Monthly Archives: April 2025

Red Wolves for St. Jude Surpasses Goal

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Story from DDNS Reporter Shailey Wooldridge

Members of Red Wolves for St. Judge who attended the Scarlet Formal pose with a check of the amount raised for the 2024-2025 fundraising year, totaling $71,475. Members who raised $100 or more for St. Judge were invited to the Scarlet Formal.

Red Wolves for St. Jude, a philanthropic initiative organized and operated by students at Arkansas State University to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, hosted the Scarlet Formal at the Woodard McAlister Family Club to celebrate the end of the fundraising year with dinner from Olive Garden, dancing and giveaways. 

At the end of the Scarlet Formal, Red Wolves for St. Jude executives announced the total amount of money raised in the 2024-25 fundraising effort: $71,475, surpassing their goal of $65,000.

“It’s super impressive what they have done. I mean, you go to other colleges. This is not normal at all, but it’s super inspiring, and it really helps us inspire the next generation,” Sebastian Villegas, a development representative for St. Jude and a Memphis native, said. “I think that’s super important, is getting the messaging out and Arkansas State does an amazing job with that.”

Olivia Wham, executive director of Red Wolves for St. Jude, said the Scarlet Formal culminates everything they have worked towards for the year.

“Showing students that their hard work comes together is very important to create a sense of community,” the senior finance and global supply chain double major from Mountain Home, Arkansas, said. “Red Wolves for St. Jude is not only an organization to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital but also to spread awareness of what we have in our backyard in Memphis.”

Kristin Rodgers, a Jonesboro woman and mother of a St. Jude patient, attended the event.

Rodgers said St. Jude gives people hope in the darkest moments of their lives and allows them to focus on getting their children better.

“You don’t have to worry about bills, you don’t have to worry about where you’re going to eat, anything like that. They just try to make it the happiest place for your child while they’re sick and the least stressful place for a parent,” Rodgers said. “We will do anything to help raise money for St. Jude because we’ve been the recipients of the money raised.”

Rodgers said she was blown away by how much money was raised by college students.

“I’m very thankful that college kids can think outside themselves and do something for others when they could do so many other things. They are busy with college and choose to spend time getting donations and raising money for such a wonderful place,” Rodgers said.

Wham said it’s hard not to be passionate about raising money for St. Jude.

“St. Jude is a children’s hospital that provides research from its findings worldwide and has significantly strengthened and advanced the medical community. They also give children world-class medical care for free. So that takes a lot of stress off of families,” Wham said. “In my family, we’ve had people pass away from cancer, and being able to give back and donate to a place that can advance medical care like this really warms my heart.”

Christina Green, a first-year nursing major from Memphis, raised $1840 and was recognized as the highest individual fundraiser.

Green said St. Jude means a lot to her and her family.

“My mom always worked in the restaurant industry, but she always saw St. Jude as her dream job, and she worked hard for it, and she got there, and she’s been there for coming up on four years now, and it moved us up to Memphis,” Green said. “It’s cool to know your mom works there, but to know you’re making a difference, kind of on your own adds a little bit more. I feel a bit of pride for it, a good amount of pride.”

Lake City Fire Fee Increase Discussed

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Story by DDNS Reporter Shailey Wooldridge

Lake City Fire Chief Hunter Timms presents during a recent Craighead County Quorum Court meeting. Photo by DDNS Reporter Shailey Wooldridge

The Lake City Fire District has not had a fire fee increase since 1999, leading to financial strain. During a recent meeting, the fire district presented this to the Public service committee of the Craighead County Quorum Court to ask for revision to the rates to make them the same as other fire protection districts in the area.

Fire fees are $35 per year for residents within the fire district living outside city limits. The Lake City Fire District is asking for this fee to be increased to $75 per year to match other fire districts in the area and help finance a new fire truck.


Lake City Fire Chief Hunter Timms said turnout prices inflated after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fire department felt the effect.


“We’re running off the same budget we’ve had since 1999, and we’re just struggling to get by, keep upgrading things, and keep our guys in new turnouts,” Timms said.


Turnout gear is the protective clothing firefighters wear during fire suppression to shield themselves from fire and other hazards. According to a price breakdown of the department’s expenses given during the meeting, one set of turnout gear costs $4,500. The price includes boots, pants, a jacket, a face mask, gloves, and helmets.


Timms said the department has 27 firefighters whose gear must be replaced every 10 years to stay in compliance with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Insurance companies may refuse to provide coverage if the department is out of compliance with these safety standards.


Timms said that out-of-compliance firefighters are not covered under NFPA life insurance policies. “Those guys go out there trying to put a house fire out, a wreck, or a car, and none of their turnouts are up to date. The state does not have their fire insurance, so their families don’t get that coverage,” Timms said.


He said costs add up quickly.


The price breakdown also included average costs for self-contained breathing apparatus that must be replaced every 20 years. In addition, hose replacements, firetrucks, fire station maintenance, utilities for both Lake City and Dixie departments and substations, medical supplies, and utilities must be addressed yearly.

However, Timms said the price for a standard fire truck has doubled since they last purchased one for $214,00 in 2015.
He said since 2009, the department has lowered the county residences Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating from a nine to a five. Residences receive an ISO rating based on the fire protection services the local fire department provides. This rating is a scale from one to 10, with one being the best and 10 being the worst. Insurance companies use this rating to help determine home insurance rates, with lower ratings generally leading to lower premiums.


“That’s a 37% savings that we’re saving these people on their homeowner’s insurance for years,” Timms said. “If we don’t keep updating and replacing these things at the next ISO inspection we have, we could go down, and then that would cost them money out of their pocket, that additional payment on their home market.”


The Lake City Fire District also provides services to Dixie, an unincorporated area. The meeting concluded with a need for further discussion and an ordinance to formalize any changes.


In other business, Brian Reed and Tyler Watkins were appointed to the Nursing Center Board.

A-State Media Students Win 60 Awards at State Conference

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Students (from left) Ibuki Hinohara, Herald photo editor; Shailey Wooldridge, Herald news editor; Elijah Templeton, Herald life editor; Benjamin McDowell, Herald staff writer; Jerry Don Burton, Herald editor-in-chief; Laila Casiano, Herald opinion editor; Will Livingston, Herald sports editor; and Tristan Harlen, ASU-TV station manager, celebrate with their awards received at ACMA.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas State University’s student media outlets from the School of Media and Journalism earned 60 awards at the Arkansas College Media Association’s annual spring conference and awards banquet.  

The Herald, A-State’s student newspaper, won 52 awards, including Website of the Year and honorable mention as Newspaper of the Year in the General Excellence categories.  

“This is exciting!” Herald adviser Sandra Combs said. “The students worked hard and it showed. They had big smiles and great hope that they would come away with a big win.”  

Retiring after 17 years of service to A-State, Combs has served as adviser to The Herald since 2015. Gretchen Hunt of NEA Premiere Magazine assisted as Herald adviser in the fall 2024 semester.  

“The Herald staff members are already putting into practice real-world journalism skills as they produce a weekly newspaper and maintain a website and social media accounts, and they are doing it very well,” Hunt said. “They are already learning that having multiple skill sets is advantageous and provides them with the ability to present the news in a variety of forms. Obviously, I’m very proud of them for the work they do and the accolades they have earned.”  

ASU-TV and Red Wolf Radio won four awards each. ASU-TV adviser Dustin Sullivan also praised the student work.  

“We are proud and honored that students involved with ASU-TV and Red Wolf Radio were recognized for their hard work and efforts in providing professional and entertaining content for our viewers and listeners,” Sullivan said. “We thank ACMA for the opportunity to have our students recognized as award winners.”  

Students attending the conference hosted by Northwest Arkansas Community College went through breakout sessions covering media job opportunities, sports reporting, audio reporting/producing, the business beat, magazine visual storytelling, entertainment, breaking TV news in digital formats, yearbook publication, and magazines in the digital age.  

Award winners included:  

Laila Casiano of Paragould won first place for newspaper election/political coverage, newspaper headlines, online arts and entertainment article, social media breaking news, and social media promotion; second place for audio podcast, online election/political coverage, online meeting/speech coverage, editorial page layout and online feature writing; third place for in-depth news and editorial page layout; and honorable mention for online newswriting.  

Shailey Wooldridge of Caraway won second place for newspaper meeting/speech coverage, newspaper newswriting, online breaking news (within 24 hours), online election/political coverage, and online personality profile; and third place for online breaking news (within 24 hours) and online meeting/speech coverage.  

Caroline Averitt of Jonesboro won first place for newspaper meeting/speech coverage and online headlines; second place for newspaper personality profile, in-depth news, and social media promotion; and honorable mention for newspaper feature page layout.  

Former editor Rachel Rudd of Searcy won first place for online news photo, second place for newspaper election/political coverage, newspaper feature writing, and online feature writing, as well as third place for online personality profile.  

Editor-in-Chief Jerry Don Burton of Vanndale won first place for newspaper meeting/speech coverage; second place for in-depth news; and third place for editorials/commentary/blogs and online breaking news (within 24 hours).  

Anna Cox of Paragould won first place for personality profile and sports feature writing, and second place for online breaking news (within 24 hours), and newspaper meeting/speech coverage; and third place for sports page layout.  

Will Livingston of Hot Springs won first place for sports feature writing; second place for sports feature writing; and honorable mention in online editorials/commentary/blogs.  

Shelby Russom of Paragould won second place for newspaper news photo, online news photo, and audio podcast.  

Elijah Templeton of Jonesboro won second place for newspaper review writing and honorable mention for online arts and entertainment review and online arts and entertainment article.  

Abigail Leggett of Jonesboro won first place for online sports photo and third place for newspaper sports photo.  

Allie Carson of Jonesboro won third place for online headlines, and Jack Douglas of Paragould won third place for online news photo.  

Ibuki Hinohara of Nagano, Japan, won second place for online sports photo, and Benjamin McDowell of Wynne won second place for newspaper sports story.  

Luke Morse of Jonesboro won first place for best specialty music show, while MacKenzie White of Trumann won first place for best radio documentary.  

Emily Pilkington of Clinton won second place for best radio documentary. and Christian Sandoval of Jonesboro won second place for best specialty music show.  

ASU-TV’s Tristan Harlen, Cooper Melder and Caton Marsh, all of Cabot, won first place in television sports reporting. Harlen and Marsh also took first place in television sports feature.  

ASU-TV’s Makenzie Cutler of Harrison, Carson Campbell of Jonesboro, Pilkington and Christian Wilcox of Jackson, Tenn., won second place for television political coverage.  

ASU-TV’s Colby Thompson of Conway, Jack Roach of Paragould, Markell McCoy of Clarksdale, Miss., and Mehr Aslam of Garden West Karachi, Pakistan, won third place in television feature.

Six A-State Students Selected for Distinguished Service Awards

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Courtesy of Arkansas State University

JONESBORO – Six outstanding students from Arkansas State University have been selected as Distinguished Service Award (DSA) winners for 2024-2025. The DSA recipients will be recognized during the Convocation of Scholars as the institution’s most outstanding graduates based on their record of leadership, scholarship, and citizenship. 
 
One of these students will be announced as the 2025 recipient of the university’s highest honor, the R.E. Lee Wilson Award, on Thursday, April 24, at a campus dinner for the DSA winners.  
 
This year, the recipients are Elizabeth England of Piedmont, Mo.; Rachel Mooneyham of Jonesboro; Sabrina Pierce of Maumelle; Braden M. Ross of Nashville, Ark.; Jonathan Schaufler of Salem; and Amber Yates of Salem. 
 
Faculty, staff, and advisers nominate top students for the prestigious annual awards.  
 
All of the nominees have achieved excellent academic records and provided countless hours of service to the community, their classmates, campus organizations, their departments and colleges, and Arkansas State University. 
 
A committee comprised of students, faculty, staff, and previous Wilson Award recipients makes the final selections. Here are some highlights about each of this year’s DSA winners. 
 
Elizabeth England of Piedmont, Mo.  
With a double major in political science through the College of Liberal Arts and Communication and economics with the Neil Griffin College of Business, England will graduate in May. During her time at A-State, she has been on the Chancellor’s and Dean’s Lists and been awarded numerous scholarships.  
 
England interned at the Washington Center, was a Truman Scholarship nominee, and was awarded the Public Policy and International Affairs Graduate School Scholarship. She served as director of food pantry operations with the A-State Volunteer Council, was a senator of the Student Government Association, and volunteered with the A-State Women’s Business Leadership Center. 
 
Following graduation, England plans to pursue a master’s degree in public policy. Her advisers are Natasha Neal, instructor in political science and Dr. Chris Brown, professor of economics.  
 
Rachel Mooneyham of Jonesboro 
Mooneyham will graduate from the College of Liberal Arts and Communication in May with a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication with a minor in marketing. During her time at A-State, she achieved a 4.0 GPA and was named to the Chancellor’s list for the past four years. 
 
The awardee of many scholarships, Mooneyham received the Gena and Neil Griffin Business Scholarship, Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation Pearl Johnson Essay Scholarship, and Adrian Headley Memorial Textbook Scholarship.  
 
She wore many hats as part of the Student Government Association serving as a senator, chief of staff, and public relations director. She is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, where she served in leadership roles. She is currently studying in England for her final semester. Her adviser is Rachel Freeze, instructor in strategic communication. 
 

Sabrina Pierce of Maumelle 
A psychology major in the College of Education and Behavioral Science, Pierce will graduate in May. With a cumulative GPA of 4.0, Pierce has been on the Chancellor’s and Honors Director’s Lists and was also named the 2024-2025 Bachelor of Science Psychology Student of the Year.  
 
A recipient of numerous scholarships, Pierce was awarded the Global Student Leaders Scholarship, Jo Anne J. Trow Scholarship, and was a Barry Goldwater Scholarship nominee in 2024. In addition to her studies, Pierce has been involved in several extracurricular activities. She serves as president for Psi Chi: International Honor Society in Psychology, A-State Society for Neuroscience, and vice-president of Alpha Lambda Delta. On campus, she was part of the Student Activities Board, Volunteer A-State, the Honors College, and several more organizations. 
 
She worked as a Communication Center coach on campus and said that experience gave her a sense of belonging and connection. Following graduation, she plans to attend graduate school seeking a Specialist in Education degree in clinical mental health counseling. Her adviser is Dr. Anthony Eldridge, assistant professor of psychology. 
 
Braden M. Ross of Nashville, Ark.  
A pre-professional studies biological sciences major in the Beck College of Sciences and Mathematics (BCSM), Ross will graduate in May. He has been on the Chancellor’s and Dean’s Lists, as well as the Honors Director’s List.  
 
Ross is the winner of several scholarships. He interned as a grant-funded research assistant with New York Institute of Technology’s neuroscience research lab, held numerous leadership roles within the Student Government Association, served as a tutor and ambassador for BSCM, and was involved in the pre-professional club. 
 
Described as being a very determined student, Ross plans to continue his education at A-State to attend graduate school. He also plans to attend flight school. His adviser is Dr. Kyle Gustafson, assistant professor of biology and environmental health. 
 
Jonathan Schaufler of Salem 
Graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Schaufler has been on the Chancellor’s and Dean’s Lists and was the 2024 Arkansas Nursing Student of the Year.  
 
He serves as president of the Student Nurses Association, president pro tempore of the Student Government Association, and is a member of the College of Nursing and Health Professions Dean’s Student Advisory Board. A Chancellor’s Ambassador, Schaufler has also served in leadership roles in his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.  
 
In addition to his campus involvement, Schaufler has been involved with the community. He has interned at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital where his ingenuity and drive were recognized. His adviser is Addie Fleming, associate professor of nursing. 
 
Amber Yates of Salem 
Yates graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the College of Liberal Arts and Communication. She has been on the Chancellor’s and Deans’s Lists and is the winner the Excellence in Student Diversity Award in 2022, and the Black Student Association (BSA) Advocate and BSA Humanitarian awards in 2024.  
 
She served as president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and held several leadership roles with the Omicron Tau chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. In her time at A-State, she was pivotal in reactivating the sorority on campus after a 16-year hiatus. Yates was a volunteer with the A-State Food Pantry, a Pack Leader, a Communication Center coach, and served on the Student Government Association. Yates also served as an ambassador for the Multicultural Center. 
 
Her adviser was Matthew Robins, instructor in communication studies and director of the Communication Center.