The Bill and Sharon Arnold Family Foundation will be sponsoring an essay contest for students in Prairie County and surrounding counties, including home schooled students.  The contest is open to 5th and 6th grade students. 

Essay Prompt:

Write a persuasive letter asking people to open their homes as safe houses for the Underground Railroad.  You should write from the standpoint of an abolitionist.

All entries should be mailed to Helen Holloway, P.O. Box 415, DeValls Bluff, AR 72041 by April 1, 2012.

The winners will win savings bonds ($100 to the 1st place winner, $50 to 2nd place and $25 to 3rd place) and have their essays read at the 2nd Annual Fort Lincoln Freedom Fest on April 28, 2012 in DeValls Bluff, Arkansas.  For contest information, please contact one of the following:

Stacy Sawyer,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 870-659-5652

Lisa Martin,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 870-734-6562

The Arnold Family Foundation proudly presents a Civil War Gala on April 21^st from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are on sell now for this exciting event for $25 per person or $45 a couple. The dress code will be period costume or business casual.

The night will feature period dancing and music led by Miss Karen Duffy of St. Louis, a silent auction and a sit-down dinner catered by Murry’s Restaurant. The dinner will include salad, roast beef with gravy, green beans, baked potatoes, rolls and bread pudding.

This gala will be held at the old school gym at the corner of Hazel and Ash in DeValls Bluff, AR. Anyone interested in buying tickets to this one of a kind event should call Stacy Sawyer at 870-659-5652. Or you can e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The deadline for purchasing tickets is April 7^th and seating is limited…so book your tickets soon! You may also mail your check made out to the Arnold Family Foundation to Stacy Sawyer @ PO Box 473, DeValls Bluff AR, 72041 to confirm your reservation.

The Arkansas Humanities Council board of directors met on November 18, 2011 to consider major grant applications. They awarded a total of fourteen grants that totaled $180,865. The approved projects represent a variety of humanities disciplines and formats.  

Among the grant projects approved was the DeValls Bluff Civil War Interpretation Project submitted by the Bill and Sharon Arnold Family Foundation of Little Rock. The grant award for the DeValls Bluff project is $4,858 and will be used to install three Civil War markers that will complement 6 existing Civil War markers. The markers will be dedicated at the Fort Lincoln Freedom Fest on April 28th in DeValls Bluff.

The Arkansas Humanities Council was incorporated in 1974 to develop a statewide program to acquaintthe citizens of Arkansas with the academic fields of study known as the humanities. These fields areconcerned with human experiences, beliefs, and ideas, and represent specific bodies of knowledge, methods of gathering information, and ways of thinking, talking, and writing about their subject matter. The council's next major grant deadline is February 15, 2012. Visit their website at arkhums.org for guidelines for grant applications, a list of funded grants, and application forms.

ARKANSASCIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL COMMISSION AWARDS GRANTS FOR PROJECTS

LITTLE ROCK—The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission has awarded seven grants totaling $12,359 for projects that will commemorate the war in the state, ACWSC Chairman Tom Dupree announced today.

Recipients of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Grants were:

Arkansas Baptist High School Art Room Undergoes Renovation

The art classroom at Arkansas Baptist High School recently underwent major improvements.  Improvements were made in storage, lighting and display.    New wall cabinets that wrap around most of the room were installed. In addition, a flat file for large work/paper storage and a dry rack were added to the room.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 November 29, 2011

Economics Arkansas Hosts 16th Annual Bessie B. Moore Teacher Awards Luncheon Recognizing 10 Arkansas Educators

 Little Rock, Ark. (Nov. 29, 2011) —Ten Arkansas educators were recognized Nov. 2, 2011 for developing award-winning economics and personal finance projects integrated into K-12 classrooms last school year.  Among those paying tribute to these outstanding educators going “above and beyond”in the classroom were Gov. Mike Beebe, Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Tom Kimbrell, State Senator Johnny Key, Economics Arkansas board members, and sponsors.

 The Bill and Sharon Arnold Family Foundationis a proud sponsor of one of the award winning teachers, Terri Isringhouse of Forrest City Arkansas.  Terri 

LITTLE ROCK (6-23) – The Arkansas Highway Commission has approved $12 million in federal funding for local Transportation Enhancement Program projects in Arkansas for 2011, according to Highway Commission Chairman R. Madison Murphy of El Dorado.

The funds cover 74 grant projects across the state, including one in Prairie County in DeValls Bluff. The Enhancement category of funding was created by Congress in 1991 for non-traditional transportation related projects.  Examples of eligible work include historic preservation, beautification, pedestrian/bicycle facilities and scenic highway enhancements.  Since 1993, the Commission has approved about 360 local enhancement projects statewide totaling over $55 million.

Wilma Ann Foster of Biscoe, Ar. attended the official dedication ceremony of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial held on Sunday, October 16. She journeyed to Washington, DC via tour bus originating from Dumas, Ar. on October 14-17 with College of Aspiring Artists (TCAA) students, and founder Pastor Arthur and Dr. Blanche Hunt. Wilma’s travel was made possible through donations and fundraising efforts. Wilma says, “I would like to thank Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church-Biscoe, the Arnold Family Foundation, Helen Holloway, my family and everyone who stopped by her fundraiser and bought a hot-dog, or a fish-plate and/or just gave a donation. “The monument is awesome and the message is so powerful.”

Article written by: The Grand Prairie Herald

The Arnold Family Foundation and the Arkansas affiliate of the Jumpstart Coalition are pleased to announce you that Kimberly Oliver and Dottie Sue of Har-Ber High School in Springdale have been selected as recipients of a scholarship to cover registration and hotel for attendance at the National Jumpstart Educator Conference.  The Conference will be held November 4-6 in Washington DC. More info. here:   http://nhjumpstart.org/NationalEducatorConference2011.htm

As the nation's leading advocate for youth financial literacy, the Jumpstart Coalition® is proud to conduct the only national educator conference devoted entirely to personal finance education in the classroom. This is the second year that the Arnold Family Foundation and Jumpstart have partnered to offer scholarships for Arkansas teachers.

DeVALLS BLUFF -- St. Elizabeth Church in DeValls Bluff stands simply as a testament to the Catholic faith, even though it closed in 1986.

The simple wooden structure at the corner of Sycamore and Mason in DeValls Bluff was built in 1912, after the original church from 1904 was damaged beyond repair in a storm.

Gone are the parishioners, the echoes of music drifting in the air from Sunday Mass, the pews and the cross from the steeple. But St. Elizabeth's still stands.

It's leaning to the side; it's weathered wooden planks show through the remaining cracked and peeling white paint; its windows are boarded up to protect the remaining opaque glass; and the exterior received a beating during the storms in April 2011, wind damaging parts of the structure -- although the first line of defense for a historic property, the roof, is "amazingly still holding."

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