Arkadelphia Promise

Yesterday evening, a host of local and state dignitaries were on hand at a packed Badger Stadium to announce a new scholarship program. The Arkadelphia Promise Scholarship promises full college tuition to all Arkadelphia Public School students meeting certain academic criteria.  This is truly great news for the future of our community. Thanks to the sponsors, the Ross Foundation and Southern Bancorp, for making such a generous investment into our town’s children.

For more information, view the U.S. Secretary of Education’s address on the Arkadelphia Promise below:

Arkadelphia Promise Address by Secy. of Ed. Arne Duncan from Southern Bancorp on Vimeo.

Meeting with ABC Director Michael Langley

Michael  Langley, the Director of the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control  Division, is coming to Arkadelphia for a town hall meeting about the  transition to a wet county. The meeting will be November 30, 2010, at 10:00am in the Arkadelphia City Board room.

If you’re interested in getting a license to sell beer and wine in your restaurant, opening a package store, or just curious about the process, you’re welcome to attend.

How much is a year of life worth?

A recent report by the Associated Press attempted to answer this question by looking at the costs of prescription drugs. That report concluded the cost of extending the life of terminal cancer patients by just one year can be as high as $800,000. That's how much Medicare and insurance companies are willing to pay for drugs that keep cancer patients alive. A more commonly-seen figure is $50–100,000, which is still quite a bit of money to most Americans.

This question — how much is a year of life worth? — is a touchy subject in the practice of law. Every single one of my clients who have been injured, or who lost a family member, wouldn't take any amount of money if they could just put everything back to the way it was before the wrongful occurrence. That can't happen, so every case involving personal injury or death requires a jury to place a dollar amount on the value of human life. That's a hard thing to do, but our civil justice system has no other way of correcting wrongs. There is no "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" justice in civil cases. Making someone pay for their mistakes comes down to just that: money is the only remedy for physical harm permitted in our civil courts.

Leadership Clark County III - Education

Today was LCC III’s education session. We began the morning at Henderson’s Community Education Center, which has all types of vocational training available for community residents. This center was founded by a friend of my family, Ed Redenbaugh, who did one heck of a job.

We then visited Perritt Primary School and learned about the health of the Arkadelphia Public School system. As a father, I was encouraged to learn that test scores are way up within the system over the past six years. I also hear there is an exciting new education announcement in the works for our schools…

We wrapped up the day downtown at Dawson Eduction Co-op, where we heard about the state of both universities. Enrollment is up on both campuses, which signifies growth of one of our most valuable resources.

During the late afternoon session, our four groups pitched three projects, two of which will be selected by our group at large. Look for some exciting things to happen in Clark County over the next year!

Wet day, wet vote

Yesterday brought more much-needed rain than we’ve had in months, and the wet weather foreshadowed the results of our vote last night. The final tally: 56% wet to 44% dry. Congratulations, Clark County, now let’s move forward together!