A Labor of Love
A Labor of Love
Job Fair set for Monday in Maumelle, Neal Moore offers up his take plus news and sports headlines
Welcome to Arkansas Newsroom, a bundled newsletter covering news and sports in central Arkansas. For some answers to frequently asked questions, click here.
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Note to subscribers: An annual or monthly subscription is billed to your debit or credit card as ARKANSAS.SUBSTACK.COM and if you have questions, please email arkansas@substack.com. Thanks for reading and subscribing! The headlines
Hindman, Atkinson, Hockle named to Dean’s List at Lyon College
Kresse, Victor to sculpt statues of Johnny Cash and Daisy Bates
Maumelle students named to Spring 2021 Dean’s List at Hendrix
North Little Rock students named to Spring 2021 Dean’s List at Hendrix
‘An Arm and a Leg’: When your insurance company says no, how to ask for a yes
Business Insider did a deep dive on Thursday morning into Arkansas and the recent legislation that targeted trans kids and the in-state pro-LGBTQ companies that donated big money to the lawmakers behind the bills. Read the story by clicking here.
Sports headlines
BASEBALL ON BROADWAY is the new weekly newsletter that spotlights the Arkansas Travelers. It is published on Monday and click the link to give it a read. Note: If you were hoping to see Ian McKinney pitch for the Travs, you’ve missed your chance as he was called up to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday. Catcher David Sheaffer also got the call and no word on replacements for either but former Arkansas Razorback pitcher Isaiah Campbell has been toiling away at High-A Everett and he’d certainly sell some tickets at Dickey-Stephens Park and, for that matter, Arvest Ballpark in Springdale. The safety-goggled Campbell is currently 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA and 20 strikeouts for the AquaSox.
Maumelle: Job Fair scheduled for Monday
Nearly a dozen area employers will be looking to fill 160 vacancies at the 2021 Maumelle Job Fair this coming Monday, June 21.
The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Jess Odom Community Center at 1100 Edgewood Drive in Maumelle, according to a news release from the Central Arkansas Workforce Development Area, which coordinated with the city to put on the fair.
Employers in attendance will include but aren’t limited to the following companies: BEI Precision Systems and Space Company, Cintas Corp., Cypress Cold Storage LLC, Dillard’s Fulfillment Center, Fresenius Medical Care, J&B Lakeland Logistics, Maumelle Fire and Police departments, Pediatrics Plus and Staffmark.
Attendees are encouraged to confirm their attendance by clicking here. Attendees also are asked to “dress professionally, bring resumes and be prepared for an informal interview.”
More information on this event is available from Shawntel Robinson at 501-730-9868 or by email shawntel.robinson@capdd.org. The website address is www.workforcear.com.
Moore on Maumelle: My Take
Someone asked me the compelling question of when we would get our own newspaper? The answer is, we won’t. Not now. Not ever. That train has left the station.
Thousands of newspapers have closed across the country, including small papers such as the Maumelle Monitor and North Little Rock Times. They won’t return.
There are two major issues when it comes to local newspapers. They are expensive to print and distribute, and local advertisers have not supported them. When we had the Monitor and the Times, Maumelle businesses rarely advertised in them, and the subscriber base was low. Plus, the papers were owned by an out-of-state interest that didn’t really care about the community.
We are fortunate to have the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which provides a great statewide newspaper, but it comes at a price. A subscription is over $400 a year, which I gladly pay.
Now, that brings us to today and the Arkansas Newsroom, which many of you read and are subscribers. If you haven’t subscribed, I would encourage you to do so and support this online content. Former Monitor editor Jeremy Peppas has put a lot of effort into giving Maumelle local coverage.
Visit ArkansasNewsroom.com to see the full coverage and to support local journalism. It’s all you got.
NOTE: I do not profit from submitting these articles. I am doing it to do my part in providing community news and to occasionally offer my opinion.
Foodie News
Captain Express Hawaiian BBQ & Sushi has transitioned into Hokaben Japanese Kitchen as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. They are located at 15 Carnahan Dr. in their former space, which was Domino’s Pizza before that. Their Facebook page is titled “Hokaben Us” and now shows their menu, which includes hibachi, sushi and bento box offerings. They are open 11: 30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday. I look forward to your comments. Just remember, give them a chance before you publicly eviscerate them on Facebook. I always send comments directly to the restaurant if I have a problem or concern. Maumellians seem to relish posting, “I’ll never go back.”
The results of my very unscientific pizza poll are in!
The clear winner is Razorback Pizza, with American Pie a close second and Marco’s coming in at third. The other joints in town didn’t fare very well. The new pizza place, Pizza House, opened last week and I have seen several favorable and some negative reviews on Facebook. Will have to give it a try soon. It’s the only joint I know of around here where you can buy pizza by the slice.
Maumelle’s First First Lady
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Jackie Johnson. Jackie was Maumelle’s first First Lady and a constant companion of former Mayor Burch Johnson. They were both ardent supporters of my columns and would often call and tell me what I should write about on a variety of topics. A memorial has been set for 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, at the Maumelle Center on the Lake, where she was a long-time volunteer. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Maumelle Friends of the Animals, https://maumellefoa.org/donate/. RIL, Jackie.
Heartbreak Hogs
After sitting atop the national rankings for almost the whole season, the Razorbacks baseball team fell in the super regionals. For one who watched almost every game they played this year it was a tough loss, but like any good Hog fan, I’ll be back to watch again in the fall. They were a great team that just had a bad game at the wrong time. It’s only 80 days till football.
A Broken Record
I may sound like a broken record and the fact that I use that illustration shows my age. People of a certain age wouldn’t even understand the statement, “you sound like a broken record.”
Arkansas’ count of coronavirus cases rose last Friday by 393 — the largest one-day jump in almost three months. UPDATE: 6.15.21: 302 more Arkansans have COVID, 6 more have died.
We have plenty of vaccine. We just need willing arms to jab. Trust the science. Get your shot. I can’t afford to lose any readers.
Father’s Day Thoughts
I wish all you dads, granddads, stepdads, and anyone serving in a dad role, a happy Father’s Day. Your importance is immense, and your impact is indelible.
See you on the Boulevard.
More news at www.ArkansasNewsRoom.com.
Neal Moore is a public relations consultant and resident of Maumelle. Send your Maumelle news or comments to neal.moore@sbcglobal.net. Thanks, PJ
Ozark Mission Project works in Rose City
Some 204 United Methodist youth gathered in central Arkansas for the annual Ozark Mission Project that does for home repair projects in communities.
The projects tend to be “wheelchair ramps, steps, painting,” said Bailey Faulkner, the executive director of the Ozark Mission Project, that is described on its website as, “where we learn how to work with another and serve our neighbors in Arkansas, providing an experience of character-building, love, and acceptance.”
The project turned 35 this year and is, “completely funded by donations and we are so thankful for those that invest their time and money to keep making this possible,” Faulkner said. “This [past] week alone we did over 40 projects across Arkansas and every one of them were made possible by the generosity of others.”
The project is done in three stages with the first being held last week, with the next two being June 20-24 and July 11-15.
Among the churches that participated last week were Lakewood United Methodist Church in North Little Rock. while Maumelle First United Methodist Church will have its youth attend a later session, said the church’s student minister Nick Garrison.
“We will likely be in the Benton area,” he said, but, “We have not been told our locations or specific projects yet. Campers usually don’t find out until their first work day.”
Clint Johnson, served as the project’s North Little Rock camp director and said that nearly 50 youth did a total of 19 projects, with 11 being wheelchair ramps that measured a total of 330 feet.
"Ozark Mission Project is a life-changing organization that impacts the neighbors we serve, the campers and the staff that organize the camps,” Johnson said. “For me personally, OMP is an annual way to re-fill my spiritual cup and allow me to grow closer to God.”
Johnson has been a camp director for the last nine years and last year’s project was a day camp due to the ongoing pandemic and did not have the work projects that are normal for the campers.
“For many of us,” Johnson said. “We deeply missed camp in 2020.”
Faulkner added that suspending the work projects was a necessary step.
“Ozark Mission Project works for some of the most high risk populations,” she said “Because of the pandemic we suspended any inside work projects and we pivoted to a day camp model.”
Last year’s pivot didn’t dampen enthusiasm for this year though.
In addition to the 204 last week, Faulkner said 173 are signed for the second session in June with 116 signed up for the third session.
The projects last week, and like the coming sessions, are done rain or shine, and “I was very proud to see these adults and youth working in the pouring rain, mud and sun to serve strangers and share the love of Christ,” Johnson said.
One project in Rose City stuck with Faulkner.
“We built a wheelchair ramp for a 19 year old boy named Seth,” she said. “At least three days a week the North Little Rock Fire Department had to come out and help with getting him inside his house.
That isn’t the case now, “because of the ramp we built him, Seth now has the freedom to leave his house on his own.”
North Little Rock Fire Capt. Bryan Hill told Faulkner that he was glad Ozark Mission Project was “able to help this family” and “ knowing that Seth can get in and out safely with a wheelchair ramp is important.”