Finance committee to meet
The Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission Finance Committee will meet Monday at noon at the A&P office, 623 S. Main St. Details: Betty Brown, A&P administrative assistant, (870) 534-2121.
A&P meeting set
The Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the A&P office, 623 S. Main St. Details: Betty Brown, A&P administrative assistant, (870) 534-2121.
Artist fellowships available
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Individual Artist Fellowship program, which awards up to 18 creatives $5,000 each, will accept applications until Feb. 5.
These grants are made directly to individual creatives who live and work in Arkansas. This grant is for already finished, not proposed projects, according to a news release.
The grant program is awarded to three creatives in six rotating categories annually. Categories this year are: docu-genre; multi-sensory art; contemporary craft in ceramics and/or glass; novel or memoir writing; community engagement; and high fashion or costume.
Applications are available at https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-art-council/aac-programs/individual-artist-fellowship.
The grant, through the Arkansas Arts Council, is made possible in partnership with Arkansas Heritage and the Windgate Foundation.
4 States Ag Expo set Feb. 8
Growers and producers from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma will find the latest research-based information on row crops, livestock and forages, forestry, horticulture, integrated pest management, pollinators, mushrooms and more at the Four States Ag Expo on Feb. 8.
The expo is scheduled from 8:30 a.m.–3:15 p.m. at the Four States Fairgrounds in Texarkana. The event is a joint project of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Experts from both agencies will host workshops throughout the day. Organizers are expecting 350 attendees, according to a news release.
The expo is free, open to the public and includes a hamburger lunch. Texas Restricted Use Applicators can obtain up to five continuing education units (CEUs) at the expo.
Concurrent sessions will begin at 8:30 a.m. For more information, visit https://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/4-states-ag-expo.aspx.
New area code begins
All customers with the 870 area code should be prepared for 10-digit dialing and the introduction of the new 327 area code, according to the Arkansas Public Service Commission.
The 327 area code will be added as an overlay to the 870 region. An overlay is the addition of another area code (327) to the same geographic region served by an existing area code (870). An overlay does not require customers to change their existing area code, but does require customers to dial the area code to complete local calls. The change was scheduled to begin Jan. 19. All local calls made within the AR 870 area code must be placed using 10 digits (area code + the 7-digit telephone number). After this date, calls placed using just 7 digits won’t be completed.
Beginning Feb. 20, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the new 327 area code. The key facts for consumers to know about the upcoming AR 870/327 area code overlay are:
Your current telephone number, including current area code, won’t change.
If you seek new phone service on and after Feb. 20, you may be assigned a phone number with the 327 area code.
You will need to dial the area code + telephone number for all local calls, including calls within the same area code.
You will continue to dial 1 + area code + telephone number for all long-distance calls.
What is a local call now will remain a local call.
The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services won’t change due to the overlay.
You can still dial just three digits to reach 911 and 988. You can also dial three digits to reach 211, 311, 511, 611, 711 and 811 where available.
Important safety and security equipment, such as medical alert devices, and alarm and security systems must be programmed to use 10-digit dialing. Many systems operate on 10-digit dialing by default, but some older equipment may still use 7 digits. Please contact your medical alert or security provider if you are not sure whether your equipment needs to be reprogrammed to accommodate the upcoming change to 10-digit local dialing.
Remember that all local calls must be programmed using 10 digits and add ‘1’ for all long-distance calls.