Urban Renewal board to meet
Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency will hold its regular board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Generator, 435 S. Main St. Details: (870) 209-0323.
Extension Service offers Child Care training
Free Best Care Child Care provider in-service training is set for April 11 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in the Parish Hall, 412 W. Sixth Ave. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m., with Best Care training starting at 9 a.m. Participants are asked to bring their own lunch.
This training session will be provided free by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Jefferson, Dallas, and Cleveland county Extension Family and Consumer Sciences agents Mary Ann Kizer, JoAnn Vann, and Austin Compton.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Topics include: Art Experiences, Circle Time Tips, Literacy, Outdoor Learning — The World is Our Classroom, and Professionalism, according to a news release.
“Child care providers need at least 15 in-service hours each year. This is a great opportunity to receive five free hours,” Kizer said.
The pre-registration deadline is April 8. Call Kizer at (870) 534-1033 or email mkizer@uada.edu to pre-register.
If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, contact the Jefferson County Extension Office at (870) 534-1033 as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
UAPB plans farm event in Hope
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Small Farm Program will host the 2026 Southwest Arkansas Small Farms Conference on April 30 at the University of Arkansas at Hope-Texarkana, Hempstead Hall in Hope. The conference will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to a news release.
The conference will feature sessions addressing a range of topics relevant to small farms and rural communities, including agriculture production and marketing, community and workforce development, forestry and conservation, land ownership and succession planning, health and nutrition and U.S. Department of Agriculture programs.
Selected sessions will be offered in a hybrid format and recorded to allow both in-person and virtual participation.
The event is sponsored by UAPB, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Hempstead County Extension, the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. Additional details, including registration information, will be announced.
ARDOT launches Adopt-A-Highway website
The Arkansas Department of Transportation launched a new website for the Adopt-A-Highway program, coinciding with the department’s annual Spring Clean-Up Week, March 14-20.
The website, on the ardot.gov main menu, is designed to make it easier for Arkansans to get involved in keeping Arkansas roadways and rights-of-way clean and beautiful. It allows the public to view current Adopt-A-Highway volunteer locations across the state, identify opportunities to participate, and submit requests to adopt a segment of highway, according to a news release.
“This new website reflects our commitment to making it as simple as possible for Arkansans to engage with the Adopt-A-Highway program,” ARDOT Director Jared D. Wiley said. “The easier we make it for people to find opportunities and sign up, the more volunteers we can put along our highways. Cleaner roadways enhance the natural beauty of our state. Every Arkansan who wants to contribute has a place in this effort.”
Throughout Spring Clean-Up Week, ARDOT will place a special emphasis on litter awareness and education, and how to get involved in the anti-litter effort. On March 17, ARDOT will host a Spring Clean-Up Day in which crews statewide will dedicate the entire workday to litter pickup along Arkansas highways.
Celebrate Maya sets performances
Metro Theater Co. of St. Louis will perform “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me,” a children’s play inspired by one of Maya Angelou’s poems. As part of its annual salute to the writer and humanitarian, Celebrate! Maya Project commissioned the performances.
Performances will be at 2 p.m. April 11 at UA-Pulaski Tech’s Center for Humanities and Arts theater (CHARTS) in North Little Rock, and 4 p.m. April 12 at Lafayette County High School auditorium in Stamps, where Angelou once lived as a child.
Celebrate! Maya Project’s president is Janis Kearney, a native of Gould and diarist for former president Bill Clinton.
“Exploring everyday fears and the courage it takes to overcome them, ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ is an adaptation by multi-disciplinary playwright, director, performer, and choreographer Paige Hernandez,” according to a news release.
The play traces Angelou’s early childhood in St. Louis, where she was born and suffered major trauma, to Stamps, where she lived with her nurturing grandmother. With help from that village of caring people, Angelou began to heal and set out on a journey toward worldwide fame, according to the release.
“Now is a good time to present such a play to our communities — to celebrate Maya Angelou’s timeless literary brilliance and to help children of all ages understand that fears are universal,” said Kearney. “Fears can be overcome. Maya’s life is a prime example of this truth.”
Tickets to the play are free and available at Eventbrite. The play primarily targets kindergarteners through eighth-graders but welcomes people of all ages.
The play precedes Celebrate! Maya Project’s 26th Annual Spirit of Maya Awards Luncheon & Celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 16 at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. Luncheon tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite. Additional donations can be made here.
The luncheon supports the Celebrating Maya Scholarships and Emerging Poetry Awards. Details: Celebrate! Maya Project website.