Stories from Saturday, July 20, 2019

It is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. I can remember well watching the event on a black and white television. We only had a few channels but it was covered on all of them. We were living in Aurora., Ill., at the time. One of my co-workers took off off work to take his family to Florida to watch the launch in person on July 16. We watched it on television but it was nice to get a first hand report of the awesome event from someone who had actually witnessed it...

I mentioned before that this past spring I received my undergraduate degree in Mass Communications, with a minor in Marketing. I am realizing now that a new school year for most people is about a month away. I’m already starting to feel old. For those of you who plan on starting college, going back to college, or if you are a parent who is about to send your child off to college, there are a few things that you might want to consider in the process...

Arkansas Northeastern College students Chloe Johnson of Manila and Lauren Darnell of Armorel recently returned from Japan. The two young women were selected as ANC Ambassadors for the annual Japan trip. The program is part of a cultural exchange sponsored by the Yamato Kogyo Company. This is the 24th year for the program which allows two students the opportunity to visit the country for two weeks...

Preparations are being made for the upcoming school year, which begins in just a few short weeks. Below is information students and parents should know to be ready for the first day of class. Armorel School District Teachers at Armorel will return on Aug. 5 for professional development...

Manila School Board agreed to refinance existing bonds at the Monday, July 18, meeting. Superintendent Jason Evers welcomed Marshall Hughes with Beardsley and Associates who explained the process. “We have been watching the bond issue and the district can save money by refinancing the 2015 bonds,” Hughes said. “It is like refinancing a house. According to the Arkansas state law school districts can refinance if they can save either a minimum of $100,000 or five percent.”...

Wednesday evening, the Finance Committee met again to look at the 2018 JESAP reports. Chairman Michael White brought a list of 15 employees on the JESAP list that were below minimum or in the first quartile. White said to be able to move the 15 employees up in to the second quartile on an annual basis would cost a total of $18,571. The second quartile is 10 percent away from midpoint...

Tuesday evening, the Blytheville City Council held their monthly meeting where several resolutions were approved. Before the approval of minutes for June could be made, councilwoman Barbara McAdoo-Brothers pointed out that there were two resolutions missing from the meeting agenda...