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6th Annual Ride Benefits Memorial Gardens

Posted on March 19, 2018 by madisongomez

by Madison Gomez
Delta Digital News Service

The sixth annual Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit was held Saturday, March 17 at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro. The benefit raises money for the maintenance and upkeep of the memorial garden built in rememberance of the shooting that took place on the grounds in 1998.

A motorcycle rests on a sidewalk at Westside Middle School before the benefit.

Robert ‘Teardrop’ Webster, directs crew setting up for the Westside Memorial Garden Benefit and Ride in Jonesboro.

A rider signs his name to drive in the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit.

Robert ‘Teardrop’ Webster and Dean McGlothin hang the quilt to be raffled off. Linda Auspaugh makes quilts each year for the benefit.

Two participants in the ride prepare to embrace before the ride at the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit.

Participants wore white pin ribbons at the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit in remembrance of the 1998 shooting.

Krystal Scott and Amanda Nelson embrace while looking at the sundial in the memorial garden. Scott, present at the school on the day of the shooting, remembered the day: “The fire alarms went off. We proceeded out the doors and it sounded like firecrackers going off until we started seeing people go down and then it was run for your life,” Scott said.

White bows hang from the back of motorcycles at the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit. Five bows hang for the five victims who lost their lives and one bow hangs for the 10 people injured.

Several riders look at a motorcycle as another makes a repair at the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit.

A group huddles for a prayer at the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit.

A rider waves to a crowd as the benefit ride begins. The raises money for maintenance of the Memorial Garden at Westside Middle School.

Bystanders watch the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit ride.

Riders for the the Westside Memorial Garden Ride and Benefit.

High Schools Tackle Opioid Problem

Posted on May 22, 2017 by madisongomez

by Madison Gomez
Delta Digital News Service

Click the picture to view special topic index.

JONESBORO — Opioid use and addiction have become a crisis in the United States, but area high schools are working to help raise awareness and promote prevention.

High school students often encounter opioids, mainly through prescription medicine found in relatives’ cabinets.

“Probably one of the things that we struggle with most here at the high school would be pills, such as something you are going to find in your grandmother’s cabinet or your parents’ cabinet,” said Michelle Crain, assistant principal at Valley View High School.

A study of prescription opioid use among high school seniors found nearly one out of four high school seniors had exposure to prescription opioids.

Valley View High School works with an organization, Out of the Dark, which helps raise awareness of drug and alcohol abuse and awareness for teenagers. The community volunteer movement is located on East Mathews Avenue. This organization, and others like it, can be helpful in awareness and prevention. These clubs can help students band together while promoting safe habits.

“We have one of the most marvelous programs here,” Crain said. “We probably run right now around 85 – 95 in this club. I strongly feel that that sort of thing, sort of club, where like-minded individuals could come together is probably the best thing for teenagers.”

Valley View isn’t the only high school addressing the opioid problem and raising awareness. Jonesboro High School also is raising awareness and prevention amongst its students.

“I know that the school is very proactive now at trying to prevent drugs from coming into the school,” JHS school resource officer Brian Sawyer said, “and they deal with it if the drugs do come into school.”

If a student is found in possession of illegal substances — such as opioids — they are not only brought to the school’s resource officer, but also dealt a punishment through the school.

“If you are caught with any prescription that could be considered a drug of abuse … then we investigate that,” Westside High School principal Michael Graham said. “And if you have possession of it or distribute it or are under the influence of that while at school, then the policy says that the principal shall make a recommendation to the superintendent that the student be suspended for 10 days and recommend to be expelled from school.”

High schools use locker searches or backpack searches to help locate and deter drugs and other illegal substances from being in the high school. Jonesboro High School has an “open-door” policy with the K-9 unit that allows the police dogs to sweep parking lots and classrooms.

High schools are also attempting to tackle the problem outside of school by providing after-school programs and activities for students.

Parents and guardians are also encouraged to take action in prevention by locking up and keeping track of prescription medications for themselves and the teenager. Sawyer said parents must take steps to ensure their children do not abuse or sell household medications.

Special Topic

Delta Not Directly Affected by Dakota Access Pipeline

Posted on February 27, 2017 by madisongomez

By Madison Gomez
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — The Dakota Access Pipeline has grabbed headlines for months with concerns on environmental and cultural impact.

Energy Transfer Partners received an easement that will push along the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The 1,172-mile long, underground pipeline starts in North Dakota and runs through three other states. The pipeline will be the only fully functioning pipeline among eight other underground pipelines that run under Lake Oahe in South Dakota.

The Dakota Access Pipeline will transport crude oil to different refining markets. President Trump issued a memo to push forward the pipeline’s progress, which is subject to terms negotiated by the United States. While the pipeline will help create jobs and bring money into investments, potential problems could arise. The pipeline has brought a lot of controversy with protests from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe over the desecration of burial sites and potential water contamination.

Another problem arises from potential contamination due to a spill or leak. That experience occurred in Mayflower, Arkansas in 2013, when an oil spill pushed people out of homes and got into waterways. Such an effect to the Delta seems unlikely.

“I do not foresee any direct problems from a Dakota Access pipeline unless it gets into the Mississippi River,” said Richard Grippo, professor of environmental biology at Arkansas State University. “This may cause transportation problems that could possibly affect the Delta Region.”

Joseph Richmond, an instructor of disaster preparedness at A-State, agreed.

“I don’t really see this being an issue that could affect this part of Arkansas,” Richmond said.

The underground pipeline does seem to have some effect on this issue, according to Jerry Farris, a distinguished professor of environmental biology.

“Pipelines below ground would certainly impact the ways in which product would be mobilized or contained in the event of a spill,” Farris said. “That is also largely impacted by proximity to vulnerable resources, geology and climate conditions at the time of and following the spill.”

Though the Delta region might not see any effects, other issues are at play with the pipeline.

“It seems that the environmental and cultural impacts of the pipeline have not been fully evaluated and taken into consideration when planning the routing of the pipeline,” Grippo said. “They definitely need to reroute around Native American lands.”

Protesters from both the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other concerned people evacuated the area Feb. 23.

(NOTE: Featured image courtesy of Lars Plougmann , [CC BY 2.5], via Creative Commons)