Members of Arkansas’ Congressional delegation announced Tuesday (Sept. 16) that eight Arkansas airports will receive more than $4.1 million for upgrades and expansions.

This funding is supported by the federal fiscal year 2014 omnibus appropriations bill, which was signed into law in January. Following is the list of airports receiving funding.
 
• Calico Rock-Izard County Airport will receive $351,378 to widen its taxiway, eliminating the need for aircrafts to back-taxi.

• Fordyce Municipal Airport will receive $438,079 to widen its taxiway, eliminating the need for aircrafts to back-taxi.

• Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport will receive $270,000 to update its master plan and identify future airport needs.

• Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport will receive $2,208,611 to widen a taxi lane, allowing larger aircrafts to access the concourse, and to cover terminal expansion costs that were incurred to meet current airport passenger demand.

• Paris Municipal Airport will receive $486,000 to rehabilitate and widen its runway.

• Searcy County Airport will receive $159,636 to rehabilitate its runway.

• Waldron Municipal Airport will receive $40,500 to rehabilitate its runway and taxiway and fully reconstruct the apron pavement.

• Woodruff County Airport will receive $157,500 to install weather reporting equipment and to rehabilitate its runway.

Officials with Beaudet Aviation, a subsidiary of JCB Aero located in France, announced Wednesday (Sept. 17) plans to invest $2.5 million in a Little Rock operation and initially create 75 jobs.

The new operation, located adjacent to the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, will provide cabin interiors for the Dassault Falcon jet operations nearby. According to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Beaudet plans to expand gradually and add new shops to the production center, and in the long run build its own hangar to be able to accommodate wide bodies up to B777.
 
“We wanted to be nearer to our American customers and especially to Dassault Falcon Jet and I admit I am very proud that Beaudet Aviation has been selected to take part in the completion of the Falcons Jet series,” said Jean-Claude Beaudet, chairman of JCB Aero. “In the long run, we would like to create the exact duplication of the company based in France or even bigger: being in America sort of gives you wings and you feel like you are going to fly. In a few years’ time, Beaudet Aviation would like to offer the widest range in terms of cabins and systems for VIP Aircraft and Commercial Airlines and become completely autonomous, provide total completion in one place and even expand new facilities adjacent to the airport.”
 
Dassault Falcon Jet broke ground earlier this month on a $60 million expansion of its Arkansas completion facility to accommodate the company’s two new aircraft models.

“Aviation is Arkansas’s leading export, and Beaudet Aviation now increases that sector’s strong momentum with its arrival in Little Rock,” Gov. Mike Beebe said in the AEDC statement. “With the confidence that our aviation companies place in Arkansas, we have become an ideal destination for important suppliers like Beaudet.”

Based near Toulouse, France, JCB Aero was founded in 1987 by Jean Claude Beaudet. The company focuses its aircraft interiors on cabin reconfiguration, major/minor modifications, in-flight entertainment upgrades, and cabin refurbishment.

Randy Staley, MD  recently was named chief medical officer for Ozark Guidance.

Staley earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas School for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.  At the University of Kentucky in Lexington Dr. Staley completed a five-year combination residency in general psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and pediatrics. He is board certified in general psychiatry and professionally affiliated with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Arkansas Medical Society.
 
“Since joining Ozark Guidance in 2010, Dr. Staley has demonstrated proven leadership qualities while championing the best care for our clients,” said Cynthia Curatalo, CEO of Ozark Guidance. “His vision and enthusiasm aptly lend themselves to the creation of new programs for our clients, such as the ADHD specialty clinic in Bentonville.”

Walmart has invested $3 million into a chicken processing and eggs facility in Costa Rica to ensure food quality for the poultry it sells there, according to Spanish media source La Republica.net

The retailer purchased machinery to automate processes previously performed manually in a plant that slaughters 200,000 birds each week supplying its retail supermarkets.

The media report states that Walmart is working closely with its growers and breeders to ensure product quality and food safety guidelines are met and certifications are received before the birds are sent to the plant for processing.

The certification and controlling the process from the egg to retail freezer is a major step in selling the public on food safety practices in light of Avian Influenza concerns often reported in developing countries, said poultry analysts.

Alumnus Jeff Sanders and his wife, Kathy, of Richardson, Texas, have contributed more than $1 million to the College of Engineering in support of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

A portion of their contribution will be used to establish the Jeff and Kathy Sanders Endowment in Electrical Engineering, and the remainder will be used to support the High Density Electronics Center.

“This extraordinary gift from Jeff and Kathy will make a substantial impact on the department of electrical engineering,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “Both of their gift designations are important and will help the department in meaningful ways.

Established in 1991, the High Density Electronics Center, or HiDEC, is one of only a few working laboratories of its kind in the United States located on a university campus. The center provides undergraduate and graduate students with a hands-on approach to learning and gives them the opportunity to utilize state-of-the-art tools under the guidance of the center’s faculty and staff. The funds designated to HiDEC will be used to purchase equipment and support research efforts.

College of Engineering Dean John English will consult with the donors to determine the purpose of the Jeff and Kathy Sanders Endowment in Electrical Engineering.

A graduate of Springdale High School, Jeff Sanders earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University.

“I felt like I received a rich education at the University of Arkansas,” said Sanders. “My professors were interested in the education of their students.”

After spending two decades working as a radio frequency design engineer, he founded Eclipse Electronic Systems, in 1993. Based in Richardson, Texas, the company supplies specialized receivers for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, industry, which is a vital part of the nation’s military and intelligence efforts.

Eclipse counts Northrop Grumman, L-3 Communications, and Lockheed Martin as its customers, as well as the government defense and intelligence communities. Esterline Corp. acquired the company in December 2010, but Sanders still serves as an adviser.   

“Today, one of my goals is to enable other young people to become engineers,” he said.  “Engineering is an important field because it, along with manufacturing, helps build the economy.”

In addition to his interest in supporting future engineers, Sanders felt compelled to contribute to HiDEC because of his personal interest in packaging technology and the career he has built in that industry.

Jeff Sanders was elected to the Arkansas Academy of Electrical Engineering in 2000 and has been a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers since 1966. He is also a member of the Association of Old Crows, which provides advocacy and education forums to the U.S. Department of Defense, industry and academia. In 2011, he was named a College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus.

Kathy Sanders attended the University of Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. After spending 30 years working as a pharmacist in a neonatal intensive care unit, she and her husband established the Jeff and Kathy Lewis Sanders Endowed Chair in Pediatrics within the UAMS College of Pharmacy.

The Sanderses are life members of the Arkansas Alumni Association and are recognized as part of the Towers of Old Main, a giving society for the university’s most generous benefactors.

Simmons Foods announced a cash tender offer to purchase any and all of its outstanding $315 million senior bonds carrying a 10.50% coupon rate and due in 2017.


This tender offer is slated to expire Oct. 15, unless extended. Simmons said it will pay $1,058.75 per $1,000 bond which includes a $30 consent payment if delivered by Sept. 30. Bonds tendered after the consent date will earn $1,028.75 per $1,000 in principal and accrued interest up to the date of tender.


The company’s consent solicitation seeks to eliminate a significant portion of the restrictive covenants and release all of the collateral securing the obligations of Simmons and the guarantors as well as amend the time requirement that Simmons has to send a notice of redemption. 


Simmons said it must get a two-thirds majority consent and early tender of the outstanding bonds to release the collateral securing the debt.


Wells Fargo Securities is acting as dealer manager and solicitation agent for the tender offer and the consent solicitation.

Barbara Still has been named a senior vice president of Arvest Asset Management in Fayetteville.

Still is promoted from a senior regional investment officer where she worked in Arvest’s downtown Fayetteville location.

Still joined Arvest Bank in 1996 and became the regional investment officer for the Fayetteville, Springdale and Siloam Springs banks in 2006. In 2014, she became a senior regional investment officer for  Arvest Bank in Fayetteville.

“I appreciate Barbara’s hard work and dedication to serving and educating customers and prospects on the benefits of Arvest Asset Management,” said Tabi Lipscomb, trust manager for Arvest Asset Management in Fayetteville.

Still graduated from Siloam Springs High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Arkansas. She is a fully licensed investment advisor and holds the Certified Financial Planner and Certified Wealth Strategist designations.

Just days before a scheduled groundbreaking on the riverfront near downtown Fort Smith, the U.S. Marshals Museum announced Thursday (Sept. 18) a pledge of $5 million from an anonymous donor.

According to a press release from the museum, the gift is scheduled for payout before the end of 2016.

“We’re overwhelmed with gratitude for this $5 million gift,” said Jim Dunn, president and CEO of the museum. “It represents the largest pledge we’ve received to date, and it provides us a great deal of momentum in our fundraising efforts.”

The museum is projected to cost about $50 million to construct, with funding coming from a variety of sources including private funding, state funds, and new market tax credits.

The groundbreaking ceremony is set for Sept. 24, with phase one of construction to commence at that time.

Three different phases of construction will be needed before the museum can be completed and opened to the public, which is expected to be 2017.

In March, Dunn said the museum had "raised a total of just over $14 million," adding that the museum has between $9 million and $9.5 million "in cash or pledges receivable."

Officials with Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 23 for a new $4 million allied health building.

The event is set for 11 a.m.

Trustees with Arkansas Tech University recently approved awarding a contract to Little Rock-based The Cone Group for $3.959 million for the construction of the new allied health building.

The proposed 20,273 square-foot allied health building will house five of the campus’ allied health programs including paramedic, health information technology, physical therapist assistant, practical nursing and registered nursing.
 
The multipurpose facility will be the campus’ first two-story structure and will feature laboratory and technology expansion, offices for faculty and support staff, a fitness center, student lounge areas and a testing center. The building will also have three new computer labs.
 
“I am pleased with the progress on the building planning to date and look forward to the groundbreaking as the next phase in the process. It is a great opportunity to celebrate our continued growth,” ATU-Ozark Chief Fiscal Officer Sandra Cheffer said in a statement.
 
The building is scheduled to be open for spring 2016 classes.
 
Arkansas Tech-Ozark offers health care options in health information technology, physical therapist assistant, cardiovascular technology, occupational therapy assistant, medical assisting, nursing assistant, practical nursing, registered nursing, emergency medical technician, paramedic and human services.

The largest retailer and private employer in the world is beefing up its payrolls with the addition of at least 60,000 seasonal workers for the upcoming holiday season, according to Gisel Ruiz, chief operating officer for Walmart U.S.

Wal-Mart also said the 10% increased holiday hiring won’t take away from its employees working additional hours if they so chose.

“We know this is the busiest time of year for our stores and we are going to make sure we are delivering for our associates and customers. We will have more registers than ever open during peak shopping hours between Black Friday and Christmas,” Ruiz said.

Other retailers have also announced their holiday hiring plans in recent days. Kohl's and Target are hiring 67,000 and 70,000 holiday workers, respectively. Both have fewer stores than Wal-Mart. Kohl’s is adding 34% staff this year than hired for the 2013 holiday season. Target’s hiring is on par with 2013.

Package delivery giants UPS and FedEx are also ramping up their seasonal worker counts anticipating more online sales this holiday season. UPS announced it will hire 95,000 seasonal workers, almost twice the amount last year. Memphis-based FedEx is adding about 50,000 more workers, up 50% from the 2013 season.

The proposed Arkansas Colleges of Health Education announced Friday (Sept. 19) that Forsgren Inc. of Fort Smith was selected as the contractor for site preparation for its new college of osteopathic medicine and work at the site could begin as early as next week.

The medical school, to be built on Chad Colley Boulevard in Chaffee Crossing, will be housed in a $31 million, three-story building.

Kyle Parker, president and CEO of the school, said work at the construction site could begin as early as next week if the weather cooperates. Parker also said he was "very pleased to have such a fine local company in Forsgren provide the initial dirt work and site preparation for the medical college."

President Steve Foresgren said is proud his company is involved in initial construction of the state's first college of osteopathic medicine.

"It's gratifying to see the emphasis on using local companies for this important community project," he said.

Other local companies contracted at the school include architecture firm Risley & Associates, which is leading all architect and design efforts at the school. The Fort Smith-based firm is being paired with Cromwell Architects Engineers of Little Rock to complete the school's master plan, including programming, schematic design and lab and lecture space design.

Parker announced earlier this month at a Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce breakfast that Beshears Construction and Nabholz Construction had been selected as co-construction managers for the project, a first of its kind for the companies.

The proposed osteopathic school will be housed in a 100,000-square-foot building that will house classrooms, administrative offices, two auditoriums, an electronic resource library, dissection labs and could eventually house a proposed physicians assistant program.

Funding for the school from donations and other funding sits at $106.9 million, Parker said. The largest amount of funding - $60 million - is being provided by the Degen Foundation.

The school is working through the accreditation process. Should accreditation occur as expected and construction stays on track, Parker said the building could be complete by April 2016 with its first cohort of students beginning class in August 2016.

Hillshire Brands has agreed to pay $330,000 in back wages as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor over claims of hiring discrimination against 2,474 men in the company’s Sara Lee division.

The company will also make offers to 73 of those rejected applicants while paying interest and benefits to the entire class, as part of the settlement. The hiring discrepancy took place in Sara Lee’s Florence, Ala. plant, which is slated for closure in December resulting in the loss of 1,100 jobs.

Hillshire, which is now part of Tyson Foods, also said it will review and revise its selection process and provide better training to its hiring managers to eliminate practices that result in gender stereotyping.

This settlement concludes a 20-month investigation from 2009 through 2010 where 98% of the applicants selected for biscuit assembler positions were women and 99% of dumper/stacker positions available went to men. The settlement notes that because there were far fewer stacker jobs, total employment was heavily skewed toward women.

"There's nothing particularly feminine about assembling a breakfast sandwich," said Patricia Shiu, director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance. "Stereotypes about 'women's work' and 'men's work' become harmful when they stand between qualified workers and good job opportunities."

This hiring discrepancy occurred prior to Hillshire’s purchase of Sara Lee in 2012. Now Sara Lee and Hillshire Brands operate under Tyson Foods ownership.

Main Street Rogers is hosting Rep. Steve Womack for a visit with Downtown Rogers business and property-owners, as well as a tour of new residential and business spaces Monday (Sept. 22).

Womack, the former Mayor of Rogers, is to tour a new residential loft project — City Hall Lofts— located at 214 W. Elm St. which is an ongoing remodel of an historic building.

He will also tour Brick Street Brews at 208 W. Walnut St. for an informal question and answer session 3 p.m.  
       
The Main Street Rogers Board of Directors’ said the primary objective for this visit is to showcase the smart investments being made in Downtown Rogers by renovating historic spaces for new uses.

AON Invent, a local startup that helps inventors and entrepreneurs manage intellectual property rights and analyzes product innovations, has sold its SnappDown pallet design to Chicago-based Imperial Graphics & Displays for an undisclosed sum.

The SnappDown pallet system was created by Andrew Bojie, one of the AON Invent founders. Co-founder Larry Robertson said the SnappDown pallet system was designed to create savings for retailers in display material and labor reduction.

Robertson explained that the SnappDown merchandising system consists of a pallet cover and integral graphic panels, which can be pre-installed at the time the pallet is packed with product. As it is delivered to the floor of the retailer, the sides of the pallet cover snap down to cover the pallet, and the promotional graphic panels are already in place, creating a self-contained point of purchase display. It also eliminates the need to transfer temporary displays from their wooden shipping pallets to a composite stack-base (pallet), before going to the sales floor. 

Wal-Mart has approved the SnappDown system for its stores because of the potential savings involved with store labor, according to IGD president Jim Hauser. He adds that  Walmart and its vendor partners could see sizable savings from incorporating SnappDown into their temporary displays as well as a larger area for graphic messaging.

AON Invent and its sister business All Product Design continue helping other product inventors, consumer packaged goods companies develop their ideas into market-viable products.
Robertson heads up AON Invent helping entrepreneurs with development, patenting and licensing on a fee basis. AON assesses the market potential for the invention. It then progresses through a step-by-step development system where it’s engineered, designed and tested by Bojie and the All Product Design division and then presented for feedback to a panel of industry experts.

He said those products that can fill a consumer need are given the green light for manufacture and placed in the hands of consumer packaged goods companies that supply retail shelves.

Michael Burrows on Tuesday (Sept. 23) was named chief financial officer for Van Buren-based USA Truck. His job duties begin effective immediately, and he replaces Clifton Beckham.

It was announced Aug. 7 that Beckham was leaving the company. Beckham was replaced by John Simone as the trucking company’s CEO in early 2013 following four consecutive years of financial losses. In the shift, Beckham returned to the CFO post, a position he held between 2002 and 2007.

According to the USA Truck statement, Borrows has held finance and accounting leadership positions of increasing responsibility for 14 years at Kansas City Southern and BNSF Railway. At Kansas City Southern, where his last position was senior vice president and chief accounting officer, Borrows was responsible for all accounting-related functions in the U.S. and Mexico, and worked with operations as well as the audit committee and board.

Prior to joining USA Truck, he served as senior vice president and managing director at Pollen Inc., a technology-based company doing business as C2FO that enables companies worldwide to optimize their working capital. At C2FO, Borrows worked primarily with Fortune 500 companies, many in the transportation sector.

Borrows has also worked as a senior managing partner and chief financial officer of FinEquity Partners LLC, which provided management consulting services to the transportation industry.

Borrows is a certified public accountant and earned a master’s degree in business from DePaul University Kellstadt School of Business in Chicago, and has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Liberty University.

"We are delighted to welcome Michael to the USA Truck team,” USA Truck President and CEO John Simone said in the statement. “With more than two decades of experience in finance and transportation, a keen strategic and analytical focus, and extensive experience in publicly listed companies, Michael is uniquely suited to USA Truck.  His proven capabilities will help us continue our forward momentum and further improve our Company's financial performance."

Clean Harbors broke ground Tuesday (Sept. 23) on a $100 million incineration plant expansion in El Dorado that could create up to 120 jobs.

According to Clean Harbors, the new plant marks the first time in almost 30 years that new incineration capacity has been constructed in the United States.
 
“Clean Harbors new world-class incineration unit will add much needed waste destruction capacity to our North American Waste Management Network,” Phil Retallick, senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs, said in a statement provided by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “The new rotary kiln incinerator will almost double the waste destruction capacity at our El Dorado complex. The unit will also add 120 new jobs, which benefits the El Dorado community. Clean Harbors is investing more than $100 million into this expansion which is critical to support customer demand for this technology.”

The Clean Harbors El Dorado incineration facility, which is regulated by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, specializes in the destruction of hazardous and industrial waste generated by a variety of businesses, industries and numerous governmental entities at the local, state and federal levels.
 
“Clean Harbors Environmental has enjoyed success in El Dorado for 40 years, thanks to the quality of the company’s workforce,” Gov. Mike Beebe said. “Clean Harbors is generating new opportunities for Southern Arkansas’s citizens through the creation of many high-paying jobs. We appreciate the company’s ongoing commitment to doing business in Arkansas.”

Springdale was dubbed one of the fastest growing cities in the country between 2008 and 2013, according to a study by WalletHub.

The report looked at 10 metrics ranging from population growth rate to the unemployment decreases. Springdale ranked No. 6 overall among 516 cities in the study. 

Among smaller cities – less than 100,000 in population – Springdale came up No. 3, behind Mission Texas (No.1)and Edinburg, Texas (No. 2), both of which are located in the San Antonio region.

Fastest Growing Cities
1.  Mission Texas
2.  Irving, Texas
3.  North Charleston, N.C.
4.  Greenville, S.C.
5.  Edinburg, Texas
6.  Springdale, Ark.
7.  Concord, N.C.
8.  Austin, Texas
9.  Pharr, Texas
10.  East Los Angeles, Calif.

Other area cities listed in the 516 city survey include:
No. 126 Fayetteville
No. 260 Fort Smith
No. 315 Little Rock

Electrical work will require the temporary closure of Interstate 49 in Benton County near Lowell, according to Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) officials.

Carroll Electric Cooperative will replace an overhead powerline. The work will require closing the northbound and southbound lanes of I-49, just south of the Goad Springs Road, between mile markers 76 and 77 in Lowell. 

The temporary closure will be Sunday, Sept. 28, between 6 and 6:30 a.m., weather permitting. Traffic will be controlled using barrels and warning signs.

The committee tasked with exploring a three-year trial sanctioned sports program at NorthWest Arkansas Community College met Thursday (Sept. 25) at the community college, but deferred setting a budget until next month.

After a spirited and lengthy discussion, the committee unanimously approved creating a separate 501(c)3 for the purpose of accepting contributions used for funding preliminary expenses such as the student survey. David Power, committee member, told the group it would take about six weeks to secure the nonprofit status.

The group also agreed the student survey will incorporate federal Title IX requirements and be more expansive in terms of seeking comments on all sports, not just the two proposed – baseball and softball.

Steven Hinds, NWACC director of public relations, said an outside independent third party will administer the survey and collect the results. But his office will disperse the survey initially through an email time targeted with the November pre-registration period for the spring semester.

The committee said Thursday the survey is expected to cost around $3,000, which will be paid for by donations coming into the separate 501(c)3. The committee was clear they only intend to raise funds to cover the procedural expenses at this time, until the Board of Trustees makes a decision on a 3-year sanctioned sports trial.

The sanctioned sports committee will meet next at 11 a.m., Oct. 16 on the Bentonville campus. They expect to set an annual budget for the proposed sanctioned sports of baseball and softball at that time.

Last month the committee discussed the proposed annual budget in the amount of $150,000 per year for the two sports and that included a 50% buffer for added expenses. Todd Schwartz, committee member, said all of those funds would be raised by community donations. He said Thursday that the budget talks would resume next month.

Objections were raised at a Sebastian County Election Commission meeting Friday morning (Sept. 26) regarding a poll worker allegedly taking ballots home with her after the Sept. 17 school board election.

Sebastian County resident Peggy Godwin raised the objection Friday, alleging that a poll worker at the Witcherville polling site had taken ballots home the night of the election.

According to Election Commission Chairman Lee Webb, the poll worker in question had returned home with her husband to leave one of their two vehicles at the house before dropping off election results at the Greenwood courthouse.

Webb further stated that the poll worker was carrying electronic results in sealed boxes, meaning there would have been no way for her to have altered results.

While the Witcherville results were delivered to the Greenwood courthouse on election night, the numbers were not included in final unofficial results due to a computer error, Webb said, adding that it was caught during the verification process in the days between the election and certification of results Friday morning.

The final vote total added 24 votes in favor of candidate Billy Turnipseed, who lost to Rick Nicodemus 207-223.

The commission also approved the county's other school board elections, where the majority of races were unopposed. Even in unopposed races, Webb said a vote must be cast in order to approve candidates and millage rates. In the case of Lavaca's school board, one vote was cast for School Board President Perry Newman's unopposed re-election. If no one had showed up to vote, the seat would have been declared vacant.

In other business, the commission approved three provisional ballots for inclusion in final certified totals.

An additional 20 absentee ballots were not counted since picture identification was not included.