By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A section on the west end of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive has been closed for the construction of the Forrest City bypass.
Ray Woodruff, district engineer with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department office in Wynne, said the closing of the portion of MLK Drive located east of Yocona Road to South Stewart Street. This portion is permanently closed, Woodruff said.
"The work that we're doing on Martin Luther King is, of course, due to the bypass, and we'll be closing that portion for good. We're clearing that section out for infrastructure purposes right now, but that is where the on and off ramps and the overpass will be located. We'll be allocating an area that will allow farmers access to their land but otherwise that section will be closed to through traffic," said Woodruff.
Woodruff also said that construction on the bypass has been going as well as can be expected for this time of year.
"Considering the weather that we've had, construction has been going well. We've had some delays due to rain and the ground being wet, but the weather is something that no one can predict. The guys have been working really hard when they get the chance so we're pleased with how things are going," said Woodruff.
When asked about a completion date, Woodruff said that he cannot set a date, but the early projections are for the fall of 2002 for the first phase.
"This project is just too big to really set a completion date. With factors like the weather, you'd have to have a crystal ball to have a set date, and mine just isn't that clear. Our earliest projections are looking at the fall of 2002, but with the weather you just can't tell," Woodruff said.
According to Woodruff, the highway department has also let bids for work on a portion of Interstate 40 from Brinkley to Goodwin.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
White River Rural Health Center Inc., with clinics in six counties, has applied for a grant of $293,240 to provide outreach and health care services to low-income persons.
The grant request, from the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Rural Health Policy, has been received for review by the East Arkansas Planning and Development District in Jonesboro.
The program affects St. Francis, Cross, Lee, Jackson, Monroe and Woodruff counties.
According to Ray Cockrill, director of the center, this is not a new program. The request is for a continuing grant.
"We got a grant earlier in 2000," Cockrill said. "We have outreach workers, working all that six-county area, trying to identify people who need our services -- physical health, mental health or housing."
He said White River Rural Health operates 12 clinics in its six-county service area counties.
"We know that the poverty level in this area is high," he said. We have a feeling -- and know already -- that there are a lot of people who need some kind of services, but who don't know how to access them."
He said the outreach workers try to identify these people and bring them in to service.
"We pay for the initial visit out of this grant," Cockrill said. "And then we try to help them in other ways, too."
Cockrill said about 200 people have been served since the program first began. He said they didn't know exactly how many there might be who need assistance.
"We don't have any idea," he said. "But that's why we're trying to find them. We know, just from statistics, that they're out there."
Governor Mike Huckabee recently announced the "Arkansas Quarter Challenge" contest as part of the distribution of quarters honoring each of the 50 states in the union by the Department of the Treasury.
In 1997, the Treasury Department was authorized to produce quarters honoring each state in the union. The quarters are being released in the order the states joined the union. Five quarters are being issued each year for 10 years. The Arkansas quarter, the 25th to be released, is scheduled to be issued in 2003. The job of designing the quarter is the responsibility of the governor, and each state must determine the method of selecting the coin's design.
Huckabee and his staff agreed a statewide competition giving the citizens of Arkansas the opportunity to create the design would be the best way to create the coin.
"Since this quarter will be in circulation for 30 years, and will be treasured by collectors, it should represent the best of Arkansas. Our selection process has been designed to find the best representation for our state," said Huckabee in a press release.
The contest, which ends March 31, 2001, will give Arkansans the opportunity to create the design of the coin, and according to Huckabee, allow the people of Arkansas to be involved in the approach.
The U.S. Mint allows the use of natural and man-made state landmarks, landscapes, historic buildings, symbols of state resources, the state flower, the state tree and the outline of the state, but the state flag, state seal or the portrayal of any person living or dead is not permitted.
The Arkansas Quarter Challenge Committee will narrow entries down to the best 100, and a panel of judges will select the top 10 design concepts. The governor will then choose the three finalists which have to be submitted to the U.S. Mint by April 20.
Entry forms are available at area banks, schools or libraries and should be sent to Arkansas Quarter Challenge Office of the Governor; Arkansas State Capitol, Suite 122; Little Rock, AR 72201, or may be e-mailed to quarter@mail.state.ar.us. For more information call (501)682-2345 or visit www.arkansasquarter.state.ar.us.