Arkansas Times | January 2021

BEERS TO TRY BEFORE YOU DIE | NATIVES GUIDE | CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

JANUARY 2021 ARKANSASTIMES.COM

AT LAST, VACCINE

COVID-19 HAS AN ENEMY

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

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CITY ADVENTURE: There are opportunities for climbing in River Mountain Park, one of our Native’s Guide destinations.

FEATURES 22 A SHOT IN THE ARM

Finally, the first shipment vaccine arrives. Now, to allay concerns.

By Leslie Newell Peacock

27 COVID SPREAD

The state doesn’t have enough case investigation data to determine where people are spreading the coronavirus.

By David Ramsey Arkansas Nonprofit News Network

38 SPECIAL AD SECTION: MORE GUIDES

30 NATIVE’S GUIDE 2021

City hikes, cheap eats and how to get help.

By the Times staff

9 THE FRONT

Q&A: With House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough The Big Pic: Beers to drink before you die.

The Inconsequential News Quiz: The First Month of the Rest of Your Life Edition.

15 THE TO-DO LIST

See Symone on “RuPaul,” “Mutants” virtual festival, meteor showers and more.

4 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

To health care, banking, education, NLR eateries, the zoo, real estate and fishing on the White River.

18 NEWS & POLITICS

58 CULTURE

By Ernest Dumas

By Leslie Newell Peacock

49 SAVVY KIDS

62 CANNABIZ

Trump minions threaten democracy.

News & Notes: National Dress Up Your Pet Day is coming.

Feature: The Pompeo family talks about deafness.

Meet the Parent: Yoga instructor Susan Campbell.

Crystal Bridges readies an exhibition of contemporary craft.

A new dispensary license, a cultivator lawsuit.

By Griffin Coop

66 THE OBSERVER ON THE COVER: Dr. Naznin Jamal, a hospitalist at Jefferson Regional Medical, who has earned the nickname “COVID commander,” gets vaccinated. Photography by Brian Chilson.

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THE FRONT

TIPPI MCCULLOUGH SEES HOPE FOR STATE DEMOCRATS

Q&A

STATE REP. TIPPI MCCULLOUGH (D-LITTLE ROCK) TALKS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ARKANSAS AND THE COMING 93RD ARKANSAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, WHICH CONVENES JAN. 11.

Congrats on becoming House minority leader. But you’re entering the coming legislative session in an unenviable position. Republicans hold a supermajority and majorities on every committee. How do you approach the session considering those facts?

We went from them having a supermajority to us losing three seats and gaining one back with Ashley Hudson [who won West Little Rock’s District 32]. I don’t know if you can add “superduper minority” to our status. It doesn’t make it any easier.

I thought we had really good candidates this time and thought we would possibly pick up a few seats and really hoped we wouldn’t lose any. Losing someone like LeeAnn Burch [of Monticello, District 9] with her military record and being an attorney and being from rural Arkansas, that has really hurt and upset a lot of us.

Not to say losing others wasn’t bad, too.

Losing two, are we in any worse position than we were? It’s about the same. But it’s demoralizing.

On committees it won’t be a lot different. This time we were able to pick up nine seats on Judiciary and Insurance and Commerce committees. That helps us in those committees if we’ve got some consensus with Republicans to work together and maybe do some things.

Republicans filled Education, State Agencies and Public Health. That was expected. I’ve heard a lot of people say they thought the committee selection went about as good as it could’ve gone.

We’re gonna do what we always do. We’re going to try to run good bills. We’re gonna talk about our values and what we think is good policy for Arkansans. I think the session will be like the previous, recent session. Hopefully we can have some influence somewhere. It’s like everyone says, 80-90% of bills go through with bipartisan voting. We’ll stick on some issues like gun sense, something like stand your ground, and some of the abortion bills. Probably some of the tax bills we may not completely agree with. Maybe some that we do.

I know the hate crimes bill is something

you’ve long advocated for. It was significant that the governor announced his support for it, but already we’ve seen a lot of skepticism from prominent Republicans. How does it get passed?

I’m encouraged by the governor’s support and Sen. Jim Hendren’s, and there are a few other Republican cosponsors. I’m also encouraged by the State Chamber in support of it and being involved and some of the business support.

That has seemed to make a difference in the past on some of these issues. It’s good for the economy in Arkansas to pass. Obviously, it’s also important for people who are discriminated against and might have some kind of heinous crime committed against them.

We’re one of three states that don’t have a hate crimes statute. There will be some businesses that will want to go somewhere else if they see that. I have heard people say it’s dead on arrival. But “dead on arrival today” just means that — today. By the time the vote comes around, a lot can happen. There will be a lot of work that goes into that vote. Never say never.

Won’t Democrats largely be working to help more establishment, pragmatic Republicans

keep the Cuckoo Caucus, as Max Brantley has dubbed them, at bay on important issues like COVID-19 and health care and others?

Last session there were times that we were able to have a little influence and a little power just because of factions splitting on the other side. [Democrats] don’t always all stick together on votes. But I think there’s a bigger divide on their side.

When there are that many, it’s harder to keep it all together. If you’ve got us and two factions, it splits it up for us to have some influence and be able to work with the governor. That’s what we spend a lot of time doing, working on those relationships. We have so much in common, all of us. We have good conversations about families and business and all those things that are important to all of us. You just try to inch closer on some kind of compromise on all this stuff, so we’re doing what’s best for all Arkansans.

As an activist before I came in, [I know you can] start to vilify people. But you get to know people. You start to see them as people. We have so much in common. From teaching and coaching all over the state, I can almost connect with anyone just through who we both know.

What’s your take on how the governor has handled the COVID-19 pandemic?

I think he’s in a really tough spot. At times, I’ve been really encouraged and proud. Then there have been times I’ve wanted him to push for more. He’s been in a struggle with members of his own party. I’m worried right now that we’ll let up too soon because the vaccine is starting to happen, but I think based on the UAMS projections, we’ve still got six months of this.

But in talking with members of the caucus, everyone is weighing jobs, businesses, schools and health. All along the way, there’s always been a little more that we could do. I don’t take lightly the weight of what the governor has to work with, but I’m still going to fall on the side of saving people’s lives.

— Lindsey Millar ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 9

THE FRONT BIG PIC

ARKANSAS BEERS TO TRY BEFORE YOU DIE Twenty years have gone by since Diamond Bear Brewing revived the art of making beer in Arkansas. In the interim, the craft brewing industry has evolved into something of a scene, with everything from sours to saisons available pretty much whenever you want, in the taproom or in the liquor store cooler. Here, to kick off a special web series we’re calling Drink/Drank/ Drunk, we’ve aimed to help you navigate those foamy waters with a selection of a few Arkansas beers worth seeking out. We’ll be exploring all things spirited, from Arkansas’s boozy history, to creative ways to approach Dry January, to features on upstart distilleries.

BY BRIAN SORENSEN, RHETT BRINKLEY, LINDSEY MILLAR AND STEPHANIE SMITTLE

GOTAHOLD BREWING

CROOKED AND STEEP BATCH #2 (Barleywine) Eureka Springs’ newest brewery is led by an experienced brewer with some serious knowhow. Although all the beers on tap are good, Crooked and Steep Batch #2 is noteworthy based on the difficulty in finding Barleywine elsewhere in the state. It’s a full-bodied, highABV beer that was aged in bourbon barrels.

Visit Gotahold soon because the next batch in this series of special occasion beers will likely be something other than a Barleywine (the first was a stout). BS

HAWK MOTH BREWERY & BEER PARLOR

2ND & HUDSON (Dark Sour) The tiny Rogers brewery with a penchant for brewing obscure styles and barrel-aged behemoths is also a serial collaborator. This is the second year Hawk Moth has teamed up with nearby New Province Brewing Co. to brew 2nd & Hudson. Last year’s version was a dryhopped tart saison, while the 2020 edition is a dark sour beer aged on Cabernet Sauvignon grape must (crushed grapes with skins, stems

10 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

and seeds left) in stainless steel (as opposed to wood barrels). The finished product is vinous and tart and won’t last long. Like all Hawk Moth beers, 2nd & Hudson can only be found at the brewery. BS

BENTONVILLE BREWING CO.

SALTED CHERRY SOUR In a sea of IPAs and other hop-forward beers, Salted Cherry Sour stands out as something different. This Gose-style beer is slightly salty, a touch tart, and moderately sweet. And at only 4.2% ABV and 8 IBUs, it pairs perfectly with early summer adventures. Salted Cherry Sour can be found on draft and in bottled sixpacks throughout Northwest Arkansas when released each June. BS

DIAMOND BEAR BREWING

TWO TERM DOUBLE IPA The state’s first production brewery is still going strong, even if it hasn’t quite kept up with the diverse offerings from its peers. But for a high-ABV IPA that packs a punch, the Two Term Double IPA remains one of our go-tos.

It’s widely available in cans. LM

FLYWAY BREWING

BLUEWING WHEAT Is it hyperbole to say that Flyway’s Bluewing should be a case study for how to introduce fruit into the brewing process? An ideal lowABV summer brew, Bluewing is crisp and low-ABV enough for summertime daydrinking, yet the blueberry is anything but subtle.

What’s more, it’s a looker, faintly rose-tinged when poured into a pint glass and ’70s-kitsch when you’re drinking it from that classic can design. SS

FOSSIL COVE BREWING CO.

ORANGE CREAM ALE Late summer is the time to find one of Northwest Arkansas’s most anticipated seasonal releases. Fayetteville’s Fossil Cove has been making Orange Cream Ale for several years now, and each year’s edition is a better version of itself. The beer is made with orange zest and vanilla bean, and brings to mind the orange cream popsicles everyone ate as a child. It’s a must try in late August, September and early October when it is widely available in cans. BS

LOST FORTY BREWING CO.

TRASH PANDA IPA Lost Forty was named the Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival. It makes a wide variety of highly acclaimed beers, but its Trash Panda series of Hazy IPAs is worth seeking out because of the brewer's willingness to eschew consistency and fiddle with the beer’s formulation instead. Trash Panda is brewed in small batches, each made with a different hop than the last. This results in a unique and ever-changing flavor profile that helps beer drinkers appreciate the character of each hop variety. BS

NEW PROVINCE BREWING CO.

LAVISH IPA Ever wonder what an IPA brewed with lavender might taste like? Well, New Province’s version is soft and delicate, just like a flower.

Brewed with 100% Munich malt and hopped with mosaic, Lavender IPA is floral and fruity with a toasty malt backbone. The lavender character is most prevalent in the aroma, but provides some subtle citrus and wood notes in the flavor profile as well. Simply put, it’s like no other IPA you’ve ever had. First brewed as a part of New Province’s Unchartered Territory series of one-off beers, it proved so popular that it has returned every year since. Lavish IPA is canned for distribution and fairly easy to find when in season. BS

OZARK BEER CO.

ONYX COFFEE STOUT The buzz surrounding the Rogers brewery’s barrel-aged beers and big IPAs is deserved, but don’t sleep on this simple yet delicious, yearround stout. Onyx Coffee Stout is the combined efforts of two of the most recognizable brands in the state. The beer contains layers of mellow coffee aroma and flavor on top of a 5.3% ABV milk stout base. It’s a must-try if you’re a fan of coffee beers, though you’ll have to go to the brewery (or a few local draft accounts) to enjoy it. Despite constant requests to can it for distribution, Ozark only offers Onyx Coffee Stout on draft at this time. BS

STONE’S THROW BREWING

SAUSAGEFEST HEFEWEIZEN We can’t chow down on schnitzel at The Pantry or Pantry Crest without a tall stein of this delicious Bavarian wheat Stone’s Throw brews especially for Tomas Bohm’s Czech-influenced restaurants. It’s unfiltered with a slight hint of fruit and cloves. LM

SUPERIOR BATHHOUSE BREWERY

THE BEEZ KNEEZ KOLSCH Maybe it’s the thermal spring water Hot Springs’ Superior pipes in directly from the mountainside, or maybe it’s the touch of honey and basil in this low-ABV kolsch, but The Beez Kneez at Superior is a glass worth driving to the Spa City for, delicate and effervescent and gorgeously golden. SS

VINO’S

FIREHOUSE PALE ALE This is a great pale ale for craft beginners. It’s medium bodied and easy to drink — not too hoppy or bitter. It’s just slightly sweet with subtle fruity notes and accompanies a New York-style hand-tossed slice of Vino’s pizza perfectly. RB

WEST MOUNTAIN BREWING CO.

BLOOD ORANGE IPA This pizza-and-beer joint located on Fayetteville’s downtown square has been brewing its own since 2011. The staples are classic brewpub styles — pale ale, IPA, stout and brown.

There are also a number of rotating specialty beers on tap. One such beer has earned a position in the regular lineup: Blood Orange IPA, which balances between fruity sweetness and hop bitterness. On first sip it might summon memories of Sunkist soda. Yet the longer it lingers, the more its IPA backbone becomes apparent. BS

PRESTONROSE FARM AND BREWING CO. HAWK AND HORSE COFFEE PORTER This tiny brewery and organic farm in Paris (Logan County) makes some of the most interesting beers in the state. Prestonrose’s flagship porter is a coffee-infused version of an underrepresented style. BS

ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 11

THE FRONT

INCONSEQUENTIAL NEWS QUIZ

THE FIRST MONTH OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE EDITION PLAY AT HOME, WHILE NOT WORRYING ABOUT WHAT JOE BIDEN IS SAYING ON TWITTER.

1) As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough already, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made the local news in December. What is it this time?

A) He’s ready to launch phase 2 of the Mike Huckabee’s “Fat Again Slacks” story: Mike Huckabee’s “Fat Again Jackets (The Jackets With 30 Percent Lycra!).”

B) He recently had to rush to Arkansas when his daughter, former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was so distraught by President Trump’s election loss that she couldn’t stop lying.

C) He was in Little Rock to announce that he, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent are forming a new MAGA-themed supergroup called The Shits and Giggles.

D) He’s moving back to Central Arkansas, Lord help us, saying he’ll sell the $3 million beachfront mansion near Destin, Fla., where he and wife Janet have resided for over a decade.

4) In slightly more consequential news, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods recently announced that it had fired seven managers at a Tyson plant in Waterloo, Iowa. Why were the seven given pink slips?

A) A rash of reports in which McDonald’s McRib patties produced at the plant gained sentience and tried to crawl away.

B) Nuggets made there were found to contain 33 percent more than the FDA’s recommended daily allowance of chicken cloacas.

C) A June incident in which 18 pigs shimmied under a fence before hot-wiring a bus and escaping to a free-range vegan farm near Iowa City.

D) An independent investigation alleged they had a betting pool on how many of the plant’s over 1,000 employees would become infected with COVID-19 during a springtime outbreak that led to at least six deaths.

2) The Little Rock Zoo recently announced a name has been chosen for an endangered African Penguin chick born at the zoo. What’s the name?

A) Zandor, Destroyer of Worlds.

B) Chillary Clinton.

C) Penguin McPenguinface.

D) Little Rocky.

5) By the time you read this, it’ll be 2021 and a COVID-19 vaccine will, one hopes, be well on its way to an arm near you, barring hell or high water. What’s your plan once you get a vaccine?

A) Hug everybody. Like ... EVERYBODY. B) You know how before the virus, we used to drink in bars and listen to live music and stuff, and sometimes you’d stay up way too late, getting so hammered that you’d hold hands with a stranger for a bit at some point, have an argument about a guitarist or something and then wake up on an unfamiliar couch with your mouth tasting like a truck stop, missing a shoe, with your pants on wrong side out? That. I’ve really missed that.

C) “I’m sorry, but the first rule of Fight Club is: Don’t talk about Fight Club.”

D) All of the above.

3) The first shipments of a long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Arkansas in mid-December. According to health department plans, which group will receive the vaccine first?

A) People whose last name begins with W through Z for a change.

B) The true heroes of the pandemic: liquor store delivery drivers.

C) Unmasked assholes in MAGA hats, who will be personally darted from a helicopter by a maniacally cackling Dr. Anthony Fauci.

D) Hospital workers, including doctors, nurses and COVID-related support staff.

ANSWERS: D, D, D, D, ?

12 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

ELIZABETH IS MISSING JAN. 3, 8 P.M. January 10, 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of MASTERPIECE, the iconic PBS drama series that sparked America’s infatuation with British television. While celebrating five decades of ELIZABETH IS MISSING JAN. 3, 8 P.M.

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Arkansas PBS ALL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL PREMIERES JAN. 10, 8 P.M.

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THE LONG SONG PREMIERES JAN. 31, 9 P.M. ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 13

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ARKANSAS TIMES

the TO-DO list

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE

WATCH ARKANSAS QUEEN SYMONE ON ‘RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE’ FRIDAYS 1/1-1/29. 7 P.M.

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It’s happening: Arkansas has a queen on the RuPaul runway.

Among the contestants on Season 13 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” from VH1 — filmed “safely and fiercely” during a global pandemic, RuPaul herself vouched — is Symone, a queen from Conway who got her start at Little Rock’s Club Sway with partymakers/fashionistas House of Avalon, and who hosted a monthly series of drag performances there called “Symone Says.” Back in 2016, Symone (known to some as Reggie Gavin) told the Arkansas Times he was almost “instantly attracted” to the art form of drag when he first saw RuPaul guest star on a rerun episode of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” A few years later, he said, he caught an episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and thought, “Hmm, I could do this.” She’s doing it. As Symone put it on Instagram, “get your rent and potatoes ready, because we drop on the 1st at 8/7c.” Catch it on VH1 if that’s part of your cable package, stream the episode from vh1.com via your cable provider or just scroll through Symone’s incredible collection of looks on Instagram @the_symone.

DOWNTOWN HOLIDAY LIGHT DISPLAY

STEPHANIE SMITTLE

THROUGH 1/4. DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK, FREE. Anyone else notice how much more amiably we all approached the idea of driving around looking at Christmas lights in 2020? Even the Grinchiest and too-cool-for-schoolest among us, after 10 months of 2020’s isolation onslaught, were like, “Christmas lights? Yeah. Sure.

Why not?” The opportunity to leave the house, even if only to stare at other people’s elaborately outfitted houses, was suddenly A-list entertainment. A video by @zzzachariah captioned “every mom looking at Christmas lights” (but which sounded an awful lot like Linda Belcher to us) got 819,000 views on

TikTok. Anyway, the Downtown Holiday Light Display is up until Jan. 4, through a partnership of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, the Little Rock Zoo and Simmons Bank. There’s the holiday tree at Capitol Avenue and Main Street and light displays in both directions from that intersection, with special effects by CWP Productions, sets by the Arkansas Repertory Theatre and festive storefronts. And for anyone bah-humbugging the idea of Christmas decorations in early January, consider that the 12 days of Christmas, ecclesiastically speaking, don’t end until Jan. 5.

ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 15

the TO-DO list

MUTANTS OF THE MONSTER VIRTUAL FESTIVAL II

THIRDFACE BY DIANA ZADIO

FRIDAY-SATURDAY 1/1-1/2. ARKANSAS TIMES’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL, YOUTUBE.COM/ ARKANSASTIMES. 7 P.M. DONATIONS.

Let’s face it: musicians, venue owners, concert promoters and anyone else affiliated with the music industry? They’re in an unenviable position right now. And despite the fact that we’ve all gone nearly a year without swaying around the footlights at the Rev Room, or tipping up a beer at the White Water Tavern, one bright spot is that virtual festivals got born, and they subsequently got good. Local festival founders Travis Hill and Christopher Terry (CT), chiefly, have both organized and screened multi-night concerts on the Arkansas Times’ YouTube channel in 2020 (still up for viewing), and we continue those “TV specials” with Mutants of the Monster II,” a two-evening collection of sets from heavy bands near and far-flung: Oakland doom metal outfit High Tone Son of a Bitch, doom metal-with-saxophone stalwarts Yakuza (whose saxophonists and vocalist Bruce LaMont will also do a solo set during the festival), L.A. sludge rockers 16, Arkansas’s own anti-fascist punk-metal hybrid Terminal Nation, Nashville hardcore punk quartet Thirdface (pictured) and tons more. The concerts are free to watch, but please consider donating to the performers what you might have paid for a ticket, or finding their merch online.

QUADRANTIDS METEOR SHOWER ARKANSAS SHORTS

SATURDAY 1/2. HOT SPRINGS MALL PARKING LOT, 4501 CENTRAL AVE. 6-8 P.M. $20/CAR. Hot Springs-based nonprofit Low Key Arts has announced its annual Arkansas Shorts film showcase will be held as a drive-in event at the Hot Springs Mall. Instead of three separate screening blocks for International, North American and Arkansas short films, this year’s showcase blends all three categories, with a special showcase devoted to films created by participants in LKA’s Inception to Projection filmmaking program. “While 2020 has forced nearly every organization to pivot away from their traditional plans, this year Low Key Arts found tremendous success with Inception to Projection as we made the programs virtual, enabling us to reach students all across Arkansas,” festival director Jen Gerber said.

Catch a French film about a squirrel and a crow maintaining a forest’s ecological balance, a North American film about “selective hearing” or Arkansas-made films that grapple with everything from an absence of superhero role models for girls, to economic disaster.

Tickets are available at the gate, or search for “Arkansas Shorts” at prekindle.com.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

1/3. ANYWHERE WITH A RELATIVELY DARK SKY. FREE. If, like us, you are wading cautiously into 2021 with a newly invigorated sense of how much wallop a single year can pack, might we recommend a good dose of cosmological perspective?

The Quarantids meteor shower, ever elusive because it peaks in winter and only for a few hours, was named for a constellation named Quadrans Muralis — later nixed by the International Astronomical Union when it whittled the list of constellations down to 88 in 1922. This year, the shower will be visible throughout the sky to us here in Arkansas — marred only, one hopes, by the bright moon that night and not adverse weather. The peak is expected in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 3 (after midnight on Jan. 2), but Quarantids have been known to show up quite early in smaller numbers, so keep your eyes to the skies until Jan. 10 or so, and should some 2020-induced insomnia strike in the wee hours, maybe bundle up and wait it out under the stars.

ARKANSASTIMES.COM

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NEWS & POLITICS

TRUMP LOYALISTS: Not moved by President-elect Joe Biden receiving 7 million more votes than Trump.

THE CULT OF TRUMP

FOR THE SAKE OF DEMOCRACY, LET’S HOPE THEIR HERO BECOMES A BORE.

BY ERNEST DUMAS

18 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

T

hat was some scary business the week after the presidential election and beyond in many parts of the country, including our tranquil little state. It was a level of hate and ferocity not experienced in American or local politics in a lifetime.

Heavily armed men bearing Donald Trump regalia and Confederate and American flags and bellowing curses and threats of revolt raged through the streets of the nation’s capital and other cities claiming that dark forces had stolen the election from their man and that retribution must be brought. Republican attorneys general, including our own, demanded that the U.S. Supreme Court throw out an American election for the first time in history to reinstate a Republican president who had lost by more than 7 million votes. Scores of Republican lawmakers, including many of ours, joined them in demanding that the election be set aside so that the dark forces of Marxism could not take over the country.

Angry and heavily tattooed boys toting guns patrolled our Capitol a few blocks from me with signs protesting “the steal,” as if they might go inside and capture the secretary of state, who’s sort of in charge of Arkansas elections and is a Republican, then void Arkansas votes and maybe throw all the ballots in the Arkansas River, as they did in post-Reconstruction Arkansas, although the state’s votes this time had gone nearly two to one for the boys’ hero.

In the week after the voting, three Arkansas lawmen — the police chiefs of two county seats and a state wildlife officer — thrilled their followers on social media with racist taunts or threats against Democrats, Marxists and

“pedophiles” who had stolen the election from Trump.

Although he did not go as far as Republican officials in Michigan in suggesting assassinations, the chief lawman at Marshall was the most specific about what he wanted Arkansans to do: “When this is over and Trump is president for four more years. Do not go to sleep. Do not forget what these Marxist Democrat bastards have tried to do. When you see one in public get in their face do not give them any peace. Throw water on them at restaurants. Push them off sidewalks. Never let them forget they are traitors and do not have any right to live in this Republic after what they have done.”

The chief was following something of a tradition in Searcy County. A predecessor jailed a poor farmer from St. Joe named Joe Johnson when he showed up at the courthouse in Marshall to get commodities for his starving children, just as America was preparing to go to war with the Axis powers. Joe wouldn’t salute the flag because Jehovah’s Witnesses like him thought the Bible forbade worshipful gestures except for God, and his hand touched the flag as he was explaining his church’s creed. The Arkansas Supreme Court (Johnson v. State, 1942) said the lawman did exactly the right thing in jailing the farmer for desecrating the flag.

This time, the mayor thought the chief’s stand was a little controversial and it would be best for him to step down for a while. But far more dangerous things were being said and done across the land. Trump supporters plotted to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan, whom the president had declare an enemy.

My 83 years have seen nothing like it, nor have the history books, although Trump and his worshipers were not the first to engage in seditious electioneering. Adams and Jefferson started it.

Biden’s victory always seemed, at least to me, to be virtually assured, and the final vote almost exactly reflected the consensus of the final polls, including Fox News’ surveys. Unlike every other president since Harry Truman, Trump never for even a week got a national approval rating in Gallup’s polling as high as 50 percent, much less the stratospheric numbers that Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan or even George W. Bush sometimes racked up. Joe Biden received the highest share of votes against a sitting president — 51.3 percent — of anyone running against a sitting president since 1932, when Roosevelt won a landslide against Hoover.

But Trump said Biden’s margin of 7.1 million votes represented votes stolen by Democrats, with somebody’s help — maybe Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, China or child molesters but not, of course, Vladimir Putin’s spies, who we now know for months had been hacking into the computer systems of the Defense, Treasury, Commerce and other vital departments of gov-

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JANUARY 2021 19

ernment along with major corporations and cybersecurity and technology firms that deal with the government. Putin said the espionage charges were only efforts to make his pal Trump look bad.

Trump’s accusations of a massive vote theft were automatic. Psychopaths are humanly incapable of admitting loss, failure or inferiority. In 2016, when it appeared he was going to lose New Hampshire, Trump tweeted that bus caravans were hauling thousands of immigrants from Boston into New Hampshire towns to vote against him.

The New Hampshire attorney general and Republican election officials said it didn’t happen — “absolutely delusional,” the state GOP chairman said.

Still, millions believed Trump, just as scores of millions now believe all his charges — not one of which proved to have any basis in fact when attorneys hired by a hastily collected slush fund presented them to criminal and civil courts in 50 cases.

Trump’s own appointed trial and appellate judges, including his carefully chosen Supreme Court justices, said it was all nonsense that included not a single piece of evidence that they could hang their hat on.

Neither election misconduct nor ridiculous claims about it are new to politics but the boundless level of fanaticism and hatred is. It has been building since Newt Gingrich in 1994 declared that Democrats were the enemies of America and that Republicans must treat them as such, not merely political adversaries. Inevitably, it became a mutual strategy. Respect and cooperation pretty much disappeared or were fruitless, as Barack Obama confessed in a recent memoir.

Thomas B. Edsall, the aging national political reporter for The New York Times who writes scholarly analyses of political trends, explored the subject in a piece in which he described the turmoil before and after the election as demonstrating “an ominous vulnerability in our political system.” Trump’s campaign style, starting with his venomous attacks on all his Republican opponents in 2016 and then against Democrats, his former aides and all his critics, ratcheted the level of hostility both among politicians and the public to heights that now endanger democratic norms that governed us since the founding of the republic. A week before the election, 15 scholars published an essay entitled “Political Sectarianism in America,” which posited that the antagonism between the left and the right, Democrats and Republicans, and among the politically engaged masses in America had reached an unsustainable level that could lead to mass violence and upheaval. It was no longer mere disagreements about good policy on matters like health care, taxes, minimum wages or abortion rights but, on each side, 20 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

NOT ONE OF TRUMP’S CLAIMS OF FRAUD PROVED TO HAVE ANY BASIS IN FACT WHEN ATTORNEYS HIRED

BY A HASTILY COLLECTED SLUSH FUND PRESENTED THEM TO CRIMINAL AND CIVIL COURTS.

a moral war — good vs. evil — that had to be fought to the finish.

The academics were borne out in the tumultuous events of the succeeding weeks, including the Marshall police chief’s tirade.

You can find, of course, some examples on the other side, too — that Trump and his allies were leading us to a dictatorship like those that the president admired.

It is, indeed, scary, but I would posit that much of it is the Trump phenomenon — the cultish adoration of a lifetime con man whose word always is gospel because he said it. Every speech he has given, every sentence or scribble he ever tweeted, was a celebration of himself or a damnation of anyone who demurred. To most of the 74 million who voted for him he was, as he said, the most heroic president in history, who made America great once again, who made the world respect the United States again, who singlehandedly produced the greatest economy America or the world has ever seen, who had a strategy to stop the global pandemic in its tracks in America.

All his foreign-policy disasters like North Vietnam, China, NATO, Russia and America’s fading power and respect around the globe never happened.

Take the economy. He will leave office Jan. 20 with the worst economic record of any president since Hoover. He and Hoover are the only presidents in more than a century who produced a net loss of American jobs. Even the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorialists praise his effect on the Arkansas economy. For the record, Barack Obama, who inherited a collapsing economy, brought the unemployment rate down from nearly 10 percent to 3.7 percent when Trump took office. Under Trump, it once reached 3.5 percent before doubling again.

His trade wars and a revised North American trade agreement were going to reverse the U.S. trade deficit with China, Mexico, Canada and the rest of the world. Instead, they hit new highs.

He was going to balance the federal budget and eliminate the national debt by the end of his second term. Instead, his single term produced the biggest budget deficits in history and added $7.3 trillion to the debt.

As his agencies rolled back workplace and environmental protections from industry, workplace deaths and health hazards have risen once again.

Although all those figures are from his government’s statistics, he would call all of it fake news and tens of millions of his apostles will agree absolutely. When he settles in at Mar-a-Lago, or wherever they let him land, I’m counting on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wisdom to be validated — “every hero becomes a bore at last” — and political temperatures will moderate to a sustainable level again. Relax.

40th ANNIVERSARY AWARDS THE 2021 RESULTS ARE IN ...

Since 1981, the Arkansas Times has asked its readers to tell us their favorite restaurants. Ours is the original restaurant poll in the state. The winners of this year’s survey will be announced in our February 2021 magazine.

The Arkansas Times and sponsors Ben E. Keith, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits and Constellation Beverages are excited to celebrate the 40th anniversary of these statewide awards.

We won’t be able to host a party as usual, but we’re proud to salute the brilliance and stamina restaurants across the state have demonstrated during these challenging times.

More than ever before, we need to join together to recognize the hard work of restaurants and the industries that support them.

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Injection of Hope

VACCINES A SHOT IN THE ARM FOR A STATE BURDENED BY COVID-19.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRYAN CLIFTON

HEALTH CARE WORKERS FIRST: Jennifer Roberts, assistant director of the pharmacy at UAMS, displays the Pfizer vaccine that arrived Dec. 14 at UAMS. Front-line workers headed the line for the limited supply.

A

long with the Baby Yoda plush dolls, Gravity Blankets and Ninja Air Fryers loaded on UPS and FedEx planes and trucks this Christmas season was the most desired gift of all: COVID-19 vaccines, from manufacturers Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

The Pfizer vaccine, shipped in special boxes to keep doses colder than the surface of Mars, was first, arriving in Arkansas on Dec. 14.

Like other coveted presents, however, the vaccines were in short supply, so the government, with input by a panel of health experts and the nod from the governor, chose who’d be first in line: health care professionals and others who attend COVID-19 patients and staff and residents of long-term care facilities.

The first shipment, from Pfizer, was of 25,350 doses and 18,525 more were promised, an amount less than expected. An estimated 51,000 doses of Moderna were delivered before

22 JANUARY 2021

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2020 came to a close. Pfizer shipments went directly to 18 hospitals and five pharmacies across the state. Moderna shipments went to national delivery hub pharmacies Walgreens and CVS (as well as a portion for the state) for use in long-term care facilities.

Finally, a year after the novel coronavirus leapt from the wild to infect humans with a disease they had no defenses against, there was a way to fight back. But getting the weapons into the arms of the general public will take a while.

We’ve entered a second year of mask-wearing and social distancing to protect ourselves and others from a virus that has killed more than 300,000 people in the U.S., including more than 3,000 in Arkansas. *** Pfizer and Moderna’s were but two of 61

vaccines in clinical trials in mid-December worldwide. Only six other companies had produced vaccine in use elsewhere, in China, Russia and the United Arab Republic. Operation Warp Speed, the federal Health and Human Services project to develop and purchase vaccine, invested in six for use in the states: In addition to Pfizer (which is selling to the U.S. but did not use tax dollars for development) and Moderna, four other companies have received billions of tax dollars to get their vaccines developed and shipped: Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Novavax and SanofiGlaxoSmithKline.

It’s anyone’s guess when these four vaccines will get emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration and hit the market.

Johnson & Johnson, which launched a final phase 3 trial in December to test the efficacy of two doses over one, seems likely to be the

next to seek authorization. The company has said it will begin round-the-clock manufacture this month, pending FDA approval. Novavax has finished phase 3 trials in the U.K. and was preparing to start phase 3 trials in the U.S. in December.

AstraZeneca, which is working with Oxford University in Great Britain, has had several stumbles, including inaccurate results stemming from a mistaken measurement and an efficacy rate ranging from 70% to 90%, depending on administration. It will continue to do research and in December announced it was joining forces with the Russians in their Sputnik V vaccine to see if combining the vaccines improved efficacy.

Sanofi-GlaxoSmithKline, which planned to move to phase 3 in December and have vaccine by spring, has backed off that schedule because of disappointing efficacy results; it now gives late 2021 as its availability date.

The U.S. is paying Pfizer $1.9 billion for 100 million doses, which is enough for 50 million people. It passed up Pfizer’s offer to provide 100 million more, ostensibly because the government thought it more prudent to bank on several vaccines. Moderna, which received nearly $1 billion from the government in development support, entered into a $1.5 billion contract for 100 million doses in August. In December, the U.S. decided to buy 100 million more.

The 300 million doses would be enough for 150 million people, or 6 in 10 adult Americans.

Neither company, which will sell vaccines worldwide, has divulged how it will divvy up global production in 2021. *** The Arkansas Department of Health’s most recent tally, in 2018, of licensed health professionals put the number at nearly 90,000, and a spokesman estimated there are 45,000 residents and staff at nursing homes now.

Both Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines require two doses, so, in the admittedly unlikely case all health care professionals and long-term care individuals volunteered to be vaccinated, 90,000 Moderna doses (for long-term care facilities) and 180,000 Pfizer doses (for medical personnel) would be needed.

But the state's top priority group, based on those of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Phase 1-A — also includes hospital employees who come in contact with COVID-19 patients, such as respiratory technologists, medical assistants who assist in COVID-19 testing, housekeepers, meal servers and others who provide support. That adds the need for tens of thousands of more doses of vaccine.

Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, the medical director for immunizations at the Arkansas Department of Health, said she expects it will take “several

weeks” to vaccinate all who fall in Phase 1-A. The state’s phases, as they stand now: 1-A: Health care workers, beginning with those in highest-risk settings, long-term care residents. Large hospitals are having vaccine delivered directly; smaller ones are supplied by pharmacies. Health care workers not affiliated with hospital systems but considered priority workers and some first responders will be vaccinated at pharmacies and health units.

1-B: Persons over 75 and front-line essential workers, such as first responders, teachers and other K-12 school employees, meat-packing workers, correctional workers, postal workers, grocery store workers and others. However, until there is a greater amount of vaccine, certain of these categories will go first. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the recommendation Dec. 20; states will adjust to meet their needs. Their shots will come from pharmacies and clinics; valid I.D. will serve as a prescription for essential workers, according to Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero.

The health department has not yet estimated how many Arkansans will be included in 1-B. 1-C: Persons at risk for severe COVID-19 disease, chronic health conditions or over age 65 and essential workers not covered during in 1-B vaccinations. Pharmacies and clinics, including local health units, will provide vaccines.

2: The rest of us, perhaps by summer 2021, Dillaha estimates. As more vaccines are produced, they will move into the regular supply chain. It’s not known how much the federal government will continue to buy, but vaccines will remain free (though an administration cost may be charged).

Once there is enough vaccine, the ADH may hold mass vaccinations in every county, as it does for influenza. In Pulaski County, it’s likely to be at the State Fairgrounds.

Until then, people who test positive for the virus and whose disease has not progressed may be eligible for infusions of monoclonal antibodies, two forms of which are available, to lessen severity of disease. Operation Warp Speed has invested in their manufacture as well, but like vaccine, supplies are thus far limited. *** If the country is to achieve herd immunity — giving the virus fewer people to infect and robbing it of its audience — experts say 70% of the population will need to be vaccinated. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the national face of the fight against the virus and ignored adviser to the president, has put that percentage at 75%, but has also said reaching 50% would help slow spread.

What does that mean for Arkansas, where between only 40% and 50% of the population typically choose to get vaccinated for influenza?

It means the health department is going to have

to pull together an army of folks to get the word out that the vaccine is safe.

By the time the novel coronavirus had spread to the U.S. in January 2020, Chinese scientists had already sequenced the genome of SARSCoV-2. That work, and the fact that vaccine manufacturers had already been working on coronavirus vaccines in response to earlier outbreaks of similar viruses that caused SARS and MERS, gave science a running start.

The swift development of the vaccine and the name of the government apparatus that oversaw it — Operation Warp Speed — has given some people pause. Health secretary and ADH director Dr. Romero, who as chairman of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices works closely with the Food and Drug Administration on safety and efficacy and has examined the data from vaccine clinical trials, has sought to reassure people that authorized vaccines are and will be safe, saying there has been “no compromise” at any point of development. In interviews with the Arkansas Times and the national press, he’s emphasized he received no pressure from either the Trump administration or pharmaceutical companies to deem the vaccines safe and has explained that the FDA will continue to monitor the vaccines for adverse reactions as they become available to many thousands of people. For example, it will no doubt look into the allergic reaction that two health care workers in Alaska suffered from the Pfizer vaccine, a reaction not seen in clinical trials. (Safety fears prompted by the speed with which vaccines are being developed are rational; theories that the vaccines are loaded with soluble microchips so some nefarious agency can keep track of millions of people are loony.)

The health department could not say which areas of Arkansas are the most vaccine hesitant. But it does keep track of the numbers of people who for medical, religious or philosophical reasons are granted exemptions from vaccinating their children. Twenty-seven counties, mainly in Northwest, North-Central and West Arkansas, have exemption rates higher than 1 in 100. Madison County had the highest rate in the 2019-20 school year, with 33 kids per 1,000 exempted. Statewide, 8,753 children were exempted. That doesn’t mean their parents will choose not to be vaccinated, but it is an indicator of distrust.

An October poll conducted by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health on acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine found that Black respondents were the least likely to accept the vaccine. It also found a correlation between acceptance of wearing a mask and vaccine acceptance.

That finding meshed with a Kaiser Family Foundation poll in December that found that Republicans, African Americans and rural residents were the least likely groups to get a ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 23

vaccine, though confidence in the vaccine had risen from September, especially among Blacks.

About 27% of Kaiser’s respondents remained vaccine hesitant, even if it were free or deemed safe by scientists. Among Republicans, 47% were vaccine hesitant (a view not helped by Fox TV personality Tucker Carlson, who said safety assurances felt “false.”) Only 12% of Democrats were found to be hesitant. Side effects and distrust of the government were most often cited by those opposed.

Dillaha said the health department, including its Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, is working with Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Immunize Arkansas Action Coalition and other partners across Arkansas to explain, by way of a variety of media and messaging, why the vaccines are safe. The health equity department is developing workshops for influential members of the Black community to help them educate persons in “their social networks” to learn more about the vaccines, she said.

“I would hate for someone to regret they did not get vaccinated,” Dillaha said.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson used a live Twitter chat in December to answer questions from the public about the vaccine. He wasn’t asked if they were safe, but such things as when someone who’d had COVID-19 could be vaccinated (90 days for general public, shorter for health care workers); when UAMS should have sufficient supply for all employees (early January for all providing direct services to COVID patients); what are the possible long-term effects (not known, but other messenger RNA vaccines have been shown to be safe); and when children can get them (unknown). Also: “What do you do if you don’t get your second dose within 21 days?” (“We will track you down. In all seriousness, it’s better late than never, so definitely get the second shot even if you missed the 21-day mark,” he wrote.)

Those who are vaccinated are provided a card reminding them to get the second dose and that it should only be of the vaccine taken, since brands are not interchangeable. The CDC’s cellphone app V-safe allows people to self-report side effects from the shot and will also remind the patient when it’s time to take the second injection. Reminders can also be sent from ADH health units. The state's vaccine registry, WebIZ, keeps a record of all who've been vaccinated.

Patterson was also asked when it would be safe to ditch masks and end social distancing.

“When we start getting toward 70% vaccination rates across the community, we should start seeing a downtick in new infections and that’s when I anticipate easing of restrictions. Not until then, though.”

Also unknown: Can an individual who has 24 JANUARY 2021

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been vaccinated still transmit the virus to those who have not? Without herd immunity, and until the answer is better known, masking to prevent spread will be necessary. *** The vaccines being produced use a variety of vectors to protect the body from coronavirus, and have varying storage issues.

The participants in their clinical trials were not identical: For example, the Pfizer vaccine is for people 16 and up; Moderna’s is for 18 and up. No vaccines trials have included pregnant women, and the CDC has said pregnant women wishing to take the vaccine should be informed that there is no data on whether it is safe for them.

(Dr. Robert Hopkins, director of the Division of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, told the Times he would advise against vaccinating pregnant women.)

Like the flu vaccine, the COVID vaccines may not create total immunity to the disease but should lessen severity. It is not known how long they will confer immunity, or whether they will protect against variations of the virus as it mutates, as does the influenza virus. More about the vaccines and how they work: The Pfizer vaccine: Genetic vaccine BNT162b2 requires two injections 21 days apart.

It was shown to be 95% effective in clinical trials. Side effects reported (but not always occuring) included soreness and swelling at the site of injection, headache, nausea, fatigue, chills and fever. Since the vaccine rolled out, there have also been reports of allergic reactions, one serious.

Pfizer’s vaccine uses messenger RNA to prompt the body’s immune system. The mRNA encloses in a lipid nanosphere a bit of genetic material that prompts cells to make a particular part of the coronavirus: a spike protein. As the proteins rise to the cell surface — a process that takes about seven days — the immune system kicks in and makes antibodies. The mRNA does not introduce the virus’ complete genetic material, so cannot transmit COVID-19.

The vaccine, a powder, requires ultracool storage — -70 Celsius (-95 Fahrenheit) — to keep the genetic material from disintegrating.

Shipping boxes contain GPS sensors to track the location and temperature of each box. The vaccine can be stored for up to six months in ultra-low-temperature freezers. When thawed (which takes about 30 minutes at room temperature), saline solution is added so it is injectable. Once the saline is added, it must be used within six hours. Each vial contains five doses, so five people should be ready to be immunized once the vial is thawed.

The Moderna vaccine: Moderna’s mRNA1273 is also a genetic vaccine requiring two injections four weeks apart. It’s been shown to be 94.5% effective in clinical trials. Side effects include fever, chills, headaches, pain at injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and joint pain, worse after the second injection.

The vaccine works in the same way as Pfizer’s, delivering a bit of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in a lipid bubble to teach the body’s immune system to fight it off.

Storage of the Moderna vaccine is less complex than Pfizer’s: It can be stored at -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) for up to six months, refrigerated for up to 30 days and held at room temperature for up to 12 hours. A liquid, it does not require a diluent. Each vial contains 10 doses.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, Ad26.

COV2.S, uses an adenovirus engineered to transmit coronavirus genes, which is the system it used to create an Ebola vaccine. It requires only one injection, and can be kept in a refrigerator. The government has agreed to buy 100 million doses for $1 billion if the vaccine is approved. Efficacy is not yet known.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, AZD1222, also uses an engineered adenovirus. In trials it’s been given in two injections four weeks apart; oddly, there was evidence that a half dose followed by a full dose was more effective than two full doses. The U.S. awarded the company $1.2 billion for 300 million doses.

The Novavax vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, uses protein antigens rather than genetic material.

It requires two injections three weeks apart, and is stable in a refrigerator. Efficacy is not yet known. Novavax was awarded $1.6 billion for development and manufacturing.

The Sanofi-GSK vaccine uses viral proteins made from engineered viruses grown inside insect cells. Its agreement with the U.S. was $2.1 billion for 100 million doses. In phase 2 clinical trials, however, the company found the formulation produced antibodies better in people under 50 than those older, and plans to launch another phase 2 trial. *** For the first few months of the pandemic, medicine had little to offer patients.

Hydroxychloroquine, a malarial drug, was promoted by President Trump, and so Trump’s acolytes, including members of the Arkansas General Assembly, signed on. However, with the exception of a few crackpots, researchers found evidence that not only was the drug ineffective in the treatment of COVID, it was potentially dangerous to cardiac patients. In May, two months after Arkansas’s first hospitalization for COVID, the FDA authorized the emergency

The first shipment was of 25,000-plus doses of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine.

THE VACCINE ARRIVES IN ARKANSAS: (Clockwise from top left) Billy Johnson receives a box of vaccine from Adam Derby at UAMS’ loading and receiving area; a nurse at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff draws up vaccine; a Pfizer box contains 195 vials, each containing five doses; Baptist Health pharmacy supervisor Eric Horras uses special gloves to lift the vaccine from its dry-ice packing.

ARKANSASTIMES.COM

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FIRST TO VOLUNTEER: And the first to get the Pfizer vaccine at UAMS was medical assistant Yolanda Emery.

use of remdesivir, an antiviral that speeded up recovery for the seriously ill. It has now given remdesivir final approval. In June, a clinical trial in the U.K. found that the steroid dexamethasone could save the critically ill; it was authorized in the U.S. in July, and was given to Trump when he was hospitalized in October.

The latest treatments are monoclonal antibodies, produced in a laboratory to attack specific antigens and which have shown to lessen the severity of disease. Arkansas hospitals have been infusing eligible patients — people with mild to moderate cases of COVID who are at high risk of progressing to severe cases, including people with underlying health risks and people over 65 (or younger depending on their comorbidities) — since November. In December, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said people at risk of being hospitalized with COVID should “get on that product as soon as possible.” However, supplies of those drugs are limited as well: HHS allocated 3,360 doses of bamlanivimab and 914 doses of the Regeneron cocktail to be delivered to Arkansas by the end of the year. By mid-December, the state had received all but 12 doses of bamlanivimab.

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Eli Lilly received $375 million and Regeneron $450 million from the government for the therapies.

There are numerous drugs being tested, both in clinical trials and in admitted patients, for the treatment of COVID-19 in Arkansas, including vaccines, antiviral agents, monoclonal antibodies and the like. In December, for example, Baptist Health’s Center for Clinical Research was running a Moderna vaccine trial and recruiting for trials of a preventative drug developed by AstraZeneca; UAMS was recruiting for a trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System is trying the drug Degarelix to see if hormone suppression improves outcomes. *** Sherian Kwanisai, nursing director for the health department’s Center for Public Health, was the first person in Arkansas to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, on Dec. 14. Four others were vaccinated with her (Pfizer vials include five doses), including members of the agency’s Healthcare Associated Infections team that

worked with hospitals at the outbreak of COVID and Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe.

At UAMS, medical assistant Yolanda Emery, who works in the triage unit, volunteered to be first. “It was no different from a flu shot,” she said. Nurse Latasha McGown, a COVID survivor, was the first inoculated at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff.

Romero called it a “historic day” and said it was important for “all of us when our time comes that we receive this vaccine” to achieve herd immunity and stop the virus. Until then, and until it’s known that the vaccine can not only protect the person vaccinated, but also prevent transmission from that person to others, he said, “We’re all going to be wearing these masks” and keeping our distance.

As the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Romero said, “It was a very emotional moment when we came to the unanimous decision to approve this vaccine.”

He called it monumental, and as important as the development of the vaccine for polio, the scourge of the 1940s and ’50s.

He said he expected there to be enough vaccine for all in summer.

Where are Arkansans Catching COVID-19?

THE DATA IS UNCLEAR, BUT IT DRIVES OFFICIAL DECISIONS

BY DAVID RAMSEY ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON

SOCIAL GATHERINGS MAIN DRIVERS OF SPREAD: Say Governor Hutchinson and Dr. Jose Romero. But that’s not indicated by the health department’s own data.

C

OVID-19 is spreading in Arkansas at rates that a recent University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences report compared to a forest fire, with more than 20,000 active cases as of Dec. 14. The state’s death toll is nearing 3,000.

Governor Hutchinson has resisted calls for further restrictions on bars, restaurants, gyms or other nonessential stores and services. At a press conference in December, Hutchinson became animated when reporters repeatedly asked him about the possibility of new restrictions.

“The most important question is: Where are the cases coming from?” Hutchinson said.

“The vast majority of cases are coming from social gatherings.” Addressing the media in attendance, he asked, “Would anybody at this table advocate to close down a restaurant if cases are not coming from that restaurant? Or they’re not coming from a particular activity?”

Given the economic pain, Hutchinson argued, tougher restrictions do not make sense because those types of businesses are not a significant

source of spread. But the Arkansas Department of Health data that the governor is relying on appears to be too limited and incomplete to reach that conclusion.

Health department investigators call people who test positive for COVID-19 to ask about activities in the two weeks before their diagnosis. But they cannot reach everyone, and no information is available on how many people they have missed — the department does not track the number of cases they failed to reach or the number who were reached but declined to respond to questions. It is often impossible to determine the source of infection for a given case, and the department does not track the total number of infections that occurred in a certain type of business, such as bars or restaurants. If people volunteer information about private social gatherings, interviewers make note of it, but the department does not track specific numbers on such gatherings to confirm the governor’s claim that they produce the “vast majority” of cases.

Health department officials argue that

despite these limitations, the data it collects is still revealing.

But Dr. Gary Wheeler, an infectious disease specialist and former chief medical officer of the health department, questioned the conclusion that bars and restaurants have not been a major source of spread.

“The data that’s being collected was not really perfectly designed to collect the information that we’re talking about,” said Wheeler, who retired from the department in December. The governor, he said, needs to ask the department whether its methodology is good enough to determine whether the spread of COVID-19 is originating in locations like restaurants and bars. “If it’s not, maybe we should not draw any conclusions from it,” he said.

Wheeler stressed that it has been a couple of months since he was directly involved in the data analysis, but the limitations that concerned him remain in place.

The data is collected by case investigators — typically nurses employed by the health department — who interview Arkansans who ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 27

test positive for COVID-19. Case investigators ask whether patients have been to certain locations in the two weeks before their diagnosis: restaurants, bars, barbershops, churches, day cares, gyms, health providers, hotels or retail stores (including grocery stores). Investigators also ask whether patients have been in contact with another person infected with COVID-19.

Health department officials said investigators make three attempts to reach the patient within a two-day period, but that can vary based on case volume.

The health department publishes reports twice a week that present this data as a percentage. According to the Dec. 14 report, 13% of active cases reported having been to a retail store, 3% reported having been to a restaurant and just 0.1% (22 people total) reported having been to a bar. All other listed activities are at or below 3%.

But 3% of what? The health department is calculating the percentage based on all active COVID cases (the denominator in the department’s equation), not those people who

large swaths of people — I don’t think that’s happening,” Cima said. “I think we are actually getting in contact with the majority of our cases and we’re getting the information that we need.”

Another problem is that to draw conclusions with confidence, researchers want to make sure the sample of people they are speaking with isn’t somehow unusual or distinct from the overall pool of active cases.

“People who don’t respond are probably very different than the people who do respond to the health department,” Adalja said. “It’s probably not random. So you get a skewed picture.”

Cima acknowledged that it was “likely that at least some degree of [what is missing from the sample] is not truly random.”

In addition to the unknown number of people who never responded, never answered or haven’t been called, around 5% of current active cases are people in jails, prisons or nursing homes.

They are likewise included in the denominator, but would not typically be asked the questions about activities in the weeks prior to diagnosis.

Because of the various factors driving the

Sometimes, there’s not even a clue to work with. Since the beginning of the pandemic, in more than a third of all cases (inclusive of those who were never reached), investigators were unable to identify any link at all to another case.

The health department acknowledges other confounding factors that could further complicate efforts to identify the source of infection. People are more likely to be aware of links to people they interacted with in the home or at social gatherings than people they encountered at a restaurant or in a store.

Data analysts could be misled by low-hanging fruit: Respondents would know if an uncle at Thanksgiving tested positive, but might never learn about the stranger they sat next to at a bar.

People may also be reluctant to reveal certain activities to investigators, particularly if they are perceived to be contrary to COVID safety precautions. “It would be safe to say some degree of social norm bias would be happening,” Cima said.

“We rely, quite honestly, on the honesty and forthrightness of people,” state Secretary of

People may be reluctant to reveal certain activities to investigators, particularly if they are perceived to be contrary to COVID safety regulations. actually responded. That means it’s including people who never answered the question or never even picked up the phone. And it’s including new cases from patients who have not yet been called by investigators. Because the department does not track those numbers, there is no available information on the relevant question: Among those who actually responded, what percentage engaged in various activities?

Asked about these gaps in the data, health department spokesman Gavin Lesnick said, “We believe the information in the report is still relevant, while taking into account [these] limitations.”

“The denominator should be the people who have participated in the case investigation,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an expert in infectious disease at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “You want to make sure the denominator matches the actual responses.”

To determine the value of the data, Adalja said, it’s important to acknowledge the number of people the data never captured, which could lead to missing potential sources of infection.

Mike Cima, the health department’s chief epidemiologist, was not able to provide a specific estimate but said that the department reaches the majority of people, and that most of those who are reached respond to the questions about recent activities.

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percentages down, the health department data paints a strange picture. The chart it publishes, which has previously been cited by the governor, shows only tiny fractions participating in various activities, and just 13% who have even been to any retail store, including the grocery store. As presented, it seems to imply that people who contracted COVID-19 rarely left their homes in the two weeks before they tested positive. That would be a curious finding, unless people who wind up getting COVID-19 are much more cautious than others. Mobility data released by Google suggests that trips to such locations are down only slightly from the pre-COVID baseline.

“It’s possible that [the percentages] are somewhat conservative,” Cima said. Still, he said, the data gives the department some useful information about the spread of the virus.

Even if someone provides detailed and accurate information about their activities, case investigators often may not have enough information to determine the source of infection.

“Asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread makes it difficult to know with certainty in every case,” Lesnick said. “Some individuals visit multiple locations prior to infection, and establishing the precise point of transmission is impossible.” As the virus becomes increasingly widespread, people may have multiple exposures to infected people without even knowing it.

Health Dr. Jose Romero said. “If they don’t want to tell us [where they’ve been], we can’t extract the data.”

Asked whether the data — despite its various limitations — was sufficient to conclude that locations such as bars, restaurants and gyms were not a significant source of spread, Cima said, “I would not use the word ‘conclusive’ in any direction whatsoever.” Some transmission could be occurring there, he said. “I think it would be naive to say no,” he said. “Are those accounting for the large swath of cases that are occurring right now? I do not believe so.”

Wheeler, the former health department official, was skeptical that the existing data is enough to indicate that bars and restaurants are not a significant source of spread in Arkansas.

“Why are we different from everywhere else?”

Wheeler asked. “Because in other studies that have been done, it’s been clear that restaurants, bars, etc., are very fertile places for the spread of disease. I’ve been to bars and restaurants in other states and other places and they’re kind of the same.”

Wheeler pointed to a recent study in the science journal Nature that used cell phone data to map people’s movements in 10 U.S. cities and found that venues such as restaurants and gyms appeared to be major hotspots for transmission.

Regional variation could be possible, Wheeler said, but given the clear scientific reasoning behind the possibility of transmission in such

CIMA: The health department’s chief epidemiologist contends the state is getting the case investigation information it needs. But he allowed that the state’s data wasn’t sufficient to conclusively say that bars, restaurants and gyms weren’t a significant source of spread.

locations, more robust data would be necessary to support the conclusion that Arkansas was an outlier.

Cima pointed instead to social gatherings as the dominant culprit. Despite the governor’s claim that the “vast majority” of cases come from social gatherings, the health department does not collect hard numbers on such activities. Patients are not asked specifically about whether they have attended birthday parties or barbecues. Instead, Cima said, the department analyzes qualitative data, in the form of information that people may share when they are asked about any close contact with someone who has tested positive.

Case investigators have an open field in the form in which they can record details that respondents volunteer regarding social activities. Department analysts then might hunt for certain keywords, like “Thanksgiving” or “party,” to identify trends in the behavior of recently infected people, Cima said.

Cumulatively, Cima said, this anecdotal data suggests a pattern of spread at social gatherings, particularly when paired with spikes in cases seen around major holidays. “I think that the social gatherings, the indoor holidays, the indoor celebrations and not social distancing and wearing masks is the largest contributing factor to the spread of COVID-19 in Arkansas,” he said.

Wheeler said the health department and nurse investigators were doing the best they could with limited resources. “But the conclusions that you draw from your data are based on the quality of data that goes in,” he said. “And if you’re not getting great data, then your conclusions may not be that strong.”

At times, Hutchinson himself has explicitly

noted the holes in the data. “As governor I always wish I had better data,” he said Dec. 1. “I wish I knew exactly the source of every positive case so I could say, ‘Here it is, there’s a problem, we can address it there.’ But the data is not that good, much of it is human data. … It’s not always clear as to where that case came from.”

For the governor, the lack of more detailed information on the source of infection is reason not to impose additional restrictions. After all, if the data doesn’t rule out the possibility that places like bars and restaurants are a major source of spread, it doesn’t prove that they are, either.

“That’s why I’ve always said let’s don’t put economic restrictions on people and restrict their ability to make a living unless we have good data and understand the consequences of it,” he said. In November, the governor imposed an 11 p.m. closing time on venues that serve alcohol, but otherwise has kept the same regulations that have been in place since June, limiting occupancy to 66 percent and establishing safety protocols but allowing indoor dining and bars to remain open.

Wheeler said the governor should consider further restrictions, even if the state is operating with limited data, because such interventions have proved effective at slowing the spread of the virus.

“The major argument that underlies this whole discussion is: Are we doing well or are we not?” Wheeler said. “Well, we’re not doing

well, and we’ve done essentially no interventions other than this 11 o’clock curfew that the governor put in. And the numbers continue to climb. So should we not try what has been used in other places? In general, if you look at other countries or states that have successfully brought their numbers down, it includes almost universally cutting back on the in-house dining, closing of bars and that kind of thing.”

One of the places that had success with aggressive restrictions, Wheeler said, was Arkansas last spring, when the state ordered many nonessential businesses to close on March 20.

“Just to remind the governor, he did this once,” Wheeler said. “And it worked.”

Asked directly at a press conference whether the health department data was sufficient to support his conclusions about the source of infection, Hutchinson deferred to Cima.

Cima summarized the health department’s case investigation questions, and noted “social gathering information [that] is qualitative in nature.”

After the press conference, a reporter asked Romero, the health secretary, if he would eat at a restaurant.

“I haven’t eaten in a restaurant in months,” Romero said. “Would I go to a department store to browse? No. Would I go anywhere I don’t have to go? No.” Cima also replied no.

Leslie Peacock contributed reporting for this story.

This reporting is courtesy of the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network, an independent, nonpartisan news project dedicated to producing journalism that matters to Arkansans.

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J

ust because you’re a native of Arkansas doesn’t mean you know everything there is to know about how to wring a little fun out of our state (or about more important matters). That’s why the Arkansas Times offers a Natives Guide to kick off every year, when readers are wondering, What’s new, or what’s not new but we didn’t know it? This year, with your cooped-upped-edness in mind, we chose three subjects that might be welcome: 1. Where to hike without leaving the city so you don’t have to stop at a service station where no one is wearing a mask and because you could really use a good ramble. 2. Where you can pick up a meal that’s as good as it is cheap. 3. Who can help you if you need a mental pick-me-up from the stress of 2020, where to find a roof over your head, how to get unemployment assistance and other nonprofits that can point you in the direction of great resources (and to whom you might want to give that pandemic check you don’t need). Natives, explore, have a beer and a burger or a slice and a salad, and breathe easier.

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A WALK IN THE WOODS IN THE CITY A GUIDE TO URBAN HIKING IN CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

BY LINDSEY MILLAR, LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK AND STEPHANIE SMITTLE

W

e learned new ways to live in 2020, ways to be solitary without being stationary, stuck at home with the house cat and a hot computer. A stroll around the neighborhood, for example. But a leisurely walk sometimes won’t fire up the endorphins to the heat we need to melt away stress. Then we need a hike, maybe on a new trail, up a steep mountainside. Pinnacle Mountain State Park is a super popular go-to for hiking and a great view, and the packed parking lot tells us that it’s already on everyone’s radar. Here’s a list of urban hikes for both the seasoned-and-booted and the green-andtennis-shoe-shod in Central Arkansas that don’t get the same sort of traffic Pinnacle does, but have much to recommend:

RUGGED ROUTES CONNER PARK 13100 Cantrell Road

RIVER MOUNTAIN PARK Southridge Drive or River Mountain Road I’ve lived in Little Rock for almost 20 years and only recently discovered these lovely small West Little Rock city parks.

Those who travel regularly on Cantrell Road west of Interstate 430 have probably visited or at least noticed Conner Park (13100 Cantrell Road) on the north side of the busy road. It’s oriented around Conner Lake, which is more of a pond, with a pier right off the small parking lot and nice benches spread out around it for fishing. There are three loop trails in the park: a short one around the pond; a fairly rugged one that travels a little way up a hill and over a handful of bridges that took me about 15 minutes to complete; and one that follows the perimeter of the park and connects with a trail that follows power lines for about three-quarters of a mile and then

goes steeply uphill and crosses over Southridge Drive into River Mountain Park.

You can also reach River Mountain Park’s western trailhead by driving to, approximately, 12364 Southridge Drive, and parking in a small lot or on the street. There’s another small lot near the eastern terminus of the trail on River Mountain Road near Two Rivers Park. For now, the only feature in the narrow, 132-acre park is a 2.9-mile outand-back trail that runs through a valley between Southridge Drive and Rivercrest Drive. But trail tape hints at the 8 miles of multiuse trails designed specifically for mountain bikes that the Arkansas Parks & Recreation is building there. With several “gravity” downhill trails planned to take advantage of the 300 feet of elevation change in the park, it’s soon to become a cycling destination. But I’m already adding it to my list of top, nearby hikes to do with kids. It’s rocky, with lots of grade changes, so you might want to approach it with caution if you’ve got little kids or bad knees. But my 6- and

ON RATTLESNAKE RIDGE: Just west of Pinnacle Moutain is a beautiful natural area with good hiking and great views.

10-year-olds loved the many creek crossings and large rock faces along several sections of the creek just off the trail that they partially scaled. The backyards of some homes in Walton Heights are visible early on, and toward the eastern end of the trail you can hear traffic from Cantrell and I-430, but for most of the hike, it feels like you’re far away from the city. If it’s rained recently, you’ll want to bring waterproof boots. If you wanted to do a big day hike, going out and back from Conner Park to Two Rivers Park would be about 9 miles. LM

OUACHITA NATIONAL RECREATION TRAIL Pinnacle Mountain State Park Visitor Center parking lot Now might be a great time to leave everything behind and spend several weeks backpacking on the 222-mile Ouachita Trail, which runs from Pinnacle Mountain to southeastern Oklahoma. Or you could just stretch your legs and avoid the crowds on some of Pinnacle’s more popular routes, and do all or part of the 2.5 miles of the Ouachita Trail in Pinnacle Mountain State Park. The eastern trailhead drops down through the upland forests

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TAKE YOUR BEST FRIEND: For a hike at Emerald Park in North Little Rock, which is laden with overlook spots and spur trails.

of Middle Mountain, to the banks of the Big Maumelle River, across train tracks and Pinnacle Valley Road, to the base of Pinnacle Mountain. Climbing Middle Mountain on the return trip is a good workout. LM RATTLESNAKE RIDGE NATURAL AREA Barrett Road Roland Like Pinnacle Mountain, Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area offers excellent hiking and great views from its bald peak, including a nice look at slightly taller Pinnacle to the east. Its sandstone outcrops, ravines and switchback trails that make ascent to the top fairly easy are among the reasons Rattlesnake Ridge is one of the best hikes in Central Arkansas.

Its easiest trail is on the ridgeline along Barrett Road, and that quarter-mile hike alone is worth the trip. But veer off on a trail down into a ravine, over wooden bridges and back up Cliffbreak Trail to reach the summit and be rewarded with the woods, boulders and birds. Or, take the longer Mountain Boomer trail or the Lower Kanob trail that follow the ups and downs of this 323-acre uplift that divides the Little Maumelle and Big Maumelle rivers.

The trails draw mountain bikers, so keep an eye out, and note: The parking area admits only 30 cars at most, and a sign asks visitors to come another day if the lot is

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full. Part of the entrance leads to private property, so don’t park in front of that gate, OK? The natural area was acquired by the state from the Lee Bodehamer family, The Nature Conservancy and Central Arkansas Water to preserve its unusual-for-the-area flora and fauna. LNP EMERALD PARK North Little Rock High above the Arkansas River on its North Little Rock side is Emerald Park, an evergreen-lush mountainside with bird’s eye views of the downtown Little Rock skyline and state Capitol, Rebsamen Park, the Big Rock Quarry and the rolling river. The easiest way to gain access to Emerald Park’s two main trails plus a small network of rewarding spur trails is to point your GPS navigation to the Emerald Park Parking Lot behind Pulaski Technical College at 3000 W. Scenic Drive.

(Or, for the GPS-averse, head to Pulaski Tech, drive to the rear of the campus and turn onto Marge Gardner Lane.) Near the end of a short paved initial stretch, you’ll come to a paved fork; this is decision time. Veering left will take you along Emerald Park’s Highland Trail, a 1.8-mile paved route that roughly parallels the river and puts you out near the Eugene V. Towbin VA Healthcare Center complex; this trail is the best of both worlds, especially if you’ve got less experienced

hikers in your company — it’s paved, but scenic. If, however, you veered right at the paved fork, you’ve got a couple of options, too.

For a short but adventurous jaunt out to a rocky ridge with loads of photo opportunities, follow the paved path to a gazebo overlook, then onward, where the pavement quickly gives way to a narrow ridge trail, then to a craggy cliffside overlooking the river and environs. This short out-and-back spur is well-traveled — and its boulders well-decorated with vibrant graffiti. If you’re less inclined to ridges with precarious footing, or aren’t donning the right footwear, take the right at the paved fork and keep an eye out for the sharp — I repeat, sharp — switchback that begins Emerald Park Trail. It’s unmarked, but if you get to the gazebo overlook, you’ve gone too far. This natural 1-mile trail cuts back and forth gently along the mountainside, where it meets the heavily trafficked Arkansas River Trail. SS

EASY UP AND DOWN

ALLSOPP PARK NORTH AND SOUTH 3700 Cedar Hill Road (from Kavanaugh Boulevard on the south to Cantrell Road on the north) Once in a while you’ll have to duck a fearless mountain biker tackling the narrow and rocky trails through this midtown park, but the 150-acre wooded park is a great place for a mild workout along the ridge it hugs between Hillcrest and the Heights. It is wild enough to host coyotes in some seasons, but with the noisy playground and the ballfield and tennis courts in the flatlands along its unnamed creek, they hide. The park has two parts:

It continues in the ravine north of North Lookout up the steepish hill to the Prospect Terrace neighborhood in the Heights. Out and back from Cedar Hill to the Heights endpoint is a nice long hike. Dogs must be on a leash, but that is more honour’d in the breach than the observance. LNP GILLAM PARK Springer Boulevard Gillam Park’s history is a sad one: It was opened as a segregated park in the 1930s; improved with a bond issue tied to slum clearance it opened with a swimming pool in 1950, but the city did not dedicate the money it would take to staff it and keep it up. Now, however, Gillam Park has new life, especially for birdwatchers who look for bejeweled migrants in its 400 acres of fields and uplands and native plant lovers who might find a small-headed pipewort on its nepheline syenite outcrops. So for some, a hike here will include a lot of stops, but it’s a good place to think about something other than a troubled world. Park at the gate or in the parking lot of the nearby Audubon Center, whose Wildlife Observation Trail hooks up with Gillam Park. LNP BURNS PARK Spread out over 1,700 acres, you’ll find just about any outdoor amenity you could want in this North Little Rock park: golf, frisbee golf, endless tennis courts, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, a (privately managed) BMX track, a dog park, campground and access to the Arkansas River Trail. But don’t sleep on the hiking. The 5-mile Green Loop Trail traverses the park’s hilly terrain and offers several overlooks of the Arkansas River and a cutoff

LINDSEY MILLAR

FUTURE TRAILS

FIND PEACE BY THE LITTLE MAUMELLE: The Ranch North Woods Preserve Loop is a beautiful place to commune with nature.

about halfway through in case you want to bail earlier. If you know you want something shorter, the 1.8-mile Red Loop Trail follows similar ground, or the 2.2-mile Yellow Loop Trail covers the mostly flat northern edge of the park. Look out for mountain bikers and people on horseback.

The parking area by the covered bridge is a good place to park. LM

along the park’s nonpaved “trails,” one into the wetland south of the main trail and the other through brush north to the park boundary. The big-dipper shaped paved trail that has a stretch along the Little Maumelle is also largely untrod and provides views of the stream. LNP

FLATS

THE RANCH NORTH WOODS PRESERVE LOOP 8803 Ranch Boulevard

You’ll see lots on this trail in the 1,000-acre Two Rivers Park: Runners, hikers, dogs, cyclists, cyclists hauling babies, cyclists hauling dogs, so you won’t be lonely — until you bushwhack

This Nature Conservancy preserve, once slated for development, is a lovely oasis amid West Little Rock sprawl. It’s 234 acres of field and forest and includes 1.7 miles of the Little Maumelle River. The Nature Conservancy has left canoes and life jackets

TWO RIVERS TRAIL 6900 Two Rivers Park Road

on racks at several points along the river for public use. The 2-mile loop trail is a great way to get a feel for the preserve.

About half of it follows the Little Maumelle River. On a recent cold weekday afternoon, we saw an egret gliding between towering cypress trees. Toward dusk we heard a barred owl’s call. Halfway through the loop, you feel very far removed from the city. Much of the property, including paths through fields, are filled with deep puddles during the wet months. I remembered to bring snacks and water and heavy coats on the outing with my kids, but I failed to remember to put them in boots and their feet ended up soaked. LM

Thanks to a $3 million federal Surface Transportation Block Grant awarded by Metroplan, hikers and bikers can look forward to a new trail system south of Col. Glenn Road and west of University Avenue. The 6-mile phase 3 of the Tri-Creek Greenway — primarily designed for cyclists — will create new 12-foot-wide paths and make use of existing paved trails and bridges in Boyle Park and Kanis Park. The funded route stretches from Western Hills northwest of Fourche Creek through First Tee, north under state Highway 5, over Rock Creek, under 36th Street, over Fourche Creek, under Kanis Road, over Rock Creek to Mississippi Street at Interstate 630. There will also be on-street connections to UA Little Rock and the 12th Street bike lanes that go to Arkansas Children’s Hospital; future phases will extend the trail to War Memorial. John Landosky, Little Rock’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, wrote the grant to create a route that would serve as work transportation as well as recreation and park access to residents of an underserved area of the city. The generous grant allows for the construction of bridges and underpasses to create safe links between existing bike trails, including another trail in Western Hills that will be part of an improvement project funded with an Outdoor Recreation Legacy grant of the National Park Service. The city is still seeking funding to extend the Greenway to Brodie Creek Park east of Hindman Park. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is matching the STGB grant with $750,000. LNP

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SEVEN MEALS FOR UNDER $10 CHEAP EATS IN CENTRAL ARKANSAS

BY RHETT BRINKLEY

G

oing out to eat could mean a lot of things in 2020. In early spring our only options were curbside takeout and delivery service. Now you can eat in parking lots transformed into patios and sit under heat lamps. You can still get curbside takeout. You can order from a third-party app on your smart devices, leave a tip and get your food delivered to your door without any human interaction whatsoever. (You can even go sit in a fairly crowded dining room, evidently, as long as you wear a mask for a few minutes.)

It may sound complicated, but it’s never been so simple. Restaurants have to make it easy on us because they’re struggling and we’re struggling. Often, when you decide to eat out in whatever fashion, it’s going to be a $15 to $20 investment.

And that’s wonderful when it’s in your budget: You’re supporting local, your tips go to reliable and dependable food service workers and you’re probably enjoying delectable flavors because Little Rock is a great food town. However, if you’re watching your spending, eating out can really add up. But there remain cheap eats to be had in Central Arkansas. You just have to do some research, listen to those who have an ear for deals and, if you’re lucky, you can try some places you’ve never been before. There are local options that far outshine fast food, which isn’t even all that cheap anymore. It’s been a rough year for restaurants, so be patient and kind, wear your mask, and when budgeting be sure to include a generous tip.

Vino's

Four Quarter Bar

If funds are a little low but you still want to have a few beers and a little something to eat, Four Quarter in Argenta has you covered. You can get a very decent grilled cheese sandwich with housemade chips for $4.50. If you have 75 cents more, you can wash it down with an adorable 7-ounce Miller High Life pony for $5.25. Or just skip the food and get a sixer of High Life ponies for $4.50. There’s a patio out back if you want to enjoy the open air. The rest of the menu is great, too, and you can take your food to go if you’re not ready for bar life yet.

415 Main St., NLR 501-313-4704

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Mama's Gyros

You probably haven’t been to Mama’s Gyros. I hadn’t either, but I should’ve visited a long time ago. Located on Kiehl Avenue in Sherwood, the family-owned business has been around since 1990. I picked up an old-style street gyro for $8.95, stuffed with a mixture of lamb and beef or chicken, tzatziki sauce, tomato, onion and a side order of fries wedged in the pita. Mama’s also has two daily Brown Bag Specials. One is a small gyro, chips and a small drink for $5. The other is a small hamburger or cheeseburger with chips and a small drink for $5. Mama’s also has a daily gyro, fries and drink special for $8.95. The restaurant’s interior is small, so it’s just doing curbside pick-up and delivery through Bite Squad for now.

3309 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood 501-833-0306

Is there a more convenient lunch than a New York-style slice of pizza? I don’t think so. The lunch slices at Vino’s are so big they’re served in a 10-inch pizza box. And the lunch special at Vino’s is hard to beat. You can order a one-topping slice (I opted for a cheese slice because I’d just watched “Home Alone” and Kevin’s right, cheese pizza is lovely), a dinner salad and a drink for $8.27 with tax included.

And it’s worth mentioning that Vino’s dinner salad is unique. Most restaurants offer mixed lettuce, tomato and maybe croutons and charge nearly $5. Vino’s dinner salad features a generous helping of mozzarella, green and black olives, onions, green bell peppers and fresh mushrooms. It blew my mind as a teenager and still does today. It also has the best phone number in town: 375-VINO. 923 W. Seventh St. 375-8466

Boulevard Bread Co.

K Hall & Sons Produce

I’m enamored with the idea of a soda fountain cheeseburger, or one you might get sitting at the counter in a coffee shop in the days before everything became supersized. For a burger, K Hall & Sons’ is on the smaller side — tidy, simple, easy to eat. You don’t have to use two hands or feel any inclination to smash the bun down to size or cut the sandwich in half for easier consumption. It’s my preference, and K Hall & Sons does it perfectly for $3.79. All the flavors combine in perfect cheeseburger harmony. K Hall also offers a jumbo size for a dollar more. The regular cheeseburger at K Hall with fries and a canned soda is $7 and change. I couldn’t finish the fries, but I wanted to and thought about it, then thought about it again.

1900 Wright Ave. 501-372-1513

Pull Up At Big Dave's

You can catch planes taking off and landing from the Clinton National Airport while en route to Pull Up At Big Dave’s in East Little Rock. It's nestled right off East Roosevelt Road in a red brick building. Dave’s smoker sits on the edge of the parking lot creating aromas that invite one to pull up. It was chilly when I went, but I cracked the windows to let the smell permeate my car. Orders are taken through a window outside and then you wait in your car until your number is called.

It’s worth the trip. You can get a pulled pork sandwich, a side and a soda for $9.80 with tax included. If you’re willing to spend a little more, try the spare ribs, which are coated with Dave’s signature rub and slathered with sauce and served with two pieces of inch-thick white bread.

6214 E. Roosevelt Road 501-414-6476

I used to work at Boulevard Bread Co., and I learned that I only needed a half sandwich to get me through the post-lunch shift. It’s no real secret that Boulevard’s half sandwich is more of a whole sandwich, and according to Boulevard Bread Co. employees, the customer favorite is the turkey sandwich with pepper jack, tomato, avocado, mixed field greens and mayo. Customers swapping the customary baguette for 8-grain heart-healthy bread is a lasting trend. It comes with Dirty brand kettle chips of several flavor varieties. The half sandwich and iced tea (Boulevard’s tea has fruity, floral notes, but it’s not sweet and you should try it) comes to $9.99 after tax. Another very popular Boulevard sandwich, and rightly so, is the breakfast sandwich with pancetta, fried egg, lettuce, tomato and aioli on 8-grain.

If you haven’t tried to kickstart your morning with this, don’t wait any longer because you can get it and a cup of coffee for $8.88 with tax included.

1920 N. Grant St. (Heights, 663-5951, 1417 S. Main St. (SoMa, 501-375-5100)

Mark's Donut Shop

Donuts are synonymous with office life, and you’re probably always within a few miles of a Shipley’s.

But if you’ve never been to Mark’s Do-Nut Shop off Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, you’re missing out. One bite into a glazed donut and I had to turn my podcast off and just have a silent moment. One more bite and I decided that it might be the best donut I’d ever had in my life. I’m not joking around here.

As Daniel Walker wrote in 2012 in the Arkansas Times, “It’s a completely ethereal experience sinking your incisors into a hot, golden glazed donut from Mark’s.”

Three donuts and large 16-ounce coffee are a whopping $5.24, and you can get a dozen for $10.57. I will be back and probably too frequently. It's closed inside and just serving drive-thru.

The line was about eight cars deep at 8:30 a.m. and stretched out to West 41st Street, but it moved fast.

4015 Camp Robinson Road, NLR 501-753-2017 ARKANSASTIMES.COM

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WHERE TO GET HELP THE INFORMATION YOU NEED FOR WHAT AILS YOU IN THIS DIFFICULT SEASON.

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE

MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Call the Arkansas Crisis Center at 888-274-7472 if you or someone you know is considering suicide or exhibiting warning signs.

Alternatively, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 800273-8255, or at 888-628-9454 for Spanish-speaking callers, or at 800-799-4889 for callers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

AR-Connect, a program of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Psychiatric Research Institute, connects callers with relief for COVID-19-adjacent mental health issues, and maintains a 280-page manual of state programs that connect patients with other resources for relief and assistance. 501-526-3563.

North Little Rock’s Bridgeway Hospital offers inpatient services for children, seniors, adults and adolescents, including treatment of mood disorders, thought disorders and substance abuse issues.

501-771-1500, thebridgeway.com.

Little Rock’s Centers for Youth 36 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

and Families offers same-day access to outpatient counseling services for children, teens and adults experiencing emotional or behavioral problems. Bilingual counselors are available and a range of insurance coverage types is accepted. 888-8680023, centersforyouthandfamilies.net.

The Trevor Project offers crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth. Call 866-488-7386 or text START to 678678.

Little Rock-based Professional Counseling Associates operates five clinics across Pulaski, Lonoke and Prairie counties, with telehealth options available. PCA offers group and individual counseling, a Child and Adolescent Service System Program to help youth whose behavioral problems require assistance from multiple state agencies, and a Family Resource Center in North Little Rock with a movie room, “beauty room” and counseling sessions on finance, divorce, stress,

BRIAN CHILSON

A

pandemic, an unemployment crisis and a reckoning over racial inequality have triangulated in 2020, confirming what many already knew to be true: that the social safety net in America is tenuous, and whether or not it catches you when you fall may depend on who you are, what you look like and what paperwork you can navigate. This year, the lines at food banks and the unemployment office have been long, and many Arkansans are one setback away from eviction, insurmountable medical debt or isolating depression. If you or someone you know could use some help, here are a few resources to tap in Central Arkansas. We can’t promise it will be easy, or that this list is exhaustive, but it’s a start.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services is a good jumping-off point, with connections to rental assistance, SNAP benefits and Medicaid benefits, including low- to no-cost health insurance through a program called Arkansas Works. Find DHS services at humanservices.arkansas. gov. And if you don’t find what you need there, or in our list below, Our House and C.A.R.E. (Central Arkansas Re-Entry Coalition) are among the organizations that maintain extensive directories of community relief resources; find those at ourhouseshelter.org/resources and at arkansasreentry.com.

MORE THAN A SHELTER: Our House’s programs include career development, mental health resources and more.

relationships and other topics.

800-592-9503, pca-ar.org.

The Pointe Outpatient Behavioral Health Services operates 12 outpatient clinics across the state, treating children, teens and adults for depression, hyperactivity, anger problems, anxiety, family conflict and a range of other issues. 501-223-3322, thepointebhs.com.

Benton-based Rivendell Behavioral Health Services of Arkansas offers acute psychiatric care, partial hospitalization and inpatient services to treat addictive symptoms and mental illness in children, teens and adults.

Telehealth options are available.

501-316-1255, rivendellofarkansas.com.

Arkansas AA Central Service Office connects people with times, dates, locations and contacts for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings across the state. 501-664-7303, arkansascentraloffice.org.

Al-Anon and Alateen provide a

support network for friends and family members of people with alcoholism. Find meeting times, digital and in-person, at arkansasalanon.org/meeting.

Narcotics Anonymous connects recovering drug addicts with monthly meetings and resources.

Find a list of virtual and in-person meetings at the Central Arkansas Area Service Committee chapter website at caasc.org.

A variety of inpatient and outpatient detox, rehabilitation and drug treatment facilities operate in the Little Rock area.

See Our House’s directory at ourhouseshelter.org/resources, and Central Arkansas Re-Entry Coalition’s (C.A.R.E.) directory at arkansasreentry.com.

HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND TEMPORARY SHELTER

Jericho Way, a temporary shelter run jointly by DePaul USA and the city of Little Rock, offers day center services on weekdays, including computer access, case

management, laundry services and job counseling. 501-9169859.

Our House runs an 80-bed shelter program and a Family House for a limited number of homeless and near-homeless people, plus programs in career development, mental health and early child development. 501-374-7383, ourhouseshelter.org.

The Van offers street-level outreach services, delivering food, hygiene products, clothing, flashlights and more to unsheltered people in the Little Rock area.

501-955-3444, itsthevan.org.

The ministry-based Little Rock Compassion Center operates a men’s and women’s shelter for temporary (14-day) stays, a food pantry, a kitchen that serves three meals a day and a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

501-296-9114, lrcompassioncenter.org.

Lucie’s Place offers shelter and relief resources to LGBTQ+ people living in Central Arkansas.

501-508-5005, luciesplace.org.

The Veterans Day Treatment Center offers veterans access to VA programs, including residential placement at its St. Francis House. 501-244-1900, stfrancishouselr.org.

Women and Children First offers shelter to women and children, particularly victims of domestic violence. 501-376-3219, wcfarkansas.org.

UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE

Arkansas Department of Workforce Services administers unemployment benefits. Call 501-6822121 or visit dws.arkansas.gov/ unemployment to check eligibility and file an unemployment claim.

The Arkansas Employment

Career Center provides young adults, veterans, the homeless and others in need with GED prep, college entrance assistance, resume development, job referrals, and other forms of job counseling. 501-615-8922, arkansasemploymentcareercenter.com.

TAX ASSISTANCE

The Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) connects in-person visitors with free tax preparation sites in Pulaski County. Visit 700 W. Capitol, Suite 1412, Little Rock, or make an appointment by calling 844-545-5640.

Arkansas Community Organization (A.C.O.) provides income tax preparation services to low-income Arkansas households, as well as credit counseling and resources for financial literacy.

501-376-7151, arkansascomm. org.

The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law offers a legal clinic most years in January.

Call the tax clinic at 501-9165424 to check availability.

Legal Aid of Arkansas offers free income tax assistance to low-to-moderate income people who cannot prepare their own taxes, with Spanish-speaking interpreters available. Call 501975-3770 to make an appointment.

FOOD PANTRIES

Visit foodpantries.org or ourhouseshelter.org/resources for a list of open food pantries.

MEDICAL, DENTAL AND EYE CARE

ARCare offers general medical clinics and referrals. 501-4552712.

UAMS Dental Hygiene Student Clinic allows dental students

to perform routine dental care services for $40/visit. 501-6865733.

River City Ministry: Day Services for the Homeless offers eye exams and dental visits to Pulaski County residents at a cost of $5 cash/visit; call 501-376-6694 to make an eye appointment, and call at 10 a.m. sharp on Thursdays to make a dental appointment.

Shepherds Hope Neighborhood Health Center offers monthly eye clinics to residents of the 72204 and 72209 zip codes by appointment. Call 501-614-9523, Ext. 2 to make an appointment.

College Station Clinic offers dental care and medical exams by appointment, with copays based on income (proof of income and Social Security card required).

501-490-2440.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, CHILD ABUSE AND ADULT MALTREATMENT

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.

The Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence works to stop domestic violence, teen dating abuse. 501-907-5612, domesticpeace.com.

Women and Children First, a facility that provides temporary shelter for victims of domestic violence and their children, also operates a crisis intervention line, court advocates to assist in filing orders of protection and accompanying survivors to court, and other forms of counseling. 501376-3219, wcfarkansas.org.

Dorcas House: A Division of Union Rescue Mission offers a 9-month program for women and children who are victims of domestic abuse, with an adjacent substance abuse recovery pro-

gram. 501-374-4022, urmissionlr. org/dorcas-house.

RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANTS AND UNDOCUMENTED ARKANSANS

El Zocalo Immigrant Resource Center connects immigrant individuals and families with a variety of resources and relief. 501-3014652, zocalocenter.com.

ARKids is a medical insurance program for children administered by the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Spanish-speaking interpreters available. 888-474-8275.

Catholic Immigration Resources helps immigrant individuals and families with legislative advocacy, preparation of immigration forms and other counseling services, including counseling for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. 501-664-0340.

Center for Arkansas Legal Services provides free legal services to low-income Arkansas residents in noncriminal cases, and has Spanish-speaking interpreters available. 501-376-3423, arlegalservices.org.

RESOURCES FOR CREATORS AND ARTISTS

Nonprofit venture Creator’s Village seeks to connect artists, musicians and creators with mentorships, industry tools and business skills to help them make a living in Arkansas. Creatorsvillage.org.

The Center for Cultural Community links creative professionals with advice and resources for financial health, health care access, networking and career management. Centerforculturalcommunity.org/contact.

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JANUARY 2021 37

Special Advertising Section For students seeking to make their way in the world to seniors seeking a place to retire, Central Arkansas has services for people at all stages of life.

This Natives Guide list includes resources in education, providers of health care, financial consultation and real estate.

natives guide:

HEALTH CARE

UAMS

Among the state’s best known, most prestigious health care facilities is the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), which includes its hospital, the UAMS Medical Center, named the best hospital in the state by U.S. News & World Report.

As Arkansas’s only health sciences university, the institution also serves as the premier center of learning and research, as well as operating UAMS Health, Arkansas’s largest statewide health system encompassing all of its clinical operations, which can tend to all manner of patient needs.

That system includes primary care, including UAMS Health Neighborhood Clinics, with three locations in Little Rock — on Rahling Road, Financial Centre Parkway and on the Capitol Mall — in addition to locations in Maumelle and Fayetteville.

Primary care is also available through UAMS Regional Campuses, where UAMS physicians train medical residents in family medicine while providing clinical care and health education services. The eight regional campuses are in Jonesboro, Fayetteville/Springdale, Batesville, Magnolia, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, Fort Smith and Helena-West Helena.

A statewide leader in digital health, UAMS is delivering health care through technology such as smartphones, interactive live video, wearable devices and personal computers. This reduces the cost of health care and improves access for patients, especially in rural areas. The UAMS HealthNow platform gives patients with a digital connection real-time, 24/7 access to care providers.

More specialized clinical care is also available through UAMS Health and UAMS’ seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Harvey & Bernice 38 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, the Translational Research Institute and the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation.

UAMS and its more than 1,200 physicians offer statewide expertise in providing care for heart and vascular health, neurology, digestive health and orthopedics, to name a few. The ear, nose and throat program at UAMS was ranked among the top 50 in the country by U.S. News & World Report, and six other areas were noted for high performance, including treatment of COPD, colon cancer, heart failure, hip replacement, knee replacement and lung cancer.

From behavioral health to audiology to organ transplant, the range of clinical knowledge at UAMS is unmatched in Arkansas. From the most challenging diagnoses such as various forms of cancer to the routine of regular oral health and dental care or annual eye exams, UAMS has services to meet every patient’s needs.

In the event of a crisis, the UAMS Emergency Department, the state’s only adult Level 1 trauma center, offers the most comprehensive facilities, technology and expertise in the state and is home to the first and only Comprehensive Stroke Center in Central Arkansas.

For more than 140 years, UAMS has educated and trained thousands of physicians and nurses while using the most up-to-date, best practices in patient care and maintaining robust research efforts to discover and develop newer and better treatments. Central to these efforts are the institution’s five colleges — Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health — and its graduate school.

! l a c Lo

Shop & dine Local in north little rock At the new North Little Rock Welcome Center, shop Arkansas-made products and gift cards to some of the best restaurants in town. New to the area? We’ll show you where the locals go! Find things to do, places to stay and dining.

600 Main St., ste. 120, north little rock, AR 72114 open Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. shop online: NorthLittleRock.org/register

follow us: @exploreNLR #exploreNLR local dining & things to do: NorthLittleRock.org

Special Advertising Section

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS OF ARKANSAS

CHCA is a nonprofit organization established in 1985 to expand access to affordable quality care in Arkansas and to create a unified voice for Community Health Centers (CHCs) and the patients they serve. For more than 30 years, CHCA has received funding to provide training and technical assistance to CHCs for improving care delivery.

CHCA is governed by a board of directors composed of the executive directors from each member CHC. CHCA’s mission is to advocate for and facilitate the success of CHCs and promote access to health care in Arkansas.

Our vision is to be an innovative leader, promoting improved health care outcomes and equal access to the highest quality health care for all Arkansans.

CHCA serves 12 CHC organizations and their 140-plus service locations across Arkansas.

The services offered by CHCA help Arkansas CHCs provide effective and efficient care to their patients and further their goals of improving access to care and reducing health disparities and improved health outcomes. CHCA has over the years successfully served as a conduit for new programs, projects and funding that supports greater access to comprehensive services for underserved populations throughout Arkansas.

CHCA collaborates with local, state and federal partners, organizations and policy makers to positively influence changes to policies, regulations and legislation aimed at strengthening the health centers’ ability to provide affordable, accessible, comprehensive, quality health care services to uninsured, underserved Arkansans through Medicare and Medicaid.

BLUE YOGA NYLA

The practice of yoga is the integration of the mind, body and spirit. Yoga therapy is a personal journey targeting specific areas of illness, injury and disease in the body, mind and spirit. Our story, our past, our pain, our wounds, lead us where we stand today. Through this process we will be able to identify how our pain and past dwell in our being as manifestations of anxiety, depression and disease.

Stacey Reynolds is a yoga therapist and president/owner of Blue Yoga Nyla. Her 20-plus years of experience as a yoga therapist enables her to offer a unique, personalized approach in guiding students through the healing process. With her extensive knowledge of the chakra system and subtle body, her work allows for the release of long-held shadow debris.

Sometimes we are unable to identify what is causing a sense of discomfort. We know something is not quite right but cannot identify a cause. Unaddressed tension and stress can lead to illness, disease, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue and spiritual disconnect. Yoga therapy allows individuals to investigate, uncover, discover and discard while working with their own unique story.

Stacey specializes in trauma, grief and addiction. Email blueyoganyla@ gmail.com for a yoga therapy information packet and scheduling.

ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Arkansas Children’s is the only hospital system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas’s more than 700,000 children, allowing our organization to uniquely shape the landscape of pediatric care in Arkansas. The private, nonprofit organization includes two hospitals, a pediatric research institute, a foundation, clinics, education and outreach.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital is one of only five hospitals in the nation that have achieved Magnet Status, ACS Level 1 verification and a Beacon award from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Arkansas Children’s Northwest is the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region and home to Northwest Arkansas’s only pediatric emergency department.

Our team is driven by four core values: safety, teamwork, compassion and excellence. These values inform every decision and every action. Our mission is to make children better today and healthier tomorrow.

Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children’s since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. Learn more at archildrens.org.

METHODIST FAMILY HEALTH

For more than 120 years, Methodist Family Health has made a significant impact addressing the trauma in the lives of the Arkansas children and families we serve. Through community contributions of time, funds and prayer, the abandoned, abused and neglected children and adolescents throughout our continuum of care understand — many for the first time — their value as human beings. This legacy began in 1899, when the Methodist Episcopal Church South established the Arkansas Methodist Orphanage in Little Rock.

In the next 12 decades, Methodist Family Health expanded to a statewide continuum of care for children and their families struggling with psychiatric, behavioral, emotional and spiritual issues. Today, we continue our mission of providing the best possible care to those who may need our help through our behavioral hospital, psychiatric residential treatment centers, therapeutic group homes, outpatient community- and school-based counseling clinics, the Kaleidoscope Grief Center for children and their loved ones dealing with the loss of a loved one, and therapeutic day treatment programs, the Arkansas Center for Addictions Research, Education and Services (Arkansas CARES), and the Methodist Family Health Foundation. If you or someone you love is struggling, contact us at Info@MethodistFamily.org or visit methodistfamily.org.

40 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

ARKANSAS DENTAL CENTERS

For Dr. Chad Matone, helping people live healthier lives has long been both a passion and a profession. Matone graduated summa cum laude from the University of Central Arkansas as a ranking honor graduate with a bachelor’s degree in health science and a master’s in physical therapy.

He worked four years as a physical therapist. Helping individuals regain their strength and mobility proved rewarding and inspiring as he moved between outpatient and in-home care. In working with individuals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, Dr. Matone quickly recognized that oral health — from physical pain to the struggles with eating and speaking — was a pressing concern.

He attended the University of Tennessee Dental School in 2002 and earned his doctor of dental surgery degree in 2006, receiving the Cecily W. Tipton Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. In 2014, he established Arkansas Dental Centers to bring various dental practices and partnerships into one collaborative group.

When you visit a practice in the ADC network, you are not visiting a franchise office. Instead, you are seeing the same experienced doctors and hygienists who have been treating the community for years. ADC doctors meet regularly to discuss innovations and exchange insights, working together in a shared goal to provide the best dental care in Arkansas.

ADC offices share a vision, mission and branded identity. However, each practice operates independently, driven by the doctors and staff that know their patients and community best.

That is how ADC can guarantee that, no matter which one of the 14 locations you may visit, you will receive the high-quality care you would expect from your neighborhood family dentist.

ADC offices are located in Benton, Brinkley, Little Rock, West Little Rock, Midtown Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway (Centerstone and East Oak), Jacksonville, Lonoke, Malvern, Monticello, Pine Bluff and Sheridan.

Special Advertising Section

RHEA DRUG

As a traditional pharmacy, we take care of all of your prescription needs, including delivery. We accept all major insurance coverage and Medicare Part D plans. As a neighborhood gift shop, we have something for everyone. We even throw in free gift wrapping! So after you drop off your prescription, browse for great gifts you won’t find anywhere else.

501-664-4117.

natives guide:

BANKING

ARKANSAS DERMATOLOGY CONWAY

We know that our office is only as effective and welcoming as the people who work in it, which is why we take pride in our friendly, well-trained team members. As a team, we are especially interested in making all our patients feel right at home. We put your needs first to achieve efficient and comprehensive treatment in a supportive, nurturing environment. We promise to speak candidly with you about possible treatments as well as any risks and associated costs of treatment, and how treatment can address your individual needs as a patient.

To experience the difference that only a welltrained, professional and courteous team can deliver, schedule your appointment with Arkansas Dermatology today by calling 501-513-9700 or emailing conway@arkansasdermatology.com. We are located at 1075 Andrews Drive.

CARELINK

Ten thousand people turn 65 every day in the United States, increasing the need for and importance of senior services. With the arrival of COVID-19, many previously active older people are finding themselves homebound and at risk for isolation and hunger. So, CareLink has been working harder than ever to adapt services to meet the rapidly growing need of seniors in Central Arkansas and help them overcome the challenges of aging, especially during a global pandemic.

Headquartered in North Little Rock since 1979, CareLink provides resources for older people that allow them to retain the independence they need to age in place at home and provide peace of mind to their families. From Meals on Wheels to HomeCare to family caregiver assistance, Central Arkansas’s Area Agency on Aging connects with the older community when and where they need it most.

For more information about CareLink services, call 501-372-5300 or visit CareLink.org.

CENTENNIAL BANK COMMERCE CENTER SCHEDULED TO OPEN MARCH 8

The year 2021 is bringing exciting change to the Riverdale area of Little Rock with the 24,000-square-foot Centennial Bank Commerce Center.

The office, on Rebsamen Park Road in Little Rock, will be innovative in look and function, featuring modern concepts with business functionality. Different facets of the bank will gather under the same roof to offer a broad range of financial products to suit individual customers’ needs.

Centennial has long been known for giving back to the communities in which it serves. To continue that mission, the boardroom, which will feature advanced audio-visual equipment, will also serve as a community room that the bank will allow community groups and nonprofits to reserve both during and outside business hours based on availability and purpose.

Bicyclists and walkers will be able to easily access the center due to its proximity to the River Trail. The center will feature extra wide parking spaces for customers and covered walkways surrounding the building so visitors can stay dry on rainy days.

An interactive teller machine, or ITM, will be available for customers at the drive-thru and live tellers via video feed will be available for extended hours.

The architecture of the Centennial Bank Commerce Center building draws inspiration from the eclectic Riverdale neighborhood. The exterior blends exposed structural columns with brick masonry and slate panels as a response to the surrounding traditional, modern and industrial buildings. A glass stairwell on the building’s corner will visually welcome both customers and the surrounding neighborhood.

The Riverdale branch of Centennial Bank, which has had a strong presence for the last 10 years, has rocketed to No. 1 in market share in the thriving Riverdale area. The bank initiated the commerce center project to handle the growing business while giving back to the community. This is no real surprise considering the tenured bankers who work there.

Centennial Bank was founded in 1999 by John W. Allison. The bank provides a broad range of commercial and retail banking and related financial services to businesses, investors, individuals and municipalities. Centennial Bank has locations in Arkansas, Florida, south Alabama and New York. Home Bancshares integrated all charters and branches under the brand “Centennial Bank” in 2008-09.

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Special Advertising Section

natives guide:

EDUCATION

LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT

NEW YEAR, NEW SAVINGS With Arkansas Federal Credit Union

Remember that New Year’s resolution to save more money? This is the year that you can actually do it, and it doesn’t need to be a tedious 12-month grind either. Sure, you can switch cable providers or phone plans, use coupons, buy only necessities, but those savings are minimal. If you want to really save, you need to trim your biggest expenses—like your mortgage, auto loan payment(s), and credit card(s).

So, just how much can you save on your monthly payments? Up to hundreds each month with Arkansas Federal Credit Union. With low rates and competitive terms, you could save big. Here are a just a few ways to get started that are easy to keep and could have big payoffs.

Consider a mortgage refinance.

Mortgage payments take the biggest bite out of most monthly budgets. Fortunately, you can typically lower those payments by refinancing your mortgage with Arkansas Federal to a lower interest rate. With rates at historic lows, now is a great time to consider refinancing. It might even be the perfect time to build your dream home or upgrade to a larger space.

Refinance your auto loan.

Refinancing your auto loan may sound complex, but it’s really easy. You just replace your existing loan with a new one—usually with a more competitive rate and convenient term. By moving your loan to Arkansas Federal, you could lower your interest rate, decrease your monthly payment or pay off your car loan sooner. Plus, with Arkansas Federal, there’s no application fee.

Consolidate debt and maximize savings.

You have options when it comes to debt consolidation. At Arkansas Federal, experts stand ready to help you look for the best method of consolidating your current debt to make paying bills more streamlined and more affordable. From personal loans with fixed payments and low interest rates, to competitive home equity lines of credit (HELOC), and credit cards with some of the lowest rates in the country with no balance transfer fee options, Arkansas Federal could be your ticket to saving big in 2021.

Schedule a free financial review.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start, reach out to Arkansas Federal to schedule your free, no-obligation financial review today! Their team of local experts will give personalized one-on-one attention and look for ways to lower your monthly payments or shorten the length of your loan(s). With competitive rates and a variety of loan options, you can rely on Arkansas Federal to guide you and offer solutions that could be a good fit for your particular needs.

Plus, since they’re local, you’ll have access to dedicated support and personalized service every step of the way. If they can help, they will. And if they can’t, you’ll know that too. Either way, you’ll know you’re getting the best deal. Call them today at 800.456.3000, visit them online at afcu.org, or stop by one of their many convenient locations.

Arkansas Federal Credit Union is the largest credit union and one of the largest financial institutions in Arkansas with more than $1.2 billion in total assets and more than 300 employees.

Arkansas Federal has 18 branches throughout Arkansas, which serve more than 120,000 members.

Membership is open to all Arkansans. No military, state or government affiliation required.

Federally insured by NCUA.

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Find out what’s NEW and EXCITING in the Little Rock School District! LRSD offers a variety of educational opportunities to meet your child’s needs.

If you are looking for classrooms that are interesting, innovative and rigorous, be sure to check out the Little Rock School District. Our mission is to equip students with skills and knowledge to realize aspirations, think critically and independently, learn continuously and become productive citizens. We do this through open access to a diverse, innovative and challenging curriculum in a secure environment.

Accomplishments to celebrate: • Graduation rates up from 74 percent to 82 percent, • 16 National Merit Semifinalists and three National Hispanic Scholars for 2019, • 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, • $23 million in scholarships, • $27.2 million in volunteer support, • $150,000 grant for new health clinic, • LR Southwest High School opened in 2020, • Top-rated pre-K/early childhood centers, and • Career education expansion in the medical program, police and fire academies.

CATHOLIC HIGH

Catholic High School for Boys is a college preparatory school for boys, educating more than 700 ninth- through 12th-grade boys each year. The school is committed to instilling the values of integrity, duty and faith into its students by creating a tradition of achievement in academics, Class 7A sports, more than 30 clubs, an award-winning Marine JROTC program and community leadership.

Many of Catholic High’s graduates are influencers in the state and beyond, including hundreds of politicians (including a current U.S. representative), CEOs, entrepreneurs, physicians, lawyers, journalists, military officers and others. More importantly, Catholic High graduates are committed fathers, husbands and community leaders.

The school’s tuition is kept affordable by design so students of all walks of life can experience the Catholic High difference. Each year, Catholic High holds its open house in January, with freshmen entrance exams held in February. Learn more at lrchs.org

Special Advertising Section

natives guide:

MUST SEE & DO

NORTH LITTLE ROCK DINING

North Little Rock restaurants are up to something together.

Quirky craft breweries. Small taquerias serving up some of the best Mexican and South American in Arkansas. An upscale destination restaurant on a picturesque lake. Southern-style barbecue recipes passed down through three generations. Mouthwatering Cajun, old-fashioned walk-up dairy bars and even Asian fusion. All of these and more can be found in the 55 square miles that make up the city of North Little Rock.

Diversity of flavors and cultures converge in North Little Rock, but most have one common trait: Family is important. Lindsey’s Bar-B-Q was opened in 1956 by Bishop D.L. Lindsey as a small restaurant serving barbecue lunches. Thirty-three years later, he reopened it as Lindsey’s BBQ & Hospitality House and today it is managed by his son, Donnie, and Donnie’s wife, Eleanor. Lindsey’s BBQ & Hospitality House is the Lindsey family through-and-through, serving with love and a heart for the local community.

It isn’t unusual to see posts on the restaurant’s Facebook page congratulating relatives on graduations or wishing them a happy birthday.

One of North Little Rock’s most recognized restaurants is Ristorante Capeo, an authentic Italian restaurant run by two brothers, Brian and Eric Isaac. Chef Eric trained in Italy before opening the restaurant with his brother in downtown North Little Rock. Together, they turned a corner spot in a condemned building on Main Street into a cornerstone of a thriving neighborhood.

Brayan McFadden packed up his family and moved from Pennsylvania to open Brood & Barley with his cousin, Jess McMullen. Despite opening at the start of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the beer-centric restaurant has flourished with McFadden’s Philly flair and McMullen’s business expertise. McMullen also owns Flyway Brewing, a North Little Rock brewery that made headlines for its innovative ways of serving customers during the pandemic.

Cypress Social, a new upscale destination restaurant, and Taziki’s, a fast casual restaurant focused on Mediterranean and Greek dishes, are just a couple of restaurants owned and managed by the Keet family.

Father, sons and daughter-in-law work together daily on the various ventures — and sometimes even include the two young grandsons for shooting commercials.

Sisters Melody Williford and Tamsye Nosal own American Pie Pizza, which has two locations in North Little Rock. The pizza restaurant is truly a family business: along with the sisters, five of their children and several nieces and nephews have worked at the restaurants.

There are plenty more examples of North Little Rock restaurants owned, managed and passed down through families, but the North Little Rock restaurant industry is more than blood relatives: They see their staffs, and even one another, as family. They genuinely care.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, those seedlings of teamwork blossomed into a full-fledged revival. Where some cities have struggled, North Little Rock has thrived — together. In the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock, 10 restaurants pulled together and created an outdoor dining experience in the middle of Main Street. They still meet to brainstorm ways to lift each other.

The dining scene in North Little Rock is always evolving, always up to something delicious. It stands out because the people behind the scenes manage, create and serve with love. For more information about North Little Rock dining and things to do, visit NorthLittleRock.org.

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Special Advertising Section

THE ZOO

Since its beginning in 1926, the Little Rock Zoo has been an Arkansas institution for conservation education, species preservation and family fun!

Starting as a small park with two animals, the zoo is now a 33-acre campus with more than 500 animals and has become a living classroom. Welcoming over 300,000 guests annually, it offers educational and entertaining animal shows, dynamic programming and events that highlight the zoo’s mission to inspire people to conserve and value the natural world.

Come enjoy great food at Café Africa, take a ride on our Animal Tracks Train, shop at Safari Trader’s gift shop, play in our Blue & You Nature Play Area and Sensory Garden and interact with animals from the world over.

The zoo’s accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums acknowledges that the animals in its care receive the highest standard for animal welfare, and that its practices are helping secure the survival of endangered species.

Come enjoy a wonderful afternoon learning about animals and making lasting, family memories at the Little Rock Zoo!

Zylan Brown, Class of 2021

ALWAYS A ROCKET OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 Last names A-L arrive between 12‒2PM, M-Z arrive between 2‒4PM Please note that this will be a socially distanced event and masks will be required to enter.

BOSWELL MOUROT FINE ART GALLERY

Boswell Mourot is a fine art gallery located in SoMa that represents local, national and international artists. There, you’ll find art for the established and emerging collector. During the COVID-19, the gallery is only open for appointment only. Call 501-454-6969.

The Catholic High Difference Integrity • Duty • Faith Apply Today | LRCHS.org 44 JANUARY 2021

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Special Advertising Section

home

new year for the

When the aging community in Central Arkansas needs help, CareLink is ready.

Central Arkansas’s Area Agency on Aging has been keeping older loved ones safe & healthy at home since 1979 with services like Meals on Wheels, HomeCare, family caregiver support, & Urgent Needs.

GASTON’S WHITE RIVER RESORT

Gaston’s White River Resort began 61 years ago when Al Gaston, Jim Gaston’s father, purchased 20 acres of White River frontage with six small cottages and six boats. Today, Jim’s grandson Clint Gaston carries on the family legacy. The resort now covers over 400 acres, and has 79 cottages ranging in size from two double beds to 10 private bedrooms.

Gaston’s famed airstrip, allowing visitors to fly in from hundreds of miles away, has grown from 1,800 feet to 3,200 feet. The six boats are now over 70, and with a state-of-the-art dock to hold them all. The years have brought an award-winning restaurant, private club, gift shop, tennis court, playground, game room, duck pond, three nature trails, swimming pool, conference lodge and fly-fishing school.

The fishing is always good here. The White River stays the same temperature year-round and so the trout are always active. Enjoy catching your limit.

Also, fly fishing is not the only way to fish here; over 85% of our anglers use spinners. Either way, you’ll experience excellent results; the main thing is to have fun! Make plans now. Any season is a great season at Gaston’s White River Resort.

Visit gastons.com or call 870-431-52 and to answer any questions. You’ll never forget the experience, and you’ll be back for more! 1777 River Rd, Lakeview, AR 72642.

501.372.5300 | CareLink.org

CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN Our promise: Unprecedented child health.

Defined and delivered.

Arkansas Children’s is the state’s only health system built just for kids. It’s our mission to make children better today and healthier tomorrow. We offer care through two pediatric hospitals, regional clinics, telehealth services, education and outreach. We are champions for children where they live, learn and play.

archildrens.org | #championsforchildren | #morethanever

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Rhea

Special Advertising Section

Drug Store

HAPPY NEW YEAR! SERVING LITTLE ROCK SINCE 1922 • 2801 KAVANAUGH LITTLE ROCK 501.663.4131

CACHE

LRSD.org

Building STRONG SCHOOLS and Even STRONGER COMMUNITIES

Great Things STILL Happening at LRSD

OPTIONS TO MEET EVERY NEED Dedicated early open enrollment period has ended, but it is never too late to join the LRSD family. Visit: LRSD.org – Student Registration (K-12) or LRSD.org/earlychildhood (Pre-K) Great THINGS are still happening at LRSD! The Little Rock School District salutes our two Amazing Educators for 2020-21 — among 3,500 dedicated professionals who remain committed to meeting the needs of each student, even during a pandemic. From rigorous academic engagement for those identified as gifted and talented to support for those facing learning, speech or physical challenges, LRSD — the state’s second largest district — offers unique, comprehensive educational approaches for pre-K to 12th-grade students.

LRSD takes pride in its highly qualified teachers — nearly half of all classroom teachers have a masters or doctoral degree and 155 have National Board Certification — among the most in the state. LRSD continues to operate the state’s only K-8 STEM campus, eight magnet schools and a uniquely-focused language and literacy elementary academy, and last year, continued to expand Little Rock West High School of Innovation, adding a 10th grade class. Subsequent grades will be added each year for a 9-12 delivery. Little Rock Hall STEAM Academy was also introduced, enhancing its focus on science and engineering academies under the Academies of Central Arkansas (Ford NGL) umbrella. High school college preparatory programs, including 46 JANUARY 2021

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pre-AP, AP, classes with local universities and the District’s EXCEL program, provide multiple options for families. These programs allow students to align their educational experience with their interests, preparing them for college and career and equipping them to meet the challenges of a global society. LRSD consistently places among the top tier of state schools with National Merit Semifinalists, as well as Commended, National Hispanic and AP Scholars.

LRSD is proud of its highly accomplished students and the community partnerships that enhance their educational experiences. Students will continue taking their learning to the next level at the newly constructed career-focused Little Rock Southwest High School.

LRSD is also the state’s largest provider of public preschool programs with certified teachers in every class. The District’s pre-K students continue to outperform students who do not use LRSD’s pre-K program in every skill area. The District maintains its mission to provide students with equitable access to educational opportunities, equipping them with what they need to succeed.

Cache Restaurant is the combined vision of Rush Harding and his son Payne Harding. For Rush, a businessman and philanthropist, Cache is the opportunity to bring a stunning vision of the most urbane, contemporary dining experience to downtown Little Rock. For Payne, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Cache is the canvas on which to create an extraordinary dining experience where no detail is left unattended.

The name Cache is rich with meaning for the restaurant’s founders. The area around the iconic Cache River on the Arkansas Delta is where Rush Harding was born and raised. The moniker also provides a nod to the dictionary definition of a cache as a place for storing valuable possessions.

Rush and Payne hope that Cache is a destination where the people of Arkansas can gather over great food and drink and create treasured memories that last a lifetime.

At Cache, there’s something for everyone, whether you are an impromptu guest, hosting a corporate event or you’ve already made a reservation for that romantic dinner for two. Cache Restaurant is the ultimate choice for the best fine dining experience in Little Rock. We are always ready for you!

Our doors are open to offer you the best service in all of Arkansas. Book your reservation today for a safe, socially distanced dinner, and experience all that Cache restaurant has to offer.

425 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock, AR 72201 501-850-0265

natives guide:

Special Advertising Section

REAL ESTATE

BLUE YOGA NYLA

MIND + BODY +SPIRIT

STACEY REYNOLDS YOGA THERAPIST,C-IAYT NATIONAL PRESENTER/SPEAKER PRESIDENT, BLUE YOGA NYLA AND BLUE YOGA NYLA REGISTERED YOGA SCHOOL

AWARD WINNING STUDIO, ONE-OF-A-KIND YOGA

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(501)753-9100

Coronavirus Also Affects Minds KELLEY COMMERCIAL

Downtown living doesn’t get better than Gracie Mansion Apartments and Rock Street Lofts.

Professionally managed by Kelley Commercial Partners, tenants can enjoy worry-free living in the lively downtown business and entertainment districts.

Gracie Mansion Apartments is located at 506 E. Sixth St. in the historic Quapaw Quarter area of Little Rock. The 3-acre property includes the fully restored historic mansion, five apartment buildings, a swimming pool and sprawling deck. Units have been updated with beautiful, modern amenities like granite counters, combo washer/dryers, new flooring and much more. Call 501-372-1803 for leasing information.

Listed on the National Historic Register, Rock Street Lofts Building is one of the best surviving examples of 1920s-era industrial warehouse buildings in Little Rock. Floor plans are unique to maximize natural light and downtown views. Units feature concrete and hardwood floor finishes, large multipaned windows, exposed brick walls and 10foot ceilings.

Rock Street Lofts are at 308 Rock St., Little Rock.

Call 501-379-8793 for leasing information.

That’s why we are available anytime from anywhere, offering all our services in the safest possible manner – Telehealth for: • Outpatient and school-based counseling • Kaleidoscope Grief Center support • Methodist Behavioral Hospital physician services, family therapy, visitation through Arkansas Division of Child and Family Services, and court appearances • In-person psychiatric testing with plexiglass screen and PPE Call 877-778-1197 info@MethodistFamily.org ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 47

Remember…wear a mask Arkansas!

It’s all about protecting your family and friends.

N

early 240,000 Arkansans received care at more than 140 CHC sites last year. CHCs take pride in expanding access to the best possible care, all while being held to a higher quality standard. CHCs advance a model of coordinated, comprehensive, “whole person” care, including medical, dental, and behavioral health. Our 10 member CHCs are ready to serve you, especially Arkansas’s most vulnerable and hard-to-reach. Come see us!

• 1st Choice Healthcare • Boston Mountain Rural Health Center • CABUN Rural Health Services • Community Clinic • East Arkansas Family Health Center • Jefferson Comprehensive Care System • Lee County Cooperative Clinic • Mainline Health Systems • Mid-Delta Health Systems • River Valley Primary Care Services

Promoting improved health care outcomes for all Arkansans.

Learn more at chc-ar.org

Quality Care Rooted in Arkansas

hope Is The Foundation. recovery Is The Journey.

In response to the growing needs of our community, The BridgeWay has expanded its continuum of care for substance use disorders. The acute rehabilitation program will provide hope and recovery for adults struggling with substance use disorders. Led by Dr. Schay, and a Board Certified Psychiatrist and Addictionologist, the Substance Use Disorder Rehabilitation Program is for adults at risk of relapse. Rehabilitation requires the supportive structure of a 24-hour therapeutic environment.

To learn more about our continuum of care for substance use disorders, call us at 1-800-245-0011.

Physicians are on the medical staff of The BridgeWay Hospital but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of The BridgeWay Hospital.

The facility shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.

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Dr. Schay

Medical Director Of Substance Use Disorders & Patriot Support Program

News & Notes 51 | Meet the Pompeos pg 52 | Meet the Parent pg 56

MIA POMPEO

A remarkable teen who believes that deafness is an identity, not a disability

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JANUARY ACTIVITIES AND FUN

We need some things to look forward to this January — and we’ve got ideas! Who knew all of these holidays even existed?! To stave off seasonal affective disorder and cabin fever may we suggest the following for livening up that darkest and coldest of months.

SIT, STAY, READ

Jan. 4

NATIONAL SPAGHETTI DAY

Jan. 8

NATIONAL BUBBLE BATH DAY Jan. 13

NATIONAL RUBBER DUCKY DAY Jan. 14

NATIONAL DRESS UP YOUR PET DAY JAN. 19

NATIONAL POPCORN DAY Jan. 21

NATIONAL SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY

Find more at savvykidsar.com

SAVVY kids PUBLISHER BROOKE WALLACE | brooke@arktimes.com

EDITOR KATHERINE WYRICK | katherinewyrick@arktimes.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE LESA THOMAS ART DIRECTOR KATIE HASSELL

In honor of National Book Month — and in light of the soaring number of pandemic pet adoptions — we’d like to highlight children’s book author, publisher and dog lover Pat Becker. Kids can learn so much from pets, and the bond between them can be a powerful thing — both healing and edifying.

Having a pet teaches responsibility and offers the opportunity to learn about respect and compassion.

We recently spoke to Pat from her home in Little Rock, AR., and she shared the following with us about her experience and her mission: “My mission is to reach children connectively through words and illustrations, using stories in relation to the importance of understanding pets and their care.

“I am certified with NADOI, a National Trainer’s Organization, and I have had one national and two local TV shows, all three of which were directed toward educating dog owners, on the responsibility of pet ownership.

“I have shared my home and my life with over 25 dogs, numerous cats, and many horses for over 60 years.

“I am encouraging and sponsoring the efforts of other authors to use their creative talents to communicate the joys of including pets in children’s lives — giving kids the ability to understand the nature of animals and the happiness communication with them brings.”

Find more information about Pat and her authors at patbeckerbooks.com.

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MEET THE

POMPEOS

A mixed deaf-hearing family that together makes a joyful noise

BY KATHERINE WYRICK PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN CHILSON

T

he Pompeo family of Bryant is large: parents Harry and Jackie and their children, Ethan (20), Will (16), Mia (14), Maci (11), and dogs Charley and Zoe. Harry, Jackie and Mia were born deaf; Ethan is hard of hearing (profound in his right ear). Will and Maci, however, were born hearing. What follows is an email conversation with a lively, big-hearted, sprawling family who value community, communication — and each other.

Parents Harry and Jackie are answering as a couple throughout (unless otherwise indicated).

Mia: It is so cool that you trained your dog with ASL commands! Is this a common practice? How did you go about it, and what are the benefits?

Yes, it’s a common practice. I have had nine different dogs in my lifetime but never taught any of them ASL commands until Charley. It was really fun and enjoyable to train Charley using ASL. Fun fact, I used my little sister as a dog so Charley would learn how to do the tricks since I’m not able to speak words like “sit, stay, and shake hands etc.” and it worked really well.

I haven’t seen the show “Deaf U” on Netflix, but it made me think about how deaf people are portrayed in popular culture (TV, movies, etc.) and how they are underrepresented.

I haven’t watched the show “Deaf U” either, and I’m not planning on it because I have heard some people, friends and teachers say they didn’t like it. But it’s so nice to see some deaf people being portrayed in movies since it’s so rare. I also want hearing people to say “wow, deaf people really can act” or something like that.

What are some of your favorite subjects in school and activities outside of school?

My favorite subjects in school are English and writing.

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THE POMPEOS LOVE SPENDING TIME TOGETHER AS A FAMILY. HERE MOM JACKIE, MIA, DAD HARRY AND DOG CHARLEY, WHO WAS TRAINED IN ASL COMMANDS, ENJOY SOME HANG TIME ON THE PORCH.

My favorite activities/hobbies at home are painting and drawing.

Jackie and Harry: What was it like raising both hearing and deaf children? Did you tailor your parenting styles or was it the same for everyone?

To be honest, we don’t see any differences in raising hearing and deaf children. Our hearing children learned sign language first before they spoke, so it didn’t make a difference. The only thing different is that with hearing kids, I can call their names with my voice, but with Mia I have to flick a light or stomp to get her attention, ha.

How was your experience growing up deaf (compared to Mia’s), and how did it influence the way you raise your own children?

[Jackie] I was the only deaf person in my family; my parents and siblings had to learn sign language, which I am

so grateful for because I know some hearing parents DO NOT learn sign language to communicate with their deaf children. Our experience has been good because Mia has grandparents who can communicate with her in her language. I had to communicate with my grandparents via writing. I do not see that as negative, but it would have been so much easier if they had learned sign language.

Did you choose to send Mia to a deaf school and why?

We made the decision to send her to the Deaf School where she has communication access and learned social skills to be able to participate in events in her language without barriers. [Jackie] I graduated at Arkansas School for the Deaf and Harry graduated at Boston School for the Deaf.

Mia and her parents, Harry and Jackie: What are your opinions on hearing aids and cochlear implants?

It is a sticky subject. Our opinion: depends on who is getting it. We do not agree to put cochlear implants on babies while they do not have a voice to say something. We know some people who got CI as young children and then had them removed. We think it is best to let them grow up and make a decision after they know their identity.

Please know that being deaf is not a bad thing; we are so happy with who we are. We have our language that is SO COOL just like foreigners who speak in their own language. Again, if deaf people who are old enough to make a decision to get a cochlear implant, we support that because everyone should be able to make their own choices. The only thing we disagree with is to implant at such a young age. We encourage parents to start with hearing aids at a young age if they want them to learn how to speak. Start with hearing aids first before cochlear implants.

How do you feel about the word “disability”?

There is no such word as “disability” in our home. We don’t view ourselves as disabled because we basically can do anything like hearing people except that we can’t hear.

5 REASONS TO CHOOSE PCSSD 1. Preparing students for life through initiatives like AVID and PBIS. 2. Cultivating future leaders by learning from teachers and peers inside and outside the classroom.

3. Strengthen public schools through community and nonprofit partnerships.

4. Strengthening our communities by reaching students where they live across Pulaski County.

5. Driving innovation in the classroom with traditional and blended approaches to learning.

Registration is now open! visit pcssd.org/register

How is communication a challenge for you when sign language isn’t used?

Yes, it can be a challenge, especially with COVID-19 when people wear masks; it is impossible to read lips when we are at restaurants or at church. We will have to ask them to remove their masks for a brief time, but they do not want to.

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There are approximately 48 million deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the U.S. About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears. We’re fortunate here in Arkansas to have resources like The Arkansas School for the Deaf (ASD) — the only school for students who are deaf or hard of hearing in the state and the oldest school for the deaf west of the Mississippi River.

RESOURCES FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING:

or waiters. We request to have a sign language interpreter when we are at a doctor appointment to avoid challenges. We are thankful that most places we go provide interpreters.

Most of all, we are thankful our family is able to communicate.

Arkansas Hands and Voices PO Box 512, Conway, AR 72033 501-932-7700 | info@arhandsandvoices.org arhandsandvoices.org

Where do you find support and what are some go-to resources?

You can find support and resources at Arkansas School for the Deaf.

You can also find resources on gallaudet.edu.

What is your experience with the local deaf culture, and how vibrant is it here?

We love our deaf community; we have so many wonderful people.

We are a close-knit family when it comes to deaf community; we like fellowship. We meet at Starbucks every first Friday of the month, but with COVID-19, it has been canceled. Hopefully we will be able to meet again when things get better.

We also go to Deaf Fellowship Church at Geyer Springs First Baptist Church; the church could tell you, we love to stay and visit, lol!

What do you think the hearing community should know about deaf culture and communities?

Harry’s favorite quote when he talks to hearing people is, “We 54 JANUARY 2021

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will not bite you.” Please do not be afraid to come to us. Unfortunately, some people are afraid to talk because they think we are different from them. At a restaurant, we’ve experienced a waiter switching to a different waiter because he felt awkward communicating with us.

I can tell you, we are no different from you; we are humans just like you. The only difference is how we communicate; we can correspond by writing or even gesture. We are just normal people like you except that we can’t hear or talk with a voice. We talk with our hands. So please don’t feel sorry or feel pity because we are deaf. We are happy with who we are. Sign language has more benefits than you realize. We can communicate from a distance; we can communicate when we are under water; and we can talk through a window. Not every deaf person can learn how to speak, but every hearing person CAN learn sign language. So what’s stopping you?

Are there things that hearing people do that frustrate or offend those who are deaf?

As for a proper term, we don’t like people to label us “hearing impaired” because it means our ears are broken. Please use a better term — deaf — because it is our identity.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital Audiology Department 1 Children’s Way, Little Rock, AR 501-364-4000 | archildrens.org Arkansas Dept. of Health Infant Hearing Program 4815 W. Markham St., Slot 20, Little Rock, AR 501-280-4740 | healthy.arkansas.gov

Arkansas Relay Services 900 S. Shackleford Road, Suite 700, Little Rock, AR 501-221-1285 | arkansasrelay.com Arkansas School for the Deaf 2400 W. Markham St., Little Rock, AR 501-324-9506 | arkansas.gov/asd Better Hearing Care DeQueen, Texarkana & Hope 870-888-2920 | betterhearingcare.net Little Rock Audiology 500 S. University Ave., Suite 405, Little Rock 501-664-5511 | littlerockaudiology.com UALR/UAMS Speech & Hearing Clinic 5820 Asher Ave., Suite 600, Little Rock 501-569-3155 uams.edu/chrp/audiospeech/default.asp

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: arced.org – Arkansas Coalition for the Education of Children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing arkansasrid.org – Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf arkad.org – Arkansas Association of the Deaf ualr.edu/ba/INAS/ – UALR Interpreter Education Program arkdisabilityrights.org – Disability Rights Center arksped.k12.ar.us – Arkansas Dept of Education, Special Education arlearn.org – Arkansas Local Education Agency Resource Network arkansas-ican.org – Increasing Capabilities Access Center/AR Rehabilitation Services

Kids’ Books by Arkansas Authors Looking for a home, Bailey Beagle battles wits with a potential new friend...and you can guess who wins!

Available in Audio

On his own in a fun-filled neighborhood, Jack the Freedom Dog finds an unlikely friend in a tough cat.

Available in Audio

These well-illustrated books and more (many in audiobook) and all autographed by the authors are available at:

www.PatBeckerBooks.com

GIFT SOME

L VE! Consider donating to the Arkansas School for the Deaf Foundation. All proceeds for 2021 will benefit ASD’s dorms and after school programs.

Help us create a home away from home for the children!

www.asd-foundation.com ARKANSASTIMES.COM

JANUARY 2021 55

Meet the Parent:

SUSAN CAMPBELL Susan Campbell is a certified yoga and Pilates teacher, the owner of Lumerie Studio, an artist, and a single mother of two — Blakely (14) and Easton (12). She began her yoga practice in 1998 while she was finishing a master’s of fine arts degree in metalsmithing/jewelry design, and she learned the Pilates method shortly thereafter. Her combined background in fine arts, Pilates and yoga give her a unique perspective when working with others. For 20 years, she’s helped women and girls increase self-esteem, build confidence and discover their authentic selves through movement and breath.

In the past, you’ve offered classes to tween/teen girls to help with selfesteem and positive body image. Why are these issues important to you?

I grew up with terrible self-esteem and a negative body image, and I finally realized that self-esteem wasn’t something that just showed up one day when you arrived at adulthood. In our present culture, the influence of social media has exacerbated the unrealistic social pressures placed on teenage girls to be perfect. In response to this and from my own experience of parenting my teenage daughter, I created a class for young women where they would learn the tools to help them recognize and build their own confidence. The class is important to me because I think confidence is priceless.

Social media often bombards young women with messages that undermine their feelings about themselves, which can contribute to anxiety, depression and unrealistic ideas about body image. I wonder what the next generation of young women could accomplish if they were less worried about their hair or the size of their thighs and more concerned with finding out who they are and what they believe in.

Tell us a little about your business and how you’ve had to adapt during this challenging time.

I own and operate Lumerie Studio, which is a private therapeutic yoga and Pilates studio located in Hillcrest. I specialize in working one on one with clients who often cannot attend a typical yoga or Pilates class. My clientele is diverse, and the work I teach covers issues that arise with joint replacement, cancer and recovery after surgery. I also

“BE PRESENT, BE PATIENT AND LISTEN.” SUSAN APPLIES THIS PHILOSOPHY TO PARENTING AND WORK. PICTURED HERE WITH KIDS BLAKELY (14) AND EASTON (12). (ABOVE) THE KIDS ENJOY KAYAKING IN MICHIGAN. 56 JANUARY 2021

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specialize in helping clients improve their balance, strength and flexibility. The greatest challenge during the pandemic has been my inability to teach near my clients and have the ability to make physical adjustments to their position during our sessions.

What does school look like for your family this year?

My kids are doing virtual school this year, which has been a unique challenge. Not being in class with their friends has been particularly hard and virtual learning lacks the engaging qualities teachers display in the classroom. Despite the circumstances, we are grateful for the option of virtual learning and hope to be back in the classroom by fall.

What are your favorite “family time” activities?

Most evenings we like to take a walk through our neighborhood together. It gives us time to talk, listen, share stories and reminisce

about the fun (and sometimes not so fun) experiences we’ve had throughout the years.

We typically take a trip to Michigan each summer to visit family. We love to kayak and spend time on the beach while enjoying the cooler temperatures of Michigan summers.

Name three things that helped your family get through 2020.

Laughter, ice cream and remembering that the pandemic won’t last forever. specialist treats patients How would you describewith Down Syndrome your parenting philosophy?

Be present, be patient and listen. I don’t believe in raising my voice to get my point across to my kids or doling out empty threats. Listening to what they think and how they feel opens a conversation between us instead of me just dictating the rules. My goal is to raise independent thinkers who are kind, compassionate and true to themselves.

No Cost to Families!

Ensuring Quality Early Childhood Education Services for Families 2020-2021 Program Year Enrolling Now We Welcome Spanish Speaking Families We Welcome Children with Special Needs To see if you qualify, call (501) 570-5000 or visit UAMS.info/Headstart

Head Start/Early Head Start

We are following all CDC and AR Health Department Guidelines during Covid-19.

Home Visits and In-Person meetings are currently held virtually and classroom ratios are smaller.

The UAMS Early/Head Start programs were created to increase school readiness and provide valuable support for parents and moms-to-be.

Pregnant Women Program To ensure the best possible start for their babies, we provide quality prenatal and postnatal education to expectant mothers using the Partners for a Healthy Baby Curriculum and assisting pregnant women in obtaining prenatal care. The program includes: Biweekly Home Visits Networking Opportunities Monthly Parent Cafes with other Pregnant Women Research Based Prenatal Resources and Referrals Curriculum Home Based Program Designed for children birth to 36 months, the Home Based Program helps families provide quality early childhood education to their children through interactive child development activities including: Weekly Home Visits Comprehensive Support Bi-Monthly Family Events Services in Education, Health, Nutrition, Mental Health, Disabilities and Social Services.

Center Based Program Designed for Children 6 weeks through 4 years old. Qualified teaching staff help children learn and develop in age appropriate ways in safe classrooms.

Teachers use best practices to help children develop social, emotional, physical, cognitive and language skills.

Disability Support Services Developmentally Appropriate Quality Classrooms Curriculum and Assessment Qualified Teachers Parent Engagement and Support

CULTURE

A HAND UP FOR CRAFT

CRYSTAL BRIDGES’ EXHIBITION EXPANDS THE DEFINITION OF THE ART FORM AND BODES WELL FOR THINGS TO COME AT THE MUSEUM.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSHUA WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY

58 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

'HANDS AT WORK FILM': Sabrina Gschwandtner takes quilting in a new direction by threading together 16 mm polyester film.

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rom a distance, a wall hanging by Sabrina Gschwandtner appears to be a quilt, which is what you would expect to see in a craft show. But a closer examination reveals Gschwandtner’s quilt, lit from behind, is made up of 35mm film footage she’s stitched together in a quilt motif. The film images are of women engaged in traditional women’s craft: knitting, weaving, dyeing. It is a tribute to the history of women in craft made by a woman working in a new form.

“Crafting America,” an exhibition opening Feb. 6 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, reveals how hard it is to categorize craft or even know what to call Gschwandtner’s piece. Is craft the painted saw or the broom or the corn cob figurine? Yes. Is stitched film craft? Yes. Has craft, in a sense, made America?

“We’ve had a lot of good conversations about this,” the difficulty of how craft should be referenced, said Crystal Bridges curator Jen LITTLE ROCK’S MOST Padgett. “In a room of 10 people, you’re going AWARD-WINNING RESTAURANT to get 10 different explanations and 10 different 1619 Rebsamen Rd. examples.”

501.663.9734 • thefadedrose.com Padgett and guest curator Glenn Adamson of the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Conn., assembled 100 works from eight decades of American craft for the exhibition, sponsored by the Windgate Foundation. Thanks to the foundation’s recently announced gift to the museum of $17.5 million, visitors can look forward to an expanded collection of fine craft there and programming created by a dedicated Serving Dinner craft curator. (Like Crystal Bridges’ founder Serving Dinner5 pm - 9:30 pm Monday-Thursday Alice Walton, the largesse of Windgate was Friday & Saturday pm - pm 10 pm Serving Monday-Thursday 5 pm Dinner - 59:30 made possible by early business connections to pm 9:30 pm Friday Saturday 5 pm 5- Friday, 10 -pm Hours: Thursday, Saturday Walmart, and its impact on arts education is felt & Monday-Thursday Friday & Saturday 5 pm 10 pm statewide on college campuses and museums.)

5:00pm-8:30pm In her essay in a fine catalog that accompanies www.Riverfront-Steakhouse.com the show, Padgett writes that some artists “might bristle at the very idea of attaching the word Located in the Wyndham Hotel 2 Riverfront Place, North Little Rock, AR 501 375 7825 craft to their work” because of its connotation

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MADE BY HAND: Gina Adams' referential "Treaty with the Yankton Sioux 1837" is made with cut-out calico letters on an antique quilt; Nick Cave's busy "Sound Suit" of appliqued crochet, buttons and metal armature was made to be worn; Ruth Asawa's elegant hanging sculpture "Untitled" is woven iron wire.

60 JANUARY 2021

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of fairs and the homely work of people like you and me. In an interview this week, she said the exhibition is a “starting point” in how to think anew about craft in all its forms. The exhibition’s focus is “on the idea that craft is about making things with skill, in a variety of media,” she said. It explores the evolution of craft from Beatrice Wood’s hand-thrown “Tea Set” (1947) loaned by the Museum of Arts and Open 4 pm Mon, Thurs, Fri Design in New York to David Williams’ effigy Open 11am Sat and Sun vessel “Wolf Bowl/Dish” (1964) loaned by the Closed Tuesday and Wednesday National Museum of the American Indian and (501) 324-2449 • bigwhiskeyslittlerock.com Charissa Brock’s woven bamboo and waxed 225 E Markham, Little Rock thread “Canticum of Fluctus” (2020).

“There is not just a bucket for craft objects and one for noncraft,” Padgett said. Padgett spoke of contemporary artists working within a tradition but altered, such as Steven Young Lee’s “Vase with Dragon” (2020), an exquisitely painted porcelain vessel that, in Padgett’s words, has been “exploded,” the clay ripped and folded over. “He is not trying to replicate We ’ r e o p e n f o r d i n e i n , t a k e o u t o r the past or create something functional,” curbside pick-up. Make reser vations Padgett said, but instead introducing an element of the unexpected that adds to the or order online at viewer’s idea of “vessel.” In that way, she said, contemporary craft can affect how we see other Located in the Wyndham Hotel art forms, an inspiration for Padgett’s work in 2 Riverfront Place, North Little Rock, AR the reinstallation of the permanent collection (501)374-8081 galleries, blends of the old and the new, culture and the 2D and the 3D. Craft also holds a mirror up to American experience: Several works in fabric in the Open 10:00-4:00 Mon - Sat show address cultural issues, expressing in 1523 Rebsamen Park Rd • Little Rock traditional American craft forms America’s sad 501-663-0460 • cynthiaeastfabrics.com treatment of indigenous people (such as Gina Adams’ “Treaty with the Yankton Sioux 1837”), Upholstery | Pillows | Drapery | Headboards | Wallpaper | Home Accessories WE for example, and the impact of enslavement D O I T (Diedrick Brackens’ “a year of negotiations, ALL 2019,” which has been acquired by the museum). There are works by artists who live ASIAN and work in Arkansas, including wood sculptor Robyn Horn, basketmaker Leon Neihues and ALLURE ceramicist Linda Lopez, and other pieces from note from client: Let’s take off the patio.

We are closing at 8 on Wednesday and the museum’s own collection, including the Thursday and 9 on Friday and Saturday now too. See folder on Dropbox or Bracken work, Ruth Asawa’s unparalleled wire form “Untitled (S.028, Hanging Four-LobedDesign Drive.

Continuous Form within a Form”), a Nick Cave soundsuit and Anne Lemarski’s “Tigris T-1” sculpture of a tiger balanced on a ball.

Padgett said the exhibition was also curated to bring to light craft artists who may not have received the recognition they deserved — craft being considered more humble than fine art — FULL BAR AND PRIVATE PARTY ROOM along with its well-known artists, such as Peter Voulkos, June Schwarz and those mentioned Lunch: Wed- Fri 11am-2pm previously.

Dinner: Wed-Thur 5-8pm, Fri & Sat 5-9pm “There is something deeply human about Closed Mon-Tues craft,” Padgett said, an appeal to those of us who have made something by hand or simply 1023 West Markham admire the skill of the maker. It is, Padgett Downtown Little Rock writes in her essay, an art form that “provides 501-376-1195 www.doeseatplacelr.com a crucial contribution to the larger history of American art.”

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CANNABIZ

GREEN LEGAL WRANGLINGS LEGAL QUESTIONS OVER AWARD OF LATEST DISPENSARY, OWNERSHIP CHANGE OF CULTIVATION CENTER AND MORE.

BY GRIFFIN COOP

T

he Natural State’s medical marijuana industry is high on intrigue.

The state Medical Marijuana Commission decided in its Dec. 8 meeting to award the latest dispensary license to 3J Investments, owned by Jeffery Catlett Fitch and Jeremy Ruiz, who plan to open a dispensary in Lamar (Johnson County). There was some controversy at the meeting over whether 3J was next in line to receive the lucrative license.

When the applications were scored and ranked in 2017, River Valley Sales LLC, the owner of River Valley Relief Dispensary, was ranked seventh in Zone 4 and 3J Investments was ranked eighth. Two applicants ranked ahead of them chose to pursue applications in other zones and pulled their applications from Zone 4.

The commission, which has divided the state into eight zones, allows a maximum of five dispensaries in each zone. Zone 4 consists of eight counties between Conway County and the Oklahoma border.

Before the Dec. 8 commission meeting, 3J Investments’ attorney Michael Goswami submitted a letter stating that River Valley was not eligible to receive a license because the company was dissolved and not registered with the secretary of state’s office. The letter cited language in Amendment 98 of the state constitution that states “A dispensary 62 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

and a cultivation facility shall be an entity incorporated in the State of Arkansas.”

Commissioners were unsure whether to consider River Valley or 3J Investments as the next applicant in line to receive the license.

“You’re probably going to get sued no matter what you do,” Sara Faris of the state attorney general’s office advised the commission.

Stephen Smith, a representative for River Valley, attended the meeting via Zoom and attempted to speak, but commission chairwoman Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman did not recognize him. Before the meeting, River Valley submitted a letter arguing its case for the license based on access and need in the area but did not address the issues of dissolution or eligibility.

The commission voted 4-1 to consider awarding a license in Zone 4 and then voted 5-0 to award it to 3J, making it the state's 38th dispensary to be licensed.

Storm Nolan, who submitted the application for River Valley, said after the meeting that he believes his application was wrongly passed over and hopes to settle the disagreement with the commission “amicably” rather than through a lawsuit.

Nolan said he dissolved River Valley Sales because he was following guidance from the secretary of state’s office on inactive businesses.

The commission accepted applications for dispensaries in 2017 and has held them in

reserve until a Jan. 9 expiration date.

Nolan also said the commission was violating its own rules by recognizing the corporation rather than the individual (Nolan) as the applicant.

The commission’s rules and regulations define the “applicant” as “the natural person in whose name a license would be issued and any entity: (a) the natural person represents; or (b) on whose behalf the application is being submitted.”

“We followed the commission’s guidelines,” Nolan said. “We followed the secretary of state’s guidelines. For this to happen on a very minor technicality and counter to their rules and regulations, it’s a sad deal.”

Fort Smith, the state’s second largest city, is home to one dispensary, Fort Cannabis.

Nolan’s letter to the commission pointed out that Sebastian County has the most medical marijuana patients of any county, yet has only one dispensary.

Nolan said he has held onto the retail space in Fort Smith that he intended to use for the dispensary.

“We were ready, willing and able and we still hope that we can bring this home to Fort Smith,” he said.

After an initially slow rollout, there are now 31 dispensaries operating in Arkansas.

The other seven are said to be working

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THE CULTIVATORS’ LAWSUIT SAYS THE COMMISSION SHOULD HAVE MADE ITS DECISION ON WHETHER TO ISSUE ADDITIONAL PERMITS BASED ON WHETHER THE EXISTING FACILITIES WERE CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING THE STATE’S DISPENSARIES. toward opening. Voters approved the medical marijuana amendment in 2016, but the state did not open its first dispensary until May 10, 2019, when Doctor’s Orders (now known as Suite 443) opened in Hot Springs. Fourteen dispensaries open that year and 17 opened in 2020.

As of Dec. 17, the state’s dispensaries had sold 30,648 pounds of medical marijuana for $200.7 million since the first dispensary opened in 2019.

Last year, the state’s dispensaries sold 4,200 pounds of medical marijuana for $28 million. *** The commission passed on the opportunity to award the final two licenses, in Zones 6 and 8, during its December meeting. Unless the commission holds an emergency meeting before the Jan. 9 expiration date, it will have to open a new application process.

The next dispensary in line for a license in Zone 6 is Green Remedies Group and the next in line in Zone 8 is T&C Management.

Will the commission solicit new applications next year?

“I think it really depends on where we see the industry,” Scott Hardin, spokesman for the commission, said.

The commission licensed three additional cultivators earlier this year, giving the state the maximum eight cultivators to provide products to the dispensaries. Hardin believes the introduction of more product from additional cultivation facilities will help shape the industry in 2021.

“That will be the point at which everyone can look at this industry and understand exactly where it stands from a patient and product perspective,” Hardin said. “You’re still going to have this issue of lack of adequate product from dispensaries, but until these other three cultivators come on, it’s hard to tell where we stand.” *** 64 JANUARY 2021

ARKANSAS TIMES

Pine Bluff will soon be home to a medical marijuana cultivation facility.

Good Day Farm LLC has purchased Natural State Wellness LLC of Newport and will operate out of an indoor facility in Jefferson Industrial Park in Pine Bluff. The ownership group expects to open the facility in April 2021, creating 170 new jobs with an average wage of $18-$19 per hour and an annual payroll and benefits totaling about $10 million, according to owner Alex Gray, a lawyer at Steel Wright Gray of Little Rock. Good Day Farm’s investment in the Pine Bluff operation will be $25 million, Gray said.

Natural State Wellness operated a greenhouse in Newport, which Good Day Farm will continue to operate as it constructs its Pine Bluff facility.

Once the indoor facility is constructed and approved, the operation will move to Pine Bluff.

An indoor space is important for controlling the environment to create pharmaceutical grade cannabis, Gray said. The facility will be better able to control the humidity, temperature, sunlight, darkness, water, nutrients and soil than a greenhouse.

“It’s just almost impossible to do that if you do not have an indoor facility,” Gray said. “That’s why it’s important for us. “We believe that this will allow us to have much higher yields and have a more consistent product.

“We believe this is going to be pharmaceutical grade cannabis that the patients of Arkansas are going to be able to buy. And we’re going to make sure that the dispensaries have the product that they need. We think this is going to be a real positive for the state.”

The sale included a 100 percent change in ownership and the new ownership group includes prominent Arkansas businessman Warren Stephens as well as his sons, Miles Stephens and John Stephens.

“This group of investors are people that believe, first and foremost, in the medical efficacies of cannabis, and I think they are excited to have the opportunity to invest in

Arkansas, in Jefferson County and in Pine Bluff,” Gray said. “Many people who are on the investor list, it’s their first investment in this space.”

The state’s cultivators continue to wrangle over who gets to grow the medical marijuana that the state’s patients consume.

In June, the commission issued the final three permits for cultivation facilities to New Day Cultivation of Garland County, Carpenter Farms Medical Group of Grady and River Valley Relief of Fort Smith.

In July, the five initially licensed cultivators filed a lawsuit in Carroll County, arguing that the commission did not follow its own rules when it awarded the three additional licenses.

Plaintiffs are Osage Creek Cultivation LLC; Delta Medical Cannabis Company LLC; Bold Team LLC; Natural State Medicinals Cultivation LLC; and Natural State Wellness Enterprises LLC (since purchased by Good Day Farm).

Defendants in the suit are the three new cultivators along with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division and the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission.

The 190-page amended complaint argues that the commission should have followed its rules and made its decision on whether to issue additional permits based on whether the existing facilities were capable of supplying the state’s dispensaries. The suit claims that the commission acted “arbitrarily, capriciously, in bad faith and/or in a wantonly injurious manner” when it issued the licenses to Carpenter Farms and New Day. “Our argument is that they failed to apply that rule when they decided to issue licenses 6, 7, and 8,” said Casey Castleberry, the Batesville attorney who represents the plaintiffs.

The suit also alleges that the entity that was awarded the River Valley cultivation license was dissolved earlier this year and was not eligible to receive a license. The River Valley cultivation center is also owned by Storm Noland. The issue is similar to the one that caused the commission to discard an application from River Valley for a dispensary license earlier this month.

On Dec. 4, Berryville Circuit Judge Scott Jackson heard arguments from the defendants to dismiss the case; three of them argued in favor of moving the case to Pulaski County.

Jackson is expected to rule some time after Jan. 4. If the case is not dismissed, Castleberry said, the case will proceed to the discovery phase.

“We’re still at the very early stage of this case,” Castleberry said.

JANUARY FINDS

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THE OBSERVER

RESOLUTIONS 2021

A

t last, we come to the end. How it is that 2020 wound up lasting 36 months or so we’ll never know. That’s a problem for the eggheads up at the college maybe, though whether you should contact Quantum Physics, Poli Sci or the Philosophy Department to try and crack that nut is anybody’s guess. But whatever the case, here, after long and terrible months, we come to the end of the dread year of 2020.

The Observer heard somebody say once that Americans are the only people on earth who just automatically assume things will get better next year, and the next, and the next. Still, short of the dead rising from their graves or a full-on asteroid strike that splits the earth down the middle from Smackover to the Rock of Gibraltar, it’s hard to see how next year, the Year of Our Lord 2021, could be any goddamn worse than this one. If the soon-to-be-shed Trump Era has taught us all anything, though, it’s that “Always Expect the Unexpected” isn’t just good advice, it’s the only thing other than death and taxes that one can count on for certain.

It’s at this point in the year that The Observer usually takes a minute to jot down some New Years’ Resolutions of a sort, whether to make you chuckle or nod knowingly or just share with us for a minute another tick of the great cosmic clock that counts us down through all the days of our lives. While the coronavirus did send most of The Observer’s resolutions from December of last year knickers-overteakettle, there was one we made that paid off in spades, pointed out to The Observer by a pal recently on Dr. Zuckerberg’s Soon-ToBe-Heavily-Regulated Electric Book o’ Faces.

Take it away, December 2019 Observer, you dewy-faced naive child of ignorance at what was to come: “In 2020, Yours Truly will try to laugh more 66 JANUARY 2021

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and gripe less, though that might be a tall order, given that in November of this very year, we’re all going to be faced with the choice between whatever basically decent human being the Democrats stand up and the addled, bigoted orange creature slouching eternally toward Mar-a-Lago to be born, fat little thumbs always at the ready to spread some more cruelty on Twitter. It has been a minor miracle that over the course of the last three years, we haven’t had a large scale, history-changer event like a 9/11, ’29-level stock market crash, Cuban Missile Crisis or Pearl Harbor, as one can only imagine how badly our current White House occupant could screw up any one of those. Give him eight years, and eventually we’re all gonna get unlucky. Saddest thing is, all these Republicans defending him like he’s their dear sainted father know exactly how bad it would be if anything approaching an existential crisis strikes on his watch. But still they cower on.”

So, you know: ding, ding, ding. Good news on the “basically decent human being” part, and — spoiler alert! — he won! As for the other stuff, it’s kinda hard to imagine how Trump could have better fulfilled The Observer’s prediction of his ineptitude in a true crisis, short of him sending infected MAGA nuts door to door to personally cough in the face of every 15th American, but there’s always time, we suppose. Our failure, if there was one, was to assume it would take Trump another term to soil the national bed this badly. Against all odds, he got impeachment and a massive national catastrophe done in one term. But we digress.

All this is to say that The Observer is having a little bit of trouble coming up with resolutions this go-round, other than “Don’t Be the Last Person in Arkansas to Die of COVID-19.” The trouble is two-fold. First, just the folly of trying to plan for the future when 2020 has seen a

deadly pandemic, a president who was content to go golfing on fairways littered with corpses, and so many named hurricanes that they had to stop giving them names and go to Greek letters of the alphabet. It’s been a hell of a year, to the point that it kind of mocks the idea of resolutions.

The other part of it, though, is just how content The Observer is over whatever comes, once we’re able to leave this house. No more President Trump, and once we’ve got a vaccine in our arms, no more COVID. No more masks. No more plastic barriers and not being able to hug the ones you love. No more Zooming when you’d rather be there. That’s where we’re headed, and putting any kind of restriction on that, even one so mild as a resolution, seems shortsighted. So, check with us next year. Maybe we’ll have some for you then.

For now, this is all The Observer can think about 2021, other than not being the last man sent home in a bag from World War C: Think of how much you will enjoy the next concert you attend. The next potluck at church. The next night out. The next Arkansas State Fair corndog. The next movie on the big screen. The next reunion. The next hug you get from a friend you bump into on the street. The next ballgame.

The next parade. The next time when strangers are all around, breathing the same air, and you don’t care. Imagine that. Imagine how free that will feel to be together again, unmasked. The Observer doesn’t know about you, but when we emerge from this, we’ll never take anything for granted again. We’ll never take YOU, the strangers with whom we share this city, this state and this world, for granted again.

So. Where are you going first when you get that stick in the arm? Wherever it is, The Observer wishes you and yours a healthy and prosperous New Year.

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