Stories from Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The weight of melting snow and ice apparently caused Christian World and ATA Karate studio's awnings to come crashing down at 3:20 p.m. Monday. David Lyttle, director of the Arts Council of Mississippi County, and Ken Jackson, assistant director of the Arts Council, said they heard a loud rumble outside the Ritz Civic Center on Main Street and went outside to see the awnings had fallen. ...

Local road crews 'doing the best we can' Students at the Blytheville School District will have to extend their school year because of days missed for inclement weather, said Superintendent Richard Atwill. The district's campuses are closed again today because of the condition of the roads. "It's just too dangerous for the kids to be out waiting in the piles of snow to catch the school bus," Atwill said. "We have to think about what's best for the students." Under state law, the schools have to have 178 student days and 190 teacher days, Atwill said. In order to meet that schedule, classes will have to continue beyond Memorial Day this year, the superintendent said. "If we miss more than 14 days due to weather, we have to use holidays and spring break to make up for them, " he said. The school used to "build in" snow days, but new state regulations state that any days missed are now to be made up at the end of the year. Classes at Arkansas Northeastern College were closed again today for the same reasons, said Dr. Robert Myers, ANC president. "Being a community college, a majority of our students have to travel 25 miles or more to our facilities," Myers said. "Since our students have to travel a substantial distance we want to make sure they are safe. That is why we take in consideration the road conditions as well as the safety of our campuses." Since it is still early in the semester, there is room for the students to make up work that has been missed in the form of extra outside assignments or even additional classes scheduled by the instructors. If classes are canceled for a week or more, the college may consider extending class times or scheduling classes on weekends to make up the lost time, Myers said. Employees of the city of Blytheville's Public Works Department have been out trying to clear the slush and snow from the city's streets. "We're doing the best we can with what we have," a spokeswoman for the department said. "We've been working in different areas of the city trying to get streets cleared," she said. dhilton@couriernews.net

The Mississippi County Cooperative Extension Service will hold the 2010 Cotton and Corn Production Meeting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Northeast Research and Extension Center in Keiser. Blake McClelland, Cooperative Extension agent for Mississippi County, said the meeting is open to all interested persons in the area. Registration will start at 8 a.m. and the meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided thanks to industry sponsors...

In recognition of Black History Month, the Courier News is shining the spotlight on some of the many African-Americans who have played a leading role in our community. A different individual will be featured in each edition of the newspaper during the month of February...