K (USPS156-140) Vol. 132, Number 19 DeWitt, AR 72042 • 16 Pages • 2 Sections • 75 cents
AROUND THE COUNTY
roger Holds Annual Safety Day
Serving Arkansas County, Arkansas Since 1882
Story and Photos on Page A8
Thursday, May 8, 2014
2014 Arkansas County Farm Family
DEWITT DOG CLINIC
The DeWitt Fire Department to host a Dog Clinic, Saturday, May 10, 2014 from 9:00-12:00 p.m. The clinic will offer rabies, seven-in-one shots and worming for dogs and cats. City license available for dogs (dog tags) at $10.00. Dogs living within city limits must have a city license per state law, city ordinance 642. Any loose dog will either be picked up or owner will be issued a citation. For questions, please contact Animal Control Officer Michelle Martin at 9466307.
CITY PARK LOST & FOUND
If you have lost anything at the City Park, please check at the police department. Kenneth Danner has turned in items there.
DEWITT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEETING
You are cordially invited to attend the DeWitt Chamber of Commerce Meeting May 15, 2014 at PCCUA Community Room at noon. The speaker for the meeting will be Ann Owen from the Clinton School of Public Service. Ann will presenting the results of her just completed paper on tourism promotion for the DeWitt area. She has proposed some recommendations that could prove to be very beneficial to the economic development of DeWitt and the surrounding area.
LETTER CARRIERS’ FOOD DRIVE
The Letter Carriers’ Food Drive is set for Saturday, May 10, 2014. Put your non-perishable donation in a bag by your mailbox to be delivered to a local food bank.
2014 HERITAGE DAYS FESTIVAL
The 2014 Heritage Days Sixth Annual Festival kicks off with the Heritage Pageant and Talent Competition on Saturday, May 10, at 2:00 p.m. in the Gillett High School Auditorium. On Saturday, May 24th, the festival resumes at Menard Heritage Park, with events such as a Horseshoe Tournament, a BBQ Cook-off, Live Entertainment, a Catfish Supper, as well a host of other activities beginning at 10:00 a.m. and running until midnight.
By Kevin Brown The votes were tallied and the 2014 South Arkansas County Farm Family is the Sloan Hampton Family. Sloan, his wife Rhonda and their three year-old daughter, Avery, reside on a beautiful expanse of land in the Hagler community, a few mile south of Lodges Corner. He was raised on a farm and has been farming for 22 years. “I used to tell my friends that I spent 1/3 of my life pulling noxious weeds from fields, another 1/3 picking up driftwood to clear new ground, and the other I’m still figuring out,” he said. “All through high school, all I ever wanted was to farm.”
After graduating from Arizona State University in ‘92, Sloan came back to the farm, partnering with his mother and father in the Hampton Planting Co. Eventually, in 2013 he and Rhonda became sole owners of the company, which was designated a century farm, as his land has been continuously farmed since 1890. “I am proud to have this opportunity to continue this way of life,” he said. The Hamptons currently operate on 5,080 acres, with the primary crops being rice, soybeans, CRP and wildlife habitat, reservoirs and timber. The company’s key goals are to improve crop produc-
tion and efficiency, enhance irrigation and restore wildlife habitat, which he says is an integral aspect of the farm, particularly waterfowl, where they have observed an increase in quail and duck populations. The family are members of the Bayou Meto Methodist Church. He also serves as chairman of the Arkansas County Conservation District, and is a member of the Tri-Bayou Irrigation Conservation District, Producers Rice Mill, Riceland Foods, Arkansas County Farm Bureau and Arkansas County Co-Op. On the state level, he was recently reappointed as Chairman of the
Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. Sloan and Rhonda have been married for five years and she has worked in Stuttgart for the past nineteen. Avery is growing fast and they are looking forward to her starting dance and swim lessons this summer. She attends Noah’s Ark Daycare and loves to ride the tractor with her daddy for hours. “We love to be outside on the farm,” Rhonda said. “We love to hunt anything in season and look forward to coming home to the farm at the end of the day.”