BLYTHEVILLE – Miss contestant competes in 17 prelims before winning a title.
Brooke Caraway is the winner of the Miss Lights of the Delta pageant. She received the Talent award and the Claudio Raffo “Dreamer Award.”
Brooke Caraway also won $6,700 of scholarship money and will be competing in the Miss Arkansas pageant June 13 through the 20of 2020 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Director of the Miss Lights of the Delta, Miss Northeast Arkansas and Miss River Delta Denise Holdaway said she wants someone that will proudly represent the lights and the Delta.
“What matters is that she is passionate about her platform and has an understanding of how they are representing the community,” Holdaway said.
“She nailed her interview and I thought her onstage talent was very creative,” judge Tiffany Hoskins said, “Her private interview went very well, and she was an overall great contestant.”
Caraway’s talent was a speed painting to a “Patriotic Melody.”
Caraway said this was the 17th prelim that she has competed in and she is excited to serve the Blytheville community.
Caraway’s platform is foster care. “I’m looking forward to getting plugged into organizations throughout the state and see more foster kids find their home.” Caraway said.
Caraway will have her own lights display in the Lights of the Delta as well.
First runner up and other awards include:
Katherine Beasley; First Runner Up, $500 scholarship prize and sponsorship into next year’s MLOD, MNA and MRD.
Apple Dennie; Second Runner UP, $200 scholarship prize
Apple Dennie; Evening Wear/Social Impact statement, $50 scholarship prize.
JONESBORO – Many Northeast Arkansans feel the influence of two educators long after they retired.
Herman and Maxine Strickland display “The Circle.” A-State dedicated apartment buildings to its first four black facility members, known as “The Circle.” Photo by Kimberely Blackburn
Herman Strickland Sr. taught elementary school in Blytheville and moved up to principal. He considered teaching at Arkansas State University to allow his wife to return to school.
The university made the decision easier with a simple addition to the offer: a house. Until then, the Stricklands lived in an apartment. The house and the low tuition for his wife helped prompt the move.
As A-State’s second black faculty member, Strickland said his family did not face many racial issues. History professor C. Calvin Smith faced difficulties when he came the year before. But Strickland said he believed the university worked out all the issues before he arrived. Showing his love of sports, he compared his and Smith’s journeys to those of baseball players.
“Jackie Robinson had all the problems, but they worked them out before (Roy) Campanella and Don Newcombe came,” Strickland said. “It was sort of that way before me, I think.”
Maxcine Strickland planned to study social work, but said the university did not offer that discipline at the time. She said she believed divine intervention caused her to choose elementary education. The decision, she said, remains one of the best she made in her life.
Herman served A-State as associate professor of teacher education and dean of University College. He said he never thought he would stay in higher education. After Maxcine earned her degree, they planned to return to Blytheville. He said he thought he would return to primary education.
But his students made him change his mind. Herman fell in love with higher education and decided to stay. He worked to mentor students, both in the department and in his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha.
Their Impact
Rickey Greer, principal of Jonesboro’s Math & Science Magnet School,said Herman and Maxcine greatly impacted his life. He still strives to pattern his life after them.
Greer learned professionalism from Herman. Greer said Herman always looks at everyone as if they had potential. Greer said Herman’s positivity struck him as well. Although Greer knew the Stricklands faced obstacles due to their race, Herman did not dwell on them.
Greer said he does not know many men like Herman.
Maxcine taught first grade in Jonesboro. Retiring after 26 years, she said her “children” still visit, bringing “grandchildren” along.
In her first year of teaching, Maxcine said she thought every child would pass — she would make sure if it. Maxcine said a wise mentor told her she could not make them learn. Instead, she could provide the information to the children and encourage them.
Although most turned out fine, the students who struggled broke her heart. She said she still wonders what she could have done differently.
Greer worked as a student teacher under Maxcine. He said her dedication to her job and her children greatly affected him.
“She felt like or treated every kid as if they were queens and kings, or they were the best, or they were (gifted and talented) kids,” Greer said. “No matter what level they were on, she treated them that way.”
Maxcine tried to treat every child the same. She set a high bar and encouraged each child to reach it. She told them to never underestimate their abilities. She said if she expected it, they did it.
The Circle
Although the Stricklands moved four houses down from the Smiths in the neighborhood now known as “The Circle,” both families left Jonesboro every weekend. They started going to each other’s homes with the university’s hire of Wilbert Gaines, emeritus associate professor of physical education. The Circle became a family following the arrival of Mossie Richmond, who became A-State interim president, vice president for student affairs and dean of University College.
Maxcine said she never expected what came from The Circle. She said they came to Jonesboro to do a job, but instead, gained nephews, nieces and friends they will love until the day they die.
Herman said he never thought A-State would dedicate buildings to them. The thought overwhelms him. He said he hopes it inspires black students to know if they work hard and find mentors, they can do anything.
Greer said he wished his students could understand how the Stricklands affected their lives. He said he hopes his students spread the positive impact forward.
Herman said he still looks ahead.
“I hope in the future it won’t make any difference about race. I’ll see you as a sister and you’ll tell me about your parent. I’ll feel your parent did a really great job with you and I’ll know you want to leave a legacy for your parent,” he said. “My parent did a great job with me, didn’t have many means, and I want to be a legacy for them.”
(Featured photo courtesy of A-State Media Relations)
BLYTHEVILLE — Throughout a very divisive election, one of President Donald J. Trump’s key campaign promises was to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The day after his Electoral College victory, over 100,000 Americans registered for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
Former President Barack Obama designed the Affordable Care Act as a way to make health insurance more affordable and accessible. The act reduces the cost of health care and lowers the uninsured rate. It requires all U.S. citizens and residents to obtain basic health insurance. If they refuse, they must pay a fine. However, certain circumstances can lead to an exemption.
Abby Houseworth Whitener, Holiday Inn’s manager in Blytheville, finds fault with ACA in its current form.
“It covers just the basic. You still have to pay out the wazoo just to see the doctor,” Whitener said. “It doesn’t cover (Holiday Inn employees) for prescriptions.”
Whitener said she believes the coverage could be improved.
“Ultimately, it’s like a big façade. Everyone has health insurance, but they don’t get anything for it and they are having money taken out of their check to cover it,” she said. “It’s a letdown for them.”
Whitener said she would like to see President Trump replace it with something that would be more beneficial for her employees. But others note the benefits.
“I have seen good outcomes from it and I have seen frustrations with it. I’ve seen outcomes where pregnant women are able to gain insurance under it and are more readily accepted by providers,” said Amanda Deel, assistant dean of the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University’s Jonesboro campus.
The ACA made the process for women to see the OB-GYN easier. Women no longer need a referral from another doctor to seek medical attention from an OB-GYN.
Through the ACA, women also have the benefit of prenatal care visits, iron deficiency anemia screening, gestational diabetes screening, Rh incompatibility screening, tobacco counseling and cessation intervention, and alcohol misuse screening and counseling.
“I’ve seen people that have the insurance, but aren’t really sure of what they have,” Deel said. “They don’t understand; they have this card in their hand that says I have insurance, but they don’t really understand what that actually covers and what it doesn’t.”
Deel said some patients feel frustration due to the miscommunication. She said she believes the general public is less informed than it should be about the various plans and the total coverage.
Whitener spoke about some aspects of the ACA she did like.
“One thing I do like is the vision care. They (Holiday Inn employees) love it,” Whitener said. “They get to go and get their eyes checked and they get to get discounts on glasses. The dental is really good. You get to go and get your teeth cleaned quarterly.”
Both Deel and Whitener emphasized the importance of having a replacement for ACA that will be as good, if not better than what is already in place if ACA is repealed. So far, the Trump administration and Congress have not released a plan of action for its repeal.
(NOTE: Featured photo courtesy of Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons)
Delta Digital News Service 