Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 64
Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 42
Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 50
Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 10
Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 12
Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 86
Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 23
Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 55
Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 9
Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 12
“The students and staff at De Queen Elementary had an exciting day interacting with the Lady Colts and Colts of UA Cossatot yesterday. They learned about perseverance and acceptance through the reading of Salt in His Shoes and enjoyed conversations with the team members. Receiving a Colts tee shirt from UA Cossatot served as the icing on the cake for DES students. Thank you UA Cossatot for the experience!”
UA Cossatot will host its annual Veterans Day breakfast on Thursday, November 11, 2021, at the UA Cossatot De Queen Campus in the Skilled Trades Building.
The event will take place from 8:30 am until 10:00 am. Along with food, the event will include a presentation, guest speaker, and door prizes to celebrate and honor local veterans in Southwest Arkansas.
All veterans and their families are invited to attend.
For more information on this year’s Veterans Day breakfast, contact Loren Hinton at 870-584-1179 or lhinton@cccua.edu. ###
There are two big developments this week regarding our state’s economy.
Unemployment in Arkansas continues to decline, and our budget forecast was adjusted to reflect an increase in revenue.
The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services says Arkansas’ unemployment rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage point from 4.2% in August to 4.0% in September.
This is the third month in a row that we have seen a decline in unemployment, and we continue to remain below the national rate of 4.8%.
We were also informed this week of a forecast revision to the general revenue budget. The Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) now says the forecast for Fiscal Year 2022 is $246.2 million more than previously forecasted.
The forecast revision for FY 2023 was also increased to $6.454 billion, which is an increase of $298.5 million over the prior release.
Individual income tax and sales and use tax are the two largest sources of general revenue to the state.
This week, the Governor outlined an income tax cut proposal but added he would not call for a special session the week of October 25 as originally planned.
The Governor’s proposal would lower the top rate from 5.9% to 5.5% in the next year and then lower it to 5.3% by 2024. His proposal also provides a low-income tax break and increases the individual tax credit.
Members continue to review tax cut proposals. It is anticipated that we will be called into a special session for that purpose at a later date.
The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that nine states have passed reductions in either personal or corporate income tax this year. Several other states are considering proposals.
We will continue to update you on any developments.You can find the latest news from the House of Representatives atwww.arkansashouse.org.
PRESS RELEASE
183 College Drive, De Queen, AR 71832
870-584-1172
www.cccua.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 25 October 2021
CONTACT: Dustin Roberts, Director of Development
UA Cossatot’s OER Program Saves Students Nearly 2.5 Million Since 2015
UA Cossatot’s Open Educational Resource (OER) program has saved students of the college nearly 2.5 million in textbook rental fees. Since 2015, the program has saved students $2,238,961.07.
“We began our innovative internal textbook rental and OER program with a primary goal of removing the financial barrier expensive textbooks posed to our students and it’s clear that we’ve accomplished that goal. In six short years, we’ve saved our students millions of dollars in textbook expenses and we continue to lead Arkansas in OER usage among two-year colleges,” said OER Specialist and Director of Educational Resources Relinda Ruth.
UA Cossatot students have saved $433,793.85 for the three semesters of 2020-21. In addition, UA Cossatot’s OER adoption has grown significantly. At the end of the 2015-16 academic year, UA Cossatot was 35% OER. Currently, the college is at 65%.
Chancellor Dr. Steve Cole said, “In 2015, we decided that college did not have to cost as much as it does and we knew that if we developed a way students could save money, it would help students reach their goals. Eliminating most, if not all, of the costs associated with textbooks was something that we knew would help students clear a major hurdle in their educational pursuits. Six years later, our faculty have converted 65% of all UA Cossatot courses to Open Educational Resources (OER), meaning zero textbook cost for their courses. We will always keep looking for creative ways to make college more affordable to our students.”
Director Ruth will present at Open Florida, speaking on “Zero to Sixty in Five Years: University of Arkansas-Cossatot Pathway to 60% Participation.” In addition, Ruth will travel to Atlanta next year and present at the SREB conference, speaking on “Developmental Education and College Readiness.”
For more information on UA Cossatot’s OER program, contact Relinda Ruth at 870-584-1181 or rruth@cccua.edu.
###
The University of Arkansas Cossatot is a community college in Southwest Arkansas accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Offering technical certification and Associate degrees, UAC also collaborates with other colleges and universities to offer bachelor's degrees on its three campuses. UAC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution in compliance with the Higher Education Act of 1965 and other Civil Rights laws and offers equal opportunity for admission and employment. Employment preference is given to applicants possessing a Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) with all other qualifications being equal. Programs and activities of UAC are provided to all students without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, Vietnam era veteran or special disabled veteran status, or sex. Questions or concerns regarding affirmative action can be directed to the Compliance Officer, c/o UA Cossatot, 183 College Drive, De Queen, AR 71832. For Arkansas RELAY Voiced Services call 711 or 800-285-1121. Visit www.cccua.edu for more information.
The potential for severe weather remains for Sunday night into the early morning hours on Monday. All severe hazards will be possible, including damaging winds, large hail, and some tornadic activity. Please refer to the attached briefing for the latest information.
Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 67
Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 43
Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 29
Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 23
Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 22
By DANIEL CARUTH & KYLE KELLAMS
The Arkansas Department of Health is encouraging people to get vaccinated for the flu this fall to avoid an outbreak and potential strain on the state's hospitals. After a mild flu season in 2020, ADH officials say immunity to new strains of influenza could be worse if more people aren't vaccinated. Health units across the state are offering the flu shot to anyone at no cost.
https://www.kuaf.com/post/department-health-urges-arkansans-get-flu-shot
Free flu shots are available through mass clinics and at local health units across the state this fall.
COURTESY / ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
According to the Arkansas Department of Health, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer. It is the most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of death among women. In 2018, there were 2,339 new breast cancer cases and 368 cancer deaths in the state.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer and the importance of early detection. In 1997, the Arkansas General Assembly passed the Breast Cancer Act, which led to the ADH’s BreastCare program. The BreastCare program coordinates efforts with providers to offer no-cost screenings and follow-up services to eligible women who are uninsured or underinsured.
Last year, the program served 8,403 women in fiscal year 2021. Those services resulted in 62 Arkansas women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer.
The General Assembly continually reviews legislation to improve services for early detection. In the most recent legislative session, we passed Act 553.
ACT 553 amends the law concerning coverage of diagnostic examinations for breast cancer under certain health benefit plans. It clarifies that an insurer, upon the recommendation of a woman's physician, must offer screening mammography as an essential health benefit if the woman has a prior history of breast cancer or the woman's mother, sister, or any first- or second-degree female relative of the woman has had a history of breast cancer, positive genetic testing, or other risk factors.
According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early and is in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. Early detection includes doing monthly breast self-exams and scheduling regular clinical breast exams and mammograms.
The Arkansas Department of Health is encouraging women to talk with their healthcare providers about getting screened. If you would like more information on the BreastCare program, call 501-661-2942 or visit www.arbreastcare.com.
Two agriculture students from UA Cossatot, Ryan Vance and Misty Goings, applied to present a poster on the GSTARS (GIS Skilled Technicians in Agriculture and Related Sciences) grant at the NSF ATE conference and were both students were selected to participate in this year’s virtual conference.
Ryan Vance, a Natural Resources major, is collecting data using GIS applications on feral swine in Southwest Arkansas. He also received an FFA Day of Service mini-grant to fund building hog traps to place on private property. Payton Hibbs, who is majoring in agriculture science at UA Cossatot, has also worked extensively on this project helping set-up traps and collect data.
Misty Goings created a tool to collect GIS information on the invasive Chinese Tallow trees. Last year, she also obtained skills in a forest management workshop in UA Cossatot’s Introduction to Forestry class that will allow her to offer management assistance to people who submitted sightings of the tree on private property. Misty is majoring in STEM and Natural Resources at UA Cossatot, and plans to transfer to UA Fayetteville in the spring.
With the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the American Association of Community Colleges will host the 28th National ATE Principal Investigators’ Conference on October 18-22, 2021, as a virtual event.
The conference will host more than 850 NSF ATE grantees and their project cohorts to focus on the critical issues related to advanced technological education. Fundamental persons working on ATE projects across the country will partake in the hybrid event. Conference partakers represent community colleges, business and industry, secondary school systems, and four-year universities covering projects in a wide variety of areas, such as information technology, engineering technology, micro-and nanotechnologies, chemical technology, biotechnology, and other program areas.
The primary goal of the GSTARS project is to design and implement a curriculum that meets the region’s need for technician-level GIS skills in agriculture and related science industries. In addition, the $299,635 grant will create pathways for future GIS Technicians to enter the local workforce.
“This grant has created an amazing opportunity to integrate technology and technical skills, such as GIS data collection and drone operations, into our agriculture and science programs. We are excited to see what our students achieve over the next several years thanks to the resources made possible though the GSTARS grant," said GSTARS team leader and agriculture faculty, Kelli Harris.
To learn more about this grant and conference, contact Kelli Harris at kharris@cccua.edu.
A slow moving cold front will continue to move toward Arkansas today, eventually passing through the state on Friday. Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop along and ahead of the front. An isolated strong to severe thunderstorm cannot be ruled out.
West and northwest Arkansas remain most at risk for the strongest storms today. Also, this is where the heaviest rain occurred the last twenty four hours, and the area is susceptible to flash flooding.
Thunderstorms will exit the west/northwest this afternoon, with the flash flood concern diminishing.
The Day Crew
National Weather Service
Little Rock, Arkansas
The UA Cossatot chapter of Rotaract is partnering with the Center for Student Success to provide Thanksgiving meal boxes to our students. We ask anyone who would like to help gather the attached food items and drop them off at any of our ERCs. Our goal is to serve a total of 150 students. We plan to provide this service to students on all campuses.
Rotaract is partnering with the Center for Student Success to complete this service project. Rotaract is the college level of Rotary, and we focus on service, professional development, Leadership, and networking.
Please help us spread the word.
Julianne Dunne, Hazelle Whited, Brook Kaufman, and Suzanne Babb came to our De Queen studios this morning to talk about advance planning for the 2024 eclipse.
A total solar eclipse will take place at the Moon's ascending node on Monday, April 8, 2024, visible across North America and dubbed the Great North American Eclipse by some of the media.
L-R: Arkansas Lions Club 1st Vice District Governor - Travis Burton, De Queen Lion President - Meagan Blanton, and 2nd Vice District Governor - Toni Shockey
