Panda Express to open today
Hornets lose thriller to Benton; March Madness Report; plus headlines and sports
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MEETINGS: The North Little Rock City Council will meet next Monday night at City Hall. Before then, there will be a regular meeting of the School Board for the North Little Rock School District at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
EVENTS: Settle in for some March Madness as college basketball will dominate the airwaves tonight and through the weekend, then next week and then the week after that. Arkansas faces Kansas at 6:15 p.m. tonight with the broadcast being on KTHV.
March Madness report
As for North of the River, former North Little Rock guard D.J. Smith is at Robert Morris, the No. 15 seed, and they’ll be facing No. 2 seed Alabama at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The game will be broadcast on TruTV. Smith, a junior, previously played at UALR and Bowling Green, is good for 9 points a game.
Former North Little Rock forward Collin Moore, above, is back for his final season at Grand Canyon Valley and the Lopes will face Maryland at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The game will be broadcast on TBS, which is no longer WTBS, Super Station 17. Just TBS now.
Moore is a versatile guard for Grand Canyon and the team is a trendy pick to make a run this March. This is the third consecutive season the Lopes have made the NCAA tournament.
Hornets lose thriller to Benton
If it wasn’t for bad luck, it seems like Maumelle would have no luck at all.
Such was the case last Friday night as the Hornets lost to Benton, 58-57, in the 5A state title game at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs in front of 5,452 fans.
It was the largest crowd of the three-day state finals run in Hot Springs and, inarguably, the best game of the 18 played for state championships.
Maumelle took the lead midway though the fourth quarter and were winning by as much as six with 3:35 remaining, 53-47.
Benton fought back and the lead dwindled to 55-52 with :22 seconds remaining. After two free throws from Derrick Lewis for Maumelle it was 57-52 before Benton hit a layup to make it 57-54 with :17 seconds left.
Benton followed with two free throws and Maumelle was still up 57-56, six seconds and inbound away from putting the game away and claiming the school's first basketball title in four tries.
Then bad luck took over and Maumelle was called for stepping over the line on the inbound and Benton's Terrion Burgess hit a layup with four seconds left to win the game and set off a wild on court celebration.
Burgess, a 6-foot-9 forward and one the country's best players, was named MVP for his efforts.
He ended the game with 22 points, to lead all scorers, while adding five rebounds and four blocks.
Benton finished the year at 30-3, while Maumelle's season ended at 27-7.
Maumelle was led by Malik McGuire with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Markalon Rochell added 18, with 11 rebounds, and Cedric Jones was also in double figures with 10. Rounding out the scoring was Jayce Tillmen added 8 and Derrick Lewis finished with 2.
Panda Express to open today
The long-awaited Panda Express on Maumelle Boulevard will open its doors today with a community celebration planned for 9:30 a.m.
The Asian chain is at 12401 Maumelle Boulevard and the event will feature the Maumelle High School cheerleaders and drumline as the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce will have a ribbon-cutting.
The first 88 people in line get a t-shirt, while 50 percent of the sales that day will be donated back to Maumelle High School.
The new restaurant was open for business Wednesday in a friends and family night but was also taking online orders.
The interior was shiny and new with dozens behind the counter working. Some are local workers who will be on the Boulevard permanently while others said they were part of the new restaurant team Panda Express deploys for a grand opening. As experienced hands, they’ll help handle the rush, as well as training new employees before they return home.
The food was solid. The protein plate, that’s a double order of chicken teriyaki with half orders of rice and super greens – a mix of broccoli, kale cauliflower was delicious. It also comes with 76 grams of protein, which if you’re keeping track of those things, is quite high and maybe the best fast food option for those looking for protein.
The orange chicken was crisp and the cream cheese rangoons didn’t end up getting shared as they got demolished on the short ride home. The total tab was $25 and there’s still some left over for a quick lunch.
Inspiration in Education Award goes to Clifton Lewis at Mills
The Pulaski County Special School District recently awarded the third quarter Inspiration in Education award to. Clifton Lewis, a science teacher at Mills High School.
Nearly 60 nominations came in for this quarter’s award for 25 different people. Lewis received 18 of those nominations, almost all of which came from current students.
“Mr. Lewis is very understanding,” said Leigha McCrary, a freshman at MUSHS. “He gets to know his students in a way where we can learn and we all have fun at the same time.”
This is Lewis’ second year with the District, previously having worked at Mills Middle, formerly Fuller Middle, as a science teacher in the 2011-2012 school year. Before working in PCSSD, Lewis taught at St. Joseph’s in Pine Bluff and a community college before spending the last 12 years at Watson Chapel School District.
Many of the student nominations shared similar sentiments about Lewis’ ability to connect with the students and make science exciting.
“Mr. Lewis is an extreme inspiration to my learning, " said freshman Cedric Johnson. “He is very cool and understanding. He passes his passion for science onto us in an incredible way.”
Demetrius Wilson, another freshman student in Mr. Lewis’ class added, “He has the best labs and best relationship with the students. Mr Lewis can understand the students' slang and put it into the lesson so we can understand it better.”
The Board of Education created the Inspiration in Education award to honor certified and support staff members who are inspirational to their students or colleagues in their roles at PCSSD. Additionally, the award recognizes employees who exhibit traits including leadership, mentoring, dedication, excellence and effectiveness in their places of work.
Mayton named Chair of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation
The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) announces Michael R. Mayton, below, as Chair of the AMFA Foundation.
In addition, Larry Middleton, Mary Ritchey, and Miles Stephens join the AMFA Foundation as new Directors. Harriet Stephens and Warren Stephens are both named AMFA Foundation Director Emeritus.
These announcements accompany the resignations of Warren Stephens as Chair of the AMFA Foundation and Harriet Stephens as Foundation Director and Chair of the Governance Committee.
Warren Stephens was nominated and then confirmed to be the country’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the couple are now living in London.
“Harriet and I are honored to have served the Museum in many different leadership capacities over the years. With the transformation and opening of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts building and grounds, we are confident that AMFA has a bright future that will continue to educate and inspire all Arkansans and visitors to our state,” said Warren Stephens.
Both have been instrumental supporters of AMFA for over 40 years, most recently as Co-Chairs of the “Reimagining the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts” Capital Campaign, which raised $176.6 million to support the construction and opening of the new AMFA while strengthening the critical funding needed for future operations.
In addition to their previous roles on the AMFA Foundation, Harriet and Warren both formerly served on AMFA’s Board of Trustees as President and Chair. Harriet chaired the AMFA Building Committee, which for seven years has been integrally involved in every aspect of the new building’s design, construction, and relaunch.
In recognition of their longstanding dedication to AMFA, Harriet and Warren were awarded the organization’s Winthrop Rockefeller Memorial Award in 2005. Named for the former governor of Arkansas, an instrumental figure in AMFA’s establishment, the award is the highest honor for service bestowed by the museum. In 2025, Harriet and Warren Stephens each received the title of AMFA Foundation Director Emeritus for their commitment and service.
The AMFA Foundation is a nonprofit entity that owns the 14,000 works of art in the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation Collection. The Foundation board manages the endowment’s investments, supports the museum’s ongoing operations and growth, and oversees art acquisitions and care of the collection.
AMFA Foundation Directors include: Michael R. Mayton, Chair; Ben Hussman, Vice-Chair; George O’Connor, Treasurer; Victoria Ramirez, Secretary; Terri Erwin; Larry Middleton; Mary Ritchey; Miles Stephens; Robert W. Tucker; Darrell Walker; John Ed Anthony, Advisor; Le’Kita Brown, AMFA Board of Trustees President.
Camp Healing Hearts offers free grief camp
Losing a loved one is difficult for everyone, and grieving a loss is essential to accepting painful feelings and creating an opportunity for growth and a new sense of normal.
Camp Healing Hearts is for Arkansas children ages five to 18 and their families who are grieving the death of a loved one. Part of Kaleidoscope Grief Center, a program of Methodist Family Health, Camp Healing Hearts is a FREE overnight event that will begin at 5 p.m. at Camp Aldersgate in Little Rock on Friday, May 9 and end at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 10. Registration deadline is Sunday, April 26.
Utilizing both therapy and recreation, our camp offers children and families an opportunity to discover their own inner strength. An adult caregiver is required to accompany the grieving child or children attending camp. Activities include heart-to-heart time, fishing, crafts, games, campfires, s'mores and much more. It is best for children and families who have experienced a loss of 3-to-6 months or more. Only 100 spaces are available.
You can apply online at https://form.jotform.com/scox/CAMP_HEALING_HEARTS or download the application and mail it to:
Dao Ward
Kaleidoscope Grief Center
1600 Aldersgate Rd., Suite 100B
Little Rock, Arkansas 72205
Application deadline is Sun., Apr. 26, 2025.
Kaleidoscope Grief Center serves grieving children, teens and their families throughout Arkansas. Grief can be an isolating experience for children. The program helps those dealing with loss and bereavement through education, therapeutic and recreational services, grief support programs, counseling and Camp Healing Hearts.
To register for Camp Healing Hearts, learn more about Kaleidoscope Grief Center or find out how Methodist Family Health can assist your family, visit MethodistFamily.org.
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 despite it being March and nearing the fifth anniversary of the start of the pandemic on March 15, 2020. 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