Author Archives: kaycewilson

Business Provides Pharmaceuticals Alternative

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Kayce Wilson
Delta Digital News Service

BROOKLAND, Ark. – Arkansas residents may get away from pharmaceuticals because of the benefits of the cannabidiol oil derived from the hemp plant.

Many Arkansas businesses submitted their applications for a dispensary license in September 2017, but they will not receive clarification until official announcements expected sometime this year. One NEA business, Emerald’s Triangle LLC of Brookland, still awaits its results. Owner Richard Johnston said they planned to get into the medical marijuana industry once the store opened in 2016.

“I went to a convention in Los Angeles in February (2017) that was the big industry show that had to do with vape, CBD and medical marijuana. That’s where I decided to pick up my first company when it comes to CBD: Blue Moon Hemp,” Johnston said.

The store began to sell CBD products and contains CBD tinctures, topicals and powder in its selection. Buyers can purchase it in vape oil, edible and shatter form as well.

Employee Alfred Holland continually researches CBD.

“Israel has been on the forefront of CBD, and they’ve been doing research for over a decade,” Holland said. “It can be used for anything from fibromyalgia, general inflammation in all of the major parts of the body, osteoporosis, diabetes and some psychological issues like PTSD, depression, seizures and anxiety. Some even buy it for their animals.”

Emerald’s Triangle LLC continues to see a positive response from the community. Employee Zach Slater said the stigmas associated with the marijuana industry remain their main hurdle.

“The reception of the CBD has been great as more people learn the information, like what it does and doesn’t do, so some of the stigma behind the cannabinoid is kind of being dematerialized. I think that it will just grow bigger and bigger,” Slater said. “Some people need to realize that it’s not a fad dietary trend; we’re all at the very beginning of a new era.”

Emerald’s Triangle owns a closed group on Facebook where users can provide their input on CBD and find answers to their questions.

Paragould resident Hannah Foster said the use of CBD changed her life drastically.

“It helps with my insomnia, vomiting and nausea, eases the pain in my joints and bones, dulls my lisp so I can speak clearly, as in it helps slow down my talking and it helps anxiety dramatically,” Foster said. “You can put the tincture in any food or drink — I love it in my tea — or you can take it directly by mouth.”

What is CBD?

As the compound extracted from hemp plants, CBD allows the user to reap the physical benefits without the “high” associated with marijuana. CBD oil contains little to no traces of tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical which causes the psychoactive effects associated with marijuana. You can read more information here.

CBD affects the endocannabinoid system within the body that regulate the body’s functions, such as sleep, pain, mood and autoimmune responses. The therapeutic effects happen when the cannabinol interacts with the endocannabinoid receptors located throughout the body system.

CBD helps to reduce inflammation, a condition that worsens many pre-existing health issues. The secret to seeing positive results from CBD involves figuring out the right method and amount that will suit the condition.

Dr. Betsy Hendricks of Conway works at the Arkansas Center for the Study of Integrative Medicine. The center’s mission combines the mental, spiritual and physical aspects of health to heal and relieve those of their pain.

Food and Health Study Group member Elene Murray said Hendricks does her research.

“She’s a super sleuth. She’s traditionally trained but uses supplements and knows the labs to run for food sensitivities,” Murray said. “She helps people heal as where traditional medication just runs around in circles.”

CBD

Shaman’s Reach, a CBD product line manufactured in Brookland. (photo by Kayce Wilson)

The staff at Emerald’s Triangle LLC recently released Shaman’s Reach, a line of CBD products that they manufacture in Brookland.

Shaman’s Reach combines CBD and medicinal herbs aiming to target inflammation, pain, fatigue and even allergies. The most popular form of this product is a tincture, which is to be dripped under the tongue. There are also capsules, salves, isolates and infused honey as well as smokable products, which makes the product accessible to all. Their informational website regarding medical marijuana can be accessed here.

As the uses for CBD increase, many common issues are expected to decrease. The staff at Emerald’s Triangle said there’s a change coming.

“It’s happened in many other states and now Arkansas has a chance. They’re going to see that the opioid epidemic is going to drop, the addiction problems will drop, the prescriptions will drop. The state will save tons of money on insurance,” Johnston said.

Emerald’s Triangle LLC. recently opened a store in downtown Jonesboro where shoppers can get access to CBD and its other products. For more information on Emerald’s Triangle and CBD, click here.

New App Connects NEA

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By Kayce Wilson
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO – ConnectNEA’s mission allows local small- and medium-sized businesses to connect with the Northeast Arkansas community.

Kent Wilson

Kent Wilson owns and markets ConnectNEA, which reaches across the Northeast Arkansas Delta. The application mirrors Village Vesl, which runs in some major cities in America. Wilson said seeing the app take off excites him.

“Once it begins to grow, the social aspect will begin to multiply among itself. It grows really fast, I think it will have a really nice impact on Northeast Arkansas,” Wilson said. “The flags that businesses will post will reach the NEA users in ways they couldn’t before.”

The app, available on iTunes or Google Play, allows businesses to post multiple geoflags at their chosen locations, which could include coupons or advertisements. Wilson said when a ConnectNEA user passes by a geoflag, their phone will “wake up” and show them the discount or ad posted at that location.

“People will be shopping at stores that they may not have known existed until now,” Wilson said.

Nonprofit organizations can also partner with the app. During each month, ConnectNEA users can vote for nonprofits they would like to see receive donations from the money the app has made.

The app also shows where construction is taking place in the area. NEA Parking Lot Maintenance keeps users updated with where they are doing renovations in the area.

Bono resident Whitney Welch said this should really help to bring together all kinds of businesses.

“I haven’t heard about this until just now, but I think it sounds great! I’m excited to know information about traffic or construction before I leave the house,” Welch said. “I feel like since technology is such a big part of our lives now, this app will only help things to improve.”

Since the app launched in October, very few businesses have created accounts. A “New Member November” contest encouraged users to invite friends to be entered into a contest to win a gift certificate.

Arkansas State University student Jazmin Selvy said this app will be a big help in Jonesboro.

“Since it’s a college town, I feel like everybody will benefit from this once they hear about it. I’m definitely going to be looking out for discounts and sales while I can,” Selvy said.

Wilson said a big reason he wanted to bring ConnectNEA to Northeast Arkansas was that he didn’t like hearing about people taking trips to Little Rock or Memphis for things that are already in this region.

Nonprofit Fights Teenage Substance Abuse

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by Kayce Wilson
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO – Active in this community since 2008, the Craighead Out of The Dark Coalition plans to jump-start the organization.

CODC’s executive board attended the Arkansas Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Summit in Hot Springs. CODC received a $175,000 Drug-Free Communities grant to apply to its goals. Efforts to receive the grant started five years ago.

“I started out as a community volunteer and was contacted by the board because they had heard that I was running another youth state program,” President Noelle Richardson said. “Last spring we wrote for the DFC grant through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and we found out in the last week of September that we were awarded the grant.”

The DFC grant will provide CODC with full-time and part-time staff. The grant assists communities in connecting with 12 different sectors, from government to education.

Meeting the Community

Noelle’s husband and CODC chair Kevin Richardson thanked attendees of the November meeting at the NEA Food Bank for their support.

“Even though you haven’t heard a lot from us, a lot has been going on,” he said.

CODC challenged Craighead County fourth-graders to create drug-free posters. The top contestants attended the meeting and displayed their posters; Cason Kifer of Buffalo Island Central West Elementary won the competition. His poster can be seen on billboards throughout the city.

The Prevention Squad held its Christmas party at Lost Pizza Co. (back row, l. to r.) Melissa Ayers, Noelle Richardson, Zavier Roberts, Mia Goodrich, Lauren Lewis; (front row, l. to r.) Jackie Sosa, Rylie Fanning, Abigail Pausch. Photo by Kevin Richardson.

The Prevention Squad, made up of six high school students from the area, gave a rundown of the events held within the last year. The Prevention Squad hosted a Back 2 School Bash and the “Leave Your Mark” rally in October. It also participated in the Mud Ball Tournament, which benefits the St. Bernards’ NICU.

The CODC’s chapters curently include the Bay, Brookland, Buffalo Island Central, Nettleton, Riverside, Valley View and Westside school districts. Seventeen school chapters exist across Craighead County alone, as well as more than 250 students who attended a five-hour leadership training course put on by CODC. Noelle Richardson said she believes they will have a chapter in every school within the next year.

“People should be on the lookout for Out of The Dark,” Noelle Richardson said.

Benton police department Cpt. Kevin Russell from the Coalition for Safer Arkansas Communities showed a video created by a Colorado-based group, Smart Colorado that provided information on the negative effects of marijuana in Colorado since they legalized recreational marijuana use.

Russell said youths need to be taught the importance of the word “yes.”

“They not only need to say ‘no’ to drugs but ‘yes’ to life, which is a life free of drugs,” Russell said.

CODC also participated in the Arkansas Rx Drug Take Back, which collected over 60 pounds of old prescriptions during the four-hour period.

New Overpasses Coming to Jonesboro

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by Kayce Wilson
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — The Jonesboro City Council-approved plans for new overpasses off Highland Drive and Nettleton Avenue will commence construction after July 2018.

Arkansas Department of Transportation Area 10 Engineer Brad Smithee said the financial aspect was the main reason for the wait.

“Discussion with Jonesboro, BNSF Railway, (Arkansas Department of Transportation) and other parties involved have been around for a number of years regarding this project,” Smithee said. “More direct project developments began when a funding mechanism was identified and the city of Jonesboro received a (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant for $1.2 million to perform environmental and design work on the project back in 2014.”

Smithee said the overpass will bring many changes to the community, many of which would affect safety.

“They would increase access to industry, increase safety for school-age children and increase the traffic flow that is currently congested by the railroad crossings,” Smithee said.

Aside from the businesses affected, the Nettleton School District could see some changes in the near future.

Nettleton graduate Jacquelyn Young said she believes construction could require more police supervision.

“I think that the overpasses will help after-school traffic and provide a new way to get around the school, but it also might make the traffic before school more hectic,” Young said.

Since the project is very complex and in a populated area of town, Smithee said there is not an exact time frame for completion. They must consider the cost of construction items and the number of possible construction days to figure up a bid. This is then paired with a building schedule figured up with a construction cost so that they can determine how many workers they will need.

The new overpasses will not only cut back on train and vehicular incidents, but will cut back on the traffic around the tracks.

Heritage Festival Honors Johnny Cash

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By Kayce Wilson
Delta Digital News Service

DYESS, Arkansas – The Arkansas State University Heritage Studies Center hosted the inaugural Johnny Cash Heritage Festival in the town center of Dyess.

During the three-day festival, people from all over the country came to celebrate the history of the Dyess Colony, where award-winning American musician Johnny Cash grew up.

In an excerpt from the program, Roseanne Cash said she was thrilled to present the festival, which “goes beyond regional and world-class music to include educational programs, exhibits, local crafts and an oral history project.”

Funds from this festival targeted the re-creation of the barn, smokehouse, chicken coop and privy that once were a part of the Cash farmstead.

Dyess High School Senior Class of 1950

Dyess High School Senior Class. J.R. Cash can be seen to the left of the year, 1950. Photo courtesy of the family of Wanda Lawrence, sister of Warnuel Hargraves, pictured.

He Was Just Plain J.R.

“He Was Just Plain J.R.,” moderated by KASU’s Michael Doyle, featured a panel of alumni from the Dyess Class of 1950. A.J. Henson, a friend of Cash’s, told stories of their friend group – J.R., A.J. and J.E. – that ran around Dyess together in the 1940s.

“We went to school together since first grade and went to the same church,” Henson said. “We (Cash and Henson) were automatically friends. We went to Wilson or Lepanto for a midnight on Saturdays.”

The panel members said Cash always wrote poems and was an above-average student. Henson told a story about the time Cash wrote a poem for him, quoting it in its entirety. Classmate Louise Nichols echoed Henson’s recollection of Cash’s writing prowess.

“He would always think and talk about things up in the air compared to what we talked about. He liked being up front and being recognized,” Nichols said.

Delta Themes in the Music of Johnny Cash

Aaron Miller, Ivy Tech Community College associate professor of history, analyzed the motif of the Mississippi River plain in Cash’s songs in his presentation, “Cultivating the Fabulous Johnny Cash: The Environment and the American Artist.” Miller’s analysis of Cash’s Southern roots compared Cash’s writing to Mark Twain and B.B. King.

Area historian and Marion Evening Times newspaper reporter Mark Randall discussed “Jesus Was Our Savior and Cotton Was Our King,” based on the song by Cash. Throughout the presentation, Randall highlighted the mention of cotton in Cash’s songs and how his Southern upbringing formed Cash. He quoted Cash’s 1997 autobiography and said, “Back in Arkansas, a way of life produced a certain a certain kind of music.”

Randall then played a handful of Cash’s songs about cotton: “Busted,” “Pick a Bale O Cotton,” “Pickin Time” and “I Never Picked Cotton.”

Becoming Johnny Cash

Historian Colin Woodward looked at the father and son dynamic within the Cash family in his presentation titled “Ray and Johnny: How Cash’s Father Influenced His Life and Career.” Woodward said the dynamic in the 2005 movie, “Walk The Line,” may not have been an accurate portrayal as little information exists on Ray and Johnny’s relationship other than the movie.

Cash’s personal historian and friend, Mark Stielper, analyzed the turning times of Cash’s life in his presentation “Fifty Years After Folsom” from his early days in the spotlight until his awakening in the 1960s. Stielper spent time with Cash, and mentioned Cash’s autobiographies, “Man In Black” and “Man In White.”

“In 1967, Johnny had the No. 1 album after ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ but his life was in shambles,” Stielper said. “A man lost in the dark could see the light.”

Stielper spoke of Cash’s opioid abuse and how the lowest point of his life was when he wrecked his car in the rain and landed himself in jail. The sheriff of the station gave Cash a long speech about how he needed to turn his life around. Cash’s life then began to change for the better when he sang at the White House in 1968. From that moment, Stielper said Cash spent the next 50 years of his life making music as a better man.

Public Transit Provides Cheapest Option

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by Kayce Wilson
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO – With transportation apps like Uber and Lyft bringing services to the Delta, pre-existing businesses may feel the need to change their operations.

Jonesboro Economical Transit System transportation supervisor Keith Michael said the company does not feel threatened by the new services.

“The difference that JET has from other transportation options is that we are able to set our fares at lower rates than other services because we are federally funded,” Michael said. “It will cost you $10 and higher to ride a local cab, UBER or Lyft one way, in comparison to $1.25 one way for JET.”

JET of Jonesboro began operating in 2006. JET’s routes reach across the Central, East, North and West regions of Jonesboro, with a hub at 713 S. Caraway Road.

Since the city runs the public transit, its maintenance department and JET employees provide maintenance. The amount of riders per day varies. Many people use this service to get to work, the grocery store and various appointments.

“I don’t believe the newer forms of transportation will affect our JET ridership. Because we can offer lower fares, this alone will keep our ridership numbers steadily growing,” Michael said.

Craighead County Cab Company was unable to comment at this time.

Edward Harthorn, a graduate assistant in history at Arkansas State, said it is important for people to know about all of the forms of Jonesboro transportation.

“While there’s a lot that I don’t know about Uber or Lyft, I am optimistic that they will quickly play an important role in local transportation,” Harthorn said. “Single-car families, international students and many other constituencies may find that ride-sharing provides a convenient alternative when running errands, traveling across town or waiting for a vehicle to be serviced. It will be interesting to see how these companies and Jonesboro’s public transit co-exist.”

(Photo courtesy of A-State Media Relations)

Uber Serves Northeast Arkansas

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by Kayce Wilson
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO- Northeast Arkansas welcomed Uber in early August, with the Uber-friendly area reaching over 15 cities.

Jonesboro’s new development reaches toward Memphis, the first hub near the Delta region. Drivers can take people out of the region, such as if a Jonesboro resident needs a ride to the Memphis airport. However, drivers cannot pick up someone in Memphis and bring them back to Jonesboro.  

Uber began during a taxi ride in France in 2009 when the creators, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, wanted simpler options for travel. UberCab started the next June.

Starting as an idea about a simple phone app, Uber now acts as a new way to get around. With Uber, users can now receive packages or takeout with expanded service.

Uber operates in over 633 cities worldwide, with the 1 billionth ride occurring in 2015.

With Jonesboro being a college town, Uber acts as a newer way to limit the number of unsafe drivers on the road. Rides are mainly requested on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Uber driver Austin Sandy in front of his Kia Soul. Sandy uses his primary vehicle while working for Uber. (Photo courtesy of Austin Sandy)

Austin Sandy, a Jonesboro Uber driver, said, “I would much rather someone act a fool in my car than them get behind the wheel of their own car while they’re under the influence.”

A-State junior Gianna Confer used this service during her travels to Australia, Indonesia and Mexico. She mentioned the lack of confusion regarding your destination as a beneficial aspect.

“You put your pickup location and the destination into the app. If you can’t speak the language of the driver, they still know where you are trying to go,” Confer said.

Compared to taxis or traveling in foreign countries, Uber gives you a preset estimation and automatically selects the shortest route. Credit or debit card information is already entered in the app for direct deposit, and riders can tip their driver through the app as well.

Sandy said the flexibility of working for Uber makes it a great job. He works a full-time job and makes extra money on the weekends by turning on his Uber location. Once the location is on, passengers can see nearby drivers and request a ride.

“As a driver, you don’t have to worry about making change for your riders or people targeting you or trying to steal from you,” Sandy said.

As for ride safety, all drivers must go through a background and motor vehicle report check. When requesting a ride, the app displays a small picture of your driver alongside a description of their car and a license plate number.

Uber’s rating service ensures that other experiences will improve by letting both parties rate each other after a ride.  

To request a ride, download the app and then make an account. Once location is synced, riders can see the nearby cars in their area. Payment information is entered into the app and then all payments will be done digitally. After the passenger enters the current location and destination, the only thing left to do is hit request.