Mickey & Melanie Buchanan Give to UAC Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign

The UA Cossatot Foundation recently received a $500 gift from Mickey and Melanie Buchanan to go toward the Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign.

“The opportunities provided by UA Cossatot to Southwest Arkansas have paved a path that affords students in our communities an education in professional and technical fields. Our son, Ty, chose to attend Welding and Industrial Maintenance programs in Lockesburg. We want to be able to help other students achieve their educational goals,” said Buchanan.

The UA Cossatot Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign is designed to offer more scholarship funds for UA Cossatot students through a matching grant awarded to UA Cossatot. All donations raised through this campaign are matched 100 percent up to $150,000. The goal is to raise $150,000 or more by 2025 to establish a new scholarship endowment of $300,000 in honor of the college’s upcoming 50th anniversary.

UA Cossatot’s Director of Development Dustin Roberts said, “We so appreciate Mickey and Melanie’s support of this campaign and our students. This gift will make a big impact, especially since their donation will be matched! ”

The UA Cossatot Foundation would like to invite all donors, alumni, and friends of the college to make a gift of any amount to the 50 & Forward Campaign to establish scholarship funds for generations to come.

For more information on UA Cossatot Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign, contact Dustin Roberts at 870-584-1172 or droberts@cccua.edu.

UA Cossatot Welcomes Ellen Moreland to the Board of Visitors

Ellen Moreland of Glenwood, Arkansas, recently joined UA Cossatot’s Board of Visitors.

Chancellor Dr. Steve Cole said, “We have an extremely active and energetic board that provides our college with locally-focused leadership, and Ellen fits perfectly with this group. She brings a lot of educational and medical industry knowledge to the board and will be a great presence, especially for our communities in Pike County."

Ellen graduated from Glenwood High School in 1984 then pursued her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Henderson State University, graduating in 1989. She continued her education, obtaining a Master of Nursing Science in 1995 from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Ellen has worked as a Nurse Practitioner for 26 years, first in Neurosurgery and currently in Family Practice. She is presently employed by HealthStar Physicians of Hot Springs and cares for patients in her community at Glenwood Family Medicine.

Ellen resides in Glenwood with her husband, Joe. She has two sons, one granddaughter and one grandson, all of whom she adores. Ellen is actively involved in her community and her church activities while

continuing to serve on other boards. Ellen enjoys time with family and friends, cooking, and watching all Razorback sports.

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

Legislation providing the largest state income tax reduction in state history has now been signed into law.

Act 1 and Act 2 are identical pieces of legislation passed by the 93rd General Assembly in the special session held this week.

These acts will reduce the top income tax rate for individuals from 5.9% to 4.9% incrementally over the next four years. Once fully implemented, this will provide nearly $500 million in tax relief to Arkansans.

The legislation also combines the low- and middle-income tax tables andindexes the standard deduction to the Consumer Price Index. It provides a $60 non-refundable tax credit forindividuals with an income of less than $24,700. It’s estimated that 104,881 low-income Arkansans will have their state income tax liability eliminated.

The acts also change the name of the long-term reserve fund to the catastrophic reserve fund. The tax cuts are contingent upon no transfers being made out of the catastrophic reserve fund.

During the special session, the General Assembly also passed legislation amending income tax credits for waste reduction, reuse, or recycling equipment to allow for the use of these credits by a qualified growth project.

A qualified growth project must have common ownership with and locate on the site of or adjacent to an existing qualified steel manufacturer. It would also need a total investment of at least $2 billion and create 700 new direct positions with an average annual wage of $120,000 and 200 new independent direct positions with an average annual wage of $60,000.

The General Assembly also voted in favor of a transfer of up to $50 million from the general revenue allotment reserve fund to the Quick Action Closing Fund for specific economic development incentives.

The recycling tax credits and the transfer to the Quick Action Closing Fund are aimed at creating an incentive package for a steel mill project in Northeast Arkansas.

Other bills passed this week include technical corrections in previously passed legislation.

You can watch the recorded committee meetings and House floor sessions on our website www.arkansashouse.org

UA Cossatot Receives In-class Ambulance Simulator

The holidays arrived early for UA Cossatot and its Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) students; the long-awaited arrival of its in-class ambulance simulator.

The ambulance simulator was purchased with grant monies awarded to UA Cossatot and is located in the EMT classroom on the De Queen campus. This simulator exists to help students save lives by experiencing training scenarios that are as close to real-life as possible with instructor Waco Jackson and the inclusion of the most up-to-date technology available.

“This grant allows us to provide students with real-world experience in a classroom setting, making their training hands-on to improve their skills upon employment,” said Jackson.

Enrollment for spring 2022 EMT courses is currently open, and classes begin in January.

For more information on UA Cossatot’s ambulance simulator and EMT courses offered, contact Waco Jackson at 870-584-1101 or wjackson@cccua.edu. ###

Dewayne & Janice Mack Donate to UAC Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign

The UA Cossatot Foundation received a gift from Foundation Board Member Dewayne Mack and his wife, Janice, the week of Giving Tuesday. The $5,000 donation will go toward the Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign.“We just want to help in a little way for students less fortunate than others,” said Mack.

The UA Cossatot Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign is designed to provide more scholarship funds for UA Cossatot students through a matching grant UA Cossatot recently received. All donations raised through this campaign are matched 100 percent up to $150,000. The goal is to raise $150,000 or more by 2025 to establish a new scholarship endowment of $300,000 in honor of the college’s upcoming 50th anniversary.

Chancellor Dr. Steve Cole said, “We have worked so hard to get where we are over the past 46 years and we will keep doing all that we can for our students. When we have supporters like Dwayne and Janice, it helps eliminate the greatest hurdle our students face, and that is being able to afford college. It makes it even better to know that their $5,000 donation has immediately turned into $10,000 with the unique grant we received last year!”

The UA Cossatot Foundation would like to invite all donors, alumni, and friends of the college to make a gift of any amount to the 50 & Forward Campaign to establish scholarship funds for generations to come.

Remember, if you donate $100, it immediately turns into $200. If you donate $10,000, it immediately turns into $20,000.

For more information on UA Cossatot Foundation’s 50 & Forward Campaign, contact Dustin Roberts, Director of Development, at 870-584-1172 or droberts@cccua.edu. ###

Sevier County Library December Snippets

The ladies at the De Queen Branch Library hope you have a Holly Jolly Christmas and remember the reason for the season. Beginning December 1st through December 15th area children can come in, receive a paper and envelope, write their letter to Santa, drop in our special mailbox and raise the flag. There is a trick to this so read carefully, your child’s name and address needs to be on the envelope in order to receive a reply from the north pole(wink).

Our 10th Annual Cocoa with Mrs. Claus will be December 18th at 11:00 am. There will be a story time, make a Christmas character, and paint by sticker for the first 30 children. There might even be some Christmas carols and or a special visitor.

Thanks to Tri-County Regional Library System for allowing our patrons the opportunity of E-books, via the Libbyapp by Overdrive. You can follow the instructions to download the libbyapp from our Facebook.com/seviercountylibrary or simply go to your play store on your device. Remember you must search “Arkansas Digital Library Consortium” and hold a valid library card to browse our selection. For more information, you can call 584-4364

Merry Christmas Everyone from the Horatio Library. Where has the time gone? We hope everyone has all their shopping done. We will be having our Christmas program on December the 4th at 10 a.m. We will also have a booth set up outside the library with information about early literacy, you will be able to get a library card and there will be information about our new app Libby. We will be set up outside until 12 for your convenience. We will have bookmarks, books and a door prize you can enter to win. This will be in conjunction with Christmas on Main and the Elf Parade. Horatio will also be having their Christmas Parade that day. There will be lots of fun things going on so make plans to stop by and see us. Every Thursday morning, we have a hot pot of coffee and a domino game going. Come by and join in on the fun. We hope to see you soon.

The Lockesburg Library has two events planned in December. On December 4th a “Come and Go Open House Tea Party” at 10:00. Stop by and bring your most Christmas-y teacup to show off. On December 11th at 10: 00 a children’s program, “A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas”. The program will include a story time with pirate-themed games and activities. For more information, call Mz. Wendy at 870-289-2233. For your convenience our book collection can be accessed at; https://evolveopac.infovisionsoftware.com/lockesburg

Merry Christmas from the Gillham Library! We want to thank all our Patrons for their support this year. There will be a virtual story time with Kelsie on our Facebook page December 17th. She will read “Who Will Pull Santa’s Sleigh”. We will be handing out treat bags starting December 17th, so come by and pick one up. We have several new Holiday themed books for the kids; “How to Catch a Gingerbread Man”, “How to Catch an Elf”, and “How to Catch a Snowman”. We have some great books for Adults too! Janet Evanovich’s “Game On”, Danielle Steel’s “Flying Angels”, and Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton’s “State of Terror”. We are now offering a new service, Notary only on Tuesdays. We can make copies or send faxes for you also. Tuesday 9-1, Friday 1-5, and Saturday 10-2. Merry Christmas and Happy New year from Rhonda, Kelsie and Mr. Bob.

Update of Active COVID-19 Cases in SW Arkansas

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 48

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 36

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 12

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 12

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 16

VIDEO: Sevier County Medical Center December Meeting

Representative DeAnn Vaught To Seek Re-Election in New House District 87

Horatio, AR– State Representative DeAnn Vaught (R-Horatio) today announced she will seek another term in the Arkansas House of Representatives. The recently redrawn House District 87, formerly House District 4, encompasses all of Little River and Sevier counties, and part of Howard county. Serving since 2015, Vaught has been among the strongest voices at the Capitol, particularly when it comes to advocating for rural Arkansans.

Her voting record on issues of fiscal restraint, local control of education, and protecting the lives of the unborn reinforce her conservative bona fides. “It has been an incredible honor to work side-by-side our Republican legislators fighting for our way of life, our right to farm, our 2nd Amendment rights, protecting unborn children, and bringing awareness to mental health issues and child abuse,” said Vaught.

For the most recent 93rd General Assembly, Representative Vaught served as Chairwoman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development. She also served on the House Rules Committee, the House Education Committee, and the Arkansas Legislative Council.

Vaught’s very successful track record of passing bills she sponsors have led to improved teacher salaries, protecting property rights, and increasing speed limits on certain state highways. In the most recent legislative session Vaught was the author of legislation fighting for the protection of cancer survivors, creating a state meat inspection program, and allowing the State of Arkansas to review implementation of executive orders from the Biden Administration.

Says Vaught, “I have been humbled to have earned the support of Southwest Arkansans to fight on their behalf in Little Rock, and I hope to continue to serve as their State Representative for District 87.”

Vaught resides on her family farm outside of Horatio with her husband Jon. They have three grown daughters and are members of First Baptist Church, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association, and Arkansas Pork Producers.

Aerial Photos of the New Sevier County Medical Center Under Construction

Photos by Monte Bartek of Bartek Recon

Horatio High School Receives Several Academic Growth Awards

Horatio High School has been recognized by the Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Office for Education Policy (OEP) for multiple academic growth awards from the 2020-2021 school year.

Horatio High School was named on DESE's 2021 Schools on the Move Toward Excellence report published in early November. This campaign celebrates schools that demonstrate outstanding improvement on recent state and federal accountability reports. HHS was named among the top 10 high schools in Arkansas for scoring two standard deviations or more above the mean on ACT Aspire Value Added Growth scores. DESE will highlight these schools throughout the year with social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Horatio High School was also recognized by the Office for Education Policy (OEP) at the University of Arkansas on two award lists. Both are based on 2021 content growth scores calculated by the Arkansas Department of Education at the student level reflecting how much a student improved his or her score from the prior year compared to what was predicted based on prior achievement history.

The Highlightling High-Growth Arkansas High Schools 2021 report published on November 17 recognized Horatio High School for the following awards:

Overall ACT Aspire Growth, 2021 (Math and ELA combined): Top 10 overall statewide and 1st in the Southwest Region

Overall Math ACT Aspire Growth, 2021: 5th overall statewide and 1st in the Southwest Region

The Beating the Odds report published on December 1 reflects high growth on the ACT Aspire even though the school serves a high percentage of students who participate in Free and Reduced Lunch. Horatio High School was recognized as a high school "Beating the Odds" for the following awards:

Overall ACT Aspire Growth, 2021 (Math and ELA combined): 5th overall statewide

ACT Aspire Math Growth, 2021 : 2nd overall statewide and 1st in the Southwest Region

ACT Aspire ELA Growth, 2021: 3rd in the Southwest Region

Horatio High School is honored to be named for these awards and proudly celebrates the hard work of students, teachers, administration, and the community in representing our Lion Pride!

Gayla Youngblood, Principal

Horatio High School

Jimmy Carvers’ Refrigeration Heating & Air Donates to Support Athletic Scholarships

Dustin Roberts of UA Cossatot Foundation and Jimmy Carver of Carver’s Refrigeration Heating and Air in Lockesburg

Active COVID-19 Cases in SW Arkansas Update

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 44

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 28

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 14

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 5

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 17

Active COVID-19 Cases Update in SW Arkansas from the Arkansas Department of Health

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 44

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 30

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 17

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 5

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 21

Aerial Photos of Construction on the New Sevier County Medical Center

Photos by Monte Bartek of Bartek Recon

FRIENDS Foundation Announced a One Million Dollar SBA Community Navigator Pilot Program Grant for Sevier County Small Business Assistance

COVID-19 Update for SW Arkansas from the Arkansas Department of Health

Active Cases Data for Sevier County
Total Active Cases: 49

Active Cases Data for Howard County
Total Active Cases: 37

Active Cases Data for Little River County
Total Active Cases: 29

Active Cases Data for Polk County
Total Active Cases: 6

Active Cases Data for Pike County
Total Active Cases: 20

Aerial Photos of the New Sevier County Medical Center

Photos provided by Monte Bartek of Bartek Recon

Scenes from the Veterans' Day Breakfast at UA Cossatot

“This is Home” -Sixty years of Scissors, Succession and Service in Sevier County, Arkansas

DE QUEEN, AR— After finishing High School, Gehri Packnett was looking for a job when he discovered an opportunity that ended up lasting him a lifetime. 

In February of 1962, he walked into a Barber shop in De Queen, Arkansas and he hasn’t had any other job since being given a chance that day.

After completing barber college in Little Rock, Gehri began his career at the shop that was then called “George’s,” and after 10 years he bought the business and changed the storefront’s name to his own in 1972. The shop changed ownership again 36 years later in 2008 when Gehri’s stepson, Jeff purchased it and gave the store his name. Now, the duo work side by side together and provide services for a faithful base of clients who have counted on them since the days of their first childhood trims.

 Cutting hair on the Downtown Square in De Queen was the first job Gehri ever got, the only job he has ever had, and the only job he says he ever wants. In February 2022, the Oklahoma native will celebrate 60 years of visiting with customers, sharing stories, preparing locals for special occasions and “making those guys look good.”

For six decades, Gehri has watched the community change and grow as businesses in the Southwest border town have come and gone over the years. Despite receiving offers in Texarkana, Arkadelphia, and Little Rock, Gehri has turned down every business proposition to come his way because he only wants to live and work in De Queen. “This is home,” he says. “I grew up 8 miles from De Queen on the state line near the Rock creek area of Oklahoma. I’ve given a lot of these guys their first haircuts and I still cut their hair to this day.”

Patrons of the shop can build a relationship with guys who know the town’s history and have run a family business in the same location for more than half a century. The Father and Stepson team are currently the shop’s only employees, but in the past, Gehri’s Wife Judy, sister Terri, and his son, Scott have helped out with maintaining the family-owned operation.

When asked the secret of his business and career longevity, Gehri says simply “Sticking with it” is the key. Continuing to “stick with it” is exactly what Gehri Packnett intends to do, as he says he has no plans for retirement, and he intends to cut hair in De Queen Arkansas until his last days.

Jeff’s Barber Shop is located at 308 West De Queen Avenue in Downtown De Queen, Arkansas, and they are open Tuesday-Friday from 7:00am-5:00pm and Saturdays 7:00am-2:00pm.