Arkansas
Arkansas Center for Independence completes Newport disabilities facility – Talk Business & Politics
Jane Parnell was a longtime educator in the Newport area and when she died her family had a decision to make about her estate. She had a nephew with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and the family decided to donate $500,000 from her estate to the Arkansas Center for Independence, Executive Director Glenda Rutledge-May told Talk Business & Politics.
ACI has recently completed construction of its $2.5 million facility in Newport. Located on two and a half acres, the 8,750 square-foot building is centered in the heart of town next to the WRMC Medical Complex.
The donation helped to propel their years-long fundraising efforts, she said.
“We had two fundraisers a year for eight years until COVID hit … without that donation, we might still be having fundraisers,” she said.
For the past 63 years, the non-profit organization has been committed to providing support and services to adults 18 years and older with IDD.
“We are so excited to be in our new facility. We could not have made it here without the support of the entire community, and especially Cindy Ward and the Jane Parnell estate,” Rutledge-May said. “We have worked long and hard to finally see this project come to fruition. Anyone that had a chance to visit our old location will understand how significant a milestone this new location and building are for our staff and clients. The building we were in was crumbling around us. The heat and air had gone out, and we were limping through until we could make it into this gorgeous new building which now provides a safe and healthy environment for the people we serve.”
ACI formerly known as the Jackson County Learning Center, was founded in 1959. In that same year, the organization’s building was constructed out of concrete blocks. It was expanded in sections over a period of years and served as the primary day facility for adults with IDD. The non-profit was located northeast of Newport near the airbase in what is now referred to today as the industrial district. In 2011, the non-profit purchased a two-and-a-half-acre swath with the goal to build a new facility.
It took 11 years of capital fundraising and pursuing grant efforts to acquire the funds for the project, she said.
“Our previous location was on the outskirts of town and few people even knew the company existed. The organization and the clients we served were ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind,’” ACI Director of Finance Glenda Moody said.
The new facility on Ray Street will serve as ACI’s primary headquarters and will provide advanced training resources and life skills coaching through the center-based day program for adults with IDD.
The facility features four classrooms, all of which include smart boards for interactive, enhanced learning. Two of the rooms are traditional classrooms where individuals will learn basic vocational and daily life skills. The third classroom, known as the household skills room, is a mock-up of a small apartment to help clients develop, maintain, and improve daily independent living skills.
The Center’s fourth classroom features a computer lab that will allow clients to learn basic computer skills, internet safety, and beginner graphic design and product development.
“The increase of classroom space has allowed us to provide substantial versatility and flexibility to each of these specialized classrooms which adds an additional layer of support to help our adults with IDD achieve their living, educational and employment goals,” Rutledge-May added.
If clients become over-stimulated and need to decompress or just want to sit and read in a quiet space, they will be able to utilize the Pat Fisher Library, workout in the fitness center or shoot hoops in the facility’s indoor half-court basketball gymnasium and multi-purpose room.
The new building also boasts a full-service commercial kitchen adjacent to the multi-purpose room, both of which could be used for community events. This new facility has also allowed the organization to significantly upgrade its security and IT infrastructure to provide a more secure learning environment and future growth of the organization.
“This building is a significant new era for ACI – the amenities that this new facility offers has placed the organization in a position to increase its efficiencies and provide more accessible services not only to the clients, but new opportunities to service the community as well,” ACI Business Development Director Darah Bounds said.
Since 2012, the center has increased the number of people served by 68% and doubled the number of residential group homes the organization owns and operates. The organization has 24 residents in its group home program and 33 people utilize its daily programs, Rutledge-May said.
The nonprofit has also been able to replace all of their older homes with larger residences in safer neighborhoods to provide better living arrangements for their clients. During this time, the substantial growth has led to 15 new jobs being added to the Newport community with additional direct support professionals still needing to be hired today for the group homes, Rutledge-May said.
“There has been a long-standing wait list in the state for individuals with IDD who need and want services. However, the funding wasn’t available. Over the past several years, the state legislation has worked hard to find additional revenue to eliminate the wait for those individuals. Next year, approximately 3,000 individuals who are currently on the wait list will be allowed to begin receiving services from a licensed DD provider, and ACI is poised to have the facilities to be able to serve some of those individuals. The new facility and additional group homes will allow ACI the opportunity to further expand by as much as 200% and add even more jobs to the community,” she said.
Arkansas
New address, same issues: Why John Calipari's dismal start at Arkansas mirrors his fall from favor at Kentucky
Give John Calipari credit for stumbling upon a foolproof way to avoid extending his streak of early-round NCAA tournament flameouts.
You can’t get Gohlked again if you’re watching from the couch.
Arkansas is in major jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament in Calipari’s highly anticipated debut season after an unremarkable non-league showing and a nightmare start to SEC play. The preseason No. 16 Razorbacks lost 78-74 at previously struggling LSU on Tuesday night to fall to 11-6 overall and 0-4 in the SEC.
It was concerning when then-No. 1 Tennessee outclassed Arkansas by 24 in Knoxville on the first Saturday of January. The warning signs grew more ominous when the Razorbacks followed that with back-to-back home losses against nationally ranked Ole Miss and Florida last week. Now it’s full-blown panic time in Hog Country after Arkansas went to Baton Rouge for an apparent get-right game against one of the SEC’s only non-NCAA tournament contenders and somehow lost that too.
Despite playing without its third- and fourth-leading scorers due to injury, LSU erased deficits of 12 points late in the first half and eight points a few minutes into the second half. The Tigers (12-5, 1-3) built a nine-point lead of their own with less than five minutes to go, then withstood full-court pressure and a late scoring flurry from standout Arkansas freshman Boogie Fland to close out the victory.
Calipari’s postgame news conference Tuesday night was reminiscent of many that he delivered after losses late in his Kentucky tenure. He shouldered the blame for not preparing his team well enough yet offered few specifics regarding adjustments he intended to make.
Twice, Calipari told reporters in Baton Rouge, “I’ve got to do a better job with my team.” Later, he described himself as disappointed he’s “not getting through to these guys” and claimed he “may have to drag them to the finish line in some of these close games.”
There’s still time for Arkansas to dig its way out of this midseason hole, but the Razorbacks’ road to the NCAA tournament is uphill and obstacle-laden. A neutral-court victory over Michigan is Arkansas’ lone Quadrant 1 or 2 victory this season in seven opportunities. The Razorbacks’ second-best win of the season is … Lipscomb? Troy? Maybe 4-13 ACC doormat Miami?
The historic strength of the SEC could be Arkansas’ salvation or demise. On one hand, plenty of chances for marquee victories remain in a league with nine teams in the current AP Top 25. On the other hand, per Ken Pomeroy, the Razorbacks will only be favored in five of their remaining 14 conference games. At this point, Arkansas is more likely to finish in the bottom third of the SEC than to make the NCAA tournament.
That Calipari’s former program is flourishing in his absence only highlights Arkansas’ struggles. Kentucky coach Mark Pope didn’t inherit a single returning player from Calipari, yet the roster he rebuilt on the fly via the transfer portal is 14-3 overall and 3-1 in the SEC. Fueled by its sleek, modern offense, Kentucky boasts impressive victories over Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Florida, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. If the season ended today, the Wildcats would be no worse than a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Deep-pocketed Arkansas boosters envisioned a similar outcome when they plunked down big money to lure Calipari from Kentucky last spring. The fresh start appeared to be a win-win for both parties with Calipari in need of an offramp out of Lexington and Arkansas in search of a jolt of excitement.
Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky was perfect, until it wasn’t. For almost a decade, he fulfilled Big Blue Nation’s wildest dreams. The revolving door of one-and-done talent he recruited won SEC titles, made deep NCAA tournament runs and even captured the 2012 national title. But the program that was two wins away from a historic 40-0 season in 2015 never approached those heights again. The atmosphere in Lexington turned especially toxic after Calipari’s Wildcats lost to 15th-seeded St. Peters in the first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament and to 14th-seeded Oakland last year.
What observers have since learned is that a fresh start requires more than a change of address and an influx of red blazers and quarter-zip pullovers. You can’t hire a 65-year-old coach, allow him to bring over an assortment of longtime assistants and then expect different results.
Armed with a war chest of NIL money that few other programs could match, Calipari assembled a roster that doesn’t mesh well with one-another or fit the modern game. Fland and fellow perimeter players DJ Wagner, Johnell Davis and Karter Knox can all hit a 3-pointer but are best with the ball in their hands attacking downhill. The spacing gets worse with forward Adou Thiero and center Jonas Aidoo in the frontcourt together, as neither are a threat from 3-point range.
Arkansas is shooting 33.7% from behind the arc as a team and is 248th nationally in percentage of points scored from 3-point range. Opposing defenses can afford to clog driving lanes, pack the paint and dare the Razorbacks to hoist contested jumpers early in the shot clock.
The hallmark of Calipari’s best Kentucky teams were long, athletic defenses that aggressively hounded 3-point shooters yet surrendered nothing easy at the rim. This Arkansas team is better defensively than some of Calipari’s most recent Kentucky teams, but it commits too many fouls and surrenders too many second-chance points to make up for the Razorbacks’ offensive woes.
Against LSU, it also didn’t help that a tough call went against Arkansas at a key juncture of the second half. LSU led 53-52 when referees called this a flagrant foul on Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile. The Razorbacks trailed 58-52 by the time they got the ball back.
How will Arkansas respond to a dismal SEC start made worse by the LSU loss? With effort and energy, Calipari says, despite a difficult upcoming schedule. Arkansas visits Missouri on Saturday, then hosts Georgia and Oklahoma. Matchups with Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn, Texas and Texas A&M await in February.
“I told them after the game, ‘I’m not cracking so let’s just keep going,’” Calipari said Tuesday.
The Razorbacks have no choice.
Either they turn their disappointing season around now, or Calipari’s debut campaign in Fayetteville will end shy of the NCAA tournament.
LAFAYETTE — The Louisiana women’s basketball team is off to its best Sun Belt Conference start since 2020, holding a 4-1 record as they aim to replicate the success that led them to a regular-season title just three years ago.
However, the Cajuns face a critical 11-day stretch as the team will take on Arkansas State and Troy twice, both teams boasting potent offenses ranked second and fourth in the conference, respectively.
Head coach Garry Brodhead emphasizes that defense will be the key to weathering this challenging stretch.
“Anytime that you have any type of system, if the kids believe in it, it seems like it works a little bit better or a lot better,” Brodhead said. “On the road, that’s one of the things that we really, really preach. You know, we may not be making shots like we’re capable of… but you can always defend.”
The coach acknowledged the difficulties posed by Arkansas State and Troy, pointing out changes in the Red Wolves’ system, which now prioritizes a faster pace, three-point shooting, and relentless pressing.
“Troy is a tough team to play,” Brodhead added. “Both games will be tough. Can we withstand that, especially from the first game to the second game?”
The Cajuns’ pivotal run begins Wednesday in Jonesboro, where they’ll face Arkansas State at 7 p.m. A strong showing could position Louisiana for second place in the standings, trailing only James Madison.
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