Kristen Gibson on University of Arkansas’ Short Talks From the Hill

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In a new episode of the University of Arkansas’ Short Talks From the Hill, Kristen Gibson explains how soap destroys respiratory viruses such as coronavirus and offers tips for handling potentially contaminated surfaces.

Gibson is an associate professor of food safety and microbiology for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, and in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. She studies the fate and transport of pathogens within food systems, focusing on human noroviruses and fresh produce, as well as retail food safety.

When the coronavirus pandemic broke, Gibson's knowledge and expertise were in high demand. Was packaged and take-out food safe? How should it be handled? Gibson addressed these concerns with several media outlets and emphasized the critical importance of hand-washing, something everyone should be doing regularly, she says, even when there isn't a pandemic.

In this new podcast, Gibson explains the effect of soap on respiratory viruses, such coronavirus.

"Respiratory viruses have what is called an envelope. And this is basically … a fatty layer around the virus itself. And so, if you remember a little bit about chemistry from back in the day, soap is designed to break down fat. So, for respiratory viruses, soap will destroy that outer envelope that protects the virus. And then it makes it more susceptible to kind of destroying the virus and making it not able to infect anymore."

To listen to Gibson discuss her research, go to ResearchFrontiers.uark.edu, the home of research news at the University of Arkansas, or visit the "On Air" and "Programs" link at KUAF.com.

Short Talks From the Hill highlights research and scholarly work at the University of Arkansas. Each segment features a university researcher discussing his or her work. Previous podcasts can be found under the 'Short Talks From the Hill' link at ResearchFrontiers.uark.edu.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch and Instagram at ArkAgResearch.

Wednesday's Arkansas COVID-19 Update from the AR Department of Health

COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
  Total Positive: 944
  Active Positive: 35
  Recovered: 899
  Deaths: 10
  Negatives: 4,452

COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
  Total Positive: 303
  Active Positive: 60
  Recovered: 241
  Deaths: 2
  Negatives: 2,408

COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
  Total Positive: 158
  Active Positive: 70
  Recovered: 87
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 1,199

COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
  Total Positive: 132
  Active Positive: 15
  Recovered: 116
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,182

COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
  Total Positive: 84
  Active Positive: 18
  Recovered: 65
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,689

VIDEO: Governor Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update Wednesday (08.05.20) 130PM

Governor Asa Hutchinson provides an update to media on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas's COVID-19 response.

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

Contact tracing is one of the most important public health strategies currently available to help us reduce the spread and transmission of COVID-19.

The idea behind contact tracing is to see who is a close contact of an individual who has tested positive for the virus, identify who has been exposed, provide them with information about testing and how to quarantine. Contact tracers help notify people who may not know they have been exposed and helps close the loop.

This week, the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) voted to direct $16 million of federal funds to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) to expand contact tracing. The extra funding requested is meant to fund an equivalent 350 contract tracers and 20 nurses.

ALC also approved the use of $7 million in federal CARES Act funds for COVID-19 relief in Northwest Arkansas. The money will be used to track a spike in cases in the Marshallese and Latinx communities. A large portion of COVID-19 deaths in Northwest Arkansas has come from these communities.

To help with contact tracing, ADH has contracted with two firms, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) and Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC). These two contractors are on track to have a combined 700 contract tracers by the end of the year.

Many contact tracers will call from the number (877) ARCOV19 or (877) 272-6819, but a contact investigator may also reach out from a different phone number.

It’s possible you won’t recognize the number, but it’s important to answer or return the call if it goes to voicemail.

The case investigator and contact tracer will never ask for your Social Security number, bank account number, or credit card. If the caller ever discusses money, that’s a sign that it is not a legitimate Department of Health investigator. If you want to verify that you have been contacted by a Health Department case investigator or contact tracer, you may call (800) 803-7847.

Educational Resource Center at UA Cossatot

Time to return summer rentals! Use the outdoor drop box or return your rentals at the ERC! Don't forget to wear a mask and practice physical distancing!

Tuesday's COVID-19 Case Numbers and Maps

COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
  Total Positive: 939
  Active Positive: 35
  Recovered: 894
  Deaths: 10
  Negatives: 4,449

COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
  Total Positive: 300
  Active Positive: 67
  Recovered: 231
  Deaths: 2
  Negatives: 2,405

COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
  Total Positive: 156
  Active Positive: 70
  Recovered: 85
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 1,193

COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
  Total Positive: 131
  Active Positive: 17
  Recovered: 113
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,164

COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
  Total Positive: 81
  Active Positive: 20
  Recovered: 60
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,653

VIDEO: Governor Asa Hutchinson Provides COVID-19 Update Monday (08.03.20) 130PM

High school football teams can begin no-contact practice in Arkansas starting this week as the total number of people to test positive for the coronavirus surpasses 42,000.

Governor Asa Hutchinson provides an update to media on Monday, August 3, 2020, live at 1:30 p.m. regarding Arkansas's COVID-19 response.

Monday's Number of COVID-19 Cases

COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
  Total Positive: 935
  Active Positive: 34
  Recovered: 891
  Deaths: 10
  Negatives: 4,409

COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
  Total Positive: 296
  Active Positive: 71
  Recovered: 223
  Deaths: 2
  Negatives: 2,374

COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
  Total Positive: 153
  Active Positive: 71
  Recovered: 81
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 1,186

COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
  Total Positive: 128
  Active Positive: 16
  Recovered: 111
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,137

COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
  Total Positive: 78
  Active Positive: 18
  Recovered: 59
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,629

Howard County Farmers Market Open This Monday Afternoon

Market Monday, 3 August starting at 3 pm.

For those who may not be able to come to the Friday morning market, we will be having a Monday afternoon market day Monday, 3 Aug starting at 3 pm. We have some vendors who will be bringing their items to the market.

Here is who's coming and what they plan to bring:

- Wenta Farm -

Hand-picked figs (fresh and frozen), cucumbers, tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, squash, tomato plants, frozen blackberries

- Wildflowers -

Garden fresh onions, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, honeycomb, honey

- Mobbs Farm -

Vine-ripened tomatoes

- Grandma Sylvia's Creations -

Crocheted facemasks, earrings

- Threat Farm -

Free-range eggs

If more vendors contact us we will update our Facebook page.

We recommend you get there as soon as we open for the best selection. We also request you wear protective masks and follow social distancing of 6 feet separation from others as you shop at the market. Most importantly, please stay home if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms. We want everyone to have a safe time at the market.

WIC and SNAP Accepted by participating vendors. We thank you for your patronage!

Stay Here, Stay Safe at UA Cossatot

We're currently getting ready to welcome you to UA Cossatot! Follow along with Suzanne to see how we're making changes to help keep you safe while you're on campus.

Fit 4 Life with Dr Andi Reeves

This week on Fit-4-Life, Dr. Andi talks about the importance of boosting your immune system.

YouthBuild Program Launches August 17 at UA Cossatot

UA Cossatot recently became the second college in Arkansas to offer a YouthBuild program. YouthBuild programs provide educational training and occupational skill development to students ages 16 to 24. In the program, students can choose two skill pathways to obtain employment in construction/carpentry or industrial maintenance/welding.

The program's first semester will begin on August 17, 2020, at UA Cossatot's De Queen Campus, and the deadline to enroll in the program is August 10. No educational requirements exist to register. Students who do not have a high school degree or a GED certificate will earn their GED certificate in the program.  

Depending upon class size, the Construction/Carpentry Pathway will be offered in the morning, while the Industrial Maintenance/Welding Pathway will be available in the afternoon.  

Students who sign up to participate in the YouthBuild program will have the opportunity to learn hands-on experience while learning skills that can lead to future employment. The program is free to everyone enrolled, and YouthBuild students will benefit from supportive services at UA Cossatot. 

Leslie Daniels and Steve McJunkins

The college's Job Placement Specialist will be working independently with students to help them learn about available careers. UA Cossatot's YouthBuild program will give students the opportunity to give back to their communities while volunteering and achieving experience they can use throughout their lifetime. 

UA Cossatot's YouthBuild program consists of three staff members: Instructor, Steve McJunkins; Job Placement Specialist, Casey Morris; and Case Manager, Leslie Daniels. The college’s YouthBuild staff are located in the Frachisuer-Pullium building on UA Cossatot's De Queen Campus.

To enroll in UA Cossatot's YouthBuild program or for more information, please contact Casey Morris at 870-557-0883 or cmorris@cccua.edu. Students can also contact Leslie Daniels at 870-584-9798 or ldaniels@cccua.edu. UA Cossatot is open from 7:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. this summer Monday thru Thursday. Walk-ins are always welcome.

COVID-19 Update for Sunday from the AR Department of Health

COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
  Total Positive: 933
  Active Positive: 37
  Recovered: 886
  Deaths: 10
  Negatives: 4,401

COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
  Total Positive: 294
  Active Positive: 73
  Recovered: 219
  Deaths: 2
  Negatives: 2,363

COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
  Total Positive: 152
  Active Positive: 76
  Recovered: 75
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 1,182

COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
  Total Positive: 128
  Active Positive: 18
  Recovered: 109
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,101

COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
  Total Positive: 77
  Active Positive: 18
  Recovered: 58
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,612

Saturday's COVID-19 Numbers from the Arkansas Department of Health

COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
  Total Positive: 929
  Active Positive: 44
  Recovered: 875
  Deaths: 10
  Negatives: 4,384

COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
  Total Positive: 291
  Active Positive: 73
  Recovered: 216
  Deaths: 2
  Negatives: 2,352

COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
  Total Positive: 149
  Active Positive: 75
  Recovered: 73
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 1,173

COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
  Total Positive: 125
  Active Positive: 17
  Recovered: 107
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,077

COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
  Total Positive: 77
  Active Positive: 21
  Recovered: 55
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,594

Governor Hutchinson’s Weekly Address | The Arkansas Access Point Project

LITTLE ROCK – Under our state’s broadband initiative, the number of Arkansans with access to high-speed internet is increasing, and today I’d like to talk about the Arkansas Access Point Project, a new program that will make the world wide web available for thousands more students.

This week I announced that our Department of Education has signed agreements with three major telecommunications companies to purchase Wi-Fi access devices and unlimited data plans at a reduced cost for every school district in the state.

The Department of Education will buy as many as 20,000 of the devices with $10 million from funding provided through the federal CARES Act. The devices and internet access are free to students. School districts are equipping students with computers and tablets.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to adjust our methods of teaching and focused attention on the need for the option of virtual education. Arkansas Access Point Project expands our ability to teach virtually and increases the number of students who can choose that option.

This program opens new opportunities and narrows the gap between those who have access to high-speed broadband and those who do not. Students will be able to take the devices home. They won’t have to sit in a McDonald’s to do their homework. This is especially important to our rural communities and for families who otherwise might not be able to afford this vital access.

Sally Bennett, superintendent of the rural Rivercrest District in northeast Arkansas, welcomed the news that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon had agreed to participate in the project. She knows firsthand that the digital divide is real and deep.

Sally and her team of educators have worked hard and creatively during the pandemic to provide internet access to students. In the spring, they equipped school buses with Wi-Fi devices to deliver the internet along with meals for students who were confined to home. They extended Wi-Fi into the schools’ parking lot, but this still doesn’t help the student in their home.

She estimates that 40 percent of the eleven-hundred students in Rivercrest District have no access to internet, so you can understand why she calls our new initiative a “game changer.”

I share the superintendent’s excitement about this agreement, but this doesn’t completely bridge the digital divide in our state. We still have a lot of work to do to expand access to broadband internet. It’s important that everyone in Arkansas has the opportunities that come with easy and reliable access to the world wide web, whether they live in rural Mississippi County or in the state capital.

Governor Hutchinson Creates Advisory Group To Advise High School Sports During Pandemic

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Asa Hutchinson has appointed 14 physicians, mental health professionals, coaches, and educators to the High School Sports Advisory Group, which he created to consider the safest way to conduct sports and activities for the 2020-2021 school year. 

“The Department of Health will continue its responsibility to provide health guidelines, and this group of experts will serve in an advisory capacity to look specifically at how we can have fall sports in the safest manner possible,” Governor Hutchinson said. “We want to consider every angle to protect our athletes, cheerleaders, and band members.

“My message for the football players on Monday is to grab your helmet for practice and then after practice, grab a mask. Because our responsibility for safety extends beyond the practice field.”

Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe will chair the group. Kelvin Gragg, superintendent of the Dumas School District, is vice chair.

The other members of the High School Sports Advisory Group are:

• Dr. Lowry Barnes, orthopedic surgeon and chairman of UAMS Department of Orthopedics. 

• Jacob Brown, Therapeutic Family Services. 

• Paul Calley, dean of students, assistant football coach, Southwest High School.

• Jason Cates, athletic trainer at Cabot School District; chairman of the Arkansas Sports Medicine Committee.

• Laura Crow, volleyball coach at Conway High School.

• Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, state epidemiologist, Arkansas Department of Health. 

• Fitz Hill, State Board of Education. 

• Dr. Michael Israel, associate professor of Adolescent Medicine and Director of Sports Medicine at Arkansas Children’s.

• Dr. Lee Johnson, state representative. 

• Janet McDonald, behavioral health professional at Pinnacle Point. 

• Lance Taylor, director of the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA). 

• Dr. Joel Tumlison, physician specialist, Arkansas Department of Health.

Tri-County Regional Library Board of Trustees Meeting August 11

The Quarterly meeting of the Tri-County Regional Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11th at 5 p.m. at the De Queen, Arkansas, Branch of the Sevier County Library. Items on the agenda are the 2020-2021 Budget and other financial matters.

Marilyn B. Archer, MLS

Director

Tri-County Regional Library System

Serving 11 Public Libraries in Howard, Little River and Sevier counties in SW Arkansas

Friday's COVID-19 Updated Numbers and Maps

COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
  Total Positive: 927
  Active Positive: 50
  Recovered: 867
  Deaths: 10
  Negatives: 4,337

COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
  Total Positive: 287
  Active Positive: 80
  Recovered: 205
  Deaths: 2
  Negatives: 2,325

COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
  Total Positive: 145
  Active Positive: 71
  Recovered: 73
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 1,162

COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
  Total Positive: 125
  Active Positive: 18
  Recovered: 107
  Deaths: 0
  Negatives: 2,047

COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
  Total Positive: 69
  Active Positive: 21
  Recovered: 47
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,563

2020 Arkansas Sales Tax Holiday

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday August 1, 2020, and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday August 2, 2020, the State of Arkansas will hold its sales tax holiday allowing shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain School Supplies, School Art Supplies, School Instructional Materials, and clothing free of state and local sales or use tax.

All retailers are required to participate and may not charge tax on items that are legally tax-exempt during the Sales Tax Holiday.

Thursday's COVID-19 Numbers and Maps

COVID-19 Metrics for Sevier County
Cases
  Total Positive: 918
  Active Positive: 55
  Recovered: 853
  Deaths: 10
  Negatives: 4,307

COVID-19 Metrics for Howard County
Cases
  Total Positive: 282
  Active Positive: 87
  Recovered: 193
  Deaths: 2
  Negatives: 2,293

COVID-19 Metrics for Little River County
Cases
  Total Positive: 138
  Active Positive: 69
  Recovered: 68
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 1,148

COVID-19 Metrics for Polk County
Cases
  Total Positive: 124
  Active Positive: 18
  Recovered: 106
  Deaths: 0
  Negatives: 2,017

COVID-19 Metrics for Pike County
Cases
  Total Positive: 65
  Active Positive: 17
  Recovered: 47
  Deaths: 1
  Negatives: 2,517