Little River News

Little River Chamber Market Day at Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply in Ashdown AR is having a market day event this Saturday May 18, 2019. It will be held in the parking lot at TSC. This event is free to vendors to set up. You will need to contact John @ 870-898-3633 for information. This is a great way to get your business name out there and this will be a great fun event. Come out Saturday to TSC and see whats happening.

Jana 
Director 
Little River Chamber of Commerce
870-898-2758

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UA Cossatot’s Student Services Department Attends Russellville Conference 

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UA Cossatot’s Student Services Department Attends Russellville Conference 
On Friday, April 12, 2019, UA Cossatot’s Student Services department attended the Every Student Counts Conference in Russellville, Arkansas. The conference was hosted by Arkansas Tech, with support from NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) to provide a one day conference for employees who work in higher education. This conference gave Student Services the chance to brainstorm and think of creative ways to reach every current and potential student at UA Cossatot.
The conference focused on promising practices in the areas of student success, persistence, retention, and first-generation student excellence. The department split into different sessions giving them the chance to absorb as much as possible at the conference and then discuss everything as a group when it ended. 
Presentations that were presented at the conference included Why Making Emotional Connections in Student Affairs Matters, Developing A New Model for Student Mental Health, and Understanding College Websites for Generation Z to name a few. Other topics at the conference dealt with understanding students in today’s world, and realizing the high number of factors and obstacles that students face when trying to attend college.
The Student Services department at UA Cossatot provides many helpful services to students at the college. The department staff members work in admissions and recruiting, they collect and enter student data, they help assist with campus events, and they advise students on academics. They also work with the Center for Student Success and other departments at UA Cossatot to help students achieve their educational goals. The Student Services department includes Director of Student Services, Suzanne Ward; Student Services Administrative Specialist, Gina Goss; Nashville Advisors, Rachel Barfield and Addison Hill; Ashdown Advisors, Sheila McCandless and Holly Norman; and De Queen Advisors, Jocelin Galvez and Lizz Garza.
Holly Norman started working in Student Services in April. Holly Norman said, “I’m so proud and thrilled to be a part of UA Cossatot’s Student Services department! I started working in my new role here at UA Cossatot just two days before the conference, and I had acquired only a glimpse of my new role. Jumping in and attending the conference with others from the department on day three really helped speed up the process of creating those work relationships, learning from others’ experiences, and grasping more of Student Services’ role and duties here at UA Cossatot.”
Student Services is a department at UA Cossatot where current and future students can seek help. To ask questions or learn about how you can get started at UA Cossatot, please e-mail studentservices@cccua.edu or call 800-844-4471.

Photo: (from left to right) first row: Rachel Barfield, Lizz Garza, and Addison Hill; second row: Jocelin Galvez, Gina Goss, Suzanne Ward, and Holly Norman; not pictured: Sheila McCandless

SW AR Beekeepers to Meet Tonight

This month’s meeting of the Southwest Arkansas Beekeepers Association is tonight and will include a presentation from Arkansas State Plant Board Apiary Inspector Daniel Plyler on “Hive Inspection – What the State Inspector Does and What He Looks For”. All meetings and programs of Southwest Arkansas Beekeepers are open to the public free of charge and are held at the U of A Cossatot Community College in Nashville. Sign-in will begin at 6:00 pm in Room 101 and the meeting and program will begin promptly at 6:30 pm.

U of A Fayetteville to Honor UA Cossatot Tuition Rates

The University of Arkansas – Fayetteville’s Chancellor, Dr. Joe Steinmetz has announced that the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville will now charge associate degree graduates from UA Cossatot the same tuition rates those graduates were charged at UA Cossatot. A transfer student from UA Cossatot can attend the University of Arkansas to take courses for their bachelor’s degree and receive the Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship. This annual award from the University of Arkansas will match UA Cossatot’s tuition amount, allowing students to achieve their bachelor’s degree at a more feasible rate.

The Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship is a scholarship that the University of Arkansas -Fayetteville provides for community college students. Arkansas residents who attend the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville, as a freshman, pay $246.12 per hour on tuition. UA Cossatot’s in-district tuition rate per hour is $72.00. This scholarship will allow students at UA Cossatot to spend $72.00 on tuition at UA Cossatot, and then continue to pay the same tuition rate of $72.00 at Fayetteville.

Chancellor Dr. Joe Steinmetz from the University of Arkansas said, “For many students, particularly ones starting out at two-year institutions, financial need is one of the bigger obstacles to attaining a bachelor’s degree. It is our responsibility as the state’s flagship and land grant university to reduce obstacles Arkansan’s face to earning a degree and improving the pathways to get there.”

To be eligible to receive an Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship, a graduate from UA Cossatot must:

• Be an Arkansas resident

• Earn a transferrable degree from UA Cossatot, which would be an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or an Associate of Arts in Teaching degree.

• Have a cumulative 2.0 grade point average

• Meet all other U of A admission criteria and program requirements

• Enroll in an on-campus undergraduate degree program (full-time or part-time) at the University of Arkansas

The Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship will be awarded to eligible transfer students in Arkansas. This scholarship is renewable for up to ten semesters with maintenance of good academic standing (2.00 cumulative GPA after each semester), and a scholarship application is not required for this award.

To learn more about this transfer scholarship or how one can make attending college more affordable by going to school at UA Cossatot, please contact Student Services at 800-844-4471 or email them at studentservices@cccua.edu

ARKANSAS TRANSFER ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIP TO UA FAYETTEVILLE

While the ink isn’t all the way dry on this yet, UA Fayetteville is now offering the Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship. Under the rules of this scholarship, if a student starts their education at UA Cossatot and is paying $74 per credit hour, if they graduate from here with an Associate degree, if they transfer to UA Fayetteville, they will be paying only $74 per credit hour! Here is a link that tells a little more. https://scholarships.uark.edu/transfer-scholarshi…/index.php



Belleville Cemetery Association 74th Annual Homecoming Celebration

The Belleville Cemetery Association will be having their 74th Annual Homecoming Celebration at 10:45 AM on Sunday, June 2nd at the historic Belleville Church located two miles south of Lockesburg on highway 317. Anyone is welcome to attend the Belleville Homecoming, and those that do come are encouraged to being a covered dish and a lawn chair to take part in the Homecoming Pot Luck that will follow the services.

WEEKLY UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DEANN VAUGHT

For students just beginning an education or going back to school, the lottery scholarship offers opportunities to pursue dream careers and secure financial futures.

That’s why you should mark July 1 on your calendar. That day is the deadline to apply for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship, which has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds to help in the pursuit of higher education.

The Academic Challenge Scholarship is largely funded by the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and provides tuition assistance to students at every state university and two-year college – both public and private. Applicants can be recent high school graduates, students already enrolled in school or non-traditional students at any stage in life. Additionally, the scholarship can be combined with other financial aid programs, such as the ArFuture Grant.

This fall marks the 10-year anniversary of the Lottery. In that time, 542,307 in-state scholarships worth more than $965 million have been awarded to students seeking both four-year and two-year degrees.

Funds are awarded for the Academic Challenge Scholarship based on a system that incentivizes student success. Individuals enrolled in four-year institutions can receive $1,000 for the first year. Those who continue in school and meet eligibility criteria are rewarded with $4,000 for both sophomore and junior years and $5,000 for senior year. At two-year institutions, students receive $1,000 for the first year and $3,000 for the second.

To be eligible for an Academic Challenge Scholarship, traditional students must have a minimum ACT score of 19 and be in pursuit of a baccalaureate degree, associate degree, qualified certificate or nursing school diploma. Non-traditional students need either a 19 on the ACT or a 2.5-grade point average (GPA) from the last education received. To maintain eligibility, students must keep a 2.5 GPA, take 30 hours each year and be an Arkansas resident for 12 months prior to enrollment.

Lottery proceeds also fund workforce training opportunities through the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship. This program pays for tuition and fees up to $800 per eligible program for high-demand occupations in healthcare, information technology and industry. Examples include dental assistants, aircraft mechanics, and computer programmers. Students must apply at least 30 days prior to enrollment in an eligible program.

During the recent legislative session, a law was passed to allow excess lottery proceeds to fund concurrent credit scholarships for high school juniors and seniors seeking college credit. Act 465, the Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship, will be available in January 2020 and applications must be made through the student’s public high school.

Applications for lottery-funded scholarships can be found at the Arkansas Department of Higher Education’s website at scholarships.adhe.edu. There you can fill out the Department’s YOUniversal application to determine eligibility for all of the state’s scholarship programs. Students can also download the YOUniversal financial aid app and apply directly from a smartphone.

UA Cossatot Celebrates Hispanic Night

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The fifth annual UA Cossatot ceremony for Hispanic Night took place at UA Cossatot’s De Queen Campus on April 25, 2019. The event started at 6:00 PM and over sixty people were in attendance. Nominees and awards were announced and given to outstanding Hispanics, La Media Luna catered the event, and UA Cossatot staff presented information about academic opportunities at UA Cossatot. 

Sinai Trejo, Zulually Guerrero Mejia, Laura Salas, Arlene Padilla, Eruby Rodriguez, Beatriz Alvarez, Belen Gueverra Hernandez, Alejandro Hernandez, and Angelica Padilla were all picked as nominees for Hispanic Night. Four awards were given out at the event. Award winners include Outstanding High School Student: Belen Guevara Hernandez, Outstanding UA Cossatot Adult Education Student: Laura Salas, Outstanding UA Cossatot Student: Beatriz Alvarez, and Outstanding Community Member: Zullualy Guerrero Mejia. Doris Gutierez was the guest speaker at Hispanic Night. She spoke about her educational experience, and how she was able to overcome obstacles to pursue a career she enjoys. 

Hispanic Night is an event and a ceremony to encourage, honor, and recognize hardworking Hispanics who are reaching educational goals and making an impact in the community. This event is an annual occasion that gives people the chance to learn about UA Cossatot and the opportunities that it offers. UA Cossatot staff members were present at Hispanic Night to discuss financial aid and services the UA Cossatot Center for Student Success provides to its students. The college’s Student Services department provided information about the admissions process and how one can start their education at UA Cossatot. Student Ambassadors from UA Cossatot were also present to talk about the benefits of being an ambassador at the college. 

Student Diversity Association (SDA) is a UA Cossatot student organization that helps promote diversity, unity, and overall well-being. It is an organization that allows students to come together who may face more obstacles due to language barriers or cultural backgrounds. SDA sponsors promoted this organization at Hispanic Night to show that students of all cultures and races are encouraged and supported at UA Cossatot. 

To learn more about the Student Diversity Association or how one can get started at UA Cossatot, please call Student Services at 800-844-4471 or come by the De Queen, Nashville, or Ashdown campus to speak with an Admissions and Recruitment Specialist. UA Cossatot’s campus hours are open 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday

Ashdown School District Employees Honored

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Nine employees of the Ashdown School District, were honored at a reception in the Ashdown Administration Building on Monday, May 6. The reception was sponsored by an Ashdown retired teachers group and the Local Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority. Ruby Lee Rosenbaum, Ann Hopkins, Sandra Camp, Roy Burton, Barbara Hunter, Carmen Sansom, David Wilson, Lynda Cunningham, and Lynda King were presented engraved plaques by Superintendent Casey Nichols and congratulated by dozens of attendees.

(l-r) front row: Ruby Lee Rosenbaum, Annie Hopkins, Sandra Camp, and Roy Burton

back row: Superintendent Casey Nichols, Barbara Hunter, Carmen Sansom, and David Wilson

Not Pictured: Lynda Cunningham and Lynda King