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De Queen Medical Center Latest News

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De Queen Medical Center closing continues with proper protocols. Plans for new hospital moving forward.

Closing hospitals is never something communities should have to go through but citizens in Sevier County are dealing with that issue these days. According to Sevier Count Rural Development Authority Chair Dr. Steve Cole, people generally do not know what all is necessary to close a hospital properly, “Since we started down the road of voluntarily suspending the local hospital license, the city, county , and our receiver Rachel Matheson have all been extra busy closing the hospital following protocols set forth by the Arkansas Department of Health”. When hospitals close, it is much more than just locking the door and walking away. Many people have to keep working to ensure that many things are taken care of properly. These things include proper disposal of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, CO2 and Oxygen tanks, and proper storage of all medical records. Hospital receiver Rachel Matheson, who is running point on these efforts explains that it is something new each day, “While we are all working on taking care of closing the hospital we have surprises that pop up every day, including a rash of break-ins by unauthorized personnel. It is certainly a challenge, but it is one that is worth our time, because ultimately we want to build a new hospital and the first step in that is closing this one properly and protecting the local hospital license, which we have taken great pains to do”. According the Sevier County Judge Greg Ray, the county, the RDA, and our local receiver have been moving forward quickly towards the possibility of a new hospital, “We have never stopped working on this issue. Every single day, there are several of us working with our legal team to insure that the path we are on will get us to a brand new facility for Sevier County. We also will be counting on our local health providers and our community to help us decide what our new hospital should look like and what services should be offered. We will trust our legal team to direct us in all matters of licensing and the organization of the hospital”. Dr. Cole added that a feasibility study should be published soon, “Under the direction of the Friday Firm, the County Judge and I engaged a professional CPA that specializes in feasibility studies for new hospital projects. We engaged this person several months ago and should have the study completed soon. This will tell us how much the new hospital will cost to build and maintain, and moving forward, that will provide us with transparency as we ask the citizens of Sevier County to support these efforts”.

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Arkansas River Flooding

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State and Federal Officials Continue to Respond to Arkansas River Flooding
NORTH LITTLE ROCK— The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) continues to be fully activated daily in response to rising water levels and flooding along the Arkansas River. Every day the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) staff is joined by representatives from other state and federal agencies to support Arkansas’s response efforts.
Arkansas, Chicot, Conway, Crawford, Desha, Faulkner, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Sebastian and Yell Counties are affected.
As the river starts to rise further east and south, counties are requesting sand bags, sand and sand bag filling machines. There are currently seven sand bag filling machines that are being moved by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas National Guard to counties in the affected areas.
Levees remain a concern as they have never held back as much water for as much time as they have in the past. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas Forestry Commission patrol levees on a regular basis. Some levees are not high enough to hold back the high waters while others are experiencing weakness in their structure and are leaking. Local officials continue to monitor the integrity of levees and make recommendations for evacuations as needed.
Not all land is protected by levees and water is able to flood the banks of the Arkansas River. The Civil Air Patrol has flown over the affected areas photographing images for officials to analyze and make recommendations about protective actions.
The SEOC will continue daily activation during the duration of the Arkansas River floods.
Citizens affected by this flood event should take all safety precautions and follow the advice of local officials. If property damage occurs, and if it is safe to do so, take pictures of the damage. Citizens can contact their local Office of Emergency Management to determine what preparedness measures they should take.
Follow us on social media at @Ar_Emergencies and use the “hashtag” #ArFlood19 when posting to social media.

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Howard County Children’s Center Accepting Applications

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Howard County Children’s Center, Inc
Rainbow Learning and Therapy Center

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
EXTENDED YEAR SUMMER SERVICES

The Rainbow Learning and Therapy Center will be accepting applications for
• Public School Special Education Children
• Must be entering the 1st grade thru grades in the Fall
• The program will offer children services beginning June 3
• Monday thru Friday
• 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM
• Children will receive the following:
Special Education Instruction
Speech Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Free Transportation 
Free Breakfast and Lunch
Free Snack
Nursing

Children will engage in joyful fun at our new dayhab and therapy center
Enrollment is limited
Please contact Lisa Morphew at 870-845-3138

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Latest Flooding Information for the Arkansas River

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Significant flooding is expected along the Arkansas River from eastern Oklahoma across the entire state of Arkansas through next week and into next weekend (early June). We have attached a few images to convey the details of this flooding.

Flooding moves down river basins and crests relatively slowly from one location to another as a flood crest or wave moving down river. As of this afternoon (Monday, 5/27) the Arkansas River was beginning to crest in eastern Oklahoma, but is not expected to crest in far western Arkansas until Tuesday. The flood wave is expected to crest near Fort Smith at Van Buren on Tuesday. It is expected to crest at Dardanelle and Morrilton on Friday , at Toad Suck on Sunday (June 2) , at Little Rock on Monday (June 3rd), and at Pine Bluff on June 5th and Pendleton on Friday (6/7).

Major to record flooding is expected at all points along the Arkansas River in Arkansas. This will likely cause flooding of property near the river, especially in low-lying areas. Impacts will be felt well out ahead of the forecast crest, so our best advice is to avoid going near the river, especially for any recreational purposes, during this period of high flow/flooding. A record flood is forecast along the Arkansas River from Toad Suck to points northwest. This flood along the river is expected to be the worst ever recorded flood along the river! Make sure to follow all instructions from local safety officials, and never drive past a barricaded/closed road sign. We want everyone to make it through this flood safely.

We realize that it's not raining in Arkansas, yet this flood is ALREADY in the Arkansas River. It is going to happen, take precautions now to protect your life and property near the Arkansas river before it's too late.

To make matters worse, a round of heavy rainfall is expected to fall over parts of western Arkansas from Tuesday through Wednesday where 3-4 inches of rain is in the forecast. If this doesn't amplify the flooding on the Arkansas River, it will at the very least prolong the flooding carrying significant impacts into the second week of June across the state along the Arkansas River.

Severe weather will also be possible with these additional storms with the primary threats being damaging winds, heavy rainfall and isolated tornadoes. The primary threat for severe storms is Tuesday night and again on Wednesday.

We will update graphics each afternoon, but please see 
https://www.weather.gov/lzk/wxcntl4.htm and
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=LZK 
for the latest river forecast information!

Dennis Cavanaugh
Meteorologist, NWS Little Rock

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Music In The Park at Washington State Park

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Historic Washington State Park announces the annual summer concert series “Music in the Park” with the theme “Arkansas Roots.” A free concert will be held in June, July, and August and is open to the public.

June 15 – Hartley Family Bluegrass Band
July 20 – Bear Creek Boys
August 17 – Harmony

Arkansas was formed as a territory in 1819. This year is the 200th birthday of the formation of Arkansas as its own territory. The music groups are bands that have their roots in Arkansas and its history.

Hartley Family Bluegrass Band is a family band from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. They started learning to play bluegrass and gospel music in 2003, just wanting to do something together as a family. A year later, to their surprise, they started getting invitations to play at churches, festivals, and other events. By 2007 they were traveling to places as far away as upstate New York, sharing their songs and meeting many kind people. The they continue today with Tom and Deb Hartly and their two youngest children, Abby and Micah. More information at www.hartleyfamilybluegrass.blogspot.com.

Bear Creek Boys is a local band that is made up of members from Hempstead, Howard, and Pike counties. They enjoy play different oldies pieces and Country music from the 1970s. They play for different local events around the southwest Arkansas area.

Harmony hails from Mountain View, a beautiful town nestled in a valley of the Ozark Mountains. They specialize in traditional and contemporary Folk Music, Old-Time String Band music, and good-old three-part harmony Gospel Songs. More information at www.harmonyband.org.

Bring your lawn chairs or blanket to spread on the grounds of the 1874 Courthouse by 7:30 p.m. on concert dates. The gift shop will be open for refreshments and Williams’ Tavern Restaurant will be open from 11 am – 7 pm for dining. For more information, call 870-983-2684.

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13th Annual Red River Heritage Symposium: Arkansas Territory: A New Frontier Saturday, July 27th

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13th Annual Red River Heritage Symposium: 
Arkansas Territory: A New Frontier

Saturday, July 27, 2019
1914 School: 1 pm –8 pm

The 13th Annual Red River Heritage Symposium will take place on Saturday, July 27, at Historic Washington State Park. The conference topics will focus around the bicentennial of the formation of Arkansas Territory in 1819 and its impact on the Great Bend Region of the Red River. The event will take place at the 1914 Schoolhouse Auditorium of Historic Washington State Park.

Specific topics and speakers include: “Trammel’s Trace” by Gary Pinkerton of Houston, Texas; “The Red River Raft” by Robin Cole-Jett of Denison, Texas; “Old Miller County” by Skipper Steely of Paris, Texas; “Gulf Coastal Plain Landscape” by Dr. Don Bragg of the U.S. Forest Service; and “Plotting and Surveying the New Territory” by Dr. John Dennis of the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

An all day Friday and Saturday morning workshop for teachers on resources related to the theme in the Red River Region will take place. Lunch is included both days. A total of twelve credit hours will be available for teachers to earn by attending both days of the symposium. Cost for attending the workshop will be $40. Workshop presenters will include Historic Washington State Park staff, and staff members from the Arkansas State Archives and Arkansas Historic Preservation who will do sessions on incorporating timber and natural resource history topics into curriculum standards for the classroom.

On Saturday morning beginning at 9am a tour will be provided to early territorial sites in Miller County. For others interested in the tour the cost will be $15 per person, which includes lunch. Seating is limited, so call the Park Visitor Center to reserve your spot on the tour.

Cost for attendance to the symposium is $30 with an evening meal included. The timeframe for the event is 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm. A discount price of $60 will be offered to teachers who wish to attend both the workshop and symposium. Teachers attending both the workshop and symposium will be eligible for twelve credit hours. Check in will begin in the morning at 8 a.m. at the 1874 Hempstead County Courthouse Visitor Center. Registration must be made by July 24. Contact 870-983-2684 to register.

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Tri Lakes Bass Tournament Final Hour Results

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Final Overall Big Bass Standings from the Tri Lakes Big Bass Festival.

Top 5 Big Bass of the 2019 Tri Lakes Big Bass Festival!
1. Jim Presson 6.46 lbs De Queen Lake
2. Kevin Brown 5.7 lbs Dierks Lake
3. Austin Rose 5.69 lb De Queen
4. Brandon Tullis 5.52 lbs De Queen
5. Ray French 5.4 lb De Queen

Thanks to all of our sponsors, anglers, and volunteers from the De Queen / Sevier County Chamber of Commerce! The awards ceremony will get underway at 2:00 pm today at the Sportsplex Pavilion and will be broadcast live here on this Facebook page.

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