The Boys & Girls Club of Phillips County has just returned from San Francisco and an information-packed three-day meeting exploring some of the most pressing issues concerning the well being of America’s young people. A group of three lead by Executive Director Jason Rolett joined some 3,200 other Boys & Girls Club professionals and board members attending the 102nd Annual National Conference for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).

WASHINGTON – Delta economic development advocates asked lawmakers Thursday to prioritize a four-lane highway connecting interstates 40 and 55.

The link between Brinkley and Batesville, Miss., would create a four-lane highway from Little Rock to Atlanta and would serve as a southern bypass around Memphis.

WASHINGTON–The federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority told members of Congress and key congressional staffers Thursday that a four-lane connection from Interstate 55 in Batesville, Miss., to Interstate 40 in Brinkley, Ark., could further enhance the region’s position as one of the nation’s logistics and distribution hubs.

Thanks to the people of Clark County and the members of the quorum court, the first goal of the economic development section of the Clark County Strategic Plan has been accomplished, said Phil Baldwin, an advisory member to the Economic Development Corp. of Clark County.

CADDO VALLEY – In one of several meetings on Friday, the executive director of the Economic Development Corp. of Clark County met with the mayor and council members of Caddo Valley.

“Delta Dreams”, the Arkansas Educational Television Network’s two-year study of eastern Arkansas’s decline and plan for recovery, won a prestigious Silver Screen Award in the social issues documentary category of the U.S. International Film and Video Festival.

The 7,500-square-foot facility was made possible through a $690,000 grant from the US. Department of Health and Human Services and local loans, said John French, president of Southern Community Development Corp.

ARKADELPHIA—Groundbreaking was held today for the Clark County Child Care center, a new 24-hour facility that will serve up to 100 children per shift and is scheduled to open by the end of 2008.

The center, funded by a $690,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, will be constructed by Southern Community Development Corporation (CDC) on 2 acres of land in the Clark County Industrial Park on U.S. 67 south of Arkadelphia.

The passage of a ½-cent sales tax last summer is the greatest accomplishment of the economic development subcommittee, said Bill Wright, an advisory member. Thanks to the overwhelming support of the county citizens, that money is now being used to bring new business and jobs into Clark County.

The formation of a Boys and Girls Club in Arkadelphia is in its first stages thanks to the leadership subcommittee of the Clark County Strategic Planning Committee. The subcommittee and other interested persons met Thursday afternoon with Ben Steinberg and Tim Schuringa of Southern Financial Partners. Schuringa was one of the founding board members of the Boys and Girls Club in Helena.