Tag Archives: Walnut Ridge

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Walnut Ridge vs. Osceola

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Bobcats leap over Seminoles, 32-22

Delta Digital News Service

Friday, Oct. 20, 2023

Brayden Morse | Sports Editor

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – An offensive backfield duo helped the Walnut Ridge Bobcats to a 32-22 victory over the Osceola Seminoles on Friday night at Sexton Field. 

Running back Enrique Perez and running back Robbie Tate each had two rushing touchdowns, combining for all four of the Bobcats’ touchdowns. 

Walnut Ridge head coach Jeffery Blake gave his thoughts on Perez’s performance. 

“We have to have a lot of production out of him. We have to have him keep our offense moving,” Blake said. 

Another Bobcat player who stood out was quarterback Jersie Cunningham. Not only did he manage the offense, but he also had two interceptions on defense to give his team excellent field position. 

“Jersie has grown throughout the year. He is a heck of a player and has been this whole time here. He is just a sophomore, so we have got two more years left with him. We expect big plays out of him, and that is what he does each and every week,” Blake said. 

“Jersie has grown throughout the year. He is a heck of a player and has been this whole time here. He is just a sophomore, so we have got two more years left with him. We expect big plays out of him, and that is what he does each and every week,”

Walnut Ridge head coach Jeffery Blake

Osceola’s first drive of the game ended with a touchdown thanks to utilizing the NFL Philadelphia Eagles’ trending play, the ‘tush push’ to convert on a third and fourth down. 

That drive helped the Seminoles knock off five minutes on the clock.

The Bobcats responded with Perez scoring his first touchdown from 20 yards, as well as converting on the two-point conversion to take an 8-6 lead late in the first quarter. 

Walnut Ridge would eventually get the ball back from a Cunningham interception, but then Cunningham threw an interception with Osceola recovering. 

The Seminoles’ next drive was stalled to a punt, when the punt was blocked and recovered by the Bobcats in excellent field position. 

Tate would go on to score his first rushing touchdown to increase the lead, 16-6 before halftime.

After multiple flags on Osceola’s first drive of the second half, they would go on to score a red zone touchdown and convert a two-point conversion to minimize Walnut Ridge’s lead. 

Walnut Ridge found a way to drive down the field with Tate scoring his second rushing touchdown in a goal-line situation, leading 24-14 midway through the third quarter. 

The Seminoles were not going down without a fight, when having a methodical drive to score a touchdown with one second left in the third quarter. 

Osceola’s hopes of a victory were closed when Perez scored a 69-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Seminoles drove down the field in a red zone opportunity but could not complete a comeback when Cunningham snagged his second interception of the night.

Walnut Ridge was able to run out the clock and seal a victory, giving them a 6-2 record on the season. 

Coach Blake gave his overall takeaways from the game. 

“Just a great football game, great atmosphere. Osceola is a heck of a team, and they were very athletic and fast. I was proud of our guys for sticking together down the stretch and kept it going,” Blake said. 

The Bobcats will travel to play Manila in a conference matchup next Friday. 

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Brayden Morse

Brayden Morse is a multimedia journalism major in the School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He can be reached at brayden.morse@smail.astate.edu.

NOTE: Feature photo by Dave Adamson on Unsplash

Keeping Roads Clear in Lawrence County

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Delta Digital News Service

By Claire Fisher | Contributor

Feb. 3, 2023

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – As winter weather pushes through Arkansas, city and state road crews are taking all precautions as they treat primary roads to keep transportation from freezing up.

            Arkansas sees its fair share of winter weather. The winter system that made its way into eastern Arkansas is no exception. The first round of sleet and snow began falling Monday night and continued with a second and third round Tuesday. When roads are in prime condition to freeze over, preparation by road crews keeps them from being unusable.

            Lawrence County has many highly trafficked highways leading to bigger cities. During inclement weather, the Arkansas Department of Transportation sends out crews in District 10 to treat these roads. Brad Smithee, District 10 engineer for ARDOT, said crews try to treat roads 24 hours in advance to get the best results.

            “We look at a lot of forecasting in order to keep up with the weather. We have close connections with National Weather Service, and we send out crews as soon as we get word of bad weather,” Smithee said. Treating roads when the weather has begun is not ideal, but weather is unpredictable, and crews will do whatever it takes to keep transportation running.

            According to Smithee, the roads are pretreated with a brine. “The brine is a saltwater solution that forms a barrier between the pavement and the snow, making it easier to plow.” When the brine is put onto a road it forms a crust, and the crust forms best when the solution is dispersed when it is raining “low and slow.” ARDOT crews also use rock salt to treat roads, but it is not the best treatment when there are a lot of roads to cover.

            While ARDOT focuses on main highways, city road departments take care of almost everything else. Walnut Ridge Mayor Charles Snapp said the city owns two salt trucks that are sent to treat roads when bad weather is coming. However, salt trucks release another useful ingredient when running their routes.

            “We use beet juice as a pretreatment for our roads,” Snapp said. “Beet juice is a gooey substance and it sticks to the roads better. If it is windy, the wind will just blow the salt away.” Beet juice comes in handy when treating roads because it can be cheaper than salt at some times. Walnut Ridge received three shipments of salt in December, and they only have about one-fourth left to last the rest of winter.

            According to Snapp, treating roads with beet juice first, then rock salt is proving to be the best way to clear the primary roads of the city. Road crews first clear roads leading to the hospital, then primary roads leading to Williams Baptist University, then the courthouse and lastly the sheriff’s office. Snapp said he plans to keep using this treatment as it works best for Walnut Ridge.

            Once the road crews have treated the roads, they do routine maintenance to keep them clear. But even these treatments will not be completely effective. Drivers still need to be cautious while driving in winter weather. The smallest ice patches can cause an accident. Reece Archer, a dispatcher for the Walnut Ridge Police, said accident reports rise at least 30% during winter weather. Drivers need to know which roads are unsafe for travel during ice or snow. Checking IDrive Arkansas before traveling is a good way to see if there are any road closings or roads to avoid.

A-State Board Considers Weapons Policy

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by Keith Turner
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — The Arkansas State University System board of trustees considered an updated weapons policy, helping transfer students and disaster preparation during its first fall meeting.

ASU System President Chuck Welch described the new weapons policy as a “reaction” to a bill passed by Arkansas legislature. The bill allows, to a degree, concealed carry on college campuses.

Welch said the Arkansas State Police have not yet completed its enhanced training program, meaning no one can legally carry a handgun on campus yet.

“We anticipate that it will be sometime in 2018 – January, February, March – sometime in that time frame before an individual will be able to legally carry a weapon on our campuses,” Welch said.

Helping Transfers

Welch and A-State Chancellor Kelly Damphousse announced a study of transfer students beginning in October or November. The goal of the study is to analyze the relationship between ASU campuses and students who transfer or wish to transfer from two-year schools.

“We have a large number of students in community colleges in the state of Arkansas. Unfortunately, we don’t have a large percentage transferring to a university,” Welch said.

Damphousse said he is passionate about transfer students.

“The next step is to make sure we get more transfer students from our sister schools to come here,” Damphousse said.

Disaster Preparedness

The board approved long-term lease agreements for ASU disaster preparedness training facilities in Walnut Ridge and Imboden. The school will seek grants and private funding for the project, which will train participants to respond to a variety of natural disasters. Fewer than 10 similar facilities exist nationwide.

Representatives of ASU and the cities of Walnut Ridge and Imboden signed 50-year leases for the facilities the following week.

In Walnut Ridge, ASU will pay $12,500 a year to rent 100 acres of land, with a 3 percent increase every five years. Walnut Ridge will pay the rent on behalf of ASU for the first two years. The Walnut Ridge site will have training zones specific to certain disasters, such as tornadoes and floods.

ASU will pay $10,000 a year to rent 183 acres in Imboden. The Imboden site will allow for “wilderness scenarios.”

Susan Hanrahan, dean of ASU-Jonesboro’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, assisted in the push for the training facilities.

“With the opportunity to have land in two different spaces, we can start working on getting funding to help build those things and bring people to our region for that type of education,” Hanrahan said.

Walnut Ridge Mayor Charles Snapp told the Jonesboro Sun this “might be the biggest economic boom” in the history of his city and Lawrence County.

System Review

Welch announced plans to hire a firm for reviewing the ASU System and campuses. The review will analyze staffing, programming and resources to determine the overall efficiency of the office.

The review should take around 12 weeks, but it could be up to six months before the results are known.

Other items considered included:

  • Celebrating the anniversaries of two ASU System campuses: ASU Beebe, now in its 90th year, and ASU Mid-South, now in its 25th year.
  • Accepting a resolution to rename the ASU-Newport criminal justice department in honor of the late Lt. Patrick Weatherford, who was killed in the line of duty in June. Weatherford worked for the Newport Police Department, and was a graduate of ASU-Newport and ASU-Jonesboro. His wife, Kristen, attended the meeting.
  • Approving restructuring amendments to the faculty handbook.
  • Approving new policies on internal controls and investments.
  • Approving a resolution to change the name of the lounge area on the third floor of the Reng Student Union to the Vaughn Student Lounge.
  • Approving a request by ASU-Newport to offer additional automotive-mechanical certificates (automotive mechanical systems, automotive transmissions and axles, engine performance, and heating and air conditioning).
  • The efficiency of the employee health care plan.

(Board of Trustees photo courtesy of A-State Media Relations)