News

First District

This week, my colleagues and I on the the House Intelligence Committee released a report on the origins of COVID-19. The report indicates that COVID-19 could be connected to China’s biological weapons research program and may have leaked into the human population during an accident at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
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Legislative Update

This week, the Arkansas Legislative Council received a report regarding the state of mental and behavioral health in Arkansas. This report was months in the making.
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Christmas Eve Service

Christmas Eve Candlelight/Communion service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, Saturday, December 24 at 5 p.m. Please, come join us as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
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State Capitol Week in Review

LITTLE ROCK – Legislators finished the calendar year with a final round of recommendations for spending federal relief funds and reserve funds. The recommendations include using another $93.8 million for broadband projects and $20 million to upgrade computerized case management for the state court system.
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Rutledge Recognizes MC Officer of the Year

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today hosted the 20th annual Officer of the Year awards and recognition luncheon at the Benton Event Center, where she honored Arkansas State Police Trooper Matt Sanford as the Marion County Officer of the Year. “Trooper Sanford is a tireless servant who works to protect Arkansans,” said Attorney General Rutledge.
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Special MCQC meeting

The Marion County Quorum Court met Thursday, December 15, to discuss or correct ordinances that could not be completed on Tuesday, December 13, in the regular session. Rick White, Talon Vancuren, Marty Nickels, Wesley Shipman, James Underwood, Claudia Brigham, Joyce McCalla, and Brady Madden were in attendance, along with John Massey to conduct the meeting.
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The Wonder of Christmas Catalogs

First off, let me apologize for missing last week’s column. Like many others, I was battling one of the many “bugs” going around right now and just couldn’t muster the energy and focus to get the column finished. And, thank you to those of you who contacted me to ask why there was no “Growing Up Flippin” in the paper. You warmed my heart and, who knows, maybe helped my healing! I assure you, its absence was no fault of the Mountaineer Echo.
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Arkansas Weekly Gas Price Update

Average gasoline prices in Arkansas have fallen 12.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.76/g today, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 1,826 stations in Arkansas. Prices in Arkansas are 45.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 16.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
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