AAC
FEATURE
Poinsett County assessor’s office partners with local EAST program on mapping projects Story by Holland Doran Photo by Christy L. Smith AAC Communications Staff
do something a little more challenging, so they contacted the assessor’s office to see if they had anything they needed,” Garrison said. Hutchison had just the project. Some of the assessor’s maps and geographic information were 20 to 30 years old. Many he concept of a geographic information system boundary lines, alleys and subdivisions were incorrect. He asked (GIS) would be lost on most adults. But it’s not lost the students to update the maps using the GIS. on Harrisburg Elementary School students Emily Navigating the intricacies of the GIS, ArcMap, is not for the faint Wigginton and Havanna Kocher. of heart, said Pruett, who trained the students on how to use the Through a partnership between the school’s Environmental and program to convert raster-based maps into vector files using a geoSpatial Technology, Inc. (EAST) program and the Poinsett Coun- referencing process to map out neighborhoods, blocks and lots. ty assessor’s office, Emily, a sixth grader, and Havanna, an eighth By correcting the maps, Emily and Havanna significantly grader, mapped out the city of Harrisburg using the GIS, ArcMap. helped the county, Miller said. EAST Facilitator Karla Garrison guided the students through “We now have a better mapping system for the office and for the the project, and Kevin Pruett, GIS analyst at Total Assessments public,” he said. “It will assist code enforcement officers in the cities.” Solutions Corp., provided technical training. Poinsett County The students also benefited from the project by gaining realAssessor John Hutchison, and Appraiser and GIS Technician world experience, Garrison said. “It has taught these girls that there is so much more than going Matt Miller served as the project support and local manager. The partnership between the assessor’s office and the EAST pro- to school and learning math and reading,” she said. “They are gram developed when Garrison assigned the students to choose a able to use all these skills and all subject areas for one project. This is where it matters.” community partner and improve something in their office. Hutchison is a strong proponent of involving students in com“The girls had worked with GIS in the past, and they wanted to munity work. “I want to encourage other assessors to connect with their EAST programs,” he said. Emily said she has gained confidence through the experience. “This project was extremely important to me,” she said. “It was very sophisticated and a huge accomplishment. I have always struggled with my confidence, but by doing this project it helped me to believe in myself.” Havanna said the project helped develop her presentation skills. “This project has taught me a whole new side to GIS,” she said. “I have learned so many new things that I can use in projects to come. Not only has this project helped me learn new things about GIS, but it also helped me with my presentation skills because I was able to share with so many at the assessors’ conference.” The students discussed their mapping work at the Arkansas County Assessor’s Association Conference in November 2017. Hutchison presented Emily, Havanna, Garrison, and Pruett plaques to Poinsett County Assessor John Hutchison (far right) recognizes during the honor their hard work. November 2017 conference of Arkansas County Assessors (from left to right) Emily and Havanna are planning on mapping Harrisburg Elementary School EAST Facilitator Karla Garrison, EAST students the city of Trumann, which is the largest city in Emily Wigginton and Havanna Kocher, and GIS Analyst Kevin Pruett of Total AsPoinsett County, for their next project. sessment Solutions Corp. for their work in remapping cities located in the county.
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