New Jerusalem to give away dinners
The youth department of New Jerusalem Baptist Church, 1317 S. Texas St., will have a Thanksgiving Give Back dinner for the needy. The dinner will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The meals are first come, first served. The Rev. M. Kriston Wilson is the pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church.
Ceremony to honor deceased children
The Desha County Chapter of the Compassionate Friends invites the community to the 28th annual World-wide Candle Lighting Remembrance at 6 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Dumas Community Center, 18 Belmont Drive, in Dumas.
At 7 p.m., participants will light candles in memory of all children “gone too soon … that their light will always shine,” a spokesman said in a news release.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
A short program of greetings, readings, poems, music and a candle light ceremony will be presented.
A reception will follow the ceremony. There is no admission fee, however donations are appreciated.
The ceremony is held on the second Sunday in December to unit family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor the memories of the children — sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren — who died, but will never be forgotten.
The annual event, a gift to the bereavement community from the Compassionate Friends, creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone, according to the release.
At the Dumas event, those who would like to have their child’s name placed on the memorial roll or a picture placed on the memorial display may contact Compassionate Friends.
If you plan to attend, please let the group know by Dec. 4. To RSVP or for more information, text or call (870) 866-6985, (870) 377-4299 or (870) 222-7836.
Desha County Compassionate Friends is part of a national non-profit, self-help support organization that offers friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings grieving the death of a child of any age, from any cause. Brenda Norman is the event planner.
Click It, Ticket campaign to begin
This Thanksgiving holiday, Arkansas law enforcement is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the State’s Highway Safety Office on a high-visibility Click It or Ticket seat belt awareness and enforcement campaign.
From Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, Arkansas State Police Troopers, sheriff’s deputies and local police officers will be enforcing the state’s safety belt laws to reduce the number of fatalities that occur when motor vehicle passengers fail to buckle up, according to a news release.
During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2022 (6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23, to 5:59 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 28), there were 326 passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes across the nation, and 43% (141) were unrestrained. Not wearing a seat belt proved to be deadly at any time of the day during the holiday weekend: 47% of those killed in nighttime crashes were unbuckled, and 38% of those killed in daytime crashes also were unbuckled. These deaths represent needless tragedies for families across America and may have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt.
“Buckle your seat belt to stay safe and to stay legal,” said Arkansas Public Safety Secretary Col. Mike Hagar. “Whether you’re driving cross-country or across town, whether it is day or night, and no matter the type of vehicle, it is essential that drivers and passengers wear seat belts. The bottom line is this: That seat belt may very well mean the difference between life and death. This Thanksgiving, and every day of the year, remember: Click It or Ticket.”
For more information about traveling safely this Thanksgiving, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts or call the Arkansas Highway Safety Office at (501) 618-8136, and go to https://www.tzdarkansas.org/ to learn about Arkansas’ Toward Zero Deaths campaign to eliminate preventable traffic fatalities.