A Better REGION 8

Change a lifetime

You can change a lifetime. There are children in Arkansas in desperate need of a home to call their own. This is National Foster Care Month. In the U-S, there are 400,000 children and youth in foster care and in Arkansas there are roughly 4,000 children in foster care at any given time. Each year, approximately 30,000 young people leave the foster care system without lifelong families. These young adults have to navigate a weakened economy that is offering fewer jobs and less support. There are so many ways you can be involved in these young lives as foster or adoptive parents, volunteers, mentors, employers and various other ways. In the state of Arkansas, we have a terrific resource to provide you with information if you've ever thought of being a foster parent or helping foster children in any way. You can log on to www.fosterarkansas.org. Get involved in a foster child's life and you will help make this a Better Region 8 and a better world.

Out of the Dark

"My heart hurts for him." That's what a Region 8 mom said about her son being arrested for a string of charges including stealing a police cruiser. Sean Whitney was arrested Friday after his mother called police to turn him in for stealing televisions from her apartment. Whitney was taken into custody after he tried to take off on foot and then stole a police cruiser to get away. Deborah Brewer told Brandi Hunter she called 911 hoping to get her son arrested so he could get help for his habit. It was so sad to me this mother felt she had no other option, but to call the police. It made me think about an organization I learned about recently called Out of the Dark. Out of the Dark is a community volunteer movement started in 2008 after several people in Jonesboro felt the need to address the horrible impact chemical addiction is having on our community. If you have a family member of friend caught up in the throes of addiction, there is help. You can call the Into the Light Hotline at 800-592-8460 or 870-336-1755. Reaching out for help will help make this A Better Region 8.

Counseling services can help avert family tragedies

March 19, 2012

A MOTHER AND 3 DAUGHTERS -- AGES 8 YEARS OLD, 6 YEARS OLD AND 3 YEARS OLD WERE FOUND SHOT TO DEATH OVER THE WEEKEND.

POLICE IN BOURBON, MISSOURI SAY THEY SUSPECT THIS WAS A MURDER-SUICIDE.

I WAS HORRIFIED WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE DEATHS AND EVEN MORE SHOCKED WHEN I LEARNED THESE CHILDREN MAY HAVE DIED AT THE HANDS OF THEIR OWN MOTHER.

WE HEAR ABOUT THESE TRAGEDIES AND IT'S SO HARD FOR US TO IMAGINE HOW MUCH PAIN A PERSON COULD BE IN TO KILL HER OWN DAUGHTERS.

BUT THEN I REALIZE THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN PAIN OUT THERE AND THEY NEED HELP.

WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE SEVERAL COUNSELING SERVICES IN REGION 8 - PLACES PEOPLE CAN TURN TO WHEN THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN UNBEARABLE PAIN. 

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO END LIKE THIS. 

YOU CAN FIND A LIST OF COUNSELING SERVICES AND PHONE NUMBERS BY LOGGING ON TO KAIT8.COM AND CLICKING ON THE COMMUNITY TAB AT THE TOP OF OUR HOME PAGE.  YOU WILL FIND A LINK TO MY EDITORIALS THERE AND CONTACT NUMBERS.

• Better Life Counseling:  (870) 935-4673
• Life Strategies:  (870) 972-1268
• Mid-South Health Systems:  1-800-356-3035
• Hope Gilchrist:  (870) 910-3730
• ASU Counseling Center:  (870) 972-2318
• Families, Inc. Counseling Services (870) 268-7680

THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP MAKE THIS A BETTER REGION 8.

 

Dangers of Drunk Driving

March 12, 2012

WHEN I THINK OF DRUNK DRIVING, I TYPICALLY THINK OF HOLIDAYS LIKE NEW YEAR'S EVE.

BUT ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED HOLIDAYS OF THE YEAR IS COMING UP THIS WEEKEND.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY IS THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 17TH.

SO IT'S A GOOD TIME TO REMIND YOU OF THE DANGERS OF DRINKING AND DRIVING.

IF YOU LOG ON TO THE MOTHER'S AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING WEBSITE, YOU WILL FIND A SOBERING STATISTIC IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HOME PAGE -- ONE IN THREE OF US WILL BE IMPACTED BY DRUNK DRIVING.

IF YOU PLAN TO DRINK THIS WEEKEND, DO SO RESPONSIBLY. 

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOMEONE TO DRIVE YOU HOME. 

YOU CAN ALSO HELP BY LEARNING HOW TO SPOT A DRUNK DRIVER.

A FEW OF THE THINGS TO LOOK FOR ARE SPEEDING UP AND SLOWING DOWN, TAILGATING, WEAVING, STOPPING FOR NO REASON, SLOW RESPONSE TO TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND TURNING ABRUPTLY OR ILLEGALLY.  EXPERTS TELL US DON'T TRY TO INTERFERE WITH A DRUNK DRIVER -- CALL POLICE.

BOTTOM LINE - IF YOU DRINK, STAY OFF THE ROADS.

AND IF THAT'S NOT DETTERENT ENOUGH -- POLICE OFFICERS AND SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES WILL BE OUT IN FULL FORCE THIS WEEKEND.

SAVE YOURSELF A LOT OF TROUBLE AND HEARTACHE AND MAKE THIS A BETTER REGION 8.

 

Spirit Ridge Therapeutic Rider Center overcoming a tragic fire

February 20, 2012

FIRE BROKE OUT AT THE SPIRIT RIDGE THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER IN BROOKLAND LAST WEEK.

TWO MINIATURE HORSES AND A DONKEY WERE KILLED IN THE FIRE AND A BARN WAS DESTROYED.

HERE'S WHAT MAKES SPIRIT RIDGE AND THESE ANIMALS SO SPECIAL -- THE RIDING CENTER PROVIDES EQUINE-ASSISTED THERAPY FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISABILITIES.

I TALKED WITH SHELIA COLEMAN THIS MORNING FROM SPIRIT RIDGE AND SHE SAYS THEY DID HAVE STRUCTURAL INSURANCE, BUT THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS INSIDE THE BARN THAT WERE NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE - LIKE HELMETS.

THE CENTER HAS PROVIDED SO MUCH HELP TO THESE SPECIAL INDIVIDUALS AND NOW THEY NEED YOUR HELP.  WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE FIRE, THE COMMUNITY WAS ALEADY STARTING TO ANSWER THE CALL.  A MAN DONATED A MINIATURE HORSE AND A SHETLAND PONY.

BUT MUCH MORE IS NEEDED.  IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE CALL 870-919-8141 OR LOG ON TO THE SPIRIT RIDGE WEBSITE AT SPIRITRIDGETRC.ORG.  THERE YOU CAN MAKE A MONETARY DONATION AND YOU WILL FIND A LIST OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED.  THIS IS A CHANCE FOR YOU TO HELP FURTHER THE MISSION OF SPIRIT RIDGE AND MAKE THIS A BETTER REGION 8.

 

Generosity speaks volumes for our communities

February 13, 2012

I am blown away by your generosity!

In one day, you, the wonderful people who live in Region 8, gave $257,293 dollars and 95 cents to the Have A Heart Wish A Thon.

All of this money stays local and benefits the Make a Wish Foundation. 

Make A Wish is the nation's largest wish granting organization and helps bring hope, strength and joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Children like Ariel Dooley who was part of the bucket brigade Friday in Rector.

She helped collect money for Make A Wish so other children could have their wishes granted like her.

Ariel's wish was to visit Disney World and Make a Wish made her dream come true.

The KAIT Team and our partners at the Jonesboro Radio Group thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Thank you for having a heart and giving to these special children and making this a Better Region 8.

 

Neighbors can be heroes

January 30, 2012

Friday was a sad day for Region 8 when we lost 13-month-old Blake Pierce in a house fire in Trumann. Blake and his twin brother Drake Pierce, his 3 year old brother Robert and their baby sitter were in the home when the fire started. When the fire broke out, neighbors rushed to the house, broke out the back window with a baseball bat and found the boys unconscious in a bedroom. One of those neighbors, Robert Beard, performed CPR on one of the children. He told Region 8 News he just wished he could have helped all 3 boys, but he knew if he didn't stay with the one boy -- he wouldn't make it either. First I want to ask that you keep the Pierce family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. And I want to commend Robert Beard and the other neighbors who came running when these precious children were in danger. Beard put his personal safety aside and was determined to help these boys. If faced with a dangerous situation, would you do the same? I am thankful for Robert Beard and the other neighbors who came to help. It's folks like these that make this a Better Region 8.

Gun Safety and Teens

It was with great sadness I read on kait8.com about another Region 8 teenager losing his life in an accidental shooting.

Investigators said 16-year-old Zane Riddiough of Independence County was with a group of friends and he was handling a gun when the gun went off, hit him and he died.

Just a few weeks earlier, we reported another shooting death of a teenager named Dillon McKinnis Brown.  Dillon was just 14-years-old. Investigators said Dillon was accidentally shot and killed after a duck hunt.

These two incidents alone are enough for those of us who are parents of teenagers or friends of teenagers to at least talk to the young people we know about the dangers of handling guns.

Please don’t misunderstand me – I support our right to bear arms and am not against the responsible use of firearms especially in self defense and for hunting.  But as the mother of a 20-year-old son – I know teenagers and young adults often feel they are invincible. 

Please do what you can to talk with your teen, your young adult and their friends about the dangers of guns. 

Maybe, just maybe, you can help save a precious life and in turn make this a Better Region 8

 

Pink for Life

This year 1,830 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in Arkansas, 410 will die. When I was 9 years old I lost my grandmother to this horrible disease. I wish that she known back then what we know now.

You see, early detection is the best defense.  Now is the best time.  Even if you feel healthy. Getting checked

regularly can put you mind at ease.  And finding cancer early could save your life.

 

KAIT and St. Bernards have partnered together to increase breast cancer awareness in Region 8 with a campaign called Pink For Life.

On the 8th of every month, KAIT and St. Bernards Healthcare will send you an email reminder to do your self exam and provide you with details of events in the area supporting breast cancer awareness, and information about other women's health issues.

log on to kait8.com and register today!

by doing so you can make a difference in your life, your loved ones lives,  and we can make this A Better Region 8

St. Bernards Pink For Life Campaign

Lend a helping hand

The end of Summer is upon us. Now Ryan Vaughn would probably argue and say that we have about a month until Fall arrives, but for all intents and purposes, another summer has come and gone. Labor day is a couple of weeks away, farmers are harvesting rice crops, and school has started back for most every Region 8 student. Growing up I always hated to see school start back every August. Then again, I wasn't the best student to ever crack a book either. A lot of things have changed since I was in school. But some have stayed the same. There are still school aged kids here in Region 8 that need a helping hand. For one reason or another they aren't getting the support and help that they need to be successful in school and in life. Whether it is being a tutor, a mentor, or an anonymous supporter, I challenge each and every one of you out there to get involved in a young person’s life. Your efforts will reap great rewards, give you much happiness and make this a better Region 8.   

A Better Region 8: Lend a Helping Hand