Civic panel cancels meeting
The Civic Auditorium Complex Commission meeting was canceled for Sept. 26. The regular meeting will be held at noon Oct. 24, according to a news release. Details: Pine Bluff Convention Center, (870) 536-7600.
Federal retirees to meet
The meeting of Chapter 287 NARFE (National Association of Retired Federal Employees) will be held Monday at 11:30 a.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Building, 211 W. Third Ave. Aaron Brown, a pharmacist with Blue Cross and Blue Shield will discuss ways to save on prescription drug costs, according to a news release.
McGehee school board to meet
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
McGehee School Board will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at the high school library. The agenda includes the Annual Report to the Public, the 2023-2024 budget, financial statement, repairs (football field lights), Act 1029 of 2019 Annual Bullying Report to the Board, school safety update, and awards and recognitions, according to a news release.
Insurance company honored
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield was recognized by Arkansas Business Publishing Group as one of the state’s best places to work. This is the ninth year the company has been named as an honoree, according to a news release.
Earlier this year, the insurance company was also named one of America’s Best Mid-Size Employers, one of the country’s Best Employers for New College Grads and Best Employers for Women by Forbes magazine, according to the release.
Kappas set leadership conference
The Arkansas Kappa Caucus is hosting the 45th Southwestern Province C. Rodger Wilson Leadership Conference today through Saturday in Little Rock. More than 300 Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. members are expected to attend, according to a news release.
The Southwestern Province is the largest province in the fraternity and most events will be held at the Marriott Hotel.
During the conference, there will be a school supply drive that will benefit the Scholarmade Achievement Place of Arkansas.
UAPB Lonoke Farm event set Sept. 29
The 2023 Agriculture Farm Field Day will begin with registration at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 29 at the Pearlie S. Reed/Robert L. Cole Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Farm in Lonoke.
Welcoming remarks will be held at 8:30 a.m. Tours begin at 9 a.m. with the last tour at 11 a.m., followed by a noon luncheon, according to a news release.
Tractor-pulled trailers will transport participants to different learning stations, which will feature scientists, researchers and faculty reporting on timely agricultural projects.
Topics will include sweet potatoes, cowpea varieties, weed science in rice, soybean cultivation, UAPB’s fish health and biosecurity projects, the UAPB honeybee program, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission programs and U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service programs.
The SFO-WWMC was created on the 871-acre farm to address groundwater issues facing Arkansas and the economic plight of small-scale, limited resource farmers, according to the release.
Research and demonstration projects are underway at the center, headed by a multi-agency group of scientists, engineers, professors and community organizations. Their primary focus is the efficient and effective use of surface and underground water.
The SFO-WWMC is located at 246 W O’ Cain Road, off Highway 31, about 2.8 miles from the Interstate 40 Lonoke Exit 175.
For details or if participants have special needs, contact Julius Handcock, resident director of UAPB’s Lonoke Farm, at (501) 676-1534 or handcockj@uapb.edu or Obadiah Njue, assistant dean for Extension and outreach, at (870) 575-8152 or njueo@uapb.edu.