Maumelle Charter has leaders at Boys State
Maumelle Charter has leaders at Boys State
Dragon Boats return to Lake Willastein, North Little Rock's Diane Whitbey honored, Report on pastor sex scandal released plus headlines
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!Death toll stays steady
The weekly death toll from the ongoing pandemic stayed steady as the total number of dead Arkansans was at 27.
The previous week it was at 35
The total number of dead Arkansans is now at 11,488
As for the national trends, the forecast numbers from the Centers for Disease Control are below and through June 25.
As the weekly death toll has inched up, so have the forecasts as now most are calling for between 11,500 and 12,000 total deaths in the next four week. One outlier forecast is calling for beyond that at around 12,3000 deaths.
Reported case counts have also seen a significant increase but those numbers are likely underbaked as nationally actual positive results are believed to be at least four times higher then the reported numbers.
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 crowdsThe Headlines
Got long Covid? Medical expertise is vital, and seniors should prepare to go slow
ICYMI: Boulevard’s Career Staffing Services, Beverly Smith win SBA award
ICYMI: Clayborn to be next North Little Rock basketball coach
Upcoming meetings: The North Little Rock School Board will have a workshop this Saturday and the Maumelle City Council will meet next Monday night.
Upcoming events: Maumelle’s All-Inclusive playground committee will meet at 5 p.m. today at the Jess Odom Community Center.
Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners to meet Friday
The Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners will meet at 5:15 p.m. on Friday to certify the results from the Primary Election last month. The meeting is open to the public and will also be streamed on YouTube. The meeting will be county’s regional building at 501 W. Markham St., in downtown Little Rock.
Covid toolkit
There’s now a one-stop shop to learn about vaccination sites and other Covid related information. Click here to learn more.
Sports
Travs back at home next week
The Arkansas Travelers are at Springfield this week but return to North Little Rock’s Dickey-Stephens Park for a six-game series against Wichita.
Road Swing
Today ... 7:05 p.m. ... at Springfield
Friday ... June 3 ... 7:05 p.m. ... at Springfield
Saturday ... June 4... 6:35 p.m. ... at Springfield
Sunday ... June 5 … 5:35 p.m. ... at Springfield
Homestand
Tuesday ... June 7 ... 6:35 p.m. ... vs. Wichita; Promotions: Mug Club
Wednesday ... June 8... 6:35 p.m. ... vs. Wichita; Promotions: Dog Days Of Summer
Thursday ... June 9... 6:35 p.m. ... vs. Wichita; Promotions: $3 Thirsty Thursday
Friday ... June 10 ... 7:05 p.m. ... vs. Wichita; Promotions: Fireworks and Noche De Diamantes
Saturday ... June 11 … 5:35 p.m. ... vs. Wichita; Promotions: Faith & Family Night | Duck Dynasty’s Jep Robertson will be on hand and will participate in a pregame moderated Q&A, then following the game, there will be an on-field screening of “God’s Not Dead.” Group tickets are available for $5 each.
Sunday ... June 12 … 1:35 p.m. ... vs. Wichita; Promotions: Operation: Military Appreciation and Family Sunday
North Little Rock’s Whitbey honored
Long-time North Little Rock City Clerk Diane Whitbey recently received the Quill Award from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
Whitbey, above, received the award at that organization’s annual conference, which was held in Little Rock from May 23 to 25.
Dragons, boats that is, return to Lake Willastein
The annual River Cities Dragon Boat Festival will be held at Lake Willastein in Maumelle on June 10 and 11.
Teams are still being sought and for more information, email ttodd@childrensprotectioncenter.org.
The festival is limited to a total of 50 teams.
For more information, click here for the festival’s website.
Conklin, Gonzales elected to serve at Boys State
Arkansas Boys State is still ongoing but it has been a good week, so far, for Ben Conklin and Dominic Gonzales, who both attend Maumelle Charter and who were both elected to office.
Boys State is an annual event that is sponsored by the American Legion and is designed to give experience in leadership and civic engagement.
Gonzales was elected to City Council for Cantrell City while Conklin was elected as a State Senator for his congressional district.
Gonzales was elected by other attendees during city elections on Monday. It is designed where students build a mock government structure for 16 different cities. Each city has its own city council, vice mayor, and mayor.
"City elections lay the groundwork for the rest of the week at Arkansas Boys State," said David Saterfield, director of instruction for Arkansas Boys State. "From here, Dominic will lead citizens in his city as they navigate simulations and city problems, working as their representative to develop and advocate solutions for their community this week. This is just the first step in the transformative leadership journey that students embark on this week."
Conklin was elected during district elections on Tuesday. For Boys State, Arkansas has eight different congressional districts each with four senators and 12 representatives.
"Being elected as State Senator is quite the special opportunity for Ben and his fellow legislators," Saterfield said "He'll get an up-close and personal look at the legislative process with his own state legislators leading him through the process."
That process included meeting with Arkansas legislators on Wednesday and a debate and vote on mock legislation will be held at the state capitol on Friday.
"I'm excited to see what ideas Ben and his fellow legislators bring to the House and Senate floors on Friday," Saterfield said. "I hope these Arkansas Boys State legislators take it all in when they're at the capitol. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Also attending Boys State from Maumelle Charter is Oaken Pool and he, along with Gonzales and Conklin are among more than 400 students from around the state at the University of Central Arkansas for the week.
Pastor sex scandal hits close to home
The details are horrific.
A recent report from the Southern Baptist Convention covered more than 200 pages and listed in great detail pastors in that faith who had engaged in sexual acts with minors, including a toddler.
While not all pastors were named, as some information was redacted, the complete report can be viewed by clicking here.
The report is not for the faint of heart and included a total of 17 pastors with connections to Arkansas including those connected to the sex scandal at Abundant Life School in Sherwood, as well as other pastors in North Little Rock and Pulaski County.
An alphabetical list of Arkansas pastors taken from the report can be viewed by clicking here. The list has been lightly edited and formatted.