From the State Senate

ruary in years in which the primary elections are held in May. The Fiscal Sessions begin in April in years, like this year, in which primary elections are held in March.

Amendment 86 states that each Fiscal Session shall not exceed 30 days.

The Fiscal Session may be extended one time, however, for no more than 15 days, by a ¾ vote of both the House and Senate.

If the General Assembly is to take up any bills outside the scope of the budget, they must first have a 2/3 vote in both chambers for a resolution describing the bill. The deadline for those resolutions is by the end of the first day of the session, April 10.

As always, we will post all meeting times and locations on our website, arkansashouse.org.

When the jackpot approaches a billion dollars a lot of people go out and buy lottery tickets, even though normally they hardly pay any attention to the lottery.

Those occasions are good news for Arkansas college students, because the state will collect more money than usual for lottery scholarships.

For example, ticket sales in September were higher than average for the Arkansas Office of the Lottery. Revenue for the month was $47 million, compared to $43 million in September of 2022.

Lottery officials attribute the spike in sales to a Powerball jackpot of about a billion dollars. It generated interest among people who don’t routinely purchase lottery tickets.

Since Arkansas voters approved the lottery in a statewide election in 2008, it has generated about $1.3 billion for scholarships, and more than 720,000 scholarships have been awarded. Stores that sell tickets have earned $395 million in retailer commissions.

Last year the lottery generated $114.7 million for scholarships.

This year it will raise an estimated $110.7 million, but that amount could grow if people are motivated to buy tickets because of enormous jackpots in the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries. For the first three months of the current fiscal year, the lottery has generated $30.3 million for scholarships.

The Academic Challenge Scholarship is the single largest program financed by sales of lottery tickets, although they also fund other smaller scholarship programs. The annual deadline for applications for Academic Challenge scholarships is July 1.

This year about 27,000 students are receiving the Academic Challenge Scholarship, an increase from 26,000 who received it last year.

Students at four-year institutions must maintain a 2.5 grade point average to keep the Academic Challenge scholarships. They must complete 27 semester hours their first year and 30 semester hours in following years.

Their freshman year they receive $1,000. In their sophomore and junior years they get $4,000 and their senior year they get $5,000. If a student doesn’t need 15 hours to graduate in his or her senior year, the scholarship amount is prorated according to the number of hours taken.

Students at two-year colleges receive $1,000 their first year and $3,000 their second year. They can get $1,500 for a fifth or final semester.

The approved institutions are private and publicly supported schools in Arkansas.

Earlier this year the legislature created the Challenge Plus Scholarship Program. To qualify a student has to meet the academic requirements of the Academic Challenge Scholarship, and also demonstrate a financial need. Those students can receive additional awards of $1,000 to $4,000 a year.

According to the web site of the Arkansas Lottery, the odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are one in 292,201,338.

The web site also has hotlines to call if you think you may have a gambling addiction. Here are questions that should raise a red flag: Have you gambled for longer than you had planned? Have you used your savings to gamble? Have you borrowed money to gamble?

If you have a gambling problem you can call 1-800-522-4700.

The constitutional amendment that created lottery scholarship program was not placed on the ballot by the legislature but was initiated by citizens’ groups. In the 2008 election it passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 648,122 in favor and 383,467 against.

HORSES continued from page 1

‘Okay, I’m ready to fight the fight.’ I just saw mommas and babies and I thought that’s not where they should be. My heart just sort of melted and I thought, ‘Well, I have some space and I have the energy. Let me just give it a shot. It turns out I also have the resources. I didn’t even realize I had all the resources that I had access to.

“As far as I know, at least the groups I have taken in, the first group — the Momma Baby Army — from what I know, was taken from a Navajo reservation. I think it’s Indiana where their Coggins [test] were done.”

A Coggins test is a blood test that is generally recommended to be given at least annually to identify whether a horse is a carrier of Equine Infectious Anemia, a viral disease in horses. A negative test is required to allow horses to travel between states and most equine facilities.

“It could be maybe someone trucked them in from somewhere else,” she said. “It’s hard with these things. They sort of lose their origins. It does seem I got word there was a guy who hauled all of these horses from Nebraska down to Texas. What’s funny enough, he actually stopped in Mena and they spent the night, and he drove them the rest of the way to Texas. I think is really funny… really interesting.

“So, this group of the Momma Baby Army are Navajo ponies, and they are coming off the reservation there.

“The second group I brought in — the foals, all babies — they are coming from what I hear is a Wind River [Reservation] round up. These are like BLM mustangs, but they are coming off an Indian reservation, as opposed to BLM land.” cused on the political side of things. It’s really just how do I help; how do I heal? That’s the story. That’s the sent the money for 10 more foals to be rescued. I used that, then I got the transport organized. I jumped on another lady’s transport, then they eventually made their way to Arkansas.

The thing about them was they were quarantining in Texas first and I didn’t have a place for them. So, I gotta figure out how and where am I gonna put them being that this is the first time I’ve ever rescued like this on this scale. Quarantine is a really important part of the rescue timeline. I’ve learned this because when any animal hits a kill pen, they are especially full, they get a thing called strangles, and strangles is a strep infection their immune system has to process and then remove.”

According to an Oct. 18 article on Wyoming Public Radio’s website, funding from Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other federal sources have rounded up more than 6,500 feral horses on the reservation so far this year. Feral horse is a term that refers to wild horses on lands other than those managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service.

“They don’t have the tattoos because they’re not done by the government. It is a government grant that’s given to the Indian reservations to do the round ups. That’s as much as I know. I’m gonna learn more as we go. My first order of business is to bring them back to health and then adopt them out to families. I haven’t so much been fo- background, at least that I know.”

The actor finds herself in what appears to be an overflow of horses being bought up by kill buyers, especially foals.

Olivieri said, “Some people have said because of COVID, it had stopped, like the buyers hadn’t sold the babies before. Maybe there were more, I don’t know. None of it makes sense to me. Whatever it is, there were an insane amount of foals present in these kill pens without their mommas.

“I went back into the kill pen funnels and I started pulling. I pulled two from Kaufman’s pen in Texas. Then I got diverted to this big group of foals in Colorado.

“I actually worked with a rescue up in Canada, the Flying L Ranch. His donors actually stepped in and

Strangles is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus equi. It is a highly contagious upper respiratory infection, often infecting lymph nodes around the jaw. The swelling can become severe, becoming so swollen that horses struggles to breathe properly, hence the name “strangles.” The prognosis for uncomplicated cases is generally good and result in full recovery. Complication happens in approximately 10% of cases with a mortality rate of up to 40%.

“Because they’re such little babies, they get hit really, really hard and they don’t have the immunity that the momma’s milk offers them,” Olivieri said. “They are just sort of left out to die in a way. I’ve learned this in a really intense way because even going to pick up that Colorado crew from Texas — there were some ba-

Gary Wayne Ham was born in Modesto, California, on May 23,1954, to Harold and Leona Ham. He passed away peacefully with family by his side on November 24, 2023, in Little Rock, AR, at the age of 69.

Gary proudly served his Country in the United States Air Force. He was self-employed as a Master Electrician for many years in Richardson,Texas.

Gary was preceded in death by his father Harold Ham.

Gary is survived by his daughter Marissa Torres (Alecks) and his son Rylan Ham (Jennifer). His grandchildren Sofia Torres and Packton Ham. His Mother Leona Ham. Brothers, Alan Ham (Julie), Kevin Ham (Dana), Gene Ham (Taletha) and Todd Ham. Sisters, Alliesa Stark (Tim), Marsha Allison (Johnny) and Debra Robbins (Clayton). Several Nephews, Nieces, Family and Friends. Gary will be greatly missed.

Paula Kay Drummond

Ms. Paula Kay Drummond, age 53, passed away Saturday, November 25, 2023, in Mena, Arkansas. She was born September 7, 1970, in Griffin, Georgia, to Larry Lee Drummond and Betty Jo Murray.

Ms. Drummond was a home health nurse by profession, she loved reading and listening to music. But above all else her favorite thing to do was to spend time with her grandson. Paula was an energetic and loud person by nature, described by many as “crazy in a good way.” She will be deeply missed by all who know her.

Ms. Drummond is preceded in death by her father, Larry Lee Drummond, and by her sister Levieta Faye Ehret.

She is survived by her son, Wesley Schuller; grandson, Dustin Schuller; mother, Betty Joe Murray; brothers, Clarence Houston, Randy Houston; brother-in-law, Bill Ehret; sisters, Rebecca Houston, Pauline Maturo; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, other family, and friends too numerous to mention.

Services for Ms. Drummond will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, December 1, 2023, at the Beasley-Wood Chapel, in Mena, Arkansas. Interment will follow at the Pinecrest Memorial Park in Mena, Arkansas. There will be no visitation.

Online obituary at beasleywoodfuneralhome.com

Submitted

by Julie Ulmer

Ouachita Little Theatre is offering not one, but two Christmas-themed shows this holiday season.

Showcasing first is the Lyric Players Readers Theatre production of “The Gift of the Magi.” OLT is experimenting with a different format for this show. Two performances will be held at The Ouachitas, 821 Mena St., on Dec. 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. The Ouachitas will be serving their delicious menu items and patrons are encouraged to enjoy this dinner theatre experience.

If you prefer a more traditional venue, you can choose to purchase tickets for the Dec. 10 show at 2:30 p.m., which will be at the Ouachita Little Theatre, 610 Mena St. This matinee will also include a Christmas Carol singa-long led by Judy Kropp.

Advance tickets for all three performances are on sale now for $10 for all ages at oltmena.com.

The second seasonal offering is the OLT Christmas courtroom comedy set in 1844, “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge.” Shows will run consecutively from Thursday, Dec. 14 through Monday, Dec. 18. All shows will be at the OLT in the evening at 7:30 p.m. except the Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m.

“The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge” takes a different look at the character of Scrooge as he decides to sue the spirits of Christmas’ past, present and future for their roles in the disruption that occurred in his life exactly one year before the trial. The results are as humorous as they are heartwarming. The whole family will enjoy this production, never before seen on the OLT stage.

Tickets for this special holiday show are $10 for students and for seniors aged 60 and above, and $15 for adults.

Make plans now to enjoy the upcoming festive time of year by seeing a live performance for yourself or your whole family. Advance reserved seating is available at oltmena.com.

CLARICE’S continued from page 1 and had people bring him slices of Simple Simon’s Pizza while he had his hair dyed. There was plenty of pizza, cake and punch for all. After the pieing and dying, Wood stood beside Teena Brown, founder of Clarice’s. The CEO spoke to the crowd in the hospital cafeteria, mainly consisting of hospital staff and family members of those having their hair turned pink or purple. “Last month was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We always do a penny war and pick a charity to donate the money to. This year we picked Clarice’s Room of Hope. We raised more money than we’ve ever raised. I can’t think our staff enough for all of the fun you had, the competitions you had, the businesses that donated, Nidec for their last-minute donation,” he added, which garnered a few laughs, as his

Daniel donated to make sure he got the pie and the dye.

The oversized presentation check was brought out, hiding the amount until Wood announced a grand total of $4,600.98.

Brown began by saying the money raised was, “over and beyond. I don’t know what else to say. We’ll put this to very good use. Our main goal is to make sure we have enough funds to supply all of the gas cards that are needed to get from here to there. Some days some [patients] have to go every day.”

Getting a bit choked up, she said, “If it wasn’t for people like you, we wouldn’t survive in this community, because it’s just hard.

It’s a passion. I’m sure you all know, working in this type of work that you do, you see it all the time. It’s pretty precious when you can help somebody do something that they need so badly. Thank you all.”

Wood lightened the mood as he held the presentation check, stating, “You can’t deposit this one.”

By Richie Lawry

Most people don’t like to take tests. It makes them nervous. Some occupations such as nursing, law, civil service jobs, and many others, require passing a test before you can be licensed to work. Tests can create a lot of anxiety in people. Waiting to find out if you passed is very stressful. Recently, a friend was stressed out while waiting for the day she would take the test required to be certified. Without the certification, she could not work in the field she had studied. Even though the worry about taking the test almost made her ill, when the day came, she passed it.

I remember taking my driving test. I was driving a 1962 Chrysler. For the turn signals to work, you had to hold the turn signal lever in position because it wouldn’t stay if you didn’t. When I had to turn corners during the test, I held the turn signal lever in position with one hand while I steered with the other. When the test was over, the driving examiner took off points because I didn’t keep both hands on the wheel when I turned a corner. He didn’t notice that I was holding the turn signal lever in position with the other hand. I was afraid I wouldn’t pass the exam, but after a lecture on the importance of keeping both hands on the wheel, he gave me a passing grade.

When I was in high school, I had a teacher who told us that if we had an A in the class, we wouldn’t have to take the final exam. I wouldn’t say I liked taking finals, so I worked hard to get an A. On the Monday of finals week, the teacher posted the grades. I looked at the bulletin board and saw that I had an A-. I was relieved. I wouldn’t have to take the final exam. Then the teacher told me I would have to take the final exam because only those with an A were exempt and I had an A-. I argued that an A- was still an A but it didn’t do me