Representatives from the Conway County  School Counts!  initiative announced the beginning of the initiative’s second phase during a press conference held recently at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton (UACCM). In conjunction with the announcement, representatives from the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute of the University of Arkansas announced their support for the initiative through a pledge of $55,000 to match donations raised in the community by the  School Counts!  Steering Committee within the next year.  Representatives from the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute  of the University of Arkansas System members of the Conway County  School Counts!  Steering Committee a $55,000 donation to match funds raised in the  community. (From Left) Kathy Edgerton, director of  marketing and communications at Winthrop Rockefeller  Institute; Patty Shipp,  School Counts!  committee  member; David Davies, executive director at Winthrop  Rockefeller Institute;  School

University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton students Meagan Aitchison and Amy Garret are among 19 pediatric cancer survivors selected this year to receive CARTI Kids Dennis Jungmeyer Scholarships valued at $2,500 each and awarded by the CARTI Foundation in Little Rock.  Presented annually to current or former CARTI pediatric cancer patients, the scholarships are named in honor of cancer survivor and CARTI Foundation Board director-emeritus Dennis Jungmeyer of North Little Rock. Jungmeyer is a co-founder of the CARTI Kids Golf Classic, proceeds of which benefit CARTI Kid programs and activities. Established in 1986, the tournament has since raised more than $2 million. Pediatric cancer survivor and UACCM student Meagan Aitchison received the Dick Lankford Memorial Fellowship Award and a $2,500 Dennis Jungmeyer Scholarship at a special presentation ceremony held  June 25 at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Pictured,  from left: Dennis Jungmeyer, award sponsor representati

Mrs. Linda Jaramillo was recently selected as the new division chair of humanities, social sciences, and mathematics at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton. She has been an employee of the College for 12 years, which were spent as a part-time and full-time instructor in the business department. Jaramillo earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In her new position, she is responsible for coordinating the instructional activities of the division.  “I am truly honored to have the opportunity to serve as division chair at UACCM. I look forward to working with the wonderful faculty and staff within the division of humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. I am confident that together we will succeed in meeting the opportunities and challenges that await us in the upcoming academic year.”

Journey of a Non-Traditional College Student Nearly 10 years ago, on February 22, 1999, Levi Strauss & Co. notified the public that they would soon be shutting the doors to their factory in Morrilton, which had been in operation for more than 50 years and carried more than 600 on its payroll. The announcement of the closure hit Morrilton especially hard as the Arrow Automotive Industries factory in town had announced only a week earlier that it too had plans to close the plant in Morrilton, which employed 460. The town was in turmoil, with nearly half of the working population out of work basically overnight.  Alice Curtis, one of the employees who lost their jobs at Levi Strauss, didn’t know where to begin, as she had worked in the factory since moving to Morrilton from Shreveport, Louisiana in 1981. She began searching for other options soon after the announcement of the plant’s closure. Fortunately, Curtis learned that she could receive government scholarships and unemployment