Harding professors to seek life on Mars

Harding professors to seek life on Mars –   NASA has awarded a $1.5 million grant to a team that included professors from Harding University in Searcy, Ark., to develop a system for that purpose.

SEARCY, ARK. – A team of Arkansas researchers has been awarded a $1.5 million grant by NASA to develop a system to search for life on Mars.

The team includes Harding University professor Dr. Edmond Wilson and assistant professor Dr. Constance Meadors.

Wilson and Meadors are members of the Arkansas NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research team, which also includes scientists from University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Arkansas
Tech University.

The team won for its proposal titled “Mobile Surveying for Atmospheric and Near-Surface Gases of Biological Origin” during a national competition and was among 27 teams NASA selected for funding. Other scientists on the team include Keith Hudson and Gary Anderson, both of UALR, and Charles Wu of ATU.

NASA has awarded approximately $19 million to colleges and universities nationwide to conduct research and technology development. In addition, the awards enable faculty development and higher education student support.

The selections are part of NASA’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.  Twenty-seven proposals out of 50 were chosen through a merit-based, peer-reviewed competition. The grant requires a
one-to-one match of funds.

Wilson will be in charge of building and testing the instruments in preparation for field testing. He will also perform scientific tests at local landfills and participate in field science data analysis and
reporting for the project. Meadors will develop and maintain the project Web site and assist in instrument testing, field tests and analysis. She will also lead the team’s outreach efforts to local schools and colleges.

Several students will be awarded undergraduate fellowships as they train and assist with this project.

AAA strikes out on reclassification

States Arkansas have has no common reasonable solution for reclassification
Posted on 21 June 2009

By Jeremy Peppas
Stephens Media

LITTLE ROCK — Not every state is as rigid as Arkansas when it comes to classification.

In Tennessee, the state is split into eight geographical regions and conferences are made up in schools within each region.

The result is that some conferences might have as few as four teams and others as many as 10.

Bernard Childress, the recently appointed executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, said classification was a struggle in his state.

“We try to cut down on regular-season travel,” Childress said. “That’s the No. 1 thing for us, so we might have as many as 10 teams in a conference because we put every school on the map and group them together as best we can.”

Tennessee still has some travel, at least for its private-schools division.

“Chattanooga to Memphis,” Childress said of the 700-mile round trip conference game between Memphis University School and Baylor. “That’s not good and we do everything we can to avoid that.”

Lance Taylor, Childress’ counterpart in Arkansas, echoed the difficulties here with reclassification issues.

“If you address one, then you have the other,” Taylor said. “We are always battling a discrepancy in numbers or in travel. What the schools now are trying to do is address both issues, and that’s something we haven’t done before.”

The solution, at least for Arkansas’ 32 largest schools, was to combine for the regular season by splitting into four conferences.

If the two classes had stayed apart, it would not have had much affect on 7A, but 6A would have been a mess.

Splitting into two conferences with eight teams could have had Van Buren in with Jonesboro or Texarkana with West Memphis, forcing schools crisscross the state for regular season games. No easy solution existed that did not have schools traveling 100 miles or more one way.

No state has an easy solution for classification. In a survey of states surrounding Arkansas, inconsistency was the only constant. No state classifies schools the same as another, which Taylor suggest was a much by necessity as by choice.

“Every state is different,” he said. “The thing that might work for us, wouldn’t work someplace else. I’ve talked to (recently retired TSSAA director) Ronnie Carter about it all the time and what they do in Tennessee and what we do and how everyone is different.”

So AAA’s solution is to create a conference with these enrollment numbers:

2300
2078
1334
1078
939
928
881
848

That looks reasonable, doesn’t it?

Main Street Searcy and CAFM Announce the Searcy Farmers’ Market

Main Street Searcy and CAFM Announce the Searcy Farmers’ Market
Jun 03, 2009

Main Street Searcy and the Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market (CAFM) announce the opening of the Searcy Farmers’ Market on Saturday, June 6.

The Searcy Farmers’ Market will be open every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the summer, from 7 a.m. until noon. The south side of Spring Park will host the market.

Available items include: vegetables, beefalo, pork, chicken, fish, dairy products, homemade bread and pasta, and Arkansas-made products.

For more information, call Barbara Armstrong, market manager, at 501-288-2109.

They must be trembling in their boots.

AG FILES COMPLAINTS AGAINST CAR WARRANTY CALLERS

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

LITTLE ROCK- Today, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced that his office has filed lawsuits in federal court against three companies that are believed to be placing illegal telemarketing calls about car warranties to Arkansas consumers.

All across the country, consumers have been inundated with phone calls on their home phones, work phone, and even their cell phones from companies attempting to sell an auto warranty. The calls are becoming increasingly frequent; the product offered costs more than it should and is more often than not unnecessary. Most importantly, the calls themselves are illegal.

In order to bring a halt to these prohibited activities, the Attorney General has filed suit against three companies: Auto Warranty Solutions, Vehicle Services, Inc. and Dealer Warranty Services. The complaints detail multiple violations of both federal and state telemarketing laws: making calls to Arkansans listed in the Do Not Call database; “robocalling,” or using prerecorded messages for commercial purposes; and caller ID “spoofing,” displaying false or misleading telephone numbers on consumers’ caller ID systems.

“I believe the only way to put an end to the calls is to take swift legal action,” McDaniel said. “We believe that our case is strong, and we fully anticipate a successful resolution to these lawsuits and any more we may file in the future on behalf of Arkansas’s consumers. This case has national implications, and that I am proud of the leadership in my consumer division. A year ago, this team and I promised to vanquish pay day lenders. Today, the efforts of this team are focused on stopping these warranty calls.”

Got a call today (5/26 and 5/25) yesterday from

Florida #407-555-1475

Harding Physician Assistant Program

· The 28-month graduate program leads to the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies.

· The program was granted continuing accreditation status in September of 2007 by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).

· The first class of 16 students graduated July 28, 2007 with 11 of the graduates currently practicing in the state of Arkansas. All 16 have passed their national certifying exam.

· The second class of 22 students graduated July 2008 with 12 remaining in Arkansas to practice. All 22 have passed their national certifying exam.

· Currently there are 32 students in our 3rd class who are doing their clinical rotations and another 32 students in our 4th class who have just begun their year of classroom instruction.

· Before beginning the PA Program, a regional needs assessment study revealed 132 such programs in the United States, but none in Arkansas or Mississippi.

· Government studies indicate that Arkansas ranks 47th in availability of primary care physicians per capita. The same documents indicate that Arkansas ranked 49th for number of PAs per capita.

· According to media surveys, the PA profession is one of the 10 fastest growing employment areas in the United States. They work directly with and under a supervising/sponsoring physician currently established in clinical practice. They are qualified to provide medical care to patients, working as a team with their supervising physician.

The health care services PAs provide include, but are not limited to:

* Performing medical interviews and physical examinations
* Identifying health care problems in need of evaluation and management
* Screening results of laboratory diagnostic studies
* Selecting and implementing treatment plans
* Counseling patients regarding health, illness and at-risk behaviors
* Initiating and maintaining patient-centered therapeutic regimens
* Monitoring patient responses to programs of therapy
* Facilitating access to appropriate health care resources

Students in the program will have the opportunity to gain clinical education at a medical mission points in Guatemala, Nigeria and Namwianga, Zambia, the University’s latest addition to International Programs

Searcy Summer Dinner Theatre announces schedule

Searcy Summer Dinner Theatre at Harding University
celebrates its 27th anniversary of community theatre this year with
rivalry, drop-dead humor and a little music.

Tickets go on sale May 11 for a lineup of comedies that includes
“God’s Man in Texas” by David Rambo June 4-7, 12-13; “Dearly Departed” by David Bottrell and Jessie Jones June 25-28, July 3-4; and
“Nunsense” by Dan Goggin July 16-19, 24-25.

“God’s Man in Texas” revolves around 81-year-old retiring pastor
Philip Gottschall and his young successor, Jerry Mears, at one of
America’s largest evangelical churches. A search committee forms at
the Houston mega church, and Mears auditions for the job as a guest
preacher in the pulpit. A funny and touching story, it’s sure to reach
young and old.

Somewhere below the Mason-Dixon Line, in the backwoods of the Bible
Belt, the patriarch of the Turpin family keels over dead in “Dearly
Departed.” The struggle to get him buried involves the whole Turpin
clan, including the not-so-grieving widow who wants to engrave “Mean
and Surly” on his tombstone. It’s a drop-dead funny tale!

In “Nunsense” the Little Sisters of Hoboken Convent discover that
their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52
of the sisters with tainted soup. The convent is in dire need of funds
and can only afford to bury 48 of the sisters. While the remaining
four are hidden away in the freezer, the convent puts on a variety
show to raise money. It’s a miracle of a musical!

Each performance runs six nights in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center
on campus with a buffet-style dinner at 6:30 and the show at 7:30.
Individual tickets are $22, and season tickets are $50.

To purchase tickets, contact the box office at 501-279-4580 weekdays
between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Searcy Summer Dinner Theatre is open for everyone to audition and
attend. Auditions will be Thursday, May 7, at 7 p.m. in the Ulrey
Performing Arts Center. For more information, contact Steve Frye at
501-827-1944.

Harding University-Community Orchestra presents final concert

April 16, 2009

SEARCY, Ark.—The Harding University-Community Orchestra will rosin up
its bows for the final concert of the school year on April 27 at 7
p.m. in the Administration Auditorium.

Under the direction of Dr. Michael Chance, the performance will
feature three classic works, including Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite for
string orchestra, Tschaikowsky’s Andante Cantabile and Mozart’s
Symphony No. 40.

The Searcy Junior High School Honor Orchestra will join the University
group for a side-by-side performance of Hey Fiddle Fiddle!, Eagle’s
Pride and Yes! I Can Can. Megan Joyner, Searcy public schools strings
instructor, will conduct the joint performance.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call
501-279-4398.

Harding to offer extra financial aid to freshmen in fall

Harding University is promising to fund the unmet financial need of all incoming freshmen this fall, in light of the struggling economy.

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management Glenn Dillard said Thursday that the Searcy-based private school is using $800,000 in private money to offer extra financial aid to about 300 of the school’s 1,100 incoming freshmen.

The average dollar amount is about $2,800 per student and reaches as high as $7,000 for some students.

It’s enough to cover the direct cost of attendance for all incoming freshmen, after factoring in a manageable family contribution, other financial aid and work study.

Dillard said Harding has never before been able to meet the financial need of all its incoming freshmen. With the school’s cost of attendance at $17,983 per year, that has meant some students haven’t been able to register.

“The bottom line is for those families who say, ‘I’d love to come to Harding if I could find a way to pay for it,’ that’s what this is going to do,” Dillard said.

Dillard said it’s not clear whether the school can afford to continue or expand the program next year.

The Christian liberal arts school has about 6,510 students. It has 10 new National Merit Scholars enrolled this year, more than any other private university in the state. For more information, contact Dillard at gdillard@harding.edu.

Harding Spring Game to Benefit Sunshine School

Harding Football Announces Spring Game

by Scott Goode

SEARCY – Harding head football coach Ronnie Huckeba announced Tuesday that his team’s Spring Game will benefit the Sunshine School. The game will be played Saturday, April 18 at 5 p.m. at First Security Stadium. Admission to the game is free, but a donation to the Sunshine School is encouraged.

The Sunshine School is a small, private, non-profit school that serves individuals with developmental disabilities from preschool through adult. The school is currently attempting to raise money for a new building.

“This is a chance for people to come out and see the future of the Harding football program and help out the Sunshine School at the same time,” Huckeba said.

The Sunshine School currently serves 60 individuals and needs more space to serve those currently on the waiting list. A new building on Airport Loop in Searcy will increase the size of the school and allow it to serve more people in need. The projected cost of the building, along with an endowment for repairs and upkeep, is $2 million.

The Harding cheerleading squad will be giving away Bison athletic gear at the game and concessions will be available.

Continuing a tradition that began last year, honorary captains will represent both teams. The honorary captains will be Ms. Charlene Prock, the wife of former head coach John Prock, and former Harding football great Tom Ed Gooden (currently Athletic Director for Goose Creek ISD in Baytown Texas).

KidStage Performances Announced

Apr 08, 2009

Classic tales, lovable characters, and high adventure are all in store for audiences in upcoming children’s theater productions! Center on the Square, located at 111 West Arch Street on Searcy’s historic court square, presents the Land O’Frost KidStage productions, “Anne of Green Gables,” based on the classic tale by L.M. Montgomery, and “Alice in Wonderland,” adapted from the famous work by Lewis Carroll.

These productions are the culmination of Center on the Square’s afterschool children’s workshop, Kidstage, which has been generously funded by Land O’Frost since 2004.  Now in its 10 year, KidStage features training in performing arts and stage techniques, and has more than 50 students from Searcy and surrounding areas currently enrolled.  “Alice in Wonderland” will be presented by students from grades 2 through 6, while “Anne of Green Gables” will be performed by grades 6 through 12.

Performances are scheduled for “Anne of Green Gables” Friday April 17 and Saturday, April 18 at 7:00 pm. “Alice in Wonderland” will play April 23 through 25 with 7:00 pm shows Thursday through Saturday and a 2:00 pm matinee on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at Quattlebaum Music, the Tangerine Turtle, or by calling 501-368-0111. Admission is $6 in advance or $8 at the door.

Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling children’s novel by author L.M. Montgomery published in 1908. Montgomery found her inspiration for the book on an old piece of paper that she had written at a young age, describing a couple that were mistakenly sent an orphan girl instead of a boy, yet decided to keep her.  This new dramatization is written by Joseph Robinette, and whether the theater goer is an old friend of Anne’s or meeting her for the first time, audiences will fall in love with the story as told by the BigStage players.

“Alice in Wonderland” takes us into a magical place where everything becomes curiouser and curiouser! Lewis Carroll’s beloved story is brought to life in a way that only the KidStage gang can manage!  All your favorite characters are here: Alice, White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter and of course, the Queen of Hearts!  Audiences of all ages will delight in the performances of our community’s most talented superstars!

The Performing Arts Center on the Square is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the expansion and appreciation of the performing arts in the Central Arkansas region. Contributions are tax deductible.  Center on the Square is a handicap accessible facility and interpretation for the deaf is available on Thursday performances by request.  For more information please call 501-368-0111.