March 13, 2024 edition

Tuesday

Thursday March

Saturday

April 8th is the big Total Eclipse of the Sun event that will happen in Arkansas as well as other states. The Hazen Chamber of Commerce is selling solar eclipse paper eyeglasses for $3 each. They are now available at the Prescription Shop, Rieke Accounting Firm, Cadence Bank, and the Maple Healthcare. You'll need these to watch the moon pass in front of the sun. You can also place your order for an Arkansas Eclipse T-Shirt. Go to the Hazen Chamber Facebook page or see Dee Hare at the Rieke Firm office on Hwy. 70 by March 15th to place your order. The shirts cost $23 and come in toddler to adult sizes.

The Hazen Chamber group enjoyed listening to Stuttgart Chamber Person, Bethany Hildebrand at their meeting. Bethany gave many ideas and strategies that the Stuttgart Chamber does to promote their city which includes Wings Over

the Prairie and Christmas in the Park. She also recommended that Hazen's Chamber start a website so other Arkansas social media sites could direct visitors to upcoming event information. The webpage would also provide a place to post photos of past events. Chad Greenwalt will be working with local produce farmers for the Hazen Chamber's Farmers Market that will be a weekly Saturday event in the downtown park area. Anyone interested in selling their fruits and veggies should contact Chamber President Daniel Martin at phone number 870-615-3350, or any Chamber member.

Many additions to Hazen's

David Roger Hauk

David Roger Hauk, 70 of Carlisle went to be with his Lord Jesus Christ March 2, 2024 at UAMS in Little Rock. David was born December 8, 1953, in Little Rock. He was the son of Harold Fred Hauk Junior and Eva Sue (Flynn) Hauk of Carlisle. David was of Baptist faith and a member of Trinity Chapel Baptist Church in Carlisle, Arkansas. He was a dedicated industrial mechanic at Remington Arms for almost 50 years.

Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Trinity Chapel Baptist Church in Carlisle.

Sandra Zimmerman

David was preceded in death by his mother and father. He is survived by his wife, Debbie Hauk of Carlisle. His children, Chris Hauk-Harris and Tom of Little Rock, Fred and Kim Hauk of Trumann; his grandchildren Hailee Hauk, Raygan Hauk, and Owen Hauk, and a multitude of nieces and nephews. His brother Jimmy and Tena Hauk of Carlisle, cousin Billy and Renee Flynn of Little Rock, and sisterin-law Mary and Chris Edelmann of Benton, brother-in-law Gordon and Lisa Mutters of Van Buren.

Funeral services were held at 10:30 A.M., Saturday, March 9, 2024 at Trinity Chapel Baptist Church in Carlisle with visitation from 9:30 to 10:30 A.M. prior to the service. Burial was at Hamilton

Sandra Zimmerman, age 75 of Carlisle, passed away March 4, 2024 at her home. She was born August 29, 1948 in Norwich England, United Kingdom the daughter of Billy and Hannah Smythe. She came to the United States and married the love of her life, John Frederick Zimmerman whom she met during the war. Sandra loved to hunt and do anything that involved her husband and her boys. She owned the Zimmerman Nursing Home in Carlisle and other real estate. Sandra was a sassy English woman through and through. She was preceded in death by her husband, John Frederick Zimmerman; her son, George Lee Zimmerman; her brother, David Carter and her sister, Mary Smythe. Sandra is survived by her son, Johnny Zimmerman; grandsons, John George Zimmerman and Jonathan Ellis; her granddaughter, Sandra Marie Zimmerman; 9 great-grandchildren, Katelyne Yancey, Addison Yancey, Abel Yancey, Noah Yancey, Von Frederick Zimmerman, Hannah Zimmerman, Sophia Zimmerman, Sawyer Ellis, and David Zimmerman; her Godson, GeorgeHedrick and several nieces, nephews, and other loved ones.

Visitation was held on Wednesday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M., Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at Westbrook Funeral Home in Hazen. Funeral services were held at 2:00 P.M., Thursday at the Westbrook Funeral Home Chapel in Hazen. Burial was in the Carlisle Cemetery.

Nancy Sue Odom

Nancy Sue Odom, age 91, passed away peacefully at home on March 8, 2024.

in death by her beloved daughter-in-law Nancy Carolyn Odom. Her memory will be cherished by her grandchildren; Matt and Kim Odom of Marion; Blakely and Crystal Odom of Houston, Tx; Amber and Bradley Doom of Lonoke; Delaine and Teddy Villar of Ooltewah, Tenn; and Jacob and Morgan Odom of Little Rock and her eleven great grandchildren.

Nancy Sue was a lifelong pioneer of the Oak Prairie Community. She helped her husband with farming and was a skilled factory worker, with her last position held at Maybelline before retiring at the age of 73. She also worked at the Des Arc Shirt Factory and Baby Crib Factory in Lonoke. Her longest work of employment was with Acco Babcock in Des Arc, which closed in 1992. She was an amazing and avid cook, mother and grandmother, known as Nannie and Nanaw, and friend. Her favorite color was yellow, and she enjoyed watching TV. Elvis was one her favorite singers. She loved anything sweet; ice cream, chocolate and cheesecake were her favorites. She enjoyed her flowers, gardening and canning from the garden, her dog, and life itself!

Throughout the years, she enjoyed her chickens, guineas, farm cats, and riding around the farm. Nancy Sue was a yellow-dog Democrat and was proud of it!

Nancy Sue loved to laugh and never sweated the small stuff. She was the best supporter and encouraged everyone along the way. She valued and cherished her family the most and often reminded her family how much she loved them. She always said, “everything is going to be ok.”

Her famous quotes were “You’re either born with it or you’re not; you can’t buy it and you can’t acquire it, it’s called the Right Stuff! And “I want my boys to be boys, but if you make your bed hard, you have to be the one to sleep in it.”

Locals participate in spelling bee...

The Spelling Bee was hosted by Carelink at the Hayes Senior Center in North Little Rock. It was held March 1, 2024. The Lonoke County Council on Aging (LCCA) participants were: Rose Phillips from Lonoke, Thelma Shook from Carlisle, and Chris Weems from Hazen, placed second.

Mills graduates from UCA

Raegan Mills of Biscoe has graduated with a Associate of Arts in General Studies from the University of Central Arkansas.

The University of Central

Arkansas conferred nearly 500 undergraduate and more than 180 graduate degrees and certificates through the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; College of

Business; College of Education; College of Health and Behavioral Sciences; College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Graduate School.

Sand Hill Cemetery plans cleanup

The Sand Hill Cemetery Association met Sunday, March 3, 2024, at Sand Hill Missionary Baptist Church. The 2023 financial report was presented.

The Cemetery is financed by perpetual care investments and donations. With mowing season upon us we ask that everyone please remove all shepherds hooks, lights, and any other decorations that are around the headstones of your loved

ones, so the cemetery can be properly mowed and weed eated. There will be a Cemetery clean up on April 6 at 9:00 a.m. if not raining. If

you would like to make a donation mail it to Sand Hill Cemetery, C/O Donna Hitt, 8469 Highway 38 E, Des Arc, AR 72040

- City Wide Tire Cleanup -

The City of Hazen will be conducting a city-wide cleanup for unwanted tires on Tuesday March 26, 2024 ONLY!

Please put your unwanted tires by the curb no later than Monday, March 25th for pick up. Rims must be removed from the tires to be picked up. Your efforts to help us clean up this town are appreciated.

School Choice for 2024-2025

Nancy Sue was an only child born on October 6, 1932 to Ethel and “HB” Bechum Edins who resided in the Oak Prairie Community. She married the late Collins Odom on October 29, 1950. They moved to Lorane, Ohio for a short period and had their first son before moving back to the Oak Prairie Community. Nancy Sue was married to the late Collins for 51 years before his death in 2001.

Nancy Sue will be dearly missed by her three sons and daughters-in-law: Gary and Phyllis Odom of Searcy, Terry and Delilah Odom of Des Arc, and Randy and Betty Odom of Des Arc. She was proceeded

Nancy Sue was super proud of her family. She always told her family they could do anything they set their mind to and was proud of all that earned their college degrees. She said, “We did pretty good!”

Nancy Sue’s grandsonin-law, Teddy Villar will officiate the funeral service. Pallbearers are her grandsons Matt Odom, Blakley Odom and Jacob Odom; great grandsons Judah Villar and Atticus Odom, and grandson-inlaw Bradley Doom.

Honorary Pallbearers are Bob Childers, JK Minton, Dickie Minton, Butch Calhoun, and Red VanHouten. The family would also like to honor the late Graham Childers and Buddy Terry.

Funeral arrangements have been made at Westbrook Funeral Home in Hazen, AR for Wednesday, March 13 at 2:00 pm in the Chapel with visitation held prior to the funeral at 12:30 pm.

The following Public School Districts in Prairie and Lonoke Counties (Carlisle, Des Arc, and Hazen)  would like to inform parents that public school choice is available to your children in accordance with applicable Arkansas law and the rules and regulations approved by the Arkansas State Board of Education.  Applicants must submit school choice applications to the nonresident district and the student’s resident school district. The application must be delivered or postmarked no later than May 1 of the calendar year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester at the nonresident district. In accordance with the Act 490 of 2021 (codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-227(b)(1)(B)(i), the window period for applicant filing and school districts accepting school choice applications for the 2024- 2025 school year begins on January 1, 2024, and runs through May 1, 2024.

For questions regarding school choice, please contact the superintendent’s office at the school of your choice.

injury or death caused by the negligence of the Decedent shall also be filed within six (6) months from the date of the first publication of the Notice, or they shall be forever barred and precluded from any benefit in such Estate.

This Notice first published the 6th day of March, 2024.

BOYD & BUIECameron Sandine

Attorneys at Law707 Stuttgart Street

308 Court SquareEngland, Arkansas 72046

DeWitt, Arkansas 72042

ATTORNEYS FOR ESTATE

The Hazen School Board met in a special meeting on Monday, March 4, in the high school library to consider football stadium lighting quotes. All members were present.

The highest quote for the project came from Performance Services which included a new public address system.

The $586,911 amount would also cover a color lighting package and a special effects package.

After considering three other bids, the board decided on the bid from Musco Lighting for $374,500. This includes new electrical panels and electrical work

throughout, a 25 year warranty on materials and onsite labor, and color light and special effects packages. Board Member Dave Hare said, “A lot of schools have Musco already.” Superintendent Andy Barrett told the board that the school district has $477,000 in building fund money left over from an old bond debt that can be used for the project. He also said that the district has $3.1 million in the district building fund. Barrett said that some work on the HVAC system will need to be done in the future. Barrett also asked for

permission to close school on April 8th, the day of the solar eclipse. He stated that Arkansas is expecting 1.5 to 3 million visitors to the state on that day, and major roads might be jammed with people stopping to watch the event. The board agreed to the suggestion.

The board also agreed to apply for a matching fund grant for a Career and Technology building. The funds will go into the building fund.

The district has to be granted a waiver for the building project because the district already had too much building square footage to student numbers. The money, if the school receives it, will be available in the 2025-26 school year.

The board went into an executive session for approximately 30 minutes, and took no action once they returned.

At the end of the meeting, the resignations/retirements of elementary teachers Lisa Martin and Donna Alexander were accepted along with the resignation of high school teacher Robert Hoover, all effective at the end of this school year.

State Capitol Week in Review

From Senator Ronald Caldwell

LITTLE ROCK –

Arkansas is one of several states that have restricted their public retirement systems from investing in funds that refuse to trade in the stock of fossil fuel companies, energy companies, ammunition manufacturers and firearms makers.

Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia have drawn up a list of financial institutions that are restricted from handling investments for retirement systems.

The attorney general of Tennessee recently filed a lawsuit against BlackRock, an investment firm with assets of about $10 trillion. The lawsuit alleges that BlackRock misled its customers who live in Tennessee by downplaying the extent to which its investment strategy emphasizes ESG factors. The acronym refers to environmental, social and governance related factors. For example, there are mutual funds that promote themselves as focusing on clean or renewable energy. Other funds may say to investors that they won’t purchase stock in a business that doesn’t have a strong inclusion and diversity policy. Act 411 of 2023 creates a process for the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and the state Public Employees Retirement System to remove its

holdings in restricted companies. Texas has a law similar to Act 411 and so far has listed 15 companies whose energy divisions will be restricted from Texas public investments.

Kentucky has 11 companies on its restricted list. Oklahoma has six and West Virginia has five. At a recent meeting of the Joint Performance Review Committee, the director of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System updated lawmakers on the progress of divestment efforts mandated by Act 411.

The act created a fivemember ESG Oversight Committee, which will make the decisions about whether Arkansas public systems should take its money out of specific investment funds. It should make divestment decisions in a few months.

The Teacher Retirement System has about $1.2 billion in three funds managed by BlackRock. The largest is about $1 billion in an index fund, which is set up to track the movements of enormous national and worldwide stock market indexes. It has investments in a large variety of businesses. The teacher retirement system has $260 million in a bond fund and $13.8 million in a private infrastructure fund that has financed fossil fuel production, pipelines and power

companies.

The lawsuit by the Tennessee attorney general specifically identifies 27 investment products offered by BlackRock. The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System has no investments in any of those 27 products. The Public Employees Retirement System has no investments in BlackRock funds, nor does the Local Police and Fire Retirement System. If ESG Oversight Committee identifies a BlackRock fund that Arkansas is prohibited from doing business with, the teacher retirement system would take out its money and place it elsewhere. The director estimated that the administrative costs of divesting would not exceed $10 million, which would not affect the overall financial health of the system because of its size. The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System has assets of about $21.4 billion and the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System has assets of more than $11 billion. Their investment managers will have to certify every month that they’re in compliance with Act 411, and that their investment decisions are based on monetary factors, with no consideration of political factors.

Legislators address maternal health

Last week, several members attended a Maternal Health Roundtable at UAMS. The roundtable included Arkansas medical professionals discussing maternal health alongside Governor Sanders, Senator John Boozman, and Congressman French Hill.

Arkansas faces one of the nation's highest maternal mortality rates, prompting discussions on improving access to maternal care in rural areas, especially with only 35 hospitals in the state offering active labor and delivery units.

Addressing maternal health has been a key focus for the Arkansas

General Assembly, notably through Act 829 of 2019 establishing the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, aiming to pinpoint prevention strategies by examining pregnancy-associated deaths.

The Committee's latest report highlighted 100 pregnancy-associated deaths out of 108,517 live births between 2018 and 2020, underscoring disparities among minorities and identifying cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular conditions, and hypertensive disorders as top underlying causes.

In 2023, we addressed maternal health with the passage of Act 562, Act 581 and Act 553.

Act 562 requires the Arkansas Medicaid Program to reimburse for depression screening for a pregnant woman.

Act 581 requires the Arkansas Medicaid Program to reimburse a healthcare provider for providing long-acting reversible contraception immediately and during postpartum.

Act 553 mandates that the state medical examiner conducts a postmortem examination in specific situations. These situations encompass the death of a pregnant woman or a woman who was pregnant within 365 days of her death if potentially linked to pregnancy care.

From classrooms to healthcare, the state budget has a direct impact on our daily lives. Weeks before the legislative session begins, the General Assembly reviews the state’s current fiscal position and budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year. Budget hearings this year will begin on March 6 and are expected to continue through March 8.

These hearings will be held in the MAC building located directly behind the Capitol. The hearings are open to the public and will be livestreamed on our website.

The Department of Finance and Administration will present the Governor’s recommendation for a balanced budget on the first day of budget hearings which will

begin at 9 am.

After the balanced budget proposal is presented, the Joint Budget Committee will then begin hearing budget requests from state agencies. Historically, the two largest categories of funding are education and human services. Higher education, public safety, and health are also top budget priorities.

The most recent general revenue report released showed net available general revenue at 5.6% below levels from one year ago. After seven months into the fiscal year, net available revenue is above forecast by $231.2 million or 6.0 percent.

All of the information gathered during these hearings will help in drafting appropriation bills. Members can begin pre-filing bills on

March 11. The Arkansas General Assembly will convene for the 2024 Fiscal Session at noon on April 10.

Fiscal Sessions began after Arkansas voters approved Amendment 86 in 2008. This will be the 8th Fiscal Session held in state history.

Fiscal Sessions are held in February in years in which the primary elections are held in May. The Fiscal Sessions begin in April in years, like this year, in which primary elections are held in March. Fiscal Sessions are limited to 30 days unless ¾ of the General Assembly agrees to a one-time extension not to exceed 15 days. You can watch the meetings and find the daily agendas at www.arkansashouse.o rg.

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Arkansas AG warns against bank imposter scams

LITTLE ROCK –Following a recent uptick in scams involving people impersonating banking representatives, Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following consumer alert to help Arkansans identify these types of scams and protect themselves: “Imposter scams are one of the most dangerous types of robocalls. In 2023 alone, Americans lost close to $2 billion to imposter scams. A popular form of these calls are bank imposter scams, in which the caller impersonates the recipient’s bank in order to obtain personally identifiable information from the call recipient. In these scams, the caller claims that fraudulent activity has been detected on the call recipient’s account. The call recipient is then asked to provide identifying information—such as PINs, bank account numbers and answers to security questions. The scammer then uses that information to access the consumer’s account. These scams are particularly believable when the callers spoof their calls, causing the bank’s telephone number to appear on the consumer’s caller ID.

“Bank imposter scammers prey on consumer fear and attempt to instill a sense of urgency to pressure consumers to act without thinking.”

If you receive a phone call or text message by someone purporting to be with your bank, use the following tips to keep yourself and your finances secure.

• If you receive a call from someone claiming to be with your bank, hang up and call your bank. Do not call a number that the caller tells you to call. Call the number on your account statement to confirm that you are speaking with your financial institution.

• Do not share sensitive financial information to anyone who calls you—even if the number on your caller ID belongs to your bank. Do not give a caller your password, PIN, security question answers, or other identifying information. Your bank will never ask for this information.

• Your bank will never ask you to transfer money to another account in order to protect it.

• Be suspicious of any caller who attempts to pressure you into acting immediately.

Scammers try to create a sense of urgency to prevent victims from thinking through the situation.

• Never send a payment in order to receive a refund. Your bank will never ask you to transfer money before they can reverse a fraudulent transfer.

• These scams can also occur via text message. Do not click on any links from text messages purporting to be from your bank, as they may be download links for malicious software that takes personal data from your phone. Always go directly to your bank’s website.

• If you think you have fallen victim to an imposter scam, call your bank immediately. Imposter scams are sometimes easy to identify, but many scammers are sophisticated, making their fraud difficult to identify. Use the above tips to keep yourself safe from bank imposter scams.

If you wish to file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General, you can do so by calling (800) 4828982, emailing consumer@arkansasag.gov or visiting www.ArkansasAG.gov.

Lady Hornets start off with loss...

H ornets o p en season with win

By Mark Buffalo Sports Editor

The Hazen Hornets baseball team is 1-0 on the season. They beat White County Central 14-4 on Feb. 29. They were the middle of a game with PalestineWheatley on March 4 when the game was

stopped because of weather. The score was tied 2-2 when it was suspended.

Jase Arnett and Sam Clayton scored runs for the Hornets before the game was stopped.

In the win over White County Central, Clayton went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Jase Arnett also scored

three runs. Nash Arnett, Luke Snider and Peyton Anderson scored two runs each. Brance Williams and Bubba Barnhill scored two runs each.

Hunter Pardon got the win for the Hornets. He struck out five in three innings of work. Jason Arnett struck out six in three innings of work.

Carlisle Lady Bison win three

By Mark Buffalo Sports Editor

The Carlisle Lady Bison improved to 6-0 last week with wins over Barton twice and Little Rock Central.

Carlisle beat Barton 16-0 and 18-0 on March 4 at Barton to improve to 2-0 in league play.

In the first game, Carlisle scored five runs in the first inning and 11 runs in the second inning.

Laken Golden and Kirsten Taylor each scored three runs. Scoring two runs each were Libby McIntyre, Jess Miles and Adisun Golden. Also scoring were MaKinnley Cook, Angie Petrus, Kylie Chlders and Aniya Zarate.

The Lady Bison hit three

homers — one each by Taylor, Laken Golden and McIntyre.

In the second game, Carlisle scored 15 runs in the first inning and three in the second. Wiled led the Lady Bison with three runs scored. Scoring two each were Laken Golden, Taylor, Cook, Adisun Golden and Petrus. Also scoring a run were Anna Stovesand, Childers and Carson Mealler. Cook hit a homer.

In the win over Central, Carlisle scored six runs in the first, seven in the second and four in the fourth.

Laken Golden, McIntyre and Wiles scored three runs each. Taylor and Adisun Golden scored two runs each Cook, Petrus,

Stovesand and Zarate each scored once.

Mealler and Tessa Sanders combined to strike out five Central batters.

“This team is incredibly unique,” Carlisle coach Jason Golden said. “In my 20 years, I’ve never had a team with the chemistry these kids have. They’ve embraced the culture we’re building and genuinely care about each other. If you saw them walking down the street together, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between our college signees or the first year players. That’s how close they are. “Their grit and tenacity will give us a chance to beat anyone.”

Lady Eagles start season at 3-0

By Mark Buffalo Sports Editor

The Des Arc Lady

Eagles softball team is 3-0 to start the season. They beat Newport 6-1 on Feb. 29, McCrory 2-1 on March 4 and Abundant Life 15-0 on March 5.

In the win over Newport, Des Arc scored once int he first, two in the third, once int he fifth and two in the seventh.

Newport’s lone run came in the bottom of the sixth.

Makenzie Williams led Des Arc with two runs

scored. Also scoring were Emma Buckner, Kymber Buckner, Kaylee McDonald and Jazmin Gray. McDonald got the win, recording 21 strikeouts while giving up only two hits.

In the win over McCrory, Des Arc scored single runs in the third and sixth innings. McCrory’s lone run came in the bottom of the fourth.

Emma Buckner scored both runs. McDonald struck out 17 McCrory batters. In the win over Abundant Life, Des Arc

scored three runs in the first and second innings and nine in the fifth.

Emma Bucker and Reagan Kittler combined on a five-inning no hitter. Buckner struck out 10 in four innings of work. Kittler worked a perfect fifth inning.

Emma Bucker hit two doubles and scored three runs in the victory. Marley Widner scored three runs. Williams scored twice. Also scoring were Lily Tacker, McDonald, Kymber Buckner, Kittler, Makayla Fowler and Layla Gardner.

The Lady Hornets softball team started off their season losing to the Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits. Their next game was on March 4 against Palestine Wheatley at 4:30 at Hazen. Their coach is Joe Besancon. (Ruth Corley photo.)

Plantation museum opens AR Japanese exhibit in Scott (SCOTT, Ark.) – While many people are familiar with the stories of the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War, most likely don’t give much thought to what happened to the people after the war’s end. For a group of families interned in the Rohwer War Relocation Center, the end of the war brought with it a move to the farming community of Scott, Arkansas.

The postwar years would bring many changes for both the community of Scott and the new residents. While the Japanese American families did find success in transplanting their central California-honed vegetable growing operation to the fertile soil of central Arkansas, they also faced the challenges of being neither white nor Black in the segregated south.

From March 16 until July 27, 2024, Plantation Agriculture Museum will be hosting an exhibit called “Muttsu no Kazoku: Six Families’ Journey from

Internment to Scott” telling a story that has long been overlooked. This exhibit will explore life for the Shingu, Futamachi, Nakamura, Oshima, Yada, and Yoshimura families before, during, and after World War II with special focus on their lives in Scott. Join the museum in a celebration of Japanese and Japanese American culture to recognize the opening of the exhibit on March 16, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. This special Sakura Matsuri, or cherry blossom festival, will include games, vendors, martial arts demonstrations, taiko drum performance, and more. The formal exhibit opening ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. with words from special guests, including representatives of the six Japanese American families who lived in Scott. Hors d'oeuvres will be available, and guests are welcome to tour the exhibit until 7 p.m. While both the matsuri and exhibit opening welcome visitors of all ages, the matsuri will be more family-focused.

First time voter...

Kirsten Kennedy shows off her “I Voted” sticker after participating in voting for her first time. She was one of many voters who turned out on Tuesday, March 5, to exercise their right to vote.

Carlisle FFA competes...

Carlisle FFA Career Development teams competed at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro last week and had a great day! So very proud of their hard work. Their sponsor is Carly Bokker.

Slaten Carter: 15th high point individual - Agronomy: 5th Place State Qualified

Baylor Hauk: 15th high point individual - Wildlife: 7th Place State Qualified

Caroline Bokker: 20th high point individual - Livestock: 14th place

Hayden Parker: 23rd high point individual - Vet Science: 20th

Entergy prepares for upcoming eclipse

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. –

A large part of Arkansas will go dark Monday, April 8, but it won’t be because the lights go out.

A once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse will take place over Arkansas in the early afternoon, and Entergy Arkansas is encouraging customers to be prepared.

The path of the eclipse across the state will cover large stretches of Interstates 30 and 40 along with miles of state highways, county roads and city streets. Nearly two-thirds of the state is inside the path of totality for the eclipse. The centerline of the eclipse will enter the state around 12:29 p.m. and exit the state at approximately 3:14 p.m.

Several locations throughout the state will experience total darkness for anywhere from 1-4 minutes.

Entergy Arkansas is working with officials from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, Arkansas Department of Transportation and other state and city leaders on a preparedness plan that includes preparing for heavy traffic, monitoring the weather and mobilizing workers and equipment throughout our service area to quickly and safely respond if issues arise. While widespread

power outages are not expected, Entergy Arkansas stands ready to restore power if needed.

Visitors and traffic concerns

The massive influx of visitors expected in the state will cause challenges with transportation and traffic management that will likely impact Arkansans during the solar eclipse.

Additionally, the possibility for severe spring weather, potential fuel shortages and other emergency events is being considered by state leaders. With hundreds of thousands of visitors expected throughout the natural state during the eclipse, heavy traffic could make it hard to travel, especially immediately after the eclipse has passed. Arkansas transportation officials say residents and visitors alike should be patient and expect traffic jams.

“Increased traffic in a given area can cause concern for accidentrelated outages,” said Adam Effrein, Entergy Arkansas vice president of reliability. “If a vehi-

cle hits a power pole, it can knock out power to the area until repairs can be made. In addition, cars parked to watch the eclipse could block crucial entrances to substations and electrical equipment that could hamper response times, should a power outage occur.”

Entergy Arkansas is planning for the solar eclipse in much the same way we do for storm situations, with reminders for customers to be sure their contact information is updated in our system, so any outages or unforeseen circumstances can be properly communicated to customers.

Entergy Arkansas recommends customers consider taking the following preparation steps before the solar eclipse: Stock up on groceries, medicine, and other daily necessities. Since travel, even locally, will be challenging during the eclipse, get what you need to be able to stay home for those few days if possible.

Fill up vehicles with gasoline ahead of time. Don’t wait until visitors arrive in the state to purchase fuel when

lines may be long and prices could be higher.

Reschedule errands or appointments. If you can avoid being out and about during the time of the eclipse, stay home. Fewer people on the roads means less possibility of accidents and/or traffic delays.

Expect heavy traffic and delays. If you must travel for work, school, etc., prepare for longer travel times. Use alternate traffic routes, if available. Use special eclipse glasses to safely view the sun. According to the American Astronomical Society, staring directly into the sun during even partial solar eclipses can cause permanent eye damage.

Entergy Arkansas has partnered with the Arkansas STEM coalition to provide Eclipse glasses for all k-12 public school students, as well as teachers and staff members.

Experts say the only safe way to look directly at the sun is through special-purpose solar filters, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology is warning eclipse watchers to use caution when watching the solar eclipse.

Power capacity

When the moon passes in front of the sun during the April 8 eclipse, there will obviously be less solar power generated. Because Entergy Arkansas has a diverse mix of generating resources, the eclipse is not expected to have a major impact on electricity delivery.

Solar energy accounts for about 1.9% of power capacity for Entergy Arkansas, and while we don’t know the exact amount of solar power generation that will be impacted during the short time the total eclipse occurs, other generation sources like natural gas, hydropower and nuclear will offset any dip in solar power generation. Customers should note that the darkness during the eclipse most likely will trigger sensors on automatic street lighting or other safety lighting to turn on. Entergy Arkansas will not disable such lighting for the eclipse.

“Planning for power generation during the solar eclipse is very similar to situations where we have thunderstorms or extended cloud cover in the area,” said Effrein. “We’re well positioned with a diverse portfolio of power generation sources, and we don’t believe there will be any impact on customers’ electric service during this time.”