Sports Hall of Fame to name inductees
The Jefferson County Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee invites the community to the announcement of the second annual Jefferson County Sports Hall of Fame Class honoring 30 new inductees.
The event will be held at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 15 at the Pine Bluff Main Library, 600 S. Main St., according to a news release.
Visitors will get an exclusive sneak peek to the newest additions to the Bill Carr Museum/Jefferson County Sports Hall of Fame: Bill Carr track shoes, Don Hutson football cleats, and the 1939 Pine Bluff High School National Football Championship trophy. There will also be a guided preview of the exhibit area for both the museum and the Hall of Fame.
“Join us as we celebrate the rich sports culture that defines Jefferson County, Ark.,” according to the release.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Attendees are asked to arrive early.
Ballot measures coalitions to visit PB
The Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids coalitions will kick off the Arkansas Ballot Measures Town Hall Tour in Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Jan. 15 at the Pine Bluff Library, 600 S. Main St., in the community room.
Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Citizens First Congress are joining Protect AR Rights and For AR Kids coalition partners to share insight and answer questions about the two ballot measure campaigns the coalitions are supporting, according to a news release.
The Pine Bluff town hall panel includes: April Reisma, president of the Arkansas Education Association; Bill Kopsky, executive director of Arkansas Public Policy Panel; and Kwami Abdul-Bey, elections coordinator at Arkansas Public Policy Panel.
The local community co-hosts are the Pine Bluff Branch of the NAACP and Pine Bluff Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., according to the release.
These community town halls are opportunities for Arkansans to get updates, ask questions and learn how to get involved in this grassroots work to:
Protect and strengthen the citizen ballot-measure process and Arkansans’ rights to petition.
Broaden access to quality education opportunities for all communities, while also establishing equitable rules and standards for all schools that accept public taxpayer funds.
Attendees will also have the chance to sign both coalitions’ petitions at each town hall.
Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1973704296887512.
Apply for deer season award
Before your thoughts stray from the deer woods, be sure to fill out your Triple Trophy Award application if you managed to fill at least one deer tag with each of the main hunting methods.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will accept applications for the award at www.agfc.com/tripletrophy until April 10.
Hunters who qualify for the Triple Trophy Award must, within a single annual deer season, take at least one deer by each of the following hunting methods: modern firearm, muzzleloading firearm and archery/crossbow tackle. Qualifying hunters receive a patch and a certificate suitable for framing, according to a news release.
Deer harvested with straight-walled rifles count toward the hunter’s modern gun harvest number for consideration toward a Triple Trophy Award. Only guns loaded through the muzzle are considered for the muzzleloading firearm portion of the award. Details: www.agfc.com/tripletrophy to learn more and apply.
ARDOT seeks input on historic bridges
The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), through the Federal Highway Administration, initiated consultation regarding a draft Historic Bridges Programmatic Agreement.
ARDOT has invited federal agencies, federally-recognized Indian tribes, state agencies and organizations, and city and county organizations to participate in the consultation process and to provide comments on the draft agreement.
ARDOT seeks additional consulting parties and the public to review and comment on the draft agreement and notify ARDOT of any concerns, according to a news release.
The draft is proposed to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations, 36 CFR Part 800 — Protection of Historic Properties. It will also describe ARDOT’s historic bridge procedures.
The draft is available at https://public-notice-sec106-draft-historic-bridges-pa-202512-ardot.hub.arcgis.com/
Comments will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. Feb. 10. Submit online comment forms to ARDOT or print the form and mail it to: Environmental Division, P.O. Box 2261, Little Rock, AR 72203-2261. If you do not have internet access, contact Jason Eads at (501) 569-2079 or historicbridges@ardot.gov to ask questions about the draft agreement.
Study: Diabetes management improves
Through a Food Is Medicine intervention delivered in collaboration with food pantries and partners in Northwest Arkansas, researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Institute for Community Health Innovation found improved blood sugar outcomes for nearly 60% of participating adults with diabetes, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
About 290,000 adults in Arkansas — or 12% of the population — have diabetes. From 2020-24, the Institute for Community Health Innovation and food pantries worked together to provide education and nutritious food deliveries to Arkansans with diabetes in Benton and Washington counties, according to a news release.
According to researchers, study participants had a clinically meaningful reduction in average Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels of 0.56 units. HbA1c is a measure of average blood sugar levels over the previous three months, and a reduction of this magnitude may lower the risk of diabetes-related complications. Additionally, 48% of participants reduced their body mass index — a measure that relates body weight to height — and 64% reported reduced diabetes-related distress through the intervention. Details: communityhealth.uams.edu.