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Welcome to Arkansas Newsroom, your source for news about Maumelle, North Little Rock and the state.

Getting to Know Kellie Wall

The new Maumelle Chamber director does a Q&A; Little Free Pet Pantry debuts, National Merit Finalists named at CAC plus headlines and sports

Jeremy Peppas

Feb 16, 2023

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Death toll stays steady

The total number of dead Arkansans this past week was 32.

Last week, it was 39, and the week before that it was 65.

The total number of dead Arkansans is now at 12,936.

In other Covid news, Arkansas passed a grim milestone this week as the state has now recorded 1,000,333 cases, or roughly a third of the people who live here have had Covid. Three is the magic number as the ongoing pandemic remains ongoing as the country is now in year three.

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 school boards for North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special will both be meeting tonight. The North Little Rock board will meet at 5:30 p.m. and to view the agenda click here. The PCSSD board will meet at 6 p.m. and to view its agenda, click here. Next Monday is Presidents Day and, as a result, the Maumelle City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday.
Upcoming events: Presidents Day is Monday but trash and recycling pick-up will be on normal schedule. On Tuesday, the Commercial Real Estate Council will honor Jim Hathaway and Jimmy Moses. For more, keep scrolling.
ICYMI: UA Little Rock honors Fall 2022 graduates

Q&A: Kellie Wall, Executive Director of the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce

Kellie Wall, below, was hired to be the new Executive Director of the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce.

The following is a lightly edited transcript of a Question & Answer session with ArkansasNewsroom.com.

How long have you been working for a chamber? I know you were previously at Sherwood, but not sure on the other stops

I recently became the new Executive Director at the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce in January 2023. I am coming over from the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce where I served as the President/CEO since 2018. In my early career I worked in the state office of Arkansas federal legislators and the Texas Attorney General’s office. I have worked in government since graduating from college and took the leap to the nonprofit world in 2018.

I was honored to be a graduate of Leadership Arkansas class XVI in 2022. I currently serve on the Arkansas Economic Development and Chamber Executives board of directors, the Little Rock Air Force Base community council board of directors and the Camp Robinson/Camp Pike

How long have you lived in Maumelle?

My husband Stephen and I have been married 22 years and have been residents of Maumelle for 10 of those. We have three children, Emily – age 25, Spencer – age 18 and Macy – age 17. Stephen is an Allstate Insurance agent.

I know you also have a snow cone business; how long have you been doing that?

Along with our day jobs, my husband and I purchased the food truck, sugARush Snoballs in 2019. We were regular customers and when the Maumellians that owned the business at that time decided to sell, our addiction influenced us greatly. We serve New Orleans style shaved ice with homemade syrups and other delicious toppings that provide that “sugARush”.

How has the experience of owning a business impacted the kind of work you do for a chamber of commerce?

I assisted my husband Stephen open his small business in 2013 and worked with him for 5 years. Previously, I also worked with our family business, Rice Capital, in Stuttgart, and most recently our food truck business here in Maumelle. I have experienced firsthand the trials and tribulations that small businesses encounter every day and will work to help Maumelle area businesses make the connections they need to retain and expand their presence. The chamber is designed to serve as the driving force in bridging businesses, community members, workforce development and educational needs for our city.

Are you from Arkansas and if so, where did you grow up and, if not, how did you make your way to central Arkansas?

My family originates in Northeast Arkansas, but the rice industry moved us to Mississippi during my elementary years where I graduated from high school in Greenville, Mississippi. I then continued on to the University of Mississippi and graduated with a Bachelor of Public Administration degree and minored in Sociology. The rice business again moved us back to Arkansas in the 1990’s and we have been living in Central Arkansas ever since.

What are some of your plans for the Maumelle chamber in terms of events and such?

The chamber is working to bring back our ambassador group, we started a leads group in February and will start back with monthly luncheon beginning with the “State of the City” luncheon in March. We have the Annual Banquet scheduled for April 13th at the Venue at Westwind and the annual golf tournament on May 11th at the Maumelle Country Club. May 23-25, the chamber, along with city’s economic development director, Courtney Dunn, will host a community/economic development event at the Maumelle Community Center. More information will be released on the event in the near future, but it will be like a pep rally for Maumelle. Anyone interested in getting involved can reach out to the chamber.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Maumelle is a great city, and we feel very lucky to have been able to raise our children here during their formidable years. It is a blessing to be able to work with such a wonderful community and I look forward to a great future for the people of Maumelle.

Commercial Real Estate Council to honor Hathaway, Moses

The Commercial Real Estate Council of Metro Little Rock will honor two commercial real estate legends, James E. Hathaway and Jimmy Moses, for their legacy of accomplishment and achievements in metro Little Rock at the 5th Annual Commercial Real Estate Awards on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the Arkansas Pharmacists Association Building, 417 S Victory Street.

Jim Hathaway, above, began his real estate career in 1967 at RPM, then formed what would become the Hathaway Group, which currently includes two of Jim’s sons, Jeff and John, and Jim’s grandson, David. Jim retired at the end of 2019, after 54 years of providing superior commercial real estate service to a long list of satisfied clients.

Jimmy Moses, above, founded Moses Tucker Real Estate in 1984 and serves as Moses Tucker Partners Chairman of the Board. A past president of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Foundation, Moses is an active community leader. His passion is the ongoing redevelopment of downtown Little Rock, where he directs much of his time. Moses is the visionary leader of the highly successful River Market District and is also responsible for many of the developments there.

Tickets are available at crecmlr.org. For more information, contact info@crecmlr.org or 501-539-0582.

ACHI’s Money to chair national organization

Kenley Money, director of information systems architecture for the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, has been elected board chair of the National Association of Health Data Organizations for 2023.

Money, of Maumelle, has been an ACHI employee since 2010, previously served as a board member and board secretary for NAHDO. At ACHI she leads the data team and oversees administration of the Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database, a repository of health data created as part of the legislatively established Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative.

NAHDO is a national nonprofit membership and educational association dedicated to improving health care data collection and use. NAHDO’s members include state and private health data organizations that maintain statewide health care databases and the stakeholders of these databases in the public and private sectors.

North Little Rock to debut Little Free Pet Pantry

The North Little Rock Animal Shelter and the Girls Scouts will have a ribbon cutting for a Little Free Pet Pantry at 1 Championship Drive in North Little Rock.

The ribbon-cutting will be at 4 p.m. today.

The pet pantry was a Junior Bronze Award project by six current and former Girl Scouts.

The pantry’s motto is “Take What You Need. Leave What You Can.”

Stop, in the name of the law

Two flashing stop signs were recently installed in North Little Rock by the city’s Traffic Department.

The flashing signs are on Crestwood Drive and Randolph Road.

In theory, the lights get the attention of drivers and, in theory, those drivers would then stop but drivers are increasingly terrible and mostly view signs and lights as distractions from the very important things they’re doing on their phones.

The locations of the new signs were determined by the number of accidents and complaints from residents. There’s plans to install additional flashing lights in school zones across the city.

Education news and notes

CAC has three named National Merit Finalists

Three Central Arkansas Christian seniors were named National Merit Finalists.
They are: Riley Bryant, Yasmine Hekmatpour and Sarah Reaves.

They’re pictured above with CAC principal Andy Stewart.

Ole Miss celebrates Gerson

Lawrence Gerson, of North Little Rock, is among the more than 600 students who graduated from the University of Mississippi in December 2022.

Gerson, who majored in Political Science, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Liberal Arts.

"Congratulations to our December 2022 graduates who are distinguished by their dedication to academic success," said UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce. "They accomplished so much during their years at the university. I applaud them and can't wait to see all the ways they will continue building their legacies that began here."

December 2022 graduates are invited to walk across the stage at the University of Mississippi 2023 Commencement exercises, which will be held May 10-14.

UA Little Rock honors Fall 2022 graduates

Sports

Basketball: Postseason here for CAC, Maumelle Charter

The post-season, such as it is, has arrived for Maumelle and Central Arkansas Christian as the district tournament has begun at Maumelle Charter this week.

Maumelle and North Little Rock, as 5A and 6A schools, are still in the regular season, and, barring nay unexpected makeups, their seasons will conclude Friday, Feb. 24 and state tournaments the following week.

CAC is headed to its district championship game on Friday at Maumelle Charter, with regionals starting next week.

Maumelle and North Little Rock have regular seasons conclude on Feb. 24. Then state tournaments the first week in March.

Maumelle Charter boys

Record so far:9-20

Upcoming games

Season complete.

For the roster, click here.

The week that was: The Falcons closed out the regular season strong with two wins, then opened the district tournament with a win against Atkins in the first round. The Falcons three-game winning streak came to a 57-53 end to Lamar on Tuesday.

Maumelle Charter girls

Record so far: 6-28

Upcoming games

Season complete

For the roster, click here.

The week that was: Maumelle Charter’s season is over after a 15-game losing streak.

CAC boys

Record so far: 21-6

Upcoming games

District Tournament: Friday... Championship game ... 6:30 p.m.

For the roster, click here.

The week that was: The Mustangs kept rolling and haven’t lost since November.

Matthew Hall @mhall3_31

#family #protectanddefend

CAC girls

Record so far: (9-16)

Upcoming games

Season is complete

For the roster, click here.

The week that was: CAC beat Baptist Prep in the first round of the district tournament but lost to Dover, 62-56, on Tuesday night to end the season.

ICYMI: CAC’s Bryant signs with Washington and Lee