Census 2020 Helps Build Arkansas

Want more money for Roads, Libraries, Schools, Employment, Healthcare, etc? Make sure to #BECOUNTED You can fill out the 10 minute questionnaire by phone, mail, or internet.
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¿Quiere más dinero para carreteras, bibliotecas, escuelas, empleo, atención médica, etc.? Asegúrese de ser contado #BECOUNTED. Puede llenar el cuestionario de 10 minutos por teléfono, correo o por internet.

The 2020 Census is coming! March 12-April 30, 2020. Get involved and help make sure we count EVERYONE living in Sevier County. The 10 minute questionnaire will impact the next 10 years! The 2020 Census is IMPORTANT, SAFE and Easy!
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¡Se acerca el Censo 2020! Del 12 de marzo al 30 de abril de 2020. Participe y ayude a asegurarse de contar a TODOS los que viven en el Condado de Sevier. ¡El cuestionario de 10 minutos tendrá un impacto en los próximos 10 años! ¡El Censo 2020 es IMPORTANTE, SEGURO y Fácil!

Favorite Spots in Sevier County Welcomed on Tourism Facebook Page

What are your favorite local spots to play and have fun? Where/How would you spend this weekend if it were the perfect weather? Maybe there are fun things to do at different times of the year, include those ideas as well. We do not want to miss telling a story about where to have fun in Sevier County! Tag the spot and share your favorite story, include a picture if you would like!

HealthCARE Express Offers Molecular Flu Tests

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, and 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease each year. In 2017 in Arkansas, a total of 8,270 people died of heart disease.

February is American Heart Month. Its purpose is to promote the importance of heart health and increase awareness of the risk factors of heart disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all Americans have at least one of the top three risk factors for heart disease-high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking. Other conditions and behaviors that affect your risk for heart disease include obesity, diabetes, physical inactivity, and unhealthy eating patterns.

Smoking, the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, is also one of the greatest risk factors for developing heart disease. Smoking damages the heart and blood vessels very quickly, but the damage is repaired quickly for most smokers who quit

In 2019, the General Assembly passed Act 580, which would have phased in an increase in the age a person must be to buy tobacco products like cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and vaping products that contain nicotine. However, a new federal law signed by President Trump supersedes the 2019 state law, and as of December 27, 2019, the nationwide minimum age to buy tobacco products has been raised to 21. With this law now in place at the federal level, we expect to see fewer teens begin smoking or vaping in the first place.

You can choose healthy habits to help prevent heart disease. Arkansans are encouraged to make healthy changes to lower their risk of developing heart disease such as controlling their cholesterol and blood pressure, living an active lifestyle, and eating healthy. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you smoke, know that quitting will lower your risk for heart disease. For free help to quit smoking, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or go to smokefree.gov or cdc.gov/tips.

Home | Smokefree

Preparation is the first step to being smokefree. Boost your chances of success by making a quit plan.

Create Bridges Wants to Hear From You

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.

Mayor Jeff Brown Delivers State of the City Address

• By Marty Bachman editor@dequeenbee.com

• Feb 6, 2020 Updated Feb 6, 2020

Ed 88 thanks our media partners at the De Queen Bee for sharing these stories with our followers.
Mayor Jeff Brown Delivers State of the City Address

https://www.dequeenbee.com/…/article_24882b22-48f9-11ea-ba4…

De Queen City Council Approves Police Request to Pursue Grant Opportunity

https://www.dequeenbee.com/…/article_71a2abce-4932-11ea-86e…

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.

Little River Chamber Banquet Award Winners Announced

Award winners at Little River Chamber of Commerce Banquet include:
Steve Pearce Person of the Year Award: Joe Mack Bennett
Clayton Castleman Public Service Award: Rhonda Fleming Pounds
Ashdown Teacher of the Year: Jennifer Simmons
Foreman Teacher of the Year: Samantha Lace Smith
UA Cossatot Educator of the Year: Lynze Greathouse
Panther Ambassador: Cole Smith
Gator Ambassador: Kenzie Cowan
New Construction Award: Davis Feed Co
Renovation Award: Tres Agaves
Large Business: Southern Precision Fabrication
Small Business: Noah's Ark Daycare
School / Community / Non Profit: Methodist Church - Jim Cross

Little River County Introduces the Little River Post

It was announced at last night's Little River Chamber of Commerce awards banquet that the county will soon be home to a newspaper once again! Attendees were each given a copy of the new publication and the publisher, David Lide, and editor Camille Johnson were introduced. Subscription and advertising info is available by calling 1-800-517-6347. Ed 88 welcomes the Little River Post!

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

Sevier County Hospital Board Met Thursday Afternoon

Caitlin Collins at De Queen Lions Club Tuesday

Lion President, Bryan Blackwood, introduced Tuesday’s guest speaker at De Queen Lions. Caitlin Collins is the new head softball coach at De Queen High.

Updated Winter Weather Projection For Arkansas

Free Bariatric Seminar at Howard Memorial Hospital

2020 Little River Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet Thursday

2020 Little River Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 6, 2020  at the Barbara Horn Civic Center in Ashdown.  Doors will be open at 5:30 p.m.

Dinner for the evening will include your choice of grilled rib-eye steak or chicken breast, salad, vegetables and dessert. 

You have the opportunity to decorate your own table. We will award a prize for the first place most beautiful and most unique. If you prefer not to decorate, we will decorate it for you. Please let us know in advance that you are planning on decorating your table.

Three levels of sponsorships are available for your selection:

Gold Sponsorship - $1,200 

• Three tables (24 chairs) with premier seating

• Recognition during event

• Recognition in printed program as Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsorship - $800

• Two tables (16 chairs) with premier seating

• Recognition during event 

• Recognition in printed program as Silver Sponsor

Bronze Sponsorship - $400

• One table (8 chairs) with premier seating 

• Recognition during the event 

• Recognition in the printed program as Bronze Sponsor

Individual tickets may be bought for $30.00 each or two for $50.00, you may pick those up at the Chamber or Red RIver Oil. 

Please contact me at the Chamber office if you are interested in a sponsorship.

We are very thankful to our businesses and people who choose to work and reside in Little River County. Please continue             

to SHOP LITTLE RIVER COUNTY FIRST and we look forward to serving you in 2020!

Sincerely,

Jana Smith 

Executive Director

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.

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

This week, the Department of Finance and Administration announced that effective February 3, 2020, all 134 State Revenue Offices will have the ability to issue a Real ID.

Arkansas is taking part in the federal nationwide initiative to improve the security of state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards, which will help fight terrorism and reduce identity fraud.

Starting October 1, 2020 anyone who boards a domestic flight or enters a federal building will need a Real ID driver's license, Identification Card or other approved documentation required by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

When we previously reminded constituents of the upcoming deadline, just 25 State Revenue Offices could issue a Real ID. Now, DFA has expanded the capability to all revenue offices to make it more convenient.

The cost to obtain a REAL ID does not differ from the cost to obtain or renew a license or ID. Current Driver Licenses (DL) can upgrade to REAL ID at any time by purchasing a duplicate license. The fee for a duplicate DL is $10.00 and expiration dates remain the same. If within one year of the expiration date, you may renew and convert to the Arkansas Real ID. At regular renewal periods, the REAL ID may be purchased for $40.00 and will not expire for eight (8) years.

Real ID will not replace a U.S. Passport or allow border crossing. A Real ID Driver’s License is optional and only required for individuals who wish to continue using their Driver’s License to board domestic flights or enter federal buildings after October 1, 2020.

Should you have any questions about the Real ID, please contact the Office of Driver Services at 501-682-7059, email questions to driver.services@dfa.arkansas.gov or VISIT www.ar.gov/realid or www.dhs.gov/real-id

REAL ID

The REAL ID Act establishes minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver's licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act's minimum standards. The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.