On a warm June afternoon, three rising Rector High School seniors met at Caffeinated Cow to share tales of 2025 Boys and Girls State. For the first time in program history, the separate events were held the same week but on different campus locations. Jaxon Burns spent the week in Conway at UCA while Naomi Liljenberg and Jaydin Stirnaman were housed at Harding University in Searcy.
Once again this year, both the Piggott and Rector School Districts are taking part in the USDA Summer Feeding program. Under the federally- funded effort, all those under the age of 18 are provided free meals at local schools. The meals are the same for all children regardless of family income, race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. No registration is required for those attending.
Property issues and zoning issues dominated the City Council meeting on Thursday, June 12 at the Rector Community Center. Terri Shultz and Ivan Jones who live in the Greenville/ 8th Street/7th Street neighborhood addressed City Council regarding the conditions of overgrown yards, debris, and vermin infestation in the area due to dilapidated, unoccupied houses and absent homeowners. “No one lives in the houses. The former residents have left the area or are deceased. The grass is taller than I am,” commented Schultz, “and now Ivan and I have seen rats.” Noting not only the unsightly mess but the health risk for citizens, Shultz asked for some kind of help in remedying the situation. She stated that Jones would mow if the area in question did not have pipes jutting above the ground similar to the ones that ruined the deck on his mower in the attempt to mow previously.
Black River Area Development Corporation will hold a public meeting at 10 a.m. Friday, June 20 in regards to Community Services Block Grant Budget and Application for 2026. The meeting will be held in person at 1403 Hospital Drive, Pocahontas and virtually.
“Gathering: At the Kitchen Table,” a juried exhibition of regional Arkansas artists, will open to the public on Saturday, June 28, at Bradbury Art Museum (BAM). Also opening will be “Breaking Binaries: Hybrid Processes” and “Bridging Geographies of Labor,” solo exhibitions from Hannah Keats and Ebenezer Nketsiah Mensah.
The Piggott School Board met in regular session on Tuesday, June 10 with all board members present. Before the meeting started the board elected Jacob Richardson as board president, Fallon Winscott Boshoff as vice-president and Rob Chandler as secretary.
RECTOR - The Rector Public Library kicked-off their Summer Reading Program with Hometown Heroes on Wednesday, June 4. “Over 180 children and adults attended our Hometown Heroes program, ready to explore, learn, and meet some of our local champions,” commented Virginia Shipley, Rector Public Library Assistant Director.
