State Parole Board meetings scheduled
The Arkansas Parole Board will hold its regular board meetings at 9 a.m. Feb. 10 and Feb. 24 in the Richard Lee Richardson Auditorium, at 1302 Pike Ave., Suite B149, at North Little Rock.
The board will meet to deliberate on individual cases at 9 a.m. Feb. 4, 9, 11, 14, 18, 23, 25, and 28 in the office of the Chairman John Felts, in Suite D in the same location. Pursuant to state law, deliberations on individual cases are closed to the public, according to a news release.
The board will meet to receive victim input at 9 a.m. today and Feb. 16. Victim input is privileged and those meetings are closed to the public, according to the release. Details: https://doc.arkansas.gov/parole-board/.
Small Works art exhibit heading to SAU
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The 2022 Small Works on Paper traveling artist exhibition will open at Southern Arkansas University at Magnolia on Thursday, according to an Arkansas Arts Council news release.
The display features 28 artists, including Rashawn Penister of Pine Bluff and Crystal Jennings of Rison. The exhibition will be featured in the Brinson Art Gallery at SAU through Feb. 24. Details: https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-art-council/aac-programs/small-works-on-paper.
UAPB to host landowner virtual meeting
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Small Farm Program will host a virtual landowner outreach meeting from 9-11:30 a.m. Feb. 8 via Zoom.
The meeting will cover the ins and outs of estate planning and is intended for small and socially disadvantaged farmers, forest landowners and rural homeowners, according to a news release.
“Succession planning is important to farmers because 90 percent of farming operations do not survive the transition from one generation to the next,” said Kandi Williams, Extension program aide and coordinator for UAPB’s Keeping it in the Family (KIITF) Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program.
Succession planning can also protect assets from unforeseen events such as lawsuits and divorce.
“Estate planning is for anyone who owns property or valuable assets,” she said. “Using estate planning tools correctly allows homeowners to structure estate planning so that heirs can obtain loans to keep the family home and farm intact and in the family when there are multiple heirs.”
Workshops will include:
Estate Planning Basics — Protecting Your Legacy for the Next Generation;
U.S. Department of Agriculture Heirs Property Relending Program;
Farm Service Agency Updates on Farm Numbers and Heirs Property;
Understanding Your Forestry Management Plan.
The meeting will take place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform and the link to the meeting is https://uapb-edu.zoom.us/j/87629929170. People can also contact Karen Lee, UAPB Extension assistant, at leek@uapb.edu or (870) 575-7225 to have the link sent to their email address.
UAPB’s KIITF Program provides educational resources and technical assistance to African-American forest landowners to protect and retain their family land for future generations.