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Kicking off Prep Academy No. 2

Gov. Mike Beebe, keynote speaker for Monday’s opening celebration of the second Arkadelphia College Preparatory Acadamy, makes conversation during the reception. In left photo, three of the 88 students selected for the prep academy chat amount themselves. The academy is a partnership between Henderson and Arkadelphia Public Schools and is supported by the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancoep. This year’s program will serve 88 students from the Arkadelphia, Centerpoint, and Gurdon school districts. Other state partners include Ouachita Baptist University, Dawson Education Cooperative< Ouachita Technical College and the Arkansas Department of Education.

Academy opens to 88 students for second year

Henderson State University will host 88 ninth and tenth graders from local school districts as the second year of an innovative educational opportunity in Clark County begins. The Arkadelphia College Preparatory Acadamy is scheduled to resume classes on Oct. 24 on Henderson’s campus. The program was designed as part of the High School Redesign Initiativeof the Southwest-A Education Renewal Zone and the Arkansas Department of Education.

Education key for Miss., experts say

More must seek degrees, skills training

Mississippi has lost 50,000 jobs in the last two years and it would “need 10 more Nissans to fill the gap,” state economist Phil Pepper said Friday.

“We will see very little increase in employment in the next several years,” he said.

And education will be the key to making the most of the opportunities that are there, Pepper and other speakers said during an economic forum at the Jackson Marriott sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, an independent, nonpartisan initiative that analyzes policies.

Jailbird’ expenses are ‘breaking the county'

If enough tax revenues are available, the Clark County Budget and Finance Committee may approve Sheriff David Turner’s request for $215,000 more than what was appropriated for his total budget last year. Turner said he is requesting more for 2010 so that he will not have to go before the committee next year. The committee has, for two years in a row, convened with the sheriff in the fourth quarter to discuss over-budgeting.

Development district looms on horizon

The wheels of the Delta Bridge Project continue to turn and seem to continue to improve and revitalize Phillips County and Helena-West Helena. Joe Black, president of Southern Bancorp Capital Partners, in conjunction with the DBP, is seeking action from the Helena-West Helena City Council to declare parts of Downtown Helena a development district.

Sweet, hopeful sounds in the Delta

HELENA — First and always, it’s the music.

The sustaining memory from the annual blues festival over the weekend will be of sitting mesmerized amid a gentle cooling breeze on the Mississippi River levee late Thursday night. Fayetteville’s Cate Brothers, Ernie and Earl and their band mates, flawlessly dished out a quintessentially Arkansas musical stew of blues and mellifluous soul and mild rock and maybe a hint of country.

Blues News

Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival officials recently presented Southern Bancorp with a special biscuit platter for their generous donation as the Primary Sponsor of the 2009 AB&HF.

Payday Lenders Still Active In Arkansas On Internet

The last payday lender operating a store in Arkansas closed its doors this summer, but Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said that hasn’t stopped predatory lenders from continuing to target Arkansans.

Though it hasn’t filed any lawsuits against them yet, the attorney general’s office has sent about 30 warning letters to so-called payday lenders who have either loaned or offered to loan money to Arkansas residents over the Internet.

B.B. King Museum Dedicates the AT&T Learning Center

Southern Bancorp provided $200,000 grant to help build the B.B. King Museum.

The AT&T* Learning Center at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center will be dedicated on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2009. The legendary B.B. King will be on hand to join in welcoming local officials, dignitaries, and museum supporters from the Delta and beyond. The day will begin with live music and a music workshop for young people will be held following the ceremony. The Learning Center is the fulfillment of a dream made possible by a $500,000 grant from AT&T*.