26 at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.
UAM competed with the University of Arkansas, Arkansas Tech, University of Central Arkansas, Harding, Henderson, Southern Arkansas University, Ouachita Baptist University and John Brown University. UCA’s The Fountain won first place while OBU’s The Signal was second. Read the rest of this post
Mainline Health Systems has been nationally recognized by the Patient-Centered Medical Home program for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term participative relationships, according to a National Committee for Quality Assurance news release. Read the rest of this post
Connie Mullis, Jan West, Bettye Kellum, Beth Thurman, Terri Wolfe and Sue Johnson
Members of the William F. Slemons Chapter 977 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy recently cleaned and placed a wreath before the graves of five, unknown Confederate soldiers buried at Campground Cemetery in Drew County. These soldiers were in a Confederate hospital that was located there during the War Between the States, according to local lore. Read the rest of this post
University of Arkansas at Monticello psychology students Emily Ellington (left) of Jerome and Amanda Huddleston of Star City recently presented their original research project at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association in Fort Worth, Tex. Ellington and Huddleston conducted the study under the supervision of Dr. Rick Clubb, a professor of psychology in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The project examined the perception of the attractiveness of females described as athletic compared to those described as non-athletic. The study found that students typically rated a person as being more attractive if that individual was described as being athletic.
(From left) Nancy Barnett of Evening Shade, a student member of the UAM Tree Board, Jessica Noble of Star City, Andrew Duncan of Navasota, Tex., and Student Government Association President Samantha Montgomery of Rison place mulch around a red oak tree as part of an Arbor Day observance at UAM. In the background (far right) is UAM student Rachel Bedenbaugh of Lakeland, Fla.
Students, faculty and staff at the University of Arkansas at Monticello planted a red oak tree at the center of campus April 26 in observance of Arbor Day, a nationally-celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care.
The observance is one of five requirements for the campus to maintain its standing as part of Tree CampusUSA. The other standards include maintaining a campus Tree Board comprised of administrators, physical plant staff, faculty and students; a campus-wide tree care plan which provides guidelines for proper tree planting, care and protection during construction activities and tree replacement; an annual student service project, such as the planting and mulching project completed last week; and tree care expenditures equivalent to $3 per student. UAM currently replaces every tree lost by planting two trees in its place. Read the rest of this post
Kate Stewart
Dr. Kate Stewart, professor of English at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and long-time faculty sponsor of the UAM chapter of Alpha Chi national collegiate honor society, was honored along with 44 other chapter sponsors at the Alpha Chi national convention in Nashville April 4-6. Read the rest of this post
These University of Arkansas at Monticello students presented original research papers at the recent Arkansas Symposium for Psychology Students held on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas. Read the rest of this post
Star City High School junior Rafael Molina creates an acrylic painting based on a passage from the children’s book Jack and the Beanstalk.
Star City High School students recently applied their artistic skills in order to create book illustrations for the classic children’s story Jack and the Beanstalk.
The students in Roger Darren High’s Art II class at Star City High School created acrylic paintings that serve as illustrations for the book Jack and the Beanstalk as part of a lesson on book illustration. Read the rest of this post
Mold on the interior door to a storage room and entry to the underground chase at the Drew County Courthouse where the radiator pipes are serviced.
After he took office, Drew County Judge Robert Akin noticed a black substance covering his desk. “It blew out of the air conditioning ducts onto our desks,” he said.
That substance, he said, is some type of black mold that has sickened some county employees.
Akin doesn’t know if it is the common black mold that it is found in households or a potentially toxic type of mold, but he intends to find out soon. Read the rest of this post
Mike Ross hit the campaign trail this week with a brief stop in Monticello Thursday afternoon on his initial 34-county “announcement tour” where he said he would build upon the foundation and progress Gov. Mike Beebe has made in economic development and education.
“There is a lot of concern about the direction this state is going to go when Gov. Beebe’s tenure is up and I think we have a real good opportunity to have a governor that understands our values, and understands the future direction we need to take this state,” Ross said. Read the rest of this post
Five seniors in the BSN nursing program at the University of Arkansas at Monticello were recently inducted into the Gamma Xi chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nurses. Selection requires a 3.0 grade point average in nursing courses as well as excellence in leadership, scholarship and service. Pictured from left are Alisha Dickinson of Monticello, Levi Maggard of Banks, Tara Green of Warren, Kendal Wilson of Rohwer, and (back) Carolyn El of Pine Bluff.
Shannon Jackson and Drew Memorial Hospital CEO Mike Layfield
Shannon Jackson, the financial counselor supervisor at Drew Memorial Hospital, was selected as the hospitals’ “Health Hero” for the month of April. Jackson was nominated by her co-workers for her positive attitude and “can do” spirit. Recently, the hospital was without a payroll clerk for approximately three weeks. Jackson, having payroll experience, volunteered her time to act as both payroll clerk and admission supervisor without extra pay. Read the rest of this post
A free workshop to educate parents on the dangers of cyber bullying will be presented May 9 by Bryan Fendley, director of academic computing at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The workshop, which will be held at Second Baptist Church of Monticello, will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes a free lunch. Read the rest of this post
Brett Arrington (left) and Chad Scogins (right)
Two Drew County men suspected of possessing methamphetamine are facing drug charges following their separate, unrelated arrests last week.
Bret Anthony Arrington, 52, was arrested on April 16 following a traffic stop on Arkansas 35 and Chad Scogins, 38, was arrested on April 18 following a search of the Monticello residence where he lives. The cases are not connected, according to Lt. Jason Akers, the 10th Judicial District Drug Task Force supervising agent. Read the rest of this post
An Ashley County woman who initially told police that burglars broke into her home in September 2012 and killed her wheelchair-bound mother, was sentenced Tuesday to 54 years in prison. Read the rest of this post
A May 10 pretrial hearing has been set for the man suspected in the May 2012 beating death of then Chicot County Tax Collector Nell Johnson.
Circuit Judge Sam Pope is expected to hear several defense motions including a change of venue request and a motion to suppress statements John Thomas Brooks allegedly made to police during the investigation. Read the rest of this post
Three juniors in the BSN nursing program at the University of Arkansas at Monticello won the UAMS /Gamma Xi Undergraduate Research Poster Competition held recently at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. The competition featured entries from junior and senior nursing students from across the state. Pictured from left are UAM’s winning team – LaShawnda Williams of Bastrop, La., Kassandra Hubanks of Star City, and Carolyn El of Pine Bluff.
Circuit Judge Bynum Gibson on Friday ordered a mental evaluation for a Drew County man who faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the February 2012 beating death of his 2-year-old step-daughter, Aubriana Coke.
Daniel Pedraza, through his attorneys, Jeff Rosenzweig, Birc Morledge and Timothy Leonard, filed a notice last week saying their 24-year-old client is not fit to proceed and requested a court-ordered mental evaluation and hearing on the matter. Read the rest of this post
The Concert and Chamber Choirs of the University of Arkansas at Monticello will be joined by the Arkansas Choral Society and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for an all-Mozart spring concert on Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. in the UAM Fine Arts Center auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.
The performance will be conducted by Dr. Kent Skinner, director of choral activities at UAM. Read the rest of this post
Haley Bishop, a junior at Star City High School, has been selected to attend the thirty-fourth annual Arkansas Governor’s School in the area of Visual Arts. She will be attending the six week program this summer at Hendrix College in Conway along with 399 other rising seniors from across the state of Arkansas.
Bishop was selected based on high intellectual potential, outstanding artistic ability, demonstrated giftedness and potential, creativity, high motivation, and social and emotional maturity. Read the rest of this post
