Meet Me at the Court scheduled for Saturday
EL DORADO — Meet Me at the Court will meet at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Family Life Center of First Baptist Church-Cordell, 620 Cordell.
The MMC youth group will complete its second mission project of the month by delivering magazines to the residents of Courtyard Rehabilitation and Health Center, 2415 W. Hillsboro.
Group captains will be Carmelo Brown, Alex Smith, and Trevon Traylor.
The group will then return to the FBCC life center for a spaghetti supper.
For more information, call Veronica Bailey at 870-310-0391, Janis Van Hook at 870-314-3481 or Willie McGhee at 870-314-1441.
Master Gardeners to meet Thursday
EL DORADO – The July Union County Master Gardener meeting will be at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday at St. Mary’s Episcopal Parish Hall. This month’s program will be Gardening Fun and Games with Master Gardener Sharon Traylor. The public is invited to attend.
Strong-Huttig School Board announces new hires
STRONG — The Strong-Huttig School Board hired new personnel during a regular monthly meeting on Monday.
Board members hired Shemeka Morgan, second grade, and Victor Jackson, fourth grade.
The board also approved several items, including:
• Notice of Annual School Election and Notice of Polling Sites. The Annual School Election is Sept. 20, with early set for Sept. 13 - 19.
Christy Hoffer and LaKenya Riley filed for the Zone 2 position on the Strong-Huttig School Board, and Patrick Baker filed to run for the Zone 4 seat.
• Petitions of Student Transfer to El Dorado.
• The 2016-2017 Parent/Student Handbook.
• Cafeteria bids for milk (Turner Holdings) and bread (Flowers Foods).
• Health Special Risk for all-student and athletic insurance coverage.
• Requests from the Strong Church of Christ for the use of the high school cafeteria and the Willis family for the use of the elementary school cafeteria.
Improvements planned for Arkansas 129
Improvements to Arkansas 129 will require weight restrictions in Union County, according to Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department officials.
Crews will be replacing a timber cap on an Arkansas 129 bridge that crosses an unnamed creek between U.S. 63 and the city of Lawson. This section of roadway will be closed to vehicles over 20,000 pounds, but traffic under that weight can proceed through the work zone as normal.
The restriction will begin at 9 a.m. today and end at 5 p.m., weather permitting. Traffic will be controlled using flaggers and warning signs.
Drivers should exercise caution when approaching and traveling through all highway work zones. Additional travel information can be found at IDriveArkansas.com or ArkansasHighways.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @AHTD.
Isbel to speak at Parkinson’s group
EL DORADO – Medtronic Representative Stu Isbell will be the guest speaker at the El Dorado Parkinson’s Support Group meeting to be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, in the second floor conference room at Simmon Bank, located at 100 W. Grove St. Medtronic manufactures deep brain stimulation devices used for movement disorders. All interested individuals are invited to attend.
Arkansas Book and Paper Show set
JACKSONVILLE — The Arkansas Antiquarian Booksellers Association will host the 31st Annual Arkansas Book and Paper Show Aug. 6 and 7 at the Jacksonville Community Center in Jacksonville.
The show features dealers from around the region selling rare antique books, first editions, author signed editions, and out of print books.
Dealers will be on hand featuring historical documents, old photos, postcards, maps, advertising media and ephemera from Arkansas and the U.S.
Hours are Saturday, Aug. 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students. Parking is free at the Community Center.
For additional information call 501-985-1663 or contact [email protected].
Union County receives funds
Union County has been awarded federal funds made available through the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program, according to Alexis Alexander, executive director of the United Way of Union County.
Union County has been chosen to receive $18,805 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county.
The selection was made by a national board that is chaired by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and consists of representatives from American Red Cross; Catholic Charities, USA; National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; The Jewish Federation of North America; The Salvation Army and United Way Worldwide. The local board was charged to distribute funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the country.
A local board made up of the mayor, United Way of Union County and other clerical and government representatives will determine how the funds awarded to Union County are to be distributed among the emergency food and shelter programs run by local service agencies in the area, Alexander said. The local board is responsible for recommending agencies to receive these funds and any additional funds made available under this phase of the program.
Under the terms of the grant from the national board, local agencies chosen to receive these funds must be private voluntary non-profits or units of government; be eligible to receive federal funds; have an accounting system; practice nondiscrimination; have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs and if they are a private voluntary organization, have a voluntary board. Qualifying agencies are urged to apply.
Public or private voluntary agencies interested in applying for Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds must contact Alexander at the United Way of Union County for an application. Deadline for application is noon on Aug. 5. To request an application, call 870-862-4903 or e-mail [email protected].
South Arkansas Arts Center Juried Art
Competition exhibit
The South Arkansas Arts Center invites the public to view the 2016 Juried Art Competition. This exhibit will hang in the Price and Merkle Galleries through July 29. Gallery viewing hours are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
The Juried Art Competition, sponsored by Smackover State Bank, is SAAC’s annual competition juried by nationally and internationally recognized art professionals and is open to all artists across the nation age 18 and up who work in two- dimensional and three-dimensional fine arts media, including photography and computer generated work. The People’s Choice Award will be voted on by patrons during the exhibition. One piece from the competition will be purchased for SAAC’s permanent art collection. The Annual Purchase Award is made possible through an endowment from the family of Wilma Riley in memory of her commitment to the arts, her community and SAAC.
This year’s juror for the competition is Alejo Benedetti, curatorial assistant at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.
When asked about his job as juror for this show, Benedetti said, “As a new transplant to Arkansas, I was eager to find out what kind of artwork would be submitted to this show. After getting the enormous folder of entries I was thrilled to discover the quality and diversity of the works that SAAC was able to attract. The show really reiterates something that Arkansans probably already know following Crystal Bridges’ recent State of the Art exhibition: great art can be found all across the United States.”
Benedetti’s research has focused on contemporary art in the United States over the past 50 years with a particular emphasis on art of the West Coast since the 1980s. He has examined the artwork of Mike Kelley and Jim Shaw and how their works blur the barriers between the traditional art world and the world of comics.
At Crystal Bridges, he has assisted Curator Chad Alligood with the development of the 1940s to Now portion of the collection while also assisting with the traveling version of State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now. This exhibition, which first opened at Crystal Bridges in 2014, included over 102 artists, featured 227 works, and covered 19,000 square feet of exhibition space. The exhibition is currently traveling to other venues around the country in two different versions touring simultaneously.
Benedetti is a Texas native who earned his bachelor of arts in art history and a bachelor of fine arts in studio art from the University of Missouri in Columbia and his master’s degree in art history from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. While completing his degree at TCU, he worked as a curatorial intern at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, assisting with the exhibition Framing Desire: Photography and Video. While in Fort Worth, he also served as an art critic for “Glasstire: Journal of Visual Art in Texas”. As a critic, he reviewed contemporary exhibitions occurring at museums and galleries across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
An awards reception for the Juried Art Competition will be held from 6 until 7:30 p.m. on at SAAC on Saturday at the arts center..
For more information on the Juried Art Competition, call the SAAC at 870-862-5474, or visit the office at 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.
Summer Drama Camp to be held July 25-29
The South Arkansas Arts Center has announced dates for summer Drama Camp, sponsored by First Financial Bank, which will be held July 25-29.
In keeping with the western theme of the camps this summer, the theme for drama camp will be “Showdown at the Callaway Corral.” Shelton Harden and Haley Phillips – both actors and directors – will lead the camps this year.
Harden, SAAC’s performing arts coordinator, is a veteran of the stage as well as the drama department. He is a graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education. Harden has directed more than a dozen theatre productions and has appeared on stage in many more. He has also taught music and theatre courses, and founded “Gimme a Second,” the El Dorado improv group. His most recent gig at SAAC was directing the children’s drama, “101 Dalmatians KIDS.”
Phillips received her bachelor of arts in theatre from Southern Arkansas University and her master’s degree in theatre, acting emphasis from the University of New Orleans. She has also worked in area schools as an Artist in Education through the Arkansas Arts Council. She has been seen throughout the years on the SAAC stage, most notably having played Velma Kelly in “Chicago.” She directed SAAC’s production of “1776” and most recently the children’s production of “Into The Woods.”
When asked about this year’s plan for drama camp, Harden said, “Oh, I am so glad you asked me! We are going to do two wonderful shows! One of them, with the younger children, grades two, three and four, will be the story of Pecos Bill, the greatest cowboy that ever lived. And in the afternoon camp, for grades five, six, seven and eight, we are going to do a show called ‘Is There A Doctor In The House?’ which is a farce set in the Old West. It’s going to be great fun and everybody’s going to get to sing and dance and say lines and just have a good time on stage!”
Drama Camp will begin with grades two through four coming from 8 a.m. until noon. Students in grades five through eight will come from 1 until 5 p.m. Fees for drama camp will be $110 for members and $130 for non-members of SAAC. SAAC members and the out of town guests of current members are eligible for the discounted camp rate. Camp fees for new and renewing students include a $20 student membership which is good for discounts on classes and programming for one full year at SAAC.
Class fees are non-refundable. Class sizes are limited and will be filled on a first come basis. Make checks payable to South Arkansas Arts Center.
All camps have extended hours which include a half hour opening session of group play and warm-up activities. Students can arrive anytime during the first half hour of camp, allowing families a more flexible drop-off schedule this summer. Full and partial scholarships are available for students.
For more information or assistance with a scholarship, contact the South Arkansas Arts Center 870-862-5474 or e-mail [email protected].
Lee receives credentialing
South Arkansas Community College workforce and continuing education instructor Donald Lee has achieved credentialing as a Manufacturing and Safety Standards Council certified production technician instructor. The MSSC credentialing system leading to a CPT covers the four critical production functions, as defined by MSSC’s industry-led, nationally-validated skills standards common to all sectors of manufacturing. The purpose of the CPT program is to recognize through certification individuals who demonstrate mastery of the core competencies of manufacturing production at the front-line (entry-level through front-line supervisor) through successful completion of the certification assessments. The CPT credential is stackable and portable and is nationally-recognized in the manufacturing industry.
SouthArk announces Depper as new hire
Grace Depper has been hired as the new business and community education specialist at South Arkansas Community College. Depper’s responsibilities will include coordinating community-education classes, managing the culinary and hospitality program and coordinating professional development classes for corporate education. Depper recently moved to El Dorado from Fayetteville. She has a diverse professional background, with work experiences at Washington Regional Medical Foundation, Our House (a shelter for the working homeless) and the University of Central Arkansas. She is a graduate of Hendrix College with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with a distinction in sociology.