Monticello resident joins honor society
Constance Williams of Monticello was recently initiated into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Williams is among approximately 25,000 people to be initiated each year into Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society, according to a news release.
Agency on Aging lunch menu released
The Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas is serving lunches from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. weekdays at the senior centers. Lunches available next week are: Monday — Chicken broccoli quiche, hash browns, hot sliced apples, blueberry muffin and milk.
Tuesday — Brown beans and ham, steamed cabbage and carrots, garlic roasted potatoes, cornbread, strawberries and bananas, and milk.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Wednesday — Baked turkey with gravy, cornbread dressing with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie with whip topping and milk.
Thursday and Friday — The agency will be closed for the holiday season. Southeast Arkansas Transportation will still be taking clients for dialysis and cancer appointments. Area Agency will reopen Dec. 27. Details: Strachota Senior Citizens Center, (870) 543-6323.
UAM receives grant for nursing program
The Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas awarded a $150,000 grant to the University of Arkansas at Monticello to provide funding for the Nursing Simulation: Healthcare Across the Lifespan program.
The grant period will begin Jan. 1. and end Dec. 15, 2022, according to a news release.
UAM professors Karen Hyatt and Sharon Walters wrote the grant for the School of Nursing. The grant will be used to upgrade newborn, infant, adult and geriatric manikins used during skills training for nursing students.
“We thank you for your innovativeness and efforts to help better the health of Arkansans and look forward to working with you over the next year,” said Rebecca Pittillo, executive director of the Blue & You Foundation.
The foundation recently announced that 41 initiatives in Arkansas will receive grants totaling $3,360,327.
UAM alum’s firm makes workplace list
Randy S. Risher’s company, Risher Fitness Management Inc,, recently appeared on The Top Workplace 2021 List published by the Houston Chronicle.
Risher is a 1989 University of Arkansas at Monticello graduate and president of The Risher Companies, which he began in 1994. Risher Fitness Management provides clients with management solutions for fitness-related facilities, according to a news release.
“I never envisioned when I began my company in 1994, that 27 years later, Risher Fitness Management would become what it is today,” Risher said in an emailed statement.
The Top Workplace 2021 List is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey, according to the release.
IRS offers some end-of-year tax advice
The Internal Revenue Service says there are some important things all taxpayers should do before the tax year ends Dec. 31, according to the newsletter from the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Donating to charity is one tip. Taxpayers may be able to deduct donations to tax-exempt organizations on their tax returns. As people are deciding where to make their donations, the IRS has a tool that may help.
The Tax Exempt Organization Search on IRS.gov allows users to search for charities. It provides information about an organization’s federal tax status and filings.
The law permits taxpayers to claim a limited deduction on their 2021 federal income tax returns for cash contributions they made to certain qualifying charitable organizations even if they don’t itemize their deductions. Taxpayers, including married individuals filing separate returns, can claim a deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions to qualifying charities during 2021. The maximum deduction is $600 for married individuals filing joint returns.
Details: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search.