The Arkansas Department of Education has issued a set of new COVID-19 guidelines to prepare for the coming school year. All public schools are scheduled to hold in-person classes despite the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. Lucas Harder, policy services director for the Arkansas School Boards Association provides insight.
https://www.kuaf.com/post/new-state-covid-19-public-school-guidelines-issued
COURTESY / ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
This week on "What's Up Doc?", Dr. Randy discusses his recent bout with COVID-19 and how this variant posed some symptoms that surprised him.
Colts Golf Tournament will present plaques to the winners of each flight (3 flights). The tournament will include smoked chicken and fried fish dinners by donation, goodie bags from De Queen Auto Group, giveaways, hole-n-one chances at $50,000 toward the purchase of any new vehicle, a one year supply of Bridgestone Golf Balls, Cuater by TravisMathew, and a Prize Package and $500 shopping spree all sponsored by Gentry’s Chevrolet, Longest Drive Prizes sponsored by Bush Tractor & Seth Tollett Farms, Closest to Hole 1 Free Year Club Membership, and Putting Contest Prize.
Weyerhaeuser in Dierks is offering some new paid mechanical millwright internships for UA Cossatot students. This is an opportunity for our students to pursue an Associate of Applied Science – General Technology or a technical certificate for Industrial Technology or Industrial Electricity tuition free, plus $15.96 per hour. There are 4 positions open for application now through 8/18. Below are the direct links to the posting along with a job description.
Mechanical Millwright Intern-01016597
http://weyer.jobs/16597 - external
http://weyer.jobs/16597i - internal
Description:
Weyerhaeuser Company is partnering with Cossatot Community College of University of Arkansas to build a talent pipeline. We are seeking applicants for internship/sponsorship opportunities for our Mid-South manufacturing facilities located in Dierks, AR. We are seeking applicants with a desire to work in the Electrical/Electronics and Industrial Maintenance areas of study. This is an excellent professional development opportunity.
Key Intern Expectations:
· Commitment to completing degree at Cossatot Community College of University of Arkansas (CCCUA)
· Dependability – punctual and prepared to work
· Professional communication and behaviors
· Commitment to learning and understanding critical safety behavior requirements
Qualifications:
· Enrolled at CCCUA in Associate of Applied Science – General Technology or pursing a technical certificate for Industrial Technology or Industrial Electrical
· Must be at least 18 years of age with high school diploma or GED
· Must be able to commit to summer internship each year while enrolled and will be required to work weekend schedule during school year.
· Must be able to complete the internship requirements for degree completion
· Strong verbal and written communication skills
· Technical writing capability
· Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work within a team environment
· Problem solving and analytical skills
· High level of initiative and motivation
· Ability to pass pre-employment requirements including drug screen and background check
· Proficient in MS Office
· Willingness to work in challenging environments (outdoor temperature extremes)
· Willingness to perform the essential functions of this position
· Commitment to at least 3 years of employment with Weyerhaeuser upon graduation from CCCUA
· Eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship
About Wood Products:
We've been delivering quality building products and solutions to our customers for more than 100 years. From builders and dealers to specifiers and homeowners, we offer exceptional product performance and unparalleled support.
For more than a century, we’ve been building our reputation as a leader in sustainable wood products.
About Weyerhaeuser
We sustainably manage forests and manufacture products that make the world a better place. We’re serious about safety, driven to achieve excellence, and proud of what we do. With multiple business lines in locations across North America, we offer a range of exciting career opportunities for smart, talented people who are passionate about making a difference.
We know you have a choice in your career. We want you to choose us.
Weyerhaeuser is an equal opportunity employer. Inclusion is one of our five core values and we strive to maintain a culture where all our people feel a sense of belonging, opportunity and shared purpose. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce and supporting an equitable and inclusive environment that inspires people of all backgrounds to join, stay and thrive with our team.
Job: Operations, Manufacturing, & Construction
Primary Location: USA-AR-Dierks
Schedule: Full-time
Job Level: Entry Level
Job Type: Temporary Work
Shift: Day (1st)
This Saturday, The Cossatot Friends of NRA will hold it’s annual banquet at the De Queen High School cafeteria. Doors open at 5:30. Advanced tickets can be purchased through Sharon at Bakers Bargain House or online at the Friends of NRA website. Advanced tickets are $25 and tickets at the door will be $35, so be sure you get them early. Table packages include 8 dinner tickets and a pistol. Early tickets or table purchases let you in on a FMK Freedom 9mm door prize and a Taurus G3 pistol early bird gun. Don’t forget, good food, great fun and awesome guns and gear, all this Saturday!
Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 56
Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 64
Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 31
Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 79
Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 76
by Paul Gatling (pgatling@nwabj.com)
Springdale-based Tyson Foods said Tuesday (Aug. 3) that it would require its U.S. workforce to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Spokesman Derek Burleson said that mandate would affect approximately 120,000 processing plant and corporate office workers. About half of them have already received the COVID vaccine.
The company’s leadership (officers and above) must be vaccinated by Sept. 24. Employees working in an office have until Oct. 1 to receive the vaccine. All other U.S. employees are required to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1, subject to ongoing discussions with locations represented by unions. Frontline workers will receive a $200 bonus once they are vaccinated, the company said.
https://talkbusiness.net/2021/08/tyson-foods-to-require-covid-vaccine-for-all-u-s-employees/
Governor Asa Hutchinson will provide a media briefing at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 3, 2021.
By DANIEL BREEN
After roughly a month of being open for visitors, the Clinton Presidential Center in downtown Little Rock is again temporarily suspending operations. This comes as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to skyrocket in Arkansas due to the delta variant and the state’s low vaccination rate.
The center announced last Friday it would close its indoor exhibits beginning Monday. Clinton Center spokesperson Rebecca Tennille says it was a tough, yet necessary, decision.
https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/clinton-center-suspends-operations-amid-rising-covid-19-cases
CREDIT CAMERON HUDDLESTON
Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 57
Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 70
Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 40
Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 84
Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 81
by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)
Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO Curtis Barnett said the state’s largest health insurance company is supportive of the governor’s new call for a COVID-19 pandemic emergency and a special session to loosen mask-wearing restrictions in public schools.
“We’re very supportive of what the governor outlined this week. I think what it does, it puts our priority clearly where it needs to be, which is on our children,” Barnett said in a Talk Business & Politics interview.
On Thursday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared a new pandemic emergency as the Delta variant of COVID-19 has spiked cases across the state. Hutchinson also said he would ask lawmakers in a special session to address a new law prohibiting mask mandates. He wants to loosen the restriction to allow local school boards to make a decision on the issue with regards to children under the age of 12, who do not qualify for a vaccine.
Talk Business & Politics
Federal pandemic unemployment relief has been ordered to resume in Arkansas by a Pulaski County Circuit Court judge to as many as 70,000 qualified Arkansans. In May, the emergency benefits were terminated by Governor Asa Hutchinson, who said jobs are now plentiful. Legal Aid of Arkansas sued the state on behalf of five Arkansas plaintiffs who claim the temporary benefits are critically needed.
https://www.kuaf.com/post/arkansas-judge-rules-canceled-pandemic-unemployment-benefits-resume
Over a hundred workers stand socially distanced in line at Arkansas Workforce Services to apply for pandemic unemployment assistance last year in Fayetteville.
J. FROELICH / KUAF
Cody Gallagher of Pilgrim's and UA Cossatot Chancellor Dr. Steve Cole were in our De Queen studio this morning to talk about the Better Futures Program which will allow eligible Pilgrim's employees and their family members to attend class at UAC at no charge. Members of the UA Cossatot Student Services Department will be in the break room at Pilgrim's on Tuesday, August 3rd from 1:30-5:30 to answer questions and register students.
JBS USA and Pilgrim’s and UA Cossatot are Bringing the Better Futures Program to Arkansas
Tuesday, August 3rd from 1:30 until 5:30 pm, members of the UA Cossatot Student Services Department will be at Pilgrim's De Queen facility to enroll eligible Pilgrim's employees and their dependents living at home in classes at UAC. Pilgrim's is paying the way for these employees and their families to further their education.
JBS USA and Pilgrim’s announce that more than 1,250 team members and dependents have enrolled in community colleges across rural America as part of the company’s Better Futures free college tuition program. With a goal of becoming the largest privately-funded free two-year college initiative in rural America, the Better Futures program has received praise from school administrators and educational leaders across the country.
“The JBS USA and Pilgrim’s Better Futures program is off to an outstanding start, with 1,286 of our team members and dependents enrolling in the program in only four months,” said Andre Nogueira, chief executive officer, JBS USA. “The number of students attending college has been in decline for more than a decade, especially among minority communities and across rural America. We believe providing free access to community college can help strengthen rural economies and make a lasting and meaningful difference in the lives of people.”
Since the launch of Better Futures in March 2021, the companies have partnered with 36 colleges in 22 states to provide tuition-free education to team members and dependents, many from first-generation American families. Today, approximately 70% of the more than 1,250 Better Futures enrollees are team members.
“When we launched Better Futures, we anticipated that the vast majority of enrollees would be the dependents of our team members,” said Corey Friend, Better Futures program manager. “We have been pleasantly surprised that so many of our team members have decided to take advantage of this opportunity to upskill and prepare themselves for the workforce of the future through education. Better Futures is unlocking untapped potential across rural America and I could not be more proud of the great progress we have made in such a short amount of time.”
To be eligible for Better Futures, JBS USA and Pilgrim’s team members need only to have worked with the company for the last six months and remain in good standing with the company through completion of their education. Better Futures participants are able to pursue any courses or degree programs they wish.
More information on the Better Futures program can be found at https://betterfutures.jbssa.com/.
Registration is now open for the Medical Billing and Coding Program. Interested persons should contact Continuing Education Services at ContinuingEducation@cccua.edu or by calling (870) 584-1178 for more details. Financial aid is available to qualifying students.
Registration is now open for the Phlebotomy Technician Program at UA Cossatot. Interested persons should contact Continuing Education Services at ContinuingEducation@cccua.edu or by calling (870) 584-1178 for more details. Financial aid is available to qualifying students.
By ALEXANDRIA BROWN
Little Rock School Board members are being asked to consider filing a lawsuit against the state regarding a ban on mask mandates. Superintendent Michael Poore made the request in a video released Friday. He said Act 1002, which took effect Wednesday, is unconstitutional. It prohibits state and local government entities, including schools, from enforcing mask mandates.
While Gov. Asa Hutchinson has called for a special session of the Arkansas General Assembly to consider modifying or lifting the ban, Poore said he isn't confident lawmakers will make the right decision.
“My hope is that the state legislature will take the appropriate action to repeal 1002 and allow school districts to formulate their own policy related to masks," Poore said. "I’m not confident that that will occur. This lawsuit allows us a place in order to take this situation to the judicial branch to act on 1002.”
Michael Poore, superintendent for the Little Rock School District, announced in a video released Friday he will ask board members to consider filing a lawsuit against the state for banning mask mandates.
CREDIT LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT / YOUTUBE
By DEBRA HALE-SHELTON/ ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK
A nursing home magnate, one of Arkansas’s highest-ranking jurists and a former judge in shackles were among witnesses in the first week of the federal bribery trial of former lobbyist Gilbert Baker.
Prosecutors sought to weave an intricate tale of political ambition and greed while the defense focused on a key witness’ lack of credibility. Both sides struggled at times to jog witnesses’ memories of events that happened as far back as 2013 and 2014.
Baker, a former state senator from Conway and former chairman of the state Republican Party, is charged with bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy. He is accused of being the middleman in an alleged plot to bribe former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Michael Maggio on behalf of Michael Morton, a wealthy nursing-home owner and campaign financier. Maggio is now serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to accepting a bribe.
Former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Michael Maggio in 2016 at the U.S. District Courthouse in Little Rock.
CREDIT BRIAN CHILSON / ARKANSAS NONPROFIT NEWS NETWORK
As Arkansas is experiencing a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases, with more than 2,800 new cases reported Thursday, kids are being impacted like never before in the pandemic. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he was especially concerned about the increase in pediatric cases while announcing he was reinstating a public health emergency for the state.
Only people who are 12 and older can get vaccinated, which is a concern as schools are only a few weeks away from starting a new academic year. The latest variant is making a growing number of children sick, with Arkansas Children’s Hospital this week reporting its largest number of patients with COVID-19.
Hutchinson said Thursday there were 24 children being treated at the hospital and none had been fully immunized. Half of those, he said, were under 12-years-old and not eligible to be vaccinated.
https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-children-are-becoming-sick-never-during-covid-pandemic
Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock reported a record number of pediatric patients this week suffering from COVID-19.
CREDIT MICHAEL HIBBLEN / KUAR NEWS