Planning Commission to hear plans for Siena Ridge

Early voting continues with Election Day next Tuesday; Post-season high school basketball is here' Education News and Note plus sports and headlines

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The Headlines

• MEETINGS: A special meeting of the North Little Rock School Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. tonight at the district’s administration building. The Maumelle Planning Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight and for more on that, keep scrolling. The Maumelle City Council will meet next Monday night at City Hall. All the meetings will be livestreamed on YouTube and the public is welcome at all of the above.

• EVENTS: Do you want to be in the movies? Of course you do. And here’s a chance, courtesy of Christen Pitts, the super fantastic drama and dance teacher at North Little Rock High School, and who is also helping to get the word out on casting for “King Snake” a film by Jeff Nichols, who was the one who brought “Mud” and Matthew McConaughey to Dumas. All right, all right, all right. Anyway, No McConaughey but among the stars will be Michael Shannon, who was the star in “Take Shelter” another of Nichols’s films but might be better known as Zod from the second-to-last Superman movies that starred Henry Cavill, and not the more current version of Superman, that came out last year. There’s some requirements for the first round as they’re looking for boys between the ages of 9 to 15. Apply online for that at www.theagencyinc.com/arkansas-casting/ and there will be other casting calls to come later this year, so stay tuned.

Planning Commission to hear plans for Siena Ridge

The Maumelle Planning Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight at City Hall for its monthly meeting.

The agenda can be viewed by clicking here.

There’s only two items of business, both related, for the meeting.The first is a land use map amendment for Siena Ridge, 173 acres of property east of Odom Boulevard and west of Naylor Drive and Millwood Circle.

The second is a rezoning of Siena Ridge from R-1, T-2 and C-1 to PRD and PCD, or planned residential development and planned commercial development.

Siena Ridge is described in the Planning Commission packer as a “mixed-density planned community” and would include 120 apartments, 237 townhomes and 250 single-family lots. Most of the acreage is for residential, while 17 acres has been set aside “for neighborhood style commercial amenities.”

A rendering of the site map can be seen below.

The city’s planning department, in its review of the plans, gave it a “DO PASS Recommendation” when it goes to the City Council.

A public hearing is scheduled on the development before the start of the Planning Commission meeting. For more on that, keep reading.

One item of old business, a development plan for Country Club of Arkansas, has been deferred to the March meeting.

Public Hearing Notice

The Maumelle Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.. at City Hall to consider the rezoning from C-1, R-1 and R-2 to PRD and PCD, and to consider a land use change from COMM, SFD & MFD to SUC & SUR, for property located at East of Odom Boulevard, West of Naylor Dr. and Millwood Cir, and South of Ridgeview Trail. This hearing will precede the monthly Planning Commission meeting. An agenda for that meeting has not yet been released. For more, call 501-851-2500.

Election Day is this Tuesday

Early voting has been lively, and will continue through this weekend at all polling places, then again on Monday at the Pulaski County Election Commission building in downtown Little Rock.

Election Day is next Tuesday, March 3 and on the mind of most of Maumelle, or at least those paying attention, which, admittedly, not most of Maumelle, is the ½ cent sales tax extension.

There’s seven questions on the ballot for Maumelle voters to choose from covering six different projects as well as the retirement of the current bond debt.

The city has held a series of town hall meetings, with the most recent being on Tuesday.

It covered Question 1, which is the retirement of the current bond debt and Questions 2 and 3 which were on street improvements and indoor pool at the Center on the Lake.

The meeting was livestreamed and to watch, click the title card below.

Not to get into the prediction business but to get into the prediction business it feels like Question 1 will pass, opening up the other bond issues, with the indoor pool and field turf for youth league ball fields the most likely to then be approved by voters.

These two bond issues have significant constituencies of support and all of whom have been quite vocal in their backing.

Generally speaking, at least with bond votes both in Maumelle and North Little Rock, public safety and fire station improvements are generally well supported. That leaves street improvements and Lake Valencia improvements remaining, and they seem the ones most likely to fail or be very close.

Some caveats, while it has been addressed – repeatedly – there’s still a perception that if , say, you support the indoor pool, then vote against the other bond issues, it would mean more money for the Center on the Lake project.

That is absolutely not the case. The amount of the bond is set to each project’s cost, and not a $34.26 million pot of money that could then be spent on just one project.

Also, before new bonds are issued, voters have to approve Question 1, which retires the previous debt and would then allow for new debt.

If you support one of the new bonds, you have to vote yes for Question 1.

Proposed bond issue

• Total: $34.26 million

• Question 1: Refunding 2018 bonds - $3.05M

• Question 2: Street improvements - $3.86M

• Question 3: Center on the Lake/Indoor pool - $5.39M

• Question 4: Public Safety Training facility - $5.19M

• Question 5: Fire station improvements - $8.45M

• Question 6: Lake Valencia improvements - $3.22M

• Question 7: Field turf for Parks & Rec - $5.1M

How much money?

• The city’s ½ cent sales tax brings in approximately $1.8 million annually and if the all seven questions were to pass, it would take about 20 years to pay off.

Election Calendar

• Early Voting Dates: Now through March 2

• Early Voting Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday – Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m to -5 p.m. on Monday March 2.

• March 3: Preferential Primary Election/Annual School Election/Nonpartisan Judicial General Election

If a runoff is needed in the primary, it will be March 31

Early Voting Locations

• Pulaski County Regional Building, 501 West Markham, Little Rock

• Sue Cowan Williams Library, 1800 S. Chester St.

• Dee Brown Library, 6325 Baseline Road, Little Rock

• Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle, Little Rock

• William F Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., NorthLittle Rock

• Jacksonville Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive, Jacksonville

• Jess Odom Community Center, 1100 Edgewood Drive, Maumelle

• First Christian Church of Sherwood, 2803 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood

• McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Road, Little Rock

• Hillary Clinton Children’s Library, 4800 W. 10th St., Little Rock

• John Gould Fletcher Library, 823 N. Buchanan St., Little Rock

• Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive, Little Rock

Nominations open for Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame

The Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for the 2026 Induction Class.

The Hall was created to honor, in perpetuity, women whose contributions have influenced the direction of Arkansas in their community or the state.

Nominees are not limited to a certain field or accomplishment and can include pioneers, philanthropists, educators, entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, business leaders and political figures.

Nominations must be submitted by next Friday, March 6. Criteria and nomination forms can be found on the website at www.ARWomensHallofFame.com. The 2026 Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 27 at the North Little Rock Event Center in the Centennial Bank Ballroom. Visitors to the website will find more information about the event and the hall’s past inductees.

Sports

Basketball post season

For the girls regional and state tournament brackets, click here.

For the boys regional and state tournament brackets, click here.

To buy tickets for any of the above, click here.

State finals schedule set, will be televised

Arkansas TV will present the Class 6A-1A 2026 Centennial Bank High School Basketball State Championships live from Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs beginning Thursday, March 12, in partnership with the AAA) Games will be broadcast statewide over the air, on cable and on satellite on Arkansas TV.

The Arkansas high school basketball state finals will air live at the following times:

• 1A girls – Thursday, March 12, at noon.

• 1A boys – Thursday, March 12, at 1:45 p.m.

• 2A girls – Thursday, March 12, at 6 p.m.

• 2A boys – Thursday, March 12, at 7:45 p.m.

• 3A girls – Friday, March 13, at noon.

• 3A boys – Friday, March 13, at 1:45 p.m.

• 4A girls – Friday, March 13, at 6 p.m.

• 4A boys – Friday, March 13, at 7:45 p.m.

• 5A girls – Saturday, March 14, at noon.

• 5A boys – Saturday, March 14, at 1:45 p.m.

• 6A girls – Saturday, March 14, at 6 p.m.

• 6A boys – Saturday, March 14, at 7:45 p.m.

Funding for Arkansas TV Sports is provided by the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Image One. AAA’s sponsors for the state high school basketball finals, including Centennial Bank, Arkansas Farm Bureau and Everett Buick GMC.

Basketball schedules

Maumelle

Boys

• Friday, Feb. 27 ... vs ... Catholic ... 7 p.m.

Girls

• Friday, Feb. 27 ... vs ... Mount St. Mary Academy ... 6 p.m.

North Little Rock

Boys

• Thursday, Feb. 26 ... vs ... Cabot ... 7 p.m.

Girls

• Thursday, Feb. 26 ... vs ... Cabot ... 6 p.m.

Education news

UA Little Rock names Fall 2025 Chancellor’s List

UA Little Rock announces its Fall 2025 Chancellor’s List, recognizing students with superior academic performance in a semester.

To be eligible for the Chancellor’s List, students must earn at least nine credit hours and at least a 3.9 GPA.

North of the River students named include:

• Shantay Ross of Maumelle

• Noah Browning of Maumelle

• David Fong of Maumelle

• Ayan Huda of Maumelle

• Brandon Nichols of Maumelle

• Karen Johnson of Maumelle

• David Pearson of Maumelle

• Dilasa Yaman of Maumelle

• Conner Callaway of Maumelle

• Justin Chadwick of Maumelle

• Emily Schade of Maumelle

• Leila Scroggins of Maumelle

• Joshua Fong of Maumelle

• Morgan Mincer of Maumelle

• Aliyah Smith of Maumelle

• Tayla Twisdale of Maumelle

• CheDaidre Jones of North Little Rock

• Sarah Coile of Sherwood

• Audriana Luckett of North Little Rock

• Kyle Morrison of Sherwood

• Jame’cia Belle of North Little Rock

• Cassie Butler of North Little Rock

• Maitlyn Harrison of Sherwood

• Sydney Davidson of Sherwood

• Jack Seabaugh of North Little Rock

• Sarah Brackenbury of North Little Rock

• Lillian Green of North Little Rock

• Nathan Hughes of North Little Rock

• John Kinder of North Little Rock

• Diego Esquivel of Sherwood

• Karson Jerry of Sherwood

• Leianna King of North Little Rock

• Teecumpsy Wiggins of North Little Rock

• Shamar Evans of North Little Rock

• Mallari Jordan of Sherwood

• Christopher Scott of North Little Rock

• Axton Tackett of North Little Rock

• Bridget Davenport of Sherwood

• Maci Aldrich of North Little Rock

• Megan Berry of Sherwood

• Anna Burr of North Little Rock

• Michael Gruenwald of North Little Rock

• Nyla Harris of North Little Rock

• Jared Holt of North Little Rock

• Maria Lambdin of Sherwood

• Hope Lybrand of Sherwood

• Willard Moore of North Little Rock

• Peyton Perks of North Little Rock

• Sarah Roden of North Little Rock

• Paris Shipman of Sherwood

• Manvinder Singh of North Little Rock

• Emma Thomas of North Little Rock

• Tykirra Warren of Sherwood

• Grace Wilson of North Little Rock

• Kristine Christopher of Sherwood

• Ulonda Evans of North Little Rock

• Shantaya Jones-Bryan of Sherwood

• Loralea Broderick of Sherwood

• Tyra Abston of Sherwood

• Aidan Carrell of Sherwood

• Kendra Degarmo of Sherwood

• Kai Flenders of Sherwood

• Nina Hale of North Little Rock

• Alan Ingram of North Little Rock

• Abigail Moussa of North Little Rock

• Dayna Thomas of North Little Rock

• Desiree Williams of Sherwood

• Cody Snow of Sherwood

• Katrina Beaver of North Little Rock

• Brody Bunting of Sherwood

• Katelynn Burdiek of Sherwood

• Jacob Delashaw of North Little Rock

• Loresa Dion of Sherwood

• Kyo Dong of North Little Rock

• Lindsey Eidt of North Little Rock

• Nehir Eker of North Little Rock

• Brandon Gonzalez of North Little Rock

• Bethanie Gourley of North Little Rock

• Addison Grogan of Sherwood

• Tamara Harris of North Little Rock

• Ethan Herndon of Sherwood

• Nathanael Hicks of North Little Rock

• Isabella Keaton of North Little Rock

• Thanh Le of Sherwood

• Mariane Shiechyll Maniago of Sherwood

• Graham Martin of North Little Rock

• JaLisa Martin of Sherwood

• Allison Mercer of North Little Rock

• Annalyse Miles of North Little Rock

• Paul Piechocki of Sherwood

• Jonathan Satterwhite of North Little Rock

• Abigail Steele of Sherwood

• Ngoc Tuyet T Tran of Sherwood

• Sherika Williams of North Little Rock

• Judyth Woods of North Little Rock

• Cory Wright of North Little Rock

• Ashley Wyatt of Sherwood

UA Little Rock names Fall 2025 Dean’s List: The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has announced the list of students who have been named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2025 semester.

The Dean’s List recognized over 1,900 students with superior academic performances at the end of the semester.

To be on the Dean’s List, UA Little Rock students must earn at least nine credit hours and maintain at least a 3.5 GPA.

North of the River students who made the Dean’s List include:

• Imani Haynes of Maumelle

• Jeremiah Jackson of Maumelle

• April Sherwin of Maumelle

• Shantay Ross of Maumelle

• Logan Scheiderer of Maumelle

• Noah Browning of Maumelle

• Jacob Zabala of Maumelle

• David Fong of Maumelle

• Zachary Harrison of Maumelle

• Ayan Huda of Maumelle

• KAROLINE PUTNAM of Maumelle

• Jacob Blackburn of Maumelle

• Peyton Johnson of Maumelle

• Brandon Nichols of Maumelle

• Elisha Robinson of Maumelle

• Conner Ralls of Maumelle

• Isaac Fredricks of Maumelle

• Isabella Immel of Maumelle

• Karen Johnson of Maumelle

• David Pearson of Maumelle

• Hayden Phillips of Maumelle

• Lydia Thomas of Maumelle

• Stephona Williams of Maumelle

• Dilasa Yaman of Maumelle

• Conner Callaway of Maumelle

• Mayonna Bizzell of Maumelle

• Justin Chadwick of Maumelle

• Cynthia Diaz of Maumelle

• Ashlynn Maxwell of Maumelle

• Natalie Moore of Maumelle

• Kylie Wall of Maumelle

• Emily Schade of Maumelle

• Leila Scroggins of Maumelle

• Ahmed Ahmed of Maumelle

• Kristi Bryant of Maumelle

• Charles Carlisle of Maumelle

• Katherine Ervin of Maumelle

• Lane Evans of Maumelle

• Joshua Fong of Maumelle

• Michael Gasper of Maumelle

• LaToniah Harton of Maumelle

• Cameron Johnson of Maumelle

• Seneve Lihono of Maumelle

• Morgan Mincer of Maumelle

• Anna Price of Maumelle

• Batoul Saleh of Maumelle

• Anyston Singleton of Maumelle

• Aliyah Smith of Maumelle

• Tracie Stenhouse Wicker of Maumelle

• Tayla Twisdale of Maumelle

• Jasmine Vazkez of Maumelle

• Dal’Asia Whorton of Maumelle

• Virginia Singleton of North Little Rock

• CheDaidre Jones of North Little Rock

• Sarah Coile of Sherwood

• Ashley Beach of Sherwood

• Audriana Luckett of North Little Rock

• Kyle Morrison of Sherwood

• Terrika Smith of North Little Rock

• Jame’cia Belle of North Little Rock

• Cassie Butler of North Little Rock

• Maitlyn Harrison of Sherwood

• Sydney Davidson of Sherwood

• Jack Seabaugh of North Little Rock

• Chloe Brawley of Sherwood

• Anastasia Aldridge of North Little Rock

• Sarah Brackenbury of North Little Rock

• Teaira Evans of North Little Rock

• Lillian Green of North Little Rock

• Nathan Hughes of North Little Rock

• Khaliah Keith of North Little Rock

• John Kinder of North Little Rock

• Alaina Schingler of North Little Rock

• Denzel Saucedo of Sherwood

• Reana Dixon of North Little Rock

• Diego Esquivel of Sherwood

• Karson Jerry of Sherwood

• Diana Johnson of Sherwood

• Arianna Kegler of Sherwood

• Leianna King of North Little Rock

• Dajany Ramos-Cano of North Little Rock

• Sukhbir Singh of Sherwood

• Kiralynn Stigall of Sherwood

• Teecumpsy Wiggins of North Little Rock

• Shamar Evans of North Little Rock

• Mallari Jordan of Sherwood

• Kaleb Hatley of North Little Rock

• Martia Donahue of Sherwood

• Winnie Li of North Little Rock

• Micheal Richter of North Little Rock

• Miya Fillmore of North Little Rock

• Juquray Carter of North Little Rock

• Shane Dreher of Sherwood

• Starlesha Riley of Sherwood

• Christopher Scott of North Little Rock

• Axton Tackett of North Little Rock

• Ana Sofia Villegas of Sherwood

• Bridget Davenport of Sherwood

• Stefan Jacquot of North Little Rock

• Ashley Lopez of North Little Rock

• Johnathan Parks of North Little Rock

• Jamal Hockaday of Sherwood

• Tugba Agdas of North Little Rock

• Maci Aldrich of North Little Rock

• Kylie Belverstone of Sherwood

• Megan Berry of Sherwood

• Chloe Brown of Sherwood

• Ja’nyia Burks of North Little Rock

• Julie Burns of Sherwood

• Anna Burr of North Little Rock

• Carlee Felty of Sherwood

• Michael Gruenwald of North Little Rock

• Nyla Harris of North Little Rock

• Jared Holt of North Little Rock

• Maria Lambdin of Sherwood

• Justin Le of North Little Rock

• Hope Lybrand of Sherwood

• Willard Moore of North Little Rock

• Peyton Perks of North Little Rock

• Sarea Pitts of Sherwood

• Jesse Reed of North Little Rock

• Sarah Roden of North Little Rock

• Paris Shipman of Sherwood

• Manvinder Singh of North Little Rock

• Emma Thomas of North Little Rock

• Tykirra Warren of Sherwood

• Maisen White of North Little Rock

• Grace Wilson of North Little Rock

• Kristine Christopher of Sherwood

• Ulonda Evans of North Little Rock

• Shantaya Jones-Bryan of Sherwood

• Cheryl Thomas of North Little Rock

• Luke Walther of North Little Rock

• Loralea Broderick of Sherwood

• Tyra Abston of Sherwood

• Bayan Aysheh of Sherwood

• Maddux Bowen of Sherwood

• Stephanie Carballido of North Little Rock

• Aidan Carrell of Sherwood

• Lauren Cavnor of North Little Rock

• Kendra Degarmo of Sherwood

• Kai Flenders of Sherwood

• Nina Hale of North Little Rock

• Alan Ingram of North Little Rock

• Prabhjot Kaur of Sherwood

• Melissa Mathis of North Little Rock

• Abigail Moussa of North Little Rock

• Mya Ragland of North Little Rock

• Dayna Thomas of North Little Rock

• Desiree Williams of Sherwood

• Cody Snow of Sherwood

• Keyara Anderson of North Little Rock

• Ayden Bauman of North Little Rock

• Katrina Beaver of North Little Rock

• Lauren Bowser of North Little Rock

• Allen Brown of North Little Rock

• Kyle Brown of North Little Rock

• Brody Bunting of Sherwood

• Katelynn Burdiek of Sherwood

• Tearra Burnett of North Little Rock

• Shatara Conway of Sherwood

• Carter Coven of North Little Rock

• Patricia Cowan of Sherwood

• Dekoda Davis of North Little Rock

• Jacob Delashaw of North Little Rock

• Loresa Dion of Sherwood

• Christian Dominguez of North Little Rock

• Kyo Dong of North Little Rock

• Lindsey Eidt of North Little Rock

• Nehir Eker of North Little Rock

• Annalisa Elrey of North Little Rock

• Emma Emery of North Little Rock

• Hayden Eoff of North Little Rock

• Monica Esquivel of North Little Rock

• Caleb Farmer of North Little Rock

• Brandon Gonzalez of North Little Rock

• Bethanie Gourley of North Little Rock

• Addison Grogan of Sherwood

• Tamara Harris of North Little Rock

• Travis Haskin of North Little Rock

• Sydnee Haynes of North Little Rock

• Cecilia Henderson of North Little Rock

• Ethan Herndon of Sherwood

• Nathanael Hicks of North Little Rock

• Yolanda Holmes of North Little Rock

• Joshua Hunter of North Little Rock

• Isabella Keaton of North Little Rock

• Kassidy Lane of North Little Rock

• Thanh Le of Sherwood

• Grant Lewis of Sherwood

• Huy Luong of North Little Rock

• Mariane Shiechyll Maniago of Sherwood

• Graham Martin of North Little Rock

• JaLisa Martin of Sherwood

• Fernanda Martinez Lopez of North Little Rock

• Allison Mercer of North Little Rock

• Annalyse Miles of North Little Rock

• Austin Miller of Sherwood

• Olivia Molitor of North Little Rock

• Wyatt Niemotka of Sherwood

• Grace Pamudja of Sherwood

• Alex Paramo of North Little Rock

• Paul Piechocki of Sherwood

• Sydney Plaquet of North Little Rock

• Marcus Reams of Sherwood

• Latasha Reyes of Sherwood

• Montoyia Richard of North Little Rock

• Jonathan Satterwhite of North Little Rock

• Cameron Sharp of Sherwood

• Christopher Simpson of North Little Rock

• Gavin Smith of North Little Rock

• Monica Soria of North Little Rock

• Jessica Stahulak of Sherwood

• Abigail Steele of Sherwood

• Victoria Stewart of Sherwood

• Emma Strickland of North Little Rock

• Julio Torrez of North Little Rock

• Ngoc Tuyet T Tran of Sherwood

• Ashlee Walker of North Little Rock

• Umeko Watson of North Little Rock

• Akilah Wedderburn of Sherwood

• Nicole Wells of North Little Rock

• Delvis Williams of North Little Rock

• Sherika Williams of North Little Rock

• Skye Wilson of Sherwood

• Alesha Winter of Sherwood

• Judyth Woods of North Little Rock

• Cory Wright of North Little Rock

• Ashley Wyatt of Sherwood

NOTE: Coming next week, University of Arkansas academic honors and graduates, the following week will be out-of-state college and university honorees and graduates.,

Sparklight to award $30,000 for STEM education

Sparklight®, a leading fiber-fueled internet provider, is launching its 2026 “Dream Bigger” contest, awarding $30,000 to support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for K–12 students. Twelve winning schools or organizations will receive $2,500 each.

Through the annual contest, Sparklight aims to help educators bring hands-on STEM experiences into classrooms and learning environments, equipping K–12 students with skills that spark curiosity, problem-solving and new ideas.

Entries for the 2026 contest will be accepted fnowthrough March 10 at sparklight.com/contest. Finalists will be selected by Sparklight, and the 12 winners will be chosen through public voting from March 12 through March 18 at sparklight.com/contest.

Smart Driver class set

An AARP Smart Driver Class will be held at Maumelle Center on the Lake on March 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

It is open to AARP members & non-member, $20 for members, $25 for non-members, cash or check only. Some insurance companies will give a discount with completion of the class – check with your insurance agent. To register, call or text Ellie Wilson 501-247-5935.

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