Back-to-School: First day of classes is Monday
Candidate forums set, Maumelle City Council report, Tractor Supply groundbreaking is Tuesday, Football scrimmages this Friday night, Auditions to be held plus headlines
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Save the Date
A Maumelle candidate forum sponsored by ArkansasNewsroom.com will be held Tuesday, Oct. 18 in Maumelle. More details to come.
Death toll declines
The weekly death toll from the ongoing pandemic dropped as the total number of dead Arkansans was at 47.
The previous week it was at 58 and the week before that it was 47.
The total number of dead Arkansans is now at 11,841.
As for the national trends, the forecast numbers from the Centers for Disease Control are below and through Sept. 10.
The forecasts for both weekly and total death counts are on the upswing, with numbers up to or exceeding 12,000 by the end of the month.
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
Groundbreaking set for Tractor Supply
The distribution center for the Tractor Supply Company will have a groundbreaking this Tuesday, Aug. 23.
The event will start at 9:30 a.m., and be held at 150 Champs Boulevard. That will be followed by a networking reception at the Holiday Inn Express Maumelle, 200 Holiday Drive.
The distribution center will be a 900,000 square foot facility and the total investment on the project is $100 million that will create 450 full-time new jobs. The facility is expected to be completed at the end of next year.
BOMA GLR hosts Candidate Forum
Candidates for the 2nd Congressional District, State Senate 14th District, and Little Rock Mayor will discuss issues that impact commercial real estate at a forum hosted by Building Owners and Managers Association Greater Little Rock (BOMA GLR) on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 11:30 a.m., at the Wyndham Riverfront in North Little Rock.
Candidates scheduled to appear include:
2nd Congressional District: Congressman French Hill, Quintessa Hathaway, and Michael White
State Senate 14th District: Sen. Clarke Tucker and Beth Mason
Little Rock Mayor: Mayor Frank Scott, Greg Henderson, and Steve Landers
Roby Brock of Talk Business and Politics will moderate the event and ask questions focused on related topics that will allow local commercial real estate professionals to learn more about the stances of each candidate.
Members of the public are welcome to attend. Tickets are available at bomaglr.org. Non-BOMA member tickets are $35 for individuals or $280 for a table of 8.
Sponsors for the event include Apartment Hunters, Arkansas Apartment Association, Arkansas Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Chapter, Arkansas Realtors Association, D&B Janitorial Services, Laidlaw Inc., Little Rock Realtors Association, Plaza West, and RPM Group.
For more information, call 501-604-2677 or boma@bomaglr.org.
Upcoming meetings: The North Little Rock School District Board of Education will also have a regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. tonight in the Administration Building Boardroom. The North Little Rock City Council meets next Monday night.
Upcoming events: Football scrimmage season begins this Friday with Maumelle traveling to Marion and North Little Rock heading to El Dorado. The regular season begins the following Friday, Aug. 26, with Maumelle at Sylvan Hills, North Little Rock at Little Rock Catholic and the lone home game is Lonoke will travel to Mustang Mountain to face Central Arkansas Christian.
ICYMI:Cognitive rehab may help older adults clear Covid-related brain fog
Travs return next week
The Travs are in Springfield but return to North Little Rock’s Dickey-Stephens Park next week for a series against Tulsa.
Road swing
Tonight ... 7:05 p.m. ... at Springfield
Friday ... Aug. 19 ... 7:05 p.m. ... at Springfield
Saturday ... Aug. 20 ... 6:35 p.m. ... at Springfield
Sunday ... Aug. 21 … 1:35 p.m. ... at Springfield
Homestand
Tuesday ... Aug. 23... 6:35 p.m. ... vs. Tulsa; Promotions: Mug Club
Wednesday ... Aug. 24 ... 6:35 p.m. ... vs. Tulsa; Promotions: Dog Days Of Summer
Thursday ... Aug. 25 ... 6:35 p.m. ... vs. Tulsa; Promotions: $3 Thirsty Thursday and Noche De Diamantes
Friday ... Aug. 26 ... 7:05 p.m. ... vs. Tulsa; Promotions: Fireworks
Saturday ... Aug. 27 ... 7:05 p.m. ... vs. Tulsa; Promotions: Jarred Kelenic Bobblehead Giveaway and Kids Run The Bases
Sunday ... Aug. 28 .. 1:35 p.m. ... vs. Tulsa; Promotions: Operation: Military Appreciation and Family Sunday
Maumelle: City Council report
To start this week’s meeting, the council reviewed financials through the end of July.
Through seven months of the year, the city continues to be on solid financial footing. Our revenues have come in ahead of budget for the year and expenses are below budget which has led to the city adding approximately $267,000 to our general fund for the year.
City finance director Liz Mathis also gave an update on the city’s audits and our auditing firm completed on site work for our 2020 audit a few weeks ago. They expect to have the 2020 audit completed within a month or so. Work on the 2021 audit has already started and will also be completed later this year. At that point, the city will be completely caught up on audits and will begin the 2022 audit shortly after the start of the new year. Our finance department has done great work over the last several years to get us to this point and their efforts are greatly appreciated. Additionally, the city will be onboarding a new financial management software this Monday, Aug. 22, with OpenGov which will eventually allow more transparency and easier financial reporting. More to come on this as we move into budget season this fall and we begin to see the results of this financial management transition.
Only one ordinance was voted on at this week’s meeting and it was a simple administrative ordinance to codify all of the ordinances that have been passed. This essentially amends the official code of the city to update it with all the changes that have been passed recently. This ordinance was approved unanimously.
In new business, the council only discussed one issue relating to a land use and zoning change for a small parcel of property located between Murphy Drive and Commercial Park Drive. This property is currently zoned for industrial use but it sits between two properties, one zoned industrial and the other zoned commercial. A buyer has interest in purchasing this property and merging it into property that’s currently zoned for commercial use. Therefore, they are asking the city to rezone and change the land use of this property to commercial. This issue will continue to be reviewed at the next two council meetings before it’s voted on Sept. 19.
While not related to the council’s agenda, I thought I’d share some thoughts about our Planning Commission and their role within Maumelle’s city government.
I enjoy attending our city’s Planning Commission meetings each month since this is where the rubber meets the road for all development happening in Maumelle. If you’re interested in attending, the meetings are always held on the 4th Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers. The commission has had very full agendas for several years compared to years in the past where they routinely didn’t have scheduled monthly meetings due to lack of submissions for review. While this has created a heavier workload for our planning department and commission, it shows there is a lot of interest in developing in our city. Our Planning Commissioners serve in a volunteer capacity and spend several hours each month reviewing projects to make sure they meet city code. I appreciate these resident volunteers who are giving of their time to make sure that development happens appropriately and meets city standards. If you’re wanting a preview of what’s coming in Maumelle, the Planning Commission meetings are the place to be on the fourth Thursday night of each month.
501-529-1336, chad4maumelle@gmail.com
Auditions set for White Christmas and The Producers
The Argenta Community Theater will be having auditions in September for its upcoming productions of White Christmas and The Producers.
They’ll be held on Saturday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 11 with the first day starting at 1 p.m. and the second starting at 2 p.m. Both auditions are scheduled to last three hours.
They’ll be held at 405 Main St., in downtown North Little Rock.
White Christmas will run from Dec. 7 to Dec. 17 with The Producers starting on Feb. 22 and ending on March 4, 2023.
To schedule an audition time, please email: casting@ArgentaCommunityTheater.org. Walk-ins will be accommodated on a first come first serve basis.
Vince Insalaco will be the director for White Christmas while The Producers will be helmed by Andy Hall.
For additional questions please email casting@ArgentaCommunityTheater.org.
In other theater news, the cast has been announced for Wildwood Park’s production of Oliver!. See the flyer below for more details
Back-to-School: First day of class for Pulaski County Special and North Little Rock school districts is Monday
The first day of school for the Pulaski County Special and North Little Rock school districts is this coming Monday while school has been in session with the Academics Plus system, that includes Maumelle Charter, since Aug. 4.
In PCSSD, there’s been some changes in school leadership across the county.
There’s new administrators in either principal or assistant principal at most of the schools in the district.
For the Maumelle feeder schools, there’s a total of seven changes from last school year. They include:
Pine Forest Elementary; Susan Caldwell, Interim Assistant Principal
Crystal Hill Elementary; Lisa Smith, Principal and Tracy Bailey, Assistant Principal
Maumelle Middle; Brady Bratcher, Interim Principal, Andrea Johnson, Assistant Principal and Evan Forte, Assistant Principal
Maumelle High; Monica Ring, Interim Assistant Principal and Teresa Thomas Assistant Principal
The complete list of leadership changes can be viewed by clicking here.
There’s more jobs available as the district’s employment site lists 113 openings across the district with positions ranging from custodians to school nurses to teachers.
Another change in the district is that the monthly menus for the schools will now be available at pcssd.nutrislice.com. There’s also an app, Nutrislice, that can be downloaded.
In North Little Rock, the district put together a back to school guide. Click here to read it.
At Maumelle Charter, the big news remains the ribbon-cutting and grand opening of the new high school.
The event will be held at the school, 9701 White Oak Crossing, and will start at 10 a.m. in the auditorium. The keynote speaker will be Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
The 114,900 square foot campus covers 38.2 acres and will serve grades 8th through 12th.
Katie Johnson will continue as principal and Rob McGill serves as Academics Plus CEO.
After the event, tours will be offered of facility that features:
32 Classrooms
2 Science Labs
EAST Technology Center
Art Room
Cafeteria and Kitchen
Office Suites
An artificial turf baseball complex with home and visitor dugouts
An 832-seat auditorium with a connected choir room and band room
An 1802-seat gym with a weight room, wrestling/cheer room, concession stand and hospitality room
An artificial turf soccer field with an 8-lane track. A 1.5-mile cross country track is under construction.
The new facility will also allow for student enrollment growth with the current cap of 1,600 growing to 2,000 by the 2026-27 school year.
It also means changes at the other campuses in the Academics Plus system with the current elementary building at 900 Edgewood Drive will now serve grades Kindergarten through 3rd and the current high school building will become Maumelle Charter Middle School serving grades 4th – 7th.
There’s also a campus in Scott.
In other education news
UA Little Rock names 2022-23 Student Government Association Members
UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law names 2022-23 Trial Team Members
UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law names 2022-23 Little Rock Law Review Apprentices
Maumelle’s Sarah Huey graduates from Missouri State University
Maumelle's Sarah Nazar named to Clark University's Spring 2022 Dean's List