2 locals in ATU Honors
Two area students are among 25 incoming Arkansas Tech University students chosen for the University Honors program beginning with the fall 2025 semester.
Southeast Arkansas honorees are:
Natalie Spadoni of Pine Bluff.
Haleigh Lawson of Prattsville.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Applicants to the ATU Honors program must have a minimum high school cumulative grade point average of 3.5 and a minimum ACT composite score of 27 (or equivalent SAT score), according to a news release.
“Honors students benefit from a unique curriculum tailored to their abilities, including opportunities for interdisciplinary studies, peer mentorship, community service and individualized research projects,” reads a portion of the ATU Honors website. “With a focus on critical thinking, curiosity and innovation, the ATU Honors program prepares students not only for success during their university years but also for a lifetime of achievement and impact.” Details: www.atu.edu/honors.
Suicide prevention event set
The D’Andre Seals Suicide Prevention Outreach Project (DSOP) will host Soul Shop for Black Churches from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Pine Bluff Public Library, 600 S. Main St.
Participants will learn how to talk about suicide from a faith perspective. Admission is free. Workshop materials and lunch will be provided.
“Soul Shop for Black Churches is specifically designed for pastors, church staff, faith-based clinicians and other lay leaders in Black and African American churches,” according to StuffinTheBluff.com.
Soul Shop for Black Churches will focus on:
The role of societal discrimination in suicide rates among Black and brown young people;
The prominent role of the church in African American communities and how that can be leveraged towards public health;
Statistics, trends and rates of suicide among people of color;
Challenges of and ideas for engaging issues of mental health and suicide in black churches.
Register for this workshop at Eventbrite.com. For details, email Kymara Seals, DSOP founder and chair of the board, at DSOutReachProject@gmail.com.
Area Agency plans menu
Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas offers lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. weekdays at the senior centers.
This week’s menu includes:
Wednesday — BBQ chicken, summer squash, potato salad, cobbler and milk.
Thursday — Meatballs with gravy, southwestern corn, zucchini, cookie and milk.
Friday — Baked fish, oven fries, cole slaw, two hushpuppies, hot spiced applesauce and milk.
AG: EBT scams increasing
Arkansans are experiencing an increase in EBT theft. Scammers are accessing funds on EBT cards without the knowledge of the recipient and then immediately spending that money in states outside Arkansas.
This leaves the most vulnerable of Arkansans without the funds they need to purchase groceries, according to a news release from Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.
Scammers can gain access to a recipient’s EBT funds in a variety of ways including:
Placing a “skimming” device at retailer locations. These devices copy EBT card information during a sale without any notice or prompting by a consumer.
Impersonation. Scammers will contact a SNAP recipient pretending to be a government official. They often contact the recipient towards the end of the month and threaten that funds will not be received next month unless the recipient verifies certain information.
Phishing. Phishing involves sending a fake text message or email claiming that a recipient’s PIN has been compromised and needs to be reset, or some other excuse to cause a recipient to divulge his or her PIN.
EBT theft can happen to anyone with an EBT account. The best way to protect yourself and your family is to be vigilant in monitoring the use of funds.
If you have been a victim of SNAP fraud, immediately report the fraud to your local SNAP office.
You can also file a police report, report the fraud to the Arkansas Department of Human Services at ar.gov/snapfraud, and you can contact the Office of the Arkansas Attorney General by calling (501) 682-2007, emailing consumer@arkansasag.gov or by visiting https://arkansasag.gov/file-a-complaint.
