Election panel to meet
The Jefferson County Board of Election Commissioners will hold a special called meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Election Office, 123 S. Main St., according to Chairman Mike Adam. The agenda includes new business: Certify the results of the 2025 school election and the disposition of Complaint SBEC-2024-083.
Third Ward meeting set
The Third Ward Community Watch Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. May 20 at Destiny Worship Center, 4700 W. 28th Ave., according to a news release. Kenneth Gray is the president.
House of Bread offers food
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
House of Bread Deliverance Church, 1501 W. Second Ave., will hold its monthly food giveaway on Saturday from 11 a.m. until all food boxes are gone. Proof of address must be at least a driver’s license, identification or utility bills, according to a news release.
All new clients will fill out a new client intake form on-site. Details: Saint Mary Harris, pastor, (870) 872-2196.
Imagination Library sets salad luncheon
The Imagination Library for Jefferson County, an affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, will host its annual “Imagination Library Summer Salad Luncheon” fundraiser.
The event will be held June 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lakeside United Methodist Church, 1500 S. Olive St. Tickets are $15. Proceeds support free library books for children. Dining in or carryout is available for the luncheon.
“You can enjoy tasting any of the spectacular salads available,” according to the news release.
This year’s variety will include vegetable garden salad, chicken caesar and poppy seed chicken salad, various pasta salads, broccoli salad, strawberry spinach vinaigrette salad, fruit salad, taco salad, salmon and pickled shrimp salads.
Tickets can be purchased at the YouthPartners/Imagination Library office located in the Donald W. Reynolds Community Services Building, 211 W. Third Ave., or at the event.
The Imagination Library’s goal is to increase early literacy by putting a book in every child’s hand from birth to age five at no cost to the family because of generous donors.
The library consists of a 60-volume set of high-quality and age-appropriate books that are mailed monthly to the child’s home in their name.
The Imagination Library program is made possible in part through the United Way of Southeast Arkansas, Altheimer Foundation, Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation and Sarah J. Creasy Endowment, Synergy Forum, Rotary Club, Arkansas Imagination Library and other local contributors.
For salad luncheon ticket information or details, contact Linda Bateman, YouthPartners/Imagination Library executive director, at (870) 718-0654 or United Way at (870) 534-2153.
AR Kids Read plans free tutoring
AR Kids Read will host its 2025 Summer Reading Tutoring program, a free four-week initiative designed to support rising first through fifth graders in building strong reading skills through small group instruction rooted in the science of reading.
Hosted at local libraries in Pine Bluff, this program will run in June and early July, offering twice-weekly tutoring sessions led by certified teachers and trained interns, according to a news release.
Dates and locations:
Pine Bluff Main Library: June 9 – July 2; Mondays and Wednesdays; 4-5 p.m. or 5-6 p.m.
Watson Chapel Library: June 10 – July 3; Tuesdays and Thursdays; 4-5 p.m. or 5-6 p.m.
Families can visit www.arkidsread.org/summer-program to sign up. For more information, email info@arkidsread.org.
Area students to attend Boys State
More than 610 of the state’s brightest young men will attend Arkansas Boys State, an immersive leadership and civic engagement experience sponsored by the American Legion. Several are from southeast Arkansas.
The 84th annual session runs May 25-30 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. The program’s 2025 enrollment marks its largest class of young men in 10 years.
Local students attending Boys State include:
Jaden Sosa of Hermitage, Kelby Robertson of Warren, Isaac Lowe of Rison, Daniel Norton of Rison, Landon Metcalf of New Edinburg, Nate Bryant of New Edinburg, Trabennett Fuller of Monticello, Jaiden Washington of Eudora, Cole Sims of Lake Village, Blake Chandler of Monticello, MJ Parks of Sherrill, Chris Nolen of Lake Village, Evan Emerson of McGehee, Jude Cathey of Warren, Bleyze Fellows of Warren, Colton Steen of Warren, Isaiah Hayes of Dumas, Trevor Barnes of McGehee, Kevion Henderson of Dumas, James Pierce Breedlove of Monticello, Tripp Lanehart of Wilmar, Chance Simmons of Monticello, Trevan Nathu of Monticello, Max Efird of Monticello, Luke Hairston of Monticello, Mason Montgomery of Monticello, DeArius Logwood of Pine Bluff, Adam Price of Pine Bluff, Lamarcus Morris Jr. of Pine Bluff, Marrion Smith of Pine Bluff, Carmello Wilson of Pine Bluff, Jordan Anderson of Pine BluffMD Rahat of Pine Bluff, Bryce Phillips of Rison, Dagan Duncan of Stuttgart, Hunter Endres of Stuttgart, Alex Scaife Jr. of Stuttgart, Hayden Prine of Stuttgart, Nathan Skinner of Stuttgart, Kade Tolliver of Stuttgart, Elijah Stanton of Eudora, Eli Wolfe of Sheridan, Aj Richardson of Dermott, Lucus Figurs of Dermott, Duke Brown of McGehee, Mason Clemons of McGehee, Terrance Wyrick of Pine Bluff, Shamar Browning of Pine Bluff and Braylon Burnett of Dermott.
While at Arkansas Boys State, these students will be guided through their experience by more than 75 volunteers.
Arkansas Boys State is an immersive program in civics education designed for high school juniors. Participants are assigned a political party, city and county. Delegates, from the ground up, administer this mock government as if it were real: they run for office, draft and pass legislation, solve municipal challenges and engage constituents. Details: arboysstate.org.