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. Next week’s menu includes:
Aug. 4 — Tuna salad on wheat bread or with crackers, slaw, fresh orange, and milk.
Aug. 5 — Open face roast beef with gravy on wheat bread, mashed potatoes, green beans, fruit, and milk.
Aug. 6 — Smothered pork chop, diced potatoes, Brussels sprouts bread, pineapples, and milk.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Aug. 7 — BBQ on bun, baked beans, potato salad, fruit, and milk.
Aug. 8 — Marinated chicken breast, pea and cheese salad, marinated tomato and cucumbers, pie, and milk.
Pilgrim pantry to give away food
Raven’s Nest Food Pantry at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 2507 Hill St., will be open Aug. 9, from 8-9:30 a.m. or until all the food has been given away. Food will be handed out on a first come, first-served basis. Participants must bring a picture identification. The pantry is a U.S. Department of Agriculture distribution site and equal opportunity provider, according to a news release.
Women’s group sets luncheon
The Christian Women’s Connection invites the community to its luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Pine Bluff Country Club.
The special feature will be Rusty Parker of Redfield, the music director of Family Church in White Hall, according to a news release.
The speaker will be Chris Dexter of Branson, Mo., discussing ‘The Dramatic Art of Falling Forward.”
Dexter is an actress who begins her talk with a two-minute monologue of a woman in ancient times, according to the release.
She then tells of becoming pregnant while a college student. Against the advice of everyone, she decides to keep her daughter. As a result, her plan of becoming an actress is derailed. She tells of seeking God, not sure He even exists, yet it is a very clear presentation of the gospel, according to the release.
The Christian Women’s Luncheon cost is $20, which includes the meal, drink, dessert, tax, and gratuity. All participants are asked to honor their reservations. For reservations or cancellations, contact Jennifer Keahey at (870) 540-9302.
AGFC has new adventure book
A new book from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission — “River to Ridge: Arkansas’s Wildlife Management Areas” — includes the history, characteristics and surprising details about 118 of the agency’s 138 Wildlife Management Areas.
The 470-page, 3-pound book has been in the works for five years, although the idea for such a publication goes back to the late 1990s, according to a news release.
AGFC Watchable Wildlife Coordinator Kirsten Bartlow and Jeff Williams, editor of Arkansas Wildlife magazine, began compiling information for a book that was more a guide to adventure than a simple listing of facts about WMAs.
Hunters and anglers are familiar with WMAs but others who enjoy the outdoors — birders, hikers, paddlers, photographers and campers, for instance — might not realize the opportunities these special places hold. And they might not see the connections between WMAs and other interesting spots, according to the release.
Take Petit Jean River WMA as an example. Anyone who visits that WMA probably would enjoy Petit Jean State Park or Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, both of which are nearby.
That’s why AGFC nature centers, fish hatcheries, shooting ranges, Important Bird Areas and Arkansas Water Trails receive their share of ink in the book, along with National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Army Corps of Engineers sites, plus national forests. Two-thirds of Arkansas’s state parks are described in the book.
“River to Ridge” is organized by seven natural eco-regions within the state: Arkansas Valley, Boston Mountains, Crowley’s Ridge, Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Ouachita Mountains, Ozark Highlands and the West Gulf Coastal Plain.
The book is illustrated with 490 photos, many of them taken by AGFC photographer Mike Wintroath and the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.
It was designed by Jeanne Zaffarano, a graphic artist in the AGFC’s Communications Division. Nine writers contributed to the book, which was edited by Bartlow and Williams.
“River to Ridge” may be purchased for $20 at Little Rock AGFC headquarters, 2 Natural Resources Drive or online at www.agfc.com/rivertoridge for $20 plus $7 shipping.
It will be available soon at AGFC offices and nature centers across the state.