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August 1, 2018
THE THEPOLK POLK COUNTY COUNTY
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1168 Hwy 71 S • Mena, AR 71953 • 479-243-9600
1168 Hwy 71 S • Mena, AR 71953 • 479-243-9600 ...............................................................................................................................................................................
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LUKE ALSTON NAMED 2018 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR L uke Alston of Mena, Ark., gave up a stable career as a Farm Bureau insurance claims adjuster to pursue his dream of farming. He returned to his family’s farm where his great-great grandfather homesteaded in 1897. At his Holly Springs Homestead farm, he built eight broiler chicken houses and established a successful agritourism enterprise featuring an on-farm market, a corn maze, pumpkin patch, pick-yourown crops and other attractions. As a result of his success as a diversified farmer, Alston has been selected as state winner of the Swisher Sweets/ Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. He joins nine other individuals as finalists for the overall award that will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at the Sunbelt Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga. For six weeks every autumn, he hosts
“Fall Fun on the Farm” featuring his corn maze, pick-your-own pumpkins, hayrides and live music. Later in the fall, he offers Fraser fir Christmas trees for sale. Alston currently farms about 80 acres of rented land and 362 acres of owned land. His large acreage crops include round bale silage and pasture. On a smaller scale, he grows pickyour-own specialty crops. Some of these include strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, pumpkins and muscadines. He grows a variety of produce crops such as tomatoes, sweet corn, watermelons, peas, lettuce, greens, herbs, asparagus, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, okra, bell peppers, squash, cucumbers, turnips, and beets. Stalks of field corn are harvested for fall decorations along with square hay bales. His orchard crops of peaches, figs, apples, persimmons and plums will be
in full production during 2020, and his muscadine vines will be in production during 2019. He also raises honey bees and cut flowers, including sunflowers. He’s increasing his bee hives to meet demand for locally grown honey. Alston strengthened his marketing by joining the Arkansas Grown, Arkansas Made, Farm to School and Farm to Institution programs, and by completing produce safety training. To meet the needs of the additional buyers, he increased his plantings of greens, tomatoes, watermelons and pumpkins. Alston also grows plots of rice, wheat, soybeans, grain sorghum, peanuts and other crops to teach visitors about the diversity of agriculture in Arkansas. He grows broilers in his 50-by-500-foot chicken houses for Tyson Foods. Each house has a capacity of 37,500 birds, and he produces six to seven batches of chick-
Luke Alston - 2018 Arkansas Farmer of the Year.
ens each year. Litter from the broilers fertilizes his land and provides income from sales to other farmers. “There is a strong demand for litter,” says Alston. At one time his family had a registered ALSTON CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
MENA REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM TO HOST 3RD YEAR MEDICAL STUDENTS F
July 25th, employees, staff and board members of the Mena Water Utilities held a reception for Mike Parks. Parks has worked for the Mena Water Utilities for 30-years. Parks was presented a plaque and gifts during the reception. Pictured from left to right: Rick Langley, Carla Harley, Ruthie Turner, Charles Pitman, Amanda Chamberlain, Linden Hopper, David Runyon, Larry Gross, Justin Shook, seated - Mike Parks.
ollowing the June financial report of the Mena Regional Health System, CEO Jay Quebedeaux stated July was shaping up to be another strong financial month. According to the operating indicators, Mena Regional Health System is at or above budget in most critical areas. There were 120 admissions during the month of June. There have been a total of 816 admissions this year, which is up 110 for the same period last year. There were 22 births in June. The hospital performed 113 surgeries in June. Last year, the hospital performed 138 surgeries, but it was pointed out that there were three surgeons last year and only two surgeons this year. According to the operating indicators report, the clinic saw 1,373 people in June, which is down from last year. However, the hospital’s Average Daily Census is up to 25. The ADC was 19.7, last year.
Commissioners were informed the hospital staff is also cutting cost where they can and improving the hospitals bottom line. Commissioners approved the purchase of new software for the clinic’s laboratory information system. Quebedeaux recommended purchasing the software from Orchard Software Corporation for $43,000. During the CEOs report, Quebedeaux reported the staff was still evaluating the T-System. He explained it’s an electronic medical records system that would be used in the emergency room. Quebedeaux announced two 3rd year medical students are observing at the hospital. He said they would be working six to eight-week department rotations.
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