Panel discusses how to improve tourism

A meeting to discuss ways of improving tourism in Jackson County was held Tuesday at the Newport Economic Development Commission building.
Scott Sudduth, Welcome to Arkansas Coordinator for the Arkansas Hospitality Association (AHA), spoke to a group of civic leaders about how to increase tourism in the area. 
He stressed getting frontline workers, those that work the counters and deal directly with customers, to be aware of the local attractions and places of interest. 
Educating these employees about the locations and general descriptions of these points of interest should help keep many more tourism dollars from being spent in other counties or towns.
Local attractions in the area include:  Portfest, Depot Days, Tuckerman Hometown Days and Fall Festival, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hwy. 67, Lockwood and Remmel parks, the Newport Airbase, Arnett’s Doll Museum, W.A. Billingsley Memorial Library genealogy room, the Farmer’s Market, the Shoffner Research Farm, the Sam Walton Memorial Corner Store, cemeteries, restaurants, nightclubs, motels, sports and 14 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The places included on the National Register of Historic Places in the county are:  the Arkansas Bank & Trust Company building, the Empie-Van Dyke house, the First Presbyterian Church, the Gregg house, the Jackson County Courthouse, the Jackson Guards Memorial at Jacksonport State Park, Jacksonport State Park, the Missouri-Pacific Depot, the New Home School building in Swifton, the Newport American Legion Community Hut, the Newport Bridge, Newport Junior and Senior High schools, the Phillips 66 station in Swifton and the Rock Island Depot in Weldon.
The AHA represents the restaurant, entertainment, lodging, travel and tourism industries in the state and is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) organization.
According to their website, the organization represents the hospitality industry before the Arkansas General Assembly and other government agencies, promotes public awareness, offers training to build the future of the industry and sponsors an annual trade show featuring the newest technology in goods and services for the hospitality industry.  The group works closely with local, state and federal agencies to promote the industry, and the AHA is partners with the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.










help at the shelter.
“We also need people that will play with the puppies and help socialize them,” Robertson said.
The interior of the building also needs some additional work to be finished.  Local plumber Bob Patterson recently put in gas lines and heaters in the structure at no cost to the humane society.
John 3:16 and members of the New Life Church have also assisted with work at the animal shelter.
“We had intended to pay him, but he refused to take any money from us,” Robertson said.  “He laid all of our gas lines and installed our heaters for us.”
Someone is also needed to take photographs of the animals and place them on petfinder.com.  The website has helped the group get animals adopted by people from states across the country.  A fee of $50 is required for adopting an animal, but most have been spayed and neutered.
The shelter, located at the Airbase, is currently home to 24 adult dogs, 13 puppies and a cat.  Four of the canines must live outside because there are only 20 individual pens and some of the dogs have been in the group’s care for as many as two years.  Before the shelter was built, all of the animals were kept in foster homes.
Robertson keeps 19 dogs at her home, and 12 of those are her personal pets.  She first began taking in strays about 20 years ago after a friend informed her what really happens to animals at the pound.
“I got started when I found out they were putting a bunch of dogs to sleep at the pound,” Robertson said.  “I was really naïve, and I thought a dog pound was where your dog was help at the shelter.
“We also need people that will play with the puppies and help socialize them,” Robertson said.
The interior of the building also needs some additional work to be finished.  Local plumber Bob Patterson recently put in gas lines and heaters in the structure at no cost to the humane society.
John 3:16 and members of the New Life Church have also assisted with work at the animal shelter.
“We had intended to pay him, but he refused to take any money from us,” Robertson said.  “He laid all of our gas lines and installed our heaters for us.”
Someone is also needed to take photographs of the animals and place them on petfinder.com.  The website has helped the group get animals adopted by people from states across the country.  A fee of $50 is required for adopting an animal, but most have been spayed and neutered.
The shelter, located at the Airbase, is currently home to 24 adult dogs, 13 puppies and a cat.  Four of the canines must live outside because there are only 20 individual pens and some of the dogs have been in the group’s care for as many as two years.  Before the shelter was built, all of the animals were kept in foster homes.
Robertson keeps 19 dogs at her home, and 12 of those are her personal pets.  She first began taking in strays about 20 years ago after a friend informed her what really happens to animals at the pound.
“I got started when I found out they were putting a bunch of dogs to sleep at the pound,” Robertson said.  “I was really naïve, and I thought a dog pound was where your dog was taken if it got lost.”
Several of the animals were set to be put down that day, and Robertson chose to rescue all of them from their fate.
“I went to the pound, and they were going to put those dogs to sleep,” Robertson said.  “I decided to take them all home with me.”
About five years later, Robertson, Dr. Joe David Smith, Shelia Crowder and Hanna Dickinson combined their efforts and founded the Jackson County Humane Society.  The group now has about ten active volunteers and numerous members.  A fee of $25 is required to join the humane society and become a member.
Some of the problems the humane society has encountered are individuals abandoning animals at the shelter without informing anyone first.
“We have had people that leave little, tiny puppies in the pens with big dogs,” Robertson said.  “They have no idea if those dogs will hurt the puppies.”
The proper way to turn an animal into the shelter is to contact the humane society and fill out the necessary paperwork.
“There is a surrender form and a fee, but it isn’t as much about the money as it is that we need information about the dog,” Robertson said.  “We would like to know if the dog has had its shots and how old it is.”
Another more obvious difficulty for the humane society is finding someone to adopt certain breeds or colors of canines.
“We have trouble finding homes for the mutts, hounds and black dogs,” Robertson said.  “There is a stigma against black dogs, and people just don’t seem to want them.”
For more information, to become a volunteer or join the Jackson County Humane Society contact Rita Grigsby at 523-3396 or 217-5878.














of Hampton’s, to see who was the ring’s original owner.
“He graduated that same year and he knew who the ring belonged to,”  Wells said.
Gilliaum then phoned another classmate, Susan Metcalf, and she called Hampton to ask if he knew where his class ring was.
The ring has tremendous sentimental value to Hampton because his mother helped him purchase it.
“My mom helped me get the money for the deposit on the ring, and she never even asked what happened to it,” Hampton said.
His mother was especially of Hampton because he was the only one of his siblings to earn a high school diploma.
“It meant a great deal to me because there were six kids in my family,”  Hampton said.  “I was the youngest and the only one to graduate from high school.”
Nobody knows how Hampton’s ring got from the bowling alley to the park, but he is definitely pleased it has been found and returned.
“I’m not sure how it got from the bowling alley to the park, and I will probably never know,”  Hampton said.  “I’m just happy that I have finally gotten it back.”
Hampton has inquired about having the ring adjusted to fit his finger and plans on wearing it in the future.
“I am going to get it resized and wear it,” Hampton said.  “It will always be a reminder to me that nothing is ever truly lost.”
The ring was returned to Hampton in pristine condition and appeared as if it had never been taken out of the box.
Hampton does regret losing the ring because of what the ring means and symbolizes.
“Back then having a class ring was kind of a big deal, and they cost quite a bit,”  Hampton said.  “None of my high school sweethearts ever got a chance to wear it because I didn’t have it for very long before I lost it.”
At least Joan, Hampton’s wife of 42 years, does not have to be jealous of his former flames.














important.
“People should help each other out when they need it, and it is very rewarding to know that you helped somebody in their time of need,” Pascal said.  “I think that is what most people want to do, but maybe they don’t know where or how to help out.”
Some of Pascal’s volunteers are jobless, but they still sacrifice their time and effort to assist others who are more in need.
“A few of the people that work with us have lost their jobs, but they are still willing to show up to help out,” Pascal said.  “We have a great sense of community, and there are many positive things about the city of Tuckerman.  We have people struggling to help each other out, and that is a truly wonderful thing.”
Pascal, who also helped get a safe room established at the local school, has worked all across the United States and other parts of the world to provide help for those in need, but she feels helping out in her hometown is by far the most rewarding.
“It is great for me to be able to say that I have helped open 19 schools in South Africa, but I don’t live there,” Pascal said.  “I’m still very glad that I can do things like that.”
The former teacher is very pleased with what ECIO has been able to accomplish in the area, but she still thinks more can be done.
“The are about 20 people there every Monday working their little hearts out to help other members of our community, and I think that is something to be pretty proud of,” Pascal said.  “People do amazing things if it is for helping someone else.”
Pascal is also delighted to have established a program providing food to local elementary school children.  Backpacks are filled with food and distributed to students based on recommendations by the school.
“We are working very closely with the school, and we are so proud of what they are doing academically,” Pascal said.  “They are doing really well at the elementary school.”
The program works out of the former superintendent’s office at the campus, and up to 70 children receive the backpacks each week.  Parental permission is required to participate in the program which began last March.  All of the items are “kid friendly” and most have easy-to-open lids.
Once feeding and clothing are children has been accomplished, Pascal hopes to provide them a place to gather and have fun.
“My dream is to build a youth center that enables kids to come and be together in a supervised environment,” Pascal said.  “If we ever get to a point where we can get the money, I would love to do that.”
Pascal asserts there are very few options to entertain youngsters in the community.
“We don’t have enough things for our young people to do around here, and we need a place where they can get together and have fun,” Pascal said.  “They can’t even see a movie anymore without driving to Batesville, Searcy or Jonesboro.”
Pascal even has a name in mind for the center once it is built.  She hopes to name the center after current Arkansas Governor and Jackson county native Mike Beebe.
Children are our most valuable resource, and Pascal insists it is much tougher maturing now than it was when she was a kid.
“When I grew up here it was much easier than it is now, and a lot of people have forgotten that,” Pascal said.  “We are always critical of our young people, but it’s not easy being a kid now.”
For more information, to make a donation or to learn how to become a volunteer, call 349-2001 or stop by the ECIO building located on Hwy. 167 next to the water treatment plant.