Boozman learns of Civil War battlefields, SADA efforts
PRESCOTT – U.S. Sen. John Boozman was in Prescott Thursday afternoon where he attended a meeting of the Southwest Arkansas Development Alliance (SADA).
He also toured the Nevada County Depot and Museum, learning more about Prescott and Nevada County.
Steve Harris, executive director of the Hempstead County Economic Development Commission, talked about SADA and how eight counties in Southwest Arkansas are working together to attract business and industry to the area. With the unemployment rate low, he said, employers are having trouble filling jobs. One thing SADA is doing to help change this is holding job fairs in the fall and spring. The fall job fair, called Explore Success, brings eighth graders to Hempstead Hall where they can meet and talk with potential future employers, find out what they’ll need to study to work at any particular plant or business. The spring fair is for juniors and seniors. This gives them the opportunity to literally look for a job after graduation as they can talk in depth with possible employers.
The University of Arkansas at Hope-Texarkana is also working with area schools adding more vocational programs to its curriculum and making it so students can graduate high school with a vocational certificate or an associate’s degree. With the programs in place, students can take classes for $66 a credit hour.
Harris pointed out manufacturing counts for more than 20 percent of jobs in SWAR, which is primarily the state’s timber basket, with poultry a close second. He added there are four poultry processing plants in the SW corner of the state.
Everything, he said, is tied together and any industry that comes to the area helps everybody as employees are willing to commute for a good job. However, he continued, the region is losing population, with the challenge to reverse this trend. Educating young people and keeping them home is a start.
Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said it’s important for the region to get updates on what Sen. Boozman is doing in Washington, D.C., adding SADA will keep his office informed so he can try and help get industry to locate here.
She said area businesses are working with schools to make sure the young people get the education they need for the jobs available. One of the main problems, she added, is how difficult it is to get business and industry to located in the region because of the lack of broadband internet access.
Fred Harris was on hand to talk about the OYEA program. This is a class for students in Prescott High School allowing them to work with and raise animals to show at the Nevada County and Southwest District fairs. The idea, he said, started when the administration contacted County Agent Darren Neal about an animal husbandry program. Neal contacted Harris and the idea became a reality.
OYEA is a 501(c)3 organization not affiliated with the Prescott School District, but working in conjunction with 4-H. Harris said local donations and grants have been obtained to build a new barn for pigs, sheep, goats and rabbits, with $120,000 being raised so far for the program.
OYEA, Harris said, could be a model program for other high schools in the state as there’s nothing like this anywhere else. What makes the program different is it furnishes the animals and feed, while the students are required to work with the animals and make sure they’re fed and watered. Students and their families aren’t out anything as the costs are absorbed by the program. A pig sale was held earlier, Harris added, with plans to sell bulls later on. The groundwork for this is an Angus calf donated by Percy Malone.
Because of the program’s success last year, it’s been doubled this year and will see four classes with 40 students involved.
Boozman said this sounds like a great program.
Harris said the goal is to teach compassion, respect and responsibility, something missing in a lot of homes today. He continued, saying the program will be including more on genetics and artificial insemination, as the future of the industry is heading in this direction.
Judy Duke, museum curator, talked about the museum and its history and how it was converted from an old train station, which was scheduled for demolition, into a museum through the efforts of John Teeter.
She said the museum is also a 501(c)3 entity that owns portions of two Civil War battlefields, Prairie D’Ane and Elkins Ferry. She said the museum owns 442 acres of Elkins Ferry and 808 of Prairie D’Ane. Roughly $2.5 million was raised to purchase these tracts of land which are ideally located along I-30.
Duke talked about the historic markers in place for the battlefields and plans to develop them for tourism as Civil War tourism is big. Plans are also in the work to include the entire Camden Expedition as a Scenic By-Way. Work is being done to get approval from all counties involved and the Arkansas Transportation and Highway Department.
The museum, she added, participates in local and community events, including the Fall Festival, Christmas Parade and having a booth at the Nevada County Fair. It also hosts Civil War reenactments periodically with the next one scheduled for 2021.
Tourism, Godwin said, is economic development. The state, she added, has an interest in putting in a museum to promote the Civil War battlefields in Arkansas. With what Nevada County has to offer, especially the ease of access, she said, it would be good to have the museum in Prescott.
Boozman agreed, saying the Nevada County sites are pristine and in much better shape than many Civil War battlefields. He added there’s an international market for the Civil War.
