Sponsorships open for Alpha fundraiser
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. will present the 2025 Valentine’s Scholarship Fundraiser at 7:06 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Tickets are $40 per person. Tables are $400 each. Scholarship sponsorship opportunities are also available at these levels: Jewel Sponsor — $5,000; Yellow Rose Sponsor — $2,500; Old Gold Sponsor – $1,000; Black Level Sponsor — $400, according to Stuff in The Bluff.com.
The theme is “All Black Affair.” The gala is presented by the Delta Sigma Lambda Chapter of the fraternity in conjunction with the Southeast Arkansas Jewel Foundation.
Checks or money orders should be made payable to the Southeast Arkansas Jewel Foundation and mailed by Feb. 10 to Southeast Arkansas Jewel Foundation, P.O. Box 3159, Pine Bluff, AR 71611.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
A scholarship sponsorship form is available at https://files.constantcontact.com/585454b8001/7840739a-3e06-45ab-8204-dfd66a25d647.pdf?rdr=true.
The Southeast Arkansas Jewel Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Details: Arzo Knox at (501) 351-7336 or arzo.knox@hotmail.com.
Resource available on heirs property laws
Tenancies in common, often referred to as “heirs property,” create real challenges to the survival of farming operations and, sometimes, to the family unit itself.
Heirs property occurs when a landowner passes away without a will or estate plan, or if an estate plan divides land equally among the heirs. This can leave numerous family members with equal, undivided ownership interests in the property and a lack of clarity on how the land can be used or sold. Multiple owners can create challenges such as obtaining financing, paying property taxes and making management decisions.
If a family finds itself in an heirs property situation, what can be done to resolve it? A new resource from the National Ag Law Center, or NALC, aims to help answer that question by compiling various heirs property laws into one resource: an Heirs Property State Survey.
Rusty Rumley, a senior staff attorney at the NALC, said the NALC receives numerous messages about heirs property each year.
“Heirs property is not a situation that arises overnight,” Rumley said. “Heirs property situations make things hard on the family. And, if left unresolved and generations pass, the issue grows more complicated. Heirs property situations can also result in the loss of family land entirely.”
The Heirs Property State Survey looks at all 50 states, documenting the various methods, short of formal lawsuits, that are offered to “clear title” — legally determine who owns the property and obtain a deed — to heirs property.
The survey was conducted by Jesse Richardson, professor of law and lead land use attorney at West Virginia University College of Law, and Jill Apter, NALC research fellow and student at Michigan State University College of Law.
The resource is available on the NALC website. A companion report, which expands on the survey’s findings, is also available at https://nationalaglawcenter.org/webinars/state-approaches-to-clearing-title-to-heirs-property/.
NALC will discuss heirs property at a webinar, “State Approaches to Clearing Title to Heirs Property,” Nov. 20 beginning at 11 a.m. Registration is available free at https://nationalaglawcenter.org/webinars/state-approaches-to-clearing-title-to-heirs-property/
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Former Eudora police chief pleads no contest to assault charges
Former Eudora police chief Michael Pitts pleaded no contest to misdemeanor third-degree battery charges in 10th Circuit Court on Friday.
The charges are connected to an Oct. 26, 2023, assault in Eudora, according to Arkansas State Police. Pitts reportedly was dispatched to a gas station in Eudora that date with a request to remove a man who was causing a disruption at the business. State Police investigators determined that Pitts illegally detained John Hill Jr., 48, and transported him to a remote location in Chicot County, where Pitts was accused of assaulting Hill and leaving him injured and stranded.
The prosecuting attorney asked the Special Investigations Unit for State Police last November to investigate the claims. State Police arrested Pitts on Jan. 30.
Pitts received a one-year suspended sentence and a $500 fine. He is to have no contact with the victim or the victim’s family.