
Ozarks At Large

Rilla Askew and Timothy O'Grady are novelists and visiting associate professors at the University of Arkansas. They'll read from their work Thursday night at Nightbird Books in Fayetteville.
In our monthly series on numbers, Dr. Edmond Harris tells us that the number 'two' is where statements can begin to be made with numbers.
The city of Fayetteville was recently reassessed by the Insurance Services Office, which found that the city has made several improvements to fire protection since the last such rating more than a decade ago. The state highway department encountered few problems with clearing highways after yesterday's wintry precipitation that moved across the state. And two superstars will perform in Rogers later this month.

All are topics in this morning's week in review.
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has a new program designed to help landowners clean up hazardous substances without being fined. Senator John Boozman offers his thoughts on the Farm Bill that passed the House and is now on its way to the Senate. And the state's attorney general is being asked to clarify the state's new voter ID law.
A new report released yesterday suggests that home sales were up in Arkansas throughout last year. One of Fayetteville's trails is nationally recognized. The U of A announces that a multi-million-dollar deficit in its Advancement Division will be eliminated this fiscal year. NWACC reports a decline in spring enrollment, while ATU-Ozark posts another record spring semester. And several area Main Street programs receive awards from Main Street Arkansas.
Becca offers help for Valentine's Day outings with this list of regional visual arts and museum events.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Monday, June 9, 2014
Ahead on Ozarks, we learn the differences between various types of Arkansas charter schools. Plus, a UA researcher receives a grant to study the genetic composition of diatoms.
The Ozarks Genealogical Society's annual conference is scheduled for Sept. 13-14 in Springfield, Missouri, and the featured speaker is D. Joshua Taylor (http://www.djoshuataylor.com).
The first event outside of Eureka Springs for the Creative Energy Project will bring yarn, and plenty of it, to Bentonville.
Link: For more about Yarnology or the Creative Energy Project, www.creativeenergyproject.com
Officials with hunger relief organizations in Arkansas express concern over recent efforts to remove SNAP funding from the federal Farm Bill. Central Arkansas leaders request information from ExxonMobil regarding a stretch of pipeline in the Lake Maumelle Watershed. The Arkansas House and Senate Education Committees discuss the new Common Core curriculum, set to take effect when schools start in about a month. And the Fayetteville Public Library board of directors moves forward with an offer to purchase the former City Hospital property.
"Cut Me Loose" by T Model Ford
In the first of our series on the deployment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Arkansas, Cynthia Crone, the state’s insurance department deputy commissioner, explains the fundamentals, including getting an early look at Arkansas’s insurance exchange, now referred to as marketplace.
Early next month the organization called the Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A. Inc. will hold its annual convention in Rogers. We talked to John Bircher, National Spokesman for the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Link: To learn more about the Military Order of the Purple Heart, visit www.purpleheart.org