Transportation
meeting set for
Thursday at chamber
EL DORADO – A series of regional meetings to visit with decision-makers and stakeholders about the future of transportation in Arkansas is being hosted by the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce, according to Mike Dumas, president and chief executive officer of the chamber. The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday in the Charles Murphy Jr. board room at the chamber office.
“We’ll talk about the development of the long range plan, transportation needs that have been identified, the goals that have been developed and the public input we’ve heard to date. We need your input on ways we can achieve the plan’s goals and what your priorities are for how transportation dollars should be invested,” he said.
Dumas explained that the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department is updating the state’s Long Range Intermodal Transportation Plan, which is a comprehensive document that details goals, objectives, policies, investment strategies and performance measures which will guide future transportation investments to move Arkansas forward. The LRITP will examine all aspects of the state’s multimodal transportation system, including highways, bridges, public transportation, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian, ports, waterways and aviation, he said.
Closings for holiday
All administrative offices of the city of El Dorado, including the administrative offices of the police and fire departments, will be closed Monday for Independence Day. Police and fire services will operate as usual. Garbage pickups will resume a day later than normally scheduled.
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Calion City Hall will be closed Monday for Independence Day.
Cooking, sewing workshops offered for youth
EL DORADO – The Union County Cooperative Extension Service is conducting a sewing workshop from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on July 7 and 8 at the Union County Fairgrounds Activity Building.
An apron will be constructed and supplies needed will include one yard of main fabric (for the body), one-half yard for the straps and pockets, matching thread and an extension cord. The class is limited to six per day.
Cost of the workshop is $5 and is due by 4:30 p.m. on July 5. To sign up or if you have any questions, call the Union County Extension Office at 870-864-1916 and ask for Lauren Brown, Union County Family and Consumer Sciences/4-H agent and Brittany Riley, 4-H program assistant.
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A Cloverbud cooking workshop for youth ages 6-8 will be conducted from 10 a.m. until noon on July 19 at the Union County Extension Office, 307 American Road. This is a one-day class and participants will learn about “My Plate.” Children will prepare simple recipes and then eat afterwards. The workshop will be taught by Brown and Riley.
Parents are asked to contact the extension office at 870-864-1916 to pre-register for the workshop. There are limited spaces available. Cost of the workshop is $12 and is payable by July 15 so that food may be purchased.
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A youth cooking workshop for youth ages 9-13 will be conducted from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on July 21 at the Union County Extension Office, 307 American Road. This is a one-day class and participants will learn about kitchen safety. The youth will prepare the recipes and then get to eat afterwards.
The workshop will be taught by Brown and Riley.
Parents are asked to contact the extension office at 870-864-1916 to pre-register for the workshop. There are limited spaces available. Cost of the workshop is $12, payable by July 15so that food may be purchased.
Salvation Army provides food sacks
EL DORADO – The Salvation Army’s Sacks of Love summer feeding program began recently and “Sacks of Love” will be assembled from 1 until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with distribution between 4:15 and 5 p.m.
“This is a great opportunity for youth that are not old enough to volunteer in our soup kitchen. We would love to have church youth groups come out or any group that is willing to volunteer between these times,” said Alexis Alexander, executive director of the United Way of Union County.
For more information, stop on by the Salvation Army, 419 S. Madison, or call the Judith Sanders, the social service director, at (870) 863-4830.
Third El Dorado Film Festival will ‘reach for the stars’
EL DORADO – The El Dorado Film Festival committee has announced that this year’s event, to be held Sept. 15-18, will take place at Stars Cinema 6 in El Dorado.
Half of the building will be dedicated to the festival, while the other half will remain open for regular film viewing during the event, according to a news release from the El Dorado Film Festival.
The festival will occupy three screens with the ability to show almost twice as many films as last year. Additionally, Joey Lauren Adams (Big Daddy, Mall Rats) will be the key judge in the “Oxford American Southern Made” competition and will present the award for the winner of that category on Sept. 18.
The El Dorado Film Festival seeks the best in truly independent cinema from around the globe, bringing an array of genres, styles and unique visions to audiences in El Dorado. Official selections will be announced July 15 on www.eldofilmfest.com, according to the news release.
El Dorado man wins $50,000 in lottery
EL DORADO – Ricky Levingston of El Dorado recently won $50,000 in the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery’s 200X the Money, a $20 instant game that launched in August 2015. The winning ticket was sold at Rainbow Food Mart on Mount Holly in El Dorado and the game is a $20 instant game with a $50,000 top prize.
Levingston said he hasn’t yet told anyone about his win and he plans to use the money to open a tech gadget store and sell phones, accessories, watches, surveillance equipment and more.
Local students appointed to U.S. service academies
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two Union County students, along with 15 others in the state, received and accepted appointments through Sen. Tom Cotton’s office to United States service academies.
Krisanna Reynolds of Smackover received an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy and Ben Wiggins of El Dorado was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy.
Other Arkansas students appointed to service academies include:
• U.S. Air Force – Nicholas Amerson, Pearcy; Grant Fogle, Bella Vista and Alexis Miguel, Beebe.
• U.S. Merchant Marine Academy – Porter Gregory of Little Rock.
• U.S. Military Academy – Jacob Cantey, Mount Vernon; Brady Golden, Hattieville; Kimberly Monterroso of Camden; David Nichols, Bentonville; Nick Noel, Little Rock; Robert Norwood, Siloam Springs; Andrew Roberts of Bentonville and Conner Sparks, Searcy.
• U.S. Military Academy Prep School – John Musteen, Alexander.
• U.S. Naval Academy – Jordan Gonyea, Sherwood and Allison Polston, Jacksonville.