Arkansas Times - September 29, 2016

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 / ARKTIMES.COM

In Arkansas, black students are far more likely to be suspended than white students.

That’s why Gloria Majors is pushing the Prescott schools to embrace restorative justice in lieu of zero tolerance.

BY BENJAMIN HARDY

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

3

COMMENT

From the web In response to the Sept. 26 Arkansas Blog post, “John Walker and another lawyer arrested while filming police”: In my experience John Walker has always been the perfect gentleman that you do not want to mess with. He’s a bulldog, and will not let a real or perceived wrong go unpunished.

Sound Policy One of the things that keep us from being a police state is the public’s right to know how police operate. If they’re doing something in public, the public has a right to film it. If there’s any question about that, the law needs to be made perfectly clear.

Chip Baker I know John Walker. He’s smart and generous, and has a strong and obvious commitment to helping young people reach their potential. He’s been a crusader for racial justice for decades and has certainly made Arkansas a better place. But he’s also stubborn and arrogant, and at times it prevents him from rethinking his positions, considering new information, or imagining that he’s wrong or poorly informed. He’s always a formidable adversary, and Little Rock will regret the day their police officers tangled with him in such an indefensible way.

PVNasby Hi, I’m John Walker, I sue schools for a living, then drag it out for 30+ years and charge $450 an hour for my legal services.

Don’t mind me while I walk through the middle of a police investigation and not give a fuck.

I have no problem with him filming whatever he wants, but you cannot obstruct a governmental operation while it is being conducted by the police. Sounds like they tried to be nice and politely asked him to back away, and he did not. I guess he can use the old and senile excuse in court. arkansas panic fan It amazes me the number of you who automatically believe Mr. Walker is right. louie In response to the Sep. 19 Arkansas Blog post, “Jason Rapert: Goes off again on Muslims; erupts again over Facebook edit”: I know Brother Rapert knows better since he is a constitutional scholar, 4

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

but the First Amendment does not apply to Facebook. Facebook can establish its own rules.

By the way, how nice that the “senator” is using his title to throw around willy-nilly with companies whose policies bother him.

Arkanzin Facebook, though publicly traded, is a private company providing its services free to the public. It’s under no obligation to post whatever Rapert might say.

It’s called capitalism, senator.

AnnaHarrisonTerry

doesn’t get his way.

Ah, Mr. Rapert — thinks he’s a Big Fish when he is in reality but a minnow in the vast ocean of life.

Kate Fuck Jason Rapert. That’s exercising my First Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution. Max et al can exercise their rights regarding this website and I am happy either way they go. My ego can handle such.

Jason’s ego, monstrous as it is (in all regards and meanings), tends to mewl and whine like the bully he is when he

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Jake da Snake Remember when Chick-fil-A was making money hand-over-fist with its anti-gay marketing stunt and all of our more gullible Christian friends were bragging about how much Chick-filA they were going to eat because this “Christian” corporation had every right to discriminate against gay people? So, why is SENATOR rAPErt getting so fired up that his post was blocked by a large corporation called Facebook?

Artificial Intelligence The First Amendment does apply to Facebook. Or at least rights under the First Amendment do. It’s a private enterprise that can refuse to allow tripe if it wants to. The senator thinks his position in the state government makes Facebook somehow answerable to him. The First Amendment says otherwise.

Chip Baker Jason Rapert really gives God a bad name. He drives people away from God by twisting scripture, just as Satan did when he tempted Jesus.

The difference is that Satan simply sought to tempt Christ, whereas Rapert actively wants to hurt people. Satan can afford to fool around because people like Rapert do his evil work for him.

Just because Rapert cries “Lord, Lord” does not mean that the Lord knows his goaty face.

Paying Top Dollar for Legislators In response to the Sep. 20 Arkansas Blog post, “Rapert claims victory over Facebook; either way, he still doesn’t get 1st Amendment”: What is wrong with this man/child?

Does he not have anything of substance to do besides play on the computer? It appears the most important thing in his life is making a laughing stock of himself via social media.

Surely there is someone in his life who cares enough about him to convince him to unplug so maybe he can regain a tiny shred of dignity … if one ever existed. mountaingirl Rapert’s religious-based radicalism, tinged as it is with veiled and sometimes not-so-veiled threats of “holy” violence against “others” based on his so-called deeply held religious beliefs, is the same phenomena that he decries as threatening from those whom he would ban from entering this country.

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He then plays the Xian-victim card re his false narrative of Facebook violating his free speech rights. Of course.

Tsallernarng It’s obvious the Bigelow Buffoon matriculated at some point at Trump University. His major was Blustery Puffery as a Way of Life.

Claude Bahls You wonder why the state has any idea that a high tech company would think of relocating here when you have RAPERt and his unconstitutional laws and outbursts against reason and bitching about his religion being under attack and when there is a “6 Flags Over God” monument on every other street corner in Conway that doesn’t have another monument to their other god, MoMoney.

If anything, we have too many socalled religious organizations that, obviously with their hate speech, should not be called Christians because they still have their nose stuck in the pre-Christ book of Leviticus. And from an intelligence basis, they sure aren’t Jewish.

Just hate speech by the bucket-load in Tea Party Faulkner County. couldn’tbebetter arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

5

EYE ON ARKANSAS

WEEK THAT WAS

“Well, as soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease-fire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities and nations around the world, or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina.”

— Hillary Clinton, in the first presidential debate, responding to Donald Trump’s assertion that she “doesn’t have the stamina” to be president.

Quote of the Week 2 “That makes me smart.”

— Donald Trump, responding to Clinton’s statement that he paid zero federal income tax for several years in the 1970s and 1990s, according to the sparse records publicly available from Trump’s past. Trump has refused to release his tax returns for more recent years.

Squeezing mental health care On the surface, the Medicaid reimbursements cuts approved by the legislature last week looked like a no-brainer: Arkansas spent $147 million on group psychotherapy over three years, which is more than eight other Southern states combined. The new caps imposed on 6

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

Quote of the Week 1

RISING ARCHES: The Broadway Bridge was closed to traffic on Wednesday to allow its demolition and replacement by a new bridge.

The so-called “basket-handle arches” being assembled in the Arkansas River are part of the new span, which is projected to be complete by March 2017.

the group therapy benefit will save tens of millions of dollars per year, budget hawks said, thus bringing Arkansas’s spending down to earth.

But the regional mental health centers that receive the funding say the caps will be financially devastating. Yes, providers in other states bill far less for group therapy, they concede — but they say those states also dedicate other revenue to support mental health care, whereas Arkansas does not. Simply cutting the group therapy money will force many centers to close, they say. That means severely mentally ill people — including some in residential care at the centers — could go without treatment entirely. Given Arkansas’s dismal record in caring for the mentally ill (the state has been in and out of court over the years due to inadequate care), it seems wrong to pare down funding.

An arrest, then an apology State Rep. John Walker (D-Little Rock) and fellow lawyer Omavi Kushukuru were arrested by Little Rock police for “obstructing governmental operations” on Monday after filming the separate arrest of two men in a vehicle apparently stopped for having no license plate. According to the police report, Cedric Bell and Gary

Gregory were arrested near MacArthur Park after officers found they had outstanding warrants. While Bell was being walked to a patrol car in handcuffs, Walker and Kushukuru arrived on the scene and started filming, the report states. The cops say Walker was “antagonistic and provocative” and that he and Kushukuru entered the area of the traffic stop despite warnings not to do so. The two were booked at the Pulaski County Jail and released on $1,000 bonds.

However, the next day, City Manager Bruce Moore announced the LRPD will formally drop charges against Walker and send him a formal letter of apology. Police did not drop charges against Kushukuru. As of press time on Tuesday, neither Walker nor Kushukuru had issued a statement.

Hate wins in Bentonville School board races may be small potatoes, but they can be telling. In the Bentonville School District, challenger Eric White easily ousted incumbent Grant Lightle, an attorney for Walmart, in a three-way race. The key issue at play was Lightle’s unsuccessful attempt in 2015 to enact a nondiscrimination policy for district employees that would have covered sexual

orientation. (In short, that means the district wouldn’t have been able to fire someone solely for his or her being gay.)

Before the election, mailers were sent out — it’s not clear by whom — saying Lightle “promotes the LGBT-transgender agenda” in the school district and tying him to “Obama’s agenda [of] indoctrination of children!” That message still plays well in Benton County, evidently.

Meanwhile, there was better news in the Fort Smith School District, where voters gave a victory to incumbent Susan McFerran and board newcomer Talicia Richardson. Both supported an end to the use of the Rebel mascot at Southside High School, and both faced opponents eager to reinstate the divisive symbol.

And speaking of the Rebel flag The student senate at the University of Arkansas tabled a resolution to condemn display of the Confederate battle flag at the annual Bikes, Blues & BBQ rally in Fayetteville. According to the Arkansas Traveler, some student senators were concerned the measure might offend alumni and lead to their discontinued financial support.

Sounds like a bright political future lies ahead.

OPINION

State university secrets

T

oday’s subject: lack of accountability at state universities.

It’s not a new complaint. Years ago, the University of Arkansas refused to reveal what promises it made to get a $300 million gift from the Walton family. Part of the deal, it seems clear, was the university unit that serves as a propaganda mill for the Waltons’ “school reform” agenda.

Fundraising for UA, and particularly for athletics, has long been conducted behind the shroud of private foundations, which claim exemption from the state Freedom of Information Act. Recent events provide further illustration.

The University of Arkansas says it has a donor interested in underwriting research in cyberterrorism. The UA won’t reveal the donor or what strings might be attached to the gift. What could be wrong with researching cyberterrorism? Maybe nothing. But it also might be a pretext to get university support for a project that aids private business

tect private business records in the hands who they are. They just won’t say. The of the Arkansas Economic Development head of the center claims all are Arkansas Commission. It exempts from disclosure business people, though Koch footprints information that would “give advantage are evident in emails I’ve seen. to competitors or bidders.” UA contends This is a bad way to run a university. even revealing the name of donors would Some universities — very rich ones mostly harm the university’s ability to compete — won’t accept gifts with too many strings. for gifts and would disclose “craft knowl- But, at a minimum, the agenda-setters or even for some edge developed by the university.” What? should be exposed to sunlight. At least controversial type The menu? the Walton name is plastered all over its of research. The The erosion of accountability at univer- propaganda unit in Fayetteville. university promises sities isn’t restricted to UA. There’s also the This is important. These hobby horses any proposal would University of Central Arkansas. I’ve been of the wealthy carry the brand of a unibe reviewed, includinterested recently in the high profile being versity and whatever honor that might MAX ing by the university established by a unit of UCA known as the attach when the hired hands write opBRANTLEY board of trustees.

Arkansas Center for Research in Econom- eds and testify before the legislature and maxbrantley@arktimes.com That’s not an autoics. It is purely ideological and stocked with state agencies, such as the state Board of matic comfort. The UA board is a highly academics schooled at Koch-favored insti- Education. Of course they are entitled to political group, now firmly in the control tutions. Its founding documents indicate it their opinions. But Courtway’s defense of a rigidly ideological governor. was established to address a “paternalistic, of the open forum is a little disingenuous, The secrecy can get silly. The UA over-regulated, expansive tax-and-transfer given the absence of a Daddy Warbucks for countervailing views at UA or UCA. refused, for example, to give me a guest expenditure state.”

I’m biting a hand at UCA that actually list to its recent $450,000 gala to begin When I asked UCA President Tom a billion-dollar-fundraising campaign. Courtway about it, he defended a free feeds a hobby horse of my own: corporate Then it allowed a reporter for the state’s discussion of all views. But that free dis- welfare. The center has produced a steady largest newspaper to attend the event and cussion doesn’t include disclosure of the stream criticism of passing out tax money she produced a society page spread with ideologues who’ve provided the money to private businesses in the name of ecophotos of the people the UA wouldn’t to operate the unit. The contributions nomic development. Yes, even people who identify for me. are passed through the UCA Foundation agree with me should be held accountThe UA cited, as it always does, an — providing donors with both a tax deduc- able. irrelevant bit of state law — passed to pro- tion and secrecy. People on campus know

EpiPen lesson

C

ongressional Republicans and Democrats staged a rousing display of rage against the CEO whose company gouged a fortune from families whose kids and sometimes grownups need the lifesaving properties of the drug EpiPen. The national fury over the fleecing of sick children by Mylan N.V., which bought the rights to the allergy antidote and jacked up the price of a dose from $57 to $600, followed by the Mylan executive’s rough treatment in Congress, caused some wonder. Could Washington at long last be spurred to do something about the chief driver of staggering health care inflation?

Don’t be silly. Congress will do nothing of the sort. It and successive presidents have squandered every golden opportunity, including passage of two sweeping healthreform laws, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare. Like previous laws, they imposed cost-saving rules on providers and insurers, but to get anything enacted Congress gave the drug companies a pass.

Since 1995, premiums for health plans have risen four times faster than family earnings and five times faster than inflation, owing mostly to drug prices and especially

those of lifesaving medicine where drug companies know the market will bear any price hike.

ERNEST Government, in DUMAS the persons of Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, actually assists the gouging by approving bigger prescriptions — a mandatory twin pack in the case of EpiPen — or, also in the case of EpiPen, requiring many schools to stock them for emergencies. EpiPens have a brief shelf life so they must constantly be replaced. Mylan got Congress to provide block grants to states to stock EpiPens in schools.

Insurance companies merely raise premiums to cover the soaring costs. When Congress passed Medicare coverage for drugs in 2004, it defeated attempts by a few Democrats, including East Arkansas’s Marion Berry, to control drug prices. Congress even barred the government from negotiating discounts for mass usage or from acquiring drugs in Europe or Canada where prices are far lower.

As critical cancer drugs went on the market the past 15 years, prices soared.

A new cancer drug may cost a patient or her insurer more than $100,000 a year.

Employer and individual plans often don’t cover them. Cancer drugs are a leading cause of bankruptcies.

You may remember the furor last year after the egomaniac Martin Shkreli’s company bought rights to a drug for a parasitic infection that was deadly for babies and AIDS sufferers. Shkreli became a symbol of Big Pharma greed when he raised the price of the drug, which had been around for decades, from $13.50 to $750 for one tablet.

Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, regretted not raising it even more because people had to buy it or probably die. There was some satisfaction when the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn had Shkreli arrested. But his arrest had nothing to do with exploiting sick people. He was charged with securities fraud because he used drug profits to pay off investors who had lost money with his hedge fund.

To understand why no one messes with pharmaceutical profits, except to complain occasionally, you only have to switch on any TV channel and watch commercials for an hour. You know who pays the freight for public discourse.

Congressmen scored some points against EpiPen’s blithe chief saleswoman, CEO Heather Bresch, but in the end it was her day, not theirs. The super-polite Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked Bresch if she could confirm that her base annual sal-

ary was $18.9 million and that the EpiPen alone brought profits of “hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars a year” for her company. She replied sweetly, yes and yes.

While Mylan was jacking up EpiPen’s price annually, Bresch’s salary went from $2.4 million to $18.9 million. Mylan’s income was spent on more than executive pay. It spent lavishly on ads to promote what it called “increased anaphylaxis awareness”: persuading people they needed easy access to EpiPens to avert their allergic child’s sudden death.

Maybe a new president and Congress will be different. Donald Trump sided with Democrats on letting Medicare and Medicaid negotiate with drug companies and buy drugs from countries with socialized medicine, but otherwise he says only that he’ll solve the problem as soon as he repeals Obamacare and ends health insurance for 20 million people. Big Pharma flushed lots of money into presidential campaigns, Hillary Clinton’s more than any other, but she has been more critical than others of the whopping prices of generic and new drugs.

She laid out a long list of things she would do to control drug prices, including getting Congress to levy stiff fines on companies that raise prices unjustifiably and importing vital drugs from countries with high safety standards.

You read it here first. None of it will happen. arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

7

PEARLS ABOUT SWINE

Hogs blew it

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8

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

rkansas needed to beat Texas A&M. That’s it. Sometimes perfunctory is poetry.

The Hogs had lost four straight to the Aggies in this rekindled rivalry, the last two in Arlington in overtime after ceding fourth-quarter leads. They clamored for national recognition and a shot at flying further up the rankings with Alabama docking in Fayetteville in two weeks for a Game of the Century of the modern age.

It all came crashing down again, painfully, and generally around the damned Aggie end zone of all places. The Texas A&M goal line must have felt like an electrified invisible fence, and frankly it did a masterful job keeping the spirited Hogs from escaping with a win.

Rawleigh Williams III lost a fumble just before he plunged into the end zone.

Before that, a bunch of unimaginative and fruitless bids to eke past the plane after Williams’ career-long 55-yard run staked the Hogs to first-and-goal meant that Cole Hedlund had the misfortune of attempting the most aggravating conceivable chip-shot field goal. (He made it.)

Later, the Third Act revealed the great tragedy, a three-play death after 16 arduous snaps preceded it.

The Aggies (4-0) had in fact set themselves up to fail, turning it over inside the Razorback 5-yard line after a great burst to open the third quarter had them on the precipice of getting a lead in a sloppy but eventful game. Austin Allen, in the midst of what’s becoming the normative banner effort for him, shepherded the Hogs deftly upfield and by the time there was yet another first-and-goal, this time into the end populated by zealous Arkansas fans awaiting a momentumbuilding score.

Agonizing minutes later, Dan Enos made the worst of several befuddling play calls, trying to send a receiver of average speed (Keon Hatcher) on a wide endaround to be greeted by two unblocked safeties on fourth-and-atoms. That got consumed. Hog fans still lamenting a replay review of a presumptive Allen touchdown that appeared quite obvious on Jerry Jones’ big-ass hangin’ Teevee got an even nastier dose of salt in the wound two plays later when Trevor Knight lofted one past an inattentive D.J. Dean to his speedy wideout Josh Reynolds.

That 92-yard streak to six was part of a 28-7 surge over the final minutes that left the Aggies claiming a 45-24 win that merged the comedic and the tragic deftly.

Arkansas provided all the laughter, namely when it let Knight — an adept scrambler taking third-andBEAU short snaps from WILCOX the gun — scorch the center of the field for two long touchdown runs that had him over 100 rushing by halftime. Knight was mediocre on most of his other throws, clearly having trouble against a reborn secondary, but he embarrassed the likes of Brooks Ellis and Dre Greenlaw repeatedly by exploiting a hole.

And that’s the other bit of comedy. For as big as Arkansas is up front, it is alarming to see the offensive line get abused by their counterparts on a night that A&M end Myles Garrett was actually well contained. Dan Skipper just isn’t very mobile and Jake Raulerson isn’t very effective, even as Hjalte Froholdt makes solid strides and Brian Wallace shows promise. Even more hilarious? Watching the Hogs’ heavily hyped defensive line get blown off the ball at will in the fourth quarter as the word “quit” reverberated through the Hog contingency in AT&T Stadium.

All this coming after the Hogs’ 1,600plus pounds of beef couldn’t manage to secure a few precious inches of ground for the fiery and all-everything leader behind them to squeeze through.

A&M is better than anyone likely thought after an offseason of turmoil with quarterbacks bailing, and the head coach looking suddenly incapacitated. Knight is a steadying force and the skill players are experienced. But the Aggies won the game squarely in the same trenches that Arkansas desperately wants and needs to control if it wants to elevate to another tier in this league. The recruiting of large and imposing guys is fine, but watching nondescript A&M backs blast through holes and Arkansas’s capable bellcows get racked in short-yardage matters gives you the distinct impression that player evolution is lacking.

On the offensive side, the Aggies bottled up the run game save for Williams’ one long trot, and that’s not going to cut it. Arkansas cannot win games simply by a major time of possession disparity. In fact, the Razorbacks looked dusted and tired and got outgained by the Aggies despite having all those extra minutes of ball control.

THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

Thrifty

T

he Observer is a known and incorrigible haunter of thrift stores. Some weekends, with Spouse in tow, we’ll make the rounds of every Goodwill store in three counties, driving them on a carefully preplanned circuit so we can stop midway and get coffee at our favorite little place. It’s a fun way to spend an afternoon in the company of the love of this fair to middlin’ life, even if we’re around 65 percent certain it’ll net us a case of the cooties one of these days.

For a student of the human condition like Yours Truly, a trip to the thrift store can be enlightening. You can learn a lot from the things people buy and then come to realize they no longer need, or didn’t need in the first place: towel warmers, bread makers, a cutting board in the shape of Idaho, a wedding dress, a dedicated electric cocoa pot. A few weekends back, we found a stainless steel Bienville wine chiller that claimed on the box that it could, through a space-age process, cool a bottle of vino from liquor store temperature to 57 degrees in seven minutes flat. We toted it around for a while, intent on throwing a speedy frost on our bottles of Big K Cola and Old Milwaukee, but soon remembered the severe lack of counter space at The Observatory.

All this stuff! Where does it come from? Where is it going? Why were you ever possessed to buy such a thing in the first place, Dear Reader?

Sixteen tons of late-nite infomercial exercise equipment. Genuine Miniature New Zealand Ceremonial War Clubs. Enough golf bags to outfit a regiment of Tiger Woodses. Ski boots, ice skates and snow blowers, all of which look pretty funny with the African-savanna-style heat of an Arkansas summer punishing folks outside.

Enough copies of “The Art of the Deal” to build Dorito Mussolini’s beeootiful wawl between the U.S. and Mexico. A few months back, we sauntered into

the Goodwill in North Little Rock and found a 200-pound machine fitted with a saddle and stirrups that claimed it could simulate the sensation of horseback riding for fun and fitness. Sadly, the Observer’s efforts to convince Spouse the Galloptron 5000 could be installed in the boudoir of The Observatory so as to facilitate a passible Lady Godiva impression warranted us only a slap on the arm and a rosy blush. We’ll accept that.

You never know what you’ll find, if anything, which is what keeps us going. This past weekend, out at the Goodwill on Markham, what we found was a whole bunch of fur coats, apparently the abandoned or forgotten contents of a cold-storage locker, judging by the claim tickets still dangling from sleeves. There were maybe 50 of them hanging there on racks near the door: mink and silver fox, sable and beaver, all in perfect condition, and all fairly cheap as far as a fur coat goes. The tickets showed most of them had been put into storage around the time Ronald Reagan was finishing up his second term. Nearly all had a woman’s name embroidered in elegant script inside the liner, which made us wonder sadly what had to happen for so marvelous a thing to wind up forgotten.

We were sorely tempted to count our pennies and buy one, especially after convincing Spouse to slip into a floor-length mink so heavy it would have surely had the wearer in a deep sweat during the coldest Arkansas February known to modern science.

Must have cost a fortune when new.

Goodwill price: $300. Like we said, tempted. But eventually we hung it back on the rack for some Tony Soprano type to find and buy to smooth things over with his gun moll. As for Yours Truly, the life of a Goodwill fan is unlikely to ever be glamorous enough to need such finery.

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Arkansas Reporter

Democrats’ last stand in NE Arkansas Nate Looney vs. Rep. Brandt Smith for District 58.

issues and offering up facts and figures in digestible nuggets. The question is whether that will make any difference given the “D” next to his name.

An exchange between the two opponents over pre-K at a recent Jonesboro candidate forum was typical of this divide between Democrat Looney’s granular focus on bread-and-butter issues and Republican Smith’s appeals to big-picture ideology and partisan affiliation.

Looney argued for an increase in pre-K funding, which has been flat

BY DAVID RAMSEY

I

f swing districts still exist in this increasingly dead-red state, perhaps they can be found in Northeast Arkansas.

District 58, covering the Jonesboro area, where former Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel launched his political career, has swung back and forth in the last several elections. Democrat Harold Copenhaver, an insurance salesman, won the seat over Republican Rep. Jon Hubbard in 2012 by a 53-47 percent margin, but there were extenuating circumstances —Hubbard turned out to be a slavery apologist. In 2014, in the Republican wave election, the count flipped: Brandt Smith, a former pastor and missionary who spent time working for a nongovernmental organization in Iraq during the war, nabbed just under 53 percent of the vote to take back the seat for the GOP. Smith topped Copenhaver by a little more than 400 votes.

Now Smith is facing a challenge from 29-year-old lawyer and Clinton School of Public Service graduate Nate Looney. Looney grew up in Jonesboro in a Republican family, but he was inspired by the big names in Arkansas Democratic politics: Dale Bumpers, David Pryor and Bill Clinton.

“Since day one, this campaign has been focused on education, health care and infrastructure,” Looney said.

“That’s what drives economic development. I think that’s what’s important to folks right now.”

Smith prefers an approach centered on tax cuts. “That puts money back into the pockets of family members,” he said.

“Every time we sit down and deal with our budget, there’s always that call for

A FLUENCY FOR POLICY: Democratic state House candidate Nate Looney has a strong resume, too, but is it enough in the Year of Trump?

more. I don’t think it’s always in the best interest of our state to throw more money at programs.”

Looney, like the Democratic icons who inspired him, has a natural fluency speaking about nuts-and-bolts policy

since 2008 (House Democrats proposed increasing annual pre-K funding by $10 million during the 2016 fiscal session, only to be rebuffed by the governor and Republicans in the legislature; Looney supports the increase

and Smith opposes it).

“For every dollar we spend on pre-K, it’s been shown that we get anywhere from $7 to $10 return on our investment,” Looney said, citing a study from the University of Chicago. “Folks, we’ve got a choice to make. We can either build prisons in the future or we can build preschools today.”

Smith responded: “When it comes to some of these studies out of Chicago, there’s very little trust I place in some of these studies that come out of one of the Democrat strongholds, where the city is imploding. If the city of Chicago was a model that we would look to, I would say, ‘Hey, let’s embrace that.’

But their crime rates are out of control, there’s anarchy in the streets, there’s total chaos everywhere in most of these huge cities because of the failed policies.” (The University of Chicago is a prestigious private research university, unaffiliated with the municipal government in Chicago.)

He continued: “If you’re a parent, do you want to trust that 4-year-old or that 3-year-old to someone that you may not know? Children are a heritage from the Lord.” Smith claimed that “some education experts” say that students would burn out by the time they get to junior high if they started going to school in pre-K. “When we talk about poverty, those people that typically come under that threshold, at the poverty line, they have air conditioners, they’re driving, they have phones … we don’t have the poverty that my opponent brought up,” Smith said. Looney’s support for increased pre-K funding, he argued, was “typical Democrat rhetoric, throw more money at programs.”

In an interview with the Arkansas Times after the forum, Smith said that his main concern was mandatory preK, though neither Looney nor any other prominent Arkansas Democrat has proposed mandating pre-K. He added: “I still really like the idea of at least one parent being responsible for their child throughout the day because these are the formative years in that child’s life.”

Asked about the state Republican Party’s recent decision to strike any mention of support for pre-K from its platform, Smith said, “I don’t know what the rationale for that was, but I CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRYAN MOATS

THE

ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRYAN MOATS

THE

BIG Instagram famous PICTURE

There are famous Arkansans on Instagram: The Duggars (@duggarfam) have 1 million followers. Country singer Justin Moore (@justincolemoore) has 310,000. Then there are Arkansans who’ve become famous thanks to Instagram and other social media: North Little Rock Police Officer Tommy Norman’s Instagram photos of his interactions with the community he polices (@tnorman23) gained him international attention. He’s now got 1.2 million followers. And then there are the local Instagrammers who are famous only within Instagram. They’re moms and graphic designers and photographers who’ve managed to amass sizable followings. Give ’em a follow. Us, too: @arktimes.

HANNAH CARPENTER @hannahcarpenter Followers: 85,000 Home: Central Arkansas Sponsored by: “Not sponsored by any one company. I do sponsored posts and brand/product promotion but try to be really choosy with what I promote.”

NOAH ABRAHAM SAMPSEL @noahabe SARAH FORTUNE GILL @sarahfortune Followers: 25,000 Home: Fayetteville Sponsored by: “I do occasional sponsored posts with various brands ranging from local to international, and travel partnerships whenever I can.”

Followers: 20,300 Home: Bentonville Subject matter (in general): Landscapes.

Arkansas Instagrammer she wants everyone to know about: @ozarkmamadeer

Arkansas Instagrammers he wants everyone to know about: @lydichristine and @ruminantreserve.

Subject matter (in general): Scenery, family, fashion, food, everyday life in Fayetteville, her travels, her 5-year-old, Iris.

ELIZABETH CARTER @carterelizabeth Followers: 49,600

Arkansas Instagrammer she wants everyone to know about: @kirstenblowers

Subject matter (in general): Interior design, architecture, food.

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Followers: 247,000

JEFF ROSE @thejeffrose

Subject matter (in general): Landscape, architecture, lifestyle.

Followers: 78,500 Home: Ponca

Arkansas Instagrammer he wants everyone to know about: @curious2119

Subject matter (in general): Scenery, lifestyle, travel.

Arkansas Instagrammer he wants everyone to know about: @igersarkansas

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MATT WHITE @mattywhite Followers: 2,600

ADAM SMITH @roadlyfe Followers: 3,000

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DEMOCRATS’ LAST STAND IN NE ARKANSAS, CONT. just feel like there are probably other issues. When you rank in priority some other issues that we’re facing now as far as national security — which includes the southern border, our northern border … our points of entry, immigration issues. We have to say, where do we need to put our line of effort?”

The candidates are also split on health care. Looney is a strong supporter of the private option, the state’s unique plan that uses Medicaid funds available via the federal Affordable Care Act to purchase private health insurance plans for low-income Arkansans.

“Voting against the private option is really the equivalent of public service malpractice,” he said. “You’ve got hundreds of thousands of people who now have insurance; the uninsurance rate in Arkansas has been cut in half.

Specifically focusing on Jonesboro, it would have killed our local economy.

Two of the three largest employers are hospitals.”

Smith opposes the private option, although he voted for the appropriation that ultimately allowed it to continue during the special session earlier this year (he made this vote, he said, because at least this year he was unwilling to hold up the entire Medicaid budget to block it).

“I still hold my original position [on the private option],” Smith said. “I’d like to see it go away. I think there are potentially other options out there.”

Asked about what would happen to the hundreds of thousands of Arkansans who would lose their health insurance and the billions in uncompensated care costs that hospitals say they would face, Smith said, “If it does come to an abrupt end, there has to be something in its place that people can receive care. I don’t want to see hospitals bankrupted. I am worried — we have two major hospitals in Jonesboro. These hospitals serve a great need in our communities.”

Asked whether he had an alternative to propose, Smith replied, “I don’t think it’s very smart to say I want it to end and not have a clear path ahead.”

He said he personally didn’t have an alternative plan for coverage but was hopeful that others would.

Smith said he believes that his conservative agenda on social issues will give him an advantage in the district.

“I’ve tried to really hold my ground on protecting the sanctity of life and also our Second Amendment gun rights,” he said. “I’m very strong pro-life. I’m very strong in support of the sanctity of marriage. It’s important that the side I really come down on understands that

there is a difference between a strong, conservative Republican and an opponent who leans more left.”

Smith said he hoped to be active in attempts to defund Planned Parenthood.

“A lot of people have said, ‘I can’t believe Rep. Smith still believes in pro-life policies in this day and age,’ ” he said. “My response is there is nothing noble in killing an unborn baby.”

Looney said that abortion should not be reduced to a black-and-white issue.

“If I was in that position, I wouldn’t make that choice,” he said. “But from a

Y T R !

A P RTY A P

On guns, Looney said, “I think the Second Amendment provides for certain freedoms and certain rights — like every other right that’s given to us, we don’t have an unqualified right to do everything we want with it. So we have to have a reasonable approach to making sure that people are safe, and we also need balance to make sure people have their rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.”

Smith made headlines during his freshman term as a legislator during his unsuccessful push for his “American

US a B S n E e l U e L B H s n i e m tival i T s as e F s e u l B ry

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FIGHTING AGAINST SHARIA LAW: After failing to get a law passed last session, Rep. Brandt Smith says he’ll try again to “protect” Arkansas citizens from foreign laws.

e p 9

y b d e d i v ro p n s o e i t n ta ch Li OR r o K C TO : p E s a n H o C tra ow C IL RDER s A u M s B Arr OR NEY Os Blues Bu 00 policy perspective, the Supreme Court has spoken. Recently we’ve seen a lot of challenges on the state level and at the end of the day it’s costing our state a lot of money. So I don’t think those are the battles we need to be fighting — it’s reckless when we know it’s completely unconstitutional.” Looney argued that the best way to reduce the number of abortions was to improve education, offer people more opportunities, and increase access to family planning services.

ion t a t r nspo rea a t r e E N conc O PH Y e to E B Cards e t vorit G u R ro A dit n e H r e C C s ce jor a M man All 85

Laws for American Courts” bill. Smith held up an education bill sponsored by Sen. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock) and was quoted at the time as saying it was “retribution” for Elliott calling for a roll call that left his own bill short in committee. Smith eventually apologized on the House floor.

Smith’s bill was modeled on legislation pursued in other states and its stated aim was to “protect … citizens from the application of foreign laws” — though such bills do not explicitly

mention Sharia law, it is widely seen as their focus.

“When you deal with tribal people or people from other countries that have their own legal system, oftentimes when they immigrate to the United States, they are fleeing oppression or they’re seeking better opportunities,” Smith said. “But in some of these cases, most of these immigrants tend to cluster in areas where there are other people of the same ethnicity and cultural background, so they have a hard time assimilating into our country. … In some cases they also bring their problems with them, and they’ll bring a legal system with them.”

Smith said he was still concerned with the threat of Sharia law and, if re-elected, plans to push hard to get the bill passed.

Looney called the bill “a solution searching for a problem.”

“I think we have different policy priorities,” he said. “If I’m elected, I’m going to focus on education, I’m going to focus on infrastructure, and I’m going to focus on health care. Those are things that are proven to help grow our economy and help people. Those are the things that I’m fighting for. If he’s elected and that’s the bill he wants to run, that’s his right to do so. My priority is going to be elsewhere.”

Hendrix politics professor Jay Barth said that the Smith-Looney race could be a bellwether for the region, which Republicans swept in 2014. “We’ve seen this district swing back and forth over the last few years,” Barth said.

“The presidential year is better for Democrats because of turnout patterns.”

The Democrats are fielding a strong candidate in Looney, Barth said, and the Jonesboro area could represent a pickup opportunity with Donald Trump on the presidential ballot. “Trump is just getting demolished among better educated voters,” Barth said, “and this is one of the handful of districts where you have a higher percentage of collegeeducated folks around the university.”

Barth concluded, “If the Democrats can’t win this district in this context with this candidate, it really is all over [for Democrats] in Northeast Arkansas.”

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

13

The discipline BRIAN CHILSON

Research shows Arkansas schools punish African-American students more frequently and more harshly than their white peers.

gap

GRANDPARENT ADVOCATE: Gloria Majors is fighting for fairer, smarter discipline policy in the Prescott School District.

BY BENJAMIN HARDY

I

n Mark Johnson’s telling, the other boy hit him first. It was the fall of 2008 and Johnson was a freshman at Prescott High School when he injured his back at football practice. The fight began after another student teased him about his back brace; the pestering escalated into a physical confrontation in which the two boys traded blows.

Johnson was suspended from school for three days.

Gloria Majors, Johnson’s grandmother, said the suspension itself was not the problem. “He shouldn’t have hit the boy, and the boy shouldn’t have hit him. … We know they have a zero-tolerance policy as far as fighting. If you’re hit, you’re supposed to go tell somebody and not hit them back,” she said recently. “My problem was that when they suspended him, it was right at the time for [end-of-semester] testing, and 14

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

so he missed his tests.” The other student received only in-school suspension, Majors added, meaning he was able to complete his testing. (She said she was told the student received special education services and was therefore treated differently under the district’s discipline policy. That student, like Johnson, was African-American.)

Majors sought leniency from the dean of students and the superintendent, both of whom told her there was nothing she could do. Finally, she appealed to the Prescott School Board. “I told them I thought it was not fair for [Mark] to not be able to make up his classes,” she said. “And I told them that I thought our first goal in school was to educate our children. This wasn’t discipline — this was punishment, which is something different. Discipline is about trying to correct behavior. … You’re trying to help

that person change that behavior, not just punish them.”

Majors’ appearance before the school board was a month after the fight itself.

Then, the day after the board meeting, “a sheriff came to my daughter’s house and brought a FINS [family in need of services] letter from the judge saying my grandson needed to appear in court.” A FINS petition is a legal document that can open the door to the juvenile justice system; it may be filed by a parent or guardian, a school official or another adult. Majors believes the petition was filed because she challenged school district policy.

“I’d never heard of FINS before — none of my kids ever had to go to a court, thank God — but why did they send that, 30 days after the fight and just after I went to the school board?” she asked. “He hadn’t done anything

else. He had already been suspended. So the only thing it could have been is that I took those avenues to try to change things in terms of discipline.” Majors sought advice from a family member who worked for a judge across the state. “He said, ‘Don’t let him get into that criminal justice system, because it can damage you for the rest of his life,’” she recalled. Majors hired a lawyer, and after two court appearances, the juvenile judge dismissed the case.

Perhaps no single issue in the United States burns as hotly today as the treatment of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement. Yet police shootings are only the most macabre examples of a much larger institutional phenomenon: From prisons to courts to schools, whenever punitive measures come into play, black people tend to receive a disproportionate share of the

THE DISCIPLINE GAP

punishment. Black K-12 students nationwide are three times as likely as white students to be suspended or expelled, according to a 2014 report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. American Indian students are also suspended and expelled at disproportionately higher rates, and students with disabilities are suspended much more often than those without disabilities. (In this sense, the school’s less punitive treatment of the other student in Mark Johnson’s story departs from the statistical norm.)

While a suspension may seem trivial compared to an officer-involved shooting, being removed from school for even a short period often has an outsized impact on a child’s life. There is a growing consensus among education experts that “exclusionary” consequences such as suspensions or expulsions should be used as sparingly as possible. Suspensions can hurt students academically, stigmatize them among both peers and adults, create opportunities for them to get into trouble outside of school, and establish a pattern of hostile encounters with authority figures that sets the stage for later interactions with the criminal justice system.

The disparities in Arkansas are stark.

In the 2014-15 school year, there were five out-of-school suspensions for every 100 white students statewide. For every 100 black students, there were 29 outof-school suspensions. The in-school suspension rate was about three times higher for black students than for white students, and the expulsion rate was about twice as high. Black students were also more likely to receive corporal punishment (“paddlings” are still used in many Arkansas schools). Meanwhile, the suspension rates for both white and black students have increased over the past few years — a fact troubling in its own right.

Those numbers were presented to the state Board of Education in February by Gary Ritter, a researcher at the University of Arkansas’s Office for Education Policy, and are derived from the discipline data that every traditional public school district is required to report to the Arkansas Department of Education. Ritter told the state board that “there is a clear disparity problem” in Arkansas. That’s not surprising, given national patterns. The new and important thing about the Arkansas data is that it includes both disciplinary infrac-

tions and punishments, allowing Ritter and UA graduate student Kaitlin Anderson to analyze the linkage between student actions and the adult responses to those behaviors. Their findings deliver an even sharper indictment of racial disparities in school discipline.

The researchers’ analysis shows that African-American students are disproportionately represented in both infractions and consequences. “That’s really important,” Ritter told the Arkansas Times. “[Black] students are being written up at higher rates, but even given that, when they’re written up for the same type of incident, they’re more likely to receive exclusionary discipline” — that is, out-of-school suspension, expulsion or being sent to an alternative school.

For example, black students are more likely to be cited for “disorderly conduct.” And while white students written up for disorderly conduct are given an exclusionary consequence around 12 percent of the time, black students written up for that offense are given an exclusionary consequence about 25 percent of the time. Similarly, AfricanAmerican students are cited for “insubordination” much more often than white students, and are also more likely to be suspended for that offense. About 19 percent of insubordination offenses result in exclusionary discipline if the student is black, but only 11 percent of white students cited for insubordination get such a punishment.

It is important to note that both of these consequences are highly subjective ones. Schools and districts may define offenses differently from one another, as may individual teachers and administrators. And in fairness to educators, some subjectivity is warranted: The severity of a consequence should surely vary with the severity of the infraction.

Both the student who fails to follow a directive in the classroom and the student who publicly curses out a teacher may be considered “insubordinate,” for example.

But subjectivity also cuts the other way. Ritter notes the data doesn’t account for possible disparities in what is reported as an infraction in the first place, perhaps as a result of the implicit bias of adults: “We aren’t standing at the school when the administrator observes a fight and decides which student involved to cite for fighting, for example. Or sees a middle-class kid be

insubordinate and chooses to say, ‘Stop it, go away,’ and sees a disadvantaged kid be insubordinate and chooses to say, ‘I’m going to write you up.’ All of that could still be happening.” What the data does show is that when a black student is declared to be insubordinate, he or she is more likely to be suspended as a result.

African-American students are also more likely to be suspended for less subjective offenses. Although a lower percentage of black students are cited for tobacco possession, they’re far more likely to be suspended when they are.

White students are given an exclusionary consequence for tobacco possession in about 27 percent of offenses, compared to 57 percent of black students. Possessing a knife is an offense that gets most students suspended or expelled — but even here, black students are slightly less likely to be treated with leniency. White students caught with knives are given an exclusionary consequence around 68 percent of the time, black students about 75 percent of the time. (However, Ritter cautioned against drawing overly broad conclusions from these two infractions, since they constitute a small percentage of total offenses reported by schools.)

Then there is truancy, which carries its own troubling implications. Most students, of all races, receive in-school suspension for this offense, but white students are suspended 6 percent of the time and black students 14 percent of the time. The disparity is clear, Ritter said, “but the real problem is that [out-of-school suspension] is not a legal remedy for truancy according to Act 1329 of 2013.” For obvious reasons, it makes little sense to suspend a student for skipping school, but such is the overreliance on suspensions as a discipline tool. The discipline data shows that in 2014-15, 29 schools in the state used outof-school suspensions to punish truancy in 100 percent of truancy cases.

All of this data comes with caveats, Ritter said. While school districts are required to turn over disciplinary figures to the state, reporting standards surely vary across Arkansas’s hundreds of districts. “We’re not sure how it was kept — people don’t have the eyes on it that they do with [standardized] testing data.” Also, schools often place both infractions and consequences into an “other” category. (“Other” was the most frequent infraction type reported in

the 2014-15 school year, comprising 38 percent of all infractions.) As for consequences, “we don’t know if ‘Other’ means a very strict, exclusionary discipline or a visit to the office where the principal says ‘Hey, don’t do that again,’ ” he explained.

If one simply looks at the disparity in suspension rates relative to race, Ritter said, “this could be two types of misbehavior: misbehavior of adults, who are disproportionately suspending students respective to their race, or misbehavior of kids, that kids in this group are misbehaving at a different rate, and that these suspensions are perfectly consistent with the rate of misbehavior. Looking at this graphic alone, you can’t distinguish between those two stories. …

It depends on what you’re predisposed to think.

“But the nice thing about this data is they connect the incident — the infraction — to the consequence that follows.

So we can, to some extent, distinguish between those two stories.”

After Ritter’s report in February, the state board requested the Education Department re-examine how it requires districts to report discipline data, and changes have been made in the current 2016-17 school year. Eric Saunders, the department’s Assistant Commissioner of Fiscal and Administrative Services, said ADE has “added some additional codes to capture … more specific information” about both infractions and consequences. Codes added on the infraction side include “cell phone,” “public display of affection” and “cyberbullying”; those added on the consequence side include “detention,” “parent/guardian conference” and “Saturday school.”

This spring, the board will hear from Ritter about findings from the 2015-16 school year data.

In an interview earlier this year, Mireya Reith, the current chair of the state board, expressed great concern about the racial disparities. “The Office for Education Policy has presented this report for three years, and each year the evidence is more and more revealing,” she said. “The data very much verifies that African-American males are punished more severely than other kids. … Each [year] we’ve asked OEP to go a level deeper, and each time it reaffirms it.”

Yet, Ritter said, there is also more than one possible explanation for the fact that African-American students arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

15

BRIAN CHILSON

ABOVE: Mark Johnson’s suspension as a high school freshman in 2008 threatened to derail his academic career.

BELOW: As Prescott superintendent, Robert Poole is receptive to new disciplinary strategies that aim to find alternatives to suspending students.

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

THE DISCIPLINE GAP

receive stricter punishments than do their white peers. “One way is that I am an administrator at a school, and I could observe a white student and a black student engage in identical misbehavior, and then I could more severely punish the black student relative to the white student. Alternatively, it could be the case that black students attend schools that engage in more severe disciplinary strategies.

“What we’ve found so far is that this [disparity] is almost fully driven by different disciplinary strategies within different schools serving different types of kids. In other words, schools that serve black students tend to punish more severely than schools that serve fewer black students.” Ritter was careful to note that such differences may “still be due to an ingrained racial bias: I might be an administrator at a school that’s serving 80 percent disadvantaged students, so I have my views that are driving my responses.” Although the researchers concluded that “between school differences” rather than “within school differences” accounted for most of the disparity, they still found “a small negative premium on being AfricanAmerican when it comes to punishment.”

However, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who researches racial disparities in school discipline disputed those conclusions. Shaun R. Harper is the executive director of UPenn’s Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education and the author of a paper published last year examining disproportionate rates of suspen-

sions and expulsions in Southern states.

Drawing on the data that districts report to the U.S. Department of Education, Harper and co-author Edward J. Smith found that 13 Southern states accounted for roughly half of all suspensions and expulsions of African-American students in the U.S., despite containing just 24 percent of the nation’s black students. They then broke down the data by school district to derive a “disproportionate impact factor” for each one — meaning “the number of times black students are over-suspended relative to their enrollment in a district’s public schools.”

Harper said such inequalities are mostly due to the implicit biases of educators. “Very little happens in teacher and administrator certification programs to awaken the consciousness of aspiring educators,” he told the Times.

“They consume the same media as the rest of us and the same deficit narratives about communities of color.” Often, he said, “people are not fully conscious about what they’re doing” when it comes to treating African-American students differently than others. When he recently presented his data to educators in Georgia, he said, “there was sort of a collective jaw-drop in the audience.

That’s interesting because these were the people handing out the suspensions and expulsions.

“I think another point that’s really important is the racial makeup of the educational workforce. Eighty percent of educators are white, and the overwhelming majority are women —

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white female teachers who never had any sort of consciousness-raising education around race and their implicit biases around racial others.”

But might “between school differences” account much for the disparity?

“Our data doesn’t show that,” Harper responded. “That’s one of the reasons we provided data for 3,000 school districts, so people could see that these are trends that reach across schools that are predominately black and predominately white.” (It should be noted that Harper’s data covers a different school year than the UA researchers’.)

Vast as the “implicit bias” problem may be, it is not intractable, Harper believes. “I’m a professor in a school of education. We have to do a better job of raising the consciousness of teachers and aspiring principals before we send them out in the educational workforce. … We also need professional development for in-service teachers — whether you’ve been teaching one year, five years, 10 years or 20 years. … I’m not talking hypothetically. The center that we do here at Penn, we do dozens of [PD sessions] for teachers around the year.”

Finally, Harper said, “we have to do a better job of teaching [educators] alternatives to suspension and expulsion.” He advocates a “restorative justice” approach, in which students work to resolve conflicts in small groups or councils led by mediators, often their peers. “Instead of just punishing … [you’re] helping to understand why a student committed an infraction,” he said. “The council tries to figure out,

‘How can you help make this work?’ …

This is about a cultural change at the school.” In 2014, he authored a study of 40 traditional public high schools in New York City — all of which were mostly attended by low-income black and Latino students — that successfully adopted such an approach.

Gloria Majors is working to implement a similar strategy in the Prescott School District. In 2010, two years after the incident with her grandson, she attended a meeting held by an organizer from the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, a Little Rock-based progressive grassroots organization. Majors and others started the Concerned Citizens of Prescott, and the group is working with the school district to craft less punitive discipline policies. They’re also laboring to improve prekindergarten education in the town as part of the “Good to Great” initiative, a project of the Public Policy Panel, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and Arkansas State University. A grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation funds the effort.

Much has changed in the past eight years, Majors said. Mark Johnson graduated high school and is now a senior at ASU in Jonesboro, where he plays football and has been on the A-State Athletics Director’s Honor Roll the past two years. The Prescott district changed leaders several years ago, and Majors said the new superintendent, Robert Poole, has been receptive to her group’s concerns. The district’s student handbook committee also relented somewhat

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

17

THE DISCIPLINE GAP

on its zero-tolerance policy.

“Now, they’re doing real good,” she said. “We have built a relationship with our superintendent so that we can go to him and talk about things that are on our mind.” In partnership with the same coalition of organizations working on pre-K, the Concerned Citizens of Prescott has secured funding to help institute a training for faculty called “Conscious Discipline,” an approach similar to restorative justice. The Prescott School District is also contributing to the cost of the training, which is about $11,000 in total. “It’s a way to give the students self-esteem and … [to help] teachers know how to talk to them [to] change their attitude. … The emphasis is on positive behavior,” Majors said.

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

Poole said he’s open to trying new approaches to discipline. “The way I’m looking at it is, it’s another way, another tool for teachers to handle their classrooms,” he said. “We’re all about educating the whole child, to help them become better citizens. In today’s world, it’s very important to learn how to resolve conflicts. … I’m always open to new ideas, and if it makes it better, I’m for it.”

This fall, he and his high school principal will be attending a conference on restorative justice in New York. “We’d like to learn more about it, all the ins and outs and everything, so we can bring it back here and start trying to incorporate some of these things with our teachers.

You know, it’s not an overnight approach — a one-hour [professional development]

and you start doing it the next day. We’re preparing all year for this so we can plan on professional development for our teachers for next summer so they can then put it in place next school year.”

That being said, it may be a harder sell for administrators and faculty to accept the “implicit bias” arguments that researchers like Shaun Harper see as central to the discipline gap. According to the data in Harper’s UPenn study, the disproportionate impact factor at the Prescott School District is 1.6 — that is, a black student is 1.6 times more likely as a white student to be suspended. That’s lower than many districts in the state, but it’s still significant.

Poole said his district doesn’t discriminate against students. “To me, when

kids are on this campus, kids are Curley Wolves [the school mascot]. I don’t say, ‘There goes a white kid, there goes a black kid.’ They’re students. Regardless of race, we want every student to be successful. ... Now, if a teacher doesn’t treat that kid the same like they should? That’s in that teacher’s heart and mind as to why is she doing that. … We want to educate all students, and if a student gets in trouble for something, all students should get in trouble for that. If a teacher handles it this way, we expect them to handle every situation like that in the same way.”

Disparities in discipline rates are more attributable to poverty than to race, he suggested. “Somebody else from the outside may look at the data and see racial [bias] and all, but I don’t see it that

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GARY RITTER: His research shows “a clear disparity problem” in school discipline in Arkansas.

way. … It more comes from economic status, and what sort of resources and training those kids have had before they get here … regardless of if they’re white or black. I think that has more to do with anything than a racial makeup. … It’s not that one race has an advantage over another.

“We’re a high-poverty district. So many kids don’t have access to preschool, and start off behind the eight ball before they even start kindergarten. … For me, it’s the quality of the preschools and the accessibility. I wish it were mandatory for every kid to have preschool before we got them. … A lot of these kids are being raised by a brother or sister at home, while their single-parent mom or dad is out working.” Poole commended the work of the Good to Great initiative in trying to boost the quality of pre-K. (Ritter said he and Anderson looked for a similar correlation between suspension rates and a whether a student receives free or reduced school lunch.

They found that disciplinary disparities based on students’ low-income status are “in the same direction but not as severe” as those based on race. “It tells roughly the same story, but not to the same magnitude.” However, Ritter added, “I would say that if we’re just discriminating on a different marker … that’s still discrimination.”)

When Majors graduated from high school in 1964, the Prescott schools were still segregated. Today — unlike some communities, where schools are still heavily divided by race — all students attend the same elementary, middle and high school. The district is 55 percent white, 38 percent black and about 6 percent Latino; it’s also about 75 percent low-income.

Majors knows there’s hardly consensus around issues of race. “We still have a ways to go. We did a survey through the Public Policy Panel about our com-

SHAUN HARPER: Says implicit bias underlies the disparity in suspension rates.

munity and how people are feeling about it, and we found out that most white people felt like everything was OK and things were going good, but most black people didn’t feel that it was going as well,” she said. Nonetheless, she feels things are improving. “Prescott is really making progress in race relations. I’m just excited about how we’re doing. …

I think if we learn to trust one another and talk to one another and communicate, then it’s going to be a lot better.”

She’s hopeful about a “ministerial alliance” working to build bridges between black churches and white churches in Prescott. And she feels a less punitive, more thoughtful approach to discipline will benefit everyone.

“I think if we can get that going, and each teacher gets that training and can apply that training, it would help students all around — no matter what color they are,” she said.

Last year, Majors got a call from the school district about a disciplinary incident involving another one of her grandchildren (she has 11 in all). “[He] was sitting in the cafeteria — he was just in eighth grade at the time — and this boy came over and whopped him.

And we found out later that the boy’s sister and my grandson were talking, and he didn’t like it, because he was white and my grandson is black. … And so we spoke to the parent and talked about, ‘What can we do to stop this?’ Eventually she took the girl out of the school … I think she’s back at school again now.”

Ironically, the change that Majors had successfully pushed for kept the white student from being automatically given out-of-school suspension. “I was the one who brought it up: ‘The first time you do something, you don’t need to be suspended for it — just give them an inschool suspension.’ Well, that’s what that boy got.” Majors laughed. “And that’s what he should’ve got.” arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

21

Arts Entertainment AND

Retcon

A Q&A with Ken Stringfellow of The Posies.

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE

SOLID STATES: Jon Auer (left) and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies christen Little Rock’s new recording space, Capitol View Studio, with an intimate show Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $17.50-$100.

I

n 1988, two teenagers named Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer recorded 12 songs at Jon’s home studio after school and on weekends, eventually developing aspirations of recruiting some musically kindred spirits to round out their duo. Instead, they recruited an audience, and rapidly. Their songs went viral in the way things went viral then, through a proliferation of home-copied cassettes and sudden, heavy radio play. The collection of songs became “Failure,” the first of eight albums The Posies would put out intermittently, between engagements with solo projects, side projects and touring engagements with the likes of R.E.M. and Big Star.

Following the death of longtime drummer Darius Minwalla, the band is on tour playing intimate shows in secret or unusual venues. I spoke with Stringfellow from his home in France ahead of a 22

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

“pop-up” show scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 29, at Capitol View Studio.

It’s probably an understatement to say you and Jon have experienced a lot of loss in the last few years, or as Jon has said, “Life threw many profound, out-of-the-park curveballs in our direction.” I wonder if there’s a certain comfort in performing “Solid States” in smaller venues, given that headspace. Somehow playing these stadium venues with faceless crowds — like you’ve undoubtedly done with Big Star and R.E.M. — would seem like an ill fit right now.

First of all, let’s be clear, we don’t choose to play to less than 15,000 people, it’s because playing to more than 15,000 people is just not gonna happen. As far as playing to 75 people instead of 300, I mean, I’m open, I just think that we’ve

basically raised the stakes in terms of choosing venues that aren’t that big — like, how much is it worth to our core fans to have us to themselves, more or less? ... Like, there’s no Miller Genuine Draft neon signs and there’s no Monday Night Football being shown on the flat screen by the stage. We found that we would like to create conditions where there’s no other information other than the show — an aesthetic that we choose to present, and the audience’s reception to that; there’s no distraction from the emotional content that we’re pushing … for the kind of song I wanna get across, the rule should be that I should be able to really connect with everybody in the room pretty much by scanning from one to one over the course of two hours.

Not just, like, Section 17M, where you can see a little mosaic of different skin tones 500 feet away. I want eyes and I

want hearts.

When I hear songs like “Big Mouth,” it makes me think you guys were millimeters away from having a hit that could have yielded you short shrift as a one-hit wonder. Like the guys that did the theme song from “Friends.”

That’s The Rembrandts, right? I mean, those guys can probably tour forever under that premise, but it definitely changes the way that you’re gonna be promoted and marketed, and the kind of people that are gonna come see you, and the kind of places you’re gonna play.

The Rembrandts are perfect for, like, a ’90s cruise — and Jon and I have endless jokes about “The ’90s Cruise” — or a casino or a corporate event, and they may be totally happy with that. Or they may be totally frustrated. I would be sad to find out if they were really trying to do

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artistic things and that nobody was giving them a chance; that the path of least resistance was just to focus on the fact that they did the theme for “Friends.”

For us, though, even having solid radio songs like “Dream All Day,” etc., they just didn’t cross that threshold where they become sort of enmeshed into a time period where our only utility to someone is to relive that time period.

I’ve read that “Failure” wasn’t intended to be released as an album.

You went out with intentions of recruiting other people who might get this music and want to play with you, but you came away having recruited people who wanted to listen to it.

We made “Failure” to have demo tapes to get people to be interested in playing with us because we couldn’t find a band. That’s true. From the time that we put out this cassette to every-

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thing else was like, 10 days. We made the cassette and walked into some record stores to consign them, and we made like a couple hundred or whatever. Then, we dropped it off to some radio stations and our goal was like, if we give this to people, they’re going to understand what we’re trying to do and they’ll wanna play with us. In 10 days, there were reviews in the local press and we were on commercial radio. Stuff happened. Like, we were on commercial radio in a way that was so hardcore it just defied all expectation.

As early as “Failure,” The Posies have had stellar, evocative album art. How do you feel about the way the role of album art has shifted over the years?

It didn’t really change much until this current album, in which we crowdsourced the album art, and that kind of crowdsourcing anything is a relatively recent phenomenon. We basically had

“HUMANS OF NEW YORK” blog founder Brandon Stanton speaks at Bud Walton Arena at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, as part of the University of Arkansas’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Stanton’s collection of interviews and photos of New Yorkers earned him a massive social media following, spurring Stanton’s bestselling book of the same name, an expansion of the “Humans Of” project into Pakistan, Kenya, South Sudan and elsewhere, and a series of wildly successful charity campaigns on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo.

ED PAYTON, CEO OF Celebrity Attractions, announced at a press conference this week that Disney’s “The Lion King” will be part of the company’s 2017-2018 Broadway season. The musical won six Tony Awards in 1998, and its director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor — the first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical — continues to “supervise new productions of the show around the world,” according to Celebrity Attractions. Gretchen Hall, president and CEO of the Little Rock Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, made some opening remarks, stating that in the past, there had been “major Broadway productions that we were unable to bring because of building deficiencies” in the old Robinson Auditorium. The $70 million project

SARAH MESKO, A Hot Springs native and former Bodenhamer fellow at the University of Arkansas, makes her New York stage debut in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” this December. And ahead of that debut, on Thursday, Oct. 6, Mesko gives a concert titled “Natural States: Songs on Nature and the Seasons” at UA’s Gearhart Hall as part of the Honors College House Concert series, 6 p.m.

Admission will be free SOUTHWEST LITTLE ROCK’S Dee Brown Library reopens Friday, Sept. 30, after being closed since late June for a $1.3 million expansion project. The 2,200-foot expansion adds, the Central Arkansas Library System reports, “a teaching kitchen, a maker lab with space and equipment for hands-on learning, and an expanded outdoor deck area.”

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to renovate, restore and expand the performance hall is 45 days away from its grand opening at 10 a.m. Nov. 10 and, Hall said, “is on time and on budget.” Dates and ticket prices for “The Lion King” are yet to be announced.

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23

THE

TO-DO

LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE

FRIDAY 9/30

TEDx MARKHAM STREET CONFERENCE

9:30 a.m. Ron Robinson Theater. $15-$75.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks — those bite-sized parcels of intellectual stimulation with alluring titles like “How Trees Talk to Each Other” or Jimmy Carter’s “Why

I believe the mistreatment of women is the number one human rights abuse” — are run by the nonprofit Sapling Foundation and operate under the motto “Ideas Worth Spreading.” That slogan might be just as aptly applied to the enterprise itself. The set of conferences has branched off into a number of subsets: TED Women, focused on issues of gender; TEDMED, focused on health

and medicine; NPR’s TED Radio Hour, a podcast that organizes TED according to a shared theme; TED Salon, an abbreviated evening version; and TEDx, the localized, independently organized offspring of the Monterey, Calif.-born symposium. Among Central Arkansas’s TEDx speakers are Rupa Dash, whose World Woman Foundation pushes for inclusion and gender equality in film

and entertainment; Michael Watson, whose Watson Foundation advocates for children with learning disabilities; and Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, the UALR professor and Arkansas Times’ Festival of Ideas speaker who developed CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment), a 3D virtual room, as well as a virtual cadaver for use by UALR medical students.

“Require cops to live in or near the area they police. It’s too easy to mistreat strangers.” The Little Rock City Board voted down a residency requirement for the second time in early September, and other solutions that King has suggested remain, thus far, mostly in the category of theory and not practice: independent review boards to oversee cases of police misconduct, expanded use of police body cameras,

required drug testing for police. King, the founder of Atlanta’s “Courageous Church,” who came to be known as the “Facebook pastor,” has been the subject of controversy surrounding his management of the anti-policebrutality group Justice Together, the charity auction site TwitChange and the crowdsourced Hopemob.com, and remains one of the most vocal agents for criminal justice reform

in the Black Lives Matter movement. King visits Philander Smith College, the home to several “Think Tank” events revolving around racial justice, in a discussion titled (and hashtagged) “Black Lives Matter in the Media,” moderated by the Janus Institute for Justice’s Malik Saafir, with panelists Rae Nelson, Ashley Yates, Richard Thompson and Shahidah Jones.

FRIDAY 9/30

‘BLACK LIVES MATTER IN THE MEDIA’ WITH SHAUN KING 5:30 p.m. Philander Smith College, M.L. Harris Auditorium. Free.

Little Rock has had some firsthand experience with the ninth of 25 items New York Daily News Senior Justice Writer Shaun King proposed on his Facebook page as solutions to solving the problem of police brutality:

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WARM SPELL: Sudanese crooner Sinkane (Ahmed Gallab) finishes off Low Key Arts’ Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival at Hot Springs’ Hill Wheatley Plaza, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, free-$10.

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

From the brains behind Low Key Arts and the intimate shows that characterize Hot Springs’ Valley of the Vapors Music Festival comes the 6th Annual Hot Water Hills Festival, a block party blend of workshops, visual art, live performances on a mainstage and at a busker’s corner, children’s activities like this year’s Art and Tinker tent complete with a paintby-number mural, and local food and drink from La Taco, Mad Mantis, Hot Rod Weiners, Kettle Corn and Mugshots. This year’s musical lineup features the abundantly talented London-born Sudanese crooner Sinkane (Ahmed Gallab), whose session contributions to the work of Caribou and Yeasayer have matured into full-fledged Afropop with a Tom Tom Club dance sensibility, neo-soul with video game noises, never more evident than on tracks like “Young Trouble” and “How We Be.” Earlier in the day, catch Ronnie Heart, Big Piph and Tomorrow Maybe, Dylan Earl and The Reasons Why and the Spa City Youngbloods. Friday evening’s lineup features Sad Daddy, Bonus, Vodi, Andrew Anderson and the ASMSA Folk Ensemble. While you’re in town, drop in on the concurrent Maxwell Blade Festival of Magic at 121 Central Ave., featuring a slew of magicians, mentalists and stand-up comedy.

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 9/29

WEDNESDAY 10/5

Richmond’s Inter Arma and Denver’s Call of the Void keep it heavy at Vino’s with Seahag, 8:30 p.m., $7. Stonewall Democrats hold “Donkeys and Drinks” at Club Sway with Melissa Fults, Susan Inman, Victoria Leigh and Rep. Camille Bennett (D-Lonoke), 5 p.m. Dale Watson and Bonnie Montgomery make for a very Ameripolitan bill at the White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $10. Last chance to catch “Spamalot,” in its final weekend at The Rep, 7 p.m. (also 8 p.m.

Fri., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sat., and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sun.), $30-$55. It’s also the last weekend for “Twelve Angry Men” at The Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m. (also 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat.), $12-$16.

MELANIE MARTINEZ

FRIDAY 9/30

SUNDAY 10/2

“HAMILTON’S AMERICA”

2 p.m. Pulaski Tech, Center for Humanities and Arts (CHARTS). Free.

Since the wild success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, the words “Hamilton” and “free admission” haven’t been hanging out much. Fortu-

nately for us, we’re only a short drive or bus ride away from AETN and PBS’ screening of the documentary “Hamilton’s America,” which Miranda presented with President Obama alongside him in a trailer unveiled earlier this week. As the trailer suggests, the docu-

mentary takes a look at the creation of the musical that swept this year’s Tony Awards (a total of 11 awards and 16 nominations), and Pulaski Tech’s screening is followed by a concert and panel discussion with trumpeter Rodney Block and rapper-activist Epiphany Morrow.

8 p.m. Clear Channel Metroplex. $30.

RIVER RHAPSODY: Accomplished Georgian pianist Elisso Bolkvadze finishes her time in little Rock with a concert at the Clinton Presidential Center featuring works by Prokofiev, Franck and Schubert, 7 p.m., $10-$23.

TUESDAY 10/4

ELISSO BOLKVADZE

7 p.m. William J. Clinton Presidential Center. $10-$23.

In a video of a 2011 performance with the Ukrainian Philharmonic Orchestra, Elisso Bolkvadze walks out onto the stage in her trademark fitted black lace blouse, bangs hanging down over her intensely dark eyes, and places her hands on the keys for an imperceptible millisecond before launching into Chopin’s Etude No. 24, an exercise so difficult that it nearly tricks the eyes. Were it not in full color — and filmed only five years ago — you’d swear the videotape had fallen prey to an inconsistency in its frame rate, like the old silent films made with hand-cranked cameras, where the action is suddenly sped up for comedic effect. In contrast to other performances of the same etude around the same time by younger pianists like Julian Gargiulo, Bolkvadze’s left hand wields a lighter touch, mature and subdued by comparison. Bolkvadze, who gave her first concert with an orchestra when she was 7 years

old in her native Georgia, has swept the international piano competition scene, been awarded The Medal of Georgian Government and been named a UNESCO Artist for Peace. She is the founder of the Batumi International Music Festival and of Lyra, a charity devoted to promoting young Georgian pianists. After joining the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra on opening night at Maumelle Performing Arts Center Saturday and Sunday (two of the ensemble’s last concerts before returning to Robinson Center), Bolkvadze finishes off her time in Little Rock with this concert, part of the ASO’s River Rhapsodies Chamber Series. She will perform Franz Schubert’s “Impromptu Nos. 2, 3 and 4,” Cesar Franck’s “Piano Quintet in F minor,” and Prokofiev’s “Piano Sonata No. 2.” Prokofiev debuted the piece himself in Moscow in 1914, after dedicating it to his friend Maximilian Schmidthof, who had committed suicide several months earlier — a fact that is felt most reverently and heartbreakingly in the sonata’s haunting third movement, the Andante.

They may not have the earworm tendencies of Katy Perry’s “Firework” or Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball,” but Melanie Martinez’s songs are bringin’ all that bubblegum on the visual front, often mixing it with a good dose of “Bride of Chucky” (see “Cry Baby,” “Dollhouse”). In the video for “Alphabet Boy,” she spits on a college diploma, wields a baby pink gun, flips the bird, eats a dictionary, licks strawberry jelly from the blade of a knife, tumbles from the top of a stack of oversized alphabet blocks, eats cereal in a high chair and spells out fourletter words on a refrigerator with magnetic letters.

The pacifier-loving, Britney-channeling former contestant on “The Voice” put out a concept album in 2015 called “Cry Baby,” a collection of repetitive tracks that’s either a brilliant commentary on the infantilization of women or a pastel nightmare with a bloated runtime, depending on how you look at it. Martinez comes to the Metroplex with Handsome Ghost, a Boston native and former high school English teacher whose acoustic guitar tunes have inched further toward The Postal Servicestyle electropop sheen over the last year or so, especially on the EP he released a couple of weeks ago, “The Brilliant Glow.”

Boom Kinetic take the stage at the Rev Room, 9:30 p.m., $10-$21. Mulehead and Christy Hays play the White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. KSSN-FM, 95.7, holds the KSSN Country Throwdown at the Maumelle Event Center featuring performances from Gary Allan, Frankie Ballard, Michael Ray, Craig Campbell and Trent Harmon, 7 p.m., $40. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre performs “Twelfth Night” at Conway’s Lantern Theater, 7 p.m. (also 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun.), $15. Fayetteville’s The Squarshers play King’s Live Music in Conway, 8:30 p.m., $5.

Nature & Madness perform at South on Main, 9 p.m., $10. The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theater stages “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” 7 p.m. (also 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun.), $10-$12.50.

SATURDAY 10/1 Fort Smith jazz trio Escape Tones plays a set at Bear’s Den Pizza, 10 p.m., free. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese hosts “Fromage and Folk” with duo Fret and Worry, 6 p.m., donations. The New Arkansans play at Hibernia Irish Tavern, 8 p.m., free. The Creek Rocks share a bill with Betse & Clarke at White Water, 9 p.m. The Metroplex hosts “Ultra Blackout,” a dance party featuring music from Vice Versa, Doug Kramer, 4Grand and Phluf, 9 p.m., $30-$60. The Arkansas Razorbacks face off against the Alcorn State Braves at War Memorial Stadium, 11 a.m., $35-$55 (sold out at those prices).

SUNDAY 10/2 The Cons of Formant and Jubilation Jazz provide the musical backdrop at Camp Aldersgate’s Annual Fish Fry, noon, $15. Diamond Bear Brewing hosts an evening of “Beer and Hymns,” 7 p.m. The UALR Trojans women’s soccer team takes on Arkansas State Red Wolves at UALR’s Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex, 1 p.m.

arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

25

AFTER DARK All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please email the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29

COMEDY

Hypnotist Doug T. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m.; $10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road.

501-228-5555. loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE 26

JULY 21, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

RODERICK HARRIS

MUSIC

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. ASO’s string quartet plays classical and contemporary music inspired by Middle Eastern culture as part of CALS’ Banned Book Week. Terry Library, noon, free. 2015 Napa Valley Drive. cals.org.

Dale Watson. With Bonnie Montgomery.

White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. whitewatertavern.com.

Drageoke. Hosted by Queen Anthony James Gerard: a drag show followed by karaoke. Sway, 8 p.m. 412 Louisiana. clubsway.com.

Inter Arma, Call of the Void, Seahag.

Vino’s, 8:30 p.m., $7. 923 W. 7th St. 501375-8466. vinosbrewpub.com.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m., free. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs. com.

Open Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirstn-howl.com.

Open jam with The Port Arthur Band.

Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994.

Pamela K. Ward. Cajun’s Wharf, 9 p.m., $5. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. cajunswharf.com.

The Posies Pop-Up Show. Capitol View Studio, 7 p.m., $18-$100. 120 S. Cross St. 501-944-4264. capitolviewstudio.com.

Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m., free. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. cajunswharf.com.

RockUsaurus. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 7111 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876.

Ryan Sauders. Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, 6 p.m., free. 17711 Chenal Parkway. 501-821-1144. yayasar.com.

Steve Moakler. Stick y z Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10-$12. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. stickyz.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-3707013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com/.

Tomas Gorrio & The Traveling Gypsy.

Maxine’s. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxineslive.com.

RAZORBACKS IN THE ROUND: Basketball star and author Celia Anderson speaks at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center’s “Razorback Night at The Museum,” along with three other former Razorbacks: Muskie Harris, Allie Freeman and Terry Prentice, Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m., free admission.

Foul Play Cabaret Burlesque Show. The Joint, 8 p.m., $10. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointargenta.com.

throwbeer.com.

A Fair to Re me m be r. A benefit for Arkansas Hospice, with emcee Craig O’Neill and live music by the B-Flats.

Clear Channel Metroplex, 6:30 p.m., $40.

10800 Col. Glenn Road. 501-217-5113. afairtoremember.org.

EVENTS

ArkiePub Trivia. Stone’s Throw, 6:30 p.m., free. 402 E. 9th St. 501-244-9154. stones-

 

Stonewall Democrats’ Donkeys and Drinks. A talk with Melissa Fults, Susan Inman, Victoria Leigh, and Rep. Camille Bennett. Sway, 5 p.m. 412 Louisiana. clubsway.com.

SPORTS  Steve ’n’ Seagulls. George’s Majestic  Lounge, 7 p.m., $8. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-442-4226. georgesma jesticlounge.com.

PROFESSIONAL COURTEOUS QUALITY

501.205.1650 • 412 W 7th St. Little Rock • Tue-Sat 1pm-9pm kraftworktattoo Kraftwork Tattoos kraftworktattoo@gmail.com Walk-ins welcome or by appt

KIDS

Garden Club. A project of the Faulkner County Urban Farm Project. Ages 7 and up or with supervision. Faulkner County Library, 3:30 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 30

MUSIC

Alex Summerlin. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m., free. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. cajunswharf.com.

All In Fridays. Envy. 7200 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-562-3317.

Boom Kinetic. Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $10$21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. revroom.com.

Charlotte Taylor and Gypsy Rain. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $5. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. whitewatertavern.com.

Chris Henry. The Tavern Sports Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 17815 Chenal Parkway. 501830-2100. thetavernsportsgrill.com.

Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival.

Hill Wheatley Plaza, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, free$10. Central Avenue downtown, Hot Springs. hotwaterhills.com.

Jeff Hartzell. Pop’s Lounge, 7 p.m., free.

2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-6234411. oaklawn.com.

KSSN Country Throwdown. Featuring Gar y Allan, Frankie Ballard, Michael Ray, Craig Campbell, and Trent Harmon.

Maumelle Event Center, 7 p.m., $40.

10910 Maumelle Boulevard, Maumelle.

501-366-3809. metroplexlive.com.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs. com.

Ly ps tic k Ha nd Grenade. Wes t End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $7.

215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. westendsmokehouse.net.

Manic Focus. George’s Majestic Lounge, 8:3 0 p.m., $15. 519 W. Dic k son St., Fayetteville. 479-442-4226.

Mayday by Midnight. Silk ’s Bar and Grill, 10 p.m., free. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 5016234411. oaklawn.com.

Mobley, Dark Rooms, High Lonesome.

Maxine’s, 9 p.m., $7. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. maxineslive.com.

Nature & Madness. South on Main, 9 p.m., $10. 1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. southonmain.com.

Pepperland. Markham Street Grill and Pub, 8:30 p.m., free. 11321 W. Markham St. 501-224-2010. markhamstreetpub.com.

Raising Gray. Cajun’s Wharf, 9 p.m., $5.

2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. cajunswharf.com.

Rochelle Bradshaw & Hypnotion. Smoke and Barrel Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 324 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-521-6880. smokeandbarrel.com.

“Rockin’ The Bald.” Live music from Wildflowers Revue, Good Time Ramblers, FreeVerse and Stephen Neeper and The Wild Hearts to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation. River Market pavilions, 6 p.m., $10-$15. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rockinthebald.com.

Salsa Dancing. Clear Channel Metroplex, 9 p.m., $5-$10. 10800 Col. Glenn Road.

501-217-5113. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

The Squarshers. Kings Live Music, 8:30 p.m., $5. 1020 Front St., No. 102, Conway. kingslivemusic.com.

Starroy. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9:30 p.m., $7. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. stickyz.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-3707013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com/.

Travis Bowman. Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, 6 p.m., free. 17711 Chenal Parkway. 501-821-1144. yayasar.com.

Typesetter, Attagirl. Vino’s. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. vinosbrewpub.com.

Upscale Friday. IV Corners, 7 p.m. 824 W. Capitol Ave.

COMEDY

“Electile Dysfunction.” The Joint, through Nov. 19: 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointargenta.com.

Hypnotist Doug T. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.; $15. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Contra dance. Park Hill Presby terian Church, 7:30 p.m., $5. 3520 JFK Blvd., NLR. arkansascountrydance.org.

EVENTS

H ow l i n g a t t h e Wo l f e Af te r p a r t y.

Featuring food trucks, tours of the facility and live music from Katmandu. Wolfe Street Center, 7 p.m., $25-$30. 1015 S. Louisiana. 501-375-5747.

LGBTQ/SGL weekly meeting. Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 501-244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. First Presbyterian Church, 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St. Shaun King. A discussion of the media’s coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement with keynote speaker Shaun King of New York Daily News. M.L. Harris Auditorium at Philander Smith College, 5:30 p.m., free. 900 W Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive.

TEDx Markham Street Conference.

Ron Robinson Theater, 9 a.m., $15-$75.

1 Pulaski Way. 501-320-5703. ronrobinsontheater.org.

SATURDAY, OCT. 1

MUSIC

The Creek Rocks, Betse & Clarke. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501375-8400. whitewatertavern.com.

Escape Tones. Bear’s Den Pizza, 10 p.m., free. 235 Farris Road, Conway. 501-3285556. bearsdenpizza.net.

Fa i r w e a t h e r. W i t h T h e L a s t D y ing Republic. Smoke and Barrel Tavern, 10 p.m., free. 324 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville.

479-521-6880. smokeandbarrel.com.

“Fromage and Folk.” A concert from Fret and Worry. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 6 p.m. 323 S. Cross St. 501-301-4963. kentwalkercheese.com.

The Grahams. With Kassie Moe. Kings Live Music, 8:30 p.m., $5. 1020 Front St., No. 102, Conway. kingslivemusic.com.

Greg Madden. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m., free. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. cajunswharf.com.

Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival.

Hill Wheatley Plaza, free-$10. Central

North Little Rock 501-945-8010 Russellville 479-890-2550 Little Rock 501-455-8500 Conway 501-329-5010

laspalmasarkansas.com www.facebook.com/laspalmasarkansas

Join the American Heart Association for

FESTIVAL OF WINES

October 6, 2016, 6:00 - 8:30 Dickey-Stephens Park 707-6600 #FestivalofWines

arktimes.com

JULY 21, 2016

27

MOVIE REVIEW

AFTER DARK, CONT.

‘SEVEN SAMURAI’ OF THE WEST: Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) leads his makeshift army of mercenaries into Rose Creek to reclaim the mining town from Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) and to avenge the casualties Bogue inflicted.

‘Seven’ keeps it simple Antoine Fuqua’s remake formulaic, but still a crowd-pleaser.

BY SAM EIFLING

T

he most elemental tales of the American West involve a dynamic stranger protecting pioneers or homesteaders trying to make a go of things. Consider “Shane,” or “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” or, hell, even “Rango” — the stranger who rides into town may be reluctant, he may have a past, but in the end he’ll sacrifice some part of himself for civil society.

That the stranger in question is typically adept at gunplay rather than, say, contract negotiation or tort law says something about the way America thought of itself as a youngster. The people motivated by hope, optimism, a desire to worship freely, to command their own destinies were prey to railroad barons, bankers and thugs aligned with money. Big business, in this telling, is the enemy of rule of law and of regular folks, and the only thing that keeps everything from going to hell is a grizzled someone who doesn’t mind putting a slug in a bandit.

“The Magnificent Seven,” reremade this year by Antoine Fuqua, a director more comfortable orchestrating mass-scale shootouts than conversations, ratchets up that formula in the style of its precursors

from 1960 and, like Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” does so by pulling together, yes, seven warriors with hearts of gold. Denzel Washington is a lawman named Chisolm who’s tracking dirtbags across the plains when he’s approached by a newly widowed farmer (Haley Bennett, making for an “Equalizer” reunion with Washington and Fuqua) who implores him to fight off a mining magnate who’s buying up her town and killing whoever won’t sell. The villainous capitalist (a tarry-souled Peter Sarsgaard) has a mercenary army at his disposal. Chisolm has whatever he can round up in the next few days.

The sellswords he finds hanging around the frontier turn out to be no rag-tag group, but more like a United Nations of ass-kickers. You’ve got your pistol-slinging card sharp (Chris Pratt), your knife-throwing Chinese dude (Byung-hun Lee) hanging with your deadeye Confederate vet (Ethan Hawke); your wisecracking Mexican outlaw (Manuel GarciaRulfo); your hulking gentle spiritual tracker who likes to throw tomahawks (Vincent D’Onofrio); and your badass Comanche archer (Martin Sensmeier).

They’re outgunned and outmanned — but there are seven of them, which makes for spryer storytelling than a single, mute mope riding into town.

The camaraderie helps pull together a cast that was bound to be compared, maybe unfairly, to the 1960 iteration that brought together Steve McQueen, Yul Brenner, Charles Bronson and James Coburn. But here, aside from Washington, who’s not only a fine actor but a bona fide movie star, is where this remake finds its footing: in letting a cast of lesser lights show off what makes them enjoyable to watch on screen. Say what you want about Chris Pratt’s acting abilities; he’s entering that Channing Tatum realm of action-comedy star who’d rather pocket $10 million and make you laugh your ass off than bait Oscar voters. (Although, dang, did the Academy miss “Magic Mike XXL” or what?). D’Onofrio, as the eccentric woodsman given to flights of sincerity, also resonates.

It ain’t really high cinema, but the word that came to mind midway through “The Magnificent Seven” was “crowd-pleaser.” Granted, I saw this in downtown Brooklyn, where moviegoers are happily rowdy — laughing, hollering, clapping — but the weekend audience was loving every minute.

Nothing gets too complicated. There’s a bad guy, some freaked-out townsfolk, and seven good guys drinking hard, playing cards, making lewd jokes and absolutely shooting the bejeezus out of thugs on horseback. All the elements of an iconic American story are here — short of, say, two women ever having a discussion together. We’ll be retelling this again one day, or maybe seven.

Avenue downtown, Hot Springs. hotwaterhills.com.

John Neal. The Tavern Sports Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 17815 Chenal Parkway. 501830-2100. thetavernsportsgrill.com.

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m.

110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m., free. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 7111 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876.

Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. All ages, on the restaurant side. Revolution, 9 p.m.12:45 a.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs. com.

Matt Stell. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $8-$10. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. stickyz.com.

Matt Treadway Jazz. Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, 6 p.m., free. 17711 Chenal Parkway. 501821-1144. yayasar.com.

Nerd Eye Blind. Cajun’s Wharf, 9 p.m., $5. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. cajunswharf.com.

The New Arkansans. Hibernia Irish Tavern, 8 p.m., free. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. hiberniairishtavern.com.

Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-3277482. www.fcl.org.

Scott Plantation Festival. Train station tours, hay rides, a farmer’s market and live music from Rod Ragsdale and Carol Dabney. Scott Plantation Settlement, 10 a.m., Scott. 501-351-5737. www.scottconnections.org.

The Strumbellas. Hendrix College, 8 p.m., free. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. hendrix.edu/events.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-3707013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com/.

Tragikly White. Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $10.

300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Ultra Blackout. Featuring music from Vice Versa, Doug Kramer, 4Grand and Phluf. Clear Channel Metroplex, 9 p.m., $30-$60. 10800 Col. Glenn Road. 501217-5113. metroplexlive.com.

COMEDY

“Electile Dysfunction.” The Joint, through Nov. 19: 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointargenta.com.

Hypnotist Doug T. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., $10-$15. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. loonybincomedy. com.

EVENTS

Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell and Cedar Hill Roads.

H i l l c r e s t Fa r m e r s M a r ke t . Pulask i Heights Baptist Church, 8 a.m.-noon.

2200 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Historic Neighborhoods Tour. Bike tour of historic neighborhoods includes bike, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 9 a.m., $8-$28. 400 President CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

28

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

UPCOMING EVENTS ON CentralArkansasTickets.com Make a Wish Mid-South

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Rockin’ the Bald Arkansas Times

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750ML 18PK

CHATEAU STE MICHELLE RIESLING DOS EQUIS LAGER

Every Day $10.99 $19.99

SALE! $8.99 $17.99

TASTING GREAT RAFT BREWING: SOUTHERN DRAWL, CORRUPT, COMMOTION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 4-7PM AT OUR BROADWAY LOCATION. COME SEE US! WEDNESDAY IS WINE DAY 15% OFF • WINE CASE DISCOUNTS EVERY DAY • WE GLADLY MATCH ANY LOCAL ADS HURRY IN! THIS SALE EXPIRES OCTOBER 5, 2016 LITTLE ROCK: 10TH & MAIN • 501.374.0410 | NORTH LITTLE ROCK: 860 EAST BROADWAY • 501.374.2405 HOURS: LR • 8AM-10PM MON-THUR • 8AM-12PM FRI-SAT •NLR • MON-SAT 8AM-12PM

Arkansas Cornbread Festival

6th Annual Arkansas Cornbread Festival CARE for Animals

Paws in the Vineyard Go to CentralArkansasTickets.com to purchase these tickets!

LOCAL TICKETS, One Place

From your goin’ out friends at

814 West 7th Street Tattoo Shop: 501-372-6722 Open: Mon - Sat 1pm - 10pm

Salon: 501-374-3544 Open Mon-Sat 10am - 8pm

www.7thstreettattoos.com arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

29

RETCON, CONT.

AFTER DARK, CONT. with artists feeling unconfident about a certain result, you have to remember that everybody sees what you do as you doing it on purpose. So, go with that, and just don’t break character. They will take what you present as if you intentionally sculpted every moment that happened.

UNLIKELY PLACES: In support of “Solid States,” The Posies wanted to play secret or unusual spots for their fall tour, places where their “core fans could have [the band] to themselves, more or less.”

a contest to make the album art. In the past, we’ve had certain directives that we wanted in the artwork to convey specific things. The woman who submitted the winning entry — her name is Elena, she lives in Moscow — she didn’t pay any attention to any of my directives, she just submitted something that she liked.

It had relatively little to do with the themes that we wanted to present, and I think that’s why, for me, it’s a successful pairing. She brought in a little bit of a non sequitur that, when you start reading into it, isn’t a non sequitur at all but is actually very apt. Because it’s so perpendicular to our aspirations, it can only be successful. When we did something that was in line with our intentions, they captured that intention 50 percent or 40 percent or 75 percent of the time. Basi-

cally, varying degrees of failure … and I don’t mean the album. It reminded me that in many ways, art is about the juxtaposition of things. It’s about a reshuffling of the deck, not always just about your intentions. Sometimes your intention can work itself out, and you sort of, oh, what’s that word? ... Wait a second … it’s a great word … (makes thinking noises).

Give me a second. …. RETCON. We can retcon the intention, and say, “That was meant to accommodate that the whole time.” Basically, you do a revisionist history on your intentions. Before, we were always too literal, and being literal in art does not always serve you so well.

“Of course that’s what we meant to do.”

Yeah. With making musical decisions,

modern needle felting workshop saturday, October 15th

10am-12:30pm

for more information or to sign up, email info@bellavitajewelry.net 30

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

People have talked a lot about how you guys backed down on the guitars for “Solid States,” maybe because there’s so much emphasis on keyboards, but when it comes in, it comes in big, like the solo on “Definition.”

I had said to Jon when we started that I didn’t want any rhythm guitars. I didn’t want any guitars just strumming anywhere. I think those should all be replaced by guitars that are doing things, or keyboards that are doing things, and those things should be active. … There’s a similar one in “Radiant” that is maybe my favorite. It’s not what Jon turned in originally, and I was like, “Dude, no” — and this was pre-Prince’s death — I was like, “ ‘When Doves Cry.’ You have to take it to that level of rad.” And I think he did a great job … in my directive, a guitar solo has to earn its place to be there. Otherwise, there’s a panoply of samples and invented instruments that could occupy that space.

You’re shooting a movie in which you play yourself, but with emphasis on the “play,” you are ACTING as yourself, reliving parts of your life, but with this plot where you break down on tour and go into deep memory mode, not in that documentary sort of, “Yeah, here’s where I went to high school and where we used to smoke pot behind the bleachers” sort of way.

Exactly. It’s portrayal. I’m not even portraying myself, I’m portraying someone who’s pretty much just like me.

Because it’s a fictional film, we have the right to tweak the facts wherever we see fit. It’s about as much of a documentary as “Being John Malkovich” is a documentary about John Malkovich, which is a comedic fantasy about the idea of famous people and how much being famous has its own life beyond the control of the celebrity. In my case, not being a celebrity, this film is more about someone in a very interesting set of circumstances, which my life is.

See the full interview at arktimes.com/ stringfellow. The Posies play with Frankie Siragusa on drums and special guest Sarah Stricklin on vocals at Capitol View Studio, 120 S. Cross St., at 8 p.m. Sept. 29. Tickets start at $17.50 (plus a ticket fee of $1.96) and are available at capitolviewstudio.com/ events.

Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.

Lit tle Rock Farmer s’ Market. River Market pavilions, 7 a.m. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info.

Pork & Bourbon Tour. Bike tour includes bic ycle, guide, helmet s and maps.

Bobby’s Bike Hike, 11:30 a.m., $35-$45.

400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.

FILM

Conway Film Festival. Lantern Theatre, 7 p.m., free. 1021 Van Ronkle, Conway.

501-733- 6220. w w w.conwayar ts.org/ index.html.

POETRY

Lattes & Lit. Kollective Coffee & Tea, first Saturday of every month, 6 p.m., free. 110 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-701-4000.

SPORTS

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Alcorn State. 11 a.m., War Memorial Stadium. 1 Stadium Drive. 501-663-0775. arkansasrazorbacks. com.

SUNDAY, OCT. 2

MUSIC

“ B e e r a n d H y m n s .” Diamond Bear Brewing, 7 p.m. 600 N. Broadway St., NLR. 501-708-2739. www.diamondbear.com.

Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs. com.

Stardust Big Band. Arlington Hotel, 3 p.m., $10. 239 Central Ave., Hot Springs.

501-623-7771.

EVENTS

Be r n ice G a r d e n Fa r m e r ’s M a r ke t .

Bernice Garden, 10 a.m. 1401 S. Main St. www.thebernicegarden.org.

C a m p A l d e r s g a te Fi s h Fr y. C am p Aldersgate, 12 p.m., $15. 2000 Aldersgate Road.

FILM

“Hamilton’s America.” A screening of the documentary about the Broadway musical, followed by a concert and panel discussion with Rodney Block and Epiphany Morrow. Pulaski Technical College, 2 p.m., free. 3000 W. Scenic Drive, NLR. pulaskitech.edu/CHARTS.

SPORTS

UA LR Tr o j a n s v s . A r k a n s a s St a te.

Volleyball. UALR, 1 p.m. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-569-8977. lrtrojans.com.

MONDAY, OCT. 3

MUSIC

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs. com.

Open Mic. The Lobby Bar. Studio Theatre, 8 p.m. 320 W. 7th St. Ra Ra Riot. With Brothers + Company.

Revolution, 8 p.m., $13-$15. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

OUT IN ARKANSAS

CLASSES

Scottish Country Dance Classes. Park Hill Presbyterian Church, through Dec. 5: 7 p.m., $60. 3520 JFK Blvd., NLR. arkansasscottishcountrydancing.com/.

TUESDAY, OCT. 4

MUSIC

Anderson East. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $15-$18. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501823-0090. revroom.com.

August Burns Red. With ERRA, Make Them Suffer, Silent Planet. Clear Channel Metroplex, 7:30 p.m., $18. 10800 Col. Glenn Road. 501-217-5113. metroplexlive.com.

Bonnie Whitmore. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $5. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. whitewatertavern.com.

Cherub. With Fendship and Boo Seeka.

George’s Majestic Lounge, 8:30 p.m., $23. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479442-4226. georgesmajesticlounge.com.

Elisso Bolkvadze. As part of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s River Rhapsodies Chamber concerts. William J. Clinton Presidential Library, 7 p.m., $10-$23. 1200 Clinton Avenue. 501-374-4242. arkansassymphony.org.

Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. Jef f Ling. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www. khalilspub.com.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550. willydspianobar.com/prost-2.

Karaoke Tuesdays. On the patio. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 7:30 p.m., free. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs. com.

COMEDY

“Punch Line” Stand-Up Comedy. Hosted

by Brett Ihler. The Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

EVENTS

Lit tle Rock Farmer s’ Market. River Market pavilions, 7 a.m. 400 President Clinton Ave. 375-2552. www.rivermarket.info.

National Night Out at Central High.

Central High School, 5 p.m., free. 2120 West Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive.

Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www.beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5

MUSIC

Brian and Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m.

2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com.

Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North

Growing equality

us for the next five to 10 years,” Hartman says. “Hopefully this will be a model that other LGBTQ organizations across the nation can emulate.”

NWA center looks to the future with census, Having concrete demographic data would not just be a first for Northwest outreach and more.

Arkansas, but also Arkansas and the South, and it would allow the center to

BY SETH ELI BARLOW target its fundraising efforts. With the hiring of a full-time executive director, and the existing board of directors en years after its formation, the placent. “Our work is far from done. shifting from a managerial to a goverNorthwest Arkansas Center for The issues of quality of life are still the nance role, fundraising is important to same as they were before the ruling.”

Equality continues to grow unthe center’s growth. der the leadership of its first full-time Hartman wants the center to be a Hartman has big employee, Executive Director Susan Hartplans for ways in man. which she’d like to For Hartman, nonsee the center grow. profit work has been Its two year-round a lifelong calling. She programs, a series of previously worked in peer support groups areas of domestic vioand NWA Hope, an lence awareness, hunHIV education and ger relief and suicide testing program, are prevention. “I’ve always popular, but Hartman would like to been drawn to commusee the formation nity service and activism,” she says. “I had of a diversity busiover 30 years’ nonprofit ness association that would showexperience, and I finally wanted to bring that to case LGBTQ-owned my own community in businesses as well as my own hometown.” employers who are NEW DIRECTOR AND BOARD CHAIR: Susan Hartman is the NW Arkansas Center The center traces its for Equality’s first full-time employee; John Forrest Ales is president of the board looking for a more roots to the Northwest of directors. diverse workforce, Arkansas Gay, Lesbian, along with more programing for LGBTQ youth and Bisexual and Transgender Commuresource for community members who nity Center, a grassroots organization are looking to build networks and put senior citizens in the area.

The center’s tent pole program, the that focused on local advocacy, and, in down roots. “Northwest Arkansas is 2015, merged with Northwest Arkansas a community that had has a variety of annual pride celebration in June, has Pride, the organization responsible for responses to the LGBTQ community grown from 200 participants in 2007 the pride parade and celebration held as a whole, but we still face a lack of to almost 5,000 in 2015. “Pride really each June. understanding and fear, and even hate enables us to have a constant visibilin the community,” she says. “There’s Hartman says reinvigorating the ity to the greater Northwest Arkansas still a powerful need for our work, but organization is one of her primary community. It reminds people that the missions. She’s proud of the fact that we have to be strategic in how we go LGBTQ community is a solid compothe center has survived 10 years, a rare about it.” nent of this area,” Hartman says. “I perA large part of that strategy will be feat in the world of LGBTQ nonprofits, sonally would like to create programbut knows that to stay meaningful the informed by NWA LGBTQ Next, the ming that gives people a reason to stay in center has to change with the commucenter’s new census program, which Northwest Arkansas. We want LGBTQ nity. “We’re an organization that’s got aims to take the first-ever census of Arkansas to know that they don’t have to to keep growing and changing,” she says. the LGBTQ community in Benton and leave home to experience a great quality of life.”

“With the huge population increase in Washington counties. “We want to meet Northwest Arkansas, the size of our the needs of our community as well as The Center’s next event will be community has increased proportionwe possibly can, but first we need to Northwest Arkansas Equality Night, ally. From [2006] to now, we’re seeing understand just who our community which it will co-host with the Unian ever-increasing level of diversity in is and what their needs actually are,” versity of Arkansas Alumni Associawho our community members are. We Hartman says. The census will begin tion’s PRIDE Alumni Society. The have diversity in age, in income, careers, in October, with results to be Nov. 11 fundraiser will feature Emmy award-winning in lifestyles — singles, married, raispublished in December. Along ing children, in race and nationality. with an online survey and canactor and playwright LesIt’s our job at the center to make sure vasing, the project will include lie Jordan, who’ll give the that every segment can call us home.” at least two town hall meetkeynote address. Tickets for Now that same-sex marriage is legal, ings and one-on-one interthe event range from $30 to Hartman believes it is important that views hosted by the center. $50 and can be purchased at the community does not become com“This project will really guide nwaequality.org.

T

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

31

Fine Wine. Fine Food. Fine Art.

Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of

7-8, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Oc t. 9, 2:30 p.m.,

every month. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR.

$5-$10. 170 Ravine St., Hot Springs. pock-

The Grannies, The Upper Crust, Frontier

M a x we l l B l a d e Fe s t i v a l o f M a g i c .

W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. whitewatertavern.com.

Shawn Farquhar, Michael Finney, Glen Yost, Ava Byers, Scott Davis, Derrick Rose,

Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave.

Jonathan Erlandsson, Paul Prater and

501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteak-

Tommy Whoo. Downtown Hot Springs,

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m.

110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

PULASKI TECHNICAL COLLEGE CENTER FOR HUMANITIES AND ARTS 3000 WEST SCENIC DRIVE / NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR 72118 HONORING Donnie Cook – President, Bank of America AND FEATURING Brad Cushman – Studio Artist, Curator and Art Educator Harry and Tifany Hamlin / Artissimo! Chairs

TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT WWW.PULASKITECH.EDU/ART

Performance Hall, UCA, Mon., Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m., $27-$35. 350 S. Donaghey,

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton

Conway. uca.edu.

Spamalot. Arkansas Repertory Theatre,

Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.

through Oct. 1: Wed., Thu., Sun., 7 p.m.;

com.

Fri., Sat., 8 p.m., $30-$55. 601 Main St.

Melanie Martinez. With Handsome Ghost.

501-378-0405. therep.org.

Clear Channel Metroplex, 8 p.m., $30.

“Twelfth Night.” An Arkansas Shakespeare

10800 Col. Glenn Road. 501-217-5113.

Theater production. Lantern Theatre, Fri.,

metroplexlive.com.

Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl,

Sept. 30, 7 p.m.; Oct. 1-2, 2 p.m., $15.

1021 Van Ronkle, Conway. 501-733-6220. arkshakes.com.

7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

“ Tw e l ve A n g r y M e n .” Dire c te d by

RockUsaurus. Senor Tequila, 7 p.m. 10300

Jamie Scott Blakely and Drew Ellis. The

COMEDY 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-2285555. loonybincomedy.com.

The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group.

The Joint, 8 p.m., $8. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372- 0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

DANCE Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th and Cleveland streets. 501350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

POETRY Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show. Kollective Coffee & Tea, 7 p.m., free. 110 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501321-0909. maxineslive.com/shows.html.

ARTS

THEATER “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” Arkansas Arts Center, through Oct. 9: Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m., $10-$12.50. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. arkansasartscenter.org. “ C r a v i n g G r a v y.” Pre s e n te d by ArkansasStaged. 21c Hotel, Sun., Oct. 2, 7 p.m., $3. 200 N.E. A St., Bentonville.

479-286-6500.

“Exit Laughing.” A play by Paul Elliott.

Pocket Community Theater, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 2, 2:30 p.m.; Oct. ARKANSAS TIMES

tivalofmagic.com.

“O nce:” The Mu s ic al. Reynolds

free. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-6398.

John Tole. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., $8.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Se pt. 3 0 - Oc t. 2, $10 -$275. Central Avenue, Hot Springs. maxwellbladefes-

Karaoke. MUSE Ultra Lounge, 8:30 p.m.,

N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-224-5505.

32

Featuring magicians Ariann Black, Daryl,

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak

room.com.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25 / 5:30 - 8 P.M.

ettheatre.com.

Circus. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500

Weekend Theater, through Oct. 1: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Thu., Sept. 29, 7:30 p.m., $12-$16. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-374-3761. weekendtheater.org.

NEW IN THE GALLERIES, ART EVENTS

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: Talk by Mangue Banzima, fashion blogger, 6 p.m. Sept. 29, reception earlier at 5:30 p.m., free to members, $10 nonmembers; “Jon Schueler: Weathering Skies,” abstract paintings and watercolors, through Oct. 16; “Cut, Pieced and Stitched: Denim Drawings by Jim Arendt,” through Oct. 23; WilliamAdolphe Bouguereau’s “Admiration,” loan from the San Antonio Museum of Art. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000.

MCLEOD FINE ART GALLERY, 108 W. 6th St.: “Home is Where the Art Is,” designed spaces by Adam Smith furnished by White Goat, Lucas Strack and gallery artwork, reception 5-8 p.m.

Sept. 29. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 725-8508.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: “WAR-TOYS: Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip,” photographs interpreting children’s artwork by Brian McCarty, through Oct. 20; “Arkansas Women to Watch: Organic Matters,” work by Sandra Luckett, Katherine Rutter, Dawn Holder and Melissa Wilkinson, through Oct. 20; talk by Wilkinson 6 p.m. Sept.

29, talk by Holder 6 p.m. Oct. 5, talk by Luckett 6 p.m. Oct. 23, all in Fine Arts Center room 157. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. Sun. BENTONVILLE THE TRUTH BOOTH, Lawrence Park Ice Rink and Splash Park: Giant inflatable sculpture in the shape of a speech bubble in which people may record their responses to the prompt “The Truth Is …,” sponsored by the Cause Collective, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 4.

CONWAY “ARTSFEST”: 10th annual citywide arts festival, visual and performing art events through Oct. 1, including “Campsite No. 1,” public art installation by Kristen Spickard, 6-8 p.m. Sept.

29, Laurel Park Pavilion, 2310 Robinson Ave.; “An Evening of Art, Music and Poetry,” with artwork by B.J. Abrams and Wy Hawk, 7 p.m. Sep. 30; Arkansas Arts Center Artmobile, 10 a.m.

Oct. 1, Simon Park; “Art in the Park,” family activities, 10 a.m. Oct. 1; “Conway League of Artists’ Fall Show,” 1 p.m. Oct. 1, Faulkner County Library; “Painting and Pizza,” 6 p.m. Oct. 1. Full schedule at artsinconway.org.

EL DORADO SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. Fifth St.: “Contraption Series,” 23 large-scale watercolors by Kathryn B. Phillips, closing reception 6-8 p.m.

Sept. 30. 870-862-5474.

FAYETTEVILLE GEORGE DOMBEK STUDIO, 844 Blue Springs Road: “Open Studio and Fall Gallery,” recent paintings and works on glass by George Dombek, 1-6 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 30. 479-442-8976.

NEW IN THE MUSEUMS ROGERS ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. 2nd St.: “A House in Mourning,” Oct. 1-Nov. 6, Hawkins House; “A Victorian Funeral,” 7-9 p.m. Oct. 6-8 and 14-15, Hawkins House; “Let Us Pray: Rogers’ Early Churches.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon. and Wed.-Sat., 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tue., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-621-1154.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

The Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas is accepting entries for its juried exhibition “Bayou Bartholomew” through Oct. 1. For more information, go to www.asc701.org/ bayou-bartholomew-in-focus.

The Downtown Little Rock Partnership is inviting amateur digital photographers to submit their best photograph of Little Rock to the DPLR for its first “Alley Party” on Oct. 20. Winners will have their photos displayed at the party. Deadline to submit is Oct. 14.

Instagram, Snapchat, iPhone shots and other digital shots by amateurs are welcome. For more information, call 3750121.

The Central Arkansas Library System is seeking a qualified artist to create a permanent, non-figurative outdoor artwork for the Thompson Library at 38 Rahling Circle. The work should represent the late Central High valedictorian Roosevelt Thompson’s love of learning and public service. Budget for the project is $45,000; deadline to submit a model and other information about the sculpture is Nov. 1. For more information and the Request for Proposals form, contact Colin Thompson, colint@ cals.org, at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.

The Arkansas Arts Council is accepting applications for Arts in Education Mini Grants and Arts for Lifelong Learning Mini Grants, residency programs, through August 2017. Artists must match the grant award of $1,000 with either cash or an in-kind contribution.

For more information, go to the Available Grants section of arkansasarts.org.

The Arkansas Arts Council is seeking

nominations for the 2017 Arkansas Living Treasure Award, which recognizes a craftsperson who has significantly contributed to the preservation of the art form. Deadline for nominations is Oct. 21. Nomination forms are available at Arkansasarts.org or by calling 324-9766. For more information, call Robin Muse McClea at 324-9348 or email her at robin.mcclea@arkansas. gov.

The Argenta branch of the William F. Laman Library invites Arkansas art teachers to enter the 2nd annual Juried Arkansas Art Teacher Exhibition, to be held Nov. 18-Dec. 10 at the library.

Guy Bell, artist and owner of Drawl Gallery, will be juror. Deadline to apply is Oct. 28. Cash prizes will be awarded.

For information on how to enter, email Rachel Trusty at rachel.trusty@lamanlibrary.org.

Wildwood Park for the Arts invites printmakers to submit works with a theme of nature for the February 2017 “Nature in Print” exhibit. Deadline to submit proposals online is Dec. 1. Find more information at wildwoodpark.org/ art.

ONGOING GALLERY EXHIBITS

ARGENTA GALLERY/ROCK CITY WERKS, 413 Main St., NLR: “Raices Mexicanas,” work by Luis Atilano, Luis Arellano, Martin Flores, Mark Clark, Gustavo Lira Garcia, Anthony Samuel Lopez, Rolando Quintero, Alan Rodriguez, Luis Saldana, Sergio Valdivia, Sabrina Zarco and X3mex, through Oct. 1 (AG); also work by Michelle Moore, Debby Hinson, Doug Gorrell, Sheree King, Kimberly Leonard Bingman, Theresa Cates, Vickie Hendrix Siebenmorgen, Ed Pennebaker, Nancy McGraw, Hannah & May pottery. (RCW). 11 a.m.5:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 258-8991.

BOSWELL MOUROT FINE ART, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: New works on paper

by Anais Dasse. 664-0030.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: ACANSA Arts Festival Pop-Up Gallery, Concordia Hall, through September, “Arkansas League of Artists,” juried show, through Oct. 22; “From the Vault,” work from the Central Arkansas Library’s permanent collection, including works by Win Bruhl, Evan Lindquist, Shep Miers, Gene Hatfield, Ray Khoo and Jerry Phillips, through Oct. 22. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Always Coming Home,” new paintings by John Wooldridge, through Oct. 29. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 2241335.

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: “Last Glimpses of Authentic Polaroid Art,” photography by Brandon Markin, Darrell Adams, Lynn Frost, Rachel Worthen and Rita Henry, through September. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-noon Fri., 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun. 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.

GALLERY 221, 2nd and Center Sts.: “Resurrecting Memories,” paintings by Sean LeCrone, through October; also 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.

25 YEARS OF FAMILY FUN & FRIGHT!

T A E R T & k c i Tr

Y L I M A F R U YO time!

to a great OCT. 22-31

For Tickets: LittleRockZoo.com/Boo

Tickets available at CENTRALARKANSASTICKETS.COM

arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

33

Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’

BREADMASTER ASHTON WOODWARD has closed Arkansas Fresh Cafe just short of its second birthday in Bryant. On the cafe’s Facebook page, under a picture of a delicious-looking sandwich you can no longer get, is a note from Woodward saying, “We’ve had a great run, and deeply appreciate the support from our loyal patrons over the past years.” Still, wipe your tears. Woodward will keep turning out some of the best bread around at his Arkansas Fresh Bakery, which supplies several restaurants — including the hamburger buns at Big Orange and sandwich bread at @ the Corner — and chocolates at Cocoa Rouge, available at Eggshells Kitchen Co., Mylo Coffee Co. and elsewhere.

SO MUCH PIZZA news, so little space in the Arkansas Times to get it all in. Here’s the latest, though: Hideaway Pizza will come out of hiding on Oct. 10 when it opens its first Arkansas restaurant at 5103 N. Warden Road in North Little Rock. It’s Hideaway’s first venture out of Oklahoma, where the restaurant is known for its Sooner Schooner, a pie that features hamburger, bacon, sausage, roasted garlic, green chiles, red onions and mozzarella.

No word on whether the schooner will get its own Arkansas name, like the Razorback Roadster. According to the announcement of the opening, the restaurant will collaborate with an Arkansas chef to design a local pie as part of the company’s 60th anniversary celebration in March 2017. The Arkansas touches at opening will include craft beers from Core Brewing, Diamond Bear Brewing Co., Lost Forty Brewing and Stone’s Throw Brewing, as well as a 4-by-24-foot collage created from photos submitted by local folks.

There will be a full bar, too, in the 186-seat, 6,700-square-foot restaurant.

Pie Five Pizza Co. opened this week at 10800 Bass Pro Parkway, and to celebrate its opening Pie Five is publicizing the work of The Call, the Christian organization that helps place foster children. The new Pie Five location is the second in Arkansas; the first opened in Benton and another is scheduled to open in Rogers. Rob Byford is the franchisee. Pie Five is not for the indecisive: Diners can order from 28 toppings, seven sauces and four made-from-scratch crusts. You can also get a Circle of Crust award card, which includes a free pie on “your half birthday.”

Also recently opened: Blaze Pizza, in Little Rock and Conway. The Blaze name refers to the speediness of its pizza delivery.

It operates assembly-line style, with diners choosing the toppings for what Blaze calls “quick-fired” pizza. The wait is only a few minutes. Blaze is in the Conway Commons at 455 Elsinger Blvd. and the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

BIG APPETITE REQUIRED: The Alambres plate is, like many dishes at El Paisano, loaded to the edges.

The real deal Donald Trump would hate El Paisano.

W

hen you talk about Mexican cuisine in Central Arkansas it’s important to be clear about definitions. Are we talking about new-wave taco joints that serve up fried chicken and pickles wrapped in flour tortillas? Are we talking about your middle-of-the-road chains that churn out combo platters on hot plates? Or are we talking about the real deal?

What is the real deal? The real deal is a little off the beaten path. The real deal may or may not be attached to a grocery store. The real deal is decked out with bright green and orange walls. The real deal has televisions set to Spanishlanguage soap operas.

El Paisano, just off of Camp Robinson Road in North Little Rock, is the real deal.

Start with the guacamole. A small bowl will run you $3.99, but it was more

than two of us could finish off. It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s chunky, filled with hunks of un-mushed avocado, diced tomato and chopped onions. It’s got plenty of cilantro and is punched up with lime. Its cool and creamy texture is a nice complement to the spicy hot homemade salsa that comes gratis with nicely fried and salted chips.

El Paisano is serious about portion size. Our dinner platters were hearty and came packed to the edges. The Bistek Ranchero ($8.99) was a standout.

Thin sheets of grilled skirt steak came surrounded by rice, pinto beans, grilled green onions, a huge grilled jalapeno, cactus slices, lime halves and — best of all — a hunk, yes a hunk, of cotija cheese.

There was some shredded lettuce and pico de gallo, too. It’s served with a side of hot flour or corn tortillas (we chose flour). We figured the way to go was to

just cut everything up and stuff it in the tortillas. That worked. You get a great combination of textures and flavors, all warm, spicy and comforting.

The Pollo Ala Mexicana ($8.99) was a little underwhelming but only in comparison to the bistek. It’s solid enough, grilled chicken mixed with sauteed green peppers and onions. The dish comes with refried beans, rice and sliced avocado (which is a nice touch that looks great, too). It’s worth mentioning that El Paisano has some of the best rice around. Long grains, not greasy and not dry either, with a really subtle saffron flavor. This is a good plate; it just wasn’t our favorite.

The Alambres ($8.99) was another winner, but you had better be hungry if you want to get anywhere near finishing this plate. It’s sauteed steak and chorizo (mixed with plenty of seasoning), topped with shredded cheese and flanked with rice and beans. A side of tortillas helps you make headway on this one, but you’ll probably have some to take home. The spicy and warm chorizo coats the steak and really gives you

BELLY UP

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

STANDOUT: Just cut up the Bistek Ranchero and stuff into tortillas for a great meal.

something tasty to chew on.

Whether we’re at a taco truck or at a sit-down establishment like El Paisano, it’s difficult for us to order a torta.

It’s just not our thing. However, sometimes you just have to push yourself past your comfort zone, and we’re glad we did here. The torta ($5.99) comes absolutely loaded with your choice of meat (we went with the al pastor, which is ground and seasoned pork), lettuce, tomato, mayo, avocado and jalapeno.

These ingredients just work. The mayo cools out the jalapeno, the lettuce provides a nice crunch, there was plenty of meat and the bread was amazing. This all comes inside a sandwich roll that’s been buttered and grilled. It’s downright heavenly (and huge).

You can’t go to a place like this and not order tacos. We tried a couple.

The al pastor and asada tacos ($1.99 each) were great. They’re small, but the meat’s stacked high and each comes with two fluffy and soft corn tortillas, so once again there’s a lot of bang for your buck. There are more adventurous offerings, including tongue and pork belly. The steak was nicely

seasoned meat and not dry or tough.

Everything we ordered — including on a return trip at lunch — was solid. It’s nofrills, downright good food. The service is friendly and you get more than what you pay for. As an added bonus, Donald Trump would absolutely hate this place.

If this is the kind of food we can expect when there are #tacotrucksoneverycorner, then sign us up.

BOOK YOUR EVENT OR PARTY TODAY!

El Paisano

406 W. 47th St. North Little Rock 501-812-5693 QUICK BITE We mentioned the tacos but we didn’t mention the taco. The Taco Loco ($1.99) is probably one of the best tacos we’ve ever had — taco truck, restaurant, wherever.

It’s steak, chorizo, melted cheese, a dash of pico, a slice of avocado. Ask for some hot sauce (green and red both) to throw on top and you’ve got yourself a winner.

It comes wrapped in a warm flour tortilla and is absolutely delicious.

HOURS 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

OTHER INFO Credit cards accepted. Beer by the bottle.

There’s a grocery store next door.

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

35

HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS october

Hot Tickets in Hot Springs For a complete calendar of events, visit hotsprings.org.

SIXTH ANNUAL HOT WATER HILLS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL - Low Key Arts is hosting the Hot Water Hills Music & Arts Festival for its sixth year at Hill Wheatley Plaza in downtown Hot Springs September 30th and October 1st. HotWater Hills has earned a reputation for bringing some of the best musical talent from around the world to Hot Springs and showcasing it in a family-friendly atmosphere that festival-goers of any age can enjoy. This year’s musical offerings will keep with the yearly tradition of kicking off the weekend with a Friday night performance by the Arkansas School for Sad Daddy Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts’student Folk Ensemble.

Friday night’s festivities will be headlined by Arkansas-based Sad Daddy, “a southern soul stew of original folk, jug band and Americana roots music,” who just released their first new album in six years, Fresh Catch. Saturday’s performances will kick off with the Spa City Youngbloods, the Spa City Blues Society’s “Blues in the Schools” band. Saturday night will be headlined by Sinkane, a Brooklyn-based Sudanese musician whose music Pitchfork describes as “an appealing mix of Afropop rhythms and dance music’s slinkier tendencies.”In addition the Hot Water Hills will showcase some of the best independent

THE HOTEL HOT SPRINGS & SPA is conveniently located steps away from downtown & attached to the Hot Springs Convention center. You will be in the epicenter of downtown Hot Springs with the upcoming Hot Water Hills Music Festival September 30-October 1st and the 25th Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, October 7-16th.

Make your reservations today @ www.hotelhotsprings.org.

MAXWELL BLADE’S FESTIVAL OF MAGIC @ Maxwell Blade’s Theatre of Magic & The Hot Springs Convention Center. September 30-October 2nd. A three day festival of magic featuring some of the best magicians in the world. Including: stage magic close up magic street magic Tickets: $10 $15 $25 Check us out at Maxwell Blade’s Festival of Magic.

MAXINE’S LIVE PRESENTS THE CORDOVAS, OCTOBER 14TH, 700 CENTRAL AVENUE. In the past three months, Cordovas have been on a U.S. tour spanning 50+ dates. The Cordovas are Joe Firstman, Lucca Soria, Jon Loyd and Graham Spillman. Out of Nashville, TN, Cordovas’sound is based in harmony, song, 36 SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 36 SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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music from here in Arkansas and across the region. Indie rockers Bonus, funk-pop showman Ronnie Heart, and hip hop ensemble Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe help to round out an eclectic mix of entertaining acts. The festival offers more than just great music. There’s plenty for the whole family to enjoy. Emergent Arts will host a children’s interactive art fair complete with workshops and a huge paint-by-numbers mural. There will be a reallife Minecraft adventure for kids in the “Cardboard City” where kids can build and explore their own cardboard structures. The best food trucks in Hot Springs will be on hand to serve up food, and there will be plenty of beer, wine and soft drinks. Painter Bethanie Newsom Steelman will debut new paintings. The portable Cat & Mouse Parade gallery will be on hand with a new show, “Roadkill.” Browse and buy original works of art at the Art and Retro Rummage Fair. Face painting, cake walks, piles of hay bales to climb on - everything Hot Springs has come to expect from Hot Water Hills and more.

For more information visit hotwaterhills.com. To learn how you can volunteer contact Low Key Arts at hill@lowkeyarts.com.

and musicianship. Firstman released two albums on Atlantic Records in the early 2000s, including the acclaimed “War of Women.”“Baby Genius,” 23-year-old songsmith, Des Moines’ Lucca Soria, sings and plays guitar. The keyboardist, Jon Loyd, is an original Cordova from Macon, GA. Loyd’s high notes and piano style make the sound unforgettable and recognizable.

His musical genius is well known in Nashville circles. Redondo Beach, California’s Graham Spillman is on drums.The 25-year-old Berklee College of Music dropout also sings and pens tunes for the group. The band spent the past winter in Baja Mexico writing and demoing songs for their latest album produced

by two-time Grammy nominee Kenneth Pattengale of The Milk Carton Kids, which will be released this summer. Jamie Ruben, Nashville legend and owner of the storied music venue Family Wash, says of the band,“They’re fantastic! Beautiful and real music, a rarity these days.”

THE ARLINGTON RESORT HOTEL & SPA, OCTOBER 7-OCTOBER 16TH will be a

host sponsor for the 25th Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The Arlington will be a venue for the oldest nonfiction film festival in North America. Make your reservations at the Arlington to enjoy 10 days of more than 100 documentary films plus parties, events and celebrity guests. The Arlington is the largest hotel in Arkansas and has been hosting guests Original live music every weekend. as one of the South’s premiere resorts since Burlesque shows once a month.

1875. Their grand hotel lobby and famous bar features live music Thursday-Saturday.

Check out our website for more details.

The Arlington has everything you would Mon - Thur 3pm to 3am. • Fri 12pm to 3am. want in a historic hotel with their top-rated Sat 12pm to 2am. • Sun 12pm to 12am.

Hot Springs Spa and Salon and Thermal Located at 700 Central Ave. Hot Springs National Park, AR 71901 Bathhouse where you will bathe in the www.maxineslive.com famous mineral waters of the“hot springs’. www.arlingtonhotel.com

CRAFT BEER CELLAR GRAND OPENING, OCTOBER 1ST. Craft Beer Cellar’s new retail craft beer bottle shop and taproom, located at 120 Ouachita Avenue, will open to the public at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 1. Craft Beer Cellar offers an intimate taproom setting, featuring a selection of 24 drafts and over 400 different bottled and canned craft beers in their bottle shop. Craft Beer Cellar Hot Springs aspires to bring you the most amazing local, regional, US and international craft beers available in the market. The grand opening day will include a free gift bag with specialty Craft Beer Cellar items to the first 100 customers, tastings from Lagunitas, Lost Forty, and Superior Bathhouse Brewery, beer trivia, complementary food, and a raffle for a chance to win a Yeti cooler filled with good beer surprises.

HOT SPRINGS OKTOBERFEST, OCTOBER 14-15TH. Friday 6-10 p.m. and Saturday 4-10 p.m. This will be the second year that the Hot Springs Oktoberfest has returned to Hill Wheatley Plaza in downtown Hot Springs! All proceeds for this year’s Hot Springs Oktoberfest benefit The Faces Foundation, a non-profit organization.

To learn more about The Faces Foundation visit www.fixfaces.org. Come enjoy authentic Bavarian beer and cuisine as well as other family friendly fun and entertainment.

25TH ANNUAL HOT SPRINGS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL. OCTOBER 7-16TH. A 10-day all-walk festival, makes its home in one of the most unique destinations of the American South, the Historic Spa City of Hot Springs, with all screenings and parties held within easy walking distance. Known for its eccentric charm and unbeatable hospitality, the city of Hot Springs is an ideal place to mix and mingle with industry professionals, filmmakers, and celebrity guests far from the intensity of the Hollywood scene.

Each October, film-lovers and filmmakers gather to immerse themselves in more than 100 of the best international features and shorts the documentary world has to offer, and to attend unforgettable events and parties. Through its 25 year history, Hot Springs has hosted many of the greats in documentary film and is known for its warmth and hospitality to filmmakers. Check us out online at www. hsdfi.org For more information call 501538-0452 or email info@hsdfi.org. Ticket Pricing (see websites for descriptions

That’s the kind of history made in Hot Springs every day.

Oktoberfest passes are $10 for 21+ and $5 for ages 20 and younger. Children under 12 get in free! Kids activities this year will include face painting and other fun activities provided by the Garland County Library,Magic Springs and Crystal Falls, and Mid-America Science Museum! Local food vendors who will be joining Hot Springs Oktoberfest this year include itz gůd füd, Knights of Columbus Brat Wagon, Loblolly Creamery,Mug Shots Express, Pop’s Kettle Corn, and Steinhaus

and inclusions/exclusions). All-Access Pass $250.00 (+$14.74 FEE), FilmBuff Pass $150.00 (+$9.24 FEE), Student Pass $50.00 (+$3.74FEE),DayPass$25.00 (+$2.37 FEE), General Admission $8.00 (+$1.43 FEE), Opening Night, Friday, October 7th/ Command and Control $40.00 (+$3.19 FEE), Closing Night, Saturday, October

15th/Ed Asner/ My Friend Ed/Delta Blues $40.00 (+$3.19 FEE), Rocky Horror Picture Show/ Barry Bostwick VIP Experience, Friday, October 14th $40.00 (+$3.19 FEE), Rocky Horror Picture Show/ Barry Bostwick Special Event Ticket, Friday, October 14th $25.00 (+$2.37 FEE), THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK - THE TOURING YEARS/ October 15th/1:30 PM $11.00 (+$1.60 FEE)

HotSprings.org • 1-888-SPA-CITY

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Keller. Also be sure to check out vendors Prohibition Press, Regine Skrydon, Craft Beer Cellar Hot Springs.

Featured music will include accordion soloist Nermin Begovic and Spa City Polka! Also be sure to join this year’s Oktoberfest 3K Fun Run, visit this link to sign up! https://runsignup.com/Race/AR/HotSpringsNationalPark/HotSpringsOktoberfest3K.

TACO MONDAYS AND FAN ZONE FOOTBALL season is back and Oaklawn has everything fans need to watch the big game. Football related promotions include: Oaklawn Fan Zone, featuring food and drink specials throughout the gaming area; Gridiron Challenge, where guests earn points on their Winners Circle card to qualify for the challenge and earn Free Play; and Taco Mondays, where guests can enjoy the Monday night game in Lagniappe’s with a delicious taco meal when they earn only 10 points on their Winners Circle Card!

THE INSIDE TRACK GRILL & SPORTS LOUNGE located in the newly renovated Hotel Hot Springs and Spa is a destination for locals and hotel guests alike. The Inside Track will WOW you with 40 Television screens, 20 Draft Beer Selection, a Craft Specialty Drink list and a unique take on sports bar food. Open Daily 11 a.m.-12 a.m.

Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7 p.m. Check out the Lobby Bar offering locals and guests an elegant atmosphere to unwind in after a busy day. The Lobby Bar has a great wine list along with craft and specialty martinis and manhattans. www.hotelhotsprings.org

GALLERY WALK @ LOCAL ART GALLERIES - A 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.

THE POCKET THEATRE PRESENTS “EXIT LAUGHING” @ THE POCKET THEATRE, 170 Ravine St. September 30-October 9. When the biggest highlight in your life for the past 30 years has been your weekly bridge night out with the “girls,” what do you do when one of your foursome inconveniently dies?

$15,000 FRIGHT NIGHT FUNHOUSE, OCTOBER 21. Join Oaklawn’s Scare Squad for the $15,000 Fright Night Funhouse drawing Friday. Oaklawn closes out the month of thrills with a Halloween celebration on Monday, October 31.

Guests will enjoy live music, Free Play drawings and drink specials.

BOB NEWHART Oaklawn’s Summer Concert Series will wrap up on Friday, October 14 with its first comedy performance when Bob Newhart takes the Finish Line Theater stage. As a stand-up comedian, Bob Newhart explored the absurdities of everyday life with an underplayed delivery and gentle stammer that earned him three Grammys and the first comedy album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Call 1-800-OAKLAWN or visit www.

Oaklawn.com to purchase tickets.

Guests must be 21 to attend.

$30,000 INSANE ALL-TERRAIN GIVEAWAY. Win a brand-new allterrain vehicle just in time for fall at the $30,000 Insane All-Terrain Giveaway where three guests will take home their very own all-terrain vehicle, plus — chances to win Free Play. Start earning entries as early as October 1.

SCARYOKE. Every Wednesday in Silks Bar and Grill from 7–11 p.m. (beginning September 28) Oaklawn will host SCARY-OKE! Enjoy half priced drinks and sing your heart out in the karaoke with a chance to win cash prizes and including a grand prize of $2,500 at the finals on Wednesday, October 26.

Event CALENDAR

Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 1

SEPTEMBER 29

SusanErwin@Pop’sLounge,Oaklawn,6-10 Mayday by Midnight @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

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

SEPTEMBER 30 Jeff Hartzell @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Mayday by Midnight @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington

OCTOBER 2 Itinerant Locals @ Game Room Floor, Oaklawn, 6-10

MOV IES AT T H E ARLINGTON

The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa is proud to be the Host Sponsor and Headquarters Make your reservations NOW for one of America’s most unique and honored film festivals. The oldest non-fiction film festival in North America.

Ten great days and more than 100 documentary films plus parties, special events and celebrity guests.

Film Festival Special Rate

95

$

plus tax

Standard Room, Per Night, Double or Single Occupancy

4HE

!RLINGTON 2 % 3 / 2 4 ( / 4 % , 3 0!

4 ( % ( % ! 2 4 / & ( ) 3 4 / 2 ) # ( / 4 3 0 2 ) . ' 3 . !4 ) / . ! , 0! 2 +

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16 For Reservations: 800.643.1502 / 501.609.2533 s reservations@arlingtonhotel.com 38 SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 38 SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

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s

www.ArlingtonHotel.com

OCTOBER LINEUP

BOB�NEWHART�|�OCTOBER��� DETAILS�AT�OAKLAWN�COM

POP’S LOUNGE POP’S�LOUNGE

Every E ve ery Friday & Saturday | �–�� p.m.

FOR LIVE MUSIC? SILKS�BAR�&�GRILL

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OAKLAWN�COM

ARKANSAS’ FAVORITE PLACE TO PLAY AND ONLY MINUTES AWAY.

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Mayday by Midnight Pamela K. Ward & the Last Call Orchestra Band ��-�� John Calvin Brewer Band ��-�� Almost Infamous ��-�� Pink Slip

AND 1/2 PRICE DRINKS 7-11 P.M. EVERY WEDNESDAY IN SILKS AND JOIN US ON OCTOBER 31 FOR OUR HALLOWEEN PARTY AND $1,000 COSTUME CONTEST

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ADVERTISING AD ADV DV D SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 39 arktimes.com SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 39

The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa

Mayday by Midnight @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 9/30, 10/1

OCTOBER 6 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

OCTOBER 7 (Opening January 2017) (Opening January 2017)

(Opening January 2017)

www.hotelhotsprings.org

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

Shop shop LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES 40 SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 40 SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

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.

AND CYCLISTS, PLEASE REMEMBER:

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.

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Pamela K. Ward and The Last Call Orchestra Band @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 8 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Pamela K. Ward and The Last Call Orchestra Band @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 13 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

OCTOBER 14 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 John Calvin Brewer Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Bob Newhart @ Finish LineTheater, Oaklawn, 7 p.m.

Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 15 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 John Calvin Brewer Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2

Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 20 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

OCTOBER 21 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Almost Infamous @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 22 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Almost Infamous @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 27 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

OCTOBER 28 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Pink Slip @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

OCTOBER 29 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 6-10 Pink Slip @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

Be sure to see “The Joneses” at the 25th Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, October 7-16th.

AFTER DARK, CONT. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Binary,” works by Michael Church and V.L. Cox, through Oct. 29. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Tue.-Sat. 664-8996.

GINO HOLLANDER GALLERY, 211 Center St.: Paintings and works on paper by Gino Hollander. 801-0211.

GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Best of the South,” through Nov. 12. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.4 p.m. Sat. 664-2787.

HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Two Fronts,” multimedia drawings by Alfred Conteh. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM GALLERIES, 200 E. 3rd St. “Heinbockel, Nolley and Peterson: Personal Rituals,” watercolors by Amanda Heinbockel, fiber art by Marianne Nolley and mixed media by Brianna Peterson; “Walter Arnold and David Malcolm Rose: Modern Ruins,” constructions from Rose’s “The Lost Highway,” photographs by Arnold; “Tiny Treasures: Miniatures from the Permanent Collection,” through Nov. 6; “Hugo and Gayne Preller’s House of Light,” historic photographs, through October. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “14 Holes of Golf,” through September.10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 660-4006.

LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St., NLR: “Nature and Nurture,” mixed media artwork and sculpture by Carol Corning and Ed Pennebaker, through Nov. 4. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Fri.-Sat. 758-1720.

LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH,

420 Main St., NLR: “Seeing with the Artist’s Eye: The Monday Studio Exhibit,” paintings by Shirley Anderson, Barbara Seibel and Caryl Joy Young, through Oct. 8. 10. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat. 687-1061.

M2 GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell Road: Retrospective of etchings by state Artist Laureate Evan Lindquist, paintings by Steve Adair. Noon-5 p.m. Mon., 10 a.m.5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 225-6257.

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: “Rorschach’s Buddy,” ink paintings by Diane Harper. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 3799101.

PULASKI TECHNICAL COLLEGE, 3000 W. Scenic Drive: “Shadows in the Water,” mixed media paintings by Brad Cushman, through Nov. 9, Windgate Gallery, Center for Humanities and Arts.

8 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Fri. 812-2715.

RED DOOR GALLERY, 3715 JFK, NLR: “Spiritual Journey,” new work by Paula Jones, 10 percent of sales benefit Pulaski Technical College and will be matched by the Windgate Foundation; also work by Jeff McKay, C.J. Ellis, TWIN, James Hayes, Amy Hill-Imler and Ellen Hobgood.10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 753-5227.

THE HOUSE OF ART, 108 W. 4th St.: “Stigmatized: The Journey to Black Sovereignty,” featured artist Tobechi Tobechukwu.

WILDWOOD PARK FOR THE ARTS, 20919 Denny Road: “Shades of Green: Land and Cityscapes of Arkansas,” paintings by John Kushmaul, through Oct. 9. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 821-7275.

BENTON DIANNE ROBERTS ART STUDIO AND GALLERY, 110 N. Market St.: Work by Dianne Roberts, classes. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 860-7467.

BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: “Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies,” campaign advertising artifacts, through Jan. 9; 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. 479-418-5700.

CONWAY UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS: “Curious Devotion,” paintings

by Danielle Riede, ceramics by Dawn Holder, installation by Langdon Graves, through Oct. 20, Baum Gallery.

FAYETTEVILLE SUGAR ART GALLERY, 1 E. Center St.: “Running Toward Dreams,” work by young Iranian and U of A student artists, traveling exhibit. 417-699-2637.

FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: “The Art of Transcendence,” RAM annual invitational, through Oct. 16; “Dancing Atoms: Barbara Morgan Photographs,” through Oct. 30. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-784-

2787.

HOT SPRINGS ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: “Wonders in LaLa Land,” whimsical art by Lori Arnold, through September; also paintings by Polly Cook and Patrick Cunningham and photographs by Jim Pafford. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 655-0604.

GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: “Paintings from Provence,” work by Bob Snider and Holly Tilley. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. 318-42728 GARVAN WOODLAND GARDENS: “Traditional Art Guild,” work by local artists, September and October, Magnolia Room.

JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 A Central Ave.: New textiles by Jennifer Libby Fay, painted paper on canvas by Donnie Copeland, sculpture by Robyn Horn, paintings by Dolores Justus. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 321-2335.

JONESBORO ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: “Night Women,” mixed media printmaking by Delita Martin; “Dinner Table,” installation by Martin; “Seat Assignment,” photographs by Nina Katchadourian; “Continual Myth,” drawings by Tad Lauritzen Wright; “Arkansas Neighbors,” photographs by Andrew Kilgore, through Oct. 9, Bradbury Art Museum.

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

PERRYVILLE SUDS GALLERY, Courthouse Square: Paintings by Dottie Morrissey, Alma Gipson, Al Garrett Jr., Phyllis Loftin, Alene Otts, Mauretta Frantz, Raylene

THE ARKANSAS HUMANITIES COUNCIL presents...

ARKANSAS AND THE PULITZER PRIZE Celebrating 100 years of the Pulitzer Prize

The Arkansas Gazette and The Pulitzer Prize The Arkansas Gazette Lecture October 4, 2016, 7 p.m.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Service and Editorial Writing 1958 Ray Moseley will give the lecture at the Ron Robinson Theater. Ray was the lead reporter for the Arkansas Gazette of the Little Rock School Integration crisis in 1957. He later was a United Press International foreign correspondent, bureau chief and then editor for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Moseley will reminiscence about coverage of the ’57 crisis, his personal experiences afterward, the end of the Gazette and the future of newspapers.

A panel discussion will follow the lecture and will be moderated by Ernie Dumas.

Join us in celebrating Arkansas and The Pulitzer Prize October 4th, 7 p.m. at the Ron Robinson Theater.

ArkansasHumanitiesCouncil.org

Funded by the Arkansas Humanities Council, The National Endowment For The Humanities and The Pulitzer Prize Campfire Initiative. arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

41

C n u f y d a e r l l Fa

air? We don’t know an you feel that change in the n breeze and falling about you, but the autum s on the ris e. Ch eck lea ve s ha ve go t ou r spi rit from local retailers to spice out these fall-ready goods up the new season!

Shop Your Only Downtown Jeweler and Diamond Broker at Kyle Rochelle Jewelers! Custom Made Jewelry. Large Selection of Loose Diamonds. Repairs.

Appraisals. Watch Batteries and Pearl Restringing all available.

Join Good Natured Art by Dani Ives + Bella Vita on Saturday, October 15th for a Modern Needle Felting Workshop! 10:00am-12:30pm @ The Bella Vita Shop.

7th Street Tattoos and Piercing has a team of talented artists who can work with you on a great new piece, like this one by Miguel Arrue.

42

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Arkansas Flag and Banner has tons of new Razorbacks products in their 800 West 9th Street store, or you can save on shipping and shop online anytime and pick up in the store!

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I won at losing! Alicia lost over 50 lbs at Diet Center in the Heights and YOU can too! Get into those fall clothes you have been dying to wear. Call 663-9482 today.

Roger Allred builds these wonderful display and storage crates from repurposed materials for albums in 2 available sizes. Come shop The Grand Finale to see other awesome consignment items and locally made crafts.

Come shop The Closets on Chenal for your fall designer clothing, handbags, accessories, and shoes for women, men and children!

Thank You for Voting Us the Best Music Equipment Store and Voting Local!

Check out this cool gear at Dogtown Sound on JFK in NLR. Don’t forget to ask about lessons!

Seasonal, artisan gifts and décor ONLY at The Crown Shop: beautiful handmade pumpkin pottery by Etta B Pottery and these unique handcrafted velvet pumpkins

by Hot Skwash.

Stop by Tanglewood Drugstore for cute and functional fall-themed gifts, like this Tuscan Honey Glycerine Hand Therapy treatment or festive frames, planters, and décor. AND: Flu Shots are HERE! Get ready for the cooler seasons and get yours today!

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Our taste buds are tingling for fall flavors, like pie and tea. At Eggshells Kitchen Co. you’ll find everything you need—from spices to tools to festive serving pieces—to bring the taste of the season to your home.

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7th Street Tattoos & Piercing 814 W.Seventh St. 372.6722 7thstreettattoos.com Arkansas Flag and Banner 800 W. Ninth St. 375.7633 flagandbanner.com

MADDOX 419 Main Street, Argenta | (501) 313-4242 www.ShopMaddoxOnline.com

Bella Vita Jewelry Inside the Lafayette Building 523 S. Louisiana St., Ste. 175 479.200.1824 bellavitajewelry.net

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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663.9482 dietcentercentralarkansas.com Dogtown Sound 4012 JFK Blvd., NLR 478.9663 Eggshells Kitchen Co. 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite K 664.6900 eggshellskitchencompany.com Krebs Brothers Restaurant Supply 4310 Landers Rd., NLR 687.1331 krebsbrothers.com Kyle-Rochelle Jewelers Lafayette Square, 523 South Louisiana St M100 375.3335 kylerochellejewelers.com

Fall in love with your wardrobe again with these awesome boyfriend blazers and sequined leggings. Top of the look with the fall-inspired leaf necklace. Only at Maddox.

Maddox 419 Main St., NLR 313.4242 shopmaddoxonline.com The Grand Finale Faulkner Plaza (corner of Oak and Harkrider) Conway 454.4570 Ten Thousand Villages 305 President Clinton Ave. 374.2776 tenthousandvillages.com Tanglewood Drugstore 6815 Cantrell Rd. 664.444 tanglewooddrug.com The Closets on Chenal 13100 Chenal Pkwy.

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SHATTERING EXPECTATIONS

Two fantastical exhibitions take shape at the Arkansas Arts Center.

October 7 - December 31, 2016 Jeannette Edris Rockefeller Gallery and Townsend Wolfe Gallery ENAMELING - the art of fusing glass to metal through a high temperature firing process gained widespread popularity in the United States during the last half of the 20th century.

LITTLE DREAMS IN GLASS AND METAL, organized by the Los Angeles-based Enamel Arts Foundation, is the first nationally traveling exhibition to survey this dynamic field in more than 50 years. The exhibition features 121 artworks by 90 artists showcasing a rich diversity of objects in both form and sale - from intimate jewelry to large enamel-on-metal wall panels.

OCTOBER

FUN!

THROUGH OCT 2

SEPT 30

See MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. From the deliciously twisted minds of Monty Python’s Flying Circus comes this irreverent Broadway musical with witches, wizards and killer bunny rabbits in the epic telling of King Arthur and his knights. For tickets and show times visit, www.therep.org.

HOWLING AT THE WOLFE takes place at the Wolfe Street Foundation from 7-10 p.m. Admission $25 and includes live music

by Katmandu with food from local food trucks. For more info, visit www.wolfestreet. org. n MAYDAY BY MIDNIGHT has several shows this month: Silk’s Bar & Grill, Sept. 30 and October 1. They’ll be at Cajun’s on Oct. 6; Cherokee Casino Oct. 7; King’s Live Music on Oct. 21 and Eldorado Casino Oct. 22.

Central Arkansas’ largest wine festival takes place at 6 p.m. at Dickey-Stephens Park and benefits the AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION. FESTIVAL OF WINES features hundreds of wines from around the world and delicious food from 15 local restaurants. For tickets and more info, visit www.festivalofwines. heart.org. n IT’S GIRL’S NIGHT OUT from 5-7 p.m. at The Crown Shop located at 10700 N. Rodney Parham Road. Join us for drinks, snacks and 20% off your purchase storewide. n Grammy Award winning country music legend KENNY ROGERS headlines a show at Verizon Arena on his Final World Tour: The Gambler’s Last Deal with special guest Linda Davis. Tickets are $68 and $88 and available at www.ticketmaster.com.

MacArthur Military Museum hosts the ARKANSAS PARANORMAL EXPO with speakers discussing subjects like UFOs, Bigfoot, psychic phenomena, ghost hunting and more. Admission is $10 for the weekend. Proceeds benefit preservation of the historic buildings at the museum.

For more info, visit www. arkansasparanormalexpo.com.

OCT 22

A fall favorite every year, HARVESTFEST takes place in Hillcrest. n WORLD CHEESE DIP FESTIVAL. Whether you use Velveeta with cumin and chili powder or a blend of gorgonzola, muenster and cottage, your cheese dip could be a world champion and you just don’t know it yet. SOMA District. Noon to 3:00p.m.! Purchase tickets CentralArkansasTickets.com.

OCT 15

THE REEL DEAL FISHING DERBY takes place at MacArthur Park Pond from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. sponsored by Wolfe Street and Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. n Join GOOD NATURED ART BY DANI IVES + BELLA VITA on Saturday, October 15th for a Modern Needle Felting Workshop! 10:00am12:30pm @ The Bella Vita Shop, 523 S. Louisiana Street.

OCT 7-16

OCT 7

Folk rock band THE AVETT BROTHERS return to Verizon Arena. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $48.50 and $68 and available at www.ticketmaster.com.

OCT 16

Free and open to the public, the CENTRAL ARKANSAS PRIDE FEST takes place at the Clinton Presidential Center from 1-6 p.m. with vendors, live music, food trucks and the parade at 2 p.m.

Support the LGBT community by walking in the parade or just attending and cheering on participants. Learn more at centralarkansaspride.com.

OCT 23

ARKANSAS TIMES HERITAGE WHOLE HOG ROAST & BBQ festival benefiting the Argenta Arts District sponsored by Ben E. Keith Foods, Farm Girl Meats, Edwards Food Giant and Golden Eagle – serving up Lost Forty Beer & Wine Garden. Doors open at 1, food is served at 2:00 Music by Bonnie Montgomery & Salty Dogs all afternoon. Winner announced at 3:00 event closes at 5:00. For tickets go to www.CentralArkansasTickets. com to buy$18 tickets, $22 day of. 13 professionals, four amatuers and more to come. Local food bloggers are our judges. Argenta Plaza, 6th & Main, NLR.

OCT 29

The Arkansas Cornbread Festival

THIS IS A FRIENDLY REMINDER FROM YOUR PULASKI COUNTY TREASURER THAT IT’S TAX DAY. IT’S EASY TO PAY ONLINE AT PULASKICOUNTY TREASURER.NET.

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s

OCT 6

OCT 8-9

OCT 17

HOT SPRINGS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL 25TH ANNIVERSARY SILVER JUBILEE - 4-6 pm Kickoff Cocktails sponsored by AY, and opening night gala sponsored

by Mountain Valley Spring Water and Arkansas Times.

For festival tickets and a full festival lineup, visit www. hsdfi.org.

OCT 18

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH & SHINEDOWN at Verizon Arena at 6:05 p.m. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster. com.

OCT 19

Movies at MacArthur presents “BEYOND THE DIVIDE.” The free screening of the film begins at 6:30 p.m. at MacArthur Military Museum with popcorn and beverages served.

OCT 4, 20, 24, 27

UCA Public Appearances has several shows this month. Don’t miss ONCE, THE MUSICAL, on Oct. 4, RONNIE MILSAP on Oct. 20, THE ALUMINUM SHOW on Oct. 24 and GEORGE TAKEI on Oct. 27. For tickets and show times, visit www.uca.edu/ publicappearances.

THROUGH OCT 8

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN, the story of a Saturday night gospel at a small church in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina in 1938. The show features two dozen bluegrass songs played by the Sanders family. For tickets, visit www. murrysdp.com.

OCT 4

The Arkansas Humanities Council presents the ARKANSAS GAZETTE LECTURE October 4 at 7 p.m. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Service and Editorial Writing 1958: Ray Moseley will give the lecture at the Ron Robinson Theater.

OCT 5

KELLOGG’S TOUR OF GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONS at Verizon Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets are $29$299 from Ticketmaster.

OCT 8

Choctaw Casino welcomes UNCLE KRACKER CenterStage at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $39 and are available online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000. n The Arkansas Times Blues Bus rolls out of Little Rock at 9 a.m. and heads to Helena-West Helena for the KING BISCUIT BLUES FESTIVAL. Tickets are $109 and include round-trip transportation, admission to the concert, lunch at the famous Hollywood Café and beverages on-board the bus. Reserve your spot at www.centralarkansastickets.com.

THROUGH OCT 20

There is still time to see two exhibits at UALR this month: In Gallery I, WARTOYS: ISRAEL, WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP, featuring the work of Brian McCarty, photographer and toy industry veteran, and in the Maners/ Pappas Gallery and Gallery III, Arkansas WOMEN TO WATCH: ORGANIC MATTERS, a tour of work by Arkansas artists with installations in mixed media and photography.

OCT. 22-31

The Little Rock Zoo transforms into BOO AT THE ZOO, Oct. 22-31 from 6-9 p.m. Adult night is Friday, Oct. 21, $25 in advance or $30 at the gate ($5 off for members). It’s Arkansas’s largest Halloween festival, so come out and enjoy the decorations, costumes, music, games, trick or treating, photo ops and more. For more info, visit www.littlerockzoo.com.

OCT 28

610 Center hosts DEAD HOLLYWOOD. Go glam, or get ghoulish to walk the dead red carpet. No cover charge. Costume contest with judging at 9 p.m. Prizes and drink specials all night. n ARKANSAS TIMES CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL benefiting Argenta Arts District, hundreds of craft beers, food from Skinny J’s, Zaffino’s, Whole Hog NLR, Arkansas Ale House, Taziki’s, Damgoode Pies, Core Public House and Big Whiskys. Music

by Opal Agafia & The Sweet Nothings. Tickets go to CentralArkansasTickets.com $35 and $40 at the door. Sponsored by The Water Buffalo, Edwards Food Giant & Ben E. Keith Foods. 6 until 9, Argenta Plaza. FOUR QUARTER BAR is hosting an after party following the Arkansas Times Craft Beer Festival. MOUNTAIN SPROUT will be playing for all of the festival-goers. On October 29, Four Quarter Bar has their HALLOWEEN JAM with FREE VERSE. n 100.3 The Edge presents TOOL live in concert at Verizon Arena at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $55-$102 and available at www.ticketmaster.com.

COLLECTIVE SOUL performs live at Choctaw Casino’s CenterStage at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $59 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. n THE ARKANSAS CORNBREAD FESTIVAL returns to Little Rock’s South Main district with vendors, music and of course cornbread. Admission is $8. For more info, visit www.arkansascornbreadfestival.com.

OCT 30

ROCK ‘N RAVE on the River is a family-friendly Halloween festival from 4-10 p.m. at Riverfront Park.

Admission is free. Please bring a coat or blanket to donate to The Van, an organization that serves the homeless in our community. Enjoy two stages of music, a children’s zone, haunted cave, free trick-or-treating for the kids plus an adults-only after party in the River Market. For more info or to volunteer, email rockraveriver@gmail.com.

Rick Springfield

ARKANSAS STATE FAIR OCT 14-23

It’s that time of year again! THE ARKANSAS STATE FAIR is upon us. The biggest event of the season includes a parade, vendors, rides, pageants, livestock, rodeo, free live music including performances by BRET MICHAELS on Oct. 14, MYSTIKAL on Oct. 16, RICK SPRINGFIELD Oct. 18 and CLINT BLACK, Oct. 20. RIDIN’ IN THE ROCK, the professional bull-riding event, takes place Oct. 21-22. Tickets are on sale now. For a full round-up of events and more info, visit arkansasstatefair.com.

arktimes.com

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

45

AFTER DARK, CONT. Finkbeiner, Kathy Williams and Evelyn Garrett. Noon-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri, noon-4 p.m. Sat. 501-766-7584.

STUTTGART ARTS CENTER OF THE GRAND PRAIRIE, 108 W. 12th St.: “2016 Small Works on Paper,” through Sept. 29. 870-6731781.

YELLVILLE PALETTE ART LEAGUE, 300 Hwy. 62 W: Work by area artists. Noon-6 p.m.

Wed.-Sat. 870-656-2057.

HISTORY, SCIENCE MUSEUM EXHIBITS

ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, North Little Rock: The USS Razorback submarine tours. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Fri.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 371-8320.

ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD MUSEUM, Camp Robinson: Artifacts on military history, Camp Robinson and its predecessor, Camp Pike, also a gift shop. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri., audio tour available at no cost. 212-5215.

ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM, Verizon Arena, NLR: 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 663-4328.

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.

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.: Renovated and replicated 19th century structures from original city, guided tours 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: “Trea-

sured Memories: My Life, My Story,” debut of new works in museum’s 2016 Creativity collection by Barbara Hig-

46

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

gins Bond, Danny Campbell, LaToya Hobbs, Delita Martin, Aj Smith, Scinthya Edwards and Deloney, through December; permanent exhibits on African-American entrepreneurship in Arkansas. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683-3593.

MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 -10:30 a.m. every Tue. Hours: 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.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham St.: “We Make Our Own Choices: Staff Favorites from the Old State House Museum Collection,” through December; “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. 324-9685. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 -10:30 a.m. every Tue. Hours: 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.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham St.: “We Make Our Own Choices: Staff Favorites from the Old State House Museum Collection,” through December; “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. 324-9685.

WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on fishing and hunting and the state Game and Fish Commission. 907-0636.

BENTONVILLE MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, 202 SW O St.: 1930s sandpainting tapestry by Navajo medicine man Hosteen Klah, from the collection of Dr. Howard and Catherine Cockrill, through December. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat. 479-273-2456.

CALICO ROCK CALICO ROCK MUSEUM, Main Street: Displays on Native American cultures, steamboats, the railroad and local history. www.calicorockmuseum.com.

ENGLAND TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, U.S. Hwy. 165: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages

6-12. 961-9442.

JACKSONVILLE JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle: 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.

MORRILTON MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibit 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.

PINE BLUFF ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St.: “Exploring the Frontier: Arkansas 1540-1840,” Arkansas Discovery Network hands-on exhibition; “Heritage Detectives: Discovering Arkansas’ Hidden Heritage.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375.

POTTSVILLE POTTS INN, 25 E. Ash St.: 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.

SCOTT PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, 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.

SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections.org.

ENTRY LEVEL POLICE & FIRE EXAMINATIONS City of Maumelle The City of Maumelle, AR will be testing Saturday, October 15, 2016 for Entry Level Police & Fire Examination and will be accepting applications through 5 p.m., Friday, October 7, 2016.

NOTE: No applications will be accepted after October 7, 2016.

NOTE: A City of Maumelle Employment Application must be completed.

A job description and an application may be found at the City of Maumelle website (www.maumelle.org) Human Resources Department webpage. Completed applications should be mailed to: City of Maumelle – Human Resources Department – 550 Edgewood Drive, Suite 590 – Maumelle, Arkansas 72113. For questions, you may contact the Human Resources office at (501) 851-2784, ext.

242 between the hours of 7AM and 5PM Monday-Friday “EOE – Minority, Women, and Disabled individuals are encouraged to apply.”

This ad is available from the Title VI Coordinator in large print, on audio, and in Braille at (501) 851-2785, ext. 242 or at rhilton@maumelle.org.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS DOMESTIC RELATIONS DIVISION RICHARD M. JORDAN VS. NO. 60DR-16-3138 STAR R. TIPPY WARNING ORDER STATE OF ARKANSAS COUNTY OF PULASKI The defendant is hereby warned to appear in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this Order and answer the Complaint for Divorce filed against her by the plaintiff.

Failure to file a written answer within 30 days may result in an entry of judgment by default against you or otherwise bar you from answering or asserting any defense you may have.

WITNESS my hand and seal as Clerk of the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, this 9th day of Sept. 2016.

Deborah Lee Smith, CIRCUIT CLERK

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LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT 2016-2017 School Year PUBLIC RELEASE LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT announced its policy for determining eligibility of children who may receive free and reduced price meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Local school officials will use the following size and income criteria for determining eligibility.

FREE MEALS

REDUCED PRICE MEALS

Yearly

Yearly

1

$15,444

$21,978

2

$20,826

$29,637

3

$26,208

$37,296

4

$31,590

$44,955

5

$36,972

$52,614

6

$42,354

$60,273

7

$47,749

$67,951

8

$53,157

$75,647

Each add’l family member add:

$ 5,408

$ 7,696

Family Size

Children from families whose income is at or below the levels shown are eligible for free or reduced price meals.

The application packet is being provided to all students. Additional packets are available at the principal’s office in each school. The information provided on the application is confidential and will be used only for the purpose of determining eligibility and verifying data. Applications from families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly the Food Stamp Program) need only list the children’s names for which the application is made, respective SNAP case number, name of household member

receiving SNAP benefits and the signature of an adult household member.

Children certified as migrant, homeless or runaway through LRSD’s Migrant Education Program are eligible for free meals based on being involved in the MEP program.

All other households that would qualify based upon income must show the names of all household members related or not (such as grandparents, other relatives, or friends), the amount of gross income each person receives in a month, the frequency of pay, and source. Each household member who does not have income indicate zero income on the application or it will be assumed there is no income to list. An application without the signature of an adult household member and the last four digits of that adult’s social security number-or check the box if the adult does not have a social security number is incomplete and cannot be processed. The information on the application may be verified by the school or other program officials at any time during the school year.

A foster child whose care and placement is the responsibility of the State or who is placed by a court with a caretaker household is categorically eligible for free meals. Any foster child in the household is eligible for free meals regardless of income. If a family has foster children living with them and wishes to apply for meals, they should complete the application using the instructions for households that have foster and non-foster children residing in the home.

Under the provision of the Policy Statement, applications will be processed and eligibility determined. If a parent is dissatisfied with the decision, a request may be made to discuss it with the determining official. A formal appeal may be made either orally or in writing to Dr. Lilly Bouie, Child Nutrition Director, 1501 Jones Street, Little Rock, AR 72202, for a hearing to appeal the decision. The policy contains an outline of the hearing procedure.

Applications may be submitted any time during the school year. If you are not eligible now but have a decrease in income, become unemployed, have an increase in family size, or become eligible for SNAP benefits, you may fill out an application at that time.

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT: This explains how we will use the information you give us.

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act requires the information on this application. You do not have to give the information, but if you do not, we cannot approve your child for free or reduced price meals. You must include

the last four digits of the social security number of the adult household member who signs the application. The last four digits of the social security number is not required when you apply on behalf of a foster child or you list a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) case for your child or when you indicate that the adult household member signing the application does not have a social security number. We will use your information to determine if your child is eligible for free or reduced price meals, and for administration and enforcement of the lunch and breakfast programs. We MAY share your eligibility information with education, health, and nutrition programs to help them evaluate, fund, or determine benefits for their programs, auditors for program reviews, and law enforcement officials to help them look into violations of program rules.

NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT: In accordance with Federal civil rights law and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr. usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992.

Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: 202-690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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THANK YOU TO ALL THE TEAMS THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE PAST THREE YEARS. WE WELCOME YOU BACK AND INVITE NEW TEAMS TO JOIN IN THE FUN! With questions or to enter, email Phyllis Britton at phyllis@arktimes.com or call 501-492-3994 48

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

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