Opinion

Little Rock – Average teacher salaries in Arkansas ranked 47th in the nation in 2020, down from 46th in 2019 and 44th in 2018. Legislators on the Senate and House Education Committees heard a lengthy salary comparison last week, written by legislative staff.

Arkansans are unfortunately familiar with the devastating impacts of tornadoes. I’ve seen the damage left in their powerful wake and talked with homeowners, businesses and local leaders about the challenges they face in getting things back to normal. In the face of these trials, I have also seen the resolve of citizens determined to rebuild and the care of those who offer hope through words and deeds to friends and neighbors experiencing some of the greatest hardships of their lives.

Today, I would like to talk about the national increase in violent crime, and what we are doing to combat that here in Arkansas. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world felt like it came to a halt while we dealt with the issues of public health.

Little Rock – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today toured the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock and announced a $250,000 allocation for essential transportation related to opioid deaths across Arkansas. According to the Arkansas State Crime Lab, there were at least 493 drug overdose deaths in 2021; 281 of those were caused by fentanyl and 43 autopsies are still pending. In 2020, there were 329 drug overdose related deaths with 148 caused by fentanyl and in 2019 there were 263 drug overdose related deaths with 80 caused by fentanyl. The allocation will help the State Crime Lab transport victims of opioid overdose to the crime lab for an autopsy and determine the exact cause of death.

Little Rock – The Arkansas Financial Education Commission, created by Act 1025 of 2021 and chaired by Treasurer of State Dennis Milligan, kicks off its first partnership to promote financial awareness among Arkansans next week. The collaboration in partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) will host a series of financial education webinars geared toward educating the public on basic financial matters.

One hundred-fifty years before I took office, Arkansas was home to so many black bears that we were known as The Bear State, but by the early years of the last century, enthusiastic hunters had thinned the population to the point that the General Assembly outlawed bear hunting.

Little Rock – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and a coalition of 20 states today filed a lawsuit against President Biden’s face mask mandate on planes, trains, buses and in their respective hubs. The complaint challenges the mask mandate issued on February 1, 2021, which requires any person traveling by plane, train or bus to wear a mask, on the grounds that it exceeds federal authority and is otherwise arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.

ROGERS — The American Red Cross initiated the distribution of emergency supplies today those areas affected by the severe weather this week. Emergency supplies include items to help clean up after the tornado such as trash bags, work gloves, shovels, rakes, mold prevention and bottled water.

Recently, Ukraine has been arming their citizens with AK-47 rifles and plenty of ammo. Does armed militia ring any bells? At this time, Ukraine families are escaping death by traveling to Poland and other safe zones. The men then tell their wives and children that he must return to Ukraine to defend his country. Needless to say, many will not return.