CHEROKEE VILLAGE, Ark. (AP) — Authorities say a 20-month-old boy who was found in a lake in northern Arkansas has died.
Sharp County Sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Presser said Monday that the sheriff’s office was notified that the boy died Sunday night at a Little Rock hospital.
Presser says the boy was reported missing Sunday morning from the family’s lake house in Cherokee Village and was later found in Lake Sequoyah. Presser said a deputy found the boy in the lake near a dock.
Presser says the deputy was able to revive the boy, who was then taken to a hospital in Highland before being flown to a hospital in Little Rock.
The child’s name and cause of death has not been released.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Arkansas VA benefit office speeds up claims process
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas veterans’ benefit claims are being processed 60 percent faster than four years ago thanks to the initiatives taken by the local Department of Veterans Affairs benefits branch, according to officials.
The federal VA’s Little Rock Regional Benefit Office in North Little Rock now takes 97 days to process a new claim. In 2013, the office took 250 days to process a new claim.
The initiatives the branch implemented over the past four years include digitizing claims records, creating a special project team to solve system issues and helping veterans resolve their cases remotely by using videoconferencing.
The benefit office hopes to scan all paper claims records by the end of 2018. It also has been granted permission to hire 35 additional claims workers.
“Our Little Rock VA Regional Office has been in the forefront of going digital and working in a paperless environment,” said Sandra Flint, continental district director for the Veterans Benefits Administration. “The result has been a more efficient and effective claims adjudication process.”
Flint said modernizing the process is among the ways the VA is trying to create a better experience for veterans interacting with the federal agency.
The local office’s efforts to modernize have saved money by digitizing records, which also makes them easier to locate, said Lisa Breun, director of the regional office.
Breun, who took charge of the regional benefit office five years ago, said the staff’s passion for assisting veterans is a big reason for the branch’s success.
“We’re always willing to put our hand up and try new things for our veterans,” Breun said.
Lawmaker, media technician to run for secretary of state
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Two more candidates say they plan to run to become Arkansas’ next secretary of state.
The announcements come from Republican Rep. Trevor Drown and Democrat Anthony Bland, a media technician for the Little Rock School District.
Drown says his time serving in the Arkansas House qualifies him to be secretary of state, whose duties include helping counties run elections and serving on the Board of Apportionment. The board will redraw the boundaries of the 135 legislative districts in 2021.
Bland, in his first bid for elected office, says he wants to ensure voters know their rights and that “every voter’s vote counts.”
Both men say they’ll make formal announcements next month for the 2018 race.
Republican state Land Commissioner John Thurston announced his bid for the office last year.