Splash goes the concrete
Maumelle High School students honored, Neal Moore offers up his take, plus news and sports headlines
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Maumelle: Splash Pad under construction
The headlines
Clayton Boothe may have recently graduated from Maumelle High School but that hasn’t stopped the honors from coming in. … Read More: Maumelle’s Clayton Boothe a National Merit Scholar
Recent Maumelle High School graduate Clayton Boothe. Maumelle's DeKay headed to George Mason for law school after graduating from UALR
ICYMI: As pandemic eases, many seniors have lost strength, may need rehabilitative services
ICYMI: Tips for older adults to regain their game after being cooped up for more than a year
Sports headlines
BASEBALL ON BROADWAY is the new weekly newsletter that spotlights the Arkansas Travelers. It is published on Monday and click the link to give it a read.
Moore on Maumelle: My Take
Are we still talking about masks and vaccine? Of course, we are. Because people are still getting sick and dying. Since the pandemic started, I’ve had two sons and a 2-year-old grandbuddy test positive for the virus. All are doing OK now, but it was enough to make you worry. Try to explain to a 2-year-old why his sense of taste has disappeared.
I vaguely remember being carted off to a local church when I was a kid to get my polio vaccine. No questions asked — my mom just did it. She was a nurse, and my dad was a pharmacist, and they trusted the science. It seems now we are going to bribe people to get a vaccine that has been proven to be safe and effective.
There have been countless other vaccinations for me, my kids and my grandbuddies. Somehow, we survived them all and, miraculously, we didn’t get any of the diseases.
My wife and I are vaccinated against Covid. My daughter and two grandbuddies are vaccinated. I don’t fear the science. I embrace it.
The State of Arkansas plans on spending $8 million to promote the vaccine and an additional $2.5 million to provide incentives such as lottery tickets and game and fish gift certificates. Of course, it’s federal money, which means that you and I are paying for it.
An astounding $10 million to bribe Arkansans to do what they should do anyway? Couldn’t we just hand out hundred-dollar bills to each person who gets vaccinated?
Governor Hutch says Arkansans “know what to do” when he lifted all emergency measures. So, we’re all on the honor system to wear a mask if we are not vaccinated. Right now, Arkansas stands at a little over 30 per cent fully vaccinated and about 40 per cent with one shot. So, I shall continue wearing a mask in public to protect myself from the 60 to 70 percent of you who refuse to do the right thing.
Why we equate wearing masks with a loss of freedom escapes me. Wearing a mask and —especially — getting the vaccine is your ticket to freedom.
You know what to do.
Ask the Mayor Coming Soon
Mayor Caleb Norris has agreed to participate in an ongoing feature called “Ask the Mayor.” Every month or so, I’ll submit a list of questions to the mayor and he’ll supply the answers. If you have a question you’d like the mayor to answer, shoot it to me at neal.moore@sbcglobal.net. Insulting or inappropriate questions won’t be considered, so keep it civil.
Foodie Notes
We have a new pizza joint opening soon called the Pizza House, in the space formerly occupied by Pasta House. Rumor is that it is a locally owned restaurant and will open in mid-June. In no particular order, the new place will make 11 area restaurants that either feature or serve the popular pies.
American Pie
Pizza Hut
Papa John’s
Marco’s
Cheers
Razorback Pizza
U.S. Pizza
Boudreaux’s
Domino’s
Little Caesars
The Pizza House
Send me an email with your top three and I will publish the winners. Send to neal.moore@sbcglobal.net.
Remember, Captain Express Hawaiian BBQ & Sushi? Evidently, they are going to transition into Hokaben Japanese Kitchen. Their new Facebook page announced, “A New Taste is Coming to Your Town.” Don’t know any details, but they do have a banner on their door saying that something is “Open Soon.” They are located at 15 Carnahan Dr. in their former space, which was Domino’s Pizza. Their Facebook page is titled “Hokaben Us.”
My favorite Saturday morning breakfast is available again! Bobby’s Café on MacArthur Drive is now serving Saturday breakfast again. They serve 7 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.; breakfast is served or until they run out. They are also my go-to for catfish. Check out their Facebook page. If you’re watching your calories, it’s not your place.
Car Commercials Drive Me Over the Edge
The most annoying commercials on TV have to be local car dealers. My favorite line in a recent commercial says they will “treat you like family.” I don’t want to be treated like family. I want to be treated like a customer. Note to dealership in Heber Springs: grown men shouldn’t wear shorts on television.
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” -- Mark Twain
See you on the Boulevard.
More news at www.ArkansasNewsroom.com.
Neal Moore is a public relations consultant and resident of Maumelle. Send your Maumelle news or comments to neal.moore@sbcglobal.net. Thanks, PJ
Maumelle’s May, Westfall innovate to top honor
In the first-ever Innovation Challenge, a pair of Maumelle High School students claimed the top honor, it was announced last week.
The students are:
Parker May
Lauren Westfall
And their winning innovation was a “Self-Sanitizing Door Handle.”
May and Westfall were two of more than 400 students from across the Pulaski County Special School District that competed in the Innovation Challenge, which was done in partnership with the school district and the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.
The students, from 11 schools in the district, submitted 136 projects in the Challenge that was modeled on a traditional science fair but was conducted virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.
Students also got virtual training in things like Computer Aided Design, vector design, branding design, prototyping, and basic construction skills along with virtual meetups with experts in those areas.
May and Westfall were the grand prize winners, along with the overall first place award, the Innovation Ignitor Award.
Their teacher was Sherri Keesee and the project was described as: “Imagine if your business's door handles automatically were sanitized every 30 minutes on their own, without needing an employee to clean them. That's the Self-Sanitizing Door Handle.”
Judges’ said, “This product was well thought out and students even created a working prototype and did testing to see how well it sanitized surfaces. We can't wait to see every business with Self-Sanitizing Door Handles.”
May and Westfall will be awarded:
A prototype of their product
A customized t-shirt of their new brand
One-on-one consultation in entrepreneurship
10 hours of private instruction from the Innovation Hub.
It was a good competition for Maumelle as Nathan Davenport and Christian Gaddy received the third place award for their Remote Control Trash Can. Keesee was their teacher as well.
The project was a “robotic trash can made for disabled people who can’t move around their homes easily.”
Other honorees will receive: Innovation Challenge winner t-shirts, laser-cut certificates of achievement, and a package of virtual learning and group consultation.
Overall 2nd place: Innovation Changemaker Award
Squeezy’z
Brogan Fountain, Cruz Brackeen, Michael Devere, Khloe Brown, and Hannah Twitty
Baker Elementary
Teacher: Susan Fountain
Judges called this idea “Brilliant” and voted it the most creative presentation. Squeezy’s is an all-in-one self-pasting travel toothbrush.
Overall 4th place: Innovation Futurist Award
Jewelry Buddy: a Traveling Jewelry Container
Charvi Vyas and Scarlett Williams
Robinson Elementary
Teacher: Claudia Farmer
The Jewelry Buddy is a travel jewelry container, made from recycled materials, to keep jewelry from getting tangled while travelling.
Overall 5th place: Innovation Solver Award
Online Organizer
Kyndal Browning and Ava Townsend
Sylvan Hills Elementary
Teacher: Mrs. Stephanie Belin
The Online Organizer is an organizer that attaches to a laptop for virtual students and workers to keep paper and pencil with their laptop.
Best 3rd Grade Project: Young Innovator Award
Seed Dropper 3000
Kanyon Fenwick, Amirah Smith, Elijah Reed, Ethan Rodriquez
Oakbrooke Elementary
Teacher: Jarrod Haymond, Tasha Middaugh
Their idea is for an airplane shaped drone that drops wildflower seeds to help pollinators like Bees. They designed their idea with TinkerCAD.
Free summer meals for students start Monday
Free weekly meal boxes will be made available to children and teenagers in Pulaski County through a federal program the Pulaski County Special School District has partnered with starting next Monday, June 7.
The weekly meal boxes will include five breakfasts and five lunches and will be available for pickup at seven different school campuses in the district.
The program will continue through the summer. Families, even if their children aren’t enrolled in a PCSSD school, can receive a weekly meal box. Pickup times every Monday are from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Pickup locations are:
Pine Forest Elementary: 400 Pine Forest Drive, Maumelle
Oak Grove Elementary: 5703 Oak Grove Road, North Little Rock
Harris Elementary: 4424 Highway 161 N, North Little Rock
Cato Elementary: 9906 Jacksonville-Cato Road, Sherwood
College Station Elementary: 4710 Frazier Pike, Little Rock
Landmark Elementary: 16712 Arch Street Pike, Little Rock
William Jefferson Clinton Elementary: 142 Hollywood Ave., Sherwood
Meals will be similar to those made available to students when schools pivoted to virtual, so a five day box would include:
Five heat-and-serve prepared home meals
Five cups of vegetables
Five cups of different fruit
10 ounces of grain items
10 cartons of milk
Five prepared breakfast entrees
Five cartons of juice
A typical breakfast would then be a sausage biscuit, half cup fruit, 4 ounces of juice and 8 ounces of milk,” she said for breakfast, while lunch might be chicken alfredo, green beans, orange glazed carrots, whole grain roll, half cup of fruit and 8 ounces of milk.
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