News

EX-FEDERAL OFFICIAL, VACCINES, STATE HISTORIAN LEAD WEEK

BY THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Monday, November 5, 2007 10:03 AM CST

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater will visit Pine Bluff today, free flu vaccines will be given Thursday, and an Arkansas historian will make a stop in town to sign copies of a book Saturday.

Slater will be the speaker at a banquet at 7 p.m. today at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. His speech is part of the inaugural Family Economic Security Conference — Creating a Shared Vision.

Other speakers at the two day conference include:

n Melanie Nathanson, director, Federal Policy Initiative, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities at Washington, D.C., at the opening session at 9:30 a.m. today.

n Miriam Shark, senior associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, at a noon luncheon today.

n Maria Haley, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, at a luncheon at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The Jefferson County Health Department will give free flu shots from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.

The effort is part of the health department’s Local Mass Dispensing Plan, designed to insure that health professionals and volunteers are prepared to dispense medication to a large population in a short period of time.

If Arkansas were ever to experience pandemic influenza or another such disaster, it might be necessary to distribute medications to many citizens quickly, a spokesman said.

Arkansas historian Janis K. Percefull is on a statewide book signing tour and will be at Waldenbooks at The Pines mall on Saturday to sign copies of “Ouachita Springs Region: A Curiosity of Nature.”

The book examines the federal government’s role in the development of the Hot Springs National Park and surrounding areas in the unique context of a “springs region.”

She is currently the director of the Ouachita Springs Region Historical Research Center located in Garland County west of Hot Springs. Details: Call Percefull at (501) 767-4779 or 767-1446.

Also this week:

n The Pine Bluff City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. today in Council Chambers at the Pine Bluff Civic Center. A proposed ordinance, which will be read for the first time, would ban novelty lighters within the city of Pine Bluff. The proposed law is sponsored by 1st Ward Alderman Thelma Walker.

n The Jefferson County Humane Society will meet at 6 p.m. today at Ann’s Country Cafe in the Watson Chapel area. Limited funds are available for financial assistance for the spaying/neutering of pets. Targeted animals will be dogs of 35 pounds and more. Because funds are limited, each case will be evaluated on an individual basis, according to a Society spokesman, who added that additional information is available by calling 534-0059. The Society is always accepting donations, which can be made out to JCHS and mailed to: JCHS, P.O. Box 2233, Pine Bluff, Ark. 71613. The group’s new Web site is jeffcoarkansashumanesociety.org.

n The Metropolitan Emergency Communications Association Board will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the EOC room of the Office of Emergency Management.

n The Lupus Foundation of America, Arkansas Chapter, will host a Pine Bluff support group meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Jefferson Comprehensive Care System, 1101 Tennessee St. All meetings are free and open to the public and are not only for lupus patients, according to a spokesman for the organization. Details: Call Chanlander Webster, chairman, at 543-0699 or toll free at (800) 294-8878.

n The Watson Chapel Water Association announces plans to build a new water tank. The elevated storage tank will be approximately 145 feet tall and located at Sorrels and Culp roads. A loan closing ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the association office, 6909 Sulphur Springs Road.

Print this story   |   Email this story