Arkansas Times - January 26, 2017

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Full of interesting voices and colorful portraits of 17 Little Rock and North Little Rock neighborhoods, this book gives an intimate, block-by-block, native’s view of the place more than 250,000 Arkansans call home.

Created from interviews with residents and largely written by writers who actually live in the neighborhoods they’re writing about, the book features over 90 full color photos by Little Rock photographer Brian Chilson.

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A compilation of stories published in the Arkansas Times during our first twenty years. Each story examines a fragment of Arkansas’s unique history – giving a fresh insight into what makes us Arkansans.

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COMMENT

A 5.7 earthquake away from destruction I woke up recently to tragic news: A 5.7 magnitude earthquake in Italy triggered an avalanche, burying a resort hotel filled with vacationing families, causing loss of life and devastation across the region.

That same number — 5.7 magnitude on the Richter Scale — has been on my mind for weeks. Ever since I received a copy of a letter that describes what a 5.7 magnitude earthquake could do to Oklahoma’s Cushing Oil Hub. It’s not a pretty picture.

Arkansas’s neighbor to the west has been experiencing massive earthquake swarms that are increasing in size and magnitude. Oklahoma’s earthquakes are caused by wastewater injection wells used by the oil and gas industry. Despite agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Geological Survey on the seismic consequences of injecting oil and gas wastewater deep underground, Oklahoma continues to allow thousands of these injection wells.

Cushing is known as “The Oil Pipeline Crossroads of the World” for good reason: With capacity for 80 million barrels of oil (and 42 gallons in each barrel), you do the math. The letter, sent by the EPA to Oklahoma’s agency overseeing the oil and gas industry, is dated Nov. 22, 2016.

It was written a month after Oklahoma’s biggest earthquake: Pawnee’s 5.8 quake in September 2016.

According to the EPA and Department of Homeland Security, and referenced by the U.S. Geological Survey and Oklahoma Geological Survey, an earthquake of 5.7 magnitude at the Cushing Oil Hub could destroy infrastructure and release untold amounts of crude oil into the environment.

Recently, Erin Brockovich, the respected environmentalist and subject of an award-winning film, traveled to Oklahoma to meet with families whose homes have been destroyed by nonstop earthquakes, now averaging up to three per day in Oklahoma.

Arkansas is the unhappy recipient of Oklahoma’s seismic activity due to faultlines running east and west through the Ouachita Mountains and because of the Ozark Mountains’ proximity to continuing tremors in Oklahoma. Now, an additional threat has emerged: Valero’s Diamond Oil Pipeline. The Diamond Pipeline could be the final straw, adding 200,000 gallons of oil per day to this seismic area.

Originating at Oklahoma’s Cushing Oil Hub, the Diamond Oil Pipeline is to be constructed through every watershed, river, farmland and forest between Fort Smith and Memphis. The Diamond Pipe4

JANUARY 26, 2017

line would terminate at Memphis’s Valero Oil Terminal (after tunneling beneath the Mississippi River).

Recently, a group of fearless young people staged a sit-down strike at the Valero Oil Terminal. They studied the peaceful methods of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and knew they would be arrested. But they made their point: Memphis is at the heart of the New Madrid Fault zone, site of the most devastating earthquake in United States history. The Diamond Oil Pipeline connects what is currently the nation’s most seismic region

(Oklahoma) with the historically deadly New Madrid Fault zone, converging above the Memphis aquifer, upstream from the fertile Delta.

What could possibly go wrong with this scenario? We know what can go wrong, thanks to the EPA’s warning to Oklahoma’s oil and gas commissioners.

The increasing seismicity of the Cushing Oil Hub constitutes a threat to national security, and building the Diamond Oil Pipeline compounds that threat.

Total destruction is only a 5.7 magnitude quake away — a magnitude that

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comes closer to reality with each passing day.

Denise Parkinson Hot Springs National Park

The end Democracy in our country is dead. It’s not going to resurrect. It will decay quickly in the fetid cesspool we have so mindlessly built around us by our narcissistic fascination with exploitation and waste.

Our president for the past eight years tells us as he departs that “we will be fine.” Only if by “fine” he is describing what we will be ground into under the heels of corporate plutocracy. The past week offered us serial insults in the way of so-called candidates to lead the highest executive offices of our government. Each one is a personal affront to every American citizen. As a group, they are suited only for the careers from which they were drawn. Those careers are designed solely to exploit the common good for the purpose of personal profit: the exact opposite of democratic government.

The Democratic Party representatives in the so-called “confirmation hearings” showed us they have become nothing more than another “pussy” to be grabbed, abused and tossed into the overflowing landfill of what we never have been able to accomplish. The already crippled and soon to be put out of its misery “news” media merely scrabbled for whatever crumbs were tossed their way when they could force a brief break from preening among themselves.

You want hope? It’s not going to leap at you from whatever flickering screen has absorbed your few seconds of attention span. It’s going to happen when that demagogue comes to crush you and you have the guts to kick its ass. That’s going to take some preparation. The current trend line says you’re not up to it.

David Steadman Damascus

From the web In response to last week’s cover story, “Plant of the year,” about medical marijuana: The only dope I see in this is [marijuana policy expert Mark] Kleiman, talking about things he is not in touch with, and coming up with a term like stoned-hours. He has no idea what he is talking about, and the issue of the drug problem is that it will save lives, and help people (who really want to) quit using the opiates, that are killing them. Also,

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why isn’t the state putting out a call for people with experience with this sort of thing? They are flying blind, and have absolutely no idea as to what they are doing, and need to be doing. That’s a glaringly obvious fact that no one seems to think is worth mentioning.

Dale Worthington

In response to Autumn Tolbert’s Jan. 19 column, “A heart in this house”: Autumn Tolbert, thank you. I met Rev. Barbour in Selma two years ago.

A new moral leader for our country.

Like my guide, my colleague and my friend the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We have a democracy, a country and a world to save.

Strider Benston The elections woke people up, a good thing, and that caused some people to feel insecure about their future, especially when you have a president-elect that can’t convey his thoughts into a structured sentence with a beginning and end. He is just giving out information from the middle of a sentence. We aren’t getting good information from him. His Cabinet and staff picks have been rather one-sided and some are scary people with extreme views. We will find out more information next week. I have been watching a lot of latenight talk show comedians and they provide some much needed laughter, so I don’t take the shifting politics too seriously, which can ruin your whole day. There are a lot of political groups and PACS forming that are made up of good people that have felt the need to take some action that will produce

OFFICE INTERIORS

and recruit strong candidates to run for offices that will be open in the 2018 election, such as [the ones held by] Governor Hutchinson, Treasurer Dennis Milligan, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and more. A good benefit that comes from marching Saturday is that you will meet some energetic people from a lot of different organizations. I think the march is important for my mental health.

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5

EYE ON ARKANSAS

WEEK THAT WAS

Quotes of the Week: “At my core, I think we’re going to be OK.”

BRIAN CHILSON

— Former President Barack Obama, signing off at his final news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

HERE TO STAY: The Women’s March for Arkansas drew thousands from around the state to the Capitol on Saturday, Jan. 21, as a counterpoint to Friday’s presidential inauguration.

Hotter and hotter

“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. … From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.

From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.”

—President Donald J. Trump, in his inaugural address Friday, Jan. 20.

“We are here, and we are here to stay.”

— Crystal Mercer, the emcee at the Women’s March for Arkansas at the state Capitol on Saturday, Jan. 21. In cities from Washington, D.C., to Little Rock and around the world, millions rallied to protest the incoming presidential administration.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Three government agencies — two American, one British — released findings that global temperatures in 2016 were the highest on record, according to data collected from satellites and surface stations around the globe. That’s the bad news. The worse news is that the previous hottest year was 2015, which itself beat the temperature record set all the way back in … 2014. Scientists expect 2017 to be slightly cooler thanks to the end of an El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific, but over the long run the pattern is clear: Global temperatures are rising in concert with the level of atmospheric carbon, which is driven largely by human activity. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, President Trump signed documents clearing the way for construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which the Obama administration had blocked.

Major tax cut sails through ledge Governor Hutchinson’s $50 million tax cut for low-income Arkansans passed both legislative chambers this week with broad bipartisan support, despite the presence of a competing proposal from Democrats and early signals of dissatisfaction

from some Republican lawmakers.

The governor’s proposal would give a break to the 657,000 Arkansans who earn less than $21,000 a year. That didn’t sit well with certain Republican supplysize zealots — such as Rep. Charlie Collins (R-Fayetteville) — who wanted to slash taxes for the wealthy rather than the poor. In the end, they were placated

by Hutchinson’s promise to create a legislative task force on broader tax reform, which will present a final report in 2018.

Meanwhile, Rep. Warwick Sabin (D-Little Rock) filed a competing proposal to create a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit, which Democrats (and a few Republicans) argued would be a better vehicle to provide tax relief for low-income earners than Hutchinson’s proposed cut. But although Sabin’s bill passed out of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee along with the governor’s preferred measure, the EITC did not get a vote on the floor of the House.

Instead, Hutchinson’s proposal passed out of the House, 90-2, while an identical bill passed in the Senate 33-0.

Raawwrrr And now for the really hefty Capitol news: Arkansas is now one step closer to having an official dinosaur, thanks to a resolution from Rep. Greg Leding

(D-Fayetteville) to bestow that honor upon Arkansaurus fridayi. Joe B. Friday discovered the dinosaur’s fossilized foot in a gravel pit near Lockesburg in 1972 when he was out looking for a cow. Arkansaurus, a bipedal therapod, is the only dinosaur whose remains have been found in Arkansas to date (though fossilized footprints have been found in the state). The resolution passed the House unanimously by voice vote.

Gay jokes evidently not back on after all Hunter Hatcher, an outreach coordinator for the office of state Treasurer Dennis Milligan, resigned after complaints about comments he made on social media. “Y’all in Trump’s America now! Time to flick that chip off ya shoulder and quit being so offended. Gay jokes are back on ya bunch of homos!”

Hatcher tweeted on Inauguration Day. He took to Facebook to weigh in on the Women’s March for Arkansas: “If all these women are at the Capitol, who’s making lunch?” Unfortunately for Hatcher, low-level staffers evidently have less latitude than presidential candidates in making offensive comments: On Monday, he resigned from his post.

Milligan called the comments “absurd, insulting, unprofessional.”

OPINION

Let them eat cake

A

n unproductive and harmful bill attempting to curb obesity passed easily out of committee last week at the state legislature. House Bill 1035 attempts to address this serious public health issue by preventing poor families who rely on SNAP (the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps) from purchasing certain items such as candy and sodas.

If only it were that simple. This bill would not improve public health, and instead would harm food-insecure children, seniors and people trying to make ends meet while they look for a job.

The dividing line between “good” and “bad” foods would be based on WIC (Women, Infants and Children), a program created for the specific nutritional needs of low-income pregnant women and infants. Using WIC guidelines doesn’t make sense nutritionally because they will be too restrictive; WIC is designed to be a nutrition supplement to SNAP, not a standalone program. Restricting SNAP in this way would also hurt retailers who must bear the cost of upgrading systems because SNAP is done through EBT cards while WIC still uses paper.

This bill also misrepresents who is eating unhealthy food in Arkansas and why they are eating it (hint: Just ELEANOR removing candy WHEELER bars won’t help).

First, most Americans do not eat healthily, not just poor Arkansans. This bill blames poor people’s grocery shopping choices for a wider public health issue, even though a U.S. Department of Agriculture study last year showed that SNAP recipients purchase most of their groceries — from soda to fresh vegetables — at very similar rates as everyone else. Low-income residents do have worse health outcomes, but that result involves more than the types of food they are buying (access to playgrounds and sidewalks play a role, for instance). We didn’t get to be ranked sixth in the nation for obesity just because our lowest income residents have access to soda.

Second, the nature of why people eat what they do is complex. Unhealthy food consumption is a multifaceted topic steeped in hard-to-change factors like cultural norms and the physical layout of com-

Phony oaths

T

he quadrennial and biennial swearing-in ceremonies, where men and women place their hands on a Bible, or a stack of them in President Trump’s case, and swear allegiance to the constitutions of their nation or states, are always inspiring theater, if you can overlook the sanctimony. It’s getting harder.

Repeating an oath to abide by constitutions, even when it may not be in your political interest, is a way of reassuring people that you will be true to the human values enshrined there. Hearing the oaths soar over the National Mall or across a courtroom makes us all feel warm and patriotic, even if we know they are not going to do it and that down deep there are times when each of us wishes certain parts of our constitutions would go away.

Hundreds of federal officials, from the president and his Cabinet and scores of underlings to members of Congress, swore absolute fealty to the U.S. Constitution while contemplating how they were going to get around enforcing it when the president himself scoffs at provisions he loathes, like the emolu-

ments clause and First and 14th Amendment protections of the press, minorities, dissidents and the ERNEST shunned.

DUMAS A day after his inauguration, Trump promised to make the media pay a dear price for putting him in a bad light, recalling his campaign threats to impose criminal and civil sanctions on pesky reporters, editors and owners. The courts, federal and state, said many years ago the government couldn’t do that because it violated the First Amendment.

Even the arch-conservative Arkansas Supreme Court declared it constitutionally offensive in 1975 when a state criminal libel law dating back to 1838 was used to jail a Republican newspaper editor at Cave City, twice a candidate for governor, for printing a scandalously reckless rag called the Sharp Citizen. The old law made it a crime to defame a dead person or expose a live one to ridicule.

The Supreme Court, which tossed the

munities. Unfortunately, getting people to prepare healthy food at home is not as easy as taking candy from a baby. Real contributors to obesity include a lack of access to fresh fruit and vegetables, food deserts, exhausted food banks and a lack of education about physical fitness and nutrition.

Third, this bill ignores the realities that working families face when trying to feed their families. Cooking healthy can be expensive, inconvenient and time-intensive. Fresh vegetables are often unavailable at retailers in poor neighborhoods and they spoil quickly, which means they may not last long enough for families in food deserts who make infrequent trips to the store. Items like dried beans and rice are not edible without preparation, and it takes time and knowledge to make those staples into foods that are both healthy and appealing to children.

Furthermore, taking candy bars and sodas out of the equation doesn’t change the fact that Arkansas is the Cheese Dip Capital of the World. We have conceived of every imaginable way to turn even the most innocent vegetable into a cardiologist’s nightmare. Okra can and will be fried and salted; the same goes for chicken and corn. That cheap bag of potatoes can be mashed, scalloped or baked and heaped with butter. No raw ingredient is safe from a nutritionally illiterate chef, no matter the

income group. Outlawing certain foods for SNAP families won’t change what people do with a potato once they get home. Only education will do that. If we don’t help people learn how to connect what they are eating to their personal health, it won’t matter. If we don’t improve access to fresh, nutritious ingredients, it won’t matter. If we don’t improve nutrition education in our state, it won’t matter.

Obesity is a dangerous, complex foe that warrants an equally thoughtful and nuanced solution, not an oversimplification and a finger wag. Bills like HB 1035 underestimate the massive challenge of changing public behavior and undermine the meaningful work being done to improve public health in Arkansas (such as efforts from the Hunger Relief Alliance and the Governor’s Healthy Active Arkansas plan).

If the legislature wants to support access to healthy foods, restricting already limited food budget supports is the wrong thing to do. Improving nutrition education, safety net programs and incentives like Double Up Food Bucks (which doubles SNAP dollars at farmers markets) would make a difference.

old law, said you might sue the editor for his crazy articles if he had a collectable dollar, but you couldn’t shut him down or jail him. See Weston v. Arkansas or Joseph Harry Weston in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

Good reading.

Next month, or before, the president will nominate a justice of the Supreme Court to fill a yearlong vacancy created by the Senate’s refusal to do its constitutional duty to act on the nomination of a justice.

Trump says his nominee will be someone in the image of the now sainted Antonin Scalia who will vote to reverse all the terrible precedents where the Supreme Court read the Constitution’s speech, assembly, equal-protection, due-process and commerce clauses literally to extend the rights named there to women, African-Americans, gays, the disabled and to a black president’s health care law, rather than try to filter the words through the minds of the wealthy dead white men who had put them on paper. They obviously had not meant that blacks could speak, assemble, own guns or move around freely, because elsewhere the document recognized that they were only 60 percent human and were not entitled to freedom. Women, gays and the disabled were not quanti-

fied specifically, but the men of the 18th and 19th centuries did not mean to apply equal protection of laws, including marriage, to them.

Back in Little Rock, new appellate judges were sworn in with some fine speechmaking about their solemn reverence for the constitutions. One new justice, Shawn Womack, a former Republican state senator, announced he was going to read the constitutions through Scalia’s originalist lens.

Two hundred yards away, the Arkansas legislature, only days fresh from constitutional oaths, is getting ready to give him some instant business. It will pass and Governor Hutchinson will sign laws on abortion, voting, discrimination and who knows what else that plainly run afoul of constitutional precedents established, often unanimously, by state and federal appellate courts. They hope that a new Supreme Court will take the words of the state and federal constitutions not so literally and allow the government leeway in regulating how much a woman can control her body, the legal voters who can be barred from the voting booth and who can escape discrimination in the marketplace and government programs.

Eleanor Wheeler is a senior policy analyst for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Follow Arkansas Blog on Twitter: @ArkansasBlog

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Too late

N

ow that the horses have left the barn, trotted out the front gate and are galloping headlong down the county road, editors at the New York Times have taken to public bickering about who left the stalls unlatched.

Not that it’s doing the rest of us much good.

How the Times retains its pre-eminent place in American journalism after decades of politicized bungling at the highest levels continues to mystify.

Almost regardless of how many fruitless “investigations” it flogs or catastrophic wars the newspaper enables, its editors’ invariable response to criticism remains, “We’re the New York Times, and you’re not.”

Even when, as in the latest public challenge to the Times’ high opinion of itself comes from inside the building.

Public editor Liz Spayd wrote a recent column arguing that regarding Donald Trump’s strange “bromance” with Vladimir Putin, the newspaper definitely left the stall doors ajar.

Headlined “Trump, Russia, and the News Story That Wasn’t,” Spayd’s column argues that despite having plenty of potentially explosive information about an ongoing FBI probe into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties with Russian intelligence operatives, the newspaper sat on the story.

“Conversations over what to publish were prolonged and lively,” she writes, “involving Washington and New York, and often including the executive editor, Dean Baquet. If the allegations were true, it was a huge story. If false, they could damage the Times’ reputation.

With doubts about the material and with the FBI discouraging publication, editors decided to hold their fire.”

Spayd believes the Times was too timid by half. “If you know the FBI is investigating, say, a presidential candidate, using significant resources and with explosive consequences, that should be enough to write.”

It may also be worthwhile recalling, although Spayd somewhat downplays the comparison, how the newspaper handled an investigation of Trump’s rival. The Times treated FBI Director James Comey’s highly irregular Oct. 28 letter reopening the agency’s fruitless probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails like the Pearl Harbor attack. There was hardly anything else on the front page.

Then on Oct. 31, the Times delivered a front-page exclusive headlined “Inves-

tigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia.”

Anonymous “law enforcement offiGENE cials” said so.

LYONS Russian hacking of Democratic emails, the article concluded, “was aimed at disrupting the presidential election rather than electing Mr. Trump.”

Since the election, the Times has reversed itself: “Both intelligence and law enforcement officials agree that there is a mountain of circumstantial evidence suggesting that the Russian hacking was primarily aimed at helping Mr. Trump and damaging his opponent.”

Too late. Before the Nov. 8 contest, most of the national media followed the Times’ lead in soft-pedaling the Moscow connection. Regardless of its blunders, the newspaper’s influence remains canonical. Reporters want to work there pretty much the way whiz kids want to go to Harvard.

Meanwhile, as CNBC reported, none other than “FBI Director James Comey argued privately that it was too close to Election Day for the United States government to name Russia as meddling in the U.S. election.”

Oh, no, perish the thought.

Just the other day, President Trump actually blew Comey a kiss at a White House reception. He’s so impulsive and unpredictable, our president.

Comey gets to keep the job.

But back to the internal dispute at the New York Times. Liz Spayd’s column about editorial foot-dragging so annoyed Executive Editor Dean Baquet that he took to the rival Washington Post to characterize it as “a bad column,” with a “ridiculous conclusion.”

Writing to the always-provocative Erik Wemple blog, Baquet denied that the Times got played by its sources. “We did not have a story. It was unpublishable speculation,” he writes. “It made no difference what the Feds wanted.

She doesn’t understand what happened.

We reported the hell out of this, as did other news organizations, and we could prove nothing. … When a news organization concludes that it cannot prove something, it doesn’t get to say, ‘I want to show you my notebook anyway.’ ” Point taken. Not that it’s ever kept the Times from publishing speculative “scandal” stories over the past quarter century or so.

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don’t do this very often within the parameters of “Pearls,” but this will be a segmented column addressing two issues on the Hill.

The first is the basketball team’s tepid but real resurgence over the past few days. Arkansas has somehow shrugged off two terrible losses (by 26 at Kentucky after a good first half, and then an outright tanking at home against Mississippi State) to win three in a row and Annual Open House surge to 15-4, 4-3 in SEC play. The Hogs, Now accepting Now accepting Sunday, January 28, 2007 of course, have had no choice but to look applications for applications for the good if they want to eke into a crowded the 2007-08 2010-11 school year.

Freshman Entrance Exam NCAA school year.

Now accepting applications for the February 10, 2007 Tournament field, one which Saturday, presumably will only take three or four 2014-15 school year. conference teams.

Mike Anderson’s crew had a flatAnnual Freshman Entrance Exam AnnualOpen OpenHouse House Freshmen Entrance Exam CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL out awful 30 minutes at College StaSunday, Saturday, February 2014 Sunday,January January 26, 29, 2014 2017 Saturday, February 4, 8, 2017 FOR BOYS tion and that didn’t bode well for the 12:30 - 2:30 12:30 - 2:30 6300 Father Tribou Street upswing. Texas A&M is utterly medioLittle Rock, Arkansas 72205 Website cre this year, particularly at the offensive CATHOLIC HIGH501-664-3939 SCHOOL www.lrchs.org end, but the Aggies carried a 12-point FOR BOYS lead in the second half and then fizzled. lrchs.org 6300 Father Tribou Street It was a weird game to say the least: Little Rock, Arkansas 72205 Manuale Watkins, a senior guard who’s 501-664-3939 never shown range beyond 12 to 15 feet, decided to start stroking threes and he hit a trio of them to get the moribund offense going. Moses Kingsley tossed in a long-range jumper as well, and as the final minutes began to wear away, Arkansas nudged ahead.

They still played like a team without much composure, though. There were numerous gaffes in the waning seconds alone. But the Hogs escaped with a second road win in three tries, and that set the table for a much steadier performance in primetime on Saturday night.

LSU, like A&M, is at its weakest state in a good stretch, which is precisely why the national pundits give this conference so little credit — the best teams are good, but flawed, and the worst teams are uniformly and completely terrible.

There’s a very real chance that more than half of the league will end up with losing conference records and many of those will have a sub-.500 overall mark at the end of the year.

Johnny Jones’ Tigers were aggressive and pesky at Bud Walton but it was hardly enough to stave off the best offensive showing that Moses Kingsley has given all year, a 24-point display that routinely involved the senior forward stepping back and confidently stroking 18- to 20-footers and then backing into the paint with more force than he’s demonstrated in a season that has been underwhelming to date. It could well be the catalyst for better games ahead, and

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ARKANSAS TIMES

it also buoyed the offense when the defense reverted back to some puzzling lapses.

Arkansas posted BEAU a 99-86 win.

WILCOX Where do they go from here? Vanderbilt looked like a potential lock for a fourth straight win but then dispatched Florida at Gainesville in an early game Saturday, so even with the upcoming schedule still being highly favorable to the Hogs, the pressure is immense. Lose to a somewhat lowly Commodore team and there’s substantial, arguably irreparable damage done to the NCAA tournament resume, which is still very much in a dubious condition anyway. Then the Hogs draw Oklahoma State in the Big 12-SEC challenge, and the Cowboys are mired in a horrible season so far. Obviously, the net effect of this week is little to be gained while much could be lost: coast back from Stillwater with a 17-4 mark, and the team looks strong and confident, even having buried utterly beatable opposition. But again, a split or a washout completely takes the Hogs off the bubble for good, barring an SEC tourney miracle run.

On the football field, Paul Rhoads predictably ascended to permanent defensive coordinator status, and that’s the best and only option for Bret Bielema to deal with his beleaguered unit at this point. Robb Smith looked like a genius when the personnel was favorable, and then the bloom was off the rose once Darius Philon, Trey Flowers, and Martrell Spaight all went pro after the 2014 season. He took the Minnesota gig to avoid the indignity of a firing here.

Rhoads was the right choice to take over. He’s cut his teeth as a coordinator in this vicious conference, did an admirable job as Iowa State’s head coach for a good stretch, and took on the defensive back challenge last fall with aplomb.

Arkansas doesn’t have all-world corners and safeties, which is not a stunning revelation, but the way Santos Ramirez, Ryan Pulley and Josh Liddell developed on the back end of the defense was noteworthy, particularly because a highly overrated defensive line rarely generated any kind of pressure against elusive quarterbacks.

There’s really no reason the defense should not be better under Rhoads’ guidance.

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he first step is admitting you have a problem, so here goes: Since the election, The Observer has been in a bit of a funk. If you watch this space, you have no doubt noticed it. We have wrassled mightily with a thorniest of dilemmas: what to do when the job is to speak, but the stupidity and short-sightedness of your countrymen has left you speechless.

The Observer, for our part, has gone it mostly alone, other than filling Spouse’s ear with bitter rants at every new outrage. We have passed still hours of the night in the secret dread that a person with a textbook case of narcissistic personality disorder (seriously, look up the symptoms) has ultimate command of the United States’ nuclear arsenal. We have felt the longing to be in the rush of places that seem to matter when things are decided, as opposed to Arkansas, which — notwithstanding impeachment, nuclear war or alien invasion at some point in the next four years — will break comfortably for Dorito Mussolini in 2020, no matter what horror slithers forth from the dirty dishwater of El Presidente’s soul in the meanwhile.

The Observer is of the generation that has long been waiting for Our Moment, though, and we truly feel this is ours. When we heard there was going to be a march on the state Capitol to coincide with the Women’s March in Washington, we cleared the calendar and rounded up the Love of This Life.

Being a reporter, we’ve been to marches on the Capitol before: rallies for choice, for LGBT rights, for the West Memphis 3, for Occupy. Still, we didn’t expect much on Saturday. A few hundred folks.

Some pussy hats, even though the day was too warm and sunny for knitted anything. MAYBE a thousand people would show.

And so when Spouse and Yours Truly rounded the corner onto Capitol Avenue and saw the giant crowd marshaled at Pulaski Street, wholly filling three packed blocks and more,

bristling with signs and righteousness there in the sun, Your Correspondent had to thumb back a tear. Walking up the hill to join them, suddenly we knew, maybe for the first time since the returns started coming in on election night, that it was going to be OK. That is not an Alternative Fact, sons and daughters. That’s the damn truth.

The Observer, who has an aversion to crowds that borders on a phobia, was happy to be folded into the bosom of that one. And then we marched, like real, professional protestors. And then the Capitol: mounting the steps as one, spreading off the path and onto the grass, the crowd stretching from the bronze doors down the walk, spilling back out onto Capitol Avenue. Babies crying and people filling the air with cheering, boys and girls playing tag on the lawn at the outskirts, the ghosts of suffragettes and Freedom Riders, Tom Jefferson and Tom Joad, flitting hither and yon, all around and everywhere.

We heard a final estimate of 7,000 people in Little Rock, and we believe it. Believe this as well: While there likely weren’t many supporters of Sen. Tom Cotton or Sen. John Boozman in that crowd, if you believe the sight of 7,000 pissed-off Arkies rallied Back Home didn’t put a jitter into Two-Gun Tommy and John Who?, get the doctor to check your skull for soft spots.

While the folks protesting Trump in Little Rock on Saturday may not be Republicans, most every one of them has dozens of family members all over the state who very well might be. Blood is always more persuasive than politics.

Thank you, Arkansas, for giving The Observer back a bit of our faith in the idea that real, world-changing things can happen here. Keep it up, and let’s see about getting the gang together again at the Capitol real soon (like this Saturday, at the Rally for Reproductive Justice, 1 p.m.). We’re all going to need those periodic fixes of give-a-damn in the years to come if we’re going to turn this around. Onward.

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Arkansas Reporter

THE

Shut out

and community activists who showed up at the two meetings last week.

Ivy Chan has a secondgrader and a kindergartner at Neighborhoods angry over Poore’s Franklin, along with a younger school closings. child whom she said she considers “a future Falcon,” the

BY BENJAMIN HARDY school’s mascot. Chan said she has come to feel the staff at Franklin is family. “I suffer ameka Jackson, the mother near University Avenue, was not of a child at Wilson Elemenso lucky. Also slated for closure from anxiety, but to my surtary School, had strong words are Franklin Elementary School, prise, as soon as I walked in for Mike Poore at a community meeting a K-5 campus with 269 students the door I was met with warm on Thursday, Jan. 19, after the Little located just off Fair Park Avenue smiles and a family environRock School District superintendent near the University of Arkanment,” Chan told Poore. As a explained to parents why he seeks to sas at Little Rock, and Woodruff member of the PTA, she said, close the campus at the end of the curEarly Childhood Center, which “I feel useful, loved and happy.” rent school year. serves 150 preschoolers in the Although her oldest child has “How dare you?” Jackson said to Stifft Station area. had trouble making friends Poore. “How dare you choose our comPoore’s “repurposing” plan in the past, he fits in well at munity, our neighborhood, our school? would distribute Wilson’s Franklin, and both of her chilstudents among four nearby dren have received services at Our kids matter. The teachers there elementaries — Bale, Brady, the school’s clinic. matter. The principal matters, and he Romine and Western Hills — treats the kids like they matter. Like my “I would like to ask you to neighborhood is not important enough while Franklin’s students would reconsider the decision to close to have a thriving school? How dare transfer to Stephens Elementary.

Franklin,” Chan pleaded. “It is so rare to have a school that not y’all make the decision without us? ...

(Parents would also be able to I’ve been in the military fighting for my apply for a slot at one of the dis- TOUGH QUESTIONS: Tameka Jackson and her son Javier, 7, only is excellent in teaching our a first grader at Wilson Elementary. LRSD Communications trict’s magnets: Booker, Carver, Director Pam Smith holds the microphone. whole country and now I have to come children, but also in being a famhome and fight locally? Why? This is Gibbs and Williams.) Woodruff’s ily unit. Children need that.”

The clinic at Franklin is one crazy.” youngsters would be divided receive their students.

Two days earlier, at a press conferbetween the pre-K programs at Carver of the school’s strong suits, pointed out ence, Poore had announced several and King Elementary schools. Hamil“For every one of us, this is a meetEbony Adams, the president of Frankplanned school closures as part of his ton Learning Academy, the district’s ing that we wish we weren’t attendlin’s PTA. “Of all of the schools in the efforts to absorb a loss of $37 million alternative school, would relocate to ing,” the superintendent told a crowd district, what would put Franklin on the in the LRSD budget when desegregathe building vacated by Wilson. The old in Franklin Elementary’s small cafeteria top of the list to be closed, considering all of the community partnerships that tion payments from the state come to Hamilton building might be absorbed on Wednesday. “I have a tremendous we have, all of the parent involvement an end next year as a result of a legal into the nearby Bale campus, which may amount of empathy for what you are settlement. Poore and his predecessor, be redesigned as a K-8 school. feeling right now.” However, he said, “a that we have, and the support we get Baker Kurrus, made substantial cuts to Final approval on the closures lot of our previous [budget] reductions from our surrounding neighbors that requires the approval of Education that we have made within the district the district budget in preparation for live in this neighborhood?” Adams asked. that change, but not enough to fill the Commissioner Johnny Key, who acts have fallen on our employees,” including Poore said that within LRSD’s Zone a decrease in contract days worked per shortfall. Meanwhile, a study of disin the capacity of the district’s school 2, in which the school is located, “there’s year, a reduction in employees’ health trict-wide building capacity showed the board while it remains under the control been a 14 percent loss of students from LRSD has at least 2,300 unfilled student of the state Department of Education. insurance contributions made by the 2000 to 2015.” Over the past three years, seats, Poore said.

The LRSD was taken over by the state district, and a reduction in staffing he added, Franklin itself has seen a drop Board of Education two years ago due overall, both at the central office and One elementary school that had been in enrollment of 21 percent. He said the to the “academic distress” designation on the closure shortlist was spared: at school campuses. district is trying to retain the partnerof a handful of campuses. None of the Carver Magnet. Although Carver is “One thing that has been on our list, ships Franklin currently has, including located in an East Little Rock neighand that we chose not to [do] … was to schools slated to be closed are on the its clinic. “Can I say that that is locked borhood that has suffered major popula- “distressed” list, however. go further into our employees pockets in and sealed? No. All of the partners …

Factors that went into the selection tion losses in recent decades, Poore said terms of reduction of days worked … or basically said they would like to talk to of schools to be closed, Poore has said, us after this is done.” taking away stipends for National Board at the press conference that the district were that their enrollments have been must continue providing parents with Certified Teachers.” The district also One big question mark: What will strong magnet choices, and noted recent falling, student populations in those considered privatizing some services become of the Franklin and Woodruff but rejected that idea, he said. revitalization efforts in that part of the neighborhoods have decreased in recent buildings? Some activists in the commucity. Wilson, a K-5 school of 316 stuyears, and they are geographically situStill, that’s cold comfort for the nity fear the district’s properties could ated such that other schools can easily end up in the hands of charter school dents located on Colonel Glenn Road angry parents, neighborhood residents BRIAN CHILSON

T

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operators; at the press conference last week Poore said that he didn’t see the need for more charter expansion in Little Rock, given the district’s surplus of seats. At Franklin, Poore reiterated to parents that the district does not yet have a “specific repurpose” in mind for the Franklin building, but that community input on repurposing would be solicited in the coming months. There’s also no specific plan for the Woodruff building.

At the Wilson meeting, some parents and neighborhood residents expressed unhappiness about the idea of the building becoming the new home for Hamilton Learning Academy. “This is not the neighborhood” for an alternative school, Tameka Jackson told Poore. Others echoed that sentiment as they spoke warmly of Wilson’s staff and noted the effectiveness of the school’s principal, Clifton Woodley. Signs around the brightly lit cafeteria broadcast pleas to preserve the campus. “Wilson Elementary Is The Heart of our World!!” read a piece of red posterboard decorated with yellow hearts and taped to the podium on the stage behind Poore.

Rosa Acosta was one of several Spanish-speaking parents who asked Poore questions through an interpreter provided by the LRSD. (About 20 percent of Wilson’s student body is classified as “limited English proficiency,” and about 24 percent is Hispanic or Latino, according to district data.) “I don’t speak the language, but my question is, basically, what exactly do you need for this school to keep it open?” she asked through the translator. Acosta worried about the impact of “trying to put these kids in a school that is already crowded or full” and said that the teachers at Wilson were working hard and putting in their best effort to educate her child and others.

“I want to reiterate that there is wonderful staff at this school,” Poore said, adding later, “if you went to any elementary in this district you would have similar comments … . Especially at the elementary level, communities love their schools.” But, he said again, it is not sustainable for the district to have 2,300 vacant seats.

“I believe that we will have a better district next year, even with this recommendation,” Poore told Acosta.

THE

BIG PICTURE

‘nuff said.

arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

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I

n what’s become a near-annual tradition, the Arkansas Times recently solicited suggestions from readers and a variety of experts on how to improve life in Arkansas. We present those ideas here, along with others on a variety of topics. We hope you find them as

inspirational as we do. If any especially strike a chord with you, help make them happen. Many are works in progress; those that aren’t could be with the right collection of advocates.

Let the children play: extend recess requirements for public schools

By Michelle Davis The first week of kindergarten, I met my oldest daughter for lunch at her Little Rock School District elementary — a well recommended, beloved school that I had researched extensively before settling into the neighborhood. After a very brief and regulated lunch period, my daughter asked that I bring her little sister down to the playground for recess. I watched the children who had so quietly eaten their lunch and shuffled through the halls in ordered lines bring the playground to life with running, jumping, imaginary games, negotiation and compromise. But just as the rules of a sport were sorted out and the 14

JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

roles in an imaginary game were divvied of their young lives require anything up, the bell rang loudly. The kids were less to reach their full potential? corralled back into lines, slowed down It only took a quick Google search and shushed, returned to their desks. to realize that my distress was more I was shocked to discover not only than mother instinct. Decades of interthe brevity of this recess time, but also national research argues that limiting to learn that this was recess is not the best the children’s only “…the Department of for our children recess in the entire academEducation requires at least physically, ically or socially. It school day. Intuitively, it did not 40 minutes of physical is during recess feel right. Perhaps that children learn this lack of recess education and 90 minutes life-long lessons was why the little about peer interacof physical activity per girl who returned tion, that they reigto me at the end week. The latter could nite their focus and of the school day energy for intensive felt like leftovers include additional P.E. work, that they get of my daughter. physical exercise time or recess. My child’s A child who durand developmentally necessary ing her preschool LRSD school only follows years would sit for unstructured play. hours listening to this minimum requirement, Schools willing stories now came to take the risk and which means my child gets try a research-based home barely able to sit still, reverting at about 15 minutes of recess approach are seeing times to baby talk, excellent outcomes. already worn down every day and P.E. once a Eagle Mountain by the school career Elementary in Fort week.” she only just began.

Worth, Texas, made Many of my entre—Michelle Davis a decision to switch preneur friends talk from one recess a about their utilization of frequent breaks day for kindergartners and first-graders to stimulate creativity. Progressive work to four 15-minute recess periods. The environments advertise their gyms and teachers, who were initially concerned gardens as key elements in a thriving about losing classroom time necessary performance culture. Why, I wondered, to cover required material, realized would children doing the critical work quickly that their students were actuFollow Arkansas Times on Twitter: @ArkTimes

ally learning more. The children were less fidgety, discipline issues decreased, and students engaged in a more focused, creative manner.

In our globalized world, American public schools are under pressure to produce students competitive on the international stage. Rather than requiring more instructional time, increasing recess could be a key component in boosting our nation’s mediocre ranking in academic performance. Finnish students, who scored highest overall in a recent comparison of academic performance in 57 countries, receive 15-minute breaks every hour. American teachers working under the Finnish model saw measurable improvements in focus and performance. Japan, also ranked as a top-10 performer, gives students 10- to 15-minute breaks every 40 to 50 minutes, taking into account that attention span diminishes after 40 to 50 minutes of intense instruction.

The support for more recess is beyond anecdote. Anthony Pellegrini of the University of Minnesota and his peers conducted four field experiments in American elementary schools that demonstrated the educational value of frequent recess. In each experiment, increasing recess time raised attentiveness and improved academic performance. Pellegrini’s research also highlights the importance of recess in social development and peer relations. The American Academy of Pediatrics clearly advocates that recess is essential for

the emotional, physical and social well being of our children. In a policy statement put out by the Council on School Health following a comprehensive literature review, the AAP stated that, “A growing body of evidence suggests that recess promotes not only physical health and social development but also cognitive performance.” Though no exact formula is given, the policy statement recommends frequent recess at regularly scheduled intervals for maximum whole-child benefits.

After reviewing the research, I figured that my daughter’s minimal recess time was a well meaning, but misguided, decision made by the administrators of my daughter’s school. I knew that occasionally when the weather was beautiful, the kindergarten teachers would slip in an extra recess. I planned to print out articles I read and take them to the principle. I brought up the issue to other parents on the playground and discovered that everyone I talked with shared my distress over the lack of recess. Only when I joined the PTA board did I learn that recess guidelines are controlled by the state Department of Education, which requires a minimum average of six hours of instruction time per day.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education requires at least 40 minutes of physical education and 90 minutes of physical activity per week. The latter could include additional P.E. time or recess. My child’s school in the LRSD only follows this minimum requirement, which means my daughter gets about 15 minutes of recess every day and P.E. once a week. Other districts, including the Searcy School District, allow for 30 minutes of daily free play. Such strict guidelines about instructional time make it impossible to further increase recess without compromising on mandatory classroom hours. In order for our schools to freely explore the benefits of increased recess, laws need to change.

I believe that Arkansas public schools can be great. I trust that our district leaders and decision-makers want our children to thrive. They want the young minds coming out of our state to be powerful forces in our community and competitive voices in the global conversation.

If we truly want to give our children the best, why would we base our decisions about their education on anything other than the most convincing research? We are not going to see our test scores go up or our children reach further when the quality of instructional time is compromised by exhaustion and restlessness. Instead, let us look to the success

stories of those who have gone before us and strive to be an example of thriving education in America.

It is time for us to let our children play and see what happens.

Michelle Davis is a nurse at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary, the mother of two girls and a PTA board member in the LRSD.

solving and people are complicated.

Arkansans who embrace these challenges anticipating more joy, productivity, community, equity and sustainability need only look around for ideas.

Swap vegetables ... or anything. Take turns watching one another’s kids. Put those kids on a school bus and carpool to work. Use the local library or Little Free Library. Then, post about initiatives on social media to widen impact.

The single Little Free Pantry (or swap) is “little.” Lots might be big.

Jessica McClard is a financial associate with Thrivent Financial and founder of the Little Free Pantry initiative.

Develop sharing economies

By Jessica McClard Arkansans can make their hometowns better places by developing sharing economies.

I am founder of one such economy, the Little Free Pantry. It applies the Little Free Library concept to address food insecurity, which is a fancy way of saying I put a box on a post and stocked it with food instead of books. Grassroots and open source, the concept continues its spread across the country and internationally. Each iteration creates space for neighbors helping neighbors. Accessibility increases both supply-side and demand-side productivity. Recirculation of goods is “green.”

Sharing economies are not new to Arkansas. My dad and his brother shared a lawnmower for six years; by pooling their resources, they were able to afford a higher quality machine. The Ozarkansas Tool Library program, a joint effort between Feed Communities and the Fayetteville Public Library, lends implements. A good friend of mine sometimes trades professional services for other professional services, and that same friend pointed me to Northwest Arkansas’s Local Trade Partners, a small business trade exchange.

Sharing economies are not without challenges: Logistics require problem-

Create a political action committee for candidates who support policies that help kids

By Rich Huddleston If we want better policies for children, we must elect candidates who are champions for kids.

Our goal as child advocates is to improve public policy so all children have the resources and opportunities to develop, thrive and realize their full potential. However, we cannot succeed as advocates unless state policymakers support the public policies that will improve the lives of children. While this depends on our ability to be persuasive advocates, it depends even more on the natural inclination of lawmakers to support our issues and to be champions for kids.

If a policymaker is dead set against the policies we support, even after our best advocacy efforts, we need to hold him or her accountable for their votes.

How do we do that?

Many powerful special interest groups do this through political action committees that can endorse and financially support the campaigns of candidates at election time. Unfortunately, children and their advocates rarely have a powerful PAC to help them.

So, our big idea is a simple one. Let’s create a powerful children’s PAC in Arkansas to help elect better candidates who will support better public policies for children.

The challenge will be creating a PAC that is independent and has support on both sides of the political aisle, but that can still raise enough money to be effective and whose endorsement is valued by candidates. To accomplish this, our children’s PAC would be set up in the following way: It should be multi-issue — just as the needs of children are. It should take positions on policy issues that appeal to reasonable people of all political persuasions. The PAC’s leadership and grassroots support must be broadbased (think parents) so candidates and voters don’t perceive it as being the tool of any one group or individual.

The PAC should target smaller donors for its financial support. If we learned anything from Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president, it’s the power of small donors. Finally, our children’s PAC must focus on the long run. It will take several election cycles to get our champions for kids elected. It will be a district-by-district fight, and we must target the battles we can win.

It’s time to take steps to get candidates elected who will be champions for kids. We can take the first step by making sure that children have their own voice at election time.

Rich Huddleston is executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Create a statewide coalition to reach the unbanked and underbanked

By Darrin Williams According to the Corporation for Enterprise Development, there are an estimated 9 million American households that are “unbanked,” meaning they do not have a checking or savings arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

15

account.

Another 21 million households are “underbanked,” which means that while they may have a bank account, they are still relying on alternative financial services.

So why is this a problem? For those who have always had a bank account, it may seem like a small thing, but for those living outside of the financial mainstream, even everyday transactions take on new meanings and new costs.

Simply cashing a check means going to a check casher who may charge high fees. Getting a loan might mean going to a payday lender or pawn shop. And don’t even think about building your credit. (Hint: You won’t be). All of this means that you’re spending more to move and save your money — a tough prospect for those already struggling financially.

The national “Bank On” movement is an attempt to address the problem by encouraging financial institutions to join together and encourage one another to create “safe” accounts, low-cost bank accounts that provide households with a safe place to save, conduct basic financial business and build a credit history.

So now you’re saying, “Darrin, you’re the CEO of a bank; why don’t you just do it?” Well that’s where we come to the big problem in need of a big idea.

Southern Bancorp is actively working to address the problem of the financially underserved in some of Arkansas’s most economically distressed communities.

However, the only way we’re going to make a dent in those statewide numbers is by working together through a statewide coalition. From Bentonville to Eudora and all points between, by joining forces, we can make a real difference.

Darrin Williams is CEO is of Southern Bancorp Inc.

Artists-in-residence everywhere

By Tara Stickley Artists should be put where they don’t belong. They are unruly thinkers, and as such are gifted at seeing beyond rigid social stratification and bureaucratic obstacles. At a time when political speech feels more and more divisive and bipartisan agreement impossible, it’ll be up to our most creative thinkers to forge a space for dialogue and compromise.

There should be artists-in-residence in every administrative or legislative body.

At every hospital, on every school board, every mega-corporation, there should be an artist weighing in with human-scale insights to counter things like metadata, standardized testing and the delocalization of labor.

Art is immeasurable and purposeless, and that is why it is beautiful. It’s an irrational pursuit that engages the brain to work outside of binary relationships and even language itself. What if the answer to a gridlocked negotiation took the form of an arabesque, a kinetic sculpture or a color-field painting?

Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome is the only structure strong enough to withstand 180-mile-per-hour Arctic winds and now shelters critical radar equipment. The interdisciplinary model of faculty at Black Mountain College (where poet William Carlos Williams and Albert Einstein both served on the board of directors) changed American pedagogy. More recently, artist Simone Leigh’s Free People’s Medical Clinic provided a temporary space in Brooklyn where anyone in need could freely access gynecological services, health screenings, yoga, counseling, dance classes and herbalists. It’s the improbable admixture of aesthetics and hard science that often yields true ingenuity.

Tara Stickley is a teacher and writer from Arkansas.

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Give highinterest books to classrooms in Little Rock’s academically distressed schools

By Ginny Blankenship I’ve spent my career as an advocate for students and policy wonk for schools, but I’ve spent a lifetime as a book nerd — with an unhealthy obsession with school supplies.

My obsession rose to a new level when the state took over the Little Rock School District based on test scores of six schools that have long been neglected by our community. I remember reading in the paper that an English as a Second Language teacher at one of those schools, Hall High, said she didn’t have enough books or supplies to help her students learn to read. When nearly a quarter of students have limited English proficiency, and 100 percent are low-income, the very least our community and policymakers can do is to make sure that this teacher — all teachers — have the resources they need to improve their school’s test scores, but more importantly, to help students develop a lifelong love of reading and learning.

As a former English teacher, I have seen firsthand that when you give students easy access to high-interest books right in their classrooms, most of them will read. They’ll even fight over who gets the first copy of “The Color Purple” or “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” just as much as vampire fan fiction. For middle- and high-school teachers, building a good classroom library can cost thousands of dollars, but unlike elementary school teachers, they receive no money from the district or state to do so.

And while most community school supply and book drives target elementary schools, our teenagers have an urgent need for books, school supplies and engaging literacy programs, too.

Last May, I had a big idea to launch the Open Book Project to make it easy for people to give books that students want to read. In just six months, we stocked classroom libraries at Hall High and Henderson Middle School with over 6,000 new or like-new books, from authors Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to Star Wars, and C.S. Lewis to J.K. Rowling.

I’m now applying for 501(c)(3) status to qualify for hundreds of grants available for books and school supplies at schools in need.

After finishing classroom libraries in LRSD’s academically distressed schools, I envision bringing the community together to turn outdated media centers into collegiate, coffeehouse-style reading spaces; help students start their own home libraries; and create supply closets or warehouse “stores” where teachers can find whatever resources they or their students need without having to dip into their own pockets over and over.

Please visit our website at www. openbookproject.org, like and share our Facebook page, and sign up to donate books or cash. It’s a simple solution that can have a life-changing impact on one student and, just maybe, help create a culture of reading and excellence throughout our whole school system.

Ginny Blankenship, EdD, is founder of the Open Book Project and education policy director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Arkansas Sings Day

By Glen Hooks At the risk of being even more sappy than usual, I genuinely believe that music has a lot of power. Music can inspire anger pt joy, action, healing, love, and even community. I’m an activist by trade, and I’ll tell you that no

movement has ever succeeded without a good soundtrack.

So here’s what I’d like to see: Once a year, we, the vast and lovely community of Arkansans, all pledge to learn one original song (written, chosen and voted on by Arkansas musicians). On a specific day — let’s call it something like Arkansas Sings Day — we’ll gather together in our respective communities, with our own instruments and our own voices, and learn/sing the song loudly and lustily together.

For a day or even for just a few moments, we’ll put down the things that divide us and create something that brings us together. It won’t solve all of our problems, but it can help.

Glen Hooks is the chapter director of the Sierra Club of Arkansas.

Make it easier to vote

less of their precinct, to vote securely in a location with a real-time voter roll.

Speaking from experience as the attorney for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, early voting is difficult to access in many counties. Local election commissioners are incentivized to have fewer early voting locations because opening more locations costs more and is more work.

Think how many more people would vote if Pulaski County voters had the choice of voting at a large, safe venue with easy parking, say Alltel Arena, or at their local precinct.

A 2015 appropriation included up to $30 million to update voting equipment statewide so that vote centers could be in every county. But that appropriation was not fully funded. As a result, vote centers were not funded in Pulaski County and other counties.

Oregon, Washington and Colorado hold all elections entirely by mail. California will begin holding all-mail elections in 2018. Arkansans probably won’t want to give up their right to vote in person, but we can pass automatic voter registration and a longer absentee vote-by-mail process, too.

The ultimate idea is that when everyone can and does vote, then everyone will benefit. Fixing the mechanics of voting and cleaning up election administration will get us much closer.

Chris Burks is a lawyer with the Sanford Law firm and the Democratic Party of Arkansas.

By Chris Burks Unfortunately, Arkansas is behind when it comes to the fundamental right to vote and a sound election process. Fundamental rights won’t mean more than the paper they are printed on if we do not uphold them through our laws and resources.

A key to ensuring voting rights for all Arkansans and cleaning up elections is to fix the mechanics of voting. In this day and age of a Starbucks on every corner and shopping just a click away online, voting should be secure, quick and accessible in multiple locations.

There is no reason voters should have to drive many miles to a county courthouse, or only vote in their precinct on Election Day. The good news is that the legislature agrees with this sentiment in theory. Arkansas law allows for vote centers. Vote centers allow anyone, regard-

Establish the Fourche Creek Preserve and Water Trail

By Dan Scheiman

Anyone traveling Interstate 30 downtown can see the obvious and impressive investment we have made as a city in the River Market district and the Arkansas River Trail. The heart of downtown Little Rock features fine dining, art and culture. The entire area is connected, on both sides of the river, by trails and parks that encourage people to get outside.

What few people realize, though, is that a few miles along I-30, past the downtown area, an entirely different outdoor experience awaits. At more than 1,800 acres, Fourche Bottoms stands as the largest urban wetland in the South. It is home to more than 120 species of birds, 140 species of native plants, 50 species of fish and stands of 300-year-old bald cypress trees. Sadly, it is also home to polluted water and riddled with trash, tires and other contaminants that wash into Fourche Creek from more than 70 percent of the surface area of Little Rock. Unlike the healthy, well-maintained riverfront area on the north side of downtown, this wetland area so rich in habitat and natural phenomena sits overgrown, polluted and neglected.

Restoring forest health, developing a watershed management plan, and limiting litter that flows through our storm drains will open the door to rehabilitation of this damaged area. We envision a natural wonderland where anyone can float, fish, hike and escape urban life without ever having to leave the city. By cleaning up this imperiled waterway and its surrounding forest, Little Rock can turn Fourche Creek into the crown jewel of Arkansas ecotourism. And by opening up this area to everyone, we can knock down another barrier that unnecessarily separates many of our neighborhoods.

Let’s turn Fourche Bottoms into Fourche Creek Preserve and Water Trail, a thriving, resilient natural asset that allows us to provide citizens and visitors alike with robust, diverse outdoor experiences. From a 4.5-mile float, to trail linkages with other city parks, to hours of exploration of native Arkansas plants and wildlife, this wetland presents us with an opportunity to create something unique to Little Rock.

Dr. Dan Scheiman is the Bird conservation director at Audubon Arkansas and serves as the chairperson for Friends of Fourche Creek.

Issue every first grader a library card

By Garbo Hearne Public libraries are an underused resource for our children. By learning how to use the many benefits our libraries offer, children will develop critical thinking skills, and literacy and educational standards would be increased.

To get our children into libraries, schools should make sure that, starting in first grade, every student has a public library card and opportunities to go to a library. Schools and libraries should partner to make this happen; the result would be to even the playing field between underserved schools, private and charter schools and homeschoolers.

This collaboration would also introduce many parents to underutilized resources available for children and families through the library system.

Libraries would respond by strengthening their programs, perhaps by working with higher education in offering degrees in library studies and education.

There are more than books at libraries. For example, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center has a greenhouse, a theater, a computer lab, classes and offers free snacks. It has a walking trail. A place to exhibit art. And, 21,000 volumes.

Instituting self-learning makes for a smart and economically sound Arkansas.

No books ... no learning. No learning … no knowledge. No knowledge ... no wisdom. No wisdom … no ethics. No ethics … no conscience. No conscience … no community. No community ... no bread.

Garbo Hearne is the co-owner of Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing and Hearne Fine Art. arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

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months of free dumpsters for a renovation project, buy chances to have city workers remove trees and other landscape debris, win a free water meter for a sprinkler system, win a new sewer line from your house to the street, win three hours of free city backhoe work, have the city repave your driveway, get two hours of off-duty police protection for a party, etc.

Implement restorative justice in our schools to create positive learning environments

By Rachel Norris Typically, public education systems use punishments or zero-tolerance policies to deter negative behavior. However, a unique communication methodology called restorative justice shows that by focusing on the relationship of teachers, students and parents, schools can lower student suspension rates and increase positive learning environments in Arkansas.

Students navigate life the best way they know how, but many students simply don’t have the proper tools to express and work through their emotions on their journey. As a result, this navigation can take negative turns, leading to poor outcomes. Many schools today are designed to punish this negative behavior. Restorative justice suggests schools should offer students a space to discuss their hardships, anxieties and roadblocks with their peers and teachers.

Restorative justice has been implemented in many school districts throughout the U.S. in the form of small meeting spaces, called circles. During an advisory period, these circles help to build community among students, teachers and parents and give students a designated safe space to discuss different topics. They have also been used as a space for teachers and students to communicate with one another when things in the classroom aren’t proceeding in a positive way. Restorative justice circles can also be used to mediate conversations between students who have disagreements. In all circumstances, restorative justice circles have shown 18

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PATIO HOMES, NEIGHBORHOOD KINDERGARTENS, LEAF REMOVAL, A CITY LOTTERY, GIG MARKETS, URBAN HOMESTEADING

By Matilda Buchanan I can name a number of things that Little Rock would be better for having. Here’s a list: Patio homes as infill in older neighborhoods. Many of us are aging but don’t want to leave our neighborhoods or live in high-rises. We want one-level spaces that allow us to engage in minimal gardening and have a place for our little dogs to romp.

Universal early childhood education in neighborhood centers with free extended daycare for working parents. These centers, for children in pre-K and kindergarten, could be attached to a local elementary school, but that would not be required. They could also be attached to a middle school or high school if the schools fulfill the “neighborhood” requirement. Centers could be in shopping malls or vacant stand-alone buildings. These centers would be the first line defense for families and would include referrals for health, social services, legal aid, etc. If Little Rock or a deep-pocket private sponsor invested 15 years in these centers, school achievement would soar, the dropout rate would plummet and crime would drop; we would be healthier and a more stable city.

Once-a-week street sweeping in all zones on the day after garbage pick-up, including blown leaf removal in the fall. This is so obvious that it really doesn’t require explanation, but one of the main benefits is the immediate improvement of Fourche Creek. This could be funded by the Little Rock Lottery (see below).

A city lottery: The city of Little Rock can raise money for special projects like street sweeping and leaf removal by creating a lottery. The lottery “prizes” would be specialized city services easily provided by the city at little to no extra cost. Examples are as follows: Raffle off three

great success.

According to “Restorative Justice in U.S. Schools: A Research Review” conducted in 2016 by WestEd, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research agency, restorative justice circles have shown

Gig bazaar, to match workers with services to sell with customers wanting services. A gig bazaar would work like a farmers market or flea market. It would open up twice a month in the Hall of Industry at the State Fairgrounds or some other similar space with bathrooms and heating/air. This is better than Craigslist or Angie’s List because workers and customers meet face-to-face in a neutral space. Workers/ customers can negotiate price and even barter. This should not be limited to babysitting, household cleaning and handyman needs. Letter-writing services, contract poetry, song writing for special occasions, musical entertainment, shoe repair, quick haircuts, color consultation for a room you need to paint, organizing the attic — are all stuff folks need help with. The gig workers just need to bring card tables and their imaginations. A central notice board would list services for sale and services wanted. The trick is to keep it low-tech and informal. Food trucks outside would be good. There could be mobile pet grooming stations. I foresee the feel of a renaissance marketplace or Middle Eastern bazaar.

Urban homesteading. The city of Little Rock has gotten better at condemning buildings that are being destroyed by neglect and holding trashy and absent owners responsible for the upkeep of their properties. The end result is a growing inventory of vacant lots with liens held by the city. This program would allow city residents to homestead these properties. There would be several categories in this program: a) If a structure is salvageable, a citizen presents a plan of rehabilitation to be completed within five years. If the work is completed on time, the applicant gets clear title. b) If the property is a vacant lot, the applicant presents building plans. If the plan meets all city requirements (building, historic and zoning), the applicant has five years to complete and occupy the site and then gets clear title to the property. c) If the property is vacant and adjacent to the applicant’s own property, the applicant can submit plans for a garden or pocket park. If approved, the applicant would have one year to complete the plans and would be required to maintain the property for 10 years to get clear title. This is the most attractive of the options because it would result in immediate, low-cost improvement to our neighborhoods.

Matilda Buchanan is retired from teaching English at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts and is now a private investigator.

to cause improvement in student grades, a reduction in out-of-school suspensions and positive studentteacher relations. By implementing this practice here in Arkansas, it has the potential to make a huge impact on

students and their community.

Rachel Norris is a science teacher at Central High School.

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arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

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12/15/16 1:53 PM

Street performers national championship

By David Rose You’ve all seen them. Perhaps you encountered one while waiting for the ferry to Staten Island or Sausalito. You might have watched one while walking on Venice Beach in Los Angeles or sitting under a tree in Jackson Square down in New Orleans. In England they are called buskers, but here, in the United States, we refer to them as street performers.

For the most part, they work with a limited palette, are one-trick ponies, but some of them are terribly clever. They enthrall the audience for 3 to 5 minutes, garner some coins and then, as each audience is replaced by the next, they start their act all over again. I’ve seen jugglers, contortionists, tap dancers and soloists on almost every instrument imaginable and, of course, the inevitable mimes.

Once, while hanging out at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, I got to see the Human Jukebox. This gentleman had taken a refrigerator carton and, with nothing more than a paring knife and a large permanent marker, fashioned it into an over-sized, stylized jukebox. He waited inside with his trumpet until a pedestrian, overcome with curiosity, slipped a dollar into the slot and pushed one of the cardboard buttons.

The Human Jukebox then pulled a string that opened a flap in the box and stuck his trumpet out. There were only half a dozen buttons on the jukebox and perhaps the trumpeter only knew six songs but he played them well. The man never spoke or, for that matter, had any interaction with his audience other than the trumpet solos. I had the feeling that he tipped the box over at night and slept in it, but he was fun to watch and a steady stream of tourists put money in the slot.

Arkansas has no buskers that I know of. To have street performers, you have to have a town with enough street life to 20

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support them. However, it might be fun to bring a bunch of them here for a week or so. If we could come up with some healthy prize money I’m sure the buskers would show up; after all, they are out on the street now playing for quarters.

We could line them up on South Main in Little Rock, Central Avenue in Hot Springs or Dickson Street in Fayetteville and let them do their stuff. There would have to be some kind of voting system that was predicated on audience approval. There would also be a closing ceremony during which one of them would be crowned National Champion.

We may only get a half dozen the first year, but one of them will walk off with the title of National Champion. The other buskers around the country might not agree with Arkansas’s choice but, to prove us wrong, they will have to show up the next year and take the crown in open competition. This could build from year to year, drawing more and more tourists and national attention. Hosting the Buskers National Championship could build into something quite profitable and a whole lot of fun. Unlike most of the big ideas in previous issues of the Times, the Street Performers National Championship, like the Cold War Memorial [Big Ideas 2014, online], could actually be done.

university is already providing produce from their own garden to the public school’s backpack program and teaching children how to prepare and eat fresh vegetables.

My idea is to have community gardens in all neighborhoods and teach residents how to grow fresh produce; harvest; prepare; and preserve what they grow. All of the gardens would be maintained by the neighbors, who could be taught, if needed, by their own neighbors or by master gardeners in the UA Cooperative Extension Service’s Arkansas Master Gardeners Program. Civic organizations could provide the tools and the residents would be responsible for the garden. This would eventually create a healthier society and also teach responsibility, cooperation and bring people together again, which in turn would reduce crime and all kinds of societal ills in addition to closing the gaps between generations of neighbors.

Danna Schneider is a resident of Clarksville and a member of the City Council.

David Rose is an artist, father and creative thinker who lives in Hot Springs.

social resources?

Also, although my own children are not “tweens” yet, I understand that summer camp options for sixthto eighth-graders are almost impossible to find, and few parents want to leave their children at this age home alone. As more and more households have two working parents who cannot afford quality summer care, and as social and legal mores become less tolerant toward parents whose children are unsupervised, I believe this issue requires public attention.

One solution that would benefit children would be year-round school, though that would also involve smaller breaks throughout the year. Still, according to an article in the New York Times on how American schools’ summer breaks hearken back to a time when more families were headed with one parent breadwinner and one parent at home, long summer breaks can put low-income children two months behind in their reading skills, and they don’t catch up.

The Times also noted that in 2014, families estimated their summer daycare expenses at $958 per child, a sum that for many families equaled nearly a fourth of their income. It is higher now. So another solution would be state tax breaks, modeled after the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, for working parents. Incentives to create more affordable summer programs would also be a boon to Arkansas children.

Erin Finzer is a professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Year-round school, more summer programs

By Erin Finzer

Neighborhood gardens

By Danna Schneider I am a pie-eyed optimist, and I would like to expand in Clarksville something I think would be ideal for the entire state of Arkansas. We have started a community garden in cooperation with the University of the Ozarks. The

With two elementary-schoolaged children, summer care is a huge concern for me, both financially and from the practical standpoint of finding and managing different “camps” each week for my children that are both safe and affordable. I know middleclass families that had to leave their elementary-aged kids home alone last summer because they could not afford summer programming and did not have family or friends who could take care of their children. What about families that have even fewer financial and

Reject sprawl, support Little Rock

By Tom Fennell

We need a Chamber of Commerce and elected officials who understand that the interstate system has done wonders for bedroom communities but little for Little Rock, and that the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department’s plan to vastly widen Interstate 30 through our reawakened urban core is not in Little Rock’s best interest.

If our leaders would reject urban sprawl and work for the interests of the residents who elected them, Little Rock could be a first-rate city. When AHTD projects hurt Little Rock, we need leaders who will stand up to the department. That may require reconstituting our chamber to represent Little Rock first rather than Benton, Bryant, Cabot and Conway.

For Little Rock to be a greater city, we need to elect people who support sustainable urban values and planning.

Who understand that commuter traffic could be routed away from downtown. That a boulevard, rather than a concrete river of fumes-generating automobiles, would be an economic boon for Little Rock. That unsafe automobiles will one day be a thing of the past, and the need for concrete swaths will be gone.

The best, most livable cities are moving away from a car-centric society to a more sensible people-moving, multimodal outlook. For Little Rock to be competitive from a business and economic development perspective, we will fall way behind if we aren’t proactive about transit, pedestrians, cyclists and complete streets. Many cities — like Vancouver, Portland and Indianapolis — understand this and are moving commuter traffic away from the urban core and replacing interstate nightmares with people-friendly roads and parks. Even Reno, Nev., is building a new arterial to avoid expanding its freeway.

The Imagine Central Arkansas plan would work extremely well as an alternative to the freeway expansion by adding additional river crossings to connect arterials at Pike Avenue and East Broadway. This is a better long-term solution to congestion.

in concert with local school districts. So what can be done?

MAKE CHARTER SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABLE

By Marion Humphrey Jr. The Walton Family Foundation has pledged to devote an additional $250 million toward charter school expansion in cities throughout the country, including Little Rock. I wish they would do more to support traditional public schools throughout Arkansas. Because of this trend, I am practical enough to realize that charters and school privatization are here to stay.

Yet, as a product of the traditional public school system (the Little Rock School District, to be exact), I hope to see charters be held accountable when it comes to educating students from marginalized and under-resourced communities, such as parts of Little Rock and rural areas throughout our state. This is not being done by the state Board of Education, which approves almost any charter application that comes its way.

Public charter schools were originally intended to be experimental educational environments that could develop innovative practices that could then be taken back into traditional public schools. But in the last decade, we have seen charters utilized as direct competitors to traditional school districts. Both charters and traditional public schools receive federal, state and local funding on a per-pupil basis. The more charter seats within a given area, the less funding that goes to the traditional school system (because students exit the district). Little Rock and other areas have seen funding declines that have contributed to the closing of neighborhood schools, which falls upon those students with the most challenges.

If charters were held to greater standards of accountability and transparency by the state Board of Education, they would not be as problematic as they are today, and could even work

Tom Fennell is an architect with Fennell Purifoy and the designer of a boulevard alternative for a widened Interstate 30.

LGBT center

By V.L. Cox

Reduce the selective recruitment and retention of students.

Charters usually operate on a lottery basis that requires parents to submit an application. In addition, these schools often do not have a school bus system. That means interested students usually must have (1) committed parents or guardians to assist them with the application process and (2) a mode of transportation to attend the school. Last year, when the state board reviewed expansion plans of two charter operators in Little Rock, eStem Public Charter Schools and LISA Academy, it was clear they served far fewer students eligible for free or reduced lunch than the LRSD. The provision of only Rock Region Metro bus transit for their students (which very few of their students use) is one of several factors that keep these schools recruiting more children from high-need families.

Stop charters from pushing out students. Nationally, students at charter schools are more likely to be expelled, suspended or pushed out, after which they typically land back in the traditional public schools. In Little Rock, teachers and parents talk frequently about LRSD schools receiving students from charters (both high- and low-performing ones) after the date that their student population counts for per-pupil funding is made.

If a student leaves after that date, those taxpayer dollars stay behind for the charter’s use. In the 2014-15 school year, data provided by the Arkansas Department of Education showed that the only students returned to the LRSD from eStem and LISA were students of color. Charters should be fully discouraged from pushing out students during the school year. If they do so, we must make sure that per-pupil funding follows the returned students back to traditional public school districts.

Reduce the competition for resources between charters and traditional public schools. Charter schools are operated by private management organizations whose boards of directors often do not reside in the areas the schools serve. Therefore, they should not be privy to the same level of per-pupil funding — much of which comes from local taxpayers — that traditional public schools receive. Public charters and traditional public schools must work fluidly together or else the latter of the two will fail to exist in urban and rural areas.

Marion Andrew Humphrey Jr. is an organizer and a resident of Little Rock.

I was recently invited to exhibit my artwork at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in New York, and I was blown away by the amount of support it had from major corporations, the city and the state. The Center, which just underwent a $9 million renovation and has 300,000 visitors a year, offers endless resources not only to the LGBT community, but to the community as a whole. It offers programs in the arts and culture, recovery and wellness, family and youth, a resource center and is available for rentals for events.

I have never felt so welcomed, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I

belonged.

Arkansas definitely needs a community center like this. The Center gets funding from New York state as well as the city, as well as corporate support from such entities as Barneys New York, Bloomberg News, Citibank, HBO, JetBlue Airlines, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Prudential Insurance and Time Warner. There are companies in Arkansas whose policies reflect their support for LGBT rights, most notably Walmart, which as early as 2013 offered health benefits to same-sex partners, and Tyson Foods. Other national companies located in Arkansas known for their supportive position on LGBT rights that arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

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could be asked to contribute, including Alcoa (which still maintains a presence in Arkansas in Arkadelphia), Starbucks, Men’s Wearhouse, McDonald’s and Marriott International. There is, of course, the Arkansas Times as well.

V.L. Cox is an artist; her installation at The Center, “A Murder of Crows: The End Hate Collection,” targeted discrimination and hate crimes against all minorities.

Turn Arkansas into

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a vote-by-mail state

By Sarah Scanlon Let go of elections being a oneday affair and do away with all barriers to the electoral process by instituting “vote-by-mail” in Arkansas.

Turnout in Arkansas for the 2016 general election was 64.5 percent, which was above the national average of 58.2 percent. But turnout in Colorado was 71.3 percent, turnout in Oregon was 78.6 percent and turnout in Washington state was 78.8 percent. The difference is that Washington, Oregon and Colorado all have permanent vote-by-mail systems.

In vote-by-mail states, ballots are mailed between 21 and 30 days before the election and are mailed back or dropped off at the election center by the voter by Election Day. Studies have shown that most of the ballots are returned in three stages — right after they are received (by those people who are nerds, like me), right after the first of the month in which they are mailed (presumably when people are sitting down and paying their bills), and right before Election Day. This is a secure system that has multiple safeguards in

place to ensure the fidelity of the process.

Oregon and Washington also mail every voter a free booklet containing detailed information about the candidates and issues that are going to be on the ballot. In Oregon, for every positive statement for an issue or a candidate, opponents can pay a fee to place their own page with a rebuttal. These states also have an online portal where candidates for office can upload a video of their stump speech. Voters can see their candidates and get an idea of whom and what they are voting for.

With the evolution of early voting, we are starting to respond to the idea that Election Day doesn’t have to be only a single day. I would prefer that we instituted mandatory voting (like Australia does), but in the absence of that, my big idea is turning Arkansas into a vote-by-mail state. Perhaps this is something that could be done community by community, eventually forcing the state to do the same.

Sarah Scanlon was the former state director for Bernie Sanders’ primary effort in Arkansas and was national LGBTQ outreach director for Sanders’ presidential campaign.

Build a 21st century tax system around electronic transfers

By Andy Howington Suspend your doubts about implementation and imagine a tax that is inherently progressive, impractical to avoid, and would relieve individuals, small businesses and large corporations alike from paperwork and filings.

The transaction tax would collect a fraction of a percentage from all electronic financial transactions, without CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

F

ORMER HALL HIGH SCHOOL WARRIORS

have created our very own tribe to support our alma mater, which

celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The Hall High Alumni Association, known as The Tribe, was established to raise public awareness and advocate for students and faculty.

The Tribe was formed in 2015 to teach the community that Hall High is going strong and worthy of community pride. We are spreading the word about all of the good things happening at Hall and working with a deep-seeded belief that every student deserves the opportunity to learn in a school that is safe, exciting and one that prepares them for the future.

After a year of volunteer and financial support of both student and teacher activities and needs, The Tribe is focusing our efforts on creating enhanced learning opportunities and enriched student experiences in the areas of arts and music, health and fitness, and student activities.

The “$60 for 60” campaign has been launched to help The Tribe grow our funding to create and supplement programs and activities that directly benefit Hall High students and teachers. A long-term goal of this campaign is to establish endowed scholarships for deserving students. We ask you to give from your heart and make a contribution today.

MAKING HALL UNIQUE

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BY JILLIAN MCGEHEE

HALL HIGH SCHOOL 60TH ANNIVERSARY 1957-2017

COME HOME TO HALL FEBRUARY 3 OPEN HOUSE 5-6PM WWW.HALLHIGHALUMNI.ORG

all High School opened in 1957, a year before the infamous “Lost Year” during which Little Rock School District high schools were closed as a result of the integration crisis at Central High School. It was reopened after the 1958-59 school year.

Hall High remains one of only three Arkansas public schools admitted to the National Cum Laude Society. Thirteen Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered with plans to implement concurrent courses beginning in the next school year. Hall was one of few schools statewide to implement an AP computer science principles course.

Renowned graduates include Bruce Lindsey (adviser to President Clinton), David Auburn (Pulitzer Prize winning playwright for “Proof”), E. Lynn Harris (best-selling author), Jean Knaack (executive director Road Runners Club of America) and Richard Thalheimer (founder and former CEO of Sharper Image).

Hall was the first high school to receive the Arkansas 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant in 2002. As a side note, the 21st CCLC logo was designed by a Hall student. The grant provides funding for out-of-school educational experiences for students and their families in the Hall community.

GOOD THINGS HAPPENING AT HALL

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n recent years, when Hall High has been publicly mentioned it might be because of a fight that occurred on campus or the low academic scores of the school. The public typically doesn’t hear about the art student who created a piece of art for an orphaned child overseas or the once-struggling ESL students who were accepted to the state’s prestigious Governor’s School. These success stories are happening all of the time at Hall. And it’s largely because of the following programs and the instructors behind them who believe in every student’s potential and worth.

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“As the current principal of Hall High School, I want everyone to know the staff and students of Hall High are very excited to join the celebration of 60 Years of Hall High School. Special moments and special people are created and developed each and every year. We look forward to showing you the progress of Hall High students and staff continuing the tradition of excellence that was started 60 years ago. Thank you for everything that you have done and continue to do for Hall High School.”

— Larry Schleicher

SERVING NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKING STUDENTS

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hen Hall became the Carolyn Newbern Newcomer Center of the Little Rock School District in 1998, it gave non-English speaking high school students the option to attend the school.

English-as-a-Second-Language program successfully helps acclimate newcomers to American culture and teach English to dozens of students each year. These students as well as foreign exchange students help comprise Hall’s multicultural population and contribute to the development for all students of the academic and social skills needed in today’s global community.

The program now includes more than 300 students who speak more than 10 different languages.“Parents, students and teachers have consistently cited the newcomer center as being essential to the success of students who would otherwise be left far behind,”said Elizabeth McAlpine, ESL teacher and Tribe liaison to the school.

MAKING MUSIC

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ew band director Cody Jernigan grew the band in the fall from 25 to 40 and led them in performing at all home football games and one away game at McClellan High School. The previous year, only the drum line performed at the games.

The Thea Foundation has been helping the band by offering to supply it with instruments to start an orchestra. “This will be a wonderful opportunity for the students of Hall,” Jernigan said.

Liz Sendejo, class of 2006 and vice president of The Tribe, has a vested interest in the band as a former member. She and other former band members readily came together to help Jernigan rebuild the Warrior Band. “Cody has made huge difference with the Warrior Band, not only musically, but also in the lives of these kids. I appreciate his willingness to work with alums too. It’s been great to be involved again and watch the current Warrior Band bond and become a family like we were.”

GOING BEYOND TYPICAL ACADEMICS

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all High students are getting their Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications under the leadership of Bernestine Rhodes.

“As a career tech teacher, I know the importance of preparing

my students for college, career and the world of work,” she said.

The students took the exams after going through the state’s Career and Technical Education program. “I am very proud to say that we have ninth-12th-grade students who have received their certifications. Currently, we are still using SAM [Skills Assessment Management] training and are anticipating more certifications in the future.”

Preparing students for college is high priority at Hall. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a college prep program for students who are traditionally underserved in fouryear colleges and universities. To date, Tracy Morgan, Hall High AVID coordinator, said that Hall has graduated 102 AVID seniors.

“These students have produced three valedictorians, two salutatorians, seven cum laude graduates and 33 Little Rock scholars. We have had a 2013 and a 2015 AVID Foundation Scholarship winner, a 2016 Dell Scholar, and a 2016 Gates Millennium Scholar. In total, AVID students have been offered over $7,905,000 in scholarships.”

PARTNERING WITH THE COMMUNITY

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ity Year Little Rock has a team of eight AmeriCorps members working in Hall. City Year was launched here in 2004 to help students and schools succeed. The focus is one-on-one interventions with ninth-graders, but the organization also provides whole school initiatives and activities to benefit all Hall students.

The partnership was established last spring with members of the Fifty for the Future, Little Rock Regional Chamber, Gen. Wesley Clark (a Hall graduate) and Little Rock School District.

Corps members work with students who are considered behind or“off-track.”Currently, members are hosting interventions for 150

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ninth-grade students, focusing on math and literacy.

“Our approach is unique in that we are not only working with students who are struggling with grades, but with students on their behavior and attendance,”said coordinator Rebecca Smithson.

TAKING A VILLAGE APPROACH

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utoring began at Hall in January 2016 with just a few volunteers from Trinity United Methodist Church and has grown to more than a dozen people today fromTrinity,TheTribe and the community.

Tutors have an opportunity to build an enduring bond with a student while truly impacting their academic achievement and social development. Tutors contribute two class periods each week. Some pull students from classes to help them improve their reading and vocabulary skills, while some do in-class tutoring for social studies and math. All tutors complete Volunteers in Public Schools instructional training and undergo a mandatory criminal background check.

Repetition and practice matter in core subjects like math and reading, which improves performance and confidence. Tutors can help students on a path that can lead to fundamental life changes.

Mentoring can be equally important as tutoring. Mentors visit once a week with the purpose of serving and encouraging both students and staff. Aside from tutoring, mentors may help in a classroom, visit band/sports practices, assist in the cafeteria and help in any number of daily initiatives at school.

“Mentoring at Hall High School is an experience of great satisfaction and commitment to serve,” said mentor Randy Parker.

“We need you.” Contact Parker at (501) 944-3765 or Johnny May at (501) 350-0057 to get involved.

GET INVOLVED

isit hallhighalumni.org to join the Alumni Association. We need your support, and by joining we can continue to share Hall success stories with our alumni. While on the website, enjoy more stories of note, such as one recounting Hall’s first football season in 1957 and another about the once-popular Turkey Day games between Hall and Central. All are invited to join The Tribe, students and staff and “Come Home to Hall” on Friday, Feb. 3, for an open house reception. The event will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. before Hall’s homecoming basketball game. Everyone is encouraged to stay for the game.

STORIES OF INTEREST: HALLHIGHALUMNI.ORG/FIRST-SEASON/ AND HALLHIGHALUMNI.ORG/FOOTBALL/

2 JANUARY 26, 2017 HALL HIGH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT ENT 24 JANUARY 26, 2017 ARKANSAS TIMES Follow X X X X X X on Twitter: @X X X X

NOTABLE GRADUATES JIM GUY TUCKER

Jim Guy Tucker, class of 1961, was governor of Arkansas from 1992-96. After Hall, he went on to Harvard University and earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas. He was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and was a civilian correspondent in South Vietnam in 1965 and ’67. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1990 and became acting governor in ’91 when then-Gov. Bill Clinton began his presidential campaign.

Tucker is now an investment consultant with Witt Global Partners.

What was your favorite class during your time at Hall?

“Debate. I enjoyed learning the importance of working with other students to debate an issue proposition, the articulation of the pros and cons of that issue with citations of credible sources, and regional and national competition.

Favorite extracurricular activity?

“Both footbalI and Key Club International. I played left tackle and linebacker and served as vice president of Key Club, which included travel and speeches in multiple states. Learning to work as a team member in football and in Key Club and meeting young leaders nationwide was a unique experience.”

Which teacher left a lasting impression?

“Marguerite Metcalf, our debate teacher.”

What were your initial plans after high school?

“Going to college and joining the U.S. Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Corp.”

How did your time at Hall help prepare you for those plans?

“My teachers and fellow students helped me understand the importance of education, friendships and competition.”

WESLEY CLARK

A 1962 graduate, former Gen. Wesley Clark retired from the military in 2000. During his 38 years of service in the U.S. Army, he rose to the rank of four-star general as NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe. For a short time, from fall 2003 to February 2004, he campaigned as a Democratic candidate for President. Clark graduated first in his class at West Point and completed degrees in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He now is CEO of

Wesley K. Clark & Associates LLC, an international consulting firm based in Little Rock.

What was your favorite class during your time at Hall?

“Calculus. I had a great bunch of friends and students in that class. The teacher really gave us the freedom to learn on our own, and we did.”

Favorite extracurricular activity?

“Going to the football games to be with friends.”

A teacher who left a lasting impression on you?

“Mrs. Metcalf in speech; she was smart and tough and taught us the right things. Thanks to her, I went on to college and further participated in debate.”

How did your time at Hall help prepare you for life?

“The wonderful people and wonderful students gave me a standard of academic excellence, character and friendship that I’ve carried with me my entire life.”

CAPI PECK

Owner of the beloved Little Rock restaurant Trio’s, Capi Peck, a 1971 graduate, is a proud supporter of her alma mater, which she says helped prepare her for the woman sheistoday.InNovember, she was voted to office as city director for Ward 4. Peck has been giving back to the community for decades through charitable and community events.

What was your favorite class during your time at Hall?

“Spanish because, along with learning a second language, we learned about the culture of Spanishspeaking countries. The skills I learned in Spanish class taught me to be a good listener as well. You really hone your listening skills when learning a new language.”

Favorite extracurricular activity?

“Participating in several of the clubs and after-school activities, including the Hall Harlequin Players, which included acting in several student productions, and the Spanish Club and Y-Teens, where I really became committed to giving back to the community.”

Which teacher left a lasting impression on you?

“Senora Riddick. Not only did she teach my favorite class, but she also made arrangements for me to live with a family in Coahuila, Mexico, when I was 16 years old to participate in a summer study program at La Escuela Normal, a place where she had also studied.

I was excelling in Spanish, and she was looking for ways to challenge me and expand my learning opportunities. She was such a positive and caring teacher. I will never forget Mrs. Riddick.”

What were your initial plans after high school?

“My initial plans after high school were to attend college and continue my study of Spanish and other romance languages.”

How did your time at Hall help prepare you for those plans?

“My time at Hall really prepared me for the woman I am today.

I developed leadership and teamwork skills, which I have used over the years serving on different boards and commissions.

I learned how to be an effective communicator and listener in speech and debate class, and I learned how gratifying and rewarding it is to give back to others.”

SIDNEY MONCRIEF

Sidney Moncrief, a 1975 graduate, is a five-time NBA All-Star, five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive team, a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and an NBA All-Pro. He lives in Dallas, where he is a people development consultant with his business, Moncrief One Team. He is a former NCAA Division I head coach (ULAR) and NBA assistant coach (Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks).

What was your favorite class at Hall?

“I didn’t really have a favorite class, but my favorite thing about the school was its visual appeal. It has a very unique setting. I liked how the buildings were separate and the square shaped hallway led you to the main building.”

Favorite extracurricular activity?

“Beyond basketball I didn’t have much time to do anything else.

By the time I was a junior, I developed a love of reading and enjoyed reading in the library.”

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Which teacher left a lasting impression on you?

“Coach Oliver Elders, my basketball coach, set a very high standard. He wanted us to be gentlemen and respect people and we learned to play hard as a team. Sharon Ball got me on track in biology and Principal Faulk kept the environment calm and disciplined.”

What were your initial plans after high school?

“I went to the University of Central Arkansas on a basketball scholarship with aspirations of becoming a coach. My coaches inspired me so much.”

How did your time at Hall help prepare you for those plans?

“I’m a child of integration in Little Rock Public Schools, which taught me how to adjust and relate to people of different races. I learned how to develop relationships and friendships and how to negotiate conflicts.

It helped prepare me to be more accepting of others and not be intimidated by people different from me.

I also learned the importance of looking at people for how they are and not how they look. Hall helped shape my ability to do well after high school and certainly after college.”

What was your favorite class during your time at Hall?

“I loved my AP English class. It’s where I fell in love with reading classic literature. Both Mrs. Madison and Mrs. McKinnon did a great job of making the material relatable. At Hall High School I found out Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Dolls House’ was simply the story of women and our place in society. It’s still one of my favorites. Every once in awhile I’ll read it again and each time I find something new.”

Favorite extracurricular activity?

“Basketball. Basketball and more basketball. Along with fellow classmates DeeDee Brown, Daisha Reed and Shaneika Lewis, as seniors in 1997, we beat Bentonville to win the very first girls basketball championship at Hall. People always showed up early to watch the girls’ games. We had the support of the entire school and the community.”

Which teacher left a lasting impression on you?

“Hands down, my chemistry teacher, Dr. Meadows.

Aside from being brilliant, she cared so much about her students. I’ll be honest, I barely passed her course, but not because of her, because of me. She was amazing.

Dr. Meadows had a very unique way of making you feel like you could conquer the world. She didn’t bother you much, just waited for the perfect time to drop nuggets of wisdom that you simply couldn’t ignore.”

DIONNE JACKSON

Dionne (Bennett) Jackson, a 1992 graduate, is vice president for Diversity and Inclusion and chief diversity officer and associate professor of education at Hendrix College in Conway. After college at Hendrix, she earned a doctorate in education from Baylor University. Her research focus is the recruitment and retention of science teachers – a subject for which she developed a passion during her time at Hall.

What was your favorite class during your time at Hall?

“Zero-hour physics was my favorite class because you had to be pretty motivated as a student to take a course before school each day. To this day, it was one of the best learning communities I have experienced.”

Favorite extracurricular activity?

“Students for Cultural Awareness was one of the clubs I enjoyed most. It provided an opportunity for students to unite for the common cause of promoting understanding of cultural diversity.”

Which teacher left a lasting impression on you?

“All of my science teachers. They were a phenomenal group of educators. They developed my interest in science to the point that I decided to major in biology at Hendrix.”

ERICA BRASWELL

Class of 2016 graduate and current Baylor University student Erica Braswell was a 2016 Dell Scholar and also received the 2016 Gates Millennium Scholarship.

The Gates Millennium Scholarship pays 100% of the student’s financial needs including tuition and fees, room and board, books, and living expenses through completion of their higher education all the way through doctorate level.

This scholarship not only pays for an undergraduate degree, but can also be renewed for a graduate degree in specific fields.

What were your initial plans after high school?

“Since I loved being a Warrior so much, my plan was to become a Hendrix College Warrior and major in biology with a pre-med emphasis.”

How did your time at Hall help prepare you for those plans?

“By teaching me the importance of hard work and cooperation. Even when I decided that the pre-med track was not for me, I maintained my plans of majoring in biology and instead became a licensed science teacher.

Due to Hall High, I was very prepared for the rigors and challenges of life in college and beyond.”

CELIA ANDERSON

Basketball star and Senior Class President Celia Anderson graduated in 1997. She is director of national accounts for the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau and is a noted author and public speaker. A former Lady Razorbacks basketball player, Anderson also played professionally in Greece before going to work for New York Times bestselling author, the late E. Lynn Harris. In 2011, she sat on a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus and was inducted into the Multi Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.

What were your initial plans after high school?

“College.”

How did your time at Hall help prepare you for those plans?

“Although my AP courses certainly helped prepare me for college, Hall also prepared me socially. We had students from all walks of life. They helped me expand my mind and to see the world outside of my neighborhood. When I got to the University of Arkansas, I was comfortable in any circle and had a healthy respect for all walks of life.”

CHEYANNE HAMPTON

Cheyanne Hampton, Hall High class of 2012, is now pursuing her master’s degree at Notre Dame University. After graduating from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Science in Human & Organizational Development degree, Hampton moved to Indiana to work on her Master of Science degree in management.

What was your favorite class at Hall?

“I really enjoyed English classes all four years.”

Favorite extracurricular activity?

“I loved being a member of Key Club because I was able to learn from and work with great nonprofit organizations in Little Rock for different causes and meet a lot of other high school students across the state through volunteering.”

Which teacher left a lasting impression on you and how?

“I’ve had several teachers who have left a lasting impression on me, but my counselor, Ms. Boyle, was someone who helped guide me throughout my four years at Hall. My tenth-grade English teacher, Ms. Artis, was someone who really encouraged me in the classroom and pushed me to be better academically. Also, my calculus teacher, Ms. Hudson, and history teacher, Dr. Rush, were very influential to me and I learned a lot in their classes as well. I think all of the teachers at Hall were great because they were able to relate to, understand, and help students succeed.”

How did your time at Hall help you prepare for life after high school?

“At Hall, one of the main things I learned was how to manage my time in order to balance academics and extracurricular activities. This is a skill that is needed, not only in college, but as a young adult.”

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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR ARKANSAS TIMES UNDERWRITERS Hall High Alumni Association, The Tribe Hall High Classes of 1964, 1965, 1966, 1970, and 1992 Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker, Moses Tucker Real Estate, Classes of ‘67 and ’68 Kathy Webb, Little Rock City Director, Vice-Mayor, Executive Director Arkansas Hunger Alliance, Class of ‘67 Capi Peck and Brent Peterson, Trio’s Restaurant, Classes of ’71 and ‘74 Allen Mendel

HALL HIGH ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS Linda Brown and Tisha Gribble, Co-Chairmen Marsha Scott, Chairman Emeritus Wayne Ball Beverly Dunaway Danny Fletcher Peter Kumpe Susan Hestir Dionne Jackson John May Brandon Scott Liz Sendejo Anika Whitfield Carol Young

exception. Anytime money moves from one account to another, a third of 1 percent of the transaction would be taken from the receiving account and put into state coffers by the financial institution.

By the nature of the tax, those people and businesses moving large amounts of money would pay more into the government account. The small amounts raised would be overshadowed by the sheer volume of receipts.

Avoidance (by cash transfers) would be impractical. In this way, the state could raise money in such a way that would eliminate the need for sales, property, income and payroll taxes. The biggest winners would be lower- and middle-income households, while the biggest losers would be large corporations and financial institutions (who would still benefit from a reduction in paperwork).

Andy Howington is a small business owner.

Expand broadband access

By Elizabeth Bowles Arkansas ranks 48th out of 50 states for broadband connectivity. Although over 58 percent of Arkansans have access to broadband speeds of 25 megabits per second, 40 percent of Arkansans do not have broadband available in their area at all. The vast majority of these Arkansans live in rural areas. This leaves nearly half the state, 1.3 million Arkansans, without access to a fixed broadband connection capable of 25 Mbps download speeds; 148,000 Arkansans have NO fixed internet providers available where they live.

Interestingly, Arkansas ranks near the top for mobile phone penetration.

However, although over 98 percent of

Extend the Arkansas coding initiative to foreign languages

By Will Watson Governor Hutchinson has led Arkansas computer science education into the future with his coding initiatives that have sparked unprecedented innovations in state curriculum. Arkansas kids can code, and they finally have the outlets to develop these vital skills to take part in a 21st century workforce.

We should extend this forwardthinking approach to promote the teaching of foreign languages — critical skills in the globalized market. Hutchinson has staked his legacy on Arkansas becoming an economic powerhouse, and investments in education are certainly the best way to make that happen.

As we seek direct foreign investment from China and greater opportunity in other markets, let’s make sure the next generation of Arkansans is prepared to negotiate those deals, navigate other cultures and import jobs and knowledge back to the state.

There’s no better way to do this than investing in critical languages at the primary and secondary level. Exposing Arkansas students to Chinese, Japanese, German, Arabic, Korean and other languages vital to the global marketplace will produce immeasurable dividends in the future. Look at Arkansas-based companies like Slim Chickens, which is

Will Watson is a development officer at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

Arkansans have access to mobile broadband of varying speeds, that alone is insufficient. While some mobile connections may be capable of 25 Mbps or higher, the data and usage caps that accompany most mobile connections make them unaffordable for many of the types of activities (such as Netflix or Hulu) that urban residents take for granted. Businesses and first responders who must rely on a mobile service for their broadband access cannot compete with urban businesses with access to fixed broadband, and economic developers will bypass communities where mobile broadband is the only available way to reach the internet. Access to fixed

broadband is critical for rural communities to compete economically.

Where adequate broadband is available, students have access to global information and cultural resources previously unavailable; farmers gain real-time access to vital information such as crop prices, weather forecasts and marketing opportunities; doctors and medical professionals can consult with colleagues from larger hospitals not only within Arkansas but worldwide; small businesses can expand their reach to a global market; and communities overlooked because of lack of broadband can become viable for economic development.

expanding into the Middle East. Imagine the application of having more Arabic speakers with educational and economic ties to Arkansas. If we’re going to turn Arkansas rice into sake, as brewer Ben Bell is doing, let’s have more Japanese speakers to learn the trade. The examples are countless.

Speaking a foreign language makes sense on a cultural, economic and security level. Arkansas can advance its competitiveness with global firms by being a leader not only in coding languages, but the written and spoken languages of the fastest-growing markets in the world.

Foreign languages are vital to America’s security, with plentiful opportunities in the armed services, intelligence and diplomatic communities. Making them a priority for our future in Arkansas just makes sense.

I challenge our legislature and governor to require and enable every Arkansas high school to offer access to at least one critical language by 2020. By doing so we can give Arkansans a marketable asset that will only grow our state’s economic competitiveness and the strength of our schools.

Fiber has often been referred to as the “gold standard” for internet access, and it may be. But the cost of fiber can be prohibitive. My company, Aristotle, uses fixed wireless solutions to provide affordable, high-speed internet for rural and suburban communities in Arkansas. Aristotle recently installed networks in England and Keo and has expansion plans that call for coverage of a six-county area of the Arkansas Delta. Residents of these counties have been searching for a broadband solution that will allow them to become competitive in markets for crops, handmade goods and other economic development initiatives.

Although fiber remains an important part of Arkansas’s broadband solution, fixed wireless is key to an overall broadband strategy. A hybrid network that includes fixed wireless broadband provides a more rapidly deployable and costeffective option for connecting Arkansas citizens: Fixed wireless is less expensive to install than fiber and less expensive to maintain; it can be deployed in a fraction of the time that it takes to deploy fiber; it is capable of the same speeds and reliability as fiber; and for consumers who stream, fixed wireless costs 20 to 50 times less than mobile broadband and has no data caps. Satellite providers impose strict data caps while delivering weather dependent service.

Broadband networks, like fast-food chains, do better with competition. Structures that prevent competition by favoring a particular technology ultimately hurt the very communities those structures are attempting to help. In communities where only one provider is available, broadband take rates (the adoption of broadband by consumers) caps at 35 to 40 percent. It is only in communities where more than one provider is available that 68 to 75 percent adoption rates occur.

Broadband internet is essential to the future of education, businesses and communities in Arkansas, and fixed wireless broadband provides the ideal connectivity solution for many rural Arkansas communities. Often, due to topographical challenges — such as mountains, granite beds, forests and rivers — deployment of wireline solutions like fiber can be costprohibitive. Mobile solutions allow connectivity, but data caps and data overage charges make it unaffordable as a streaming broadband option and unattractive to economic developers.

Fixed wireless broadband offers comparable speeds and reliability to fiber at a fraction of the cost of deployment of a fiber network and at a fraction of the cost to the consumer of a mobile service. A hybrid arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

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LILY DARRAGH

INCREASE PROCESSING OPTIONS FOR LOCAL LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS

By Katie Short Arkansas needs an alternative

solution that includes both fixed wireless and fiber is the best option to ensure all of Arkansas has comparable access to affordable broadband.

Elizabeth Bowles is president and chair of the board of Aristotle.

Create a statewide Next Gen Digital Economy Readiness Commission

By Rick Webb A new digital economy that will have more impact than the industrial age is upon us. Heartland communities like those across Arkansas can compete for the demands of this new economy if we prepare. First, we need to decide what we want Arkansas to become over the next five, 10 and 15 years: A leader 28

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ARKANSAS TIMES

to U.S. Department of Agricultureinspected processing for direct-market livestock products. Regulations on meat processing have not caught up to the new, thriving market for locally sourced, humanely produced meat from smaller-scale farms. The USDA has relatively effective meat processing regulations designed to be minimally invasive for large-scale producers. But, in the same way that we don’t have the physical and service infrastructure to meet the demands of the local food economy, we also lack the regulatory infrastructure.

It is almost impossible for would-be meat processors to enter the abattoir business because of the high costs of opening and operating a large industrial operation. For example, USDA regulations require an on-site inspector paid

“We must quit competing among ourselves for resources and align on a master plan for the state.”

—Rick Webb in data analytics/machine learning?

A focus on health care and wellness?

Global supply chain systems? Sustainability? Education? Smart cities? Or should we remain just another flyover state with average-paying jobs? We must quit competing among ourselves for resources and align on a master plan for the state. Then we can discuss specific roles for various communities and how we as a state should provide them with resources. We must insist on more impact from our business and institutions — enterprise businesses, universities, public and charter schools, state and city government, chambers and our evolving entrepreneur community.

And we must change the perception of Arkansas from “the land of Walmart” to one that is leading the U.S. and having impact globally on how people live their lives with rapidly emerging technology and the changing needs of our citizens.

Rick Webb is director of Grit Studios, a business incubator in Bentonville

for by the facility. Despite real interest growing local foodie culture in the Little from chefs, butchers and restaurateurs Rock area. in Central Arkansas, the cost of running Meanwhile, almost every county in a fully licensed USDA abattoir is so pro- Arkansas has a “custom processor” — a hibitive as to even daydream about the mom-and-pop shop where local hunters potential of such a venture. have their deer cut up and where everyFor farmers, this means abattoirs are thing is tagged with a “not for sale” label. a bottleneck. We have to work with the Custom plants are only for end users, limitations of the two or three USDA- unfortunately. If our farm could use a approved processors in the state or else local custom processing plant to produce drive our animals and products hundreds cuts that would be sold to consumers, we of miles to reach facilities in neighbor- would be able to lower our prices, offer a ing states. The logistics and expense of wider variety of products and spend more travel keep us on the highway instead time perfecting our farming as opposed of the farm and cause us to spend huge to our driving. portions of our operating budgets on serCongress has proposed federal legvices outside the state, further adding to islation to allow a means of regulatthe long hours, stress and heavy operat- ing smaller-scale processors, but it has ing costs that sink so many small farms stalled. However, some states have crebefore their third year of operation. And ated their own rules that meet federal still, we can’t meet the demands of the standards for safety and cleanliness.

focused on helping start-up founders grow their businesses to enhance the Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Be proud

By June Freeman We should take pride in who we are and what we have. Little Rockers, like other Arkansans, are inclined to feel apologetic for not measuring up to life as it appears to be it in major cities. We have a lot going for us here, and there is always the opportunity to improve what we have if we work together toward that end.

Many who live here think of Little Rock as being somewhere in the hinterland. But Little Rock is an international port city. One can travel to any part of the world by setting off from the shore of the Arkansas River. The reverse is true, too!

June Freeman is a retired journalist and advocate for the arts.

MORE HIKING AND BACKPACKING EVENTS IN ARKANSAS

By Reggie Koch In a time when we are encouraging people to be more active and spend more time outdoors, Arkansas has the space, the terrain and the beauty to be a hiking and backpacking hotspot. If we had more organized hiking and backpacking events, like the states along the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, our tourism and outdoor industry could thrive.

There is no shortage of places to head out on your Arkansas walkabout,

Texas, for example, has set up a parallel system to USDA inspection that creates a license somewhere between a USDA facility and a custom-type plant.

The state assigns an agent to supervise the handling of meat and ensure facilities meet basic requirements regarding contamination avoidance, basic humane care standards and so on.

Regulation is a good thing, in general. We need parameters to help us define the niche that we work within.

But in this case, the regulation needs an update. Our meat production system has swung so far toward large-scale farming in the last 70 years that now we are left only with the tiny remnants of a bygone production system, and not a lot of resources to meet the demand generated by contemporary food culture.

For consumers, such reform would

mean more choice. Not only would more farmers be able to more easily bring their products directly to market, there would be a huge opportunity for aspiring craft meat processors. Imagine if, like the blossoming of the gourmet food truck scene, we had a thriving community of creative artisan butchers suddenly able to manage the start-up costs of building or taking over a local custom processing plant. Today’s foodies are embracing high-minded, highly crafted animal products, and Arkansas’s livestock producers are eager to “meat” the need, but we have a dearth of specialists to convey our raw products into artisan food.

Katie Short and her husband, Travis, own and operate Farm Girl Meats, a family farm in Perry County.

and if solitude is what you want, then we’ve got ideal trails for you. The Arkansas state website boasts 31 backpacking trails (more than 200 if you include all the short day-hiking trails, most of which are only a couple of miles long), and some of them require multiday trips if you want to see the whole trail. These include two nationally recognized trails of over 200 miles each: The Ouachita National Recreation Trail and the Ozark Highlands Trail.

These trails are well maintained but sparsely used. Why? In other popular activities, Arkansas has taken the initiative to organize events to attract attention to our great outdoors. For example, the Little Rock Marathon and the Big Dam Bridge cycling event both attract large crowds each year. But Arkansas is even more ideally suited for hiking and backpacking than it is for running and bicycling.

Other states enjoy hiking and backpacking crowds that support a large outdoor supply industry.

The Appalachian Trail, for example, begins in Georgia and extends through 14 states to Maine, and has millions of visitors every year. There are kickoff events each year, and there is a whole industry of outfitter stores, hostels and recreation areas supported financially by the trail visitors.

Let’s organize some Arkansas hiking and backpacking events and encourage people from all over to see our state’s abundant outdoor beauty.

Create a park that is a bridge over the already sunken Interstate 630 from from 17th Street to the pedestrian bridge at MacArthur Park. It would be wonderful and historically correct. It is no great feat to cover the road by adding trusses over it, like they have already done in Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas. The trench of I-630 exists and so does the technology and even the financing possibilities. This park would knit the neighborhoods together again and, of course, by its very existence, positively affect property values.

This park was in a 2008 report, “Urban Design Vision Plan for the Southside Main Street Neighborhood,” done when I was head of the UALR Urban Studies and Design Department. It also included bringing the streetcar down Main Street to 17th, turning it eastward one block to Scott, and then heading north. The route could be included in the construction of the park concurrently.

Reggie Koch is a North Little Rock lawyer.

George Wittenberg is an architect and artist.

A new park

By George Wittenberg

ACANSA Arts Festival

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‘FABULOUS, BABY!’ JOHN DAVID PITTMAN

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HAIL MARY: Soara-Joye Ross as Deloris Van Cartier, the nightclub singer-turned-nun in Bill and Cheri Steinkellner’s musical “Sister Act.”

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ARKANSAS TIMES

hink of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s production of “Sister Act” as a bright sun in this winter of our discontent. As Soara-Joye Ross, who plays the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier, puts it: “People need to come and get their ‘Sister Act’ fix. This show will fill your cup.”

The play is adapted from the classic 1990s Whoopi Goldberg film, but by all accounts this is no tossed-off remake.

“No matter how much you like the film, this is definitely a notch up,” Director Cliff Baker said. “The writers have their finger on the pulse of what is it that audiences are looking for.” Alan Menken, who won Oscars for his work on Disney classics “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” and “Pocahontas,” wrote the music. Those who enjoyed the reworkings of oldies in the film will have plenty to enjoy in his score; the original songs come together like a throwback mixtape of ’70s-era Philly soul and disco. “Because of the way he structured the harmonies, the sound really sparkles. It’s got something alive in it,” Baker said.

To breathe life into Menken’s songs, The Rep pulled together an impressive cast of both experienced Broadway players and local actors. Ross, who has had multiple roles on Broadway as well as film (“Garden State”) and television (“Crashing,” an upcoming HBO show

from producer Judd Apatow), is the shining star of the show. Even in our interview, the energy she brings to the Deloris character was evident. “It feels like someone has watched me my whole life and they wrote this role for me; I’m happy to be here tackling this complex and crazy and fantastic character,” she said.

Joining her is Jennie Boone, who has portrayed Sister Mary Patrick on the “Sister Act” tour across the country and in Japan. “Every time you do it, it feels like the first time, because the audience is so involved in the show. It’s so much fun to do,” Boone said. She says she should hit her 300th “Sister Act” while performing at the Rep. Rounding out the mostly-female cast are Monte J. Howell, who plays Curtis Jackson, Deloris’ abusive boyfriend, and P. Jay Clark, who plays Monsignor O’Hara. “I’m finding out who I am with this role,” Howell said. “I’ve always wanted to play the bad guy and I’m glad I have the chance.” Clark is a pastor at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church. “I saw there was a role for a priest who didn’t have to dance. The other thing that sold me was getting to work with Cliff,” Clark said.

Cliff Baker founded the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in 1976, and served as director until 1999 when Bob Hupp came on board. Hupp left the Rep last

ROCK CANDY

Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

A&E NEWS

‘Sister Act’ coming to The Rep.

BY JAMES SZENHER

year and Baker stepped in as interim director during the search for a new producing director. Enter John Miller-Stephany, who comes from the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, one of the country’s largest resident theaters. Baker talked about working with Miller-Stephany: “It’s an amazing staff here and they really care about the growth and health of the theater. The organization itself is going to bloom, and right now, we’re just getting its roots started in this new garden that John is planting,” he said.

Baker’s passion for this play in this particular time and place was apparent: “We need something that heals and brings people together and speaks to the power of community and also to the power of women,” he said. “The whole message is love, and empowering one another,” Howell said. “There’s a few lines in the play that really excited me and affected me as a person — as a Christian and as an American.”

Ross summed up the play’s message in her three favorite songs: “(Be) Fabulous Baby!”, “Raise Your Voice” and “Spread the Love Around.”

“Sister Act” opens Friday, Jan. 27, and plays through Sunday, Feb. 26. Sign Interpreter Night is Wednesday, Feb. 8. More info is available at therep.org/ attend/productions/sisteract.

LITTLE ROCK NATIVE Ben Dickey will star in “Blaze,” a feature film directed by actor and director Ethan Hawke, Deadline Hollywood reports. The movie is an adaptation of “Living in the Woods in a Tree,” a memoir by Sybil Rosen about her life with cult country songwriter Blaze Foley, a Malvern native who spent much of his rambling life in Texas. Foley penned “If I Could Only Fly,” popularized by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, and “Clay Pigeons,” perhaps best known for John Prine’s version. Dickey, who stars as Foley, released his debut solo album, “Sexy Birds & Salt Water Classics” last year on Max Recordings and played in Shake Ray Turbine, a beloved post-hardcore band that had its heyday in the late ’90s in Little Rock. This is his first film role.

Hawke, a longtime friend of Dickey’s, directed two music videos for songs from “Sexy Birds.” Hawke wrote the script with Rosen. Alia Shawkat (“Arrested Development,” “Search Party”) co-stars as Rosen.

“Blaze” is shooting in Mississippi and Louisiana, where Dickey now lives.

RUTH NEGGA received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Mildred Loving in “Loving,” the latest film from Little Rock director Jeff Nichols. It was the lone Oscar nomination for “Loving,” which landed on dozens of critics’ year-end best films lists and was seen as an early Academy Award nomination. Negga and her co-star Joel Edgerton were previously nominated for Golden Globe Awards.

Neither won.

PATRICK RALSTON IS the new Arkansas Arts Council director. Ralston, an artist and photographer, had been an analyst with the state Bureau of Legislative Research and previously worked with the Department of Arkansas Heritage in the Historic Preservation Program.

Marian Boyd, who has worked with DAH for 25 years, has been acting as Arts Council director since Joy Pennington left last year to work with the nonprofit Arkansans for the Arts. DAH announced that Boyd will move to the Historic Preservation Program as interim director, replacing Missy McSwain, who has resigned. McSwain will stay on until March 15 as an adviser.

Ralston is steering an agency that gets huge support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Our new president plans to abolish the NEA, according to an article published recently in The Hill. If that happens, the state’s art community will suffer.

MUSICIANS SHOWCASE is this Thursday! arktimes.com/showcase17

Discovery Nightclub Presents the

DI S COV E R MUS IC COM PET IT ION 7 weeks of music with 8 bands competing Grand Prize: $2000 cash and 4 hours of studio time at Blue Chair Studios

ROUND 3: FUNK/JAMBAND | GOOD FOOT VS. FUNK DONORS | JANUARY 28 Doors at 9pm, Show at 10pm Cover is $10 (includes entry to Discovery Lobby and Disco-Tech after the show) Visit Discover Music’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DiscoveryMusic79 1021 Jessie Rd, Little Rock • 501-666-6900 • www.latenightdisco.com

ARKANSAS TIMES

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LOCAL Follow Rock Candy on Twitter: @RockCandies

arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

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BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE, STEPHEN KOCH AND LESLIE PEACOCK

MULTITALENTED: The Weekend Theater finishes out its run of “Intimate Apparel” this weekend, Lynn Nottage’s “feminist lament,” 7:30 p.m. through Saturday, Jan. 28, $12-$16.

THURSDAY 1/26-SATURDAY 1/28

‘INTIMATE APPAREL’

7:30 p.m. The Weekend Theater. $12-$16.

Lynn Nottage has referred to herself as a “schizophrenic writer,” a word often used when an artist’s aptitude outgrows the pot in which it’s been planted.

Whether or not you’re a fan, you’ll never be able to accuse Nottage of writing the same play over and over: She’s written a children’s musical, a play about Congolese women surviving civil war and a comedy about racial stereotypes in Hollywood. She does her homework, too — in 2009, she spoke at a reception following a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations joint subcommittee hearing, “Confronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence Against Women in Conflict Zones,” based on the research she’d done before writing her play “Ruined.”

Nottage didn’t have to look abroad for inspiration for “Intimate Apparel.” After discovering a photo of her great-grandmother as a seamstress while cleaning out her grandmother’s brownstone, she dug her way into the resources at the New York Public Library, trying to piece together an idea of what her ancestor’s life must have been like at the turn of the century. The result was this play, her best-known work, which the New York Times’ Anita Gates called “a rich, vivid portrait of turn-of-the-last-century New York; a feminist lament of intelligent, talented women defined and controlled by men; a soft-focus glimpse into the beating hearts behind the archives of African-American life a century ago.”

The Weekend Theater presents its final three performances of Nottage’s play this weekend; catch it while you can. SS 32

JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

THURSDAY 1/26

ARKANSAS TIMES MUSICIANS SHOWCASE: ROUND 1

8 p.m. Stickyz. $5.

From a pool of over 50 submissions, 16 semifinalists were chosen to battle it out over the course of four rounds at Stickyz for a spot at the Showcase finals on March 10. We received everything from disco beat-laden, Scissor

Sisters-style falsetto to rap-as-prayer to sweet balladry, and our four judges are ready to take it all in. At this first round of semifinals, you’ll hear the ’60s-inspired five-piece Brian Nahlen Band, with tunes from its November release “Cicada Moon”; Spirit Cuntz, a Russellville-based punk duo that defines its namesake as “the juju that you channel that is reminiscent of a

Great Woman”; Mike Mullins’ (Mothwind, Year of the Tiger) latest project, Recognizer; and Southern rock revivalists DeFrance. Next up: Mortalus, Youth Pastor (formerly Comfortable Brother), Solo Jaxon (of Young Gods of America) and Dazz & Brie. Keep an eye out on our entertainment blog Rock Candy for updates and details. SS

film, released in 1978. Drinking game: Take a shot every time the camera gazes longingly at Robertson. For designated drivers, you’re safe to take a drink at every shot of Rick, Richard or Garth … or the audience. As part of last year’s 40th anniversary of the “Last Waltz” Thanksgiving concert — and yet another Band reissue — the Ron Robinson The-

ater screens the film in “DCI-compliant Barco digital cinema projection system” with a 32-foot-wide screen and a Dolby 7.1 surround audio — all of which means you can see Muddy, Joni, Bob and Van et al. perform with the quintet once known as Levon and the Hawks — and with a bit more clarity than the VHS copy you got for your dad. SK

FRIDAY 1/27

‘THE LAST WALTZ’: 40TH ANNIVERSARY

7 p.m. Ron Robinson Theater. $5.

The Robbie vs. other-members-ofThe Band tussle regarding authorship of The Band songs may never be resolved.

Less disputed is Marty Scorsese’s worshipful treatment of Robertson in the original Band’s 1976 farewell concert Follow us on Instagram: ArkTimes

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 1/26

FRIDAY 1/27

ANSEL ADAMS, HERMAN MARIL

Arkansas Arts Center.

The Arts Center opens its major exhibitions of 2017 with exhibitions of works by two American modernists: premier landscape photographer Ansel Adams and style-independent Baltimore painter Herman Maril. Both exhibits will be the first major shows for Adams and Maril at the Arts Center, with 41 original prints in the Adams exhibition and 90 works, including oils, drawings and prints, in the Maril show. “Ansel Adams: Early Works” features photo-

graphs made from the 1920s to the 1950s, as he evolved his sharp-focus, high-contrast style in his iconic pictures of the American West. “Herman Maril: The Strong Forms of Our Experience” surveys the painter’s career from the 1920s to the 1980s; the artist is the subject of seven years of research by the Arts Center’s curator of drawings, Ann Prentice Wagner, whose knowledge she shares in the exhibition catalog and at a noontime talk Feb. 10. The exhibitions run through April 16. A member preview and reception the evening of Jan. 26 begins with a talk by Wagner at 6 p.m. ($10 nonmembers.) Other programming

is scheduled around the shows, including Art After Hours talks on successive Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in February. In conjunction with the Adams show, the Arts Center is also exhibiting the works of an Arkansas photographer. “Seeing the Essence: Photographs by William E. Davis” features 25 large black-andwhite prints; they along with more than 675 photographs were a bequest to the Arts Center from the estate of Davis, who was Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller’s personal photographer for a time and also taught at the University of Arkansas beside having a commercial business. LNP

The Museum of Discovery turns its eyes toward the Force with “Science After Dark: ‘Star Wars’ Science,” 6 p.m., $5.

Listen Sister, Peach Blush and R.I.O.T.S. shake the rafters at the White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. Cast and crew members from “Sister Act” hold a panel discussion on The Rep’s new play, Clinton School of Public Service, Sturgis Hall, noon, free. The Central Arkansas Nature Center hosts a Trout Fishing Workshop for beginners, 6 p.m., free. Finger Food plays a concert for 100 at The Joint as a fundraiser for the ACANSA Arts Festival, 6:30 p.m., $100. Jersey Hotcomic, who goes by the moniker “The Haitian Sensation,” brings his standup comedy act to the Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m.

Wed.-Sat., 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., $8-$12. Dove and Billboard Award-recipient Big Daddy Weave performs at Immanuel Baptist Church, 7 p.m., $20-$50. “Arkansongs” host Stephen Koch emcees a state-centric trivia at Stone’s Throw Brewery, 6:30 p.m., free. Fire & Brimstone plays the happyhour set at Cajun’s, 5:30 p.m., free. Rogue Plant plays a free show at King’s Live Music, 8 p.m. Central Arkansas Library System hosts a Chinese New Year Celebration for children and families at its Main Library location, 4 p.m. Over at the Regional Innovation Hub, The Van’s Aaron Reddin hosts a talk on how business owners can “live cohesively” with their homeless neighbors, 6 p.m. The Oak Ridge Boys make a stop at Harding University’s Benson Auditorium, 7 p.m., $26-$46.

ALI COPELAND

FRIDAY 1/27

ANALOG: High Plains Jamboree (Noel McKay, Beth Chrisman, Simon Flory, Brennen Leigh) shares a bill with Joe Sundell at the White Water Tavern Friday, 9 p.m.

FRIDAY 1/27

HIGH PLAINS JAMBOREE

9 p.m. White Water Tavern.

High Plains Jamboree’s mandolin player, Brennen Leigh, sings the group’s song “Analog,” and it’s about as apt an introduction to the band’s vibe as you could get: “I don’t want instant packaged/I want made-at-home/I don’t want advertisements on my telephone.”

The four-piece — on upright bass, fiddle,

mandolin and guitar — calls its style “country-grass,” and it’s a variety show for those of us who may have, at some point in the mid-2000s, liked the song “Wagon Wheel” before its ubiquitous airplay made it the new “Stairway to Heaven.” Leigh has recorded with Charlie Louvin and written songs for Lee Ann Womack, and her partner/ bandmate Noel McKay co-wrote “El Coyote” with the late Guy Clark for

his Grammy-winning folk album “My Favorite Picture of You.” The group comes to the White Water Tavern just before the release of its first full-length album, which is sure to secure it at least a half-dozen more gigs on “A Prairie Home Companion.” They follow an opening set from fellow string band player Joe Sundell, who makes up one quarter of the band Sad Daddy. SS

Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe bring their collective craft to South on Main, 10 p.m., $15. Crystal World, Matt Smiley and Mise en Abyme share a bill at Vino’s, 9 p.m., $6. Just Sayin’ plays a show at Cajun’s Wharf, 9 p.m., $5. SoNA Music Director and Conductor Paul Haas and Crystal Bridges Director of Curatorial Affairs Margi Conrads talk about classical music and American art at the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas’s next concert, Crystal Bridges Museum, 7 p.m., $40-$50. Arkansauce brings its bluegrassy blend to King’s Live Music in Conway with an opening set from Taylor Nealey, 8:30 p.m., $5. The Travel Guide and Tyler Kinchen and the Right Pieces play at Smoke and Barrel, Fayetteville,10 p.m., $5.

John Neal plays a free show at The Tavern Sports Bar & Grill, 7:30 p.m. The Local Show Music Menagerie features poets, musicians, comedy and dance at Whittington Place, Hot Springs, 7 p.m. Texarkana plays a two-night run at Markham Street Grill & Pub through Sat., Jan. 28, 8:30 p.m., free. Classic Albums Live performs “Led Zeppelin II” note-for-note at the Walton Arts Center’s Baum Walker Hall, 8 p.m., Fayetteville, $25-$35. The Rev Room hosts an all-local electronic dance music show featuring Travis Gibbs, Big Brown, Blade and Mondragon, 9 p.m., free. Tragikly White plays a set at Fox & Hound, NLR, 10 p.m.

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arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

33

THE

TO-DO

LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE, STEPHEN KOCH AND LESLIE PEACOCK

FRIDAY 1/27

BLACK OAK ARKANSAS

10 p.m. Four Quarter Bar. $20-$25.

While the Rolling Stones get accolades and endorsement deals for 50 years in business, some sniff at Black Oak Arkansas for its similar achievement. Without benefit of Mr. Jagger’s personal trainers, Manila (Mississippi County) native Rickie Lee Reynolds and Michigan (!) native James “Dandy” Mangrum are still at it since they first got together in the mid1960s for rehearsals in a grain elevator

in Craighead County’s Black Oak, when they were known as the Knowbody Else.

In the interim, long hair, spandex-clad banshees, triple-guitar attacks, doublebass drumming and even washboards became part of the rock vocabulary. The band has been tighter than in years since the 2013 release of “Back Thar ’N Over Yonder,” BOA’s first major label release with new material in decades. Lately it even has a female singer, Candice Ivory, stepping into the late Ruby Starr’s slippers.

Kindred spirits Iron Tongue opens. SK

SATURDAY 1/28-SUNDAY 1/29

34

JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

Follow us on Instagram: ArkTimes

EBONY BLEVINS

interplay with the orchestra leaves no room for laxity, and the frenzied third movement means that the pia7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Robinson nist must keep a reserve of energy in Center Performance Hall. his or her back pocket for a maniacal If you’ve home stretch.

Featured piaseen the movie nist Norman “Sh i ne,” you Krieger is an know this acclaimed piano concerto.

Los Angeles Geoffrey Rush, pianist who who resumed worked with the piano lessons he’d quit Maestro Philip when he was 14 Mann when he recorded so he wouldn’t require a hand Brahms’ “Piano double, won Concerto No. a Best Actor 2” with the Oscar for his READY TO RACH 3: Maestro Philip Mann London Sympor t raya l of continues a collaboration with pianist phony Orchestra at Abbey David Helfgott, Norman Krieger in the Arkansas Symphony a renow ne d Orchestra’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Road Studios in “Piano Concerto No. 3” at Robinson Center A u s t r a l i a n Performance Hall, 7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., 2014. (If you’re concert pianist $14-$67. curious about that recording, who struggled there’s a neat little 14-minute docdesperately with schizoaffective disorder. In the film, a young Helfgott’s umentary about it on Vimeo called coach instructs him as he plays the “Capturing the Essence of Brahms,” so-called “Rach 3”: “Think of it as featuring Mann’s thoughts: “We do two separate melodies jousting for it because we love Brahms, and quite supremacy! Your hands: two giants frankly, we do it because the world with 10 fingers each!” The prodigy digs Brahms.”) Speaking of Brahms, practices obsessively, cutting out the the ASO will also perform the composfingertips of his gloves so that he may er’s “Variations on a Theme by Joseph practice in his freezing living quarHaydn, Op. 56a” as well as Samuel ters as two slices of bread toast on the Barber’s “Essay No. 1, Op. 12.” If none metal grate of the space heater. “Your of this sounds familiar, but you’re up hands must form the unbreakable for expanding some horizons anyway, habit of knowing the notes so that you catch the Concert Conversations an can forget all about them,” his coach hour before the concert to get an idea says. The concerto’s strict rhythmical of what you’ll be listening to. SS

JOSHUA ASANTE

RACHMANINOFF’S ‘PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3’

SUMMERTIME IN JANUARY: Genine LaTrice Perez and LaSheena Gordon mashup opera with jazz and soul at South on Main for Divas in the Rock, 9 p.m., $10.

IN BRIEF. CONT.

SATURDAY 1/28

SATURDAY 1/28

DIVAS IN THE ROCK

9 p.m. South on Main. $10.

There are two women in Little Rock whose names you ought to know if you’re at all partial to the Gershwin tune “Summertime”: Genine LaTrice Perez and LaSheena Gordon. They’ve both brought down the house with the piece, although they perform it quite differently: Perez with her powerhouse, jazz-infused interpretation and Gordon with her rich, supple soprano on the “operatic” version of the classic. Lucky for fans of “Porgy and Bess,”

these women make up the bill for this Opera in the Rock fundraiser. Gordon is a UALR graduate and director of the children’s choirs at Dunbar Magnet Middle School and Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, and she’ll entertain with the likes of Puccini’s “Turandot” before her band, Off the Cuff, joins her to show off the other side of her vocal prowess. Fellow UALR alumnus and adjunct professor Perez offers the aforementioned Gershwin staple, and sticks around for a set from her polished jazz ensemble.

SS

The Arkansas Coalition for Reproductive Justice holds its 7th annual Rally for Reproductive Justice at the state Capitol, 1 p.m., with an afterparty and silent auction at Vino’s, 3 p.m. William Clark Green returns to Stickyz, 9 p.m., $10. Good Time Ramblers take the stage at Four Quarter Bar in Argenta, 10 p.m. Ten High, Piss Shivers and Bad Boyfriends play a punk show at Vino’s, 9 p.m. A Chinese New Year Celebration benefits Dunbar Garden with music from Kevin Kerby and “chickenpoop bingo” in honor of the Year of the Rooster at the White Water Tavern, $5. Trey & The Droppers pump tunes to the dance floor at Cajun’s Wharf, 9 p.m., $5. The Discovery Music Competition continues with battle-of-the-bands-style semifinals, Discovery Nightclub, 9 p.m. Jet 420 plays Rodney’s Handlebar & Grill, 8:30 p.m. Third Degree performs at Fox & Hound, NLR, 10 p.m. Mid-America Science Museum holds WinterFest, complete with hot cocoa and winter-related science experiments, Hot Springs, 9 a.m.

MONDAY 1/30 SUNDAY 1/29

NASTY WOMEN OF COMEDY

7:30 p.m. Loony Bin. $10.

Within hours of Donald Trump’s uttering the words “nasty woman” into the microphone in reference to Hillary Clinton, the URL nastywomengetshitdone.com redirected to Hillary’s website, T-shirts bearing the phrase were created and sold for the benefit of Planned Parenthood, and the phrase became a battle cry for Hillary supporters everywhere.

And, if the phrase “nasty women” went

on hiatus after a Trump victory, it was back in spades last weekend during the Women’s March on Washington, when the moniker adorned signs everywhere across the Capitol Mall and was heard loud and clear as the epicenter of Ashley Judd’s fiery poem. For this one-nightonly lineup at the Loony Bin, Amber Glaze, Hannah Malmstrom, Ashley Wright Ihler and Kayla Esmond open for Fort Smith’s Desiree Newton. The drinks will be strong and the jokes will be nasty. SS

TUESDAY 1/31

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS

7 p.m. Verizon Arena. $29-$132.

The Harlem Globetrotters’ touring show is sports theater, basketball for people who don’t like basketball. But there’s no denying the raw talent it takes to goof off at this level. The slapstick montage of trick shots, soccer-style head rolls and Guinness World Recordbreaking finger spins is much evolved since 1926 — when the team was called the “Savoy Big Five” — and comes to Arkansas in its 91st consecutive season with a little history in its pocket. Two Arkansans, Charles “Tex” Harrison and Hubert “Geese” Ausbie, were each part of the Globetrotters team for over 20 years, and they’ll become the sixth and seventh players in Globetrotter history

to be honored with a ceremony retiring their jerseys. “Tex and Geese both richly deserve this tremendous honor,” Globetrotters President Howard Smith said. “There’s no doubt both were an integral part of making the Globetrotters a worldwide phenomenon, bringing joy, laughter and athletic exploits to millions of fans in every corner of the world. To have these legendary players join the exclusive fraternity of numbers is a tribute to their mark on history and their dedication to the team.” If you’ve got a child who’s been working on his or her free throws and layups after school, grab a ticket for this one; the comedy is tailor-made for kids, and yours will absorb a bit of Arkansas history, too.

SS

Hearne Fine Art opens “Intimate Spaces & Places,” an exhibition of new works on paper and canvas by Henri Linton Sr., the longtime head of the art department at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and now the director of the University Museum and Cultural Center.

TUESDAY 1/31 Ben Nichols, Cory Branan and Kevin Kerby recreate the bill from Feb. 1, 2007, when the White Water Tavern’s current roster of owners took over the spot, 9 p.m., $20. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series features Strauss’ “Violin Sonata in E flat” and Debussy’s “String Quartet in G minor,” Clinton Presidential Center, 7 p.m., $10-$23.

Los Angeles quartet Dawes brings tunes from its latest, “We’re All Gonna Die,” at the Rev Room, 8:30 p.m., $20-$25. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families hosts Arkansas Kids Count Day at the state Capitol, 8:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY 2/1 Longtime KABF station manager John Cain celebrates his 80th birthday at the White Water Tavern with blues and BBQ, 6 p.m. Legacies & Lunch celebrates the music of the civil rights movement with performances by the Dunbar Magnet Middle School Singers, Tonya Leeks and David Ashley at the Ron Robinson Theater, noon.

The Fayetteville Roots festival presents The Shook Twins at George’s Majestic Lounge with an opening set from prodigal beatmakers Handmade Moments, 8:30 p.m., $15.

Corey Fontenot plays a free show at The Tavern Sports Bar & Grill, 7:30 p.m.

Shop shop LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES

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arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017, 2016

35

Hey, do this!

THE LAST WALTZ JAN 27

Directed by Martin Scorsese, THE LAST WALTZ chronicles the The Band’s final concert in 1976 and is considered by many to be the greatest concert film ever made. It gets special screening in honor of its 40th anniversary at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and are available for advanced purchase online at www.cals.org/ ronrobinson/index.html.

JAN 26-FEB 16

THROUGH FEB 18

THE NERD is now showing at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. Larry Shue’s brilliant, hilarious comedy is about an architect stuck in a rut and facing a milestone birthday and whose life is suddenly, hilariously upended by the unexpected appearance of an old army buddy. Don’t miss one of the funniest plays ever written. For tickets and show times, visit www.murrysdp.com.

MURRY’S DINNER PLAYHOUSE CELEBRATES 50 YEARS!

JAN 27 AND 28

On January 27, BLACK OAK ARKANSAS performs at Four Quarter Bar at 10 p.m. at 415 Main Street in Argenta followed by GOOD TIME RAMBLERS on the 28

FEB 3

Go Red for Women to support the American Heart Association. Today is National Wear Red for Women Day.

FEB 20

CHARLIE WILSON headlines a show at Verizon Arena with Fantasia, Johnny Gill and Solero opening.

Music starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $59.50-$97.50 and available at www. ticketmaster.com.

SAINTS AND SINNERS, the annual black tie gala benefitting the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, takes place at 6 p.m. at the Little Rock Marriott and includes cocktails, a silent auction, elegant dinner and live entertainment that only the Rep can provide. Tickets are $500. For more information, visit www.therep.org or call Amanda Hodge at 501-378-0445. • EVOLVE, a fundraiser for the Centers for Youth & Families, takes place from 7-11 p.m. at the Statehouse Convention Center. Tickets are $150 and available online at www.centralarkansastickets.com.

FEB 3-FEB 11

Colonial Wine & Spirits has several tasting bar events this month, including SUPER BOWL PARTY PLANNING with Chef Shuttle (Feb. 3) and ROMANTIC DINNER IDEAS with Colonial and Chef Shuttle (Feb. 8) from 4-7 p.m. and a WINE & CHOCOLATE PAIRING (Feb. 11) from 1-7 p.m.

Colonial is located at 11200 West Markham Street. For more info, visit www.colonialwineshop.com.

FEB 23

Christian hip hop artist TOBY MAC performs live at Verizon at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15-$69.75 and available online at www.ticketmaster. com.

18TH ANNUAL OSCAR WATCH PARTY benefiting the Wolfe Street Foundation Robinson Hall Ballroom February 26. Red Carpet Photo Paparazzi at 5:30 p.m., Silent Auction at 6 p.m., Dinner 7 p.m. get your tickets today!

Centralarkansastickets.com

JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

JAN 26-FEB 22

THE ARKANSAS TIMES MUSICIAN’S SHOWCASE kicks off this week on Thursday night and continues Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and Feb. 16 at Sticky Fingerz. The show starts at 8 p.m. every week. Admission is $5 for the 21 and older crowd and $10 for under 21.

JAN 28

FEB 26

36

JAN & FEB UCA Baum Gallery January 26-February 22 TRIPLETTA: A SHOW OF MINIATURE WORKS; February 7 MAGDALENA SOLE: MISSISSIPPI DELTA – Artist lecture; February 16 HOLLY LAWS: BELLWETHER – Artist lecture

JAN 28

ARKANSAS COALITION FOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE is having their 7th annual Rally for Reproductive Justice on Saturday from 1-2:30 pm at the Arkansas State Capitol.

FEB 4

FEB 23

The Oxford American welcomes the MVP JAZZ QUARTET to the South on Main stage as part of the Jazz Series. Doors open at 6 p.m. For more info, visit www.southonmain. com.

FEB 28-MARCH 25

FEB 23

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents Pulitzer Prize winning, DRIVING MISS DAISY, a humorous and warm-hearted look at the unlikely relationship between an aging, crotchety Southern lady and a proud, softspoken black man who, in time, becomes her best friend. For tickets and show times, visit www.murrysdp.com.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra performs RACHMANIOFF’S PIANO CONCERTO NO 3 at Robinson Center. Tickets are available at www. arkansassymphony. org.

Verizon Arena welcomes ERIC CHURCH on his Holdin’ My Own Tour.

Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18-$85 and available at www. ticketmaster. com.

The Argenta Arts Foundation invites you to its annual fundraiser at the Argenta Community Theater for a preview night of the musical, THE SECRET GARDEN. Tickets are $50 and available at www. centralarkansastickets. com.

The Arkansas Arts Center presents featured exhibits, HERMAN MARIL: THE STRONG FORMS OF OUR EXPERIENCE and ANSEL ADAMS: EARLY WORKS with a special exhibition, Seeing the Essence: Photographs

by William E. Davis. For a complete list of events, visit www.arkansasartscenter.org.

JAN 28-29

FEB 4

THE SALTY DOGS play Four Quarter Bar at 10 p.m. Located at 415 Main Street in Argenta, the bar is open late and makes the perfect place for a nightcap after a show at Verizon Arena or The Joint. It’s also known for serving one of the best burgers in town.

For more info, visit www. fourquarterbar.com.

JAN 27-APRIL 16

JAN 27

JAN 31

The world famous HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS bring their spectacular show to Verizon Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $28.50-$131.50 and available online at www.ticketmaster. com.

FEB 4

The Black History Commission of Arkansas and the Arkansas State Archives will hold a symposium at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The theme is BLACK POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT IN ARKANSAS and will feature speakers Dr. John Graves, Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, Elmer Beard and Dr. RJ Hampton. To register, email events.archives@ arkansas.gov or call 501-682-6900.

STRASS & DEBUSSY will be performed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra at the Clinton Presidential Center at 7 p.m. For tickets, visit www. arkansassymphony.org.

FEB 10-12

You’ve still got time to taste the Kitchen Fields Table Tour feature dish for January. This month’s restaurant partner, Trio’s in Little Rock, offers a soybean-inspired dish featuring an herbed salad with edamame, avocado, scallions, pistachios, mint and a grapefruit-cardamom vinaigrette. To see the partner restaurants and feature schedule for the 2017 Kitchen|Fields Table Tour, visit www.themiraclebean.com.

JAN 27-FEB 26

FEB 23

TESLA performs live at CenterStage at the Choctaw Casino in Pocola, Okla., at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $55 and available online at www. ticketmaster.com.

Raise your voice in HOLY ORDER OF SISTER ACT, the musical based on the 1992 hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, which opens at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre this Friday Jan. 27. For tickets and show times, visit www.therep.org.

FEB 1

FEB 2

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and the Clinton School of Public Service present a joint LEGACIES & LUNCH and ARKANSAS SOUNDS event featuring the induction of new honorees on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail and live music. The event starts at noon and is free and open to the public.

Wildwood Park for the Arts hosts LANTERNS at 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

The annual winter festival celebrates the lunar New Year and transports guests to far away lands and times as they stroll through the beautiful garden paths enjoying food, drinks and live music.

Tickets are $10 for adults in advance, or $12 at the gate. Visit www. wildwoodpark.org for more info.

TRAVIS LEDOYT returns to Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. Ledoyt flawlessly captures the sound, appearance, and essence of Elvis in the late ’50s. He and his authentic three-piece band have wowed audiences worldwide. For tickets and show times, visit www. murrysdp.com.

FUN!

PAT GREEN performs live CenterStage at Choctaw Casino in Pocola, Okla., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $49 and available online at www. ticketmaster. com.

JAN 31

FEB 23-25

KITCHEN FIELDS TABLE TOUR

JAN 27

BIG PIPH and TOMORROW MAYBE return to the South on Main stage.

The show starts at 10 p.m. Call 501244-9660 to reserve a table.

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s

FEB 11-FEB 28

The Oxford American is excited to welcome SHOOK TWINS to the South on Main stage as part of the Americana Series.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Visit www. southonmain.com for more info.

This month at Reynold’s Performance Hall on the UCA campus in Conway, don’t miss Danny Elfman’s Music from the FILMS OF TIM BURTON (Feb. 11); Dr. Marc Lamont Hill (Feb. 13); Cirque Eloize Saloon (Feb. 14) and 42nd Street (Feb. 28). For tickets and show times, visit www.uca. edu/publicappearances.

FEB 24

EASTER SEALS ARKANSAS FASHION SHOW takes place at the Little Rock Marriott from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are $49.99 and $99.99 and available online at www. centralarkansastickets. com.

FEB 16

The Argenta Acoustic Music Series welcomes PAT DONOHUE to The Joint at 10 p.m. Tickets are $27 and available at www. centralarkansastickets.com.

FEB 24-26

The annual ARKANSAS FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW, the largest three-day gardening event in the state, takes place at the Statehouse Convention Center. This year’s theme is Local Roots. For a schedule of events, visit argardenshow.org.

DON’T MISS HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS ON PAGE 36

MOVIE REVIEW

DEFIANT, DISCONNECTED: Michèle, played by Isabelle Huppert in “Elle.”

Defiant ‘Elle’ is the latest by director Paul Verhoeven.

BY GUY LANCASTER

T

he French-language movie “Elle” opens with the main character, Michèle Leblanc (Isabelle Huppert), being raped in her home by a man in a ski mask. After he leaves, she sweeps up the teacups that had been broken in the struggle, throws her clothes into the trash and takes a bath.

Far from exhibiting signs of trauma or shame, she seems to treat this brutal assault as an inconvenience. When next we see her, she is railing against the programmers (overwhelmingly male) at the video game company she runs for their failure to give players the visceral experience of disemboweling enemies. It is a rather jarring transition.

When Michèle does open up about the rape, it is to her ex-husband and close friends over the dinner table. While

everyone else is horrified, Michèle attaches greater importance to the menu.

Far from exhibiting the feminine virtues we expect of our heroines (or, at least, expect them to learn), Michèle is as “secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster,” to borrow from

Charles Dickens’ description of Ebenezer Scrooge. She is surrounded by people with whom she never truly connects: the husband of her best friend and business partner, with whom she is having an affair; her mother, who constantly urges Michèle to go see her father in prison; her unambitious son and his pregnant, controlling girlfriend; and the neighbor across the street for whom she is developing an erotic fixation. The reasons that she has difficulty truly relating to other people are the same reasons that she never considered calling the police

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after the rape, and thus each one of these separate threads is heavily imprinted by that first, brutal scene.

Anytime the camera falls upon the figure of a man, we viewers are left wondering, “Is he the one? Or is this not that kind of movie?”

The sociologist Christopher Powell recently pointed out that most widely distributed films are either aristocratic or capitalistic fantasies: “Aristocratic fantasies revolve around the idea that transcendence comes from superior might and/or virtue, which is granted by affiliation to the ‘traditional’ social order. Capitalist fantasies revolve around the idea that transcendence comes from superior personal skill and/or willpower, which is granted by the unique individuality of a person.” Director Paul Verhoeven spent some time in the 1980s and 1990s knocking about Hollywood and doing films like “RoboCop” and “Total Recall,” and his awareness of the expectations of such fantasies is exquisitely showcased in “Elle.”

“Elle” has all the trappings of a revenge drama, with Michèle working patiently to uncover the identity of the man who raped her. But at times, the movie also threatens to become a tale about family secrets and confronting the past. We also have the stories of a female business leader trying to prove her worth in a male-dominated field, a distant mother struggling to relate to her wayward son, and a woman whose passion threatens the relationships of those closest to her. Verhoeven ably provokes our expectations throughout, and by so doing creates a constant burn of tension. We wait breathlessly to discover exactly what kind of film we are watching: When Michèle makes a deliberate hash of parallel parking, taking the bumper off the car behind her, is she the victimized woman lashing out at the world or the privileged entrepreneur careless of others’ property?

Maybe neither, maybe both. But for a movie that opens with the ultimate violation, this sure is a perfect exercise in subtlety, turning upon those smaller moments when the universe can spin off in a dozen different directions — the defiant glare or the smile from across a crowded room. Just as trauma (against our expectations) does not define this movie, so it does not define its protagonist. In the end, Michèle remains Michèle, an achievement so profound we could almost miss it while waiting to see what she, and this film, will become. arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

37

ALSO IN THE ARTS

THEATER

“Naked People With Their Clothes On.” The Main Thing’s first comedy revue of the year. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., through March 25. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-372-0210. $24.

“The Nerd.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents the Larry Shue comedy. 7:30 p.m.

Tue.-Sat., dinner at 6 p.m.; 12:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Sun., dinner at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. 6323 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-5623131. $15-$37.

“Intimate Apparel.” The Weekend Theater’s production of Lynn Nottage’s acclaimed drama. 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat, 2:30 Sun., through Jan. 28. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-3743761. $12-$16.

“Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man.” A romantic comedy based on the book of the same title by Dan Anderson and Maggie Berman. 7 p.m. Thu., 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Fri., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sat., through Jan. 28. Cabaret seating only.

Walton Arts Center’s Starr Theater, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. $50.

“Detroit.” TheatreSquared’s performance of Lisa D’Amour’s Obie Award-winning social critique. 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.Sun., through Feb. 26. Walton Arts Center’s Studio Theater, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. $10-$40.

“Sister Act.” Arkansas Repertory Theater’s production of Bill & Cheri Steinkellner’s musical, 7 p.m. Wed.-Thu. and Sun., 8 p.m.

Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun., through March 5.

601 Main St. 501-378-0405. $30-$65.

VISUAL ARTS, HISTORY EXHIBITS

Miller-Bookhout, through Feb. 10; “Once Was Lost,” photographs by Richard Leo Johnson, through March 18; “Fired Up: Arkansas Wood-Fired Ceramics,” work

by Stephen Driver, Jim and Barbara Larkin, Fletcher Larkin, Beth Lambert, Logan Hunter and Hannah May, through Jan. 28.

9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790.

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957.

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER: “Ladies and Gentlemen … the Beatles!” Records, photographs, tour artifacts, videos, instruments, recording booth for singalong with Ringo Starr, from the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE, through April 2. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $8 seniors, retired military and college students, $6 youth 6-17, free to active military and children under 6.

CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way, Bentonville: American masterworks spanning four centuries in the permanent collection. 11 a.m.6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun., closed Tue. 479418-5700.

ESSE PURSE MUSEUM & STORE, 1510 S. Main St.: What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags,” permanent exhibit. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun. $10, $8 for students, seniors and military.

916-9022.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. 3rd St.: “A Diamond in the Rough: 75 Years of Historic Arkansas Museum”; “Eclectic Color: Diverse Colors for a Diverse World,”

portraits by Rex Deloney, through March 5; Kimberly Kwee, multimedia drawings, and David Scott Smith, ceramics, through Feb. 5; ticketed tours of renovated and replicated 19th century structures from original city, guided Monday and Tuesday on the hour, self-guided Wednesday through Sunday, $2.50 adults, $1 under 18, free to 65 and over. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, 503 E. 9th St. (MacArthur Park): “Waging Modern Warfare”; “Gen. Wesley Clark”; “Vietnam, America’s Conflict”; “Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 9th and Broadway: Permanent exhibits on African-American entrepreneurship in Arkansas. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683-3593.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham St.: “True Faith, True Light: The Devotional Art of Ed Stilley,” musical instruments, through 2017; “First Families: Mingling of Politics and Culture” permanent exhibit including first ladies’ gowns.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 3249685.

MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Magnificent Me,” exhibit on the human body, through April 23. 9 a.m.5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050.

REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave., Fort Smith: “Liv Fjellsol: Art Says,” representational works on paper accompanied by poems and other writings,

through April 2. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-784-2787.

SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado: “Membership Showcase,” work by 39 SAAC members in the renovated Price and Merkle Galleries, through January. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 870-862-5474.

TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, U.S. Hwy. 165, England: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $4 for adults, $3 for ages 6-12, $14 for family. 961-9442.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: “Sigh-Fi,” installations by Hartmut Austen, Aaron Jones, Lap Le, Anne Libby, Sondra Perry, Martine Sims and Tan Zich,” curated by Haynes Riley, Gallery I, through March 3; “I wish I would have hugged them more,” digital images by Carey Roberson, Maners/Pappas Gallery, through Feb. 26; “Burlesque Show,” wood sculpture by Bruce Reed, Gallery III, through Feb. 26. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-8977.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, Fayetteville: “True Neutral Human,” sculpture by Rhode Island artist Taylor Baldwin, through Feb. 19, Fine Arts Center Gallery. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Fri., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 479-575-7987.

RETAIL GALLERIES, OTHER EXHIBIT SPACES ARGENTA GALLERY, 413 N. Main St. Art in all media by gallery members Sue Henley, Dee Schulten, Suzanne Brugner, Ed Pennebaker and others. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. 258-8991.

MAJOR VENUES ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Herman Maril: The Strong Forms of Our Experience,” “Ansel Adams: Early Works,” both Jan. 27-April 16, members reception starts at 6 p.m. Jan. 26 with talk by curator Ann Prentice Wagner ($10 nonmembers), talk by Tom Fischer of the Savannah College of Art and Design at Adams, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 2 ($10 nonmembers); “Seeing the Essence: William E. Davis,” photographs, Jan. 24-April 16. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000.

ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, Jonesboro: “Delta National Small Pirnts Exhibition,” 50 prints by 50 artists from across the U.S. and abroad; “NurtureNature,” ceramic sculpture by Bradley Sabin, Jan. 26Feb. 26; “Local Color,” work by Matt E. Ball, Mihaela Savu, Beth Snodgrass and Nancy Zimmer,” all open with reception 5-6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Bradbury Art Museum and run through Feb. 26. Noon-5 p.m.

Tue.-Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 870-972-2567.

ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff: “Bayou Bartholomew: In Focus,” juried photography exhibition, through April 22; “Dinosaurs: Fossils Exposed,” through April 22. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “The American Dream Deferred: Japanese American Incarceration in WWII Arkansas,” objects from the internment camps, through June 24; “Arkansas Committee Scholars Exhibition,” work by Beverly Buys, Maxine Payne and Robin 38

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ARKANSAS TIMES

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39

Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’

BLUE SAIL COFFEE Roasters of Conway will open a coffee shop in the Little Rock Technology Park in mid-March, owner Kyle Tabor said Thursday. The park’s first building, at 417 Main St., is to open Feb. 24, but Tabor said he was reluctant to open before construction, on the first floor of the building, is complete.

Tabor said Blue Sail’s menu will be similar to the one in downtown Conway and at the University of Central Arkansas, but the space will probably not feature the groovy glass Kyoto cold-brew towers that decorate the wall at 1021 Front St. Blue Sail’s coffee is strong; its cold brew even stronger. Real coffee drinkers (presumably there will be a lot of those types when the Tech Park is buzzing) will love the brew.

Blue Sail supplies its coffee to Big Orange, ZAZA, Lost Forty and Raduno’s.

Tabor, 25, a native of Conway, opened Blue Sail in 2014, the Blue Sail Roastery the following year, and a Blue Sail shop at UCA last year. He said the food served at the Tech Park will include brunch items like quiche, croissant sandwiches and pastries. Tabor said the coffee is “ethically sourced” from all over the world — the Congo, Burundi, Colombia, Brazil, Sumatra, etc. — and “craft brewed.”

Tabor and roasting director Andy Pickle are co-owners of Blue Sail.

SOUP SUNDAY, THE benefit for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, will celebrate its 36th anniversary on Sunday, Jan. 29, with the largest number of soup venders ever (more than 40 restaurants are participating), sides and desserts, and silent and live auctions. Arkansas’s favorite TV anchor and baritone, Craig O’Neill, will preside over the event as emcee; featured chef will be Chris McMillan of Boulevard Bread Co. Radio personality Ugly Ed Johnson from 105.1-FM, The Wolf will play music to slurp by.

Remember: Bring a muffin tin so you can sample several soups at the event, at the Statehouse Convention Center from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 after 5 p.m. Jan. 27. Tickets for ages 5 to 17 are $10; children under 5 are free. With a patron ticket ($50, $60 after Jan. 27) you get to enter the Patron room, where there will be soup and appetizers by Boulevard along with complimentary beer and wine.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital sponsors.

IF YOU HAVE been in Mylo Coffee Co. in the past few days, you’ll have noticed that a new room has opened to the right of the entrance. It has a large table, which increases your chances of finding a place to sit down with your pour-over and Kouign-amann. The new room is Part 1 of an expansion into the former home of the Afterthought Bar and Bistro, where Mylo will offer food and entertainment.

40

JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

Top chef Scott Rains continues to wow at Table 28.

W

hen chef Scott Rains opened Table 28, he quickly earned a reputation as being one of Little Rock’s best and most adventurous chefs. Four years on, little has changed.

Well, no, that’s not really true, is it?

Little Rock’s dining scene has changed a lot in the past four years, with much of the boom (and inevitable bust) focused west of Interstate 430. It would be fair to say that much of the city’s newfound culinary growth has been focused on Arkansas’s culinary holy trinity: tacos, cheese dip and pizza. So, what do you do with a restaurant that all but ignores those things? Is there room in the Little Rock food canon for a fine-dining restaurant that thinks nothing of making Rocky Mountain oysters a featured appetizer? Where bone marrow and escargot is a signature dish?

Well, there must be, as on the four nights we visited, there were almost no empty seats except for those at the bar. Table 28, out of sight and mind for many, is steadily becoming the finedining restaurant of Little Rock’s future, blending food trends from around the world with traditional Southern ingredients and techniques. After a midsummer renovation that saw the dining room turn from a mid-’90s country club holdover to a sleek environment with perfectly Instagrammable light, the restaurant seems to have caught something of a second wind.

The location, unique as it is, nestled in the first floor of The Burgundy Hotel, might be the best worst location of any restaurant in town. The hotel’s covered atrium makes room for an indoor patio with white leather couches and matching umbrellas, where diners are welcome to have dinner or to simply eat and drink their way through one of Little Rock’s best happy-hour menus.

The restaurant proper sits just off the atrium and down a short set of steps, making it feel like an extension of the hotel yet still completely separate.

Somehow, after each meal, we would

Follow Eat Arkansas on Twitter: @EatArkansas

ascend the stairs back into the hotel’s lobby only to be surprised that we were still inside.

As we mentioned earlier, the happy-hour menu is one of, if not the, best deals in town. Served daily from 4 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., a host of small plates drop in price to settle between $3 and $8. Were the restaurant located in downtown, you’d never be able to get AT THE TABLE: Buttermilk fried chicken with mashed a table, but they’re easy to potatoes in corn-and-green-tomato gravy. come by and a quick aftertacos are available for just $6. work happy hour can easily morph into a full-fledged dinner. On the other hand, Where happy hour teases and it’s easy to order a full dinner’s worth tempts, Table 28’s entrees earn it the of food for less than $15 during happy acclaim it’s gotten. The star attraction hours. We suppose the trick is in the of its fall/winter menu is a returning time management and self-control. Perfavorite: At $20, foie gras biscuits and gravy is appropriately listed as “small sonally, when we’re two appetizers (or bites” on the menu, and truly, one has three cocktails) in and we’re offered to work to split the dish into five forkthe dinner menu, we have trouble sayfuls, but it is, for our money, one of the ing “no.”

A highlight of the happy-hour menu, most perfect and most decadent items clocking in at a whopping $6 is a dish of on any menu in Little Rock. The foie blistered shishito peppers, a Japanese gras is served perched atop a biscuit, cousin to Spain’s pedron pepper, caked each layer of which dissolves featherin Parmesan and bathed in ponzu sauce. like in your mouth, and surrounded by The peppers bridge the gap of smoky a lake of rich white gravy. It’s perfectly savoriness and sweet char without ever fine to ask for extra bread to help you sop up. For those looking to top decalosing the delicate taste of pyrazines dence with decadence, a Sauternes, a that make peppers the culinary stars they are. One note of caution: Though super sweet white wine from Bordeaux, shishito peppers are generally sweet is available for $10 a glass to recreate and mild, they’re roasted whole and one of the best and most established at least once in each of the two times wine pairings in Western cuisine. A we ordered the dish, there was a lone glass of the golden-hued wine is all pepper that bit back with ferocious heat. that’s needed, as it’s meant to be sipped The happy-hour menu features and not slurped. You will have to ask for it, however, as it’s not listed on the some of the dishes that first brought the restaurant acclaim, the quail “lolmenu. Together, they make the perlipops” ($6) presented on a stick with fect appetizer, entree or even a dessert blue cheese and buffalo sauce and a alternative. heaping dish of fried Brussels sprouts Sauternes aside, the wine menu sprinkled with bacon and pecans ($3). seems to accomplish the equivalent And for those still looking for a piece to patting one’s head while rubbing of the Arkansas trinity, chorizo street one’s belly at the same time, by being

BELLY UP

Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com

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HAPPY HOUR HIGHLIGHT: Blistered shishito peppers in Parmesan, a ponzu sauce and sea salt.

Table 28

1501 Merrill Drive 224-2828 theburgundyhotel.com/restaurant/ table-28.htm QUICK BITE Fourteen different small plates are available and, combined, they can make a meal that allows you to sample a crosssection of Chef Rains’ Southern-meetsanything-but mentality. Of particular note is the bone marrow ($15) topped with escargot. It’s impossible to be in a bad mood after eating anything so flavorful.

HOURS 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

OTHER INFO Credit cards accepted, full bar.

both long and affordable. Almost 50 wines are available by the bottle for under $50, allowing guests to partake in one of fine dining’s greatest pleasures, ordering bottle service, without paying the astronomical prices that are often seen on restaurant wine lists.

The rest of the dinner menu seems to shift effortlessly from Rains’ classical culinary training and the everyday techniques he learned while growing up in Arkansas. The entrees include seemingly familiar items such as buttermilk fried chicken ($19) and a meatloaf ($17) that’s based off of his mother’s recipe, though upgraded with sauteed shiitake

mushrooms and piped mashed potatoes. For those looking for a meal with a more subdued Southern accent, a delicious wild boar pasta ($16) is available, as well as the San Fran Cioppino ($30), a seafood stew with bass, shrimp and scallops served over squid ink noodles.

Each entree can be matched to any of the six side dishes listed on the menu.

A personal favorite is the Turnpike Pike Georgia grits ($7) served with bacon and cheddar cheese. The same grits, this time topped with plump Gulf shrimp is available as a small plate for $12. The dish, in either form, walks the tightrope of perfect texture: not too creamy, not too coarse. If there are better grits in Little Rock, we haven’t found them.

Another standout, corn off the cob ($7) is presented with smoked jalapeño chorizo. Though delicious, be warned that it’s among the spiciest dishes on the menu and will have you regularly reaching for your water glass.

Table 28’s desserts, each of which are made in house and cost $8, would seem like the specialty of any other restaurant, were the quality of the rest of the meal not equally impressive. Sticky Toffee Cake is a dense cousin to bread pudding, though Rains chooses to drench it in a thick toffee sauce and serve it with a pecan gelato. It’s a constant on the ever-changing menu, and we can imagine the outcry if it were ever taken off. For a lighter option, banana bread is served sandwiching a sweet cream cheese icing and alongside a delicate pecan ice cream. Even in dessert, the treatment may be new, but the Southern touch is unmistakable.

January

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3 American Lions 4 Salty Dogs 10 Tnertle & Ryan Visor 11 Mother Funk Ship 17 Black River Pearl 18 Opal Agafia 24 Freeverse & Dirtfoot 25 Cosmocean

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41

HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS 2017 Hot Springs For a complete calendar of events, visit hotsprings.org.

FEBRUARY at OAKLAWN FEBRUARY 5 OAKLAWN HAS AN ACTION PACKED month of fun and excitement

planned for February kicking off with the Oaklawn Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5. There will be no better place to watch the big game with $2 draft beer throughout the game room from 5 – 10 p.m., $2,500 Gridiron Challenge and $2,500 drawing from 5 – 9 p.m. Guests can come back Feb. 9 and earn 4X the points on most games.

CHINESE NEW YEAR PARTY @ Oaklawn January 28 Spin the

Lucky Dragon Wheel and win your share of $8,888!

It’s all part of our Chinese New Year Celebration at Oaklawn Saturday, January 28, from 5-Midnight!

Everyone can pick up an entry at the Rewards Center from 3-11:45 p.m. on Saturday, January 28 and must drop their entry in the raffle drum located in the promotions area by 11:55 p.m. Plus – you can earn even more entries for every 18 points you earn.

Maximum of 18 entries. Drawing times: 5-8 p.m. and 9 p.m.-Midnight with winners every 10 minutes.

OAKLAWN WILL HOST THE “SWEET ESCAPE” Sunday, Feb.

12 and Sunday, Feb. 19 and $6,000 will be up for grabs each night. Winners will be called every 15 minutes between 2 and 5 p.m. and 6 and 9 p.m.

THE POPULAR PROGRESSIVE CASH GIVEAWAY returns Presi-

dents’ Day Monday, Feb. 20 when Oaklawn hosts a holiday card of racing. Guests just need to fill out an entry form starting Saturday, Feb. 18 and be present when their name is called. One name will be called after each race Monday with the person called after the first race winning $1,000 on through the 10th race when someone will win $10,000. The highlight of the racing action that day will be the $500,000 Razorback Handicap and $500,000 Southwest Stakes for 3-year-olds with Kentucky Derby aspirations.

LIVE RACING CONTINUES EVERY THURSDAY – SUNDAY UNTIL APRIL 15. There

will also be racing Wednesday, April 12. First post is 1:30 p.m. weekdays and Sundays and 1 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free every race day.

DAWN AT OAKLAWN RETURNS SATURDAY, FEB. 18 and will be held every Saturday morning

from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. through April 8. There will also be a special edition Friday, April 14. This free event, hosted by Nancy Holthus, features complimentary Westrock coffee and barn tours at 7:30, 8, 9 and 9:30 a.m. There will be a special guest speaker each week from 8:30 – 9 a.m.

REEL TOURNAMENTS RETURN TO THE GAME ROOM in February with two exciting themes. There will be the Sugar Rush tournament every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and the Starting Gate Riches tournament on Fridays at 4 p.m.

FOREVER YOUNG FOR GUESTS 55 AND UP has moved to

Mondays all day. Guests can enjoy a $5 Silks menu, half-off Bloody Marys, five times the points and more. Also, patrons who earn 10 points on Mondays and Tuesdays can enjoy a 99-cent pasta buffet at Endless Pastabilitles every Tuesday night from 5–10 p.m. Oaklawn’s $1.99 Steak Night is every Thursday night from 5–10 p.m. Come out and enjoy Hot Springs’ finest steaks, hand-cut from USDA Choice Beef. This succulent filet is served with a gourmet salad and sides. This fantastic meal is yours for only $1.99 when you earn 70 points on your Winners Circle card the previous Friday through Thursday.

WINNER CIRCLE CARDHOLDERS who have birthdays in

February can enjoy a Birthday Bash on Sunday, February 26 where there will be a birthday cake, refreshments and a $10,000 Lagniappe’s.

10,000 drawing in Lagniappe

THE 5TH ANNUAL BOURBON STREET BASH highlights Fat Tuesday, Feb. 28

from 5 – 10 p.m. Guests are invited to come enjoy the spirit of Mardi Gras with a $5,000 drawing, $4.99 Cajun buffet in Lagniappes and $2 draft beer and Hurricane drink specials.

42 JANUARY 26, 2017 42 JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

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FEBRUARY 3 GALLERY WALK @ Local Art GalleriesA continuous tradition for 25 years and counting, galleries stay open late for Gallery Walk on the first Friday of each month to host openings of new exhibits by local, regional, national and international artists.

SUNDAY, FEB. 26:

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Oaklawn Bowl

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Birthday Bash

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Schedule of Events MONDAYS:

Forever Young Mondays, All Day

TUESDAYS:

Endless Pastabilities, 5–10 p.m.

Scratch ‘N Win, All Day

WEDNESDAYS:

Sugar Rush Reel Tournament, 7 p.m.

Karaoke and $2 drafts, $2 wells and $2 wine in Pop’s, 7 p.m.– Midnight

THURSDAYS:

$1.99 Steak Night, 5–10 p.m.

Live Entertainment in Pop’s 5–9 p.m.

FRIDAYS:

Starting Gate Riches Reel Tournament, 4 p.m.

Live Entertainment in Pop’s 5–9 p.m. and Silks 10 p.m.–2 a.m.

SATURDAYS:

Live Entertainment in Pop’s 5–9 p.m. and Silks 10 p.m.–2 a.m.

HOME & OUTDOOR SHOW at the Hot Springs Convention Center

FEBRUARY 4 SPA CITY SMASH

LEAGUE,TEAMKNIGHTOWL AND SPA-CON present, King of the Springs Video Gaming Tournament @ The Hot Springs Convention Center.

Confirmed and interested headliner guests so far: ESAM, Sol, ARC, JJROCKETS, Saj, Bananas, Iori, Myztek, Darkrain, Karna, AeroLink, Jester, Gyo, iiGGY, Johan, Chuck Nasty, Deezus, all the best of Arkansas and more!

FEBRUARY 4-5

SPOTLIGHT DANCECUP@HOTSPRINGS CONVENTIONCENTER. Spotlight Events produces the Spotlight Dance Cup, a professional and organized dance competition tour, exuding a positive environment where dancers can feel comfortable and confident showcasing their talents.

FEBRUARY5THE13THANNUAL

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL @ Embassy Suites. Come join us for one of the tastiest fundraisers in town! Come eat chocolate for charity! This

10:32 p.m. Saturday, The Ohio Club 2016 Mardi Gras Costume Contest Winners, Helaine Palmer Williams, Renarda Andre Williams, Beth Gipe, Richard Gipe, Arron Buckley, Heather Buckley, Gisela Ashley and Joe Hawk.

FEBRUARY 25 HOT SPRINGS JAZZ SOCIETY’S 5TH ANNUAL MARDI GRAS

COSTUME BALL & CONTEST @ Hotel Hot Springs Ballroom, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

You’ll be marveling at the greatest costumes you’ve ever witnessed in the $1,000 cash prize costume contest while you dance the night away to two energized dance bands on the largest dance floor in Hot Springs. Proceeds support the Hot Springs Jazz Society’s year-round educational and concert programming including Scholarships to attend the UAM Summer Jazz Camp. Check out pictures from last year’s party or purchase tickets ($600 preferred table seating or $60 per person) at HSJazzSociety.org, email HSJazzSociety@gmail.com or call (501) 627-2425.

year is the 12th annual Chocolate Festival, hosted by the Embassy Suites and benefitting the Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic.

FEBRUARY 8 THE JAZZ SOCIETY’S AMER-

ICA’S ART FORM SERIES @ The Garland County Library. What Is This Thing Called Jazz”For more information call 501-627-2425 visit www.hsjazzsociety.org Or contact the Garland County Library at 501-623-4161.

FEBRUARY 9 SYMPHONY GUILD VALENTINE

DINNER DANCE @ Coronado Community Center, 6 p.m. How are you going to impress your Valentine this year? You may want to consider a romantic evening of dinner and dancing at the Symphony Guild Dinner Dance. The cash bar will start serving delicious drinks at 5:00 p.m., followed by a juicy petite filet dinner catered by Wittman’s American Grill at 6. Finally, dancing to the rhythmic sounds of the Village Big Band will start at 7. Tickets are $30.

FEBRUARY 10-11 MURDER AND MACABRE

MYSTERY DINNER THEATER presents “The Real Housewives of Hot Springs: A True (Trashy) Love Story @ The Porterhouse Restaurant, 707 Central Avenue.

FEBRUARY 12 THE MONTHLY “T” DANCE with Stardust returns @ the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa Crystal Ballroom. The Stardust Big Band will return to a monthly program in the Arlington Crystal Ballroom on February 12 and March 19 starting at 3pm. Admission is $10 and non for students K-12. When celebrating a special occasion you may bring a cake for your guests. Water is provided at the tables and a cash bar is available in the lobby from which you may bring your beverage into the ballroom. For

more information 501-767-5482 or www. stardustband.net.

FEBRUARY 16 SURF’S UP @ Woodlands Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. For their fourth concert of the year, the Hot Springs Village Concerts Association presents “Surf’s Up”. Take in the hits of classic groups such as The Beach Boys and The Hondells, including songs ranging from Surfin’ USA to Johnny B. Goode and so much more. You will not regret attending this rockin’ event! Individual tickets can be purchased for $27 each.

FEBRUARY 18 THE 4TH ANNUAL OUACHITA

CHILDREN’S CENTER KREWE OF LIBERI @ Hamp Williams Building, 510 Ouachita Avenue. The Ouachita Children’s Center would be honored by your presence at the 4th Annual Mystic Krewe of Liberi Ball and Coronation Cocktails Cajun Cuisine catered

by Bleu Monkey Grill Music by Doc Bryce Productions Live & Silent Auctions.

THIS WEEKEND. THIS GUY. THIS MOMENT. f ind t his place.

FEBRUARY 24-26

PLATINUM NATIONAL DANCE COMPETITION @ Hot Springs Convention Center.

FEBRUARY 27, 28 & 29 VILLAGE PLAYERS

– Twelve Angry Men @ Coronado Community Center. Imagine if you were on a jury with a young man’s life in your hands.

The room is tense with conflicting opinions, but it’s up to you to decide: guilty or not guilty? One man’s reasonable thoughts can make all the difference! Seating is limited to 170 per show so plan to get your tickets NOW. $12.00 in advance or $14.00 at the door. This production was originally a radio play before being adapted for the stage and being made into a motion picture in 1957. If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend that you do.

HotSprings.org. 1-888-SPA-CITY. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017 43 arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017 43

Event CALENDAR

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Jazz Night @ The Ohio Club Even Money Players @ Doc N’ Maggies

JANUARY 27 Jacob Flores @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-8 HWY 124 @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 John Calvin Brewer Band @ Doc N’ Maggies

FEBRUARY 3 & 4

JANUARY 28 Underground Famous @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-8 HWY 124 @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Mayday By Midnight @ Doc N’ Maggies

FEBRUARY 2 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn,5-9 Pamela K. Ward and The Last Call Orchestra Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30 Ohio Club Players @ The Ohio Club Feb 3 – Even Money Players @ Doc N’ Maggies; Feb 4 – Def Sol

FEBRUARY 9 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort

Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Jazz Night @ The Ohio Club Even Money Players @ Doc N’ Maggies

FEBRUARY 10 & 11 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Sensory 2 @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30 Ohio Club Players @ The Ohio Club Moxie @ Doc N’ Maggies

FEBRUARY 24 & 25 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Moxie @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30 Feb 24 – Even Money Players @ Doc N’ Maggies; Feb 25 – Nerd Eye Blind @ Doc N’ Maggies

FEBRUARY 16 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Jazz Night @ The Ohio club Even Money Players @ Doc N’ Maggies

FEBRUARY 17 & 18 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Mayday By Midnight @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30 Feb 17 – Tragikly White @ Doc N’ Maggies; Feb 18 – Crash Meadows @ Doc N’ Maggies

FEBRUARY 19 Mayday By Midnight @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2

FEBRUARY 23 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Even Money Players @ Doc N’ Maggies

Mayday By Midnight

Pamela K. Ward

The Heart of Historic Hot Springs National Park

Race to The Arlington Racing, Gaming & Thermal Bathing

Thermal baths and spa A national park outside any door.

Venetian Dining Room and Lobby Lounge with weekend entertainment.

Private beauty and facial salon Championship golf courses.

Make The Arlington your home for thoroughbred racing season.

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ALSO IN THE ARTS

THE SECRET GARDEN: AAF NIGHT AT THE THEATER Feb 23, 2017 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM

ARGENTA ARTS FOUNDATION

The Argenta Arts Foundation invites you to our Annual Fundraiser at the Argenta Community Theater on February 23, 2017 for a preview night of The Secret Garden (a musical).

BUY TICKETS AT CENTRALARKANSASTICKETS.COM 46

JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

ARKANSAS CAPITAL CORP., 200 River Market Ave., Suite 400: “Subtle and Bold,” work by Susan Chambers and Sofia Gonzalez, by appointment. 374-9247.

BARRY THOMAS FINE ART AND STUDIOS, 711A Main St., NLR: Works by impressionist artist Thomas.

BOSWELL-MOUROT, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Arkansas Artists of Spectrum,” works by Delita Martin, Dennis McCann, Anais Dasse, Keith Runcke, Jeff Horton and Kyle Boswell, through Feb. 4. 6640030.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8205 Cantrell Road: Work by regional and Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335.

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: “The Watercolor Series of Kuhl Brown,” through March 31. 375-2342.

CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 664-0880.

CORE BREWING, 411 Main St., NLR: “Eye of the Beholder,” Latino Art Project exhibit of work by Luis Atilano, Luis Saldaña, Martin Flores, Carla Ramos, Susana Casillas, Matt Teravest, Toni Arnone, Hannah Hinojosa, Becky Botos, Chris James, and Vickie Hendrix-Siebenmorgen, through March 12. 3-9 p.m. Mon.-Wed., 3-11 p.m. Thu.-Fri., noon-11 p.m. Sat., noon-9 p.m. Sun. COX CREATIVE CENTER, 120 River Market Ave.: Arkansas Pastel Society, through Jan. 30. 918-3093.

DRAWL GALLERY, 5208 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Southern contemporary art. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 240-7446.

GALLERY 221, 2nd and Center Sts.: Work

by William McNamara, Tyler Arnold, Amy Edgington, EMILE, Kimberly Kwee, Greg Lahti, Mary Ann Stafford, Cedric Watson, C.B. Williams, Gino Hollander, Siri Hollander and jewelry by Rae Ann Bayless. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 801-0211.

GALLERY 360, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road: Third annual “IceBox,” work by Layet Johnson, Gillian Stewart, Stacy Williams, Matthew Castellano, Sulac, Woozle, Emily Parker, Tea Jackson, Ike Plumlee and Emily Clair Brown.

GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “William Dunlap, Landscape and Variable: Recent Works,” through Feb. 11.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 664-2787.

HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Divine 8,” graphics on canvas by A.W. the Artist, through Jan. 28. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822.

JUSTUS FINE ART GALLERY, 827 A Central Ave., Hot Springs: “New Year’s Exhibition,” work by Michael Ashley, Beverly Buys, Kristin DeGeorge, Matthew Hasty, Robyn Horn, Dolores Justus, V. Noe-Griffith, Tony Saladino, Rebecca Thompson and Dan Thornhill and others, through January. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 321-2335.

L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Landscapes,” paintings by Louis Beck. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 6604006.

LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH, 420 Main St., NLR: “Island of Dreams and Memories,” paintings and mixed media

by Laura Raborn, reception 5-8 p.m. Jan. 29, show through Feb. 9. 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 687-1061.

MATT McLEOD FINE ART, 108 W. 6th St.: Regional and Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 725-8508.

MATTHEWS FINE ART GALLERY, 909 North St.: Paintings by Pat and Tracee Matthews, glass by James Hayes, jewelry

by Christie Young, knives by Tom Gwenn, kinetic sculpture by Mark White. Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 831-6200.

MUGS CAFE, 515 Main St., NLR: “Figure It Out” work by Claire Cade, Lilia Hernandez and Catherine Kim. 7 a.m.-6 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. 379-9101.

PALETTE ART LEAGUE GALLERY, 300 Hwy. 62 W, Yellville: Watercolors by Jerry Preater. 870-656-2057.

OTHER MUSEUMS JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle, Jacksonville: Exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students. 501-241-1943.

MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibitION of more than 50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

7 days. 501-727-5427.

MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, 202 SW O St., Bentonville: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 479-273-2456.

PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, Scott, U.S. Hwy. 165 and state Hwy. 161: Permanent exhibits on historic agriculture.

8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $4 adults, $3 children. 961-1409.

POTTS INN, 25 E. Ash St., Pottsville: Preserved 1850s stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, with period furnishings, log structures, hat museum, doll museum, doctor’s office, antique farm equipment. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. $5 adults, $2 students, 5 and under free.

479-968-9369.

ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. 2nd St.: “On Fields Far Away: Our Community During the Great War,” through Sept.

23. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 479-621-1154.

SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT, Scott: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Fri.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections. org.

CALL FOR ENTRIES The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program of the Department of Arkansas Heritage is accepting entries for the 2017 Arkansas Historic Film Prize, a contest for Arkansas high school students producing short films about historic properties in the state. The contest is sponsored in partnership with the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Educational Television Network’s “Student Selects: A Young Filmmakers Showcase.” Films must be from 5 to 15 minutes long and based on any historic Arkansas properties that are at least 50 years old. Deadline for submissions is March 31. For more information, go to www.aetn.org/studentselects or call Amy Milliken at 324-9786.

Winners will receive cash prizes and films will be shown May 11 at the Ron Robinson Theater.

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LONGSTANDING LOVE: Show how dated your love is with the Vintage Ark Times logo t-shirt available now.

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Drivers Please be aWare, it’s arkansas state laW: Use of bicycles or animals

Every person riding a bicycle or an animal, or driving any animal drawing a vehicle upon a highway, shall have all the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle, except those provisions of this act which by their nature can have no applicability.

overtaking a bicycle

The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a roadway shall exercise due care and pass to the left at a safe distance of not less than three feet (3’) and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.

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You’re vehicles on the road, just like cars and motorcycles and must obey all traffic laws— signal, ride on the right side of the road and yield to traffic normally. Make eye contact with motorists. Be visible. Be predictable. Heads up, think ahead. arktimes.com JANUARY 26, 2017

47

Round 1!

Tonight!

That is, if tonight is:

Thursday, January 26!

All ages welcome! | $5 over 21. $7 under 21!

Exclamation point!

DON’T BLINK, MY FRIEND

AND EMBR ACE THE FEAR .

HEARTS N BRO K E

M IN D S N B LOW

Jan

Feb

Feb

Feb

Feb

Mar

26

2

9

16

23

2

ROUND 1

ROUND 2

ROUND 3

ROUND 4

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DON’T DO ANYTHING AWESOME

FINAL!

Your Round 1 musical get-to-its: BRIAN NAHLEN 8PM

All four semi-final nights are held at Stickyz.

Yet, the final event (March 2. Or, two weeks and a day later) is at The Rev Room.

SPIRIT CUNTZ 10PM

RECOGNIZER 9PM

Round 2

Feb. 2

8PM Mortalus 9PM Youth Pastor 10PM Solo Jaxon 11PM Dazz & Brie

Keep up to date at

Round 3

8PM John McAteer & the Gentlemen Firesnakes 9PM Inner Party 10PM Age of Man 11PM Rah Howard

arktimes.com/showcase17 48

JANUARY 26, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

Feb. 9

DeFRANCE 11PM

Round 4

Feb. 16

8PM November Juliet 9PM Cosmocean 10PM The Martyrs 11PM Brae Leni & the Evergreen Groove Machine