Dogtown Wire

Argenta News has two recent articles of interest that hit the mark on both the woes of high gas prices and the wows of a low tech solution for diesel prices.

The woe belongs to a resident having to pay for fuel twice after a gas thief struck the neighborhood for the second time. The wow comes from a new business giving an unlikely fuel a second look.

Little Rock-based Green Circle Biofuels may soon be converting diesel engines to run on recycled, filtered and refined waste cooking oil from restaurants at its 601 North Broadway St. location.

Ensafe, the Memphis, Tenn.-based environmental engineering company, is busy testing and removing contaminated soil at the Smarthouse Way property 5.8 acres located at the West Riverfront Drive and Smarthouse Way.

After 41/2 years of investigating and planning the remediation project a “for sale” sign may soon be going up to signal a profitable transfer of the property to a developer.

Michael Drake, the executive director of Main Street Argenta (MSA), said the cleanup would take about four weeks to complete which should be about the end of June.

A Thursday Arkansas Business article details Arkansas’ third year in a row 45^th ranking in the nation for child well being from the Kids Count Data Book put out by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Of note was , “The 19th annual Kids Count Data Book indicators show six areas of improvement in Arkansas since 2000: infant mortality rate; child death rate; teen birth rate; percent of teen high school dropouts; percent of teens not working or attending school; and the percent of children living in poverty.”

The bad news comes from a fall in reported data on “low-birthweight babies; the percent of children living in families in which no parent has full-time, year-round employment; and the percent of children living in single-parent families.”

The Annie E. Casey Foundation states that it works toward “Helping vulnerable kids & families succeed,” through its many programs.

Lane Lasley, son of Steve and Sandie Lasley, and an 8th grade student at Lakewood Middle School in the North Little Rock School District has earned a position on the Arkansas State Wrangler Junior High Rodeo Team.

He will be traveling with fellow teammates to Gallup, New Mexico June 30- to July 5 to compete at the 4th Annual Wrangler Junior High Finals Rodeo (WJHFR) in Bull Riding and Chute Dogging, and the National NRA Rifle Shooting competitions.

Featuring more that 1,000 contestants from 47 states, Canadian provinces and Australia the Wrangler Junior High Finals is the world largest junior high rodeo. In addition to competing for more than $75,000 in prizes, WJHFR contestants will also be vying for more than $50,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named the Wrangler Junior High Finals Rodeo National Champion. 

Friday, June 13

Galaxy Furniture and Gallery at 304 Main St. in North Little Rock is attempting to revive the Argenta 2nd Friday Art Walk. The walk will be held at Galaxy from 5 to 9:00 p.m. where it is hosting an artist reception  and sale for Nina Burke-Williams and Rhonda Reeves The Circle Café at 318 Main St. is joining in the event and will feature the music of John David. For information on these artists and their work, go to www.canvasjunkie.com.

Downtown Little Rock 2nd Friday Art Night from 5 to 8 p.m. The Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. Third St. will have a reception for the 7th Annual Eclectic Collector Series. For more information go to http://www.historicarkansas.org/calendar/.

The 58th Annual Juried Fine Art Competition & Exhibition will be at the Fort Smith Art Center at 423 N. Sixth St. in Fort Smith from June 5 to June 28,. For more information go to http://www.fortsmithartcenter.org.

To go with the Op-Ed piece today is the latest Airport Commission meeting minutes along with three letters at the end of these minutes. The meeting minutes contain six pages for those of you who might want to buckle in and adjust your tray table as you prepare for the time to read this informational background.

Visit the NLR Airport city page for past meeting minutes and other files to view.

Call to Order: Chairman Skipper Polk called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

The Argenta Community Development Corporation (CDC) has announced a free two-hour, 5-week financial literacy course it is sponsoring for residents.

The CDC press document said, “Come and change your financial future.”

Courses include basic financial planning and money management, savings and investing, a lecture on choosing the bank or financial institution that suits your needs, building a solid credit rating, and the last on insurance products and tax strategies.

If you haven’t found it yet, the website, Double Dollar Deals, is offering just that – to double the value of your harder to earn dollars.

While some participating businesses have sold out their online coupons, you can still treat a friend to a golf game or a meal. Remember, you don’t have to tell them you got a deal, you can simply bask in the glow of their thanks and statement that “you’re the best.”

Close to home are some meal deals.

Okay, here’s the question. Would you rather spend $199 or $299 for those sexy new high heels you saw at your favorite shoe store, or, on a boot camp to make you look sexier in your older but still functional high heels?

If you lean towards that fashion foursome – Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha (come on guys, some of you know these HBO stars) – you know the way to the store and which credit card still has wiggle room for the purchase.

But, if you chose to boot up the bod, head over to the North Little Rock Adventure Boot Camp website to explore how Roy L. Brooks Jr. intends to make you a lean, mean, fitness machine.

And, if the men out there want to turn a few heads there is a men’s only 3- or 5-day boot camp starting July 14.