75¢
(Hazen students participate in tourney p.3 )
Volume 118 Number 48 - USPS 225-680
Community Events Calendar Thursday January 11 DeValls Bluff City Council Meeting 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. City Hall GFWC Elsie McCain Club Meeting 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Murry’s Restaurant Monday January 15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day NO SCHOOL Wednesday January 17 Friendship Luncheon DeValls Bluff Methodist Church 11:30am- 2:00pm Thursday January 18 Master Gardeners’ meeting 6:00p.m. - 7p.m. Hazen Library Book Club/Recipe Swap Noon - 1:00 p.m. Hazen Hornet Basketball @ Brinkley 4:00 pm JG ,JB, SG, SB Hazen City Council Meeting 6:00pm- 7:00pm City Hall Friday January 19 Hazen Hornet Basketball Hornets Nest Jacksonville Lighthouse 4:30pm 7G, JB, SG, SB Community events brought to you by Hazen Chamber of Commerce and the
Please call F&M Bank (255-3042) or The Grand Prairie Herald (255-4538) to list events.
Prairie County, Arkansas
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Hazen school board to lease/purchase new bus The Hazen School Board voted to enter into a five year lease to purchase agreement with Central States Bus Sales for one bus at their December meeting which was held on Monday, December 18. Present at the meeting were President David Strohl, Vicki Skarda, Freddie Rogers, Sandra Penn, Davey Williams, and Superintendent William Crowder. The bus purchased from Central States Bus Sales (CSB) can carry 42 passengers, and will be used primarily to transport special education students to and from school. The bus route includes daily trips to Searcy and Biscoe. Crowder said that the district spent $6000 on repairs to the present bus travelling this route this past summer but
that he still doubts its reliability, so a new bus is needed. The agreement with CSB states that the cost to the district will be five payments of $19,911.46 per year for a total of $96,684.15 with an interest rate of 4.35%. Crowder also asked the board to allow him to file a request with the Arkansas Department of Education to start school early in August of 2018. “One hundred ninety one schools have done this already,” Crowder said, “and more days in August could get us out before Memorial Day.” “This allows us a little more flexibility,” he said. Crowder stated that he will get with the district staff members about a possible start date. In other business, the board voted to accept the
resignation of cafeteria worker Holly Calvert and hired Joyce Kee as her replacement effective January 3. The increased work load of the district’s nurse, Kim Anderson, was also discussed. Anderson has requested that the board review her present compensation since she is now serving 150 more students. The high school nurse resigned last summer leaving Anderson to be the nurse school-wide. After the meeting, board members Sandra Penn and Davey Williams were presented with Outstanding Board Member Awards certificates from the Arkansas School Board Association for earning at least 25 hours of accredited school board member in-service training.
Board members Davey Williams and Sandra Penn received awards for ASBA in-service training.
Mid-D Delta now taking home energy applications Beginning on Tuesday, January 16, 2018, MidDelta Community Services, Inc. will be accepting applications for the 2018 REGULAR Home Energy Assistance Program in Phillips, Monroe, Prairie and Lee Counties until funds are depleted. These funds will assist eligible residents with payment on their home heating source only. Elderly and disabled households selected by the Department of Human Services in Little Rock will receive their applications by mail. Applications will be accepted until funds are depleted.
The Regular Home Energy Assistance Program will assist lowincome eligible households with home heating related expenses. The benefit amount is a onetime payment based on household income and size and is sent directly to the energy supplier on behalf of the applicant. All applicants will receive notification, in writing, if application has been approved or denied. Eligible applicants should allow 35 days for processing and payment to the utility company. Payments may not cover an entire month's bill and will not stop shut-offs or disconnect service.
Applicants must continue paying their heating source in the usual manner to avoid a crisis situation. To avoid delay in the application process, households that do not receive an application in the mail must provide proof of all the following which apply to them for the previous month: *Name, age, birthday and SSN of all household members. *Proof of income (check studs, SS Award Letter, SSI, utility allowance, Child Support, TEA, or Alimony) for the previous month. *ID or any document which establishes identity
such as a driver's license, voter registration card, Medical ID, pay stubs, birth certificate * Please provide a copy of BOTH utility bills to verify account number and utility company. Applications will be processed by first come first serve basis. Applicants are asked to come to the community center location (listed below) nearest to where they live. Prairie County DeValls Bluff Community Center Sycamore & Ash Streets DeValls Bluff, AR (870) 998-2005
Monroe County 1.Brinkley Community Services Center Cedar View Apartments 705 West 6th Street Brinkley, AR (870) 734-1236 2.Clarendon Community Services Center 553 N 7th Street Clarendon, AR (870) 747-5610 Phillips County 1. Springdale Community Center 1125 Springdale Rd Helena, AR 72342 (870) 338-3412 or (870) 338-3411 Monday through Thursday 9:00am to 4:00pm
24th annual Agribusiness Conference to be held on ASU campus Feb. 19th JONESBORO Arkansas State University's annual Agribusiness Conference, now in its 24th year, continues to provide timely information and agricultural policy education to farmers, agribusiness professionals, students and educators across the MidSouth. Bert Greenwalt, Professor of Agricultural Economics at Arkansas State University and former resident of Hazen, helped to establish this event in 1995 and has directed it ever since. This year's conference, on Wednesday, Feb. 14, will focus on agricultural real estate, tax issues, the cotton industry, trade policy, the next farm bill, and the agricultural credit and commodity markets. On-site registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. in AState's Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Dr. Lunch will be served in the First National Bank Arena, 217 Olympic Dr., at noon.
Afternoon sessions end at 4:15 p.m. The morning general session features four speakers and a panel discussion: -- Randall Pope, CEO of Westchester Group Investment Management, Inc., will discuss agricultural real estate as an asset class. -- Charlott Jones, CPA and tax manager for Jones & Company, Ltd., will discuss the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and how it will impact agriculture. -- Gary Adams, president of the National Cotton Council, will discuss the U.S. cotton industry and give an update on agricultural trade policy. -- Joe Outlaw, professor and extension economist at Texas A&M University, will give an update on the issues and outlook for the next farm bill. The luncheon speaker, Roby Brock, is the host and executive producer of
Talk Business & Politics. Brock will discuss Arkansas political issues for business and agriculture. Afternoon special-interest sessions include an update on community banking trends and the agricultural credit market, rice and cotton market issues, and poultry and beef market trends. Afternoon speakers include: Julie Stackhouse, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Greg Cole, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services; Wes Ward, Arkansas secretary of agriculture; Carl Brothers, Riceland Foods, Inc.; Jeff Johnson, Allenberg Cotton Co.; David Newman, Arkansas State
University; Duane Williams, Peco Foods; and Mark Jordan, Arkansas State University. The conference qualifies for continuing education credits according to the guidelines of the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy, Arkansas Certified Crop Advisors and Arkansas Agricultural Consultants, and the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. Joining the College of Agriculture, Engineering & Technology to sponsor the conference are: The Judd Hill Foundation, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Allenberg Cotton Company, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Bear State Bank, Busch Agricultural
Resources LLC, Farm Credit Midsouth, Glaub Farm Management, Greenway Equipment Inc., Helena Chemical Company, National Land Realty, Ozark Mountain Poultry, Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC, Riceland Foods Inc., RiceTec Inc., and USA/Arkansas Rice. Admission to the conference and luncheon is free, but pre-registration is encouraged. Detailed conference information and online registration are available at AState.edu/agribusconf. To register by phone, contact the College of Agriculture, Engineering & Technology, (870) 9723221, or email AState_Agribus_Conf@A State.edu.
Des Arc students donate $576 to Heifer Int. Project Des Arc elementary students are helping Heifer International to put a small dent in their mission to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. The 5th and 6th graders of Des Arc Elementary School decided to raise money for Heifer
International this Christmas instead of participating in a Christmas gift exchange at school. The students raised $576.00. They were able were able to give the gifts of clean water, 1 goat, honeybees, and donate $126 to wherever it is needed to help communities around the world.
56°
60
39°
36°
32°
54°
30°
27°
17°
20°
20%
80%
60%
10%
0%