Local leaders Jack Hill and Joe Webb have been tasked with spearheading the process to develop a strategic plan for the Coahoma County community through engaging grassroots involvement.

Hill said that he and Webb are “humbled and honored” to serve as co-chairs during the planning phase of the initiative.

This new plan came out of a meeting called by District 26 State Rep. Chuck Espy on Aug. 13 to address the impact of Delta Wire leaving Clarksdale.

Working together in the spirit of cooperation was the presentation given to the Gurdon Rotary on Thurs. Oct. 1.

Members from the Arkadelphia Chamber of Commerce visited with the Rotary about the resources Clark County has to offer its citizens.

“We want everyone to know that the Arkadelphia Chamber isn’t about boundaries or territories, we want to work together to maximize manpower and resources to get something done,” said Connie Nelson, Executive Director of the Arkadelphia Chamber.

Special to the Standard

Clark County has received $95,000 federal grant to help develop a new line of business under which an established company will manufacture fuel pellets using waste products from the company’s timber operations.

Gov. Mike Beebe, keynote speaker for Monday’s opening celebration of the second Arkadelphia College Preparatory Acadamy, makes conversation during the reception. In left photo, three of the 88 students selected for the prep academy chat amount themselves. The academy is a partnership between Henderson and Arkadelphia Public Schools and is supported by the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancoep. This year’s program will serve 88 students from the Arkadelphia, Centerpoint, and Gurdon school districts. Other state partners include Ouachita Baptist University, Dawson Education Cooperative< Ouachita Technical College and the Arkansas Department of Education.

Henderson State University will host 88 ninth and tenth graders from local school districts as the second year of an innovative educational opportunity in Clark County begins. The Arkadelphia College Preparatory Acadamy is scheduled to resume classes on Oct. 24 on Henderson’s campus. The program was designed as part of the High School Redesign Initiativeof the Southwest-A Education Renewal Zone and the Arkansas Department of Education.

More must seek degrees, skills training

Mississippi has lost 50,000 jobs in the last two years and it would “need 10 more Nissans to fill the gap,” state economist Phil Pepper said Friday.

“We will see very little increase in employment in the next several years,” he said.

And education will be the key to making the most of the opportunities that are there, Pepper and other speakers said during an economic forum at the Jackson Marriott sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, an independent, nonpartisan initiative that analyzes policies.

If enough tax revenues are available, the Clark County Budget and Finance Committee may approve Sheriff David Turner’s request for $215,000 more than what was appropriated for his total budget last year. Turner said he is requesting more for 2010 so that he will not have to go before the committee next year. The committee has, for two years in a row, convened with the sheriff in the fourth quarter to discuss over-budgeting.

The wheels of the Delta Bridge Project continue to turn and seem to continue to improve and revitalize Phillips County and Helena-West Helena. Joe Black, president of Southern Bancorp Capital Partners, in conjunction with the DBP, is seeking action from the Helena-West Helena City Council to declare parts of Downtown Helena a development district.

INDIANOLA, Miss., Oct. 19, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) today will join Community Bank of North Mississippi, Guaranty Bank and Trust Company, Planters Bank and Trust Co., and Southern Bancorp in announcing $10,000 in Partnership grants that have been awarded to Indianola Main Street.