All-inclusive playground still on track for Maumelle

Meet new chamber director tonight, City Council report, Day of Service installs food pantries, plus headlines and sports

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Jan 19, 2023

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Death toll drops slightly

The total number of dead Arkansans this past week was 30.

Last week, it was 38, and the week before that it was 12.

The total number of dead Arkansans is now at 12,766.

Covid toolkit
There’s now a one-stop shop to learn about vaccination sites and other Covid related information. Click here to learn more.

If you don’t want to get sick and die, there’s some things you can do:

Get vaccinated
Get boosted
Wear a mask
Avoid crowds

The Headlines

Upcoming meetings: The North Little Rock School Board will meet tonight while the North Little Rock City Council meeting will be next Monday night.
Upcoming events: The Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a meet-and-greet for Kellie Wall from 4:30-6:30 p.m. tonight at Maumelle Country Club. Tickets to the event can be purchased through the chamber.
ICYMI: Q&A with Fidelity Communications

Maumelle: City Council report

CHAD GARDNER

There is very little to mention in this week's report since the council had no old business to consider and only one item of new business.

At the beginning of the meeting we welcomed Kellie Wall to Maumelle as the new Executive Director of the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce.

Wall, above, is no stranger to Maumelle and has lived in the area for 10 years. If you or your kids have enjoyed Sugarush Snoballs, then you've met the Wall family who own and operate this business. Wall returns to work in Maumelle after spending a number of years in Sherwood as the Director of that city’s chamber of commerce. I'm thrilled to have Kellie working alongside the city of Maumelle to help support our business community.

The Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting a meet-and-greet for Kellie this Thursday evening from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Maumelle Country Club. Tickets to the event can be purchased through the chamber.

The only item of new business was the appointment of Alexis Sims to serve on the Central Arkansas Library System Board of Directors. Sims and her family have lived in Maumelle for the past five years and are frequent patrons of our local library as well as the other libraries in the CALS system. She was looking to get involved and wanted to give back to the library system her family enjoys so much. Thanks to her for serving in this position and I know she'll do a great job representing Maumelle and our area communities on the CALS board.

With no other business, the council adjourned after a quick twelve minute meeting (and much to the delight of Alexis' children that were in the audience...)

Maumelle: All-inclusive playground still on track

Maumelle’s all-inclusive playground project is still motoring ahead.

Parks & Rec Director Phillip Raborn said that a meeting last Thursday was to address financing the project, which he believes could be open later this year.

The hiccup was to address cost increases from last year’s estimated expense.

“The 2022 price quote was $608,849.78 for the All-Inclusive Playground,” Raborn said. “There was a price increase in 2023 for the playground of $52,311.38, so our new total went to $661,161.16.”

The city of Maumelle has already appropriated $300,000 for the park, while there’s another $240,000 coming from the Arkansas Outdoor Recreation Grant Program that will go towards the park’s construction.

A rendering of the proposed all-inclusive playground for Maumelle.

That still leaves some fundraising that needs to be done.

“This leaves us $121,161.16 to acquire,” Raborn said, who added that fencing would also need to be installed around the playground.

“At the meeting,” Raborn said, “we did discuss options to cut some costs out of the project but decided to keep that as a last resort if possible.”

Once funding is complete, “we would place the order” as soon as possible and “we would be looking at around five months to completion.”

If anyone wants to donate towards the project, they can contact Raborn by email at Phillip@maumelleparksandrec.com

“This playground will be a great asset to the City of Maumelle and surrounding cities,” Raborn said.

National Day of Service installs food pantries

Maumelle and North Little Rock were among the cities across the state that participated in the National Day of Service on Monday as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Installed was a repurposed newspaper box, that was then painted and filled with food.

There’s a number of community food pantries across Maumelle. Other locations include:

Calvary Church
1st United Methodist Church
First Baptist Church
Clean Wash Coin Laundry, 2001 Club Manor Drive
Maumelle Fire and Police stations

The Little Free Pantry Project took 100 old newspaper boxes and repurposed them to help those in need across the state.

Each pantry was also “adopted” by a community leader so that it remains stocked with food while also conducting drives to collect supplies.

To learn more about community pantries in Maumelle contact Missa Hollis Brizendine with Maumelle Philanthropists by email at mdhollis@live.com.

North Little Rock: More pickleball news. Pickleball!

If, like most, you have no idea what pickleball is, then, please stop reading.

But, if pickleball is your sport of choice, then there’s good news out of North Little Rock as the city plans to break ground on a 12-court facility at Burns Park on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

Weather permitting, the groundbreaking will start at 11 a.m. at 12 Funland Drive in the park.

The courts will be open and free to use. Construction will start in February and should be completed by June.

“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the world and we are excited about a facility for the growing number of youth and adults involved,” said Steve Shields, North Little Rock’s Director of Parks and Recreation.

Education news and notes

A number of North of the River college students were honored by their respective schools for academic achievement and graduating.

The students are listed by school.

SAU President's List Fall 2022

Southern Arkansas University has announced that 415 students earned a 4.0 GPA for the fall 2022 semester and have been named to its President's List.

Savannah Hibbard is a junior Nursing major from Sherwood
Colton McPherson is a freshman Wildlife and Conservation Biology major from Sherwood

A total of 415 students were honored on this semester's President's List.

SAU Dean's List Fall 2022: Southern Arkansas University has announced that 581 students earned a 3.5 GPA or higher for the fall 2022 semester and have been named to its Dean's List.

William Jones is a senior Engineering major from Sherwood
Wade Koller is a junior Criminal Justice major with a minor in Psychology from Sherwood
Katelyn McKeehan is a freshman Agricultural Science (Pre-Veterinary Science) major from Sherwood

A total of 581 students were honored on this semester's Dean's List.

SNHU names Fall 2022 President's List

It is with great pleasure that Southern New Hampshire University congratulates the following students on being named to the Fall 2022 President's List. The fall terms run from September to December.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the President's List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer.

Connor Sloan of North Little Rock
Chris Porier of Maumelle
Emily Dillard of North Little Rock
Clyde Kelly of North Little Rock
Greta Moore of North Little Rock
Miesha Dennis of Sherwood

SNHU names Fall 2022 Dean's List: It is with great pleasure that Southern New Hampshire University congratulates the following students on being named to the Fall 2022 Dean's List. The fall terms run from September to December.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.500 to 3.699 for the reporting term are named to the Dean's List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer.

Jamie Hemphill of North Little Rock
Courtney Deadner of North Little Rock
Danita Stubbs of Sherwood

Compton on Fall 2022 Dean's List at Belmont University

Belmont has announced the list of students recognized on the Dean's List for the Fall 2022 semester.

Of the approximately 52 percent of Belmont's 7,100 undergraduate students who qualified for the Fall 2022 Dean's List, Lindsay Compton of North Little Rock was listed.

Dean's List eligibility is based on a minimum course load of 12 hours and a quality grade point average of 3.5 with no grade below a C.

Belmont is in Nashville, Tennessee.

Students named to Missouri State's fall 2022 dean's list

Each semester, students at Missouri State University who attain academic excellence are named to the dean's list.

For undergraduate students, criteria include enrollment in at least 12 credit hours during the fall semester and at least a 3.50 grade point average (on a 4.00 scale).

More than 5,000 students were named to the fall 2022 dean's list. These local students made the list:

O'Shayla Muldrow of North Little Rock
Abigail Smith of Maumelle
Stori Johnson of Sherwood

Missouri State is in Springfield.

Students graduate from Harding University

More than 400 students received diplomas and were recognized as Harding University graduates for Fall 2022 during a commencement ceremony on Dec. 17, 2022.

Students who received two degrees that day have their names noted in bold.

Kristin Garcia of Maumelle received a Master of Science in physician assistant studies.
JaQuobi Cook of Sherwood received a Master of Arts in Teaching special education.
Anna Whitmire of Sherwood received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing .
Calesha Holman of North Little Rock received a Master of Arts in Teaching special education.
Ann-Marie Sullivan of North Little Rock received a Master of Science in professional school counseling.
Dennis Carroll of North Little Rock received a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology & health with a teaching license.
Andrew Taylor of Sherwood received a Bachelor of Science in public administration.
Jackson Newsom of Maumelle received a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and a Master of Science in information systems.
Elizabeth Thornhill of North Little Rock received a Bachelor of Science in missions & psychology.
Jada Curtis of North Little Rock received a Bachelor of Arts in communication sciences and disorders.
Ann Haynie of North Little Rock received a Master of Arts in Teaching secondary education.
Aaron Leverette of North Little Rock received a Doctorate in educational leadership.
Machelle Harris of North Little Rock received a Master of Arts in Teaching special education.
Abigail Plumlee of North Little Rock received a Educational Specialist Degree in clinical mental health counseling and a Master of Science in clinical mental health counseling.
Braden Quesinberry of Sherwood received a Master of Business Administration in management and business ethics.

Harding University is in Searcy.

Sports

State tournament sites set

The Arkansas Activities Association announced last week that state tournament sites have been set for the calendar year.

Included were basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and track and field for the spring. Then the Weekend of Champions that features the spring sports state title games, then volleyball and track and field this fall.

Approved host schools are from across the state while the Weekend of Champions will be held in Conway, which is a move from Benton, where title games had previously been played.

Basketball

6A – Rogers
5A –Pine Bluff
4A –Blytheville
3A – Lamar
2A –Rector
1A –County Line (at Ozark)
Regionals: 4A North – Morrilton, 4A East – Clinton and 4A South – Warren; 3A-1 –West Fork, 3A-2 –Mountain View, 3A-3 –Rose Bud and 3A-4 –Drew Central; 2A North –Buffalo Island Central, 2A Central –Sloan-Hendrix, 2A West –Hector and 2A South – Fordyce; 1A-1 – The New School & Ozark Catholic, 1A-2 – Calico Rock, 1A-3 – Nemo Vista and 1A-4 – Lafayette Co.

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