House of Bread to give away food
House of Bread Deliverance Church, 1501 W. Second Ave., will hold its monthly food giveaway Saturday from 11 a.m. until all food boxes are gone. Clients must provide proof of address using at least a driver’s license, identification, or utility bill. All new clients will fill out a new client intake form on site, according to a news release. Details: Saint Mary Harris, House of Bread pastor, (870) 872-2196.
Civic panel to meet
The Civic Auditorium Complex Commission in-person meeting will be held on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. For participants unable to attend, they may join the conference call by dialing (978) 990-5002 with access code: 7020010, according to a news release.
Police to host fishing derby
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Pine Bluff Police Department will host its annual Fishing Derby at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park pond Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.
The event, which is free for kids 15 and under and senior citizens, is a joint venture between the PBPD and the Pine Hill Missionary Baptist Church, according to a news release.
Anyone who fishes can opt to have their catches cleaned and cooked on site. Other food items will include chicken, popcorn and sno-cones. A pie eating contest will also be held, and bags of goodies for seniors will be given out.
“This is always one of our most popular events each year,” said PBPD Public Information Specialist John Worthen. “It’s a chance for our officers to spend time with the community and have some fun. And the fish are always biting because the pond is fully stocked the night before the derby.”
Officers will secure the pond after it’s stocked so that none of the fish are caught before the derby begins. Though fishing is only open to kids 15 and under and senior adults, everyone is welcome to attend.
Trail of Tears meeting, art event set
“Drops That Filled the River: Blood, Sweat and the Trail of Tears” will be officially presented during the Arkansas Chapter Trail of Tears Association’s (ARTOTA) Annual Meeting on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Riverfront Room of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock.
Custom artwork, wayside exhibits, rack cards and digital content interpreting the Water Route of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail through Arkansas will be featured. The route covered a distance of more than 400 miles from Arkansas Post National Memorial to Fort Smith National Historic Site. The unveiling and meeting are open to the general public.
“Please join us as we unveil a host of new printed and digital materials, including online Water Route travel itineraries and artwork created by Tribal citizens to introduce visitors to the difficulties of the sorrowful journey from their ancestral homes to an unknown future in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in the 1830’s,” ARTOTA President Jason Irby, a Jefferson County native, said on Stuff in The Bluff.com.
The keynote speaker will be David Ware, a state historian and director of the Arkansas State Archives.
“The Old State House is unique in that it was one of only two buildings in Arkansas that witnessed the removal of Native Americans from the southeast United States in the 1830s,” Irby said.
“We are honored to have the Old State House Museum as the host of our summer meeting and showcase for the exhibit and art unveiling. The Old State House will receive a wayside panel illustration and that is very important to the history of the Trail of Tears and the history of the Old State House as a witness site along the Arkansas River,” he said.
This project is the result of more than one year of coordination between ARTOTA, the National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the state of Arkansas, cities of Dardanelle, North Little Rock, Little Rock, Pine Bluff and the Sequoyah National Research Center. Funded in part by the National Park Foundation, the project’s goal is to amplify awareness of and enhance visitor experiences at significant sites along the Water Route.
Details: Jason Irby at jayirby@webtv.net or Historian and Project Lead Carolyn Kent at carolke5@aol.com.
DRA makes $2.5 million available
The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) is making approximately $2.5 million in funding available for the 2025 LDD Community Support Pilot Program, a noncompetitive grant opportunity providing capacity-building and community support resources to Local Development Districts (LDDs) within the lower Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions.
The funding opportunity is open to the 45 LDDs serving communities within the 255 counties and parishes of the DRA eight-state service region. The deadline to apply is Sept. 26.
Designed to enhance regional competitiveness and economic sustainability, the LDD Community Support Pilot Program provides targeted support toward LDDs that are helping economically distressed, isolated areas of distress and persistent poverty communities navigate federal, state and other resources that impact economic and community development, according to a news release.
“The LDD Community Support Pilot Program invests in Local Development Districts to strengthen their ability to connect communities in the DRA region with enhanced planning and development support,” said Corey Wiggins, federal co-chairman. “These funds will help LDDs expand their capacity to support local governments in creating economic development opportunities across the region.”
For more information about the LDD Community Support Pilot Program or to apply, visit www.dra.gov. Details: pilotprogram@dra.gov.