Clark County has been awarded a $65,000 federal grant by the Arkansas State Highway Commission to help fund the first phase of a hiking and mountain bike recreational trail on the south side of DeGray Lake.

…Stephens said a meeting recently held between representatives of Southern Bancorp and local leaders may give some hope.

“They kind of reiterated what I’m saying,” he said. “But they have done some things with the downtown (in Helena-West Helena). I hope with them coming to Forrest City, we may be able to sit at their feet, and they may be able to give us some guidance on this.”

“When you think about what’s happened here for these children, there’s an opportunity for an eternity of impact. In time, your organization is going to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of children,” Tom Hough, regional service director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America told Rotarians Wednesday.
He applauded the success of the Boys & Girls Club of Phillips County and all the organization’s accomplishments in just three short years.

“We’re meeting tomorrow in Forrest City at the request of the Walton Foundation,” said Phil Baldwin, chief executive officer of Southern Bancorp. He said County Judge Gary Hughes is the facilitator of the meeting.

Ten exceptional volunteers were recognized recently by AARP Arkansas, commemorating the national organization’s 50th anniversary.

– Blake Williams, special project manager serving earned income, tax credit and 2008 stimulus package, Southern Good Faith Fund…

St. Francis County Judge Gary Hughes introduced Phil Baldwin, C.E.O. of Southern Bancorp, and set the stage for the meeting by telling those in attendance that Southern Bancorp was, in effect, taking over for the Foundation for the Mid-South.

Southern Bancorp and its nonprofit affiliate Southern Good Faith Fund have partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to provide the service to families with an annual income of $42,000 or less.

A long line of participants in the Martin Luther King Day Marade marched into the Day Armory on Crittenden Street Monday afternoon.

Pat Wright, treasurer of the MLK Committee, emceed the event. She welcomed Taylor Bledsoe, an Arkadelphia High School ninth grader, who was recently selected to go to Washington, D.C. this summer. While at the capital, Bledsoe will have the opportunity to study crime scene investigation and the law system during his six-day trip.

Southern Bancorp and its nonprofit affiliate Southern Good Faith Fund in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service are offering a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program to the residents of Phillips County and Surrounding areas.

Work is wrapping up on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week child care center that will benefit working families in Clark County.