Monthly Archives: March 2021

Coronavirus symptoms plague student

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By Courtney Edwards | Aspiring Journalist
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO, Ark. – COVID-19 cases in Arkansas have been declining, but people are still feeling the effects of the pandemic.

Arkansas State University junior, Shannon Johnson of Batesville, was exposed to coronavirus last year. Although research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests it can take up to two weeks after exposure to feel any symptoms, Johnson said she felt symptoms the day after being exposed and decided to get tested. It was positive.

Johnson said the loss of her taste and smell affected her the most while she was sick. Now, however, her sense of taste and smell have returned (for the most part), but she’s experiencing trouble breathing.

Arkansas State University student Shannon Johnson discusses her plight dealing with the post-Covid-19 symptoms.

“Around Jan. 22, I started being unable to breathe properly,” Johnson said. “And so, I had to go back to the doctor, and they were like, ‘so COVID has affected your lungs a little bit in the aftermath, so you’re going to have to start carrying around an inhaler.’”

“And so, I had to go back to the doctor, and they were like, ‘so COVID has affected your lungs a little bit in the aftermath, so you’re going to have to start carrying around an inhaler.’” 

– Shannon Johnson

Johnson said she had perfectly good lungs before being infected with coronavirus and never had to use an inhaler. As a music major, the ailment makes it difficult for her to play her favorite instrument, the saxophone.

Johnson’s goal is to become an elementary music teacher but hopes her struggles with post COVID symptoms won’t interfere with her goals. Johnson’s parents, Ben and Tina Johnson, said they were proud of how well their daughter has adjusted after having the coronavirus.

“We raised her to face her challenges [and] step up and do what you’ve got to do,” her father said. “I realize it’s been tough on her, but she’s been handling it.”

“I realize it’s been tough on her, but she’s been handling it.”

– Ben Johnson (Shannon’s father)

Johnson visited the A-State Student Health Center (SHC) operated by New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at A-State, known as the NYITCOM at Arkansas State University Medical Clinic.

According to Johnson, the medical professional she saw told her that nothing looks physically wrong with her lungs. They didn’t give her a time frame describing how long her symptoms could last. They only told her it would take time to feel normal again.

“The doctor said, ‘you need to work your lungs back [to normal]. They might not come back to what they used to be, but there’s a possibility that they will,’” Johnson said. “It’s like 50/50 is what they told me.”

Gavin Lesnick, public information director for the Arkansas Department of Health, said it was unknown why some people with no preexisting conditions may suffer from long-term symptoms of COVID-19.

“Some young people may have medical conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19 complications,” Lesnick said. “In general, we find that severe COVID-19 cases are less likely in younger people than in older people.”

Johnson’s parents said Johnson is covered by Trustmark health insurance provided by her mother’s workplace, White River Medical Center. According to Johnson’s parents, the insurance covered all of her medical expenses up to the deductible. Johnson will be able to stay on this insurance plan until she is 27.

Although the symptoms took a hard toll on Johnson, she said the hardest part about having coronavirus was having to miss her family during Christmas.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO LEARN MORE OF JOHNSON’S COVID-19 EXPERIENCE.

COVID-19 – A Mild Case Could Result in Long-Term Symptoms


Courtney Edwards is a multimedia journalism senior in The School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University. She can be reached at courtney.edwards@smail.astate.edu.

Area business owners express their outlook on the potential rise in minimum wage

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By Emma Allen | Aspiring Journalist
Delta Digital News Service

Delta Digital News contributing reporter Emma Allen interviews local business owners about the impact of a potential rise in the federal minimum wage. [3:02]

Reporter: President Biden announced in his stimulus package plan, when first running for president, that he would attempt to introduce a $15 an hour minimum wage.“Although this didn’t pass, many businesses had something to say about the rise in minimum wage.

Heidi Kennedy, Management trainee at The Refinery

Reporter:  Heidi Kennedy, management trainee at The Refinery explained the impact the community makes on their business and what it is like to be local.

Heidi Kennedy: “I am Heidi Kennedy;I am a management trainee. I just started about a month ago, so I am just learning the basis of what goes on in the store. We’re local, we do a lot of Arkansas, Jonesboro, and Red Wolf merchandise. We dress a lot of girls for gameday,so we keep a lot of red and black in stock. We have a t-shirt line called 2303, and we do a lot of designsand partner with other businesses for that.We actually pay pretty well as far as a part-time of full-time salesperson, so I don’t think it would have a horrible impact on us.”

Allie Wilson, General Manager of Workout Anytime

Reporter: “Workout Anytime Hilltop’s General Manager, Allie Wilson, explained how much this new minimum wage could affect her employees and their business if it was to pass.

Allie Wilson: “My name is Allie Wilson. I am the general manager at Workout Anytime Hilltop. I graduated Arkansas State with my bachelors in Exercise Science and whenever I started here,I realized exactly whyI picked Exercise Science. I understood why I picked my degree. I understood why God didn’t allow certain things to happen for me because this is where I was meant to be. We are a franchise butbeing locally owned we get to do a lot of things differently. We’re all passionate about the community because we live here. We want it all to be successful. The three guys who own it, who actually are from Jonesboro, they have built multiple different businesses in Jonesboro because they want the city to become better. Everybodywho works front desk works for minimum wage. If that was to go up to 15 dollars an hour, that’s what I make. We have eight people on staff, that wouldn’t be an option. You would have to cut them. You would have one full-time employee plus me. If minimum wage went up, that’s going to increase the price of training. I would maybe have to fire over half of my staff, which wouldn’t be successful.”

Maggie Laws (Employee at Montessori School of Jonesboro)

Reporter: “Others who are working for minimum wage right now are excited for the possibility of the rise in pay in the future.”

Maggie Laws: “My name is Maggie Laws. I am from Bryant, Arkansas, and I work at the school of Montessori in Jonesboro. This would affect my job tremendously as I might not have to work as many hours.”

Carri White, executive vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce
Reporter: “Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce works with local businesses throughout the community to improve their business. Carri White, Executive Vice President of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce spoke about the different types of businesses that will mainly be impacted by the rise in minimum wage.”
Carri White: “I know that the hospitalityindustry is what it is really going to affect, because traditionally they have been set upin a different way to pay. So,I am talking restaurantsmainly. If it’s a big restaurantthey may have a hundred different employeesthat it takes to run that many shifts. So,I think that is the main opposition to it. I don’t know as much about it in the corporateworld because most of our industries, our manufacturing facilities, aroundhere pay well. So,I don’t know it’sas big a concern. I’m surethere is a concern about that.”
Reporter: “Businesses small or large are going to be affected by this. Some will have a greater impact than others. Although minimum wage hasn’t risen yet, there is still a possibility in the future.

Emma Allen

Emma Allen is a junior in the multimedia journalism program in The School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas. You can follow her on Twitter. She can be contacted at: emma.allen@smail.astate.edu.

Elite Youth Sports to Host First Tryouts This Year

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By Kerra Williams | Aspiring Journalist
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO, Ark. – Elite Youth Sports Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team hosted their first football tryouts of the year at Nettleton’s High School from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 27. 

The youth organization with the reigning 12 and under (12U) National Championship team, returned to take part in this year’s tryout for all 8 and under (8U), 10 and under (10U) and 12 and under divisions.

Elite Youth Football being a football development program for ages seven to 12 years of age, it is a competitive AAU program that provides opportunities for young people in North East Arkansas to grow and develop with amateur coaches and mentors that will assist with their development.

Rennell Woods, CEO of Elite Youth Sports, said that even after setbacks with COVID-19 his goal was to get back out to the community and do it again to see how many kids are interested. 

Woods said, “Statistically, in the last year only 38% of kids ages six to 12 played sports, down 45% since 2008 according to the Sports & Industry Association (SFIA). Kids are staying inside and playing with electronic devices and with that my goal is to see the kids get back out.”

“With over 30 athletes showing up, it was a great turnout for the first official tryout for Elite Youth Sports this year.” Coach Jackie Cunningham said. 

Testing for abilities like strength, speed and agility, each athlete had to partake in drills like the 20-yard dash, power push sled, long jump, and a 20-yard dash shuffle to test their strengths and weaknesses but also to get a good evaluation from the coaches. 

Cunningham, an assistant coach for Elite, said that “each drill is designed to see how quick and accurate a child can be.”

“Another objective for us at Elite is to keep our arms around our youth, to make sure they stay off the streets and giving them an opportunity with football to do something positive,” he explained. 

With Elite being one of the top AAU football programs in the state, it allows more competitive aspects to be encountered at this program. 

Cole Shannon, who is a part of the 8U division says “Today was fun, I was excited, It was about getting better.” 

This was just the first tryout for this year, but it is not the last. 

Elite Youth Sports will be hosting just two more tryouts. Next one on March 14 and another on April 3. 

Kerra Williams is a junior multimedia journalism major in The School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University. She can be contacted at kerra.williams@smail.astate.edu.

Pedestrian bike path nears finish line

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By Chloe Short/Aspiring Reporter
Delta Digital News Service

The city comes close to finished plans for the bike path project. Residents will witness construction soon, bringing bike lanes and bridges to connect all the city. The bike pedestrian trail will make one large circle around Jonesboro to allow all areas within the city to experience different ways of traveling.

Danny Kapales, director of Parks and Recreation in Jonesboro, said plans for the bike path are close to finishing. Currently, the design and property acquisition requires completion, then plans move forward to starting construction. Kapales said the project needs scouted property for purchase and further design touches.

“We’re hoping to be starting by the end of this year with the construction or at least by the following year with construction. We should be done with at least land acquisition and design by the end of this year,”  Kapales said.

Final decisions made to design arrangements will then allow progress to finding the construction company. Kapales said when the project releases, construction companies will place bids and once finalized, the project will move to construction.

Earlier in planning, the project awaited clearance for grants to work the University Heights phase, which gives access to open the east side of Jonesboro and will allow safe travel along Aggie Road. Updates revealed the plans received clearance, Kapales said.

Bill Campbell, director of communications for Jonesboro, said the bike path proposal sits at 90% completion. The parks and recreation, engineering, and grants department received the grant money of $500,000 from the Arkansas Department of Transportation and the Transportation Alternatives Program needed to proceed with construction and to continue the bike path phases.

The project plans continued for almost two years after being released to the public. Campbell said after speaking to city Director of Engineering Craig Light, he found money as the hold up in the schedule.

“The project was slowed originally as we looked for additional funding to complete the first phase of construction.  This was ultimately obtained through a second TAP Grant from ARDOT. We just recently received a third TAP Grant from ARDOT to build the final piece of this project which will tie the trail to the A-State campus at the Marion Berry Parkway. We have opted to combine these two project phases into one single project for construction. This decision was made based on a couple of factors, the primary one being that the right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation pieces of the project are expected to take most of the year to complete anyway,” Light said.

New construction brings uncertainty to wildlife in the area, especially if tampered with. Campbell assured that with planning, The parks and recreation, engineering, and grants department must perform environmental studies anytime working with untampered land. Kapales said the bike roads will follow along roads already made, so they do not see any wildlife being interfered with.

Charles Fox, of Gearhead Cycle House, said the community will benefit from the new bike path. Fox said cycling creates a natural high that comes from physical activity, whether the activity runs light or heavy. Active lifestyles can be more conducive to happy living and overall wellness, he said.

“I feel as if it will offer people an opportunity to get out and exercise on their bicycles in a way that they might not have current access to. For a lot of people riding on the streets with automobiles isn’t the most comfortable activity and safer bike paths should give people an entry into the world of cycling,” Fox said.

https://www.jonesboro.org/DocumentCenter/View/4321/BikePedestrian-Plan?bidId=

Cottage house ordinance tabled by jonesboro city council

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Maddison Smith
Delta Digital News Service

If passed, the ordinance, will allow cottage housing in Jonesboro. According to the city’s website , “The cottage house development is an alternative type of detached housing providing small residences for households of typically one to two individuals without undergoing the subdivision process.” 

Before the floor was open to discussion from the council members, Mayor Harold Copenhaver made a statement in regards to the ordinance.

“I would like to thank the West End community to allow our staff to attend the West End neighborhood meeting on Sunday where they listed a few concerns regarding this ordinance,” Copenhaver said. “As a result of that meeting, Mr. Smith has some amendments he would like to propose to help address the questions he received.”

Director of Planning and Zoning Derrel Smith then spoke about the amendments in the ordinance.

The amendments include: 

  • Only two houses can have the same design or layout.
  • The character of the cottage homes must blend in with the rest of the neighborhood.
  • All houses will be up to code in every aspect.

“The ordinance was first introduced in May 2020 after talking with realtors and developers in Jonesboro,” Smith said. 

Council member representing Ward 2, position 1, Dr. Charles Coleman then motioned to postpone the ordinance temporarily to the first city council meeting in April. “So that some of these items can be addressed to the community because they still are not satisfied with the information,” Coleman said. 

The council will need to vote on the amendments and then vote on the amended ordinance. The motion to postpone the ordinance was a 7-3 vote.

During the mayor’s report, Copenhaver spoke on the recent death of Sanitation Department Director Donny Gibson. 

“Donny died in a tragic accident Feb. 17. He had people that really adored him and loved him in the city and in the staff. We continued to keep him and his family in our prayers … We will miss Donny,” Copenhaver said.

Copenhaver announced there will be a “mass vaccination” held at the Arkansas State University in the First National Bank arena from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 6. Copenhaver said, “I want to thank all of our healthcare partners, our hospitals, NYIT, health department, Arkansas State University and others.”

Other items on the agenda include: 

  • Resolution to construct the Veterans’ Village community center; passed
  • Resolution to distribute funding through the Coronavirus aid, relief and economic security (CARES); carries to the next meeting 
  • Ordinance to place various traffic signs at designated locations as determined by the traffic control committee; passed 
  • Ordinance for the transfer of location of a private club permit for North Hills Social Club; passed