The CREATE BRIDGES pilot project wants to hear about the experiences of retail, accommodations, tourism or entertainment employees in your community! Retail and hospitality sectors provide jobs and business opportunities that often drive rural economies. University Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is piloting CREATE BRIDGES, a program designed to strengthen these industries in Arkansas. As part of the pilot, CREATE BRIDGES is collecting the opinions and comments of retail, accommodations, tourism, and entertainment employees related to their preparation, training, and benefits in the industry. The following Arkansas counties are included: Howard, Little River, and Sevier. This anonymous survey takes less than 15 minutes: http://bit.ly/CBEmployeeSurvey. Please help us get the word out about this opportunity, as these employees’ feedback will be invaluable to identifying training and policy opportunities to promote the flourishing of these industries. If your business or community is having an event at which we can survey or you are interested in more information, please contact Julianne Dunn at 501-671-2158 or jbdunn@uaex.edu.
Motown Valentine's Show February 13th at Occasions in Nashville
Tickets are at Southern Belle Inn for $30.00 each.
WIN TWO Free Tickets! 💕
To see the BEST of Motown. ONE incredible night full of music & dancing!
Thursday FEB 13 @ 7pm!
Or go ahead and get your tickets before they sell out. (Just message us!) It’s going to be INCREDIBLE! 💃🏽🕺🏽... See More
— with Sandra Jones, Craig Jones and Holly Elizabeth.
Cossatot Fire Department Annual Fish Fry & Auction Saturday, March 28th
Best Care Classes Being Offered
The University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service, in partnership with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) offers up to 50 hours of professional development training for educators or caregivers of young children. If you provide care to children birth to 5 years of age, we offer three programs to meet your needs.
The Best Care 2020 professional development training has been scheduled for Saturday, February 29, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm in the Howard County Extension Homemakers Educational Center at 425 Second Street (behind the courthouse) in Nashville. This is an all-day event, participants are asked to bring their own lunch, and your PDR number is required. Light snacks will be provided during the day.
The ten hours of face-to-face lessons include, The Importance of Oral Care, Self-Care, Stress & Anxiety in Young Children, Dramatic Play Areas, Fostering Self-Esteem: Tools to Build Up children in the Classroom, Math Skills and Manipulatives, Family Engagement, Weather in the Classroom: Rain, Snow, or Shine!, Movement and Literacy, and Bullying: Identifying Behaviors and Risks Factors.
We also offer Best Care Connected, which is five hours of online training, and Guiding Children Successfully is 30 hours of self-guided study and available online. If you prefer to use the self-guided hard copy of the Guiding Children Successfully, it is available at your local county Extension office.
All training opportunities are offered free of charge and are verified training through the Professional Development Registry (PDR), formerly known as the Traveling Arkansas’ Professional Pathways (TAPP) and support the Better Beginnings quality rating system.
The deadline to register is February 21. For more information about The Best Care classes for early childhood professionals, contact Howard County FCS Agent, Jean Ince, at (870) 845-7517 or email at jince@uaex.edu.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact the Howard County Extension Office as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
Tri-County Regional Library System Board of Trustees Quarterly Meeting Tuesday
The quarterly meeting of the Tri-County Regional Library System Board of Trustees will be held on Tuesday, February 11th, at 5 p.m. at the Sevier County Library-De Queen Branch. Business to be discussed include: financial issues, board of officer elections and dates for meetings in the state.
Marilyn B. Archer, MLS
Director
Tri-County Regional Library System
Serving 11 Public Libraries in Howard, Little River and Sevier counties in Southwest Arkansas
Updated Winter Weather Projection For Arkansas
Free Bariatric Seminar at Howard Memorial Hospital
Heavy Rains Possible in the Early Part of the Week
Here's an update on the severe weather potential for Tuesday afternoon/evening across Arkansas. Heavy rain will also be possible through mid week, with around 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.
Forecast for the Middle of the Week Calls for Snow
Around half an inch to an inch of snow is forecast for Wednesday into Thursday, with higher amounts near 2 inches possible across the northwest.
Rotaract has Chocolate Covered Strawberries for Valentine's Day
Julie Rhodes of UA Cossatot Interview
Julie Rhodes of UA Cossatot visits with Ed 88’s Loren Hinton and talks about the opportunities for high school students to earn a 2 year associate degree through UA Cossatot before leaving high school. If the student transfers to UofA, he/she will pay the same tuition fees of UA Cossatot.
County 4-H Clubs Reorganizing
The Sevier County 4-H clubs are reorganizing and seeking new members and leaders. The purpose of these clubs is to give youth ages 5-19 an opportunity to participate in the youth development educational program of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Youth in 4-H clubs will learn life skills, enhance leadership skills, and increase self-esteem while serving in a number of community service projects. Youth in 4-H clubs have an opportunity to compete in a number of competitive activities, attend camps, and earn scholarships for education.
The following is a list of the Sevier County 4-H clubs: Chapel Hill 4-H Club, Happy Face 4-H Club, Lakeside 4-H Club, Infinity∞ 4-H Club, Froglevel Hoppers 4-H Club, Shooting Sports 4-H Club, Teen Leaders 4-H Club, Goin’ Showin’ 4-H Club, Legacy 4-H After School Club and Community Changers 4-H Club.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
For more information about meetings, 4-H club membership or program benefits, contact Sevier County Cooperative Extension Service located in the Adams Building on the UA Cossatot Campus in De Queen or call (870) 584-3013.
Area Schools Cancel Classes Wednesday Because of Winter Weather
Classes have been cancelled today because of weather in De Queen, Horatio, Foreman, Nashville, and Ashdown. Classes at UA Cossatot locations will run as usual with the exception of LPN, OTA, and PTA.
The 2020 Top 60 Online Community Colleges List Includes UA Cossatot
Intelligent.com is a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning. They recently announced their national community college list for 2020 listing the top 60 online community colleges in the United States. UA Cossatot was included on this list and was also named the “Most Affordable Online Community College” in the nation.
After comprehensive research, UA Cossatot was included in this list. Of the top 60 community colleges, UA Cossatot was ranked at number 15.
The 2020 rankings are calculated through a unique scoring system, which includes student engagement, potential return on investment, and leading third-party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed 286 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 60 making it to the final list.
Students who choose any one of these online schools are expected to gain employment at a faster rate. Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs.
Dr. Steve Cole, Chancellor of UA Cossatot said, on the rankings, “It is certainly an honor to be on any list that shows we are creating tremendous value for our students. We feel that when students choose us, they made a thoughtful decision based on many things, including affordability and employment once they are finished. We help students check both of those boxes at UA Cossatot”.
UA Cossatot was the first Arkansas institution of higher education to offer a degree completely online and continues to lead the way in the number of courses and programs offered online. UA Cossatot also rewards online students by offering most online courses free of textbook costs. To learn more about these opportunities, please visit www.cccua.edu
New Home Page - Intelligent
College Life When it comes time to study, there are many common study methods that can help enhance your exam prep. By Kristen Scatton STUDENT FINANCES By Nam Phan College Life By Kristen Scatton Featured The things that concern students the most about college.
Bill Craig Named Paul Harris Fellow at Nashville Rotary
Bill Craig of Howard Memorial Hospital was named a Paul Harris Fellow at this week's Nashville Rotary Club meeting. Also pictured is Carol Murray who made the presentation.
Beekeeping Program for Youths Starts This Month
Southwest Arkansas Beekeepers Association is continuing a youth beekeeping program started last year. The two-year program provides beekeeping education and guidance to youths through age nineteen and teaches them the skills to continue the hobby into later life. Successful completion of the two-year program earns the youth a hive of bees and certification. At least one parent or legal adult guardian MUST accompany Junior Beekeepers during workshops, meetings and other activities of the program. Any youths who are allergic to bee stings may not participate in this program.
Applications are available at Monday night's meeting of Southwest Arkansas Beekeepers at 6pm, Room 101, UA Cossatot in Nashville. For more information, contact Sheila Kreul at (870) 845-8524 or Jack Threat at (870) 557-4837. Applications must be received by February 1.
UA Cossatot’s Textbook/OER Program Helps Therapy Students Save Money
The University of Arkansas Cossatot Textbook Rental/Open Educational Resource (OER) Program continues to help students overcome financial barriers by including two primary medical programs.
The college’s Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) and Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) programs transitioned from requiring students to buy textbooks to renting, which will save students over $18,000 per year.
UA Cossatot Director of Educational Resources and OER Specialist Relinda Ruth proposed a three-payment plan for each program that allows students to rent all the required textbooks for a minimal fee.
“Textbooks are expensive and create another financial hardship for students,” said Ruth. “Our sole purpose has always been removing barriers to education for students and we are pleased that the college’s PTA and OTA programs are joining the program to help achieve that goal.”
UA Cossatot has saved students over $1.5 million since becoming the first two-year college in Arkansas to implement an internal textbook rental and OER program in early 2015. Including medical programs will greatly increase student savings.
“We are excited to be able to offer this textbook rental program to our students,” said UA Cossatot PTA Program Director Jennifer Sanderson. “Renting, rather than buying, textbooks saves our students hundreds of dollars.”
Over half of the courses at UA Cossatot do not require a textbook and instead use OER materials to supplement instruction.
For more information about textbook rentals, OER, or student services the Educational Resource Center (ERC) offers, please contact Relinda Ruth at 870-584-1181
ServSafe Training
Reshape Yourself Healthy Lifestyle Program Wednesday, January 22nd
Heavy Rainfall Expected Friday and Friday Night
National Weather Service predicting heavy rain over the next couple of days.