Members of the Clark County Quorum Court unanimously approved in a meeting Monday night the appointment of five persons to lead the Economic Development Corp. of Clark County.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, along with Representative Mike Ross announced Monday that the Southern Good Faith Fund in Pine Bluff has been awarded a $48,500 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Opportunity Grant (RBOG) Program.

Members of Arkadelphia’s Board of Directors spent most of the day Saturday meeting in special session to discuss the future of Arkadelphia. Sessions included discussion of the Clark County Strategic Plan and its applications to the city and a discussion of revenues and the allocation of funds.

The list of projects in Clark County’s Strategic Plan that will benefit Ouachita Baptist University is “very exciting,” said Dr. Rex Horne, president of Ouachita.

Horne said he was pleased that OBU and Henderson State University partnered with Southern Bancorp and other entities to sponsor the strategic planning process. The 15 months of work have created valid ideas for improvements, he said.

Baptist Health salutes Dorothy Stuck with the Amazing Spirit Award. The award goes to those who embrace life by remaining active, healthy, and focusing on personal growth at 55 and beyond.

A move to add zoning restrictions on businesses that make “payday loans” has North Little Rock officials looking at a two-year, citywide moratorium on new check-cashing businesses.

…The idea was formed to “take a bank and make it more than just a bank,” Baldwin said. The bank’s main shareholders are nonprofits. It moved into the Delta and began focusing on community development in the most impoverished areas. In Phillips County, Ark., the bank paid to bulldoze a dangerous abandoned downtown building and turned it into a park for kids to play in.

This is the 11th story in a series about the Clark County Strategic Plan. The focus is on Caddo Valley.

Caddo Valley Mayor Alan Dillavou is pleased with all the projects for his city in Clark County’s Strategic Plan, but he’s concerned about the funding.

Photo: From left, Dr. Stan Miller, superintendent of Arkadelphia schools; Carlos Zamudio, Scroll/DANFOSS; and Phil Baldwin, CEO of Southern Bancorp, listen as U.S. Rep. Mike Ross makes a point Thursday morning at Ouachita Baptist University.

Southern Good Faith Fund’s Public Policy program is supporting several initiatives to increase asset building opportunities for working Arkansans. A key priority is increasing funding for the state’s Individual Development Account (IDA) program. The current annual appropriation level of $550,000 for IDAs does not allow access to them statewide or in every county. Currently, four organizations offer Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funded IDA accounts in 36 of the state’s…