Funeral Leave
This is 40; Sparklight is here; Merit Pay for Academics Plus educators plus sports and headlines
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MEETINGS: The North Little Rock City Council will meet next Monday night at City Hall.
EVENTS: Today is Juneteenth, the now federal holiday that celebrates enslaved Americans getting their freedom at the end of the Civil War. As it is a federal holiday, the various local, state and federal offices will be closed. It also means that trash and recycling will run one-day delayed with Thursday pickup on Friday and Friday’s pickup being on Saturday. Maybe.
This is 40
Maumelle City Hall will be hosting a day of celebration this Friday, June 20, as the city celebrates its 40th birthday. The event will give visitors the opportunity to “walk through history” with a 2 p.m. program in the council chambers where there will be speakers, and proclamations, among other things.
On Friday, the “drop-in” portion of the event will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, City Hall will be open from 9 a.m. to noon to give people another opportunity to check out Maumelle’s history.
For more, check out the flyer above.
Academics Plus announces staff merit pay
Academics Plus Charter Schools announced that 12 of its staff members were awarded $42,000 in merit pay at the close of the school year.
Those earning merit pay include Jon Alexander, Ame Andrews, Lydia Hinson, Jill Ingram, Angela Kaplan, Tyler Manard, Jennifer Penney, Laura Raney, Kenneth Roberts, Kelli Sheppard, Stephanie Stiles, and Caroline Stuff.
Merit pay is provided through the Merit Teacher Incentive Fund Program established by the Arkansas LEARNS Act of 2023.
Educators eligible for merit pay included those who demonstrate outstanding growth in student performance; teach in a subject, geographic area or other designations with critical educator shortages; or those serving as mentors to aspiring teachers in yearlong residencies.
Academics Plus Charter Schools includes Maumelle Charter High School, Maumelle Charter Middle School, Maumelle Charter Elementary School and Scott Charter School.
Maumelle invited to celebrate Sparklight
Fidelity will become Sparklight at 3:30 p.m. today at the internet providers offices at 1001 Murphy Drive in Maumelle.
The ribbon-cutting and launch party is expected to last until 5:30 p.m. and will also include refreshments, music and giveaways.
“Our Sparklight rebrand reflects more than just a new look; it represents a renewed, energized commitment to the communities we serve,” said Kenny Walker, Sparklight Senior Director, South Central Region. “We’re thrilled to celebrate this exciting milestone with the residents of Maumelle and surrounding areas, and to continue building strong connections through fast, reliable internet and local service our community can count on.”
Sparklight is a fiber-powered internet provider that serves Maumelle and portions of rural Pulaski County. They also serve Benton in central Arkansas and have operations in 21 states, mostly in the south and midwest. The company has spent more than $1 billion to upgrade to fiber as well as other infrastructure with the goal to be offering 10 gigabits of data.
For those not fluent in internet speak, that’s a lot.
For more, visit www.sparklight.com.
Funeral Leave
By the time you read this, I’ll be somewhere in the flat prairie of Illinois for my mother’s funeral.
As a result, this week’s offerings are a little light as my mind has been elsewhere this week.
These things aren’t ever easy but neither is an eight-hour drive to the metroplex of Hume, Metcalf and Chrisman. A dollar if you could find any of those places on a map.
There’s a family plot there, somewhere in the middle of those farming communities, and she’ll be joining her parents and siblings. Some of the cousins are expected to attend as well as the cousins who I call my “aunts” even though in the genealogy sense they’d be first cousins, once removed, since they’re a generation ahead and have children my age.
It gets confusing.But genealogy has a way of doing that.
I suspect I won’t make it back for a decoration day, even to roll a stone on the grave.
I’m told there’s already a marker in place and a hole large enough for an urn full of ashes.
There won’t be a service, at least not in the traditional sense and there might be some words spoken but not by me. I’m all worded out.
One of the things you hear, or at least I heard, is that you get the family you get. You can’t make new family, but that’s plainly not true.
You get married. Your wife becomes your family. Her family becomes your family. If there’s children, they become family. Then there’s the family you make along the way. The friends you’d die for. The friends you cry with. The friends you celebrate triumphs with and become brothers or sisters. They hold you up and sustain you when times are tough.
I cherish those friends and my overwhelming sense of dread is I don’t do enough to deserve them.
So here’s to friends. Here’s to family. Here’s to finding comfort and joy in everything you do.
Upcoming Travs games
Wichita Wind Surge, six-game homestand
Thursday, 6:35 p.m.
Operation: Military Appreciation: $3 Thursday: Enjoy $3 Beer Garden Tickets and select Concessions deals!
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Fireworks Friday - TBA Theme: End your week at DSP with a BANG!
Saturday, 6:05 p.m.
Kids Run the Bases: Kids 13 and under are invited to run the same basepaths the Travs run after the game! | Presented By First Community Bank
Sunday, 1:35 p.m.
Operation: Military Appreciation: : Service Members get $3 off General Admission and Field Reserved tickets by presenting a Military ID (only available at DSP Box Office) | Presented By Mid-South Ford Dealers
Kids Run the Bases: Kids 13 and under are invited to run the same basepaths the Travs run after the game! | Presented By First Community Bank
At Amarillo, June 24-29
At Frisco, July 1-3
Frisco RoughRiders,three-game homestand
Friday, July 4, 5:35 p.m.
Fireworks Friday - Patriotic Finale: Celebrate America at DSP with a BANG! | Presented By Arkansas Army National Guard
Saturday, July 5, 7:05 p.m.
Fireworks - Patriotic: End your week at DSP with a BANG!
Sunday, July 6, 1:35 p.m.
Operation: Military Appreciation: Service Members get $3 off General Admission and Field Reserved tickets by presenting a Military ID (only available at DSP Box Office) | Presented By Mid-South Ford Dealers
Kids Run the Bases: Kids 13 and under are invited to run the same basepaths the Travs run after the game! | Presented By First Community Bank
Health
Pandemic deaths unknown
The state Department of Health didn’t update the state’s dashboard this week, again, and deaths still total 532 for the past year. There’s no tab created for 2025 either and the virus has now killed 14,162 Arkansans since the pandemic began then. That would mean the pandemic death toll has now passed Marion’s 13,635 people, the state’s 29th largest city.
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
Bless your mom, you and your family. I think sometimes putting emotional events on “paper” can make them more real and thus I feel better able to accept. I think you did a very commendable job of doing that. Condolences to you and yours.