For three days, state legislators, mayors, county judges, and state and federal officials will join community leaders at the annual Arkansas Rural Development Conference. This year’s conference, to be held May 23-25 at the Hot Springs Convention Center, will be hosted by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s Rural Services Division and the Arkansas Rural Development […]
B&G Club Director to Run for State Representative
Jasen Kelly, longtime Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Saline County in Benton, recently announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for State Representative (Dist. 28). The seat is currently held by State Representative Kim Hammer, who has stated that he will not seek re-election in 2018, but rather will run for […]
VIDEO:State Legislators Update County Citizens on New Laws
On Friday morning, State Legislators serving Saline County spoke at Saline Memorial Hospital to report on all the new laws from the recently ended session. There was a public breakfast hosted by the three chambers of commerce from Hot Springs Village, Benton & Bryant. The following video shows Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, Rep. Andy Davis, Rep. […]
Help Bryant Archery Students Raise Money to Go to National Championship
Bryant’s Hill Farm Elementary School archery team came in First Place in their age group in the “Arkansas Archery in the Schools” State Tournament in Hot Springs on March 3, 2017. The tournament is put on by the Arkansas National Archery in the Schools Program (ANASP). The win means they will be going to Kentucky for the […]
Judge Sentences Former Haskell Police Officer for Sexual Assault on a Minor
Kyle Vaughan, age 33, of Benton was sentenced Thursday morning, January 12, 2017, after having entered a guilty plea to charges relating to sex with and sexual pictures of a minor. Saline County Circuit Judge Grisham Phillips sentenced Vaughan to a total of ten years in prison, with five of those years suspended. Conditions of […]
AG’s Office to Host 5 Free Online Webcast Training Events to Educate the Public
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has opened registration for a winter webcast series of training with the following topics: Internet Safety – Wed, Jan 18, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Dating Violence Prevention – Wed, Jan 25, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Common Scams – Wed, Feb 8, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Identity Theft – Wed, Feb 15, 10:00-11:00 a.m. The Arkansas Freedom Of […]
Arkansas Minimum Wage Is About to Go Up
State minimum wage is about to go up for the third consecutive year. On January 1, 2017, the minimum wage in Arkansas will increase to $8.50 per hour This is due to the Arkansas Minimum Wage Initiative, Issue 5, a ballot initiative passed by voters in the 2014 general election. It went up by $1.25 in 2015 […]
Gov. Hutchinson Legislative Priorities for 2017: Tax Cuts, Pre-K, Reading, Fosters & Robert E. Lee
In a news conference Tuesday morning, Governor Asa Hutchinson laid out his full list of priorities for the 2017 legislative session. Each of the announced initiatives fall into one of three categories, consistent with the Governor’s priorities: Economic Development, Education, and Efficiencies and Government Transformation. Here is the outline below. Detailed info is at the […]
Former Saline County Deputy Is the Next Faulkner County Sheriff
Congratulations to Tim Ryals or “Sheriff Ryals as he will be called. He was voted in to fill the open position of Faulkner County Sheriff. Ryals was formerly with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office in the 80s, then the Arkansas State Police and also served former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s security staff. The seat was […]
Benton Schools Ranks 1st for Best Overall Schools in LR Metro; See Other Rankings
Niche, a ranking website that combines reviews and analysis, has assembled a list of “Best Schools Overall.” In their listing, Benton Schools ranks 1st in the Little Rock metro area, 9th in Arkansas, and 794th in the United States. Click to see the full report card for Benton. The ratings are given a composite grade based […]