L
Union County’s source for community news and more
South Arkansas
EADER
April 16, 2014 Volume 10 – No. 8 WANT MORE?
facebook.com/saleader
Starry Night Astronomer takes local stargazers on journey of night sky Brooke Burger Editor
As the sun began to set and the lights dimmed inside the South Arkansas Arts Center’s Callaway Theatre last night, audience members prepared to take a journey into the vastness of space. “May I have your permission to take you from this world to another?” retired astrophysicist Dr. Kevin Manning asked the audience. Manning presented “Road Map to the Stars: The Night Sky Explained” to about a dozen community
members, courtesy of Barton Public Library. An international awardwinning astronomer, Manning has worked as a consultant with NASA, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched on the space shuttle with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and other ground-based observatories, as well as with Brookhaven National Laboratory. His acumen and passion for exploring the night sky were evident as he rattled off technical information, spiced with a little humor,
SKY continued on Page 4
Gov. Beebe to speak at EHS – p. 5
New state program to help consumers find locally grown food SPRINGDALE — An “Arkansas Grown” branding program has been launched by the state to help consumers identify locally grown food, Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Butch Calhoun told the Ozark Food Processors Association convention earlier this month. “This program is going to grow,” Calhoun said during his address to the OFPA’s 108th Annual Convention and Exposition with the theme of “Farm to Fork: Going Local.” Calhoun said the branding is being used by producers, retailers and restaurants statewide. Starting in May the program will be featured both in a mobile app and a state food and farm guide to be published. The program’s website, arkansas grown.org, provides details on how Arkansas residents may list their marketing information there and enable potential buyers to locate producers in the state. It also has a form so producers may apply to use the Arkansas Grown branding logo. The department also publishes an annual magazine, Arkansas Grown, that highlights local producers’ efforts. Calhoun said Arkansas agriculture is poised to help meet world agricultural demands in coming
FOOD continued on Page 7
All the bAnk you’ll ever need. w w w. f i r s t f i n a n c i a l b a n k . c o m
|