Summer and Fall Registration at UA Cossatot

At UA Cossatot, we understand the seriousness of the COVID-19 SITUATION. But we also know that there is an end to this uncertainty. We are planning for the future and you should be too. America needs more healthcare professionals, truck drivers, teachers, and technicians of all kinds. VIP registration for summer and fall classes begins March 30th. And in keeping with social distancing, registration will be available by email, phone, and text. Check out the available classes at: https://www.cccua.edu/apply-enroll/class-schedules

Cossatot Community College

Click the following links to access the PDF version of the current or upcoming semester's full course schedule. Summer 2020 Schedule (3.23.2020) Fall 2020 Schedule (3.23.2020) Find specific courses through Campus Connect Course Search. There's no need to login.

Sevier County Emergency Management

I would like to comment on Sevier County and Corvid 19 Virus.
I have been working closely with the County Judge, Greg Ray, Mayor Jeff Brown, Dr. Lofton, and the health unit.

We as a group meet each week and look at the status of our county.
Believe me when I tell you these people have your best Interest at heart.

We as a county have worked disasters before. But this is something very new to us all. With the help of all we will prevail.

I am so impressed with how our county has come together to help. I'm am not surprised..
. this is what Sevier County has always done.

I want to thank all the businesses for coming together. I know this is hard times for all.

But I truly believe we will come through this and become a stronger county.

We have everything in place to fight this virus.
We don't have a hospital at this time but we have a group of people that is working very hard to see we have one in the future. We as a county will improvise and beat this virus without a hospital.

Remember to pray for our county and all of our Emergency responders.

God bless The United States of America.

Walter Smith, Jr.
Sevier County Emergency Management

De Queen Animal Hospital Open

De Queen Animal Hospital will be open normal business hours and we will continue to provide normal services. For any clients that need us to we can come outside to give you your pet's meds, just call and let us know you are outside, we can deliver meds in town for those that can't get out, we can also mail out monthly meds to those that need it! For our clients that are at a higher risk of sickness we can schedule house calls if needed. Please let us know if you need anything at this time so we can continue to take care of you and your fur babies!!

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

If you are a business owner struggling to meet payroll or if you have recently become unemployed due to the response from COVID-19, we want to direct you to state resources that may help.

Earlier this week the Governor announced that Arkansas will tap Community Development Block Grant funds and the state’s Quick Action Closing Fund to support small businesses and nonprofits that are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state will allocate $12 million in block grant money and up to $4 million from the quick-action fund to provide bridge loans to help midsize companies and nonprofits remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge also announced the transfer of $3 million of settlement funds from her office to the quick-action loan fund for small businesses.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan program has been made available to eligible businesses and private non-profits that were impacted.

These working capital loans of up to $2 million can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact.

Businesses and employers can access information on the grants and loans at www.arkansasedc.com/covid19.

COVID-19 Business and Employee Resources | Arkansas Economic Development Commission

The Arkansas Economic Development Commission is committed to helping businesses and employees combat the effects of COVID-19. On this page, we have compiled a list of programs and resources, and we will continue to update this list as additional resources become available.

The Governor has also directed Division of Workforce Services to waive a number of restrictions for workers who have lost employment to ensure that the Unemployment Insurance Program (UIP) can provide needed assistance in a timely manner.

Unemployed individuals will be able to collect benefits immediately upon application approval rather than the typical week-long waiting period.

In addition, for the next 30 days, unemployed individuals will not be required to meet job search requirements. In person application requirements are also waived.

Arkansans can apply at www.ezarc.adws.arkansas.gov

ADWS EZARC - Welcome to EZARC

Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday: 6:00AM - 6:00PM ADWS does not send text messages, emails or initiate calls to claimants requesting they provide us with their Social Security Numbers and/or personal banking information. Individuals seeking to file unemployment insurance claims should only use ADWS secured websites accessible through dws.arkansas.gov Servicios de Interpretación/Traducción disponibles por medio de su oficina local.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will suspend the work requirement through the end of April. DHS also will expedite decisions about SNAP eligibility for those who lose income because of COVID-19 www.access.arkansas.gov.

Voter Registration

If you need assistance, please see the information below: If you do not have access to a printer, please call 1-800-482-8988 (Toll-free Client Assistance Helpline) to have a Voter Registration Application mailed to you.

We will continue to update you daily on new developments concerning the state response to COVID-19 at www.arkansashouse.org.

Home - Arkansas House of Representatives

ARGIRLSLEAD #ARGIRLSLEAD is a movement started by women serving in the Arkansas House. Each of them have a unique story to share about their journey on the road to their current leadership position. Kids In The House Who says civics can't be fun?

Handling Stress of Social Distancing

NEWS ARTICLE
Jean A. Ince
County Extension Agent-Staff Chair

Last week we all thought Covid-19 was going to be on its way out and life would return to normal. However, it looks like it may be around for several weeks and we all need to take precautions to prevent the virus from spreading. Most of us are spending more time at home, avoiding contact with others and basically our lives have turned upside down. Here are some tips to help you manage the stress of being stuck at home, either by yourself or with those you love.
Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. Some common feelings are anxiety, worry, or fear over you or a loved one catching the disease. Worry about how you will meet your financial obligations or how you will get the things you need such as groceries, personal care items and medicines.
You may be concerned over how you will care for your children. Who is going to watch them, if you are working? You may be asking yourself, “What are we going to do with all this time on our hands?” Boredom and frustration may set in because your normal routine has changed.
Frustrated at how long this will last. Loneliness and feeling like you are cut off from those you love.
So, what can you do to handle the stress of isolation? Here are some ways to help relieve the pressures.
Keep a Healthy Diet – When you are at home it can be tempting to become a “couch potato”. Instead of grabbing that bag of chips or cookies, try snacking on fresh veggies or fruit. Try a cup of yogurt with fruit. Canned or frozen fruits are great alternatives to fresh. They are healthy choices when fresh may not be available.
Prepare Healthy Meals – Again, it is easy to grab prepackaged foods and pop them in the microwave. Many prepackaged foods have extra fat, calories and sodium than foods prepared from scratch. Involve the family in helping you prepare a healthy meal. Check out the website www.choosemyplate.gov to see what makes a healthy plate. On a side note, there are games and activities that teaches eating right for children to do on the website. Check it out!
Enjoy Nature – If possible, get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Take a walk in your neighborhood, keeping distance between those you meet. Find activities to do with your children online that gets them outside. You might print off a scavenger hunt or keep a journal of what you see outside. Then research the insect, plant, bird or animal that you see.
Exercise! – There are many exercises you can do at home. There is plenty of research being done that connects our physical health with our mental health. Yoga, stretching or strength training exercises are great. If you still have a gaming system that involves bowling, tennis, baseball or dance moves, pull it out of storage. There are many exercise videos you can move to online. The idea is to get up and get moving!
Maintain a Sense of Routine – If you find yourself staying in your pajamas all day and you haven’t brushed your hair or teeth, maybe it’s time to evaluate your routine. Children and adults thrive on routines. Go to bed and wake up at regular times. Avoid falling into a cycle of sleeping, watching tv, eating and repeating. A routine gives purpose and wards off feelings of depression.
Make a Plan and Stick to It! – Set up a schedule of what you want to accomplish each day. Being isolated allows you time to do those chores you have been putting off. It also allows you time to start a new project! If you have children at home, set a time to play games, make a new craft, try out a new recipe, learn a new feature on your mobile device; such as, skyping, FaceTime, or new app. Read a book or start a garden by planting seeds that can be transferred to your outside garden later.
Stay Connected – Just because you are stuck at home, doesn’t mean you have to cut yourself off socially. Call someone and visit. Stay connected through email and social media.
Limit News and Media – Constantly hearing about the coronavirus can impact your mental health. Take a break from the news on the TV or on social media. Get information and updates at specific times during the day. Make sure the information you are receiving is from a reliable source.
These are challenging times for everyone. We will get through them and life will return to normal. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service has several resources for financial management, managing stress, eating healthy and exercise. Check out the website www.uaex.edu for more information.
The Howard County Extension Office is open and conducting business as much as possible. However, all meetings have been postponed for now. If we can assist you call our office at 870-845-7517. You can also keep up-to-date with activities through our Facebook pages at HowardCountyExtensionFcs, Howard-County-4-H, or howard co. uaex ag & natural resources. Just search and like the page you are interested in.

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service

Protect you and your family during the COVID-19 outbreak by practicing proper hand washing techniques. Wet your hands with clean running water (warm or cold) and apply soap. Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

Sevier County Night Time Curfew

With the first case of the Coronavirus now being reported in Sevier County, Judge Greg Ray visited our De Queen studio this morning to announce a night time curfew, effective immediately, in Sevier County.

From Howard Memorial Hospital Rehab Services

⚠️UPDATE
As ordered by Governor Asa Hutchinson, all gyms are to be closed. This includes our 8am-8pm access to the facility for all gym members. We apologize for any inconvenience.

👍🏼On the bright side: OUR THERAPY DEPARTMENT REMAINS OPEN (8am-5pm) We are taking ALL necessary precautions for our patients safety and health and will continue to see patients as allowed.

✅Please follow our Facebook page for more updates. We will be posting home exercise tips in the mean time 💪🏼

Stay healthy, friends!

Note from Simple Simon's Pizza of De Queen

Simple Simon's Pizza of De Queen has closed the dining room but is still available for curbside and delivery. Simple Simon’s is also able to cater for businesses that must continue to work!

ADEM Urges Families to Sign Up for Smart911

Arkansas Division of Emergency Management Urges Families Statewide to Sign Up for Smart911 to Enable Coronavirus Awareness for 9-1-1 and Emergency Responders

“Take Control, Let Us Know” campaign empowers individuals to share critical medical information for more informed emergency response

North Little Rock – As Arkansas responds to the spread of the coronavirus, public health and safety officials ask all Arkansans to sign up for the Smart911 national safety profile registry, a free service that allows individuals and families to provide critical medical information to 9-1-1 and first responders. Arkansas is launching the “Take Control, Let Us Know” campaign to empower the community to take action, and provide valuable and accurate health data that increases the awareness of 9-1-1, first responders, and Emergency Management to an individual’s risk level for coronavirus.

Members of our community are looking for ways to improve the safety of their families, friends and neighbors as the coronavirus spreads. By signing up for Smart911, individuals can help first responders get the key information they need about every person who may need assistance, not only during this outbreak, but during any emergency.

Individuals can create a Smart911 Safety Profile for their household at www.smart911.com or on the Smart911 App that provides critical medical information for those who may be at higher risk of developing a serious COVID-19 illness. As identified by the CDC, the vulnerable population includes older adults, and those with a history of chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, respiratory conditions, and compromised immune systems. When an individual calls 9-1-1, their Smart911 Safety Profile is automatically displayed, allowing our public safety agencies to send emergency response teams to the right location with enhanced medical data.

Individuals can additionally self-identify if they are under quarantine, and whether it is self-imposed or directed by a health professional. The Smart911 App allows quarantined individuals to receive check-in messages on their health status. Smart911 also allows individuals to sign up for alerts from emergency management officials to receive reliable information about the changing coronavirus situation. Individuals who sign up will also receive tailored alerts based on their specific needs and geographic location. With enhanced coronavirus awareness, individuals and first responders have vital information to take proper precautions.

“As the coronavirus continues to be a major public health concern, we are doing everything we can to prepare, respond, and mitigate risk to those in our community who need assistance,” said A.J. Gary, Director of the Division of Emergency Management. “The information provided in a Smart911 Safety Profile enables us to know who is at the greatest risk in our community. We can provide individuals with critical updates based on their location and health history. Ultimately, Smart911 gives our state the chance to be proactive, and lets us know who requires our services. We urge all Arkansans to take action, sign up for Smart911, and help us address the coronavirus outbreak.”

To sign up or update your Safety profile, visit www.smart911.com or download the Smart911 app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

Smart911

This service helps 9-1-1 protect your family by providing more information to first responders. You should sign up too, it is free!

A Note from Wilkerson Funeral Home

During these uncertain times, Wilkerson Funeral Home is monitoring guidelines from the Center for Disease Control, the National Funeral Directors Association, as well as state and local organizations regarding the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases and public health. We would like to share some of our thoughts with you.

The Center for Disease Control guidelines are telling us to keep gatherings to 10 or less. We suggest limiting the funeral services to immediate family members and minister, holding the smallest gathering possible. We also recommend doing this at our facility or more preferably at the graveside to reduce risk of spreading the virus and honoring our duty to the general public. At a later date, if you desire, hold a public memorial service at no additional cost. These things at this time are not mandatory, but important for the health of our community.

Also, if you are not comfortable coming to the funeral home to make arrangements, we can come to you or make them over the phone. Another thing to think about is using our online registry to send a condolence or simply calling the funeral home and having us add your name.

We will honor your wishes to the best of our ability to ensure you receive the type of service you wish to have. Again, our family and staff are here to serve each family as we have done for the last 90 years.

Sarah Wilkerson Casteel
Wilkerson Funeral Home

From the Office of the Chancellor

Effective at 3:00 PM on Thursday, March 19th all UA Cossatot campuses will be closed at least until March 30th.
We take the COVID-19 outbreak very seriously and to protect our students, employees, and our stakeholders, we feel it is in everyone’s best interest to shutter our campuses.
Our students have already been moved to our online learning platforms and we will keep that in place for the foreseeable future.
Our employees will be working from home during this time and we will continue to encourage them (and our students) to practice social distancing and proper hygiene in their personal lives.
We know that we are all in this together and will beat this epidemic together. We all have to make well informed and sensible decisions that may not be popular, but they are for the good of us all.
Even though next week is spring break, we will still be closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak. If we must extend the campus closings beyond March 30th, we will make that determination later next week.
In the meantime, we are still teaching and working, we are now just doing it from a distance.
Please be safe and God Bless.
Regards,
Dr. Steve Cole
Chancellor, UA Cossatot

Arkansas Map of Covid-19 Positive Cases 03.19.20

A Message to UA Cossatot Students!

I wanted to personally let each and every student who attends UA Cossatot know that everything we are doing during this crisis is to make sure you stay safe and still receive the education you expect to get from UA Cossatot. Currently we have moved all of our courses online and we will keep offering them online as long as we need to in order to keep you as safe as we can from COVID-19 exposure.

During this trying time, please reach out to us for ANY help you need. I also wanted to remind students that we can’t beat the COVID-19 outbreak without your help. Please take this virus very seriously and please practice good hand-washing habits and PLEASE refrain from meeting closely in large groups. This virus spreads mainly by close human contact and if we can eliminate that behavior, at least for a while, we can limit the spread of this virus.

What you do and how you respond personally to this epidemic will define your entire generation!

Please be safe, call or email me any time, and GO COLTS!

Chancellor Cole

Sevier County Has First Positive Case of Covid-19

From State Representative, DeAnn Vaught…

Please don’t panic! Let me say that again Please Do Not Panic! Breathe... Sevier County does have a positive case.. that is all I can tell you at this point! Let me say this again, STAY HOME if at all possible! The attached picture stresses why it is important to stay home. Take a few seconds and read it.

We knew it was a matter of WHEN not IF, that is why I try so hard to inform you as soon as I know that way you have facts.

Sevier County Water Association Office Temporarily Closing

Sevier County Water Association will be closed to the public starting Monday, March 23, until further notice. Customers can go online and pay the bill at scwa.myruralwater.com, mail it to P.O. Box 700, De Queen, AR 71832, or call at 870-642-5289.

Angie Walker Interview on Ed 88 Thursday Morning

Angie Walker of Dr Randy Walker's Clinic in De Queen, was on Ed 88 Radio with Loren Hinton Thursday morning and discussed the very latest Covid-19 information.

From the Sevier County Youth Baseball Association Board

Our board met and discussed possible scenarios of resuming our season if the park lockout is lifted on March 30. We have also reviewed the CDC's new recommendation that all public gatherings be limited to 50 people or less for the next 8 weeks. Based on that, the board has decided to cancel the 2020 season out of an abundance of caution and concern for public health. If/when this disease reaches our area, we did not want to be a conduit for exposure and transmission.

We will waive next year's fee unless you want a refund. If you want a refund, send a private message requesting a refund to the league's Facebook page (Sevier County Youth Baseball) or email at seviercountybaseball@gmail.com. Include the following information in the message body:
1)state your request for refund
2)player or player names and ages
3)name of who to make the check out to
4)mailing address
5)phone number

We realize this is not an ideal situation, but this is an issue that affects more than playing baseball.

From the De Queen/Sevier County Chamber of Commerce

During the COVID-19 precautions many of you are changing the way you do business, and the Chamber has created a Facebook group to help you reach your customers!

Welcome to Sevierly Strong - Stronger Together!
This group allows you to post notices about changes of hours, curbside delivery, online shopping incentives, or any other factor that customers should be aware of during this time.
Help us spread awareness for our businesses by inviting friends and fellow business owners to join the group.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any information about current resources, and I will get it to you. We will be working to keep our membership updated and informed about the fluid situation regarding COVID-19, and the effects on our community!

Suzanne Babb

Executive Director

De Queen/Sevier County

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

P.O. Box 67 - 315 W. Stilwell Ave.

De Queen, Arkansas 71832
870-584-3225

Cossatot Fire Department Annual Fish Fry & Auction Cancelled

After meeting with local Government Officials, Cossatot Volunteer Fire Department is POSTPONING our Annual Fish Fry/Fund raiser that was scheduled for March 28th. We feel that it is in the best interest of the community to do this. We will be monitoring and looking to re-schedule at a later date.
We are encouraging members to go ahead and mail their Annual Membership dues to:
Cossatot VFD
1930 Hwy 70 E
DeQueen, AR 71832

God Bless and Be Safe,
Archie Johnson
Cossatot VFD/ Fire Chief

Free Groceries and Grocery Pickups for the Elderly

The Amerasian Hometown Missions of Sevier County has free groceries for the elderly and is providing grocery pickups for the elderly in the DeQueen/Horatio/Lockesburg/Gillham area. The phone number to call is (870) 279-4154. Amerasian Hometown Mission is also encouraging area churches who are willing to help, call the same number (870) 279-4154.