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Pate Wins Cash From Baker's Western Way
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Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt at Warren Branch Library
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Daughters of American Revolution Raise Museum Funds
The Captain Robert Abernathey Chapter of the DAR utilizes the Veterans Museum as a meeting place and desire to support the upkeep and operations of the Bradley County Veterans Museum.
Both the Veterans and the DAR wish to express their appreciation to the public for purchasing the meals in support of the Museum. They also thank Tyson for the contribution and assistance.
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UAM To Honor Four At Inaugural Dinner With Alumni Awards
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| Brigadier General (ret.) Roger McClellan |
Brigadier General (ret.) Roger McClellan, former second in command of the Arkansas Army National Guard, David Leech, a successful grocery chain owner, and Clarence Denmark, an all-Canadian Football League wide receiver, will receive the awards during an inaugural dinner for Chancellor Karla Hughes on October 21. Louine Leech, one of UAM’s oldest living graduates, will receive the Continuing the Connection Award for best keeping alive the connection between UAM and Arkansas A&M.
Each of the honorees will be recognized on Friday, October 21 at 6 p.m. in the John F. Gibson University Center. For tickets, contact Christy Pace at (870) 460-1020 or pacec@uamont.edu before October 12, 2016.
Roger McClellan
When Roger McClellan graduated from New Edinburg High School in 1973, attending college was not an option, or so he thought. No one in his family had ever gone to college and his father encouraged him to learn a trade.
Paul McClellan worked at Potlatch and gave his son some advice based on his own experiences. “He told me no one ever made any money working for someone else,” Roger says. “He encouraged me to learn a skill that would allow me to be my own boss.”
Roger took his father’s advice and spent the next year learning auto body repair at Pines Vocational Technical School in Pine Bluff before going to work for a body shop in Warren.
At the same time, his long-time girlfriend, Patricia Childers, was working on an office administration degree at UAM. Roger and Patricia grew up a few miles apart in rural Dallas County – Roger in the Macedonia community and Patricia in Mt. Elba. They met when Roger was in the sixth grade and Patricia in the fifth. Four years later they started dating, became high school sweethearts at New Edinburg High and were married in 1976, Patricia’s junior year at UAM.
One of Patricia’s UAM classes was at night. Not wanting his new wife to make the drive from New Edinburg to Monticello by herself, McClellan enrolled in an insurance class and discovered college wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined.
McClellan decided to enroll at UAM full time for the 1978 spring semester but had to take care of some unfinished business first. Roger had considered enlisting in the Army National Guard following high school. He passed the entrance exam and just needed to sign his enlistment papers, but at 17, single and not sure what he wanted to do with his life, McClellan put the military on hold.
When he finally decided to follow through, he had a practical reason. “I decided to join the Guard to support my wife,” he says, smiling at the memory. “It paid $63 a month for two weeks a year and one weekend a month. Since we were paying $50 a month rent, I thought that was a pretty good deal.”
McClellan was a full-time UAM student and a private in the Guard. He was soon promoted to specialist, and was being considered for sergeant but there were no openings. Seeing McClellan’s promise, his superiors encouraged him to consider officer candidate school, launching him on the unlikely road from private to brigadier general.
McClellan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in March 1981 and graduated from UAM two months later with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. McClellan’s college memories reflect his status as a non-traditional student. “I was married, commuting, had a full-time job and weekend drill with the Guard,” he says. “In 1973 I wasn’t mature enough to do well in college. At 21, I was ready. I didn’t view college as an opportunity to party; I viewed it as an opportunity to accomplish something.”
McClellan accepted an offer from International Paper in Bastrop, La., following completion of his master of business administration degree from Louisiana Tech in 1983, beginning a concurrent career as a corporate executive and military officer. McClellan climbed the ranks in both civilian and military life, retiring from International Paper in 2011 as a senior information analyst.
As an officer in the National Guard, McClellan served in a variety of command and staff assignments, including a year as a civil affairs officer in Iraq where he won a Bronze Star for his body of work in Operation Iraqi Freedom II. McClellan worked with tribal leaders, mayors, politicians, schools and hospitals. “I wasn’t kicking in doors,” he says. “I was there to help improve their education system and economy, to help the Iraqi people have a better way of life. We wanted them to know the Americans were there to help. Ninety percent of the people appreciated that we were there.”
McClellan returned from Iraq in 2004, became deputy commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquartered in Little Rock and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. On January 1, 2008, McClellan assumed the duties of Commander, Land Component Command of the Arkansas Army National Guard in North Little Rock.
Now retired and living outside New Edinburg on 40 acres of mostly forest land that has been in his wife’s family since the 1940s, McClellan still carries himself with a military bearing and wants everyone to know he is still working from time to time as a tax consultant. But his first love is the Guard. “I loved the military,” he says. “I loved the adventure, the mission, the commitment and the people I served with.”
Clarence Denmark followed a circuitous path from his home in Jacksonville, Fla., to the Canadian Football League. An athletic wide receiver blessed with size, speed, strength and sure hands, Denmark attracted Division I suitors during his senior year at Robert E. Lee High School. Denmark earned all-conference honors while catching passes, returning kicks and playing defensive back, but his academics meant junior college.
Denmark played two seasons at Mississippi Delta JC, earning second team All-State honors in 2005 and signed with Division I Troy University as a late addition to the Trojans’ 2006 recruiting class. Denmark went to Troy for a semester before transferring to UAM, much to the delight of the Boll Weevil coaching staff.
Denmark made an immediate impact, catching 37 passes for 599 yards, 3 touchdowns and an average of 16.2 yards per catch. He topped those marks as a senior in 2007 with 54 catches for 987 yards and a whopping 18.2 yards per reception.
Those numbers caught the eye of professional scouts from both the CFL and the National Football League. Denmark signed as an undrafted free agent with his hometown Jacksonville Jaguars and spent two years on the practice squad before being released.
In 2011, he was signed by the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a match, as it turns out, made in football heaven. Playing on the CFL’s larger field with passing on almost every down, Denmark exploded onto the scene with 65 receptions for 818 yards and five touchdowns.
In 2012, he made 55 receptions for 649 yards and added 64 receptions for 900 yards in 2013. Denmark enjoyed his best season in 2014 with 65 receptions for 1,080 yards, 3 touchdowns and selection to the West squad of the CFL All-Star Game. Now nine games into his sixth season in the CFL, Denmark has accumulated 325 receptions for 4,482 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Denmark knew little about the CFL and admits to a little culture shock with the move north of the border. “It was my first time out of the country,” he says. “I had to get a passport. And the weather is really different. We get snow in September. I didn’t know much about the league when I first came up here, and I was surprised by the quality of play.”
Fields in the CFL are 10 yards longer and 15 yards wider than those in the U.S., with end zones 20 yards deep and goal posts on the goal line. Each team receives three downs, not four, and the play clock is 20 seconds. “It’s definitely a faster, more wide open game,” he says. “You have to be good in the passing game. The larger field is a plus because it gives you more room to move around.”
David Leech learned the value of a dollar at an early age. Leech started making money about the time he removed the training wheels from his bicycle. By 12 years old, he had $3,200 in his savings account, accumulated through an assortment of odd jobs. By the time he finished college at the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 1972, he had more than $40,000 in the bank, which he used to finance the purchase of a grocery store in McGehee, beginning a long and lucrative career in the retail grocery business.
“I learned early on that it’s not how much money you make, but how much you keep and how you let the capital work that matters,” he says.
Leech is retired now, living next to a golf course in Stuttgart less than a block from his 99-year-old mother, Louine. The family’s history dates to the earliest days of UAM when it was known as the Fourth District Agricultural School. Louine’s mother, Hattie Bell Moseley Selman, graduated from UAM in 1912 while it was still a high school. Her uncle, Marvin Bankston, was teaching agriculture at what was then Arkansas A&M College when Louine Selman enrolled for classes in 1934. Bankston became president of A&M in 1938, the year Louine graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English. Today, a residence hall bears her uncle’s name.
David Leech’s wife, Jimmie Jo, is the granddaughter of long-time Arkansas A&M Dean of Students James H. Hutchinson. The couple’s son, Charles Robert, graduated from UAM in 2003.
“When you look at the history our family has with Arkansas A&M and UAM, these awards mean so much to both of us,” says David. “UAM is a special place.”
The country was in the throes of the Great Depression when Louine began her freshman year at Arkansas A&M. Tuition was $12.50 a semester, a gallon of gas was 15 cents and most students had to work on campus to make ends meet. Louine worked in the cafeteria and later in the business office while living in a brand-new girls’ dormitory named for long-time A&M President Frank Horsfall, who resigned Louine’s freshman year. Louine knew Horsfall (“He was very strict. He believed if a boy kissed a girl, they were going to have a baby the next day.”) as well as Stewart Ferguson, the controversial coach of the Wandering Weevil football team. “I liked Ferguson,” she remembers. “He was very personable.”
Louine attended Chillicothe Business College in Missouri following graduation from A&M, earning a business degree in 1939. She met her future husband, Bob, a star football player at the University of Missouri, at a USO dance in Little Rock when he drew her name out of a box. A few days later, he asked a friend for her telephone number, the couple began dating and were married on March 22, 1941.
Bob and Louine owned and operated Sunflower Grocery Stores in Monticello, Dermott and Hamburg for 40 years and celebrated 74 years of marriage last March before Bob’s death on July 29, 2016.
David Leech combined a relentless work ethic and a nose for business to become an entrepreneur at an early age. In the ninth grade, he negotiated a deal with Frank Jackson, publisher of the Advance Monticellonian, to handle all the newspapers vending machines around town. He purchased the vending machines himself from his savings and placed them on every street corner in town, receiving a cut for every newspaper sold.
As a student at UAM, Leech was out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to work as a janitor cleaning the local USDA office before heading to class. When class was over, he sold “upgraded” textbooks to students. “When I say upgraded, I mean I went through them and highlighted the important information, particularly information that I knew had been on tests,” he says. “The bookstore wouldn’t touch those books, but the students loved them.”
With a freshly minted business degree from UAM, Leech opened his first Sunflower-Mayflower Food Store in McGehee on April 1, 1973. He later added stores in Dermott, Monticello, Star City, Cherokee Village, Carlisle, Stuttgart and Searcy. He retired from the grocery business in 2015 and spends much of his time heavily involved in civic activities in Stuttgart.
He credits his success to his father. “I got my work ethic from my Dad,” he says. “I’ve always liked to work. Still do.”
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Kennedy Secret Service agent to speak
Former U.S. Secret Service agent Clint Hill will be the subject of Mrs. Kennedy and Me, part of the South Arkansas Community College Lecture Series. The public is invited to attend. Interviewing Hill will be award-winning journalist Lisa McCubbin, who collaborated with Hill on several books.
Hill, 84, was an agent from 1958 to 1975 under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. He was in the motorcade in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, assigned to protect First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, when the president was assassinated. Hill’s response in shielding Mrs. Kennedy often is credited with saving her life. For his actions that day, Hill received the nation’s highest civilian award for bravery.
He later rose through the ranks of the Secret Service to become assistant director, but Hill lived with feelings of guilt and responsibility for being unable to save President Kennedy, and suffered from what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder. His depression, he said, forced him into retirement at the age of 43. He said that it took him decades to accept that he had done all that he could do that day.
McCubbin has been a TV news anchor and reporter for NBC, ABC and CBS; hosted her own talk-radio show; and spent more than five years in the Middle East as a freelance writer. Her joint presentation with Hill will include Hill’s personal biography, details of his work in the Secret Service including his early years in Kennedy’s detail and his moment-by-moment account of what happened on the day of the assassination, along with rarely seen historical photos and video.
Hill also will take questions from the audience and autograph copies of his and McCubbins’ books, the New York Times No. 1 bestsellers “Mrs. Kennedy and Me,” “Five Days in November” and their most recent “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey With Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford.” Copies will be on sale before and after the lecture.
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Hospital Board Hires Rottman Group to Help Find CEO
The Bradley County Hospital Board held a called meeting Tuesday, October 4, at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of discussing the recruitment of a new Chief Executive Officer. The current CEO, Rex Jones expressed his appreciation to the board for the opportunity to be the CEO at Warren. He told them he got a really good opportunity at Magnolia and that was the only reason he was leaving. Freddie Mobley, Chairman of the Board, thank Mr. Jones for his service. He said he believed the hospital was in better shape currently than when Mr. Jones had arrived.
Mr. Mobley then presented a proposal to the board from the Rottman Group, a company that helps recruit and find hospital administrators. He told the board this was the same group that had helped them when they hired Mr. Jones. The board members discussed the benefits of hiring someone to help them, and each one voiced their opinion that this was probably the best thing to do. Board member Joe Don Greenwood noted that he thought it would be better to go ahead and do this and move on with the effort. The board then voted to hire the Rottman. The fee for their services will be $28,500.
Mr. Jones said he would remain at the hospital until Nov. 18.
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Mr. Mobley then presented a proposal to the board from the Rottman Group, a company that helps recruit and find hospital administrators. He told the board this was the same group that had helped them when they hired Mr. Jones. The board members discussed the benefits of hiring someone to help them, and each one voiced their opinion that this was probably the best thing to do. Board member Joe Don Greenwood noted that he thought it would be better to go ahead and do this and move on with the effort. The board then voted to hire the Rottman. The fee for their services will be $28,500.
Mr. Jones said he would remain at the hospital until Nov. 18.
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Electric Cooperatives Dispatching Crews to Assist in Hurricane Matthew
Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI) will dispatch 10 line crews and equipment to assist with Hurricane Matthew restoration efforts on Oct. 6. These crews will be staged in Macon, Ga. and assist Georgia Power and Light on the project.
Other electric cooperatives across the state may also dispatch crews to assist impacted cooperatives in the hurricane’s path.
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Other electric cooperatives across the state may also dispatch crews to assist impacted cooperatives in the hurricane’s path.
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Friends Wish Dr. Babin Well With His Planned Move
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| Warren High School History Instructor Beverly Reep visits with her former Professor Dr. Claude Babin at a dinner honoring him as he prepares to move to Little Rock. |
Babin came to Arkansas A&M in 1954 and was appointed interim president in 1962 before being urged by the school’s board of trustees to accept a permanent appointment. Babin helped rebuild a frayed relationship between the college and the A&M board of trustees, restored sagging faculty morale, guided the campus through a peaceful integration at the height of the civil rights movement, rebuilt the school’s image in the eyes of a national accrediting agency, and helped facilitate the merger of Arkansas A&M with the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Babin stepped down as chancellor on January 1, 1977 to return to the classroom. He remained a member of the faculty until his retirement in 1992.
The event was attended by a big crowd of well-wisher and friends. They enjoyed the fish dinner and cake and ice cream. They wrote special memories and words of endearment to Dr. Babin.
Attending from Warren were Gregg and Beverly Reep. Gregg noted that Dr. Babin was the Chancellor when he was on campus at UAM. Beverly says, "I had the best of both worlds. Dr. Babin was my Chancellor and then became my history professor. He was also my advisor during my senior year. He was a true inspiration to me." She says she owes much to Dr. Babin and often calls upon her memories of his helpfulness to her as a student to guide her in helping her own pupils.
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Eastside Holds Assembly for Second Grader Battling Cancer
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| Landon arrived at the assembly via a Warren Fire Truck. |
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| Eastside New Vision Charter School students, teachers, and staff were excited to see their friend Landon. |
The school raised $731 for the Go 4 the Goal and the Parent Involvement Team PIT Crew presented $1000 to Landon's family to help with the costs involved in traveling every other week for treatments and other expenses related to his medical needs.
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| The adult staff members waved with enthusiasm for Landon and his family. |
Classes were asked to make signs to show support for Landon. Landon and his family arrived at the assembly riding atop a City of Warren Fire Department truck. As part of the celebration, a balloon release was held.
Landon currently is unable to attend class but teachers send home work so that he can keep up with his studies and stay on track.
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Union Bank Feeds Jr. Team, Band, and Cheerleaders
Union Bank fed the Jr. Jack Band, cheerleaders, and football team Thursday, October 6 prior to their departure to take on the Jr. Bobcats in Dumas. In the photo above is Tricia Wilkinson of Union Bank along with a number of the Jr. Jack players, Joel Tolefree, Head Jr. Jack Coach Steed White, and Randy Rawls of Union Bank.
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Rotarians Host Jr. Rotarians and Coach Nix
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| Left to Right: Dixie Puterbaugh, Melanie Canuto, and Nathan Hairston |
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| Left to Right: Superintendent Bobby Acklin and Coach Joshua Nix |
At the October 4 meeting, Rotarian Bobby Acklin, Superintendent of Warren Public Schools invited head Lumberjack basketball coach Joshua Nix to speak about the upcoming basketball season.
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Pep Rally to be Held on Courthouse Lawn Friday
GO! JACKS! GO!
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LIVE: Warren vs. Dumas, Homecoming Festivities
OTHER HOMECOMING FESTIVITIES
PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY SUBSCRIBED TO WATCH WARREN GAMES, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO DO SO BEFORE WATCHING. IF YOU NEED TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE INSTEAD.
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Watch the 2016 WHS Homecoming Coronation
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GFWC Warren Woman's Club Holds Annual Luncheon
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| Left to Right: GFWC Woman's Club Officers-JeNelle Lipton, President Glenda Cross, Diane Purvis (Standing) Sandra Gatling and Joen Bryant |
After lunch, the meeting was called to order by President Glenda Cross. Minutes were read and approved and the Treasurer’s report was approved. Reports from Committee chairs were heard and new business was discussed. Upcoming activities were mentioned and dates for the annual Christmas Lighting Contest and the club’s Christmas Tour of Homes were announced.
The October meeting is scheduled for October 17th in the home of Judy Gibson. The meeting was adjourned with the club collect.
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DAR Donates $1783.82 to Veterans' Museum
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| Left to Right: John Little, Floyd Brown, Harry (Buddy) McCaskill, Mary Helen McCaskill, Kim Forrest, Carol Nichols, Jennita Peek, Sandra Gatling, Lana Pagan and Jeanne Claycomb |
The Bradley County Veterans' Museum is a non-profit organization that is deeply committed in keeping the memory of our veterans alive. The Museum is comprised of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Museum is run solely by donations.
The Captain Robert Abernethy Chapter of DAR is a women's service organization that was established 30 years ago. The chapter is dedicated to promoting historic preservation, education, patriotism, and honoring all the veterans of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
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Watch This Early Edition Of This Week's BO SHOW
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CHOP TALK To Air A Night Earlier Tonight at 9PM
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UAM Reports 7.74 Percent Enrollment Increase For Fall 2016
MONTICELLO, AR — Enrollment for the 2016 fall semester at the University of Arkansas at Monticello increased by nearly eight percent over the previous year, according to official figures released from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
UAM is reporting an enrollment of 3,925, up by 282 students (7.74 percent) over last fall’s 3,643 and the second highest fall enrollment ever recorded in the institution’s 107-year history. The record fall enrollment of 3,945 was recorded in 2012. The 2016 enrollment number also marks the end of a three-year period of declining enrollments.
“These numbers are very encouraging and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of so many,” said UAM Chancellor Karla Hughes. “Our long-term goal is to make UAM a model open enrollment institution while maintaining a quality academic environment that makes this campus an attractive option for the constituency we serve. As we continue to focus on student success and the resulting improvement in both retention and graduation rates, I believe we will see our enrollment numbers continue to climb.”
Of the 3,925 students enrolled, 3,669 are undergraduate students and 256 are graduate students. Last year’s undergraduate / graduate numbers were 3,451 and 198.
Enrollment figures for fall semesters 2011 through 2015 were 3,920 in 2011, 3,945 in 2012, 3,893 in 2013, 3,854 in 2014, and 3,643 in 2015.
For more information, contact Jim Brewer, director of media services, at (870) 460-1274.
UAM is reporting an enrollment of 3,925, up by 282 students (7.74 percent) over last fall’s 3,643 and the second highest fall enrollment ever recorded in the institution’s 107-year history. The record fall enrollment of 3,945 was recorded in 2012. The 2016 enrollment number also marks the end of a three-year period of declining enrollments.
“These numbers are very encouraging and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of so many,” said UAM Chancellor Karla Hughes. “Our long-term goal is to make UAM a model open enrollment institution while maintaining a quality academic environment that makes this campus an attractive option for the constituency we serve. As we continue to focus on student success and the resulting improvement in both retention and graduation rates, I believe we will see our enrollment numbers continue to climb.”
Of the 3,925 students enrolled, 3,669 are undergraduate students and 256 are graduate students. Last year’s undergraduate / graduate numbers were 3,451 and 198.
Enrollment figures for fall semesters 2011 through 2015 were 3,920 in 2011, 3,945 in 2012, 3,893 in 2013, 3,854 in 2014, and 3,643 in 2015.
For more information, contact Jim Brewer, director of media services, at (870) 460-1274.
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Hometown Health Coalition to Meet Tuesday
The Bradley County Hometown Health Coalition Meeting will be Tuesday from 12:00 noon-1:00pm at the Bradley Medical Center Conference Room at the hospital. It will be a joint meeting with the Bradley Health Fair Planning Group.
Hope to see you all there!
Lunch will not be provided at this meeting however if this is during your lunch hour please feel free to bring a lunch and eat it during our meeting.
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Hope to see you all there!
Lunch will not be provided at this meeting however if this is during your lunch hour please feel free to bring a lunch and eat it during our meeting.
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