Stories from Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Trumann mayor Shelia Walters went to an East Arkansas Planning and Development meeting Friday, Oct. 28, in Jonesboro to discuss a grant that could impact the city. Craighead County, Poinsett County and possibly a few other surrounding counties will apply for a grant that will allow for $20 million in restoration projects in the area. Walters sought permission from the city council and applied for one of the grants offered that could potentially give Trumann over $1.77 million. The money would be used for the partial or complete renovation of about 30 streets. Some of the streets will be widened to 24 feet, instead of their current 20 feet, to provide bike paths. The streets also will be restriped. The grant is part of the Roads to Education program that helps add bike paths to educational facilities. The widened streets will lead to both the Trumann Intermediate School and the Adult Educational building in Trumann. "There are a lot of people in this area who walk, jog and bike, so this grant would be very helpful," Walters said. Walters has already spoken with an engineer about the improvements. The city council passed an ordinance in January to allow the construction of bike paths in Trumann.

Several teachers with Adult Education Centers across Poinsett County spoke last week to the Marked Tree Rotary Club about their experiences in adult education. Shirley Kausler said she has been working with the GED program at the Trumann Adult Education Center since it opened in 1991. ...

At the Trumann City Council meeting held, Tuesday, Nov. 8, a proclamation was passed proclaiming the second full week of Nov. as "Operation Sidekick" -- Wounded Warrior Project Fundraiser week. Sheila Waters, Mayor of Trumann, called on the community to in recognizing and participating in the event. Operation Sidekick of Jonesboro was formed during operation Iraqi Freedom as Arkansas's 39th infantry deployed. Operation Sidekick was instrumental in gathering and shipping needed supplies to soldiers in Iraq, as well as providing a support organization for families and soldiers, associated with the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project was set up to help soldiers receive their full benefits after being wounded in action and providing them a successful transition to life after their injury. The project also helps further the education of both soldiers and their caretakers. According to the proclamation made by Mayor Walters, "The city of Trumann whole-heartedly supports Operation Sidekick in their endeavors to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. The second full week of Nov. will be designated as "Operation Sidekick," a partner of the Wounded Warrior Project, an event to raise funds for this extremely worthy cause. This event will be held to show support for our veterans by bringing this community together to raise awareness of the Wounded Warrior Project in our area." There will be a three-day event at the Fowler center in Jonesboro starting this Friday, in support of the project. Also at the meeting, a resolution was passed allowing the Trumann planning and zoning to add improvements to the city of Trumann's five-year plan. The items added to the five-year plan include bicycle routes located along the city streets of Trumann leading to the various education facilities around the city, a new Adult Education Center and Conference Hall located on the property on Melton Ave across from the Trumann Police Department, improvements and a face lift to the water tower located a t the Leon Massey Industrial Park, and sidewalks which will be placed along the streets that lead to the Trumann Public Schools. These improvements will all be funded with grant money, which the Trumann city of Trumann has already began applying for. Having these developments in the five-year plan will make the grant application easier. A budget meeting and parks and recreations meeting were both scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m.

Poinsett County elected officials, business leaders and others gathered last week at ASU-Newport in Marked Tree for a day-long leadership program focused on economic development. The training session was hosted by the Crossroads Coalition as part of their Regional Leadership Training Program entitled: Cultivating Economic and Community Development in Eastern Arkansas. The training session provided participants with an overview of the economic and community development process along with county-specific data and analysis in an effort to strengthen and support the efforts of county and city leaders. In addition to economic and community development, program topics included thinking strategically, understanding local product, leadership and organizational development, workforce assessment, understanding the business development, and how to market a community. The training program was made possible through a General Improvement Fund grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and was developed and delivered in partnership with the Institute for Economic Advancement at UALR. The Crossroads Coalition is a regional partnership working to cultivate progress and prosperity in Eastern Arkansas and is made up of nine counties: Crittenden, Cross, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, St. Francis and Woodruff.

Carol Dabney's family breaths military life and you would be hard-pressed to find a woman who beamed more when talking about the service her family has provided the United States citizens. Dabney's father, Robert William Jones Jr., was a World War II veteran who joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor in 1941. Her sister is Lieutenant Colonial Phyllis Jones who is stationed in Colorado with the Air Force. Dabney's pride and joy is her daughter, First Lieutenant Melissa Dabney, of the United States Army. Recently, Dabney wrote and published a children's book about her daughter Melissa and her grandson, Noah entitled "Military Mommy." The book was just rated a five star by New York reviewer Fran Lewis and is written from the viewpoint of Noah in poetry form. "The book talks about all the small separations even before an American Soldier is deployed to war and some of the things that help loved one deal," Dabney said. "When my daughter went to boot camp I sent her a picture every day so she won't feel like she was missing out so much. While she was gone I took care of her infant son. Noah celebrated his first birthday and took his first steps while she was gone to training. That is hard on a soldier who is also a mom. But this is what American Soldiers do." Dabney began creating the story as she walked Noah to school. It was first written to help Noah overcome his fears, but today it is helping many children cope with the struggles involved in military life. In an excerpt, Dabney writes, "I loved when she'd call and sing me a song, then I would keep singing long after she'd gone, I'd hold her picture till we were together, praying, 'Dear Lord, please don't forget her." Dabney's daughter and grandson currently live in Hawaii. She travels there often, and while there had the opportunity to visit local classrooms to read her book and teach children about Arkansas. "I'm a substitute teacher in Marked Tree, so while I'm in Arkansas, I get to teach the students about the volcanoes of Hawaii and while I'm in Hawaii, I get to teach the students about Arkansas' cotton fields," she said. She also teaches children about the military, about what it means to be a veteran and what the word patriotic means. "Military Mom" has even made its way overseas. Dabney said a local Army wife, Mollie Johnson, who is currently stationed in Germany with her husband, had a dinner and read the to book to Army soldiers last Christmas who could not get home. On Monday, Dabney did a presentation over Veteran's Day, dressed as Betsey Ross, at the Craighead County Library. There she read her book and talked to students about what it is like living in a military family. She sang traditional Hawaiian songs with her ukulele, answered military related questions the children had for her and taught the children how to sign the song "God Bless America." Dabney will be at the Barnes and Nobel bookstore in Jonesboro on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. to do another Veteran's Day presentation. All children are welcome to attend to learn more about what being a military family is all about.

Male students at East Poinsett County High School are doing their part to encourage their fellow students to achieve academically. They have formed a group called Men of EPC, and one of the things the group has seen to is giving academics a level of recognition normally reserved for sports. High school principal Gary Williams said the group came together as the result of a discussion with the Community Task Force. Each school is required to have a Community Task Force, and one of their main purposes is to identify achievement gaps and what can be done to close them. "We looked at test data and saw that a lot of our male students are not performing at the same level in literacy as the girls," Williams said. After bringing this to the task force's attention, Williams met with male students from grades 9 through 12. "I told them we were looking for those wanting to stand with us and send a message to the younger students that literacy skills are important," Williams said. Between 25 and 30 students agreed to make that stand and met on Sept. 15, along with 25 men from the community who came to support the message and male students from grades 7 and 8. Five men spoke at the meeting, including Marcus Monk, former Arkansas Razorback and EPC valedictorian of 2003-2004; Charles Glover, Steve Griffin, Kevin Truelove and Doug Fithen. Two EPC seniors, Michael Nash and Wendell Pritchet, also spoke. "They came at the conversation from a lot of different angles, but they all had the same focus," Williams said. "They told the students it's okay to be a guy and be literate and that you have to have the academic skills to be a man." After this informal meeting, the students became a formal group with the name Men of EPC, working closely with Language Arts teacher Jennifer Fithen. The group meets weekly, and though still in the early stages, they have hit the ground running in their quest to promote academic achievement to other students. They have already started a big brother program where they mentor students and have incorporated academic recognition into pep rallies. Many members of Men of EPC are in football and band. During the Homecoming pep rally, they recognized students on the honor roll and students with perfect attendance by having football players and cheerleaders line up to form a tunnel, calling out these students' names, and having them run through the tunnel to receive high fives. "It was just like running through in a Final Four game," Williams said. "The pep rally was a great step forward," said Michael Nash, president of Men of EPC. "It shows we care about academics." "It brought sports and academics together," A.J. Turner, vice president of Men of EPC, said. "Sports is the main thing around here, but we're trying to change that." When the Junior High had their pep rally, they brought fifth and sixth graders from Tyronza over to celebrate their academic achievement. And during elementary Parent Teacher Conferences, cheerleaders, band members, and football players were present handing out suckers, playing jazz music, offering encouragement, and celebrating academic success. "We're finding ways to get involved with younger students and congratulate them on academics," Turner said. "I think it's something we've needed," Nash added. Nash said the Men of EPC also have set a goal to say at least one encouraging thing to younger students each day. School officials have noticed a change since the group started. "We have no hard data yet, but I've seen a change with the older male students," Williams said. "They're showing leadership skills and are already trying to model their mission statement. I already see them taking it to another level." And though the group originally started as a way of addressing male academic achievement, Williams said, "It's about all of our students, male and female alike. This is going to have a positive impact for all students." Nash and Turner are seniors but said they hope Men of EPC continues to make an impact long after they have graduated. "It would be good to one day see a school full of students who want to be a part of Men of EPC," Nash said.