City council to meet Jan. 20
The Pine Bluff City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Detective Kevin Collins Center in the council chambers at the civic center. (The council normally meets Mondays, but city hall is closed Jan. 19 in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to the city’s Facebook page.)
The council agenda includes a resolution opposing the proposed Southeast Estates Senior Cottages Development at 1701 W. 73rd Ave., and expressing support for relocation to the original planned site or a suitable alternative site, subject to community engagement, infrastructure capacity, and all applicable laws.
For other agenda items or details, visit the city of Pine Bluff’s Facebook page or https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z7xwUiJipFBLat3TUu1ybJE9SUxiFuta/view?usp=sharing.
Area Agency sets blanket drive
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas’ annual Share the Warmth Blanket Drive in Jefferson County is underway until Feb. 13. The purpose of the drive is obtain new blankets for individuals who are elderly and/or sick and shut-in to keep them warm this winter, according to a news release. Donors may drop off blankets to the Area Agency, 709 E. Eighth Ave., during regular business hours. For details, call Carolyn Ferguson, (870) 543-6309 or Pauline Jones at (870) 543-6313.
Agency cancels Caregivers’ event
Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas’ Caregivers/Alzheimer’s Monthly Support group meeting is canceled Jan. 19 in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16. Details: Carolyn Ferguson, (870) 543-6309.
Stuttgart center seeks photo, arts entries
The Arts Center of the Grand Prairie in Stuttgart will present the Grand Prairie Festival of the Arts in divisions of photography and visual arts, according to a news release.
The 70th festival will be accepting entries in visual arts and photography for adults and children at the Arts Center of the Grand Prairie on Jan. 23 from 1-4 p.m. and Jan. 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Exhibit dates are Feb. 2-26. The center will have a closing reception Feb. 26 from 5-6 p.m. The art pick-up date is Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To register for the visual arts and photography entries, visit www.grandprairiearts.com or send an email to ArtsCenteroftheGrandPrairie@gmail.com. Details: (870) 659-2873.
Grand Prairie textile arts contest set
The Arts Center of the Grand Prairie in Stuttgart will conduct its 2026 Grand Prairie Festival of the Arts’ Textile Arts session March 7-8.
Previously known as Decorative Arts, the session name has been updated to emphasize the collection of needle and thread arts to be exhibited, according to a news release.
The special exhibit will be a collection of art quilts by Natalie Mosher of London, Ark., in Pope County. Mosher’s quilt, The Old Mill, won Best of Show in the 2025 Grand Prairie Festival of the Arts.
Adults, youth and children may register their textile arts entries online with the Arts Center of the Grand Prairie at https://www.grandprairiearts.com. An entry fee is required for each item, to be delivered to the arts center. Deliveries will be received 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 20, 21, 27, and 28.
There are five categories for entries: quilting (large, medium and small), crochet and knitting, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, and miscellaneous.
A guest judge will determine the first, second, third place winners and honorable mention, as well as select the Best of Show entry.
The exhibit will be held in Salon A at the Grand Prairie Center March 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and March 8 from noon to 4 p.m.
Admission is free. The March 8 event will include a short presentation by Mosher at 2:30 p.m., a Quilt of Valor ceremony at 3 p.m., and the closing awards presentation and reception at 3:30 p.m. Entries will be checked out at 4 p.m. Details: (870) 659-2873.
USDA: Farmer Bridge funds coming
The $12 billion promised by U.S. President Donald J. Trump in December 2025 will be in farmers’ hands no later than Feb. 28, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced earlier this month.
The payments, which are part of the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, are intended to help cover growers’ debts and expenses until funds from the Farm Safety Net Program are available in October, said Hunter Biram, extension agricultural economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
“The FBA payments come to Arkansas farmers at a time when farmers and lenders are particularly concerned with cash flow on the 2025 crop and securing a loan for the 2026 crop,” Biram said in a news release.
“The intent of FBA is to ‘bridge’ farmers from the 2025 crop to the 2026 crop. With Arkansas crop farmers losing more than $1 billion in 2025, and with farm safety net payments not arriving until the end of the marketing year in October, a timely ‘bridge’ will be a difference maker for farmers trying to stay in business,” he said.
Biram noted the success of the strategy likely depends on the FBA payments actually being delivered in February.
In December, Biram, along with fellow Division of Agriculture economists Ryan Loy and Scott Stiles, authored “The State of the Arkansas Crop Economy,” a publication that lays out specific crop loss estimates by both commodity and county.
The authors estimated that growers lost approximately $273/acre in corn, $117/acre in cotton, $132/acre in rice and $85/acre in soybeans.
Arkansas growers are estimated to receive about $347 million of the promised $12 billion, covering about 29 percent of their estimated lost income for 2025. Covering the full extent of individual 2025 farm debt is not certain and will depend on respective farm-specific production, cash reserves and farm safety net payments to be disbursed this fall, Biram said.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.