McGehee school board to meet
McGehee School Board will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at the high school library. The agenda includes financial statements, board member resignation, personal policies and administrator reports, according to a news release.
Area Agency tells menu
Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Arkansas offers lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. weekdays at the senior centers. Next week’s menu includes:
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
• Aug. 25 — Grilled chicken salad, melon, crackers, banana nut bread and milk.
• Aug. 26 — Black-eyed peas with sliced ham, okra, cornbread, fruit and milk.
• Aug. 27 — Barbecue chicken, summer squash, potato salad, cobbler and milk.
• Aug. 28 — Meatballs with gravy, mashed potatoes, spinach, lemonade pie and milk.
• Aug. 29 — Baked fish, oven fries, coleslaw, two hushpuppies, hot spiced applesauce and milk.
Denim, Diamonds event Sept. 19
Denim, Diamonds, Boots & Bling will feature an array of local performers including spoken word artists, musicians and a DJ at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 at Saracen Landing. This event will benefit the D’Andre Seals Suicide Prevention Outreach Project.
Admission is $40 per person and the community is invited to participate, according to Stuff in The Bluff.com.
Performers include Pashu’ar Grissom, Jimmy Cunningham, DJ B Nice, Rahj Cummings, Kordae McCoy and Big Mond. Food will be provided by local caterers and a cash bar will be available, according to the news release.
“We are raising funds to continue the work in the community of mental health awareness and suicide prevention,” said Kymara Seals, DSOP founder and chair of the board. “We are making an impact.”
Tickets may be purchased via Cash App at $dsoutreachproject or by contacting Seals at (501) 940-3467, Kenetta Ridgell at (870) 818-7993 or Marcie Johnson at (870) 329-1970. Details: thedsop.org or call Kymara Seals or email her at DSOutReachProject@gmail.com.
UAPB Lonoke farm field day set
The 2025 Agriculture Farm Field Day will be held Sept. 19 at the Pearlie S. Reed/Robert L. Cole Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center on the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Farm in Lonoke.
The field day begins with registration at 7 a.m. and remarks at 8 a.m.
Tours begin at 8:30 a.m. with the last tour leaving at 11 a.m., then a luncheon will follow at 11:30 a.m.
The event will conclude with presentations, networking and visiting vendors until the 1:30 p.m. adjournment.
Tractor-pulled trailers will transport participants to different learning stations, which will feature scientists, researchers and faculty reporting on a variety of agricultural projects, according to a news release.
The center was created on the 871-acre UAPB farm to address critical groundwater issues facing Arkansas and the economic plight of small-scale, limited resource farmers. Research and demonstration projects are underway at the center, headed by a multi-agency group of scientists, engineers, professors and community organizations.
The center is located at 246 West O-Cain Road, off Highway 31, about 2.8 miles from the Interstate 40 Lonoke Exit 175.
For details or if you have special needs, contact Julius Handcock, resident director of UAPB’s Lonoke and Marianna Farms, at (501) 676-1534 handcockj@uapb.edu; Obadiah Njue, assistant dean for Extension and outreach, at (870) 575-8152 or njueo@uapb.edu; or Karen Lee, Small Farm Program Extension program specialist, at (870) 575-7225 or leek@uapb.edu.
Business Outreach Tour to begin
The Pine Bluff Black Chamber of Commerce will host the Pine Bluff Business Outreach Tour Aug. 25-29.
Participants can receive advice on financing, operations and growth strategies focused on uncovering one’s business needs and connecting them with resources.
Participants can meet with U.S. Bank’s Cassandra Kidd, business access advisor; and Brian Castleberry, business consultant, according to a news release.
There are multiple ways to meet:
• Stop by: The organizers can stop by local businesses to learn about their goals, challenges, and opportunities.
• Meet downtown: Participants can meet at the PBBCC Office in the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Business Support Incubator, 615 S. Main St.
• Schedule a virtual meeting: Organizers can meet virtually and still provide full support.
Register at the Pine Bluff Black Chamber of Commerce’s Glueup page.
The tour is sponsored by U.S. Bank & CARTI.
Registration open for walk project
What starts with your feet can do a world of good for your brain, said Bryce Daniels, assistant professor and state extension health specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
“Walking has mental, physical and social benefits that can improve brain clarity and body functioning to handle the challenges of life,” he said in a news release. “I relied on walking outside to complete my doctoral dissertation.
“I wrote in my acknowledgement that ‘this dissertation does not get completed without all the workouts and leisure time physical activity I performed’,” he said. “May this document demonstrate that a 30-minute brisk walk can take you a far ways.”
Arkansans will have a chance to commit to similar power-ups through the fall edition of Walk Across Arkansas.
“We want to increase the number of participants this year in hopes that more people are tracking their physical activity minutes and enjoying the benefits of being physically active,” Daniels said. “Walk Across Arkansas is a long-standing program that uniquely brings together people and have Arkansans tracking their physical activity to bring awareness to living an active lifestyle.”
The event isn’t just limited to walking. Participants can record biking, running, aerobics or any other exercise.
The fall edition runs Sept. 8 to Nov. 2, with online registration opening on Aug. 25.